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Chapter fifty- Moony Comes Home.

Sirius didn't owl me. I waited to the first cheek, and nothing came, then the second week and I got nothing. Then the weeks turned into a month and that month turned it to two and I still got nothing. I stopped waiting. Sirius and I are just not longer together, because apparently he wrote to James. I can't deny the fact that I'm hurt because everyone knows I am. I just try not to show it much, mostly by working all the time. I've started taken double shifts, like Moody does so I've been working with him a lot like when the rest of the auror's leave the office. This June is hotter than I can remember, or maybe it's just because I've been running through the forest day and night trying to look for this damn Karkaroff. I'm not stopping til we find him. Lily, Alice, and James came back to work around a week or so after I did and they started looking for the Carrow's which brought them to France for the day, but they told me they didn't see Moony or Wormtail. Moony has written to me though, and France has gotten quite a bit better since Frank and I went there. There isn't as much attacks and they're not a big as before now the war is kind of just spread equally through England and France. Though the only thing I'm waiting for now, is to catch voldemort and his damn death eaters. I'm ready for this to be over.

"When the hell are we going to catch him?" Frank says angrily as he walks in and sits at his desk next to mine. I tosh him the knife I had gotten out for him, he caught it without even looking.

"We'll catch him Longbottom." Moody grumbles as he walks over to us and I hand him his knife as well. I stick my own in the back of my pants.

"It's been six months since you started looking for this bastard. He'll have nowhere to hide soon. We're getting closer every day."

"That may be true, but we now have Evan Rosier to look for and Travers, and Mucilber and Antonin Dolohov."

"Well here's my idea, I say we just scan the country side and stop looking for one death eater at a time. We know they didn't leave England because all of them are still attacking places and to be honest the location of the attacks are getting closer together, so they might be trying to meet up." Moody eyes me for a second.

"And then when they do meet up we can get them all together in one." Frank finishes with a grin. Moody thinks about it for a few seconds and nods his head.

"Alright, get your stuff together." I walk into the back room and start grabbing the supplies we'll need grabbing three of each, and stuffing the rest of the stuff into an enlarged back before I put a shrinking charm on it and stuff it in my pocket. When I walk back in Frank and Moody are talking to James, Alice, and Lily.

"Hey." I say walking in. Lily gives me a tired smile. Jade's probably still on her mind every minute.

"Little Black, they're coming with us today." It's not that I didn't love my friends, don't get me wrong it's just that I've been kind of a loner these days. I moved back into my flat and I don't ever go and visit because of all the work I'm doing so, being with them would make me uncomfortable.

"Do you think that is a good idea sir?" Moody raises an eye brow at me. "The Carrow's are without a doubt still in France. We can't just forget about them, they were our top priority. If we leave them I'm sure they'll do something stupid. I know them and they are absolutely relentless." Mad-Eye sucks in a deep breath runs a hand over his scarred face.

"You're right. Little Longbottom, Little Potter, and Potter, You're to go to France again today, I want you searching all the large forests. If you don't find him by 5 come back. I'm not sure if we'll be back yet, but finish the report and then go home." James looks at me and narrows his eyes, I haven't meet his eyes in 2 and a half months and I can't meet them now, I turn my head.

"Fine." James says, and I can tell he's angry.

"Be careful, stay together." Moody tells them. I gather up the rest of the stuff, Frank, Moody, and I start heading for the door, I stop when someone grabs my arm. I turn around to face Alice.

"Don't be a stranger." She tells me. I give her a light smile which is the only thing I can give.

"Okay, be careful. If you need help-"

"Let you know?" James asks bitterly.

"Yes." I say simply before walking out. I run to catch up with Moody and Frank as they step onto the elevator.

"I know why you did that back there little Black." Moody says.

"I don't know what you're talking about." I lie turning and facing the wall. Surprisingly he drops it, though that may have something to do with Frank. We step out the door and Moody turns to us.

"Same woods as before, yes?" we nod. "Go!" I turn on the spot apparating right into the dark woods. The black clothes I'm wearing stick to my skin because it's already way to hot out.

"Okay, we're splitting up. Use whatever means necessary to capture them, I don't care if they're dead or alive got me?" We nod our heads.

"Be careful." Frank warns as Moody starts walking away. He gives me a kiss on the cheek.

"You too." We go in separate directions and just walk aimlessly through the forest. I take in a deep breath and place a cooling charm on myself. These are the times when I wish I had a distraction. I distance myself from all my friends except Frank and when I'm not with someone I think about Jade and Sirius constantly. I just don't understand what I did wrong. Maybe my life was too complicated for him. I mean I lose everyone and I'm not always the happiest person I can be but maybe the things I've been through he just can't deal with. I don't know what the case is but, it would really be helpful if he'd at least let me now. I wipe a bitter tear off my face. Dammit sometimes he can be such a damn coward. How could he not tell me he was leaving? I at least deserved a good bye, didn't I? Even Moony said good bye to us, even though I was mad he still just didn't pick up and leave. I just don't understand at all.

I lose people all the time; I mean what do you expect it's a war going on. Just the other day it was said that Traver's helped murder the McKinnons. I've known them for years. Everyone around me is dying, everyone around us is dying and he decided now to pick up and go? What an arsehole. What a selfish arrogant arsehole. But I don't want to see Sirius anymore, I want to see Remus. I need to know that he's really okay. Jade meant everything to him, and then he watched her die right in front of him. I want to be there for him, that's my thing it helps distract everything. If someone is upset I help them, because then I don't think about what's upsetting me. Sure it's a stupid way to live because I always run from my problems as Sirius and James tell me I do, but it works for me, and then when I'm ready to deal with the problem I do. And right now I am so not ready to deal with the problem so since I can't take care of anyone I started working, a lot.

I wipe a bead of sweat off my forehead and glance down at my watch, three hours. It's been three hours since we've been looking, and I haven't seen a flicker of anything. Not one damn thing. I start walking again. I walk and search for at least three more hours. I stop when I hear a loud bang. I search the trees with my eyes hoping to see something, anything. I notice a tree down a little ways so I start running to it. Then without warning a hex hits me and I fly grab my leg which had started to bleed.

The laughter rings through my ears. "Ah Black, how lovely to see you." I look up and into the eye of Travers, standing next to him was Evan Rosier, and Karkaroff.

"I agree, this is a fine day for us to meet." I say standing up straight.

"You haff been looking for me for months." Karkaroff says.

"We have been." I say putting emphases on the VE.

"Same you're all alone." Travers taunts with a glint in his eye.

"Where are your masks?" I say back with a glare.

"Oh these?" Rosier says taking out his mask and throwing it on the ground. He then points his wand at my chest. "We won't need these today."

"And why is that." They all smile widely.

"I figure we owe you to at least be able to see the men that are the cause of your death." My right hand starts to shake. I've never been alone before with these three, sure in school I've hexed and dueled along but this is nowhere near the same.

"I'm dying today?" I say trying to cover up my fear.

"Oh yes." Travers says simply and that breaks the ice and curses and hexes start flying at me, I dock and shield some of them, but some get passed my guard and I feel them cutting into my skin.

"Damn you!" I snarl as we continue fighting back and forth, but I find it surprises no one had brought out the killing curse, or actually any of the three unforgivable curses. So I bring them out.

"Crucio!" I shout pointing my wand at Traver's who falls to the ground twitching in pain. I grin madly for a few seconds breathing in and out through the pain.

"Crucio!" Someone shouts at me, my wand drops for my hand, as it feels like a thousand hot knives have run through me. I don't scream, but I want too, I want to so bad, but I won't give in to the curse. Finally he releases it and I take in a long breath.

"Accio!" I reach for my wand just as it flies out of my reach and into Rosier's hand. "All alone without a wand." Dammit! I knew I forgot something when I left, I forgot the extra wands. Now I'm going to be honest, I'm scared. He leans over top of me, and I kick him hard in the head. He grabs his head in pain as I start to stand up. He punches me round the face, and I grimace but pull out my knife. He tackles me to the ground and we start struggling, his hand on the knife trying to get it out of my hands, but who am I kidding we all know he's way stronger than me, he takes the knife from my hands and stands up wiping a bloody lip.

"You've got nothing now, do you?" Someone comes from behind me and pulls me up into a sitting position by my hair and holds on. Rosier crouches down to my level with an evil smile on his face. I got nothing left so I spit in it. He growls and lounges forward with the knife start right above my eye brow and all the way down to my cheek bone cutting right over my eye lids. I hiss at the pain, making sure I don't scream.

"That hurt didn't it?" I don't answer. "How about this." He takes the knife a make a cut underneath my chin, blood starts pouring down my robes. "Nothing yet?" I don't answer again. "I'll try this then." He takes the knife and cuts into my robes and cuts across my scars. I bite my lip against the pain and that seems to give him an idea. "Hmm, seems that one hurt a little bit, but I won't stop until you scream. So you should just give in now and scream so I can kill you." I don't open my mouth. I watch as the knife comes closer to my lips, he starts making little cuts along the bottom of my lip, and then he pulls my mouth open and cuts along the inside of my mouth, blood fills up my mouth and runs down my face connecting with the blood from my eye, chin, and shoulder. I start getting lightheaded but I wasn't going to give in. If I was going to die I was going to die with pride. He stops asking me to scream now and just continues cutting everyplace he can, my legs, arms, my hands. All the while the three are laughing. The person holding my hair pushes me down so I'm face in the dirt. "This will get a scream out of you." And then the knife plunges into my back and I let out the loudest scream I ever have in my life, I scream and scream and scream until everything goes black.

XX

I blink my eyes open but pain shoots though the right one, and I can't see out of it. Am I blind? I stare up at the white ceiling, not knowing where I am. I can't move my legs or my arm and I start panicking, my chest rises and falling quickly as my breathing accelerates. Suddenly someone is blocking my view, my breathing doesn't calm down.

"Zee?" I recognize the sound of his voice and I notice that it's Moony. I breathe out a sigh of relief and close my eye and then open it again.

"M-" He puts a hand to my sore lips.

"Shhhh." He says. "I'm here." I let the tears fall down my cheeks, and I look down to see my whole is basically taped up.

"I-I w-was so scared." I sob. He goes to touch me but then stops and sits down in the seat very close to my bed.

"I would hug you Zee, but I can't touch you without hurting you." I nod, as I try swallowing the thump in my throat.

"Remus is she-"

"Frank?" I croak out.

"Oh honey." He says and I can hear his footsteps running closer to the bed. He looks down at me and I see that his eyes are red and puffy. My breathing accelerates again. "Don't get worked up it's not good for you." I nod my head and my lip starts quivering. "Are you in pain?"

"Yes." He closes his eyes. "What happened?" Frank and Remus exchange looks. "Tell me, please." I cry out.

"I didn't get anything all day, not one flicker of movement. I found Moody and we were going to find you when we heard you scream. We start running to go find you and when we did you were on the ground face down, blood pooling around you with a knife in your back. Traver's and Rosier were still there. Rosier hexed Moody and a chunk of his nose is now missing but Moody was so mad that Rosier did that to you that he killed him on the spot. I captured Traver's and he's in Azkaban right now."

"Karkaroff was there." I tell him. His eyes widen.

"He was there?" I nod my head. "Dammit, the damn bastard got away again."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't you apologize to me Xeomara, don't you dare." Frank orders.

"What's wrong with me? I'm not paralyzed am I?" Frank shakes his head and I sigh in relief.

"They just gave you a potion so that you can't move; they don't want you opening your injuries while they're trying to heal. You can't move from the neck down." So that's why I can nod my head. "You're cut everywhere." He says sadly.

"How long was I out for?"

"We found you about three hours ago. James wrote Moony and-"

"Where is James?" I ask my voice going back to normal.

"At Azkaban-"

"What?"

"He's the one that took Traver's from me, I suspect he's taking his frustrations out on him. He's really mad. He's also mad at Moody because he killed Rosier, and James wanted to kill."

"I figured he would be." Then I remember someone else. "Lily and Alice.

"They're here but Lily freaked out so bad when she saw you that Alice had to take her out of the room." I look towards Remus, and he smiles sadly.

"I came back alone." I close my eyes and a tear slips down my cheek. "I'm sorry."

"Di-did he even care?"

"Of course he did, he was a right mess but he said he couldn't come back. Peter told me to owl him when you're okay."

"You're not going back." He shakes his head.

"I'm here to take care of you."

"Take care of me? Remus that's silly. I'll probably be back to work in a week and you'd be bored. All I do-"

"Zee, you're not going back to work in a week." I stare at Frank wide eyed.

"Why not?" I ask panicked.

"Because-"

"Because you've been ruddy stabbed in the back that's why." Moody grumbles as he walks in the door, his nose tapped. "I'm not letting you walk back into the office for at least a month."

"A MONTH?!" I yell in outrage. "I NEED TO GO BACK TO WORK! I CAN'T NOT WORK MOODY! IF I DON'T I-"

"Hey!" A voice yells angrily as they walk in. James walks right up to the foot of the bed and glares at me. "Xeomara Elizabeth Black, you shut your dammed mouth right now." I swallow thickly and close it. "If you keep yelling like that you'll be here longer." He adds softer. "Remus will be there to help you get back on your feet, because we still have to work. I want to catch these bastards." I nod my head. James rubs a hand over his face and sighs deeply. "I'm sorry I yelled at you. I'm just so-"

"Frustrated?" I put in. He nods.

"You've been avoiding everyone but Frank and Moody like the plague and then this happened and well…I can't have you not talking to me."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize." He says running a finger through his hair. Suddenly I feel like I can move again and the pain comes back full force. I lift my hands to my face and examine them, they're heavily tapped and I can see some dried blood.

"You can move." Remus announces. "Should she be moving yet?"

"I'm not sure, I'll go check." Frank says getting up and running from the room. I turn to Moody.

"So I'll see you in a month?"

XX

A week passed and finally yesterday around noon I was taken home by Remus. He stayed with me every moment in the St. Mungo's which I was grateful for because I hated hospitals. I wasn't really allowed to walk or shower by myself, so that's where Remus came in, though he refused to shower me, so Alice and Lily would do that. I have yet to look at myself in the mirror and I won't until I'm fully healed.

"What do you want to eat?" Remus says walking into the living room where I was laying on the couch.

"Chocolate."

"Chocolate isn't a meal Zee." I roll my eyes, well my one eye.

"Fine, toast?" He returns to the kitchen and come back out with some toast and a cup of tea. He helps me sit up, and I bite my teeth against the pain my back. He sits down next to me and flips on the TV.

"How ya feeling today?" I carefully bite into my toast trying to avoid the sore spots on my lips were thankfully already healed.

"Mm, better." I say around the food in my mouth. I look at my hands as I take another piece of toast. We took the tape off of them yesterday and my palms have scars going down the middle, not very noticeable but still and my knuckles are scarred.

"That's good. I was thinking we could take the rest of the tape off today, well except for your back." I nod my head. "You up for it?"

"I guess." Fifteen minutes later I'm standing in front of my floor length mirror in just my bra and knickers with Moony behind me. Right now, I have something covering up the my right eyes, my shoulder is taped, I have a lot of taping around my torso because of my back, my legs are taped at the thighs and the calves, and my one upper arm is taped and on the other my forearm is. He starts working first on the ones on my leg; I see a thick scar on my calves and my thighs. He then moves towards my arms, and the one of my forearm is along the vein, and the one on my upper arm is on the inside.

"Wow." I breathe out touching the line along my leg. He then takes the cover off of my eye and I just stare at it, It's thicker and deeper than the other ones. It starts right above my eye brow and down along by eye lid to my cheek bone. I'm now thanking Merlin that I had closed my eyes. "I used to be pretty." I say looking at my face sadly.

"You're beautiful." I snort.

"Oh don't make me laugh Rem I'm hideous." He shakes his head.

"No you're not. Look the scars from me have faded to almost nothing. I'm sure this one will too." I shrug my shoulders.

"When can I take this one off?"

"The healer says he wants to check it before you do, so I'll take you into St. Mungo's next week."

"Great, more hospital visits."

"I wrote Sirius." I look at his eyes through the mirror and turn around picking up my big tee shirt and pulling it over my head as I do. "He's glad you're okay."

"Lovely." I say walking slowly back toward the couch.

"Don't be bitter Xeomara. He's going to come back someday. What are you going to do not talk to him?" Remus says catching up to me and lifting me in his arms.

"I'll talk to him." I say as he sets me down on the couch. Remus raises an eye brow. "Okay maybe not at first, but we've been through too much together, to never talk to him again." He nods, and it falls silent as we stare at the TV.

James, Lily, Frank, and Alice visit regularly. Molly even came a few times, but today was the first day I was allowed to leave my house in two weeks. My back was completely healed, and I was itching to get back to work but I still had two more weeks left. I had cut my hair short again like I did seventh year. Remus told me that I only do that because I was upset. I smacked him.

Moony took my hand and apparated to the burrow, because I was dying to see the little boys. I knock on the door, and suddenly Molly's there pulling it open and pulling me into a hug. I smile widely loving the feeling of finally being out.

"I figured you come early to the meeting." She says pulling back.

"Of course I would, this is my first time out in two weeks!" She smiles and we sit down at the table while she walks back in with the boys. She hands George to me, and Fred to Remus. I watch as Remus smiles brightly down at the baby and starts playing with his little hands. He would have made a great father. I look down to George.

"Hi baby, sorry I haven't come in a while." He makes a little gurgling noise and smiles. I close my eyes and just marvel at the feel of him in my arms.

"I bet your dying to get back to work." Molly says sitting down from across me.

"You bet I am."

"She's been complaining about it since her second day in the hospital." Remus adds on. I lean over with my free hand and smack the back of his head. "What you have!" Molly laughs.

"So you've been staying there then?" She asks directed to Remus.

"Well yeah, I-"

"He basically lives there. He sold his house before he left for France because he's an idiot and now he lives with me." I say with a smile.

"Well that's good. How've you been Remus?" She asks looking at him intently. He falters for a little bit and looks down. When he looks back up they're tears shining in his eyes, which make both mine and Molly's fill up.

"I miss her." He says simply. I swallow thickly and run a tear that fell from my eye grimaces when I felt the nasty scar. Molly reaches across the table and pats his hand.

"It will get easier." I know she was thinking about her brothers when she said this. 'We all miss her." She says smiling. I nod my head and look away from the deep conversation Remus and Molly had just started and tune out their voices, just staring at George. I rock him back and forth until he falls asleep. The sound of the doors opening, make my head jerk up. The order members start filling in. I stand up slowly, and take Fred from Remus.

"I'll take them upstairs Molly."

"You don't-"

"Let her go, she wants to start doing things." Remus says. I smile gratefully at him and kiss his cheek. I walk into the living room and up the stairs to the second floor. I place the sleeping babies softly in their crib and kiss their soft foreheads. I head back down stairs and take the seat Remus had saved for me.

"Hey partner." Frank says from across the table. I grin at him. "I miss you on the job."

"Miss you too, have you caught Karkaroff yet?" He shakes his head.

"The damn bastard keeps slipping through our fingers." Moody grumbles. "It's almost like he's trying to stay in one spot to piss us off."

"And it's working." I say with a smile noticing Moody's expression.

"Damn straight."

"The Carrow's?"

"Nothing, Sirius has been helping us look as well." James says and looks at me.

"James, you can talk about Sirius in front of me, I don't mind." He shrugs. "How is he?" I ask.

"Not the same." Lily answers truthfully. "He's more reserved and doesn't joke around as much. He's pretty down."

"Does he like working for Gaspard?" Lily smile widely.

"Gaspard is really hard on him." My eye brows furrow in confusion. "He knows that Sirius left you, and he's a little bitter towards him. He cursed him out in French for ten minutes." A smile comes to my lips.

"I hope Gaspard isn't too hard on him. I'll tell him to let up a bit."

"Don't do that! I'm sure it's amusing! I can picture Gaspard cursing at him, it would be hilarious!" Frank says with a laugh.

"Franklin!" I yell. He rolls his eyes.

"He deserves it." He mutters under his breath.

"I heard that."

"Heard what?" He says innocently.

"Hello everyone!" Dumbledore says walking his blue eyes twinkling. They land on me and he smiles. "Hello Xeomara, how are you doing?"

"Good, I'm ready for work."

"Don't count on it, you got two weeks left." Moody says. A few people laugh.

"Alright, you know the drill everyone get started." Albus says. I sit on the edge of my seat as I listen to the stories of the attacks and the spying and such. When Dumbledore dismisses the meeting he calls me up. I walk over to him and he hugs me tightly.

"I'm glad to see you're okay. And I see you've cut your hair again." I smile sheepishly.

"Yeah well…" I say tugging on the end of my hair.

"You will be back to Knockturn Alley on July 1st. You'll be relieving Hestia at 12 midnight. So you should try and be back from your first day of work by at least eight so you can get some sleep." I nod my head. "I'm truly sorry about Mr. Black." I look away.

"Some things just aren't mean to be."

"I wouldn't be too sure about that." I turn my direction back to his face, and our eyes lock.

"What do you mean by that?" He smiles softly, his eyes twinkle.

"He'll be back. I don't know when, but I'm usually right about these things. So trust me, he'll be back."