CHAPTER ONE – THE BOY WHO LIVED

"You know, those things'll kill you."

Rose took a deep drag from her cigarette, hands shaking as she did so.

"Oh really? I had no idea."

She shivered – it was drizzling, and the cold November wind was making the tips of her fingers turn red. She knew she should go back inside, but she couldn't bear to. She couldn't breathe in that room anymore.

Her husband watched her from the doorway. He was trying to be nonchalant, but she knew he was worried.

"You took those from my jacket, didn't you?" he said teasingly, as he sauntered over to her, attempting to keep the mood light. She simply shrugged, showing no emotion.

"Well, you caught me. Guess I'm grounded."

He was in front of the bench now. She could see his black converse and tapered jeans as she stared resolutely at the ground, refusing to make eye-contact. She could also see his hand, with its strangely delicate fingers, reaching forward to take the cigarette packet from her. She didn't resist. They were his after all.

She thought he was finally going to be serious and chastise her for smoking again, but instead he just sat next to her and placed his own cigarette between his lips, lighting it with his wand. Then he stowed the packet away in his jacket pocket where it belonged, and leant forward so that, if she looked to her right, they would be face to face. She didn't, of course, but she knew that if she did, she'd be greeted with the familiar sight of long black ringlets falling in front of his face.

"Okay, I'm going to finish this, and then you're going to come back in with me."

Tears immediately sprung to Rose's eyes, and she shook her head vehemently. "No. I can't. I can't go back in there."

"Rosie –"

"No, I mean it Sirius. I can't face it. I can't look at him, I can't…"

She thought he was going to push her, but he didn't. Instead, he gently put his arm around her waist. She flinched at first.

"The blood…"

"I don't care." He paused. "Though you should change. I'm not sure all of this –" He gestured at her stained nurse's robes. "– will be helping your mood."

He was trying to be kind, but it was all too much. Tears sprung to Rose's eyes, and she buried her face in her hands, seemingly without caring whether or not her cigarette lit the tendrils of hair escaping from her bun on fire. Sirius, however, did care, and he quickly grabbed it from her and stubbed it out on the ground.

"I can't do this anymore, Sirius."

"Yes, you can."

"I can't –"

But he wasn't having it. He knelt down on the ground in front of her, seemingly unphased by the dirt he was getting all over his trousers, and put his hands on her neck. He used his thumbs to tilt her head up and towards him.

"Look at me."

"No."

"Rose, open your eyes."

Very reluctantly, she did so. Her usually fierce and lively brown eyes were red-rimmed. He looked back into them kindly.

"I know things aren't easy right now – and I know what happened today was a lot for anyone to handle, let alone someone under as much stress as you are at the moment."

Her shoulders shuddered – she was sobbing, he realised. Big tears were rolling down her cheeks, and her nose – red from the cold – was beginning to run. He quickly reached into his pocket and produced an oil rag which he had forgotten to stow in his motorbike that morning. It was the closest thing to a handkerchief he had to hand. He began to wipe away her tears.

"But my love, you're doing a brilliant job! You saved Moody's life today."

She hiccupped. "But his leg…"

"Better to lose his leg than his life!"

He had her there, Rose knew. Still, she could not admit it, even if she knew it was true. "If Poppy had been there, she would have been able to fix it."

Sirius frowned, debating whether to wipe her nose. He decided yes – they were married, after all. This took Rose by surprise, and she jumped back a little before she realised what was happening.

"Maybe she would have – but Poppy wasn't there. Poppy was fast asleep halfway across the castle! And you know as well as I do that had we waited for her to get there that the spell would have consumed him."

This was, again, very true. The memory of Moody, writhing in agony as his leg turned black and necrotic from a curse that was spreading rapidly, was an image she would never forget. In her heart of hearts, she knew that amputation had been the only option. As good as her balms were, this was something the likes of which she had never seen before, from the darkest magic. Without the help of someone who knew the exact spell and its effects, she was more likely to have killed Moody than cured him by throwing any old cream on there. However, realising this only brought her more grief as another regret bubbled to the surface of her thoughts.

"If only Remus had been there – he would have known what it was."

Sirius, who had been stuffing the rag back in his pocket, tensed.

"We don't know that," he replied levelly. Then, seeing that Rose remained unconvinced, he decided to be more forceful. "Besides – it's highly likely that Lupin was the one who gave up our location in the first place."

Rose flinched at the accusation. "Sirius…"

"I mean it, Rose. The Death Eaters have managed to follow us almost without fail for the last three weeks, which means the mole has to be within the Order itself."

"Yes, but that doesn't mean it has to be Remus – it could be any of them!"

Sirius raised an eyebrow. "Not true. It has to be someone with close connections to Lily and James, otherwise You-Know-Who would never have found out about Harry as early as he did."

"But that's lots of people…"

"Hmm, you're right. Perhaps it was your sister? Or your brother-in-law? I always thought Arthur was shifty. Or wait – I know – Peter!"

Rose let out a humourless scoff without thinking. It certainly wasn't going to be Peter. Peter jumped at the sound of a dropped teaspoon these days. But to throw her best friend under the bus without a second thought? She couldn't do it.

"Enough, Sirius."

He held up his hands in surrender, knowing that it wasn't a point worth pushing. "I'll stop talking about it if you promise to come inside."

She bit her lip – she really didn't think she was ready to face Moody yet. Then again, she was starting to really feel the cold, and she needed to change. Plus, Moody would probably still be off his face on pain relief.

"Fine – but I don't want to talk to anyone."

"That's okay," Sirius said gently, as he got slowly back on his feet. He held out his hand to her, and she took it. When they were facing each other, he smiled and stroked her cheek lovingly. "In fact, that's preferable, because I got motor oil all over your face."

She touched her cheek in alarm and, sure enough, when she looked at her fingers they were covered in dirt.

The Hospital Wing was not empty when Sirius and Rose returned, what with all the Order members who had been on the mission staying up to discuss the day's events, but everyone's attention was on the tough old Auror, who was dozing fitfully in bed. Only Arthur looked up when they entered, and he was tactful enough to allow Rose to disappear into the nurse's quarters to get washed and dressed before approaching her husband. Sirius shot his brother-in-law a drawn smile.

"How is he?" he whispered, as the older man came to join him a few metres away from the bed. Moody's face, rugged and scarred as it was, seemed oddly peaceful as it rested on the many pillows that Madam Pomfrey had provided.

Arthur grimaced. "Not good – but alive. Poppy said that Rose did exactly the right thing. Who knows what could have happened if she had hesitated."

Sirius nodded thoughtfully. It was bizarre, seeing one of his mentors laid so low. The flat sheet where his left leg used to be drew the eye. Sirius' stomach churned at the thought that this could have been him, had Dolohov aimed only a few inches to the right.

"Did Poppy have any idea what it was?"

"Not a clue," said Arthur, shaking his head. "Definitely dark magic of some description – we've kept the leg in a sealed case, and the plan is to ask Dumbledore when he gets back from – well, wherever he's been all day. Not that it's much use now, of course."

"It's use if one of those bastards tries to use that curse again."

Arthur bowed slightly to concede the point. "How is Rose?"

It was Sirius' turn to sigh. "As well as you can imagine. I think she needs to take the rest of the shift off."

"Undoubtedly. We were just saying so ourselves, weren't we Poppy?"

Madam Pomfrey, who had been scolding Mundungus for leaving streaks of dirt on Moody's sheets, nodded. She had clearly been eavesdropping the entire time.

"Quite right – a shock like that can do funny things to the system. Best for her to go home and see Robin, to remind her what this is all for."

"And you're sure you can cope without her?"

Madam Pomfrey waved away his concerns. "Of course! I managed a good five hours of sleep before this – more than I've managed in weeks. I'm practically raring to go!"

The two men, satisfied that Rose was free to leave, turned back to their conversation.

"So will you take her home?" asked Arthur quietly, as the two of them wondered further away to where prying ears could no longer strain to hear them. "God knows Molly will be thrilled – I think taking care of eight children at once is starting to drive her up the walls."

Sirius couldn't help but snort at that. He could quite imagine that Molly was tearing her hair out. One baby was quite enough as far as he was concerned, and he wasn't looking to have another any time soon.

"Actually, I wanted to ask you about that. Is there any chance you could take her?"

Arthur shot him a quizzical look. "Oh? I mean, I don't see why not – but is there any reason in particular?"

Sirius shifted his feet, the odd sense of dread that had followed him all day prickling the back of his neck again. "Well, before all this happened, I was planning on dropping in on James and Lily."

"That'll take you a day, there and back!"

"It's not quick, no – but I've been tweaking with the bike, and I think she can handle the journey."

Arthur raised an eyebrow. "I thought dropping in on the Potters was strictly prohibited while they're in hiding?"

"Yes, it is." He shuffled awkwardly. "But – and I know the rumours we heard this morning are most likely nonsense but – well, I just want to ride by their house to check that all is well."

Of course, Sirius couldn't actually see the house, not being Lily and James' Secret Keeper, but Arthur didn't know that. Instead, the older man patted Sirius' arm gently.

"Not strange at all," he said. "Whoever started those rumours is a blight on society. You-Know-Who dead! Not very likely. And to say such a thing about poor Lily and James. Imagine if they heard?"

The sentence made poor Sirius feel even worse, and he looked up at the high, arched windows above them to hide the fact that his eyes were welling up. When he had gained some more composure, he added, "You won't tell Rose yet, will you?"

Arthur looked quizzical. "Tell her what?"

"About the rumours."

"You mean she doesn't know?"

Sirius glanced furtively around to make sure his wife hadn't returned. "No – she was trying to get some sleep for most of the morning, and when we all came in she was obviously too wrapped up with Moody."

"And you think it's wise to keep such a big secret from her?"

Arthur was clearly of the impression that it was not wise at all.

"She's not in the right headspace now. And as you said, there's no way they're true. Best to protect her from it all."

His brother-in-law still didn't seem convinced, and opened his mouth to argue. Thankfully, Rose emerged at that moment, her skin scrubbed pink from the bath she had just taken, her hair still damp, and her clothes clean. Sirius rushed over to her, grateful for an excuse to end his conversation with Arthur.

"There you are!" He put his hands on her shoulders and gave her a soft kiss on the forehead. "You look radiant."

She was not as bright as usual, but she was certainly perkier than she had been as she sent him a wry smile. "Do I indeed."

"Yes, quite radiant. Are you ready to go home?"

"Yes, I…" She bit her lip nervously as she glanced over her husband's shoulder. "Is he…?"

He gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "He's fine. Poppy was saying you did the best thing."

It was what he had said many times before, but this time it appeared to sink in slightly. Perhaps it was the fact that she could now see Moody for herself, still breathing, however faintly. She nodded. "Good, I… Good."

With great care, Sirius led his wife over to where his brother-in-law was standing. "Now, Arthur has very kindly agreed to take you back to the Burrow, where you can have a rest."

Arthur smiled, but Rose only looked pensive. "Oh but – Sirius, my shift isn't over –"

"It's quite alright, Rose, we've checked with Poppy and she's more than happy to take the reins," said Arthur. "You've had quite the shock, and we don't want you to make any mistakes because of it. Better to go back to Molly and recover fully."

She didn't appear to be convinced, but she conceded. "Alright. But Sirius, aren't you coming?"

Sirius hid his deceit behind a winning grin. "I'm afraid the Order isn't done with me yet – got a few more errands to run and then I'll be home with you and Robin."

"But Sirius, it's almost night!"

"You-Know-Who respects no man's sleep schedule."

If Arthur was perturbed by the fact that Sirius was lying, he didn't show it, bar a small amount of side-eye. Instead, he held out his elbow for Rose to take. "Come on Rosie. We'll get you home and sat down with a nice cup of tea and then Sirius will be home in no time."

Rose was clearly still unsure, but felt rather outnumbered. She took Arthur's arm, albeit slightly grudgingly.

"You'll tell me if he wakes up?"

"I'll make sure Poppy sends a patronus."

There was no more stalling to be done. Arthur led Rose away, gossiping about what they might have for dinner to distract her. Sirius watched them go, the strange sense of unease refusing to leave his side.

"He should have been home by now."

Molly simply sighed as she handed her sister a freshly laundered towel. "Oh please, let's not start this again. You know what Sirius is like."

"Yes, I do," Rose huffed. "I do know what Sirius is like, and I know that he wouldn't just disappear without telling me first."

The pile of towels that Molly was acquiring for Rose – hand, body, face – was growing ever higher. To fuss was the older sister's method of stalling when she didn't want to answer questions. Arthur had tactfully pulled his wife aside and explained that Sirius was safe and well, on his way to the Potters', but that Rose was not allowed to know. Molly, who hated keeping secrets and who had never particularly been Sirius' greatest fan, was not thrilled at the news. It didn't help that she knew she would be just as worried as her sister was now if Arthur up and left without warning, which made dismissing her concerns all the more difficult.

"You'll need some soap as well…"

She began rifling through the bathroom cupboards to find her stash of hotel soaps that came in the little boxes. Her faffing was only causing Rose more and more distress.

"Molly! Are you listening to me?"

"Of course I am."

"Well then prove it! I'm telling you that this isn't right." Molly did not respond – she was now searching for a spare toothbrush – and so Rose persisted. "What if You-Know-Who found him? Why isn't anyone else as worried as I am!"

"We're just as worried as you are, my dear, but there's no use stressing about it now." She busied past Rose and out into the hallway, where she headed for the spare room. Both Rose and Robin would be spending the night there, after the Weasleys mutually determined that it was better for Rose to be amongst company after such a stressful day. Little one-year-old Robin had already fallen asleep around an hour ago, and Molly knew full well that Rose would not raise her voice in that room for fear of waking him. Rose knew that too, and it only heightened her irritation. "For all we know, Dumbledore could have sent him on an overnight mission. Better to wait until morning when we can be sure that something is wrong. Otherwise, we might be getting our knickers in a twist for no reason."

"But what if that's too late!" Rose hissed as she dropped the towels rather inelegantly onto the bed. "He could be dead by then!"

Molly frowned. In his crib underneath the window, Robin stirred. It was most likely just something caused by his dreaming, but the risk of their conversation accidentally waking him was not worth it. The two sisters silently agreed to return to the corridor, Rose carefully shutting the door behind them.

"Listen, I'm not having this discussion again."

Thankfully for Molly, Arthur chose this moment to head up to bed. He was slightly taken aback to see them discussing things in the middle of the corridor, but he soon ascertained that they were having a disagreement and tactfully attempted to slip into his bedroom without being noticed. Unfortunately for him, he was unsuccessful.

"Arthur! Can you please try and talk some sense into Rose? I'm worried she's going to start a search party of one across the country in the middle of the night."

Arthur grudgingly made his way over to them. "Really, Rose, Sirius will be fine. He knows what he's doing. He must have been on hundreds of missions by this point!"

Rose was seething, but she could tell that, no matter how hard she tried, she would not win this argument. For whatever reason, the Weasleys had decided that they were not going to worry, and nothing she said now would change their minds. "Fine. Well I'm going to bed."

She stormed into the spare room and slammed the door – or rather, she would have done had Robin not still been sleeping. In reality it was more of a lacklustre click. Arthur sighed, and glanced at his wife. She was giving him a look that quite plainly said, "I told you this was a stupid idea." In response, he sent her back an expression that meant, "Not here – we'll talk about this in bed." The two of them dutifully filed into their room for a heated, if muted, argument.

Meanwhile, in Rose's room Robin was still the only person sleeping. His mother, far from trying to get a good night's rest, was sat at the side of his crib, listening to the sounds of him breathing as she stared out of the window. She could see very little, but the moon was oddly bright and illuminated the garden just enough that she could make out the edge of the forest and the gate. She had decided that she would sit there until she saw her husband return, and nothing could stop her. She would wait until the next morning, if she had to.

As she sat, her thoughts began to race. She could not deny that there had been a feeling plaguing her all day. She felt as though something big were being kept from her, something which she should have known about. It would explain Dumbledore's strange absence, Sirius' so-called 'missions', and the Weasley's refusal to acknowledge either circumstance as odd. But what could it be? Had something happened to James and Lily? It couldn't be, someone surely would have told her. It was much more likely to be something to do with Remus. Sirius had been decidedly vocal about the whole situation earlier, which was very unlike him. Perhaps he finally had proof of the betrayal they all – even Rose – suspected, and was just trying to find a delicate way to tell her. Her stomach churned at the thought. She prayed it was literally anything else.

Suddenly Rose became aware of a faint hissing sound, and she looked down to see that her hands were singing the wood of the crib. She cursed under her breath as she stole them away. They had left two black handprints, and she cursed herself again for allowing her emotions to overcome her like that. In all the commotion, she almost didn't notice the group of shadowy figures steal out of the forest and towards the Burrow.

But she did.

For a split second, she did not know what to do. Panic set in, and she ducked down below the crib so that they would not see her. Her instinct was to grab Robin, but she knew that his cries would make too much noise. If those were Death Eaters, then they needed to stay as quiet as possible. In all honesty, she couldn't imagine who else it would be. What other group of people would arrive in the dead of night?

It pained her to leave him there, but it was the best option. Instead, she crawled across the room, only stretching upwards to open the door. Once in the hallway and away from all windows she ran down the hall to Molly and Arthur's room and barged inside. Molly, who had been fast asleep along with her husband, groaned at the noise.

"Percy, go back to sleep, there's nothing under your bed…"

Rose hurried across the room and threw a hand over her sister's mouth to prevent any screams. She then violently shook her shoulder, which woke her up right away. It was Arthur's turn to groan, and he fumbled for his glasses on the nightstand.

"What is going on…?"

Molly's brown eyes were wide as they stared in alarm at her sister. Rose removed her hand.

"What on earth –"

"Be quiet, both of you," Rose hissed. The two of them froze. "There's people in the garden."

Arthur sat bolt upright, his glasses askew as he hastily pushed them onto his face. "In the garden? What people?"

"I don't know," Rose fretted, "but I saw them from my window, approaching from the forest. There must be about ten of them."

Molly looked at her husband, horrified. "Arthur, you don't think –"

"I don't know," was his terse response as he grabbed his wand and stood up. Molly and Rose followed suit, and soon all three adults were stood, huddled and terrified, in the middle of the room. "I don't understand how they got through the protection spells – only Order Members should know how to do that…"

The thought crossed all their minds at the same time – Lupin.

Arthur moved over to the window and peered out, but he could see nothing. "You two – get the kids up, as quietly as possible. If this goes south, you're going to need to escape through the back door – or a window – whatever it takes. I'm going to try and intercept them."

"But Arthur –"

"Don't argue, Molly! We don't have time!"

The two sisters reluctantly turned to go and do what had been asked of them, but before they could, there was the sound of loud knocking.

BOOM.

BOOM.

BOOM.

Rose was confused. "Do Death Eaters usually knock?"

Arthur frowned and as he brushed past them and poked his head out into the hallway. "Not as far as I'm aware…"

The three of them scuttled out onto the landing, careful not to make any sound that would be heard from the outside. For a moment, it seemed as though they had imagined it – but then – there it was again –

BOOM.

BOOM.

BOOM.

"THIS IS THE MINISTRY OF MAGIC – OPEN UP."

They looked at each other warily, unsure how to proceed. The Ministry had been corrupted for a few years now, but if Voldemort had been aiming to kill them, he surely wouldn't have told his followers to announce themselves. They stood, undecided, for what could not have been more than a millisecond, though it felt like an age. Then Arthur started down the stairs.

Molly reached out after him. "No –!"

"And what, Molly, wait for them to knock down the door?"

He had a point, and the two women knew it. They remained upstairs, deadly silent, as the listened to the sound of Arthur's footsteps approaching the front door. Then –

"Who is it?"

"It's the Ministry, here on orders from the Minister for Magic herself."

"Yes, I gathered that part – I meant who are you specifically."

"Mr Weasley, you know who I am."

It was true – they all did. The voice was instantly recognisable, though not the one they had been expecting.

"Shacklebolt," said Arthur, his voice clipped. "Yes, I know who you are. I would like you to prove to me that you're not a Death Eater in disguise."

There was a sigh, which must have come from Shacklebolt. He cleared his throat, and declared, at a loud volume – "On your mantlepiece there are eleven pictures exactly – and the one directly in the middle is a picture from your wedding day, taken outside of St Ottery's Chapel."

He was once again telling the truth. Arthur had no choice but to open the door, and the sisters heard the click of the lock releasing, then the footsteps of a group of the men entering the Burrow.

"Okay, now that I've let you into my house, I'd appreciate it if you'd tell me what exactly you're doing here."

He was attempting to be firm, but the truth was that his voice shook as he said it. Rose felt as though she could hardly breath, the tension being so much that it was physically restricting the muscles around her chest. She fumbled blindly for her sister's hand in the darkness, and was grateful when Molly squeezed it tight.

"We have a warrant for the arrest of one Mrs Rose Black, and we have it under good authority that she is currently here."

There was an odd moment suddenly were time appeared to stop still. Rose heard the words, and technically understood them, but they made no real sense to her as the ricocheted around her head. Arrest? Her? What could she possibly have done in the few short hours she had been at the Burrow which warranted the Ministry chasing after her? Molly was clearly wondering the same thing as she gripped her sister's hand so tightly that she was close to breaking it. Perhaps it was simply an excuse to separate her from the order, but it felt a little convoluted for a group of people who weren't above killing.

Arthur appeared to be just as dazzled by Shacklebolt's answer. "Her… what? Arrest? What on earth for?"

"For aiding and abetting her husband in the murder of Lily and James Potter."

Rose's blood ran cold as she locked eyes with Molly. She read the same devastation in them as in her own heart. There was so much to unpack from such a simple sentence, said so coldly from a man they all considered a friend. Lily and James – dead. And Sirius, a killer? It didn't make sense. None of this made any sense. She felt as though she were going to faint. Her hands had turned ice cold, though her sister barely noticed in her own shock.

"I – I don't believe it."

"I'm afraid it's true. Here – you can read the warrant."

There was a pause while Arthur did so, and then the sound of crackling paper as he handed it back forcefully.

"Well," he said, managing to keep his tone remarkably level given the situation, "be that as it may, I'm afraid that Rose isn't here, so I would appreciate it if you would leave my family in peace."

Rose barely dared breathe.

"Thank you for informing us, but I'm sure you'll understand that we would like to search the property ourselves. Mrs Black is not at her own flat in London, and there is a chance she may be hiding here without your knowledge."

If he refused, he would look guilty. There was no getting around it. "Fine – but she's not here. You'll find her son, as we've been looking after him whilst she's at work, but that's all."

"Thank you. We won't take long."

The sound of more men entering the house hit Molly and Rose like a freight train. The older sister turned to Rose and mouthed the word Run!

There was nothing else for it. Almost without thinking, Rose ran towards the window as she heard the sound of the Aurors beginning to climb the stairs. Her instincts were screaming at her to grab Robin as she went, but there was no time, and he was safer with Molly and Arthur. It was her they wanted, not him.

She reached the window at the end of the hallway, and it was only then that she realised she was on the top floor. There was only one way down – to jump. She threw open the window with a flick of her wrist, and looked down to the garden below. It was a long drop – too long to survive without magic. She would have to hope that her magic pulled through.

With great trouble considering she was wearing only a flimsy nightgown covered by a bulky quilted robe, Rose swung her legs out so that she was sat on the window ledge. Her heart was pounding in her chest. It had been years since she had done this, and never from such a height. In her old days of sneaking out, Sirius had also always been there to catch her should her hands fail. But now there was no Sirius – there was only herself.

She took a deep breath and fell forward. At first, she could feel herself pitching toward the ground, gathering speed. But then, as it had so many times before, she held out her hands and everything began to slow down. By the time she reached the bottom of the fall, she was hovering a few feet in the air, a strange and invisible force field spilling out from between her fingers. She heaved a sigh of relief.

There was no time to gloat, however. She took off immediately, barely feeling the roughness of the dirt beneath her bare feet as she headed towards the forest. The tall trees ahead, all of them twisted oaks, had always sent shivers down her spine. In her mind, she had always associated them with the Forbidden Forest and the dangers which lurked within. But there was no time to doubt herself now – behind her, she heard an unfamiliar voice call, "Over there – she's getting away!" She dove into the wilderness.

She could not recall, even looking back, how long she was running for. She was so high on adrenaline that she could have run for hours and not noticed. Her feet were landing on thorns and tree roots, and she was vaguely aware of the fact that her soles were bleeding. Still, she pushed ahead, aware that nothing she suffered here could compare to what she may suffer in Azkaban. It wasn't until her foot caught itself around a particularly gnarly root that she gasped in pain and stopped, sprawled on the ground. Desperate to keep moving but unable to run any more, she continued to limp forwards, stumbling in the dark. She reached into her pocket to find her wand was missing – she had left it in the Burrow. It didn't particularly matter, as she had always been more comfortable performing wandless magic, but she felt naked without it regardless. She kept going, though progress was slow with her twisted ankle, not helped by the fact she could not see two feet in front of her. The moonlight, it seemed, could not penetrate the thicket of leaves above. She could cast a spell to illuminate things, but that would make her all the more visible to the Aurors. She was, quite simply, stuck.

After a few more minutes of blind staggering, she happened upon a clearing. Here the moonlight had begun to infiltrate the wood, and for the first time she could see some silvery forest floor. She didn't want to enter it, for fear of being seen, but she couldn't risk skirting around the edges in case she accidentally managed to turn herself around. With great trepidation, she stepped out.

For the first few seconds, it seemed she was safe. The only thing audible was the quiet noise of her pants as she lumbered across. But then, out of the darkness –

"Hands up."

His gravelly tones shot across the space between them like a bullet. Rose's heart clenched.

"Kingsley, please –"

"I don't want to have to stun you."

She didn't dare move. The silence was so loud one could have heard a pin drop. There was nothing to do but beg.

"I'm not going to hurt you, Kingsley. You know I wouldn't have done it. You know that, don't you?"

He didn't say anything straight away. But then –

"I don't know anything anymore."

His voice was firm, but Rose had not missed the hesitation. She persisted.

"You do. You know me. And you must know that I was at Hogwarts all night – and this morning I was tending to Alastor. Poppy can vouch for me – the Order can vouch for me."

"That doesn't mean you didn't know what was going to happen," Kingsley said strongly, shaking his head slightly as though to dislodge her words from his brain. He seemed distressed. "You want me to believe you didn't know that Sirius was the traitor? Your own husband?"

"I didn't!" She was beginning to sound desperate, but the desperation appeared to be achieving something. "I swear, Kingsley, I couldn't have. You know me, you know that my emotions get the best of me – my hands, they give me away –"

As she spoke, she held her hands up to him. The sudden movement made him flinch, but he relaxed when he realised she wasn't casting any magic. Her hands were indeed shaking violently; but more than that, they were steaming, the heat they were giving off reacting with the cold midnight air. Kingsley watched her warily, but said nothing. She was getting somewhere.

"They were my best friends."

He was going to cave – she knew he was. He was going to let her escape.

Suddenly, there was a noise behind her. It was the sound of clumsy footsteps. Shacklebolt's eyes opened involuntarily in alarm as they flickered to the person behind her. Barely had this noise registered when Rose heard someone yell, "Stupefy!"

It was a foolish move on the Auror's part. Clearly, head office had not impressed upon him enough who he was dealing with. Without a second thought, Rose whipped around. The magic had left her fingertips without a word, a protection spell strong enough to blow the Auror off his feet, and fell the nearest trees. It had been stronger than she had anticipated, but it had been instinct. She paused for only a second, to process what had happened.

It was a second too long.

"Petrificus totalus!"

Shacklebolt. The spell hit her squarely in the back. It's effects took hold so quickly that she couldn't even gasp – she simply fell, rigid and cold, face first into the ground. There was an immediate cacophony of sound as the Aurors realised their target had been incapacitated, and they ran out to restrain her more permanently. She felt ropes fasten themselves around her, rubbing against her skin, though she could not strain against them. Over the yelling, she could just hear Shacklebolt's voice.

"Remember the neutralise her hands – we don't know half of what she's capable of."