"This can't be," Narcissa exclaimed, pacing the length of dining room. "This isn't supposed to happen!"

Sirius and Lupin sat by the door, huddled over the emergency Prophet her niece had delivered them. Nymphadora herself was hovering nearby, awkward and confident at once. Mad-Eye Moody stood beside her in stoic silence and Andy and Molly were talking quietly in one corner of the room.

When she had read the news of the escape, she had considered whether she was actually just caught in a horrible nightmare. Eleven Death Eaters had escaped from Azkaban, a prison that was supposed to be the securest prison on earth. Among them were her sister, wicked and equipped with a dead, cold heart, and her husband. Ex-husband. Lucius. Almost two months had gone by since she had divorced him and taken back her maiden name, since the love of her life had been sentenced to Azkaban because of her decision to pick her son over his father. She didn't regret that decision and never would but the thought of Lucius in Azkaban, in that horrible place, still tore at her heart. They had been husband and wife for sixteen years, lovers for an additional three. She had just been a girl when they fell in love. He was her first love, the only man she had ever felt these feelings for. He had gifted her with three incredible sons. He had stood by her side when Bella was arrested and sentenced. He had comforted her when Draco's illness got worse and he had held her when the Ministry decided to stop searching for her twin boys. He had been her rock so often, the only constant in her life. Every time misfortune came for her, he was there for her and later for Draco too.

"It says here they think I helped them," Sirius said with a snort. "The only time I'd help Bella is if she was trying to die."

She glared at her cousin. Bella was her sister, no matter how wicked she was. She didn't want her eldest sister dead, just locked away somewhere she couldn't hurt anyone- especially her sons. Though if she had to choose between her son, any one of them, and Bella- no. She wouldn't have to choose. There won't be any need, ever. And if there was…well, she knew who she would choose. Nothing would ever come between her and her boys again.

"I think you'll have to fight a few people for that honour, Padfoot."

"Nah, we can just team up. The Longbottoms' boy- whatsit- can be my right-hand man."

Andy shook her head. "His name is Neville."

"Neville, right. He was a cute baby. Not as cute as me and Harry, though."

"Sirius," she said exasperatedly. "Could we please concentrate? The Longbottom boy is of no relevance right now."

"Well, he actually is," Andy disagreed. "Whatever decision we make in regards to your boys now, Nate will insist on keeping Neville close."

"Why?"

Her sister shook her head, a faint look of disappointment coming across her face. "Haven't you managed to get that boy to open up the least? Nate and Neville are as close as brothers. They've been best friends since the beginning. If you haven't noticed yet, Nathan will do anything for his family. You could throw Neville in a pit of dragons and your son would dive in straight after him."

"It's the same with Harry, Ron and Hermione," Molly added.

"Well, Harry would jump into a dragon pit for just about anyone," Lupin said. "Hermione calls it his 'saving people thing'."

"Plus, from what I've been hearing, they both made friends with Ginny and some girl called Luna Lovegood," Nymphadora said.

She closed her eyes and massaged her temple. If she pulled her sons out of school now, at least the twins would insist on either staying or taking all of their friends with them into hiding. There was no way she could bear the responsibility for an additional three or so children, not during a time of war when no one's survival was for certain. If she let them stay in school, she might as well be serving them to Bellatrix on a silver platter. Unless…

She looked around the room and took a deep breath, hardly believing the words that were about to leave her mouth. "We need to get Dumbledore back."

For the first time, Harry could see why his brother and Neville often referred to themselves being as close as brothers. He hadn't seen them together a lot and when he did, they seemed no closer than he and Ron- Harry did like to think of Ron as his brother but they never referred to each other as such. Now, however, it was clear to see, even for him. Neville had the newspaper clutched in his hands, his eyes fixed on the picture of the woman and Nathan simply stood beside him, one arm wrapped around his shoulders, silently engulfing Neville in a one-sided hug. They were solemn and serious and for some reason, Harry knew exactly what they were thinking about- Neville's parents, who had been tortured into insanity by Bellatrix Lestrange. He knew Nathan had been adopted around the time the Longbottoms were tortured and that neither he nor Neville could remember a time they weren't cooped up in St. Mungo's but in that moment, they were mourning the way Harry sometimes did.

"Who is that woman, Neville?" Hermione asked after a while, her voice soft.

Neville stayed silent. He nodded once and Nathan looked at them. "That's Bellatrix Lestrange. She- shortly after Harry defeated You-Know-Who, Lestrange wanted to find him. For some reason, she thought Neville's parents would know where he was. It doesn't make any sense. They'd been in hiding for a while, like the Potters, and they hadn't heard about what happened in Godric's Hollow until everyone else did."

"Godric's Hollow?" Harry interrupted.

"Yeah. My grandmother told me that that's where you and your parents lived. It's where you defeated him. Anyway, Lestrange, her husband, her brother-in-law and- and my cousin, Barty Crouch Junior, found them in their hideaway. Aunt Alice hid Neville in a cupboard and put a silencing spell on him. She didn't want him to be found. The Lestranges and Barty- they did unspeakable things to Aunt Alice and Uncle Frank. They tortured them. They tried to get information out of them. No one knows how long, hours probably."

"They didn't break," Neville said suddenly, his chest swelling with pride. "They didn't say a single word. I'm quite proud to be their son."

"I'm sure they'd be proud to have you for a son, too," Hermione said and they all nodded their agreement, even Draco who looked as though he was trying to suppress a snort.

"We'll make them proud, Neville," Harry said. "I promise."

Neville smiled at him, a small smile that didn't reach his eyes but Harry figured I was better than nothing. Nathan grabbed the paper out of his cousin's hand and opened it fully to read the article.

"They think your godfather helped them, Harry."

Ron snorted. "I bet Sirius likes that."

"They don't think it," Draco disagreed, ignoring Ron. "Fudge is a fool. He probably has no idea what happened."

Hermione nodded, taking the paper and spreading it out on the table. Harry grimaced as Malfoy's face stared up at him, solemn and silent where Lestrange's was wild and loud. "I agree. We all know who did this."

"Voldemort."

"Don't say his name!"

"Don't mind the name," Hermione said. "We've got more important matters. Besides, fear of a name only increases fear of the thing itself."

"Maybe you haven't noticed, Granger, but only fools don't fear the Dark Lord."

"That doesn't mean you have to make him appear god-like by avoiding his name-"

"Hermione," Harry said quietly. "Please."

"Fine. But this isn't over."

"Okay, let's concentrate for just a second," Nathan said as he fell into the chair beside Hermione. "What do we do?"

"What do you mean?" Draco asked. "We do nothing. Our situation hasn't changed."

"Yes, it has," Nathan said. "Eleven Death Eaters have escaped Azkaban. Who do you think they'll come after first? I don't know about you but I'll be there when they try to kill Harry. Everything has changed."

Harry perked up- his brother was right. They would come after him sooner or later. Nathan couldn't be there when that happened. None of his friends could be. He couldn't be at Hogwarts when that happened.

"I have to go," he said quietly. "I can't stay at Hogwarts."

"You're not making any sense, Harry," Hermione said.

"Yeah, mate. Why would you leave?"

"Because I'm a danger to all of you," said Harry. "If they come after me while I'm around you, they'll kill you too."

"You mean they'll try to kill us. Who says they'll be successful?"

"Common sense says so," Draco said. "They're fully trained wizards and witches. Some are powerful too. We, however, are a group of teenaged wizards who haven't finished their education yet. We haven't even sat our O.W.L.s. How could we possibly fight them?"

"It's not like it'd be the first time."

"Nathan's right. We've fought dark wizards before."

"Yes, and we've survived because we got lucky," he said. "Not because we're more powerful. Don't you understand? There's no chance I'll survive this war. Voldemort's been after me since I was a baby. I don't want you to die for me."

They all looked at him in silence but Harry refused to stand down. He had to make them understand. It was the only way they could survive. He was lost but they didn't have to be. They could live and do great things. Eventually, they'd get over his death and move on with their lives. He knew they would. He only had to make them see.

"Harry, I don't think you understand," said Hermione. "We're in this together."

"Hermione-"

"No, Harry. Listen to me. We're not letting you fight this war alone. It's about all of us. We don't need you to save us, alright? We can all survive and that includes you."

"We'll kick their Death Eater butts, eh, mate?"

Nathan shook his head, grinning ever so slightly. "The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him but because he loves what is behind him. Although I reckon we can make an exception with this one."

"Guys…"

"Potter, shut up for once, will you? Mother would never get over it if you died. She only just found you. If you don't think you'll survive, you won't, so start believing you will."

"Wow, Malfoy, I'd never taken you for one to believe in faith."

"I don't," Draco snarled. "But people who don't think they'll survive are more reckless and you Gryffindors are too reckless as it is. To get back to Longbottom's question, do any of you geniuses a different idea?"

"Yes," Neville said, strangely determined. "We prepare to fight."

"Fight? You?"

"Don't talk to my cousin like that," said Nathan. "Besides, this is the perfect time to start that study group of yours."

Hermione nodded. "Yes. Good idea, Nathan. But, I think, we should try to get as many people as possible because- don't interrupt me, Malfoy- because now, we have to seriously prepare for the war and we can't survive by ourselves."

Harry listened half-heartedly as his best friend and his brother bickered back and forth on the advantages and disadvantages of a large group. He didn't see the point of it. Of course, it made sense to train a lot of people to prepare them for the war but every person they recruited was one more person's blood that would be on his hands. They would fight his war, the war between him and Voldemort that started when he was only three months old and continued ten years later. He didn't want them to die for him, none of them. Too many people had already lost their lived. His mum, his dad, Cedric. His dad had tried to stop Voldemort to give his mum time to escape with him and she had begged for him to spared in exchange for his own life. Take Harry and go! Go! Run! I'll hold him off! Not Harry! Please!

In the end, they came to an agreement. They would spread the word and allow people to join them, however many there were, but they wouldn't go around trying to persuade them to join. Hermione and Draco both seemed less than happy with this agreement but Harry was just glad they had reached one. As they got up, just before curfew, to return to their common rooms, Harry swore to himself that none of them would die. His friends and his family would survive. The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him but because he loves what is behind him. The war was coming and Harry was one of its soldiers. He would fight and he'd do it for them.

He stumbled through the woods, the sound of snapping twigs and wicked laughter ringing in his years. He didn't know how much time had passed, nor where he was, but he knew who was behind him, chasing him with almost childlike glee.

"Oh, Luci!" She screamed, her voice rough from all the screaming she'd done both in Azkaban and since they'd escaped. "Come out, come out, wherever you are!"

He didn't know what had happened. One second, he was lying in his tiny dirty cell, curled into a ball in the far corner. The sounds of Bellatrix screaming her head off had faded into nothingness, long since a sound his brain had learned to shut off, and had only vaguely registered the momentary quiet when a gust of wind, so unfamiliar on his skin, had blown past him and the support behind his back gave way. The wall behind him had collapsed, reduced to debris and rocks tumbling into the sea. All around him, other inmates were screaming in joy and then they were off, all at once, ridden by the desire to taste that sweet freedom. A wall of water had greeted them, so cold he feared his limbs would freeze and pull him under, but the sting of the cold had been sweet in its own way. The pain brought sensation back into his bones and pumped his body with adrenaline.

Now, he was running through the woods as fast as he could. He couldn't tell how long he'd been running. Long enough for the sun to disappear at the horizon and for the moon to take its place. It was a chilly night. He didn't know which month it was, nor how long it had been since he was thrown into his cell, but it was autumn for sure. The leaves were scarcely green anymore and plenty of them had already fallen off their twigs. Normally, Lucius quite enjoyed autumn but now, the conditions of the season were making his escape harder than he would've liked and his search for the end of the anti-apparition wards far more difficult than it needed to be. Branches and roots tripped him every other step and leaves kept blowing into his face with an annoying accuracy, accented by the cold wind which not only made his face grow numb but also had him shivering in his wet clothes. He could feel his throat start to pain, along with the burn that had long ago settled into his legs and feet. His chest felt constrained and his breaths came hard and fast. Yet, he couldn't hear Bellatrix panting behind him. He didn't know how but his sister-in-law had taken to Azkaban astonishingly well. The malnourishment hardly seemed to faze her. Even though she was starved to the bone, she had the energy of a much younger, much healthier woman. Or maybe she had simply grown so accustomed to being hungry and tired that she had just learned to blend it out. Either way, he knew, with dreadful certainty, that she was advancing on him quickly, her footsteps not slowing down the least whilst his couldn't keep pace.

"Lucius," she shouted in a sing-song voice. "Nearly got you!"

He turned his head, trying to catch a glimpse of her, but couldn't see her- he hoped she was farther back than he'd thought but her hair was black as the night and her frame thin enough to disappear behind the thick trees. He whipped his head back around. His nose erupted in staggering pain. He stumbled backward, away from the tree, and fell to the ground. Gathering his last strength, he dove behind a nearby bush, one hand clutching at his broken nose pitifully. He held his breath as the footsteps drew closer.

The part of the conversation at Hogwarts where Neville goes "I'm quite proud to be their son" doesn't belong to me. Nathan's quote "The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him." was said by G.K. Chesterson.

This chapter wasn't beta-read so all mistakes belong to me. Feel free to point them out. By the way, sorry that I neglected Lucius so much. I had actually meant to post a chapter in which Narcissa visits him in Azkaban. Somehow, the scene never made it into the actual chapter though. It never felt like it really belonged. Sorry for that. I'm hoping the story will let me include more of Lucius from now on.