The quiet of evening had fallen. Hermione found herself relaxing in a hammock beside the dying campfire, the adults having decided to stay up and just enjoy the evening with a small bit of wine and meaningless conversation. Hermione had actually commandeered Firy, as the small kitten had been mewling for attention after Firas had long since passed out for the evening. The boy was nearly impossible to wake when he was exhausted and thus Hermione had taken the small kitten with her outside to enjoy the night air. Nips had been idly chewing on Amura's necklace but had otherwise not been a bother to the exhausted pre-teen.

Hermione was just enjoying the feeling of the gentle sway she'd charmed into the hammock when an odd feeling of being watched rolled up her spine. She opened her eyes for a moment to look out into the darkness but found nothing of concern. Deciding it was just the cool evening air she shifted her head towards the fire watching Ginny and Harry sitting beside the lake talking quietly. It was a perfect night, she only wished Severus had been there to enjoy it with her.

Suddenly, Firy stood up from where she'd been sleeping peacefully on Hermione's stomach, her fur raised, a low hiss coming from her mouth, "What's wrong Firy?" Before Hermione could even turn her head, in the direction the kneazle was looking, the small kitten jumped from her lap, running off into the darkness.

"Crisse." Hermione looked over at the lake for a moment before deciding that she could manage to catch the small creature on her own. Pushing herself out of the hammock, she lit the tip of her wand following the sound of the kitten crashing through the brush.

Inside the tent, Firas groaned softly reaching up towards his neck that felt oddly cold. Still heavy with sleep he lifted his head blinking through the darkness of the tent. As though sensing his familiar's distress, he turned his head towards his sister who was still resting peacefully with Nips chewing away at her necklace. The boy blinked slowly rubbing his eyes to try and see if he could spot his familiar in the tent but frowned when he couldn't sense their presence.

"Firy...?" His sleep heavy voice made his sister reach back to push his leg for him to be quiet. He mumbled a soft apology before pushing himself off the cot and towards the tent door. He rubbed his eyes as he came through the flap looking around the camp for either his mother or his familiar. Finding neither he settled on the couple relaxing against each other near the bank.

"Uncle Harry? Aunt Ginny?"

The couple turned in unison to the boy's sleepy words and slowly started coming to their feet to come closer to hear him better, "What's wrong Firas? Did you have a nightmare?"

"No...I can't find Firy..." He turned his head again looking around the camp once more, "Where's mum?"

Harry was about to answer that she was just over there before he realized the hammock was empty. Harry pulled his wand from his sleeve turning his eyes towards the woods, "She was right here..."

Firas let out a low noise before wrapping his arms around his chest, the woods were not a kind looking place at night and his imagination was already starting to run away from him. "I want my mum..."

Ginny moved closer wrapping an arm around the boy before looking to Harry, "I'm sure she'll be right back...come on...let's sit by the fire..."

Harry could feel the back hairs on the back of his neck standing up. It wasn't like Hermione to go off on her own. Something felt off, but he just couldn't place it. "Wand out yea?"

Ginny frowned deeper but pulled her own wand free from her belt, "Harry?"

"Stay here."

Firas didn't like the serious tone the man had taken and could already feel his eyes filling with tears. He didn't understand why they were suddenly unsafe, only that he understood that they weren't. Was it werewolves? A rogue dragon? What could have possibly found them? Where was his mum? Where was Firy?

Hermione grunted softly as she dipped under a low branch, she could just make out the kneazle's tail in the darkness and was trying to line up her shot to freeze the animal in place. She just made it over a small rise when a twig snapping to her right caught her immediate attention. On instinct, she crouched low and cast a disillusionment spell over her form just in time for a gruff looking man to appear out of the trees. Her eyes narrowed as he appeared to be searching for someone or something before another snap to her left made her ear twitch.

"She was just here."

"She couldn't have gone far. Get your head in the game, there's a lot of gold waiting for us if we can pull this off."

The thick Romanian accent was telling enough to Hermione that someone else must have been pulling the strings for whatever it was they were doing. Hermione held her breath as Firy came running back towards her obviously spooked by something just beyond the ridge. She grabbed her mid-retreat, pulling the creature tight to her chest while casting a small binding spell over the small creature to silence her. The men had turned to the sound but Hermione remained still, her eyes watching them turn and disappear back into the dark trees.

Harry looked out through the trees, he tapped his wand against his temple changing his eyes so that he was able to see in the dark. His footsteps came to a sudden halt when he noticed two human-like figures jumping through the trees further up ahead.

"Firas...?" Amura turned from her side having been woken when her brother had left the tent, her own sleep heavy eyes blinking the empty cot into focus. She let out a soft groan as she pushed herself up. Just as she had Nips, still chewing on her necklace let out a soft noise when the chain gave way; the amulet falling squarely on her small head. There was a small flash as the power within retreated and Amura's world turned white.

In the next second, she found herself standing in camp, tall dark trees closing in from all around. She could just make out a man with fiery red hair before a flash of green light lit up the world around her. The last thing she saw, was her mother's wide eyes as the light completely engulfed her.

"Mum!"

Amura's terrified scream echoed through the woods, startling everything and everyone nearby. Hermione jolted from the pure fear inside her daughter's voice and felt her heart jumping into her throat. She came to her feet in an instant, forgetting about the men who had also turned towards the sound. She turned instantly on the spot, her apparation so loud it echoed like thunder.

Harry turned back as well, crashing back through the woods from where he'd come. Though it wasn't his child, he would never turn away from an innocent in need. He'd just broken through to the campsite when he caught sight of Hermione appearing instantly in front of him.

"Mum? Mum!" Firas pushed himself from Ginny just as Amura came barreling out of the tent, her face pale with fear and confusion. They both ran straight for Hermione who was still clutching Firy to her chest, for a second Harry had feared the worst but when she straightened up to wrap her arm around both children he let out a breath he hadn't been aware he'd held.

"Harry!?"

"There are men in the forest." Hermione turned looking out through the trees, they could hear the sound of distant footsteps growing closer.

"Mum! Mum listen!" Amura clung tightly to Hermione's shirt even as the woman pushed them back towards the tent, her head turned away towards the sound of the men growing closer.

"How many did you see?" Harry had turned his wand towards the woods starting the wand movements for an enchantment to protect the camp.

"At least two." Hermione continued to ignore her daughter's bids for her attention. Ginny came to her side taking hold of Firas' shoulders to help usher the both of them into the tent James and Albus were staying in. The commotion having woken them as well, causing them to come to the entrance.

"Mum! You've got to listen! There's a man, he's got fiery red hair! Mum!" Amura stumbled slightly as she was pushed back into the tent by Ginny, "Mum!" Her voice cracked as she tried to push against the deceptively strong redhead, her hand reaching out towards Hermione who had turned away to help Harry with the wards.

"Ginny!"

"I got it." Ginny cast a quick, yet powerful spell around the tent that would prevent any wayward spells from landing. It was no easy feat as she tried to keep the twins inside the circle and into the safety of the tent.

"Mum!"

"Stay inside!" Hermione had just raised her wand when the first of several balls of fire came out from the trees disrupting the wards that Harry had started. The man himself fell back as one of the spells landed directly at his feet knocking him off balance and into the picnic table.

Hermione cast out a rather large shield to protect herself from the fire that rained down while she made her way over towards Harry. She could see at least three figures now coming closer. She grunted heavily as she pulled a partially disoriented Harry to his feet before casting out her own spell to slow down the men's advance.

Firas and Amura struggled against Ginny's hold, watching with wide eyes as their mother fought against something neither of them could yet see. Their eyes wide with awe and fear as to what was happening.

Hermione released Harry back to his feet just in time for the table behind them to explode into tiny shards. She shielded her head with her arm before lifting her wand up to rain down her own powerful spell. Bolts of blue lightning lit up the sky exploding the earth and trembling the ground. A scream could be heard as one of her bolts met their target though she took little solace in the strike.

Harry pushed his glasses back onto his nose before turning towards her back, another man, a fourth was coming up from behind and he was ready. A curse left his wand before the man even had a chance to defend himself. Believing himself to have had the element of surprise. The sound of his body landing far off in the lake rippled through the air before another crash of lightning made his ears ring.

Firas could do nothing but cling tightly to his sister as he watched the woman who had raised him, defend not only herself but the entire camp. She was like a one-man army with the way she wielded her wand. Spells came down from all around, lighting the area with a rainbow of colors but none of them ever came close to his mother. He had never seen anything more amazing, more terrifying in all his life.

Amura continued to cry out through the sounds of exploding dirt and trees, trying still to warn her mother of the man she had seen. She wasn't sure how she'd seen it, only that it was surely happening now. She struggled weakly against Firas and Ginny who remained her only obstacle between her and her mother. Even with her heart pounding in her ears, and tears blurring her eyes. She had to warn her, she had to know!

Harry let out a heavy grunt as he found himself flying backward, arse over head. His skull knocking heavily against one of the logs they'd used to sit on beside the fire. His head swam and his body refused to listen to his command as another stunner seemingly came out of nowhere turning his world black.

Hermione had taken only a glance to the side when she'd seen Harry fall, her heart revived as she realized that she was now the only one actively defending their camp. Her mother's instincts gave her an enormous strength that she hadn't even felt possible and in an instant, she found a drive inside her that ran through her wand sending the last remaining man to his knees. The bolt of lightning that struck hit him straight in the heart, and she knew he wouldn't be getting up any time soon.

An eerie silence settled slowly through the smoke and trees, Hermione could feel a tension growing in the air and amazingly found the strength to turn towards something she had not seen before. A soft pop directly behind her stilled her heart for a moment, then with reflexes only someone who had fought for their life and won, a thick whip extended out of her wand catching her purserer around their neck. Her eyes grew wide as she stared into the eyes of someone she had long forgotten. Deep brown eyes, that used to shine with warmth and ignorance.

Amura could feel her heart grinding to a halt as the man she'd seen in her vision suddenly materialized just behind her mother. The fear made her legs feel as though they'd been weighted with concrete blocks and the tears that had started to run down her face, choked her voice. Even still she managed to drop herself down beneath Ginny's arm and stumble towards her mother.

"I guess it's true what they say, if you want something done right, you must do it yourself."

"Mum!"

Everything moved in slow motion. In less than a blink of an eye, the spell that had held the man in shocked stasis released. It was in the next breath stealing moment Hermione heard her daughter's call, her son's voice echoing her fear. In just a second, her entire world turned upside down as the man whom she had once believed she could love, turned his wand towards her children.

Before she could even think to utter a single syllable, the end of his wand glowed brightly. A green, unmistakable to any magical being. Her children's eyes lit up with fear at the bright green glow coming towards them. Hermione could feel her entire world crashing down around her and made a decision any caring mother would have made.

Amura's eyes surely deceived her as she watched her mother vanish only to feel the warmth of her body smashed against her cheek. The world turned sideways as she watched her Mother fall before her, only for the next instant to have the air inside her lungs ripped forcibly from her body. The world went silent, ear ringingly silent, before everything came back in a sudden woosh of sensory overload. The pull of apparation turned her stomach before she felt cold hard ground beneath her back.

Ron watched but couldn't believe his eyes, the spell that he'd cast taken off course by an act he had never expected. It was in the darkness that he believed he had attacked not a child but the man who had cursed his existence. He found his heart thudding with a mixture of awe and anger. Hermione had done the impossible, beating the speed of the killing curse to save not only her daughter but her son as well. It was in this moment of awe that he found himself suddenly paralyzed, his dark brown eyes turning towards his sister who had cast the spell. A sneer formed on his lips just before his body turned to stone sending him falling backward into the dirt.

"Mum...?" Amura's shaky voice broke the silence that had just begun to settle. Her hands shaking against her mother's back as she clung on tight. She could feel her brother as well pressed against her from behind and smell the earth beneath them all. Her mother laid over them, her body still, but warm. It was with great courage that Amura lifted her head to look into her mother's face.

"Mum...? M-ummy?" Amura couldn't hold back the tears that fell down her face when her mother didn't answer her call. Her eyes closed, and her brow relaxed. Amura could not stop the dark thoughts from creeping in.

Harry pushed himself up onto his side just as Ginny took hold of his arm, his head turning to the sound of Amura's voice cracking and breaking with emotion. His eyes turned up to Ginny before pushing her forward to check on Hermione and the kids, he could hear his own sons calling out to him as they rushed over from the tent, both of them in tears.

"Hermione?" Ginny placed her hand over the brunettes back with worry filling her brow. She hadn't believed what she'd seen even though she'd witnessed it with her own eyes. She was sure the curse had missed, having seen the kettle over the fire explode from the green light, but her heart wasn't so sure. "Hermione?" Ginny took hold of the woman's arm, pulling her body from over Amura and Firas and onto her back. Amura was the first to lean over, too afraid to touch her mother's still-form while Firas quickly took hold of her shirt.

"Mum? Mum...come on...wake up..." Firas looked to Ginny helplessly before to his sister, his hands shaking from how tight he held his mother's shirt.

Ginny reached down pressing her fingers against Hermione's neck before letting out a choked sob of her own. There was a pulse, weak but there. She turned wiped her own tears from her face as she pulled her wand from her hip band and pressed it to Hermione's chest. She took hold of Firas' wrists trying to pull him away so that he wouldn't be caught in the spell she was about to use. Amura thankfully took hold of her brother's arms forcing him to release their mother.

"Enervate." Ginny chewed the inside of her cheek when Hermione's body gave a light jerk. Her wand raised to cast again if she didn't wake. She could see Harry and her sons coming closer and was just about to raise her wand again when Hermione took a deep shuddering breath before letting out a sharp cough.

"Mum!" The twins cried out in unison wrapping their respective limbs around their mother. Hermione coughed softly before raising her arms to hold them close. When she finally managed to roll her eyes open, she gave a soft thankful smile to Ginny before just letting her head fall back into the dirt, completely exhausted by all she'd done.

A heavy calm settled over the camp as everyone took the time to catch their breath. Harry took the small reprieve to send out a Patronus to the nearest Auror post while conjuring up a set of handcuffs for his former best friend. Ron refused to lift his head nor utter a single word as Harry bound him to a nearby tree. Instead, he merely sat there with his head down unable to come to grips with all he'd done.

Amura, Firas, and Hermione moved as far away from him as they could, sitting in a small mass of entwined limbs beside the tent. Hermione had come around well enough to press a grateful kiss into both of her children's foreheads before simply trying to catch her breath.

Ginny had brought her own sons to sit beside them holding them close as well. This was the closest any of them had ever come to a life or death fight in nearly 15 years. It was still a lot for them to process.

Firas lifted his head from his mother's shoulder when he felt a small poke to his side, curious he turned his head towards James who was sitting beside his own mother wrapped in the safety of her embrace, "Your Mum is awesome."

Firas smirked just a little before resting his head beneath his mother's chin, "She's the best." He closed his eyes and smiled more when Hermione pulled his head closer.

"Don't tell your father."

oOOo

Severus stood at the door, ready and waiting for the portkey that would bring his family back to him. He hadn't slept at all, as terrible terrible feeling settling in his chest. He hadn't been able to put his finger on the cause but when Hermione's patronus had bounded into the house in the night he knew something had happened. It had beared a simple message, 'We're coming home.'

As soon as the portkey popped into place Severus felt himself partially relax to the sight. Though he hadn't been prepared for the onslaught of his children's words calling out to him from the street. Their words were a mixture of excitement, fear, and wonder, moving so fast that he could hardly understand what was being said. It wasn't until they came crashing into him with their arms wrapping tightly around his frame was he actually able to piece together their words with the images he saw in their minds.

His own eyes widened in horror as Hermione dropped her bag with a heavy sigh. She didn't look injured in any way but it was clear that there was something else on her mind. Instead of speaking she merely joined her children in their crushing embrace resting her head on Severus' heart knowing that there was no way to keep what had happened to them a secret. She felt him gently pushing against her inner thoughts and allowed him free access to everything that had happened.

"We need to talk..."

-End-