A/N: Is this going in a weird direction? It oddly seems to be coming together to my head. Course, that may be because I am writing it. Also, I have never been to Maine but from what I understand it does snow. Living in California my whole life, I'm not too well acquainted with snow. Enjoy!

Narcissa and Bellatrix did not know what to think. Bellatrix was partially covered by the now unconscious Ares McGonagall, who had slid from within her but remained atop the shaking woman while Narcissa remained frozen in the corner until a shuddering breath from Bellatrix broke through her shock.

"Bellatrix!" she breathed, rushing to push the prone man from her lover. Her hands went to Bellatrix's frozen cheeks. "Baby, come on, look at me baby, please look in my eyes, you're gonna be okay love. Just breathe, please." Bellatrix's dark eyes met Narcissa's icy blue ones. She tried to nod as her eyes focused upon the woman she sacrificed everything for. But then her gaze was drawn to the still shrouded figure behind them. Narcissa's brow furrowed, and she turned to follow Bellatrix's stare.

"My apologies, ladies. Ares was always much too physical and violent for his own good. I only wish I could have made it sooner, but he has erected incredibly powerful wards around the manor," the calming voice said. He waved a hand, bringing the room to life with candles, making himself visible to the Black sisters.

He was tall, taller even than Ares. His golden brown hair was tidily cropped close to his head, tanned skin stretched taught across muscular lean arms. His attire was out of place in the cold weather of the north – it spoke of heat and sun; the white linen pants were tucked into brown leather boots, a grey dragon-hide vest fitted snug on his frame. A deep maroon sash tied around his waist allowed a space for a dagger to carefully sit. His left ear was adorned with a series of small silver hoop earrings, running from the lobe to the cartilage. He moved closer to the sisters, hunkering down onto his haunches before them.

His eyes! They are just like Ares' Bellatrix thought. He saw her own eyes widen, and smiled in a reassuring manner at her.

"I promise you, though he and I are related, Ares and I are nothing alike. I have no desire to harm you, nor do I follow Voldemort. I am somewhat surprised you do not remember me, but then again the last time our paths crossed was years ago in Hogwarts." Narcissa looked perplexed. This man seemed younger than her, yet she could not place him anywhere in her time at Hogwarts.

"Who are you? I do not recall your face," Narcissa said.

"I am Helios McGonagall. Ares is my older brother. I was in my sixth year, a Ravenclaw, when Bellatrix was in her first year," upon hearing that Bellatrix snapped her head around to look at him.

"You cannot be Helios! He died during the war with Grindelwald. There was an announcement made to all of the Houses. He and his twin sister were both killed, along with their parents – only one McGonagall survived," Bellatrix hissed, her distrust flaring. Helios let out a sad smile.

"It is true that my parents died, but there is far more to it than that. Come, let us leave this place before more unexpected guests arrive." He stood up, and offered his hand to Bellatrix. She eyed it warily before grasping it. His hands were smooth and calloused in an intermingling of sensations. She felt an instant sensation of calm run across her.

"What of him?" Bellatrix asked, gesturing to the prone figure of Ares. She circled where he lay, noting her wand sticking out of his pocket. She reached down for it with the intention of killing him. Something stopped her, something from within. She looked to the man's brother, standing a few feet away. His face betrayed the conflicting emotions within.

"Come Bellatrix, Narcissa. Though it may be best to kill him, I cannot murder someone like this. Any consequences of this decision I will face alone, but for now, we shall simply go." He reached to the ornate dagger at his belt, and held it to his chest. The blade began to glow, causing a brilliant white light to glow throughout the room. The Black sisters squinted their eyes, unable to look away.

Helios brought the dagger over his head, and stabbed into the air. It caught on something invisible to the women, and as Helios dragged it across the space, he created a line of light in the otherwise empty air. Quickly he created three more lines, a veritable door in the middle of a room. Narcissa gasped.

"This is not possible!" she held Bellatrix's hand tightly, unnerved. "Such magic does not exist – it hasn't existed for centuries!" She glanced at her dark-haired sister, who seemed confused. Helios smiled slightly.

"What is it, Cissy?" Bellatrix asked. She felt the adrenaline leaving her body, and her legs nearly gave out. Helios came to her and lifted her into his arms. "Release me!" Bellatrix demanded. Helios looked to the blonde woman, who looked at him gratefully.

"Bella, he is helping us. He has saved us. Given our options, we must put our faith in him. Though, as much as I want an explanation for all of this, if my knowledge is correct we have only precious moments to utilize this doorway?" Helios nodded, carefully cradled Bellatrix to his chest, and placed his palm flat against the panel outlined by four white lines. The image of the room melted between those lines, and was replaced by darkness, the smell of woods, and the hooting of an owl.

"Follow me, please." He led the way, Narcissa quickly following. Seconds later the space closed, leaving no sign of the exit made by the unlikely trio. An hour would pass before Ares would wake up, but his screams of anger would ensure everyone else in the manor lost the chance of further sleep that night.

Elsewhere

As Hermione, Tonks, and her family stopped spinning, the young witch realized something was wrong. Her parents and sister had landed on their backsides, and were standing up slowly.

"Something's wrong," she muttered. Looking around she did not see Hogwarts. She did not see anything familiar. "We aren't at Hogwarts. What happened?" Her voice was rising, panic gripped her heart. She had tried to save her family, and now it seemed she had brought them to danger.

Tonks cracked her neck and back. She hated traveling by portkey. "D'ya think maybe they got the portkeys mixed up?" Hermione turned to the young Auror. "You know Arthur. He can be somewhat forgetful. I know Remus prefers to travel by portkey – what if they gave us the wrong one?" Hermione bit her lip in thought. While unlikely, it was still possible.

"Hey, Hermione? Where are we?" Julie asked, brushing dead leaves from her pants. Her mother and father echoed the question. Hermione turned to answer, when she felt the air change around them.

"Get down!" she shouted. Her family ducked down as Tonks and she pulled out their wands. "Stupefy!" she aimed her wand into the darkness. A slight laugh ran through the wind. Hermione felt chills raise up her arms.

"Remus said he had changed slightly over the years – he never mentioned becoming a teenage girl," an amused voice called. "Also, it is not nice to attempt to harm those who are here to help you, young lady." It was a mocking tone that chastised the young Gryffindor. Hermione growled in frustration.

"Here to help! We have no clue where we are, you haven't shown us who you are, and we don't know who you are. Sorry for being on guard!" The voice laughed a rich pleasant sound in spite of the situation. It was behind her. Hermione turned frantically, Tonks mirroring her.

Light bathed the Grangers and Tonks from an unseen location. Hermione blinked, her eyes adjusting from the darkness. They were in a clearing, in the distance a small cabin was visible. She looked up, seeing the beginnings of a snow shower.

"Come on then. Remus must have fucked this up somehow. No matter, he's still a sweetie. Though I doubt Sirius will be too pleased, he was looking forward to catching up," the woman came into the clearing from the darkness. Hermione gasped.

The woman seemed to be in her late twenties, though given the aging process of witches and wizards it was a guess at best. She had dark brown, almost black hair that flowed down her back, reaching her hips. She wore red lipstick, which only brought attention to her pale skin. Her nose was pierced with a small emerald, matching the hue of her eyes. She wore a short dark denim skirt, and boots which reached her knees. A green turtleneck and black trench coat completed her ensemble. She walked forward, towards Tonks and Hermione, and a small dagger attached to a holster around her thigh was barely visible.

"You," Hermione began. The woman raised a beautifully arched eyebrow. Even Tonks had a strange sense of familiarity with this gesture. "You look like her."

"Who? Oh, you're British, so you probably go to Hogwarts," she sighed aloud. "So you probably mean my sister, Minerva. My God, no matter how many years goes by I'll always be seen as Minerva McGonagall's little sister. Well, I guess there could be worse things. I am Aurora McGonagall, and welcome," she gestured with arms wide open to the empty clearing, "to Nowhere Maine in the United States of America."

Tonks finally spoke up, remembering something…Aurora…had said a minute before. "What do you mean "Sirius won't be pleased." Sirius is dead." Hermione nodded her head.

"Ah, yes, that nasty bit with passing through the veil after being hit by a curse. Well, yes, normally that would kill a person. Luckily for Sirius, he has been shagging a half-breaker for the past few decades, and after he got out of Azkaban there was no bloody way I was going to let a little thing like death keep us apart. He's at the cabin, eagerly awaiting Remus and Arthur. Though I take it you lot know them?"

"Remus is my boyfriend," Tonks spoke. Aurora looked her up and down, assessing her. Tonks shifted uncomfortably, feeling her hair turn from pink to red.

"I see. And you? I take it the muggle family is yours?" she turned to Hermione.

"My name is Hermione Granger. I am best friends with Harry Potter," she spoke in a loud yet slightly quivering voice. Her mind was racing, trying to remember any time Minerva mentioned having a sister, or any of her family. She knew her parents had died during the war, but never mentioned any siblings.

"How do you know Minerva?" Aurora asked. Hermione looked confused.

"Well, you already said it – I go to Hogwarts, where she teaches." Aurora shook her head.

"No no no. I am asking how you know Minerva, not "Professor McGonagall." There is something else. It flows from your aura. How do you know my sister?" Hermione felt a blush quickly rise to her cheeks. She felt her families eyes on her back, Tonks questioning gaze next to her.

The snow, which had been lightly falling moments before suddenly began to fall in earnest, with a biting chill cutting through all in the clearing.

"Right then, I suppose that will have to wait until later – I will not risk Sirius' wrath by having his godson's best friend freeze to death out here. Follow me, please, and do try not to wander far from this path; no use in dying this time of night." Hermione gestured to her family to come along, and with a shrug her parents began following, wondering what they had gotten into. Julie and Tonks held back.

"Something is going on with my sister and this Professor, Pinkie," she quietly said to Tonks. The pink-haired witch nodded, then stopped.

"Oy! Who're you callin' "Pinkie," ya git?" Julie laughed, helping to break the awkward silence that had descended.

Elsewhere…

Outside Hogwarts Albus Dumbledore was out for a late afternoon walk, attempting to clear his head of the last stressful few days. He was enjoying the cool winter air, and collecting his thoughts. Ten feet from him the air cracked open, and two bodies collapsed on top of each other. Dumbledore reached for his wand, taking careful aim towards the unidentified people.

"Arthur, where are we? What the hell happened with the portkey?!" Dumbledore heard the familiar voice of his former Defense professor, followed by a less than polite response from Arthur Weasley.

"Ahem," Dumbledore loudly cleared his throat. The two men stopped their bickering briefly and looked up to see the famed headmaster looking down on them, confused. Arthur and Remus scrambled up to their feet, looking around them.

"Tell me, Arthur, tell me you didn't give Hermione and Tonks the wrong portkey; please tell me they are not where we are supposed to be!" Remus' voice rose steadily. Arthur had the grace to look embarrassed.

"Er, I could tell you that, but it wouldn't, ahem, be true," Arthur replied. Remus looked frantic.

"Remus, calm down. Where was your portkey supposed to take you?" Dumbledore asked in an attempt to diffuse the tension.

"Here's the thing, Headmaster: this is not something many people know, so please, for now, I ask you to keep it to yourself," Remus began, running a hand fiercely through his hair. Seeing Dumbledore nod, he continued. "Last year, I was contacted by a friend. A very close friend whom I thought had been lost to the ages. He explained what had happened, it sounded unbelievable. But we met together, and it was him. I even brought veritaserum with me to make sure! I was on my way with Arthur to collect him to help us. But there was a mishap with the portkeys, so instead of Hermione and her family and Tonks being here, two bumbling fools are. Tonks and Hermione are somewhere, with a family of muggles, without any idea how to get back safely." Dumbledore took it all in stride.

"Remus, who is this friend? Does he have anything to do with the fact that Sirius Black's name has been posthumously acquitted of all charges, and a formal apology for his time in Azkaban issued from the Ministry?" Dumbledore asked. Arthur, who was unsure of the person Remus and he were to collect, also looked intrigued.

"Yes, Headmaster. Sirius Black is alive and well. It was going to be a brief moment of happiness, particularly for Harry, to be reunited with his godfather. But now Hermione and Tonks are going to walk into a situation they may not know how to cope with." Dumbledore's eyes widened. Between what has happened to Minerva, bringing Hermione's family to Hogwarts, and now this, he could not imagine this winter holiday becoming any stranger.

The three men all turned towards the sloping green hill leading to the Forbidden Forest: they heard voices along with the breaking of twigs. Dumbledore felt the wards shifting to allow three unidentified people through. He silently gestured to Arthur and Remus to follow him, hiding within a notice-me-not charm. They walked as quickly as they could while remaining silent towards the edge of the wood.

Their breathes came out in short puffs, harsh and painful in the frigid temperature. They came to a fallen log and hid behind it. Dumbledore put a finger to his lips, and closed his eyes. He reached out with his magic, trying to get a sense of who they were dealing with. He had learned in the past to gather as much information as possible before heading into any situation.

The tendrils of his magic maneuvered the terrain rapidly, and as Dumbledore heard another tell-tale crunch of feet on twigs, he directed the stream of magic towards the noise. Less than a minute which felt like an hour, Dumbledore's eyes shot open as he jumped up as quickly as his body would allow. Arthur and Remus looked up in confusion, fearing the worst. Dumbledore turned towards the noise, and found himself face to face with a man he had not seen in years carrying what would seem like an unconscious Bellatrix, accompanied by Narcissa Malfoy.

"You!" Remus shouted, his wand at the ready to hex the dark-haired woman. Dumbledore disarmed both Remus and Arthur. "Headmaster, this is the woman who tortured Minerva! Your own words! How can you-"

"Silence, Remus," Dumbledore said absently. His eyes were focused on the young man in front of him. "My God, I have not seen you for many a year, Helios." The younger McGonagall nodded his head with a tight smile. Through the smile, though, his eyes stormed.

"Headmaster. I will be brief for the time being: First, Bellatrix Black here is under my protection, as is her sister; second, Ares has become Tom's right hand man; third, Bellatrix here has been framed by Ares for a variety of wrong-doings, including the murder of Sirius Black, and the torture of Minerva McGonagall; fourth, Bellatrix and Narcissa are romantically involved, and I expect them to be treated as would any other couple; and lastly, Headmaster," his eyes narrowed, any trace of a smile completely gone. "I want to see my sister, and I want you to then explain why you removed any trace of her siblings from her memory. And I want that last one, NOW." Dumbledore blanched at the last few pieces of information, but nodded his head sharply before apparating them all to the infirmary.

Poppy is simply going to hate seeing me after this week, Dumbledore thought.