December 24th, 1976

St. Mungo's Spell Damage

They slept for two hours before they were woken by a tired but smiling Dorea. She got them dressed and fed quickly before rushing them over to the hospital to see a damaged but very much alive Sirius.

Anabella sat on Sirius's left, holding his hand, while James was on his right, staring at his blood brother. They were silent as they sat together. Charlus and Dorea had gone to speak with Alphard about getting permanent custody of Sirius, leaving their son in their other kids' hands.

She felt a small squeeze on her hand and breathed out sharply. "Sirius."

"Hey there, kitten," he said, his voice cracking painfully. He grimaced. "Anything interesting happen while I was out?"

She laughed shortly, nearly letting out a sob. "Yeah, you moan in your sleep. You sounded like a ghoul."

"In my defense," he said, sitting up a bit. "I was just tortured nearly to death."

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I'm sorry I couldn't do more."

"Do more- the necklaces," he realized, his eyes widening. "You gave them to us to get us out. You knew."

"I'm so sorry. I didn't want to let you go, but you told me about it and-,"

"Shut up," he shook his head. "Bel, you must've saved my life."

"How are you feeling?" James asked when Anabella just stared at Sirius with wide eyes.

Sirius made a face. "Like some crazy fucking witch tried to torture me to death."

Anabella grimaced, remembering her own torture from Bellatrix. It had her mind wandering. Sirius brought her back by squeezing her hand.

"Sorry, kitten."

"Um," she sniffed and stood, taking her hand back. "I'm going to see if Mum is back."

She left before they could stop her and kept walking until she reached an empty hall. She leaned against the wall and let the tears fall quietly.

She had saved him, yes, but he'd suffered while she knew what was happening. She couldn't view that as a good thing.

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December 25th, 1976

Potter Manor

"You're obnoxious."

"I'm healing!" Sirius argued. "Mum said I got whatever I wanted."

"She didn't mean my fucking homework, dumbass!"

Sirius laughed at her glare. "What's got you on edge, kitten?"

"You do," she huffed. "I know you finished yours already, anyway. What did you want mine for?"

He shrugged. "You've been… gloomy. I wanted to distract you."

"I'm fine," she lied. "It's you we need to worry about."

Sirius shifted, frowning at her. "Bel, I'm good. You got to me in enough time that I'm healing pretty quickly and all I need is potions and a couple weeks of physical therapy. So I'm good, but you're not. What's going on?"

Anabella shifted to look at him. They were sitting on the floor going through a small cupboard that had been filled completely with what seemed to be Potter heirlooms. James came back in, drinks in hand, and raised an eyebrow at them.

"What's up?"

"She's about to tell me about her guilt complex," Sirius told his brother. Anabella made a face and turned back to the heirlooms. "Seriously, Bel, you have nothing to feel guilty for. You might've known, but you couldn't change it, could you?"

"How could you forgive me so easily?" she asked him softly. He tipped his head to the side and grabbed her hand within his own, squeezing it gently.

"There's nothing to forgive. I owe you a life debt, Anabella Carter. And unfortunately, I owe Regulus one as well."

"He's right," James agreed, sitting down next to them. He handed them each a cup of coffee. "You did everything you could."

"I should get changed before dinner," she muttered, looking down at herself. "You two need to as well. Mum won't like us covered in dust at the dinner table."

The boys watched her walk away and exchanged a look. It would take a lot to break through that guilt complex.

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By the time Anabella had gotten downstairs again for dinner, everyone else was already at the table. Looking at them, she knew something was up. "What… is it?"

"Bella," Dorea smiled softly. "You're our ward, but you're much more than that. You're our family - the daughter we never got to have. Would you do us the honor of joining our family officially?"

Anabella blinked in surprise. "You want me to… how?"

"It would be a blood adoption," Charlus told her with a smile. "A very simple ritual."

"I know what it contains," she nodded, looking at them. All she could think about was her muggle parents compared to Charlus and Dorea. The love she'd felt from the Potters was a love she'd only ever felt from Sirius before - unconditional familial love. "You really want me to?"

"Of course, we do," Dorea nodded. "And we have something for you. Boys?"

Sirius pulled a small box out of his pocket and held it out to her. "Bel?"

"Yeah," she replied, taking it from him gently. She stared down at it, almost afraid to open it.

"You're already my sister," he told her. "We've been family longer than I know. Just make it official now."

"Okay," she nodded, still staring down at the box. James nudged her, so she opened it. Inside lay a thin silver cuff with small flowers etched into it. It matched her ring almost perfectly, and she stared down at it in amazement. "It's beautiful."

"It absorbs excess magic in a duel and feeds it back into you to be used again," Charlus explained.

"Is that a yes, then?" Dorea asked. When she nodded, Dorea smiled brightly at her. "Well, we'll do dinner and then we can do the ritual."

And they did. They all seemed to eat fast, excited for what was to come after. The ritual itself was simple- a drop of every family member's blood and then Vows to stay loyal to the family, to care for the family. When it was finished, Anabella felt the cord within her that led to the Potters brighten and settle deeper within her, almost as if it had always been there.

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December 31st, 1976

Potter Manor

"We look hot," Mary announced as Dorcas finished doing Anabella's hair. Emmeline was helping Lily zip up her dress, and Marlene and Alice were doing their makeup together. "But I have a question for you two," she said, pointing between Dorcas and Marlene.

"The answer is none of your damn business, Macdonald," Marlene called out. "Stop bugging us about it."

Anabella looked between the three. "What's going on?"

"I caught them-,"

"I will hex your fucking hair off," Marlene snapped while Dorcas laughed.

"I was going to say doing baby making activities, but that's not- that's not really possible between two women," Mary realized. "Wait. If you're gay, quick pronouns check for everyone."

Lily laughed. "She/her."

"I dunno," Emmeline realized, looking slightly panicked. "Anything?"

"Anything works," Mary promised.

"She/her," Alice agreed.

"She/they," Marlene grinned. "Did anyone expect anything else?"

"Not at all," Dorcas smiled. "She/they/he."

"Honestly, I'm not sure," Anabella shrugged. "I'm definitely genderqueer. I think I'm feeling she/they right now."

"And I…" Mary grinned at them before laughing. "Have no idea. Is it something we're supposed to just know?"

"Not really," Dorcas shrugged. "It's personal to everyone. We're only sixteen and seventeen."

"Now that we know that Alice and Lily are the only cis people in the group, let's get downstairs," Marlene suggested. "We're like fifteen minutes late."

They hurried to finish what they were doing and made their way downstairs, where some of them found their dates waiting.

Lily had asked James to escort her to the ball. Not as a date, she'd said, but as friends. James had nearly fainted when he'd gotten the letter and immediately accepted.

Frank stood, leaning against the railing, waiting for Alice. His face lit up when he saw her.

Remus had, with a bit of pushing from his friends, asked Mary to accompany him. Mary had called him a dumbass for doubting she'd say yes and accepted.

Dorcas and Marlene were going together, of course, and led one another to the ballroom immediately.

Emmeline had asked Amos Diggory to the ball, and he'd been glad to have an invitation, even if neither of them actually liked the other.

Sirius was waiting for Anabella. He stood with his hands in his pockets, something between a grin and a smirk brightening his face. He grinned happily at her when he saw her and offered his arm. "You look radiant, Bel."

"You look healthy," she replied with a small laugh. She let him lead her out to the ballroom. "Thank you for escorting me. I tried to convince Reg, but he insists your mother would gut me."

"She would," Sirius said, grimacing at the fact that he agreed with his brother. "I feel healthy, by the way. I meant it when I said I was healing quickly."

They reached the dance floor and she let him lead her out into a moderately paced dance. "I just want to know why Mum invited them. Doesn't it bother you?"

Sirius smirked. "Not a bit. Mum invited them to rub it in their face that they failed, that I'm safe, healthy, and happy."

"That's… petty. I like it."

"Tell me about your family," he requested, lowering his voice. "Your muggle family. When will you see them again? Right when you get back?"

Anabella quieted. "My mum was okay. She did what she could. I actually- I actually love her quite a bit. It was my dad that made me… go to you. He was the type of person that blood supremacists think muggles are. He hated magic deeply. He was violent, he react badly to any accidental magic I had. It was… it was bad."

"Fuck," Sirius whispered. "I'm sorry, kitten. I get it."

"I know," she whispered softly. "And I'm sorry that you do."

"We're fucking messes," he laughed shortly. "So what happened when you went on the run? Did you just run away from them?"

Anabella shifted in his arms. "No, I… I Obliviated them of me. Of magic. Of anything that could tell them who I am or where I was."

"Oh… Jesus," Sirius cursed quietly. "You never want to see them again?"

She squeezed her eyes shut. "That's not it. I just… want them safe, Sirius."

"Even your dad?"

"No," she frowned. "Yes. I don't know. But I didn't have time to sit there and consider it, okay? I had to get them out fast."

"May I?"

Anabella looked up as Sirius stepped back to let Thorfinn cut in. "Oh."

"I'll see you later, Bel," Sirius told her. "Find me if you need me."

With a wave, she let Thorfinn pull her off into a dance. She followed the steps as best as she could considering she didn't know the dance. When it ended and they entered a slow song, she looked up at him.

"How have things been?"

"Horrible," he said, looking around to make sure there weren't any Death Eaters or Death Eater sympathizers around. When he saw it was clear, he spoke. "Your boyfriend's been a pain in the ass since you nearly got caught in that raid."

"I'm sure he has been," she shook her head. "Sorry about that. Anything else I should know?"

"Evan overheard Lestrange talking about you in the hall earlier," he told her. "If you plan to talk to them, I'd do it soon."

"I just have to make my presence known and then I'll be leaving to find them," she confirmed. "Are you holding up okay?"

"Can't complain too much. I'm barely noticed most of the time."

"Keep me updated," she requested as someone interrupted their dance. She accepted his hand, expecting one of her friends, and was swished away before either of them realized what was happening. The last she saw of Thorfinn was his eyes darkening and him turning around in the crowd, clearly looking for someone. She turned to see who had grabbed her and tensed. "Yaxley. How the fuck did you get in here?"

"An open floo and a family invitation," he smirked. His grip was hard - he held her hand and hip, and he squeezed so tightly she knew it would bruise. She felt his nails digging into her. "I thought we ought to talk."

"Yeah, no thanks," she said, trying to pry his hands off of her. He jerked her hard, making her grimace.

"Behave, Carter, or I'll have to do something we'll both regret," he warned her. She hesitated. She made eye contact with Severus across the ballroom and tried her best to convey the panic she felt. Luckily, he stood next to Regulus, and soon, she saw them shoving their way through the crowd.

"What do you want?"

"I want you," he whispered in her ear. She winced at the feeling of his hot breath on her neck. She could feel his mouth get closer, ghosting the skin of her neck. He twisted her wrist painfully and suddenly and pressed his mouth to her ear. "Call off your guard dogs or this will be much worse for you than it has to be."

Hesitating, she shook her head at them. Regulus held up his wrist, showing his bracelet, which lit up like mad. She grimaced. "They're not going to leave me with you, Yaxley, not after what you've done. Regulus wants to kill you."

"And you'd let him?"

"Yes."

"Excuse me," a man said, blocking Anabella's view of Regulus, Severus, and Thorfinn. "If I could cut in."

"Actually-,"

"I'd love to," Anabella said, wrenching her hand away from him. When he still held her hip painfully, she stared at him. "If you make a scene here, my Mum will do unspeakable things to you."

"She's right," the man said. "Dorea has the temper of her family."

Yaxley's lips thinned, but he finally released her and turned to walk away. Once he was gone, she tried to find her friends and boyfriend, but she couldn't see them anywhere. "Thank you, Mr…" she trailed off, finally taking a good look at the man she was dancing with. He had wavy, black hair down to his shoulders that was tied up with a leather strap. His eyes were a molten silver, and his smile resembled that of both of his sons. Her eyes darkened. "Orion Black."

"Miss Carter," he bowed his head. "I hope I didn't cut in on anything important. You seemed…"

"You didn't," she answered shortly. "But I'm afraid if I dance with you for very long, I'm going to curse you. Badly."

Orion chuckled. "I presume you're under the impression I assisted my wife in her activities with Sirius."

Anabella scoffed. "You're going to tell me you were helping Sirius?"

"There was nothing I could do," he said simply. "I am glad he got to a safe home. I signed the papers for Alphard, of course. How is he doing? Better, it seems."

"No thanks to you," she snapped. "You let him be tortured."

"If I had stepped in, it would have been the both of us being tortured to death. I made sure his brother didn't have to join in on torturing him."

Anabella's breath caught. "Regulus had to…"

"He nearly did," Orion confirmed, watching her face curiously. "You're close with Regulus as well."

Her eyes narrowed a bit. "Why would I be close with Regulus if I'm close with Sirius? They don't even talk."

"Oh, I thought perhaps the soul bond had influenced you both a bit."

She stopped where she stood. Her voice lowered, and she leaned closer, glaring darkly at him. "I'll tell you this one time, Orion Black - back the fuck off. If you don't, if you put Regulus in danger because of this, I will do unspeakable things to you."

Orion didn't look the least bit afraid. Instead, he looked pleased. "Good. Good."

Anabella blinked, completely thrown off. "What?"

"You will protect Sirius and Regulus, yes?"

"Yes, but-,"

"Father," Regulus said, arriving next to them. He leveled his father with a dark glare. "Let go of her. Now."

Orion released her, taking a step back. They were on the edge of the dancefloor and she very quickly found herself surrounded by her boys - Severus, Thorfinn, Evan, and Avery, while Regulus glared down his father.

"This is a bit dramatic," Anabella said, looking around.

"This isn't about Lord Black, ace," Avery told her. "This is because Yaxley just told about ten people to grab you if they see you."

"I'm going to… I have something I need to do," she said after a moment, trying to keep her breathing steady. She wasn't doing a very good job. "Reg, take it easy on him. Awful though he seems to be, he did save me from Yaxley."

"Ana, wait," he said, reaching out for her hand. He caught her wrist and immediately released it when she hissed in pain - he'd grabbed exactly where Yaxley had been holding her. When he released her, she slipped into the crowd, her wand down at her side. She didn't stop until she ran into Alphard by the drinks.

"Alphard, we need to do this now," she told him. Alphard blinked. "Please."

"Okay," he nodded. "Do you know where they are?"

"I saw them by the doors on my way here," she confirmed, leading him quickly through the hall. She didn't stop until she was near the doors. When she caught their attention silently, she nodded toward the doors and made her way out with Alphard behind her.

The room she chose was an office down near the kitchen that she'd already warded for the purpose of talking to the brothers.

When they got in there, she gripped her wand in her hand, but held her hand behind her back. They stopped across from the pair.

"Lord Rodolphus Lestrange," Rodolphus said, bowing as he introduced himself.

"Rabastan Lestrange," Rabastan said, not bothering to bow. Anabella tilted her head, considering them.

"What do you want?"

"A bit to the point, hm?"

She scoffed. "You'll excuse me for being rude. Your fellow Death Eater just came after me for the fourth time, this time in my own goddamn home."

"Is that why your Death Eaters surrounded you like that?" Rodolphus wondered. She nodded shortly. "You don't deny they're yours."

"I don't, because there's two options I'm going to present to you here. One, be Obliviated of this conversation and go on your way."

"And the other?"

"Is to work with me."

Rabastan raised an eyebrow, fighting off a smirk. "Blunt."

"Work with you on what?" Rodolphus questioned, holding up a hand to quiet his younger brother.

"It will take a long time," she told them. "Years. But I am working on a plan to destroy your Dark Lord."

"And you're with Alphard Black," Rodolphus commented. "Not working with Dumbledore, I take it."

She scoffed. "No. I'm working with the DOM."

"And why have you chosen her as your leader?"

Alphard rose an eyebrow. "Let's just say she's… impressive."

"It'll take years," Rabastan repeated. "Why?"

"There are factors in play that cannot be changed," she said carefully. She looked to Alphard with a frown. "How should I phrase this?"

Alphard considered the question. "The plan is to Obliviate them if they say no. I don't see the harm in telling them."

"Except that's two more people that know."

"Bertie and I were thinking about that," he told her. Both seemed to forget the brothers watching them. "It might be best to share the truth with your friends under the condition that they take a Vow the way that Dolohov did."

"Why?"

"They can better help protect your secret if they know it. Aside from that, they certainly don't trust you completely knowing there's secrets you have that they can't hear. How do they know it's not something they don't align with?" he reasoned. "You should tell them, Bella."

She sighed and shook her head. "Okay. Okay, fine. If it gets me killed, I'm blaming you."

"Noted."

Anabella turned to the brothers, frowning at them. "I don't have any Veritaserum on me, so I'll swear it on my wand. I'm from 1998, I came back in time to set things up so that I can end the war in the future. Yes, I could end it now with what I know. No, I can't do that - it would destroy time. I'm gathering all of my friends to help me when the time comes. I would like both of your help. I do swear this on my wand and magic."

"Shit," Rabastan cursed when he saw her wand light up. "Fuck, this damned war is going to last until 1998?"

"It's complicated," she shook him off. "It ends in a few years until 1995, but things never really changed much."

"And what use will we be of to you?" Rodolphus wondered.

Anabella shifted, wincing in pain. Yaxley had grabbed her tight, and her hip and wrist were killing her. "You're… close to Bellatrix. I need you to set some things up and…"

"You said Yaxley got to you, what exactly did he do?" Alphard questioned with a frown. "Do you need a healer?"

"No," she told him sharply. "I'll handle it later."

"Bella-,"

She looked back to the brothers. "I'll need your help getting something from her vaults in the future. I need you to make sure that I'm not killed in Malfoy Manor. I need you to help me take her out when the time comes."

"I'd have to do that," Rabastan said after a silent moment. "Their wedding vows will kill him if he tries."

"How do you feel about her?"

He scoffed. "I'd be okay with killing her."

"You're quiet," Anabella said to Rodolphus. "What is it?"

"My wife… uses the Imperius on me," he managed. "So that I will do as she says. She used it so I would join the Dark Lord and continues to do so."

"We can show you how to throw it off," Alphard promised. "But you will have to play along."

"I can do that."

"I'll help you," Rabastan told her. "We have enough classes together it makes me wonder why you haven't approached me before."

"I wanted both of you," she said simply. There was some rustling at the door and she grimaced. "That's either Yaxley or my boyfriend."

After a long moment, the door opened and Regulus walked in with his wand out. He pointed it at the brothers, but she threw a shield up in front of them. "Ana-,"

"Reg, they just agreed to join us," she told him. "Can you not threaten our new friends, please?"

"They're Death Eaters!"

She blinked at him. "You're a Death Eater."

"We'll just… go," Rodolphus offered, but Alphard slammed the door shut with his wand.

"Not yet. You still have to take the Vows, or we will be Obliviating you."

Regulus made his way around them and to Anabella's side. He wrapped an arm around her, his wand still held tightly in his hand.

The Vows went quickly - they were simple promises not to discuss the secret with anyone that didn't already know it. Once they'd taken it, she promised to write in a couple of days, and then they left, Alphard not far behind them.

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