Note: Is this chapter a bit short? Yes. Sorry about that! It's full of action though, so...forgive me? =)

Thanks for all the enthusiastic reviews! I had no idea that there would be so much arm twisting going on! So...just because some of you have twisted my arm quite a lot, I promise to write about Blood 'fic story! I just don't have any idea when...probably not for a long while! I need to finish Meet the Marauders, which is really only just beginning, and Snatch and Grab, which is probably only about halfway through, if that. Oh...and since I was bored I started to write the opening for a 4th "Meet the..." 'fic! Not that I will post it until I've finished Meet the Marauders, of course, but I already have a plot figured out...better just hope people are still reading by then!

Anyway, if I keep on rambling this note is going to be as long as the chapter, so I better stop now. I hope you enjoy reading!

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor am I making any profit from this piece of writing.

23: Escape

The smoke was overwhelming.

Teddy ducked his head against the sudden heat before him, clamping a hand to his mouth as he spluttered into his hand, desperately attempting to not to panic, to stay calm, to think...move...anything...

"GET OUT!" a furious voice demanded as the boy pressed himself further back against the wall, "Get out, get out!"

Teddy wasn't entirely sure that he quite knew which way out was...or even how his legs would take him there.

"Teddy!"

As he felt his mother's fingers enclosing around his wrist, yanking him sideways towards the nearest exit, Teddy heard his heart begin to pound furiously in his chest, and it did not stop when Tonks bundled both he and Elijah through the door into the living room.

"Take Elijah and go outside!" he heard his mother demand, and he blinked a few times to clear his mind, eyes coming to rest upon the smoke filled doorway in which Tonks stood, just in time to watch her turn and make to dash back into the blaze.

Only for Carrow-Smyth to catch her by the shoulders and give her a firm push backwards.

"Take the boys and get out!" the Slytherin demanded, grip upon her tightening when she attempted to push her way past him.

"Great plan, Art!" the Hufflepuff snapped, pausing to cough into her sleeve. "I'll just...just leave Remus to die, shall I?"

"I've got him!" Carrow-Smyth insisted hurriedly, but this did not appear to reassure her in the slightest.

"No, you haven't..."

"Trust me, Dora."

"Let me go!"

"I need you to trust me, Dora, I'll get him out just...take the boys and we'll follow you..."

"But..."

"Trust me!"

For a startling moment, Teddy watched the two adults freeze, staring at one another so intently that it was almost as though they had forgotten the urgency of the situation that they had been thrown into, and then, to the boy's horror, Tonks turned her back on the doorway and dashed across the room towards the hallway, reaching to drag both Teddy and a quietly sobbing Elijah after her.

"Come on, Ted..."

"But...Dad!"

"It's alright, Ted, just...just come on..."

It didn't seem to matter how much he shouted or pleaded, Teddy still found himself ushered into the hallway, where they were greeted by yet more smoke trickling out from underneath the kitchen doorway, and before he knew it he was stumbling out into the front garden, bright morning sunshine dazzling his watery eyes. Once the fleeing trio had reached the end of the garden path, they turned to stare back at the house.

And there they waited.

Teddy watched the steady stream of smoke seeping out of the open kitchen window, drifting slowly up towards the clouds above them until he could hardly tell where smoke ended and cloud began.

He couldn't help but notice that Artemis and Remus had yet to follow them.

"Mum..."

"It's...it's alright, Sweetheart, it's just...just give them a minute..."

Silence.

"Mum...!"

"Just a minute, Teddy. I promise..."

More silence.

Elijah turned to bury his face in Tonks' side, but she made no move to comfort him. Instead she stood stock still, lips pursed pleadingly together as she stared at the house.

"Mum!" Teddy cried again, reaching to clasp a fistful of his t shirt in alarm, and when she failed to say anything he demanded: "DO SOMETHING!"

"Come on, Artemis, don't fail me..." he heard the Auror whisper through clenched teeth, and he was about to shriek at her again when all of a sudden a bright jet of light smashed through the kitchen's largest window, shattering the glass with an almighty crash. Elijah gave a soft whimper at the sudden noise and as smoke billowed out into the morning air there came another series of crashes before a large dark shape appeared at the window.

And with that, Artemis Carrow-Smyth strained to haul Teddy's father up onto the kitchen counter top, before attempting to shove him unceremoniously through the smashed window.

"Don't move!" Tonks instructed sternly, and with that she dashed across the grass, leaving Teddy to wince in anticipation of bare feet upon broken shards. She reached to throw her arms around Remus' middle, and with a firm shove from Carrow-Smyth, she stumbled backwards, dragging the werewolf out of the house, at which point she promptly lost her balance and Teddy watched his parents collapse upon the grass, the air knocked from the witch's lungs as Remus landed bodily atop of her with a spluttered groan.

And Teddy felt such relief flood over him as his mother threw her arms more tightly around his father, hugging him fiercely with a gasp of triumph, that he ignored her instructions and ran forwards to join them.

He came to a stumbling halt beside them, and had barely glanced down at them before it suddenly occurred to him that the danger had not truly passed.

Because Carrow-Smyth was still inside the house.

"Dora!" Teddy heard the man choke, and the boy shuddered to see a hand reaching to grasp hold of the window frame, grip shaky, feeble...

But Tonks didn't seem to hear the plea, for she was much too busy burying her face in Remus' shoulder, sobbing with relief, and as Teddy watched Carrow-Smyth's grip upon the frame slacken, he felt an overwhelming sense of dread assault his insides.

And so he did the first thing that came into his head.

The young Gryffindor took a few steps backwards, before making a run for the window, slamming his hands down upon the window frame, wincing at jagged glass cutting into his palms as he vaulted upwards, leaning into the smoke filled room in search of his father's rescuer.

"A...Artemis!" he managed to choke, squinting frantically through the thick smoke, his face flushed with sudden heat from the fire. "Artemis!"

At the sound of Teddy's voice, Tonks was brought back to reality with a jolt of panic at the sight of her son midway through climbing back into the inferno.

"TED!" she shrieked as Remus managed to roll off of her, his eyes widening in shock as he too caught sight of what Teddy was doing. "GET DOWN!"

"I've nearly got him!" Teddy shouted, and it was true, for from his place sprawled upon the floor, Artemis was desperately attempting to reach out and grab the boy by the hand.

As she scrambled to her feet, Tonks shoved her hand into her pocket, only to find that she had left her wand inside.

"Remus!" she shouted, rounding on the spluttering werewolf who was attempting to haul himself up into a sitting position. "Wand!"

Remus paused in his fidgeting to fumble around and extract his wand from his own pocket, and his wife promptly snatched it from him and made a run for the window, leaving him to attempt to stumble to his feet, teeth gritted against yet more coughing.

She was just reaching to grab hold of the back of Teddy's t-shirt and yank him backwards away from danger when the boy finally succeeded in grabbing hold of Carrow-Smyth by the hand.

Only to have leant just a little too far to keep his balance, and with that, Teddy tumbled through the window and disappeared through the smoke.

With a panicked swipe of Remus' wand, Tonks sent an enormous jet of water shooting through the window, dousing the flames that were nearing the escape route until they had retreated back towards the hallway door. And with that, like Teddy before her, Tonks vaulted up onto the window ledge and leant forward, hand groping desperately around in the smoke for somebody to grab onto.

It was at that moment that she spotted the kitchen cupboards upon the wall opposite that were very nearly off their hinges, and she felt her stomach give a jolt at the thought of them crashing down upon Teddy and Carrow-Smyth below. The thought made her dare to lean closer, yet her fingertips met nothing but smoky air. Hand still reaching, she send another jet of water spurting out at the flames, only to hear the hinges of the scorched cupboards give an ominous creak...

And then, quite suddenly, everything seemed to happen at once.

The first thing she felt was Remus' arms locking around her waist, no doubt ready to pull backwards when the time came.

And then she felt two hands grabbing hold of her by the arm, just as the cupboard's bottom hinge gave way, leaving the cupboard to swing wildly off of the wall. Heart hammering in her chest, it suddenly occurred to Tonks that she had mere seconds to drag either Carrow-Smyth or Teddy out of harm's way before the cupboard collapsed.

She just wasn't strong enough to help them both.

Tonks tried to squint down at the hands that were grasping desperately at her, but it was impossible to tell them apart, and she was pretty sure that she didn't have time to debate her options so she pulled her arm free from the hands and reached to grab hold of the one closest to her.

"NOW!" she shouted, gripping onto the hand with all her might, and with that she and Remus pulled backwards, just as the second hinge gave way and the cupboard fell from the wall with a crash. Before Tonks could get a proper glimpse of who she was pulling to safety, Remus lost his footing and the pair of them fell backwards again, landing upon the grass with a hefty thud.

And yet Tonks barely noticed the dull ache that blossomed up her spine, for she was much too busy staring with bated breath at the figure who was tumbling out of the window after them...