March 10th, 1977
"Samson Dodd?" Mia blinked. "Who… is that?"
"He's a friend," Leon sighed. "Sort of. He came into Voldemort's ranks the same way Avery did, and I really don't think he likes it. I just suggest you talk to him."
"What do you think?" Mia asked, turning to Avery, the only one of her boys who was with her at the moment. He thought for a moment and hesitated before speaking.
"I think… you should be careful when approaching him, but I do believe he is not faithful to Riddle."
"Okay," Mia shrugged. "I'll find him later."
"No," Avery shook his head. "We'll find him now."
"Avery-,"
"Mia, you know what we agreed on."
She sighed but nodded. "Okay. Let's go."
All in all, it was extremely easy to sway him. He was a Ravenclaw, and he certainly didn't seem to like where he was at. He was also halfblood, which meant he was lower in the ranks.
"Shirt!"
"Merlin's sake, Potter," Avery scowled. "You have a problem."
"Yeah, maybe, but you're still not taking off your shirt. Or did you want me to take mine off and show him?"
Avery's eyes widened and he hastily lifted his own, letting the fifth year in front of them look at the paw print.
"What is it, exactly?"
"It's a mix of runes," Mia began. "It lights up when people loyal to Dumbledore or myself touch their wand to it." She waved her hand at Leon, and he lifted his wand and pressed it to Avery's rune, causing it to glow.
"Okay," Dodd nodded before glancing at her. "Is that why your eyes glow?"
Mia paused to curse loudly. "Are you fucking kidding me?"
"Sano?" Avery said softly, touching her face so she'd look up at him. He glanced down at her eyes with a frown. "It's getting worse."
"It's fine, Avery," she gently pushed his hand away.
"You said you could control it," he argued. She blushed, looking away. "Mia, can you control it?"
"Not… as such," she admitted. "I mostly just put glamours over my eyes."
"They wear off after so long," he sounded frustrated, his worry seeping through. "And some magic will strip them from you, like at Gringott's."
"What would you have me do?" She snapped, turning back to him. "They stay like this always. My eyes aren't brown anymore, Avery."
"What's happening?" Dodd asked, interrupting them. Leon nodded, looking confused as well, and Mia shuffled in frustration.
"I don't- I can't-," she threw her hands up. "I need Regulus."
"Why?" Leon asked, looking confused and concerned. "What's happening?"
Mia ran her fingers through her hair, overwhelmed. It was enough that she was arguing with Avery, but now two that didn't know her secret were questioning her, and she didn't have her boyfriend with her. "I'm not- I have secrets, okay? I can't answer every question."
"Sano, you know that didn't work well with me," Avery whispered. Mia turned to glare at him.
"I won't fucking-,"
"Mia," a voice called, interrupting her stressed rant. Her head snapped over and she sagged in relief. "Is everything okay?"
"My eyes," she said simply. His gaze fell straight to her eyes and he seemed to slightly understand her problem. He moved over to her and wrapped a tight arm around her waist, turning to look at Dodd and Gibbon, who were standing across from the couple and Avery now.
"What you saw here," he began slowly, tense but relaxing slightly as he felt her nerves calm. "Was something you were not meant to see."
"No, but I think I know what it is," Dodd said, his eyes widening as something fell into place.
"That's not possible," Mia told him, holding onto Regulus tightly. She hated being so dependent on him, but there were times when the situation overwhelmed her to the point of panic, and he had the amazing ability to calm her and control the situation where she couldn't. It was a sort of partnership she adored. She knew his ability to calm her so easily largely came from their bond, the way they were connected so deeply.
"My dad used to be an Unspeakable," he said. "And he had to quit because he worked in the time room."
"Dodd, stop-," Avery tried, but he kept going.
"He made time turners, and it was changing him," he told them slowly. "It changed him too much. He said the spell got so easy, he didn't need his wand, or magic. He just had to think about moving the sands, and they'd move."
"The sands of time?" Leon asked, his eyes widening.
"But one day, he made a mistake, or he moved too quickly, we don't know. And-," he paused, looking at the two protective boys holding Mia between them. "And it latched onto his core, and turned him into sands of time."
There was a long moment of silence before Mia spoke.
"Ah, fuck."
"Mia, you can't-,"
"Don't even fucking tell me I can't, Regulus Arcturus," she snapped angrily. "This isn't for me. I'll be fine."
"As long as you don't make a mistake and die, you mean," Avery added. She glanced at him but spared no energy glaring.
"Why do you need to move sands of time?" Dodd asked. "Was it you that stole that time turner months ago?"
"I really don't think now is the time for questions, mate," Leon said hastily. "Regulus will hex you into next year if he thinks even a question will upset her."
"But it's important," he insisted. "Because the Dark Lord is looking for that time turner."
The three across from them paused.
"What?" Regulus asked, his voice dark and low. Dodd stared back at them, blinking.
"He wants to experiment on it?" He replied, looking between the three. Mia pulled herself from Regulus's arms and moved forward, her eyes flashing brighter.
"What does he know?"
"He knows it's in Hogwarts, and he knows a student has it," Dodd shrugged. "He knows what happened to my dad, so… I'd suggest you keep your eyes covered."
"Right."
"But seriously, why do you need it?"
"Time travel."
"Thanks."
"I'm serious," she shrugged. "I need to travel in time. To the future, farther than five hours."
"Why?"
"She can't tell you," Regulus interrupted. "So stop asking."
"Okay, but I just think you should be careful. Obviously you wouldn't keep it on you or anything, but-," he paused, watching as she glanced away. "Oh my god, are you kidding me?"
She pulled the time turner out of her robes sheepishly, and he immediately wished he'd never seen it.
"Okay, so stop keeping it on you, and ward wherever you keep it," he sighed. "Just keep your eyes covered, too."
"This is great," Regulus muttered sarcastically. "Like Dolohov and Bellatrix weren't enough, now we've got the bloody thing that's supposed to send you back keeping Voldemort looking for you."
"What about Dolohov?" Dodd asked, looking between the group. The anger on Regulus's face was growing at the memory, but it was Leon who spoke.
"He's got something against Mia," he sighed. "When I spoke to her for the first time, I found him crucioing her."
Dodd's head snapped to his new leader and she scowled. "He also sliced me open in the library. The entire fucking thing started because he slapped my arse and I slapped his smug face for it."
"And then you cursed him in the library," Regulus reminded her lowly.
"Because he was going to hurt Mary!" She said, immediately angry over the old fight.
"Not to mention the bruises he gave you on New Years'," Avery added.
"Merlin," Dodd breathed. "And you know him in the future, too?" Mia's head snapped up, and he shrugged. "You didn't really make it that hard to figure out."
"Wait, what?" Leon asked, looking between them quickly. Mia frowned.
"I can't keep a fucking secret," she complained. "Maybe it was Fred at first, but this is just ridiculous."
"Well, you didn't answer my question," Dodd told her. She shook herself and nodded shortly.
"Yes. I met him. He cursed me once, and… I met him another time after that."
"Mia, are you from the future?" Leon asked, still trying to grasp the situation. She rolled her eyes and nodded.
"I'm so tired of this conversation," she told Regulus and Avery, both of whom looked rather annoyed with the other two in the room.
"Okay, but… how?"
"I was in 1998, there was an accident with a time turner and an explosion, and I ended up here with my friend, Fred."
"How long ago?"
"Just when I showed up," she shrugged. "Early September."
"And the time turner is how you plan on getting back?" Dodd asked. She nodded a little.
"This is great," Regulus sighed. "Let's just tell everybody everything, yeah? Makes sense?"
Mia sighed. She agreed with him.
Too many people knew.
It was too dangerous.
OoOoOoOoOoOo
March 13th, 1977
"Do you know what exactly is happening?" Mia asked.
She was sitting with Regulus across from Charlus and his boss, Bertie Croaker. Croaker was the head of the DOM, and she'd demanded a meeting after her conversation with Dodd. He'd agreed quickly, having only recently heard of her situation and wanted a meeting himself, though Charlus had fought against it until Mia requested it herself. They were in her house and she was placed on a couch next to her boyfriend, her father and his boss sitting in chairs across from them.
"We only know so much, unfortunately," he told her. "A section of the muggle military would actually know more about the man that could explain this to you, but he has, in the past, made it clear he dislikes our community and visits rarely."
Mia blinked. "Can they get me in touch with this man?"
Croaker tilted his head, watching her. "It's unlikely, but if anyone can, it'll be a man named Alistair Gordon Lethbridge Stewart. He works with this man directly."
"Alright," she nodded, filing the information away for later. "But what do we know exactly about what's happening to me, however limited the information is?"
"Well," he began slowly. "Are you aware of the muggle science of biology?" He continued at her nod. "It seems as if it is changing your DNA, Miss Potter."
She stared. "What?"
"What does that mean?" Regulus asked, looking between them. Mia shifted, rolling her hands around in her lap.
"DNA is like… who you are. It makes us up and carries information throughout our bodies. It's like… how our core is made of different magics and we have an affinity for some over others based on our family, right?" He nodded. "Well, our DNA can determine whether we have black hair or blonde hair, or green eyes or brown. It can also carry things called genes from our parents, which can pass down things like mental illnesses," she looked at him. "You know how I get anxious a lot?" At his slow nod, she gave him a small smile. "That's called Generalized Anxiety Disorder. It's a mental illness, and I got it from my muggle parents, among a couple other things."
"What's mental illness?"
"It's like I said," she frowned, suddenly unsure how to explain something that affected her so greatly. "Generalized Anxiety Disorder makes me anxious, I've got certain things that make me anxious and those are called triggers. Another example of a mental illness is Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD."
Regulus paused, thinking. "And that would be…?"
Mia glanced at the people across from her. "I'll finish explaining this later, love. We've drifted from the point."
"No, I'm interested as well," Charlus admitted. "Don't stop for our sakes."
"Yes, me too," Croaker smiled. "I've never had much time to look into mental illness."
"So PTSD begins after you experience a trauma, like an abusive relationship, being attacked, or going through a war," she shifted uncomfortably as Regulus's gaze sharpened on her. "Some symptoms are flashbacks, where you unwillingly relive the traumatic event or events, nightmares, trouble sleeping, and mood issues, like being easily irritated or afraid, and many with PTSD are easily startled. Beyond that, depending on the nature of the traumatic event or events, many will have problems forming bonds with other people or maintaining previous friendships and other relationships.
"Something common with PTSD but that isn't well researched yet is a number of things that are very similar. Dissociation is one, and it's sort of like when you experience something that overwhelms or stresses you out too much, and your brain decides it doesn't want to deal with it, and then suddenly you sort of zone out, and you can't come back and control your brain," she sighed, biting her lip.
"Then there's derealization. That's often chronic, meaning it's either constant or nearly constant. With that… nothing feels real. It sort of feels like a dream, and like you're kind of floating, but not in a good way, more like you're floating through space with no way to get back down. It's like the things around you aren't real, I suppose.
"Finally, there's depersonalization. That's when you don't feel like you yourself are real… that's the really bad one, honestly. It's like you're just not there, not real, it's terrifying."
"You sound like you have experience with this," Croaker commented softly. She looked away, glancing at the fire.
"I do," she shrugged, though she stared at the fire still. "I have for nearly four years now."
"You didn't tell me," Regulus whispered. She tried to give him a smile.
"Because there's more important things going on, like what's happening with my DNA."
"Right," Croaker nodded. "So! Basically, it's changing. We're not sure into what, but there's something else there now, similar to the sands of time."
"How do you… know this? You're wizards."
"We've got plenty of scientists working with us," he rolled his eyes. "They're bloody useful."
Mia laughed. "They really are."
"Still, we can't tell you specifically what's going on without help that we can't recieve," he told her sadly. "But if you'd be willing to, we'd love to do some tests-,"
"Bertie," Charlus interrupted. "No tests. We talked about this."
The man smiled, unashamed. "Right. No tests."
"Thank you for that information, Mister Croaker," Mia smiled, standing.
"And you," he nodded. "I'd love to learn more about mental illness if you know more?"
"Oh, I know plenty on the subject," she assured him. "Just owl me and we can set up a time to meet here."
"Wonderful!" He grinned. They said their goodbyes quickly, but Charlus stopped Mia before he left through the floo in the greeting room.
"Orion came to meet with me."
"Ah."
"We wrote up a contract," he told her. "But it's dependent on your agreement."
"Thank you," she smiled softly, standing on her toes to kiss his cheek.
"You want to marry him."
"Yes."
"Good," he nodded firmly. "He's good for you."
"Thanks for the approval," she laughed as he made his way to the floo. "I'll see you at Easter."
"Stay out of trouble, Mia," he asked of her before throwing the black powder into the fireplace and disappearing back to the ministry.
Mia waved her wand to clean up the small mess in front of the fireplace from excess powder before she walked back to the living room they'd been in. Regulus was there waiting for her, and she placed herself down onto the couch next to him, though she turned to face him completely this time.
"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked again.
"We had more important-,"
"Mia," he whispered. "Why didn't you tell me?"
She lowered her gaze, unable to look at the hurt on his face. "I don't know. No one knows, Reg. My parents, Hermione's parents, they did, but they don't even remember me anymore, so no one knows. None of my friends have ever noticed, and you didn't, so I guess I just felt… I don't know. Relieved to be normal."
"How often does it… happen?"
"It's constant," she told him quietly. "The derealization is, at least."
"And the other two… dissociation and depersonalization? Do you have those as well?"
"Yes."
"When did it start?"
"After Sirius."
"Fuck," he whispered. "There's nothing to help it?"
"No," she shrugged. "Not yet. Not here or in the future. It just… it isn't well known, Reg. I only found out about it because I asked the Room for books on PTSD and I found one from the future. From somewhere around 2015."
"What do you do when those… attacks happen?"
"I don't know. Touching helps. I touch anyone around me. You help more, your core and magic are so overwhelmingly real, I can't ignore it. But touching Avery's shoulder or when Sirius pulls my head into his lap and plays with my hair, it always helps."
"Please tell me."
"I don't know how," she admitted.
"Has it ever happened while I was around?"
"Reg-,"
"Mia."
"Yes," she breathed out. "Yeah, of course. I dissociated for nearly two full days after Dolohov tried to kill me in the library."
"What else?"
"Reg, I'm not going to-,"
"Mia, please," he stared into her eyes, moving closer so she basically had to look at him.
"Why do you need to know? It won't change anything."
"But it might tell me what sort of things cause it," he argued reasonably. She tried to find a way to disagree but couldn't.
"When I saw Sirius die again," she told him. "It was like this horrible mixture of all three of them, I just- I couldn't handle it."
"That makes sense," he nodded slowly.
"After Bellatrix, both times," she sighed. "And when Dolohov tortured me, and after our conversation with Dodd the other day, and- that's about it."
Regulus stared at her for a long moment and she gasped as she felt his gaze sharpen and his mind shifting against hers as he tried to enter hers. She tore her eyes away from him.
"Regulus!"
"You're lying to me."
"You don't need to-,"
"Are you going to tell me what it is?"
"You don't need to know."
"Mia."
They stared at each other for a few very long seconds as the old game started up again, him trying to slip past her shields and her holding them up as tight as possible.
Finally, he found a crack that had been born from comfortability around her boyfriend and slipped through, falling into the memory she wanted to hide from him.
Mia fell back into bed, begging the memory to fall away and let her sleep. Her heart rate picked up as she felt her own brain slip away in the panic. She picked away a fresh scab on her arm and winced as the cut reopened and new blood dripped out slowly. For a glorious moment, she felt clearer, but as the pain dulled, she felt her own existence dull. It was horrible, and she wanted to cry. The horrible feeling of fakeness that seeped from her own body, her very being, was overwhelming her, and she felt tears roll down her cheeks quietly.
Mia shoved Regulus away from her and stood, taking two large steps back. Once more, there were tears down her face as Regulus looked up at her, horror in his bright eyes.
"That was the night we fought," she told him darkly. "Are you happy? Did you get what you wanted?"
"Mia-,"
"No," she snapped. "No. You're supposed to trust me. Maybe you're scared. I know this stuff is new to you, but you should know better. You can't just… invade my mind because I know better than you about something you didn't need to know at all."
"I'm sorry-,"
"You know so much better than me, right?" She stared. "Fine." She raised her wand and pointed it at herself, casting a spell he recognized.
"What did you do?" he asked, pushing his robes up hastily to look at his bracelet. "Mia, what did you do?"
"You had to know there was a way you could just track me with the spell," she rolled her eyes bitterly. She was right - he'd used it a couple times, just using a different spell on the bracelet to find her.
"Please, don't-,"
Mia ignored him, twisting on her foot and disapparating away from the house, leaving him absolutely devastated.
OoOoOoOoOoOo
Mia landed in Diagon Alley, her anxious breaths coming out quick. It was nearly three in the afternoon, and she refused to go back to school only to be found by someone. She was startled by the screams in the air and held her wand - which was still in her hand - in the air, twisting around to notice the attack taking place.
She jumped into the fray, shooting spells off silently and using both her wand and her empty hand to do magic. She sent a Patronus to Dumbledore, Moody, and Fabian and Gideon both after ducking into an alley to call for support.
It wasn't long before Fabian and Gideon appeared by her side, both looking her over critically.
"Go!" She yelled. "We'll talk after."
And they did as she said.
Next to appear was Moody. He looked her over and nodded. "Anything I need to know, girl?"
"I got here five minutes ago and the attack had already begun," she told him.
They were interrupted by a tall man who looked like a more bitter Dumbledore apparating in and pushing past them to join the fight silently. Mia blinked.
"Who was that?"
"Aberforth Dumbledore," Moody grunted. "Doesn't talk much, but he's a good fighter. I've got some more coming, maybe two more."
"That'll be fine," she promised. "I'm sure I can help plenty myself."
"Shouldn't you be at Hogwarts?"
"No," she rolled her eyes. "I'm eighteen."
"You're in Slytherin robes."
"It's complicated," she told him, annoyed. "Are you just here to question me or are we going to help?"
With that, the pair entered the fight and stayed there. Mia fought alone, dropping Death Eaters silently from the top of a shop as they fought below. Some more arrived - Edgar Bones and an auror she didn't recognize - and she continued from her place above, appreciating the uninterrupted spells she was able to shoot off.
Until, of course, she heard the tell tale crack of apparation - two cracks, in fact. She spun around, but was too late as she felt ropes spin around her, slamming her to the ground as her legs were tied together. Her arms were held painfully behind her back by the ropes, and she knew she'd dropped her wand in the fall.
She glanced up and immediately wished she'd never cancelled the spell on Regulus's bracelet.
OoOoOoOoOoOo
Mia opened her eyes slowly, her breath coming out in stutters as she felt tight ropes wound around her entire body. She looked around quietly and realized, horrified, who she was in front of.
"Miss Potter," he greeted, his voice nearly making her shiver. "I've wanted to meet you for some time now." She said nothing in the pause he gave her to reply, grateful when he didn't force it and moved on. "I've heard wonderful things about you from Mister Dolohov here."
She twisted painfully, biting her lip to keep from groaning in pain as the magical ropes tightened. Her struggle proved unnecessary as Dolohov was waved forward, moving to Voldemort's side.
"Of course, I heard of your unfortunate encounter with Bellatrix," he shook his head and clicked his tongue. "I don't blame you for interfering. She's got a bit of a temper, and not everyone deserves to feel it, like that shop owner. I'm glad to see you are well."
"I'm well?" she scoffed, speaking finally. "I'm literally tied up on the floor."
"Yes, that does look uncomfortable," he agreed. He waved his wand at her and she breathed in relief as the ropes fell away from her body and disappeared into the ground. "I apologize. I requested you be brought to me, and they had to use force."
"They didn't even speak to me," she rolled her eyes. "They just bound me."
"Well, you were taking out many of our ranks," he argued. "You had to be stopped."
"Oh, I'm sorry, I wasn't aware I was the bad person in this situation for stopping Death Eaters from torturing innocent people."
"They weren't innocent," he told her as if he was teaching a child. "They were blood traitors and mudbloods."
"Oh, right, sorry."
Voldemort laughed, a sound she wished she'd never heard. "You've got fire. I like you."
"Wow, I'm blushing."
"Still, we should get down to business," he waved off her comment.
"Of course," she rolled her eyes. "Because I'd hate to miss this."
"I've been told we have a mutual friend," he began, and she paused.
Who was it? Definitely not Regulus. Surely not Severus or Avery, and likely not Rodolphus, either. That just left her two new boys.
"Samson Dodd."
"I met him for the first time the other day," she told him cautiously.
"Yes, that's true," he nodded. "But in that conversation, a lot of information was given, wasn't there?"
"We spoke about his family."
"And you," he told her, waving his wand at her. She stiffened, expecting some sort of pain, but only felt the cool feel of magic washing off of her - off of her eyes. "Oh, it's true."
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Yes, you do," he snapped. "You're a time traveller. You're from the future, Mia Potter. And you've got a lot to tell me."
OoOoOoOoOoOo
"Regulus!" Fabian called, slamming his way into Slytherin common room. "Regulus Black!"
Avery stood, running over with Severus on his heels. "He was at a meeting with Mia. What's wrong?"
"It's Mia," Fabian gasped, catching his breath. "She appeared in Diagon Alley an hour ago in the middle of a raid and called for backup. We came, but she was taken. Voldemort has her."
OoOoOoOoOoOo
The large group assembled in the room of requirement, a nervous energy running through them. Sirius was pacing around the room silently. James pushed himself over to Fabian, waving his hands in the air. "Tell us again."
"I don't know much," he explained for the third time. "I got a Patronus from Mia saying that there was a raid happening in Diagon Alley. Gideon and I arrived at the same time. She seemed upset but fine physically. We didn't have time to talk and ran in to fight. She placed herself on top of a shop and was taking people out from up there, but it stopped suddenly and when we looked up, she was gone. When we finished cleaning up, we checked for the last spells shot in the area. There was one binding spell and two disapparations with one side along. She was taken."
"And where is my brother?" Sirius growled.
"No one knows," Avery rubbed his temples. "He and Mia went to meet with Lord Potter and Croaker from the DOM, and he hasn't been seen since."
"I think we should take this to Dumbledore," Remus said quietly. Fabian glanced at him and thought about it.
"We can," he nodded. "But I'm unsure if he'd be willing to do anything."
"All we can do is try," James said. "I'll talk to dad and see if he knows anything."
So the large group, consisting of James, Sirius, Remus, Fred, Fabian, Gideon, Avery, and Severus all moved from the room of requirement and found their way into Dumbledore's office. The old man was in, and he didn't even blink as James rushed over to the floo without asking.
The explanations took ten minutes, and another five before James came back from his conversation with Charlus.
"He said Mia and Regulus were both there and fine," James explained, looking agitated. "He said that Mia told them something that seemed to upset Regulus, though he wasn't sure why they'd separate because of it. And then he said he was on his way here with mum."
"Good," Dumbledore nodded. "I'll be calling an emergency Order meeting."
"Seriously?" Gideon gaped.
"Yes," Dumbledore told him. "She is a member and she is in danger."
Fabian scowled at the headmaster but said nothing aside from helping to send Patronuses to Order members.
It was a full hour later when the entire Order had arrived, and the meeting began - students included.
"I know you are all aware that we've got a member I've kept secret," Dumbledore said. The group nodded silently. "We named her Raven, but it is past time for code names. The Raven is Mia Potter, and she is in danger."
"Mia Potter?" Moody called. "I saw her earlier."
"Yes, Miss Potter was at a raid in Diagon Alley-,"
"Isn't she a student?" a woman called. Dumbledore looked at her and she blushed, but he answered her still.
"She has been placed in Hogwarts, but she is truly eighteen. As I said before I revealed her identity, she has many secrets and most of them must remain secret."
"Most?" Kingsley asked, gaining his attention. He had just graduated the year before and had immediately joined the Order and Ministry both.
"Miss Potter has, through means I cannot disclose, come to gain a significant amount of knowledge about both Voldemort and this war that Voldemort would easily torture and kill her for. And now, because of her place in the raid, she has been captured."
"What happened?"
"She was working on top of a building, taking out Death Eaters from above when someone noticed her and took her," Dumbledore told them. "Now, her friends have informed us that Regulus Black has a bracelet that can track her when she is in danger, but Mister Black is missing."
"They were both at a meeting with myself," Charlus spoke up. "Regulus became upset by something she said, but I got the impression they were going to talk it out once we left."
"I've got a way to find him," Sirius spoke up. Everyone turned to him and he shrugged. "And I'll know if she's being hurt."
"How is that, Mister Black?" Dumbledore asked quietly. He looked at the group silently.
"Well, it's blood magic, but I can just do a tracking spell to find Regulus," he told them. "As for Mia, we… have a bond."
"What sort, boy?" Moody asked, both of his eyes landing on him.
"I'm not willing to share that," he told him. "There are extenuating circumstances around this bond, and it's private."
"Is it marriage bond?"
"Ew!" He screwed up his face. "Merlin, no, that's Regulus."
"They're married?"
"No," Sirius shook his head, looking defeated. "They have a sealed soul bond. It's… look, it's complicated. Mia got hurt bad and she'd have died if they didn't seal it."
"He might be able to help find her," Dorcas Meadowes commented. "It took a while, but back when I was taken by Voldemort, my husband was able to slowly track me."
"How'd he do that?" James asked, his eyes brightening.
She paused, her face falling. "Um, I was on the brink of death and the pain increased the closer he got to me."
"So… we want to avoid that, then."
"Probably."
"Find Regulus," Remus interrupted. "Focus on that first."
"Yes," Dumbledore agreed. "Let's find Mister Black."
OoOoOoOoOoOo
Mia screamed, twisting around on the floor in agony. She wasn't sure how long it had been going on. Maybe hours.
They'd been trading off. Bellatrix went for a while before Dolohov switched and really leaned into her. She almost hated Bellatrix's turns only because she knew what was coming next.
The torture paused, only for it to start again, leagues worse than before. She bit her tongue in an attempt to dull the pain and quiet her screams only to bite through it, a pain that she welcomed completely. The thought that causing herself pain would temporarily block out the pain of torture lodged itself in her mind and she slipped her hands down to her legs, forcing the fists to unclench. She dug her long nails into her thighs, relishing in the pain she felt that was so different from the one that truly made her wish for death.
OoOoOoOoOoOo
Twelve hours. It had been twelve hours since the pains had started, and he couldn't move. He knew what was happening, he was certain of it, and he could do nothing. He laid on the floor in front of the very couch he'd been sitting on when she'd left in a fit of anger and stared at the bracelet on his wrist, tears falling freely. His paw print was, of course, glowing painfully, but he ignored it. The bracelet should have glowed. It should have told him where she was, but he'd forced the secret out of her and she'd pushed him away, refused to let him protect or follow her.
It was all his fault.
He screamed once more as the sharp pain dug into his legs, probably the worst of it. He knew he felt only a fraction of what she did, and that only made it worse.
He was unaware of the floo activating or the people rushing into the room. He only noticed as the sharp pain dulled to a throbbing ache and saw someone kneeling in front of him, wand out and checking him over.
"S-Sirius?"
"Regulus," his brother breathed a sigh of relief, though he looked terrified. "We've been looking for you."
"Mia- she's- she-,"
"We know," Sirius's eyes darkened and he raised his wrist to reveal his shaking hand which was glowing and burning him in the same way the paw print burnt him. "Can you find her? With your bracelet?"
"N-no," his voice shook with shame as he admitted it. "She was angry, she took the spell off so I couldn't follow her."
"Fuck!" Sirius yelled, throwing himself away from his brother. Someone else moved forward - Fred, he thought - and passed him a pain potion. He downed it, regretting deeply that his girlfriend wasn't able to take it instead. The throbbing dulled and the feeling of torture wore down as well, allowing him to sit up and, barely a minute later, stand.
"We have to find her."
"Thanks," Sirius snapped.
"They'll kill her!"
"Really? We didn't know that," Sirius growled, pacing like he did when he had more emotion than he had places to put it.
"She'll die."
"I know."
OoOoOoOoOoOo
March 18th, 1977
Voldemort made his way through the small dungeon in Malfoy Manor, his new resting place. There was only one prisoner at the moment, and the only one he needed, he hoped.
For the past five days, she'd been tortured mercilessly, and he'd laughed when he'd been informed that she'd begun tearing her legs open with her nails to find relief from the pain. Still, it took a full five days before her body gave out and she passed out in the middle of a session. He'd refused to see her again until that point, and he was glad it had come. He was getting restless listening to her tired screams and delusional begging. It really was a careful line they were toeing, keeping her mind just barely intact so he could get what he needed.
He entered her cell and found her lying on the ground, her clothes torn from both herself and Dolohov throwing cutting hexes at her.
He kneeled down and placed himself gently onto the floor, pulling her unconscious body into his lap, her head right below his. He peeled open her eyelids and looked down at the glowing golden eyes. He cast the spell and sighed with relief as he slipped past her strong barriers - he'd never entered a mind that way before, and he wasn't certain it'd work. To his dismay, all he got was fragments of memories, though he did find they were more than enough to truly understand her full knowledge of him.
"Horcruxes-,"
Xx
"Tom Marvolo Riddle-,"
Xx
"Heir of Slytherin, opened the Chamber of Secrets-,"
Xx
"If he's a Dark Lord, Mia, you're the Light Lady."
Xx
"Soul bond will heal you-,"
Xx
"It's dark magic, kitten, we both knew that."
Xx
"I'm from the future, 1998-,"
Xx
"Bellatrix… Mudblood on my arm-,"
Xx
"Dolohov is going to kill me one of these days and I'm terrified, Sirius-,"
Xx
"You don't know what I can do, and you shouldn't underestimate me-,"
Xx
"PTSD, post traumatic stress disorder… after Sirius…"
Xx
He fell out of her mind, his own full of jumbled thoughts. He'd caught bits and pieces of conversations, though some, like the last, he'd felt more than heard what they meant. He was angry and frustrated at how this little witch knew so much about him, but most of all that she was a Light Lady. He'd heard the rumors, of course, that one had arrived at Hogwarts, but he didn't want to believe it.
There was only one thing to do, then.
She had to die.
OoOoOoOoOoOoOo
Dolohov made his way quickly through the Manor, finding his way down to the cell he'd spent so much time in with glee. "You called, Master?"
"Yes," Voldemort nodded. "You have permission to do as you please with Miss Potter, so long as you kill her by the end of the night."
"You've entered her mind?"
"Yes, and she needs to die," Voldemort informed him sternly. "Though she did have a heavy fear of you, even more than dear Bellatrix."
Dolohov grinned madly, pleased that he'd truly put fear into the witch. "With pleasure, Master. It'll be done."
Voldemort left the room and Dolohov found himself alone with the very witch that he'd been so fixated on since the beginning of the school year. He stalked closer and slammed a stinging hex into her to wake her up.
She jolted awake, crying out in pain.
"Little Miss Mia," he sang. "I've received some wonderful news, Potter." She stared at him silently, though a thrill ran through him at the sight of her shaking madly in pain. "The Dark Lord has told me that you need to die."
She almost looked relieved, and he chuckled. "But he said I can have my fun with you first."
"Can't you just kill me?"
"No, no," he shook his head. "I told you we'd play games, Mia. I told you that you were mine. Didn't I?"
He pressed forward, kneeling down over her legs and settling down on top of her. She had her back pressed against a wall to support her, and he used that now to keep her backed into place. He ghosted his fingers over her arms and leaned forward, pressing a kiss to her chapped lips.
He intended to get back at her for everything she'd done before he gave her the relief of death.
OoOoOoOoOoOo
Regulus froze, his gut clenching. He was in Dumbledore's office with the Order, the Marauders, and Severus and Avery, sitting between his friends. "No."
"Mister Black?"
It was their meeting for the day to check up on the progress, but he felt a paralyzing fear rushing through him that certainly didn't belong to him.
"Mia," he breathed. "No, please."
"Regulus, what's happening?" Avery asked, placing a hand on his friend's arm.
"She's so… scared," he whispered. "I think- oh, fuck-,"
He fell silent, curling into himself in his seat. His breaths quickened and he was certain he knew what was happening, though he refused to tell everyone. The meeting carried on and the odd, out of place pains worsened until…
Until he screamed, screamed louder than anyone thought possible, and fell to the floor, his shirt quickly soaked through with red.
He fell out of consciousness quickly, though his friends weren't that lucky.
There was more screaming. Sirius fell to his knees, clutching his wrist tight in his hand. Avery and Severus screamed in pain and the bright light could be seen through their robes. Avery ripped his off and fell to the side as the burning increased until…
It stopped.
It all stopped.
Avery, Severus, even Regulus's bloodied chest had stopped glowing.
And a complete understanding swept over the three conscious boys, though it was Severus that spoke.
"She's dead."
OoOoOoOoOoOo