A/N: Sorry for the wait on this one! I wanted to go back and reread the whole end of the book so that I would have the sequence of events right, but then decided that I was going to change it up a little bit. Nothing major, just not going to go crazy referencing the text.
Anything you recognize from later is taken right from the text, and is also my favorite scene from the whole book. I think it is so impeccably written, and always makes me tear up :) Enjoy!
May 1st, 1998
From the moment Sirius and the kids left, I held on to my mirror as though it were a lifeline. Harry had willingly relinquished it to me, sensing how nervous I was about letting any of them out of my sight again. I sat anxiously on Bill and Fleur's couch, Eliana bouncing happily on my knee, oblivious to the general sense of dread that permeated through the entire house.
Narcissa spent the entire day sitting beside me, her hand in mine as we offered each other a silent promise of support. Fleur sat on my other side, while Bill hovered around the back, unsure of how to help the three emotional women he found himself faced with. It was Luna, however, who offered the most sense of comfort; she sat quietly, humming to herself, and keeping Narcissa and I plied with tea. Hollyn alternated between sitting quietly next to Dean, and taking Eliana from me. She needed something to do with her hands, and holding her baby sister was as good an activity as any.
It was nearly dusk, a full twelve hours after Sirius and Harry had left, that I felt the mirror burning in my hand. Desperately, I picked it up. Sirius was framed in the glass, slightly battered, and wet, but looking none the worse for wear.
"Sirius," I breathed. "What happened?"
"We got it," he said proudly, holding up a pile of molten gold, which must have been a cup just moments before. "Griphook did try to double-cross us, nasty goblin, but Draco took care of him. Fine bit of spell work." He glanced over to his right suspiciously. I chuckled – as determined as he was to hate his daughter's boyfriend, even he couldn't deny good spell work when he saw it.
"Hermione stabbed it!" Ron exclaimed, jumping in to frame excitedly.
"Ronald, stop jumping around and let me heal you," came Hermione's sharp voice.
"We're wasting time!" Harry snapped.
"What's happening?" Bill asked harshly, bending over the back of the couch, his hand on Fleur's shoulder.
"Harry…had a vision," Sirius said slowly. "He says the next horcrux is at Hogwarts."
My heart fell. Hogwarts was going to be impossible to get in to, with Snape as headmaster and death eaters as teachers. Luna had filled me in on what had happened before she left, and I was, understandably, horrified. I was happy, now, that Molly had refused to let Hollyn return after Easter Holidays. I shuddered when I thought about what torture she could've endured otherwise.
"Well, then we must go to Hogwarts!" Luna said, simply, as though it were as easy as walking in to the market.
"Right," Dean snorted. "Because we can just waltz in to Hogsmeade right now and figure it out."
Sirius chuckled darkly. "That's the plan, Thomas."
"You can't be serious," I deadpanned.
"I'm always –" Sirius began with a grin.
"Sirius! If you make that joke right now, I will feed you to the dragon," Harry snapped, viciously.
"Dragon?" Fleur asked.
"No time to explain," Sirius said quickly. "We'd better go before Harry loses a bollock, or Malfoy murders Ronald. Kitten, I'll be in touch soon, okay? I love you."
"I love you!" I said back.
"I love you, Draco!" Narcissa said, speaking for the first time in hours, but the mirror had already gone blank, my own facing staring back at me. Narcissa turned to look at me, panic evident in her eyes.
"'ee knows," Fleur said kindly, reaching around me to pat Narcissa on the leg. "And you will see 'im soon."
We all sat in silence for the next hour, waiting for something to happen. I kept my eyes on the mirror, willing it to burn again. It was nearly 10PM before I felt my skin heating, where the mirror had pressed against my forearm. I called for Bill, who had gone in to the kitchen for a cup of tea with Fleur. He came rushing in, Fleur behind him, pulling on a cardigan over her blouse and jeans. None of us had been hopeful enough to get dressed for sleep; all of us were still in our day clothes, ready to leave at a moment's notice. I think we all knew, somehow, that everything was going to come to a head tonight. It was all going to end, for better or for worse.
Narcissa rushed over, Hollyn right behind her. I picked up the mirror. "Hi."
"We're in. Voldemort is coming. Round up everyone you can – Remus, Tonks, Molly, Arthur, Charlie, the twins, Shacklebolt, Moody. Whoever else you can get. Maybe see if Moody can round up some older ex-Aurors. Addie, call Ollie, Wesley – the old Puddlemere crew," Sirius said, shooting off orders quickly.
"'ow do we get in?" Fleur asked. "I vill call Viktor. Ve 'ave kept in touch. I zink he vill come."
"I'm sure he will," Ron snorted bitterly. Hermione shushed him.
"The Hog's Head! Aberforth will help you in," Hermione said.
"I vill fire call 'im now," Fleur said, kissing Bill on the cheek and going in to use the fireplace in the kitchen.
"Anything else you need?" I asked, quickly.
"Yes. You need to stay home with Eliana and Hollyn," Sirius demanded.
"No!" Hollyn protested. "I'm coming."
"Absolutely not," Sirius and I said at the same time, our voices equally horrified.
"Yes. I am," Hollyn said, crossing her arms stubbornly.
"No." It was a demanding voice, neither Sirius's nor mine. The mirror was ripped from Sirius's hands, his protests falling on deaf ears, and Malfoy's face filled the frame. "You need to stay there. I can't protect you here. Neither can your Mum or Dad. You'll just get in the way."
It was said harshly, and Hollyn flinched as though she had been physically hit. "I won't get in the way. I can take care of myself. I fought last time!"
"And if I hadn't given specific instructions that you not be touched, you'd probably be dead!" Malfoy snapped, his pale face pinched with anger. "I can't promise that this time," he lamented quietly, more gently. "Stay. Mother, you keep her there, you understand? And you stay as well. It's too dangerous for a traitor here."
Narcissa grabbed the mirror from me, staring at her son desperately, drinking in every last second of him. "Be careful, Draco. It is just as dangerous for you."
Draco nodded once, his pale eyes swimming with determination. "I love you both."
Narcissa echoed his words, and Hollyn chocked out a sob. "I love you. Please come back to me. Please don't leave me."
Draco nodded again, and with one last fleeting glance, relinquished the mirror back to Sirius, who took it with a harried expression on his face. Behind him, we could hear multiple voices, joining together in a chaos of sound. "Look, I have to go. We have to find the last horcrux. You all have instructions. Addie, make sure the kids are safe. I have to go. I love you. I love you all."
And the mirror was once again empty. We all sat in shock, until suddenly jumping in to action at once, speaking over each other.
"I can use the galleon, let the old DA members know. Katie will tell Oliver, he'll tell Mr. Wood," Dean said, pulling an ordinary galleon from his pocket and tapping it with his wand.
"I'll go get Mum and Dad. We can get in touch with Charlie," Bill said, heading towards the kitchen to kiss Fleur goodbye.
"I'll go home, get Dad and Lewis. Hopefully the twins are still there," I said.
"Mr. Wood should be able to get in touch with his Quidditch friends, right?" Luna asked, tilting her head at Dean.
"I'll ask," he confirmed, tapping the galleon again.
"That just leaves, Moody, Shacklebolt, Remus and Tonks," I said, looking around desperately to see who wasn't already in action. Hollyn and Narcissa were still exactly where they had been when Draco had been speaking to them, except they were now clasping hands.
"I'll go," Narcissa said suddenly. She stood, wiping her hands down her already immaculate dress. "I'll take Hollyn and Eliana with me. Andromeda and I can stay with them and Teddy, while you go and kill that bastard."
"But, I don't want…" Hollyn began.
"Hush," Narcissa hissed, although her eyes were gentle. "You heard your parents. You're too young. There's no need to endanger yourself in this."
Hollyn stomped her foot, her grey eyes blazing fiercely. "My entire family is going to be there."
"I'll take Hollyn," Bill said, coming back from the kitchen, Fleur under his arm. "Her and Ginny can stay together at The Burrow. Keep each other company."
I nodded, relief flooding my system. Hollyn needed her best friend, especially now. They would both know exactly what the other was going through – their families, their boyfriends all fighting the same fight. I pulled her towards me, wrapping my arms around her. I kissed her temple, breathing in her scent – floral, yet spicey, the perfect blend of Sirius and I, yet uniquely Hollyn.
"I love you, Holly girl. Your father loves you. We love you so much."
Hollyn's eyes were filled with tears, a red ring forming around her beautiful grey irises. She looked so much like Sirius; I felt my heart clench. "I love you, Mum. Tell Dad I love him. Tell Harry I love him. Merlin, come home to me, please. All of you."
I nodded to her, too choked up to say anything more without losing it completely.
"Come on," Bill said, pulling Hollyn out of my arms gently. "We have to go. Ginny's going to put up a much harder fight than that, and we don't have any time to lose."
He paused to kiss Fleur. She wrapped her thin arms around him, tangling her hands in to his long red hair. "Go. I vill meet you zere. I vill go with Luna and Dean now. Viktor is on 'is way."
She gestured to Luna and Dean, who said goodbye to us all – Dean hesitantly, and Luna brightly – before they exited the house. A few seconds later, the tell-tale pop of apparition confirmed that they had disappeared. Bill followed shortly after, pulling Hollyn with him. With one last glance over her shoulder, eyes furrowed in fear, they too were gone.
I swallowed thickly, knowing that I needed to leave too, but turned towards Narcissa. She was holding Eliana, who had been quietly napping throughout the entire debacle of the last ten minutes. I took her from Narcissa gently, not wanting to wake her. I kissed the top of her head, smoothing back her brown head and breathing in her scent. She gurgled, slightly in her sleep, turning her head in to my neck and nuzzling closer. I was about to do exactly what I had been angry with Sirius for – abandoning our children. But like he had all of those months ago, I had no choice. If I didn't go, and something happened to Sirius or Harry, I would never forgive myself. I had to fight – I had promised myself that I would fight this war until the very end. I'd been kidnapped, raped, tortured, imprisoned for months at the hands of the very people my family was about to fight – and suddenly I was angrier than I had ever been before.
These people had taken Lily, James, Ellie, Carina, Marlene…my mother…from me. They'd caused Harry and countless others to grow up as orphans. They had imprisoned Sirius for years. They'd tortured Alice and Frank into insanity. They'd made it so that Hollyn grew up without a father, Max and Louisa without a mother. They'd terrorized muggles, hunted muggle-borns, ripped families apart, turned brother against brother, sister against sister. They'd taken Sirius's brother from him, before he even knew all of the good he had done; before he'd gotten to know that they were more alike than they had ever dreamed of. They'd caused Mary to disappear, to Merlin only knows where. They'd disfigured healthy young men – George and Bill. They had taken every good thing in this world and turned it dark. And they needed to finally pay for all of the harm they had caused. And I needed to be there to see it through.
"Goodbye baby," I whispered to Eliana. "Mummy has to go make sure you grow up safe and happy. I love you."
I kissed the top of her head again, and passed her back to Narcissa impulsively – knowing that if I held on to her for even a moment more, I would never let her go.
"Go," Narcissa whispered, bouncing Eliana who was still sleeping peacefully. "I'll check on Mr. Ollivander quickly and then go to my sister's. You need to go. Sirius needs you."
I nodded at the older woman, blonde hair pulled back in a tight bun, blue eyes wide and sincere. "Thank you, Narcissa."
"We are family, after all," she said with a small smile. "Our children are likely to make it so. Although, I suppose, we already are."
I shuddered, not liking to think about how loosely pureblood families considered family relationships and marriage. It was better not to think about it, just as I had told Molly the night Sirius and I had gotten engaged. I turned without another word, left the house, and apparated to my brother's house.
It was just as I remembered it. There were toys littering the front porch, a couple of brooms leaning against the wall in between the front door and a large flower pot full of boots. The front door was propped open, the screen closed. I heard laughter filtering out from the kitchen, the booming laugh of my father, the tag-team of Fred and George making jokes, a high-pitched squeal that must be Louisa. I paused for a moment, allowing them to enjoy their last minutes of peace before rushing in to send it crashing down around them.
When I couldn't wait any longer, I pushed the door open. Lewis was up in an instant, wand out, as George grabbed Louisa in to his arms and Fred stepped in front of Max.
"It's me," I said, holding my hands in the air.
"Addison?" my dad said, shocked.
"Wait, Dad. We have to confirm it's her," Lewis said sternly, holding his hand out to stop my dad from coming closer to me. "When was the last time Addison Black held me at wand point?"
I blanched, my mind whirling in four hundred different directions as I tried to remember. Why did he have to ask something so specific? "Uhm..uhmmm…I guess the night Regulus was injured? Unless I did it more recently when drunk or something that I'm forgetting about. If so…sorry about that."
Lewis sighed in relief, lowering his wand immediately. "No, you haven't. Oh, thank Merlin, Addie. We've been so worried about you." He rushed forward, pulling me in to his arms. I hugged him back for a moment, before pulling away to accept a hug from my dad. I leaned down to kiss Louisa, who George had put down so she could waddle towards me, and hugged Max – who had gotten so big since I had last seen him that he now came up to my chin.
"No hugs for us?" Fred asked sarcastically, his arms held wide. George stood in an identical stance, his missing ear jarring to see in person for the first time.
"Sorry boys," I said quickly, rushing to hug them both.
"What's happened?" Lewis asked. "Is something wrong?"
I nodded, looking between the four adults, eyes wide. "It's happening. The final battle. We have to go. Now."
Lewis and my dad exchanged a nervous glance, but Fred and George, looking uncharacteristically grim, merely nodded. "I thought I felt my galleon burn," Fred said, pulling one out of his pocket. "I thought it was just the injury from the explosion heating up…Merlin I picked a bad day to burn my arse."
George pulled his own galleon out of his shirt pocket. "Must've confused it with heart burn…get it…heart burn?" Fred rolled his eyes at George's lame attempt at a joke.
"Hogwarts, through the Hog's Head," Fred read. "Right, well, we best be off. I'd imagine Alicia and Angelina are already there – we'd quite like to snog our ladies before the fighting begins." Wiggling his eyebrows a few times suggestively, he and George walked outside, apparating immediately.
"We should go, too," I said quietly. "If you want to."
Lewis and my dad exchanged one more glance, seeming to communicate silently. I could tell that Lewis was hesitant to leave his kids. Max, I realized, must be turning 11 this year. He would be starting Hogwarts next year. Louisa was five, and she'd already lost her mother. They needed their father. But my dad was older…his reflexes weren't as quick as ours.
"I'll go. They'll need me to heal," my dad said. "I'll go and grab my bag." He left the room quickly, searching for his bag of medical supplies.
"Then I'll stay here," Lewis said.
"You should go," Max said quietly, stepping up so that he was holding Louisa's hand. "I can watch Lou."
Lewis shook his head. "No. You're too young to be alone with her."
"I'm ten. I'm going to school next year, all by myself. I can do this," he said. Although his voice was shaking slightly, his hand was steady in Louisa's tiny hand.
I looked at Lewis; he was conflicted. I could tell he wanted to go, he wanted to fight. He needed to avenge Ellie and Carina's death; but he didn't want to leave Max and Louisa alone.
"Aunt Addie, please. Tell him," Max pleaded. "They took you. They killed my Mum. My baby sister. Dad, you have to go."
Louisa tucked her chin against her chest at Max's words, her bottom lip trembling. "Daddy," she said, looking up at him through her long lashes.
"Yes, Angel?" Lewis knelt down, pulling Louisa towards him.
"Are these the bad guys who hurt Mommy and Carina?"
"Yes," he nodded, his eyes filling with tears.
"And you can go and stop them?" she asked, innocently.
"I wish I could, honey. But I can't leave you two all alone," Lewis choked.
"Bring them to The Burrow," I said suddenly. "Ginny and Hollyn are there. Hell, it'll encourage those two to stay put. It's a win-win."
Lewis tore his gaze away from his kids slowly. He nodded at me. "Yeah. Yeah, I'll do that. You and Dad go. I'll take the kids to Hollyn and meet you there."
He stood up and turned to gather up the kid's things, but I grabbed his wrist and pulled him towards myself. I pulled him in to a hug, kissing his cheek. "I love you, Lew. I'm sorry this is how we have to see each other for the first time in a year."
"It's not your fault. We'll have plenty of time to talk about everything once this is over."
I nodded. I kissed both of the kids, and told them I loved them. I stepped outside while my dad said his goodbyes, letting the cool breeze calm me down slightly. After a minute, he joined me outside, bag in hand.
"Let's go," he said. I grabbed hold of his arm, and we disapparated.
The sound was disarming – a loud screeching sound that reverberated throughout the entirety of Hogsmeade. There were several death eaters, stunned on the ground in front of the tavern – I guess a bunch of people appearing at once had been enough to overwhelm them. I pushed open the door, not bothering to knock. Aberforth was standing behind the bar, Molly, Arthur, and Bill in front of him.
"…not a train station!" he exclaimed, throwing his arms in the air when he saw that two more had entered his pub. "Oh Merlin, there's more."
"Few more coming, Abe," Dad said. "My son is on his way. Molly, Arthur – he's taking the kids to Ginny and Hollyn."
"Great," Molly said. "That should keep those two put. The fight they put up with us!"
"Come on, Harold," Abe said. "Might as well show you the way – you've saved my life so many times, I reckon I owe you."
Dad raised his eyebrows at me in agreement, and the four of us followed him to his upper room. He showed us to a tunnel, which we funneled in to. The walk took us longer than expected, and yet no time at all. Before we knew it, we were pushing open an identical portrait and stepping in to a room full of the oddest assortment of people one could ever expect.
There were students in their Hogwarts robes, a group of people in Quidditch practice robes, men and women in wizarding robes, and some teenagers in muggle clothing. I saw Fred and George, reunited with their girlfriends, and chatting with Katie Bell, who was holding hands with Oliver Wood. Behind Oliver, stood his father, Wesley, and my original Puddlemere United teammates. Oliver Scrimgeour stood with them, his wife, Ariella, attached to his arm, looking around the room nervously. Remus and Tonks had beaten us, and Molly and Arthur went over to greet them. My dad wandered over to Mad-Eye and Kingsley, shaking hands with the two gentleman and putting his head together with them – undoubtedly, they were coming up with a game plan. Dean had joined Neville and was embracing his best mate, Seamus. Luna was standing beside them, chatting mildly with Draco Malfoy, who looked like he wasn't entirely sure how he had gotten himself in to his present situation. Bill, Charlie and Fleur stood near the center of the room, and I made my way over to them.
Notably absent, were Harry, Ron, Hermione…and Sirius. I was about to ask Bill where they were, when the doors flung open and they came rushing in.
"Everyone needs to gather downstairs!" Sirius called over the chatter of the room. "We've expelled Snape from the castle – Professor McGonagall is gathering everyone in the Great Hall so that those who are underage can be escorted out, and everyone else can be given orders."
His words were met with silence. "Now!" He screamed, when nobody seemed inclined to move. At once, everyone began filing out, until it was just us, the Weasley's, Remus and Tonks left.
"We should probably…" I began, but the portrait opened suddenly and a red-headed girl stumbled out gracefully.
"Ginny!" Molly screamed. "What are you doing here?"
"I came to fight," she said simply, dusting off her jeans.
"Absolutely not! You're not of age. And where are Hollyn, and the kids?" Molly snapped, looking behind her as though Hollyn was going to pop out at any second.
"Hollyn stayed behind. I…well…I stunned her to be honest. Max was in on it," Ginny admitted, looking slightly ashamed.
"I knew I liked that kid," Fred said with a grin.
"Chip off the old block," George agreed.
"And you two are encouraging her?" Molly hissed. The twins had the foresight to look slightly embarrassed, although when she turned her back, they both shot Ginny a thumbs up.
"Your mother is right," Arthur sighed, cleaning his glasses on the bottom of his shirt. "You can't fight."
"Why not!" Ginny yelled, her eyes filling with tears and her green eyes blazing. "My whole family is fighting! I can't sit at home and wait…and wonder," she said, her eyes locking on to Harry's, who was staring at her as though a part of his heart had wandered outside of his body.
"Be that as it may," Remus said, kindly. "You cannot fight. Nobody who is underage will be allowed to. We can't make an exception for you."
"Come on, Gin. Remus, Mum and Dad are right. You have to go home," Bill said. Ginny looked to Harry, expectantly, but he shook his head. Ginny turned away, likely to hide the tears that were now flowing freely.
"Fine, I guess I'll just say goodbye now…" she said, reaching for the portrait.
As I was about to say something, the portrait opened yet again, and another red-haired person stumbled out, though less gracefully than his sister, pulling himself up on the chair that was overturned next to the portrait. "Has it started, have I missed it? I've only just found out…I – I" said Percy, as he got his bearings. He realized that he was standing within the center of his entire family, and he straightened quickly. The silence was dense – like ice. All of the Weasleys stared at each other, uncertainly.
"Zo, 'ow iz leetle Teddy?" Fleur asked, her light voice doing nothing to break the tension; her intention of diffusing the awkward silence painfully obvious and ineffective.
"Oh, he's fine!" Remus said, picking up on her plan. "I think Tonks has a picture. Oh, yes," he said, as Tonks produced one from her pocket.
"'Ow cute!" Fleur exclaimed, her words falling in the room like a bowling bowl in a quiet alley.
"I was a fool!" Percy exclaimed suddenly, and loudly. "I was a pompous prat, I was a — a —"
"Ministry-loving, family-disowning, power-hungry moron," said Fred.
Percy nodded. "Yes, I was!"
"Well, you can't say fairer than that," said Fred, holding out his hand to Percy. Percy shook it, gratefully. Mrs. Weasley burst into tears. She pushed Fred aside, pulled Percy in to a hug, and sobbed in to his shoulder.
Percy hugged her back, his eyes glaring intensely at his father. "I'm sorry, Dad. I was horrible to you. There's nothing more I can say, other than I'm sorry."
"There's nothing more you need to say," Arthur said, blinking slowly. He, too, rushed to pull Percy in to his arms.
"I'm sorry I missed your wedding," he said to Bill. "I guess you're my sister-in-law, then?" Fleur smiled kindly at him, her own eyes tearing as she attached herself to Bill's arm.
"What made you see sense, Perce?" inquired George.
"It's been coming on for a while," Percy acknowledged. "But I had to find a way out and it's not so easy at the Ministry, they're imprisoning traitors all the time. I managed to make contact with Aberforth and he tipped me off ten minutes ago that Hogwarts was going to make a fight of it, so here I am."
"Well, we do look to our prefects to take a lead at time such as these," George said, in a perfect imitation of Percy's most pompous tone. "Come on, if we wait much longer, Neville will have snagged all of the good death eaters." And with that, he and Fred linked arms with Percy, dragging him out of the room in to the corridor.
We all followed, Hermione grabbing Ron's hand and shooting him an understanding look. Sirius pulled me aside, Harry pausing as well.
"We have to keep looking for the horcrux. We have a vague idea what it might look like, but nothing more to go on. We have to find it, or He can't be killed," Sirius explained, the urgency evident in his voice.
"I know," I nodded.
"You'll be okay?"
"I'll be fine. And when you rejoin the fight – remember…I've got your back," I said, taking hold of his face in my hands.
"And I've got yours. I love you," he promised, kissing me lingeringly.
"Sirius, come on!" Harry insisted after a moment. I pulled away from Sirius, so that I could hug Harry.
"I love you, Harry. Be safe."
"I love you, too."
"I'll see you both soon, yeah?"
They both smiled at me hesitantly, and turned to walk away together. I stared at their backs for a moment, nearly identical in height – Sirius's dark hair long, while Harry's was short and messy. As I turned to make my way down to the Great Hall, I realized that they had not promised me that they would see me soon. I suppose, it would have been an empty promise.
