Hey guys!!! I'm here! Let's see where this goes, yes?

I kinda changed Milo's personality a bit. I figured everyone likes humor so if we have a stick up your ass character then it kills the fun.

Milo: Sick up your ass? The hell?

Shush! We have to do the disclaimer....

Disclaimer…What do you expect? I didn't own them last time and I don't own them now. The disappointment is still there.

The flicker of candle light danced across the walls subtly with the soft breeze that snuck through the open window. The cool wind smelled of the night air; a fresh linger of unnamed scent. The soft rustle of clothes pushed through the silence as the man stepped to the window, letting his dark eyes scan over the city, taking in the sleeping muggle vehicles before landing on a stray dog that wandered out of an alley. Carefully he watched the tattered yellow dog follow his nose that looked plastered to the cement, taking the mutt in a winding trail around to the doorway where a trash bag sat idly by. Kingsley let out a chuckle and walked away from the window and back to the bed in the center of the worn room. Outside the window the dog ripped open the trash bag hungrily and the tings of empty tin cans echoed through the tense atmosphere. The noise didn't bother the dog as he found left overs but stopped suddenly with his head shooting up in the air; food long forgotten. Carefully he stiffed the air when it was pulled to the alley he had recently come from. With a tail tucked securely between his legs he bolted down the street and away from the meandering four Death Eaters that walked into the street between the two lamp posts.

"I don't see any harm in who kills who as long as the rubbish is disposed of," Bellatrix commented through the shadows as the four of them came to another street.

Fenrir stopped and lifted his nose to the air while sniffing to find the sweet blood that he waited for. "They're here….. in one of these buildings…."

Quickly Bellatrix scanned the walls and shut windows before finding one that was still open and alive with a dull light. "There," she pointed across from them.

Dolohov stuffed his hands deeper into his pockets. "Let's get them."

Just inside the small one bedroom flat, Kingsley sat next to the bed where the woman rested quietly. He was tired and couldn't help the small guilt that he had knowing she was still in pain. He hadn't expected her to be quite so injured when he had told Lupin that he could handle it. A broken leg, five ribs, dislocated shoulder and left wrist were battered not to mention her fingers. On her right hand her pinky and ring finger were disjointed whilst her left hand had three that were snapped clean. Luckily he was able to reset her fingers, wrist and leg, however the rest was beyond his knowledge on the subject. Her small but many wounds had healed sufficiently enough to stop bleeding yet that was the extent. Even through the pain that he knew she was in, she rested peacefully in a hushed calm, only shifting her weight in the slightest and rising the squeak of the old mattress.

Kingsley didn't usually come to this apartment often. Normally it was just a resting point between trips. In dark times like these where fights were soon to follow and travelling was dangerous, his long passed hideouts were reopened once more. He had already used the two room flat in Bradford when Draco was fresh on the run from the same Death Eaters that they had seen tonight.

His thoughts were cut short once the woman in the bed shifted again though in a larger movement that meant one thing. He had honestly didn't expect her to wake so soon.

Seeing her face contort in pain, he casually sat back into his chair with a hand to his pocket where his wand rested but he made no move to retrieve it. Instead he waited until she woke completely and relaxed into the creaking wooden chair. It was reverse psychology on a minor level. Purposely he pulled a casual stance knowing that if he looked like he was fully in control then she would have less of a motivation to try any unwanted escape attempts or even a few hexes. The dark man wasn't sure how she was going to react but he knew she wouldn't be pleased and with a glance around the room absentmindedly, his eyes stopped on the window where a soft breeze sauntered in and tickled the candle flames. Perhaps he should close the window…. He didn't want her screaming at him and waking the resting muggles in the area. With that very intelligent thought in mind, he stood ip and walked to the window whilst peering out to the ground where a lonely street stood to shadows and a long abandoned trash bag sprawled across the sidewalk. With a "hmph" he closed the window and sat back into his chair once again.

Milo was slowly coming to with the fog dissipating away in her mind and allowing her senses to return through the pain. The cold park was not where she was now-that she knew before she even opened her eyes. Instead she was somewhere warm with the tiniest hint of mold…. Almost unidentifiable. Slowly steel grey eyes opened behind dark lashes to see a dim room with the slightest shift in light, no doubt from candles. Again she closed her eyes, still getting a bearing on everything. She wasn't sure what was going on but she desperately wanted to know what happened. Were they only letting her suffer longer before they got tired and decided to kill her? It was shortly after this thought that she realized there was in fact someone else in the room with her by the shift and creak of wood.

Quick as lightning, grey eyes shot open and Milo's body instinctively bolted to a sitting position before a white hot blinding pain bled through her body and she fell back onto the mattress while trying to gain her stolen breath.

"You shouldn't move so fast," Kingsley said bluntly though instinctively he wanted to reach out to make sure she was alright. He mentally badgered himself and reminded that she was still the enemy.

After a few quiet, albeit tense, moments, Milo regained her lost breath and as the pain resided, she looked towards the man next to her. It took her a while to register that she had never seen him before. With dark skin and a purple attire that she only recognized as from outside of Britain, she quickly came to the conclusion that he was not part of the Death Eaters. But that didn't make sense…. It just didn't. Where was he from? No doubt he was a wizard, but why would he take her from the Death Eaters?

"Stopping plotting, woman," he stated that brought her from her musings. "I may not know you but I know when some one is plotting."

There was the ticking of five seconds before she decided to reply in a rather strong voice despite her current condition. "I wasn't plotting… just pondering."

"To escape, no doubt," he huffed, not convinced.

"…Why am I here?"

Here it came, he thought to himself. He would tell her that she was with the order and then the hexes would start flying. "Because you are in a position to be of use to the Order." Pause. "We want to know everything about You-know-who and you will be the one to tell us or we'll finish what your companions started."

"That's not leverage," she smirked knowingly and shook her head. "You'll kill me whether I tell you or not."

Kingsley said nothing, slightly surprised that she seemed a little, if not all the way, compliant, though she had yet to say anything. At least she seemed calm.

"Another thing," she started while she looked to the low ceiling above her. "I understand why you would go so far as to take me back for information, but what I don't get is how you did it."

"Your companions aren't so hard to scare off when they were expecting to be in control of everything," he replied simply and something told Milo that it was all she would get from him.

"Fair enough. What do you want to know?"

The wizard blinked. Not on any amount of money would he have bet that she would tell him so willingly. "You're just going to tell me what I want to know? And how can I trust you?"

At this she laughed wryly and though it was soft, there was that high power that very few pure bloods possessed. "Where would you like me to start? I have no wand, I am helpless, you have a wand on me at the moment but are hiding it and, most importantly, you brought me here on your own conscious.

I simply refused to help the Dark Lord in which it ended me into this position. I have no where else to go and will die either way. Personally I don't care if you want this information or not," she finished deliberately.

Kingsley could only sit quietly taking in this woman's explanation. She had many points…. "Very well. What is it that he is planning?"

Milo frowned and pondered for a moment. There was so little that she actually knew…. Actually what she did know was valuable but not something that she could just explain. "I'm not exactly sure. None of us know until he decides to tell us which are moments before the actually plan…. Unless you were well respected and had shown your loyalties such as Snape and Crouch…. Those two would know but if you're with the Order then you'll know that the dead cannot talk…"

Kingsley took in her words before continuing after he was sure that she wasn't lying. "What was he doing in the park tonight?"

"…" Kingsley watched her expression carefully as she scowled. "I was supposed to kill some half-bloods that had tried to enroll into Hogwarts. I can only guess that they lived in this city and that's where he retrieved them from," she reasoned.

"And you killed them?"

"Of course not," she snapped making Kingsley realize that this injured fox still had fangs. "I respectfully refused."

"Respectfully?"

"Well, to be blunt, I didn't really have the guts to say 'fuck you' to the Dark Lord." Her response was still in a snipped tone that told him that perhaps she was troubled over the subject of tasks that she was put through…

Ignoring her choice of language, he continued. "Why would you refuse? You knew death was a result for ineptitude to kill them."

"Aren't you getting off subject? You want to know about the Dark Lord-not me," she glared defensively.

Kingsley opened his mouth to say something when everything seemed to pause in that one second in an eerie calm before everything exploded. Grey eyes were drawn to the candle light that suddenly flickered wildly before the door to the living room was blasted open from a jinx. Kingsley was on his feet before the door hit the ground with his wand pointed at the intruders. Through the dusted doorway stepped in Lucius with Bellatrix at his heels when both pairs of eyes landed at the man with his wand out defensively from the bed room. "Found you." Bellatrix sneered with a wicked cackle as she skipped over the fallen door and onto the carpet.

Milo managed to lift herself onto her elbows devastatingly while her eyes caught sight of four wizards walking into the living room in front of Kingsley. Fear and panic struck her but one thing out played all thoughts. Her anger was far from small and she was clearly ready to take a few down before she lost her last breath. "My wand," she said urgently to Kingsley who kept his eyes on the four intruders that were spreading around his furniture to keep him cornered in his room.

"I need my wand," she hissed. "Or you'll die along with me."

"I can't trust you," he said bluntly over his shoulder, directing the other attention to what was in the bed behind him.

Lucius blinked and raised his wand while Bellatrix sneered, "You little traitor."

The four stepped closer with Fenrir coming closest to Kingsley's side. "Wand now, you useless man," she snarled. Without a second thought, he stepped back into the room and slammed the door closed just as the many jinxes were spiraling at him. As the blasts were heard, he quickly added his own spell onto the door, knowing it was only a matter of time before it too gave away like the other.

"Here," he said and tossed her own satin red wand onto the bed while he started to move things around and picked up his broom in the corner of the room. "Can you fly?"

"On a broom?" she asked skeptically. "Never."

"Time to learn-"

"Don't drag me into that argument," she started stubbornly as he walked to her side and carefully pulled her to her feet as more curses hit the enchanted door. The pain stretched through her with blinding coldness and seeing her face twist in displeasure, he let her lean against the bed for support while he rushed to the window and opened it. "I'm not riding that stick," she continued.

"You don't have another choice." Suddenly the door was thrown violently off its hinges as Fenrir and Dolohov charged in quickly before Kingsley could turn away from the window with his wand in defense. Dolohov drew his first however before he could throw a curse at Kingsley, he was pushed into the wall by Milo's own curse. The man looked slightly stunned that Milo had actually helped him but didn't think on it as he pulled her to his broom and shot out of the window with curses whizzing by their heads. The cold wind hit them hard in the face but no sooner did they clear the window and in the air did a jinx managed to hit the tail of the broom, causing it to spin wildly into a window across the street. Milo held her eyes shut and her knuckles bleached white with her hold on Kingsley's front color until they stumbled and rolled to a stop. Dust, debris and glass shattered around them, sending a ghostly sound through the night.

"Come on," Kingsley encouraged as he carefully got to his feet and tried to help Milo to hers but she was rather resistant at the sudden urgency to move.

"I hate you," she muttered breathlessly while he pulled her to stand beside him. Milo didn't take to kindly to crashing through windows, especially in the condition she was currently in.

"Big surprise," he answered in a flat town as he stepped across the living room with a long faded blue couch and a strange orange and tan rug under a small coffee table. Milo hobbled next to him with her ribs aching from the sudden strain until they finally reached a rather low and small fireplace. "Stupid muggles," she cursed while Kingsley pulled her under the frame with him before pulling out a small pouch.

"We don't like muggle haters," Kingsley assured before pulling a handful of floo powder from inside the drawstring pouch.

"Good to know."

Just then four apparitions of black smoke whirled through the once window with wands at the ready to blast Kingsley and Milo to pieces but were too slow once the powder dropped and the man muttered a quick "Diagone Alley."

In the next second, green flames rose and swallowed the pair before leaving an empty fireplace to the now cursing four; after all, they had no powder to follow them.

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As sudden as thunder, Milo found herself clinging helplessly to Kingsley as they appeared in the fireplace. "You don't look too good," he muttered at a quick glance to her.

Her pale complexion was now gaunt and dark bags were starting to become apparent under her bloodshot eyes that brimmed with tears. He carefully half pulled and half carried her out into the abandoned shop of an old bookstore before shoving books from the corner of the table to allow her to rest. The clatter of the dust filled books shifted and clouded around them momentarily before settling while Milo used the table to hold her up as well as Kingsley's soft hold on her hips. Her breathing was shallow and blood was beginning to drip from her forehead from a wound that colored her hair roots red.

"Why did you save me?" Kingsley asked after a moment but she didn't respond.

Instead she stared at her hands dreamily with a frown. Her head felt like lead but at the same time like cotton wool; everything heavy yet dreamy all the same.

"Hey," he said with an added snap of his fingers to bring her out of her daze with his own worried frown.

"What?" she asked.

"Why did you save me?"

"Because…er… Sounded like a good thing at the time." When she looked to see his frown turning to disapproval, she sighed and started again. "Because you aren't the enemy."

"I'm with the Order," he reminded, clearly confused at her logic.

"And I'm a Death Eater, blah, blah, blah," she mimicked with her hand before pushing from the table and stumbling forward where Kingsley caught her carefully with her dark brunette locks cascading over her shoulders. "Did you know why I never went to Hogwarts?"

The man blinked at the random question and furrowed his brows. "I was unaware that you didn't attend."

"Oh, I was going to. I actually went there for my first year but after the first day, my lovely ol' parents took me out. Didn't like the fact I was placed in Gryffindor," she explained with a sour expression from the pain in her side.

"What does this have anything to do with-"

"I'm not done. You see. Gryffindor and Slytherin are mortal enemies or something, right? As it is with the Order and the Death Eaters. Simple and plainly put for everyone to understand, but," she started as she straightened herself up with a wince. "What about those who are a mixture of the two, hmm? You know there is some."

"You mean like those from Slytherin are actually noble like Gryffindors and those from Gryffindor are supposed to be in Slytherin?" he asked, not sure if he was getting it.

"What's your name?" she asked again as he pulled her right arm over his shoulder to get her out of the book shop. "I'm Milo Ashten."

"Kingsley Shacklebolt."

"You aren't a very friendly man are you?" she scrutinized with grey eyes.

"And you are very strange."

"At least I talk and don't give out questions as a conversation."

Kingsley said nothing while he stepped through a busted door and into the sudden grey atmosphere as the sun was starting to make its appearance over the many buildings. Buildings were scattered in rubble and debris with only newspapers pushed against walls on the sidewalks where the wind had set them and the dull tuneless buildings stood lined up on either side of the deserted street. "If I was a better person, I would have left long ago," she admitted sadly.

Kingsley only looked to her questioningly as they start to make there way down the street to find another shop with a fireplace. "They'll still be able to apparate," he explained to her unasked question. "We'll need to get somewhere safe before they find us."

"I estimate that you have five minutes."

Suddenly the loud crack of air was sounded a few streets away followed by three more like gunshots. A chill shivered down their spines at the started hunt.

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"Surprise!!" The house cheered as Sirius entered the home with a wide cheeky grin.

"Ah Harry!" he greeted as his godson was the first to step to him with a firm shake of the hands before he was pulled to a crushing hug.

"Glad to see you're doing better," Harry struggled out over Sirius shoulder before the restricting hug loosened. Harry let rich air fill his lungs again while Sirius examined him with both hands firmly on his shoulders.

"You have gotten tall and look more like James as ever now," Sirius commented with his eyes twinkling.

Harry smiled and took this time to take in Sirius's new appearance. When he said he was going to clean up, he truly meant it. His skin was no longer pale and gaunt but glowed with a healthy honey tan and his once boney and hollow cheeks were now filled and smooth. His own dark eyes shimmered mischievously with his dark raven tendrils falling lazily over his forehead and ears from a new haircut that took away his shabby appearance. Harry had to admit this was the youngest Sirius had looked since Harry had seen him.

"Now I see why all the girls fell for you," Tonks teased as she came up with a curious baby in her arms. Siruis turned away from Harry and to the approaching witch before clicking his tongue off the top of his mouth with his arms wide open.

"Aww, Tonkers! I hope you have been keeping poor Remus in line."

"Sirius if there is anyone who should be kept in line it is you," she piped back.

"And this must be the famous Teddy Lupin!" Sirius grinned and leaned to see his friend's son before tickling the baby where a struggled giggle past the boy's lips. Finally Sirius stopped and stood straight before a frown set in before he scrutinized the baby still recovering from the giggles.

"What are you doing?" Tonks asked with a raise of her brow at the feeling that Sirius was going o whip out the magnifying glass at any moment.

"Just making sure he isn't hairy like his father is all," came the short reply before a hand clapped his shoulder from behind.

"That's not funny, Padfoot," Remus started but his eyes only held mirth at the joke. "I take it the nurses took care of you?"

"Oh you wouldn't believe how well they did. There was this blonde witch from-"

"Details are not necessary," clipped in Molly as she stepped to Sirius happily with her arms open for a giant hug.

Sirius gratefully bowed down slight to envelope her with his own chuckle. "Yes, I apologize."

"You look really good, I must say," Hermione smiled when it was her turn with Ron scowling at the back of her head. Sirius gave her a quick hug before seeing the red eared Ronald and throwing his hands in the air defenselessly.

"Oi, I know she's your girl," Sirius teased lightheartedly.

The red ears disappeared and a sheepish grin curled the red head lips. "Uh… What?"

"Alright, alright," Molly said to bring everyone from their welcoming. "We have breakfast ready and I don't want it to get cold."

Everyone was herded into the dining room of the Burrow while starting in with their famous scrambling of chairs and decisions on where to sit until finally everyone was placed and crammed around the table with food sprawled out through the center. "This looks amazing ladies," Lupin charmed to the many girls around the table who had took it to them selves to help.

"Well George made the toast, hash browns and buttermilk pancakes," Luna explained dreamily while many shocked eyes turned to the man in question.

"Yup," George confirmed cheerfully and clearly pleased with his creations. "I even used a few new ingredients! I gotta say," he added pointedly to Hermione and Ginny. "Cooking isn't that hard."

Sirius reached out and took a piece of toast before skeptical frown settled in. Harry, Draco and Ron looked just as suspicious as well as hesitant at the black and hard square that was once a piece of bread in its better days before it was confirmed by Sirius hitting it against his plate with a ting-ting-ting. Ron and Harry snickered to them selves while mentally noting that the toast was far from edible. Draco only smirked, still unsure where he stood with everyone though he knew they seemed to welcome him. He was more then aware that Sirius knew who he was by his bleached hair, but he didn't seem to have cross thought in mind when the man looked to him with a wink.

The rest of the table didn't pay attention to the four with everyone already in different conversations while they served themselves with the much sweet and warm aroma of food. "So Sirius," Arthur started with a knife and fork in hand just hovering over syrup drowned waffles. "Now that you are both dead and allowed to wander freely, do you plan to work on missions?"

"Of course," he stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "I won't be lying around any longer that's for sure."

"We were discussing about keeping the base in your home," Lupin added to Sirius. "The Black manor is still the perfect place to keep the meetings as they are as well and-"

"Are you suggesting that I stay there?" Sirius questioned with a charming raise of his brow.

"Er… it is your house and it's not like you are forced to stay there every second," Lupin replied in good nature as he took a bite of food.

"If that's the case I'm going to have to find company…." Sirius drawled slowly with looks around the table. "Any takers?"

"I'm going," Harry started first before nearly all the teens added in that they wanted to as well.

A healthy chuckle left Sirius and he rocked his head back. "It's up to Molly."

All eyes looked to the slightly distressed woman at the end of the table before she reluctantly nodded her head. "But…"

Oh here came the dreaded "but" that everyone knew was inevitable to dodge.

"You must listen to Sirius….erm, Lupin I mean, and not do anything reckless. The only reason I am agreeing to this is because I know it's safe there."

That seemed to be reason enough for the teens to begin their animatedly discussions on the house and what they were going to do. "We can still come here for dinner, right?" Draco asked Molly, shocking everyone into an awkward silence.

The young Malfoy cleared his throat before motioning to the toast. "It's just I don't think George is as good of a cook as he thinks."

At this the elder red head glared menacingly but the table erupted with laughter and nods of agreement. "Of course, dear," Molly smiled genuinely. "Whenever you like."

The air seemed to suddenly become easier for Draco to breath with a pull of his lips into a chaste smirk.

Suddenly the group was silenced by a wave of flames that lit the living room walls green before disappearing. Not even a second later and nearly all of the adults were in the doorway between the kitchen and living room with wands at the ready to find that two soot and dirt plastered forms stumble from the fireplace weakly. "Oh my!" Molly yelled out as she along with Arthur and Lupin rushed to the two people.

"What in God's name happened?" Lupin asked Kingsley but nearly stopped dead at the sight of the barely conscious witch that hung limply by the tall black man's side.

"Hurry hurry!" Molly ushered to Kingsley to sit on the couch while Lupin silently took the woman from the man's side. "Are hurt anywhere," she asked urgently to the now sitting man with his cloak wide open and blood pooling from his side slightly and staining his coffee colored shirt.

"What is it? What's going on?" Harry asked with Ginny at his side and Hermione peeking over.

"Tonks," Remus motioned calmly though the underlining tone was urgent. "Keep them in the dining room."

With a nod that she understood, she ushered the teens into the dining room and back to eat while Sirius walked out. "How did this happen?" Arthur questioned where he sat next to Kingsley as Molly quickly dabbed his wound to keep the bleeding.

"Death Eaters… four found us and we had to get away," he breathed.

Lupin shifted his weight as the woman slumped forward with a hoarse cough that burned her throat. "And you brought her here?" He wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad but he hadn't wanted her to be here in case she tried to attack anyone.

"No choice," Kingsley replied before wincing at Molly's hand.

"Who? What are you going on about?"

"I believe," Milo started in a low whisper that made the others strain their ears to hear as Sirius reached Lupin. "That I was not welcomed here… Understandable…."

"And who are you?" This time is was Arthur.

"This," Lupin said with a meaningful look to the confused Sirius then to Arthur. "Is…. A Death Eater that we found-"

"And you decided that you wanted to keep it?!" Molly unhinged her fury. "I want you to take her out of here! She's a danger to my family-"

"Molly please-"

"No! I won't stand for it!"

"Best do what she says," Milo muttered and looked to see who held her weak body standing to see soft eyes watching her curiously with its own mixture of confusion. With her gunmetal grey she glanced around the room, feeling the effects of a concussion among her other injuries before looking right to the dark irises of Sirius whose expression was as mixed as ever before until darkness enveloped her consciousness and she fell limp.

"Molly, you have to understand" Lupin started once he was sure that Milo was unconscious. "That we had no intentions on brining her here. We had found her being tortured to death by her fellow Death Eaters and were planning on getting a few answers-"

"Tortured?" Molly interrupted. "Your compassion surprises me sometimes, Remus. As does your recklessness. I would have thought you to be a bit wiser then that."

"Molly," Kingsley started. "She is on our side…"

"Now you must have hit your head if you think that she-"

"She saved my life," he stated flatly. "She could have killed me but she didn't."

"…Aww," Sirius grinned for the first time during the conversation and looked to Molly with pleading eyes when she didn't say anything. He glanced back at the young witch for one last treasure then to the questioning eyes around the room. He would be damned if he let this ruin his day back and alive…. Not to mention that there just seemed something right about this.

With a cheeky grin, he stepped closer to Lupin and Milo with his attempt at puppy eyes. "Can we keep her?"

Aw Sirius. What are we going to do with you, hm?

Next time we see what Milo's fate will be! And what will George do to Draco? What will Draco do to Ron and what will Ron do with.... his owl? Meh, we'll see where the chapter takes us.

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