"Sometimes it's better to be alone. Nobody can hurt you."

-Meg (Hercules)

"Stupefy!"

Scarlett heard the second voice that called out the stunning spell, but she barely registered it. As it was, she didn't even know how she had managed to think and act so quickly in the shocked pause that had occurred right after Justin had jumped in front of the curse, but it didn't really matter. The important thing was that she had managed to hit Scabior with her own stunning spell while whoever had cast the second one had hit Greyback.

Scarlett only vaguely noticed Sirius running into the room and she didn't even think to question how or why he was there. She was too busy taking the opportunity of Greyback and Scabior being out cold to crawl over to Justin's body.

She stared at him in shock. She could barely take anything in. It just seemed like way too much. Everything was so surreal that she wasn't even crying anymore. Her mother and Justin killed in the same day; it just couldn't be happening.

Sirius knelt down beside her and opened his mouth to say something, but before he could get a single word out, Percy ran through the front door and took in the scene with wide eyes while Sirius' expression changed to one of surprise.

"What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing," Percy frowned, holding up his wand. "You're supposed to be a convicted murderer." Suddenly, he looked unsure of himself and he lowered his wand slightly. "But my family tried to tell me you're innocent." He glanced around the room again, taking in the unconscious men on the floor and Justin's dead body with Scarlett still sitting beside it.

"I didn't kill him if that's what you think," Sirius said, standing up. He looked at Scabior and Greyback. "I'm not trying to stereotype here, but I think they look more like killers than I do. I'd also like to point out that if you know anything about your family, then you know they have pretty good judgement, so…." He trailed off and shrugged. "They also stayed with me for quite a bit of time and they're all alive and well. Just take that into consideration." He smiled at Percy, who took a deep breath and lowered his wand completely.

"So, what happened here exactly?"

"Well, I only got here seconds before you did, so I didn't actually see what happened, but it's not hard to figure out."

"Why are you here? How did you know what was going on? And how did you get here? I imagine it's hard for you to be out in the open."

"Your father was at the Ministry and just about to pass Dolores Umbridge's office when these two buffoons," he gestured to Scabior and Greyback, "came out discussing how they had been so stupid to have lost some envelope, but then Greyback said that it was lucky he had the address memorized. He recited it and they said something about heading over to bring the Muggleborn in. I'm assuming it was him." He pointed to Justin. "Anyway, Arthur knew it was trouble and I was the only person available since I'm not allowed to do much considering I do have to lay low. Arthur knew how willing I always am to help, so he sent me to check it out as long as I promised to be careful, so here I am. What about you?"

"I was at the Ministry trying to see if I could find the address to Scarlett's mother's house and these two actually walked by the office I was in." He looked at Scabior and Greyback. "One of them kept repeating the address over and over as if making sure he never forgot it. I went out on a limb, wrote it down and came here."

"Why were you looking for Scarlett's mother's address?"

Percy took a deep breath. "I was the one who rescued Scarlett from the Ministry and this morning she—"

"You rescued her?" Sirius asked in surprise. "I was going to ask her about that. Everyone's been really worried." He looked down at Scarlett, who was still staring down at Justin in shock. "I think she's really overwhelmed by this."

That was definitely an understatement. Scarlett was hearing what Sirius and Percy were saying, but not fully processing it. That would all come later. Later on, everything would hit her at once and it wasn't going to be pretty.

"She said she was going to her mother's house earlier," Percy said. "That's what I tried to say before. She dashed off to her mother's house, so I don't know how or why she ended up here."

"I did go to my mother's house," Scarlett finally piped up. Her head was becoming clear enough to give them some answers, but not by much. "Scabior and Greyback were already there."

"And what happened?" Sirius asked bracingly.

"They killed her," Scarlett replied, her voice a whisper and slightly shaky.

"What?" Sirius and Percy asked in alarm.

"You heard me. Don't make me say it again," she whispered. She repositioned herself on the ground and pulled her knees up to her chest. She rested her cheek on her knees and closed her eyes, not feeling the least bit in the mood to go into detail right now. Part of her was surprised at the fact that she wasn't in hysterics, but the other part of her knew that would probably come later. Right now she was still in shock.

The room was quiet for a moment until Sirius spoke again. "You need to explain what happened, Scarlett. I know you don't want to talk about it, but you have to, so we can help."

She shook her head slightly and kept her mouth shut. She didn't want to talk at all anymore, never mind about what had happened that day.

"Okay," Sirius sighed, turning to Percy. "We need to get moving. Mostly because those two buffoons will be waking up soon." He glanced at Scabior and Greyback before continuing. "We need to get Scarlett somewhere safe. Somewhere she can lay low for a while."

"Where?" Percy asked.

Sirius thought for a second before answering. "Bill and Fleur's place. It became a safe house recently. Bill's the secret keeper and he told the members of the Order to come by in an emergency. It's out of the way and has less people going in and out than the Burrow does."

"Okay," Percy nodded. "I guess you should probably bring her since you know where it is." He cleared his throat awkwardly and glanced at his feet. "I'll start taking care of things here."

"I'll come back and help once I've gotten Scarlett settled in. Then, I'll have to go to her mother's house and figure out what happened there."

Percy nodded again. "Okay," he said quietly.

Sirius knelt down beside Scarlett and cleared his throat gently. "I'm going to bring you to Bill and Fleur's, okay? They'll take care of you. Someone will go back to your flat later and collect some of your things."

Scarlett didn't move or speak for a moment, but she finally gave a slight nod and let Sirius pull her to her feet.

"I'll be back soon," Sirius said to Percy before leading Scarlett out the door. He paused. "Are you sure you don't want to tell me what happened? You're going to have to tell someone eventually."

Scarlett didn't answer. Instead, she just stared into the distance and shook her head. She knew Sirius had a point, but she couldn't bring herself to say anything to him. The words just wouldn't come out. She didn't know if she'd be able to tell Bill and Fleur either. She just didn't want to talk even though she probably needed to.

"Okay, then, suit yourself," Sirius sighed, gently taking her arm again. "Let's go."

Scarlett closed her eyes and Sirius Disapparated. When they appeared at Bill and Fleur's, Scarlett wobbled a bit, but Sirius kept her steady. Scarlett sighed. She was still pretty weak and the pain from her splinched arm was finally starting to register. She opened her eyes and focused on the house in front of her to take her mind off of the pain.

Shell Cottage was on a beach and it was a house Scarlett would have fallen in love with if she hadn't been so miserable at the moment. The ocean was behind her and she could hear the rushing waves that should have been soothing, but not right now.

"How long do I have to stay here?" she asked quietly as Sirius led her towards the front door.

"I can't really give you a definite answer, but it'll be safer for you until things die down and we can sort things out."

"They aren't after me anymore. I don't need to be hidden anywhere. I can go about my normal life."

"You don't know that," Sirius said.

"They said it back at Justin's aunt and uncle's house."

"How do you know they weren't lying? Besides, you need to be taken care of and brought back to good health again. You probably haven't gotten a chance to notice, but you look terrible."

If things had been different, Scarlett would have snorted with laughter, but she didn't. She just stared blankly at the pale wood of the front door of the cottage.

Sirius took a deep breath and exhaled before knocking and identifying himself when Bill asked him to from inside. Bill opened the door almost immediately and his eyes widened in surprise.

"Scarlett! You're okay!" He paused and took in her splinched arm and ragged appearance. "Well, almost okay."

"She's probably a lot worse than you think," Sirius said.

Bill gave him a questioning look as he stepped aside to let Sirius and Scarlett in. "Why? What happened?"

Sirius led Scarlett to the couch. "Sit down," he instructed. When she obeyed, he turned back to Bill. "Her mother and her ex-boyfriend were both murdered by Scabior and Greyback this morning."

"What?" Bill exclaimed.

Just then, Fleur came into the room. "Beel, who was at zee—oh." She stopped when she saw Sirius and gave him a look of confusion. "Eez sometheeng wron-." It was then that she saw Scarlett and broke off. "Oh, Scarlett, you're okay! But you look awful!" She turned to Bill. "How did she get here?"

"Sirius just brought her," Bill answered. "Greyback and Scabior killed her mother and ex-boyfriend today."

Fleur's mouth dropped open. "But how?"

"She wouldn't tell me the whole story," Sirius said, looking at Scarlett who was still sitting rather stiffly on the couch.

"Why don't you tell us what you know," Bill suggested. "How did you get Scarlett away from Umbridge?"

"I didn't," Sirius said.

"Then who did?" Bill asked.

"We can't say," Scarlett finally chimed in. Everyone looked at her.

"Why not?" Bill raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"You'll find out eventually," Scarlett said looking down at her hands. "I don't want to tell you who it was until they've had a chance to talk to you."

"Okay," Bill answered dragging out the word. "You're being pretty vague."

"I know. Sorry," Scarlett shrugged.

"So what can you tell us?" Bill sounded slightly impatient as he asked the question.

"Beel," Fleur said, gently touching his arm. "Eet sounds like she has been through quite a bit."

"I know, but we need information, Fleur."

"My mother and Justin were killed by Scabior and Greyback," Scarlett said, looking up. "It's exactly as Sirius said. I don't want to talk about it, okay?"

"But why were they killed?" Bill asked.

"I don't want to talk about it," Scarlett said, her voice a whisper this time. She pulled her legs up beside her on the couch and hugged a pillow to her chest.

The room was quiet for a moment until Bill crossed the room and knelt down in front of Scarlett. He put a hand on her arm. "You have to tell us what happened, Scar," he whispered. "It's important for us to know."

Scarlett was quiet. She stared down at the pillow as she fiddled with a loose thread on the edge. Finally, she raised her eyes to meet Bill's.

"Umbridge thought one of them had rescued me. That's why they were killed. It's pretty simple, really."

"How did they find out where Justin was?" Bill asked.

"He sent me a letter," Scarlett muttered.

"Ah," Bill whispered. He was quiet as he processed the information before he stood up and looked at Sirius. "I think that's all we're going to get out of her for now."

Sirius nodded in agreement. "It's okay if she stays here for a little while, though, isn't it?"

"Of course!" Fleur answered, shooting Scarlett a tiny smile. "We'll take good care of her."

"Okay, well I should probably be going. As you can imagine, there's a lot to sort out."

While Bill was seeing Sirius out, Fleur turned to Scarlett, "I can heal your arm if that eez okay with you, and then I can show you to zee bathroom so you can get cleaned up. I have plenty of extra clothes you can borrow and you can sleep in one of the guest rooms."

Scarlett nodded. "Thanks," she managed to whisper.

Fleur left the room and came back a moment later with her wand and a cleaning potion. As she was cleaning Scarlett's arm, Bill came back into the room and stood by the doorway, watching them.

"You haven't told anyone I'm here yet, have you?" Scarlett asked him. "No one knows except the three of us and Sirius?"

"I haven't told anyone, no, but I was planning on it. Why?"

Scarlett took a deep breath and lowered her gaze to watch as Fleur healed her arm with a tap of her wand. "I just…they'll all want to come over and ask a million questions that I don't want to answer."

"Scarlett, we all want to help you. Do you have any idea how worried everyone's been? Fred and Erica, especially." He paused. "And your mother of course, before today happened."

"I appreciate that, but I just don't want to talk and I don't know how long it'll take until I want to talk, okay? I'm sorry, but I just can't."

"Scarlett—"
"Beel, don't pester her anymore," Fleur said, getting to her feet. "Not now, at least. She has been through more than someone her age should go through in the past few hours alone. Just let her have some time by herself for now."

Bill nodded and glanced at his feet. "I'm sorry, Scar. I know you've had it rough, but I'm just trying to help and get as much information as I can."

"Yeah, I get it. I just don't want to talk," Scarlett said quietly. "Besides, there really isn't much more to tell you than what you've already found out. You know what happened and why. Sirius is going to deal with things at Justin's house and my mother's house and he can inform you on what things are like there."

"I guess you're right," Bill said, but he didn't seem fully convinced.

"Come on." Fleur gestured for Scarlett to stand up. "I weel show you to zee bathroom and get you some clean clothes. And I was just about to make lunch, so eet should be ready by the time you're done. You look like you've hardly eaten in months. Then again, you probably haven't."

Silently, Scarlett stood up and followed Fleur up the stairs and down the hall to a bedroom. Fleur grabbed some clothes from the closet and led Scarlett back down the hallway to the bathroom.

"Just come down when you're ready," she said. "Unless you'd rather rest."

Scarlett shrugged. "I don't really know what I want to do, to be honest."

"Well, your room is right across the hall," Fleur said with a half-smile.

"Thanks," Scarlett answered. She tried to return the smile. But she didn't think she ended up being all that successful. She was glad that Fleur wasn't forcing her to eat or sleep, but she didn't know how long that would last before Fleur finally put her foot down.

Once she had finished getting cleaned up and dressed in the clothes Fleur had given her, Scarlett stood at the top of the stairs, unsure of what to do. Fleur had been trying so hard to make sure she was comfortable, but she didn't particularly feel like going downstairs to eat. She just wasn't hungry anymore, even though she most certainly should have been.

After standing where she was for another moment, Scarlett made the decision to go into the bedroom that now served as hers. She pushed open the door and looked around. The room was bright with the rays of sunlight that shone through the window. There was a dresser, a closet, a desk and a bed with a white quilt and a pile of blue pillows. Scarlett walked across the room to the window and looked out. There was an amazing view of the water and she rested her elbows on the windowsill as she watched the waves.

The room—the entire house, actually—was supposed to be comforting and it would have been if Scarlett hadn't felt so unable to be comforted. What was anyone supposed to say to her at this point? Once people found out they would say what they thought were all the right things, but Scarlett doubted it would work. Not now, anyway. No one would want to leave her alone, especially considering she had been held captive for seven months. As it was, when someone suffered a loss, people wanted to make sure they were eating okay, sleeping okay and functioning okay. Scarlett knew that from losing her dad. It had been weeks before people had stopped coming by to check up on her and her mother. This time, though, hardly anyone knew where Scarlett was. The only people who knew were Bill, Fleur, Sirius, Percy, and the Weasleys once Bill told them. The Order would probably find out as well, and it just felt overwhelming. Mrs. Weasley alone would go into full motherly instinct mode. While it wasn't a bad thing, all Scarlett wanted was to be left alone.

Maybe staying here at Shell Cottage was a good thing, Scarlett thought as she continued to stare out the window. Even if Bill did tell his family, they couldn't all be constantly coming in and out to see her. It wouldn't be safe. And while Scarlett suspected the house could fit a decent amount of people, the rest of the Weasleys coming to stay here would make it crowded. Besides, Bill and Fleur didn't want that. This was their place. It was their first home as a married couple. Granted it was a safe house now and Scarlett was here, but she knew she wouldn't be any trouble. They would hardly know she was here.

Sighing, she turned away from the window and collapsed onto the bed, pulling one of the pillows to her chest. She felt completely and totally empty, but at the same time, she felt as if her insides were aching. She didn't want to sleep, she didn't want to eat and she didn't want to talk. She also knew it was going to get worse before it got better and that terrified her, but she would handle it on her own, just like she did before. She would force herself to be strong, especially in front of people. There was a war going on and she couldn't let people get too worried about her. She couldn't look as if she were falling apart. She was an adult and she had to hold her own, so right then, Scarlett knew she was going to be handling herself the same way she had when she was nine. Even though the voice in the back of her mind was telling her how dangerous it was, she told herself that she was going to handle this the only way she knew how. She had made it through last time, so she could make it through this time. Probably.

A/N: Firstly, I am so sorry for the huge amount of time where I didn't update. Things just got so busy and it was hard to find a lot of time to write. I totally felt bad about it too because of how intense the last chapter was, but thanks for all the reviews and messages you guys left! I'm defintelynot planning on abandoning this story. I think I've gotten too attached to it to do that. :) Anyway, this chapter is kind of a filler, but Fred will be back next chapter and he and Scarlett will finally get to see each other again.

Thanks for reading!