So, only posting a day later than my objective, and with the great VidereLux dropping everything at a moment's notice to beta, I present to you chapter 91!

Thanks as always to everyone who reviewed this. It makes my fic feel appreciated, and makes me notice things that I haven't developed/things people like: Princessss (for reviewing every chapter she's read so far in the space of two days), veelaxxx, VidereLux, alilyflower17, One Smart Waffle, lizyeh2000, Saum the Smol Teddy, Cae-Leigh Anne, SecretFruits, and Nik1804.

A lot of people have asked whether I'll be doing a follow up. Well, I have an idea in place of Harry finding out about his aunt. I'm going to post a poll on my profile (if that's feasible, and if I manage to get it to work, so go on over and tell me if you think it's a good idea or not!).

Enjoy!

James swallowed. The last time Emma or Regulus had taken a big risk to come and see him, nearly the entire McKinnon family had died.

'We've found the McGonagalls' safe house,' Regulus said quietly. 'We know that Professor McGonagall will be wherever Dumbledore is, and Dumbledore won't be expecting us. A few will Apparate not far from the house, wait for the two brothers to make sure the coast is clear, and then disable the wards. When the rest of the families arrive, children and all, that's when we'll strike.'

'We'll?' James couldn't help but asking.

'I'm still one of them, no matter my opinion on the matter,' Regulus said, drawing his robes around him despite the heat. He paused, as if to say something else, but thought the better of it, leaving James to his ice cream.

The sundae had lost all taste, but James forced himself to finish it. There was nothing stranger than an uneaten ice cream in summer, and he wanted enough time to pass for Regulus to steer clear. The McGonagalls weren't due to arrive for half an hour yet. As the last bite reached his lips, he thanked Fortescue and all but ran out of the parlor.

He took a moment to send a garbled message via Patronus, before running back to the Leaky Cauldron. He needed Sirius on his side.

Emma could feel her heartbeat accelerating in her chest as she ran through a list of possible situations in her mind. Her wand was clutched tightly in her sweaty palm, her other hand securing her mask and hood. Seventeen raids, and still I will never get used to them.

Her ears picked up the faint sounds of Apparition. Regulus and Rodolphus had joined them. Bellatrix had never been one for stealth missions, so she would lead the main charge. The bushes to her left rustled as they got into position, covering all possible exits.

Ten minutes.

'Sirius', James gasped as he raced back into the bar, not caring that he was supposed to be keeping a low profile. 'Sirius, we have to go. Now.'

To Sirius's credit, Sirius walked into the alleyway separating the Leaky Cauldron from Diagon Alley and cast a Muffling Charm before he turned to James.

'What was that?' he asked. 'Did my brother do something? You told me you could handle it yourself!'

James had rehearsed what he was going to say on the way back from Fortescue's. Still, it didn't make him feel any better about lying to his best friend.

'I followed him, but before I could speak to him, I noticed him ducking into the bookshop. On a hunch, I went in, but hid a couple of shelves away. Then I saw him meeting with Evan Rosier, and they were talking about how they're planning on attacking Robert and Malcolm's families!'

'The bastards! Going after children! When?' Sirius asked immediately, his face pulling into a snarl.

James felt a rush of affection for his friend, to accept his words so readily. But he was also overcome with an uneasy feeling. Sirius was always ready to believe the worst of his little brother, and James felt as though he was breaking what was left of that bridge plank by plank.

There will be time to sort this out when the war is over, he thought, trying to reassure himself. He shook his head, trying to stay focused.

'They're gathering as we speak,' he replied, bringing to mind the small children of Robert McGonagall. 'I sent a Patronus to meet at home.'

'Then we need to go,' Sirius said, turning on the spot almost before he had finished.

James followed suit, Apparating to Godric's Hollow. All he could do now was wait for the Order to assemble.

Emma checked her watch. The seconds seemed agonisingly slow. Barty shuffled to her left, but Rabastan to her right was as still as stone. He was made for the chase. He should apply to become a hit wizard, she thought idly, before remembering who would be on his hit list. Perhaps not.

She wished she could cast a spell to see in the dark. The lights were on in the safe house, but there was no longer any hint of noise. She wondered if the McGonagalls were done with their safety checks yet, or whether they were busy making dinner for their families. James had told her, against her will, that Robert and Malcolm pretended that it was a game to their children. Emma wondered how long the children would believe the lie.

She checked her watch again.

Five minutes.

'I'm telling you, my intell is good!' James exclaimed, trying to convince the Order to join him at the McGonagalls.

'What about the rest of the intell we got?' Fabian asked. 'All of the evidence points towards another Ministry attack. And now you're telling us that the Death Eaters have decided to take a stroll near the McGonagall home?'

'Yes,' James replied simply.

'James,' Alice said gently, touching him at the elbow. 'Is it possible that you might be mistaken? After all, the house is well protected. Why don't we just get a message to Robert and Malcolm?'

'Because then they will know something's wrong!' James said. He felt like tearing his hair out. 'Can't you just trust me on this?'

'No one's saying they can't trust you, mate,' Gideon said, looking down at his feet.

James looked around at the other Order members. Only Sirius and Lily looked him in the eye. Even Peter avoided his gaze. Remus had gone, off on some mission for Dumbledore that he couldn't disclose. He seemed to be doing a lot of that lately.

'You think I've been duped,' he said, taking a faltering step back. 'None of you believe me.'

'Let's just wait 'till Minerva and Albus get here,' Dorcas Meadows offered. It was a compromise. But a compromise they couldn't afford to make.

'There are Death Eaters coming for an innocent family, and yet not one of you will lift a finger without Dumbledore's permission,' Sirius growled, leaping up from his chair. 'By the time he gets here, the McGonagalls will be dead, and it will be on our hands.' He turned to James, giving him a nod of approval. 'You were right about Marlene's family. I trust you on this.'

'Thanks, Padfoot,' James replied. He restrained himself from shouting. Better save my anger for the Death Eaters. 'I'm going over there. I can't sit by and let them die. Come with me or don't.'

'James,' Lily started.

'Don't try to talk me out of this, Lils.'

'I was only going to say that I'm coming too,' she said fiercely, her green eyes ablaze.

James felt as though his heart would burst from love.

A cloud passed over the sky, obscuring the sun from view. It was dusk, not dark. Emma wished for the cover of night, but waiting so long would be risky. The brothers were sure to check their outer wards as soon as their families arrived. Briefly, Emma wondered if her old teacher missed her family as she went about Dumbledore's business.

Focus on the task at hand, Emma, she chided herself. No need to make this more painful than it already is.

Almost against her will, she lifted her hand to check her watch.

One minute.

'Wait!' Gideon stepped forwards. He glanced back towards his brother, before turning to look at James with hard eyes. 'If you feel that strongly about it, I can't let only three of you go in good conscience.'

'Brother, both Benjy and Peter worked hard to bring us the information about the Ministry,' Fabian chided. 'Will you let our efforts go to nothing?'

'The Ministry will be able to hold their own for a while before we get there,' Gideon said resolutely. 'If what James says is true and we do nothing… Two families will die tonight.'

James clasped Gideon's hand in his own. 'Thank you for your support.' He glanced at his watch. 'We need to go.'

In the end, there were eight of them. James, Lily, Sirius, Gideon, Emmeline Vance, Alice Fawley, Frank Longbottom and Caradoc Dearborn. A third of the Order. It was better than nothing, but they would still be outmatched.

It will have to do, James thought, turning on the spot with his wand at the ready.

A series of loud cracks sounded, as though it were Guy Fawkes night and everyone was setting off fireworks. Taking that as her cue, Emma rushed out, towards the house, followed by Dolohov a few seconds later. Rabastan and Barty would wait in front for the children. Emma could only hope that the rest of the Death Eaters could join them before the Order arrived.

How do I protect the families and my friends? she asked herself. I don't want Rabastan to die.

She didn't know whether it was a good thing or not that the McGonagalls had been alerted by the noise. She could hear them, even before she blasted open the front door.

'Robert, warn Lisa! Go, now, I'll hold them off for a while!' a panicked voice shouted. Emma guessed that it was Malcolm.

'No, I won't leave you! If we die, then we go down fighting, not cowering in some room! They'll know what to do when they see it.'

'When they see what?'

'Avada Kedavra!' Dolohov leapt into the room, blasting green light in the direction of the voices.

One of the McGonagalls dropped on the spot, stiff as a board.

'The Dark Mark,' he added with a grin, replying to the dead man's question. He gave Emma the signal.

'Morsmordre,' she intoned, putting as much venom into her words as possible as she pointed her wand skywards.

The other brother took advantage of Dolohov's hesitation to jump through one of the windows, crossing his arms over his head. Shattered glass flew everywhere, and Emma instinctively threw up a Shield Charm that encompassed both Death Eaters. Dolohov cursed.

'Take the stairs,' he ordered, jumping straight out of the window after the escaping brother.

Better you than me, Emma thought, nimbly avoiding the glass as she took the stairs two by two, wrenching open the door. She took a moment to scan the surroundings. McGonagall was making a beeline for where the Apparition wards should have been. He appeared to have forgotten that the Death Eaters had arrived via Apparition in his haste.

Dolohov was pursuing him, gaining on him as he shot spell after spell. That was what Dolohov did best, run whilst casting nonverbal curses so as not to waste breath. Emma couldn't help but admire the man, though in her heart she hoped that at least one of the McGonagalls would get away.

It was not to be.

He was running straight towards where Regulus and Rodolphus had positioned themselves. Emma started running, whether to help or hinder, she didn't know. As the Order member drew nearer and nearer, she saw a flicker of movement. But it wasn't where Regulus and Rodolphus had said they would be. In fact, Rodolphus was already emerging from behind the apple tree, raising his wand.

'Look out!' she screamed.

Dolohov dove to the floor. The McGonagall brother faltered in his running, turning around to see who had spoken. And Rodolphus cast his curse, the green light flowing across half the garden before hitting McGonagall square in the chest.

Then ropes wrapped themselves around the older Lestrange, forcing him to drop his wand and lose his balance, falling to the floor.

James arrived at the McGonagalls only to realise that one, they had arrived too late; and two, they were severely outnumbered.

'Send a Patronus!' he told Alice, who had mastered the spell the best out of all of them.

She nodded and raced down the hillside to send the Patronus without interruptions. The rest of them fanned out, hiding under what cover the forest could provide. The further they were from each other, the less the area of effect spells could damage them. Of course, this also brought the added risk of one person being ganged up on.

Still, James imitated the others. Nearly all of them were experienced Aurors, whereas he and Sirius had only joined the Order that year.

'Oh Potty, oh Potty, come out, come out!' a feminine voice called, cruel and mocking. He knew that voice. And he hated it. 'You can't hide in the trees forever!'

Why did she have to single me out? James took a moment to thump his head against the trunk he was hiding behind. He could only think that she hadn't noticed Sirius, since he had stayed in the open for a fraction of a second longer than the others. He snuck a peek around the corner of his tree. She wasn't there.

'Your sister's more fun than you, you know,' Bellatrix whispered from behind him. 'A lot more.'

'Stupefy!' Frank shouted, and Bellatrix was forced to dodge back to avoid the spell.

'Thanks,' James replied, wiping the sweat off of his forehead. 'I don't know what I would have done.'

'Shut up and concentrate!' Frank cut him off, uncharacteristically harsh. James realised that the older man was just as scared as he was. 'We need to last long enough for the rest of them to arrive!'

The next few minutes were spent intensively dodging and yelling Shield Charms until his voice was hoarse. He didn't have time to look for Sirius, didn't have time to wonder if the McGonagalls, if Emma and Regulus, were okay. He just had to breathe, duck, survive.

Suddenly, his routine was broken into. A cacophony of voices and explosions reached his ears, and he had just the time to dive to the side as a particularly nasty spell set the bush he was next to on fire.

'At your service,' Fabian grinned, tipping his head.

James didn't know whether he wanted to strangle the twin or hug him.

'Sorry for the delay,' he added. 'Dumbledore got the Ministry so we can round up as many of these suckers as we can. Where are the families?'

Oh Merlin, James thought, horror dawning on him. The families.

Emma watched as the dark blue cloaks with bright silver Ms swarmed the gardens, panic mounting in her chest.

I wanted James to save them, not capture us! she thought, immediately feeling guilty for her selfishness.

Dolohov glanced back at her once, before attempting to Apparate. Instead, he turned on the spot, nearly losing his balance. A look of sheer terror replaced the determination on his face.

'Run, Emma, run!' he shouted, sprinting in the opposite direction, where the rest of the Death Eaters were supposed to be apprehending the McGonagalls' families.

But they wouldn't, Emma had made sure of that. Dolohov was running straight into the arms of the Order of the Phoenix. She opened her mouth to warn him, and then bit her tongue. You're not supposed to know, she told herself.

Crossing her fingers in her mind for her fellow Death Eater, she dove into a nearby rose bush, biting back the cry of pain that came to her lips. The thorns tore at her clothing, leaving red angry welts that would sting when the adrenaline wore off.

Regulus is still there, she thought desperately. I can't let the Ministry get him, I just can't.

Carefully, she raised her wand arm. With a bit of luck, the Aurors would be doing their customary checks before moving towards Rodolphus's struggling body, and Regulus was wise enough to keep quiet.

'Confringo!' she said quietly, sure that the blast would cover the sound of her voice. A cherry tree that one of the wizards had been standing next to exploded, sending him flying into his partner.

All faces snapped towards the sound of the explosion and Emma took advantage of the few precious seconds to leap out of her bush, further tearing her clothing, to dive to the ground, crawling between the rows of carefully arranged flowers. As she had suspected, some of the Aurors were intelligent enough to follow the source of the light her spell had created.

But before they could get anywhere near the rosebush, an amplified voice cried out.

'We've found the kids! They're all right, but we're going to get overrun!'

Immediately, most of the Aurors rushed to the house. Emma thanked her lucky stars that the Order had been on the other side of the house. Two Aurors stayed to watch either side of Rodolphus, wary of any rescue attempts. However, they were scanning at human height, not at ground level.

Emma rolled through the dirt towards where Rodolphus was, scanning the surroundings for Regulus. She carefully parted the lavender to check, wary of the Aurors. There was no sign of him, though Rodolphus caught her eye immediately and gave a meaningful glance towards the ropes.

'Where's Reg?' she chanced a whisper.

Rodolphus said nothing. But just then, the tree rustled, dropping an apple onto Rodolphus's face.

'Ouch!' he yelled loudly.

The Aurors started, looking to the bound Death Eater. When they saw what happened, one laughed, whilst the other one drew nearer.

'That apple's going to be the last thing on your mind when we get you out of here,' he said, spitting on Rodolphus's face and smearing it in with his boot. 'I knew Robert, and he didn't deserve to be killed by filth like you.'

Rodolphus grinned.

'Wait 'till you hear what I did to his wife and kids,' he leered.

The Auror kicked harder this time, knocking several teeth out of Rodolphus's mouth.

'Stop that,' the woman Auror told him sharply. 'Don't lower yourself to their level. You're better than that.'

As the two Aurors argued, Emma noticed a flash of metal catch a stray ray of sunlight. Looking up, she saw that Regulus had hidden himself in the trees and was now lowering himself down, out of the Aurors' vision. When she looked back to Rodolphus, the older man grinned again, spitting blood and grime from his mouth.

Emma felt a lump come to her throat. Even if Rodolphus was probably doing it for the chance to get free, he had no idea if Regulus and she would just up and leave him to it. He was going out on a limb for them, trusting them, and despite the fact that she hated him, she felt touched.

Perhaps there's more of Rabastan in him than I thought.

But this was no time for pondering the state of Rodolphus's sick and twisted soul. Regulus quickly jumped the last few feet, smoothly transitioning into a roll and then pointing his wand at the male Auror.

'Stupefy,' he shouted.

The man crumpled, landing on top of Rodolphus, who groaned. Emma had expected the woman to look around, but to her credit, she immediately cast a Shield Charm and placed her wand to her throat.

'Need backup! They're trying to free Lestrange.'

Damnit, Emma thought. The word "Lestrange" was enough to have half the Ministry on them.

Quickly, she jumped to her feet, shoving the Auror off of Rodolphus's body.

'Diffindo,' she said, slicing the bonds. Rodolphus took her proffered arm, and she hauled him to his feet, taking off at a sprint for the edge of the Apparition field. Regulus soon joined them, looking over his shoulder every once in a while to check for pursuers.

'We're going to make it!' Rodolphus yelled triumphantly, as they drew further and further away.

Emma ground to a stop, Rodolphus running into her and nearly knocking her over.

'What is it?' he grunted.

'You'll never take me alive!' Evan Rosier yelled, saving Emma a response. He was duelling two Aurors two hundred yards away. 'I won't rot in Azkaban as a drooling mess!'

'Bloody Death Eater,' answered none other than Alastor Moody.

Emma and Regulus shared a look of horror. Alastor Moody had put more people behind bars than the rest of the Aurors combined. Emma recognised the other Auror as Savage. According to James, he was very much in favour of fighting fire with fire, Unforgivable with Unforgivable.

'Here's our chance to take him down,' Rodolphus told them, charging across the grass like a maniac.

Emma stood there, stunned, wondering if maybe Rodolphus had suffered a concussion. She didn't want to leave Evan alone against Moody, but neither did she have a death threat. One glance at Regulus had her resigned. He was readying his wand, so she sent out a prayer to Merlin, hoping that he would give her another chance at life.

'Die!' Rodolphus eloquently bellowed, sending out killing curse after killing curse.

Moody turned around to face his new opponent, something Evan immediately took advantage of.

'Diffindo!' he cried out, and Moody gave a roar of pain, clutching his hands to his face.

'Avada Kedavra!'

The spell hadn't come from any Death Eater, but from the other Auror, Savage. Emma could see Evan's look of shock etched onto his face as he fell to the ground, his glassy eyes staring at the sky.

Regulus stopped still, his eyes wide and his features expressionless. It's the first time he's seen someone die like that, Emma remembered. The first time someone's been full of life, and then suddenly gone. Orion had been tortured until he was put out of his misery.

'Stay here,' she told him, casting a Disillusionment charm on him, before sprinting after Rodolphus. The odds had evened out now that Moody was incapacitated, and she was going to give Savage hell for killing one of her best friends' brothers.

'Crucio,' Rodolphus yelled as soon as he got near enough, watching with satisfaction as Savage writhed and screamed next to Evan's body.

'Incarcerous,' Emma intoned when she arrived at the scene, binding Savage's body in ropes not unlike the ones that had trapped Rodolphus mere minutes before.

Suddenly, she felt a burning pain on her face, as though her mask had turned into liquid silver and was trying to seep into her pores. With a cry of pain, she ripped it off without a second thought, dropping the hot metal into the ground and wringing her hand.

Moody was standing before her, the lower half of his face caked with blood and gore, his eyes grim with determination.

'Potter,' he grunted. 'You chose the wrong side. You are under arrest for-'

Before he was able to finish his sentence, he froze and fell to the floor. Emma looked around to see that Regulus had followed them, his wand pointing straight at Moody.

'Come on,' he said. 'The Body-Bind won't last for long.'