"Did you do this?!" the girl yelled, tears already forming in the corners of her eyes, as she shoved that morning's edition of the daily prophet in her brother's face. It was, undoubtedly, the worst piece of news she had ever read. She had been under the impression that there were no tears left to cry after being up all night, yet there they were, stubbornly making their way down her furious face.

"Answer me! Where you there?!"

Augustus had a dejected expression about him, and as he softly tried to take the newspaper out of her hands, she ripped it away from him and pushed it towards her own chest as though it was her most prized possession and she was afraid he might break it. Break it like he had broken her; her and them – her entire family.

"She was my friend!" she raged.

"Nobody has ever been kinder to me than she was! I have no one, Augustus, and you are not my brother anymore! Do you hear me? I want nothing to do with your murderous death eater arse!"

As she turned around to leave and slam the door behind her, the tall boy with dirty blonde hair made a weak sound behind her.

"Wait."

"I didn't… I didn't kill her," he continued.

"Uh huh? And what about her family then; did you kill them? Maybe torture them just a little?"

He grew silent just then, turning his gaze towards the cold stone floor of the Fawley Manor kitchen, grey eyes matching the tiles.

"I don't even know who you are anymore. You disgust me, Augustus. Just how do you do it? How do you justify murdering innocent people? I don't know how you can live with yourself."

"Aria, you don't unders…"

"Don't. Call me that," she warned, deadly glare glued to his eyes, identical to hers.

"I am trying to do what's right for our family, for you!"

"Well, you've failed immensely."

"Don't you see? It's not all black or white! You're being naïve. I joined them so that I could protect you from this war!"

"Well you can take your damn protection and shove it up your arse, Augustus, because I don't accept it. I hope you rot in Azkaban." The young woman slammed the door in his face as she left, unintentional magic crashing vases and dropping portraits to the floor in her childhood home.

Marlene McKinnon was dead. Her entire family were dead. Tortured and killed by death eaters last night. Aurelia pressed the newspaper to her chest, every muscle in her face growing tense, as though that was going to prevent the tears from falling. Marlene McKinnon was dead and gone. Aurelia would never see her again. Augustus had been there, he had let it happen, and Aurelia hated him with every bone in her body.

She was alone now. It truly did feel like she had no one, although logically she knew that wasn't the case. She had her grandfather, with whom she'd gotten very close over the past year of living with him. She had Regulus, although with his secret assignments she hadn't seen him much lately, and when she saw him he was worn out and stressed out. Somewhere, deep down, was the lingering feeling that she had Sirius. Sirius, who she had barely seen since the wedding disaster last year, and who was far too busy with the war, his godson and his best friend to bother with her; the girl who, once again, was lying to herself. He hadn't pushed her away, not really. It was just something she told herself to be able to deal with the fact that she had lost him too.

And now, now Marlene was gone, and Aurelia had lost both her brother and her friend over the course of a day. What did she have left? A job she'd always strived for, but which didn't seem to make any difference on this raging war outside? A grandfather who was old and greying, who's weak heart might fail him at any moment? A best friend who was never around, and who seemed to have his mind set on getting himself killed in this war? A love who she had hurt to the point where she couldn't look him in the eye anymore? A deadline to marry within less than a year, before her parents married her off the first pureblood death eater they came across? No, she had nothing. Nothing good, at least.

When the twenty-year-old girl finally managed to apparate back home to her grandfather's house, she found a dejected young man waiting for her on the stairwell, face in his hands.

"I heard," Regulus exclaimed as he saw her, and got up from the stairwell to hurriedly wrap his arms around his best friend, who pushed him away before he got the chance to.

"Oh, so you weren't there then?" she spat out in disgust, at the best friend she hadn't seen in months. The best friend who bore the same horrid mark on his arm as her brother did.

"I… No, Aurelia. Of course I wasn't! I wouldn't…"

"But you've tortured and killed people before, haven't you? Innocent people just like her."

"Muffliato," the boy murmured, and waved his wand with ease, before stepping closer to his friend. "What do you want me to say? I'm a spy, you know that. Every day I risk my life trying to end this war, to destroy his damn horcruxes. I don't want to take part in any of his madness, but I have to, if we're going to stand a chance."

"I… horcruxes? Plural? That's what you've been doing?" Aurelia asked, finally washing off the anger and tearing up again. She couldn't take it. She couldn't lose him, too.

"Yeah, there's… definitely more than one."

"This is what I'm... Reggie, I feel so powerless. You are gone for months on end risking your life, and there's nothing I can do. I can't lose you. You can't die. Please don't die," she managed, barely being able to catch a breath between those last few works, before falling apart into his arms. Marlene was dead. Regulus looked like a walking ghoul. Augustus was lost.

"Shh, it's alright. I won't die, okay? I won't die," the taller of the two chanted, stroking her hair rhythmically, his slow consistent breaths calming her down.

"I went to see him," she whispered into his black hoodie, closing her arms around his middle and holding on, fearing that if she let go, she would never see him again.

"Augustus," she continued, barely able to bring herself to say the name. She wasn't sure which was worse, the anger or the pain. She hated him for what he had become, but simultaneously, she grieved for the boy he had been.

"He was there. He… he's lost. I don't have a brother anymore."

"You have me. Alright? I'm here," the dark-haired boy mumbled, his voice failing him. Regulus had lost a brother once, too. Thankfully, him and Sirius had found their way back to each other, but you could hear it in his voice. He had lost a brother once, too.

"How is he?" she finally asked, after a moment of silence. A silence that had been screaming Sirius' name.

"He's the one who told me, wanted me to check on you."

"That doesn't answer my question, does it?"

"He's… It's a lot. The Potters are in hiding, he's trying to spend time with them, and Harry. But he misses you, Aurelia."

"Did he tell you that?"

"No, but-"

"Then don't tell me that," the girl cut him off, withdrawing from him and crossing her arms over her chest with a sigh.

"I can tell that he misses you. Look, I don't know what went down between the two of you, but it's not worth it. This war, it's… don't act like you have all the time in the world. You clearly love him," the boy said softly, and Aurelia found herself wondering how one could say such words in a soft manner. Her heart skipped a beat at what he had suggested, and she couldn't possibly entertain the thought of losing Sirius, too. Especially not today.

"Are you taking your own advice?" she snapped, again retorting to a quick defence, rather than entertaining the pain.

"What?"

"Remus."

"That's different," he tried, although was soon shut down by his friend again.

"Yeah, you tell yourself that."

"Look, I didn't come here to argue. I wanted to check on you, and I should probably be on my way," Regulus sighed, crossing his arms over his chest and taking a step back.

"Reggie?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't die."

"I love you too," he grinned in response, before disapparating and leaving an empty space on the lawn in front of her, as well as in her heart. She was alone again, not knowing for how long, while everyone else was out there fighting a deadly war. She was powerless and alone.