Author's Note: Hi all, the drama continues, hope you enjoy. For all of you who have been following me for a while, you know I had a battle with cancer 2 years ago. This week has been eventful, and there are strong indicators that I may have the disease again, although possibly a different type. For those of you who pray, your prayers would be most appreciated. I'm just moving from day to day, and writing to keep my mind off of things. Thanks everyone, for reading and reviewing, MNF

Chapter 21:

Sirius barely felt the curse his cousin cast on him. The scream of his wife, while contained only in his head, he found deafening. The pain and terror in her usually tender voice ripped through him. His own fear gripped his insides and nearly twisted them free from the tender threads which held them to his frame. Whatever had happened to her had been exponentially worse than anything he had just endured.

"Why are you not screaming?" Narcissa bellowed. "You should be screaming in pain!" She loudly cast another bludgeoning curse, and again, Sirius felt little. Anwen's screaming had ended while her shield endured. Disconcertingly though, Sirius could not feel her love or the warmth of her comforting thoughts.

"Is something bothering you, cousin?" Sirius asked with little affect.

"How did you escape this room? Tell me how you did it?" she yelled. While Narcissa had always been perfectly dressed, hair coiffed, and make-up applied flawlessly; to see her now was unimaginable in the past. Her clothing fit poorly, and her hair had been shorn while in Azkaban, most likely to keep her from attempting to hang herself with it. James had told him of such things while he held his office with the Ministry.

"I have not left this room," he replied.

"You must have," Narcissa complained, her head lolling oddly on her neck, eyes darting around the barren room. Occasionally she whispered something, obviously meant to be heard by one only she could see and hear. "My potions, my precious potions have disappeared."

Sirius had to fight his urge to smile. Anwen had made mischief as she went searching throughout the building. He couldn't wait to find out what exactly she'd done to the potions. He desperately wished her voice was in his ear, whispering what amusements she'd made in Narcissa's lab.

"Cousin, I'm chained to this wall. How would I have left?"

"You must have. My potions are gone, all my beautiful potions. Crucio!"

Sirius felt the curse strike the shield around him, ripple around the magic which cocooned him and then dissipate. While the initial impact did create some pain, it was nothing like truly being under the torture curse.

Narcissa ran from the room, weeping and wailing as she did. Sirius was thankful to see her leave, but without the distraction she provided, the fear for his wife exploded exponentially.

Anwen's sudden scream had startled everyone in the Black's small apartment. A blast of magic threw Remus away from his friend, his back hitting the wall which was ten feet away. His body crumpled to the floor from the force of the impact.

Evelyn quickly stood and went to check on the man, but Remus brushed her off.

"I just had the wind knocked out of me," he explained. "I'll be fine. My kind heal quickly." Evelyn nodded, knowing it was true, werewolves had accelerated healing times. She offered him a hand so he could more easily stand.

"Evelyn" James called. "There's something very wrong with Anwen." She turned around and saw James standing up while lowering the witch down flat. Anwen's entire body was rigid and she seemed to be convulsing.

"Has she ever done anything like this?" the healer queried as she rushed to stand over her patient. Before an answer could be given, Evelyn was casting spells to monitor Anwen's heart and lung functioning. The baby was then given a set as well.

"Never, at least not that I've seen," Remus said. "Mrs. Violette?"

"I have never witnessed something like this," Anwen's grandmother replied, the lines of her face appearing more deeply etched as she worried about her granddaughter. "Usually her control is masterful. Can you rouse her?"

"I should be able to," Evelyn answered, even as her wand twisted and pirouetted through the air. "However, there's too much brain activity here for her to be unconscious. Do either of you think you could go in and see what's happening?"

"I doubt it," Remus interjected. "When she threw me out, her Occlumency shields were up. I can't break into them. Dumbledore might be able to, but I think that would be a very bad idea."

"That was a wild understatement, Remus," James retorted. "I would suggest calling into the Ministry and sending over Alastor or Frank."

"Honestly, with the readings I'm getting here, I'd rather take her into St. Mungo's." The rest paused at the healers words.

"What do you fear is wrong?" Grand-mére asked, giving voice to the concern of the others.

"I wish I could say," Evelyn stated. "I haven't an idea how to proceed, but perhaps someone who has been practicing longer will. The baby is reacting to this as well."

"What about taking her to Paris?" James asked. Evelyn nodded at the idea.

"Her own healer would be best, but I'm afraid of what will happen if she's so far from Sirius. We have no way of knowing if their connection has been severed. If we are to take her to France, we need to have Sirius with us," she said, running her hands through her hair nervously.

"That would entail finding him," James stated. His cousin was usually ten steps ahead of the rest of the family, especially in a crisis. She always had a contingency plan. He wished she'd planned for this. Her only direction was to get Sirius, take the baby if need be and make sure the boys went to France. It wasn't much to work with.

"We might be able to find him," Remus said as he walked to the small desk Anwen had in a nook next to the fireplace. He pulled out a rather large map of the British Isles from the magically expanded drawer on the right. "She gave us some clues. Does anyone remember the name of the town?"

"Something bane, like south or stick or straw -" James said, just letting words pour out of him.

"Strabane," Evelyn suddenly remembered. "It's up in Northern Ireland, on the border with the Republic. Our family went on our summer holiday there when we were small."

"Excellent. Please tell me your family owns property there?" Remus hopefully asked.

Unfortunately, Evelyn shook her head in response. "No, we rented a house. I doubt they're there either, since it was a very modern place, contemporary architecture and furniture. Furthermore, it's in a magical resort enclave. Not the sort of place which would have a dungeon or whatever it is Sirius is chained up in."

James had already pulled his communication stone out and had tapped the code for Frank on it. When the stone glowed blue, he began talking. "Assemble a full strike team. Have general area where Sirius is held. Will need an aerial squad as well." He tapped another code on the surface and the stone returned to normal.

"Didn't Anwen say something about a castle?" James asked.

"She did," Grand-mere answered. "But, it was ruins, not a full castle."

"That's right," Remus added as he recalled more detail as well. "Earthworks and turrets...and she had to fly out a low window, like everything was underground."

"Well, that's something," James confirmed as he made his mental notes to share with the team. "Something like that will be obvious from the air. Remus, you stay with her. When I've got Sirius, I'll contact you and Lily and we'll all meet at the duCygne estate." Remus nodded. "Can you call over to the Longbottom place and let Lily and Eva know what's going on?"

"Sure."

James knelt down next to Anwen's head and brushed his hand along her forehead, moving the sweat plastered fringe off her pale skin. "I'm getting him for you. Just hang on there, please?" He then kissed her cheek and stood. Righting his clothing and reaching for his outer cloak he surveyed the room before he left for the Ministry.

"Oh, I nearly forgot," Remus added. "Anwen said she followed a road from the ruins to the town. She always goes north, since she can find it through her Animagus. If you go south from Strabane, you'll have the best chance."

"Thanks for reminding me," James said. "I wish you were going with us. Your super hearing would be helpful."

"I can go, she's in good hands here, and no one is going to attack Hogwarts, especially on the day the students are returning. Security is higher than usual."

"No, she needs you. Sirius wants you here with her, I'm sure of it. Whatever happens, keep her safe." The last comment was said so seriously that it sent a chill down Remus' spine.

"With my life, if need be."

James turned, and taking a pinch of powder, disappeared into the fire. As if in reaction, the small orbs above Anwen's heart began to beat more rapidly, causing alarm in her healer. Evelyn summoned a potion phial from her case and used the dropper to place a few drops on Anwen's tongue. Putting the stopper back into the phial, she watched the orbs nervously.

The healer's deep concern had affected the others, and she was joined in her silent concentration while observating of the orbs. Seconds seemed to tick much slower on the mantle clock, and the trio held their breaths. When the red orb slowed and regulated its pulse, all visibly relaxed.

"What was that?" Remus asked, even as the phial floated back to the healer's kit.

"Muggle nitroglycerin," she explained. "Her heart had slipped into an arrhythmia. I was concerned she'd suffer a cardiac arrest or a brain aneurism. It's a powerful drug, hence the small dosage," Evelyn answered.

"Muggle medication? I had no idea you were so progressive," Remus stated, very impressed.

"Usually heart ailments are treated with magic, but the last thing she needs is more magic in her system. If she has another attack, I'm going to insist we take her to hospital."

"What you did, it's safe for the baby?" Grand-mere asked.

"I carry it only for dire emergencies, which this is. The baby is shielding itself somehow, and is quite strong. The dosage was so low it shouldn't be a problem. I think you'll agree a massive interruption of her circulation and respiration would be far more dangerous. I'm monitoring this little guy very carefully, so he should be fine."

Grand-mere had brought her hands to her mouth in excitement. "Oh, it's a boy! How wonderful!" Evelyn took in her statement and enthusiasm and realized she might have made a mistake.

"You didn't know the baby's sex?"

"No," Remus answered. "She and Sirius have been rather coy regarding that bit of information.

"Oops," Evelyn sheepishly muttered.

"Don't worry, given the circumstances, it's likely to be the last thing on Anwen's mind when she comes to." He put the map away in her desk drawer and walked back to where his dear friend lies prone, her muscles tensing frequently. He sat down on the opposite end of the couch from her grandmother and lifted her head and small pillow and laid them in his lap. Grand-mere took her granddaughter's hand and held it between hers. Evelyn watched the multi-coloured balls tensely.

"If only there were some way to pull the excess magic out of her," the healer mused. "I think if we were to reduce the sheer volume of magic in her, her body might be able to regulate its processes easier."

"How would you do that?" Remus asked.

"Normally a healer would simply cast a spell to pull the patient's magic into a vessel and then put in reserve, should they need it. It's often done before magical surgery, to make the patient more receptive to the healing magic."

"Is there a reason you can't do it to Anwen?"

"First, the amount of magic she's circulating is immense. Second, it's circulating through the baby. The procedure would need to be done very carefully; it's well beyond my skill. We don't want to take a mother's magic when she's giving birth; we use the magic to speed along labour. Lastly, I have no idea what would hold that much magic. The vessel would need to be about the size of a bathtub." Evelyn was discouraged by how the situation was progressing. This wasn't something which was covered in any book or lesson she'd ever had.

"What about pulling it into a person?" Remus asked hesitantly.

"I suppose it would work, but person to person magical transfers are tricky in ideal situations. With Anwen unable to control how quickly she'd give the magic to you, it would be too dangerous."

"How do you mean?"

"With her being in a coma, she could suck you into it. If that didn't happen, she could overload your body with magic, sending you into cardiac arrest. Also, with your little condition, too much magic could spur a non-lunar induced transition."

"That would be bad," Remus agreed.

"Oddly enough, if you were in your werewolf form, and your mind was still aware of what was happening, you could take the magic without any ill affects. Sentient magical creatures are ideal for magic transfer," Evelyn offhandedly remarked.

"We are at present in a school which teaches about magical creatures. What would work?" Remus remarked, getting excited that there might be something to help his friend.

"Being sentient helps, so any of the more aware creatures would be best. Unicorn, hippocampus, mooncalf, diricawl, Thestral," she ticked off the creatures, and Remus knew at least two of them were on the grounds, although getting to the hippocampus would be an issue, since Anwen was the only one who could talk to the merpeople. "However, the ideal would be an Augurey. Given their nature and use in healing, they're the best suited."

Remus felt like jumping for joy. "I can't get you an Irish phoenix. However, there is a phoenix in the castle, and it's companion would do anything to get back into Anwen's good graces."

"Really?" Evelyn asked, disbelieving their good luck. "Who has a phoenix?"

"Dumbledore. Fawkes has chosen the headmaster as his companion. I know he and Anwen have conversed in the past. Her kestrel form makes her easier to speak with. Should I speak with Dumbledore?"

"Definitely!" the healer nearly shouted. Before the word was finished, Remus was removing his wand from its holster and sending a Patronus message to the headmaster. When the silvery-blue wisp left the room, the trio was on alert, waiting for a response.

The knock at the door, and its opening not more than two minutes later, was a welcome sound and sight. Dumbledore walked in, Fawkes on his shoulder. Once inside, the bird flew to the top of the couch, and began singing its comforting song.

"I believe he's going to be of great assistance," Dumbledore stated. "Now, what can I do to help?"