Alice squealed in delight as she saw the harbor of London.

"Civilization!" she exclaimed happily as she dragged Lily off the boat followed by the boys. Moria wasn't far behind however she was a bit slower on exiting the boat. She glanced at her uncles who walked off the boat, her expression grim.

"Uncle Martin…can you stay with them? Monroe will come with me." she askws softly and under her breath. Martin looked as though he was about to object but glanced at the group that were chatting happily to each other. He realized that if he didn't stay, chances were that someone would do something completely unnecessary.

"Fine...but be careful okay?" he whispered out and Moria snorted.

"I'll be careful. I always am. Just seems that trouble finds its way to me." She grumbled. She waited a little bit until the other teens were looking in the opposite direction, then Moria and Monroe walked away, disappearing into the crowd, walking down the street till they finally reached a building that seemed out of place in the street. It looked sterile compared to the streets and the people who were in its' yard were being accompanied by a nurse, looking withdrawn and some were mumbling to themselves. Moria swallowed and then continued into the building that was labeled National Health Service Psychiatric Hospital.

"I still don't see why you have to keep coming here." Monroe complained.

"It's part of the deal. He's still technically my guardian." She replied coolly. He winced. Why the court system allowed him to be her guardian still angered him to this day. It seemed to be a way of punishing them for abandoning her with that monster. She walked over to the entrance, and was greeted by a smiling nurse who seemed to be forcing the smile. She offered her own slight smile and began to sign in.

"Well look who finally showed up." A voice called out and she froze, listening to Monroe growl slightly in a warning. Slowly she looked up and her eyes connected to the same chocolate colored eyes as hers. Her gaze drifted back to the pen that she was holding and she realized that she was shaking. Finally she exhaled and stopped her shaking, before straightening, and her eyes turned cold.

"Uncle Malcolm."

"Hey where did Moria go?" Sirius asked looking around as the continued down the street. Lily looked behind them, still being dragged by Alice, who then stopped.

"I thought she had gone to the loo or something." She commented, glancing at her watch. "But she's been gone for way too long for a loo run." Lily commented.

"So is Monroe." Remus added realizing that one of the adults had gone missing. Martin became increasingly uncomfortable and shifted his weight. Lily noticed that.

"Mr. Prescott? Do you know where they are?" she asked and he looked away.

"Sort of. Not really allowed…Moria's orders not to tell. Besides it's not a big deal." He explained hurriedly. That sent alarm bells in all the teens' heads.

"Not to tell us what?!"

"What are you hiding!?" the teens began to ask rapidly, and in rapid succession causing Martin to become more and more flustered.

"Look, Moria doesn't want you involved in her having to meet up with Malcolm okay?!" he hissed out then realizing what he just said, cursed under his breath. Lily's jaw had now dropped.

"WHAT!?" she hissed out. He groaned loudly.

"As per a court agreement she has to visit Malcolm once a year. We've tried to overrule it but we couldn't." he explained but Lily grabbed him by the collar.

"Where?!" she hissed out. Martin looked like he was about to object but the rage and concern seen in the teens eyes caused him to back down a little.

"Fine I'll take you there." He conceded. "She'll never let me go on this." He grumbled out and walked down the street, his shoulders slumped as the teens followed quickly behind.

Finally they stopped at the asylum and spotted Monroe standing in the waiting room. He arched a brow when he saw the group before looking at his brother.

"You couldn't keep your mouth shut could you?"

"Oh shut up you arse. What are you doing out here?" Martin replied back angrily.

"They wouldn't allow anyone else but those two in. Said it would 'upset' him. Give me a break." He hissed out glancing back inside. He was close enough where if she yelled he could get to her quickly. He made sure of that. He saw Sirius eyeing the door and he felt a twinge of overprotectiveness. He knew that look.

His friends might be blind…but he could see that Sirius liked Moria. More than just friends. He-

His thoughts were broken when he heard a loud scream of a nurse and then shouts of alarm.

"STOP!"

"LET GO!"

"MR. PRESCOTT LET GO OF YOUR NIECE!" a nurse screamed and both Martin and Monroe bolted in. The teens followed in, following the adults and nurses and they turned a corner.

The scene in front of them shocked them. An older man, who looked to be in his late thirties maybe early forties was gripping Moria by her neck, lifting her up till she was suspended in the air her feet dangling off the ground. She was gripping his hands as though to try and get his grip off of her neck, but she wasn't making any attempt to struggle. Her eyes were cold and emotionless, glaring at Malcolm. Suddenly a large male nurse bolted in and tackled Malcolm, causing him to release Moria who slid onto the floor. She sat up slowly, helped by Martin and Monroe. The teens were frozen in shock, staring at the man that was being held down to the ground by nurses.

"YOU BITCH! YOU DISGUSTING LITTLE BITCH!" he snarled out at Moria who continued to stare at him then stood up brushing herself off, her eyes still ice. She only offered a glance before she brushed past her uncles and friends, walking quickly down the steps and exiting, the door closing with a bang.

"Moria!" Sirius called out and the six teens rushed out only to see Moria now running down the street, disappearing behind a corner and into the crowd.

"Where could she be?" Sirius thought as he continued to walk down the street, hearing the sounds of waves crashing at the beach next to him. His thoughts were swirling. Bloody hell, that was what Moria had to deal with for those years in her childhood? No wonder she hadn't wanted to say anything to them. If he had had to go through that he wouldn't have wanted to say anything either. He sighed loudly running his fingers through his hair glancing at the gray beach. And then did a double take.

A young girl was standing alone on the beach, staring out into the ocean. She was barefoot now, her short hair ruffling slightly in the ocean wind. It had grown slightly, but it was still short.

"Moria!" he called out forcing himself not to jump off the street, instead rushing to the nearest stair section, going down the steps, skipping every other one. She didn't move an inch.

"You okay?"

"Of course I am…why wouldn't I be?" she replied softly, finally glancing back at him. He looked at her in confusion and concern.

"Well what happened back there…" he replied and she chuckled softly, smiling bitterly.

"Nearly every meeting has ended like that. There is never a day where he's been kind." She replied picking up a stone and flinging it into the ocean watching it skip across the top. He looked at her confused. She stood there, just staring at the surf, listening to the seagulls squawking.

"You know when I was always younger I would compare people to seashells." She said and he looked at her in confusion. She stooped down and picked up several shells, shifting them in her hands, the wet sand clumping together. She dusted off one shell and held it up for him to look at: a pure white seashell, the edges smooth and whole.

"This would be Lily. Pure, beautiful, but still strong." She commented and placed the shell back on the ground. She then picked up a baby blue swirled shell, speckled with white.

"This would be Alice. Innocent but still always fun and caring." She continued placing that shell on the ground. She held up a unique shell that one side was white, the other side black.

"This is Remus. There are two sides to him. One that he considers good. The other he considers is evil." She commented. She glanced at a light orange shell that was next to the blue shell.

"The orange shell would be Frank. He's quiet and tends to not mind being in the background. She lifted a multicolored shell and smirked slightly.

"This would be James. He's every personality rolled into one and you never know what he's going to be like when you talk to him." She commented and he chuckled. She then picked up a rather ordinary shaped shell; however it was an odd color, most likely due to being in the water for however many years.

"This would be you."

"Gee. Thanks." He responded sarcastically.

"Would you let me finish?" she asked with a bit of humor in her voice. She glanced at the shell.

"You've always told us that your family has hated muggle-born witches and wizard, hated muggles in general for as long as you could remember and that every person in your family was seated in Slytherin. But here you are a Gryffindor student, and despite your three best friends being from pure-blood wizards, are friends with muggles. Your unique—in a good way— compared to your family." She said and he looked shocked and almost touched.

She then tossed him his 'shell' and picked up a rough looking shell, cracked, one side of it having broken off in the surf, small holes patterning the shell. It was an ugly gray color with scarred white areas most likely from broken off barnacles. She looked at it roving it in her hand.

"This would be me."

"Mori-!" he began but then watched it as she chucked into the surf, the shell hitting the wave with a small 'KER-PLOP'. She looked at the surf with a bit of anger.

"Broken, out of place, scarred both in figurative and literal meaning. An annoyance to people. Nothing makes me special." She said softly, placing a hand on her neck, knowing it would most likely bruise. She heard him walk up a bit to her and she turned, and was startled at how close he was to her now.

"You're wrong. About yourself." He responded to her and she glanced up at his face before looking away. He shifted uncomfortably where he stood.

"Alright. I'll try it your way." He conceded. "You compared yourself to a broken sea shell that everyone dislikes because they don't 'fit in' and they aren't exactly the most attractive." He said and saw her shift slightly in her stance.

"Well I…" He trailed off. "None of us see you like that. If I were going to compare you to a shell it would be those tiny shells…cokina?"

"Coquina." She corrected him, raising a brow at him almost in shock and in amusement that he was actually trying this. He looked so embarrassed at the moment trying to figure a way to explain how she was to him…to them, without sounding completely and utterly like a fool.

"Yeah those. Alright I'll try to say how they compare to you. Don't laugh."

"Since when have I ever laughed at what you said?" she asked and he glanced at her with a 'don't try and kid with me' look.

"Many times." He responded earning a slightly mirthful smirk. There she was. The Moria he had grown up with at Hogwarts. "Look. Coquina shells are fragile, and most of the time missing a half because something has broken it. But even if they are missing a piece of themselves, they still are beautiful, and stuff." He explained and she blinked in astonishment. "Okay…how weird did that sound?" He asked, his face now rivaling a tomato and she was pretty sure he was mentally kicking himself for sounding like a moron. But right at that moment she didn't really care how much he didn't sound like himself. Right then, it was exactly what she had needed to hear. She smiled and then laughed, shaking her head.

"It didn't sound weird at all." She replied, pushing back some of her hair. "Who knew you were a poet."

"If you breathe a word about this I will deny everything."

"My lips are sealed." She replied quietly and smiled at him. "Thanks." He grinned then heard Lily and Alice calling for Moria. He turned slightly before being nearly pushed into the water by Lily and Alice who barreled to Moria, nearly tackling her, and asking her a flurry of questions. She answered them softly, keeping pace with her friends. Apparently satisfied, Alice and Lily began to drag her back to the streets. Moria glanced at Sirius and they made eye contact.

She smiled at him softly in thanks before following the two girls. James, Frank, and Remus all looked at Sirius in confusion.

"What was that smile all about?" James asked looking at Sirius curiously. Sirius shrugged, placing his hands in his pockets, and smirked slight as he ran his thumb over the shell that Moria had given to him.

"Not a clue." He replied and with that the boys followed the girls back to the street.

So...tada? What do you guys think?