A/N: This chapter was written to a song I wrote called Playing the Victim. If you'd like to know the lyrics, let me know in a review or PM and I'll PM you the lyrics. Remember, they are MY property. If I hear these lyrics somewhere without my permission, I'll be keeping track of who I'm sending them to and I will hunt you down. Now that's clear… on with the story!

-J

Jenny went home for Christmas, just like she was supposed to. Her family would have been furious if she had decided to stay at school, because it would be because she would be spending the time with people they didn't approve of, and their first thought would definitely be Remus. She couldn't risk being selfish and having something happen to him, even though they were being extra-distant lately, since their latest almost-kiss. Admittedly, they weren't as distant as the last almost-kiss, but they realized they couldn't afford another slip-up like the one in the common room. Rumors of a relationship could be just as damaging to him as a real relationship, maybe even more so.

The train ride back had been a nice affair, Sirius, James, and Jenny all singing silly carols and trying to ignore the fact that they wouldn't see each other again until January. They said their goodbyes on the platform and went their separate ways, Jenny watching Sirius go with pain in her heart. For some reason, she wanted to grab his hand and run away. But she couldn't do that, for so many reasons. She followed her family out to the car and sat quietly between the twins on the way home, ignoring the sickening way Melissa was petting Cecilia's hair.

Jenny spent a lot of time to herself, bracing herself during the heavy beatings in the first few days of the break, watching Cecilia's with tears in her own eyes, and then nursing both of their wounds in the days that followed. Jenny had gotten good at hiding the marks and the bumps, and it came in handy for all of the events her parents required them to attend. On Christmas, her parents had a large party, one of the largest they'd had in years, because Abraxas Malfoy had taken ill and the Malfoys were unable to hold their usual party. Lord Voldemort would be in attendance, and Jenny had spent the entire day in her room shaking with fear and staring blankly in the mirror, desperate to think of a way to get out of her duties, but she couldn't think of a way to do so without keeping an eye on Cecilia.

But there was no way around it. Jenny slipped into the royal blue dress robes her mother had bought her, pulled her hair into an elegant pile of charmed curls, and swiped on a gentle rose colored lipstick before slipping on a pair of heels and walking regally down to the party. Cecilia was with Melissa, who was looking around for boys from school, especially boys who had just graduated, obviously trying to find someone she could trap into marriage. Jenny scanned the room. The Blacks were present, but Sirius was not. She frowned. She knew he hated these events, but he had to have done something truly awful if his parents would rather leave him at home than face the disgrace of bringing him to present as their heir.

"Jeneva," Andrew called, "the twins said father was looking for you. We've all been presented to the guest of honor except for you girls. They were waiting on you."

The guest of honor. Voldemort.

"Of course," Jenny muttered, gathering her skirts and making her way over to her father, who was watching her from over by her sisters. "Father," she said in greeting. "I'm sorry I wasn't as prompt as I should have been. My fastenings were being difficult."

"Yes, well, you're here now. Come, girls, follow me."

Naturally, he led her right over to where the Blacks were, with Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy and Bellatrix and Rodolphus Lestrange, discussing something eagerly with a man she knew instantly must be Lord Voldemort. He was tall and had an incredibly confident air about him. The people around him, typically full of self-importance and ego, all bowed to him, deferring to him. It was an odd sight. Especially because this man hardly looked like a man, more snakelike than anything, with hardly any nose, grayish white skin, and long, thin fingers.

"My Lord," her father said, bowing his head low. "My daughters are all present now, if I might present them."

"Certainly, Avery," he man said, his voice high and cold. Jenny barely suppressed a shiver.

"This is my oldest daughter, Jeneva," he said, putting a hand on Jenny's shoulder, "and Melissa, and my youngest, Cecilia."

"All Slytherin?" the man asked, apprising them, particularly Jenny.

"N-no, my Lord," her father stuttered, his hand gripping Jenny's shoulder more tightly. "Cecilia is a Ravenclaw and Melissa is in Slytherin."

"And Jeneva?"

"G-Gryffindor, my Lord."

"Hmm."

The long, thin fingers reached out for Jenny's chin and lifted her face to look him in the eye. She felt fear rooting her to the spot, although she wanted nothing more than to turn and run. His eyes were slits, red irises, and she felt as though he was looking into her very soul.

"How old are you, my dear?" he hissed.

"Sixteen," she said softly, trying not to tremble with fear.

"She is in her fifth year of Hogwarts, my Lord," her father clarified.

"And have you found her a suitable match?"

"We have had some difficultly, my Lord," her father admitted, sheepishly. "She is… headstrong."

"Well, she is certainly pretty. And her grades?"

"Excellent, my Lord."

"Well, perhaps the Blacks could offer a son," he said with a smirk on his thin, nearly non-existent lips. "Orion was just saying that he had a pair of sons his lovely wife is attempting to match."

Jenny couldn't help herself. She looked over at Walburga and Orion and said, "Where is Sirius?"

Her father tensed and darkness passed through the eyes of all those around her.

"He is not feeling quite well," Walburga said tightly. "I'm afraid I had to leave him at home."

"Sirius is a Gryffindor as well," Jenny said smoothly. "My Lord," she added as an afterthought, and his lips twisted into a sinister sort of smirk.

"Well, that would hardly do, then. Perhaps, Orion, you could set this darling Gryffindor girl up with your younger son here, and perhaps Avery could give his Slytherin daughter to your older son. I think they might keep each other in line."

"The idea has been discussed for many years, My Lord," Bellatrix said with a cruel sneer at Jenny. "Once the pair of them was Sorted into Gryffindor the plans for their betrothal were dropped. We couldn't risk them raising a bunch of Gryffindor mongrels in the name of Black."

"It's too bad you're already married, Bella," Jenny said sweetly. "You would have made the perfect Black family matriarch."

Lord Voldemort gave a short, high laugh as Bellatrix's face twisted in fury and her eyes flashed with anger.

"Well, she certainly has a sharp tongue, Avery. I think once you settle her down with the right man, she'll be a great asset to the cause."

He went on to appraise both Melissa and Cecilia, though not with the same level of interest, but Jenny felt herself cringing as his foul skin touched the face of her baby sister. Melissa she didn't care about; Melissa had sold her soul to the Dark years ago, but Cecilia was the most pure, innocent being Jenny knew, and it just wasn't fair that there didn't seem to be a way out.

She kept her head up at the party, though, as best she knew how, and she rushed up to her room as quickly as she could at the nights end, pulling off her dress and tossing it aside, shivering as she collapsed into an exhausted heap in the middle of her floor.

"As pretty as your body and knickers are, JV, I'd rather not be forced to look at them. I'm trying to be an honest man, you see."

She gasped, her head jerking upward to find Sirius lounging tiredly on her bed. There was a cut above his left eyebrow that had congealed, his lip was a bit swollen, and he had bled through the fabric on his chest, suggesting a change of clothes since he had gained the injuries.

"Sirius," she hissed, "what the bloody hell are you doing?"

"Language, darling," he drawled, stretching absently. "Isn't it obvious? I'm making good on my years of promises. I'm rescuing you. We're getting out of these messed up houses and being safe. Everything's going to be okay, Jen. We're going to be fine."

For a split second, her heart lightened, she forgot that she was standing in her underwear and Sirius was covered in blood and she truly thought for a blissful moment that they were going to run away and she could be with Remus and she would never have to cry herself to sleep again. But then reality came crashing down around her and she pulled on a nightgown, shook her head, and sat down beside him on her bed, pulling a bit of his hair out of his congealed forehead wound.

"What did they do to you?" she sighed, kissing the wound gently. "And why?"

Sirius shrugged.

"I refused to come to their little Death Eater recruitment party, despite the fact that it was at your place. I hoped I'd beat them here, get you out of this place before you went down to the festivities, but unfortunately the house-elf caught me sneaking out and I had to get creative to get myself out of that one. Flooed my stuff to the Potters and told Mrs. Potter I'd be there as soon as I took care of some important business. Now I'm here. Let's get your things and go. Pack light. They'd be more than happy to buy you more stuff, but I'd rather not have to use magic to get out of this place. I don't want us to be caught."

Jenny shook her head and sighed.

"Sirius, I'm not going. I can't go."

His face fell.

"What are you talking about? Jen, you have to. We've been dreaming of this for years. I'm not going to let them hurt you anymore. I'm fixing it. I promised I'd fix it!"

She bit her lip and sighed, "I can't leave. Celia's here. I can't just abandon her like that, let her be eaten alive by the wolves. As long as I'm here, I get the worst of it. The second I leave, she'd suffer for it."

"So we'll take her with us," he insisted, taking her hands in his. "How many rooms over is she? We can get some of your things, some of hers, and leave from her room. They'd expect that even less. She'd be safe, she wouldn't have to live in fear–"

"Sirius, stop," she sighed. "She's eleven years old. If we take her, they'd come after us. You only have your freedom if they haven't got a real reason to come after you. If I go, you might be okay, but taking Celia would probably land you or me or the pair of us in Azkaban for kidnapping. This might not be the life I want for her, but that's definitely not the life I want for you. You deserve your freedom. I'm not taking that from you."

Tears were forming in his gray eyes and he grasped her hands even tighter, shaking his head. His voice cracked as he whimpered, "JV, please, don't do this. I can't leave you here. I can't leave you at their mercy. I promised. I promised to keep you safe."

"I told you not to make that promise, love," she whispered. "I knew you wouldn't be able to keep it, despite the fact that you wanted to. You've got a heart of gold, Sirius, and the loyalty of a wolf protecting his pack, but you're not a wolf. You're another broken boy running away from his own problems. I can't run from mine. Believe me, there's nothing I want more, but I have to stay. It's nothing to do with you. It's about the fact that I've got the sweetest little sister on the planet down that hall that needs me."

He sniffed.

"I need you," he sobbed. "Jenny, please, I need you. Remus needs you. If something were to happen, if they were to take you from me, I – I wouldn't know what to do."

She soothed him, running her fingers through his hair, hugging him tightly to her chest like she had done with Cecilia more than a few times growing up, whenever she was strong enough to be any good as a comfort. Petting Sirius felt foreign in a way, because he had always been the strong one, the one who had dried her tears when she needed someone to lean on. But at the same time, it felt strangely right to see Sirius broken down after all these years, as if she had merely been waiting for him to crumble over all the weight he had taken on himself. She knew he wouldn't be strong forever. Obviously, he had been near his breaking point at any rate, considering the fact that he had already decided he couldn't take another night at his own home.

"If something happened to me," she finally muttered in his ear, "you would be fine. You would carry on, giving all the love and support to the boys that you could. You'd find a way to get James and Lily together because they're destined to be together. You'd find Peter a girl because he needs one. You'd marry Tien and have fifty kids and name every single one of them after me. You'd tell Anna that she was beautiful every day because she needs to hear it. And you'd tell Remus that I love him because I would need him to know that. I think he does, but I don't want him to have any doubts about it, so you would have to tell him that. And you would keep an eye on Celia for me, all right? Promise me?"

"I don't want to leave you here, Jenny, please," he cried. "Jenny, please, d-d-don't make me leave you. I need you."

"No," she whispered gently. "You don't need me, love. You're Sirius fucking Black, right? You're a Marauder. You're the sexiest man alive. You don't need me. You've got your friends; you've got someone you love. You know what's right and you know how you'd avenge me anyway. You don't need me. What you need is to get yourself to the Potters, get yourself healed and healthy again, and to live the absolute happiest life you can possibly live. Is that understood?"

He nodded lamely, sniffing again as she helped him to his feet, placed his broom in his hand, and led him over to the window. For a moment, he stood there, eyes still flowing with tears in the moonlight, looking down at her as if it pained him to see her.

"Don't die," he said hoarsely. "You're not allowed to die."

She smiled weakly and shook her head.

"What makes you think I'll die, love? I've lived this long, that's got to count for something."

"People are dying constantly," Sirius hissed. "This war is only going to get worse. You're caught in the snake pit and if you won't let me rescue you… I don't know if you'll be okay. Please don't die."

"I'll do my best," she said honestly. It wasn't the moment for jokes and she knew that. They would probably see each other in a matter of a couple of short weeks, but it didn't feel like that. He hugged her tightly, his tears leaking onto her neck.

"I love you, Jenny," he whispered. "I love you so much. I wish you would let me take you out of this place. I wish you would stop being an idiot and be with Remus. But since you can't seem to take good advice," he snorted, "I guess this is goodbye for now, all right?" She nodded as he pulled back and kissed her forehead. "I love you, you absolutely perfect girl. Don't you ever change. Don't you dare give in. And don't you die on me, all right, darling? Don't you dare."

He placed one more kiss on her forehead, then gave her a quick peck on the lips, mounted his broom, and took off into the night, heading off toward the moon. Jenny watched him go until he was a speck in the sky, her ticket to freedom shrinking in the distance. Her heart twisted in pain and she wished she had taken up his offer, wished she had been on the back of that broom, being whisked away by her best friend to freedom and a loving home where she wouldn't be afraid of doing or saying the wrong thing, afraid for her life.

Every comforting word she had fed him felt like empty lies, but she had done the right thing, she knew. Just down the hall, Cecilia was sleeping peacefully in her baby blue canopy bed, unaware of what had just occurred. Had Jenny taken off with Sirius, Cecilia would have awoken to screaming, shouting, and probably the worst beating of her young life. Instead, Cecilia would probably be treated to Jenny being verbally, and maybe physically, berated at breakfast for the use of a sharp tongue the night previously in the presence of Lord Voldemort. She thought cynically to herself that it was the lesser of two evils for Cecilia, and tried not to think about the fact that had she gone with Sirius, Jenny would have been waking up to friendly faces and sympathy at breakfast for a change, maybe even would be able to write to Remus and tell him everything, tell him how much she loved him.

But that didn't matter. None of it mattered. Cecilia needed her. Sirius understood that, and no matter how much he claimed to need her, it would never be the same as the way Cecilia did. Sirius had James and Remus and Peter and Tien. Cecilia had Jenny, just Jenny. Sirius would be all right.

But her last thought as she closed her eyes and surrendered to sleep was how nice it would have been to not have to feel afraid to close her eyes.