September 1st, 1996

Molly, Sirius, Bill, Fleur and I were downstairs in the kitchen getting ready for dinner. Molly's head kept jerking violently from the stove to her enchanted clock which she had placed on an abandoned chair at the kitchen table. Everyone's hand pointed towards "mortal peril", except Arthur's whose hand pointed towards "work" and Ron and Ginny's which were pointing to "traveling". Molly was anxiously awaiting him to come home – he'd left right from the train station after we had put the kids on the train, and had been gone longer than she had anticipated. She'd held off dinner until well after the sun had set, and ignored all of Sirius's grumbling that he was hungry.

"Any chance of a bit of bread, kitten?" He asked quietly from his spot at the table, where he was feeding Eliana her bottle.

"'Ere," Fleur said in her tinkling voice, handing Sirius a roll that she had just pulled out of the oven.

"Oh, all right then," Molly sighed, wiping her hands on the floral apron that she was wearing over her plain wizard's robes. "We might as well sit and eat. I'll save Arthur a plate."

"Zank Merlin," Fleur exclaimed. "I was starting to zink we would never…"

"Yes, thank you, dear," Molly cut her off, slamming a plate of roast down on the table. She shot Bill a venomous look, which he dutifully ignored as Fleur started piling his plate with meat and potatoes. He thanked her and wandered over to the cupboard to pull out a bottle of wine.

"Would anyone like?" He asked, holding up the bottle.

"Oh, yes please," I said. Sirius chuckled and summoned four glasses from the cupboard – for the two of us, Fleur and Bill. Molly shook her head no, which surprised none of us.

Bill poured me a large glass, and I took a sip gratefully. It was always difficult, saying goodbye to Harry and Hollyn. I would miss them both terribly, and I was already worried about them. I would be worried until both of their hands were safely pointing to "Hogwarts" on my own magical clock. Right now, they were, like Ron and Ginny's, stuck on "traveling".

Molly finally sat down, and made her own plate. She pretended to eat while the rest of us dug in greedily – none of us had eaten since very early that morning. Bill had worked the overnight shift again last night, and had come in as we were getting ready to leave for Kings Cross. Fleur had gone in to work as he had gotten home, and had just gotten home as Sirius was starting to complain of hunger. They were both digging in, Fleur doing so in an extremely dainty manner, but still I could tell that they were ravenous and exhausted. Gringott's had been extremely busy lately, as tons of wizarding families had begun to panic and were getting their finances in order – either they were completely emptying their vaults or adding additional security measures. Fleur and Bill, both curse breakers, were in charge of adding security measures, but had also been called on to break in to certain vaults that had been closed for years. So many families were trying to access ancestral vaults that had hereunto been ignored. Many of these older vaults had ancient family magic placed on them, and Fleur and Bill were tirelessly working to break in to them. Of course, many of these families landed on the Death Eater side, so it provided an excellent opportunity for Bill and Fleur to eavesdrop and bring back some information.

"Did you have any luck getting in to the Greengrass vault?" Sirius asked, taking a sip of his own glass of wine and looking over at Bill and Fleur.

Bill pursed his lips and shook his head. "Worked on it all night," Bill said. "Every time we try to get near the door to the vault, we get this intense migraine. Michael Loogin actually passed out during our first attempt to breach the vault, as soon as his hand got within a couple of inches of the handle.

"I attempted all day az well," Fleur said. "It iz almozt impossible to zink when near it. It iz almozt az if you forget what you are doing."

"Like a modified muggle repelling charm?" Sirius asked.

"Exactly," Bill nodded. "But I've never seen anything like it –"

I zoned out as Bill, Fleur and Sirius discussed the vault. I really couldn't care less if the Greengrasses could get in to another one of their vaults or not. I was pretty sure they were going to run to France, avoid the war altogether, if Bill was correct. They were trying to transfer their gold to one of the French banks, and had been whispering among themselves about pulling their girls from Hogwarts. I had no use for cowards who wouldn't stand up for something, anything. There was nothing worse than sticking your hand in the sand – I'd learned my lesson during the last war. It was worse this time, more dire. There was no excuse for neutrality at this point.

"Oh!" Molly screeched, causing all of us to jump. "He's coming," Molly said, pointing towards the clock. Sure enough, Arthur's hand was pointed towards "traveling", and minutes later, we heard the front door open and Arthur's hand returned to "mortal peril".

"Arthur!" She said, once he had pushed open the door to the kitchen. She rushed over to him and kissed him on the cheek, ushering him in to a vacant chair and pushing a plate of food in front of him.

"Evening, all," Arthur said, his voice tired.

"How are you, Dad?" Bill asked, summoning a glass for him and pouring wine. Arthur nodded his thanks, already digging in to the food.

"Thanks Molly, Bill. Work was fine, just paperwork that kept me late today. Harry, however, gave me something to think about before he left this morning," Arthur said, looking at Sirius and I.

"What?" I asked, my brow furrowed.

"Well I didn't get a chance to tell you before I had to run off this morning, but it seems like he, Ron and Hermione did leave the joke shop when they disappeared. They'd followed Draco Malfoy down to Knockturn Alley."

"Knockturn Alley!" Molly said indignantly.

"He saw Draco purchasing something from Bourgin and Burkes, seems to think it could be something dangerous – apparently something that was a pair to something he already owned."

"But you searched their manor, didn't you?" Bill asked, his eyebrows high. "After Lucius was arrested?"

"Exactly. I told Harry that anything dangerous had been confiscated."

"Bet he wasn't convinced," Sirius said, shaking his head.

"Not at all. He then proceeded to tell me that he believes Draco was marked – that he took Lucius's place as a death eater." Arthur said with a disbelieving laugh echoing in his voice. Bill and Molly chuckled as well, but Fleur glanced over at Sirius and I, her face pensive.

"I don't know," I said. "They aren't exactly known to have a ton of standards."

"But a sixteen-year-old child? Not even out of school yet?" Molly asked, skeptically.

"They tried to mark me before my 17th birthday. They did mark Regulus before his," Sirius said quietly, darkly, the light behind his eyes fading away as he remembered the horrors of his past. I grabbed his hand, grounding him. Fleur looked at us determinedly, noting how we provided comfort to each other. I smiled at her slightly; there were moments where she showed us the reason why Bill had fallen for her so quickly. For as beautiful as she was, and as easy as it was to dislike her, there was strength behind her eyes, intelligence and awareness in the way she moved. She was perceptive, always storing information for use later. She was chosen to be a Triwizard champion for a reason – there was more to Fleur than any of the Weasleys would admit.

"Exactly. We can't discount what they will do – they don't think the same way we do. To us it's monstrous to think about…but to them anyone is worth using, if they serve a purpose," I said, exchanging a significant look with Sirius. Isn't that what Dumbledore had done, with Harry? Dumbledore had known, from before Harry was even born, that eventually he would have to face almost certain death and face off against Lord Voldemort. How were we any better than the death eaters, when all of our hopes were in a sixteen-year-old boy? Neither Harry or Draco had a place in this war, and yet, the misguidance of their elders had forced them in to it anyway – for I had no doubt that somehow, Draco was involved. Harry was many things, and observant was not one of them…unless it concerned Draco Malfoy. If anyone would be able to tell that something was off with Malfoy, it would be Harry.

"I'll give their house another look over," Arthur conceded, tipping his head to Sirius and I. "Maybe we did miss something."

"Does anyone want some treacle tart?" Molly asked brightly, trying to lighten the mood a little, which had fallen since Sirius had made his announcement. Sirius enthusiastically agreed to some, obviously trying to help turn around the mood that he had helped set.

After we had all had way more dessert than we should have, we retired to the drawing room to finish out the evening with a game of chess – Bill vs. Sirius. Fleur and I perched on the coach above them, each cheering on our respective partner, while Molly and Arthur turned on the wireless and began to read – Molly a knitting magazine and Arthur the paper from this morning.

"The Ministry has finally acknowledged that Karkaroff was found dead on Harry and Hollyn's birthday," Arthur said, conversationally. We had all known about this since the kid's birthday party – Remus had gotten word to Dumbledore who had let us know at our meeting that night. But when the paper didn't print the news right away, we had all speculated that they were trying to rule out the possibility that there could possibly be another explanation than Death Eaters.

"I'm just amazed that he made it that long," Sirius replied, shaking his head as Bill took one of his chess pieces. "Damn, that was a good move."

Bill smiled slyly, turning to look over his shoulder at Arthur. "They're better off just being honest, and letting everyone know what's really going on. But try getting that message through to Scrimgeour."

"Scrimgeour," Sirius said with a grimace. "Can't believe that utter wanker was actually made Minister for Magic. Being head of the Auror department was bad enough."

"Well now that Amelia Bones is dead and Pius Thicknesse has taken over as head of the Department of Magical Law enforcement, that leaves the head of the Auror department open, doesn't it? I know that Thicknesse was slated to take over, but I don't think anyone expected Amelia Bones to be hunted down and killed by Voldemort himself," Bill asked, looking thoughtful.

"Yep – I don't know who they have in mind, but the only qualified person left, now that Moody's officially retired, would be Gawain Robards," Sirius said, nodding while looking at the chess board for his next move.

"Why don't you go back, Sirius? Get your name in the ring?" Arthur asked, putting the paper down on his lap. I sat back quietly, not willing to get involved in this conversation. I had my own opinions regarding Sirius working, but I knew that at the end of the day the decision was Sirius's, and whatever he did, I would support.

"I think you'd be a great Head of the Auror office," Bill said, moving one of his pieces. Fleur nodded enthusiastically from next to me, sharing her fiancé's beliefs.

"Don't think I haven't thought about it," Sirius said gravely. "But I know that Addie is worried enough with the kids being at Hogwarts, and especially with Bellatrix out there, I don't want to worry her anymore."

I felt my face grow warm, hating that Sirius was able to read me so easily, despite having never talked it through with me. I'd assumed Sirius hadn't wanted to go back because he was nervous, not because I was nervous. "You can, you know," I said quietly. He turned to look at me, his eyes wide. "If that's what you want to do…I want you to do it."

"Really?" Sirius asked in disbelief. I nodded, wringing the arms of my sweater tightly in my hands.

"I'm not saying I'm not going to be nervous – I'm going to be a wreck every time you leave the house. But I know you'll do more good out there than you can in here. One of us needs to stay with Eliana, but one of us should be out there, fighting," I said.

"You are wonderful," Sirius said in awe. He got up off the ground to press a kiss to my lips, then to my forehead, before sitting back down on the floor to continue his game of chess. "I'll go in first thing tomorrow."

"People respect your name, now," Arthur said, once he felt confident that a fight wasn't going to break out between Sirius and I. "They know that you were wronged, and that all you've done your entire career is fight dark wizards. I think people will feel safe, knowing you're out there."

"Plus, we could use another one of our own in the Ministry. Kingsley and Tonks are wonderful, but having someone higher up would be so beneficial," Molly said, in agreement. "But I do agree with Addie – you'll be careful, won't you?"

"As careful as if careful were my middle name. I'm serious, you know? Ha Ha…Sirius?" He joked, ignoring all of our groans. "Man, tough crowd."

"Is Dumbledore going to be okay with this?" I asked. "I know he wanted us to stay hidden, you know, after what happened to Ellie and Carina."

"I honestly don't care what Dumbledore wants. He thinks he can control us all and we'll just do what he wants? Hell no. If I want to fight, I'm going to fight. I'm not afraid of Bellatrix – as long as you and Eliana are safe, then I'll be fine."

Sirius was still furious with Dumbledore. My own anger had subsided somewhat, having not wanted anyone to realize that we had more information than they did. But it was up to Harry who he wanted to know about the prophecy – and we didn't want too many people knowing, for security reasons.

"Nobody even knows about Eliana," Molly reminded us. "Bellatrix can't look for someone she doesn't know exists."

"I know you don't want to hide," I said. "And I don't want you to hide either, not because I'm scared. We promised to fight, and I want to do that. I want you to go back to work, and I want to ask Dumbledore to put my back on the patrol schedule."

"Addie…" Sirius began warningly.

"No!" I protested. "No! I'm not afraid either. I promised that I was going to do more during this war, and I haven't lived up to that. Molly will help watch Eliana on nights that we're both busy, right Molly?"

"Of course," she said, without hesitation.

And so, it was decided. The news which came later, in the form of a patronous from Tonks, that Harry and Draco had been in a fight on the train, only reaffirmed Sirius and I's decision that we needed to do more in the fight. As we laid in bed that night, curled around each other and holding on as if it was the last time we would ever see each other, I felt at peace with my decision. I'd sat back during the last war and let Sirius risk his neck. We'd lost friends, family, Order of the Phoenix members, while I sat safe at home, or traveling with Puddlemere. I wouldn't do that again – if Sirius was going to get back out there, which I had known he would do eventually, then so was I. I fell asleep that night, cocooned in Sirius's warmth, and shot up a quick prayer to…whoever might be listening, just praying that we all made it out of this somewhat intact.


June 30th, 1997

So much had happened in the last nine months, that it felt as if no time had passed at all since Sirius and I had decided to stop hiding. He had returned to work, and had been overwhelmingly positively received as the new Head of the Auror department. Scrimgeour had already used his connection to Harry once, asking Sirius to bring Harry in to work to discuss his future. Both Sirius and Harry had returned home, much earlier than expected, fuming. Sirius had assumed that Scrimgeour wanted Harry's advice, but what he had really wanted was for Harry to publicly side with the Ministry. Harry, appalled at some of the decision Scrimgeour had been making – including arresting those that clearly have nothing to do with the Death Eaters and parading them around as if their arrest was a huge win – had not so politely told him to go pound salt.

Sirius was trying his best to uphold some standards in the Auror department, and thus far had been doing a good job. He was stressed, but felt confident that he was at least making some sort of impact towards the war. I had taken up a rigorous patrol schedule, finding myself in Hogsmeade more nights than not. It had been nice, being able to see Hollyn and Harry from afar, enjoying the weather and their friends. Harry and Ginny had finally gotten together, from the looks of it, and although I didn't want them to worry by knowing that the school was constantly being patrolled, at least I got to feel like I was slightly a part of their lives.

Tonight though, seemed to be special. Dumbledore had asked more members of the Order of the Phoenix to patrol than normal – it seemed that he was planning on leaving the castle that night and wanted extra security. Sirius and I, along with Bill, Fleur, Remus, who had returned from abroad a couple of months ago, and Tonks all agreed to patrol.

Sirius and I had chosen to patrol the third floor, and so far, the night had been quiet. I was just opening my mouth to ask Sirius why he though Dumbledore had wanted us tonight, when I heard footsteps pounding on the stone of the corridor. I turned, my wand held high, only to see Luna Lovegood and Hermione sprinting towards me.

"Death Eaters," Hermione panted, holding a stitch in her side. "We were tailing Snape for Harry, but he must have felt something. He said to alert the Order – there's trouble on the seventh floor."

"Harry?" I asked bewildered. "Where is Harry? What are you two doing up?"

"Left with Dumbledore," Hermione said, still panting. "He asked us and the DA to patrol. He thinks Snape and Malfoy are up to something."

"I don't understand…" I said, confusion clouding my judgement.

"There's no time!" Sirius said, already taking off down the hallway. "We can ask questions later, Addie. Let's go!"

"We have to go tell the rest of the order!" Hermione said frantically, pulling the Marauder's map out of her pocket.

"I got it," I said, putting my wand to my throat and sending off my patronous, which took the shape of a leopard, to the rest of the patrolling Order members. "Let's go!"

We took off behind Sirius to the staircases. By the time we reached the seventh floor, we saw that a full-on battle was taking place. Tonks and Remus had beaten us upstairs, and they were each fighting a death eater, with Sirius behind them taking on two at a time. I saw his back turned, and a masked death eater pointing his wand at Sirius's back, so I sent a quick stunner before he was able to shoot a spell off. I saw, to my horror, that Bill was laying on the floor, in a puddle of his own blood, next to another body, which I couldn't identify. I tried to make my way over to Bill, to assess his injuries, but a masked death eater stepped in front of my path, and started shooting spells at me with extreme precision. I heard more people running up behind me, and was just able to spare a glance to see that it was Neville, Ginny, Ron, and…my stomach fell…Hollyn. I heard Ginny sprint right in to action, taking on a death eater who had skirted around me and the death eater in front of me when he had heard more people coming. I blocked another stunner spell, sent my way by the death eater who was blocking my path to Bill.

I turned my full attention to him, firing off spells, blocking and dodging the spells he cast my way. Someone was firing spells off, seemingly at random, not caring if they hit someone on their own side or the other side. Part of the ceiling had collapsed, hitting me hard in the head, and Remus was screaming that they had blocked off the staircase to the Astronomy Tower. I couldn't focus on anything but the death eater I was battling; the battle had gotten intense, with both of us upping the game from stunners to darker spells.

Ginny and Hollyn were still fighting behind me, and Minerva was taking care of both of the Carrow siblings, when people came running down from the Astronomy Tower. It was Snape and Draco Malfoy – the Order let him pass, knowing that he was taking Draco to safety. What Malfoy was doing here, I couldn't understand. Malfoy shot a look of utter terror at the group of kids behind me, the color draining from his face entirely – I could only imagine that no matter how he was involved with the events of tonight, that he never wanted his classmates involved. Snape grabbed Draco by the scruff of his neck when he seemed to hesitate in front of Hollyn, who was dodging spells sent by the death eater that she and Ginny were fighting, and pulled him down the corridor after him.

Moments later, however, Harry came sprinting down the stairs, a furious look on his face. He briefly assessed the scene in front of him, sending a stunner towards the death eater who now had Ginny pinned against a wall. The death eater fell at once, releasing Ginny, who shot Harry a grateful look.

"Harry!" Sirius called, but Harry had taken off again, down the corridor after Snape and Malfoy. Some of the death eaters that we had been fighting turned and followed Harry, allowing Fleur the chance to tend to Bill. I couldn't focus on that at the moment, not when Harry was running away from us.

"HARRY!" I screamed, terror griping me as I noticed even more death eaters pouring down the Astronomy Tower stairs, and pursuing Harry. Sirius didn't hesitate, and went after him instinctively. Hermione and Ron took off behind him. As Sirius and the kids vanished down the corridor, I felt something squeeze my heart – both of my boys were gone. As I was about to turn to follow him, I remembered that Hollyn was right behind me, along with the rest of the kids. I was distracted, momentarily, stuck in my own indecision, when a purple spell struck my cheek, burning where it had hit me. I screamed and turned back to the death eater, only to see that he was laying on the ground – Remus had slammed in to him, causing his jinx to miss it's intended target – my back. The fall had caused the death eater's mask to slip off, and when he looked up at me, I gasped and stepped in front of the kids, my arms spread wide.

"Remus, Tonks, get the kids out of here!" I screamed, looking down with terror at Jason Whitmore – staring up at me with a wild grin on his face.

"So, our daughter grew up to be quite the looker eh? Shame she looks so much like your husband – wish she'd gotten something from me," Jase said in a sickening voice. He pushed himself up off the floor slowly, as Remus and Tonks rushed over to the kids, trying to pull them down the hallway. Neville had his wand up, standing his ground against Tonks, who was attempting to pull him by the back of his jacket.

"Mum!" Hollyn screamed, kicking her feet against Remus, who had her pinned to his chest so forcefully that her legs were dangling in the air.

"Oh, she's a fighter huh? Should I see if she's just like her mother? You were a fighter too, eh? I loved taking that away from you," Jase said with an oily smile, taking a step towards me, his glare never leaving Hollyn's face.

"You're not my father!" Hollyn screamed, her face red from the exertion of trying to break Remus's hold. I thanked Merlin that Remus had werewolf strength. There was no way Hollyn was going to break his hold.

"Oh? I guess the rumors are true then," He said, twirling his wand as he paced the width of the hallway. Three or four of his fellow death eaters, who hadn't run after Harry, came up behind him, standing like body guards. "You really did break my memory spell. And here I thought I was going to get a family reunion. Looks like I'll just have to settle for killing you and your little spawn."

"Remus, get her out of here. NOW!" I screamed; wand held steady in Jase's face. He didn't hesitate this time, taking off down the hallway, Hollyn still pinned in his arms and screaming her protests the entire way. I heard multiple feet leaving, and braved a glance to see that Tonks had Ginny's arm in a tight grasp, pulling her down the hallway behind her. Minerva, after insisting that Neville leave with the rest of them, stepped up next to me, her wand held high.

"Get help for Bill!" Fleur screamed after the group, pushing away from her fiancée to stand next to me.

"Fleur, no," I shook my head. "Go, take him to the hospital wing. He wants me, they'll let you go as long as I stay."

"Bill iz fine," she said, not looking at me. Her wand was held steady, her expression fierce as she glared at the four death eaters in front of us. "He iz breathing. You need my help."

It was a fierce fight, four against three, and all of us trying to ensure Bill wasn't trampled. Jase kept his focus on me, firing spell after spell at me, all of which I dodged. Minerva and Fleur were holding their own against the other three death eaters, when suddenly something changed. All four of them grasped their arms, wincing in pain.

"He's calling!" One of the death eaters called, dodging a well-aimed hex sent by Fleur. Jase looked torn, looking over his shoulder at the clear hallway behind him – at some point during the fight we had switched sides, my back now facing the Astronomy tower. The rest of the death eaters were pinned against the Astronomy tower staircase, Minerva and Fleur holding them back from running. Jase looked torn between staying and taking me down, and fleeing while he had the chance. Suddenly, like a startled deer, he turned and took off.

"NO!" I screamed, taking off after him immediately.

"Addie!" Minerva called. "No!"

"Take care of these three. I can't let him escape. I just can't!" I sprinted after him, noting that he must have been taking good care of himself – he was fast. Despite taking several shortcuts that I knew from Sirius, by the time I had burst through the front doors on to the grounds, he was already halfway down to Hagrid's hut.

I vaguely saw that the hut was on fire, and the dark forms of a couple of people, still fighting, firing colorful spells at each other, but my focus was solely on Jase. As I chased after him, I heard someone shouting Harry's name, but from this distance I couldn't tell who it was. Jase must have heard it too, for he stopped short and turned to face me, his face taunting.

"Maybe I should go see what's going on over there, huh? Take care of that pesky Harry Potter. Hopefully, your husband is there and I can take the whole family out in one fell swoop," he taunted me, walking backwards away from me, and towards the group standing in front of Hagrid's hut. Without another thought, I charged Jase, ramming in to him and sending the both of us toppling down the hill.

We rolled down the hill, both of us unable to stop the momentum. My wand flew out of my hand, and I desperately tried to reach for it as Jase had managed to get a hold of my neck. We reached the bottom of the hill and were finally able to see the scene that we had been too far from just moments before. Jase got to his feet first, and pulled me to mine forcefully, capturing my neck in a chokehold, cutting off my oxygen.

Sirius was clutching on to Harry, trying to pull him away from Snape, who was standing with his wand held high, turned against Harry.

"Addie?" Sirius cried out, seeing me standing there, held in Jase's unforgiving grasp.

"Whitmore," Snape sneered, barely sparing us a glance. "What are you still doing here?"

"Couldn't resist dropping in for a little visit," Jase said in a lofty voice. "Long time no see, Black."

"Let her go," Sirius demanded, taking a step forward.

Jase laughed, and turned his wand towards Harry, despite my attempts to wiggle out of his grasp. "If you keep moving like that Jones, you're going to give me the wrong idea here – and in front of your husband, too? I didn't know you liked it like that."

"You rotten, foul, little –" Sirius screamed, his face wild with rage, advancing towards us.

"Uh uh!" Jase taunted him. "You come any closer, and the kid dies."

"No!" I screamed. "Harry, GO!"

"I'm not going anywhere," Harry yelled back. "Snape killed Dumbledore!"

My heart sank upon his words. Dumbledore was dead? It wasn't possible. It wasn't possible. "No! It's not true!" I screamed, bucking against Jase in an attempt to run towards Harry.

"It's true," Sirius said quietly. "Dumbledore is dead."

"No!" I deflated, tears springing to my eyes immediately. "No!" I cried again.

"Enough!" Snape hissed. "Whitmore, let's go."

"Let Addison go!" Sirius screamed, his eyes never leaving Jase's hand, which was still holding a wand that was pointing directly at our godson.

"Choose," Jase hissed at Sirius. "The kid, or your wife."

"No!" Snape snapped, taking a step backwards towards Jase. "Potter is the Dark Lord's – you will not kill him."

"I don't care what the Dark Lord thinks he wants. I'm sure he will rejoice knowing that the kid is dead, and Sirius Black's wife is held hostage," Jase sneered, tightening his hold.

"I will not choose!" Sirius screamed, the panic settling in to his voice now. "Harry, go!"

"No! Not without Addie!" Harry protested, stubbornly.

Sirius took a step closer, and Jase sent a killing curse towards Harry, who managed to dodge it. "Still think I'm kidding?" Jase asked. "I don't give a shit about the Dark Lord. I came here tonight for her. I was hoping to kill that daughter of yours, but I'll settle with making her an orphan."

Sirius's eyes widened, sensing how dire the situation was. I couldn't break Jase's hold – and from the vantage point we were at, Sirius couldn't hit him without running the risk of hitting me. Jase and Snape had the high ground over Sirius and Harry; their aim would be much better than Sirius could ever hope for.

"Sirius!" I screamed, despite the fact that I felt like I was just seconds from passing out. Darkness was creeping in to the sides of my vision, and I felt the oxygen escaping my lips. Every word hurt, but I needed Sirius to understand that he had to go. "Remember what we said – we will always protect Harry!"

"I'm not leaving you!" Sirius screamed.

"We promised!" I cried. "Take Harry and go – you promised! One of us would always get Harry out when the situation gets dire. GO!"

I saw the fight leave Sirius's eyes as he looked at me and realized that he could do nothing to save me. Jase had me held too tightly, and in just second, he could easily turn his wand on me. Sirius nodded once. "I love you," he croaked, brokenly. I gave myself one second to memorize his face – the pain was evident on his face, his grey eyes defeated. He was beautiful, even now.

"I love you both. Tell Hollyn I love her!" I screamed back as Jase violently tugged me backwards with him, having sensed that Sirius had made his decision.

"I love you! I love you!" I screamed frantically, as I caught my last glance of Sirius before disappearing over the other side of the hill, being pulled towards the Hogwarts gates. Sirius looked heartbroken, caught in an impossible place between protecting Harry and wanting to save me. He could do nothing but hold Harry back – who was bucking and trying desperately to get to me – as I was pulled away, and eventually even the distant view of their shadowy figures disappeared. We made our way through the gates, Hogwarts disappearing from my view as the gates slammed shut with an almighty bang.

"Bind her," Snape snapped. Jase obliged and I felt chains wrap around my arms, pinning them behind my back. "Might as well knock her out too."

"Don't tell me what to do," Jase snapped.

"Oh? And what is your plan for her?" Snape drawled.

Jase didn't answer. "Exactly. Can't even take a hostage without my help. Come, let's go."

The last thing I remembered was Snape's impassive face as he looked down at me, and, his motions betraying no emotion, knocked me out.