A/N: This chapter is dedicated to my new and fabulous reader, Lizaluvsdoggies, who has reviewed, among other stories, this one, and seems to really enjoy my work! Thank you Lizaluvsdoggies. Your reviews are appreciated!

-J

January, 1979

Olivia wasn't sure when they put Caradoc back in the cellar with her, but he was beside her when she woke up. He was bloody and bruised, but better than she would have expected.

"You're awake," he said hoarsely.

He'd been yelling, she supposed. In pain.

"Yes," she whispered, slightly ashamed that she hadn't been tortured as he had.

But then, she would have been tortured in a different way.

"I don't know why they stopped," he groaned. "I didn't tell them what they wanted. I thought they were going to kill me, or hurt you. They've not hurt you, have they? Sirius would kill me himself."

"He wouldn't," Olivia said, although she knew he'd want to. But if he himself couldn't keep Olivia from being hurt and captured he couldn't expect any better from Caradoc, and she would remind him of that.

If they made it out alive.

"Whatever you say, princess," Caradoc sighed. "I did promise, though. I feel terrible. Why did Dumbledore even put you on this mission?"

"I don't know," Olivia sighed. "I guess I've got to do missions sometime."

"Yes, but this one?" Caradoc groaned. "I mean, no offense, but you always get captured.

"Not always!" Olivia insisted indignantly.

"Really?" Caradoc snorted. "Name one time you weren't captured on an Order mission."

Olivia pursed her lips, thinking.

There had to be a time, just one time, when she'd done what she was supposed to do, finished the mission, and wasn't captured. There had to be. He couldn't be right. She couldn't be that big of a liability.

But there wasn't one.

"All right, fine, you win," she snapped. "Small victory, though. We're still locked in a cellar in a Death Eater's home."

"Yeah," Caradoc said slowly. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be," she sighed. "I shouldn't have said that. That was me being bitter about you being right. You shouldn't have just taken it. Sirius would have-"

"Sirius would have told you that you were right and begged your forgiveness," said the voice of Regulus Black, moving toward them in the darkness. He must have come into the cellar when they were talking. She hadn't thought he'd been so stealthy when they were young.

"Regulus," she said softly. "What are you doing here?"

Could he really have arranged it so soon? Were they really getting out, going home? She wanted to hold Sirius so badly that she didn't care if she was being silly and optimistic. She just wanted to be out of there before Yaxley had a chance to get what he wanted.

"I've been sent to see to Dearborn's injuries," Regulus said softly. "I apologize, I'm no Healer, but they want you relatively close to normal before starting in again tomorrow."

"I'll bet they do," Caradoc grumbled bitterly.

Regulus lit is wand and settled in front of Caradoc, slowly looking over his injuries.

"Anything internal?" Regulus asked.

"I don't know," Caradoc shrugged. "They broke a few of my fingers. I guess that counts as internal. But as far as organs, as far as I know they're all doing fine. I haven't bled to death on the inside, if that counts for anything."

"I suppose it does," Regulus muttered. "Olivia, tell me, how's Sirius been sleeping?"

"Pretty well," Olivia said slowly. "Better than when we were in school."

In school he'd had nightmares of his mother hurting him, hurting her.

Regulus nodded, waving his wand to set Caradoc's fingers straight again. Caradoc sighed with relief, flexing his fingers as Regulus pulled out a salve and began on the bruises.

"What about money? You're still all right with what Alphard left him?"

Olivia snorted.

"Regulus, you know I'm going to be the richest witch in the wizarding world when my father passes, right?"

"If you live that long," he said darkly, and she knew he was probably right. She would probably die before her father did, but she wasn't having that conversation in front of Caradoc.

"We're all set for gold, though," she sighed. "Thanks for asking."

"And the house?" he pressed, obviously trying to buy time for something. Could he really be getting them out so early, or was he just looking for something to occupy his mind while he rubbed salve on Caradoc's hurts?

The bruises were beginning to fade and he took out a paste for the cuts, some of which would certainly scar, Olivia knew, from how deep they'd gone. She didn't know what that paste was called, but Madam Pomfrey had used it on her a time or two and it hadn't taken care of the deepest cuts as well. She could recognize that smell anywhere.

"The house is fine," she said, almost impatiently. "We've got a leaky sink Sirius keeps promising to sort, but I swear, if I ever get out of this place it's the first thing I'm going to take care of and fuck all his promises."

"I doubt he'll let you take care of the sink first," Regulus and Caradoc intoned in unison, both rather wryly. Then they looked at each other with expressions that clearly stated that neither of them was particularly pleased with their Prewett-like unison. Olivia rolled her eyes.

Once all of the wounds were dealt with, Regulus turned to Olivia, his eyes dark. She could hardly notice in the dim light, but she'd seen Sirius's eyes darken enough in all levels of light and lack thereof, and they looked almost the same.

"I won't unchain you," he said. "That would be too obvious, and I'm not ready for such a clear break yet. But the door won't be latched. They'll find you."

"Who?" Caradoc said, suddenly interested in what Regulus Black had to say.

But there was no answer, and Sirius's brother left them alone in cold, lonely darkness once more.

/-/

Nobody knew where the information had come from or how it had gotten to them, but Remus and Sirius had both insisted that it wasn't worth risking Olivia's life and safety by not acting on it, and they had both been surprised when Albus Dumbledore agreed with them.

Remus watched an anxious Sirius shifting the grip on his wand as they stood around the gates of Malfoy Manor, all surely reviewing Mad-Eye Moody's attack plan in their heads to reassure themselves that they would get Olivia out of there safely.

And Caradoc. He couldn't forget Caradoc.

How did she always get herself into these situations? He loved her for it, but at the same time he couldn't help but be aggravated that she hadn't figured out how to keep herself safe.

He knew it wasn't fair. He knew that there was no way she'd ever stop being hunted down, no matter what. There was no way for her to be completely safe unless she went into hiding, and she was too powerful a witch to keep locked away in a safe house somewhere.

Until she got pregnant, Remus reminded himself. Then it would be too much of a risk to do anything but lock her away somewhere safe.

Best not to think about that.

All he could hope was that it wasn't already too late, that Caradoc wasn't dead, that Olivia hadn't been impregnated. Remus had asked Albus, and there were Dark spells that could ensure a pregnancy, but none that could speed it so much that she would have already given birth.

Small consolation that would be if she was pregnant with Yaxley's child. Sirius would lose it.

Remus would lose it.

The Order would be short three fit for active duty incredibly quick because she'd be locked away and Sirius and Remus would be too furious to think straight.

But that wasn't going to happen, he reminded himself as Fabian carefully began stripping away layers of protection on the gates, concentrating with beads of sweat pouring down his face so that he didn't miss something and trigger some sort of alarm.

"Damn it," Sirius hissed. "James, do something about that bloody peacock!"

Remus blinked.

Sure enough, an albino peacock was coming their way up the walkway, looking ready to pick a fight. Thankfully, it hadn't called for its master yet, but it was only a matter of time.

James waved his wand and Remus's stomach sank as he recognized the curse and the effects on the peacock: the Imperius Curse.

Yes, it was unforgivable, whatever that meant, but in wartime many things became necessary. It wasn't a human, and they would probably save lives by that one little curse.

So why did Remus feel so guilty?

It was probably because he knew he would have done something else, and likely as not Olivia would have teased him for it later. She never hesitated to use the riskier curses, much like Sirius. He'd even seen them use Dark magic in duels. Nothing too scary but... Dark.

The peacock had gone away somewhere else in the yard, and Remus finally released the breath he hadn't realized he was holding when Fabian nodded, lowering his wand and wiping his brow.

"We're set," he sighed. "Let's go."

Gideon carefully used his wand to unlatch the gate and push it open enough to let the six men in.

Six.

It was too few, Remus had said when they'd put together the force, but nobody else had been available.

And so it would have to be enough.

Their informant, whoever that was, had told them that there would be three Death Eaters only in the Manor. Narcissa would not involve herself.

Sirius hadn't been surprised at all by that, which was their first idea that the source might be credible.

Three Death Eaters, six Order members... And once they freed Olivia and (hopefully) Caradoc there could be no hoping what condition the pair might be in. Maybe they would be able to fight. Maybe they would need to be evacuated immediately. In the worst case, Remus could picture them having to fight three to four. Depending on the Death Eaters, that could be a grave disadvantage.

Bellatrix, for example, could easily match Sirius, who was usually worth two, and then what?

They were nearing the front doors.

The house was too big to circle, and according to the plans the source had drawn up (which Sirius said matched his memory of the place from childhood), the cellar they were being kept in would be more easily accessible by the front entrance, anyway.

They wouldn't just be let in by the front door, though. They would have to find a way to force their way in as stealthily as possible.

This was Gideon's territory, of course. He could pick locks with magical or Muggle means, whatever the job required, and he did it with such skill and grace that he could almost always get by without being noticed at all. Remus would have been disconcerted if he were Gideon's enemy, but Gideon had laughed when he'd said this once and said that the only enemies the Prewetts wore dark cloaks and put Dark Marks in the sky after they killed innocent people.

Remus had nothing to fear, he'd said.

But Remus hadn't feared, not really. It was just that there was a spy, and why he didn't think it was Gideon or Fabian, he couldn't rule them out entirely.

"Got it," Gideon breathed. Remus hadn't heard the click, but he'd not really been paying attention.

But he was paying attention when Mad-Eye carefully pushed the door open, all their wands at the ready, just hoping against hope that Lucius Malfoy and whoever else was with him weren't waiting for them on the other side of that door.

The entryway was empty, but Remus knew they couldn't let their guard down, going into the building. They weren't likely to be able to just waltz in, get their people back, and get out without meeting a Death Eater in combat.

/-/

Sirius's hands were shaking as they made it through the entryway. Something was wrong. This was going too easily.

"If we come across trouble before we get to the cellar," Mad-Eye had told them when they'd been organizing the mission, "Remus and Sirius keep moving to the cellar and only fight if absolutely necessary. Fighting won't come to any good if we don't get Olivia and Caradoc out of there."

He knew that Sirius would feel torn between the fight and Olivia, and Sirius wasn't sure which he would pick, but this... This was eerie and unsettling.

They'd almost made it to the cellar when Sirius heard the creaking of floorboards above them, moving toward the stairs. From the faces of the others, they'd heard it too.

"Sirius, Remus, go!" Mad-Eye ordered, pulling out his wand.

Reluctantly, Sirius and Remus took off down into the cellar, to find that Olivia and Caradoc were working on unchaining each other.

"What?" Sirius said, confused. "What's going on?"

"We'll explain later," Olivia huffed. "Give us a hand, love. Yaxley's good for something, it seems."

Sirius rushed across the dark cellar and released them from their chains with the help of the light from Remus's wand.

"Livia!" Caradoc said, surprised. "I think he put our wands in my pocket when he was doing the bruises!"

"Bless him," Olivia sighed. "Right, let's get out of here."

Sirius could hear the fighting above them and he and Olivia exchanged nervous looks.

"How many people do you need to get you two out of here?" Remus asked. "One or two?"

"None, but I want Sirius with me," Olivia said. "They healed Caradoc a while ago so he'd be fresh for the morning... So we can Disapparate ourselves."

Sirius felt a flush of pride at her saying that she wanted him to go with her, and for a moment he almost forgot all about the fight upstairs. Then there was a sound of something collapsing and a small explosion and he looked toward the door.

"You want to stay," she said softly.

Of course he wanted to stay, but then she touched his hand and he felt that familiar electricity and he wanted nothing more than to go home and hold her for the rest of the week, to forget all about her ever not being with him.

Sirius laced his fingers in Olivia's and squeezed her hand gently.

"Maybe," he whispered, kissing her cheek softly, "but I want to spend some time with you more."

He couldn't really see in the dim light, but he got the sense that she smiled at that, and Remus had to go and spoil the warm, fuzzy feeling in Sirius's chest by bringing reality back into it.

"We're going to have to get you back to the top of the stairs, anyway, so you can Disapparate safely. I don't know where the restrictions on this room end, but I'd say that's a safe bet."

Olivia nodded, and clung to Sirius, taking Caradoc's hand in hers.

"Where are we going?" she whispered.

"Headquarters," Sirius murmured back, and she nodded.

They followed Remus out of the cellar and up the stairs as quickly as they could, and in the moment that they reached the top, Sirius could see the skirmish laid out before them.

Lucius Malfoy was there, of course, with Yaxley and Regulus. Apparently they'd sent word of the attack, though, because Sirius could see new arrivals coming in from the entryway. He could see his cousin, Bellatrix, and her husband and his brother, but that wasn't what made his blood run cold.

Sirius could see Voldemort, and their eyes locked and Sirius saw him raise his wand at Olivia.

He barely had a moment to register what was happening when Olivia turned on her heel and Disapparated the three of them away to headquarters while Remus joined the fight.

They'd landed in the front of the house they were using and Sirius managed to drag the three of them inside, noticing that Caradoc was splinched, and that Olivia was walking tenderly on her left leg, but mostly wanting to get them out of the open air.

"They're going to be okay," she muttered, more to herself than anyone around her, and Sirius was thrilled when Lily took Caradoc, ready to heal his chin, which was bleeding from the splinching, and Sirius led Olivia to a nearby sofa, where he pulled her onto his lap and was carefully slicing away the leg of her pants with a spell, trying very hard not to hurt her in the process.

"You're right," he assured her. "They're going to be fine. What's wrong with your leg, my love? Can you tell me where it hurts?"

"It's my ankle," she sighed, sucking in breath through her teeth sharply when Sirius poked it experimentally. "Twisted it wrong when I went to Disapparate. Just a tip, don't ever Disapparate when you're scared out of your mind."

"If you hadn't, you'd be dead," he said gently, fighting back tears at the thought.

She wasn't going to die. She wasn't allowed to die, not without him.

"No, I wouldn't," she muttered. "But you would be, and Caradoc I expect."

She gritted her teeth as Lily came over and poked her ankle with her wand diagnostically.

"They're not going to die," Olivia kept repeating to herself as Lily healed her ankle. "They're going to be fine. Nobody's going to die."

"That's right," Sirius whispered, stroking her hand as she squeezed it, probably more from fear than pain as Lily said her ankle was good as new.

There was the crack of Apparition outside, and Lily rushed to check.

All of the rescue team had made it back, although Remus and Mad-Eye were sporting what would become a few more scars and one of the Prewett twins had a large gash over his left eye that was bleeding heavily, but they were all alive.

"They were so shocked when Olivia and Caradoc disappeared right in front of them that they started worrying more about dodging Voldemort's wrath than trying to kill us," Remus said, swatting away Lily, who was trying to get a better look at the cuts on his arm that looked pretty bad. "Go deal with Gideon, Lily. He's bleeding all over the floor. Anyway, we were able to get away pretty quickly after that, which seemed too easy, but Mad-Eye pointed out that they don't even know where to follow us to, so we're safe." He smiled down at Olivia. "You're safe."

Olivia reached up and took Remus hand in her free hand and brought it to her lips.

"You're alive," she sobbed. "You're all alive."

After a brief moment where Sirius could feel jealousy building in his chest against his better judgment she whispered, "Take me home, Sirius. I can come in to report tomorrow, but I want to go home."

And he happily obliged, scooping her up in his arms and Apparating them both home.