Hey my lovely readers! Just a quick note to inform yall's that I will be going on vacation for the next two weeks. I won''t be updating any chapters as I sadly wont have my computer with me :(

I'll get to adding chapters pronto once I return! For now, thank you all so much for taking interest in this fic and series, and I hope these next couple of chapters keep you eagerly satisfied until then!

-M

"Expelliarmus!" he croaked, pointing Ron's wand at them.

Lyla, Arabella's, and Draco's wands shot out of their hands and high into the air. Black caught them with ease. Then he took a step closer. His eyes were fixed on Arabella and Lyla.

"I thought you'd come and help your friend," he said hoarsely. His voice sounded as though he had long since lost the habit of using it. "Your father would have done the same for me. Brave of you not to run for a teacher. I'm grateful... it will make everything much easier..."

The taunt about their father rang in Lyla's ears as though Black had bellowed it. A boiling hate erupted in her chest, leaving no place for fear. For the first time in her life, she wanted her wand back in her hand, not to defend, but to attack… to kill. Without knowing what she was doing, Lyla started forward,

"No, Lyla!" Arabella hissed in a petrified whisper; Draco, however, spoke to Black.

"If you want to kill them, you'll have to kill me too!" he said fiercely.

Something flickered in Black's shadowed eyes.

"There'll be only one murder here tonight," said Black, and his grin widened.

"Why's that?" Lyla spat, trying to wrench herself free. "Didn't care last time, did you? Didn't mind slaughtering all those Muggles to get at Pettigrew... What's the matter, gone soft in Azkaban?"

"Lyla!" Arabella whimpered. "Be quiet!"

"HE KILLED OUR MUM AND DAD!" Lyla roared, and with a huge effort she broke free of their grasps restraint and lunged forward— She had forgotten about magic — she had forgotten that she was short, skinny, and thirteen, whereas Black was a tall, full-grown man— all she knew was that she wanted to hurt Black as badly as she could and that she didn't care how much she got hurt in return —

Perhaps it was the shock of Lyla doing something so stupid, but Black didn't raise the wands in time — one of the girl's hands fastened over his wasted wrist, forcing the wand tips away; the knuckles of Lyla's other hand collided with the side of Black's head and they fell, backward, into the wall —

Arabella was screaming; Ron was yelling; there was a blinding flash as the wands in Black's hand sent a jet of sparks into the air that missed Lyla's face by inches; she felt the shrunken arm under her fingers twisting madly, but she clung on, her other hand punching every part of Black it could find. But Black's free hand had found Lyla's throat

"No," he hissed, "I've waited too long —"

The fingers tightened, and she choked. Then she saw Draco's foot swing out of nowhere. Black let go of Lyla with a grunt of pain; Ron had thrown himself on Black's wand hand and Lyla heard a faint clatter—She fought free of the tangle of bodies and saw her own wand rolling across the floor; she threw herself toward it but—

"Argh!"

Crookshanks had joined the fray; both sets of front claws had sunk themselves deep into Lyla's arm; Lyla threw him off, but Crookshanks now darted toward her wand —

"NO YOU DON'T!" roared Lyla, and she aimed a kick at Crookshanks that made the cat leap aside, spitting; Lyla snatched up her wand and turned —

"Get out of the way!" she shouted.

They didn't need telling twice. Arabella, gasping for breath, her lip bleeding, scrambled aside. Draco leaped to the other end, while Ron crawled to the four-poster and collapsed onto it, panting, his white face now tinged with green, both hands clutching his broken leg.

Black was sprawled at the bottom of the wall. His thin chest rose and fell rapidly as he watched Lyla walking slowly nearer, her wand pointing straight at Black's heart.

"Going to kill me, Lyla?" he whispered.

Lyla stopped right above him, his wand still pointing at Black's chest, looking down at him. A livid bruise was rising around Black's left eye and his nose was bleeding. Before she could speak, however, Arabella stepped forward and directed her own wand at Black's throat.

"You killed our parents," she said, voice shaking slightly.

"I don't deny it," he said very quietly. "But if only you knew the whole story…"

"The whole story?" Lyla repeated a furious pounding in her ears. "You sold them to Voldemort! That's all we need to know!"

"You've got to listen to me," Black said, and there was a note of urgency in his voice now. "You'll regret it if you don't... You don't understand..."

"We understand a lot better than you think," said Arabella, voice shaking more than ever. "You never did hear her, did you? Lily... trying to stop Voldemort killing us... and you did that... you did it..."

Before either of them could say another word, something ginger streaked past them; Crookshanks leaped onto Black's chest and settled himself there, right over Black's heart. Black blinked and looked down at the cat.

"Get off," he murmured, trying to push Crookshanks off him.

But Crookshanks sank his claws into Black's robes and wouldn't shift. He turned his ugly, squashed face to Lyla and looked up at her with those great yellow eyes. To his right, Ron made a noise of disgust.

Both sisters gazed down at Black and Crookshanks. Lyla's grip tightened on the wand. So what if she had to kill the cat too? It was in clearly in league with Black... If he was prepared to die, trying to protect Black, that wasn't her business... If Black wanted to save the cat, that only proved he cared more for Crookshanks than for the Potters, his supposed best friends…

Both Lyla and Arabella raised their wands. Now was the moment to do it. Now was the moment to avenge his mother and father. They were going to kill Black. They had to kill Black. This was their chance…

And then came a new sound —

Muffled footsteps were echoing up through the floor — someone was moving downstairs.

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