Prologue October 31st 1981

Nevaeh Shacklebolt-Black holds her two-year-old daughter Cassie protectively in the farthest corner of the safe room. She rocks the child trying not only to calm her but also to calm herself. The wards at the Potters safehouse had breached minutes ago, the Longbottoms followed within seconds. She wasn't stupid enough to think this was a conscience, this was planned. The order had been betrayed, her husband was nowhere to be found and she knew the safety of her daughter was up to her. Within seconds the wards to the Black safehouse were breached, as if someone led them the death eaters made their way to the safe room door and blasted it open. A flash of green and the sound of apparition were the last things she experienced before she fell dead on the ground.

"They trusted you!" Sirius screamed at the blank face of his longtime friend Peter. "We all trusted you and you sold out our best friends, they are dead because of you! Frank and Alice faced a fate worse than death because of you!" Sirius's magic is sparking through his hair and the Black madness is clear on his face. The blank mask Peter wore dropped as he smirked darkly at him.

"Your forgetting something dear padfoot. You think I would only lead them to 2 out of 3? Did you know your insane family is so paranoid, that your saferoom cannot be penetrated even with fiendfire? Your darling little wife screamed like the weak woman she was as she took her Avada. She thought she was so brave that somehow, we would feel pity on her or that brat of yours! The best part is someone apparated into the saferoom and the only person who could do that was a Black! So, think about this one when you are on your high horse Black! I took your wife, your daughter, your best friends, and your brother. You are nothing Black! I win, game over."

Later witnesses would say that they never actually saw a spell or what caused the explosion, all they really knew about the explosion that rocked Godrics Hollow is that the last thing they heard was a tortured scream of a broken heart.

Present Day

"Now father, you know I don't ask to do much over the summer except go to the Weasleys. I have been invited to a ball at Krum Manor in Bulgaria. I would only be gone for the weekend, and there will be chaperones at all times!" Hermione asks her father giving him the eyes that always got her what she wanted.

Saying Reginald Granger was a strict father would be an understatement. Raising a daughter as a single father tended to make a man a bit stricter than normal. Having lost his wife in a car accident when his darling Hermione was a baby also kept him on edge.

"Hermione Jean, you can't go spending weekends at random boy's homes anymore. I only allow the Weasleys because you room with Ginerva."

"Father, I'm not some daft bint!" Hermione screams on frustration, but instead of some random tantrum most 16-year-old girls would fall into she stands her ground.

Reginald shakes his head realizing his little girl is growing up. With a deep breath, he comes to an agreement. "You must have some form of communication for emergencies. I trust Mr. Weasley knows of something. You will take your phone, and you will check in with me after the ball. Oh, and I want pictures, lots of pictures."

"Daddy you will be so sick of seeing my pictures you have no idea!" She says with a smile and hugs her father tight.

Three weeks later Hermione stands in the drawing room of Grimmauld Place. She is dressed in a perfect Slytherin green ballgown, her curls tamed and her makeup is very minimal.

"Mione you look like the picture of perfection" Remus says with a smile looking over at Sirius who has yet again drifted into his own world. A quick clearing of the throat brings Sirius back to the present and he too flashes her a wide smile.

"Now my ever-beautiful Miss Granger, this necklace once belonged to someone very important to me. It is a Black heirloom, very strong magic. If for any reason you need to leave, wrap your hand around it and take a deep breath. You will wind up back here in this very room. Take good care of this, even if you have no need to use it every pureblooded woman in the room will be incredibly jealous not only of your brains, and beauty but now you have the jewels." Sirius says attaching it to her neck his eyes not leaving Remus behind her.

"Thank you so much Sirius!" She says giving him a big hug before she grabs floo powder and yells out "Krum Manor" and disappearing into the flames.

"I'm so proud of you padfoot" Remus says with a smile

"I honestly couldn't think of another living person I would rather have it.

Flooing into the drawing room of Krum Manor was nothing like Hermione had ever seen. She hadn't grown up poor at all, her own home rivaling the size and grandeur of Grimmauld Place. In a word, it was dark. Not just the gothic architecture, but also in atmosphere.

"Hermioninny, your beauty outshines all others. I am quite glad you are mine." Viktor says approaching her from the doorway. Her cheeks redden at his words, but the anxiety of the situation still sending warning bells off in her head. "Come my dear, your party awaits"

Hermione looks at him questioningly as he leads her out of the drawing room and into an even bigger ballroom. Her confusion and alarm getting worse with every step she takes. She inwardly trembles as they step closer to the group.

"Finally, the guest of honor has arrived." A voice says from the darkened corner. Hermione quickly reaches for her necklace as a spell is whispered a flash of purple erupts towards her and she feels a body crash into hers and her world goes black.

Sirius pours himself another glass of firewhiskey as he settles in for the night. Tonks and Remus had just gone to bed for the night and he sincerely hoped that tonight the werewolf remembered his silencing charm. Its nights like tonight when the loneliness gets to him the most. Taking the tumbler of whiskey to the head he chokes as he hears Tonk's scream in pain milliseconds before the wards of the house start to alarm.

"Sirius close down the house to everyone now!" a voice screams from the saferoom "To everyone, even Blacks. You can't let her in!" Sirius for once doesn't question the order as he hears Remus and Tonks running down the stairs. He quickly slices the palm of his hand with his wand before putting his hand onto one of the walls. The wards quickly accept his blood as he murmurs the incantation and feels the energy around the house increase. A quick glance out the window shows five figures in the street in front of the house, the two in front firing spells being Bellatrix and Viktor.

"By the order of the Most Noble House of Black I demand you come forward!" Tonks screams at the wall behind the stove leaving a very confused Remus standing behind her. Sirius quickly makes it behind him.

"It's our safe room"

"The only one it could be is my mother, no one else would even think to apparated into the safe room!" Tonks says with an edge to her voice. "They used to have a secret keeper like a fidelous, but Sirius changed that after…. well after everything"

Silence permeates the air as a voice says, "I'm coming out" With that the stove and a section of the wall disappears. Standing before them is Narcissa Malfoy "And I request the full protection of the Most Noble House of Black for myself and my son" She steps aside showing Draco protecting a trembling girl. "I've betrayed my husband and the Dark Lord, but blood comes first" She says looking at Sirius with tears in her eyes.

Meanwhile in a posh townhouse in Chelsea, Reginald Granger wakes up in a cold sweat and screams "Cassi"