"Remus. Lupin. I. Am. Going. To Kill. You. Slowly. And. Painfully." I snarled across the Gryffindor common room. He ducked as I threw my potions book at his head. The book clattered across the empty room.

"Bella, isn't it possible that you--" Remus began softly.

"NO! I am not over reacting!" Hey, my name is Isabella Anne Black. Call me Isabella and I'll probably ignore you, it's Bella. You may be wondering why I am trying to kill Remus Lupin. First of all, he's my best friend in the entire world. One word to describe us would be inseparable. He's also my brother's best friend. Right. My twin brother, Sirius. But that's not why I am so intent on killing him. I'll get to that in a minute but I'll have to start at the beginning: last summer. A bit over a month before this year, our sixth year: It was nearing the end of June and my mother and Sirius were having one of their legendary fights. It also happened to be the day that my cousins, Bellatrix, Andromeda, and Narcissa had come. Most likely, it was a day I won't forget: the day Bella and I had our fallout. Bella and I had always been somewhat close, being born a couple of days apart and sharing a nickname. That was the day Bellatrix and Narcissa sided with my mother and Andromeda and I sided with my brother. What were we siding over, you may ask? Sirius, according to my mother, was showing an unbelievable amount of disrespect towards his family and his pure-blood status. Meaning that he refused to be branded as a Death Eater and serve Voldemort, like Regulus had. She hadn't yet gotten to me.

"You ungrateful little bloodtraitor!" my mother shrieked. Before Sirius, Andromeda, or I could react, she had her wand out and trained on Sirius. "Crucio!" I will never forget the next thirty seconds for as long as I live. Sirius fell to the ground writhing in pain, screaming. I was trembling uncontrollably with the effort of trying not to cry. Andromeda stood shell shocked. Narcissa watched with greed in her eyes that was reflected in Bella's. Bella. We could do nothing. Aside from my mother, Narcissa was the only one over age.

"Narcissa, do something!" I pleaded. Her cold pale eyes found mine and she smiled a venomous smile. "Bella, make her do something!" I sobbed. Bella would listen, and Cissy would listen out of fear, right? Bellatrix looked at me and then at Sirius. Her eyes held confusion quickly hidden with cool arrogance. She backed up to where her sister stood behind my mother. Then she spoke the five words I never wanted to hear from anyone, ever.

"Isabella, your mother is right." That was it. I knew at once she was gone. The Bella I had known was gone, dead, replaced by the cruel Bellatrix that people would come to fear. My mother lifted her wand and Sirius stopped screaming. His breath came in ragged gasps. Sirius gingerly got off the floor. Glaring at our mother, he left the room. Seconds later his bedroom door closed. Before my mother could turn her fearsome wrath on me I followed my brother, knocking on his door before pushing it open. What I saw was what I'd be doing in a week or so. Sirius was furiously throwing his belongings into his trunk.

"Bella are you going to come with me?" he slammed his trunk closed and grabbed his owl, Serendipity's, cage and his broomstick.

"Where are you going to be?" he paused. I could tell that he didn't have a plan extending past going out the front door with all of his belongings. "They can change, Sirius. I know they can. I'm gonna stay for about a week and make them." Sirius sighed in resignation.

"I-I'm going to go to James's. I'll send you an owl to let you know what's happening." I knew he wasn't happy about me staying. He hugged me and dragged his things through the door. I followed him. Once Sirius was gone, my mother grabbed my upper arm and drug me into the sitting room where she'd tortured Sirius. Pointing her wand at Sirius's picture on the family tree, she blasted his name from the tapestry.

"Your brother is dead to us. I am forbidding you to speak to him again." she snarled.

"You can't forbid me to speak to my brother."

"I can. Regulus will be keeping an eye on you as will Bellatrix. If I find that you are in contact, you will be submitted to the Cruciatus Curse as you just witnessed." she shook me a little as she laid down the law. Once again I was trembling with the effort of not crying. Wrenching my arm from her I hurried up to my room. I slammed the door and flung myself onto my bed. I know what I need to do. I have to leave. But I have to give them time, just a little. Drying my eyes on my sleeve, I pulled out my sketch book and pencil. Without realizing what I was doing, I began to draw the view from my window. My father knocked on my door as I finished.

"Bella?" he seemed to want to say something else, but scrambled for the words. "Dinner's ready." he finished lamely. Instead of walking away as he usually does, he waited while I put my sketch of the dreary, gray outside away. "I'm really sorry about what your mother did to Sirius and I'm really sorry that I wasn't here to stop it." he seemed genuinely sorry, something I didn't really see much of in my family. "But I think it would be best, for your sake, if you didn't talk about Sirius around your mum. I don't want her turning on you as well." wow... mk. I retreated to my room after dinner, which was once again, filled with chatter about Voldemort. God, that's all my family cares about: Voldemort's doings and how proud they are that Reggie is serving him. I opened my trunk, looking at the remnants of previous years: broken quills, notes that Sarah and I passed during different classes, much to Lily's displeasure I might add, and mismatched items of the sort. I don't think I have ever completely emptied it since I started Hogwarts. There was a tap on my window. Serendipity, Sirius's owl, fluttered outside. As soon as I opened my window, she stuck out her leg so I could remove the letter.

'Bella, I'm staying at the Potters' house. Please, please don't stay

too long. If you do decide to run, let me know where

you are going. If--'

Reggie opened my door and I crumpled Sirius's letter in my hand. "You know, you really should listen to Mum." he began, leaning on the door jam. My mind flashed back to the many times I'd seen Sirius in the same place. The only thing was that Reggie lacked Sirius's casual elegance. I glared at him as I piled up my books, possibly premeditation of leaving. Forget the time I was giving them. Regulus sauntered in and sat on my bed.

"No! Don't sit, don't stay!" I snapped. He looked around at all of the Gryffindor hangings and my pictures of my friends.

"Really, you shouldn't be so much like him, like Sirius. Stop hanging around with these..." his face soured. "Gryffindors. You should have been in Slytherin, like the rest of our family." he pulled a picture of Remus and I in our second year off the wall. "Mum has told me I'm to watch you more this next term. So you are going to be spending less time with them." he tore the picture in half. "and more with me and the rest of the Slytherins." Reggie stood and tossed the fragmented picture on the floor. My mother was now in the door way. "So I can get you ready for the end of the year."

"No I won't. They're my friends. What are you doing at the end of the year." count me out of this one. My mother stepped forward.

"At the end of the year, Regulus will have trained you and he will take you to be branded. You will be a Death Eater. Just like your brother." her tone left no room for argument or debate. I couldn't move. I don't want to be a Death Eater.

"Sirius was not a Death Eater." I don't know what is possessing me. "and I refuse to be like Reggie." I couldn't stop myself. Sorry, Dad. She slapped me across the face, turning my head towards the wall. I didn't turn back to face her.

"You will." she grabbed my upper arms and shook me, fingers creating a second set of bruises over the ones she had already set into my arm. "You forget your place." more shaking "and you will look at me when I am speaking to you." I tore my eyes away from the wall and looked her dead in the eye, something she wasn't used to. "Come down to the kitchen when you have grown a spine." she released me, pushing me onto my bed. My mother swept from my room, followed faithfully by Reggie who shut the door behind himself. I flung open my trunk and started throwing my things into it: clothes, books, quills, everything and anything. Opening my window, I searched for my owl, Evelynn. Thunder rumbled in the distance. I left the window open and sat down at my desk, scratching out a letter to Sirius. I read it through once I finished.

Sirius,

Alright, I said that I'd give them a week and this is how

long I've lasted: five hours. Mum has Reggie convinced that he's going to train

me to be a Death Eater. He's supposed to take me to be branded at

the end of this term. So I'm following your lead and I'm running away. I'll be at

Remus's house for now. I don't know what I'll do after that. I'll come to the Potters'

as soon as I can. I know, I know 'be safe' I promise I will stay safe.

Love you bub,

Bella.

Satisfied with my letter, I rolled it up and tied it with a piece of string. I stuck my head out my window looking for Evelynn. Listening to the rain fall, I lay on my bed. Ten minutes later, Evelynn flapped in the window, perching on the bedpost. I got up and quickly tied the letter to her outstretched leg. "Take this to Sirius, he's at James's and I'll be at Remus's when you get back." I whispered before she took off out the window. As quietly as humanly possible, I drug my trunk, Evelynn's cage, and my broomstick down the stairs. Kreacher spotted me on the second floor. "Kreacher, I'm ordering-- asking-- you to leave everything as it is in my room and in Sirius's room. Understand? No matter what my mother tells you." the house elf nodded eagerly.

"Of course, Miss Bella. Kreacher will do whatever Miss Bella asks." he squeaked. I thanked him and continued on downstairs. Placing my things by the door, I went into the kitchen where my cloak hung on a peg. My mother watched me with cold eyes as I pulled my cloak off the hook.

"So," she began. 'So what?' was on the tip of my tongue. "Have you decided where your loyalties lie?" Composing myself I turned to her.

"Yes, actually I have." she raised her eyebrows. "And I'm tired of all this dogmatic crap you all've been trying to shove down my throat since I could walk. So I'm leaving you all and your pure-blood mania." I swung my cloak around my shoulders as I left the kitchen.

"If you walk out that door, Isabella, you are dead to us." my mother warned. I honestly don't care anymore.

"I'm already dead to you. You only 'care'" my fingers etched quoted in the air. "now because you want me to step up for Sirius. You never really cared for me at all." I grabbed my things and slammed the front door behind me. I could see my mother now, blasting me from the family tree. True enough, I saw a flash of light from the sitting room window. Pulling out my wand, I flung my arm out into the empty street as if I was hailing a cab. I waited in the rain only a few seconds before the violently purple Knight Bus appeared in front of me. Before the conductor could speak, I had my things on the bus and handed him my money. "511 Ocean Avenue, please." By the time the Knight Bus stopped in front of the Lupin's house I was crying. And I had a zillion and nine reasons why. Remus and Riley, one of his younger sisters, were outside scrambling to pick up the brooms and Quidditch equipment that had been left out in the rain. Once again I was soaked as soon as I went outside. Remus sent Riley in the house when he saw me

"Bella, what's wrong?" he put his hands on either side of my head. I sobbed harder. "Shh, It's gonna be okay." he held me close until my tears subsided. The pouring rain didn't seem to phase Remus. "Come on inside and you can tell me what happened." The sun had set by now. Once we were both cleaned up and dry, Remus sat me down on his bed and I sniffled through my tale. He sat patiently, knowing that if it was enough to make me cry, then it had to be pretty bad. Every time I mentioned one of my mother's threats, he would tense or get up and pace his room. "You'll stay here of course." he waved away my protests. "My parents are visiting Ryan in France, they'll be back in the morning." he stood again. "You can sleep in my room," I threw him a questioning glance. "my parents decided to renovate the guest room the Muggle way. I'll sleep on the couch for tonight." there was a small knock as Remus kissed my forehead gently. His seven-year-old sister, Katharine, stepped into the room looking as solemn as I've ever seen her.

"Bella, are you okay? Ri said you were crying." Thanks Riley. Riley is Remus's twelve year old sister, going into her second year at Hogwarts. Ryan is Remus's twenty-year-old brother, training to be an Auror in France. Katharine wandered closer to me. I hoped I wasn't going to start crying again.

"I'm okay now, Kat." I pulled the little girl onto my lap.

"Bella is going to stay with us for the rest of the summer and next summer too." he wasn't looking at Kat when I looked up at him, he was looking at me. "Off to bed now. Bella needs to sleep and so do you." once she was gone, Remus turned to me again. "I'm going over to James's tomorrow, if you want to come, I hear Sirius is staying there." I nodded, I needed to see my brother. "Alright, seriously you do need to sleep, you'll feel better." Remus closed the door behind himself. I heard him settling himself in the living room before I fell into deep blissful sleep.

Keep holding on

'Cause you know we'll make it

through, we'll make it through

Just stay strong

'Cause you know I'm here for

you, I'm here for you

There's nothing you could say

Nothing you could do

There's no other way when it

comes to the truth

So keep holding on

'Cause you know we'll make it

through, we'll make it through

So far away

I wish you were here

Before it's too late, this

could all disappear

Before the doors close

And it comes to an end

With you by my side I will fight and defend

I'll fight and defend

Yeah, yeah

A/N- hey guys! I know it was kinda short but I promise the next one will be longer. The song is 'Keep Holding On' by Avril Lavigne. Please review!