Hey everyone! Sorry it took so long to get this up. After school got out I went on a relaxing vacation to Ireland, but now I have returned. Without further interruption I give you Chapter 11!!! Remember to review please!!!

Chapter 11

There was a loud pop, and Cassius found himself standing in the middle of Marcus Flint's estate. It was quiet, almost too quiet for the frantic wizard, and he yelled at the top of his lungs. "Marcus!" Cassius hoped his friend had yet to go to work for the morning. He knew that he had little time before his mother thought to check the house of his best friend. Running towards the kitchen he cursed as an empty coffee mug sat on the counter. "Shit." His hands flew up to his head and wiped the beads of sweat from his forehead. If only he had thought of apparating out of there earlier. Doing so would have guaranteed him time to speak with Marcus and figure out what their next option was. Not to mention Daphne was with Alicia.

Another pop sounded to his right, and Cassius jumped a good foot in the air. A small decrepit looking house-elf stared up at him with big brown orbed eyes. "Master Flint heard you. Said to come down and tell you he's upstairs." Cassius heard him ask if he'd like some tea, but he was already halfway up the staircase. His legs burned from his dashing, but he had little time to play around. His foot connected slightly with the top step, and Cassius stumbled forward into the wall across from the staircase. His head hit the pale yellow wall with a thud, and he cursed as he turned down the corridor towards Marcus' office.

His hand had barely touched the doorknob before it swung open revealing a frazzled looking Flint and a disheveled Adrian Pucey. "You've heard I take it." He was breathless, and certain that there was a good sized snitch present where his forehead collided with the wall.

Marcus lifted his wand from his side and flicked the door shut. "Daphne owled me fifteen minutes ago. They reached the portkey, and without any obstacles they should have reached the point by now." His mouth was pressed in a thin stern line. "Though according to Pucey you should have been a bit more selective." He raised his eyebrow and looked over at the tall skinny body of Pucey.

Cassius dropped his eyes to the floor. He knew that it was risky sending Alicia to the Weasley shop, but with the lot of them still here in Austria he couldn't think of a better place. Why was Pucey telling Marcus otherwise? "What? They have a good week before anyone from the Zabini family realizes where they are."

Pucey cleared his throat. "They flooed home this afternoon."

Cassius stared across at Pucey with a dumbfounded expression. "Come again." He looked at Marcus who had his hands in his pockets. "What do you mean they flooed home?"

Marcus leaned across his desk and grabbed a long piece of parchment. Cassius could see something scrawled along the margins, but was blinded by the scribble in red. Marcus held out the yellowing parchment and waited for Cassius to take it. "It came in this morning. Pucey got one too and flooed here. That's when he saw them leaving."

Cassius let his eyes scan over the words while he remained silent. A strong taste of bile rose in his throat at the sight of the words. There in large red letters were the names of blood traitors the Zabini's had put on their list. Alicia's name was third from the top. Yet the thing that confused him most was the dull black scrawl of James' name. It wasn't placed under the blood traitor list as both his mother and father. Instead it was on the potential death eater list. The list comprised only of those who were questionable, or persuadable, in loyalty. Marcus understood his confused features and pointed to the list.

"He's there because the Zabini's and your parents feel that they still have enough time to mold him. They want to nix Alicia and take James as their own. Your psychotic mother thinks he has potential to be an even greater Dark Lord than Zabini...though she has only mentioned that to me." Marcus shook his head. "Look further down the list."

Pucey had begun rummaging through papers on the desk while Cassius went over the parchment again. There amongst the bottom of the list was a name he had expected to be there. Weasley. Realization suddenly hit, and Cassius crumbled the parchment and tossed it to the ground. He had sent Alicia to London to avoid problems with the Weasleys. Now they were heading home, names were on the list, and Cassius felt helpless for the first time in his life.

"I have been asked to attend a meeting to join." Pucey suddenly cut through his thoughts.

Cassius cocked his head to the side in mild interest. "And what do you plan to do? Side with them to avoid death?" Cassius' words were harsh and he quickly muttered an apology.

Pucey on the hand merely shrugged. "It's not the only job I've been offered." Reaching for his wand he cast a silencing charm on the room. " I was approached by Nymphadora Tonks while at the Ministry yesterday. She said she could provide me with protection if I joined the ranks of the Order. Apparently they are forming again. They need someone who will be able to obtain inside information, and she knows well of my hesitation to join with the DeathEaters."

Cassius stifled a laugh. " You in the Order. What do you make yourself then...the new Snape? You do remember that Snape was killed for his treachery. " But it was Pucey's serious look that got Cassius' interest. "You are actually thinking of doing it then?"

"There are other things I value more than complying with the Pucey tradition." He licked her lower lip and reached into his pocket. "I've been seeing a girl for a couple of months now...she's a muggle. Don't look at me like that Flint." Pucey turned his back on them. "Things have changed since the fall of the Dark Lord, and my priorities, no matter how small, now include Annaliese."

Cassius shifted awkwardly. He had at least married a pureblood no matter how much of a blood traitor she was. Pucey was going far off from that realm, and still he had a look that proved how serious he was about the situation. Why had he kept his muggle girlfriend from them? Cassius pushed back that thought. He had done it for reasons such as this. As much as they were friends with Pucey, he must have known that they'd be critical. Unfortunately now his actions were placing them in a very difficult situation.

"If you take this position it jeopardizes all of us." He indicated towards himself and Marcus. " they will want to know what the truth is behind Spinnet. Are you prepared to work against your friends?" Cassius gave him the ultimatum. "Because if that is the case, Pucey, you can count our loyalty to you out."

Pucey shook his head with a look of disappointment on his face. "You baffle me sometimes, Cassius. Do you think I'd do such a thing. I'm not stupid. I'll be keeping my presence in the Order to a minimum." He clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth. "if anything… I see this as a way of information for you as well. I shall be able to keep you informed on Order actions as well as the Zabini's"

Cassius mulled this over for a brief second before dropping his head into a nod. " I suppose it could come in useful. Though you must be sure to keep your mind closed at all times. There is no way of telling who is a skilled legilimens on either side." His hand reached out and offered a soft pat to Pucey's shoulder.

" I will be seeing Nymphadora this afternoon. If I were you I'd pick up your pace on what to do with your wife. I wouldn't be surprised if the Weasley's immediately turn to the Order for assistance. " Pucey began pulling on a light gray cloak that rested over the back of Marcus' leather chair.

"I took the liberty of owling Daphne. I hope she receives the information before they arrive back at the flat." He began moving towards the office door with Pucey. "Adrien...you do know you have my support with your decisions. If you need anything in the next few days let me know. I will be speaking with you soon as I'm sure Cassius will be." Cassius nodded, and Marcus opened the door.

"Be swift with your actions, mate." Pucey inclined towards Cassius. "You know the Zabini's aren't ones to follow through with things slowly." He nodded, and then moved through the door where he disappeared down the staircase.

Cassius waited till he was gone before speaking. " Pucey with a muggle...unreal." He turned his eyes back to Flint.

"You married a bloodtraitor." Marcus stated sternly.

"At least she is of pureblood." Cassius cursed under his breath.

Marcus sighed and moved back to his desk. "There are greater things to worry about now then the blood status of your wife and Pucey's lover." He cleared his throat. " you need to head to London and fix Alicia. I know it may seem outlandish to do so, but her safety is now at risk. The more she remembers about her past the more capable she will be to protect herself."

Cassius looked appalled. " I can protect her. I can save her."

"And you honestly believe that the lot of those do-gooders are going to let her remain without memory? Cassius think about it..." He began pleading with his friend. " if you do this for her she may find it in her heart to stay with you . She loved you once in the past. Who is to say the truth won't intensify that love? You have to let go of that charm, Cassius. You need to do it now so she understands what the hell is going on."

As much as he hated to admit it, Cassius knew it was right. He just despised the notion that his marriage to Alicia, the one thing he had ever truly cared for, could be lost once he lifted the charm. "I don't have much time." He hissed, his eyes flickering towards the door wondering where his mother could be. "I'm going to go on to London, but I need you to send immediate owl if you learn they have figured she is not in Austria anymore. I'll send Daphne back once I can be sure its safe. "

Marcus nodded, and began writing something down on a scrap piece of parchment. " you may need this once you lift the charm. It's an intense brew for a calming draught. The one below it is something more mild for James...and..." He pointed to the bottom of the parchment. " A few people may need a bit of convincing regarding the paternity. This will prove it...to Alicia especially."

Cassius took the parchment in his hand and folded it over once. If he was going to tell Alicia anything he would need this. For once Marcus had a good idea." Do you want me to send Daphne back once I get there?" he placed the parchment in his front pocket.

"No. I think Alicia is going to feel very awkward once she remembers everything and between that Bell girl and Daphne they should be able to keep her calm. Plus Johnson will probably be there too. She's going to need them because she will probably be furious with you." He saw the look of disappointment linger in his eye. "You had to have known it would be like that at first, Cassius. Alicia was a lot of things back then, but forgiving wasn't one of them. Its going to be hard for her."

Cassius nodded mutely, and turned gracefully on his heel. "Do me a favor and keep an eye out for what my Mother is doing. I doubt she will sit on this long, and by the looks of it she has a lot more control in the outcome of things then the Zabini's. " he opened the door of the office and stepped out into the corridor.

There outside its solid oak trembling madly was the house-elf with a pot of tea. "Yipal thought you may want tea, he did. You ran so quickly..." The green little creature held up the tray, his deep orbed eyes full of fear.

"Move." Cassius pushed by the thing knocking the tray over. The contents spilled to the floor, and the little house-elf gave a yelp and disapparated.

"You could have just walked by him." Marcus shook his head as Cassius strode down the corridor towards the stairs. His wand was out cleaning the spilled tea, but Cassius didn't bother to turn around.

He waved briefly over his shoulder and reached the front entrance. Outside the sun hit him like a warm blanket, and he cursed under his breath. In a moment of such beauty he was about to do the unthinkable. Promises never seemed to be kept between himself and Alicia. He had promised her he would keep her safe, but he had failed time and time again. Perhaps he wasn't any better then Weasley. The thought caused a sneer to rise to his face. Comparing himself to that redheaded git made him sick.

Closing his eyes he thought hard about his destination and felt the hard pull from behind his belly button. The Flint estate disappeared beneath his feet, and he began his journey to a destination he had sworn he'd never return to.

"I owled Ginny so hopefully she gets here soon." Fred reentered the sitting room where Daphne was sitting with James.

George clicked his tongue. "Ginny isn't going to like this much. She was never really fond of Alicia after the stunt she pulled in school." He shrugged, and glanced between both Fred and Daphne.

After Alicia had split with George for Warrington Ginny swore that she'd never forgive her for hurting him. Even after George explained the situation after he learned the truth Ginny still couldn't stop from grumbling under her breath every time they were around each other. What made it worse was when Ginny was chosen to replace Harry during their Quidditch season. George was almost certain that Ginny would murder Alicia mid air. Somehow towards the end of term after Ginny returned to the school after the Ministry fiasco she had grown softer towards Alicia. George never really questioned Ginny's feelings towards his former girlfriend, but now wasn't the time to do so. Alicia, back from the dead, was about to face his youngest sibling.

Alicia had been placed in George's bedroom for the time being. No one wanted to wake her at the moment, and decided it was better to wait until she was fully capable of holding conversation again before telling her the truth. Daphne had tried to plead with them not to do it, but it became a failed attempt as they sat her down with James and told her to keep her mouth shut. She didn't know what they wanted her to do. She couldn't lift the charm off Alicia, and she was positive she wouldn't believe the lot of them if they just let out the truth.

"Can I please owl Cassius." She finally spoke from the couch. James shifted beside her; his eyes wide at the mention of his father's name.

"We are gonna owl, Father?" he looked over at George who was bringing in a tray of drinks.

George shook his head slowly, and placed the tray down on the table. Lee had gone to check on Alicia, and Fred and Angelina were sitting quietly on the free loveseat. Katie for some odd reason had kept herself hidden in the kitchen. Every time the poor girl got a glimpse of James she burst out into tears. "Not right now, mate." He handed a mug over to the young boy. "We have to talk to your Aunt Daphne first."

Daphne stifled a cry. "Please not now. Not in front of ..." Her eyes flickered towards James.

Angelina scoffed and folded her arms across her chest. "You think lying longer to him will stop this, Greengrass?" she looked over at James. " the truth is going to come out anyway so why not let him hear it."

There was a click from the bedroom door and Lee emerged with a serious look. "She's still asleep. Hasn't moved at all." He shrugged. "Katie still in the kitchen then?" the nod from Fred confirmed his suspicion.

There was a silent settlement in the room, and George cleared his throat. James who was still sipping from his mug slipped from his seat beside Daphne and moved across to George. "Can I go see my Mum?" his tiny little features perked up with interest. "Ill be real quiet. I promise." He crossed his heart with his index finger.

Angelina rose from her seat and offered her hand to the boy. "Come on." As much as she wanted to hear what was going to be said she knew the innocence of James was more important. In the long run it was probably better for him to miss out on the first moments of Alicia's memory lift. It would be hard enough to explain to James that his mother had been tricked by his father all those years ago.

George waited until they slipped into the bedroom before turning to Daphne. "You know you can be spending up to ten years in Azkaban for this." He pursed his lips together. "Come clean and we can speak to some people to lower that sentence."

Daphne choked back another cry. " you don't understand. This has nothing to do with Cassius kidnapping Alicia. He didn't do these things to hurt her." She clasped her hands together and placed them tightly between her knees. "Cassius was only helping her. He saved her. You have no idea what would have happened if he didn't do this. The Warrington's are ruthless. You are only making this worse…she needs to be taken back to Cassius before they track her down. They'll find her." She knew it wouldn't take long for the Death Eaters to locate someone as wanted as Alicia was at the moment.

"Right." George said with a biting tone.

"He loves her." Growing desperate she looked towards the door. With any luck she could make a dash for the door and disapparate. The only problem would be leaving Alicia and James. She just couldn't do it. "If you do it...tell her without him...it will only hurt her more! Think about James! Think about their safety for a moment! "

There was a noise from the kitchen, and Katie appeared from behind one of the walls. "Sorry. I just..." She shrugged and then disappeared back behind the wall and into the kitchen.

"She's been weird ever since we got back." Lee quirked a brow.

George ran his hand over his face. "What happened the night her parents were killed?"

Daphne remained quiet.

"What happened to her memory?"

Quiet.

"Can we fix her?"

Quiet.

"Will you answer me for Merlin's sake!"

There was a heavy knock at the front door, and George, rather miffed, rose from his seat. Daphne on the other hand looked stricken white. "They found us." She murmured under her breath. Quickly she threw her face into her hands. She hadn't even had a chance to say goodbye to Marcus. "I told you they would. Death Eaters…" She grabbed for her pocket, but soon realized that Angelina had taken her wand earlier.

"Do you really think Death Eaters would knock on the door to announce their arrival?" Fred looked at Daphne with a puzzled expression. "Even you can't be that daft Greengrass." He rose from the seat and proceeded to move across the room towards George.

The knock sounded again, and George reached for the doorknob. Pulling back the brass handle he stepped aside as a fiery little redhead stepped across the doorframe and into the flat. Ginny was as Molly-like as ever as he arms instantly folded across her chest. There was a glimmer of excitement in her eyes, but it was masked over by dark lids evident that she had been working rather hard as of lately. George opened his arms and took his sister into a very tight hug. She hadn't grown much since the last time they saw her, and if anything her tiny frame had become even tinier. "Do you eat anymore?" He asked her, pushing back and taking in his sister's presence.

Ginny tucked a few strands of hair behind her ears, and shrugged. "Been real busy lately." Her goofy grin grew wider and she stepped past George and made her way to Fred. "You two look horrible." She hugged her other brother and then removed the owl from her pocket. "Plus this letter you sent me barely made sense." She chuckled and shoved it back into her pocket. "Harry couldn't make it right now. We've been real busy making rounds at Azkaban today and he had to head back to the department for paperwork. He said he'd come by when he was finished."

"Rounds?" Lee asked as he placed a small kiss on Ginny's cheek.

"Mmhmm." She began removing her cloak. "We've been tipped off that some Death Eaters have been reforming. We've been asked to make weekly rounds in Azkaban to see if we can get any information." At this she let out a loud laugh.

"What's so funny." Fred quirked an eyebrow.

"You have no idea how great it is standing outside Malfoy's cell and taunting him. Today I walked back and forth by him for fifteen minutes straight just to get a rise out of him." Her hand moved to her chest and she took a breath. "Sometimes on a real slow day Harry and I have lunch right outside his cell. We just set up a bench against the opposite wall and stare at him while we eat. So bloody…." He voice trailed off as she stepped into the sitting room and took in the display. "Look the day was long…but not that long." She glanced at Daphne and then back at the twins. "What is she doing here?" Her wand was already out of her pocket and pointing towards Daphne.

Daphne squeaked and threw her face back into her hands. George on the other hand moved Ginny into the room and sat her down in the plush armchair. "Look there are a lot of things that you might not understand right now. It's sort of a long story, but if you have a bit of time we can explain it…" The was a shuffle behind him, and the entire lot turned around to see the bedroom door slightly open.

Ginny's eyes narrowed at the small boy, and then at the figure standing behind him. For a second she just sat there in silence absorbing the entire scene. "How is it possible?" Her eyes softened when she looked down to see the confused boy. Pushing up from the chair she stepped across the way and crouched down in front of him. "Hi. I'm Ginny." She smiled and held out her hand for him to shake. He did so rather quickly and smiled warmly at her.

"I'm James. This is my Mum." He pointed towards Alicia who was standing behind him. Breathless again, Ginny rose and stared across at Alicia. She hadn't been the greatest friends with the girl. The incident between George and her had swayed Ginny's opinion while they were still in school. For awhile she went as far as despising the girl because of her selfish attitude back then. Still something about Alicia had always been loving and welcoming, and George had never gotten over her death. Now there she was standing across from her. Plus she had a son. How had the Ministry looked over this false death? Her file had been so carefully scanned when she passed. She had been sure to do it herself considering George's emotional state. "I don't…" She looked at George, and then back at Alicia. "Alicia?"

Alicia blinked, and stared back at the girl. She looked vaguely familiar, more along the lines of George, and she cast a sideways glance at the redheaded man. Why was everyone staring at her again? Why was the room spinning? Everything seemed to be crashing down around her, and she gulped for a breath of air. "I'm sorry…I don't-" She pointed to her head. The girl called Angelina had told her to come out into the sitting room so they could all talk about what was going on. She had contemplated lying down a bit longer, but James seemed worried, and in truth she needed to know why the people around her seemed so familiar. Now she wondered if it was the right choice at all. Perhaps it would have been better if she continued to sleep. At least in her dreams everything seemed to be normal and right. "Daphne?" She looked over towards her friend who looked terribly white. "Can someone please explain to me what is going on?"

Daphne shook her head violently knowing very well the consequences of lifting the charm. George on the other hand offered Alicia a seat in the arm chair, and James crawled into her lap without a word.

Ginny brushed a strand of hair away from her eyes, and turned towards George. "I know I don't have time to get the whole story, but I need some serious answers now, George. The Ministry files all claim her as dead, and Greengrass over there has been suspected as an accomplice to her murder for years. If I don't take her in now I'm going to-"

Pulling Ginny by the arm, George leaned into her ear. "She's been married to Cassius Warrington for five years." Ginny gasped. "He placed some sort of memory modification charm on her, and she doesn't recall any of us. She doesn't know a thing. Daphne needs to be here so we can lift it off of her." He watched Ginny glance towards Alicia and then towards Daphne.

"Why can't we just bring her to Mungos? Don't you think that would be wiser?" Her fingers twirled her wand in her right hand.

"Probably, but we can not chance the Warrington family finding out where she is. Apparently Greengrass brought her here because we were all away. If no one knows she is here then that's the way its going to remain." He waited until Ginny nodded, and then moved away and back towards the middle of the sitting room.

"Alicia…" He removed his wand turning to quiet Daphne when she shouted her complaints. " Alicia the reason everything seems so hazy to you is because you have been placed under a memory charm for the last few years. We are going to try and lift it off of you, but you need to trust me before we do anything. My sister here" Ginny nodded, " is from the Ministry. She will not let anything happen to you. You can trust all of us here in this room."

Alicia stared back into his eyes for a long quiet moment. There was something so comforting about the way he spoke, but she was still unsure of the unfolding situation. It was when James placed his hand in hers that she gave a curt nod. If this was one way of finding out the truth then she would allow them to try and lift whatever had been placed down upon her. "All right." Her voice was weak, but she flashed a reassuring smile to James. "You go sit with Aunt Daphne, baby." James slid down off her lap and moved across the way to sit with Daphne. The young blonde embraced him immediately, and Alicia found herself closing her eyes. "I'm ready."

George gave Ginny a small gesture and both moved forward towards her. Together the leaned down over her, and Ginny, a bit hesitant, placed her wand against Alicia's temple. "Fidelis" Her voice was firm, and she dipped her wand slightly to the left in order to reverse the memory lock that had been placed upon her.

It happened so suddenly that George didn't know how to react. There was a glazed expression that traced over Alicia's eyes before she started wailing at the top of her lungs. There was a scream of terror from behind them, and James began crying while trying to pry his way out of Daphne's grasp. "Ginny what the hell…" He reached out to grab Alicia by the arms, but her flailing was so intense he couldn't get a decent grasp on her. The screams increased, and James continued to scream for his mother.

There was a frantic look in the eyes of each of them, and Ginny hurriedly began rummaging through her pocket for a small manual. "I don't know which one to try." She flipped the page of the small Ministry manual and howled in frustration as Alicia continued to yell. "This manual helps with every other bloody problem! I need a Plouzing Stone. I need it now!" She shot Katie a look who had appeared in the doorframe, and the girl ran back into the kitchen followed by Fred.

Alicia's howls continued to increase, and James finally pulled away from Daphne. "You liar! You lied! You hurt my Mum! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you Mr. George!" His tiny fists pounded against Georges leg, and he leaned over to pick the boy up. In a fit of hysterics James kicked at George's shin and screamed at the top of his lungs.

"Do something." He gestured at Daphne who was staring between Alicia and James with wide eyed concern.

Daphne slipped from the couch and scooped James up into her arms. "I think you should do something instead of just standing there allowing her to scream like that. She's going to draw attention from the streets." Daphne pointed towards the windows across the way.

"Here! Here!" Katie came running back in and handed the stone over to Ginny.

"Hold her down." Ginny flipped the pages again and pointed her wand at Alicia's chest. With her other hand on the stone Ginny placed it against Alicia's forehead and mumbled the reverse charm once again. There was another glazed expression that washed over Alicia's features, and Ginny pressed the stone harder into her forehead. As suddenly as it had happened the noise seemed to cease. Alicia's eyes shut and her body slipped into the plush armchair.

George's eyes shifted between Ginny and Alicia. "What happened to her? Is she alright? Should we take her to Mungos?" He dropped down to his knees in front of her and brushed a few strands of hair from her face. James' screaming continued behind him, and he heard Daphne's attempt to quiet him. "Damn Ginny talk to me." He looked up at his sister who had masked her worried expression with a ice cold stoney one.

Everyone's gaze had turned toward the front door to the flat, and George felt his anger surge at the sight in the doorway. "Get out of my flat." His voice was flat, and when he glanced around the room again there were five wands plus his own pointing at the door.

Cassius smirked. "Go ahead and hex me Weasley. I'll just let you figure out the reverse charm on Alicia without my help." He shrugged, and without breaking his smirk folded his arms across his chest and leaned casually in the doorframe.