"Brumous"

"Chapter Eighteen: Two Marauders and Two Aurors"

Ginny gathered some snacks together, dropping bags of crisps and sweets into Harry's waiting arms. His nose scrunched up at all of the food she handed him, having the gall to act like he didn't know all of these snacks were necessary for a successful movie night.

"We need options, Harry," Ginny said as she rose on her tiptoes to grab glasses, plates, and bowls from the cupboard. "We haven't even grabbed the drinks yet."

"I didn't say anything," Harry commented, attempting to shift the bags in his arms to free up his hand for something else. "Hand me the cups."

Ginny pursed her lips. "You haven't said much of anything lately. Are you worried about Sirius going on a mission?"

Harry glanced at her over the tops of his glasses that were steadily sliding down his nose. "He's been cooped up in a house for over a year and then on the run for the two previous years and then sitting in Azkaban for twelve years before that. Now, he's off tailing Death Eaters? I just… don't like it."

Ginny placed the bowls on top of the plates. "Did you tell him that?"

Harry snorted. "No."

Ginny cocked her head to the side, her eyes rolling. "Why not?"

"Have you met Sirius?" Harry said, letting out a breath. "He's always one step away from exploding on someone or, or storming out of the room in a mood."

Ginny sat the dishes on the counter. "Yeah, Sirius can be a moody git at times, but he's your moody git. He's your godfather. Sirius has never once exploded at you for anything. I'm pretty sure you could go full dark side and Sirius would stand next to you asking who you wanted to kill next."

Harry scowled at her. "Yeah, right."

"I'm serious!" Ginny pressed. "A parent's love is just different. It's unconditional. If you're nervous or upset, then Sirius will sit down and listen and not get all grumpy with you. He's your dad now. I heard him saying he was going to get the adoption parchment framed and hang it in the Hogsmeade house," she said as Harry winced. "He's so bloody happy about it. He'd listen to you if you needed to talk."

Harry shifted, his head nodding. "It's just…" he trailed off chewing on his bottom lip. "I don't want to upset him. I have so many questions I want to ask him. Like… did you know he apparently murdered some bloke named Bertham Nott during the first war and Marlene's dad dropped all the charges against him? Or did you know apparently Dumbledore and Moody advocated not to give him a trial in front of the entire Wizengamot? Why is he still in the Order if they did that to him? Apparently, he and my dad were arrested a dozen times together while working for the Order and my grandfather bailed them out repeatedly. I want to know what they did to get arrested so many times. Then, I've seen and heard him talk about his Uncle Alphard. Was he in the Order too? Was he a Death Eater? Apparently, he died from some weird pureblood disease that Sirius may or may not develop when he's older, so there's that. My brand-new dad could get some horrible blood disease and die young."

Ginny blinked, her lips parting as she took a step forward. She placed her hands on his biceps, giving them a squeeze. He held the bags of food tightly to his chest as he stared down at her. She really wished he'd drop them to the bloody floor so she could hug him properly because he just looked like he needed one.

"That's a lot of information," Ginny said, a soft smile crossing her face. "I know it's scary for you to open up and talk about things. But the people who truly love you won't judge you or abandon you or be upset with you if you have a conversation with them. Look at us, you're telling me what's wrong for once after holding it in for Merlin only knows how long, and I'm not upset with you. In fact, I want to help you because that's what you do for the people you love. You help them and you're there for them and you listen to them. Does that make sense?"

Harry visibly swallowed, his face softening. "Yeah, it does. Thanks, Gin."

Ginny rose up on her tiptoes, grabbing his face with her hands and tugging him down to her height. He obliged, the bags of crisps crinkling as he bent down. She pressed a quick and soft kiss to his lips before smiling up at him.

"Try not to worry, all right?" Ginny whispered. "We'll watch the movie and eat until our stomachs hurt. Before you know it, Sirius and Remus will be back."

"I could do without the stomach pains," Harry replied, his lips twitching. "I learned my lesson in trying to keep up with you Weasleys when it comes to food. I'm afraid you'll always be able to out eat me."

Ginny laughed, her hands leaving Harry's face. "When you have a mum likes ours whose love language is food, well, you develop a pretty hefty appetite," she explained as she patted her stomach.

Harry grinned just as the back door opened to the kitchen. Ginny turned to see the twins strolling in, both of them enthusiastically greeting Harry while ignoring Ginny. She only rolled her eyes, her arms crossing over her chest as Fred alleviated some of the snacks from Harry's arms.

"What are you doing here?" Ginny asked.

George shrugged, leaning against the counter. "Heard it was movie night and wanted to join. Is that a problem?"

"No, I was just asking since you never come by anymore," Ginny retorted. "Mum cries at your empty chairs during dinner."

Fred rolled his eyes. "Come on, Harry, I'll help you carry this stuff in," he offered as he looked down at the items in their arms. "Oi, do you have salt and vinegar crisps?"

Ginny wrinkled her nose. "No, because salt and vinegar crisps are horrid."

Fred shot her a two-finger salute as he made a pitstop at the cupboard to grab a few more bags of snacks before he and Harry left the room. Ginny sighed as George grabbed for the plates and bowls.

"What are you two really doing here?" Ginny whispered. "Did something happen with the shop?"

George glanced over at the door for a brief moment before turning his attention to Ginny. "We know about the mission tonight and Mum made a comment that Harry didn't seem himself since he found out about it. So, Fred and I decided to come over and help keep his mind off it."

"Oh," Ginny commented. "That's actually really sweet of you two."

"We reckoned he'd do it for us," George replied with a shrug. "Do you have everything?"

"Just need some drinks," Ginny said as she rushed to grab a jug of pumpkin juice and a variety of fizzy drinks.

"Merlin, Mum has a stocked cupboard," George said as he watched her take out everything.

Ginny looked over her shoulder. "Sirius has been throwing money around left and right. Buying food and takeaway and whatever else he can think of. He's gone a bit overboard."

George nodded. "I knew I always liked Sirius. Maybe we'll come over more often then."

The door to the kitchen opened again to reveal Fred. He looked over at George.
"Mum said to put the wands away," Fred explained as he pulled his wand out of his trouser pocket before turning to Ginny. "Move along, little one, we need to hide our wands from you ickle lot."

George tugged his wand out of his trousers as well. "How is he going to go back to school if he can't be around a wand?"

Fred shrugged. "I'm sure Sirius is figuring it out."

Ginny exited the kitchen, the drinks in her arms, and saw Harry was situated in the oversized chair by the fireplace. She placed the drinks down on the coffee table, snagging the bag of Maltesers for her and Harry to enjoy for themselves. She squeezed between Harry and the arm of the chair, plopping her legs over his thighs as she snuggled close to him. His arm automatically slung around her shoulders, his fingers twirling a strand of her hair around his finger. Her dad fiddled with the knob of the wireless.

"What are we watching?" Ginny asked as she opened the bag of sweets and offered one to Harry.

"I'm good for now," he replied, his free hand resting on her thigh.

"Every Saturday night at eight, the Muggle Movie Network plays a movie," Ginny's dad explained. "I believe I read it was Sleepless with a Seagull or something odd."

Ginny scrunched up her nose.

"The party can start!" George announced as he entered the room.

"Yeah, the fun can begin now that we're here," Fred added as he plopped down in front of the coffee table to appraise all the food.

George grinned at Ginny when he saw her and Harry cuddling on the chair. He turned his attention to the sofa to see Ron on one end and Demelza on the other.

"Oi, Demelza, what are you doing here?" George greeted as he plopped down next to her as Ron growled at being squished.

"My mum's on the mission too," Demelza replied. "Your parents were nice enough to let me sleepover."

Fred turned around to gaze at the sofa. "Oh, didn't even see you there, Demelza," he greeted as his eyes flickered between her and Ron. "Are you two dating as well?"

Demelza scrunched up her nose. Ron groaned as he slammed his head against the back of the sofa.

"No," Demelza replied.

"Ahh, smart girl," George said as he slung an arm around the back of the sofa. "He's an annoying git."

"George," Mum said in a low voice.

"Ah! Here it is!" Dad announced as he tapped his wand on the wireless and the picture appeared on the wall. "I hope the seagulls aren't too scary for you lot. Molly and I once saw a Muggle movie called The Birds and, well, I never quite liked birds after that."

George cocked his head to the side. "What's this about seagulls?"

"It's called Sleepless with the Seagulls," Ginny's dad replied as he settled down next to her mum and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

Fred squinted at the screen. "Dad, it says Sleepless in Seattle."

"Oh, well," Dad chuckled. "Can't win them all. There are a ton of Muggle movies. There's a place in America called Hollow Wood where they film a bunch of enchanting little movies."

Harry opened his mouth like he was going to say something but then thought better of it. Ginny pinched his side, her eyebrows raising.

"Not worth explaining," Harry mouthed.

Ginny smirked as she held a Malteser to his mouth. He caved and ate it.

George slid off the sofa to sit next to Fred, piling a bunch of food onto a plate. Ron followed suit. The three of them looked like savages as they ripped open bags upon bags of food. Crumbs flew everywhere. Ginny snapped her fingers to gain their attention.

"Hand me a fizzy drink," she commanded.

George handed her one, not bothering to ask what she wanted but guessing correctly. "A please works wonders, you know."

"Thanks, Georgie," Ginny replied as she twisted off the cap and took a drink before offering some to Harry, who declined. She tucked it between Harry's stomach and her thigh.

"Well, this certainly is cheerful, Dad," Fred commented. "Let's start off at a graveyard. Real great pick in movie."

"Oh, did the mum die?" Ginny's mum sighed. "Arthur, this is a sad movie."

"I didn't pick it! The people who run the wireless network picked it!" Ginny's dad protested. "Let's just give it a little. Maybe it cheers up a bit."

"Yeah, or you could just cast a bunch of Cheerful Charms around the room to perk us up," George suggested.

Ginny glanced up at Harry to see him staring at the wall. He must have felt her staring because he looked down at her.

"Hmm?" he hummed.

"We don't have to watch if you don't want to," Ginny whispered.

Harry shrugged. "I think my aunt likes this movie. It looks familiar. She really likes that actor."

Ginny wrinkled her nose. "Probably a horrid movie then."

Harry chuckled. "It's fine. I think it's a love story. Has a happy ending."

Ginny leaned her body against his, the sweets long forgotten in her lap as she wrapped an arm around his stomach. She held onto him, watching as the scene changed on the wall.

Remus sucked in a breath as he watched Nymphadora and Tegan draw a map out of the mansion, instead of eating dinner. They labeled who was sitting at what table, where the auction items were going to be, where the stage was, and most importantly where all the exits were located. Sirius added his two Knuts a few times, pointing out that there was a fireplace in the sitting room across the hall but he suspected it'd be closed with all the other security measures in place. It was definitely something they needed to double check.

The longer they chatted, the more anxious Remus became. There was no way out of the mansion except for traveling by foot or by carriage for a good fifteen to twenty minutes down the mountain. While they couldn't just grab Adriano Fidelius and Apparate away, the Death Eaters couldn't either. Except they had the advantage of knowing how to escape the mansion due to Narcissa Malfoy planning the event. They would and probably did prepare better than the small group of four ever could.

"Our best shot is convincing him he's in danger," Nymphadora explained, the tips of her hair shifting to a soft yellow as she chewed on her thumbnail.

Remus pressed a hand between her shoulder blades, his thumb rubbing against her skin. Her hair went back to fully black as she exhaled a long breath. Her body leaned closer to him.

Tegan nodded, her eyes glancing up at Sirius briefly. "Sirius had absolutely no tact talking to him earlier. We're out. It'll have to be the two of you to try to talk to him."

Nymphadora nodded, returning her attention to the map and pressing a finger to the very back of the mansion where the veranda was located. "If we can get him to agree to head back here, Tegan can alter his appearance and you can make your way back down the mountain. I can morph into him and stay at the party."

"So, you can get kidnapped?" Remus spoke up, his eyes locking with hers. "No, that's mental."

"We need a distraction," Nymphadora argued. "If he disappears, Death Eaters are going to follow us."

Sirius let out a long sigh. "If he'll even give any of us the time of day and go alone anywhere with us."

Tegan looked up at him, her brows furrowing. "If you were told your life was in danger, wouldn't you want to go with a couple of Aurors and get the fuck out before it's too late?"

"He's not British," Sirius said in a dull tone. "He's probably heard of Voldemort and his merry band of Death Eaters, no doubt, but he didn't live this life. He's never been involved in any of this. If I were him, I'd think you were a bunch of nutters because why would he want me? Someone he's never met or involved in any of the politics here."
"He invented the Fidelius Charm," Nymphadora replied. "He'd have to know he's a target because of that alone."

"Why?" Sirius pressed. "He doesn't know about the Potters using the Fidelius when it was freshly conceived and barely known. He doesn't know that we're using it now to protect Harry. He doesn't know how important or precious Harry is. He didn't live this life. He doesn't live this life. He thinks he's in town for a charity function and meeting up with some old friends, maybe catching some sights, before he Portkeys back home where Lord Voldemort isn't a topic of conversation. He's naïve and clueless and in so much fucking danger that his brain probably wouldn't be able to process it in time to believe us."

"Well, we can't take out all of the Death Eaters in this room," Tegan reasoned. "We can't very well kidnap Fidelius and drag him down a mountain."

Remus leaned forward, peering at the map as he chewed on his bottom lip. "What if we just protect him when the time comes? Help him escape down the mountain when they attempt to take him?"

Sirius snorted. "Yeah, that sounds like it'll go swimmingly."

Remus frowned at his friend. "We have the advantage of knowing what they're after now. We can stealthily take out some of the more… dangerous individuals here before the kidnapping attempt starts. Thin the herd a bit."

Tegan scrubbed her face with her hands. "It's the best plan with the resources we have. We can assess who the most dangerous Death Eaters here are tonight and we can attempt to get them out of the way."

Nymphadora nodded, her fingers tapping on the table. "Dinner is almost finished," she explained as she grabbed the parchment with the timetable on it. "Next is music and dancing as they set up the auction. It says the items up for auction will appear around the perimeter of the ballroom. The auction starts at ten."

Tegan nodded, grabbing the timetable for herself to look at. "So, the chaos portion of the evening is during the music and dancing. Everyone will be up and about. It'd be the perfect opportunity to snag him," she reasoned with a frown as she looked around the table. "Can any of you dance?"

Nymphadora scrunched her face up. "I can if you want me to make a scene by nearly killing myself and my partner."

"Werewolves don't really get invited to fancy balls," Remus explained.

Sirius groaned, the back of his head hitting the chair. "Yes, every single pureblood child is placed in ballroom dancing classes by the time they're five. I can waltz, I can tango, I can paso doble, and I can even keep up with a Viennese waltz. I may be a bit rusty, though. They discouraged dancing in Azkaban, funnily enough."

Remus stared at his friend, his head shaking slightly. Sirius could try all he wanted to sound annoyed, but Remus knew better. He had seen Sirius giddy as he gave Lily and James dance lessons for their wedding.

Tegan chuckled and Sirius turned his head to look at her. "I'm afraid I only know the waltz, but it'll be enough to help us move around the ballroom if Fidelius decides to dance. We can keep close to him on the dance floor."

"That's fine and dandy if it's slow music, but you'll have to just follow my lead if we need to speed up a bit," Sirius reasoned. "I'll count and guide you. We'll be fine."

Nymphadora squinted at Sirius. "I want to see a memory of you at five doing the pulse la be lobo."

Sirius scowled. "Paso doble, Dora. Merlin, did your mother not teach you anything? I think the dancing lessons was one of the only pureblood traditions she enjoyed growing up."

"Merlin, you sound like such a pretentious pureblood twat when you say it like that," Nymphadora argued, her lips twitching as Sirius only scowled deeper. "For your information, I did ballet for a few weeks before I fell and split my chin open and cried that I never wanted to go back," she said as she raised her chin and pointed to the thin scar on it. "See, clumsy as all fuck and a lost cause."

Remus cleared his throat. "All right, you two stick close to Fidelius if he goes on the dance floor. Dora and I will investigate a bit and see if we can find a fireplace or something that's actually open in this place."

The food began to vanish from the table. A band walked onto the stage to set up the instruments. The room expanded, making a dance floor between the tables and the stage. Tables appeared around the perimeter, holograms of the items up for auction hovering above with scrolls of parchment laying out on the tables.

"How do we contact each other?" Remus pressed as Narcissa and Lucius Malfoy took the dance floor hand in hand to start off the next portion of the night. "If we find a fireplace or if the Death Eaters make their move on Fidelius."

Nymphadora reached down her dress, much to Remus' shock. She pulled out a small round chip that looked like one that was used while playing poker and flicked it into the air with her thumb.

"Got yours?" she asked Tegan.

Tegan smirked. "On my tit as well."

Sirius scrunched his nose. "Is that where you keep them? Right against your tit?"

"The bra keeps them in place and it's a quick tap," Tegan explained, a smile dancing on her face. "Plus, it's unmistakable when it goes off if it's directly on the skin."

Nymphadora shoved the chip back into her dress.

"I knew some Aurors that had them attached to the back of their watches," Sirius commented, a frown on his face.

"Not exactly wearing watches, are we?" Nymphadora replied. "We had to get creative."

"What are they?" Remus asked.

More and more couples were making their way to the dance floor, including Draco Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson. Fidelius laughed at something his mate said before rising from his chair and extending his hand to the witch next to him.

"They're Ministry-issued communication chips for missions," Tegan explained as she rose from her seat. "We linked them yesterday at work."

Sirius stood up, his arm extending for Tegan to grab. "Try to incapacitate some Death Eaters while you're snooping around, yeah?"

Remus watched as Sirius and Tegan made their way to the dance floor, making sure to linger back for a few to see where Fidelius and his date were going. They positioned themselves next to Fidelius, the two easily slipping into a comfortable hold and kept perfect step with one another as Sirius' mouth moved. Remus didn't know if he was counting for her or talking.

Nymphadora snagged her map from the table. "We'll check out that fireplace in the sitting room first. Maybe we can open it or something."

They made their way arm in arm out of the ballroom. A few people lingered in the hall, chatting and laughing with glasses in their hand. Remus and Nymphadora slipped into the sitting room and made their way towards the fireplace. Nymphadora shoved her hand through the slit in her dress and produced her wand.

"How many bloody hiding spots do you have?" Remus asked, trying to position his body to block her from view.

Nymphadora winked at him as she pressed her wand against the brick of the fireplace. "The one thing that pisses me off about being a woman is the complete lack of pockets," she explained before muttering a few spells under her breath.

"So, the slit in the dress wasn't for my benefit?" Remus asked, his eyes glancing over at her briefly with a grin spreading across his face.

Nymphadora snorted. "Sadly, no. It was a necessity so I could get my wand out quick," she explained as she put her wand away. "The fireplace is locked with a password spell. I'm assuming all the fireplaces are password locked as well."

Remus nodded, his fingers rubbing against his chin. "What now?"

"We can check broom cupboards for brooms," Nymphadora reasoned as she looped her arm with his. "Flying out would be quicker than running down that bloody mountain."

Remus' lips twitched. "Can you fit a broom under that slit as well?"

Nymphadora laughed, her eyes sparkling as she looked up at him. "You'd be surprised what I can fit under my slit and with my tits. Us witches are crafty without our pockets."

Remus leaned down to her height so he could lower his voice. "So, are we to assume witches without slits aren't carrying a wand?"

Nymphadora rolled her eyes. "No, that's bloody stupid, Remus. There are other places witches can keep their wand."

Remus peered into the ballroom. The dancing pace had picked up as an upbeat song played. Remus caught sight of Fidelius laughing as he twirled his date around the ballroom, Sirius keeping in perfect step with him as though this wasn't the first time he had followed a couple around a dance floor. Sirius wasn't even looking at him, instead his attention was focused on a nervous-looking Tegan, but somehow Sirius was able to follow Fidelius without missing a step.

Nymphadora squeezed his elbow. "Let's sneak upstairs and see if we can find brooms. We can check any fireplaces we come across just in case they forgot to lock one."

They walked casually over towards the grand staircase as Nymphadora leaned into his side and giggled. She placed a finger to her lips and shushed him. Remus looked at her in confusion as she winked at him.

"Nobody will seeeee," Nymphadora slurred her speech a bit as she pulled him towards the staircase.

Remus blinked at her in confusion for several moments before it finally clicked in his mind what she was doing, but he had no idea how to act bloody drunk when he was stone-cold sober. He shot her a lopsided smile as he tripped over his own two feet before they stumbled up the stairs. A witch screeched 'honestly' with a huff. Once on the landing, Nymphadora yanked him to the right and out of sight of those downstairs.

"A little heads up would have been nice," Remus hissed.

Nymphadora shrugged, pulling her wand out from between her legs once more. "It seemed like the best idea at the time. If we tried to sneak up, we'd only look suspicious. This way, we looked like drunk and horny wankers."

Nymphadora opened a door to a cupboard. She cast a quick Lumos and peered inside. There was nothing but chairs stacked neatly in a row. Closing the door, Nymphadora continued down the hallway and Remus followed her. He looked behind them to make sure nobody followed them up. Nymphadora opened another door and stepped inside. Remus followed her, the lights bursting to life around them.

It was a bedroom with a fireplace tucked away in the corner of the room. Nymphadora dashed towards the fireplace, pressing the tip of her wand to the brick. Remus looked around for a cupboard and found one across the room. He jogged over towards it, wanting to be quick so they could get back to Sirius and Tegan in the ballroom. His jaw clenched when he saw nothing but clothes hanging.

"Who lives here? Do we know?" Remus asked as he shut the cupboard door.

"Some wealthy retired Healer," Nymphadora replied, turning around to face Remus. "Password locked as well."

Remus raised his eyebrows. "Death Eater?"

"Not any connection we can find," Nymphadora replied. "Come on, let's keep looking around."

Room after room after room and nothing. All fireplaces locked, no brooms, no illegal magic carpets. They were stranded on the mountain with no quick escape route. It was only a matter of time before the Death Eaters made their move to attempt to kidnap Adriano Fidelius. Remus knew that failure wasn't an option, because that would mean they had no way of protecting Harry.

Sirius wanted to stop bloody dancing, but Fidelius seemed more than happy to cover the entire dancefloor with his date in his arms. Sirius winced, his feet hurting from the new shoes that he had been forced to buy. As soon as he could, he was going to cast a cushioning charm or something on his feet to get them to stop ruddy hurting.

Death Eater couples littered the dance floor. Some lingered by the door. Others held drinks they weren't sipping out in the hall. They were severely outnumbered with no way to smuggle more Order of the Phoenix members in nor any just cause to call the Aurors. Back in his younger days, Sirius would have caused a disturbance large enough to have the Aurors be called, and then allow himself to be arrested with a smile on his face while knowing Merrick McKinnon would drop all charges. Except Sirius didn't have Merrick in his corner nor could he risk the charges sticking and being separated from Harry.

"There's at least two dozen Death Eaters here," Tegan whispered.

Sirius nodded, his gaze lingering on the young Malfoy boy dancing with Druella with ease. He couldn't help the sneer on his face at witnessing Druella's grand act as she performed as a dutiful grandmother. That was the same woman who called Dora an abhorrent girl and an abomination to the family when she was born, but she practically fawned over Narcissa's boy. Sirius dragged his eyes away from them, his tongue peeking out to moisten his bottom lip.

"That's not counting if any of them followed Remus and Dora out of here," Sirius replied as the song ended.

Fidelius placed a kiss on the cheek of his date as he made his way across the dance floor. Sirius pressed a hand to Tegan's arm, leaning down so that his lips were by her ear.

"I'll follow Fidelius," he whispered before he gestured his chin towards Fidelius' date. "Try to see if that's his wife or girlfriend. Maybe we can convince her of what we know."

Sirius made his way through the crowd of people, rushing to catch up to Fidelius and not caring that he had to shove his way past a few people. Fidelius exited the ballroom and Sirius broke out into a jog. A breath of relief escaped his lips when he saw Fidelius disappear into the loo and nobody went in after him. Well, except for Sirius that is.

He saw Fidelius standing at one of the urinals. Sirius tugged his wand out of his inner robe pocket, his neck craning to see if any of the stalls were in use. They were alone. Tapping his wand against the door, Sirius locked it and placed a privacy charm on it so no one would overhear them.

If Fidelius noticed, he didn't say anything as he finished up before walking over to the sink. Sirius closed the space between them and leaned his side against the sink. Fidelius finally turned to look at him, his bushy white eyebrows raising.

"Can I help you?" Fidelius asked, grabbing a towel to dry his hands.

"My name is Sirius Black," Sirius introduced himself. "My godson is Harry Potter. Do either of those names mean anything to you?"

Fidelius appraised Sirius for a moment, his brows furrowing. "Should they?"

"Does the name Lord Voldemort mean anything to you?" Sirius pressed, his jaw clenching.

A flicker of fear shifted in Fidelius' eyes. "Mr Black, I do not want any trouble. I am here for a charity function that some friends asked me to attend."

"Lord Voldemort's followers are here," Sirius explained, his head bending down just slightly. "They want you."

Fidelius spluttered. "Me? A wizard from South America? What in Merlin's name would he want to do with me?"

"About fifteen years ago, Harry Potter was a one-year-old boy who was marked for death by Lord Voldemort," Sirius whispered, pain etching every syllable. "His parents decided to perform the Fidelius Charm, your charm. A charm that had just come out months prior, a charm that we didn't even fully know how it worked. I was asked to be their Secret Keeper, but I declined. I thought it clever that I play a decoy. The real Secret Keeper, well, he sold out my best friends and my godson to Lord Voldemort. He murdered them and Harry…" Sirius sucked in a breath. "Harry survived."

"The Boy Who Lived," Fidelius clarified. "Harry Potter is the Boy who Lived?"

Sirius nodded, a strained smile crossing his face. "So you have heard of Harry."

Fidelius chuckled humorlessly. "Yes, well, I suppose I didn't connect the name to the moniker at first. The story made its way to Brazil, of course, but it's not my history."

"I've been protecting Harry with the Fidelius Charm," Sirius continued, barreling through his story. "Our last location was found and Voldemort attacked. He tried to break the Fidelius without gaining the secret."

Fidelius raised his eyebrows. "Was he successful?"

"No," Sirius replied, his head shaking. "But we left regardless. A new house. A new Fidelius Charm placed."

"I suppose that was smart if he knew where to look for the original location," Fidelius replied, his hands shoving into his robe pockets. "I don't know of a way to break the charm or what steps you could take to better protect your godson. I'm sorry, Mr Black. I haven't evolved or worked on that particular charm for over a decade."

The doorknob to the loo jiggled, but Sirius ignored it. If it was a Death Eater, they could blast the door off the hinges. It'd make his job of convincing Fidelius to get the fuck out of the mansion easier.

"Lord Voldemort's followers are called Death Eaters. We were alerted that an unusual number of Death Eaters have bought tables at this function tonight," Sirius explained, his eyes squinting down at Fidelius. "In fact, the Malfoys, the grand hosts of the evening, are Death Eaters. It is my belief that they're here for you, because Voldemort wants to know how to break your charm and gain access to my godson so he could kill him."

"Are you with the British Ministry of Magic?" Fidelius asked.

"No, I'm what you would call a vigilante," Sirius replied, the corner of his lips twitching. "But my date is an Auror. Our, uh, Dark wizard catchers. I'm not quite sure what you call them in Brazil."

Fidelius didn't respond, his gaze flickering over to the door of the loo. Whoever was outside had stopped trying to gain access. Sirius only huffed, waiting for Fidelius to speak but it was obvious that he wouldn't.

"Look, you need to get out of here. My associates and I are more than happy to help you escape."

"Escape?" Fidelius squeaked, his attention snapping to Sirius. "I don't have anything to offer him! I don't know how to break my charm!"

"He won't care," Sirius replied, his eyebrows raising. "He will torture you until you figure it out. He will not rest until my godson is dead."

Fidelius blinked. "All of this for a child?"

Sirius jutted his bottom jaw out, his eyes piercing Fidelius' gaze. "For, for my child, yeah. Voldemort thinks he's special. He'll stop at nothing. Please, you need to get out of the country as fast as possible. My friend, who's an Auror, she can get you an evacuation Portkey out of our Ministry tonight. You just need to come with us."

Fidelius sucked in a breath, his eyes screwing shut. "All right, yes, yes, I'll go to your Ministry and get the first Portkey out of the country. Let me just grab my wife.

Joy sprung in Sirius' chest at the small victory. He honestly didn't think being upfront with Fidelius would actually work or that he would believe a word of it. Perhaps he had heard more tales of Voldemort than Sirius had suspected. Whatever the reason, he was glad. Now, he just needed to grab Tegan and the others to make their great escape.

Sirius followed Fidelius out of the loo and they made their way towards the ballroom. Tegan stood by the bar chatting with Fidelius' wife. Sirius caught Tegan's eye and he gave one nod. A smile burst across her face. As quickly as it came, it left. Sirius furrowed his brow as a hand grabbed him by the arm and wheeled him around.

Lucius Malfoy sneered at him. "Sirius, how good to see you again. You're looking… well."

Sirius wretched his arm away from Malfoy, taking a stumbling step back. "Don't fucking touch me."

Malfoy laughed, a wide grin spreading across his face. "I'm your superior, Sirius. I own you."

Sirius' chest heaved. "I'm not some dumb scared kid anymore. You can't intimidate me. You never intimidated me. You were always just a filthy fucking tosser."

Malfoy sighed, his eyebrow arching. "We're family, Sirius. You were in my wedding with that little brother of yours. Regulus knew how to respect me. Knew I was above him. It's a shame you don't understand that." Malfoy smiled as he leaned in close to Sirius, their cheeks nearly touching. "We will break you. We were so close before. I daresay, after what happened to James Potter, well, you're already halfway broken, aren't you? I think losing your godson would just push you over the edge. I'd love to be the one to do it. Torture the little thing right in front of you. Watch as you unravel at the seams."

Sirius took a giant step back, his head jerking away from Malfoy. "Touch a hair on Harry's head and I will strangle you with my bare hands," Sirius hissed with wide eyes.

"We know where you are," Malfoy whispered, his lips baring back to reveal his stark white teeth. "At all times. No matter where you are. Bella knew what she was doing to you all those years ago. How's being back at the Potter's Manor treating you? Bring back good memories of Fleamont and Euphemia?"

Sirius' heart hammered in his chest. No, there was no way that they were tracking his every move. There was no spell powerful enough to last two decades later without waning. Unless… Sirius' hand touched his chest where the bête noire tattoo was stamped over his heart. Sirius' breathing picked up as he stared unblinkingly at Malfoy.

"Bella always did say you were her little pet," Malfoy continued, a smirk crossing his features. "It was her and Walburga who convinced the Dark Lord that going after the Potters was a better option than the Longbottoms. The pureblood corrupted by the filthy Mudblood. You know, the Dark Lord debated about letting James Potter live that night. Thought he could force him into submission by making him watch as his wife and son were murdered. He hated the thought of spilling the blood of the righteous. But Potter was insufferable. His father was a nuisance. I think we were all happy to watch that family crumble and fall."

Sirius's fingers twitched, his entire left arm shook and twitched. He just needed one good hit, one satisfying crack as his knuckles broke that fucker's jaw. The noise around him dulled to a hum, anger pulsing through every single nerve ending of his body. Sirius took a step back to ready himself, his fingers coiling into a fist, his ear ringing with his surging rage as he pulled his arm back.

Then screams erupted in the room. Malfoy just laughed as Sirius whipped his wand out of his inner robe pocket instead and aimed it right for Malfoy's chest, which was vibrating with laughter. Before he could utter a spell, glass shattered around him, a small symphony of clinking and tinkling filling his ears. Sirius looked up. The chandeliers above had exploded as the glass started to rain down upon them. Crouching down instinctively, Sirius flicked his wrist to cast a Shield Charm above him to protect himself from being cut by the sharp shards.

Pandemonium broke out around him. Sirius raised himself on shaky legs, the shield falling from above him. People stampeded towards the exit of the ballroom, glass crunching underneath their footsteps. People laid bleeding on the ground while others cried, not knowing what to do. Sirius searched frantically for Tegan and Fidelius, his heart pounding in his chest. Except he couldn't find them. They were lost in the sea of people.

Whipping around, Sirius saw that Malfoy was gone. Bodies collided against him, pushing him back towards the door.

"TEGAN!" Sirius screamed, his throat splitting, his wide eyes searching frantically for her brown hair.

Sirius fought against the throng of people, trying to make his way to where he had seen Tegan and Fidelius last. He needed to find them before it was too late. They needed to protect Fidelius or die trying.

Sirius froze, pausing in his stride to fight against the crowd. It wasn't Tegan he spotted but a woman with wild black curls and piercing gray eyes staring at him through the mass of people. Bellatrix smirked, her eyebrow arching. Sirius had never wanted to murder anyone more in his life. A body collided into Sirius' side, causing him to stumble to the right. In a split second, he lost sight of Bellatrix, but he knew he had to find her. He swallowed, continuing on his frantic journey of making his way through the crowd that was now thinning.

Another room. Another fat load of nothing. They were quickly running out of rooms to investigate in the giant mansion. Remus couldn't decide if everything was removed and locked by the Death Eaters or if it would have been that way regardless. But they couldn't give up, so Remus followed Nymphadora deeper into the mansion hoping to find something useful.

"I hate this," grumbled Nymphadora as they opened a door to what looked like the study. "If this was an official Auror mission, we'd have emergency Portkeys and a shit ton more back-up."

Remus' eyes roamed across the tomes on the shelves. "I'm assuming we don't have cause to call the Aurors."

Nymphadora sighed as she lazily opened the drawers to a desk. "Gawain and Kingsley were going to be on standby. If shit went down, they said send a Patronus and they'd get the help here as quick as they could."

Remus nodded, shoving his dress robes back so he could place his hands in his trouser pockets. "Should we let them know what's going on now? That there's no quick escape and Adriano Fidelius is here?"

Nymphadora sucked in her cheek and chewed on it. "Tegan and I didn't want to send a Patronus unless necessary in case someone saw it. We'd be so easily identified and it would only jumpstart their plan."

"No, yeah, that makes perfect sense," Remus replied, a sigh escaping his lips.

Nymphadora's lips twitched. "It's why they pay me the big Galleons. Constant vigilance!"

Remus smiled tightly. "You know, Sirius can't stand Alast–" he cut himself off, seeing a shadow on the wall of the hallway.

He drew his wand quickly just as a blast of blue light hurtled into the study. Remus dove to the ground, his wrist flicking to flip the coffee table up to provide him cover. His eyes snapped over to the desk to see Nymphadora crouching behind it, her face pulled back like a snapping turtle as she rolled her neck. She popped up from her hiding spot and let out a quick succession of spells.

Remus followed suit, trying to surprise whoever had attacked them. Bile rose in Remus' throat when he recognized Rodolphus and Rabastan Lestrange. That meant that more Death Eaters were there besides those on the guest list. The Malfoys must have snuck them into the mansion before the party. If the Lestrange brothers were there, that meant that Bellatrix was also lurking about somewhere as well. Remus couldn't help the inward groan that sounded in his throat, knowing that Sirius would go absolutely feral upon seeing her.

Rabastan grunted as a violet spell hit him square in the chest, causing his body to fling out of the room and smash against the wall in the hallway. A resounding crack echoed and Remus couldn't help but wonder if they could hear the commotion downstairs over the music.

Rodolphus pulled his arm back before releasing a Blasting Curse at the desk, the wood cracking and chunks of wood went flying. Remus flung his body to the ground, his wide eyes watching as Nymphadora dove away from the desk. Seeing red, Remus jumped up and blasted the floor beneath Rodolphus' feet and he went crashing down to the ground floor.

Remus' chest heaved as he turned towards Nymphadora to see her holding her arm, crimson slithering through her fingers. Clenching his jaw, Remus made it to her in three quick strides. He peeled her hand away from her arm to see a chunk of wood had impaled her. Swallowing, he looked down at her face.

"Yank it out and heal it," she said with gritted teeth. "Quick, because I felt the chip go off. We can only assume shit is going on downstairs as well. We need to move."

With a flick of his wand, the wood flung across the room and hit the ground with a dull thud. Nymphadora whimpered as Remus did his best to mend the hole in her arm, though he wasn't sure it would stick. It was deep as the blood gushed out at an alarming rate.

"Dora…" he trailed off.

Nymphadora just shook her head. "I'll be fine. Let's go. We need to help Sirius and Tegan."

Remus followed her out of the room, jogging to catch up to her quick stride. "Should we call Gawain and King?"

Without a word, Nymphadora twirled her wand and a bright silver jack rabbit burst from the tip and hopped through the wall. Screams and shouts sounded from downstairs. They picked up their pace, running down the hallway towards the stairs. They took the stairs two at a time. Wizards in masks were all over the entryway as spells darted through the air. Bodies laid on the floor, some bleeding and some with hollow eyes.

Remus froze midway down the stairs, his eyes wide as four masked wizards grabbed Adriano Fidelius. A bag slid over his face as one of the Death Eaters pulled out a battered book from his robe pocket, forcing Fidelius to grab onto it. A moment later, they were gone.

Just like that.

They had failed the mission. They had failed Harry. How were they supposed to keep him safe now? It was only a matter of time before Voldemort found out how to successfully break the Fidelius without the Secret Keeper uttering the location.

Pain erupted in his arm. Remus stumbled and turned to come face-to-face with Bellatrix Lestrange. She didn't bother hiding behind a mask, disgust flitting across her face as she slashed her wand through the air once more. Remus grabbed Nymphadora and pushed her to the ground, the two of them tumbling down the stairs.

Remus grunted, looking up just in time to catch Sirius bursting into the entryway from the ballroom looking deranged and murderous. Bellatrix and Sirius locked eyes, the two not moving a muscle as they stared each other down. A cackle echoed in the room that caused Remus' blood to run cold. That was all it took for Sirius to brandish his wand, a grunt of a spell escaping his clenched jaw.

But Bellatrix was faster, easily deflecting the spell before she bellowed, "Avada Kedavra!"

Remus scrambled to his feet, stumbling towards Sirius. His body collided with Sirius', the two of them crashing down to the ground. Sirius swore loudly. That was all Remus needed to hear as he rolled off his mate's body, his eyes flickering up to see Tegan dueling with Bellatrix. Sirius rose to stand next to him.

"They took Fidelius," Remus huffed, slightly out of breath. "We need to get the fuck out of here."

"Go, I'll catch up," Sirius grunted before dashing off.

"SIRIUS!" Remus shouted as he watched Sirius push a tall figure into the nearest wall, his hand reaching up to pull the mask off his face to reveal Lucius Malfoy.

Nymphadora appeared at his side, her fingers wrapping around his arm, her black hair now fizzy and out of control. She looked frightening like Bellatrix Lestrange and it took Remus all he had in him not to flinch.

"We have to go. We're outnumbered," Nymphadora said in a desperate tone.

Remus squared his jaw, watching as Sirius' fist drove into Malfoy's jaw. A glint of pleasure crossed Sirius' face. A blast sounded from the ballroom, causing Remus and Nymphadora to stumble back. Remus snapped his attention to the room to see it engulfed with flames.

"CISSY!" Bellatrix roared, darting off towards the ballroom, abandoning her duel with Tegan.

"Sirius!" Tegan shouted, sprinting in his direction. "Let's go!" she hollered, pulling Sirius away from a bloody and smirking Malfoy on the floor.

Once satisfied Tegan and Sirius were following, Remus sprinted out of the mansion with Nymphadora by his side. She pointed her wand at her feet and she shrunk as her heels became flats. Another swish of her wand and half the fabric of her dress blew away in the frigid mountain air. She picked up her speed and Remus did his best to match it, but he wasn't nearly as fast as she was. Spells flung over their heads, one hitting a tree and catching it on fire. Remus darted away from the tree, his hand reaching for Nymphadora's so he wouldn't lose sight of her in the dark night as they disappeared through a canopy of trees to make their way down the mountain as Remus' lungs burned.

Sirius shook with rage as Tegan tightened her grip around his hand. He had lost himself after seeing Malfoy and Bellatrix, wanting to murder the both of them. He had never wanted to watch the life leave someone's eyes so much. Never before had he wanted to kill just to kill. But Sirius was severely out of practice, had a slow reaction time after sitting cooped up in Grimmauld Place for the past year in a pit of alcoholic depression and then relaxing all summer with Harry as he began to feel human once more. Even with his original wand, he was a mess. He was slow and clumsy and just bloody fucking awful. He had felt like he was sixteen again, weak and pathetic as his family tortured him into submission and he didn't even fucking fight back.

Remus had to save his life from the Killing Curse, because Sirius had just stood there like his mind hadn't even comprehended what was happening. It was Remus who saved Harry from losing another parent. Despite knowing he wasn't where he should be dueling wise, despite knowing they had to get the hell out of the mansion before they all died, Sirius had become possessed when he saw Lucius Malfoy across the room. He could tell it was the man by just the way he had stood, little wisps of blond peeking out from underneath the hood he wore. There was something about punching that prick in his fucking face that just felt good, after all the years of snide comments and his disgusting smug mug always smiling at him. After years of listening to Malfoy tell him that he owned Sirius, that he would make Sirius submit to him.

Bile rose in Sirius' throat as he and Tegan stepped out into the bitter mountain air. Remus and Dora were heading towards the woods. Perhaps Tegan didn't notice them or she purposely wanted to separate, but Sirius found himself being pulled in the opposite direction. Sirius followed, his lungs burning as they ran as fast as they could.

Not only was he out of practice with his dueling, he was bloody out of shape as well. A stitch crawled up his side as he gritted through the pain. His fingers tightened around Tegan's palm as a blood red spell barely missed them, shooting past their heads.

"BLACK!" a voice growled from the right, but Sirius ignored it.

He concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other. Sirius knew he couldn't keep with Tegan's pace any longer, his fingers loosening around her hand. Her hand slipped from his. He stopped all together, his hands pressing onto his knees as the bile rose up his throat. Vomit spluttered from his lips as he gasped for air. He vowed if he made it out of this situation alive, he was going to not only get in better shape but he was also going to hire a private dueling tutor. He wanted to be the dueler he was before Azkaban, before his life fell apart, before he spent every day struggling to live. He'd sure as hell get Harry a private tutor as well. Tears burned his eyes as he looked up to see Tegan was a little way ahead of him. She had paused in her own stride, her wide eyes staring at him.

"SIRIUS!" Tegan screamed, pointing to the left.

He turned slowly to see Walden Macnair barreling towards him.

Fuck.

Gasping for a breath, Sirius stood up and pointed his wand at Macnair. He shot a Disarming Spell at Macnair because he was in no way prepared to fight at the moment. Macnair deflected it as a spell from the side hurtled towards him. Sirius caught Tegan out of the corner of her eye join the fight, her face hardened as her wand slashed through the air. Sucking in a breath, Sirius pulled back his left arm and shot a spell at Macnair. The spell hit him square in the side, causing him to lose his footing and fling back. He fell into the ground with a sickening splat.

Sirius' eye twitched as he stood up straight, his breathing becoming more regulated. Then, out of nowhere, a severe jab hit his leg from behind, his weight collapsing underneath him with a loud snap ringing in his ears. Pain shot through his leg, enough to make him scream out. Tegan shot a spell over Sirius' head at some unknown assailant as Sirius' hands pressed against his leg. He squinted down at his leg to see something sticking out. Gritting his teeth, he searched frantically for his wand he had dropped when he fell to the ground. He saw it immediately, his fingers reaching for it and rolling it closer so he could grab it.

Macnair rose from the ground behind Tegan. Sirius flicked his wrist, grunting out a spell to knock Macnair back once more. Sirius missed, by a long shot. In a split second, Macnair had Disarmed Tegan. Another flick of the wrist and Tegan flew through the air and landed not far from Sirius.

Laughter rang in Sirius' ears. Something hard and heavy stomped on Sirius' hand, his fingers flattening as his wand left his hand. His wand was kicked away and Sirius looked up to see Antonin Dolohov standing above him with a twisted look crossing his features. Fear penetrated Sirius' heart to know they were both wandless and up against with Macnair and Dolohov. Macnair wanted Sirius' head on a platter but Dolohov was known to be cruel and merciless. Sirius swallowed as Tegan moved closer to him, her fingers brushing against his arm.

"I guess I get the pleasure of killing you," Macnair snarled as he stepped by close to Tegan. "Wish it was your brother I got to kill. I haven't seen my daughter since that fucking cunt ran. Oh, how I would have loved to be the one to murder him."

"I had your back, Walden," Dolohov said as he sneered down at Sirius. "He's out of practice and the bint isn't much better."

Sirius heart beat harsh in his chest, his teeth gritting together as he weighed his options. His leg throbbed painfully, causing him to have trouble thinking of an escape plan without a wand. His eyes snapped over to where his wand lay out of his reach.

"Your brother was a scoundrel. He was weak and pathetic. I'm glad he died," Macnair spat as he pointed his wand directly at Sirius' heart. "Tell him I said hi."

Sirius swallowed as Tegan's nails dug into his arm. In a split second, her foot kicked up through the large slit and connected with Macnair's crotch. Sirius winced as Macnair screamed and Tegan dug her sharp heel into him. Sirius flung his good leg out, slamming it in Dolohov's leg as hard as he could and heard a satisfying snap. Payback was a fucking bitch.

Tegan rolled away from him, her hand reaching to grab her wand before jumping up. Bright spells escaped the tip of her wand and a pale blue light held Macnair and Dolohov to the ground. Tegan swooped down next to him, her hair falling out of her fancy updo as she grabbed him by the arm and helped him up. He collapsed into her side as soon as he put pressure on his leg, air hissing out between his teeth.

"Fuck, Sirius, is that bone?" Tegan asked, helping him hobble out into the shadows, away from sight.

"I'm fine," Sirius gritted, surprised that Tegan was taking on nearly all of his weight.

He was decently taller than her even when she was in impractical heels, heels in which Sirius had a brand-new appreciation for that was vastly different than it had been when he was younger. But she didn't seem bothered by her shoes as they continued to slink back.

"I see bone sticking out of your leg, Sirius!" she grunted, starting to get a little winded from his weight. "Merlin, I get your leg is broken but can you help me out a bit."

Sirius ground his teeth, feeling her wand digging into his side. "You have a wand, Tegan!"

"If I move my hand, I will bloody drop you!" Tegan responded.

Sirius looked around desperately for a safe place they could hide while she patched up his leg. He should have had her Accio his wand before they started on their little journey, but the pain definitely blinded his judgment and she probably wanted to get the hell out of sight before they were attacked again. He spotted a little alcove to their right and he hoped the cave was big enough that they could both fit.

"Cave," Sirius grunted, nodding his head to the right.

They somehow turned to make their way towards the cave. Sirius let out a string of colorful language as he couldn't tell if he couldn't see because it was nighttime or if he was going to pass out from the pain.

"Duck," Tegan demanded.

He only leaned into her body more, feeling the two of them tip dangerously. They stumbled into the cave and Tegan pushed him up against the stone wall and told him to stay put. Sirius huffed as he heard her moving the rocks with the flick of her wrist, engulfing them in complete darkness.

Sirius couldn't stand up any longer, his body falling forward. His chest smacked into Tegan's side as they tumbled to the ground. A resounding snap sounded right before everything went black.

Harry looked anxiously at the clock for what felt like the thousandth time that evening. It was nearing midnight. Sirius, Remus, Tonks, and Mrs Robins had yet to return from the mission. The longer they were gone, the more the knots twisted in Harry's stomach. Even Mrs Weasley seemed nervous as she spoke in hushed tones with Mr Weasley. All Harry could do was to tighten his arms around Ginny and rest his cheek on her head, willing his godfather to burst through the doors of the Burrow any minute.

Loud pops sounded from outside, causing Harry to jump. Mr and Mrs Weasley bolted from the room towards the kitchen. Harry untangled himself from Ginny to stand up, her hand reaching for his. He pulled her up with him, and the two of them darted towards the kitchen as well.

They burst into the kitchen. A wave of fear and disappointment flooded his entire body as he realized that it was only Remus and Tonks that had arrived. His wide eyes stared at the blood pouring down Tonks' arm and the bruise forming on Remus' cheek. Their hair was disheveled and their clothes ripped. Mrs Weasley ordered Mr Weasley to call for Marlene to come look at Tonks' arm, claiming the wound was too deep for her to heal. Mr Weasley ran out of the room. Remus turned his his back towards them, his hand carding through his hair as he craned his neck to look out the window.

"What in Merlin's name happened?" Mrs Weasley asked as she pressed tea towels to Tonks' wound.

Tonks swallowed, her eyes gliding to lock with the back of Remus' head. "We were severely outnumbered. There were more there than who was on the guest list."

Mrs Weasley nodded. "Where's Sirius and Tegan?"

Harry stiffened at the mention of his godfather. He stared at Tonks who winced.

"We saw them briefly," Tonks explained, refusing to meet Harry's gaze. "But we were separated when we were trying to flee. I think they went in the opposite direction as us."

"Were they hurt?" Mrs Weasley asked, her voice trembling.

Tonks shook her head. "Nah, I don't think so."

That did nothing to ease any of the anxiety that had sprouted roots in Harry's chest. An arm wrapped around Harry's shoulders. Harry turned to see Ron standing next to him, his dark freckles standing out on his pale face. On the other side of him, Ginny was by his side clutching his hand in hers with her other hand wrapped around Demelza, whose eyes brimmed with tears. Harry turned back to Remus, his eyes burning a hole into the back of the man's head. He stood frozen in his spot, wanting so badly to see Sirius walk through the back door of the Burrow with some cocky grin and a joke of what held them up on the tip of his tongue.

Except that didn't happen. Marlene arrived and healed Tonks' arm. She lingered around for a bit, chatting with Mrs Weasley and Tonks in hushed tones about what had happened. Harry had no interest in talking to her. He had no interest in talking to anyone except for Sirius. At some point in the evening, Ron managed to get Harry to sit down at the kitchen table. Ron's hand never left his shoulder, the touch meaning to be comforting but Harry didn't feel the effect. Even looking across the table to where Ginny sat with Demelza pressed against her side didn't calm him. His entire body felt like it was being squeezed, a tight uneasiness filling every inch of him.

Remus didn't leave his spot by the window, his gaze focused on finding two figures that weren't there. Tonks leaned against his side and he finally moved. His arm wrapped around Tonks' shoulders as they both stared out into the dark abyss.

The night only became worse when Gawain Robards arrived at the house just as the sun was starting to rise, to say that the Aurors had made several arrests but they had not found Sirius or Tegan anywhere. A larger group would be combing more thoroughly through the woods to see if they were trapped somewhere on the mountain in a few hours when it was fully daylight, since neither one of them had sent out a distress signal.

Remus turned, a frown etched deep on his face as he finally looked at Harry, before turning back to Robards. "Were they captured?" he asked in a hoarse voice.

Robards stiffened. "Snape was just called for a meeting. We'll know more in a few hours."

Remus jerked his head in acknowledgement as he crossed the room towards Harry. He took the seat next to him, his hand reaching out to grab Harry's wrist. Without saying a word, Remus pressed the tip of his wand to the bracelet on Harry's wrist and duplicated it. He snapped the bracelet on his own wrist before looking up at Harry.

"You should get some rest," Remus said, his tone leaving no room for argument but Harry didn't care.

"I'm not tired," Harry replied.

Remus sucked in a breath. "I'm not asking, Harry."

Harry scoffed. "You're not my godfather."

Remus' bottom eyelid twitched. "No, I'm not. But I do know if Sirius was here, he'd be telling you the same damn thing. Whether you like it or not, I'm responsible for you right now."

"You're not," Harry said with clenched teeth.

"Oh, but I am," Remus said, a rueful smile crossing his lips. "Unfortunately for you, I know for a fact that Sirius put me down as your guardian if something happened to him. He'd rather curse you to live with a werewolf than go back to your aunt and uncle's, so I'm afraid I'm telling you to go upstairs and get some rest because tomorrow – or I guess today – is going to be a hard one."

Harry tried to regulate his breathing, but failed miserably. He just stared at Remus, a spark of hatred spurring deep within his stomach. How was he expected to sleep when Sirius was out there either dead or kidnapped? Sirius was Harry's only family.

"Come on, mate, let's just try," Ron murmured. "We'll all go, yeah?"

Begrudgingly, Harry followed Ron up the stairs to his bedroom. Remus placed the charms on their bracelets and Harry hated every single second of it, knowing that Sirius taught Remus them. Without another word, Harry stormed into his bedroom and collapsed on his bed. He wouldn't sleep. Couldn't. Not when all he wanted to do was to go after Sirius. Except, he didn't even know where the charity event had been held. That bit of information had been conveniently kept from him.

Ron laid down in the bed next to him, the two squishing together in the tiny bed. Harry scowled at him because there were two beds in the twins' old room. But apparently Ron didn't care as he settled in, pulling the thin blanket over the both of them. Their arms pressed tightly together.

"Maybe one of them is hurt and they're just hiding out until the Death Eaters clear out," Ron mused.

"They didn't send a distress signal," Harry replied, unable to keep the bitterness out of his tone.

"Maybe they don't want to if there's Death Eaters lurking about," Ron replied, propping his arms behind his head and causing his elbow to brush against Harry's head. "They'd just draw attention to themselves, you know? Shooting spells out."

"Yeah, maybe," Harry agreed but he didn't feel any better about the situation.

The two fell into comfortable silence. It wasn't long before Harry heard soft snores escaping Ron's nose. Harry found himself just staring at the ceiling, his ears straining for the familiar pops of Apparition outside. His eyes grew heavy, his lids fluttering, as darkness overcame him.

Harry stood in a clearing, the sun peeking up through a canopy of trees. It was blood red and angry looking, casting a bright glow over the grounds. Footsteps sounded and Harry turned to see a group of people walking towards him. His heart skipped a beat when he saw Lord Voldemort gliding towards him. Flanked on either side of him were Lucius Malfoy, Narcissa Malfoy, Bellatrix Lestrange, and a few others that Harry didn't recognize.

"Lupin and Tonks got away, my Lord," Lucius Malfoy explained. "Black and Robins are still here, somewhere. Hiding like pathetic little rats."

A spark of light shot through Harry's nerve-endings.

"Macnair snapped Black's leg clean in half before Robins intervened and dragged him off somewhere. I doubt she was able to drag him out of the wards in his condition," Malfoy continued.

"It was here," a male said, causing the group to stop. "I snapped his fucking leg right here."

Harry looked down to see a spot of grass bloodstained. Bellatrix stepped forward, her eyes combing the ground. A manic cackle escaped her lips as she reached out and plucked a wand out of the tall grass. Harry squinted, recognizing it as his godfather's wand.

"He's wandless, my lord," Bellatrix said with glee. "I wonder if she is too. Oh, how precious if they're stranded like two little Muggles."

Voldemort held out his hand for the wand. "What is Sirius and this Auror's relationship?"

Malfoy cleared his throat. "Well, they were certainly pretending to be an item this evening, my lord. They were dancing and I even saw them kiss at one point. She's certainly his type. All legs and dark hair. He's always been rather fond of girls like her… well, all but one I suppose," he explained, a sneer working its way on his face as he looked over at Bellatrix.

Bellatrix twitched as though she was readying to grab her wand when Narcissa grabbed her wrist to stop her.

"Can we use her against him?" Voldemort asked, clearly bored. "Does he care enough about her to force a submission from him?"

"Sirius has cared about very few people in his life, my lord," Narcissa spoke, her hand still gripping Bellatrix's wrist. "If you're seeking information on Harry Potter, you won't get him to break even if you torture the girl to death right in front of him. The only people Sirius has ever cared enough about to force a submission from him have both been Potters. Sirius has only cared about James and Harry Potter. That is all. I daresay, he'd even let the McKinnon girl die without batting an eyelid if it meant protecting his godson."

Lord Voldemort turned to look at Narcissa. "Are you willing to bet your life on that?"

Narcissa stared at him, her eyebrow arching. "He let the Order of the Phoenix kill his own brother. Regulus most likely died at the hands of an Order member. He didn't care, my lord. He didn't even attend the funeral."

Lord Voldemort sucked in a breath as he looked down at the wand in his hand. His long white fingers gripped the wand on either end before he snapped both wrists down. The wand splintered in half, rendering it useless. He tossed the broken wood pieces onto the ground.

Turning, Voldemort stared right at Harry as though he could see him. Harry took a step back, his heart hammering in his chest.

"I know you're here, Harry," Voldemort spoke in a soft tone as the attention of the Death Eaters snapped in his direction. "It's been a while since we could talk, especially now that you're blocking me from your mind. But I suppose you haven't mastered it yet since you're here. Is it perhaps when you're emotional that you cannot keep your walls up? I have heard you care deeply for your godfather. Is that why you've invaded my mind? Are you worried, Harry?"

Harry took a step back, his body trembling. His chest heaved, his hand moving to grab his wand that wasn't there.

Voldemort took a step closer to Harry, his red eyes piercing into Harry's. "I'll find him before the Order does. You know that, don't you? The Ministry has already given up. They don't care about him, not like you do. I'll spare his life if you come to me, Harry. I won't touch him."

Harry just stared wide eyed at Voldemort. His life for Sirius'? It seemed like an easy decision. So many people had given their lives for Harry that it would only be fitting to give his life for his godfather's. Sirius had been so good to him and had been dealt such a shit hand. He deserved to be happy with Marlene, unburdened by him.

"Come to me, Harry," Voldemort hissed, his hand reaching out to touch him. "Come to me."

The hand came closer and closer. Harry was certain that they would make contact. Fire flooded his body and a strangled scream caught in Harry's throat. His body shot up in bed, his sweaty hair plastered against his forehead and his glasses slid down his nose. Ron stirred next to him, propping himself up on his elbow.

"What's the matter?" Ron slurred, his hand scrubbing his eye.

Harry tossed the cover off his body and he bolted from the bed. If he knew where the ball was, he would just leave without question. But he hadn't been afforded that information. He wasn't about ready to let Sirius suffer.

He made his way out of the bedroom and found himself outside of Remus' door. Without knocking, he pushed the door open with such force that it banged against the wall. Remus and Tonks were in bed together. They both jumped up at the noise, squinting at him.

"Harry?" Remus called, rolling out of bed without hesitation.

"I have dreams," Harry said in a rush. "Sirius told you about them, hasn't he?"

Remus was only in a pair of boxers and Harry couldn't help but stare at the scars that littered the man's body. Scratches and even a few round puncture wounds. Snapping his attention up to Remus' face, he watched as the man ran a tired and frustrated hand through his sandy hair.

"Yes, but I thought those stopped because you've been doing so well with Occlumency," Remus said in a slow voice.

"They mostly had," Harry replied, waving him off. "Voldemort and his Death Eaters don't have Sirius. They're searching for him and Mrs Robins right now. Sirius doesn't have his wand and he has a broken leg. Voldemort thinks they're hiding."

Remus stilled, looking like he wasn't even breathing as he didn't move a muscle. Harry shifted.

"He knew I was there," Harry barreled forward, wishing more than anything he was talking to Sirius and not Remus right now. "He said if I go to him, he won't harm Sirius. Can you… take me?"

Remus blinked at him, his eyebrows shooting up. "Have you lost your mind?"

Harry clenched his jaw. "Sirius would do it for me if I was the one missing."

"Sirius is a thirty-six-year-old wizard who is responsible for you," Remus bit out, his head shaking. "You are fifteen."

"I'll be sixteen on Wednesday," Harry challenged, his anger surging. "I'm not a child!"

Remus had the audacity to let out a humorless chuckle. "This is completely mental."

"Saving Sirius' life is mental?" Harry snapped, his arms crossing over his chest. "Great friend you are."

Remus' lips drew in a thin line. "If you go and give yourself up to Voldemort, then you die. If you die, Sirius dies. Because I know Sirius better than anyone. He will end his life if you die. You are the only reason he's still alive. You are the only reason he hasn't killed himself or drank himself to an early grave."

"He wouldn't do that," Harry whispered, though he severely doubted that.

Harry had seen the memory of Sirius finding James' dead body on Halloween, had seen the way Sirius had burned his arm in despair. Sirius had given up all those years ago, drowned in depression and let himself rot in Azkaban instead of raising Harry like he should have. From what Harry could gather, Sirius didn't fight for a trial. Nobody had. He had just curled up as Padfoot and let Peter win for twelve years.

"Sirius is severely damaged, Harry," Remus replied. "He lost everything in less than a year, his entire world just gone: Fleamont and Euphemia, Marlene, James and Lily. His friendships with Peter and myself were shattered. You were taken from him the night your parents died. Sirius was ready to quit. He did. He let his grief consume him in Azkaban and he has never been the same man since. The only time I see sparks of the old Sirius is when he's with you. Trust me, he does not want you where he is now. Let me call Dumbledore and the Order. We'll get a search party out there sooner rather than later, especially since we know Sirius and Tegan are alive and they're not captured."

Tonks appeared behind Remus, her hand pressing to his arm. She smiled warmly at Harry, her hair a muted mousey brown. Harry chewed on the inside of his cheek, jerking his head once.

"I'll contact Dumbledore," Tonks said. "He'll want to go if he knows Voldemort is there."

Remus glanced over at Tonks, their eyes meeting. "I'll stay here with Harry."

Harry's chest constricted. "No, you should go help Sirius."

"I think Sirius might murder me if I leave you," Remus replied as he turned around and scooped up some trousers and a shirt from the floor.

Harry's face pulled. "I wish everyone would stop coddling me."

Remus shot him a forced smile as he pulled his trousers on. "Your grandparents used to coddle us too, you know. I wasn't as close with them as Sirius was, but they were such kind people," he said as he shoved his shirt on over his head. "Fleamont used to brew me Wolfsbane before he died. It was newer and hard to come by. He just did it. Nobody asked him to, he just did and made sure I had it. Sometimes James would deliver it. Sometimes Lily or Euphemia. There were quite a few times that Fleamont even insisted that I stay on their property for the full moons. Your grandparents used to sit on the back porch and watch the four of us run amuck. It was… amazing to be able to be me. After Fleamont died, James tried his best to still supply me the potion. He would buy it from apothecaries and have it sent to me, but the quality just wasn't the same. Sometimes it wasn't brewed right or the delivery would come late. I don't think Lily felt comfortable enough brewing it. Your family, Harry, they treated everyone like they were family. They cared so deeply about everyone who so much as touched their orbit. They were the finest people I had ever met. Sirius and I are both so grateful for everything the Potters did for us growing up. That's why we care so deeply for you. It's why we fight so passionately for you. It's why we coddle you, to keep you safe because neither one of us can bear the thought of you dying so young like a majority of your family did."

Harry's chest hurt so much as it expanded oddly. It was a peculiar feeling to have someone care about him so much. The Weasleys had always been amazing and treated him like a part of their family. But there was something different about the way Sirius and now Remus treated him. As though they would gladly step in front of the Killing Curse for him just as his mother did all those years ago. It was an amazing yet horrible feeling. He didn't want either one of them to get hurt on his account. He wasn't worth it.

"Let's go downstairs for a spot of tea and wait for news," Remus said in a kind voice, his arm wrapping around Harry's shoulders and turning towards the door where Ron stood.

The three of them made their way towards the kitchen. Ron took a seat next to him while Remus made them some tea. Remus sat down directly next to Harry, their chairs pushed close together. Nobody talked as they sipped their tea. It was a comforting sort of silence, one that Harry didn't get to experience often enough. Harry traced patterns on the table with his fingers, his mind wandering to Sirius and hoping he would be found by the Order soon.

Newest chapter is up a little early because I have been so excited to share this with you all! Don't forget to drop a review. They motivate me to keep writing and will make my weekend.

Special thanks to Bell for all of her help with this chapter and dealing with my I hate action freak outs!