Hiya everyone. Thanks to all who've reviewed and to those who are reading (abigail - happy holidays and you'll have some catching up to do when you get back).

BLATANT PLUG: I posted a drabble called 'You Fill Up My Senses' last night. Give it a read if you dare (there's no sex - SHOCK HORROR) Tell me if I can write anything but smut and make it readable.

WARNING: Um...none. Maybe some swearing and smack downs...Jeez, no warnings - that's very unlike me. Maybe the warning could be that I am crap at action sequences so read at your own peril.

Disclaimer: Not mine. No money is being made off this - I only WISH I was making money off this. I'd buy David Thewlis and tie him to my bed.


Chapter Twelve

Three months later

'Kate?'

'Shh!' came the sharp reply and Sirius shut his mouth, knowing better than to try and argue with her.

They were the lead team - about to enter a known Death Eater haunt in search of a wizarding family reported as abducted the day before. The patriarch worked high up in the Ministry and information from one of Moody's informants, had led them here. Several Aurors (all members of the Order thanks to Moody's quick reshuffling of resources) were scattered strategically around the innocuous looking two-story brick house, ready to storm the home in a rescue mission.

Sirius and James had come along on this task - Remus had been sent with Alice and Peter to do a follow up check of the hostage family's house, searching for any signs of dark magic or inappropriate practices. Emmeline and Sturgis had checked the house initially but the more they learned about the kidnapping, the more certain they became that he had been targeted for a reason, his work in the Ministry was not enough to interest Lord Voldemort.

Remus had complained to Kate, wanting to come along with the rescue team, but she and Moody insisted it be only qualified Auror's and the strongest of the Order's recruits that attended.

'Is this because we're seeing each other?' he'd asked last night, pacing his bedroom floor and glaring at her. 'Is this you trying to protect me or something? I'm not a child, Kate…'

'You've just been through a pretty rough full moon and you're still weak,' she told him a little impatiently, annoyed he thought she'd allow personal relationships to affect a mission. 'Remus, if I thought you were up for the job, I wouldn't hesitate to allow you to come, but I will not put the rest of the team at risk so you can feel useful. You are going with Alice and Peter…it's not like you're sitting here twiddling your thumbs.'

She put out her leg and stopped his pacing, hooking it around his knees and dragging him to her. 'Now, would you stop whining and come here so I can show you exactly how grown up I think you are?'

Now, shivering slightly from both the cool breeze and anticipation, Kate cast a spell.

'Homenum revelio.'

Sirius, leaning over her shoulder, frowned along with the Auror when it revealed no trace of human presence.

'That can't be right,' she muttered, then twisted around and snatched Sirius' wand out of his hand. She tried the spell again as she prayed her wand wasn't malfunctioning.

It wasn't - Sirius' wand also insisting that there was no one in the building that was supposed to be housing the kidnapped family. Kate waved it a few more times, checking there were no Concealment or Diversion spells on the property then handed Sirius back his wand as she turned to the others, confusion all over her face.

Moody growled from behind Sirius and James. 'They were supposed to be here…'

'Well, they're obviously not,' she retorted. 'Your information must have been wrong. They must be holding them somewhere else.'

'Could they have known we were coming?' asked James and Kate shook her head.

'If they knew we were coming they would have set up a...'

Her voice trailed off and Sirius watched as Kate's expression changed, confusion morphing into horror and a fear that seemed even more terrible on this woman's face - this woman who had picked up bits of her friend, who had nearly bled to death from dark spells but who had never once looked as frightened as she did right now.

'Shit,' Moody muttered, his craggy, scarred face paling as he also suddenly understood.

'I'll take these two!' Kate told him, grabbing Sirius and James' arms as Moody jabbed his wand to his throat and muttered 'Sonorus', his now amplified voice screaming instructions to the others.

Before the teenagers could fully grasp what was happening, Kate disapparated, yelling out, 'Hurry!' to Moody as she spun.

As they banged against each other, speeding through the darkness, not even the suffocating squeezing sensation could erase the all too logical conclusion that both James and Sirius' minds had just reached.

It had been a trap - but not for them.


The house in the little village just outside London seemed quiet but when Kate cast the spell to reveal human presence, they all swore softly.

'There must be twenty of them in there,' James whispered, trepidation evident in his voice as they stared at the smoky forms that appeared but Kate looked pained and shook her head.

'Not all of them are Death Eaters,' she said softly, pointing out two huddled groups.

'Three people here…' She indicated the lower floor. 'The smaller figure tells us this is probably Max Young and his family - he has a son…'

Her finger moved, pointing out three figures upstairs - the opposite end of the house. 'This must be R…Remus, Alice and Peter.'

She took a breath and said quietly, 'The Death Eaters knew we'd send someone to double check the house for Dark Magic. How did they know that? It's not common practice...'

'Moody's informant must have been working with them,' James guessed and Kate nodded, her eyes darting about, memorising where each silhouetted person was.

'The way they've set this up…they are making us choose who we're going to try and save first. Both of them are guarded. Shit, what a fucking nightmare.'

Sirius looked at her and asked the question for himself and James. 'Who do we go after?'

It looked as though the words hurt as they left her lips. 'Young and his family,' she whispered, her voice cracking a little. 'That's our protocol. We go after the primary target first and just…pray.'

Several pops and flashes of silvery white light heralded the entrance of the other Aurors, Moody in the lead, and suddenly, shots of coloured light were streaming out of the house like lasers. Dorcas Meadowes was not fast enough to raise her shield and was hit by a Stunner. Kate moved behind Moody's shimmering shield and pointed her wand at the other woman, re-enervating her quickly.

'Six hostages,' Kate yelled to the others over the crashing and burning of the thunderstorm of hexes, most of which were bouncing off the defender's shields harmlessly. This was just a warning. 'The three upstairs to the right are our guys; the three downstairs are the primarys. Anywhere between ten and fifteen combatants.'

Moody stared at her intently for a few moments then turned back to the house. 'The others can go after the primary target. We'll take Black and Potter and go after our lot.'

Kate looked surprised but nodded, suspecting this break in protocol was about her mentor's guilt at unwittingly sending the three teenagers into this trap. Whatever it was that motivated Moody, she was going to waste time reminding him of their code as she might have if Remus wasn't in there. Her brain briefly registered the fact that she was altering the way she did things because of her personal feelings but she pushed it to the back of her mind to think about later - right now, she just wanted Remus out of there.

Moody was using hand signals to indicate that six of the team of ten should break off and head for the left side of the house, when the onslaught stopped. The larger group moved off at a run immediately and Moody joined Kate, Sirius and James as they scurried around the opposite side of the house.

'We're outnumbered, aren't we?' James asked in a low voice and Kate nodded briskly.

'Not by a huge number though. We'll get them out,' she whispered, trying to sound more confident than she felt; trying to ensure she didn't allow herself to remember that Remus was up there in God only knows what condition.

She couldn't let herself think of him - her knees were barely holding her up now. Looking at the teenagers, she could see they were having the same problem.

'You can't think about them as friends,' she told them as Moody searched for a weak spot in the Death Eater's hastily raised wards. 'They're targets…'

'Peter is in there, Remus is in there,' Sirius snapped at her angrily. 'I know he was just another dick for you but he's our friend…'

There was a sharp retort as Kate slapped him hard, the force of her blow making the taller and heavier man stagger.

'Don't you dare say that to me,' she spat furiously. 'You have no fucking idea what you're talking about.'

'There's time for this later,' hissed Moody, frowning at Kate who was still glaring furiously at Sirius. 'Get ready - we're going in.'

She took a deep breath; trying to concentrate on the task at hand and not the red hot anger that was making her shake. She'd lost control - just before a task - she'd lost focus and Remus could pay for her lapse if she didn't get it back.

Damn it! This is what getting close to someone does. This is why you should never get involved.

There was a shimmer then a crack as Moody broke through the wards then they rushed forward under a hail of hexes.


Everything happened in a blur after that - the cacophony of sounds and kaleidoscope of light making it difficult to tell whether they were gaining ground or not. The four Order members parried the hexes flying at them with their own, Kate accidentally bringing down the first Death Eater with a Sectumsempra spell that rebounded off her hastily raised shield to hit its caster in his chest. The man let out a chilling screech as crimson blood spurted from his suddenly gaping wounds.

She jumped over his groaning, spasming form, ducking to avoid a Stunner and joined James who was fast becoming overwhelmed by two masked opponents. They bought them down together in no time, Kate clutching at a wound on her arm where the last cutting hex had skimmed her. It was burning and bleeding badly and, unthinkingly, she pointed her wand at it to try and stem the flow. Suddenly, she gasped as her head was jerked back sharply and she felt a hand twisting her blonde hair painfully.

'Hello, darlin',' came a rough voice next to her ear as her wand was pulled from her grasp. 'Told you we'd meet again.'

Dolohov. Bastard.

She struggled then stopped when she felt the pointed end of a wand digging into her neck viciously.

'Tsk, tsk,' he taunted, hot, rancid breath wafting across her face. 'Elementary wand skills in battle, darlin'. You should know to never lower your guard.'

Kate silently thanked her mother for insisting she took Muggle self defence classes before her arm shot up and crashed into his nose, breaking it with a loud crack and splattering the both of them with droplets of blood. His wand fell a little and she took advantage, slamming her heel down hard on his instep and he howled in pain as she tore herself out of his grasp. She ripped her wand out of his hand and spun around, Stunning him before he could recover. He lay still on the ground and she couldn't help herself, anger taking over for a moment, and she kicked him hard in the groin.

'Don't fuck with me again, you prick!'

'You ever lower your wand again, Bradley, and you're fired!' Moody yelled at her as he ran past, shooting a curse at a Death Eater as he did.

They'd made it upstairs now. James and Sirius were opening doors down the hall, trying to find the missing Order members while Kate and Moody held off the remaining three Death Eaters from the top of the stairs.

'Shoot to kill, Kate,' Alastor muttered. 'We still have to get out of here and I'm not sure if we can apparate through the wards, weak as they are.'

She nodded grimly then heard yelling and several crashes from one of the rooms behind them before Sirius let out a shout.

'We've got them!'

'Are they alright?' Kate shouted back and heard Sirius' affirmative answer. Her relief was palpable as she called, 'See if you can apparate them out.'

She was distracted from the man in front of her as she shouted instructions and paid for it - gasping as a curse got past her guard and hit her in the shoulder, an ominous crack resounding loudly in the air. She let out a scream of pain as fire burst through her body and her now numb arm dangled uselessly. Moody threw a shield in front of her but she pushed herself off the wall and lifted her uninjured wand arm, firing off another hex - praying to Merlin it would hit someone.

'Black!' Moody yelled, his voice a little more desperate now as he tried to hold off the three men alone, Kate's hexes barely reaching them as pain took away her concentration.

'They've gone,' they heard James call back. 'They're alright. I'm taking Peter now. Get out of here!'

Moody took a deep breath then shot a string of curses at the Death Eaters, one coming fast after the other. As the sizzling energy of the powerful spells forced their combatants backwards, he grabbed Kate's arm and spun. Everything went black as her injured arm jerked sharply and she let out a groan of agony when she landed hard on the pavement outside Headquarters.

Moody pulled her to her feet, her vision blurring again as he tugged on her arm, now ablaze with pain. 'Inside,' he grunted, hurrying her into the building.


'Kate,' Remus exclaimed urgently as they entered the sitting room, standing up and looking as if he was going to grab her but he held himself back.

Her eyes ran over him, seeing a couple of cuts and some bruises but he looked otherwise unharmed. Bracing her arm, she stared at him saying, 'Is everyone alright?'

He nodded, holding her gaze and said with a frown, 'You? You're hurt…'

'Are the others alright?' Alice cut in, looking at Moody who was watching Kate and Remus' interactions. 'They were waiting for us, Alastor…'

'I know. I'm going to find out what happened,' Moody muttered, then looked back over at Remus, his small, dark eyes scrutinising before he said, 'Lupin, Kate's got some injuries. Can I trust you to deal with them?'

When a surprised Remus nodded, Moody gestured to Peter and Alice.

'You two alright?' he asked then when they nodded, he said bluntly, 'Good, I want you to come with me. I want a full report now.'

Alice and Peter stood up and Moody looked over at Sirius and James. He gave them a grudging nod.

'Potter, Black…not bad. Go home - I'll talk to you both tomorrow. Lupin, I'll be wanting to talk to you later tonight.'

Remus frowned; thinking the man's words to him had sounded a lot more…threatening than they had with the others. He watched him walk out then James stood up.

'I…I'm going home,' he said shakily. 'You sure you're alright, Moony?'

'I'll stay with him,' Sirius told him, squeezing the messy haired man's arm. 'You go see Lils. She'll be a bit frantic.'

With a grateful smile and a mumbled farewell, James left, Flooing home. Sirius looked from Remus to Kate.

'I'm getting a drink,' he said. 'Do either of you want one?'

They both nodded and he left. Remus moved swiftly across the room, seizing Kate's face and kissing her hard and fast.

'Are you really ok?' he asked urgently when he pulled back a little and she nodded, her good hand rising to caress his bruised face. The feel of his skin sent a flood of relief through her, making her feel weak under the onslaught of unfamiliar emotion. 'What about your shoulder?'

'I think it's broken. Are you alright?' she asked, eyes concerned and he nodded.

'Cuts and bruises. Dolohov kicked me around a bit but he was just playing with me,' he said softly, kissing her gently again, resting his forehead against hers. 'We stuffed up. We thought it was empty so we didn't check for human presence first…we should have… I'm sorry, Katie.'

'So am I,' Sirius said from the doorway, watching in amusement as the two of them jumped apart. 'Oh, don't stop on my account.'

Kate was speechless and looked over at Remus, who said quickly, 'Pads, we…'

'…are together?' he finished with a grin. 'Yeah, the snogging kind of gave that away, although the smack down Kate delivered earlier clued me in that you two may not be as finished as you both let on.'

'What?' Remus said, puzzled but Kate winced, recalling how hard she'd hit him.

'I'm sorry,' she said, shamefaced. 'I just…'

'It's fine,' Sirius told her, brushing off her apology. 'I was pretty nasty; I deserved to get a slap. Don't worry, I won't say a word about what's going on to anyone and I've got no intention of staying. I just wanted to know for sure.'

He held up a bottle of Firewhiskey and said with a grin, 'And since it looks as though I'm the only one not getting laid tonight, I'm taking this with me.'

Go on! Push the button...I dare you!