Disclaimer; I don't own anything but the plot, the OCs and some spells.

Important Note: read His Two Paths before you read this, otherwise you won't understand a thing. This is a sequel, after all.

A/N: Sorry I've taken so long to update, but this chapter is a lot longer than previous ones, and I'm really happy about it. My exams start tomorrow and I've dedicated hours of my time writing this. I'm so nervous! But as soon as the exams are over, I'll update more. Please make me happy and review this chapter.

Thank you! Enjoy...

xoxo

7. Trickery

'We're breaking into Azkaban.'

There were twenty eight of them. So far. Quite a few of the others hadn't received the message: MEET AT HOG'S HEAD.

Thank you Aberforth! Remus thought gratefully. He smiled when the old man thumped up the rickety stairs and into the mostly empty room, save the people. There was a sofa in one corner, and a few old chairs.

It was foolish to come to Hog's Head, what with Hogwarts being down the road. But it was the only place they could go. A place everyone knew about. And a place no one would ever suspect.

'I'm sorry,' Lily said coldly, 'I'm not sure I heard you right, Moody.'

His electric eye swivelled to her before the rest of him did, and Alastor smiled most teasingly. 'I'm pretty sure you heard me right. Innocent people are being murdered and kept up there—'

'And I'm all for freeing them! If anything, I want them freed just as much as any of you do. But when there's less than thirty of us, when he haven't got even a quarter of the power Voldemort has, it just isn't logical.'

The bossy prefect Lily was shining through; with a face flushed red and hair just cackling with electricity, she was not in the mood to be fucked around with. An arm was thrown around her, and she looked up to see Fabian (or was it Gideon?) smiling down at her. James had always absolutely loathed how much the twins would flirt with her. But if Lily was honest, she rather liked it.

'She has a point, Moods.'

Moody sighed, running a hand through his mangled, grey hair. Then he growled. 'So you're saying we should just wait until we magically get some reinforcements?' his electric blue eye was boring into Lily's dainty emerald ones.

'No,' Lily sighed. She elbowed Fabian when his hand caressed her back, and walked over to sit beside Remus. 'That's not what I'm saying. I mean we should try and get in contact with those who we know haven't received our message, we should construct a proper plan...'

Remus started shaking his head. 'James is going to kill me but ... I sort of agree with Lily. We shouldn't ambush, at least, not yet.'

'What d'you mean James is going to kill you?' Lily cried. And then her face dropped and she gritted her teeth. 'The sneaky bastard. He's made it out that I can do whatever I want but he's told you to not let me do anything dangerous, right?'

She always was smart, the Marauder thought. Lily shook her head. 'I'll tell you Remus, like I told him. I have a role to play in this war. I have a son who's in danger. I have family to protect. I have every right to fight in this war.'

'I know.' The brown-blond Marauder said softly, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. 'And I agree.'

The room was flooded with light. Fabian's bear patronus raced out of the room, shortly followed by his brother's mountain lion, Frank's hawk and many other animals. They all bore the same message. WE NEED YOU, NOW.

'We need them, now.' Moody explained.

xo

Rose held her breath. It was so dark in the tunnel. But Kreacher was leading her, his hold on the leg of her trousers tight and commandeering. Tripping over something else on the ground, Rose swore softly. One hand held Harry's tightly, and the other was preoccupied with cradling her baby boy.

'It's okay baby,' she breathed, kissing Sirius James on the cheek. 'Mummy's here.' SJ never cried, and he wasn't crying. But she couldn't stand the expression on his face; he was so intelligent for a baby.

It was August, and the weather was excruciatingly hot. She could hardly even breathe. 'Where are you taking us?' Rose hissed to Kreacher.

'To the late Master's secret room.' Kreacher sneered. 'Kreacher is to take you there and keep you hidden until Mistresses Cissy and Bella are gone.' His eyes hardened. 'Kreacher is defying his mistresses and masters for Master Sirius's whore and bastard child—'

If her arms were not full, Rose would have slapped the rude little elf. 'One more word out of you about my child, and so help me God I'll rip your fucking tiny head off.' She spat.

Kreacher seemed to be used to threats; he hardly shivered at all. 'Yes, Miss Taten.'

'How much further?' she asked after a moment.

The elf looked at her, eyes trying to find Rose's in the dim underground corridor they were rushing through. 'Kreacher has almost led you to the room.'

Within seconds of the elf talking, they appeared at royal, magnificent looking double doors. Kreacher whispered a spell and the doors were thrown open; showing them a room of beauty, adoration and all things Orion and his wife's relationship had not been.

Barely three metres above, Walburga was inviting her nieces into the drawing room. She kissed the tall, seductive Bellatrix on each of her cheeks, cooing and smiling. Then she turned to Narcissa and beckoned her younger niece forward, giving her the same treatment she had given the other sister. There was another missing ... but she didn't matter.

Dirty blood traitor.

'You haven't visited in so long,' the older woman said in a rumbling voice, signalling for her nieces to each take a seat. 'Would you like tea?' she asked kindly, tucking some black hair behind her ear.

'Yes please, Aunt Walburga.' Narcissa said warmly. They were both dressed quite plainly, in dark blue and black robes, with their hair not of the usual ostentatious, flamboyant standard they had it at. Instead, Bellatrix had a simply neat ponytail and Narcissa had her hair in a long thin braid.

They were dressed the way someone might dress should they expect to be engaged in battle; practical, convenient, simple.

Walburga conjured the teapot from the kitchen and cast a non-verbal Heating Spell on it. The teapot steamed a little. 'Bella, would you like a cup, darling?'

'No thank you, I'd like some wine.' Bellatrix always was clever. She was testing her aunt. Or, rather, she was wondering why Kreacher wasn't bringing them the drinks, and Walburga was conjuring them.

'I'm afraid you'll have to wait a bit dear. Kreacher's busy.'

'No, Mistress.' A voice came from the doorway. 'Kreacher is ready to do whatever you shall ask for, Mistress.' He was looking a little worse for wear; eyes wide and clothing creased. 'Kreacher has finished dusting all the bedrooms like Mistress asked.'

Walburga, inside, was sighing in relief. Though the situation wasn't over yet, at least Taten was somewhere safe.

No one was supposed to know about Orion's secret room. The room where he made love to the woman he really loved. She had known, had even expected him to cheat on her. But fall in love? Create a room? See the same woman for most of Sirius and Regulus's life?

No, she had definitely not expected that. The room was very handsome. It was large, taken up predominantly by a very grand and royal looking oak bed. It also had an en suite bathroom and a chute for Kreacher to fit through and bring things like food.

Walburga knew that if it wasn't for the house elf, she wouldn't even know about the room. Only, she wished she had been informed about it whilst her husband had been alive, and not afterwards.

Most importantly, Walburga wished she knew who he had been cheating with. She had a small suspicion that it was someone close to her; a family friend, a relative ... someone she would never suspect.

'Aunt Walburga?'

'Sorry, dear,' she said, smiling tightly. Clearing her throat, Walburga beckoned Kreacher over, snapping at the elf. 'Get some Elf Mead, Richard's Brew. Three glasses.'

'Yes mistress.' The elf said softly, disapparating with a CRACK, and leaving the room with a strangely quiet atmosphere.

'He's a little lazier than he used to be,' the elder sister commented, chewing on her pouty bottom lip. 'Maybe it's time to—' she made a screeching nails-across-a-blackboard sort of noise, swiping her finger across her neck, head lulling to the side.

'Maybe he is due for an Elf Honoured Amputation. But I think I'll wait until he can't see before I do such a thing. He is, after all, the only reminder of family I have.'

And my only friend.

'You sure he's the only family here in your house?' Bellatrix asked, raising her body to its full height and smiling widely at her aunt. 'You don't have a ... a daughter in law or a grandson lurking anywhere, do you?' she was cut off when Narcissa sharply elbowed her, sending her elder sister a look that could melt metal.

'Sorry Aunty, Bellatrix didn't phrase that correctly. What we mean is have you seen Taten and her bastard son?' Narcissa took her aunt's hand and held it softly, comfortingly. But Walburga wasn't comforted one bit.

She drew herself, like her niece had, to her full height; chest heaving, eyes widening and lips quivering. 'Are you saying that you believe me to be hiding my son's bastard child and his whore?'

'Not h-hiding, no,' the blonde woman stuttered, 'more like tricked into hiding.'

Walburga jumped up just as Kreacher hurried into the room, a bottle in one hand and three glasses hovering beside him. He set them on the table and ran out of the room as fast as he could.

'You would both do well to remember who you are talking to.' The rumbling voice of Walburga Black echoed through the house; loud and clear. And despite their bravery, both younger women knew who they were talking to, the head of their family. The most powerful female pureblood there was. 'I would never hide his family. He sickens me. And the very existence of his son sickens me. The Mother of his child sickens me.'

She lifted her hand and pointed at each of her nieces. 'And you would do well to remember it.' For a minute, Walburga felt like she'd travelled fifteen years back in time, and was telling off her seven year old and six year old sons.

Believe it or not, but there had been a time when Walburga loved her eldest son. She didn't know, and she didn't think she ever would know just when the love turned to hatred. But it didn't matter anymore; she loved the nine month old baby a floor below her.

She already absolutely adored him, with every fibre of her being.

And that was the only thing that mattered.

'I'm sorry if we've offended you Aunty,' Narcissa said kindly, taking the elder woman's hand as she stood up. 'But the Dark Lord, he ordered us to come here and ask you. He said you could be under the Imperius Curse.'

'I'm stronger than a blood traitor and some common Muggle-loving whore!' Walburga cried self-righteously.

'Then you don't mind if we look around the house—' Bellatrix cut in, standing up.

Holding her breath, and praying to God that her nieces wouldn't look thoroughly in the cellar, where the entrance to the escape route was, Walburga nodded.

Please don't let them find the entrance to the escape route.

The escape route that, if one took a left, would go straight to Rose.

To SJ.

'If you must.'

xo

'We've got to go.' James said.

'We can't Prongs, we just can't,' replied Sirius, running a hand belligerently through his hair, biting his lip, with a face screwed up in anger. 'I'm sorry, so sorry mate.'

'It's not your fault.' The bespectacled Marauder was saying whilst he packed their rucksacks again. Then he turned to face Emanuelle, who had a hand covering her mouth in shock. 'Come on Danté, get dressed, you're coming with us—'

'Like hell she is!' Sirius snapped. 'We can't turn up at hers and demand that she comes with us to the fiery pits of hell or wherever the fuck we're going...'

James turned to him, smiling. 'You're forgetting that she's an incredible dueller, more than incredible. She was the best female dueller in the whole of our year. Better than Lily, even. If we're outnumbered, four against two, five against two, we can do it Padfoot. But if it's ten against two? We're fucked. Ten against three however ... I'm more confident about that.'

Sirius ran a hand over his face, chewing on her bottom lip and shaking his head. 'Do you wanna come with us?' he didn't even look at her, didn't even need to.

'Yes.'

Sirius turned to face her, taking her hands. 'Are you sure, Emanuelle?'

'Of course. Wait a second; I just need to get dressed.' She took less than five minutes, coming out in a vest (revealing her particularly appetising cleavage) and some knee length shorts. Her fashionable rucksack was thrown onto her back, and her hair was tied up into a messy bun.

'Let's go.' She said.

'I don't think we should go...' Sirius was moaning, wiping her forehead with his hand and tucking his sweat-matted hair behind his ear.

'Shut up Padfoot,' James said, looking at his mirror and calling Remus's name. But a face never appeared. They were probably just busy...

Safe but busy ... right?

'Let's go.'

They left the house, Emanuelle setting Locking Spells after she tipped the whole box of fish food into the tank.

'You hate pets.'

'My fish don't really qualify as pets, they just sit there ... or rather, they just swim,' she explained. Then she looked around. 'Fuck, it's hot.'

'I know,' Sirius panted as they exited the house and took off down the long road. The sky was lighter now, which meant it must have been eight or nine. He licked his lips and tasted salt as beads of perspiration rolled down his face, like boulders. Large, heavy boulders, bearing more than he could deal with.

He pulled his top off and threw it to the ground. He didn't care anymore. His skin felt like it was still on fire; this was the hottest summer he'd ever experienced in Britain. Whereas Sirius adored the heat, he wasn't sure if he liked it this time.

'Where are we going?' Emanuelle asked.

'We can't apparate,' said James, 'so we're doing it the way those crackpot Muggles do it. We're travelling by foot. We're getting the bus.'

'I don't like buses.'

'Tough luck babe,' he replied, nudging her with his elbow and cocking his head. 'Come on. I have a feeling the bus is going to come soon. And they only come every twenty minutes...'

'James,' said Sirius, pointing at something behind him. It was the bus coming their way, barely twenty metres from them.

'RUN!'

And they started to run, tearing through the streets and passing many Muggles, who watched in fascination as what simply started out as a run for the bus escalated into a wild race between the two males; testosterone fuelled, wild and full of laughter.

What a mischievous bunch.

They made it, but only just, thanks to the very kind driver who stopped, after watching them run. And whilst Emanuelle confunded the bus driver, Sirius and James hosted a loud, ostentatious but good-natured argument about who won the race.

Everyone on the bus watched the three newcomers: James, with his adorable face and gorgeous eyes, Sirius, oozing beauty and handsomeness, and Emanuelle, in all her stunning glory; well, it was hard not to watch them. They were also the type of people to attract attention, sometimes intentionally, but recently, attention that was definitely attracted accidentally.

There was only one seat available beside an elder Muggle, and after making Emanuelle keep up with them for almost a hundred metres of running, she definitely deserved to sit down.

Sirius held her hand whilst she sat down, pretending for a moment that she was his girlfriend Rose, and they hadn't split up to hide from Voldemort, and they weren't frightened to death that they might never see each other again.

She was a very comforting influence, Emanuelle was. Sirius had always been close to her. He knew it had, at first, irked Remus up the wrong way during Hogwarts. But he came to accept it, just like Rose had accepted it.

'It still looks fresh,' James murmured, cocking his head at the tattooed initials of "R.A.B." on his chest and his neck in very large, very elegant script.

Sirius touched it, smiling to himself. He remembered getting them and wincing the whole time. But Muggles never did things easy; he had, after all, gotten Muggle tattoos, with soul-sucking needles and tattoo artists with green spiky hair.

'I'm thinking of getting one of SJ's face.' Sirius mused. 'But I don't want to have too many tattoos.'

'Hmm, you know, because you haven't got like fifty roses on your back, a forest scene on your hip, enormous initials and another goddamn flower on your chest.'

Sirius smiled widely at his best friend, before rolling his eyes. 'I was thinking maybe on my thigh...'

Emanuelle giggled, shaking her head at her two friends. She'd been transfixed this whole time on the Muggle she was sitting beside, who was sleeping; dribbling, snorting and snoring all at the same time.

'On your thigh, hmm? So every time you have sex; his face'll be rubbing up against his mummy's butt cheek?'

Sirius winced and shook his head. 'Good point ... maybe my stomach,' Sirius traced the spot just below his navel and then narrowed his eyes when his best friend started grinning mischievously.

'What?'

'Oh, nothing, just you know ... Rose might suck you off, a bit inappropriate if she looks up and sees her baby boy's face hovering inches from her mouth...'

'For goodness sake! Maybe I'll just get his name then.'

'Much better,' James laughed, nudging him with his elbow before wiping his brow with the corner of his shirt and panting. 'It's so fucking hot...'

'How long are we gonna be on the bus for?' the beautiful woman asked, scratching her long sweaty neck and tucking damp tendrils behind her ear.

'For quite a while.'

'So buck up,' Sirius laughed.

'And enjoy the ride.'

Emanuelle started shaking her head. Then she signalled Sirius to pass his backpack. 'I want to see more pictures of your son...'

Sirius sighed softly, taking out the bundle of photographs. 'Immobilis!' he murmured, using wandless magic to freeze the photographs. And now they were normal. Normal Muggle photographs.

'This is the day he called Rose "Ro" ...'

xo

Albus had the ability to become invisible, without even a charm or a cloak. He preferred this type of magic; magic from the core, the strongest and oldest kind there was.

It was dark and damp, but much better than Azkaban. Carved all over the place were the same symbols; of something that resembled an eye, but Albus knew was not an eye.

The Deathly Hallows...

A story for another time.

This was Nurmengard.

There weren't many Prison Guard Wizards around; just ten, appointed (and paid a heck of a lot of money for such a boring job) to guard the very few high profile German prisoners there were. They were also appointed to take care of another prisoner, who was definitely not German, but instead, one of the Darkest Lords to have ever lived.

Gellert Grindelwald. And if there was anyone who knew Albus, it was Gellert. The man was on the highest floor, with his own damn tower.

The ex-Headmaster lazily flicked his wand, throwing open chained doors. He was getting closer. Closer and closer...

And he hasn't seen Grindelwald in so long ... he almost missed the other man. No, he definitely missed the other man.

Albus neared closer and closer to the room. He'd already confunded the two guards at the entrance of Grindelwald's quarters. Now, the only thing standing between the two old men was Albus's heart. His stupid, naïve heart.

He arrived at the bars of the cell door, and was surprised. It was very large, the room. There was a bed that seemed comfortable, a dining table with one lone chair, a large window with an extraordinary view of the hills and moors. And there was one man. Alone. Battered.

Gellert.

Albus didn't realise he said the name until the prisoner turned to face him. They watched each other for a long while, before Gellert grinned. It was obvious that he wasn't used to smiling; his face crinkled up and his mouth didn't quite connect with the action, but his eyes lit up. Wide, but striking and twinkling, Gellert murmured 'Albus.'

Albus threw open the door and stepped into the room, lowering his wand arm.

'Gellert.' It didn't seem right to address the love of his life as Grindelwald. It also didn't seem right to not embrace him. They embraced.

And maybe for Gellert it was an embrace of friendship, for Albus it was one of love and lost dreams.

'W-why are you here?' his voice was disused; and the question came out as a croak. They let go of each other reluctantly.

'I want to talk to you.' Albus said quietly. He conjured another chair beside the lone one at the dining table. It was shiny brown. 'Would you like a drink, Gellert?'

'How about some brandy, Al?'

xo

There must have been thirty more of them, joining Lily and Remus. They were dirty, covered in sweat, tired, panting.

'Azkaban?' repeated Benjy Fenwick, eyes widening. 'You want to break into Azkaban?'

Moody nodded gruffly, before looking away. 'We need to make a plan now. Because more and more Muggleborns are being killed there and experimented on.'

'W-what d'you mean?'

'The Muggleborns there are being experimented on, used in some sort of way to do something Voldemort wants them to do. We need to save them; from a fate that I'm sure is far worse than death.' Remus explained. He conjured the empty bottles and maybe forty sailed towards him. Using non verbal magic, he arranged them in the air until they resembled the Fortress.

'This is Azkaban. And pretend all the space around it is water. How could we get to Azkaban without attracted attention? Because I'm sure there are people on the look out for us, watching from the prison...'

'We swim.' Fabian clapped his hands together and said in a more jolly voice, 'You want us to swim Rem? You're barking.'

'Barking or bloody brilliant. Think about it nitwit,' Frank started, 'if we transfigure ourselves into fish, they won't notice anything different. Maybe they'll think "Ah, there're more fish in the lake than usual, but that can't mean anything". They won't ever assume we'd be stupid enough to swim across Azkaban's lake.'

'Exactly!' Gideon chirped, 'stupid enough ... now I think it's a good plan, but a dangerous one. How can almost sixty of us swim across, some of us can't even swim,' he looked at his twin brother and cleared his throat.

'Not all of us are going to go. That would be quite fucking stupid. No, some of us will stay behind. And some others will organise a way to travel from Azkaban with the prisoners, to a safe house,' answered Frank. He turned to face Moody, who was sitting down and sipping on his beer.

'Right Moody?'

'Right.' The older man grumbled. 'Only problem is we haven't got anywhere to take them.'

'I have an idea,' Lily's green eyes were sparkling as she smiled mischievously, faint dimples showing. 'Only, it could be a very bad idea.'

'Let's here it.'

xo

One of the main reasons they had come straight to Emanuelle's home was because, ironically, it was in Wales, just like the place they had stayed at, before it was infiltrated by Death Eaters. Only, she lived over two hours away.

They were now walking though, and it was almost midday. The sun was at its highest, bearing down on them. Sirius had long since tied his hair up, before they even got on the train. Some black tendrils were matted to his forehead though, and sweat rolled down his pale inked chest.

James had ripped his shirt off, quite literally. Like he was in some sort of action movie, where the hero was expected to spend ten minutes trying and finally managing to rip the thin material off of his body, before finally letting out a triumphant scream.

'It's hotter in Italy, but fuck I'm hot...' Emanuelle panted, already tired from walking down the street. There were many Muggles watching the trio; with their backpacks, absence of shirts in the cases of Sirius and James, and of course, their attractiveness.

'We've been walking for ages,' Sirius moaned.

'What, tired already?' James asked, cocking an eyebrow up and laughing delightfully, despite how out-of-breath he was.

'Shut up, Mr Sweaty Glasses.'

James took off his specs and wiped them with the material of Emanuelle's top, revealing to everyone, unfortunately, her whole stomach. She slapped his hands away and forcefully pulled her top down, glad that none of the Muggles had noticed the wand sticking out from her waistband, and instead were transfixed on the sight of her stomach.

Soon, they were away from the Muggles, and walking lazily up the hill. 'At the bottom of the hill,' Emanuelle told them in a quiet voice, 'is where the forest opening is, right?'

'Yeah,' James huffed.

'Then I think I should change your appearances.' She replied.

'Why?'

'So if we do go past some Death Eaters, we'll have an advantage. And when we don't know how many opponents we're facing, advantages are the only thing we have on our side.'

Emanuelle was a very powerful witch, leaving Hogwarts with nothing lower than an Acceptable. Her wand movements were sharp and fast, as she flicked her wand and murmured spells under her breath. Sirius could feel his hair being sucked back into his scalp, his body lengthening, getting thinner.

He turned to face a shorter, red-haired and green eyed James Potter. Sirius could not stop laughing. 'All you need are a pair of tits, then you and Lily would be twins.'

James kicked him. 'You're just jealous I look nicer with your haircut than you do. You suit blond hair though.'

Sticking his tongue out, Sirius slipped the mirror from James's pocket and looked into it. He had bright blond hair, and his eyes were a very pale brown. All his tattoos were gone.

'... give him the glasses, James, you don't need them...' Emanuelle was saying.

Popping the glasses on, Sirius was surprised the find out they strengthened his sight instead of weakening it. Then he noticed the eyebrow and nose piercing.

'You're fucking about.' He examined his left ear, and to his horror, noticed another piercing there.

'We're posing as Muggles mate.' James was saying. 'Besides, you look quite good with an ear piercing. Not sure about the nose one though...'

They really did look like totally different people. But even that wasn't good enough...

'Come on,' said the pretty Italian girl, cocking her head forward. 'This is just an extra precaution. We might not even see any Death Eaters.'

'Yes, might not. Come on.' They started walking; golden sun hotter than ever, air humid and choking, sky the palest blue.

xo

To say Walburga was insulted was an understatement. The understatement of the year. She was insulted that the Dark Lord was asking her own nieces to search her home. Maybe he was right; she was hiding her grandson and probably-soon-to-be daughter in law. But now she knew that he didn't trust her.

'I'm sorry about Bellatrix, Aunty,' Narcissa said when she reappeared back in the room after half an hour. 'She ... she takes what the Dark Lord orders of her very seriously.'

'I'd noticed.' Walburga replied crisply. She loftily turned her head away, examining her nails and trimming them with her wand.

'If it makes you feel better, I knew you would never hide the boy and his Mother.' Narcissa told her Aunt, smiling encouragingly. She leaned in for a hug, and was surprised when she was granted with one, as cold and detached as it was.

They heard Bella before they saw her, face angry yet determined. 'I couldn't find them ... and the Dark Lord was so sure ... Aunty, I'm offering you one last chance, because the Dark Lord will find them, do you know where they're hiding?'

Walburga stood up and took slow deliberate steps towards her niece. She tucked a lock of hair behind Bellatrix's ear. It was baking hot in the room. 'I don't know. But I'll be sure to tell you if I find them, or if they come here.'

Shaking her head and sighing, the eldest niece took a step back, snatching her glass of wine from the table and drinking it. 'Well, thank you for having us, Aunty. Would you like me to pass a message on to anyone in particular?'

'Yes.' Walburga said, releasing Narcissa from the death grip hug. 'Tell the Dark Lord I said "Hail your cause, War before Death".'

One of the many mottos Walburga had heard Regulus repeating around the house. Her baby boy.

Bellatrix smiled tightly, eyes flickering to the door. 'Say, before we leave, can I ask you if it's alright for me and Narcissa to quickly check Uncle Orion's secret quarters.'

Walburga, who too had picked up her glass, dropped it. It smashed to the ground, with a tinkering sound. 'W-what?' she breathed harshly.

Many feelings were racing through her body. Fear, emptiness, hatred, anger...

How did they know? HOW DID THEY KNOW?

'W-what r-room?' she stuttered.

Bellatrix froze; as did Narcissa. They stopped moving. The only noise in the drawing room was their fast breathing, their hammering heartbeats, their fidgeting.

Play along.

'What room?'

'We thought you knew, Aunty!' Narcissa cried, hurrying forward and seizing her aunt's hands. 'I'm so sorry, we're so sorry...'

'Knew what? What did you ... what...' her voice was hard, icy; Sirius and his younger brother had, after all, inherited their acting abilities from her. Orion was like an open book.

'Don't you know about Orion and Mother?'

'Druella?'

No. No, it couldn't be...

Could it?

'Y-yes. When we found out, it was too late. Uncle Orion had died. Mother told us before she passed that her and Orion were in love, but you and him were already married with children. They'd been having an affair since Sirius's fifth birthday. Orion had a room built ... I thought you knew...'

Walburga was an incredible actor, really very good. She looked away, but just in time; just so they could see the tears glistening away in her eyes. She made a noise between a sob and a cry.

'Just go...'

'We're so sorry Aunt—'

'GO!' Walburga bellowed, turning to face them, in all her stunning glory; silver eyes twinkling, cheeks flushed, teeth bared. 'Get out.'

Her two nieces didn't wait a single moment longer, quite literally running from the room. Walburga didn't give a sigh of relief until she heard the front door slam.

The tears that continued to fall after their hasty exit, however, were real. Druella, her sister in law? Her supposed best friend?

Orion had cheated on her with Druella?

Kreacher came into the room, breathing carefully. 'M-Mistress?' he asked. 'K-Kreacher didn't know, Kreacher swears he didn't know...'

'I know, Kreacher. Just bring the children and Taten. Hurry.'

He fled from the room. The drawing room held many memories for Walburga. It was where she'd blasted Sirius's name off the tapestry; where she'd found out about Orion's death; her baby boy being found, mutilated; about her husband's affair; the first time she'd seen her grandson...

It held too many memories for one person. A few good memories, but so much bad...

The first time Sirius had walked, talked, the very room Regulus had been born in...

She stood up and touched, tentatively, the very large colour portrait of her two sons, when they had been barely a few years old.

Walburga heard the cries before she saw Taten, arms full of children, and tears of total terror. She was clutching the children, like they were her life line.

'Th-thank y-y-you,' she hiccupped, 't-thank you s-so m-much.' And before Walburga knew it, the young girl had quite literally thrown herself at her son's grandmother. Harry bit Walburga on the shoulder, and SJ pulled her hair, but she wouldn't have had it any other way.

'I'll protect you...'

xo

'There's no one here,' Sirius said angrily. 'Now get these goddamn spells off me. I feel like a totally different person.' Just as Emanuelle got into reversing the spells, Sirius quickly said, 'But leave the ear piercing. I think it kinda suits me.'

James started laughing, removing all of his spells and standing taller, and with black hair before them. 'It really does Padfoot. Say, d'you think Lily would be annoyed if I got one?'

'Definitely,' Emanuelle and Sirius said in unison, grinning at each other.

They looked around. They were just outside the opening to the Training Camp. It was intimidating. There was blood on the ground, but luckily no dead bodies. Instead, there was a heap of them a few hundred metres away, with freshly burned corpses and what not.

Disgusting.

'Come on. Time for you two to lead the way.' Emanuelle said. The group hurried inside, and soon, Sirius was navigating the meandering paths and routes, trying to find his room, but commentating whilst walking past some of the rooms. He acted like he was giving a tour. 'That's where much lovemaking between Lils and Prongs took place. I think Harry's baby sibling, if not for the Death Eaters, could have been conceived in there.'

Emanuelle threw her head back and laughed. 'Interesting. Very interesting. Now, where did the magic take place between you and Rosie?'

'That's disclosed information. I can tell you however that SJ was in that room right there when he said Ro to his mummy. Smart boy, isn't he?'

The place was a wreck. The walls were crumbling; the floor had scorch marks on it from where spells had been misfired, and dried blood coated the ground. Furniture was either half burned or completely destroyed.

'Where is the dagger then?' asked the Italian woman.

'On the wardrobe in my room,' explained Sirius, looking sharply away from the devastation around him and instead focusing on trying to locate his room. He forgot how big the place was, and he'd only spent a day and a half away.

It looked totally different. It looked so hurt, so destroyed. When at last, he found his and Rose's room, he stared at it. There were no signs of destruction or damage; in fact, it looked the exact same. Pillows and sheets rumpled in the same way, rubbish still littering the floor, some of Harry's toys scattered. He smiled tightly. That was a good thing; it meant that the dagger should still be—

'Got it,' James said, dagger in one hand and rucksack in the other.

'Good.' Sirius sighed. 'Come on then, let's—' he was thrown back, slamming his head on the cabinet beside the bed. 'What the—'

They were watching him like he was a meal, like he was the greatest gift there was. 'Sirius Black,' one of the werewolves whispered. 'You're...' he was cut off however when Emanuelle quite literally fly kicked him, and he sailed into the air, where James was waiting to curse him.

The werewolf's scream echoed through the air; it was painful to listen to. Three more werewolves hurried in the room. First, freezing with shock. Then, sinking into their duelling stances.

Suddenly James realised the error of his ways. Maybe Voldemort's followers had been waiting inside the Training Camp. Maybe they had been left behind, to see if anyone would come back after a few days.

And barely a day later, and they'd not only found James Potter, but Sirius Black too!

A Sirius Black who was supposed to be dead.

Spells flew back and forth between the werewolves and the trio of friends. Sirius was still dazed; his head aching from the fall. But he was vicious. It was like all the pent up energy inside him was just begging to come out. And it did come out.

His magic was non verbal, giving him a split second advantage. He danced from the spells thrown at him and conjured shields to protect him and his friends.

But how did the werewolves know how to fight using magic? They were excluded from Wizarding Society. They weren't allowed wands. Unless Voldemort was providing them with wands, luring them into his trap, using magic and knowledge as a means to get the werewolves on his side. The clever bastard.

'EXPULSO!' bellowed the silver eyed man, and he watched in satisfaction when the man he was duelling was thrown back. But he stood up moments later, grin on his face, and positively beaming.

One of the werewolves on the other side of the room was crying call the Dark Lord! whereas another was ... another was running, dashing out of the room, faster than lightening, and getting away.

'Shit! No! No!' cried James, and he pushed the werewolf he was duelling as hard as he could, before tearing through the corridors and halls to catch the escaping man. He couldn't let the dark haired man get away, he just couldn't.

Because if he got away, than Sirius's secret got away. And they needed Sirius's secret. They relied on it. Without the whole world thinking he was dead, they would never get away with what they hoped to achieve.

Destroying Lord Voldemort.

James was fast, very fast. Sirius was a better long-distance runner, and Remus was just fast altogether. But out of all the normal humans that had been in his year, James took the floor when it came to sprinting. He was sure if Remus hadn't been a werewolf, then he wouldn't be faster.

He ran up the steps to the opening of the camp three at a time and crawled through, throwing himself into the sunlight, panting heavily.

The werewolf was mere metres away.

'STUPEFY!' he yelled, voice echoing dangerously.

The spell missed. It was like everything was happening in slow motion. The sharp fingernails almost pierced the skin when the werewolf's digits slammed down on his forearm, touching his mark. He threw his head back and laughed low.

His mark glowed darker.

'No,' James breathed, and then he cried 'STUPEFY!' once body dropped, wand falling to the floor and head lulling to the side. He was stunned. But that didn't mean anything.

They knew! Now all of them would come and see Sirius! And if they didn't see him, they would hear of him!

What could James do? What could he do to make sure the secret stayed a secret!

Almost automatically, his hand went to his back pocket, where the golden instrument was buried, deep under a bundle of other things.

The Time Turner.

James didn't wait. He pulled the gorgeous gold chain out and threw it over his head, where it fell to his sweat-glistening chest. Picking the small clock up with one hand, he turned the crown, adjusting it.

One hour.

This was a weird time turner. There were days too. But all he needed was an hour. If he was going to break the law, he was going to do it as legally as he could.

It felt like James was being thrown into the air as he was sucked into a black hole, the Time Turner's black hole. He landed with a thud.

Another Note: This has been UPDATED as of Monday 10th December, thanks to a major flaw pointed out by a Guest reviewer.

A/N: I think the ending isn't that good, but I hope you've liked this chapter and the introduction of Gellert Grindelwald. I'd like to thank the people who reviewed the previous chapter! I really appreciate it! Thank you!

I've also got to ask a big question to all of you: do you think the main characters on the properties of this story should be Sirius B. and- Voldemort, James or Remus. I'm not sure which one of the last three I should make it. I'd love the help to decide who it should be on the properties.

Anyway, thanks for reading, please review this chapter.