Mere minutes later, with their wands in hands, Saturnine, Tonks, and Remus burst through the fireplace of Cove Cottage.

“Check the kitchen,” Saturnine ordered. “I’ll have a look at the bedroom.”

“I’m coming with you,” Remus explained. “I want to check on something.”

Saturnine was already rushing into the corridor, Remus hot on her heels. The bedroom proved to be empty, as was the shower room. Harry’s Potions essay was on his desk. Peering closer, Saturnine noticed he’d stopped mid-sentence, at the end of a long ingredients list.

“It’s missing.” Remus’ voice cut into her musing, and she whirled on him. He was sitting on his hunches by Harry’s trunk, rummaging inside with both hands. “Harry’s cloak.”

“What cloak?”

“James’ old Invisibility Cloak.” Remus closed the trunk’s lid before standing up.

“Invisibility Cloak?” Saturnine’s mind reeled with the possibilities. Could it be? She wanted to ask more questions about it but now wasn’t the time.

Tonks’ voice filtered in from the corridor, “Guys? Got something here.”

Remus and Saturnine wasted no time returning by the Metamorphmagus’ side. They found Tonks standing by the sofa, a piece of parchment in one hand. Even from where she stood at the entrance of the living room, Saturnine recognised Harry’s handwriting.

“What’s it say?”

“I’m sorry for leaving, but my friends need help. Didn’t know how to reach you. Will come back as soon as I can. Harry,” she read aloud.

“Merlin’s balls, Harry, why didn’t you Floo to Hogwarts or Grimmauld!” Saturnine fumed, anger momentarily replacing the worry coursing through her veins. “That’s why I didn’t want to be responsible for a child. That’s bloody why.”

“Calm down, Saturnine,” Remus said, laying a comforting hand on her forearm. “At least he’s left a note. We’ll find him.”

“Yeah, we know he left on his own, and no one attacked him,” added Tonks. “That’s a good start. Now, he referred to his friends. I’m guessing Ron and Hermione, eh?”

Remus nodded. “Probably a good place to start.” He turned on his heel and reached for the pot of Floo Powder. “Stay here, I’ll be right back.” He threw a pinch into the fire. “The Burrow,” he said before walking into the flames.

“Who else would he call friends?” Saturnine asked after Remus had left. “There’s the Longbottom boy, right?”

“Yes,” Tonks replied, nodding. “And probably half the school. Harry’s got a big heart.”

Remembering photographs she’d seen from Harry’s birthday party, she asked, “Isn’t there a blonde girl? With really pale hair?”

“That would be Luna, yes. Luna Lovegood, that odd Ravenclaw girl. Her father runs The Quibbler.”

“We should check on them next. Then, the rest of the Gryffindor boys Harry’s age.”

“Minerva will have a list,” Tonks said, and Saturnine appreciated having the young Auror by her side. Despite her typically laidback attitude, she had a good head on her shoulders, she discovered. She knew how to be serious when the situation called for it.

It wasn’t long until Remus returned, and Saturnine knew right away that the news wasn’t good.

“What did you find out?” she asked, stepping forward.

“Molly just got home to find that Ron and Hermione are missing, too. She had left the two under the care of her older twins. Apparently, they left without them noticing.”

“Damn it!” Saturnine swore under her breath.

“What of the youngest?” Tonks asked. “Ginny?”

“Left behind, too,” Remus said, “She was out in the garden with the twins. She wasn’t particularly happy to have been forgotten.”

“Longbottom and Lovegood, then,” Saturnine said before turning back to face the empty living room. Slashing her wand angrily through the air, she left a message in floating scarlet letters: “Harry, if you’re home before us, Floo to Grimmauld right away, and wait for me there. That’s an order!”

She didn’t sign her note, knowing the boy would recognise her handwriting at once. A minute later, the three Order of the Phoenix members Apparated to the Longbottom household.

***

The broken-down gate surrounding the front yard of the Lovegood House was on fire, and Harry could barely make out the sign that read “Editor of the Quibbler.” There had been a second sign next to it. But that one was already consumed by the flames. Picking up their pace, the children—Harry in the lead—rushed up the zigzagging path that led to the front door where black-hooded figures stood.

“Wait!” Hermione said, reaching for his hand to halt him. “They’re going to see us.”

Understanding what she meant, Harry pulled to a stop as he reached into his pocket for his cloak.

“Come here,” he told his friends, and the three of them huddled close as Harry threw the magical cloak over them. This had been easier to do when they were younger and smaller. But they managed to get to a point where only the tips of their shoes were showing.

Creeping closer, wand at the ready, Harry yelled, “Expelliarmus!” The result was immediate, and two wands went flying as the Death Eaters that stood guard by the door jumped up in surprise. He didn’t wait for them to get their wits back and followed the sneak attack with a Jelly Legs Curse. By his side, Ron added a Confundus Charm.

“Keep watch, Hermione,” Harry said over his shoulder to the bushy-haired brunette that now stood a little behind him. He quickly folded his cloak back into his pocket. “Ron and I will find the Lovegoods.”

“Be careful,” Hermione advised as she faced the masked wizards who dazedly leaned against the side of the cylindrical black house. Harry barely heard her as he rushed through the broken front door with Ron at his back. The circular kitchen looked as though Cornish Pixies had been let loose in the house to ransack the space. The curved cupboards were open, their contents spilt on the hardwood floor. Harry wasted no time looking around, deciding to head instead for the centre of the floor where a wrought-iron spiral staircase stood. It led to the upper levels, where shouts and small explosions could be heard.

More Death Eaters were in the house, and their friend needed help. There was no time to waste, and Harry took the old iron steps two at a time. The first floor, which had to be Luna’s father’s workplace, was even more of a mess than the kitchen had been. Piles of books and papers were strewn about the labyrinthine space, and broken furniture had exploded all over the carpet-covered floor in small pieces and sharp-edged shards. A fight was ongoing in the circular room, with Luna’s father on one side—half-hidden behind a printing press—and two more Death Eaters on the other, who sought protection from flying hexes behind a worn-out leather sofa. The two teenagers wasted no time deciding who to side with; throwing up Shielding Charms, they rushed out to help Xenophilius Lovegood.

Though he looked tired, the forty-something wizard was still fighting on. His long platinum-blond hair was a mess of sweat and tangled locks, blood was dripping from a gash on his left temple, and his light-beige robe had been singed in several places. But he kept throwing hexes as the newcomers got into position. Once Harry and Ron had cleared the fighting field, they joined him, adding their magic to Lovegood’s, and spells flew, unbound. Magic spiked in the air, striking like coloured lightning from one end of the room to the other, but Harry knew the fight was nearing its end. They’d upset the balance, and the Death Eaters were losing ground fast, their strength waning more quickly than the setting sun outside.

Through the chorus of screamed hexes and spells and the sound of the resulting explosions, Harry heard one of them say, “We should go, Rosier, or they’ll be the death of us.”

The second man, who was the shorter of the two, didn’t seem to like that idea. “It’s just kids. I’m not backing off before some brats. Hold your place!”

Harry threw him his most powerful Blasting Curse to the face in reply. The masked wizard had just enough time to duck behind the sofa again to avoid being hit full-on, and the spell blew up the window behind him in an explosion of broken glass and wood splinters.

It was enough to scare away the taller of the two men, and he vanished from the Lovegood house an instant later with a loud crack. The second Death Eater, Rosier, cursed at his companion’s betrayal from his hideout.

“Give it up!” yelled Ron. “You’re outnumbered three-to-one, and we have more backup on the way.”

Using the pause in the engagement to his advantage, Harry grabbed at Mr Lovegood with one hand to tug him back and push him closer to the wall before taking his place closer to the printing press’ edge. “Rest up, sir,” he instructed. “We’ve got this.” Leaning heavily against the wall, Luna’s dad seemed all too happy to comply.

On the other side of the room, Rosier muttered something that Harry couldn’t make out. It sounded a lot like an incantation, and he readied himself for an attack, bringing up a protective shield just in case. With a wild, manic laugh, the dark wizard stood up to face them.

Harry stared at his opponent for an instant—his dirty-white mask with snake-like eye slits reminding him so much of the Dark Lord that Harry’s insides churned—before the coward Apparated away.

It was too early to celebrate the victory, though. A blazing, breathing creature that looked like a dragon made of fire now stood where the wizard had been. It lurched forward, clawing at everything it could touch, devouring carpets and furniture alike in blazes of flames.

Standing shoulder to shoulder, Harry and Ron did their best to try and fight it back, throwing blasts of air and a few Aguamenti at it, but the fire’s hunger was impossible to satiate.

“Where’s Luna?” Harry called out to Lovegood.

“Upper floor,” he replied. “Locked in her bedroom.”

“Go get her, then leave the house,” Harry said. “We’ll hold it off until then.”

“Hurry!” urged Ron, between two puffs of breath. The temperature had risen so high that his cheeks were almost the colour of his hair.

***

In the dimming sunlight, the Lovegood house looked like a battlefield. The cylindrical black house, which resembled a giant chess rook, had withstood a fierce assault. Two windows had been blown up near the ground floor, and unnatural living flames licked at the northern side of the building.

“Sweet Circe, that’s Fiendfyre,” muttered Tonks as she ran closer. “I hope no one is inside.”

“Check the house,” Saturnine ordered, hot on her heels. “I’ll manage the fire.”

While the two wizards entered through the gaping front door, Saturnine moved to the back of the Rookery, arms raised high, palms outstretched. Even from this distance, she could feel the roaring fire’s dark energies. It would be difficult to manipulate it and get it to do her bidding. Fire magic wasn’t her strong suit, and she had a hard time forcing regular flames to behave. It would take all her concentration, and then some, to tame Fiendfyre.

Taking a moment to focus on her breathing, she closed her eyes as she kept feeling for the wild energies of the flames that coiled and rolled ahead of her. She could sense their hunger to devour anything in their path. Opening her eyes, she latched onto that perception of the undulating flames, stroking them with her powers. Focusing her magic and will, digging deep within her core, she forced the flames away—away from the damaged house and vulnerable people inside.

It was easy to trick the flames into wanting to relocate, but it was harder to contain them once they were freed from the distraction of the burning habitat. Fingers splayed before her and growing white under the strain, Saturnine forced more magic out of herself as she coalesced the fire into a smaller and smaller ball. She pictured it in her mind and watched it take form before her eyes. Her awareness of the world narrowed to a tiny pinprick of light, her entire focus solely on the task ahead. Bending it under her will, the ball of flames got smaller and smaller until the tiniest of flickers remained. Summoning a powerful burst of wind, Saturnine smothered it. Then, dazed and exhausted, she stood still for a moment.

Remus’ awed voice filtered through her haze, bringing her world back into focus. “And here I thought that fire wasn’t your strongest element.”

Saturnine heaved out a few deep breaths before turning back to face him. Small tremors shook through her arms, and her reply to him came out weaker than she intended it. “It’s not.”

“The Lovegoods are missing,” Remus said, worry etched into the tired lines of his face. “Tonks has gone to the Ministry to report the incident and rally the troops. We’re going to need help looking for them and the rest of the kids.”

“Damn it!” she swore. “How did they know? How could they possibly have known Luna and her father were in danger?”

“These kids are resourceful. It’s possible they came up with a way to communicate that we don’t know about,” mused Remus. “It looks like they got here in time. From the damages we saw inside, more than two people fought back the attackers.”

“The question is, did they manage to escape from whoever attacked them?”

“I think they did,” Remus said. “There would be a Dark Mark hovering in the sky and bodies on the ground, otherwise.”

Saturnine’s stomach somersaulted at the thought. Damn it, Harry, she cursed inwardly. Why didn’t you try and find me?