Authors note, 07/02/14 - Hey folks :-) I must apologise that you received an update alert for this story yesterday. I was tinkering around with it and messed up, so you were all sent an alert. This error somehow kick-started my creative juices and I completed this chapter this morning! Just shows that something good (I hope it is!) can be created from an error! I've been stuck on this chapter for a few weeks, and I'm glad its completed so I can focus on the completion of the next few chapters.

It will be the 1 year anniversary of my posting this story on FanFiction on the 9th Feb. I cannot believe that almost 1 year on its still incomplete, and continues to be twisting onward in its weird, and hopefully wonderful way! I want to thank all of you again who are following this story and I hope you can stay with me. This story is my baby and I am determined to take it to its conclusion :-) SA

'Enemy, familiar friend

My beginning and my end.

Knowing truth, whispering lies

And it hurts again.

What I fear and what I've tried,

Words I say and what I hide.

All the pain, I want it to end

But I want it again.

And it finds me

The fight inside is coursing through my veins.

And it's raging

The fight inside is breaking me again.'

"Fight Inside" - Red

Tuesday 5th September 2000, 9.10pm

What is it mummy? I can hear noises. His little voice called out to her in alarm. Even protected by her body, the commotion disturbed him in his cocoon. Her heart was beating hard and her insides contracted at the sight of the Dark Mark looming oppressively in the sky. Even now it still had the power to cause apprehension and fear.

She pressed herself against the glass and watched as the dark torrents of smoke began to appear in the sky, as those summoned returned to aid their master. Flashes of dark and light streaked across the night sky as Death Eaters and Order members began to do battle. It was impossible to identify anyone, but Rose searched hungrily for Sirius.

'Get down from there, you stupid girl!'

Rose winced slightly, disturbing the untreated wounds Voldemort had inflicted. She turned and looked at the woman, a harsh laugh escaping her lips, before her face darkened.

'And if I don't? What will you do about it?'

Alecto, her expression showing her frustration, scowled mutely at Rose, knowing full well she had no control over her.

'Yes, Alecto, nothing is all you can do!'

Rose leaned back against the window pane, her thoughts wandering again. He's here. Part of her could not help but allow the joy to flood into her system, but it was quickly tempered by the facts. Sirius had gone through with the pact he'd made with Morgan, and he'd promised the Dark Amber stone in return for her help. He had no right to do that... it's not his to give away. Her anger and joy were interchangeable now.

Morgan. The name fired up her anger even more. What lies has she been spinning them all? Rose knew she would have to take care...Morgan was possessing an Order member. She was certain it wouldn't be Sirius, but she needed to stay on her guard if she came into contact with any of the others.

The sounds from outside brought her concentration back to the present. This could turn into some battle, and she wondered how it would end. Voldemort and Morgan were both formidable, and those who did their bidding were expendable to them. A lump formed in her chest. How many casualties would there be? There had been far too many already, and she hoped that Sirius had not persuaded the others to come on a suicide mission...she wanted no-one to die for her. And enough people had already died because of Voldemort...how many lives had Morgan sacrificed over the centuries?

Rose turned and looked at Alecto once more, who was standing near the door, her apprehension palpable. The sounds from outside had now infiltrated the house and were creeping nearer to the room. Neither of them knew who or what to expect. Rose stepped down from the window seat, preparing to protect herself and her son.

The door flew from its hinges and Rose backed herself into the corner, casting a protective shield around her. She saw a huge flash of light from the doorway and watched Alecto being thrown against the wall, the door smashing into her body, before dropping the floor. Alecto's stout body lay broken on top of the remnants of the door to her room. Their eyes met and she saw the pain contained within them. Blood poured from her smashed nose, and a faint moan escaped her bloodied mouth.

Rose looked up at the figure stood in the doorway, and took in a sharp and jagged breath as Sirius strode into the room, his eyes roaming over Alecto's fatally damaged body, before fixing on her, the emotions in them unfathomable. They both stood and stared at each other for what felt like hours. When he didn't move, Rose broke the deadlock, and rushed at him, clamping her arms around his neck, burying her face in his hair and breathing him in.

Sirius remained still and unmoving, and a knot of anxiety began to spread through her. It faded slightly when his hands came to rest on her shoulders, and he pressed his body against hers. His hands then moved down her arms, and he began to pull them from around his neck, pushing her away from him slightly and staring at her. The anxiety began to grow inside of her again.

He kissed her without warning, forcing his mouth on hers. She responded to him, ignoring the rough contact and the hard grip he held her in. Sirius pushed her back from him once more, as noises travelled down the corridor. He moved away and went to the door to investigate. After a moment or so he turned back to face her.

'We have to get out of here... I need to get you to safety.'

He looked down at her stomach, before his eyes flickered back to her face, and Rose felt her heart sink...he knew she was pregnant...Kreacher must have told him. There was so much they needed to discuss, but now was not the time. She tried again to read him, but he was hiding his emotions well, as his hand came to rest on her arm, touching one of her wounds lightly.

'Did he do this to you?'

Rose swallowed, and nodded at him. Moving his hand from her arm, he held it out to her, and she took it, clasping her fingers around it tightly. A movement in the doorway commanded their attention.

'Black!'

Goyle's gruff voice pierced the air, as he pointed his wand at him.

'Get your filthy hands off the Dark Lord's wife!'

Goyle's body began jerking and drool started dripping from his mouth. He hit the corridor wall, his body sliding down to the floor. His hair stood on end, the crackle of electricity around him still live. Sirius gripped her hand more tightly, and he looked at her in admiration, his mouth twisting into a dark smile. Rose lowered her hand now that she had rendered Goyle unconscious with her simple yet effective spell.

'Let's get out of here,' she said to him, and the hook sensation of apparation pulled at her core.

xox

9.45pm

They arrived outside a small cottage surrounded by trees. The wind whispering around them ominously, and the only other sounds they heard were the nocturnal cries of the animals that inhabited the forest they were in. Rose shivered, and goosebumps began to appear upon her arms. The night air was chilly, and she was still only wearing her tattered and bloody dress. Sirius took out his wand and she watched as he took down the wards that protected the cottage. Once done, he pushed down the handle and opened the door, turning to her and holding out his hand again.

'Come, let's get you inside and out of the cold.'

Rose took his hand gratefully, and allowed him to lead her through the door, as exhaustion washed over her. There was a fireplace in the centre of the room, with two large, comfy looking armchairs at either side. She saw a door to the left that led into a small kitchen. Sirius pointed his wand at the hearth, and the warmth and glow of the flames began to move about the room.

'Sit down,' he said, walking away into the kitchen to fill the kettle with water, lighting the gas underneath. Rose sank down into one of the chairs next to the fire, pulling the blanket from off the back of the chair and placing it around her shoulders.

Sirius moved around the cottage, ensuring it was secure, and her eyes followed him when he was in view. He appeared at the kitchen doorway and stood and stared at her for a moment, before he began moving again.

'I'm going outside to check the perimeter, and attend to something...I'll be back as soon as I can.' He didn't look at her and she watched him as he pulled on his overcoat before walking over to the dresser, taking something from out of the drawer and placing it in his inside pocket.

'You will be safe here, I'm the only one who knows where you are.'

He turned and gave her another look, and for a moment she thought he was looking at her with hatred. A sense of unease seemed to have invaded her and she didn't know why.

'Okay', she said, feeling as if her heart had moved from her chest and was now lodged in her throat. 'I'll make some tea for when you return.'

He nodded, turning away abruptly and closing the door behind him.

xox

10.25pm

'Aarrgh!' A gurgling, tortured scream escaped from the man pinned to the ground by the large black dog. It had sunk its teeth into his neck, and the pain was excruciating. His vision was fading and he could taste his own blood. The dog spat the man's flesh to the ground, and stared at him for a moment, growling. With its teeth bared, the man watched his own blood dripping from the dog's mouth, before he lost consciousness. The dog turned away to hunt out and take down its next victim.

George Weasley, duelling with Rosier, grinned in delight, as an army of ravens suddenly descended from the sky and began to attack Voldemort's followers. He looked over and saw Morgan stood with her arms outstretched towards the sky, summoning her avian horde, before her body transformed and she became one of thousands that streamed across the night sky. He swore, as his curse missed Rosier, who had dropped to the ground trying to protect himself from the birds. George aimed another curse at him, but Rosier had conjured a shield that deflected the spell. Not all the Death Eaters were so fortunate, as several of them were writhing on the ground, screaming as the raven beaks ripped at their bodies.

Moments later, the piercing screams of the ravens could be heard, and then a smell of burning flesh filled George's nostrils, as the ravens began to burn up into the atmosphere. George, wondering who had destroyed Morgan's ravens, was about to go off in pursuit of Crabbe, when a large rumble emitted from the ground. He could not keep himself steady and hit the ground with a thud. 'Bloody hell!' He was not the only one who had fallen...many others had too as the tremors caused them to lose balance. After a few moments, the tremors stopped, and George began to move, raising himself up from the earth.

A haunting cry of terror made him shiver, and something told him he knew who it came from. He began to run towards the sound, casting out defensive spells at those of Voldemort's followers who tried to attack him. He froze in horror at the sight before him when he reached his destination.

The three creatures were devouring Alvin Muggleton's now-paralyzed body. They were nothing like the one that had lived in his family's attic or he'd learned about at Hogwarts. These were not 'relatively harmless.' Their skin had a pallid, grey hue and their bodies were sinewy, with no excess flesh. Instead of nails, their hands and feet had sharpened talons, those upon their hands had skin and blood hanging from them. They were hairless, the moonlight shining upon their rounded heads.

They sensed him, and turned rapidly, the proximity of more living flesh to consume whetting their appetites. George stared into the sickly, yellow eyes and the almost-grinning mouths, the blood of their victim dripping from the sharpened teeth. Ghouls. He had never seen ones like this before. They were swift and he aimed his wand at the first just in time. It flew through the air, landing with a crack twenty feet away. He made the second one's head explode and it's body fell to the ground, its elongated limbs flailing about.

The third ghoul had remained crouched over Alvin's body and was continuing to take its fill. George aimed his wand, decapitating it and then kicking away the still-animated body that fell on Alvin. He fought down the contents of his stomach at the sight of Alvin's body. He was barely breathing, his limbs having had the flesh torn and bitten from them. 'Drusilla...' he managed to eke out his daughter's name from his lips.

George swallowed, fighting back the emotion. 'We'll take care of her Alvin, I promise.' A moan escaped Alvin, and George aimed his wand at the man, in preparation to end his suffering. 'I'm sorry, George said, finally. The agony of the talons that dug into his arms stunned him. His scream of pain as the sharpened teeth sunk into the flesh of his shoulder only sounded inside his head.

George Weasley's paralysed body dropped to the ground and his attacker salivated at the sight of his fresh meal.

xox

Morgan cast out the time-freezing spell, and this time it worked. Why hadn't it worked earlier? Had it been blocked by Riddle? She was certain he'd destroyed her ravens and he was the only one who could have summoned and controlled those ghouls. Where was he? She stood looking out at the frozen vista...Death Eaters, Order members and ghouls before her. She transfigured herself into her raven form and took to the sky, viewing all below her. She could sense who was living or dead. On reaching the house, she began to search through the rooms thoroughly, though she already knew that Rose was not here, and she'd lost sight of Sirius earlier. Riddle and his serpent were gone too.

She felt her fury rise up. Sirius' elf had absconded several days ago with the Dark Amber stone, aided by Kingsley Shacklebolt, who had now also vanished. Sirius had tried to summon Kreacher to him, but the elf had not returned, despite being bound to Sirius. She'd promised Sirius she would not harm Kingsley or his elf, but she'd sent out spies to seek them out, and they would suffer when they were found. She'd been so certain of moulding Rose into an obedient follower, but she was proving to be just as obstructive, and she too would be dealt with once the child was born.

And Riddle was as slippery as his reptilian horcrux. He had evaded her and would be on his guard and ready for her now. She realised suddenly that she was now in the bowels of Riddle's house, and their were cells to keep prisoners in. Her raven form halted as she spied the still body of the emaciated woman slumped in the prison cell. It sparked an idea and she perched upon the bars, lifting her spell from the woman, who began to move once again.

She raised up her head as she heard the raven's cry echo around her cell, letting out a little squeak of shock as its beady eyes fixed upon her. It hopped from the bars and down to the floor and the woman tried to back herself further away. She let out a moan of terror as the raven transfigured before her and a young, fair-haired woman emerged.

'Hello again, Bellatrix.'

The woman smiled down at her, and Bellatrix furrowed her brow in confusion.

'Wh-who are you?' Bellatrix croaked, staring at her fearfully from under her mound of matted hair.

'Don't you remember me?' The woman replied. Bellatrix shook her head, but still continued to stare at the woman before her. She leaned down and placed her fingers under Bellatrix's chin. Bellatrix tried to pull away, but the woman's fingers gripped her chin tightly.

'Oh, you do, Bellatrix. I'm the woman your master's wife protected you from...remember?' Morgan watched the slow realization dawn upon Bellatrix's face and her eyes widen.

'And I'm here to take from you that which she wouldn't.' Panic and terror began to flood through her weakened body, and Bellatrix began to cry and beg.

'Please...no...please don't...' She sobbed, her voice cracking.

'Save your tears for your master, Bellatrix...he will be joining you in death soon enough.'

She had no time to think on Morgan's words, as she felt the oxygen being taken from her. Her body stiffened and her back arched, and she gasped weakly as the air exited her body The charcoal ball of mist swirled and hovered above Morgan's palm. Bellatrix's body slumped to the ground and became still. Morgan smiled and then opened her mouth, ingesting Bellatrix LeStrange's life force.

Ruby Goddard groaned. Her head was splitting and her whole body felt weak. She gently began to open her eyes. What had happened? Her mind felt foggy and it was hard to focus. As her eyes began to adjust, they finally began to process what they were seeing, and fed the information to her brain. Her heart jumped in shock and horror at the sight of Bellatrix LeStrange before her. The bulging eyes stared through her unseeing, looking unnaturally large in her gaunt and haggard face.

Despite her weakness, she found the energy to raise herself upwards and push herself away from the witches dead body. She let out a yell of pain as her back collided with cold, metal bars. She took in breaths of air to relax her body and clear her mind. And then she realised that she was once again alone in her mind and body. It all flooded back to her...she was no longer being possessed by Morgan. A sob of relief escaped her lips...she was in control of herself again.

'How are you feeling Ruby, my dear?' Ruby jumped at the sound of that voice, and her eyes travelled in the direction it came from. Morgan stood in the corner of the cell watching her, no longer a transparent form, but solid and alive. Her smile and her eyes exuded warmth, but Ruby now knew what really lay behind them, and she could not help but feel the icy shiver down her back. 'I'm okay….I think.' Ruby tried to keep her voice steady. 'Good. I am most grateful to you for the use of your body, but you can now have it back. As you can see, I am now human once more.'

Ruby forced a nervous smile on her face. 'That's great..I'm pleased for you.' Morgan stared at her and then let out a dark laugh. Ruby observed that the laughter did not reach her eyes, which held a cold and calculating look. 'Its nice of you to say so, Ruby, but we both know that you are lying.' Ruby felt abject terror inside her now, and was about to speak, but Morgan cut her off. 'I've seen inside your mind, as you have seen into mine...and I can read your thoughts. You know far too much about me now.'

Ruby knew what was coming next. What do I do? Think, Ruby, think! She inhaled a breath of air and fought back the tears. She was not going to cry. 'You can obliviate my memory of the things you don't want me to know.' She held her voice steady and studied Morgan's expression, hoping she would see that her words had been effective. 'Yes, of course I could,' Morgan replied. 'That would solve the problem.' Ruby watched her move around the cell, almost forgetting to breathe.

Morgan stopped and stood over Bellatrix's corpse. 'This woman's damaged life force has returned me to human form, but a younger and purer life force would sustain me far better.' Their eyes met and Ruby knew that her fate had been decided. She was not going to beg this woman for her life.

'Think of it as your contribution to aid the Order in destroying Voldemort. Your life will serve a purpose, for I will kill him.'

Ruby thought of her parents. They would be left devastated and bereft once again, and she wished she could see them one last time. 'Do what you will...I know you are going to anyway. But you won't be able to hide your true intentions forever. Sirius will see through you eventually, and it looks like Rose already has! I thought your intentions were good, but you are just as bad as Voldemort!' Those were Ruby Goddard's final words before Morgan Le Fay began to steal away the life force from her body.

xox

Morgan's hands roamed over her face and then downwards across the rest of her body. She was back...she was human once more, and she felt invigorated by energy of the young woman whose life she had just taken. She let out a laugh of pleasure as she walked among the still forms encased in her spell.

She debated with herself about whether to obliterate those of Riddle's followers that still lived. Her hand stroked the cheek of the still form of Antonin Dolohov. 'Handsome,' she said to herself, before moving on to the next body. She touched the luxurious material of Lucius Malfoy's outfit, before twirling a piece of his long, pale hair around her finger and studying his face. She had infiltrated the minds of Riddle's followers, but was unable to source any information about the location of their master and his horcrux.

'No.' She said out aloud. There were some talented wizards that followed Riddle, but none were any threat to her. And some were far too pleasing on the eye to for her to kill...and potentially far too useful. Once Riddle was dead, she was certain she could gather his followers to her. There would be a void of leadership in the wizarding community and she would fill it. She was the founder of the most ancient wizarding dynasty in the British Isles...even the muggles knew her name! Rose and Riddle's son would be her heir, and she would help him to fulfill his potential.

Corvus flew down from the sky and settled upon her shoulder. She stroked the raven's body and he let out a shrill cry of pleasure.

'Hello, my little one.' He responded to her and she listened as he expressed his sorrow and anger.

'Do not fear, my sweet, Riddle will pay for destroying your kin.' Corvus spoke once again, and she looked down to the ground. George Weasley lay at her feet, alive, but injured. A frozen ghoul was hunched over his body, clearly about to take another bite from his flesh. Morgan's eyes scanned over George's body. The boy could be salvaged.

'What shall we do with him, Corvus?' Morgan listened to his advice, and agreed with his assessment.

'Yes, I think you are right. He is a skilled wizard, and he is brave. I'll take him and leave the rest...they can be replaced.' She sought out the bodies of the remaining Order members that were alive and injured then obliviated their memories. Riddle and his followers would source no information from them.

She watched Corvus as he soared and circled the air above her. She held out her hand to him and he descended downwards once more, taking his place upon it. Crouching down, she grasped the hand of George Weasley in her free one, before standing up once more.

'Let us go, my sweet,' she said, 'We have much to do.' Corvus' shrill response echoed through the dark and silent atmosphere.