Then Annikaya stepped wrong and fell, taking Sirius with her. The two of them skidded down the spire and toward the street so deathly far below. There was a sickening jolt as they caught the edge of the roof and then they were in free fall.

"Wingardium Leviosa! Wingardium Leviosa!" Sirius shouted and the two of them halted in midair. He noticed Annikaya was white and trembling, not that he was much better. He felt like his heart was going to leap right out of his chest and strangle him. After all he'd put it through today he might not blame it.

Gently he began raising them back up to the roof. It wasn't the safest place for either of them but it did keep all the innocent muggles safe. Then Sirius noticed the eaves of the roof that framed a small square window. There was just enough room under those eaves for someone to remain hidden. Wand out in front of him Sirius maneuvered Annikaya and himself into place. He noticed Annikaya was starting to look a little better.

"Are there concealment charms?" she asked. "We don't want to be seen from the street."

"Good thinking." He said something in Latin but Annikaya didn't notice any change.

"Err...did it work?"

He nodded and then they froze as they heard footsteps above them. These footsteps were quickly joined by others and there was a great deal of shuffling.

The voice of Lucius Malfoy rang out. "Stop that you fools! Can't you see they've gotten away? Now you'll see how your lord punishes incompetence!"

"B-But..."

The elder Malfoy's voice was silky and low. "Yes Crabbe?"

The other man said nothing.

"I thought so."

There was a popping noise followed shortly by several more and Sirius let out the breath he'd been holding.

"Did they apparate?" Annikaya asked so softly he barely heard her.

"Yes. We can go now."

"Why didn't we apparate?" she asked.

"It's not safe to do that sort of thing when you're being chased. For one thing, it's hard to concentrate and very easy to splice yourself. Second, you're very vulnerable in the seconds before."

He began to lower them when suddenly the window opened. They froze, hoping the concealment charm would hold.

"Well, are you going to come in or are you going to keep floating there all day?" An amused voice from inside said.

Not knowing what waited for them, Sirius and Annikaya slipped into the open window. Annikaya, by dint of her smaller size, was able to slip through the window with ease. Sirius had a bit more trouble and stumbled slightly when he landed on his feet, only to be steadied by the smaller woman.

"What a very cute couple you make." their host said.

Annikaya's hand squeezed Sirius' and she grinned cheerfully.

Sirius eyed the man across the room from them. He had a long jacket on as well as a hat. The jacket had a high collar and was buttoned at the top, a pair of sunglasses folded over the button. The man was also immediately recognizable as Marcus Elgin.

"Elgin."

"Sirius. Annikaya. Nice to see you again. Although I was under the impression you were dead." "Actually, we're not who you think we are." Annikaya said, her brow knitted as she thought how best to proceed.

"Oh?"

Sirius noticed Marcus stood ready near the exit and spoke up. "Hear us out before you bolt Elgin."

Briefly he sketched in their tale to the other man. Marcus listened gravely and Annikaya noticed the same haunted look in his eyes she'd seen in her friend's.

"So you see, we were hoping you'd come back with us and convince Nevaria to let us through the veil." Sirius concluded.

"No."

Sirius blinked. "You're damn lucky we know you're not a Death Eater and don't just drag you back anyway."

Marcus began pacing on the other side of the room, following the shadow edges of the sunlight on the floor.

"I'm very sorry I can't help you. You're both good people and I don't like seeing you in this situation any more than you do."

He lifted a hand to straighten his hat, a nervous gesture, and then tugged on the dark leather gloves he wore.

Sirius' eyes narrowed, taking in the other man's concealing outfit in the warm weather they were experiencing.

"Why are the Death Eaters after you?"

"They want to kill me. Not that unusual an agenda for them after all." Marcus continued pacing.

Sirius didn't seem convinced and was still eyeing Elgin suspiciously. Annikaya was watching Marcus' feet trace the path of shadows on the floor. And that was when it hit her.

"You're a vampire, aren't you?" Both Marcus and Sirius looked up, surprised. A regretful look passed over Marcus' face.

"I suppose the clothes are sort of a give away."

"And your predilection for old things." Sirius chipped in. It all made a lot more sense now.

"Why don't you start with the theater?" Annikaya suggested, sitting down cross-legged on the dusty floor. Marcus remained standing and Sirius leaned casually against the wall.

"Actually it goes a bit before that." Marcus said, sighing. He turned to Sirius. "You would probably know that Voldemort recruited the vampires to join him. Most went along with this because Voldemort promised easy feeding. But...Nevaria...I declined to join. It didn't go over well and Voldemort's been looking for me ever since."

"So the attack on the theater was designed to kill you?" Sirius asked. There was still something missing from that scenario.

Marcus looked surprised by the question. "Oh no. Apparently it was to get rid of you too."

"Me?! I was there?"

Marcus was again looking at him oddly. "Yes. I thought you knew."

"We knew Annikaya was but we didn't know I was."

Marcus shrugged. "Anyway, I managed to escape before they found me and I've been on the run ever since."

"But what about the anti-magic barriers? Couldn't they keep you safe?" Annikaya asked.

Sirius was already shaking his head before Marcus answered.

"No. For one thing, once you're past the barrier you can do magic again, so I'd only be safe from long distance casting. The barriers aren't portable either. They need a sizeable generator."

"What if we made you unplottable? No one could find you and you could come back with us." Sirius said.

"Nevaria would still be in danger then and I won't do that." Marcus' hands were unconsciously clenched into fists and the thought of the woman he loved in danger. He sighed. "I'm very sorry. I've been over all of this a million times. It's the only way. I truly wish I could have helped you two."

Annikaya saw the look in his eyes, the one that said he'd let the whole world end in flames to protect Nevaria. It was all the love several centuries of life could teach. She shivered under that intensity.

"We'll find a different way home." she told him.

"Don't tell her you saw me. It'd be best if she didn't know." He pulled up the collar of his jacket and put on the sunglasses. Now the shadows across his face were complete and he went to the door. "Good luck." And he was gone. Sirius kicked the wall angrily. "Damn!"

"Don't swear in a church!" Annikaya exclaimed, sounding scandalized.

He glared stormily at her. "The man's being unreasonable!"

"Really? Is it anything you wouldn't have done for your godson?"

He glared at her again. He knew he was being irrational but he was angry and frustrated and Elgin was a nice fat target. Then she had to go and ruin his tirade before he even got started. Sirius turned away from her clear eyed gaze and went back to muttering. When he tired of that, he slid down the wall until he was seated next to the quiet woman.

"I'm sorry it's taking so long to get us home." he apologized, knowing she had more of a home than he and that she must be missing it dreadfully.

She surprised him yet again. "Don't be sorry. This isn't so bad." She turned to regard him thoughtfully for a moment. "In fact, I don't think I'd have missed it. I get to see exciting sights, learn about magic, and be with someone I like. There are worse ways to spend one's time."

Sirius managed a wan smile through his disappointment. "Thanks for the compliment."

They sat in silence for awhile, pondering what they should do next. Neither got much accomplished, for it had been a busy day and it was beginning to catch up with them.

Annikaya was still trying to think up another solution when she felt Sirius' head land softly on her shoulder, quiet snores issuing forth. The poor man had been wearing himself out worrying about how to get home to Harry. Annikaya smiled affectionately and pushed his hair back away from her cheek. Closing her own eyes she hoped no one decided to use this room until they'd both caught some well deserved rest. Annikaya awoke to the not very pleasant feeling of being tickled on the nose by her own ponytail. She cracked her eyes open to see Sirius grinning at her charmingly.

"Mmm. What time is it?"

"Early morning I believe. We slept right through." He glanced at the window to confirm.

Annikaya yawned and snuggled closer against his side. "Too early. G'night."

"I don't think so!" He said, nudging her in the ribs. "Come on."

Obediently she sat up straighter, her hair sticking up in funny tufts from sleeping. He grinned and tugged one messy strand. With an amused look on her face Annikaya reached over and smoothed his hair which had also, unbeknownst to him, been sticking up.

"Right. So why did you see the need to wake me up when I was happily asleep?" Her tone was still one of amused affection.

"It's time for my walk." He joked and promptly turned to his dog form.

"As long as we don't have to stop at every fire hydrant."

He wagged his tail and even in this form she could see the mischief in his eyes.

"Forget it or I'll have you neutered!" she threatened.

He growled and she laughed. "Well, shall we go out through the church or back out through the window?" she asked.

Sirius shifted back. "Lets do the window. We don't want to have to explain to the monks or priests or whatever why we slept in their cathedral last night."

"What? You don't think they'd buy the idea that we were on the run from dark wizards who were hunting a friendly vampire?" Annikaya grinned and levitated them out the window to the deserted streets below. Actually the streets weren't quite deserted. Besides a half dozen pigeons, a rather startled man nursing a hang over from the night before caught sight of the two as they lowered themselves to the ground. He stared with wide eyes.

"But I'm not drunk anymore!" he whimpered.

"Sure you are." Sirius said kindly and suddenly one of the pigeons was a glass of whiskey which Sirius handed to the startled man. "Ogden's fire whiskey. Enjoy!" he said cheerily and began walking off, Annikaya following. When she looked back over her shoulder she was the man watch them with wild eyes for awhile before he drained the glass in one gulp.

"That wasn't very nice." she chided Sirius gently.

"I need to take my frustration out on someone." he said philosophically, his hands deep in his pockets.

She didn't say anything, knowing instinctively that if she acknowledged their current predicament they'd only become more depressed. After a bit she asked, "After you transfigured it, was the drink itself still magical?"

"Yes. Ogden's is made with a few magic ingredients."

She frowned, "No, that's not quite what I meant. If...if you had turned the pigeon into, say, coffee would the drink still have been magical?"

"Oh! Well, no. It would have been regular coffee. Actually, there's a potion that can keep it that way too. You know, sort of repel further magic."

"Like those barrier things Nevaria's got?" she asked as they walked down the now busier streets hand in hand.

"Sort of but not quite. That's probably the basis of her wall things though. This potion removes an object from all magical influences forever."

"Really? I suppose it's fairly common then. You know, for defense. Drink a little tonic and no one can ever use that killing curse on you."

Sirius stared at her in horror. "Are you kidding?! It removes your magic too! And as for using it on objects, what if you need to change it later? The spell's permanent."

"Oh! I didn't know it'd take your magic too. That'd be a nasty surprise."

They stopped and watched a street artist for awhile, the painter's hands skimming over his work with grace and precision. Sirius was still thinking.

"Actually, it's a very rare potion. I only know of it because Arthur Weasley was talking about it once. Every so often his department has to use it on certain items to keep the muggles safe. Wizards have a tendency to want to mess with the metro for some reason."

"So they just pour this potion on it and no one can magic the metro anymore?" she asked.

"So I understand."

"And there's no way to reverse it?"

"No. That's part of what makes it so dangerous. Removing something from magic forever is a serious matter."

"I'm sure the muggles Voldemort's after wouldn't think it too high a price."

"But then you'd be robbing potential wizards of magic too! That sort of loss is a part of one's soul." Sirius pointed out.

"What about adults? There can't be too many adult muggles getting killed who have potential."

Sirius' eyes widened. "Adults! That's it!" Excited, he spun Annikaya about, laughing delightedly.

Annikaya was still confused. "What's it? Sirius?" People were staring at them.

Sirius stopped his insane dancing. "Nevaria and Eglin are adults. They don't have magic. Well, except for that whole vampire thing. But they don't need magic. We give them the potion, Nevaria gets both Elgin and no magic and we get the veil!"

"But how would we even begin to look for him again? He could be anywhere by now!"

He winked at her. "I know many things." He paused. "I think we're going to have to talk to a potions master and the only one I know..." he groaned.

"What is it?" she was concerned now.

"He's a git. And he doesn't like me too much."

"Why do I sense a history of practical jokes here?" Annikaya asked rhetorically.

"Don't judge until you've met the greasy bat."