Author's Note: I am back to writing daily, and plan to continue to work that way. The war is close to home here. Thanks to anybody who is indeed still reading. I thank you so much. MNF

Chapter 20:

Poisonous Gas

Anwen quickly sent a Finite, ending whatever spell Dumbledore had cast at the elves to ignore their charges, and at once they were turned back toward the babies, wondering what had happened. Anwen stared at Dumbledore with the most disgusted face. "I'll deal with you later," she spat at him. Turning her attention to the trio of elves who were again amongst the children: "I'm enacting the emergency protocols, please take Mistress Lily and Eva to the safe room, then bring the babies, then gather the adults," Anwen stated.

Wilken took Lily while Peng had Alice and within moments the children were gone, as were Claire and Jeffrey. Anwen assumed that Auntie Dorea, Uncle Chalus and Eva's mum were gathered as well. She waved a hand over herself, then pointed at Sirius, Remus and James and all were in their battle armour. Alice and Frank ran into the back garden, and they too were soon suited up. Albus was struggling to stand, but Anwen turned her back to him.

"Something just happened in the village," James announced. "It sounded like an explosion, so we should be prepared for anything. Win, some street clothes please?" With a quick nod of her head, she waved over the amassed group, and they were in variations of jeans and long sleeve tees or button downs. Sirius was opening the side gate which led directly to the road to the village when Dumbledore was finally able to stand.

"Please, let me go with you," he asked and while Sirius scoffed at the idea, it was James who answered.

"We don't know what's going on," he admitted. "The villagers know who Anwen, Sirius and I are; they've seen our friends. You are a stranger, and you could raise questions we don't want to answer. Look at you, you'd never blend in. Go, if we need help, we can call the Aurors, who at least know how to pretend to be Muggles."

"I'll make sure he uses the Floo," Remus piped up. "I can catch up quickly." James nodded and then was the first through the gate, the others filing out behind him until Sirius was last, and he re-locked the wooden door. "Come on, I need to join them or go with Eva into the safe room."

"You seemed well versed in what to do," Dumbledore observed.

"We are," Remus answered curtly. He knew the old man was attempting to gain information that no one wanted to share. Remus was a protective uncle to the four little ones, and Dumbledore was far too interested in their magic. After hearing about what he'd done to Anwen when she was small, he had no intention of letting any of those innocent children be exposed to him and his experiments. "Good day, sir," Remus said when they reached the Floo. Dumbledore waited for more, but when it didn't come, he took a pinch of powder and Flooed back to Hogwarts. Remus immediately shut the Floo and then sent a Patronus to Eva.

A moment later, Eva's beautiful butterfly flew into the entryway and told Remus they were fine, and she and Lily were getting the children back down for further naps. Remus made sure the house was locked down before he ran for the gate door and out into the heat of the day to catch up with his friends.

Six Hours Later

"I figured it out, I figured it out," Lily cried loudly as she ran up the stairs from the cellar level where the potions lab was. James met at her at the door that came up through the rear hall near the kitchen.

"What is it?"

"Bubotuber pus," Lily said, nearly out of breath. Remus emerged from the cellar behind her. "Someone aerosolized it." The eight friends were gathered in the informal sitting room going over the day they'd had.

What the family had felt on the grounds of Linfred Hall was an explosion near the market in the village. At first, it was thought to be a gas leak in the old community hall, but when James arrived, he knew at once it wasn't. On the periphery of the chaos, James saw two wizards in dark robes, their faces obscured by bone masks. They'd cast a spell on themselves to be invisible to the Muggles, but James, Frank and Sirius saw them before they Disapparated. After comparing notes, the trio agreed they didn't know who they were, although Sirius was certain they were both female.

Anwen and Alice went into the fray, helping those they could. While it was impossible to do much for those injured – outright healing them was against the Statute of Secrecy – some gentle Numbing Spells were cast as she helped to bind burns.

There were so many burns. The hardest hit were the children who were in the playground and not under the stalls and canopies of those selling their wares. Six children had lost their lives.

When they realized what was happening, Frank went to swap places with Eva, so at least both healers could be there helping. When Remus arrived, he took a sample and quickly returned to the manor, hoping he and Lily would be able to discover what it was. James, Frank and Sirius helped the single village police officer organize people by the severity of their injuries and getting the worst cases off to hospital, as well as taking statements from the uninjured.

They arrived home to find the remains of the party cleaned up, and a light meal of sandwiches and a tossed salad waiting for them. The elves had already fed the children, and after they had cuddles from their parents, the three who lived at Lindfred were taken upstairs for baths, bottles and bed. Alice had taken Neville home with her parents and then returned to find out what happened.

"So, there is at least one Death Eater who has some understanding of Muggle history," Anwen muttered from her place on Sirius' lap. She was curled up tightly within his arms, her exhaustion from the day draped around her limbs like an ill-fitting cloak.

"Huh?" James muttered as he and Lily settled down next to his sister and mate on the long sofa.

"I swear Dad and Mr Lupin are rolling over in their graves," Anwen said dismissively. "Perhaps our resident historian would like to explain how Blubotuber Pus and Mustard Gas would be alike?" Remus had a half-smile grace his face, even though he was tired from helping Lily, and looked at James specifically.

"During World War II, there was an overwhelming fear that the Germans would bomb Great Britain with Mustard Gas, like what was employed during the first World War. Gas Masks were distributed to everyone, and thankfully it wasn't used, but the fear was real. If indeed Death Eaters are harkening back to those days, then we need to be prepared for more attacks like this on Muggle neighbourhoods."

"Why here, though?" Frank wondered. "If you wanted to frighten people, why do it out in the middle of nowhere?"

"Because we are all here," Sirius said grimly. "How many times have you faced the Death Eaters? How many times have you turned them down? I know Tom has come after me three separate times."

"Us too," James said, looking at his wife and pulling Lily closer.

"At least three now," Alice admitted.

"And all of our children are in play for this stupid prophecy that we know he's taken stock in," Anwen quietly added.

"At least Alfie is safe," Alice said gently.

"No, he's not," Sirius said. "Malfoy went to my grandfather and demanded that his son be given to him." Anwen quietly whimpered and Sirius held onto her tighter.

"So how does this aerosolization work?" Eva asked after long minutes of silence.

"From what I can tell, the pus was dried out, so it was safe to pack, put under pressure, and then another canister of liquid put in the bomb. A spell was cast to mix the two substances and then the canister was punctured so that the liquid was released under pressure," Remus explained. "I figure it made the pus travel twice as far as it would have under a normal detonation. Of course, I'm basing this on some failed pranks we did at school, but you get the idea." They were silent again.

"Jimmy, is it safe for all of us to stay here?" Anwen inquired in a barely perceptible voice. She rarely used their childhood nicknames, but when she was feeling particularly vulnerable, it came out. "Can we risk the village?"

"I don't know, Win," he admitted after a moment. "I do think there's safety in numbers but…"

"This is your home," Sirius countered. "You shouldn't need to leave!"

"This might be our home, but can we risk the lives of all the innocent Muggles who live here? They can't protect themselves in a magical war. Perhaps if we aren't on the edge of the village, or not all of us, it would be safer for them?"

"Your family has lived here for generations," Sirius continued his argument.

"I know, but we are stewards of the people, Sirius. It's not like it was a few hundred years ago when we needed them to sustain us, but we are still the responsible ones. We take care of the village, that's how it's always been. Are we being responsible by painting a target on them?" James saw the tears in her eyes as she spoke.

"Win, we aren't going to figure this out tonight," James said with a calm tone. "Why don't we get some sleep and look at this with fresh eyes in the morning?"

"Okay," she said, sounding defeated.

A&S A&S A&S A&S A&S

A piercing alarm rang out in Anwen and Sirius' bedroom, immediately awakening them. It wasn't the alarm for an attack on their home, but instead on Stargazers Summit, the Black family seat and home of Arcturus Black. Sirius was up immediately, his wife waving her hand and putting his battle robes into place. He wasn't surprised to find Remus awake and ready to go with him; his wolf-hearing made it impossible for him to ignore the alarm. Anwen had followed Sirius downstairs, and quickly had Remus dressed as well. With a brief goodbye, the pair went out the rear door and Disapparated to the remote home. The two weeks since the attack on the village had been a relentless tattoo of attacks throughout the country on wizarding and Muggle communities and homes alike.

Sirius and Remus arrived to find three Death Eaters, one of them definitely Lucius Malfoy if the hair was anything to go by, attacking the barriers of the outer enchantments. Sirius quickly fired off a series of Disarming Charms, although they were all batted away. He then notified the DMLE through his communications stone, hoping they'd arrive before the enchantments fell.

"Come to save your grandfather, blood traitor that he is," one of them said. Sirius thought it might be a man not much older than he named Jugson, who was in Hufflepuff in school. He'd been arrested twice for Death Eater activities, and both times the charges were mysteriously dropped. The only reason Sirius considered it was because of the particularly ugly mask he wore.

"My grandfather has always been neutral," Sirius sneered back. "Leave, while you can. I've alerted the team on duty at the DMLE. The Aurors are on their way." Sirius couldn't remember if James, Alice or Frank were on call that night or not, but he'd be happy to see any of them.

"I see you brought your half-breed with you," Malfoy derided Remus. "My son shouldn't be raised near such creatures."

"He's not your son," Sirius said through gritted teeth. Malfoy had been attempting to gain custody of Alfie, although so far, his petitions had gained no traction, as there was no legal documentation proving Narcissa's baby was his. She'd chosen not to put a father's name on the birth certificate and had the adoption papers for Anwen and Sirius prepared before she'd died.

"Of course he's my son," Malfoy screamed back. "My wife was faithful, even if stupid and useless." Arcturus had exited the house by now and joined the fray. Three on three, even with the elder Black's advancing age, made it a fairer fight. However, with the barriers up, there were few spells which came close to the defenders.

A moment later, with a loud crash, the wards protecting Stargazer's Summit fell and the sparring became more intense. It alarmed Sirius they'd fallen so easily.

Malfoy was still as skilled with a wand as he'd ever been and quickly went after Sirius. He continued to taunt regarding Alfie, although Sirius refused to take the bait. Jugson was no match for Remus, who trained hard daily with the trio of Aurors in the house. He was quickly subdued, bound and tied to a post near the house awaiting the DMLE personnel.

The third attacker, the one who had brought down the protection enchantments, wasn't much of a fighter and Arcturus had the upper hand in their fight. Remus went to join the elder wizard. However, Malfoy noticed and sent a horrible cutting curse at Arcturus.

"I hope he dies," Malfoy taunted as he Disapparated out even as a team of Aurors Apparated in. Sirius fired off a Patronus to Anwen, knowing she'd be here faster than any healer the DMLE might bring in.

Arcturus was bleeding profusely from a gash across his abdomen, and Sirius knelt, ripping off a section of his grandfather's cloak to staunch the bleeding. "Hold on, grandfather, Anwen is on her way."

Meanwhile, Remus had knocked-out and bound the third attacker. Frank was among those who arrived, and Remus began to recount what had happened, while another Auror, a woman named Marielle who had been in the training class with him and James, went to help Sirius.

"We've called in a Ministry healer, but I'm not sure where we'd take him. St. Mungo's is overrun with Death Eaters," she explained.

"It's alright, my wife is on her way. She's a healer," Sirius said. Arcturus began to spit up blood, and Sirius knew his grandfather was dangerously close to dying. He applied what healing spells he could, but nothing could close the wound. Anwen was suddenly there, Elba by her side. Anwen held her healing kit while Elba had her potions box. Marielle moved aside and let Anwen take her place. Arcturus then began to seize.

"Can you protect his head?" she asked the Auror. "Sirius, tell me what happened." Sirius quickly recounted the brief encounter, ending with Malfoy's cutting spell. "Did you hear an incantation?"

"No, is he going to be alright?" Sirius asked his wife, worry evident.

"If I can close this," she said tersely. "It's resistant to normal healing spells." Her hands moved over Arcturus, and slowly the cut began to heal. "Elba, please spell three Blood-Replenishing Potions into him, then a full-strength Poppy Elixir and a Sleeping Potion." When the seizure was over, the old man had been knocked out; Anwen wanted to make sure he stayed that way.

The next several minutes were tense, as Anwen would think the wound was healed, but it then began to open again. Over and over, she'd seal it, and it would only hold for a moment before part would reopen. Finally, in a move of desperation, she took out the long needle she had bent into a curve and thread she kept in the medical kit and began to stitch the wound shut, like Muggle stitches. When she was finished, the quartet watched, holding their breaths.

It held.

After a few more minutes, several more potions and a quiet prayer Anwen said over the patriarch of the family, she deemed him safe enough to move into the house. Sirius conjured a stretched and gently shifted the man onto it and then levitated it toward the manor.