It had taken a few days for Sirius, Dumbledore, James, and Remus to devise a plan of attack. With Regulus' help, they figured they could find Voldemort's Headquarters well enough but they didn't know how they would be able to get in (and out) unscathed. Sirius and James planned on taking their best Aurors and Dumbledore had organized the Order, but would that be enough? Sirius, truth be told, couldn't seem to make his brain focus on the problem, too absorbed in the idea of holding his baby again.

After three days of painstaking planning, the day dawned when they would attack. It was a bright, clear day, perfect for kite-flying and picnicking; unfortunately, they would not be kite-flying or picnicking. No, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, James Potter, Albus Dumbledore and a handful of other witches and wizards would be waging war against the darkest wizard in over a hundred years with only three day's planning and on the advise of a thirty-something ex-Death Eater. They wouldn't actually execute the mission until nightfall, but there was still a lot to be done. Leo had spent the night at the Potters where he would remain with Lily and Harry (James had flat-out refused Harry's request of participating) until the mission was over.

Just as the sun crested over the city skyline, Sirius woke. He hadn't slept well, tossing and turning till three in the morning, only to wake three and a half hours later. Yawning, he extricated himself from the labyrinth of his sheets and picked up a picture frame that sat on his bedside table. It was bordered by macaroni, glued meticulously to the edge with exactly half a centimeter's gap between them. Ella had given it to him on Father's Day when she was seven. To Remus, who had given her the art project, it had seemed fairly simple. But, instead of spending a quick ten minutes glopping a mixture of paste, pasta and glitter around the border, Ella had turned it into a 6 hour procedure. She had gone through three boxes of macaroni and cheese to find the perfect pieces. The little obsessive compulsive in training had then glued each on in such a way as to make the glue line invisible. The macaroni itself was arranged in an alternating pattern; one piece had the curved side pointing in while the one beside it was pointing out. Ella had measured and made sure that each corner was pointing in. She had even drawn a little diagram which Remus had saved and put into the back of the frame for Sirius. The final touch was a modest sprinkling of blue glitter, Sirius' favorite color. It was subtle but added that sense of finality, Ella had explained.

With a long, slender finger, Sirius touched each piece. It amazed him that, in this small (objectively unremarkable) gift, was all of his girl's personality: her kindness, her attention to detail, her perfectionism, and, most of all, her love for her daddy. In the frame sat a black and white picture of the two of them on one of their Daddy-Daughter dates. The picture had been taken by a roaming photographer at the beach. Ella was five and a half and wearing a white sundress with, Sirius remembered, a dark blue ribbon around the waist. They were sitting on a bench with a view of the ocean in the background, Ella in Sirius' lap, touching the stubbly whiskers on his chin with one hand; the other was enfolded in Sirius' large palm. It was his favorite picture of the two of them. It, he admitted to Remus later, had shown him the magic of muggle photography for the first time, the in-the-moment feeling of capturing one, singular second.

Batting away a few unwanted tears, he got out of bed and stretched his arms over his head. He stumbled to the bathroom, not bothering to put on his bathrobe over his boxers (That's for you Tawa) and showered. Once back in his room, he pulled on his robes and dragon hide boots As he walked down to the kitchen, he pulled his hair back.

Remus was sitting at the table, thumbing through a large photo album. Regulus was frying an egg for himself. "Good morning brother," Regulus greeted, waving a spatula at Sirius jauntily. Sirius grunted. He didn't trust himself to speak without loosing what little food he had eaten for dinner the night before. Remus didn't look much better. His skin was so pale that it had an almost green tint to it. "Dumbledore flooed, Sirius. He'll be here in about a half hour. James is coming, well, about now actually. I have a couple things I need to tell all of you about, well, you know," he finished with a shiver. Sirius had rarely thought about his brother in the nearly twenty years they weren't speaking. He had never really been close to his kid brother anyway. The boy had always been fairly spineless. He had bought into all the family beliefs Sirius had rejected. He seemed to have come round though; there was a chance for him yet.

James appeared a minute later, a look of apprehension on his face. While the thrill of adventure had been fine in pranks and midnight excursions around the Hogwarts grounds, it was another thing entirely to go into a full-fledged assignment not knowing at all what to expect. " 'Morning," he stated tersely, nervously rubbing the wrinkles from his robes. Those were the last words said until Dumbledore appeared twenty minutes later. The twinkle had disappeared from his eyes and he had instead adopted a look of dogged determination; if only they could have known their endeavor would prove fruitless.

"Okay, lets get down to work. Do you have the final list of Aurors Sirius?" Dumbledore asked authoritatively. Sirius nodded and passed the professor a hand-written list. "Good, these people are reliable? You're sure?" James and Sirius both nodded. "Spiffing, just spiffing. Okay, the Order members will be arriving later this afternoon- Mr. Black, anything you would like to say?" Dumbledore asked quickly, noticing from the corner of his eye that Regulus was desperately trying to get a word in edgeways.

Regulus, both surprised and slightly embarrassed, nodded. "Yes sir, there are just a few things you should know about the headquarters."

"Enlighten us." Dumbledore sat down at the table and touched the tips of fingers together.

"Well, for one," Regulus began nervously. "All of the prisoners are kept in the cage on the very bottom floor."

"We already knew that-" Remus interrupted. Regulus held up his hand and continued.

"You won't be able to get there without passing a majority of the Death Eaters. You might find, however, that the prisoners haven't been taken down. They are very sporadic, want to keep the prisoners on their toes. That is a good thing and a bad thing. If they haven't been taken down you might not have to deal with the Death Eaters as a whole at all. The downside, of course, is that you'll have to find Ella's room."

"How will we know if they've been taken down?" James asked, interested.

"Just try one of the doors. They were running out of room when I left and are surely overflowing now. If the door is locked then they haven't been taken down."

"How do we open the door?" Sirius asked.

"You remember that knife Uncle Al gave you on your sixteenth birthday?" Regulus asked, his eyebrows raised.

"You think that'll work?"

"How do you think I got into rooms at Headquarters?" Sirius nodded, allowing himself to be slightly amused.

The hours slipped by them quickly and slowly at the same time. When eight o'clock rolled around, everyone was assembled and incredibly jittery. Even Dumbledore seemed to have lost his customary cool. He kept running his fingers through his beard. "Alright," he began, finally standing up and stretching the kinks from his back. All of the Aurors and Order members were squeezed uncomfortably into Sirius' and Remus' small living room and were quite anxious to leave. Regulus stood up as well though he would be staying behind. "Everyone check your wands."

Everyone checked their wands and various other good luck charms. Emmeline Vance was lovingly fingering a purple-haired troll doll and Arthur Weasley was rubbing at a spot on a small stone. "Does everyone know the apparation point?" Dumbledore asked. All the people in the room nodded solemnly. "You've all been briefed and it is my hope that we will be able to do some good tonight." Everyone smiled nervously, wondering if they knew exactly what they had gotten themselves into.

Regulus crossed the room to where Sirius was standing, bouncing uneasily on the balls of his feet. "Sirius."

"Yes Regulus?"

"Good luck." Sirius was struck by the sincerity in his brother's voice. The man he had thought so cold hearted seemed to be genuinely concerned. For the first time since Regulus had shown up on his doorstep, he began to believe Regulus had come to him, at least slightly, altruistically. Regulus cuffed his brother roughly on the shoulder, laughing nervously.

"Okay, everyone apparate on the count of five," Dumbledore ordered, taking out his wand. Regulus waved goodbye self-consciously and backed away from the group. "One, Two, Three, Four, Five." Thirty pops resounded and Regulus was left alone

The group resurfaced in a thick wood. Dumbledore looked around, making sure everyone was there before preceding. They followed soundlessly, too scared to speak. It took a good five minutes before they escaped the confines of the wood and stepped out into the moonlight. An involuntary shiver moved over them as they caught sight of the large manor on the hill. "Full speed ahead," Dumbledore murmured humorously. "Disillusionment charms, I'd say, and stay as quiet as you can."

After they were all properly disguised, they proceeded up the hill. Dumbledore did some fancy wand movement and they felt an invisible barrier melt away. They passed over the grounds easily. Sirius and Remus felt their excitement mount. This was the house where Ella was being held and it had been Leo's house for nearly his whole life. They seemed so linked to this place without actually having been there before.

Sirius felt Edwards, a young but promising Auror, shudder at his left elbow. This was his first big mission. "Easy Edwards," he murmured. "Stay on your toes but don't get twitchy."

Their plan was to enter through a window on the west side of the house. It was a large bay window and lead into a mostly unused storeroom (Regulus had pointed out it was the perfect place for catching a little lip). They made their way around the house unseen. Everything was going as planned, almost scarily so. At the back of Sirius' mind, he wondered why Regulus had been let off so easy. If he could lead a group of Aurors to Voldemort's headquarters, why was he aloud to survive? But there was no time for musings now. He was sure that Regulus had not set them up.

One by one, they climbed in through the window and into the storeroom. Dumbledore required a bit of a leg up from Remus but got in well enough. They regrouped once all in, the window latched closed again. The room was cluttered with chairs and tables, bookcases and rolled up carpets. A stack of molding books sat against the right wall, and a portrait of a foul looking woman hung lopsided over the fireplace which was strangely clean.

"Okay, Arthur, Vance, Edwards, and Shaklebolt, you take the west side of the ground floor," Sirius began. "Dearborn, Jones, Fenwick, and McKinnon, you take the East Side. Check the rooms for captives and if you see a Death Eater, stun him. I don't want anyone killed now. Bind them and send them to the Ministry; Aurors are standing by to deal with them." Sirius continued in a low voice, rattling off orders till he reached the end of his list, his job. "Me, Remus, James, and Dumbledore will take the basement. Good luck."

Benjy Fenwick, who was closest to the door, opened it first and they all filed out, disappearing in their respective directions. Sirius was tempted to take it at a run but Remus put a hand on his shoulder, sensing his eagerness. "Calm, stay calm Sirius," he whispered.

James, Sirius, Remus and Dumbledore found their way to the basement, stunning a few Death Eaters on their way. The halls seemed mysteriously deserted. They soon found out why. Light poured from a room just before the stair. They could hear drunken laughter and general rowdiness echoing from it. "They must already be downstairs," James murmured. "Sirius, why don't you and Remus go down to the basement and release the prisoners. Professor Dumbledore and I can take out the Death Eaters," he said, his voice determined.

"Alright," Sirius answered, unable to convey his agreement visibly. Soundlessly, Remus and Sirius moved across the threshold and toward the stairs. They crept swiftly down the winding staircase, only slowing when they saw the looming, wrought iron gates in front of them.

"I'll take out the giant," Sirius whispered out of the corner of his mouth. "Here, take this and unlock the door. Tell them to keep quiet." Remus gave him a squeeze on his shoulder before slinking down the stair. Sirius moved quickly. He felt his adrenaline pumping but knew he had to keep his head. "Don't use a complicated spell when a simple stunner would suffice," Mad Eye's voice echoed in his head. He moved foreword, aware of Remus' waiting form to his left. He got as close as he could without the giant cottoning on to his presence. "STUPEFY!" he bellowed. A look of shock swept across the giant's face before he toppled to the floor. Sirius stepped forward and quickly bound him; he shoved a portkey into the giant's massive hand and activated it. With the guard gone, they could see the dark forms crowding around the gates. Both Remus and Sirius reversed their disillusionment charms.

Remus had already started on the lock when Sirius was finished with the guard. The werewolf's hands were shaking horribly and it took a good minute before the lock clicked. He swung the gate opened. "Listen," he began in a low voice. "We are from the Ministry; you are all safe now. I must, however, ask you to wait a bit longer and stay as quiet as you can." A murmur spread over the cell, Remus' message passing through their midst.

Sirius joined Remus. "Let's find Ella," he whispered, his voice wavering. Remus nodded unsteadily. "Hey," Sirius whispered to the closest prisoner. "Do you know Ella Black? I'm her father and we're looking-"

"Ella Black? You're Ella Black's father? Well, I'm sorry sir but she's not here any longer," a humpbacked old lady interrupted. Sirius' heart stopped beating. They were too late.

"Not here?" Remus breathed, catching himself on one of the metal bars.

"No, she and, what's his name?"

"Andrew Gibson," another woman answered.

"Right, Andrew Gibson, escaped not four days ago."

"You're sure they escaped?" Sirius asked, his pulse quickening.

" 'Course I'm sure. Those bloody guards came down and pushed us all around, wanting to know how they escaped."

"Thank Merlin," Remus murmured, not letting go of the bar.

"And you said they left four days ago?"

"I'm not sure it was four days but it definitely wasn't more than four," the woman answered.

"So how did they escape; what'd you tell the guards?" Remus asked quickly.

"Told 'em the truth didn't I? I told 'em I didn't know how they escaped. If I knew that I wouldn't be here now would I?"

"You've honestly no idea?" Sirius asked incredulously.

"That's right; ask anybody. They were there when we all went to sleep and when we woke for breakfast, they were gone." Sirius looked around the group. They all nodded in acknowledgement.

"Sirius, we should get them out of here before something happens," Remus suggested softly, his disappointment shining through. Sirius nodded, he wasn't too happy himself. He had been so ready to see Ella again, to hold her. Now she was gone and he had no idea what danger she was in. He also had no idea who this Andrew Gibson character was.

"Right, now everyone form groups of ten. Pick up an object, any object. I'll come round and activate them. They'll send you to the Ministry where Aurors are on hand to deal with you." Obediently, the prisoners formed their groups and picked up spoons, rags, bones, hair ribbons, anything they could find. Remus and Sirius moved among them, activating the objects One by one, each of the groups disappeared, leaving the cage empty.

"We'll find her Sirius. At least she's not dead." Sirius could only nod, fearing he would start crying.

"What do we do now?"

"Go back upstairs and see what's going on. I'm sure the others have found that the prisoners aren't in their rooms by now." The two walked up the winding stairs, utterly disheartened.

Things were not going any better upstairs. In fact, things had turned decidedly ugly. A full flung fight had unfolded on the landing. The disillusionment charms had, apparently, been lifted. Sirius' eyes scanned the room for James who was fending off three Death Eaters by himself, Lucius Malfoy among them. Remus darted to the left to help Edwards. Sirius only had eyes for one, Peter Pettigrew. With a thrill, he caught sight of the little rat trying to slink off down the hall. Sirius tore down the hall, sprinting as fast as he could. Wormtail, who had never been much of a runner was quickly cut off.

"S-S-Sirius," Wormtail stuttered, his eyes as large as saucers.

"How could you?" Sirius hissed, thrusting his wand against Wormtail's throat. "She was just a child, my child! What did she do to you? I knew you were low but to kidnap a child."

"She didn't look like much of a child to me," Wormtail muttered under his breath. Unfortunately for him, Sirius heard ever word. He drove his wand harder into Peter's throat, pushing him against a wall. They were far enough down the hall to be almost completely separate from the battle.

"Keep your mouth shut rat!" Sirius spat. "Listen up. I would dearly love to kill you right here, right now but I think I'll let you suffer. I believe that there are a few Dementors who would simply smitten with you." Pettigrew began to tremble uncontrollably.

"N-not the D-D-D-Dementors, p-p-please. I'm your f-f-friend!"

Sirius growled. "Friends do not betray each other. Friends do not kidnap eachother's daughters."

"You have to understand. He would have killed me."

"Then you should have died, died rather than betray your friends. You can not ally yourself with two sides Wormtail." Without another moment's hesitation, Sirius thrust an activated portkey into the hapless animagus' hand. Pettigrew disappeared and Sirius bolted back to join the fight.

James had bested two of his opponents but was still struggling with Malfoy. Sirius joined James, wanting very much to defeat the conniving blond. Nothing would make him happier than to see Malfoy receive the Dementor's Kiss. "Ah, I see Potter can't fight me of his own brawn, little Black must fight his battles for him." Sirius sent a particularly nasty hex toward the Death Eater who barely dodged it.

"Don't get messy Malfoy," Sirius barked.

"What Black? Sore you haven't found your dear little daughter? I daresay we had a lot of fun with her, very sorry to have seen her go. No worries though, Our Master sent Greyback after the twosome. Maybe you can have two werewolves in the family. I-" Malfoy didn't finish his sentence, hit simultaneously with a Jelly-Brain Jinx and Furnunculus Curse. A bit more brutally than was necessary, Sirius thrust a portkey into the Death Eater's now boil-covered fist, giving him a swift kick in the gut as a goodbye present.

Dumbledore was at the opposite end of the hall, battling it out with Voldemort who had a cruel smile playing on his lips. "Come old man, is that all you have in you?" Dumbledore stayed stonily silent, his blue eyes locked on Voldemort.

Without warning, Dumbledore shouted, his eyes still not leaving his opponent "Everyone, activate your portkeys." In a second, they were gone, resurfacing in the bowels of the Ministry. It looked like a refugee camp, teeming with injured Death Eaters, Aurors and Prisoners.

"Sirius," Dumbledore began hastily, rubbing absently at a scorch mark on his right arm. "Where's Ella?"

A/N: I'm sorry it's taken so long. I just wanted to make it really good. I hope I haven't let you down. Please tell me what you think. Thanks to the one person who reviewed; I expect more reviews in future. Let's aim for five, just five people! Surprise me.