A/N: Thank you for the reviews, and thank you too to my beta, CC :)

Chapter Eighteen

Knockturn Alley was, as always, dark, narrow and dirty. And just being down there set Helena's nerves on edge. Equally disconcerting was the fact that she couldn't see her mother anywhere. Granted, she'd had about half a minute to get ahead of her, but…

A hag moved past her, close enough to make Helena gag on the stench of raw liver which emanated from it. She got a flash of pointed teeth in a kind of smile, but thankfully the hag did not stop, and continued past her. The alley curved around in a long corner, so Helena couldn't see right to the end of the row of shops. It occurred to her that maybe Veronique had simply disapparated back to Wiltshire, and that she was wasting her time. But until she was definitely sure, she wasn't going to just turn around and leave. Even if all the hair at the back of her neck was now standing on end, and a cold shiver was crawling all over her skin. Foreboding.

Swallowing her unease, Helena checked through all the windows of the shops to make sure her mother wasn't in there, or at least the ones which weren't blacked out. Jewellery shop? she questioned mentally, How is there a jewellery shop down here? She did not go into Borgin and Burkes. That she did remember. Finally reaching the end of the curve, Helena was able to see to the dirty brick wall that marked the end of Knockturn Alley. Her mother was nowhere to be seen, and Helena no longer had the nerve to check in all the remaining shops. Foreboding had now turned into a feeling of certainty—if she stayed in this tiny street any longer then something bad was going to happen.

Walking very quickly, she turned on her heel and sped back up toward Diagon Alley. She didn't make it. About fifteen feet from sunlight and safety, her route was blocked by three people. Two of them were hooded and masked. The one who wasn't was unfortunately very familiar to her. And while normally she was contemptuous of her brother—now he looked outright frightening.

Still, she attempted to recover some of her composure, and only regarded him coolly. "Lucius."

He smiled with chilling confidence. "Hello, little sister."

"What do you want?" she demanded, surreptitiously trying to back away.

Lucius only laughed. "Going somewhere?"

She looked over her shoulder; three more Death Eaters were now closing in on her. She could apparate away still. None of them had their wands out yet, apart from Lucius. And she was fairly confident she could beat him in a duel, if she had to. "Bellatrix's spell not enough for you?"

"That was not of the Dark Lord's design, and rest assured, dear Bella has been punished for it," he answered smoothly.

"So are you here to kill me?"

"Hardly. I'm here to save you."

She snorted. "From what? A life spent obeying the law?"

An itching, burning from her ankle suddenly distracted her attention from the situation at hand. She moved her foot slightly, but the itching didn't go away. In fact it got worse, more insistent. But she soon forgot about the ankle. Because suddenly standing behind Lucius and others was none other than Alastor Moody.

Sirius had never thought, in those imaginings of being an auror, that there would ever be any boring moments. It was all going to be investigating, following leads, tracking Death Eaters down to their lairs and then haring after them—it was about defeating Voldemort, no matter what it took.

But no. Or at least not at the moment. Studying Concealment and Disguise should be easy for him; he could literally change his form into the most innocent of animals, except that would mean being registered as an animagus…which kind of defeated the point. Moody was normally a 'learning by doing' sort of mentor, so moments like this were admittedly rare, but now that a period of silent-ish study had presented itself, it had taken Sirius right back to Hogwarts and stifling classrooms.

They were ostensibly revising for the upcoming test, but the atmosphere in the Auror Office was much too tense for that. The fully qualified aurors had tiny cubicles each, too small for any real work to get done, but they managed to pack ridiculous amounts of things into them. Sirius planned on putting an Undetectable Expansion charm on his, when he finally got one. Every auror was poring over reports of some kind or another, or compiling lists of potential Death Eaters. Something else he wanted to do—he was fairly certain that they wouldn't have let him in if they suspected him, but Helena was another story. And illegal it might be, but if he found her name anywhere, he was scratching it out right then and there.

A shadow fell over his page, and Moody grunted over his shoulder. "Humph! Polyjuice potion. No one's ever thought of that before. You, Shacklebolt—you have something more original, I trust?"

"I'm looking at Disillusionment Charms," the young black wizard answered.

Moody nodded in a fashion that Sirius had come to recognise as approving; the man never smiled. "Potter?"

"Invisibility spells and artefacts."

Moody grunted out a laugh. "You have one of those lying around, Potter, and you'll-"

Suddenly he cut off, eyes narrowing. In a swift move that made everyone jump, he whipped out his wand. "Enough books now, someone's in trouble, follow me. Knockturn Alley."

Without further ado, he spun on the spot and with a crack, disapparated. There was a moment of stunned stillness, and then they all scrambled into action. No one asked questions, though Sirius' head was brimming with them. They could wait—when and where Moody went, everyone else followed.

"Knockturn Alley, he said?" James asked.

"Yeah."

Within moments, three aurors and three student-aurors were standing in Knockturn Alley. Along with six Death Eaters and one heart-stoppingly familiar witch. Helena's eyes found his face immediately, relief lighting her face. He didn't share it, instead feeling unbelievable anger fill him. What the fuck was she doing down here, of all places?

The only unmasked Death Eater gave a little snarl of impatience and nodded at the three standing behind Helena. "Get her to the Dark Lord."

What?

Helena had time for a shocked gasp; the Death Eaters had time for less than that before they were bombarded with spells from every direction. They wasted no time counterattacking though, and Sirius took the opportunity to throw himself at Helena and tackle her into a relatively safe doorway. She didn't seem to appreciate it.

"Ow! Merlin's beard, Padfoot, there's a wall there!"

"Shut up!" he snapped. "Why are you down here, Helena?"

"I followed Mother-"

"This the same mother whose son is now trying to kidnap you? Stay here."

"But-"

He gripped her wrist, hard enough so that his knuckles turned white. "Stay. Here."

Without waiting for her to object again—because he knew the bloody woman would—he charged back into the fight. He fired off several curses at once, aiming most of them at Malfoy. A few of them got through, though not the really vicious ones. Fairly soon the Death Eater was bleeding from his cut on his forehead, silver-blond hair matted with red fluid, and he was being forced backward, up to Diagon Alley. Sirius knew he'd been hit too though; there was a nagging pain somewhere around his midriff that he didn't want to look at in case it was bad, and his ears were ringing with all the shouting of spells going on in the narrow street. With a trip jinx, he sent Malfoy sprawling for just a second, turning to help his allies just in time to see a masked Death Eater behind James, wand raised.

"Prongs, watch out-"

The Death Eater was blasted off his feet with a jet of red light—Helena, apparently and predictably ignoring what he'd told her. Well, at least he knew she could reasonably take care of herself. Indeed, she was doing that now, leaping to the aid of Kingsley Shacklebolt, someone as far as he knew, she'd never before met. Unfortunately Helena's minor triumph over that Death Eater was followed by another blow for the good guys as Moody took a curse in the face. He fell, unconscious, to the ground. The only healer in the group hadn't noticed, and was instead looking at Sirius.

Her mouth moved, but he couldn't hear what she'd said. "What?"

Malfoy regained his feet, and repaid the favour by blasting Sirius into an awkward somersault. He landed badly, feeling a wrenching pain in his shoulder. When he shoved himself into a semi-sitting position that hurt like the blazes, Malfoy was in the act of disapparating, apparently unable to stem the wave of fury emanating from his sister. Helena was advancing toward him firing curse after curse

Lowering her wand, Helena ran over to Sirius. "Don't say it," she said, pulling him up with a groan from both of them.

"What?"

"'I told you so'."

He managed a grin despite the pain he was in. "I won't." They ducked as a spell hit several feet above their heads and the bricks crumbled into dust. "But I did bloody tell you."

"Shut up."

Reaching relative safety, Helena sat him down and opened the top buttons of his shirt, exposing his shoulder. "It's dislocated."

"And you can fix that, right?"

"Yeah. But not with magic. Anasthæsion."

She poked his skin with her wand, and the pain disappeared. Then she put one hand on his side, grabbed his wrist firmly with the other, and pulled, hard. He was glad that he couldn't feel it, because the sound of it was grisly enough to deal with. A sickening, crunching kind of squelch. But at least he could move it again. He tried to get up, but was stopped by a sharp gasp of pain from his abdomen.

Helena held him down and opened the rest of his shirt.

The corner of his mouth curled up in a half-grin. "This really the place, Hellfire?"

She spared half a second to throw him a glare before she looked at the damage. It was a puncture wound, long and thin with jagged edges. Helena assessed for organ damage, and satisfied that there was none, she sealed the cut. "Better?"

He nodded. "Thanks."

James' voice interrupted them, sounding somewhat frantic. "Helena, get over here, Moody's hurt!"

They looked over; Prongs was crouched by a now-conscious Moody, propping him up against the wall with a red-soaked handkerchief pressed to his eye. Helena and Sirius exchanged a glance to coordinate themselves, then Helena launched herself across the alley while Sirius covered her. There was now only one Death Eater still standing—the others had either fled or were unconscious and bound. He didn't last long against Sirius, Shacklebolt and the aurors before he, too, was brought down. Once he was, Sirius gravitated automatically back to Helena.

"How is he?"

She ignored him, instead speaking to Moody. "Your eye's completely gone, I'm sorry. I have to stop the bleeding now. I have to cauterize it."

"Then do it."

"It's going to hurt."

"Any more than it already fuckin' does?"

Helena didn't say anything more, just raised her wand and whispered, "Acenda." A blue-white flame sprang to life at its tip. Swallowing hard, Helena raised it to the ruined mess of his eye-socket. Moody, to his credit, did not flinch once. It was all Sirius could do was hold onto his stomach watching her work. Finally though, she was done.

"We need to get him to the hospital. Moody, do you need to do Side-Along-"

"Don't be ridiculous, girl."

Despite his curt reply, he still landed badly once they got to St Mungo's, and to keep him from falling, both James and Sirius had to steady him. Within seconds he'd been whipped away by about half a dozen healers, Helena going with them. As soon as she was out of earshot, Kingsley turned to James and Sirius.

"Did you hear what I did?"

James nodded grimly. "'Get her to the Dark Lord'."

"Why, though? Do you think she could be a turn-coat? She was a Death Eater and switched sides?"

"No," was the flat reply.

"But it has to be a possibility. And if she is, then the Auror Office is going to want to talk to her. Or the Wizengamot."

"She isn't," Sirius growled. "You've got no idea what the hell you're talking about."

"Look, I know she's a friend of yours but she fits the bill-"

"Sirius is right, Shacklebolt," James said, looking annoyed but a little more rational. "And besides, I know she isn't. I've checked—no Dark Mark, believe me."

Shacklebolt seemed to be gratified by that, and nodded. But the original problem remained. "Then why would they want her?"

"And how did Moody know she was in trouble? I know he's brilliant but telepathy is not one of the man's talents."

"And what-"

"Hold up, lads," James muttered, looking toward the fireplaces dotted along the wall to their left. "Dumbledore's here."

Indeed he was, his sweeping silver beard glinting under the bright hospital lights. He appeared not to have noticed them, and his expression was harried. James intercepted him. "Professor! Professor, we came in with him, with Moody."

Dumbledore stopped. "And?"

"He's alright—well, he's not alright. He's lost an eye. Helena patched it up-"

"Helena was there?"

"Yes, and that's something else we-"

"Is she alright?"

"Yes, but-"

Dumbledore started moving again, moving his arm in an encompassing movement that meant they were to follow. They did so, trailing him up to the fourth floor of the hospital. Moody was easy to find, as his bed was at the furthest end of the ward, surrounded on three sides by curtains. There were only two healers at it now, with Helena hovering anxiously some feet away. When they got closer, Moody was having a white bandage wound around his head.

Sirius squeezed Helena's hand shoulder as they got to her. "He alright?"

She nodded, turning. "He will be, but- Professor Dumbledore!"

"Helena." He inclined his head to her, and then moved to Moody's bedside.

"What were you saying?" James asked.

"Oh—Moody'll be okay, but I was right about his eye. There's nothing of it left."

Dumbledore turned and beckoned to them, and when they moved forward he spoke to Kingsley. "The healers have stowed Alastor's hipflask somewhere with the rest of his clothes—would you be so kind as to see if you can't find it?"

The young auror-in-training nodded and headed out of the ward. Drawing his wand, Dumbledore pulled the curtains across and put an Impertubable Charm on them. Now in a completely enclosed space, he faced Helena, James, Sirius and Moody, focusing on Helena. "What did they say to you?"

"Um, Lucius was there, and he- He said something about the Memory Charm Bellatrix used on me 'not being of the Dark Lord's design', and- And that the only reason they weren't there to kill me was because he'd saved me somehow. I've no idea what he meant by that though."

"He also ordered the others to take her to Voldemort," James said.

Dumbledore's gaze sharpened. "Did he say why Voldemort wanted you?"

"No." She shivered, and Sirius took her hand. She smiled weakly at him, though she still looked pale. "Do you have any idea why, Professor?"

Dumbledore and Moody exchanged a three-eyed glance before the headmaster spoke again. "I have my theories, but it'll take time to judge which is most likely."

"Alright. One thing I don't understand, Moody," she said suddenly, looking at the auror, "How did you know I needed help? I mean, I'm incredibly relieved you all showed up when you did, because I'd have been fu- doomed, but how? How did you know?"

"How does any member of the Order know when they're needed?" Moody grunted. "Surely Professor Dumbledore here explained that to you?"

"Um, member of what Order? Hold on, are you talking about-" She cut herself off, bending to unlatch an anklet from around her foot. It was familiar to Sirius, as most of the time when they were alone, that and her earrings were the only things she did usually wear. She straightened, the chain and pendant dangling from her fingers. "Are you talking about this? My ankle started…I'm not sure, itching, just before you appeared."

"Where'd you get it?" James asked, taking it from her and looking at it closely.

"From me," Dumbledore said, unexpectedly. "You won't remember this, Helena, but a few months ago I inducted you into the Order of the Phoenix. As to what exactly that is, this is not the time or the place. I will explain everything, soon, but at a more secure location."

They could hardly argue with that, and under Dumbledore's instruction none of them went to the Office of Magical Law Enforcement to report what had happened. Instead James went home to his fiancée, and Sirius took Helena home. As soon as she got within the confines of her house, she started shaking. He hugged her, rubbing her back with a feeling of dread settling into his stomach. Her skin was cold, though thankfully not as cold as it had been that night. Even the memory was enough to make him angry all over again, but not with her. The last time she'd been this way, this numb fear over something, he'd lost her. Please, please not again. Please.

"They didn't," he comforted lowly, knowing what was racing through her mind. "You're safe. You'll always be safe, as long as I'm around."

She nodded, though she didn't stop trembling. "I just- I don't understand why-"

Neither did he, but though he was no less curious to know, he shushed her and led her into the living room, lighting a fire in the huge fireplace. He sat her down on the rug, propping her back against his chest, and wrapping all his limbs around her while she continued to shiver for a little while longer. Finally it stopped, and her breathing slowed, and she turned her head slightly to rest in the hollow of his shoulder.

"Why do you put up with me?" she whispered faintly.

"Something about you letting me live in your house rent-free."

She smiled; a faint, wan, pale smile, but a smile nonetheless. The lead weight sitting on his chest lightened a little. "Thank you," she said. "If you hadn't been there I shudder to think what would have happened." She sighed and fingered the anklet, now back where it had been for the past seven months. "Do you think it's something to do with this? With the 'Order of the Phoenix? Maybe that's why Bellatrix wiped my memory, because I knew something. And that's why Lucius said it wasn't what You-Know-Who wanted, since as soon as she erased it, the knowledge was gone."

"But then what's the point in kidnapping you?"

She shook her head, looking thoughtful. Then her face brightened. "Well think about it—how many people actually know six months of my memory is gone? To anyone else watching, it would look like the spell didn't work at all."

"So of course they would assume you still knew whatever it was."

"Exactly."

"Shit. We need to start spreading that you don't know anything."

"Too late now. It would never be believed. The Death Easters have played their hand. We need to keep our cards close to our chests."

It was his turn to shiver. "So what are you saying, that they're going to keep trying?"

"I don't know. Maybe."

He swore. "What could possibly be that important?"

"Only Dumbledore would know."

Dumbledore, it fortunately transpired, was not planning on sitting what he knew for long. That very evening, after they'd had dinner—fish and chips since Helena was in no fit state to cook—an owl arrived, addressed to Sirius and from the headmaster. It was short and to the point; he and James were requested to be at Hogwarts in his study at eight p.m. that evening. Helena was outraged that she hadn't been included in the people who apparently could be trusted, but they both agreed that Dumbledore had his reasons for everything, and that no matter how mad he was, it was equally matched by his wisdom and genius. So, grudgingly, Helena had to make do with a promise secured from Sirius to memorise and report on everything that he said.

Helena also made sure that he wasn't going to be late, so he and James manifested in the fireplace of Dumbledore's study within seconds of each other. The elderly wizard surveyed them from behind his desk. "Please, sit, gentlemen."

They did so. "I'm sorry to tear you from your homes after the day you've had, but there is something important I felt you needed to know."

"You know why they tried to take Helena," James guessed.

"I do. They probably will not try again, but I felt I should warn the two of you that Helena may be at greater risk than most members of the Order."

"Why?"

"Because she is Voldemort's daughter."

There was a stunned silence. Then: "Does she know?" James asked in a hushed voice.

"She did. Ironically, Bellatrix's spell wiped it from her mind."

"How is it even possible? He's not- He's not human, surely?"

"Not now, no," Dumbledore agreed. "But once he was. The 'how' does not really matter; only that he is. I suspect the knowledge means very little to him. By now he knows she is no potential Death Eater, and will give up all interest in her."

James nodded, then glanced at his best friend. Sirius sat still, staring into space with a thunderous expression on his face. "Padfoot?"

"Is this why?" he demanded abruptly of Dumbledore. "Is this why she tried to kill herself? Because you told her who her father was?"

The headmaster's face fell into sadness. "Yes. I thought she deserved the truth."

"Not at that cost! She almost died!"

"Which is why I have not told her again. I deeply regret doing so the first time."

"'Regret'?" Sirius repeated furiously, shooting to his feet. "Is that all you can say? Regret?"

James put a hand on his shoulder, unsure if he was actually going to punch the professor, before addressing Dumbledore again. "You're sure he won't come after her again?"

"If he does it will be to kill her. Voldemort will suffer no rivals, and she could be one."

"Fucking brilliant," Sirius snarled. "Not only is the world's most evil man her father, but he's also going to try and murder her!"

"We could use a Fidelus charm," James suggested. "But it would involve telling her why it was needed."

"No. No way. You know Helena—she'd never put any of us in danger. She'd just try suicide again."

"So what's the alternative—we keep her in the dark?"

"Damn right. I'm not losing her! It was bad enough the first time-" He cut off, striding over to the fireplace, fists clenching and unclenching until he felt calmer. It didn't work. Everything he'd managed to convince himself hadn't happened assailed his memory. But cast in a new light. Suddenly psycho bitch became a very sad, very lonely girl who'd had no one for half a year.

"Is it also why she withdrew so much? Why she cut us all off?"

James looked down, bit his lip. Dumbledore nodded again, but left the rest of the why to Sirius' imagination. Helena didn't have a selfish bone in her body, so she'd done it to either protect them, or because she somehow didn't feel…worthy anymore. He knew her well enough to know exactly what she would have woken up, gone to sleep, telling herself. Monster. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Behind him, James was asking questions he no longer had the desire to. All he wanted to do was go home and shake the hell out of Helena. And then possibly do something else with her.

"When did she join the Order of the Phoenix?"

"In May. I needed her help with some magic of Voldemort's, and it was too dangerous to let her come without her induction."

"Alright, what are the qualifications needed for joining?" James asked quickly. Seeing where he was going, Sirius turned back to the desk.

"To be of age and to wish to fight the forces of dark magic—Voldemort in particular."

"Then we're joining," Sirius said instantly, his tone uncompromising.

"Very well. But I need you to understand that it will be extraordinarily dangerous at times. That you may be asked to spy on your co-workers, perhaps even on your friends if you suspect even the barest hint of treachery. In the name of the greater good, you may have to embrace almost as much bad as the people you wish to fight."

Both of them agreed without the need for even a glance at one another. Sirius witnessed the rest of the proceedings like he was pacing up and down within his own mind, impatient and restless. All of this was a means to an end, and he needed to get back to that end. Once the teardrop was in his palm, Sirius stowed it carefully into a pocket and flooed back to Kensington. Helena was in the kitchen, up to her elbows in flour, sugar and butter.

She turned with a smile. "I'm baking. Decided it would help calm my-"

Without a word, he moved to her and kissed her fiercely, hands cupping her face. When he pulled away, his eyes were bright. "You are, without a doubt, the most beautiful, the stupidest, the cleverest, most ridiculous woman in the world." He kissed her again. "You know that, don't you?"

She blinked. "Um, thanks?"

A/N: Review please!