Changing History With A Flair

by fan.f.freak

post GOF Harry gets help in the form of stranger who claims to come from 2011. Armed with knowledge, can harry along with this stranger save the world and rewrite the history. Will he save sirius and others? Fred, Lupin, Tonks... all of them?

10. Chapter 11

CHAPTER 10: TWIST TWIST TWIST

Andrea smiled as she read the headlines. CORNELIUS FUDGE SACKED AND AMELIA BONES AS THE NEW MINISTER FOR MAGIC.

It gave her a savage pleasure to see the red and shamed face of the bumbling baboon named Fudge. She scanned the newspaper and then folded it. They had finally achieved it. Voldemort was sure to go after Amelia Bones, like she knew, but Amelia wasn't an Order member in the books and didn't have all the information and protection. Dumbledore had made sure to erected bloodwards and quickened up the whole election and just after two days was their first victory.

"He was an evil, power hungry bastard."

"Andy!" Molly admonished while Arthur shook his head in amusement.

"Oh come on, I know you feel the same." She wiggled her eyebrows and the elder witch bit her cheek from smiling. Fred and George winked at her while Remus and Tonks were busy among themselves.

"Look the train's here." She said instead and Andrea turned to look at the gleaming red engine of the Hogwarts express.

The gates opened and the students shot out, jumping, waving and all acting as if on sugar high. She smiled looking at all of them and craned her head to look at her bunch of buffoons.

Sure enough lanky and tall Ron, Harry and Neville were making their way and behind them were petite and short, Hermione, Ginny and Luna.

"Hey Shorty!" she heard and looked at Harry, who was snickering with Ron and Neville at her name.

"What's up Scarface or should I say the Boy-Who-Simply-Refuses-To-Die?" she said with a sweet smile, while Fred and George guffawed at that.

"Awesome."

"Knew we like you for a reason." The twins complimented her and she wiggled her eyebrows at Harry, who scowled at her.

"Hey Andy, long time no see." Ron said giving her a gentle hug and she was startled at the thoughtful gesture.

"Hey Ron, 'Weasley is our King' made the top ten Hogwarts charts of all times." She teased and he grinned proudly at that.

They all hugged and Molly fussed over all of them and they made their way out of the magical Platform.

"Andy, I think I see the Dursleys." Tonks commented and Andy turned her wide eyes in the direction she was pointing.

She blinked and realised she hadn't thought of this. She saw that the crowd was still unaware of their presence except for Tonks and Remus.

"Distract them. I'll handle this." She said to Tonks out of the corner of her mouth and went to the weird family.

"hello." She said coming at a stop right in front of them.

"Who the ruddy hell are you?" Vernon Dursleys barked.

"Some things never change. Well, remember last summer when Harry saved your son? Yup, no need to look so shocked. I'm the same Andrea." She turned to Petunia.

"I'm surprised at you Petunia; you didn't recognise your own first cousin." Petunia's eyes stretched in horror.

"Andy…"

"Oh yes. Andy. Now, since you are here just on obligation and are none whatsoever concerned about Harry, I free you and take it all upon myself. Harry has me and my family to call his own, so we won't need you or your lodging anymore. Don't worry about Harry's stuff, I packed it all last night and shifted it from your house, you'll just have to clean the room." She looked at them with a sweet smile.

"I would have thanked you but I won't seeing how you treat relatives, but I would tell you to be polite. You never know how your grandchildren might come out, after all our blood is magical. Goodbye."

She turned and made her way to the crowd discreetly. She saw Neville with his grandmother who nodded at her.

"Shall we go?" she asked in general.

"My parent's haven't showed up- oh, there they are, mum. Dad." Hermione ran over to her parents and hugged both of them. Everyone chatted and Andrea was introduced to Dr and Dr Granger.

Finally everyone said their goodbyes and were all on their ways. She saw Harry looking tensed and she winked at him.

"I don't trust that look." He pointed out and Andrea scoffed. She led him behind a big dumpster that would hide their departure from all sides.

"Of course you don't. Now stop being a git and grab this" she said and held out a broken quill. He took it gingerly and it glowed blue and they disappeared.

There feet touched the ground and Andrea fell rather painfully on Harry's trunk.

"Damn this trunk." She muttered and saw Harry blinking owlishly.

"I thought we were going to Privet Drive."

"And I thought you would rather not see them." She didn't know how but suddenly she was being swirled in air by a very hyperactive Harry.

"Stop it, put me down you git"

"Merlin, Andy… you are the best." She squealed like a girl when he swirled her once again.

"Ahhhhh…. HELP!" she squealed and heard him laugh boisterously. Suddenly she was put on her feet but staggered and then she was bouncing on someone's back. Her vision was upside down and her brain had been on a spin for the last minute so it wasn't a good combination.

"WHAT THE HELL! PUT ME DOWN OR I'M GOING TO HEX YOUR BLOODY ARSE OFF" she screeched and she was put down immediately.

She saw the grinning face of Fred or George, she didn't realise who, and saw red. She whipped out her wand and someone grabbed her from behind and swirled her once again.

"STOP MANHANDLING THE GIRL! PUT HER DOWN THIS INSTANT" she heard Molly screech and once again her feet touched the ground.

She staggered and she actually saw four identical Weasley twins. Her vision corrected and she saw everybody minus Hermione and her family laughing.

She went to Molly and sulked, and saw a howling Tonks.

"You are supposed to be my best friend." She growled and Tonks howled more.

"There there dear, it happens to the shortest one." Molly patted on her head and she looked at her in disbelief.

"Just because they all are growing like bamboo, doesn't give them the right to manhandle me." She glared at the twins and Harry who was now sitting next to Sirius.

"You know we love you." The twins chorused and Andrea was mollified a bit.

"You are lucky I love you too because I recently learnt a castration charm" she replied sweetly which had the twins scampering away and the males in the room crossed their legs immediately, and Andrea felt avenged.

She sat down next to Tonks who was wheezing and looked at Remus.

"Seriously, what did you do to her? She wasn't this… I don't know…. Insane?" Remus had faint pink lines on his cheeks as the kids looked from Tonks to Remus and back.

"It's good to have everyone back." Arthur smiled and turned to his youngest two. "Kids, we will be staying here for some time. The Burrow is being reconstructed, so Sirius has graciously allowed us to stay here for the summer."

"What happened?"

"Did the Death Eaters attack the Burrow?" The questions were fired rapidly from Ginny and Ron respectively and Arthur shook his head.

"No. nothing of that sort. A month back we received the last wills and testament of my great-great Grandfather Septimus Weasley who left us a fortune. We have decided to add a few decent wards and renovate the Burrow from some of the money."

"Some of the money, and decent wards? How much have been left." Ginny asked.

"A hundred million galleons."

It took one full hour to make them believe and when they finally did they looked solemn and Ron asked his mother.

"I don't want the Burrow to look any different. It's our home and I love the way it is." Andrea smiled and Molly sobbed and Arthur looked at his son with pride.

"Ickle Ronniekins grew up at last." Said one of the twin wiping a fake tear, and the moment was gone.

Some things were definitely speeding up, like the emotional capacity of Ronald Weasley.

The kids trudged back to their rooms and Andrea was with them chatting and joking.

After seeing them all into their rooms Andrea was making her way through the stairs when she was suddenly pulled into a room.

She raised her eyebrow as she saw her kidnapper.

"Black" the gorgeous man in front of her replied with an entirely serious face.

"Evans."

"Why did you pull me in here?" he was very good-looking and he knew it rather well.

"Just because I felt like." Andrea nodded at that.

"Okay. I thought you had something in mind but its okay." She shrugged nonchalantly. She looked up when he started to lean forward making her bend backward on the console.

"Oh I did have a lot many things on my mind."

"Like what?" she asked breathlessly.

"Like kissing you senseless and then ravishing you." Andrea felt her nerves doing the anticipatory dance.

"I've been thinking the same thing." She said and brought down his mouth on hers and kissed him till there was no air in her lungs.

"I missed you." She heard him and chuckled.

"I was only gone for one hour, and after that those morons shook my brain." He grinned charmingly at her.

"Well you are short and it was fun to watch you shriek. Major turn on." Andrea just stared at him. Damn, how did he do it?

"You got a way with words Mr Black, I was thinking of the castration charm when you started the sentence but now I think it would affect me too."

Sirius groaned and grinded into her and kissed her brutally, one that she responded with equal fervour.

"I'm scarred" the voice pierced her lust driven fog and she pushed Sirius off her and stood up to see the twins covering each other's eyes, standing right in the middle of the room.

Andrea blushed to the roots of her hair as she realised the position she was in just few seconds ago.

"What the bloody hell are you doing here?" she cleared her throat to sound normal and looked back to see Sirius leaning back on the door looking like GQ model.

"Are you decent?"

"Dammit, how many times do I have to tell you not to apparate in the room?" she asked putting her hands on her face and glared at Sirius who just chuckled.

They uncovered their faces and grinned unabashedly and Andrea groaned as they wiggled their eyebrows suggestively. She whipped out her wand and pointed at their members and saw them gulp.

"Breathe one word of this and I'll make sure that Molly doesn't get any grandchildren from you. Am I clear?"

"crystal." They chorused together and disappeared. She turned to look at Sirius and glared.

"Thanks for your help." She moved forward and sat down on the edge of the bed looking at him sullenly. He laughed and came forward, sitting beside her.

"What are we here for?" she asked looking at the guest room she had prepared many months ago.

"To talk about sleeping arrangements." She looked at him and frowned.

"What about that?" she saw him fidget and she didn't like it one bit. Sirius sighed and looked at her seriously.

"I think we should sleep in our respective rooms for some time."

"Till the time Harry's here you mean?" she asked challengingly and he sighed once again.

"It's complicated to explain."

"You don't want to tell him about us." She stated.

"It's not that, it's just that it's too soon to tell him. I don't know how he'll react…" he trailed miserably and Andrea felt a spark of anger.

"Oh yeah, how do you think he'll react?" she stood up and faced him. He looked up with a grimace and Andrea looked closely.

"Wait a minute…. How he'll react? You are referring to the age gap aren't you?" she asked incredulously.

"Well he is sixteen, do you think he'll understand?" he shot back.

"Of course he will. There is nothing to be ashamed of or is it?" she asked, suddenly not sure.

"Of course I'm not ashamed." He said indignantly, a frown marring his features.

"Yeah, that is why you brought it up didn't you?"

"Goddammit woman, hold you hippogriffs. I just meant that what would he think about his Godfather and first cousin dating." He exploded pacing away from her. Andrea felt her anger swelling as she took in his stubborn stance.

"Fine. Sleep in your room, I'll sleep in mine and I won't tell Harry about us. I hope you are happy Black" she hissed and disapparated not hearing Sirius groan pitifully.

Andrea apparated in the kitchen and sat down at the now empty table and put her head down and screamed.

"Damn that man." She tried not to scream out again and felt a wet snout in her ear. She turned sideways and looked at Merlin, who had his eyes widened in an adorable way. He licked her face and she chuckled lightly.

"You sweet little puppy dog. I wish he was more like you." She muttered and heard a chuckle. She turned and saw Molly and Tonks at the doorway with Tonks chuckling.

"Yeah, laugh at my expense." She muttered and Merlin, who had grown astonishingly in the last month and now, was one foot tall, climbed onto her lap.

"You do realise that you are growing like a vampire kid?" she addressed him and he just licked her face again.

"Whoa…" she looked up, yet again, and found Harry, Ron and Ginny standing in the doorway with Fred and George bringing up the rear.

"Merlin, that's Harry, Ron and Ginny. Guys this Merlin, my familiar." She said and Ginny cooed and came forward to scratch him.

"Impressive, how old is he?" Harry asked.

"Two and a half months." Their eyes widened at that and Andrea chuckled.

"Yeah, he is magical and he is growing at an alarming rate, aren't you babe?" she asked him sweetly and he rubbed his snout on her cheek.

"Awww….. He is so cute." Ginny said and looked at him adoringly. Just then Sirius entered and Andrea turned away.

"He is definitely different from other dogs. Here, scratch him all you want. I'm gonna help Molly." She got up and went to Molly just as Sirius was about to sit near her.

How dare he?

"Trouble in doggy paradise?" Tonks sang and Andrea shot her a filthy look as she sat between her and Ginny.

She avoided any eye contact or any conversation with him during the entire dinner, and that had many looking at the two in amusement because Sirius had tried to talk to her more than a few times.

Distraction came in the form of Elizabeth McDonald, who was a carbon copy of Mary but a good six years younger. All of them greeted her warmly and sat down to chat.

The kids were informed about the Trust and Harry gripped her hand to convey his thanks and Andrea just shrugged smiling. They discussed various things but the night ended on a happy note, well as happy as Andrea could be.

"I'm off." She said to everybody.

"Me too. I'm damn tired." Ginny said and Andrea smiled at her. They both bade their goodnight and went out of the kitchen, with Merlin following them. They chatted pleasantly and tiredly and said their farewells and went to their respective rooms.

Andrea shut the door after Merlin and saw him lie down on Sirius' side of the bed. She felt angry and in a fit of rage, warded her room against entry.

"Try and cross me Black." She muttered and went to do her nightly washing. As she finally lay down, and looked at Merlin's head on the pillow instead of Sirius, her heart clenched. She missed him, but his idiotic fear hurt her.

She closed her eyes in determination and fell in a restless sleep.

Sirius turned yet again, and looked at the pillow next to him. He missed her. He didn't even feel comfortable in his own bed, for Godric's sake.

He definitely didn't like the feeling of being the bad guy and especially her cold shoulder. He didn't like it one bit and he was to blame himself for that.

He uttered an oath and flung himself from the bed. Throwing caution to the winds, he determinately opened his door and went to the room right opposite his and halted.

If he would knock then she would have an excuse to run, so he decided to take the unicorn by its horn, and grabbed the doorknob, and let it go the next second and tried not to scream as he practically hopped on the spot waving his hand madly.

He looked at his burnt palm and then at the doorknob in disbelief. She warded the room!

He glared at the doorknob and then stormed back to his room, not noticing a certain boy with scar shaped scar standing in the shadows with a ginger head boy and trying very hard not to laugh at the face of his Godfather after he got the burn.

"He's got it bad." The ginger head whispered.

"I know. The dinner was hilarious. Let's go before someone watches us." The scarhead muttered and they quietly moved back in direction of their room after nicking the dessert and few butterbeers from the kitchen.

XOXOXOXO

"Hey Harry" Andrea said to the mop haired boy with glasses, yawning and making her way to the table.

"Hey Andy, hello Merlin." He replied stifling his own yawn.

"Had a rough night dear? It's practically noon." Molly said with concern evident on her face. She saw the shaking shoulders behind the opened Daily Prophet.

"Something funny Remus?" she asked and the werewolf removed the paper to reveal an innocent face.

"No, just reading an article." Andrea scowled and then sighed. This was too ridiculous. She shook her head and absently fed Merlin her toast, when Sirius made his appearance.

Andrea was tired of scowling and her head ached from the lack of sleep.

"It seems everybody slept in." Molly commented and she saw Harry diving under the table. The tell-tale signs of a grin were still visible on his face when he emerged from it, and Andrea thought what was so funny?

"Dumbledore called a meeting tonight." Arthur commented and all traces of sleep vanished from Andrea's face.

"finally." She exclaimed and looked heaven wards.

"Why's that?" Harry asked

"The thing we discussed in the Hospital Wing?"

"oh." He said as comprehension dawned on him.

"What was the thing you discussed in Hospital Wing?" Sirius asked looking from her to Harry and then back again.

"Order business." She said turning to feed Merlin another toast.

"And what is the Order business?" he asked through gritted teeth. Andrea turned to him missing the look Harry and Ron shared.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" She said sweetly and bit into a muffin. She was oblivious to all the bets that were taking place all around, courtesy Fred and George.

"Harry knows doesn't he?" Sirius challenged her.

"Of course he knows. He's my cousin after all, Black." She smiled and more galleons were transferred under the table.

Sirius looked at her with narrowed eyes and she consumed the rest of her muffin happily. Didn't have an answer to that did he?

She saw as Sirius stabbed his eggs with vengeance and felt satisfaction.

After a few minutes she excused herself and exited the kitchen with Merlin following her.

"Andy" she heard and turned back to see Sirius standing behind her on the second floor landing.

"Black, is something the matter?" she asked, and saw him take a step forward in obvious agitation. His face looked like a thundercloud, and he looked very handsome.

A growl interrupted her musings as she looked down to find Merlin looking like a fierce dog, rather than the adorable puppy, growling at Sirius.

Andrea stood there, looking as astonished as Sirius. She controlled her laughter that was about to break free, and apparated to her room. She laughed like a loon and held her ribs as tears leaked from her eyes.

Merlin growled at Sirius! She laughed and rolled on her bed. Finally her fit stopped and she smiled. Things were definitely interesting these days, with everyone present.

She wiped her tears and went to take her bath wondering what would happen next.

But nothing did. The evening rolled in without any incidences and Andrea found herself sitting at the table with the other members.

Her usual chair was taken by Elizabeth, that was right by Sirius and she sat between Fred and George, waiting for Dumbledore to start.

"Good evening everyone. I'm glad you all could make it." He surveyed them with a smile and continued.

"The battle at the Ministry went in our favour. Voldemort was revealed and we gained a New Minister." Amelia nodded at the applaud and Andrea beamed.

"Now, Andy said something about curing the Longbottoms? I have been wondering what that meant?" Dumbledore looked at her as the people broke into murmurs.

"I believe Mary and Severus can explain it better. They were the ones who processed the whole thing." She said gesturing towards the Potion Master who was sitting right nest to Mary.

"Severus?"

The next few minutes passed as Mary and Severus explained the theory and people had their eyebrows vanishing in their hairlines.

"When can we revert them?" Dumbledore asked curiously.

"As soon as I floo Lady Longbottom." Andrea said and Dumbledore beamed.

"I cannot express how joyous I'm."

"Expressing your joy would be jinxing it Albus." Severus said gravely and Andrea turned to look at him.

"What do you mean Severus?"

"We have a situation. The Dark Lord is very angry. He lost two of his faithful servants and he is out for revenge. His mission failed and the Ministry knows about him. He punished each and every one of us, regardless of our role in the retrieval of the prophecy. There is another thing he is after other than Harry Potter." He looked right at her and said the next words. "He wants one Andrea Evans; dead or alive."

Andrea didn't feel shocked, not at all. On the contrary, she expected it. After being in Harry's mind, he must have picked out a few things. She had accepted the fact the night she saw Harry being possessed by that imbecile.

She saw as people around her stared at her in horror and Andrea sighed. She looked at Sirius whose eyes were showing the terror he felt and Andrea felt juvenile for the treatment she gave him the entire day.

"It was to be expected." She said shrugging and Severus nodded, looking oddly impressed. She turned to Dumbledore.

"Things are changing, and fast. Voldemort knows that one, I'm Harry's magical blood relative and two that I'm a seer. He was bound to find out when he possessed Harry. This was totally expected."

Dumbledore looked grim.

"Severus, when is the initiation?" Andrea asked suddenly and all heads turned to look at her in confusion, while Severus raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"It already happened yesterday." Andrea blinked her eyes in shock.

"What? He already marked him?"

"I'm afraid so."

"Who has been marked?" Dumbledore asked with a very firm voice.

"Draco Malfoy." Andrea and Severus said in unison while people gasped. She closed her eyes as the Weasley twins muttered oaths under their breaths.

"The Dark Lord wasted no time in initiating Draco Malfoy to his Inner Circle. He soon would be appointed his task."

"We will have to save the Malfoys." Andrea said in the silence and she could practically feel eyes boring into her skull.

"Are you mad?" this came unexpectedly from Sirius. Andrea blinked away her shock and tried to tell them her reason.

"No, I'm not mad but the kid is no Death Eater." She looked straight at him as she said that and saw him sneer.

"We are talking about Malfoys. He was given the training to be a Death Eater while he was in nappies."

"You too are a Black; the same could be said for you." Sirius leaned back as if shot and Andrea was filled with dread at what she said.

"Andrea." Dumbledore warned her and she turned to look at everyone who were looking like she had betrayed them.

"I just want to say that Draco Malfoy is not a Death Eater."

"Forgive me for pointing out the obvious, but he has the mark on his forearm." Remus snarled out and Andrea looked at him in fear. The werewolf was lurking in those amber depths and Andrea was hearing from him.

Sirius hadn't looked away from the table top, and Andrea saw Remus gripping Sirius' forearm.

"If I'm saying something Remus, it might have some theory behind it."

"I guess your theory is practically shite, if you are defending the Malfoys. They are killers. They torture people for the fun of it. You haven't lived here so you don't know. You are not one of us to know what adversities the Malfoys have showered us with."

Andrea swallowed the lump in her throat as she heard the werewolf say such hurtful words. She tried telling herself that the full moon was next day, but damn, it hurt so bloody much. She blinked back her tears and looked at Sirius, who had his fists and jaws clenched but he wasn't looking at her.

Andrea never felt this alone. She looked at Tonks who had a conflicting emotion on her face and Andrea nodded to her. She shouldn't damage her relationship by siding with her.

She sat forward and looked straight at Dumbledore.

"Voldemort is going to give Draco an assignment. The assignment would be to kill Albus Dumbledore." She ignored the gasps and continued.

"And also that he find a way to infiltrate Hogwarts with Death Eaters. Draco Malfoy will try to send you cursed necklace but a student will touch it and almost die. He will try and send you poisoned mead but one of the kids present in this home will be subjected to it, again almost killing them. Finally he will have a face to face encounter with you but he will not kill you. Narcissa Malfoy will approach Severus and ask him to make an unbreakable vow, vowing to finish Draco's assignment. Severus does that for his godson, and in the end it will be Severus who kills you."

She sat back and stared at the table top. The silence was thundering. She didn't dare look at anyone and tried not to let her emotions take control.

"He is not a Death Eater." She started in a controlled voice still looking at the table top. "He might have been raised to hate the muggle-borns, and hate the others but that was not his fault. That was his parents. Draco never had to think about anything. Everything was presented in a silver platter, so the war didn't affect him. He never had a one on one encounter with the battle victims. He has just been marked; he hasn't taken any of those steps. If you try, there will be one less Death Eater and maybe another spy for you. If you don't, you'll have no one to blame but yourselves. Every innocent deserves a second chance. It's what I think sir." She looked straight at Dumbledore who looked at her with very solemn eyes.

"I agree. What do you suggest we do?" Andrea consoled her heart with the fact that at least Dumbledore believed her.

"We wait for Narcissa to approach Severus. We'll take it from there." She told and Severus nodded, looking at her with oddly glittering eyes. Andrea didn't look too hard or she would have found a relieved Godfather's eyes thanking her for trying to save his Godson.

"Andy, make sure you floo Lady Longbottom right after the meeting. We can revert Frank and Alice tomorrow."

"I will do that sir. Severus, please use polyjuice potion. Don't want Death Eaters to get a whiff of it." Severus nodded and Andrea realised another thing but it was not meant for other's ears.

"Minister Bones, please pen me in for an appointment tomorrow at nine in the morning and Kingsley please be there." She told them and got a wary nod from both of them.

"Very well then. Thank you all of you. Keep a look out for the possible Death Eaters. Good night everybody. Andrea, a word in the parlour please." Andrea heard the chairs scraping and got up.

"Severus, join us. I have something important to discuss." She went out without looking at anyone and Severus joined her and Dumbledore in the parlour. He waved his wand and placed a few secrecy and silencing charms on the room.

"You shouldn't have said that to Sirius." The blue eyes looked dull with the sadness but Andrea was resolute.

"I feel bad too, sir, but a slap that hurts but wakes up is not hurtful. I feel immensely guilty for bringing it up but…" she sighed and sank down on the sofa and held her head in her hands.

"Have faith dear girl. Time heals all." Dumbledore put a comforting hand on her shoulder and she nodded.

"Yes, I think so. Right then, Severus." She turned to the black haired man and saw him incline his head.

"Is Wormtail at your home?" Severus looked shocked but recovered soon enough.

"indeed." Andrea nodded, her brain working wildly.

"Can you apparate or dissaparate from your house?" he shook his head in negative and Andrea nodded.

"Right. Just hand on a second." She quickly moved to the fireplace and ignited the fire in the grate. She took a pinch of floo powder and clearly said "Longbottom Manor."

She stuck out her head in the fire and her head swam. The formal drawing room came into view and so did Lady Longbottom.

"Miss Evans."

"Good evening ma'am, hope I'm not disturbing anything?"

"Oh no, go ahead and tell me you are here to make an appointment for Frank and Alice?" the elder lady asked in excitement.

"Why yes. How does nine tomorrow morning, sounds?"

"Perfect. I shall be there with Neville."

"So will Mary and Severus. Severus will be disguised but Mary will introduce herself. All the best Mrs Longbottom."

"You too dear." She sniffed delicately and Andrea pulled back her head and looked at two very intrigued men.

"Now, Severus, you and Mary have an appointment with the Longbottoms tomorrow at nine in the morning. Make sure Wormtail leaves as well. I will stun him and take him to the Ministry and get Sirius free."

"What about the Dark Lord?"

"Confound Wormtail, and make it believe he left it on his own. I'll be at Spinner's End at eight thirty. Any suggestions sir?" she asked Dumbledore who beamed at her.

"You are doing a jolly good job of it so far. I'll be at the Ministry with Minister Bone tomorrow. Good luck and good night both of you."

Dumbledore exited the parlour leaving them behind.

"Good luck Severus. I need Wormtail, so good luck."

"And you too my dear." Severus said and left Andrea brooding in the parlour.

After a few minutes Andrea made her way to her room, but stopped and looked at the closed door on the opposite. She sighed and went there and knocked on the door.

She knocked again but no one answered. She tried the doorknob but it was locked.

"Sirius please, I need to talk to you." She called softly but still no response.

"I'm sorry Sirius. Please at least give me a chance to explain." He throat clogged and she tried one more time.

"Please Sirius." When no one answered, she let her tears fall. She turned and walked miserably to her room.

"Andy." She turned around and found a hesitant Remus standing on the stairs. His words rung in her ears and her eyes welled up again.

"Not now Remus." She whispered and closed her door behind her.

The bottle of firewhisky dropped from his hand, and his eyes closed to the blissful blackness, induced by the alcohol and he didn't heard the melodious sound pleading with him from the other side of his door, because Sirius Black was knocked out.

XOXOXO

Andrea was out of the house at six. She walked on foot trying to ease all her tension and worries and focused on the mission.

This mission would bring justice to Lily and James. This mission would bring justice to Sirius and Harry. This mission would free Sirius and Harry would have a legal 'cleared' guardian.

She arrived at Spinner's End at seven and disillusioned herself. The first thing she did was creating a circle around Severus' house and made a floor of rat stunning spell. Any magical rat that would step out of Snape's house would immediately be stunned.

And then she combined the web with the anti-animagus- revealing charm. Any animagus rat running would be stunned and would not be reverted back to his original shape.

She weaved the spells so tightly that there was no chance of Wormtail to escape. Lastly she sat right on opposite side pavement, and leaned on the hedge.

It was eight, and it was a good thing she had come early. The spell weaving took a long time.

Her wand was trained and she was vigilant of every move.

Right at quarter to nine Severus emerged from the house and walked a few steps and the stood and looked around.

A shrill whistle sounded and Andrea smiled in sync with Severus who disapparated with a loud crack. Andrea hurried and saw the red pulsing point right where Severus was standing. She walked over there and bent down to pick up an ugly balding rat.

Wormtail.

She fished out an unbreakable jar from her pocket and dropped him into it, and stunned him just for safety measure.

She quickly cancelled the web of spells she weaved and apparated right into the Ministry of magic.

Severus ducked into an alley after he stole some muggle hair. He quickly dropped them to the Polyjuice Potion he had brewed previously and saw as the potion turned a bright blue.

He gulped it and was soon transformed into the tall, blonde haired thickset man. He adjusted his robes and turned them bright purple and grimaced at the colour and apparated into the hospital.

"Healer Mary McDonald." He asked to the reception witch.

"Right here." He turned to see Mary looking at him with a straight face and twinkling eyes.

"Please follow me Mr Grant." She said swiftly walking and he tried not to scowl at the beautiful woman.

"Quit scowling. People would know it's you." She muttered lightly and Severus grimaced. Why did he let this woman get away with anything? He wondered as they entered the Janus Thickey Ward.

They went past several beds and finally came to the last two where Mrs Longbottom and Neville Longbottom were waiting. Severus had this insane urge to sneer at Longbottom to see him reaction in front of his grandmother, but he curbed it.

"Lady Longbottom. I'm Mary McDonald and this is my colleague, Mr Grant. If you sign these parchments, we will immediately start the procedure. I believe you are familiar with it?"

"Yes. I have been informed." Lady Longbottom said impatiently and Severus wanted to smirk.

She signed the parchments and gestured for them to proceed.

Severus turned as he felt Mary grip his hand and whisper "good Luck" and his heart started accelerating.

He went to Alice Longbottom first. She was lying there with her eyes closed, and her face was sunken and hair grey. Severus took out his wand and took a deep and cleansing breath.

"Legilimens"

Andrea caste a notice-me-not charm on herself as she walked through the atrium. One hand was gripping the wand tightly in her pocket while the other was gripping the jar in the other pocket.

She went to the lift and pressed for level two. The lift went swiftly and stopped at the DMLE, Auror Headquarters, and Improper Use of Muggle Artefacts level.

She quickly got out and made her way to the DMLE where the new Minister had situated her base and office.

She went with no problems and entered to find Amelia Bones, Dumbledore, Moody, Kingsley and Tonks all present.

Andrea shut the door and cancelled her charms and everyone focussed on her.

"Bring veritaserum, I got Wormtail." She smiled holding out the jar with the stunned rat in it.

Tonks looked jubilant, Moody stared at the jar with hatred, and Madam Bones looked amazed like Kingsley while Dumbledore clapped.

"Bravo, dear girl." He conjured a chair and took the jar from her as Andrea pointed her wand at the room and muttered some anti- animagus spells. At least that would help if he decided to make a run for it.

Dumbledore had reversed him to his human form and bound him to the chair. Tonks skipped ahead and handed him the strongest Veritaserum and Dumbledore opened his mouth and poured the three drops.

"Kingsley, Tonks, all yours. Amelia, get the quill and parchment ready."

Kingsley took Dumbledore's place, who came and stood behind with Andrea, his wand also pointed at Wormtail.

"Enervate." Kingsley spoke and Peter Pettigrew woke up.

"Your name."

"Peter Pettigrew."

"Age"

"Thirty six." Kingsley looked back to confirm it was him and got straight to the point.

"Which house were you in at Hogwarts."

"Gryffindor."

"Were you friends with James Charlus Potter?"

"Yes."

"Were you their Secret Keeper?"

"Yes."

"Did you frame Sirius Black and murdered those thirteen muggles on the 1st of November 1981?"

"Yes."

"Did you help resurrect Voldemort?"

"Yes."

"Did you kill Cedric Diggory?"

"Yes."

"Is Sirius Black innocent?" Tonks asked

"Yes."

"That's enough." Minister Bones said.

"stupefy." Andrea murmured and he was stunned.

They all saw as Amelia took out a goblin made parchment and duplicated the parchment with the conversation and attached them. She sealed it with her magic.

"Please stand back, all of you." She said and nodded at Dumbledore who conjured his patronus, and Andrea saw the dementors gliding forward.

Dumbledore was sure a scout, all being handy with everything and at every time.

Her skin crawled as she saw the rotting hand of the dementors. Amelia enervated Peter, who looked around wildly and then began screaming in earnest.

"This person is a criminal. I, as the Minister for Magic, order you to subject him to the kiss." The Minister's voice boomed and half a second later she saw the dementor swooping down on a crying Peter and sucked out his soul.

Peter's cries stilled and his squirming form became lax as Andrea watched with vindictive pleasure, the justice long due.

"I'll send these to the Mid-Day Prophet immediately." Amelia said and Andrea smiled for the first time.

He entered Alice's mind where he could practically see nothing. He walked a bit ahead and found a solid iron door and tried to open it.

It did not even budge. Dammit, they weren't supposed to be locked behind closed doors. Severus turned to look around and saw light streaming from below a door.

He quickly went over there and tried to open it and thankfully it did.

He entered the bright room where Alice was lying in the middle of the white floor, looking like he remembered from school days. He quickly moved forward and shook her.

"Alice, wake up. ALICE." He shouted and blinked open her eyes.

"Who are you?"

"You need to wake. It has been so long. Get up and open your eyes."

"But I like it here."

"It is rather pleasant, but do you not want to see your husband and son Neville." He watched as her eyes widened.

"Neville."

"Yes, now if you want to see him, you are going to abandon this peace. Remember this is just and illusion."

Maybe it was the word illusion because Severus suddenly felt himself being pushed rather forcefully from her mind at that.

He stumbled back onto his chair and saw Alice Longbottom opening her eyes for the first time in fifteen years, with full consciousness.

"Neville." She rasped in a voice that hadn't been used in fifteen years, and immediately Mary and her sister were around her.

He watched from the corner as they worked on Alice Longbottom and looked around and placed a few more of his own invented secrecy spells.

Lady Longbottom rushed quickly and out of character cried as she hugged her daughter-in-law, who smiled through tears.

Once they were sure she was fine Severus proceeded to revive Frank Longbottom. They all watched once again and Alice for the first time in silence and Severus bent down his head and close his eyes.

Extremely long minutes later they all saw Severus stumble in his chair as Frank Longbottom opened his eyes, looking straight at Alice.

Severus stood in the far corner as he saw Neville standing there, his tears flowing freely from his eyes and his mother gripped his hand like she wasn't going to leave anytime soon, and Severus felt a pang in his heart.

He had been alone his entire life. Lily Evans was the love of his life and all this he was doing was for her. He was bitter and cold after her death and until the year before but then another Evans had entered, and showed him that everything was not bad.

He saw the blonde head of Mary McDonald, who had been nothing to him but recently after spending some time with her, he felt better. He didn't feel all alone, and neither the cold and bitterness of the harsh reality.

He smiled serenely and saw Mary look back and smile at him. Severus knew in that very precise moment that he wasn't alone, not anymore.

XOXOXOXOXO

Andrea entered number twelve at one. One hand clutching the Mid-Day Prophet and the other the written apology from the Minister herself with a compensation of one million galleons.

She went straight to Sirius' bedroom and knocked. Her soaring heart dropped as she realised what that meant.

"Sirius, I really want to share some news with you. Please open the door." She tried the doorknob but it was locked. Even apparating was warded, and Andrea sighed in defeat.

"Maybe you should give him some time." She looked up and found Remus standing on the opposite side of the wall.

"Saying he was like his family was the worst insult for him and coming from you cut him up, pretty badly. He will need a few days to restore himself. You should give him some space."

Andrea tried very hard to suppress her emotions. It was a very tough battle but she won.

"fine." She said in a blank voice. She looked at the papers in her hand and gulped. She really was excited to see how he would react but there was no chance. She bent and pushed them from the skirting of the door and apparated straight into her room.

She grabbed her hair and tried not to break anything in the room. She sat on the bed and took a few deep breaths.

She would not cry, she vowed. She focussed on her work and she felt right.

She got up and waved her wand and a few essential things packed themselves in her sling bag. She sent a patronus to Harry, and gingerly took out her basilisk venom and transferred it to her bag.

"Andy?" she heard Harry at the door and waved the wand to open the door.

"Why are you packing?" he asked in astonishment and Andrea waved the door shut.

"I'm going with Dumbledore to get the Gaunt Ring. It might be a while, hence the packing."

"Oh, okay. Can't I go?" Andrea rolled her eyes at that.

"Enjoy your holidays with your Godfather. You had enough action at the Ministry." He looked sheepish at that.

"Right. Now I want you to do something for me."

"Uh… what?"

"Say 'open', 'stop' and 'open in the name of Salazar Slytherin, the greatest of Hogwarts four' in parseltongue. This might help."

She conjured a harmless garden snake and kept it levitating.

"Remember the lengthy pauses." She heard as he hissed and made those weird noised but she could easily remember the memory.

She vanished the snake and looked at him.

"It's done."

"What will you do with them?" he asked with interest.

"We are dealing with Voldemort. He would have used parseltongue at the Gaunt shack, I'm certain."

"Sneaky" he said and Andrea was reminded of Sirius.

"Now, I have a few more things to pack, so I'll meet you downstairs when I'm done. Now shoo…"

"Sheesh… no need to be so rude." He grumbled as her left her room and Andrea smiled.

Her bag was packed and her things were ready. She sat down on the desk, took out a fresh parchment and wrote down a letter for Sirius.

She shrunk her things and put them in her pocket, and made her way to Sirius' room. She pushed the parchment under his door and apparated downstairs to say her farewell to Harry.

Andrea didn't even know how the others would look at her, and if Remus' behaviour was any indication, then she was loathe to see all the others.

Thankfully Harry was waiting in the hallway chatting to Ron and Ginny.

"Hey guys." She said stepping from the last step.

"Why do you have to go Andy, it'd be so boring without you?" Ginny whined and Andrea smiled.

"I know, I'd rather soak my feet and have head massage but someone's gotta stop Voldemort." She smirked at them.

"So when will you come?" Harry asked with a serious face.

"No idea. It might take hours or days may be even weeks."

"Weeks?" Ron looked in horror.

"I'm sure it won't come to weeks but you have to be prepared for every possibility. Now, while I'm gone be good but don't be dull." The three grinned mischievously at that and hugged her goodbye.

"Take care and don't go running under the cloak, the DE knows about it, so you'll be running in right in the traps. Au Revoir." she said winking.

She shut the front door behind her and apparated away not hearing the door open and Sirius extending his hand and catching nothing but air.

He looked in horror at the place where Andrea vanished and his heart clenched painfully. He didn't even see her.

He shut the door and leaned against it, paying no notice to the three teenagers looking at him with wide eyes, and saw the parchment clutched in his hand.

Forgive me

A

"Where did she go?" he asked them and harry answered.

"She went on a mission with Dumbledore. What's wrong?"

"Did she say when she'll come?"

"She said it could even take weeks." Ginny replied with a grimace and his heart clenched.

"What's' the matter Sirius?" Harry asked seriously and he silently handed him the newspaper and the official written apology.

The kids all shouted and hugged him but he didn't even feel celebrating his freedom. Sirius closed his eyes and expelled his breath. She had given him his freedom and left. If he wasn't acting like a girl, and wallowing in self-pity, he could have gone with her and made sure she was safe.

She is a target for Merlin's sake!

How could he have been so bloody stupid? She was out there risking her life!

How was he going to survive without her for Merlin knows how long!

XOXOXOXOXOXO

Andrea apparated in Hogsmeade under the disillusionment charm. As per the plan, she went to Hog's Head and sat at the back of the bar. She waited for a few moments and then a tall someone entered wearing a long black cloak and face completely obscured by the hood.

The hooded figure sat right in front of her and she trained her wand on it.

"Magic words?" she heard a merry chuckle and that was a proof itself.

"I believe they are 'mission impossible'." Andrea grinned and lowered her wand.

"Alright. Let's get going then." She said softly and he held out a sherbet lemon to her. She rolled her eyes, trust Dumbledore to make sweets portkeys.

As soon as she touched it, a jerk behind her navel shook her up and they were swirling in masses of colours and sounds.

Her feet touched the ground and she stumbled, but Dumbledore caught her.

"thanks." She muttered and Dumbledore started walking. Andrea looked around and saw a big manor to her right. Riddle Manor. It gave her creeps and she shuddered.

They swiftly walked through the woods and Andrea wondered why this wasn't mentioned in the books.

Suddenly Dumbledore turned and walked around an extremely large boulder covered in vines and other creepers.

Andrea could see a path that had large grass grown over it. She turned back and saw Dumbledore vanishing the branches and she smacked herself when she saw a door and realised that the boulder was actually a small hut of sorts.

She saw as Dumbledore began chanting under his breath, and her eyes widened when the snake that was pinned to the barely standing door glowed an eerie green.

"Whoever will touch the door will die. It has been closed by parseltongue." Dumbledore informed her and Andrea wondered.

Was it that easy? Of course, Voldemort though that he was the only parseltongue of the century!

She quickly conjured and orb and extracted the memory of Harry speaking parseltongue.

She tapped it once and Harry's misty form rose up and hissed. Dumbledore turned to look at her and she quickly tapped it shut as the door creaked opened.

"I did my homework." She told the beaming headmaster.

"Of course. Nothing else is to be expected of you." He said and turned to now opened shack. He again waved his wand and a thick yellow mist appeared and enveloped the both of them.

She realised it was a shield so complex that it could deflect the majority of curses and the armour will take care of the unforgivable, but Voldemort was one very evil being. Who knew what he had up his sleeve.

They entered the shack and Andrea saw it was completely disintegrated. The floors were nothing but dirt, a few earthen wares were broken, and the wooden things were eaten up by termites and variety of insects and rodents roamed about.

She shuddered and realised that the shield protected her.

Dumbledore was still waving his wand and her eyes now fell on a few planks of wood that looked untouched. Could it be?

She tapped the orb once and Harry's voice hissed again but nothing changed. Andrea raised her eyebrows unimpressed and tapped the orb thrice. A sound of hissing and choking sizzled through the air and the planks shifted.

What a loser! She snorted. Greatest of Hogwarts four, indeed! Damn, that was easy, but she jinxed it by saying that.

They both moved forward, as a motion caught their eyes. Andrea wondered what was happening, when a glowing black ring started rising from the space under the planks.

A cold wind billowed in the shack and Andrea felt unnerved. It felt for a moment like she did under the Cruciatus curse but the ecstasy illusion. Her mind floated and her body felt lax but she snapped out of it quickly.

She looked at Dumbledore to ask whether he was okay or not and saw in horror as his hand started rising towards the ring.

He will die if he touches the ring, she panicked.

Quickly she tapped out the orb twice and sent a stunning spell at Dumbledore's forehead. The hissing voice stopped the blowing wind and the ring dropped innocently on the planks, along with Dumbledore.

This is how Dumbledore got that curse; she wondered and turned to look at his sprawled form.

He might have a nasty bump on his head, but it is definitely better than the cursed hand or cursed life.

She took a few deep breathes to control her hammering heart and nodded her head.

"Right. Time to kill you, you inbred bastard." She muttered and squared her shoulders. She rummaged her bag and took out the Slytherin's locket, basilisk venom flask and the silver dagger she had nicked from number twelve.

She dipped the dagger in the basilisk venom and quickly stabbed the ring in its centre. A loud screech echoed in the shack and then a black smoke rose from the ring and melted into nothingness.

Just to be on the sure side she poured a few large drops on the crack of the resurrection stone, and sighed in relief when nothing happened.

Right!

She turned to the locket and placed it gently on the floor. She placed the orb right next to it. She dipped the dagger into basilisk venom and tapped her wand on the orb. Harry hissed once again and the locket opened with a crack.

Two crimson eyes blinked from each compartment but before it could speak, Andrea stabbed both of them with the dagger, dripping with basilisk venom.

The shout this time was so loud that Andrea had to cover her ears, but her eyes opened right on time to see the soul of Tom Marvolo Riddle blend into nothingness.

She dropped the dagger and looked around the shack. The silence was eerie and deafening after those loud shrieks.

She shuddered and quickly went to Dumbledore.

"enervate." She said and Dumbledore opened his eyes.

"I'm sorry I had to stun you but you were about to touch the ring and it had a curse on it. I stabbed the ring and the locket." She said and helped him get up.

Dumbledore was looking at both the objects in wonder and Andrea saw a very excited gleam in his eyes.

"This is marvellous." He muttered and looked at the ring closely and Andrea sighed.

"Sir, horcruxes not hallows." He whipped to look at her so fast that Andrea was sure he might have had a whiplash.

"You know." He stated and the twinkle in his eyes died. Andrea went to him and placed her hand on his arm.

"I know. I'm not judging you. We all are allowed to make mistakes, but only the wise learn from them. Please don't beat yourself over it." Dumbledore's eyes looked suspiciously bright and Andrea felt very sad for him.

"Have faith." She said and patted his arm. He nodded and turned to look at her.

"Thank you Andy." He didn't say anything after that and Andrea quickly began to put back her things. When she turned back Dumbledore was back to normal. She took both the things and put them in her bag and he didn't even object.

Dumbledore waved his wand and everything went back in its own place. They exited and Dumbledore set back the charms he broke.

He silently offered her a sherbet lemon and she touched it. A second later her feet touched the ground and she saw that they were standing right in front of a stone Gargoyle.

"My office. I think we should stay the night here. We'll take our second trip at four."

"That's okay. I think we should get the diadem though." Andrea reminded and he nodded.

"Where is it?"

"Umm…. Seventh floor. Opposite the Barnabas the Barmy, teaching trolls how to dance, I think." She bit her lips in contemplation.

"It's right here. Please follow me." They went into a corridor and Dumbledore stopped in front of the said painting.

"right." Andrea said and looked at the blank stretch of wall on the opposite side of the painting. She hurried over to it and walked three time across it mentally chanting 'I want the place where everything is hidden'

A door materialised as she finished her third lap, and she looked at Dumbledore who looked with raised eyebrows. She grinned at him and opened the door to find a cathedral size of room full of junk.

It was fascinating.

Focus Andrea, a voice like her mother's shook her up and she shuddered.

Right diadem.

She hadn't read the sixth book in years, so she didn't remotely know where exactly the diadem was.

"Sir, there is this evil goblin head or something on which the diadem of Ravenclaw's rest. You check this way. I'll go here." She said pointing to two lanes. Dumbledore smile at her instructions but set forth nevertheless, as did Andrea.

Cauldrons, brooms, books, robes, helmets and god know what other things she saw but never the diadem.

She continued walking and looking but to no avail when suddenly she heard Dumbledore's voice.

"Here it is." Andrea hurried to the voice and her shirt got stuck in a handle of the cabinet making her swing.

"Bloody, huge cabinet-"she stopped mid-sentence and looked at the said cabinet closely and couldn't believe her luck.

The vanishing cabinet!

She looked at it to make it sure. It was huge that a person could easily sit, and it was broken. Bingo!

She quickly shrunk it and put it in her pouch and hurried forward to meet Dumbledore. He was looking at her with a fond gaze and she smiled sheepishly.

"I just couldn't let it happen, could I?"

"Of not dear girl, now I believe this is what you are looking for." he said indicating to the ugly bust with Diadem atop it.

"Exactly." She took out her flask and dagger and set them neatly on the floor.

She took the dagger and lifted the Diadem with it, not taking any chances, and laid it down on the floor and then looked at Dumbledore.

"I think you should kill it. You found it after all."

"I shall then."

"Just dip the dagger in the venom and stab it. That should do." She said moving away to give Dumbledore her place. Dumbledore bent down dipped the dagger into the venom and let it hover over the diadem.

"I hoped it wouldn't come to this Tom, and I'm crushed to be the one saying this, but you deserve it."

Andrea watched as the diadem began vibrating as if it knew exactly what was happening, but before it got too violent, Dumbledore quickly stabbed it.

Again Andrea watched for the third time that day as another part of Tom Marvolo Riddle's soul melted into nothingness, but this time there was no shriek or winds blowing.

This was rather anti climatic.

Dumbledore stood up and Andrea quickly gathered the stuff.

"I'll escort you to the Gryffindor Tower. It's the nearest. Rest and I'll send an elf with your dinner. Today has been a rather long day and I'm afraid that tomorrow is going to be much longer. Good work so far."

Andrea nodded and her smile fell when she realised on what conditions she had left number twelve and the events of the day crashed on her.

"I guess you are right. I'll be up at four." She said and both of them walked to another corridor, both lost in their own thoughts.

XOXOXOXO

Their journey had begun six days ago and today was the seventh and final day. Andrea had once wondered that the world was really a big place and she was getting to know it. They had started with Jamaica, West Indies, and Andrea grinned like a little girl at the scenery.

The beautiful beaches and the beautiful sunset, but of course, their work didn't leave much to explore.

Andrea learned that it was impossible to not know Dumbledore. The man was an enigma. It was Caribbean and people literally bowed down to him.

They stayed there for a few hours where Dumbledore discussed their problem with the chieftain of the Magical Tribe and they were directed to the Sugarloaf Mountains in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Andrea never knew that Magical Tribes still existed but she was surprised by her first visit. There too they discussed their problem only to be directed for a distant land, but Andrea was happy because they got to spend the night there, and enjoy the bonfire near the beach chatting up with the beautiful girls about their native land and inferi, which seemed to be the most discussed topic other than boys.

Next stop was Egyptian Pyramids. Still no luck, and once again they were travelling.

Albania, Turkey, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Siberia, Tokyo, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and finally to India, the last pit stop.

It was in the deep north Indian mountains, that they finally found the cure to their problem. The ancient Indian wizard, who Andrea was astonished to find out was even older than Dumbledore but hardly looked a day over seventy, lived in a grand castle with his wife and children. They were immediately welcomed and they found themselves being welcomed like long lost friends, and Andrea was told that Dumbledore had been his friend for a long time.

He was waiting for them, and it seems he actually possessed some inner eye to see them searching for him.

One whole day and night in the Indian mountains, with no one other than the three of them in a huge candle lit stone chamber, a very long incantation in the Sanskrit (of course by Dumbledore and the wizard named Veer), one moonless night ritual and they had the spell and potion to take out the horcrux from within Harry.

Andrea said her farewell to the welcoming family and grabbed the sherbet lemon that Dumbledore held out.

One last look at the beautiful landscape and she touched the sweet to be sucked into nothingness.

Her feet touched the ground and she stumbled. Immediately she was drenched as a large colossal wave splattered the rock Andrea was standing on with Dumbledore gripping her hand tightly.

She looked around with frightened eyes as she realised they were standing right in the middle of a turbulent and angry sea. She looked around and found a mountain with a crack in between.

"Are you bloody out of your mind?" she screamed above the noise of waves and wind. Her heart hammering, wildly as she recognised the cave. The bloody ghostly cave full of inferi and mind boggling potion. There was no way she was going in there.

"No way. No bloody way. We got the horcrux already. We don't need to go in there." Her voice shook with fear and Dumbledore looked at her with a smile.

"Humour an old man."

"Are you kidding me? Humour? I won't bloody well humour you-aaarrrggghhh" she screamed as Dumbledore suddenly leapt of the lone cliff into the angry sea, taking her with him.

She felt her head hitting something and she started pumping her legs to surface. The wave pulled her down and she was pulled rather violently like a rag doll in the grey water.

Suddenly an arm gripped her hand and she was pulled to the surface. She was busy gasping and coughing out water to realise they were speeding towards the mountain.

She was hauled out of the water and she glared at Dumbledore, who looked like a mischievous child.

"I can't believe you. Have you lost it?" her ribs burned, and she put her hands on her knees.

"Life is an adventure, Andy. Try to live a little."

"LIVE A LITTLE? ARE YOU MAD? YOU…YOU…" she spluttered in hysterical rage and Dumbledore just laughed.

He tucked her hand merrily into his and walked forward. Andrea was still sputtering but then her rage turned into fear as a rock wall came into sight.

"Albus, let's go back. We don't need to go in there." She tried to reason with him, her heartbeat increasing with every second.

"I need to see it." She pulled away from him and went to stand right in front of him.

"You don't need to see anything. Please try and understand." She pleaded but he looked at her with determination that had her heartbeat increasing up a few more notches.

"There is something I need to see, Andy. Either you come or you wait." Andrea gulped at that, and cursed every star for it.

"but-"

"Are you coming or staying." She never knew Dumbledore could be so stubborn, so she tried to reign in her heartbeats and wiped a hand across her face.

"Fine, you stubborn old man." She muttered and saw him smiling at her fondly. "If you get killed, I'll resurrect you and kill you myself again, and if I do, I'll haunt you for the rest of my life." She glared at him and he patted her head.

Stubborn, weird old man she grumbled. She saw a red on her hand as Dumbledore began enchanting. She turned her hand and saw it was streaked with blood. She touched her forehead and winced.

"We need to offer blood."

"Absolutely spiffing." She muttered and went ahead and pressed her palm to the stone, before Dumbledore could even move.

She closed her eyes as she heard a weird grinding noise, and opened her eyes to see an entrance in that rock.

She could practically hear her heart hammering as they neared the lake. She slid closer to Dumbledore and gripped his cloak tightly. She looked like a scared child, or rather scared wet child.

Dumbledore waved his wand and a huge globe of light went to hang in the air, illuminating the lake.

Andrea shivered as she saw the island, and then she was even more spooked when she saw the wet and green walls of the cave. It was claustrophobic.

She moved with Dumbledore, not leaving his cloak as he gipped something in the air and began pulling.

A green and grimy boat came after the long and algae covered thick chain and Andrea's eyes widened in fear.

She had never ever been this scared in her life. Not even when she first discovered the magical world, or even when she faced Voldemort.

This was downright chilling.

The boat came to them and Andrea did a double take as she saw something.

"Was it..?" she whispered and then blinked, but there was nothing. She slid even more closer to Dumbledore, if that was possible.

Dumbledore stepped on the boat and held out a hand to Andrea. She took it and shivered as a sudden chilled feeling accosted her.

They sat down and Andrea suppressed a whimper at sitting alone. The boat moved and so did Andrea' heartbeat.

The cave was illuminated in a greenish blue light, and it did wonders for her already shivery frame. She kept a tight hold on her wand and kept her hands to her sides. She didn't dare look over the sides and into the water.

She was a lion heart but this cave inspired a very primal fear in her. She realised because she knew what lay beneath that water, or because she knew two victims who fell to death after their advents in this cave; Dumbledore and Regulus Black.

"Here"

Andrea snapped her gaze to look around the cave wildly. She swore she heard a whispered 'here'.

"Did you hear that?" she whispered and Dumbledore frowned.

"Heard what?" her eyes stretched in horror as she gulped. Dumbledore didn't hear that!

"Nothing. Just…. Nothing." She muttered and tried to calm herself.

'Calm down Andrea. You are not going hearing things. You are just cold. There is nothing to fear. You will take out Dumbledore unscathed out of this. You won't fall victim like Regulus Black.'

"Help me"

Her calm breath fractured and she choked on her breath. She looked around wildly but saw nothing.

"Did you hear that?" she asked urgently and Dumbledore looked at her concerned.

"What did you hear?"

"First 'here' and then 'help me'. I swear I heard it." She said and almost fell in the water as the boat rocked on the island.

Her nose was just an inch from the water and she quickly pulled back in terror. What the hell was happening her? She thought in panic.

Dumbledore was offering his hand again and Andrea quickly grabbed it, shaking her thoughts away. She shivered and Dumbledore shot her a look.

She nodded at him valiantly, and nodded towards the basin. She neared it with trepidation. Sick green potion filled it and Andrea shuddered again.

This really was a nightmare. She saw Dumbledore waving his wand at the basin and muttering under his breath.

She cast a look around the cave and stepped closer to Dumbledore.

Something was not right.

"This has to be ingested." Andrea turned at that.

"No it doesn't. Nobody is ingesting it." She said glaring at the old man. "You've seen, now we will go. This place is creeping me out." She said but Dumbledore had already conjured a goblet and was about to dip it into the potion.

Andrea stopped his hand and looked at him in horror.

"What are you doing?" she whispered and Dumbledore looked at her with interest.

"I'm not drinking it; I'm just checking the potion." Andrea sighed in relief and absently touched the basin. At least they wouldn't die like Regulus.

"Over here."

Andrea looked back and frowned at the voice.

A strange tremor went through her, and her eyes widened as she saw a misty form emerging from the lake.

It raised its hand and pointed at her and before she knew it, it had moved so quickly towards her that Andrea didn't even had the chance to scream, and the misty form had covered her body.

Ice was running in her veins and Andrea fought with the alien intrusion. It seemed far too strong to eject and Andrea tried with all her being to stop her legs from moving towards the edge of the lake, away from Dumbledore.

She wanted to scream but the black mist in her didn't let her open her mouth.

She could only watch as her legs stopped not three steps away from the water and her heart started to beat furiously and it almost failed as her hand started to raise and point at a far distance.

"Accio" she heard a male voice inside her head and she tried to fight with it valiantly. She looked in horror as the surface of the lake rippled and a grey blur came soaring through the air.

Dumbledore looked around at the sound of water splashing, just in time for a grey mass to collide with Andrea.

"AAAAAARRRRGGGGGHHHH" Andrea screamed as the black mist suddenly left her body and felt the sodden mass of hair on her, and a hand gripped her very painfully.

All around them, the lake's surface rippled and masses of inferi raised their heads.

"WINKY." Andrea shouted through her horror and kicked at the hands that had suddenly grabbed her legs.

Dumbledore conjured a circle of fire around them and Winky apparated just in time.

"MISTRESS"

"WINKY, HOGWARTS." Andrea shouted trying to push away the inferi on top of her and suddenly and felt being sucked through nothingness.

She fell on the floor suddenly and immediately broke free of the inferi. She rolled and cast the first spell on her mind.

"Stupefy." The inferi lay still and Andrea gasped huge bouts of breaths. She felt light headed and it was a good thing that she was already on the ground.

Dumbledore was shocked. One minute he was inspecting the potion and next second he turned to find the inferi attacking. He saw as the inferi started to climb the island from all sides and a few already pulling Andrea, and quickly conjured a circle of fire around them.

Andrea called for her elf and to his amazement the elf apparated right in the middle and took all of them. He stumbled a bit and turned to burn the inferi when Andrea stunned it.

Andrea was in shock to realise that the inferi are not stunned, and was about to cast an incendio, when he stopped to see that the inferi had actually stopped.

Curiosity got the better of him, and he moved forward to inspect the grey mass. Poppy Pomphrey came galloping from her office and looked at the scene in front of her.

A drenched and scared girl, which she recognised from previous visit as Andrea Evans, was leaning against the wall looking in horror, as the headmaster was bent over and her heart hammered as she saw body sprawled on her floor.

Being the nurse, her training kicked in and she quickly levitated the body on to the nearest bed shocking the headmaster.

"Poppy-"

"Not now Albus." She said in her nurse's voice and looked at the body closely.

It was filthy and scary to look at. The face was all bones and sodden skin, that had a greyish tinge; the eyes were closed and sunken and the eyelids looked about to fall away. There was facial hair that was matted like the long head hair, in all the filth that she didn't dare utter.

The clothes all were soaked and clinging to reveal the perfect human skeleton. Poppy quickly muttered the diagnostic spells, and not once noticing the fact that her patient resembled a dead body.

"Poppy that is a-"

"Patient whose condition is very critical. He has practically no strength and his heart is beating very fast. He has been stunned and his body is too weak to even stand it."

Andrea looked at Poppy Pomphrey in horror as she summoned an army of potion vials and flasks.

"Tsk tsk, I'll have to empty his stomach, not that there would be something in that concave abdomen" her eyes stretched in horror as the Nurse opened his jaw and waved her wand in a complex movement.

A sick green liquid came out and the nurse levitated it to an empty vial. She began pouring the potions one by one and Andrea lost count after thirty seven.

She was too shocked to even utter a syllable and she could only watch the scene unfolding in front of her.

An hour passed or ten she didn't know but she watched as the nurse worked diligently over the sodding grey mass.

After an eternity the nurse nodded her head.

"I think he'll live." She informed them and turned to look at them.

"What were you thinking Albus? You should have called me immediately. If I would have been a minute late, you would have had a death on your hands."

Andrea found the strength to get up and walk over to the bed. She looked at the, now dry, a bit better looking grey mass and looked at the headmaster.

"He is alive?" she whispered. Her eyes still wide from the horror of the ordeal and both the others turned to look at her. She saw the same shock in Dumbledore's eyes.

"But he can't be." She whispered and the nurse started grumbling.

"Of course he can be. He sure looks dreadful but give me one week, and I'll give him back as good as new."

"You don't understand. This in… guy, came out of a lake full of inferi. He can't be alive." She tried not to think of the feeling of being under the inferi, and looked at a shocked nurse.

"But… but…. He is alive." The nurse said in shock. "That's not possible. If he was living with inferi, he would have been converted too. But his heart is beating, his brain though a bit rusty still has magic in it. His internal organs are a bit shrivelled, and his blood needs replenishing every hour…. But he is alive." She whispered.

Andrea shuddered and kept staring at the skeletal form in horror.

"Who could it be, to survive from inferi?" she barely whispered.

"That could be easily remedied." The headmaster said recovering from his shock and muttered an old spell under his breath, waving the wand complicatedly.

Andrea watched as a royal blue haze covered the INF… guy and a red mist appeared on top of him, carefully forming in three words. Three shocking word. Three, bone marrow chilling words. Three, very difficult to believe words.

Regulus Arcturus Black

Andrea fell away in a dead faint.

All around the world in the self-updating Wizarding genealogy, the death date of Regulus Arcturus Black was replaced with a hyphen, showing his present alive state.

XOXOXOXO

Andrea blinked her eyes and then covered her face with the pillow. She wanted to sleep in. She deserved a whole day's rest after yesterday's incident, and she'll be damned if she didn't get it.

Yesterday's incident?

She shot up in the bed and looked around. She was in the Hospital Wing.

"Winky be calling the nurse now." She looked down to see Winky running away.

Oh god, the lake, the inferi, Regulus. Her eyes widened as she realised what that meant. The timeline was altered. The dead were resurrected. Oh god!

She watched as the nurse came in sight.

"I was getting worried. Good to see you up."

"What happened?" she asked warily.

"You fainted away. You were shocked and exhausted not to mention that your magical core was almost depleted."

"What?" Andrea looked at the nurse in horror. Her magical core was almost depleted? How was she going to help now?

"Yes. Don't worry, a few days rest will bounce you right back." Andrea breathed at that. She was still magical. Then she frowned.

"How did it deplete?" at that precise moment the doors opened and entered Dumbledore with Severus, Mary and Elizabeth. But Andrea didn't see the rest of them, and just focussed on Dumbledore.

"ARE YOU BLOODY HAPPY NOW? 'I want to see it'. Didn't I tell you it was dangerous? I ALMOST BECAME A SQUIB, BECAUSE YOU WANTED ME TO HUMOUR YOU!" her nostrils flared and she glared at the headmaster, who looked ashamed and a bit pink cheeked.

"I RESURRECTED A DEAD GUY, AND NOW I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO SAY. THE ENTIRE TIMELING HAS BEEN ALTERED. I DON'T KNOW WHAT WILL HAPPEN NOW, BECAUSE YOUR CURIOSITY CHANGED EVERYTHING!"

"Young lady, you are not fit to get up much less scream your lungs out, so you better stop or I'll force you." The nurse who got over her shock, admonished her.

"Forgive me Andy; I thought that it was safe." Andrea looked at the headmaster in disbelief.

"Are you kidding me? Sailing over a lake infested with inferi issafe for you? I was possessed by a spirit and my body was listening to it, not me. Next second I was slammed down by an inferi and the others were pulling me into the lake. You call that safe?"

Suddenly she was engulfed in a hug and she was so surprised by it that she was momentarily speechless.

"Oh darling, are you alright?" she pulled and saw Mary.

"Mary, when did you come?" Andrea clearly stumped.

"Albus called us the day before yesterday." Andrea once again was shocked.

"Day before yesterday? How long was I out?"

"Three whole days." Poppy said and levitated a tray full of potions in front of her. "Now drink these up and no excuses." Andrea glared at her and took vial after vial of extremely disgusting potions.

"Why do these things happen to me?" she asked in general and her eyes landed on a sneering Severus.

"Andy, I apologize profusely." Dumbledore came right in front of her and sat down on the edge of the bed. Andrea frowned but her anger was already vented out.

"My dear girl, I can't bring myself to say how sorry i'm. My curiosity got the better of me, and I…" Andrea looked at her traveling companion and sighed. They had grown close over the year and the traveling joined them with another string. She patted his hand.

"It okay. I'm alive aren't i? Anyways, you definitely need to curb your enthusiasm. I swear it's going to kill me one day." She glared at him and heard Mary suppressing a snicker.

He looked very pained and Andrea winked at him. All's well that ends well, right?

"What happened to him?" Andrea asked and Mary bit her lip.

"It's never been heard before. No one has ever been alive living with inferi that too underwater for seventeen years." Andrea shivered as she remembered the feeling of being under an inferi.

"Severus has a theory though." Mary piped up and Andrea looked askance at Severus.

He strode in front of her bed and clasped his hands together.

"Do you know what happened to him?" Andrea frowned at that.

"Yes." He cocked one eyebrow and pursed his lips.

"Do begin."

"Well, there was this potion that created some mind altering illusions for the drinker. He drank it and was pulled underwater by the inferi." Severus nodded and Albus closed his eyes as if in meditation.

Elizabeth conjured a chair right next to Mary and shot her a grin and Andrea smiled absently at her.

"You made that potion, didn't you?" she wondered.

"It pains me to say it, but yes. The Dark Lord requested for me to make a potion that would render the drinker mindless and he would incur his most painful memories."

"What is your theory?" Elizabeth asked looking calculating.

"Like Mary explained, the magical beings have magic in their brains. Like the muggle world, if the brain stops working for more than one month, the witch or the wizard is said to be dead, regardless of the beating heart."

"So you mean, his heart kept beating, while his brain was dead. That is why he was recorded as dead?" Andrea blinked.

"Exactly. Now, to form an inferi, a dark ritual or magic, if you may, is used on a dead body to make it alive. A dead body not an alive one." He emphasised and Andrea looked straight in his eyes, with an incredulous expression.

"You don't mean he had been alive all this time because he was pulled under alive?"

"Why not?"

"Because…. The water must have killed him. His lungs would have collapsed under the water?" Andrea had her eyes wide, still not accepting of the fact that Regulus Black had been alive all this time.

"Andrea, the magical beings have different mechanisms that muggles. Our magic preserves us. We do not get the deadly diseases like cancer. We age more than them. Our entire being pulses with magic." Dumbledore inserted and Andrea shook her head.

"That doesn't explain it. There is no way one can survive underwater and inferi for this long." She cried and Mary rubbed her back consolingly.

"I can explain that." A voice said that sounded very raspy and croaky, as if not been used in years and Andrea turned to look on the next bed and she would have almost leapt out of her bed, if Mary and Dumbledore not held her.

"You…" she whispered as she saw him sitting with his hands folded neatly on his stomach. He looked better, much better. He still had that grey pallor but some muscles had found their way in three days. His ribs didn't show and he had cheeks albeit non-existent. All in all, he didn't look skeletal but a very ill man, which was an improvement from looking like a rotten dead body.

"Ah, Regulus. We were just talking about your miraculous survival." Dumbledore spoke jovially, like his former student hadn't just come out of an inferi infested lake after seventeen years. Andrea looked at him like he had grown three heads.

"How are you Regulus?" Severus asked Regulus in a brotherly sort of way and Andrea turned to him.

"You didn't ask me once, how I was feeling, and you ask him?" she asked petulantly, pointing in accusation towards the new guy.

Severus looked at her in amusement while the others bit their lips from smiling.

"You aren't the one who had been living with inferi for seventeen years."

"The one living with the inferi, possessed me, and if I'm not mistaken, my magical core almost depleted just because your best friend thought it would be nice to possess a girl and do some magic." She seethed and the others grew solemn at her comment.

Andrea refused to look at the new guy when Dumbledore addressed him.

"Regulus, do you feel okay?"

"Yes headmaster. Madam Pomphrey declared me thriving yesterday evening."

He got up before her? Andrea thought in wonder. Was she that unfit, that it took her more time to recuperate than a guy that was practically dead for seventeen years?

"What were you saying Regulus before Andrea interrupted?" Andrea sent Severus a filthy look at that, and missed his twinkling eyes.

"I wanted to tell what happened." Andrea tried not to wince at the raspy sound of his voice. His throat might be aching.

As if her thoughts had been transmitted, Poppy came running and poured a thousand potions down his throat.

"Thank you Madam Pomphrey. I feel much better." Andrea rolled her eyes at that. Formal, much?

He turned towards them and surveyed every one of them, very seriously.

"I betrayed the Dark Lord. I learnt of a very important secret and I didn't want the Dark Lord to succeed in his endeavour. I took Kreacher, who the Dark Lord requested earlier, and went to the cave that Kreacher told me the Dark Lord took him to. We crossed the lake and I asked Kreacher to switch the lockets after I finish the potion." He paused and cleared his throat and Andrea felt pity for the guy.

"I didn't want to die. I wanted to see the Dark Lord defeated. I wanted to live in the world devoid of his atrocities. And despite those gory visions that played in my mind, I was able to think all of this. I felt being taken under the water, and I struggled." He stopped once more and drank some water.

Andrea was too enthralled in his story to notice his trembling hands.

"I struggled against those creatures and my body was suddenly cocooned in warm water." His voice had taken a different tone.

"The warm water separated me from the creatures, though they were always present around me. I could not breathe, nor could I move. I could only feel being suspended by magic."

"The hell" Andrea muttered looking at him with wide eyes. Warm water cocoon? He had actually been alive all this time?

"Then suddenly after an eternity, I heard my name. Somebody was calling out my name." Andrea looked at him weirdly.

"Who called out your name?" Dumbledore asked and he pointed at Andrea. She glared at him.

"I assure you, I did not call out your name." he waved off her words with a bony hand and Andrea's glare intensified.

"I heard you. You called my name thrice. My body was still suspended but my soul wasn't. I wanted to get out of that abyss."

Andrea shivered as she realised what he meant.

"Your soul left your body? How are you alive?"

"That's magic in its rawest form" Dumbledore supplied unhelpfully.

"You weren't listening to me so I had to take control of the situation." He said plainly and Andrea saw red.

"Are you mad? I wasn't listening? You possessed me, and I almost died magically because of it? Take control indeed." She spat.

He looked at her seriously and Andrea glared at him. Prude!

"I'll be in your debt forever."

One sentence. One small little sentence sent her in hysterics.

"Debt? You bloody imbecile! If you would have had the sense to put together the fact that elves can disapparated from that cave, you wouldn't have spent seventeen bloody years in there." She shrieked and Madam Pomphrey had to force down a potion down her throat, and immediately her eyes fluttered closed.

"She is really not taking this well." Mary said sadly.

"She had a lot to take in. Her core almost died. It's hard to adjust." Elizabeth nodded.

"I sincerely hope she returns back to her normal self. It was truly frightening to see her like this." Severus shivered delicately.

"Though I'm happy that Regulus returned, I cannot bring myself to say how sorry I'm for not listening to her. I should be the one indebted to her."

Regulus watched as the people he knew, fretted over the hysterical girl and wondered what the story of her was. He closed his eyes and realised he had a life ahead to find out exactly that.

XOXOXOXO

Andrea woke up the next day. The potion had knocked out for twenty four hours straight. She woke up to find Elizabeth flipping through Witch Weekly.

"What's up?" she said and Elizabeth grinned at her, putting down the magazine.

"Hey. You slept for one whole day." Andrea snorted.

"No shitting." Elizabeth's grin widened at that.

"Now, let's check your vitals." She began waving her wand over her. "Eyes, fine and reacting, brain is magical but dull."

"Hey" Andrea said indignantly.

"Relax, I meant the magical core, it's there, a bit better than the last time, but dull nonetheless. Heartbeat, slow and laborious. Organs, fine. Nerve, fine. Limbs, fine. You just need to relax."

"Great. Just what I need. Rest next to inferi." She muttered.

"I'm not an inferi."

"GAH!" Andrea shot back in her bed at that. "Dammit, stay away from me. Need you give me a coronary?" she asked the now clean shaved man, who kept looking better at every break.

The similarities between him and Sirius were starting to come out. The hair was black and clean. The grey eyes were the same, but his were a bit sunken. The same nose and the cheekbones but his face structure was a little bit different from Sirius.

Andrea wanted to be in Sirius' arms, where she felt safe and secure and whole. She ached for him. These past few days she had tried not to think too much about him, but she missed him terribly.

She didn't know what to do. She had given him space and time, but was it enough? He hadn't once written to her or came to meet her. Did he not care enough? Sure he hadn't said the L word but he had to care a bit, didn't he?

"What's a coronary?" asked the pureblood on the next bed and Andrea chuckled despite herself.

"Muggle term" Elizabeth supplied being a muggleborn herself. She stood up and Andrea frowned.

"I'll get you something to eat. Be right back." Andrea nodded and closed her eyes.

"Andrea?" she jerked awake at that voice and looked at Regulus.

"Please forgive me. I never meant to scare you. It was just that, I heard my name and I took the chance of getting out of that underwater hell. I never knew it would cause you injuries to this extent. I'm sorry."

Andrea looked at the former Death Eater and looked closely.

"You are too soft to be a Death Eater." She commented and he grinned. His body might have developed with the time (and underwater), but that grin took off years.

"Thank you. I'll take that as a compliment." She rolled her eyes and fixed him with a stare.

"I will not pretend that I won't regard you as the flying grey inferi, neither will I forget the horror of the possession, but I guess it's okay. Despite the fact that you have scarred me and given me nightmares for the rest of my life, it will be alright as long as you join the Order."

Regulus looked shocked by that.

"Join the Order?" Andrea frowned.

"You have been given a run through, haven't you?" he looked sceptical.

"I think so. The Dark Lord killed the Potters but the curse rebounded of little Harry. He went after the Philosopher's Stone in Harry's first year at Hogwarts and faced him again. Harry survived and faced the Dark Lord again as the Chamber of Secrets was opened in his second year."

"Yes. In Harry's third year, your elder brother who had been convicted as the killer of James and Lily, broke out of Azkaban, and the original killer, I mean Secret Keeper, was uncovered. Sirius was on the run but recently got freed and Wormtail was subjected to dementors kiss."

"I still can't believe Sirius broke out." He said in amazement and Andrea smiled.

"Yes, fourth year, Barty Crouch Jr impersonated Moody and lived at the castle for one whole year where the Tri Wizard Tournament was held. The cup port keyed Harry and another student to a graveyard, where Voldemort was resurrected. Harry and Voldemort fought and Harry once again defeated him."

Regulus still shook his head.

"That kid is indeed one very strong wizard to face the Dark Lord time after time, and coming out unscathed."

"He is." Andrea said proudly.

"Last year" he prompted and Andrea shook her head.

"Voldemort forged a connection between Harry and himself. Voldemort wanted to hear the prophecy on which he had acted."

"The one which led him to attack the Potters?"

"Yes. That one. He wanted it, so he started sending drams to Harry. The Ministry was in denial. Dumbledore was discredited and everything was in shambles. This June Harry had a vision of Sirius and me getting tortured, and he rushed to the Ministry with his friends where the Death Eaters were already waiting. They fought and Voldemort once again face Harry. This time he actually possessed Harry but Harry somehow broke the possession. Voldemort was seen by the Ministry."

"We now have Amelia Bones as the new Minister. Sirius is finally free and Wormtail had been subjected to dementors kiss. Voldemort is one very pissed Dark Lord right now, and is said to be after me. Bellatrix must be angry too considering I killed Rodolphus and Rabastan in the battle."

"You killed them?" his eyes were wide in surprise. "And why is the Dark Lord after you?"

"I banished Rabastan into the Death Veil in the Death Chamber, department of Mysteries. It was where the battle took place. Bellatrix was about to send Sirius in there but I banished him and her curse hit Rodolphus instead. And for Voldemort being after me, I'm Harry Potter's first cousin once removed on his mother's side and I also happen to be a seer. Bad combination."

Regulus blinked his eyes in shock and Andrea smiled.

"The Dark Lord is impossible to kill." He stated and Andrea rolled his eyes.

"Dumbledore and I have succeeded in killing five of his horcruxes while Harry killed one. There are only two more to go."

"You know?" he whispered and Andrea chuckled.

"I know everything." At that precise moment the door opened and Elizabeth entered.

"Having fun, both of you?"

"Just helping him catch up till the present time." She said lightly and Elizabeth laughed.

"It's too much to take in." Regulus muttered and Andrea rolled her eyes, and dug in the food Elizabeth brought.

They both had to stay there for another week and Andrea was going insane. It was a good thing that Elizabeth had volunteered to look after them, so they had a source to the news from number twelve.

No Order meeting had taken place in their absence. Alice and Frank Longbottom had recovered fully and now were active members of the Order along with one Augusta Longbottom.

Nobody knew what lay in the Hospital Wing of Hogwarts, and Andrea feared the reaction of others.

Her magical core was recovering but it was still weak. But at least, physically she was doing a bit better.

Dumbledore had visited them with Severus and Regulus had asked to join the Order, making both the men insanely pleased.

They were not friends per se, but a bond had been forged between Regulus and Andrea. Maybe it had to do with the whole indebted business, or the fact that he was Sirius' kid brother who had defied Voldemort.

It was finally the day of release and Andrea waited impatiently for the portkey to activate.

"Will you stop tapping your foot?" Regulus said irritated with the action. She looked at him with raised eyebrows. He was looking definitely better. If only muggle world had so fast reacting medicines like the potions. His skin looked almost normal, and not like it had been decaying in water for seventeen years. A pink flush that showed healthy blood flow, clean and combed hair that he had tied back with a string. He was lean, but not ribs showing ill. He was alive and thriving.

"No. Why won't it activate. The meeting will start."

"It won't till we are there." He muttered and Andrea glared at him. Just then the portkey activated and they both were sucked into nothingness.

Andrea pulled herself and looked around. They were in the park, right opposite number twelve.

"Are you alright?" Andrea jumped into air.

"Stop sneaking on me." She reprimanded him and he just rolled his eyes.

"I hope Dumbledore told you." He didn't even answer and Andrea huffed. Pureblood prude!

They both quickly crossed the road and Andrea tapped the doorknob and entered.

"Whoa, this is different." Andrea snorted at his wide eyes.

"Leave me unemployed for two months and this is what happens."

She stopped and looked around biting her lip. Regulus stopped and turned back to look at her.

"Something's the matter?" she took a deep breath and exhaled. The last meeting was a disaster, what will this bring about?

"Nothing, let's go." She squared her shoulders and led the way to the kitchen. Regulus was busy gulping his fears and Andrea grimaced at him.

They both stopped right at the kitchen door and she turned to look at him. He was practically shaking with nerves. She put a hand on his forearm.

"Suck it up man. You are a Black." He grimaced at that.

"Not helping." Andrea winced and nodded at that. She exhaled her breath and entered the room with a very long table, where every chair was occupied.

She has been to such meetings but when every pair of eye was on you, it unnerved the bravest of them all.

Her eyes surveyed everybody and then the ones she was looking for. His eyes were still grey but she could see no sparkle or twinkle in them. Her heart sank at that and she kept a neutral face. Suddenly those eyes widened to their extent and they were fixed way above her head.

She shivered, still spooked by his presence and cleared her throat.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome our newest member, Regulus Black."

Oh yes, it was dead silent. But then Sirius got up from his chair and walked two steps in their direction.

"It can't be…." He breathed.

"I assure you it can. Please take your seats and I'll explain everything." Dumbledore spoke. Sirius broke out of his trance but his face never left his brother's.

She saw as no chair was empty and tried to conjure two chairs. To her chagrin, only one appeared and it felt like she had run a marathon after that.

"Bill, chair please." She muttered to Bill who was sitting at the end. He looked startled and then hurriedly conjured another chair.

She sank down on one, while Regulus sat ram rod straight in his. She looked straight at Dumbledore who looked apologetic.

"Andrea and I were on a mission when we came across-"Dumbledore spoke.

"Let's just say that you took a completely fancy route that was off the plan." She interrupted irritably. All heads swung to look at her and she tried not to glare at anybody. She caught Tonks' eyes, who looked at her questioningly. She rolled her eyes and glared at Dumbledore and Tonks nodded in comprehension.

"Um… well….. Yes. Our mission was finished about two weeks ago, and we both went to a place that I recently found out. Lord Voldemort had used this place to hide a secret weapon of his, and I wanted to see the place. The weapon was removed years earlier by none other than Regulus."

All head swung to look in their direction and Andrea sank back in her seat and let him have the attention.

"But how is he alive?" Arthur asked and Dumbledore nodded.

"You know, we should call the kids too. They should know it since Regulus would be staying here. It's too lengthy story to repeat." Andrea interjected and raised her eyebrows at Dumbledore challengingly.

"I think she is right." Tonks backed her up and threw her a wink.

"Very well then. Bill why don't you conjure three more chairs while Fred and George call them." Dumbledore suggested and things were put in motion.

Andrea took time to look around and did a double take when she saw the Longbottoms.

They looked old but absolutely fine. She smiled at them and got tentative ones in return.

"Miss Evans, always the blunt one." Lady Longbottom said loudly and Andrea smirked at Minerva and Molly's thinned lips. She gave Lady Longbottom a smile of appreciation and just then the kids entered.

"Andy, you are back." Harry cried happily and hugged her.

"Yes. Sit down quickly. We have a rather, interesting story to tell." He looked at her weirdly and then shrugged.

He sat right by her and the others were behind them.

"Now that we are all settled, I'll start again. Andrea and I went to a place where Lord Voldemort had kept a secret weapon. It was removed earlier by Regulus Black who is sitting right besides Andrea."

Harry did a double take and Andrea chuckle when his eyes widened comically.

"Now, this place was hidden in a mountain. Within it was a lake that was infested with inferi. Right in the middle of the lake was an island with a stone basin."

Andrea and Regulus both shivered unconsciously.

"The weapon was in the basin but it was covered with a potion that could only be drunk. The potion renders the drinker mindless. Regulus went there seventeen years ago with Kreacher, to get the weapon. He drank the potion and asked Kreacher to get away with the weapon as Regulus was dragged underneath the lake by the inferi."

People were looking at Regulus with wide eyes, and Andrea felt him fidget in his seat.

"This time Andrea and I went there. Despite Andrea's warnings, I went ahead and she followed me. We crossed the lake and Andrea started hearing a voice."

"Hearing a voice?" Harry asked loudly in panic. Andrea patted his hand and shook her head.

"Yes. After many discussions we came to the conclusion that Andrea was thinking how Regulus had died there, and that led her to hear him."

"You knew how he died?" Sirius asked in disbelief and Andrea inclined her head. God, why the hell didn't he take me in his arms the moment I entered? She thought morosely.

"Andrea heard not once but thrice. We were at the island when Andrea finally heard him. She turned to see a misty form of Regulus' soul and it possessed her." Everyone looked at her frightened and she suppressed the urge to grimace.

"Regulus summoned his body and the result was inferi were awakened. We managed to make it out of there because Andrea called Winky and she took us to Hogwarts. Poppy Pomphrey checked Regulus and to our astonishment declared him living. Andrea however, got the shortest end of the stick. Her body was exhausted, her heart was slowing down and her magical core was almost depleted. She had spent the last two weeks in the Hospital Wing recuperating along with Regulus."

She felt Harry clutch her arm, and she turned to look at him surveying her with desperation.

"It's okay. It's all over. No need to worry that scarred head of yours." Andrea winced as he nodded his head but the look never left his eyes.

"How are they alive?" Molly whispered and Andrea looked at her. She was, in fact everyone was looking at them very weirdly.

The theory was explained, rather dissected. Everyone had a view and a question but in the end Dumbledore got the final word.

"This is a magical world. Anything can happen here. We should just celebrate the fact that one innocent being was returned to us. How he came back is least important."

And people accepted it. Regulus Black was back and everyone welcomed him into the Order.

The meeting ended. It was only an introductory meeting for Regulus. Longbottom's recovery was also kept a secret from the wizarding world. The wizarding world knew that Augusta Longbottom had finally taken her son and daughter-in-law from the hospital. It was rumoured that they had been sent to a foreign country as the Lady was getting too old to care for them. The rumour was spread by Augusta herself and it was working to their benefit.

Severus told that Narcissa hasn't approached him and Andrea just said to keep waiting. Mary and Elizabeth had joined Mungo's but were still living at number twelve.

Everyone left leaving the Weasleys, the Blacks, Remus, Tonks, Harry and Andrea in the kitchen.

"That was too much." Harry commented and Andrea chuckled.

"Of course. It's too much for your pretty head." Ginny snickered at that and Harry blushed. Did he just…?

Dear lord, he was falling for the pretty Weasley girl!

There was silence after that, and Andrea turned to look at everyone looking at Regulus and then her.

It was awkward.

"Regulus, this is Harry Potter, Ron and Ginny Weasley. The twins are Fred and George, long red hair Bill Weasley works for Gringotts. The muscular one is Charlie and he works in Romania with dragons. The pretty lady with red hair is Molly Weasley, mother to all the redheads, except Arthur, her husband, who works for the Ministry. Remus Lupin, you know him I guess, he is the founder of the James and Lily Trust for Magical beings along with Sirius. And lastly, Nymphadora Tonks who prefers Tonks. She is your first cousin once removed, or Andromeda's kid, if you will."

She pointed each one of them.

"Everybody, this is Regulus Black, the recently saved lad from a lake full of inferi." Everyone stumbled almost together to shake his hand or introduce themselves again and Andrea chuckled and escaped them.

She climbed the stairs slowly and came to her room. Regulus' room. She realised that she would have to move.

She took opened her cupboard and started piling her clothes on the bed. She realised how strenuous simple tasks are without magic.

"What are you doing?" Tonks asked coming into the room.

"Shifting. This is Regulus' room." Tonks' eyebrows furrowed.

"Let me do it." Andrea shrugged and gestured to go ahead. She waved her wand and everything packed in a second.

"Where do you want to put it?"

"Umm… the guest room number five." They both went to the room and Tonks waved her wand and everything set itself.

"Damn, it so hard." She said and lied back on the bed.

"I can imagine." Tonks too lied back.

"Sirius was going spare all this time." Andrea snorted.

"Yeah right." Tonks propped on her elbow.

"You don't believe me?" her tone was incredulous.

"Of course I don't. We didn't part on the best of terms, did we?" Tonks cocked an eyebrow.

"You helped revert his old friend's mental state, you captured Wormtail and he was finally punished for his sins, Sirius got his freedom back. Of course he was going spare."

"Didn't show it, did he?" she said bitterly and Tonks sighed.

"Forget it. Tell me where you went." Andrea smiled.

"Jamaica, Rio De Janeiro, Egypt, Albania, Turkey, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Siberia, Tokyo, Taiwan, Hong Kong and India." She counted on her fingers and Tonks whistled.

"Wow, world tour. I'm jealous."

"It wasn't a holiday, darling. The last day Dumbledore threw a curve ball. Portkeyed straight to a small rock right in the middle of an angry ocean. And then the old man took my hand and jumped into it. I almost died then."

"Merlin's balls!" Tonks was laughing like a hyena.

"Yeah. And then the whole cave scene. I told him not to go but he was adamant like a kid in candy store. I was shivering the entire time, it was so creepy. And then the finale; I hear a voice, again, I turn around, far over the edge of the water is a mist hovering. Then it shoots right at me, and I cannot even scream because of that git. He accio's his body and it rises from the water like a demon and shoots right through the air to land over me. I swear my heart failed then."

Tonks fell down the bed laughing. She tried to say something and then started laughing again.

"Yeah, laugh. Had you been there instead of me, you would have peed in your pants. I swear, I'm still scared, the guy creeps upon me every chance he gets. And every single time I jump a mile in the air. Simply ridiculous."

"What's ridiculous?" Andrea quickly looked up to see Sirius, Remus and Regulus standing there, and the words got stuck in her throat.

"She was just saying how you creep up behind her." Tonks took deep breathes to control herself, and Regulus grinned. Andrea shuddered.

"Oh yeah, that." Andrea glared at him.

"So, what's up?" she asked lightly and Regulus looked at her with a haughty expression.

"I was merely wondering where to claim my domain." Tonks cracked at that and Andrea snorted.

"How many times have I told you to cut the formal crap? Anyways, you can have your room. I have shifted my stuff over here." He frowned and Andrea didn't look at others.

"But I thought…." He turned to Sirius. "I thought you said it was her room." Andrea gulped at that.

"Come on. I won't take up my host's room would i? It wouldn't be polite of me, after all." She didn't look at Sirius who was boring holes in her skull.

"You are everything but polite." Regulus smirked and Andrea glared.

"Why, you little good for nothing….-"

"I think I'll take and show Regulus his room before the duelling commences. Remus, why don't you join us." Andrea mentally groaned. Why did she have to be that obvious?

Regulus was looking at her and then at Sirius with raised eyebrows and Andrea kept her face from giving away.

"Join us in a bit, would you?" she said as a parting remark and was out of sight. Sirius shut the door and leaned against it, and Andrea felt awkward.

"Hey." She said in a small voice.

"You leave me for three weeks without telling me and all you say is 'hey'." He said in a blank voice and Andrea stared at him.

"Without telling you? I tried but you had warded your door." Sirius just kept looking at her. "What do you expect me to do? Break the wards? I tried apologising through the door but I guess you must not have heard it. Remus suggested I give you some time and space."

"So you decided to listen to Remus? Is Remus going to decide how things will work between us?" he took two angry steps in her direction and Andrea stood up too, though it wasn't impressive but she tried.

"No he isn't. But he is your friend isn't he? He knows you well enough, doesn't he?"

"So you will leave for this long without telling me?" why the hell was he so angry? His eyes were flashing.

"It's not even worth debating. You were angry, I was wrong. You had the right to space, I gave you that. What's wrong with that?"

"The thing that you captured Peter? You could have been killed, for Godric's sake!" he thundered and Andrea took a step back.

"But I wasn't. Peter was captured, you were free. We even got Regulus in the deal. What's wrong?"

"The fact that you were almost killed when Reg possessed you, or that you were attacked by inferi? Your magical core is almost depleted!" he roared and Andrea's eyes sprouted tears.

Magical core almost deplete! She was back to being almost a muggle.

"I don't even understand what we are fighting for. If you have got so many problems with me, I don't know what to do. I made a mistake when I said what I did in that meeting. I never meant to hurt you but just to explain. Peter was captured and you still didn't react. Why does it matter if I get hurt or get attacked by inferi? I didn't ask to become almost a squib. It just happened, and I'm glad it did. He was innocent and he deserved a second chance. And it will keep on happening. This is war. I'm bound to get hurt or probably killed. If it is meant to happen, it will happen regardless of anything. Why are so mad that it is happening?"

"Because I love you, you silly girl." Andrea's eyes widened at that, and she looked up to see Sirius standing over her. She watched as he squatted to her eye level and held both of her hands.

"I was angry because I was scared. I was scared for you!" his eyes searched hers and Andrea felt tears blurring her vision.

"I admit I was hurt when you said the whole Black thing. I acted like a ninny and got sloshed."

"You were drunk?" she asked

"Yes. I warded my room in a fit of rage and drank straight through the bottle, not something I'm particularly proud of. The next day I woke up and saw the newspaper and the written apology. I couldn't believe it, and then I saw your note." His face looked so earnest that Andrea felt her heart clench.

"I ran down the steps and you vanished right in front of my eyes. Harry told me you didn't know when you'll return and I felt like a first class heel. I thought I drove you away like the last time."

Andrea shook her head; her throat was clogged with tears.

"I thought exactly that, and then I got scared. You are a target and what if something happened? I cursed my ninny trick, and waited for your return. The first week was hell. Every time the door opened I would think it was you. And then it grew worse. Remus confessed to me about the whole space issue and I bit his head off. The news of Frank and Alice made all of us all the more guilty, especially Remus. He bitterly regrets what he said that day."

"You agreed with him." She croaked out and his gaze grew desperate.

"I'm sorry. I didn't agree with him but I didn't even stop him. That was the worst possible thing he said. When you told all of us about Albus dying, it struck a chord but I was still smarting."

"It doesn't matter anymore Sirius." She sighed and Sirius shook her.

"Of course it matters. How could you even say that." His eyes were wide and Andrea saw fear in those beautiful grey eyes.

"I'm sorry I over reacted. When I saw you today, I almost had a heart attack. You are so small but you looked exceptionally frail. I was rooted to the chair with the fear that something had happened to you, and that's when Reg walked in. My heart stopped beating in that instant. I literally couldn't think anything."

Andrea nodded, understanding the feeling accurately.

"And then when Dumbledore told what happened. I saw red. You were almost killed, again. When he said that you were in the Hospital Wing for two weeks I almost lost it. How severe would the injury be if you had to be in there for two weeks? And the inferi bit sent me right over the edge. I'm sorry but I just can't see you in danger."

Andrea looked at him with wide eyes.

"Will you stop me from saving Harry?" her quiet voice left silence in its wake. His eyes looked very troubled and she smiled.

"I will never stop you, I know that. My pains and injuries are nothing compared to Harry. True, I'll need lots of time to recuperate but I will bounce right back."

"But it goes against my law to see you suffering." He was looking very pained and Andrea put a hand on his cheeks.

"I love you Sirius. Very much so, and I'm glad you worry this much about me, but I would do anything to change the future. Anything."

Sirius closed his eyes and opened them. A new spark was shining through them.

"You are not alone, love. But I'll be damned if I let anything hurt you again." She grinned and a few tears escaped her eyes.

Sirius wiped them tenderly with the pad of his thumb.

"Don't ever do that to me again." He whispered and kissed her. He got up, taking her with him and leaned back on the bed.

"I tried but I screwed up big time, trying to survive without you."

Andrea looked down at him and smiled impishly, all her worries forgotten.

"Does that mean you are taken by me?"

"Totally, utterly, irrevocably taken by you. I'm sorry about your magical core."

Andrea sat back and he leaned forward on both his elbows.

"Yeah. I don't know fast I'll recover." Sirius hated the frown on her beautiful face.

"Don't worry; I'm sure we can manually remove our clothes." She grinned at that.

"You jerk." She hit him on his chest lightly and he smiled tenderly at her. Andrea rolled off him and lay down beside him.

"It's going to be tough sneaking around." She commented and he propped up on his elbow, a frown on his face.

"We don't need to sneak." She rolled her eyes at that.

"Remember, Harry … cousin … godfather."

"He already knows." She trained her large eyes filled with disbelief on him.

"What?" he grinned down at her.

"Apparently the tension was so thick and to quote Harry 'that you could stuck your wand right into it.' People had been betting all over." Andrea chuckled.

"He is too perceptive for his own good." Sirius chuckled with her.

"Shift in my room." Andrea cocked her eyebrows at that.

"Are you sure? What if we have a fight and I wanna ward the room against you?"

"Then we can always use the guest room. Please shift. I don't wanna waste any more time. It's been far too long since you left. I swear the house reverts back like it was originally, when you are not here. Please move in my room."

Andrea smirked at him.

"Flattery will get you everywhere. I have an unfinished business over her and then you can move my stuff in your room."

"What unfinished business?"

"This." She pulled his head down and kissed him senseless. Life was good, for now!

AUTHOR'S NOTE: 20,000 WORDS. I HAVE BROKEN MY OWN RECORD. OK!

DID YOU LIKE THE NEW TWIST? YUP, REGULUS IS NOT AN INFERI. AND FOR THE DETAILS, GUYS, THIS IS A FAN FICTION. I CAN ALTER SOMETHINGS!

ANYWAYS, HELP ME SET A RECORD. PLEASE READERS. IF EVERY ONE WHO READS AND LEAVE A REVIEW, I WILL HAVE A RECORD TO CRY FOR. HELP A GIRL SMILE!

THANK YOU FOR THE REVIEWS. OF COURSE I WOULNT KILL SIRIUS! I LOVE HIM AND I HATED J.K. FOR KILLING HIM.

NEW TWIST COMING RIGHT UP, KEEP TUNED.

FAN. F. FREAK AT YOUR SERVICE.

P.S. YUP, MY EXAM IS ON 25TH AND I'M SOOOOO DEAD! JUST FOR YOU GUYS! IF YOU DON'T LEAVE ME A REVIEW NOW, YOU ARE A BAD BAD PERSON!

ONE MORE THING, PROOF READING AT FOUR IN THE MORNING IS POINTLESS. HAPPY EASTER!