So this was actually written last night and I was just about to post it when my computer spazzed and I lost the second half of this chapter. A bit of a bummer but I actually like it more the second time around.

There isn't much I need to say but I do want to respond to the questions about Elyse being Seamus's mom. I can't say. Sorry, I feel slightly evil, but this is just one of those plot lines that can't be spoiled otherwise part of the story will be ruined. So sorry, I can't really say anything about it. She might be his mom, she might not be. That's all I will say.

Well, with that said, here's the next chapter of ABAWS: B4. I hope you enjoy.

The O'Brian household was a cacophony of noise. Pat felt his heart frantically beating while he didn't seem to be able to breathe properly. His eyes were staring blankly out into the living room, seeing but not fully comprehending. His mind was still two hours ago when he saw his girlfriend pull out a wand and use magic. No, not a card trick or some creative disappearing act; she cast an honest to God spell right in front of his eyes. But that wasn't even the end of it; her friends all possessed this same…ability (he didn't know what to call it), people were appearing out of thin air, and there was a cauldron bubbling on the fireplace!

The first person to appear right into the house was a gentle, loving looking woman who had instantly grabbed James, Sirius, and Ursula into a bone crushing hug, kissing each other their heads multiple times, thankful that her babies were alright. The man who appeared right behind her placed his hand on each other the children's backs before walking into the kitchen. Now Mrs. Potter (Pat assumed it was James's mother – they had the same eyes) sat with James and Sirius on either side of her, crushing them to her side. Pat would have thought they would have protested but it seemed at that they understood that their mother needed to know they were safe.

Off to a different side of the living room, a blonde woman stood next to the doctor who was treating Ben's broken ribs. Ursula stood at Ben's side, holding his hand, wincing slightly every time he squeezed in pain when one of the ribs snapped back into place. From where he was in the room, Pat couldn't hear their conversation but he could see the tears in Mrs. White's eyes as she tried to keep her emotions under control for the sake of her son. He knew that she had just lost her daughter just about a year ago so Pat figured that the fear of almost losing her only living child was too much on her.

Remus was sitting on an adjacent sofa to Pat, his mother fussing over every scratch and bump on her son. She alternated between scolding him for being so foolishly reckless and praising him for being so wonderfully brave and saving the children. Nearby, Peter's mother was also fussing over her son, checking him over for every scratch, bump, and bruise.

There was only one person noticeably missing; Elyse. He hadn't seen her yet and he felt his heart twist painfully at that thought. He needed to see her. He needed to make sure she was safe and unhurt. It was driving him mad, not knowing. He also had to speak to her,

"Are you alright?" Remus asked.

Pat's head snapped over to him and was about to answer when Peter snorted and rolled his eyes, "Of course he isn't." he said bitingly. "He knows about us so we're going to have to take care of that and I know that isn't the most pleasant thing."

Pat paled and started shaking, "Woot's gonna 'appen ter me? Where's Elyse? Woot's goin' on?!"

"You know about magic, you know what we can do. What do you think is going to happen? That we're just going to let you walk around knowing?"

Seeing Pat's reaction, Remus glared at Peter. "Wormy, why don't you go talk to James?"

Peter shook his head and leaned back against the sofa, getting comfortable, "Nah, I'm comfy here."

Remus's eyes narrowed, "Peter, take the hint and get out of here."

Grumbling, Peter did as he was told. Once he was gone, Remus turned his attention back to Pat. "Sorry about him, he's not normally like this. We think the Dementors had an effect on him."

"Teh woot?" Pat asked.

"They guard the wizard prison Azkaban. They're cloaked figures that suck the happiness out of everyone and can cause you to relive your worst memories. If one lifts its hood, it can suck out your soul."

Considerably paler than he was before he questioned, "Why're they here?"

And so Remus explained everything. From Lord Voldemort, to Hogwarts, the Minister for Magic, the Death Eaters, and the Aurors, he told Pat everything. Throughout the entire explanation, Pat could only sit and try to understand.

He only had one question when Remus finished.

"Why're yeh tellin' me this?"

Remus sighed and looked at Pat sadly, "Because in all honesty, any moment an adult from the Ministry is going to come and modify your memory to fit the story we've created to explain the deaths."

Pat, aghast, asked, "Yer gonna do that? That's horrible!"

Remus nodded solemnly, "They've already done it before here. I'm sorry."

"Woot do yeh mean before?"

"Remember three Christmases ago? When the train came off the railing and crashed down the center of town? It was a similar attack. Elyse used underage magic which alerted the ministry and they came in to save as many as possible."

"Yer lyin'." Pat said desperately. "Yer lyin because I saw teh victims! Me best friend died!"

Remus hung his head lowly, a bit of shame but mostly pity clear in his eyes when he looked up. "I'm sorry Pat but just think about it a moment. A train went down the middle of this town and not a single building was knocked down? The people who died without a scratch on them? Everyone's memory was altered."

"But I remember…"

"You remember what we want you to remember." He explained gently, trying not to send Pat into the panic attack he was clearly on the verge of.

Pat shook his head, "I need ter see Elyse." He went to stand up but Remus gently pushed him back down.

"I don't think that's a good idea right now."

Pat shoved Remus's hand away. "Don't tell me woot yeh think's a good idea right now! I need ter go talk ter Elyse right this bloody second!

"Woot's goin' on over there?" Elyse questioned, hearing Pat's shouting.

He sprung up to his seats and grabbed Elyse into bone crushing hug. "Yeh beautiful, beautiful lass! I don't care if yeh's a witch! I don't bloody care aboot woot they're gonna do ter me because I won't tell 'em! Yer mine 'n I can't imagine a day goin' by witoot yeh. Woot ever I need ter do, I'll do to keep me memories because I don't want ter forget a thing aboot teh girl I love."

Elyse stared up at Pat in shock, her green eyes wide. She gently cupped her face. "Do yeh mean that?"

He nodded solemnly and grabbed her hands in his and kissed the back of them. "I love yeh Elyse Catherine O'Brian."

She wasn't able to respond before Pat suddenly glared fiercely at someone standing behind her. Jay White didn't falter at the harsh gaze. Instead, he actually started to laugh. "I guess that settles that." With that, he turned and walked over towards his shell shocked son and wife.

"Um…Dad?" Ben questioned as he watched Elyse pull Pat out of the house to speak to him privately. "You do know that he knows, right?"

Mr. White nodded, "I am aware. Elyse informed me of some future events where his knowledge of magic would be advantageous for all of us."

"You're not going to obliviate him?" Ursula queried, shock evident in her voice.

"I was doubtful at first but hearing her reasoning and the information she offered, then to see his declaration of love, it is no longer a question."

"What could Elyse have possibly seen?" Mrs. White questioned.

Mr. White looked at the teens and debated saying anything. They stared at him inquisitively but he simply shook his head, "This future could possibly involve both of you. It's best you don't know."

"I understand." Ben nodded, agreeing with his father. He knew what knowledge of the future could do and what you tried to expect from it. He has spent many months furious at Elyse for not telling him about the vision of his sister's death. She had obviously known about it and yet had done nothing. But the more he thought about it, the worse the idea seemed. At first, he thought he would have had time to prepare himself for losing the only sibling he had. He would have spent more time with her and he would have cherished every moment. But after a while, he began to realize that knowing would have made it worse. Every moment would be tainted with that knowledge and he would tear himself apart trying to figure out how to save her only to undoubtedly fail in the end. He could only imagine what Elyse had to deal with on a daily basis and he was no longer envious of her ability.

"Well I don't. It was Elyse telling us of the invasion that was about to happen that let us know what to do to make the vision come true. Future knowledge is helpful." Ursula argued.

"I do concede that the death toll today would have been much lower if all the villages targeted had had at least some warning time." Mr. White recognized.

"Other villages?" Ben inquired, a tinge horrified at the implied statement.

Mr. White suddenly no longer looked like a concerned father or friend; he morphed into the weary and burdened Minister. "Six other villages all over the Isles were attacked at the same time. All of them had at least one muggle born witch or wizard residing there. At the last report I received, almost seven hundred are dead or severely injured."

Ben saw something in his father's eyes that made uneasy. "Dad…was it any one I know?"

"The preliminary reports seem to indicate that the intended targets were Hogwarts students."

"Who?" Ursula demanded of the Minister.

"No one was killed, although a Ravenclaw sixth year lost both of his legs and one student lost both of his parents. I cannot give any names but I will say that Gryffindor Tower will stay at the same capacity upon your return in a week."

Ursula practically fell against the wall and she let her head fall back. "Thank God," she muttered, her eyes closed. Images of her beloved roommates and their families flashed to the forefront of her brain. Ben placed his arm around her and pulled her against him. She didn't resist, her head coming to rest at the crook of his neck. He kissed the top of her head and rubbed her back comfortingly.

Ben's parents shared a look. It appeared that their son had finally gathered the courage to properly apologize to Ursula. It was about darn time.

A very loud crash ruined the moment. Peter had run into the coffee table and was grabbing his shin as he rolled on the ground in pain. Ursula disentangled herself from Ben and rolled her eyes. "I'll go make sure he doesn't amputate his leg trying to heal it." She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and smiled at his parents before going over to Peter.

"I see you've finally fixed things with that girl," Mrs. White teased her son. "It was about time."

Ben flushed under his parent's amused and I-told-you-so faces. "Aw, come on Mom." Ben was thankfully saved from any further teasing when an Auror walked over and requested that the Minister join him and the other Aurors for an update.

"Saved by the bell," Ben muttered to himself when he saw his parents walking away. He didn't notice Peter's furious glare on his back as Ben went to greet the just apparated in Gideon and Fabian.

Ursula noticed his sour look (just not who it was directed to) and tried to change that. "I don't think that I properly thanked you for earlier."

Peter jumped and flushed a brilliant red, "For what?"

"Your patronus. If you hadn't warded off those Dementors it would've been too much for the rest of us. You probably saved at least one of our lives today. So thank you." She looked up from healing his leg for a moment to smile gratefully at him.

"Y-y-you're welcome."

There was a lull in the conversation so Ursula randomly asked, "So how are things going with Claire?"

Peter shrugged and looked away from her. "I think I'm going to break up with her."

Ursula frowned, "Why? I like Claire; she's good for you."

He shook his head vehemently. "I don't care for her that way. Th—th—there's someone...I think there's someone else better for me."

Her eyebrows shot up in surprise. She never really saw Peter converse with people of the opposite sex often. Who could it possibly be? "Really? Who?"

Peter flushed and shook his head but Ursula continued to press the issue, "Do I know her? Is she in our House? Older? Younger?"

"It's no one." That's a lie. Peter thought to himself. You're everything but no one.

Ursula, realizing that Peter was not going to give her any more information, conceded and continued working on his leg. She did have one last thing to add, however. "For what it's worth, I think whoever it is, she is lucky to date you. You're a great guy Peter. But if you are going to pursue this other girl, Claire deserves a clean break; she's a really nice person and is very kind."

"I know. I know," he agreed. He could only fake it for so long. He had been losing feelings for Claire for a while now. Ever since the incident a few months ago where Ursula almost died…Peter couldn't remember ever feeling such terror. There was only one person in the world for him and it wasn't the Hufflepuff. It was the girl hovering over his leg fixing it. The only thing that stood in his way was standing a little farther off to the side standing with Sirius and James. Peter smiled ruefully, James and Sirius were going to Ben into the next millennium. Only, that wasn't the case. To his horror and disgust, Ben made a comment that sent the other pair into a fit of laughter. Sirius clapped Ben's shoulder affectionately and James retorted, all the while smiling amicably.

This was not good. This was not good at all.

Back at Hogwarts, the news quickly traveled across the houses and up and down the years. A Ravenclaw seventh year named Geoffrey Davies would not be returning for at least another month. His brother, Thomas, a third year Gryffindor, explained to his house. His brother, who had been accepted to begin the Auror program in the fall after receiving his NEWT scores, had taken an 'active defense' against the Death Eaters when they attacked their hometown in northern Scotland. The Death Eaters quickly labeled him as their main target and he was soon overpowered by six of them. They decided to torture Geoffrey and his parents as they made his mother and father watch as they joint by joint cut off their son's legs while he was still conscious. The Aurors soon showed up and either killed or captured the remaining Death Eaters (the ones who didn't immediately apparate out) but it was too late to save his legs. The right was gone from his hip joint down while the other was just below the knees.

Davies had been the captain of the Ravenclaw Quidditch Team. James respected the man. When the Gryffindor team had been down Ursula, Sirius, and James right after the accident, Davies offered to play the game with matching numbers and player positions. While James ordered Elyse, at the time the acting captain, to refuse the offer, Davies respected the Gryffindors enough to push his team to not hold back against the crippled team, the matter of the Lion's pride on the line.

Later that night, Ursula and Elyse walked into their dorm only to freeze in shock. Bubbly, crazy Alice, who normally put her long hair in wacky and crazy styles, now had a short pixie cut, the top of her hair barely touching her ears.

"Hello, Ursula! Hello, Elyse!" She bubbly greeted them. "Do you like the new 'do?"

"Woot 'append ter yer beautiful hair?" Elyse asked in shock as she walked over to Alice and ruffled her extremely short hair.

Alice laughed, "I was just telling Marlene! The Death Eaters attacked my town and some creeps in robes burst into my house when I was doing my hair. The arse set it on fire but I just grabbed my wand and cut off the burning part! So tada! What do you think?" She spun in a circle, showing off her new short locks.

Ursula shook her head in shock and then quickly gathered herself together, "Wait a second, where did you throw the burning hair?"

Alice flushed and Marlene started laughing. "That ditz over there threw it on the ground." Marlene said between laughs. "She burnt her house to the ground."

"Oh, Alice, I'm so sorry," Elyse said as she gathered her friend into a hug.

"It's not that bad. We didn't have much there yet because we just moved in at the start of break; Mom and Dad wanted a bigger house. So we just moved again."

"Tell them the best part," Marlene added with a sly smirk.

Alice flushed pink and muttered something about neighbors.

"What was that?" Ursula asked, jokingly cupping her hand behind her ears. "I'm a bit hard of hearing."

"My new neighbor is Frank Longbottom."

Ursula and Elyse joined Marlene laughing. The trio started laughing harder as Alice turned redder and redder. It was then that Ursula realized that Lily was not in her usual spot on her bed.

"Guys, where's Lily?"

The question was answered when the door swung open and Lily shuffled through the door and face planted on her bed. The four girls shared a look of confusion before Ursula walked over and placed a hand on Lily's shoulder, "Lily?"

It took a moment for Lily to respond but when she did, it was directly into the comforter so no one was able to hear her.

"Lily, you're going to have to speak up."

When Lily lifted her head, they were all shocked to see her beautiful green eyes were dull and rimmed with red. "Gabe and I broke up."

"Oh, Lily," Ursula laid down on the bed next to Lily, wrapping her arms around the red head.

"Do you want me to go kill him?" Marlene asked. "Just say you want me to kill him and I'll kill him."

Lily laughed for a moment through her tears. "That won't be necessary. I broke up with him."

By now, all three girls were laying on Lily's bed, each offering their silent comfort.

"If yeh don't mind me askin', why?" Elyse questioned.

Lily hiccupped as she tried to hold back another sob. "He's perfect. He's exactly what I thought would make me happy; he's kind, smart, funny, sweet, and just so perfect to me." She paused a moment as she tried to hold back more tears. "I hated it." She admitted softly. "It was maddening."

"It'll be alright, Lily," Elyse comforted her. "Yeh'll git yer perfect man. I've got a feelin' he's right under yeh's nose."

Lily smiled slightly at those words, knowing that this feeling wouldn't last forever. She sat up slightly and looked at the other girls, "Enough about me! What about you guys? Ursula, any news with…you know?" Lily's gaze flickered down to the gold necklace hanging from her neck.

Ursula smiled softly and reached up to touch piece of jewelry. "Ben and I are back together."

Lily's eyes widened and she gathered Ursula in a hug, "Oh, congratulations! That's wonderful news!" Elyse started laughing and the two stopped embracing only to see Marlene and Alice staring at Ursula with wide, unbelieving eyes. Ursula realized her slip and swore under her breath.

"Back?"

"Together?"

"AGAIN?" They screeched together.

Ursula winced, at the nonhuman shriek they somehow managed to produce and at her own stupidity for forgetting to tell her roommates about her relationship with Ben.

"Yeah, we dated last year for a little bit." She admitted, nervously rubbing the back of her neck.

Alice leaned forward and painfully slapped Ursula on the arm. "Why did you tell us?" Alice slapped her again. "You should have told us!" Slap. "Why did you break up?" Another slap. "Why did you get back together?" She was just about to slap her again when Lily reached forward and stopped the over enthusiastic girl from causing actual harm to Ursula.

Just when Ursula thought she was safe, another slap, this time from Marlene hit the other arm. "More importantly, is he a good kisser?" She asked with a sly smirk on her face.

"Marlene!" Ursula admonished, feeling her face slowly start to heat up.

Marlene shrugged nonchalantly, "What, it's a legitimate question. Besides, you owe us all the juicy details for not telling us about you dating the Prince of Gryffindor."

Ursula raised an eyebrow, "Prince of Gryffindor?"

Alice waved her hand, dismissing the question. "Never mind. From the beginning. Details. Spill. Now." She commanded.

Ursula groaned but couldn't stop the smile that spread across her face. "It started last school year after the Slytherin Quidditch game. His brother-in-law told him how to get up there and when they couldn't find me, he stole James's broom to fly up there." She paused as she remembered her yelling at him that 'Whites don't fancy Blacks' before the one memory that would forever be seared in her mind, "That was where we first kissed. We decided to keep our relationship a secret…"

The entire story fell from Ursula's lips. For the most part, Alice and Marlene were the most shocked but occasionally Ursula said something that surprised even Lily or Elyse. Ursula normally wouldn't have been so open with anyone but she had lived with these girls for five years and she would trust them with her life. They were always open with her so it was high time she return the favor.

Later that night, after they had all decided to go to bed, Ursula was just about to fall asleep when Elyse hissed from her bed, "psst, Ursula? Yeh awake?"

"Mhm," Ursula muttered back.

"Do yeh think yer in love wit Ben?"

Ursula sat straight up at the question, "What?"

Elyse repeated her question. "Do yeh think yer in love wit Ben?"

"I don't think so. We're only sixteen. We're too young to know what real love is. I mean, I haven't really had the best role models for love, or any emotion at all, growing up. But I think I could be able to one day love someone like how the Potters love each other."

"It's stupid that yeh say that. Yeh've teh most capacity ter love, yeh love wit all yer heart. Yeh aren't afraid ter tell people how yeh feel because yeh live in teh moment."

Ursula was now concerned. There was something off in Elyse's voice. "What's this about because it certainly isn't about me."

Elyse was silent a moment before she meekly admitted, "I think I'm in love wit Pat."

"Elyse, that's wonderful!" Ursula said, not understanding why it sounded like Elyse was about to burst into tears. "What's wrong with that?"

"I can't love him. I just can't." She took a shuddering breath, "I don't think he's mine ter love."

"Damn your visions or whatever you're assuming from them!" Ursula said forcefully. "We almost died a week ago and Pat almost did too. I don't care if you think you aren't married to him in the future and you have two kids and have a nice little house with a white picket fence. You aren't there yet. If you love him, right now, in this moment, with everything the way it is, just let it be."

"I don't know if I kin do that." Elyse admitted softly.

"Elyse, take it from someone who is terrified of feeling love and feels like she doesn't deserve it, if you love someone and they love you back, sometimes you need to throw caution and logic to the wind and just let yourself live your life."

"I know," Elyse admitted. "It's just…" she struggled to find the words she wanted.

Ursula understood and nodded, "I know too. Just get some sleep tonight and think on it. You don't have to do anything today."

"Alright. Goodnight, Muse."

"'Night, Lucky."

With that, Ursula laid back down on her bed and nestled into her blankets. Within minutes, she was asleep. The same could not be said for Elyse, who simply stared at the canopy over her bed, her mind too jumbled and confused to sleep. Sighing in defeat, Elyse rolled over and grabbed her journal and her colored quills and went to work documenting some of her most recent visions. It was going to be a long night, she thought when the first figure she drew was Lord Voldemort standing over James's body.