Disclaimer: I do not own any of Ms. Rowling's wonderful creations. Nor do I own any of the various songs that may be presented throughout the length of this fanfiction. The various songs will be named at the end of the fic, as well as in the chapter within which they lie.

A big thanks and a shout out goes to:

Idancer – If you haven't already, I want you to reread Chapters Two and Three...because I accidentally screwed up the update

The Gryffindor Drummer – I try to keep a chapter ahead of the updates. That means that I always have one chapter in pending while I work on the chapter that is two chapters after the one that you are reading.

Warg – You know the saying 'If you don't have anything nice to say, keep your mouth shut'? Well. Put that saying in practice in your reviews. Yes, it's dramatic. YES, that was humorous. Do you know why? BECAUSE IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE! Ooh. What a concept. And they were not acting like Ten-Year-Olds. They were treating Maya like she was a very, very dangerous person. Which she is.

Mr. Bob – Well...you'll just have to find out what prompted Lucius to do that, hm? And yeah...I always wind up spelling privilege wrong. It's one of those few words that pisses me off.

Serlene – It wouldn't be a tragedy if she had a heartwarming moment, would it? You'll REALLY hate me next chapter. Hell...I hate myself for the next chapter.

amrawo – I'm glad you enjoyed them.

DarkRaven-04 – Glad you liked it.

Keeroshu – I'm glad you enjoy this story. It's one of my favorites.

DeepWaterAngel – Don't beg. It's not becoming.

Azari Kaiya Son – Well duh I'm continuing. It's not finished yet!

FireBringer – I'm glad you enjoy the dark, twistedness of this story. It is a lot darker than Kicking Buckets...which was inevitable, really. I'm satisfied with the path that Spinning Bottles is taking.

Alright. Just to be cruel and sadistic, I'm going to let you guys in on a little secret. In the next chapter, Chapter 5, there will be a SIGNIFICANT character death. In fact, this character was significant enough that I had to change one of the genres to Tragedy. I'll let you guys think about this...and stew over it...while waiting for my next update.

Yours,

Allison

Chapter 4

I do not believe that Lucius would attack me of his own free will. Nor does Severus. It is one of the few things that we have both agreed on since my return to this time period. If I did not care so much for Severus, I may hate him with some of the theories that he's come up with. I disproved a lot of them during my own studies, and he is not exactly pleased about that. We meet for tea every night in one of our quarters, getting to know each other once more and planning out exactly how to find out what happened to Lucius.

You see...Severus never taught Lucius how to use Sectumsempra. At my request, they both ceased most of their dark arts studies and, though I am sure they took at least part of those same studies back up when I was "lost," they have never let me down before. Sectumsempra is an unmistakably dark spell...one which Severus taught to only one person before my arrival. That person is now in the graveyard, however I do not doubt that the wench taught it to someone before her death.

One thing I do know, however, is that Lucius swore to me that he would not use that spell. I may believe a lot of things about Lucius, but he was my brother. He would not betray me. God, I sound so Obi-Wan Kenobi-ish. "You were my brother, Anakin! I loved you!"

Does that, then, mean that Lucius will be screaming "I hate you!" to me?

I know not...and yet I cannot bring myself to believe that he would. I knew when I asked Severus to demand Lucius' help in retrieving Sirius and the five students that I was putting Lucius in a position where his loyalty could- possibly- be questioned. I assumed, however, that capturing all of the deatheaters there would remove that possibility...especially since Lucius disapparated the moment that he sensed the Aurors. Could Rodolphus Lestrange have been there as well? Somewhere within the small hut that held the students and Sirius trapped? I do not know for sure, but to think that Lucius betrayed me...my closest and oldest friend?

That Remus and Sirius voted me out as an Honorary Marauder, I understand. That Severus screamed at me- likely more angry at himself for not noticing the similarities between "Helen" and Maya- can also be very easily understand. But Lucius...Lucius was pleased beyond words to see me. Lucius was the person that I considered my soul mate. Until he looks me in the eyes and tells me that he has betrayed me, I will not believe it.

And that, likely, will be my downfall.

Maya Gurgeon

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Maya walked down to the Great Hall with Severus easily. Poppy Pomfrey- the only Mediwitch tolerated by the young auror/teacher/minister- had removed her stitches several days before, and she was well on her way to healing. The wounds had knit themselves well...the only thing left were bright pink, shining lines that marked the areas that she had needed stitches. Her movements were much more fluid...the last remaining stiffness fading with each passing minute...and she was feeling less and less pain with her movements. So, as she and Severus moved off of the last step and came face-to-face with Narcissa Malfoy and Maya vaulted the banister, ducking into cover and pointing her wand at the other witch, she felt no pain save that which came from the impact of her landing.

"Narcissa." Severus said, unfazed. "What a...pleasant...surprise." He put the emphasis of the sentence on pleasant rather than surprise, letting the witch before him know that she'd best give him a damned good reason for her presence or he wouldn't stop the Auror standing behind the stairwell from hexing her six ways from Sunday.

"Severus...Maya..." Narcissa addressed the witch crouching just out of her line of sight...or rather, the wand pointing steadily at her in said-witch's hand. "I wasn't going to come to you...but I need your help."

"Another trick or trap, Malfoy?" Maya stood, her wand held steady.

"What? I don't understand." Narcissa said, uncertainly.

"Lucius attacked Maya in her mansion two weeks ago." Severus said, his voice cold. "He and Rodolphus Lestrange ambushed her."

"What? No!" Narcissa yelped. "Lucius? Surely not!"

"Would you like to see my pensieve, Narcissa? Come...let us take a walk." Without waiting for an answer, Maya swooped around the end of the banister and started up the stairs, trusting Severus to watch her back. Indeed, his wand was also out, and he motioned to Narcissa, who walked ahead of him. She was frightened by the cold welcome given to her by the two powerful teachers...and she feared that her husband had done something incredibly stupid. A feeling which deepened as she watched the memories collected in Maya Gurgeon's pensieve.

"Lucius did this?" Narcissa frowned at Maya, trying to work through her confusion.

"It certainly looks like it." Maya stated, her face impassive as she stood leaning on her desk. Narcissa frowned, trying to work out the cryptic remark through the haze of despair surrounding her brain. Severus was standing idly beside Maya, watching Narcissa as she struggled to come to terms with what she had seen. "Would you like to see the scars? After all...an auror's entire history can be written in their scars." It was an old saying that she and Alastor Moody had. It was one of the statements that she'd made when she'd accepted her position as Minister...and it was incredibly ironic. Most of the newer generations of Aurors prided themselves on not having any scars.

To emphasize her point, Maya shrugged out of her robes and lifted up her tank top to reveal the long, jagged scar stretching from the very bottom of the left side of her rib cage down and across to her right hip. There was a second line from the first blow...the one that had merely caught her as she'd dove away...a shorter slice that crossed the longer line, forming an almost-X. Narcissa looked at it, hesitantly reaching out towards the other witch's slender stomach. When Maya didn't move, Narcissa touched the scar gently, tracing it for a moment before stitting down in one of the two guest chairs. "It fits." She said blandly.

"What does, Narcissa?" Severus asked.

"Lucius has been acting...off...ever since the day after Maya killed Bellatrix. He would do things that normally Lucius would never dream of doing...almost as if he were...someone else." Narcissa said, slowly.

"Like what?"

"He's sleeping in the other bedroom...being rude to me at meals...he's even taken to drinking only from a flask that he carries with him." Maya and Severus both froze at the words, looking at each other.

"Surely not." Severus spoke first.

"It fits, Severus..." She said.

"What fits?" Narcissa asked, confused.

"Voldemort isn't that stupid!"

"No, but demented, psychopathic deatheater who just lost his wife and was in Azkaban that year might be." She had him there.

"Stupid enough for what?" Narcissa demanded. She was, of course, ignored.

"If you can prove it, I'll work with you." Severus said.

"I'll find out a way to prove it." Severus didn't doubt the witch for a moment.

"If your theory is true, then it means that Lucius is no longer of any use to the Dark Lord...he'll have to go into hiding."

"That's easy...we can just send him and Narcissa to the..." Maya stopped, an idea coming to her mind and lighting up her features. "Hidden Manor...Severus, that's it! That's how we can prove that it's not Lucius!"

"What are you talking about?" He snapped, in no mood for her mind games. Maya could be every bit as cryptic as Albus-fucking-Dumbledore sometimes.

"Of course!" Narcissa said, catching on. "If it's an imposter, then he won't be able to see the Hidden Manor!"

"You'll have to lure him there..." Maya warned.

"It could be done...easily!" Narcissa assured.

"Great! One of us could search the Malfoy Manor while the other laid the trap! If he's an imposter, then the real Lucius has to be somewhere nearby!"

"With the way he's acting, he wouldn't think it incredibly odd if I were to suggest a romantic get away anyways..." Narcissa said, warming to the idea.

"HOLD IT! Will someone please explain to me what the hell idea you two have come up with?" Severus snarled.

"Severus, don't be vulgar." Maya said, firmly. "And keep up, would you? Think about it...only five people alive know where the Hidden Manor is. I know, of course, because I am the Secret Keeper. Sirius knows, because he went to tell Lucius of my disappearance. Which means that Narcissa and Draco also know, since they were the ones in hiding. That leaves..."

"Lucius." Severus said. "Of course! If Lucius is an imposter, it will immediately become obvious!"

Maya nodded. "Narcissa can spring a visit to the Hidden Manor to get away for the day on him. You can take Draco and search Malfoy Manor for the real Lucius. I will, of course, have to be the one lying in wait...nobody else knows where the Hidden Manor is...and if he doesn't know that it's there...well..." That same dark, deadly pleasure from before flitted across her eyes and made Severus shiver.

"One thing..." He said. "Maya...you must swear to me that, even if he is Lucius, you will not hesitate to kill him." She stared at him, striken.

"Lucius! Oh, Severus, I couldn't! You know I couldn't! He's my closest friend!"

"If he is Lucius, then he has betrayed you Maya, and is your friend no longer." She stared at him hard for several moments before giving a sharp nod.

"NO!" Narcissa said. "Severus, Maya, please!" The brunette witch turned to face her and Narcissa took a step back before the emptiness in the auror's eyes. Something akin to sorrow surfaced for a split second before it was gone and the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor walked out of the room.

"Narcissa, you must think about this." Severus said, firmly. The witch glared at him. "Lucius would kill himself- quite literally- if he knew that Maya had let someone kill her simply because they were wearing his face. You know this. And then where would we be?"

"I know..." Narcissa admitted with great reluctance. She sighed softly. "Tell Maya to be at the Hidden Manor by eight on Saturday morning."

"I will. I'll take Draco and Potter with me when I go to Malfoy Manor to search at about nine." Severus smirked at her look of surprise. "Since they found out about their godmother, the two boys have been inseparable. Joined at the hip, really." He said, wryly.

"Such is the power of Maya's mere presence." Narcissa said, smiling faintly.

"Indeed." Severus said quietly as he escorted the Blonde slytherin out.

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Maya sat calmly in a tree overlooking a clearing within which sat a lovely mansion. Anyone who did not know of its existence- which only five people, including she herself did- would see only more woods. Maya had spent a good three days of constant spellwork charming the clearing into nonexistence for any who she had not expressly told of the Hidden Manor's existence. She had been there for thirty minutes already, which meant that Narcissa and Lucius- if he was, indeed, Lucius- would be along at any minute. Her heart told her that he couldn't be Lucius. There was no way...she and Lucius had shared too many secrets...had spent too much time simply learning to know each other's every thought...every feeling...every mood for the man who attacked her to have been Lucius.

Even as the thought came to mind, she spotted two dark-robed figures coming towards her. It had worked. Narcissa had gotten him out of the house. Somehow, it had never occured to Maya to be jealous of the relationship that Narcissa and Lucius had. She had, after all, had an identical relationship with Sirius. Now, however, she no longer had her Siri and the thought of Narcissa and Lucius' love for each other tore her apart inside. It wasn't that she was jealous of Narcissa 'owning' Lucius...more that they had the type of loving, unconditional relationship that Maya had once had with Sirius...that she had given up because of Dumbledore's silly rules. The type of relationship that she craved with every corner of her being.

The two former-Slytherins passed beneath her without ever looking up, making her smirk silently. Narcissa had obviously done her part very well. Glancing towards the mansion one last time, Hermione easily dropped from her perch into the deep, soft snow. She landed without a sound, crouching down just slightly in her white robes and cloak. When neither of the Slytherins turned around, she slipped her wand out of its holder and walked easily up behind them, pointing the wand steadily at Lucius' back. The ambush had been set perfectly.

"Ah...here we are." Maya heard Narcissa sigh with relief and she grinned. She has set the anti-apparition wards around the Hidden Manor out by about a mile and a half to further discourage intruders. Needless to say, it worked. Few people enjoyed making the trek, even in the summer when the weather was fair...for the brilliant brunette had created the only path in or out of the mansion along every single type of discouraging terrain that she had been able to find at the time. In the summer, it was passable...though still fairly miserable. In the winter, many parts of the path were suicide. If one took a wrong step to either side, one could plunge to one's death. In short...it had been a perfect hideaway for the Malfoys.

"Where?" Lucius snarled. "I don't see anything, Narcissa!" Maya allowed a dark, feral smile to come to her face. Neither of them had noticed her as of yet.

"The Hidden Manor, of course!" Narcissa said, as if he should have known. She looked at him as if expecting him to realize it. Somehow, Maya got the feeling that Narcissa would rather this be her true husband...that she wanted to prove the former Gryffindor wrong. Shaking it off, she kept her wand levelled at the imposter's blonde back...unwavering.

"Oh! Of course...I...I must have...forgotten." The fake-Lucius tried to recover.

"Oh, I think not." The subzero temperature of the voice that spoke from behind them made the imposter spin around, his hand going into his robes for his wand. "Expelliarmus!" Only to stumble backwards as the wand flew out of his grip. Levelling a glare at the woman who was standing easily behind him, he fought back a shudder as he took note of the ice in her gaze.

"Gurgeon!" He hissed.

"Accio, Wand!" She barely flicked her wand in the direction of the one hidden in the snow, catching it easily as it flew to her. "You, sir, are under arrest." A simple flick of her eyes towards Narcissa was all it took to get the other witch to slowly work her way around the clearing to the brunette's side. Maya took her eyes off of the wizard in the middle of the clearing for all of a half a second and he moved quickly. She spun, the spell bounding from her lips even as he yanked his wand free and pointed it.

"Petrificus Totalus!" "Sectumsempra!" The words were shouted almost in unison. As soon as her own spell was off, Maya dove to her right, feeling his spell strike her arm in a glancing blow and rip open her white robes. He was too slow, however, and fell to the ground, petrified. As the blood flow on her arm slowed to a trickle which dripped from her fingertips, Maya turned and looked towards Narcissa.

"Cissa, go back to Malfoy Manor and help Severus, Draco, and Harry search. I'll take this dipshit in." The brunette said. Narcissa nodded and Maya smiled, tossing her the ebony colored wand attached to a silver snake canehead. "It's Lucius' real wand...so I wouldn't break it if I were you." Maya warned. The former slytherin nodded and walked back towards the edge of the anti-apparition wards. The brunette behind her turned around and pointed her wand towards the petrified imposter. "Mobilicorpus."

Narcissa looked back one last time...just before she passed out of sight. It was unnerving to see the witch that had always symbolized invulnerability and invincibility in Narcissa's mind standing silently in a pool of her own blood. Knowing that Maya wasn't invincible after all...it shocked Narcissa to the core with a sort of foreboding unfortune. She glanced down at the wand in her hand, and then back towards the witch in the distance. The pool of blood was still there. The auror and her captive, however, weren't.

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Maya sat stoically as the same mediwizard from before- she'd found out that his name was Tirelius...Nathan Tirelius- worked to stitch up her left arm. She had shoved the captured deatheaters into the custody of Nymphadora Tonks the moment that she'd arrived...ignoring the other woman's glare...and had moved to floo Albus and assure him that she was safe and that her- and Severus'- hunch was correct. Alastor was leading the interrogation, as he was able to relate to the experience that the true Lucius Malfoy was having. Maya had instated him the head of her personal guard immediately upon being sworn into her post. Under a very concentrated, very potent dose of veritaserum, Marius Flint was confessing everything. It seemed that Maya and the aurors had missed one deatheater at the gathering...Barthus McNair had been hiding within the shack itself and had seen Lucius apparate away before the aurors had even come close to attacking.

When he'd reported this to Rodolphus Lestrange, Lestrange had immediately gone to Lucius' Manor and questioned him intently. It seemed that Marius had held Lucius under the imperio during the first attack on Maya's mansion. He and Barthus had drawn lots to see who got to masquerade as Lucius. Barthus had won, but when he had stayed behind and allowed himself to get captured, the honor had fallen to Marius. Once they were safely away from the first attack, Marius and Rodolphus had knocked Lucius unconscious and stashed him away. Marius had consumed the polyjuice potion and- after Rodolphus had placed him under the Transmorphus Curse- apparated back to the mansion for the second ambush.

During the interrogation, Severus had poked his head into the room and told Albus- who was overseeing the interrogation as the Wizengamot's representative- in a rather loud voice that they had found Lucius. He was very emancipated from a month's worth of having no food save for that which the house elves could sneak him, and he was injured from the treatment he'd recieved at the hands of both Rodolphus Lestrange and Marius Flint but otherwise whole. Since that announcement, Maya had been staring silently down at the proceedings, her face pale and her mouth closed.

For his part, Tirelius was content to have his patient silent. She had refused- once again- to go to St. Mungo's and take a healing potion...but other than that, she had been stoic and silent during the entire process. It was a welcome change, truthfully. Once he'd finished stitching the wound, he began to get his supplies back together slowly.

"Do you have a family, Nathan?" The Minister of Magic asked, quite suddenly. Her voice was low, and they were perched on a deep windowsill a good twenty feet above the proceedings. She had retreated up there the moment that she had dumped Marius none-too-gently into Alastor's 'tender loving care,' and she had refused to come down for anything. Nathan had taken one look at her, glaring down at him as if daring him to try to coax her from her perch, and had gone straight to Arthur Weasley for a flying carpet, which he'd flown up to the window.

"Yes, Minister, I do." He said, wondering where this was going. "A wife and a little girl who will be turning three this April."

"I see." She was quiet then. Just when he didn't think she was going to speak again and had reached for the flying carpet, her voice startled him. "When you get down from here, I want you to go to home to them and hold them close."

"Minister, with all due respect, I couldn't possibly..."

"Please, Nathan. Do this for me. Take the rest of your shift off and go home. Play a game with your daughter, hold your wife close. Be happy." There was something else to her demand, the mediwizard sensed, and so he nodded his aquiescence before flying back down to the floor, where he was immediatly accosted by Albus and Alastor both...wanting to know her state.

She didn't know how long she had been sitting there when Severus flew up to her on the same flying carpet that Tirelius had used, slipping to sit beside her. He watched her face as she continued to stare silently into nothingness, seeing that she gave away nothing. "I am glad that I have been able to give someone happiness, at least." He was almost startled to hear her speak. She'd been so still when he'd arrived and sat beside her that he wasn't entirely sure that she had even noticed his presence.

"You give many people happiness, Maya." Severus said quietly. She chose not to acknowledge the comment, so after a long span of time, he turned the tide of the conversation. "May I see it?"

She shifted, pulling open the bloodstained white sleeve to reveal the long line of stitches stretching from the top of her shoulder...about a half a centimeter away from the newly formed scar of the last attack...down at an angle- wrapping around her arm steadily- to stop a span of about two and a half centimeters away from the soft joint flesh of her inner elbow. "Why would you not let anyone give you a healing potion? You know that...even if you did not wish to go to St. Mungos...Poppy or I could do it. You would be scarless...able to forget all about the injury." He said.

"I don't want to forget." She stated, quietly.

"Why not?" He asked.

For a long moment, he didn't think she would answer. When she did, however, her voice was strangely soft. "I have exacted my revenge on Bellatrix Lestrange for what she did both to Sirius and to Frank and Alice. I have exacted revenge on Pudge Pettigrew for betraying Lily and James. However...I, too, owe my pound of flesh for what happened. This..." She motioned quietly. "This is just the beginning of what I owe James and Lily for not doing more to help them."

Severus was shocked into silence. How could he refute her claim when he himself had said the exact same thing many times less than a month before? After a few moments, he reached for the brunette and pulled her slowly into his chest, holding her close and lowering his head to hers. She stiffened at first, but soon relaxed against him...silently taking his comfort.

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"Minister Weasley and I have time for two more questions." Maya said. She and Percy were at a press conference to assure the wizarding world that Maya was still in one piece after having 'fought a magnificent and astoundingly brave duel against the malicious Marius Flint, who wounded her gravely in the process.'

"Minister Gurgeon...it is said that you were gravely wounded in your duel. Do you fear that it may no longer be safe for you at Hogwarts, knowing that the children of so many known Deatheaters attend?" Rita Skeeter. A bee in Maya's bonnet since her Fourth Year.

"Skeeter, isn't it?" She pretended that her memory was fuzzy. It always pleased the masses when you remembered their names. "Well, Rita, I am confident that I am as safe as possible within the walls of Hogwarts. The head of my personal guard, Alastor Moody, is always near should I need his help." This was stretching it. Alastor couldn't stand seeing the difference in who she was compared to who she once had been, so he preferred to spend as much time away from her as possible. He was always at Hogwarts...but he was rarely near her.

"Aren't you afraid that Hogwarts will not be enough?" Another reporter blurted. Maya glanced at Percy, who nodded to give her the floor.

"In war, Ms. Skeeter, no place is completely safe. There are risks to my life wherever I go. I could be killed right now by a freak lightning storm or a hippogriff attack." She knew that she had to give the idea that she was human...and thus killable...but also an auror, their minister- and thus invincible...invulnerable. "However, I am confident in my own duelling skills, and I believe that I am as safe as I have a right to expect to be at Hogwarts." She glanced at Percy, signalling him to end the conference.

"Time is up! Unfortunately, Minister Gurgeon and I have to be inside for a meeting with the French Ambassador in..." He pretended to glance at his watch. "Five minutes ago. If you'll excuse us..." He motioned and Maya smiled, turning to walk side-by-side with her Co-Minister as they moved towards the french double-doors behind the podeum.

"AVADA KEDAVRA!" Before the words had fully been shouted, Maya had shoved Percy to the ground, vaulting aside into a tight roll that- despite her caution- tore open the stitches down her left arm. Her wand was out as she finished the roll, coming up in a crouch and staring warily out across the crowd. A witch was being restrained by a group of reporters, and Maya could see that it would do little good to remain out in the open. Thus, when Alastor moved to her and used his own body to shield the smaller witch, she made no protest...allowing herself to be hurried into the open doors of the Ministry.

Maya could feel her arm beginning to ache acutely as blood began to seep down her hand to drip off of her fingertips, pooling on the floor as she stood with her wand out, watching the doorway. "Minister, shouldn't you go to St. Mungos?" One of the aurors asked. Dark brown eyes shot daggers at him and he backed down immediately, leaving the woman to her peace as Alastor sent someone to summon Tirelius. A group of aurors dragged a struggling young woman who seemed somehow...familiar...to Maya through the french doors, stopping and holding her for the inspection of the Co-Ministers. Despite her obvious animosity for the young Minister, Tonks stepped immediately to Maya's left side while Alastor stood at her right.

Percy was staring at Maya with a newfound respect, knowing in his heart that she had just saved his life when the split second hesitation could have easily cost the witch her own. He remained silent...a foot or so behind her and to one side...as Maya reached out with her good arm and gripped the prisoner's chin firmly in her hand, forcing the head at an angle and studying the profile view before turning her head in the opposite direction. When she released the girl- for indeed, the witch was little more than such- the younger witch spat straight into Maya's face. The entire room seemed to hold its breath for a long moment before Maya reached forward once more, gripping a handfull of the impertinent youth's robes and using them to wipe the spit off of her face.

This done, she forced her stiff, bleeding left arm into movement, reaching upwards with it as the aurors and officials watched with bated breath. Contrary to their fear of violence, however, Hermione simply wiped her bloody fingers across the young woman's brow, marking her with Maya's own blood. "Bitch!" The young witch before her rasped. This time, Maya spread bloody fingers and slapped her, leaving a handprint of blood on the fair cheek.

"You're a Lestrange." It wasn't a question.

"Bellatrix was my mother." The answer came anyways.

"Good. Then you can take her place in the depths of Azkaban." Maya took a step back, nodding to the aurors as Nathan Tirelius walked up.

"What trouble have you gotten yourself into this time?" He snapped. She glanced at him sheepishly and lifted her billowing sleeve to reveal her bloody left arm. "Christ, Minister! You'll be the death of me!"

"That's what we've all told her." Alastor growled, looking with something akin to amusement at Maya. "She never listens. It's a lost cause."

Maya was about to reply with a comment designed to let both Alastor and Nathan know exactly where they could stick their wands and any other smart comments that they were going go make on the subject when a voice coming from down the hall cut her off. "WHERE IS SHE!" Before Tirelius could react, Maya had shoved him behind an Auror and turned, drawing her wand and pointing it down the hallway under Alastor's extended wand arm...as the taller man had stepped in front of her to protect her. A moment later, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin bounded around the corner.

Nymphadora Tonks immediately lowered her wand, stepping back among the ranks of the Aurors...not willing to attack Remus but not quite willing to remove all of the protection on Maya and Percy quite yet. With Maya effectively hidden behind Alastor...having also lowered her wand and slid it back into her holster...Remus and Sirius looked around at the crowd gathered. Sirius was unnaturally pale, and when he didn't see the female half of the two Ministers, he let out a barely audible sound of despair. "Sorry about this, Remus...Sirius." Kingsley said as he motioned. Two young aurors hurried forward to search both men, confiscating their wands. "You'll get them back the moment one of the ministers gives the word."

"Of course, Kingsley. We understand." Remus assured, shooting Sirius a dark, warning look. The animagus frowned, but said nothing.

"State your business!" Alastor snapped.

"Oh for Pete's Sake, Alastor!" Maya growled. "At the very least, let's take this somewhere out of the view of the god damned sharks and their god damned cameras!"

"Maya's right...we're too exposed here." Percy said. "If there was to be another attack, the perpetrator could cut us down one by one before we ever got a spell off."

"Stop talking like you know how to duel, Percy." Maya's good mood was wearing off. She shoved past Alastor. "Come on, Nathan. You can redo your work in my office." She walked off in a billow of robes...the mediwizard in his white healer's robes trying not to run in a very undignified manner to keep up.

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Maya sat silently behind her desk, her robes carefully shifted so that her left shoulder and- by extent- her left arm were free of the cloth, though her breasts were still hidden easily. The blood-soaked left sleeve of her robes hung loosely...nearly touching the floor...and Nathan sat on her left, carefully stitching her up once more. Alastor stood at the Minister's right shoulder, his hand within easy reach of his wand. Percy had shuffled off to the meeting with the French Ambassador, and Tonks was standing as Alastor's backup in the darkest corner of the office. With her left forearm bare, Maya's spare wand was clearly visible in the holder that fit down her forearm easily...and she let its presence unnerve the two men standing on the other side of her desk, watching her nervously as she endured the pain of what the mediwizard was forced to do...first taking out the old stitches, trimming up the jagged, torn flesh, and then sewing the wound closed once more.

"State your business!" Maya barked in a surprisingly good imitation of Alastor. She'd tired of their scrutiny, it seemed.

"We...we heard that there was an attack on you." Remus stuttered.

"An attack, hm? Wondrously informed, as always, Mr. Lupin." The woman sitting behind the desk drawled.

"We came...to make sure that you hadn't been injured." It was the wrong thing to say...which, of course, anyone in the room could have told him. To her credit, Maya waited until Nathan was finished with the stitch that he was currently working on before smacking his hands away and standing.

"To make sure that I haven't been injured? Now...do you mean literally? Because you can take your bloody fucking pick of injuries there, Lupin!" Her voice was deadly, and neither Alastor nor Tonks was going to do a thing to stop her tirade. Had she been going to hurt Remus, she would have done so without ever moving from her chair. She was simply throwing back in his face his own actions and making him eat them. "Would you like to see? I have a lovely scar on my stomach. Or...what about the one running down my left shoulder? Or maybe you mean the ones crossing my back? Oh I know...you must mean the one across my chest." She sneered, letting the precariously draped robe drop to the ground...leaving the very unmodest Minister of Magic in nothing save for her bra, panties, holsters, and the wands inside of the holsters. Her body was, indeed, now mangled and covered with scars.

Alastor, who'd seen her when she'd stumbled in from Marius Flint's attack at her mansion...bloody and barely able to hold herself on her feet...kept his eyes not on the woman demanding the attention, but the men beyond her. His backup in her corner, however, had no such knowledge. Tonks let out a soft gasp of horror. Remus and Sirius paled considerably, seeing the spells crossing her abdomen that had nearly gutted her...as well as the one running almost perfectly over her collarbone, just below her throat. When she spun to show them her mangled back, they turned green and had to sit down, lest they wanted to fall. The once unbroken, perfect skin of Maya's sleek, strong back was riddled with scars. Nathan had done a handsome job of patching her up...but the evidence was still clear. When Maya had turned away, unable to watch as Lucius...her Lucius...attacked her, the imposter had literally torn her back to ribbons. Not a single millimeter of skin had been left untouched from the base of her neck until the slight swell of her butt...it had all been ripped apart.

"Or perhaps." She was merciless, spinning back to stare at the two men...who looked like they had just seen their worst nightmares brought to life. "Perhaps you mean the injuries on my soul! In that case, look to your own god damned actions and get the HELL out of my office!" Shooting them one last glare, the witch picked up her loose, fashionable robes and walked back to her chair, draping them back over herself and sitting down to allow Nathan to continue stitching.

"I...I didn't see that much damage when...when Albus and I..." Sirius began to stutter.

Alastor answered for Maya. "She'd been here for a good two hours before you and Albus came. She wouldn't let me summon Albus until Doctor Tirelius over here had patched her- and her robes- up enough not to worry the Headmaster. He's not as young as he likes to think he is."

"Why didn't she tell us? We were her friends!" Remus said.

"Were." Alastor grunted. "Fat lot of good friends you were, leaving her alone the moment she showed her face."

"She..." Sirius began.

"Did as she was ordered to do, under the impression that the people that she loved would understand!" Alastor snapped. "Maya Gurgeon- whether anybody will truly admit to it or not since she disappeared before the end- was a major player in the last war, Black!" He had moved between Maya and the men on the other side of the desk. The Minister/Professor/Auror had rested her forehead against his back. She'd told him once that he was the closest thing that she had to a father, and he was going to act the part. "Should Voldemort have gotten wind of her return, he'd stop at nothing to drag her down!"

"How do you figure?" Remus asked. Alastor looked at him like he'd gone daft.

"Oh I don't know." The feminine voice came from the corner, laden with sarcasm enough to make Severus and Maya combined proud. "Maybe the fact that since she's dropped her cover...to save Sirius, no less...she's been ambushed twice in her own home, attacked at a press conference, and had to set a trap for a deatheater masquerading as her best friend?" Remus stared at Tonks for a long moment before turning to look at Alastor- as if he could actually see through the formidable auror to the witch sitting behind him- as if a new light had just come over the situation.

Before he could say anything, however, the door burst off its hinges. The witch behind Alastor spun out behind him, crouching behind the desk, leaning around the edge with her wand pointed at the door. With few choice words, she lowered it and stood.

"Bags on it all, Severus! What if I had cursed you!" She growled. He took in her obvious bad mood and grinned at her as she slipped her wand back into its holster.

"Good to know you're not dead." He told her. She moved back to her seat and Alastor took up his post at her right shoulder once more, standing slightly behind her as Tirelius began work on the last few stitches.

"You owe me a new door." Was all she said...and this more a growl than anything else. The potion master turned and surveyed the damage almost casually as Albus Dumbledore walked through, stepping carefully over the splinters of the door, followed by Harry and Draco.

"I don't see anything wrong with it." Severus said.

"We'll see if you're still singing that same tune when I replace it with the one to your private quarters, Severus Snape!" Maya threatened. Remus and Sirius were slightly gratified to see the potion master pale slightly, turning to immediately begin repairing the door. A fleeting smirk crossed her lips before the woman turned to look at her two godsons. "Come now, boys...you can hug me, you know. I won't break." It was as if a dam broke, and they pelted towards her much like smaller children than the teens they were. Dropping to a kneel beside her chair, Draco hugged her first. Maya wrapped her good right arm around him and held him close, whispering softly in his ear.

Tirelius finished with her last stitch and tapped her shoulder to let her know. She immediately spun in her chair and reached for Harry, who joined Draco on the floor and hugged her tightly. With her arms around both boys, she leaned in and whispered gently. "Here now...why so happy to see me? I'm hardly a celebrity." She teased gently.

"We never got to see you after you left yesterday morning." Draco said, quietly.

"When we heard about the attack today..." Harry continued.

"We were afraid for you." Draco finished.

Maya studied their faces, staring at her with such intensity. She could see Lily and James looking at her from Harry's face...and Lucius peering at her through Draco's eyes. With a gentle sigh, she gathered them both close and held them for a moment more. "As you can see." She said sternly as she pulled back. "I am quite healthy and whole. There was no need to ask Professor Snape to blow in my door."

"Oh we didn't ask him to do that!" Draco said.

"He did that on his own." Harry assured her.

Maya's bark of laughter lit up the room like a candle in otherwise sheer darkness.