The first obstacle for Serena and a small circle of inner Order members was to get Harry Potter safely with his aunt and uncle after the end of term that week. Arthur Weasley, who had previous expressed concerns about Harry's wellbeing had suggested quietly that they meet him at King's Cross Station and have a word with his family. Tonks had been in agreement, as had Serena and Mad-Eye-Moody, and even Remus had come out of his daze at that point and affirmed quietly that he would go too.

The next day then, Remus handed Lavinia over to Molly and the small group, dressed in their muggle best, apparated to the train station.

"The Hogwarts Express arrives in five minutes," Arthur said, leading the group towards platforms nine and ten.

"I'll do the talking with Arthur," Moody growled, hobbling along behind them. He was dressed quite oddly, as most wizards were when they tried to hide their magical roots, but the most eye-catching accessory was his bowler hat, which he had pulled down at an angle in order to hide his magical, whizzing eye.

"How will we know which ones they are?" Tonks asked, her hair a bright shade of pink.

"Oh, I will recognise them," Arthur said cheerfully. "Had a small incident at their house a couple of years back."

They stood a little further along the platform than the secret entrance to nine and three quarters, trying to look inconspicuous, but it was rather difficult with Moody's bowler hat and Tonks' bright pink hair. Even Remus was attracting attention with his threadbare cardigan and greying hair. It was only a few minutes before the young witches and wizards of Hogwarts began appearing in trickles of twos and threes.

"There they are," Arthur said, smiling warmly as he pulled his son Ron into a hug.

Harry looked completely stunned to see them all, and when Serena saw his aunt and uncle, she was glad they had decided to come. She let the others go and talk to them, preferring to introduce herself to Hemione Granger's parents instead. She loved meeting muggles, and even more so, ones that knew about the magical world.

"Your daughter is a real credit to you," she said proudly, after shaking hands with them both. "Extremely hard-working and very intelligent."

Mrs Granger blushed and hugged her daughter to her side whilst Mr. Granger smiled widely. "That's our girl, she was always smart, always wanting to learn."

"Yes, well she's been brilliant this year, and extremely courageous, in and out of school."

Serena looked curiously at Miss Granger, wondering if she conveyed half of what happened in the wizarding world to her parents.

She jumped as Moody spoke from behind her. "Right, best be off."

She glanced at the Dursley's behind him. The fat uncle's face had turned beetroot red and his wife looked white as a sheet. Whatever they had said to him had clearly worked.

"Goodbye Harry," she said softly to the black-haired boy. "We'll come and get you as soon as we can."

He nodded grimly and waved a hand to them all, before heading off up the platform, his family trailing behind him.

"Come on," Moody barked, "things to do."

Serena stood in the small living room at Spinner's End and looked around hopelessly. How could she leave this place? Erase every indication of her presence until there was nothing left but carefully hid memories, buried deep within the confines of her mind-forest.

The sofa where her and Severus had made love countless times. The armchair where she loved seeing him sitting and reading. The rug on which they had danced together late one night. She thought of all the kisses and touches and looks they had shared in that room, and not only there. As she walked through to the kitchen she had flashbacks of teaching Severus to cook, long before they had realised their feelings for each other. They had eaten so many meals at that table, they had rowed there, cried there, shared words of promise and trust there… She moved slowly up the stairs to the bedroom. She slid into bed and pulled the covers up around her tightly. The duvet smelt of Severus so wonderfully that it made tears prick up in her eyes.

This was her home.

This was the place she felt safe, and protected, and complete.

They could be themselves here, Severus especially, and now… now he would be sharing their home with some sneaky little Death Eater…

She pressed her face into the duvet and couldn't help but let out a few sobs. Just another thing she would lose, she thought bitterly.

She felt a shimmer of magic and sensed Severus' presence downstairs. She took a deep breath and wiped her eyes quickly. It wouldn't do for him to see her upset. She had to be strong for him.

She got out of bed as she heard his footsteps on the stairs and hastily conjured a cardboard box.

"Hi," she said quietly, not turning around as she began taking her books from her bedside table and packing them away by hand. He didn't say anything, but she could feel him lingering in the doorway.

She pulled her various potions from the drawer and stored them carefully into the box too. She checked under the bed, and then turned to the wardrobe. For some reason, she found it too painful to look at him. With a wave of her wand, all of her clothes flew out and began folding themselves neatly on the bed. She conjured another box and began packing them slowly, making a big deal about optimising the space in the box and storing everything correctly, even though she would be unpacking in less than an hour, and a no-crease charm would sort out any crumpled clothes.

She turned to her sock and underwear draw afterwards and emptied it quickly. Then, she turned to the sideboard, and packed the scented candles, the sneakoscope, and the mirror that she kept there. She looked around the bedroom which seemed infinitely more empty and grimaced.

"You should get Elizabeth to change the bed sheets," she said quietly. "And perhaps remove one of the pillows."

She reduced the two cardboard boxes, picked them up in one hand, and turned to go to the bathroom.

Severus, who was blocking the doorway, didn't move and she found herself face to face with his black robes.

She took a deep breath and forced herself to look up into his face. His eyes burned with anger, but his shoulders were slightly slumped.

She opened her mouth to comfort him but didn't quite have the words.

"It's not the end," she said finally, biting her lip hard to stop any emotion overflowing. "It's just temporary."

Severus opened his mouth as though to speak, but it seemed he didn't have the words either. He placed a hand gently onto her shoulder and pulled her forward into a tight embrace. She clung to him as he held her securely, each getting strength from the other and she could feel his reluctance to let her go.

"We'll get through this," she said quietly into his chest. "It doesn't change anything about our relationship, you understand, don't you? We're married, we're bonded, we're in love, we're strong, we can get through these two months, we've faced worse, haven't we?"

"Of course," he said quietly into her hair. "I…"

"It's ok," she said pulling away slightly and looking up into his tormented eyes. "You don't have to say anything. I know how you're feeling."

He gave her a grateful look and then straightened up. "I shall gather your numerous belongings from downstairs. God forbid this may encourage you to on less shoes."

She gave a reproachful smile. "Don't forget my potions books in the lab."

It took them just ten more minutes to pack up all of her belongings and when they had finished, they sat down together on the sofa, Serena curled up against Severus' side.

"If you need to contact me, use the mobile telephones," he said quietly. "We can't risk patronuses or floo messages."

"Of course."

"I will try and stop by headquarters at least every two days. It would be the ideal moment to use these more often." As he spoke he pulled two leather-bound books from his inside cloak pocket and Serena recognised the connected diaries Albus had bought them for the last two Christmases.

"Brilliant," she breathed, taking her own. "Of course. I can let you know when I am in France, or elsewhere, and perhaps you can try and keep me updated of your whereabouts too?"

He nodded.

"I ask you to be very cautious," he said quietly. "Things are going to get worse, much worse. The Dark Lord is out in the open now, he is ready to retake control of the world, and he will want to make a very public declaration of power. Your father is a real threat. Please, stay in headquarters whenever you can."

She nodded, sensing the desperation in his voice. "Don't worry about me, you've got enough to stress about."

"I will also be attending less Order meetings, Albus will notify me when I should be present or not. Sometimes, it is best if I do not know your plans and act only as a Death Eater would. We must trust Albus."

"And you need to be careful with that creepy rat," she said firmly. "Don't drink anything he's been near, don't turn your back, put the strongest wards you can manage up when you sleep, just, just don't let him near you, okay?"

Severus smirked. "Unfortunately in a house of this size, it may be complicated, but I shall be alert. You needn't worry about me."

She made a sort of humming sound and then reluctantly got to her feet.

"I will tell Elizabeth that although you do not live here this summer, she must respond to your calls wherever you are. If there is an emergency, don't hesitate to call her name."

"Thanks," she said softly. She pulled her guitar case onto her back, gathered up the small collection of cardboard boxes into her arms and looked around carefully. You should take me off the wards once I'm gone. I won't be tempted that way."

Severus gritted his teeth again, but eventually nodded.

"See you later. I love you, okay?"

He nodded again, and she stepped into the floo and left him.

Remus seemed rather alarmed when she arrived at Grimmauld Place with all of her belongings, but when she explained the situation he seemed quite happy to have her at Grimmauld Place. He helped her unpack and then they sat down at a small meeting run by Samuel, who had changed departments at the Ministry and had been called in to try and tackle the growing dementor problem.

"What Bill said was true," Samuel said, scratching his head. "The mist is because they're breeding, don't ask me how, I really don't want to know, but this means that the sixty or so dementors that guarded Azkaban, have almost doubled already… I got called into my boss' office two days ago and told I was joining the dementor task force. It was on my file that I can cast a strong patronus. The first thing I think is necessary is for everyone to have training on patronuses. It doesn't need to be corporeal, but it needs to be strong. I have asked Albus if we can use the top floor and transform it into a training room. Remus was for the idea."

Remus nodded and cleared his throat. "I can start training people from next week," he said quietly. "I have experience with teaching the patronus charm, but it must wait until after the full moon."

"Of course, thank you Remus."

Serena secretly thought that Remus may have trouble even conjuring whisps of patronus at the moment, but she didn't say anything, proud of how strong and calm he was being.

"From what we are aware of, the dementors aren't kissing, they're content to suck happiness out of everyone. The wizards aren't the main problem though, what is worrying the ministry is the muggle population."

"It makes sense, doesn't it," Bill Weasley said cheerfully. "I mean, poor things can't see dementors, so they're just all feeling depressed all the time. Dad said the muggle suicide rate has already increased this week, and Fudge had to go and see the Prime Minister."

Serena raised her eyebrows at this. Cornelius Fudge had been publicly sacked yesterday and replaced by a slightly more capable Rufus Scrimgeour. About time, Serena thought.

"Arthur also confirmed that the ministry is receiving threats from the Dark Lord, threats to cause mass murder if Scrimgeour does not concede."

"Which he won't, of course," Tonks said confidently. She was on her lunch break from the Ministry and had come to report to Dumbledore but accepted to stay for a while when Samuel said he was debriefing on the dementors.

"Of course," Samuel said, meeting her blue eyes and giving a small smile. "I think we should take a few days to reflect upon what we can do for the muggles. We haven't thought much about them yet."

"We can't even protect our own, never mind expanding to the muggles," Remus said sharply, but Samuel ignored the silence that followed his words and nodded reasonably.

"I agree, Remus, I do, but perhaps there are simple things we could put in place that we're missing. Like I said, let's think about it and reconvene. I have to get back. Serena, are you okay to..?"

"Of course," Serena said, smiling at Max who was building quidditch goal posts with muggle lego on the other side of the kitchen table. "I'll look after him and make sure he gets some food, don't worry."

"Thanks," Samuel said gratefully. Max was no longer in school due to the holidays, and with Samuel's longer hours, he was finding it hard to get anyone to look after his little boy.

"Sandra's taking him next week, so things should be easier."

Serena shrugged. "It's no problem… I live here anyway now."

Samuel raised his eyebrows questioningly and she shrugged.

"Severus is hosting one of the Dark Lord's little snakes."

Serena didn't miss how Samuel's eyes flickered to Remus' quickly before finding her again. "Well, it'll be nice having you around more."

That week was… awful. That seemed to be the only way to describe it.

Fear, followers, fight. That was how Severus had broken down the Dark Lord's plan to the worried Order members during that first meeting, and he seemed to have succeeded with part one of his strategy quite efficiently.

The atmosphere in the house was glacial. People came and went with news, often bad, and every morning when the newspapers arrived, a strange, eery silence fell upon the household, as they read about muggle and wizard disappearances alike.

The worst had been two days after Sirius' death. Serena had been helping a devastated Remus to sort out Sirius' clothes when Tonks called them all downstairs. She was as white as a sheet and her hair had gone a sad, mousy brown colour.

"It's Emmeline Vance," she said in a shaky voice to the room, her eyes scrunching with emotion. "The… the Death Eaters got her…"

That had hit them all hard. Emmeline Vance, whom Serena had seen at Headquarters just days before, had been brutally tortured and murdered by a group of Death Eaters. Tonks and her team of aurors had discovered the Dark Mark floating above her house. Tonks, who had seen the body and had been part of the team obliviating the muggle neighbours, was like a shadow of herself for days afterwards. .Her eyes looked haunted when she had sat down at the dinner table that evening and she refused the meal Molly offered her.

"No… I'm not so hungry, thank you though, Molly," she said quietly.

Serena watched as Samuel stood up and moved to rub her shoulder comfortingly. "It's just the body," Tonks explained to everyone in a feeble voice. "As they were moving it out of the house… I… can't get it out of my head… she… suffered," she finished shortly, and Samuel leant down and pressed a kiss to her temple.

The meal was a depressing one. Samuel and Tonks barely spoke, Remus, who was transforming the next day, lingered between anger and tears, Molly bustled around everyone as usual, although she had decided that the Weasley were staying at The Burrow that summer, and it was her last evening there, and the only conversation came from Max who was talking to himself and moving small figurines on broomsticks around his plate.

Unfortunately for the Order, things were only going to get worse.

Serena had been looking after Lavinia full time as Remus was locked in the room in the attic he used for his transformations, and one of the days she had been watching Max too. She had to keep both of them clean, fed and entertained, as well as drafting up strategy plans for the Order, trying to create new communication methods for them, writing several letters to the French Minister for Magic, thinking up ideas for Samuel's muggle protection plan, and trying not to let the gaping hole left by Sirius pull her down too much.

She barely found time to eat, she wasn't sleeping properly without Severus and even when she did manage to drift off, Vinnie would cry around six o' clock and that would be the end of her slumber.

The mood was extremely tense in Grimmauld Place. People came and went, rushing about with information or news, or sometimes sitting sadly in the kitchen, recounting an attack they hadn't managed to stop. Muggles were dying almost every day, and with Emmeline's death hanging in the air the smell of fear had started to seep in through the cracks in the windows.

Remus had finally come out of his room on Friday morning, looking worn, tired and old after his transformation, his greying hair was greasy, and his clothes smelt of sweat. Serena had crossed him on the way to the bathroom, and she was glad to see that his appearance was much improved when he came out, even if his mood was another story. All afternoon he seemed to slump into a darker place, responding to people with one-word answers and spending all his time holding Lavinia to him closely.

Once Samuel had returned from work, Serena had to go out to the post office for an international owl. She often used them as they were used to long journeys and changing up her owl each time was sensible in these times. Severus' warnings were ripe in her head, and so she asked Hagrid, who had come to offer advice about the mist problem, if he wanted to accompany her.

When they got back, however, it was a different letter that had caused uproar at Grimmauld Place.

"Serena," Molly rushed as soon as they'd stepped through the door. "You have to go to him, he won't come out, she's crying in there and-"

"Whas' goin' on Molly?" Hagrid said loudly, and Serena cringed as Mrs. Black began screaming again.

"It's Remus, oh shut up you old hag!" she snapped over the wailings, pointing her wand at the curtains and blasting the curtains shut again. "He's had a letter, well, come and read it."

As they went down into the kitchen, Tonks handed her a letter, looking grim. Serena's eyes flickered over it quickly.

"What the fuck…"

"They want to take her from him!" Molly cried hysterically. "They say that now he's the only person responsible, that it's not appropriate! I mean, how can they do this! It's so unfair! It's only because of his condition!"

"I can try and talk to my boss," Tonks said quietly, "but I don't know how much it will help."

"We have to protest this!" Samuel said urgently.

"We can't let them do this, we can't! That little girl has the most loving home she could possibly have with Remus!"

"Outrageous!" roared Hagrid, who had just read the letter, making them all jump.

"Where is Remus?" Serena asked calmly.

"In his bedroom."

"Okay. I'm going to calm him down, and then we will need to try and think of a solution."

She found Remus' door well and truly locked when she tried to open it and he shouted at her from inside. "Leave us alone! All of you! Leave us alone!"

"It's just me, Remus," she said hopefully.

"I don't care!" he cried back, "You can't do anything! They're coming to take her away from me! She's the only thing I've got left! They can't! They just can't!"

"And they won't!" Serena said firmly. "They won't Remus, we won't let them!"

"There's nothing you can do, nothing!"

"I will do everything I can to make sure that she stays here with you!" she said desperately. "Everything! Whatever it takes, do you hear me? If I have to storm the Ministry, or, or imperius the whole department, or- or marry you, yes that's right, we'll tell them I'm your new partner, there's nothing they can say against that! I've a clean record and we live together!"

There was a silence, and then the door finally clicked open and a red-eyed Remus appeared, holding a tired-looking Vinnie in his arms.

His face crumpled, but before he could speak, another clipped tone spoke from the bottom of the stairs.

"I did believe you were already married."

Serena closed her eyes briefly. Not now, she thought madly.

"Severus," she said quietly, as he climbed the stairs, looking as menacing as ever in his teaching robes. His eyes were hard and angry and she felt disappointed that those were the first words he had heard since he had seen her three days ago. She knew how insecure he was. "Have you heard what happened?" she asked cautiously.

"I have just been informed," he said curtly, looking at Remus. "What date precisely did you… acquire her?"

Remus raised his eyebrows. "The- the tenth of January."

Severus nodded and then turned on his heel and swept back down the stairs. The heard the front door open and close, and he was gone.

Remus looked at Serena, slightly alarmed.

"Do you know where he's gone?"

She shook her head and sighed. "No… I haven't seen him for days… I've no idea where he's gone now…"

Remus grimaced at Serena. "I'm sorry if-"

"Don't be daft," she said quickly. "If it means you keeping Vinnie, we will say that you and I are a couple. The papers already write about us anyhow. It's only paperwork, after all. Or maybe Tonks will marry you?"

Remus shook his head and rubbed his face with a shaky hand. "I can't believe this is happening."

"Come downstairs, we're all trying to think of a solution, and we're all quite adamant that Vinnie is not going anywhere."

They were all in the middle of drafting a very long letter to the department of magical adoptions, and Molly was looking up adoption laws in a very heavy, thick book, when the door slammed again and Severus stormed back in. He glared at them all, handed an A4 brown envelope to a startled Remus and muttered something about them not bothering him anymore. Then, he moved to the kitchen and poured himself a glass of water.

"What the!" They all exclaimed as they poured over the documents Severus had handed him. There was a certificate of parenthood, a modified adoption contract, making Lupin the sole guardian of Lavinia and a handwritten apology from the adoption department.

Remus stood up and walked straight over to Severus.

"What did you do?"

Severus rolled his eyes and sneered. "Reminded them that it was in their interests that you kept Lavinia, that is all."

"But- but how? What?"

"Stop babbling Lupin, it doesn't become you."

Remus' face broke out into the first smile Serena had seen in a week. He held out his hand and Severus shook it.

"I owe you so much for this," Remus said quietly.

"No," Severus said firmly, and then he lowered his voice. "You have saved my life before. Call this repayment."

The two men shared a look of complicity and understanding that made Serena's heart warm.

"Sev, do you have ten minutes to go over the communication devices we wanted to try?" Serena asked from across the room, happy to see that everyone, even Molly, was gazing appreciatively at Severus.

Severus nodded curtly and followed her, not into the living room, but up the stairs to their bedroom. She gestured for him to step inside and then she shut and locked the door behind him, before pressing her lips to his.

He seemed surprised by her attentions and kissed her only briefly before pulling away.

"Serena, what-"

She ran her hands over his chest and up to his neck, gazing wondrously at him. "You are an amazing, heroic, wonderful man. There is no doubt about it anymore. You can't do something like that and expect to be hated, you know."

He scowled, but she merely grinned at him. "Honestly, Severus Snape," she said breathlessly, kissing him hard on the lips, "you have never been so sexy."

His eyes widened as she kissed him again and looped her arms around his neck, pressing her body against his.

"Serena- wait, I have a report for Albus."

"I don't care," she said rubbing her hands into his hair. "Make love to me."

He didn't need telling twice. This time, when she kissed him, his lips pressed firmly against hers and she felt a flare of desire rise up inside him. His arms wrapped around her back, pulling her flush against his body and rubbing her up and down, leaving a tingling feeling in their wake. When he squeezed her arse she couldn't help but moan against his lips and when he parted them to join their tongues she felt like she was in heaven. Her fingers moved to his buttons which she undid one at a time, their mouths never parting. When she pushed off his cloak he moved his lips to her neck and she dropped her head back, giving him access to her throat as he nibbled and kissed her perfectly.

She undid his shirt next and her eyes found his wonderfully toned body as she pushed it off his shoulders and let it drop to the floor behind him.

"Wow," she breathed, looking at him with want. "You are so handsome." She kissed the two scars on his chest and ran her hands up and down his sides, caressing his milky skin and leaving trails of fire under her touch. Severus grasped her t-shirt and pulled it up over her head, reaching a hand around her back and unclasping her simple black bra.

"Yess," he hissed as her breasts dropped free and her nipples stood to attention in the cool air of the bedroom. When his warm hands touched her skin she leant her head onto his shoulder and rubbed her cheek against him, her eyes falling shut. It had been too long since she'd had his hands on her body and his dirty mouth whispering in her ear.

"So beautiful," he breathed, hot air tickling her ear lobe. "The sweetest breasts I have ever seen, or tasted," and with that he ducked his head and swept his tongue across her nipple, before sucking it into his mouth. She laced her fingers into his hair and trailed her nails down his neck, along his back and into the waistband of his trousers. When she began undoing his belt he straightened up and turned his attentions to her trousers, too. In a moment, they both stood naked in front of each other, gazing with intensity into each other's eyes.

"Fuck," she murmured, leaning up to kiss him again, pressing her naked breasts against his body and revelling in the feel of his hard erection pressing against her hip. Severus' warm hands found her bare arse cheeks and he squeezed and caressed them before dipping his hand down between her legs and drawing his thumb through her folds. He made a small noise against her lips and then he walked her slowly backwards until her knees hit the bed. He pushed her down gently and followed her every inch of the way, pulling her effortlessly into the middle of the bed and looming over her with his body. She reached down and grasped his cock tightly, stroking it and rolling his balls in the palm of her hand before guiding him to her entrance.

As he slowly pushed into her, their eyes widened and their mind connection opened. All Serena could feel was love and desire and the raw pleasure of being filled by a man.

Severus looked at her with such love and wonder she almost cried, and when he was seated inside of her, their eyes fluttered shut for a moment with pleasure.

"Your body is so perfect," he murmured, rubbing his nose against hers. "The way you fit around me, the way you take all of me so greedily."

"God Severus," she hissed as he began to move. "This is perfect, so perfect."

She held him close to her, keeping his chest rubbing against her own, and winding their feet together, caressing him with her toes to the rhythm of his slow thrusts.

Severus moved gently in and out of her, his head hovering at her entrance before pushing forward and stretching her again. He hit every nerve ending as he built up his rhythm and kissed her with swollen lips.

"I could stay here forever," she whispered between kisses, her hands trailing languidly up his back. "Oh god, yes, like that."

She shifted her legs up to curl around his back, allowing him to penetrate deeper inside of her. Severus continued his slow rhythm, but he was sweating now, and his breathing was irregular, she knew he was close. When he went to reach a hand down between them, she stopped him, bringing it back to her cheek where he had been caressing her.

"But you won't be able to-"

"I don't need to right now," she murmured, smiling, "this is perfect, I don't want to change a thing, I just want to feel your body against mine."

He looked deep into her eyes and then kissed her firmly, before pressing his forehead against hers.

"Oh Serena," he hummed against her, "oh my love… oh yes, I'm going to-"

Severus fell silent and she watched as his neck strained and his eyes bulged as he spilled his hot seed inside her. She wrapped her arms tightly around him and pulled his face against hers, stroking his hair and focussing on his emotions. He had been extremely vocal compared to usual, and she found that he clung to her a little tighter. He was missing her just as much as she was missing him.

They dressed in silence and as Serena slipped on her trainers she felt the distance opening between them again. She kissed him sweetly, but she could see his mind was already elsewhere.

"Do you have time to talk today?"

He shook his head and swept his hair out of his eyes. "No, I… must leave my report for Albus and get back."

"Of course… Did you hear about Emmeline Vance?"

Severus, who had his back to her, stiffened suddenly and stood, frozen for several seconds.

Then, he cleared his throat and nodded. When he looked back at her, it was like seeing a different man. His eyes were lost, his face was hard and his mouth sneered almost cruelly at her.

This, she realised, was Severus the Death Eater.

Realising her words had woken up something dark inside of him, she stepped away to give him more space and avoided his gaze. Had Severus known about Emmeline's murder before it had happened? Had he been there? Did he have information? She decided that she didn't want to know.

"I'll see you soon, then," she said quietly, holding open the bedroom door for him.

He jerked his head in her direction and swept from the room.