Sirius sat in the sitting room of Grimmauld place, desperately looking at the pocket watch resting in his hand.

Seconds ticked by.

Tick... tick... tick...

Every second adding more and more to the gaping pit in his stomach.

The fire place flashed green and he shot out of his chair standing up straighter then an arrow.

She was home. Finally. All that worry was for nothing and she was home safe and sound.

But his excitement was short lived as Andromeda took a hurried step through.

The two cousins looked at each other.

Andromeda's eyes were hollow as she looked into Sirius's hopeful eyes that lost there shine with every second she stood there.

This would destroy him, how could she tell him that once again he had lost his daughter. After all the trials and tribulations they had already been put through. After being reunited finally and getting to have all they had missed out on.

But Sirius knew the moment he saw Andromeda's face.

He'd Lost her.

Dumbledore had sent for him in the later hours of the day.

Atria had left for a meeting with Lucius and had not returned.

What an idiot Black had proved to be. Letting his daughter gallivant off alone with a death eater, who already had his reasons to hate her.

But he thought little of Sirius Black that had not come as a shock to him. But Atria, Atria was smart, and maybe if she hadn't been so clouded by her need to have Lucius out of her life she would have seen the offer for exactly what it was. A trap.

The silly girl, walked right into the web while spider all but led her in.

And a desperate spider at that. The dark lord, was to put it lightly, not pleased with Lucius's service in his absence and Atria was partly to blame. This he knew Lucius would not take lightly having the thorn in his side finally out and in his grasp.

They had no idea. What had Lucius done? What was his leverage?

He would go to Malfoy Manor and find out for himself.

He feared not only for her safety but for her mind.

Atria was by no means fragile. For a girl her age she had confronted and mingled with real demons. But her mind... he had felt it in there lessons. There was dark hole in that girl. Growing and growing, festering with her loss, her despair, her hopelessness. It was getting larger as well, and soon he feared it would swallow her up and she would not be able to see anything else.

He knew what kind of an existence that could lead to. A soul unable to enjoy the simpler things in life. One that understood few things.

Like loss but also vengeance when pushed to far.

He felt it in her in their lessons. Every time Lucius tormented her, there was a little part of her waiting, waiting for a moment of weakness, learning from every mistake or misdeed done against her. He had seen it in her eyes, when she had discovered he had been there that night, he had felt it in her grip when she had attacked him. A 14 year old with fury beyond her years, rivalling his own teen self.

And when given the chance it would show and then she would be even less agreeable then she already was.

The floo burnt green around him and soon enough he was stepping out into the familiar room of Malfoy Manor. The beautiful trinkets and shiny things. Useless items that simply existed to show the grandioseness of the Malfoy home and family. Walking through he wondered just how far Lucius would go to make her like one of his expensive pretty and inanimate trophies.

Lucius would be in his study having scotch and celebrating his victory and as he approached the open door and turned the corner he proved himself right.

Lucius sat in his arm chair, a cigar in one hand a scotch in the other.

"I thought you would be here soon enough?" Lucius said proudly, Accomplished even. Like out manoeuvring a 14 year old girl had been the pinnacle of his villainy. Although Snape new this was not the case.

Was she still here?

One thing Severus knew for certain. He had not let this go.

"I've fixed my little mishap." He said taking a puff from his cigar.

Severus nodded, "The dark lord shall be pleased," He said stepping further into the room.

Lucius gestured to the chair next to him and Snape obliged, striding over and taking it.

"Are you sure it will be enough to satisfy the Dark Lord." Snape queried playing his role to perfection as he had done many times before. "He did seem very disappointed in your transgression."

"Yes Severus he will be pleased." Lucius idled, "For not only have I ensured Atria is here and silent, but I have also located the headquarters of the order of the phoenix."

Snape hid any reaction from sight, so Lucius had worked it out. He would tell Dumbledore at once. The order had been compromised. But Snape couldn't help but let his mind wander to how Lucius would have gotten this information. Had he tortured her. No it had to be cleaner than that, Atria had returned to the house with Narcissa. If she had been tortured, there would have signs. Lucius knew about this before today. He had made sure so when Atria came home he would have her cornered.

"Is that so." He said acting interested.

"Yes," Lucius said proudly, "and I will be on my way shortly to inform the dark lord of this."

Severus nodded before his eyes caught the flame in the fire place. "And the girl?"

Lucius lifted his chin proudly. It made Severus feel the need to pick at Lucius's pride.

"How will you ensure her silence?" He asked.

The side of Lucius lips twitched up slyly. "Some old pure blood traditions that have come in handy. An ace I had hiding up my sleeve."

Severus's Brow furrowed.

"A unification contract." Lucius finished.

Snape tried not to wince, for he was familiar with these kinds of contracts. Raella Rowle a girl in his year had needed a unification contract, in her families pursuit to get her to marry Malcom Flint. Snape had been at the wedding, she had cried all the way to the altar and no one had batted an eye.

They were barley used anymore but still a few of the more powerful pure blood families managed to get them through the ministry.

"So yes, I've won," Lucius said puffing out his chest, "I've had to show my hand earlier then I would have liked but compromises must be made."

"You plan to marry her to Draco?" Snape drawled out.

"That was always the plan." Lucius said coldly, "She's young, she will adjust to the idea with time. Draco I'm sure will as well, he always has had a soft spot for her." He went on to elaborate. But they both knew the truth, Atria would never adjust to this.

Snape looked around the room, of course Lucius would take this chance, he would be pleasing the Dark Lord with Atria's security, knowing she wouldn't run her mouth if she was safe and sound in his keep. Lucius would also gain another grand trophy for his collection like Snape had suspected. The heir to the house of Black, once again making him an even richer man.

"Where is she now?" He asked boredly. Preparing himself for the case the girl was lying half dead on her bedroom floor.

Lucius nodded to the area above him, "Up in her room where she will remain for the time."

Severus nodded, soon he would be on his way but he did wonder. How would Atria work her way out of this one? Dumbledore he already knew would want stillness. He will ask everyone to playoff pretence. But Atria played for no one, a fact he knew all too well.

Remus sat with his head in his hands at the dinning room table as Andromeda stood silently and sadly in the corner, in her eyes Dora could see her mother's guilt and shock at this loss. A feeling of misery had set in at Grimmauld.

The Weasley children all sat on the stairs trying to watch. Mrs Weasley shook her head, her hands rested on the sink basin as the rhythmic sound of an axe making contact with the wall echoed in the stairway.

Sirius had lost it. It had taken Mr Weasley, Remus and Teddy to hold him back from going to Malfoy Manor himself. And when Sirius had heard the cackling coming from his mother's portrait, he had charged down to the cellar and collected the old axe used for chopping firewood. Charging up the stairs with 3 steps every stride. He was still up there now, the axe making fast and furious blows with what now was left of his mother portrait.

"Someone will have to go up there and take that axe off him before he works his way through the entire house." Mrs Weasley spoke up.

Dora shook her head, "I don't think anyone wants to go up there and take that axe off him."

Remus looked up, Dora could see the cogs turning in his head, as they went over and over the events that had led up to all this.

"What did the note say?" he asked dimly leaning back in his seat and looking over to Andromeda.

Andromeda who had until this point been entranced by the sound of the axe looked up.

"He knows," she said dimly.

Remus looked away as his mind went to a more pragmatic route of thought. He couldn't make any mistakes right now. They couldn't mess anything up. Atria was on the line.

"We can only assume that means he knows everything," He said.

The room filled with even more silence if possible, there could be death eaters on there way here right now. No Atria, would have said that. The note said he knows, which probably means this is his leverage over her. The reason why she put up little to no resistance when Narcissa brought her back to the cottage. Because Sirius's safety was on the line.

"So we have to leave Grimmauld?" Mrs Weasley asked.

Remus shook his head. "Dumbledore is on his way. When he gets here, we will work out what to do next. But until we have a better understanding of what we are dealing with its best, we wait."

And that was the awful truth of it. All they could do now was wait.

Atria sat in her room looking at her self in the mirror. Once she had stepped back into her old room Lucius had been quick in locking the door behind her.

In this moment she could not falter. As she knew more then she did before. She was in a house with a death eater, a murderer, her mothers murderer.

What an idiot she had been.

No. She couldn't think like that…. She couldn't start crying again. Her eyes where almost dry, it was important they were soon dry. But the bloodshot had set in. But it was not heartache or misery that made them that way.

She had been beaten.. there was no room for pride anymore..

Her future had been there and for a moment she had thought she could simply just take it. She let hopes of what her life could have been cloud her judgment.

He didn't want her to go. He had tried to stop her… no. She couldn't think about Sirius. She couldn't cry.

It had all been there. The beginning of something, a family Andromeda, Tonks, Teddy. Remus and Sirius. No

She would not loose this.

Not again.

Harry needed her..

This could not be it.

So what ever it took she would fight, whatever it would take she would get back to Andromeda's cottage. Whatever she had to do, whoever stood in her way….

Her eyes were dry.

And that was the last time he would see her cry.

I'M BACK