Proper Life

"Out of the bed you two." Remus's stern tone wasn't needed, Dean had already shoved Seamus onto the floor when the door had opened.

"Sorry Professor Lupin," the two choroused, neither sounding like they really meant it as Seamus got back to his feet and adjusted his shirt a bit.

"Seamus, your mum's sent ahead a letter reminding you to have everything ready when she gets here, you two won't have much time to get to Diagon Alley before it gets dark, and no," he interrupted himself before the other clearly was going to, "Dean can't come."

"I don't see why not," he scowled at nothing in particular. "We can cover the money for his books until the bloody Ministry gets its arse in gear."

"As could we," Remus patiently reminded while Dean went flush under his dark skin and muttered about contrivances. "The point though is that the Ministry's still backlogged on relocating all those who lost their homes, money will come next." He patiently reminded, before kindly switching to another topic. "Where are the other boys?"

Dean was more than happy to add in now, "The Creevey boys were out back with Buckbeak again, and Justin went with Leo to the Macmillans."

Remus nodded his thanks, even though he'd known that last one, before saying pointedly, "Dinner's in five, mind helping me set the table?"

They happily accepted their dismissal, but Remus paused in the doorway, hand resting for a few moments as he gazed at the no longer familiar room. The sketches of broom designs were safely tucked away in their room now, the lone rocking chair moved to Harry's, and the simple bed had been gifted to Teddy. Yet James's shadow still lingered amongst the two bunk beds. "It finally happened Prongs," he whispered for himself, "I've finally turned into an old granny rather than a wolf."

There was no accompanying laugh, and he hated how he was slowly getting used to that.

"I'm not late," Leo declared twenty minutes later as he stumbled out of the fireplace.

His dad gave him a very obvious look as he forked the last slice of roast chicken onto his own plate.

Leo sighed, but accepted this. "So how was the Burrow?" He asked his cousin as helped himself to the dressings instead.

"More crowded than you'd ever believe, it's no wonder Mrs. Weasley will only let one guest over a day now," he sighed. "Met another new girl, from your house I think, Daphne Greengrass. Those other two girls are still causing problems though, driving Hermione mad, she said they nearly set the chicken coop on fire yesterday. How's Poppy doing?"

"Those other three kids finally moved in yesterday, all sisters, last name Cattermole I think. She said if Mikey wasn't there she'd still feel really on the outs," he sighed. "I still don't see why she can't stay here," he directed pleadingly towards his dad, but Uncle Remus was the one to answer.

"Unless she wants to room with a three-year-old every other week in a house full of boys, I'd think she's fine where she is," Remus chuckled as he looked fondly at the empty highchair.

Justin Finch-Fletchley slammed his fork onto the table so hard it bounced off and skittered along the floor, but nobody watched its progress as it disappeared under the counter, as they saw his red-rimmed eyes.

"Well bully for you lot, thinking we'd be happy in somebody else's home while our parents are dead!"

He stormed up to a room he couldn't even claim for himself and slammed the door, causing stuffing to dribble off Dennis's spoon onto the floor, as he'd left it hanging halfway to his mouth. Colin immediately reached over and spooned another huge mound onto his plate with a forced cheerful smile.

"Sorry," Leo whispered to the remaining three, his suddenly sickly pale demeanor a whiplash. "I, I didn't-"

"It's alright Leo," Dean shrugged as he swirled the peas around on his plate, fooling no one with his game as he'd yet to take a bite. "We know."

7

"-know where at least three are, thanks to Voldemort worrying about them constantly last year," Ron was saying bracingly.

"Yeah," Harry sighed in exhaustion, "but that's like saying we know where the locket is just because Regulus Black once had it. We've searched Grimmauld place from top to bottom and we don't even have proof it was once there. We just have to bloody hope Dobby can track down Mundungus on the off chance he stole it and hocked it, who knows what really happened, I don't know why Uncle Sirius is bothering with that line of thinking at all. Hogwarts and Gringotts are so huge- if Voldemort hasn't risked getting them out yet, I don't see how we have a hope of finding them."

Ron nudged his best mate in the hip while looking pointedly at Hermione, who was sorting through their books with trembling hands. He didn't know what he'd said to cause it this time, but he instantly apologized, knowing even the randomest of things could remind him of his dad just as fast.

Neville decided that as they were having a rather circular argument, again, he'd change the subject. "How are plans for the wedding going?"

"Mum's going spare, no surprise there," Ron sighed as he slumped down beside his girlfriend and put a reassuring arm over her shoulder. "Planning two separate events on the same day, almost makes me glad they never formally let us join the Order. She can't even say she's looking forward to it being over though."

Leo came in then with a very put out expression, causing his three friends to instantly shut their mouths, but Harry waved them all to calm down. "It's alright guys, he knows everything. What's up Leo?"

He stood in the doorway a few more moments, before leaving it open and dropping a paper at Harry's feet, causing his heart to sink. This had never started well. "Just, ah, figured you'd like to know sooner rather than later is all." Then he left hastily, clearly not wanting to linger any longer upon being the messenger.

Hating every inch of his hand as he scooped up the page, he ignored the large advertisement sprawled across the back for Weasley's Wizard Wheezes and flipped it over. Then immediately dropped it in disgust, was on his feet in the same breath, and had stormed out of the room himself calling for his Uncles.

"What's it say?" Hermione yelped in surprise, the other three on their feet and trying to simultaneously follow him and figure out what the problem was.

Neville didn't need to say anything, as he showed them the paper and caught up with him in their room. The picture of Severus Snape on the cover as the new Headmaster of Hogwarts was all the explanation they needed.

"They can't do this!" Harry was already in a full swing tangent, eyes on his professor as much as theirs.

"I'm afraid they can," Professor Lupin had that pained, resigned look on his face he always did when he had to give a kid detention he really didn't want to. "Those Educational Decrees were never taken out of practice, they instated-"

"A murderer!" Harry said flatly.

Professor Lupin gave an exhausted sigh, but when he didn't respond they saw Harry's hackles soothe just slightly. He seemed to realize a few seconds before his friends, "There's something else, isn't there?"

Their favorite teacher chewed on his tongue for a few moments, before relenting, "No point in hiding it I suppose, you'll know soon enough. This, isn't the only staffing change this year."

There was an ugly moment of silence as that sunk in, before Hermione spoke quietly, "You mean, you're not-"

"No," his smile remained kind as he looked at all of them. "I'm afraid Dumbledore didn't have the chance to reinstate me, ergo the Ministry had as much a right to replace me as Professor Burbage."

"They, they can't," Harry tried to splutter in further outrage, but it was constricted as he grasped the losing fight ahead. "I don't understand, why's the Ministry doing this? Putting a Death Eater in charge of the castle, all of these, these stupid inquires into the Muggleborns who've already lost so much, what are they playing at?"

"It's complicated Harry, you know that," he sighed. He gazed at the four a few moments longer, before lowering his voice to a whisper, "don't ah, share this with anyone else, this is strictly Order business, but we have reason to believe the Ministry's, well, never been uncompromised since, since the attacks."

They'd all been suspecting as much for some time now. Between the abrupt emergency laws being put into place restricting magical access for days in advance, the government funding at an all time snails pace leaving the Muggleborns in the soul provision care of the families taking them in, and now these registries demanding their bloodwork before they returned to Hogwarts, the Ministry was slowly but surely turning into a monster as great as Voldemort. It couldn't all be in response to what had happened without some help, right?

"We really need this wedding to happen," Hermione finally broke the silence as she met Ron's eyes.

7

"Eyes on Fleur now," Ginny fondly scolded as Harry gave her hand one last squeeze before departing for his seat.

"I'll try," he promised, and almost managed it through the proceedings despite his girlfriend resplendent in her golden dress. Once the ceremony was over though and the party officially started, he couldn't bring himself to be parted from Hermione anymore than Ron and Neville.

Ginny didn't mind, she had her own hands full keeping the younger kids in orderly groups for when it was their turn.

It was all going off without a hitch so far. Members of the Order were spread casually throughout the event, sharing the signal in as casual a way as they were capable of, some with more subtlety than others.

"Moony, come dance with me!" Sirius happily interrupted the chatting parents.

"Well, we always need the spectacle at a time like this," Remus chuckled as Tonks happily waved the two away.

"Been ditched already? A sight like you, can't believe you've been left alone- oh, sorry Tonks!" She laughed outright to see Fred realize the blond he was hitting on was not another veela cousin.

She laughed, as did Teddy upon seeing him, immediately stopping his hair changing from purple and gold like the balloons around him to red upon seeing who it was. "We really must stop meeting like this," she mock scolded.

"I hardly think it's my fault," Fred's grin was unrepentant as he more than happily lifted the babe into his arms and began bouncing him lightly. "Stop looking so easy to flirt with."

"Is that any way to speak to a three-year-old," she giggled, before lowering her voice and asking in a more serious voice, "sent all yours off then?"

"Yeah," his grin slipped unpleasantly, "that poor Tracey Davis girl didn't understand why she couldn't stay no matter how many times we explained it to her-" he cut himself off with an uneasy look around, before saying in a much louder tone, "well come on, can I ask the lovely lady for a dance? Can't have my own twin brother upstaging me with his girlfriend."

Tonks very obviously looked at her son in his arms for an answer, and he laughed before pulling his Mum out of seemingly thin air. She was delighted to watch him and Tonks didn't want another reason to protest anyways.

Leo watched Charlie approaching him next, and paled as he realized his time was up as well. He pulled Poppy behind one of the pillars playing the loud music, and leaned in to kiss her one last time.

She returned it feverishly, her nails digging into his arms even as he pulled away. "I love you," she blurted, hardly giving him a chance to realize what she'd said before she went on unrepentantly, "I'm not saying that because, because I might not see you again, and I'm not going to bother telling you to be careful because I know you Leo, I'm, I just wanted you to know before-"

"I love you too," he gently interrupted, leaning in to kiss her on the nose. "I wish I could go to Romania with you, but-"

"I know," she sighed. "Safer for you to stay in the public eye and, and all that," she finished with a catch in her voice.

"I love you," they said one last time in sinc, before managing a half decent laugh for the other. "Make sure when you get there, you tell them Percy sent you," he whispered one last time to remind her, even if nobody had ever explained the inside joke.

"I know, Mikey was bloody crying all morning as he told me for the millionth time," she sighed, burying her face in his shoulder, before Charlie was there and then kindly leading her away.

He watched her leave the tent with a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach, before turning with purpose on his heels and marching over to his cousin.

Harry was sitting with Ron and Neville, both of whom had looks equal to his own he was sure. "We've got to find a way to fix this, we've just got to," he hissed in disgust, more to strangle his own anger from shouting than really caring if anyone over heard.

"I know, we've got all the pieces in place," Harry was quick to pacify, looking around at the dwindling crowd with worry as party guests began to leave in earnest. "We'll talk about this later Leo-"

"Sometimes it doesn't feel like just destroying his souls is enough," Ron cut in with a twisted expression, clearly agreeing with him as he burst into speech since Hermione had left his side, twisting his hands in frustration with nothing to strangle. "There should be some way to, to make Voldemort feel what he's putting everyone through, to-"

A crack reverberated louder than the music, an accompanying scream of fright from several party guests for the unexpected noise, but Ron barely registered any of that as he was shoved face first into the table causing an even larger disturbance that caused the whole room to go silent all at once upon seeing who was doing it.

"Dad!" Neville yelped, unable to draw his wand he was so dumbstruck by the sight, as well as the man with him.

"Let this be a warning to all," Corban Yaxley spoke into the painful silence. The instant he was recognized, several other people disapparated away on sight, but even more were rushing forward, Arthur Weasley in particular looking murderous. "By order of the Ministry of Magic, any time the Dark Lord's name is spoken, we have now been granted the ability to take in those for questioning."

"Message received," Arthur spoke in a voice none had ever heard before. "Now let go of him Frank."

Frank did so with an uneasy look at Yaxley, who nodded without care.

"Who are you to be passing out such, warnings?" Bill demanded as he stepped between his brother and the Death Eater.

Yaxley smiled without humor as he looked over his scarred visage, then snorted derisively. "An Auror, of course. Sorry we haven't met, Frank's fault really for not introducing his new partner."

"D-Dad," Neville tried to speak up, but then the two cocked their head to the side, as if hearing something no one else could.

"I'm sorry Neville, your Mum and sister are fine, I'll explain tonight," Frank said all in a rush, before disapparating away with Yaxley.

"What was that?" Harry whispered into the dead air that followed.

"Another problem," Kingsley answered, as he and his partner exchanged panicked looks.

"Another change," Remus whispered.

7

Whispers were non-existent in the Great Hall for the first time in Harry's memory. Never, not once in all his years at this school, had he been surrounded by such silence. The four house tables, diminished in numbers by almost half at nearly every one, all sat closer together than was necessary, leaving the gaps even larger and more noticeable.

Not even at the staff table, where the teachers they knew had looks of tight pain almost carved into place. McGonagall in particular looking as if she'd rather swallow her tongue than roll up the paper as the last student was sorted.

Nobody had cheered and clapped as Rosemarie Zlander took her seat at the Gryffindor table, the eleven year old had winced as the Sorting Hat shouted it into the night and taken her seat below the banner as if a noose were trailing behind her.

Snape didn't need to wave for silence as he took to his feet, it was as if nobody was even breathing as he gave his speech about new rules being set in place, 'for their safety.' He didn't need Hermione to tell him changes were happening inside Hogwarts this year, but he did need her sitting across from him just like she had every year.

Instead, it was him holding Ron's arm so that he didn't launch himself out of his seat when Snape encouraged the students to report any wearabouts about truant students. It was him patting Neville's knee in conciliation as he couldn't take his eyes off the Hufflepuff table where Ernie's empty seat beside him, where Hannah usually sat, mocked him. He sought out Leo, who was blatantly ignoring the speech and instead glaring daggers onto his empty plate as the feast began. He'd always looked particularly put out when the Ravenclaws sat beside the Slytherin table as was the case tonight, but now he couldn't even pass notes to his girlfriend across the Hall to get him through the night, his remaining best friend had his head in his hands as if he couldn't even bear to see this new school regime.

As he entered his dorm, for the last first time, he knew his eyes weren't the only one on what should have been Dean's empty bed. Instead Seamus was already sprawled on it, apparently asleep. Harry wondered why the school had bothered to keep it in here, as if they expected him to spontaneously reappear and offer himself up for slaughter. It wouldn't surprise him if there wasn't a dorm in the castle that now had the same subtle threat sleeping with them every night. He found a small, pleasant surprise on his own at least. Hedwig was sitting on the edge and preening her feathers. She gave him a loving hoot before going off to hunt in the night, and he felt like it was the first time he'd smiled since the wedding.

"I'm not even going to bother pretending to sleep," Ron also didn't bother to whisper as he went straight to Harry's trunk and began shifting through it. The bags under his eyes were ignored by all. "You lot going to search the ruddy castle for that thing with me?"

Neville glanced uneasily at Seamus, who still hadn't reacted to their presence, but Harry didn't much care if he heard at least this. It was no secret to the entire school he'd always had his own agenda. "We looked for it all last year Ron. With no new leads, I don't know where to-"

"Better than doing nothing," he snapped, finally finding it, digging the map out of his pocket and then leaving. Neville shrugged and followed after him, while Harry sank onto his bed.

He wanted to go after them, to feel useful, but all he could hear in his head was their very first time out in the castle at night, the very thing Ron was likely trying to drown out. Hermione, hissing along like a goose what idiots they were for sneaking about. There was no trap laid out by Malfoy though, and no Fluffy in the castle to stumble across, but something much, much worse.

7

"-worse every meal, I swear," the painfully forced laugh Parvati put on echoed back to her painfully in the common room that night. She continued anyways to her best friend, "do you think the house-elves are protesting in their own way?"

Lavender could barely offer the meagrest of smiles, and they weren't the only ones. The tower might as well have been made up of ghosts, it was so silent nowadays, but even Nick offered better company than the constantly strained mood. It was like a contagion, if his fellow students weren't doing their homework, they were forcing awkward conversations that always fell flat after just a few sentences. It had only been three weeks, how much longer could this go on?

He checked his watch again, his heart giving a painful little tug as it always did as he watched the hands in the shape of prongs tick along and show he only had twenty minutes until curfew. He clutched the note even tighter though and decided to risk it, Leo should know this as soon as possible.

It was as if every rule in the school had either been altered or changed to accommodate the totalitarian feeling of the castle. The sun wasn't even close to setting as he made it down to the Entrance Hall and then farther below to the Slytherin chambers. Several students had risked testing some of the lesser ones and already received such gruel detentions they wouldn't even speak of them. Harry had experience with that at least, if it was his fate for doing this, then so be it.

He reached the expanse of seemingly empty wall and knocked, tapping his foot impatiently as it seemed to take longer than usual to open.

He grimaced with distaste, but not surprise to find Gregory Goyle. "I'd like to talk to Leo please," he said as politely as possible.

His gorm-like expression shifted subtly from blank stupidity to blank confusion. "Curfew's in five minutes," he told him in a surprisingly soft voice for such a large bloke.

"Then you can haul me off to the Carrows in five minutes!" Harry blustered. "Until then, I'd like to talk to my cousin please."

Harry swore it took him twenty whole minutes to process what he'd said, and then make the decision to do it, but Leo came out alone only a blessed one minute later in reality.

"What's up?" He asked in concern as he closed the entrance behind him.

Harry grabbed him and pulled him to the first empty place he could find, an old storage space judging by the cleaning bottles. He quickly put up a few incantations to make sure they weren't interrupted, before handing him the letter he'd just been sent.

Dear pup,

Our elf finally found that trinket you've been looking for, in a frilly pink lock-box of all places. Tonks has taken a liking to it, but I'll be sure she doesn't get too attached.

Any updates on school?

Uncle Sirius

The whole thing had a red stamp across the front, marking it as safe by Hogwarts' mail service to read, but Leo seemed to get through it as well as Harry, as first joy, then worry flitted across his face in the shadows.

"Is, is this really saying, Umbridge got her hands on it?"

"Yeah," Harry agreed grimly. "No idea how."

"And they got Tonks involved," Leo's frown deepened. "I thought we weren't supposed to be telling anyone else, does the Order really know?"

"Don't know," Harry said honestly. "I think he was trying to say otherwise and they just got her help nicking it."

"It's still really dangerous though," Leo persisted like Harry had missed this point. "What with all the Aurors getting new partners to keep an eye on them, half of them being Death Eaters! Didn't Uncle Remus say hers was the same bloke that killed Hermione's parents!"

"I know," Harry said through clenched teeth. "You think I'm any happier about this? Sitting around school while they work on this!" He paused, took a deep breath, but continued in a bit of a calmer tone. "Speaking of though, any word from Mikey on what Hufflepuff heirloom, or any of the houses' for that matter, could be in the school?"

They were technically breaking their vow of silence themselves this year, each of them very carefully asking any of the old DA, anyone they could trust really, this very question despite Dumbledore strictly telling Harry not to so much as allude to any such thing last year. Dumbledore wasn't here anymore though, and they were getting desperate to end this before it still got worse.

"Nothing from him, but I might have gotten a lead from Luna," Leo sighed. "It'd be nice if we weren't bloody shooed along at the end of every class, but last week she was trying to tell me about this diadem thing, an old lost Ravenclaw piece her dad was trying to reassemble. I've been trying to go up to her dorm to get a look at it, but it doesn't help the entire Inquisitorial Squad's in my house and constantly breathing down my neck."

Harry stuffed the note back away, mentally thinking he'd give it to Seamus to use as his next kindling project just to be safe, before sighing. "Sorry, I know this is harder on your house," as he let up the enchantments and they began back towards his dorm.

"Not your fault," he shrugged. He stopped before entering though, staring at the place he knew Harry still was despite his cousin having thrown on his Invisibility Cloak. "Hey, Harry?"

"Yeah," Harry asked quietly.

"Thanks," Leo grinned, just a bit, as he turned and said, "rooster egg," with a grimace.

The wall slid open once more, Goyle, Nott, and Pansy all standing there this time waiting with wands drawn.

Leo went stiff in disgust, before trying to breeze past them.

"Not so fast," Goyle reached out and spun him back around, Harry now clutching his wand painfully tight and raising it, reading a curse on the tip of his tongue. "Where's Harry Potter then? Who were you talking to?"

"The Bloody Baron," Leo said with a straight face. "He's a right friendly fellow to chat with now and again, you should try it some time. Now are you going to put me in detention or not?"

They let him go, surprisingly, apparently they didn't have quite the standing yet to be turning on their own.

Harry crept up to his own dorm with every care he knew and was still almost caught by Flitwick doing a patrol with one of the Carrows. From the looks on their faces, he couldn't tell who was more displeased by this.

"Hope Leo had a better reaction than you," Ron said as Harry pulled his cloak off back in their dorm.

"If you consider mouthing off to half the Inquisitorial Squad better, than yeah I suppose," Harry sighed as he sank onto his bed. "Where's Neville?" He asked after a few moments of silence.

When Ron didn't immediately answer, Harry turned to face him properly in concern.

"He, ah, he's in detention," Ron finally answered.

Harry cursed at once, getting back to his feet and pacing in further agitation. "Did he and Seamus-"

"Yep," Ron nodded.

"Even though we warned them-"

"I know," Ron still looked more like he was regretting sitting here telling Harry this rather than joining them more than anything.

It was hours later when an upsurge of voices coming from below in the common room had the two heading down there, to see McGonagall placing a bleary-eyed Seamus into the nearest chair, Rosemarie Zlander still standing in her shadow, shaking and fighting off more tears.

"Where's Neville?" Harry instantly asked in concern.

"Mr. Longbottom will be spending the night in the Hospital Wing," Professor McGonagall said not unkindly. "Madam Pomfrey would have preferred Mr. Finnigan join him, but her beds are full, and she's kindly asked me to pass along the message for you two to help keep an eye on him." Then she turned, addressing most of the house that had conjoined on the stairs now. "Gryffindors, I implore you to come straight to me with any grievances, or, inquiries you possess in the future." Her lips were so thin, they were almost non-existent in the end. She held herself stiff and ramrod straight as she gave the little first-year one more kind, gentle pat on the shoulder before leaving.

Several of the students darted right back to their rooms, as if fearing they'd be next. Ginny helped to shuffle the rest off to bed, coming back and kindly taking Rosemarie's hand as well, as Harry and Ron bent over Seamus.

"What happened?" Harry tried to keep the accusation out of his voice, not difficult as he was more worried than anything.

"That Amycus bloke found that little first year with," he paused and placed his hand on his temple as if trying to keep his thoughts in order, before pressing on with a vengeance, "with some Muggle playing cards. He confiscated them and, and gave her a detention for having them. Neville and I, we weren't going to, you wouldn't have either Harry-"

"I know, I know," he sighed, rescinding himself to the hypocrite he was. He kept begging his friends not to get involved and stay out of trouble lest they garner Snape's personal wrath for being his friends, but was well aware despite his own words Seamus was right.

"Why didn't you go to McGonagall?" Ron asked pointedly, as he took away Seamus's hand to see the still scabbed over wound. It looked weeks old, attesting to how bad it must have been before Madam Pomfrey mended the worst of it.

"Didn't really stop to discuss it when we, we heard," he finished with a shudder. "Crabbe was using the, the Cruciatus Curse on her, threatening her that if she said anything they'd, she'd have another detention- Carrow didn't take kindly to us interrupting-"

"Bloody hell," Ron groaned as Harry sunk into a seat beside him, fighting the urge to be sick.

"So much for the sanctity of magical blood," Harry whispered.

"I, don't think he meant to kill us," Seamus's voice was starting to slur even worse, eyes drifting closed in the warmth of the firelight. "Just, shot a curse at us for busting down the door..."

"Come on Seamus, let's get you up to bed," Harry sighed.

Ron on his other side, they got him up to the seventh year dorm, and laid him as comfortably as they could on Dean's old bed.

"I don't know how much longer I can stand this mate," Ron said in pure disgust.

"Me neither," Harry agreed. "Something's got to change."

7

Changes to platform nine and three quarters were apparent here and there. The Death Eaters now standing watch at both entrances, the engine pulling into the station seemed to have even lost some of its scarlet sheen, but these were not really of anyone's concern.

Bill and Charlie continued to glance around wearily, more worried by the second the more students jumped off the train and all but barreled into waiting families anxious arms. The vague notes Ginny had sent their parents had only been brief and of so little substance it was a wonder why she still sent them except to prove she was still alive.

When the eldest brothers finally caught sight of their baby sister, they swore in unison and almost tore her away from a blonde girl she had been talking to, cataloging every visible injury.

A split lip and a blossoming black eye were only the most vivid of Ginny's injuries, there was a bruise across her left temple and a fading but deep scratch etched from her right eye down to almost her neck. Before either boy could demand what happened, Ginny simply said, "Can't I please go home and tell you all at once, you know they aren't going to be any happier."

Without waiting for a response, Ginny turned and waved back at her friend, and exited the train station with her brothers shadowing her. After walking a discreet distance from the crowded station, they each grabbed hold of her and apparated back to the Burrow. Fleur was the only one in the kitchen when they arrived, and while she at first glanced up and around with a warm smile, it quickly melted into shock and she swore violently in french.

She was on her feet and bustling around to their side of the table at once, switching randomly between her native tongue and English as she demanded "-happened- all those-"

"Fleur," Bill interrupted kindly, "I'd like to know as well, but since I'm the only one vaguely following you, I'd suggest calming down first." She stopped from twisting Ginny's head in the light to better inspect said injuries, and took a deep breath while Charlie gave one more anxious look at the young girl before almost sprinting from the room, to go fetch their parents Bill knew.

"Any word on Ron and Harry?" Ginny asked into the awkward, though short silence she knew would follow.

"Yes," Bill said curtly, but softly. "We'll tell you in just a moment, let mum and dad have a look at you."

Ginny twisted her fingers with worry, regret and shame filling her she hadn't managed to leave with them. She knew they hadn't left her behind on purpose, but after what they did to the Carrows, it was a miracle they made it out of the school alive. Now she, Neville, Luna, and the rest of the DA were still trying to figure out how they'd done it, despite her brother leaving behind the map as some attempt to help.

Bill and Fleur escorted Ginny to the table, and Fleur used the short pause to jump around the kitchen to make Ginny a pot of tea while Bill took up an almost casual though still territorial seat next to Ginny, still giving her furtive looks that she was pointedly ignoring.

There was a crash from above, and the three only had to wait a moment when there was an audible sound of feet running down the stairs and Molly and Arthur made their entrance to the kitchen, making a beeline right for their only girl. Charlie appeared a few steps behind them, with Fred and George hot on the tails. Bill arched a brow in surprise, he hadn't realized the twins had come over while they were out, but he was glad they were all the same.

There was a huge hubbub for several minutes while all the Weasleys talked at once, trying to find out what had happened to their youngest, when Arthur finally resolved the situation by throwing a few bright red sparks from his wand. Then, with the closest thing his children had ever seen to sternest crossing his features, he turned on his daughter and demanded, "Who did this?"

Ginny would have taken an automatic step back had she not still been seated, but her reply came swiftly enough. "Where to start? At least school isn't exactly mundane anymore." She blinked once, a benign smile creeping across her face as she elaborated without prompting, "Look, it's not that bad, I'm not even the worse one. Neville's got this huge lump-"

"We didn't ask about Neville," Molly cut her off severely, bright red still coloring most of her face in anger as she pulled out her wand and began casting a few silent spells on her daughter to help ease the healing.

Ginny nodded in assent, recognizing there was no point in continuing to delay what she'd never have been able to put into words in her letters anyways. She looked around the room one more time, taking in almost her entire family staring right at her, and finally relinquished the horrible story. "Hogwarts happened to me." She released a blistering breath, and they saw anger beginning to flare up in her as she explained, "Those awful Carrows is what. They're so horrible I don't even know where to begin. From the first day of term they've been going about the school, punishing anyone they didn't think they liked. At first it was just detentions and stuff, but even before the first month was up it was already getting worse."

"Detentions like Umbridge's?" Fred demanded, remembering her regime all too well.

Ginny gave a sardonic laugh, eyeing him pitifully. "The Carrows make Umbridge look like a princess. No, this," she gestured to the black eye, "is a tame punishment for someone who speaks out against them. They've gotten to where they're starting to use other punishments like Hexes and-" she broke off when her Dad convulsed and stumbled back like someone had just slammed something over his head, making Charlie put a concerned hand on his shoulder.

He shook it off quickly, demanding, "Ginny, this has been happening to you all year? Why didn't you say anything?"

To their horror, they saw her bright brown eyes get a glossy look about them for a few seconds, before she blinked and it was gone and she replied calmly, "Our mail's being checked, Dad. I couldn't have told you even if I could find the words to properly explain, I'm not even doing a good job now. Besides, you can't do anything, no one can. Snape's not exactly stepping out against this, and we all know the Ministry is backing him."

The horrid silence that came after that little speech was one of the longest that ever lasted in this particular kitchen.

Really though, what could they say? The world was falling apart around them.*

7

"Them?" Neville confirmed in disgust. "Of course it would be them!"

Harry nodded with a look on his face that was just as troubled. "I'll admit, the Lestranges aren't who I was hoping for either, but this could almost be a good thing, it is," he insisted to one of his best mates' twisted features. "If they've added blood wards or something to their vault, at least we have a way to get past those."

"I'm sure Leo will be so happy to be of service," Neville said deadpan. "Is this why you bothered to grace us with your presence for Christmas break? To ask my parents if they could spill anything they knew about her? How did you even figure this out?"

Harry looked genuinely offended at the accusation. "Of course not, I came over to see if you were okay. We were worried about you," he finished earnestly.

His fears seemed sound even now that he was taking a good look at him. Neville had almost translucent skin, eyes shaded so dark it looked like he hadn't slept in years, and that was what he could see with the bed sheets up to his chest, lying prone on his back and with no will to move even as he hungrily took in Harry and Ron . His features were starting to resemble that of an Inferi, Harry was worried to see.

Neville sighed, but with Ron trying to stare into his soul for the same worries he wanted to ask about, he acquitted what he knew they wanted to hear first before he got his answers. "After you lot grabbed the diadem and scarpered, well, we knew Snape wasn't going to be happy he'd let You-Know-Who's favorite person slip out from under his Azkaban worthy school, but considering you left the Room of Requirements a burnt husk-"

"Technically the Carrows did that," Ron interrupted.

Neville rolled his eyes but continued, "nobody could figure out how you left except me, and I wasn't going to risk telling anyone after Wayne Hopkins ratted us out-"

"That bloody Hufflepuff friend of Ernie's!" Ron protested.

"Yeah, I don't think Madam Pomfrey's still managed to put his jaw right," Neville calmed him with relish. "Everybody's alright though."

"We know," Ron said, nodding awkwardly. "We, ah, managed to get in touch, and ah, said we should come visit you. Judging by the way your parents reacted to seeing us, I'd say we have about five minutes before the Death Eaters descend."

"Don't be too harsh on them," he whispered. "They're just, they-" he grimaced as he tried to move and immediately remembered why that was a bad idea. "I don't blame you two, alright, I swear, and neither do they. Snape, just, figured out pretty fast who did and didn't know anything," he said grimly, shifting uncomfortably on his bed. "I didn't tell him anything though."

Harry sat down on the foot of his bed, but looked anxiously towards the door. "I'm fine, Harry," Neville sighed, "don't go blubbering to my parents, I want to know where you guys went after Dobby apparated you away." It was a miracle the school hadn't figured out this flook in their logic of all accesses being covered.

"We, ah, went to that Muggle family of mine, believe it or not," Harry said with a grimace. "Bloody awful people, and they weren't even home. Went on some vacation with a woman named Marge, according to some of the post I found about the house. I figured nobody would think to look for us there though, heck I don't want to go back there. Bloody boxing trophies on every available surface, you can just smell the stuck-up on them, like Muggle versions of the Malfoys. You know I found a jar of teeth in their kid's bedroom. His name's Dudley, and I think he's turning into a serial killer."

Neville laughed, before quickly realizing Harry wasn't kidding. "Anyways," he said to draw out the silence that followed that. "Now it's your turn, how do you know this Horcrux is in the Lestrange Vault?"

Then he saw Harry's sheepish expression, and he immediately felt like facepalming, only restraining himself by the barest self-reminder. "What did you two do?"

"Well, ah, okay I'll be honest, we're sort of guessing, but-"

"It's a really sound guess," Ron was quick to interrupt. "We've already been by to see my family, and Bill told me about, well them upping security on the Lestrange vault in particular."

"It makes sense," Harry rushed on as Neville gave the two skeptical looks. "Bellatrix has been his most loyal follower for ages, and he did once give one to Malfoy to keep safe, remember."

Neville decided there was no good way to argue their logic. "So, what are we going to do about it?"

"That's a really good question," Harry agreed. "We, ah, were going to have a meeting about it, but err, Uncle Sirius told me what happened to you, so I wanted to come check on you before-"

"I can still go!" Neville flared in protest.

"I figured," Harry's smile was tight as he got up, and offered his hand to help Neville up.

Neville sighed. He knew this wasn't really a test, but he sure felt like it was. If he couldn't grab his hand and get out of this bed, there was no way his parents would let him leave this bed the rest of break, if they even would once he proved he could get up on his own. He still did with tight determination, first fumbling for a few moments before finally getting the blanket off of him, then sitting upright with a pained groan, before finally swinging his legs off the bed before he could lose his nerve and not taking Harry's hand, but allowing his two friends to grab his elbows and hoist him upright without complaint. May as well let them have a look now while he was more focused on the floor moving beneath him.

The scars marring along both hands, thicker in his wand hand but only by the barest bit, went deeper than the surface. It looked more like someone had taken Mad-Eye's entire face and resculpted the skin to fit along him like gloves. Madam Pomfrey was still doing tests when he left to see if he could even close his fingers around anything again, let alone his wand.

His friends very suddenly released him, and though he swayed dangerously he was quite pleased with himself to still be on his feet as he looked over himself to see Maybell standing in the doorway.

Ron and Harry dropped their protective stances and went back to standing there awkwardly beside him, as if unsure if they were supposed to help him any further. He smiled grimly at the pair and walked awkwadkly to his sister. It was odd how he'd never before questioned where his hands always were before this happened.

"I'm going with Ron and Harry, there's an Order meeting-"

"I know," she smiled. "I told Mum and Dad I was out of paints, you know they won't go anywhere by themselves nowadays. You've got, maybe an hour at most before they're home and I tell them you went to Grimmauld Place, right?"

"No reason not to still use it," Ron agreed with a shrug.

"Thanks sis," he grinned, reaching out and giving her a careful hug. For the first time since it had happened, it didn't feel wrong. "I don't know what I'd do without you."

7

"You officially come up with the worst plans!" Sirius still managed to yell louder than the wall exploding behind him.

"This was your idea," Remus reminded in an infuriatingly calm voice, despite hanging around a dragon's rear end.

"I was joking!" Sirius yelled nearly comparable to the dragon's roar as it seemed to realize its front two feet were already free, and it was flapping its wings in celebration and pulling with all its might on the last two tethers, not at all making Moony's job easier.

Sirius wished he could go over and help, but he stayed protectively by Harry and Leo, missing Tonks's next words.

"Must you two really argue like an old married couple? Now, of all times?"

"We've got to get it in while we can," he and Tonks aimed carefully this time, "at this rate we're both convinced we won't make it past our fifties- Relashio!"

The dragon had already been straining towards its freedom, and was now using every inch of its massive body to attain it, scattering their opponents for them. The goblins fell away in a fright, the wizards were not fool enough to think their spells effective and did the same, not thinking in the moment of what wrath lay wait.

The five of them did the stupidest thing, and tried to catch up.

Leo was the only one who managed to seize hold of the writhing scales with any sort of purchase and bring himself up, only to look back and see the disaster.

Sirius was lagging behind. Whether the deeply ingrained childhood hatred of these particular beasts, or his preternatural state of keeping an eye on everyone but himself was the cause it was a hair's toss, but it could have very well been his last in those moments if Tonks hadn't tripped, and he fell over her.

A jet of green light went sailing over both their heads as the wizards gave chase, Sirius rolled and took her with him. The two were back on their feet and fighting back, but were already being swallowed by shadows. Leo yelled and tried to jump free of his perch, but was quite literally stuck between the rocks, stalactites, and a very hard dragon hide that was doing no such thing as looking back.

The creature broke through to the atrium, and Leo took his last chance to roll free. He cried in pain when he hit the solid marble ground, but still tried desperately to get back to his feet. In painful, staggering steps he made it all the way back to the dragon-shaped hole and was preparing to jump back in when several bodies launched themselves up, right at him.

One collided directly with him, and put such a painful hold along his arm he couldn't hope to break free as he recognized his dad now dragging him along. If they just reached the cobbled street, they'd be free- he didn't hear the crack of their departure, or even if it was him or his dad who had done the act. All he could think about was Grimmauld place, the one house they all hated to go back to but agreed to rendezvous. If something went wrong, it didn't matter if this place was compromised, they'd all told themselves.

He wrenched his head out of his dad's chest where he'd landed and looked expectantly around for just such a thing to be happening to them now, but was met with painful silence.

Tonks was only a foot away, stirring onto all fours, the golden cup in one clawed hand, still halfway disguised as Bellatrix Lestrange, with half a dead goblin still clamped tight to her ankle. A look of dazed pain, but not confusion.

His dad was still on him, shielding, shaking, sobbing.

Nobody else had made it back.

7

"Back up the tunnel Harry, come on," Remus didn't know when it had all gone wrong, but he'd watched this disaster fall around them with only one solution to think of. Bait.

"Remus, what are you doing!"

"We can't just leave them-" Harry tried to protest, but he grabbed Harry's wrist, refusing to let the mass seperate them. There were too many to fight their way back, and the dwindling distance forward with the dragon as their guide had failed all but one. He wouldn't let that be true.

Shooting spell after spell towards the ring around Sirius and Tonks, he quickly garnered the attention he'd wanted, and Harry realizing the plan followed along with pure will.

Tonks was still yelling after him, but as Remus turned he saw in Padfoot's eyes he knew what he was doing. He grabbed Tonks, and the two did what the Marauders had always done, used their distraction well.

With the chaos now being split, he and Harry dived along a narrower tunnel that seemed to drop into nothing at odd jagged angles if one didn't stay along the track, but that wasn't the goal now, so he waited until the shouting was echoing through the tunnel behind them as the masses tried to follow their quarry, and shoved Harry into one of the abysses, right behind him.

Thankfully it wasn't a deadly fall, but it certainly wasn't fun to tumble over the other and land in a sprawling mess. It wasn't a large hole either, more like a burrow he surmised, as he could still just make out the faint light above with goblins and wizards still running about flailing and screaming commands. There didn't seem to be an exit either, as he stood stiffly and banged his head on the ceiling, his back brushing dirt along his spine and shivering in disgust.

There was hardly a bit of room as he and Harry stayed silent where they were, wands still out and preparing themselves for the wrong sort of attack. Whether it was the goblins' own brand of magic, or just their inherent bad luck, it was not a threat they could fight that descended upon them, but a net.

It caught around them like a web, wrapping them tight in its cloth with an almost intelligent binding as their arms and legs strained without movement.

It was somehow even more painful to be hauled back up the path like a sack of fish, and they found themselves gazing up at the very dark, beady, angry eyes of goblins.

'He would not let it end like this, not for Harry,' was the only vow Remus could think, as they were taken along to Malfoy Manor. Images of his son, Sirius, Leo and Tonks circled through his mind with painful clarity of what Harry would get back to, no matter what.

The boy's breath was ragged and painful in his ears, Lily's bright green eyes were painfully bright and shining with pain as he fought back screams. Remus knew if he'd had any ability to use his hands he'd be clutching his skull in pain, as Voldemort drew near.

Not like this, it couldn't, it wasn't supposed to go like this!

Orders were exchanged, and they were left in a dark dungeon to await Voldemort's return.

For the first time in his life, Remus wished it were a full moon. That Moony would appear and shrug off these binds like they were nothing, and Harry could protect himself like Prongs once had. It would be the most unorthodox escape in history, but maybe it would finally put his curse to some good use.

"Potter, and his pet werewolf."

As if dredged from the depths of his nightmares to mock him back now, the oily voice of the one man he nearly had killed as Moony, approached them.

"Snape!" He gasped as he loomed into view, while something akin to a golem shuffled behind him. He paid it no mind, focused solely on his voice not cracking as he tried to look into those merciless black eyes.

"You!" Harry finally spoke, struggling to get his own feet underneath him, and for a strange moment, it seemed to work.

With a wave of his wand, Snape released the dark netting, but in the split second of surprise as he collected himself, Severus Snape had Harry pinned against the wall by his throat.

Remus lunged forward to help, but then another hand grabbed his own neck and kept him pinned to the ground where he was. He dropped his wand, he forgot his own name, he forgot everything but the sudden pain coursing through every inch of him as the silver hand burned.

"Let him go!" Harry howled to the stars themselves. "Stop, you murderer, it's me you want, let him go!"

"I think not Potter," Snape's long hooked nose was inches from his own, a look of pure enjoyment entangled with the rage on his features.

"What did I ever do to you!" Harry demanded, thinking every foul curse he knew, both magical and non. "Dumbledore trusted you! They told me about you, how my mum was once your best friend! What happened- ach-"

"Dumbledore was a fool," his glittering black eyes bore straight through Harry's soul. "One sad, pathetic little story about your father's death leaving you an orphan, and suddenly the old man really thought I could ever love! How dare you speak of your mother, when you're the one who got her killed!"

Snape released his grip, only to aim his wand carefully right between Harry's eyes. Harry went for his wand, but could only begin to guess where it had fallen, besides he'd never make it in time-

"Avada Kedavra!"

The flash of green light filled the room, and Snape fell dead.

Harry had seen it in same emerald flash, and snatched it, spinning to land on his feet at once, expecting to find Voldemort filling the room with his fury for his lackey trying to act out his own vengeance, but instead witnessed everything still in the same horrible shades.

Remus howled in pain as he was left pinned against the floor, an inhuman ghastly noise Harry had never thought he'd hear from someone in his life, let alone his Uncle. He kept watching the scene unfold though as if he didn't even care, he'd spent his last breath.

"Peter, please!" Harry begged louder than the heavens, pulling with all his strength on the arm to get free, but they all knew he couldn't. "Don't do this, not again! Please, for James!" His voice broke over his father's name, tears falling freely down his face, clawing beyond desperation now. "Please, don't do this to him!"

The head turned, just the smallest amount. Whatever human features had once been present had been stripped away by the darkest of magic. His skin was chalk white, his nose had vanished into slits for nostrils. Voldemort had truly possessed his soul for so long, the man had been burned away. With every Horcrux returned, he'd descended farther into a creature like none before, all except the small brown eyes. The other silver hand was raised level with his throat, and then he hesitated.

He watched it happen then in horror, even as his eyes darted back to his Uncle and tried to get him loose once more. Before his very eyes, the hand pinning him to the floor began to loosen. He looked over his shoulder one last time to see a man he should have once cared for just as much making his last twitching movements upon the ground as that one tightened.

Wormtail mouthed something, but no air could escape.

7

"Escaped?" His soft, high voice had already executed several deaths, and one more before the night was up. He wanted the full explanation from Lucius Malfoy though before he let his temper completely boil over. "How did he escape?"

"I, d-don't know m-my lord, Sn-Snape went down there t-to-"

"Arghhhh-"

He didn't know when Voldemort's screams had melded into his own, or if he'd been screaming the whole time, but he finally jerked back to the cold kitchen floor with Leo hovering over him in concern.

"It's almost done Harry," he whispered earnestly as he offered a hand up. Harry took it grateful, pushing sweat out of his eyes and adjusting his glasses. "Just two more-"

"Unless you plan on putting me in a box with an undetectable extension charm on it and setting off a Fiend Fyre like we did the last two, but expecting me to come out, I've got news for you Leo, we've still got a ways to go."

"Harry Potter sir!" Dobby came all but sprinting into the room. Typical, he thought affectionately, the first time he'd left his side since he'd gotten them out of Malfoy Manor and this happened. Now he'd be lucky if Dobby didn't sleep at the foot of his bed. "Are you alright?"

"As good as ever," Harry stretched as he got uncomfortably back to his feet. "How's Uncle Remus? Did he need anything?"

"Recovering, sir," Dobby bobbed his head, "still asleep though sir. He didn't even wake when Dobby changed the bandages around his neck sir, though Sirius Black did nearly kick Dobby in surprise when I startled him awake sir."

"Yeah, sorry, he'll do that," Harry said a bit sheepishly he hadn't warned him of that.

"So, what now?" Leo asked as the silence echoed around the kitchen. "We go after the snake, and then, what? I go back to Hogwarts tomorrow? Because I was kind of hoping against that."

"At least with Snape and the Carrows gone, things should be a little better," Harry offered. "Who else could they put there that would be worse?"

"Don't tempt fate Harry," Leo scolded, before persisting, "I mean it, are you and Ron going to hide out until Easter? What's the plan here?"

"I'm under the impression your dad doesn't intend to let us leave the house for the foreseeable future as it is," Harry reminded. "Uncle Sirius has made one too many jokes about hiding out criminals for me to start wondering if he means them starting tomorrow."

"Harry, we've got to do something!" Leo snapped, all joking aside. "We, me and you, we can lure Vol, sorry, You-Know-Who out, and you kill him while I kill the snake-"

"Leo, listen to yourself!" Harry impatiently interrupted. "Kill him? We barely escape with our lives any time we come near his goons, let alone him! And unless you've got some easy, magical, Horcrux-killing ability up your arse we can just create on the fly, I don't see how you plan on getting hold of that snake long enough to kill it!"

Leo's eyes went out of focus half-way through, and Harry stopped abruptly and sighed as he realized his cousin wasn't hearing a word. He waited patiently, and was unsurprised when he came back with a burst of excitement. "Harry, that's it!"

"What, you really do have some plan hiding up your arse?"

"No you jerk, the only way to kill a Horcrux is to irreparably destroyed it, right? What's the one thing that doesn't have a cure? A basilisk!"

Harry looked on, unimpressed. "Don't you think if that would work, Dumbledore would have gone down and taken care of that basilisk himself to use those fangs."

"We don't know what he did with the basilisk, he never said," Leo eagerly reminded, gobsmacked Harry wasn't immediately on board with this. "Listen, we go down there tomorrow and pull a couple of fangs loose, hell if we just throw them at Nagini and her master we might even get lucky-"

"Leo, stop!" Harry snapped. His cousin recoiled at the sheer coldness he suddenly heard, like he really was channeling Voldemort. "You think I don't want him dead too? He's the reason my dad's dead, if you've forgotten, but I don't want to lose anyone else to stop it! Just, just-" he broke himself off, and then stormed out.

"Harry Potter is a good wizard." Leo startled, he'd forgotten Dobby was here, and his high voice was speaking surprisingly quiet now. "He does not mean to shout so often."

"Yeah Dobby, I know," Leo sighed.

Dobby shuffled his feet for a moment, hitched up his soccer shorts, and then returned to his usual more jaunty voice. "If sirs need anything else, all you has to do is call Dobby."

"Yeah, thanks," he said sincerely before Dobby vanished with the usual crack.

He wandered up to his bedroom, but stopped instead at Uncle James' old room. Despite the kids they'd had in it over the summer, he'd never stopped thinking of it as such, even though nobody had put it back right since they all left.

The bunk beds hung empty, any sparse decorations the occupants had once bothered with still right where they'd left them, giving the place an even more haunted feel to him. He tried to imagine the pain he felt every time he saw this place and then imagine how Harry felt, but still knew he'd never get close.

Going down farther, he saw Harry's door still closed, and Teddy's room empty.

Knowing at least that meant someone was awake, he crept down to his dad's room and smiled just a bit at the picture.

Uncle Remus was sprawled out, still asleep and snoring comfortably on his stomach. His dad had one hand resting just below the mark on his neck, and the other keeping Teddy in place across his chest as the two slept. His little metamorphmagus cousin even had his hair in its natural color for once, the light brown his dad's should be if it weren't for the many grey streaks.

His dad looked up, and grinned at catching him. "Not too old to still crawl into bed with your dad are you?"

Leo rolled his eyes, but went around to his side of the bed and sat carefully enough not to disturb either of them. He hadn't been jealous of Harry since his third year, when it really occurred to him his cousin could die because of this Voldemort out there to kill him. Then, it kept happening, every year it seemed his cousin should have buckled under the weight and pressure of his life, but he still kept going.

Leo didn't think he could do the same if he lost his dad. It flayed his heart as he sat there, trying to imagine it in reverse, but he couldn't do it. He'd always been proud of how much he looked like Sirius, but last year he'd even wondered if he imagined those superficial connections through the bloodline they only shared through outside means. Technically, his dad should be his cousin once removed or something. That didn't matter to Sirius though, it never had.

"Dad, what are we going to do now?"

His dark grey eyes flickered for a moment, and Leo knew he was seeing far past what Leo ever could. He answered though in a calm, detached voice, "We're going to fix this." Then he gave Teddy a gentle kiss on his forehead, and handed him to Leo. "Mind taking him for a moment, I've got to wake up Moony."

Leo nodded and took the toddler, whispering to him to wake him up about cheering their cousin Harry up. Sirius waited patiently until they were out of the room before leaning over and kissing a gentle trail across the scars on Remus' face.

He muttered something, his voice rusty with disuse from sleep he told himself, before he quietly nuzzled him until his eyes were alert. When he tried to roll over though, Sirius just buried his face into Moony's back, keeping them comfortably in place. He knew the second he truly looked at him, he'd see the guilt and try to talk him out of it. He'd probably succeed to, the bastard, but he wasn't going to let it be easy.

"If you're trying to convince me to stay like this forever, it's working." Sirius only smirked for a moment before he continued, "I always said guilt was the only thing that would distract you from everything else."

Damn, now he could even do it without seeing him? "No, you always said that was food."

"Okay, two things," he could hear the smile in his voice, and it infuriated him.

"Don't try to coddle me Moony," Sirius growled, even as he tightened his arms around him.

"Sirius, I wouldn't dream of it," Remus sighed as he tangled their fingers together, "but you need to hear what you're refusing to see. You kept your promise."

"I don't remember ever promising to leave you and Harry to-" his voice broke, his whole body shook. "If J-James were, he'd-"

"If James were here he'd tell us to get a room," Remus whispered, "and thank us for getting Harry home again. Sirius, you kept your promise to me, remember? You got Tonks out of there, back to her son so he wouldn't grow up without his mother. You trusted me to take care of Harry, and, somehow, it all worked out."

Sirius's breathing finally evened out, he could have feigned sleep even, if his shoulders hadn't started shaking again with silent laughter and he muttered, "don't be ridiculous Moony, we're in a room."

Remus couldn't stop the surprised snort of laughter. For once though, Sirius didn't seem able to live in the moment of peace he'd created, as he whispered, "we've got to stop this Remus, for them."

"I know," Remus agreed, "and I'm afraid, I think I know how we can."

"I'm all ears," Sirius encouraged, trying to keep the worry out of his tone at the endless, horrible possibilities that were swimming through his own mind.

"You, ah, might even like, well, parts of it-"

Sirius rolled his eyes and finally sat up, so he could lean over him properly. "Well come on, stop stalling. Out with it mister."

7

Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much. When their home was invaded and they were shoved in a cupboard under the stairs, they did it with style and grace.

Had to be done, he thought with only the slightest bit of pity as he stuffed the last Muggle into the cupboard under the stairs. He'd admit to himself he felt slightly bad for how little he'd expanded the inside, they really were squashed in there the three of them, but he was on a time crunch.

He turned on the spot and shrunk back into the shadows as he waited patiently, and didn't have to wait long. He was admittedly surprised Aurors showed up so quickly in fact.

Did they know this house had some relation to Harry Potter? Was it simply the act of magic taking place and them hoping to grab a desperate Muggle Born on the run? He wasn't exactly going to keep either conscious for questioning, and made quick work of stunning both before they'd even stepped over the threshold.

A Death Eater, and an honest Auror, just as he'd suspected. He didn't know either of them personally, but as he lifted the one's sleeve, he was completely delighted to spot the Dark Mark in place. Weather Voldemort was handing them out like candy now that he was all but ruling the world or this was actually a worthy opponent was questionable, but, again, he wasn't in a very asking mood.

He pressed it.

While he waited, he couldn't help but let his gaze flicker to the unknown Auror, with dark red curls. He looked nothing like her really, but glory did he miss her on days like this. This plan just had to work, for her sake, for everyone's sake. One last stand.

Voldemort arrived alone, with Nagini. The first was a pleasant surprise, he'd really thought Voldemort might smell a trap but apparently his ego didn't allow that. The second he had been expecting, who better to protect his last horcrux but himself? She was in a glittering, semitranslucent blue sphere, causing him to grip his weapon tighter. This had to work.

"Harry Potter," Voldemort's soulless red eyes burned into his, but Harry did not flinch away.

"Tom," was all Harry had time to respond with, before the house exploded around them in red light. The walls plaster cracked wide open, the ceiling shook, the front door was blasted off its hinges as every member of the Order of the Phoenix shot a single spell that hit a man who would never admit to being mortal.

His body glowed like a ruby emitting its own soul into the world, and they knew it worked when Nagini burst free of her confinement. Harry stared her down, and said a single word that came out in a raspy hiss. "Die."

Her body swayed, she reared up for a moment as if preparing to strike, and then the light faded from her eyes too.

The sleepy street of Privet Drive slept on as the thirteen members stepped forward, Sirius coming up to clasp Harry's shoulder. "Think it worked?"

Harry traced the scar upon his forehead, his bright green eyes still filled with worry. "Guess we'll find out."

7

Out of nowhere, appeared twenty-three people. Many of them looked alike, though some didn't. The family milled around, waiting patiently and paying their own respects, as five people walked through the kissing gate.

The place was easy to locate, it was not the first, nor the last time he'd come here, as Harry found his parents. He didn't care if they already knew it, he couldn't help but say it again and again. "I miss them."

Sirius cleared his throat and wiped at his eyes for a few moments. Remus wasn't bothering and still crying openly as he picked up his son and held him close in the bright June sun cast down. Harry's eyes lingered around at the beautiful scene, his family around him, the white marble at his feet. At least they were together. "Why don't we, all go out and do something fun, for a change."

"I volunteer pickup Quidditch game," Leo was quick to agree.

That sparked Harry's interest, as he latched onto, "or, we could make a whole thing out of it, like our own World Cup, since that got ruined. We could, go out camping somewhere, and have a game every day-"

"No camping," Uncle Remus and Uncle Sirius said at once.

Harry looked at them in confusion, but they didn't seem up to elaborating their own confused feelings, before Teddy began trying to say something. "H'rry," Teddy clarified, reaching for his godfather. Harry happily accepted, taking him with a gentle smile as he looked at his family. "Okay," he chuckled as he planted a kiss on the toddlers forehead. "Whatever you guys want."

Bit of a rushed ending, no 'epic,' final duel, but I'm sure you're used to that with me by now.

So, do you think it was all worth it? Harry technically got a better life, but so many more people died off screen, as I imagine there really was a big population slump for the Muggleborns with Voldemort attacking so openly in the sixth book. No grand epic battle, but that's because it turned into more of a race throughout rather than at the end, and all the deaths happened earlier in the series. I personally don't think Harry'd go through with it if he knew the choice he was making. I, personally, regret nothing.

There will be two more chapters, appropriately titled 16 Years Ago, because so many people have been saying they want the full dang story, and I'd feel bad leaving you with only snippets of the changes, and then 19 Years Later, because I denied you all that once before, and there's still one more change that needs to be made.

* Yes, this is an excerpt/ one-shot from my Pensive series, but I'm being honest with myself and probably never going to do yet another reading the book series with HP, at least not any time in the foreseeable future. However, I thought this still fit in nicely here.