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Unconquered	By : AuroraMagician Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female Views: 1177 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 1
- 2
J

AUTHOR�S NOTE: This is stewing around in my brain; I am not
sure where it�s all going to go, so this may take a while to write. Again, I am using my beloved Sarah Claudia
Hawkins and Gatewood House, only this time, we�re in England. I�ve changed a few names, too; but otherwise,
the situation at my favorite Victorian Painted Lady house is the same. Feedback is APPRECIATED and I do respond to
emails! It�s what keeps me writing,
folks! Flamers who are unprofessional
and unconstructive will have their flames spoon-fed back to them. READ: if you flame, please give CONSTRUCTIVE
criticism. PLAY NICELY AND I WILL BE
NICE BACK. Dig? Cool.
ON WITH THE SHOW!

P.S. I am basing many of the HP chars on drawings done by
LMR (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownUps-Graphics/files/FanArt/%20LMR%27s%20Drawings/). Join the group and see the pictures...
they�re amazing, folks, I SWEAR.

GATEWOOD
HOUSE, 9AM on a Monday morning in early June of 1999.

�Dear God,� she thought, �why does
it always have to be me?� Sighing
heavily, the petite red-head trudged back into the sprawling Victorian Painted
Lady house known to family and friends as simply �Gatewood House�. Her steps were ever so slightly uneven, as
though she were not quite limping.
Her eyes, currently hazel and swiftly turning mud-brown, perused the
piece of parchment a good friend had just sent her. She bumped into a suit of armor that stood at
attention in the foyer, muttering an explicative distractedly under her
breath. Irritably she tucked fly-away
strands of unruly and unbelievingly vivid red hair back from her face. Most of her bright sunset masses were piled
haphazardly atop and around her head, but pieces of it insisted on continually
falling into her eyes. She muttered
another swear word a little louder this time as she walked into a wall while
still reading the parchment.

�You need
another set of eyes,� Nadia�s voice came from vaguely in front of her as she
entered the sunny kitchen of Gatewood House.
She waved her hand in a frustrated and distracted manner in what she
assumed was the Nadia�s direction, still reading, and was rewarded with a mug
of very strong coffee.

�What is
it, Sarah?� another of her sisters�Magen, this time� asked, coming to stand
over her shoulder as she sat down in a chair that was pulled out for her by
what seem to be invisible hands.

�Trouble,�
she said in a firm and flat voice; she sipped her coffee, �Of the particularly
nasty kind.� Sarah looked up from the
parchment then, and met the gazes of the many individuals staring back at
her. Those of her six sisters were
almost identical to her own face.

�I�ll pack
some things,� she said, setting down her coffee and turning to the newspaper,
�And be setting off in a bit.�

clasclass=MsoNormal> �Where will
you be going?� That was Gabriel. �Good old Gabriel,� Sarah thought with
amusement, �He always thinks of everything that Nadia doesn�t... which usually
isn�t much.�

�Away for a
while,� she said in drop-it sort of voice, �I�m going to make a couple of stops
along the way�Privet Drive, The Burrow, the Leaky Cauldron, Hogsmeade, the
Ministry, couple of other places�but I should end up around Hogwarts in a
couple of weeks.�

�In
Sarah-time, that means at least a month�if not two or three,� said Magen dryly,
knowing her sister�s way of doing things.

Sarah
glanced up when Saskia snorted, but she had her back to the table and was doing
dishes. The radio popped on quietly,
with no-one touching it, and began playing God
Help the Outcasts by Bette Midler.
�God help us ALL,� Sarah thought fervently to herself. Saskia seemed to echo her thoughts, as usual:

�God help
the outcasts, she says,� said Saskia, her croppark ark red hair swinging a
little, �God help us ALL, I say.
Jeez�everyone�s a whiner!�

�I�m
leaving after breakfast,� Sarah continued as though nothing had been said,
�I�ll try to keep in touch as much as possible�after all, we want to avoid what
happened last time whenever we
can. While I�m gone, I want you to
remain in contact the Weasley and Granger families, and keep an eye or two on
Number Four Privet Drive. Notify the old
gang, and get �em all back together again.
Let me know the second
something happens. Oh�and be prepared
for sudden company,� she paused to gulp her coffee, �In fact, be prepared for anything. We don�t want to repeat what we don�t have
to... surprises can be nasty as well as wonderful.�

�Tell me about it!� Nadia
exclaimed. Sarah just looked at
her. Nadia, sensing that Sarah was
staring at her, turned and met her penetrating gaze. Running a hand over her out-to-there pregnant
belly, Nadia raised an eyebrow. Sarah
went back to her newspaper and breakfast with a slight shake of her head.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

MEANWHILE,
AT #4 PRIVET DRIVE...

Number Four
Privet Drive seemed like a perfectly normal
house. It was a gray-sided, smallish,
cookie-cutter house straight out of the fifties, complete with a white picket
fence. There was a one-car garage that
had been attached to the house in the seventies, and a white porch large enough
accommodate three chairs and a flower pot comfortably. The backyard was reasonably sized�in a large
city, say, London, it would seem
huge�and at the very edge of it stood a small, stall-like wooden shed hidden
behind a large tree. A low stone fence
edged the yard in a perfectly square formation.
All in all, it seemed like a perfectly normal house with a perfectly
normal�if a trifle snobbish�family within.

It only
SEEMED that way.

If you
looked closely, you could see that there were bars on windows of the east-side
bedroom, scorch-marks in a remarkable lightning shape hidden behind the
rosebush (hence it�s presence), only three chairs on the porch when four
resided within, and a section of the east-side bedroom walls had been
meticulously repaired. And if you
observed very carefully... you could catch the comings and goings of at least
four or five different owls at night, fluttering franticly at the barred
windows of the east-side bedroom. And if
you watched very, very closely, you could see the face of a sad and earnest boy
of sixteen peering anxiously out of those windows at odd times of the day.

Harry
Potter was being punished again. And yet
again, he had done absolutely nothing wrong.
Only this time, it felt different to him. This time felt... funny; like there was more
to come, and it would be worse�much worse�than what he was enduring now.

For three weeks,
he was fed only once a day. That meal
(if you could call it that) consisted of one piece of stale bread and a small
glass of warm water. He was allowed out
once a day, in order to brush his teeth and cleanse himself. Other than that, the only thing he could do
was to pray that somehow, somebody could get him out.

The last
time something like this had happened Ron and the Weasley twins were able to
break him out. But this time, the
Dursleys had taken precautions, and had the entire house rigged with a security
system. They had gotten it installed
while he was away in his fifth year� too preoccupied with school, homework,
Voldemort, and another face-off with Peter �Wormtail� Pettigrew that had left
him in the Hospital Wing for two weeks�to keep an eye on Privet
Drive. One
of the first things he had done when he noticed the changes was to send both
Ron and Hermione letters warning them of the new system. They had both made it clear that they were
thinking of a way to get him out.

The letter to his Godfather had been the
hardest of all to write. While Harry�s
�family� still shivered at the thought of Sirius Black, it didn�t stop them
from forbidding him to leave the house.
Even when Sirius replied to Harry�even when Mr. and Mrs. Weasley showed
up at the doorstep and offered to take Harry with them for the whole summer� it
only hardened their resolve to keep him away from all those �freaks�.

The Dursleys made it clear they
intended to keep him locked up in the house or supervised doing hard labor
outside, and took every opportunity to treat him horribly. Uncle Vernon made sure he smacked Harry
upside the head at least once a day, and Aunt Petunia used whatever cooking
utensil she had in her hand to hit him on the butt or the back whenever she
felt like it. Dudley (�That great, big,
hulking moron!� Harry thought furiously) always did something to ruin half the
work that Harry did. If Harry had to
paint the shed, Dudley would break the ladder or grab
his fat friends and smear dirt over all of his hard work. Once, when Harry was cooking supper, Dudley
snuck up behind him and tripped him.
Harry�s jaw had hit the edge of the stove, and he burned his hand.

After that episode, he had tried to
contact Dumbledore. He even tried
contacting Madame Hooch and Professor McGonagall, but to no avail. Every one of them had told him to sit tight,
because they had their hands full trying to find a leak in the Ministry. None of them had listened to him; not one of
them had even tried to pretend that they were too concerned with his
well-being. And while Dumbledore had
mentioned something about a spell on the house in his letter, Harry had seen
nothing that convinced him that he was as protected as they obviously thought
he was. All he could do in the end was
pray that somehow one of his friends could help him.

He was jolted out of his miserable
considerations when the locks on his door were undone. The door creaked open as Dudley
and Uncle Vernon entered. Dudley
was wearing a grin that would�ve made Professor Snape proud while Uncle Vernon
scowled deeply. In his hands, Vernon
Dursley carried a baseball bat. Dudley
hitched his pants over his enormous bottom.

�Oh, shit,� thought Harry, �this
can NOT be good.� His male relatives
advanced upon him; there was no chance for escape. �I knew
something like this was going to happen!� Harry thought, torn between anger and
despair and fear, �It was only a matter of time. And they didn�t believe me!�

Vernon
struck the first blow.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AN
HOUR LATER, AT GATEWOOD HOUSE

Choosing to appear more
inconspicuous, Sarah chose to drive to the Burrow instead of Apparating or Floo
Powder. She loaded her motorcycle on the
truck bed, hooked the truck up to her black Stratus, and threw her bags
haphazardly in with the bike. She drove
out of Gatewood House�s large parking lot five minutes earlier than she had
planned, and headed straight for the expressway that would take her most of the
way to London.

Blaring Heather Nova over the
stereo, the petite redhead sped down the roads of her travels, trying not to
picture what could be happening while she ran around like a chicken with it�s
head cut off. She concentrated on the
pavement, music, and lack of traffic so hard she felt pressure building up
behind her eyes. Smiling wryly to
herself, she gave her legs a cursory pat, and was satisfied that her pistols
were safely secure in their holsters.

She let the windows down, letting
the wind whip her hair around, rather than suffer the dry recycling of Air
Conditioning. She had a bad feeling
about this�she wasn�t sure of anything right now. All she had was the queasiness in her stomach
when she saw the parchment the Great Horned Owl had dropped at her feet this
morning. It currently rested on the
passenger seat, fluttering slightly in the wind. Neat, flowing script spelled itself out in
purple ink so dark it was almost black.
She reached out and took the parchment in her hand, trying to get a
premonition, flashback, answer... something out of it. Once again, she perused the letter:

�Dearest Sarah,

I know that generally, the world asks too much
of those residing at Gatewood House. I
also know that you think of friends as family, and that family is held together
and protected at ALL costs. Gatewood
House is not merely a place, it is a people�a people borne wholly of love and
unity. Together you stand, together you
fall... whether you are home or not.

Home... it is such a powerful word. One that I would crave to know first-hand...
but at the moment, that is only possible in degrees. Truthruth and love and pureness contained and
nourished and spread by those of Gatewood House would erase the suffering of
the world.

That said, I need to ask you a favor... and
give you a warming.

THE FAVOR: Please rescue my brother�s best
friend, one Harry Potter. His relatives
have him locked up, and this time there is a new security system, and it is
impossible to rescue him like Fred, George, and Ron did a few years ago. I don�t like this, Sarah; I think that there
is more going on there than just too many chores, hard labor, and being locked
up. Mum and Dad even went to his house
personally to try and reason with the Dursleys, but to no avail. Harry said in his last letter that he had
tried to contact Hogwarts, but that nobody could help him. They�re not listening! This is serious! It HAS to stop! Oh, Sassy... I am so afraid for him! I... care for him, like Moira once cared for
Andrew. Oh, gods, Sarah, what do I
do? How can I just sit by and not
help? I had to do something... I hope
that you understand, and give me a reply.
You know I wouldn�t normally ask you to help, because eventually Fred,
George, and Ron would put their thumbs on SOMETHING�but this doesn�t feel
right. Something is WRONG, Sass; very
wrong. Can you at least take a peek in
on Number Four Privet Drive for
me? Just to let me know... know that
he�s okay. That this feeling is just...
well, you know what I mean.

Okay, now for the WARNING: There is a leak in
the Ministry. Fudge is still preaching
that there is no Voldemort, but we know better, don�t we? I shudder to think of the last time... gods
that was... ugh. Father, Headmaster
Dumbledore, Sirius Black, and several others are trying to deal with it... but
they�ve got their hands full. I don�t
think they�ll catch him/her before it�s too late. The calvary always does come late, doesn�t
it? So please, please be careful�all of
you! Tell the others, pass it on; just
please, be CAREFUL... they�re everywhere, as the saying goes.

All my Love,

Nia

Sarah sped up more as she entered
the expressway. �I hope that Harry can
wait until after London; there is
too much at stake here for me not to be prepared. Nia�s right�he has to get out of there
ASAP�but I have to be sure that I can get him out under ANY circumstance. So, consequently, that means London
comes first. After that I�ll get Harry,�
she thought, �hang in there, baby�I�m coming!�

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

defiantly getting too old for this shit,� he thought dazedly.

�Severus?� �Who the hell could that be?� he thought.

�Severus, are you alright?� Severus felt his eyes flutter open in a
flurry of pain. What he saw made him
groan: Sirius Black, wanted man and illegal Animagus, was standing over him
with a look of amused concern on his face.
�Oh, goody,� he thought angrily. Good... anger was good; anger gave him
strength to combat his condition.

�Do I bloody LOOK alright,
Black?� Severus expected a sharp retort;
he expected to be left where he was. He
expected anything but what Black did next:

�Well then, let�s get you to Madame
Pomfrey. Do you think you can stand if I
help you?�

Severus blinked several times, but
Black was still standing above him every time he re-opened his aching
eyes. Hurting too much to care�if,
indeed, he had cared in the first place�Severus braced himself to be pulled to
his feet. He extended a hand weakly,
shaking. Black silently took it, and
with amazing gentleness, lifted Severus to his feet. Too astonished and full of pain to react,
Severus Snape allowed himself to be aided by Sirius Black for the first time
ever.

Trouble was, both of them knew it
probably wouldn�t be the last.

SIX HOURS LATER, FOUR O�CLOCK PM, LONDON

After several phone calls and
traipsing around the city of London
like a native, Sarah finally entered her hotel to check into her rooms. It wasn�t that she couldn�t find the
grand-scale, upper-class place; she�d had errands to run and favors to call
in. Fortunately, once most of her people
had heard what she was about, most of them came through for her. A select few (old friends) had even given her
freebies, which had been a real blessing, considering some of what she was
buying.

It was four o�clock in the afternoon, and her day wasn�t even
halfway over yet. Throwing her bags
haphazardly on the bed, Sarah started easing out of her cloths. Tight jeans, undergarments, white cotton
tank, jean jacket, holsters, scabbard, and some other smaller weapons slid to
the floor. She didn�t bother to pick
them up as she unzipped a bag and took out shower stuff, heading for the bathroom.

* * * * *

The shower felt good. She started out as hot as she could get the
water to go, and used shower gel that smelled like men�s cologne. �It�s as close as I�m gonna get to the real thing
anyway,� she thought dryly. Next, she
washed her long hair. Then she turned
the water as cold as possible, and stood under the hard spray for a few
moments. She warmed it up to lukewarm,
and turned it off.

She dried off, wrapped herself in
the huge towel she�d brought, and sat down on the bed. She re-read Nia�s letter as she attempted to
comb out the tangles her shower had bestowed upon her. Her cell phone went off.

It was Nadia, checking up on
her. Talking swiftly and directly, Sarcut cut the connection five minutes later.
Reaching for the bag that held her pen and paper, she was suddenly hit
with a force that was alarming and calming all at once. She felt a massive pressure on her chest and
one building up behind her eyes, and it exploded into a world of a different
consciousness:

~FLASH~

A young boy with black hair and an
earnest face with a small scar in the center of his forehead being struck
repeatedly by a fat man and an absolutely massive blonde boy. They were enjoying his screams, and laughed
when a bone snapped. But only if
she....

~FLASH~

That same boy throwing up
blood. But only if she....

~FLASH~

The boy hooked up to IV�s, people
whispering around him... a redheaded boy, Ron, she recognized, and Nia, trying
to elbow a way in to see the boy... doctors talking about tests... doctors talking
about institutions, and the same fat man and huge boy nodding. But that would only happen if....

~FLASH~

................

~FLASH~

The visions sped across her mind
too fast to calculate. But before her
fingertips met the synthetic fabric of the bag with her pen and paper in it,
she had seen them all. She paused, hand
reaching out and suspended in air, thinking.
What should she do? Which path
would be the most efficient? Which path
would help the best?

In a split second, she had made up
her mind. She would finish London
shopping tomorrow, and have the rest shipped out. Then she was moving out.

Little Whining was overdue for a
visit once again.

AUTHOR�S NOTE: Don�t you all hate these cliffhangers? I hate �em too, and I actually write
them! Ack, well. NEways... FEEDBACK
IS DESIRABLE, AND I DO RESPOND TO EMAIL.
Just if you email, please put �fanfiction� in the subject heading so I
don�t delete you. Thanx.

So, where am I going with all of this? Well, let�s wait and see. You already know that there will be three OFC�s that take over the hearts of Snape, Remus, and
Sirius. Got any ideas who they should
be? I�ll give you a hint: Sarah is
definitely one of them, and I think maybe Nadia too. What�s your opinion? Tell me!
Suggestions? R/R is a great way
to do that.......

And its past one ack emma, so I am off to bed and
dreams. Thank you very much for taking
the time to read this... AN�s and all.

GATEWOOD HOUSE,
The next day (Tuesday) 12 PM in early
June, 1999

�Well, this
oughta be interesting,� Saskia set down the Muggle newspaper and slid it across
the small kitchen table to Nadia and Gabriel.J

LITTLE WHINING, about five
O�clock at night that Tuesday, Number Four Privet Drive:

Sarah
pulled her now dented, scratched, and scorched red truck up to the curb of Privet
Drive. A
sudden surge of prudence, perhaps brought on by a raging headache, caused her
to park on the opposite side of the street than Number Four Privet Drive. It was shadier there, and she had a better
and more inconspicuous view of the fifties-style, gray-sided house.

She sported
a few injuries; namely a cut a her her right eyebrow, claw-marks on her left
arm, and some bruised ribs. Her nose had
just a trickle of old blood from it, and her bottom lip was slightly
swollen. Her head ached due a blow from
a Death Eater with a mean left hook, and also partly to the fact that she had
banged it off of her windshield in an attempt to run over a Dementor. Fortunately, she had been successful... after
the second try. �Damn stubborn half-dead
idiots have no idea when to stay completely dead!� she thought
acidlpan pan style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Her mass of coppery-red hair
glinted in the sunlight.

She turned
her attention to Number Four Privet Drive.
�I wonder how long I...� she left her thought unfinished as a massive
pressure in her chest warned her of on-coming visions:

~FLASH~

If she went in now, she could stop.... but if she did she
also sacrificed...

~FLASH~

If she waited even five minutes, it might be too late
for.... but not for... but then she would have to seek vengeance...

~FLASH~

Nighttime would bring unwanted visitors... but a better
opportunity to...

A
succession of innumerable options flashed before her burning eyes and aching
head. In her mind�s eye, she saw her
world as only the gifted-cursed can... and chose her doings carefully. Frustrated with her choices, Sarah angrily
threw open her door and hopped out, only just catching her stumble before it
could happen. With slightly uneven
steps, she stormed up to the front door of Number Four Privet Drive. Irritably, she jammed fly-away red strands of
hair back into place.

Belatedly,
she realized she still had her crowbar in her hand. �Ah,� she thought solemnly and detachedly,
�so that is how it is to be then.� She
held it tighter, but kept it still by her side.
She pounded on the door with her other fist.

She pounded
for several minutes before an irritated Petunia Dursley finally flung the door
wide in her haste and frustration. She
caught her first glimpse of Sarah, and paled.
A split second later, Sarah shoved the stiff and staring woman
unceremoniously out of her way as she marched determinedly into the house. She could hear Petunia sputtering back to
life behind her as she continued through the house, calling Harry�s name.

�You
wretched... uh, uh, uh...� Petunia
couldn�t think straight.

�Where is Harry?�
Sarah whirled around and pierced the horse-faced beastling with a glare she
knew always frightened Petunia more than her mere presence in a room did. Petunia spouted a few more �ums� before she
screeched for Vernon Dursley.

�I�ll say
this again,� Sarah ground out, �Where. Is. Harry. NOW.�

�I don�t
have to tell you anything you... you... you... um, um, um,...�

�You are very articulate, Petty.�

�You...
you... um, um... abnormality!� an>

Sarah stood with her hip cocked and
her head tilted, giving Petunia a dead stare.
She took out her sunglasses, and put them on.

�Ow. Ooh. You wound me badly. HARRY!�
She heard shuffling overhead, and then loud thumping as Vernon Dursley
thundered down the stairs as fast as his fat legs could take him. He knew his wife�s voice�Petunia only sounded
like that when she was in the room.
Sarah rounded on him instantly.

�WHERE IS
HARRY. You will produce him NOW,� she
growled. Losing patience, losing time,
Sarah had a sinking knowledge that she knew where Harry was... and what
condition he would be in.

Vernon
Dursley sprayed spit everywhere in his inelegant attempts at an answer for
Sarah. Throwing caution to the
winds��Damn you Albus, you should have stopped
this! And not left me to deal with it!��Sarah gathered her growing inner storm of
power, and breathed.

�Never
mind,� she clipped, and pushed past the blob-like body of Vernon
and started up the stairs. She jumped
nimbly and avoided him as he made a desperate swipe at her feet, wincing
slightly as she landed and putting her hand to her bruised ribs.

Instincts
and something else that blossomed
back to life inside of her brought her to Harry�s door. She breathed deeply, holding her side, and
turned the knob.

She let out
what sounded like a small shriek to
the occupants of Number Four Privet Drive... but was barely what she was capable of reaching...

And flung
herself at Dudley, who stood gaping in admiration for the petite redhead�s body
and presence, bringing the crowbar in her hand down on his raised arm. His arm was poised to deliver another blow to
the small and crumpled form of Harry Potter; a blow he never got to
deliver. Sarah knocked him flat, and
made immediately for Harry�s side.

She scooped
him up smoothly in her arms, gritting her teeth against the ache in her
ribs. Holding Harry as if he was the
most precious thing in the world, Sarah sent a silent string of epithets to
Hogwarts and a silent string of prayers to whatever divine deity it was who had
lead her there.

She barely
registered what happened to the house as she past through it upon returning to
her truck. The maternal part of her mind
kept her distracted by Harry�s condition and the need to get him as far away
from the Dursleys as possible, while the tigress in her left wreckage in her
wake. Shelves fell, the banisters
splintered, and the door frames exploded.

Petunia fainted, and the two males
tried to hide behind each other in a pathetic jumble of blubbery arms and
bodies.

ON THE WAY
FROM LITTLE WHINING TO GATEWOOD HOUSE, approx. one hour later (6 PM) in Sarah�s truck.

Sarah was
more worried than she�d been in years.
Her eyes were swirling brown and blue.
She checked the temperature of the unconscious form of Harry Potter for
the fifth time since leaving Number Four Privet Drive. Her eyes turned to swirling dark and
periwinkle blue as she felt his temperature increase yet again�he was burning
up with fever, no doubt from infection in some of his injuries. She doubted he would make a fast recovery,
assuming he was alive to recover by the time she got him home.

Home for
him would now be Gatewood House. She
would not stand by and let Albus convince her to send him back to the Dursleys
again. �I�ll be damned first! That old
codger is getting a BIG piece of my mind when I get Harry stabilized!� she
thought angrily. A few sparks of red
flickered briefly but strongly amongst the blue of her eyes.

Beside her,
Harry stirred in his death-like sleep.
He feverishly murmured something about music. Sarah, catching hints of his mother, sighed
deeply. Nodding her head as though in
agreement with unheard voices, she popped in a CD and turned the volume down so
it wasn�t blasting. The sound of Celine
Dion filled the truck.

Lily�s
sounds... Lily�s music.

�I�m taking
care of him now, Lily,� Sarah spoke to the air, �I�m taking him home, where he belongs. He can�t be with who you really wanted, so
now he comes with me. Just like you told
me you wanted it. I�m sorry it took so
long.� Harry sighed in his sleep,
mumbling about heat. Sarah floored the
gas pedal.

By the time
she reached Gatewood House, she�d managed to call ahead and arrange for others
to have everything ready for Harry.
Nadia, Magen, and Lady Bryn met them before Sarah had even managed to
park the truck. Supporting his body as
though their hands were a gurney, the four women carried Harry into the
home. Brian, Saskia and Gabriel helped
them get Harry onto the kitchen table then, while Adrienne woke the rest of the
house. People rushed around in a strange
kind of ordered chaos, bringing medical supplies for Harry and preparing food
and drink for the household. After a few
hours of thorough medical work, Sarah ordered Harry to be taken to bed in her
room. Lady Bryn took him from her arms
before Sarah could protest, and made the journey herself:

�You stay
here and take care of yourself. He�s home now, where he belongs, and you need
food and rest yourself. Not to mention a bit of stitching!� she
called over her shoulder as she carried the sleeping Harry up the three flights
of stairs to Sarah�s room at the end of the hall. Sarah herself was forced to sit by Brian and
Gabriel, who made sure she waited for and ate her food. Adrienne made Sarah�s special tea then, and
made her drink two mugs of it before she let Nadia tend to Sarah�s wounds. There were very few, and minor�the bruised
ribs were the worst, since not much could be done for them save rest, and Sarah
was not big on rest.

�I�m
alright, I�m fine!� Sarah protested angrily when Saskia and Tori (another of
her identical sisters) tried to get her to go to bed. She shoved off their hands, and gave them
kisses and hugs in apology.

�I am going
up to see Harry, and then I�m off to the Burrow in the morning,� she stated, grabbing
a bottle of brandy from the wine cabinet before heading up the back
staircase. It spiraled upwards, and
branched off in small platforms at every floor.
There were three floors to Gatewood House, and Sarah had the last room
on the left at the end of the hall on the third floor. Candles in their sconces lit up as she passed
them on her way upward.

She tiptoed
into her room, finding Lady Bryn kneeling at Harry�s side on her bed. Sarah almost sighed at the gentleness in the
touch that Lady Bryn used to stroke Harry�s pitch-black hair... James�s
hair. Sarah swallowed an unexpected lump
in her throat, but smiled when Lady Bryn caught her gaze in the yellow
lamplight. The fugitive royalty stood
up, her golden curls sparking fabulously, and offered Sarah a small smile as
she left. Sarah listened to her gentle
foot-falls as she descended the back spiral staircase. She kept her gaze on the sixteen-year-old on
her bed.

He looked
so young and helpless. His vulnerability
reminded her sharply of when her brother Methuselah had come down with a raging
pneumonia, and it had been up to her to tend to him. She herself had only been fourteen, but she
was already showing magical potential.
The image left her, and the memory of it left her shaking in her black
leather boots. Unsteadily, swiping a
swig from the brandy bottle, Sarah made her way with uneven footsteps to her
bed. Sighing, she lay down beside Harry,
put her head on his shoulder gingerly, and laid a hand gently on his
chest. She was careful to avoid his two
broken ribs. Bruises marred his pale
skin, and his bones were showing.
Feeling the Mother in her awaken, Sarah set the brandy on the nightstand
after another healthy swig of it, and snuggled up tenderly to Harry, willing him to get better.

Her whole
body willed Harry to get well... get
better. She could feel it radiating
from her skin; felt her body warm up and his cold one suck it in and absorb it
like long-deprived of nutrition. She
turned off the lamp reflexively with her mind, and the room glowed softly with
the light of her healing will.
Gradually, slowly, Harry�s body began to warm. Sarah drifted off into a half-trance,
half-sleeping state and didn�t come out of it until the birds began to
sing.

HOGWARTS, the next day (Wednesday), in July of 1999,
Severus�s Chambers, 1a.m.

She slides over him, skin against skin, her
heart reflected in her eyes... eyes of purest and darkest violet. Her eyes are the most unique feature about
her�sometimes glowing with the brightest amber to be found, sometimes burnished
with browns and burgundies, other times raging fires of red. He loves her eyes.

He loves her hair too. Her glorious, fire-shaming, brilliant red
hai the the hair she lets down in cascades for him alone. Her roughly silken copper-red strands tickle
his nose and slide over his chest, just as she is tickling his feet and sliding
over his legs. Her hands, strong and
elegant, glide up his legs and her eyes sparkle green with mischief. Her body lives up to her eyes: she kisses his
neck, his chest; heano-ano-player hands working their magic on his
manhood. She reaches for his face,
stroking it; adoring it. She bends to
bestow a soul-wrenching kiss as she settles herself on top....

Severus
Snape awoke alone in his bed, and the silence that greeted him stole his
breath. The coldness of the dungeons
seeped into his bones, sucking the arousal and warmth from his body. He couldn�t remember his dream, but he knew
the dream too well to forget it.

He always
awoke from that dream so bloody damn alone.

ON THE ROAD FROM GATEWOOD TO THE BURROW, that same Wed,
Sarah�s truck, about 1AM.

She had
decided to take the truck to the Burrow, not only to reduce Molly�s
embarrassment, but also for the simple reason that, for all intents and
purposes (despite his obsession with and CONSTANT tampering), Arthur was a good
mechanic. And with the infamous twins at
his side he could have her truck back in reasonably nice shape within a day. Er, give or take.

She blasted
the Goo-Goo Dolls through her stereo. Long Way Down cut its way through the
air, just as she maneuvered her way viciously through traffic. She thought of Harry, and called the house to
check on him. Brian and Lady Bryn
assured her that he was still sleeping, and that Nadia was currently lying down
with him. That made her feel slightly
better. Giving an understandably clipped
good-bye to Tori, who had wrestled the phone away from Brian, she cut the
connection.

Impatient
with traffic, she went through maps in her head. �It helps to have a photographic memory when
it comes to geography,� she thought acidly, remembering terrain that she would
rather leave well enough alone in her memory.
Now decided, she turned sharply off the main drag and onto back country
roads which bore no speed limits and winding gravel through-ways where she
nearly hit some deer.

Sarah swore
heavily and creatively as she hit the brakes to avoid hitting the stupid
animals. Sighing deeply, she shook her
head before hitting the accelerator again after the dear had leapt out of
harm�s way.

�Dammit,
watch where the hell yer goin�! Or next
time you�ll be Animagus flamb�!� she
yelled to no one in particular, �More
time off my ass!� she muttered in afterthought, �Wonderful... simply
wonderful. Wizards as friendly furry
forest animals... what the hell will they think of next?�

The back
roads she knew so well aided her greatly in her journey. Glancing at the dashboard clock, she nodded
in some small amount of pride that her calculations had been fairly
accurate�she had, indeed, cut nearly three hours off of her journey in taking
the route she had. She filed that bit of
information away in her mind.

She fished
around in her purse for an herbal cigarette (she made these nicotine-free cigs
herself from an old family formula) and lit it.
She took a semi-comforting drag, not once taking her eyes from the
gravel one-lane she was negotiating. The
road twisted and turned in an erratic manner, and it was bumpier than hell.

She cut off
the Goo-Goo Dolls mid-song, and switched to an Orbital CD. Grateful for fewer words to distract her, she
let the techno beat thrum through her system.
Her chest vibrated with the bass, but the cigarette helped to ease the
pain. Taking a longer drag this time,
she hit a particularly nasty bump in the road and swore mildly. After much debate, she grabbed her cell phone
off its perch on the dashboard and dialed Molly�s number.

There was
no answer; the magically-run answering machine picked up instead. Sarah sighed, not sure if she was grateful
for that as well, or not.

�Molly, I�m
coming over soon. Expect me when you see
me,� she said, and hung up. It was
useless to say more; Molly would only worry herself to death over Harry before
Sarah had a chance to get there and calm her down. Sarah sighed, and began to make a mental list
of things to talk about and to be done.

And sooner
or later, she was going to give Dumbledore a piece of her mind... and she hoped
he choked on it!

HOGWARTS, 7:00 AM, Dumbledore�s office, that same day.

�I don�t
care, Dumbledore!� Sirius Black exclaimed angrily, �I don�t want him living
there anymore! Those Muggles are not
his family, as far as I�m concerned!�

Dumbledore
sighed, and began to clean his glasses on his robes.

�Calm yourself,
Sirius,� Remus Lupin said; placing a comforting hand on his friend�s shoulder,
�Getting angry will not help us get Harry.�
Sirius sighed in perfect imitation of Dumbledore, and his shoulders
sagged dejectedly. Remus�s heart gave a
sharp tug, and Dumbledore cleared his throat.

�Sirius, I
would once again remind you that it is not safe to bring Harry anywhere just
yet,� Albus said in a weary voice, �At least, not until we know where the leak
in the Ministry is. Until then,� he held
up a withered hand to stop Sirius�s comment, �Until then, it is not safe. I�m
sorry, truly, I am. Oh, Severus, do come
in.�

The tension between Sirius Black and
Severus Snape was almost palpable as the exhausted Potions Master entered the
Headmaster�s study. Sirius�s dark
chocolate brown eyes bore holes into Severus�s black onyx ones. Both men looked away at the same time,
leaving a thousand retorts and a hundred questions unsaid. Remus shifted slightly, uncomfortably, on the
couch he was sharing with Sirius.

�Headmaster,� Severus nodded in his
direction as he addressed his superior, and he sat down in a plush armchair on
the other side of Remus and closer to Dumbledore. His face was still splotched slightly with
bruises�he had run out of the potion that got rid of them. He sighed inwardly, realizing that it
would�once again�fall to him to make more.
As if he wasn�t busy enough already!

�Severus,� Dumbledore greeted him
warmly, if tiredly, �Some tea?�

�No, thank you Albus.� The thought of nutrition made Severus�s
stomach churn. �Nothing will warm my
body this morning... or my soul. Not
after that damn dream... that damned haunting, beautiful dream that I can never
have,� he thought.

�You look... better, er, Severus,�
Remus ventured to say. The pale man
constantly draped in black robes nodded curtly to him after a moment of
hesitation.

�Thank you, Lupin,� he said curtly,
and turned his attention back to Albus.
The old wizard nodded, and placed his spectacles back on his nose.

�Thank you for coming, Severus,�
Dumbledore started, �I appreciate you coming so early, especially with your
busy schedule. Sirius, Remus,� he
addressed the other two men, �We�ll talk more later. Now, if you would be so kind, pledo cdo check
on our contact list?�

�Of course,
Albus,� Remus said, pulling on a protesting Sirius Black and leaving the
room. Severus let out a heavy sigh that
coincided with the shutting of the door.
Only then did he let his shoulders sag in weariness... that was his only
concession to his tiredness, even in the presence of his one and only friend.

�What
happened, old friend?� Albus Dumbledore asked quietly. Severus sighed again, this time in
frustration, and didn�t move or reply for several seconds.

�I think he
knows, Albus,� he said, �I think he knows that we�re onto him somehow. He was... extra-vigorous in his... questioning
of me.� He didn�t see the sad look that
came into the old man�s eyes, nor the resigned nod he gave.

�Do you
think he suspects you as a spy?�

�I�m almost
positive. At the very least, he knows
that my loyalties to him are... no longer what they used to be.�

�I
see.� There were several moments of
silence.

�I think
I�ll have that tea, Albus.�

�Of course,
old friend... would you like lemon as well?�

�Something
stronger, if you wouldn�t mind, Albus.�

�Of course,
old friend.�

A/N: So....
what�d you think? PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE
review for me!!!!???? I live for that
shit! Let me know if I make a boo-boo or
if you like something or ANYTHING!!!!
Would you like to see something happen?
Email me and let me know!

meanwhile,
THE BURROW

Sarah
pulled her abused truck to a cluttering halt in the Burrow�s driveway. Beside her, in all its clunky glory, stood
the flying car that Harry and Ron had used in their second year. Nia had playfully dubbed it �Supercar� which
infuriated and embarrassed Ron to no end.
Sarah allowed herself to snicker quietly at the memory.

The front
door of the Burrow opened, and Molly came hustling across the lawn, her
housedress fluttering about her stocking feet.
Sarah�s sculptured lips quirked at how the yellow-and-gray striped
stockings contrasted humorously with the flowered dress pattern. She quickly gave this up when her lip split
again, and she tasted blood in her mouth.

Molly was fairly running to meet her, her wild rust-colored and
gray-streaked hair flying crazily out behind her. Before she could take ten steps, Sarah was
engulfed in a Molly-sized hug. It didn�t
take too much energy to keep a squeak of protest from spilling out of her
mouth�too many years of hiding injuries had made it habit.

Sarah allowed herself to be led
into through the front lawn and up the stoop.
However, she looked up as she passed through the gate, and the drapes in
Nia�s bedroom suddenly closed. They
swung for an instant, and then were still.
Sighing almost imperceptibly, Sarah drew her gaze back to the front
door. Molly didn�t need to know.

After permitting Molly to fuss over
her for a few minutes, Sarah gently rebuffed Molly�s efforts to feed her more
food. The rest of the family crept into
the kitchen in ones and twos, Nia arriving last and most inconspicuously. Sarah frowned when she realized that the only
recognition Nia�s family gave her arrival was a brief comment from Molly to
come to table sr.Ronald Weasley!� his mother scolded absentmindedly. Ron cringed when he heard his mother�s sharp
tone.

�Well, they do, Mum,� George piped
up.

�You should�ve seen how they
had him living the summer before his second year!� Fred added. Ron nodded vigorously. Sarah glanced at him
before catching Nia�s eye briefly.

�That was child�s play to what
they�ve done to him now,� Sarah said quietly.
She waited for that to sink in.
Nia refused to meet her eyes anymore, which had turned a dark, smokey
gray. Occasionally, a yellow spark
starburst amongst the charcoal irises.

�What have they done to him?� Molly�s voice was just a whisper. Percy hung his head in his hands. Sarah shifted her gaze from Nia to Molly.

�When I got there, they had already
beaten him badly. I got him to Gatewood
House as soon as I could,� she felt Nia briefly pierce her with a hot glance,
but ignored its implications, �Most of his injuries were a day or so old. There was a lot of internal bleeding. His bones have been set, and are healing
nicely... but he�s under a fever right now, so we need to be careful.�

Silence pervaded the Burrow. A person walking by the kitchen window would
have sworn the place was frozen in time, so still did the party at the table
hold themselves. Nia kept her bright
eyes on the tabletop. Sarah broke the
stillness when she brushed red hair irritably out of her eyes, jamming it
mercilessly back into her braid with more force than necessary.

�How soon can we see him?� �Have you notified Albus?� �How the bloody hell could they let something
like this happen!� �I told him
that Harry would be safer with us!� The
comments all came at once, like a torrent of rain from a cloudburst. Sarah took a sip of her water as the table
erupted into shocked chaos.

They stilled when she stood up,
unnoticeably wobbling for a split second on her bad leg.

�Harry is now safely living at Gatewood House from now on. I will
not have it any other way, seeing as his only other relatives are either
deceased or on the run from the law. I
am going to Hogwarts tomorrow to inform Dumbledore, since he is too pre-occupied with finding a leak in the
ministry to bother with anything else. I
give you my word, Molly; I will give him a piece of my mind. And I doubt
he�ll like it.

�But right now, my truck could do
with some repairing, and I believe that you have the right tools, Arthur. Would you be so kind?� Used to Sarah�s rapid change of subjects
after years of friendship, Arthur Weasley knew when the topic was closed. It was useless to argue with Sarah now. He sighed resignedly.

�Come on, Fred and George; let�s go
see what we can do. No doubt it�ll have
gone through World War Three. Percy, you
too,� he said rising from the table. The
boys got up and followed him out, leaving behind Ron and Molly. Nia had already left inconspicuously. Sarah muttered darkly about it in her mind.

�Is there anything I can do?� Ron
asked, looking pleadingly up at her, interrupting the morbid thoughts she was
holding inside. Sarah loved that about
him�he was so open and honest about things.
It was an endearing quality many people lacked these days.

�Inform the
Grangers for me. Use Percy�s owl�Errol
wouldn�t stand up to the weight of what has to be said. And Ron,� she gazed at him seriously, �Write
to Gatewood House. Write to Harry; tell
him how you feel. Errol can carry that
one.� The redheaded teenager nodded
pensively. Sarah offered him a quick,
soft half-smile which he weakly returned.

�Is Harry going to be alright?� he
asked in a timid voice. Sarah sighed,
and came around the table to kneel in front of him. Her knees protested this greatly, but she
ignored it. His warm brown eyes met her
dark gray ones directly. He radiated
concern for Harry.

�He will be if I have anything to
say about it,� she answered him gravely, �And I give you my word Ron, I have a lot
to say.� He held her gaze solemnly for a
long moment, as though assessing her very soul.
She almost shivered with the weight of it. �There is much power in this one,� she
thought with mild surprise, �I will have to keep an eye on him. He�s their seeker,� Brian said quietly. Nadia nodded slowly, not saying anything. She suddenly leaned over Harry, brushing his
sopping hair away from his forehead in a motherly way, exposing his famous
scar. She lightly brushed a soft kiss
over the lightning bolt, then straightened abruptly and left.

HOGWARTS, same Wednesday, 7pm.

Sirius Black had a headache as he
stared out from the balcony of the Marauders� old Gryffindor rooms. The dark gray, so dark it was almost black,
reminded him of her eyes... he shook his head to clear it when his heart
stabbed him painfully. It wasn�t safe to
contact her yet... no doubt she was still worked up about him being loose from
Azkaban.

�I wonder if there is anything we can do, Padfoot, old friend,� Remus said
sadly, his handsome face pensive. He,
too, stared out at the Dark Forest
in the sunset. He heard Sirius
sigh. '> One glance at the former
Marauder�s face told him all he needed to know: Sirius was thinking of Nadia
again. The werewolf echoed the escaped
convict�s sigh, propping his elbows on the balcony railing and resting his chin
in his hands. His prematurely-graying
hair tickled his ears in the wind.

�I have a headache,� Sirius stated
drearily, and turned away from the painful memory of Nadia, �I�m going to
bed.� Remus watched him as he crawled
into bed. He almost smiled when he
realized that it was the same bed that Sirius and James had alternated sleeping
in during their Hogwarts years. When he
remembered that it was also the bed that Harry usually slept in, his heart
contracted painfully. Remus shook his
head, deciding that he wasn�t ready for sleep just yet.

He left the balcony and headed down
the stairs and out of the deserted Gryffindor dormitories. His feet padded silently through the deserted
corridors as he walked aimlessly through the corridors of Hogwarts
Castle. The Great Hall�s ceiling was clouded and
misty as he ambled through it. All was
silent and oppressive.

He jumped when he saw that he
wasn�t alone.

�I couldn�t sleep,� he said when
Severus Snape pinned him with a stare that conveyed annoyance and something very near hatred. The man had always made him slightly nervous,
although he would never tell him that.

�And how, exactly, is that my problem?� Severus snapped impatiently. Remus gave him a passive look. The potions master shrugged stiffly, and
began to walk away.

�Severus,� Remus called out on
impulse. The black-cloaked man paused,
but didn�t turn.

�Do you know what Albus plans to do
about Harry, should we not find the leak?� Remus asked after a beat. Severus barely turned his head.

�If the headmaster has any such
plans,� came the soft�wistful?�reply, �I am unaware of them. Goodnight,
Lupin.�

�Goodnight, Snape,� Remus
sighed. �Why won�t you let anyone in,
Severus? Why won�t Dumbledore do anything?� he thought miserably. He wasn�t watching where he was walking.

�Damn!� he exclaimed, surprised at
his own usage of the explicative, as he accidentally stubbed his toe on a
bench. He sat down on it, rubbing his
foot in exasperation. He noticed with a
peculiar feeling in his gut that he was sitting at the Slytherin table. He looked out across the Great Hall. He stopped massaging his uninjured foot.

The Great Hall looked awfully big
and cold from there.

THE BURROW, that Wednesday night, Midnight.

�What happened?� Nia hissed at Sarah as she let herself quietly into
the room. Sarah closed the door silently
and turned to face the youngest member of the Weasley household.

�Keep your pants on, Virginia,�
Sarah snapped, jamming stray hair back into her braids, �I ran into some
trouble.�

�What kind of trouble?�

�The stubborn half-dead idiot
kind,� Sarah sighed, rubbing her face gingerly.
Virginia placed her hands
on her hips. She looked a lot older than
her fifteen years.

�Dementors, I take it?�

�Hole in one. Give that gal a cigar! I took care of it, but couldn�t risk
porting,� Sarah sat down on Nia�s desk chair, the back of it between her legs,
her head resting on its top.

�Too much interference?� Nia asked,
cocking her head to one side, regarding Sarah sharply. Her red hair, a few shades darker than
Sarah�s, fell into her eyes. She ignored
it.

�No�the rush of energy would have
set me off Voldemort�s radar like the Fourth of fucking July. I couldn�t risk exposing Harry like that, so
I drove the truck. Hence the fucking
damage Arthur had to repair today.�

�I see,� Virginia
said, her brown eye solemnly staring out into space for a few seconds. For one incredible second, Sarah almost
thought she saw a young Lily in her place, but Lily had startlingly green
eyes. Nia blinked, and the moment was
over.

�What do we do now?� she asked
Sarah.

�We keep our eyes open. Use any contact, any means necessary, to find
this Goddamn leak in the Ministry. Keep
this away from your parents; they have enough worries of their own.� Nia nodded, the moonlight coming through her
window casting a silvery, blurry aura around her body. To her, Sarah�s eyes had a feral, cold
quality to them. She shivered under the
weight of her stare.

�And watch where you portal to,� Sarah said earnestly, �I don�t like how
you�re popping about. It isn�t safe, not even for one so heavily warded
as you. It doesn�t matter that your
family doesn�t notice�you still have to watch
yourself. What I�m teaching you is dangerous,� Sarah continued, �It could
turn the whole magical community, including your family, against you. I�ve seen it happen... it isn�t something
that needs to happen. At least,� Sarah added, �Not yet, anyway.�

The two conspirators stared at one
another. Minutes past, and the ghoul in
the attic dropped some pipes overhead.

�You and your family will come back
to Gatewood House for the remainder of the summer,� Sarah said finally.

�Mom won�t go in for that,� Virginia
said, �And besides, won�t Dumbledore object to that as well?�

�Molly will come. Dumbledore will have a piece of my mind
before tomorrow is out,� Sarah stated confidently, �He may shun me like the
bloody frelling plague, but he knows
that I am needed now. He�ll have to
swallow his Goddamn precious fucking pride and accept my aide. He has no other choice, if we are to beat
Voldemort.�

�But you�ve been fighting behind
the scenes for years,� Virginia protested, �You mean to tell me that all thiime,ime, since he found you out, even after all has been said and done, that he�d
just��

�Dumbledore doesn�t like me.
He doesn�t like how I do things.�

Virginia
sighed. They were both so tired... but
they were both knew that one of them would always be awake.

�Go to sleep. We�ll make this right.�

The door closed quietly on the dark
figure of Harry�s savior.

A/N: Hi all! No,
this is flE>faaaaaaaaaaaar from over!!!!!!!! I just wanted to give you all an early
Christmas present. I wasn�t planning on
doing this, but I�m going home in five or six days (depending on how ya count
�em) and won�t have access to this story.
So Merry Christmas to All.... and to All A Good Night! (With manndernderful ahem Slytherin...
OR Gryffindor... dreams.... heh heh
heh)

GATEWOOD HOUSE,
Saturday night, approx. 9 p.m.

Sarah, Brian, and Magen had been
gone since Sarah had dropped off the Weasleys Thursday afternoon. Arthur had driven her truck back, and Molly
had supervised Floo travel. As soon as
she had been sure that they were safely occupied with Harry, Sarah had ordered
her sister Magen and Brian to prepare for a counter-strike. Nadia and Tori had put extra warding on the
e whe while Brian and she made a last-minute check on ammunition. Magen was careful to pack Sarah�s special
tea. When she wasn�t looking, Sarah
slipped painkillers, a small flask of vodka, and her herbal cigarettes.

They left, clad all in black and
weapons in their arms, just as Ron pelted down the stairs to announce that
Harry was having a seizure. Nadia and
Lady Bryn shoved him unceremoniouout out of the way, sending him sprawling into
Gabriel and Saskia�s arms.

�Go!� Gabriel shouted as he righted
Ron and headed up the stairs after Nadia and Lady Bryn.

�Kill some for me,� Saskia hissed
angrily at them, before she ran up the stairs towards Sarah�s room. Gabriel�s footsteps could still be heard
thumping loudly on the second floor... now he was on the third... With Brian
and Magen ahead of her in the kitchen doorway, Sarah hesitated.

�Move!� Adrienne hollered at them, motioning with her hands. Sarah whirled around and they marched
outside, dashing into their vehicles.
Magen�s black convertible, Brian�s gray Stratus, and Sarah�s black
Subaru screeched out of the parking lot seconds later. Nobody mentioned any destination or return
date.

So it was that from Thursday
afternoon to Saturday night that the residents of Gatewood House threw
half-expectant glances at the door whenever a car squealed its tires anywhere
near the house. Finally, at nine o�clock Saturday night, two cars could be
heard to pull loudly into the driveway.
Immediately, Nadia was on her feet and running towards the medicine
cabinet. Virginia
pelted down the stairs, tripping and catching herself on the wall on the bottom
landing. She skidded around to help
Nadia pull various herbs and meds from the cabinet as Ron, Molly, and Arthur
gazed on from the table in confusion.

The back door banged open, and
Brian and Magen came limping inside.
They supported each other, neither one of them really fit for doing
so. Blood seeped from several nasty
gashes across Magen�s forehead; her right ankle obviously favored, but her left
knee had a large purple bruise that was rapidly swelling; her left arm was
wrapped in a make-shift sling. Brian
leaked blood from his nose; his left ear was torn, trickling more blood; badly
bruised and swollen eyes made it difficult for him to see; his left leg was
broken and there was a nasty gash across his stomach.

Arthur jumped up to help and was quickly
joined by Tori, Adrienne, Saskia, and Chloe.
With great care, the two injured people were assisted to the table. Nadia and Virginia swooped down on them
instantly, bearing medicinal and herbal remedies. There was much wincing as peroxide made generous
rounds.

�Ouch! Goddammit, Nadia! Why the hell does it have to hurt so much!?� Magen complained.

�Shit, that stings, man!� Brian voiced.
Nadia clucked motherly at him, Virginia
hushim wim with a glare.

�If you weren�t such a goddamn
eager beaver when fighting, you wouldn�t have so many cuts and bruises and...
and... and WOUNDS!� Nadia shot back angrily.
Magen found the strength to snort.

�She gotcha there, Bri�OW, man, watch what the hell ya doin�,
girl!� she jerked away from Virginia, who promptly forced her head back into
reach and began dabbing it with more peroxide.

�We can�t have you making it home
the glorious heroine, and then DYING
from INFECTION,� Virginia snapped
impatiently. It was Brian�s turn to
snort, but he quickly turned it into a near-scream as his leg was set. There were no more retorts then, as the more
serious injuries were seen to. An hour
later, Magen and Brian were patched up and eating re-heated leftovers. Brian had to be fed his, since he couldn�t
see for his swollen-shut eyes. The morning promised to be calm, if
work-filled. At least I won�t have to work with Black, he thought with dark
approval. He downed more black coffee as
Black himself entered, Remus Lupin trailing behind him. Black, to Snape�s groggy and bitter amusement,
looked haggard and pissed-off. Lupin, on
the other hand, while haggard in appearance as well, looked as if he were dryly
amused at his companion�s irritation.
Severus wondered absently what the hell was going on between the two,
part of him dying to know so that he could torment Black about it. The other part of him just plain didn�t
care. He was about to put more food into
his mouth, when there was a great explosion at the doors to the Great
Hall.

Sarah decided not to give Albus any
warning at all when she entered Hogwarts.
As soon as she had left Brian and Magen, she had made a series of hops
and double-backs, making sure she wasn�t followed. Then she broke all hell for Hogwarts,
determined to set Albus back into his place.
Just who the hell does he think he
is, she thought heatedly. Her eyes
burned orange in her seething annoyance.
So, despite the time and day, she channeled her feelings and energy, and
exploded
into the Great Hall of Hogwarts. As the
fireball around her dissipated, she felt her whole body stiffen and tense with
the shock of the sudden loss of un-prepared for energy loss. But the stunned and disgruntled look on
Dumbledore�s face gave her grim satisfaction... it did NOT, however, lessen heood ood one bit. She glared at him through
her dark sunglasses. And... Oh shit, Sirius and Remus are here
too. Fuck, I wish that these things
didn�t always fall to me... well, at least I sensed them before I finished
portalling here! Dammit, Albus, you got
me exiled for exactly what you�re doing now...

�ALBUS DUMBLEDORE!� she yelled,
letting lose a fan of flames behind her.

Snape stopped his fork
mid-air. He was shocked at first by the
sudden and dramatic appearance of the woman who was virtually screaming at the
top of her lungs at the Headmaster. He
glanced from her to Albus, taking in the obvious mutual dislike they had for
each other. The woman was OBVIOUSLY
pissed about something, and Dumbledore wasn�t too happy about seeing this woman
at all. Who the hell is she, he thought, and how the bloody hell did she get in here? The
wards should have kept her OUT! I�ll be
talking to LUPIN and BLACK about this!
He watched in fascination as the imposing redhead marched quickly and
fiercely up to the head table, flames fanning out behind her like a brilliant
fiery peacock�s tail. He noted with
detachment that her eyes were flickering orange and red. He could FEEL herremereme anger.

�What do you want, Miss
Hawkins?� Dumbledore�s voice could have icicles forming above his head any minute.

�Oh, take your self-righteous
bull-shit and shove it up your ass, Dumbledore!� she snapped heatedly. Sparks
landed on the stone floor, smoldering as they were snuffed out into ash. There were stunned and angry faces all over
the table.

�Um... Sa-� Lupin started, drawing
Snape�s attention to the startling discovery that he seemed to be the only staff member present who didn�t know this
woman!

�Quiet, Lupin!� Sarah snapped, her
body feeling the flickering of flames like hot butties ies on her skin.

�I�ll say it again, Hawkins,�
Dumbledore stated, his voice disapproving and cold, �What do you want?� Sarah speared him with a glare to melt rock,
taking off her sunglasses to expose her orange-and-red eyes.

�What the HELL were you THINKING!�
she raged, swiping her hands over the table, sending plates of food flying into
the air, �Harry did NOT belong there!�
Several wands were suddenly pointed at her. She didn�t care.

�HARRY IS NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!�
Dumbledore roared, pounding his fists on the table, shocking Severus
greatly. Lupin and Black met Snape�s
gaze, and flicked back to Dumbledore�s face, turning red in anger.

�Albus, you sentimental old codger, are you
fucking insane! You�re so fucking blind, Albus,� she said in a dead
voice. The room fell silent. Apparently
nobody�s had the guts to swear at the old guy before, she thought with
removed amusement. She leaned menacingly
over the table, narrowing her eyes to solid red slits. �I told
you to send him to live with me! Lilly and James asked you to send him
to me! Why, Albus... Why didn�t you? Couldn�t you have swallowed your Goddamn
precious pride for once!

�Do you know what they did to him,
Albus?� she hissed. When he didn�t
respond, she felt her whole body grow rock-solid. She could sense everyone�s eyes on her. The flames flickered down to small red lines
of energy, zipped across the planes of her body. She was too used up for anything more spectacular,
though she would never admit to it.

�They beat him, Albus,� she whispered
in a voice to freeze flames in hell, �They put him in a bloody coma.� She drank in his shock and disbelief, knowing
that this was not the way for the others to find out, but yet knowing that she
had no choice. There was no time
left. This was the sacrifice she had to
make. I need to get the hell out of here and back to Harry!

�I don�t believe you.�

Sarah was taken aback by Albus�s
denial. She shook her head, her eyes
clearing to orange irises. After all
this time, after all she had done, he was still going to hate her. He simply could not forgive her for being who
she was. Not my problem, she decided.
She knew that the others were asking her questions; that Black was
almost yelling at her for answers, and Lupin was trying to restrain him.

�Harry is at Gatewood House,� she said to
Sirius Black, whom her old friend Remus had been restraining. They looked at each other for a long moment,
years of separation tumbling away from them, their contact of friendship
remaining intact. Shit, Nadia�s gonna flip when she sees him. She looked at Remus, her eyes finally turning
brown, willing him to understand. I need you, old friend. There is much to be done; it is time for you
to come home. It is time for a lot of
things. Damn.

�I�ll let Nadia know to make
space,� she said enigmatically to Sirius, before turning on her heel and
walking towards the Great Hall�s doors.
As she put her sunglasses back on, a flicker of black movement caught
her eye.

Severus felt the blood rush in his
veins when the fiery redhead made eye contact with him. Her brown eyes bore into his head, making it
thrum and throb with the weight of it.
Just as quickly, she looked away, and the moment went unnoticed by the
others. Who are you? Severus,� McGonagall was addressing him, apparently not for the
first time.

�What?� he said intelligently, for
once not receiving a retort from Black.

�We are planning what to do about
this horrible turn of events,� she said waspishly. Severus felt something in the pit of his
stomach turn.

�We leave and go to the Dursley
house ourselves,� he said matter-of-factly, �See for ourselves what really
happened.�

�Very good, Severus,� Dumbledore
said, awkwardly getting up from his chair, trying to avoid the mess that had
been left behind.

�Who was that, Albus?� he asked,
rising as well. Dumbledore stopped.

�Sarah Hawkins, old friend,� he
said stiffly, as if there were a bad taste in his mouth and he was too polite
to say anything, �An exile of the Magical Community. She is neither witch, nor wizard, and has no
loyalties...�

�That�s a crock of shit, Albus, and you know it!�

The entire teaching staff of
Hogwarts turned to stare incredulously at Sirius Black, who was seething in
fury. Remus Lupin was beside him, hands
tightly clenched and anger visibly beginning to get out of check.

�Sirius Black,� Dumbledore began,
but Sirius interrupted again.

�She is loyal to Harry! She is loyal to her family! She is loyal to her friends! Loyal to OUR CAUSE!�

�ENOUGH! Both of you!� McGonagall snapped sternly, �We
must get to the Dursley house immediately!
There�s no telling who�s right in this!
Harry�s life may be at stake!�

AUTHOR�S NOTE: And I think I�ll just leave it at that for
now. So.... what do you ppl want to see happen?
Any guesses as to why Dumbledore hates Sarah so much? What did she mean by saying that he had
gotten her exiled for doing exactly what he was doing now? C�mon, people.... REVIEW, REVIEW,
REVIEW!!!
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Unconquered