This is where it gets a little scary for me. I can't begin to tell you how anxious I've been over this chapter. I (hopefully) addressed a majority of your concerns at the end, and please, I would really appreciate some feedback. Con-crit is always welcome.

(Re-beta'ed by Dances With Vampires)

Chapter 6: The Painful Truth

Harry looked around his room. Everything was packed, and the anticipation of seeing Sirius and his friends again swelled inside him like a giant balloon. It was all so close. He lay back on his pillow and smiled. In a few more days, everything would be right.

-.-.-

Lucius caught Eliza under her arms as she fell forward. "Are you going to be sick again?"

The nausea wasn't as bad as her previous "trips", and she shook her head, not daring to speak in case she was wrong. He held her upright as long as it took to steady herself and regain her balance.

Looking around, they had arrived in a grand marble foyer. There was an enormous ornate fireplace framed by a marble staircase to the upper levels. Above was a huge chandelier, and she far from envied the poor soul responsible for keeping it clean. It was the only decoration other than the carved pillars, and the floor-length curtains which lined the spaces between the pillars along the walls.

Lucius waited at the foot of the stairs, hand held out to her. She ignored him and started up.

"By all means, if you know where you are going," Lucius commented, amused, freezing Eliza to the spot. She chewed the inside of her lip as she went back down and reluctantly took his arm.

As they walked, he spoke to her quietly. "You are to address him as Sir or Lord. You speak only when spoken to. You keep your answers short and direct, you do not lie. If he asks you to do something, you do it. The Dark Lord is not a patient man, do not bore him."

She would never be able to find her way around the labyrinth she was in. Lucius led with such ease she wondered how much time he spent here. It was fairly empty, but as they moved closer to their destination men in masks appeared at intervals like guards, standing at attention. She spared a glance at Lucius, only to find that he was wearing a mask of similar design that she couldn't remember him putting on. The portraits along the walls followed them with keen interest, whispering to each other and pointing. They finally stopped at a pair of large double doors flanked by masked men, and Lucius knocked once. Eliza took a deep breath.

"Don't do anything stupid and you may just survive this night," he whispered in her ear.

Eliza tried to swallow the knot back down her throat as the doors slowly opened.

-.-.-

Sirius had been lying at the foot of the bed. Now he barked and jumped around excitedly as Troy put himself between the painting and his sister, staring at it in horror. "It's a trick, it's a telly-" he tried to reason.

"When have you ever seen a telly that thin?" Maddie shrieked. Someone pounded at the door.

Troy closed his eyes, trying to block out all the noise. "Quiet! Sit! - Sit! - Oh, you stupid dog. . .!" he barked back at the dog still bouncing around the room.

The dog stopped and stared at them. In a matter of moments, it transformed to a fully-grown man in dusty black robes. Maddie screamed again, followed by a thump as she collapsed.

Troy stood catatonic in shock, staring at the face he recognized from the news two years ago.

"This is just me, but I think 'stupid dog' is a little unfair." Sirius smiled.

Troy followed his sister's suit, knocking his head on the bedside table as he went down. Sirius winced, and suppressed a chuckle at his mischief managed before opening the door. Tonks, in "Claire" form, was the first in.

"What in the name of Mer-. . .? Oh, please tell me you didn't," she wailed at her cousin as she rushed to check on the visitors.

"He called me a stupid dog," Sirius argued. "It wasn't my fault Grandpa Phineas couldn't keep his mouth shut. He started it," he mumbled in a childlike fashion.

The painting behind him snorted. "If you want to get technical, it was Angie Austin - I did warn you she wasn't up to-"

"Would you both shut up?" Alastor Moody snapped. "Hermione should be here any-"

A crack announced Remus's return with the young witch. Hermione took one look at Sirius and moaned. "Oh, Sirius - please tell me you didn't-"

"Why does everyone always assume I'm the one at fault?"

"Given your history, it tends to save time," Arthur replied with a chuckle, picking up Maddie and carrying her down the stairs whilst Tonks used magic to float Troy down. "You've been going mad over the past two weeks they've been here."

"Well, it is my house," Sirius growled, following the procession and wincing as the screams and shrieks of 'Blood traitors!' floated up.

Downstairs, Molly quickly cleared the couches. "Dumbledore will be here as soon as he finishes with the Ministry. . .oh, the poor lambs. What happened?"

"Sirius."

"It was not me! The paintings couldn't keep their mouths shut, the two of them panicked, and I made an executive decision to scare the living daylights out of them before they did themselves some real damage," Sirius said defiantly.

"Was that before or after he called you a stupid mutt?" Remus asked, trying not to smile at the risk of angering Molly.

"Well. . .I won't lie, that did help my decision. I had planned on just nipping them, but this seemed more appropriate after that comment. At least they aren't screaming anymore and I can concentrate on shutting up dear old Mummy."

-.-.-

The door creaked as a short, pudgy man opened it. Needless to say, he was far from pleasant to look at. He had a mousy, pointed face; he held out a hand, inviting them in, and she noticed it looked as though it were solid silver. But it moved as a normal flesh hand would, rather, like it had been dipped in paint.

"Leave us," Lucius ordered the small man, and he quickly bowed out, closing the door behind him. Lucius vanished the mask and led her into the room. Before them was a long table which would easily sit a few dozen. Beyond the table were some plush high-backed seats facing a roaring fire, which seemed to be the only source of light.

"Don't be shy. Come in."

The blood in her veins froze as she recognised the voice. Lucius let go of her arm and took his place by the door.

Eliza took a few deep breaths, building the courage to move forward. She could swear her heartbeat was louder than the snaps and pops of the wood in the fire. She glanced back at Lucius, who barely nodded for her to continue. She stopped short of the table, wringing her hands.

"What a lovely scent of fear." The voice came from one of the chairs. "I see that you have learned some restraint since we last spoke."

Eliza concentrated on her breathing. In, and out. . .in, and out. She could feel small beads of sweat forming on her brow. The 'Dark Lord' was out of his seat in one fluid movement, graceful. She fought the urge to bolt to the door.

"How very lovely you are," he complemented as he approached. "Lucius, you have outdone yourself."

"Thank you, My Lord." Lucius bowed behind her back at the door.

He held out a hand, which she couldn't help but hesitate to accept. His cold lipless mouth kissed it, and she stopped herself from yanking it back, her body shaking with strain.

"I'm so pleased you agreed to join me this evening." He smiled, leading her down the table and pulling out a chair for her. She took her seat, fighting back tears, forcing her breathing to be steady, and clenching her fists so hard she pierced her palms with her nails. He made his way to the other end, taking his seat with a flourish. Eliza glanced around and her eyes fell upon an enormous snake, curled up like some giant reptilian dog before the fire, watching her with piercing yellow eyes. She was certain it could swallow her without a struggle. She closed her eyes, forcing herself to look away as an icy finger ran down her back. "Don't mind Nagini," he said. "She will not attack without my consent." It was only mildly comforting.

"Now, we were not properly introduced last time," he said politely. "I am Lord Voldemort, and you are?"

"You know very well who I am," she replied tightly to her plate.

"Speak up, girl, it is not polite to mumble." The politeness was gone, replaced with unforgiving sharpness.

"You know who I am," she said louder.

"Eliza, dear, I don't know what the Muggles have taught you, but here this is called conversation, and it is considered polite to answer." The tightness in his voice was enough to tell her all things would be on his terms, and right now he apparently wanted to pretend there was something civilised going on.

"Doctor Eliza Raveien," she answered, defeated and humiliated.

"It's a pleasure." He smiled and inclined his head to her. The politeness was back. She didn't know which scared her more.

"Likewise," she replied stiffly, playing his game. She glanced at Lucius who gave nothing away. She was on her own now.

Unexpectedly, Voldemort laughed. Eliza was thrown off-kilter. She couldn't help but feel as though the ground was crumbling away underfoot.

"How much like your father you are," he sobered. "Come, tell me - have you learned anything more of him since last we met?"

"No," she said uneasily.

"No? You weren't curious?" he asked, intrigued.

"Curious about what? I know all I need to know."

"You weren't at all curious about how we knew each other?" He sounded almost disappointed.

"You expect me to believe lies?"

This time Lucius had a small laugh.

"Why would I lie, Eliza?" Voldemort asked, amused. "I don't need to lie, not when the truth is so much more. . .scandalous." He smiled at her. "But now, dinner." He clapped his hands, and soup filled the bowls before them. "Please, do eat, it really is quite delicious," he offered, taking a spoonful.

Eliza eyeballed it before taking a hesitant sip. It was true - it really was good. But she didn't trust it. Not daring to push her bowl away, she made a small show of it being too hot.

"Tell me about your work."

"What would you like to know?" she asked slightly defensively, taking barely another sip of the soup.

"Anything really. Why do you do it, what satisfaction do you get, does death excite you?" He seemed genuinely interested, but not the type of interested you get from a ten-year-old boy whose macabre mind is fascinated by anything gross or taboo. It wasn't her work he was interested in, it was the effect.

"No, it doesn't," she said flatly. "I do it because someone has to, and I just happen to do it well."

"Is it satisfying?"

"Quite, when we catch the bastards." Her feigned politeness didn't match her harsh words.

Voldemort's mouth twitched in a smile. "You must be quite frustrated then, by these unexplainable deaths around the country."

"I have a fair idea of the cause." For the first time, she made eye contact.

"Would you like to see how it's done?" he asked. "Someone of your field of knowledge certainly would be curious to know more?"

She'd gotten a fair idea of what to expect of him to know what he was really asking. Say yes, and he would bring someone in to kill in front of her. Say no, and he would probably do the same.

"I have no taste for death." A part of her wanted to know so badly, though.

"You surround yourself with death, and yet you claim to have no taste for it?"

"Everyone dies. It's a fact of life."

"For most, maybe." He took a drink, and made a motion to Lucius who left the room. "What fate would you ask for the one who killed your brother?"

Lucius returned, leading in a man. Voldemort had his wand on the table next to his plate, as though it were cutlery.

"He didn't kill him," she replied.

"It was his wand that dealt the killing blow. Surely you want vengeance?"

She felt like she was a frog being dissected for a science project, cut just to see if she would bleed. "He did so, no doubt, under your orders." She could feel her pulse beginning to race, and she wasn't sure it was completely due to panic.

"True, but the method was of his own choosing. He could have chosen a quick death for him, but instead decided to be… creative." It was hard for her not to ask Voldemort to kill him. Hell, at this point she wanted to do it herself. "He will die tonight. My gift to you is to choose how."

The man looked at her, fear in his eyes, but said nothing.

"And if I refuse?" she asked.

"Then I shall torture him until he finds a way to take his own life. You know what I can do. It could last a few days, but he will eventually die." The snake moved closer to the man, coiling around his feet. Lucius let go of him and went back to his post at the door. "However, Nagini is hungry, and she might not appreciate the delay for her dinner."

Eliza took a deep breath, resigning herself to what she was about to witness and condemn this man to. "Make it quick."

"Are you sure?" Voldemort was disappointed. "Very well." He picked his wand up off the table. She spared a glance at Lucius, and the message he gave her was clear: Don't look away. "Avada Kedavra!"

Eliza shielded her eyes from the bright green light exploding from his wand. The light vanished and the man was dead on the floor, his expression frozen. She'd seen enough of these cases.

Nagini dislocated her jaw and began to swallow the body whole.

Eliza looked away. She wished she never knew. True enough, it was a seemingly quick death, but she had never chosen someone's fate.

"I see that you don't share your father's appreciation."

"I can appreciate it, I just don't appreciate being made to judge the method of execution."

Nagini vanished through a half-open door, no doubt to digest her meal. Eliza pushed her plate away, her appetite well and truly gone.

Voldemort looked satisfied. He rose and made his way down the table to her again, holding out his hand to help her out of her seat. She reluctantly accepted, and he led her to one of the high-backed chairs by the fire.

-.-.-

Sirius finally settled his mother's portrait back to silence. The Raveien children were still out cold as the discussion mounted about what to do, and whether or not to go down the same road as they had with their sister.

"Tonks!" a painting shouted, panting as though it had been running for a long time. "She's gone, Lu-Lucius has taken her." She held onto the frame for support.

Tonks cursed under her breath, and Remus put an arm around her. "Of all the bloody times. . ."

"I'll go with you," Alastor said very seriously. "These two have been through enough before meeting me; I'm sure Sirius and Dumbledore will prove to be more than enough for one evening."

"Hermione," Tonks said, "if they come 'round before the Headmaster gets here, try and keep them calm. He shouldn't be too much longer," she prayed, glancing at the clock. "He can decide the best course of action for them. . .And tell him Eliza's missing."

"Best not to tell them, though," Sirius added, making his way through the kitchen - out of sight for when they came around.

"I'll have Ron wait with me," Hermione assured. "You guys should go."

-.-.-

Maddie was the first, and had to be rugby-tackled to the floor to stop her from bolting out of the house. Fred and George watched with great interest and negotiated between themselves on snacks.

"Get off me, you freaks!"

Ron panted as he tried to keep her from clawing his eyes out. "Please, Hermione, can they stun her already!"

"No, Ron," Hermione struggled. "Maddie, please, we'll explain everything. Just calm down before you hurt yourself-"

"Help!" Maddie screamed at the top of her lungs. "Murder!" The glass panes in the display cupboards erupted, sending shards flying everywhere.

Ron's ears ached from all of her shouting and screaming, so he decided to do some shouting back. "What's the bloody matter with you? No one's killing you here! Hermione, are most Muggles this unreasonable?"

"Mudblood filth! Blood traitors!"

"Oh, well, that's just great," Ron growled. "You two," he said impatiently to his brothers, "stop staring and get over here!"

"She's just scared-" Hermione protested

"Get the fuck off me! I swear to God I will gut you, you bastard!" A wooden chair behind them exploded, narrowly missing them.

"I think it's safe to say she's moved from fear to anger and violence, Hermione!"

"Fine! Fred, George?"

"Aw, but this was getting really good. . ."

"Sometime before I lose an eye!" Ron shouted at them.

"Hold your hippogriffs. . .Somonous!" one of the twins cast, but the spell missed, hitting Ron instead who collapsed limply on top of Maddie in a deep sleep. It took a moment for all to realise what had happened.

"Oops," Fred chuckled.

Hermione scrambled to her feet to block the door.

"Help me!" she demanded, dancing around to block Maddie's way. Maddie's fist collided with her eye.

"Somonous!" The spell hit Maddie in the back. Hermione supported herself exhaustedly against the staircase railing, her eye quickly turning a lovely shade of purple.

"Oooh, that's a nice one." Sirius brought over a steak and placed a cooling charm on it before handing it to Hermione.

"When Troy comes to, you handle him." Hermione angrily marched up the stairs to Ginny's and her room. If it hadn't been for Sirius transforming in front of them, she was quite sure their reactions wouldn't have been anywhere near as bad as they were.

Molly appeared, missing Maddie's body by mere millimetres. "Sorry I took so long to find the potion - what happened here?" she asked aghast, as her eyes fell on Ron curled on the carpet, sucking his thumb.

"Maddie came to. Hermione didn't want to spell her, and got a shiner for her trouble." Sirius smiled broadly, whilst the twins poked their brother with their wands.

-.-.-

"You have so much of him in you, and yet you pale against him." Voldemort took a seat opposite Eliza. "I met your father while he was still at school. He had an amazing aptitude for spells; of course, that was to be expected - he came from a long line of powerful wizards."

"He wasn't one of you," Eliza said coldly. "He was a doctor, he wasn't a wizard."

Voldemort raised his hand to silence her. "Listen. For the first time in your life, you are being told the truth. Now - I, of course, wasn't about to let someone almost as talented as me slip by. So I helped mould him. And he was perfect in every way; he never questioned an order, or second-guessed a target. He was loyal to a fault. That is, of course, until he met your mother - she was another fine specimen, good strong bloodlines, incredibly intelligent and talented." Eliza couldn't help but think that none of those words in any way described her mother. "I was happy to let the pairing stay. After all, one could only hope for children from such a lineage."

"You make it sound like dog breeding," Eliza commented bitterly.

"Magic is all about breeding," Voldemort informed her. "But your mother. . .she couldn't leave well enough alone, couldn't be thankful that she had every luxury available to her. She thought herself quite the revolutionist, she talked of unity and acceptance of Mudbloods and Half-Breeds. She got into your father and spread like a cancer. So I did what I had to."

Eliza couldn't understand why she was hanging onto his every word as though it was gospel. This was completely insane: her mother was a teacher, her father a paediatrician. Surely her and her brothers would have known if they were hiding some dark secret.

"I ordered him to kill her," Voldemort said lightly. "Three of you had already been born, and even if your mother was a lost cause the line would still be continued. What I didn't realise was how deeply she had sunk her claws into him. He did the thing no self-respecting wizard would ever do - he forsook magic, apparently removing all memory of it from your mother, and hid in the Muggle world. He cast a spell on your family home, blocking all magic from those within, thinking it would keep you safe, keep me from detecting you." Eliza kept repeating how insane this was in her mind. "He did before I ever caught up with him, a small mercy on his part." Eliza didn't believe a word of it. "Ever notice how when you feel particularly emotional, things just. . .happen? Something explodes, something you are desperately trying to find appears?" He motioned to Lucius, who then approached holding a long wooden box; he handed it to Voldemort. "I was able to recover these." Inside were two wands cushioned in velvet. "Your parents' wands," he presented. "In most cases the wand will choose the wizard. However, wands of family members - though not as loyal - will work the same. If you don't believe me, take one. They won't do anything if you aren't a witch."

"Why do you care if I am one?" Part of her wanted to reach out and take it, if only to prove him wrong. But another part held her back. What if he wasn't?

"As I said, breeding is everything." He held out one of the wands.

Eliza hesitantly reached to take it, not entirely certain as to what to do with it. Lucius watched her as closely as Voldemort. Her hand finally closed around it, and a wave of relief washed over her - nothing happened. She sat back in her chair, flicking the wand slightly as her hand relaxed, and red sparks shot out of the end. Startled, she dropped it and jumped to her feet. Both Lucius and Voldemort smiled wickedly.

"No, no. . .that doesn't mean anything, it can't." She panicked, her heart racing, backing away from the wand as though it were a vicious animal. "No, I'm a doctor, I - no!"

Her whole life was unravelling before her, slipping through her fingers. She felt ill. Her life was a lie. What he was telling her had to be true. She struggled to breathe. The enormous room felt very small, her head felt stricken with a migraine. This couldn't be happening. It wasn't happening. Her head pounded with a spinning pain unlike anything she had ever felt. She supported herself against the arm of the chair.

The last thing she saw as her world spun was Lucius rushing to her. She didn't feel the thud as she landed. Her world went black.

-.-.-

Professor Dumbledore arrived not long after Troy came to and made a good effort to strangle Sirius, who was rescued by Molly.

Battle-weary, Ron, Hermione, the twins, Sirius, and Molly sat in the kitchen explaining to Albus what had happened.

"Could we just Obliviate them and have it done with? They're Muggles, and while yes I'm sure that they will stumble on something again, that's the wonderful thing about the spell - it's repeatable," Sirius said irritably, rubbing his throat.

"That's the problem, isn't it?" Hermione replied, as Molly carefully applied a healing salve to her eye. "They aren't."

"What are you on about?"

"They aren't Muggles. The glass, the chair-"

"That could have been either of us, we were both under a lot of strain!" Ron didn't mean to snap at Hermione, especially given that she clearly hadn't escaped unscathed. "Actually, it was probably me seeing as I was the one holding her down while she tried to destroy my eardrums and rip my throat out. How did you miss her, anyway? She was less than a foot away from you." He demanded of Fred.

"You were on top of her," George pointed out.

"Hermione is right - they are not Muggles," Dumbledore continued, ignoring the latest little spat. From somewhere within his robes he pulled two flasks. "Molly, would you be so kind as to make the children some tea and add a few drops of these to it? And maybe add some brandy as well - I think they'll need that." He then summoned an ornate carved box. "Hermione and Ron, would you please accompany me? Maddie will have more questions than even I can answer alone."

-.-.-

The professor's suspicions had been well-founded. Maddie took the news in stride, and after repeatedly apologising to Ron and Hermione she spent the evening and part of the morning in the kitchen spilling out questions.

Troy, however, had been moved outside. Cut logs filled the yard as Dumbledore graciously summoned more wood to be split whilst Troy attempted to come to terms with being a wizard. (Molly stood by the kitchen window, watching anxiously as the hours passed and dawn steadily approached.) Even in the cool night air, his face dripped with sweat mingled with tears as he brought the splitter down viciously.

Exhaustion mercifully washed over Maddie around two a.m., allowing her and the other two children to get some rest.

The Order members returned not long after, saying nothing and meekly shaking their heads whilst gratefully accepting mugs of laced coffee which they drank in silence. Tonks joined Molly by the window.

"How long has he been at it?" she asked warily.

"Well. . .we'll have enough firewood for the next three years, I'd say. He stops after about an hour and talks to Dumbledore, but then he's right back at it again." Molly sighed. "Maddie's still a child, but Troy. . .I can't imagine there's any easy way to learn that the father you idolised was a murderer." She winced as the splitter came down with enough force to slice right through as though the wood were butter. "He blew up one of the chairs, that's when Dumbledore decided this would be better. And when he was told about his sister missing. . ." She moved away from the window to her husband, who gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. "There was no sign of her?"

"None," Arthur answered. "Dobby even scoped the Malfoys' home - she wasn't there. Severus said they were being summoned tonight, I just hope when he comes back the news is good, but I just can't see that happening. . . Why he would be introducing her to the Death Eaters other than to… I don't know." Arthur refilled his cup, and added a generous slosh of the firewhiskey Molly placed on the table.

Tonks continued to watch Troy, tears stinging the corner of her eyes. Remus joined her, handing her a laced coffee. "You did everything you could."

"Did I? I should have just grabbed her and brought her back here when we still had the chance."

"Hey, enough of that. We don't know that Lucius won't bring her back home; if he does, we'll take her. Until then, though, there's no sense in beating yourself up about it," he encouraged, giving her a hug. "She'll be okay."

"Every time before, it was during the day. No one gets taken at night and comes back to tell of it." Tonks sobbed into Remus's shoulder, tearing herself apart with guilt. "As soon as we saw that light bulb, we all knew what she was."

"You may have known what she was, but you had no idea who she was. There are dozens of children who grow up never knowing, and she had a sister none of us knew about. There were four, not three, you had no reason to believe she was the daughter of-"

"Lucius's interest in her should have been enough to tell us," Tonks interrupted. "I'm an Auror, it's my job to stop these things from happening, and I had the opportunities - and I ignored each and every one of them."

"Tonks." Mad-Eye clunked over to her. "The onus isn't on you alone, I was there; the fault of this lies more with me more than it does with you. You've kept these two safe, that's no small feat."

"I was so sure that he wouldn't kill her-"

"She's alive until we have a body, understood? Minerva went missing for a few days and she came back, there is no reason to believe the same won't happen now. We'll be picking up Harry soon, and I need you to hold it together."

Tonks nodded meekly and went down the hall to one of the visitor's rooms.

"Do you really believe that?" Remus asked, once Tonks was out of sight.

"No, but I bloody well hope it," Mad Eye admitted, giving Remus an encouraging pat on the back.

Remus turned his gaze to the man outside still savagely attacking logs, and Dumbledore using magic to pile them neatly along the fence. Dumbledore's gaze met his, and it acknowledged his unspoken words.

"I imagine he will be at it for several more hours," Dumbledore cautioned.

Remus nodded. "I'll watch him." He took Dumbledore's seat as the professor went inside, and quickly fell into the routine of summoning and stacking.

-.-.-

It was five a.m. before Troy finally wore himself down. He shook from exhaustion, his hands covered in painful, blistering welts. "Where did the professor go?" he asked, collapsing into the seat next to Remus.

"I took over a few hours ago; he didn't want to disturb you. He said he would check in later today." Remus handed him a towel. Spots of blood from burst blisters decorated it as Troy put it back on the table once he'd wiped his face. "Let me see your hands."

Troy twisted and held out his curled fingers, palm-up. They were stiff from clenching the axe so long; he needed painful assistance to straighten them.

"Your sister is apparently dealing well with the news," Remus commented, whilst he applied a healing salve.

"Well, she doesn't know Eliza's missing yet." Troy winced. "I don't even think she knows about the war."

"She's a strong girl, but she's going to need her brother. All of us here are here to support the both of you," Remus said sagely. He applied the salve to the other hand. "Most of us have lost someone to Voldemort, and many of us have relatives or friends now loyal to him. I don't believe the sins of the father visit themselves upon the children, unless the child works toward it. Your father loved you and your family so much that he sacrificed the biggest part of himself in order to keep you all safe - I would call that noble." Remus started to wrap Troy's hands in bandages.

"And look where it's landed us. Corey's dead - he probably didn't have a clue what was going on - and Eliza's dead now, for all I know. Real bloody noble of him to leave us this defenceless." Troy bit through the pain in his hands. "It sounds to me like he was trying to save himself."

Remus escorted Troy to his room before turning in himself. He collapsed into his bed and drifted off.

-.-.-

"She was there," Severus informed Dumbledore. "At some point in the evening she collapsed, no doubt from trauma. Judging by the manic glee He had whilst ordering me to make sure she was in good health, I think it's safe to say that she's been confirmed."

"Where is he keeping her?"

"I can't say at this time - there are a hundred places he could be hiding her."

"And her condition?"

"Her heart is weak. I will try to insist that she needs some sort of healing, but depending on what his intentions are for her, he may not care."

"Do what you can, and keep me informed. Be safe."

"As always, Headmaster."

-.-.-

Okay. Before you start chanting "Sue!" and coming after me in droves with pitchforks, I would like to answer some questions.

Q: I thought there would be Muggle POV?

A: There will be. Janice will continue to shine a light on what is happening on the Muggle side of the coin, and this allows us to see more familiar characters.

Q: Why, why, WHY did you make Eliza a witch? It's so Sue!

A: No choice. If she isn't, Voldemort has no reason to keep her alive, and the story would end at Chapter One. . .Two, if I dragged it. I would also like to point out that it would have been more Sue-esque if I made up some other, lame reason for her being alive, and I haven't exactly been subtle about her being a witch. Rest assured, chances are she won't be learning a great deal of magic, nor will she suddenly be all-knowing, powerful, and other Sue traps. I have a swarm of people watching very closely, ready to pound my head in with a mallet if it even starts sniffing like a Sue. My mission to prove that not all OCs and AUs are bad has not been abandoned. Troy and Maddie are somewhat of a different story, but again they will be kept within the bounds of "reality".

Q: What's with the way Voldemort is acting?

A: That would be a spoiler. Rest assured, there is absolutely nothing romantic going on, if that's what you were thinking.

Q: Lucius said something about having twokids?

A: I initially wrote this before it was confirmed that Draco was an only child. Personally, I - at the time - thought he needed a little sister. And so he has one. This has always been an AU fic.

If you have any other concerns, please don't hesitate to contact me. Review and tell me your thoughts.

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