"I need to talk to you," Mad-Eye Moody said to Serena gruffly.

He started walking towards the door Serena had just entered, and she followed him out. "Send in Mr. Lupin, if you will, Miss Ashby," Dumbledore said to her pleasantly. "It was nice seeing you, Alastor."

"Thanks, Albus," Moody said in his gravelly voice.

Remus looked up upon seeing Serena leave the office accompanied by a strange man. "Serena?" he asked, taking a step towards her.

"Dumbledore's waiting to talk to you," Serena said, gesturing towards the office.

Remus looked as if he wanted to ask her who this man was, but he must have thought better of it. He went into Dumbledore's office, closing the door behind him, and Serena turned to her uncle. "What's going on? Is Al okay?"

"Your brother's fine," her uncle replied. "I'm here because I need to talk to you about a few things."

He paused, and Serena waited patiently for him to continue. Now that she knew Al was all right, she was only curious as to what her uncle had to say. "Why aren't you going home for Christmas?"

Serena could barely believe her ears. This was why the great Auror had come to Hogwarts? "Al and I got in a fight a little while ago," Serena said slowly. "I figured he didn't want me coming home."

"What's going on with you two?"

Serena was still in shock. Her uncle had come to get the family gossip? "I said something to him that I shouldn't have. It hurt him, and I don't know how to make it right. So I'm just giving him space."

"Tell me what happened," Moody commanded.

Serena bristled at being told what to do, but she knew she was no match for her uncle. "In August," she began. "We received a letter. A threat from Voldemort."

Moody frowned. "Why didn't I hear about this?" he barked.

Serena shrugged. "It was the day before I left for school. I don't know why Al didn't tell you about it. It said that if we didn't turn ourselves over to Voldemort, he would go after everyone close to us – starting with Felicity and Sirius."

Moody squinted his good eye at her. "Is that why you broke up with Black?"

Serena nodded. "That was stupid," her uncle continued. "Why would you let – "

"That's exactly what Al said to me a few weeks ago," Serena interrupted. "When he found out that's why I broke up with Sirius. His words made me mad, and I – I asked him how he could say I was the stupid one to take the note seriously when Felicity was dead."

"Serena Ashby!" Moody thundered.

"I know," Serena said, cringing. "But Uncle – other stuff had happened, and I was just upset and – but you see? I don't know how to take it back. That's why I'm staying here. After I said that Al practically kicked me out of the house anyways."

"You need to fix it," Moody said. "You two need to look out for each other. Constant vigilance."

Serena resisted the urge to roll her eyes. It's not like I want Al to hate me, she thought.

"I know," she said instead.

There was a pause, and Serena wondered if this was all he had to say. "We know why Voldemort wants your necklace," he finally said.

Serena looked at him in surprise. "You do?" she asked. "Why?"

"Horcrux."

"A Horcrux? Is this the same thing Mother was studying before – "

"Yes," Moody said, cutting her off.

He was not an emotional man, but he never wanted to hear his sister's name and the words 'killed' or 'died' in the same sentence. "You know what a Horcrux is?" he asked his niece.

"Yes, Al told me about it awhile ago," Serena said. "He thought Voldemort was trying to put part of his soul in a Horcrux so he could live forever."

Moody nodded. "Dumbledore and I think that he's already done it at least once."

Serena stared at him. "You think he's going to tear his soul more than once?"

Moody looked almost pleased that she understood. "Yes. But he doesn't want to put them in just any object. Dumbledore says that Voldemort is a collector, and that he would only use pieces with sentimental value."

"A man tearing his soul into multiple pieces puts sentimental value into objects?" Serena asked skeptically.

"Dumbledore thinks so, and he knows how the bastard thinks."

"What does this have to do with us? Or my necklace?"

"Currently, he's searching for an object from each of the four founders of Hogwarts. We think he already has something that once belonged to Salazar Slytherian, and also something of Helga Hufflepuff's."

Her uncle paused for a moment. "It was Dumbledore who saw it first. Your necklace. It's a symbol of the Ravenclaw house. After Bellatrix Black made it known that Voldemort wanted your necklace, we started digging. That necklace was from your father's side of the family. He gave it to your mother to wear, and then to you. Turns out your father's family, on his mother's side, is descended from Rowena Ravenclaw. That's why the necklace has been passed down to you. It once belonged to Rowena Ravenclaw herself."

Serena pulled out her necklace, looking at the jewel-studded bird she now knew was a raven. "And because it was Rowena Ravenclaw's, Voldemort wants it," Serena finished.

Moody nodded. "Not that I would give it to him, but if he just wants the necklace, why is he eradicating my family?" Serena asked.

"We don't know yet," her uncle replied.

"I see."

Serena thought back to her first day at Hogwarts, when she had tried on the Sorting Hat. You'd really be excellent in Ravenclaw, you know, judging by your mind and your family…

"Since you weren't coming home, and you're not speaking with your brother, I came here to tell you that."

He looked at Serena seriously. "We know now what he wants. We're getting closer to knowing it all, Serena, and once you know the enemy it's easier to fight him."

Serena gave him a small smile, hoping he was right but not having the same conviction he seemed to. "Have a happy Christmas, Uncle," she said, giving him a hug after he put on his cloak.

"You too," Moody grunted.

With that, he left. Serena sat down to wait for Remus, her mind swimming. I'm related to Rowena Ravenclaw, she thought, amazed. One of the founders of Hogwarts.

Serena fingered her necklace. And this belonged to her. She wondered why her father had never told her or Al. Had he known about his famous ancestor?

Serena's thoughts were interrupted by the door to Dumbledore's office opening. Remus came out, looking pale. "Remus?" Serena asked, concerned.

"Let's go," he said, leading her out of the office.

They made their way down to the Great Hall without speaking, but when they reached it they both slowed without thinking. "I'm not really hungry," Serena said.

"Me neither," Remus said immediately.

They looked to the front door of the castle. "Come on," Serena said.

She pulled the door open quietly and they slipped outside. They wandered a bit and then sat down under a tree a ways from the castle. "What did Dumbledore say to you?" Serena asked him.

"You first," Remus said instead of answering her. "Who was that man?"

"My uncle," Serena responded.

Remus frowned. "He seemed familiar, somehow."

"You might have seen his picture before…he's known as Mad-Eye Moody."

Remus looked at her, shocked. "Mad-Eye Moody is your uncle?"

Serena nodded. "My mother's brother. He came to talk to me about my brother, and also to say that he knows why Voldemort wants my necklace."

Quickly explaining about Horcruxes, Serena then said, "He wants it because it once belonged to Rowena Ravenclaw. Turns out my father's side of the family is descended from her."

"So, Voldemort thinks it has some sort of special power or something?"

Serena shrugged. "We don't know for sure."

She looked at Remus. "But what did Dumbledore want to talk to you about?"

Remus looked at the ground. "He – Serena don't tell anyone, all right? I don't want to ruin anyone else's holiday."

"I won't tell," Serena said immediately, concern in her voice. "What is it?"

Remus looked like he didn't know how to say the words. "My parents…they're dead."

Serena let out a horrified gasp. "Oh my gosh. Remus. I'm so sorry."

She gave him a hug. "I'm so, so sorry," she repeated.

They held on to each other for a moment longer until Remus pulled away. "Dumbledore's taking me to Hogsmeade tonight, so I can just Apparate home. I have to make the – the arrangements."

"Oh, Remus," Serena whispered. "You'll come back here for Christmas, won't you? Stay with me, Lily, and Sirius. Or go to Madison's. Don't stay home by yourself."

"I don't want to tell Madison yet."

"You're not going to tell her?" Serena asked, shocked.

Remus went on the defensive. "I don't want to ruin her holiday. I'll tell her after Christmas."

"Well – it's up to you to decide," Serena said doubtfully.

They laid down side-by-side on the grass, looking at the stars. "Do you know what happened?" she asked softly.

"It was an accident. Or so they say. But nowadays, no one's ever sure if it's an accident or just meant to look like one."

"I'm sorry," Serena said again.

They laid there quietly for another moment, and then Remus got to his feet. Serena followed suit. "I'm going to take the passage I know about to get to Hogsmeade," Remus said. "Can you just – just tell them I went into Dumbledore's office and you haven't seen me since?"

"Of course," Serena said, knowing she owed him after he kept her secret all that time.

They went inside, and Serena gave Remus a hug before heading off to the Gryffindor common room. Upon entering, she found all of her friends sitting together. Except for James and Lily, they were all talking and laughing. Steeling herself, Serena walked over to them. "Hey," she said.

She sat down between Lily and Isabelle. "What's going on?" Alice asked.

"Where's Remus?" Madison wanted to know.

"I haven't seen him since he went into Dumbledore's office," Serena lied easily.

"Oh," Madison said, disappointed.

"What did Dumbledore tell you?" Sirius asked.

"My uncle was there, actually. He wanted to talk to me."

Omitting the part where she and her uncle had spoken about Al, Serena told her friends what she had learned about her necklace and her family. "If he only wants the necklace, why would he need to kill Al? He could just kill you and take it," Lily said reasonably.

Alice winced at Lily's words about Serena being killed, but Serena just nodded. "I know. Why does he want to kill all of us? That's the part we don't know yet."

"So, shouldn't you be in Ravenclaw?" Rosie asked.

Serena shrugged. "During my Sorting the hat did talk about Ravenclaw a lot, but I wanted to be in Gryffindor, so it put me there."

The friends talked a little while longer until Peter, Frank, Alice, Isabelle, and Rosie all went upstairs. Madison yawned. "If you're tired, you should go to bed," Serena said, knowing that it was useless for Madison to wait up for Remus.

After all, he was probably already gone. Madison looked at her watch. "Yeah, you're probably right. I'll just talk to Remus tomorrow. Good night," she said to James, Lily, Serena, and Sirius.

She went upstairs. Sirius changed seats so that he was sitting where Isabelle had been before, next to Serena. He put an arm around Serena's shoulders. To his surprise, Serena took his hand.

Lily got up and sat down next to James. He was in the same mood he had been in earlier, but Lily didn't try talking to him again. She just laid her head on his shoulder. The four friends stared into the fire, each lost in his or her own thoughts and not speaking to one another.

James was still angry. He wasn't going to see his best friend or his girlfriend for two weeks. He loved his parents, but if he had known that Lily and Sirius were both staying at school, he probably would have as well. He felt left out, and a part of him still blamed Serena for taking Lily and Sirius away from him.

Lily knew that James was angry. She knew it was her fault for wimping out; she should have told him about her holiday plans sooner. She would miss him, too. Two weeks seemed like a long time. They hadn't been apart for that long since they had started dating. Lily had also noticed that Serena and Sirius were holding hands, and she was dying to hear the rest of Serena's story that had been interrupted earlier.

Sirius hoped James and Lily worked it out. Really, he did. After all, James was his best friend. He didn't want him to be unhappy. But Sirius wasn't devoting much thought to the status of James and Lily's relationship; he was more focused on Serena. Something wasn't right. She had seemed so sad when she came in after speaking with her uncle. Sirius wondered if he had said something that Serena hadn't mentioned before.

Serena's thoughts were bouncing back and forth. One moment she was thinking about what her uncle had told her, the next she was worrying about Remus. He had seemed to be handling things all right, but he was probably still in shock. Why hadn't he at least told Madison? She could have gone home with him. Now he was arranging his parents' funeral by himself.

Serena's mind was also aware that Sirius' thumb was gently rubbing circles on her hand. She knew she'd have to talk to him eventually, but she didn't know what she would say. Her reasons for staying away from him – to protect him, and because she was angry and hurt about him being with Margaret – suddenly didn't seem so important anymore.

"I can't believe Remus isn't back yet," James said, breaking the silence.

Serena didn't say anything. "We should get to bed," Lily said, standing up.

Serena, Sirius, and James also stood, and Lily and James looked at their friends expectantly. Lily expected Serena to go to their room with her, and James expected the same from Sirius. Damn it, Sirius and Serena both thought.

"Good night," Serena said to Sirius and James.

They said the same to her and Lily, and then the girls and boys separated and went to their respective rooms. Serena hoped this would work out better than the last time she had tried sleeping in her own bed.

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Sirius couldn't fall asleep. He had gotten used to having Serena in his bed. He wondered if she could fall asleep. A selfish part of him hoped that she couldn't, that she needed him to be able to sleep peacefully.

He wondered what would happen once everyone left and it was just him, Serena, and Lily around for break. He and Serena would definitely have alone time where they could talk. But what would she say? She only got mad because of the way I acted around Henri. Which I now realize might have been a bit…over-dramatic on my part. Before that we were getting along really well. And I might have initiated the sex earlier, but she continued it. That has to mean something. I know that she was trying to protect me, but I think she realizes that breaking up was not the way to do it. I still love her. I want to get back together with her. But I still can't tell if she does.

After awhile, Sirius realized that Remus still hadn't come back. Sirius started to become concerned. It's not like Remus goes to Dumbledore's office all the time to chat, Sirius thought. For Dumbledore to call him there…I hope nothing bad's happened.

But as time ticked by and minutes turned into hours, Sirius felt more and more certain that Dumbledore hadn't had good news for Remus.

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Serena fell asleep almost immediately. The trouble was that she started to dream again.

This time she didn't see the faces of people she knew. There were only foggy, swirling shapes she couldn't make out. Different people's voices swirled around in her head. Give me your necklace…he wants a Horcrux…you'd do well in Ravenclaw, you know, judging by your family…my parents, they're dead…Serena, honey, your mother isn't coming back…you should go…I need you in my life…constant vigilance…

Serena's eyes flew open and she sat up. Taking deep breaths, she slowly laid back down. That wasn't a nightmare, exactly, Serena told herself. It's just…unsettling.

Clutching a pillow to her chest, Serena laid on her side with her eyes wide open.

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Two hours later, Serena could hear her friends start to stir. Alice, Rosie, Isabelle, and Madison were all going home, and Lily was waking up to say goodbye to James and everyone else. Serena closed her eyes and pretended she was sleeping. There was absolutely no way she was getting out of bed until nine o'clock, when she knew that her friends were all on the train already. By this morning they would all know that Remus was still missing, and Serena had no intention of answering anyone's questions.

Finally all of her friends left the room, dragging their luggage behind them, and Serena's eyes opened. She spent the next hour staring at the clock and once it hit nine, she got out of bed. Quickly getting dressed, she headed downstairs only to find Sirius and Lily already there. "Hey," Serena said, trying to sound completely normal.

"Morning," Sirius said.

"Hey," Lily said, looking troubled.

Usually Serena would have asked her friend what was wrong, but this time all she said was, "I'm starving. Did you guys already eat?"

Sirius gave her a strange look. "Yeah, we already ate with everyone," Lily said distractedly.

Serena edged away. "Well, I'll see you guys later, then."

With that, she disappeared.

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Sirius looked at the portrait hole. Why was Serena acting so odd? Maybe she just didn't get a good nights' sleep, he told himself.

He and Lily had gotten up to say goodbye to their friends. Sirius knew that although he hadn't seemed angry this morning, James was still upset that Lily and Sirius were both staying at school. And everyone, especially Madison, had no idea what had happened to Remus. He had never come back to their room, and he didn't get on the train this morning. He had disappeared without a word, not even leaving a note for Madison.

Sirius and Lily had come back to the common room and were talking about Remus when Serena had come downstairs. Now that she had left again, Lily continued talking about him. "I just don't understand why he wouldn't leave a note," she said. "Even a 'hey, went home early' would have been nice."

"Yeah, it's weird he didn't say anything to Madison," Sirius agreed.

They continued talking about Remus until Serena came back. This was the first time Sirius had gotten a good look at her. "Are you okay?" Sirius asked when she sat down across from him.

"Of course, why wouldn't I be?" Serena asked, giving him a smile.

Lily looked at her friend. She, like Sirius, noticed the dark shadows under Serena's eyes. And her eyes looked slightly troubled, worried; more so than they usually did. As Lily continued to look at her friend, she then noticed a rather spectacular hickey on Serena's neck. Looking at Sirius, Lily could see that he had noticed it as well. "What?" Serena asked, seeing the growing smirk on Sirius' face.

"Nice hickey," Lily said.

Serena flushed as she adjusted her collar and glared at Sirius. "I am going to change shirts," she said. "Lily, come upstairs with me."

"What am I supposed to do by myself?" Sirius whined.

"Get an early start on that Christmas Transfiguration assignment?" Serena suggested as she pulled Lily upstairs with her.

Sirius made a face at her comment.

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"You best be finishing your story now," Lily said, sitting down on her bed as Serena started digging through her trunk.

Serena pulled out a turtleneck sweater, and quickly changed into it. "Ok," she said, sitting down on Lily's bed cross-legged.

"The last thing you said was that you and Sirius got into a huge fight," Lily prompted her.

Serena smiled. "Right. So, this was really bad. Like, we were yelling in the school hallway in front of other people. So then we end up in this empty classroom – "

"Ooooh, I have some idea of what's coming next," Lily said, looking pointedly at Serena's now-covered neck.

Serena paused, thinking about what had happened. "I don't know exactly how it started, but – we sort of had sex. Twice. On top of what I'm pretty sure is one of Professor McGonagall's desks."

"You didn't!" Lily squealed.

Serena rolled her eyes. "No need to sound so…enthusiastic."

"Then what happened?"

"Then he realized he was late for Quidditch practice," Serena said.

"Oh no! So you never got a chance to talk about it?" Lily rambled. "I know you didn't, because I've been with one or the other of you ever since then…when are you going to talk to him? What are you going to say?"

"I don't know," Serena said. "I mean – I know I have to talk to him, but I don't know what I'll say. I don't know what I should say."

"What do you want to say?"

"I don't know!"

Lily gave her friend a knowing look. "You know what you want to say," she informed Serena. "You're just wimping out about it."

Serena hesitated. "Well, maybe, a little. I don't know."

"Do you still love him?" Lily asked.

Serena sighed. "I – yeah."

"Then it's easy," Lily declared. "Tell him that."

"But – "

"He loves you too, you know," Lily said.

Serena gave her friend a small smile. "Thanks, but you don't know – "

"Yes I do," Lily said. "I asked him a few weeks ago and he told me."

Serena stared at her friend. "What?"

But Lily just nodded. "Yeah. Now I am going to stay up here, and you are going to go talk to Sirius."

Serena stood up, then hesitated by the door. "Go!" Lily ordered.

Serena walked downstairs, looking around the common room. "Done talking to Lily about me?" came Sirius' voice from the couch in the corner.

He had a broom magazine open in his lap, but he didn't appear to be reading it. "For now," Serena said.

She walked over to him, and he yanked on her arm so that she fell into his lap. "You going to tell me what's going on with Remus?" he asked, wrapping his arms around her and kissing her cheek.

Serena shook her head. "I've told you all I can."

Sirius frowned. "You know I don't like when you two keep secrets from me."

Serena just ran a hand through his hair. "Yeah," was her only reply.

She could feel herself relaxing. Sirius seemed calm, too. Serena rested her face against his. "How'd you sleep?" he asked, rubbing her cheek with his nose.

"Would have been better with you," she said, her voice sounding tired.

Sirius felt his heart lift a little at her words. "I have an empty room for the next two weeks," he said.

He noticed Serena had closed her eyes. "We can even sleep in in the mornings," he said quietly in her ear.

"Good," Serena mumbled.

Sirius laid down, pulling Serena onto his chest as he did so. "I'm just closing my eyes for a minute," Serena told him.

"Okay," Sirius said, wrapping an arm securely around her and closing his own eyes.

Both of them not having slept much the night before, they drifted off to sleep almost immediately. Lily came downstairs and found the two of them cuddled together, asleep. Smiling, she ran upstairs to get her camera and took a picture. Okay, this might classify as being creepy/stalker-ish, but they're just too cute, she thought.

She wondered if they had talked at all. Humming to herself, Lily went to the owlery to send a letter she had just written to James.

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Hours later, Serena woke up. She looked at Sirius' sleeping face and smiled. I think we might still have a chance, she thought. Even though it's us, I think maybe we didn't completely mess it up. I still love him. Lily said he loves me. I know he cares about me, and he's possessive over me, but that doesn't mean he truly loves me.

Serena shook her head. What was she thinking? If she set her mind to it…I'll make him love me, she promised herself.

She gave Sirius a kiss. "Wake up," she said softly.

Sirius mumbled something unintelligible. Serena kissed him again, rubbing his chest with her hand. "Sirius, love, wake up. I want to ask you something."

Sirius slowly opened his eyes. "What?" he asked, sounding grumpy.

But he couldn't even pretend he was annoyed. Waking up with Serena in his arms, smiling at him and kissing him, was something he hadn't know if he would ever be able to have again. Nothing could spoil it. "If I ask you to go out with me, will it be like I'm unmanning you?" she asked him with a grin.

Sirius could feel a huge smile breaking across his face. It was finally happening! He was going to have Serena again. "I don't think so. Let's find out," he replied.

Serena gave him a kiss. "Sirius Black," she said, smiling, "will you be my boyfriend again?"

Sirius grinned at her. "Sure."

He paused, then asked, "Do I still feel like a man to you?"

"I don't know," Serena said playfully. "Let's go upstairs and find out."