December 1st, 1976

Room of Requirement

Because she'd been excused from classes and practicing the spell, Anabella had plenty of time to work on the spell she'd been creating with the help of her boys.

Creating it was difficult, but Avery helped as soon as Anabella found out he was in training to be a spellcrafter. With his help and the help of Alphard, who was also certified in spellcrafting and curse breaking, they finished the spell. Bertie approved it on the 30th of November and the next day, Anabella gathered her boys in the Room.

"What're we doing, Carter? I had plans," Thorfinn complained. She rolled her eyes.

"Chill. This shouldn't take too long. Reg, would you like to be my guinea pig, love?"

Regulus shook his head with a smile and moved over to sit in front of her. "I trust you, Ana."

"Good," she smiled softly for a moment before the smile turned to a mischievous grin. "Shirt!"

Regulus laughed a little, eyeing his girlfriend as he moved his shirt up. "You enjoyed that too much, Little Lion."

She grabbed her wand from her back pocket and flipped it in her hands. "I think I enjoyed it just enough."

"Stop flirting and get into it," Avery rolled his eyes at them.

"This may feel warm, but it won't hurt," she warned Regulus. He nodded, so she began the spell. It touched his ribs and she moved her wand slowly, drawing a small flower on his ribs. When she finished, it flashed brightly and sunk into his skin. When it did, it ended up looking like a tattoo, but with magical golden ink that shined just a little bit. "You see how it's glowing a little? It means it's connected to my core. You'll know when I'm hurt or dying. I want you all to know that if I die, gods forbid, it will burn and then go out. It'll probably settle like a normal muggle tattoo, the remnants of my magic."

"But we're not going to let that happen," Avery reminded her. "Have you bothered telling them what the mark is for?"

"Oh," she frowned. "No, I haven't. Right. I'm marking you with a gentle hermione so that, when the time comes, I can keep you safe. You're working to end this war, so when it's over, you deserve to be kept safe. This is a mark that was introduced to Dumbledore's Order as well via Fabian Prewett. Dumbledore is under the impression that Fabian is working with the DOM on the war, so I don't have to get involved."

"So you're not with Dumbledore," Evan realized, surprised. "I thought you were in his Order."

Anabella shook her head quickly. "No way. Dumbledore is a horrible person working for a good cause. I don't trust him to do the right thing and keep people safe, so I have to do it for him."

"That's a relief," he told her honestly. "My concerns about you were only that you were reporting back to that bastard about us."

"Ew. No. I work with the DOM. No one else."

"So, you're going to mark all of us with that," Antonin said. "How is it connected to you?"

Anabella lifted her shirt a little, rolling her eyes when a few of them averted their eyes. "Relax, I'm not stripping. I have the mark as well."

"It looks… different," Severus realized. "Why?"

"Because this is the one that all the others work off of," she explained. "It is connected to my core, and your guys' marks will connect to this one. My mark will burn off when I die as my magic goes out."

"Cheery."

"You guys ready for it?"

With a few less than enthusiastic responses, she got to work. It didn't take long to mark everyone, and she found it very fun to yell "shirt!" at her friends before marking them.

When she was finished, she grabbed Regulus's hand, waved goodbye at their friends, and snuck out of the castle with him for a date in Hogsmeade.

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December 11th, 1976

Library

"Travers and Macnair will be given the mark over the break," Avery told her quietly, watching her flip through a book with growing frustration.

"Mm," she hummed, frowning down at the book she held.

"There will likely be attacks throughout the holiday. I'd stay home as much as you can if I were you," he continued. "And it's not my fault if you don't listen to me right now."

"I'm listening," she lied absently, reading a page closely.

"You're not even paying attention to me, ace," he told her sharply. She looked up.

"Avery, I'm trying to figure out how to save my best friend's life. You'll excuse me if I'm a little distracted."

"You already did the ritual for Sirius, Sano, there's not much more you can do," he told her. She shook her head.

"Not Sirius, I mean Harry, my best friend in the future. I was doing some research on the things we were hunting and… well, it was Regulus that figured it out, really, but he- he's got something in him, and I have to get it out or he might die."

"Well, good luck," he rolled his eyes. "Remember my warning, if you even heard it."

"Yep, thank you," she said absently. Irritated, he walked away. She was definitely going to get herself killed.

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December 21st, 1976

Gryffindor Common Room

"Bel, are you trying to make us miss the train?" Sirius asked impatiently.

"Shush," she made a face. "I have something for you and it's important that I give it to you now." She shoved a black box with a silver bow into his hands. He grinned at her cheekily.

"You didn't have to get me anything, kitten."

"Yes, I did, Sirius. Now open it," she demanded, the seriousness in her voice surprising him. He did as she requested and opened it, pulling out a beautiful but plain silver chain. "It's a portkey to Potter Manor. I made it last night. It'll take you straight home - through the wards, since you've been keyed in - as long as you're wearing it and say Portus."

"Bel, I don't know what to say." He slipped it onto his neck and hugged her tightly. "I love it."

She hugged him back tightly, closing her eyes in fear. She knew what was to come for him over break, and all she could do was make sure he could come home to get help. "Just promise me you'll wear it always."

He nodded a little as they separated, his fingers moving to find it and fiddle with it. "I'm never taking it off, kitten. I promise."

She smiled gratefully and made her way to the train, separating from him to sit with her Slytherin boys for a while. She still needed to give Regulus his, and Sirius had been right - they were running pretty late. She slipped into the compartment that held her boyfriend and friends and sat happily on the bench with Regulus, tossing her legs onto his lap. She reached into her pocket and pulled out another box, the same black with a silver bow and handed it to her boyfriend. He took it gratefully and opened it as she explained what it was.

"It'll set you outside of the wards, since you've never been there, but Dorea said she'd have an elf looking out for you and that you're always welcome there," she said, giving him a soft smile. "I know you probably won't use it, but if you're in a lot of danger or you need somewhere to go… it's there."

He accepted it gratefully, slipping it around his neck. She smiled happily at the sight and leaned her head back, closing her eyes.

It was barely a half hour of silent traveling before a question occurred to her - one that she'd been meaning to ask for months. "Isn't anyone suspicious about all of you hanging out with me while I hang out with James and Sirius and them?"

Regulus shrugged. "We just told them you were our spy in their group. No one cares."

She snorted. "And they were stupid enough to fall for it. I love it."

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December 22nd, 1976

Diagon Alley

"Dorea, you don't have to do this."

"Of course I do. Now go on. We only have an hour before we need to get home." Dorea gave the girl a loving smile and patted her on the shoulder, sending her away to the shop. The two had grown close through letters over the last months, as well as occasional visits when Anabella was out of the castle for work on the spell. Dorea had insisted upon checking on her once she'd finished practicing, and it had become a wonderful way to decompress from the stressful spell.

The day she'd confided in Dorea about her muggle parents, she learned just how fiercely the woman loved. She'd been told immediately that it was okay because she was Dorea's daughter now, and that she'd never be treated that way again - not with Dorea around.

With a bag of money inside her beaded bag that Dorea and Charlus had insisted she take, she made her way through Diagon Alley, looking around for the gifts she needed. She'd explained to them everything she needed, and they'd easily given her the money, stating that anything that was important to her, was important to them, too.

She made her way into a goblin jewelry store and placed her order, which was large, but she paid extra and was assured it'd be ready the next day and sent to her through owl post, along with multiple identical and already made rings.

Satisfied with that, she made her way over to Ollivanders and smiled kindly at the harried wizard, who looked exactly the same as he had when she'd seen him before she left, except much healthier. She made her way with as little conversation as possible, picking out everything she needed - wand holsters and a second wand for herself - and paying for it quickly before escaping, her breath quickening. He, unfortunately, had served as a great reminder of Malfoy Manor and she felt panic rising.

She was tense as she made her way quickly through the bustling stores. Her wand dropped abruptly into her hand as someone grabbed her wrist and pulled hard. As she fell into a small alley between two stores, she shoved her wand into their face, pushing hard until they were backed against the wall.

"Carter!"

Anabella looked up, blinking rapidly to clear her mind of the images behind her eyes. She took a few deep breaths and could feel herself shaking badly as the person before her put his hand gently on her wand arm to push the wand out of his face. She let him, closing her eyes to calm her breathing. "Antonin," she said, feeling herself shake harder. It was hard not to remember that he was part of the cause of that. "I'm sorry."

When she opened her eyes, she saw him frowning at her darkly. He was watching her arms and shoulders shake with dark eyes. "This is what I did to you."

"This was Bellatrix and Yaxley mostly," she muttered. "What's wrong?"

He clearly didn't appreciate what was clearly a dismissal, but he looked over his shoulder - they didn't have time to argue. "Avery warned you, Durak."

"Durak?" she narrowed her eyes. "Did you just call me a fool?"

"Yes," he raised his eyebrows.

"I do speak Russian, so I do understand when you and Avery complain about me. I also hear the foul things Malfoy says at lunch to Macnair, but my French is a bit rusty," she said, gaining an irritated stare from her friend.

"There's a raid," he told her sharply. "Right now. We figured you would be here, so three of us came ahead to look for you. You need to get out now."

"Oh, shit," she cursed, looking around. "Okay. I'll call Fabian and Gideon. Thanks, Antonin."

"Do us a favor and make it easier to protect you," he requested, giving a short wave as he Apparated out again.

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December 23rd, 1976

Potter Manor

In the end, Anabella had reached Dorea and Charlus waiting in line still at the bank and quietly informed them of the situation. She'd already stopped to send Fabian and Gideon messages and once she and her new parents arrived at Potter Manor, Charlus sent out more messages, one of which went to Mad Eye Moody, much to Anabella's relief, as she knew he lead a great many aurors at the moment.

Charlus informed her later that night that because of the warnings she'd received, no one had been hurt, and they'd even been able to capture at least four Death Eaters. With that victory in mind, she relaxed, smiling as she heard a tapping on her window. She opened it quietly and pulled the package away, handing the bird some bacon she'd broken into pieces and saved for that exact occasion. The bird accepted it gratefully and flew away quickly into the storm.

Turning to her package, she took a deep breath as she opened it. There were twenty separately wrapped rings, all in small, velvet boxes which were, in turn, inside of velvet bags. It was a lot of rings, but she knew she had to make sure everyone would be taken care of when she returned to the future. She couldn't leave them with nothing.

She pulled all of them open and set them on her desk, looking down in satisfaction. The rings she ordered were made specially by goblins to absorb and trap magic or anything that had magic, the same way the Gryffindor sword had absorbed and kept the properties of the basilisk venom.

After organizing the rings, she looked at the first two in the line. They were nearly the same, a rich red and gold and black down the middle, but one had a stripe of brown mixed in and the other had purple. Those two went to Fabian and Gideon.

There was another pair that were similar. They were each black, outlined in silver, but one had a red stripe down the middle, while the other had green. Those two went to Sirius and Regulus respectively.

Another ring was smaller - less like a class ring and smaller, more feminine in nature. It was a soft pink and a beautiful rich red with blue mixed in, reminding Anabella of spring flowers. That ring went to Lily.

One was rather simple, a Gryffindor red and gold, and it went to James.

The next one was a soft brown with an earthy green and blue, which was meant for Remus.

After that was a beautiful emerald mixed with silver and a subtle plum. It would go to Severus.

Then was a soft silver with dark blue and a deep green gems spotted through it, and that was for Avery.

Another ring was a dark green, almost black, with spots of silver through it. It was meant for Alphard.

Two more rings, matching, were a deep red with pink twisted in. They were for Marlene and Mary, who were so similar that the rings had to be the same.

A light blue ring sat. Looking down at it, she nodded. The blue perfectly matched the blue of Antonin's eyes.

Evan's ring was pure black, no colors mixed in to distract anyone. Simple and beautiful.

Thorfinn's ring was also black, but it had a line of gold in the middle of it.

There were also four rings to be given to whoever Sirius or Regulus thought they needed to be given to. Two would contain Sands of time, and two would be simple portkeys. Sirius and Regulus would get one of each.

Finally was Anabella's ring. It was a silver band with small gentle hermiones etched in.

She spent a few minutes casting different spells on the rings for protection - each ring would function as a shield, giving the owner easy access to their wand while protecting themselves. They would also absorb any dark magic sent at them that she could manage. It wouldn't handle Unforgivables, but it would take care of at least a few common dark spells. After placing the protections on the rings, she turned all of them into portkeys and sat down, satisfied with her work. She slipped her own ring onto her left hand pointer finger and breathed out in relief. It was progress.

She sifted through her bags and brought out some more things to wrap. She'd let the house elf, Tilly, take most of it after arguing for ten minutes. She'd been left shocked as the small elf skipped out of the room happily, holding her gifts in her arms and whistling. She'd gained an appreciation and healthy fear of the little thing, and decided to let her do whatever she wanted. She'd spoken with Dorea about house elves and the woman had explained in depth the bond the elves needed in order to survive, and had sent along books as well that told her exactly the same thing. She'd relaxed after that, but she still wanted to do things for herself if she could.

After wrapping the few gifts she'd hidden from Tilly, she made her way over to James's room and plopped onto his bed, finding him playing exploding snap with Remus by the window.

"What d'you look so stressed for?" James questioned, glancing at her. She didn't reply, frowning down at her hands. "Bella?"

"You've been hiding in your room all day," Remus said. "We've been trying to get you to come out. What's wrong?"

"I can't- I shouldn't tell you," she answered softly. She was staring down at the band on her wrist, which was glowing softly. "It's not time yet."

"Time for what?"

"What's going on, Bella?" James asked her, pausing the game to look at her. "You look… scared."

"What's happening?" Remus asked. She looked between them and grimaced.

"It's Sirius. I know what's happening right now and… I just have to hope that the necklaces I gave them are enough to help."

"Wait, what's going on with Sirius?" James asked, his eyes widening. "Is he okay?"

Anabella shook her head. "No, he really isn't, but he will be. We have to wait. It's killing me, but I can't change this. He told me about it, and I can't… stop it."

"What-,"

"Missy Bella!" Tilly exclaimed, popping in. She had blood on her robes. "He's here!"

"Thank the gods," Anabella breathed out sharply and ran out of the room, taking the stairs two at a time to get to the floo room. When she got there with James behind her - Remus having gone to find Dorea and Charlus - she dropped to her knees and grabbed Sirius. He lay with blood pooling around him.

Anabella held Sirius tightly with one arm while using the other hand to work on healing him. He'd been hit with a far too familiar spell, and she silently thanked Severus for giving her the counter-curse. Once he'd stopped bleeding, she summoned a blood replenishing potion and spelled it into her friend. It was only when she'd finished that their parents gently took him from her arms and took him to St. Mungo's, telling them to stay behind and get some rest.

James gently insisted that she showered to get the blood off of her. Numbly, she did as he said, taking a much too long shower, dissociating through the entire thing. An hour later, she stepped out and dried her hair, throwing on pajamas and making her way to James' room. Inside, he lay on his bed, staring up at the ceiling silently.

"Where's Remus?"

"He wrote to Pete to tell him what's going on, and then he went to the ministry to tell Gideon what's happening. I tried to tell him there's nothing he can do, but-,"

"But Remus is a stubborn person," she understood. He waved her over, so she came to lay next to him. He grabbed her hand and squeezed it tightly. "He's gonna be okay, Jamie."

"No one's called me that since I was a little kid," he told her softly. "I know you'd know best, but what if time changed? What if you're wrong?"

She had nothing comforting to say. He'd said aloud all the thoughts she'd been battling the entire day. "James?"

"Yeah."

"You're going to die."

She watched as he closed his eyes. "I know, Bella."

"You know?"

"You tell plenty of stories about Sirius and Remus, but never me. If my son is your best friend, you should know more about me. Besides… you look at me like I'm a ghost."

"I'm going to do something about it," she decided. "Fuck the future. Fuck Bertie. I'm giving you a timekey ring. You have to promise- to swear that when the time comes, when there's nowhere left to go and you're certain you're going to die, you will use it."

James shifted, turning onto his side to look at her. "And Lily?"

Lily had to die. She knew it. But if she was saving James- "I'll figure it out. Lily will get one, too. How- how did you know?"

"That she's my wife?" he shrugged. "I'd never marry anyone else. I can't even think of being with someone else. Lily's it. She's more than my soulmate, she's my match. My person."

"She is," Anabella agreed. "Swear it, James. On your magic, that you'll use the ring."

He didn't hesitate. He rolled to grab his wand and held it up a little. "I, James Charlus Potter, do swear on my wand and magic that when the time comes, I will use my timekey ring to save myself."

His wand lit up at the tip and she breathed out in relief. "Thank you. Fuck. Thank you, Jamie."

"It's a good thing you're you, or I'd hex you for calling me that," he said softly. She smiled at the ceiling.

"Get used to it."

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