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Celosia stared at Dudley in shock. He had to know, he just had to. Petunia knew, Vernon probably knew. It was mandatory that Dudley knew; he had to know about his cousin. Anger started to pulsate through Celosia's veins. Petunia would do anything just to make sure her son wasn't touched by anything to do with the wizarding world. That however shouldn't have stopped Dudley from learning more and understanding things rather than be in the situation he was in now; asking Celosia questions behind his parents' backs.

"Surely your mother has told you why." She managed to say, keeping her emotions at bay.

"No."

Celosia felt enraged, but let out a calm breath, staring at the ground along with Dudley. "When Harry was a year old, You-Know-Who came into Godric's Hollow, the home that your Aunt Lily, Uncle James and Harry had went to for hiding. One of James' old friends betrayed them and told You-Know-Who where they were hiding. There was a Prophecy about Harry that had caused them to hide in the first place, and was the reason You-Know-Who wanted to hunt all three of them down.

"On Halloween night, You-Know-Who broke into Godric's Hollow and took no hesitation into killing James first. Lily had taken Harry upstairs into the nursery, absolutely intent on keeping him safe. He killed her too, but once he went onto Harry, something strange happened."

"Strange?" Dudley repeated.

"Quite strange in our world." Celosia admitted. "You see, You-Know-Who tried to kill Harry with a Killing Curse, which is like immediate death. You're dead before you hit the ground, really. That's how he killed James and Lily and there was absolutely no wizard ever who had survived the Killing Curse. However, Harry did."

"What?" Dudley's eyebrows rose in surprise. "But he was like what, a year old?"

"Yes, he was indeed." Celosia shared his curiosity and wonder. "Once the Killing Curse was cast, it sort of caused some kind of magical explosion, or a large shield, something. Harry had somehow survived the curse and got nothing out of it but a lightning bolt scar. You-Know-Who however was blasted out of the home, and that was the end of him. That's why Harry is known as The-Boy-Who-Lived, or the Chosen One. He was the Chosen One in the prophecy; he survived and needs to destroy that evil wizard for good."

"If he got rid of him when he was one, why does he have to do it again?" Dudley asked. "Did this guy bring himself back to life or something? Can you guys do that?"

"No, we cannot bring people back from the dead at our leisure." Celosia explained. "It's quite complicated though, and I have to be careful how much I tell you. But You-Know-Who split his soul and hid them in objects. Just because his body was destroyed and a piece of him died because of Harry, doesn't mean that he was dead altogether. When Harry came back that summer when he was fourteen, it was because someone set him up so he ended up in a place where his blood was used to resurrect You-Know-Who into a new body. He has his power back and is trying to find Harry to kill him."

Dudley remained silent, letting the words sink in. Everything started to make sense to him now. "How come I hear Harry screaming a lot in the middle of the night?"

"Well, him and You-Know-Who have a strong bond, one that wasn't intentional. It's mainly through the scar. They're connected but sometimes that Dark wizard uses this ability to make Harry see things he doesn't want to see, like relive horrible memories. He's been through a lot in his school years, that's probably why."

The two fell in a long silence, Dudley registering everything through his mind. He didn't know his nephew had so much hardships and responsibilities, while the Dursleys had thought he was a burden and brought him down further. Immense guilt started to fill within his chest and he gulped down the large clump in his throat.

Celosia surprised the boy by lightly combing her fingers through his hair. The locks were naturally curly, just like Vernon but it was a dark brown, like Petunia's and Celosia's hair herself. "I wouldn't be surprised if Petunia didn't tell you all of this. Ever since we were little she didn't like wizards or witches. It was hard for her to grow up in a home with two witches while she was the only one who was still a Muggle."

"Did she ever feel jealous?" Dudley asked quietly, allowing his aunt to spread her fingers through his hair.

"I believe she did. She wrote to our Headmaster once, trying to get in. I was quite concerned myself as to why she hadn't been accepted when Lily and I had been. I think that since she couldn't get in, she decided to reject the two of us and still does. She wants nothing to do with magic and resorted to calling us freaks, as I know she's tried to teach you to call us."

"I've never used the word." Dudley admitted, feeling slightly proud that Celosia would be satisfied at this fact. "I'm not as harsh as mum. If I had a wizard in the family I'd be quite proud."

"Are you proud of Harry?"

"Well now that I've heard about him, yeah." He nodded, looking up at Celosia with a small smile. "He's been through a lot and still puts up with us. He even got us protection."

"And he will be victorious." Celosia grinned and wrapped her arm around his shoulder, bringing him into a hug. It wasn't like the hugs she had shared with Harry, that were tight and caring. This one was gentle and had the same emotion that Celosia had given to Harry. Dudley was still her nephew and she would take care of him. "I will keep you safe in this house until the battle is over, I promise you that. I won't let anything happen to my family."

Dudley remained in the embrace, feeling closer to his aunt than ever. Wizards weren't so bad now that he thought about it. Of course they did horrible things, and Dudley had been scared for most of his life because of it. But there was good in them as well, and if it weren't for them, they wouldn't be protected right now.

A sudden crash from downstairs and a scream from Petunia made them jump. Next door, Hestia burst from her room, charging down the stairs. Celosia grabbed Dudley's arm, taking her wand out and dragging him downstairs quickly. Vernon and Petunia were huddle together in the middle of the room, holding onto each other with Dedalus at Vernon's side, wand at the ready and looking at the door. The television screen was cracked, shards of glass falling onto the carpet floor.

"Duders!" Petunia exclaimed and held her arms out for him. Celosia let his arm go, Hestia on Petunia's side and staring at the fireplace, wand pointed towards it. A burst of magical energy seemed to radiate through the building, and Dudley wasted no time running towards his parents.

"Something's trying to penetrate the wards." Celosia noted, swiftly walking towards Dudley and standing in front of him, wand pointed at the other windows.

"Do you think it's a Death Eater?" Hestia asked.

"No, that would be impossible." Dedalus muttered. "It doesn't feel like a Death Eater, it's something much smaller."

The Dursleys held themselves closer together, Dudley keeping his eyes on Celosia, who looked back and forth through each entrance and window to find a threat. They had all felt the pulsating from the wards, and deep down Dudley felt safe that his aunt was there and willing to protect him and his parents.

A tapping from another room made them all turn, and Celosia heard another crash. Something swooped in from the kitchen window and was soaring right towards her. "Stupefy!"

They all watched as a brown owl fell to the ground, staring up at the sky in shock. A letter was tied around its ankle and everyone calmed down, setting their wands down. "Oh." Celosia frowned, walking towards the bird. "I stunned an owl. That won't look well in front of the Ministry."

"It was just a bird?" Vernon exclaimed, enraged. "You gave us a scare because of a bird?"

"Of course other wizards and witches are able to communicate to us in some ways." Hestia explained, walking towards the owl. "However, this is our first owl."

Celosia stooped down, carefully untying the letter from the bird's ankle. Standing up, she was surprised it was addressed to her. "Ennervate." Hestia pointed her wand to the bird and it jumped back to life, landing itself on her hand.

"Sorry about that." Celosia muttered, petting its feathers lightly. The owl responded by nipping her finger harshly, making her jump back. "Ow! Bloody hell, I said I was sorry!"

Dedalus looked over her shoulder, seeing the name on the letter. "How was it able to find you?" He asked.

"I put a spell on my home so anything that should be owled to me would be redirected here, by will of something like the Imperius Curse. It in no way gives the address to this place." She pointed to her address on Spinner's End on the envelope, and turned it over, freezing as she saw the seal.

Tearing the envelope open, she pulled out the piece of parchment, reading it over with shock on her face. At the very end, her heart seemed to stop and her expression was twisted in shock and horror. Everyone obviously noticed this and Dedalus put a hand on her shoulder. "Is everything ok, Celosia?" He asked and she immediately stuffed the letter into her pocket.

"I have to go." She muttered, composing herself. With a flick of her wand her belongings upstairs began to float downwards, packing themselves before shrinking completely. "They need me."

"For the Battle?" Hestia asked and Celosia nodded in confirmation, pocketing her shrunken belongings and walking towards the door, slipping on her travelling cloak from the coat rack. "Why would they tell you now?"

"The Order didn't request me." She said and stood up. "Severus Snape did. He's the new Headmaster at Hogwarts."

The shocked looks on the two wizards' faces were clearly shown and in no time Hestia and Dedalus were both shouting at her. "You will not go!" Dedalus exclaimed, grabbing her arm and pulling her back into the living room. "Absolutely not!"

"You can't go with that murderer; you're walking to your death!" Hestia screamed and Petunia stood in surprise. Snape had been Celosia and Lily's best friend, now he was a murderer? He wouldn't harm her sister, would he? He cared too much for her to do something like that.

"Either way I'll die." Celosia snapped, pulling her arm away from Dedalus' grasp. "If I go with him he might spare me a little longer. This way I can further help Harry. If I refuse it, he will find me and wipe out all of us. That's a risk I'm not willing to take."

"You're walking into your death." Hestia scolded.

"I'm doing this to protect my family." Celosia answered. "My sister did the same thing."

At this, everyone was silent and Celosia walked towards the door again, setting her hand on the knob, turning around she glanced at the Dursleys, huddled together and staring at her. She made eye contact with Petunia and for once in her life saw fear and concern in her eyes.

"Keep my family safe." Celosia whispered. "If I survive this, I want to be able to see all three of them again."

"We'll do our best." Hestia muttered and Celosia nodded her head, twisting the knob.

"Stay safe, Aunt Celosia." Dudley's voice called and she looked up at him, smiling.

"I will, love." She muttered before disappearing out the door.

After Disapparating back to the outskirts of the town, Celosia began her long journey walking back to her home, Apparating only a few miles away just to be safe. Once she got to her doorstep she took a glance at Severus Snape's home, the windows boarded up and no signs of life inside.

Stepping foot into her own home Celosia closed the door behind her, standing in the middle of her house. Severus' letter had specified she meet him in the neighbourhood and during her walk she hadn't seen him. Perhaps he would knock on her door soon.

Shrugging her cloak off and bringing her luggage back to full size, Celosia walked into her sitting room, stripping off the black blouse she had on to reveal the thin, tight black corset underneath. Her tight black pants hugged her legs perfectly and her heeled boots gave her a few inches of added height. She bent over her couch, reaching for the remote control for the television before a noise behind her made her froze.

She dropped her hand and was about to stand and grab her wand as well before a cloak brushed against the small bit of exposed skin on her back. "Don't move." A voice said dangerously and Celosia gulped, instantly recognizing the deep, silky sound.

Severus Snape's leg pressed against hers as he stood behind her, grabbing her upper arms and pushing her into him. Her breath got caught in her throat as he pulled her to a standing position, his breath on her neck. Her wand was in her belt, inches away from her fingers but she wasn't able to reach it. Fear started to rip through her senses and her breathing came out in shortened gasps, Severus pulling at her hair lightly so she was looking up, her neck exposed. His wand trailed against the skin and she gulped, closing her eyes. How could she have fallen for this trap? Was she going to die right then and there, this way by the hands of the man she had loved?

"Severus," She whispered pleadingly and he froze, releasing his grip on her hair as she brought her head down, his wand slipping from under her chin. She didn't dare move and tried to regulate her breathing, forgetting her only means of defense was in her belt. A part of her didn't want to fight him and she thought back at all the reasons she remained alive and what had happened to her. She lost everything and everyone, including Severus as a lover. Harry could be taken care of by his friends and mentors, and Hestia and Dedalus had a duty to protect the Dursleys. She had absolutely no one now. What could she have possibly had to live for?

Severus spun her around, shoving her against the couch and she gasped, looking up at him with fear in her eyes. He saw this instantly and felt a pang in his heart, not daring to change his demeanor on the outside. His eyes glared into her with his wand pointed threateningly at her chest. Celosia couldn't bear to look him in the eye like that and merely closed her eyes, spreading her arms onto the couch and arching her back, his wand closer to her body. She would die right then and there and she would be alright with it. Harry would be fine, Dudley would be fine, Vernon would be fine and so would Petunia. They could all live happily. Celosia could be reunited with her husband and unborn baby. She wondered in the back of her mind whether it was going to be a girl or boy. Soon she could find out herself.

She thought about everyone she had ever loved and cared for, her parents, her sisters, her husband and baby. She then thought of Harry and Remus and Sirius and how they had helped shape who the boy was today. She thought of Vernon and Dudley and how a mere hour ago she and Dudley were bonding as if they had always been in each other's lives. Her mind then thought of Severus, and how she had so many emotions for him. In the end she cared deeply for him and if she had to die at the hands of anyone, she was glad it was him. She was glad he would still be with her. She didn't have to die alone.

"I love you." She whispered through her lips, so quietly she didn't think Severus could hear, but he did. The wizard's hand started to shake but Celosia didn't see, eyes still closed and head facing the ceiling. She was willing and ready to be hit with the Killing Curse.

Severus bit his lip, closing his eyes tightly and flicking his wand, a blood curling scream being heard throughout the home.