Kira held my hand the entire way back to Grimmauld Place, and I refused to let her out of my sight. The Prime Minister himself had seen us off, quietly reminding me of the favour I owed them, now that Kira was safe again. I'd have to continue sharing information with the Ministry, and Russell mentioned that Kira would need to help as well, but I angrily told him he could hold off on drawing her into their investigation. She needed time.

"What happens when they find Papa?" Kira asked me as we stepped onto the street outside the Ministry.

I gave her hand a squeeze and linked my arm with Russell's so we could apparate together. "We'll be free," I told my sister, just before the world shifted beneath my feet.

Russell came inside with us, calling out to Molly, who appeared in the hallway in a flurry of hugs and kisses. Kira seemed shocked at the display. The redheaded woman held her face between her hands and smiled.

"Welcome," Molly said. "Oh my, look at you. Come, come. Lunch is on the table."

Only George had come home for lunch, and he greeted Kira with as much warmth as Molly had. "Alright then, little one?" he asked. "Your sister's been worried sick about you."

Kira looked at me, an utterly helpless look on her face. I grinned, my sprits so lifted by her return that I felt renewed. "It's true," I told her, reaching out to touch her cheek. "The Weasleys have been wonderful. You can trust them."

With that endorsement, Kira seemed to relax. George properly introduced himself and his mother, and engaged Kira in conversation, which distracted her enough for Russell to take my arm and lean towards me.

"Can we talk?" he asked. I nodded and we walked into the foyer. Russell shut the dining room door behind us. "You should know something. We received an anonymous message, telling us where to find Kira. We don't know who sent it, but we think she had contact with someone who knows your father."

"Who would want the Ministry to find her?" I questioned, confused.

"We don't know yet, but I suggest you talk to her about what she might have done or who she talked to during your separation." Russell glanced at his watch and straightened his suit jacket. "I must go. I'll return tomorrow to speak with you and your sister."

I walked Russell out of the house, returning to the dining room to find Kira seated at the table, wolfing down a plate of steak and chips. Molly smiled at me when I came in, and I walked over to her.

"You must be relieved," she said. "Will you be staying?"

"We have to, for now," I said. "I'm thinking about what you told me, though. I want Kira to have a normal life from here on in. She should go back to school, and I should find a job to support us..." I trailed off into silence, not at all sure how this arrangement could work.

"All in good time, dear," said Molly. "You should eat, too. Have a seat and I'll fetch you something."

I sat down beside Kira, chuckling when she tried to talk with her mouth full. "This is really good," she said when she'd swallowed, blushing slightly.

"Molly's a genius in the kitchen," I said, grinning at my sister. "She'll try to give you seconds. I'd just go along with it, if I were you."

Kira looked down at her plate, frowning slightly. "That's okay. I haven't eaten much lately," she said, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.

My throat felt tight and I put my hand on Kira's shoulder. "I'm sorry for leaving you. It shouldn't have happened that way," I said quietly.

She looked at me, her eyes wide and guileless. "It wasn't your fault," she insisted. Kira suddenly looked sheepish. "Um... I broke your broom. It was dark and I didn't land right. I had to leave it behind. Sorry, Nina."

I laughed, my face splitting into a grin. I reached over and hugged her, kissing her temple. "You have nothing to be sorry for."

After Kira ate, I showed her to the bathroom so she could get cleaned up. I set out something of mine for her to wear, and helped Molly get the room beside mine ready for my sister to stay in. We threw open the windows and pulled the dustcovers off the furniture, and were making the bed when I heard Kira come out of the bathroom.

"Nina?" she called, sounding a little worried about not knowing where I was.

I poked my head out of the bedroom and she smiled when she saw me. "You can sleep here," I told her when I pulled her into the room.

"Nina's just next door," Molly said sweetly. "And my husband and I are right down the hall if you need anything." She wiped her hands on the apron around her waist and hustled over to Kira, taking her hands in hers. "Now, I've already said this to Nina, but I want you to know you're welcome with us."

Molly left us a while later, when the bed was properly made. Kira flopped down on it with a grunt. "Is it safe here?" she asked me.

I climbed onto the bed and lay down next to her. "Very safe," I said. "This is the headquarters of the Order. No one can get to us here."

"The Order?" Kira said with a squeak. She said something in Russian under her breath, but I couldn't make it out. "Mama said the Order hates us."

I sat up and looked at my sister, shaking my head. "No, Kira. Mother was wrong," I said fiercely. "She lied to you. These are good people. But... we don't have to stay if you don't want to. We can go somewhere far away. Find a home somewhere else."

Kira smiled at me, looking younger than her sixteen years. "I guess it's okay here," she declared. She yawned suddenly, covering her mouth with her hand.

"You should sleep," I said and got up off the bed, pulling the covers over Kira. "I can come get you at dinnertime."

"Okay," Kira said, snuggling under the comforter. She watched me as I shut the window and pulled the curtains. "I knew you'd come for me, Nina."

I smiled and touched her arm over the comforter. "Sleep well, little lion."

Downstairs I found George and his mother doing the cleaning up from lunch. "How is she?" George asked.

"She's good," I said, and started drying the dishes. "She's resting now."

"She's tough as nails, that one," George said with a grin.

"Yeah, she was out there alone for a long time," I said pensively. It occurred to me that Kira had been alone before, when I was under the Imperius curse. I was her one ally in our family, the one person who tried to protect her. Father ignored her, treating her like she was nothing. And mother... there'd always been something wrong with Helena, and when Kira was born all the rage and lunacy in our mother had come out in full force. She'd refused to care for Kira as an infant; she didn't breastfeed her, and wouldn't hold her when she cried. Without me there, in my right mind, she'd had nobody to shield her from our mother's abuse. I was scared to know what she'd suffered.

"Nina, you look pale. Are you okay?" Molly studied my face with concern.

"I... I was just thinking about something," I said, smiling weakly to reassure her that all was well.

The house was full again that evening, and though Kira seemed overwhelmed at first, she soon warmed up to everybody. As I watched her playing wizard's chess with Ron, I once again contemplated our options. Our next step would depend on what was best for her. I couldn't keep her from normal things, like school, but the thought of sending her away for months on end wasn't comforting. I didn't have long to make a decision; the school year at Beauxbatons would begin in September, and it was already August.

I looked up when Aberforth ambled over to me, favouring one leg over the other as he walked in a lopsided gait. He sat down beside me and didn't say anything for a few moments. I waited patiently for him to speak.

"She's a lot nicer than you were when you first arrived," he remarked.

I laughed, smiling as I looked at Kira. "She's a lot nicer in general," I said.

"That makes sense," Aberforth said. "She has a good heart, a trusting heart. You protect her, I see."

"I try," I mumbled, once again hit by guilt.

"Things happen in war, girl," the old man said. He clasped my knee with one leathery hand and looked me right in the eye, his gaze steady and avuncular. "Don't blame yourself. Just keep on protecting her."

I nodded, and Aberforth got up and left me to mull over his words. When I excused myself to go to bed, Kira came with me. "Can I sleep in here tonight?" she asked me, following me into my room. "I don't want to be alone."

"Of course. We can have a sleepover." The very idea was unfamiliar, but it made Kira light up with excitement.

She went to brush her teeth and change into her pyjamas, and I got dressed in my room. When my sister came back she'd brought her pillow from her bedroom. She made herself comfortable on one side of my bed. Not wanting there to be any confusion in the morning, I told Molly that Kira would be in my room that night. I washed my face and brushed my teeth before getting into bed. Kira was already snuggled up, but she was very much awake after the long sleep she'd had earlier.

"We should talk," I told her, rolling over to face her. "You need to tell me where you've been."

Kira sighed and chewed on her lip. "Don't be mad," she said. "But someone else found me before the Ministry did."

"Who?" I asked, frowning.

She didn't answer straight away, so I asked her again, firmer this time. "Leander," she blurted out. I didn't know what to say, but Kira kept talking despite my being dumbfounded. "I don't know how he found me. I got on a train to London after I broke your broom, but I didn't talk to anyone. And I slept on the streets. But he found me anyway. I thought... maybe he was going to hurt me, but he didn't. He gave me money, and food, and then he left again."

"He told the Ministry where you were," I mumbled, almost to myself.

"Why would he do that?" Kira asked. She sounded frightened, but I didn't know how to reassure her. Leander didn't do anything unless father told him to. There had to be something else going on, something I couldn't yet see.

"I don't know, Kira," I said honestly. That seemed to worry her more than anything else I could've said. She started to cry, her tears soaking into her pillow.

I wriggled forwards and wrapped my arms around her. She cried herself to sleep with her head tucked beneath my chin, holding onto my shirt with clenched little hands. When her hiccups and sobs finally eased into soft snores, I gently released her grasp and slipped out of the bed. I couldn't sleep now. There was too much going on inside my head to give me peace.

I tiptoed downstairs and realised that everyone else had since gone to bed. Quietly, I took the bottle of firewhiskey from the cabinet in the dining room. I needed something to steady my nerves. My father was planning something that I couldn't yet figure out. Whatever it was, it couldn't be good. The stakes were higher, now that I had Kira to think of. Were we truly safe here? Or had father known the Ministry would lead him right to us...

It was cold outside, the yard of Grimmauld Place a minefield of unsettling shadows. I sat down on the porch and took a swig of firewhiskey, pulling a face as the strong liquor burned on my tongue and in my throat. Twenty minutes and a third of the bottle later, and I felt calmer. The world had become blurry around the edges.

Resting my face in my hands, I sat out in the cold and tried to muddle through my thoughts. The sound of movement from inside distracted me, and I looked over my shoulder, trying to figure out who was awake. Someone appeared in the open doorway, and I tensed for a moment until I realised the burly figure was Charlie.

"What are you doing out here?" he asked, keeping his voice low. He came over and sat down beside me, giving me a speculative look.

"Drinking," I said, brandishing the bottle of Romania's finest. Charlie took the bottle, considered it for a moment, then took a drink. "You're back late."

"I was going to stay at a friend's place, until I heard that your sister was found. Is she here?"

I nodded and took the bottle back from Charlie to take another drink. Charlie laughed at me when I cringed at the taste. "She's upstairs, sleeping," I mumbled. I put the bottle down beside me, but didn't let go of it. I needed it close, so I could keep the fog steady until it swallowed all my fears.

Charlie reached for the bottle and his hand wrapped around mine on accident, but he didn't pull back, or even act like it was a big deal. "May I?" he asked, smiling.

I shrugged and slipped my hand free from the bottle. "Knock yourself out," I said, aware that I was slurring my words. "It's gonna... knock me out soon. That stuff is strong."

Leaning back, Charlie took a big swallow and shook the bottle in front of his face. "There's not much left," he announced. I didn't really care. Drinking had been a bad choice. I felt ill now, as well as heartsick. Charlie reached over and brushed my hair away from my face. "You don't look good."

I sighed at the touch of his fingers, a fluttering building in my stomach. "I don't?" I mumbled stupidly. "Am I ugly?"

"What?" Charlie shook his head. "Of course not, you're beautiful. But maybe you've had too much to drink already. You're not very good at holding your booze, are you?"

"Never been drunk before," I said, blushing at being called beautiful. A slow smile spread across my lips. I wanted comfort more than anything right then. There was an idea of what comfort really felt like in my head, but I couldn't know for sure. I looked at Charlie for a long moment, pushing myself forwards to kiss him. He seemed surprised when I landed against him, my mouth searching for his.

"Nina," he mumbled, and I felt his breath against my nose, which gave me an idea of where to aim for. I held onto his shoulders as I crushed my mouth against his. His lips were warm and slightly chapped, and when he kissed back I could taste firewhiskey on his mouth. Or maybe that was the taste on my own breath.

Charlie gently pushed me back with his hands on my waist. I made a face, realizing that I'd just done something incredibly foolish. "What is wrong with me?" I groaned.

"You're drunk," Charlie said. "That's all. Come on, I'll help you to your room."

"No, you don't have to be nice to me." I squirmed away from him, but he caught me around the waist again and held me close against his side.

"Don't be embarrassed," he said. "Please. It doesn't feel right, kissing you when you're drunk. You won't want to when you're sober."

I rolled my eyes. "And how do you know?" I demanded.

Charlie chuckled and kissed my forehead. I sat there, stunned, at the show of affection. It was nicer than my mortifying attempt to throw myself at him, and when I relaxed it felt wonderful, like every strung sinew in my body was unwinding. I sighed and shut my eyes. "Up you get, Nina," Charlie said, standing up and pulling me to my feet. I was still a little limp and had to force my knees to lock so I wouldn't crumble. "If you still want to make out in the morning, come find me."

I giggled as he walked me inside, shivering as we came in out of the cold. Charlie rubbed my arms with his big hands. His touch was pleasant, stoking the warmth of the firewhiskey in my stomach. "Are you serious?" I asked him as we started up the stairs.

Charlie smirked at me, but didn't answer. He took me to my bedroom, where I promptly stubbed my toe against the foot of the bed. Kira didn't stir at all, even when I started swearing loudly. Charlie hushed me, laughing quietly. He tucked me into bed and left, shutting the door noiselessly behind him, and the darkness settled over me.