Still don't own any characters that you recognize-except Samantha Tchaikovsky, you might start recognizing her now…I hope…*long silence* (I know some of you are like "uh, Tchaikovsky?" Yeah, I'm onto you.)

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Hum dee dum. Do I ever run out of excuses? But this one actually has a legit quality to it: I was out of town for the past two weeks in a place without a computer. No, I'm serioius. Honest to Buddha truth here, folks. But now I have this, after a few hours of slaving away...

It's short, I know, but honestly, it isn't the shortest, and the previous few chapters have been monstrous in size so. Yes. There's a lot coming up. It's going to be huge and I don't know if I can fit it all in eight months worth of time. After the wedding, it's all down hill from there...Again, this one is slightly more uplifting! Alright, a few things to clear up: a) James just seemed to be someone who liked carrot cake. Plus, who doesn't? Actually, I think that was the only thing I had to clear. Sorry for the false advertising.

A really great suggestion came to my attention that I should try to update once a week and while I would love to do that (and I consequently feel awful when I don't) I'm not sure that's going to be feasible. I start school next week, and that involves waking up at four thirty in the morning. Don't even bother asking. So... just know that I will work on this whenever possible!

Love always and forever, (and I really do mean that)

Fae

P.S. Oh, if all of you gracious people who add me as a favourite would just leave me a review…I would love you even more! (yes, that's a tempting offer…)

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Patience, Grasshopper

"Lily," Sam called over to Lily's bed. It was the first day in a while that she was up before the red head. They had planned today for wedding preparations: dress-buying, cakes, décor, gifts—a multitude of feminine plans which were rare for the two anymore. Although neither had ever been huge, addictive shoppers, with the past fifteen weeks devoted between the field, the Leaky Cauldron and the Ministry, both were looking forward to the trip on what was their first ever day off.

Sam was happy to finally feel as if she were doing her part as Maid of Honor. She wanted little more than to help Lily and James get their life together started, but as it was, her schedule was ridiculously full, being an Auror, a girlfriend, an ex, were all exhausting.

Sam fastened a pair of golden filigree and pearl earrings to her ears. Dimitri had given then to her three nights ago, on what was technically their fifth date. It had been over two weeks since their first paper assignment at the ministry, the day that Sirius had found out about Dimitri, though he had yet to meet him. They had been swamped at the Order and Lily's dream of a Saturday night triple date had been pushed to the back burner. But Dimitri had required her to meet him for dinner at least once every week. Sam still didn't like him—the waitresses at their restaurants flirted with him more than she did—but he seemed to like her well enough.

The only time that Sam had felt particularly uncomfortable around him was when they had seen Jason Davies by chance one night out at dinner. Sam had hailed Davie with a smile and a wave but when he had approached, Dimitri's grip on her arm had tightened to circulation-cutting grip and whenever Davies had asked her a question, Dimitri squeezed even harder, disallowing her to speak. She had written it off as an over-protective tendency, but the bruise on her right wrist was still in the process of fading.

"Alright, Lily, time to rise, sunshine," Sam shook her shoulder. Lily's eyes fluttered open and focused on the clock by her bed. She sat up.

"Hey," Lily smiled blearily, "Lots of fun planned today, huh?"

"First day off so it had better be," Sam handed her a yellow dress that wrapped at her waist.

"Thanks," Lily said, taking the garment, "How's your wrist?" she added, hopping out of bed and into the bathroom.

"Getting better," Sam smiled, smoothing her red and white candy striped skirt.

"I still can't believe your watch did that," Lily shook her head as she brushed her hair, "why didn't you notice that it was too tight?"

"I'm still not sure myself," Sam looked down at her feet and put on her shoes. She hadn't told Lily—she hadn't told anyone—the real reason behind her bruised wrist. She knew that she would just worry and, for the first time in a while it seemed that Lily had ceased worrying about her.

"Well, where are we going today, Miss Maid-Of-Honor?" Lily smiled as she stood up.

"I was going to ask you before we left: obviously most of the guests are going to be wizards—"

"But I wanted—"

"A Muggle dress, I remember. So we should start in London, I guess."

"Excellent," Lily smiled, taking Sam's arm as they exited the door.

"You know, Lily, neither of us know much about wizard weddings," Sam commented, "It might be smart to ask the groom about any traditions we—I—should know about."

Both girls' eyes found James, who was seated at one of the wooden tables in the back of the pub, surrounded by Moony and Peter, who Sam hadn't seen in a while. The three Marauders were sharing a plate of kippers and eggs. Sirius was conspicuously absent. At first, Sam refused to ask of his whereabouts, but as they approached the three men, her curiosity got the better of her.

"Where's—"

"Oh, you weren't here last night," Lily looked at her and Sam couldn't help but feeling slightly affronted that she had known she was going to ask about Sirius. She had made a point not to talk to or about him too much…at all for that matter, "He got an owl last night that his Uncle Alphard died. Apparently he left all of his money to Sirius. He's been at Gringotts all night, sorting it all out," Lily laughed suddenly, "apparently his family's pretty miffed because, well, Sirius has everything. No one else got anything."

"Well, he's a good guy," Sam started to explain, but caught herself when she had realized what she had said. Lily was looking at her, eyebrows sky high, "Not that I would leave him anything…"

Lily shrugged, "Did Dimitri get you those?" she looked at Sam's earrings as they sat down at the Marauders' table. Sam nodded, "They're pretty."

"Thanks," Sam said, looking at Lupin's goblet of water, "Can I have some of that?" she asked of him. He looked up in surprise, but nodded through a mouthful of toast. Sam took a sip, then put it down back in front of Lupin, "Is that chocolate?" she asked, looking at the Honeydukes wrappers in front of him.

"Hey, so how's the boyfriend, Nutcracker?" James interjected.

"Fine," Sam said shortly, reaching for Lupin's water again.

"What happened to your wrist, Sam?" Peter piped. Sam turned a withering glare at her least favourite Marauder. Leave it to brain boy to notice the bruise. She took some more water and decided that if she could ignore him long enough, he wouldn't press the issue. This was Peter they were talking about for Christ's sake—

"Yeah, Sam," Remus chimed in and Sam took another careful sip, replaced the goblet.

"I put my wristwatch on too tightly."

"Oh."

"So…" James caught her eye and Sam had the feeling he didn't believe her, "Where are you two going today? Day off…"

"Wedding preparations," Sam said.

"We actually had some questions about what—"

The pub door open and a very tired-looking Sirius Black entered the pub.

"Hey," he said, his eyes finding them and sitting down.

"How are you?" Lily asked, looking at Sirius in the kindest, most consoling manner Sam had seen for a while. She wanted to say something… she should say something polite, consoling, but nothing came out of her mouth.

"Can I have some of this?" Sirius sat down next to Sam and picked up the goblet.

"Sure," she said, "It's not really mine…" He was already glugging down the water and put the goblet back on the table, empty.

"Thanks," he said, putting his arm on the back of her chair.

"So how was it?" James asked Sirius.

"Fine. Whatever. You know how the goblins are. They were the ones who sent the owl about me collecting the inheritance, they had all of my paperwork, they fingerprinted me, they did all of this…goblin magic, I don't know, I guess to verify who I was and then they wouldn't give me the money. They're bloody ridiculous," he took a breath and shook his head, "I finally got out of there a few hours ago."

"Where'd you go then?" asked Remus. Sirius put a key on the table.

"What the hell is that?" James said after a moment of non-explanation from Sirius.

"I got a flat."

"Come again?" Sam couldn't keep her mouth shut. The idea of Sirius actually moving anywhere but backwards in the great game of life was practically impossible.

"I'm moving out!" Sirius announced to James, and both men broke into laughter. James thumped Sirius on the back and Lupin shook his hand with a huge smile. Peter looked a little lost. Sam looked at Lily, who seemed to share her doubt of Sirius' ability to make it on his own.

"Congratulations!" Remus said, sitting back down.

"You just walked out of there and found a place?"

"Yeah, it's real nice, actually. There's a bedroom and a bath and a kitchen and there's a garage for the bike."

"Sounds perfect," James said, still grinning, "Hey, how are you telling my mum that you're moving out? She isn't going to take that well."

Sirius shrugged, "I know, but it had to happen sometime, right?" For no apparent reason, he turned to face Sam, who continued looking at the water goblet, "Right, Tchaikovsky?"

Sam made a noncommittal noise that utilized her vocal cords only somewhat. Sirius was unaffected and grabbed her hand gingerly.

"What happened to your wrist?"

"I put my bloody watch on too bloody tight, okay?" Sam snatched her hand away and put both of her arms under the table, away from view.

"Alright," Sirius said, putting his hands up in a show of innocence as he raised his eyebrows in confusion to her overreaction, "What are you two all dressed up for anyway?"

"We're going dress shopping," Lily told him, "Dresses for me and Sam and then Alice and I really didn't ask anyone else to be a bridesmaid so probably just us three. And then décor, flowers…anything else?" she asked of Sam.

"No, though you wanted to ask James…" Sam prompted. James' ears perked up.

"Oh yes," Lily brightened, "Are there any special wizarding wedding traditions Sam should be aware of?" James looked to Sirius and Remus then started to laugh, "What?" Lily demanded, reddening slightly.

"We aren't a different culture, Evans," Sirius said.

"Wizards, Muggles, we all do things the same way."

"But don't you wear robes to formal events?" Lily asked, looking confused.

"Well, yeah, but the girls don't," Sirius said, without any style whatsoever. Lily officially blushed.

"Oh, well, then…"

"We could come with you," James offered suddenly, "You know, make sure you stay within—"

"Sorry Potter," Sam said, standing up and squeezing behind Sirius' chair, "the Muggle tradition of not seeing the bride before the wedding day remains intact."

"What's that other bogus ritual…"Sirius looked as though he were searching his brain, "Something junky, something true, something stolen…"

"Something old, new, borrowed and blue?" Lily helped him, standing herself.

"That's the one," Sirius grinned, "like I said: junky, true, stolen...f...roo." He finished with a hopeless smile, "So do you get to wear something junky Tchaikovsky? Or are you in charge of stealing?"

"What else do Muggles do, Evans, Tchaikovsky?" Remus interrupted, looking mildly interested.

"You'll have to see," Sam said dryly, "It should be entertaining to you. It's almost as if we're a different culture," she added, turning to follow Lily, who had already begun to walk towards the door.

"Take care of her Sam," James asked. Sam nodded, then turned around.

"Hey, Tchaikovsky."

She turned back to a breakfast roll that was flying through the air at her. She reached up and caught it easily before it hit her face. She stared in disbelief at Sirius, who was looking at her oddly.

"What the hell?" she asked, tossing the bun back.

"You're right handed," he said simply, as the rest of the Marauders looked on in bewilderment. Sam would have said something smart, but it seemed to her as if he had reached a new level of stupidity, so instead she turned around and walked out.

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"Well?" Lily asked, throwing back the dressing room curtain for the eighth time that day, presenting herself yet again to Sam, who was seated in one of the store's couches, her feet tucked up under herself. To each and every wedding dress thus far, Sam's nose had undeniably wrinkled up in obvious dislike. This time was no different, "Again?" Lily demanded.

"I didn't even say anything—" Sam started to argue.

"You don't have to," Lily sighed, "What's wrong with this one?"

"Lils, you look like you're…like you're a cake," Sam said carefully, referring to the countless tiers of silk and lace confection that swirled around Lily's ankles. Sam had artfully compared her to a mermaid (to which Lily couldn't help but to take offense, having seen actual mermaids), a matron, a nun, an opera singer, an exotic dancer (admittedly, Lily had tried that on just for fun), a Bond girl, and now a cake.

"A pastry?" Lily clarified.

"I think we had better go with the Bond girl…" Sam looked over at the mountain of dresses. Lily hitched up her skirts and flounced over to flop onto the couch next to Sam. Her skirts flew everywhere as she sat, frothing over to cover both girls.

It really had been a successful day. Lily had picked out invitations for their guest list of no more than fifty people. Afterwards, they had found a small bakery that was open and willing to take on an appointment for the upcoming summer. As the ceremony would be small, it was not necessary for the cake to be huge—not to mention the frugal funds between the couple. Lily had refused to take the Potter's generous offer to pay for the wedding, saying that it was tradition for the bride's family to do so and, seeing as she was her own closest thing to a family, she would be paying. James had offered help, as had Sam, and, after an evening of crunching numbers, Lily had grudgingly agreed.

Thus, after choosing a cake with three small, square layers, covered in plain but elegant white fondant with a carrot and cream cheese interior—James' favourite—Lily and Sam had left their first two engagements feeling relatively successful. But as they sat amidst the lace and perfume of the store, the quiet sobs of happy mothers in the background as other wedding dresses were chosen, Lily could feel the mood falling quickly.

"I have one more," she said, standing up and again hoisting her skirts up to allow herself to walk. Sam laughed.

"That dress is ridiculous."

"I know," Lily said, closing the curtain again. She was able to quickly undo the fastenings and stepped out of the white monstrosity, hanging it back on its padded hanger. She reached up for the final dress and put it on quickly, "Ready?" she asked, sticking her head out and looking seriously at Sam.

"This is the one I picked out, isn't it?" Sam inquired and Lily nodded, "I see you waited until very last to try it on…"

"Oh give it a rest. Lily stepped out.

Immediately, she knew that something had changed in Sam's mind. Her nose didn't wrinkle, but her eyes widened and her mouth opened just a little.

"Lily Evans…" she trailed off, standing up and walking around Lily.

"You like it?" Lily asked hopefully. Sam stopped in front of her and took her hands.

"Come see," she pulled her over to one of the countless mirrors. Lily stepped in front of it.

The dress was shorter than the floor-length ones she had tried on before, reaching down right above her ankles, right below her knees. The silk was the faintest shade of blue, which was enhanced beautifully by her red hair, had a layer of beaded lace embroidered with tiny, dainty flowers, leaves and vines of fine silver cording. The bodice was formfitting, illustrating her fit, feminine figure, then fell outward in a moderately voluminous skirt. The top had no straps but a neckline like the top of a heart, with scalloped edges along the décolletage and the hem where the lace ended.

"It's short," was the first thing Lily could think to say.

"You're eighteen, Lils," Sam reminded her, "You're young, and this dress is young...this dress...this dress is for you Lily. It's perfect."

Lily turned her eyes to Sam, who was looking intermittenly between Lily and Lily's reflection in the mirrors. Sam met her gaze and, incredibly, smiled at her.

"Now I know it's right," Lily said with a smile. She stepped towards Sam and wrapped her into a hug which Sam returned.

"I was right!" Sam said triumphantly when they broke apart, "Lily you are so pretty."

"Thank you," Lily said quietly, still smiling but feeling something suspiciously like tears beginning in her eyes, "We have to get you a dress yet," she said, looking back at the mirror for one last look.

"I'll go talk to the salesperson," Sam said, and when Lily looked back up at her, the smile was gone again. But it had been there, and even a smile for a few seconds was better than none. Lily returned to the dressing room and removed the gown, placed it carefully back on the hanger and replaced her own clothes. She stowed the dress safely in the garment bag and then stepped back out into the main store.

"Well?" she asked as Sam returned from her conversation with the sales girl.

"You can pick it up a week before the wedding," Sam relayed, "They'll keep it stored for you until then," she said, motioning to the waiting sales girl. Lily handed her the dress.

"This is one of my favourites," the girl said with a large smile as she took the back and folded it neatly over her arm, "And you're so pretty," she added, "When is your wedding?"

"Next summer," Lily began to share with the tiny, black haired girl, but Sam put her hand on her elbow.

"Lily, I think it's time to go," she said pointedly, nodding out the window discreetly. Lily snuck a glance and saw the unmistakable flash of a Patronus.

On their day off?

There was no denying it: it was time to go, back to the Order, back to work. The fun was over.

"Thank you—" Lily quickly read the girl's nametag, "—Jane. But my friend and I are late for an engagement…"

"Lils," Sam said with a bit more urge and Lily saw another Patronus go by.

"Thank you for everything. I will be back to pick that up…later then," Lily smiled and shook Jane's hand then linked arms with Sam and headed out of the store. They looked both ways down the street to find the best place to Apparate, chose the right handed side and proceeded to the end of the sidewalk.

"Something happened," Sam said in a quiet voice, "Something bad happened. They made sure that we had this day off because all of our raids were clear and to send two patronuses…" she trailed off, and Lily could hear the worry in her voice. Lily could feel her own concern. Sam had multiple valid points and as Lily could only begin to imagine what horrors were being wrought at the current moment—she forced the thought of her parents from her mind—and she walked a bit faster.

At the end of the street, she willed herself to the Leaky Cauldron.

When she reappeared outside of the Cauldron's doors, Sam was already holding the door open. They both hurried inside. Much to Lily's dismay, the entire Order was surrounding a group of tables with very official looking pages on the table. Dumbledore was at the head of the table, looking gravely at his audience and talking in a hushed voice.

"Misses Evans and Tchaikovsky, over here, if you please," he said, spotting them, "There has been a string of attacks. We suspect that they were synchronized, at least a dozen throughout the country. They are attacks on Muggles and wizarding communities alike…it is unlike anything I have ever seen before. There have been no reported casualties as of half an hour ago, but numerous injuries. There are suspects to be questioned, scenes to be processed, memories to be rectified…" Dumbledore trailed off, looking troubled, "I will be sending you out in pairs, as per usual as I have decided that the safest way for all of you to help sort everything out. Misters Prewitt have locations for each team," Dumbledore said, and Lily and Sam stepped near each other, every other raid team did the same.

"Ah, Professor," Fabian Prewitt cleared his throat and nodded to the already-partitioned teams.

"Oh, you will not be in your raid formations," Dumbledore said, as though just remembering, "Mister Prewitt, you have those too, as well."

"Right," Fabian looked down at his list, "Jones, Longbottom, you'll be in London. That's the big one." Fabian and Giddeon continued down the list of names and, two by two, obviously in male-female pairs, each made their way out of the Cauldron and Disapparated to their given locale.

"Potter, Evans, you'll be in Northampton, lots of memory work to be done there," Giddeon announced and Lily looked up to see James striding towards her. She hadn't seen any of the Marauders when she and Sam had first entered. His face was painted with concern and he took her arm as they waited for the verdict on Sam and Sirius' partners and locales.

"Tchaikovsky, Black to Crowley, there was an old factory where the perpetrators were thought to have been seen," Fabian told the two. Sam's face was set before he finished his sentence. She obviously wasn't thrilled. Sirius had a slightly different look. He wasn't thrilled either, but he looked much more willing than Sam and Lily realized that her smiling incident may have embittered her even farther.

"Oh, but you can't Apparate," Giddeon added as Sam started for the door. Sam stopped dead and turned around, face drained of any humor.

"Come again?" she said in a whisper.

"All of the Muggle police beat us to that particular scene. Dumbledore has decided that it isn't safe to Apparate to that area," Giddeon explained, looking disconcertedly at Sam's expression.

"Then how the hell are we supposed to get there?" Sam asked. Sirius stepped directly behind her.

"I have a motorcycle," he reported to the Prewitts with an innocent expression, but it was obvious that he was enjoying this moment very much.

"That would be perfect," Fabian said.

"Excellent," Sirius said. He turned and walked out, followed by James who was in turn followed by Lily and then Sam. They reconfigured on the sidewalk.

"I suppose we'll see you both in a little while," Lily stepped next to James, who took her hand. Sam remained distinctly apart from Sirius.

"Have fun on the bike," James said with a grin, "Ever ridden before, Nutcracker?"

"As a matter of fact, I have," Sam said with an unreadable look.

"Right, see you Prongs, Evans," Sirius turned down the street and began to stalk away. Sam looked slightly flustered and turned to yell at him. Lily turned and pulled James after her.

"You wouldn't tell me where you and Sam went," James said after a moment, holding her tightly as they proceeded to the door, "When you didn't come with the first Patronus…"

He trailed off and Lily understood why he had looked sick. She cupped his face gently on the side.

"I'm not going to leave you, James Potter."

"Thanks," James said weakly with a small smile. Lily straightened his glasses and ran her hand through his hair, reveling in the way that it stood up in its ridiculously attractive way, as they made it to the end of the street.

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"Where are you going?" Sam demanded as she caught up with Sirius on the sidewalk. He turned around to face her.

"Just wait here," he gestured to a Muggle bus stop on the side of the road, "I'll bring the bike around in a minute."

"I certainly will not—" Sam began to argue, but he had already Disapparated. Sam crossed her arms but, seeing as she really didn't know to where he had disappeared, she sat down on the horrible green, plastic bench. Clouds had began to form above them and rain began to fall in slight drizzles and Sam was slightly thankful for the thin, three-section divider that surrounded the bench.

"Oh, it's you!" a voice pulled her out of her trance of watching the rain fall in a splash on the road. Due to some atrocious coincidence, Number Two, of the Angel Twins, was standing in front of her, a newspaper over his blonde hair.

"Oh, hello," Sam echoed faintly, feeling as though nothing could hate her more than the universe at this point in time.

"Mind if I sit?" Number Two asked, sitting down anyway.

"Absolutely…not…" Sam said as he took the seat, shooting a smile her way.

"I never heard from you," he said, sounding slightly put out as he folded the newspaper.

"I—I don't even know your name," Sam said, slightly embarrassed at all situations.

"Daniel," he said with another smile, "You can just call me Dan, though."

"Nice to meet you, Dan," Sam said, trying desperately to find some excuse to leave, or, even better, get Dan to leave.

"Nice to meet you—"

"Samantha," she said, "You can just call me Sam, though."

Dan beamed to hear his words given back to him, "What are you doing out here, by yourself, then? In the rain, without a coat?"

All very good questions, Sam thought, "I'm waiting for someone."

"Any relation?" Dan pressed lightly.

"Uh, co-worker," Sam said.

As if on some corny cue, Sirius pulled up to the sidewalk, on his beautiful black bike. Somehow, he had managed to grab a leather jacket and two helmets, one of which he removed and put under his arm. As he approached her, carrying a bundle, his eyes locked onto Dan. Sam could see the recognition in his eyes, as he matched a face with a name or rather, a mocking title.

"Hey, you ready?" he asked of her, tossing her a black trench coat that she caught neatly. Dan stood up and offered his hand to Sirius.

"Daniel Rane," he said, "Just wanted to keep your co-worker company while she was alone."

"Oh, she can take care of herself," said Sirius easily and Sam was shocked to realize that he actually thought that about her. She couldn't help it. She was slightly flattered.

"Yeah, I could tell." Dan said, "It was nice seeing you," he said to Sam, shaking her hand as well.

"You too," Sam said, "And I still have your number."

"She keeps it in—" Sirius began with an evil grin, but Sam's fist found his gut before he could finish, "She kept it," he amended.

"Alright, well, I'll see you around," Dan picked up his paper again and set off down the road without a look back.

"Hate to see Gabriel go," Sirius said, "But we have a job to do." He offered his arm, but revoked it, "Put on your coat, then," he said and Sam glanced at him suspiciously before unraveling the balled-up garment. Much to her surprise, it was a women's coat that fit her quite nicely when she tied the belt on the trench.

"Where did you get this?" she asked carefully.

"Don't question, accept, Tchaikovsky," Sirius handed her a helmet at he straddled the bike. Sam swung her leg over the rear of the long leather seat and fit the helmet over her head. She folded her hands stubbornly in her lap. Sirius looked back over his shoulder and laughed at her sitting so on the bike, "Sam?"

"What?" she demanded, knowing exactly what he was about to say.

"You're going to have to hold on."

It may have had to do with the force that was exerted on her as they pulled away so quickly and she needed something to hold onto, or maybe, somewhere in the back of her mind, part of her really did want to hold onto his waist but either way she wrapped her arms under his own and clasped them in front of his chest as they sped through the rain.

Sam was quite sure that they were exceeding the speed limit and it was only half an hour before they pulled off of the highway and onto the small road that led to a sign proclaiming them to have entered the town of Crowley.

It was immediately evident that the Death Eaters had rampaged through Crowley. The evidence was everywhere. Some of the doors of the residences had been blown off, roofs damaged, gardens destroyed, vehicles flipped on their hoods. As Giddeon had predicted, the Muggle coppers were running rabid through the streets, their cars stationed every few hundred yards, lights and sirens spiraling in the growing gloom.

In a very neat show of both driving skill and spacial awareness, Sirius swung the bike through an opening between buildings, the narrow crevice hiding them well. He hadn't turned off the engine before Sam had released her grip on him and lept lightly off of the bike.

"We could have Apparated. Easily," she assessed with slight bitterness.

"I enjoyed the ride," Sirius argued lightly with a grin. Sam tossed her helmet to him and he placed both next to the motorcycle.

"Of course," Sam said simply as they started back out to the main road. They stopped at the crossroads and scanned the area. On the far side of the city, Sam spotted what she supposed was the factory that the Prewitts had referenced. She felt a slight twist in her stomach as her mind fully realised what is was that she was about to do. This was a real assignment. There were very real, very capable adversaries hiding in that building, the one she was about to enter.

Although, she wasn't alone, and, to some extent, that comforted her greatly. She snuck a glance at her partner for the day, Sirius Black, who was standing with his easy confidence magnified by the black leather jacket. She felt a little safer.

"Let's go, then," Sam said, pulling up the collar on her coat as they slipped through the back streets, along the destroyed roads and closer all the while to the factory.

"So how was your morning off?" Sirius asked with great interest, putting his hands in his pockets as they fell into the shadow of one of the apartment complexes.

"Why are you being so…nice?" she demanded, realizing that this was what had been bothering her about his actions as of late. He hadn't been picking at her as readily, he had been interested and polite.

"I'm allowed to be nice," he scoffed back, "and so are you," he muttered.

"Wands out, Black," she said carefully.

"Not yet, Tchaikovsky," he countered, placating her with his hand on her arm. He nodded up towards a large swarm of policemen, only a hundred yards or so off, all communing about the ruin of the place.

They hurried onward and the rain began to come down steadily with definite, eager drops hitting her hair with every step. She moved closer to the relative safety of the building's overhang, where at least her right side could be dry. As they reached the end of the most recent alleyway, Sam saw the warehouse dead ahead.

"Wands out?"

"They sure as hell better be," Sirius said, his voice muted very suddenly, his eyes turned upwards. Sam followed his gaze.

Over the warehouse, the Dark Mark marred the sky.

"Bloody hell," Sam murmured, her eyes trained on the ugly skull and serpent winding its way through the sky. Accompanying her exclamation was an uprising of shouts as the Muggles saw the Mark as well. This was awful.

"We have to get in," Sirius said, producing his wand and starting towards the warehouse at an honest pace. Sam quickened her own feet to keep time with his longer strides. With a quick swish of his wand, Sirius unlocked the warehouse's back gate and they filed through. There was a door in front of them and they paused on the threshold, "Sam," Sirius held out his arm to stop her progress through the frame.

"What are you doing?" she demanded.

"Maybe you...you should...stay here?" he offered, looking pained. Her temper flared tremendously. So he didn't think she could keep up? That she was somehow inferior to him?

"I'll take back, you go around front," she ordered simply. Sirius started to argue, but she ducked under his arm and entered the darkened warehouse.

There really couldn't have been a better setting for their raid. Obviously an abandoned factory, the brick walls shut out most light, a small amount rained down from the roof-high, foot wide windows that spotted the walls every ten yards or so. There were, from what she could see, two floors, the lower one with a maze of hallways and support beams, the second one filled with machinery and pipes. Sam lifted her wand and stepped forward, her feet silent on the ground.

She heard a skittering noise above her, and she whirled to face the direction from which it had come, but there was nothing that she could see. Somewhere in here, Death Eaters of unknown quantities lurked. Somewhere, Sirius Black patrolled the same grounds as she.

She turned back to her original direction, choosing a slim hallway created by a throng of wide iron beams. They were painted red, she could see from her close proximity. But this hallway was clear. Another noise met her ears, this time closer, around the corner perhaps? She wished she hadn't split up with Sirius. How many times in History of Magic had a wizard been harmed by friendly casting? She didn't want to be the one responsible for Sirius' hair catching fire or his memory being blown, his body turned inside out...

She had come to the crossroads. A second hallway crossed this one, which had a dead end. Sam examined the corner of the beam and found it dry. She had figured there to be perspiration on a beam which someone had already passed. An exhaled breath, a sweaty hand placed there for support...She stepped quickly, wand first, into the second hall, rapidly turning both ways. The coast was indeed clear. The noise came again, closer still. It was most definitely human but friend or foe was the question.

Her ears were roaring with the silence, exploding with the tiniest of noises. Her mouth was dry and her eyes open wide as they tried to ascertain every ounce of light that they could. And then, her worst fear was realised as a hand touched her shoulder. She had forgotten to watch her back.

"I didn't like the idea of splitting up," said Sirius in her ear. She took a sharp intake of air as her body forced the injection of adrenaline out of her bloodstream. For some reason, her heart didn't slow down as she turned to face him.

"You bloody arse," she wrenched his hand from her shoulder.

"What did I do now?" Sirius demanded in a whisper, looking upset.

"You snuck up on me," Sam turned away, again holding her wand aloft.

"Sorry," he said in a genuine tone, and she allowed herself a furious glare over her shoulder. He looked completely serious. She didn't say anything in response, "No, really, Sam. I'm sorry," he deadpanned, metting her eyes.

"Fine, apology accepted," she whispered, "Now would you please skirt around to the other end? We can cover more area that way," she requested, folding her arms stubbornly. He stood for a moment, surveying her, then finally shrugged.

"As you wish."

He turned around and sauntered back off in the direction he had come. After ensuring that he was indeed leaving her be, she again picked up her pace and started off in the direction from which the skittering had come.

Sirius seemed to have disappeared, for once again, silence fell over the warehouse. The afternoon light was slipping from the window panes and darkness was encroaching on the dead centre of the place. Feeling an instictive want to have something solid against her back, Sam turned against the cement wall, her body hidden in shadows as she inched along the perimeter. A noise came from above her on the second level, and her head snapped up to view the mesh metal platform that hung above her. Her only view was of the perimeter and a few feet within. Everything else was blocked.

The end of her wall came and, looking carefully about each edge, she stepped into the opening.

At once, it seemed as if she was surrounded.

"Crucio!" was the first word she heard from her enemy. Somehow, the jerky arch of her back allowed the curse to whip by her.

"Stupefy!" she shouted, and she heard the oomph from her foe as her stunning spell made contact. Somewhere from inside the building-she couldn't tell where, she heard her name shouted.

"Crucio!" another voice from the other side tried again, but she threw up her shield in time. The curse bounced off and volleyed back to its conjurer. A masculine cry of pain rose to the ceiling as his own curse wreaked havoc on his body. Sam jumped back into the shadows, her wand trained on the man. The other Death Eater was thoroughly stunned.

Jerkily, the man straightened himself, and the dying sun glinted off of the metallic mask that shielded his face. He pointed his wand at her.

"Avada Kedavra."

Sam's arm was frozen at her side. She was unable to lift her wand and defend herself from this man...

He crumpled and the cold glint of his mask faded as his face hit the cement. Sirius stood behind him, wand raised, eyes fierce.

"My God," Sam murmured, looking at the figure on the ground.

"Are you alright?" Sirius demanded, stepping over the Death Eater.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm alright," Sam said, looking up at him. The fire in his eyes seemed to have diminished somewhat and she tore her own eyes away.

"I reckon those were the only two then," Sirius pocketed his wand and returned to the dead man. He pulled off the mask.

"Who is it?" Sam managed, unable to look at the man that had nearly killed her, who Sirius had killed.

"Dunno," he said, "No one on the Prewitt's list anyway."

"What about her-" Sam turned, but with a horrible shot of shock, she saw that the female Death Eater had disappeared. She whipped her wand back out. Sirius, noticing her sudden halt of speaking, looked over at the lack of suspect. He slowly pulled his wand out as well. Sam, facing one way, felt Sirius' body suddenly very close to hers. Checking over her shoulder, she saw he was standing back-to-back with her, "What are you doing?" she asked, before desperately lighting the end of her wand in an attempt to see about the place.

"Making sure your back is covered," he said, his voice tense.

"Why didn't she curse us if the stun was undone?" Sam demanded, leaning towards the dark.

"Of course..." Sirius muttered mysteriously, stowing his wand again, "C'mon," he said more loudly, "She's gone." He began moving towards the exit.

"But how do you know?" Sam demanded, tripping blindly over some pipe that was lying on the floor, "Bloody Hell," she grumbled as she hit her shin on yet another protrusion from the floor, "How can you see?" she asked bitterly. Sirius' hand found her wrist and he deftly guided her towards the door. When he pushed it open, a small corridor of sunset fell into the warehouse.

"There we are," he said with a smile, holding the door open for her.

"Thank you," she said resentfully, stepping carefully towards the outside. She heard a tiny crunch as her left foot made contact with the floor. Looking over her shoulder, she examined the sole of her shoe. She had stepped on a grasshopper.

"I wonder how much paperwork I'm going to have to fill out for that one," Sirius said. Sam looked up at him. He was smiling at her. She had smiled once today already, thus her streak was broken. She couldn't officially start another streak until tomorrow, so what was one more?

She smiled back and he laughed, putting his arm around her shoulders and squeezing lightly before letting go.

"What?" she asked.

"I'm just glad you're okay."

"Thanks to you," she said quietly. He looked sideways at her.

"Next time, we sure as hell aren't 'splitting up.'"