Burning agony

Please, please

Hard stone under his knees

Help me

The click of a door closing.

Fred startled upright, shaken from the dream which had plagued him for the last few nights. His head was woozy and he looked around his bedroom blearily, trying to shake off the lingering fear that always seemed to accompany that nightmare. This morning the fear didn't fade.

It took him a moment to focus and realise that the emotions weren't entirely his own.

"Fuck," He mumbled.

Rubbing irritably at his temples he stumbled into George's room above the shop and kicked out at his brother's blankets. They didn't really have any furniture, their beds had been transfigured out of cardboard boxes and were rather crumpled as a result. The rest of the flat was mostly empty. Until they started trading they didn't have any money to spare.

"What the…" George glared at him and then his eyes lost focus slightly as he caught the same thread of emotions that were echoing through his head. "What's happened?"

Grief, cold and aching seeped through the bond, followed closely by anger, worry and fear. From the feel of it, Hermione was nearby, London probably. And something very bad had happened to bring her here.

It didn't feel urgent though. She wasn't reaching for them.

Fred staggered through his morning routine, only half aware of what he was doing. The rest of him was focused on the bond, on soothing it as much as he could. Whether Hermione was aware of what he was trying, he couldn't say, but some of the grief seemed to abate. It all faded suddenly and he realised she'd left London. Probably by Floo. He put on the tea for him and George, vaguely aware of his brother closing the bathroom door for his shower.

"Any word?" George asked when he eventually emerged in a cloud of steam.

"I think this might have something to do with it," Fred turned the Daily Prophet around so he could read the headline.

"DEATH EATER ATTACK AT BONES RESIDENCE"

"Sirius and Amelia were attacked last night." He managed. "The Prophet says they're at St Mungo's. No word on their condition."

George took the newspaper, looking ashen.

"They'll be fine though," George swallowed and Fred felt helplessness overcome him. His brother just looked scared. "Those two? They're so strong."
"Prophet says they were outnumbered." Fred leaned against the counter, crossing his arms around himself as George scanned the paper for any extra information.

"Fuck."

Hermione was dimly amused that this was what it took to get sent home from Hogwarts early. They'd staggered back to Potter Manor in the early hours of the morning, when it became obvious that...well. There would be no change for a while. Their trunks had been waiting for them.

Susan was sobbing quietly into her pillow and Harry sat with her, rubbing her shoulder and not saying anything. For his part he was unnervingly still, green eyes fixed on the floor. For the first time in a long time, Hermione felt like an intruder in this family. Amelia was the only blood relative Susan had left. Sirius might be Hermione's adopted father, but he'd been the only father Harry had ever known. She lurked awkwardly in the doorway, watching them. That lasted until her brother lifted his gaze off the floor and she spotted the tears gathering in his eyes. Hermione went to him and wrapped him in her arms, tucking his head under her chin. It wasn't often that she felt like a big sister, but the responsibility of it suddenly weighed down on her shoulders. These were her siblings. It was her job to look after them.

For a long time, Susan's gut wrenching sobs were the only sound, as Harry shuddered silently in her hold.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

Startled by the sheer ferocity and volume of Remus' roar, the three siblings jumped apart.

"What's going on?" Susan scrubbed at her face, which did nothing to fix her swollen red eyes.

"I don't know," Hermione whispered. All three drew their wands. Concerns over Ministry regulations had long been abandoned.

The sound of voices echoed up the stairs and as a group, they rushed downstairs.

The front door was open and Filly was magically levitating a set of matching luggage inside. Standing proudly in the middle of the hall, unflinching in the face of Remus' anger, was Narcissa Black.

"...in the light of recent events, I decided it would be better if I was closer to the family." She was saying quietly. The door swung shut behind her and the adults seemed to notice the clump of teenagers standing nervously on the stairs. "Children," Narcissa looked them all over carefully. "I am so sorry."

Harry shrugged, clearly uncomfortable, but Hermione thought that Narcissa genuinely meant that.

The fireplace flared green, breaking the awkward silence. The Tonks family stepped from the flames, brushing soot from their clothes. Compared to Narcissa's elegant dress and silk robe, they were dressed uniformly in scruffy muggle attire.

"Ah good," Andromeda announced, looking around her. "Narcissa is already here."

"Hey guys," Tonks called, moving away from the older man Hermione imagined had to be her father, and crossing over to hug the lot of them tightly. "How're you holding up?" She whispered to them.

"What's going on?" Remus demanded. He looked exhausted and nervous, glancing around the assembled family with a worried expression. Hermione realised suddenly that she probably wasn't the only one who felt out of place.

"We are holding a meeting," Andromeda began ushering the family towards the dining room, "Filly, dear!" The House Elf popped back in with a crack. "We'll need things for tea, please dear." Filly, who'd been dealing with the tragedy by viciously cleaning everything, nodded and vanished, a determined look on her face.

Narcissa moved towards the doorway gracefully and Andromeda turned her attention to her daughter and the three teenagers she was attempting to smother.

"Nymphadora, go have a seat. Harry, Hermione, Susan, you don't need to join us if you don't want to." Hermione felt Susan stiffen next to her.

"We're coming," She insisted, rubbing at her face again. Harry took her hand and led her towards the dining room, followed closely by the rest of the Black family. Soon Hermione was the only one in the hall, watching Remus stare despondently into the flames.

"C'mon Dad," She murmured, taking his wrist. "It'll be okay."

The table was set with steaming scones and a large silver teapot. Narcissa seemed to settle into the role of hostess automatically, pouring cups for everyone and passing the cake plate around. Hermione took a seat with Remus next to her, watching the assembly with nervous eyes. There were a lot of Black's in this room and most of them looked exhausted and stressed. This probably wouldn't end well.

"Right," Andromeda announced. "We've one more to come but she might take a while. First things first. Sirius and Amelia are stable for now. Kingsley Shacklebolt has promised me protection for them both. They're vetting everyone who goes into and out of that hospital room. The Aurors are taking this very personally. But we need to make some preparations. Remus, I'm sorry to ask but I need you to focus. Can you do that for me?"

Remus startled, looking around the table. He stared at Harry and Susan for a long moment, before glancing at Hermione.

"I'm here," He promised, looking slightly more alert. His eyes were a warm shade of amber and Hermione guessed Moony was just as unhappy about the attack on his pack. The full moon was around the corner.

Andromeda smiled kindly.

"Good. Now, in case of the worst, I want as many people as possible to know, to prevent.." Her lips twisted into an angry smirk. "Meddling. What are the plans for the children should the worst happen?"

Remus squared his shoulders and nodded.
"I've got guardianship of Susan and Harry. Hermione is fine, provided Minerva is up and about. Technically, when Hermione turns seventeen in September, she assumes guardianship for Harry and Susan."

"I do?" Hermione blurted, shocked out of her own reverie.

Narcissa and Andromeda frowned at her.

"Well, you are Sirius' heir, dear," Andromeda explained. "That's good to know. What if something happens to you?"

Remus shrugged.

"We never planned for that." He reluctantly admitted. No one had wanted to, he didn't say but it was obvious to everyone.

She made a note of a piece of parchment.

"We'll have to amend that. No matter." She sipped her tea, setting the cup back into its saucer unevenly. Narcissa scowled briefly as tea slopped onto the table.

"Bones' Manor isn't safe," Tonks was shredding her scone between her fingers. "I was one of the Aurors on the…" She trembled suddenly and her dad rubbed at her shoulder with a sad smile. Tonks took in a deep breath. "The wards were breached, but they'd put up anti-apparition jinxes."

"How did they know they'd be there?" Ted asked the table. "I didn't think you used that house."

"It's our official residence," Susan breathed. "Has been since we moved in here. They were only there to use the floo. Potter Manor has a direct connection to your place and ours."

They'd been incredibly unlucky, Hermione realised. That was all it had been. Luck.

"Why now?" She asked, looking between the adults. "If they were going to break into the Bones' place, why do it now?"

"Why not earlier in the year," Remus continued for her. "When Amelia started purging the Auror ranks? Why not tomorrow when the children would be home?"

Susan's cup shattered in front of her and the room jumped, surprised by the accidental magic. She'd gone gray and her hands were trembling as she tried desperately to mop up the spilled tea with her sleeve.

"Susie?" Remus murmured.

She didn't say anything for several moments, before she glanced up, tears filling her eyes again.

"Because they knew what this attack would do." She murmured. "This week Aunt Amy arrested over a dozen Death Eaters, helped by Sirius. But what's worse, is they've been hiding two of the most important people in the bloody country. Harry and Hermione. One of whom destroyed the Hall of Prophecies this week. They didn't wait till we were home because they wanted Sirius and Amelia out of the way." She was getting louder now, "Without them, you two are vulnerable. What's standing between the Ministry and controlling them? A half-blood werewolf and an old woman?" She screamed.

"Susan!" Tonks was on her feet, hands curled into fists.

"You're saying this is our fault?" Harry breathed, staring at his cousin in horror.

"No!" She yelled back, throwing the fragments of china to the floor. "I'm saying if Umbridge hadn't dragged Hermione to the Department of Mysteries then none of this would have happened!" She shoved away from the table and stormed out, leaving a stunned silence behind her.

"She didn't mean that," Remus murmured, resting his head in his hands.

"Still, she's right," Andromeda sighed heavily. "Not about...We're vulnerable right now. And on the front page of the Prophet. We need to start planning for the worst, Remus."

"Go ahead," The exhausted werewolf waved her on. "I..can't right now, Andy."

Andromeda exchanged a long look with her sister.

"All right, Remus."

A frail and weak Minerva arrived twenty minutes later to find Remus roaming the grounds, Harry and Hermione curled up together in an armchair, and a coven of Black witches plotting around the dining table.

The next few days followed like this. Hermione and her siblings would wake up, get dressed and go to the hospital. They would spend visiting hours sitting by their parents bedside while Remus talked to the Healers. They weren't very happy about talking to Remus, but Andromeda had pointed out that Hermione was the next option which they were even less happy about. The bandages started to come off as the wounds healed but the looks on the healers faces didn't get any better.

Magic could heal physical wounds, a junior healer told the family. But mental wounds or long term spell damage was another matter. Within a few weeks Sirius would be physically fine. But they didn't know if he would ever wake up. Or what condition his mind would be in if he did.

Amelia...Hermione found a muggleborn healer to explain it to her. What had been killing her hadn't been the blood loss. The Auror's had stasis spells which halted that sort of thing, designed to save victims until a healer could get on site. The blood loss would have killed her eventually, but she'd kept dying after it had been halted. What had been killing her was the spell she'd been powering. It wasn't until one of the purebloods, Auror Shafiq had realised that there was family magic at play, that they had managed to sever the connection between the spell and Amelia. It wasn't her body that was the problem...They were keeping her body going. It was like an Avada, the muggleborn healer clarified. You couldn't attach a defib to a patient who'd been struck with the Killing Curse. There was nothing wrong with the mechanics of the body, because the curse didn't target that. A witch was more than her body, she was made up of her soul, her magic and her will. That was what the Avada targeted. That was why there were no marks on the victim, no damage to the body. It was that same mix of Amelia's own lifeforce which had been powering the spell. Because it had been interrupted they didn't know if she had enough, and here the Healer had looked both horrified and fascinated, to continue living once they dispelled the magic. If Amelia's body didn't take over that would be it. If Amelia didn't respond, it would be accepted that her soul, her magic and her will had all passed on. It would be disrespectful to the dead to try and bring her back.

Disturbed and frightened by that conversation Hermione went to find an adult.

"Can you take me to see the Twins?" She asked, keeping her voice low in the echoing corridors of St Mungo's.

Tonks startled, shivers wracking her body. She'd been standing guard for hours, the stillest Hermione had ever seen the witch. Her hair was a dark brown and she looked like her mother. She wouldn't have counted Tonks as an adult before this. Now there was no other word for someone who looked so weary.

"Where are the others?" She rasped, pushing off from the wall.

"With Remus," They were trying to get him to go home. The full moon was in a few days and Remus needed to take his Wolfsbane. "Your mum is going to take over here." Hermione wrapped her arms around herself. "Please, Tonks. I really need to see them." She hoped Tonks didn't check that Hermione had permission to go. Harry was covering for her with Remus.

Tonks looked at Hermione's bracelets and sighed heavily.

"Those two givin' you bother?" She began to walk down the corridor, waving to another Auror to take over her post and Hermione followed her, relieved.

"They're worried." She admitted. "They'll have seen the paper and they know when I'm nearby so…"

She hadn't written to them. She had no idea how to even begin putting this into words.

They reached the staircase and Tonks sighed heavily.

"I'm sorry 'bout teasing you about them," She admitted. Her boots hit the stairs with heavy thuds. "And I'm sorry I failed you."

Hermione stumbled to a stop, grabbing Tonks' sleeve and pulling her around.

"What are you talking about?"

"I was one of the first on the scene," She admitted. Stress was bleaching her hair white at the roots, like a bad dye job. "And...I don't know, I should have done something!" Without any of her usual tricks Tonks looked the twenty three she actually was. "You're going to be Head of the House in September…" Because Sirius wasn't going to wake up, that dark voice in the back of Hermione's head whispered nastily. Because Amelia was going to be a vegetable for the rest of her life. "And…"

"And I don't blame you." She scowled fiercely at Tonks. "None of this is your fault. But if you really want to make it up to me…" She forced a smile she didn't feel. "Auror Shacklebolt seems very worried about you."

Tonks stared at her for a long moment, one eyebrow twitching.

"So, I'm taking you to Diagon?" She announced abruptly, practically rushing down the stairs. Chuckling, Hermione followed her.

The storefront was clean but unpainted. A large banner proclaimed its opening date in sparkly orange letters. The glass was covered in brown paper and the door was locked.

"This is the place?" Tonks asked doubtfully. She was glancing around the street, her wand drawn and her left hand gripping Hermione's shoulder firmly. Diagon was quieter than usual and a gray cloud seemed to hang over the street. It was unseasonably cold for the end of June.

Hermione closed her eyes, concentrating on the presence she could feel. She held up three fingers and began to count down. Just as she got to one...the door opened.

Fred and George looked from her to Tonks in confusion.

"Is that them?" Tonks demanded of Hermione. Apparently security questions weren't necessary when Hermione was bonded to them.

"It's them," Hermione murmured.

"You've got her for an hour! Lock and ward this door after I leave, don't let anyone in." Tonks warned, unusually serious. "I'm going to get ice cream. Merlin knows I need some."

She'd barely turned around when the Twins grabbed Hermione and yanked her inside the shop.

"Are you okay?" They'd both spoken and she let their concern wash over her. She felt exhausted, stretched thin and worn through in places. The bond overwhelmed her and she basked in that warm, soft feeling none of them had put a name to yet. Fred staggered as she threw herself into his arms, relishing in the solid feel of him.

They steered her through the half-finished shop, directing her towards the backroom. The smell of gunpowder reached her nose.

"Have you been making fireworks?" She asked tiredly. Fred let her step away, worry painted clearly across his face. George settled against the wall and folded his arms, watching her with narrowed eyes.

"Hermione." He warned.

She slumped.

"Right," She hopped up onto one of their workbenches and plucked at the fraying hole in her jeans. Amelia had promised they'd go shopping this summer. Harry had grown again. He must be nearly as tall as Sirius now. Not that they could...

"They got ambushed by the Death Eaters," She started, fighting through the wool in her throat. "They survived but they're...not looking good." There was more she could say, but how was she supposed to explain the defeated look in Remus' eyes. The way the healers spoke in hushed voices. The way her sister wouldn't meet her gaze anymore. The way her brother had simply shut down.

The Twins sighed in the same breath but didn't say anything. She could feel their concern and sympathy. They didn't need to say anything.

"I might not get to come by much this summer," Hermione added bleakly. "Remus has the house on lockdown. He doesn't know I'm here, I had to convince Tonks."

George realised that he was angry. He'd been angry for days now. If he wasn't careful he was going to start a fight with his heartbroken girlfriend. Hermione, of course, picked up on it immediately, turning to face him with a small frown on her face.

"Don't," He warned her.

"What's…?" She trailed off looking at him, head tipped slightly to one side. Their bond pulsed as she focused on it. "You're angry?"

Fred sighed heavily, hiding his face in his hands. There would be no help from him. That was just as well. This was between George and Hermione.

"I'll get over it," George lied. She flinched and he admitted to himself that that'd been a long shot. This close, with the bond as active as it was now...there was no hiding anything from her. "It doesn't matter right now."

Hermione was narrowing her eyes which was never a good thing and George felt dread sink heavily in his stomach. He didn't want to have this fight. He especially didn't want to have it right now. He was so angry and Hermione would rise to it because she'd never backed down in her life. She was tired and in pain and that made her far more vicious than George was willing to be.

The bond flared again and he felt…

"This is about the Ministry?" She whispered. She'd frozen and all he was getting through the bond was icy cold. The same icy cold he'd felt when they'd found her in the Hall of Prophecies.

Fuck it.

"This is about a lot of things," He admitted grimly.

She slipped off the bench, leaning back against it. It looked like a relaxed pose. It really, really, wasn't. George could read violence and fear in the slope of her shoulders, rebellion in the fold of her arms.

"Like what?" She hissed.

"Are you trying to get yourself killed?" He demanded. Hermione gaped at him, shocked.

"No! Of course not!"

George scoffed.

"Really? Because you have a hell of a way of showing it!" This was it. The line. "Why did you do it?" He demanded. Hermione went stiff, eyes flinty and dark. "You stepped out in front of a madwoman!"

"I didn't have a choice!" Hermione snapped. "I was trying to protect…"

"NO!" George roared and his girlfriend, his soulmate flinched away from him. "No! You do not get to lie about that! You weren't trying to protect us! You stepped out there like it was nothing, like we meant nothing to you. She could have killed you. Pettigrew almost did. If I had been a second later, you'd be dead because you couldn't let go of your Merlin damned revenge!"

The ice had vanished and Hermione was almost ablaze in her own fury. The air was starting to heat around her and if George had more sense he'd have backed away. He stepped closer.

"He murdered my parents!" She snarled and George felt a flicker of sympathy.

"You think I don't know that?" He asked desperately. "You think I don't feel your grief like it's my own? I know, Hermione. I really do. And I'm sorry you didn't get to avenge your parents, I really am. But I'm glad Bellatrix got to him before you did." She stared at him. "There is no revenge that is worth you dying." He reached for her, holding her shoulders tightly. Behind him Fred was frozen on the spot, but staying out of it. "I need to know you understand that, Hermione. I need you to start taking your safety more seriously because I can't watch you leave me behind again to walk to your death. I can't."

And that was the root of it all. Behind his anger, he was afraid. He was terrified. Because his girlfriend, his soulmate, the other half of him, had knowingly stepped into danger and Hermione could lie all she wanted but George knew her. He knew she'd known that would probably kill her. She'd known and she hadn't cared. She'd known and she'd done it anyway. She might not have wanted to die, but then in the Ministry after going through Merlin knew what with Umbridge, she hadn't cared if she'd lived. It wasn't until they'd fought together, holding off Bellatrix that he'd felt her wake up again. Felt her start fighting to stay alive. To keep all three of them alive.

"What are you saying?" Hermione whispered. She was keeping his gaze, but there was something shadowed there. Something that worried him still.

Fred sighed heavily, breaking his silence. He slipped behind her so he could wrap his arms around her waist and George felt the air start to cool. She leaned back against him but didn't drop George's stare. He looked away and met Fred's nervous expression. People often forget they weren't the same, that they weren't two bodies with one mind between them. Although he knew his brother agreed with him, he also knew that Fred wouldn't get in the middle of this. He wasn't supporting Hermione, he was just trying to limit the damage. Be careful, George read in his eyes. If you push her too far, she won't come back to us.

George took a deep breath and tried to calm himself.

"We're saying," He hissed through clenched teeth, "That you need to be more careful. We can't lose you, ok?"

"Ok." She promised quietly.

"That means no more sneaking out to see us," Fred added pointedly.

She stopped staring George down to roll her eyes.

"I just wanted to see you," She grumbled.

George sighed. "I would go without seeing you for years, Hermione, if it meant I knew you were alive and safe."

Hermione started to blush and George just had to kiss her to distract himself from how much he loved her and how afraid he was for her.

"We should talk about things," Fred started, as George was tucking into that night's experiment with muggle take-away. He paused with a forkful of curry halfway to his mouth.

"Like?"

Fred passed him a butterbeer with a grim look.

"Ah," George sighed heavily. "Her."

His brother's laughter was bitter.

"Was I wrong to get mad?" George asked seriously.

"No. You could have gone about it better," George snorted. "But you weren't wrong. I love that girl but she's not always the most…" His lips twisted unhappily. "Sane."

There was a pause as they both considered that. Although the Twins felt emotions deeply, they always had, they were not in the habit of letting their emotions blind them. Not like Ron or Ginny were. When they'd met her, Hermione had been a bitter, lonely little girl with no family and no friends who'd witnessed some truly awful things. And if the world had been any kinder she might have grown up differently. All the Black siblings might have. Susan had gone from a friendly and sweet little girl, to a calculating and frighteningly loyal young woman who would destroy anyone who attacked her family. Harry had lost that snarky joy he'd had when they'd first met him. Now the world visibly rested on his shoulders and he wore every blow like a fresh set of scars. And their Hermione…In the last six years she'd been petrified, attacked by teachers and students, faced her parent's murderer, seen her brother put through hell… When the bond was fully open, like it had been when they'd fought Bellatrix, Hermione had burned in the centre of their bond with a fire far darker than either of the Twins. They loved her but they weren't naive enough to think that Hermione was a terribly good person. Not after everything she'd been through. Good people didn't survive long and Hermione would survive anything the world threw at her.

"She was really going to kill him," Fred muttered. His food had become tasteless in his mouth and he swallowed with difficulty. It takes intent to cast an unforgivable, but Fred had no doubt that if Hermione had cast an Avada it would have worked perfectly.

"Yeah, I know."

"What the hell do we do?"

George put down his beer.

"We've got two options," He lifted two fingers. "First, we make it clear that that's a line we don't want her to cross. That we wouldn't forgive her for something like that."

"She'll run and we'll never see her again." Fred didn't doubt that for a second. No matter what Hermione might feel for them, and they both knew better than to try and label the emotions they got from her, if she thought they were going to judge her for doing what she felt was necessary...She would be gone in an instant rather than face their disappointment. "Besides, I'd forgive her." He added with a sigh. "I think I'd forgive pretty much anything."

"Yeah, me too."

There was the unspoken fear of the unknown. They didn't know what had happened before they'd gotten to Hermione in the Department of Mysteries. She hadn't told them and what with everything, they hadn't asked. But they knew it wasn't good. They'd felt the drain on the Bond. Hermione had done something. The unknown was keeping them both up at night. They both wanted to claim that they knew Hermione, that she wouldn't do anything truly...but that was the crux of the problem. They knew Hermione.

George folded down one finger. "So option one is out. Option two...We're there for her and we keep her from getting so dark. We make sure she never faces anything that bad alone again. If we're with her…"

"She's less likely to kill someone?" Fred supplied dryly. "You do remember what happened when Bellatrix hit you?" The sheer power of Hermione's fury.

"I remember that you were just as angry," George pointed out. Fred gave him a nod of acknowledgment. They had their own moments of darkness. Their own brand of Hermione's possessive fury. Not to the same extent, but it was there.

"Do you ever think about why we're soulmates?" Fred rubbed a thumb over his black marks. "Of all people, why us?"

"Because we balance her out," George realised, smiling slightly. "So that's what we do. We balance her out. We love her and we don't let her face anything alone."

It was an incredibly dark time. Minerva had yet to return to the castle, instead recuperating at the Black household where she was safe. So I was unaccompanied to Order meetings where things were fraught. Many members were horrified that the Black's had been so openly attacked and that the children had been left defenseless. There were demands that Dumbledore do something to protect them, at which point Dumbledore was forced to admit that he simply did not know where the children were staying. Most came to the conclusion that if they were so well hidden that Dumbledore couldn't find them, they were probably safe from Voldemort as well. The Order's priorities were changing. We needed allies and fast. Severus was reporting on Death Eater movements but even I knew to take what he reported with a grain of salt. I was assigned to research the uses of soul bonds and the potential application for when the Trio joined the Order themselves. There was no 'if' in those orders. Just when. Dumbledore seemed to believe that they would be joining by the end of the summer. A more suspicious man would have made the connection sooner. Alas, I am a Ravenclaw. Not a Slytherin.

"So this is the situation!"

Harry and Hermione exchanged a worried look. Susan looked possessed. She paced the hearth rug in front of them, red hair piled up wildly on her head.

"Susie, are you alright?" Hermione asked gently.

Susan ignored her. She'd been doing that a lot lately. In the week and a half, since they had been sent home from school, none of them had slept terribly well. Even Draco, pleased as he was to see his mother again, wasn't immune to the malaise that had settled over the house.

"Aunt Amy was using the Bones family magic." Susan waved the Auror report that Tonks had left on the kitchen table and that Hermione had promptly stolen. "There has to be something in the Bones family magic that will save her."

Hermione felt her stomach sink.

"Susie," She started carefully. "You heard what the healers said…"

"I heard," Susan retorted irritably. "The healers say they had no idea what was supposed to happen because the spell was interrupted. Bones' magic works primarily on sacrifices. But hers was interrupted when the Auror's arrived and dispelled the ward. If it had worked, she would already be…" Her voice faltered for a moment. "...dead. Therefore it has to be reversible. And I know there has to be something that can help us."

Harry was frowning.

"If you're talking about family magic, that'll be in the Bones library. Susie, we can't go there!"

"Why not?!" Her normally pale face was flushing an ugly shade of red, even as her voice took on a shrill edge.

"Why?" Harry scowled at her. "Because Uncle Remus will go insane! The Death Eaters know where it is, it's already been attacked. There are no wards up, we can't use magic outside of school…"

"I'll go by myself if I have to!" She threatened and Hermione scowled. She had a creeping realisation of why George had been so upset. If Sirius could see Susan right now, he'd be furious.

"Sit down," She snapped and to her surprise, Susan sat. There were tears gathering in the corners of her eyes and she scrubbed at them with the cuff of her jumper. "Look, we're going to help. I promise." Hermione remembered her promise to George. "But we're going to have to be sensible about this. We can't go there alone."

Harry scowled.

"Who would go with us? None of the adults will think this is a good idea!" This was definitely true. Especially Remus, who had become so obsessed with security, Hermione was surprised he hadn't locked them all in the house yet. Even Tonks, who could normally be relied upon to do things that weren't sensible wouldn't fall for this.

"Firstly," Hermione warned, passing Susan a tissue. "I know two adults I can talk into doing pretty much anything." Maybe. If she got very, very, lucky and they were in a good mood. "Secondly, we're going to be smart about this. Can we send someone to bring the books here?"

Susan shook her head miserably.

"No. They're keyed to the Bones' wards and only a member of the family can touch them. That means me, Auntie or Harry at a pinch."

Hermione always forgot that Amy was Harry's adopted mother.

"So we have to go there?" She pressed. Susan nodded. "All right. Let's have a think." Susan stared at her.

"You're going to help?" She asked.

Hermione scowled at her.

"Of course I'm going to bloody help. You're my sister, Susan. For fuck's sake." She wandered off to find some parchment.

Only Harry, watching his cousin carefully, noted the heartbreaking sorrow on Susan's face.

"Hello, Sirius,"

Remus?

"Healers say almost all of the wounds are closed now, apart from the cursed ones on your leg. If they get them to heal properly, you should be able to walk with a cane."

What?

"The kids are okay if you're wondering." There was a sigh which meant it was definitely Remus. "They're dealing with this as best they can. Andromeda is looking after them at the moment."

Where was he? Why couldn't he feel anything?

"Everything's not okay, but we're dealing with it."

The attack! Amelia!

"I need you to get better, Sirius. I can't do this without you."

Was she okay? He was so tired. The darkness was starting to claim him again.

"I miss you."

Amelia….

"So that's why you weren't interested."

Remus jumped, dropping Sirius' hand back to the bed. Tonks was smiling at him from the doorway. It wasn't a particularly happy smile.

"I thought it was a werewolf thing." She murmured moving closer.

Remus sighed heavily.

"It is a werewolf thing," He admitted. "It is also that I am much older than you and that I am not interested."

"And," She added pointedly, "Because you're already in love with someone."

"And that, yes." He whispered.

There was silence and he looked up to see Tonks giving him a particularly judgemental look.

"In my defence," He complained. "It is very hard to not be in love with Sirius Black. I've been trying not to be for nearly twenty years."

"He's a married man," She hissed and Remus began rubbing at his temples. Everything Sirius related always ended up giving him a headache. "Does Amelia know?" Tonks demanded.

"Amelia has always known," He admitted. "She's a far better woman than any of us deserve." He scowled down at the bed. "Especially you, you useless comatose bastard." Tonks kicked him. "What? If there's one thing that could wake Sirius up it's insulting him. He always loved a fight."

The Twins were not pleased nor happy with Hermione's plan. In fact, they were rather irritated but there wasn't much they could do about it right now. Talking her out of it would have to wait until tomorrow.

"Ready, lads?"

The Twins startled as Charlie threw his arms around their shoulders. They were loitering in the lane outside the Burrow, not quite brave enough to actually go inside.

"Didn't know you were home," Fred murmured.

Their big brother snorted.

"Attendance was mandatory," He complained. Charlie was shorter than them which meant he was definitely standing on his tip-toes right now.

"Mum?" George asked.

"Dad, actually." Charlie dropped a few inches and began pushing them towards the gate. "C'mon. You can't hang out here all night, and if I go in with you, mum might not notice the bandages."

They both turned to look at him then. Charlie's left arm was wrapped from wrist to shoulder in the blue fire-resistant bandages used by dragon tamers.

"Dragon?" They asked.

"Sword fight, actually." Charlie scratched his nose in a deliberately casual manner before giving them another shove. "Move, or I'll tell mum you did this."

Groaning, the Twins made for the door of their childhood home.

The warmth of the Burrow hit them as they stumbled through the door, accompanied by the familiar smells of cooking, dust and the unmistakable scent of home. There was the rickety clatter as their hands on the family clock moved from travelling and the scrape of a chair as Ron leaned back from the kitchen table so he could see the front door.

"Mum, everyone's here now!" He yelled.

"Dinner's ready!" Molly called louder.

The house vibrated as footsteps clattered down the stairs, doors opened and closed and the Weasley family congregated around the kitchen table. Charlie abandoned them for his usual seat next to Bill, leaving them to stand nervously in the doorway as their mum finally turned to face them.

For a moment she just stared at them before a relieved smile spread across her face and she hugged them tightly.

"Are you two eating properly?" She demanded, looking them both over. "You're too thin. Sit down, sit down."

Nervously, they did so just as their father ambled in from the sitting room and smiled wanly at them.

"Hello, boys. Would someone pass the butter?"

For a while, the conversation flowed around safe topics, like Charlies' arm, Fleur's relatives and Ron's table manners. They were almost lulled into a false sense of security. That came crashing down when Ginny asked loudly,

"Why are you two wearing gloves at the table?"

The Twins froze before looking to their father for help. They hadn't managed to get their bracelets back from Hermione yet.

"You didn't tell them?" Charlie blurted as Bill slapped his shoulder.

"Shut up!" Their oldest brother hissed.

"They're allowed, Ginny," Molly was carefully cutting her broccoli into small bite-sized pieces and didn't look up.

George looked at his sister and recognised her expression. She wasn't going to let this go.

"Mum, it's okay. They're going to find out eventually."

Fred snorted.

"Yeah, it's not like it's going to go away."

Molly's jaw visibly clenched, but their father fixed a stern gaze on the youngest Weasley.

"You two must promise not to tell anyone,"

After Ron and Ginny had nodded, the Twins tugged off their gloves. Their marks were solid black and unmistakable.

"Mum let you get tattoos!"

Unless you were Ron apparently.

"They're soul marks," Ginny told him scathingly. She looked between the two of them. "Who is your…" She trailed off before her eyes narrowed. "She cheated on you!"

"What!"

Fred groaned as his mother slammed down her cutlery.

"She never cheated on us!" George warned.

"She went with Viktor Krum to the Yule Ball!" Ginny yelled back. "She's clearly been seeing Harry behind your back, she's always curled up with him in the library where they think no one can see them!"

"HE'S HER BROTHER!" Fred roared. The table went silent. "Look, Ginny. I know you're just trying to protect us, but you really have the wrong idea. We were just friends when the Yule Ball happened. We've only been dating for six months,"

"Courting," Their mother interjected.

The Twins exchanged a nervous look.

"Speaking of which," George felt his stomach sink as Molly summoned a quill. "The Black's are…" Her nose twitched. "I won't have the Black's thinking we don't know how to do things properly." Fred could see where this was going and looked desperately to his big brothers for help. Both Bill and Charlie were examining the ceiling with great interest. Cowards. "When does Hermione turn seventeen?"

"September," George sighed, admitting defeat.

Molly stared at them.

"But that's hardly any time!" She complained.

"Mum, we're not planning to offer for her." Fred shifted slightly further away from his mother and the impending explosion.

Arthur put his head into his hands. Their mother was staring at them as though she'd never seen them before.

"What?" Her quill was dangerously close to snapping. "Why not?"

"Because Hermione would kill us?" George offered tiredly. "Because she's still at Hogwarts? Because her parents are in the hospital right now?"

"How are Sirius and Amelia?" Bill asked suddenly.

Fred gave his big brother a grateful smile.

"Stable, whatever that means."

"If only they'd accepted Dumbledore's protection," Molly sighed.

Fred took a deep breath and carefully didn't scream.

"Who's looking after the children at the moment?" She added, as though it was any of her business.

"Remus, Tonks, Andromeda?" George shrugged. "From the sounds of it, the entire Black family has descended on…" His voice trailed off as the Fidelis charm took effect. "They're as safe as anyone can be. None of them are going to be taking any risks right now."

George was regretting his bold statement within a day.

"Remind me how you talked me into this," He complained to Hermione. She was currently using Fred as a windbreak to shield herself from the nasty gale that was blowing. They were hiding in a copse of trees outside Potter Manor waiting for the others. Sneaking out was somewhat harder than normal.

"I asked nicely?" She offered.

The real reason was that the Twins had worried she'd go without them and didn't want to find out if she actually would. It was a blow their relationships didn't need at the moment. Fred had apparently decided to use Hermione as a portable heater and had wrapped himself around her to keep warm, leaving George to shiver as the lookout.

"Bastard," He muttered.

Fred's laughter was muffled in Hermione's hair.

A shadow moving towards them turned out to be Susan, Harry and Draco, followed by a small figure carefully wrapped in a blanket.

"Is that Filly?" George demanded.

"House elves are immune to disapparition wards." Hermione shook off Fred and reached for his hand. "Are you ready, Filly?"

The enormous eyes nodded from within the blanket. Susan gripped Hermione's shoulder and…

...they landed with a thud on damp grass. Clearly the Bones place was in a different part of the country because it was raining here. Fred cursed as cold water immediately began to seep under his collar.

In front of him was an old house. Tudor by the look of it, but architecture really wasn't his strong point. Three stories tall, with timbers and white plaster that didn't seem quite straight. It looks as though a lot of magic was holding this house upright. Susan led the group of them towards the front door, an enormous slab of wood studded with metal. She rested her palm flat on it and it clicked, before swinging open with a shuddering groan.

Glad to be in from the rain, Fred lit his wand and made sure everyone was inside before he shut the door firmly. His wand light revealed a battlefield. The entire left wall of the hall was rubble, exposing what had once been a sitting room and was now in ruins. The fireplace was shattered, scorched and partially collapsed. What little furniture remained was now in pieces. That wasn't what had drawn the group to a halt, however. In the centre of the room stood a set of humanoid statues. Or not humanoid, Fred realised as George moved closer and illuminated them better. Human. Four Death Eaters robed and masked and utterly frozen.

"Are they petrified?" Hermione asked, voice echoing in the deathly silence of the house.

George shook his head. He was all too familiar with petrification.

"This is what Tonks meant when she said the crime scene was still being processed," Harry muttered. "Isn't it?"

"Bones magic isn't terribly kind to intruders," Susan informed him grimly. "C'mon. The books are in the basement."

Silently they made their way through the house. It was rather homey, Fred thought, the bits that weren't destroyed. A little like the Burrow. Portraits of Susan's relatives stirred on the walls but kept quiet when they saw the grim look on her face. Nothing stopped them as they came to a narrow spiral staircase that led them down into the cold basement. The room Susan stopped at appeared to be empty, a bare earth floor surrounded by stone walls.

"I'd stay out here," Susan murmured. She stepped forward alone, frowning as she carefully examined the bare earth. "I think…" She dropped into a crouch, her long hair falling forward as she whispered something Fred couldn't hear. There was a shimmer and a single bookcase appeared at the back of the room. It was full of leather-bound books that looked as old as the house, if not older. The Bones Grimoires.

Getting back to the Potter House hadn't been too difficult, but hiding that they'd been up all night was. Hermione made the effort to get up early, because all of them sleeping in would look far too suspicious. She made use of the quiet early hours to find the answers to some of her questions. Susan wouldn't be opening the Grimoires until at least lunchtime.

She hovered awkwardly in the doorway to the drawing room trying to remember Draco's lessons at Christmas. Technically she should address Narcissa formally, as she hadn't been given leave to use her first name. But was she Mrs Malfoy? Or Miss Black? Or Ms Black? Or something else entirely?

"Can I help you?"

She jumped guiltily and gave Narcissa an awkward smile.

"May I join you?"

The blonde witch gave a small laugh and waved Hermione towards an armchair.

"It is your house, Miss Black."

"Ehm...right." Hermione perched on the edge of the squishy red cushion, twisting her fingers together nervously. Narcissa looked as perfectly put together as always, a dark green dress made out of what looked like silk contrasting against her coiled blonde hair. "I mean, it's Harry's actually but...that was what I wanted to talk to you about."

Nacissa marked her place in the book and set it down carefully, giving Hermione her full attention.

"What did Remus mean when he said I'd be Harry and Susan's guardian?"

"Well, it is quite simple. Lord Black and Lady Bones have named Remus as your guardian, and that gives him certain legal rights. However that will end when a member of the immediate family is available to assure responsibility. In this case that would mean either your parents recover, or you yourself turn seventeen."

"That doesn't make any sense." Abruptly Hermione wished she could remember more from her book on Family Law. She'd not seen it since First Year and had a sneaking suspicion that Fred had set fire to it.

"You are Mr Black's sibling, are you not?"
"I'm his adopted half-sister," She frowned. "Is that close enough to count?"

"There is no "adopted" in that title." Narcissa sat a little straighter, which was quite an achievement. "In wizarding circles, once you have been adopted you are considered equal to a biological child. It was always considered that way, but it was formalised in law in the seventeen hundreds when Lord...Longbottom I think, adopted his son Vermilion. A distant aunt was attempting to take the Longbottom title for her own son and claimed that as Longbottom and his husband couldn't have any biological children, Vermilion couldn't inherit. There wasn't much chance of that plan actually succeeding but the Longbottoms have always been the sort to get everything written down. They sponsored the law in front of the Wizengamot who passed it in 1786." Hermione stared at her and Narcissa smirked slightly. "Wizarding law is a passion of mine."

"Right," Hermione managed weakly.

"As you are Lord Black's oldest child, you inherit his title and estates. Of course, were he to have a true biological child the inheritance would default, but that seems unlikely."

"Which is what Harry meant when he said I stole his inheritance!"

"You also pushed Draco down to third in line to inherit the title, but that's irrelevant."

"But what about Harry?" She frowned suddenly. "Sirius is biologically his father. How is he still going to be Lord Potter?"

"That is slightly more complicated." Narcissa's eyes gleamed and Hermione realised there was far more to this society wife than people expected. "Technically speaking, James Potter has no biological children and Mr Black is the son of Sirius and Amelia. So James Potter's estate passes to his wife, who is also dead. It then passes to her children. Now she does still have a biological child, even though he has been adopted. Harry is also Sirius' second cousin, once removed. His grandmother is Sirius's Great Aunt, Dorea Black. So even if you were backtracking through the family tree to find an heir, you would likely still decide on Mr Black."

Hermione stared at her.

"That makes absolutely no sense."

There was a small pause as she tried to wrap her head around that before she thought of more questions.

"What about Susan? We're not related at all."

"Miss Bones is your step-cousin."

"Technically, yes."

"Because her legal guardian is...indisposed, and there are no remaining members of the Bones' family, her care falls to Lady Bones' husband. You assume that responsibility as Sirius' next of kin, until Miss Bones turns seventeen herself and assumes responsibility for her own house."

"But I thought Amy ran Bones?"

"In loco parentis, yes she does. Amelia Bones was Edgar Bones' younger sister. She assumed the title until such a time that his heir was of age. It is not wise to leave a house without a Head." Suddenly an awful lot of what Susan did made a lot more sense.

"And if Sirius doesn't get better, I'm going to be Head of the Black's?"

"And Clan Ross, yes."

Somewhat distantly Hermione was aware of the Twin's concern and she soothed the bond absentmindedly, trying to think past her panic.

"And that means, what exactly?" She managed.

Narcissa snapped her fingers and Filly appeared.

"Could you bring us some tea, please?" She asked gently, keeping her gaze on Hermione.

Filly was back almost instantly with a steaming tea service which Narcissa thanked her for. She poured out two cups and handed one to Hermione who accepted it automatically. She sipped it and realised Narcissa had prepared it exactly as she liked it, which was a little unsettling.

"Originally," Narcissa started, "There were Ancient families who acted as Feudal lords. They owned large areas of land, worked and defended it from attack. This was before the Statute of Secrecy. In more modern times, the Noble and Ancient Houses sit on the Wizengamot, which had its roots in the parliament of Merlin. As Head you would sit in for both Ross and Black. You also provide protection and support for family members, as Lord Black did for Draco and I. You manage the family estate and finances and guard the family grimoires. It is increasingly a ceremonial position. The Ross family hasn't been active in generations."

She sipped her tea and frowned slightly.

"If I find out Andromeda has been giving that elf muggle tea bags again" She muttered.

"Doesn't it bother you?" Hermione demanded. "That I'm going to be...in charge?"

Narcissa gave her a long look over the rim of her teacup.

"I was surprised when I learned of your heritage," She admitted at last. "I will not hide that. But I never had my family's...fervor on the subject. As a child I followed blindly, because that was what one did. I didn't have Sirius' streak of rebellion, which the entire family could see would lead him astray. But...I was at Hogwarts with Andromeda. Bella is the oldest so she left after my third year. So I got to watch my sister fall in love. I had never seen anything like it before. Bella only married Rudolphus because the Dark Lord wouldn't take unmarried women into his ranks, without a chaperone. As we had no brother, Rudolphus opened doors for her. But Andromeda fell in love, and Ted loved her so much. He was just a Hufflepuff, kind and quiet. The kind of man my family had always scorned. But he took my sister away from me. She married him without warning and refused to apologise. My parents threw her out and disowned her. I blamed Ted for that for a long time. I left Hogwarts and married a Death Eater. During the war I saw terrible things. I saw people slaughtered and attacked. I watched my sister be driven mad." Her eyes had taken on a distant quality, a single tear tracking down her cheek. "When the war ended I realised that the drive for blood purity, for Turgus pur had cost me both of my sisters. I swore that I wouldn't lose any more members of my family." She set down her teacup and folded her hands neatly. "I wasn't certain that Sirius would help me when I asked. But he agreed to meet with me and there you were sitting with him, dressed like a muggle. You've been kind to my son, and you are undoubtedly an extremely powerful witch. You survived a duel with my sister, you led an aggressive campaign against a teacher, you destroyed the Hall of Prophecies. You are dangerous, possessive, vicious and mad." Narcissa smirked. "In short, you are everything this house has celebrated for generations. Everything Bellatrix could have been, everything she should have been had things been different. A true daughter of the Blacks." There was a small pause as Hermione tried to decide if she was being insulted. "I am very glad that we are not enemies. Even if you do dress in Weasley leftovers."

That was definitely an insult.

"Well, Ms Black," She snapped, "Some of us have better things to do than sit for dress fittings every week. I'm not certain I could pull off looking so old fashioned."

Narcissa looked her up and down, looking slightly proud.

"No," She decided. "I don't think you could." Before Hermione could decide if she could throw her teacup, the older witch continued. "Do you know why Augusta Longbottom can wear that awful hat?"

Hermione had only seen said hat on the Boggart in her third year, but she shrugged anyway.

"She doesn't care what anyone thinks?" She offered. Narcissa seemed to consider that.

"Well, yes." She admitted. "But she can wear it because she's always worn it. Augusta decided what her style was going to be a long time ago, and hasn't strayed from it since. The reason no one can make snide comments about it is that Augusta is wearing what she wants to. She is not trying to be something she isn't. Which is what you would be doing if we dressed you like Miss Bones or even myself. Do you have any clothes that aren't jeans with holes in them or products of Molly Weasley's boredom?"

"My clothes are fine!"

"So you're relying on a soul bond to impress those young men of yours, rather than putting in any real effort?"

"What do you want from me?" Hermione demanded, flushing red.

"I want you to dress how you feel comfortable, but I also want you to go out in clothes that don't make you look homeless." Hermione narrowed her eyes, but Narcissa was immune to the Black temper. A side-effect of having Bellatrix as a big sister perhaps. "Clothes are armour, Miss Black." There would be no convincing Narcissa to call her Hermione. "And we need all of that we can get these days."

Somehow and, Hermione wasn't certain how, she was lined up in the hall with Harry and Susan twenty minutes later to go shopping. Draco had given them all mocking looks and had left them to it.

Remus, looking Hermione over the next day as they made to leave for the hospital, had shaken his head.

"Not quite," He'd said cryptically. He motioned for her to follow him upstairs, into Sirius' room. Hermione had never been there before, so she stood awkwardly in the corner. It was decorated in dark colours and the walk-in wardrobe was full to bursting with clothes of every shape and style. Remus began rummaging through the jackets at one end. Eventually, he emerged triumphant with a black leather jacket that looked slightly battered but well loved.

"Here," He handed it to her. "See if it fits. Sirius was about your size when he bought this. He had a growth spurt when he turned eighteen and he was furious that he'd grown out of it."

Hermione slipped it on. The sleeves were a little long, and it hung heavy on her shoulders, but it smelled faintly of Sirius. Remus smiled at her, looking a little sad.

"He'd want you to have it."

"Shouldn't Harry…?" Hermione started but Remus shrugged.

"He's too tall for it now, and I think this is more your style."

The picture in the Prophet the next day rather proved his point.

They'd been photographed coming out of the floo at St Mungo's. Harry had gone through first, hair pulled back. He was dressed like the pureblood version of Sirius. Shirt, waistcoat, neat trousers. He looked unnervingly like his father. Susan had picked out a set of dresses that made the best of her curvier figure, her hair carefully pinned back. She looked every inch the perfect witch. The picture had been taken as Hermione was emerging from the flames. With her loose black hair, black lace dress, boots and Sirius' jacket she looked more like a delinquent than a respectable young lady. Which probably wasn't what Narcissa had been going for.

A Dark Day for Black Orphans, yelled the headlines. Which was just insulting. They weren't orphans. Yet. But the news about Hermione's parentage was finally out in the open.

The day before they opened the Twins got two different visitors. Neither was particularly welcome. The first came as they were packaging the last few products, and announced themselves with a sharp knock.

"That'll be the Ministry Inspector," Fred dusted off his hands and made his way to the shopfront, his brother trailing behind him. There was a lot more paperwork involved in opening a shop than they'd really realised. They'd been waiting for the Ministry permits to arrive for days now. The lone silhouette turned as the door opened and Fred felt the bottom drop out of his stomach.

"Percy…"

His big brother looked thin and tired, but his suit was immaculate, tie perfectly knotted. Fred felt irrationally scruffy in his stained t-shirt and jeans. Percy turned to him and gave him a thin smile.

"Hello," He shifted nervously. "Can I come in?"

Wordlessly, Fred stood aside, letting his brother into the shop. Percy looked around the new shelves with interest, eyeing the brightly painted walls with a raised eyebrow.

"What are you doing here?" George demanded. He'd frozen in front of the counter, one hand reaching for his wand.

Percy cleared his throat.

"I've brought your business licences." He held out a brown envelope and when neither of them moved to take it, slid it onto a nearby shelf.

"Aren't you a bit senior in the Ministry to be delivering paperwork?" Fred asked acidly.

"Yes," Percy admitted bluntly. "My presence here is twofold," When had his brother started to talk like he was giving a presentation in court? "I wanted to make sure that all your paperwork was filed correctly. Several employees in the records department are notorious for losing important documents. I heard about the shop and I didn't want anything to go wrong."

Silence echoed around the shop as they stared at him.

"Thanks," George managed.

"The second reason is…" Percy slumped and pulled off his glasses, rubbing his eyes. "I haven't seen anyone from home apart from...our father in over a year. I would have contacted you sooner, but I'm not welcome at the Burrow. I wanted to see my little brothers."
"You've never wanted to see us before," Fred complained. "What happened to "you need to grow up" and "you're going to get arrested" !''

Percy winced but didn't bother to explain that away.

"Because my position at the Ministry is both rather senior but also somewhat…" He paused. "Unappreciated, I hear more than I am perhaps supposed to. Last week I heard a rumour about...you two." They both froze, Fred acutely aware of his bracelet hanging heavily around his exposed wrist. "Of course, I didn't put any stock in the rumours," He put his glasses back on and glared at them. "They're just rumours and if anyone asks me about them, I'll tell them not to put stock in them. There is no proof and," His voice grew hard. "As long as that remains to be the case the Ministry won't have to intervene."

The double meaning behind Percy's words began to sink in and Fred noticed the slight tremble in his brother's hands. He turned to go.

"I am proud of you two," He added. "Please give Bill my congratulations on his engagement. She sounds like a lovely girl."

They watched him leave.

"Percy," George tossed him a blue box. "Family discount," He muttered.

They were still recovering from the shock when the second knock came at the door. This time Fred was aware enough of himself to pull his new robes on to hide his bracelet.

"Professor Dumbledore?"

The aging Headmaster had not been someone they'd expected to visit, although Fred realised with dread, they probably should have expected this.

"Mr Weasley?" He smiled pleasantly and pulled his midnight blue robes closer around himself. "May I come in?"

There wasn't really anything Fred could say to that, so he stepped to one side allowing the old man in. George appeared and shot his brother a nervous look as Dumbledor took a seat at the counter.

"Can we help you?" George eventually asked. His anxiety was obvious and Fred felt the Bond flare as Hermione took notice from wherever she was. There was the faintest flicker of brown in his brother's eyes and Fred hurried to send her feelings of assurance. They didn't want Dumbledor to know too much about them.

"I imagine you know what I have come to talk to you about," He took his spectacles off and began to polish them with a small cloth from his pocket. "You will have heard about the attack on the Black's, yes?"

Neither of them bothered to answer that and after a small pause he continued.

"Have either of you been in contact with Miss Black?"

Fred snorted.

"It's Granger," He corrected. "And what does it matter?" His mother would have his hide if she heard him speaking to the Headmaster like this, but all he could think of was Sirius' fury at the Order meeting.

"I am trying to get in contact with the family so we can arrange some additional protection. These are dangerous times…"

"Oh really?" Fred smiled guilessly. "We hadn't noticed."

"And your bondmate is at risk."

George laughed bitterly.

"When isn't she?" He demanded.

Dumbledore looked both them over and visibly changed tack.

"I have also come with an offer. I remember that both of you were keen to join the Order. You've left school and we could certainly use such talented young men."

They exchanged a wary look. A few months ago they would have jumped at this chance. Hell, they'd assured Sirius and Amelia that this was what they were going to do. They wanted to help defeat the Death Eaters. But they didn't trust Dumbledore any more. Not to mention the Death Eaters knew they were Bonded, fighting Bellatrix had seen to that.

"Do you want us," George's voice was light and curious. "Or do you want the Bond?"

The pause that followed that told them everything they needed to know.

"Look," Fred continued awkwardly. "We'll help out, if need be. If we hear information, we'll pass it along, you can have a shop discount. But we're not interested in being used by you."

"We are not weapons," George added.

Dumbledore sighed heavily.

"I am very sorry to hear that," He stood stiffly. "I must go. There is a lot of interest in the death of Peter Pettigrew and the Ministry wants to know if I have any additional information. Hazard of being the first on the scene."

"Bellatrix Lestrange killed him," George watched the old man warily.

"But there are no witnesses to that, are there?" Those blue eyes twinkled at them and the Twins felt cold dread settled across their shoulders.

"Are you threatening us?"

"Of course not dear boy," Dumbledore smiled. "But the truth always comes out in the end."

He saw himself out and the Twins both spent several minutes swearing loudly.

What happened next...I don't know who was responsible. I don't know where the idea came from. I don't know enough to make a judgement. I like to think that….I hope the idea came unprompted from the Death Eaters. But there is the flicker of doubt.

"What's…"

Kingsley sighed heavily and waved Remus into a seat. He'd summoned him into his office and had been worryingly vague.

"There was a Death Eater attack. Last night, on a muggle family in Surrey." Remus stared at him for a long moment. "Do the names Petunia and Vernon Dursley mean anything to you?"

The older wizard looked like he wanted to throw up, he'd gone an awful shade of gray. He nodded.

"Petunia Dursley is Lily Potter's sister. Harry's Aunt. What…?"

"They used the killing curse," Kingsley informed him, wishing he could take the sting out of these words. "It would have been quick. No sign of torture. They were in their beds. Probably never woke up. The house was set on fire but the muggles managed to get it out before it went up completely. The muggles are taking care of the funeral arrangements."

"I failed them,"

Remus was back.

"How could I forget about Petunia, Sirius? She was Lily's sister and now…" His voice was choked. "Lily would never forgive me for this."

What had happened? The Death Eaters…

"Harry didn't want to go to the funeral, but why would he? He doesn't know them. I know Petunia was happy to hand him over to you."

Tuney never wanted Harry. If he hadn't been Lily's she'd have dumped him in an Orphanage…

"Sirius, I've made such a mess of this. I can't do this without you or Amelia. The kids are up to something. They think I haven't noticed but Harry's not exactly subtle. Takes after his dad like that."

Amelia! What had happened?

"I've got to go, Andromeda wants to talk to me about something."
Remus! Wait!

"Love you."

Had Remus been more aware of the political landscape at the time, he would have known what was waiting for him at Potter Manor. As it was, he'd been too consumed by grief and anxiety to keep up with the Wizengamot, let alone attend meetings in Amelia and Sirius' sted. As such the Black and Bones' seats were empty when the new Dangerous Creature Restrictions were passed. The propaganda claimed that increased restrictions against "Dark" creatures would make it harder for Voldemort to operate within the country. It would also make it safer for the wizarding population at large by keeping such creatures out of public spaces. What was interesting was this would only serve to drive such creatures towards Voldemort and increase paranoia amongst the population. So whether these Restrictions were born out of genuine prejudice or an intricate Death Eater plot, or even something more insidious it is hard to say.

There was fairly major immediate impact however. When the restrictions passed, they made it illegal for werewolves to marry, have children or be legal guardians.

Remus was reading the newspaper clipping with horror. Andromeda and Narcissa were watching him warily.

"Remus…" Andromeda started kindly. "We have to take the children."

Trembling and pale, Remus stared down the Black sisters, shaking her head.

"No," He breathed. "Please,"

"The new legislation means..." Narcissa paused, barely flinching. "Certain members of the magical community are unfit to count as guardians. It's well hidden within the regulations itself but it makes it very clear that children who are being cared for by such an individual will be removed by the Ministry and an appropriate guardian found."

"We know they're just doing this to target us," Andromeda continued, gripping his arm. "But Remus…"

"No," Both witches flinched at the pain in his eyes. "No, please, Andromeda. They're my children! They're my kids!"

"It would only be until Lord Black…." Narcissa started but he cut across her.

"We don't even know if Sirius is going to wake up again!" He yelled, wet-eyed and pacing. "They're all I have left, Andy! Please...I'm begging you!" Remus grabbed Andromeda by the shoulders, shaking her. Narcissa drew her wand but he didn't seem to notice. "Please, don't take my kids away from me."

Andromeda wrapped her arms around him, pulling the taller man into a tight hug.

"I'm really sorry," She promised him, "But we've got no choice."

The guardianship documents were signed the next day. Harry and Susan passed over into the joint care of Minerva McGonagall, Andromeda Tonks and Narcissa Black, until such a time as their older sister could assume responsibility. In the case of something happening to Minerva, Hermione's guardianship passed to Andromeda. If something happened to Narcissa, Draco passed to Minerva. If something happened to all the adults...The Black sisters had spent long hours working with Sirius' vampiric lawyer, who had gone into hiding because of the new legislation. They had constructed a list of guardians so long and convoluted that it would be practically impossible for Voldemort to murder all of them before Hermione turned seventeen. Remus was still able to visit Sirius and Amelia in the hospital but beyond that, he wasn't allowed near the family. And because of the letter they received from the Department of Family Records, the day after the legislation passed, they were all going to have to move house. Again.

This list consisted of, to name a few, Nymphadora Tonks, Fleur Delacour, Fred and George Weasley, Kingsley Shacklebolt, the joint custody of the Auror Department, Bill Weasley, Pomona Sprout, Amelia's secretary Augustus Selwyn, Lady Augusta Longbottom, the Bank Manager at Gringotts and Cassiopia Black who had vanished several years previously but who Sirius had pointedly refused to register as dead, as she was only 77 and had a reputation for being rather odd.

The visit from what was essentially wizarding social services went... Well, it went. That was the main thing. The Ministry tried to remove Narcissa as a guardian, given her previous connections to known Death Eater Lucius Malfoy. They tried to claim that the "children" were being abused. They tried to find flaws in all of the adoption certificates. They tried to insist that a custody hearing was held. They claimed the family were at risk without Ministry protection. They tried every trick in the book.

And so did Hermione's family. Narcissa proudly flaunted her divorce scar, Andromeda produced a Healer's Report on the emotional health of the "Children", duplicates of the adoption paperworks were provided when the originals mysteriously went missing. Augusta Longbottom ranted for two hours in the Wizengamot about the sanctity of wizarding families, Kingsley and Tonks provided proof of the extremely expensive Auror ward scheme that the family had purchased for Narcissa's Dower House to prove their safety and Minerva, still rather weak, had personally duelled one of the Department members. Eventually the Ministry begrudgingly agreed to a weekly inspection of "living conditions", but it took most of July to get there. Hermione missed the opening of the Twins store, but she'd been too busy to risk visiting. They understood, she knew that.

Unknown to the adults, the four teenagers had spent much of the month pouring over the Bones Grimoires. There were twelve books in all, some in French, others in Welsh and one or two in Latin, the rest in English. Translation alone had taken them weeks, just looking at the titles of the spells. They had managed to identify the spell Amelia had used. It was an ancient ward, brought over by the Norman portion of the Bones family, originating in France. A ward Susan had been taught but never expected to use. Blood for safety. A rough translation but accurate enough. It was designed to drain the user of its lifeforce and banish or destroy invaders. When the spell was designed, the wizards were still entrenched in warfare, and the risk of invasion or siege was too great to ignore. It required a true sacrifice to power. Amelia's life.

But the spell had been dispelled before it could be completed. And Amelia had lived, in a fashion.

And then Susan found a spell. Designed for aging grandmothers to sacrifice what was left of their own life to heal those family members who had been cursed or injured beyond the help of healing. But, again, it required a sacrifice.

Bones' magic.

Loyal to a fault.

"Susan, you can't do this!" Harry shoved the grimoire away from him. "You killing yourself would spit in the face of everything Amy sacrificed. She would never forgive you."

"She's the only family I have left," Susan was trembling faintly, two pink spots high on her cheeks. She looked scared but resolute. "There's nothing I wouldn't do for her."

"You try and do this and I am going straight to Remus." Harry pulled the grimoire closer to read through the passage carefully. "Can we spread the load of the spell?"

"What?"

He glanced up at her and scowled.

"If one person casting this kills them, surely several people casting it would spread the load of the spell and lessen the cost on each caster." Susan gaped at him. "What? I'm not just a pretty face, you know?"

"Aren't you?" She murmured, frowning down at the spell.

"Hey!"

"In theory, I suppose. There are some spells in here which are designed to be cast by a coven but…"

"Does everyone think I'm an idiot?"

"...This is an individual spell. If three people cast it, it would probably just kill three people."

Harry stopped pouting.

"Wait! Three!"

"Is a number, yes."

He glared at her.

"We don't need three castings of the spell, we need three people to power the same spell!" Susan froze but he didn't notice. "Hermione and the Twins! It's one of the main tenets of soul bonded wizards is that they can cast the same spell as one! They could spread the load of the spell!"

He was so busy being excited that he didn't notice Susan clenching her hands into fists or the way her eyes narrowed.

"No." She breathed.

"What?"

"I can't ask her to do that," Susan rounded on Harry, looking angrier than he'd ever seen her. "Not when I'm the reason Umbridge kidnapped her!"

Harry stared at his cousin over the pile of books in shock.

"Susie, you…"

She cut him off.

"No! It's my fault, Harry." She'd started to cry, face going red and blotchy. "I was...Pansy Parkinson. She caught me kissing Abbott the day before the History of Magic exam. I didn't want anyone to know I'd screwed up so I didn't say anything. And then Hermione went missing and it's all my fault. I ruined everything!"

"This is why you've been avoiding Hermione," Harry realised. "Susan…"

"If I hadn't been caught, Umbridge wouldn't have known we were lying. She would have left her alone. She wouldn't have been in the Department of Mysteries. She would have been safe." There was a loud crack as the tabletop split down the middle. "Do you understand Harry? I did this. I hurt my family. My Aunt and my father were attacked because of me. My sister was tortured because I failed her. I had one job to do to keep this family safe and I failed."

Harry was staring at her, mouth open.

"So I can't ask her to do this," She slumped in her chair, looking distraught and defeated. "I can't force her to pay the price for me again."

"You're an idiot, Bones!" Harry shoved away from the table. "Amy isn't just your Aunt, you know. She's my mother and Hermione's step-mother. Hermione will do this for herself."

"It's all my fault." Susan whispered.

Hermione said yes. Instantly and without thought and Harry didn't tell her why Susan wasn't looking her in the eye. That could wait until after Amelia was better.

After looking over the spell Hermione had agreed that it should be possible, but that she and the Twins would need to practise. They had agreed too, and Harry wasn't surprised by that. The Weasley's were big believers in family.

"We don't usually channel our magic unless we're fighting someone," She'd admitted, looking nervous. "Using it to heal...we've never done anything like that. We're going to try though."

So now Harry was here, trying very hard not to be unnerved. Well that and Narcissa had made noises about Hermione being unchaperoned.

The Twins were sitting on either side of Hermione on the floor, in a loose circle. Susan hadn't been able to bring herself to be here, she still couldn't stand being in Hermione's presence. The problem was that, on Susan, guilt looked a lot like blame.

"What exactly are you trying to do?"

Hermione sighed heavily.

"We're trying to focus, which your incessant questioning isn't helping."

Harry shut up.

Very quietly, he thought to himself, this looked like three people trying very hard to give themselves a headache. The Twins stiffened suddenly and Hermione's head jerked up.

"Well, that's weird," She muttered and Harry threw his cushion at her face. The sky blue eyes looking out of his sister's face narrowed and she batted it out of the air with the skill of a trained Beater.

"Don't throw things at Hermione!" All three of them chanted and Harry shrieked. Hermione blinked rapidly and shook her head woozily as her eyes faded back to brown.

"That's really fucking weird!"

One of the Twins glared at Harry while the other propped up Hermione.

"It's okay. Freaked me out the first time you did it to me." Fred he reckoned, pushed a stray curl out of Hermione's face and Harry made loud retching noises until they both stopped smiling soppily at each other. George whacked him with his cushion.

"What the hell was that?" Harry demanded, fending off the attacks.

"We can reach along the bond," Hermione shuffled back so she was leaning against the sofa. "Normally it just shares emotions, pain, dreams occasionally. That sort of thing. We can reach out if necessary...Only tried it once."

"The eye thing is cool though," George admitted.

"You know the saying, "The eyes are the window to the soul"?" Fred grinned. "We figured it's probably got something to do with that. But that's only if we push on it,"

"Mmm," Hermione grinned, "Normally I just have a pretty good sense of what they're up to. If they're planning something, working on something, whatever it was that had Fred feeling so happy when he woke up this morning."

Fred's head snapped around and he stared at Hermione who was smirking slightly, as he started to go violently red.

"You...er…" He managed.

"Yep."

They kept staring at each other and Harry got the unnerving sense they were communicating without actual words.

Fred raised one eyebrow and didn't break his stare with Hermione.

"What are they doing?" He whispered to George, who was looking over the spell. He glanced up, bemused.

"They're playing chicken." Fred smirked suddenly and Hermione went bright red. "And Fred just won."

"Anyway," Hermione continued loudly, ignoring the smug look on Fred's face. "If we're focusing on the bond, it's easier for us to cast together. Casting together is what activated our bond in the first place, it's why duelling is so easy for us. But that's a different mindset."

"But you guys do that all time." They all stared at Harry. "What? Have none of you ever seen yourself when you're inventing. You're like one person with six hands, it's really weird to watch. You guys do this kind of thing all the time."

They exchanged a long look.

"You know, little brother," Hermione murmured, reaching for the grimoire, "I think you might be onto something."

"Do you really think you can do this?"

Hermione stared blearily across the gloom of the bedroom she was sharing with Susan. This was probably the first time Susan had spoken to her directly in weeks. That it was at four thirty in the morning wasn't a good sign.

"The spell?" Hermione sighed, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. "I have to believe we can. If I don't believe it, the spell definitely won't work." Her mattress dipped as Susan sat down next to her. "Are you okay?"

"Not really." Susan sighed. "I've got something that might help. The spell is for the Bones family, and it's not keyed specifically to the bloodline, I imagine it should work for you. But it will work better if you have a stronger connection to Amelia than step-mother." She clicked on the lamp next to the bed and dropped another of the Bones' grimoires onto the duvet. "I found this spell. It's a blood bonding. Not an adoption in the legal sense, you've got enough Ministry paperwork and…"

"Susan," Hermione yawned. "What's the point?"

"The translation is soul sister. Or brother. It's a sort of ritual, I suppose. More symbolic than actual magic. Only if you want to…"

"You're my little sister, Susie," Hermione grumbled, debating hiding under her pillow. "Of course I'll do it."

"There is something you should know…"

Hermione blinked at her and Susan told her everything. For a long moment there was silence as the two witches watched each other, Susan on the verge of tears.

"This isn't your fault," Hermione murmured, hugging her tightly. "And even if it was, even if Umbridge hadn't had it out for me from the very beginning, even if she hadn't been waiting until Minnie was out of the way...I would still forgive you. And I know Amy and Dad would never blame you for something like this." Susan was crying into her shoulders and shaking. "I love you Susie,"

"I love you too, 'Mione." She hiccuped.

"Now, how do we do this ritual?"

The best spells are cast in darkness just before the dawn, in the hushed whisper of secrecy, with the tang of iron and the salt of tears.

"We're family," Hermione promised, once it was over. "We're going to get through this."

Susan shifted the pillows so she could slide in next to Hermione, the book and knife balanced on the bedside table. There was the crinkle of paper and she fished out what looked like a newspaper clipping.

"What's this?" She asked, looking over the obituary.

Hermione looked slightly sick.

"That is the next problem on my list,"

Susan flipped it over and read the note on the back.

"Is this who I think it is?" She demanded, horrified by the black, spikey signature.

"I think I got her attention."

"What does she mean?"

"Not tonight, Susie. Let's get Amy fixed first."

"Learn to clean up after yourself, little cousin."

"Department of Mystery's Employee Dead in Mysterious Accident

Mr Imrand Kovind was found dead in his Manchester home early this morning. Aurors have yet to comment on whether this was a Death Eater attack. Mr Kovind had been with the Department for seven years…."

(Donated by the Black Family)

"We need a favour,"

Tonks, who had been in the process of making herself a sandwich, froze and looked up at all of them. Her rather precarious meal started to fall apart, lettuce spilling out of one side. She took in the sight of Hermione, Harry and Susan and scowled.

"Why do I get the feeling I'm gonna regret this?"

"We have a way to save Amy." Hermione tried not to look too nervous. "We've been looking through the Bones Grimoires and we think we've found a way to reverse the ward she was casting. If we can do that…"

They weren't being honest because if they were honest there was no way she would let them go along with this.

"Really!" She started to grin before the expression faltered. "Why are you telling me and not mum? What's going on?"

"We're telling you because we need to get into the Hospital Room outside of visiting hours," Susan grimaced, "And we can't get past the Auror guard without you. And because we don't want to let anyone know we're trying this in case it doesn't work."

"Don't want to get anyone's hopes up." Harry pushed his fringe out of his eyes. "We've all had enough disappointment."

Tonks visibly wavered. She came around the kitchen table and stared into each of their eyes.

"Is anyone going to get hurt?"

"Probably not," Hermione lied.

Tonks scowled and let out a short scream.

"Urgh. Fine!" She grabbed her Auror uniform jacket and pulled it on top of her short skirt, boots and ripped up vest top. Tonks' fashion tended towards punk at the best of time, summer just meant there were less layers. "Mum is going to kill me for this."

They flooed to St Mungo's and made their way through the deserted halls without challenge, mostly because of Harry's invisibility cloak. Tonks, the only one visible began to mutter to them.

"They're not going to let me in, you know. It looks very suspicious that I…" She stumbled to a halt, staring down the corridor and swore. "Oh, you three crafty fuckers. Did you know he'd be here? Is this why it had to be tonight?"

Hermione didn't want to spend time explaining how difficult it had been working out when Auror Shacklebolt would be on guard duty, so she kicked Tonks in the shin instead.

"Oh fuck you!" The older witch complained.

"Nymph?"

Tonks looked up and winced as Shacklebolt looked up from the paperwork he'd been filling in.

"Nymph?" Harry hissed, delighted.

"Shut up!" Tonks snarled and Harry cackled.

Shacklebolt was looking particularly disturbed.

"Auror Tonks, what's my favourite song?"

"Stand and Deliver," Tonks sighed. "It's me, Kings. Sorry, I'm childminding."

"Hey!"

Harry yanked the cloak off them and Shacklebolt jumped, but didn't raise the wand he'd just drawn.

"What's going on?" He demanded.

The double doors behind them opened and the Twins spilled into the corridor.

"That's what I'd like to know," Tonks admitted.

Tonks and Kingsley stood inside the door, keeping a careful watch on their impromptu charges.

"Explain this to me again?" He murmured. Hermione was pulling out parchment and passing them to the Twins, both of whom looked rather nervous.

"They said they've got a way to fix Amy." Tonks scowled as her hair began to curl as she got stressed. "I honestly didn't ask too many questions."

"If this goes wrong, we're both on the line. You know that?"

"You can go now. Say I relieved you, pin the blame on me."

Kingsley gave her a long look out of the corner of his eye.

"I'm not leaving you," He intoned. "I've got your back, Nymph." Tonks tried very hard not to shiver. "Your hair has changed colour," He added, smirking slightly.

Dammit.

"This is it," Hermione drew her own wand and the Twins lifted their own. Their bracelets were off, so for the first time Tonks could see the inky black of their soulmarks, that seemed to twine like flames across their skin. "If this doesn't work, Susan knows what to do."

"Don't give too much," Harry warned. What were they doing? "If it is going to take too much, break the spell."

"Harry…"

"Promise me!" Harry snapped and Hermione sighed.

"We promise," The trio murmured.

And they began to cast. The incantation was long, and Tonks began to realise how dangerously old this spell was. Long invocations had long since gone out of fashion. She didn't understand the words, it wasn't a language she spoke, but the way the three of them moved and cast as one, the pearlescent shield that formed above Amelia as they did began to fill her with awful sickening dread.

"Susan," She demanded, "What are they doing?" A horrible realisation occurred to her. "This is your family magic, isn't it?" What was it Remus had said about sacrifices?

The chanting slowed and Tonks realised that the weaker Fred, George and Hermione looked, the stronger the shield over Amelia became. It began seeping into her, long sticky tendrils that moved slowly and sluggishly. They were getting paler and paler, wavering on the spot…

"Hermione," Susan grabbed her shoulder, shaking her roughly. "That's enough! Stop now!"

"We've got it," One of the twins breathed,

"We're in control," Hermione murmured.

"We can do this," The other added.

They were so pale now, it looked as though everything about them was being bleached, the only colour remaining was the deep tones that were starting to flood through the black of their bond marks.

The tendrils of energy, of what Tonks was very quickly realising was their own fuckin' lifeforces, was seeping across Amelia's face, between her lips, into her eyes and settling across her eyes like a mask and…

...Fred, George and Hermione dropped as though their strings had been cut, collapsing to the floor, skin waxy and almost blue, still and lifeless…

...and for the first time in over a month Amelia Bones' eyes snapped open.

"Oh, Merlin." Shacklebolt breathed.

"Tonks!" Susan was checking over the Twins, while Harry had pulled Hermione into his lap.

"Are they…" Her voice was stuck in her throat. If they'd died. If she'd let them do this and…Her training kicked in and she began throwing diagnostic spells, even as Kingsley ran to the potions cupboard and began grabbing vials and tossing them to Susan.

"They're breathing," Susan didn't even read the labels, just poured them down the Twins' throats, rubbing at them to make sure they swallowed. "We need to get them out of here."

"You can't be found here," Kingsley pulled a small statuette from his pocket and shoved it at Tonks. "Emergency portkey. The Healers will be on their way."

On instinct Tonks kissed him.

"Thank you!" She insisted, before grabbing her family and getting them the hell out of there.

"I need to tell you something,"

Oh good, Remus was back. Sirius missed him when he wasn't there and he always told him how the kids were doing.

"You're going to kill me," Remus added, sounding defeated.

Bloody werewolf. He was the most defeatist son of a bitch Sirius had ever met. Sometimes he had no idea how he'd gotten into Gryffindor.

"Amy's doing better. A lot better. Hermione and the Twins are still recovering, they exhausted themselves. We still don't know what they did, none of them will tell us. But they think she'll make it, Siri."

Merlin, he wished he could smile. Amy was going to be ok. She'd look after everyone. He could rest here. He could let go.

"The Healers found something else…" Why did Remus sound like he was heading for the gallows? "I'm still your medical contact, even if I'm not allowed anywhere near the kids anymore. You remember, back in June when you were out meeting with Lady Longbottom?" That awful luncheon. He'd spent the day being flirted with by grandmothers who pretended to be weak old women but were actually some of the most terrifying witches he'd ever met. Griselda Marchbanks had told him some horrifying stories about what she'd gotten up to as a young lady. He'd come home to find… "That Amy and I…" He remembered. That was the last time he'd seen Amelia until he went to fetch her and they were... He shied away from that thought.

"Fuck, she's your wife, Sirius. I can't believe that I've done this!" Remus sounded like he was going to run. He'd sounded like that in Hogwarts, up until Sirius figured out the best way to get him to confront things was to trap him in a dead end corridor. "Amelia...she's pregnant. Not far along and they don't know how well it will go but…Biologically she was fine and it was too early for it to have been affected by the curse."

Sirius laughed to himself, in pure joy. A baby! They were going to have a baby.

"I'm so sorry, Sirius,"

Why wasn't Remus happy about this?

"I think it's mine." He whispered.

Sirius thought it was probably Remus' too. Half-blood, after all. Not to mention werewolf. For all his scars, the wolf kept Remus in excellent health.

"Once Amy wakes up, I'm going to go. She can pass it off as yours," Sirius felt himself start to get angry. "No one needs to know it's mine and...Fuck, what if it's a werewolf?"

Fuck angry. Sirius was furious.

That's what this always came down to. Remus fucking Lupin. When would he realise that no one gave a flying fuck that he turned into a wolf occasionally?

"It's better for everyone. It would ruin you two if this got out. Hermione's going to be seventeen in a few months, she can take over for you in the Wizengamot…"

He was going to murder him.

Right then, Sirius wanted nothing more than to wrap his hands around Remus' neck and strangle him. He screamed with effort, forcing himself through the blackness until, with monumental effort, he forced his eyes open.

Remus was sitting next to him, looking miserable and stupid and the bastard was still bloody talking.

"Dumbledore has a mission for me…" He jumped as he met Sirius' open eyes. "Oh, crap. Siri!"

Sirius let out a long growl, it was all he was capable of at the moment. His throat was parched, body aching. Remus fumbled next to him and produced a glass of water which he helped Sirius sip.

"You're awake!" He had the nerve to smile at him.

"You utter bastard!" Sirius rasped.

Remus flinched, setting the water back down.

"You...uh...heard that then?" He seemed resigned to his fate. Which was good. Sirius wasn't in a state to chase him down right now.

"You're leaving us?" Sirius demanded, wishing he could throw something. None of his limbs seemed to be working properly. Remus helped him sit up in bed.

"It's what's best…"

"Fuck that!" He snapped. "You're abandoning your family! Our family!"

There was a worrying flash of amber eyes that Remus quickly suppressed.

"I'm saving our family." Remus snarled. "The werewolf restrictions are getting tighter, do you know what they'd do to Amelia if they thought that she was carrying…?" He trailed off, glancing around anxiously.

"This isn't about protecting Amy!" Sirius glared at him. "This is about you running away again! You remember what happened last time you left me?"

Our best friend died, he didn't say. I almost killed a man. I almost went to prison. I adopted a child with someone who wasn't you.

"I'm not…"

"Yes, you are!" Sirius wished he had his wand. Remus was backing away from him now. "Amy is going to need both of us to get through this."

"You're her husband!" Remus hissed. "She needs you, not me. I'm just your..." He trailed off and Sirius scowled at him.

"Okay. Fuck you. You know how I feel about you. You know how Amy feels about you. This isn't about that. This is because you're scared!"

"Of course, I'm scared," Remus seethed. "I'm terrified because there is a hell of a difference between inviting the wolf into your bed and having one for a child! I ruined my parent's lives, Sirius. I'm not about to do that to you two." He turned for the door. "I'm going to get the healer and tell the kids, okay?"

"You're a fucking coward, Lupin!" Sirius roared. Remus just flipped up his collar. "A FUCKING COWARD. IF YOU'RE NOT HERE WHEN I GET OUT OF THIS HOSPITAL, I AM HUNTING YOU DOWN."