Disclaimer: I still don't any thing in the Potterverse. This is just my overactive imagination running rampant in JKR's domain.

Chapter 10: A love story

In the Great Hall of Hogwarts, one would never guess how close the Wizarding world was on the brink of civil war and possible self- destruction.

It was odd really. Slytherin's students mixed with the rest of the school. Garth and Ulric were laughing together like the old friends they were, but Helga saw the way her husband's eyes narrowed at his one time friend. She also saw the way Ulric watched their boys. Helga smiled knowing Ulric was trying to work out how best to protect their son and his best friend.

She saw Godric lecturing several of his students as they entered the hall. It looked like 'rules are important speech.' That was one of the funnier ones growing up, especially since she knew what he had done as a child, courtesy of her grandfather.

At the end of the table, Helga saw her cousin Ben talking with Leo, Rena, and Rhys. Rena and Rhys looked so cute together. And neither seemed to notice the other watching them out of the corner of their eyes. Helga chuckled. Did all young lovers make things so hard on themselves?

Anya sat next to Helga. Both women shifted the child on their laps so they could talk.

"So what do you think?" Helga asked nodding towards Rhys and Rena.

"I think," Anya said thoughtfully, "my little brother is just as blind as my older brother was. So if Rhys is anything like Robin was, Zarena's going to have to make the first move."

Helga nodded. "Well, neither of them has an evil little sister to push them together. Of course that still leaves older sisters, surrogate older sisters, and best friends."

Anya nodded. "I've actually been talking with Leo about that. He reckons he can give Rhys a little shove. And you and I can certainly handle Rena."

"I don't know, An," Helga said bouncing a now fussing infant. "Maybe we should leave them be. They have enough to deal with. This may be too much for them."

"Did you See something?" Anya asked suspiciously.

"Life does not revolve around visions, Anya. We should just let life flow naturally."

"And naturally, I would help my dear little brother anyway I can!" Anya said triumphantly. "So it's settled. We help them see what's right in front of them."

"We really do have other things to deal with," Helga said eyeing Salazar from where he was also watching Rhys and Zarena.

Anya smiled. "Oh just a little way to twist the knife old Salazar tried to plant in our backs."

"You do realize that's Rena you're talking about? The girl your brother loves?" Helga sighed. It was no use. Anya was already plotting away.

****************************************************

"Anya don't you think this is just a slightly insane plan?" Benowyc asked his wife.

"No," she said flatly and turned to look up at him. "Why?"

"Because it is!" Ben shouted.

"Oh it is not," she said waving him off impatiently.

"What happened to all those rules and codes of honor your father tried to instill?" he asked.

"Didn't take, I guess," she shrugged. "I think it has in our children though. Odd. Oh well."

"You're insane," he said. "I'm married to a crazy person."

"And what does that make you?" she asked grinning madly.

He was saved answering by the sound of footsteps coming up the hall. Leo Black trotted into view, looking very relieved to have spotted them. He skidded to a halt in front of Anya and Ben.

"Just saw her," he panted to Anya, "coming up the South hall."

"Okay, show time then," Anya said, not without some trepidation.

"Just be sure she's wandless!" Leo said.

"I know, I know," Anya said as walked away. "Just get m brother there soon."

"Half an hour behind you," Leo called to her.

Benowyc was looking at him oddly. "Just how long are you planning on locking them together for?"

"I don't know," Leo said. "A day I guess." Then he grinned wickedly. "Well maybe a night and a day."

******************

"Leo, what are we doing here?" Rhys demanded as his friend led him into the forest on the grounds.

"Don't ask silly questions man," Leo said dismissively. "Just take out your wand and be ready!"

"Ready for what!" Rhys sighed.

"Anything!" he friends shouted as they approached the hut used safe house in the forest's borders.

Rhys sighed and drew the wands he had first gotten when his father took him to a hidden street in London. He stood in front of the door and turned to Leo impatiently. But before he could speak, Leo did.

"Expelliarmus!" the other man cried, sending Rhys flying through the door.

Rhys looked up to see Leo smirking holding his wand. "You're not coming out until you work through whatever has been holding you two back!" Leo said. The door slammed shut again.

"Bloody...I'll kill him!"

"Your sister was in on this too," said a voice from behind him.

Rhys turned to find Rena tied to a chair. "What happened to you?"

The blonde haired witch rolled her eyes. "Jeez, think Gryffindor! I just said. Your sister. She stunned me and tied me to this chair. When she woke me up she said she was sick of watching us dance around our feeling for each other, whatever that means."

As she had been explaining, Rhys undid the ropes binding her. Rena rubbed her wrists and nodded thanks.

"So we're stuck here," he stated.

"Seems that way," she agreed.

Rhys looked around the one room cottage. It had a table, two chairs, one of which Rena just vacated, a small area set aside for cleaning and other personal grooming, some ration stores, and a rather large comfortable looking bed, but just one. Rhys groaned.

"I'll kill them both," he said.

Rena nodded. "Good, I'll help."

********

Rena kicked her chair. It few ten feet and slammed into the door. There was now a dent in their prison door and one less chair.

Rhys looked up from where he was examining the far wall. They had been trying to find a way out for over two hours now. So far, they had no luck.

"Was that really necessary?" he asked trying not to grin.

"Probably not," she snapped. "But I feel a whole lot better now. I am going to kill your sister in a very painful way!"

Her eyes flashed with anger. Rhys has never seen her this angry. Zarana had always been so clam and collected. He rather like this fiery temper thought.

"Well, you can't do that until we get out of here," he said. "Besides, I think their hearts were in the right place."

"I hate being manipulated!" Rena said. "My father manipulated me for years. I don't like the idea of other people trying to do so now. And if I didn't think you were as much a victim as I am, I'd probably kill you with my bare hands just to spite them."

"Remind me never to piss you off," Rhys said sitting on the edge of the bed.

"What are you doing? Get up and try and get us out of here!"

"Look," Rhys sighed. "A very powerful witch and a very powerful wizard want us to stay in here. And the two of them together are both very smart and very dangerous. I don't think we're going anywhere until they come to get us."

Rena sighed and sat next to him. "You're probably right."

"Is it..." he began but fell silent.

"Is what it?" Rena said not looking at him.

"Is it really that bad being here with me?" Rhys asked blushing.

Rena looked up him. "No. No, I suppose not."

Rhys gave her a weak smile. "Well, I'm glad I'm not horrible company."

"Not at all," she said. "Er, maybe that's why they thought, well, you know what they thought. But you're one of the few people who's company I actually like."

"Oh," he said flatly.

"What?" she demanded.

"Well, I just thought that you were so anti-social because you had guilt issues," he shrugged.

"I do not have guilt issues," she said. "Father issues, maybe. But then with my father, who wouldn't."

Rhys laughed. "I think that's the first joke I've ever heard you make."

"Joke?" she said sarcastically. Rhys still was trying not to laugh. "I'll right, I'll stop. Wouldn't want to push your fragile little mind with the concept I understand humor. I am after all, a Slytherin."

"Hey, I didn't mean it like that," he said. "I just mean, you're always so quiet. I can see you think things. I see you smile and try not to laugh in meetings. I always did wonder why. You've got a very sarcastic wit there."

"Oh," she said. "Thanks."

Uneasy silence fell over the pair. "So what do we do now?" Rena asked.

"Be patient," Rhys said smiling again. "It'll all work out."

****************

"This is not going to work!" Garth hissed at his father.

"Don't back out now boy!" Salazar said. "They're on to us. We have the advantage now and we going to press it, tonight!"

"Father, I'm all for showing them just how powerful we are, but we aren't ready!"

"You've been training our warriors for nearly ten years! If you don't have them ready now, they never will be! Gather our forces. Get everyone here. We make our stand now. I'm not saying the battle will be easy, but it will be fought. I will not stand to have our kind infected by mudblood filth like that Black any longer. Go!"

"Fine," Garth grumbled. "But I get to kill Helga."

********************

The door to his grandfather's study slammed shut behind Herowyc and the girls as they entered. The room full of adult witches and wizards turned and stared at the three pre-teenagers.

"Er, sorry," Hero said. "But I brought Fawkes, Grandda. Just like you asked!"

"That's fine, son," Godric said. "Would you three come up here, please? Bring Fawkes."

The three children recognized the solemnity of the room. Their parents, and in Hero's case grandparent, were all in the room, along with various other teachers or adults. The room was thick with power.

Godric stood leaning slightly on his desk, Helga on one side and Rowena on the other. The three children stood opposite their parent, or grandparent, like some sort of distorted mirror image, the only difference being Hero carried a phoenix on his arm while Godric held a staff with a phoenix ornament on the top.

"Elsie," Helga said to her daughter, "do you three know what's going on here?"

"You wanted to from a kind of group of protectors," the girl said.

"This Order," Godric said aloud, but mostly directly to Fawkes, "would like the blessing of the phoenix Fawkes in it's forming. We ask this magical creature to give we six, the Core of the Order, your strength so that me might defend the Light against attack."

Fawkes flew from Hero's arm and let out a long piercing note.

"Woh," Isabo was heard to whisper.

A golden beam appeared connecting Godric to Rowena and Helga, then to Hero. Another beam appeared connecting Hero to Elsie and Isabo, then the girls to their mothers, completing the unit.

***************************

Rena paced the small room with her arms wrapped around her middle. She hated being trapped here. She didn't mind the company at all. Rhys had grown up to be quite an attractive young man. And he had a pleasant personality most of the time.

But that didn't change the fact that she was trapped. Anya and Leo were dead. It was that simple.

Sighing dramatically she sat in the one remaining chair and looked towards her companion. He was sitting on the bed with his legs folded under him. His eyes were half closed and the ghost of a smile crossed his face.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

His deep brown eyes stared up at her. They almost seemed gold in the reflected light of the fire. But she knew his eyes, that deep oak brown that made her think he was much older than her, that he had just lived more.

"Can't you feel it?" he asked quietly.

"All I feel is trapped. And panic. Something bad is going to happen."

Rhys stood slowly and walked to her. She never took her eyes off of him. Each step he took sounded like a drum beet.

"No," Rhys said, taking her hands in his. "There is a great power about tonight. Don't you feel it? It's light. It's a phoenix song. It's life."

Rena took a deep breath and tried to feel the power he spoke of. It was there, but so was her sense of dread.

"I hate being here," she whispered. "I hate being trapped. My mother," her voice hitched slightly, "my mother used to shut me away in a cave for, oh whatever she felt like. Usually when her male 'friends' would come over. It was so, dark. I was so alone."

Rhys gently pushed her soft blonde hair behind her ear. "You're not alone now," he said softly.

"I, Rhys, I don't think this is a good idea," she said weakly.

Rhys pulled his hand away. "Alright." Rena closed her eyes as his finger brushed her cheek. "Okay," he said sounding like he was convincing himself, and she could hear the sadness.

Rena opened her grey eyes and notice how close they were. Rhys had stepped back, but they were still only inches from each other.

Rena could never say what drove her to do it, but before he could take another step away she pulled him close and kissed him.

When they finally broke apart Rhys looked at her confused. "But, but I thought..."

"Don't think," she said. "It can't help us right now much."

Rhys grinned at her. "Whatever you want." Then he kissed her again.

****************************

As the sun rose over the forbidden forest, Leo strolled casually into the Great Hall. It was still early, but he wanted to get an early start with Anya. The cabin they had left Rhys and Rena in wasn't too far, but it was still in the forest. It could get dangerous.

Leo spotted Anya and Ben sitting with their brood at the head table went to join them.

"So when are you two heading out?" was the first thing Ben asked.

"Good morning to you too," Leo said casually winking at Hero who tried to stifle a giggle.

"I don't like the idea of them being out there and wandless," Ben said quietly.

"I know," Anya said gently to her husband. "That is the reason we're going out so early. And as soon as Leo finished eating."

"Can I go too?" Hero asked brightly. "And Isa and Elsie?"

"Ah no," his mother said. "I think not."

"Your a bit young for this Master Dumbledore," Leo said. "Besides, we don't know what state your uncle will be in when we retrieve him."

"But Rena would never hurt him," Hero frowned.

"No, she wouldn't," Anya said quickly before the wheels started turning in her son's head. "Come along Leo. Let's go."

Anya pulled him away from her children before he could corrupt them further.

"But I haven't finished eating!" he protested as she dragged him out of the hall past her father.

***************************

"Rhys!" Rena yelled. "Good Gods! Gryffindor wake up!" She threw a pillow that hit his head.

Rhys sat up and looked around wildly. "Whosaidbajo?"

Rena couldn't help but smile at the lost look on his face. His light hair was sticking up with odd curls everywhere. The view of his bare chest was nice too.

"It's time to get up, Sleeping Beauty," she chuckled. "I've been up for an hour. I'm bored."

She flopped dramatically on the edge of the bed. Rhys smiled wickedly and pulled her to him.

"I'm sure I can think of something to do," he said before kissing her deeply.

"Morning breath. Nice," she said.

Rhys chuckled but kept kissing her. His hands began searching for the ties to her dress.

Rena pulled away. "Again?" she laughed.

Rhys nodded and grinned. "And again," kiss, "and again..."

"I get the point," Rena said. "But we don't know when Leo and Anya will be here to let us out."

"Hey they locked us in here," he reminded her. "This is the price they'll have to pay."

Rena let a very girly giggle. "Well," kiss, "I guess if we're," kiss, "quick..."