A few days later, a letter arrives at the Burrow, addressed to me. Fred, Fleur, Tonks, and I are seated at the kitchen table. Tonks arrived at the Burrow to have breakfast. It's Fleur's day off from her job at Gringotts and Tonks wrote to ask if she could come over. Fred and Fleur are playing a game of Wizarding Chess – Fleur is ordering the pieces in French which throws Fred off according to the frown on his face – while Tonks and I talk about her jobs for the Order.

The brown owl knocks on the window and after being handed a treat, it lets me untie the letter. Once it has made sure I have gotten the letter, the animal flies off again.

I take my seat again and open the letter. The Ministry of Magic emblem gives away what the letter might be about.

Dear Ms Dubos,

Due to the charge you have filed against Mrs Priscilla Warrington née Carrow, we invited you to make an official statement and to testify against the accused on Friday the 20th of June, at 10 a.m. in the Auror Department at the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.

Your appointment is with Felipe Proudfoot.

You are allowed to bring two people to support you.

Kind regards,

Gawain Robards

Head of Office, Auror Department

After finishing reading the letter, I hand it over to Fred who has stopped paying attention to the chess game. Tonks pours me another cup of tea and I watch as Fred's shoulders slump as he finishes reading the letter. He looks up to me and mutters: "George and I have a meeting with some Muggles in Manchester that day."

Fred has returned back to work a few days ago after my uncle visited. I told him I would be fine at the Burrow and the man had made me promise I would alert him if something would happen. I have been helping Molly around the house and finishing the books I saved from Ollivander's. Besides, I have been brewing potions – not for my uncle's customers, but for the Weasley's potion supply and in case one of the Order members needs it.

Tonks snatches the letter from Fred and places it between her and Fleur. As the women read the letter, Fred takes my hand and squeezes it lightly. He looks a little thorn as he says: "I might be able to convince George to go to the meeting alone."

"I can go with you," Tonks offers, "It's my department and I'm sure Mad-Eye understands if I disappear for an hour or so."

Fleur looks between the letter and me and says: "I'll go with you as well. I shall ask the goblins for a day off and we can all go togezer."

I turn to Fred and squeeze his hand back, "Tonks and Fleur will go with me. That way, you won't have to miss the meeting. I don't want George to do everything on his own."

Fred seems a little unsure but after Tonks promises she and Fleur will take good care of me and after I have assured him that I'll be fine, he reluctantly agrees. Fleur and I take Tonks to one of the small tea shops in the village near the Burrow as Fred heads to London to help George at the shop.

The appointment at the Ministry is the following Friday. I wake up early in an empty bed. Fred has slept in London last night since he and George have to be in Manchester quite early and they have to prepare a few things before the meeting. After a shower and dressed in comfortable clothes, I check up on the cauldrons I have set up in Percy's old bedroom. When everything seems alright, I head downstairs for breakfast.

Fleur is already seated at the kitchen table and she is speaking with Molly who is standing near the stove. Arthur is reading the Daily Prophet and seems deep in thought with what he is reading. Molly smiles at me and I accept the cup of coffee she holds out.

As we eat the pancakes Molly made, we hear a sound coming from the living room. Moments later, Tonks enters the kitchen with a bright smile.

"Good morning, everyone!"

The purple-haired witch takes the seat beside me and Molly quickly pours her a cup of coffee. Tonks asks Arthur about the latest updates from the Order and steals the occasional bite from my plate. I glare at the woman but she ignores me as she chews on a piece of pancake.

Arthur leaves the tables after finishing his breakfast and presses a kiss on Molly's cheek before grabbing his briefcase. He smiles at us before heading outside, "Good luck today, girls."

"Should we go as well?" Fleur asks, turning to look at the clock on the wall. I nod and Tonks gives us a thumbs-up, showing she is ready to go as well even though her mouth is filled with the last of my pancakes. Molly hugs me before letting me join Tonks and Fleur in the living room.

As we stand in front of the fireplace, Tonks reaches for the pouch with Floo Powder. She turns to us and says: "We'll meet at the Atrium. Elena, you go first. Fleur and I will be right behind you. Make sure to keep your arms tucked in and please, please, step away from the fireplace as soon as you arrive."

After Fleur and I have promised we'd step away from the fireplace, Tonks holds out the pouch. I grab a handful and step into the fireplace. "Atrium, Ministry of Magic."

Apparation is a downright uncomfortable way to travel – especially since I react worse to it than the average person – but traveling by Floo is quite doable. My head is spinning when I stumble out of the fireplace, but I'm not extremely nauseous. I have ended up in a large hall with on both sides rows of fireplaces. All of them have different witches and wizards walk out of them and a sense of familiarity hits me.

Tonks' words echo through my head as I remember to step away from the fireplace. Just on time, as seconds later, Fleur gracefully steps out of the flames. She coughs and her facial expression darkens as she tries to get the ash off her clothes. She smiles at me before taking a step to the side, allowing Tonks to step out.

As if she does this every day, Tonks casually steps out of the fireplace. With a smile, she walks past us through the crowd. From over her shoulder, she calls out: "Let's go, girls, we have to keep moving or we will be late."

Fleur and I share a look before quickly catching up with the purple-haired witch who has already disappeared into the crowd of people. Luckily, Tonks stands out from the crowd and as we follow the woman, I look around the hall. Turning to Fleur, I mutter: "I have the feeling I have been here before."

"You have," Fleur answers, "You visited the Ministry with the Warringtons. We bumped into you at the Obliviator Headquarters."

The memory resurfaces from somewhere and I freeze in my steps.

Suddenly, something bumps into my side. The unexpected movement makes me stumble and I'm forced to let go of Warrington's arm.

Stand up. Stand up! STAND UP!

A voice in my head is screaming and I feel myself scrambling back onto my feet. Something grabs my arm and, in the distance, I hear a voice apologising profusely. A female voice shrieks something but I can't make out the individual words.

"Elena?"

Tonks' voice helps me back to reality and when I blink, I am met with the worried faces of Tonks and Fleur. We're in the middle of the hall. The people passing us send us annoyed looks as they have to swerve to avoid bumping into us.

"Hey, are you alright?"

Focussing my attention on Fleur who has taken my hand in hers, I nod. Tonks wraps an arm around me and says: "I don't know what you two were talking about, but you were gone all of a sudden."

"I remember being here," I answer, frowning, "The memory is a bit hazy."

Understanding slides over Tonks' face and the woman squeezes my shoulder lightly. Softly, the woman leads me to the elevators. Fleur follows us closely.

There is a crowd in front of the elevators, but Tonks squeezes us through it with ease. We step into the first elevator she sees and presses a button before warning us to hold onto something.

A male voice is speaking: "...Inquisitorial Squad. Do you remember..."

The words don't register as the daze in my head only gets stronger. A voice in the back of my head says 'giggle' and a strange sound escapes my mouth. An arm wraps itself around my waist and squeezes my hip possessively.

"Level Two: Department of Magical Law Enforcement, including the Improper Use of Magic Office, Auror Headquarters, and Wizengamot Administration Services," a female voice announces, helping me out of the memory.

The doors open and Tonks steps out. Fleur softly pushes me forward and we get out as well. Tonks leads us through several hallways before stopping in front of two large doors. She looks over her shoulder before pushing the doors open.

We enter another large hall, but this one is different. The buzz of talk and laughter reaches my ear and Tonks smiles at us before making her way through the hall. There are cubicles everywhere and as we pass them, I notice pictures of Dark Wizards and articles from the Daily Prophet and other newspapers hanging in them. Some of the cubicles are occupied but witches and wizards bowed over their work while others are gathered in small groups beside a cubicle in conversation with their co-workers.

A few people recognize Tonks and greet her while others ignore us. Tonks waves at a few people as we pass them. Fleur looks around the place with a frown on her face and mutters under her breath for only me to hear: "I don't understand how someone can work in such an unorganized place."

I agree with her as I look at the piles of files stacked randomly around the place.

Tonks leads us to the back of the hall where several doors lead to separate offices. Tonks stops beside of one them and as I look closer, I notice the small plague on the door: Felipe Proudfoot, specialized Auror in Unforgivable Curses.

After looking at me for confirmation, Tonks knocks on the door and a voice says: "Come on in!"

Tonks steps aside and I open the door.