A/N: Hello everyone! I felt like this was a good time to go back in time a bit. This is written in 3rd person POV, not our usual OC's POV. This actually took a little turn from what I had initially intended, but I like where it went. Sorry though, this chapter is a tad shorter than usual, but I really wanted to get this out and flesh out our story a bit more. I promise longer chapters will return! Let me know what you think!

Chapter 14: Everything Has Changed

"Carina, we don't have much time. Where is she?" Eridanus paced back and forth in the living room, anxiously waiting for his daughter to arrive.

"She said she had a few things to finish before she could floo back home. I'm sure she won't be much longer," Carina said, looking down at her hands.

The height of the war was upon them, and they knew there was a price for each of their heads, including their daughter's. There was no way they were going to survive, so they decided to run away. Carina, Eridanus, and Ara were one of the silent few Black family members that didn't quite align their loyalties with the rest of the family. Naturally, someone found out, and now the Death Eaters (with members of the Black family included) are out for their blood.

Ara insisted they stay and fight. She would rather die for something she believed in than to run away with still the chance of getting caught later. Eridanus couldn't come to terms with seeing his daughter die, or himself for that matter, so he chose to bring his family to a faraway place. Carina was just as fearful as Eridanus, and silently agreed to her husband's wishes.

The fireplace swirled green and Ara came walking through, brushing the soot off of her robes. "Hello mother, father," she said, kissing them both on the cheek. "I just need to freshen up and then we can talk."

Eridanus stood at the window, noting the darkness looming over their home. Time was running out. "Have you contacted Minerva?" he asked, not taking his eyes off of the sight outside.

"Yes, dear," Carina replied. "We met earlier today. She will be our Secret Keeper. She is the only one that knows."

They remained silent until Ara returned to the room. She had changed into comfortable house clothes, and threw her almost black hair into a messy bun.

"Ara, dear, the Death Eaters are getting closer by the day. We must leave if we want to survive," her mother said, worry and fear etched all over her face. Eridanus turned to look at his wife and his daughter. She just entered her twenties, and she had a good head on her shoulders. Sometimes, though, he wished she would just nod and play along, like she used to do when she was younger.

Ara pursed her lips before starting. "Mother, you know how I feel about running away. I want to stay and fight. We shouldn't be letting these people ruin our lives because we don't agree with them!"

They have had this argument many times, and Ara was just about done with them. "If the both of you are so inclined to leave, then I suggest you go on without me. I am not afraid to die," she said with finality.

"I see, well, you're a grown woman now, and I know you're fully capable of making your own decisions," Eridanus said, walking over to his daughter. He took one long look at her before embracing her for what could possibly be the last time.

"Sometimes I wish you were still my baby girl, though," he said, trying to hold back his tears.

"Father," Ara said, embracing him. She didn't want it to be like this, but this was something she needed to do, with or without them. "I'll always be your baby girl, no matter what happens."

She looked at her mother and father before starting to make her way out of the room. "You two should get going. I am going to pack a few of our things before I set out as well," Ara said before leaving the room.

"Crucio."

Before Ara could set foot out of the living room, a burning, searing pain made its way throughout her whole body. She fell to the floor, screaming in pain. Eridanus kept his wand on his daughter for a few minutes, only letting go of the spell once he saw blood seeping out of her nostrils.

"Eridanus! What in Merlin's name do you think you're doing?!" Carina screeched, looking at her husband in horror.

"Getting my daughter out of here," he said, flicking his wand and setting a rope binding spell on Ara. Even in the bind, they could still see her convulsing from the Cruciatus. She groaned in pain, but any attempt to speak failed.

As they both kneeled down next to Ara, a sudden knocking came to their front door. There was only one person that would be knocking at this time, and they knew they were on borrowed time now.

"Carina, do it now, then I will take us to our location," Eridanus ordered his wife.

Carina was so shocked by what Eridanus has done to her daughter, she didn't quite register the order he was barking to her. All she could think about were memories of times when the Dark Lord wasn't trying to take over the world, and they were able to be a proper family. She missed the days when Ara would come home from the Ministry and they would have dinner, talking about her cases that she worked on and how she's making a difference in the world.

She will never have that life again.

"Carina! Are you listening?!" Eridanus started to sound panicked now as the sound of an explosion rocked through the house.

"Eri! Your family is here!" an eerie singsong voice echoed through the halls.

"Bellatrix," Eri said under his breath. "Now, Carina!"

"I can't! I don't want to do this!" Carina said, tears rolling down her eyes and falling on Ara's cheek. She brushed the hair out of her daughter's face. She looked up at her husband, who was staring back at her, anger and fear. He simply nodded, and she understood.

Carina shakily raised her wand and pointed it at Ara's forehead. "I'm sorry, baby girl," she said.

"Say goodbye Eri!" Bellatrix yelled.

"Oblivi-" Pop!

The three landed in a dark alleyway. Eridanus held onto his unconscious daughter as he tried to catch his breath. He looked over at his wife. She looked like death, her face pale and her eyes staring into nothingness.

"Carina, are you alright?" he asked.

She shook her head. "Nothing will be the same again."

"I know and I'm sorry, but you know it is for the best," Eridanus said firmly. "Do you remember what we discussed about our identities?"

Carina nodded, mentally waving goodbye to her former self. "I am Christina Taylor, and I am married to you, Benjamin Taylor. This is our daughter, Mia Taylor," she said in a monotone. They were to be doctors from California, living deep within the muggle community. They will be flying under the radar, using little to no magic so that the Ministry or the Dark Lord cannot trace them. Ara will now live as Mia, a muggle, with no history or ancestry relating her back to the wizarding world.

This was their new life.

Eridanus held his still unconscious daughter in his arms as they walked the pathway up to their new home. It was a modern looking 2 story home on a fairly sized plot of land. Their property was gated, and Carina punched the code they agreed upon onto the keypad. The gates slowly swung open as they made their way up the driveway and to the front door.

Once inside, Eridanus gently laid Ara down on the couch as Carina naturally went into the kitchen to start a pot of tea. Ara began to stir as Eridanus picked up a remote from the coffee table and stared at it.

"One day I'll get used to these muggle contraptions," he mumbled to himself as he tried to remember the button that would start the fireplace. On his first try, the flames roared to life and the room began to feel warm. Knowing his daughter would wake soon, and surely will have a lot of questions, Eridanus quickly waved his hand and the binding spell released itself from her. He sat in a chair across from her and patiently waited for her to come to.

Carina was just entering the great room as Ara opened her eyes and took in a deep breath.

"Where am I?!" she asked, frantically. She shot up into a sitting position and whipped her head around. Eridanus rose from his chair to rest a hand on his daughter's shoulder.

"Don't touch me! Who are you?" she asked, pushing his hand off of her.

Eridanus was floored. How could this be? It seems as though Ara has lost everything about her. When he had asked his wife to obliviate their only daughter, he only meant for her to do it for the memories of tonight. Now that she is conscious, he realized that her spell somehow erased all memory of Ara Black. His daughter was truly lost, forever.

But, he did see an advantage to this mishap. As his wife stood in shock and guilt, he looked at his lost daughter with loving eyes.

"My dear, it's just me, your father," he said, quietly. "You are safe now, Mia."

Ara looked at Eridanus with fearful eyes. "Father?" she asked, shakily. "I'm so scared, what happened? I can't stop shaking."

Eridanus moved to sit next to his daughter. He cautiously placed an arm around her, and when she didn't retreat from his touch, he began.

"We were in a terrible accident, and I'm afraid you had been injured badly. Luckily, the doctors had said you would make a full recovery, and released you from confinement. You had fallen asleep on our way home from the hospital. The doctor said you might experience times like this, but to not worry, it is due to the trauma that you have endured, and will come to pass soon enough."

Ara took a minute to digest this information. She looked back and forth between her mother and father, as they both looked at her with hopeful eyes. Eridanus looked over to Carina, who hasn't said a word since she had realized what she had done.

"We will do everything we can to make sure your recovery goes well," he said, looking back at Ara. After a few moments, Eridanus took his daughter upstairs and let her rest in her bedroom. When he came back downstairs, Carina was sitting on the floor, staring at the flames in the fireplace.

He could see on her face the look of death. He knew at that instant that Carina didn't mean to do what had happened, but she is carrying all that guilt on her shoulders now. Her face was pale, her eyes sunken; this was not the woman he married just over three decades ago.

'Have I gone too far?' he thought, replaying the night's events in his mind. He only meant to do what was best for his family, but not only was his daughter lost, it seems as though his wife was lost to him as well.

"Carina," he said, softly.

"This was all your doing. Our daughter is gone," she spat out, not taking her eyes off of the fire.

"I only wanted to do what was best for us," he said, on the brink of tears. He knew he deserved this. He never meant to hurt either of them.

"Tomorrow we find out how much damage was done to her. Only when she is around will I play this charade with you, but when she is not around, Eridanus, you are dead to me."

Eridanus hung his head, understanding why Carina was acting the way she was. He had no response, and there was no reason to defend himself. "I never meant for any of this to happen. I love you both so dearly."

Carina stood and started to make her way to the bedroom. "I wish I could say the same."

Carina was sitting in the backyard when she heard the familiar sound of a pop. She rose from her seat to greet an old friend.

"Minerva, I'm so glad you're here," she said, embracing the older woman. "There is something we must discuss, about Ara."

"Is she alright? Did she not take the news well?" Minerva asked, concerned for her goddaughter. She has yet to see her since the Black family arrived in California.

"Something happened during our travel here, and I fear that I have lost my daughter forever," Carina started, trying to hold her tears back.

Minerva soothingly rubbed her friend's back. She was afraid to hear what had happened.

"Eri told me to obliviate Ara's memory of the night we fled. He didn't want her to remember him forcing her to leave with us. I think something happened while I was casting it on her, and she lost all memory of her identity. As far as she is concerned, she is Mia Taylor and she was always a Muggle, not the strong witch I knew her to be." Carina's voice cracked as she began to remember her precious Ara.

Minerva embraced her longtime friend as she began to shed her façade as Christina Taylor and became Carina Black for just a few moments. "That is terrible. What was Eridanus thinking? I should hex him to oblivion for doing what he has done to you both," Minerva said, comforting Carina. "I guess we must play along with this charade he has made, for the sake of Ara."

"I do not want her to forget where she has come from, Minerva," Carina said, softly. "When the time comes, will you bring her back to the wizarding world, and show her where she belongs?"

Minerva nodded. "I will find a way. She will be safe with me at Hogwarts, when it is her time."

"You are such a wonderful friend, I am forever in debt to you."

The ladies were quiet for a few moments, letting the slight breeze fill the air.

"Not all was lost, though," Carina said, ending the silence between them. "Surprisingly, her memories seem to be intact, but her identity is what was affected, along with the events from when we left. She did not remember myself or Eridanus for several hours after we had arrived, but once she had slept she remembered who we were. Eri has convinced her we had lived here all our lives, and she seems to be adapting well to the muggle world."

"Then your daughter is still in there. She may be buried deep inside, but she is there. Do not lose hope, Carina. If there is any way that we can regain her full memory, I will help you in any way possible." She embraced Carina once more before looking at the house. "Does she remember me?"

Carina nodded. "Yes, thankfully. Would you like to see her? I can hear her playing her piano."

It had been several days since Minerva had heard from Carina, which was uncharacteristic of her. Worried that something might have happened to her, she decided to pay the Blacks a visit.

When she apparated to the house, she noticed that the place was eerily dark, darker than usual. There was one faint light on. She hoped it was someone she knew. Fortunately, her knocking was answered by Ara, but it was not the Ara she once knew.

"Oh, Auntie! I've been meaning to contact you but I didn't know how!" Ara said, leaping onto her godmother. She caught her in her arms as Ara began to sob.

"Mia, dear, is everything alright? Where are your parents?" Minerva asked, looking up to see inside the house. There no signs of Carina or Eridanus anywhere, but there was a familiar blonde man that stood in the hallway leading into the kitchen.

He stared at Minerva, surprised at first, which turned into a look of evil and determination. He raised one long finger to his lips which were curled into a smirk.

At that point, she knew. She knew what he had done. Lucius Malfoy is behind whatever has happened to Carina and Eridanus. Everything in her was telling her to whip out her wand and take care of him, but she knew this could possibly make matters worse for Ara, who was now dealing with the loss of her parents. Although Ara was very much a grown woman, to Minerva she was still the little girl she always knew, and she will do anything to protect her.

She decided to play this charade for a little while longer, until she was able to bring her back to Hogwarts.

"I'm sorry, I don't think we have met. My name is Lucas Bradshaw, I work with Mia," Lucius graciously said as he walked over to Minerva and re-introduced himself.

She cautiously took his hand and shook it, never leaving eye contact with him. Ara took her hand and led her inside, and the three of them sat in the living room.

Minerva sat next to Ara and held her hand. "Why don't you start from the beginning, dear. What happened to your parents?"

"I'm still trying to figure that out, really," Ara said, looking down at the floor. "I came home and I found them here in the living room, dead. There were no signs of trauma or injury."

"We think it might have been some kind of accident," Lucius chimed in. "The authorities have already taken them away, but will release them within a few days."

'He seems so believable,' Minerva thought, looking at Lucius. She could feel herself going into Mother Lion mode, trying to protect her cub. "May I ask why you are still here, Mr. Bradshaw?" she asked, keeping her hands on Ara.

"I was bringing Mia home from work, when she noted that something didn't seem right, so I offered to walk her to the door, and that was when we found them," Lucius replied, smoothly. "I stayed to make sure she was alright."

Minerva couldn't believe her ears, her mind racing with a thousand questions that needed answers.

"That was very thoughtful of you," she said, looking at Ara. "I think she needs rest, now. I will stay with her tonight. You may leave if you wish."

"Very well. If there is anything you need, Mia, just call me," he said, resting his hand on Ara's shoulder.

"Thank you," Ara said softly, leaning towards Minerva. Lucas took his leave with Minerva staring at him the whole way out.

She looked at her precious god daughter and sighed, pushing away a rogue strand of hair off of her face. "Shall we go to bed? You look exhausted." Ara nodded as they both rose from their seats and made their way up the stairs.

"What am I going to do now? I can't live here by myself," Ara said, a panic attack beginning to manifest.

"Don't worry my dear, I will stay with you until you are well back on your feet. I am your god mother, and this is what we do," Minerva said, embracing her. "Come now, we will talk about this in the morning."