Begin to Hope

We all went to sleep heavy-hearted that night. We hadn't figured out what 'one-sixty-nine' meant, nor had we the energy to clean up the disaster area the Death Eaters had left for us. We fell asleep in the same room, too scared to part from each other for even a moment, and Farley was supposed to be keeping watch, but when I woke up the next morning, he was fast asleep.

I shook my head and smiled at his simplicity, the dolt. I checked on everyone in the room; everyone was sleeping soundly as if nothing would disturb them. I headed downstairs for a glass of water.

I've always been a light sleeper. Usually the slightest noise during the night can awake me, which is really a curse, considering the Burrow is nearly always creaky and making noises. I usually wake up of my own accord anyway around half-past five every morning, just in time to see the sunrise.

In my opinion, the world is prettiest and most at peace just as the sun peeks over the horizon, keeping watch over all of nature, and nothing is awake just yet. Maybe the earliest chirp of a bird here or there, but other than that, just peaceful silence. It's my utopia.

To my distaste, I found in the kitchen that the Death Eaters had smashed all of our best silverware and dinnerware, leaving me with nothing to drink out of but an untouched vase I found in the music room.

I emptied the vase of its previous occupant, a dying flower, and washed it out thoroughly, making sure it contained no residue before I filled it with clear water. I was just thankful they hadn't smashed or dried out the well while they were here.

After getting my fill of water, I decided to take a short walk around the grounds of the building. It was a gorgeous morning, and I wanted to take advantage of it.

After putting on a light jacket and my shoes, I ventured outside. The smell of dew on the lawn and the sensation of the bright morning sun on my face helped me forget all the problems inside the house; all the lost parents and friends, the mourning children, the disaster the Death Eaters left, and most importantly, the significance of the necklace.

My pace slowed to a slow stroll as my mind raced over what I knew about it.

Well, it's important... but that means next to nothing!

Then I remembered that Trelawney said that they switch it around.

What could be so important that they'd need to switch it around? What could 'one-sixty-nine' be for?

I was still thinking hard when I heard screams from inside. I took off for the house, thinking the worst had happened.

I ran in the door, threw off my jacket, and bolted up the stairs into the room where they had all been sleeping.

"Maverick! What are you doing?"

Maverick was sitting on top of Princeton, tickling him all over his body. Princeton was shouting at him to stop, but still laughing uncontrollably.

"Stop it, Maverick, I mean it!" I cried at him over Princeton's own cries.

Maverick looked up at me, rolled his eyes, and fell over backward, landing on the ground away from Princeton. Princeton got up slowly, holding his stomach and moaning like a baby.

"Oh, stop it, he didn't hurt you that badly," I remarked.

"He's wounded me! I'm dying!" Princeton began to fake a slow and painful death, as boys are prone to do. Maverick began to pretend to whack him over the head repeatedly with some pretend heavy object, and Princeton fell to the ground and continued his death charade.

"Boys!" I shouted, completely angered over their unwise decision to joke about death, especially considering the present circumstances and the fact that the rest of the kids were just gently stirring now.

Princeton realized what he was doing and immediately his face fell. Feeling ashamed of himself, he turned away from me and began speaking with Kimberly to avoid further embarrassment.

Maverick, on the other hand, scowled at me.

"We're just having a bit of fun!" He took a step closer to me and stood up straight, showing off all six feet of his height.

"Maverick, I'm older than you," I boasted.

"Yeah? You're also about a foot shorter."

"I am not! I'm only a couple inches shorter."

"A couple inches? Try a foot and a half!"

"I'm only eight inches shorter than you, but I could still probably beat you up."

"Stop that ridiculous nonsense!" Annabelle called from the other side of the room.

"Or what?" we snapped in unison as we both turned to glare at her. Everyone laughed.

We stopped fighting, and by this time everyone else had awoken and was complaining that they were hungry. Kimberly and Greg headed to the kitchen to scrounge up something for us, and before too long, they had fixed up a meager meal, which would, at least, subdue us for a while.

When we finished eating what little food we had left, we sat around the undestroyed kitchen table and discussed what to do.

"We still don't know what the 'one-sixty-nine' goes to – or if it even goes to anything at all!" Farley said.

"Don't be thick. It has to go to something. I want to find that necklace –"

"Don't start on about that necklace business again! This is just ridiculous. There was no necklace, even from the start, I'll bet."

"Farley, hasn't anything been able to penetrate your incredibly thick head? There IS a necklace, there absolutely has to be, so be quiet and let the rest of us talk."

"If you can remember, I'm the oldest here, and that should give me seniority, and I should be the one making decisions –"

"But we're not going to listen to your decisions if your decisions are UTTER CRAP." At Greg's outburst, Farley pounded his fist on the table and got up and began to pace, completely frustrated.

"Look," Annabelle said with an air of superiority, as though whatever she said was going to be taken as law. "Why don't we all just think about what it is, and then if we have any ideas, we'll investigate them, and maybe we'll come up with nothing, and maybe we'll come up with something,"

That left them silent and wondering.

After a moment of speaking, Klaus spoke up. "Wouldn't it have to be a combination of some sort?"

I agreed, the idea forming in my mind. "Yes, or the number to a vault, or something, right?"

The thought lodged in all our minds at the same time.

"Gringotts!"