The school year was coming to an end. Summer erupted on them quickly. There was hardly a spring which was all right with Aly. She spent most mornings before class in the lake. She almost always showed up for class with wet hair. Lily seemed to be warming up to James and even allowed herself to crack a smile at some of his jokes.

Gryffindor had lost the Qudditch cup to Ravenclaw. James took it very hard and stayed in bed for 3 days. Aly enjoyed the break from his followings, but Snape did manage to find Lily alone. The meeting between the two was quick and painful, for Lily emotional and for Snape's left cheek.

The last week of class brought to her drama she never expected. One day, she found James alone in the common room, something Aly notice more and more since his parent's had died, staring off into space, twirling a quill between his fingers, forehead crinkled in deep thought.

She normally left him with his thoughts, but she had wanted to talk to him about the following plan. She had decided that during exams she wanted him to stop because she was going to be stressed and more likely to snap at him and start a fight. She would never tell him, but the main reason for the cease and desist was because she knew she'd be swamped with studying and was starting to miss Sirius and didn't need James around the few moments they managed to get together.

She stood next to his chair and watched as his eyes shifted to view her out of the corner of them and then go back towards the fireplace where they had originally been. She rolled her eyes as he ignored her for a while longer. "James," she said exasperated, "I'm kinda in a hurry."

He made a face and moved the opposite direction to avoid her eyes. Aly rolled her eyes again and sighed. She moved around, and he, likewise, moved out of her eyesight. "James," she exclaimed and grabbed him by the shoulder and yanked. He turned and she realized that he had started crying. "Oh, James..."

"Don't," he snuffed and quickly wiped his face. "You just," he hesitated and then said quickly, "You just smelt like my mom, that's all." He stood and hugged her tightly burying his face into her shoulder. Aly awkwardly tried to pat him on the back. She wasn't sure if it was a compliment that she had smelt like an old lady, even if that old lady was Mrs. Potter. The portrait hole opened and in came Sirius. How did Aly know it was Sirius? A booming, "That's it," came from him as he entered.

James and Aly jumped apart quickly. James quickly wiped his face with his hand. "What's up, Pad?" James said trying to sound collected.

Sirius' made his way towards them and stood on the other side of the table. His eyes were bugged out, and he was shaking slightly. Aly thought he looked like he had lost his mind.

"Don't you 'Pad' me, Potter," Sirius snapped.

James physically flinched at the comment. "What's wrong?" James asked trying to hide the pain Sirius' use of his surname caused and failing.

"I knew…I tried to tell myself that it was nothing. That this was all an act. But I knew, deep down, I knew that I was right." He had started pacing, wringing his hands as he went back and forth.

"Knew what?" James almost cried.

"You," Sirius pointed at James, "And you" he pointed at Aly, and then he smashed the tips of his two index fingers together a few times, "Together."

"What are you talking about?" Aly snapped, her shoulder still damp from James' tears. She was worried about his sanity. She had seen him jealous before but never like this. And what did he have to be so deranged about? Nothing would ever go on between James and her. Surely, he had to know that.

Sirius turned towards her, and his face softened slightly and his eyes retreated slightly back into his head. "I know what I've seen: the moments alone, the stolen glances, the dark corners-"

"What dark corners?" Aly snapped. She was sure now that he had, in fact, lost his mind.

"I've seen it. With my eyes," Sirius nearly poked himself in the eye while pointing furiously at one of them to provide his emphasis. "Do you deny it?"

"Yes," Aly and James said simultaneously.

"Exactly what you would say if you were cheating on me," Sirius said, his eyes coming back out of his head again.

Aly huffed in frustration, put her hands on her hips, and asked him, "What do you want us to say? That we've secretly been together behind your back for months?"

"Aha!" Sirius shouted throwing one finger into the air and scaring a group of nearby first years. "You admit it then."

Aly rolled her eyes. She was stressed from Lily's incessant need for them study, and she was on the very edge of her last nerve, "Fine. You know what fine." She grabbed James by both sides of his face and planted a big kiss on him. James froze. When she pulled away she saw that both boys' faces had lost their color. "See!" Aly exclaimed. Clearly, the kiss proved that there was nothing going on. James looked startled and uncomfortable, and Aly's face didn't hide her disgust for what she had just done.

Sirius said nothing. Aly checked her watch and sighed angrily. She didn't have time for this. "I have to go see my dad. Try and get your mind back before I get back." She sent his an angry glance and then turned on her heel and stormed out of the room.

The door slammed behind her and the chair squeaked loudly as she threw herself into it once she arrived at her father's office. Her father laid down his quill, looking quite stunned by her entrance. "Is everything ok?" he asked cautiously.

Aly let out a breathy "Ha!" but said nothing else.

Her father waited for a few moments for her to speak before finally deciding to pick up his quill and continue his work knowing she'd talk about it when she was ready. The room was silent for a long while except for the scratching of the quill and an occasional snore or cough from one of the portraits in the room. Aly had her arms crossed over her chest and her leg crossed over her knee, foot jiggling furiously. Her mind tried to focus on anything but the boy with the bulging eyes.

When she finally spoke, she startled her father. She slammed the foot that had been jiggling onto the ground, and stated, "I hate death."

He put his quill down and thought before he spoke. "I'm not fond of it myself."

She turned her eyesight towards Fawkes. Dumbledore followed her line of sight, and breathed an, "Ah" before telling her, "Fawkes is the one exception to the rule."

"Still," Aly shrugged. She remembered the first time Fawkes had died. She had cried and cried. When her father showed her the new tiny baby bird, Aly declared that it wasn't her Fawkes, collected the ashes, and buried them in Hagrid's garden. She had learned to accept the new Fawkes over the years. His lifespan between deaths seemed to vary and seemed to reflect the environment around him. He had died when Aly was banished from the school, when she ran away the summer of 2nd year, and when she started dating Sirius. She huffed at the thought of him and turned to stare out the window.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Dumbledore asked again.

Aly shook her head quickly.

"Did you have a fight with Mr. Black?" he ventured.

Aly's lips pursed together, but she remained silent.

Dumbledore stood up from his desk, and Aly blurted out, "He thinks I'm hooking up with James."

He nodded to himself and sat back down. "This wouldn't have anything to do with your plan for Mrs. Evans?"

Aly's forehead furrowed in confusion. How did he know?

"I'm not as dense as you think I am," he chuckled to himself.

Aly sighed, "It's ridiculous."

"So, he confronted you?" he asked.

Aly nodded.

"And what happened?"

"I kissed James."

He looked shocked by her answer. "And that seemed like a good idea why?"

"It was to prove a point!" Aly declared. "Anyone who saw us kiss would know that there is no chemistry between us. That nothing was or ever would happen!"

"Except to the jealous eye, all that would be seen is the kiss," he pointed out.

Aly ignored this comment and exclaimed "James and I hate each other on most days!"

"Well," he said pressing his fingers together, "There are two ways to look at this. One could be that since Sirius holds James in such high regard. Maybe he is worried you've finally seen all the good qualities he has always seen."

Aly made a noise of disagreement.

"Or perhaps because you two do have such a turbulent relationship he is worried that opposites have attracted in this case," Dumbledore supplied and upon seeing the look upon his daughter face, added, "I'm sure you've seen examples around the castle."

He was right. There was one particular couple, Ravenclaws, who were seen screaming at each other one moment and snogging the next. She felt even more frustrated with the situation with these points being made that she felt that she needed to get to the original reason for the meeting.

"I have come here to talk to you about this summer," she stated, turning to face him again.

He didn't seem surprised that she changed the subject so abruptly. He nodded. "It is fast approaching."

"I know," Aly told him. "I'm 17 now and would like to be able to come and go as I please. I plan on spending most of the time with Lily, but I will come back and see you occasionally."

"Hmm, ok..." he seemed to be holding something back.

"What?" she snapped, her temper up and expecting the worse.

"You plan on staying with Lily..." he drawled slowly

"Yes. I want to spend as much time with Lily before we graduate." She didn't tell him that if she didn't go Snape would hover as much as possible. She planned to act as a shield.

Her head began to fell like it was swelling. "Dad!" Aly exclaimed in frustration, "Stop trying to read my mind, and just tell me what you're thinking!" Aly had learned from an early age that her dad possessed the power to enter her mind, and she had worked hard for a long time to try and keep him out. She just didn't have the energy to do it today, and she didn't know exactly what he'd find snooping around in there.

"Is 'going to Lily's' code for anything?" he asked very cautiously.

"No," Aly stated bluntly, surprised, and then asked out of curiosity, "Code for what?"

"Well, not to bring up an unhappy subject, but I thought it might be code to spending the summer at Potter Manor where James and his army of house-elves will be joined by Mr. Black this year," he told her studying her face.

"No," Aly told him, surprised that she didn't already know this information. "I'm just going to Lily's. I didn't even know that he was going to James' house."

He nodded in agreement. "I suppose that sounds like a good plan then."

Upon his agreement to her plan, Aly turned to look out the window again, not really seeing the Quidditch pitch in the distance.

He let her sit for a while, stewing in her own thoughts. Finally, he spoke, "Perhaps you should go find Mr. Black and make sure he hasn't destroyed my school yet in a fit of jealous rage."

Aly nodded and stood. At the door, she heard him say, "I'll see you around." He couldn't hide the ache in his voice.

"I'll come say goodbye before I leave for the summer," she told him with a small smile.

She saw a sparkle in his eye as she closed the door.

XxXxX

"Sirius!" Aly called after him.

He turned to look at her. "Hey," she had started running down the hall after him when she caught sight of him on his way towards potions class. She hadn't been able to find him the night before but had managed for find James. James told her he tried to talk to Sirius after she had left, but that he hadn't listened to him. Aly told him the following had to stop. James agreed. When she finally caught up with Sirius in the hall, she was slightly out of breath.

"Hey," she repeated, grabbing a hold of her side which was spasming from the run. "I really want to talk to you."

He didn't say anything, and his face hid any thing he may have been feeling. Aly decided to dive right in to what she had to say in case he decided to leave.

"Look, with me and James, nothing has been going on. At all. It all has to do with Snape bothering Lily, and I wanted to keep him away and I knew James would help because, well, because it's Lily. So I had him really follow her but I couldn't let Lily know so I came up the story about my dad. And that kiss yesterday-Sirius, it was to prove that nothing was going and that there was no chemistry there at all. But I wasn't thinking about what it would really look like to you. So I'm sorry about that. You know how I get when I'm upset..."

Aly took in deep breath. Sirius' face remained unchanged. He just stood there looking at her.

"Well," Aly said awkwardly, "Aren't you going to say anything?"

He sighed and pursed his lips together before saying in a very flat tone, "I'm late for potions," and he turned around left.

XxXxX

"Hey." Lily said entering their room. "You missed potions."

"Yeah," Aly said simply, not looking up from her book.

"How come?" Lily asked sitting down of the side of her bed that faced Aly.

"Just didn't feel like going. Figured charms studying warranted more of my time."

Lily's face showed surprise, and, then, she looked quite pleased. She was clearly happy that Aly seemed to think that exams were important for the first time in 6 years. Lily stood to leave Aly to her studying, so Aly quickly added, "Plus, I think Sirius is going to break up with me."

Lily stopped dead. "What? Why?"

"Cause we had a stupid fight, and I ended up kissing James." Aly still hadn't looked up at her friend, but she raised curious eyes as Lily barked, "What?" Aly could've sworn she heard a hint of jealousy.

"I did it to prove a point," Aly stated.

"Couldn't you have kissed someone else?"

"No," Aly said agitated.

"But Potter? Really? He's so…and…" Lily shook her head as she tried to think of the words to describe him.

A smile spread across Aly's face, "Aww, you like Potter!"

Lily's face flushed red, and she snapped, "No, I certainly do not. I just think you shouldn't go around kissing other people when you have a boyfriend."

Aly's good humor left. "It. Was. To. Prove. A. Point." She slammed her book down in frustration. Why didn't anyone understand that?

Aly stormed past Lily in anger, and down the stairs, nearly tripping as she made her way into the common room. She continued out into the hall, brushing roughly past some 2nd years, and ran into someone. They collided and both fell. Aly's head hit the portrait hole that was swinging shut behind her.

She heard the Fat Lady say, "Oh, sorry, dear," but she sounded far away. "Why is it always the head?" Aly mumbled to herself, grabbing the back of her head. A hand appeared in front of her face. She took it without thinking, and let the person pull her up. "Sorry," she stated. "I didn't see you there."

"It's alright. I wasn't looking either." The voice belonged to Snape. He didn't sound bitter like he usually did when Aly talked to him. He almost sounded concerned. "Are you alright?"

"Fine," Aly said, trying to soothe the slight throb on the back of her head. "You hanging around for Lily again?"

He looked away, but, in doing so, confirmed that that was exactly what he had been doing.

"She doesn't want to talk to you," Aly pointed out to the boy yet again.

"I know," he said heaving a sigh. "I just miss her."

Aly nodded. She understood how it felt to miss someone you cared about, and Snape clearly cared about Lily. Why else would he be this determined to talk to her?

"I can't let you see her," Aly told her.

He nodded and told her, "Even though it pisses me off, you're a good friend to her. I'm glad she has you."

Aly was taken about by this, and Lily appeared out of the portrait hole.

"What's going on?" Lily asked Aly, not looking at Snape.

"Nothing," Aly said quickly, but kept her eyes on Snape.

"Lily, I need to talk to you," he said quickly.

"No," Lily said harshly. "I don't want to talk to you, Severus."

Aly's heartbroke just a little for the boy as his face twisted into the agony she knew he must be feeling.

"What wrong with you?" Lily asked looking at Aly who still had her hand on her head.

"I'm fine," Aly said finally removing her eyes from Snape's face. "I just hit my head."

"Are you alright?" Lily's maternal sense took over.

"I'm fine," Aly stated again, this time with a slight bite. Why didn't anyone ever believe her?

"But it's bleeding," Lily stated.

Aly examined her hand. There was a small amount of blood. No more than if she had skinned her knee. It was nothing she would have worried about. Lily, on the other hand, felt it necessary for her to go see the nurse.

"Come on," Lily grabbed Aly's elbow and pulled. Aly knew that Lily was just looking for an excuse to get away from Snape.

"Lily, please." Snape took a hold of Aly's other elbow.

Each side of Aly was being tugged in a different direction, and she desperately wanted each of them to stop. "Enough!" Aly screeched. "Both of you let go of me."

She threw her arms up, and they both dropped their grips. "You two are old enough to deal with this without me in the middle. It's caused me enough trouble already. So, just, just leave me out of it!" She stormed off, her mood even worse than before. She agreed with Lily on the situation. Snape had no right to call her a "mublood," but she could also tell that Snape really was sorry he had said it. She thought maybe Lily had misjudged the boy. He hung out with the wrong people, but that didn't make him a bad person. He could simply have been lost in a world he didn't really understand. Aly definitely knew how that felt. She knew one thing for sure, she didn't need to be used as a tug-of-war rope between them.

She shoved open on the heavy front doors with her shoulder. She figured maybe she'd go see Hagrid or her moonstone. A figure caught her eye. It looked like someone was trying to figure out how to open the main gate. It wouldn't open for just anyone.

"Aly!" the voice called. She stopped dead in her tracks. It sounded like Remus' voice. How had he gotten outside the walls?

"Remus?" she called back and made her way down. He was wearing a robe over his head. He must've torn himself up pretty bad during his last transformation. Aly had seen what kind of damage he could inflict upon himself. "Do you need in?"

As she got closer she realized that the figure was much too tall to be Remus, but before she could turn back, it was too late.

XxXxX

Aly woke shivering. She knew immediately that something was wrong. It was almost 80 degrees outside. Then the pain hit her. Her shoulder felt dislocated, and her hip felt bruised. She blinked in the darkness. The only light was an overhead window. She struggled to stand and realized her ankles and hands were bound. Her heart began to race as she panicked. Where the hell was she?

She heard footsteps in the dark and squinted as light streamed into the room. Someone had come in from the outside. The person didn't say anything. They merely hovered over her for a few moments and then yelled out a spell Aly didn't know. Aly's body felt like it was twisting as if she was being wrung out like a wet towel. The pain finally subsided as the door snapped shut, and darkness invaded the room again.

XxXxX

Aly sat in the darkness. She didn't have enough outside light to know when the sun was up or down. She didn't know how long she had been there. It felt like months, but she knew it could simply be hours. Footsteps creaked over head constantly. She feared and waited for the door to open. Every so often it would open and a person would enter and send a spell at her. Each time it was one spell and only one spell. She originally though it was always the same person, but she began to notice a difference in height and weight of the shadow in the doorway.

She wanted to cry. She really did, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. She knew it would take too much of her dwindling strength to do it, and she knew she needed all the strength she had. She tried not to do much of anything while she sat and waited. Her mind always went places she didn't want it to go. Sirius, Lily, her dad, school, her life—all things taken from her, or, rather, she was taken from.

She leaned her head back against the cold wall. She missed the warmth. She was constantly cold. The door opened, and she went limp. She had originally tried to resist the attacks, moving around the room the best she could, but it had caused for more injuries. She had been kicked, thrown, and punched in order to get her to stay still long enough to be hit directly by the spell. So she went limp and took a deep breath.

Something was different this time though. Two hands roughly picked her up, and drug her out of the room. Her toes, which were bare, drug on the cold stones. Both her ankles felt broken. She was drug roughly up a flight of stairs and was thrown down. Her face hit the hard ground. She kept her eyes closed, scared of what would happen next.

"Good evening, Miss Dumbledore."

She knew that voice. It sounded almost like a slither as it filled the room. Voldemort had finally caught her. She was about to die.

"Oh, let's not be so rude to our guest," he said, and with a wave of his hand, two people lifted her again and placed her in a chair. She sat across a long table looking at him. She suddenly realized one of her eyes was swollen almost all the way shut.

"How are you this fine evening?" Voldemort asked.

Aly said nothing.

"Not much of a talker are we?" he seemed charming as he spoke, but Aly remained unmoved. If she was going to die, she wasn't going to do it on his terms.

"I thought we should have a chat before we take care of business," Voldemort stated.

The hairs on Aly's arms and neck stood on end.

"Do you know what day it is?" he asked and with no response, he continued, "I suppose not. It's been three days since you were brought here, which, I might add, was so much easier than even I anticipated. I think three days is a decent amount of time. Three days ago, I advised your daddy that you were here, well not here, but with me anyways. I told him you were free for the taking if he stepped down from Hogwarts. That's all I wanted. It seemed like a simple request. However, a day came and went, and not response. And then another day. And now the third day has died and now so will you."

Aly gulped and bit her lip.

"I don't usually do this," he said standing up and coming around the table. "But, I like you. I find you fascinating. We do have so very much in common. So, I shall give you a chance to say your last words first. We'll be sure to send them back to daddy."

Aly looked into the snakelike face and red eyes. She couldn't think of anything to say. The only thing that came to mind was Sirius. They had had a fight, a stupid fight, and now she'd die before they could make up. She turned to look straight ahead across the table. She suddenly realized they weren't alone. There were many cloaked people standing around them.

She licked her lips and said slowly, "All I want you tell him is…to tell…" she hesitated. She wasn't sure how much she wanted to actually say. "Tell Padfoot not to do anything stupid." She nodded to herself the best she could.

"That's it?" Voldemort asked. He seemed disappointed. "Nothing more?"

Aly remained silent.

Voldemort looked to his left, and, with a graceful flick of his wrist, said simply, "Send it off."

He turned greedy eyes back to her. "Ready?" He smiled wickedly.

Aly nodded. She didn't know what else to do. She felt the ankle locks release, and she stood the best she could.

She closed her eyes, and waited. She pictured Sirius in her mind – his brown eyes, his annoying piece of hair, his lips, his smell…

She heard it—"AVADA KE—"

"WAIT!"

Her eyes flung open. Voldemort stumbled. He turned angry eyes on the crowd. "Who wasss that?" It came out as an angry, snakelike hiss.

After a few heavy moments, a single figure stepped out.

"Identify yourself," Voldemort bellowed.

"Black, Regulus Black," the small figure stated. Aly's heart jumped into her throat. What was he doing? Why was he trying to save her?

"You dare stop the Dark Lord?" Voldemort bellowed swooping over towards him.

"Please, forgive me, my lord. I just, I just," his nerve seemed to waive, but then he finished quickly with, "I just thought there was some important information you needed to know." Regulus was clearly shaking.

"Information?" Voldemort seemed slightly intrigued through his anger. "Yes? Care to share before I kill you too?"

Regulus' shaking was so bad that Aly could see his robes swaying fiercely. "She's been bleed!" he shouted out. He lowered his voice by what seemed like force and continued. "She's been bleed with my brother, her boyfriend. Their children will be the most perfect, the most purest of the pure. The most pure generations ever known or seen in a single child."

Voldemort seemed suddenly interested. "Really?" He examined Aly. "Dumbledore actually bleed his offspring. How 'magical' of him."

"My mother did it," Regulus corrected.

"Get back in line," Voldemort barked. Regulus sunk back into place.

Voldemort began to pace, thinking deeply, and then suddenly stopped. He turned wicked eyes and a wicked smile on Aly. "I don't think I will kill you today."

Aly felt all the blood rush to her face in relief. "I'll wait until you produce offspring and then kill you." He chuckled once. It was a dark, sinister chuckle. "Yes. Go live your life. Be happy. Even marry your boyfriend while you're at it, if you'd like. I don't care. Just as long as you two reproduce. Think of what it could mean!" His eyes glowed greedily. "To have my symbol. A beautiful symbol of all that is right in the world. Yes, go off. Live life. But know this, you will either give me my pure symbol or else you will be forced to give it to me." He turned and announced. "Dispose of her, and make sure she gets the medical attention she needs. I can't have her injured if she's supposed to be the mother of my creation."

Aly felt a spell upon her, and the room went black again.

XxXxX

A scream filled the air. Aly's eyes shot open. She couldn't tell what was going on. There was dust in the air. Then suddenly she was scooped up and was being jostled, which hurt her hip. She realized by the scratchy hair on her forehead and furry overcoat that she was in Hagrid's arms.

"Hagrid, what happened? Where am I? Who screamed?" Aly asked quickly.

She saw them pass through the gates of Hogwarts. She must've been left in Hogsmeade.

"Hagrid," Aly stressed as they made their way up the hill towards the castle. "Who screamed? Are they hurt?"

"It was just Rosemerta. She found ya." Hagrid said roughly and slightly out of breath.

Aly felt relieved that none had been hurt at her expense and fell silent, happy to be home safely.

"You there!" Hagrid bellowed once in the front hall at a portrait. "Let the Headmaster know that Alyson's back n' I'm takin' her to the hospital wing."

The witch in the portrait nodded and ran off.

Aly gripped Hagrid's beard as he took the stairs 5 at a time. She thankfully let him lay her down on a bed in the hospital wing. The nurse rushed forward. "Oh my goodness," she gasped and froze.

"Get ta work!" Hagrid yelled after a few seconds of the nurse's starring.

She began quickly examining Aly. Aly was telling her exactly what was hurting her as her father entered the room with McGonagall right on his heels.

"You're alive?" her father stated. He looked so much older than Aly remembered him looking.

"Yes," Aly stated as the nurse dabbed something on her swollen eye.

A smile came across his face. "I'm glad."

"Me too," Aly agreed.

McGonagall suddenly burst into tears. All four of the other occupants of the room looked on startled. "Sorry," she said dabbing her eyes with a handkerchief. "I just thought you were dead. We got that note, and I just thought…"

Hagrid patted the professor on the back gently as she blew her nose.

Aly smiled and felt her swell with happiness. At least someone would've missed her.

The nurse had disappeared and reappeared with a handle full of jars. "We've got lots of work to do," she told Aly. "Ready to get started?"

Aly smiled widened. She'd never been so happy to be in the hospital wing in her entire life.

XxXxX

Turned out Aly had a broken ankle and elbow, a sprained ankle, and a dislocated shoulder and hip. "All easy fixes," Pomfrey assured her. Other than that, she had only minor cuts and scraps besides her eye. She would have to wear a sling for her elbow since it was one of the hardest bones to heal due its constant use. Aly endured the popping of her joints back into place, swallowed many disgusting potions, and, finally, took a sleeping potion. She didn't really need it. She was exhausted and it would be the first time she felt safe enough to sleep in days, but she took it anyways.

She woke the next morning to her father's voice. He was arguing with the nurse about something.

"Dad? What's going on?" she called across the room lazily.

"Didn't mean to wake you," he told her as he came over to inspect her. "You're looking much better."

Aly nodded and said, "At least I can kinda see out of my eye now."

"Yes," he said with a smile, "It's certainly getting better looking."

"Just a few more applications should clear it up," Madame Pomfrey swooped in and began applying more to Aly's eyelids.

"I was about to head down to Hogsmeade and have a talk with Rosemerta," Dumbledore said thoughtfully.

"Can I come?" Aly asked. She was definitely curious to what the barmaid had seen. She looked at her father and then at the nurse. "Please."

Dumbledore looked to the nurse for confirmation.

"I don't see why not," the nurse said, and then turned to Aly, "You're going to sore for a while. I healed everything up for you, but that doesn't mean you're back to 100% yet. You took a rough beating. So take it easy."

Aly smiled, and then turned to her dad, "Can I shower first?"

He nodded. She jumped up and stumbled. "I said, 'Take it easy!'" the nurse exclaimed as she took a hold of Aly.

Aly smiled apologetically.

She needed assistance showering which Pomfrey supplied. She was dressed, and her and her father headed down the front walk towards the small village.

/ / /

"What can we do?" whispered the boy.

"There's got to be something," the other one whispered.

"I don't know if there's a way to get him out of this funk. Maybe we should just leave him alone."

"No, we can't do that. We're his friends."

"We should just leave him alone."

"I can hear you guys," another voice barked. Sirius was sitting in the corner staring out the window, not really seeing anything. His best friends were behind him discussing whether to talk to him. He didn't want to talk to them, but he also didn't want to be alone.

He had gotten word two days ago about . . . what had happened. He couldn't even bring himself to think it. He remembered sitting in the common room, waiting. Three days of waiting. It had taken a toll on him. He stopped eating. He quit going to class. He had given up any and all Marauder's activities. He had ignored the rest of the things and people in his life, but he had hope. It was a small glimmer, but it was there. She could come back. She could. It wasn't impossible. They didn't know 100% who took her. He could tell that the headmaster knew but wasn't going to share that information with him. It was probably to protect him, to protect his hope. And then, yesterday afternoon, his life crashed down around him. His hope was gone.

A letter had arrived via snake. She had thought of him in her final moments. He took comfort in that. It wasn't the type of sentiment that he had really wanted. He had expected some sort of loving words about how she was sorry and she loved him, but she expressed her concern for him and his safety. It was a sentiment that came out of love. She had worried about him until the end. It was typical Aly…he shook his head hard. He couldn't hear let alone think her name. It was just, it was just too hard. It made his heart squeeze in pain.

He had snubbed her. The last time he had and ever would see her, he had snubbed her. And over something stupid. He had been hurt and upset, but now, he knew, that she would never have cheated on him, let alone with James. She had been the most fiercely loyal person he knew. She was the one light spot in his normally bleak life. And now she was gone.

He had managed to not cry in front of anyone. Alone, yes. But in front his friends, he had managed to keep some control. "Let's go outside," James suggested enthusiastically.

"That might be a good idea," Remus said and turned to Sirius, "Fresh air might help."

"Nothing will help," Sirius said blandly.

"Well, it's still better than sitting in here," James replied and took Sirius by the arm. He drug him up without much resistance. "Come on, Pad," he said quietly. "You've gotta try and pretend to pull it together. Lily's beside herself. We can't handle both of you collapsing on us. I know you're heartbroken, dude, but just for a little bit longer. Just, just hang in there." Sirius nodded and let him lead him out the common room.

/ / /

The conversation with Rosemerta had gotten them no where. She said she had heard a knock on the backdoor, yelled to the person that they were closed for the night, which caused an even louder knock. She heard the distinct pop of someone disapparating as she opened the door and saw a body lying on the ground. She sent one of the other workers up the gate of the school to fetch anyone who could help when she realized that it was Aly, and Hagrid was the one who came running. She had no other information and hadn't seen who had delivered Aly.

"Dad," Aly said as they slowly walked through the main street of the village. Dumbledore slowed his steps to keep up Aly's smaller, slower ones.

"Yes, Alyson?" He didn't move his head but his eyes glanced over at her. She could tell he was keeping watch.

"There were students there—wherever it was that I was. There were Hogwarts students. That means they've infiltrated the castle."

He nodded to show that he heard her, but said nothing else. She hated how secretive he was sometimes.

"Are you going to do anything about it?" Aly asked.

"It's taken care of, Alyson." There was finality in her voice that told her that he wasn't going say anything more.

She sighed in defeat, and went on to ask, "Aren't you going to ask me how I'm still alive?"

His eyebrows went up, but, again, he said nothing.

"Well, if you won't ask, then I won't tell you," she stated blinking quickly, thrown off by his seeming lack of interest with her brush with death.

He smiled a very fatherly smile and asked, finally turning his head to look at her, "Please do share."

"No," she stated defiantly, "You're just being snarky about it now."

He stopped. "I really do want to know." He gestured her towards a bench.

She sat and plunged into the tale. "Well, I have no idea where I was…" She retold every detail she could recall down to when and where she broke her bones. He listened patiently. She hesitated when she reached the part where Voldemort told her he had never sent for her. She looked up at him with sad eyes, "Why?"

He smiled understandingly at her, "He never sent word, Alyson. I swear. I would've been able to track it back and locate you. He lied to you."

She nodded, feeling relieved. "Sorry, I doubted you," she said quietly.

"It's quite alright," he told her. "So, you have yet to tell me how you got out of the predicament you were in."

She heaved a huge sigh and plunged into the scariest part of the tale. She would've been lying if she had said that she hadn't pictured marrying Sirius in the future at some point. She hadn't picked a date or anything, but it was still upsetting to think that she couldn't ever have that. She had to stay away from him for his own good. If they did have a baby, she knew he died defending it. Her father read her face.

"You don't need to give up your own happiness, Aly. There are many people working very hard to stop Voldemort. By the time you are ready to have children, with whoever they may be with, he hopefully won't even be a threat. Life is too short to stop being with the people you love. Plus, I don't see Mr. Black giving you up without a fight."

Aly lowered her eyes. She remembered the fight they had before she was taken. It was hazy after everything else that had happened to her, but she remembered the look on his face as he turned to head to class.

"No matter what happened before all this is a moot point, Alyson," he explained softly. "When I got that letter, and I had to tell him, his face looked exactly the way I felt. He's not himself since he found out you died, or were supposedly dead."

"How many days has it been?" she asked picking at the chipped polish on her nails. "Since, I, you know, disappeared."

"Including the day you went missing, you've been gone 6 days to them. Dead for two. I think you need to let them know you're alive."

She nodded but looked at him and said very seriously, "You can't tell anyone about this. Understand? What happened stays between the death eaters, you, and me."

He looked surprised, "I think you should really consider letting Sirius know since this does affect him as well."

"No," Aly stated bluntly. "Between us. Promise."

He hesitated and then nodded.

"Good." She stood and turned back towards the castle. "So, tell me what I've missed here."

/ / /

James, Peter, and Remus all sat under one of their favorite trees. It gave you the best view of the school grounds. Sirius leaned back against the trunk. He starred angrily at the front gates. He should have been there with her. He should have never let her go out of the castle alone, no matter how angry or upset he was. So many "should haves."

His friends had wanted to take him to the lake, but he refused. He couldn't even look at it. Their first kiss had been there. He had given her his crest ring there. There were too many memories there.

They then suggested the gap in the trees at the forests edge. Her moonstone was only a few yards back from there so that was a no too.

They suggest Hagrid's, the greenhouses, the astronomy tower, the qudditch pitch—every single place had a memory. They ended up at the tree. They spent many sunny days at it. It had no memory of Aly except for the one—when they hung Snape upside down and Lily got called a "mudblood" by the stupid prat. He had looked over his shoulder at her lounging by the lake. She had shaken her head at him in disappointment.

The three other boys chatted trying to include Sirius in the conversation as much as possible. He didn't respond to their attempts. Eventually, they stopped trying, happy they had at least gotten him outside.

"We've got exams next week," he heard James say. "I think I'm ready."

"Really?" Remus replied. "You haven't even cracked a book."

"Don't need to. It's all up here, my friend. Ask me any question about any subject. Go ahead."

"What charm do you use to stop a spell without speaking?" Remus asked.

"Pfft. That's easy," James remarked.

"I had just taught Aly that," Sirius announced.

The boys went quiet.

"I feel like she's still here," Sirius continued in a hushed tone. "I don't know if I can stay here. I can't be near all these places and people when she's not. I look for her around every corner and wait for her to come walking down the stairs. I see her out of the corner of my eye sometimes. I swear she got into my bed last night, but when I woke I was alone. I feel like I'm going crazy. Like now, I feel like I can see her walking through the gates. I can't be here. I just can't." He dropped his head and held in his tears. His chest bounced roughly.

"Uh, Pad…" James said standing up and grabbing his shoulder. "If you're going crazy so am I."

"Me too," Peter agreed.

Sirius lifted his eyes. "Oh my god." There was no way…

/ / /

As they reached the gates to the school, her father turned to her, "Can I trust that you can safely make it to the castle from here?"

"Yes," she said with a smile.

"I'm going to examine the barriers around the school, just to be sure there are no holes. For the safety of the students, of course." He winked and walked away.

Aly smiled and made her way up the drive. The sun was shining, and she pulled her hair out of the ponytail holder she had piled it in after her shower. The curls bounced freely. She threw her head back and basked in the sunlight. Those three days in the dark were awful, and she never wanted to not be able to feel the sun on her face ever again.

She heard a voice say "Oh my god," and she lowered her head and looked. She stopped dead in her tracks. It was the Marauders.

They all looked like they were seeing a ghost, which, she reminded herself, to them, she was.

"Hey," she said with an awkward half wave.

Sirius' jaw was dropped, and his face had gone white.

He took two unsteady steps towards her and then stopped. He swayed, and asked the boys over his shoulder, "You do see her right?"

James beamed. Remus look relieved. Peter seemed scared.

Sirius turned back and took a few long steps until he was right in front of her. He reached out to touch her, but his fingers hovered right over her cheek. He closed his eyes and breathed in deep. "You smell real," he told her.

Aly's heart was beating a mile minute. He looked exhausted but still so good. He was right there in front of her. She would get to touch him again, smell him again, be held again. She closed her eyes as his hand finally found her cheek. Once his skin met hers, tears started rolling down both their cheeks.