6th June

"Mister Shacklebolt," Tonks heard from her desk. She didn't dare look around to confirm that it was armed aurors at Kingsley's desk. It was only when she had got to work that morning that she had seen the paper, informing them that Sirius was to be granted a trial, based on new information that he was working for the side of good.

Since then, the office doors had been guarded and no one had been allowed to leave, not even for lunch. If Kingsley was gone, Tonks thought, as she watched them escort Kingsley away, she would be next. Shooting off a warning patronus to Remus, Tonks was ready when the aurors noticed.

She'd be spending the foreseeable in the holding cells.

XXX

Ginny sighed contentedly, leaning against Harry and playing the part of a girl on a romantic getaway with her boyfriend. Harry kissed the top of her head.

Opposite them sat another couple, quite a bit older than them. The man was reading the paper and what looked to be his wife was reading a book. Harry didn't look at them for too long, not wanting to attract attention. Harry's eyes turned back to the girl who was leaning on him and his lips twitched upwards.

"It's cold, isn't it?" Ginny muttered quietly and Harry agreed, looking up and around them once more. Something was off, he could almost sense it.

"What on earth? Henry, look!" the woman opposite them cried out, pointing out of the window, as the train began to chug along. Harry looked out and saw what the woman saw - dementors had descended onto the station of Edinburgh and were sucking souls.

Harry squeezed Ginny's arm desperately and saw that she too was watching the dementors. The train was not yet out of the station and Harry could feel the horrible effect of the dementors. "Clara," he stated firmly, grasping her hand. She was grasping his too, burying her face into his shoulder. Harry knew she could feel it too, hear the voices in her head.

Harry's stomach lurched when he saw three people, two men and an elderly woman, collapse to the ground, souls having left their bodies. There must have been forty dementors across the platforms. Harry felt tears prick at his eyes. He and Ginny could do nothing. The train had finally chugged past the platform and the station would soon be out of sight.

Those dementors were there for them, Harry was sure of it. The ministry was searching for them so intensely that they had sent dementors - or was it Voldemort? Either way, Harry and Ginny would have to consider their return to Edinburgh very carefully.

XXX

The train to York wasn't too long, really, and they'd both brought reading material. It was good practise, the train journey, for acting inconspicuous enough to be ignored, for not looking around suspiciously. Essentially, they could see if they were recognisable when they were around people for an extended period of time, not just when walking past them in the street.

Upon disembarking the train in York, they found that their experiment worked: nobody had noticed them. Of course, with different hair and different eye colours, it was unlikely, but it was always nice to be proved right.

Harry's hand had not left Ginny's since they had seen the dementors. The muggles on the train surrounding them would not have seen the unearthly black creatures, just their effects. Ginny could not decide what was more petrifying. Having turned away and buried her head into Harry's shoulder, Ginny did not know the full extent of the dementors' actions. She was sure Harry knew more. Either way, those people had been hurt because of the ministry's hunt for Harry and Ginny.

"Come on, darling," Ginny said with a smile up at the significantly taller Harry. Purchasing a map and a coffee at the station, the "couple" began their adventure to find their flat in the centre of York, trying to put the dementors out of their mind.

XXX

Tonks' patronus had been too late to save Remus, who had been in Diagon Alley when the aurors had found him. Handcuffed and stripped of his wand, three aurors Remus did not recognise portkeyed him to the holding cells in the ministry. "This way, beast," one of them growled in his ear when they arrived.

"Remus!" he heard from his right. Kingsley was recognisable immediately. They shared a grim look. Along the row, Remus passed Elphias Doge, Hestia Jones, Emmeline Vance. He lost count of the auror members he saw. There were many not there, too, but these were the most well known members.

Finally, at the end, Remus saw Tonks, who was in the cell opposite him. Their eyes met and he saw her face fall. She had tried to save him and it hadn't worked. He gave her as much of a smile as he could muster, more than he would've been able to do for anybody else.

Remus sunk onto the stiff mattress that was to be his bed and sighed. He knew that he had done nothing wrong, morally. He was trying to fight evil, but bureaucracy always got in the way of morality. Head in his hands, Remus tried to focus on Sirius. Maybe this would all work out well and Sirius would be exonerated.

Hope was all they had now. Looking at Tonks once again, Remus wondered if she had any left.

XXX

"Well, this is pretty," Ginny commented to Harry as they wandered down Walmgate, where their flat was located. On their way, they had passed through the Shambles. It was a very busy street and possibly the most interesting one that Ginny had ever seen. Harry had agreed with her, although she knew that, like her, he was thinking of Diagon Alley.

Down the Shambles, they had seen at least seven different wizarding shops that would be of use to them. Feeling successful, they had carried on, looking to all the world a pair of tourists, exploring the old Viking city.

Walmgate had been easy to find and their flat, too, was not difficult to locate. They ascended the stairs and let themselves into the flat, using the key that Gringotts had provided them with. Of course, upon entering, they were immediately met by an empty flat, white walls and wooden floors. They had a basic kitchen and bathroom, but like their house in Edinburgh, no other furniture had been afforded to them.

"The view is pretty," Ginny commented, looking out of the window of their open-plan living room/kitchen. Harry smiled at her.

"We should split up getting the furniture," Harry suggested and Ginny looked at her, eyes wide like a rabbit looking into headlights. Harry chuckled and placed a hand on her arm. "It'll be fine. It would look suspicious if we, a pair of supposed nineteen year olds, went out and bought a load of furniture. If we do it separately, though," Harry continued with a shrug. Ginny nodded shakily. It was a good point.

"Okay," she agreed and Harry squeezed her hand. "Let's go now and meet back here in two hours?" she suggested. Harry left a few minutes later, leaving Ginny to wait ten minutes or so before exploring York.

It was a funny feeling, locking the door to their flat on her own. There had been few times over the past few weeks that she had been without Harry. It was not a comforting feeling to be on her own. Sick to the stomach, Ginny exited onto the street.

York was booming with tourists and Ginny blended in easily, wearing a baseball cap she had purchased in Edinburgh. She walked for a while, to a street past the Shambles where she had spotted a furniture shop on their way from the station. It was not easy to find. In York, all the streets looked the same.

Eventually, though, Ginny found it. Quaint and far enough away from the centre to be relatively quiet, the shop sold a variety of furniture. A discussion with Harry before they had left charged Ginny with purchasing a bed and a table, while he purchased a second bed and a sofa, ideally from different shops.

Ginny's hand shook as she approached the sales assistant. "Excuse me, ma'am, would you be able to help me in choosing a table?" she asked nervously. The sales assistant looked about ten years older than Ginny and Ginny knew that the look she gave her was one of curiosity at Ginny's age. Smiling with what she hoped looked to be ease, Ginny explained that her mother was bedridden and had given Ginny the money to purchase the family a new table.

With a sympathetic look, she accepted the story. Ginny struggled to contain her sigh. The next twenty minutes were terrifying for Ginny. She was constantly on edge, waiting for the sales assistant to figure out who she was, where she recognised her from. Ginny's eyes were on the door as often as they could be, ensuring that she had enough time to run, should the sales assistant begin to question her story.

Together, they chose a table which Ginny was happy with, and the assistant even found a table cloth and placemats that Ginny was happy to accept. Realising that the flat obviously had no crockery, Ginny spotted an attractive set and quickly grabbed it, giving the assistant an appeasing smile.

The total price wasn't too high, although Ginny's grasp of muggle money wasn't fantastic. Ginny organised for the table to be delivered that afternoon, while she kept the smaller items she had bought. Wandering back to the flat to put them away, Ginny stopped at a pretty market stall by the Shambles and bought two pretty glasses and some coasters. Her panic from earlier had not quite abated but she was learning to manage it.

Peckish, Ginny nipped into a little café to buy a sausage roll which she snacked on while she found her way back to Walmgate. It was easy to allow herself entry to the flat and she got inside, depositing her purchases onto the kitchen surface. A shaky breath came from her mouth and she laid a hand on her stomach, pleading her body to return to normality.

Ginny had to shake herself. Just once more and then she could stay in the flat all night, she assured herself. She began to walk down the steps, her feet falling unevenly. She was forcing long, deep breaths to clear off the tears behind her eyes. What on earth was wrong with her? She shook her head wildly, trying to clear it. It didn't work.

By the time Ginny reached the bottom step, she was sobbing.

XXX

When Harry returned to the flat around two hours after he had left, he did not expect to find Ginny, mascara-stained tear marks down her cheeks, leaning against the wall on the bottom step. "Gin," he said urgently and she looked up, her eyes flat. "Oh, Gin, what happened?"

Tears welled in her eyes and he sat down next to her, wrapping an arm around her carefully. "I just panicked," she confessed, leaning into his touch. Harry gave her a soft smile. "Harry, I can't do this. I can't do it!"

"You can, Gin. Look how far we've come!" he encouraged her and she shook her head vehemently.

"Harry, I can't even go shopping on my own without panicking - I - I - how am I going to cope with this?"

"But, Ginny, you have been coping. All this time, you've been doing so well."

Sobbing at this point, she shook her head again, burying her face into Harry's chest. Without a clue of how to comfort her, Harry wrapped his arms around her tighter and pressed a kiss to her head, promising that everything was going to be fine.

XXX

"What do you think happened?" Tonks asked Remus across the cells, having watched Arthur and Molly Weasley dragged into the cells just minutes previously. Remus shrugged helplessly.

"Someone must have ratted us out," he muttered.

"I've not seen Snape yet," Tonks said offhandedly and Remus gave her an amused look. Sirius had poisoned Tonks about Snape and, while Remus felt similarly if he was honest, he trusted Dumbledore and, therefore, Snape.

"It's entirely possible someone was taken and forced," Remus noted. Tonks gave him an assessing look and inclined her head.

"I suppose veritaserum works pretty well." Remus mmhmm'd and Tonks gave him a smile, encouraging the hairs on Remus' arms to stand up.

The two of them sat in silence for a little while, Remus wishing that Tonks could be right next to him, rather than separated by bars. The wistful look on her face almost convinced Remus that that was what she wanted as well. "Do you think he's fighting for us?" Tonks whispered and Remus gave her an inquisitive look. "Dumbledore," she said exasperatedly and Remus gave her an incredulous look. She could have meant Sirius or Harry, or anyone really.

"Of course he is," Remus said assuredly. "We won't be here for long, Tonks." She gave him a look that he wasn't too sure on. It wasn't confident, to say the least.

XXX

A few hours later, Harry and Ginny were huddled on the sofa that had arrived not long after Harry. It was pretty and Ginny liked it, probably far more than Harry did. They had been sat in the same position for a long while, Ginny tucked into Harry's arms and in utter silence. It had been everything Ginny had needed.

Of course, it was far too late to go out and by a bed for Ginny now, but she would make do with the couch for one night. It was hardly the worst thing in the world, although Harry's bed, all new and fresh, looked very very tempting.

While she was thinking of ways to dupe Harry into letting her have his bed, Harry whispered, "shall we go and get food?" Ginny nodded, although she did not move. "I was thinking we could have a takeaway."

Smile unfurling onto her face, Ginny agreed merrily. "Indian?" she suggested and Harry kissed the top of her head.

"I saw one down the road. I'll go and order it," Harry said, stroking her hair as he stood up, shifting her from her comfortable position.

As he was about to leave, only in a t-shirt and jeans due to the warm weather, Ginny called his name and he turned to her, with a smile. Ginny felt her stomach flip. "Thank you for today," she said earnestly.

Harry blushed and smiled again, before dashing out of the door. Ginny grinned and stood to grab her book from her bag. Harry would be a while.

XXX

7th June

The moment that Percy Weasley found out that two of his brothers and his parents were in prison was one of the most defining of his life. Everything that had happened over the past year was blown away by his sudden, desperate need to see them and help them.

Helping them, though, would be more difficult if he was suspected of being an Order member. Thus, he would have to be discrete. So, he couldn't visit them in prison, not immediately anyway. But there were others that he could see - if not visit. Percy was sure that the Ministry was tracking his brothers' owls, so he messaged Angelina Johnson instead, asking her for the next Hogsmeade date and could he meet his brothers in the Hog's Head?

Percy sent the owl from Hogsmeade, ensuring that his location was marked on the letter. Angelina's owl returned within half an hour, with three words: "on our way".

The Hog's Head was a disreputable place and Percy wasn't the biggest fan of it or its owner, but he knew none of that stopped his brothers. He was unsure of who would come, whether it would be just the twins, or maybe they'd bring Ron, and maybe Hermione. He knew they'd take a while, so he purchased an orange juice from Aberforth and settled down.

XXX

Percy's owl had torn Fred apart. He wasn't sure whether or not they could trust him - who knew if he was leading them into a trap? In the end, George had decided for them: they would go and take back up. So, Fred, George, Hermione, Ron and Angelina headed towards the Room of Requirement. Fred and George had discovered earlier in the year that the room would let them out wherever they wanted in Hogwarts, meaning there was far less sneaking around to be done.

The Gregory the Smarmy passage was Fred and George's choice of how to get out of Hogwarts, as it led to an alcove by the mountain range on the outskirts of Hogsmeade. It was by far the safest way to access Hogsmeade without a shopowner thinking you were stealing when you were caught behind their shop front. Of course, the only problem was that Filch knew about it and sometimes patrolled it.

Fred commanded the room to open an exit in front of the statue of Gregory. Then, he ordered it to turn the door into a one-way window, in which they could see what was going on outside, but nobody could see in. Being that it was the middle of the day, there were some students milling around, wandering, but Fred and George saw that off quickly. They opened an exit further along the corridor, and set off a firework.

It worked perfectly and the five of them crept behind the statue, George leading the way. Angelina and George were holding hands and seeing it made Fred glance at Hermione's hands. What he would give to be with her like Angelina and George. One look at Ron, however, reminded Fred of his responsibilities to his brother. Containing his sigh, Fred closed the statue behind them, before encouraging them to move quickly, in case any student saw them and was to report them to Filch.

It was a relatively long walk, about an hour all in all, but they did eventually find their way out and Fred smirked to hear Hermione marvelling of the founders' cleverness. "We have to be conspicuous," Hermione reminded them. George snorted and Fred found himself wanting to tell his brother to be more respectful of Hermione.

"Abe's pub is just down this road, Hermione," George said and Hermione rolled her eyes, repeating her earlier statement.

"Hermione is right, George," Fred told his brother, who rolled his eyes again. "George, we don't know why Percy is here. We could be walking into a trap." George finally agreed and the five of them agreed to split up, George and Angelina first wandering to the Hog's Head, then Fred, Hermione and Ron.

The three of them hid in the trees at the bottom of the mountains for ten minutes, before they knew that George and Angelina would have arrived at Hog's Head. If something had gone wrong, Angelina had promised to send sparks into the air. George had assured them that nothing would go wrong. Fred rather thought that George placed too much trust in Percy.

Like George had said, the walk to the Hog's Head was a simple one, unencumbered by many public spaces. The Hog's Head was in the dodgy part of town, to say the least, but that just meant that there were fewer people around to see - and those that did were unlikely to report them.

When they finally entered the Hog's Head, Fred found Percy, George and Angelina sat at a table, Angelina attempted to make conversation. Fred, Ron and Hermione dragged chairs to sit with them and Percy sighed, in what seemed to be relief. This only made Fred all the more intrigued.

"Thank you so much for coming," Percy began and none of them replied. "I sent my owl to Angelina because I didn't want it to be checked. The Ministry would be suspicious if they knew about this," he admitted to them. Fred furrowed his brows. "I- I want to apologise for not putting our family first." When Ron looked to interrupt, Fred laid his hand on his shoulder to stop him. "I've made so many stupid errors and I don't know if I'll ever be able to forgive myself for what I have done to Mum and Dad, never mind the rest of you."

"I hope, in time, that you will be able to forgive me. Hopefully, I will be able to earn your trust again one day." Fred didn't know what to think. He hadn't known what to expect, but he'd been waiting for his brother to apologise since this whole thing had begun.

"However," he continued, "something has happened and there is a reason for my being here." The tone in Percy's voice told Fred that something had gone wrong, someone was in trouble.

"What?" Ron demanded harshly. Hermione lay a hand on Ron's shoulder and Fred felt something burst inside him. It was all he could do not to scream.

"Mum, Dad, Bill and Charlie are being held in the ministry holding cells," Percy stated simply and Fred felt his heart fall out of his chest. He grabbed Hermione's hand without even thinking about it. "The rest of what the Ministry assumes is the Order is with them."

"What- what happened?" George asked croakily. Fred noticed that George was clinging to his girlfriend's hand and he finally noticed that he was doing the same to Hermione. Fred tried to let go of her but she held firm and Fred might have loved her for that.

Percy shrugged a bit helplessly. "Bill and Charlie were taken in first. They were taken from Edinburgh. That's where the Ministry think Ginny and Harry are," he informed them. Fred froze at this new information, wondering when his parents had been planning on updating them on their brother and sister. "I think Bill and Charlie must have been put under veritaserum to confess their work with the Order and to inform them of everyone else who works with the Order."

George and Ron both cursed and even Hermione didn't tell them off. She had this intense look on her face and Fred loved that she loved his family. "Remus Lupin was also taken in," Percy informed them and Fred sighed. "Apparently Sirius Black was working for them too." Fred smirked and told Percy about their summer. Percy was flabbergasted and even joked that he had missed out on the fun. Fred, although he and Percy had never been close, was incredibly grateful that, even though it meant his family was incarcerated, this situation meant that his brother was returned to them.

"What's the plan then, Percy?" Hermione asked and Fred was grateful for her, too.

Percy cleared his throat and pushed his little glasses up his face. Fred almost grinned. "I'm going to wait a few days before I visit them. The Ministry are watching me now more than ever and I fear that I will be accused of being an Order member, in which case I can be no use to them."

"Smart," Ron said with a nod. "I'd visit Bill and Charlie if I were you," he added, ever the strategist. Percy asked fro an explanation, which Ron supplied, "everyone knows you've fallen out with Dad and, therefore, Mum, but nobody knows finite details of your relationships with Bill and Charlie, so you should go and see them."

Percy nodded contemplatively. "Good plan. I'll go and see them in two days and hopefully I'll have more information then."

"We should probably go back to the castle," Ron said, slightly awkwardly. He glanced at Hermione and Fred's clasped hands and the two jumped apart, George, Percy and Angelina shooting them awkward looks.

"Percy," Fred said suddenly as they began to leave, "I'm really glad you've come back." Percy's smile was blinding.

XXX

"We can wait another day," Harry assured Ginny as she put on her sunglasses. She looked stunning, with red lips and a white crop top with a denim skirt. Ginny rolled her eyes, pulling her hi-tops from the pile by the door.

"Put your trainers on, Will," she said pointedly and he gave her a barely-there smile.

"You look fantastic," Harry told her, taking her hand, ready for another day of being her boyfriend. She gave him a beaming smile.

Confirming that they were heading to the Shambles first, Ginny led them out to Walmgate. There, yet again, they were surrounded by tourists. Harry noticed, as they headed up towards central York, that Ginny was getting admiring looks from men all around them. Through his sunglasses, he glared at them. Of course, he should be glad that they thought she was older than she was, but it wasn't any less annoying.

The Shambles wasn't a far walk and it was there that they entered the first of the bookshops they had seen yesterday. It was different to Flourish and Blotts, not a chain like that. This was quite clearly an independent bookshop, with towers of books everywhere. It had a magical feel that Harry associated generally with Hogwarts. The old man who was sat at the till gave them a smile and a cheery hello. They introduced themselves as Clara and Will and he nodded happily. They told him they were studying for Masters in History of Magic and asked whether he had any books about Rowena Ravenclaw.

The little old man led them to a whole section about the founders and Harry and Ginny went crazy, buying as many books about each of the founders as they could find, and not the official biographies. They bought books that looked obscure, that mentioned muggles, that were the sole copy in the store. Then, when they had accumulated at least a hundred pounds in books, they kept browsing the whole history section.

When they left, they were laughing at how much money they had spent, and how many books they now had. "How are we gonna get all of these back?" Harry laughed and Ginny laughed even harder.

The two of them, each holding two bags each of books, found a nice little muggle café. They ordered a coffee each and then browsed the sandwich menu. "We should have a look at some new storage," Ginny suggested and Harry nodded in agreement, taking her hand from across the table and placing a kiss on her knuckles. Ginny gave him a look that he didn't know what to do with, but he thought it was good.

After discussing some other stops that they should make, they agreed that they should first nip back to the flat and put down their books. Their lunch was over quickly and they walked back to their flat. For the first time, on the way into the flat, they bumped into the people who lived in the flat next to them.

"Hello!" the woman said in surprise. "Oh, are you the ones who have just moved in next door?"

She was enthusiastic and Harry wasn't sure how he felt about it. "Yes," Harry replied with an easy smile. "My parents bought it as a second home," he gave them as an explanation. They accepted it immediately. The excuse was one that Harry had thought up on the way to York.

"How long have you been here?" the woman asked again. "Oh! What are your names?"

"Will and Clara," Harry supplied and Ginny smiled next to him.

"And are you two together?" The man who stood next to the woman rolled his eyes at his partner.

Ginny smiled up at Harry and nodded. "We've been together for about six months."

"Ooh, how exciting! I'm surprised we've not heard you through the walls," she said, nudging her partner who laughed slightly. Ginny and Harry both stood agape. "Just joking, sweeties. We'll see you soon!" she said as her partner finally dragged her out of the stairwell.

As soon as they were out of earshot, Harry and Ginny burst out in laughter, running up the stairs as they did. Their neighbours were certainly something.

XXX

"So, Hermione."

Fred heard the insinuating tone in his brother's voice before he turned to look at him and find him waggling his eyebrows. "What, George?" Fred said with a sigh.

"Alright," his twin said, putting his hands up. "Don't get your knickers in a twist. I just want to know who my brother fancies."

Fred rolled his eyes. "Yes, I fancy Hermione." This surprised George, clearly, because his eyebrows shot right up. "Yes, I know that Ron also fancies Hermione," Fred muttered.

"What are you going to do?"

Fred shrugged, opening a book that was close to him. "I don't know, George. I really like her. We really get on. She's amazing."

"You're gushing," George said with a smirk gracing his face. "Ron hasn't made a move, Fred, so you can do what you want."

"But," Fred started, ready to tell his brother his deepest fear, "what if she doesn't like me?"

George snorted. "Come on, Freddie. She was holding your hand as much as you were holding yours yesterday. Just find out and then you'll know what you need to do to get her," he joked. Fred laughed.

"Cheers, Georgie."

"Always, Fred, darling," George finished with a wink. "I'm going to meet Angie. I'll see you later."

Fred nodded distractedly. "See you later," he echoed.

Now, what to do about Hermione?

XXX

Sirius Black had no idea what was going on. Bill, Charlie and Remus had not been home, Bill and Charlie for days. He was petrified that they were currently playing victim to Death Eater torture. Finally, Sirius had to do something. He'd been sat inside waiting like a mother hen for hours. He had to get outside.

So, he apparated. He'd done this so many times. The first time he'd apparated to the general area and then found her flat, before apparating away. He didn't know if his presence would be welcome, especially when she had a child at home. Nervously clenching his hands together, Sirius steeled himself. He had to do this, to help his friends.

He knocked.

When Zoe answered, she looked surprised, but he dared to hope not unpleasantly so. "Sirius," she greeted. "Should you be risking being out in the open like this?"

"Well, if you let me in, I won't be out in the open, will I?" Sirius said cheekily and Zoe rolled her eyes, ushering him inside. There was a child, who could only be Luisa, sat at the table eating a sandwich. She was only slightly younger than Harry but she seemed years so, her eyes lighting in a more youthful way than Sirius had ever seen his godson's. "Is this Luisa?"

Zoe inclined her head and gave him a smile, as if allowing him to introduce himself. "Hi, Luisa," Sirius said, trying not to look like a convicted criminal. Luisa looked up and gave him a look up and down.

"Are you dating my mama?" Luisa asked, her accent tinged very much by her Peruvian upbringing. Sirius spluttered. "Are you the reason we came back?" Luisa then demanded to know, and Sirius realised that Zoe had not explained Harry to her daughter, not properly at least.

"Erm, no to both of those questions," Sirius said. "I'm Sirius. I went to school with your mama." Luisa looked slightly interested, although Sirius thought she might have been trying to hide it.

"With Aunt Lily too?"

Sirius nodded. "And James."

"Their son," Luisa continued, "you're looking for him, right?" Sirius reevaluated his previous conclusion, perhaps Luisa knew more about Harry than he thought she did.

"Yes, we're trying to."

"And you wanted my mum to come back and help?"

Sirius floundered. He hadn't known Zoe was alive, but he wasn't going to tell her daughter that. Thankfully, Zoe decided to step in. "Yes, Lu. Sirius and our other friend Remus thought I might want to help."

"But why?" Luisa answered back. "Why does he matter to us?"

Clearly, this was a girl who had not wanted to move from Peru. Zoe sighed. They must have had this argument multiple times. "Lu, I've told you. Harry's parents were my greatest friends and I have a duty to help their son."

Luisa sighed and turned back to her sandwich. "I don't see why that meant I had to give up my whole life," she muttered and Zoe gave Sirius a long-suffering look, before summoning him over to the sofas.

"Did you need something?" she asked and Sirius felt a pang in his heart. It must have reflected on his face, for she corrected herself, "not that I'm not pleased to see you."

Sirius gave her a smile. "Remus, and Bill and Charlie who I live with, I don't know where they are. All three of them have disappeared and I didn't know where else to turn." Zoe nodded, her teeth worrying her bottom lip. Sirius reached across and pulled her bottom lip out from under her top one. "Sorry," he said immediately. Zoe laughed and brushed it off.

"I have a meeting tomorrow with Professor McGonagall to enrol Lu in Hogwarts for next year," Zoe said. "I'll talk to her then and see what she knows."

"Does that mean you're staying for good, Lu going to Hogwarts?" Sirius asked hopefully and Zoe swatted his arm.

"Of course I am." They shared a look and Sirius reflected on how much he had missed her. "Do you want to stay for tea?"

"Would love to," Sirius replied happily.

XXX

8th June

"Zoe Angevin," McGonagall said with a loving tone as Zoe approached her office. Luisa was with her, majorly uninterested in attending this school. McGonagall enveloped Zoe in a hug and then, arm around her shoulders, led her to her office, Luisa still not making eye contact.

Zoe and Lu sat at the straight-backed chairs across from McGonagall's desk and Zoe thought about all the times she had been sat here, usually with Sirius or James, never Lily. "Zoe, I was so glad to hear that you survived," McGonagall said, clasping Zoe's hand across the table. "Within a few months, it seemed that James, Lily, Sirius and you had all gone and it was quite difficult to cope - especially for Remus."

Zoe nodded, looking down at her lap. She had not seen Remus yet, too ashamed of what she had left him with. She was astonished he had survived. "I need to do a lot of making up to Remus."

McGonagall gave her a wry smile. "I'm not sure you'll need to do that much. He's a very forgiving man."

"And Harry," Zoe pressed on, "what did you think of Harry?"

McGonagall's smile was that of a proud mother, or perhaps grandmother. "Harry Potter is a perfect mixture of James and Lily, although his grades don't often reflect it. Sometimes he does very well in class and then terribly on the exam," she said and Zoe saw the lines on her forehead furrow. "I think perhaps his childhood was not ideal. I do not know if scholarly success was praised."

Zoe closed her eyes. "I wish I had been here for him."

From next to her, Luisa scoffed and Zoe sent a sharp glare to her daughter. "What? We're here for him now, aren't we? We've completely changed our lives for this kid we have nothing to do with." Zoe gave McGonagall an apologetic look.

"Miss Angevin," McGonagall began and Luisa finally looked up. Zoe could see that her daughter was daunted in front of the elderly professor. "Harry Potter has had an extraordinarily difficult life. He has spent nearly five years at Hogwarts now and each year he has come face-to-face with one of Voldemort's followers or Voldemort himself, whether in real life or in his very mind. He has had his government wanting to use him or to disparage him and don't get me started on the press. I appreciate that it might feel as though you have travelled halfway across the world to just go to a different school, but, when we find Harry, and we will, the knowledge that his mother's best friend was not only looking for him but also loves him and wants to look after him will be a spectacular comfort."

Zoe appreciated the dressing down McGonagall had given her daughter, although she did want more detail over Harry's school career if he had met up with Voldemort so many times. Luisa apologised in a very small voice.

"Would we be able to enroll Luisa in Hogwarts, then, professor?" Zoe asked, getting the main business of their conversation out of the way.

McGonagall nodded curtly. "Of course. Do you feel she is up to fourth year standard?" she asked and Zoe gave her assent. "Excellent. Now, the only other matter is the sorting. I borrowed the sorting hat from Professor Dumbledore's office for the occasion."

Indeed, McGonagall pulled the old, battered hat from the drawer in her desk. Zoe felt nerves bubble in her stomach. It didn't matter which house her daughter was in, she reminded herself. Sirius' voice crawled through her mind, putting ugly thoughts about the houses of snakes there.

Luisa was looking at the hat as though it was the most unattractive thing on the planet, but McGonagall ignored her and placed it atop her head. Seeing her daughter in the sorting hat made Zoe swell with pride. This is what she had wanted when Lu had turned 11, not home-schooling, but she had been afraid to come back, to be alive again in the eyes of the ones she loved. What she came back to was not what she had expected.

The sorting hat was on top of Luisa for quite a while, in silence. Zoe rubbed her fingers against her thumb over and over again, waiting for the sorting hat to give her a house. It was wrong to hope for Gryffindor, really, but she did and, when the hat finally pronounced "Gryffindor!", Zoe could not have been more pleased.

Zoe let out a little squeal and McGonagall had a proud smile on her face. Luisa shrugged and starting to clean her fingernails. Zoe rolled her eyes and gave McGonagall a look. "While I'm here, professor," Zoe said, ignoring her daughter's rudeness, "I had a visitor last night."

"A certain dog, perchance?" McGonagall said with an amused smile. Zoe nodded with a little chuckle. She had not seen Sirius as Padfoot in years, but was suddenly desperate to see him again.

"Yes, Sirius is rather worried that Remus Lupin and Bill and Charlie Weasley have not returned to the house where they live together," Zoe said plainly and McGonagall's returning nod was severe.

"I'm afraid the Ministry has rounded up most of the Order. Dumbledore did not allow them to take me - I don't know how he swung it, to be honest. Bill and Charlie were the first two to be arrested, when they were in Edinburgh looking for Miss Weasley," McGonagall informed her. Zoe felt her stomach drop out. Remus was in prison.

"Miss Weasley who is with Harry?" Zoe checked quickly, knowing that the Weasleys were still adding to their family when she had disappeared. McGonagall gave her an affirming nod. "What can we do? How many are there?"

"We think there are thirty-four in the holding cells at the Ministry. Dumbledore has been negotiating their release since Bill and Charlie were arrested, but it may be some days yet," McGonagall said, a solemn tone to her voice. Zoe spotted Lu listening with intrigue. "I would suggest going to visit Remus, to inform him of Dumbledore's fight for them, and then perhaps you need to speak to Sirius about turning himself in, now there is proof of him fighting for Good."

"Sirius' fear is that it is not enough, that they could still tie him to the murder of those muggles and he would be sent back to prison," Zoe said unsurely and McGonagall sighed. "I might see if I can go and visit Amelia Bones."

"Excellent," McGonagall replied.

"Well, we'll get out of your hair. It was lovely to see you again, professor." Luisa stood up and was moving for the door immediately.

"Oh, please, Zoe, you've not been my student in years. Call me Minerva," her old professor instructed her and Zoe snorted aloud.

"Wait til I tell Sirius that."

XXX

Happy update day! Lol, as if I update regularly. I am so close to finishing chapter 11. Well, I'm really not according to my plan but I'm at 4000 words and I don't really like going above 6000, so we'll just have to see. It's eleven pages long alreadyyyyy. Anyway, hope you enjoy this. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE feel free to message me suggestions, encouragements, things you love, things you hate, things you want more of, things you want less of. I'm writing as I go and it's very easy to change things hehe. Love you all loads. See you soon!