AN: I'm trying to update this story more. My goal is to finish it before the new year but I'm not sure if that will happen. I sure hope I can do it. Once again anything you recognize is JK Rowling's anything you don't is mine.

Ron POV

"We'll be back in a few days I promise." Sirius said holding Hermione close to him and stroked her hair. Her thin arms were wrapped tightly around him as if she never wanted to let him.

Emily tugged on my hand and I squatted down next to her. "When we come back can we continue our wizard's chess tournament?"

"Of course." I said smiling at her. She smiled back brightly her cheeks flushing with happiness.

"Harry? Ron?" Harry and I turned to look at Sirius who was walking over to Emily to grab her hand.

"Yeah?" Harry asked.

"Take care of Hermione." He whispered his eyes flicking over to Hermione who was sitting on her cot her eyes completely emotionless. It hurt to see Hermione in so much pain. How Sirius could stand it I had no idea.

"We will." I said with a nod.

"Thank you." He said with a sad smile. "Come on Emily let's go home."

Emily nodded and gripped tightly to Sirius' hand. The Apparated away with a little pop. Hermione slumped down and stared at the floor listlessly, tears in her eyes.

"Why don't we play a game of go fish?" I asked pulling a deck of cards out of my pocket.

Hermione looked up a little smile crossing her face. "Okay."

Severus POV

Most of the students had left Hogwarts for the Easter holiday. If I could I would leave too. The school was quickly becoming subdued. No one laughed in the halls anymore. Student turned on student and teacher on teacher. How anyone could stand this environment I had no idea.

"Lily." I whispered watching the picture I had of her. She was absolutely gorgeous. The one woman I had ever loved. My fingers traced her smile and my throat tightened. "I'm sorry Lily."

She didn't respond. All she did was smile and laugh as if I had told a great joke.

"I never wanted you to die." I muttered brokenly. "I love you... so much."

"She loved you too Severus." I turned towards Albus, who was watching me sadly tears in his eyes.

"No she didn't." I said dully wanting to hate James. But I didn't blame James anymore for everything that had happened. I only blamed myself. After all if it hadn't been for me she would still be alive.

"Yes, she did love you. Maybe not in the way you wanted but she did love you." He meant like a sibling. I had always wanted more but didn't know how to ask her. A sob tore from me and I slumped back in my chair. Why was I even alive when everything I did turned out horribly?

"I – miss – her." I finally said once I got my tears under control.

"I know you do." Albus said softly. "She was an amazing woman and her life was cut short too soon."

It was as if I was being sliced open with a dull, rusty knife. My only love was dead because of me. Another sob tore through me and I finally let myself grieve for her.

Sirius POV

"Why do I need to be here for this?" I asked looking between Fred and Lee. They wanted me to talk on Potterwatch but all I could think about was Hermione and how much she needed me.

"Kingsley can't come since its his turn to put up wards on the Muggle homes around the safe house and Remus needs to rest after his transformation." I sighed and rubbed my eyes. All I wanted was to spend as much time as possible with Hermione in case... no I couldn't think about it. She wouldn't die. Not if I could help it. But to be perfectly honest... we were running out of time to kill Nott. Just thinking that made me want to cry.

"Fine. But I'll only stay for thirty minutes." Nothing bad could possibly happen in that amount of time.

Hermione POV

Ron was fiddling with the radio trying to find Potterwatch and Harry was muttering about the Deathly Hallows. He was quickly becoming obsessed with them but Dumbledore hadn't asked us to look for them only the Horcruxes. And to be perfectly honest I didn't think the Deathly Hallows existed.

I was feeling much better than I had been. As suddenly as the pain and fatigue had come on it was gone. It was much easier to move around and I think I had even gained some weight which I thought was bloody fantastic.

"And now let's move to news concerning the wizard who is proving just as elusive as Harry Potter." Lee said his voice strong and sure.

"I found it!" Ron gasped. "The password was Phoenix!"

"Shhh!"

"We like to refer to him as the Chief Death Eater, and here to give his views on some of the more insane rumors circulating about him, I'd like to introduce a new correspondent. Rodent?"

"'Rodent'?" Asked a voice darkly. I gasped and smiled brightly, one of the twins!

"Fred!"

"No—is it George?"

"It's Fred, I think," Ron said, leaning in closer, as whichever twin it was said, "I'm not being 'Rodent,' no way, I told you I wanted to be 'Rapier'!"

"Oh, all right then, 'Rapier,' could you please give us your take on the various stories we've been hearing about the Chief Death Eater?"

"Yes, River, I can," Fred said a smile in his voice. It was easy to hear it. "As our listeners will know, unless they've taken refuge at the bottom of a garden pond or somewhere similar, You-Know-Who's strategy of remaining in the shadows is creating a nice little climate of panic. Mind you, if all the alleged sightings of him are genuine, we must have a good nineteen You-Know-Whos running around the place."

"Which suits him, of course," I gasped and touched the radio. My husband. He was safe. Even though he had only been gone for five days it was still hard. "The air of mystery is creating more terror than actually showing himself."

"Agreed," Fred said seriously "So, people, let's try and calm down a bit. Things are bad enough without inventing stuff as well. For instance, this new idea that You-Know-Who can kill people with a single glance from his eyes. That's a basilisk, listeners. One simple test: Check whether the thing that's glaring at you has got legs. If it has, it's safe to look into its eyes, although if it really is You-Know-Who, that's still likely to be the last thing you ever do."

Harry, Ron and I laughed and my heart ached with longing as Sirius joined in. I could always count on my husband to make me feel better. Even at a distance.

"And the rumors that he keeps being sighted abroad?" Lee asked.

"Well, who wouldn't want a nice little holiday after all the hard work he's been putting in?" Fred asked "Point is, people, don't get lulled into a false sense of security, thinking he's out of the country. Maybe he is, maybe he isn't, but the fact remains he can move faster than Severus Snape confronted with shampoo when he wants to, so don't count on him being a long way away if you're planning to take any risks. I never thought I'd hear myself say it, but safety first!"

"Thank you very much for those wise words, Rapier," said Lee. "Listeners, that brings us to the end of another Potterwatch. We don't know when it will be possible to broadcast again, but you can be sure we shall be back. Keep twiddling those dials: The next password will be 'Mad-Eye.' Keep each other safe: Keep faith. Good night."

The radio's dial twirled and the lights behind the tuning panel went out. Harry, Ron, and I were still beaming happily at each other. Hearing familiar, friendly voices was an extraordinary tonic; I don't think I had ever been so happy to hear Fred's voice. Out here in the wilderness it was easy to forget that we weren't the only ones resisting Voldemort.

"Good, eh?" Ron said with a little laugh his eyes sparkling.

"Brilliant," Harry whispered.

"It's so brave of them," I sighed. "If they were found..."

I did not like that train of thought. Sirius was with them.

"Well, they keep on the move, don't they?" Ron said, "Like us."

"But did you hear what Fred said?" Harry asked excitedly a slightly mad gleam in his eye. "He's abroad! He's still looking for the Wand, I knew it!"

"Harry–" I started.

"Come on, Hermione, why are you so determined not to admit it? Vol-"

"HARRY, NO!" I screamed trying to stop him before he said his name.

"-demort's after the Elder Wand!" My heart stuttered so hard in my chest I knew Sirius would feel it.

"The name's Taboo!" Ron bellowed, leaping to his feet as a loud crack sounded outside the tent. "I told you, Harry, I told you, we can't say it anymore—we've got to put the protection back around us—quickly—it's how they find–"

But Ron stopped talking abruptly. The Sneakoscope on the table had lit up and begun to spin; they could hear voices coming nearer and nearer: rough, excited voices. Ron pulled the Deluminator out of his pocket and clicked it: Their lamps went out.

"Come out of there with your hands up!" Came a rasping voice through the darkness. "We know you're in there! You've got half a dozen wands pointing at you and we don't care who we curse!"

I pointed my wand at Harry without a thought. He fell to the ground in pain as his face distorted and changed from the stinging hex I had hurled at him.

Sirius POV

"Come on Sirius we have to go!" Lee said as George and Fred tried to drag me out of the safe house before the Death Eaters found our location.

"Hermione," I whimpered trying to breathe past the fear that had made me fall to the floor with the intensity of it.

"Breathe Sirius, we're going to Apparate to Grimmauld Place." George said gripping onto me tightly.

"NOOO!" But it was too late. I could feel the horrible sensation of being forced through a tube and fell to the floor.

"Sirius?" Tonks. "What happened to him?"

"Something with Hermione we don't know –"

For one terrifying moment I was afraid my heart would beat right out of my chest then as suddenly as the fear had hit me it was gone. I couldn't feel my wife at all and that was more terrifying than the fear.

"HERMIONE!"

AN: Please Review! It helps so much more than you realize.