- Nothing From Nowhere -

- Chapter 11: But I Left Here In Darkness -

As the weeks passed, his anger faded. Yes, he was still angry with them but he was angriest with himself because what he had done to her was by far the worse thing.

As the weeks passed, her scar faded until it was only a white line against her pale skin. Her memories did not come back to her. But there was something... she had a feeling that she was missing some essential part of the equation and if she could just figure out why everything had been erased...

And sometime during those the weeks, someone in the ministry had realized that among the captured Death Eaters was a man named Peter Pettigrew. A man who obviously had not been murdered by Sirius Black. A man whose wand proved that HE had been the one who cast the curse that killed all those muggles, not Sirius Black. And so, despite the fact that Sirius Black's escape from prison was technically a crime in and of itself, the ministry was forced to issue a full pardon. They didn't want to lose face in the public eye by not doing the right thing, after all.

With Sirius's name cleared, it was dangerous for them to keep her here. And Dumbledore was still a wanted man, as well. Something would have to be done.

And so, through Snape, Dumbledore and Voldemort began to communicate, to negotiate, until finally they came to an uneasy agreement. Neither side was particularly happy with the terms, but time was short and they had nothing left to bargain with.

Which is why the three of them were now standing at the outskirts of a certain dark forest in the middle of the night, waiting for Lord Voldemort to arrive.