I was on the tiled floor of our kitchen, wracked with agony. The usually freezing tiles were warm and slick with blood, and Rabastan Lestrange almost slipped on it as he moved to cut into my brother with his wand again. DJ screamed loudly, and the sound tore my heart in two. My mother begged for mercy for her family as another Death Eater made a deep cut in my unconscious father's face, spraying his warm blood onto my face.

Then suddenly the screaming stopped, and the dark-robed figures moved from DJ's limp and bloody body to stand over me, wands outstretched. One of their hoods fell forward, exposing a gaunt face with aristocratic features, surrounded by a messy explosion of dark hair. Bellatrix Lestrange, standing side by side with her husband Rodolphus and Lucius Malfoy, leered down at me.

"Had enough yet, darling? Would you like a round two, or do you think Danny boy would prefer it? Your choice, kid" she said with a malicious and arrogant smile. "NOT MY BROTHER!' I screamed at the top of my voice, not caring that my throat was already ripped raw from the screaming earlier. "PLEASE-PLEASE, DON'T HURT THEM! PLEASE STOP, I'LL DO ANYTHING! HURT ME INSTEAD!" "Alright, kiddo" Bellatrix smirked. "Will do." Then she raised her wand…

"LISSA! WAKE UP, LISS!" My eyes shot open. Lily's face was inches away from mine, worried and stressed looking. She immediately drew back when she saw my eyes open. "Oh thank Merlin you're okay, Liss!" As Lily moved her head, I saw the other people surrounding my bed. It was quite crowded actually, and I wondered briefly how Madam Pomfrey had let so many of them in. Mary, Marlene, Alice and Emmeline were all crowded together with Lily on the right side of my bed, Marlene jammed between Lily and the bedside locker. Wade Simmons was standing at the foot of the bed, wearing a concerned expression and grasping the bar at the end of my bed so tightly that his knuckles were white. Intense relief washed over his face when he saw that I was awake, and he gave me a weak smile. They all looked very tired, like they'd been up all night for a week.

On the right side of my bed, James Potter, Peter Pettigrew and Remus Lupin were jostling for space. I barely managed to hold in my sigh of disappointment, as the one person I really wanted to see wasn't there. "Hey guys, is she awake yet?" asked a voice from behind the girls. Everyone, including me, turned to face the owner of the voice. As Mary and Alice shifted, I set eyes on the voice's owner. And immediately turned away.

Sirius black stood a few feet away from the others, frozen. He seemed to forget about the tray of hot drinks he was carrying as he locked eyes with me, his volatile grey ones refusing to let me go. "I'm awake," I answered in a low murmur, since no one else seemed likely to. "Good" was his equally quiet answer. Suddenly I was no longer able to stay looking at him like that, and I tore my eyes from his. An awkward silence reigned for a moment.

"So, guys. What actually happened?" I asked. They all exchanged looks of amazement. "You really don't remember?" Remus asked, face incredulous. I shook my head, wincing at the pain that accompanied the action. Lily sighed and sank down onto the bed as she prepared to explain.

"Well, Lissa, after the four idiots- also known as Potter, Black, Al and Emm- decided to blow up a cauldron, Slughorn blew up himself. Went bright red, started yelling, he even threw his paperweight at them. Wade said that you jumped holding the knife, let go of it, it flew up, stabbed your wrist, and then you passed out. Then Slughorn's paperweight landed in the explosive potion and flew out immediately. That got you in the ribs, and you've broken six of them. The only reason you're not dying right now is because Potter knows where Pomfrey keeps the extra painkillers, and we dosed you up the second she left. Any questions?"

I sank back into my pillows, mind on overdrive. Did all of that really happen to me? I gently rested my non-bandaged hand on my abdomen, feeling for sore spots. I was a few inches away from my second rib when Wade grabbed my wrist to stop me. "Don't hurt yourself any more, princess. Let it heal." Sirius let out a distinctly canine growl at this point, which in hindsight I realize Wade should have taken as a warning. Because five seconds later, he was hopping around and struggling out of his flaming robes, cursing like a sailor.

"Wade! Simmons, in the name of Merlin, what the fuck just happened?" shouted Alice, after Wade had finally pulled off the robes to reveal a slightly singed t-shirt and blackened jeans. I glared at Sirius, who was standing a few feet away from Wade, leaning back against the wall and giving me a lazy grin as he twirled his wand through his long fingers. Asshole.

"I. Don't. Know" Wade grunted. His teeth were clenched against the obvious pain of the slight burns that decorated his arms and legs. Yes, I decided. Sirius Black was behaving like a spoilt child, and I would give him exactly what he deserved. Revenge would be sweet.

"So, Lissa" asked James cheerfully. "Do you think you'll be able to play in the Quidditch match in a week and a half?" "JAMES CHARLUS POTTER, YOU INCONSIDERATE, BERKISH, TOE-RA—" "I love it when you say my name, Lilyflower. So sexy" said James with a dreamy smile. At that point Lily lost it, and wand extended, began to chase James around the room. Seemingly bored, Marlene, Alice and Emmeline joined in. Mary, Peter and Remus shouted pleas of rationality, which I think were pretty much lost on the screaming red head and the terrified Quidditch lover.

Sirius didn't try to help his best friend out at all, no, he just stood there with a smirk on his amused face. I would have laughed had Sirius not been there. Owing to his recent behavior, I was almost afraid of this new Sirius- arrogant, unreachable, jealous, possessive, and malicious. I had to get him back to how he'd been before- cheerful, playful, happy, fair, and decent. And if I couldn't do that, then I'd settle for pranking the ever-loving shit out of him, with a little bit of help of course. One thing was certain, however. By the end of the month, I will either have Sirius back to his normal happy self, or I will have my revenge on him for his asshole-ish behavior. I didn't honestly know which one I wanted more.

X X X X

"Liss, are you sure this is going to work?' hissed Mary. We were so close that I could feel her breath tickling my ear. We were both currently squashed into a niche behind the fourth floor tapestry of Egrid the Evil, something that I was technically almost allowed to be doing. Pomfrey never banned me from squashing into hidden niches with my friend in order to prank an asshole ex-boyfriend. Although she had seen fit to ban me from carrying heavy bags, holding a fork in my injured hand, and playing Quidditch (which thankfully hasn't started up yet, or James would have thrown a hissy fit). Go figure. Across the corridor, Wade and Fabian and Gideon Prewett were in a similar position. Operation Revenge On Sirius was well underway.

Also in on the plan were Marlene, Alice, and Emmeline, all of whom were currently in position. Marlene's job was to keep Lily busy and out of the way, and also to distract her to keep her from using her highly honed Prefect Sensors. Alice and Emmeline were to bring Sirius down here with them, and were due any minute. Then the rest of us would strike. This would either be an awesome victory, or a colossal failure (quite possible, as I had conceived it while high on eight different kinds of painkiller, of varying strength. Still was). Needless to say, we were all hoping for the former. With the Prewett twins, a.k.a. the only people who can prank the Marauders, in on this, we just might succeed.

'Liss?" hissed Mary again. "Sssh, they'll be here any second now. Be quiet or he'll hear you." My heart was literally in my throat as I listened to the three sets of footsteps coming down the corridor: Alice, Emmeline and Sirius. The tapestry on the across the corridor twitched, and I caught a brief glimpse of Gideon Prewett, mouthing the words "Ten seconds."

Ten. Sirius rounded the corner of the corridor with the girls. Nine. Eight. Seven. Six. Sirius stopped walking, and through a hole in the tapestry I glimpsed him bending over to tie his shoe. Five. Four. Sirius sighed in frustration and kicked out at the stonewall. I know this because when his toe connected with the unforgiving stone, he squealed. Like a seven-year-old girl. Three. Two. I took a deep breath and nudged Mary, silently telling her to be ready. One.

I raised my wand and cast a non-verbal spell, at the same time as Mary, Gideon and Fabian. The four combined spells hit Sirius in the stomach, and he buckled over from the sheer force. Then he fell to the floor, Stunned. Fabian and Gideon rushed out from behind their tapestry and raced over to where Alice and Emmeline stood beside Sirius' unconscious form. "Well done, girls! Jolly good work!" Fabian exclaimed in deadly seriousness, while Gideon shook their hands formally. Mary and I stumbled out from behind our tapestry, laughing at the twins' antics.

I walked over to where Sirius lay, turning him over onto his stomach with my shoe. I turned to Alice. "Okay Al, you're our artistic expert here. Tell me how I should do it." For the next few minutes Alice outlined the finer details for me, waving her hands over Sirius to illustrate points. Fabian winced for Sirius when one of Alice's fingers got stuck in Sirius' hair and she had to yank it free. A little twist of black hair actually came off on her finger. Ouch.

I knelt down beside Sirius, watched carefully by the others. I carefully held my wand out in front of me, aimed at the back of Sirius' head. We were going to hit him where it hurt- his beloved hair, not that he'd seemed to care as much about it lately. However, if I went just the slightest bit wrong, Sirius was going to wind up seriously hurt. I muttered a spell under my breath, carefully moving my wand over his hair. Five minutes later, I was done. Leaning back to appreciate my handiwork, I graciously accepted the praise of Fabian, Gideon, Mary, Emmeline and Alice.

"Blimey" hissed Fabian admiringly. "Remind me never to get on your bad side." Murmurs of agreement followed as they all admired my work, and I grinned genuinely for the first time in weeks. Sirius' beloved sleek black hair had parts shaven out of it with my wand, spelling out the words 'Minerva McGonagall is a sexy beast'. This prank, shaving words onto the back of someone's head, was relatively tame compared to some of the stuff Sirius himself had done, but the best was yet to come. When McGonagall saw this, she was going to freak. Sirius would probably be in detention for the rest of the month. The last time Sirius had pranked someone (he'd turned Severus Snape green and hung him from the Whomping Willow, with the help of James) McGonagall had threatened to have him clean the Slytherin Common Room the next time he misbehaved. I had a fair inkling that this might be seen as just that.

I grinned at the others. "C'mon guys, I think we should go. If we're not here when he wakes up, maybe he'll think the Slytherins did this. After all, he saw that Emm and Alice didn't do anything to him, and he probably won't connect the dots." Fabian poked at Sirius with his boot, looking wary. "I dunno, Liss, Black is pretty shrewd. What if he—" I cut him off. I was already thinking that myself. "We'll worry about that if it happens. Now c'mon, I've a ten-inch essay due for McGonagall tomorrow, and after seeing our handiwork I don't think she'll be in a very forgiving mood."

With that, we left Sirius lying facedown in the corridor and headed off for the Gryffindor Common Room. It was now well after curfew, and if Filch caught us, he'd probably try and gut us with his sweeping brush. He hated Fabian and Gideon with a passion he usually reserved for the Marauders and laughter, and ever since we'd painted the second floor corridor pink, he didn't much like Emmeline, Alice or me either.

We were almost to the Common Room, tip-toeing around every corner in case Filch should pop out of a broom closet and knock us out with a bucket, when we heard the voices and footsteps. They were close, very close. We all froze, flattening ourselves against the wall. As Gideon led us along the wall towards an empty classroom, I strained my ears to listen to the voices.

"…Letter from Lucius a few days ago. Something about the Crawford thing, you know, over Christmas break…. Daniel still hasn't shown up at the Ministry…. His sister at Hogwarts… Plans for her…." Then another voice spoke. "Us? Regulus said she broke up with his brother… Obvious why… Hope he won't get in the way… Bella would be mad if we killed him… Maybe not though… Better not to take a chance…" My blood ran cold. I recognized those two voices vaguely, but in that moment, I was sure I knew who their owners were- Evan Rosier and Antonin Dolohov.

That was all I could stomach listening to. I knew I slipped into the classroom and Gideon closed the door after me. When he was satisfied with the lock, he and Fabian turned to look at me with realization and horror in their eyes. They must have heard Evan and Antonin too; they must have pieced it together. My behavior, why I'd broken up with Sirius, why I was such a physical and mental wreck.

"Oh Merlin, Lissa. What happened to you?" breathed Fabian in horror. My chin dropped to my chest, and I could feel the tears coming. Mary, Emmeline and Alice led me over to a chair gently, and I heard them sit down beside me. Fabian and Gideon sat in front of me. I sniffled softly, trying to pull myself together. They had heard too much, the Ministry were going to kill me if I told them, and the Prewetts would kill me themselves if I didn't. How long could one get in Azkaban for telling one's friends about how exactly your family had come about their deaths? If Bartemius Crouch had anything to do with it- probably at least ten years imprisonment without trial. God, I hated that man.

I took a deep breath before straightening up and looking the boys in the eyes. Then I began, barely making any noise. Everyone moved closer until they were inches away. "As I'm sure you've gathered, boys, something awful happened to my family over Christmas. Death Eaters, including Lucius Malfoy and the Lestranges, broke into my house and tortured us for hours. There was blood everywhere… My mother was screaming for them to stop, my father was already half-dead and knocked out… They tortured DJ and I then, until there was blood everywhere. They didn't kill me parents for what must have been four or five hours, but they left DJ and I lying on the floor, barely alive. I spent a few days at St Mungo's and went to stay with Marlene. I don't know where DJ went, it sounds like Evan Rosier has a fair idea. About a week after my release, Barty Crouch and the Head of the Auror Department showed up and warned me not to tell anyone what had happened. But I'm not safe anymore, not safe to be around. It should be obvious why I broke up with Sirius."

Fabian and Gideon were speechless with horror. "NO IT SHOULDN'T!" Alice screamed loudly in frustration. Everyone jumped, the Prewett twins snapping out of their dazed state. Outside the door, the footsteps had stopped and we could hear the two potential Death Eaters murmuring curiously mere feet away. We all exchanged looks of horror, and Emmeline and Mary silently slapped Alice on the arm in the same instant. I suddenly realized something horrible- we had left Sirius, unconscious and alone, in the corridor Evan and Antonin had been headed in. Unless some sort of divine intervention occurred, Rosier and Dolohov were either going to find Sirius or us. All I could think was my fault- this prank had been my idea, and without the prank none of us would be out this late, or in this kind of situation.

If it was al my fault, which it was, then I had to fix it. I motioned the others over to the teacher's desk at the front of the room, reaching for a quill and parchment. 'Stay here, I know how I can fix this. We can just leave Sirius out there unconscious, they'll find him' I wrote. I could hear the beginning of Mary's protestations before Alice punched her in the arm to shut her up. I turned around to face the others, praying that they would understand and let me go. No such luck, of course. Fabian and Gideon wore identical masks of anger, and the girls stepped forward the slap me on the arm in the same instant, identical furious expressions washing over their scared faces.

I scowled at them. They were really forcing my hand here, and I was taking a major risk. If I was caught I'd probably be expelled, but the alternative- Rosier and Dolohov finding either Sirius or us- was much worse. I prayed that DJ had given me the right spell, and that I could do it non-verbally. "Sorry" I mouthed. Five of my friends stared back at me, confused. Then I cast the spell, and they fell to the ground, confusion etched on their faces. Thank God for Simultaneous Stunning Spells. It was such a pity that they weren't exactly legal yet. Oh well, the Auror Department and Department of Magical Enforcement had probably already figured out that I'd told at least Marlene, so if that was the case, then I was already on their shit list. I quickly transfigured the hardwood floor into a cushioned surface, to soften both the impact itself and the noise of falling bodies hitting the ground. I dragged my unconscious friends under the teacher's desk and out of sight. That done, I made my way over to the door, casting a Disillusionment Charm over myself as I went. I slipped out of the door silently, locking it behind me.

When I tuned around I was faced with Evan Rosier and Antonin Dolohov, mere feet away. They were both staring at the door that had just opened, looking very confused. I turned tail and started to run down the corridor to where we'd left Sirius as fast as I could. I knew I'd only have a few minutes before they realized what had happened and came looking for me. I only prayed that my charm would hold if they found me. If they saw that it was the same Melissa Crawford whose family had been tortured and killed by their fellow Death Eaters, I was dead meat for sure. I was left alive as a warning, but there was no warning that worked better than a dead body of a recent torture victim, left in the halls of the most celebrated magical schools in the world.

I could see Sirius's unconscious for sprawled across the floor further down the corridor when I heard the foreboding noise of Rosier and Dolohov's quick footsteps as they chased after me, correctly guessing which way I'd gone. I skidded to a stop at Sirius' side, my rubber-soled sneakers squeaking against the stone floor as I did so, the first mistake. The second mistake occurred as, bending over Sirius to check if he was still alright, I fell over and clattered to the floor loudly, multiple injuries from the night connecting with the unforgiving stone. I groaned in pain involuntarily, and my Disillusionment Charm slipped, revealing my hunched but still quite recognizable form lying on the corridor floor. I was willing to bet that the two mini-Death Eater could already smell my blood as I listened to their enthusiastic shouts. Where the hell was Filch when you needed him?

"So, Crawford, how're Mommy and Daddy doing?" asked Evan Rosier with faux politeness. Gritting my teeth against a sharp pain in my ankle and shoulder, I snarled at him viciously. Gathering on my vast reserves of anger and emotional pain, I spat in his face. The congenial expression was wiped off of his face. He and Dolohov looked murderous, handsome faces twisting into sinister smirks as they raised their wands. Desperately, I scrabbled around on the floor for mine, only to catch sight of it lying on the ground, several feet out of reach. I actually moaned in despair.

Dolohov and Rosier were going to kill me, or come very close, that much was certain from the looks on their faces. I had to do something; I couldn't just roll over and let them win! Think, Lissa, think! Okay, you're ankle's busted, you can't run, and you can't reach your wand either. You can't save yourself, but Sirius… Protect him, it's the least you can do after treating him so cruelly, even if it is for his own good in the end. If you can't protect yourself you might as well protect him instead, salvage what you can from this. You now, damage control. That's it; limit the damage. You can do this.

Summoning all of my strength and resolve, I bit my lip against the pain I knew would come and rolled over onto Sirius' prone body, just as the two Slytherins cast their spells. I landed on top of Sirius, and in the same moment was faced with a jet of ice-blue light that was horribly familiar. "Silencio" I muttered, instants before it hit. I could not scream, and I knew that without this spell, there was no way I would be able to hold back. Low pain threshold, you know.

The curse hit me, knocking the breath out of me. It was a few seconds before I actually felt the effects, but when I did, it was agony. I caught glimpses of Rosier and Dolohov, wands pointed at me, cruel sneers painted on their pale faces. It was like a thousand white-hot knives piercing every single spot on my body, like my blood was simultaneously boiling and freezing in my veins, like I was about to explode. Then the curse increased in intensity, and I lost the battle to remain motionless. I was writhing around in agony on top of Sirius, screaming silently. Agony hit me like a wrecking ball over and over again, and I wanted nothing more than for it to end. After all, who would miss me if I died? Wade and Harry Simmons, DJ, Lily, Mary, Emmeline, Alice, Marlene. Not a very impressive list. Maybe they'd be better off without me after all. I was nothing but a magnet for trouble in the form of bloodthirsty Death Eaters, and I wanted better for my friends.

Then, all of a sudden, the pain stopped and I collapsed in a sweaty, shaking pile on top of Sirius' still unconscious body. I could hear Rosier and Dolohov's sadistic chuckles, but I couldn't physically lift my eyelids to catch their expressions. Not that I really wanted to- I didn't need another reel of sadistic expressions to play through my nightmares. So I kept my eyes shut tightly, too afraid to open them even when I heard Rosier and Dolohov leave. After I was sure that they were gone, I could not stop the trembling that wracked my body, and even though I knew that they were gone, that I was safe, I could not get rid of the solid knot of fear in my stomach. Soon, thankfully, the last reserves of strength I had after the whole 'tortured' thing was used up, and the trembling ceased. No longer having enough energy to keep my eyelids open or maintain my silence spell, I fell into sleep sobbing softly.