Sirius tried to be as polite as possible that evening with the Potters as he could be, since he wanted more than anything to write to Elizabeth and interrogate her on the matter. However, James' family proved to be far too much fun. By the time dinner was over, he had forgotten all about Orion or that he thought he had seen her in Diagon Alley.

The rest of the break was just as, if not more enjoyable. They treated him like he lived there, not like he was a guest of the house. He liked it here, he felt at home, and for the first time in his life, he regretted going back to Hogwarts.
He passed his time at school easily enough. Quidditch Practice took up most of his time. Adam worked them harder than they had ever been worked before, since this was his last year at Hogwarts. Sirius didn't really mean to, but he walked in one night on Adam and Jacob both agonizing about what would happen to the orchestra once they both left. They had been relying upon Orion for what music she thought they should play, but Callie had been filling as the Orchestra director.

James honestly thought Remus would have to go to the Hospital Wing for exhaustion, as he now not only had to deal with the fact that he was exhausted enough once a month, but he now was the other Gryffindor Beater, as no one else had tried out after what Tommy O'Flaugherty had to say about the position. Sirius still laughed when he remembered tryouts when Tommy's arm had been broken.

The one thing that bothered Sirius about the otherwise okay year he was having was the apparent absence of the one person he most wanted to be there. Orion still wrote to him, he still wrote to her. He knew that the threats against her and her brother were getting worse, and that they're butler and their house was the only protection they had. They now had to lock the house up tight before they went to bed every night just to ensure that they woke up the next morning.
Orion firmly denied that she had been in diagon alley or Europe at all for that matter. Sirius had to let the matter drop, as after she thoroughly interrogated him on the subject, he had to admit that he hadn't seen Orion for two years. He had no idea how much she had changed. And she had no reason to be in diagon alley of all places in the world. HE still believe that he had in fact seen her, there was no doubt about it, but the fact that she firmly denied it forced him to let the subject drop. Around fall though, after Gryffindor had flattened Slytherin in their first match and Sirius had successfully sent Lucius Malfoy to the hospital wing with a broken arm, leg, and nose. Sirius personally thought he looked better that way. But evidently Madam Hooch didn't think so.

Callie seemed surprised that Sirius still wrote to Orion everyday asking her to please come back. But Sirius was positively thrilled when instead of her usual answer, right after Christmas in early January; she expressed a sense of humor rather than the usual seriousness of what was happening to her. The letter was only two or three sentences. Its read:
Sirius, I'll think about it. The Owls at Hogwarts must be either sick, dead, or very thin from all the letters. Nice Job. I think I need to report you for abuse and overwork of owls.
Orion
Sirius laughed a good long laugh at her remark about Owl Abuse. He was extremely excited, and wanted to show it to Callie immediately, but since his first chance to read Orion's letter came late at night, and all his dorm mates were already asleep, he decided that he would have to show them in the morning. He set her letter on his bedside table on top of his Clow Key and went to sleep.

Orion was sitting in her enormous window at Wayne Manor. It was late at night and it looked as if a storm were moving in. The large cloud began to billow in front of the moon, which currently was bathing Orion's room in moonlight. Her large Black lab was sleeping on her large bed. The dog itself, Sirius remembered his name was Ace, took up about half the bed. She looked out into the moonlight at the storm moving in. She swung her window shut and locked it before creeping into bed next to Ace. Sirius was standing in the middle of her room. He knew no one could see him, but Ace's head lifted and stared in Sirius direction and sniffed the air. Sirius saw a shadow fall across the room. He turned, thinking the clouds had finally moved over the moon for the storm to move in. But when he turned, he saw a person in a cloak outside Orion's window, pulling out a wand.
"GET AWAT FROM HER!" Sirius shouted, stepping in front of her bed. Orion groaned and turned her head toward the window as the man magically unlocked the window and swung it open.
"Sirius? Sirius why are you yelling?" she whispered to herself. Sirius spun around to look at her, but she was still sleeping. Ace stood up on her bed and started growling. Sirius ran to Orion's bedside and tried to shake her awake, but she could neither feel nor hear him. She did open her eyes when Ace leapt off her bed at the intruder in her room. The intruder pointed his wand at Ace.


"Stupefy!" Ace hit the floor on top of a rug next to Orion's bed. She shrieked and ran to her dog, gently petting him and lifting him off the ground with an obvioud effot and carefully setting him behind her bed, where he was more or less safe.Sirius could only back away and watch in horror while Orion tried to defend herself with nothing but a knife against a wizard. Sirius couldn't see the man's face, but something about him reminded Sirius of one of the men in the alleyway who murdered Dr. and Mrs. Wayne. Ace growled and barked and very soon, before either Orion or her assailant could move, Alfred and Bruce were running towards Orion's room. The man turned and quickly locked the door. While he was turned Orion ran toward him. He turned just in the nick of time, but she punched him dead in the face. Sirius felt a sudden swell of pride for the vivaciousAmerican he was proud to call a friend. the man reeled back towards her window. Sirius could sense that she knew she had no chance, but she had to try. She raised her arm to throw the knife at her attacker. He brandished his wand and pointed it at her.


"BRUCE!" She screamed at the top of her voice. Hr voice was shrilland echoed throughout the house.
"STUPEFY!" The man shouted. Sirius stopped. He thought he knew the voice, but was to distract by the fact that when the spell hit Orion, she dropped the knife and fell on the floor in a heap. Sirius dropped the floor next to her and tried to wake her up. The man under the cloak put his wand away and proceeded to beat Orion to what was as close to within an inch of her life as she could ever get. Sirius tried to protect her but the mans feet and hands went straight though him. The man turned suddenly when Orion's bedroom door started to splinter and open. The assailant picked up the now limp Orion and carried her towards the window. Sirius stood up and watched with horror as the man threw Orion out of the window into the rain. Sirius could hear a dull thud when she hit the ground two stories below. Sirius staggered and fell back onto Orion's bed as Alfred kicked the door open and ran into the room, Bruce on his tail. Alfred looked around the room for Orion, but he looked horrified when he saw the open window and the rain. Bruce bellowed in rage and ran to the window.
"LIZ, LIZ GET UP! WAKE UP LIZ PLEASE!"
Sirius sat straight up in his bed. Finally he had made a dent in her to come back to school, and this happened. Sirius was covered in sweat and bent over with tears running down his face. Was she dead? Would she die? Would he ever see his friend again? He hunched over in his bed crying until finally, he cried himself to sleep in the wee hours of the morning.
He was in the common room. One of the doors to the balcony was open. The curtains were billowing in the breeze. He pulled the curtains aside and walked out onto the balcony. She was standing in front of him on the Gryffindor Balcony. The sun was shining, and a light breeze swept her hair out of her face. She was turned around looking out over the grounds towards the lake and the Quidditch Pitch. Sirius was too shocked to run towards her, but he walked slowly, and held out his hand to touch her shoulder. Just before he touched her shoulder, her hair billowed back and ran across his hand. He had forgotten how soft her hair was. She turned and smiled at him. She looked so happy to see him.
"I was almost home." she whispered.


Sirius started to say "What?" But suddenly she fell through the balcony. She screamed and tried to reach for Sirius, he tried to reach out and grab her hand, but her hand slipped from his reach and she was lost into the darkness.