"Look at this!" Andromeda snarled one day, throwing a copy of the Daily Prophet on the kitchen table and spreading it out so furiously that she nearly ripped it in two. She was half-livid, half-worried as Ted and I hurried in from the living room.

"What is it?" Ted asked, eyes glowing with anxiety.

"This."

Andromeda pointed to the headline, which plainly said that all Muggle-borns were being rounded up so the Ministry could register them and figure out how they came to have magical powers.

"But ... what will happen if Muggle-borns don't present themselves?" I asked timidly.

"It doesn't say," Andromeda said. Then, turning to Ted, she cried, "Oh, Ted, are you going to present yourself?"

Ted looked thoughtful. "No. ‘Dromeda, if I present myself there's no telling what will happen. I can go on the run-"

"No!" Andromeda and I gasped simultaneously.

"I can take care of myself," Ted said. "And you'll be okay; you're pureblood."

"But you can't! Ted, what will happen if ... if ... " Andromeda stammered, and instead of finishing her sentence she began to sob onto Ted's shoulder.

Then the door opened and Dora came in, looking delighted as usual. Remus followed, but his face told that his emotions were the opposite of Dora's. In fact, he looked unwell.

"Mum! Dad!" Dora yelled, running over to her parents. "Guess what? You won't believe - what's going on?"

She stopped abruptly at the sight of Andromeda's anguish.

"Have you heard about the Muggle-Born Registration Commission?" I asked her.

"Oh ... yeah, I have. Dad, I'm sorry about that. Do you know what you're going to do?"

"I think I'm going to go on the run," he answered. "But not for a bit. What's the news, Dora?"

Her cheerfulness was back. Smiling hugely, she waved to Remus and said, "Come here!"

He came reluctantly and stood next to her, looking awkward. Was it possible that whatever was making Dora so happy was causing Remus to be upset? Up close, he looked even more ill than he had upon first glance.

"Go on, Dora," I said. "Tell us the news."

"Okay. Mum, Dad, Lyra ... I'm going to have a baby!"

The room went silent for a tiny second as the news sank in. Dora smiled at each of us. A second later, Andromeda was embracing her and saying the same words she had when the marriage was announced: "A baby! Oh, Nymphadora, how wonderful!"

"That's great, Dora," Ted said. "But - the child - it won't be - will it?" He snuck a furtive look at Remus as he said this, which explained the look on Remus's face and Ted's uncertainty - would the child be a werewolf?

Andromeda caught the look on Ted's face and looked at Remus timidly. I looked back and forth between each of them, trying to read the looks on their faces. Dora's looked somewhat oblivious. The werewolf matter probably hadn't crossed her mind.

"Remus, are you all right?" Andromeda finally asked.

"Yes, yes ... and no. There's something I'd like to discuss with the three of you for a moment."

He took at seat at the table. This would be more than just a simple discussion. The four followed suit. When I sat down, Remus gave me a look, clearly telling me to leave the room.

"If this is concerning my family, I'm staying here," I told him defensively. Though he didn't look pleased, he looked away from me and toward Ted and Andromeda.

"I was thinking that during her pregnancy, Dora should move back here," Remus told them.

"Yes, that would be okay," Andromeda said, but she looked confused. "Why's that?"

"Yeah, Remus," Dora said, looking shocked, confused, and a little hurt at his words. Surely he had discussed this with her already? But apparently not because she said, "Why would I need to move back in with Mum and Dad?"

"Well, with the state the war is in right now, I feel like I'm needed out there more. I can't stay home all the time and watch Dora while the Order is already struggling so much. Harry, Ron, and Hermione are planning something, and I was thinking about joining them if they'll let me. It hurts me to do this, but I think it's for the best," Remus said, though to me he sounded very insincere.

"So ... you're leaving me?" Dora squeaked, her voice tiny with pain.

"No, I'm just going away for a bit. You'll be fine here with your parents. They'll take care of you."

"But - "

"It's for the Order," Remus said softly to her. "I knew you would understand."

Understanding was the last thing in Dora's surprised, upset expression. She looked close to tears.

"Remus, are you sure this is what you want?" Andromeda asked tentatively.

"It's for the best," Remus said plainly. To Dora, he said, "Is this okay with you? If it is, I'll leave now ... there's some business to take care of."

"Remus, wait!" Dora cried, but he was already to the door.

"Hold on," I said to her as I stood up from my chair and hurried over to Remus. "I'll find out what's really going on."

Remus was already opening the door, but he stopped when he spotted me next to him. A flicker of annoyance passed across his face; I was sure he now regretted his decision to let me hear the conversation.

"What is it, Lyra?"

"Remus, why can't you stay with her? Don't you realize how much you've let her down?"

He glanced at Dora sitting with her parents at the table. She looked as if she'd been stabbed in the heart.

"Lyra, this isn't your business," he told me firmly. "Dora will be perfectly fine here. It's better this way. Don't ask why. I have to go now."

He hurried out the door and closed it so forcefully he'd almost slammed it. I heard a pop; he had Disapparated. I cursed furiously under my breath as I walked back to the table to where the others sat wordlessly.

"Well, Nymphadora ... " Andromeda said after several long seconds of silence. "You look tired. Why don't you get some rest upstairs? Your bedroom is just how you left it."

"Which would be dusty and dirty," she muttered as she stood up and quickly ran out, undoubtedly to hide her tears.

"Poor thing," Ted said.

"Yes," I snarled, slamming my fist on the table. "What was his deal? He already broke her heart once and now he thinks he can do it again? Why does she always have to fall for idiots? I swear her hair is going to be brown by the time someone checks on her."

"He'll come back," Andromeda said, but she obviously wasn't convinced. "After all, once the baby is born, he'll want to meet it ... "

I snorted. "Yeah, right. He didn't care about the child. You saw how upset he was when they came in!"

"Then do you think ... that the child will be a werewolf?" Andromeda asked us.

I shrugged. "Who knows? Remus thinks it will be, but what does he know?"

Things went downhill from there. Just as I had predicted, Dora's hair was now limp and brown again and she spent all of her time locked up in her room. On top of that, Professor Snape had been established as the new Headmaster of Hogwarts.

"Snape!" I shrieked the day the newspaper arrived. "Well, now I'm glad I can't go back!"

Andromeda read the article curiously as I thought about what this meant. It was the first of September; therefore the term had begun earlier that day. I thought of my old classmates traveling to Hogwarts and knowing the coming year would be nothing like it had been previously. Harry, Ron, and Hermione probably weren't going; Remus had said they were planning something different. Then I remembered Theodore, and figured he wasn't there either. Or was he? And what about Draco Malfoy? Had he gone back, or had Death Eater duties forced both of them to stay behind?

Thinking of Theodore at the hands of Voldemort made me even more anxious, and I began to long for those lost evenings we spent on the grounds. I thought last year had been a nightmare, but look what was happening now! Everything got worse and worse ...

And worse. After Ted's name was listed in the Prophet because he hadn't shown up to register as a Muggle-born, he decided that it was time to leave.

It was a tearful goodbye. Ted stood at the door with his trunk packed full. Andromeda stood next to him, clinging onto him and weeping like I'd never seen her weep before. Dora stood behind him, also crying, silently, as she waited her turn to say goodbye to her father.

"It's all right, ‘Dromeda. I'll be back someday," he said, patting Andromeda awkwardly on the back.

"But what if - what if they - Ted, we can hide you here!"

"No, we can't," he said flatly, though his eyes showed that he was troubled. He detangled himself from Andromeda's grasp and turned to Dora.

"Goodbye, Dora," he told her. "I'm sorry I can't stay to take care of you and the baby."

Dora nodded her head and wiped her eyes as Ted hugged her. A thought pierced me sharply-what if Ted never got to see his grandchild?

I was beginning to tear up from all the emotion when Ted waved me over. I walked over to him slowly, trembling. He pulled me into a comforting hug and said, "I'll miss you, Lyra. No matter what you think, I've always thought of you as a daughter."

"Thanks," I murmured quietly. "And I've always thought of you as a father ... figure."

I was relieved when he released me. It was awful knowing that I might never see him again, and oddly that made me want to get out of his arms as soon as possible. I didn't want to face the fact of knowing everything could be the last. I couldn't push away the thoughts that Death Eaters would meet up with him. I tried, but quickly failed.

"Goodbye, girls. I have to leave now," he said, and I was surprised to see that he sounded emotional too. He was probably only holding back tears to appear strong for us; to show us he could handle this next step.

The moment he opened the door was the moment I wanted to run away to my bedroom, but I couldn't look away. I was rooted to the spot as Andromeda flung her arms around him and cried, "Oh, Ted! Please, please don't leave us!"

"Got to. I'll be all right."

Then, after she finally released him, he kissed her quickly on the cheek and walked out the door. As Dora and Andromeda watched him walk away, I bolted to my room. I would leave the two of them behind to comfort each other. I wanted to be alone.

Why did this have to happen? Why did the Death Eaters have to take away everyone I loved?

The next several months crawled like they never had before. Every second lasted an infinity when I was closed up in my room for hours - even days - at a time. It was obvious that the Prophet was not being accurate; therefore whatever was going on in the outside world was a mystery.

I often wished I could be back at Hogwarts, even if it would be under Snape's rule. At least there I wouldn't be cooped up in my bedroom all the time with nothing to do. Being unable to leave the house was far more difficult than I thought it would be. The most disturbing thing was that I frequently saw figures on brooms flying around our house, and even though I was invisible to them, knowing they were searching for me was a terrifying thought. Dora and Andromeda couldn't leave the house either in case the Death Eaters caught them and tortured my whereabouts out of them. So far the Fidelius Charm had protected me, but there was no guarantee that it would hold forever.

Since Dora couldn't do Order business, there were hardly any means of communicating with the outside world except through the Wizarding Wireless Network, but all of their stations were broadcasted by Death Eaters. Like the Prophet, they hid the truth.

Then one day Dora said she had found a station that wasn't run by Death Eaters. A password was needed to get in, but she told us she had managed to figure it out. Excited, Andromeda and I hurried to the Wireless in her bedroom to listen. It was called Potterwatch and was broadcasted by Lee Jordan and the Weasley twins. Order members regularly came on to present real news. It was perfect, minus the fact that Remus was heard on it sometimes.

"I wonder where he is," Dora would murmur. "I guess he really has left me."

I knew words couldn't describe how much she missed him, especially since he had left so quickly without warning and without telling her where he was going. Dora was also getting bigger and bigger, and it wouldn't be long before the baby came. Whether we would be able to get her to St. Mungo's was a different matter.

Kingsley Shacklebolt was the only member outside the house who knew about the Fidelius Charm. We felt it was a good idea to let at least one Order member stay in contact with us, just in case it was necessary. But Kingsley never came over, which was a good thing, really. The less attention drawn, the less danger we were in.

But one day in March (we had been stuck in the house for months), Kingsley Apparated directly into the house. I instantly knew that the situation was serious, based on his expression and the simple fact that he hadn't bothered to use the door or greet us at all. He had an envelope of parchment in his hand, and I could sense that he dreaded delivering the words.

"Kingsley?" Dora asked timidly. "Is - is something wrong?"

"Yes," he said quietly. A shiver ran down my spine. Every time I had ever seen Kingsley, he had been calm and strong-looking.

"What's going on? Does the Order need me? I can leave - " Dora began.

"No," Kingsley said. "I'm afraid I have some ... bad news."

The three of us - Dora, Andromeda, and I - looked at each other fearfully. Staring at Kingsley with wide eyes and a thundering heart, I waited.

"I'm sorry to tell you this, but ... we found Ted traveling with Dirk Cresswell from the Ministry; Dean Thomas, a student; and two goblins named Gornuk and Griphook. Dean and Griphook appear to have escaped, but the others were killed by Death Eaters."

I felt everything around me blur; my body went numb.

Ted was dead.

No - it was impossible!

I was full of grief - so much grief that I was shaking with anger. The Death Eaters had murdered him after forcing him to leave. It wasn't fair that they were leaving Andromeda widowed, Dora fatherless, and me ... well, Ted was the closest thing to a father I had ever had.

I stood up and glared at the floor. Dora and Andromeda were holding each other tightly and sobbing. As usual, I didn't want to join their mourning. I would leave them alone for the time being.

"I have to leave now," Kingsley said. "I'm terribly sorry."

Sadness showed on his face as he Disapparated. As soon as he did so, I left the room and headed upstairs, struggling with all my strength to hold back tears. Once I realized there was no reason to, I let it out.

I heard another pop downstairs, despite my crying. I whipped out my wand and hurried downstairs. If the person downstairs was not Kingsley, he or she had somehow managed to break the Fidelius Charm's boundaries. Kingsley wouldn't have told anybody about us on purpose ... therefore someone must have tricked him into it ... a Death Eater?

Hurrying now, I turned the corner and rushed into the living room. Dora and Andromeda were still there, but now a newcomer stood in the middle of the room. I gasped; Dora and Andromeda looked up at him with identically astonished expressions.

I had no idea how he had managed to get in, but I pointed my wand at him and growled with all the hate in the world, "So, you decided to come back after with everything you did? You're such a traitor!"