I start work next week, so I'm going to see how much I can publish in the next few days…hopefully enough. After my first week of work, I should have quite a bit of time to write, publish, and finish.

Thanks for the reviews, HandsomHolly, thewrittenword87, Written Angel, LizziePixie-Aiko, and CharlotteBlackwood!

Review pleeeeeease? We're almost done!

DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS QUEEN!

CHAPTER 102

Audrey hit the floor of the bedroom as lightly as she could, and that was saying something, seeing as she was terrible at sticking apparition landings.

She lit her fingers to find that Sirius was not in their bed, perhaps he was still sleeping on the couch with their daughter. Audrey could only hope…she contemplated lying if he had asked where she had been. But she knew it would be wrong, their relationship was already unstable with the last few months of fighting, death, and war…why add on to it?

Though she knew one thing she would have to lie about.

She didn't want to admit it had happened, it was only moments ago.

Audrey tiptoed down the hallway, she checked Anastasia's room to find the young girl sound asleep.

Audrey sighed and moved into the sitting room. Sirius was still on the sofa, she could see the back of his head.

She walked around the chaise, Sirius was wide awake. He didn't say anything, he just stared at her until she sat down.

"Where did you go?" He asked quietly.

Audrey blinked back some tears, it wasn't that she was ashamed. Just saying the name brought tears to her eyes.

"St. Aleksander's."

As she expected, Sirius' face had changed from calmness to shock.

He had thought she went to Remus', or maybe to see Edgar, but…Russia?

"I thought you had went somewhere…more…local…" He replied.

Audrey shook her head.

"Love, why on earth would you go back there?" He asked, trying not to raise his voice. He didn't want to wake their daughter.

"Sirius." Audrey swallowed a lump in her throat. "I had to."

"No." Sirius shook his head.

"Yes, I did." Audrey's voice shook. "I had to go back there, Sirius. All of those dreams I had been having, all of those dreams of 1031…it was the address of a flat I used to go to in St. Petersburg."

The difficult thing about this whole situation was my uneasiness to tell Sirius exactly why I went to Russia. I wasn't quite sure if he had remembered the secret I had been so desperate to figure out for the last six years.

"Audrey, leaving our home is dangerous enough!" Sirius exclaimed. "Did you really have to take it a step further by thrill seeking in Russia?"

"Thrill seeking?" Audrey was taken aback. "You think that I just dissapparated to Russia for thrills?"

"I don't see why else you would want to go back there." Sirius gave her a look. "Audrey, there is nothing there for you anymore."

"Nothing?" Audrey gave him a skeptical look.

It was exactly this type of behavior that had been pressing on our marriage. You see, Sirius' drunken rambles and insults weren't the only instances that lead to arguments. While he was sober, he was this over-protective moron who thought that he was superior because he was a man.

"Nothing." Sirius replied curtly.

It was late, and Audrey had already had it with her husband's rudeness. It was that time of night where she lost her filter, and the words just came through without a thought.

"For your information, Sirius. I still have people who I care about in St. Petersburg." Audrey hissed. "And they care about me. They protected me tonight, they wanted me to stay."

By "they" of course, I meant Karl.

"Had I not been married and had a family to look after, I might've accepted that offer."

In retrospect, I would have accepted that offer marriage or not. Things have gotten really bad here…

"Well, aren't we so lucky then." Sirius bit back, sarcastically. "What use are your powers when you can't even use them?"

Audrey was boiling with rage, but she controlled herself. She wasn't going to stoop to his level.

"Well, dear, you know I can't use my powers without compromising our safety. There's a curse that will reveal me if anything is detected…you of all people should know that."

"That's exactly my point, Audrey." Sirius spat back. "That taboo could have easily extended internationally, and if you were seen in St. Petersburg you would be dead."

"Well, I wasn't seen and there wasn't a taboo there." Audrey replied quickly. "Most of the country is under the impression that I'm dead…it was easy walking around St. Petersburg."

That last sentence wasn't entirely true…it was rumored that I was dead, but I still had to be very careful.

"So you were walking around St. Petersburg? You know, with the current security situation there that I can easily classify that as thrill seeking." Sirius replied smartly.

The Russian Ministry of Magic had been making international headlines for their corruption, the revolt, and their failing economy. The six years since my family was murdered had really taken its toll on the country.

"For the last time, I was not thrill seeking, Sirius. I am not ignorant of the threats around me." Audrey replied through gritted teeth.

"The what else could you have possibly done in that grotty place?" He snarled.

"Grotty?" Audrey replied, raising her voice. "Grotty?! St. Petersburg is far more pristine than this barren wasteland full of obnoxious prejudiced pigs."

I didn't mean that…I really didn't. England was my home, and despite the fact that I had always felt more comfortable in Russia, I shouldn't have said that.

"Obnoxious prejudiced pigs who are fighting to keep you safe." Sirius shot back.

"That was hardly a retort, Sirius. I'm not ungrateful for the Order's help…but I wouldn't need their help in the first place if there weren't so many god damned bigots walking around."

"That's the thing about you, Audrey." Sirius hissed back. "You assume that just because you're a creature we're all out to get you."

"It's not only that, you buffoon!" She charged back. "People hear me speak and they know I'm not from around here. With all the news about Russia in the prophet they assume I'm some sort of spy!"

Audrey had had enough; she made her way down the hallway to the spare room and slammed the door.

Sirius sat there stunned, he knew he couldn't argue with that. Even during Order meetings he could see that Audrey was not trusted by some of its members.

There were always these accusations against her; they spoke behind her back... Peter especially seemed to be under the impression that Audrey was a Russian spy.

It seemed that many had forgotten about St. Aleksander's, or worse, people assumed that she was the cause of it.

There were terrible rumors following the massacre. One was this crazy story that Audrey was in love with Vladimir Morozov and her family didn't like it, so she had them killed. These rumors began to re-circulate with all of the news about Russia, which is why I was so adamant at the time about her not returning. Though at the time, I didn't know why she had went back. She didn't tell me.

I don't blame her, I didn't deserve her trust at the time.

Once Audrey was secure inside the guest room, she cast a few charms and made her way over to the small fireplace. She took a pinch of floo and threw it into the fireplace.

"Marlene?" She called.

"Hey, Aud." She said, her head appearing in the fireplace.

"I'm surprised you're still awake." Audrey smirked.

"Of course." Marlene replied. "I'm in just as much suspense as you were, did you find anything?"

I had told Marlene for the last few months of my intentions to return to Russia, I knew she would be the only one to really understand why…She was the only one I felt I could trust entirely. Though St. Petersburg was a spontaneous trip…it had to be afterall. I couldn't risk a letter being intercepted.

Audrey and Marlene sat at the table, watching their friends in the sitting area. Remus and Lily were chatting away about a book Lily had finished, baby Harry sat on her knee. Sirius and James were engaged in a difficult game of wizard's chess. Anastasia was falling asleep on the sofa.

"I think I am going tonight." Audrey said in a hushed voice, giving her friend a look.

"Tonight?!" She asked. "Won't he notice?" She nodded her head in Sirius' direction.

"I have a feeling he'll fall asleep early…he's been working a lot this week." She replied, stirring her tea with a flick of her finger.

"It took some digging, but we've found it." Audrey replied, her eyes glowing in the fire light.

"We?" Marlene asked.

It was then that Audrey spun into her tale, meeting Afanasi, running through the city with him, Karl and Sven…and of course, all things in-between. Audrey knew her best friend could keep many secrets, and so Marlene McKinnon was the only one she could confide in.