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Sarah POV
Curled up in the window sill, I aimlessly watched the busy street in front of me. The city was very grimy, with cars speeding by and people smoking on street corners. The dark heavy clouds that hung down in the sky filled the streets with shadows and loneliness. Wand clutched tight in hand, I scanned the sky, street and people, looking for any sign of danger. Two transvestite prostitutes ambled up to a car, screeching with laughter. A goth kid clunked by in huge black boots, his artificial platinum blond hair ruined by dark roots growing in. The sight of him made my heart contract painfully. Malfoy seemed to haunt me everywhere, mocking my stupidity every day. Even though I had deep hate and disgust for him, his letter was still in my pocket. Looking away for the street for the first time in hours, I rubbed the crick in my neck. With a sigh, I pulled out his letter again and stared at it. My blood had long since turned brown, making the letter look antique and dangerous. Not knowing why I was doing it, I flipped open the letter again.
Dear Sarah,
I know that you will not accept an apology for what I've done. I'm sorry that I didn't keep my promise to you, even if you will never understand how sorry I really am. If my family wasn't involved, I would have taken your offer in a heartbeat. It is because of them that I regretfully remain 'loyal' to the Dark Lord. I wish I could tell you how grateful I am for you, and what you did for me this year. You are the first person I can really call a true friend, and it pains me more than you know to betray you. I'm worried about you; now that I've had to do this you'll be in terrible danger. I will constantly wonder if you are protected. However, I hope with all my being that the Order and your friends keep you safe. Your bravery and strength far transcends mine, which is why I'm groveling to you in the form of this letter. I would and will never have the strength to admit to my weaknesses in front of you- you've expected nothing but courage from me, but I am not that good of a person, no matter how highly you thought of me.
There is something that I need you to do, not for me, but for the entire Wizarding World. Enclosed with this shameful letter is a set of directions that will lead you to a very dark object that you must destroy. Once you find it, you'll understand that it does no favors for me and who I'm forced to stand by if you do succeed in destroying it. By directing you to it, I hope that I can make it clear to you that I am still and always on your side.
Stay safe, Sarah, and know that it is your friendship where my allegiance truly lies.
Draco
Staring blankly at his straight, angular script, I felt conflicted. It gave me hope that I hadn't dreamed the sincerity of Draco's actions last year. It also made me fiercely angry and almost disappointed that he hadn't been brave enough to truly break from Voldemort. His letter also confused me greatly. I'd followed the directions during Dumbledore's funeral, and they'd lead me through the Room of Requirement to a corner that I'd never gone to, for it had felt wrong and dark. The object Malfoy wanted me to destroy was an old battered tiara that reeked of evil. When I laid eyes on it, I knew instantly that it was a Horcrux. How Malfoy had found it, and why he had deliberately went against Voldemort to give it to me left me baffled. I wanted to trust him again for handing me something so priceless, but it made me very suspicious at the same time. I'd kept it well hidden and protected with all sorts of enchantments in my belongings, just in case. The thing drove me mad, but I had no way to destroy it. I couldn't move it or take it out because of where I was. Folding the letter mechanically, I stuffed it back in my pocket and looked back out the window. Now that the Death Eaters were rising to power, Bellatrix would start hunting me down, if she hadn't already. Normally, the Order would have kept me locked up in Grimmauld Place, but Snape knew about it and how to get in. As a precaution, protective wards were put up against him and the place evacuated.
The Order had let me go home for a few days, and in that time I'd modified my parent's memories without regret and erased all evidence that I ever lived there. While I was there, I packed for the future, stealing a lot of camping supplies from my parent's basement with the knowledge that neither Ron, Harry nor Hermione knew how to cook very well. Once I was ready, the Order started having me live in different safe houses, changing locations every week to shake Bellatrix off. First I'd gone to Hestia Jones' tiny condo in London, then with Sirius to the ancient Potter estate, and then to Tonks' flat in Surrey. I'd recently been moved to Lupin's shabby house in Guildford. The place was a slum, which was all Lupin could probably afford. When he was at work I secretly cleaned and cooked things for him, even though he was a very neat person. One time I'd even hid in his closet for half the day and stitched firmer patches on his clothes. Those days ended fairly quickly when scary reports started coming in about disappearances and murders. Now I had to sit by or in the front window all day and keep and eye out for danger. There were only minimal wards around each safe house, but since I was 17 I could Apparate away if there was danger without being tracked. Having to keep the Horcrux I had with me a secret in four different homes of Aurors was difficult. I didn't have any communication with Hermione, Ron and Harry, which made me very nervous. Last summer I'd been secretly possessed, and being alone scared me. All I could do was watch the world go by, look for danger, and practice Occlumency. The maddening affect of doing nothing was a lot of stress. Everyone I'd stayed with asked me continuously if I was ok, because it was no longer a secret that I had epilepsy. Everyone knew all of my problems, which was incredibly embarrassing, but helpful. The Horcrux made me ill, but everyone thought it was all my stress, which was certainly a contributing factor, even if it wasn't the main cause.
Blinking out of another thoughtful stupor, I noticed Lupin had appeared, coming out of the tiny alley he Apparated to every day. I slid out of the window sill but watched him pass the transvestites and the goth kid, who was now chain smoking. Moving to the door, I made sure the letter was well out of sight and tightened my grip on my wand. Lupin knocked. "Where was I standing in the kitchen this morning when your toaster started on fire?" I asked, remembering how he'd insisted that I didn't have to cook and then almost made his toaster explode.
"By the fridge, ready to 'cook something decent.'" Lupin's tired voice came back, but with a hint of humor. "What did I tell you to do last night that you refused to do?"
"Take a sleeping potion before I went to bed." I scoffed, and opened the door, letting him in and quickly shutting it behind him. "And I won't take one tonight no matter what you say." I continued, hanging up his shabby cloak for him. "Now come here," I ordered, already heading for the kitchen. I didn't ask him at all about new reports coming in, it depressed us both. Luckily, he didn't bring it up, he only wearily insisted that I shouldn't have cooked and slumped into one of the chairs around the table, looking exhausted. Happy that I could now use magic whenever I wanted, I summoned the Bolognese I'd made earlier and the pasta and dished him up a plate. Lupin raised his fork, put it down, and then looked me right in the eye.
"Moody finally agreed to let you come." He said, and I felt myself grin for the first time all day. Moody had insisted that I couldn't go to move Harry to his safe house because I was 'fragile' and a 'possible danger to the mission'. It made me really angry, and I'd written him some very stern and furious letters via whichever Auror I was staying with, making my case as to why I should go. I couldn't believe that he'd finally caved!
"Excellent." I said, satisfied, and picked up my fork.
"It's tomorrow." He added, and I lowered the fork, surprised. Harry's move had been shrouded in secrecy, just like which safe house I was at, where I was going next, and who was protecting me. Sometimes I hadn't known until I got there. "Moody didn't want you and Harry at the same house either, but he figured it wasn't worth his time to argue with you. Tomorrow will be a double move; you'll have to pack." He said seriously.
"Where am I going this time?" I asked my pasta, twisting noodles around my fork.
"The Weasley's place," Lupin replied. "Hermione's joining your lot tomorrow too."
The day of the move, I woke early, restless. My sheets were tangled around my legs, taking me a few minutes to get out of bed. Somehow, my agitated sleeping hadn't woken up Lupin, who had woken me up before from wild dreams. When I padded in bare feet across his living room and to the window, I saw that the sun wasn't even up yet. Out of habit, I pulled out the phoenix-feather necklace Dumbledore had given me and rubbed my thumb over it, feeling the heat come and go as the feather burned then reformed. The street wasn't silent. Two cars roared past, evidently racing, and hookers still paraded up and down the cracked and weedy sidewalk. Inexplicably, I thought of Draco again, and my grip tightened on the necklace.
OoOoOoO
When Lupin got up, we made a hasty breakfast. Then I went to his rundown shabby guest bedroom where I'd been staying and packed. It didn't take long. I'd put an Extension Charm on my duffel bag so that everything would fit and be light. The few items that I'd used everyday where hastily packed into the duffel bag, and I carried it into the living room. For the rest of the day, Lupin and I sat anxiously in his dreary living room, him frequently checking his watch until he announced that it was time to go. For the first time since I'd arrived at his house, I left it, letting Lupin usher me down his front walk, wand at his side. As twilight fell, he Apparated us to the middle of a deserted park. A lot of people were already there, along with a giant motorbike and several brooms. As soon as we stepped forward, I realized that there were Thestrals among the group as well.
"Alrigh', Sarah?!" Hagrid boomed cheerfully, and I heard a tiny squeak before Hermione and her bushy hair nearly knocked me over with a hug.
"I missed you!" Hermione cried, pulling back and beaming at me. "I'm so glad you could come!"
"How are you?" I asked as Lupin disappeared in the tiny crowd to find Moody.
"My parents have moved to Australia." Hermione said flatly, glaring at the ground.
"That's funny, mine never had a daughter." I said lightly, giving her a reassuring squeeze. Hermione looked at me, and we shared a look of understanding.
"Oi! When'd you get here?!" The familiar and bewildered voice of Ron came from behind me.
"About a minute ago, actually," I replied after he'd given me a quick hug.
"Alright, alright, settle down." Moody snarled, parting the crowd and leaning heavily on his giant staff. "Listen closely. I will divide you all into teams and we will travel to Potter's house by either Thestral, motorcycle or broom. Once there, Potter will give us hair for Polyjuice Potion. Then the designated Potters will pair up with an Auror and fly to different safe houses. From those houses they will take Portkeys to the Burrow." Moody summarized the plan, his magical eye whizzing over the group. "Mundungus, you're with me. Hermione, you're with Bill. Ron, you're with Tonks. George, you're with Lupin, Fred is with Kingsley and Sarah, for the moment, is with Hagrid." Moody's voice got bitter as he said my name, and I met his gaze without flinching. "Let's go," he growled, and I left Ron and Hermione to find Hagrid. To my displeasure, he was sitting astride the giant motor bike, grinning from behind a giant pair of goggles.
"Ready ter go then?" he said, and patted the sidecar. Trying to keep my wits, I stuffed my duffel in the bottom and slid into the compartment. It was surprisingly roomy.
"NOW!" I heard Moody bellow, and Hagrid kicked the bike to life. We almost instantly rose into the air. Looking around as we flew, wand out, I saw Hermione and Bill riding on a Thestral and felt a pang of sympathy for her. The ride was short, and before I knew it, we were touching down in a spotless yard. As I was pulling myself out of the sidecar, the back door flew open and Harry ran into the yard, grinning broadly. Hagrid lifted me out fully by my collar and set me down on the ground. As I reached down to get out my duffle bag, I felt the prickling start in my fingers but ignored it. I'd gotten pretty good at managing the stress that started seizures. "Enough, enough! Everyone get inside, under cover." Moody instructed, shepherding all of us into Harry's house. Every surface in the kitchen literally sparkled. The place was practically sterile.
"Hey!" Harry greeted me enthusiastically, appearing by my shoulder. His appearance instantly reminded me about the Horcrux that was wrapped up and shrunk deep inside my bag. I'd put an Undetectable Extension Charm on my bag at Lupin's house so that it'd be light and easy to carry, but it also kept the Horcrux well hidden. It only slightly muddled the affects of the damn thing, however, and it was like a constant weight on my shoulders.
"Settle down! It's time that we all learned the plan back to front." Moody called for order in his gravelly voice, easily cutting through the loud chatter in the kitchen. As he started to explain the plan again to Harry in great detail, I rubbed my fingertips together, frowning. The tingling hadn't stopped, which wasn't a good sign. I didn't want Moody to regret bringing me along. As Moody explained why their first plan (one I hadn't even heard of) wasn't going to work, a harsh, terrible, gut-wrenching blitz of pain nearly cleaved my head open, making me shout in pain.
Bellatrix POV
Floating one hundred feet or so above the house we couldn't see, we formed a giant circle, ready to catch the boy as he was moved. The Dark Lord was going to be joining us shortly- and Potter wouldn't escape this time. After awhile, I noticed that there was a prickling in my fingertips that only came about when the Mudblood was nearby. Experimentally, I cut across her mental shield viciously and my mark twanged in response, the conformation I needed. "What's with you?" Selwyn barked, seeing my face break into a grin. Twirling my wand in my fingers, I looked down at the empty spot of land where the boy was hiding and felt a thrill of excitement.
"She's here," I smiled a feral smile, feeling her mind quake in shock and fear. I hadn't killed her when I had the chance, and that had been a mistake. Now would be the perfect opportunity. I might even keep her alive so that Potter could watch her die…
A/N: Here it is, Part III of Sarah's story! Things will only get more and more dangerous from here... :)