"Honestly, I won't be back too late," Serena said, looking at Severus in the reflection of the mirror as she did her makeup. His expression was completely passive which meant that he was anything but calm inside, but he didn't say anything.

"You look beautiful," he murmured after a long pause.

She smiled. "Thank you."

She had gone with a pair of skinny leather trousers, her killer heels and a casual dark grey knit sweater, tucked in at the waist.

"Don't drink too much, stay aware, the wizarding zones are dangerous at the moment."

"Don't worry," she smiled. "It's Samuel's birthday and Max and Vinnie are with us. We are just having food at The Castle View and then we'll be back to Grimmauld Place. I bet we'll be back by half nine!"

He grunted.

She finished her lipstick, smacked her lips together and blew him a kiss. "Right, I'm going. Where's my cloak?" Severus held out his hand as she passed him and she took it, watching as he raised it to his lips and planted a small kiss on her knuckles.

"Enjoy yourself."

She smiled widely. "I will. Don't sit by Umbridge at dinner."

He snorted and then she was gone. For the last forty-eight hours, since Minerva had been admitted to St. Mungo's spell-damage ward, Serena had been too angry to even see Umbridge. She had skipped meals and taken longer routes around the corridors rather than face her. Severus, on the other hand, preferred to make sarcastic, sneering comments to her face.

She cursed her shoe choice as she walked up the uneven stairs, keeping her cloak wrapped tightly around her and hoping that her disillusionment charm was as strong as it could be. She didn't want any nosy students seeing her dressed up, never mind emerging from Severus' dungeon like that. She breathed in the fresh summer's air outside, turning her eyes away from where Minerva had been attacked and heading towards the gates. Hagrid, whom they had been trying to arrest in the dead of night, it seemed, had taken his dog and fled. Serena hoped that he was with Albus, wherever he was.

"Happy Birthday!" she cried, pulling Samuel into a hug and kissing him affectionately on the cheek. "Here, this is for you."

Samuel grinned at her as he opened the gift bag and pulled out a small box and a large bottle of baileys. He chuckled. "This can be put in the fridge for when we get back," he said holding up the bottle. "And this?" He opened the little black box with his thick fingers and smiled widely. "Wow."

"What do you think? I noticed you didn't have any."

Samuel pulled out the small golden cufflinks and examined them carefully. A tiny golden cross for each sleeve shone up at him from the black velvet box.

"Goblin made? Wow… they are beautiful… thank you."

"You're very welcome," she smiled. "Now where's my favourite nephew?"

"Aunty 'Reena! It's my birthday soon too, you know."

"How could I forget!" she chuckled, swinging him up into the air for a hug.

Remus and Sirius came downstairs dressed in shirts and trousers and Serena wolf whistled. "Gosh, I see we're going all out tonight. Max is definitely the best dressed though."

They all smiled at Max's bow tie and then Sirius clapped his hands together. "Right come on, I'm starving and if we go now, she should sleep for at least another two hours, so we can eat undisturbed."

They all piled out and took their portkey to The Castle View in Hogsmeade.

Lavinia slept wonderfully until they had just ordered their meals, but even when she awoke, she was happy to sit on Sirius' lap and stare out at everyone with wide eyes, 'gooing' and gaaing' whenever someone spoke as though she was replying to them.

Max played peek-a-boo with her and she giggled adorably.

"You are so lucky," Serena sighed, giving them all a smile, "these kids are just the best."

"Who knows, it could be on your horizon," Remus smiled softly.

Serena snorted. "Yeah right, and I'm twenty-seven I'll have you know, that is waaaay too soon for a kid."

"You never know, when the war's over. Snape's the same age as you two, isn't he?" Samuel asked looking at Sirius and Remus, but Serena shook her head.

"No, I think I will be very happy being aunty to these two. Severus and I are definitely not made for having kids, and especially not with the war going on."

"I always thought you wanted children with Kingsley," Samuel said softly.

She felt all eyes on her and her words caught in her throat. Luckily, Lavinia chose that moment to do a huge burp and it had them all laughing and distracted for a moment.

"Yes, but you know, people change," she said finally, taking a sip of her wine.

"What's that noise?" Remus asked suddenly, frowning.

"What noise?" Sirius said blandly, clearly used to Remus hearing things that he didn't. With the bustle and buzz from the restaurant, the others listened but couldn't hear anything out of the ordinary.

"Anyway," Samuel said in his deep voice, "what about-"

"No, seriously," Remus said, tilting his head to the side almost like a dog that was trying to hear a noise too. "Listen… Serena… it's coming from your bag."

Serena, frowning, pulled her small handbag up from the floor and then stood up abruptly.

She saw Remus' confused expression as she pulled the small plastic block from inside, pressed one of the many buttons and held it to her ear.

"Hello? Yes… wait, I can't hear you properly, there's too much magic. Hang on, I'll go outside."

She headed outside. When she hurried back in just thirty seconds later there was panic on her face.

"Samuel, I'm sorry, we have to go."

They all looked up at her as though she was completely crazy but her heart was beating heavily in her chest and she knew that time was of the essence.

"I can't explain here," she eyed the tables around them carefully and then clutched a hand to her stomach. "I think I'm really sick," she said loudly. "Can you take me home?"

Remus, thankfully, was the one that made them all follow. "I thought you looked pale," he said calmly. "Yes, let's leave. Padfoot, go and tell the waiter we'll have to leave, pay for what we've drunk so far."

Serena watched as he took Lavinia from his partner and held her to his chest. Samuel, who was whispering to Max, finally got to his feet and took his son's hand. "Max isn't feeling well either," he said loudly. "It might be dragonpox."

Slowly, they all found their way to the door and hurried down onto the street outside. Sirius joined them quickly and Serena was grateful none of them had doubted her. "We can't apparate with Vinnie, he suggested we take the floo at the Hog's Head. Aberforth won't mind… come on."

They hurried down the street which was busy with couples and groups heading to the various restaurants and pubs along the row, and slipped into the almost empty Hog's Head pub.

Within a few minutes they were all stepping into the kitchen at Grimmauld Place and facing Severus' grim figure.

"You're not telling me we've come back for him?" spat Sirius the moment he arrived. Serena ignored him and rushed forward, placing a hand on his chest and connecting her eyes with his. He sent her several images:

Umbridge in her office with Potter and other fifth years

An empty Grimmauld Place

The door at the department of mysteries

She stepped away and broke the connection.

Remus stepped forward. "What's going on?"

Severus cleared his throat. "This evening, I was summoned to Umbridge's office. There, I found her holding Potter, along with his friends. She asked me for Veritaserum, which I denied her, obviously, as a means to interrogate Potter. With my legilimency skills-"

"Mind reading," Sirius muttered, but Remus hushed him immediately.

"With my skills," Severus continued in a more pointed voice, "I gathered that she had caught him using her floo network. Potter then gave me a coded message: he's got Padfoot, he's got Padfoot in the place where it's hidden."

Severus waited for his words to sink in, and then continued. "I believe that Potter has seen a vision, a vision the Dark Lord wanted him to see… a vision of you, Black, at the mercy of the Dark Lord at 'the place where it is hidden', meaning the prophecy, meaning… the department of mysteries…"

"But what-" Sirius began, but Severus cut across him sharply.

"I believe, doubting his vision, that Potter used Umbridge's floo to check here first, to ensure that you were really gone, Black. Finding no one, he then took matters into his own hands… It appears Potter and his friends have gone to the department of mysteries to rescue you… and that they are falling into the trap of the Dark Lord as we speak."

"Jesus Christ," Serena whispered, her mind racing.

"We need to go," Sirius almost barked, "now!"

"Tonks is on her way," Severus said curtly, "As is Moody-"

As he spoke, the front door slammed shut and the two aurors appeared. "Snape told us what happened," Moody barked. "We're ready."

Serena pulled off her high heels and pointed her wand at them, her feet cold on the stone floor. She transfigured her shoes into trainers and pulled them back on, wishing she had socks.

"Right," Moody barked, making them all jump. "Sirius and Tonks will get us into the Ministry. Lupin, keep your head down and your cloak up, we don't want to draw attention to ourselves with a werewolf in the Ministry at the moment. We're going with defence strategy B, you all know how it goes. The unknowns are: the layout of the department of mysteries, there are risks that we may be separated; the number of Death Eaters and or presence of the Dark Lord-"

"He is present," Severus said quietly. "He must be present, or he is waiting to join them, otherwise I would have been summoned."

"Very well, so constant vigilance!" Moody concluded, making Serena shiver. "From my count there are seven of us-"

"Six," Remus interrupted quietly and his eyes flicked over to Severus who was standing just outside of the circle.

Serena felt her stomach clench as she waited for the comments and glares she knew were coming.

"Ah, that's right," Sirius spat, a wicked smile on his face. "Snivellus here doesn't want to get his boots dirty-"

"Stop it right now!" Serena snapped loudly, stepping up to Sirius and placing a firm finger on his chest. "You know very well why Severus can't come, and he fights enough fucking battles every week whilst you're sitting on your arse at the Ministry. So this stops right here, we're wasting time! Severus," she turned to find his rigid and looking anywhere but her. She knew he hated it when she defended him, for he thought it made him look weak. "Severus," she said more softly, "you will need to contact Albus if you can, and perhaps send a message to Pomona, there will be no one protecting the school."

Severus nodded curtly, his expression neutral.

"And ..." She hesitated. "You'll have to look after Lavinia and Max."

"What?" He snarled as Sirius made the exact same sound from behind her.

"We don't have a choice!"

"She's right," Remus said quietly.

"That man is not looking after my daughter-"

"I am not babysitting that man's child-"

"Do you have another option?" She hissed at Sirius, her eyes gleaming.

He glared at her for several long seconds and then gave a small nod. "If you do anything to hurt her-"

"He's not a fucking monster, Christ," Serena snapped, taking Vinnie from Remus and turning to Severus who was still looking at her with furious, incredulous eyes. It was lucky that she knew him well enough to spot the fear there, too, and she opened her mind connection subtly.

You can do this, she said quietly in her mind. You can do this. You may not like it, but we need you, and they are trusting you with the thing that is most precious to them...

She gave him an encouraging smile and turned Lavinia in her arms gently. "here we go baby girl, to uncle Severus. Just like a quaffle," she added quietly to Severus, well aware that he had probably never held a baby in his life before. He glared at her as she handed him Lavinia's warm body, and she knew she would pay later, but they had no choice. She held her breath, praying that Lavinia wouldn't cry, and watched as the little girl looked up at Severus with her big blue eyes. He looked down at her, his glare still plastered on his face. She reached up a tiny little fist and clenched it around his nose before bursting into an adorable little giggle. Severus pulled his head away abruptly but his glare had softened and something that look like surprise flickered on his face.

"Max," Samuel said in his deep, calm voice, pulling everyone's attention away from Severus. "You are to go and play in your room, ok? The Professor is in charge. You do anything he says and if you have a problem you go straight to him, ok?"

Max, who was old enough to realise that something important was happening, nodded. Samuel kissed his head and sent him upstairs, before eyeing Severus with a steady look.

Severus nodded his head curtly.

Remus stepped forward and gave Lavinia's hand a kiss before straightening to square up to Severus and look him directly in the eyes.

"Look after our daughter," he said quietly.

Severus gave another curt nod and then scowled again as Sirius kissed Lavinia's hand too. Serena watched as Sirius gave an extremely threatening look at Severus before hurrying after Tonks who was calling them all out the door.

"Serena." Severus' voice was barely audible and yet full of emotion.

His eyes pierced hers and said so much more than words ever could.

She smiled, and then was gone.

"Shove over," Tonks hissed at Samuel as they all tried to cram into the Ministry's visitor entrance: a disused muggle telephone box.

"Moody, move your leg," Sirius snapped, trying to pull the door shut. "Ok, Remus, dial."

Remus tapped the numbers into the phone and they heard a female voice speak.

Moody snarled a few words to her and they began to descend, ignoring the badges with their names on that the box had spat out at them.

The phone box made a strange click and the door swung open. Serena could feel her heart pounding in her chest. They crept out quietly, their wands held tightly in their hands, but the atrium was… empty… totally empty.

Sirius frowned. "This isn't normal," he murmured quietly. "I know it's late, but this is strange… there should at least be a few people pottering about… come on."

They moved as fast as Moody's leg would allow them, marching across the polished floor, passed the fountain of magical brethren and to the lifts. In just over a minute they found themselves facing a door that Serena had seen in Harry Potter's mind many times over the last month.

"The Department of Mysteries," Tonks breathed.

"Come on," Moody pushed past her and flung open the door. They piled into the first room, forming a careful circle, and gazing, stunned at the many doors that lined the walls of the circular room. Several had been marked with red crosses, but they didn't need crosses or Remus' werewolf hearing to tell them which door to take.

They could hear shouting and screaming from the door directly to their left and didn't wait to consider their actions. Sirius stormed first through the door and they brought up his rear.

She had never seen anything like it. Brains. Jars and Aquarium-like tanks full of brains. It must have been some kind of strange, scientific, magical experiment, but it made Serena feel slightly sick. They had all slowed, just like her to gaze strangely at the captivating brains, but it was only after a few seconds that they realised they weren't alone.

"Professor Lake! Professor Lupin! Professor Moody!" She whirled to find Ginny Weasley lying awkwardly behind some tables, clutching her ankle.

"Miss Weasley!"

"My brother!" Ginny, who was white in the face and clutching her ankle pointed desperately behind them to Ron Weasley, who was lying on his back, one of the brains wrapped tightly around his chest like tentacles.

"I've got Miss Weasley," Serena said sharply as Remus hurried over to Ron. Serena knelt down next to the shaking girl and examined her closely. "How many? Where are they?"

"I don't know- about ten- maybe more, they're in the veil room, over there." She pointed to one of six doors around the edge of the room from where the noise was coming from, and Moody nodded. "Can you heal her?"

Serena took Ginny's hand in hers tightly and closed her eyes. She took a deep breath. She could feel her injury, her broken ankle, and in just twenty seconds she was hissing through the girl's pain as her ankle knitted itself back together.

"What the- but Professor, it's healed."

"Miss Weasley. You are to stay here with your brother, do you hear me? You stay hidden and don't come out until we tell you."

The girl nodded and scrambled over to where Ron was being released from the tentacles by Remus.

"Ready?" Moody barked, and they all hurried to assemble in front of the door. Serena could hear her heart pounding in her chest. Ten. If there were ten Death Eaters, they were outnumbered two to one. "Constant Vigilance! Go!"

Moody led them through double wooden doors and they burst into a dark, circular room with benches that descended down to a dais, on which stood the famous fluttering veil. The Death Room, Serena's mind whispered. This was where death sentences took place during the old goblin wars and the hundred-year war. She didn't have time for another thought as Samuel pushed her forward and the battle began.

She leapt down the stone steps to the right with Sirius and tried to take the first two Death Eaters they crossed by surprise, but the two had already spun, and the two men Serena recognised as Mcnair and Rodolphus Lestrange took up the duel. Serena and Sirius duelled well together, both attacking and shielding in union, pushing the Death Eaters into the corner, Serena's slicing hex caught Dolohov's arm as Sirius' burning charm seared Mcnair's leg. Sirius threw up a shield charm against their responding body-binding hex and Serena blasted them with a gust of wind. Just as they prepared to throw stunners, a third Death Eater attacked their backs and Sirius threw up his shield over them just in time, turning to tackle Rookwood whilst Serena was left battling the two angry Death Eaters together.

She could hear Severus' voice ringing in her ears, footwork! Shoulder! Eye contact! Stance! Posture! Concentration! She slashed her wand and hopped from foot to foot, forward, backwards, duck, advance, and strike!

Dolohov fell backwards with a grunt, her stunner had hit him square in the chest, and as Mcnair growled with fury, Serena shot a body-binder which hit him at exactly the same time as his burn charm scraped her thigh. She hissed as a hole seared through her leather trousers and found the delicate skin below, but there was no time to feel pain. Remus was duelling Mulciber to her right, Samuel was tackling Avery near the doors where they had entered, Tonks was fighting Crabbe on the stone benches, Serena felt her heart stop when she saw Moody, immobile, sprawled out on the floor far on the other side of the room, but there was no time to help as she spotted Remus helping Harry and Neville Longbottom up towards the exit, and Sirius… Sirius was fighting Bellatrix Lestrange. She felt rage fill her entire body, but she had barely leapt three steps towards them when a blasting hex projected her high into the air, she twisted her head, trying to spot her attacker and cursing herself for not checking her back as she landed heavily against the wall, her shoulder hitting the stone painfully and her already burnt leg searing with pain.. Instinctively, she shot up a protego as her eyes found the platinum blonde hair and smooth face of her assailant.

"Malfoy," she spat, springing to her feet and throwing a stunner at him.

He deflected it with too much ease.

"Serena, darling, how many times have I told you to call me Lucius?"

She shot another stunner and he deflected that one too. She breathed heavily, turning slightly, unwilling to keep still in front of him, and they found themselves circling each other carefully. Serena had another glimpse behind him of Bellatrix's hair and she urged on her attack.

She threw another stunner but this time followed it up with a slicing hex slightly to the left, she ducked as a jet of red light flew towards her and the duel began. Lucius knew how to duel, she knew that, but she had already beaten him once and she knew she could beat him again. She ducked and sprung up again as a green light shot over her hair and jumped to the side as a stunner missed her by inches. She projected all of her power and concentration on to him and sent off a mix of ten different spells, ducking to the left and then right and then right again, blocking, firing, protecting, jumping.

"Is that all you've-"

Her stunner finally hit him in the side and with a quick anti-apparition charm and a binding spell, she had tied him to Mcnair and Dolohov.

She was just about to turn towards Bellatrix when she saw Samuel needed help. He was supposed to be back to back with Sirius, but had found himself slightly further away, lower than the dais, fighting Crabbe and Nott.

"Dumbledore!" Serena didn't know who had shouted it, but that one word relieved her more than anything. She span around to see Albus standing tall at the top of the steps, his wand in hand, his eyes flashing with dangerous anger. The Death Eaters seemed to abandon all hope of winning, Nott turned and sprinted for the door, but a tripping jinx from Tonks had him flying, his head hit a bench and Serena leapt up four steps, securing him with a body-binder and anti-apparition charms. She could see Samuel checking Moody over, Remus had just stunned Nott and Sirius-

She turned and watched, frozen, as Sirius and Bellatrix duelled on the dais. They seemed to be the only ones that hadn't noticed Albus' arrival.

Sirius was laughing, his face cold and harsh, and Serena felt a smirk of pride as she heard him shout "come on, you can do better than that!"

Bellatrix shrieked with rage and as Sirius went to shout again, a jet of red light hit him square in the chest. Serena felt herself stumble forward a few steps as she watched, almost as if in slow-motion, frozen, under immobilus, as Sirius Black stumbled through the veil and was gone.

She couldn't breathe. She physically couldn't breathe. She didn't know what was happening. She felt pain in her knees and realised her legs had collapsed underneath her. There was a strange rushing sound in her ears, and as she managed to fill her lungs again she heard a sound like a huge wave in her head, blocking out all other noise.

She blinked.

She blinked again.

Remus was on the dais now, and it took Serena another blink to realise that he was holding Harry to his chest, pulling him against him, stopping him from running, stopping him from chasing after the figure that was just disappearing through the door on the opposite side of the room.

Bellatrix.

Serena fell down two steps before she managed to get to her feet and she began running down the steps with one goal in mind. She leapt over Moody's body, she didn't even hear Samuel's cry, and next thing, she was sprinting up the steps on the other side, and Harry Potter was hot on her heels.

"HARRY! HARRY NO! SERENA STOP!" They fell through the door and the sound was gone.

They spun around in the centre of the circular room with all the doors and just as Serena lost hope, Harry cried, "where's the way out! Show me the way out!"

As if waiting for the question, a door directly behind them burst open and they ran through.

She didn't know how they got to the atrium, but suddenly they were in front of the fountain of magical brethren and Bellatrix was cackling on the other side of the flowing water.

Serena's blood was raging through her veins and all she could think about was how that monster had killed two of the people she loved most. TWO.

"Did you love him, Potter?" the cold voice cackled.

Serena became aware suddenly that Harry was with her, and although her mind screamed at her to protect him and to get him out of there, some dark part of her thought let him, let him get his revenge, let him help her kill this mad woman.

"And Sereeny-Weeny, did you love him too?"

Serena gritted her teeth and with a glance at the young boy who looked as enraged as she did, they both burst from behind the fountain and shot their curses at the same time.

"Crucio!"

"Crucio!"

Serena was shocked at Harry's spell, and so, it seemed, was Bellatrix. She had clearly angled her body to jump out of the way of Serena's spell, and so it was Harry's unforgivable curse that hit her square in the chest.

Bellatrix was thrown off her feet but was back up just as quickly, that horrible, cold sound bubbling from her lips as she laughed at him.

"You have to mean them, Potter. Serena here learnt that, didn't you?" she leered, "tried to kill me-"

Serena didn't let her finish.

"Avada Kedavra!"

Her spell hit the statue as Bellatrix dived behind it and then shot a killing curse back. Serena pulled Harry back and pushed him behind the fountain again.

"Where's the prophecy, Potter?" she shouted at them.

"It's broken," Harry snarled, his voice surprisingly strong. "It broke whilst I was trying to get Neville up the steps. So you can tell your master that-"

"NO!" Bellatrix screamed, and Serena felt a smug feeling of pride that Harry had made her angry. "It's not true! Accio prophecy! Accio prophecy!"

Serena took a chance and poked her head out from behind the statue. She could just see Bellatrix's arm, but before she could attack, Bellatrix was on her knees and screaming. "No! Master! I tried! I tried!"

And then Serena found herself more scared than she had even been in her life. Because there, walking calmly through the atrium towards them, was a man like she had never seen before in her life. He was tall and thin and his black robes cloaked him imposingly. His skin was so pale it was almost translucent, and his face… Serena was cold with fear, for the man had red eyes and slits for a nose, and his thin lips were moving as he spoke but her brain couldn't translate the words into sense.

How did Severus serve this man regularly? How did he stand in his presence and lie to him?

As though that thought awoke her, she slammed her occlumency into place and found herself back in her body, tense, alert, and aware. She pulled Harry behind her roughly and crouched slightly, watching as the figure seemed to glide slowly across the atrium towards them.

Her reflexes kicked in, and with a swish of her wand she had conjured the most powerful protective bubble she knew, the magic crackled in a sphere-like form around her and Harry and she gathered the air around them, ready to deflect spells, ready to protect them, although in that moment she knew: no defensive spell she mastered would ever stop a curse from this powerful wizard.

She saw him raise his wand, his red eyes sneering at her, showing her how worthless she was-

"Avada Kedavra!" She launched herself to the side, pushing Harry down underneath her, flattening herself on top of him, all protective spells forgotten, she rolled onto her back and sprung back to her feet when a flash of light caught her eye to her left and she saw the golden wizard from the fountain spring to life and jump down to the floor before her, deflecting the second killing curse the Dark Lord had sent at her, and holding her and Harry tightly in its protective grip.

"What magic is this!" hissed the Dark Lord, looking accusatively at her, but it was another voice that made his nostrils flare with rage.

"It was foolish to come here tonight, Tom"*

Serena let out a shaky breath as Albus emerged from the steps and walked casually towards the Dark Lord as though they were old friends crossing paths after a long time. She was pressed up against Harry and she had to wriggle out of the wizard's grip carefully. It seemed more intent on protecting Harry than her, and it let her escape with little resistance. She crouched behind it, panting heavily, as Voldemort and Albus raised their wands. It was a duel unlike any she had seen before. The power and complexity of spells, the creativity and daring of the magic, the pure force that vibrated from both men's wands…

She had wanted to help Albus, but she was clearly not needed, and her magic seemed so… elementary compared to theirs. She could only watch, keeping a sharp eye on Bellatrix, who had been immobilised behind the Dark Lord, and try and protect Harry if he needed it.

And then, in a swirl of powerful magic, it seemed it was over. The Dark Lord disapparated with a crack and the hall fell silent.

"Professor-"

"Albus-"

Albus held out a hand and tilted his head to the side, looking curiously at Harry.

"Don't move," he said quietly, and for the first time in her life, Serena thought Albus looked scared. And then she knew why.

The poor, young boy who had already been through so much. The boy who had just watched Sirius Black get murdered. The boy who had led them all into the Department of Mysteries, opened his mouth and spoke with the Dark Lord's voice.

"You've lost old man."

Serena watched, frozen as Albus fell to his knees before Harry who opened his mouth and screamed with pain.

Serena had never seen anything so terrifying in her life. She was stunned. She couldn't help him, she didn't know how, and neither, it seemed, did Albus. Harry screamed and writhed with pain on the floor, clutching at his head, clawing at his scar, twisting around, turning to face Albus again and with another deep breath he spoke in that same, cold voice. "kill me!"

Serena shook with fear, she shook with pain, she hated that all she could do was watch as the child battled the Dark Lord inside his head, inside his very soul.

And then it was over.

A rush of people burst through the doors at the end of the corridor. As she looked up, Harry stilled, the aurors pointed, and when she followed their gaze she found the dark wizard once again in his own body. Standing, staring at the aurors unfazed. He stepped back to find Bellatrix, turned on the spot and was gone.

"Harry?"

Albus reached out a hand and stopped her from touching him. His grip was surprisingly firm.

"No," he said darkly. "You cannot help here. Go below. Find the others. Take the students back to Hogwarts."

She heard the coldness in his voice. She saw the disappointment and anger in his eyes.

She nodded timidly and stood shakily to her feet. As the aurors descended on Albus and Harry, Serena slipped past them and hurried back down to the department of mysteries.

She was in serious trouble, she thought. She had run after Bellatrix, she had let Harry go after her too, and if it wasn't for Albus, they would both be dead.

A flicker of red crossed her vision and she had to pause in the corridor, bending over in two, trying to slow her breathing as the Dark Lord's red eyes flashed again and again in front of her eyes.

She had seen the Dark Lord. She had nearly been killed by the Dark Lord. But she'd lived to tell the tale.

She took another deep breath and focussed her thoughts. Sirius was dead.

She prayed he was the only one.

She gathered her courage and pushed through the wooden door that led to the Department of Mysteries for the second time that evening.

Samuel was escorting Neville Longbottom, Ginny Weasley and Luna Lovegood out of the brain room. Hermione Granger was floating along behind him, unconscious. He looked relieved when he saw her.

"Serena. What happened? Where did you go? Where is Potter?"

"Albus is with him," she said softly, looking at the children. "Harry will be ok," she reassured them, although she didn't know if it would ever be true. "Where am I needed?"

"They're all in the veil room over there," Samuel nodded with his head to her right. "Tonks is with Moody, she's managed to revive him, they're surveying the prisoners. And Remus… he's there too, but… he doesn't want to come out…"

Serena felt a lump forming in her throat and she had to swallow it away. "Ok," she said quietly. "The aurors have arrived, they'll be down shortly I imagine."

"I'll take the kids back to school."

She moved passed him and pushed open the door slowly. Moody was sitting down on a bench on the far side of the room, and both him and Tonks had their wands trained on the group of nine unconscious Death Eaters that were all bound by invisible anti-apparition wards. Serena was pleased to see Lucius Malfoy's platinum blond hair still amongst them.

Her eyes then fell to the dais. Remus sat near the archway, hunched over, his wand clutched between his hands, rocking backwards and forwards ever so slightly.

She felt tears forming in her eyes but she refused to shed them. She had to be strong for Remus.

She slowly began walking down the steps towards him. He heard her coming but didn't move.

When she finally made it to the dais, she sunk slowly to her knees next to him and pulled him, carefully into her arms.

She held him as tight as she could whilst he cried and sobbed and made horrible, raw, uncontrollable sounds that Serena recognised in the depths of her soul. Remus moaned his grief, he whimpered his pain, he shook with loss. And all Serena could do was hold him against her whilst he cried into her shoulder.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered against his ear, stroking his hair soothingly. "I'm so sorry my darling, I'm so so sorry."

She rubbed his back and rocked with him as tears finally escaped her overflowing eyes and trickled down her cheeks and into his hair.

Remus clutched at her jumper and sobbed quietly against her. "I don't even have his body," he hiccupped in a painful voice, "I can't even say goodbye, I- I- what am I going to do?"

"Shh," she soothed gently, "you're going to be okay, darling, you're going to be ok."

She didn't know how long they stayed there, but when Remus' sobs calmed and she heard him trying to catch his breath, she shifted slightly and conjured him a handkerchief. "We need to get you home," she murmured quietly. "The aurors will be arriving. Are you hurt anywhere?"

Remus blew his nose and shook his head, allowing her to help him climb to his feet.

They both looked at the archway.

"He's… he's gone," he whispered and the pain she felt from his hands clutched in hers was overwhelming. She tried to push his feelings away and focus on her own, but even hers were too strong, and that strange crushing pressure on her chest started to appear. She let go of his hands and took a deep breath, willing her body to control her mind. "What am I going to do?" Remus said weakly, rubbing at his red eyes. "What am I going to do without him?"

Serena sniffed and took another deep breath. "We're going to go home, and you're going to look after your daughter," she said softly, feeling her heart break at the thought of a little girl who had lost one of her parents to war before she could even say his name. "Are you ready? If we can get to the atrium, I'll apparate us home."

He nodded feebly. They took one last look at the fluttering black veil and turned towards the stairs.

"Let's get out of here."