AN: Thanks to everyone that has reviewed! This story is wrapping up, with the next chapter being the last one. There is an epilogue to follow. Just to warn you, this and the following chapter has not had a beta look-through. I wanted to get this out before HBP came out, and as I will be away from the internet, I am posting it once I have given it a look-through or three.

Chapter 20

The hospital wing was crowded with Order members and a few curious students that kept coming back after being kicked out of the infirmary. Albus had quickly made a portkey when it became apparant that James' labor was far more advanced than previously thought.

Severus had been kicked out of the private room James was in. He was now pacing with Hamilton resting on one hip, the sight keeping the students coming back. He knew that, but couldn't be bothered about it.

Harry had still not come back from Hogsmeade, and that was a bad sign in and of itself. Albus had dispatched Kingsley and Tonks half an hour ago for news and to bring him back.

"Severus?"

He swiftly turned to greet Poppy. "How is he?"

The school nurse nodded. "Will you come with me, please?"

Severus set Hamilton down in a startled Minerva's lap and followed Poppy. "What is it?" he demanded once the door was shut behind him.

"It's nothing bad, Severus," the nurse calmly said. "James did not go into premature labor. He's having twins. Even if he hadn't gone to Hogsmeade, it was only a matter of time before he went into labor. Most people don't carry twins full term."

Severus felt a little faint and looked around for a chair. "Why didn't we hear two heartbeats on the scans?"

Poppy led him over to a chair next to James' bed. His husband's hair was sweaty, but his eyes were closed. "I managed to get him to sleep for a couple of minutes between contractions," she explained at Severus' questioning look. "It is not very unusual for twins to have the same heart rate. However, for them both to beat at the same time is very rare. I myself have heard of it happening only once in this century, and that is with the Weasley twins. Even now those two tend to do everything together."

A part of him relaxed, while the rest was still in a hyperactive mode. He had to admit to himself that he was scared - scared for James and scared for Helena. He hadn't felt this way in a long time, at least, not since he'd come home to find his house on fire, one of his husband's best friends dead on the lawn, and his husband cradling their child after almost being murdered. Now James was in labor and his daughter was missing. The only thing they needed now was for Harry to try and take off after the Dark Lord.

111111

Sirius eventually pulled Harry away from the battleground. He didn't want to leave on the off chance that Helena had been hexed invisible, but Sirius had persuaded him to stop, using the very high probability of a collapse from exhaustion as a reason.

Harry finally sat down as Kingsley came over.

"The best that we can guess is that they were portkeyed. There were only two apparation trails, and most of the Death Easters can't duel apparate," the auror said. "We've put a trace on them, but it will take an hour to get the readings back."

Harry struggled to stand, but only accomplished the task with aide from Sirius. "We have to follow them." He swayed alarmingly, and it felt like he was going to fall flat on his face.

Sirius held onto him. "You are not, Harry."

"Yes," Harry emphatically said as Sirius guided him back down to the seat.

"Harry," Tonks began. "You need to rest. Kingsley and I will watch the readings to find out where they went. Madam Pomfrey should look at you, and I still want to know how your Dad's doing."

111111

"What do you mean, Helena's missing?" James panted after a particularly vicious contraction.

"Just that," Sirius said from the foot of the bed as James looked at him from over his feet. Harry stood next to him, a sullen and guilty look on his face. "We think that she and Remus were portkeyed to Nott Manor House, judging by the traces they left. Only one portkey went to Flint Manor, and that's because we think it's Flint junior, since he failed his apparation test three times. "

Another contraction started to bubble at the base of James' spine. "Then get out there and check!" he shouted. "If Poppy hadn't strapped me into this contraption, you know damn well I'd be out there looking for my daughter!"

Severus came in on the last word. "Hamilton is with Molly, and Hugh will sit with you. I presume he told you of the situation?"

James nodded, then reached for Severus' hand as the contraction threatened to overwhelm him. Once it had passed, he reluctantly let go of his husband's hand.

"I am heading out with Shacklebolt and Tonks." Severus raised a hand to James' cheek and he felt it trembling. "I will let you know if we find anything."

James closed his eyes as Severus leaned over and gave him a kiss. When he opened them, Severus was gone, as was Sirius and Harry. Hugh was also making his way through the door, smiling.

"Patri cast an impervious charm on it, so you can squeeze on it without breaking my hand, Dad." He slipped his hand into James' as he sat down. Hugh's face turned serious. "Dad, you have to follow all of Madam Pomfrey's instructions. Don't leave here until she says that you can go."

He opened his mouth to retort, but Hugh beat him to it.

"I mean it, Dad. If you leave before Madam Pomfrey says that you can, you will bleed to death."

James sucked in a breath and stared at his son, who had tears running down his face.

"I can't lose you, Dad. Patri can't lose you. So please, promise me that you will stay."

"I promise."

There were voices on the other side of the wall, but Helena couldn't make out what they were saying. She had been awake when they landed from the portkey, but had not given herself away, remembering all the cautions that Patri had taught all of his children. Whoever was holding her had said something like 'the werewolf,' so at least she hadn't been alone. They had thrown Remus and herself into the same cell, laughing about something that Helena didn't catch.

The room they were in was lit only by a grimy window with bars across it. A trickle of water ran down the wall from a spot about four feet from the floor, hitting the ground with a ping for every drop.

She settled herself as best as she could across from Remus to wait for him to wake up. There was a large lump on the side of his face and the skin was starting to form bruises, meaning that it may take a while for him to wake. Hugging her knees to her chest, Helena hoped that someone found them soon.

111111

Remus woke up to an ugly smell of damp and mold. His head felt like there were little men with hammers and pickaxes going at his brain. The bad odor was enough of a trigger for nausea and he rolled over so he wouldn't choke himself. A small hand held back his hair as he finished.

"Are you all right, Remus?"

He twisted his head to look at Helena, regretting the movement as his stomach tried to revolt again.

"I think you have a concussion, Remus, but I'm not sure how bad it is."

He closed his eyes to regain his sense of balance, trying not to take any deep breaths. His insides settled enough for him to sit up. Remus opened his eyes and took in the room. There was not a lot of light coming through the small window, but he couldn't tell if it was dirty or if the sun was going down. If it was... He had until 2.30 or so in the morning, when the full moon rose, to find some way out.

He noticed that Helena was shivering and he was chilled himself. Remus also saw that she was practically falling over with exhaustion. Carefully moving to sit against the one half-decent wall, he gestured to Helena to sit by him. His body was trying to remind Remus that it rather liked the idea, but he forced the idea away because it wasn't appropriate for any reason.

"Please," Remus said when she hesitated. "You need to sleep."

"What about tonight?" Helena asked, pointing to the window where the light was indeed fading slowly.

"Rest. I'll try to think up something."

Helena gently rested her head on Remus' thighs, curling up into a ball against his right leg. He laid a hand on her back, feeling each breath slow down into the cadence of sleep.

What was he going to do? Their wands were missing, the bars on the window were looking very solid, and the door opened from the other side, going from the lack of a latch on this side. Remus found himself hoping that the Order would at least be able to take care of Helena. Her animagus form was small enough that the wolf might think it was a snack, even though a larger animal would have forced the wolf to stay on the other side of the room. Even if she were to perch on the window sill, the wolf could jump that high.

The light had disappeared from the window when Remus heard a noise outside the door. It swung open, revealing several men, all masked. Their wands were trained into the room, making Remus want to roll his eyes at the stupidity of the fellows to expect the two of them to fight all six of them, without any weapons.

"I hope you're in the mood to be entertaining tonight, werewolf," one of them said in a fairly familiar voice. "You and that pretty little girl you're cuddling with are going to be the stars for our show for our Master."

The others laughed raucuosly at that.

"Get out of there!" yelled a voice from further down the hallway. "We have things to do. You will get your turn with them later."

The men complied, but not without throwing several spells in their direction, deliberately missing Remus and Helena by inches. The door slammed shut and Remus sighed in relief. He looked down and found that Helena was still asleep, dark circles under her eyes as she twisted around to lay on her other side.

The door swung open again, the suddenness putting Remus on alert. Inside the doorframe was a slight woman, who may have been anywhere from forty to sixty. Her long hair was almost totally gray, and there was a slight stoop to her frame. Her robes had once been well-kept, but now they were quite ragged.

She pulled something out of her pocket and threw it within arms' reach of Remus. "Use that," she said in a husky voice. "Give that to her. She helped my son find his own way, instead of following this monster."

As she pulled the door shut, Remus looked away and over to the object. Its handle was gray, but the blade was sharp even from this angle. Ten inches overall, the blade itself was a good seven.

Remus leaned back until his head hit the wall, knowing what he had to do.

Harry slunk through the underbrush along the wards outside of Nott Manor House. Several of the plants had thorns, which caught on his fur, pulling out small tufts of black hair. Next to him, Sirius was trying to find a break in the wards. It was easier for him to deal with the pain of being this close to Voldemort in his animagus form than taking a pain potion. The down side to this was that he really couldn't perform magic in this shape. He did like being able to see in the dark, and until the moon rose in four hours, it was quite dark.

"I found a break, Harry," Sirius said a little bit later.

Harry looked up from where he'd been grooming his tail - it still felt a little strange to have one - and rose to his feet. His whiskers twitched as he noticed a dark scent coming through the wards. Harry changed back for a quick moment to reach into his robes.

"Here," he said, holding out a small jewel that glittered in the lights from the house fifty yards away.

"What is it?" Sirius asked as he took it.

"It's a communicator. It goes in your ear like this," Harry demonstrated with his own jewel. "Once we get in there, we can talk to each other without alerting anyone, especially if we get separated."

Sirius grinned. "These are from all those spy movies from last summer. Heh! And your father said that it was a waste of time and money."

Harry gave him a kiss that threatened to turn into something more as the mood swiftly changed to a determination to rescue their family. The pain finally became too much and he changed into his animagus form, his wings unfurling slightly as he stretched. Sirius scratched behind his ears.

"Let's go."

111111

Severus signaled to Shacklebolt, who acknowledged and went forward. Behind him he heard Tonks approach.

"The message's sent. It should be thirty minutes or so."

He nodded and crept around the shrubbery beside the conservatory door. Shacklebolt was peering through a window while Tonks continued past them both to the front of the house. He knew that Harry and Black were on the west side of the house, where the kitchens were. Those two were going after the Death Eaters to distract them while Severus headed to the basement.

Nott Manor House was not old enough to have a dungeon, but its lowest level was a maze of corridors. When he had first joined as a spy, he had worked down in the house's depths making potions when they were not at Malfoy Manor. He knew approximately where they were most likely being held.

A quite sizable explosion on the other side of the building cut his escape plans short. Severus burst through the door, throwing out several blasting curses at the surprised men inside the conservatory. A smell of fine cigars and pipe weed lingered with the scent of spilled liquor. He thought he heard a faint scream, but it cut off abruptly. Then Shacklebolt burst past him to clear out the next room and hallway. Fifteen minutes later, Severus and Tonks were in the stairwell when another explosion knocked them off of their feet.

Helena heard a loud boom and woke to something hitting her cheek. Dust was falling from the ceiling, and there were several small bits of plaster dotting the floor.

"What was that, Remus?" she asked, sitting up. When there was no answer she asked, "Remus?" as she turned around.

A shrill scream escaped her when she saw Remus' bloody face and hands. A large puddle had formed on the floor, and in the back of her mind she knew that it was all over her as well. Frantically, she ran her fingers over Remus' neck, trying to feel a heartbeat. There wasn't one.

"You can't die, Remus," she pleaded as she grabbed the gaping wound on his forearms. "I'm not going to let you die." She yanked at her magic and forced it into Remus, four times that what she had used with her father. "Please work. Please work," she repeated, willing it to work as the magic built up.

Harry's head felt like it was about to explode. Whatever Sirius had used to cause that explosion had been quite loud. This was on top of what he felt because Voldemort was here, so he wasn't quite up to par. Contrary to what he had planned with his father and Sirius, Harry was going to go after Voldemort once and for all. He was sick and tired of hearing about all of the raids and getting little glimpses of what the idiot lord was up to in spite of his Occlumency shields. After he and Sirius had been separated, he had followed the pull coming from the scar. Surprisingly, he met no one on the way until he came upon a small room with a short, pudgy man inside.

"Hello, Harry," the man said in a high-pitched squeak as Harry tried to pass the room quietly.

He aimed his wand at the man. "How did you know my name?"

"I was friends with your father, Harry. You would cry every time I held you."

Fury raced through Harry's veins. "You're Wormtail," he spat.

Wormtail made a smarmy smile. "I am."

Harry moved his wand slightly, a spell forming on his lips.

"Don't you want to know where your sister is?"

He narrowed his eyes. "Where is she?"

"She's well protected," Wormtail squeaked. "I made sure that she was with my old friend, Moony."

"It's a full moon tonight, bastard!" Harry strode forward, forgoing his wand in favor of his hands. They satisfyingly wrapped around the ratty-looking man's neck.

"One of them'll make it," the man choked out. "Ana Zabini threw a knife in there before I killed her."

Harry squeezed until he felt the man go limp. He wasn't dead, but he was definitely out for the count. He whipped a binding spell at the man and followed the pull through the room to a bookcase. The only thing he was killing tonight was a self-proclaimed dark lord.

As he tried to figure out a way to get through, he told himself that as soon as he got through with Voldemort, he'd made damn sure he would find Helena and Remus before the moon rose. After several hexes, spells, and curses, Harry finally decided to do what his husband liked to do: blow things up. He blasted through the door, his metaphoric guns blazing.

111111

"Harry?" Sirius thought, pressing on the jewel in his ear. He had lost contact about a minute after they were separated, and he was beginning to panic. They had worked as Sirius and Harry had entered the building, so he knew they had worked. But now they were not. All he could hear was a faint buzzing noise, and somehow he knew that it was Harry making it, even if he couldn't keep in verbal contact with him.

His distraction over Harry cost him. Sirius could feel the blood rushing down his arm from his shoulder. He clutched his wound with his left hand as he tried to hold onto his wand.

"Look, it's my baby cousin," a cold voice said across from him in the middle of the pack that suddenly had appeared from around the corner. The lead man, his brown hair singed from Sirius' last spell, as he had made his way blasting down the hallway, stepped aside to reveal a tall, blond haired woman.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?"

"Narcissa," Sirius sneered.

"Sirius," she coolly retorted. "The last of the Blacks. How does it feel?"

Sirius snorted, the faint buzzing noise in his ear from the jewel turning into humming. "I am not the last Black, Cissy, if I may remind you of my bonding in April?"

"How could I forget? Marrying that mudblood lover."

"So what does that say about your own sister? She married a Muggleborn," he asked.

Narcissa opened her mouth as an explosion shook the floor. Sirius used the opportunity to shift into Padfoot and was around the corner before anyone realized it. His front right paw was useless from the pain, making his gait awkward, but at least it was still faster then when human.

Spells followed him down the corridor. Sirius turned a corner and almost ran into a table. He swerved around it and almost fell into a suit of armor. He looked up just in time to knock over Bill Weasley. Shaking himself, he popped back into a human as several Order members stepped over Bill and into the hallway, shooting a rapid barrage of spells. A stray spell from the approaching Death Eaters hit him in the arm, only inches from the first wound. He staggered back into Minerva's arms.

"Are you all right?" she asked.

Sirius waved her on. "Give me a minute. Go on ahead." He rested against the wall, watching as the Order pushed the Death Eaters further and further down the hallway. Once they had disappeared from view, he closed his eyes, trying to contact Harry.

The humming kept getting louder and soon words could be heard. Sirius tried to discern what they were, but only flashes were distinguishable. He could feel static build up on his arms and the hair on the back of his neck stood on end. His skin began to crawl as the feeling grew into an intense pressure as the words became thoughts and emotions.

Severus, Shacklebolt, and Tonks had searched through each section on the lower level and still had not found Helena and Remus. There was not a lot of time left before moonrise, and Severus personally did not want to meet the wolf once more. They had met up with two groups of Death Eaters, but they had been the newer recruits, as well as the seventh years from the previous school year. What was rather surprising was that Severus had found two of his sixth years here, leaving him wondering just when did they leave the school.

"What's this?" Tonks asked as they moved along one corridor. She was pointing to an odd dent in the wall. She plucked at the plaster next to it and a large chunk came off, revealing a gap.

"Try it," Shacklebolt said, even as Severus raising his wand.

"Alohamora!"

The plaster opened neatly, reveal a door complete with a simple latch. Severus opened it and saw the room was dark. "Lumos," he incanted, and them almost dropped his wand at the sight that met his eyes.

"Merlin!" Tonks breathed. "Are they dead?"

"No!" Severus sharply said. He dropped his wand as soon as Shacklebolt stepped in with his lit. He ran his hands over his daughter's arms and neck. He let out a long breath when he found a sluggish pulse. He then tried to find one for Remus but failed. Severus carefully pulled on Helena to move her from Remus, but he found that he couldn't. There was a thin line from her chest to his chest and it was pulsing slightly.

"Helena, stop it," Severus commanded. "You can't help him."

"What is that?" Tonks asked. "Is she healing him?"

"She's trying to keep him alive." Severus didn't know of anything that could safely separate them.

"We should be going," Shacklebolt said. "They could be put in stasis."

"We cant with the magic she's using. It could disrupt it and hurt Helena," Tonks interjected.

Severus ran over all the mobility spells he knew. The only one that would not interrupt the magic would not work for two people. He reached over and placed a hand on Helena's shoulder. His fingertips went numb for a second from the shock he received upon touching her skin.

Helena abruptly opened her eyes as a white substance floated from Remus' chest. As the misty cloud floated free, the man gasped loudly and started coughing deeply. The mist hovered over the two and Severus quickly banished it to the floor above as it began to float back down. He then put both of them in stasis.

"Let's move," Shacklebolt said.

Severus gathered Helena into his arms and felt static move up his arms. His daughter's hair began to move as the feeling intensified and there was a familiarity to it that had him scrambling.

"What is it, Severus?" Tonks as she followed him down the corridors, Remus in tow courtesy of Shacklebolt.

"It's Harry. He's built up too much power. We have to get out of here, now."

James grabbed hold of the portkey, Poppy beside him. He had heeded Hugh's vision and was glad of it when it was discovered that the skin-healing spell had failed. If he had left with the other Order members, the portkey that they had taken would have ripped the skin apart, and he would indeed have bled to death before Poppy could get there. He looked over to where Hugh was sitting with Hamilton. Molly was fussing over the newborns, who were cuddled together in the bassinet Poppy seemed to keep just for James' brood. Both boys had a full head of hair, with dark blue eyes. They had Severus' facial structure, with the Potter nose and eyebrows.

They winked out existence as a tug pulled him from behind his navel. When they landed, the house was well lit in spite of the moon having not risen - which was a priority for him to get the goblet in his hand to his friend before then. He hated the fact that he was back here, even if he loved the reasons why it was necessary. He missed the thrill of fighting, even if his heart clenched at the idea that husband and children were in there somewhere.

As he approached the front door, something made him pause. There was a heaviness to the air, as if a thunderstorm was about to unleash its burden of rain. The building itself seemed to shimmy with energy.

Poppy went to move ahead when James stopped her.

"What is it?" she asked testily.

"Don't you see it?" he asked, pulling her back even as several figures ran out of the door and a few climbed from the windows. "There's something wrong with the house."

"NO!" a familiar voice shouted from among the group coming from the door. "Harry's in there!"

James saw Sirius struggling against Arthur and Bill Weasley and Moody. The man was covered in streaks of blood from head to waist, and his right arm hung at an odd angle. He moved towards his friend, reaching him as another group came around the corner of the building. They were walking as a fast clip, two of them carrying two others.

"You don't understand," Sirius was saying. "I love him! I need to be with Harry!"

"Get away from the building!" cried one of the people that had come from around the corner, and James recognized it as Tonks.

James' eyes widened in alarm as he took in the scene of Helena in Severus' arms. He just stepped forward when the world went white.