"All those in favor of house arrest?" Dumbledore's face was blank, though his magic tasted sour; Regulus hid a smile at the duplicity.

Neither Severus nor Caelia, though, even seemed to notice. Both were focused completely on the votes. It was a close one, Regulus thought, the vote. Despite their best efforts, there were some people who wanted to see all Dark wizards behind bars. Severus was only their victim of choice.

Enough minds had been changed, though.

Neither Caelia nor Severus were touching- neither even spoke as the votes were tallied. Yet there was something undefinable, in the tilt of their heads and stillness of their bodies, that whispered of dependency and friendship.

Fragile? Maybe. But to Slytherins… he was well aware of the view they held on cross-gender relationships that didn't encompass sex. They were already pushing boundaries, with her impassioned defense.

Then Regulus saw the unholy gleam in his brother's eyes, and every feeling of exultance and victory fled.

If there was one person who could make Caelia's life a living hell, it would be him. Despite all appearances, she was a devoted wife- and breaking her loyalty to him would shatter her completely. It wasn't like she had much leeway, either, in defying Sirius.

If you touch a hair on her head, Sirius, Regulus promised wholeheartedly, I will personally flay the skin from your bones.

But promises were only words, and words were only sounds on the wind. Regulus loved his sister-in-law, but he could do very little to protect her.

They had saved Severus, and won the battle; they had saved their friend and lost the war.

Bowing his head, Regulus felt the bitterness of a pyrrhic victory slide over his neck, a cold knife running mind-numbing circles against his bare skin.

I hate you, Sirius.

Something was niggling Caelia, even in the flush of triumph.

Augusta Longbottom stood at the judges' podium, already ready to go, but her words to Albus seemed tense, seemed angry.

There were bags under her skin, and a hint of exhaustion, though that was erased by her domineering personality quickly. Her hands trembled just barely; her wand was shoved into her purse as soon as it was polite to do so. Caelia watched discreetly as she turned and walked away.

The Longbottoms! The thought washed her mind in shocked white. They've been in hiding for just as long as the Potters; Augusta was their Secret Keeper, and she's now out of hiding. What could possibly-

Phrases snapped into place, and any questions she'd had over the course of a year were answered.

Regulus, I'm going to kill you.

Wand in hand, she pushed her way through the crowd, snapping subtle repulsion spells under her breath. "Regulus!" Her voice boomed over the crowd, aided with the Sonorus.

Regulus appeared in the next minute, eyes wide and hair disheveled. "We need to get out of here!"

"Do you have Severus?" Caelia whirled away before he could answer. "I need to talk to Lady Longbottom."

"Why?"

"Get Severus, and I'll explain. If I'm right- we don't have much time."

Frowning heavily, Regulus let himself be borne away by the crowd. It was rare indeed for Caelia to look so… worried. Yes, that was the right word. Worried didn't imply terrified, after all...

"Lady Longbottom!" Caelia flung herself through the last edges of the crowd, nearly tripping over the hem of her robes. "Lady Longbottom!"

The stately woman turned around slowly, and sighed. "What is it, Lady Black? I'm afraid I have other obligations today, so-"

"Like protecting your son?" She asked breathlessly. When Augusta's eyes narrowed, she went on. "You can't go home!"

"Give me a good reason why not," she replied, just a touch puzzled, turning on angry.

Caelia nodded. "I have one, and that's all you'll need."

"What is it?" What she meant was, don't overestimate yourself.

"The Fidelius dropped this morning," Caelia whispered. Don't underestimate me, she retorted silently. "And the second child of the Prophecy has been revealed to the Dark Lord's followers. Do you think your son and his wife are strong enough against three lunatics?"

Augusta's face had paled to the hue of ghost-steel. "Three lunatics?"

Some part of Caelia felt bad for her. The rest told herself to finish the job. "Rodolphus Lestrange, Rabastan Lestrange, and," she said quietly, watching as the aged witch staggered at each word as if they were blows, "Bellatrix Lestrange."

"Go," Augusta managed. "And I shall come with-"

"You are not in your prime, Lady Longbottom," Regulus said forcefully as he finally appeared. Severus followed him, though his face was far whiter. It seemed that Azkaban had truly left a mark.

"Then where-"

"Go to another home," Caelia told her softly. "And wait for a Patronus message. Ward yourself in."

Augusta sent them one last, helpless look before she walked into the fireplace. "Keep them alive," she commanded fiercely.

Then she was gone.

"Why are you doing this?" Regulus asked flatly, as the three of them apparated into a small field a scant minute from the Manor. When Severus turned to him questioningly but Caelia barely acknowledged him, he waved his wand in an all-encompassing arc. Wards snapped into place around them.

"Nobody's here yet, stop your whining," he said impatiently when she turned to him, outraged. "Why are you doing this, Caelia? There's no love lost between you and the Longbottoms, I know that much. And you aren't the kind of person to do this out of the goodness of your heart. Why?"

Caelia hesitated. There were many answers, and she could have replied with any of them. But… Regulus and Severus deserved the truth, and there wasn't time to tell them everything right then.

Go on the attack. They're Slytherins, both of them. Neither'll expect it.

"I have my reasons," she told him shortly. "And if that isn't enough for you-"

"He didn't say that," Severus interrupted. It seemed to cost him some control, though; his face whitened further and he swayed slightly before gripping a convenient branch. "And Regulus- don't push. Not now."

Neither looked happy. Severus sighed. "I'm not a fucking babysitter, Caelia, Regulus. If you want to tear each other's throats out, go ahead. I don't give a damn. But if you want to save the Longbottoms, I'd suggest you get over your little spat soon."

Caelia frowned, letting the words filter through for a second, and then-

-whirled around, wand flashing upward, rending their small, warded circle in half.

"Don't come if you don't want to," she told them softly, like a viper curling in on itself, moments before it lashed out. Magic seared through her cheeks almost effortlessly, leaving her with fever-spots high on her cheeks. Her eyes glittered with something frighteningly similar to blood-lust, and both Severus and Regulus took a wary step back. "But I'm going now!"

And she leapt down the hillside.

"Fuck," Regulus cursed softly, before glancing back at him.

Severus was still half-leaning, half-standing against the tree, and the death-grip he had on the branch was also the only thing helping him. He knew he was pale- Azkaban pulled up the worst memories of a person's life, and it wasn't like he had any lack of those.

The first day in Azkaban had left him screaming on the floor.

Occlumency shields had been shredded through with ruthless efficiency. Had Caelia not swept in three days after his imprisonment, eyes warm and shoulders thrown back; had she not fought the dementors' memories and his own despair; had she not thrown everything she had into defying his hopelessness, well.

Severus would have given in, he was sure of it.

He'd already composed plans to destroy himself, and walking into that courtroom… Remembering the agony, as person after person condemned him with nothing more than a sneer, after everything he'd done for them, he could feel his heart shriveling. He'd have killed himself that night, if only to deny Dumbledore the relish of victory.

He'd have killed himself because he was too weak to face the mental pain.

Cold knives pressed against his shoulder blades; Severus startled out of his thoughts.

Regulus' eyes were worried celestines, layered over a firm glare. "Stay here, Severus-"

"No." Even he could be stubborn, if given enough reason.

"Yes. Caelia's down there, facing three intruders. And if you go, you know you'll only be a liability to us, so just-"

"No."

"Yes." Regulus seemed infuriatingly calm. "Because if you don't, I'll duel you. And every moment I'm dueling you, I'm not helping Caelia." He leaned in, then, and Severus could see the manic light in his eyes. "Is that what you want, Severus? Caelia's blood on your hands?

"Maybe even her death?"

Severus froze. His loyalties had shifted with the wind over the past few years, but Caelia's selfless actions had shown him his true leader. If she died, because he was being stubborn…

…his sanity wouldn't survive intact. Of that, he remained sure.

"Fine. But if you loose a shower of red sparks, I'll be there. You're a Slytherin, Black. Use your damned head. A person in the shadows…"

"… is the one who wins the war." Regulus' voice was mocking, just a hint. "Okay. Come down with me, but remain behind. She'll need help- especially if Bellatrix is there."

Both dark-cloaked Slytherins surged forward at the same moment.

Caelia seemed to be holding her own rather well.

The three Lestranges darted back and forth, wands flicking out and up, spells dancing over the battlefield like a children's carnival. The scent of ozone hung in the air; carbon burns striped the stone walkway to the Manor proper.

The only reason I've survived this long is because I'm good at Transfiguration, Caelia thought as she forced a wave of earth up into a dome, and warded it securely. Better than them, I mean.

I seriously hope Severus and Regulus come down here. I can't do this for much longer, not without…

…well. I did say the Lestranges deserved to die.

Time for the kid gloves to come off.

Tunneling in, she vanished the earth ahead of her as quickly as she could. The dome would last for some time, but such large-scale transfiguration was power-draining, too. She could only do one more of those before she exhausted her power.

Then, a thought flicked through her head.

It leapt and was gone in less than an instant, but the idea remained. Only when everything else is exhausted.

Leaping out, she flourished her wand in a sonic-boom of a wave. The nearest Lestrange brother didn't even have the chance to scream, before he was torn in two. The other two managed to throw up shields, but Caelia had already achieved what she'd wanted.

One down, two to go.

"You bitch," Rabastan Lestrange breathed, moving forward unsteadily. "That was my brother!"

Caelia kept her face blank. The lack of emotion seemed to incense him even more.

"Crucio!"

Shards of rock rose under her direction, shielding her body from the worst of it. The pieces were banished before he could follow up, directly at him. He stumbled back, roaring in pain. Then Bellatrix was there, and all cold fury dissolved in a rush of, turn here, go there, don't stumble!

Where are you, Regulus?

A moment later, she knew what she wanted to do. A bruising curse, one that was notorious for not having any shield- one that she had modified.

Rule number three of dueling: Shock will kill your opponent faster than almost anything else.

Modifications were strange bits of magic. They required grace and knowledge, and an innate need for the spell to work. Because most people had multiple shields, this particular one wasn't as useful as it could be; only the most arrogant could be caught under its affects.

Bellatrix was one of them.

So confident was she in her abilities, she rarely put up a shield if she didn't have to.

And the color Caelia had made her spell was the harmless red of a stunner. Bellatrix put up the standard Protego, not even dancing out of the way. Then the spell went through, and she barely had time to widen her eyes in shock before she was struck.

Both of them were doubled over in pain, though Rabastan seemed to be recovering. Neither Longbottom knew what had happened yet- the wards hadn't been tripped on either side. While that was lucky in some ways- Frank and Alice had no love for her at the best of times- it was unlucky in others- there didn't seem to be help for her yet.

Sighing, she advanced and raised her wand, ready to send out an area-level stunner, and…

"Crucio."

…the world dissolved in pain.

I should be more sorry for stopping at cliffhangers. Sadly, I love to build up tension, and find that this is the best way to do so. However, that said- did anyone remember that I've forgotten a character?

This chapter is longer than I usually like them to be, and I seriously considered breaking it up into other sections. Then the words just kept flowing, and I... I really wanted to finish it. But, this part seemed a good place to stop. Also, to prod some thinking, what exactly is Caelia's condition? I haven't really said it properly; I think it was one sentence in a previous chapter. But... she has her reasons for saving Alice and Frank, and they aren't all altruistic, either. Keep that in mind.

Also, celestines are pretty minerals that are bluish-white, which is pretty much what I thought Regulus' eyes would look like. Next chapter should be longer than this one- it isn't finished yet, so bear with me- and deals with the end of this battle and Sirius' reaction.

Thanks to all my reviewers. You guys made me finish this way ahead of schedule!

Reviews do inspire me!

-Dialux