Hello! The reviews from the last chapter inspired me to write faster, so I'd like to thank: Guest, Nonna Nito, PatronusIsAMockingjay3 and itsMrsBlack. You guys are awesome!

Enjoy the chapter

Lissa's POV

A few days after I'd ran into Elliot at his bar ('The Blue Eagle' the former Ravenclaw had informed me with a nudge and a wink), I was still there. I was sitting alone in a booth in the corner, feet propped up as I read 'Hogwarts: A History'. Nerdy, I know, but since Elliot was working I didn't have anything else to do, and my offers of help had been turned down after my last attempt at pulling a pint had also resulted in me pulling my left triceps. Painful. I had been incredibly bored, hence the reading, and was now eagerly anticipating Elliot's lunch break.

"Hey Lissa," Elliot said cheerfully as he swung himself down to sit next to me, making me jump, "Mina just got here, so my shift's over." I grinned, dropping my god-awful book and turning to Elliot. "So, Elliot, you said that you had something you needed to tell me?," I prompted, extremely curious.

Elliot's smile slackened a little, and the twinkle in his eyes dimmed. His eyes suddenly became fixed on a stain on the table as he scratched sheepishly at the back of his neck. "Well… erm… umm…," he stuttered awkwardly. "Spit it out already, Elliot!," I said, exasperated. His cheeks flushed lightly. "Iwrotetoyourbrotherand toldhimyou'rehereandhewantstopickyouup," he mumbled in a rush. I collapsed back into my seat. Please don't let him have said what I think he did.

"Elliot?," I asked, my tone dangerous. Elliot gulped. "I wrote to Danny he night you arrived, Lissa," he confessed, pushing on despite my shocked state, "I told him you were here, and now he wants to come and get you." I took a deep breath. "You did what?," I hissed angrily. Elliot slid away from me on the booth bench, hands up. "When you told me that you were in danger, I couldn't not try and help! And however much of an ass Danny's been in the past to me, after months of being chased by Death Eater's, he's still alive. He clearly knows what he's doing, and you, well, you don't!"

My eyes were flashing now, I was sure of it. "I don't know if I mentioned this to you before, Elliot, but I'm not trying to make it out alive! If I die, Bellatrix will leave my friends and Sirius alone. If I let her take what she wants, that'll be the end of it, and to be honest, it's not like I've much left to live for anyway!" Instead of the cowering fear and numerous apologies I'd been expecting, Elliot's spine was suddenly rigidly straight, butterscotch eyes burning with a fire I remembered seeing many times in my brother's eyes, usually before he would hit someone. This time, it was me who shrunk back.

"So you think it's really that easy, do you, Lissa? Just go out in a blaze of glory, be a hero, forget about everyone else who isn't so lucky? You know, that was always the problem with you Crawford's- you all think you're so much damn better than everyone else, that you all feel entitled to go out like heroes! Well, do you know what, Lissa, do you know why your brother, cousin, and all of their stupid little groupie friends stopped talking to me, cut me off completely and left me with no one? Maybe you think that I'm a Death Eater, or a Ministry-lover? Maybe you think that I betrayed Danny and Jasper? Did you ever think, Lissa Crawford, THAT IT COULD HAVE BEEN THE OTHER WAY AROUND?!"

Elliot's yelling had reached furious, ear-splitting levels, and every single patron and Mina, the bartender, were staring at us in confusion in fright. I was pressed back against the wall, cowering away from Elliot's anger. Fire still burning in his bright eyes, Elliot slid out of the booth and stormed out of the bar and up the stairs to his flat, slamming the door so hard behind him that it nearly flew of its hinges. I shrunk away from the glares of the patrons, running after Elliot without thinking very hard about the consequences. What had he meant when he'd said that Jasper and Danny had betrayed him?

I burst into Danny's small living room and found him slumped on the couch in a sitting position, elbows resting his knees as he cradled his head in his hands, rocking back and forth gently. I sat down beside him on the couch cautiously, reaching out to place my hand lightly on his shoulder. "I'm sorry, Elliot," I murmured softly, hoping that he wouldn't flip out again, "Can you tell me what you meant? What did DJ and Jasper do?"

Elliot raised his head and turned to face me. His cheeks were flushed with the aftermath of his anger, his once bright eyes dull and sad, and his expression was one of pain and hurt. "It's a long, painful story," he whispered, his voice raw from shouting. I nodded. "Still, can you please tell me? You can trust me, Elliot. I won't flip out, I can promise that I'll believe you. Why wouldn't I? Anyway, it's not like I hero-worship my brother or my cousin, I mean, I haven't heard from either of them in months, and I haven't even seen DJ since he discharged himself from Mungo's without even saying goodbye. I'm under no illusion about their faults."

Elliot took a deep breath. "Are you sure you really want to know, Lissa?," he asked, giving me on more chance to back out, "Because you can't take back a memory, you can't forget something even if you want to." I nodded, knowing only too well what he meant. "Well," Elliot sighed, "Well then."

He fixed his gaze on his knees, tracing idle patterns on the fabric of his jeans as he began his story. "Like I said, we were all great friends back in Hogwarts: me, Jasper, Danny, Jon and Harry. Real close, although I always did get the feeling that I never quite fit in as well as the others did. Jasper and I met on the train, and we sat with his cousin and his friends, even though they were two years older. Jasper and I became best friends, and for the seven years we spent in Hogwarts together, the only person he was closer to than me was Danny. They were almost like one person. Jasper was, and probably still is, a fiercely loyal person, especially to his friends. I know that he didn't really have any other sort of friends outside of our group, and maybe he expected me to be the same, but I wasn't. I had other friends, especially in my House," Elliot recounted, tracing half-remembered shapes on his knees. Then he turned to glance at me for a brief second. "Do you know who Edgar Bones is?," he asked. I nodded slowly. "He writes for the Prophet, doesn't he? The one who's always writing about how evil You-Know-Who is, and how we should all resist him no matter what?"

Elliot nodded, looking proud of his friend. "That's the one. Eddie might be a little reckless, but he's a Ravenclaw at heart. He knows that You-Know-Who's promises are empty, and that the only way to take him down is to mount an offensive, to attack. He might not be very subtle about it, but Eddie was never a Slytherin. When Eddie said that we should fight against You-Know-Who, he bloody meant it, and he does himself. Eddie fights for what he believes in, and so do I."

I was extremely confused, both at what exactly Elliot was getting at and at the quietly proud tone of his voice. "How-what do you mean?," I asked tentatively. Elliot raised his head, his face set into proud lines. "I presume, Lissa, that you have heard of the Order of the Phoenix?" I nodded slowly. "Well, I can proudly say that I am a member of it, as is Edgar Bones. Your brother, cousin and their groupie friends, however, are most definitely not. Mine, Jasper and Eddie's year was the first Dumbledore started to recruit in- the others were already gone by the time that came a round full force. Whatever Danny thinks he knows, he doesn't know as much as he thinks," Eliot said, conviction evident in every word he spoke.

Then he whirled round to face me, eyes wild with the need to make me understand. "Danny doesn't know all of what happened in those two years that Jasper and I were at Hogwarts without him. Jasper was a Pureblood, and Danny never thought what that might mean," he said darkly. "Lissa, did you know that Jasper was courted by the Death Eaters at Hogwarts for the two years he was there without Danny?," he asked me suddenly. I froze, completely thrown for a loop. Jasper had never mentioned anything like that- there was no way I could have missed it if he had. Courted by the Death Eaters… Oh Merlin.

"W-what?," I stuttered, my voice hardly above a whisper. Elliot focused his attention back on his jeans. "Jasper was always against Dumbledore, and by extension, the Order of the Phoenix. As for Danny, well to be perfectly honest, Jasper is Danny's brain for the most part." I couldn't rightly argue with that- it was true. Danny wasn't fun of stopping and taking the time to do his own thinking, so he was more than happy to let the vastly intelligent Jasper do it for him.

"Anyway, Jasper's very stubborn- he won't change his mind once he's made it up, at least not unless he has absolute proof that he's wrong, which he didn't with Dumbledore. So since Jasper didn't trust Dumbledore, he wouldn't even consider joining the Order. He felt, I guess, that Dumbledore wasn't doing enough of the right thing, or maybe he was just pissed that he never did anything about the Death Eaters that tried to recruit him. I had no such problems with Dumbledore, and I wanted to fight. Eddie and I were very keen recruits halfway through seventh year, and we started to spend more time together talking about secret Order business. Jasper got jealous I think, not that you could ever really tell with him, but the last straw was when he found out that I had joined the Order behind his back. I refused to leave, and Jasper and I fought. I never spoke to him again, not to any of the others either. I highly doubt that they cared," he finished with a sad but resigned shrug, his facial expression showing that despite what he had lost, he still regretted nothing. A charged silence fell, the empty space between us filled with pain, loss and conviction.

"It'll be okay, Elliot," I said softly, watching as his long fingers traced patterns of jumping flames on his jeans, "I love Jasper and Danny, I kind of have to 'cause we're related and all, but I don't think they'd be very good friends. I don't think it runs in the family though, so maybe we could be friends? I promise I'll do a better job than Jasper did."

Elliot's head turned and his eyes locked on mine. Then he shook his head, so slowly that I almost missed it. I gasped softly, sadly. "W-what?," I stuttered tearfully. Elliot smiled sadly, butterscotch eyes glassy with emotion. "I don't want to be friends with someone whose just going to run off and get themselves killed," he murmured, staring right at me. I squirmed uncomfortably, unable to make eye contact with him. "I don't know if I can not do it," I whispered, "I don't see what else I can do."

Elliot straightened up and rested a hand on my shoulder. "That's why I wrote to Danny," he said softly, understandingly, "I know that I don't get along with him, but he's still your brother and he'll be able to help you. And Lissa, it won't just e Danny and co." My head snapped up. "Who else?," I demanded, the sinking feeling in my stomach telling me that I already knew who.

Elliot coughed awkwardly. "Umm… You want a list?" I gritted my teeth, nodding stiffly. "Okay," Elliot took a deep breath, "It's a lot. So… Fabian and Gideon Prewett, Benjy Fenwick, Frank Longbottom, Ian Harrington, Wade Simmons, James Potter, Peter Pettigrew, Remus Lupin, Mary MacDonald, Lily Evans, Emmeline Vance, Marlene McKinnon, and Alice Prewett. Oh…and Sirius Black."

I sighed, covering my face in my hands. "Merlin, that is a lot. I just can't believe that they all went out looking for me. Especially since Benjy, Frank and Ian are really only friends with me at all because they're going out with Emmeline, Marlene and Alice. I just can't…" I broke down sobbing and Elliot pulled me into his arms. I cried for what felt like hours, my tears staining Elliot's checked button-down shirt until it was sopping wet against my cheek.

Suddenly I felt warm breath on my neck, and heard Elliot's whispered voice in my ear. "Lissa, this is probably a bad time to tell you this, but I think I've lost track of time. They're coming today, soon. Now, actually."

I leapt up out of Elliot's arms and raced into the bedroom I'd slept in, wiping my tears on the way. I changed my old rumpled clothes for a pair of less worn jeans and a ratty t-shirt I covered with a decent enough purple fleece jumper. Then I ran into the bathroom to clean myself up a little. I wasn't exactly going to throw on some make-up, I just wanted to make sure that I wouldn't be mistaken for a zombie. Butterflies the size of pterodactyls fluttered in my stomach as I anticipated how horrible this meeting would be. I had betrayed them all, cut them off and hurt them badly, and now I was only really meeting them because I'd been trapped into it, and because aside from ditching out Elliot's bathroom window, there really wasn't very much I could do. Also, after everything Elliot had told me, it would feel like a betrayal to run again.

I splashed some water on my face, wishing that I had some of Marlene's make-up to give color to my waxy sunken cheeks and to hide the dark circles that decorated my eyes. Sighing, I ran my fingers through my knotted dark hair, plaiting it down my back and tying off the end with an elastic band I'd found in Elliot's medicine cabinet. I glanced at myself in the mirror, grimacing at what I saw: a short, scrawny girl who looked as though she'd come out the business end of a drawn-out illness. My face was as pale as milk, making my numerous freckles stand out, my cheeks were waxy and sunken, my eyes dull and with bags the color of a bruise drooping below them, and my once wildly wavy dark hair limp and lackluster. I sighed, turning away from the mirror. It was as good as I was ever going to get.

"Elliot?," I called out in a small voice, hearing the answering footsteps within seconds. "Yeah, Lissa? You okay?," he asked softly from the other side of the bathroom door. "Are they here yet?" "No, Lissa, but they'll be here soon. Wanna come out, wait with me?" I nodded, before remembering that Elliot couldn't see me. I opened the door slowly, stepping out of the bathroom and into Elliot's waiting arms. It was pitiful really, how I clung like a limpet to a guy I'd met only a few days ago. Pathetic even, yet I still couldn't find the strength to let go. I needed someone, and whatever DJ and Jasper might have to say about him, I knew that he was a damn good guy.

"C'mon, Lissa," I heard Elliot murmur, guiding us over to sit on the couch. I took a deep shuddering breath and extricated myself from his arms, pulling my knees to my chest and wrapping my arms around them. I felt Elliot's arm drape around my shoulder, keeping me anchored as I stared of into the distance, eyes glazed over. Waiting.

Sirius' POV

"No disrespect, Danny, but why couldn't we just Apparate there directly or Floo into the fireplace of the bloody pub?," Jonathon McKinnon mumbled, trailing his fingers along the wall of the narrow alley as we walked. At his words, Danny, at the front of our single-file line (it was a really narrow alley), ground to a halt and swung round, just avoiding catching Jasper, who was just behind him, in the face with his nose. "Because it's not like the bloody Leaky Cauldron, you imbecile," Danny growled menacingly, "There might be Muggles in there, and the last thing we need is more trouble from the fucking Ministry." "Whatever," Jonathon mumbled under his breath, and we continued on through the alley, anger and frustration radiating off of Danny in waves.

When we had gotten the letter from Elliot Stuart about Lissa, Danny had decided that only seven of us would go: him, Jasper, Jonathon, Harry, Wade, Marlene and me. The four of them because they all had some degree of Auror training and actually knew Stuart somewhat, Wade and Marlene because they were probably Lissa's closest friends, and me because I ground Danny's face into the dirt with my wand to his head until he agreed that I should go. No bloody way was I going to be staying behind.

At the moment we were making our way through northern Edinburgh via a network of narrow twisting alleyways, looking for Stuart's pub, The Blue Eagle. Harry Simmons' lips had twisted slightly on hearing the name of the pub, clearly picking up on the Ravenclaw reference, as a former Eagle himself. I supposed that this meant that Stuart had also been a Ravenclaw (I didn't quite have the balls to ask Danny, Jasper, Harry or Jonathon, just getting mundane information out of them was like pulling teeth with chopsticks), and if indeed he had been, why on earth would the guy be stupid enough to tell Danny he had Lissa? Danny had punched quite a few tree trunks when Jasper had read that letter, and for Jasper's part, I highly doubted that that tree had blown itself up. Despite the rather scary reactions of Jasper and Danny, I was grateful that Stuart had the balls to basically sign his own death warrant and tell Danny that Lissa was staying with him.

I hadn't slept properly in months, was too gloomy to eat enough, and the profits from my alcohol consumption could have kept a small country afloat for a year. When I did manage to drift off into dreamland, I was roughly woken by the dreadful nightmares that had plagued me for months, and on several occasions had woken up with damp tear tracks starting to dry on my cheeks. I was hoping that once I knew that Lissa was safe I could go back to normal, or as normal as I could ever be again, knowing exactly what my family were out doing to innocent people. I wasn't sure how things would work out between Lissa and I. The last few months had been painful and heart-wrenching, for me at least, and even if we got back together by some kind of divine miracle I doubted that it would ever be the same. That didn't mean that I wouldn't try, though. I still loved her, and I hoped she still loved me. Maybe that would be enough.

"There it is, Danny," Harry hissed, pointing to a building on the far side of the street our alley attached onto, "That's The Blue Eagle." Danny nodded, turning back to face the rest of us. "Okay," he said briskly, "Keep a low profile, don't look suspicious, and for the love of Merlin don't draw your wand near a Muggle." We all nodded in affirmation, shoving our wands into back pockets as one before discreetly slipping out of the alley.

Danny led the way into the pub, doing his best to look inconspicuous. He waved a hand to us behind his back as he continued up to the bar, but it was Jasper who casually turned his head and interpreted for us, "Sit down, spread out," when nobody was looking. I slid onto a barstool next to Jonathon and Harry while Danny sweet-talked the barmaid, a petite young woman with blond hair and a no-nonsense expression, about the same age as him. No-nonsense attitude aside, Danny had her blushing in ten seconds. I leaned forwards casually, resting my elbow on the bar and cupping my chin, straining my ears to listen in on their conversation over the noise of the bar.

"Looking for an Elliot Stuart…told he lived above here…very urgent, family matter…expecting us…show me and my friends up, please?" Eventually the barmaid caved, slipping out from behind the bar and beckoning us after her. We all followed her to a small wooden door out of the way of the bar. She opened it with a small key, twisting it a few times in the stiff lock, before pushing it open to reveal a narrow flight of stairs. "Elliot's apartment is up those stairs, just knock on the door when you get to the top, I'm sure he'll be there to let you in," she said with a mega-watt grin. Danny smiled back at her, holding the door open for the rest of us as we filed past him silently and started up the creaky stairs. After the last of us, Jonathon, had slipped past and up the stairs, I heard the pretty barmaid give Danny the phone number for her flat. Danny accepted in a flirty tone, promising a call as soon as he got home. I heard Marlene, just in front of me on the stairs, stifle a giggle at that. I couldn't hold back a smirk either, since it was highly unlikely that Danny, who had grown up in a wizarding household despite his Half-Blood statues, had ever even seen a phone.

"Wipe that smirk off your face, Black," Danny hissed as he shoved past me on the narrow stairs to get to the front, "Makes you look constipated." I scowled darkly, waving a middle finger at Danny's back. I heard Marlene snort behind me, and the smirk broke out across my face once more. "I know you stuck your finger up at me, Black," came Danny's echoing voice from further up the staircase, "And I'm sure even someone of your poor intellectual level can guess where I'll be telling you where to stick it in future." Behind me, Marlene snorted again, joined this time by Harry, Jonathon and Jasper. Wade didn't make a sound, hadn't in ages, not that I was complaining. I scowled once more. "Fuck you, Crawford," I snarled, pissed off. I could almost feel the smirk spreading across Danny's face. "No thanks, Black, I do have standards," was his quick reply. more snorting, actual laughter mixed in. "Wankers," I muttered under my breath, stomping loudly on the stairs.

We all crowded around the small door at the top of the flight of stairs as Danny raised his fist to knock. "It's open, come in," came a raspy male voice from the other side of the door. Danny pushed open the door and we all walked inside, me shoving past the others impatiently. Lissa Lissa Lissa…

And then there she was, skinnier, paler and more… faded than I remembered, but oh so alive. Her cheeks were sunken, her once-bright eyes dull and sad, and the energy and joy that had once radiated off her dead. She was dressed simply- a pair of jeans, t-shirt and a purple fleece jumper I remembered Lily and Mary giving her for her sixteenth birthday, nearly a year ago now, and her hair was scraped back into a simple plait. Everything about her- from the sad scared look in her eyes, to the way she clung to the sofa cushions, to the way she refused to look up at us, reminded me of an injured baby animal. Lissa looked broken, but I knew better. She was here, she hadn't fled when she had heard that we were coming, and I knew that there was strength and courage in that.

"Lissa," Wade Simmons called ever so softly, in a voice like spun glass. I wasn't sure if he even realized, but his arms were reached out halfway to Lissa. Then I realized that I was in the same position, so I dropped my arms to my sides where they hung awkwardly, emptily. Beside me, Marlene McKinnon, the life of every party and the girl who had been the driving force behind the establishment of the Unisex Annual Underwear Mile (pretty much what it sounds like: guys and girls stripped down to their underwear, running a mile-long course around the Black Lake), was frozen in place with her jaw dropped open like that of a goldfish, gaping at the broken shell of her best friend cowering on the couch. Then Lissa choked back a sob and I snapped. I went to got o her, but I had barely taken five steps before I was met with a firm unmoving arm right in front of my chest, blocking my path to Lissa.

I looked up, breathing heavily with anger and frustration, to meet the eyes of who I presumed to be Elliot Stuart. And although he was the guy stopping me (and the other as a matter of fact, he was very good at Shield Charms) from getting to Lissa, I had to admit that he did not seem like the antichrist Danny and co. had made him out to be. Elliot Stuart was tall and rather lanky, like he'd been stretched out over a rack during puberty and had only really begun to fill out properly. He had light liquid brown eyes, full of conviction, determination and courage. His hair was the exact opposite of mine: short, spiked, and highlighted blond, and he was a good-looking enough guy, I guess. His stance as he stood in front of Lissa protectively, just daring seven overage wizards, some with Auror training, to come at him, told me that this was not the first time that Elliot Stuart had defended someone.

"Move it, Stuart," Danny hissed, his voice full of poison. Stuart didn't even flinch, his eyes were locked with Jasper Crawford's. They seemed to be trying to stare each other down, but I could not tell what they were thinking. "You will not touch Lissa," Stuart said deliberately, making sure that every word impacted upon us. Danny's face actually went scarlet with rage, Jonathon and Harry weren't much better, albeit more restrained, and Wade and Marlene were frozen with ashen faces, unable to make anything out of the situation.

I was frozen too, but instead of staring at a sobbing Lissa or glaring at a determined Stuart, my eyes were fixed on the sheet of parchment that was thrown haphazardly on the coffee table in front of Lissa's couch. The letterhead was what really attracted my attention though: a proud, stylized, golden phoenix. I didn't need to squint to read the words printed below the bird, I had already guessed that Stuart was a member of the Order of the Phoenix. He was on our side, that much I had just realized, but judging by the raised wands and deadly threats being tossed back and forth between Danny, Jasper, Harry, Jonathon and Elliot, I was the only person to have realized that as of yet.

"Move right now, Stuart, or we won't be held responsible for what Danny'll do," Harry spat angrily, helping Jonathon hold Danny back from leaping on Stuart. Jasper just stood there, eyes fixed steadily on Stuart, casually twirling his wand between his long fingers elegantly. "You would do well to listen to Harold, old friend," Jasper murmured calmly in a voice that was pure ice. Elliot ignored him, keeping his wand trained on Danny as he struggled to uphold the powerful Shield Charm, beads of sweat trickling slowly down his neck. On the couch behind Elliot, Marlene, Wade and I watched as Lissa inched forwards and grabbed a heavy-looking paperweight from the coffee table, quickly testing it out in her small hands before hefting it to her shoulder and aiming. I sucked in a sharp breath, as a highly skilled Seeker, Lissa's aim was well developed, as was her timing. It was pretty much guaranteed that whoever that paperweight was aimed at was going down, and going down hard.

Suddenly, Harry and Jonathon released their grip on Danny's struggling form, and he immediately lunged forwards, wand aimed directly at Elliot's throat. "YOU FUCKING BASTARD!," he screamed in fury. Lissa drew back her arm, swung it forwards, and released the paperweight. It flew through the air at a dizzying speed, making contact with Danny's lower leg with a sickening crunch. Danny Crawford went down with a thud, and then all hell broke loose.

Ooohhh…drama! So, what do you think? Did the big confrontation go as you expected it to? Of course, don't forget that it isn't over yet- it will be continued in the next chapter, obviously, so if you didn't think this fit in with what you thought should have happened, just remember that it isn't over yet ;)

As always, I love love LOVE reviews, and they definitely help me write faster. It always great to get some feedback, so any opinions at all, even smiley faces, would be much appreciated. Thanks for reading