In the Past
Two men were making their way down the sidewalk, both wearing very expensive robes. They did not notice that a gentleman now walked before them who had been several yards ahead just a moment ago. Nor did they notice the attractive young woman reading the newspaper at the bus stop across from the alley.
Suddenly, the man in front of them turned, his wand drawn as Alastor Moody stepped out from the alley and Moira dropped the newspaper, flanking their sides, but staying back far enough to cut off a retreat.
"Mr. Rosier, Mr. Schultz, you are both wanted for questioning by the Ministry of Magical Law for the torture of Thelon Lipking," Donavan Orwell told them in a commanding voice. "Relinquish your wands."
The two men glanced around them, seeing Moira and Moody on either side.
"And if we do not?" Schultz asked.
"We'll take you by force," Moody answered. From the twinkle in his eye, he seemed to relish the idea.
"By force? That seems a little extreme," Rosier commented sarcastically.
"Whatever is necessary," Orwell told him.
"Drop your wands," Moira said, trying to stay calm. The longer they bantered, the more likely they were to pull something.
Rosier was holding both hands out from his sides, wandless.
"I am unarmed. There is no reason for violence." His smile was unnerving. "Of course, any decent wizard doesn't really need a wand. See?" He began waving his arms.
A movement in the corner of her eye told Moira Schultz had slid his wand out of his sleeve. She turned, whipping her wand at him to stupefy him.
Schultz had cast his spell as Moira cast hers. As he fell to the ground, Orwell too fell, dead. At the same moment, Moody grunted as Rosier shoved him to the side and causing him to fall against the brick building as he made his escape.
"Are you okay, Alastor?" Blood streamed down his face.
"Yeah," he answered. "No. Dammit, he got away."
"No, he didn't," Moira answered, running after him.
"O'Shaughnessy!"
Moira didn't answer. She sped down the pavement, her keen eyes catching Rosier as he slid around a corner. Moira threw herself flat against the wall and glanced around the building. It was a narrow alley. Fire escapes crawled up the sides of the buildings on either side, but he was not on them, nor had she heard the clatter of running on the loose steel of an escape.
"Lumos." Her wand lit the alley, allowing her to see as she stepped slowly inside, her eyes searching the dark corners, though she knew he had probably disapparated.
"O'Shaughnessy?" The voice echoed through the closed in space. She turned, trying to find the location. "I knew an O'Shaughnessy once. Are you his Little One?"
"Show yourself, Rosier," she called into the darkness. "You're not getting out of here-"
"Alive? The last time you threatened my life, nothing happened. Well, to me anyway." His laughter echoed more loudly than his words had.
"I plan to remedy that," she said, her eyes flicking to a shadow which had moved slightly against the wall.
"A bit of Hide 'n Seek, Little One? I bet your father played that game with you."
"No," she answered, trying to keep him talking. "My father taught me different games." She narrowed her eyes at a shadow crouching nearby. "He taught me how to fight without a wand."
"Really? How very Muggle of him."
"From someone like you, that's a compliment."
"It's rather dark in here, don't you think?"
"It's bright enough to find you, so long as you don't run away like the coward you are."
"I like to face my enemies," he answered. "I like to see the pain on their face right before I kill them."
Moira moved away from the crouching shadow, making him think she had passed by, but kept her eyes on it, waiting for him to show himself.
"Don't you remember, Little One? Did you see the look on your father's face when I killed dear old Mum? I'd like to see that look on your face." The shadow shifted. "I think we need more light. Firaga!"
"Avada Kedavra!" she cried pivoting toward the shadow. Suddenly, her hand was engulfed in flames, as if the fire was rising from her own skin and spread quickly up her arm. In pain, she dropped her wand, and whipped her cloak over her shoulder, trying to put out the flames which had risen to her shoulder and were spreading to her back. Dropping to the ground, she rolled, trying to stop the flames. Another cloak was thrown over her head. She flailed her arm, trying to fight him off.
"Hold still, O'Shaughnessy," Moody growled, smothering the fire. He knelt over her, one eye examining her arm while his magical eye roamed toward the shadow beyond. "Well, you got 'im," he said. "And he got you."
The pain in her arm and back were excruciating. The stench of burnt flesh reached her nostrils. Her burnt flesh.
"Come on," he said, grabbing her wand where she had dropped it. "Let's get you to the Hospital."
Sirius threw open the hospital doors. Grabbing the first nurse he saw, he cried:
"O'Shaughnessy! Moira O'Shaughnessy! Where is she?"
"I don't know," she answered, pulling her arm out of his grip. "Go check at the desk."
Sirius raced over to the desk, but saw no one. He slammed his hand down on the bell over and over, trying to get someone's attention. An older witch dressed in white approached him, removed the bell from under his hand and placed it under the counter.
"Can I help you?"
"Yes, an Auror was brought in here earlier. Moira O'Shaughnessy."
"Oh, yes. The burn victim." Sirius wavered at the word 'victim.' "Are you family?" she asked.
"Yes. No. Almost. I'm her fiancé."
The witch's face softened.
"Oh. She's in Surgical B," she said, pointing down a long hallway. "Go all the way to the end. It's on the right."
Sirius was already running down the hallway, his heart pounding as he pushed past doctors, nurses, and other patients. As he neared the room, he saw several men in black robes standing in a group just outside the door. One of them glanced up at him, and Sirius recognized Alastor Moody, with bright pink scars, newly healed wounds, across his forehead and nose. He said something to the other men and stepped away from them to meet Sirius at the door.
"Black."
"Moody, how's Moira?"
"She'll be fine. She's a tough kid. The doctor's with her now."
"What happened?"
Moody glanced over his shoulder at the men, who Sirius now recognized as other Aurors, and laid his hand on Sirius shoulder, leading him a little further away.
"We found Rosier and Schultz, Donavan, Moira, and me. When we surrounded them, Schultz killed Donavan, and the Rosier made a run for it. Moira went after him and cornered him in an alley. He got her with an Elemental Curse, Firium. Turned her own body heat against her."
Sirius' face hardened.
"Did he get away?"
"No. She got him at the same time. Much harder." The look in Moody's eyes answered his next question.
Sirius felt light-headed.
"You okay, Black?" Moody asked.
"Yeah," Sirius answered, closing his eyes. "Moira killed him?"
Moody nodded, looking at him strangely. "It was her or him. She made the right choice. All these guys are here to congratulate her. We've been after Rosier for a while."
But Sirius wasn't listening. Moira had taken a life. She'd used an Unforgivable Curse on a Death Eater. And these men were here to congratulate her. Even though she knew Rosier had been the one who killed her parents, he knew the fact that she had killed would weigh heavily on her, no matter how tough she acted.
"Is that why you're here? To congratulate her too?"
Moody eyes him carefully. "Black, I knew Moira when she was still a toddler on her father's lap. I've watched her grow up. I think we both know the last thing she's going to want is a party in her honor."
"Do you mind if I go see her now?" Sirius asked.
"No. I just wanted to let you know before you go in there. Oh, and Black, it's not as bad as it looks. Just remind yourself of that."
"Thanks," he replied as he walked past him and looked in through the window on the door. Moira sat on the edge of a table, holding a gown over her chest with her right hand, leaving her left side and back exposed. A doctor moved about her back, moving his wand very slowly across her skin. Moira's eyes were shut tight, her jaw clenched, holding in any pain she felt.
Sirius pushed open the door and slid inside. The doctor looked up.
"I'm sorry, sir. I've already asked all of you to wait outside."
Moira opened her eyes and looked up at him.
"Sirius? Please, Doctor, let him stay. He's my fiancé."
I see. Mr. Black? I'm Doctor Madonas," he said, holding out his hand. "Miss O'Shaughnessy was telling me about you."
"Glad to meet you," he answered. "How is she?" He stepped closer to see the blackened skin covering her arm and shoulder.
"Well done," Moira answered.
"No, Miss O'Shaughnessy. You're just blackened. Luckily, the inside is still medium rare," Madonas told her with a smile.
"Well it's good to see you still have your humor," Sirius said blandly.
"You rather I scream like a mad woman?"
"Please don't," Madonas said. "I don't want all those men outside to think I'm hurting you. I don't think they'd let me out of here alive." He leaned close to her skin again. "All right. Let's get back to work. This will hurt a little." Her teeth clenched again as he touched his wand to her back. She squeezed her eyes shut. Sirius leaned her head against his chest, gently running his fingers through her hair to comfort her.
"Don't touch my neck," she gasped as his fingers brushed her skin.
"Mr. Black, don't touch her neck," the doctor said, glancing up. Sirius looked down to see that the burn covered the side of her neck and extended across half of her back.
"It's not as bad as it looks," she told him, hearing his breath catch. "It just means I can't wear an open backed dress."
"An open backed dress will be fine, Miss O'Shaughnessy. The scarring will be minimal back here," Madonas said, laughing softly. "Though I may recommend long sleeves. You did say it would be a fall wedding, did you not?"
"Uh huh. October 4th."
They continued talking for the next hour, while the doctor continued down her arm to her hand. Sirius realized the pain didn't seem so bad while she was talking. The doctor was taking her mind off of it. The burn as he worked over the skin, and when he reached her fingers, he straightened and stretched.
"Perhaps I should give you a few minutes before we begin again?" He began rubbing a lotion over her arm and back. "This will keep the moisture in, and should feel pretty cool. I'll be back in half an hour." He smiled and walked toward the door. "Can I send anything to you?"
"Water," Moira answered. "Ice cold."
"I'll send a nurse," he answered.
"Sirius, help me slip this on," she said when the doctor disappeared.
"Won't it hurt?"
"It'll sting, but I saw Remus and the Potters in the hall. It would be a little uncomfortable having them in here with most of me exposed."
Sirius stood between her and the window, so no one looking in could see her as she slipped the gown off her right arm. Still covering her, he slid it carefully over her left arm so she wouldn't have to bend it, then held the sleeve so she could slid her right arm back in.
"Tie it loosely behind my neck." He did so, making sure it was loose enough not to scrape across her injuries. When he was finished, he stepped aside so Moira could wave to Lily, who was peeking in the window. She entered, followed by James and Remus.
"How are you?" Lily asked, kissing her on the cheek.
"I'm fine. I'm doing much better," she said, accepting a kiss from James too.
"You look crispy," he said with a playful smile.
"You should have seen me a few hours ago. We could have roasted marshmallows." She smiled up at Sirius who was frowning at her.
"It's not funny, Moira. You could have been killed."
"But I wasn't."
"He's right, Moira," Remus said. He kept his distance, standing near the door. His amber eyes flicked up to hers, then settled on her arm. "You could have been killed."
"Oh come on. If I wallow in self-pity every time someone tries to kill me, I'd be in St. Mungo's right now."
"Moira, this is getting dangerous."
"No, Sirius. It's always been dangerous." Moira frowned back at him. "I knew that when I took the job. And in case you haven't noticed, I have died yet. I'm still right here in front of you."
"And what about the next time?" he asked quietly.
"What about it?"
"Listen to him, Moira. Please," Remus pleaded, but quieted after James shot him a tense look.
"Moira," Sirius said softly, getting down on his knee and looking up into her face. "You have no idea what I went through today. I can't imagine going through this again."
"What do you want me to do? Quit?"
"No. I just want you to stop taking risks."
"The job is a risk."
"No, splitting up from your back-up is a risk. Especially with Rosier. You knew how dangerous he was."
"All the more reason to stop him."
"All the more reason to have someone with you. Don't forget, you're playing with both of our lives now. I don't know what I'd do without you."
James took his wife's hand and gently pulled her toward the door, motioning for Remus to follow. He could see that these two needed some time. And Remus looked like he needed some air. He'd paled drastically since he entered the room.