And thus, it was April and talk about Easter was filling up the Black residence. About how Molly wanted to cook up a feast for everyone despite the majority being adamant it was not that good of an idea to gather such a large group of people, but Tonks believed if anything were to happen at least they would have the strength in numbers. And it always helped to boots morale, especially with the latest events.

Sirius wished for Harry to be by his side during those times and Talia immediately dismissed the idea, he would do it at his own peril, but Sirius also did have a point. With fewer people at Hogwarts the idea alone sent chills down his spine of what that could mean and implicate, however she just had to relate a story about how it was better that way, using her past experience. So he remained at Hogwarts alongside his friends.

Talia had never actually cared about the holiday, not like she actually spent time celebrating with it. Ever since she had been a child, the only way she kept track of holidays in general was due to the breaks during the school year. And even then, she usually was alone or even if she was with Snape, there were no celebrations.

Until she met…him.

And as a few days passed on and Easter was actually there, two members especially were not on time for dinner.

Talbott had a destination in mind after work and had done just that despite the danger loaming above his head. Stopping by a floral shop to buy some flowers, his steps led him to the cemetery where his parents were buried. Placing the flowers on their graves, he took a seat on the small bench installed in front of the tombstones, for a few minutes staring at an empty freshly dug grave a few feet away.

He was not naïve, far beyond that. If the situation continued to escalate, they would lose more and more people. No one knew who was next. It could have even been him as he stood there out in the open visiting his parents. The Death Eaters did not care, Voldemort did not either, as long as there were people who opposed his cause, then those would always need to watch their backs.

But it was not like being on their side provided any safety. It was a matter of who was the strongest, fastest. Who was smart and who was careful.

Leaning in lightly, he ran a hand through his hair as he whispered "You must have been frightened when the Death Eaters came. So, so scared and on constant alert." His vision blurred as tears drowned his sunset eyes, Talbott clenching his jaw as he furiously rubbed away the signs of his weakness "And I was powerless, couldn't protect you. But I am trying now to do better." Releasing a shaky exhale, his voice faltered to the point he could not even recognize himself as the one speaking "How do I protect everyone? How do I protect her from herself?"

His mind wandered, thinking if his parents would have actually approved of her, if they would have liked the wide eyed woman, if they would have approved. Smiling to himself for a brief moment, he knew they would have, Talia could have spun anyone around and tell stories, make people believe she was pure magic.

But if they would have been alive Talbott would have never went down the path he did. He would have never applied to the Ministry in order to become an Auror, far from it, it was not a profession that ran in the family. They were pacifists, not fighters, not in that sense anyone. Not how he was forced more or less to be.

But Talia's life would have played out the same. She would have still been disfigured by the father, used, abused. She would have still disobeyed and went against Snape's wishes, returning and enrolling. Would she have survived Jasper's gruesome training on her own? Would she even be alive if things played out differently?

Yes, he thought, most definitely yes, because she had always been a fighter and she knew when she should run away from danger.

Their paths could still cross however, maybe later, perhaps in another setting right? But he knew she would never be the same. She would have been a different woman altogether, not even bothering with someone who could not help her achieve her ultimate goal. The word "revenge" flashed through Talbott's mind, him shutting his eyes tight. No, she would have never looked his way.

Because he would have not served a purpose for her. There would be no sense or scenario in which a connection between them could have formed. He would be himself and she would be herself.

In another part of town, Talia walked around aimlessly, frowning each time she caught a glimpse of her reflection in a window, at one point swearing she felt sick to her stomach. She agreed to let Tonks cast the hair color changing charm on her to better help her conceal those fiery strands, however she hated it. Dark colored hair was never something she liked. That vastness of black contrasted against her pale skin and bright eyes making her a far too close resemblance to Constantine. But it did make her stand out less, so for a few hours she could cope with it.

She stuck to Muggle populated areas, blending in quickly as she knew how to. It had kept her safe all those years in the past and still proved to be a powerful tool even in the present times. Thankfully she did not listen to Snape in that regard and armed herself with knowledge from both worlds.

She had no true idea of where she was heading to, actually did not even knew that part of town so well, which was a foolish thing to do in case she needed to escape. But somehow, she cared so little for it right then and there. Lifting her eyes, she found herself across the street from a small church, the voice of the priest inside reaching her ears like a soft whisper.

She was never one to believe in entities or higher beings watching over people, yet she still crossed the street and walked inside, sitting down in an empty spot as she looked around. Why would she even have any reason to believe that God or any other would actually even care, not to mention exist for that matter? They were just invisible at best right? Nothing actually there. Clearly nothing. A being so strong would never agree for so much horror to happen without interfering.

Once inside, the words spoken did not register inside her brain, it was more in the sense of white noise than anything. Bowing her head, she closed her eyes as she tried to clear her mind, however there was nothing that could cast away the overwhelming thoughts.

Pressing the palm of her hands against her eyes, she exhaled as she trembled with silent sobs.

She had no idea why she was even crying, but she was. It hurt, lately everything was so painful as if meant to torture her. And it was not even about her this time. It was about Harry and his turmoil, but it was not like she could go ahead and defeat Voldemort on her own. And even if by some miracle she could even do it, then what?

Would the end of the war magically heal everything? No, it would not.

Lifting her eyes, her vision danced around the small church, stopping at the altar where the priest stood, speaking to the people inside. She had heard many turning to religion, that it gave them answers they have been looking for, cleared their mind and guided them in times of need.

Getting up, she silently made her way outside, not even bothering to look back apart from a flick of her wrist as she lit up a candle, not even bothering with the notion that someone might see her actions. Religion of any kind would not provide her with any answers, no entity would. Checking the time, Talia made her way towards the Ministry of Magic patiently waiting and studying. The person she was looking for might have been a dead end but, in the end, at least it was someone she knew. Someone who would not attack and ask questions later.

Recognizing the girl, Talia walked behind her a couple of blocks, uttering her name when fewer people were around "Amy Whitmore? Long time no see." Turning around, the girl looked confused for a moment at her appearance, before she recognized the face, hands lifting to conceal a gasp.

"Merlin, it's you Hayes, I never thought I would see you again." Giving her a hug, she created some distance to take a better look at her "You look awful."

"I have seen better days yes, but that's not why I'm here. Do you have a moment for a cup of coffee?" Talia saw Amy's hesitation in that very moment and she understood why. In the end she wanted nothing to do anymore with those that were at the camp and had tried to distance herself as much as possible since those events "I understand if you don't, I get it. I also ran." She lied, a simple yet necessary task that made Amy lower her guard.

"I figured. I kept seeing Tonks and Talbott, heard they made it, passed the tests and exam. So what are you up to now?"

"More of a in between for me, tried a bunch of things but nothing really sticks." She lowered her eyes, diverting them on purpose as she knew she should and that it would make her appear smaller, as if she could not gather her thoughts.

Amy nodded in understanding "Can't concentrate properly can you?"

"Can't sleep either." Talia added, appealing to Amy's weaker side. The girl immediately related, inviting her to a café nearby despite having plans. And Talia understood, she was scared by what happened then, Tonks suffered a great deal when they could not even remain friends, but in the end not all are made to survive. Talia listened to Amy, forced herself to dive into emotions just so she could cry in front of her and appear vulnerable just like her, getting her to open up more. Pathetic, Talia thought, managing to cry two times in one day. No, in the span of just a couple of hours.

She learned what she wanted and in end, when Amy took a few minutes to go to the bathroom, Talia searched her bag, taking out her Ministry ID and pocketing it. When Amy returned, Talia faked an excuse, telling her she needed to go, hugging the girl, stealing a few strands of hair that lingered on her clothes.

Turning around, Talia stopped "Amy" she added looking over her shoulder "extend your stay with your parents, take a sabbatical, you've earned it. Trust me on this one." Amy's eyes widened when Talia told her Jasper Munday also escaped Azkaban and he was searching for his former recruits. She could only hope that the lie would at least keep her as far away as possible from the heart of the problem.

Making her way back to the Order of the Phoenix headquarters, Molly was quick to tell her off, telling her she missed dinner, but that there were still leftovers "Thank you but I just came to pack my bags. I have some stuff to take care of and I need to do this on my own." Kissing her cheek, she squeezed her shoulder in a reassuring manner despite the worried look she provided her.

Walking further inside the hallway, Talia only caught a glimpse of Talbott's face before she went up the stairs, ignoring what anyone had to say to her. But the steps following her sounded like trouble, heavy and loud. Not being able to even close the door behind her, Talbott took hold of the handle, Talia just letting him as she entered the room, summoning her bag and levitating objects inside of it.

Coming in her peripheral, he took one good look at her, turning her around the following moment "Why have you been crying? What happened?" his hands slightly shook almost making her relent, yet she did not, could not.

Pulling herself away from his grasp, she frowned at him "Nothing happened, I just need to follow up on some things and I need to do it alone. So if you're done, I need you to go."

"No, I'm not done actually." Rolling her eyes only antagonized him further. He was worried enough as it was about her, he did not need her adding fuel to the fire "Where are you going Talia?"

"None of your business." As he extended his hand to touch her again, her concentration broke, clothes and other items falling on the bed and floor randomly "Don't touch me!" She snapped at him, anger bubbling in her gut as she lifted a finger "I don't want you touching me, or caring, or anything. I am not your problem anymore Winger."

His eyes hardened as he glared at her, body rigid as he tried not to snap as well "You're needed here." He enunciated slowly, the very statement managing to piss her off even more.

"Oh right, now I'm needed." Every word coming out of her mouth was meant to create even more damage. She was adamant on carving out old wounds just for the sake of being left alone.

Inhaling deeply, Talbott remained calm despite looking away from her "You were always needed." He admitted shyly, feeling as if everything around him stopped, alongside his own heart which took a second to recover before beating wildly inside his chest. It had been so long since he had admitted anything out loud.

Talia lowered her hand, mouth opening before she scoffed, not allowing him to hinder her "That's rich coming from the man who arranged to have me sent away in those forsaken mountains." He exhaled softly, telling her to lower her voice, but the damage was done, she was already mad, her eyes attesting to the turmoil inside her heart "Don't tell me to keep it down, you have some fucking nerve. I was never needed, not by you or anyone."

"That's not true." He tried to remain unaffected, not fight with her, but somehow he knew it was inevitable "I only did what I thought was best in order to keep you safe."

Blinking in astonishment her hands shook, Talia having to coil them to fists, hoping he did not notice the action "I didn't need you making decisions for me. That was on you, you broke up with me, you didn't talk to me for months on end, you" her nostrils flared as the memory of his confession letter came back to her "slept with someone else."

"I know!" he finally retaliated, coming up in her face, towering above her "I know what I did and I still hate myself for it. You didn't deserve it, she didn't either. If I haven't then maybe we could have saved what was left."

Pushing him in order to create some distance, she bit down on her lower lip as to not cry "That was the plan wasn't it?" yet her eyes still stung. It still hurt "But no, you went and fucked it up, you left me. You betrayed me."

"Talia please." However he knew that no matter what he would tell her, how much he pleaded she would not relent, not this time around when he pushed her. No, not pushed, she just needed a small shove to explode. A simple action was all it needed to send her spiraling to the deep end.

"No! You abandoned me, how could you do that? You said you would be there, with me. You could have joined me, you could have been there with me instead of trying to play hero in this empty shell of a country that's so corrupt and rotten to the core. You promised me." Tears spilled from her eyes, voice shaking, yet she did not take her eyes off him and for once he also kept looking at her, as if forcing himself to take on anything she wanted to throw his way.

"What can I do now? Tell me! Apologies won't help, they won't make you feel better, they won't make me forget what I still feel for you."

"Feel?" shaking her head, she felt like laughing at the situation, at how ridiculous everything was. Or better yet, she felt like slapping him.

But he was not backing down, despite feeling as if his chest was going to collapse from the pain he was feeling "Yes Talia, feel. I still have feelings for you and no matter how much I tried they refuse to go away. I…"

"Shut up, just shut up you liar." His very voice irked her, making her so mad that it was hard to keep everything at bay. She could feel the fire in her veins itching her skin, wishing to be let out.

"You know what, yes, I am a liar. I lied to you, I did send you away. But what did you do?" his mind was telling him "no" but his mouth refused to cooperate "You who are always so stubborn and set in your ways decided to actually listen? Why didn't you come back? Why didn't you fight for us?"

She could barely breathe, wide eyes just taking him in "There was no more us, you made sure of that. You were so scared of losing me in a sense that is not yours to lose. People die Talbott, we are at war, people will continue to die. You cannot save me from death, it's not your job. And you need to understand that you cannot protect everyone."

He blinked a few times, sniffing his nose as he averted his eyes "I have to try. I had to try. I would rather you hate me than seeing you die again. I can't do that, I can't go through that again." Pressing the back of his hand against his face, he tried to prevent tears from spilling, but it was already too late.

Coming closer to him she hesitated, but still extended her hands out to cup his face. Turquoise eyes finally shined with sadness, Talia not being able to bare seeing him like that, anger as if extinguished by the tears he was spilling. The tender gesture rattled him even more, Talbott shaking his head lifting his hands to cover his face as she pulled him closer to her, hushing him softly, but he still tried to speak "I'm so sorry Talia."

"Shhhh, it's alright, I know." Gently lowering his hands, he refused at first, yet still allowed it. He knew, deep inside everything that he was and was feeling he knew Talia needed to see someone feeling more than her or else she would not calm down "I know I never was easy to deal with."

Pulling his hands away from hers was out of instinct, her eyes widening as her skin stung for a second at the sudden action. As if the words she spoke triggered something. Something she had never seen. It was not the man she knew, the one before her was definitely not the man she came to know at the beginning. He was shaped differently, eyes despite the tears in them harsher. His force surprising her as he took hold of her arms, silence taking over him. He wished she understood like all those times before, he wanted it so bad it hurt, but by her eyes alone he knew she did not understand.

He had been away for so long. She had as well and both had been through so much that no words or stupid fragile letters could make up for it.

Releasing his grip with one hand, he pulled her closer, forcefully just like his emotions were, strong and hectic, yet gentle and fearful when it came to her. His hand took hold of the back of her head, pulling her in, kissing her. He did not falter, not when she tensed, trying to pull away, but instead he wrapped his arms around her not allowing her to flee.

Words were useless after all.

No, she needed to, no, he wanted for her to understand in that very moment how much he cared for her. What he felt.

And as her initial moment of hesitation dimmed, her mind did not spiral but it did not go blank either. Everything she was feeling and thinking intensified as he held her like that, as he kissed her as she figured he would have when their eyes locked in that village in Romania.

Always too late, always so withdrawn. Such was Talbott, her Talbott.