12 Grimmauld Place was a bustle of noise and panic. Eleanor could see that the adults were trying to stay strong, to not show their fear but Eleanor could see through the mask. They were cracking just as much as Eleanor was.
Eleanor was sat down. Remus had come to her aid when she collapsed on the floor. He had pulled her up and brought her into a stong embrace, wiping away the tide of tears that were falling down her cheeks. He held her to him and whispered that they would do everything to get Josh back.
Tonks had rummaged up a quick cup of tea for Eleanor using magic and Remus had sat her down. Eleanor had whispered a small thanks to Tonks as she handed her the cup of tea. Eleanor knew it was made in a rush, in a flurry of magic. Eleanor knew Tonks had made it out of kindness, and Eleanor knew that magic could go wrong if your mind was in the wrong place. Everyone's minds were in a flurry of panic. Therefore when Eleanor took one sip of the tea, she had to fight the urge to spit it back out. It was disgusting.
Still, the tea had one good use. She wrapped her hands around the warm mug, liking the small amount of comfort the warmth brought her. It still did not bring her to ease though. Josh was out there, surrounded by Death Eaters, possibly being tortured. And then there was Harry, who blindly went to go and rescue him, without a second thought to the danger he was putting himself in.
Eleanor thought that surely even the Death Eaters would draw the line at torturing Josh. Surely, they wouldn't. Surely they could see that Josh was just a young boy. An innocent young boy with an addiction to chocolate and the incredible gift to bring warmth and love into people's lives. Eleanor felt her throat burning and fought back a sob.
Surely they wouldn't hurt him. Maybe they would simply hold him hostage for leverage. They wouldn't possibly hurt him, he was only a baby in comparison to the great big world. Eleanor's mind cruelly reminded her that Harry was only an infant when Voldemort set out to kill him and this time she was unable to hold back the sobs.
"How did this happen? Josh should be in school. They wouldn't have taken him out, would they? Not with all those Muggles around. Oh god, what if they did? What if they've hurt others?" Eleanor looked wildly at Sirius. "I should have been at school today. I didn't have any exams so I wasn't needed in, but what if I did go. They could have taken me instead. Then Josh would be safe. I don't care what happens to me, but if anything happens to Josh I'll-"
"Eleanor, stop!" Sirius had rounded the table and grabbed her shoulders. "Stop this, you can't think like that. Everyone would be devastated if anything happened to you. Don't think your life is less than anyone else's because it is not."
"But Josh-"
"We will do everything in our power to get Josh back. Okay, I promise!"
Eleanor nodded numbly.
Sirius released her. "Tonks has gone to the school. I wasn't really taken, so we are hoping Josh is still safely at school. If not-" Sirius heaved a sigh. "Well if not, we will cross that bridge. Like I said, we will get him back."
"Why take Josh though? He is just a child. An innocent child."
Sirius sat down next to Eleanor, his shoulders slumped. "We think it relates to Harry's dream."
"The one he had that brought me here?"
Sirius nodded slowly and Eleanor felt as if she had swallowed lead.
"We believe that for some reason Voldemort wants to lure Harry into the Department of Mysteries. Well Harry wouldn't just blindly wander into the Ministry of Magic, especially because he knew that Voldemort wanted something there. So Voldemort needed leverage. We think he was originally going to go after you, but obviously you luckily didn't have any school today, or we believe you would have been taken. Voldemort has no access to the Order, or the Headquarters, so I was obviously safe."
Sirius paused. He grabbed the mug of tea from Eleanor's hand and took a swig. He grimaced and spat it back out. "That is disgusting. What is Tonks playing at."
Eleanor hushed him. She didn't want anyone to feel offended that they didn't like it. "Yes I know, it's awful but she was in a rush."
Sirius put the cup back down on the table, looking at it as if it had personally offended him. "We also believe that they took Josh for extra leverage, in case Harry discovered that I was in fact safe."
"So it was meant to be me. It should have been me." Eleanor mumbled.
"El, this is not your fault-" Sirius began.
"But it is. I'm Josh's older sister. I should be there to protect him, to help him. He's always believed in me. I've always been there for him and he always knew I would come to his aid if ever he needed it." Eleanor said, fighting back the tears again. "I failed him. He needed me and I wasn't there. He needed me probably more than he has ever needed me and I wasn't there to protect him. He is probably scared to death right now and I'm not there by his side."
"Eleanor-"
Before Sirius could say another word, Tonks came stumbling back into the room looking alarmed. "The school said Josh left about an hour ago. They said he left with someone claiming to be his uncle."
"Stupid Muggle schools! Who let's a kid leave with a stranger, they know Josh doesn't have any uncles." George fumed, standing up angrily. Eleanor had forgotten they were even here until now.
Tonks looked at Eleanor. "Ellie, I'm so sorry."
Eleanor stood up. "What about my parents? Are they safe?"
Tonks nodded. "Dumbledore is on his way here, he checked on your parents already. They are both still at work. He hasn't told them yet."
"Is he going to?" Eleanor asked.
"He's bringing them back here with him. They should be here shortly."
Eleanor felt sick with grief and fear. What would her parents do when they discovered Josh had been taken.
"So what are we going to do?" asked Fred.
"What do you mean?" Mrs Weasley said sharply.
"Well we have to help him." George said. "Both Josh and Harry need our help. Plus it wouldn't surprise me if Ron and Hermione have gone to help him. We need to get to the Department of Mysteries."
"It's not just them." Tonks said. "Snape reported that a boy called Neville and girl called Luna went along with them too. Aswell as Ginny."
Mrs. Weasley gasped and fell heavily into a chair. "No." She muttered. "No, no, no."
Arthur came running up to his wife's side. He had arrived only minutes before and had just been filled in on the news by a weary looking Remus. Arthur looked pale and drawn, but he knelt down by his wife's side and started whispering to her.
"We cannot waste any more time." It was Mad-Eye Moody. "The other Order members should be here any second. And then we leave."
Eleanor wiped her face clean of tears. "What should I bring? You all have wands, but do you have any other weapons, in case I need to defend myself."
There was an uproar. Eleanor heard several adults exclaim that she could not go. That it was not safe. That she had no means of protection.
"HE IS MY BROTHER." She yelled, silencing them all. "He is my brother and he will be wanting his sister, not you lot. He is scared right now, and alone. He needs his family and I will be by his side."
Mad-Eye stepped forward looking menacing, his wooden leg hitting against the stone floor. "You will not go. You are safe here and if you go, you are in danger yourself. We have enough to worry about without adding you on to the list aswell. You can stay with Sirius."
"I'm not staying." Sirius said immediately. "Harry is my godson, I will not leave him, nor Josh, nor the others who are in grave danger. What makes you think I would sit still?"
Mad-Eye growled. "We haven't got time for this. Dumbledore is on his way, and Snape suggested you stay to explain to him the whole situation. You cannot be seen outside, Black. You are a convicted murderer to everyone."
Sirius stood up, glaring angrily. "I do not care what I am to everyone else, I'm not leaving Harry!"
Mad-eye turned around. "Everyone prepare to leave. We leave in five minutes. Black, Summers, you are staying here. End of discussion." He stomped off.
Eleanor crossed her arms. If he thought she was staying while everyone she loved was in danger then he had another thing coming.
•••
Mrs. Weasley was crying. She was trying to explain to Fred and George that they needed to stay here. That they couldn't go, they weren't of age, it wasn't safe for them.
"Ginny is our sister, and Ron is also out there." George burst angrily. "We need to help them, we are older than them!"
"Ginny and Ron wouldn't be there at all if I had known. They should be safe at Hogwarts. You will not be going!" Mrs. Weasley yelled.
"We are!" argued Fred. "We are nearly of age. We can help!"
Mrs. Weasley rounded on her husband. "Arthur, tell them they can't go!"
Arthur looked weary. "Molly dear, they are nearly of age. They could be of great help-"
"No!" Molly screamed. "I forbid it."
"Everyone gather round." Mad-Eye called from the center of the dining room. The Order members all gathered in a circle. Remus, Tonks, Arthur and Kingsley (he had just arrived). Molly approached also, along with Sirius, Fred and George.
Moody looked at the twins and Sirius. "We haven't got anymore time to argue with you all. If you go, then on your heads be it. You know what we need to do. We need to get Harry and Josh out of there, as well as the rest of his friends. Once they are safe, then we can deal with Voldemort and his Death Eaters."
There was a mumble of agreement as they all listened to Moody. "Fred, George, stick close to your parents, if you loose them, you stick close to one of us. Do I make myself clear? If we do this successfully we can avoid any casualties tonight. Dumbledore is on his way right now. He is meeting us at the Ministery."
Moody continued. "I do not know what kind of scene will greet us when we get there but we all need to keep our heads. Whatever happens our main priority is getting the children back safely."
Moody looked down at his watch. "Right, we'd better get a move on. We've already wasted enough time. Everyone ready?" Another murmur passed through the crowd. "Good, let's go."
Eleanor watched them all gather closer to eachother. They were going to Apparate, she had overheard them talking about it earlier.
While everyone had been bustling around getting ready, she too had been busy. She had changed into some new clothes and had secured her hair into a tight knot. She had sneaked into the kitchen and stolen as many knives as she could find. She had them all tucked into her belt, or in her pockets. She even had some back up ones hiding inside her socks.
She knew she should feel scared. She knew she shouldn't go, after all this was a wizards war and she had never produced an ounce of Magic. She knew that she was practically defenseless, even with all the knives. She knew she was walking in blind, and practically completely unprepared but she knew she had to go.
She kept picturing Josh alone, scared by himself. She pictured Harry facing Voldemort. She pictured Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Neville and Luna surrounded by Death Eaters and felt her insides turn to dread and fear.
Eleanor shook herself and steeled herself up. She needed to do this. She needed to be there for Josh.
The Order members were all holding on to one another, their wands drawn, prepared for battle. "On the count of three then." Mad-Eye said.
"One."
Eleanor pushed herself off the wall, prepared to leap. She had to do it at the last second, so no one could shake her off.
"Two."
Remus looked at her, as if reading her mind. He shook his head. She ignored him. It was too late. She had already made up her mind.
"Three!"
Eleanor leaped and grabbed a hold of Sirius just as the world spun around her. The familiar feeling of being tightly squeezed through a small tube greeted her and Eleanor fought to breath.
It was over as quick as it had begun though. One minute they were in 12 Grimmauld Place, the next they were in London, outside of the Ministry of Magic.
(I know originally Molly, Fred and George don't go into the Ministry with the Order but they have all become such a tight knit family that it felt wrong not to bring everyone along. I hope you all enjoy, I'm really enjoying writing these more action packed scenes. Not long left now though, I think I might cry.)