Thank you to everyone who has reviewed! I'm thrilled to see so many people excited for this new story. Sorry about the wait. School is a time killer. But it should be fairly consistent updates. I will update this one and then the Doctor Who story, which if you haven't gone to check out and you are a fellow whovian, I would suggest to go read. There are now two chapters up.

This chapter is actually going to be split into two, the second half coming with the next chapter. It was a lot to write and I think that you guys deserved a little something for leaving nine reviews for the last chapter.

So without further adieu, here's chapter two!

"We've got to make this year bloody awesome. It's our last run before NEWTS destroy us," Sirius said as he leaned back in his chair in the kitchen. James was sitting across from him, the pair of them the perfection of summer; tan, fit, and relaxed. It normally wasn't like that. Normally, they would be sitting up with Mr. Potter, reading the newspaper, letting him on all the news about the war. Right now their mother was up with him, giving the boys a chance to get some food.

James rolled his eyes, "What have we been doing the last five years then?"

"Nothing compared to what we should have done!" Sirius encouraged. "This is our year, I can feel it!" He exclaimed. "Look at our luck! Sissy and Kind are finally steady without any issues, we've got Remus's furry little problem under control, Peter seems to be leaving us alone so we can actually get stuff done, and you've finally got Evans!"

"Lily," James corrected. "I still can't believe…" but then he cut off, and said, "you forgot Lucky," James reminded, his own voice losing his previous excitement.

Sirius groaned, "I know. I got I got an owl from her yesterday. Still no visions."

"It's been two months, Padfoot. I think that something must have gone wrong."

"We don't know that," Sirius argued.

"Ursula's been talking to Elyse and she's said that she doesn't think that she'll get her visions back. It looks bad and with the war how it is now…I wish we had the warning if something would go wrong."

Sirius glared at him, "You know, you shouldn't say stuff like that when Sissy isn't home."

It had been a source of contention between the three of them. Ursula had taken to spending her days in Ottery St. Catchpole with Molly Weasley. Currently, Molly was eight months pregnant and Ursula liked to floo over there every so often to spend time with Molly and her sons. The boys found it odd and stupid, since it was just the two women and two toddlers alone in a house. And with Molly being pregnant, they knew that if something was to happen, Ursula would make sure she was the last one out. She had just left about twenty minutes ago and that was twenty minutes of worrying for James and Sirius.

"Sirius Black," they heard her voice from the living room.

Sirius jumped up and ran to get his mirror while James grumbled under his breath, "Speak of the devil…"

"Are you okay?" Sirius demanded, seeing Ursula's red rimmed eyes and hearing her sniffle.

"I'm fine. Ben's not."

"What happened?" James asked, coming up behind Sirius.

Ursula sniffled, "Molly just told me that his aunt, uncle, and three young cousins were found dead yesterday. It was Death Eaters."

"Damn," James swore, running his hands through his hair as he backed away from the mirror. Sirius had a similar reaction, his knuckles turning white as he gripped the mirror tighter.

"I'm going to head over there and see how he is doing," Ursula said. "I don't know what's going to happen." She admitted softly, scared at the possibilities.

Both boys froze as they remembered Ben's last reaction to a relative passing. It involved emotionally scaring Ursula and a more visible bruise on her jaw. "Do you want one of us to go with you?" Sirius questioned.

She shook her head, "I'll go on my own. I don't know what time I'll be home, depending on how this goes. Let Mrs. Potter know."

James nodded, "I'll let Mom know."

"Thanks. Bye, guys," she said and the mirror swirled for a moment, her face disappearing.

The two shared a look, knowing that no matter how much they wished it, they couldn't do anything now.

When Ursula appeared in the fireplace in the White home, she found Mrs. White in the kitchen, sitting at the table with tears running down her face as she looked at photo album full of pictures of her and her brother from childhood. "Mrs. White, I'm so sorry," Ursula said.

"He was my big brother…" she said softly, tracing his young face in one of the pictures. She shook her head, clearing her thoughts, "Ben's up in his room. He hasn't come out or made a noise since Jay told us."

Ursula nodded and with another sympathetic glance at Ben's mom, she was up the stairs walking towards his room. She knocked on the door once, softly calling his name. She got no response.

Her heart began racing and all sorts of fears shot straight to her mind, remembering the last time she had approached Ben when he was in this state. She knocked again and called his name a little louder. After testing the doorknob and finding it unlock, she slowly opened the door. Ben was sitting on the edge of his bed, his hands clasped in front of him, staring straight ahead at wall with dozens of pictures tacked up. Taking a quick glance, Ursula recognized some pictures of their friends at Hogwarts or at someone's house for Christmas; Elyse liked to make multiple pictures for each of them. Also interspersed throughout were pciures of him and Annabelle growing up, some with his parents, and some of him with similar looking toddlers and young children; his cousins.

"Ben," Ursula began again, cautiously moving into the room. "Please, say something." She begged. "I know you lost your family and I am so, so very sorry. But please, don't shut me out…don't do this again, please." She was now standing just off to his left side and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Ben, don't close me out again."

When Ben's arm suddenly shot, she regretted to say that she actually jumped back in fear. But he was faster and his arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her to him, tightly crushing her body to his. His face burrowed painfully into her stomach but she didn't say anything as she felt the tears soak through her shirt. She didn't say anything when his hands painfully dug into her sides as he clutched to her tightly. Instead, she simply ran one of her hands through his hair with one hand and with the other rubbed his upper back as he finally released all the pent up emotions.

"Shh," she consoled him, "it'll be alright one day, I promise."

This continued for another fifteen minutes. Gradually, Ursula ended up sitting on the bed, Ben resting his head on her shoulder as he only occasionally sniffled. Her arms were wrapped around him while she would occasionally kiss the top of his head or whisper comforting words to him.

"Uncle Eddie was my godfather," Ben admitted hoarsely, his voice shot from episode he had.

"Oh, God, Ben," Ursula breathed out in shock, not knowing that it wasn't just his uncle, it was his godfather. "I'm so sorry."

"I want to know who it was," Ben said through gritted teeth.

Ursula pulled back a little to look him in the face, "What do you mean?"

His fists tightened and his body tensed with just barely repressed anger, "The Death Eaters. I want to know which bastards killed them."

"Don't go looking for revenge," Ursula begged. "Please, if these people are strong enough to do this to your family, then you will just be walking to your death. I can't lose you Ben and neither can anyone else. What would that do to your parents? Our friends?"

"So what do I do? Just let them go free even though they killed my family!? They were children! My cousins hadn't even gotten their letters to Hogwarts yet and now all they are going to get is a coffin and six feet of dirt!" He shouted, the rage of losing his family finally appearing like Ursula suspected it would.

She flinched but didn't move, "We fight them together. We can't go running in on a suicide mission because that'll accomplish nothing."

Ben was silent for the next minute, his temper slipping away, "I'm sorry," he apologized softly. "It just hurts so much."

"I know, I know," Ursula soothed, rubbing his shoulders. "When is the funeral?" she asked gently.

"Tomorrow," he paused and then grabbed her smaller hands in his, "would you come with me? I don't think I can sit through this all over again."

Ursula nodded and lifted their hands to kiss the back of one, "Of course I'll be there."

"Thank you." Ben said gratefully, the pair of them settling into their familiar silence.

The next morning when Ursula woke up, she quickly showered and put on a black summer dress to wear under her mourning robes. She reached into her closet for the detested garment. She had worn them far too often than she had ever hoped to. Thankfully, it hadn't been since the death of Uncle Alphard a year ago. She had either been at school for the other funerals she would have gone to or Mrs. and Mr. Potter didn't take them, not wanting to expose their children to such things.

She put her arm through the sleeve and immediately knew something was wrong. The bottom of her sleeve went far above her wrist, to just maybe two and a half inches. Cursing the growth spurt she had gone through, she tore the robes off and threw them on the side of her bed. There was a knock at her door and Mrs. Potter walked in, carrying two cups of tea.

"Good morning dear, I thought you would like a cuppa," she said, placing the two mugs on the side of her

"Thanks," she said softly, letting the calming aroma of the tea settle her nerves.

Mrs. Potter eyed the robes thrown on the ground in a crumpled heap. "What happened?"

Ursula sighed and glared at the robes, "They don't fit anymore."

Looking at her appraisingly, Mrs. Potter nodded to herself and then motioned for Ursula to follow her. "Come along Dear. I think I have something that will fit you." She led Ursula up into the attic, her hand resting on her aching back as she climbed up the stairs. Instead of looking through all the boxes, Mrs. Potter summoned one from the far back corner that came to a rest at their feet.

Ursula looked at Ms. Potter's face, which seemed to look older than she was. She groaned as she knelt down to open the box. Ursula quickly followed suit.

Inside the box, there were stacks upon stacks of clothing. There must have been an expansion charm on for there was no way that much clothing could fit into there. Mrs. Potter dug around a little bit before pulling out a bit of black fabric.

"You're about the size of my sister and I when were younger. When she was sixteen our grandfather died and she got new robes. Perhaps they will fit you now," she said, holding up the robes. "They aren't the most stylish but…"

"They're beautiful," Ursula assured her, running her hand over the small lace detail near the collar.

Mrs. Potter smiled nostalgically and simply looked at the clothes for a moment before handing it over to Ursula, who threw them on over her dress. They were about an inch too short on the hem but otherwise they fit perfect. "Why look at that," Mrs. Potter said as she straightened the collar. "Perfect fit."

"Thank you, Mrs. Potter."

Mrs. Potter simply looked at her in the old robes, seemingly lost in a memory. She suddenly turned her head and looked down the hatch, "Sounds like the boys are getting up. I best go get breakfast. Just come get me when you want to be taken there."

Right before she disappeared out of the attic, Ursula could have sworn she saw tears building up in Mrs. Potter's eyes.

When Ursula walked down the stairs about fifteen minutes later, her robes straightened and her hair braided back, she was surprised to see Sirius and James sitting on the sofa in their own mourning robes. They didn't seem to notice her approach as the two continued to make plans for the full moon the two weeks.

"James? Sirius? What're you doing here?"

"Well in case it escaped your attention, we kind of live here," James said condescendingly.

Ursula swatted at his head but he ducked. "Seriously, you are normally dead until noon. It's eight in the morning."

"We're going with you. You'll need us and King'll too." Sirius said. "Moony is going to meet us there with Lucky a little later."

"What about Peter?"

James waved off her question, "He's on vacation in Mexico right now with his family. Besides, you know how well he does with funerals."

"Kids!" Mrs. Potter shouted from the kitchen, "Breakfast!"

Once they had finished their breakfast, the Potters apparated the three to the funeral. Ursula instantly caught sight of Ben standing near his father. She instantly took off to be with him while Sirius and James saw their friend Frank Longbottom nearby. They walked over to talk to him, trying their best to distract Frank from the loss of his colleagues. Soon Remus and Lucky were there but there was nothing much they could say to each other. For most of the day, they spent their time around Ben, either trying to distract him or letting him vent or maybe tell a story or two about his extended family.

When it came time for them to leave, Ursula left with the Potters, not wanting to intrude on the White family and their grieving. The second the three of them were back home, they threw their robes off and tossed them in a corner of the living room, not wanting to even look at the dreaded clothing. Sirius and James ran up to their room while Ursula went to the kitchen to get a glass of water, running into Mr. Potter who was taking multiple potions.

"Ah, Ursula, I see Eva got you and your brothers," he said as he settled himself into a chair.

"She did. It was time for us to go."

"How is your bloke doing?"

She sighed and took a seat across from him, "It's hard. It was his godfather and the only cousins he was close to. The other ones are older than him or live in different countries. Apparently, half of them live in Canada so their visits aren't often. He's already lost his sister and then to lose his extended family...he's coping the best he can."

Mr. Potter nodded and was silent, sipping on a cup of tea he made himself. His hands were shaking as he brought it back onto the coaster, his actions slightly jerky. "Listen, Ursula, I realize that I'm an old man and I don't have much time left."

"Please, stop," Ursula begged, not wanting to even think of what he was saying.

"It's a fact of life. We all die. I'm lucky. I've lived a full life. I have a beautiful wife I fall more in love with every day, a son who is my entire world, two more children that I can't imagine my life without, friends I would have died for, and memories of a life well lived. I pray that you, James, and Sirius experience all the wonders of life I have; finding someone you love, marrying, having children. But I know my children. You're going to fight this Lord Voldemort."

"Yes sir," Ursula responded softly at his unusually stern gaze. "Sirius, James, and I are all planning on joining the Order of the Phoenix once we graduate from school."

"What type of life do you think you are signing up for?" He asked innocently.

"The type where we fight for what is right."

"Can you kill a man, Ursula? Look me right in the eye and tell me that you would have no qualms about using the killing curse on a Death Eater. For all you know, one of your cousins, maybe one of your playmates from childhood, maybe a former classmate, might be behind that mask. I don't want to discourage you but would you be able to do that?"

Ursula paused as she thought through the heavy question. She at first wanted to say no, that she never could take a man's life. But then that voice in her head stopped her and, while it went against all her morals, she realized that if someone was about to kill one of her friends, she wouldn't hesitate. She would kill someone threatening Sirius, Elyse, James, Remus, Peter…god, Ben. She winced as she thought of a world without Ben in it and she knew for certain her answer.

"For my friends, I would." She responded. "I would kill for James. For Ben. For Sirius. For all of them."

He nodded and folded his hands under his chin, "And how would you be able to cope if you didn't get there in time? Chances are, at least one of your friends is going to die if you all join the Order."

"I'll stop it." She asserted. "James and I have been discussing different tactics and defensive measures. We can protect our friends."

"And what about Ben? I know that the chances are so slim that I would never get to walk you down the aisle on your wedding day but would you get married in this situation? Have a family?"

Ursula immediately wanted to deny getting married. She had always sworn when she was younger that she would never get married and if she did, it would be to a muggle. And here she was dating the pureblood son of the Minister. She thought about being married and for the first time, she wasn't terrified of the idea.

"Maybe marriage. I don't want to bring a child into this world with how things are. And don't speak as if you won't be there. You'll be the one to walk me down the aisle and you'll be there to see James marry Lily and see Sirius crash the motorcycle you guys think you are hiding from Mrs. Potter and me."

He chuckled the tension in the room melting away, "Can't get anything past Potter women, can we?"

Ursula shook her head and laughed, "Nah, you guys aren't sneaky enough."

"I used to be able to out-sneak the best Slytherins. Guess old age has made me go soft, eh? But that doesn't mean I don't worry about my little girl. I want to make sure that you'll be taken care of once I'm gone. I know james and Sirius will look out for you, as would the rest of your friends. When I die, I don't want to see any of your faces anytime soon."

She was about to respond but she was over taken by a large yawn. Mr. Potter laughed and shooed her away. "Go get some sleep. It's been a long day."

"'night, Dad," she murmured sleepily, not catching what she had called him.

He simply smiled to himself as he took another sip of tea. That was the first time she had called him dad and it sent a warm feeling through him that no cup of tea would ever be able to do.

One week later, Elyse was standing outside her house, waiting for the arrival of her friends. Her short, spikey hair was flying around in the wind, making her look like a ginger James. Their OWL results had come the previous day but they all agreed that they would open them together. It was decided that they would meet up at Elyse's.

It was terrible waiting. The envelope had been taunting her the entire night, pleading for her to open it but she had resisted. Peter was already sitting in the kitchen, munching on snacks her mother made while Remus was looking at the books on the bookshelf. Finally, she saw Ursula, Ben, James, and Sirius walking up towards her house.

"Woot took yeh so long?" She demanded of them when they were close enough.

Ursula rolled her eyes, "Have you ever seen those two be on time for anything?"

"Good point." Elyse concurred as she opened the door for them. The boys all walked in while Ursula hung back with Elyse.

"So, Elyse, did you get that diving lipend for the cars?"

"It's a driver's license 'n yeah, I got me license."

"Wicked. How are things with your visions?" She asked, concerned.

The change in Elyse was immediate. Her eyes became downcast and her shoulders hunched over. She didn't need to say anything for Ursula to figure out what that meant. Ursula placed her hand on her shoulder in silent comfort. The serious mood was broken by none other than Sirius, shouting at them to hurry over so they could "open these damn things."

They all pulled out the same envelope, the only difference being the name and address on the outside. All at once, they ripped open their envelopes. James whooped when he read his score, "All O's baby!" He shouted elatedly. "Whose wicked brilliant? I am."

"Get off your high horse, I got all O's except for History of Magic and considering it was the day after the full moon, it is a miracle I got an E." Remus pointed out.

"What about you Sirius?" James questioned.

He shrugged, "O's in Defense, Transfiguration, Astronomy, and Herbology. How the hell that happened, I'll never know. E's in Charms, Potions, Care of Magical Creatures, and Ancient Runes. I got an A in Muggle Studies and failed History of Magic. How about you Sissy?"

"I received O's in Charms, Defense, Astronomy, Ancient Runes, Transfiguration, and Care of Magical Creatures. Three E's in Potions, Herbology, and History of Magic. I got an A in Divination as well."

"Congratualtions, Love," Ben said, giving her a side hug and giving her a chaste kiss. Sirius gagged and James rolled his eyes. "What about you, Lover boy?"

"O's in Transfiguration, Defense, Potions, and Ancient Runes. E's in everything else except Astronomy. I got an A on that one. How did you do, Peter?"

Peter, didn't seem like he wanted to share but he said that he got his OWLs in Transfiguration, Potions, Charms, Defense, and Care of Magical Creatures, getting either an E or A on them. Unlike his friends, he had no O's to boast about.

Elyse would have told them about her scores but she could only stare at the terrible piece of paper in front of her.

Ordinary Wizarding Level Results

Pass Grades: Fail Grades:

Outstanding (O) Poor (P)

Exceeds Expectations (E) Dreadful (D)

Acceptable (A) Troll (T)

Elyse Catherine O'Brian has achieved

Astronomy (D)

Care of Magical Creatures (A)

Charms (E)

Defense Against the Dark Arts (T)

Divination (P)

Herbology (E)

History of Magic (T)

Potions (A)

Transfiguration (A)

She had failed most of her OWLs or scored much lower than she should have. As if this summer couldn't get worse. Though, maybe in the back of her mind she wondered if it was best that she didn't see this coming. That would have killed her to see such failure.

Remus seemed to be the only one who noticed her distress. "Elyse? What is it?" He asked softly, without drawing attention from the others.

Silently, she handed him the paper. Within a second, Remus pulled her into a hug. "It'll be alright, Elyse. Trust me."

For her sanity, she had to believe him so she nodded. But in the back of her mind, the doubts still existed. How could Remus know? It wasn't like he could see the future. Not like she used to be able to. The lack of her gift was driving her insane. A darkness was settling in her mind, worthlessness sometimes crashing over her like a wave from the ocean on the sand. But with Remus right there, supporting her, it felt like she would be able to survive it and make it out in the end. Maybe she would learn to live without her visions.

She pulled away from Remus's embrace and looking him in the eyes, her thanks just on the tip of her tongue when suddenly she froze and her eyes glazed over in a vision. Remus gasped in shock, unable to believe what he was seeing…