21

Chapter XXI: Accompaniment

(Claire P.O.V)

Let's head back, Pretty Bird, Michael's words had bounced around in her head for hours as she had returned to the carriage by his side. Never before had she felt the way she had when Michael had looked at her in the forest, unperturbed by a from that even disturbed her. She'd grown used to boy's looking at her, modeling was her job after all, but when her grey eyes had locked with the Ravenclaw's, it felt like the first time in her life somebody was finally seeing her.

She sat nervously at the Ravenclaw table, the sounds of loud clanking plates and shuffling silverware filled the air. She had found herself glancing nervously at the other Ravenclaw boy that had been by Michael's side in the forest, unsure of if Michael's oblivation had worked, but it certainly seemed like it had as Claire didn't detect a single notion of fear in the boy's face. However, her nervous look must have sent a very different message to the boy as a smirk replaced his otherwise blank expression and Claire fought hard in her attempt not to vomit as the boy Michael had referred to as Boot winked at her.

Thankfully a palate cleanser had arrived just in time as out of the corner of her eye she watched as Harry Potter entered the Great Hall with Michael at his side. As had become the norm around the castle, a low whispering of preposterous rumors erupted throughout the hall with theories ranging in all sorts of ludicrous directions about Harry being a dark wizard.

When she was a young girl, she had this idea that perhaps Harry Potter would be the boy she would have fallen for. But despite the Boy-Who-Lived being right in her line of sight, her eyes continuously wandered to the Blue-Haired boy at his side, the boy who'd seen the part of herself that she hated the most and looked past it without even a sliver of disgust. "Claire," She heard the voice next to her whisper, and her focus shortly shifted towards the silver-haired Veela beside her, "Are you feeling okay?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" Claire asked, genuinely puzzled by the question.

"I don't know," Fleur said with a shrug, "You just look awfully red in the face, you didn't eat one of those Pepper Imps, did you?"

A new wave of embarrassment filled her face as her palm rested on her cheeks feeling their heat. Am I blushing? She thought to herself in confusion, I never blush. She squeezed down on her leg trying to distract herself as with her other hand she reached for a cup of water. Yet, she couldn't stop her eyes from returning to Michael who had taken a seat only a few spots away, his back turned to the table as he continued to talk with Harry. "So detention wasn't too bad I take it?" Claire heard Harry ask kindly.

"It beat the hell out of cleaning all the Castle's toilets last year I can tell you that much," Michael replied with a chuckle, "I got to meet the centaurs, they're actually pretty cool if you show them respect, although, it seems like their divination skills are a bit better than ours. They already seemed pretty in the know about everything that's been going on?"

What's been going on? Claire pondered to herself, What the hell does that mean? However, whatever it had meant, Harry had seemed to have got the message as the boy's normally lazy grin was replaced with a look of disturbed intrigue. "I'll tell you more about it later, a bit too public here," Michael said softly, though Claire had always been blessed with great hearing, "In other news, you know the Groundskeeper, Hagrid. He said he has some stories to tell you about your parents. Apparently, he knew them pretty well. He invited you to his hut for tea if ever you wanted to hear about them from anyone other than Remus and Sirius."

"I'll um, I'll think about it," Harry replied, "But Sirius, he tells me that Hagrid suffers a bit from being well, Dumbledore's lapdog, for lack of a better word. Sirius has always told me he was a great guy, but blind loyalty is a dangerous quality." Michael nodded his head in agreement, and while their conversation shifted to less cryptic things, it ended shortly after with a tapping of their fists as Harry walked back towards his table.

The way they talk, it's almost as if they're planning for something, Claire thought to herself, But what exactly? Claire pushed the thought out of her mind, perhaps she was overthinking it, perhaps she wasn't, but in the end, whatever it was that Michael and Harry were talking about, it had nothing to do with her, and with her attention now back on her plate of breakfast, she finished her meal before exiting the Great Hall, her mind now focused on the charms homework she'd been assigned. And with her struggles with magic, she knew completing the assignment would take its fair share of time.

The walk to the library was quiet, and it was obvious why. December was now just around the corner, and with it, the looming presence of the Yule Ball. While at one point, the library would have been considerably full, even on a weekend as many students used the time to catch up on late work. Now, the majority of the day was being spent with boys and on some occasions, girls building up the courage to ask that 'special someone' to attend the Yule Ball with them. When she had first heard of the Yule Ball, much like Fleur, she groaned at the thought. She had been offered a date by a multitude of fifth and sixth years, and while Fleur was bound to go due to the contract, Claire had been intending of avoiding the Ball all together.

At least she had been until yesterday. She would never admit it, she would sooner die than reveal the secret thought she had come to last night, but despite her insistence, she couldn't shake the way her heart would enter a rapid rate as she imagined the Blue-Haired boy asking her to the Ball. If he asked her, she'd go, but she knew that nobody else stood a chance at convincing her otherwise.

As she had predicted, the library had been uncommonly empty. Yes, there was a little bit of movement from certain first and second-year students who weren't exactly looking to get a date to the Yule Ball, but overall the space was clear. Wasting no time, knowing far too well that even the simplest of spells took her hours to understand, she had found a corner table and pulled her Charms Textbook from her book bag. The Severing Charm? She thought to herself in dismay, Well, at least the theory on this one doesn't look too long.

She thankfully had been right in her assumption as the textbook merely went over the brief history, historical uses, and the developer of the charm. It had also gotten into the details of how this charm should be practiced with caution as a careless swipe of the wand could cause a fair share of injuries. Overall, she'd been relieved to have finished the required reading so quickly, but then came the part that daunted her, practical use. "Okay, so if I do this hand movement, with a focus on making the tip of my wand like a scalpel, in theory, I should be able to at least make some minor cuts on a target."

"Are you talking about the Severing Charm?" She heard a familiar voice call out from behind her and instantly, she jumped in her seat before turning around and spotting the Blue-Haired boy standing there with a gentle smile, "Sorry, didn't really mean to scare you."

"I wasn't scared," Claire said looking away as she tried to regain her composure, "I was just a bit caught off guard is all." She saw the smirk that had risen to Michael's face had yet to fade and haughtily, she asked, "What are you even doing here anyway? Shouldn't you be at breakfast?"

"I could ask you the same thing, Pretty Bird," Michael said softly bringing a heated glow to her face at hearing his new nickname for her, "Honestly," He started as he too looked away bashfully, "I just came to see if you were doing alright after last night. I saw you rush out of the Great Hall and got a bit concerned something was wrong, but now I see you're just studying so I'll let you go now."

She watched as Michael began to turn her back, and never before had she fought so painfully against her pride as she stared at the extremely gifted wizard, particularly when it came to charms. It had felt as if her stomach was caught in a seastorm with how nauseous she felt at the thoughts that filled her brain, and as the words began to slowly crawl out of her mouth, it had felt as if she was suffering from severe acid reflux, but through it all, she spoke some of the most hated words she knew, "Can you help me?"

"What?" Michael said turning around his eyebrows furrowed in confusion, "What did you say?"

"Please don't make me say it again, it made me want to puke the first time," Claire spoke trying to regain her senses. "Look, you're the best when it comes to charms and I could really use a hand, okay?"

"You know, normally I don't tutor people, it's not really my thing," Michael said with a sigh as Claire watched him approach, "But given how incredibly troublesome you can be, I know I don't really have a choice," Despite the condescending words, his tone was light-hearted and cheery, in a way it almost sounded playful, "It'll be a pain, but I guess I have some time."

"Thanks for being so generous," Claire replied back sassily, something that had brought a grin to the boy's face, but all the cockiness she may have felt had quickly evaporated as she felt Michael stand over her chair, her head accidentally leaning back against his abs as she got a hint of his more tropical scented cologne.

"Alright, so the first step is to get rid of that textbook," Michael said in a laid back fashion that had shocked Claire back to reality as she looked up at the boy in confusion. "Trust me, reading from a textbook is fine I guess, I see it as mostly a waste of time though. Magic, it's not something that can really be confined to the pages of a textbook, it's alive in a way, and the only way to truly understand magic is by doing it."

Claire continued to listen in silence as Michael chuckled, "That's what my dad used to say, well kind of, he's a muggle mechanic, so it's not exactly the same. But he told me that I could read about the inner functionings of a car until I went blind, but I wouldn't really understand how a car worked until I took one apart myself. Now obviously a car and a spell are different, but the same theory still applies. So come on," Michael said with a snappy tone that was so forced it became slightly comical, "Pack up your things and follow me."

"Where are we going?"

"Outside, you can't very well practice severing things in here," Michael said with a grin, "Madam Pince can get a bit touchy if someone disrespects her library. Trust me," He said with a shudder, "I would know." A spark of electricity flooded her body as she felt Michael take her hand, and before she could even realize it, the two had left the library, their fingers intertwined as they headed out onto the chilly Hogwarts Grounds.

** One Hour Later **

Sweat was beating down her face as the sting of the cold brushed against her skin. At first, she'd been worried about showing Michael the place where she and Fleur had come to practice her transformation within the forbidden forest, but seeing as he already knew her secret, she didn't see a reason to not use the land that had been pre-negotiated for her use.

Her breath was heavy, each ragged pant filled her lungs with chilled air that burned her to her core as she felt a shakiness in her legs. Never before had she tried to use so much of her own natural magic, not wanting to rely on her Veela powers, and the effects were really starting to take their toll. Fury was the one thing that kept her standing, as, despite all her efforts, she could hardly make a decent scrape against the trunk of the tree, whereas Michael had sliced through nearly a third of one in a single swipe.

Angrily, she whipped out her wand once more, pointing at the tree in front of her before forcing as much of her remaining magic as she could through her wand, "Diffindo!" A small horizontal beam of hot pink light sprang from her wand, but as it made contact with the tree, only another measly scratch was left behind, "Merde," Claire swore as she felt herself falling back, her energy at an all-time low.

But rather than feeling the cold snow surround her head, she was met with the warm and firm presence of Michael's chest, his arm wrapped around her side supporting her exhausted frame. For a moment, she felt as if she couldn't breathe, as his light brown eyes had made contact with her tired grey orbs, but before she could say a word, he slowly began lowering himself to the ground, supporting her the whole way down until she was resting gently against the tree. Idiot, She thought to herself bashfully, You didn't have to let go of me, you know?

But her thoughts were shattered as Michael stared gently at her and smiled, "Good try, I'm sure you'll get it with a little more practice."

"You're a terrible liar," Claire said looking away from Michael as she stared up at the tree that she'd cut so poorly.

Michael chuckled as he scratched the back of his head, "Yeah, I've been told that before. But I do mean it, I'm sure with some more practice you'll be able to perform the spell no problem."

"No, I wouldn't," Claire spoke solemnly, "We've been out here for a little more than an hour, and the best I could do was barely scratch the tree. Meanwhile, you-" She turned up to face the gigantic slash Michael had left in the tree trunk, "In terms of magic that doesn't come from my Veela side, I'm hardly any better than a squib. Even the most basic spells are damn near impossible for me to learn and master."

It was quiet for a moment as the cold gust of wind blew through the forest, and as she shivered. With intrigue, she watched as Michael rose, unzipping his coat and tossing it over to her softly without a word. He brushed the snow off his pants before casting another set of warming charms on both himself and her as he once again reentered a sitting position against a separate tree trunk glancing at her form, his eyes seemingly in a deep haze, "You know, for a model, you sure have a lot of self-loathing." Claire swallowed hard as Michael continued, "There isn't a single thing about myself that I don't hate," Michael said in a calming tone, "That's what you told me last night. I imagine most of that comes from being a Veela, right? But while I imagine that your bird transformation can be a bit taxing, to say the least, I still don't understand where all this hatred of yourself comes from."

"Why do you care if I like myself or not," Claire spat back, pain filling her chest.

"I guess I don't really," Michael said with a shrug, "If anything, I'm just curious. You can be a bit bossy and judgmental, but I don't think that makes you a bad person. I'm just wondering why you think you are?"

Once again, silence overtook the forest and Claire's mind began racing at a mile a minute. Should I tell him? Why should you? It's not like we're friends. The only person I've ever told is Fleur, why would I open up to him? But he isn't afraid of you, he's trying to help. However, long this back and forth in her mind had been going on, it clearly hadn't been for just a short while as she watched Michael once more rise to his feet and shrug, "It's alright if you don't want to tell me. I guess I'll just-"

"It's because of my Mom," Claire spat out desperately wanting Michael to stay with her. At her admission, Michael approached slowly once more leaning up against a tree as he prepared to listen to her story. "My father, before he was the Minister, he met my mom. They were young, attractive, and dumb. They had nothing in common, in fact, I'd argue that by any measure, they should have hated each other. But my mother was poor, and my father was rich, and using her Veela powers, she forced an attraction between herself and my dad."

Michael's eyes rested softly upon her as she continued, "My mom, she used my dad. Taking his wealth and using it to travel the world, buy herself lavish gifts, and in return, my mother offered herself to my dad. It hadn't taken long until my mom became pregnant with me." Claire could see a glimmer of sympathy appear across Michael's otherwise relaxed face. "When a Veela becomes pregnant, their allure stops working, and when this happened, my father had realized the trance he'd been in. He had wanted to leave my mother, but he stayed because of me. Still, with magical marriages being a bit more complicated to get out of then muggle ones and a lot more costly, he couldn't bring himself to tie himself down to a woman that had done nothing but deceive him, and while they co-existed within the same house, it was far from a loving home."

"During this time, my Grandfather on my Father's side passed away leaving his business to my dad. My dad's always been too kind for his own good and had begun garnering a reputation of using whatever funds that were leftover to assist the poor. This had led him into a push for a government office within the French Ministry, and he won with overwhelming support. It was also at this time that I was born, and despite hating my mother, he never took it out on me, he loved me so much he named me after my grandmother, Clairesse." She smiled slightly as she remembered back to her early childhood, "He was always so proud of me, he'd even bring me to his office somedays to keep him company. Yet he never told anyone about who my mother was, to him, my mother was dead."

"When I was three-years-old," Claire continued, "My father started seeing this other woman, the lady that is now my stepmother. I can't really remember much about what happened when they first met, but I do know that even all of these years later, they still love each other deeply." She grit her teeth angrily as she recalled what happened next, "But my mother couldn't simply leave them alone. My father had told my stepmother about everything that had happened to him, and my stepmother still wanted to be with him. And in order to do so, my father told my mother that she could keep the house, and all the gifts he bought her, he'd even send her a living stipend from the business, but in return, I was to come with him, and she was to renounce all parental rights over me."

"She refused," Claire said pain ringing in her voice. "My mother, she hated feeling replaced and seeing my father leave her control, and while my father was at work, my mother had broken into the new house where my stepmother had been caring for me, and a duel broke out. I can't really remember any of it, but supposedly, my stepmother was capable of holding her own, that was until my mother transformed." She heard Michael swallow hard, trying to digest the information, "My mother went on a rampage, and to this day my stepmom has a terrible scar on her back from my mother's claws as my stepmom tried to shelter me with her body. Thankfully, because it was the house of a government official, Auror's arrived quickly on the scene and subdued my mom. But still, ever since then, the fact that I carry this monster inside me, the fact that I carry her blood in my veins, It makes me so angry." Tears started leaking down her cheeks as she shouted, her emotions coming to a boiling point, "I hate her! I hate her so much! I can't stand that I'm half-"

Suddenly, she had found herself wrapped in the comfort of a tight embrace, her chin resting on Michael's shoulder as she gripped desperately at his back, "You're not your mother. Just because you share her blood doesn't mean you're anything like her. Attributing who you are to the idea that because your parents acted one way you'll do the same isn't true in the slightest." She tightened her grip against the boy deeper than before as she heard him whisper, "So you're wrong, you're not a monster. You're Claire Belmont, you're the most troublesome woman I have ever met, and more than that, you're my friend."

"Why would you want to be friends with me," She said in a sunken tone, "Didn't you hear what I said, what if you're wrong about me and I'm using all of this to manipulate you. Why do you believe my story anyway? Why-"

"You're not a good enough liar to have made that whole story up," Michael said gently, "And I don't have the slightest fear that you have any intention to manipulate me. Plus, we both know that your allure doesn't work on me anyway." There was only a slight pause before a sentence that she could never imagine the boy saying in real life emerged from his lips, "And I'll go one step further to prove to you that I'm serious. But in order to do that, I've got a question I need to ask you. Will you come to the Yule Ball with me, as my date?"

"This isn't funny, Michael," She replied sternly, not wanting to believe something so genuinely good was happening to her.

"I'm not laughing," Michael said, "But I really hope your dress isn't pink because while that color might look good on you, I don't think I can rock it as well."

"It's grey," She said gently, looking up at him with a teary smile, "Do you think you can work with that, Slacker-Clown."

"I think that's manageable," He said with a smirk, "Pretty Bird." He smiled as he broke the hug and Claire rapidly attempted to dry her tears as she looked up at him smiling down at her, "Come on, let's head back to the Castle, it's almost time for Lunch and I promised I'd help Harry with this over the top idea he had to ask Daphne to the Yule Ball tonight."

"Okay," Claire said with a smile as she felt Michael take her hand once more. She wasn't exactly sure what she and Michael were at the moment, but it didn't really matter to her, somehow, he'd managed to pull her out of one of her darker strings of thoughts, and she couldn't have felt more grateful.

(Daphne P.O.V)

The image of the blood leaking from Astoria's nose had made falling asleep last night more than a bit difficult. Tracey had done what she could to calm her down, reminding her that even at its worst, Astoria still had until her twenties before there should have been any visible effects. But Daphne knew better, she knew when Astoria was lying, and despite how badly she wanted to believe the story about her little sister walking into a pillar, she knew better than that.

Which is why she had found herself sitting alone in the library, the glow of the crescent moon illuminating her view as she began opening another medical magic book she'd previously read cover to cover, Come on, She thought to herself desperately, There must be something I missed. Please for the love of Merlin, give me something, anything that can help her.

However, as footsteps began creeping up on her from behind, she knew that any peace she had been hoping for was shattered. Thankfully, the voice that called out to her was friendly, "I thought you'd be here."

"Tracey," Daphne called out tiredly, "It's not a good time right now. Is there any way you could go talk to Blaise about whatever it is that's-"

"I'm not really here to talk to you about anything," Tracey said and Daphne could hear the smirk rising onto her best friend's face, "I came here to collect you for a surprise."

"I hate surprises," Daphne grumbled lowly, "Plus, right now I'm in the middle of researching-"

"I know," Tracey said, "And I understand what you're trying to do, but we've already been through every healing magic book in this library, you know you're just wasting time here. Plus, Astoria said if you don't come with me, then she'd come down here and drag you out of the library, so I suggest you just make it easier on yourself and come with me."

"You're all so annoying," Daphne said with a defeated sigh, though she and Tracey both knew she didn't mean a word of it, "Fine, where are we going?"

"Follow me," Was all that Tracey said before together, the two of them left the library. Despite the heavy weight Daphne felt resting on her shoulder, she couldn't help but feel curious as to what the surprise Tracey had been hinting at was. She wasn't sure about the content, but she'd bet her life that Harry was involved in one way or another. Anxiously, she followed her best friend through the castle corridors, continuously moving upward until she had found herself at the astronomy tower, her favorite place in the entire castle, the stars shimmering in the dark sky above. Tracey wrapped her hand around her wrist as she continued to drag Daphne closer and closer towards the edge of the tower's balcony before she whipped out her wand and fired red sparks off into the air.

Before she could even adjust her eyes to the darkness, two figures zipped through the black sky at incredible speeds, their wands in hand as they tossed what looked to be compressed red packages being kept levitated through the magic into the air. She couldn't help but shake her head in amusement as she watched the two fliers zip around the moonlit backdrop at a breakneck pace until finally, the movement stopped. She tilted her head curiously before she felt Tracey pull a pair of muggle sunglasses over her eyes and then, a sound-barrier breaking explosion erupted from the darkness.

At first, all she saw was smoke, but then, a smile grew to her face as what looked like a silhouette of her composed completely of fireworks began to take shape in the distance. Then, another figure appeared from the smoke, this one a boy, a boy with very messy hair that she knew could be none other than Harry appeared, taking her celestial doppelganger's hand before proceeding to do a short dance among the starlit background.

Daphne fought desperately in her attempt to keep her jaw from falling to the floor, before right at the edge of the balcony, smiling brightly from his broom was none other than Harry Potter. "Well Princess," He said gently, "I know you're not a big fan of surprises, but I hope you're enjoying the show."

"Harry, this is-," She started feeling completely lost for words, "How did you do this?"

"Don't worry about that," He said cheerfully, "Come on, let's get a closer look." He hadn't even given her a chance to reply before he took her hand in his and Tracey gave her a quick and firm shove off the balcony landing right in front of Harry on his broom. Her body started to shake, she'd never liked brooms, but as she felt Harry's arms come around her, acting as a seatbelt as he guided his broom further up towards the display, an overwhelming feeling of warmth filled her. "Hang on, okay?"

She nodded and gently, Harry moved the broom forward, the two of them gliding through the display until they hovered above the black lake, the two celestial dancers fading into the smoke once more, "Harry, that was beautiful."

"I'm glad you liked it," Harry said warmly, "When I heard about the Yule Ball, I knew I wanted to do something special and thankfully, Fred and George had supplied me with materials over the summer that gave me just the right idea. I promised that this year would be easier than last year, and I've been feeling super guilty that it hasn't been."

"That's not your-,"

"I know," Harry said, "But you've been helping me out all year with things no normal girlfriend should ever have to do, so think of this as my way of saying thank you." Daphne smiled as she felt one of Harry's arms leave his broom and wrap around her waist firmly, "Oh yeah, there's one thing I wanted to ask you?" Fighting her fear, she pushed herself up, turning herself on the broom until she faced Harry, his green eyes bleeding into her soul, "Be my date at the Yule Ball, okay?"

As much as she wanted to, words simply weren't coming to her mind and doing the only thing she could, she leaned forward, catching Harry's lips as her arms tightened around his neck. She felt Harry grin against her lips before under the gaze of the crescent moon, hovering far above the Black Lake, Harry kissed her back, a soft moan leaving their lips.

As they broke apart, Harry had entered the widest smile she'd ever seen on the boy and with a teasing tone he asked, "So that's a yes?"

"Of course it's a yes, you over the top idiot," She called back unable to stop herself from releasing an extremely girly giggle, something that was so unlike her that it had caused Harry to chuckle as well. "You could have asked me on the back of a napkin and I would have said yes, but thank you for going so far above and beyond that."

"A napkin invitation would definitely not have been fitting for a princess," Harry said with a loving tone, "I actually had this idea planned when mapping out our first date, but there were way too many Muggles around. I'm glad I saved it though, this was a far more fitting time."

"Yeah," Daphne said in a whisper, as she looked up at Harry, her body being pressed closer to his, "I'm glad you did too," before with another kiss, Daphne finally felt an air of temporary relief from the chains of concern that bound her.

(Sirius P.O.V)

Sirius sat on the couch in the sitting room of 12 Grimmauld Place, Emmeline resting gently against his shoulder while Remus pushed closer to peek into the mirror's frame where the boy Sirius had come to love as his own son sat surrounded by his girlfriend, and his two best friends, a look of deep conflict in his eyes, "Padfoot," Harry whispered softly, "Are you sure you don't want us there to back you up. I mean, what if there's more of them coming than you think?"

"It'll be a sad day when I'm forced to admit I need you to bail me out of trouble pup," Sirius said in a light-hearted tone before growing serious, "Harry," he stated calmly, "We're going to be fine. I know you have your doubts about this plan, but we have no other choice if we want to continue receiving information from our mole."

"I'd feel better about this whole thing if I knew who the mole was," Harry said his confidence shaken.

"I promise I'll tell you pup," Sirius said softly, "But with Dumbledore's particular method of training, any information you have could become his, and we can't risk anything this sensitive, at least, not yet." Sirius could see the disappointment on his godson's face but pressed through it, "Harry, I want you to keep your head on straight, you have your own set of challenges to deal with moving forward. We've practiced this ambush protocol ad nauseam, everything is going to be alright, okay pup?"

"Alright," Harry said with a sigh, "Just don't go dying on me, you mangy mutt."

"Never," Sirius said firmly as he smiled, "Harry, it's time for me to go, but I'll contact you soon, stay safe pup, I love you."

"Love you too Sirius, keep him alive, okay Moony?" Harry asked in a pleading tone.

"Roger that cub," Remus replied warmly, "Em and I will keep him from being too reckless." Harry nodded a look of forced confidence plastered upon his face before with a curt nod and smile, both he, Remus and Harry spoke at once, "Mischief Managed."

Sirius sighed as he put down the mirror turning to the grandfather clock that ticked ominously, counting down the seconds until he led his family into another wild situation. He felt Remus place his hand on his shoulder, while his eyes locked with Andromeda who looked as if she was going to be sick. "You don't have to come," Sirius said softly, "I know your relationship with her was never as strong as it was with Narcissa, but she's still your sister."

Andromeda sat there silently, her hand gripping her husband's who rested beside her providing as much comfort as he could. "I'll kill her," Sirius said in a firm tone, "If I have to. If she tries to block our escape, regardless of the fact that she's my cousin, I won't spare her life."

"Sirius," Emmeline hissed, but the look he had received from Remus had shown that his best friend was on the same page as him.

"I know," Andromeda said with a deadpan expression.

"Are you prepared to do the same if it comes to that?" Sirius asked, unable to allow any weakness into his voice.

"Don't make me say it out loud," Andromeda said her eyes cold and filled with pain. "Harry, I raised him, I've watched him grow from a helpless baby to a strong and capable boy who unfortunately has to deal with more than any boy his age ever should. For all practical purposes, that boy is my son, and my sister has joined the ranks of an organization seeking to kill him. Just as I would do anything to protect Nym, I'd do the same for Harry. If it comes to it, I'll do what has to be done."

Her voice trembled at her admission, but Sirius could see the fire that glowed in his cousin's eyes. She may have been sorted into Slytherin, but when it came to protecting her children, she resembled a lioness far more than a snake. "Okay," Sirius said with a nod as the clock struck eleven, "According to the information that Narcissa gave us, the Deaters are planning their raid at midnight, no sense in giving them a greater advantage than necessary." He sighed as he rose from the couch, Emmeline's hand in his and Remus by his side, "Let's get ready for a family reunion."