Notes: This chapter happened to fall during the summer, when I had no time to work on it because I was working at a scout camp. After that, it took me a while to finish writing the chapter. I got it finished, and I got half of it typed up when NaNoWriMo hit. National Novel Writing Month happens in November, and the goal is to write a 50,000 word novel between Nov. 1 and Nov. 30. My novel got a little past 25k(the halfway mark) when I got to the ending. But as soon as I was done, I got right back to work on this. Sadly, I finished right as finals week hit. And then the holidays hit. And then I started rehearsals for the play I'm in (Taming of the Shrew, done western style!). But it's done and edited now! Yay!

I apologize for the long wait, but here's the next chapter(finally)! And this one's longer, too. ^-^

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters. Marianne belongs to Leaviel, Caithion belongs to Caith, and Falon belongs mostly to Starkiller.


Second Chances

Chapter 6: What It Takes

The stand for the party of one
I will not stand down
I'll stand aside for no one
Even if I have to stand alone

-Stand Alone(Switchblade Kittens –The Weird Sisters)

It was dark. Rough hands gripped her arms. Her hands were tied behind her back with a lashing spell. She had nearly fallen five times since being taken, even though they traveled on smooth ground. Every time, her captor had pushed her. She could tell by the footsteps that there was only one. He was large. She knew his size by his hands and the heaviness of the footfalls behind her. She knew he was male by the smell, though she wasn't sure if he was human or ogre.

They were inside now. Her kidnapper gave her one last shove and left. She was alone. Maybe she had a chance of escaping now.

"How dreadful!" exclaimed a voice coated in honey. It was a woman. "I told that idiot to take care of you, not tie you up!" The lashing spell came undone, and the blindfold was removed. They were in a small room, made of stone and probably underground, though there hadn't been any stairs. One wall was covered in books, another in archaic weapons and strange items she couldn't identify. A third wall held the door, and the fourth bore a very large painting of a wizard with pitch-black hair and a handsome face. She noticed none of this, for her eyes were fixed upon the woman. Or rather, the woman's curiously bright blue-green eyes.

"So," the woman said. "You're Emma Grace."

~*~*~*~*~*~

"Emma!" Fred's voice echoed through the empty hall. He frowned and made a noise of irritation. Emma was finally well enough to get out of bed, so he'd been sent to get her for lunch. Fred banged on the door.

"Emma!" he yelled again. He pushed the door open and swore loudly. The room was empty. He went through the entire flat with the same result. He searched the shop, with still no sign of Emma. She had eluded him. Fred swore again and called Emma a few choice names.

"What's all the ruckus?" Gideon asked his foul-mouthed nephew.

"Break a nail?" teased Fabian. George frowned.
"Did you and Emma have another row?" he asked.

"That bleeding shrew is nowhere to be found," Fred fumed, his face almost as red as his hair. The others could tell that Fred was in a bad mood.

"She was in her room this morning," Roxanne said. "I saw her an hour ago. Did you check to see if she's invisible?"

"She'd've shown up to laugh at me by now if she were," Fred muttered. George ran up the stairs, leaving a confused and annoyed twin behind him. When he came back down, Fred growled out an "I told you so."

"Her shoes are still here," George said. "She didn't leave on her own."

"She could be tricking us. I wouldn't put it past her."

"Fred, the lamp is broken. And I found this on the nightstand. George held up a small piece of parchment, which Fred snatched away. As he read, the bell above the shop's door tinkled. Lysander joined the others, not saying anything. He had been helping out in the shop for the last week, as a sort of punishment for breaking in, and liked the warm, friendly atmosphere there. But the familiar warmth had been replaced with the tense feeling of something not quite right. As Lysander opened his mouth to ask what was going on, Fred swore loudly.

"This is exactly the sort of thing that bleeding toad would do! Thank Heaven she was replaced. If she weren't dead…"
"What are you going on about?" Freddie asked.

"The Senior Undersecretary to the Minister. He's kidnapped Emma." Fred stormed toward the front door of the shop. It took the combined strength of George, Fabian, Gideon, and Freddie to hold him back.

"You can't just waltz into the Ministry of Magic and expect them to hand her over," Angelina was saying.

"They can't find out that you've come back from the dead," Roxanne added sensibly.

"We know you're pissed," Gideon said.

"So are we," Fabian added. Everyone was speaking at once, trying to calm Fred down. Lysander's voice was lost among the others. Frustrated, he whistled loudly. Everyone turned to him, startled but quiet.

"I said," Lysander stated calmly, "that I know how we can get into the Ministry."

"Explain," Fred said, ready to listen for once.

"Marianne doesn't even know about this," Lysander said. "I know someone, an old friend of Aiden's, who can get us in and out without too much trouble."

"Your friend can break into the Ministry without getting noticed?" Fred asked skeptically.

"Not even Harry Potter could do that," George said, equally skeptical.

"I never said unnoticed. Just easy. Falon is a master of breaking in."

"Falon?" Gideon asked. "Interesting name."

"So, where do we find this friend of yours?" Fabian asked.

~*~*~*~*~*~

"How did you do it?" Emma blinked in confusion.

"Do what?" she asked the pretty woman.

"That spell!" The woman sounded like an excited teenager talking about a cute new transfer student. Emma didn't know what she was talking about. The woman sighed. "You brought someone back from the dead?" It wasn't a real question.

"Oh!" Emma exclaimed. "That spell! I followed the instructions in a really old spell book, but it didn't work." She left out the fact that it had finally worked after she'd tweaked her potion.

"Then why is Fred Weasley walking around casting spells?" The woman didn't sound quite as friendly as she had before. Emma guessed that she had a short fuse, and would lose her temper pretty soon.

"Fred Weasley is George's son," Emma replied. While it was true that George had named his only child after his twin, Emma knew that it wasn't what the woman meant.

"I'm talking about George's twin, girl." Of course.

"George's twin died before I was born."

"I know that. But he's alive again, and you're the one who brought him back. Now quit playing dumb and tell me how you did it." She was definitely annoyed now.

"I'm not playing dumb," Emma replied stubbornly. "I'm just not giving you the answers you want to hear." The woman smiled, but it wasn't a pleasant smile. It was cold and dark.

"Is that so? Well, you'd better start telling me what I want to hear, before I force it out of you. I will get the answers from you, one way or another." Emma glared at her.

~*~*~*~*~*~

The Moldy Cork was not the nicest or the most renowned pub in England. It was styled to look like a Medieval tavern(complete with mice and a stray black cat), and sat on a small road outside of London. The witches and wizards who frequented the Moldy Cork were not the friendliest or the most respectable of folk. They were pirates, black market merchants, liars, cheaters, con-men, thieves, and general doers of illegal deeds. But though they had their reputations, they weren't a bad lot.

Fabian stood back, looking uneasily up at the tavern as Lysander and the others went in. He had a bad feeling about this. It felt like something big was about to happen, and it wouldn't be good.

"Hey Fab, you alright?" Gideon stood in the doorway, looking back at his twin. Fabian smiled.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just needed a bit of mental preparation." He would tell Gideon later, when they were all back and Fred and George's joke shop.

"Let's go then. I think Lysander found 'im."

Inside, they had indeed found who they were looking for. The person in question stood on a table in the center of the pub with a couple of pirates, singing a very out-of-tune rendition of 'I'll Tell Me Ma.' The rogue was a bit on the scrawny side, and looked very boyish. She had short, messy brown hair and wore a red bandanna around her forehead. Fred stopped in his tracks, causing Fabian to walk into him and almost knock them both over.

"What's the hold-up?" Fabian asked, whacking his nephew in the back of the head.

"Look!" Fred said.

"Is that who we're looking for?" Gideon asked, coming up next to the others. (Fred, George, Fabian, and Gideon had been the only ones to accompany Lysander. Freddie and the women had opted to keep the shop running while they were gone.)

"Yep," Lysander said. "Falon Wolf, greatest lock-pick in Europe."

"She's a girl!" Fred exclaimed.

"Don't let her looks fool you. She could break into Hogwarts if she had a mind to."

"Scamander!" Falon jumped off the table and grinned at Lysander. "This's the last place I'd expect to see you. Well, aside from the Ministry, o'course."

"We came to ask for your help," Lysander said, waving a hand in front of his face to ward off the stench of beer. Falon squinted at the four redheads behind him.

"I think I drank a wee bit too much," she said. "There's four of him."

"We're twins," George said.

"So I'm only seein' double? Good."

"No," Lysander said. "There're four of them. The Prewett twins and the Weasley twins."

"Weasley? The ones who started that joke shop in Diagon Alley?"

"The same," said George.

"Wicked. But didn't one of the Weasley twins kick the bucket back during the war?" Gideon hoped she wasn't as perceptive when she was sober. He stuck out his hand to change the subject.

"Gideon Prewett," he introduced himself. "And this is my brother Fabian. Lysander says you can help us out."

"Information has a high price here, me bucko," Falon said.

"It's not information," Lysander corrected. "We've got a job to do, and it requires your skills." The rogue's eyes cleared, and she seemed to sober up completely. She led the men to a table in the far corner, away from the other customers.

"Details," Falon said when they'd sat down. "What's the job?"

"The sodding Ministry kidnapped a friend of ours," Fred said. "We need to break in, get her, and get out."

"Break into the Ministry? That'll be a tough job. What's in it for me if I help?"

"We can pay you," George said. "Name your price."

"I like the way you boys work. Ten thousand galleons. Half now, and half when the job's done. Sound fair?" The redheads looked at one another.

"You've got yourself a deal," Gideon said, offering his hand. Falon took it with a grin.

"And you've got yourself a lock-pick. I suggest we wait until dark to break your friend out. It's easier to do by night."

"No waiting," Fred said. "We go now."

~*~*~*~*~*~

Marianne Bellamy stood in the main entryway of the Ministry of Magic, waiting patiently for her guide. She had been lucky enough to get a tour of the Ministry that day. (Tours were not given often those days, and one had to make a request in order to get one.) The little old tour guide led Marianne through the facility for roughly two hours before she finally requested a bathroom break. It was easy to apparate into the back hall from inside the loo, and there were so few guards between there and the dungeon that she had no trouble at all sneaking in.

The dungeon was dark, which only made it easier for Marianne to slip into the wing of cells where they'd been keeping Elliot. The cells were old-fashioned, with metal cots and steel bars. She checked every last one of them. No Elliot. She swore quietly. As she turned to leave, a set of scratch marks in the stone floor of an empty cell caught her attention. It was a small rune, one most people wouldn't recognize.

"'Blossom'," Marianne read aloud. "So that's where you are."

~*~*~*~*~*~

"So, how does this thing work?" Falon asked, turning a gold coin over in her hands. George had given everyone a similar coin when they'd arrived at the back door of the Ministry of Magic.

"It's easy," Fred said. "Touch the coin with your wand to send a message. You probably won't need to, even after we split up."

"I'll keep track of the officials," George said. "I'll be sure to let you know if anyone who can get you in trouble heads your way. Be sure to check the interrogation room and the dungeon first."

"Let's get going, then," Gideon said enthusiastically.

"Way ahead of you, mate," Falon stated, sticking a small wire into the lock on the door.

"This is the Ministry of Magic," Fabian argued. "They're not just going to leave a simple muggle lock on the door and expect it to keep everyone out. It's probably covered in complex spells; lock, door, and probably the hall inside. It'll be absolutely impossible to get in this—" The lock clicked and Falon pushed the door open.

"What were you saying?" she asked, smirking. Fabian blushed.

"You'd think a bunch of paranoid officials would have better security," Fred stated, walking into the empty hallway. Falon and the Prewetts followed him in and down the hall, Lysander right behind them. Fabian and Lysander headed for the dungeons, while Fred, Falon, and Gideon went to search the court rooms.

Outside, George pulled a folded map from his robe and spread it out on the ground. It was covered in small moving dots of different colors. As George quickly tracked down all of the red dots on the map, he remembered the work he had put into making it.

The inspiration had been the Marauder's Map, of course. Fred and George had found it (or rather, stolen it) during their first year at Hogwarts, and had given it to Harry Potter during their fifth year. The next time George saw the Map was at his brother's funeral. Harry hadn't said a word when he'd handed it to George. When George asked him why, Harry had only said "use it well." The Map had then remained in a drawer in the flat above Weasley's Wizard Wheezes until the divorce. George had found it again while cleaning out the cluttered flat a few weeks later, and had quickly started work on figuring out just how the map worked. He had yet to work out individual people by name, but he had managed to divide the dots that represented wizard folk by rank and ability. He could also divide by Hogwarts house or foreign school. In the case of the Ministry map he now watched, Ministry officials were red, the Minister and his cabinet were blue, law officials and Aurors were pink, visitors and those who were suspected of something illegal were both green(for suspects were usually only there for a short time), and anyone breaking in or sneaking around where they had no business being were marked with bright purple.

George watched his companions search, keeping an eye on the officials. As he scanned a hallway of offices, something caught his eye. In one of the offices were two green dots. George frowned. What were tow visitors doing in the office of a ministry official by themselves?

~*~*~*~*~*~

"Just tell me how you did it," Jess said, exasperated.

"I honestly don't know," Emma replied. Jess sighed. She should've gotten something out of the girl by now. "Look," Emma continued. "I admit that I brought Fred back to life, but I did it by accident."

"You accidentally brought him back from the dead using an archaic resurrection spell?" Jess asked sarcastically.

"I didn't think it would actually work." Jess could tell that she way lying. The older witch put her hand on Emma's shoulder and looked her in the eyes. With that simple touch, Jess could easily ensure that the girl would tell the truth. She didn't even have to think about it—the trick was easy for her, almost natural.

"Emma, do you remember what spell you used?" Her voice was soft, as though she were speaking to a small child who had lost something precious.

"Of course I remember," Emma replied. "But the spell doesn't work on its own. That's why it's archaic and unused."

"On its own?" Now they were getting somewhere.

"Yeah. I'm really good with potions, so I made one to accompany the spell."

"And it worked."

"No."

"What do you mean, 'no'?"

"It took me quite a few tries to get it. And when I did, I thought it had failed because of the explosion."

"Explosion?"

"Yeah. Thestral heart and elthiak venom are highly combustible when you mix them together. It's a good thing I put the venom in last." Jess nodded. The girl chattered on as though she had been given veritaserum. It had not been hard to make her drop her inhibitions and make her talk. That was what Jess loved most about her tricks.

"Emma, what else was in your potion?"

"I could tell you," Emma said. "But it won't do you any good. I won't give you any measurements, and it'd take you way too long to figure them all out."

"That's fine." Jess smiled. "I just want to see how your mind works." After all, once you get someone talking, it's so easy to find a way to manipulate them.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Fabian followed Lysander through the dungeon, looking at the wizards in each cell. They were protesters, mostly. Men and women taken as examples to anyone who went against the current Ministry. They'd gotten lucky, only having to sneak past a couple of guards to get into the dungeon. Fabian didn't like it. He didn't want to be in the Ministry's dungeon with Xenophilius Lovegood's grandson. He didn't want to be in the dungeon at all, really. All sorts of things good go wrong in a dungeon…

Lysander stopped suddenly, causing Fabian to run into him, which in turn resulted in the both of them landing their rears on the very hard stone floor.

"What was that for?" Fabian asked, rubbing his sore backside.

"She's not here," Lysander said. "Emma's not in the dungeon."

"Good. Let's get out of here, then."

"I agree." The two wizards stood up and turned to leave. Lysander froze and Fabian swore, as a very large guard headed towards them.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Marianne slipped into a more frequently used hallway. No one saw her, luckily. She was supposed to be with a guide, but had slipped into a bathroom and apparated out. She had almost reached the tour guide when she heard a shout. She saw the guide looking at several guards. Or rather, he was looking at the protesting pair of wizards the guards were attempting to escort out. Marianne walked past the tour guide to the men.

"Excuse me," she said. "What are you doing with them?" One of the guards, a wiry man with very short hair, looked at her.

"They were caught in the dungeon," he said. "Snoopin' 'round like they was up to no good."

"I told you," said one of the captives, a redhead Marianne didn't recognize. He sounded irritated. "We got lost looking for the loo. It's not our fault this place is a bloody maze."

"Quiet, you!" the other guard, a large man, growled.

"It's true!" protested the other captive, who Marianne did recognize.

"They were with me," Marianne said. "We got separated. Please let them go now."

"Who are they, then?" the wiry guard asked. "If they're really your friends you'll know their names."

"Lysander works for me," she said, trying to come up with a name for the other man.

"And which is he?"

"The blond. His parents are famous researchers. The Scamanders. Maybe you've heard of them?" The guards released Lysander, who ran and stood just behind Marianne.

"And the other?" the wiry guard sneered.

"Fabian," Lysander whispered. "Fabian Prewett."

"James Brighton," Marianne said. "he's my fiancée."

"Then what is he doing here?" the large guard rumbled.

"He's from Wales," Marianne said. "Never been to London before. James wanted to see how all of this works, so I brought him along." The guards stared at her for a moment before releasing the redhead. Marianne watched them go before rounding on the two wizards.

"What in Gryffindor's name were you doing in the dungeon?" She spoke quietly, but her words were harsh.

"Don't get angry," Lysander said, trying to keep his voice down. "We were looking for someone. We weren't up to no good, I swear."

"If you were looking for Elliot, that was a fantastic waste of your time, because he's—"

"We weren't looking for him, Marianne. We were looking for Emma Grace."

"The sick girl from the Weasley's shop?"

"Yes. She was kidnapped by the Ministry."

"So you and your friend thought you'd sneak in and break her out?"

"Not by ourselves. There are six of us altogether. We didn't think we'd get caught."

"Six?" Marianne sighed. "Just be glad I showed up when I did, or you'd be locked up. My tour's just about up. You'd best leave with me when it is."

"Thank you," Lysander said, smiling slightly.

"So, who's your friend, anyway?" Marianne asked.

"James Brighton," the redhead said with a grin. "Your 'fiancée'." Lysander shoved him lightly, and the man laughed.

"His name's Fabian Prewett," the blond said.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Fred followed the empty hallway containing the offices of the higher Ministry officials. Falon and Gideon were directly ahead of him, checking empty doors. George had sent Fred a message through the coins, letting him know to check the offices. As they passed one of the doors, Fred heard voices. He stopped, listening. After a moment, Gideon turned around.

"Oy, Fred, what—?" Fred shushed him and pulled an extendable ear out of his pocket. Falon joined him as he stuck the ear under the door and listened.

"You could have chosen from any number of famous witches and wizards," a woman was saying. "You could have picked Kingsley Shacklebolt, or the great Albus Dumbledore, or Severus Snape, or any one of the four Founders of Hogwarts. And you chose a trouble-making inventor of jokes. Why?"

"I don't think you'll understand my reasoning." It was Emma.

"Tell me," the woman said.

"George took me in. He told me about his brother once, and he looked so sad. I wanted to see him smile. To give him what he lost. I owe him a lot, and I thought that if I brought his brother back, I could repay him for everything he's done for me."

"Is this her?" Falon whispered. Fred nodded and returned the ear to his pocket.

"Falon, you get Emma. I'll distract whoever's there. Gideon, you play lookout. Make sure no one shows up."

"Can do," Gideon said. "Alohomora." Fred slipped inside the now open door.

"I knew it…" The woman stared at him, astonished. "I knew it!" she exclaimed again, looking almost pleased. Then her smile faded, as though she had just realized something terrible. "What are you doing here?" she demanded, eyes wide. The redhead grinned.

"I'm the rescue party." He pointed his wand at the woman. "Who are you? You're not the Senior Undersecretary, I know that much. He's not a woman. Unless he's into dressing up, and you really are him, of course." The woman's face turned red.

"How dare you insult my brother?!" She pulled out her wand and aimed a curse at Fred. Falon ran in and grabbed Emma.

"Time to skedaddle, mate." Emma followed the thief out of the room while Fred shot a well-placed jinx that turned the woman blue. Fred bolted from the room and followed Falon and Emma down the hall, Gideon right behind. Fabian, who had managed to sneak away from Marianne and Lysander, wandered into the hallway just as Gideon and the others started running. Confused, but not wanting to get caught by whoever was chasing them, he joined his twin. The woman chased them back to the rarely used hallways they'd come from.

~*~*~*~*~*~

They would never escape. Not the way they were headed. Jess knew that she had them. She could kill them all, now that she had the girl's formula. The measurements of the different ingredients would be easy to figure out, and the girl had told her everything else.

"Avada kedavra!" Jess shouted, barely missing the young man in the back. He turned, ginger hair falling into his eyes. He had a boyish face, almost pretty. The witch froze. Something in her mind screamed "kill him!" It happened quickly. Jess raised her wand, curse on her lips. There was a flash of light, and the world went dark.


AN: Yes, I'm giving you a cliffhanger. I know that they're evil, and I hate them, too. But it's so perfect right there! Besides, I watched Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog not too long ago, so I feel a little diabolical lately. XD

Yes, Harry made a cameo. And we actually get to see a little from Marianne's point of view in this chapter! We will see more of her in the future.

And this chapter is about eight and a half pages long without the notes. Yay!

You're probably getting tired of this every chapter, but I love my beta! ^^ *huggles her* She always finds the little weird things that I miss. There's probably gonna be a lot of them in the next chapter, because I took such a long hiatus. I'm actually surprised that there weren't more in this chapter. (If anyone cares to know, I've already started on the next chapter. If I'm lucky, writer's block will leave me alone. *knocks on wood*)

Epic thanks to Leaviel, for making my story better and for the use of Marianne. Equally epic thanks to Starkiller for the use of Falon.