Madam Pomfrey strictly forbade visitors before nine a.m. and so at half-past eight, Alice Griffith found herself standing in the corridor, leaning against the wall across from the Hospital Wing's main doors as she waited for Remus Lupin to be released. One whole day he'd been trapped in a hospital bed, bored out of his mind (Alice assumed) and uncomfortable. She wanted to make sure that the first face he saw when he reentered castle life was a friendly one.

Alice had only been able to sit with Remus for fifteen minutes the day before – squeezing in a visit during lunch break. He was frail-looking – skinnier than Alice had ever seen him - and exhausted. It was difficult not to burst into tears at the sight of him.

"I'm certainly glad to see you again," Remus had said, cracking a smile despite the circumstances, Alice swallowing back the lump in her throat.

"Dido."

Alice's plan to be there for Remus' release from the Hospital Wing had seemed perfectly sensible when she had come up with it – simply wanting to support her friend – and yet, the moment Remus' girlfriend, Leila, rounded the corridor and laid eyes upon Alice, she realized what an absolute mistake she had made.

"What are you doing here?"

"I thought…" Alice struggled to formulate a sentence. Of course, Leila wanted to be the first one to greet her boyfriend after his release, why hadn't Alice thought of that? "I wanted to be here, in case he needed someone…"

"He has me," Leila insisted, arms crossing defensively against her chest. "I'm his girlfriend, not you."

"I know that of course, I know that—"

Leila ignored her, blinded by rage. "Just because you're lonely doesn't mean you get to ruin another relationship." Alice felt as though she'd just been kicked in the gut.

"I was only trying to be nice," she said, stepping aside. It was clear to her now that there was no chance in hell Leila would allow her to stay.

Alice strode away, tears blurring her vision the moment her back was turned. She had done nothing to Leila and yet still, she hated her. Nothing Alice did could prove that she was not a threat and she only wanted to be Remus' friend. Leila wanted Alice out of the picture completely and she seemed unlikely to change her mind anytime soon.

"Alice?"

She paused in her tracks, horrified at being recognized while crying, and glanced over her shoulder to find the last two people she had been expecting to see. Fabian and Everett stood at the other end of the empty, first-floor corridor (two minutes from the Entry Hall), holding hands.

"Are you alright?" Fabian asked, drawing away from Everett. Withdrawing his wand from the pocket of his robes, he produced a handkerchief, handing it to Alice.

"Thank you," she smiled meekly, dabbing at her tear-stained cheeks. "This is so embarrassing..."

"You have nothing to be embarrassed about," Fabian insisted, frowning with concern. "Can we help?"

"No," Alice shook her head, snuffling back fresh tears.

"You could tell us what's happened," Everett suggested, "at least let us try to help you-"

Alice opened her mouth - fully intending to reject Everett's suggestion - but instead, she found herself sharing the details of her uncomfortable interaction with Leila just a few moments ago.

"Leila McAllister…" Everett mused once Alice had told them everything. "Who knew she had it in her and a Hufflepuff too..."

The three of them were standing to the far side of the corridor, closely gathered so as not to be overheard.

"Does Remus know about this?" Fabian asked, looking rather troubled by the information Alice had shared.

"Some of it," she shrugged, lightheaded and tired from her all the crying. "He can't hear about it right now though. It's the last thing he needs to be worrying about."

"I don't think he'd be okay with this," Fabian continued to worry, "he wouldn't want you to feel this way—"

"You can't tell him," Alice insisted, anxious not to add any more to Remus' already difficult load. "Please—"

"I won't," Fabian promised. "For the record though," the corners of his lips turned up, "Leila's a bitch." Alice and Everett both chuckled, the three of them drawing apart as they began walking together towards the Great Hall – making a rather unexpected trio.

"Would you like me to try and break them up for you?" Everett joked. "Apparently I'm rather talented in that department."

"Too soon," Fabian chastised him, smacking Everett playfully upon the arm. Never had Alice thought she would be able to joke with Everett Jenkins about the terrible mistake they had made together. Sleeping with Everett had destroyed the one good thing left in Alice's life and left her to start anew. It was both the worst and the best thing to have happened to her.

"We've got your back, Griffith," Fabian assured her, wrapping his arm around Alice's shoulders.

"Especially with all you've done for us," Everett agreed, looking sheepishly towards the ground.

"You two...you deserve to be happy," Alice told them both, glad that someone had fought circumstance in order to discover love.

"You do too," Everett reminded her.

"Maybe," Alice shrugged, not so certain anymore herself.


Lily skipped breakfast – as she had every day for the past week – and instead, spent her morning alone in the empty Prefect's Office. She hid in the office to escape the whispers which accompanied her whenever she was around other students. In public spaces, she was the girl with the missing boyfriend. People were desperate to see her fall apart. The questions – even worse, the stares – had grown unbearable after more than a week and Lily had come up with ways to avoid other people.

She was reading – or trying to focus on reading at least – when the door creaked open and in popped Marlene's head.

"What're you up to?" she inquired, stepping into the room. Marlene pulled up a chair for herself at the other end of the long table Lily sat at.

"Immersing myself in fiction to forget about the real world."

"How's that working for you?"

"Not as well as I might have hoped."

Marlene chuckled, "I can imagine."

Lily could tell from the look on her friend's face that she had not come to find her for a simple chat. Her eyebrows rose curiously.

"What's up?" she inquired, finally giving up on her book.

"Well…" Marlene began, staring down at the table rather than meeting Lily's gaze. "You see, there's something I know about, something I technically shouldn't know and definitely should not be sharing with you, but…"

"Is it about the boys?" Lily was immediately interested, leaning forward.

"There's a meeting right now at Donovan's," Marlene confessed. "The pub's closed all day for strategizing about how to rescue James, Sirius and Peter."

"Don has a sign for that?" Lily quipped - despite the far from comical circumstances. Marlene rolled her eyes in response, finally meeting her friend's gaze.

"You have James' invisibility cloak," she reminded Lily, "we can sneak in without being seen."

"And then what?"

Marlene shrugged. "At the very least, we'll know what the hell is happening. It'll be better than sitting around in this castle doing nothing." She had a point there, though still, Lily could predict about a hundred different things that might go wrong.

"Come on," Marlene pleaded, rounding her blue eyes, "either way, I'm going, but…it'll be a much better time if you join me."

"Oh Christ," Lily sighed, slamming her book shut. "I'll go get my jacket."

Usually, Lily would baulk at the safety risks which accompanied such an idea, but right now? After a week without her boyfriend, well…even she was growing desperate.

Upstairs, Lily threw on a well-insulated black trench coat and shoved both James' invisibility cloak and the Marauders Map (which Dumbledore had returned to her) into a messenger bag which she slung over her shoulder.

Marlene waited for Lily – as promised – before the statue of the one-eyed witch. She wore two sweaters, the top one zipped up to her chin, and a wool scarf around her neck. Together, they moved slowly through the tunnel, both holding out their wands for light so as not to stumble over loose rocks or uneven ground.

What if they knew where the boys were being kept? What then? It was not as though Lily was in any position to join a rescue mission and yet still…if she knew where James was being kept, she'd be at his side in a heartbeat – no matter the danger.

"Does Henry know why you're so invested in this rescue mission?" Lily asked halfway through the journey, growing bored. Marlene walked ahead so that Lily could not make out her expression as the question was asked.

"They're my oldest friends," Marlene answered dryly.

Lily didn't bother arguing, though she was smart enough to know that Marlene's loyalty to James was not the only thing driving her to find them.

"To answer your question, yes, he knows about Sirius and I having a relationship in the past."

"He's not worried?"

"He has nothing to worry about," Marlene snapped, swiftly ending that line of conversation.

They didn't speak the rest of the way, not until they came upon the ladder which led up into the Honeyduke's cellar, Lily withdrawing the invisibility cloak for them. It was a silent journey through the shop and out onto the streets of Hogsmeade, the girls desperate to stay hidden in case any teachers should be lurking nearby. They moved carefully along the sides of the street, avoiding running into passerby's, as they walked slowly towards Donovan's.

"You're certain that there's a meeting?"

"Yes," Marlene insisted as they rounded on the back alley, hoping to sneak in through the kitchen to remain unnoticed. Luckily, Marlene had a good sense of the place – having visited Henry a number of times – and she was able to guide them carefully through the kitchen and into the main dining room, where a handful of people had gathered.

There were faces Lily recognized – Dorcas, Kingsley, Henry, Alfred McKinnon, Professor Dumbledore – and others, mostly younger members of the Auror team, whom she had never seen before. They sat in the middle of the room, the usual furniture all pushed aside so that there was only one, long table in the middle, where everyone could gather.

"Can I get the lot of ya anything?" Don asked from behind the bar where he polished glasses, a towel swung over the left shoulder of his stained white t-shirt. Carefully, Marlene and Lily side stepped him and got as close to the table as they could without being noticed.

"We're alright, thanks mate," Henry called back to his boss who nodded – disappearing back into the kitchen.

"How's Alastor?" Henry inquired, looking towards Dorcas and Kingsley – who were sitting side by side.

"Better," Kingsley assured him. "The Healers say that he's on the right track. They're hoping to have him up and walking on a peg leg within the week."

"Seems impossible," sighed a young man with clipped black hair and olive skin, his brown eyes downcast. "Alastor Moody not running circles around the office."

"He will be Benjy," Kingsley insisted positively. "He'll be back at it in no time, just you wait."

"And Maureen?" Henry asked, looking towards Marlene's father now. Alfred looked much thinner than Lily remembered him, the bones in his face sticking out.

"Better," he told the room, "She's supposed to be released tomorrow."

"That's amazing!"

"Congratulations Alf."

"Congratulate me when we've got this whole fiasco sorted out," he said to the room, straight-faced.

"On that note, we have some strong leads," Dorcas informed them all, clearing her throat before she spoke in order to get the room's attention. "Thanks to Benjy over here, and the team he took out the other night, we now have good reason to believe we have pinned down the location where they are being kept."

"Are we certain?"

"It's an abandoned manor, just outside of London. Gill thinks they're being kept in the old bomb shelter," Benjy said, looking expectantly towards a curly-haired woman across the table.

"We found footprints – enough to suggest all three boys were dragged and locked inside."

Dragged – the very word made Lily sick to her stomach.

"Either way – no chance in hell we can get to that lock without setting off a million alarms," Benjy stated pessimistically.

"Not unless we distract them," Henry suggested from the other end of the table. "Create a diversion within the house – make it seem like they have fooled us into believing that is where they're keeping the boys. Meanwhile, we'll send a team out to try and enter the shelter once we know the coast is clear."

"And if the coast is never clear?" Kingsley interjected.

"It's all part of the cost." Easy for you to say, Lily thought bitterly. It's not your boyfriend's life at stake.

You can be the one to tell Caroline Potter that when she wakes up," Alfred warned Henry.

"All I'm saying is if we don't try it, the chances are better we lose them," Henry continued to argue.

"Why keep them alive?" Dorcas asked aloud. "What's the value of three teenage boys?"

"The Potters are hated amongst Death Eaters—"

"No," Dumbledore shook his head, commanding the room's attention. "They're far more interested in what they might gain from the boys, what they can offer Voldemort."

"Teenagers?" Dorcas asked sceptically.

"They are incredibly talented young boys, some of the brightest in their year."

"You think they're trying to recruit them?" Alfred frowned.

"It's the only reason not to kill them."

Lily could not stomach the matter of fact way in which her boyfriend's life was being discussed as he lay somewhere, suffering, desperate for help.

"As I said, the sooner we try and get in there, the better," Henry repeated, the whole table wearing long faces as they processed the information.

"We can have a team of twenty ready for an early morning assault," Dorcas announced, no one seeming particularly impressed by those numbers.

"What are the estimates on them?"

"It seemed like there were usually about fifteen guards at a time," Benjy told them.

"Twenty Aurors, plus myself Alfred, and Edgar—"

"Bones is back from his honeymoon?" Kingsley perked up.

"Got back last Monday," Henry stated certainly.

"Those are good numbers," Dumbledore conceded.

"They're decent numbers," Dorcas corrected him. "Considering we need to get three, injured boys to safety without anyone getting killed."

For a second, Lily forgot where she was, stumbling slightly where she stood so that the floorboards beneath her feet creaked. Dumbledore, who was sitting at the end of the table closest to them, looked up, eyes narrowing suspiciously, though – to Lily's relief, he said nothing to the others.

Lily looked at Marlene with urgency, nodding her head towards the exit, though her friend motioned instead for two more minutes.

"How do we get there?"

"This is where it is…" Benjy had a long, rolled up piece of parchment which he unravelled on top of the table, tapping with his wand so that a clear outline of the city of London, and surrounding areas, appeared. He pointed, with his finger, at the exact location, Lily doing everything she could to memorize it, making sure she'd be able to apparate to the location from her own memory.


Remus awoke in his dorm room, crimson drapes hanging down around his bed for privacy. He had slept most of the day – falling asleep not long after Leila walked him up from the Hospital Wing. It was the second time he had seen her since being rescued. She had visited him the morning following his return to Hogwarts, sitting by his bedside for half an hour sobbing. Truth be told, Remus could hardly stand it. Not once did Leila ask how he felt or how it had been for him to be held captive for a week. No, she spoke only about how utterly horrid the past week had been for her.

Walking together from the Hospital Wing to Gryffindor Tower was only slightly more bearable. Remus had survived a near-death experience – having spent every day for a week being tortured – and now that he had returned to "normal life" everything seemed clearer. He did not care about petty school gossip or his girlfriend's endless need for reassurance because of her insecurity about other women. None of that mattered when the world was falling apart, and his best friends were still missing.

Remus did not ask his girlfriend to join him inside when they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady nor did he feel guilty when he saw the look of disappointment worn upon her face when his back turned. Remus had missed Leila when he was held captive but now, face to face, he found that the girl he had dreamt of was nowhere near the one that stood before him. Disappointed, aching, and exhausted, Remus did not find it difficult to fall asleep the minute his head hit the pillow.

Asleep though, his dreams were haunted by memories of the barn he'd been held hostage in. Memories of the Death Eaters who had visited him daily, masked, and tried to squeeze out any information Remus had. We know what you are. We could use one of you on our side, we could help you. The offers had been endless and, when Remus had refused, the torture had been even worse.

When he finally arose, sweating and flustered, it was twilight, evening creeping in upon the room. Remus drew back his drapes, expecting to be alone, only to find Frank Longbottom sitting on the end of his bed, across the room, head in his hands. He looked up and for a moment, both boys simply stared at one another, shocked, neither expecting to be caught in a vulnerable state.

"Hey," Frank managed, clearing his throat. "Good to see you again."

Remus propped his pillows up behind him, drawing himself into a seated position. He smiled weakly in Frank's direction.

"You too."

Frank's gaze dropped towards the ground, his left foot tapping anxiously, lost in thought.

"Are you okay?" Remus asked.

"Fine," Frank nodded, obviously lying. Usually, Remus wouldn't pry – not one to get into other people's business – but, with his own worries piled so high, focusing on Frank's problems was a welcome distraction.

"Come on, you can't say no to the guy recovering from a near-death experience."

Frank scoffed, rolling his eyes. "Well, it's not really that big of a deal, not in the grand scheme of things right now—"

"Out with it."

"I called things off with Cecily," Frank blurted out, averting Remus' gaze.

"When?"

"Last night," he confessed. "It wasn't planned or anything I just…I couldn't pretend any longer." Frank sighed heavily. "Recently I've just felt like… I'm pretending to be somebody I'm not whenever we're together." Remus did not like how familiar that feeling was to him… "That's not happiness."

"You were right to follow your gut." And what of Remus? Should he not also follow the instinct he'd had for weeks to tell Leila that all her rules, her inability to think beyond herself…it had ruined things for him.

"Yeah, well," Frank still did not appear relieved. "That's not the only reason I did it."

"Oh?"

"I sound like a bloody idiot," he confessed, Remus smirking. He could relate to that feeling. "Alice…"

"Ah."

"I still…well, you know," Frank's cheeks turned bright pink.

"Is that such a bad thing?" Remus knew that Alice was still deeply in love with Frank. She missed him, constantly, she'd barely so much as looked at another man since their breakup. "I mean if you two were to find a way to reconcile despite the circumstances?"

"So, I can forever be known as the fool who took back the girl who cheated on him?"

"One mistake doesn't define a person. Besides, what does it matter what everyone else thinks? It's your happiness at stake." For the first time in their conversation, Frank seemed to relax, his foot pausing.

"I miss her."

"I think you'll find she feels the same," Remus reassured him, struggling not to feel a little excited at the prospect of Alice finally getting some good news.

"You're a good guy, Remus," Frank smiled gratefully, rising from the end of his bed. "I'm sorry…about everything that's happened…"

"You have nothing to apologize for Frank," Remus sighed heavily, leaning back into his pillows. "Not unless you're secretly a Death Eater."

"Sorry to disappoint."

Their conversation was the first pleasant moment Remus had had in…well…he couldn't remember now. He saw Frank off, as he made his way down to the common room to find Alice, but Remus remained behind, tucked in bed – still not ready to face the world. There were a whole host of things he would need to face beyond his dorm room – his disintegrating relationship, the fact that his best friends were still missing, his own trauma…the list seemed endless. For now, Remus simply slipped back down beneath his covers, hiding from the world for just a little while longer.


Alice, Mary and Emmeline shared a table in Gryffindor common room, studying together for their test in Potions the next day. It was quarter past five, not long till dinner, and the common room was crammed with students, everyone free from class – studying or socializing with friends as they waited for the Great Hall to open up.

The girls had only been studying ten minutes before Alice gave up and instead, told her friends everything about the uncomfortable interaction she'd had with Leila that morning. Mary and Emmeline were both reasonably horrified by the story.

"Maybe I should just back off," Alice shrugged, feeling defeated as she recalled the confrontation.

"Absolutely not," Emmeline insisted. "She's a bully, and you, Alice Griffith, do not back down to bullies."

"She's right," Mary agreed, nodding eagerly.

"And yet, if I don't, I might be responsible for ruining my friend's only good relationship—"

"There'll be other girls," Emmeline said, not knowing the full truth. Emmeline and Mary were unaware of Remus' condition – the very one which made it so impossible for him to maintain relationships. It was a huge step – telling the truth to Leila – and Alice didn't know if Remus had the strength to repeat the emotional ordeal with another girl.

"It can't be a very healthy relationship if she sees all women as competition," Mary interjected. "That's just sexist."

"Honestly, you read one article on the women's movement and now you think you're an expert," Emmeline complained, the two girls breaking off into an argument about feminism as Alice continued to worry about the state of her relations with Leila – who certainly hated her, and always would.

She was caught completely off guard when a firm hand came down upon her shoulder, doe eyes darting up in a panic to find Frank standing behind her. The conversation between Mary and Emmeline quickly tittered off.

"Can we talk?" Frank asked – blank-faced.

"Uh…sure…" Alice was unnerved. She rose slowly from her seat, glancing anxiously back at her friends before she left, both nodding towards her encouragingly. She followed Frank out of the common room and through the portrait hole, the pair taking a seat near the middle of the staircase.

"Is everything okay?" Alice worried, heart racing. What had she done now? Or worse, what bad news was Frank getting ready to deliver? Alice did not think she could handle any more bad news.

"Everything's fine," Frank assured her, staring straight ahead so that she could not decipher his expression. "I mean, technically no, but…" his cheeks grew red. "I um, I wanted to ask you something…"

"Alright…" Alice felt lightheaded, terrified of the next words to come out of Frank's mouth.

"Do you still love me?" it was the very last thing she had expected him to ask.

"I…of course… I do…" where on earth had a question like that come from? Finally, Frank's head turned, gaze meeting Alice's, his brown eyes glossy.

"Alice, I've been an idiot—"

"Al!"

Alice looked up, shocked, Lily and Marlene dashing up the stairs towards her and Frank. They had their winter coats on, Lily wearing her book bag over one shoulder.

"We need to talk to you," Marlene insisted, out of breath. "Something has…oh, Frank, hi," Marlene smiled at Alice's companion.

"Do you think we might be able to speak with Alice?" Lily inquired warmly. "We're so sorry to interrupt—"

Alice could not believe it – five seconds away from possibly getting Frank to confess his love for her and they were interrupted.

"We were kind of just in the middle of something," Alice protested, desperate to know how Frank's sentence ended.

"Alice, we need you." Lily's green eyes pleaded and Alice knew she couldn't say no.

"Go," Frank insisted, his eyes dry. "We can talk later."

"I'm sorry—"

"You wouldn't be you if you didn't try to help everyone," he said, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. They rose, Frank remaining in place as Alice followed the girls down the stairs and through the doorway to the fifth floor. It was empty just then, the three of them walking in silence towards the locked Prefect's Office – which Lily opened.

Inside, Lily used her wand to flick on the lights, Marlene locking the door behind them to prevent interruptions.

"What in merlin's name is going on?"

"We know where the boys are."

"What?" Alice's mouth fell open.

"They're being held in a manor house," Lily spat out, "just outside of London, at the intersection of—"

"How can you possibly know all this?" Alice was in a state of shock.

"Henry told Marlene that there was a meeting this afternoon, we snuck in." Alice could hardly digest a word they were saying.

"There's a team going out in the early hours of the morning to rescue them," Marlene jumped in, "but they're low on numbers." It didn't take long for Alice to connect the dots, from Lily's pleading eyes to Marlene's determinedness – they were planning to hijack the mission.

"That's a bad idea," Alice was insistent. "These are professionals, they know what they're doing—"

"And in five months' time we'll be one of them," Marlene stated as a matter of fact. "We have the skill; you have the training—"

"What do you think we're going to do?" Alice demanded, heart pounding in her ears as she stood there, facing the pair of them, certain her friends had gone mad. "Swoop in and save the day? Rescue the boy's yourselves? You have no idea what it's like on the ground—"

"I think I have some sense," Marlene hissed, eyes narrowed. "I think we all do."

"I think this is a good way to get all of us killed," Alice informed them. "Besides, when Henry finds out what you did…"

"I don't care. I don't care about any of that right now," Marlene swore, clearly set on the plan whether Alice agreed with it or not. "I need those boys out safe and I need to do something."

"We're doing this Alice," Lily interjected, her approach much softer than Marlene's. "We just hoped that you would come, to help us—"

"You think I'd let you two go without me?" Alice scoffed. "Whether or not I think this is the most idiotic plan you have ever conceived, I won't let you go alone."

"I'm going to pretend you didn't just call my plan idiotic," Marlene frowned, arms crossing. Still, she filled Alice in on all the nitty-gritty – they planned to focus as a trio on getting into the bomb shelter and freeing the boys as the team that arrived shortly after them would distract the Death Eaters on call. Alice thought it seemed more hopeful than realistic in terms of strategy though with the looks of determination worn on Marlene and Lily's faces she knew there was no longer any point in arguing. Either she would send her friends out into the eye of the storm alone or she would accompany them and do her best to keep them safe.


Peter was cold, wet, and shivering where he lay on the concrete floor. He was curled up in the fetal position, knees drawn towards his chest, and eyes clenched shut as he mumbled reassurances to himself in the darkness, pants soaked in his own piss. Breathe. Breathe. Breathe. Breathe. Again, and again he reminded himself of the one thing he desired: to live.

That was what he was doing, trembling, shaking back and forth in a manic state, when the heavy metal door behind which he was held captive creaked opened and in stepped a hooded figure. She walked carefully towards the lump on the floor – Peter so cold and hungry he hardly noticed her – and laid a blanket across his trembling body.

"Who are you?" Peter dared to ask, his voice shaking with fear.

"It's alright," a woman's voice reassured him, "you're safe Petey."

"Dora?" He was dreaming. It had to be a dream – his girlfriend's presence was too good to be true. Slowly, she crouched down beside him, Peter squinting to make out her familiar figure. Her hair was as dark as night, skin pale like snow, eyes a striking blue. She looked so real…her hand reaching out to stroke Peter's cheek.

"I'm sorry that they've treated you like this," she cooed, comforting him. Peter never wanted to wake up. "They had to treat you like the others, of course, to keep up appearances."

"What others?"

Aldora shifted sitting down on the floor beside him. Carefully, she drew Peter's head into her lap so that he could gaze up into her angelic face.

"Your friends," she told him, flashing her perfect teeth as she smiled. "I didn't want them to hurt you…I begged for you to be spared-"

"I don't understand…"

"Oh Peter," she smiled down at him as though Peter were a helpless, unintelligent thing. "They've brainwashed you into believing that we are all evil." It took Peter a while to truly understand what she was trying to tell him – Aldora's dreamlike aurora quickly fading.

"You're a…a Death Eater?" Peter spat out. With what little strength he had, he rolled aside, drawing away from Aldora's touch.

"Yes," she confirmed, not the least bit ashamed by her confession. Peter felt nauseous. "What is so wrong with being a Death Eater?"

"You kill people!" he squealed, worried now for his own safety in Aldora's presence. She sighed, rising to her feet.

"And the Aurors never do? Neither side is perfect but at least we are fighting for something new, something better than the society of our parents."

Peter simply lay there, turned away from Aldora, shaking fearfully as he let her words sink in.

"They're lying, you know?" she continued. "Alastor Moody and all his followers. They swear to protect us, all of us, and yet, who are they really protecting? Not me, not you, clearly." Peter could hear the sound of her heeled boots clicking against the ground as she approached him, crouching down once more by his side.

"Voldemort is not evil," she swore. "He wants to help us, to save the Wizarding World. People like you Peter, people born ordinary, if Voldemort had his way you would be extraordinary simply due to your status as a pureblood." The idea of such status thrilled him, certainly, but still, Peter could not shake the fear which Voldemort invoked.

"Peter…" Aldora placed a tentative hand against his shoulder from which he withdrew. Suddenly, she was a stranger to him, nothing like the girl Peter thought he'd agreed to start dating. The first girl who'd ever shown an inkling of interest in him… "Please don't pull away, Peter," she begged, "I…I love you." The very words melted any resolve Peter might have possessed. Slowly, he rolled over to face her.

"You love me?"

"How could I not?" She replied, smiling with admiration, looking at Peter with the sort of longing he'd only ever dreamed of a girl having for him.

Peter hated conflict – he always had. As a little boy, he'd avoided getting into trouble, following the rules closely, always doing as his parents directed, never rebelling like James or Sirius. Peter simply did not have the spirit. Rather than argue with Aldora about all the reasons why he knew it was wrong to persecute muggle-borns Peter simply agreed.

"Maybe your right," he finally nodded, giving in to his girlfriend's point of view. "I guess…I guess it makes some sense…"

"We don't want to hurt anyone," Aldora said, stroking Peter's greasy hair as she spoke. "We only want to take back what is rightfully ours."

"Can I go home now?" he croaked weakly, head back in Aldora's lap. "Please, I promise I won't say a word, please, just don't let them hurt me again."

"It'll all be over soon," Aldora promised, pressing a kiss to Peter's forehead. "I won't let any harm come to you, Peter, never. Not so long as we're together."


A/N: Sometimes I Wished I Could Fall Asleep by The Twilight Sad. I also may or may not have a Sirius/Marlene fanvid to this song on my youtube channel.