Dierna started on her homework, working on one side of her father's desk. She decided to work on his essay first. She quickly finished her potions essay, and snuck a quick glance at her father, who was working on some papers, trying to determine how good of a mood he was in now. She decided to take her chances, "Dad?"

"Hmmm..."

"Will you proof read my paper?"

"No."

"Please..."

"No."

Dierna bit her lip, trying to figure out a way to talk around him, "Why not?"

"Because it is not fair to my other students if I proof read your paper for you."

"Come on Dad! Please, just make sure there are no major problems, I'm not asking for help on it." Dierna got up out of her seat and moved behind her father's chair and threw her arms around him from behind, leaning over his shoulder, "Please..."

Severus sighed, "Fine," he picked up her paper, "do you mind if I mark on it?"

Dierna frowned, "but if you mark on it I'll have to rewrite the whole thing."

"Do you want me to do this or not?"

Dierna groaned inwardly, knowing that she was going to have to recopy the entire paper, "fine, mark on it, I don't care."

Severus picked up his quill as he started to read the paper, "I can't do this if you're going to hang over me like that."

Dierna moved back to her seat at the other side of the desk and leafed through a book on medieval potions, the only sound in the room was the occasional scratch of the quill as her father checked her paper.

"Here," Severus handed the paper back to his daughter.

Dierna raised her eyebrows at the amount of red marks on the paper, "was it really that bad?"

Severus almost smiled, "no it wasn't. It is factually correct and well written; there were only a few minor problems with the actual paper. However," he fixed his daughter with a pointed stare, "I can see that I should invest in a dictionary for you, your spelling is absolutely atrocious."

"Would you really take off points for spelling?"

"If it's as bad as that I will. I am willing to overlook a few errors, but that is horrendous." He frowned at her, "I hope you don't turn in work like that in any of your classes."

Dierna rolled her eyes, "come on Dad, it wasn't really that bad, was it?"

Severus continued to level her with a stern look, concealing his amusement, "You misspelled the word 'potion' once, you tell me how bad it was." The corner of his mouth twitched in amusement as Dierna groaned as she flipped through the paper looking for that part of it. "I suggest that you take your time writing in the future. Your last minute work is always a bit lacking."

Dierna quickly looked up, "You can tell how long I spend writing my papers?"

Severus did smile at that, "yes, I can tell how much time and effort all of my students put into their work."

Dierna sighed, "Great, well that piece of information just makes my day," her voice dripped with sarcasm.

Remus, Sirius, Charlie, and Harry were walking together around the perimeter of the school grounds where they met the forbidden forest. They were reinforcing the last of the protection spells that surrounded the school.

They worked in companionable silence, intent on getting finishing the job quickly and efficiently.

Sirius looked up at the slight noise that came from the forest, but decided it was probably nothing, "well, I'd say that we're finished up here. You all ready to head in?"

The other three men nodded their agreement and they started walking back up towards the school.

Talk feel to their families, particularly Sirius' upcoming wedding as they walked. Sirius grinned foolishly as he was teased about taking so long to finally settle down. "Hey guys, lay off," he held his hands out, trying to ward off any more verbal abuse, "instead of harping on me about taking forever why don't you bug Moony, he's still unattached."

"He's right you know," Charlie grinned, "you're way behind the rest of us, come December you'll be the only one of this group left without wife and kids. I should talk to Meg about it. You say anything to one of our women and the rest of them know by the same evening. I bet all the Weasley women would be more than happy to play matchmaker for you Remus."

Remus grinned, "I don't think so, I can only imagine the number of women I would have thrust at me then. But, speaking of women how is Meg?"

"Great way to change the subject on us Moony," Sirius growled, "we're just trying to do you a favor.

Charlie smiled, "Meg is fine, as is the newest little one."

Harry shot a teasing glance at his best friend's older brother, "How many does that make now, it's eight isn't it?"

Harry quickly ducked the arm that was swung at his head, "We have five children Potter and you know it." Charlie laughed good-naturedly.

Remus smiled at the banter, "Charlie, what is the newest one's name again, I can't remember."

Charlie smiled proudly, "His name is Alan Arthur, want to see pictures?"

Sirius exchanged a knowing look with Harry, making the younger man blush slightly. Harry had been the same way when his kids were babies, always pulling out pictures to show anyone and everyone.

Harry grinned sheepishly, "don't give me that look Sirius, you'll be doing the same thing soon enough."

"I suppose I will," Sirius smiled wryly, "I should start carrying pictures of Willow with me, she's already calling me 'Daddy'" he smiled fondly as he pictured the darling four year old who in only a few months really would be his daughter. He loved the fact that with her straight black hair and adorable large blue eyes she could easily pass as his biological daughter.

Harry punched Sirius in the arm, "snap out of it! I swear you get lost in thought so often these days; you need to get married soon. Hopefully that will bring you back down to earth with the rest of us."

Sirius grinned as he threw an arm around Harry's shoulders, "trust me, it can't happen soon enough."

Nimue paused in front of a mirror in the girls' dorm. Her head began to ache as she stared at the mirror. She watched as the image began to waver, she took a step closer, trying to see what was happening. Her reflection dissolved and the swirling colors rearranged themselves to form a new picture.

Nimue held her breath, her head was throbbing painfully. She thought that if she moved away from the mirror the dull pain might go away, but she was too intrigued by what was happening, she couldn't stop looking at the mirror. She moved closer, till her face was merely a handbreadth away from the mirror, part of her mind wandered if anyone else would see what was happening in the mirror if they walked by, or if it was something only she could see.

The image in the mirror was still blurry, but as she watched it came into focus, and she could hear the voices of the people in the new image. She had never heard voices before when an image like this appeared. But, she had never had a vision like this before either. The only other visions she had had been part of what she was seeing, like one was on top of the other. This was very different.

She watched and listened,

"Sir, are you sure we should go through with this. Will he be any use to use?"

"Of course he will you fool!" The man speaking backhanded the other man, sending him sprawling. "He will be useful to us, just as we will be useful to him."

Nimue tried to figure out who the two men were, but the one who had been struck had a black cloak pulled over his face. And the other man had his back to her. She leaned in closer, trying to find any clue as to who they were or where they were, but the image began to swirl again. As it refocused she saw two men, with black cloaks like the man in the last image. However, these men were in a forest. They were surrounded by the shadowy trees.

"We need to set up our defenses quickly then get out of here. This is too close to comfort for me."

"I agree, we could be found at any time."

Nimue tried to figure out where they were. Could they be close to Hogwarts? But the image faded out again. She held her breath, waiting to see what would happen next, but the mirror simply went back to normal, showing her own reflection.

Her breath sounded loud in her ears and the throbbing in her head gradually diminished. She began to shake. What she had seen scared her and she had no idea what to do about it.

Dierna and Serena ran at a steady pace, completing yet another lap around the quidditch pitch.

"Hey, want to run someplace else, somewhere with shade." Serena wiped the sweat off her forehead. It was there last chance for quality run time since the rest of the students would be coming the next evening. Once classes started they rarely found time to go running together.

"Sure," Dierna was breathing hard and she could feel the sweat running down her back and forehead, "anything to get us out of this sun for awhile."

They headed out of the quidditch pitch, running up the slight incline back towards the school. Serena nodded her head in the direction of the forbidden forest, "plenty of shade in there, you up for some cross country running?"

Dierna grinned, "Works for me."

They entered the forest using a run down path, which was quickly being encroached upon by the dark towering trees and the dense underbrush. They ran in silence for awhile, enjoying the shade the trees provided, but with a growing sense of unease as they moved deeper into the forest.

"Hey, you want to head back now?" Serena ducked to avoid a low hanging branch, being cautious all the time of the uneven footing caused by tree roots.

"Sure, I don't really like..." Dierna stopped abruptly as Serena, who had been in the lead, skidded to a halt.

There was a small clearing ahead of them, and in the clearing were two figures covered in long black cloaks, despite the heat of the later summer day.

Dierna grabbed Serena's arm, trying to pull her back the way they had come, "Come on, before they see us," she hissed under her breath.

"Too late," Serena gasped, "run!"

The two girls turned around and took off down the worn path they had been following. They could hear their pursuers close behind, throwing curses at them. Dierna felt something hit her in the back, like a charge of electricity. The force knocked her to the ground; she winced in pain when her head hit a sharp rock. She tried to push herself up, looking around frantically for her sister.

Serena was sprawled a few feet away, trying to get up while cradling her left wrist. Both girls watched in panic as the two figures approached them. They were only a few yards away when a large figure ran between them. It was one of the centaurs that populated the forest.

The centaur turned to the girls, "run, get out of here as quickly as you can. I'll keep them busy." He turned back to the hooded figures who were backing up in fear.

Dierna was up instantly, barely conscious of the sharp pain in her head. She quickly helped Serena to her feet and they sprinted back towards the school. They ran, driven by terror for what seemed like an eternity. It hadn't felt like it took this long on the way in.

Finally they saw a break in the trees; it was all the incentive they needed to quicken their pace. When they finally broke through the tree line a wave of relief passed over them, quickly followed by shock.

Serena's legs gave out from under her and she collapsed in a heap. Dierna was instantly at her side.

"Are... you... ok?" Dierna pushed the question out, breathing heavily and shaking.

"What... who... were they?" Serena wasn't in any better condition.

They looked up to see Sirius coming towards them angrily, "I saw you girls coming out of the forbidden forest. What were you doing in there?" His expression changed to one of concern as he got closer, "What happened?"

Dierna and Serena spoke at the same time, their words tumbling over one another too quickly and confused for Sirius to follow. He held out a hand to silence them, "forget about the explanation for now. You two need to get inside and I think a trip to the hospital wing is in order."

He gently helped Serena, who was still favoring her left wrist, to her feet. "Do you think you broke it?"

Serena shrugged, "don't know, but it hurts like hell."

Sirius led the girls back up to the school, moving them along as quickly as they could manage. He was relieved to see that Severus and Morgan were out in the courtyard talking with Remus. He would be more than happy to hand the girls off to their parents to be taken care of.

Morgan was the first to see the approaching trio, she knew immediately that something wasn't right. She laid a hand on Severus' arm as she felt a rush of panic, "something's wrong..." She rushed over to them, followed closely by Severus and Remus.

"What's wrong?!" Morgan quickly took in the state her daughters were in. "Are you alright?" She quickly began looking over Serena, examining her wrist, which she quickly pronounced broken.

"How did this happen?" Severus looked at Dierna with concern.

"We were running and then they attacked us and then he stopped them." Dierna could tell that her rambling made no sense, but she was still in shock from what had happened. She winced when her father gently ran his fingers over the side of her head where she had fallen on the rock. For the first time she was aware of the trickle of blood coming from that spot.

Severus took a more direct approach of questioning since he hadn't followed Dierna's cryptic answer at all, "who attacked you?"

Dierna took a deep breath, fighting back the pain in her head, and shakily answered as best she could, "it was two men in black cloaks, we never saw their faces."

"Who stopped them from attacking you?" Severus continued to question them as he gently turned Dierna's head to get a better look at the jagged gash that was dangerously near her temple.

Serena answered in a low whisper, "a centaur."

Severus frowned, "where were you running at?"

Neither of the girls would look at him.

He repeated the question more sternly, "where were you running at?"

Dierna mumbled an answer, "in the forest."

"WHAT?!" he roared, "You know how dangerous the forest is. I have told you time and again that you are to stay out of there!"

Serena looked at the ground avoiding her father's angry glare, "we didn't think..."

Severus cut her off, "No, you didn't think. I can't believe that you would do something as irresponsible and stupid as that! What would possess you to even think about going into the forbidden forest?!" He was fuming, why was it that they deliberately disobeyed nearly every rule he set for them?

Sirius and Remus stood to one side, listening somewhat uncomfortably to Severus' tirade as he berated his daughters.

Severus finally paused; Dierna and Serena glanced up at him when he stopped yelling, "you will never do that again, understood?"

The girls nodded mutely.

Severus sighed, "It scares me to death to think about what could have happened to you today. I am so glad you are safe," his voice was thick with emotion as he embraced them both carefully, mindful of their injuries. "Come on, I want to get the two of you in the hospital wing as quickly as possible." He produced a clean handkerchief, which he folded and gently pressed against the gash on Dierna's head, "hold that there," he commanded softly as he moved to help Serena who looked about ready to collapse again.

Morgan gently took Dierna's arm as they headed toward the infirmary, she was so glad her children were safe now, but it terrified her to think that the enemy was so close. "Are you alright darling?"

"I'll live," Dierna winced as she moved the handkerchief away from the gash on her head, surprised at how much it was still bleeding.

"Leave that alone darling, you want to keep pressure on it," Morgan gently guided Dierna's hand back up so that she was covering the gash again.

"Mum, how mad do you think Dad is?"

Morgan smiled gently, "if you're asking if you are in trouble than the answer is no. He's not really mad, just very concerned, as am I. That really was not the brightest thing you girls have done."

Dierna sighed and ducked her head; sometimes her mother's gentle reproaches had more effect than her father's yelling. "I'm sorry Mum, we shouldn't have done that."

"I just hope you have learned from this, hopefully you'll start listening to your father and me when we tell you not to do something."

Dierna rolled her eyes, but winced at the pain it caused, "come on Mum, life wouldn't be quite so entertaining for you if we didn't keep you constantly on your toes."