Luna looked over suddenly at the sound she heard. She had been lying in the sofa in the living room, watching television when she had drifted off. Harry and Ginny had kept their promise to remain with Luna but had seemingly decided that promise could be just as well fulfilled in another empty room. Luna awoke to the MD she had received from STRIKE going off loudly.

She rubbed her eyes blearily and reached over to take it. A haggard looking Michael appeared in holographic form. She gasped at his appearance, but he waved her off.

"Ignore this," he said, gesturing to his injuries. "Luna, you need to get to Hogwarts now. Get Harry and the others up and go. Use your Apparition to go straight in, the others can follow through the Floo."

"But you look awful," Luna said bluntly.

"You should see the other guy," Michael muttered. Luna opened her mouth, but Michael cut her off. "No seriously, you need to see the other guy."

With that Michael vanished and Luna's MD blinked off. She tilted her head at it, and then sat back down. Michael's bloody and cut face still swam in her mind, ruling out sleep completely. She sighed and stood up, her feet still aching terribly, deciding to try and wake Jeff and Sarah first, hoping she could send one of them to gather Harry and Ginny from whatever compromising position they might be in.

"How is this possible?" McGonagall asked, shaking her head disbelievingly.

"I intend to find out," Lupin muttered.

"Don't you think you should see a Healer about those injuries?" Tonks asked Michael, concerned.

"Not now," Michael told her. "It's not the first fist fight I've been in, though probably the least fun… but we have important things to do."

Michael had sent a message to certain Order members, the core of the Order. Remus, Kingsley, McGonagall, and Tonks had answered the call, unsurprisingly accompanied by her mother, who had been enjoying the holidays with her. Given the circumstances, Michael would not be complaining about any capable Witch that wanted to join them. Luna, Harry, Ginny, Jeff, and Sarah had joined them shortly after. Despite the hour, not one person present exhibited any signs of tiredness.

"I've got the Veritaserum," Kingsley said in his slow voice.

"I don't think we'll need it," Michael said, narrowing his eyes at Sirius. "The way he acted when I fought him at Stonehenge…it wasn't the Sirius Black I remember."

"You think he's under the Imperius Curse?" Andromeda asked. She looked more weary than the rest of them and slightly out of it. He wondered if she had been indulging in a bit of festive drink. Her eyelids were drooping to the point that she resembled Bellatrix even more than usual.

"I think he was," Michael said. "Something weird happened while we were fighting. He missed a punch and I ended up throwing him against one of the stones." He shook his head. "I don't know exactly what happened, but I think that the magic of the Stones wiped away the enchantment on him. I mean, the Polyjuice Potion was washed away at the same time."

"I guess we'll find out when he comes to," Lupin said, sounding incredibly hoarse. His mouth and throat were dry and his words weren't coming easy.

"There's something I have to know," Michael said. He knelt down next to Sirius, who was slumped up against a wall in Michael's old office. He reached down and grabbed Sirius' shirt, tearing it open with one motion.

"No," Harry whispered. Just as Michael suspected, there it was. A long, white, horizontal scar across his chest, just like the ones he still bore from Snape's Sectumsempra curse all those years ago.

"What does that mean?" Lupin asked, staring down at his old friend.

"It means it was him who tried to kill Luna in Diagon Alley," Michael said, anger threatening to overtake him. Sirius, Harry's godfather. Sirius, who had saved Harry's life. "If he is under the Imperius Curse," Michael said quietly, "he didn't mean to do what he did…I think we should wake him up now."

"You don't want to wait for Luna?" Tonks asked.

Andromeda raised her wand. "Restraints would be wise, we don't know what his intentions are."

Harry's eyes shifted to her at the same time Michael looked at him. He shook his head. "Let's just see what he has to say," Michael said after a moment's pause. He pointed his wand down at him and said, "Rennervate."

Sirius groaned and slowly opened his eyes. They were bloodshot and haunted, and there was a mixture of fear and recognition in them.

"Sirius?" Michael said quietly. "Are you…with us?"

Sirius blinked repeatedly. He seemed to be having a hard time focusing on anything. His gaze turned from Michael, to Harry, to Andromeda, to his own hands, slowly held up in front of him. Andromeda twitched her wand, but cast no spells.

"Yes…." His voice was near a whimper.

"Sirius, what happened? We haven't seen you in years. Or have we? You have to tell us, what's been going on?"

"Voldemort," Sirius muttered. He shut his eyes, for which Michael was grateful. The look there was beginning to frighten him. "It's been two…three, years since he did it…."

"Did he put you under the Imperius Curse?" Michael asked urgently. "Was he controlling you?"

"Yes. I was on a mission for STRIKE, years ago, and I was caught…." Sirius shook his head. "For months, I was forced to do his will. I remained undercover, spying on the Order and on STRIKE. Then, at Christmas, the Order got word that you were under attack…I had my chance, and when your back was turned, I did it…."

"But I survived," Michael said, not needing him to vocalize the act. "And you had failed. So what happened then? You just disappeared."

"He said you would think I was too ashamed to return," Sirius mumbled, his eyes still shut. "He said that your friends wouldn't bother looking for me, if I had killed you. He said you'd all expect I had killed myself or gotten myself killed. So we waited. And then, our opportunity came. Draco Malfoy captured a STRIKE agent named Erik Turner. He kept him alive for a while…."

"So you could take his place with the Polyjuice potion," Michael deduced. "You took his place to spy on STRIKE. So then, when Luna and I were in Diagon Alley, you got your second chance. You tried to kill Luna." His voice shook as he said it, but he kept his anger under control.

"But you were too good." For the first time, Sirius sounded a little better. "You stopped me and caught me with that curse. The word to go to the Alley came quick, and I didn't have time to drink the potion. I had to count on my armor to hide my identity."

"But STRIKE says Erik Turner is dead."

"Yes." Sirius sounded haunted again. "After years and years, he got what he wanted."

"The T Armor." It all made sense now. "You stole the Armor as Turner, and then Voldemort didn't need him anymore."

"To cover his tracks, I went on one last mission as Turner, alone. I met Voldemort there and he killed Turner. We left the body for STRIKE to find…."

"But the Dark Lord wasn't through with spying yet," Andromeda surmised. "So he, or Draco, or…"

"Me," Sirius finished. "I tailed a few STRIKE companies, waiting for my chance. I ended up getting my opportunity when Desmond Sanders left his squad in the helicopter. I replaced him, and within minutes, I had yet a third chance." For the first time, his mouth curved into a smile. "You saw right threw my disguise. You lured me into a trap, and now…it's over. After three wretched, horrible, tortured years, it's over."

"Not yet," Michael said, standing back up. "There's one more thing. Sirius, we need to know where Voldemort's striking from. We need to know where he's hiding. If you tell me, we can go finish this."

"No you can't," Sirius muttered. His eyes suddenly went wide. With amazing speed, he lunged upwards and grabbed Michael's shirt. Several wands were immediately pointed at him, Lupin's and Andromeda's among them. But Michael did nothing. Sirius seemed more terrified than he had at any other time and looked as if he had just remembered something awful.

"It doesn't matter!" he whispered, more scared than ever. "It's not going to matter! He's about to, it was all a distraction! I – I – I was just a distraction!"

"A distraction for what?" Michael asked urgently and loudly. "Sirius, what is he planning?"

"The Ministry," Sirius almost screamed. "He knew I'd be caught all along! This wasn't your trap, it was his!"

"What are you talking about?" Michael asked, very alarmed by Sirius' demeanor.

"He's going for the Ministry!" Sirius yelled, shaking Michael. He stood up, but Michael pushed him back down. "I outlived my usefulness, just like the others. He knew I'd be caught, I was only a distraction! With all of you occupied…."

"I'll alert the Aurors and security staff," Kingsley said quickly. He drew his wand and cast his lynx Patronus, which sprinted out through a wall and in the direction of the Ministry.

"We need to move, now," Michael said, releasing himself from Sirius. He turned to the others. "This is bad. Voldemort has STRIKE's secrets, and if we don't act fast, he'll have the Ministry. Professor," he addressed McGonagall, "if you can stay here with Sirius, take him to Madame Pomfrey. I'm going to the Ministry."

"We're all with you," Lupin said, casting a sorrowful glance at his old friend, who collapsed back onto the ground, apparently passed out.

"All of us," Tonks reiterated.

Michael squared his shoulders. "Luna, you can't –"

"I can stay here and make sure Sirius is all right," Luna said, smiling vaguely. Harry turned to her with the deepest gratitude in his face.

"You would?"

Luna nodded, moving a little closer to Sirius. "I know I can't fight in my state. But I can still help my friends."

"Take this," Michael said, thrusting his MD into Luna hand. "Use it to send a message to STRIKE headquarters. It will link you directly to General Staffon. Tell him that the Ministry is in critical danger and we need backup."

Luna nodded again. She and Michael shared a brief kiss before he turned to the others.

"No one knows where Ron and Hermione are?"

Harry and Ginny shook their heads. Michael sighed.

"We could've used them, but I can't judge them if they're not available, they had no way of knowing this was coming. We'll have to make due. Kingsley, this is your department – literally. How do you want to do this?"

"We'll Apparate directly into the atrium," Kinglsey said slowly. "Chances are, we'll be moving right into the thick of the fighting. Most of us will need to try to hold the Death Eaters back and link with the Aurors. We'll need to send a few of our higher tier fighters to the Minister to protect him. If Voldemort is attacking the Ministry, Scrimgeour is likely his personal target."

"Michael and I will see to it," Andromeda said gravely. All of her exhaustion seemed to have vanished as the plans were made, although she did look a little pale. I'm not convinced the Dark Lord will target the Minister himself, it seems too mundane for him. But it's still the most likely outcome."

"In that case, others should join you," Kingsley said. "I can –"

"We will be enough," Andromeda interrupted him. Michael felt an odd chill creep into the room, though not from nerves. This was something external. "For an expeditionary force, at least," Andromeda went on. "If we do indeed end up dueling the Dark Lord, we will send for you. Does this battle plan agree with you, Kingsley?"

Kingsley raised his eyebrows at Tonks. "You want to go with your mother?"

"I want to fight with the rest of the Aurors," Tonks said seriously. "And besides…between those two," she jerked a thumb at Michael and Andromeda, "I'd probably just get in the way. More than my big feet usually do, I mean."

"Then let's waste no more time," Kingsley said quickly. "Minerva will lower Hogwarts' defenses for us?" He looked questioningly at the Headmistress, who nodded. "Then we Disapparate on three. One…two…three!"