Harry's POV

Harry ran down the final flight of stairs, taking care to jump the vanishing step halfway down. He skidded across the entrance hall, swerving round a group of third year Hufflepuffs who stopped their animated chatting to stare at him and then dived down the dungeon staircase. He nearly sent a group of Slytherin sixth years flying as he rounded a bend in the corridor but he ignored their objections and careened on. Snape's office door was open a crack and he didn't pause to knock, simply barrelled through. Severus Snape looked up as he entered, jumping to his feet and snatching up his wand from the desktop.

'Potter? Is everything okay?'

'I'm sorry to interrupt you,' Harry bent over, panting hard. 'Professor…' He added, as an afterthought. 'I… I was in… the library researching…' It was hard to get the words out.

'Breathe Potter,' Snape said mildly, putting his wand down again. He remained standing, staring intently at Harry.

'I'm researching a new series of tracking spells for dark magic. Sort of similar to what the Death Eaters did last year when they tracked the name 'Voldemort'.' Harry said, when he could finally speak again. Snape nodded, as if he was aware of Harry's work with the Auror department at the Ministry of Magic. 'I found this…' He thrust the book he was holding under his arm out at the other man.

'Summoning spells?' Snape asked, his eyebrows rising slightly in surprise. His voice took on a hint of its old disparaging tone. 'And what does this have to do with me?'

'Professor McGonagall has gone to the Ministry and everyone else has gone home for Christmas.' By 'everyone else' Harry meant Remus, Bill and Fleur. Hermione and Ron were also missing; they had gone to Hogsmeade to do some last-minute Christmas shopping. 'Also, you know the most about these things. I thought…' His mind flitted back over eighteen months. '…look, Professor, do you remember when Bellatrix Lestrange cast a summoning spell on Tansy? You were the one who…'

'…who stopped her from leaving the school grounds,' Snape interrupted, his voice returning to normal, 'yes Potter; of course I remember.' His black eyes flicked down to the book again and his expression changed slightly. 'Sit down, Potter.' He pointed his wand at the door, which shut itself with a loud click. 'I think…'

'Why can't we use a summoning spell to find Tansy?' It was Harry's turn to interrupt now; he was brimming with excitement. This was the answer they had been looking for, for three whole months. Whereas once upon a time his interruption would've caused the other man to explode like the bombarda spell, Snape only frowned and waited for Harry to finish.

'I was going to say that I think I can see where you're going with this.' Snape sighed and sat down again. 'It won't work, Potter; I'm sorry.'

'Why not?' The excitement in his chest deflated slightly. 'The book states that an object of high emotional value is needed. Professor McGonagall has all of her things; I'm sure we could find something that would work.'

'That's not what I mean. It's dangerous, extremely dangerous, not to mention illegal.' Snape shook his head slightly. 'When I found Miss Laverstock that evening, she had already suffered extensive internal injuries from the spell just from being forced to walk from Gryffindor tower to the castle drive. The further a person is forced to move, the more extensive the damage. I imagine that her m-, Bellatrix Lestrange was waiting somewhere in Hogsmeade, possibly even by the castle gates. Any further than that and Miss Laverstock would've died from the injuries.' The excitement and hope in Harry's chest had vanished, leaving a cold emptiness in its wake. 'The Dark Lord used to use it to compel people to come to him if they had deserted. I once saw the body of a Death Eater who he had forced to apparate to a specific location.' Snape's sallow pallor turned even paler and he swallowed. 'He collapsed on arrival. Every single organ was shredded and he was bleeding profusely from every orifice. His brain was leaking out of his ear.'

Harry suddenly felt extremely nauseous. The disappointment was also too much for him to cope with and he felt his eyes pricking slightly and had to bite his tongue to stop the wave of emotion that threatened to cascade over his head.

'I'm sorry Potter, I know this wasn't what you were hoping to hear.' Snape closed the book gently and handed it back to Harry. Their eyes met for a second. 'We all want to find her. We are all worried.'

'It's been three months.' Harry said, in a low voice that he fought to keep steady. 'I'm just afraid for her; she left without any of her potions and she was still ill.'

'I know, Potter.' The look that Snape was giving him was kinder than any he had ever received from the other man.

'I guess it's back to the drawing board.' Harry said finally, breaking the awkward silence. Snape nodded and flicked his wand at the office door, which swung open again.

'We aren't giving up, Potter.'

'Never.' Some of his old fire seemed to have returned as he turned to leave.

'And Potter,' Harry swung round again to face the other man, 'Merry Christmas.'

'Merry Christmas, Professor.' Harry replied, exiting the dungeon office.

Tansy's POV

In her dream, Tansy watched as her daughter boarded the Hogwarts Express at Kings Cross Station on September the first. Her chest swelled with pride as she looked at her daughter in her brand new slightly-too-big school uniform. Hope's eyes shone with excitement as she clambered up into the carriage. At the top of the steps, she turned back and leaned out of the open door again to give Tansy a bear hug. Tansy felt herself tearing up slightly but she smiled brightly, wanting to be strong for her daughter.

'Go and get a seat. It's about to go. I love you.' Tansy said softly. She tried to make her arms loosen around her daughter's small frame but it was hard.

'I love you too Mami,' Hope said quietly. She wriggled and then grinned. 'You have to let go now, Mami.' Tansy smiled a fragile, bittersweet smile and felt a tear spilling over onto her cheek. She let go of her daughter and took a step back, wiping her face quickly before Hope could see.

'C'mon Hope. I've saved you a seat.' A small boy with blue hair appeared at Hope's side. Tansy thought how smart he looked in his new robes. She wondered why he was aboard the Hogwarts Express when he actually lived in Hogsmeade.

'Have a good first term both of you.' The boy grinned excitedly then pulled Hope after him into the carriage.

The whistle blew and Tansy took another step away from the platform edge as steam billowed around her obscuring her vision. She heard the carriage doors slamming and tried to look through the windows so she could wave to Teddy and her daughter but the steam was getting thicker and thicker...

Tansy opened her eyes, surprised and a little sad to find herself in the small basement flat. She'd fallen asleep propped up in bed, her daughter in the crook of her arm and a baby bottle tipping dangerously in her hand. She glanced at the muggle alarm clock on the bedside table and saw that it was one o'clock in the morning. Her stomach gave a feeble sort of twitch as she realised that it was Christmas Day. Tansy looked down at Hope's tiny, peaceful face and tried to recall what the eleven-year-old version of her daughter had looked like but it was like grasping water in her bare hands: Details of the dream were slipping away. The only thing she could remember was the hope and excitement on the little girl's face as she boarded the Hogwarts Express for the first time.

This is not the life I wanted you to have. Tansy glanced round the dingy basement again and shivered suddenly, not because of the cold. It was almost as if there was someone else in the room besides her and her daughter. Someone or something that was making her see the truth at last. She grasped Hope more tightly against her chest.

'This is not the life you should be living…' She said the words out loud this time. Even at a whispered volume they seemed to crawl into every corner of the grubby little room. They reverberated around her aching head as she whispered them again and again.

Hiding away in this dingy flat. I'm sorry little one. You deserve so much better than this. She shivered again.

I've been so selfish. A single tear tracked down her cheek, tickling her nose. For half a heartbeat she let herself consider the future they would have together, forever on the run. Never able to settle down anywhere, to call anywhere home. Hope would never be able to have a normal childhood and she would never be able to go to Hogwarts. And did she, Tansy, want her daughter to be raised like this? Didn't she want her daughter to have a happy, carefree childhood? Didn't she want her to become the smiling, light-hearted girl who had boarded the Hogwarts Express in her dream?

Tansy looked down at the small cardboard box of sleeping tablets beside the bed and felt her stomach contract slightly – she knew that she was losing more and more of herself every day. With every sleepless night, with every muggle tablet she lost a little bit more of her magic. What would happen to both of them when there was nothing left to lose? When Tansy could no longer perform the simplest of spells? What would happen if she lost her mind to the nightmares and memories and the ability to look after her daughter? They were completely alone in the muggle world.

Tansy bit her lip very hard and shook her head violently. The clarity of her thoughts at this moment was almost too painful for her to bear: She'd been a coward; she'd run instead of facing the truth of what she'd done and the consequences of her actions; hidden rather than face her friends and the Weasleys.

If she returned now, she knew they would take Hope away from her. She might even be sent to Azkaban. Maybe that would be best for the both of them.

But it had gone on long enough.

Gently, she placed her daughter on the bed in front of her and stood up. Without giving herself time to reconsider and change her mind Tansy dressed quickly in her clean pair of jeans and a long-sleeved blouse. Mechanically, she purified several bottles and filled them with formula, then stuffed them into the nappy bag alongside some other supplies for the baby. Finally, she placed Hope in her baby sling and grabbed her wand from the kitchen sideboard. There was nothing else that she needed to take and, as she glanced one last time around the bleak little apartment, Tansy realised how bare it was – although she was taking little with her, she was leaving less behind. She pulled her thick winter jacket over her shoulders, zipping it up carefully so that Hope would still have access to fresh air.

The cold air struck her across the face as she opened the front door and made her way carefully up the icy basement steps to the slick pavement. She blinked, suddenly feeling more clearheaded than she had in months. Clearheaded but so lost; Tansy knew that she didn't have the magical reserves to apparate successfully. She was stranded in the muggle world.

Harry's POV

Christmas felt strange and un-festive that year. Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny spent the morning opening presents in the eighth-year common room. They enjoyed an excellent Christmas lunch in the nearly-empty Great Hall and then left to visit Fred in St Mungo's in the afternoon (Ginny had been granted special permission to accompany the eighth years off castle grounds). Then, on their way home, they stopped by the Burrow for Christmas tea. Mr and Mrs Weasley had done their best to make the place feel festive but the atmosphere still felt slightly stilted and chilled and it was with a sense of relief that Harry looked at his watch and realised that it was approaching ten o'clock.

'We need to make a move before Snape seals off the fireplace. Thanks for the excellent tea Mrs Weasley.'

'It was lovely to have you all dear.' Mrs Weasley smiled weakly at him and looked sadly around the room, her eyes flitting over the numerous empty chairs. Harry knew that it must feel strange to have so many empty seats at Christmas; Bill and Fleur had chosen to visit Fleur's relatives in France for the day and would not be back until late. Percy had volunteered to work overtime at the Ministry. Charlie, who had finally returned to the country to work at a dragon sanctuary in the outer-Hebrides, had also drawn the short straw and had been required to work.

'Oh, it's been such a strange day though…' Mrs Weasley's eyes brimmed with tears and Harry reached out automatically to hug her but Ron got there first.

'Things were just a bit different this year, Mum…' He trailed off, following the direction of her eyes as he too took in the empty seats. He appeared to swallow convulsively before he continued. 'Anyway, it's time for bed.' Mrs Weasley sniffed enormously.

'Thanks so much for having us.' Hermione waved her wand in a wide circular motion and the dirty plates and glasses flew up into the air and arranged themselves in neat stacks beside the kitchen sink. 'Are you sure we can't help you to clean up at all? I think we've just about got time.'

'No no that's alright dear. I'll do it in the morning.' Mrs Weasley blew her nose loudly in her napkin.

'You will not,' her husband said gently but firmly. 'I'll do it now. You go on up to bed dear and I'll follow in a bit.' He stood up, extended a hand to pat Ron and Harry on the shoulder and then gave Ginny and Hermione a quick hug.

'You do look tired, Mum.' Ginny said quietly. She glanced quickly at Harry's wristwatch. 'C'mon, I'll help you upstairs. We've still got fifteen minutes.' Mrs Weasley opened her mouth as if to protest but then she closed it again and allowed her daughter to lead her out of the kitchen.

'Dad, how are…?' A loud knock interrupted Ron's question and they all turned to the back door in surprise.

'Merlin, who can be calling at this time of night?' Mr Weasley asked, subconsciously drawing his wand and walking over to the back door. He pulled it open in a flurry of snow. Cold air billowed into the warm room, chasing the heat into the corners.

A girl stood on the threshold, swaying where she stood. She was so tightly bundled in a huge winter coat with the hood pulled up that they could make out very little of her features. As they watched, she reached up a trembling hand and pulled off the hood to reveal a pinched, white face, auburn hair and huge brown eyes behind thick rimmed spectacles. She stared at them, blinking as if she couldn't see them properly.

'I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…' The words were a whisper and she said them over and over and over again. She swayed again and Harry automatically took a step forwards to steady her. He gasped; peaking out from under the huge winter coat he could see the top of a baby's head. Something clicked in his mind; he just knew.

'Merlin, is it you, Tansy?' The girl didn't seem to hear him. She stared passed him into the kitchen, her eyes flitting between Mr Weasley and Ron.

'I'm sorry… I'm sorry…'

'Merlin's beard... Tansy?' Mr Weasley's question was echoed by both Hermione and Ron as they pulled the trembling girl over the threshold and slammed the door shut behind her.

Hi everyone! Thanks for your patience.