"What the bloody hell does that mean?"

Marina winced outside her father's study. He was talking with his boss through the floo.

Apparently, the political end of the Order's efforts wasn't going so well.

Jupiter, Amelia and the entire Auror Department had been rallying supporters to get Fudge booted from office for over a month now.

Unfortunately, the Minister was doing much the same. Thanks to 'official comment', the wizarding world was now being convinced that she had had a mental breakdown and Harry was simply lying to keep his fame and get attention.

Anything to avoid facing the truth.

Meanwhile, the Order was trying to ensure Voldemort wouldn't get his old supporters back; that was why Hagrid – and presumably Madame Maxime – were traipsing through the mountainside, looking for giants.

The Notts had joined the Order, all except Tyler, as had the Weasleys.

Marina took it as a very bad sign of the general situation that Molly had not even tried to protest Fred and George joining.

Ron had been a different story. At fifteen, he was still a minor. All of Harry's friends were.

So the parents had collectively decided not to let them join. Even her Dad.

But the compromise was that they wouldn't keep them out of the loop, members or not.

Harry's birthday last week had been decidedly more sedate than last year, but he'd still celebrated with his whole lot of friends from all houses.

Now they were running out of time, in more ways than one.

Fudge was still in office, fighting the Order with everything he had. The fool had even threatened to fire Scrimgeour. She really would have loved a ring seat for that.

People were in the dark, everywhere, and entirely unprepared for the day when Voldemort decided to make his big move.

And to make matters even worse, some of the Order's allies had spotted Bellatrix and Crouch approaching an old follower of their master: Fenrir Greyback.

The very monster that had bitten Remus when he'd still been all of five years old.

A beast that was, unfortunately, loyal to Voldemort.

There was no way of talking the wolves out of following him. The world shunned them for being cursed and he offered them freedom to indulge their monstrous instincts.

Same thing with the dementors. They hadn't left their posts at Azkaban yet, but it was only a matter of time.

Marina looked out the window, making out the vague profiles of Harry, Ron, Draco, Theo, Daphne and Ginny practicing Quidditch. The other girls, she knew, were sitting at the edges, watching. So were Neville and Anthony.

Everyone had stuck together this summer. Each house was always crammed with visitors, fear of being ambushed driving them all a bit crazy.

She sighed.

While her friends had spent the past weeks trying not to lose their minds over what might happen, Marina had been made to see Teresa almost daily. But she highly suspected that this one, Teresa couldn't fix.

She couldn't sleep without potion. And Mad-Eye had, understandably, neglected to teach them all that the Cruciatus lasted a lot longer than the actual casting of the curse. She still got muscle tremors and phantom pain – mostly at inconvenient times.

It would pass eventually, though no one could tell her when. And she wasn't the only one wrestling with her demons.

Elvira was, simply put, a mess.

She blamed herself for what had happened, despite repeated reassurances that it hadn't been her fault. They would have found a way to get to Harry with or without her, and there had certainly been enough wizards to succumb to much weaker Imperiuses.

But she spent most nights wide awake, never letting go of her wand, for fear of being enslaved again. The Imperius had done one hell of a number on her – and she cursed her father for his choices every day, since that was what put her on the Death Eaters' list.

The war hadn't even started and everything was going to hell.

"It means-," Scrimgeour replied in her Dad's study, "-we're a vote short. Without majority, we can't relieve Cornelius of office."

And then there was that.

"He is going to get people killed and they are sitting around and letting him!"

"Pallas is still talking to some members…"

Elias' father had been the first to join them in trying to have Fudge replaced. He and his wife had joined the Order too. His vote on the Wizengamot would be needed.

She sighed again.

If anyone was supposed to eat tonight, she'd better start dinner.

Marina was just about done with the meatloaf – her Dad's favourite – when David arrived.

She put down the cutlery she'd been about to place so he wouldn't notice her trembling hands.

Once the entourage had left the infirmary after the third task, David had stayed behind.

She had seldom felt that much anger. His wand, safely in his robe, had shot sparks through the cloth, reacting to the rage he'd been trying to suppress.

Then he'd promised to personally go after Bellatrix.

It had been one hell of an argument to talk him out of that – some of Madame Pomfrey's vases had even exploded.

Still, she wouldn't let him commit suicide. Now that Bellatrix had her master back, she wouldn't soon leave his side.

So instead, David hadn't left her side for more than his shifts and when her father or Remus was with her.

Marina had refused to let him see her memories and made Harry promise he wouldn't let David take his either. Witnessing Frank and Alice' torture had been trauma enough. He really didn't need to see something similar happening to her – or anyone else really.

He wound his arms around her from behind and pulled her back against him.

For all that she was putting on a good act most of the time, as usual he could see right through her. He knew she was still in pain sometimes.

She leaned against him and took a minute. David didn't believe her, but the pain and memories actually eased when she was with him.

Her very own knight in shining robes, without doing more than holding her.

"No sign of them," he mumbled before she could ask and leaned his forehead against the back of her head. "It's like they vanished into thin air."

"Close enough, probably," Marina sighed. "They wouldn't allow Greyback to roam fee just yet. He's too much of a loose cannon."

And the Minister's insistence to ignore his return actually played in Voldemort's favour. This way, he had all the time in the world to garner supporters – and kill those who refused.

"How is Harry holding up?" David asked and sat down, pulling her on his lap in the process.

"Throughout the day? Better than me. Especially with the gang around – they've been practicing Quidditch for weeks now, to get Ron on the house team. And I swear Arthur passed his fascination for muggle stuff on to that one – I've never heard so much talk about Muggle Studies, ever."

David snorted a laugh and hugged her harder for a moment, waiting for the rest.

"At night though… he's as bad as I am. Worse actually, since he doesn't ask for Sleeping Draught. No, he wakes up every night, shaking and yelling my name." Reliving her torture if the haunted look in his eyes was anything to go by.

"How do you know?"

Marina closed her eyes. Yes, she had just busted herself.

"I don't always take the potion," she admitted with a sigh. "I'm trying to get over it. But I can't sleep without it, so I end up wandering the house."

"Does Sirius know?"

She actually huffed a laugh at that.

"What, you think he sleeps any better? He turns into Padfoot and lies in front of our bedroom doors all night, standing guard.

And if anyone can understand not sleeping well, it's Dad. I don't think he's had a good night's sleep in fourteen years."

She absentmindedly waved her wand and saved the food from turning into coal.

"How is Carmen, really?" she asked after a minute.

Her friend was putting on a brave face almost as good as hers, but she should really have known she couldn't fool Marina.

She must have really presented a sight at that graveyard because Carmen could barely look at her without bursting into tears.

"Her best friend was almost tortured to death," David replied grimly. "She's a wreck."

And so am I. He didn't say it but then again, he didn't have to.

It was time for the conversation she'd been successfully avoiding so far.

"Say it," she said quietly and turned around as much as she could, looking at him.

He met her eyes, looking for she wasn't sure what. But whatever it was, he must have found it because for the first time since the third task, he didn't strangle his own emotions.

"What were you thinking?" he asked, remarkably calm given how mad he really was at her.

"It was the only way," she almost whispered, well aware of the agony that night had caused everyone involved.

"You don't know that," he all but growled and shook her once. Even in his anger, he was being careful not to hurt her.

"No, I don't know for sure," she capitulated. "But I wasn't going to take the risk. Not with Harry's life at stake."

"He wouldn't have been at risk if you'd come to us."

"Or we would have gotten him killed sooner," she argued. "Elvira was under the Imperius. Crouch was under the Imperius. Who's to say they didn't have orders to kill him if the plan failed? Who's to say they were the only ones?"

Crouch Jr had had ample time to enslave a couple of people more.

"How do you think he feels, knowing you let yourself be tortured?"

"Awful. But still better than I would have felt if he'd died because I messed with things none of us understand."

Apparently not done yet, David took a breath for his next argument, but Marina cut him off.

"Tell me you wouldn't have done the same if it had been Carmen or Ty. Tell me you wouldn't do the same right now if it saved them."

He deflated instantly. There was nothing he wouldn't do for his siblings. Instead he tightened his hold on her, as if afraid she'd vanish any second.

"I'm not so sure if I can handle you becoming an auror," he muttered after a full five minutes.

Marina smiled weakly.

"Then we have a problem. Scrimgeour and three of his aurors tested me personally last week. If I get the necessary N.E.W.T.s, then he'll not only allow me into the programme but cut it a year short – I practically passed Concealment and Disguise already and didn't do too bad in Stealth and Tracking. We'll see about Poisons and Antidotes. But I'm as good as in."

Outside Liberty House

"You'll get a spot, mate. No problem," Harry assured Ron when they all took a break. They'd done nothing but practice since school had ended.

Hermione and Susan spent most their time, when they weren't studying, talking about new recipes – and politics.

Neville and Anthony, oddly enough, had become fast friends when they'd tutored each other – in Herbology and Transfiguration, respectively – and bonded over their shared lack of enthusiasm for flying.

Hannah and Daphne both absolutely loved Care of Magical Creatures – even taught with Hagrid's penchant for dangerous beasts and had discovered many similarities from there.

Astoria had invited her best friend, Luna Lovegood, along. While she was … weird, to say the least, she was great too. The Greengrass' parents must have been horrified.

Harry was glad that it was always crowded. That way, no one had so much time to wonder-

"How is Marina, Harry? Really," Susan questioned, and silence descended.

He fidgeted on his broomstick.

It hadn't taken much time for his friends, and even less for hers, to figure out what she'd done and why.

Harry blinked at the sudden flash of her agonized face. He wondered if that would ever stop.

"During the day she's almost back to normal. Hell, she even had an interview with Scrimgeour last week. Pending her grades, he's accepted her into the programme."

"But?" Hermione pressed, looking up at him sharply. His stomach fluttered, and he found that he couldn't lie.

"She doesn't sleep. Not without draught at least. She wanders the house with that look in her eyes sometimes… like she's back there." He wouldn't tell them about her tremors. That was his sister's business alone.

"At least she's not shutting anyone out this time."

It was inevitable. Talking about his sister led to general depression because it reminded everyone of that night.

Then Ron spoke up, as the players landed.

"I've been doing some digging. After you told us what happened, I wondered why He bothered protecting against Blacks.

Half the wizarding families in England have some Black blood, including mine."

"So dying for each other would be completely useless," Ginny added. "Our blood wouldn't render protection for anyone."

"I have Black blood too," Harry added quietly. "My grandmother, Dorea Potter, was born a Black. 1 "

"So with one bloody potion, he made sure history wouldn't repeat itself," Daphne grumbled unhappily. "He discounted the power of love before, but he won't again." She threw an arm around her sister while saying it.

"Maybe we should have asked who he isn't planning on killing," Theo mumbled darkly. "Might save us a lot of time."

"Probably," a new voice joined and they all winced, caught.

Marina shook her head at them, but looked partly amused.

"Dinner's ready. Get cleaned up before you come inside," she told them. "And, by the way, tomorrow is an Order meeting. You'll get an update then. But I wouldn't count on anything too exciting. We're going back to school in three weeks – focus on that. Trust me, it's better for our mental health than trying to wonder what a bunch of lunatics is up to."

1 A/N: I know, I know. It's non-canon, but let's remember it's a fanfic and I'm using Dorea and Charlus as his grandparents. (For those who don't know from Pottermore: James' canon parents were Euphemia and Fleamont Potter)