Chapter 35:

She was letting out anguished sobs, her breath was short and every few seconds she thrashed around, her body attempting to fight against the pain. Having refused to leave her side, Sirius held her hand gently and she grasped it in return, treating it as if it were her lifeline.
She was vaguely aware of what was happening, every now and then she was able to push the pressure that was inclosing her mind back and return to reality.

'Please help me!' she begged, tightening her grip on the hand she was holding 'Oh God it hurts!' she moaned, and once again the darkness obscured her vision and she had to carry on fighting.

'My God Albus! What happened!' Madame Seymour gasped as they rushed into the hospital wing.

'Death Eater attack' he replied grimly 'Lily needs rest, she was tortured and fell unconscious on the way back' he told her, whilst moving around the room urgently 'Alice was under the intra Tenebrae curse, could you ask Poppy to make a potion to help her, and then tend to the others? I must ask you to help me with Alina' he instructed, levitating Alina from her stretcher and on to the bed.

'Poppy?' Madame Seymour called, and a young round faced girl appeared in the doorway 'I need your help, make a Lucis Vita potion and help with the patients...mostly broken bones I think' she glanced around the room.

'Yes of course!' Poppy looked surprised, but immediately sprung into action, and Madame Seymour swiftly moved over to Alina's bedside.

'Mr Black you should be in bed' she remarked.

'James is with Lily' he replied stubbornly.

'And Mr Potter should be in bed too'

'I'm not moving'

'Fine' she replied coolly and turned to Alina, who was whimpering quietly to herself and letting out low moans 'what on earth happened to her Albus?' she gasped.

'I'm afraid it's difficult to say Susie...it seems that each of the death eaters performed legilimans on her...'

'At once?' Madame Seymour gasped in alarm and Dumbledore nodded gravely 'but she's a -?'

'Our problem exactly' he replied.

'But you can help her?! Right?' Sirius demanded, looking from Dumbledore to Madame Seymour 'she's going to be okay? They didn't curse her! It's just legilimans!' Sirius started shouting, his eyes widening with panic.

'Sirius, please calm down' Dumbledore instructed.

'How can you say that? How can you be so calm?' he cried.

'Because we need to help Alina...'

'But Albus, how?' Madame Seymour interjected.

'It may be dangerous and it may not work...but if it does it will carry consequences' Dumbledore stared directly at Sirius.

'So? Could it save her?'

'Yes'

'Then let's do it!'

Dumbledore looked at Sirius thoughtfully, and then turned to glance down at Alina, whose pale face was now beaded with sweat.

'What the Death Eater's have done to Alina shows desperation...it seems that Voldemort is extremely anxious to obtain her...skills...on his side' he told Sirius soberly, not removing his eyes from Alina's face.

'Why's it desperate?'

'Because, Sirius, if it does not work...then it could kill her' he replied gently, and Sirius took in a sharp intake of breath.

'What do they want?' he asked frantically, his teeth tightly clenched.

'They want her powers Sirius. Just imagine! They break into her mind...she can't fight them off...they not only see every important piece of information within her knowledge...they are able to perform the imperious curse on her...they have total control.'

'And they want to use her?' Sirius asked quietly, his voice slightly breaking.

'Yes...they want to use her. They won't have to have any regards to the pain she would normally be in...So there would be no limitations to her powers...can you imagine the destruction that could cause?'

The room was deadly silent and Sirius looked at his headmaster desperately 'but there's something we can do?' he asked.

Dumbledore just stared at him for a minute, his blue eyes penetrating Sirius', and looking at him with an emotion that Sirius couldn't quite place.

'I will explain to you what it is...but it's not something you can take lightly...and as I said, it may not work...'

'Okay! I get that! So tell me...Professor' he added, realising that he sounded rude.

'Alina is using every inch of power she has within her to prevent them invading her mind, she had every defence possible put up and the strength that takes on its own is enough to cause her pain...but the pressure, the force that is fighting against that defence, is beyond anything you could imagine. If they succeed, the power of the force that will explode through her mind is enough to kill her' he paused for a second to insure that Sirius was taking in the information that he was giving him.

'One way that her mind could be protected is if there was another person, another mind that was partly joined to hers. This would confuse the principles of the Legilimans charm performed. They only cast the spell on Alina's mind, so by joining another to the equation...their force would render useless and the chord joining their minds would break...leaving Alina safe...'

'HELP ME!'

Alina's scream broke Dumbledore off, and all three of them turned to her in concern. Her eyes were widened, her head was thrown back and she let out another cry of pain and frustration 'it won't go away!' she shouted, and dissolved into tears.

'Sssshh, it's okay' Sirius soothed, gently wiping her hair from her face, and Madame Seymour performed a cooling charm to help ease the sweating.

'So how do we join a mind with hers?' Sirius asked Dumbledore urgently 'is it possible?'

'Yes it is Sirius, but it is extremely important that you understand...'

'Then tell me!' Sirius yelled 'please' he added in a softer voice.

'There is an ancient type of magic...a type of magic that is so dark, so evil, that the normal person would never even consider using it. You must understand that I would not speak of it to you unless I felt it was relevant, and unfortunately, to help you fully understand, I must do in this situation.'

'The magic I am speaking of is called a Horcrux...'

'A Horcrux?' Sirius asked, completely bemused.

'Do not feel surprised that you haven't heard of it...most people haven't. It is essentially, the act of separating a part of your soul from your body and placing it in the confines of an object...'

'Separating your soul?!' Sirius whispered in horror, looking at his Headmaster with disbelief 'how do you -?'

'I will not go into specifics Sirius, but they can only be created, once you have committed murder' he told him grimly.

'And you want me to-?'

'Oh goodness no! I think you've got the wrong end of the stick...what will save Alina works in a very similar principle to a Horcrux...it is to create something known as mentis infinitum, like a Horcrux it is the separation of a fragment of the soul from the body, however, it involves two people, exchanging that part of their souls, and placing them within one another...'

'And that will save Alli?' Sirius breathed.

'Yes, I believe it would...but you must think carefully, it is a lifelong bond...if the part of your soul was injured within the other person the effects could be dire...'

'I'll do it! I don't care! I'll do it...what do I have to do?'

'Alina must consent to it...there must be total trust for each other in order for it to work...'

Sirius' face fell from excitement to despair, his eyes roamed over Alina's fragile form and his heart sunk to the floor. Desperately he looked over to where Lily was unconscious.

'What about Lily?' he asked desperately.

'She's too weak' James told him from her bedside 'I don't think she could do it Padfoot...she just won't wake up...' his voice trailed off as the pain on Sirius' face increased.

'She doesn't trust me!' Sirius lent his head in his free hand, and involuntarily let out a sob 'it won't work with me –'

The room had fallen back into the uneasy silence, barring Alina's ragged breaths; her cheeks were an ominous pink that flared out against her white face. Her hair and clothes were drenched with sweat, and everyone looked at each other in worry.

'Does she even know her surroundings?' Remus asked quietly, walking over from his bed.

'I believe so' Dumbledore replied 'Alina?' he called gently.

'Alina!' he called again, this time a little more sharply.

Her head jerked so suddenly it caused Dumbledore to jump back slightly in surprise, her eyes, now jet black, finally focused on her headmaster, and her face contorted, completely laced with pain.

'It hurts' she mumbled, too weak to shout any longer.

'I know it does Alina, but you must listen to what I'm going to say –'

'It's going to make the pain go away Alina' Remus assured her.

'It will?' she breathed desperately, and then flinched as a fresh attack embarked on her mind.

'Stay with me Alina! Stay with us!' Sirius begged desperately, and with a furious effort, Alina managed to refocus on her surroundings.

'The only way we can help is if you let Sirius into your mind...'

'NO!' she screamed, causing everyone to look at her in alarm, her eyes were once again wide with horror, and they darted from face to face.
Her response felt like a knife in the heart for Sirius. His stomach flipped nauseatingly as he took in her frightened expression. He didn't know how much longer he could take of this...how could he watch her die? Or become completely lost to him? To become a death eater would be no different from death, either way he was going to lose her, and because of his stupidity, she didn't trust him enough to allow him to save her.

'Alina, this is the only way' Dumbledore told her firmly 'Sirius will be careful, he will help you take away the pain...'

'But I don't want him to see –'

'Listen to me Alina' Dumbledore took on a tone of urgency, causing Alina to become suddenly more aware of reality 'if you don't try this, if you don't put trust in Sirius, then they will eventually break through into your mind...they will be able to gain control of you –'

'If they get control of you, they will make you kill everyone present, before returning to them...do you want that?'

'No!' she groaned, fresh tears flowing down her cheeks as her face crumpled with both pain and confusion 'but –'

'I won't hurt you Alli...I mean it' Sirius told her gently.

Her gaze darted to him and her mind suddenly flashed back to the cave, to being held in front of him about to die, and seeing the fear and pain of losing her on his face.

Silently, she nodded in agreement, and with a sudden violent attack from the death eaters, reality faded away and she was left in the darkness.

'Feel for him Alina...you'll know which force to let in'

She vaguely acknowledged her Headmaster's words as she forced her wall to stand, and screamed out in pain.

'We'll have to act quickly or we'll lose her' Dumbledore told Sirius.

'What do I do?'

' It's rather simple, just perform a simple legilimans and Alina should allow you through to her mind, if she pushes you away keep trying to gently press back, whatever you do, do not be too forceful.' Dumbledore peered over his half moon spectacles at Sirius, and he nodded to show his understanding 'what will happen once the connection is made is that you will open your mind entirely for her. You will see all of her memories, her thoughts, her experiences and she will see yours in return, and once this is done you will be connected. I must ask you once more Sirius, are you sure you wish to do this? To trust someone else with a piece of your soul?'

'I'm positive' Sirius said, and it was true, never before had he felt so sure of anything. He knew that whatever the consequences, as long as Alina was safe it would be worth it. Taking both of her hands in his, he gently pressed his lips against hers, and leaning his head closer, so that his mouth was next to her ear, he whispered gently.

'Legilimans'

For a split second she forgot what was happening. All she knew was that suddenly there was an extra force crushing into her mind. Her initial instinct was to hit out, to push the force away, and she did so. She tried to push the force away, to relieve herself from the additional pain, but it returned, it pushed back, but unlike the others it was gentle, probing her as if asking permission.

With a sudden realisation she knew who the force was. This wasn't an attack this was Sirius. Yet she was still unsure, to let him in now was to be letting him in forever. He would know everything.
But the doubt only lasted for a minute as a sudden burst of pain seared through her head and she thrust her mind open desperately, letting him completely in.

The relief was instant.

July 23rd 1966 -Alina

Walking into her mother's room Alina was confused. It was sunny outside and the boat was ready for them to go rowing on the lake, yet her mummy was sitting in her room with the lights off and the curtains closed.
Climbing up onto the bed and into her mother's lap Alina patted her mother's cheek with a tiny hand.
'What's the matter mummy?' she asked, kissing her mother's wet cheek.

'Oh nothing darling' her mother gave her a watery smile and stroked her hair gently 'why don't you go and play? Mummy wants to sleep for a little while...'

'But mummy!' she suddenly became indignant 'you said we could go on the rower boat today!'

'Not today Alina, perhaps tomorrow' her mother replied tiredly.

'But you said that yesterday!' Alina whined

'Just go Alina! I don't need this right now!' her mother snapped, and Alina's eyes widened in surprise, before they filled up with tears.

'Now don't do that Alina, big girls don't cry' her mother told her stonily, her gaze suddenly hard.

'BUT YOU SAID!' Alina yelled, before angrily trying to climb off of the bed.

'WELL I LIED!' her mother shouted back.

'You're not s'posed to lie' Alina told her mother sassily before stomping out of the room.

April 15th 1967

'But I wanted a Princess Party!' Alina stomped her foot and stuck out her bottom lip.

'Well we thought it's about time to have a grown up party dear, and start socialising with children who are more appropriate for a Blake' her mother smiled tightly at her daughter.

'What's socialising?'

'Oh don't be ridiculous Lili' her father snapped from the doorway 'now why haven't you got her ready properly?' he demanded of his wife, who shrunk backwards slightly.

'Well, she –she was being difficult dear!' her mother squeaked.

Alina ran under the table, knowing what was going to happen. She peered out from under the chair, and took in the fearful look in her mother's eyes. She watched him grab her by the hair and shake her heavily, she watched him raise his fist and bring it violently to connect to her cheek.

She watched as he turned away and slammed the door on the way out.

'MUMMY!' she screamed and ran out from under the chair.

'Go away Alina, this is all your fault' her mother spat, she pushed her daughter roughly to the floor and left the room, nursing her cheek, leaving Alina sitting alone to cry.

'Happy birthday Miss Alli' a squeaky voice came from behind the breakfast bar.

'Thank you Smokey' she sobbed quietly.

September 13th 1968 – Sirius.

'Sirius! You're gunna get in SO much trouble!' Regulus gasped, as his brother began to climb over the fence and into their neighbour's garden.

'I don't care!' he laughed 'Come on Reg! We can explore!'

Regulus bit his lip and rocked backwards and forwards on the balls on his feet 'but there's Muggles over there!' he whispered frantically.

Sirius just laughed at his brother 'Let's go Muggle hunting then!' he grinned breaking two sticks off of the bush and handing one to his little brother 'there's your wand Reg!'

'But – but won't mother be angry?' Regulus asked quietly, his eyes shining with admiration at his older brother's braveness.

'Don't worry! We've got to fight the muggles to protect Mother!' Sirius yelled and brandished his wand before him.

'Well...okay!' Regulus grinned and with his brothers help managed to climb over the garden fence.

'Who are you?!' a young boy with an upturned nose asked them as they appeared in his garden.

'Quick Reg it's a muggle let's get him!' Sirius yelled and began pointing his pretend wand at the boy and making up spells.

'Reliminasio!' he yelled.

The little boy paused for a moment and blinked in confusion 'OOOOOH, You're playing Wizards?' he asked, and then pretended to fall on the floor 'Ahhhhh you got me!' he yelled.

Sirius looked at the boy in delight, and let out a bark of laughter.

'What's your name?' the boy asked shyly.

'I'm Sirius Black' Sirius told him boldly 'and this is my brother Reg'

'I'm Jake' the boy smiled 'do you wanna play some more?'

Sirius looked at the boy in confusion 'are you a Muggle?' he asked blandly.

'What's a muggle? Come on! You can have a go on my new bike if you want; my dad said I can come off of stabilisers soon!'

Sirius glanced over to the shiny blue bike on the floor in the garden and instantly made his decision 'sure!'

As they climbed over the fence to get home later that afternoon Sirius waved goodbye to his new friend Jake and turned to his little brother.

'I like muggles Reg. I think Mother and Father are wrong' he told him stubbornly.

'And where have you two been?!'

They both froze at the shrill yell from their mother as they landed in the garden.

Regulus instantly burst into tears and clutched Sirius' hand, but Sirius stuck his chin out stubbornly and glared at his mother.

'We went muggle hunting mother. But we like them now don't we Reg!' he announced.

'YOU BLOOD TRAITOR BRAT!'

August 31st 1970 – Alina

Clutching her new owl in one hand and her bag of school books in the other, Alina came bounding into her house.

'Mummy! Daddy!' she called happily, running through into the living room.

Her father was sitting in the armchair by the fire, reading the paper and her mother was sitting by the window, apparently writing a letter.

'What do you want Lili?' her father snapped looking up from the paper.

'I wanted to show you my new school things!' Alina replied indignantly 'and don't call me Lili' she added coldly.

'Don't you dare take that tone with me!' her father suddenly yelled, jumping up from the chair and throwing his paper to the floor.

'I only wanted to show you my things! What's so wrong with that!' she yelled back, the hands clutching her new belongings were beginning to shake apprehensively.

Before she had a chance to react her father stomped across the room and slapped her harshly across the face. She kept her hands tightly wrapped around her owl's cage but her books fell to the floor.

'Mummy! Did you see him!' she cried.

'You shouldn't be rude to your father Alina' her mother replied coolly, not bothering to look up.

'But mummy!' Alina pleaded 'why do you let him do it?' she asked softly, knowing her mother would understand the true meaning of her question.

'GET UPSTAIRS NOW ALINA!' her father screamed, his face turning a dark shade of red.

'You know what? I can't wait to go to Hogwarts tomorrow! I'll be away from you all year!' Alina told him boldly, before turning and running quickly up the stairs.

She was scared. She knew she would regret what she had said, but for the first time in her life she had found an escape from it all, and with Hogwarts she had discovered something she never knew that she possessed; bravery.

That night, the room was dark. The night was still. All that could be heard was the occasional car driving past the house, yet despite the late hour Alina, lay wide awake. Her heart was pounding, her body was tense, and her ears were pricked. She was waiting.

The silence continued, yet it echoed in her ears as if a thousand people were screaming; and then she heard it. The undeniable sound of creaking floorboards, the pitter patter of approaching footsteps which reflected the thumping of her heart. The sound of her bedroom door slowly being opened.

She briefly flinched as his heavy breathing reached her ears, but her face went blank as she felt the curshing body weight on top of her. She could feel what he was doing, she was aware of what was going on, but as always she allowed the numbness to consume her body. Let her mind escape to a happy place. Yet Alina could not prevent the single tear that trickled down her cheek at the final muffled grunt and the relief as the sweaty body of her father rolled off of her.

'Just remember Lili' he wheezed 'it doesn't matter where you go, or who you're with...you're always going to be mine. You're used goods and don't you forget that'

And with a snigger, he left the room.

'Albus they've been like that for hours...' Madame Seymour said anxiously, gazing at the motionless forms of Sirius and Alina.

'I know Susie, but they're sharing a lifetime of memories, these things will take time' he replied calmly, his eyes never leaving his two students.

'What's happening?' a small voice from the corner sounded, and James yelled in delight.

'James keep it down!' she grumbled, and allowed him to pull her into his arms.

'Thank God Lily, thank God' he whispered into her hair and pulled her back to kiss her gently 'how are you feeling?'

'A little achy for some reason' she smiled and then looked over the Alina's bed.

'Why are they crowding around her? What's wrong? What's wrong with her?' she asked frantically.

'Shhh, Lil, It's fine...Sirius' is fixing her' he told her gently.

'Sirius?' she asked with raised eyebrows, her mouth pressed into a tight line.

'Don't do that face you look like McGonagall' he laughed and then seeing her worried expression he added 'the death eaters were trying to get into her head to control her, Sirius has to do some kind of magic to put a bit of his soul in her and vice versa and now they're sharing every memory they've ever had' he told her in one breath.

'You are joking?' she asked her eyes wide with disbelief.

'Nope...not even I could come up with something that ridiculous' he told her.

Carefully, Lily climbed out of bed and on wobbly legs, made her way as quickly as she could across the room.

'Is she all right?' Alice's' voice sounded quietly as she moved past her.

'I think so' Lily smiled 'how are you feeling?'

'Shit' Alice shrugged and Lily looked at her in surprise, never having heard Alice swear before 'but don't worry I'll survive! Now, I can't get out of the bed, so go over and give me all the details, Frank's useless!' she added, sounding more like herself.

'Of course Al' Lily smiled, and rushed over to Alina's bed 'how long have they been like that she murmured in shock, taking in Alina's apparent unconscious form, and Sirius' glazed over eyes. He was sitting on the chair beside her bed, holding her hands in his and his face looking down on hers, but he did not move, and he did not blink.

'About three hours now' Remus told her gently.

'Three -?!' she began in shock, but froze when Sirius' hand moved.

'Sirius?' Dumbledore said softly, and Sirius' hand moved once again. Everyone watched in silence, hardly daring to breathe as they waited to discover whether Sirius had been successful, gradually his body seemed to relax and after a few more minutes he blinked.

'Padfoot?' James called, and Sirius' head jerked up to look at them all.

'Sirius, are you all right?' Dumbledore asked in concern.

Sirius opened his mouth as if to answer but no words came out, his throat felt completely closed up, his brow frowned in horror and his mouth felt bone dry. He knew they were waiting for an answer, but at that moment he couldn't give them one, for he was battling with his stomach to prevent himself from throwing up. He failed. Clutching his stomach he doubled over and proceeded to vomit violently, his eyes burnt with unshed tears and his mind was whirling as if it had been placed on a round-a-bout. He felt a warm hand pressed comfortingly on his back but he shrugged it off. He didn't want to be comforted.

How could he not have noticed? The hatred for her home, the bruises that covered her body when she returned after Christmas, and the Boggart being her father...all this time he had been so blind, so oblivious, and he hates himself for it.

The sickening realisation that her father had tried to rape her whilst he was staying with them hit him like a tonne of bricks and before he knew it he was hyperventilating.

'PADFOOT!' he could hear James' yell but he didn't respond, he knew words would fail him.

What could he possibly say?

His eyes, burning with tears that he refused to shed, roamed back to Alina and he jumped in alarm as she opened her eyes to meet his.

'Alli!' Lily's cry of happiness caused Alina's eyes to flicker away from him for a moment but when they returned they were just as intense as before.
They didn't need to talk at that moment; every emotion that was running through their bodies was projected towards one another through their eyes.

Without a word, he wrapped his arms around her pulling her to him tightly, and he felt her entire body crumple as a loud sob emitted from her throat. He felt her body shaking violently with her tears and he heard her heartfelt sobs echo around the room.

'I'm – so – so –sorry!' she choked out between sobs.

His heart turned ice cold and he froze for a second 'Why would you be sorry?' he whispered in surprise.

'F-for not telling you! Y-y-you must be disgusted!' she cried, and Sirius pulled her closer to him.

'I am not disgusted! I could never be disgusted!' he whispered firmly so that no one could hear 'you've done nothing wrong Alli – it's all right! It's all right, he soothed her.

'It is?' she asked in a small voice.

'It's over now, I promise' he told her gently.

He glanced up for a second, to smile at their friends in reassurance.

'Is she okay?' Lily mouthed, her eyes filled with tears and Sirius nodded in reply.

'Well done Sirius' Dumbledore told him 'I'm very proud of you'

'Thank you Sir' Sirius managed to choke out, before he turned all of his attention back to the girl in his arms.

A/N: Thank you all sooooo much for your reviews i'm glad you all like the last chapter :) I hope this one has lived up to the standards because NOW HE KNOWWSSS! I wasn't sure how to show his reaction but i'm trying to show he's confused atm and you'll see more later on...and if you got confused about what happened you can either ask me some questions but there will be a bit more detail into it all in the next chapter etc...

Please keep your reviewing because it makes me write! And seriously, if I fail my coursework then it's all your fault because the time i spent on this chapter and the last I was supposed to be doing my coursework! :)

Thanks x