"What the hell happened?" Ron asked, sitting up.

Harry shook his head, also confused and stunned at the same time. "What the hell did happened?"

Sirius pulled out the shards of glass still stuck in his mouth. "Dante sacrificed himself to save us."

"But how did we get into a field?" Ron said again.

Lupin held out a hand and hauled the teenagers up as Sirius scooped Krysta's unconscious form into his arms. "Dante sent us home; Krysta needs medical attention now."

To the boys' surprise, they turned around to find themselves facing the Weasley house barely five hundred metres away.

"How the hell -?" Ron started.

"That rembrall isn't just a rembrall," Lupin said hurrying the others back to the house after Sirius. "Dante keeps some power inside it in case he needs it or he needs a quick exit. You saw how Krysta can decimate an army, Harry. If Dante is low on power and Krysta's about to blast them all to kingdom come, he needs a getaway car."

"He gave it to me when he called me over." Sirius said, shoving open the doors. "I just needed him to tell me when to use it and get us all out of there. God, I wish it had been all of us, but this was best that could be done. The rembrall was last here, so it brought us all back here when I smashed it – Arthur! Molly!"

Ginny dashed around the corner – and almost had a heart attack seeing their battered states. "Oh god…" Snapping herself out of it, she beckoned them into the living room. "This way! MUM! DAD!"

In a mad rush, everyone piled into the room.

"Good god," Mr Weasley said, stunned at their appearance.

"Here, lie her on the sofa, Sirius." Mrs Weasley said, already drawing her wand. "Fred – get some blankets! Ginny, the first aid kit."

Harry felt hands grab him and pull him out of the way, but he couldn't take his eyes off his sister. She lay so pale and still on the sofa, it was difficult to tell if she was still alive or a perfectly preserved corpse. The sheer idea of it, turned his soul inside out.

"Harry, what happened out there?" Hermione asked urgently. She cupped his face in her hands, catching his attention and gasped seeing the deep purple bruising around his throat. "What happened?"

"Voldemort was there." Ron told her, achingly leaning against the back of the armchair, his whole body still on fire from the crippling torture curse. "He had been watching the Snatchers and saw Dante in action. Turns out, Voldemort's been hunting Dante for years as well as Krysta. He's been after a Source for decades."

Harry stared at his sister as the others worked around her in a flurry of activity. As Fred carefully lifted her head, George placed a cushion underneath and Ginny covered her with a blanket.

Leaning over the side of the sofa, Mrs Weasley incanted healing spell after healing spell while Mr Weasley and Lupin very carefully splinted her broken left arm and wrapped it in bandages.

"How is she?" Sirius asked, kneeling beside her to hold her hand and unable to hide the terrified tone in his voice.

Mrs Weasley glanced at him, finally placing her wand down. "Sirius…" she murmured, shaking her head.

Harry's heart thudded, the instant panic setting in so quickly, he nearly collapsed. "Is she-?"

"No," Mrs Weasley said quickly. "But…"

A struggled silence descended.

"Molly," Lupin said, gripping the ned of his shirt tightly.

"I'm sorry," Mrs Weasley aid, silent tears slipping down her cheeks. "Krysta has lost so much blood – there's massive internal bleeding, she's barely holding on."

Sirius cast distraught dark eyes onto his goddaughter. "No…" he whispered. He raised a shaking and to her ashen cheek. "No, Krysta…"

Beside him, barely able to hold himself together, Lupin knelt down. "Is she gonna-,"

The struggled silence turned to dead silence.

Mr Weasley grasped his wife tightly s she broke down. "You did everything you could, Molly." He looked over every other scared to death face. "Dante did too – he tried so hard to save her. All of you did."

It was like Harry couldn't breathe. The whole world seemed to fall away in a moment. He just stood there and stared. He stared at Krysta's pale skin contrasting against her dark, wavy hair surrounding her and spilling off the arm of the sofa in a silken stream. He stared at her closed eyes hidden behind a million dark lashes; there was no movement of the eyes beneath as if she was merely asleep and dreaming like a child. Her cherubic lips were slightly parted, only just raking in shallow, grating breaths that tried so hard to meander through blood-filled lungs.

Harry felt someone hugging him, but it was like it was happening to someone else, far away.

"No," Hermione said, shaking her head. She gripped Harry tighter. "No, this can't be just it – Krysta isn't like us. She's an angel! She is an ultimate source of pure magics – she can't be taken down so easily. I won't believe it!"

Mr Weasley reached out and grasped her shoulder reassuringly. "Krysta is the strongest young lady I know, Hermione. For goodness sake, she is the only girl in the world that could capture Dante – she is not like us… but she does have a muggle body; it is uncertain if our spells will work on her."

"She's not gone yet." Sirius stated. He looked at his old friends determinedly. "Krysta isn't gone yet. The spells are still working; we will just wait. I've lost count of the amount of times she's scared us out of our minds like this and everything had turned out fine."

Lupin nodded after a moment and forced back his terror. "Yes, she's strong. We know that and so does Dante – he would never have given himself for us and her if he thought she wasn't going to make it." He picked up Krysta's limp hand and held it both his own, lovingly kissing her knuckles. "You're always fine, my girl, always. I haven't had to worry about you since you were eleven and sneaking out of Hogwarts to see Harry." He chuckled, his voice catching. "She'd go see Harry and then waltz back to school where I was already waiting and she would just pretend nothing out of the ordinary had happened and Dumbledore and I were completely overreacting."

Behind them, Mr Weasley chuckled too. "And you fell for it each time, Remus. Krysta knew how to take care of herself before we knew how to take care of her. Michael had already taught her so much, then Lily took over. That girl has always been independent, just like her."

Hermione couldn't help the smile that crossed her lips as her heart lifted. "So Krysta's stronger than she looks, right? So there's still hope."

She turned to Harry again. releasing her vice like grip, she stepped in front of him and forced the other's fixed gaze onto her eyes. "Harry," she said firmly. "Krysta's very sick, but you can't lose hope. The spells are working; just give her time. You know she'd never leave you alone like this. You or Dante. Never."

"She's been watching you all your life, Harry." Ron said, slipping an arm around his best friend's shoulders. "Krysta's always been there in the shadows looking after you, like hell she's gonna stop now. Not after being taken by Snatchers of all things."

At the other's words, every single memory that Krysta had given back to Harry on the lakeside only a few days ago came flooding back. Finally, Harry seemed to come back to reality.

Ron offered him a wry smile. "Besides, Dante would have sacrificed himself if he wasn't sure she'd be safe and recover. He had to be sure she was safe. We heard him ourselves; he doesn't care about anything in the whole world – just her."

Getting a grip on himself, Harry forced his lungs to work and drew in a breath as he joined Lupin and Sirius on the carpet.

"She isn't gone yet." Harry stated. He shook his head. "She won't be taken down so easily; not when Dante's in danger now. She has to get him back from Voldemort."

His heart swelled with new comfort as Sirius gathered him in his arms, his own resolve renewing with the teenager's.

When they broke apart, finally feeling less rattled, everyone else looked stunned beyond belief.

"Dante is with Voldemort?!" Mr Weasley exclaimed.

"Yes." Sirius said achingly standing up and helping Lupin up too. "It was the only way to get Voldemort to let Krysta go before she bled to death and so he didn't murder Harry too."

Mrs Weasley gasped, her hands flying to her mouth as the others gestured to the boy's bruised throat.

"God," Hermione said scooting around Harry to see the bruises again. "Voldemort was strangling you?"

Harry nodded and cringed the moment he did so. "Krysta was snatched out of the sky by the Snatchers, they pulled her fifty feet through the air and slammed her into the ground. That's why she's so hurt."

"Savages." Mrs Weasley stated, shooing the teenagers out of the way and quickly incanting a healing spell on Harry. "I hope Dante gave them a piece of his mind."

"It was... much more brutal than that." Lupin said, looking away as the horrific memory surfaced. "Dante really has no mercy for anyone who touches her."

"They were dead in seconds." Sirius added. "Dante properly tore them to shreds, then Voldemort showed up. It turns out he just happened to be watching his Snatchers and saw Dante in action – did you know Dante's avoided him for twenty years? He was ten when he escaped Voldemort the first time."

Mr Weasley nodded. "Yes, I still remember the reports. Sparda stood down and protected his family by scattering himself and hiding the boy and his wife. Dante escaped and was protected by his mother until she died."

Listening, stunned to the story, Harry's eyes widened.

"Dante's much better at staying in the shadows…"

"That's what she meant." He whispered, his gaze falling on his resting sister, now being tended to by Ginny. "Dante's better at hiding than she is. The dark forces kept on finding her because she is a Pure Source. Dante is a Dark Source, they don't always know when he's near because he creates their power. Dante has been hiding in plain sight for twenty years."

Ron frowned. "Sparda is Dante's father? Why do I know that name?"

Mr and Mrs Weasley exchanged wry smiles. "You know it, Ron, because Sparda is the same Sparda from the legend in that kids' book you loved when you were little."

Ron's eyes bulged out of his head. "Sparda, as in the legendary Demon General Sparda?!"

Hermione and Harry frowned. They glanced at each other and saw the exact as me looks of confusion.

"It was a story from millennia ago." Ron explained. "Sparda was a Demon General, he led the armies of the Dark Magics and waged all-out war on the world, believing only Dark Magic was pure enough to be wielded by the Pure Bloods and used to control all others including the other races, muggles, centaurs, everyone."

"So Sparda was a bad guy?" Harry asked.

"Sort of," Sirius continued. "He was the General, he wasn't the leader. That was what stories now call Lucifer. No one knows just how true all of these stories are, but we know Sparda was real because he is Dante's father."

"But you just said Sparda was a Demon General from millennia ago." Hermione said, lost. "Dante's, what? Thirty?"

"Sparda was very long lived, Hermione." Mr Weasley explained. "He led the Dark Armies for thousands of years. Gradually the fight dwindles, numbers fell lower and lower, but he was still the right hand of Lucifer – then he met her."

"Who?" the teenagers chorused.

"Eve." Lupin told them. "Dante's mother. She was a muggle girl living a simple life when she saw Sparda fighting a brutal fight. He was injured and defenceless and without even thinking about it, she distracted the enemy and drew them away and she cared for him until he was well." He sighed deeply. "Sparda had never had anyone care about him. Then here was this beautiful human girl who had no reason to save him at all. He fell in love and turned away from Lucifer and his life's work to be with her. They went into hiding, got married, then there was Dante."

Sirius smiled softly, once more glancing over at his goddaughter. "Just like Eve, there is only one girl in the world who can break through Dante's walls. He may only be half a Dark Source, but he is his father through and through. He needs his girl to find the path back to his heart because even he struggles to find the way sometimes. Dante needs Krysta more than we know."

"He had to save her." Harry stated, finally understanding. "Krysta is the only one who can quell the beast inside. Without her, Dante's out of control. We saw what he was like when she was missing; bloody terrifying. He needs her more than he needs to live. He knows that too – that's why he did this."

Lupin nodded. "No matter what we said, he had to do it. He couldn't let Krysta die and he couldn't allow someone she loved so much to come to harm either – it would be exactly like death too. She would be crushed and he would see it as all his fault. Dante gave his power to Voldemort in exchange for his word to let us all live and ensure he will not harm Harry or Krysta."

Mrs Weasley shook her head incredulously. "Do you really believe he'll leave them alone?"

"No, but with Dante at his side, he's perfectly stationed to make sure Voldemort doesn't touch them." Sirius said. "Dante will hate what he does, but at least he can control the power. He can make sure Voldemort keeps his word and us safe."

Hermine bit her lip anxiously. "We just need to stay safe until Krysta recovers, right? Her power is unparalleled, even to Dante. As long as he stays with Voldemort and the promise is upheld, we are all protected. Then, when Krysta recovers, she can get him back. She can kick Voldemort real good too and get her husband away from him."

Harry gripped her in overpowering relief. "God, I hope that's true."

"It's the best we've got." Mr Weasley stated. He pulled himself upright. "In that case, I'm going to fortify the spells around the house and contact Dumbledore. He'll want to know what's happened – no doubt, Voldemort will want to take advantage of Dante as soon as he can."

Lupin ran a hand through his hair. "Good god, there'll be severe attacks tonight."

"We need to get the word out." Sirius stated. "Dante is compromised and he can't stop without putting the Potter kids in danger. We have to make sure everyone in the Order knows. They cannot take on Dante and he cannot hold back either. He may be Voldemort's golden boy, but he's also his prisoner."

Mrs Weasley nodded. "I'll hold down the fort here and protect the kids. Without Krysta powering the perception filter, this place is as safe as anywhere else. You boys be careful out there." As they stood up, she turned to the teenagers and her children all still shell-shocked by what had happened. "Next up, we'll see to all of you. You look like you've been through a war."

"What about Krysta?" Harry asked anxiously.

"Let her rest." Sirius said grasping his shoulder reassuringly. "Time will tell if she'll fully recover. Let her sleep as much as possible; her magics and ours will continue to heal her as much as they can."

"Are we just gonna let Dante stay with Voldemort?" Ron asked, startled. "Shouldn't we go after him? We can't just abandon him with that monster. You said it yourself; he's a prisoner."

"If anyone can handle himself with Voldemort, it's Dante." Lupin told him. He couldn't help the knowing smile crossing his lips. "He knows how to royally piss off people – it's what he does best. He may be a prisoner, but he's gonna be a giant pain in the ass too. Voldemort has got a lot more than he bargained for there."

Everyone stopped, the tension abruptly broken.

"Hey, that's true." Ron said in surprise. "Dante pissed Voldemort off so much – it was actually quite funny and surprisingly useful. He really knows how to piss someone off."

"Ron!"

"Sorry, Mum."

Sirius laughed. "He pretends to be nothing but a pretty face and as crass and brash as he can, but it's all an act. All that bravado is just to hide the fact he's actually a softie inside." He nodded seeing the teenagers' disbelieving expressions. "It's true. You mostly see it when he's with Krysta. All other times, he hides behind a mask of inappropriate comments and generally rude demeanour. He may be a Dark Source, but he isn't evil – I don't think there's even a shred of malice in him."

"All that bravado really is just an act." Lupin told them. "Out there, Dante just needed to get Bellatrix to shut up about Krysta and get Voldemort to follow him so you could escape. Remember how he irritated Voldemort into completely ignoring Bellatrix trying to tell him who Krysta really was? Or that he had you prisoner, Harry? Dante is so good at pissing people off, he got all of Voldemort's attention on himself even when Voldemort had complete control over all of us. If it wasn't for Bellatrix, we would have all escaped." Lupin shook his head in disbelief. "It almost worked too – Dante almost hid his marriage and Krysta's identity to him and Sirius's too. Voldemort still thinks Sirius is Dante's pet dog, Rex."

"So you think he'll be okay?" Hermione asked worriedly.

"We know so." Sirius stated with a smile. "Dante's been taking care of himself as well as Krysta had for twenty years. I'm more concerned about what Voldemort will force Dante to do with his power. He won't be able to refuse knowing Krysta is vulnerable and Harry is his live leverage. That's the more pressing problem right now."

"Agreed." Mr Weasley grabbed his coat from the stand along with his hat. "I'm going to speak to Dumbledore and he can laisse with the Order and then I'll mill around the Ministry and see if there's any info I can pick up. If Dante is forced to soup-up Voldemort's power, there's going to be epic battles tonight; we need as much foreknowledge as possible."

As the men retired to the kitchen to discuss the next move, Harry felt himself being urged into an armchair.

"Harry?"

Harry blinked and focused, then felt his cheeks unwillingly heat up as his mind caught up with what he was looking at.

"Harry?" Ginny called again, suppressing her smile to see him so flustered already. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine."

"Your voice still sounds rough."

Harry touched his still-tender throat. The swelling had significantly reduced under the healing spell, but was still deeply bruised. "Voldemort is much stronger than he looks."

"I'll say." Ron said sighing relief as Hermione's muscle healing spell worked its magic over him. "He proper crushed Harry's throat; I thought your head was gonna come off."

"Thanks." Harry said.

"What happened to you, Ron?" Fred and George asked together.

"Bellatrix cast the crucio curse on me because I wouldn't give up Harry." Ron collapsed back on the sofa, his voice lowering so his mum didn't hear. "That curse sure packs a punch. That Bellatrix is such a bitch."

The twins and Ginny gasped.

"You had crucio cast on you?!"

Ron quickly shushed them and checked his mother was still tending to Krysta. "Bellatrix was trying to kill Harry and Krysta. The little bitch almost sliced Krysta's throat because she fancies Dante and hates his wife. She almost carved Harry's head open too. She was using them both to fend off Rebellion by pulling them in the line of fire so Dante had to stop."

Harry nodded. "Voldemort used me and Krysta to get Dante to stand down." He closed his eyes. "He should've just let me die. He could've just picked up Krysta and Sirius could've crushed the rembrall – everyone would be back here safe and sound. Now he's got Dante completely under his control. God…what's he gonna make Dante do?"

Silence fell.

Harry opened his eyes and found everyone staring at him.

Mrs Weasley sighed deeply and gently cupped his face in her hands. "Harry, you need to understand something. You are not expendable."

"Yes, I am." Harry said, staring back at her incredulously. "I'm just a kid. My sister and my brother in law are so much more important. So many people keep dying or getting hurt or being tortured for me – what's the point? I really am nothing special. If Voldemort had just crushed my throat, everyone would be back home right now." Those distraught blue eyes fell onto Krysta, quietly resting on the other sofa. "And Dante would be with his wife."

Harry looked into Mrs Weasley's eyes again, silent tears slipping down his cheeks.

"I bring so much pain and destruction and mess with me, Mrs Weasley, why don't you turn me away like you did with Krysta? Why do you still let me in your house? Near your kids? I am nothing but trouble, why do you even let me be friends with Ron? Why?"

Mrs Weasley stared at the teenager for a long moment. Then, slowly, she took her hands away from his face.

"I was wrong." She whispered. "I was young and stupid and wrong." Mrs Weasley glanced behind her at the injured young woman, near-comatose on her sofa. "Krysta was such a wonderful little girl. Charlie and Bill saw her as their baby sister – they would play all day because she was strong and resilient and they kept saying she wasn't a sister, she was their brother – another strong boy to play with. Michael had taught her so much and she was only six." She shook her head sadly. "I should have protected her. I should have understood that she wasn't this all-powerful, near-godlike source of magic that was putting my family in danger. She was a little girl with no one else."

She looked at Harry again, seeing the surprise and understanding in his eyes.

"When I found out James and Lily wanted to adopt her, I felt so much shame." Mrs Weasley's voice quivered. "I was selfish and self serving, wanting only to protect my children, that I didn't see she needed me too. Then here were these two teenagers who could see within days what a wonderful little girl she was. They never saw her as a Pure Source. She was just Krysta. A bright, beautiful, strong little girl who needed a Mum and Dad who loved and cherished her the way her father did." She smiled at Harry. "I was in my thirties and your parents were just out of school – guess who were the more mature ones?"

The elder woman grasped Harry's hand in her own.

"Harry, you are not expendable because you're not as powerful as your sister. Take it from someone who has made a ridiculous amount of stupid mistakes, including this one. Your worth is equal to everyone else here – Dante knows that too. He couldn't trade you for his life or Krysta's or anyone else's, because you are as important as any of us. It took me twenty years to understand what took your parents three days – anyone who is loved is worth fighting for. And protecting."

Harry smiled – and so did everyone else.

"I'm going to make some tea for us." Mrs Weasley said, standing up.

When she left, Harry turned to Ron who was grinning.

"That was still stupid, what you did." Harry told him.

Ron kept on grinning. "Yeah, but like I said, I can choose to do something stupid for my friend if I want to. We're all equal; you're not the boss of me."

Everyone burst out laughing.

And it felt great.

Hermione shook her hair back as they all calmed down and looked around at the Weasleys and Harry. "It will probably be a while until any more news gets to us about where Dante is and Krysta will need to heal, so I think we should all get some rest."

"But it's the middle of the afternoon." The twins complained in chorus.

Ginny sighed in an overly harassed way. "Perhaps you should get started on your pile of homework from the last term then? Since you have so much extra time on your hands."

The twins looked at each other – then yawned.

"Suddenly I feel knackered." Fred announced.

"Totally zonked." George added.

Then they were gone.

Ginny grinned. "That was easy."

Ron laughed. "You are awesome, you know that Sis?"

The girl just grinned some more, then stood up. "I'm gonna help Mum. You guys have been through the mill a bit; get some rest."

Harry couldn't help his gaze lingering on her as she went to the kitchen, then blushed when Hermione nudged his knee to get his attention back.

"I'll send Krysta up to Ginny's room." Hermione said pulling out her wand. "She can rest on the spare bed in there I usually use."

Harry nodded and stood up. "I'll stay with her, just in case."

Moments later, Hermione's magics dissipated and Harry drew the blanket carefully over his sleeping sister. Silently pulling off his shoes and dishevelled jacket, he lay down beside her on the bed and stared at her side on.

Just like so many times before, Krysta looked like she was just sleeping. Harry had so many memories of her lying beside him like this spanned over sixteen years. Whenever he was sad or lonely or scared, she just showed up like a fairy-tale and gave him the comfort and companionship he needed just my holding him as he fell asleep, knowing that there was one person who always cared about it no matter what.

Harry reached out and carefully swept his big sister's long dark hair from her cheek and felt his heart thud. Her skin was cold. Trying very hard to stay positive, he trailed his fingers over her lips and nearly burst into relieved tears feeling the faintest hint of warm breath ghosting over his fingers.

Lovingly, he pulled the blanket over her and watched her from where he lay on the pillow next to her.

He tried so hard to stay awake; to be there if she stirred even the slightest, but it was a losing battle.

Ten minutes later, Ginny silently placed the steaming cup of tea and handful of cookies on the bedside table. Then, she carefully took off Harry's glasses and placed them on the table before drawing the blanket over Harry as he slept, cuddled up to his sister.

Leaning over the teenage boy, Ginny carefully placed his hand in Krysta's and kissed him on the cheek.

Silently, she left the siblings to recover.