Chapter 24: Darkside

Gemma looked up at the crisp white-blue sky above her as she followed Sirius away from the village of Hogsmeade, towards the Shrieking Shack. It was a cold, but beautiful wintery day. The type of day she loved.

It had been three weeks since school had started back up again, and three weeks since her and Sirius had done anything remotely sexual. Classes had been busy, with preparations for NEWT examinations ramping up, and both had been spending time with their friends. They'd wanted to hook up – at least, Gemma certainly had – but the opportunity hadn't presented itself. Until now.

As if reading her thoughts, Sirius glanced back at her with a sexy smirk on his face. He'd approached her a couple of days ago, suggesting they spend the afternoon of their Hogsmeade trip hidden in the shack, making up for lost time. Gemma had agreed without question.

As they turned another corner on the path winding through the woods, Sirius suddenly stopped and pulled Gemma into his side. He frowned and held a finger to his lips, a sign that she should be quiet. She nodded, confused over what he was doing. She couldn't hear or see anything.

Slowly, Sirius led her closer to the shack, but kept his body in front of hers and their backs to the trees. Gradually, sounds – voices – reached Gemma's ears. She tensed as she recognised one of them.

"You have failed again, Snape. Our master is displeased. He questions your loyalty. He questions…"

Mulciber's angry voice was cut short by Snape's drawled response. "He questions nothing. I told you before that the Dark Lord has not once tasked me with aiding him to get into Hogwarts. That alone falls on your shoulders."

Gemma continued to follow Sirius until they were just next to the shack. Mulciber and Snape were facing off against each other in a small clearing, surrounded by Avery and Regulus. Gemma frowned; she should have guessed they would meet here again.

"Black here tells me you never even tried to get information out of Potter. He tells me you never even spoke to him. That you never once threatened the mudblood."

"Hmm, it seems Black is quite the chatterbox." Snape sneered, throwing a nasty look over to Regulus. "One would question whether he's been focused on his own task, or whether he's spent the last few months simply following me around. I wonder what our master would think about that."

"He'd think you're hiding something." Regulus said, stepping forward in a show of bravado. "He'd think you're not really on our side."

"Shut up, you fool." Snape replied, his voice rising slightly. "You don't understand anything that is happening around you." He turned back to Mulciber. "And I'm sick of your games. You want to get into Hogwarts; find your own way."

Snape turned on his heel and walked away, heading in the direction of Gemma and Sirius. Sirius pressed Gemma back into a tree, hiding them from view until they heard Snape walk past. When he'd left, they turned back to Mulciber, Avery and Regulus.

"We don't need him." Mulciber said, turning to Avery. "Get the others."

Avery nodded and disapparated in a swirl of black smoke. Regulus turned to Mulciber. "What are we doing now?"

Mulciber smiled and Gemma felt a cold tingle run down her spine. "We are carrying on with our plan. You can stay and join us. Or you can run back to the safety of Hogwarts and hide." He laughed. "Of course, Hogwarts won't be safe for long."

Gemma frowned, then glanced at Sirius who was frowning just as hard. What was Mulciber saying?

Regulus seemed to hesitate, before steeling his spine. "I'll stay." Gemma glanced at Sirius again. His jaw had tightened and his fists were clenched. It must be breaking his heart to see his brother so involved with Mulciber. Regulus looked around the clearing, then back to Mulciber. "What's the plan?"

At that moment, Avery apparated back to Mulciber's side, followed by other black swirls of smoke around them. Gemma felt her jaw go slack and her eyes widen as dozens and dozens of death eaters appeared in the clearing, their black hoods covering their faces, their wands already out.

Mulciber looked around the group of death eaters, as if counting them, checking everyone was there. With a final smile, he raised his own hood to cover his face. "We burn Hogsmeade to the ground."

Laughter filled the air and Gemma pulled herself out of her shock. Now was not the time to freeze. She grabbed Sirius's arm. "We need to warn the village. We need to get help!"

Sirius nodded, his eyes never leaving the clearing in front of them. "You get back to The Three Broomsticks. Get our friends. Warn the others. Get a message to Dumbledore, to The Ministry."

"What will you do?" She didn't want to leave Sirius alone, but they needed to move fast.

"I'll stay on Mulciber. We need to make sure he doesn't get into Hogwarts." Gemma didn't like it. She didn't like the idea that Sirius would be alone out here with so many death eaters. But before she could tell him that, he turned to her. "I won't engage with them. Not unless I have to." He turned back to the clearing where the death eaters were breaking off into groups. "Go, Gemma. Now!"

Gemma closed her eyes and focused on The Three Broomsticks in her mind; then she moved herself with determination, and apparated to the pub. Stumbling as she landed outside its doors, Gemma grabbed the frame and hauled herself into the warm space. It was noisy; filled with Hogwarts students and village locals enjoying a butterbeer or hot chocolate on a beautiful wintery afternoon. She hated that everything was about to change.

Running straight to the bar, Gemma grabbed the barman's arm as she leaned over the bar. He frowned at her as she did so, but she ignored his annoyance. "Death eaters are in the woods." She told him. "They're coming here. To the village."

He continued to frown at her, then roughly pulled his sleeve from her grip. "Why would death eaters wanna come 'ere?" He asked, sneering at her.

Gemma fought the urge to roll her eyes. She didn't have time to have this discussion. They needed to get help, now! "I don't know." She said, not willing to divulge that there was a secret passageway to Hogwarts. "But I saw them. Dozens of them. They are going to attack the village. We need to get help and we need to get everyone out of here. Right now."

The barman continued to frown at her, clearly suspicious. She didn't have time for this. Gemma ran to her friends and slammed her hands down on the table. "Death eaters. In the woods. They're coming here, guys. Mulciber is leading them. Sirius is still with them. We have to get help. We have to get people out of here. We have to…"

"Gemma, slow down." Alice said, looking concerned.

"And what do you mean 'Sirius is with them'?" James asked, frowning.

"Sirius and I saw them appear. There are so many of them and they're…" Gemma was cut short as a large bang sounded from outside the pub. She turned and looked out the window, seeing villagers running past, calling out. Another bang sounded, but this time from behind them. She turned back to her friends who were all now on their feet. "They're attacking the village. We need to move."

Everyone in the pub moved as they did; students and locals mixing in a panic to both see what was happening outside and avoid it. Gemma pushed through the crowd, her friends close behind her.

"What are we going to do?" Mary asked, her voice shaking slightly. "Are we going to try and get back to school?" She didn't hear Peter and Lily's replies, but it had sounded like a 'no'.

Gemma saw the barman to one side, talking to a painting. Good; hopefully he was sending for help.

"Where's Sirius, Gemma?" James grabbed her arm and spun her around. "You said he was with them. Where is he?"

"He stayed at the shack, to watch Mulciber. Mulciber's trying to get into Hogwarts and his plan is to burn Hogsmeade to the ground in order to do it. He's looking for that passageway."

"Shit." James muttered, as they reached the front door of the pub. He and Gemma stepped out onto the street first, then backed up against the door, pushing the others back inside.

The street was filled with death eaters. Buildings were already on fire, walls were starting to crumble, the ground was shaking as explosion after explosion rocked the village. Locals and students were being attacked and injured. Some were fighting back, some were running scared, but some were helpless against the onslaught.

Gemma glanced back at her friends. "We need to stop this."

Every single one of them nodded, even Mary. But Gemma could tell she was scared.

"Let's go." James ordered as he darted out of the door frame and ran straight for a group of death eaters who were using the Cruciatus curse on a young student. Gemma didn't wait any longer; she joined him and together they pulled the death eaters' focus towards them.

"Stupefy!" Gemma shouted, stunning one death eater, before turning to the one James was duelling. But James didn't seem to need any help, and Gemma could see Lily fighting two death eaters just behind him. She ran to Lily. "Stupefy!" This time she missed, the targeted death eater jumping out of the way and blasting the same spell back. Gemma skipped to the side.

Gemma caught the movement of a third death eater. "Crucio!" He yelled. Gemma grabbed Lily's arm and yanked her to the side, just as the unforgivable curse came flying past them. Merlin's beard. These death eaters weren't holding back.

"Thanks." Lily said. "Expelliarmus!" She shouted, pointing her wand towards the death eater who had used the Cruciatus curse. His wand flew from his hand, before he disapparated in a wisp of smoke.

The other two death eaters were still fighting though. "Protego!" Gemma cried, shielding both her and Lily from an onslaught of attacking spells. It was enough, but Gemma knew she wouldn't be able to hold it for long. She looked at Lily. "On three." Lily nodded, understanding. "One… two… three." Gemma dropped her shield. "CONFRINGO!"

"RELASHIO!" Lily shouted at the same time. A mixture of orange and purple light flew from their wands as the two death eaters were blasted backwards, hitting the ground hard with the force of the explosions. Neither moved.

Gemma swallowed the fear that she may have killed the death eaters – yes they were bad people, but she didn't want to become a murderer at the age of seventeen – and focused on everything else that was happening around her.

James was no longer in sight, but she could see Alice facing off against a couple of death eaters. Mary was tending to some injured students, while Remus stood over her, blasting away any death eater who tried to get close. Gemma didn't know where Peter was and she hadn't seen Sirius since she'd been in the woods with him. She really hoped he was ok.

Sirius held himself still and silent as he leaned back against the tree, hidden from view. So far he'd taken out four death eaters, but he knew his game was almost up. There was only so much hiding he could do before Mulciber worked out exactly where he was.

After Gemma had left, he'd stayed hidden as Mulciber had ordered his death eaters to destroy the village. One by one, a dozen or so had disappeared, leaving Mulciber, Avery, Lestrange, Bellatrix and his damn, idiot brother behind. And with them, five other death eaters; four of whom currently lay on the ground, stunned and unable to hurt anyone.

"Come out and face us like a man!" Mulciber shouted, and not for the first time since he'd noticed his death eaters dropping around him.

"Or a woman!" Bellatrix added, grinning and dancing from side to side. "I want to have a little fun today!"

"Black." For a brief second Sirius thought he had been caught. Then Mulciber continued. "You and McAlester head that way. Bellatrix, Lestrange; over there. Avery, come with me."

So they were splitting up. Merlin, he hoped his brother wasn't going to end up in a situation he couldn't get out of. Despite Regulus siding with Mulciber, with Lord Voldemort, Sirius still couldn't stomach the idea that Regulus would do irrevocable damage. That Regulus would hurt someone. Kill someone.

Sirius could hear footsteps approaching but he wasn't sure who it would be. He moved as quietly as he could around the tree, just as the approaching death eaters walked past a few feet away. A branch snapped under his foot. Shit.

"Did you hear that?" A voice he didn't recognise spoke. Must be McAlester; which meant his brother was near. Good. Maybe Sirius could talk some sense into him.

"I did." Regulus replied. "There."

Sirius braced himself and held his wand up, ready. He could hear their footsteps getting closer. He waited… then a branch snapped. "Stupefy!" He cast the spell, stunning McAlester and sending him backwards onto the ground.

He turned to Regulus, but his brother was already on the attack. Sirius dived back behind the tree, just as a huge chunk of wood exploded near his face. Merlin's fucking beard, Regulus!

Sirius heard the shouts of others, but he ignored them and focused on trying to disarm his brother. "Expelliarmus!" Regulus managed to pull his arm back and hold on to his wand, but he was now at an awkward angle. "Locomotor Mortis!" His brothers legs snapped together. "Expelliarmus!" This time Sirius was able to disarm him.

"You bastard!"

"You're playing a dangerous game, Regulus." Sirius could hear the sounds of others, but no one had arrived yet. He looked down at his brother. "People are getting killed! Innocent lives are being taken everyday! Is it really worth it?" Regulus didn't reply, and footsteps sounded louder than before. Sirius needed to move or be prepared to fight. He looked back down at his brother, a deep sadness overwhelming him. "You keep telling me that I'm no brother of yours; maybe that's a good thing."

Sirius turned and walked away. He needed to find Mulciber again, make sure he didn't get into the castle, but at that moment he was too angry, too hurt, too disappointed to do anything but walk away. Then he heard a scream.

Gemma ran towards the painful scream that had torn through the air, her heart in her throat. She knew who that scream belonged to.

Her lungs burned at the effort to keep moving. Her body ached from her earlier duels, cuts and bruises covering her skin, but there was no way – no way – she would stop.

The scream tore through the woods again and Gemma fought the tears in her eyes. She would make it. She would get there and she would save her best friend.

Movement to her left caught her eye, and she released a relieved breath when she saw Sirius charging towards the scream; towards Alice. Thank Merlin he was ok, and thank Merlin he would help her too.

A maniacal laughter filled the air, followed by another pained cry. This time quieter though, as if the effort to scream was now too much. Fuck.

Suddenly Gemma reached the clearing. Bellatrix was standing over Alice, her wand pointed at her while she writhed on the ground; Mulciber, Avery and Lestrange looking on with perverted humour in their eyes.

"Expelliarmus!" Gemma shouted, disarming Bellatrix just as Sirius sent her flying backwards and into a tree.

Alice laid on the ground, her body shaking, but Gemma couldn't get to her; Lestrange had turned towards Gemma and roared as he threw powerful spell after spell at her. Gemma stumbled back from the force, but refused to fall. Not again. She could see Alice moving – slowly – as Sirius took on both Mulciber and Avery, but she needed to concentrate on Lestrange. He was dangerous.

"Little red in the woods again." He said, smirking at her as he tried to stun her. Gemma dodged and deflected, but he was relentless. She struggled to cast any attacking spells, focused solely on defending herself. She caught movement at the base of a tree across the clearing, and saw Bellatrix get up and retrieve her wand. Fuck, Alice was still struggling to stand.

"Bombarda!" Gemma shouted, aiming for the tree behind Bellatrix. It exploded around her, sending her back to the ground, buying Alice more time. But the distraction had given Lestrange space to close in on her.

He lunged for her, wrapping his hand around her throat and pushing her back against a tree, her body slamming against the trunk. His fingers tightened and his face twisted with anger and hate. She couldn't breathe; spots danced in front of her eyes. But she still had her wand.

Voicing the incantation in her head, Gemma cast a blasting spell straight into Lestrange's chest. Orange sparks filled her vision as his body flew backwards, releasing his hold on her. Gasping for air, Gemma was about to curse the bastard again, but he disapparated. Rubbing her throat, she looked up to see Mulciber, Avery and Bellatrix had disapparated too.

She ran to Alice, just as Sirius got there too.

"Alice, are you ok?" Her voice sounded hoarse and she cleared her throat. "What happened?"

Alice nodded, her body still shaking slightly. "I'm fine. The bastards used the Cruciatus curse on me. It was horrible." Alice shuddered and Gemma wrapped her arms around her friend. Merlin, it had sounded horrible, from Alice's screams. "I never want to feel that type of pain again."

"You were strong, Alice." Sirius said, as Gemma pulled back from the hug. "You fought it. I've heard that most people can't even scream the pain is so unbearable."

Gemma nodded. "He's right. And your cries brought us to you."

Alice gave them both a small smile. "Thank you." Her gaze travelled to Gemma's neck and her eyes widened. "Merlin, Gemma! Did Lestrange do that?"

Sirius growled as Gemma brought her hand to her throat and nodded. "Yes, the bastard. I blasted him in the chest though. Hopefully he's now missing a lung."

Alice laughed. "Hopefully."

Sirius didn't say anything but continued to stare at her throat. She imagined she must have some bruises there. Gemma reached out and took his hand, giving it a squeeze. "I'm ok, Sirius."

He looked at her, then nodded once. He squeezed her hand back before letting go. "We should get down to the village. Where are the others?"

They turned and walked quickly towards the sounds of fighting, Alice taking the lead and back to full strength. "I don't know. I followed a death eater through the woods, then saw Mulciber and followed him. Next thing I knew Bellatrix had me and then you guys arrived."

"I was at the edge of the woods when I heard your scream." Gemma added. "The others were all there, I think. James and Lily were near the pub. Mary was helping some students. I think I saw Remus and Peter too, but it's all been a blur."

Sirius sighed heavily. "I should have joined you sooner, but I was trying to keep an eye on Mulciber. I did manage to stun five death eaters though. Shit!"

Gemma looked up and saw what Sirius could see. Hogsmeade was burning. Almost half of the buildings had either collapsed or were engulfed in flames. People were screaming, crying, trying to defend themselves, trying to attack. It was chaos.

Sirius took stock of the sight in front of him. It was chaos. And where was the help? Surely someone had contacted The Ministry, or even Hogwarts, by now? Surely Aurors and capable Professors were on their way?

As if summoning them by the thought alone, a dozen white wisps of smoke swirled around them, revealing a new selection of powerful witches and wizards. He recognised one wizard immediately; the fucking huge, scary-looking Auror with a magical eye who seemed to hate everyone. Moody; an appropriate name.

Moody blasted two death eaters across the street before flinging another high in the air and smashing him into the ground. Merlin's beard. This Auror did not mess around.

"Sirius!" Gemma shouted, just as she blasted a death eater who was coming at him from his other side. Shit, he hadn't been paying attention. Help might be here, but he was still needed to fight.

He turned and disarmed the death eater, then spotted James fighting alone up ahead. He ran to his friend, and together they battled a couple of death eaters until someone far more powerful joined the fight, thankfully on their side. Sirius watched in fascination as both death eaters were blasted, stunned and disarmed in quick succession.

"Bloody hell." James whispered, as they both turned to look behind them.

Professor McGonagall stood tall, her wand still raised, her expression stern. Sirius almost laughed; she looked exactly as she did whenever she was giving them detention. It was not a look to mess with. Her eyes travelled to them both and her expression softened ever so slightly. "Potter, Black, are you both ok?"

They nodded. "We're fine, Professor." James replied. "Glad to see you here though."

"You've done well. All of you. But you need to stay here and let us finish this." She turned and headed back towards the main fight.

Sirius frowned just as James scoffed and shook his head. "No chance are we staying back here."

"No chance." He wasn't willing to sit back and let others do the fighting, not when they'd already fought so hard.

"Let's go!"

Gemma pushed through yet another door. Surely she'd find a way out of this stupid maze eventually.

She cursed herself for running and hiding, but really, what choice had she had? She'd been backed into a corner, four against one, and while she was a damn good witch, she wasn't that good. So she'd blasted an arch above the death eaters heads and she'd ran. Through an old, decrepit door, into an old, decrepit building.

She didn't even know where she was anymore. She was fairly certain she'd been behind the old row of shops that had closed down years earlier, but she'd run through so many corridors and doors, she wouldn't be surprised if she ended up back at Hogwarts.

She paused and listened out for the death eaters. Nothing. She was fairly certain none of them had followed her, and even if they had, the maze would likely confuse them. Merlin, Gemma wondered if she'd ever escape!

Deciding to try another door, Gemma pressed down on a handle and was met with a locked door. Interesting. Perhaps a sign that this door led to something other than another corridor?

"Alohomora." The door clicked open and Gemma stepped through, into darkness. "Lumos." The tip of her wand lit up a small space around her and Gemma frowned as she squinted at the room she was now in. Turning to her right, she found a small switch, and was relieved when a warm yellow glow filled the room.

Gemma looked around. The room was set out like a potions classroom; bottles filled the shelves that ran along the walls; a huge desk filled one back corner, while a cauldron filled another; and on a side table, close to the door, sat twenty or so tiny bottles filled with a perfectly clear liquid.

Gemma studied the small bottles, then moved along the shelves, looking at the ingredients on display. Everything was neat and clean, and despite being buried inside an old, disused building, this room was clearly very much still in use.

Gemma frowned at some of the ingredients. These were dangerous items. Some of which Gemma had never seen before, only read about in Potion textbooks because they were apparently too dangerous to have on school grounds. She promptly stepped away from those particular items.

Her eyes were drawn to the desk. It was large and, unlike the rest of the room, was messy and disorganised. Her eyes fell to the various scraps of parchment, most seeming to contain a potion recipe of some kind. Just as she was stepping away, she froze.

Mary MacDonald

Shuffling the other parchment out of the way, Gemma stared at the list before her, her heart beating fast, her skin growing cold.

Mary MacDonald

Kelly Roe

Julie Summers

Susie Bolt

Phillip Johnson

The five muggle-born students who had all been poisoned. Marcus Carter was on the list too – the intended victim when Dixon had been poisoned – as was Lily Evans.

Gemma looked back up at the room. The cauldron to the side. The dangerous ingredients lining the walls. The twenty bottles sitting by the door.

Her eyes then landed on the figure now standing in the doorway, and her heart rate tripled. She was in big, big trouble.

The death eater in front of him disapparated, so Sirius turned and looked around for his friends. He saw Alice fighting, but she had Professor Flitwick and Professor Slughorn beside her. Remus and Peter were helping Mary tend to some of the wounded. Lily was joined by James, but the death eater they were fighting quickly disapparated. With no one else to fight, James pulled Lily into a tight hug and kissed her passionately.

Death eaters were either caught or disapparating. The Aurors and the Hogwarts professors had balanced the fight, therefore ending it. He looked around again. Where was Gemma?

A new buzz of activity surrounded him as those remaining simultaneously celebrated their victory while recognising the damage and destruction caused by the events. But Sirius ignored it all. Where was Gemma?

She had been by his side when they had returned to the village, but he had run off to help James. He walked towards Alice, scanning the faces of the injured.

"Sirius, where's Gemma?" Alice asked, before he could form the exact same question. Fuck.

"I don't know." He said, a thread of panic running through him. Somehow he knew – he just knew – she wasn't ok. "But I'm going to find her!"

"Miss Arwin. Isn't this an unpleasant surprise."

Gemma stared at Professor Hyde, shock still rolling through her system. He had his wand raised, pointed directly at her heart. She had hers in her hand, but she knew from experience, from class, that he was fast in a duel.

"You. You're the one poisoning the students." An obvious statement, but she needed to say it out loud.

He smiled and looked around the room. "How did you guess?"

"But why?" She was so confused. "You're a teacher! You're…"

"What? Supposed to be good?" He chuckled at his own answer. "It's always disappointing when the people we look up to don't quite meet our expectations, isn't it?"

"Why?" She asked again. She needed to know why.

"Because the filthy mud-bloods are a disgrace to our world!" He stepped further into the room, closing the door behind him, and Gemma instinctively stepped back, her backside bumping into the desk. "They don't deserve a place here. They're interlopers; stealing our education, our jobs. Spreading their disgusting muggle genes. Destroying us…" Hyde flicked his hand between the two of them. "…the pure bloods."

Gemma felt sick. There was no 'us'. They were nothing alike. She shook her head. "You're wrong. You have the same warped view of the world as You Know Who…"

"The Dark Lord understands the truth. The Dark Lord is righteous in his quest to rid the world of the filth that threatens to destroy it…"

Gemma tuned out. Not only could she not stand to listen to his nonsense, but she needed to focus on finding a way out. He was blocking the door, and she doubted he'd let her walk out alive so she could go tell Dumbledore. She started to inch sideways, away from the desk. Maybe if she could keep him talking, perhaps get him to step into the middle of the room, she'd have an escape route to the door.

She pointed to the list, and moved a few steps to the side as she did. "Why go after some students and not others? Why go after Mary twice."

He shrugged and stepped further in to the room. "Opportunity, mostly. I always carry a small vial around with me, waiting for the chance to use it." He glanced at the small bottles on the side table by the door, then back to Gemma. "You never know when the time will be just right to end a life."

Gemma shuddered at his words. At his hidden threat. "But it didn't work, did it? You didn't end any lives."

His eyes flared and she wondered if she had pushed him too far. He turned from her for a moment – and she seized the opportunity to step further towards the door – before he turned back, his fists clenched, his body taut and tense. "It worked enough. It got them sick. A little more and they would have died. A few more adjustments to the poison, and it would have ended them all." He paused and stared at her for a moment. "It will end them all."

"How do you know Florey?"

His eyes narrowed, before his body relaxed a little. He stepped away again, this time trailing his fingers along a shelf filled with bottles. The door was clear, but Gemma was still too far from it. She kept inching towards it as he spoke, his gaze on the bottles, not her.

"He was my uncle. My mother's brother. They were raised together; they shared the same beliefs. He was captured and executed before I was even born, but my mother spent her life trying to recreate his work." He paused and Gemma froze. She was close now. She might be able to make it if she ran. "It almost destroyed her. When she died, I took over the responsibility."

Hyde suddenly turned and pointed his wand at her.

"I'm pleased to say I've finally made it work." He nodded to the twenty small bottles on the side. "Tested it just this morning on a local woman. She wasn't muggle-born, but sacrifices need to be made for the good of the cause. She dropped dead instantly. No chance of survival; no trace of poison; no reason to believe a respected Hogwarts teacher was responsible."

Gemma took a steadying breath. She had two choices; run for the door or attack Hyde.

"Why don't you lower your wand, Miss Arwin, and take a seat?" He nodded towards the seat opposite the desk.

Gemma refused to move. "No." She said firmly. "I'm not going to let you get away with this."

He rolled his eyes. "You Gryffindors are always so brave. So willing to risk your lives for the good of others. It makes me sick." He raised his wand higher. "Now sit down before I make you sit down."

Gemma needed to act. She needed to decide; run or duel. If she ran, she had no bloody idea how to escape the maze outside, and if he caught her, he could overpower her and force her to drink the poison. If she duelled him, he could overpower her anyway, and again he could force her to drink the poison.

She sighed. Either way, if he got hold of her and used the poison, she didn't stand a chance. That was it.

Gemma pointed her wand towards the bottles. "Bombarda Maxima!"

She heard Hyde roar as she cast her spell, then felt the press of her own explosive spell and another energy force crash into her. She flew backwards, into the shelves behind her, hearing and feeling the smash of glass around her. She only hoped she'd managed to destroy all the poison.

Hyde stumbled towards her, through the rubble of the wall that her spell had caused. The door had been blasted open, and she could now see into the corridor. "You stupid fool!" He shouted. "You destroyed it! You destroyed it all!" He pulled back his arm, his wand raised and ready. "I'll just have to kill you the old fashioned way!"

"Protego!" Gemma whispered the word, her body exhausted from all the fighting, but she felt her shield go up.

Hyde laughed. "Your shield is no match for this. Avada…"

A flash of purple light filled the room and Hyde flew sideways. A series of coloured sparks flew towards him as McGonagall stepped through the broken doorway, disarmed Hyde, stunned him and bound him in rope.

"Gemma!" Alice flew towards her, pulling her in for a tight hug. It hurt, but Gemma hugged her back anyway. She was just so happy to see her friend.

Movement caught her eye and she looked up to see Sirius standing behind Alice, concern clear on his face. He didn't step forward though, and Gemma wondered if he was giving this moment to Alice.

"Oh, thank Merlin. We had no idea where you were, and we were searching and searching and then suddenly Sirius just seemed to know you were down here and we were getting so lost and then we heard this huge explosion and then we found you and… Merlin, Gemma, what happened? What was Hyde doing?" Alice looked around the room. "What is this place?"

Gemma gave a small laugh at Alice's running commentary of their search for her. She sounded just like Mary. "I'll explain everything later, I promise." She slowly pulled herself to her feet. "Right now I just want to get out of here."

"Miss Arwin, you should return to the castle and go straight to Madam Pomfrey." McGonagall looked around the room, and down at Hyde. She looked back up again. "Mr Black, Miss Fortescue, please find Professor Slughorn and send him here."

They all nodded, then Gemma allowed Alice and Sirius to help her over the rubble and out of the door. When they reached the corridor, she smiled to them both. "I'm ok now. I can walk." Alice nodded and stepped away, but Sirius didn't let her go. She turned to him. "Sirius, I'm…"

"I know, you're fine." He sighed and shook his head. "Just humour me, Gem. Let me help you?"

Gemma huffed out a small laugh and allowed herself to lean into Sirius, letting him guide her out of the corridor and towards the exit. And she had to admit – to herself, only - that it was nice having Sirius there to lean on. That it was nice being able to lower her guard, even for just a moment, knowing that Sirius would keep her safe.

A week had passed since the attack on Hogsmeade. Sirius leaned out over the edge of the Astronomy Tower, his mind still running through the events of the previous week.

When they'd returned to the castle, there had been a flurry of activity in the hospital wing. Most students who had been caught in the attack had suffered only minor injuries, so Pomfrey was able to treat them quickly. Unfortunately, a few students had endured more serious injuries and had been taken to St Mungo's. One fourth year had died.

Sirius hung his head. He hadn't known the girl; barely recognised her name and doubted he'd have been able to pick her out in a line-up, but he felt the loss all the same. The whole school did.

The war was closing in. While Hogwarts remained safe – for now – Sirius knew it was only a matter of time before they found a way in. He also knew that when he left Hogwarts at the end of the year, he wouldn't be travelling for long, if at all. The war was everywhere. Sirius would need to do his part, and fight.

Footsteps sounded from the bottom of the stairs and Sirius waited for whoever it was to join him. He started to recognise the tread; it was James. The stomping gave him away.

"Bloody hate those stairs." Sirius chuckled but didn't turn around or reply. He knew James would join him at the railing. "Been looking everywhere for you. Well, I looked everywhere on the map for you. Can't be bothered traipsing around the whole castle trying to find you."

Sirius smiled. "I'd have thought it obvious where I was."

"Yeah, well, Peter – the idiot – said you weren't up here. Turns out he was looking at the wrong bloody tower." He laughed. That sounded like Peter. James turned to him, giving him a hard stare. "Fifth time this week you've been hiding yourself away. What's going on?"

Sirius sighed. He'd been avoiding this question. And it seemed he couldn't avoid it any longer. "Regulus stayed." James didn't say anything, just listened, so Sirius continued. "He decided to join Mulciber on his quest to burn an entire village to the ground. To destroy lives. To kill people. Regulus chose to stay." He hung his head again. "A girl died. Others too, from the village. How could he… how could he want to be a part of that?"

James placed a hand on his shoulder, the familiar weight of his friends palm was a reassuring gesture. "Regulus has chosen a path, just as you've chosen yours. But that doesn't mean he can't come back from that. It doesn't mean he can't be encouraged to take a new path. A path that perhaps aligns more with yours." James chuckled a little. "Equally, you and I could get encouraged to take a new path. Maybe we get swayed to the dark side."

Sirius laughed with James; they both knew that was never going to happen. They might be arrogant and selfish and a little inconsiderate on occasion, but they weren't bad people. They weren't death eaters. They had too much good in them.

He realised was James was saying. "Are you telling me the world isn't made up of good people and bad people? That perhaps we've all got a little bit of both inside us?"

James squeezed his shoulder. "Exactly. It's the part we choose to act on that matters the most. That's who we are." Sirius smiled at James's wise words. When had James become so sensible? Probably the Lily-effect. "Right now, Regulus is acting on his darker side. But maybe one day he'll see the light. Maybe one day he'll redeem himself." James paused and turned to him. "Don't give up on him completely, Sirius."

James turned and left Sirius alone. He wasn't sure how long he was stood at the railing, watching the afternoon sky turn dark, but he felt Gemma's presence before she made herself known. That was always the case; maybe it was her vanilla and orange scent, or maybe it was the sound of her soft footsteps, but Sirius always knew when she was near.

"Hi, Gem." He heard a soft intake of breath. She obviously thought she'd gone undetected.

"Hi." She stepped to the railing and joined him in looking out over the grounds. "You ok?"

He nodded. "Yeah, I'm ok." And he was. He felt better after his talk with James. He looked down at her; she looked tired. "Are you ok?"

He'd been worried about her all week. She'd healed from her injuries quickly, but he knew she'd been affected by the interaction with Hyde. She nodded and gave him a small smile. "Yeah, I'm ok."

He heard the truth in her reply, and relaxed. All week, stories had spread around the castle like Fiendfyre. Stories about the attack on Hogsmeade. Stories about Professor Hyde and the poison. Even stories about Gemma and Sirius and all their friends who had stayed behind to help fight. And not even half the stories were the truth.

It had been exhausting for all of them, but especially for Gemma. Some idiot Slytherins with a grudge had decided to tell anyone who would listen that Gemma had been working alongside Hyde, and had turned on him when McGonagall had discovered them. Sirius had used his fists to end that ridiculous rumour.

"Dumbledore is planning to make an announcement tomorrow." Gemma said, as if reading his thoughts. "I think he wants to make sure the truth is out there. Not just about Professor Hyde, but the attack too. Hogwarts is safe, but we're still at risk. We all need to be careful."

Sirius nodded. An announcement sounded like a good idea. The last week had been about healing and saying goodbye to that girl who had lost her life. But now they needed to focus on what came next. "Have you heard any more from your dad?"

"No. My mum has written again – checking up on me – but my dad is still working through everything. I think he wants to make sure there's definitely no more family out there, looking to pick up the pieces."

George Arwin had discovered the existence of a nephew during his visit to America at Christmas, but had struggled to identify a name. The sister - Hyde's mother - hadn't married, so for weeks he was searching for another 'Florey'. He'd finally discovered a possible link to the name 'Hyde' when Gemma had discovered the potions lab.

He turned to her again. "So, what now?"

Gemma smiled again. "It's Lily's birthday tomorrow, so we're having a girls night. Although I think James intends to gatecrash. You know he can't handle being apart from her for more than ten minutes."

Sirius laughed. "That's true." He grinned at her. "And you know me, Remus and Peter can't handle being apart from James for more than ten minutes, so looks like we're all gatecrashing."

Gemma rolled her eyes but laughed all the same. "Can't wait!"

She turned and started to move towards the stairs, but Sirius grabbed her arm and hauled her back to him. She fell against him, her hands on his chest, and he banded his arms around her. He hadn't kissed her in weeks. Hadn't done anything in weeks. They'd had plans, but Mulciber had seen to the end of that. He knew he wouldn't have sex with her tonight, but Merlin's fucking beard, he was going to kiss her.

So he did.