William smiled as he reached the staircase outside the Great Hall. Standing nervously at the bottom of the steps was Sophia, dressed in a vibrant shade of blue. "You look great," he said as he bent to kiss her cheek. "Ready to go in?"

"I think so," Sophia looked down at her dress, "I'm still not sure I understand your fashions wizard, is this like what all the other girls will be wearing?"

William looked down at her dress, "honestly, I don't pay that much attention to female fashion. I have no idea. But I like it."

Sophia beamed up at him, "I'm glad you like it."

"So, are you going to be sticking around here next year since Kalliope married Professor Lupin?"

Sophia nodded, "yes, I'm going to really go to school here next year."

"Good," William said as he took her hand, "I might have to find some good excuses for stopping by next year."

"There you are, I was beginning to wonder if you were going to stand me up!" Kamen exclaimed.

"I was just getting pretty for you," Olivia said as she twirled around, "do you like my dress?"

"I love it!"

"Kamen, have you seen your sister?" Severus asked as he came up behind his son.

"Which one?"

Severus sighed, "Dierna, I was rather hoping she'd at least try to socialize tonight."

"I saw her, she said she's not coming," Olivia filled in.

Severus frowned, "and what are you doing up little miss, I thought you were supposed to be in bed?"

"Sorry Dad, she's my date, there's no way you're sending my date to bed early. How would I look if I showed up alone?" Kamen said as he swung Olivia up on his back.

"Fine, but when she falls asleep halfway into the dance you are going to be responsible for carrying her to bed."

"Not a problem, I think I can handle this midget."

"Hey!" Olivia pounded on Kamen's shoulder from her perch on his back, "I'm not a midget."

"Whatever you say short-stuff. You ready to dance?"

Dierna took a deep breath, she could do this. She hesitantly stepped over the threshold into the Great Hall. She tilted her head back to look at the candle illuminated ceiling as she paused in the doorway.

She directed her gaze to the couples on the dance floor, and she felt her heart squeeze in agony. She couldn't do this, she wasn't ready. She turned back around, ready to run in defeat, but she stopped herself. She sighed again. She had to do this tonight; it had to be her first step back towards a real life.

She hesitated for a moment, trying to work up the courage to join her friends when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She slowly turned around and managed a half smile when she saw it was her father.

Severus raised a questioning eyebrow, "I thought you weren't coming."

"I wasn't planning on it."

"Care to tell me what changed your mind?"

Dierna ducked her head and murmured her own question, "If I tell you then will you promise never to use it against me?"

Severus gently took both of his daughter's hands in his own, "I promise." He waited with interest to see what she would say.

Dierna raised her head up to look her father in the eye, "you were right." When Severus merely raised an eyebrow at that statement she continued on, "I need to keep living my life. I finally saw what I was doing to myself."

Severus smiled gently down at her and pressed a kiss to her forehead. He took a firmer grip on her hands and held her out at arms length and surveyed his daughter from head to toe. "Where is my little girl? You look so beautiful tonight, so grown up. That hurts me you know, I was rather hoping you would stay my little girl forever."

Dierna blushed slightly, "I'll always be your little girl."

"Come here," Severus pulled Dierna into a warm hug, showing a rare moment of affection in public. He held onto her for a long moment, thankful that she appeared to finally be handling her grief, and he wouldn't have to worry about her hurting herself any more. "So, would you consider sharing a dance with your father?"

Dierna grinned up at him when she was finally released from the hug, her first real smile in weeks. "Of course I will."

Severus spun her out on to the dance floor, and they easily fell into the rhythm of the waltz. "You dance very well," he remarked as he held her close.

Dierna smiled, "well, I learned from the best."

Severus nearly allowed himself to laugh at that answer, but only gave her a slight smirk, "I had completely forgotten about that, how old were you?"

Dierna bit her lip as she thought about it, "I remember it perfectly, I was nine. I had a sore throat so I had to stay home while Mum took everyone else shopping. I was bored and nearly driving you out of your mind so you decided to teach me how to dance in an attempt to keep me entertained."

Severus smiled at the memory, "you are much easier to dance with than your mother is, but don't tell her that."

Dierna raised an eyebrow, "why is it easier to dance with me?"

"Because, you're at least eight inches taller than she is, your height makes all the difference."

Dierna smiled at her father's dry response, her second smile in five minutes. She was beginning to think she might just be fine after all. Even without Stefan by her side.

Serena smiled as Nick gently took her face between his hands and kissed her softly. It amazed her how different this was from her relationship with Mark. There was nothing demanding when she was with Nick, she felt no pressure. Everything was so relaxed and just right somehow.

"Do you want to dance or just stay here and snog all night?" Nick teased as his lips left hers.

"Stay here."

"Wrong answer."

The two teens groaned.

Remus shook his head at their dismay, "I find you back here again and it will be points off." He continued on as Nick tried to interrupt him, "Yes Mr. Wood, I know very well that you recently won the House quidditch cup, and I'm very proud to have it sitting in my office, but that doesn't mean I won't take off points from my own House. You know the school policies on public displays of affection."

"Yeah, yeah, we get it," Nick said as he took Serena's hand, "no more sneaking off into dark corners, can we go now?"

"Did I ever have that much attitude?" Harry asked as he joined Remus in watching the young couple head back towards the dance floor.

"You're kidding, right?"

"No."

"Harry James Potter, do you not remember the number of times I caught you and Ginny in Filch's broom cupboard?"

Harry looked down sheepishly as he ran his hand through perpetually messy hair, "guess you have a point."

"Yes I do, and if you know what's good for you and your marriage you'll get yourself home to your wife as soon as possible."

Harry shook his head, "who would have thought that you and Sirius would turn in to such busy-bodies. When you're done trying to fix my marriage you might take time to notice that I'm starting to do just fine fixing it on my own."

"About time. I know for a fact that your godfather was looking for a couple of good hexes to use on you if you let Ginny slip through your fingers."

"What have you done?!" Eric bellowed.

"What have I done?" Zach looked at his grandfather incredulously, "did you know that Eva was a spy?"

Eric through his hands up in frustration, "yes I knew she was a spy."

"You're just as bad as she is then, I am tired of being surrounded by people who double cross..."

"She is a spy for us Zach."

Zach looked confused, "but she has the dark mark on her arm..."

"Yes she does, a very unfortunate circumstance, but she was forced into it. She has been spying for the Order since before you met her. Do you remember how beat up she was when you first met her, the mass of bruises that covered her face?"

Zach nodded slowly.

"She came very close to betraying her true loyalties that night, they nearly killed her. I only hope we're not too late this time."

"What do you mean? I'm assuming when she disapparated she went to them, but what does that have to do with losing her?"

"My darling grandson, you can be incredibly dense sometimes. You broke that girl's heart tonight when you pulled your wand on her, she loved you..."

"I wasn't going to hex her! Only stun her if she tried to attack me!"

"But she didn't know that! You scared her, broke what fragile amount of trust this abused girl was able to build up. Do you realize that Malfoy wants her? He's requested from the dark lord that she be his... new toy. After what you did to her tonight she may just give in, she's been able to fight for herself so far, but she may now be lost to us."

"I'm going after her," Zach said as he reached for his cloak, "I won't let them hurt her."

"Wait!" Eric put a restraining hand on his grandson's arm, "you have to wait. If you go after her now they will kill you and torture her. You must wait until the time is right. We will do everything we can to get her back. I promise."

Dierna had slipped out of the ball early. She had tried her hardest, but she just wasn't ready to spend the whole night trying to act cheerful when she really felt wretched.

She slipped back up to her room to change out of her dress robes, and decided to head down to the library for some late night studying. With everyone else still in the Great Hall she might even get a chance to explore the restricted section for awhile undisturbed.

For several hours she worked diligently over her Transfiguration homework. Her grades had dropped since she had received the news about Stefan, but now she was determined to do whatever she could to bring them back up before exams, which were fast approaching. When she finally closed the textbook, confidant that her homework had been done much more thoroughly than it had in weeks, she was ready to do some reading for her own enjoyment.

She slowly strolled through the rows of bookshelves in the restricted section, waiting for something to catch her eye. She was so engrossed in her perusal that she didn't hear Connor come up behind her.

"I think my date is out for the night," Kamen said as he danced closely with Celeste. He pointed to where his youngest sister was sleeping, lying across a couple of chairs.

"I think you're right," Celeste smiled up at Kamen. He had changed since he first asked her out, but she wasn't quite sure why. And she wasn't sure if she even cared why. She liked the change. He seemed so much more mature, and he really was good looking...

"I planned something for tonight, along with William, I hope you don't mind if we carry out our plans as scheduled."

Celeste gave him a cautious look, "what did you plan?"

"Just a little bit of entertainment..." he grinned devilishly, "we got our hands on a good supply of Weasleys' Wildfire Whiz-bangs, decided this party could use a few fireworks."

"Your father is going to kill you."

His eyes lit with the challenge, "then let's hope that in all the confusion that goes with setting off fireworks indoors I'll be able to make it back to Gryffindor Tower before he catches me."
"I haven't seen you for a long time..." Connor said in a greasy voice as he slowly circled Dierna, like a predator stalking its prey.

"That's because I make a point of avoiding you," Dierna responded coolly, her head held high as she kept her eyes firmly trained on Connor while also looking for the best way out.

"That's a shame; perhaps if you'd been a little more generous in your affections for me things would have gone better for you. All this useless grief..."

"What are you talking about you insufferable git?"

"Nothing. Absolutely nothing, just pondering what your fate is going to be?"

Dierna's eyes narrowed, "what do you know?"

"More than you do."

Dierna snorted, "I highly doubt that, and you're an appalling liar."

"And how would you know if I'm lying, miss high and mighty Gryffindor?"

She gave him a scathing glance, "because, if there is one thing I have learned the hard way it is that my father abhors lying. His distaste for it has taught me how to recognize it."

"And why would I want to tell lies to such a sweet thing as you," Connor gave her a menacing smile, "I bet you didn't win Stefan over with the sharp side of your tongue, I bet you showed him your sweeter side. That's something I'm willing to wager he would love to see now, it would be a welcome change..."

Dierna's eyes widened perceptively, "what do you mean it's something he would love to see now?"

"I... I meant nothing by it," Connor stammered, "really, there's nothing about Stefan..."

"He's alive," Dierna nearly crashed into several shelves of books as she sprinted out of the library, leaving Connor cursing himself and making plans to go tell his father what he had let slip.
"I can't believe you still insist on pulling stunts like this at your age Kamen. You are legally an adult, when are you going to start acting like one?!"

"Maybe when you start treating me like one Dad!"

"I treat you in a manner reflecting your actions," Severus snapped as he continued to drag his son by the ear down to his office, "setting off fireworks inside the school is something I associate with the infamous Weasley twins, not my own children, and especially not my son who will be graduating in a couple of weeks. Provided that your spineless Head of House does not expel you for this. Gryffindor bravery and courage do seem to have a tendency of falling short when there are rules involved."

"Alright, alright, I get the point. Now would you please stop trying to pull my bloody ear off?"

"I will when we reach my office."

Kamen swore under his breath as they descended the stone steps down into the dungeons, trying not to trip as he was unceremoniously dragged along.

"Explain yourself," Severus commanded as he let go of his son and slammed his office door closed.

Kamen shrugged, "it's my last big event at Hogwarts, thought I'd go out with a bang... literally."

Severus crossed his arms over his chest and glared at his son in the cold piercing manner that caused other students to turn and run.

"This isn't just about the fireworks, is it?" Kamen asked after several minutes of silent glaring.

"No it is not, I had a rather enlightening conversation with Professor Black tonight."

Kamen decided to try and feign innocence, "what of it? He's a fairly interesting man, I figure he knows enough stories to fill several enlightening conversations."

"Is it true?"

"Is what true?"

"Dammit Kamen, did you or did you not join the Grigorian Brotherhood? And do not lie to me or try to maintain this act of innocence."

Kamen knew that having come this far his father was not going to back down now. He sighed and slowly rolled up his sleeve, displaying the Brotherhood tattoo.

"Do you realize what you have done?" Severus hissed as he placed his hands on his desk, glaring menacingly at his son.

"I think I do," Kamen replied smoothly, standing on the opposite side of the desk he also put his hands down on it, mirroring his father's posture.

"Of all the irresponsible things to have done Kamen, this is by far..."

"It's not as bad as you think! For Merlin's sake, Dumbledore was head of the Brotherhood, it's a just cause!"

"Exactly, Dumbledore was the head of the Grigorian Brotherhood, which is why Voldemort swore before Potter managed to halfway defeat him that he would do whatever was necessary to completely destroy the Brotherhood."
Dierna wasn't sure where she was running to; all she could think about was that Stefan was alive. Alive! It had to be the most wonderful word ever. She tried to figure out what she could do with this new piece of information.

She quickly decided against going to her father with it. He would either refuse to believe her or tell her that it was a matter for the Order of the Phoenix to deal with; she would just have to wait. And she couldn't wait, not after she had believed Stefan to be dead, only to find out he was still alive.

Her next idea was her Head of House. Professor Lupin was always ready to offer a sympathetic ear. But she quickly threw out that idea too. The only help he would offer would be to tell her father.

Eric. The thought was enough to stop Dierna in her tracks. Eric would help her, she knew it. But how to reach him... Dierna howled in frustration. When she had asked him how he was to be found he had answered her in riddles. She tried to remember his exact words as she searched around her, hoping to find some clue. The only part of his hints she could remember was on of the last things he had told her, 'I'll leave you with that to reflect on'. She muttered the words over to herself several times. As she was in the middle of the phrase for the sixth time her eyes fell on her reflection in a gilded mirror hanging on the opposite wall and she gasped in understanding.
Eva hung her head as she was dragged into the presence of the dark lord. She knew she was radiating fear. She only hoped he could not surmise the real reason behind it.

"Well Miss Bhaer, I received a rather interesting report tonight."

"Did you my lord?" Eva hoped that her eyes, which were large with fear, would make her look innocent. She winced in pain as Malfoy tightened the grip he had on her right arm. She knew that at the very least she would be left with a dark bruise in the shape of his hand curling around her arm.

"Do not play the fool with me girl!" Voldemort snapped. His hand dropped down to his side and Eva swore he was reaching for his wand until the back of his hand connected with her face hard enough to send her staggering back a couple of steps. It was only Malfoy's vice-like grip on her arm that kept her upright.

"Please my lord," Eva kept her voice pitched low, trying to hide the way it trembled, "tell me what I have done to offend you so that I might remedy it, I would hate to fall into disfavor."

"I believe it is already too late for that girl," Malfoy hissed in her ear.

"I have been informed that one of the members of Dumbledore's crusade, the Order of the Phoenix," he hissed the name in sharp snake-like tones, "saw your dark mark tonight. Your identity was revealed and yet you did nothing, you did not dispose of him or even so much as alter his memory."

Relief flooded through Eva, her status as a spy had not yet been detected, but she was careful not to let her relief show, "I am sorry my lord," she stammered, "he pulled his wand on me und I was scared," that was certainly true enough, Zach had scared her, "I didn't know was ich soll machen."

"Poor child," Voldemort brought a cold bony hand up to cup her cheek, "perhaps I shall not make an example of you tonight. But it is now clear to me that you are not yet fit to serve in my ranks of Death Eaters. Malfoy!"

"Yes my lord?" Malfoy looked up, trying to fight a smile as he had a vague idea of what was coming.

"I leave Miss Bhaer in your capable hands. You will make sure that she knows her place and is loyal to us. Train her as you will."

Eva nearly collapsed as Voldemort pronounced her sentence. She had a feeling that the killing curse would be merciful at this point.