Not far from where Draco and the others were fighting, there was a village made up entirely of wizarding families.
Much like Hogsmeade, this village was also filled with distinctly wizarding buildings and shops. The difference was that life here felt far more lived in. Every so often, you could see young witches and wizards playing in the streets, acting out games of defeating dark wizards.
But the peace and quiet that had once belonged to this place had been shattered not long ago by a group of unwelcome visitors...
Ottery St Catchpole Village.
The Weasley family lived in this wizarding village.
Among them, there was a crooked four story house that belonged to the Weasleys.
And yet, if not for its irregular appearance, something no Muggle could ever have built and that could only have been constructed through magic, no one would have thought this was the sort of place wizards ought to live in.
On top of that.
There were weeds growing everywhere, grass left wildly overgrown, and a pond where no one could even tell whether anything lived inside. The whole environment was so messy it was hard to imagine anyone actually lived there.
Still less that this was the living environment of one of the Sacred Twenty Eight.
Perhaps that was why it had ended up with the name the Burrow, a nickname heavy with ridicule...
But no matter what, the Weasley family still held a certain amount of influence in this village.
That was mainly because, aside from being part of the Sacred Twenty Eight, Mr. Weasley also worked for the Ministry of Magic. And the deeper reason, one only a handful of people knew, was that the Weasley family had an extremely close relationship with Dumbledore.
Because of that reputation and trust, when Fenrir Greyback led his werewolf subordinates in an attack on the village, almost every wizard's first choice was to flee to the Weasleys for shelter.
More precisely, they were seeking shelter with Dumbledore standing behind the Weasleys...
"What do we do now?"
"Stay calm. Arthur said Dumbledore has already sent people."
"Damn that Fenrir Greyback. He actually sided with that man!"
One wizard seemed to have recognized a familiar Death Eater, and instantly guessed the connection between Fenrir and Voldemort.
But in truth, only the Weasleys present knew that Fenrir had not joined the Dark Lord. He had merely entered into a cooperative relationship with him...
...
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Fire.
Black smoke.
Screams.
At a glance, all one could see were green and red flashes crisscrossing one another.
Although their side had the greater numbers, they had been the ones caught in a surprise attack, and not everyone had the ability to protect themselves.
So very quickly, quite a few of them had already fallen in the opening moments, and most of the wizards who had fled to the Burrow were carrying injuries.
Some had even been bitten by werewolves, and were still lying unconscious...
"Arthur, have Dumbledore's people still not arrived? We cannot hold out much longer!"
"They should be here soon. Just hold on a little longer!"
Hiding behind a wall and feeling the force of the Killing Curse for himself, Arthur Weasley kept his eyes fixed on the enemy while shouting toward the white haired wizard nearby.
But compared to everyone else's unease, Arthur Weasley was even more anxious inside, because he had no idea what was happening with the Lovegood family.
His daughter, Ginny Weasley, had gone to the Lovegoods' house early that morning to visit her friend...
"Arthur."
"Do not worry. Ginny will be fine. You have to trust Xenophilius."
Though he was clearly trying to comfort his wife, anyone could hear the deliberately suppressed tremor and despair in his voice.
It was obvious that he did not actually hold much hope that Ginny was safe. He simply could not believe Xenophilius alone would be enough to deal with those Death Eaters.
Watching the werewolves moving swiftly across the ground, sweat kept forming at Arthur Weasley's temples, and his eyes did not dare relax for even a second.
"Molly, how much longer until Lupin and the others arrive? I do not know how much longer we can hold on."
"I do not know. Because of the magical interference, not only can we not use Apparition, we cannot even use Floo Powder. And with those Death Eaters flying around on Broomsticks in the sky, maybe all we can do now is trust Errol."
Errol was the Weasley family's owl. In the current situation, they could only rely on an owl to send word to the outside world.
What Mrs. Weasley did not know, however, was that not long ago, all the Death Eaters riding Broomsticks and tasked with stopping information from getting out had already been lured away by her own daughter.
And if they knew Ginny was doing something so dangerous, it was hard to say whether they would feel more proud or more worried...
Arthur Weasley frowned.
Trying his best not to think in the worst direction, he suddenly remembered something and turned to his wife.
"Where are Fred and George? They are taking care of Ron and Harry properly, are they not?"
"..."
"Why are you not saying anything?!"
That strange silence turned Arthur Weasley's already uneasy heart into outright terror.
And that sense of dread was confirmed by Molly Weasley's answer.
"...They are gone! They were still in the back just a moment ago!"
"You said... what?!"
"They were right there! Before I came over, Fred and the others were still there. They even promised me they would not get involved in this fight."
Crying with anxiety, Molly clutched Arthur Weasley's robes tightly. Her pale fingers showed just how much force she was using.
"Calm down. Calm down, Molly. Think carefully. Where could they have gone, and what are they trying to do?"
Arthur Weasley forced himself to calm down, gripping Molly by the shoulders and reminding her what mattered most right now.
To be fair, the shout did work.
The next second, Molly suddenly thought of something and screamed at Arthur.
"Ginny! It has to be Ginny!"
"Ginny..."
"They must have gone to save Ginny. That is why they acted on their own!"
"Damn it! How dare they?!"
Arthur, who knew his children very well, immediately realized that this possibility was frighteningly high.
Those children were not only bold, they were incredibly quick to act, and in their minds, they barely seemed to know what fear even was.
At that thought, the Weasley couple instinctively lifted their heads and looked toward the direction of the Lovegoods' house.
But that single glance left them both frozen on the spot.
What had they just seen?
They did not see Harry and the others.
Instead, they saw a shocking sight.
And what followed was joy from the bottom of their hearts.
Because although the distance meant they could only make out tiny black dots, it was obvious that someone was fighting in the air.
Was it Dumbledore?
Or had their companions from the Order of the Phoenix finally arrived?
Were their children... saved?