A/N: Hey Everyone! I'm back from my trip and back in school (unfortunately).
The last chapter was definitley long and I tried keeping it funny because this one is intended to be a bit more dramatic than most. Hopefully you all will like it. It gave me some problems, but I resolved, so enjoy! Also for those of you who want to know I did read book 7! I went to the bookstore dressed up (wand, robe, and everyrthing) for the midnight release party, stayed up all night reading, and I must say it wasn't my favorite. I wont go into details in case some of you haven't read it yet (shame on you lol jk) . I guess I expected it to be so much better. No offense to JK Rowling, I think she is a fantastic author and I have great respect for her, but alot of things in this last book weren't how I pictured them I guess. Book 5 still remains my favorite. Anyway I hope the rest of you enjoyed book 7. There were plenty of things I I did like about it. Moving on...Thanks for the reviews, they are wonderful reading:) So read on and let me know what you think.

P.S. I have realized telling you I will update sooner is like a jinx because it always take me longer, so this time I'm not saying it. Fingers crossed.
A moment for those we lost in Deathly Hallows (tear tear)

Music: Requiem for a Dream- Clint Mansell

Daphne/Severus: Shh- Frou Frou

Jasmine/Remus: Keep Holding On- Avril Lavigne

Lily/James: It'll All Work Out- Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers

Raelyn/Sirius: Bring Me to Life- Evanescene

Enter Death Eaters

"People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in their true beauty is revealed only if there is light from within." Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

Severus hurried along the passages. His shoulders were hunched over and his dark hair shadowed his features. His black eyes darted around the faces of the people he passed. He was looking for one particular person, it could be no one else. She came into view soon enough, standing outside in the sunny courtyard, surrounded by her friends. There was the arrogant Potter and the idiotic Black on either side of her. Severus stepped behind a pillar, observing from the distance. Potter was telling a story, one more than likely involving himself. A comment from Black made Daphne's laugh trickle across the grass to Severus' ears. He immediately felt envious at how easily they could make her smile. The group exchanged a few more words then lifted their bags up, ready to head back inside for class. Remaining hidden, Severus waited for his chance.

Daphne walked behind her two friends, who were tall enough to make other students move aside. She couldn't help chuckling as Sirius imitated Lily rejecting James when he asked her for a date this weekend. James punched Sirius in the arm for revenge.

"That wasn't how it went Daphne. Don't believe his lies."

"Oh yes it was mate. Then he got on his knees to beg." Sirius continued as if he hadn't been interrupted.

Just as they were crossing the threshold back into the school, a tug on Daphne's wrist pulled her backward. She opened her mouth to let out a cry, but a pale hand was already there muffling any noise she could make. Daphne tried not to panic. The grip on her wrist wasn't exactly tight and the hand on her mouth had gone on lightly. Okay, she was still at school, her friends weren't too far ahead, and she had a wand in her pocket. Not in bad shape so far, apart from not being able to reach her wand and her friends not coming to her rescue yet. At least, she was still in school.

"It's me," a voice whispered against her cheek. Right away, she felt safe.

When Severus realized Daphne wasn't going to scream, he let go of the hand he had over her smooth lips. He resisted reliving that day in the closet as she wheeled around to face him.

"Hey Sevy, why all the secrecy?" Daphne curiously questioned as he gave a quick, nervous look over her shoulder. Sure he didn't want to converse with her in front of James and Sirius, but was the midday kidnapping necessary? She guessed yes.

He cringed at his new nickname for an instant and then realized coming from her it didn't sound so bad. Her voice had a nice ring to it. It even made him feel a little cheerful. All of the Marauders and her other friends had nicknames for each other, now he had one too.

"I need to talk to you," he said to get back on topic. More strands of dark hair fell into his face. He clutched a paper in his hands firmly. Daphne noticed it.

"Did you just get an owl?" The paper looked like he had been crumpling it since reading it. It was a strange hour to receive an owl. Those normally came in the morning, along with the news. "From your mum maybe?"

Severus seemed surprised to see the parchment in his hand, then hastened to get it out of sight.

"No, nothing like... It's not important. I need to talk to you."

Daphne nodded becoming slightly concerned.

"We better go somewhere else. It won't take James and Sirius long to retrace their steps."

Severus understood. He wanted to avoid that run in from the beginning. He took hold of her wrist again, being careful not to hurt her, and pulled her into the first classroom he found. Fortunately, it had no occupants. He shut door once they were inside. Daphne sealed it. She didn't think he had pulled her out for a snog, but one could never be to sure these days.

Daphne hopped up onto a table and waited for him to speak. Severus looked at her for a few moments, then began to pace.

"Sevy are you okay?" She could still feel the warmth of his hand where he had touched her. Did he feel it too?

Severus stopped his fidgeting and looked at her intensely.

"You... you like me, right? I mean we're…"

"Of course," Daphne reassured him. "Yes, we're friends. Right?"

Severus nodded, slightly relieved.

"This weekend is Hogsmeade." He stepped closer to her.

"Yeah," Daphne distractedly answered taking in his every move. Feeling a little apprehensive as he got closer then stopped. Was that all? He was worried whether or not she actually liked being around him? For a second it seemed… no, that was her thoughts running away with her.

"Are you going?" He waited nervously for her response. Daphne didn't keep him in suspense.

"Probably, it's something to do." She shrugged. The castle could get boring on weekends if they weren't loaded with homework. Severus kept a determined gaze on her.

"Maybe you could stay here," he suggested.

"What would I do here?" Daphne questioned.

"You co... We could… hang out a bit." Severus bluntly answered. Daphne was surprised to say the least.

"Like a date?" She prompted.

"No," he hastened to clarify, getting a hint of red in his cheeks. "I just thought since we're friends and everything... unless you don't want to. But I don't see why not."

Daphne felt like she was floating and hopped off the desk just to ground herself.

"Okay," she agreed. Hogwarts would not be so dull if she was there with him. Severus nodded nervously. He would have been less shocked if she called him crazy, slapped him, and walked away. He was very relieved she had agreed. Meanwhile, Daphne realized she was more excited about meeting up with Severus than with any other guy who had ever asked her out on a real date.

"Where and at what time?" She hastened to find out.

They set a time and place to meet that Saturday afternoon. Daphne agreed to it then gave Severus a wink. He hastened to depart for his next class, though not before blushing some more. Daphne left too, not that it mattered, she was still tardy to class. There was someone else who wanted to speak to her that morning.

"Hey Daph!"

Daphne cringed. The use of her nickname by someone other than her friends was, to put it plainly, weird. It was like Clint was trying to weave his way into her life, as he weaved through the hallway towards her.

"Hey Clint," Daphne commented without turning to look at him. His deep brown eyes glinted down at her when he caught up.

"I was thinking that maybe this weekend we could go to Hogsmeade together?" He suggested. Daphne was relieved that she didn't have to lie her way out of this.

"Sorry Clint, but…"

"Someone's beat me again." Clint sounded irked as he interrupted her. Daphne didn't bother mentioning that it was Severus again. It hadn't really been Severus last time, but Clint thought so. "You'll be in Hogsmeade then?"

She didn't want to tell him the details, but figured she may as well make it clear she wouldn't be able to bump into him in town.

"No, I'll be staying here."

He smiled again. "It seems I must ask weeks in advance to secure a date."

Oh no, Daphne thought.

"How about it?" He asked. "Next week? Surely, you don't have a date for then too?"

Severus hadn't mentioned anything about next week.

"No." Daphne cursed herself for feeling sympathetic toward Clint and his efforts.

"Great, it's a date."

Damn. Daphne did her best to smile and was sure she looked deranged instead. Clint didn't notice. He merely looked pleased with himself. His hands slipped into his pockets as he turned and happily walked away. Daphne scrunched her nose and lightly smacked her forehead with her empty hand. She didn't know why she didn't just reject him.

Daphne's week passed by with ease as she theorized each day what she and Severus might talk about or do on their non-date. She was even caught daydreaming once or twice by Sirius and James. They just teased her about Clint, after offering to kill him for her. It wasn't until Friday night, that Daphne was in complete disarray. The entire dormitory she shared with Lily and two other roommates was scattered with clothes. It looked like an explosion had taken place. Lily and Jasmine sat in the mists of all the clothes.

"I don't know what to wear," Daphne hopelessly concluded as she held up another shirt and abruptly tossed it aside. "Does this make me look fat?"

Jasmine eyed the low cut shirt. "No, you look fine," she managed.

"I don't know, I don't like it. It looks weird." Daphne plunged into another pile.

"I thought it was fine." Lily was sitting amongst several pairs of jeans on her bed. Having already picked her outfit for the next day, she could lounge around calmly. Daphne narrowed her eyes across the room.

"Are you lying?"

"No," Lily said as she practiced levitating her pillow. Jasmine pulled a red shirt out from under her.

"Daphne, you have plenty to wear, how about this?" Daphne shook her head no. "What difference does it make what you wear tomorrow anyway? I thought you said you weren't going into Hogsmeade. Why bother dressing up if yourre just going to be here?"

"I just... I'm tired of the clothes I have. I feel like wearing something else." She wasn't sure why she wanted to look better than usual. She was sure Severus had something to do with it. Although, since he had seen her in various odd situations, most recently a white sheet, something like an outfit shouldn't have mattered so much.

"Sounds like you want to impress. A date perhaps?" Jasmine curiously prompted running her fingertips together mischievously.

"No, although, I may have to go on one with Clint next week." Daphne pulled a face. Jasmine shared her expression.

"He asked you out again? What's with him lately?"

"No idea." Daphne held up a crème blouse, checking how it looked in the mirror.

"I would watch out if I were you, Daphne." Lily warned raising an eyebrow. "Clint might be looking for a trophy wife." Lily shuffled on the bed to find a more comfortable position. Daphne tried on the shirt she had been holding up.

"What do you mean?"

"Come on the Slytherins have had three engagements in the last week. You know… family pressure." Lily used air quotes on the last part.

"That's ridiculous. No offense, but Daphne's not even pure blood." Jasmine held up another shirt that was a different color. "How about this?"

"I look square in that," Daphne explained.

"You don't look square. This is a nice color." Jasmine paired it with a brown plaid skirt. Daphne still didn't like it so she changed the subject.

"Hey would either of you happen to know what happened to Sirius' bottle of firewhiskey? Or Remus' tie for that matter? They both have gone missing since Halloween." Daphne crushed some pants as she sat down. Jasmine folded clothes without a word.

"They probably just misplaced them," Lily replied while making her pillow do flips.

"Why don't you just go into town and buy something if you want new clothes?" Jasmine tiredly suggested.

"No, I can't." She had to meet Severus on time. "That is, I didn't really want to go shopping."

"You can come with me," Jasmine continued. "I'm going really early so you don't have to stay all day."

"Why so early?" Lily questioned. Jasmine piled some skirts together.

"A new book I ordered is coming in."

"Early?" Daphne repeated thinking it through. If she left first thing in the morning, she could make it back in time to change and meet Severus. It was genius.

"What book?" Lily asked. The pillows moved in circles over her.

"Understanding Men: A Complete Guide." Jasmine sank down into a chair. "I just wanted to see if there is something I'm missing. I mean the alteration in my appearance has been nice, but the results aren't working out as well as I would like them to."

"Maybe you should just ask him what's going on," Lily suggested. Jasmine didn't take to the idea. Daphne, who hadn't been paying attention, stood up.

"Alright I'll go early, but I'm not staying." She added quickly. She wouldn't miss her time with Severus.

True to her word, Daphne got up very early that Saturday morning and made her way into the village with Jasmine. The day was bitter and windy. There was an unusual fog and dreary gray clouds hung in the air. Daphne tugged onto her white sweater as they made their way toward the nearest garment store. She was glad she had chosen to wear it, along with her khaki flares. Jasmine was dressed warmly too. Instead of khaki flares, she had a dark green knee-length skirt with brown boots and a beige peacoat.

"Let's try this store." Jasmine pointed up to a small boutique near the edge of town. Moving mannequins in the window displayed diverse styles of clothes. Daphne agreed to take a look.

A while later…

Daphne hurried out the door of one of the clothes stores. While she had been enjoying herself spending time with Jasmine and trying on outfits, Daphne had lost track of the hour. Now, she was in a real situation. She could make it back to Hogwarts in time, but she wouldn't be able to change. She would have to go straight to meet Severus. Not that she had gotten an outfit. In the end, she didn't like any of them. Daphne rushed down the empty streets. They had become uncommonly tranquil. Normally, there were plenty of shoppers buzzing along. Ignoring the nervous feeling in her stomach, Daphne continued along. She had reached the brink of town when it happened. A massive blast from the core of Hogsmeade shook the entire village. Daphne stabilized herself by grabbing hold of a cottage wall. Once the shaking died down, she turned back. The already gray sky turned darker as a mushroom cloud rose high in the air coating any remaining patches of blue sky.

"Quick run! They're here!" A young man shouted as he frantically appeared from a smoky alleyway. He was headed for the castle. Patches of dirt covered him all over. "Run!"

"Daphne?"

Severus stepped out from a different side street. Other people were running past them now, but he looked unconcerned by the darkness and the shouts that were now coming from the center of town. He appeared more distraught to see her there. His breathing quickened and his black eyes bore into her with both animosity and alarm.

"What are you doing here? I thought you weren't going to be here?" There was a hint of accusation in his voice. Maybe he thought she was going to stand him up.

"I thought you wouldn't be here either," she responded quickly. Maybe he was the one who was going to stand her up. On second thought, he seemed to have been heading toward the lane to Hogwarts as well.

"I came to… I was here…just for a while… quills. I was on my way back up…" Severus explained, glancing over his shoulder in a restless manner.

"Well so was I," Daphne reassured him. Odd that they both ended up meeting up here instead of beside the lake like they had intended. A riddle of large bangs and more outcries began to spew from the area that the mushroom cloud was still looming over.

"What was that? What's going on?" Daphne took a few steps forward, trying to see in that direction. Her first thoughts were a spell gone wrong, a duel, or some product from Zonkos, but now she was beginning to wonder. It sounded more like a war was starting, instead of mishaps. Severus began wringing his hands together.

"Let's go." He seized Daphne's wrist, careful not to be too rough, and began tugging away towards the lane to the castle.

"Wait!" Daphne resisted his pull on her. "What was that? We should.."

"This way come on." Severus went into a smaller street. His breathing was becoming alarmingly rapid as he peered discreetly ahead and behind them. Daphne was sure he would start to hyperventilate at this rate.

"Wait!" Daphne slowed Severus again, even as he tried yanking her onward. "Why are you in such a hurry? Why were people running? What's going on?"

"There's no time for questions, just follow me," Severus commanded in a firm tone as he pulled her forward again. There was a rumble in the distance. This time, with enough effort, Daphne broke herself free from Severus grasp and came to a halt in the middle of a deserted alley.

"Severus, I'm not going until you tell me what's going on." She had never seen him looks so unsettled before

"Daphne there isn't time!" He insisted in a low urgent voice.

"I think there is. Now, are you going to tell me or not, because I'm not leaving until you do. Severus, you're really making me nervous. What's happening? What is that?" She urged as another deafening noise went off. Daphne noted he had gotten his wand out at some point. He began twisting it in his hand, and his eyes never stopped moving.

"Daphne really," he tried reaching for her wrist again, but she pulled it away.

"Just tell me, Severus," she firmly insisted. His fear and uneasiness were seeping into her. She even looked over her shoulder at one point.

"I… we have to go." His chest rose and fell rapidly in dismay.

"Tell me," Daphne said more forcefully this time. Severus flinched at her raised voice, but finally he gave in.

"We're being attacked. You're being attacked!" He shouted angrily.

"What do you mean?" Daphne blinked. Who was attacking them? And what did he mean by she was being attacked? Daphne had no enemies she was aware of. Most people liked her cheerful nature.

"Haven't you read the papers?" Severus snapped impatiently then immediately felt bad. He knew she did, but she wasn't realizing the urgency of the situation and that was really bothering him. Daphne was taken aback.

"You mean that guy who keeps killing people with his Death Eaters?" All of those incidents took place in isolated locations, not in places like Hogsmeade. It didn't make sense. Severus' fingers moved over his wand restlessly.

"Not just people, muggle borns, people like you. Now hurry up, I need to get you out of here!" He reached for her hand, but again, she pulled away.

"No," she said resolutely. She didn't understand why they were attacking. Why they were against people like her. She was just like them. Being muggle born did not make her less capable of doing magic. Just like other wizards she worked hard. Daphne understood Severus was trying to protect her and she couldn't be more grateful, but she couldn't go now.

Severus stopped all of his jittering to look her directly in the eyes.

"No?" He repeated.

"My friends," she explained. That was all she had to say. Severus shook his head.

"There's no time. Come on."

"I won't leave them." Daphne firmly stood her ground. Severus stepped forward, instantly closing the space between them.

"You have to," he said in a low, tense voice. Again, he felt bad by her hurt expression, but she didn't realize what he realized. She could die… be killed! He wouldn't let that happen. "If we just go toward the…"

"I'm not going," Daphne firmly reiterated.

"They can take care of themselves," Severus muttered angrily. He wouldn't let her risk her life for a couple of people she considered friends. "They probably won't even be attacked."

"You know as well as I do that Sirius and James are considered blood traitors and you're trying to tell me they won't be attacked?" She was sure they were on the same level she was. Saying it out loud, brought the nauseating realization to reality. They could already be injured. They could have been killed in those explosions. She had left Jasmine near that area. Her fears for Jasmine lessened, however, when she remembered Severus saying it was people like her being attacked. Jasmine was half blood. Hopefully, she would be all right.

"We don't have time for this. They can take care of themselves, they don't need your help!" Severus insisted. This was not the time for arguing.

"I'm not leaving them behind. It's not right." Daphne shook her head vigorously so that the light brown curls moved around. Severus cursed that Gryffindor courage. Then it dawned on Daphne.

"Lily!" Lily was just like her, muggle born. A dreadful feeling rose inside Daphne. Severus looked away.

"She'll be fine," he tried bluffing, even though he knew Daphne would not believe him.

"I have to find her." Daphne spun around on the spot, but Severus pulled her back.

"Someone else will help her." Again, he was just doing guesswork. But he knew Potter was obsessed with her enough to find her probably.

"What if she gets caught?" Daphne desperately disputed

"Then your friends will just have to prove their self proclaimed worth," Severus sneered. "You have to get out!" He stated firmly, listening intently to the sounds going off in the distance. He had to make sure it didn't reach them.

"Not without them!" Daphne stubbornly told him. Severus was getting desperate and furious.

"Your friends are reckless! They won't leave until the attackers leave!"

"Then I'll stay with them," Daphne replied boldly.

"No, you won't! They'll come after you. You have to leave now." Severus watched the street thin out as he emphasized his point.

Daphne was getting angry now. Her mind was made up and Severus wasn't going to stop her. A look of determination set in her eyes. An irritated flush came to Severus' sallow cheeks. Daphne realized this was getting them no where. She took in a deep breath and tried to ignore the screaming in the distance.

"Severus, I know you're doing this to protect me, but the same reason you want to help me is the same reason I have to help them. You can go. I'll be glad knowing you won't get hurt, but I can't leave them to fight for themselves, even if they are capable. I'm going back. Are you coming with me or not?"

Severus was so furious. Here he was trying to save her life and she was wasting it. But he couldn't leave her alone. She would need his help to survive this. He knew more than she did about the spells the death eaters might use. He wasn't sure they would make it through this.

"Fine," he said giving in quietly and feeling lightheaded. His plan to keep her safe had failed.

Daphne gave him an appreciative smile that barely made him feel better under the circumstances. He took her hand. This time, she didn't pull away. Together, they began discreetly heading toward the crisis.

"This way," Severus spoke in hushed tones. His other hand maintained a firm grasp on his wand. Just as they reached an empty road, there were a few pops to the right. Severus halted.

"Stop. Wait. Get down." He instructed, guiding her behind a silver bin.

"Wait, Sev…." He put her head down as she tried getting up from the hiding spot.

"Quiet," he whispered,, putting some space between them. Daphne heard several pairs of footsteps. Drawing her wand out from her coat pocket, she lowered herself further and peered carefully around the bin, ignoring the foul smell radiating from it.

That was when Daphne first laid eyes upon the Death Eaters. They were dressed in black robes that billowed as they approached and half their faces were covered in masks that resembled skulls. They appeared like the living dead descending down the twisted street. One in front slowed the rest down and lowered his dark pointy hood to reveal light blonde hair. Severus stayed in the alleyway as they paused to stare at him. He glared back challenging anyone to come forward. He showed no sign of fear anymore. Whatever they were checking for, Severus passed, because the next moment, the blonde put his hood back up.

"Just a half blood. Move on."

Daphne wanted to jump up after them, but Severus put his hand on her head.

"Don't," he whispered standing still. He waited for them to be clear out of sight before letting her stand.

"We can't just let them get away," Daphne protested. "They might hurt someone. We could have stunned them."

"I'm just trying to prevent you from getting killed. That's their mission. Now, listen to what I tell you." Severus insisted irritably.

With Severus guiding her, they moved carefully through the streets cautious to avoid anyone. It reminded Daphne of the time they both had followed James and Lily, except now there was real danger lurking. Severus kept her near at all times, checking behind them every other second. They hadn't even reached the center of Hogsmeade, when Daphne got her first glimpse of the chaos. The entire street was full of demolished buildings spilling out onto the roads. Shattered glass stuck out dangerously from the floor and death eaters chased people with curses as they ran out of the homes being set ablaze. Daphne quickly looked for her friends. None were in sight. It was so noisy out there Daphne could barely hear Severus prompting her to keep going. They had to run right through the scene. Spells flew all over the place as a few local wizards started combating the death eaters. They frequently sidestepped curses. With Severus' help, Daphne dodged a purple flame and a red light. As she ran by, Daphne shot spells over her shoulder to assist people. She particularly slowed down to help some third year students dangling upside down.

"Liberacorpus, liberacorpus, liberacorpus," she shouted at each one.

"Hey!" A bulky, short death eater protested. Some curses were sent after them, but Severus pressed on. They ran through narrow lanes and alleys, each with people running in different directions. Some were from the school, others were shop owners or locals, and everyone was terrified. Severus held onto her hand, guiding Daphne through the crowd and keeping her out of peril.

When nearing the center of town, they had to take one of the bigger roads. Thinner amounts of death eaters lurked there, but something more disgusting lingered. As they ran, Daphne focused on them to make sure she was really seeing it. Corpses, inferi. They were scattered around moving after people. Their skin looked like it was decaying and their clothes were tattered. Bringing them to a stop, Daphne stood transfixed in horror.

"Severus, inferi." A pair of them had decided to drag one man into a house. He grabbed desperately onto the doorframe trying to wriggle free with all his might. His fingertips were losing their grasp and he quickly slipped from their sight. Daphne gasped. She hadn't reacted quickly enough and now she felt like throwing up from everything she was observing.

"It's okay." Severus put a hand upon her shoulder. He wished he could have spared her from having to view the terror. Daphne looked up into his eyes for a moment and believed him that everything would be all right. They were ready to proceed. Daphne heard a familiar, distinct popping noise. Before they could get away, two death eaters stood before her, another two behind. Severus and Daphne immediately put their backs together. He still had a hold of her hand.

"Lower your wands! There's no use fighting." A tall one with bushy gray hair instructed them. Daphne had no doubt Severus could take out his two, she just hoped she could do the same. One on Severus' side began to speak as well.

"Aren't you…" Severus squeezed her hand. It was the signal Daphne had been waiting for. She slashed at the air.

"Petrificus totales!" Her opponent froze before he could react. The other with gray hair retaliated.

"Protego," Daphne cried. The death eater's spell bounced back at him. He easily evaded it. His wand moved fast. Daphne knew she would have to surprise him. She waited for his next move, which he brought on right away. Now that she and Severus were fighting, Daphne bent her knees back. Her free hand landed on the floor and her other pointed a wand directly up.

"Stupefy!" She yelled without hesitation after his attack strayed over her. Daphne got up wiping her hand on her already dirty pants.

"Hey!" Daphne spun around wand straight out, ready to let whomever it was get a spell in the face. Edric put his hands up.

"I surrender." He had come running from the opposite direction with Pam on one side and a fifth year Gryffindor on the other. They looked much like Severus and herself, hair sticking up, dirty clothes, cuts and scrapes everywhere. "Daphne, are you alright?"

Daphne lowered her defense and confirmed there she was fine.

"Severus, you okay?" Edric politely asked. Severus who had dispatched his two death eaters was bent over them. He nodded.

"Great, listen Daphne, don't go that way, it's a mess. Death eaters everywhere and more coming in every second," he quickly shared.

"Obliviate."

"Why did you do that?" Daphne asked Severus. He was pointing his wand at each of the death eaters in turn.

"Obliviate. Now they won't remember to follow after us," he said without looking up. Daphne nodded.

"Listen Edric, Pam, Have either of you seen Lily or James or Sirius? Jasmine? Remus? Anyone?" She desperately asked. All this running and she hadn't found a single one yet. Edric and Pam traded glances. The Gryffindor was keeping watch for them.

"What? What is it?" Daphne urged. They were both hesitant.

"Daphne, I saw Remus earlier. He asked me about Jasmine. He seemed to be heading to the bookshop," Pam kindly told her looking a little nervous. If Remus found Jasmine, they would be definitely be okay, Daphne thought.

"How about the others?"

"We haven't seen Lily," Edric informed her.

"And the others?" Daphne urgently prompted them for the information she was seeking. Severus was already up and ready to continue. They were saving James and Sirius for last, she could tell and that made her nervous.

"They're in the center of town," Edric said with a deep sigh. Severus cursed behind Daphne. He knew it, he knew it. Those fools were going to try to be brave and get everyone killed.

"They're fighting back, Daphne, but it's getting intense."

"The death eaters are everywhere," Pam explained. The ash in her black hair made it appear gray. Her normally calm, perfect demeanor was extremely distressed.

"We helped them for a bit, but Daphne it's suicide. We couldn't stay forever. A lot keep appearing. Don't go that way, it's just not a clever idea." Edric cautioned her with genuine concern for her well being. That aggravated Severus. He took Daphne's hand back into place. He was growing used to it being there and they had to keep going anyway. Daphne smiled at him.

"Thanks for your concern," she told Edric with a wave. With their destination set, she and Severus began running full speed towards the center. Daphne had confirmation. They were there. Her friends were fighting. She had to make it to them. The echoes bounced off the walls as they ran down street after street. They were close to where her friends had last been seen and nothing was going to stop Daphne now.

Jasmine inhaled the smell of books as the shop owner wrapped her recently purchased one.

"Thank you," He said over the counter as he gingerly handed her the package. Jasmine gratefully took it. She couldn't wait to get back to Hogwarts and tear it open. Maybe with this book, she would finally understand Remus. Jasmine was prepared to exit, when she felt the earth under her violently shake. Everyone in the shop stopped what they were doing.

"Earthquake? Was that an earthquake?"

"Did you all feel that? The ground shook just now."

Individuals ran to the shop window. As they reached it, pieces of glass suddenly flew everywhere. Jasmine covered her head. One piece hit her boot, another grazed her cheek. Thick smoke entered from the window and obscured her vision as she tried to find her way out. Some of the bookshelves had toppled over, making it difficult not to slip. Screams inside the store doubled when a shape in black, that Jasmine identified as a death eater, stepped in, the glass crunching under his shoe. Jasmine moved toward the rear now that the entrance had been blocked. She opened the back door just in time to hear an explosion go off inside. The force threw her out. Unharmed, but shaken by what was going on, Jasmine stood up in her scorched skirt. She was in a small alley and her beloved store was burning away. Jasmine knew she had to get back to Hogwarts. Death eaters had arrived in Hogsmeade and they would only spread chaos. Jasmine jogged down the alley, away from the town's center. Near the end, she almost collided into someone.

"Hello, what's this?" A death eater grinned. He stood before her, three others directly behind him. Only one wasn't wearing a mask and his dirt covered robes looked too small for him. Jasmine shrunk back at a loss for words.

"She's not a mudblood, leave her." A cold crisp voice rang out from one of them. Though his voice was obviously rude, Jasmine felt grateful. The one who she had rammed into, stepped back, but the one with no mask moved forward with great interest. His gray matted hair hung near his face as he leered down at her.

"You're not a mudblood, but you're not pure either."

"She's nothing. Neither filth, nor worthy, leave her for now. We have orders, Greyback. This way." The death eater pressed on and a second followed, but Greyback did not leave causing the last death eater to hesitate.

"Selwyn thinks he knows everything, but a mark on an arm means nothing," Greyback said in a raspy voice. "I think you look delicious either way."

Jasmine swallowed hard. She tried inching her hand for her wand. The other death eater saw her.

"Don't even think about it." He raised his own wand and Jasmine had no choice. She forgot about magic. She used what was already in her hand. She threw her book at his head. The solid leatherback hit. Greyback took the opportunity to aggressively shove her. Jasmine got the wind knocked out of her as she hit a brick wall and slid down to the floor. Greyback let out a ferocious laugh.

"For not being pure, you're not so bad." He eyed her greedily, taking in her complete appearance. Jasmine, who was gasping for breath with a pain in her sternum, noted his wolf like countenance. His pointy teeth showed whenever he leered. She had seen Remus get wolf like traits on his face, but only when he was very angry. She didn't mind Remus', but Greyback's had a distinct vicious appearance. Jasmine speculated whether he was a werewolf too. Greyback came forward engrossed by her.

"I'm really going to enjoy this," he remarked.

"Stay away from me!" Jasmine demanded. He hissed out laughter as he moved closer reaching out his large filthy hand for her. Jasmine managed to get her wand out this time.

"Realshio!"

Greyback's hand immediately turned a raw red color. He howled in furry and pain. Raising his large black boot, he kicked her wand. Jasmine retreated her injured wrist. Now that she was defenseless, she tried to move away, but her back immediately felt the wall blocking her in. His laugh thundered down at her as he knelt down. His long yellow fingernails snatched her chin upward. Jasmine trembled at his cold touch.

"What's wrong? Are you terrified?" His hot unpleasant breath hit her face. Behind him, the death eater she had knocked down was regaining consciousness.

"Let go!" She commanded, her voice shaking slightly. She kicked at him.

"I don't think think so." He guffawed at her feeble attempts to harm him. Then she felt his hot tongue lick her cheek.

"How dare you!" A well-known voice protested. Jasmine didn't need to open her eyes to know who it was, but she did.

"Remus?" She called out hopefully. He had arrived ready for a fight. Jasmine saw movement out of the corner of her eye.

"Watch out!" She warned.

"Lidiwassi." The silver lid of a nearby trashcan flew right into the conscious death eater. He was out cold once again. Remus kept his gaze fixed on Greyback, who still hadn't left Jasmine alone.

"Get away from her!" Remus growled. His rage seemed to slightly alter his features. Greyback laughed in her face.

"No, I don't think I will. She's my tasty little treat for today." His hand forced her chin higher. The other one held her leg. His nails dug into her skin. A light flashed barely missing Greyback, who reacted just in time. The huge man furiously charged. Jasmine let out a shriek as he tackled Remus to the ground, snapping his teeth in the air.

"I've met you before, haven't had enough?" Greyback snapped and almost took out a chunk of Remus' arm. Jasmine knew he had to be a werewolf with the way he was acting. She had read a lot on the subject. Even untransformed, he was after humans. If they had met before, the only conclusion Jasmine could come to was that maybe this werewolf was the one who originally bit Remus. She hurriedly scrambled to pick up her wand. The two figures wrestled on the floor, but Greyback being larger, pinned Remus down. Using her uninjured hand to point her wand, Jasmine took aim at the werewolf's back

"Winguradium leviosa," she shouted with all her might. Greyback shot up into the air and Jasmine swished her wand out to the left. Greyback was thrown right into a building. With a grunt of pain, he fell motionless on the floor, some of the building crumpling around him. Jasmine hurried to Remus' side. He was already sitting up. His ponytail had fallen out and his arm had gashes from Greyback's nails. The light bleeding made Jasmine want to disinfect his wounds. Remus worriedly looked her over.

"Are you hurt at all?" He pulled out a handkerchief and carefully cleaned the spot on her cheek where she had been licked, even cleaning off some of the ash. He was so glad Greyback hadn't injured her. Watching that man lick her had made Remus want to tear him to pieces.

"My wrist might be a little," Jasmine sighed in relief. She was so grateful to see Remus, she wrapped her arms tightly around him and wished she never had to let go. She didn't even feel her wrist throbbing. "How did you find me?"

Remus raised his arms, but then lowered them. For once, Jasmine didn't mind.

"It's not very hard for those of us with wolf like characteristics. Besides, I knew you wouldn't be far from the bookstore. Once I saw it burned, I thought the worst, but when I went around the back, I picked up your trail. We have to go. If he wakes up, he'll be able to track us down as easily as I tracked you down. I'm taking you back to the castle." Remus explained carefully and stood up again. He remained remarkably calm. Jasmine hesitated.

"Don't worry, James and Sirius went to find Daphne and Lily. I came to find you. We have to hurry."

Jasmine followed him as he led her towards the main road. They carefully rushed from street to street, cautious not to let death eaters see them. Unfortunately, spells were ricocheting off walls and buildings began to crumble.

"Watch out!" Remus shoved Jasmine out of the way. A large piece of the wall hit his shoulder instead.

"Remus!" Jasmine shrieked and ran over to where he had fallen to his knees. "Remus, Remus, are you okay? Don't move."

His shoulder looked strangely out of place. He tried moving it, but gave up after a painful wince.

"We have to keep moving, no time," he explained clutching onto his shoulder. Jasmine nodded in agreement. It wasn't smart to linger.

"At least, let me help you." She took his other arm and wrapped it over her shoulders to let some of his weight fall on her. Remus clung to her painfully.

"That way, towards the center and honeydukes," Remus instructed. Jasmine agreed without question.

Daphne broke into a sprint when she saw the main square ahead. The air became thicker with smoke the closer they got. Ash fluttered down from the sky like dirty snow. She didn't believe her eyes when they made it. They stood shoulder to shoulder taking in the view. Almost every cottage was set ablaze. The thatched roofs were burning away. The smoke stung Daphne's eyes and her breathing was becoming laborious. However, she could still make out what was going on. Inferi were assaulting houses here too and dragging people around. Death eaters were terrorizing and a group was fighting back. She saw Sirius first with four other boys, all of them were from Gryffindor house and in seventh year. There were five more Gryffindors and a Ravenclaw fighting near them. Daphne squinted further behind them and she saw James shooting spells from behind a single wooden cart. Steven Gram from the quidditch team was with him. No sign of Remus or Jasmine, and still no hint of Lily. The worse part about the entire scene was the number of bodies littering the floor because Daphne had no clue whether they were unconscious or dead. The only relief Daphne received was knowing that at least some her friends were alive. Severus couldn't believe his eyes either. This was a massive assault.

"Daphne we're not going in there." He told her.

"Of course we are," Daphne reminded him. That was the whole point. "They need help. Look how many death eaters there are." It was amazing they hadn't been overpowered yet, but it was only a matter of time.

"Edric was right. It's suicide. Death eaters are professionals. They know magic most students at Hogwarts have no idea about," Severus tried clarifying. If she would just understand how crazy this was maybe he could still get her out of there.

"I'm going in." Daphne ran headfirst into the battle, right into the smoke. An explosive crack cut the air to the right. Severus grabbed Daphne, wrapping himself around her to protect her from the blast, as they were both knocked off their feet.

Daphne sat up unharmed, but felt a pang of guilt when she saw a burn on Severus' arm. It had gone right through most of his sleeve. She was the one who insisted they find her friends and he had been good enough to accompany her.

Severus stood up and brushed the dirt off of his clothes. He kept his wand out to make sure no one came near them, but most people had moved away from the eruption. Daphne used her thumb to wipe a smudge gently off his cheek. She looked miserable. Severus gave her a questioning look. Had she been hurt?

"I'm sor…" she began. Her eyes pricked with tears. Something pulled on Daphne's ankle, bringing her face down in the dirt again before she could finish. Her pants tore at the knee. She turned on her back and tried to loosen the grasp.

"You're a mudblood!" A crazed death eater panting on the ground grabbed at her legs as Daphne kicked to get away.

"Let go of my leg!"

"You're not going anywhere!" He was one of the injured, but he didn't want to release her. Surely, he had lost all of his sense. He opened his mouth to shout to his comrades standing a few yards away.

"Sectumsempra!"

The death eater's body jerked up as what looked like invisible swords sliced him. Blood splattered all over Daphne and she let out a scream. The death eater lost his grip as he sunk down, but Daphne couldn't bring herself to stand. That was one of Severus' spells. She wondered if the death eater would die. He seemed to hardly have any blood left in him. It was all over the floor. Severus helped Daphne up.

"Let's move." He noticed she still looked upset. He made sure no one had noticed them before continuing. "What's wrong?"

Daphne shook her head, but said, "I was apologizing."

"For what?" Severus frowned. Daphne pointed to his arm.

"You got hurt because I made you come along. It's my fault." She looked ready to cry for him, for his pain. Severus couldn't believe someone would be so upset about him getting hurt. Severus brushed it off. It didn't hurt that much at the moment.

"You didn't make me come along, I choose to come along," he reminded her. They darted back and forth trying to find their way through the spells. Severus indicated the small wooden cart James was behind. It was small, but at least it gave some protection.

"If you're going, go over there, and stay over there," He instructed. He didn't want her out in the open, fighting with those fools. She would get injured that way.

"Aren't you coming?" Daphne asked. Severus gave a swift nod.

"Someone has to look after you," he replied.

Screams grew louder. A small party was attempting to cut through the square. Among them, Daphne saw Thelma. Daphne jumped over a body that was on the ground.

"Thelma, Thelma! Where's Lily?" Daphne yelled out. She slipped through the group to reach the delirious girl. Large tears were pouring from Thelma's eyes.

"I don't know," she cried hysterically. "I have to leave! I have to get out of here!"

"You don't know where she is? But…"

Thelma was already running away. Daphne felt like cursing her. Thelma had probably abandoned Lily in her desperate attempt to get away, so much for being a friend. Daphne felt a hand on her arm. It was Severus reminding her that they were still in the crossfire. Daphne continued until she was passing by Sirius. She could hear him calling out.

"Regulus?" Sirius shouted towards the death eaters, narrowing his eyes to get a better view of the exposed bottom half of their faces. "Which one are you? Regulus?"

"Umm…" Regulus appeared at his side blinking. He was dressed in his everyday clothes, no death eater garments. He looked like a mini Sirius, almost as handsome, but with shorter hair than his older brother. None of the death eaters let any spells fly towards him. That was the advantage of blood purity in this fight. Sirius shook some hair out of his face. A crease surfaced between his eyebrows.

"Well this was unexpected. Where's your outfit?"

"What are you talking about?" Regulus muttered.

"Nevermind, get back to the castle." Sirius shoved him back and shooed him out of the danger area. Regulus continued glaring, but took his brothers advice and left. Daphne reached the store and stepped behind the cart for protection. Severus didn't follow. He stayed behind a nearby corner, out of sight. There were a couple of injured people around. Some whimpering quietly, others yelling out loud in agony. Daphne lowered herself next to James so she could see around the edge of the cart.

"Daphne!" James cried when noticed her. "Are you bleeding?"

Daphne looked down at the blood on her sweater. She took what remained of her coat off.

"No, not mine," she assured him. Aside from tears in their clothes, neither of them looked injured.

"Good one, James!" Sirius shouted over his shoulder as James stunned a death eater from the fort. He was moving backward towards them, a girl on his back.

"Thanks Sirius, same to you!" James called back, as he peered over the top.

"Oh that was nothing, watch this!" Sirius sent a swoop over his head that threw back two death eaters just before he stepped behind the safety of the cart.

"Show off," Daphne heard Severus mutter around the corner. Sirius lowered the girl off of his back. She was a seventh year Hufflepuff with long strawberry blonde hair. She was crying silently and didn't move from where he lowered her.

"Daph! There you are! We've been looking for you," Sirius remarked. James turned around to face them.

"Have you seen Evans anywhere? We can't find her. You don't think anything happened to her? "

"I haven't seen her, but I'm sure she fine," Daphne tried to convince all of them. "Why are you here anyway? Shouldn't you leave this area?"

James began to explain his reasoning. "If I know Evans…"

"And he knows Evans... the stalker." Sirius teased while lowering himself. Standing up with his height wasn't the best idea.

"Shush Padfoot, no one asked for your input," James sourly remarked. Sirius frowned.

"No one ever asks for my excellent input, so I give it anyway."

"You know he does give superb input sometimes," Daphne admitted out loud. Sirius nodded to her thankfully.

"Name one time I've lead any of you astray."

James though about it and snapped his fingers.

"You did suggest we come this way," he said with a smirk.

"Isn't it a good thing we did? Look, Daphne." He pointed to her. "Besides, you agreed." Sirius crawled next to Daphne and poked his head around to get a look at the scene.

"Anyway..." James went on. "If I know Evans, she would be in this main square area when the attack started. So here we are, but no luck so far, aside from finding you." James ducked as curse flew over and hit the brick wall behind them. Pieces of it trickled down on them. "Padfoot was supposed to find you, but he's a little busy at the moment."

"I'm not busy," Sirius insisted, while he sent spells over the cart. "I was trying to find you, but my means didn't seem like such a good idea."

"What does he mean?" Daphne asked. She felt like she was in a trench each time she glanced out at the enemy. She took a few shots with her wand and hit a few death eaters.

"He was going to you know change into his animagus to track you down, but we couldn't risk someone seeing him. So instead we used logic and assumed you would come here." James explained quietly so the boy from his quidditch team wouldn't hear.

"I'm here now. What else is going on? Do you know anything?" Daphne checked the progress of the people fighting. A spell hit one. It wasn't looking good.

"Nope, just that Moony is getting Jasmine."

Sirius shrugged his shoulders lazily.

"I said leave her, but he insisted on it."

James ran a hand through his already messy black hair. Sirius waved the ash out of his face.

"Prongs, spare us your dandruff."

"You have some too." James smacked Sirius' head causing the gray dust to fly all over. Daphne coughed. "Moony, can take care of them. We have you. Now all we need is Evans."

James counted them out on his fingers.

"Once we find her, you can go with her to the castle. We'll stay here and give the death eaters some Marauder love. "James grinned evilly. "That should stop them from heading in the direction you have to go. Daphne go to the one eyed witch, use that."

Severus did not know what James meant by one-eyed witch. It sounded like the statue in Hogwarts. How would that help? He did like the idea of Daphne leaving this battlefield though. Maybe her friends would make her see reason.

BANG!

A large blast landed inches from the cart. Debris flew all over. Daphne noticed Severus peer anxiously out from around the corner, but they were okay.

"These guys are pretty tough for walking around in black dresses," Sirius got up angrily and ran out to join the fight again. James followed and Daphne, even though she heard Severus curse, went too. They quickly attracted a few death eaters, eager to get rid of them. They were especially delighted to see Daphne. She fought back by sending several curses their way. It was tough. Not only did she have to combat and avoid spells, but also she had to be careful not trip over any rubble or step on any bodies. Sometimes a spell would fly out from behind Daphne and she knew it was Severus helping her out, which wasn't easy considering how much moving around she was doing. He even got to some death eaters before she did. One of the seventh years that had joined them got hit.

"Finite incantatem." Daphne removed the tarantallegra James had received. When he stopped moving, James lifted up their comrades' onto his shoulders.

"I have to get him out of here." James began taking him to shelter. Sirius and Daphne shot the spells while they retreated. James laid him with the growing number of injured people. Sirius took the boy's wand. Daphne noticed that a smile had formed at the corner of his mouth as he shot with double the power. A wand in each hand, Sirius fought back moving left and right his arms shooting spells from over and under.

"James, I think we should get out of here." The only Ravenclaw left was trying to be the voice of reason. "We can't all fight them. Look how many we have left. They keep getting more." He sounded a lot like Edric, very practical.

"We can't leave!" Steven from the quidditch team protested. "We have to…."

He ceased talking, everyone did. An Erie mist had begun encompassing them. It was different from the ash that seemed to have stilled. The death eaters backed away. Like fog it crept up on them. From it, rose a black figure that wasn't a death eater. It floated toward Steven a sucking noise issuing from it. Steven watched, too petrified to move, and then it turned toward Sirius. He lifted his wand, but got an odd expression on his face. The dementor inhaled harder. Sirius dropped down to one knee.

"Padfoot! Snap out of it!" James reacted next to Daphne. "Expecto patronum!" A bright silver light that illuminated everyone's faces began to emit from his wand. A form of a stag charged at the dementor, tossing it away with its antlers. James was the last thing Daphne heard. All sound died away after that. Daphne felt an icy cold feeling grab hold of her inside. Suddenly, any happiness she had ever felt was being sucked out of her and the mist clouded in her mind. The battle scene died away. All she could see was things that had long passed. The death of her aunt when she was young flashed in her mind, her mom crying, a car crash, the man's face she had seen earlier as he was dragged away by corpses, even Severus telling her they weren't friends. All the worst moments in her life flickered before her like a movie. The large dementor sucked all hope from her. Just when she thought it would be over, a dazzling light moved forward blinding her. She was knocked back as the silver wolf ran the shrieking dementor away. The effort drained Remus of some color and he fell to his knees panting and lowering his wand. The wolf dissolved away. Severus ran out from the corner and caught Daphne right before she hit the floor. No one would see him in the thickness of the mist.

"Daphne," Severus desperately moved the hair out of her face and shook her lightly. "Daphne." She couldn't be gone, she couldn't. Of all the things he could wish for at that moment, the thing he wanted most was to see her open her light brown eyes again. He lowered his face closer to hers and saw that she was breathing.

"Daphne," he cried again.

"Yeah?" Daphne got up rubbing her forehead painfully. "Severus?"

Severus looked fearful and relieved. He thought the dementor had finished her off. He could have lifted her and swept her away, if he knew her friends wouldn't show up any moment.

"Locomoator mortis!" Jasmine shouted in the background. Her and Remus still weren't out of danger and she had to protect them from a death eater who was trying to take advantage of the situation. They were creeping back now that the demntors were gone. Jasmine's spell hit. The death eater's legs locked together and he fell down to the ground. Jasmine tried to get Remus up again.

"Moony!" James hurried and carried Remus behind the cart. Remus collapsed on the floor. "You alright? Your arm?"

"Daphne!" Sirius made his way over now that the mist had cleared away. He was already up again brushing off what just happened. Severus slipped back unnoticed. Daphne wished he hadn't left. She wanted to assure him she would be okay and she wouldn't leave him. Sirius bent down, putting a hand on her head.

"You hurt? Do you need anything?"

"No, it's okay."

Remus replied James' question through heavy breaths.

"It's just a few scrapes. Here give this to Daphne." He held out a large chocolate bar from honeydukes.

"Your shoulder," Daphne pointed with a gasp. It had to be dislocated. Sirius crossed his arms.

"You look horrible mate and if your giving away chocolate you must be delirious."

Jasmine scowled at him. Remus smiled painfully.

"Maybe," He weakly panted again. Beads of sweat on his forehead caused some of his light hair to stick to his face. Jasmine settled next to him, wiping his forehead with her sleeve.

"The real question is since when have you been able to produce a patronus? Both of you? That is extremely difficult spell. And it was fully formed."

"Told you you should've left her," Sirius coughed. Jasmine looked at the injured people they had accumulated. Without waiting for a real answer, she began to move around them to see if she could help the injured. Daphne got up.

"I'll help."

"We'll keep watch." James nodded to a couple of the remaining seventh years. They agreed. Jasmine flicked her wand to easily summon the first aid kit she always used on Remus. And he was the one she started with. Daphne let her be in charge of him and relocated to another seventh year, Matthew, who was in many of her classes. He had been stupefied.

"Ennervate," Daphne revived him effortlessly and to help with the grogginess she parted her chocolate with him.

Jasmine would not let her emotions overwhelm her as she steadily tidied up Remus. She wiped away all the dirt from him and even made a sling for his arm, since she could not fix it. It was bruising up top near his shoulder.

"There," Jasmine stated when she was done.

"Wait," Remus clamped onto her arm before she could move on.

"Did I forget something?" Jasmine asked already feeling mortified.

"No," Remus went through her first aid kit and took out some of the white linen bandage. Then taking her right wrist, he wrapped it tightly for her. "There." He let her go with a grateful smile.

"Thanks… Peter?" Jasmine gasped. For the first time, Daphne noticed Peter had been cowering behind a nearby trashcan the entire time. "Move Peter. You're not even hurt." Jasmine brushed past him to someone who was really injured. Peter moped behind the trash can. Daphne crept to the corner.

"Sevy?"

Severus appeared tactful not to let himself show too much.

"What?"

"Come on, come out," Daphne prompted him. Severus glared over at the marauders who were standing guard over the area.

"It doesn't matter," Daphne told him.

"I don't want them to see me," Severus claimed.

"It doesn't matter right now, they probably won't even notice in this fog." They hadn't even noticed when he caught her. There was too much going on to worry about a trivial school rivalry. "I need to look at your injury." When he still didn't come, Daphne disappeared around the corner. And even though Severus insisted it was nothing, Daphne rolled up his sleeve to look at the burn. The skin looked fairly blistered. Daphne bit her lip then went through the box of stuff. She found an ointment and gently rubbed it on.

Severus tried not to watch her, but it was really hard when she was so close and working so delicately on him. He found himself staring, then looking away, and then staring again.

A raucous started back around the corner. Daphne finished Severus quickly and hurried over after giving him a quick smile.

"Sirius! Sirius don't leave me. Please don't leave me." It was the girl he had carried on his back. She grasped at his arm, begging him to stay with her. Tears were streaming down her face as she desperately held Sirius' hand.

"It's okay," Sirius said in a soothing voice, trying to calm her. She lied back down refusing to release his hand. "You'll be okay. Relax."

Daphne moved over to Jasmine who had been examining the girl.

"What's wrong with her?"

Jasmine gave a worried frown.

"You can't move her legs and you can't touch them either. I thought they were broken, but episkey doesn't work." Sirius was trying to get her to stop crying. It wasn't working. Jasmine sighed. "I can't fix it. She needs Madame Pomfrey."

After repairing all the injuries she could, Jasmine got up with Remus and prepared to leave. They had managed to keep the death eaters away, but danger was still around. All the injured people were accompanying them.

"Daphne, shouldn't you be getting out of here?" Jasmine hinted as she vanished her first aid kit.

"Don't worry," Daphne assured her even though she had no plans of leaving.

Jasmine prepared to walk out where the people were gathering, but she stopped suddenly.

"Wait. Where's Lily? I thought you were supposed to find her." She pointed to James and Sirius.

"We haven't yet," James said. He kept his cool, but he was plainly stressing. Jasmine couldn't refrain from raising her voice.

"You can't find her?"

"She's a tough girl. I pity any death eater that comes in combat with her," Remus assured Jasmine. "Come on, we're going this way. Stay behind me."

With a final farewell, the group slipped quietly down a small alley away from the square. As soon as they were out of sight, another person ran out from a different lane.

"Run! All of you run! They're coming! Hurry!" He shouted in alarm staying at full speed.

James turned to Daphne.

"Daphne follow after Remus. He's going to the one eyed witch with Jasmine. I would hate for people to find out about our passageways, but this is too important. Take anyone you can find and lead them back to the castle. Make sure to seal the passage behind you okay? Be extra careful. Groups of people moving in one direction could catch their attention." He spoke really fast with a bit of urgency, probably anxious to get her out of danger if the death eaters were really heading that way.

"I'm not going," Daphne informed them. More people came running from the direction the boy had come. They all shouted the same thing.

"Daph, you have to get out of here," James insisted, reminding her of Severus.

"And leave you guys behind? No, I won't go." She said simply.

How Severus loathed agreeing with James Potter, but at that moment he wished Daphne would listen to him. Sirius glanced back to help James out.

"We'll be fine." He aimed his wand over the cart.

"N-"

"Potter!"

They all turned expectantly, and there she was. Lily had discovered them at last. She ran toward them in her tattered jeans and top. James met her half way and pulled her into a tight hug.

"Evans, thank Merlin. We've been looking all over for you. Are you okay? Where have you been? Has anyone hurt you?"

"Let me catch my breath," Lily sighed, joining them behind the cart. "I just got out of a tight spot back there, but I'm alright. Daphne have you seen Jasmine?"

"Is that who you were looking for? Don't fret, Moony has her. He's taking her back to the castle, and you should go too. It's not safe for either of you," James lectured as he kept a lookout for any advancing enemies.

"It's not safe for you either," Lily pointed out before Daphne could. She checked the surroundings of the fort for the first time. A few yards away were some death eaters, but some people were already battling them.

"Like they could get past us," Sirius bragged. Everyone huddled down again so the larger bottom half of the cart shielded them.

"Don't be stubborn. We're staying to help," Lily insisted just like Daphne had. Her fiery green eyes were focused. "Do you really think we would abandon you guys?"

James put a hand on her shoulder.

"Evans, if you stay, I wont be able to fight properly," he explained carefully. "I'll be worried about your safety. They want you two. Let us protect you. I need you to go."

Lily was not ready to depart. Just like Daphne, she thought it wasn't appropriate. They were Gryffindors, but James gave her a pleading look and she couldn't say no.

"Which way? But I swear Potter, if you get hurt, I will... I will… Don't you dare get hurt."

James was relieved.

"I won't and neither will you. Go to the Honeydukes passage, you must know where it is by now. If not, Daphne will show you."

"I think I know were it is," Lily nodded thoughtfully

"Everyone down!" Sirius yelled, throwing himself to the floor. Everyone flattened themselves out at once. The cart that had been their refuge for so long exploded into splinters. Daphne protected her head as fragments of wood fell on them. A squeal arose from a nearby trashcan. Peter surfaced.

"Wormtail you were supposed to go with Moony!" Sirius roared.

"I couldn't," Peter squirmed. "I was scared."

Sirius ran a hand through his hair impatiently.

"Bloody hell! Quick get behind something!"

Daphne scrambled up to her knees then feet. She felt unsteady and hair was in her face. A familiar hand pulled her wrist and she was behind the corner with Severus. He moved the hair out of her face to check on her.

"I'm not hurt." Daphne sat down. She was breathing rapidly with her back against the wall. She peered out to the square. Sirius had hidden in the doorway of store, Peter stayed behind the trashcan, and Lily and James were huddled behind some stone steps. Steven was on the other side of the square, with two other seventh years.

"Thanks Sevy."

"Don't mention it," he muttered quietly joining her with his back against the wall. They waited to see what would happen next.

James was talking from the stairs.

"Evans, you have to go this way." James pointed to an alley.

Lily looked toward the cramped space.

"Potter, are you sure? Oh my gosh Potter, your nose." His glasses were broken and his nose was bleeding.

"Remus and Jasmine just went this way, so it's safe. It leads right to Honeydukes. I promise, I won't let anything happen to you, Evans." James assured her, wiping his upper lip and smearing the blood. Lily put a hand on his face and moved it so she could get a good look. His hazel eyes watched her through his broken lenses.

"Scourgify." The wet blood cleaned off. "Okay, Potter, I'll go that way." Lily nodded trusting James' decision.

"Daphne you go too," Sirius called back. Much of the square was empty now. A local ran past them.

"You all better clear out. A large group is headed this way!"

Sirius grinned.

"Excellent, I growing bored with the ones already here."

"Looks like this is it," Daphne whispered to Severus. She was glad it would be over soon, she was very sore. This would be their last stand. All they had to do was wait. Severus nodded quietly, keeping one hand on Daphne and the other on his wand.

"Let's go now, Evans," James remarked. He escorted Lily in the direction of the alley. A thunder of noise made Daphne look out. A mass of people had come running from the alley that Lily was supposed to be heading down. They pushed back Lily and James, separating them from one another. Then from that alley, and other streets along the square, groups of death eaters emerged throwing hexes as they went. The running peopled dispersed unsure of which way to escape. Some ran down smaller streets, others into houses that were falling apart, and some just ran in circles. The square was full again.

"Evans!" James shouted trying to push past some frantic people as they rammed their shoulders into him not letting him progress. People were so tightly packed, they were tripping and stepping all over each other. He could see Lily up ahead. She was being pushed further away from him.

"Padfoot! Help me get to Evans! Daphne get out of here!"

Sirius shoved his way to James' side. The two of them together attracted a bunch of the death eaters. Daphne moved from her spot.

"Where are you going?" Severus started.

Holding her wand firmly out before her, Daphne left the safety of the alley. Immediately, she got rammed by several people, and a death eater detected her. Daphne bent down to avoid his spell.

"Expellairums!" His wand flew out of his hand.

"Incarcerous!" Severus said behind her. Ropes tied the death eater up. Taking Severus hand, Daphne fought through the crowd to reach her friends. If a death eater gave chase, Daphne shot a spell over her head, and listened for his muffled cry as he fell to the floor. She was nearing Sirius when she almost stepped on someone. Daphne bent down to a boy who was lying curled up on the floor. No one stopped to help him. He looked about a year younger than they did. He had black hair and bright green eyes. He was also lying in a pool of blood. He held onto his side tightly with one hand and lifted the other into the air. Daphne offered hers. He took it and squeezed really hard.

"I don't want to die." His breathing was shallow and his face was completely pale. Daphne noticed a line of blood drip out of the corner of his mouth. "Don't let me die."

"I wont," Daphne assured him quietly. "I wont. Severus, Severus," she called out. He bent down beside her. "Severus help me get him out of here, to an alley. We can't leave him, look." The boy began twitching slightly.

If Severus was annoyed by the request to stop and help someone, he didn't show it. He lifted the boy up and they rushed to the first alley they could get to.

"Here, what are you going to do?" Severus asked quickly. He had given up on trying to get Daphne out.

Daphne pried the boys hand away from his side and opened his red dripping shirt. A huge portion of the boy's stomach was missing. Daphne felt that sick feeling coming to her again. She couldn't look at it.

"Here let me try." Severus ran his wand near the wound. It looked like it was trying to seal, but it couldn't. The wound was too big.

"Am I going to die? Does it look bad?" The boy gasped. He tried to look down.

"No, you're fine. It'll be okay. Just concentrate on me, good." Daphne wiped the sweat off of his paling face. Her pants were getting wet from the blood already surrounding the boy again. "Good, now talk to me okay? What's you name?"

"Jack Serkin."

"You go to Hogwarts?" Daphne kindly prompted him. Severus struggled with his wand.

"Yes, sixth year I'm in Slytherin. I know you. You're in Gryffindor. My friend has a crush on you." He tired to smile, but couldn't so Daphne give him one of hers.

Severus whispered to Daphne hardly moving his lips.

"That's the best I can do." She looked down at the wound. It was still very bad. She had to look away.

"Scourgify," Daphne said. The boy's shirt cleaned off and she tied it around his wound to try to stop the bleeding. "Lets keep going. Can you carry him?"

Severus nodded and lifted the boy onto his back. Daphne hexed the first death eater she saw when they went back out and she shot at any who advanced on them. She shoved through the crowd to see where her friends were. Sirius and James were in the same place.

Lily was trapped.

James fought fiercely to get to her. If only he could reach her. Then the worst thing happened. Death eaters apparated before Lily. She didn't scream, but her eyes grew. Three in particular blocked her path. The one in the middle had the light blonde hair Daphne had seen before. He had two larger death eaters on either side of him. Lily wouldn't make it to Honeydukes, so she pulled out her wand instead.

"Go on, Prongs! I can take care of these." Sirius shouted. He deflected some curses and chanced a few of his own. "Come on!" Sirius yelled to some death eaters he had begun fighting. "Don't tell me you're the best?" Three flashes of light came at him. He blocked two, but one grazed by his arm making him stumble slightly.

James turned back to Sirius. He was conflicted. He had to go help Lily, but he couldn't just leave Sirius to fight the whole group alone.

"Just go." A bored voice called out. Raelyn was leaning against a nearby wall, with one foot up, watching the commotion. Her wand was out, but it rested lightly on her shoulder. She kicked herself off the wall. James didn't need telling twice. Fighting his way through the tangles of bodies, he continued struggling to reach Lily.

"Raelyn?" Jack gasped from the back of Severus. He made a weird gurgling noise. His skin was becoming gray. "Is she here?"

"Yeah, she's fighting right now," Daphne kindly informed him. Her friends were slipping in and out of view as people shoved and pushed to get out of that street. Severus did some quick wand work to dispose of a death eater. Daphne parried a hex. They were close to Sirius when Daphne caught sight of something. Peter was there with his head down on the ground trembling. A death eater stood directly above him. Daphne and Severus were getting shoved further from the area to the other side of the street. Daphne aimed her wand carefully and shot a hex at the death eater speaking to Peter, he fell to the ground.

Daphne attempted another go at crossing the mayhem of people when a scream ripped through the thick, smoldering air. Daphne searched for the source of the noise. Further back was a tall woman in an exquisite black dress under her cloak. Thick black hair was coming out of her hood. She had the air of someone who commanded respect. She also had a scrawny girl with a dark brown bob on her knees, and another limp body lying nearby.

"Wait, come back here!" Severus tried stopping her, but Daphne had already wretched herself free from his restraint. She ran right through the battle to reach them. The look on the girl's face had been enough motivation. She didn't have a plan, but she had to help. Daphne made it in time to hear the death eater's cruel voice.

"What's wrong? Do you want your mummy? Are you scared?" The death eater teased in a mocking voice. She may have looked sophisticated even with a mask on, but her expression was almost psychotic.

"Would you like to join your friend over there?" The crying girl didn't respond. "Crucio." With a flick of her wand, the girl feel from her knees onto her back shrieking in pain, her body moving in rapid twitching motions.

"Leave her alone!" Daphne used a blasting charm to throw the cackling death eater backward. The girl on the floor panted helplessly. Daphne bent down close to check on her. She seemed to be recovering, then seeing the body nearby, she continued sobbing. The girl pulled herself over to the body and tried to stir and shake it back into consciousness. It lay perfectly still.

"Helen! Helen!" The girl was in shock. She coiled into a ball, holding onto her friend. Daphne would be in shock too if one of her friends wasn't moving, but she had to get them away. Other death eaters would be coming soon.

"Listen, I'll conjure a stretch…" Daphne felt a soft gust of air blow past her and a second later she had been sent soaring through the air. She crashed back down on the firm floor. The arm she landed on scraped against the cobblestones.

"How dare you!" The death eater was on her feet again sounding maniacal. Her black dress blew in the wind as she savagely pointed her wand "So another little student coming down to play with the big kids." She was using her high pitched ridiculing tone again as she strode closer to Daphne. There was something about her smile that jogged Daphne's memory. The crimson lips parted again.

"Tell me, what do you plan to do now? Was your heroic act even worth it? Slime like you… crucio!" Daphne hurdled out of the way just seconds before the curse could strike her. "Run away, run away." The death eater laughed, deriving joy from every moment of torture she could give. Daphne lifted her own wand. Her heart was thumping in her ears.

"Stupefy." The death eater deflected it and sent another hex. Daphne preformed a shield charm for the first, but a second came smacking her against the floor again. Daphne felt dizzy as she tried to get up. Everything was out of focus until a blurry skull surfaced above her. A hand grasped her hair pulling her up to her knees, then back.

"Boo! The voice behind the mask cackled harshly. "You're trapped now. Little pathetic girl actually thought you could get away from me? Hahaha."

Daphne used her wand to hit the death eater in the face. She got away for a second, but could not get up in time to escape. The death eater kicked her wand out of her hand. Now, Daphne didn't have any protection. She was stuck in the same situation the other girl had been in. No one running by even gave a second glance.

"Let go of me!" Daphne tried to loosen the death eater's grip on her, but the death eater brutally yanked harder on her curly hair. Daphne felt some tear out of her scalp. The sting made her eyes water.

"Struggle! Cry for help, hahaha." The death eater brought a crooked wand to Daphne's throat. Daphne felt paralyzed. This was it. This was how she was going to end. The cackling red lips opened. Daphne shut her eyes and felt herself hit the dirt with a pressure on her body. She hadn't heard a spell, and as far as she knew, she was still breathing. Daphne sat up, opening her eyes. The death eater slid off her, but didn't move. A hand stretched out to help her up.

"Are you hurt?" Severus looked like he had run into trouble on his way over to her. His hair was disheveled, but it couldn't have been as bad as Daphne's. Her scalp was raw and the cuts on her arm burned.

"Severus, thank goodness," she sighed out trembling slightly. Severus noted this along with her wounds.

"There's no time, we have to get out of this area." Jack looked unconscious on his back.

"Wait, the girls," Daphne pointed to the small brunette crying over her friend.

Severus hurried over and without asking permission checked the girl.

"She's still alive." He whipped his wand and she was floating safely on a stretcher. He turned to the brunette. "Get out of here." She cried harder when she heard her friend wasn't dead, but began to move with the stretcher in front of her.

"Now, let's go." Severus clasped Daphne's hand, once again determined to move out of the calamity. The death eater he had just stunned would want her vengeance when she came to. Daphne was fortunate not to be dead.

Raelyn ran over to join Sirius. He had two death eaters before him. She slid down on her side one foot outstretched to knock them over like bowling pins.

Sirius watched her go by with a raised eyebrow. "What are you doing? I was going to fight those."

"Shut it. I'm here to save you Black." Raelyn got up and wiped her dress.

"I don't need saving. Watch this!" Sirius rolled up his sleeves and pulled a second wand from his pocket. Pointing one over his head and another one to his side, he gave a death eater a conjuctivis curse and stunned another at the same time.

Raelyn snorted. "I can do that." She stepped on a death eaters face and took the wand out of his hand. She slashed them in the air disposing of two more detheaters. "See."

With Four wands swirling around at a fast speed, the pile of death eaters around them rapidly increased as they dueled together. More deatheaters kept coming to try to stop them. One thick death eater gave them trouble. He refused to go down and madly charged at Sirius with various spells. One hit him in the stomach. Sirius stumbled back a bit drawing a sharp painful gasp. Raelyn shot a curse behind her back. The thick death eater fell over.

"Having trouble?" She teased over her shoulder with a smug look once Sirius was beside her again. As Sirius thought of a witty retort, six death eaters apparated in a circle around them. Sirius threw both wands around.

"Reducto!"

Pointing the tips of her together Raelyn shouted.

"Impedimenta!" The force threw back any remaining deatheaters.

"Expellairmus!" Someone else shouted. Sirius spun around to see Raelyn's second wand clatter on the floor at the feet of a death eater, tall and thin in frame.

"Raelyn Eustacia." The death eater slowly glided over to her. He held his head high as he approached. The other death eaters in the area backed off. "It's been a while since we've seen you at any of the parties."

Raelyn lifted her own chin.

"Perhaps if they weren't full of idiots like yourself, I would go every so often," she replied. They glared at each other for a moment before simultaneously raising their wands.

"Now, now, Raelyn, your family is prestigious. You don't want to let them down," he said firmly. He glanced at some of his comrades on the floor. "Besides, you know there is no use fighting with us. You know. Just do as your told." Raelyn kept her wand on him. "We don't want to hurt people of your ranking. Backdown."

"Who are you her mother?" Sirius snorted. The deatheater turned to him.

"Sirius Black."

"Rodolphus Lestrange." Sirius mocked his tone.

"Very clever, but I'm afraid you'll have to die here. It's a shame someone from the Black family turned out so disappointing. Your mother can't help, but be humiliated. Such an excellent last name, but such a filthy blood traitor."

Sirius rolled his eyes.

"No one wants to hear your rubbish," he replied. That didn't stop Rodolphus.

"Potter's here too I see. My oh my, it seems we've stumbled across the jackpot of scum. Scum that wont live long. It's only a matter of time before all those against us are killed."

"Shut up," Sirius snapped.

"Have I hit a nerve? That's where you stay after abandoning your home, isn't it? The Potter's? They're a disgrace to all purebloods." His wand inched over to Sirius threateningly. Raelyn had enough. She shot a spell at him. It missed. Grazing right by his cheek. Rodolphus collected himself, but furiously turned to her.

"Stand down Eustacia! Keep this up and you'll be considered a traitor too. You'll be cast out, a shame to your family. Think of what your mother would say. We are not your enemies. You know where your true allegiances should lie. We're not here to hurt you." He raised his wand again and pointed it at Sirius, but Raelyn stepped in between them.

"I said stand down!" Rodolphus shouted and this time he lifted his arm and backhanded her across the face with enough force to twist her body and make her fall back onto her knees.

Sirius reacted before he knew what he was doing. He lunged forward in his rage, without remembering his wand. His knuckles collided right into Rodolphus' face knocking him out. Raelyn held her cheek in complete shock. A drop of blood slid down her chin. She stared at the floor without getting up from all fours.

"Raelyn?" Sirius called down. He checked for oncoming death eaters. Most were busy. "Eustacia? Raelyn? It's okay, don't listen to that prat." When she still didn't get up, Sirius bent down next to her. "Raelyn?" He called to her, but received no response. He shook her. "Raelyn, come back to me."

She looked up seeing him for the first time. Her bottom lip was beginning to swell. He offered his hand. She stood up without it and noticed Rodlphus sprawled on the floor. His nose was broken. Raelyn wiped her chin.

"Why did you do that? I could have taken him?" She shouted returning to her old self. Sirius was stunned.

"I doubt it. You were off in space somewhere!" He shouted right back. Raelyn narrowed her eyes.

"You have a nasty temper sometimes, Black."

"You have a nasty temper." He restrained himself from yelling by crossing his arms. "Just say 'thank you for defending me Sirius.'" He said in a high girly voice that sounded nothing like Raelyn's. Raelyn crossed her own arms and looked away her chin in the air.

"Fine, don't say it." Sirius rolled his eyes. The conversation was cut short by the appearance of a few death eaters. Some picked up the bodies and disapparated again. Some stayed behind to fight.

He moved very well, but Daphne was able to block him. The death eater tried a killing curse. Daphne spun in a circle to avoid it and whipped her wand out.

"Reducto!" The death eater hit a wall. Then James' voice ripped through the chaos, reaching everyone.

"Get to Evans!" Sirius, Daphne, even Raelyn responded. James shoved through the claustrophobic crowd of people. He had to get to her. Why was no one stopping to help? Lily had stunned one death eater, but there was still two more. A jet of light soared inches from her head. She put her shield up. "Evans!"

Daphne hurried to make her way over there. Severus was right behind her. She ran right past a deatheater who pointed his wand high up into the sky.

"Morsmordre!"

A bright green glow illuminated everyones features. Daphne looked up as she ran. Tiny green stars were formed together making a skull with a snake protruding from it's mouth. Just like the one Jasmine had shown them in the newspaper. Daphne threw a spell directly over her shoulder. It hit the death eater straight on the chest and he fell. A shower of sparks hit Lily's shield. It began to waver.

"Lily!" Daphne yelled in panic.

With a valiant effort, James punched the last person out of his way just in time to see the blonde death eater raise his wand and Lily crumple to the floor.

Everything happened so fast after that. Daphne knew her own voice let out a horrified shriek. Severus held her back from rushing forward. Two death eaters were still there. She struggled to get loose. Then there was a large gust of wind. Sirius fired a few frantic shots at some death eaters. She thought she saw a fiery bird fly by. Tears began flying down Daphne's face, but Severus wouldn't let go. The death eaters began shouting amongst each other and one by one they disapperated. James reached Lily's still body. He dropped to his knees, and rolled her over in one fluid motion pulling her into his arms as he did. His wand fell to his side discarded and useless. People in the distance still screamed and pushed by. Sirius kicked a couple of garbage cans enraged that the death eaters had gotten away. Daphne finally got free and began shouting for help, shouting frantically for someone to come to the rescue. She could not be dead. Daphne shouted, the world spun, and she got lost in a black abyss.

E/N: What did you think? What did you think? I'm excited! Theories anyone, ideas criticism? Let me know:D