THEY WERE TALKING ABOUT AN ATTACK TONIGHT!' roared Moody, eyes bulging.

'We don't even know if it is tonight!' retorted Marlene, her voice and temper rising.

Marlene was in a foul mood, and she knew it. She had been on her shift for an hour, and not a minute of it had gone according to plan. The three members of the Order of the Phoenix had been following suspected Death Eaters and trying to eavesdrop on their conversations – until a series of mishaps meant a hasty retreat to the middle of nowhere. To her right was Moody, displeased by their incompetence and irate knowing that he had wasted a chance to protect someone; beside him was James Potter, who stood exasperated, tired, and cold. Marlene stood a little way behind them, rubbing her cheeks that had turned dry and cold. She found herself unwittingly drawn into the tension of the night, and could feel herself getting more and more snappish every passing minute.

'Right,' snarled Moody, 'one of you slipped up on purpose.'

James sighed in frustration. 'Come off it, Moody, why would we?'

'You might not be James Potter at all,' grunted Moody.

'For the five-hundredth time, I am not Bellatrix Lestrange!' James shouted.

Marlene glared at him. 'It was your fault that the security question was so easy.'

James turned on her instead. 'Go on, then, ask me the new question. I'll prove I'm me.'

'Oh, shut up James,' Marlene said, scowling.

'Well, at least I wasn't the one who Apparated right in front of Travers!'

'I wonder why we didn't Disillusion ourselves in the first place?' Marlene slapped her forehead in mock realization. 'Oh, of course, Mr. James 'I have an invisibility cloak' Potter thought it would be all right!'

'So you're blaming me, are you? I could have expected that from a failed -'

Marlene drew in her breath sharply as James suddenly stopped himself. She felt the words failed and Auror hang in the air like dark clouds, just seconds away until the downpour begun.

Before she could do anything, however, Moody had stepped between them. 'For Merlin's sake,' he roared, 'will you two stop bickering! All right, we know that there will be an attack on an unknown Ministry official's family, tonight -'

'Surely we don't know that it is tonight,' interrupted James. 'In context, Wilton could have been saying that -'

'It is tonight!' barked Moody.

'All right, all right, I was just saying.'

'An attack on an unknown family, tonight,' continued Moody.

Marlene, still feeling sour after James's outburst, couldn't help but say: 'An attack on an unknown family - that happens every other night! We could have predicted that much even if we had a 'T' in Divination.'

'That's enough, young lady,' Moody said warningly, and Marlene slunk back behind them. 'Now, from what Potter heard Travers saying, it's unlikely that they're going to try and penetrate any protective charms or Anti-Apparition Jinxes. That means they'll either blast their way through the front door, or risk the Floo Network.'

'I thought those imbeciles at the Ministry had worked out a way of blocking the Death Eaters,' commented James.

'It's a job half-done,' grunted Moody, 'if you're determined enough, like those scumbags usually are, you can get through. Alice Longbottom thinks she's worked out a way to track them, and if we're lucky, the Death Eaters won't know that yet. Our job,' he added, 'is to narrow it down. Now, back to Headquarters.'

The three moved into a dark corner, away from streetlights, before Disapparating one by one.

Marlene was glad that she was on a night shift. The daytime was the worst, when you could see the clouded faces of every passing stranger. Even worse was when there were people in black robes, mourners with red rims around their eyes and dark shadows under them.

They entered Headquarters quietly and grimly, and sat down around the dining table. They began to pull out names, locations - but Marlene knew that their effort was futile; everyone was a target, and with no clues all they could do was speculate. She tried to shake off the feeling that she could do nothing to help, absolutely nothing at all. She was nothing without hope and Firewhisky, as she joked often to her friends. There was a small flask of Firewhisky in her pocket, and Marlene yearned for a sip as she thought about it. Moody, however, did not take kindly to drinking on the job, and so Marlene willed herself to concentrate on the lists in front of her.

Barely half an hour had passed when the Patronus of Elphias Doge appeared in the doorway and said: 'Attack. No survivors.' It was Elphias' job to keep an eye on Diagon Alley. Instinctively Marlene got to her feet.

'We'll go,' Marlene said quickly, gesturing at her and James. James nodded.

'All right,' Moody replied gruffly, 'I've got some business for Dumbledore myself.'

Marlene and James quickly put their cloaks on again and rushed to the door.

'Marlene,' James said suddenly, 'what I nearly said earlier -'

Marlene was in no mood for apologies, but let it pass. 'It's all right,' she replied quickly.

There was an awkward silence as they Apparated to Diagon Alley together.

'Where are they?' asked James, looking around as they appeared in front of Gringotts.

Diagon Alley looked unfamiliar in the dark. The moon was nearly full and shone brightly, but there was nothing to reflect the light in the streets. All the windows had been boarded up, and the entire place seemed to swallow the moonlight.

'You don't think this is the attack Travers and Wilton were talking about?' Marlene asked nervously.

'No,' replied James, 'it's too soon.'

A shot of green light flew into the sky. 'Over there,' Marlene said, and rushed towards the source with James, turning into a narrow pathway.

The pathway became a clearing, and in front of a house on the corner stood Elphias Doge, shining in his wandlight. There were a few people around him, anxiously trying to peer through the doorframe – the door had been ripped off its hinges. Elphias was blocking the entrance and shooing away the people who had gathered.

'Over here!' he called. Marlene could see that his usual cheery face was wrinkled with anxiety. They quickly made their way over to the house as the neighbours began to head back to their homes.

'The Herring family,' he began. 'I haven't moved the bodies yet; they're a large family. And there was a - a,' - his voice faltered - 'werewolf involved.'

Marlene felt a tight knot form in her stomach, but firmly tried to push the feeling of queasiness away. 'Any idea why they were targets?' she asked, forcing herself not to think of the bodies.

Elphias shook his head. 'They run a small family business. I can only assume its – well, because of the children.' He grimaced, and looked at James and Marlene anxiously. 'It's a terrible sight – are you sure about this? Perhaps Alastor would be a better -'

'It's our job, and it's our shift,' James said flatly. Marlene forced herself to nod beside him.

'Very well,' replied Elphias, and motioned towards the door.

The three of them found themselves hesitating outside the doorway.

It was James who took the lead. 'Come on,' he said quietly, 'let's get this over and done with.'

They lit their wands and stepped into the house. Marlene took care not to tread on a shattered glass lamp as she stepped inside. She could see bloodstains.

'There were three bodies upstairs, and four down here,' Elphias told them.

'Right, Elphias, you go upstairs,' said James, 'Marlene, that room.' He pointed to the doorway at the far end of the corridor. 'I'll start here.' James jerked his head towards the room on his immediate right, where the trails of blood started.

Elphias nodded and went towards the stairs, and Marlene slowly. She shivered as she made her way through to the room; it was strange how she could almost feel the presence of death.

Like all of the others, the door was gone - all that was left was a few straggled pieces of wood hanging at the metal hinges. Marlene looked down. There was a limb, an elbow lying in front of her. She steadied herself and moved on, casting wandlight across the room. There were more limbs scattered about the place, more bloodstains, and Marlene felt sick. She pressed on, however, and found herself looking down at the remains of a child. Its small, white bones gleamed a pearl-ish white in her wandlight, bright against the crimson-stained flesh.

Marlene jerked her head sideways as she retched, and leaned against the wall, forehead first. She tried to steady herself, but her stomach heaved again. Her hand shook as she pointed her wand at the mess and tried to clear up her sick, and she closed her eyes tightly, drawing deep breaths.

'Marlene?' said a voice behind her. 'I heard - Merlin.' James swore as he entered the room, his face pale.

He quietly cleared her mess up for her, and then raised a hand to his forehead, blowing out his cheeks. 'You can go outside,' he told her, but Marlene shook her head.

'I want to do this' she said quietly.

James looked at her worriedly, and conjured a glass and filled it with water. 'Here.'

'Thanks,' Marlene replied gratefully accepting the glass. She rinsed her mouth and spat out the water. Her body had stopped shaking – for a while, at least. She splashed the rest of the water around her mouth and wiped with her sleeve; the chilly water made her shiver.

Marlene started to recover the body parts, and gently began to put them back together as if they were a puzzle. Some of the limbs were alike and frankly she didn't know what they were. Marlene didn't know which was worse: laying them in a heap or putting them in the wrong place. She went for the latter. The movement helped - it let her concentrate on her wandwork rather than the child's remains.

Elphias came downstairs, levitating the body of two young boys and an old woman. All of the bodies had limbs missing. The three lay the corpses without talking, and Elphias covered the family with a curtain that had been torn from the windows. He wiped his brow as he did so.

For half an hour the three searched the house for any clues or traces of magic, but they found two broken wands and nothing else.

'I'll call – who is it tonight?' asked Elphias. He meant the Order members who also worked at the Ministry; they did the official reports.

'Hestia,' said James quickly, and glanced down at his watch. 'Her shift's just started, so she should be at headquarters.'

Elphias sent his Patronus. 'I'll stay here, of course,' he told them. 'Good luck with the rest of your shifts, both of you.'

James and Marlene nodded, and bid him goodnight.

Marlene's hands started to shake again as they left the house and stood outside in silence. She sat down on the pavement. 'What an awful pastime,' she said out loud, more to herself than anything.

Potter raised his eyebrows as she slowly drew out a small flask of Firewhisky from her pocket. 'Whisky doesn't count as drinking,' she muttered, and took a long sip.

The Firewhisky slipped down inside her, searing her throat. It calmed and steadied her, like water steadying the diaphragm, and she felt better - in control.



***

It was a rare occurrence when Minerva lost concentration - but that night, Minerva decided, was one of them. She filled her teacup again, putting in some sugar and stirring briskly.

She was sitting in an armchair at the edge of the staff room, a few unmarked essays in her lap. Her eyes, however, kept darting to the window in front of her. It had rained heavily that afternoon, and the wind was still cold and blowing wildly. Minerva imagined Professor Sinistra and her students up at the Astronomy Tower, flocking out like birds and frantically marking down the places of the stars when the sky was clear, and huddling together and waiting patiently in the cold when clouds covered their view.

A copy of the day's Daily Prophet lay abandoned on the windowsill, bearing the headline: MINISTRY INTRODUCES EMERGENCY SCHEMES.

Minerva sipped her tea and glanced at the paper, frowning. Sometimes she wondered if the Ministry had given up all together, if the Order of the Phoenix was fighting a losing battle alone. She sighed, and wondered if she should retire for the night. She looked at the clock - it was nearing eleven and in this past hour she had barely marked one essay.

'Minerva?' said a soft, misty voice behind her, and Minerva turned around. She was surprised to see Sybill Trelawney, the newest addition to Hogwarts' teaching staff, gazing at her expectantly. Minerva had only talked to Sybill twice - once at a meeting before term begun, and at the feast at the beginning of the school year. After Sybill's predecessor had retired, Minerva had been expecting Divination to be abandoned altogether - but it was Albus (as it always was) who told her with a twinkle that Sybill Trelawney would be taking the post of Divination professor. As far as Minerva was concerned Divination was hardly an academic area of study, but to her surprise (and more-than-slight disapproval) Albus had been quite adamant about his decision.

'Yes, Sybill?' Minerva had already found herself with very little patience for Sybill, who had 'predicted' doom and death on both the occasions on which they met. It was hardly fitting, seeing as the only news the Daily Prophet had these days was about who had been found dead.

'I come to you tonight with terrible news,' Sybill started, wringing her hands, 'there will be a- '

Minerva cut her off irritably. 'If you are going to tell me that there will be a death, disaster, or some other kind of catastrophe, I would like to deal with it when it happens, rather than worry needlessly beforehand. You are aware that we have enough to worry about already.' She collected her things with a flick of her wand. This seemed as good a time to leave as any.

'Yes indeed! These are hard, dark times, my dear Minerva,' replied Sybill frantically, 'dark and - '

'We are at war, Sybill,' Minerva said impatiently, cutting her off again. 'Of course these are dark times - for Merlin's sake, don't you read the papers?' She stood up, wanting to shake Sybill off. 'Well, I'll turn in for the night, if you'll excuse me.'

Sybill ignored this comment, and carried on in her usual musing tones, eyes wide and gleaming. 'Minerva...do you dream at all?'

'No,' Minerva said automatically, and made to leave the room.

'Minerva!' Sybill grabbed her elbow to stop her.

'Yes, Sybill?' Minerva responded, sighing.

'I do not wish you to misunderstand me.'

'That would be a terrible thing indeed.' Minerva remarked sarcastically.

'I see much despair and destruction...horrors, terrible things,' Sybill continued, unaware of Minerva's snide tone, 'but although nothing can prevent what the Fates have decided, I still hope. For better times. Alas, life is fraught with unfortunate events, many of which I try to foresee...but I hope, Minerva, that life is not as grim as it may seem on the surface.'

Surprising even herself, Minerva found that she was smiling a small smile. 'Don't we all,' she said quietly, and left the staff room, amiably bidding Sybill goodnight.

***


An hour had passed since Potter had gone, and if anything, Marlene was feeling worse. Her shift was nearly over - she had spent the last hour of it doing crosswords, pointlessly colouring every white square black when she had completed it. Hestia was still at Diagon Alley, presumably, and Marlene had found Mundungus Fletcher asleep in an armchair in the entrance hall. Marlene had sneakily had another few sips of Firewhisky, but even alone she felt guilty about drinking on her shift, and each time she tucked the flask away quickly.

'Will somebody please do something about Fletcher!' Emmeline Vance's clear voice echoed throughout the house as she entered the dining room, taking off her cloak and draping it over the nearest chair.

'It's nice to be back in the warm,' said a voice behind Emmeline, and a moment later Hestia appeared.

'Is he still asleep' Marlene asked Emmeline, as Hestia reached for the teapot.

'Yes – he didn't even bother to check if we were being impersonated.'

Instinctively Marlene drew out her wand and pointed it at Emmeline and Hestia.

'Yes, because I'd say that if I were a Death Eater,' Emmeline commented dryly, promptly ignoring the wand and sitting down.

'Well, you weren't the one who saw Potter turn into Lestrange,' Marlene said with a scowl, feeling patronized.

Hestia gave a noise that was somewhere between a giggle and a groan. 'Hestia Jones – nicknamed Hestia the Harmful by James Potter after I crashed into him to stop him scoring in a Quidditch match,' she said obligingly.

'I always thought Potter needed to work on his vocabulary,' remarked Emmeline. 'Which Lestrange did he turn into, then?' she added with interest, but quickly said, 'Emmeline Matilda Vance, allergic to Gillyweed.' Marlene suspected Hestia had gestured for Emmeline to answer behind her back.

Hestia spoke over Marlene's shoulder. 'It was Bellatrix - you know, that time when Frank was injured,' she said, before adding, 'tea?'

Marlene pocketed her wand and yawned. The clock struck twelve, and with Emmeline's arrival she was free to go. She was relieved – she knew she couldn't take on another mission. 'My shift over, then. Now, that means -'

'Firewhisky,' Hestia finished for her, pouring Emmeline some tea, 'and my condolences to your future husband, who will inevitably spend his last few decades tending to a Scottish drunkard.'

Hestia smiled as she spoke, but Marlene wasn't in the mood. 'Oh, shut up,' she replied, gathering her things, 'it's virtually medicinal.'

Emmeline joined Hestia in the teasing. 'Not at the rate you're drinking it!'

Marlene felt herself snap. 'I won't care about my liver,' she muttered darkly, 'I'll either be dead or a woman so broken and tired that I'll need a drink to help me get up in the mornings.' She almost spat out the last sentence.

Emmeline looked up from her cup, startled. 'Marlene! Don't say that!'

Marlene buried her face in her hands as she spoke. It made her feel anonymous, and the situation less humiliating. 'But don't you wonder?' she started, 'when it will all end? When whatever's happening to us will stop? I'm becoming so bloody paranoid...I must have woken at least six times last night! It's no wonder I failed those aptitude tests - I don't just see those bastard Death Eaters when I close my eyes, it's those poor people!' She raised her head and tugged at her own hair in frustration. 'I saw a child ripped to pieces tonight. Tomorrow it could be one of you, or my family, or -'

'Stop it, Marlene,' Emmeline said quietly, 'don't -'

'I can't stand it! Worrying about who might not be there the next time there's a meeting, waiting in St. Mungo's for a Healer to tell me they did everything they could, having Veritaserum shoved down my throat by Moody - Merlin!' Marlene found herself almost hysterical, and then felt a sense of shame come over herself. 'Sorry,' she muttered, 'sorry. Long day.' She slumped backwards into her chair and looked at the floor.

'Marlene,' Hestia said softly, exchanging a worried glance with Emmeline.

'I - forget it.'

Hestia made her way over to Marlene and hugged her; Marlene felt like she didn't deserve it, but let herself be held in her friend's warm arms, enveloped by the scent of tea and soap. 'We all think that,' she murmured quietly, 'we all hate it...it's not your fault.'

Emmeline reached over and patted her on the shoulder. 'You'll be needing that Firewhisky, then,' she said, smiling slightly. Marlene managed a weak smile back.

'It's awful, it really is,' Hestia continued, 'but when it's over, we'll be able to rebuild. You're only eighteen, Marlene. Life isn't over, yet.' She spoke with so much sincerity that Marlene hugged her again, grateful for her warm presence.

Hestia stood up straight and smiled at Marlene. 'You're wrong, you know. You're going to grow old and have a house near a lake in the Highlands, with a rotting liver.'

'And a grumpy husband,' added Emmeline.

Marlene felt her mood slowly starting to lift, despite herself. 'Blah,' she replied, 'I don't need a husband. When I'm wrinkly I'll be a hermit in Inverness, with a little kelpie in the lake for company.' She gave a short laugh at the ridiculousness of the thought.

'What would you do before, though?' asked Hestia curiously. 'When this is over?'

For the first time in months, Marlene found herself contemplating a future that was neither three hours nor three decades away. 'I don't know,' she said slowly, 'I think I want to travel. Study more. Do something exciting and fun, like Curse-Breaking.'

'You could go back to Auror Training,' Emmeline chipped in, 'once Moody's retired, Frank and Alice will want new blood.'

'Frank and Alice,' said Hestia, sighing, 'I can see them having lots of children - whom Frank will absolutely dote on, of course - and get Order of Merlins, both of them. And their children, too,' she added, 'with Frank and Alice as parents, you can't go wrong.'

'Oh dear,' commented Emmeline dryly, 'here we go again.'

Marlene, however, couldn't help but smile at the prospect of miniature Franks and Alices running around. 'What about you then?' she asked Emmeline.

Hestia answered instead. 'In her old age, dear old Emmeline will probably be able to communicate only through the medium of sarcasm.'

'Like that hasn't happened already,' said Marlene, snorting.

Emmeline ignored these comments. 'Personally, I might go into teaching. I want to try my hand at that Defence Against the Dark Arts post.'

'The cursed one?' Hestia raised her eyebrows. 'I heard Dumbledore asking Peter Pettigrew if he'd give it a try.'

'Pettigrew? Dumbledore must be desperate.' Emmeline laughed.

'I know,' replied Hestia, 'but you could do worse. Apparently Dumbledore also asked James Potter.'

'Absolute chaos,' remarked Emmeline.

They laughed at the idea of James teaching for a few moments, before trailing off into silence again. Marlene propped up her elbows on the table and rested her chin. She wished she could stay like this for just a while longer, basking in the lingering laughter and warmth.

'Well, I better get going,' she said finally, standing up.

'Sleep tight,' said Emmeline. 'Are you on for another hour, then?' she asked Hestia.

'Yes, then Black's coming to take my place.'

'Wonderful,' said Emmeline sarcastically, 'Sirius Black.'

Marlene laughed. 'At least he's on his own tonight - I can't stand it when he's with Potter.' She picked up her cloak. 'Thanks,' she told them, 'for...everything.' Marlene felt herself blushing at the memory of her outburst, but smiled appreciatively.

'Take care - of your liver,' Emmeline said with a wink.

'And yourself,' Hestia added.

Marlene grinned at them one last time before pulling on her cloak and making her way to the front door. She gave Mundungus a poke in the ribs as she passed by him in the hall, but he snored on lazily. She smiled, shaking her head, and stepped out into the night.

My liver be damned, she thought to herself, and then laughed out loud, like an afterthought. The night air was chilly, but he moon that had shone so brightly in Diagon Alley was nowhere to be seen; there were dark clouds covering the sky. Inadvertently thinking of Dementors, Marlene sighed, and pulled the cloak around her more comfortably. Firewhisky it was.

Damn it, Alice thought to herself, damn it, damn it, damn it! As ifshe was going to give up now. She glanced at the clock - it was half past two in the morning.

Everybody else from the Auror office had gone home. The two who usually stayed behind with her were Moody and Frank, but Moody had Order duty, and Frank was on leave for three days, having been hit in shoulder with Bellatrix Lestrange's cursed knife. He was supposed to be discharged tonight, and Alice wished he didn't have to spend the night alone - but this was her job, and tackling the Floor Network had become her personal mission.

Alice was in the Atrium at the Ministry of Magic, a row of fireplaces on either side of her. There was no one else in the ministry - the only things she could hear were the ticking of the clock behind her, and the steady thump of her heartbeat as she waited. It had been a week since the Aurors had noticed that the unauthorized uses of the Floor Network were actually Death Eaters, and this was why the disappearances and murders were becoming more and more frequent. The Department of Magical Transportation had promised a solution by the end of the week, but so far nothing had happened; and Alice, impatient, had taken matters into her own hands. She had set up what she hoped was a way of tracking unauthorized uses of the Floo Network and was waiting for a signal.

Both rows of fireplaces were lit up green, with powder automatically rising from a number of jars on the floor. The Atrium, which Alice had only ever seen full, looked unfamiliar when empty; the strange sight of Floo power repetitively rising only added to the uncanniness of the night. The flames continually gleamed green with each new whoosh of power, blissfully unaware of the night – and of these dark, hard times.

Alice fingered her tool belt that was strapped around her waist. There were small flasks of various potions - Veritaserum, a Strengthening Solution, and three others, as well as a pocket Foe-Glass, small knife, small-size telescope and dragon hide gloves. She was ready for anything. It was what Moody had taught her.

Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, Alice saw one of the fires glow red. She spun around, but the momentary change had gone as quickly as it had arrived. She took deep breaths. Patience, she thought to herself; they would cross a few different fires until they reached their destination. She looked around slowly, eyeing the fireplaces -

And another fire flashed scarlet, for a fleeting moment, before turning green again.

She would go with the next one, Alice decided, and gripped her wand tightly, preparing herself.

And there it was - the fireplace to her left blazed from green to red, and Alice dived in, shouting a spell she hoped would work, and willing it to take her somewhere.

All of a sudden, she was in an unfamiliar house. Jumping out of the fireplace, she looked around; the room she had landed in was empty, but she could hear screams and shouts. Alice ran out of the room and towards where the noise was coming from.

It was a large house, and she found herself in a small hall. There were several open doors around her, and Alice spun around, trying to determine where the people were. More shouts and a loud bang came from a room in the far right, and Alice rushed in, shouting 'Protego!'

There were four masked figures with wands raised, their spells shooting in every direction; a woman was trying to defend herself in a corner, dodging the spells, whilst a wandless man tried to protect a girl as they attempted to escape from the room, ducking under tables and knocking over chairs.

'Stupefy!' shouted Alice, and one of them crumpled - there seemed to be a momentary confusion before the rest of the attackers spun around to look at her.

'Auror!' one of them yelled in a deep voice, and Alice moved back into the hall as they ran forward to attack her, attempting to lure them away from the family.

Two of the masked followed her. 'Get the family!' one shouted over his shoulder to the other in the room.

Alice weaved and ducked as the two threw curses at her. 'Impedimenta!' she shouted. 'Stupefy!'

An ornamental vase behind her shattered as she ducked a killing curse. 'Relashio!' she yelled, pointing towards the chandelier on the ceiling. As the two attackers dived sideways, Alice threw a Body-Bind Curse at one of them, and he fell forwards onto the shattered glass. 'Stupefy!' she cried again, but the other dodged and sent an umbrella stand hurtling towards her. 'Reducto!' Alice shouted, and the umbrella stand smashed into pieces before her eyes.

The family had come running into the doorway, pursued by one of the masked figures. It was the man who was fighting now; the woman and the girl ran past Alice, attempting to go upstairs, but the two attacking men raised their wands -

'Protego!' Alice cried, but she was a split-second too late; the woman screamed as a jet of green light hit the man squarely in the chest. Alice felt a horrible sinking sensation as the man fell. 'Stupefy!' Alice shouted again, but the man dodged and sent another killing curse towards her.

'Upstairs, now!' yelled Alice to the woman and girl, and shot more spells at the two who were chasing her. The woman, however, clung to her husband's body and did not move. 'I'm sorry, I'm sorry,' repeated Alice, as she pulled the woman from the body, 'go upstairs with your daughter - quick!' She pushed the woman towards the stairs as more curses bounced off the banisters.

The woman, still sobbing, pulled her daughter behind her as she rushed up the staircase towards the landing - but the girl tripped and fell; Alice pulled her up and shielded her as the men attempted to follow them.

With a bang, Alice was blasted backwards into a wall - she hit her shoulder hard, and fell. One of the two shot another curse at her, but Alice rolled over, barely dodging it as it hit one of the flasks in her belt. She felt cold liquid on her leg.

Scrambling up again, Alice sent more spells towards the attackers; they dodged, and raised their wands again, this time aiming for the girl at the foot of the stairs. Alice tried to reach her – the girl was petrified with fear and unable to move.

'Avada Kedavra!' shouted the attacker, as Alice cried: 'Stupefy!' Yet again she had been a second too late; the woman screamed and ran down the stairs again as her daughter fell.

Alice seized the woman and forced her upwards. 'There's nothing you can do!' Alice cried over the woman's howls.

Alice felt sick and dizzy as the girl's body toppled down the stairs like a broken doll, but pushed on, and hurled another vase towards the pair - they ducked under the staircase, and Alice seized this chance to run upwards.

'My daughter!' cried the woman, and for a split-second Alice thought she meant the dead girl, until she saw a pair of eyes peeking out from a door, some way above her head.

'Stay in there!' shouted Alice, as she found herself dodging yet another jet of green light. The mother was running across the landing to where her other daughter was, but the attacker had caught up; Alice pulled her down to avoid curses, but instead the small girl rushed out of her hiding place towards her mother -

'No!' yelled Alice, and spun around; the mother was scrambling to her feet, the attackers only a few feet away from her - the girl was unprotected, defenceless -

And then the world crashed around them.

Alice was thrown backwards into the staircase as the house tore open with a mighty sound. A trail of light danced before her eyes as all went completely black; instinctively she fired a Cushioning Charm and cried 'Reducto!' repeatedly, pointing her wand into the darkness, shielding her head with her other arm as beams and pieces of roof rained down around her. Something hard hit her on her elbow, but thankfully the Cushioning Charm made sure that she landed softly, even if it was onto the wreckage of the house.

Quickly, she recovered from the fall, scrambled upright and sent her Patronus to the Order headquarters. She nearly lost her footing as she stumbled on what had been a table. The sudden silvery light of her Labrador dazzled her for a few seconds, and Alice blinked rapidly. She lit her wand, willing for her eyes to adjust to the darkness. Alice tried to make out the whereabouts of the family, and the attackers. With a pang of horror, she realized that one of them had caused an explosion

The house had been almost completely demolished - two walls with shattered windows still stood, almost shakily, but that was all. The family had been buried under the rubble and nowhere to be seen, but Alice thought of the girl and mother who had been on the landing - they had been still alive; they had to be somewhere near…

Suddenly, a flash of green light shot past her, and Alice spun around. The moon had come out, and she could just about make out the outline of the largest attacker, the one who had killed the elder girl, shakily scrambling up on his feet.

'Stupefy!' she shouted, but the attacker ducked. Alice tried to climb nearer but her footing was shaky, and she fell through a board to find herself up to her thighs in a heap of bricks and wood. Her opponent took her brief moment of immobilization to climb over the wreckage and reach the pathway. She threw more spells at him but he was too far away - they all missed, and he ran into the darkness, not even attempting to find his three accomplices.

Alice heard a grunt, and looked wildly around her. She spotted the silhouette of two figures in the rubble, a short distance away; one seemed to have his legs trapped, and the other was pulling him free.

Alice shot a Body-Bind Curse at them, managing to hit the one standing up. The other attacker, now free, was on his knees, searching for a wand.

'Stupefy!' Alice cried, and the figure crumpled. She threw away the remains of a chair that blocked her path, and clambered over the wreckage to where the two assailants lay. Alice nearly lost her footing twice, but managed to reach them with relative speed. She conjured some ropes and bound them together tightly, spitting out some grit that had caught in her mouth whilst doing so.

Willing herself steady, Alice thought quickly: there had been four masked men - she had caught two, and the large one had got away, but there was the one that she had stunned… perhaps he was under the rubble...even if he was lucky, he was still injured, she thought...and then there was the family. The father and the elder girl had fallen as the killing curses hit them, but the mother had been alive when house had blown apart - Alice grimaced at the sight of the destroyed house; if the mother was under there, it would take a long time to get her out. And then, of course, there was the girl - the little girl who had come out onto the landing, whom Alice had shouted at to stay hidden. She had a better chance, Alice thought - she would be somewhere near the surface, and perhaps she, too, had been in the range of Alice's cushioning charm; Alice desperately hoped so.

She cast her lit wand over the wreckage. The sight of the demolished house was a desolate one; moonlight shimmered through the window-frames and cast light on the mass of bricks, plaster and wood. The wind was harsh, and Alice noticed that the ends of her cloak had been torn as they flapped behind her.

The woman and the girl, she thought to herself, and stared at the ruins; she didn't know where to start. She levitated a few of the larger pieces - wooden beams, doors - out into the garden, but that still left layers of rubble underneath. Alice conjured a shovel, and moved across to what she thought was the remains of the banister - if this is where the stairs were, then the mother and daughter shouldn't have landed far.

'Hello?' she called as she dug, 'can anybody hear me?' But there was no answer, and Alice continued to shovel through the rubble with no sense of direction. She occasionally called out, but to no avail. Sometimes the shovel would get caught, and it would take a few moments for Alice to wrench it free; more than once, the force sent glass flying her way, and she would have to take time to heal the wound.

A while later, Alice dug the spade into a particularly large mound of rubble again, but stopped - something felt different. The sound of wreckage shifting was quieter, softer, as if it weren't wreckage at all. She crouched down to the mound and carefully lifted the topmost layer of rubble off the heap.

There, lit eerily in the moonlight, was a slender female arm poking out, stretched upwards into the darkness.

Alice swore and hastily reached for the wrist. If the woman hadn't answered Alice's calls when she had been so close, the chances were -

She felt for a pulse. Nothing.

'Damn it,' she said out loud, 'damn it!' Her voiced bounced off the two remaining walls, and then was swallowed up by the night. Alice ran a hand through her hair, and her pulse raced as she thought of the girl still somewhere under the rubble - she had to find her. She had to.

***

Sybill dreams. There are nights when she dreams in colour (flowers and constellations weaving around before her eyes, round and round until there's a lily in Canis Major, and the stars of Draco fit inside the petals of a narcissus); other times she sees shades of black and white. She dreams of rats and dogs and the colour grey - the colour of faith and betrayal and insanity and losing everything; the colour of ashen disappointment and the other side of the moon.

Sometimes she wakes in a daze and hurriedly jots down what she's seen, turns on the lights and consults her books - even though she knows them back-to-front. What is it? What do you mean? What are you trying to tell me? she asks herself, and desperately tries to find patterns and meanings amongst the blurry haze.

Other times she will turns in her bed, and simply forgets.

Minerva doesn't dream. Dreams are things she cannot control, and Minerva tells herself that when she sleeps, she sees nothing. She doesn't know that there are slivers of nightmares hidden away in the corners of her mind, in the little nooks and crannies of her thoughts as she turns in her bed. If only Minerva would look, she would see faces there: her brother falling at the hands of Grindelwald's army, and then his face suddenly morphing into James Potter, into Sirius Black, and into dozens of others she knows are too young, far too young...

When she wakes, she can cover the dark corners of her mind and leave them with the night. When she wakes, she can hope.

***

Alice continued to clear the wreckage for only a little longer, when a tremendous vrrroom filled her ears. Her Patronus was bounding up towards the house, and behind it she could see the outline of two people flying in the air - one on a broomstick, the other on a large flying motorbike. Alice breathed in relief.

'Longbottom?' shouted the one on the motorbike as he climbed down.

'Black!' Alice called out. 'Over here!'

'Alice, what in the name of Merlin's happened?' asked Black, shocked. His face was illuminated pale by the moonlight.

'Whose house is this?' said the other person behind Black, and Alice recognised Emmeline Vance's distinct tones.

Where was the girl? She couldn't have landed far from this spot. Alice stood up to answer. 'I don't know,' she said to Emmeline, 'but there was an attack - four people - they used the Floo network. One buried under the rubble, one got away, two are over there -' she pointed her wand to the two still figures at the side '- and there's a little girl who was still alive, she should be here somewhere...' Her voice trailed off, and she coughed as dust and grit caught in her lungs.

'Holy Helga,' exclaimed Emmeline; she was looking down at the dead woman.

'The rest of the family - dead,' Alice coughed again.

'Poor sods,' remarked Black grimly. 'We'll have to get the bodies out, then. Lucky the house's in the middle of nowhere - do you think any Muggles heard? The main road's a few hundred yards out.' He peered into the distance, but shook his head. 'Probably all right - I can't see anything.'

'I don't even know where I am.' Alice leaned on her shovel for a moment's rest. 'I followed them via the Floo Network,' she explained.

'We're on the edge of Wiltshire. I think. We followed your Patronus.'

'There aren't many wizarding families in this area; I don't recognise this woman, though.' Emmeline said as she eyed the two attackers, who were lying still under Alice's ropes. 'I suppose these two won't be going anywhere,' she added, and, conjuring a shovel of her own, began clearing the rest of the wreckage off the dead woman's body.

'Look for the girl,' said Alice to Black, as he reached her, 'they didn't get the girl, but she fell into the explosion - I don't know if my Cushioning Charm helped.'

'The explosion?' Black stared at her, and then down at the rubble. 'Is that what this was, then?' He flew pieces of wooden beams into the garden, where they hit the others with a crash, causing a storm of dust to fly up in the air.

'Black, be careful!' Emmeline called out. 'I've found another body - I think it's a girl,' she added.

Black raised his eyebrows, but Alice shook her head. 'There were two girls.'

They continued to move the wreckage. Black moved in front of Alice, and looked into a gap where the parts of wall and staircase had made a sort of cave. 'She might be stuck here,' he said, and made to move the debris, but Alice quickly grabbed his arm to stop him.

'Hang on, if you move one, the other pieces might fall on her,' she explained at his quizzical look, and went down on her knees, wincing slightly as bricks and glass poked into her shin. Alice gently let her head inside the gap, but her arm wouldn't fit. 'Can you give me light?' she asked, and Black poked his lit wand through beside her head.

There, curled up, was the little girl. Alice motioned for Black to move the light in further, and sighed with relief as she saw that the girl was stirring, albeit faintly.

'She's here!' she said, turning her head to face Black, and then looking back at the little girl. Alice didn't know if she could hear her, but spoke anyway. 'It's all right, it's going to be all right,' she murmured gently, 'we'll get you out of here.' Alice smiled at the girl, and moved back out of the gap, standing up again. The girl's legs and arms hadn't been trapped under the wreckage - that was a start.

'Oi, Emmeline!' Alice heard Black yelling. 'There's a survivor!'

Emmeline immediately made her way towards them. 'Be careful, there's a loose board,' Alice called, and helped Emmeline steady herself as she reached them.

'Right,' said Alice, looking back at the wreckage and thinking quickly, 'Black, on the count of three, move that one on the top. Emmeline, move the staircase. I'll pull the girl out.'

Black and Emmeline nodded, and Alice counted slowly. 'One - two - three!'

The pieces moved and the way to the girl was clear; Alice reached in and lifted her up, gently pulling her away as the other pieces fell into the rubble. Black walked before Alice, checking the footing and showing her where to walk. They reached the front garden and Alice put the girl down gently onto the grass, kneeling beside her. The girl was conscious, but visibly weak; Alice swore under her breath as she thought of her now-shattered flasks, hanging uselessly on her belt.

'Have you got any potions?' she asked, feeling the girl's body for injuries.

Sirius shook his head, but Emmeline reached inside her cloak. 'Strengthening Solution,' she said, taking out a flask.

The girl gave a soft cry as Alice squeezed her right arm, and Emmeline too lit her wand, to let Alice see properly. The jumper the girl had wearing had been torn on one side, and Alice felt something warm and slippery as she moved her hand further down.

'Blood,' she said, to no one in particular, and gratefully took Emmeline's flask, putting to the girl's mouth. The girl coughed and spluttered, at first, but then slowly drank the potion.

Alice ripped the girl's clothes to get a better look at the wound. It was a huge gash on her forearm, and scarlet blood gleamed in their wandlight as it spilled. It was not only blood; what looked like a mixture of several different potions - cleaning potions, or perhaps beauty ones - was dripping down the arm, into the wound.

Gently, Alice traced the wound with her wand, muttering an incantation under her breath. The wound seemed to close, at first, but then burst open again. The girl cried out loud and Alice ran a hand through her hair. She looked up at Black and Emmeline, whose worried faces were pale in the moonlight. 'It won't heal - she needs a Healer,' Alice told them, 'and I can't risk Apparition, she'll lose too much blood.' Her hands were wet with blood, and she felt anxiety starting to take over.

Emmeline spoke first. 'St. Mungo's?'

'Too far away to go on broomstick,' said Black, and thought for a few seconds. 'We could go back to headquarters, get Benjy to come -' he furrowed his brow, 'or one of the Order safe-houses...hang on, Andromeda!'

'Andromeda Tonks - of course,' said Alice, remembering the grey eyes that were so like Black's own.

'You've been there before?'

'Once,' Alice replied, and bit her lip. 'I don't know how to get there.'

'Leave that to me - or the motorbike.' Black flashed a quick grin and rushed off to his motorbike, drawing his wand.

Emmeline had conjured some bandages. 'Here, get these around her wound,'

'Thanks,' said Alice gratefully. She bound them as tightly as possible, trying to stem the flow of the blood.

Black called them towards his bike, and Alice gently lifted the girl into her arms again. The moon was starting to disappear behind thick clouds again. Black's Patronus into shimmered at it disappared into the distance.

'Now,' Black started, 'I've charmed her to take you straight to Andromeda's. I've sent a message, so she'll send some sparks up. Land in the garden - not in the pond.'

Alice nodded as she handed the girl to Emmeline for a moment, so she could climb onto the motorbike.

'It's windy tonight so it'll be hard to avoid clouds,' Black continued, 'but have my goggles' - he handed them to her - 'these will help.'

Alice, put them on, and loosened the buckle of her belt to its maximum. 'Emmeline, do you think she'll fit in here?'

Emmeline frowned before tapping her wand on the belt and saying, 'Engorgio!' She looked satisfied as Alice's belt became thicker and larger, and slowly lowered the girl into the gap.

Alice wiped her bloodied hands on her cloak before buckling the belt and strapping the girl to her. Black had conjured a cloak, and he wrapped it around the girl like a blanket, tucking the ends in under her feet. 'There,' he said, 'ready to go?'

'Yes,' replied Alice, 'Emmeline, Black - Sirius, thank you.' She gave them a smile as she adjusted her goggles, and made sure the girl was secure.

'We'll take care of this, don't worry,' replied Black, gesturing to the house, and beside him Emmeline nodded.

Alice smiled at them one more time, before kicking the motorbike into life with all the force she could muster.

She rose through the air fast, and looked down - she could just about make out the outline of Sirius and Emmeline. Before she could do anything, however, the motorbike lurched forward and started to speed through the night sky.

If she were completely honest, Alice usually found Black's enhanced Muggle gadgets smug, and annoying, but tonight she was glad of it. It was cold, but the seat was comfortable, and the goggles protected her eyes from the chilly wind. She swerved, occasionally, to avoid clouds, and chanced some quick looks down to the girl strapped to her; Alice hoped the motorbike's smooth demeanour wouldn't quicken the flowing of her blood. She thought of the girl's family, all lying dead and cold under the rubble, and leaned forwards, wanting the motorbike to go faster.

A short while later the motorbike began to slow down. Was this the place? Alice looked down below as the motorbike slowed even more. She worried that she would land in the wrong garden, and began fervently to look for a pond.

Suddenly a shot of green sparks flew upwards in the sky, a little distance from her, and Alice quickly flew to the spot. She spotted the Tonks's garden, and hurtled downwards; the speed was greater than she expected, and Alice put an arm around the girl, other hand clutching the motorbike for dear life. Dirt flew around her as the bike skidded to a halt on the grass. Quickly unbuckling the belt and carrying the girl in her arms, Alice ran to the back door, pushing the goggles up to her forehead.

She knocked three times, and the door opened. The familiar face of Andromeda Tonks stood before her, pointing her wand at Alice.

'What is -'

'Drooble's Best Blowing Gum,' Alice responded instantly.

Andromeda nodded, but did not lower her wand. 'And the child?' she asked sharply.

'Needs your help. Now,' said Alice urgently, willing with her eyes to let them in.

Andromeda hesitated for a moment, but then ushered them in, leading them into the living room. 'Sirius sent a message,' she said, hurrying into the kitchen, 'the child's wounded?' Alice could see that she had already set up number of potions and a number of herbs and pastes on the dining table.

Alice nodded and lowered the girl into the sofa, unwrapping the cloak around the girl as she spoke. 'I thought it was just a flesh wound, but the healing charm didn't work - she was near the bathroom, I think a few potions might have gone off in the explosion and infected it. She's lost a lot of blood.'

'An explosion?' Andromeda raised her eyebrows. She looked down to the girl. 'Hold out her arm,' she told Alice.

Alice gently removed the makeshift bandages from the girl's arm. The blood hadn't stopped, and the cut had acquired a nasty green tinge. The girl, paler than ever, winced, and Alice caressed her forehead, pulling back strands of hair that hid her eyes. 'I gave her a Strengthening Solution,' she said to Andromeda, who nodded.

Andromeda reached for a potion, and emptied it into a small cup. 'Blood-replenishing potion,' she said, and held it up to the girl's mouth. 'Open up.'

The girl blinked hazily, but didn't drink.

'Here,' said Alice. 'Let me.' She took the cup from Andromeda, and talked softly to the little girl, peering into her eyes as she did so. 'This is going to make you better,' she told her, 'really, it is. Now, can you drink it for me?'

The girl obliged, and drank the potion down in one gulp.

'We're lucky it tastes sweet,' Alice remarked to Andromeda, who had begun to examine the wound. 'How is it?' she asked worriedly.

Alice watched as Andromeda poked and prodded at the cut for a few minutes, muttering the odd spell here and there. 'Will she be all right?' Alice asked again.

Andromeda smiled at her. 'It'll be fine.' She went to the dining table and started to mix a paste, murmuring spells with quiet concentration.

Smiling with relief, Alice looked into the girl's eyes. 'Did you hear that? You're going to be all right.' The girl blinked, and Alice suddenly realized that she was covered in dust and grit. 'Tergeo,' Alice said, and watched as some of the dust came off. 'Tergeo,' she said once again, and felt satisfied as the girl looked much cleaner. 'Look up,' added Alice, as she inspected the girl's eyelashes for specks of glass, 'and down...there we are.'

Andromeda came back with the paste, and gently applied it to the wound. It let out a hiss, but apparently it did not hurt; the girl stayed still, gazing at her cut with interest.

'Wotcher,' said a gruff voice behind them, and Alice looked up to see the tall figure of Ted Tonks, Andromeda's husband, in the doorway. 'Is that the poor girl, then?' He yawned, and rubbed his eyes.

'Do you mind staying with her for a bit?' said Andromeda, 'I've got to see to Alice.'

'Me?' said Alice, confused, as Ted sat down beside the girl.

'It may have escaped your notice, but you've acquired a number of cuts yourself,' Andromeda replied, and beckoned for Alice to join her in the kitchen.

Alice did so and wondered where her wounds were; she was numb, and cold, and her body ached all over. As she sat down in a chair at Andromeda's gesture, she suddenly felt very tired, and rubbed her eyes.

'Hands,' said Andromeda, and Alice put them out. She had forgotten that they were caked with the girl's blood - it had dried, and cracks had begun to form. There was an amount of grit beneath her fingernails, too.

Alice watched as Andromeda cast a Scouring Charm; all the dirt and blood had disappeared, and both sides of her hands returned to their normal colour. Even her fingernails were clean. 'I only ever manage to get about half of it off,' Alice said in awe, 'and I have to do my fingernails individually!'

'Being neat and tidy is a Healer's occupation,' Andromeda replied, smiling a little. 'Palms?'

Alice turned her hands over. Now that the blood had gone, she noticed that they were raw and chapped, with little cuts all over. Andromeda healed them in a trice, and also healed Alice's bruised shoulder, cut elbow, and shins that had been pierced with glass when Alice had knelt down. When Andromeda looked up to tell her that her legs were mended, Alice noticed for the first time how worn out she looked; there were shadows under her eyes, and she looked older than her twenty-five years. Alice wondered when the Tonks family would have to go into hiding; she had to admit that she thought of Bellatrix Lestrange every time she met Andromeda. Surely Bellatrix would not go for her sister's? But then again, Alice could not shake off the terrible feeling that Ted and Nymphadora would be targets of arguably the maddest Lestrange.

'Here,' said Andromeda, and Alice snapped back into reality as she took a mug of hot chocolate. 'What happened to the girl's family?' Andromeda asked her.

They -' started Alice, and felt her chest tighten. 'They were killed.'

Andromeda looked stricken, and at once Alice wished she hadn't told her the truth.

'The poor girl,' whispered Andromeda. Alice darted her eyes around the kitchen, for something else to focus on – but it was the family photograph on the wall that kept drawing her attention. She looked down at her mug instead.

The two women sat in silence. Alice drank her hot chocolate down in one; the warm sensation was pleasing, and she immediately felt drowsy. Her head was spinning with the thoughts of the girl, and her dead family – Alice was certain that Andromeda, too, was contemplating their fate.

'I better get going,' Alice said, after a while, and Andromeda nodded. They looked at the clock: it was already past four.

As they quietly made their way into the living room, Alice heard Ted talking to the girl. That's your pulse,' he was saying to her, 'and there -' He took one of her hands and gently pushed it against her chest. 'Is your heart. It's like clockwork, that thing - it keeps beating on and on. As long as you can feel that, you're fine.' Ted smiled at the girl, and then looked up at the two women, a slightly embarrassed grin on his face.

'She's got to stay with me,' said Alice, 'I need to take her with me into the Ministry tomorrow - papers, family, that sort of thing.'

Andromeda raised her eyebrows. 'No, we'll take her for the night. You've done enough tonight – besides, I want to check on her in the morning.'

'But - ' Alice attempted to argue, but was cut off.

'We've got a spare bed, so she can sleep there. I was going to give her a sleeping draught anyway,' - she gestured to a flask she held - 'so she'll be fast asleep for several hours. You can come and pick her up in the morning. And I'll send the motorbike back to Sirius, so you can Apparate home.'

Alice felt too tired to argue now. 'Thank you,' she said, 'thank you...' her voice trailed off into a yawn again. The little girl's eyes were already closed. Alice touched her lightly on the head, marvelling at the warm softness of her hair, before turning to the Tonkses and bidding them goodnight.

'See you tomorrow, then,' said Ted, and opened the door to let Alice out.

She smiled, nodded, and with a small pop, made her way home.

The apartment, which was usually cold, felt warm tonight, although Alice still shivered as she undressed. Her boots had squashed her toes and they felt raw and stiff; it felt good to move them again. She quickly washed her face with cold water, not bothering to wait for the water to heat up, and randomly reached for a T-shirt that was draped on a radiator. Not bothering to put on anything else, Alice sunk into the bed. It was warm with Frank's heat - he was sleeping soundly - and Alice snuggled closer to him. She noticed that the gash on his shoulder was beginning to heal; the skin had just started to scar. Alice gently kissed a spot just above the wound.

As she closed her eyes, she saw the image of the elder girl's lifeless body falling down the staircase. She bolted upright, and shook her head as she tried to clear her head of this picture. Alice could still feel her own heartbeat rushing; the night's excitement still lingered in her. Cuddling up to Frank again, she took his wrist and felt for his pulse; it was slow and even, and seemed to slow Alice's own heart rate down. She felt calmer, and closed her eyes – she was ready to sleep.

'Mm.…Alice?' murmured Frank, in a blurred sort of way.

'Just checking,' whispered Alice, and slipped further into the blankets, still holding Frank's wrist. She was glad that the girl was alive, glad that amid all this chaos she could still feel Frank's pulse, and listen to the steady sound of his breathing; the tick-tick-ticking of his heart.