Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Not the characters, not the places, just the plot. Everything belongs to JK Rowling and her associates.

Chapter Two: The Crisis

"You there! Fetch the girl!" ordered a tall black cloaked man. The man who he had yelled at, also cloaked in black, fled from the room, reassuring himself of the job he would succeed in. Get the girl. Get Lily Evans, he thought. He disapparated from sight, only to reappear in the Atrium of the Ministry of Magic. It was eight o'clock, and there wasn't a soul in view. All the better, he thought as he walked stealthily in the shadows toward his destination.

Meanwhile...

"Don't be such a party pooper, Padfoot. She'll be back in a few minutes," Remus said as he looked over the chess board where he was slaughtering Peter to the couch where Sirius was sitting, hardly able to keep still.

"I know," he said, but that didn't stop him from looking over towards the lift every so often. During one of these aforementioned glances at the lift doors, there was a tapping at the window next to the doors. James, who was closest, stood up to get the mail. But instead of the ordinary owl, a large phoenix flew into the small flat. "News from the Order!" James yelled to the others before tearing the letter open and reading it aloud. It was very short and bore horrible news.

"Voldemort has taken action!

Watch Lily!"

"Lily," James gasped as he ran for the lift so that he could apparate to the Ministry to save Lily, his friends grabbing for his robes to hold him back, but to no avail.

Meanwhile...

"Sabs, can you close for me? I promised James that I would be home early," Lily said, taking off her apron.

"Sure thing, Lil, but you'll only be a few minutes early," Sabrina responded.

"I know, but I want to be there to put Harry to bed," Lily said.

"Here, I need your apron and name tag so I can put them away," Sabrina said, taking off her own apron. Lily gave her apron and name tag to Sabrina after thanking her profusely and leaving to disapparate back home. Sabrina walked around the empty Ministry Café, pushing in chairs and wiping down tables. She counted all the money in the register and was preparing to lock the kitchen door.

Back in the flat's lift...

But as the doors opened to admit him into the lift, Lily came walking out. "Lily! You're okay!!!" James exclaimed, pulling her into a tight embrace, kissing the top of her head.

"Of course I'm okay," Lily said, accepting James' kisses.

"Where is Sabrina?" Sirius asked.

"She's closing up, but she will be here in a few minutes," Lily said as a solid black owl flew through the still open window. This time it was Sirius' turn to open the letter. He ripped the envelope off and quickly read through it's contents, blanching more as he read it.

"Wh- what is it Padfoot?" Peter asked timidly.

"No. No. No," Sirius said, rereading the letter many times.

Sabrina had just washed the aprons and was using Lily's name tag, which doubled as a key, to lock the front door, when someone collided with her from behind. In a mass of black material, there emerged a solitary hand. It clamped over her mouth tightly, so that she could barely breathe. She tried to scream, but the figure had held a wand in the other hand.

"If you make a sound, I will kill you right now, Lily," he said in a gruff voice, wand to temple, as he pushed her towards the fireplaces. Sabrina thought it best not to tell him that he had the wrong person, especially since she now knew that Voldemort was after Lily. Somehow the man managed to throw a handful of Floo powder into the grate.

"Riddle House!" the man yelled into the grate before shoving Sabrina inside and following just after.

Sabrina burst through the grate on the other side of the Floo network. Riddle House. The interior was dark and there was nothing to distinguish it from any other room, except for the fireplace, which was intricately carved with a dragon. Just after she arrived, two more cloaked men grabbed her and magically bound her to a chair. Although she struggled, she was no match for two men twice her size. As she struggled to escape her bonds, there was a cold, angry voice coming from behind her.

"You got the wrong girl?!" the voice said. "YOU GOT THE WRONG GIRL?!?!?!?!?!"

"I'm sorry my lord, but she had a name tag with Lily Evans on it. She was the only girl there!" the gruff voiced man from before explained.

"There is no excuse for mistakes," bellowed the one called Lord. "CRUCIO!!!" The air was rent with sounds of torturous screams, each one blood curdling and sending a horrified chill up Sabrina's spine. After a while, the screams subsided, but the man that they belonged to remained on the floor, twitching only occasionally. There was a swish of cloth and the head of the Dark Lord appeared in front of Sabrina. The black hood was pulled low and Sabrina was all too glad for that.

"So. Miss Sabrina Edwards," said the cold voice in a mocking way. "I see that you have foiled my plans to capture Miss Evans. I understand that she is a friend of yours. Let's see just how good of friends you are..." he said with a taunting drawl. "Jenkins! Take this down! In blood!" The Dark Lord snapped his skeleton like fingers and a knife appeared in his hand. He moved slowly towards Sabrina, the already bloody blade glinting in what little light the chamber provided. He took the knife and slowly ran it down her arm, piercing cloth, skin, and muscle. Sabrina screamed in anguish as the cold metal cut into her arm. Jenkins, a short man, clothed in black like all the rest, stepped up and dipped the end of his quill in the blood that was gushing from her wound and wrote what his master dictated to him.

Remus took the newly arrived letter from Sirius' shaking hands and read it aloud.

"You may have managed to save your precious Lily,

but I've still got one of your number....

Does the name Sabrina ring a bell?

Follow the owl and we may be able to strike a deal for her return.

If you hurry, she may still be alive.

Thank you for your cooperation,

-Voldemort"

"He... he took... he took Sabrina?" Lily said, barely able to get the words out through the tears and sobs that had bombarded her. James put his arm around her shaking frame and hung his head. Sirius looked around at the others, pure hate and revenge boiling in his veins. They were just accepting this. How could they just accept that she was gone and that they couldn't help her. He looked to James, who would not meet his eyes. How could James rush after Lily but just let Sabrina die. It was as if his bowed head had ascertained her death. He ran to his room and grabbed the old Silver Arrow he had used in his Quidditch days at Hogwarts. He sprinted to the balcony and shot off on his broomstick, following the black owl, barely visible in the moonless night. If no one else would save Sabrina, Sirius would.

"So... Miss Edwards," Voldemort said as he paced in front of her. "I understand that you know where your friend Miss Lily Evans is being kept. If you want to live, or at least die quickly, I suggest that you tell me."

"I'll die before I rat out Lily," Sabrina said, a sinister tone in her voice.

"Very well. Crucio!" he said. Sabrina felt as if her flesh was being torn, set on fire, and frozen all at the same time. She screamed in pain and tried to thrash her arms, but they were still pinned to her side by her ropes. She felt as if she had knives being thrust into every inch of her body. And then, just as suddenly as it started, it stopped, with the exception of a dull throbbing throughout her body. Voldemort laughed his cold, cruel laugh while Sabrina was gasping for air where she sat.

"I see the Order doesn't work to strengthen its members. All of my servants can put the pain from their mind. But it seems to be very effective on members of the Order. So, will you be telling me Lily's whereabouts now?" Sabrina stopped panting to look at the dark hood where Voldemort's eyes would have been. She put on a determined face and shook her head adamantly.

"Fine. Now, how do you wish to die?"

Sirius had been flying at top speed for ten minutes now, following the owl that he could hardly see. Just when Sirius began to wonder if the owl was flying in circles it threw itself into a dive, heading straight towards a lonely mansion on a huge plot of land. Sirius landed nearby, careful to avoid any guards. He crept through a small door and made his way to the heart of the house, somehow knowing that's where he would find Sabrina. Along the way, he found a set of black robes. He put them on before venturing further into the house. When he reached the center of the house, he hid behind a tall black column that supported the ceiling in the central room. From behind, he could see a large black fireplace, intricately carved. Standing next to it were several black cloaked servants and one taller, thinner man, also clothed in black. An involuntary chill ran up his spine when he saw the skeletal man. Then his eyes fell on Sabrina. She was tied with silvery rope to a wooden chair near the fireplace. Through the dim light, Sirius could see that her white sleeve was soaked with blood. Despite the wound, she was sitting tall in her chair, a look of determination on her pale face.

Sirius considered his plan of action, something that was very unusual in such a situation. He put his hands in his pockets, trying to figure out what he had at his disposal. There was only his wand and a little dust. But it was not just any dust; it was Floo powder from when he went to work. He gathered what little powder he had in his hand and waited for the opportune moment.

"Now, how do you wish to die?" Voldemort asked Sabrina, coming dangerously close to her face. He drew a thin skeletal hand from his robes and stroked her face softly. Sirius felt a particularly hot surge of anger. He had to do something fast. He looked around for something to cause a distraction. He spied a newspaper. He picked it up and crumbled it up as silently as he could. He then set fire to it, making sure to use a waterproof flame spell, and tossed it off to the side, waiting for it to catch the dark velvet curtains. The curtains began to burn, brightening the room immensely. This seemed to weaken the wizard, who much preferred the dark.

"Put it out, you imbecile! Before the whole manor burns to the ground!" the Dark Lord snapped. He walked over to help his servant extinguish the waterproof flames. Sirius took this opportunity to walk swiftly out from behind the column to Sabrina. He used the nearby knife, still red with her blood, to lop off Sabrina's bonds. She looked around wildly, trying to see who was near her. Sirius untied her and helped her silently to the fireplace. "Can no one put out this bloody fire?" Voldemort yelled as he turned back to Sabrina. He was taken by surprise to see her escaping. "She's escaping!!!!!!" he yelled, alerting his servants to their escape attempt. But Sirius had already thrown what Floo powder he had. He jumped into the flames.

"THE ATRIUM!!!!!!!!" he called, holding Sabrina tightly at his side. They whirled and turned through the Floo network before falling out of one of the many grates lining the hall of the atrium. Sirius exited the grate, knowing full well that there were Death Eaters right behind him. He grabbed more Floo powder from the little pot on top of the mantle and threw it into the flames. He stepped inside once again and called his next destination. No sooner had he announced his target than they were whisked out of the atrium, just as the death eaters began to arrive.

"Where could Sirius have gone to?" Remus asked for the hundredth time as he paced in front of the fireplace. "You don't think he followed that bloody owl, do you James?"

"For the hundredth time, Moony, I don't know where Sirius could have gone," James said, now slightly aggravated. In the last few hours, he had managed to have two of his best friends thrown into his arch enemy's clutches. And what was worse, he couldn't go to their rescue without sacrificing more of them; not to mention the Order and the future of the wizarding world.

"Do you think they are okay?" Lily asked in a whisper to James. She had stopped crying and seemed to be beyond grief. Her face was very pale and held no emotion. The beautiful emerald light that was usually emitted from her eyes had faded to a dull green.

"I hope so," James said. He held Lily tighter to him, more as a comfort to himself than to Lily. As they sat there, Peter sitting in the corner by himself, Remus still pacing worriedly, James and Lily in a state of deep depression, there was a sudden scuffling in the lift. After a moment of indecision as to what it was, the whole lot of them raced to the lift. There they were over joyed to see Sirius and Sabrina, even if they weren't in the best shape.

"Sabrina!" Lily whispered urgently, sighing with relief. She threw her arms around her friends. Sirius was still holding Sabrina, his arm around her waist. He pushed through the grateful crowd to the couch. He laid Sabrina down while Remus went to fetch his wand. James quickly scribbled a note to the Order and gave it to the phoenix, which had waited since it's first delivery.

"Thank you," Sabrina said, putting her arms around Sirius, still breathing heavily.

"Shh.... It's okay. Everything will be alright," he said in a soothing voice, laying her back down and gently stroking her cheek while Remus mended her arm.

"I'm afraid that we will have to move you all to a more secure place," Dumbledore said seriously to the small group by the fire. "This place is no longer safe. I will make these arrangements as soon as possible, but until then, I must insist that no one go anywhere. I will contact all of your employers and give them the news. You must stay here." With that, he went into through the doors to the lift and disapparated, but not before sealing the room.