"Professor McGonagall, what are you doing?" Molly said in a startled voice, her wide eyes sweeping over the wand in McGonagall's hand.
"Mum, Professor McGonagall is confirming our identities," Bill explained, his hand also resting on his mother's arm. "The fact that You-Know-Who appeared so promptly tonight means the news that we were moving Harry was leaked. If no one among us betrayed the Order of the Phoenix, then someone may very well have been impersonated."
"Er... sorry, that was careless of me..." Arthur looked somewhat embarrassed by his rashness, but by the time he apologized, he seemed to have adjusted his attitude. He glanced cautiously at Bill and McGonagall across from him, and his hand moved a little closer to the wand at his waist. "Then, Minerva, what were Dumbledore's last words before the operation?"
"Harry is our most precious hope. Trust him." The Gryffindor head of house, dressed in emerald-green robes, looked very grave at that moment. After answering, she no longer paid Arthur any mind, but let her gaze hover for a moment over Bill's high ponytail and Fred's face.
That made Fred unconsciously hold his breath. He rubbed his nose nervously and instinctively straightened up. George noticed his brother's tension and could not help speaking up in an attempt to ease the atmosphere. "Fred, I thought you'd go ask Angelina out after you were done... Why are you so... er, sorry, Professor..."
Professor McGonagall withdrew the stern look she had been giving George through her square lenses and turned to face Bill. "Mr. William Weasley, when you attended my Transfiguration class for the first time in your first year, which student identified my Animagus credo on the lectern?"
Bill's hands were in his trouser pockets, and he met McGonagall's eyes frankly, without the slightest evasion or