Just as she was about to push open the door, Hermione came out of it. There was a deep etched scowl on her pointed features. Something was wrong. Before she had a chance to ask, Hermione ushered her back to Sirius.

The younger girl's eyes flickered between them. "We have to go. Now."

Sirius nodded without question and rose to follow but Kat was having none of it. "What's happening?" She had a sneaking suspicion this had to do with that case Ron and Harry were working on. She didn't realize it was so dangerous to date a policeman in England. Or maybe this had to do with Hermione's volunteering with the government?

Still, she was forced to follow out of the bar. The warm air of summer did nothing to the chill that settled on her skin. The dark was suddenly ominous around them. They continued walking, not in the direction of the car, but towards some alley. She stopped dead in her tracks, looking between the girl she's distantly known most of her life and the man she really had no business trusting. There was unsettled demand in her voice, "Tell me where we're going, Hermione. I won't follow you around blindly."

There was subtle panic in her frown. "I don't have time to explain now. We're going somewhere safe—"

"Safer than your house? Why would your house not be safe?"

"The answer to that's complicated, please, Kat—"

Sirius watched the exchange in silence when suddenly he pulled out a stick from his sleeve. The medical student wrinkled her brow and backed away from him. What the fucking hell? There was something seriously disturbed happening here.

She didn't get far when he reached forward, pulled her against him, and shouted something. Her face was pressed to his chest. While under different circumstances this would have been welcome, she trembled now. A scream was lodged in her throat. At that point she was too terrified and confused to scream. She heard Hermione shout something too. It wasn't English. Thud.

Pushing herself away with a strength she didn't know she had, she looked back to see someone flat on the ground. He wore a striped black and white uniform like a prisoner from an old black and white movie. Her breath came in labored pants. "What the fuck," she whipped to look at her cousin again. This time she had a stick in her hand too. "What the fuck? What the actual fuck?" Hermione reached out for her. "Don't you dare touch me, Hermione Jean Granger! I don't know what the fuck you think you're doing!"

Sirius was still a lot closer than she had realized. When he held out a hand in invitation and spoke, she jumped. Her heart beat like a jackrabbit in her chest. "There's more where he came from, Miss Daring. You're going to have to trust us."

"Fuck that! Some guy shows up and you two pull out sticks and then BAM he's on the ground. Fuck if I'm ever going anywhere with either of you again!" Her body was tensed to run. She gestured wildly through her rant, "If I wanted to almost die by a hit and run, I could have gone to the hood. At least they have guns and not whatever the fuck those sticks are." In some deranged part of her brain, she thought her parents would disapprove of how much she was swearing.

Sirius appeared to be holding back laughter with Hermione shooting him a glare. As the one outside the loop, she didn't know what was so funny. Fuck that guy and his good looks.

She took two more big steps back. Just as she turned to run, another guy entered the alley. Kat immediately twirled back around and rushed to hide behind Sirius (not her proudest moment). She peeked out to see what was going on. A blast of green light came from the stranger and headed towards them. Lights? Really? The sticks make light? Hermione shouted and produced a white light that stopped it just inches away from them. The collision of the two frizzled into a hot energy that Kat could almost feel against her face. It wasn't light. That is what she could collect from how the balls of energy continued to collide until finally Sirius managed to hit the other guy.

When the second man dropped to the ground, Sirius looked down at her with an amused grin. "Are you alright there, Daring?"

She had the decency to blush and step away from him. Kat poked his chest and glared up at him (he was a lot taller than she'd realized). "Use my name ironically one more time. One more time, I dare you, Black." He put his hands up in show of surrender. This time she stepped closer to Hermione. "Tell me the truth. Have the British weaponized nuclear energy and disguised it into the shape of sticks? Then again, it probably would have been better to make it into a more household item like pens."

Unable to hold back, Sirius burst into howling laughter earning a disgruntled reply from Hermione, "Honestly, Sirius. And no, Kat these are not nuclear weapons. Really, you of all people should know the even being close to the radiation would mean we should be dead right now." She pointed her stick at the two (hopefully) unconscious men and said something. "That'll keep them there until Harry picks them up."

"What the fuck is happening!?" Shaking her head, she took her cousin's hand and tugged her in the direction they had been going though she had no idea where exactly. "You know what, nevermind. Tell me later. Let's just get out of here before more of Dr. Evil's minions show up."

Grinning widely, Sirius piped up, "Hermione, you never told me what a brilliant cousin you have. Lovely girl. I quite like her." Kat pretended not she didn't feel the heat rising to her cheeks. He continued, "I don't think it's necessary to continue walking. She's seen more than enough, don't you think? We could Apparate."

"I suppose but…" Hermione peered hesitantly at the older girl. She didn't like the sound of that. "You have to hold on as tight as possible to me, understand? If you don't something terrible would happen."

Hazel eyes widened with vulnerability and uncertainty before she did as she was instructed. All at once everything went dark and blurred. She had a death grip on her cousin by the time she opened her eyes again. When she did, she found that Hermione was looking at her expectantly. It was only then she realized that their surroundings were different. Without intending to, she violently vomited onto the other girl's shoes.

Shrieking her protest, she moved away, "Kat! That's disgusting!"

She brought the back of her hand to her mouth. "Sorry, 'Mione. Those were nice shoes too. Consider us even for almost getting me killed." Bile burned her throat and tongue. Feelings of strong illness lingered. She needed to lie down. "I don't think that tequila sat well with me." Looking back at the unfamiliar surroundings, she weakly whimpered, "Was I drugged?"

No, of course, you weren't drugged," Hermione retorted. Sirius pointed his stick at the brunette's face. She practically went cross eyed trying to stare it down. He murmured something and then pointed to the apartment building complex. "

The building started to move and shift, the sound of bricks grating against one another resonating in the air. She gaped with open wonder as a new apartment moved forward. He continued, "There's a whole other world you don't know about. Things you never would have believed in."

"And what would that be?" her voice was distracted, the quiet words leaving her mouth automatically.

"Magic."

A/N: for some reason I've been writing up a storm. remember to review and I hope you liked this chapter!