Harry Potter 1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: **All characters except for Melanie are not mine! *defeated sigh* J.K. owns them. Also i claim all rights to this plot! :)**

**Pairings: Sirius/OC, James/Lily, Remus/Tonk, and some others**

**Ok kiddies this is my first ever fanfic so please bare with me.**

**And PLEASE review! Flames are welcome I just want some feedback!**

**Enjoy!**

_"Thoughts"_

* * *

The sky was gunmetal grey, as were the streets and the buildings and the water that lined those same dreary streets; just a never ending world devoid of color. The scene looked like an old black and white film, everything thrown in darkness and contrast, people looking more suspicious, shadows more ominous. Yes, the metropolis of London, England was a city of dreary countenance, the nearly constant rains doing an effective job of depleting the radiance of the sun and diminishing any cheerfulness the celestial orb had emitted.

Wind whistled down the winding streets of the city, and as it was late fall, the trees were wilting, the grass shrivelling, and the air turning frigid in the unfortunate pedestrians lungs. Pedestrians like the frantic teen that now tore through the streets of the drenched metropolitan area, curses as well as angry drivers left in her wake.

"Bugger, Bugger, Bugger it ALL!", muttered Melanie Strider, dodging yet another car while she dashed across another street, the irate blare of a horn trailing after her as she doubled her pace. It was just her luck that her alarm clock would break while her parents were gone for the weekend. And it was just her luck that she had told her friends Lily and Remus yesterday to meet her at school today instead of coming to her house as usual. So, because of these stupid blunders, she was now involved in a frantic one man race through early morning London, praying to any and every god listening that she wouldn't miss the underground train to school!

And to make this morning perfect it was _drizzling._ Not raining, ohh no, just drizzling. Just enough to make her miserable because in her rush to leave she had forgotten her umbrella! Another mistake that served to make her Friday morning all the better because now her favorite T-shirt, dark wash jeans, and Converse were becoming damp and muddy, victims to the cold indifference of drivers and the fates alike. Yes the fates, because for the last sixteen years of Mel's life, they had laughed at her…and laughed…and laughed.

As if to prove some cosmic point, yet another car zoomed down a nameless alleyway, bathing Melanie in a sordid combination of mud, trash, and dirty water. "Oh come on! I know you saw me you bloody arse!", the pissed teen called after the culprit car, red tail lights disappearing in the gloom. Shaking her head both in disgust and in an effort to rid her hair of mud, Mel commenced her race once more, this recent set back just another in a string of disappointments and embarrassments that was her life. Melanie had come to the conclusion long ago that she had to be the most unluckiest person on the face of the earth! Hell, even her friends and family concurred as she was always embarrassing herself with her clumsiness! If the old adage of keep making that face and it will get stuck like that was true, than there was no doubt in her mind that she would be forever be cursed to retain a hue that would make a tomato green with envy.

But the universe wasn't heartless it seemed, for in an effort to make up for her anti-luck, the fates had blessed Melanie with good looks. Standing at an average 5'4, she was slim and lean with semi-long wavy brown hair, a pretty oval face, and bright startling blue eyes.

Eyes that were now narrowed in righteous anger.

The train that Melanie _needed _to be on in order to make it to school left promptly at 7:30 AM. Which usually wasn't it problem except that it was already 7:20 and she was still _blocks_ away.

"Come on, Come on!", she panted urging herself to go faster, lungs already screaming in protest at the frosty air that was being forced in an out of the sore organs with every laborious gasp. _"Shite I'm out of shape.", _the brunnete absentmindedly reflected as she skidded around another corner, her backpack smacking harshly against her spine, leaving an already sensitive bruise. _"Bloody perfect."_

A few eternities later, or that is what it bloody seemed like to the exhausted teen, the station loomed into sight and Melanie was forced to stop a block away due to congested traffic, a symphony of horns rising in the air as tensions escalated in the dim light of the rising sun. Bending over to catch her breath, Mel chanced a glance at her watch, a surge of hope blooming in her heaving chest. "7:28" she panted, wiping the light perspiration from her brow. "_I can still make it!"_

Waiting for the walk signal and still panting in exertion, Melanie let her gaze roam over her surroundings, her gaze randomly landing on a small alley to her left. What she saw within those shadows, however, froze her blood cold and would serve to change the world as she knew it.

Four men stood silhouetted in the gloom, black shadows in a grey world. Three stood to one side, like a pack of hungry wolves working together to trap their prey, or in this case the other occupant of the narrow passage who leaned with his back against the opposite wall. This would seem innocent enough, and usually Mel would not have thought twice of such a gathering, shrugging it off as some drunk blokes playing around on their way home from a wild night.

She would say that, except that one of the men held a gun, the metal glinting brightly in the sunrise as it aimed straight at the lone man's heart. And by their postures, it didn't seem like anyone was playing around.

"Any last words scum?" sneered the man with the gun, long blood hair fluttering in the stale wind that flowed through the tight space. "Any final endearments you want me to past on to dearest mummy?"

The other's response was to spit in the blonde's face, the gob of saliva tinted red as it slid down the soon to be murderer's cheek. Drawing back in revulsion, face twisting in hatred and disgust, the man clicked the safety off, the small sound alone like a gunshot in itself. "Fine. Go to hell."

Mel's brain was screaming _run, _every muscle in her froze body aching to carry her away from here but it seems the pathways connecting the two were down at the moment because her feet were cemented to the sidewalk, her gaze to the horrible scene before her.

Flashes of bodies and blood, gore and screams sped through Mel's mind, every image from every movie or TV show merging into one horror filled cinematic piece. _"This can not happening! This **is not** happening!"_, Mel told herself. She was just some girl. A sixteen year old who went to school and hung out with her two best friends every other spare second she had. She wasn't some…hero. However, denial only went so far and the last stop was when the blonde took his stance and placed his finger on the trigger. "_Bloody fucking hell! I'm about to witness a murder!_", was the only coherent thing Mel could think, fear and disbelief making her numb and stupid. But it seems that murder was some sort of primal trigger, because the next thing she knew, Melanie found herself in motion.

Not fully understanding what she was doing, the previously winded teen charged into the alley, a part of her screaming at her to stop unless she wanted that bullet in her own skin. But that warning was lost in a surge of pure adrenaline and instinct, the combination enabling Mel as she used all her might to shove a dumpster that had been resting at the lip of the alley towards the three men, catching them all by surprise as the slick metal slammed into them and pinned them to the grey brick wall behind them. Still truly unaware of what was happening, Melanie reached out and blindly grabbed the fourth man by the hand and yanked him out of the alley, sprinting across the still crowded street as the shouts of the three men followed after her, quickly drowned out by the renewed screams of car horns.

"_Fuck, fuck , fuck!", _she screamed mentally, fear finally catching up of her as her actions did, its sharp claws digging into her chest until she was sure she was having some kind of cardiac arrest. Frantically glancing around the station she had just stumbled into, terror filled blue eyes at last alighted on a departing train. _"Yes!" _Relief beginning to filter through her haze of horror, Mel yanked the young man across the platform and unto the train, pushing him into the first available seat. Like electricity, adrenaline kept Melanie upright, a current of terror as the potent endorphins spiralling through her bones made her heart race and her knees shake. _"Please go, go, go!" _she begged the train, the image of the wicked looking gun and the three thugs swimming in her mind. Wonder of all wonders, it seems the gods were listening, for in the next instant the doors closed with a hiss, filthy, smudged glass barring her from the platform.

And not a moment too soon for just as the train began to roll forward, Mel saw the three men from the alley dart across the platform, one even looking right at the train she was on. Fortunately, however, the train took off and the danger the men presented disappeared as Mel rounded the tunnel and sped off into the darkness.

As the adrenaline drained from her body, like the water from a bath, used and now unneeded, Mel's legs gave out and she slumped into the closest seat. Putting her pounding head into her trembling hands, her mind came fully back online, waking with a wrathful vengeance. "_What the HELL did I just do?_" she shrieked within the confines of her mind.

"_Well, you almost died for one. And two, you saved someone else from doing so.", _some random rational portion of her mind supplied. At the reminder that she wasn't alone in her great escape, Melanie shook her damp hair off her face and slowly looked across the aisle at the man she just saved, almost afraid at what she would find.

He was tall. That was the first thing she noticed as his legs nearly reached her in his slumped position. He also wore faded dark jeans, black boots, and a maroon T-shirt.

But these details paled in comparison to what she noticed next.

All of his exposed skin was bloody and bruised and judging from the spreading dark stains on his chest and the awkward way he sat, the covered parts of his body faired no better. Her gaze traveled upwards, taking inventory as she went along. He had semi-long black hair which was damp and hung in his face and finely chiseled features. But those features were distorted due to the black eye, split lip, bloody nose, and large gash on his forehead, pale skin smeared all manners of red, blue, and black.

And yet…he was still handsome, amazingly so. The unconscious observation made Melanie blush scarlet, the hue spreading down her neck "_Oi idiot! You almost bloody died and your taking a fancy __to this bloke?"_

Embarrassed, Mel was about to turn away when she noticed something that made her groan in disbelief and almost pain. He was _unconscious_. "_What am I supposed to do with an unconscious, bleeding, bloke?"_

"Shit!", she actually hissed out loud, running still shaking fingers through her tangled and wet hair. _"Can this day get any worse?" _

Looking at her watch, Mel saw it was already 7:50. She then glanced at the wounded stranger, thoughts whirling through her head at the speed of light.

She couldn't just abandon him, he could die. An idea blossomed in her mind. "_I'll just take him to the nearest hospital._" she thought triumphantly. But the feeling quickly died as she chanced the stranger another glance. Melanie knew that he probably wouldn't want to be taken to the hospital due to the shadiness of his injuries. A shiver of fear slid down her spine as her eyes roved over his bloodied form. "_Besides those men could be waiting at near by hospitals waiting to finish him off!"_

"Bugger! I guess I'll just have to take him home then."

Then a thought hit her. She couldn't take the train home because the guys from the alley could be waiting at the station. So that meant that she would have to get off at the next stop, haul herself and the stranger up to the street, (which was a challenge because he was twice her size!) hail a cab, and drive home!

"Son of a bitch.", she cursed loudly, then flushed as she realized she was shouting profanities in public. Lifting her head to see who was watching her, Melanie was shocked to find and empty car gazing back. "What the bloody hell….?"

Getting up, Mel moved to the front of the car and looked at the map and a second later, she wished she hadn't. "Oh bugger it all to HELL!", was the hissed expletive as irritation and anger joined with her lingering fear to create a volatile cocktail of emotions.

Melanie, in her desperation to get away from the blokes with the gun, had jumped on the closest departing train. Unfortunately, that same train brought them to the very outskirts of London.

Which happened to be _miles and miles _away from her home.

And to top it all off, the last stop coming up.

So here Melanie Strider was: wet, miles away from home with a wounded stranger, skipping school to help said stranger, her life mostly likely in danger for doing this, and she was going to have to spend all her hard earned money just to get them home!

A world weary sigh worked its way out of Mel's lungs and passed her lips.

Oh the fates were having a _riot_.

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**Good? Bad? I should never write again?**

**Please tell me what you think**


	2. Chapter 2

_Disclaimer: _**All characters except for Melanie are not mine! *defeated sigh* J.K. owns them.**

_Pairings: _**Sirius/OC, James/Lily, Remus/Tonk, and some others**

**Ok kiddies this is my first ever fanfic so please bare with me. ****J **

**And PLEASE review!! No Reviews no updates!!!! Flames are welcome I just want some feedback!! **

**Enjoy! **

_"Thoughts"_

* * *

_"What did I do to deserve this!?"_ Mel thought as the train neared the station. This thought had been running repeatedly through her mind, and Mel could still not come up with an answer.

_"Well this is YOUR fault. You didn't HAVE to help him.", _said the more reasonable part of her mind.

_"Well, that's just great isn't it! Curse my bleeding heart!"_ she hissed internally. Her friends and family had often teased her about it and now look where it got her!

Far away from home with a wounded, unconscious, STRANGER and not a clue what to do next that's where. Suddenly, the train began to slow down, and Mel realized that first she had to get them off the train somehow.

Cautiously, she got up and approached the prone young man.

"Umm excuse me.", Mel said while softly prodding the stranger.

Nothing.

"Excuse ME!", she said louder while shaking him.

Zip.

She groaned as the train came to a stop. Seeing as there was nothing else she could do, Mel lifted the man's arm around her shoulders, wrapped her arm around his waist, and hauled him up.

And promptly collapsed.

_"He's HEAVY!!"_ she thought with a scowl on her pretty face. _"The fates just can't make it easy for me can they?!"_

Groaning, Mel shifted the man until he was basically slumped on top of her. Then she struggled upright, and began to stagger of the train. After tripping over her feet and nearly falling unto the platform, she managed to get them off the train right as the doors shut and the train took off.

"I did it!" she panted triumphantly.

Her moment of triumph, however, quickly faded as she began to be jostled by people.

"Wha?" she said.

Looking around she saw crowds of people just shoving past her! _"Hello! Do you not see a young girl with a man that looks DEAD being dragged around by said girl?!"_

"Good old London" she said through clenched teeth, "full of helpful compassionate people." Grumbling angrily, Mel began to drag them to the steps.

When she arrived at the steps she felt like crying and throwing the man down.

_"Who in the BLODDY HELL put ALL these steps here?!"_ she thought, as she stared up what had to be the _longest_ set of stairs in the world.

"Hey! Move it!", someone shouted at her, shoving past and nearly knocking Mel off balance.

_"Damn people!", _she thought.

Growling, Mel began to drag her and her unconscious passenger up the MANY, MANY steps.

Mel pause halfway up, panthing and about to scream!

_"These people are purposely trying to knock me down!!"_ she thought as the millionth person shoved past her.

Finally, after struggling for fifteen minutes she reached the top. "_Finally. I did it!" _Mel happiness quickly evaporated as what felt like buckcts of freezing water were dumped on her.

"What in the bloody hell?!", Mel hissed and glanced up. The air was quickly pierced by Mel's shrieked of frustration and anger.

"You've got to be BLOODY KIDDING ME!!" she growled.

In Mel's time on the train the slight drizzle that had made her miserable before had now become a downpour. Glaring up at the sky, Mel limped towards the street to hail a cab.

After many failed attempts and many cars splashing her, Mel finally succeeded in hailing a cab. Opening the door, she dumped her "cargo" in the cab and slid in after him.

Mel saw the driver's eyebrows rise as he saw the man's body but he didn't comment on Mel's suspicious situation and Mel didn't either. "Where to?",drawled the driver.

"Harlington.", Mel panted.

"Harlington?!" the driver said incredulously, his eyebrows rising further. "That's on the other side of London!"

"I know where it is!" she snapped. "Just get me there as fast as you can!"

The driver's eyes narrowed. "Fine, but it will cost ya £175", he said.

Mel gaped. "You must be JOKING!" she gasped.

"Take it or leave it.", shrugged the driver.

Mel sighed and glanced at the man next to her, not liking what she saw. His wounds were still bleeding slightly and his breathing was shallow.

Mel spun and glared at the driver. "Fine! But step on it!" she snarled.

* * *

"Come on!" Mel hissed impatiently at the driver as he pulled up in front of her house.

In the half hour that it took to arrive at her house the stranger's condition had grown steadily worse. As the car came to a halt, Mel jumped out, hoisted the man up, threw the money at the driver and dragged the man to her door.

"Damnit." she cursed as she dropped her keys for the third time.

Finally managing to get the key in the lock, she got them inside and out of the rain. Dropping her bag and kicking off her shoes, Mel then hauled them both upstairs and into her room where she laid her "guest" on the bed. Sighing in relief Mel sat on the edge of the bed to catch her breath. Looking at the man she saw that he was pale and shivering. Also he was still bleeding slightly and his breathing was ragged. Reaching over, Mel brushed some wet hair off his face and gasped.

"You are burning up!" she murmured to no one. Deciding it was time to act she dashed downstairs to the basement.

As it so happens her father, Jacob Strider ,was a doctor and her mother, Kathryn Strider, a pharmacist. They owned a clinic/drugstore a few blocks away and they kept extra medical supplies in the basement of their home. Ten minutes later Mel ran back up upstairs with a first aid kit, bandages, sewing kit, and a bottle of cold medicine for the fever.

_"I'll have to clean his wounds first",_ she thought. So after setting all the supplies on the bed Mel struggled to lift the man up, her arms almost numb in their soreness. When she had succeded she quickly staggered to the bathroom.

Gently setting him on the floor, Mel bit her lip in hesitation. _"I know I have to strip him to clean his wounds…but I don't want to invade his privacy like that."_ she thought. Well, that's what she told herself. The truth was that Mel in all her sixteen years, had never had a boyfriend and she was extremly embarressed.

As if on cue, the man let out a violent cough and shuddered. Steeling herself against her insecurities, Mel knelt next to the stranger and pulled off his boots, socks, and jeans. Then sitting him up she gently peeled off his shirt leaving him in just his boxers.

"Oh God", she gasped as more and more of his skin was revealed.

His chest was a mess of scrapes, gashes, and bruises. Carefully, she picked him up (with a lot of effort) and sat in gently in the tub. Leaning him up she found that his back was in a similar condition as his chest. Mel then reached over and turned the water on, setting it on lukewarm.

Since she was a little girl, her father had been teaching her how to treat minor injuries, such as cuts, scrapes, small burns, etc, in hopes that she would one day follow in his footsteps. So even though there were more serious wounds than what she was used to, Mel was confident she could fix him.

Sort of.

"Ok relax, you can do this", she whispered to herself.

Shaking she grabbed a nearby washcloth and began to gently clean off the dried blood and dirt that was caked on to his skin. Mel began with washing his hair and face. Carefully massaging his scalp she found some minor bumps but nothing too bad. His face was a different matter. The nose was bloody but not broken, his eye was swollen and black but otherwise ok. The gash on his forehead, however, was a more serious wound because it was wide and deep. She moved on. The chest and back were more difficult to clean but once she finished she found that there were only three serious wounds, two on the back, and one on the chest, which turned out to be stab wounds. Though wide, the stab wounds weren't deep so she knew there was no internal bleeding.

"Now what is that?" Mel asked while inspecting his back.

There on his right shoulder was a mess of colors. First she thought it was some blood and bruises but looking closer she saw it was some kind of tattoo. Leaning closer she saw it was sort of like a coat of arms. A roaring golden lion rested on top of a scarlet background and underneath was a banner with the phrase "_Semper Fortis". _

Bemused her gaze traveled upward and landed on a thin gold chain. Inspecting it closer she found it bore the same symbol. She had been so focused on his injuries she had completely missed it.

"I don't have time for distractions." she said while shaking her head.

Mel drained the tub and began to dry him off. While drying his torso, Mel found a swollen and bruised area.

"Daamn" Mel whistled.

The swollen area turned out to be a result of a fractured, if not broken, rib. Gently picking him up she brought him back to her bedroom. Once there she examined the injured rib and concluded it was only fractured. Then she began to clean, close, and bandage the gashes on his torso and forehead. After twenty minutes of smearing anti-septic cream and bandaging his wounds, and also managing to get him to swallow some fever medication, she finished.

Now that he was cleaned and bandaged he looked much better. But he was still shivering due to the fact he only wore wet boxers.

"I can't do anything about those…but maybe…", Mel trailed off.

Walking over to the dresser, she began to rummage through her drawers.

"Aha! I found you!" she said victoriously after five minutes of searching. "I never did manage to give these back to Remus."

Going back to the bed, she managed to pull the old sweatpants over the man's legs.

"Remus was so short." she mused.

The pants were a couple inches to short but they would have to do. Mel then grabbed a spare quilt from the closet and draped it over his body.

"I did it." she sighed in relief.

Satisfied with her work, she sunk into the armchair in the corner of the room. Only to realize she was still wet. Groaning in irritation she grabbed some clothes and walked to the bathroom. Before she shut the door she glanced once more at her "guest". Sighing she shut the door.

"And I thought my biggest problem today was being late to school." Mel scoffed.

**

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**Good? Bad? Tell me what you think!**

***Stern glare* No reviews no update!!!!!!! **


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: _**All characters except for Melanie are not mine! *defeated sigh* J.K. owns them.**_

_Pairings: _**Sirius/OC, James/Lily, Remus/Tonk, and some others**

**Ok kiddies this is my first ever fanfic so please bare with me. ****J **

**And PLEASE review!! No Reviews no updates!!!! Flames are welcome I just want some feedback!! **

**Enjoy! **

* * *

"11:00 am" read the clock.

"It seems like a lifetime since I left this morning.", Mel sighed.

From her position on the couch she looked around her living room. It looked the same as ever. Average furniture, ugly drapes (in Mel's opinion) over a large window, medium sized telly, and pictures of her life scattered around the room. Everything was the same, oblivious to the dramatic events that had occurred. After she had finished fixing up the stranger, she had changed into casual shorts and a long sleeved T-shirt, pulled her hair into a ponytail, and cleaned up the mess she had made in her haste to help the man. When she was done she had checked on her "roommate" and came downstairs where she was currently trying and failing to relax. Shaking her head, Mel rubbed her temples trying to dispel the colossal headache she had suddenly obtained.

This stranger had drained her completely. Gone was the adrenaline from saving him and the anxiety over his injuries. Now her body was hit hard with exhaustion and her mind was frazzled.

Overall Mel was going, going, gone.

_"I need to stay awake." _she thought, her eyes beginning to droop. Yawning, Mel stretched out on the couch and pulled a spare blanket across her body.

"Maybe a few minutes…wouldn't….hurt…..", she trailed off as she fell asleep.

* * *

Mel opened her eyes and sat up. The room was empty and quiet.

_"So what woke me up?"_, she thought.

A sudden creak from a floorboard and a quiet curse had her whirling around, but before she could register anything, a large hand wrapped around her throat and shoved her against the wall. Mel felt the wall shake from the impact and could hear pictures falling and shattering around her but all of that was drowned out by the pounding of blood in her ears.

"Who are you?!", growled a deep, smooth voice. Still in shock, Mel remained silent.

"Answer me!", demanded the voice as the grip on her throat tightened painfully.

Gasping Mel's eyes flew open. A distant part of her mind wondered, _"When did I close them?", _but all thought process faded away as she looked into the eyes of her captor.

Mel was instantly mesmerized by the narrowed gaze that bore deep into her own. Stormy grey clashed with sapphire blue swirling together to give the impression of thunderheads. The anger flashing in his eyes and the rumble of his voice seemed to further the illusion, drawing her in even more. Mel was snapped out of her reverie when the grip on her throat grew so tight she couldn't breathe.

"What….are….you….doing?!", she managed to gasp.

"Don't play stupid! Who are you?!", hissed the man, still gripping her throat.

All Mel could achieve was an incoherent sputter.

"Heh. Who am I kidding? You're probably just some nameless Slytherin whore!", he sneered.

Rage instantly replaced her fear. _"How DARE he! I saved his life!!!!", _she thought. Without giving it a second thought, Mel launched her knee into his groin.

"Oomph!", he grunted as he lost his grip on her throat.

Seeing her chance, Mel scrambled away, retreating to the other side of the couch.

"AHH!", she yelped as white hot pain laced up her right leg.

Panting in pain and exertion she leaned heavily on the couch and looked down her leg.

When she had been slammed against the wall, picture frames had fallen and shattered leaving a minefield of sharp glass. Mel, in her panic, had not noticed the glittering shards and had sliced her foot wide open. Looking at her foot she saw the glinting shard sticking out and bright red blood pulsed around it and flowed down her foot. _"Oh God! I__ have to pull it out!", _Mel thought. Whimpering in pain, she reached down, and in one quick tug, yanked out the glass. Hissing through gritted teeth, she let the shard tumble to the floor.

"You will pay for that.", she heard the man threaten through the haze of pain.

Mel snapped her head up and saw him leaning against the wall trying to catch his breath.

"HOW….DARE…..YOU!", Mel panted, voicing her earlier thoughts." I…saved your….BLEEDING LIFE!".

"Not out of the goodness of your heart, I'm sure!!!", hissed the man. "You probably thought you would get some information by shagging me right!?" He chuckled darkly. "I almost feel sorry for you, you stupid slut! No one crosses Lucius and lives, you should know being his whore and all! You're dead."

"What in the BLOODY HELL are you talking about!?", Mel yelled hoarsely.

Suddenly he lunged across the couch and tackled her.

"Do you think I'm stupid? I know you're a Slytherin and here is the proof!", he snarled in her face as he yanked up the sleeve of her left arm.

His triumphant expression, however, quickly transformed into a confused one.

"What? It…should be here." he said bemused.

"You're MENTAL!", Mel shrieked while shooting her knee upwards. "Ugh.", the man groaned, rolling off her. Struggling up, Mel limped across the room always keeping him in her sights.

_"Oh God! This is GREAT! Just BLOODY FANTASTIC! I try to do a good deed by saving him and he turns out to be a hostile raving LUNATIC! Can't the fates give me a break?!",_ she thought frantically.

Panting, the man looked up from his position on the floor. The anger in his eyes had begun to fade, replaced by a guarded expression. "So you're **not **one of them?", he asked regarding her with narrowed eyes.

"One of WHO?!", Mel rasped exasperated.

"A Slytherin.", he growled.

"For the last time, I don't know what the HELL you are talking about!", she repeated.

"If you're **not** one of them, then who are you?! Tell me!", he demanded while he labored upright into a seated position.

Mel's eyes widened in anger. " How DARE…Who do you THINK…I can't BELIEVE", Mel sputtered enraged. "I save your BLEEDING LIFE, put MY life in danger, fix you up, then you ATTACK me for NO REASON and you have the…the…the NERVE!"

"Yes I do.", he interrupted mid-rant. "Now answer the question!"

"Sod off!", she hissed at him. Anger flashed in his eyes, once again reminding her of a storm. "All I want is your name. That's all.", he growled.

"Yea, well you can piss off because I **don't** give my name to **strangers. **Especially strangers who **attack **me and call me a slut and a whore.", Mel spat at him.

"You won't give a stranger your name but you will put your life at risk to save him and bring him, to what I am assuming, is your home?", he scoffed.

Scowling she turned away but always kept him in her peripheral vision. "Melanie", she reluctantly spat through gritted teeth. "Melanie What?", he asked impatiently.

Grinding her teeth in anger she turned to face him. "Strider", she growled. Suddenly, something flashed through his eyes but before Mel could tell what it was, it was gone.

"I've answered your question, now you answer mine. Who are _you_?", she asked.

He hesitated studying her, but then said "Padfoot."

"Padfoot? That's not a name!", she rasped angrily. "It's the name I'm giving you.", he shrugged. After a tense pause he began to struggle up. Mel jumped away and was instantly reminded of her injured foot she had forgotten by the white hot pain that shot up her leg.

"I'm not going to attack you.", he groaned slumping back to the floor. "Forgive me for not taking your word on it." she replied sarcastically. Mel eyed him critically. "What's wrong?", she asked suspiciously.

"You have a good kick.", he grunted. Confused, her gaze trailed down his body.

"Shit", she cursed.

In her anger and fear she had lashed out by kneeing him and had opened some of his wounds again. Padfoot reached up and gingerly pressed on the darkening stain on his chest. "Don't do that.", Mel scolded. "You'll only make it worse."

"Well are you going to help me or not?", he demanded. "Not if you're going to be an arse!", she growled. But already her resolve was weakening seeing the spreading stain. Mel regarded suspiciously.

"I don't bite.", he smirked. Glaring, she hesitantly began to limp towards him. Her foot was still bleeding but she did her best to ignore it and focus on the situation at hand.

"Can you stand?", she asked, still a good couple feet away. "If I could I wouldn't be asking for help, now would I?", he replied harshly.

Mel gritted her teeth and went through her options. After going through a number of options she blushingly realized she would have to hoist him up. "_So? You did it before_.", a small voice in her head argued. _"Yea, but he was unconscious and __**not**__ half naked!"_, Mel argued back.

Now that the fear and shock were ebbing Mel finally noticed his state of dress. The bandages covered most of his torso but other than that he wore only low slung too short pants and his own boxers. Still mentally conflicted she did not notice the deepening scowl on Pad foot's face.

"Hello? Anyone home?", he drawled.

Mel looked at him through untrusting eyes. "You're not going to try and attack me again are you?"

"Wouldn't do me any good, seeing as I can't bloody move!", he hissed.

Still wary, Mel approached him. When he made no move to harm her, she hesitantly bent down and wrapped an arm around his waist.

"What are you doing?!", he demanded.

"Trying to get your arse to the coach! Now shut up and put your arm around my shoulders and try to stand.", Mel instructed, slightly blushing. "On the count of three…one…two…three…UP.", she grunted as she dragged them upright. _"Déjà vu.",_ Mel thought bitterly as they lurched to the coach.

A few feet away Mel, being the unlucky person she is, slipped on the discarded blanket and sent them both tumbling to the ground with a resounding "thud".

"God! Don't you know how to bloody WALK?!", Padfoot growled in her ear, lying half on top of her.

"Oh piss off.", Mel muttered embarrassed as she attempted to get them upright once more.

Finally she succeeded in getting them to the coach where she set him down. "Wait here.", she instructed while turning away, but before she could take a step an iron grip on her wrist held her fast.

"And where do you think you're going?", Padfoot growled.

"Upstairs to get medical supplies.", she replied puzzled.

"Oh no. Do I look stupid to you? No, you will stay where I can keep an eye on you.", he hissed.

"I don't know who you think you are, but this is my house and I will do what I want!", Mel said defiantly as she attempted to tug her wrist free.

Padfoot narrowed his eyes. "No.", he said stubbornly as he tightened his grip on her wrist. Not intimidated, Mel met his glare with one of her own.

As the minutes of their glaring contest stretched, Mel couldn't help but study his face. On the train and while she was tending to his wounds she had briefly inspected his face but now she could see it in its entirety. Silky black hair that fell just sort of his shoulders and had a perpetual "just got out of bed" look, alabaster skin ,that despite the recent injuries, appeared smooth and flawless, elegant features that bordered on beautiful but still were unmistakably masculine, eyes, though bruised and swollen, remained alluring flashing with anger, lush pink lips that covered perfect teeth, and a strong jaw that was currently set in defiance. Overall this man, this "Padfoot", was the most attractive man she had ever seen.

"_GAH! What am I THINKING?! This guy is a __**stranger! And a **__**hostile arse **__**to boot! **__I should __**not**__ be thinking like this!", _Mel berated herself. Taking a deep breath, she began to analyze her situation. _"I'm not going to get anywhere if I just argue…but maybe if I put things into perspective…", _Mel concluded.

"Look", Mel said breaking the silence, "if I don't close that wound soon you're going to bleed to death and I can't close them without the supplies.", she rasped. "Plus I'm bleeding as well.", she added as an afterthought. Still he shook his head, but this time, Mel observed, it took him longer to refuse.

_"Gotcha.", _she thought smugly.

"If I wanted to hurt you why did I save you, clean you up and leave you unattended?!", Mel demanded. Her demand was met with silence. Growling she opened her mouth again but Padfoot beat her to it.

"Fine.", he relented. "But don't even THINK of trying anything!", he threatened, relaxing his grip. Rolling her eyes, Mel began to make her way upstairs, careful not to put to much pressure on her injured foot.

"_Who does he think he is?! I save his life and he repays me by attacking me and ordering me around! Its my house! God I can't believe him! He such an arse!", _Mel ranted to herself while gathering supplies. Still ranting and grumbling she made her way back downstairs.

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**Tell me what you think please!! I need some feedback!!!**

**Please!!! I just need a couple reviews!!**


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: **All characters except for Melanie are not mine! *defeated sigh* J.K. owns them.**

_Pairings: _**Sirius/OC, James/Lily, Remus/Tonk, and some others**

**Ok kiddies this is my first ever fanfic so please bare with me. And PLEASE review!! No Reviews no updates!!!! **

**Sorry on how long this took! My life has been HELL this last month! And I changed it up a bit and did this one is Sirius' POV because I wanted to make his thoughts known. **

**I would also like to dedicate this chapter to Erika!!! She's sooo amazing! **

**Anywhooo ENJOY! :)**

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"_Shit! Where am I?!", _was his first conscious thought.

The last thing Sirius remembered was sneering Malfoy shoving a damn gun in his face. Continuing to feign sleep he slit his eyes and slowly surveyed the room.

_"What the…?!", _he thought snapping his eyes open.

This room was unlike any cell he had ever been in! It looked like…a bedroom. But not the shit-hole apartments and hotels he was used to. It was a nice, clean, normal bedroom. And then the next thing he noticed made his heart stop and his breathing hitch.

He was alone…and UNBOUND!?

This made no sense! Usually there was a low ranking Slytherin, or a random whore, and in some extreme cases some Death Eater, but there was always some someone to watch him and there was ALWAYS some type of bondage.

But there was…nothing and no one.

Sensing no danger, but thoroughly confused, Sirius began to sit up. Only to instantly collapse back in pain. His entire torso felt on fire and his head pounded while his vision swum.

"Fuck!", Sirius panted.

After catching his breath, Sirius slowly propped himself on his elbows and looked down his body. Pristine white bandages covered his chest and a pair of old sweat pants covered his legs. This only furthered his confusion. Normally when captured he was left to bleed and fester, he was never tended to. Also he only vaguely remembered the beating he received from Malfoy and his cronies but he didn't remember the capture or the bandaging at all.

_"I must of passed out then right after the beating. Otherwise I would remember the more."_, he concluded.

"_The capture…..Oh BUGGER! James is going to KILL me!",_ Sirius groaned mentally.

Sirius never really could keep his mouth shut. Whatever he was thinking usually came straight out of his mouth. So that being said, his best friend had warned him that if he went spouting his mouth off and getting captured **again **he was going to beat the shit out of him! And he **really** wasn't looking forward to that.

Getting back to the situation at hand, Sirius began to come up with his escape plan. Wincing he quickly threw his legs over the side of the bed.

"BLOODY HELL!", he grunted.

Pain seared through his body, licking like white hot flames making him waver slightly. Once the room had stopped spinning, Sirius cast his eyes around the room looking for his clothes. The clothes weren't important, he knew there would be no weapons because he could distinctly remember Malfoy taking them all in the alley way and even if he didn't no one could be so daft as to leave them in there. But he still didn't want to run around London half naked. Unsuccessful, Sirius hauled himself up, painfully staggered to the window, _("With no bars", _he noted bemused.) and peeped out.

"Damn it!", he muttered. Sirius saw that he was at least two stories up and jumping from this height with his injuries would not be the smartest thing to do.

"_So out the front door it is!"_, he thought bitterly.

_"Oh that will end ever so well!", _the small voice at the back of his head replied sarcastically.

This voice (aka his conscience) had faded over the years due to his…"activities" but still managed to hang on with nagging persistency. Ignoring the voice as usual, Sirius began to search the room for anything he could use as weapon.

"Bugger.", he growled after minutes of fruitless searching.

Groaning in pain and exhaustion he leaned on a desk for support and his eyes fell upon a photograph. He'd never seen personal affects at a Slytherin "house" before. Curious he picked it up and examined it closely.

The photo showed a close-up of three laughing teens, two girls and a boy, all around his age. What was strange was these teens looked sincerely happy and carefree; a look he hadn't seen in years. The girl on the left had fiery red hair, freckles across her nose, a wide toothy grin and sparkling emerald eyes. The boy beside her had light brown hair that fell into his amber eyes, a shy smile, and a handsome thin face baring a few light scars. The girl on the right, however, was who drew Sirius' attention. Giving his "family'', his profession, and his looks, Sirius had seen his fair share of beautiful people. But there was…something about her. Rich chocolate locks framed a pale oval face. Lush pink lips stretched over perfect white teeth in a smile that lit up the picture. But her eyes…her eyes drew him in. Starling blue eyes, like the sky on a clear day of a summer afternoon seemed to look into him. Pierce him. They seemed to be laughing, alive even, captured in this glossy picture.

Somewhere a grandfather clock rang out shattering the silence and startling Sirius from his thoughts making the photo slip from his grasp back onto the desk with a loud clatter. He froze, inhaling sharply waiting for someone to come barging in and beat him again. For minutes Sirius stood there, rigid and tense, but it became clear no one was coming.

"_You're gonna get yourself caught you daft git!", _he berated himself.

Taking one last glance at the photo, he shook his head and cautiously approached the door. Carefully he leaned against the it, pressing his ear to its surface, listening for any sign of life. Nothing.

"_What in the HELL is going on here?!", _he wondered.

Still sensing nothing, Sirius reached for the door knob and slowly turned it. When nothing happened, he warily inched open the door and peeked out into the hall. "_No guards, no chains, no locks, no cameras…what is this place?!"_, he thought bewildered.

Gingerly, Sirius slipped out the door and quietly shut it behind him. Glancing around he stealthily moved down the hall, years of training and similar sticky situations enabling him to make no noise whatsoever. At the end of the hall was a flight of stairs which Sirius, after a fast survey, quickly descended.

_"Fuck, Fuck, Fuck!", _was his silent mantra as each step sent fire through his veins.

At the bottom he paused for a moment to catch his breath and observe his surroundings. He seemed to be in an entryway. In front of him, to his right, and down a short hallway behind him, were doors. With a jolt Sirius realized the door ahead of him was the front door!

_"Home Free!", _he joyfully thought.

As Sirius reached the door, a quiet groan from his right made him freeze.

_"Leave it!", _he screamed internally. _"But someone could need your help!", _his conscience retaliated. _"No.", _he stiffly argued back. But another groan weakened his resolve. _"Ugh! Fine! Just one click look!"_, he relented. Sirius quietly made his way to the door.

_"I must be MENTAL!",_ he thought shaking his head as he slowly opened the door. Sirius was half expecting some type of cell or torture chamber, but his gaze was greeted with a…living room.

Average furniture, ugly drapes over a large window, medium sized telly, and pictures scattered around the room. Cautiously, he took a step into the room.

CREAK!

_"Aw HELL!", _he mentally cursed. A dark head quickly popped over the edge of the sofa but whoever it was facing the other way. _"Idiot! It's a trap!", _Sirius realized. He quickly tried to retreat but the floorboard creaked loudly once more.

"Shit!", he muttered as the person whipped around to look at him. What happened next was a blurred rush of adrenaline and survival instincts. Sirius lunged towards the person, wrapped his hand around their throat, and shoved them against the nearest wall.

"Who are you?!", Sirius growled, anger and curiosity forcing the question from his lips.

When he was met with silence, he tightened his grip and demanded they answer. _"Bugger! I've really done it now! I couldn't leave it alone could I?!",_ Sirius scolded himself.

While he continued his mental reprimand, eyes, inches from his own, snapped open and silenced all internal babble.

Sirius instantly recognized the striking blue eyes that locked on his own. The same eyes that he had been admiring just moments ago in the picture of the laughing teens were now right in front of him, captivating him. Emotions danced and swirled in the clear pools of ice that were her eyes.

Eyes that reminded him of a simpler time, an innocent time; before the war.

This last thought woke him up with a vengeance.

_"What the BLODDY HELL are you doing?! Focus!" he internally shrieked. _

In his anger he didn't notice the tightening of his grip. Sirius did however notice when she began to talk. "What….are….you….doing?!", was the gasped message that reached his ears.

_"As if she doesn't know.", he thought sarcastically. _"Don't play stupid! Who are you?!", he hissed. _"She's probably just some random whore of Malfoy's." he thought in the back of his mind. _

And he told her just that. Sirius expected he had touched a nerve when he saw the fear in her eyes replaced by rage. He didn't expect the knee to the groin though. The force knocked the breath out of his lungs and caused his grip to slip. Instantly the girl sprung away from him. As Sirius leaned against the wall he heard a yelp of pain and turned just in time to see the girl yank a bloody sliver of glass out of her foot and drop it on the floor.

"You will pay for that.", he threatened her. The teen snapped her head up and looked at him with a mixture of disbelief and anger.

"HOW….DARE…..YOU! I…saved your….BLEEDING LIFE!", she panted.

_"Playing the good Samaritan! Does she think I'm stupid!? I know in a few minutes this place will be crawling with Slytherins!", he thought angrily. _

"Not out of the goodness of your heart, I'm sure!!!", Sirius hissed at her. Then a realization hit him. "You probably thought you would get some information by shagging me right!?" He chuckled darkly. "I almost feel sorry for you, you stupid slut! No one crosses Lucius and lives, you should know being his whore and all! You're dead."

"What in the BLOODY HELL are you talking about!?", the girl yelled, still playing innocent.

_"I'm tired of these games!", he thought fiercely. _

Suddenly, Sirius lunged across the couch and tackled her. "Do you think I'm stupid? I know you're a Slytherin and here is the proof!", he snarled in her face as he yanked up the sleeve of her left arm. _"That will put an end to her innocent charade!", _he thought, looking for the familiar green snake.

He knew that she wasn't a Death Eater for few girls were, so he didn't expect to see the Dark Mark. But all Sirius saw was smooth, pale, unblemished skin.

"What? It…should be here." he said bemused not realizing he spoke out loud.

"You're MENTAL!", she screamed in his face and then Sirius felt searing pain as her knee collided with his chest.

A groan of pain slipped from his lips as he rolled of to the side. Sirius heard her stagger across the room from his position on the floor. Even though he was in horrible pain his mind was running a mile a minute.

_"What the Hell?! I don't understand. The snake should be there! Every Slytherin has the snake as every Griffindor has a lion. But she doesn't. Then the only explanation is …she's not a Slytherin?_"

The anger began to fade replaced by suspicion. "So you're **not** one of them?", he asked regarding her with narrowed eyes.

"One of WHO?!", she asked in confusion and exasperation.

_"Can she really not know?", _Sirius thought incredulously. "A Slytherin.", he growled.

" For the last time, I don't know what the HELL you are talking about!", she repeated.

"If you're **not** one of them, then who are you?! Tell me!", he demanded while he labored upright into a seated position.

"_Even if she's not a Slytherin, it doesn't mean she's not dangerous!", _he thought_. _Sirius watched as her eyes widened with anger.

" How DARE…Who do you THINK…I can't BELIEVE", she sputtered enraged. "I save your BLEEDING LIFE, put MY life in danger, fix you up, then you ATTACK me for NO REASON and you have the…the…the NERVE…!"

"Yes I do.", he interrupted mid-rant. "Now answer the question!" _"I need to know now and her attitude is starting to irritate me!", _Sirius thought.

"Sod off!", she hissed at him.

Anger boiled in his blood. _"Really starting to tick me off!", _he growled mentally. "All I want is your name. Its not much.", Sirius growled.

"Yea, well you can piss off because I **don't **give my name to **strangers. **Especially strangers who **attack **me and call me a slut and a whore.", she spat at him.

_"Boy does she have temper!", _Sirius observed distantly. "You won't give a stranger your name but you will put your life at risk to save him and bring him, to what I am assuming, is your home?", he scoffed. _"I really don't understand her.", _he thought. And that was unusual because Sirius was normally good at reading people. _"But then again what has been normal today?", _he thought sarcastically. The girl scowled and looked away.

"Melanie", she reluctantly spat through gritted teeth.

"Melanie What?", he asked impatiently. Grinding her teeth in anger she turned to face him.

"Strider", she growled.

Sirius felt his eyes widen. _"What?! No… it… it can't be! There's no way! But that name... ", _he thought shocked. Oblivious to his surprise the girl, Melanie, continued to talk.

"I've answered your question, now you answer mine. Who are _you_?", she asked.

_"I can't give her my real name so she will just have to settle with my nickname.", _he concluded. "Padfoot", Sirius said after a moment of hesitation.

"Padfoot? That's not a name!", she rasped angrily, glaring at him.

_"And there's that temper.", _Sirius thought, amused. "It's the name I'm giving you.", he shrugged. After a tense pause he began to struggle up. Melanie jumped away and immediately winced due to her injured foot. "I'm not going to attack you.", Sirius, groaned slumping back to the floor as pain flared up his torso.

"_Damn. She got me good with that kick.", _he thought.

"Forgive me for not taking your word on it." she replied sarcastically. After a moment began to scrutinize him. "What's wrong?", she asked suspiciously.

"You have a good kick.", Sirius grunted. _"A damn good one!", _he added mentally.

With a puzzled expression she looked over him. When she finally saw what she had done she cursed and looked slightly guilty. Wincing he reached up and pressed on his chest, trying to gauge the wound.

_"Fuuuck.", _he groaned internally.

"Don't do that.", Melanie scolded. "You'll only make it worse."

_"What is she? My mother?", _Sirius griped. Irritated and in pain he snapped at her. "Well are you going to help me or not?"

"Not if you're going to be an arse!", she growled back. But Sirius could see her will weaken in her clear expressive eyes. Since he was already looking in her eyes he saw the suspicion flare.

"I don't bite.", he smirked. He couldn't resist baiting her. Melanie glared at him but began to limp her way over.

Sirius felt a slight tinge of guilt noticing her injured foot but shoved it away. "Can you stand?", she asked, still a good couple feet away. _"Well that was a stupid question!", he thought angrily. _

" If I could I wouldn't be asking for help, now would I?", he replied harshly not being able to contain his anger or keep his mouth shut. _" I can see what James meant by that now." _

Melanie studied him for a moment and blushed. _"Why is she blushing?", _he wondered. But then he realized he was half-naked. Feeling terribly smug Sirius waited for her to do something.

And waited.

And waited.

Getting impatient he finally broke the silence.

"Hello? Anyone home?", he drawled. Looking untrusting she asked if he would attack her again.

"Wouldn't do me any good, seeing as I can't bloody move!", Sirius hissed unable to control his irritation again. Cautiously she made her way towards him and after a brief hesitation bent down and wrapped an arm around his waist.

Shocked he demanded what she was doing. "Trying to get your arse to the couch! Now shut up and put your arm around my shoulders and try to stand.", Melanie instructed, slightly blushing. "On the count of three…one…two…three…UP.", she grunted as she dragged them upright and began to drag them towards the sofa.

Sirius felt awkward but let her do it because he grudgingly admitted he needed help. A few feet away Melanie slipped on the discarded blanket and sent them both tumbling to the ground with a resounding "thud". Pain soared threw his body and his foul mood doubled.

"God! Do you know how to WALK?!", Sirius growled at her. . "Oh piss off.", Melanie muttered and finished getting them to the couch.

"Wait here.", she instructed while turning away but Sirius grabbed her arm preventing her from moving.

"And where do you think you're going?", Sirius growled.

"Upstairs to get medical supplies.", Melanie replied in a confused tone.

"Oh no. Do I look stupid to you? No, you will stay where I can keep an eye on you.", he hissed. _"Just cause she isn't a Slytherin does not mean she won' hurt me!", _he thought. _"But she could just want to help!", _his conscience supplied_. "You stay out of this! You got me into this!",_ he fired back.

Melanie's eyes flashed. "I don't know who you think you are, but this is my house and I will do what I want!", she said defiantly as she attempted to tug her wrist free. Glaring, he refused. Melanie jutted out her chin and met him glare for glare.

As they continued their battle of wills, Sirius couldn't help but survey her. In the rush of hostility and adrenaline he hadn't had time to study before but now that he did he came to the conclusion that the picture from earlier did her no justice. Her rich wavy chocolate hair was smooth and look silky to the touch, smooth creamy skin which was now flushed in emotion was stretched over delicate features, rosy lips which were curled into a scowl covered perfect whit teeth, and her eyes…her eyes were stunningly brilliant and showed every emotion. They seemed to look into his very soul.

Sirius found this unnerving. Something about her drew him in; made him want to be close to her and he didn't like that. Sirius was drawn from his musing by the sound of her voice.

"Look", Melanie said breaking the silence, "if I don't close that wound soon you're going to bleed to death and I can't close them without the supplies.", she rasped. "Plus I'm bleeding as well.", she added almost as an afterthought.

_"Well mabey...NO I cant risk it!", _he thought while shaking his head.

"If I wanted to hurt you why did I save you, clean you up and leave you unattended?!", Melanie demanded angrily.  
_"She's got a point. And I am bleeding badly…and she is to." _he sighed. "_…fine". _

Growling Melanie opened her mouth _("No doubt to yell or argue)_ but Sirius beat her to it. After relenting he threatened her to not even think of trying anything and with a scowl and a roll of her eyes she limped upstairs. The minute she was out of sight Sirius urgently looked for a weapon. _"Ah Ha!", _he thought triumphantly as he saw a pair of scissors on the table. Painfully he snatched them and hid them in the pocket of the sweat pants. _"And now we wait.",_ he thought turning to look at the stairs .

**Review please!**


	5. Chapter 5

**OMG! Im sooo sorry about the loooooong wait! Life has been a complete and total bitch! I swear teachers try to kill us. Its a sadistic pleasure!**

**Anywhoo here is Ch 5, its pretty long.**

**AND i would like to dedicate this ch to Erikita! Luv ya! ;)**

**Enjoy!**

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Still muttering and complaining under her breath, Mel arrived at the foot of the stairs. Slowly, like an ebbing tide, her anger disappeared, replaced by a strong wave of anxiety that made her falter in her steps.

"_Ok take a deep breath. Everything is just fine.", _she tried to convince herself.

"_**Oh yeah, everything is just peachy. There is just a HOSTILE LUNATIC in the living room! No big deal." **_replied the more cynical part of her mind. Mel did her best to ignore it.

"Ok. I can do this…I have to do this." And before she could argue with herself anymore, she strode into the living room.

"About time! God, what were you doing? Making the meds?", Padfoot complained as he glared at her.

Mel felt her anger return.

"Sorry to make you wait sir. Please forgive me Your Highness.", Mel retaliated, bowing mockingly in his direction.

At once, Padfoot's face darkened further with a look akin to fury. But before she could decipher it, it disappeared. A blank expression took over his face and silence stretched between them.

"_Hmm, what's got into him? Well more than usual anyway.", _Mel could not help but wonder as the minutes ticked by.

"Well are you going to stand there all day or what?", Padfoot snapped.

Rolling her eyes, Mel slowly made her way to the couch, careful to avoid the field of sharp glass. With effort, Padfoot stood up from the couch, keeping his eyes locked on her approaching figure.

"I don't know why you got up. I wasn't going to attack you know." Mel sat on the end of the couch with an annoyed scowl. Padfoot did not say anything but warily sat on the opposite side of the couch, as far way from Mel as he could get.

"How the hell am I going to help you if you are all the way over there?" Padfoot glared and began to scoot slowly towards her.

Inch by inch.

Fed up, Mel just slid the rest of the way across the couch until they were side by side. Padfoot instantly tensed up and his hand shot towards his pocket. Mel froze and showed her hands in a calming gesture.

"_Wow. He's like an injured feral dog. I'll have to be careful or he might lash out again." _Her throat throbbed as that last thought.

"Look I'm not going to hurt you alright? I'm here to help." Padfoot hesitated but then relaxed a little. Mel began to unload the first aid kit, albeit a little slowly. "Ok, I have something that will surely clean up that wound, but it might sting a bit."

The yells of a young man ripped through Mel's house, echoing.

"Bloody Hell! Stop pouring that acid on my skin!"

Padfoot had kept quiet the first time the rubbing alcohol touched his wound, but after a good amount spilled onto his chest due to Mel's clumsiness, he unlocked his jaw and let loose a scream of pain.

Alarm rose in Mel.

"Don't be such a baby! And shut it, or the neighbors are going to think I'm murdering someone!", Mel hissed, keeping her eyes on his wound. "And stop glaring at me, I'm doing this to help you.", Mel muttered, feeling his glower.

Minutes passed in silence as she cleaned the gash, broken by the occasional hiss from Padfoot.

"Alright, now I just have to sew it up." As she reached for the needle and thread, a familiar iron grip surrounded her wrist.

"What?", she asked, irritation seeping into her voice. "I have to close it."

"You are crazy if you think you are coming anywhere near me with a needle!"

"What is your problem?"

"My problem is that some cheeky little girl is trying to stick a needle in my skin when she probably doesn't know what the bloody hell she is doing!"

"For your information, I'm 16 and my father has been teaching me how to stitch wounds since I was 8!"

"You must think I'm simple if you think I'd actually believe that bollocks!"

Mel swelled with anger. "Fine! I'll just tape it! Is that ok with you, Your Majesty?", Mel spat. Her voice oozed with enough acid to rival the rubbing alcohol.

Just like before, Padfoot's face darkened and his grip on her arm grew tight. But once again, it was gone in a flash. With a neutral expression that revealed nothing, he gave a curt nod and released her arm. Mel snatched it back. While she massaged her wrist, Mel glanced up at Padfoot's face through her lashes. But his stormy eyes were as inscrutable as ever. Feeling just a tad bit ashamed at the way she acted, Mel began to search through the mess that littered the couch, nearby table, and floor for the medical tape.

"Damn it! Where are you?", she growled. As she searched under what had to be the hundredth piece of tape she heard an impatient sigh. She spun around, ready to tell Padfoot that he could _help_ her instead of just sitting there, when she felt something land in her lap. Glancing down, she found the small roll of evil tape that had been eluding her for the last few minutes. Embarrassment flooded her face as she muttered a low "Thank you."

If Padfoot heard her whispered gratitude, he didn't show it. Still embarrassed at her blindness, Mel began to tear the tape into small strips that wound hold the edges of his wound together. "This is going to hurt." Mel warned. Padfoot didn't even glance at her. "_Fine! If he wants to be like that so be it!"_

**Tick tock, tick tock, tick tock. **

This had been Mel's only escape from silence for the last 15 minutes! Well that and…

"Damnit!", Padfoot hissed as Mel's clumsiness caused her to brush his wound AGAIN!

"Sorry, Sorry!" But other than these few words…, well more swear words on Padfoot's part, but other than that , Padfoot hadn't spoke a word to her. Hadn't even looked at her.

"_Why do I care?", _she wondered.

_"Apologize!", _her conscience said for the millionth time.

_"No! Why the bloody hell should I? I did nothing wrong! He is the one who is being an ARSE!" _

_"Take the highroad! Be the bigger person!" _

_"No!", _Mel replied, like a petulant child.

But her conscience continued to nag until she broke. _"ALRIGHT! I'll do it!" _Biting her lip, a nervous habit she had since she was a child, Mel glanced up, apology on her tongue. But one look at Padfoot's stoic face and she lost her nerve. Sighing, Mel stared at her hands as they applied one of the last pieces of tape.

Or tried to.

"Son of A!", Padfoot swore, jerking away from her unsteady hands.

"Sorry, Sorry! Im almost done." Silence prevailed again.

**Tick tock, tick tock, tick tock.**

"Lookimsorryok?"

The words fell out her mouth in a jumbled mess. Padfoot looked at her in disinterest.

_"Be the bigger person!" _Taking a deep breath Mel tried again.

"I said I'm sorry ok? I'm sorry I snapped at you."

"Hnn.", was all the response she received.

_"What a prick! Here I am trying to apologize and he just shrugs me off!" _She jerked her head up, insult on her lips when she saw his face. A small smirk played across his lips and amusement twinkled in his eyes. _"He's playing me!" _Her face darkened and Padfoot's smirk grew. Suddenly an idea formed in her mind and her scowl melted into a smirk to match Padfoot's.

A shout of pain spewed from his lips as Mel "accidentally" pressed on his wound. Mel widened her eyes, going for the innocent look.

"Oh I'm sorry! Did that hurt?" Padfoot glowered at her, looking menacing. But the effect was suddenly broken as a loud rumble filled the room. Padfoot blinked and looked down in astonishment.

"Sounds like someone is hungry.", Mel said, gesturing to his stomach. Another loud growl answered her question. A smug smile settled on her face. "Ok. I'll start making something to eat while you pick up this mess." She motioned at the medical supplies and the glass that covered the floor. Padfoot stared at her in disbelief.

"What? This mess is your fault. So you can at least clean up." With that, Mel began to stand but she wasn't surprised when his hand closed around her wrist once more.

"You know, this me-trying-to-do-something-and-you-saying-no-and-grabbing-my-wrist bit is getting kind of old.", Mel sighed as she sat back down. "What does His Majesty disapprove of this time?" Padfoot glared at her.

"I was going to say you might want to do fix up your foot because you're bleeding on the carpet.", Padfoot drawled smacking her foot. Pain shot up her leg.

"OW!"

Padfoot's smirk had returned.

* * *

The smell of food wafted through the house. Mel could be found limping back and forth in the kitchen trying to make a decent lunch without crashing into something. This task was not so easy with someone watching her like a hawk. Padfoot stood next to the stove, watching her **every**move.

_"Paranoid much?", _Mel thought. "Hey could you hand me that bottle of poison? I think the soup is missing something." Padfoot leveled her with a glare. "What? You act as if I have bottles of toxic waste lying around just ready to dump in your food!"

"In my line of work, I've learned not to trust people. Especially people who handle my food." Curiosity rose in Mel. "What exactly is your 'line of work'?" She couldn't stop herself but she instantly regretted those words as Padfoot's face closed off once more. Mel sighed, knowing she had lost him again.

"Food's ready."

She turned to the counter and she felt Padfoot's eyes on her as she attempted to pour soup and assemble two sandwiches.

"Bugger!", Mel swore as she yet again spilled scalding soup unto her hand. _"Curse my clumsiness!" _Before she could reach for the evil ladle for a second time, a hand appeared in her line of vision and swiftly poured soup into both bowls.

Without spilling a drop!

"Show off.", Mel grumbled. She could have sworn she saw Padfoot snicker but he walked away before she could tell.

They shuffled to the table and sat down opposite each other. Once he was seated, Padfoot fell on his food like a wild animal. Mel watched in amazement as Padfoot inhaled his soup and sandwich in a matter of seconds. After he was done he sat and frowned at his bowl.

_"Does he ever smile?", _she wondered with a giggle. Padfoot snapped his head up at her giggle and she became the victim of his glare off. "Would you like mine?" she asked. He glanced warily at her food.

"It came for the same batch of food as yours. There is nothing wrong with it." Still he was hesitant. Rolling her eyes, Mel took big bites out of her food.

"Mmappy", she mumbled, her mouth full. He didn't answer, but quickly leaned across the table and snatched her food as if it was going to disappear. However, this time he ate slowly, savoring every bite.

Padfoot's snacking noises filled echoed throughout the kitchen. Mel fidgeted, feeling awkward in the silence.

"So how old are you?" Mel mentally smacked herself. Apparently the filter between her mouth and brain had decided to go on strike. Stupid union. Padfoot paused, spoon halfway to his mouth. Mel tried to backtrack.

"I…I mean I'm 16...well almost 17. What about you?"

GAH! Where was her off switch. He continued to stare and she squirmed under his gaze.

"I'm 18.", he stated nonchalantly and continued his magic trick of making his food disappear. Mel gaped at him in shock. She hadn't expected him to answer and she hadn't expected him to be so young. "_Eighteen and yet so…troubled." _

Another thought popped into her head and tumbled for her lips before she could stop it.

"What does the lion with the Latin writing underneath represent?" Padfoot narrowed his eyes at her, his body tensing.

"What?"

"Um your tattoo. What does it mean?"

"How did you know about that?" , Padfoot demanded, suspicion in his eyes.

"I saw it."

"When?"

"When I am saving your life!". Mel retorted angrily. His gaze lost it's intensity, but skepticism immediately replaced it.

"You're telling me that you don't know what it means?"

"Prior to today, I've never seen it before." Padfoot looked her straight in the eyes, as if he was searching for something.

"You're telling the truth.", he stated in disbelief. Mel scowled.

"Of course I am! Why would I lie?" Padfoot looked at her as if she was insane. Then he laughed, a short, dry, and bitter sound. It sort of sounded like a bark.

"Because it is human nature! Everyone lies about everything!"

"Well that is a very pessimistic point of view. I mean the world isn't all horrible. There are people that are kind and trustworthy. Like family and friends, who you can trust not to lie to you." Padfoot snorted and rolled his eyes.

"Sure, maybe in your world it is like that. But the real world in not all rainbows and butterflies." Mel sighed, giving up.

"You're a very cynical person. Has anyone ever told you that?" Padfoot regarded her with wide eyes, then chuckled and shook his head.

"What is so funny?"

"Nothing. Its just…just you reminded me of someone I know." His eyes slipped out of focus as he became lost in thought.

While he was distracted, Mel inspected Padfoot's face. His right eye was swollen and purple but his other injuries seemed to be doing fine.

_"Ice, he needs ice.", _she concluded.

Mel began to rise from her seat, but as she did Padfoot snapped back to reality and quickly matched her movement.

"Calm down. I'm just going to get some ice for your eye. But if it makes you feel better, you can watch Mother."

Padfoot gave her a fierce look. Mel then got up, albeit a little slower this time, and walked to the freezer, where she began to fill a small bag with ice. But alas, the fates once again decided to mock her. As she turned to hand the bag to Padfoot, she slipped on AIR and the bag flew from her hand. It crashed to the floor, sending ice scattering across the kitchen. Mel felt her cheeks flame as she stared at the mess.

_"Damn it! Can I at do at least one thing without producing a catastrophe?" _It was silent for a few beats but then quiet laughter reached her ears.

Mel slowly lifted her head to find Padfoot leaning against the kitchen table, with his hand pressed to his mouth trying to smother his snickers. Like his eyes, his laughed captivated Melanie. It was a full laugh, deep and rich. Mel found herself wishing he would do it more often.

_WHOA! _

Her thoughts came to a screeching halt.

_"What the bloody hell am I doing? This guy is a stranger! I can't be drooling over him!" _

Yet, despite her thoughts, Mel couldn't help but be drawn to this enigma. Giving her head a good shake to get rid of those annoying thoughts, Mel refocused on Padfoot who was still chuckling.

"You are…you are the clumsiest person I have ever met!"

Mel frowned, embarrassed. "Well glad to be of some amusement." With that, she bent down and began to pick up the many cubes of ice.

After she had retrieved some new ice, she lead Padfoot back to the living room and sat him on the couch. Mel sat down next to him and he tensed right away but she paid no attention and proceeded to place the bag of ice on his eye.

"I can do that on my own.", Padfoot stated, leaning away from her.

She shrugged, handed him the bag and stared at the opposite wall, bothered by her musings. _"What is wrong with me? I don't even know this guy's name and I'm am fawning over him! I mean he tried to KILL me!" _Mel was so lost it thought, that when Padfoot finally did break the silence, it nearly made her jump out of her skin.

"It means 'Always Brave' or 'Always Strong."

"What?", Mel answered befuddled, turning to face him.

"The tattoo, on my back, the Latin translates to "Always Brave" or 'Always Strong' and the lion is a symbol of courage."

" Oh. Well how did you get that tattoo?"

"Well this guy got a needle with some ink…"

"That is not what I meant!"

"Well that is what you said." Padfoot was clearly mocking her but Mel knew he was dodging the question as well. Mel also knew she would not receive an answer.

All of the sudden, the shrill ring of the telephone interrupted them. Mel groaned, the phone was all the way in the kitchen.

"I'll be right back." Mel ran to the next room, well as much as she could with her injured foot, and picked up the phone.

"Hello?"

"Where the bloody hell were you today?"

"Well hello to you to Lily."

"Hmph. You don't deserve a hello. Do you know how worried Remus and I were?"

Mel glanced back towards the living room. "Look, I'm sorry Lil I…got caught up."

"What do you mean caught up? You know what never mind. Remus and I will be there in five minutes and you can tell us then."

_Click. _

Mel sighed. Lily had been her best friend since they were in diapers but she could be so impatient. _"Like someone else I know.", _Mel thought, scowling. _"He is probably getting more impatient by the minute. The minute…OH BUGGER!" _

Mel felt the receiver slip from her fingers and clatter to the floor. Lily and Remus were going to be here in five minutes and Padfoot was still in her living room complete with wounds and a paranoid personality. How in the hell was she going to explain this? Maybe she could hide him? Ugh, why did the fates hate her so? Mel sprinted back to the living room.

"Padfoot, look I…" She trailed off as she was met with an empty room.

_"What? Where is he?" _

Mel ran from room to room, calling his name. But all she found was silence.

_"Did I dream all this?" _But no, the bandages and the glass, everything was still there in disarray. However, Padfoot was gone, like a stain of breath on a mirror. Mel couldn't believe it. After everything she did for him, he just left.

_"Well good riddance!"_, thought a part of her mind. But Mel couldn't help but feel a sense of hurt resonate throughout her body.

Mel returned to the living room, avoiding the mess, and collapsed on the couch, placing her head in her hands. Everything felt like a dream, as if none of it was real.

While running her fingers through her hair, another nervous habit, something shiny on the table caught her eye. Mel leaned forward and inhaled sharply.

There, glinting on her living room table, was Padfoot's gold necklace, with the lion and the banner.

She hesitantly picked it up, as if it would vanish, like smoke through her fingers. But it was real and heavy in her fingers. Her gaze traveled past her fingers back to the table and there she saw one word lightly carved in to the surface.

_Thanks. _

As she ran the necklace through her fingers, her gaze on that one word, a smile graced her lips. The doorbell rang, interrupting her thoughts. Mel jumped up, clasping the necklace around her neck and went to greet her friends. But as she crossed the living room she slipped on a piece of bandage and crashed to the floor.

Padfoot's words laughter echoed in her ears and she couldn't help but smile.

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**_Review? :) PLEASE!_**


	6. Chapter 6

****

Hey! Here is ch. 6! This chap is a little bit shorter but i will make up for it by getting the next chap up in the next few days! Enjoy! And PLEASE review! :)

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Swinging open the door, Mel was greeted with the sight of a scowling Lily Evans and a smiling, yet exasperated, Remus Lupin.

"Hey." Lily's scowl deeepened and since they were the same height, Mel could see the spark of anger flare in Lily's eyes.

Mel instantly knew Lily was in a bad mood, and she hoped smiling and being nice would get her off without too big of a lecture.

"Don't you hey me! You have a lot of explaining to do!" , Lily said, pushing past her to hang up her coat on the rack next to the door.

Well, there went that plan.

"Yes mother." Mel rolled her eyes and turned to Remus. Well, turned and looked up since Remus was 6'1 compared to her 5'4.

"Hey Remus. Sorry you had to deal with _that _all day." Remus just shook his head and turned to hang his jacket. But before he could he stopped short and he cocked his head in question.

"Hey Mel?"

"Yes Remus?"

"Where is your dad's extra coat? I've never seen it used, but its not here." Remus would know about Jacob Strider's odd tendencies since he was always here. Her dad had an extra everything, extra brushes, wallets, coats, if you could name it he most likely had mulitple extras. His motto was "better safe than sorry" but his extras were hardly ever used since he took such great care of things.

"What?!" Mel spun and stared at the rack, hoping Remus was just blind, but no. The rack was bare, the usual heavy brown coat missing from its pegs. Anger slid down her spine.

"_Padfoot! I can't believe he would… Oh bugger! How will I expalin his missing coat?! Dad is sure to notice! Damn it Padfoot! How could he just steal from me?! After everything I did for him and then he just..." _However, Mel halted her mental tirade as she saw Remus was still waiting for an answer.

"_Quick! Think! Think!"_

"Uhh…Umm Dad took it… he uhh... said his other one was getting umm…worn out." Mel felt her heart racing as she stumbled over her words, hoping Remus would buy it. Remus stared at her in concern.

"Mel, are you ok? You seem…anxious."

"Yeah…just tired."

Her response was a little too quick and she knew Remus caught it but he didn't say anything.

_"Thank God! Maybe this won't be too bad." _But as soon as she thought that, the fates set out to prove her wrong.

"Well I don't care how tired you are. You haven't missed a day of school since…well since you started going to school! And all of the sudden you up and skip? And without telling us?! You need to explain that to me! And start explaining now!" Lily spun and marched to the living room door.

_"The living room…OH SHIT!"_

"WAIT!" Mel threw herself in front of a bewildered Lily and Remus, just in time to successfully block the door. Lily stopped short and Remus ran into her, both with twin expressions of shock.

_"Oh bugger! Oh bugger!"_

Lily recovered first. "The hell?! What is wrong with you?!"

"Umm…the living room is… a mess! I uhh… spent the day in there and it's filthy! I forgot to clean! Why don't you wait here while I clean it?" Mel did _not _want them to see the blood and glass. That would be a disaster.

Lily looked at her as if she was mental. "Mel what is with you today?! This is practically my second home. I do not care what it looks like! Now let us through!" Lily purposely strode to the door only to be blocked once more.

"Mel, come on move."

"Please, it really is a mess!"

"Mel move!"

"No!" Lily began to shove against her and Mel tried to keep her at bay. Lily was never this physical unless she was really angry. And boy was she angry!

"Lily stop!" Mel was exhausted, she couldn't win, and with one final shove, they flew right through the doorway.

"Oomph!"

All the wind was knocked out of Mel's lungs as Lily's bony structure landed on her chest.

"Lily!" Mel distantly heard Remus' exclamation over the ponding in her head. "_Owwwww." _When Lily landed on her, Mel had smacked her head on the ground and now her head was swimming.

"Ahh! I'm sorry!" Lily clambered off her and helped her up.

"God Mel! I'm sorry it's just…" Lily trailed off as her gaze lifted and fell on the battlefield that was the living room.

"What in bloody **hell** happened in here?!" Lily whirled and stared at her, demanding an answer. "Uhh…umm…uhhh" Mel couldn't think, couldn't speak, and yet her mind was running a mile a minute.

"Well...you see...the thing is..."

Fortunately, Remus came to her rescue.

"Lily there is no need to be so loud. And whatever did happen I am sure Mel has an explanation and will tell us if you quiet down." Leave it to Remus to stay calm and sound completely intelligent while looking upon the bloddy bandages and scattered glass that was before him. However, despite is calmness, Mel saw in his eyes the same "what the hell?!" that Lily just shouted.

Mel sighed. She knew there was no other option but to tell them everything. "Ok. I'll tell you what happened but…it's going to be hard to believe."

"Try us.", Lily said.

Mel sighed once more and turned to walk to the couch but was stopped by Remus. "Why don't we talk in the kitchen?" Remus gestured to the glass. "Wouldn't want to cut our foot now would we?" He cocked an eyebrow, flicking his gaze towards her feet. Mel flinched.

_"Damn it! He doesn't miss anything!"_

Mel gave a weak smile and trudged off to the kitchen, Remus and Lily trailing behind her.

_"Why do I feel as if I walking to my death?" _Mel then imagined what she would have to tell her friends, how she saved a man, then brought this stranger to her house and nursed him back to health.

Oh and the part where he almost killed her.

Mel gulped, envisioning Lily kicking her arse, demanding what the hell she was thinking.

_"Oh. That's why." _

* * *

"So you're telling me that you risked you're life for some stranger who is obviously trouble due to the fact that he is getting shot at and then **BROUGHT HIM TO YOUR HOUSE**?! What in the **BLOODY HELL** were you thinking?!"

Mel opened her mouth to answer but instantly snapped her mouth shut when Remus caught her eye from his position by the stove and shook his head. _"Don't make it worse.", _his eyes seemed to say.

"Wait don't answer that because you obviously WEREN'T thinking!" Lily was currently pacing the kitchen, her eyes glinting emeralds and her hair a mane of fire. To Mel, she looked like the Angel of Death.

_"Yeah angel of MY death!" _

"Melanie! Those people could have followed you! Hell, the guy you saved could have been an axe murderer!"

"Actually Lily, there hasn't really ever been an axe murderer in London." Lily whirled and fixed her glare on Remus. "You stay out of this!" Remus held his hands up in a sign of surrender and Lily continued pacing. As Lily turned, Remus caught Mel's eye and gave her a sorry-you-are-on-your-own look.

Mel had told them everything; from the time she awoke until the time they arrived. Well, she left out the part where Padfoot almost killed her. She had told Lily and Remus that the pictures had fallen when she bumped into the wall trying to drag Padfoot inside. Now, she patted herself on the back for her foresight. Lily was already going berserk and if she knew Mel was almost killed?

Mel shuddered at the thought.

"**OI!** Are you even listening to me!?" Mel snapped to attention.

"Of course Lily."

Lily stood in front of her, hands on her hips, scowling down at Mel who was seated at the table. "Really? Then what did I say?"

"That I must be mental and I wasn't thinking and I will never do it again?." Lily's scowl deepened.

"Melanie Strider! This isn't a joke!"

"I know Lily! But I don't know what you want me to say! I am sorry you're upset but what should I have done? Let that guy die?!" Something other than anger sparked in her Lily's eye and she looked away, pouting but still angry. "No…but you should have called or something."

With a jolt Mel realized that, yes, Lily was angry with her for bringing a stranger home, but she was also hurt that Mel hadn't contacted them, hadn't asked for their help.

And this was perfectly understandable, given their history. Mel had been friends with Lily since before she could remember. All of the memories of her life some how included Lily. They were like sisters, they told each other everything and they did everything together, since before they could walk. Lily's house was only three blocks away and her parents were like extended family. They were thick as thieves. Then, when they were five years old, Remus moved in down the street and that was it. From that day on, Remus, Lily, and Mel were the inseparable trio. You never saw one without the other.

Seeing Lily's injured expression mad Mel's heart twisted with guilt. She had, unintentionally, alienated her best friends.

"Lily? Lily please look at me." Lily turned to face Mel, her face blank but Mel could see the unshed tears in her eyes.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry Lily and you too Remus." She turned to address him as well. "I didn't mean to hurt you. Today was just…just down right mental. You were right. I wasn't thinking. This person was hurt and I just had to help. There was no thinking involved. Please, forgive me?"

Lily sighed and the tension fled her body."I'm sorry too. It's just...i don't know what I would do if you got hurt."

Mel's heart clenched again. "Not going to happen Lils. I promise."

Lily shook her head with a chuckle. "That bleeding heart of yours is going to kill you one of these days, you know that right?" She smiled at Mel. "But we'll always be there to patch you up again. Won't we Remus?" Remus nodded and smiled.

"Always."

Mel felt her heart swell at the words of her best friends, of her family. The pain, fear, anger, everything just dissolved and the world felt right once more. "Thank you. Both of you."

Lily gave her a angelic smile. One that would make the toughest men turn and run screaming for their mommys. "But don't think for a minute this gets you off the hook."

Mel laughed, knowing she was in for a tough time now. But she wouldn't have it any other way.

"I wouldn't think that for a minute."

* * *

**Review? :)**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey! Here is ch 7! Its a bit longer than the rest and i hope you like it! Also there are some explanations and hints in here but no many! ;) Enjoy and REVIEW! Cuz reviews make the world go round! :)**

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"_Siiiirius. Siirius. Sirius. Sirius! SIRIUS!" _

Sirius bolted upright in bed, hand already encircling the hilt of his knife.

"Geez. You are usually more alert. And do you always sleep with a knife? That's not healthy cousin. I mean you could poke someone's eye out!"

Sirius relaxed at the annoyingly familiar voice. With an aggravated groan, he dropped the knife on to the sheets and rubbed his eyes. "Tonks what the bloody hell do you want?! I was trying to sleep!" Tonks giggled and Sirius snapped his head up to glare at her.

Tonks was sitting on the edge of his bed with a shit-eating grin on her pale face, and her hazel eyes were twinkling with laughter. Also, her naturally light brown hair was dyed a bright pink.

_"She was always the odd one."_

She reached out and pinched his cheeks. "So grumpy and sirius all the time."

Sirius groaned. "You know I hate that joke!"

"And that is precisely why I do it!"

Sirius' glare intensified.

"Get out of my room Nymphadora!" Her nose wrinkled at her first name and she stuck her out her tongue.

"You know, technically speaking this is Dumbledore's room since he owns the building." Sirius reached for the knife.

Tonks jumped up from her seat on the bed and spun away, laughing. "Oh play nice cousin! Besides I only came up here to tell you that James heard you were home and I have come to pay my last respects to my dearest cousin."

Sirius felt the color drain from his face. "James is home now?! Oh SHIT!"

"Oh shit is right! James has been livid! Rating and raving at everyone!" She shuddered. "I'm glad it's you he is mad at!"

Sirius scowled at her.

"Oi! Don't look at me like that! I'm not the one who disappeared for two days and then shows up in some random pj's that are way too small for him, a brown coat, multiple stab wounds and acted like nothing was wrong!"

Sirius growled."I know, I know. Just…Ugh!" Sirius ran his fingers through his hair. "How long till he gets here?"

"I'd say no more than hmm…three minutes?"

"Oh fan-bloody-tastic!"

_"James is going to kill me! No that would be too sweet of him. He is going to torture me first!_

"Sorry cousin but you made your own bed. Now you have to sleep in it." Sirius looked up in time to see Tonks give him a small smile and waltz out of the room.

Sirius groaned and flopped back on his bed and his eyes flitted across the small, bare room. Well, bare in the sense of furniture. The walls were off white and plain. There were no posters or pictures that normal teens had decorating their walls. Then, there was his bed, a small nightstand with a digital clock that read 7:50 am, and another small bed on the other side of the room. In the opposites corner stood a small, unused, rickety desk with an even smaller closet next to it. And that was it. The job really did not call for personal items. Not that he owned any but that was beside the point. However, every inch of the ground and the other bed was covered in layers and layers of clothes.

In hindsight, the idea of him and James sharing a room was not the smartest one. Neither of them ever picked up after themselves so everything just built and built until there were mountains of trash and clothes covering the room. Eventually they would pick up, but only slightly. However, that was only after being yelled at numerous times. Well, Sirius was yelled at more because most of the mess was his since he lived here. James only stayed when his parents had to work or Sirius wanted company. Otherwise, James just went home, which was only a few blocks away.

Still exhausted, Sirius closed his eyes, hoping to rest a bit before James came in and kicked his arse. However, every time he closed his eyes, memories from yesterday kept replaying in his mind. That girl, Melanie, was constantly on his mind. He even felt guilty for stealing the coat from her!

And Sirius Black never felt guilty.

Guilt got you killed out there.

Sirius tried to convince himself that he needed the coat since it was the beginning of December and freezing outside but he still felt this small sense of guilt. Especially since her house was actually really close by. Only a few miles away and still within Gryffindor lines! This surprised him very much. Suddenly, something clicked in his mind. If his life was a cartoon, Sirius imagined a light bulb going off above his head. _"Her last name is Strider and she lives close to Gryffindor Tower. It can't be a coincidence. She HAS to be…" _But Sirius never got to finish that thought.

"SIRIUS BLACK!!!"

Sirius flinched. _"Oh bugger. Here we go." _Sirius stood and faced the door, waiting for his inevitable doom. But he wasn't going to run. Sirius Black is NOT a coward.

"James calm down. I think you should just step back for a moment and…"

"I will NOT calm down! SIRIUS! BLACK WHERE ARE YOU?!"

Sirius felt sorry for Arthur Weasley as he heard James slam open doors and run through the house trying to find him. It wasn't Arthur's fault James was livid. But Sirius did feel slightly grateful to Arthur for trying to save him.

_"Mental he is. Nothing can save me now."_

Eventually, Sirius heard James at the foot of the stairs and before Sirius could say "Bugger" James Potter crashed through the door. Potter stood their panting, with his brown hair in its usual messy style, sticking out in all directions and his wire-rimmed glasses askew. Sirius should feel happy for seeing his best friend after all the shit that had happened to him over the last few days but the fire in James' eyes, the angry flush to his normally tan skin, and the clenching of his fists and muscles halted all sentimental thoughts. Tension built between them and minutes ticked by as the two friends faced each other, unmoving and unblinking.

Then, Sirius saw the subtle change in James' face, the small shift of the facial muscles. They had been friends, partners since before forever and Sirius knew every expression of James' face and every tick of his body language, and the same was with James. They always knew what the other was thinking, even before the other thought it.

That is why they worked so well together; why they survived so long.

Therefore, it wasn't to the surprise of Sirius when James leapt into action.

Literally.

James darted forward with speed and agility and pounced on Sirius, punching him square in the face. Sirius stumbled back from the force of the blow, hand clamped over his now bloody (and probably broken) nose. Sirius stood their panting trying to stop the blood flow, waiting for the next blow.

And boy did it come.

James' knee connected solidly with his side and he was shoved into the wall. Although Sirius' body was alight with pain, he did not allow a noise to slip past his lips. Sirius deserved this and he knew it. Next, James' arm pinned Sirius to the wall by his neck, limiting air supply. The room was silent except for the harsh pants of the two boys. But within a few moments, the pressure lifted and James stepped back. Sirius leaned against the wall silently gasping for air. When he could breathe again he took a deep breath and straightened to face James Potter.

James stood stock still in the middle of the small room, his lean muscles clenching and unclenching underneath his skin. His body trembled with anger as he glared at Sirius. As he continued to glare, Sirius could almost hear him thinking, could almost see the wheels turning in his head. James seemed to be debating whether he was going to punch Sirius again, but then his body relaxed slightly and picked up a nearby shirt, throwing it at Sirius. Sirius' hand shot up out of reflex and he caught it in midair.

Not the smartest move.

Pain flared through his body at the sudden movement and a quiet hissed pushed through his clenched teeth. But when James cocked his eyebrow, slightly smirking at him, Sirius quickly bit his tongue. Trying his best to ignore the pain and act as if he was fine, Sirius nonchalantly wiped the blood off his face. Turning away from him, James then walked over to Sirius' bed and collapsed face down on it. Sirius stood there for a moment wiping his face. Then he pressed the shirt to his nose to mop up the still flowing blood and slowly picked his way across the bedroom floor and lay down on his back next to James. Silence stretched between the two best friends.

"You know, I'm still pretty pissed. So pissed I could beat you for the next hour and I'd still be pissed." James' voice was slightly muffled since his face was still stuffed in the mattress but Sirius heard him loud and clear.

"Yeah."

Sirius mentally smacked himself. _"Bugger! That was not the thing to say! Damn it!" _James turned his head sideways and glared at Sirius.

"Don't just shrug me off Black! I'll kick your arse again!"

Sirius grinned. "Sorry mate. I think you knocked my brains loose."

James snorted and flipped over. "There's nothing up there to knock loose."

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Whatever Potter. You know you've always been jealous of my genius." Now it was James' turn to roll his eyes.

"Just keep telling yourself that Black." Once more silence broke over them, seeping into the corners of the room, settling over them like a thick blanket.

James'question shattered the silence. "What the fuck happened to you? And don't even think about saying nothing cuz we both know that's bollocks." Sirius sighed and stayed silent, not knowing where to begin.

"What is it a long story?"

Sirius chuckled. "Actually no. It's really a pretty short one." James cocked an eyebrow at him. "No really. It all started with that stupid slimy git, Snape!" Sirius felt the anger from two days ago rise in him and he turned to stare out the window as he began his story.

"Wednesday night I couldn't sleep, so I went out on patrol. By myself. And before you start your lecture, I know what I did was wrong, every body is supposed to go out with backup and I won't do it again and blah blah blah. Anyways, I went on patrol and stayed out all day Thursday. I stopped at a safe house to eat but I didn't stay long. I felt restless, couldn't sit still. I was hyped up ready to go, but nothing happened all Wednesday night and all day Thursday. So Thursday night, I was heading back here, adrenalin still pent up in my veins, and whom do I find? That greasy git, Snape! Beyond Slytherin lines! And since I was itching for a fight, I confronted his greasy arse." James opened his mouth but Sirius cut him off. "I know, I know, I need to learn to keep my mouth shut and keep my anger in check. But the point is I didn't. Well, once the coward saw me, he took off running like the snake he is! And needless to say, I chased him. For hours I followed him, and yes, I crossed lines. I know it is against the rules and it was a daft thing to do but I wasn't thinking at the time. Finally, early Friday morning I caught him! But the slime ball had called his little Death Eater buddies."

At James' shocked expression, Sirius explained. "Yes, Snivellus is a Death Eater now."

"Are you serious?!"

Sirius snorted. "I think I saw his Dark Mark enough when the greasy git punched me!"

James interrupted with his own tyraid. "The slim ball! What, does he think he's the shit now just cuz he has some stupid tattoo?! We can still kick his ass in a fair fight! With one hand tied behind our backs!"

Sirius nodded in agreement. "But I'm getting ahead of myself. So, as I was saying, I rounded the corner of an alleyway ready to beat the living shit out of Snape for making me chase him all night. But when I looked into the gloom, I noticed other shapes moving about. I tried to backpedal but I had noticed the rest too late and they pulled me into the alley."

Sirius screwed up his face in concentration. "I don't remember everyone that was there but I do remember Malfoy, Crabb and Goyle. Crabb took my gun and knives while Goyle held me down and Malfoy and Snape and i think a couple others beat me."

A smirk made its way on to Sirius' face.

"They had me out numbered but I broke Crabb's wrist, Goyle is missing some teeth and Snivellus has less greasy hair to worry about and he is not showing of his Dark Mark any time soon since I broke his arm."

A smug grin to match Sirius' wormed its way onto James' face. "Good Job mate!"

Sirius laughed, a small bark-like sound. "Thanks Prongs. So back to the story, they wailed on me for a while but then Malfoy had them shove me against the wall and hold me. I tried to struggle but then Malfoy had the barrel of his gun shoved right in my face."

Sirius turned and locked eyes with James. "We've been in a few tough situations Prongs but this time…I really thought it might be the end. Malfoy clicked the safety of and I looked him right in the eye. I was barely conscious but if I was going to die, I was going out with my head held high. But right before he pulled the trigger…something happened."

"Let me guess, your fairy godmother swooped in and saved you."

Sirius scowled at James. "Shut it Prongs. I'm serious!"

"I know you're Sirius and I'm James." Sirius turned and went to smack but due to the pain that blazed up his side, he missed. James laughed. "Okay, okay. Sorry. On with your story." Sirius glowered but continued.

Over the next fifteen minutes, Sirius told James of everything that happened to him. Sirius could not remember how he had arrived at the girl's house but he did tell James about all the events that transpired after he awoke. When he was finished, James eyes were looking past him out the window, clouded with thought.

"So this mysterious girl just happens across you, up and saves you and brings you to her house? Also, said girl just so happens to know how to fix wounds?"

"Yup."

James' face was twisted in confusion. "Are you sure she didn't know about the tattoo? Cuz I think that's bollocks mate. Everyone in the city somehow knows of that tattoo or at least the legend of it!"

"I know! That's what I first thought! But you didn't see her mate. She really was telling the truth." James locked eyes with him, a small smirk on his lips.

"Are you sure you're not just getting rusty? Maybe someone finally got the best of Sirius Black, the Human Lie Detector."

"Ha ha ha very funny." James smiled but then he cocked his head. "What was her name again?" Sirius blanched smacked his forehead.

"Damn Prongs! I forgot the most important thing! Her last name in Strider! And she lives within miles of Gryffindor Tower!" James eyes grew as wide as plates. And if this wasn't such an intense moment, Sirius would have laughed because James' glasses just made his eyes look ten times bigger.

"Strider?! Are you sure?!"

"Yeah mate. Melanie Strider was her name. And she lives on Harlington."

"Did you see her parents?"

"No. The house was empty."

"Do you think it could be them? Her parents I mean. Do you think they are…?"

A loud knock on the door interrupted James. The two boys turned to see Tonks' bright pink head poke inside and survey the room.

"Hmm…no blood on the wall or dismembered body parts? Potter, I think you are loosing your touch." Sirius glared at his cousin.

"What do you want, Nymphadora?"

Tonks rolled her eyes. "If you two are done cuddling, McGonagall says to come downstairs and eat breakfast. But before you do she wants a word with you, Sirius." Sirius blanched and Tonks laughed at his expression.

"You thought James was bad? Wait to you see how livid McGonagall has been." Still chuckling, her pink head disappeared back into the hallway.

Silence ticked by. Then, slowly, Sirius turned to James with a pleading expression.

"Ohhhh no! Don't give me that look! I am _not_ helping you out of this one. Nope. You did this to yourself. This is your punishment Pads! I am not sticking up for you this time!" Sirius stuck out his bottom lip. James shook his head.

"Not gonna work Pads. Now come on, let's get you to the infirmary so you can go see McGonagall."

"Wouldn't going to the infirmary _after _McGonagall make more sense?" Sirius muttered sourly.

James grinned, his teeth flashing white. "Nah. You need to go first. Wouldn't want you to pass out before McGonagall was through. That would make it worse." And with that James grabbed Sirius and began to drag him downstairs, with Sirius fighting the whole way.

* * *

"Of all the inconsiderate, foolish things to do! MR. BLACK! Are you even listening to me?!" Sirius snapped his head up from his examination of the worn scarlet carpet at his feet to meet the ferocious glare of Minerva McGonagall.

"Yes ma'am. Of course ma'am."

"This is no joking matter Mr. Black! The rules are in place for a reason! When going out on patrol, one must ALWAYS have a partner! Otherwise you could get killed!" Sirius felt the familiar flush of anger overwhelm him.

"Well what would you have had me do ma'am? Slytherins were beyond their borders! Was I to just sit back and watch?"

"Yes, Mr. Black! That is precisely what you should have done! Not run after him like an imbecile! You almost died!"

" People die everyday! That's nothing new! I have been doing this job for _years_ and I have seen many people fall! I am not a child!" Suddenly, something akin to pain flashed across McGonagall's aged face and she seemed to deflate. She turned away from Sirius and looked out the large window to her right. The room was the same off white color as most of the house was but this was one of the larger bedrooms. Bookshelves lined the walls and a medium size desk occupied most of the interior space.

"I told him you were all too young…" Sirius was snapped out of his musing by McGonagall's quiet mutter.

"What ma'am?"

McGonagall turned back to face him and Sirius was surprised to see how…old she looked. McGonagall was well into her fifties, maybe even early sixties, but she had such strength and such a commanding air about her that most people over looked her age. Now, the lines of her face had deepened and weariness seemed to seep into every crevice of her visage. Her usual sharp blue eyes were dull with unknown pain. To Sirius, she looked…exhausted and worn out.

And that raised a sense of alarm in him.

McGonagall had been here, had been second in command under Dumbledore, for years and he had never seen her miss a step. If something went wrong, McGonagall quickly patched it up and kept on marching. To see her like this was…unsettling.

"Nothing Mr. Black, nothing at all." Her usual powerful voice was now subdued and hushed. "Now, as I was saying, what you did was a reckless thing. As punishment, you will not be going on patrol for a month." Sirius immediately opened his mouth to argue that he was an adult and could do what he wanted but a quiet voice that sounded suspiciously like James told him to think before he spoke.

Then, Sirius did something he had hardly ever done before: he actually listened to that voice.

"Ma'am please. We both know that we cannot spare anyone. Our numbers are too thin. All able persons are needed." McGonagall's mouth pursed into a straight line but Sirius knew she knew he was right. No one could be spared.

McGonagall opened her mouth to respond but was cut off by a quiet knock at the door. Her head lifted to greet whoever was at the door but Sirius couldn't turn due to his side. However, Sirius was wholly surprised to here James' voice issue from the doorway.

"Excuse me ma'am, sorry to interrupt, but Sirius is right. We just do not have the means to spare anyone."

McGonagall's eyes narrowed, but Sirius saw they lacked their usual heat. "Eavesdropping Mr. Potter?" Sirius could practically here the sheepish smile on James' face.

"Sorry ma'am, I couldn't help myself."

"You never can." McGonagall sighed. "I am well aware that Mr. Black is right but his deed deserves a consequence. There is no other option. So we will have to make due with who we have left." James was silent for a moment.

"Ma'am I have a proposition." Sirius couldn't believe James was coming to his rescue but he was thankful nonetheless.

"_Go James! Thanks mate!"_

McGonagall cocked a thin eyebrow. "Oh? And what is it?"

"Sirius does need to be punished." Sirius gratitude quickly faded and he scowled internally.

_"Oh thanks a lot Prongs."_

_"_But as he said we can not spare anyone. So, I propose that you turn him over to me. I'll stay here for the next month and I will watch over him. I will stay with him at all times." A small smile grew on McGonagall's thin lips.

"Mr. Potter, are you proposing to _baby-sit_ Mr. Black?" James chuckled. "Yes ma'am, I am. Lord knows he needs one." McGonagall considered this for a moment. "Ok Mr. Potter, since I have no other option he is all yours." Sirius made to get up but McGonagall stopped him with a look. "And I mean you are entirely responsible for him."

Sirius frowned. He felt like a child.

"I understand. Thank you ma'am."

McGonagall nodded and dismissed them. As Sirius closed the door, he didn't miss McGonagall slumped in her chair, or the defeated expression on her face.

"Thanks Prongs. You saved my skin!" Sirius and James were currently walking to the kitchen to get breakfast and Sirius was practically skipping ahead of James in elation that he had been let off so easily. As they arrived at the kitchen door, James caught Sirius' arm and turned him so they were facing each other. Sirius cocked his head in question.

"Sirius, I meant what I said in there. I am going to stay here the entire month and you _will_ stay glued to my side." Sirius' jaw went slack but then he thought this must be a joke.

"Ha ha ha very funny Prongs, McGonagall isn't here so you can drop the act.", he laughed as he turned to enter the kitchen. But the grip tightened on his arm, preventing him from moving.

"Pads, I'm serious." Sirius regarded him incredulously.

"You must be joking!"

"I am not kidding Sirius."

Sirius swelled with irritation. "I am _not _a child! And I do _not _need a baby-sitter!"

"I know you don't Pads! And I don't want to be one! Look, I am not going to stop you from patroling or even picking a fight. You know I will be with you 100% of the way. But the thing is I have to _be _there. When you make a decision, let me know about it so I can back you up!"

Sirius looked into James' intense chocolate brown eyes and it hit him. James had been worried about him. Not just angry, but extremely worried. Sirius felt a twinge of regret.

James Potter was, essentially, his brother. Ever since the first time Sirius ran away from _that_ house when he was eleven and ran into this lanky, four-eyed kid, they had been the best of friends. Thick as thieves they were. James had been there for him when he finally escaped from that hell and Mr. and Mrs. Potter welcomed him with open arms. The Potters were an amazing family.

It was because of their kindness that Sirius was still alive today.

When they had been inducted, it was natural for them to become partners and that had strengthened their friendship. They were usually attached at the hip. When one of them was needed, people always called "Potter and Black." because they were perpetually together. And they always had each other's back. So, when Sirius had just up and left, it left James floundering.

James was staring at him waiting for an answer. "Alright Prongs. When I decide something you will be the first to know."

"Promise."

Sirius chuckled."What do you want to pinky swear to?"

James didn't smile.

"Ok. All right. I promise James. Happy?" James nodded and opened the door and together they walked into the kitchen.

The kitchen was painted a dull yellow and was the second biggest room in the house. The sink and counter was to the right next to the fridge. The stove was in front of them, on the other side of the table that seated twelve. Currently only two figures occupied the kitchen, both sitting at the table. On of which had bright pick hair.

"Well all hail the conquering hero! He is still in one piece! Something must be going around because you have just been getting off way too easy cousin!"

Sirius rolled his eyes and nodded at Peter Pettigrew in acknowledgment while walking to the table. "Is there any food left?"

Tonks smiled mischievously. "Maybe." Sirius snorted and walked over to the low cabinet next to the fridge and found the hidden food behind the fake side of the cabinet.

Tonks pouted. "How did you know it was there?"

Sirius and James chuckled and Sirius mussed up Tonks' bubblegum pink hair while sitting down across from her, James taking the chair to his right. "Because kiddo, James and yours truly invented that hiding place."

Tonks smacked his hand away.

"I am not a kid! I'm 16 not 6!" And thus began another mindless argument in Gryffindor Tower. However, Sirius couldn't help but smile, even as Tonks' loud exclamations grew louder and louder.

He was finally home and boy did it feel good.

* * *

"Burrrr! Prongs it's _cold! _Why are we out here so damn early anyway?_" _

James rolled his eyes and continued walking down the cold, damp sidewalk, a shadow in the pre-dawn hours. "Suck it up Pads. Its only 6:00 am and what did you expect? Its December. And besides, you are the one who told Arthur that we would change patrols with him."

Sirius scowled and shivered, trying to draw his black leather jacket closer around him and burrow his hands deeper in his pockets. "Well, how the bloody hell was I supposed to know his patrol was from 6 to 9 AM on a _Saturday_! It is a bloody crime being out here so early!"

James just chuckled and continued down the dimly lit London street. Two weeks had passed since Sirius had come home and everything was back to normal. Especially, Sirius complaining about every damn thing.

"I'm hungry."

James sighed. "Bloody hell Pads, you are never happy."

"Damn right I'm not! It's bloody 6 AM on a _Saturday_, it's _cold_, and I am _starving!" _J

James growled in slight irritation. "Look, after our shift I promise to buy you breakfast alright? Just, please, shut it. You sound like a little girl."

Sirius glowered and shoved James off the sidewalk and into a puddle in the street.

"Oi! Sirius these are new shoes!" James glanced in disgust at his mud drenched shoes. "Ugh…you're telling my mum what happened!" Sirius laughed.

"Now who sounds like a little girl?"

* * *

_Beep Beep Beep. _

Sirius head glanced down at his watch. "Yes! 9 o'clock! Time for breakfast and you're buying Prongs!"

James rolled his eyes but Sirius could see he was relieved to be off patrol. Today was a pretty calm day, no Slytherin sightings, but it had started to drizzle around 8:30 and that had just made the biting cold seep into their bones faster.

"I must have been mental to agree to feed you!"

Sirius laughed. "I always knew you were a nutter! But a promise is a promise Prongsie!"

James glowered at Sirius but sighed in resignation. "Where do you want to eat?"

"Hmm…how bout that diner? The one Tonks' showed us." James nodded and glanced up at the sky. "Alright. Thank God it's close cuz I think its about to pour." Sirius lifted his eyes to the dark and gloomy sky. Thunder rumbled in the distance and a bolt of lightning split the heavens.

"I think you're right there mate. Come on, lets get going. I don't want to be caught in that." James nodded in agreement and they set off down the street.

An hour later, James and Sirius walked out of the warm diner full and happy.

Well, at least Sirius was happy.

James sighed and looked at his wallet forlornly. "I don't think my wallet has ever been this empty."

Sirius laughed and burped slightly. "Come on Prongs. Don't be such a baby."

James glared and opened his mouth to retort but a loud crash of thunder interrupted him. Both teens glanced up at the sky. The storm had not yet broken, but it looked to be building, the sky turning an almost inky black. When the storm did break the heavens were going to pour out buckets.

"Come on. We need to get going." Sirius grunted in agreement and the two friends began to jog back to Gryffindor Tower.

As the two partners rounded a corner, about two blocks from the diner, hands shot out of an alley and yanked them into the dark shadows. Caught by surprise, James and Sirius could not react fast enough and in the blink of an eye they were thrown up against the alley wall. Recovering, Sirius' hand shot towards the gun on his belt but the quiet click of a turned off safety made him freeze.

Slowly, Sirius raised his stormy blue-grey eyes to once again meet the sneering visage of Lucius Malfoy.

"Well well well. What do we have here? I thought I killed you."

"Well, you know I'm like a bad penny. I just keep coming back.", Sirius spat.

Malfoy's sneer grew and he pressed the barrel of the gun to Sirius' cheek. "Well, it's a good thing I know just how to get rid of bad pennies isn't it?"

Sirius growled. "What the fuck are you doing in Gryffindor territory Malfoy!?"

Malfoy pressed the gun harder into Sirius' face. "I don't think you are in a position to be asking questions Black."

Sirius glared but wisely shut up. _"Fuck! Why does this always happen to me?! And how the hell are we going to get out of this?!" _Sirius' brainstorming was broken by Malfoy's nasally voice.

"McNair, disarm Potter and Black."

Sirius felt his panic start to grow as McNair advanced, his warm, moist breath tickling Sirius faces and neck. Then, James and his weapons were taken and they were left defenseless.

_"Shit!" _

Suddenly, a cruel smile lit up Malfoy's pale face and his steely grey eyes sparkled with malice. "Crabb, Goyle why don't we show Potter and Black our knew toys hmm?"

Sirius felt fear slither down his spine as the two bulking figures advanced with twin grins. Suddenly, Sirius heard the crackle of a taser and his fear doubled.

Five minutes later, James and Sirius were thrown to the alley floor, pain racking their bodies. McNair cursed and spat red on the floor near their heads. Sirius and James had put up a valiant fight and each Slytherin was in bad shape. But they were out numbered and out armed and in the end they didn't stand a chance. Malfoy sauntered over, his pale skin in pristine condition because he always let his cronies do all the work, and bent near Sirius' ear.

"Today, you will die Black. You and Potter both and we will finally have the upper hand."

Sirius struggled to move but Malfoy brought his boot clad foot back and kicked him in the head, making Sirius' vision swim and darken. Malfoy stepped back and began to calmly screw the silencer on to the end of his gun.

"You know Black. I could just put a bullet in your's and Potter's head but where would the fun be in that? I think I'll make you suffer." Malfoy laughed, a cold, chilling noise and pointed the gun at Sirius' chest.

"Goodbye Black. And good riddance."

_"NO!"_

The last thing Sirius heard was the gun go off and searing pain bloom in his chest. Sirius tried to stay conscious but he couldn't fight the overwhelming darkness and he was swept off into the shadows.

* * *

**Buhahahaah! My first cliffy! But dont fret i promise to update soon! :) BUT only if i get some lovely reviews! ;)**


	8. Chapter 8

**Sorry! This took longer than expected. :/ My theory is every week teachers meet and start a new game to see who can assign the most and the hardest homework! :(**

**Anywhoo id like to dedicate this to my best friend and wonderful beta Erika! :) Love ya! ;)**

**Enjoy! :)**

* * *

"Can someone please explain to me again why we are out at 10 AM on a freezing cold Saturday to go across town to eat at some random café?"

Melanie Strider exhaled sharply in slight irritation, her breath becoming visible in the frigid air. "_Lily, I love you to death but sometimes I just want to_…", she thought.

"Because, Lily, it was Remus' 17th birthday yesterday and he wanted to go to this café. And it's not _that_ cold so stop complaining."

_"Yeah it is only 70 degrees BELOW zero!",_ supplied the more pessimistic side of Mel's mind. And oddly enough, it sort of sounded like Lily.

Remus fidgeted next to her, guilt flashing over his delicate features, as they walked down the cold, London street. "Really, Mel, we don't have to go there. I told you it would be fine going anywhere. I mean we don't even have to go anywhere! We can just go to your house and hang out like we normally do. I honestly don't care."

Mel sighed. Remus was the most self-less person she knew. It was _always_ others first with him, and he hated being a burden or causing trouble. _"Saint Remus is what his birth certificate should really say.",_ she thought.

"Rem shut it. I know you want to go to this café. You love that place. So we are going to this café." She finished firmly but Remus still looked uncomfortable.

"I don't want to be a bother." Mel's eyes softened. _"How could Rem even think he is a bother? I mean seriously! That boy needs to be a little more selfish!",_ Mel mentally ranted. She then opened her mouth to tell Remus her thoughts but was almost involved in a collision as Lily ran in front of them, and now stood there blocking their path, hands on her hips.

"Remus, as Mel so eloquently put it, shut it."

Mel blanched. _"Umm Lil the hell?!_"

"You are the least bothersome person in the world."

_"Oh…ok that's better."_

"Compared to Mel and me you are a saint." Lily laughed slightly. "I frankly don't know how you put up with us."

_"Yeah…wait WHAT?",_ Mel internally balked. "Hey! When did this turn into an "us"?", Mel protested. Lily laughed again and nudged Remus. "Look Rem, you are not a bother, honestly. You know I just have to complain. Especially since I haven't had my normal dose of caffeine."

Lily pouted as she was reminded of her missing addiction. Remus smiled a little, uneasiness slowly slipping off his face. Lily grinned back and walked up to Remus, linking their arms together and patting his hand.

"Come on Mr. Lupin. Coffee awaits us!" Lily spun and began to drag Remus (literally) down the street. Remus began to truly laugh at Lily's enthusiasm and caught Mel's arm just as they began to pick up speed, dragging her along as well.

It had been two weeks since Melanie had saved Padfoot that drizzling Friday morning and Melaniehad not seen even a glimpse of him. Except when he flitted through her dreams at night. Mel dreamed of him almost every night and his stormy eyes were always there when she closed her own eyes and his barking laugh seemed to resonate in her ears even after she had awaken from her dreams. She tried to shake off those thoughts but they kept returning, like some godforsaken boomerang.

The day that Padfootso unceremoniously left, Mel was faced witha dilemma. After negotiating the terms on which Mel was to be forgiven (eternal servitude to one Lily Evans) she was then on the job of cleaning, with the aid of her wonderful partners in crime of course. They scrubbed the housefrom top to bottom so it was practically sparkling when Melanie's parents walked through the front door two days later. Her parents, upon seeing the house, held a bit suspicion of what brought the cleaning, but they let it drop, never finding out about Melanie's "guest".

The last two weeks had gone back to normal with school and tests. Except that, an odd incident kept happening to the young brunette. Whenever she went out in public, including school, people stared at her.

As if they knew what she had done.

Well, that's how Mel had felt until Lily so gracefully pointed out that they were staring at her chest. Mel had flushed violet with embarrassment at her blunt statement and Remus had nearly chocked on his tea. However, after the mortification had passed and her face had returned to somewhat of its original color, Mel was still confused at what the big deal was. It's not as if her chest had grown in two days. But when Lily had finally asked a classmate _what_ he was staring at (albeit a little rudely) he just quickly turned away and would avoid them completely.

Many of her classmates did.

Although her peers tried to keep them hidden from her, Mel could still here the whispers and see them pointing at her when they thought she wasn't looking. Although this had bothered her a little bit, Mel didn't let herself be too concerned over it. Her best friends still acted the same and so did her parents. Well, her parents acted the same when they were at home which was hardly ever. They were always leaving on medical seminars and conferences, leaving Mel and her friends to their own devices. Like today. Jacob and Kathryn Strider had left this morning for a conference in some other nearby country and wouldn't be back until the week before Christmas or later.

But Melanie didn't mind, not as long as she had her friends.

The trio of friends were a couple of blocks away from their destination, chatting happily in the icy air. "Hey isn't there a diner next to the café? I'm hungry!"

Mel rolled here eyes. _"It's always something with Lily."_ But as she turned to Lily to tell her that she thought there was, she was beaten to it. "Yes Lily, there is. I think it is called…The Three Broomsticks but I am not entirely sure."

Mel turned and snapped her head up to mock glare at Remus. "Hey! Lily asked me Mr. Smarty Pants!" Remus shook his head, chuckling lightly and opened his mouth to respond to her childish comment but he abruptly halted in his steps as if he had run into a brick wall. He cocked his head in inquiry, his eyes clouded and his face focused as if he was concentrating on something really hard.

"Did you here that?"

"Here what?", Mel asked, looking around in confusion at the empty street._ "What is Rem talking about?"_

"Yeah Remus. Hear what?" Lily looked just as bewildered as Mel did. Suddenly, Remus spun to his right, facing the mouth of an alley. "There it is again!"

"Remus, what in the bloody hell…?!"

"Wait!", Mel interrupted Lily's exclamation. "I think I heard something!" Mel strained her ears and waited. _"Am I imagining things or did I just hear a…?",_ Mel wondered.

"Mel…?", Lily asked.

"Shh!"

There it was again! It was faint, barley audible but it was there. A low quiet groan, no more than a murmur on the still December air. Remus turned and locked eyes with her, confusion and a slight spark of fear in his amber eyes. Mel nodded, showing that she heard it as well. _"Ok so maybe I'm not crazy…but now what?"_ Remus pursed his lips in thought and the sound repeated, fainter than before.

After a few moments of contemplation he seemed to come to a decision and he turned to address Mel and Lily. "Stay here. I'm going to check it out."

_"What?!"_

However, before he could take a step or flex a muscle in his thin body, Lily jumped in front of him, hands outstretched, as if to bar his way. Which was a comical sight since he was almost twice her size. "Oh no! You're not going in there! Did you learn nothing from Mel's incident? Hello, Mr. Smarty Pants! Dark alleys mean bad news!" Lily's voice was a hushed shout, her eyes flaring, fear shining in their emerald depths.

"Look, I just want to see what it is.", Remus argued, attempting to maneuver around her.

"I said you are **not** going in there Rem, and that is that!" Lily stood there, with her hands on her hips and a scowl on her face, and even though Remus was a head taller than she was, she seemed to be looking down on him, as a mother would be while scolding her child.

And like any normal child who was being scolded, Remus ignored her. "I'll just take a minute."

Remus grabbed her shoulders and now the roles were reversed as he gently lifted Lily's petite frame out of his way, like a father lifting a child. "Remus Lupin put me down this instant! You are not going in th…!"

"I'm coming with you.", Mel interrupted. _"No way is he going in there alone. I learned my lesson! I am all for the buddy system now!"_

He turned to her, still holding a squirming Lily in his grasp and opened his mouth as if to tell her no but one look at Mel's stern expression told him it was no use. "Alright." Lily doubled her struggles and glared at the both of them.

"You are just asking for trouble! The both of you!"

"Oh, come on Lil! Where is your sense of adventure?", Mel quipped, trying to lighten the mood. Lily scowled at Mel, not amused by her joking attitude. "Fine! You guys go! I'll stay here! And when something happens don't say I didn't tell you so!"

Mel smiled at Lily's petulant expression then turned to speak to Remus. "Come on Rem. Let's go." Remus nodded and set Lily down who still looked sulky, thin arm crossed and face formed in a pout. Mel sighed, turned to face the alley and waited for Remus.

_"Why do I feel like I am in some heroic/horror film? **Oh**, that's right! Its because I'm the Fates favorite soap opera and apparently they are making it into a 24/7 deal now!"_, Mel internally fumed.

She then heard Remus give Lily a few more reassurances and after that, she heard his quiet footsteps approach her. Remus and Mel stood side by side at the lip of the alleyway, still and quiet, their breath curling like smoke from their lips in the winter air. They both strained forward to hear something, anything, from the gloomy shadows. After a few tense moments, they both heard a dim whimper. They sighed simultaneously, turned to face each other, and nodded, taking a step into the darkness together._ "Here we go.",_ Mel thought.

The mouth of the alley just presented cold cobblestones and puddles of murky water from the rainfall. But Mel noticed as they traveled farther into the alley, that a smell lingered in the air. It was a revolting stench that made her gag and slap a hand over her nose and mouth, her eyes watering from the odor. She heard a similar retch and saw Remus turn to do the same.

_"Oh holy…I think I am going to hurl!",_ she thought.

"Oh bloody…!"

Remus and Mel spun and saw a pale Lily with her hand in the same position and her face screwed up in disgust. "Lily! I thought you said you were waiting back there!" Mel's muffled voice pierced the silent air.

"I wish I had! But I decided to help you guys so we can get to the diner faster! But… I don't think I am hungry anymore." Lily's face seemed to take on a greenish tint and she swayed slightly.

"Lily just go back." Lily snapped her eyes to stare fiercely at Mel.

"No way! I'm not weak! If you guys can handle it than so can I!" Mel opened her mouth to argue that this wasn't a competition but Remus cut her off.

"Mel just drop it. You know its no use to argue with her." Mel rolled her eyes but listened to him.

"Fine."

Lily would have looked smug if not for the nausea that floated across her features. Lily then closed the distance between them and they all turned back to face the alley.

They were almost to the back of the alley when Mel heard the muffled groan again, only this time it was no louder than a quiet sigh. Mel's brows knitted in confusion as her gaze swept the messy floor of the alley, seeing nothing but heaps of trash.

_"Where is it coming from!?",_ she growled mentally.

Mel turned to ask Remus if he knew where the sound was originating from but froze at his expression. Remus' eyes were fixed on a point to their left, in the corner of the alley, and his amber orbs were round with something similar to horror, his jaw gaping in shock.

"Remus? Remus what's wrong!?" Mel felt fear slide down her spine, cold as ice, and she saw her fear reflected on Lily's visage. _"Oh bugger! This cannot be good!"_

Remus lifted a lanky arm and pointed at a particularly large mound of trash. Mel turned to analyze the garbage but could not discern anything among the debris that would cause the expression that was now frozen on Remus' face.

"What Remus? I don't see anyth……. Oh **God**!"

Mel felt her voice rise to a shrill shriek and terror mixed with horror in her brain. For there, sticking out from under a huge bag of trash, was a human leg.

_"Bloody…This can't be happening!"_

"Oh my god!" Lily had finally seen the leg and her hands shot up to cover her mouth in, her eyes huge and extremely frightened. "Is that…a…a bod…body?!"

But right after Lily uttered that halting sentence, another light groan reached their ears.

"Holy…it's alive!" Remus' exclamation seemed to echo off the cold, damp walls, resounding in their ears and making Mel jump. _"We have to do something!"_

Mel felt adrenaline race through her veins as she sprinted to the bags, nearly doing a face plant as she skidded across the slick ground, and tried to heave them up, but couldn't lift the massive bags alone. "Remus! Help me!" Remus was still frozen in terror, his eyes wide as plates.

"REMUS!"

Remus jumped at his name, shook his head, as if to clear it, and ran to helpher, Lily close behind him. They knelt and each grabbed a corner of a bag and began to lift. The stench intensified and Mel felt bile rise in her throat. A quick glance at her friends showed they faired no better. _"Don't puke, don't puke, don't puke!"_, was Mel's silent mantra.

It took them a couple minutes to reach the last and largest bag. The bag was colossal, covering the entire body of the person beneath it. Even through the adrenaline rushing in her body, Mel felt a scowl contort her features. _"Oh come on!",_ she thought in irritation.

" Ok. Last one. On three, one, two, THREE!" Mel grunted the last word as the three friends stressed to haul the bag up and toss it aside. The bag landed witha loud thump as it connected withthe stone floor and thankfully, it did not burst open upon impact. Mel bent over, hands on her knees, trying to catch her breath.

"Melanie!"

Mel whirled around at Remus' shout, blood pounding in her ears as she faced the now trash free corner.

Mel felt her breath hitch and her heart thud to a halt so hard in her chest that she thought it had broken a rib as she looked at the body at her feet. Well, bodies was a more accurate description. But the reason her heart faltered is because she knew one of the prone figures at her feet, for he had fluttered through her thoughts for days.

**"Padfoot?!"**

Mel's hoarse exclamation ripped from her throat, piercing the almost pliable tension in the air. Lily spun and stared at her in astonishment. "**This** is Padfoot?!** The** Padfoot?!" Mel nodded dumbly, her mind still frozen in shock.

_"This can't be happening! This just can't be happening!",_ Mel tried to tell herself but as she saw the streams of blood that pulsed from Padfoot's and his companion's chest and unto the cobblestone floor, spreading out through the cracks reaching towards her like thin tendrils, Mel knew that she couldn't deny what was before her eyes.

These men were going to die.

Unless she could saved them.

"Melanie! We need to do something!" Even though Remus looked scared out of his mind, his eyes wide and every lithe muscle pulled taunt in horror, he was already thinking a few steps ahead. Mel nodded and spun to address Lily who was still frozen in horror.

"Lily! Lily!" Her friend turned to look at Mel, her eyes wide and fearful.

"Lily call an ambulance and go out to the street and wait for them!" Lily was still frozen, looking at the quickly fading men on the ground. "Lily **NOW**!" Lily jumped and nodded spastically, whipping out her cell phone and sprinting to the street, her frantic words trailing behind her. Mel then spun back to face the men and knelt to the ground.

Mel reached out with trembling fingers and lightly touched Padfoot's face. He was cold as ice, his breath halting, and Mel could feel the life slowly draining from his body. "_Oh god **no**!",_ she thought. _"He is going to bleed to death!"_

"Padfoot. Padfoot its Melanie. Padfoot can you hear me?" Mel muttered quietly lightly touching his face and hair, panic spiraling through her body. But she received no response. Mel bit her lip; dread mounting. The blood that flowed from his chest seemed to grow and Mel felt her throat constrict.

_"There I so much blood!"_ Mel knew from her amateur medical training that she needed to apply pressure to slow the bleeding. She reached out, her hands shaking and placed her hands over the largest wound, leaning on it heavily.

Immediately, blood covered her pale hands, gushing through her fingers, turning everything a crimson red. Mel craned her head to address Remus. "Remus! You need to apply pressure on the other guys wounds to slow the bleeding!" If it was possible, his eyes grew wider.

"Uhh Mel I…I don't think…"

"Don't think Remus! These guys are dying!"

Remus hesitated but then nodded kneeling beside her. Mel instructed him what to do and soon his hands were stained red as well. "Rem, see if that guy is awake!" Remus nodded and glanced down, his face loosing all color as he was faced with the slick flowing blood. He gulped and cleared his throat.

"H…Hey. Can you…can you hear me? Sir can you hear me?" Remus tried repeatedly to address him but like Padfoot, he was silent as the stones he laid on. Suddenly, Mel could hear a faint siren on the air, but it was still distant and these guys were in bad condition and it was quickly becoming worse. Mel glanced at Remus who knelt by her side, awkward and frightened, breathing labored.

Suddenly, a quite gurgle sounded under Mel, making her jump and glance back down, heart in her throat.

"Hello?"

_"Oh **please **say something!",_she mentally begged. The gurgle repeated and Mel was positive it came from Padfoot. _"Oh thank **God**!"_

"Padfoot! Padfoot its me, Melanie Strider!" Her words were hushed and hurried but Padfoot seemed to hear her as his head shifted at the sound of her voice. Breath hissed from his mouth and his eyes fluttered while blood continued to surge out of his torso. Mel leaned forward and felt his breath brush her face. Relief flooded through her as she felt the slight caress.

_"He's alive! He's breathing!"_ Mel continued this silent mantra, trying to reassure herself that everything would be fine.

Padfoot's stormy blue eyes flickered open, his glassy stare confusedly moving back and forth. "Padfoot? It's me, Melanie Strider. Can you hear me?" Padfoot's gaze flew back to her and locked with Mel's own gaze. His gaze was confused but soon recognition filled his eyes. Padfoot's mouth opened and Mel leaned closer, her hair creating a curtain around them as she tried to discern what he was trying to say. But all she could make out was a faint murmur.

Melanie leaned back and locked eyes with Padfoot. "Padfoot. Listen it is going to be ok. The ambulance is almost here! Everything is going to be fine!" Mel smiled as she tried to reassure him but it quickly faded as fear flooded into his eyes.

Padfoot attempts as speaking doubled and his breathing became heavy and labored. Mel became alarmed.

_"What's wrong? Why is he so afraid?"_

All of a sudden, a siren filled the narrow passageway, echoing through the alley. Mel whipped her head up and could see Lily bathed in the red lights of the ambulance speaking (more like screaming) at two paramedics, wildly pointing down the alley. The paramedics seemed to say something to Lily and then they began to jog towards them.

"Me…la…nie."

Mel felt her eyes bug out of her head as her stuttered name reached her ears. She twisted back to stare at Padfoot as the thudding footsteps of the paramedics became closer. Padfoot's eyes were wild and a fire burned in his eyes as he tried to communicate.

"…hos…pi…tal."

"_What?",_ Mel thought, bemused. "Yes Padfoot. The paramedics are here. You'll be at the hospital soon." Padfoot slowly shifted his head from left to right and violently coughed, blood dribbling from his lips.

"N…o…ho…spi…tal."

Suddenly, a hand landed on each of her shoulders and a stiff, authoritative voice told her and Remus that they needed to move. Mel nodded hesitantly and made to get up but a familiar grip surrounded her wrist. Mel looked down at the pale, blood stained hand that held her wrist in a surprisingly firm grasp. Her head snapped up and Padfoot glared at her, though Mel could see his strength waning.

"Me…lanie. No hosp…ital. Can't…go."

Mel's brow furrowed at the strange request.

"Ma'am you need to move **now**!"

Mel, at the command, tried once more to get up. However, the grip only tightened and Padfoot's gaze intensified.

"Get…me…out…" But Mel barely heard what he said next as she was forcibly ripped back by the paramedic.

Mel stumbled, off balance, but fortunately Remus caught her. "Mel are you alright?! Mel?!" Mel just dumbly nodded, attention still riveted on Padfoot as the paramedics assessed the situation and lifted him and his companion onto stretchers. Remus grabbed her shoulders and turned her and Mel was drowning in amber pools of concern.

"Melanie are you ok?!"

Mel moved her head up and down. "Ye…yea. I'm ok. I'm ok."

Remus didn't look convinced but Mel broke away from him as the paramedics started to push the stretchers to the waiting ambulances. Mel jogged after them, Remus right behind her and they joined Lily at the rim of the alleyway. Padfoot disappeared as he was lifted into the ambulance and the doors slammed with such a loud bang that it jarred Mel's bones. As the paramedic rushed past her, Mel jumped forward with a sullied hand and caught his arm. The man turned with an annoyed scowl.

"What?!", he barked.

Mel stuttered at the rude question but finally got her message out of her mouth. "What….what hospital…are you…are you taking them?"

"Barnet.", was his clipped answer and then he slipped past them and jumped into the driver's seat.

As the ambulance tore down the quiet street, lights flashing in the mist, sirens piercing the silence, Padfoot's words that she had barely heard echoed through Mel's head.

_"Plea…se he…lp me."_

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**Ehh i dont really know what to think about this ending. :/**

**Well anyway please leave any comments and or questions. :)**


	9. Chapter 9

**Ok i am SOOO sorry about the long ass wait but life has been a complete and total beyotch to me! I mean really! First starting around the mid of dec. i had to start studying for finals, then the next week had to take finals. After finals were finished my computer up and CRASHED! Like completely DIED! Then after i fixed it I got the DAMN FLU! The 1st week of the new semester! So i was like dying for a WEEK! Then when i went back all my classes had been changed and the teachers thought it would be funny to assign A SHIT LOAD of homework! Then i have softball for 3 hrs every day! So that is the horror story of my life! **

**I hope you enjoy this chap. but it is a bit short and sucky. :( sorry! I will make the next one longer, better and i will update quicker! PROMISE!**

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The siren of the ambulance resonated in the air for a moment before it faded and an eerie silence prevailed.

"Melanie?"

The young brunette slowly tore her eyes from the direction the ambulance had just disappeared to and brought them to rest on the frightened figures of her best friends. Lily was clutching onto a pale Remus, the fear translucent on her ashen face, and Remus faired no better.

"Melanie, what…what just happened?", Lily asked, her voice small.

Melanie shook her head slowly, trying to calm her chaotic thoughts that buzzed in her brain like a nest of hornets. "I…I don't know."

Lily bit her lip in anxiety. "But we are going to find out.", Mel finished firmly.

Silence ticked by. "What do you mean by finding out?", Remus questioned cautiously, breaking the stoic stillness.

Melanie locked her sky blue eyes with his amber ones. " I mean we are going to Barnet."

"What?" Lily's emerald eyes widened and her mouth fell open in disbelief. "Are you out of your mind?"

Melanie rolled her eyes at Lily's screech. "Actually no. I am perfectly sane."

"Bollocks!" Lily ripped herself away from Remus and stormed up to Melanie, shoving a dainty finger into her face. "If you were sane you would just walk away! UGH!" Her face twisted into a furious scowl. "I told you! I told you both!" She spun to glare at Remus as well. "I told you going into that alley was just asking for trouble! Now look what has happened!"

Mel felt anger rise in her. "Well what would you have had us done? Huh, Lily? Let them die?" Mel couldn't believe how selfish Lily was being. Lily shook in her place but then she deflated like a dying balloon, her head bowed.

"Well…no. But Mel." Lily's head rose and worried eyes bore into the young brunette. "Mel…those guys weren't just in the wrong place at the wrong time. They have to be…involved in something. And you have helped them not once but twice. What happens if the people that did that", she turned and gestured to the stained and sordid alley, "come after you now?"

Images of a beaten and bleeding Padfoot flashed behind Mel's eyes, his broken pain-filled words echoing in her head like a broken record and a shiver raced down her spine. Melanie groaned and put her head in her trembling hands. Lily's light footsteps sounded against the cobblestone street and Mel felt a thin arm encircle her and her warm breath brush her cheek. "Come on Mel. You saved them. You have done your part. Lets just go home."

Mel sighed. _"Maybe Lily is right."_, she thought. _"I've done enough. No need to put myself at risk." _But Padfoot's frantic plea rang through her thoughts and Mel realized she couldn't just leave him. She didn't know why, but…it just felt wrong. Mel exhaled sharply and inhaled quickly letting the frigid air settle in her lungs and lifted her head up to address Lily. The instant her sapphire orbs focused on Lily's, the red head cringed.

"Oh no. I know that look." Mel smiled weakly. "I'm sorry Lils, but….I can't. I can't just forget about them and go home. I have….have to help some how. But I don't want anything to happen to you or Remus so I think you two should just go home."

Lily sighed and turned to Remus who was standing tall and awkward a few feet away, gnawing on his lip in a nervous gesture and a silent question seemed to transpire between her two friends because after a few moments Remus gave a small nod. Lily turned back to Mel, resignation in her eyes.

"Mel I don't like this idea. I really don't. And I just know something is going to happen. But we promised you many years ago that we will always be by your side and that is not gonna stop now." Mel gazed at Lily who smiled thinly and turned to Remus who had the same faint smile.

"Guys… you don't have…"

"Mel don't argue alright. You're stuck with us." Remus stepped up and stooped to stare her right in the eyes so Mel could see the hard determined glint in his amber eyes. "End of discussion."

Mel made one last attempt. "But…it's your birthday Rem." Remus grinned and placed his large hand on her head and ruffled hair.

"Don't worry about it Mel. You can make it up to me later." Knowing she would get nowhere with Remus, Mel reluctantly nodded. "Deal.", Mel answered with a smile and hugged her two friends.

How did she get such amazing friends?

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The automatic doors opened with a whoosh and Mel's nose was assaulted with the pungent odor of antiseptic and the ever present sent of death. Mel took a deep breath, gathered her courage and strode through the glass doors of the ER, Remus and Lily trailing behind her as she navigated her way to the front desk. However, as she got closer to the white reception desk her courage began to falter and when she finally did arrive she was a timid, stuttering mess.

"Umm…ex…excuse me?" The bored looking receptionist looked up from her computer with disinterest.

"Yes?", she drawled.

"Ummm…coul…could you tell me…if…two men were…br…brought in about th…thirty minutes ago?" The woman sighed and her fingers clacked away on her keyboard.

"Hmm… at 10:35 two John Does were brought in with multiple gunshots wounds and other injuries. Is that who you were looking for?"

Melanie nodded. "Well they are still in surgery. You will have to sign in and wait over there."

A red tipped nail jabbed to a group of chairs in the corner of the room. Mel nodded and signed in and walked slowly to the chairs where Remus and Lily were waiting.

Remus looked up as she approached. "Now what?"

Mel sighed and plopped down into the cold hard seat.

"Now we wait."

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Two hours had passed and they were still waiting in agonizing suspense. Well Mel was waiting, Remus and Lily had long since fallen asleep. But Mel's ever racing thoughts kept her from succumbing to the sandman's spell.

"_What if something went wrong? What…what if they died?_" Mel sighed and tried to chase the thoughts away.

She was currently hunched over in the uncomfortable hospital seat, anxiety gnawing at her. As she looked down her gaze landed on her hands that we clasped before her and she gave a start. Her thin hands were saturated in dry blood, the pallid skin died a crimson red. Mel's eyes grew wide and she shuttered as her mouth grew parched.

"_This is…this is Padfoot's blood."_ That revelation made her breath hitch and sent her stomach rolling. Mel made to sprint to the bathroom but a loud voice broke through her silent crisis.

"Is there a Miss Price here?" Mel glanced up trembling at the sound of the fake name she had given on the sign in sheet and saw an exhausted looking doctor in green bloodied scrubs holding a clip board with a forlorn expression. As Mel stared at the defeated man, her heart slammed to a halt in her chest and one thought echoed throughout her head.

"_Oh God. They died. Padfoot is dead. And it…its my fault_!"

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**Sucky? Crappy? Yea i know but please still tell me what you think! :) it would make my life a WHOLE lot better! :)**


	10. Chapter 10

***Peeks out* Hello there. Yeah, I know what you're thinking. "Shes not dead?" No I am very much still breathing. But I deserve to be dead, abandoning my baby as I have. :(**** Im a horrible person. Look I even brought stones so you could stone me with. *points at pile of rocks* Now, I could tell you a triage of excuses of how school was a bitch, about how I got major writers block and so on and so forth but in the end it just comes down to I am a degenerate. But enough of my ramblings! You clicked on this story to read and read you shall! So onward! But *twiddles fingers together* I know I don't deserve them but reviews would be nice. :) Anyway Enjoy!

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**Melanie's POV**

Not knowing the world had stopped for Mel, the doctor went on. "Miss Price? Is there a Miss Melanie Price here?", the worn looking doctor repeated, dragging his gaze around the dismal room.

Melanie, pale and trembling, slowly raised her still bloodied hand. "He…here I…I am."

The doctor's eyes settled on the young brunette and sympathy filled his bloodshot brown eyes like a flood. "Ah alright. Well if you would please have a seat.", he said as he walked towards her, gesturing to her seat.

Mel nodded shakily and reaching behind her, collapsed into the cold, unforgiving seat, her mind a whirl of chaotic thoughts. "_Oh god. He's dead. They both are! Its my fault! All my fault! I couldn't save them! I couldn't…" _

"Miss Price?"

The deep voice, filled with concern, managed to snap Mel from her mental spiral of depression. Her head jerked up, causing unknown tears to spill from her eyes with the spastic movement. "Oh, I'm…I am sorry Doctor. What did you say?", she stuttered as more tears followed the glistening tracks down her cheeks.

The older man sighed and ran a hand through his thinning brown hair. "It's quite alright Miss Price. I was just asking if you would like to um…wash off.", he said, indicating her still dirtied hands and handing her a small towel.

Mel wordlessly took the cloth into her shaking fingers and began to wipe her hands off, smearing the flaked blood across her fingers. Once the blood was partially wiped away, she made to return the towel but the doctor just said to keep it. "Oh…thank….thank you sir.", she said as she laid the towel beside her.

The man smiled. "You're welcome miss. Now, as I was saying my name is Dr. James Williams. I was the surgeon who oversaw the operations of the two John Does who came in this morning. Now…"

"They're dead aren't they?", Mel blurted, more tears falling as she said the words aloud.

Dr. Williams looked slightly surprised at her outburst but his wide eyes soon melted into a tired smile. "No, Miss Price, they are not."

Mel lips trembled and she buried her face in her hands trying to hide her sorrow and dismay. "I knew it. Oh God! It's my fault! It's…" Suddenly, Dr. Williams' words registered and her head shot up, confusion and hope mingling in her sapphire eyes.

"Wait…wh…what?"

"They are not dead Miss Strider. They are still in critical condition but they will recover.", Dr. Williams said, the same wane smile gaining some brilliance as he repeated the spirit lifting news to Mel. A crushing pressure seemed to lift off a Mel's chest and she was able to breath easy once more.

"_They're…they're alive. I can't believe it! Oh GOD! Thank God!", _was all she could think, her elation making her thoughts a chaotic mess. A wide smiled worked its way on to her face, her lips stretching over her pearly white teeth and her cheeks flushed a rosy red, the sickly pallor she had obtained since walking into the alley way disappearing like smoke. "Really? Oh thank you Dr. Williams! Thank you so so much!", she gushed, tears of joy replacing her tears of sorrow.

Dr. Williams returned her smile and nodded. "You are more that welcome Miss Price. Now, do you have any questions for me?", he asked.

"Can I see them?", she blurted, her relief still keeping her on cloud nine.

Dr. Williams frowned slightly. "Oh, not yet Miss Price. They are still in recovery and unconscious. You will not be able to see them until they are moved into their own rooms."

Melanie blushed and averted her eyes. She knew that. How could she not with both her parents being who they were but her chaotic thoughts and emotions were getting the best of her mouth. "Of…of course. I understand. I'm sorry."

Dr Williams smiled again. "It's understandable Miss Price. You were worried, of course you would want to see them. But other than that, do you have any other questions?"

Melanie shook her head, her embarrassment and relief keeping her thoughts a confusing jumble.

"Ok, well then I have questions of my own. Do you think you could answer them?"

Melanie's heart stuttered and she bit her lip in nervousness. "_Oh bugger! I didn't think of this! What the hell am I supposed to say?", _she thought frantically. However, she nodded and Dr. Williams made himself comfortable in the unforgiving seat.

"Alright. Now first of all how old are you?", he asked kindly.

Melanie gnawed on her lip. "Six..sixteen.", she stuttered.

The man in front of her nodded but looked a little surprised. "I see. And where are your parents? I think we should give them a call."

Before he could even finish his sentence, she was vehemently shaking her head. "You can't."

Dr. Williams raised an eyebrow. "I know you're scared Miss Price but we have to contact your parents. You are underage and they need to be notified."

"That's not it Dr. Williams.", she responded. "You can't contact them because they are not in England right now. They are…away on business.", she told him.

It was obvious that Dr. Williams was skeptical, but he didn't call her out. "Alright, well do you have any other relative we can call?", he asked.

Melanie once again shook her head. She was telling the truth. All of her relatives were dead. Her parents told her early on that they died in a freak accident before she was born.

If it was possible, Dr. Williams looked even more suspicious.

"Ah ha. Well that is unfortunate. But I still would like some answers. Do you think you can answer them by yourself?" Melanie nodded not trusting herself to speak at the moment.

"Ok. Now, I need to know, do you know the men you rescued today?"

Melanie opened her mouth to answer but abruptly snapped her mouth close, biting her tongue. She wanted to answer but…but then Padfoot's panicked last words rang through her head. He obviously didn't want people to know about him if he didn't want to go to the hospital when he was on the brink of death.

He was afraid of something.

And after everything Mel had seen, he had every right to be. So, Mel couldn't, in good conscious, give Padfoot up. But she knew if she lied, it would spell trouble for her and her friends and family. She remembered those men from the alley and Padfoot beneath her, his blood flowing between her fingers and staining everything a crimson red. That could happen to everyone she cared for.

Lily, Remus, her parents. They could all be hurt because of her actions.

Unexpectedly, Padfoot's faced flashed through her mind, his eyes wide and filled with pain and fear. Her heart clenched in her chest. She couldn't just abandon him, not when he was counting on her.

"_I came all this way, and I will see this through.", _she thought.

Now, what _this _was she had absolutely no idea.

Resolved, she turned her attention back to a waiting Dr. Williams. "No sir I do not.", she said firmly, her head held high. Dr. Williams eyebrows shoot up towards his receding hairline.

"Really now? You don't know them at all? Not even as a casual acquaintance?", he asked, suspicion laced through his words. Mel shook her head.

"Nope not at all."

"What about your friends? Do they?", he asked, his gaze flitting to a sleeping Lily and Remus beside her.

"No. They don't either. We only met them when we found them in the alley this morning.", she said, a slight quaver in voice.

"Uh huh. Ok, well did you see who attacked them?", he asked, a slight irritated tone creeping up in his words.

Without warning, the image of the blonde man, pointing a gun at Padfoot ran through her head and she shuddered slightly. "N…no sir. Whoever hurt those men were long gone by the time we showed up." Dr. Williams sighed and sat back, running a hand through his thin hair.

"Miss Price, look. I know for a fact that you are not telling me the truth. So why don't we cut the codswallop and be truthful, yes?", he asked locking her in his brown gaze, all previous sympathy replaced with irritation.

"But I am telling the truth!", Mel insisted, her heart rate increasing. But she didn't even believe herself so how could he?

The doctor shook his head. "Really? Well if you are telling the truth and you don't know these men then why did you come all the way to the hospital to see total strangers?", he asked, a smug lilt to his question because he thought he had caught her.

And in truth, he had. Mel's brain, exhausted and drained, short circuited and she was left gaping, no excuses formulating in her head. On a good day, she was horrible at lying, it was just not in her nature. And now that she was scared, hungry, tired, nervous and many other things there was no chance in hell she was going to be able to fool Dr. Williams.

"Um, well you see…the thing is…", she stuttered out, her face becoming more flushed by the second. The fluorescent lights seemed five times as bright as they had ten minutes ago, beating down on her and making beads of sweat to roll down her face. Her heart was thumping a hundred miles an hour and her breath became shallower. _"Oh bugger. I've really done it now.", _she thought, fear rising inside of her. All of the sudden, a voice split the silence.

"It's just who she is."

Mel blinked and snapped her head to her right to see Lily sit up in her plastic seat, nudging awake Remus in the process who nearly jerked out of his seat at the unexpected movement.

"Pardon me, what did you say?", Dr. Williams asked, looking at Lily in what Mel thought of as annoyance.

Lily stretched slowly, her red hair shifting and catching the fluorescent lights, and then she sat up fully, turning to face Dr. Williams and locking him in her piercing emerald gaze. "I said that is just who Mel is. To you, it might look suspicious when someone would come see a total stranger in the hospital but with Mel its just another day.", she drawled, her expression neutral.

Dr. Williams scoffed under his breath. "Oh? So am I too assume you and Miss Price find dying people everyday Miss…?"

"Davis. Eleanor Davis. I am a friend of Mel's.", Lily responded, the lies flowing seamlessly from her lips. "And in response to your question, of course we don't. But Mel has a bleeding heart to say the least. Every injured bird, squirrel or stray dog in London has been treated by Mel at one time or another. She's practically a modern day saint."

Dr. Williams still didn't look convinced and he opened his mouth to, probably tell them so but he was suddenly called to the reception desk by the apathetic nurse. "Uh excuse me. I will be back in just a moment.", he said, standing and walking away.

Once he was out of ear shot, Mel spun to face Lily. "Lily! What was that?", she hissed.

Her red headed friend rolled her eyes. "Oh come on Mel, don't act all scandalized. I didn't even lie that much. When we were younger, you did bring home all sorts of injured creatures.", she said, rubbing her eyes to wake up more fully.

"Oh and Eleanor Davis would know?", Mel shot back sarcastically.

"I don't know, would she Miss Price?", Lily responded.

Mel flinched and bit her lip.

"Look, I gave a fake name for the same reason you did. You and I both know this isn't going to be pretty and our names don't need to be involved alright?", Lily said, her emerald eyes hard. Mel nodded and whispered a thanks to Lily.

"Don't mention it. Now, what are we going to do now that we know Padfoot and his friend are alive?"

Mel sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "I…I'm not sure. I didn't actually think that far ahead."

"Mel _why_ are we here? Why did we come all this way?", Lily asked, flicking hair out of her face. Although, the words sounded harsh but they were just meant to get Mel thinking, not to offend her.

"I…I just wanted to make sure Padfoot was safe.", Mel answered meekly, averting her gaze to the floor.

"Well, they are safe. Safe and in recovery. So is that all? Can we go home now?", Remus, who had been previously silent, spoke up, a pleading note in his voice, his hazel eyes begging.

Mel gnawed intently on her already raw lips and her brow furrowed in thought. Remus was right. Padfoot was safe but…but his words continued to haunt her. Why had he been so adamant to stay away from the hospital? Mel could just say that he was delusional, not in his right mind but that didn't feel right. Padfoot had genuinely been afraid of this place.

"_But why?", _Mel thought.

"Melanie?", Remus repeated, pulling her from her thoughts.

Mel looked up at her two best friends and saw them both staring at her, anticipation reflected in green and hazel orbs. Mel sighed and closed her eyes.

"As much as I hate to say it, no Rem we can't. Or at least I can't. I want…I need to speak with him. Just to make sure he is alright. But you two should go. Things are just going to get worse from here on out.", Mel said.

Remus raised an eyebrow. "Worse than finding two dying men in an alley? This I just have to see."

Mel grit her teeth. "Rem I'm serious!"

"And so am I. Mel, I told you before, you're stuck with us. Whether you like it or not." he finished, reaching out and squeezing her knee gently.

Once again, Mel was struck by just how amazing her friends were. "Thanks Rem.", she said, a small smile working its way onto her face.

"Yeah don't thank him just yet.", Lily drawled. "Because here comes trouble."

Mel blinked and looked up to see Dr. Williams striding back towards them, his lips set into a thin line. _"Oh shite. Here we go.", _Melanie thought.

Dr. Williams stopped in front of her and a frown took over his features, an angry glint in his eye. "It seems, Miss Price, that one of the John Does has awaken and is asking for a Melanie which I assume to be you. Care to explain this coincidence? Because I thought you had never met these men."

Mel felt her heart stop.

"_Oh bugger, bugger, BUGGER! We are so busted! Oh my God! We are __**so busted!**__" _These thoughts shot through Mel's mind at lightening speed and then continued to repeat themselves, taunting her. Her heart sped up until she was sure the doctor could hear it attempt to jump out of her ribcage. After about thirty seconds of this terror, Mel opened her mouth to respond.

"Well…you see…the truth is Doctor Williams that…one of them knows my name because I told him!"

The man before her raised an eyebrow in surprise and Mel couldn't help but reciprocate his feelings. Where the hell had that come from? But Mel realized that now that she had said those words, she had to follow through with them.

"What I mean is that when I found him in that alley I was sort of panicked and was rambling nonsense to keep him awake and I told him that my name was Melanie St…Price."", she gasped out, fumbling slightly on her name. Dr. Williams didn't look convinced in the least.

"Ah, well at any rate, he is asking for you and he won't settle until he does. So, if you would please come with me I will take you to see him.", the doctor finished, stiffly gesturing to Mel to get up and follow him.

Mel sent a panicked glance at Lily and Remus but stood and followed Dr. Williams anyway, glancing back at her anxious best friends as she passed through double automatic doors. As she stepped over the threshold, the pungent smell of antiseptic and sickness intensified ten fold and Mel used everything she had not to wrinkle her nose or cough.

Despite the fact that she had grown up around medicine didn't necessarily mean she liked it. On the contrary, she hated it and the only reason she put up with it was to appease her parents. So as she was led further into the bowels of the hospital, she kept her eyes trained on Dr. Williams back, not letting her gaze wander over the reminders of everything she disliked in her life.

After what seemed like miles of endless white tunnels, Dr. Williams stopped at a wooden door, like every other door in the building ,sighed, and quickly grabbing the handle yanking open the door.

At once, a wave of commotion- curses, shouts, crashes, and the wild beeping of monitors- assaulted Mel. The young teen lifted shocked eyes to the irritated face Dr. Williams.

"After you Miss Price.", he told her through gritted teeth, indicating for her to enter with a sweep of his arm.

Mel gulped and timidly stepped through the doorway, her jaw going slack at what she saw.

Padfoot was on his feet, one arm wrapped around his red stained midsection, the other holding an IV stand as a sword, keeping all medical personnel back a good five feet. His face was the same ashen color it had been in the alley but now it was alight with a fierce anger, his mouth a hard slash on his face and his eyes charcoal in color. His hair was a tangled black halo around his head and to Mel, he looked like a fallen angel, fighting for his life.

"_WHOA THERE! Stop! I am here to make sure he is okay, not to drool over him again! Damn it Melanie, the guy almost died! Pull it together!" _

"Just told him your name to call him down huh?", Dr. Williams muttered sarcastically behind her.

Mel blushed but fought back her guilt. "He's just…really grateful I guess?", she answered, the words coming out more like a question then a statement. _"Yeah right. Padfoot will be grateful the day my parents tell me they're spies.", _Mel thought sarcastically.

Dr. Williams rolled his eyes at her lame respnse. "Oh of course.", he nearly hissed and then turned his attention back to the catastrophe before him.

"Sir you need to calm down or we will take drastic measures to subdue you!", he shouted at Padfoot.

"If you would just let me and my friend out of here they would be no need for that!", Padfoot shouted back, not taking his eyes of the male nurse in front of him, a wicked looking syringe in the nurses grasp .

Dr. Williams growled in annoyance. "As I am sure you've been told, we can not release you until the police arrive and you give us your name so we can contact your parents."

"And as I have said a million times already, the police do not need to be involved and my friend and I are eighteen!", Padfoot hissed, his eyes still glued on the pissed off and scared looking nurses.

Dr. Williams exhaled in exasperation and turned his brown gaze on Mel as if to say "see what you can do with him."

Mel gulped once more, her throat parched as the desert and step forward slightly. "Umm…ex…excuse me.", she said, but the words were drowned out my the pressing noise in the room. Mel tried again.

"EXCUSE ME!"

The room went still, the only noise left was the bleating of monitors and the harsh pants of patient and staff alike. Slowly, every single eye turned towards her, orbs wide in astonishment and confusion, but Mel only took noticed of one stormy pair.

Padfoot's eyes went wide in recognition and all Mel could do was offer a small smile in return. Silence covered the room for a few beats, a thick stifling blanket, until Dr. Williams cleared his throat and stepped forward.

"Here is Miss Melanie Price as you requested. Now, will you please lay back down, you've torn your stitches and we need to attend to them."

At the mention of Mel's faux last name, Padfoot's eyes narrowed slightly but he didn't address it. "Actually I would like to talk to Miss _Price _alone for a moment to properly thank her for saving my life.", he said, the deep baritone of his voice filling her head.

"Then will you let us attend you?", Dr. Williams asked him. Padfoot gave a jerky nod. The doctor sighed. "Fine. Everyone out. You have five minutes sir."

And with that, the staff cleared the room, Dr. Williams sending them a death glare as he shut the door.

Mel expected for an awkward silence to settle once more but Padfoot spoke the moment the door hit the jam. "How did you find us Miss _Price_?", he asked, not even bothering to lower the IV stand from its hostile position.

Mel felt the familiar pulse of anger that seemed to flow through her every time Padfoot opened his mouth. "Not even a thank you? You disappear from my house, still in disarray thanks, steal my dad's coat and then turn up two weeks later with more holes in you then Swiss cheese and I save you _again _and I don't even get a….!"

"Look I would love to stand here and shoot the breeze but we are kinda short on time. So if you are done hissing at me like some cat, would you answer my question? Please?", he cut in, adding the last word in afterthought.

Mel blinked in shock at the slight undertone of panic and pleading in his words. She had _never_ heard him say please. "_Then again you only met him once so your frame of reference isn't exactly extensive.", _her mind supplied.

Mel shook her head and huffed, regaining her composure. "Fine. To answer your question, my friends and I…"

"There are others with you?", he interrupted, his eyes going wide, darting around the room as his hand tightened on the metal bar between his fingers.

"Yes. Now if you would quite interrupting I will explain.", Mel hissed in irritation, her own eyes flashing with steel. She had forgotten how down right irritating he was. Why she dreamt of him was beyond her.

Padfoot pursed his lips and nodded for her to continue.

"As I was saying, my friends and I were walking to a diner for some brunch when we heard a noise and upon further investigation, we found you and your friend….buried under some rubbish, bleeding.", Mel said, faltering slightly as images of Padfoot and his friend dying on cobblestones flooded her mind.

Padfoot instantly narrowed his eyes at her and Mel bristled once again as she realized what he was thinking.

"I'm not lying! I found you bleeding to death in that putrid alleyway and my friend called 911 as I kept you from dying! Again! Look!", she hissed, throwing her hands up in the air, palms facing him.

Padfoot flinched at the sudden movement but when he saw she wasn't advancing, he warily leaned forward and his pupils dilated as he saw the smeared, faded, blood on her hands. After a moment of inspection, Padfoot leaned back and cleared his throat.

"Ok. Well then… next question. Why did you come to the hospital?" Mel eyes widened at the unexpected question and she blushed, averting her eyes to her feet. After a moments silence she murmured her answer to the ground.

"It's because I cared if you lived or died."

Which was the truth. She did care, though reluctant she was to admit it out loud.

When Padfoot didn't respond she looked up through her hair and saw him cock an eyebrow in her direction. Mel flushed darker.

"Isn't there anything else you would like to ask?", she snapped, embarrassment coursing through her veins.

Padfoot blinked and nodded. "Yes. What hospital are we at?", he asked, his gaze returning to her hands once more.

Mel sighed at the once again lack of gratitude and lowered her still raised hands to hang limply at her sides. "Barnet.", she muttered.

What happened next, Mel was defiantly not prepared for.

Once the seemingly innocent word left her mouth, Padfoot's eyes bulged, the air left his lungs as if he'd been kicked, and whatever small amount of blood that was in his face, fled.

"Did…did you just say Barnet?", he asked breathless.

Mel's brow furrowed. "Yes, why? What's wrong?"

Padfoot didn't answer. Instead he spun around and limped across the floor towards his friend's bed. Mel followed his path in confusion and then she saw the thick crimson trail he was leaving in his wake.

"Padfoot! You need to sit down! You're bleeding horribly!", Mel gasped but the man before her ignored her as he set down the IV stand and began to nudge and poke in companion.

"Wake up! Come on Prongs! Bloody hell mate, you need to wake the bugger up!", he muttered as he hovered over the form lying prone on the bed. Mel distantly registered that the man also had an extremely odd name but she shrugged it off as she advanced towards Padfoot.

"Padfoot, he's unconscious! Like you are going to be if you don't sit down!", she huffed as she reached out to lay her hand on his shoulder. But before she could touch him, Padfoot spun and trapped her hand between his own, a wild look in his eye and his hands soaked in his own blood.

"Melanie, you need to listen to me. We can't stay here. We need to get out.", he said, forcing the words through gritted teeth.

Mel opened her mouth to ask where did he get off calling her Melanie but when she looked in his eye she became frightened at what she saw there and tried to pull away but he held her fast in a familiar iron grip.

"Padfoot, are you crazy? You were shot this morning! You nearly _died! _You can't just leave! And besides the police are going to be here and…."

"Melanie! The police _can't_ see us! We're _not supposed to be here_!", he hissed, tightening his grip.

"Be where?", Mel asked in bewilderment.

Padfoot growled and opened his mouth to respond but he was cut off as they heard the doorknob jingle. Both Mel and Padfoot had turned at the sound but now Padfoot snapped his face back to Mel and locked his eyes with her own.

"Melanie, please. You said you cared about whether I lived or died."

"Well I just meant in general not you perso…"

"It doesn't matter! Please you have to get us out! It's a matter of life or death. Please!", he whispered. Mel looked deep into his eyes and saw a primal terror, he really believed he was in danger.

Mel bit her lip. "Padfoot I…."

"Alright times up. Miss Price if you would please return to the waiting room, there are some officers who wish to speak to you."

The fear in Padfoot's eye increased exponentially at Dr. Williams' words and his nails dug into the back of her hands.

"_Please.", _he mouthed but before she could say anything, strong arms pulled her back and she was yanked out of the room, Padfoot's terrified eyes following her out the door.

A harried male nurse pulled her down the twisting halls before she could get her bearings and in recorded time she was shoved out of the automatic doors that lead to the waiting room. She tripped over her feet and reached out to steady herself on the reception desk. Once she had regained her balance and her mind slowed its spinning, she blew a piece of hair from her face and looked up in the direction she had last seen Lily and Remus.

Beside her friends a large, dark, hulking figure sat, talking to them quietly and it was apparent to Mel from Lily's expression that he was ticking her off. Out of the corner of her left eye she saw an almost identical dark figure walk towards her friends and she turned to get a full look at him. In inspecting his profile, Mel furrowed her brow as a trickle of recognition flowed across her mind but not enough for her to place his face. The man took another step and then his head swung to face a nurse that had approached him with a cup of water, giving Mel a full frontal view.

And in finally seeing his face in its entirety, Mel gasped and felt as if she had been it by a train as her lungs shriveled and her heart jerked to a stop. In an instant, she ducked from view and hid behind the fake plant behind her and grasped at her chest as it heaved in fear.

That scar.

The cop had a large scar that cut diagonal across his face from his upper right temple to the left corner of his chin. She could never forget a gruesome sight like that and she hadn't. She could still see it in her minds eye as it twisted as the man smiled as another man beside him shoved a gun in Padfoot's face.

The cop was one of the men that nearly killed him!

"_And now he was here to finish the job!", _she thought in horror.

She turned to peek out from amongst the leaves and saw the man had joined his partner beside her friends. An image of Remus and Lily bleeding in a cobblestone alley flashed before her eyes and Mel felt as if the world had stopped spinning.

This was her fault. She had put her friends in danger!

Then Padfoot's words echoed through her mind and she realized he hadn't been crazy. He had…known somehow that they would come for him. "_So what? He's no one to you! You need to just grab Lily and Rem and get the bugger out of here!", _her mind screamed at her.

But then she remember the state she had found Padfoot in, two weeks ago and today and knew she couldn't just leave him to die. Not when she had worked so hard to save him. But…what could she do? These guys were professional…somethings at worst and dirty cops at best! And they were just three teens!

Suddenly, a memory of some murder mystery movie her and Rem had watched a few weeks ago flared in her thoughts and with it an idea of how to get Padfoot and his friend out.

"_Are you a nutter? That was a MOVIE! This is real life with real guns! Your going to get yourself killed!" _

Mel ignored her screaming thoughts and warily glanced back towards Lily and Rem. They still sat between the two cops and Lily was looking ten times as irritated. How was she going to get their attention without alerting the cops? Mel gnawed on her already abused lip and wrung her hands.

But, the fates seemed to be in a good enough mood to grant her this small mercy, as if on cue Lily glanced away from the cop and saw her. Her brow furrowed and she opened her mouth but Mel swung her hand up and placed her index finger over her lips to silence Lily.

The red heads confusion doubled but she complied. Now that Mel had Lily's attention, she needed to talk to her before the cops noticed her presence. She glanced around in desperation and saw the bathroom not ten feet from her. She flicked her gaze between the door and Lily and her friend instantly got the message as she turned back to the cops, grabbing their attention so Mel could scurry to the bathroom.

Mel slipped through the door and leaned heavily against the sink, the small one stall room seeming to shrink as shock completely faded to be replaced by mind numbing, muscle seizing fear. But before Mel could began to hyperventilate, the door opened and in slinked Lily, her mouth already spouting questions.

"Mel, what the bloody hell…?"

"Lily!", Mel gasped and went to embrace her in relief at being near her but stopped short at her red stained hands. A breathless squeak left Mel and she spun around and slammed open the water, sticking her hands in the freezing stream, scrubbing vigorously.

"Mel? Was that blood? What the hell is going on?", Lily shrieked behind her.

Once the blood was gone, Mel spun around and hugged the red head tightly for a moment before pulling away to grasp her shoulders and look her in the eye. "Lily…oh bloody hell we are arse over heels!", the brunette gasped.

Lily looked confused beyond belief. "Me…"

"No! Just…just shut it and listen for a moment!"

Lily's expression darkened and she opened her mouth to retort but Mel beat her to it. "Lils, we need to get out of here! And we have to take Padfoot and his friend with us! And we need to do it now without anyone noticing! So, do you remember…."

"Whoa whoa whoa! Hold the phone! What the bleeding hell are you talking about? We cant just leave. Those blokes out there want to talk to you. Though the buggers are bloody rude especially the scarred one…"

"Lily! That guy is one of the guys that shot Padfoot!", Mel hissed, shaking her rambling friend.

Lily's emerald eyes widened and her jaw went slack. "What? That…that's codswallop. You're taking the piss outta me.", she exclaimed in disbelief.

"Lils I swear I'm not bloody lying! I _saw_ that guy in the alley when I saved Padfoot two weeks ago! I could never forget that scar!"

"Oh….bloody hell. You're not joking.", Lily muttered as she saw the panic in Mel's visage.

The brunette shook her head in agreement. Lily slumped against the wall and ran a shaky hand through her red mane and then suddenly her eyes went wide.

"Holy…they have Remus!", Lily exclaimed as she spun to burst out of the bathroom.

Mel lunged and grabbed her before she could turn the doorknob. "Don't! We have to do this right! That guy knows me so he _can't _see me!", Mel grunted as she struggled with Lily.

At Mel's words, her friend went limp and turned to face her, panic, fear, terror, and horror all plain on her face. "So what are we going to do?", she whispered.

Mel straightened up and gnawed once more on her lip. _" I don't know! I didn't sign up for this shite! This isn't fair!", _she thought.

She was just a kid who was in the wrong place at the wrong time! She wasn't a hero with super powers to save the day! But fair or not Mel knew that this was her task now, and that she needed to step up or the consequences would be to horrible to imagine. She had gotten them into this mess and she had to get them out.

So, with the knowledge that _she_ had to save her friends and family, and Padfoot as well, she locked eyes with Lily and forced as much courage as she could into her next words.

"Well…I have a plan. And hopefully we can all get out of this alive."

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**So? How was that? Please feel free to rant and curse me in the review you leave but please leave one. J**


	11. Chapter 11

**So here is the next chap and please remember to review! Any comments, questions, or suggestions are greatly appreciated! :D **

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**Melanie's POV**

"So, let me get this straight. You got your plan from a _movie_? That's your plan? Well that settles it. You are _bloody insane_! Mel, that was a movie, this is real life!", Lily hissed, her green eyes wide in anger, her arms flailing wildly in the crammed bathroom.

Melanie groaned and dragged her hands through her tangled hair, thin fingers becoming stuck in the knots and snarls. She knew her friend was going to react this way when told the plan because let's face it…it was a stupid plan. But it was the only one she had and they were short on time.

"Don't you think I know that Lily? But its all we got and we have to hurry! Did you see what happened to Padfoot?", Mel responded in a hushed whisper, her own blue eyes wide but in desperation and anxiety.

"Well, there has to be another way Mel because what you are proposing is a _bloody crime!", _her red headed companion exclaimed, shoving a dainty finger into Mel's chest.

"It's either that or we get killed by some manic cop! Which do you want?", Mel retorted with a scowl, panic making her snappy.

Lily returned her scowl. "Well if you didn't have to be _little Miss Hero _all the time, I wouldn't have to chose!", she sneered.

Mel took a step back as if she had been slapped and all fire within her promptly sputtered and died. She shuffled away from Lily to lean heavily against the sink, tears springing to her eyes. This _was _her fault. She wished she could be angry at Lily's caustic words, but the truth that rang in them just made guilt flow through her.

"I…know Lily. I know this is all my fault and I'm…I'm so sorry! I just…wanted…to…help and…and…", Mel sobbed but stopped short as she felt thin arms encircle her.

Surprised, the brunets head shot up and immediately found Lily's emerald orbs in the mirror, tears shinning in both of their eyes.

"Mel, I'm sorry, I didn't mean that.", Lily told her, the green eyed girl's reflected visage filled with remorse. "I'm just scared is all. I didn't mean to take it out on you. And don't blame yourself for a bloody minute. You didn't know this would happen and we couldn't just leave Padfoot and his friend."

Mel smiled shakily, guilt still present but less crushing now that Lily wasn't angry, and saw it reciprocated by her friend in their reflections. "Thanks Lily."

She gave Mel a squeeze before stepping back, giving the blue eyed girl some room to turn as well. "Don't mention it. What are friends for.", she responded, green eyes warming to match her smile. "Now, explain the plan to me again because I don't want to leave Rem out there for one more minute.", Lily said, the smile fading from her face to be replaced by steeled determination.

Mel nodded and took a deep breath, trying to be as brave as her friend looked. "Alright. Well, first you need to distract the cops so I can slip out of here. Then you need to get Remus and ditch those blokes. And in exactly five minutes after we leave this bathroom, you will pull a fire alarm. Meanwhile I will grab Padfoot and his friend and in the commotion, we will slip out and we'll hide in the brush on the corner of Wellhouse Lane and Wood Street. Finally, if we get this far, you'll meet us on the corner and we will make our way to the nearest subway and we are home free! Just like in the movie!", Mel detailed her plan, as if it was the easiest thing in the world.

Lily's face was unreadable as she responded. "Ok but I sense a few problems Genius. One, how am I supposed to distract and ditch those goons? Second, how are you going to get _two _heavily injured blokes out of a hospital and down the street by yourself? And third, don't you think people will notice our half dead mates? How are you going to hide the fact they have holes in them?", she ask dryly.

Mel blanched and bit her lip.

"Pure luck?", she said meekly with a smile.

Lily rolled her eyes and opened her mouth to berate her obtuseness but a sudden knock on the door had both girls nearly jumping out of their skins, two pairs of wide eyes swinging to stare at the door in fear.

But that fear was instantly doused as a familiar voice drifted through the door. "Lily…honey are you alright?", said Remus in a sickly sweet tone, faltering on the fake endearment.

Lily turned to stare at Mel in abject bewilderment and…slight disgust but Mel motioned for her to open the door. Lily rolled her eyes and made her way to the door. "Well _sweetheart…_I'm not feeling all to well. Could you…uhh bring me a glass of water?", Lily said, gesturing to Mel as if to say 'I don't know what the bloody hell I'm doing', when Mel smacked her arm.

"Sure thing dear.", Remus replied before they heard him turn and walk away.

Lily looked at Mel. "What the bloody hell was that about?", she mouthed to which Mel responded with an equally confused shrug.

A few moments later, a light knock sounded on the door. "Lily, can I come in?", Remus asked quietly.

"Uhhh…yea, the doors unlocked.", she replied.

The doorknob jiggled and the door inched open enough for Remus to poke his head in. When their friend's face came into view, it twisted in confusion and he opened his mouth to no doubt ask why Melanie was in here but Lily yanked him in before he could give them away and shut the door.

"Thank you darling.", Lily said sarcastically as Remus stumbled into the room, sloshing water unto the floor.

Remus straightened and opened his mouth again, his amber eyes shinning in incomprehension, but Lily put a hand over his mouth effectively silencing his voice as she raised hers. "Babe, could you help me wash this stain out of my shirt, I got sick and well…could you just help me?, Lily said, getting impatient, her eyebrows forming a drastic V over her eyes.

Remus looked confused but nodded. Lily rolled her eyes and nudged him sharply, motioning for him to say it. "Uhh…sure.", Remus stuttered out. Lily rolled her eyes again and reached out to turn the faucet on full blast. When the rush of falling water filled the room, Remus took a step back.

"What the blooming hell is going on?", he hissed, his perplexed gaze flicking from Mel to Lily and back.

"I don't know _honey_, why don't you tell me?", Lily retorted, her voice heavy with sarcasm as she threw Remus' endearment back at him.

Remus scowled, which made Mel's eye wide because he _almost never _got mad. "Well, you left me with those blokes and when I asked to go check up on you they wouldn't let up until I said you were my girlfriend. And they stood right behind me as I was standing at the door. I had to make it believable! Now would you two like to tell me why Mel is hiding out in here?", he finished, eyes landing on the brunet for an explanation.

Mel sighed and then spent the next five minutes explaining what had happened and their plan to get out. When she was finished, Remus looked like he was going to puke.

"Blimey, when I said I had to see you do worse than finding two dying men in an alley, I was kidding Mel!", he whispered, eyes wide and frightened.

Mel laughed, a short, bitter, sound, and grabbed onto Remus' forearms. "I know but I seemed to have royally pissed off the Fates because they like to use me as their punching bag nowadays."

Rem sighed and closed his eyes, his face ghostly pale. "Fine. I'll do this because I don't want those guys to die but you _owe _me, Mel."

Mel nodded. "I'll make it up to you I swear. I'll buy you _boxes _of that imported chocolate you fancy and…"

"I hate to break up this suck up party but we have crimes to commit remember?", Lily interrupted, jerking a thumb over her shoulder, her face set grimly.

Mel exhaled sharply.. "You're right Lils. Alright, so how are we going to do this?", Mel said looking between her friends.

Silence reigned in that small room.

They were as stumped as Mel was. Three pairs of eyes flicked back and forth, staring at each other in puzzlement when suddenly, a firm knock resounded on the bathroom door, causing everyone to jump. "Is everything alright in there?", a gruff voice asked.

"Uhhh….y….yes, we'll be out in just a moment.", Lily called, her voice quavering slightly.

The three friends met each others eyes in desperation, minds scrambling for an answer when Remus suddenly gasped. "I got it! Lily, you and I will go out there and you will fake being sick so the cops and staff will focus on us so Mel can slip into the back!", he muttered in a hushed whisper, his eyes alight with fright and excitement, the amber color of his eyes nearly turning gold as they shined.

Mel could have kissed Remus. Thank the bloody heavens they had some brains in their little group.

Mel bit her lip and looked at Lily who shrugged. "It's the best we got. Ok, so I'll pretend my stomach is hurting horribly and when I say 'Someone hurry!', you slip out okay? And in five minutes, the alarm will go off and you better get out of here and be on that corner.", the red head said, emerald and sapphire locking. Mel confirmed the final plan with a nod and embraced her friends.

"Thank you and I'm so sorry we had to do this.", she whispered fervently, tears stinging the back of her eyes.

Lily and Remus pulled away. "Your welcome. Right now, its 1:25. You have five minutes. Try to stay safe and not find anymore dying blokes, alright?.", Lily said trying to mask the fact that she was scared out of her mind. Mel nodded jerkily and when she had synced her watch, the trio of friends shared one last glance. If anyone was going to back out, this was their last chance. A moment of hesitation passed before Lily and Remus opened the door and walked into the ER waiting room, looking completely confident.

Mel locked the door behind them and she leaned on the sink as she waited in the small room, her heart beating so loud she could have sworn the people walking by would hear it. She couldn't believe this was happening.

Was this some horrible nightmare?

Could she really be about to commit a felony, and kidnap two dangerous, dying, people from a hospital?

The muscle in her chest was pounding away frantically and blood roared through her ears, the noise like crashing wave on the beach. Her palms were beginning to sweat and her once composed face shone with the same perspiration. Her harsh, anxious pants were the only thing breaking the God awful silence. Time slowed down as reality began to close in around her. Yes, this was really happening. Mel closed her eyes and tried to take a deep breath. _"This is going to work, this is going to work,…this HAS to work.", _she thought.

An eternity passed and Mel began to think that Rem and Lily had been found out when all of the sudden a commotion could be heard in the room adjacent to hers and suddenly Lily's cue rose in the air. And then time took off at a sprint, like a track star does when they heard the retort of the gun.

Mel bit her lip until she could taste blood and she took a deep shuddering breath. _"Well, Melanie, time for you to show what you are made of.", _the brunet thought as her shaking hand unlocked the door and pulled it open.

The moment of truth was at hand.

The harsh light of the waiting room was a drastic difference from the dimness she had been previously immersed in but she adjusted quickly. Her eyes automatically traveled to the source of the chaos to find Lily writhing on the floor, her bright red hair like blood against the linoleum floor, nurses and cops alike hovered over her in anxiety.

Mel abruptly tore her gaze from the distressing scene and to the looming doors of the ER. With a swift look to make sure no one noticed her, she sprinted to the double doors and they opened with a quiet hiss. Mel immediately crossed the threshold and listened as the door closed behind her, the antiseptic smell once again growing stronger. Then, Melanie was hit with a crucial dilemma: she had no idea how to get back to Padfoot's room!

"_Way to go! Well, you better think of something because that alarm is going off in five minutes and counting whether or not Padfoot is with you!", _the pessimistic part of Mel's mind screamed.

Mel groaned and cast her eyes around the long hallway, identical white tunnels branching off every twenty feet. _"Which one is it?", _she thought frantically, tugging at the ends of her hair. "_Just choose one and go! You're running out of time!", _her mind screamed at her.

"Umm…umm…this one!", Mel muttered as she chose a random hallway to her left, taking off at a jog. But Mel soon realized that she must have chosen wrong because even though she looked in every widow of every door down that hallway she couldn't find hide or tail of Padfoot.

"Come on, come on!", Mel whispered to herself as she sprinted down another white hallway, her head constantly on a swivel, ignoring passers-by as they ignored her.

However, as she turned the next corner, an ear shattering alarm rang throughout the hospital. Reality sped up again, like someone had pressed the fast forward button.

Lily had done it. She had actually pulled the alarm. Lily Evans had committed a felony…for her.

This thought had her skidding to a halt as the breath left her lungs and all at once, the sprinklers over head opened with a whoosh and torrents of water cascaded down around her.

"No, no, no!", Mel groaned as the water began to soak through her clothes, her eyes casting this way and that. She hadn't found them yet! "Bugger!", she exclaimed and she spun on heel and took down a different corridor as people began to scurry about, shouting orders and demands.

As she ran, Mel was jostled this way and that by patients and medical staff alike but she ignored all of them as she pushed herself faster and faster, looking for that black tangled mane, or that stormy pair of eyes.

Screams got louder, the alarm got shriller and Mel began to dissolve into a spiral of total panic as time dragged on. _"I'm not going to find them! Oh bugger! I'm not going to find them in time and we would have done all this for nothing!", _she thought. Suddenly, an arm caught her and she looked up in mingled hope and fear but that hope quickly burned away.

"Miss, you need to get to the nearest exit. Its this way. If you would please follow me…"

Ignoring the shouted demand of the anxious looking nurse, she tugged her arm free and took off once more.

As less and less people crowded the bowels of the hospital, Mel began to lose all hope. With each minute that had past, it became more and more likely that Padfoot and his friend had been taken out of the hospital by staff already. All of the sudden, Mel's foot lost its traction and she was sent tumbling to the ground, meeting the cold, wet floor, with a loud smack.

Melanie laid there, panting in exhaustion, her hair soaked and hanging in her vision as she kneeled defeated on the ground, an overwhelming sense of failure seeping into her bones.

She had done this all for nothing.

Lily would be caught, Remus would go down with her. And Padfoot would be found and most likely killed.

But as she thought to just give up and walk out of the nearest exit, she heard Padfoot's voice in her head, begging for her help. She couldn't give up now. It wasn't over until she was sure Padfoot was no longer in the building.

Rejuvenated, Mel scrambled to her feet and sprinted around the next corner, hope rekindled again, only to run into something head long, sending her right back down to the ground once more. She looked up in astonishment, her wet hair falling into her eyes to see Padfoot not three feet from her, soaked and irate.

"Bloody hell! What the bugger just happened?", he growled, rubbing his chest where Mel had hit him, the thin material of his gown almost translucent, red already staining the soaked material.

"Padfoot!", Melanie exclaimed, her relief laden voice echoing down the hallways over the sound of the sprinklers.

The black haired male jerked his head up in shock and his charcoal orbs widened. "Mel…anie?"

The brunet nodded in bone numbing relief and a hysterical laugh bubbled from her lips as the two teens stared at each other with water gushing down around them, the alarm still blaring over head.

"What…what the bloody hell are you doing here? Do you not hear the fire alarm?", he yelled at her, trying to be heard over said alarm, his face furrowed in irritation.

Even his callousness couldn't burst Mel's bubble of abject relief. "What the bloody hell does it look like I'm doing? I'm trying to find you!", she laughed, still giddy.

Padfoot's jaw went slack as he stared at her in disbelief. "Wh…what?"

Mel brought an arm up and gestured around them. "What do you think all this is about?", she yelled, a smile still planted on her face.

"_You _did this?", he shouted, his eyes going even wider.

Mel nodded spastically like a small toddler, proud of what she had done. "Yup. You said you needed to get out so here you are: one escape plan just for you. And if we actually want to _escape _we need to get the bugger out of here, and now!"

Padfoot shook his head as if to clear it and then nodded, starting to get up. Mel followed his example and walked over to him, just now noticing the prone figure at his side as his bent to retrieve it.

"Is he ok?", Mel asked anxiously as she reached him, her joy already fizzling out as the pressing matters at hand took hold of her brain once more.

Padfoot grunted in pain and exertion as he picked his friend up bridal style. "He will be once we get out of here. And speaking of which, do you know how we are going to do that Miss _Price_?", he asked as he turned towards Mel, an eyebrow raised in question, his thunderhead eyes boring into her.

Mel bit her lip again (she really needed to stop that or she was going to lose it) and was about to say she didn't have a single clue. Blue eyes swung around the room and came to a grinding halt.

The fates had sent her as sign, despite the fact that they had put her into this situation, that they wanted everyone to get out of this alive. Because about five feet from her was an empty gurney and a couple of doctors scrubs just discarded on the floor, probably lost during the commotion of evacuation. Mel looked up with a small smile.

"I think I have an idea."

* * *

If Mel thought the inside of the hospital had been chaotic, the outside was a war zone. Flashing lights were everywhere, on fire trucks, police cars, ambulances, news van, everywhere. And every inch of land surrounding the hospital was covered in people. Nurses, doctors, patients, police. Mel gulped as she saw the multitudes of black uniforms dotting the ground and she faltered in her steps.

"Steady. Come on, we're almost there.", her companion hissed, unrecognizable in the green scrubs and mask. Mel nodded and scurried to keep up, her own scrubs feeling like a neon sign on her skin saying "I'm here! Right here! I did this!".

Padfoot and herself had donned the disguises and placed his friend on the gurney, playing the part of doctor and nurse bringing out a patient. And this plan was working brilliantly so far. No one spared them a second glance as they wheeled their "patient" through the crowd, even with Padfoot's prominent limp, everyone else was to busy with their own tasks to pay them any mind.

Important looking doctors were shouting various different orders and Padfoot and herself were directed to the back half of the parking lot by an especially irate looking man. Padfoot nodded, really playing his part while Mel just stood their wide eyed and obvious, still felling as if everyone knew what she had done. But the doctor ignored her, and turned his attention to someone else and the two teens were bustled along. They were half way across the crammed parking lot when a sudden, sharp, groan captured Mel's attention. She turned her head to the right and her pace slowed as she saw a man laying on a gurney covered in blood. Nurses and doctors rushed around him, trying to help him, but it was obvious they were losing hope. "Damn fire! We were half way through surgery and…now this bloke might not make it!", a doctor growled, trying to close a gaping wound in the man's abdomen. And the worst part was, the man still awake, his face ashen and pinched as he faded in and out of consciousness.

Melanie felt the blood leave her face and she stopped walking altogether. Her gaze lifted from the man and traveled across the hospital grounds, taking in the wails of sick and the dying that rose above of the still screaming alarm. These people were now forced to endure the freezing cold and the drizzle…because of her. This though smacked into Mel like a freight train. She was the reason these people were suffering, it was her fault that some of them would die.

A shuddering gasp left Mel and her hands raised to cover her mouth as tears began to spill from her eyes. "Melanie? _Melanie!", _a voice hissed behind her and suddenly a familiar hand wrapped around her arm. "What are you doing? We can't stop here!", Padfoot whispered as he tried to tug her along.

But Mel wouldn't budge, her eyes refusing to leave the horror before her. "Padfoot, what…what have I done?", she muttered in dismay, her chest starting to constrict.

The injured man seemed to know exactly what she was thinking as he leaned down and whispered in her ear, his chapped lips brushing her skin. "You did what you had to in order to save me. And I am grateful for it. But we need to keep moving before someone notices us."

Mel's trance broke and she nodded slowly. If she was in her right mind, those words might have sent a little warmth through her veins but as of right now she just let herself be gently lead away by the warmth of Padfoot's hand on her elbow, her insides cold as the air on her skin. As they walked, everything became just a mess of colors and sounds, nothing made sense to Mel. Left, right, up down, they were all confused and backwards and Mel felt as if they were just walking in circles.

But Padfoot knew exactly what he was doing and soon they were at the edge of the crowd that bordered Wellhouse Lane. People were still confused and an excited thrill pulsed in the crowd, everyone wanting to know what was going on as they craned their necks to see over each other. So, with everyone otherwise occupied, Padfoot and Mel were able to slip past them unnoticed, Padfoot's friends securely in his arms, Mel securely hanging onto Padfoot's shirt.

And suddenly, they were across the street, disappearing into the brush, silent as shadows. Or al least Padfoot was. And even in Melanie's catatonic state, she dimly realized…they had done it, they had escaped.

"Where did you say your friends were going to meet us?", Padfoot asked, his gait growing slower and choppier as they walked. Mel stumbled over a branch as she pulled down her mask and blinked as the words slowly registered in her brain.

"Uhhh…the…the corner of Wellhouse and Wood.", she stuttered quietly, tightening her grip on Padfoot as an ambulance blared past.

"Well, we're here. Now where are they?", he muttered and Mel could hear an undertone of pain in his words as he shifted his friend in his arms.

The duo stopped and before Mel could even respond, Lily and Remus came flying out of the brush.

"Melanie!", Lily exclaimed as she threw her thin arms around her friend. "Where the _bloody hell_ have you been? We've been waiting for _ages!_ We thought one of those nasty blokes had caught you!", her friend screeched in anger but Melanie could see the worry in her eyes.

"Sorry Lils. We…were delayed a bit.", Mel acquiesced with a wane, exhausted smile.

Lily opened her mouth to berate Mel but was rudely cut off.

"Yes, yes. It is a wonderful story actually, but a story left for another time. We still need to get the bugger outta here, or do you blokes want to stay here and shoot the breeze?", Padfoot growled, his dark eyes boring into the three young teens before flitting around to make sure no one was nearby.

Melanie sighed and gestured to the man beside her. "Lily, Remus, this is Padfoot. Padfoot, these are my friends Lily and Remus."

"Well that's all fine and dandy but can we get a move on?", he said, motioning with a jerk of his head in the opposite direction, his eyes still jittery.

Lily looked down right furious but Mel cut her off before she could explode. "Just leave it. Let's just get home all right?"

Lily scowled but one world wearied look from her friend and she reluctantly agreed.

"Come on this way.", Remus muttered and together the foursome plus one unconscious companion, started down the cold, wet, street, sticking to the shadows as best they could.

* * *

After what seemed like an eternity and a half, the band of teens finally collapsed onto the hard seats of the subway car, the people around them not even taking notice of their haggard and odd appearances, or even the unconscious man they had in tow.

Padfoot sat down with a groan of pain, reaching up and yanking down his mask, throwing it to the floor and shifted the body that leaned on his into a more convenient position. At his sound of pain, Mel looked over from her spot beside him but decided to keep quite, not wanting to deal with his remarks right now.

The brunet felt a nudge from her left and turned away from Padfoot to see Lily looking at her, a thousand questions swirling in her eyes. But Melanie shook her head, indicating she didn't want to talk and closed her own orbs, the screams of pain from the hospital still ringing in her head.

But before she knew it, Lily was shaking her awake. "Mel, wake up, this is our stop.", her red haired friend told her gently, her quiet voice pulling Melanie from the fog of sleep.

Mel blinked her eyes a few times to try and dispel her grogginess and then turned to see her friends and Padfoot already standing, the tall, dark haired male looking down at her in impatience.

She shook her head to awaken fully and then stood, following Padfoot off the car. As she walked across the platform, Mel was hit with a weird sense of déjà vu and she slowed to a stop.

Noticing that their friend was no longer behind them, Lily and Remus stopped too which in turn forced Padfoot to halt. Padfoot huffed and turn to stare at the other three. "What is it now?", the grey eyed male growled.

Mel blinked and looked up, meeting his gaze. "Uhh…sorry it's just…two weeks ago I pulled you across this platform and now we are here again, and you're still black and blue, running for your life.", she babbled, her brain running on fumes already.

Padfoot blinked but before he could respond, Remus walked up to Melanie and tugged on her gently. "Come on, Mel. We are all a bit peaky. Let's just get home."

Mel blinked again and nodded tiredly, letting her sandy haired friend pull her along.

Within ten minutes, the somber looking group arrived at the doorstep of Mel's house, the four of them shivering madly in the cold, their breath fogging before their faces.

"Could you take any longer?", Padfoot drawled behind Mel as she tried to open the door for the third time with her trembling hands. She chose to ignore him, and concentrate on the task at hand but out of the corner of her eye she saw Lily shoot him an absolutely enraged look, her eyes nearly glowing.

But before Lily could say anything, the lock finally clicked home and Mel shoved on the wood, swinging the door wide open. "Come in, and try not to destroy or steal anything this time.", she said, locking her exhausted blue eyes on Padfoot.

Mel thought she saw a flicker of guilt slide through Padfoot's shinning eyes but it was gone before she was sure and then he was brushing past her into her home. As they made their way into her warm living room, Padfoot's voice split the silence. "Could you turn on a light or two? I can't see a bloody thing."

Melanie sighed and made her way over to the light switch and just as she flicked them on, Lily's own voice sounded.

"What the bloody hell is your problem you arsehole? Melanie just risked being arrested and saved your ungrateful arse, not once but _twice,_ and all you can do is gripe and moan like a little nancy boy!", Lily exploded stamping her way over to get right in Padfoot's face.

The so mentioned 'nancy boy' raised an eyebrow at the feisty girl in front of him, turned to put his soaked friend on Mel's nice clean couch and then opened his mouth to address Lily but she beat him to it.

"No, you know what, just shut it. I know blokes like you, thinking they can do whatever they want just cause they got some looks on them. But let me tell you something, those looks would be rotting away in some morgue right now if it wasn't for Mel and us. And _another_ thing…"

"Lils, enough.", Mel sighed in exasperation, not wanting to fight right now. All she wanted was to get everyone in some nice warm clothes, attend to Padfoot's and his friend's injuries and then get some well deserved sleep.

Lily whirled on the brunet. "Enough? Don't tell me enough! We just saved this bloke's bloody life, the least he could show is some gratitude! I mean we could be arrested for pulling that alarm, or worse, those dodgy blokes could find out we helped him and come finish the job! I don't think saying a simple _thank you_ is asking too much Mel!", Lily screeched, the tone of her voice and the color of her eyes oddly reminding Mel of a cat. And since they were all wet, a soaked and pissed cat at that.

But Mel was pulled from her musing as she saw Padfoot's brow furrow and his head lift to lock gazes with her. "What dodgy blokes?", he asked, completely ignoring the huffing Lily in front of him.

Mel sighed and ran a hand through her hair again, her body starting to shake from her freezing, wet, clothes as well as the fading adrenaline. "These two cops came in asking questions but I never talked to them. The reason for that, and the reason for that great escape we just pulled, was because I recognized one of the blokes from two weeks ago, when I pulled you from that alley."

Padfoot's eyes went wide. "What did he look like?", he asked in a whisper.

Mel shrugged. "Big, hulking figure with a large head on broad shoulders. And he had a scar that cut diagonally across his face like this.", she said, running her finger from her right temple to the left side of her chin.

Even from across the room, Melanie could hear the breath leave Padfoot as one word slipped through his teeth. "Crabbe."

"What?", Mel asked in confusion, her own brow furrowing.

Padfoot blinked and then locked eyes with Mel again. "Does he know your name?", he demanded, something akin to irritation or agitation blooming across his face.

"Padfoot…", Mel began, still confused.

"Answer the question!", he hissed.

Mel scowled, irritation finally appearing at his attitude. "No. I signed in with a fake name and Lily and Remus gave fake ones as well. Why?", Mel responded with her own demand.

Padfoot sighed and opened his mouth but was suddenly cut off by a knock on the door. All four teens swung around to stare at the wooden portal in shock and fear, the same thought ringing through all their minds.

Had they been found so soon?

* * *

**So thoughts? Please review! :D Its easy, just press the pretty little button below and volia, a review window pops up! :)**


	12. Chapter 12

**Okie Dokie :D Here is Ch 12. Its in Sirius' POV by the way and i hope you like it :) If you have any comments or questions just contact me :) And PLEASE review! Im begging here! Enjoy :)**

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Sirius POV**

Pulse pounding in his ears, harsh pants escaping through clenched teeth, Sirius stood stock still in the hush of Melanie Strider's living room, staring towards the front door, like the other occupants of the room. Seconds passed in tense anticipation before another firm knock resounded on the door, pushing Sirius into action.

Sirius spun to face Melanie, dark eyes wild, survival instincts kicking in. "Melanie, do you have any weapons in the house?", he said, words rushed and deathly quite.

The girl slowly turned to him, striking blue eyes wide in fear and incomprehension. "Wha…what?", she stuttered, her mouth slow, her words slurred.

Sirius growled and snapped his fingers in her face. "Weapons! You know, guns, tasers, batons.", he hissed, another knock on the door making his already clenched muscles seize. _"Bloody hell. They found us already! I need to get back to the Tower, and these kids gotta come with me. Or we're all dead."_

"What the bloody hell do you need weapons for?", the feisty redhead, Lily he remembered, hissed back at him, emerald eyes narrowed in anger .

Sirius ignored her completely and continued to stare at the frozen brunette before him. "Melanie! Weapons! Now!", he grunted, taking hold of her arms and shaking her lightly.

Melanie blinked and came back to herself, shaking her head slightly. "Umm…n...no. My…my parents don't believe in vi…violence. They're…they're doctors.". she whispered, eyes flicking back and forth nervously between Sirius and the front door.

Sirius scowled and spat a vulgar curse, hands raising to pull at his hair despite the flaring pain. "_Of course her parents wouldn't believe in violence. That would just be to easy. Ughh! Bugger! What now?"_

The black haired man exhaled sharply and spun to face the lanky teen beside him as an idea dawned. "You! Go into the kitchen and get me the biggest butcher knife there is!", he ordered quietly.

Amber orbs went wide and the boy's jaw went slack. "W…wh…wha…?"

"Just do it!", Sirius hissed urgently as the knocking became more frequent.

The teen cast a questioning glance at Melanie who just gave a small, uncertain nod and with that the boy ran into the kitchen. A few seconds later, he came stumbling back into the living room, face flushed, sharp metal glinting menacingly in his palm. Sirius unwillingly tensed as the boy advanced with the weapon but relaxed as he noticed the sandy haired kid didn't even know how to hold the knife right.

"H…here.", the kid gulped, holding the knife out in a shaking hand.

Sirius snatched the medium sized serrated weapon from Re…rem…whatever his name was and spun back to Melanie who was still staring wide eyed at the door. "Melanie, come with me.", he whispered and grabbed her elbow, dragging her to the entryway, ignoring her friend's protests. As they walked, the blood that was leaking from him and the pain of his injuries became lost in the heady rush of adrenaline.

"Wh…what? N…no! Let…let go of me! Padfoot! Let…me go! I…I don't…what…what if…?", she stuttered, trying to tug away, a whimper working its way from her lips as she saw the front door, fear taking over.

"Melanie, Melanie, look at me! Look. At. Me.", he hissed, grabbing Melanie's chin and turning it sharply towards him, making her look him in the face. Sky blue eyes, wide and bright with unshed tears met his own, pink lips trembling as she tried to hold back her tears. "Listen to me. I'm not going to let anything happen to you alright? I just need you to open the door and if it's not anyone you know, just look at me and I'll take care of it. I won't let you get hurt. I promise. But you have to open the door now ok?", he said, soothingly, keeping his eyes locked on her own to convey his…sincerity.

A small spark of shock went through him. Even though it was his job to protect the people of London, Sirius felt a…more potent urge to defend this girl…to shelter her. He wasn't expecting that and his brow furrowed in confusion. But he shook his head to clear it. Now was not the time to dissect his odd compulsions. "_Oi you daft nutter! Pay attention or you won't protect bloody anyone!", _he thought to himself angrily.

Slowly, Melanie took a deep shuddering breath and nodded, an unlimited amount of trust shinning in her transparent orbs. He carefully let go of her chin and gently pushed her towards the door, shuffling to stand behind the wooden entrance. He lifted his left hand and held up three fingers, his right hand clenching on the plastic hilt of the knife. _"Hopefully, there is isn't a horde of Death Eaters on her doorstep."_

"One…two…three!", he mouthed and Melanie reached out, grasped the door knob and pulled the door open.

A gasp flew from Melanie's mouth as the cold air rushed in and Sirius started forward, ready to take care of the threat, but suddenly the brunette held up a hand, masking the gesture by placing the appendage on the frame of the opened door. Sirius frowned and froze, knife raised in the air, ready to attack, to defend. He could see Melanie's profile over the lip of the door and he saw the girl's lips twist up into a shaky smile.

"Ana! H…hi! Umm…wh…what are you doing here?, Melanie stuttered, making Sirius cringe. _"If this was a Slytherin, we'd all be dead. She so obvious it hurts!"_

"Oh, Melanie…hi! Um sorry to bother you but…its just…I saw Remus come in with you and I remember yesterday was his birthday and I…uh…came to give him this. Is he a…available?", a quiet, female, voice stammered back and Sirius slowly lowered the knife. Obviously, this person was someone Melanie knew. But he knew it was best for no one to know he was here.

"Umm…well…you see…", Melanie faltered, biting her lip as she tried to think of an answer.

Trying to help, Sirius slowly reached up and touched one of Melanie's fingers that was wrapped around the edge of the door. The brunette jumped slightly and her gaze flickered to Sirius to see him shaking his head before it jumped back to the girl at her door. "S…sorry Ana but…uh…Rem is taking a shower at the moment. We…got a little wet on the walk home.", Melanie responded, giving a nervous chuckle.

"O…oh. I see. Well…could you give him this for me?", the visitor asked timidly, suspiciously, a brightly wrapped box abruptly breaching the threshold.

Melanie took a step back in surprise but slowly reached out and grasped the medium sized green parcel. "S…sure.", Melanie answered, bringing the box under her arm. "I bet he'll love it.", she smiled.

The girl chuckled nervously. "I hope. Well,…um I'll see you later. Bye.", the girl called as Sirius heard her turn and run back into the still falling rain.

"Bye.", Melanie whispered as she took a step back and shut the door. Instantly, her eyes found Sirius' and she gave a small, genuine smile, her eyes sparkling in relief and in happiness. Sirius' heart skipped a beat at the sight but he quickly passed it off as fading adrenaline. _"Yeah? And what about the time in the hospital when you realized she had come back for you? Or when you two were on the floor and she admitted she had just committed a felony for you? Or how about when she nearly broke down in that parking lot and all you wanted to do was hold her?", _his mind taunted him but Sirius shoved the thoughts away.

He was grateful, not attracted. Besides, he knew many attractive women, women who were experienced and could give him a good time, not some naïve little kid.

"_Sure. Just tell yourself that.", _his mind whispered but Sirius ignored it and extended his left arm towards Melanie.

The brunette's face twisted in confusion but Sirius ignored it and lightly grabbed the box in her possession. "What…what are you doing?", Melanie asked in puzzlement, tightening her grip on the package and drawing it back.

"I need to check what's in the package. Just to make sure it's safe.", Sirius said, continuing to try and take it.

"What? No. It's a present for Rem.", Melanie refused, taking a step back and hugging the box to her chest, defiance bright in her visage.

Sirius growled in annoyance, all previous tender thoughts vanishing. _"Why is this girl so stubborn?"_

"I know, but something harmful could be in it. So, I need to check it. Hand it over.", Sirius commanded, holding out his hand.

Melanie scowled and shook her head, wet pieces of hair sticking to her face and neck while others flew around her. "No. It's Rem's. And there is nothing _harmful_ in this box. I knew the girl who gave it to me. Ana Hughes could never hurt a fly. She…well she fancies Remus a bit. She's not a…a…a…", she trailed off as her brow furrowed in thought.

"A what?", Sirius asked, his own brow creasing.

"A…sli…slithrin?", she finally said but it came out more as a question as her mouth fumbled over the letters.

His brow furrowed more as he repeated the word in his head. "_Slithrin? Slithrin…wait does she mean Slytherin?"_

"Do you mean a Slytherin?", he asked harshly, the word sending rage and hate spiraling through his veins.

The girl nodded spastically in response. "That's the word! That's…that's what you're worried about right? I…I mean I remember…you called me that the last time and well I just thought…you seemed so angry before.", she muttered, becoming more unsure with each word, gazing at Sirius as if for approval, her entire posture screaming 'I'm sorry!'.

The male mentally flinched. _"Way to go you arse.", _a voice that sounded suspiciously like James whispered.

Sirius sighed and ran a hand through his hair, about to confirm, when pain licked its way across his torso, making him lean back against the wall for support, an inarticulate noise issuing from his throat.

"Oh!", Melanie suddenly exclaimed, making Sirius glance up at her through pain narrowed eyes. "Your injuries! I forgot! We should get back to the living room so I can fix you up!"

Sighing, Sirius nodded and relaxed slightly as he took a step forward but immediately came to a halt. A bemused expression settled itself on Sirius' face as he looked up at Melanie, elegant eyebrows forming a drastic V over cloudy eyes. The small entryway he was in titled violently on its side, and an intense sense of vertigo slammed into the eighteen year old. The man tittered to the right, stumbling before collapsing unto the bottom of the stairs. Agony exploded in his chest and his head fell back with a groan, stars dancing before him.

"Padfoot!", the man heard Melanie call, but it was distant and distorted, echoing and resounding in his skull. Sirius looked up through strands of his disheveled hair as black began to creep into his vision in time to see a fuzzy figure rush towards him.

"_Bugger! No! This __**cannot **__be happening now! I have to stay awake! Slytherins could come and these kids won't have a clue what to do! The boy can't even hold a knife! It's my job to protect them! And James! No, I have to stay awake! Havta…stay awake…stay…awa… "_, was the last thing Sirius thought before he fell back and the darkness completely engulfed him.

* * *

Sirius groaned at he slowly swam back into the realm of consciousness, trying and failing to grasp the last fading tendrils of sleep. His head throbbed, his arms and legs burned, and his throat felt seared. Overall, Sirius Black felt like bloody rubbish and waking up wasn't sounding so appealing at the moment.

"_Every time I wake up, I feel like I've been hit by a bloody train!", _he mentally complained. But knowing he wouldn't be able to go back to sleep, the black haired male squinted open his eyes with a tormented huff…only to find light brown orbs, the size of small plates, inches from his own.

"BLOODY HELL!", Sirius gasped in shock and in his half awake state he tried to scramble away, only to smash his head on the headboard above him so hard his teeth clacked together and double the intense throbbing he was already experiencing. Another groan of pain slipped past his lips and Sirius squeezed his eyes shut once more. Snickers slowly reached his ears and the eighteen year old felt a flare of recognition and annoyance as he cracked open an eye to glare at the figure beside him.

"What the bloody hell was that for Prongs! Like I want to wake up to that in the morning!", he growled, tasting blood from the laceration on his tongue he had just given himself.

The brown eyed boy just grinned back in response, propping his head on an arm. "Good morning to you too and you should be honored to wake up to my gorgeous face Pads. Many girls are."

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Yeah? Well, tell McGonagall I think she has horrible taste and needs to sort out her priorities.", he retorted.

James wrinkled his nose, pushing his glasses up. "Now that's just wrong mate."

Sirius smirked and went to sit up but blinding pain brought him back down to the mattress. "You alright there mate?", he heard James ask as Sirius writhed in pain.

"Bloody brilliant. I think I just might go skipping down the street singing God Save The Queen.", Sirius replied through gritted teeth.

"Always knew you were a poof.", James replied smartly.

Sirius growled and threw his arm out to hit his friend but only met soft sheets. "Why the bloody hell are you so cheerful? As I recall, you got shot as well.", he complained, opening his eyes to glare at James again.

The brunette boy smirked and bared the underside of his elbow where Sirius could barely make out a small puncture wound. "True, but I had a little date with someone named Morphine while you were snoring."

Sirius scowled. "I see you met Melanie then. Bloody addict."

James smirked in response and reached out to pinch Sirius' cheeks. "First name basis already Pads? Aww is little Siri in love?", James taunted.

The grey eyed man scoffed and smacked the annoying hand away, despite the twinge of pain. "Please. I don't do love. And besides, I could do so much better than that squirt."

That God awful smirk just widened. "Whatever you say Pads, whatever you say."

Rolling his eyes, Sirius decided to change the subject. "So, how long have I been out?", he asked, turning his eyes on his best friend.

The brown eyed teen shrugged. "Not sure. Woke up about two hours ago, in excruciating pain I might add, and your girlfriend was hovering over us like some mother hen. She fluttered around like some frightened butterfly and finally gave me the sweet elixir known as morphine. And then when the agony receded and I could see again, she explained who she was and what had happened. And…", James went on but Sirius abruptly cut him off.

"You didn't give her your real name right?", he blurted, heart rate spiking.

James faked a gasp and widened his eyes until they looked downright cartoonish. "Bloody…was I not supposed to?", he whispered frantically, covering his mouth in mock horror.

Sirius scowled and gave his partner a shove. "I'm serious mate! And don't even _think_ about saying it.", he hissed, as James opened his mouth to repeate the worn out joke.

Thwarted, James rolled his eyes dramatically and shoved Sirius back. "Give me some credit mate. I have been doing this as long as you have remember?", he reminded, thumping Sirius in the forehead.

Sirius just grumbled something unintelligible and turned his eyes away from his friend to take in his surroundings. Predictably, it was the room he had woken up in two weeks ago. Plain, simple, ordinary, safe. Words that could never describe Sirius' life. Even the picture of Melanie and her friends seemed to taunt him, the three laughing teens gazing back at him as if to say 'We're happy and you'll never be'.

"Oi! Quit scoping the place out as if Malfoy is going to pop out of the bloody closet! You're making me nervous!", James hissed, flicking Sirius in the ear, which effectively pulled Sirius out of his musings.

"Well pardon me for being cautious. I mean its not like we got bloody _**shot**_ or anything.", Sirius replied with glare.

Suddenly, a light sparked in James' eye and an impossibly wide grin wormed itself unto his face. "Yeah but your little girlfriend is on our side. Unless her parents went traitor and are secretly agents of the Dark Lord."

A few moments of incomprehension passed before Sirius's jaw collided with the floor. "You're taking the piss outta me!", he gaped.

The brunette's head jerked in disagreement and he reached behind himself to Melanie's bedside table. "Nope. Completely serious. Look!", he nearly gushed, shoving a small picture into Sirius' outstretched hands. Two pairs of wide eyes, one ecstatic one unbelieving, fell to the worn paper in between them.

Three figures stood in the portrait: a man, a women, and a girl about ten. The man stood on the left, tall and imposing, with dark brown hair and calculating blue eyes, and a smile from ear to ear. The woman on the right was of soft and gentle features with auburn wavy hair and warm brown eyes, her smile caring and timid. And the girl between them was a combination of the two, having her father's bright blue eyes and mother's loving demeanor. Sirius turned the picture over and saw a small scribble across the back.

_Jacob and Kathryn Strider age 30_

_Melanie Strider age 10_

With a gulp, Sirius looked up into his friends beaming face. "Prongs…this…this is…", he trailed off, shocked into speechlessness.

James nodded vehemently, the stupid grin still etched on his face. "I know mate! I couldn't believe it either. I mean we just coincidently found two of the most famous Gryffindors of all time!", he crowed.

Sirius blinked and frowned, turning his gaze back to the picture in his hands. "But…she said she had never even heard of the word Slytherin, and she had absolutely no clue bout the brand mate.", he whispered skeptically.

James shrugged and shook his head, moving to lay back with his hands behind his head. "So she lied to keep up appearances. So what? She saved your life twice and broke you and me out of the heart of Slytherin territory. One little lie isn't much Pads."

Sirius shook his head. "No, you didn't see her Prongs. She really had no idea what I was talking about.", he said, locking eyes with his best friend.

James' forehead creased and he opened his mouth to reply but a timid knock on the door shut him up. As one, the two teens faced the doorway and watched as the door creaked open.

Wide blue eyes peeked around the doorjamb, shy and wary and immediately shot towards the bed, finding the blue-grey orbs of Sirius effortlessly, as if they were drawn by magnets, and happiness flooded into them. "Padfoot! You're awake! How…how are you?", she gasped ecstatically, quickly walking up to the bedside, a smile splitting her face.

"Brilliant, but he's been missing your engaging presence.", came the cheeky reply.

Melanie balked and a red flush spread up from her neck to cover her cheeks as her eyes fell to James' stupidly grinning face. "Wha…what?", she stammered, the flush growing darker.

"Well you see, Pad…", his reply ended in a yelp as he went tumbling to the floor, thanks to a well placed shove, smacking the unforgiving wood with a resounding smack.

"Ignore him. Morphine makes him stupid.", Sirius addressed the gobsmacked Melanie, speaking over the vulgar words that were currently spewing from the ground.

The young girl shakily nodded but stooped to help the fallen James anyways. Struggling, she managed to pick up the angry man and place him back on the bed. Once seated, James spun to Sirius, his glasses askew and his face twisted in anger. "You're going to pay for that you _git!"_, he exclaimed, moving to cuff Sirius on the head. But before he could connect, Melanie's hand whipped forward and seized his arm in mid air.

Caught off guard, the bespeckled boy spun around and gazed at Melanie in a mixture of annoyance and surprise. Embarrassed, Melanie released his arm and took a step back, averting her eyes to the floor. "Ah…s…sorry but umm…Padfoot is injured…well I mean you both are…but he hasn't had any morphine and uhhh…fighting isn't going to help either of you.", she finished lamely, keeping her gaze glued to the ground.

Out of his peripherals Sirius saw James smirk smugly at him as if to say 'Aww, she worried about you' but he chose to ignore his infuriating partner. "Speaking of morphine, you have any more?", Sirius asked briskly trying to quell the emotion that wasn't embarrassment from fluttering in his chest.

Still embarrassed, Melanie nodded without looking up, and quickly walked over to the desk across from the bed, never lifting her head. Halfway across the room, the girl tripped over the corner of the carpet, stumbling and just barely catching herself on the edge of the desk.

"_And this is the daughter of the infamous Striders?, _Sirius thought unbelievingly, raising an eyebrow in disbelief at James. The brunette boy seemed to know exactly what he was thinking as he just shrugged and smiled in nonchalance.

Rolling his eyes, Sirius turned his attention back to Melanie to find her filling a syringe with clear liquid. When the plunger was full of the pain relieving elixir, Sirius held out his hand. "Give it to me.", he commanded.

Melanie furrowed her brow and opened her mouth to argue but instantly shut it. "You'll win anyways.", she muttered, reluctantly placing the syringe in his outstretched hand.

Sirius smirked. _"At least she learned that.", _he thought smugly as he eased the needle into the crease of his elbow.

The plunger met the base quickly and Sirius had to suppress a sigh but couldn't quite stop the content smile from spreading across his face. "_Thank God for drugs." _

"Whose the bloody addict now?", James taunted, nudging him in the side.

Irritated, he turned to tell James off but suddenly an ear shattering yell exploded from downstairs.

"MEL!", screeched the voice of Melanie's irritating red headed friend.

Shocked, Sirius' hand jerked and the hair thin needle snapped in half, the bottom portion still imbedded in his skin. "BLOODY FREAKIN HELL!", he shouted as blood welled from the wound, the broken needle glinting silver in the river of red.

"Padfoot!", Melanie cried rushing forward to assist him but Sirius turned away harshly, his back facing her as he swung his feet over the opposite side of the bed.

"Leave me alone.", he hissed, trying to staunch the blood flow and not pass out from the pain spiraling in his body from the sudden and drastic movements. She hadnt done anything but he needed an outlet for his anger and unfortunately, Melanie was the best candidate. _"Buggering shite! What the hell was that? Well this is just brilliant! How the hell am I supposed to dig this bugger out now?", _Sirius yelled internally.

"But…", she stuttered.

"I'd listen to him if I was you.", James supplied and after a indecisive moment he heard Melanie mutter a reluctant agreement before leaving the room, the lock audibly clicking into place. Silence ticked by, interrupted only by Sirius' enraged mutterings and pants before smothered laughter reached his ears.

Sirius' eye twitched. "Stop blooming laughing and get your arse over here and help!", he growled at the snickering James.

Still biting his, James walked around the bed to stand before the bleeding teen. "Sorry mate…it's not my fault Miss Strider makes you so flustered.", he cheekily replied, another shit eating grin worming its way onto his face.

A few seconds later, the house echoed with James' howl of pain and Sirius' familiar barking laughter.

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**So? :) If i get at least five good reviews, ill update faster :D and just so you know BIG revelations are coming up in the next chapter! :D So just press the little, pretty, button below and make my day :)**


	13. Chapter 13

**...ok. I give you explicit permission to pelt me with whatever you desire because i am a horrible person. I promise updates and i continue to let you down and for that i am sorry :( Life has been extremely hectic and demanding and has killed a lot of my motivation. (Thank Advanced Placement, AP, or Honors classes for that T.T) But i really do want to finish this story and i know i promised last chapter for revelations but i felt if i didnt post something soon i'd never get around to it ;( But this is chapter 13, ends in a cliffy sorry o.o, but i swear on my life if i get at least 5 reviews i will update before December. :) I promise promise. **

**My best friend and beta, Erika AKA La pequna escorpian, says hello btw :)**

**PS: I totally do NOT like my writing skills in this chapter but...it is what it is. T.T**

**Oh and i havent done this for awhile...since like the first chapter XD But i do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters:( I just use them for my amusement. **

**Please review btw :) I know i dont deserve it but they are nice nonetheless. :)**

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**Melanie's POV**

"_What the bloody hell is wrong now?", _Mel thought as she raced down her staircase, taking two steps at a time. Two weeks ago, Lily screaming at the top of her lungs wouldn't have even made the brunette flinch but with the recent events still fresh in her mind…let's just say Melanie wasn't taking any chances.

Heart racing, lungs aching, the frightened teen burst through her kitchen doors, slipping on the slick tile, half expecting to find Lily and Remus on the floor covered in blood, eyes wide and empty, if the redhead's ear-splitting scream had been any indication. But what she found was…anticlimactic to say the least.

Still panting, Mel felt her eyebrow twitch violently as she stared at her best friend nonchalantly nibbling on an apple, the thin girl perched on the edge of the kitchen table. Remus stood beside Lily, shaking his head in exasperation and holding the bridge of his nose, a pose that Mel couldn't help but sympathize with. If the blokes with guns didn't find her, Melanie was sure Lily Evans was going to be the death of her.

"Lily what the bugger were you screaming about? You just about gave me a bloody heart attack!", Mel hissed, her galloping heart still thundering in her ears.

The emerald eyed girl blinked owlishly, swinging her legs in a childish manner as she continued to munch on her snack. "Oh nothing. I was just seeing where you were. No telling if those blokes had pulled a fast one on you, knocked you out, and fled the scene. But you're fine so you can go back to whatever it is you were doing."

Melanie balked at her best friend and then grit her teeth harshly, closing her eyes as she rubbed her temples in an attempt to sooth the blossoming migraine. "Lily did you not stop to think that _maybe_ you screaming my name like you're about to be killed was _not_ the best way to call me, given our situation?"

Lily paused in her chewing and tilted her head slightly. "Hmm…I see your point. Oops. My bad.", she shrugged.

Her words caused Mel's whole face to twitch. "Oops? Oops? You scared the shite out of me, made Padfoot snap a needle in his arm and all you can say is _OOPS?"_

All Lily did was nod and hum in agreement, a smirk hiding behind her faux innocence and wide green eyes.

Mel growled and started forward, all her pent up frustration and misplaced fear rushing to the surface in a crushing wave, but was stopped as Remus leaped between them, carefully yet firmly taking hold of Mel's shoulders. "Alright let's just calm down now! We've all had a…trying day. We are all exhausted and fighting isn't going to help anyone. So why don't we just step back and take a few breaths?", the amber eyed boy begged, gaze flicking desperately between his two female friends.

Ice blue eyes slowly met forest green and a silent agreement passed between them, invisible to anyone else. "Fine.", they said simultaneously and seeing that the danger had passed, for now, Remus released Mel.

As her support system stepped away, Melanie felt her energy, the adrenaline that kept her going, flee with him and suddenly she could no longer stand. Mel slumped abruptly in her spot, like a puppet whose strings had been unexpectedly slashed. Bone wearily tired, the young teen blindly shuffled over to the table that Lily was still sitting on and promptly collapsed in a seat, her head meeting the worn wood with a solid thud.

This had to be the most _**exhausting**_ time of Mel's life. Her brief encounter with Padfoot two weeks ago couldn't even _compare_ to what she was feeling now. And that was saying something.

After the black haired teen had passed out in her entry way last night, Mel and her friends had to wrestle his body upstairs, very nostalgic but _**not **_any easier, and laid (more like dumped) him beside his still unconscious friend on her bed. Then, she and Lily had tended to the two young men: wrapping wounds, re-doing stitches, changing damp clothes, again nostalgic but mortifyingly embarrassing at the same time. The entire process had taken almost two hours and many, _many, _curses as well as fumbles had occurred along the way. Then, drained beyond belief, both mentally and physically, Mel had barely touched the scarce dinner Remus had hastily pulled together before she trudged back up to her room where she spent a sleepless night watching over her sleeping "patients", a self appointed yet arduous task.

However, the shadows of the night had passed by relatively easily: no psycho men bursting through her windows, no scarred cops banging down her front door. Mel had almost slipped into a doze, the quiet had been so soothing.

That was until at almost three in the morning one of the prone figures on her bed had moaned like a dying animal and nearly thrashed himself off the mattress.

Startled by the horrible noise, Melanie had groggily bolted off her chair, stumbling over to the bedside and hovered anxiously as the man named…Prads…Progs…whatever, kicked and writhed in obvious agony. Then, deep brown eyes had suddenly snapped open, the orbs glazed and frantic under their wire rimmed cage. The spastic emotions immediately reminded Mel of storm blue eyes that had just recently bore the same expression of suspicion and fear. Also, the iron grip on her wrist didn't help to dispel the familiarity.

And much like her dealings with Padfoot, Melanie had to strive her hardest in the following moments to calm the brunette teen down: repeating words of assurance that he was safe, flashing the pale, smooth, clear underside of her left arm every few seconds, though she still did not know why that was so important, and finally patting herself down to demonstrate she had no weapons.

The whole nine yards.

The man calmed down soon enough, however, unlike his companion and, wonder of all wonders, he was not nearly as rude in his accusations, in his questions and more precautionary than hostile were his movements. Mel found this an incredibly refreshing alternative to Padfoot's always aggressive and intimidating behavior. But there was a catch. There is always a catch because unfortunately for Mel, this man also thought of himself as God's gift to women.

"Prongs at your service milady! And when I say at your service, I mean _any _service."

Granted, this bold and brash comment, accompanied by a _very_ blatant wink, had been after Melanie pumped the boy full of morphine…but that didn't stop it from driving an angry red color right up into Mel's cheeks. The man had thrown back his head and down right laughed at her embarrassed and mortified expression, his pale and drawn face exploding in vibrancy as he chuckled and snickered.

"I'm just taking the piss out of ya, don't worry. I might not be the smartest bloke around but I bloody hell know not to mess with Pad's girl."

Flummoxed at his comment, Mel had just written off his behavior as morphine side effects. However, as she spent more time with him, checking his wounds and vitals, Melanie had realized that the bubbly nearly in-your-face persona was actually his true personality, or at least the easiest for him to assume. Prongs, as he so called himself, was jovial and humorous, the _exact opposite _of his friend. Even in his current situation, in a strange new place, riddled with more holes than Swiss cheese, Prongs' jokes kept flowing, his smiles just as easily accessible. Even when Mel would subtly slip in a personal question, he would just shrug it off, eloquently diverting the conversation down another venue instead of stoically throwing up an impenetrable wall like _someone else _she knew.

All in all, Melanie found she liked this Prongs.

"_Don't lie. You know you find a certain grouchy blue eyed git attractive as hell.", _her mind taunted to which Mel promptly and skillfully ignored.

But now, Melanie didn't like anyone. She was exhausted beyond belief, wound tighter than a golf ball, and becoming increasingly irritable. She just wanted to sleep. Maybe, she could just take a nap right here on this comfortable table. For just a few minutes anyway.

"AHHH!"

Mel started at the scream and fell ungraciously out of her chair, landing with a loud smack. Blinking more in confusion and shock than pain, her gaze snapped upwards, staring at the ceiling in bewildered aggravation as muffled laughter seeped through the thin partition.

"The bugger…?", she muttered. Mel turned to her friends in search for some type of answer but they were just as wide eyed and puzzled.

Sighing and shaking her head, the brunette teen hoisted herself off the floor. "Guess that's my cue."

"Better you than me.", Lily quipped, causing Mel to throw a withering glare over her shoulder as she strode out the swinging door of her kitchen.

"_Why am I surrounded by people who just make my life so much harder?", _the brunette scowled as she mounted the stairs. "_I mean are the Fates that pissed off at me that they send me friends who drive me up the wall and strangers who seen to have a death wish?"_

Apparently they were, because when Mel entered her bedroom, it was to find Prongs sitting on the floor, glaring balefully up at Padfoot who sat on the bed, both men speckled with blood.

"Goddamnit Padfoot! That HURT you bloody fucking GIT!", the bespectacled boy roared, hands pressed harshly against his red stained chest.

"Why don't you take your own advice then and think before you open your mouth Prongs!", the man glared, his own hand currently trying to staunch the blood flow from his arm.

"What the hell is going on in here?"

Now, Mel was normally a quite girl. She left all the loudness to Lily and was content to just sit back with Remus and let the redhead rip people a new one. But there was something about Padfoot, probably the fact that every time she met him he was oozing god awful amounts of blood and recklessness and looked on the verge of death, that made her heart stop and Lily's abrasive persona to jump into her soul and out of her mouth.

Neither man, however, turned towards her as they continued their glaring contest, stormy blue clashing with molten brown. "Nothing.", Padfoot grunted, eyes still narrowed and heated, ignoring the steady trickle of blood that dripped from his arm, spreading rivers of scarlet that flowed unto Mel's once pristine comforter.

"Yeah. Nothing. Pads was just being a pansy because I pointed out he's smitten…"

Another growl rumbled from atop the bed. "Prongs if you know what's good for you, _shut up."_

"Why don't both of you shut up!"

The room went quiet and, finally, heads spun to address Mel as venom leaked from her lips. But the brunette was truly too far gone to be embarrassed or shy. She had over exerted herself almost to the point of unconsciousness and these…these…daft _gits_ were ruining everything over some stupid spat! They had been stabbed, beaten senseless, _shot for God's sakes_ and they continued to injure themselves with their stupidity!

Padfoot and Prongs stared at her in mild incredibility. "Excuse me?", the black haired teen scoffed, a mocking tone threaded through those two words.

A scowl twisted Melanie's usual placid features. "I said shut up because I have had enough! I did not risk my life and my friends lives so you gits could kill yourselves over something stupid!," she huffed, stabbing a finger into his face.

Blue grey eyes darkened into a leaden grey and an almost nostalgic sneer settled over his aristocratic features. "If you want to keep that finger I suggest you get it out of my face."

"Oooh Pads, I didn't know you were so kinky. Melanie, I'd watch out if I were you. Padfoot is a complete and total…"

The teasing comment was cut short as a muffled smack, and an abrupt yelp resonated throughout the room, followed by a sickening crack.

Confused and shocked, both Mel and Padfoot swung around to find Prongs laying face down on the wooden floor, a scowling Lily standing above him branding her weapon of choice: Mel's pillow.

"God, and I thought the other one was bad. This bloke is bloody annoying!", Lily exclaimed as she stared down at the prone Prongs as if he was some mysterious species of animal, pillow dangling precariously from her fingers tips.

Melanie stared and stared…and stared at her best friend as the red head herself inspected the man at her feet as if she didn't probably just shove the bones of his nasal cavity deep into his brain. And another thing, when the hell had she come in? Mel hadn't even heard her and judging by the prone Prongs, neither did he.

"Li…lily…what did you just do?"

The green eyed girl finally glanced up and met Mel's eyes with her signature faux innocent look. "Hmm? Oh, well its just I overheard you shouting and I thought I would come and help. "

Melanie felt her eye twitch once more and the steady pounding at the back of her skull begin to blossom into a migraine. "And killing my patient helps how?"

Lily rolled her eyes. "Come on Mel. This isn't some bloody hospital and you're not a doctor, stop acting so stingy. And besides, this bloke sounded like he had a cheeky response for everything, which was getting pretty old. And I thought I would come up and help you since Remus sort of kicked me out of the kitchen. Something about being too cranky."

Lily? Cranky? Never.

"And you thought knocking him out was a logical way to help me?", Mel deadpanned, gesturing to Prongs.

Lily shrugged nonchalantly once more and walked over to collapse in Mel's old armchair in the corner. "Never said it was logical."

Irritated and exhausted, Melanie didn't even bother to respond and point out the lesson, and the manners, that were dying to be learned here. This was really too much for the her. She just _really _needed to lie down and wake up in a world where people weren't getting shot and her friends were nice and normal.

All of the sudden, a stifled noise reached Mel's ears. At first she thought someone was choking or coughing but when she turned to identify the sound, she found Padfoot doubled over on her bed, attempting to smother his laughter while clutching his now bleeding side with his _still_ bleeding arm.

"What…could you…possibly be laughing at?", Mel asked, bewildered. Here he was, wounded again, his friend probably dead thanks to Lily's treatment, psycho blokes more than likely still looking for him, and he was busting up as if there was no tomorrow. Well…maybe there wasn't but that's besides the point.

"He's a nutter. What have I been telling you?"

Padfoot didn't even notice Lily's snaky comment and with Mel it barely registered as everything faded into the background, just more white noise. The brunette was too enraptured by the fluid baritone that was his laugh and, just like before when she had tripped in the kitchen, she wished he would laugh more.

However, her trance was quickly broken as a groan rose up from the floor, a pitiful wailing sound. "Ugh…what the bugger hit me?"

The trio of teens, Padfoot nearly in tears, turned to see Prongs painstakingly pushing himself into a slouch/sitting position, cradling the new red bump that was glaring from his forehead as he squinted his freshly acquired pain. "Bloody hell, I feel like my face is broken."

Padfoot snickered harshly. "Don't worry mate. It's a vast improvement from what it usually looks like."

Prongs did not seem amused as he snapped his head up, facial features scrunched as he attempted to focus and glare at the same time without his glasses. "Pads, I swear to bloody God I…"

"You'll what? Punch me? You can't even get off the floor!", Padfoot taunted as he continued to provoke the affronted teen on the ground.

"Don't push me _Black_."

If Mel didn't know any better, she would have sworn Prongs had just called Padfoot the worst insult in the history of the world judging by the prevailing atmosphere. It was as if those four words sucked all the air out of the room, leaving a gaping airless void. Bewildered, Mel watched as Prongs' eyes went wide, in shock or fear she couldn't tell, his face drained slightly of color, and his mouth opened and closed like that of a dying fish. He looked scared to death. But of what?

The answer became apparent as she caught sight of Padfoot's expression. In the brief time that she had known him, never had Melanie seen him so livid. His stormy grey eyes that always succeeded in drawing her in were now smoldering, darkened by rage, roiling with fury. Just those eyes alone sent a shiver of fear down her spine, and the look wasn't even directed at her!

"_God bless Prongs. If that look is any indication, I should have left him in the hospital."_

Because, at this moment, Padfoot looked as if he was about to launch across the room and strangle his friend.

Slowly. Painfully. And enjoy it too.

However, there was something else lurking behind the blatant anger. It was small, suffocated by the smothering wrath, but there nonetheless.

Fear.

But what could possibly evoke such a reaction? All Prongs had called him was…

"Black? Who's that?"

The frightened man on the ground gave a start, and Mel watched as his Adam's apple bobbed nervously at Lily's prodding.

"Uh…that's…my…nickname for Pads! You know…black…like his soul?", Prongs stuttered, the supposed answer coming out more as a question.

Mel raised an eyebrow at his response. If that wasn't the biggest load of codswallop then she was the most popular girl in school and her parents loved her unconditionally. Oh and pigs flew on a regular occasion as well.

"A nickname?", Lily deadpanned, the expression on her face saying that she believed it as much as Mel did.

"Yup yup. A nickname that's all.", he said, flashing a disarming smile at them, something that seemed reflexive to him. Mel would bet her whole house that this same smile had been used on countless girls, and succeeded too. Unfortunately for him, Mel and Lily weren't mindless idiots.

Yet before Lily or Mel could confront him, not that Mel really wanted to, anyways because if Padfoot was any type of example then she knew she would get nothing more than more lies from the young man, a soft knock resounded on the door.

Slowly, Remus' face poked around the door, almost as if he was afraid he's be attack. Which, given his company, wasn't a far fetched fear.

"Um, sorry to interrupt but Mel…your parents are on the phone."

Mel couldn't see her reflection but she knew any color that had resided in her face quickly fled at her friends words, the lack of color more than likely making her resemble a corpse. Cue heart attack and or stroke.

Her parents? _Her _parents? Jacob and Kathryn Strider? On the phone? There…was no way! Her parents _never_ checked in on her. They left for days on end, no phone calls, emails, letters, nothing. Mel had even asked them once why this was, when she was younger. Rem's parents couldn't go down the street without calling at least ten times. Having heard her inquiry, her father paused on his way out the door, gave her an unreadable look and just said that they trusted her, that she wasn't a child and could take of herself.

And that was just fine for Mel. Her parents leaving meant she had more time to spend with her friends. The fact that she was almost always alone in her own home had become routine and even at times welcome.

So why in the world were they calling her _now _of all times?

"Mel?"

Remus was getting impatient, at least as much as he could, given how mild mannered as he was. But _he_ knew that a Kathryn Strider kept waiting was not a happy Kathryn Strider. So, facing the inevitable, Mel took a deep breath and looked up, her gaze slipping back into focus to find amber orbs giving her a searching look. "Did you hear me?", he asked, tentatively.

Melanie swallowed thickly. "Y..yeah. Alright. I'm coming." She moved slowly from her bedside, drastically not wanting to do what she must, but a sudden thought pulled her up short and made her turn to face Lily.

"Lils could you try and bandage them? At the rate they're going, they'll die of exsanguination before I return."

The redhead made a face but at Mel's stern look she mumbled a reluctant agreement to the ground, already trudging over to the pile of supplies they had yet to clean up. Appeased, Melanie turned and strode out of the room, ignoring the familiar glare of blue-grey eyes brimming with suspicion that settled between her shoulder blades.

* * *

The trip down the staircase seemed to last forever, the narrow pathway stretching on continuously, the light paint colors that she had never really appreciated fading to grey as her exhaustion multiplied with each step downward.

What could her parents want? Melanie tugged her on her abused lip, the action soothing and calming, the slight pain keeping her grounded. What…what if they were coming home early?

The thought stopped Mel dead in her tracks, her body jerking to a standstill as her breath freezing in her lungs. Oh bugger. Her knuckles went white on the banister, the worn wood digging harshly into her palm. If they came home early…how in the world was she going to explain Prongs and Padfoot!

"_You're not idiot! If they are en route you will get rid of the two gits! Can you imagine how mum will act of she sees them?"_

Melanie shuddered at the image of her mother. The woman might not be home much but if she arrived to find two…delinquent strangers in her household…let's just say Mel might just rather face the police. A pissed Lily Evan couldn't even hold a match to a pissed Kathryn Strider.

But…she couldn't just abandon the two nutters, no matter how much they annoyed her. She had risked her and her friends life already, and as she thought back in the hospital, she would see this thing through. Also…she wanted….no needed to know why such events had befallen Padfoot and his friend. Who was out to kill them? Were they thieves? What was their story? Questions of this nature swirled in her mind, like an itch she couldn't scratch, a buzzing noise that filled her head. She needed to find the answers if only to appease her curiosity.

Resolved, Melanie arrived in the kitchen and picked up the receiver from the counter where Rem had left it. Her hand, however, still shook slightly, like a dead leaf in the winter winds. Mel closed her eyes. Deep breath. In and out. She could do this.

"Ello?", she said into the receiver, proud at the stability of her voice.

"Melanie sweetheart. How are you?", Kathryn Strider's voice warbled, the noise as melodic as her daughter remembered. As a child, when Mel couldn't "take care of herself", her mother used to sing her to sleep every night to put her to sleep. It was one of the things about her childhood that she really missed.

Mel smiled slightly at the wall. "Fine mum, just fine. Just here with Rem and Lily, you know han…."

"That's lovely dear. Now, are you staying warm and off the streets? You know how your father and I worry."

The soft smile slipped off Melanie's face at the words and she closed her eyes again, moving to lean against the wall as her previous good cheer evaporated like smoke. "Of course mum. As I said I'm fine.", she muttered, saying what her mother wanted to hear. Or rather, what her mother needed to hear in order for her not to feel guilty about ditching her only child any and every chance she got. Her and her husband were all about appearances, they didn't give a damn what their daughter was doing as long as everyone kept smiling.

"Wonderful to hear. Now, I know that you're wondering why I am calling aren't you darling?", her mother asked sweetly, getting straight to the point as always.

Mel rolled her eyes. "I was a _little _curious.", she said, laying as much sarcasm as she could on the words.

Her mother ignored it, or most likely, didn't even catch it. "Well, the truth is your father and I are coming home a little earlier than expected since the convention was cut short."

The swish of the guillotine as it swung towards her neck. That is what Melanie compared her mother's words to. It was her worst fear…ok maybe not the worst considering she had homicidal jerks after people that were currently in her bedroom, but pretty close. All her irritation at her parents evaporated in the flames of her fear. "H…how soon?", she rasped, her anxiety having already parched her throat, terror like acrid smoke that swirled in her lungs.

"Not terribly. We'll arrive probably Monday afternoon if not Tuesday morning instead of the planned Friday or Saturday."

Breath fled Mel's lips in a great whoosh and she slumped in abject relief. She still had three days! Three days to figure out what she, and the rest of them, were going to do. Maybe the Fates had decided to cut her a break.

"Melanie? Melanie?"

She snapped back to attention. Now was not the time to doze off. "I'm here mum. Sorry I uh…stepped away to grab a drink. So, Monday you said?"

"Yes. Is there anything you wish for your father and I to get you while we are here?, her mother asked, but it was clear by her tone she was impatient to hang up already.

"_Where is "here", exactly?"_, was what Melanie wanted to ask but decided not to. She never wanted anything anyways.

"No thanks mum. I'm good.", she replied.

"Alright. Well then we'll see you on Monday. Love you sweetie. Say hello to Remus and Lily for us."

"Ok mum, I will. I lo…", Melanie began but didn't get to finish as the dial tone beat her to it. "Love you.", she finished in a whisper setting the phone on its cradle with a muffled click.

"I see that went as well as usual."

Mel turned to find Remus in the doorway, his tall and lanky frame folded over itself as an almost apologetic smile flitted across his lips. "I tried to take a message or just take the call but she insisted on talking to you and quite frankly Mel, I love your mum and everything but…she scares the shite out of me.", he said.

"Remus she's only an inch taller than I am! You could just sit on her and you would win!", Mel laughed and walked over to shove him playfully, already feeling lighter just by the presence of her friend.

The sandy haired boy's eyes widened comically in mock horror. "Yeah but she could probably push some spot on my back that would leave me paralyzed! Who knows the damage she could cause with her doctoral knowledge!"

Mel burst out laughing, the image of a paralyzed Remus cowering before her mother nearly making her cry in mirth. "Really Rem? Paralysis?"

Her friend glared playfully. "Don't joke. You know I am right."

"Yeah yeah of you say so. Oi, let's get back upstairs, before the gits end up killing each other. Or Lily does. Whichever comes first."

Remus shook his head in exasperation, hair falling into his eyes as he held the door open. "If worse came to worse…I think I'd put my money on Lily."

Mel smirked slightly, the scowling visage of her best friend, hands on thin hips, looking ten feet tall as her hair gleamed hell, flashing in her minds eye. "I think you'd win that bet mate."

* * *

"You know, the color of your hair is extremely beautiful, not that the rest of you isn't, because believe me, it _is_, but I think I'd like to see that color on _other_ parts of you're body. What do you say Miss Evans? Are you up for some extra _healing _sessions?"

Melanie stood gob smacked in the doorway, her jaw on the floor next to Remus' as she watched Prongs reach out and not only caress Lily's hair but her _cheek_ as well.

Had she _missed _something? Had the world gone to hell in a hand basket in the five minutes she was gone? Prongs was actually trying to woo _Lily_? What the bloody hell was the idiotic git thinking? Was he _suicidal _or just high on morphine? In curious horror, Mel watched as Lily went rigid on her journey to pick a bandage off the floor, the muscles around her spine pulling taunt with suppressed rage. "_God help the poor delusional nut now.", _she thought, knowing whatever was to come was not good news for the brown eyed lad.

It seems that God had other things to attend to, however, because, quick as a cobra, Mel watched as Lily's hand flashed out, striking what she knew to be a particular nasty wound. The previously leering features went slack with shock for an instant before they contorted with agony, his mouth gaping wide as he howled his pain once more.

"OW! Wh….at aaahh.", Prongs' shout trailed off into a pathetic whimper, hands coming up to hover over his chest, unsure of the action to take to ease the enervating pain as he writhed on the bed.

Unfazed, Lily stalked away from the bed, and an apparent exasperated Padfoot if his head shaking was any indication, and dumped the dirty supplies into Mel's rubbish bin by the door. As she brought her head up, her sharp green eyes caught Mel's as if to say "I dare you to say something." Well, let's just Mel had had enough confrontation to last her a few months and…well Prong's did deserve it.

"That's what you get for thinking with the wrong head Prongs.", Padfoot informed his friend who wasn't even paying attention, still in obvious anguish.

Lily snorted but didn't comment.

In that moment, Padfoot brought his gaze up to meet Mel's, an amused smirk playing on his lips and the brunette found her breath stolen away just by that one look. She tried to berate herself, to calm herself, but she couldn't even find the neurons to do so. What was it about his eyes? They were the same as everyone else's: sclera that protected the lens and pupil of the eyeball. Nothing special. But his…every time Melanie met them, she felt as if they were prying her secrets from her brain, delving into the gray matter and seeing everything she had to offer. The intensity in them was like that of an eagle who watched the workings of the smallest creatures on the ground below, seeing all and missing none as it flew in the heavens. But it was the acumen in them, the daunting wisdom, as if he had lived a hundred years, that struck her, that nearly haunted her. What shadows and skeletons did his pass hold that such a look could be so profound in one so young? What nightmares had he faced in the dark recesses of his mind?

"Melanie?"

She snapped back to attention. "W…what? I'm sorry I wasn't all here."

Padfoot looked hard pressed not to roll his eyes. "I said is there anything to eat? Prongs and I need to regain our strength and be out of here as soon as possible."

"_And be out of here as soon as possible." _His words rang through Mel's head and then proceeded to run circuits. _"As soon as possible. He's leaving again." _Mel didn't know why, she didn't know these guys, hell she didn't even know their real names, but the fact that their departure was closing in filled her with…sadness. She felt as if friends were leaving instead of strangers. Her gaze traveled around her room. It didn't look much different, save for the blood, but these blokes had left their mark, their imprint, in her very light blue walls. Nothing would ever be the same. This experience had changed her, for a better or worse it was yet to be determined. But it had been Prongs' easy going nature, his quick smiles and full laughs, not to mention Padfoot's…everything, that had drawn her in and tied her down. It was their fault this was hurting so much.

"_Stop it! Do you even hear yourself? Your missing people who aren't even gone yet! People you don't even __**know. **__Give it a day. Padfoot and Prongs will have forgotten all about you. Lily and Rem are right, your bleeding heart **is **going to kill you one day.", _her mind scolded and Mel couldn't help but agree. Still, the fact that she knew it was foolish and idiotic did little to change how she _felt. _

"Uh y…yeah. I think we have some leftovers from last night. If not, I could make some sand…"

"No."

Lily, who had been previously slumped by the door, peeled herself away and took a firm stance, ignoring all the raised eyebrows and confused looks. "No?", Padfoot questioned, his tone alone saying "Whose going to stop me?".

"I know you're not hard of hearing.", Lily replied through thin lips, crossing her arms in an aggressive manner. "I said no."

"Lily!", Mel hissed, tired of her friends caustic nature. "What is your problem? They just want some food."

Lily spun to Mel in a drastic manner, frustration clear on her visage. "So what are we going to do? Give them some snacks and send them on their merry way saying 'Thanks for stopping by, come back any time you're dying and we'll fix you right up again no questions asked!' Really, Melanie? I don't know about you or Rem, but I want some damn answers after everything we've done! Rem and I committed a _felony _to get these arseholes out of Barnet! We are entitled to some explanations!"

At a lost of what to say, Mel turned to see Padfoot's expression and reaction and was surprised at what she found. Prongs had resurfaced from his painful stupor, quietly and unnoticed by the rest of them, and now he and Padfoot were sitting side by side, staring at each other, words, sentences, messages flowing between their eyes, unknown and invisible to the rest of them. Finally, their private conversation ended with an almost indiscernible shake of Padfoot's head and Prongs turned to face them, all playfulness and flirting gone, stored somewhere deep in his head, leaving a mask of seriousness to rival Padfoot's. "Explanations huh? Alright. We can give that."

Easy. Clean. Just like that with no arguments or anything.

Mel was just about fed up with all the surprises today. First Prongs turns out to be his mate's antithesis, then her parents call, and now Padfoot, someone closed tighter than a clam, was consenting to telling them the _truth. _Was today opposites day or something? Did Mel just not get the memo?

"Are you serious?", Lily inquired, eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"Completely.", Prongs answered, situating himself to face her, the incident from five minutes ago totally forgotten as his wire rimmed eyes settled on Lily's own, the orbs screaming honesty. "What would you like to know?"

"Who tried to kill you blokes? And why?", Lily shot back, not missing a beat.

A sheepish grin appeared on his face and if he could Mel was sure Prongs would be rubbing the back of his neck. "Well you see…Pads and I live on our own, parents were _way _to suffocating, but we never _quite_ finished school. So, in result we only got rubbish jobs that paid shite salaries. We bounced around from crappy flat to crappy flat but we never stayed long. One day, bout a year ago, when Pads and I we went job hunting after we had been kicked out again, we met this bloke named Mundungs Fletcher, a really dodgy bloke in a really dodgy place."

Here, he paused and it looked almost as if Prongs was blushing in shame. "Now, I'll be the first to admit…I'm not the smartest bloke and Pads isn't far behind. So when this bloke told us we could make more money than we had ever made in our combined lives, lets just say we didn't hesitate to jump on it. From then on, we did your odd jobs, you know deliveries and such and it was good for awhile. But the problem was we had so much money now, we didn't know what to do with it. It was burning through our pockets faster than we could replace it, as if it was dipped in kerosene. This attitude that we could always make more later is what a few debts here and there."

"I don't see how a few debts can amount to six bullets in the two of you.", Lily interrupted, scowling once more.

Here, Padfoot decided to add his two cents in. "Well, Miss I've Never Worked a Day of My Life, let's just say in the real world, debts add up and unfortunately we owed money to the wrong kinds of people.", he growled, glaring at Lily and daring her to question him again.

Lily grunted but didn't protest and Prongs continued. "So a few weeks ago, one of the blokes we owe came knocking but lo and behold, we didn't have his money. He gave us a deadline but…we decided to skip out and we left the place we were staying at. As you can see though, he found us pretty quickly.", he smiled grimly, gesturing to his and Padfoot's condition. "But that's our story in a nut shell: stupid to a fault and then some we are. Did that answer your question Lily?"

Mel cringed as Prongs nearly purred the name but Lily didn't even react. Well, he was right about one thing: he was stupid to a fault.

"Alright Prongs, you can get your arse kicked again later but I'm hungry. Now that Miss Evans," he drawled mockingly, "is happy lets eat." With that Padfoot nudged his friend off the bed, both of them slowly standing and at the same painstakingly cautious rate, they made their way towards the door.

"You…expect me to believe that _fucking codswallop!"_

When Prongs had said that he wished he could see other parts of Lily flushed her hair color, Mel was almost _positive _this was not what he meant. Lily's face had reddened to the point that it outdid her fiery hair, her normally translucent skin resembling a tomato. Her petite form was nearly shaking in rage, her tiny fists balled and shaking as she stood their livid in the middle of Mel's bedroom, her own small maelstrom. "They are both playing us for _idiots and fools Mel! _After everything we've done for them, they're going to lie to our faces and smile while doing it. But, you know what, what do you expect?", she sneered, a sudden viciousness settling over her features. "There's no honor to be found in two dirt bag scum off the streets. Just give them their damn bread and kick them out."

At the honor comment, Mel borne witness to one of the scariest sights she had ever seen. Even counting Padfoot and Prongs drowning in their own blood.

Lily couldn't see them, as their backs were to her, but both Padfoot and Prongs had jerked to a standstill and Mel watched in rapt fascination at the transformations that took place on their visages. Both of their calm and smooth faces slipped away, like the masks they were, and bared to her the raw reality of their true emotions. Rage, indignation, fury. All of these emotions, along with countless others, meshed together and plastered themselves onto Padfoot's and Prong's face, seeping into both of their eyes, escaping with every harshly exhaled breath. Mel suddenly became afraid, and Remus, who had been silently by her side this entire time, gasped quietly as the two Dr. Hyde's before them emerged. These were not the secretive, slightly emotionally stunted teens they had been moments before. These men were something entirely different. Something scary. Something deadly.

But, before, Mel could even try and think of a way to defuse the situation, Padfoot spun around and stalked forward, stopping just short of Lily's firmly rooted form, his 6 something frame towering over Lily's own diminutive stature.

"You want the truth?", Padfoot snarled, face twisted in barely suppressed rage, looking on the verge of just punching Lily in the mouth to silence her questions and comments.

Scared, for themselves and their friend, Mel and Remus scurried around the two tall men, skidding to a halt on either side of Lily. In theory, they were meant to be backup, support, aid, but it reality they wouldn't be able to do anything if Padfoot or even Prongs decided to act on their feelings.

"Yes!", Lily spat right back, not the least bit fazed as her anger actually propelled her forward to glare in Padfoot's face. "What the bloody hell have I been saying for the last ten minutes?"

Something akin to sick satisfaction flitted into Padfoot's eyes, a hellish light that sparked in the twin opaque abysses. "Fine!", he hissed quietly, the sound like the whisper of wind through the trees. "The truth is London is at _**war**_! And Prongs and I, along with a small and continuously dwindling group of people, are the only thing keeping all of you blokes, and this God forsaken city, alive! _We _are the reason the streets don't run red with blood! _Your blood._"

Silence. Crickets. More silence.

But the crushing hush, something Mel wondered would be permanent because she know she felt as if her brain just took a vacation with her vocal cords, was shattered as the previously livid redhead to her right broken down in a fit of sporadic laughter. "Oh…Oh my God! Bloody…hell! At first…I thought… you were crazy! But…but now I know… you are just bloody fucking stupid!", she gasped in between bouts, body doubled over by her mirth.

"Lily!"

The redhead rolled eyes as she straightened, scoffing as she laughed in derision. "What? Mel, unless you've snoozed through every history class we've ever had, England hasn't been at war with anyone since Hitler was terrorizing the world!"

Padfoot threw back his head and chuckled, a dark, scorn filled sound that made Mel grow hot and cold at the same time. "I never said England, I said _London Miss Evans_."

Lily scowled, her eyes flaring bright with irritation. "Same thing you bloody nutter."

Anger and aggravation sparked between the two stubborn individuals and Melanie couldn't help but grit her teeth. Her patience was really beginning to wear thin and she felt her migraine return, slowly but surely, a throbbing slug dragging across the inside of her skull. The last two days had been a rollercoaster of relief, fear, anger, and then rinse and repeat. She just wanted to rest but she knew that as long as these two were at each others throats, she would never get that. Mel, unfortunately, would continue to play mediator and referee, and, along with Remus, voice of reason.

"Pads, look calm down. It's a lot to take in alright. Its not their fault they're so ignorant.", Prongs said, but it was still clear he was miffed at Lily's earlier comment, given his last sentence.

Padfoot shifted his glare form Mel's friend to his own. "Well would you rather they hear it from me or Malfoy when he puts a gun to their temple and pulls the trigger?"

The sixteen year old brunette had been completely lost for the duration of this conversation. War? In London? Ridiculous. Padfoot had just gotten involved with the wrong people and had reaped his repercussions. This "war" was just a figment of Padfoot's overstressed, overexerted imagination. Mel was planning on just patronizing him and moving on so they could all get some well deserved rest.

But then he said that name. _Malfoy. _She didn't know who he was but Mel did know that Padfoot had said that name before. When they had first met in fact. Padfoot had accused her of being one of this…Malfoy's whores. Now, Mel was willing to overlook that little facet of their history but…that _name._

The rage and fear and hatred that had spun in his eyes and rolled off his tongue when he spoke it could not be fake, could not be staged and faux. They were too deep, to passionate to…real.

But then that means…

Could what Padfoot be saying…could it be true? A war in London? Happening under their very nose? Far stranger things had occurred. Padfoot and Prong's very presence gave testament to that. And…if there was a war…it would explain Padfoot's lack of trust. His fear and suspicion. But if it was true…then no one was safe.

Terror slid down her throat, a heavy suffocating stone. If it was true, then Mel just hadn't saved some blokes off the streets. If it was true, that made Prongs and Padfoot…soldiers. Soldiers with enemies. Enemies that would seek them out…that would hurt them…that would kill them and Mel and her friends for meddling. That leaden stone sank into her stomach and turned to ice, a numbing frost that radiated outward, to her finger tips, to her toes.

What had she done?

"Oh come on! Not you too! What are you blokes _on? _There is no war! You two were just stupid and…"

"Who is the war between?"

The words hung in the air, foreboding and unanswered. Padfoot slowly turned towards Mel, his grey, grey eyes brightening and turning into silver, like mercury. Like the glint of a sword, poised, ready to cut through Mel's glass veneered world, severing what she knew, stabbing what she believed, killing the universe she had lived in for so long.

But it must be done. Mel needed to know. She needed to know and _now. _To keep Remus and Lily safe so nothing would befall them. Hell to keep _herself_ safe and alive.

Lily, interrupted mid tirade, swung around to stare at her best friend in disbelief, her mouth hanging open in shock. "Mel you can't possible consider that these half witted gits are telling the truth!"

"If they aren't than what's the damage? Just an entertaining story we got to hear before we went to bed. You're the one who wanted to hear what they had to say remember?"

Lily scowled at Mel's response. "That's not the point! I wanted the _truth. _This…it's just a stupid prank that they are trying to pull to scare us! _It's not real!"_

"_But what if it is!" _

The whole room went silent, Mel's scream echoing in the large room. Eyes of all colors were wide in astonishment, mouths agape in shock but she ignored them all and concentrated on Lily, her blue eyes hardened into ice chips that burned through the redhead.

"What if it is real? Remus was just commenting the other day on the rise of homicides in London! What if this is the reason? Would you rather be ignorant and maybe even die just because you were too stubborn and prideful to listen to caution?"

Lily was silent, for once having nothing to say. So, taking a deep breath to compose herself, Melanie turned back to Padfoot., wanting answers, not knowing if she was ready for them.

"Who is the war between?", Mel repeated, her words adamant even though her heart was racing and her palms sweating and her knees threatening to buckle.

The black haired teen met the gaze of the bespectacled boy at his side and a silent agreement seemed to pass between them because Prong's sighed and stepped forward.

"Why don't we take a seat and I'll start at the beginning. It's a long story. And a word of caution, this is no fairy tale. The good guys don't always win. Believe me."

Something about the way he said that last sentence, the way the light in his eyes seemed to dim with pain, the terrible wisdom that seemed to reside in Padfoot's eyes along with the glossy sheen that reflected memories of anguish and of loss, struck at Mel's heart, a serrated knife that dug through tissue and muscle.

If this was real…there was no going back. No reset button. No timeout. There would be danger. Mel couldn't help but let her gaze wander over the men in front of her. The bloodied bandages. The cuts. The gashes. The scars. This is what awaited her if she took this leap.

But… ignorance was not bliss. Mel would rather know the terrors that lurked in the shadows than fall victim to an unknown enemy, her last moments filled with the question of _why_. And with a quick glance at Remus and Lily, she knew in her heart they would too.

Decided, Mel met Padfoot's eyes, determination but fear meeting his steely closed off gaze. "I want to know. What is the war in London?"

Prongs sighed again and suddenly, he didn't look like the carefree teen he always portrayed. He looked wearied, the lines of his faces deeper, his eyes tired and exhausted. As if he had seen things no one should witness. As if his whole life, his nightmares had been when he was awake.

"Pain. And death. And if we don't stop it soon, the whole city will fall to ruin. People will die in droves. The countryside will burn. And the England we all know and love will fall under the reign of a tyrant, a man that has the potential to be worse than all of the totalitarian dictators put together. Worse than Mussolini in Italy. Worse than Stalin in Soviet Russia. Worse even than Adolf Hitler and the hell he unleashed on the world."

Mel gulped in terror at his words and heard Remus and Lily reciprocate. What kind of demon was this man? "Wh…what's his name?", she whispered, already afraid of a nameless figure.

Prongs turned a pale green, his face ashy, pallid, and opened his mouth to respond but Padfoot beat him to it.

Eyes dark like lead, solid and full of hatred, zeroed in on Mel's own, the intensity of the gaze pinning her to the floor as the name slipped from Padfoot's snarling lips. "Voldemort. His name is Voldemort. And if we allow him to win, we are all going to die. "

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**Review! :D Please. Cookies will appear if you press the button below :)**


	14. Chapter 14

**Song for the moment: Arise by Flyleaf**

**TADA :D *dramatic fanfare* And now for the chapter you have all been waiting and dying for...well at least the chapter i have been waiting and dying to write XD Here questions shall be answered, lines draw and hopefully a little romance...kinda...if you squint and turn your head at a 173 degree angle ;p**

**BUT, I am actually very proud of myself for getting this done so quickly :) I literally spent three days spitting this baby out and ive got to say...i actually like it :) And i hope you will too :) If you have any burning questions and or comments please press the beautiful little button below and let them all out :D**

**OH i would also like to dedicate this to my best friend La Pequena Escorpion :) shes amazing. shes awesome. shes a dork XD but i love her just the same :)**

**But on to the story. To the war that is threatening to ruin young Melanie Strider's world :)

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**Melanie's POV**

"_Voldemort. His name is Voldemort. And if we allow him to win, we are all going to die."_

Melanie felt as if the world had come to a screeching halt, time shattering and all smelling of acrid, smoldering rubber. Die? _Die? _What does he mean die? Like…die die? Cease to be, six feet under, worm food, die? Mel, being sheltered all her life, the entitled daughter of two wealthy doctors, couldn't even wrap her mind around the concept, couldn't even begin to comprehend how serious this newly revealed war was. And apparently neither could Lily.

"Whoa whoa wait! What? You must be joking! _Die?_ This isn't some bloody James Bond movie!", Lily cried incredulously, her panic blatant under her thin mask of anger.

Rage and frustration rose in Padfoot, so potent and consuming it was visible in his burning, penetrating eyes. "Exactly! Which means we all could, and probably will, giving current events, die! Voldemort's power has grown exponentially over the last few years. Our man power has dwindled to almost _nothing. _For everyone one of us there's ten Slytherins and those numbers do not seem to be changing anytime so! It's only a matter time before Voldemort realizes how weak we truly are and moves to strike at England's heart: at Parliament. After that, he will rule over this country with an iron fist so constricting and horrible that it will put Hitler's Third Reich to shame!"

These ominous words seemed to echo and ricochet in Melanie's small bedroom, sharp deadly bullets that bounced off thin walls and rang back into the teenager's ears. The room grew colder, as if the words absorbed all warmth and life. Tension, fueled by fear and denial, snapped taunt between the two sides: Padfoot and Prongs imposing and steadfast on one side while Melanie and her friends were frozen solid in disbelief. Emotions welled in Melanie, a volatile cauldron that she couldn't even begin to describe. She wanted to slap Padfoot. Yell at him. Hurt him. Cling to and beg him to tell her this was all just a sick joke and laugh that barking laugh of his.

Suddenly, Remus, who had been silent since the dropping of this atomic bomb, stepped forward, his tall frame shaking, tremors running the length of his spine. "What…what you're talking about is…is impossible. England wouldn't let this…this…Voldemort achieve such a feat. Bloody hell, the world wouldn't! Our allies would _never_ accept him as a leader. We'd go into the next World War before Parliament was overthrown.", he argued adamantly to which all Mel could do was nod stupidly in agreement, her brown hair falling into her eyes wide blue eyes. Rem was right. Something like this just can't happen in the shadows. People would find out, and quickly too. Even if these devils were working behind the scenes, they wouldn't prevail. They couldn't.

Padfoot smirked, a dark expression full of bitter irony and pity, as if he was privy to some humorless joke that they were not. "I'm sure antebellum Germany thought the same. And look where that led them: to be a scarred and divided nation, the countryside laid to waste and the cities full of poverty and pain, corruption and malice. The Berlin Wall only came down in the last thirty years for God's sake! And now, England is on the edge of the same inevitable chasm, only the population has its back turned to it this time, deluded by a false happiness that blankets their eyes and closes their ears. Voldemort is this generation's Danton _and_ Robespierre rolled into one deformed and malevolent form. He has people _everywhere_ in England, hidden like rats in the cracks of society, especially in places of power. When, because it is no longer a question of _if, _he does stage his coup d'etat, he will not be mentioned explicitly. He's too clever for that. Instead, he will have a pre-selected scapegoat that will burn once the dust has settled. But by then nothing will matter because all will be lost. So, make no mistake Miss Strider, we _are_ at war, and we _are_ losing. ", he said gravely, locking gazes with the increasingly trembling brunette, pinning her, trapping her.

And in those smoky hypnotizing eyes, Melanie saw his pain, his anguish and with them came every war image that had ever past before, blurring and meshing, tearing at her soul and heart as Prongs' words reverberated through her skull, the eerie soundtrack to the slideshow of horrors. _"Pain. And death. And if we don't stop it soon, the whole city will fall to ruin. People will die in droves. The countryside will burn. And the England we all know and love will fall under the reign of a tyrant, a man that has the potential to be worse than all of the totalitarian dictators put together." _

_Flash. _Cities burned to cinders, the skeletal remains of buildings charred black against a grey, ash filled sky, black memorials to the lives lost, to the screaming terrors that had occurred there. _Flash._ Countries decimated, the once lush and fertile green fields dead and lifeless, shapeless craters torn into the murdered ground, Mother Nature's very own gaping, festering wounds. _Flash. _Countless unknown figures, dirty and injured men, women, and children, faces twisted in varying forms of agony, grief carved deep into their expressions as their hands were uplifted towards the sky as if to scream "Why God why?".

Fear. Agony. Death. Words that swirled in her brain, a ceaseless hurricane that stabbed at Mel's psyche until suddenly it wasn't the blurred faces of strangers that danced before Mel's eyes. It was Lily's wide green lifeless gaze that stared up at her from a ditch, asking why, why, why. It was Remus' body that was contorted and misshapen on a filthy, flooded street. It was her parents burned remains that lay in the scorched and hollowed out shell that was once her house.

It were her screams of agony and clawed hands that tore at the sky, asking an absent God what she had done to deserve this.

The world suddenly tilted on its axis, her world flipped upside down, and as Mel stared upwards with glazed eyes she realized she was on the floor, her cracked ceiling taunting her from its superior position. "_How…how did I get here?", _she wondered idly but her brain was so throbbing and exhausted under the onslaught of realizations that it could not develop an answer.

"Melanie!"

"Mel?"

Remus' and Lily's simultaneous shouts seemed muffled and faraway, like she was submerged underwater, the syllables morphed and unrecognizable. Sluggishly, Mel watched as three blurred figures hovered over her, faceless in her daze, blurs of brown and red and honey. Then, the world was moving again and suddenly the floor wasn't so hard and unyielding. No, now it was soft and cushiony, welcoming even. Maybe she could sleep here and when she awoke this will all have been a horrible nightmare. Darkness began to seep into her vision. Yes, a nap sounded really nice right about now.

"Mel, can you hear me?" A cold phantom brush upon her cheek banished the steadily creeping shadows. Confused and indignant that the dark had gone away, Melanie blinked and suddenly green and amber dominated her vision, concern and anxiety shinning in their depths. "Melanie? Can you here us? It's Rem and Lily. Come on, wake up please."

Hearing the pleading and beseeching note, Melanie mentally shook herself, gradually pulling herself from the groggy recesses of her mind, clawing her way back to complete awareness slowly but surely. Finally emerging, the first thing she noticed was that she was lying on her bed, propped up against a towering stack of pillows, Remus and Lily kneeling on each side of her, resembling some perverse position of reverence. Blinking one last time to clear the opaque sheen over her eyes, Mel licked her lips and cracked opened her mouth to speak but was silenced as Lily shoved a glass of water at her.

"Drink." Green eyes bore into her own and coupled with her tone of voice, Mel knew there was no arguing.

"Thanks.", she rasped and curled her shaking fingers around the slick and damp glass. Once the initial drop of moisture graced her lips, Melanie felt as if she had been wandering in the desert for days, her mouth dry, her throat cracked and parched. She finished the drink in three gulps. Sated and feeling better now that the room had stopped spinning, Mel moved to set her glass down but as she did, the two other occupants of the room finally garnered her attention.

"Padfoot they aren't ready for this!", Prongs hissed, getting into his friend's face, scowling as he threw out his arm to gesture to Mel and her friends. "We shouldn't be doing this. McGonagall would _kill_ us if she knew! And can you even imagine how disappointed Dumbledore will be? Rule number one: _Never involve the public!"_

The look the blue-grey eyed man sent his companion was a mixture of annoyance, aggravation and impatience. "Well its too late now! And don't pin this on me mate! They wanted to know the truth and here it is. We warned them it wasn't some bloody walk in the park. And now there's no going back. They already know of the war so they might as well hear the entirety of the situation. And when hasn't McGonagall wanted to kill us or Dumbledore been disappointed? This one is just another tally mark on the buggering list.", he finished, crossing his arms in defiant anger.

Rules and more names that made no sense to her. Mel felt as if she was on one of those carnival rides that spun in perpetual circles. How far could her world spiral downward until it crashed and shattered beyond repair? And more importantly,would she survive it?

Prongs' growled and spun away from his brother in arms, eyes flashing dangerously only to find Melanie awake and aware, the trio of ignorant kids staring at them in mixtures of fear and terror. His heated glare softened and then extinguished completely as he sighed and rubbed his face in fatigue. "Are you alright?", he finally sighed, directing his question at Mel. Startled at being addressed, all the brunette could do was nod slowly.

"Good…that's good.", he murmured, not knowing what else to say.

Silence then overtook the room, Padfoot stoically staring out the window, stubbornly ignoring the rest of them while Prong's rubbed at his neck in nervousness. Melanie felt her mind begin to wander again, delving deep into images and possibilities she'd rather not visit.

"Look Melanie,", Prongs abruptly began, causing all eyes to turn to him. "I…this…this was a mistake. We shouldn't have told you…_any_ of this. And I know you blokes wanted to know the truth but…bloody hell I'm not good at this shite!You know...sometimes ignorance is bliss. I…"

But Mel cut him off before he could say more. "No! No please…I can take it. _We _can take it. Just…please…explain."

Even if this killed her…she realized she needed to know. Maybe…maybe she could help. _"Oh shut up! If these blokes can't do anything what the bloody hell can you do?", _her mind scoffed. Mel bit her lip and furrowed her brow. She didn't know exactly what she could do…but there _had _to be _something. Anything. _

Brown eyes met hers, searching for sincerity, analyzing her strength, dissecting her bravado. "Alright.", he said, after an endless, breathless moment. "But remember…"

"There's no such thing as faith and trust and pixie dust.", she joked, smiling wanly.

He chuckled without humor, so unlike his usual demeanor that it weighed heavily on Mel's heart. "No, no there isn't. But...okay, let's…let's do this I guess." He seemed at a loss for words, as if he didn't know how to proceed. "Uh…why don't…why don't you all get comfy. This will take awhile."

At the suggestion, Lily and Rem shifted off their legs so they were seated beside Melanie, their shoulders acting as pillars that supported her, that held her up, and used her for the same. But Mel couldn't help but feel grateful for their presence. If Lily and Rem were here…she could get through this.

Surveying them, Prongs moved forward and slowly sank unto the foot of the bed, gesturing to Padfoot who reluctantly followed suite. "I suppose the best place to start is at the beginning," he began at last, turning to meet their expectant gazes. "What do you know of English history? More specifically London?"

Ever the book worm, Remus beat them to the punch. "London, or Londinum as it was first named, was founded around the year 50 AD by the Romans after they had invaded England. However, ten years later it was burned to the ground in a series of rebellions. Over the next two centuries, Roman citizens came to and fro, the population topping off at about 45,000. Nothing of major importance occurred and in 407 AD, the last Roman left England. It was rebuilt but it lacked its former grandeur, only housing around ten thousand people. Then in 842, the Danes…"

"Whoa whoa whoa. Hold the phone mate! Bloody hell, I didn't mean to go back that far!", Prongs chuckled, holding up his hands to stop the boy's rambling, amusement dancing in his brown eyes.

Realizing what had happened, Rem flushed pink and he ducked his head in chagrin, honey hair swinging forward to hide his face. "Sorry." This usually happened when he was asked an academic question. It wasn't his fault though. Really, the lad was like a sponge, soaking up everything that he heard or saw. But the problem was the teenage population in London didn't find all of his knowledge as fascinating as Mel or Lily. I.e. he was picked on a lot. Mel reached down and squeezed his hand, silently telling him that she had enjoyed his impromptu history lesson.

"S'altight mate. Just…wow. I didn't even know that much." Prongs shook his head in…amazement instead of mocking. Well, that rose him up on notch on Mel's list.

"Prongs you don't know _shite_ about history mate, so that's nothing new.", Padfoot taunted, finally giving his voice to the conversation, scoffing at his friend.

"I knew enough to pass the bloody exam!", Prongs returned, throwing a glance at his friend, his indignant tone ruined by a ghost of a smirk.

Padfoot barked a laugh, throwing back his head in mirth. "That's cuz we bloody cheated mate!"

An impish grin wormed its way onto the bespectacled boys face. "Oh yeah. That's right. But oi, that's initiative that is! We had to go through a lot to get those bloody answers! But anyways,", he said, turning back to the three bewildered teens. "Back to the topic. And for the sake of time, we'll start in the Middle Ages."

Remus' cheeks went a shade darker but he stayed silent.

"Ok, so if I remember it correctly,", Prongs began, screwing up his face in concentration. "It was William the Confessor that chartered London and began the building of the tower of London. In…"

"It was William the Conqueror, not Confessor.", Rem suddenly blurted, going white as the words left his lips. He didn't want to come off as a know-it-all, he just couldn't help himself, the need to correct the other boy was… overwhelming. But his innocent attempts to help more often than not ended up with taunts and jeers coming from his classmates.

Prongs' brow furrowed, confused but not upset at all at being corrected. "Confessor, Conqueror close enough. As Pads said, history, not my forte."

"You don't have a forte Prongs. Besides annoying the shite out of me and making McGonagall turn purple."

The boy ignored the serrated barb. "But anyways the important part here is that the Tower of London was constructed."

Melanie felt her brow furrow. "The Tower is important?" How could that be? The thing was just a tourist site.

"It's not now, but it was in the Middle Ages.", Padfoot interjected, shifting to sit Indian style, despite the grimace that flashed across his features. "It watched over London under the orders of William and served as a deterrent for crime. However, the most significant aspect was its _concept_."

Padfoot took a deep breath and closed his eyes, as if he was about to dive into a deep lake, and he was savoring the last shreds of clean air. "When Civil War broke out in England, between the King and Parliament, the government was too consumed by internal affairs that they turned a blind eye to the problems of the nation. So, the people of London, not the elite because they didn't give a bugger, but more the poverty stricken, came together and a secret society was created to protect the people. A behind the scenes task force, so to speak."

"Wait are you implying that…a black op team was born?", Remus asked and Mel saw that there was sincere confusion in his honey eyes, spilling over into his face and expression. "I've never heard of such a society in English history."

"Of course you haven't.", Padfoot said flatly. "This information was never to be leaked and if it was, never to be believed. The Four Towers of London, as the society was named due to the fact it take four posts to make a house stand and so four to make a city flourish, was a myth , a legend, a bed time story to tell to little tykes to get them into bed. Nothing more and nothing less."

"But it wasn't a myth. It was the truth, hidden behind exaggeration and glory.", Melanie said sagely, pieces starting to click in her head. She could scarcely believe this, the idea truly sounding like a bed time story but the more she thought about it...the more plausible it seemed. To ensure the safety and survival of the people, the population would have banded together and worked to thrive.

Padfoot nodded and leaned back on his hands to get more comfortable. "But they were not very effective.", he continued. "A rag tag band of peasants and pariahs were not going to do much against swarms of thieves and criminals. However, when all seemed lost, salvation in the form of four rich families arrived."

"Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, Salazar Slytherin: four people who were sick and disgusted at the state of the nation and sought to salvage what they could. They met with the Four Towers in secret and decided to fund their cause. But that wasn't enough, at least not for Godric Gryffindor."

Something akin to pride flashed in his brightening eyes and that same pride seemed to jump into Prongs' mouth as he picked up the narrative. "Gryffindor wanted to be part of the movement, not just some spectator from an elevated throne. He went down into the city, into the slums, giving out what he could, stopping what crime was there. And, not to be out done, the rest of them, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin soon followed his example. So great was their influence, so grand were their results, that the "leaders", the stronger men of the Four Towers, gave the four _all_ authority. And soon after that, the four new revolutionaries met and poured over a map of London, their goal to divide the city up into equal sections. To better cover and protect. And once that had been done, slowly but surely, the Four Towers followed suite, diving amongst themselves."

"And that is where the war began?", Melanie guessed, watching as the pride that had been residing in his eyes slowly begin to disappear, eaten away by a shadow of darker emotions, a preamble to the darker upcoming events.

But Padfoot shook his head, black tendrils of hair falling into his face and Mel turned her attention back to him. "No. The war didn't start until recently. When we say the Towers began to divide, we don't mean under hostile means. What we mean is that instead of people feeling a part of the Towers, they related better to their sections of the city, their homes. They were proud to be the Warriors of the Western sector, or Soldiers of the South. And over time, with the founder's deeds becoming increasingly hyperbolized, the sectors gradually took on the names of their leaders: Gryffindors were in the West, Ravenclaw to the North, Hufflepuff to the South and Slytherin in the East. And as the sectors assimilated the name, they also adopted the founder's coat of arms. It was a sort of nationalism that spread through the society and everyone wanted a symbol to be recognized by."

Prongs reached into his shirt and pulled out something shiny, holding it away from his neck so as to catch the light in the room. On closer inspection, Mel saw it was a necklace: a gold piece with a roaring lion and a scarlet banner. An exact replica of the one Padfoot had given her, the chain still heavy around her own neck. Not sure why, she grasped her own necklace, leaning forward so as to compare it with Prongs', Lily and Remus not far behind. Upon seeing it, the brown haired boy eye's went wide, staring at the bauble in amazement. His astonished eyes flickered back to Padfoot only to find his friend carefully examining his nails as if they were the most important things in the world, paying the rest of them no mind. The boy smothered a smirk, gave himself a mental note to tease his friend about it later and turned back to the still analyzing teens. "Rings used to be common but they were too easily lost. So, necklaces and tattoos became the norm. This is the Gryffindor symbol: a lion for courage, scarlet for strength, and the words _Semper Fortis _to tie them together. Ravenclaw's is, you guessed it, a Raven with blue and bronze as its colors. Hufflepuff is a badger on yellow and black. And Slytherin, they're green snakes." His lips twisted in a sneer. "Fitting if you ask me."

Suddenly, Remus snapped his head up, comprehension clear on his face, as if he had just solved some great mystery. "That's why you couldn't be found in Barnet! They'd see the symbol!"

Prongs grinned, leaning back as he tucked away his chain. "Very good mate. That's exactly why, cuz unfortunately for us, we were deep in Slytherin territory. In the snake pit if you pardon the pun. If word got around that two blokes baring Gryffindor tats were in the hospital, Death Eaters would have been dispatched for sure and we would have been screwed."

Melanie's brow furrowed in a frown. "Death…Eaters? What are those? I thought there were only four…uh houses." she asked. Figures. Right when she was starting to understand some of this shite, they threw her for another loop.

"Ah…well I'm getting ahead of myself. Those gits don't come around for awhile. Back to the history.", Prongs said. "As I said before, a sort of peace lasted for centuries, each sector making sure their people were safe, each in harmony with the other. As the years past, the founders aged and died but their dream and work didn't. New leaders were elected and they faced their own problems. But when worst came to worst, the houses, for that's what the sectors had now deemed themselves, _came together _to work out the issues_. _The torch of unity and patriotism was passed on, bright and living, and it was good."

"But it wasn't.", Remus interrupted once more. The two veterans turned to face the meek boy, eyes sharp with intensity but he continued, his own eyes acute. "England still faced problems. The plague for one. More riots and wars for another. Where were these Towers then?", he accused.

Bitter acid seemed from Padfoot's smile and out of the corner of Mel's eye, she saw Rem's Adams Apple bob. "Hell is empty and all the devils are here.", Padfoot said and Mel recognized it as a quote from Shakespeare. "Just because there is a force that works against crime does not mean it can stop everything. It's like blowing out a candle as an inferno rages around you. One does what he can."

Here, he grew quiet and as Melanie watched, waiting and anticipating, the mood in the room shifted to something stifling, something less comfortable than it had been a moment ago. What the two men had previously told them was more or less a history, cut and dry facts, stories and events that had happened centuries ago. However, what Mel was about to hear next…this was personal. This was _their _secret. _Their _war. _Their _burden. And the weight of that burden became apparent when Prongs continued the story, his voice flat and dead, eyes glazed as he stared at a spot above Mel's head.

"As is the nature of man, for we are all greedy bastards, the leaders of the houses grew avaricious for power, wanting to dominate over the others. There were sparse skirmishes here and there along the time line of London but nothing too major. Until the 20th century."

"When the World Wars tore across the globe, London was once again thrown into shambles. The leaders of Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw were killed in WWII and with their deaths went the balance of power. The entirety of the Towers was completely out of sorts, tensions high, two houses scrambling around leaderless; it was a mess."

This was it. The suffocating air was coming to a head, the anger simmering in Padfoot's and Prong's tight posture and tighter eyes were an alarm, a warning of what was to come. This was where the war was to begin.

"In the 1950s, 1952 to be exact, at a meeting of the Towers, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw stood up and outright accused Gryffindor and Slytherin of murdering their leaders as the latter two houses had always been more imposing, somehow stronger. But the accusation was ridiculous.", Padfoot spat, eyes bright with rage. "The two leaders had been killed in a German bombing, a tragic accident but not murder. However, paranoia was as contagious as a virus in those days and it spread as wild fire."

Another pause overtook the duo as they tried to reign in their anger and gather their thoughts. And Melanie found herself trying to do the same. Her mind was positively reeling with questions. How had all this happened, and no one any the wiser? And how had all of this boiled down to war?

"So angry and inconsolable were the two lesser houses that they actually declared secession from the Towers!", Prongs continued. "Can you believe the balls on those gits? Seriously! The roar of fury and indignation was deafening from what I hear."

"But fortunately,", Padfoot cut in before Prongs' could deviate from the topic. "Someone was their to stop them, to knock some sense into the idiots."

The pride that had slowly died away awoke with a vengeance in Padfoot's gaze, a spiraling fire, a beckoning light. "The man's name was Albus Dumbledore, a 20 year old Gryffindor with the mind of a genius. He managed to speak to all of the houses and brought them together to sign a truce. Evidence was soon found that the two leaders had died in the German bombings, not by foul play as had be said. Chagrined and humiliated, the two factious houses of Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw signed the treaty and everyone left the meeting relatively unscathed. But the glass ball of disillusion that had been spinning precariously on an edge had slipped and fallen. Even if there was no out right war _yet, _any illusion of camaraderie had been cast aside. The sections that used to be tentative boundary lines now become invisible walls, barring and separating. There was distrust now, taking root in each house and those seeds grew into strangling vines in the 1970s."

With a world weary sigh, Padfoot shut his eyes, turning this face to the ceiling as if the next part was so difficult to relate, he couldn't do it while looking them in the eye. "In the late 1970s, a man came on the scene, no one's sure from where, but in the course of what seemed a night, he had assumed the Slytherin throne. Curious and bewildered, all four houses met together for the first time since the almost secession in '52. The man's name was Tom Marvolo Riddle, and surprisingly enough, he was a direct descendent of Salazar Slytherin. Given the nature of the shady assumption of power, questions were asked, backgrounds checked, but in the end all seemed…kosher."

"It didn't stay that way though.", Mel deduced and when Prong's gave a curt shake of his head, her heart began to break. This would be the catalyst that was to ruin a city, a people, and the lives of these two young men.

"No, it didn't.", Padfoot went on, and abruptly he got up off the bed and began to pace the length of Mel's small room. The movement was violent, agitated, restless, like a lion trapped in a cage. "In 1980, a Slytherin…I can't even remember the bloke's name, but this bloke walked into Gryffindor territory, something that was not to be done ever since the 50s, strode right up to a Gryffindor that he had seen three years prior at the Towers summit, and shot him straight in the heart." He chuckled acrimoniously, stopping in front of the bed as he rubbed at his own chest absentmindedly. "The poor bastard was dead before he hit the street."

Melanie was appalled at such a revelation, her stomach roiling in disgust and the twin gasps of horror that emanated from either side of her said that Lily and Remus felt the same. This man had just been…_killed_…for no reason?

"W…why? Why was he k…killed?", Mel stuttered, the last word becoming lodged in her throat before it stumbled out, halting and pungent tasting.

Padfoot shrugged and sat back down on the edge of the bed. "Why is anyone killed? The Slytherin just felt like it. I'm sure there were other reasons, probably to initiate the war, maybe even a personal vendetta, but it all boiled down the nutter's desire to murder."

Bile rose in the back of Mel's throat but they weren't done yet. Even though these men had been so secretive before, so shut up and shut out it seemed that Mel had opened a long weakening dam. Words and feelings that had long been repressed, been stomped on, pushed down and nearly erased were now gushing from previously sown lips. They wanted to tell their story, wanted for their pain and tribulations to come to light. They had to get this out.

"As you can imagine, the Gryffindors were enraged. Tensions might have been high, but never had the houses done such an outright hostile acts against each other. To kill indiscriminately…it was unheard of amongst the Towers.", Prongs said, astonishment in his voice even though he probably had heard this story a million times. "Dumbledore, who was now the leader of the Gryffindors, immediately called another summit and when they were gathered he demanded to know why such an atrocity had occurred."

Suddenly, a rumbling noise tore through Mel's room and as she turned to locate it, Melanie realized it was Padfoot, the noise a guttural growl clawing its way out of his built chest. "And that _snake bastard _just calmly looked at Dumbledore and said that the Gryffindor _deserved it. _That we had all become lazy and pompous and that England was just the same. But he knew how to fix it he said and that wheels were already in motion. His plan was that from then on, all the houses would work under him, Lord Voldemort, narcissistic prick, naming himself a _lord,_ and that he would usher in a new Era where England would once again be the superpower of the world.", he snarled. "What a load of fucking codswallop!"

His fury seemed contagious because suddenly Prongs was snarling right along with him. "And when the rest of the houses told him to basically piss off, because who in their bloody right mind would consent to shite like that, he announced that from that moment on, the Four Towers of London were no more. That he, as supreme leader of the Slytherins and soon of England, now declared war on the rest of us. If we should try and stop him from achieving his goal…it would be our lives to pay."

The words rang with finality."_Our lives to pay."_ To live under such an ultimatum…Mel couldn't even fathom. But…how had people so young become involved? Surely…the Gryffindors did not recruit…_children_ to fight this war? However, she didn't get the chance to ask as Padfoot steamrolled onward, fueled by hatred and wrath.

"So, the once proud and virtuous Towers of London, who had promised to protect and serve the people …we became nothing better than those asinine, daft gangs in America, being killed at random, arguing over imaginary line, sitting ducks in our own homes. Even if there was now a bigger evil to face, there was still too much history between the three remaining houses to work together properly.", Padfoot said fiercely. "Each house stood alone, all too stubborn and prideful to apologize or admit fault. So, in result, the generation before ours had to fight in the shadows, their sacrifices never acknowledged as lives were lost on all sides to keep the tyrant off his throne. And now…there's almost none of us left."

The last whispered admission was filled with so much emotion, the tone matching the abject hopelessness in his eyes, that Mel felt as if she was no longer on the grounded. She felt as if she was floating away, the world becoming fainter again. _"Don't pass out again! Bugger it all! Don't pass out" _But no matter how much she told herself so, the sensation that she was falling away could not be shaken.

Suddenly, a hand grabbled for her own, cold and clammy and as Mel slammed back to Earth, she turned to see Lily pallid and ashy, her eyes limpid gems of emerald in a sea of white. Certain that she looked the same, Mel squeezed the thin hand in her grasp, hoping to draw strength from her friend and maybe give some in return.

Again, Remus wasn't satisfied by the information given, he needed to know more, to know everything about the situation. "Wait, how much do the police and government know? They can't be completely ignorant. They have to be doing _something._"

Turning once again to the brain of the trio, Prongs answered his inquiry. "No, but they are so corrupt and infiltrated now that it doesn't matter. Slytherins are everywhere, in the media, in politics, and in the police, as you have already seen."

Padfoot gave Melanie an intense look and the image of the heavily scarred cop flashed in her mind.

"They know of us, of the houses that used to be the Towers, but the Slytherins are up there in places of power, whispering sweet lies of complacency in their ears and now their heads are too muddled to realize truth from untruths. The infiltrators fake police reports, say that some wild gang is the cause of the rise in homicides and make _us _out to be the bad guys.", Prongs continued.

"So its hopeless."

Lily, who hadn't uttered a single word since all this began, was trembling and scared, the antithesis to her usual fiery, ball buster self. She swallowed harshly and pressed on. "They're everywhere and there's no one to stop them. You blokes said it yourselves, it's only a matter of time.", she whispered.

Prongs' gaze softened, the chocolate orbs turning melted and gooey. Tentatively, for he already knew how volatile she was, he reached out and laid a comforting hand on her shaking knee. "I won't lie to you Lily. It doesn't look too good."

Lily closed her eyes and nodded, looking resigned and defeated already as her eyelashes grew moist. That floored Melanie because her best friend never showed weaknesses, never faltered or cried, always high energy and high maintenance. This…subdued Lily was something Mel knew she didn't like. Couldn't like. Couldn't deal with.

"But,", Prongs went on to say, swiping a bold yet gentle thumb under her eye. "But I promise you that we won't give up without a fight that will go down in the books. I swear right here and now to you that we won't throw in the towel until we've breathed our last."

"You shouldn't have to!", Mel suddenly exclaimed, no longer able to stay quite as sorrow and grief, and anger tore her apart, slashing her insides, twisting her guts. "You're only kids! You shouldn't have to die for this shite!"

Startled, Padfoot and Prongs turned to her and smiled thinly, grimly, identical looks of acrimony on their faces. "Melanie, Pads and I haven't been kids…hell in over a decade. This is the only life we know."

"That's my point! It's…it's unfair to ask so much of you.", she whispered, tears of her own brimming in sloshing, like a cup that was just too full.

An unreadable expression passed over Padfoot's face and he turned to look out the window. He was...uncomfortable with all the attention, the tears shed on his behalf, and so he tried to lighten the mood. "Well to be fair…Prongs and I volunteered.", he said and hastily went on to explain as looks of shock were directed at him.

"It's true. When Prongs and I turned sixteen, we were formally inducted into the Gryffindors but we had been working for them…since we were I think thirteen. Or maybe it was twelve. But either way, it had to be done. Voldemort had started recruiting teens in the 90s. The rest of the houses had to follow suite because the adults had a hard time…fighting off younger Slytherins."

_"Younger Slytherins." _

"Children you mean.", Melanie returned sardonically, her face twisting in disgust, the taste of it sharp at the back of her throat. But Padfoot and Prongs didn't even flinch at her behavior as they replied simultaneously.

"Yes."

Mel just couldn't take it…the unfairness of it all, the atrocities, the horror. It was just too much. Not knowing what she was doing, propelled by a burning fire in her torso, she disentangled herself from Lily and Remus and leaned forward until she was right in Padfoot's face, her eyes livid and infuriated despite the rapidly building tears. "And how many children have you killed Padfoot? How many kids have you left in dirty, cold, alleys to die alone and in pain?"

She heard Lily's muffled exclamation of surprise but she ignored it, the blood roaring through her ears drowning out all else. These men, boys, no matter how justified their actions were, blood was on their hands, saturating and tainting. No matter the excuses, the things they told themselves and others, their hands had seen war, seen **death.** Lungs had ceased to expand, hearts to beat, blood to pump, all because of their actions. They were murderers, bathed in the blood of their enemies. With a cause or not, that is what they were. And it made her sick to her stomach.

Padfoot's eyes, those living yet frozen gateways, hardened into leaden ice, barring her from his thoughts as his jaw set into a tightened scowl. "Don't accuse me of things you don't even understand Miss Strider."

"I don't have to be a genius to understand that you have _murdered _people. Probably since before your voice began to crack.", Melanie hissed. Silence met her words. Because it was true. It was all true.

"Mel! What are you doing? These blokes are the good guys!", Lily cried out, yanking Mel's left arm to face her, the expression of screamingly incredibility apparent on both Rem and Lily. "Why are you being so cold and…and heartless?"

"Because it's the truth Lily! They can't even deny it! They have _killed_ people! Men, women, children, all shot, stabbed and burned! They're no different then the people that started all of this! From the Slytherins they claim to detest", she screamed, so many emotions running through her brain that she could scarcely breathe.

Crushing iron wrapped around her right wrist and suddenly Mel was wrenched forward, slamming harshly into a solid, warm, wall. "Don't you _**dare **_compare me to those slimy, evil bastards." Padfoot whispered slowly, purposefully, the words full of malice and hatred and something unreadable as they fanned over her face, misleading in their soft caresses. "I have _never _been like them." Melanie glared weakly and struggled to get away, away from his penetrating, fury filled eyes, his harsh angry breaths, and his bruising grip.

Away from the abject betrayal in his gaze and the guilt of what she had said.

"I…I..I.." She couldn't even formulate a sentence and the combination of fear, pain, guilt, regret and frustration finally forced tears from her eyes as she whimpered pathetically. The warm salty water made glistening trails down her cheeks, the crystalline droplets slipping into her mouth, tasty of salt and fear, the ones that didn't trailing further downward, skating off her chin as she stared deep into Padfoot's glaring eyes, her tiny frightened reflection staring back at her.

"Pads! Let her go mate! You're bloody hurting her!" At Prongs' irate exclamation, the human manacle on her wrist tightened to the point where Mel thought he was sincerely going to break her it, muscles and bone alike screaming in discomfort. But at the very last moment, Padfoot seemed to think better of it for he exhaled harshly and flung her arm back at her, moving off the bed in the same fierce movement. Melanie immediately drew the abused limb to her chest, rubbing it carefully to try and alleviate some of the pain, Lily and Remus fussing silently at her side as the red handprint already started to darken.

The still enraged male stared at her for an immeasurable moment, something flashing deep in his gaze before his mouth tightened into a severe line and he turned on his heel and stalked out of the room, slamming the door with a bang behind him.

A hush settled over the room, unbreakable and suffocating. After a few seconds, however, Prongs sighed something to himself and stood up as well, casting Mel an apologetic glance before quickly following his best friend out of her room. When the door clicked shut, Melanie didn't move as Lily and Remus moved to kneel in front of her, gently taking hold of Mel's bruised wrist, the former berating the brunette and Padfoot while the latter rattled off medical facts. But Melanie wasn't listening to either of them.

All she could do was stare past her friends at her off white door, regret and pain and other things swirling through her. _"What did I just do?", _Mel couldn't help but think, remembering the pain and betrayal in Padfoot's eyes. "_What did I do?"

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**So...was that as good as i thought it was or am i just disillusioned? o.o If you have any thing you want to tell me Please please please please please please... **

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	15. Chapter 15

**Hey guys :) Sorry it took so long for me to update :( School was especially horrible this past month and a half . But anyways here is Chap 15 :) I hope you guys enjoy! AND my plan is to have another update before my holiday break is over. :) BUT i must get at least 5 reviews before then :)**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but plot and my OC**

**Anyways on with the show :)

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Rain pattered harshly against the window, _pit pat pit pat pit pat, _a perpetual percussion to the whistling symphony of the storm that raged outside the thin glass barrier. Melanie exhaled slowly, watching as her warm breath misted across the transparent melted sand, thoughts and images whirling inside of her as quickly as the typhoon outside.

"_Don't you __**dare **__compare me to those slimy, evil bastards." _

A shudder ran the length of her spine as memories raced through her: her life as it was before the fateful day two weeks ago: happy, ignorant, blissful. Then, the day that would change her life: those men in that putrid alley…the scarred cop…the sneering blonde …_murderers. _

But all of the sudden, it wasn't a scar that marred the man's face nor was it blonde hair blowing in the wind. Instead, it was round glasses that obscured familiar brown eyes and black hair that whipped around in a maelstrom, the same taunting smirk on full lips as blue grey eyes sparked with malicious intent, the click of the safety ringing in her head.

"_I have never been like them."_

"But you have!", Melanie whimpered abruptly, slapping the window in desperation as she pressed her forehead firmly against it, hoping the cool glass would somehow calm her feverish thoughts. "But you _are! _How am I supposed to view you any differently then them?"

The silent, empty library offered no answers and no solace, just echoing the young teenage girl's words back at her, taunting her, ridiculing her in her anguish. Another strangled noise awoke in the back of Mel's throat as she pushed herself farther into the corner of the library's large window seat, hoping to just merge with the glass; become cool, smooth, unfeeling as more memories assaulted her vulnerable conscience.

After Padfoot had stormed out of her room, Prongs hot on his heels, Melanie had remained immobile as Lily and Remus bandaged her wrist, the former rambling on about stupid men and whatnot as the latter worked quickly and efficiently. She had been comatose for the most part, her mind and body so exhausted she had actually started to drift off again. However, when Rem had begun to absentmindedly ponder the two soldier's past and future exploits, Mel jolted back to awareness, her heart racing as she broke out into a cold sweat.

No. She couldn't take any more. Melanie had had _enough_ of plots and war and death for one day. She_ really _didn't need to hear one of her best friends speak of ways to win this bloody war, ways that he had read in books that could maim, and paralyze and kill an enemy.

So, she ran; yanked her arm from Lily's grasp, bandages unravelling and fluttering in her wake as she fled to her one alternate safe haven. Down stairs and through what felt like endless hallways, her only one thought was to escape the enclosing walls, the collapsing of the floor beneath her feet and the roof above her head. Feet pressed harder, legs faster and soon enough she had ended up in her family's library, in the extensive shelves of fiction, history and science. When she was younger, she could lose herself in these tomes for hours; exploring wide open skies or the deepest darkest cave, even the crevices of the human mind with Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud, thanks to her father's insistence. It was _her _get away, _her _special place, her _sanctuary. _The window seat that she currently inhabited had been her perch since before she could remember, her throne on warm summer days and on cold winter nights alike.

Yet the tranquil quality of the seat seemed to have fled the house with Melanie's ignorance for she could find no peace here. Hours had passed since Melanie entered the library, but she felt no lighter, no more calm than when she had fled the nightmare in her room. Her heart and brain still felt raw, pilfered, violated; bleeding agony and sore.

"_That bleeding heart of yours is going to kill you one of these days, you know that right?", _Lily's words from two weeks ago crept up suddenly, resounding in Mel's mind.

A hiss wormed its way through the upset teen's clenched teeth as she threw back her head, skull meeting glass with a muffled thud. _"Well, what else am I supposed to do? Just shrug it off when the two young men currently in my house practically just confessed to __**murder**__?"_

And Lily's words….dying of a bleeding heart…it sure bloody felt like it right about now. The left side of Melanie's chest felt as if it was either collapsing or slowly dissolving into flames…perhaps a combination of both. As if in response to her morbid thoughts, a particularly painful flare rose in her heart, accompanied by another faceless dead body, just another victim of Padfoots' "war."

And off she went again, devolving into pain and sorrow once more. This cycle had been going on for hours, her mind desperately running in circles trying to make sense of all this shite, trying to justify it, make it noble, make it _sane. _But she had gotten nowhere. The war was still insane, Padfoot and Prongs…still _murderers_.

Then came the questions, the burning, taunting, tormenting, questions. Should she turn them in? They were _criminals. _They had killed and and…but then…she cared about them in a way, put her own life at risk to save them. She couldn't just betray them! But…the moral implications, not to mention the legal ones! What happened if she was found out? Or if these…Slytherins found out where she lived and came for her? They would most likely kill her…but then again she didn't know Prongs and Padfoot that well…they could possibly do the same. And the cycle began again, full of these scenarios that plagued her, made her cringe and tied her stomach and hearts in knots of doubt.

"_And how are you any better?", _her mind suddenly whispered, the word flowing like slick mercury in her head, poison and liquid. "_All those people at Barnet…freezing, wailing, __**dying, **__all because of your __**selfish **__desire to help these __**murderers. **__You are __**no**__ better."_

The young brunette grabbed at her head, hunching over to place her forehead on her upraised knees. "No, no, no…I didn't…please no…", she whimpered incoherently, hot tears travelling worn paths down her flushed cheeks. "I didn't mean…I'm sorry….please…"

She trailed off into more whines and sobs, the pain becoming extraordinary.

"It's a lot to take in isn't it."

Melanie snapped upright with a gasp, tears spilling from startled wide eyes as she gazed out into the wide spacious library, looking for the unexpected intruder. And right in front of her, before her father's mahogany desk, stood Prongs, his glasses askew and his skin ashen. Upon meeting her eye, the young man smiled weakly, not his usual blinding grin, reaching up to brush some wayward strands of hair from his eyes, looking as if he wanted to say something but not having the strength to do it. Silence stretched between the two brunettes, awkward and unwavering as soldier and civilian stared into each other's eyes, seeing pain and anguish reflected back at them.

Not able to take the suffocating silence any longer, Prongs cleared his throat and glanced around the room. "Nice library you have here.", he said awkwardly, ignoring his previous statement. "Very…extensive."

Wiping her eyes with a muffled sniffle, Melanie stood up, dragging her palms across her jeans and tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. "Uh yeah…my um dad…he's a uh literary buff in his spare time. Kind of a bookworm. Bit like Rem in most ways. In fact, you wouldn't believe how many times I've found them discussing the ins and outs of one book or another.", she rambled, the embarrassment at being found sobbing her eyes out like a weakling making her vomit word after word.

The frail smile transformed into a full out smirk. "That bloke is uh…something else.", he muttered, with an amused shake of his head.

Anger and protectiveness welled in Melanie and before she could even think of what she was doing, she was stalking forward and slamming her hands on her father's desk. "Oi! Don't you _dare_ say anything against Rem! He bloody helped save your life!", she snarled. A small part of her brain was shrieking for her to shut up but Mel was so emotionally and mentally fried that she was acting on basic instinct, her higher levels of reasoning banished in the tidal waves of feelings.

Brown bespectacled eyes went wide in shock as hands rose in surrender. "Blimey! I was just giving the bloke a compliment! I didn't mean it as a quip! To be honest, he's one of the smartest people I've met and that's saying something!"

Mel blinked in shock and drew back, mortified once more at letting her emotions get the best of her, thinking Prongs was going to yell at her now for being such a berk. "I…I…sorry. I just…assumed…people usually don't…and I just thought…"

But instead of tearing her a new one, Prongs instead lowered his arms and gave that wobbly smile again, a smile that spoke volumes of discomfort and understanding at the same time. "S'alright. No harm, no foul."

At a loss of what else to say, Mel gulped, nodded silently, and swayed back a bit, gaze moving to inspect the floor beneath her feet, previous doubts and fears resurfacing now that the surprise and other emotions had died down and she was alone with someone her mind screamed she shouldn't be.

"You don't trust me do you."

The blunt statement shattered the silence like a sledgehammer against glass.

Startled again, Melanie couldn't help it as her gaze flickered back to the boy in front of her, the question as to how he knew screaming loud in her expression.

Prongs gestured to her with a nod of his head. "You're body is tense and you're leaning away from me. That's the first clue. The second one is you've subconsciously manage to keep the desk between us. Both reactions are instinctual when you are uncomfortable around someone; you keep them as far away from you as you can and be ready to flee if they advance."

The lecture was short and curt, dry; just a list of observations he had seen. And by the look he was giving her, the things he noticed, the minute details he inspected, were done on an unconscious level, years of necessity and training making it second nature.

Melanie gulped but stayed silent. After all, there was nothing to say. He…was right. She…didn't trust him. She wanted to, oh how she wanted to, but…she couldn't.

A bitter smile, full of regretful understanding, bloomed across Prongs' thin lips. "I don't blame you. I don't trust myself very much either. And if it is any consolation, Pads and I should be out of your hair shortly. Hopefully, you'll never see us again. In fact,", he chuckled, "we most likely won't live long enough for you to have the opportunity to."

The manner in which he said these words, with such finality and…resignation, caused guilt to crest in Mel, unstoppable and untameable, and off she went on another emotional rollercoaster. "It's not like I hate you or Padfoot, it's just….look you have to understand how hard this is for me! Just yesterday I was worrying about a buggering test coming up in school and now I have to worry about men breaking down my doors and killing me due to a war I just bloody fucking learned about! How can you just throw this in my lap and expect me to be ok with it?"

"I don't."

Mel's mouth gaped open as she was rendered speechless once more.

Prongs stared straight into her eyes, the truth in them pinning her to the ground. "If you did I would probably think you barking mad.", he said.

Hopelessness threatened to strangle Mel. "Then what do you want from me?", she begged, wanting someone to tell her how to feel and act because God knows she was treading water and quickly beginning to go under.

Prongs ran a hand through his unruly hair, and sighed. " Nothing. Just…will you hear me out for a sec?"

She nodded hesitantly and so he pressed on.

"Look…Melanie, reality is not like it is in the books. I figure you're a bright enough bird to know that. There isn't a definite line, no strict barrier between black and white. Everything…just becomes grey at one time or another. I've done things…things I am not proud of. But…try and realize…Pads and I aren't the bad blokes here.", he said, a plea in his gaze to make her believe his words.

Another groan of almost pain slipped from Melanie as she bit her lip and grabbed at her hair. "Prongs…bloody hell!", she broke off suddenly, chuckling bitterly. "That's not even your real name! Don't you see how messed up turned around and and and…"

"It's bloody insane is what it is! And don't think I don't know that. I _know. _I've been at this…for what has felt like a lifetime! And what I've done…as I said I'm not proud of my actions. I wish I didn't do most of them. But,", he broke off suddenly and the light shinning in his eyes burned like a beacon; fierce and unwavering. "I am proud of the fact that _because_ of my actions, people like you can live freely another day. I fight for the people of London, for their freedom and their happiness. But believe you me…freedom comes at a price and Padfoot and I have paid it time and time again."

His last words came out in a low whisper, as if they were a secret that came from the depths of his heart. A dark secret. A heavy secret. One that would weigh on his conscience until the day he died, however close or far that day may be.

"And it seems to me…you've paid the price too."

The hushed statement echoed in Mel's ears, an explosion that forcibly wrenched her from her musings. Scared blue eyes found calm brown, all previous thoughts coming to a screeching halt as images of wailing people broke through the thin barriers Melanie had so haphazardly thrown up in an effort to stave off the horrors and the guilt. "I…I don't know what you're talking about.", she whispered in abject denial. She didn't know why she did it. But the undercurrent thought that ran through her mind was if she denied it…maybe it didn't happen. If it didn't happen…she wasn't responsible for all those people in the suffering in the cold.

If it didn't happen…she wasn't a murderer.

"Padfoot…he told me what you did at the hospital. What you did to get us out.", Prongs gently pressed, pity shining bright in his eyes.

Immediately, tears welled in her eyes, guilt taking on tangible form as the notion of denial evaporated like mist. "I didn't…I didn't mean to…I had to…and its my fault all those people…died…and I…I…I…_please.", _Mel begged incoherently. She wanted, no **needed, **for him to understand. For _someone _to understand.

And it seemed someone did from the look on Prongs' open features. It seemed that this boy soldier, whom she found bleeding, _dying,_ in a sordid alley, who she knew to have killed people, understood her pain, understood her anguish, understood her abject hopelessness.

"I'm…I'm sorry.", she finished, not knowing what else to say as she buried her face in her hands. She was sorry that these men, boys really, led such a life. Sorry she had dragged her friends into this carnage, this danger. Sorry that she had harmed all those people in the hospital in search of her selfish desire to "save" these men she didn't even know.

She was just…sorry.

Sobs wracked her thin frame, heart wrenching cries that threatened to split Melanie at the seams. _"Please…make it stop.", _the brunette begged some absent God, entreating him to just take this agony away.

Apparently, this god wasn't so absent after all because all of the sudden, arms enveloped her and gently pulled her into a strong chest, the sent of laundry detergent and blood filling her lungs. Squeaking in surprise, Mel snapped her tear stained eyes open, her bewildered gaze meeting the thin grey fabric of the hoodie Remus had lent Prongs. "Wha…what are you doing?", she stuttered into his chest, weakly struggling within his grasp.

Pulling back far enough so as to see into her face, Prongs brought a hand up and gently swiped it under across Melanie's reddening cheek. "Well I can't just stand by and watch a pretty bird cry now can I?", he said, shaky smile once more making an appearance. "Look Melanie, I know how it hurts. I know how the guilt is bloody suffocating, how you just want to close your eyes and wish it all away. But…you can't, believe me I tried."

"So…what do I do?", she asked, biting her lip as she stared up at him, her fingers clenching into soft material.

Prongs once again threaded his fingers through his already wild hair, a motion that seemed almost a nervous habit. "The only thing you can do. Tell yourself you did what you did because it was necessary. And it was. If you hadn't pulled that alarm and gotten us out of Barnet, there is no doubt in my mind that Pads and I would be meeting our maker right about now."

Here he paused and then stooped down to her level, so that they saw eye to eye, soul to soul. "Melanie, what you did saved our bloody hides. Don't taint that fact with things you don't even know truly happened. We are alive because of you. So the next time that guilt threatens to consume you, remember that you definitely _saved _two lives, instead of dwelling on the fact others _might _have been lost. Alright?", he coaxed softly, smiling at her encouragingly.

Taking his words to heart, Mel was surprised to find… they did help; that they did lighten the crushing weight on her shoulders. Sniffling quietly and wiping her nose, Mel nodded. "Al…alright.", she murmured.

Giving her a small pat on the back, Prongs completely withdrew. "Good. Now…"

"Does it get any easier?", Mel abruptly blurted, then went wide eyed at the fact she had actually said her thoughts out loud.

Prongs blinked owlishly at her for a moment, her words catching him off guard, throwing him off balance, but he rebounded with grace, poise, and yet another uneven smile. "The truth?", he asked and Melanie nodded.

"The truth is, no it doesn't. You think it would, you _wish _it would but it doesn't. The pain still smarts, the guilt…still devastating. Fuck, most nights I can't sleep without a good drink or something to stop the dreams. And as the war goes on, its harder to keep telling yourself the lies of it's all going to be alright. But, I promise I won't stop fighting until we have won…or I have died trying.", he vowed bravely, straightening up to his full height, setting his jaw in that stubborn way Padfoot did when he wasn't going to back down from something.

And Melanie, in spite of it all, felt sorry for him in that moment. In spite of all her doubts and pains and fears, despite the fact that she knew he was a murderer, her heart went out to this boy who never had the chance to truly be one. Never had the chance to be innocent and carefree, his very existence interwoven in this bloody back door war from the day he came into this world.

"_But just because I pity him…doesn't mean I trust him yet.", _Mel admitted mentally. She wished she did, but wishes didn't get you very far in the real world. Not now anyways.

A sigh worked its way out of the young girl and she stumbled back, sinking into her window seat while she dropped her head into her hands, trying to quench not only the pain in her head, but also in her heart. "Prongs…I am the daughter of two doctors. Sixteen and sheltered. The most violent thing I have seen prior to two weeks ago was Lily punching Tony Spencers in the fifth grade for calling her gap toothed. And now, now I'm caught up in a whirlwind game of cops and robbers. Except…it's not a game."

Mel lifted her head, running a hand through the tangles of her hair before cold fingers came to rest against the nape of her neck, her tired eyes once more trained on the rain stained window and the ignorant people who wandered outside. "Now, I've seen villains, and not the ones on TV that run around hiding behind pillars, dressed in trench coats and fedoras. Real live bad guys with real live guns. I've felt blood, and more than just a few spots from a scrape knee. Rivers…and rivers of scarlet, running and suffocating; threatening to sweep away my family and friends. And all because…all because I decided to play Good Samaritan one rainy Friday morning.", she whispered, throat catching on each word as memories flashed in her minds eye.

Prongs was silent. It seems he had nothing to say, no more sugar coated words to mend the hole that he had torn straight through Melanie Strider's life. So, Mel pressed onward, wanting, needing to get everything she wanted out in the open, off her chest, out of her lungs.

"So it's not that I don't want to trust you.", she continued almost frantically, tearing her watery eyes from the window and directing them back at Prongs. "It's just I don't know who to trust."

At her words, something brewed behind those rims that rested on the bridge of Prongs' nose, something intense and combative, an inner conflict that was raging so fiercely in his heart that it showed blatantly in his eyes. Mel felt her brow furrow. "_What now?", _she questioned. Those burning eyes bored into her own, searching, searching for something, something important, though Melanie had no idea what.

She watched as brown eyes ran over her blotchy features like a fine tooth combed, missing nothing, seeing everything but apparently he wasn't completely satisfied for those same eyes drifted down, to her neck, to her chest…

Mel flushed as his gaze seemed to zero in on her chest. _"It's looks like he found what he was looking for. Perv.", _her mind commented dryly.

Then, like the sun coming out from behind the clouds, a smile broke across his drawn and exhausted looking face, and not the wobbly one either. No, this was the grin Melanie had come to associate the boy with, the pearly flashing teeth, the amused dancing eyes. It suited him much better. "_Even though he is a cheeky little pervert.", _she thought.

Suddenly, Prongs moved, not fast or anything but the motion did prove to retrieve Mel from her internal conversation. Pulling away from her father's desk that he had previously been leaning on, slowly, casually, the Gryffindor soldier sauntered to a stop right before the cautious teen, causing her to crane her neck a little to keep his still grinning face within her sights. _"Now what is this about?", _she wondered.

A large, slightly scarred, hand detached from Prongs' side and came towards her and Mel's oversensitive, raw mind automatically overreacted. _"Oh bloody hell! He's not going to grope me is he? There went feeling sorry for him!"_

Now granted this was a stupid assumption, for Prongs had just been embracing Mel not two minutes before and hadn't tried anything but…Melanie wasn't exactly thinking logical at the moment so give her a break.

Anyways, before she could react, I.e. scream, lash out, etc., the hand halted right in front of her face, causing Mel to go cross eyed as she stared at it in confusion. "Wha?", she eloquently articulated, her heart racing a million miles a minute.

A laugh, though nothing like Padfoot's…not that she was noticing or anything, resounded in the quiet room, the hand before her shaking in time with the chuckle. "Well, I've heard in some countries you shake it as a sign of greeting.", Prongs smirked down at her.

Melanie was still completely bewildered. "I don't…"

"There's nothing like a name and a handshake to begin gaining someone's trust right? Well, mines James.", he declared, that smile of his taking on sun like properties. "And that sodding git sulking in the other room,", he continued with a jerk of his chin, "is Sirius."

Mel blinked, shell shocked at the revelation, brain scrambling to catch up. "Si…Sirius?", she finally stuttered, testing the name out, the word foreign and exotic on her tongue.

Pr…no, _James_ wrinkled his nose a bit. "Yeah. Poncy name if you ask me. James is way more debonair.", he said with a conspirators wink.

She ignored his cheeky behavior, well more like didn't notice it as she was too consumed in her own thoughts. _"Sirius. Sirius.", _Melanie repeated in her head, turning the name over and over in her mind until it was polished and smooth. She finally had a name. A _real_ name. A name to place to the face that had haunted her dreams for the past two weeks.

A name to the man that had turned her world on its head.

And Mel couldn't help but notice…it suited him. Sirius. Like the star in Orion's constellation. The Dog Star. _"Heh. Well at least I know where the term Padfoot came from now. He's a mutt if I ever saw one.", _she thought with a smile. But then the memory of her last encounter with the newly named enigma resurfaced in her mind and the smile slowly faded away.

"Aw come on now! I know his name is pretty ghastly but no need to make such a face!"

The jovial words tore Melanie from her musings and brought her back to the boy in front of her, his hand still outstretched, that grin growing wider by the moment.

"What? No! No that's not…", she stammered, waving her hands in front of her now red face.

James laughed again, a full bodied one that caused his whole frame to shake. "Don't worry I'm just taking the piss. You're just too easy."

"_Easy? Easy? I'll show him easy!", _the more violent (Lily) oriented portion of her mind responded but she did her best to ignore it. _"And how do we even know if he's telling the bloody truth?", _her mind demanded and that statement Melanie couldn't just over look.

But…he seemed sincere. The most she had ever seen him anyway. _"Well again it's not like you have an extensive frame of reference.", _her thoughts responded sarcastically. Melanie couldn't help but mentally wince. It's true though, she didn't. And hadn't this been the centre of her previous agonies? That she _didn't _know these men, and probably didn't want to? _"And yet," _Mel thought as she inspected the Gryffindor before her. _"There is something…in his eyes. A…a fear. That look only comes with telling a truth, a truth one is afraid to reveal." _She bit her lip harshly, revelling in the spark of pain and pin prick of metal on her tongue as she ran over her options, to trust or not to trust. But…as she looked at James, at his awkward glasses and shaggy, unruly hair, at his charming smile and laughing eyes, at his bloodied and bruised body…her decision suddenly became clear.

If her life was some cheesy cartoon, though recently she felt more inclined to dramatic soap opera, Melanie knew that clouds would be moving aside and a bright yellow sun would be popping out. There had never really a choice. Yes, the deeds James and…Sirius had committed in the past were wrong but they were done for the right reasons.

To protect the city. To save those they held dear.

And even if she didn't condone what they did…she understood now, understood, them, as a necessary evil so to speak. James and Sirius were not cold blooded killers like their enemies, like these Slytherins. They were soldiers fighting for home and country; just behind the scenes and without the grandeur of uniforms and banners.

The were good people it seemed, just caught up in the wrong life. She might not feel entirely comfortable with them yet, but she was willing to try.

"_But be careful.", _her mind cautioned._ "The road to hell is paved with good intentions."_

The augury fell on deaf ears as Melanie was to caught up in the relief the lifted burden had left her with.

Still flustered with her epiphany, the young teen could only smile in return. "Right, well…", she began and abruptly stood up causing James to take a step back. Thrusting out her hand, Mel offered her best blinding smile. "Pleased to meet you James. My name is Melanie."

After the initial surprise at her action wore off, Mel could of sworn that grin of his was going to break his face. "The pleasure is all mine Melanie.", he responded, taking her hand and dramatically making a display of kissing the back of her knuckles.

Melanie couldn't help but giggle, relief and giddiness still running through her veins like heroin. Straightening, James shot her another smile. "So now that the pretty lady has stopped crying why don't we…"

A rather rough knock at the door cut him off. Turning in surprise, the two teens looked just in time to see Pad…Sirius jerk his head at them…well at James anyway, an obvious message to follow him. But before either of them could respond, he was gone, vanishing like the smoke his eyes so resembled.

James huffed out an aggravated breath and rolled his eyes. "Bloody git.", he muttered. Shaking his head at his friend's behavior, he turned back to Mel. "Well since he asked _so _nicely, I believe we should follow."

A little ruffled at Pad…Sirius' abrupt appearance, Mel just nodded her assent and followed James as he turned to follow his comrade's path.

"_Bloody hell can my life get any weirder? Or more hectic? I go from practically hating these blokes to somewhat trusting them all because of some names and a handshake.", _Mel thought to herself, astonished at the turn of events.

Handshake.

Suddenly, a thought occurred to her, one that caused a small smile to adorn her lips and she couldn't help but voice it.

"Oi, Pr…James?"

"Hmm?", the boy responded, stopping in the doorway and turning to glance at her over his shoulder.

"Before…you…you didn't mention that a handshake is also a sign of one other thing.", she said.

He arched a brow in inquiry. "And what is that Ms. Strider?"

Melanie smiled wide and walked forward until she stood right before him, looking him straight in his light brown orbs, deciding in that moment that she would help these boys, these men, as much as she could.

"Trust."

* * *

**Meh. Not the best chap i know :/ bit short too, sorry bout that. But i was going more for emotion than action in this chap, and i hope i somewhat succeeded :/**

**But tell me what YOU think please :) I love hearing from you guys! :D**

**OH! _*PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING!*_ **

**~~~~Also, I am sorta on the market for a Beta reader :) So if anyone is interested, and has the time drop me a PM :) Thanks! **

**So until next time guys, Happy Holidays :D**

**~Shadows~**


	16. Chapter 16

**Ok i warn you ahead of time crappiest chapter I've written ahead. :/ The thing is, my comp like had three different strokes this past week and i wanted to get something out before it dies again. Which is probably any second now. -_- But anyways this is sorta another filler. Again sorry DX**

**But please leave me some comments and or questions :) I do love them though i believe i dont deserve them. :/

* * *

**

**Sirius POV**

"You're bloody fucking lucky we don't throw you wankers out in the cold. Or better yet call the cops!"

Sirius grit his teeth, and closed his eyes against the building tidal wave of aggravation. If you had asked him a week ago who was the most annoying person on the face of the Earth he would have said it was a dead tie between his cousin Nymphadora Tonks and Arthur Weasley's bird, Molly, though the latter was quickly beginning to pull ahead because while Tonks was just the regular kind of irritating, Molly never failed in making the Gryffindor soldier see red. That women could _pick _and _nag _until Sirius just wanted to punch something, to have _anything _break and splinter under the force of his anger.

Now, however, he was forced to concede that this harpy, the demon with green eyes, red hair, and a spit fire personality to match, was going to steal that title right from under the future Mrs. Weasley. Ever since Sirius had first been _graced _with Lily's _enchanting _presence, she had dug under his skin, all barbed tongue and serrated words backed by a grating I-don't-take-shite-from-anyone attitude.

"And another thing! If you _ever_ touch Mel again, I will personally see to it that you wake up a woman for all intents and purposes. Do you bloody understand me _Padfoot?_", the thin girl spat, red hair fanning about from her head and green eyes burning with hellfire, seeming all the she devil that the young injured teen was beginning to know her to be.

"_Oh yeah. She would take that title, gold metal and all…if I bloody let her live that long.", _Sirius thought as he bit his tongue, having to physically keep his roiling irritation and anger behind closed doors, barring the gates with all the cool indifference he had managed to master over the years.

"Lily I think you should calm do…", the weak boy by her side began, amber eyes frantic as they flicked from his irate best friend to the imposing male feigning apathy on the opposite couch.

"Don't you _dare _tell me to calm down Remus John Lupin!", the hellion shrieked, whirling around so that he was the next subject of her wrath. _"Lucky bloke.", _Sirius thought wryly.

"You saw he treated Mel! The bruises! All this bloke is, is a bloody little twat that needs to abuse women just to feel like a man!"

With those few seemingly harmless words, Lily Evans effectively wiped away every barrier that Sirius had begun to erect, the fractured remnants swept away in the torrent of instinctual, defensive and untameable rage. In an instant, the apparent nonchalant male was off the couch and towering over the small female, glaring hatred into her stubbornly set face. "What the fuck did you just say?", he growled menacingly, the flares of pain in his still injured body only fuel for the fires of his anger.

But the girl would not be deterred or bullied. "You bloody heard me. And what are you going to do about it? Huh? _Hit me?"_

Lily looked downright pleased as she taunted him, riled him up. And oh how he wanted to. How he wanted to just wipe that smug expression from her dainty features. _"But think you idiot. What will that do? Sodding nothing. Don't give this bitch the satisfaction.", _the more rational part of his mind reasoned, the part that Sirius seldom listened to.

Yet it was right. Hitting her would only cause another plethora of problems and headaches for him and James. Still…Sirius wasn't going to take these insults completely sitting down.

"No, but if I did you wouldn't be getting up_. _You act all bloody tough as if you're made of fucking nails but all you are is a small, frail, girl in over her head. Just like your fucking weak friends. Don't try to act stronger than me. You have no fucking clue of what I am capable of."

The words were mostly empty, Sirius knew deep down he would never physically harm this girl…at least not permanently. All he was trying to do was instill some fear, and therefore some respect, in the impudent young women. But from the look in Lily's eyes, his plan wasn't about to work any time soon.

"Oh I've seen what you're capable of. Bruising young girls and making them cry. Ooh scary.", she mocked, a malicious expression etched in her pale features. A spark of guilt flared in Sirius heart at the news that he made Melanie cry but it was quickly doused by Lily's next words. "But I think you over estimate yourself _Padfoot_. I mean if you are such a _strong _warrior then why has Mel had to save your ass _three _times now."

"_Yeah Sirius? Why is that?", _the more acidic, the more Black oriented portion of his thoughts, whispered. "_Is it because you're __**weak**__? A disgrace? A __**failure? **__Unable to find favor in the eyes of your family and now incapable of completing the mission you sworn yourself to years ago?" _

The words were like heat seeking missiles, but instead of a heat source, they targeted his weaknesses, thequiet fears and doubts that came to strangle him in the night. A tinge of fear seemed into his anger and his bones were nearly vibrating with the potent mixture. Sirius was about to do something, what he didn't know, but he did know he was more than likely going to regret it in a moment. But he didn't care. All he wanted was these words to _stop._ Muscles tensed and mind wiped blank, he went to move, to _shut this girl up, _but a sharp exclamation beat him to it.

"Now what do we have here? A cat fight? Hmm I think I'll have to put my money on Lily. Sorry Sirius but this bird's made of something mean.", James said making his presence known to the room as he turned to the girl at his side with his trademark shit eating grin. "Whatdya think Melanie?"

At the sound of his partner's voice, the haze of red rage that had filled Sirius' head with static abruptly cleared, replaced by a familiar sense of good natured annoyance. "Bugger off mate, I…"

His next words stuck in his throat, chocking and obstructing, as James' finally registered. _"Sorry Sirius…Sirius…Sirius." _The word echoed in his head like Lucius' gunshot had only yesterday, but their repercussions could and would be twice as dangerous, twice as deadly, more fatal than eight grams of lead ever could be.

"Sirius? Who the bloody hell is that?", Lily asked, well more like demanded as she unknowingly drove the nail further into the older teens coffin. For the bloody _second _time

"It's a bloody star in the sky.", Sirius snapped, mind already racing through the familiar lies, the familiar masks. _"What the fuck is James' problem? Saying my name like that __**again**__? Is the morphine really making him so stupid that he's not only said my last but my bloody first name as well?" _

James gave another lazy grin and sauntered over to collapse on the couch Sirius had just vacated in his anger, ignoring the way death glowed his Sirius' eyes and expression. "Oh give it up mate. I already told Mel our names. No denying it now."

Sirius was literally struck dumb. "You did what now?" He said the words slowly, carefully, as if speaking to a slow child. Which James essentially was, except for his overactive libido. And as if to prove a point, the overly smug Gryffindor leered over at the still ticked off Lily who was currently alternating her searing glare between the two teen soldiers. "Name's James, love. Now I usually don't allow this, but you can call me Jamie if you wish. When we are alone."

Utter revulsion flitted across Lily's face and Sirius could practically hear the battle within her: to maim or not to maim. At any other moment in time, he would find the fact that there was finally a bird immune to the "Potter Charm" distinctly humorous, but given the circumstances, he was more inclined to scream than laugh.

But before he could do either, something, or rather some_one, _shifted in the shadows of the doorway, and drew Sirius' attention. Melanie stood at the threshold of the living room looking shy and sheepish as she fidgeted from one foot to the other, lip pulled taunt between two sets of pearly white teeth. And suddenly, everything became crystal clear. _"He's doing this for some bird!"_, he realized and it wasn't for the aggravating Lily Evans. It was for _her; _for Melanie, his apparent new fancy if the cozy scene in the library was any indication. James always was a shameless flirt, going from one girl to the next, wrapping all of them around his finger, sometimes even letting a few of them fight it out. But it was always casual, all fun and games. _Never _had it gotten serious, at least not so serious for real names to be involved.

But it seems this one was somehow different. That _Melanie_ was different.

"_I don't give a bugger if she's an angel sent by God, giving our names away is a mistake!", _he thought, the paranoia and cautiousness that had become a part of him like breathing and living making itself known in the hairs that stood on end and the muscles that tensed, awaiting an attack now that his identity was known. _"All because of James Fucking Potter." _Tearing his gaze away from Melanie, Sirius spun on his partner once more, eyes flashing dangerously, hands twitching as they readied themselves to knock some sense into his idiotic best mate.

"Prongs…", he growled menacingly.

"Sirius.", James drawled back, making his friend cringe as if his name was an insult. "Look it's a done deal mate. They know our names. And what's the problem? They're not Slytherins. They saved our lives. Your life _three _times in fact. Why you're knickers in a twist Pads?"

The look that James sent him was of abject irritation. Like it was _his _fault they were in this mess. As if he wasn't behaving like they all should: caution and waiting for the next strike. That was it. The last straw. Sirius was done. His anger had been at the cusp ever since meeting Lucius in the alleyway Saturday morning. Add being trapped in Slytherin territory, having to escape from said territory, dealing with Lily's badgering since he _met her, _having to tell these _stupid, ignorant, oblivious, _teens all about a war he wished he could forget, and finally throw in the pain that coursed through his body with every move and Sirius Black was a volatile volcano ready to explode.

And explode he did.

"My _knickers _are in a twist _James _because we just got bloody fucking shot yesterday or are you to bloody fucking horny on these two birds that you forgot that fact? Huh? All the blood to far from your brain for it to actually sodding think Potter? Your little shag in the library not enough to pacify you? Not enough to get the blood back to your head so you could realize how _fucking stupid _you're acting? You told them our _names _James!", he shouted, his anger making him blind, making him deaf, making him stupid. But Sirius didn't care. He was so fucking angry right now that the small voice of reason at the back of his head was smothered and strangled, forced into a small corner and slaughtered by his rage and his wrath.

"Wait! What the bloody hell are you talking about you nutter? What shag?", Lily shrieked, grabbing hold of Sirius' arm and making him face her. That was fine with him. He'd been wanting to shut her up for _ages _now and this was the perfect opportunity. No holding back, no pulling his punches.

Sirius could feel his face twist and contort into a sneer, a malicious and ugly expression that he was sure could put Malfoy to shame, and could taste the acid on his tongue as he unleashed it in the red head's awaiting face. "What I'm talking about is your friend Melanie might find us _murderers_ but that didn't stop her from cuddling up to James over there in the library. I left before it got hot but I wouldn't be surprised if _Mel _got down on her knees and…"

SMACK!

The sound of flesh rebounding against flesh echoed through Melanie Strider's living room, the echoes chased by astonished gasps. Sirius barred his teeth in an unholy combination of a sneer and a snarl as he tightened his grip on the dainty hand of Lily Evans which was held aloft, inches from his face. Pain flared, white flames, and Sirius could feel his wounds begin to weep once more but he couldn't care less as he drank in the shocked and slightly fearful expression on the she-devil's face. _"Finally." _"Not quick enough _Miss Evans.", _he laughed darkly. Something akin to a whimper leaked passed her lips and the next thing Sirius knew pain exploded in his chest as spots appeared in his vision.

Sirius exhaled in a grunt, an exhalation laced in pain as he stumbled back, disbelief filtering through his system as he glimpsed a flash of amber. The boy had hit him. The weak little kid who couldn't even hold a knife had actually hit him. _"I can't believe it. The bugger actually landed a hit.", _was the only coherent thought as Sirius wrapped a hand around his bleeding torso.

"Leave…leave Lily alone.", Remus stammered as he stood in front of the hellion, and to Sirius' complete amusement, rose his fists up in a defensive position. As if he could actually fight anyone, let alone Sirius Black, off.

Pissed beyond belief and itching to fight, Sirius smirked, another dark expression that made him look menacing and deadly. "Oh yeah? And what are you going to do to stop me?"

He took a step forward.

The sandy haired boy grew pale in fear and Sirius watched as his lanky frame began to tremor. But before he could stutter out another lame empty threat, a blur of brown wedged in between them, hands upraised and blue eyes pleading. Sirius snapped his head down and glared at her, ready to take her on as well.

"Everyone needs to bloody calm down!", Melanie entreated, looking scared and on the verge of crying. "Please Remus, please S…Padfoot. Just stop. _Please._"

A lone tear trickled down her cheek and Sirius watched as it slipped of her chin, taking his anger with it. Those eyes were what finally stopped his rampage, what finally brought him out of the red haze he was drowning in. Those eyes that had begun all this, begun all of this trouble when they mesmerized him from a photo, pulled him in, made him hesitate. Those eyes that displayed everything whirling behind them, all the fear, all the pain, all the sorrow and all the trust…however short that last one may have been. The memory of the hatred in her eyes when him and James were done telling their story made Sirius wince. That had been stupid. _He_ had been stupid. Stupid to stay two weeks ago, stupid to bring her into all this carnage, all this war.

All this death.

Because eyes like hers were pools of innocence; unaware and ignorant of the horrors of the world; pure, untainted. It was his job to keep them that way, keep them safe, keep them innocent. It was too late for James, years too late; too many deaths too late. And Sirius…Sirius could barely remember what innocent felt like. Hadn't felt it in an eternity, since it was stolen from him, torn from him. It was a concept that he knew about, knew the definition, the meaning of, but whose true essence fluttered on the fringes of his memory, ready to fall into oblivion. A prize he just couldn't reach.

But most of all…he had been stupid that she would understand; that his actions were worth understanding. Worth _forgiving. _

And suddenly Sirius was tired, so very, very tired; bone wearied exhausted. Tired of all the lies, conspiracies, masks. Tired of struggling, fighting a losing battle. Slytherins were already infesting Gryffindor territory like the roaches they were, it was only a matter of time before they spread to the rest of London.

If they hadn't already.

"_What am I doing?", _he thought as his blood, a product of his anger, dripped through his fingers. _"What is the bloody fucking point?"_

That annoying voice of reason that had so tenaciously clung to life at the back of his mind quickly resurfaced at his doubt. _"You're fighting for her, for Melanie and every other innocent life in London. Now calm down. Anger will help no one." _And if the voice wasn't enough, Sirius' pain also decided it was tired of being ignored and awoke with a vengeance, dragging him down and completely dousing the embers of his dying rage.

But just because Sirius' inferno no longer raged did not mean it had not sparked another's.

Suddenly, Lily stepped out from where she had been recovering behind Remus, all fire and brimstone again as she rounded on her friend, all Sirius' previous energy seeming to course through her veins. "Mel you saw what he did! He nearly broke my hand! Like he nearly broke your wrist! I told you this was a bad idea from the start! They're lunatics, unhinged and dangerous. So not to sound like a cheeky arse but _I told you so._"

Sirius watched Melanie bite her lip and pry her gaze off of him long enough to glance back at her best friend. "Lil, you were the one who went to slap him.", she said before moving her eyes back to the weary Gryffindor, the look in her eyes as she regarded him a look that people sent a wild animal; a fearful, waiting look as they tensed in preparation for an inevitable attack.

And Sirius hated her for it. Just like he hated her for comparing her to the Slytherins he had spent his whole life trying to distance himself from. He wasn't disillusioned; all that valour and grandeur trip he'd been on when he was inducted was blown away the first time he pulled a trigger. He knew he wasn't some super hero, some knight in shinning armour. But recently the nagging thought of _why am I fighting for a people who don't know of me, and if they did, are scared of me, hate me _would not leave him alone at night.

"But you heard what he said about…!", Lily continued irately, the scowl on her face so severe it completely contorted her sharp features into a harsh mask.

"Yeah Lils I heard but…" Melanie sent a helpless look to James, begging him to help her diffuse the flammable situation. When really there was no need because Sirius was done.

"Pads…" Sirius gave James one glance and that shut him up.

"You know what? Fine mate. Do what you want. Give them our names, shag 'em, bloody marry them, I don't care. I'm done.", Sirius said and turned to walk out. But before he could get two feet, a hand almost familiar as his own wrapped around his wrist and brought him to a halt.

With a growl, Sirius turned and locked eyes with James ready to tell him off but the brunette beat him to it, standing not two feet from him, the couch that he had previously been sitting on vacated and empty. "Sirius why are you so against this? You're acting like…like bloody Peter Pettigrew! A complete ponce."

Sirius cast James a scathing look but it lacked his usual heat. "Pettigrew can lick my bollocks and you can too Prongs."

James rolled his eyes. "Like I haven't been blowing hot air up your arse for years Padfoot. But your self-inflated ego is not in question here. The question is why are you being a bloody tosspot."

"Because, Prongs, you _never _give names. You know this! That's McGonagall's third sodding rule. Don't cross lines, don't involve the public, and do _not_ give out names. So why did you!"

It made no bloody sense! _"But then again, what the bugger makes sense anymore.", _Sirius thought sardonically.

That God awful smirk that made birds all across London drop their knickers just made Sirius want to punch his partner, exhausted or not. "Well since we had already broken the other two I thought why the bloody hell not."

"James I swear to God mate…", Sirius began, a headache thrumming behind his eyes, in time to the pulsing of his weeping wounds. _"I'm tired. I just don't want to fight anymore.", _he thought but the words would never cross his lips. Sirius, and he knew it too, was to prideful to concede defeat like that. He could walk out, walk away if he _really _needed to , but publicly declare surrender? Never.

The other sighed and rankled his unruly, untameable hair. "Alright, alright. You want the truth? The truth is I trust them.", James said simply, as if it was the easiest thing in the world. As if trust was something that was real, that was true, that was valid. As if it wasn't something that got you killed.

"Trust?", Sirius scoffed in disbelief, staring at his best mate as if he had grown a second head. "_Trust? _Prongs, you know you can only trust people as far as you can throw them."

A light scowl replaced the nearly perpetual combination of a smirk and a grin. "They're different.", James argued adamantly and Sirius could practically see him mentally stomp his foot. "Melanie, Lily, and Remus have done nothing for us to distrust them."

"Yeah you said that already." But trust was for the stupid, the foolish. It got many a person killed. _"So then why tell them about the war?", _his mind argued. _"Why trust them with that information?" _For the first time in a long time, Sirius did not have an answer. And he hated that worst of all.

"Well I'll say it again so it can sink into that bloody thick skull of yours.", James hissed as he flung Sirius' arm back at him causing pain to rocket once more. "They saved our lives and risked their own in the process. From what they've told us, Crabbe already knows what Lily and Remus look like and the rest of them know what Melanie looks like from when she yanked your ungrateful arse out of that alley two weeks ago. They are now apart of this war whether you like it or not. And if you ask me, they could use some friends. Some mates that they can _trust _Sirius."

The infamous anger that Sirius was so known for, that the _Blacks _were so known for, blazed once more and he took a step forward. "Don't you think I fucking know that James? Don't you think I've already thought of the danger they could be in? Why the hell do you think I am against giving out our names Prongs?"

Sparked by his partner, James ignited as well, brown eyes burning. "I don't know Pads, to keep up your deluded mystery man charade? Be the man in the shadows who makes the birds swoon?", he spat caustically.

Sirius glared daggers. "Last time I checked Prongs, you were the man-whore not me. And since I know you're all looks and not brains I'll bloody tell you why I wanted our names kept out of the equation. One word, should be easy for you to understand: deniability."

Confusion dimmed the anger in those familiar chocolate orbs. "What?"

"Uh well deniability means that one could deny…", the amber eyed boy reflexively squeaked from his position near the kitchen, all faux bravado long since fled now that Sirius was not threatening to rearrange Lily's taunting face. Sirius distantly wondered when he moved but the thought floated away as James cast Remus a glare.

"I know what it means thanks." The frail boy blushed crimson and ducked his head at James' hostile words. "S…sorry.", he muttered back in response, folding more into himself to avoid the battle between the two Gryffindors.

"Don't be mad at the kid for you being stupid Prongs.", Sirius sneered. "Blame your mum who dropped you on your head as a baby."

The glare that Remus had received was nothing compared to the obliterating glower James directed at Sirius; a bone melting, fierce look that if Sirius wasn't…well Sirius, he would be quaking where he stood. "Leave my mum out of this Black. She's not the psychotic, lunatic, bitch that Walburga is."

Sirius barred his teeth at the mention of his mother's name and Melanie decided that it was the correct moment to intervene again because the next thing Sirius knew, she was back in between him and James, though when she had moved he couldn't remember, pleading once more in her eyes.

But unlike before, she wasn't keeping her distance, hands upraised, ready for a strike. No, now she was so close Sirius could smell her shampoo, could hear her breathing even if he wasn't looking directly at her, could feel her against him. Bewildered by the light pressure on his chest, Sirius tore his gaze from James and glanced down, instantly drowning in teary sky blue eyes. "Please stop fighting already. Please Padfoot. You're hurt. James is hurt. You keep going at it like this and you're going to end up in the hospital again. This is helping no one.", she murmured softly, coercively.

Disoriented by her nearness, by the dainty hands that rested on his blood stained chest, the soft exhalations on his neck, Sirius shook his head trying to clear it. But Melanie saw the motion as a negative and words spewed forth, unbidden in her emotion, in her desperation.

"Look, I'm sorry I made J…Prongs give me your names. I won't use them, I'll forget all about them. _We'll _forget all about them. I swear it. Just don't…be angry any more. P…please." It seemed that she had run out of things to say so the only thing left was to beg. Beg for him to stop. For him to leave. For him to get out of her life.

He wished he could. But that was no longer an option. As James had said, these unfortunate kids were apart of this war, whether they were ready to face it or not. Whether they could survive it or not.

Suddenly, as Sirius gazed at Melanie, he caught sight of a glint of gold against her neck, a sparkle against washed out skin. He recognized it in an instant and the breath stilled in his throat.

It was his necklace, the one he had so recklessly left on Melanie's table two weeks ago. He couldn't say why he had done it, but when he had looked at the one word of gratitude he had left carved into her table…he had felt it wasn't enough. For some insane reason, he wanted to repay her for her unexpected kindness. And even more than repay her, deep down, he wanted to protect her. Not just because he thought her to be the daughter of the Striders, legends in the myth they lived in, not just because she had saved his life…it was something more than that. Something he couldn't name. And before he knew it, the gold chain that had been around his neck for over two years was in his hands, on the table, and he was out the door, feeling lighter and heavier at the same time. Lighter because he knew the crest would protect her and heavier because he knew it had the possibility to put her in danger at the same time. Danger that was much closer to home than even Dumbledore had anticipated. The image of Lucius Malfoy, Snape and the rest of their cronies flashed in his mind eye. _"So much for infallible old man." _

"Padfoot?"

Snapping back to attention, Sirius re-focused on the here and now. Focused on the living room where Melanie still had her hands on his still bleeding chest, where his partner stood across from him, the same weariness in his eyes that Sirius could feel in his own, and where the world outside was slipping through his fingers faster than he could catch it.

"Pads I know there's a lot of hollow space up there in your head to get lost in but can you come back for now. You'll have plenty of time in the future to explore the unknown territories you never use up there later."

Sirius gave a half-hearted glare, completely spent of his ire, and his partner returned it with a soft smirk. To anyone else it would seem as if James was just trying to further antagonize him but for Sirius, who had been James' best mate longer than he cared to mention, read the underlying message as clearly as if it had been said aloud.

_I'm sorry. _

"At least I have space to think. Your head is so crammed full of cracked ideas its like herding cats just to get your attention. Unless someone's wearing a skirt.", Sirius said, sending back his own message.

_I'm sorry too._

The smirk grew. "You volunteering Sirius? I always thought you would look smashing in a skirt. Your legs go on for miles."

_Mates till the end? _

"And I always knew you were a poof. Arthur owes me £50. Hell, Tonks owes me £100."

_You can't get rid of me._

James' smirk transformed into a full smile. "Takes one to know one mate."

Before Sirius could respond, Lily decided to add her two cents into their private conversation. "Are you two arseholes done flirting or should we leave you alone to snog? Or maybe you'd like us to stay so you can abuse us some more? After your snog session of course."

"Lily!"

The red head wasn't even fazed by Melanie's exasperated and scolding exclamation as she turned to her, face grim and eyes hard. "Mel I don't know what you thought you were thinking when you saved these blokes but they run hot and cold within a matter of seconds and when their not taking it out on us, they're making eyes at each other. I didn't sign up for this shite. Remus and I said we would help you get them out. We didn't say we wanted to be recruited in some bloody fucking war. So, although I hate to copy anything these tosspots said, I'm with the git your hanging on. I'm done. If and when you dump these nutters, call me. If not, don't bother."

At her comment of Melanie hanging on Sirius, the brunette blushed and finally stepped away, moving towards Lily who just shook her head. Sirius ignored the fact that he felt marginally colder now that Mel stood at a distance and instead watched as yet another fight broke out in her household.

Spinning on her heel, Lily began to march out, her last words and her posture distantly reminding Sirius of a memory he thought he had forgotten; a thought he had burned and buried. The memory of the last time he saw his brother, a time and a place in a world far from this one.

"_I'm done Sirius. Leave. Leave like the coward and the traitor you are. Nothing I say will stop you and nothing you say will convince me to follow you. But mark my words older brother, the next time you see me it will be on the other end of a barrel, my finger on the trigger and your blood on my hands."_

Something quivered in his chest at the thought of his brother, at the thought of his first failure. At the thought of abandoning him, even if Regulus thought he wanted to be left behind. Even if he would not see reason. Sirius always said guilt and hesitation got you killed and James wore the mark of his mistakes. Regulus had been true to his word. Too bad his aim was shite and James didn't hesitate to take a bullet for him.

Shouts rose up around him, drawing Sirius back to the present. "Lily wait!", Remus begged. Melanie was quick to echo his sentiment but with an impatient flick of her hand, Lily kept walking.

"_Stop her.", _Sirius' mind commanded abruptly._" Stop her or you'll regret it. Just like you regret letting Regulus go."_

"The only reason,", Sirius began loudly. "I was angry is because now there's no turning back for you three. Now, because my partner jumped the gun so to speak, you're stuck. Stuck with the bloody knowledge that you thought you wanted but will only put you in more danger. So you can leave. Or you can stay and actually listen to what you're now facing. Your choice"

Lily stopped in the threshold at his words, back ramrod straight, but did not turn around.

No matter. The fact that she stopped showed she was reluctantly willing to listen.

"Erm…Padfoot?"

Taking his gaze off of Lily, Sirius turned back to the still blushing girl by his side, watching as her perplexed and concern eyes flickered between him and her friend. "Um, didn't we already cross the bridge of no return?" Her eyes finally settled fully on him, the blue nearly piercing. "Because I'm pretty sure we also burned the bugger too", she smiled weakly.

Sirius didn't return it. "Yes but with our names…you are now targets." He jerked his chin towards Remus and Lily. "All of you."

The mystified expression Melanie wore just deepened. "But we are already targets. We practically stole you out from under the Slytherins noses. I've delayed your…death three times now. You've told us about the war. Why would knowing your name make matters worse?"

Sirius looked straight into those haunting eyes, wishing he could stop but knowing he no longer could. "Because if they ever catch you, they'll know you're one of us. Or at least a crucial ally to know our true identities. You can't deny that anymore." The truth was finally dawning on them and it was a terrible thing to see but Sirius pressed on. He had to. "Our nicknames were to protect you as much as us. That's lost now."

The fear in her gaze was a yawning abyss, unfathomable and consuming. Sirius cringed at the thought that he had uncovered such a thing but as he learned long ago, ignorance could only be bliss for so long. Being innocent didn't necessarily keep you safe. It just made your death the more tragic.

"So because you wanted a quick shag, Casanova, we are all dead now.", Lily spat from the doorway in disgust. James frowned at the quip and turned to her, but Sirius could see by the furrow of this brow that he also felt guilty now.

"I didn't do it for a shag. I did it to start gaining your trust.", he said quietly. "And while yes it does pose a problem knowing our names, it could also helps you. If you ever meet another Gryffindor it will automatically get them to…well not trust you. But they won't harm you." Then he titled his head towards Melanie. "And with the crest, you'll definitely be seen as special. As long as you are seen by allies, no harm will come to you."

At the mention of the necklace, Sirius blinked in surprise. _"James noticed? Shite." _He was going to get it now. Before he had just told his mate that the chain had snapped during his little spat with Snape. Now that his lie was exposed…James was never going to let him live it down.

Trying to forget that his partner was going to tease him mercilessly over this, Sirius watched as Mel's hand went up to fiddle with the thin chain so smoothly and quickly he was sure she had done it before. _"Interesting. I…wonder if she always wears it." _But was more interesting was the look of profound concentration on her face, as if she was delving deep into her thoughts in search of something vital. Her porcelain brow was furrowed and her nose was slightly wrinkled as she bit her lip, her eyes glazed and glassy. The word cute came to mind but Sirius immediately smothered the thought. The last thing he needed was to become infatuated with yet another bird. The last one nearly stabbed him. _"Besides, seems like Prongs has already called dibs on her if the library was any indication.", _he thought, the image of them standing close, James' lips on her hand as she giggled at him clear in his minds eye. Sirius refused to acknowledge the fact that something akin to disappointment settled in his chest at the thought of them together. It was none of his business and he didn't care. The memory of her smiling at him surfaced and then was gone in an instant. Nope. He didn't care one bit.

Suddenly, Mel's eyes went wide with a gasp, eureka clear on her visage and she twirled to face Sirius full on startling him out of this thoughts. He raised a brow at her enthusiasm but stayed silent as she began to gush her epiphany. "Wait, I remember you saying something about the tattoo! You…you were surprised I didn't know about it." She bit her lip again. "So…that must mean that most people know about it?", she questioned hesitantly.

Sirius gave a small nod. "Yes. Almost everyone in London knows of the Houses or at least the myth of their existence. Like I said, for some it's a bed time story and for others…it's a real live hell.", he said gravely.

Pity shone in Melanie's face and she looked like she wanted to say something but thankfully Remus cut her off. "Mel! That's it! That's why everyone at school has been avoiding us like the plague!"

Mel looked at her friend and nodded, her head bobbing like a bobble head. "I know. I just figured it out! See Lily, it wasn't my chest they were staring at! It was a necklace!", she nearly crowed, smile wide and eyes bright.

Sirius cocked an eyebrow at the exclamation and James seemed to catch the same blunder he had. "People were staring at your chest?", James asked, smothered laughter clear in his voice. "How was that experience?"

Scarlet bloomed across Mel's cheeks and flew down her neck like some sort of hyperactive disease. "Wh…no…I….it….wasn't…"

Unable to hold it back, James burst into sniggers, nearly doubling over, and almost pulling Sirius along with him in his merriment. But the gasps of mirth quickly turned into gasps of pain and the tears pooling behind wire rims were not caused by amusement.

Concerned for his mate, Sirius moved towards his partner. "Oi you alright?" But that was a stupid question. He himself was facing rapidly increasing pain from his wounds. Bending over with body shaking tremors must have jarred something and not in the good way.

"N…not really Pads. I haven't been this injured in years now.", James rasped out, arm wrapped around his torso in a mirror image of Sirius.

And he was right. The last time he was this hurt was when Regulus had shot him, his shot gone wide, its heated metal burying itself in James' torso as Sirius starred on in horror. Because it was his fault. Just like this last encounter was. James said Sirius was his best mate and yet Sirius had nearly caused his death as many times as a Slytherin.

"Wipe that look off your face Pads. I know what you are thinking and I'm saying now, quit it."

James knew him too well but he didn't want to go rounds with him in the same useless argument. James always said it wasn't his fault. Sirius knew it was. "If you say so Prongs." That's what he always said because that's all his friend would accept. Even if it was wrong.

"Well I say you both need to bloody sit down before you fall down due to blood loss.", Mel said. "Now if you would sit for a bit, I'll get the supplies and…"

"That won't be necessary.

Though there was a part of him that was loathe to say those words, and a larger part that was loathe to figure out why, Sirius knew they had to be said.

Everyone but Prongs turned to him as if they thought a hallucination had befallen them, similar combinations of puzzlement and incredibility on their faces. "W…what?", Melanie asked. Disappointment was the clearest emotion in her voice and Sirius hated that something twitched inside of him in response to it. Thankfully, James took over because Sirius wasn't sure he would be able to.

"What Sirius means is, we won't need tending to because…we'll be getting it somewhere else.", he said gently, brown eyes warm and…almost sad.

"_Bloody great. Now Prongs is getting all sappy on me.", _Sirius scowled. It was one thing for Sirius to be feeling weird, not that he was but…at least he could control himself. Somewhat. Maybe. Well at least when it came to things not anger related.

Mel caught on quick. "Wait…don't tell me your leaving again!", she exclaimed, unknowingly moving toward him as if to bar his way. "You were just shot! You can't just go running through the streets again."

"Oi if they want to commit suicide, let them Mel. You might be able to sew them up but you can't fix lunacy."

The brunette ignored her scathing best friend and looked to Sirius to confirm what she already knew. "James is right. We need to get back…to the Tower. Dumbledore will need to know what happened."

And McGonagall will need to deliver he daily does of arse kicking to him and his partner. Sirius knew this time it was going to be especially maiming.

At the thought of the old Gryffindor, eyes alight, mouth set in a fatal line, Sirius almost felt the dizzying effects of her wrath. Like the room spinning and colors blurring and the acidic taste of bile on the back of his tongue.

"Sirius!"

A firm hand accompanied the sharp call and only then did he realize that the effects weren't only in his head. Blinking slowly, like someone who had just woken from a deep sleep, Sirius found himself a few feet from where he last remembered standing, James and Melanie flanking his sides, anxiety screaming off their postures. It seems he was a lot worse off then he had anticipated. Damn morphine was still muddling his senses. Too bad it wasn't still dulling his pain.

"Oi. You pass out Pads and I'm leaving your fat arse here.", James playfully threatened.

His tongue felt like a pound of lead in his mouth but somehow Sirius was able to respond. "I'm not the one who constantly makes sure his arse isn't getting bigger now am I?", he quipped back, the words sluggish and slurred.

The anxiety melted away under James' amusement. "I have to make sure the goods are not spoilt for the birds now don't I."

Sirius snorted but doubled over and held his head when his it nearly spun of his shoulders. "Ugh.", he groaned as he narrowed his eyes against the pain. _"Great. I survive being shot only to die of blood loss and my own stupidity. Tonks will laugh her ass off." _Not to mention Arthur and his fancy Molly. Hell, the latter would most likely throw a party to celebrate.

A cool hand on his cheek brought him out of his reverie with a jolt. Looking up, Sirius; gaze collided with steely determined sky blue orbs. "You're not going anywhere until I've bandaged you and you've had something to eat." Her tone left no room for argument, which was very impressive given the only other people who could silence his objections were the leader of the Gryffindors and his…lieutenant for lack of a better word. This girl never ceased to perplex him.

Glancing over at James, he saw the brunette boy smirk and shrug. "Well when she puts it like that, who are we to say no?"

* * *

An hour, multiple bandages, and a pot of soup later, Sirius and James were ready to leave, garbed in ratty sweats and pristine coats. The small rag tag group of teens and soldiers faced off in Melanie's entry way, the Gryffindors with their backs to the door, Mel and her friends with their backs to the stairs. Silence reigned between them, no one knowing what to say. Unable to do anything else in the small, confined space, Sirius once again was drawn to the enigmatic brunette that vexed him so. She shouldn't be able to. Her emotions and thoughts were so loud in her eyes, Sirius practically knew what she was thinking.

Except…he didn't. Even with knowing what she was feeling, some things were still hidden from him. And it irked him to no end because it seemed that Sirius had been so used to hiding his true emotions and having the people around him do the same that he could no longer decipher all the nuances of feelings. _"Fan-fucking-tastic."_

"So,", Melanie began. "Should we turn away so you can sneak out again?"

The joke fell flat and the atmosphere sizzled with its failure. And with questions of what came next. But Sirius had no answers to those questions so he let them hang in the air, tangible but too heavy to deal with.

"We'll be back again.", Sirius unexpectedly promised, breaking the chocking atmosphere. "We just need to sort some things out but…we'll return. Then we'll…discuss what needs to be discussed."

"_Namely your survival but I won't frighten you any more than I already have.", _Sirius thought soberly.

"I'll be holding my breath.", Lily muttered from her perch on the stairwell. No one paid her any mind.

Mel looked uncertain and slightly fearful, her eyes misty and lip nearly gnawed through. "O…of course.", she said but Sirius knew she didn't believe it.

Their suffocating companion had returned, stealing their voices and cementing them to the floor. Sirius almost fidgeted, something he hadn't done since he was a child, but caught himself just in time. "Well we best be going.", James finally said, his voice too loud in the hush. "I'm sure Dumbledore and McGonagall are going berserk. Come on Pads, its just going to get colder the longer we wait."

Giving a nod toward Melanie, James said his farewells. "Until next time Mel. And I'll be counting the breaths until we meet again my dear flower." Lily looked like she wanted to vomit at the saccharine words and the blatant wink. Or maybe punch the words back into his mouth…which was highly more likely.

"Bye.", Mel whispered back, hand raising as if to wave but quickly falling back to her side, useless and limp.

Unable to bear it any longer, Sirius blindly fumbled behind him and opened the door. "Good-bye", he lamely mumbled back as the cold air assaulted his back. Sensing his discomfort, James ducked out the door with one last smirk, Sirius close on his heels.

"W…wait."

"_So close."_

Glancing over his shoulder, Sirius saw Melanie walk forward, her hand held aloft again. But this time it was held palm up, gold glittering in her grasp. Confused, he looked to her for an explanation. "It's yours.", she said. "I can't keep it…not knowing when it means so much to you." Shock rendered Sirius still and silent. "Take it.", Melanie prompted, nudging her hand in his direction, the crest winking in her hand like some sort of perverse eye. Returning his gaze to her head, Sirius couldn't help but notice her neck looked bare without the necklace, looked wrong somehow.

Tentatively reaching out, his calloused fingers brushed her the smooth skin of her palm, but instead of plucking the chain from her hand, he clenched her fingers closed around the trinket and held her fist firmly. "Keep it.", he said with something in the realm of a smile. "I can always get another."

Before she could refuse, Sirius let her hand go and was down the steps of her stoop, looping into the street and after his partner. As they walked side by side, James' gaze slid sideways to regard his partner, mischief in his eyes. "Hmm what an odd thing to say. And here I thought each Gryffindor only got one chain. Pretty sure it was in the handbook too. I guess i must have been mistaken eh Siri?"

Sirius ignored the comment and quickened his pace, gracefully disregarding his friend's laughter and the tinge of heat in his cheeks.

* * *

**Yes yes its over now. You can wipe the vomit off your keyboard :/ but still review please. Especially you ghost readers who alert and have yet to review :)**


	17. Chapter 17

**Melanie's POV

* * *

**

_Smoke and mist swirled in tumultuous eddies, drenching the world in damp shadows. The air was thick and obscure, a never ending wall of fog that destroyed the senses and confused the mind. Up could be down, left could be right, straight backwards or maybe nowhere at all. Running was falling and standing was flying; screaming was a whisper and crying did nothing at all._

_Because there was no sound, just too loud silence. Just a perpetual realm of despair. There was no hope, no light at the end of the tunnel, just level after level of hellish limbo. No air, no ground, no sound, no life. _

_And still Melanie kept going, at least she thought she was. In this ghostly hell, nothing was wholly clear. But one thing was certain, as certain as nothing else in the world: Mel had to keep going, no matter what. Something was waiting for her, or maybe…it was chasing her. It did not matter though, she just needed to keep moving. She was close, she could feel it. Just a little bit further. _

_Suddenly, a pinprick of light pierced the mist, like a lighthouse on the edge of a cliff that guided ships to safety. It was blindingly bright and too dim at the same time but with the light came startling clarity. There was __**ground **__under her feet, solid ground that echoed back the frantic slaps of her running feet. And there was air in her aching lungs, precious oxygen that she heaved in great breaths. She was alive, and she was getting closer. _

"_Melanie, help me. Please."_

_The murmured words rang through the mist, next to her and eons away all at once. Mel's urgency tripled and she pushed herself harder through the mist. The light was closing in, just a few more steps. But right as Melanie was going to cross the threshold, her feet caught on something big and she went tumbling to the surprisingly icy ground. A combination of fear and curiosity rose in her as she turned her back on the light and looked at the object that had caused her crash landing. The mist was too thick to see from her position, the thing on the floor just a large oblong shadow. But the shape of it squashed her curiosity. Now, only fear remained and she wanted to be far from this place. Mel turned to glance back at the light only to find the golden doorway shrink and vanish before her wide eyes, damning her to a realm of freezing twilight. Puffs of fog escaped her lips, adding to the smoke as the air continued to decline in temperature. _

_A gurgled moan broke through the silence, the kind of sound a dying animal might make as it shuttered its last breath through broken lungs. It was the kind of sound that made the hairs on the back of Mel's neck stand on end and her muscles tremble in terror. Mel closed her eyes tight as the groans grew in volume and she tried to move away but manacles closed around her ankles and yanked her towards the gruesome sound. Crying out in fear, the sound sharp and shrill, Mel's eyes flew open and in the next moment she wished they hadn't. _

_The smoke had cleared when she had closed her eyes and in result she could perfectly see the object that had caused her to fall. After the eternity spent in grey and black, the scarlet lakes seared Mel's eyes as they spread out, lapping at her feet and legs until the entire ground was saturated with the viscous fluid, the color staining the world with its unholy hue._

_Everything was red, crimson, scarlet, ruby. Everything except __**his **__eyes. _

_The stormy eyes that Mel knew so well, that she cared for so well, stared up at her unseeing, the white film of death dimming their striking appearance. Burning blood trickled from his parted lips, staining his ghostly pale skin until there was not an inch of white left. Devastating sorrow built in Mel's chest, built and built until it exploded off her tongue in an inhuman, keening cry that resounded in the air long after she had collapsed on Sirius' no longer moving chest._

_Mel did not know how long she lay there, the dead man's blood smearing into her hair and into her eyes. Time passed but she did not notice or maybe…she couldn't. She was suspended out of time. A second could be a day, a minute a week, a hour an eternity_. _Melanie no longer cared. She had failed him and now he was dead. And the worst part was…she had been __**so close**__. _

_A click that had become a part of her boomed through the air, and Mel wearily lifted her blood drenched head to stare into the barrel of a gun, the desire to get away long since vanished._

"_Not close enough.", the gun sneered right before it shot a bullet straight into her forehead with the sound of a scream. _

Melanie bolted upright, the scream of the gun transforming into the scream of fear one emitted when waking from a nightmare. Which is what the horrendous images that cascaded before her eyes were. A nightmare. Nothing else. Or at least that is the mantra that the frightened teen kept mentally repeating to herself, the only real thing that punctured the haze of terror that surrounded her mind.

"Miss Strider?"

Startled by the sound of her name, Mel blinked and looked up, meeting the confused and scared gazes of her twenty classmates and her English teacher, Mr. Adam Clayworth. "Melanie are you alright?", Mr. Clayworth inquired again, concern and worry shinning in his warm brown eyes.

Heart still hammering beneath her ribcage, Mel attempted to stutter out an adequate response. "Um y…yes Mr. Clayworth. I…I thought I saw a…cockroach."

The instant the words were out of her mouth, Mel wished she could retract them. _"A cockroach? Really?", _her mind ridiculed her but Melanie was still too groggy to fully listen to her self scoldings.

In hindsight, this was not the best phrase to say, the chaos that would ensue would speak testament to that but, at the time, brain fried and terror still swimming through her veins, it was the best Melanie could do. The instant the words registered, mass hysteria spread across the class, a disease that mostly targeted those of the female population because, as if on cue, thirteen unholy shrieks rose in the air, accompanied by the scrapes of chairs and desks as legs were pulled from the ground and furniture transformed into precarious perches.

"A roach? Eww gross!"

"What is wrong with this bloody school? Can't they keep bugs out?"

"Oh my God, there it is!"

The last exclamation sent the class into a new level of frenzy, numerous frantic eyes calculating the distance from their respective positions atop furniture to the door and the risk that it would pose lest their jump come up short. Mel grimaced and bit her lip in guilt. _"Way to go."_

"Alright, alright! That's enough! There is no roach so if you would be so kind ladies as to get off the desks.", Mr. Clayworth said in exasperation, pinching the bridge of his nose at the childish antics of his high school juniors.

"But Mr. C what happens if there _is _a roach and it crawls up one of our legs?", a boy two seats to Mel's right asked with an innocent doe eyed expression. Every girl in the room looked as if they'd rather cut off their own legs.

Lily, who sat unaffected on Mel's right, rolled her eyes and turned to boy who had just posed the question with a scowl. "Please Max. The only reason you care about the bloody thing is because if the girls stay on the desk then you and your mindless drones can continue to look up their skirts.", she spat.

At the front of the room, Mr. Clayworth sighed and drew a hand down his face. "Thank you Miss Evans for that enlightening comment. Now everyone get down and could we please get back to the le…"

"Are you crazy Mr. C?", a particular snooty girl named Victoria Stevens screeched from the front row, her long and thin body rocking unsteadily on the rickety old desk. "There's no bloody way in hell we are letting that happen!"

A chorus of agreements sounded. "Yeah, and I'm telling my parents about this!"

"Mr. Clayworth, please just _kill it!", _Samantha Richards nearly sobbed from the back corner, her glasses askew as she balanced on her chair, her hazel eyes welling with unshed tears. Unlike the others in the class, Samantha actually had a phobia of bugs, especially cockroaches. Melanie felt like a completely arsehole right about then.

But apparently, the fates decided to end her suffering, at least for now. The bell that signaled the end of class, and the end of school, screamed loud and silenced all other cries of protest. Immediately, the fiasco with the cockroach was forgotten as students completely ignored Mr. Clayworth's shout that they had homework and scrambled to be the first out the door and the first into the weekend. Not surprisingly, Samantha was the first out the door, leaving behind half of her possessions in lieu of escaping the horrid area. Within the span of a record ten seconds, the spacious classroom was bone dry empty, Mel, Lily, Remus and Mr. Clayworth the only living beings left.

"I swear I don't know why I bloody try.", Mr. Clayworth grumbled to himself, turning to gather his stuff from off his desk.

That pang of guilt hit Mel square in the chest again as she finished grabbing her things and walked to the front of the room. "I'm really sorry Mr. Clayworth. I didn't mean…"

The blonde haired man cut her off with a wave of his hand and a small smile. "Its quite alright Melanie. Unfortunately, I'm used to the apathy of my students. But,", he said, the smile turning into a frown. "What I'm not used to is you falling asleep in my class and then lying to me about it. Is everything thing ok? This is completely out of character for you."

Melanie winced. _"So he did notice. Shite." _After a moment to rack her brain for a suitable answer, Mel just decided to tell him the truth, or most of it anyways. "Everything is fine. I'm just a little tired is all. I've recently developed a case of insomnia.", she replied with a shaky smile. "Nothing to worry about though. I promise this won't happen again Mr. Clayworth."

The frown that adorned the thin man's face did not disappear at Melanie's assurances. In fact, it seemed to deepen. "Insomnia? That's a serious issue Miss Strider. Have you spoken to your parents about it?"

Something akin to resentment sparked in Mel and her previously shaky smile turned slightly bitter. "I would if they were home but they've been gone for the last few weeks on a seminar. They _should _be returning tonight though."

Pity shined in Mr. Clayworth's bespectacled orbs. "Ah…well make sure you do tell them when they do arrive. I don't want you falling asleep in my class again and I wouldn't want to soil your spotless record with a detention now would I?", he joked lightly.

Mel shook her head. "No sir."

"I didn't think so. Now off you three go. Its biting cold outside and its only going to get colder the longer we sit here and chat. I don't want to receive an email from your parents how I got you all sick."

Ever the bookworm, Remus abruptly, but politely, cut in with an inquiry about the homework that had been mentioned during the stampede but Mr. Clayworth just shook his head. "Forget about it. You three are already my best students and giving you an extra homework assignment would be unfair to all parties involved. Just have a good weekend and stay out of trouble yes?"

The trio of friends smiled and agreed as they bid the man goodbye. "Oh and Melanie?", Mr. Clayworth called out as she was about to cross the threshold of his classroom. The brunette turned, adjusting the strap of her pack. "Yes Mr. Clayworth.?"

The smile that the young teacher gave her was warm and welcoming, such a sincere expression that it served as a reminder as to why he was her favorite teacher. "If you ever need to talk, I want you to know I am always here for you. Contrary to belief, I was young once upon a time and I know how stressful and scary life as a teenage can be.", he said and Melanie almost laughed at his choice of words but kept her mirth to herself. Instead, she reciprocated with a forced bright smile and a nod. "Of course Mr. Clayworth. Thank you. Have a great weekend."

With that, Mel turned and jogged to catch up to her friends that were waiting for her at the entrance of the school. As she ran, the sound of her feet on the linoleum floor triggered the images of her recent nightmare, the endless mist and the scalding blood.

"_I know how stressful and scary life as a teenage can be." _

Melanie shook her head at her teacher's innocent and clueless words. _"If only you knew."_

"So what happened in there? And don't feed me any bollocks about roaches.", Mel's red headed friend scowled. "You screamed loud enough to raise the dead."

"_The dead." _Mel shuddered at the thoughts the words conjured. Ignoring Lily's questions, Melanie just quickened her pace, her feet splashing through puddles as she nearly jogged down the street. "Mel? Melanie!"

"_Melanie, help me. Please."_

A strong hand that did _not _belong to Lily caught her shoulder and forced her to a halt. "Melanie where's the fire? What's wrong?", Remus asked, stooping down to look into her eyes but Mel wouldn't meet his gaze, her eyes skittering to the left and the right as she shook slightly underneath his hand. "No…nothing. I just want to get home and out of the cold.", she muttered. _"And off the streets._", she added mentally as she examined yet another suspicious looking alleyway.

Ever since Sirius and James had left, Melanie had a new found fear of being outside. She hadn't told Lily or Remus but the fear was beginning to be so much that walking to and from school was like braving the toughest battlefield. Which, essentially, London had become. A battlefield with enemies that longed to kill her and the people she cared for most, enemies that could be anywhere and anyone. She sounded paranoid, and maybe she was, but what with memories and now dreams plaguing her every waking moment as well as her sleep, Melanie could find no reprieve. No sanctuary. No help.

And despite what Mr. Clayworth said, Mel could not just sit and _talk _about these problems and she sure as hell couldn't tell her parents. Nope, Melanie and her friends were alone, at least until Sirius and James came back.

"_If they ever come back.", _her mind whispered, bringing to light yet another one of Mel's fears, albeit a lesser one. Not only was she afraid that the two soldiers would die but she also was scared that they would go back on their word and not return, leaving Mel, Lily, and Remus to fend for themselves.

"Earth to Melanie! Can you hear us or do I have to push you in a puddle again?", Lily said, snapping her fingers in front of Mel's face to get her attention. "Because you know I will do it again."

Slightly irritated by her friend's attitude, Melanie opened her mouth to reply but the sound of a gunshot cut her off. Terror washed over the young girl, a suffocating wave that swept her away, and with a sharp cry, she dropped into a protective crouch behind a nearby car. Mel awaited the searing pain or the agonized shout of Lily or Rem as they fell to the ground but the only sounds to reach her ears were the mundane backdrop of city traffic.

"Mel? Mel what's wrong?"

Hands tore at her, hauling her up and up against a cold, stone, wall. Teary eyed and hysterical, Melanie swung her unfocused gaze across the blurry faces of her friends and to the street beyond, looking for the source of danger that her senses were screaming to get away from. "We have to…we have to get away! Didn't you hear that? _They found us! _We have to…" Mel dissolved into incoherent whimpers as she tugged against her friend's grasp, fear taking over and dragging her under.

"Whoa whoa whoa Mel! Calm down! What the hell are you talking about?", Lily said, giving the brunette a look that said she believed Mel insane. "Who found us?"

Melanie couldn't believe her friends weren't sharing in her terror. "Who do you think? The Slytherins did! We need to run! Or they will start shooting again!"

Comprehension flashed in amber and emerald orbs, chased swiftly by cloying pity. "Melanie.", Remus said softly, cautiously, the tone one would take with a frightened, inconsolable child. "Mel, a car backfired, just down the street. There was no gunshot."

The words registered, the terrified brunette heard them, but for a few suffocating seconds, they amounted to just a peal of gibberish. "Wh…what?"

Lily's bird like hand was coaxing on her shaking shoulder, comforting as it smoothed across her hair. "It was just a shite car Mel. That's all."

"A car?", Melanie whispered, still unbelieving, still trembling. Lily nodded, looking worried and angry all at once. Blinking harshly, Mel dragged a hand across her moist eyes, exhaling a tremulous breath. When she looked up again, the expressions on her best friend's faces told her they were debating on whisking her away to the nearest psyche ward or not. Melanie felt like crying.

"I…I…"

Remus gently pried her off the building she was propped up against and slipped an arm around her shoulders. "Let's just get home alright?", he said, wary tone still employed as if he feared for her to snap.

"_Too late Rem. Already happened.", _Melanie thought wryly, but the thought was distant, detached somehow, muffled. Like she was a spectator in her own mind. Mel shook her head. She was _losing_ her mind.

But it was better than losing her life. Something, Mel felt, she was liable to lose at the drop of a dime.

"_Melanie, help me. Please."_

That is, if the nightmares didn't kill her first.

Melanie stared down into her tea cup, watching her disjointed reflection in the cooled water. When she had arrived home, tea had sounded really appealing but once she had the mug in her hand, once she saw the pale brown liquid sloshing in the cup, the thought of drinking the beverage just about repulsed her. But for the sake of not alarming her friends, at least any further than she already had, she just pushed the rim to her lips and pretended to sip.

The tension of the room was so thick, one could drown in it. But no one knew how to break it. Out of the corner of her eye, Mel could see the anxious and concerned looks that both Lily and Rem were directing to her and each other and she hated that she was causing them pain, but she couldn't help it.

After all, who could control what they dream?

A streak of shadowy crimson flashed across her tiny reflection and Mel abruptly set down her still full cup, the harsh clatter echoing in the silent living room as the tea broke over the rim and trickled onto the table.

"Mel-?

"Nightmares.", Melanie blurted out suddenly, her pale hands twisting over and over each other in her lap, needing to get her dirty secret off her chest and out of her lungs.

Her friend's confusion permeated the air and she could feel them shift towards her, as if closing the distance between them would also resolve their shared perplexity. "W…what?", Rem said.

The writhing hands tightened into small fists against Mel's knees as morbid image after morbid image skittered across her mind, crawling over each nook and crevice like some sort of malignant, painful parasite.

"It's nightmares.", Mel whispered nearly inaudibly, like it was something dirty, something foul, pulling her knees to her chest in an effort to make herself smaller, less vulnerable. "I've been having nightmares ever since…well they left and….", she trailed off to a murmur, at a loss for words as she shrugged helplessly.

Silence followed her admission. "Why didn't you tell us?", Lily asked, her green eyes pinning Mel to her couch with their intensity.

Again, all Melanie could do was shrug. "I…I don't know. I guess…I just didn't want to worry you.", she said to her knees.

"Didn't want to…? Mel! These are the things you are _supposed _to bloody tell us! What next huh? You just going to disappear one night and go join your little boyfriend as crusader?", Lily shrieked, eyes aflame and scorching into Mel's very guilt soul.

Trying not to shrink further into her seat like a coward, Melanie opened her mouth to attempt and explain herself but she was cut off.

"_Boyfriend? _What's this you all are talking about?"

Melanie's blood ran cold and all breath fled from her shriveling lungs.

Turning her head all the way around, Mel stared with wide blue eyes at the frozen figures of her parents as they stood statuette in the doorway of her living room.

"Melanie? Care to explain?", her mother asked, raising an eyebrow and firmly planting her slim hands on her even slimmer hips.

"_Bloody hell.", _the teen thought. _"Of course they would have to walk in on that note."_

She was so dead.

To hell with the Slytherins, to hell with the nightmares.

Kathryn Strider would be the death of her. And unlike the other two, she would not be so nice.

* * *

**Ok...now i know what you are thinking. Its either 1) WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN? or 2) THAT'S ALL YOU GIVE US AFTER ALL THIS TIME?**

**I'll answer number 1 first. The reason i have not updated in so long is simple, real simple, like one word simple. And it is SCHOOL! **

**. i swear it shall be the death of me. From getting ready for SATs, to AP classes and a billion other things, I'm about ready to jump off a bridge. DX**

**Not to mention, i now have the English teacher from HELL! I swear, the Devil kicked her ass out. That's how bad she is. T.T**

**And for number 2...well see my explanation for number one. T.T **

**Its been so long since I've even opened fanfic that ive hit a block in the story XP I wanted to get at least something ****out and out soon. **

******However, since spring break is next week i'm hoping to revive this and my other story so if there are any readers of this story left out there, please, please bare with me :(**

******Humbly and contritely yours, **

****** Shadows**


	18. Chapter 18

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything from Harry Potter. I only own this plot.**

**See the end for AN. **

* * *

The silence that echoed through the living room was deafening. "Well," Kathryn Strider pressed, her eyebrow arched in question. Well, it was more like in demand. Melanie's mother never _asked _for anything. She might come across as meek and timid but get her angry or let her catch you in a lie and not even God could save you.

Melanie tried to swallow but suddenly found her throat bone dry, her hammering heart thrumming at its base. "M…mum! Dad! You're…back early. I…wasn't expecting you until Sunday." She _especially _wasn't expecting them to walk in at the exact moment in which she and her friends decided to discuss their less than…kosher activities.

"Apparently," Mrs. Strider responded, her light brown eyes sweeping across her daughter and friends, looking , searching, prying for answers. For weakness. All Melanie could do was smile shakily in return, an action both Remus and Lily copied. They were so screwed.

However, before Mel could be led to the chopping block, a familiar voice spoke from the threshold. "Kathryn can I at least hug our daughter before you start interrogating her?" Stepping out from behind his narrow eyed wife, Jacob Strider set his suitcase down and fixed Melanie with a bright smile, adjusting his wireframe glasses. "Hullo sweetheart. How are you," he inquired, opening his arms as he walked across the room. Still in shock, mind a maelstrom of incomprehension, the brunet numbly returned his embrace. "F…fine Dad. How…how was the seminar?"

Mr. Strider pulled back with a huff, rolling his eyes dramatically. "Oh you know how these things are: full of stiffed back, pompous men and women, each believing they are God's gift to the world. Disgusting really. All these seminars serve to do is remind me why I don't work in a shitty hospital."

"Jacob!"

Mel's father turned wide eyes to his wife, expression open and innocent and screaming of mischief. "What? I was only telling the truth."

Listening to the familiar banter between her parents helped to calm Mel down slightly, the mind numbing panic giving way to bearable anxious discomfort. "You speak like you aren't a doctor too Dad," Melanie weakly teased, trying to catch up as she tugged on the name tag that was still hanging on his lapels loudly proclaiming to the world that he was "_Dr. _Jacob Strider". He flashed another cheesy smile, accompanied with a conspirator's wink. "I like to think I'm the exception love."

Something melted inside Melanie then, slowly dissolved like a thick fog in the wake of dawn. Perhaps it was the small sense of resentment she seemed to always hold for her MIA parents; perhaps it was the fear that had wormed into her heart since she had met Sirius that fateful day; perhaps it was her anger at the world for what it had done to her. Either way, hearing her father's cheeky comments, smelling the sharp cologne he _insisted _on wearing, seeing her mother and feeling her verbal bite…it made Melanie feel more normal, more at ease_, _than she had in weeks.

It made her feel _safe. _And, after all that she had endured, that was more precious than 100 tons of gold.

Feeling a genuine smile stretch across her lips, Melanie step forwarded and wrapped her arms around her father once again. "You are dad. You are."

A sharply cleared throat cut the air and Melanie could practically see her mum tapping her foot. "Don't think hugging your father and stroking his ego gets you off the hook Melanie Strider," she said. "I still want to know what _boyfriend _Lily was speaking of."

Mel wrinkled her nose and buried her head in her father's chest, listening to him chuckle as he told her she was on her own for that one. _"Home sweet home," _she thought.

* * *

"So…that went better than I thought it would."

Lily threw Remus a sharp look, simultaneously tossing a crisp at his head. "Rem shut it. We all know Ms. Kathryn saw through us like glass. And thanks to your _smashing _comment, I wouldn't be surprised if Mel's parents think she's having an affair with Mr. Clayworth!"

It was a few hours after the Striders had returned home and the three teenagers found themselves lounging on Mel's bed, trying to unwind from the day, surrounded by junk food and various magazines. Lily lay on her stomach, legs kicking the air as she munched on a bag of crisps. Melanie rested beside her, on the edge of her bed, staring blankly out her window and listening to her best friends bicker. Well, listening to Lily gang up on Remus anyways. As per usual.

The sandy haired boy, who sat on the other side of Lily, winced and ducked his head, staring down at his crossed legs in shame. "I told you, it just came out wrong! I _meant _to say that Mel had fallen asleep in Clayworth's _class, _not _with _Mr. Clayworth!"

"Riiight. Well, let's just hope Ms. Kathryn nor Mr. Jacob decide to take you seriously Rem or Mr. Clayworth is in for a whole bunch of shite."

Remus blanched, looking sick. "You…don't think they really believed me do you?"

Lily shrugged her thin shoulders, turning back to the magazine she had been flipping through. "Dunno. They might. You know how protective they are. I mean, I love your parents to death Mel, but they can be a bit overbearing."

Melanie sighed and collapsed back on her bed, feeling Lily and Remus bounce with her movement. "Can we just not talk about that," she groaned, flinging and arm across her eyes. Silence met her request. Then…

"This wouldn't have happened if Lil didn't say anything in the first place," Remus muttered to which the red headed female shrieked out an insult and proceeded to beat the boy senseless with a pillow.

Usually, Melanie would try and break her friends up before it became serious. You know how it is: it's all fun and games before someone loses an eye. But, after the horrendous nightmares, the chest seizing car backfiring debacle, and her parents showing up out of the blue…she just couldn't be bothered.

That is, until Lily decided that Melanie made for an excellent unsuspecting victim and that her stomach made for the perfect landing pad. "OW! Lily! The bloody hell was that for," Mel screamed, glaring through watery, pain filled eyes at the red head resting on her stomach. Said imp flashed her an innocent smile and batted her eyelashes. "I was starved for attention as a child and when people ignore me I tend to lash out. Or at least that is what my therapist says."

Growling low in her throat, Mel shoved her friend off. "Lot of good therapy does. You're still a nutter. Not to mention a foul git at times." Lily pouted, her large emerald eyes welling with fake tears. "Why are you so mean to me? All I try to do is show my love for you!" Rolling her eyes, but unable to suppress a smile, Melanie snagged a crisp from her bedspread and popped it into her mouth. "Tell it to someone who cares Lil."

The three friends continued to banter for the next few hours, just reveling in each other's presence and the fact that they were all safe and sound. Long after it had gotten dark, and long after the crisps had disappeared, the trio was pulled from its own little world by Ms. Kathryn's shout that told them Lily and Remus' parents were here and it was time to leave. As the two departing teens were tugging on their coats at the front door, Lily suddenly turned to Mel and threw her arms around her. The brunet stumbled from the motion but returned the embrace slowly. "Lils," Melanie questioned into her friend's hair, wondering what had brought this bought of affection on.

Green eyes stared seriously at her as Lily drew back, a small, sincere smile on her lips. "Sorry. It's just…it's good to see you smile again Mel." The blue-eyed teen blinked in shock but then winced as guilt threaded through her veins, a bitter poison. Once again, she had inadvertently hurt her friends. Why did she keep doing this?

Biting her lips, Melanie looked between Remus and Lily, apology bright in her eyes. "I'm sorry Lils. And to you too Rem. I just.. I thought that…with everything that's happened…I didn't want to burden you two more with my silly shite."

Remus frowned slightly and stepped forward, tucking a strand of hair behind Melanie's ear before bending down so he was eye level with her. "You having nightmares is not "silly shite" Mel. It's something that, we as your friends, want to know so that we can help you with it. Understand? We are all feeling the same things and, together, maybe we can somehow get through this." Mel gave a shaky nod before embracing him.

"Remus…you do realize you just sounded like that berk from America don't you? What's his name? Dr. Phil? What _was_ that mushy crap?"

Extracting himself from Mel's grasp, the amber-eyed boy whirled on Lily and crossed his thin arms over his thin chest, scowl in place. "Just because you have the emotional capacity of a toad stool, _Evans, _doesn't mean we are all as heartless."

Lily gave a contemplative look. "So…what you are saying is…you're a ponce?"

Melanie groaned as another war broke out in her entryway but even as she yelled at her friends to "Shut up and get out!", she couldn't help but give a small smile.

She might be afraid for her life. Dangerous men could be plotting her death right at this moment. Her parents could believe that she is having an affair with her English teacher. But…as long as she had Remus and Lily, she could deal. The three of them could handle whatever Fate decided to throw at them. They were inseparable, one entity. Best mates till the end.

Come hell or high water, Melanie would always have Lily Evans and Remus Lupin at her side.

* * *

"No please! Let me go! LET ME GO! PLEASE! AHHH! HELP ME! SOMEONE! HELP MEEEEE!"

In a dimly lit hallway, two figures dragged a kicking and screaming girl between them. The girl was young, sixteen, maybe seventeen, and she was pretty. Unnaturally so. Red hair, sleek and glossy, framed the horror stricken face, green eyes wide and bright with terror. Her skin was pale and silky, glowing in the flickering fluorescent lights as she continued to scream. Lily Evans was truly a sight to behold. And she was also being led to her death.

Suddenly, the two kidnapers arrived at the end of the hallway. The figure on the right, taller, obviously male, tugged the still struggling girl to him and wrapped his hand around her mouth. "Scream once we open this door and you _will _be sorry. Understand?"

Lily's glare glowed with hatred and fury but she nodded her head sharply, frightened by the obviously not empty threat. Seemingly satisfied, the man unwrapped his hand from her face and shoved open the door. Together with his accomplice, he led the currently silent girl passed tall racks and shelves, miles and miles of them it seemed, until they reached a lone chair and table, isolated and alone. With a harsh push, Lily was dropped into the rickety chair, the wood groaning beneath even her light weight. Then, one by one, her torturers slowly withdrew their implements of agony from bulging bags, the gruesome items meeting the table with resounding _thumps. _

When the bags had been emptied, their unspeakable innards bared for all to see, the second abductor, this one slighter, more feminine, reached over and flicked on the lamp that resided on the table. "Now," said the shadowy figure. "We can do this the simple way or you can chose to make it difficult. Which one is it going to be Miss Evans?"

"Go to bloody hell!"

The male kidnapper smiled, the expression full of dark promises to come. "I love it when they fight," he mused, before leaning over to grasp his first tool of choice.

Emerald eyes went wide as they saw what nimble fingers lifted. Those same wide eyes flickered to a shadowed face, horror dancing in their depths. "You wouldn't," she whispered. A deep chuckle answered her. "Oh yes I would. This is a matter of life and death, Miss Evans. Do not underestimate what I will or will not do."

Seeing that he was serious, Lily began to tremble. Her lip began to quiver, her eyes water. "Please," she whimpered. "Please don't do this."

"I have to. I'm sorry."

The words were spoken with the finality of a funeral bell's knell. Lily squeezed her eyes shut and dropped her head to her chest, all the fight seeming to go out of her as she slumped in her seat. Her abductor's shared a curious glance before shrugging, thinking they had finally broken the spirited girl.

Boy, were they wrong.

The moment the two imposing figures seemed to let down their guard, Lily's muscles tensed, like a racer waiting for the boom of the gun. Then she was off. Vaulting out of her chair, the frightened girl sprinted for the nearest exit, trying to slide past her kidnappers without getting snagged. But these two were not born yesterday.

Knowing in the back of their minds that the red head would never _truly _concede defeat, they were ready for this last ditch effort to escape. The man on the right lunged towards Lily, his calloused fingers barely catching her wrist as she dove past. Gritting his teeth, he hauled the struggling girl back in front of him, his accomplice coming around to help escort the thrashing Lily Evans back into her seat.

"I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU BOTH SO MUCH! I HOPE YOU BLOODY BURN IN HELL!"

Eyes wide in fear, the second female kidnapper dove forward and smothered Lily's screams back into her mouth. "Lily, _shut up!" _When the red head continued to wrestle in their grasp, the woman spared an irritated yet fearful glance with her partner. "If they hear us, we're screwed," she hissed. "Get something to shut her up!"

Nodding, the male reached over towards the table, frantic fingers sweeping objects out of the way at a rapid pace until he found what he wanted. Triumphant, he swung back to the grappling females. "Hold open her mouth," he commanded tightly. His partner consented and when the pink orifice was revealed, curses and shrieks issuing forth, the man shoved what he had found inside before clamping her mouth shut once more.

Lily instantly grew quiet, her eyes slipping shut as whatever the man had shoved in her mouth slid down her throat. Silence reigned for a blissful few minutes, in which the two kidnappers sighed in relief.

"Just because you gave me chocolate doesn't mean I still don't hate you both."

The male abductor turned to his prisoner with narrowed amber eyes. "Oh shut up. Just be glad I even gave you chocolate Lils."

Emerald eyes snapped open, alight with fury. "Why the bloody fucking hell should I be happy? You _dragged _me in here to this musty old library, _against _my will, and set out to torture me! I see nothing to be _glad _about Remus!"

The newly revealed abductor rolled his eyes. "Quit being melodramatic. You _should _be glad I'm even bothering to help you study for your Latin midterm. I'm not the one with a barely passing grade in the class."

Lily glowered at the boy but said nothing.

"Yeah Lils. Rem's only trying to help. If I were you, I would be worshipping the ground he walks on. He is at the top of our class after all."

The red head swiveled her glare of death to the last occupant of the room. "Bugger off Ms. I'm-Taking-French-And-Don't-Have-To-Worry-About-The-Language-Of-Death!"

"I think what you mean is 'dead language'," Melanie said with a smirk before popping a piece of chocolate in her mouth and jumping up to sit on the edge of the table. "And it's not my fault you took Latin. In fact, I believe I specifically _told _you not to three years ago."

Lily's only response was a one-fingered salute. Remus exhaled an exasperated breath, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Lily, come on. Midterms are in a week, and you haven't even begun to study. Let's at least get through some of the verb conjugation today okay? I don't want you to fail and have to retake the term."

Melanie crossed her fingers as she watched Lily contemplate the proposal. Agonizing seconds ticked by; then a minute. Two. They were losing her.

"If you study now and pass your mid term, I will buy you all the chocolate you want for Christmas!"

The world screeched to a halt. Wide amber eyes turned to her in horror, begging to know what she had done. Melanie blinked in response. Oh dear god. What had she said? But it was too late. Too late to take the words back because, seconds after they hit the air, Lily responded.

"Remus…hand me the vocabulary book."

Silently, the boy did as he was bidden. Lily snatched the book out of his hands, slamming it on the table with a grumble. "I'll hold you to that promise Mel," she grumbled as she began to read. The brunet winced. Well…there went her entire life's savings.

When their friend was finally engrossed in her studies, Remus turned to Melanie with a sigh. "I can't believe we accomplished this with no causalities," he said. Mel scowled and kicked her feet violently, staring petulantly at the ground. "Tell that to my wallet," she replied sullenly.

"That was your fault Mel. I have no idea what possessed you to do something so buggering stupid."

The brunet made a face at him. "Yeah yeah, shut up." Sighing, the young girl hopped off the table and rubbed the back of her neck. "Anyways, I have to head home. Mum and Dad wanted me to help out at the clinic today and I am already kind of late."

Remus stared at her in concern, thin fingers picking at each other in a nervous gesture. "You sure you don't want us to come with you? I can help Lily out well enough at your house."

Melanie spared her worried friend a smile. "After all the shite we had to go through to get her here? No. Besides, we both know nothing academic ever gets accomplished in the Strider household. It's okay Rem. I'll be fine. If something happens, I'll give you a ring," she said. The sandy haired boy didn't look convinced but after a few moments, he consented. "Alright. But at the _first _sign of _anything _suspicious Mel…"

"I'll already be dialing your number Rem," she promised. Bending down, she picked up her backpack from where she had dropped it. "I'll call you later ok? Good luck with Lily. May God be with you."

Silently, Lily gave another one-finger wave. Mel grinned and gave her friends a quick hug before turning and making her way back through the library. As she passed the help desk, the old librarian, Mr. Tutle, gave her a glare of absolute loathing, undoubtedly having heard Lily's screams for mercy. Mel flashed him an apologetic smile but kept on going.

"_Bloody hell," _was Melanie's first thought as she walked outside. Upon opening the door to her school, a blast of cold air had barraged her, whipping at brunet strands and stinging sky blue eyes with pieces of ice and snow. Mother Nature was anything but forgiving, especially in an English winter. Cinching her coat tighter, Melanie hunkered into her grey scarf, the fabric wrapped warmly up to her nose. "_I can't wait to get home. Even if I have to work, at least I'll be warm."_

Motivated by the prospect of a heater, Melanie began the long trudge across her school's barren courtyard, the snow deep and cold along the edges of the sidewalk. Listening to the crunch of her footsteps on ice, Mel watched small eddies of snow flurry around her, dancing between her legs, playfully, like a rambunctious pup. A small smile tugged at her lips. For all her complaining, she really did love the snow. How it made everything seem cleaner, crisper, more beautiful. It seemed to wipe away all the imperfections on the Earth, blanketing them in a film of pure white. It was an end, an end to everything that came before it, an end that was to give way to a new, and hopefully, brighter beginning.

Grinning to herself, Mel kicked at a mound of snow. The white flakes quickly caught in the wind and she found herself tilting her face up to watch them be spirited away, up into the sky and beyond.

"Melanie!"

The loud shout abruptly pulled the brunet from her reverie. Blinking, and a bit on edge, the young girl turned to find the source of her name, her inquiring ice blue eyes immediately alighting on the figure of Ana Hughes running across the lot to join her. The slight blonde panted as she reached Mel's side, her pale skin rosy with exertion and cold, her brown eyes alight with relief. "Melanie, I am so glad I found you!"

Confusion made Mel cock her head, a bemused smile on her lips. "How come? Did you need something Ana?" She tried to think of what Ana would need from her, notes, a homework assignment, but she quickly drew a blank. Ana hadn't been absent for any of the classes they had together and she had better grades than Melanie did. "If this is about the French study guide, I haven't done it yet."

"Oh! Oh no, I wasn't asking about that. I was actually wondering if…I mean…I don't mean to be presumptuous but…" The blonde bit her lip and, if was possible, turned even redder as she averted her eyes. "I was just wondering if Remus…has said anything about his gift. I've tried to ask him about it but…he always had something he was running to do. And you're like his best friend so I wanted to ask…has he said anything to you?"

Brown eyes met blue with a devastating hopeful expression, waiting, hoping, for a confirmation. But Mel was at a loss for words. In all actuality, Remus hadn't said anything about the gift that Ana had brought him two weeks ago. Not one word. Hell, Mel hadn't even seen what was in the box! After all, what with Sirius bleeding out in her entryway, she was otherwise preoccupied.

But she couldn't tell Ana that. It would crush her. And Mel couldn't do that. The girl was so sweet! And besides, for all she knew, Remus could have loved Ana's present! It was…unlikely since he would have said something if he did…but it was possible! Now…how to say this possibility in a manner that wouldn't leave the quiet blonde crying in the snow… that was another matter entirely.

"_Here goes nothing,"_ she thought.

Plastering on a smile, Melanie dove headfirst and crossed her fingers for the best. "Umm…actually Ana…I think he _did _say something about liking your present but he was trying to tell me when I was studying for a test and I didn't catch all of it." Cue apologetic wince. "Sorry. But I'm _sure _he absolutely loved it."

A flicker of disappointment fluttered through brown irises and Melanie mentally cringed. "_Bugger!" _But it was gone as soon as it appeared and Ana flashed a bright, toothy, smile. "It's ok. I was just wondering. It's no big deal." By the tone of her voice, _it was _a big deal. Which made Melanie feel like shite. Wishing to rectify the situation somehow, the brunet spoke without thinking.

"I could find out if you'd like. You know, just indirectly ask and I could find you later to tell you?" Ana's whole face lit up. "Really? You would do that?"

Melanie bit the inside of her cheek. "_Well I have to know. Bugger. Why do I speak without thinking! Damn you my sodding bleeding heart!"_

What she said, however, was "Of course! It's no problem." Lie. Lie. Lie. **Lie. **Because she had _**no**_tact whatsoever and Remus, not to mention _**Lily, **_would see right through her and then it would just be awkward, not only for Mel but Ana too. "_Sodding bleeding heart," _Mel thought with a groan.

"Oh thank you Melanie! I…it really means a lot," Ana gushed, blush bright and red in her cheeks. "I just want to know if Remus liked it and well…he's just so hard to shop for you know? I mean, at first I wanted to get him a book or two but the way he talks I bet he has a whole library. He's so smart, always making brilliant comments in class. And he's funny too! The other day he was making a joke in history and "

Melanie had to check herself from actually **begging** Ana to stop. She did **not **need to hear how **brilliant **Remus was. She already knew that and…hearing Rem's name being spoken in such an…adoring manner was just…odd. Like someone was worshipping her brother.

It was disconcerting to say the least.

"Don't mention it Ana. It really is no bother," Melanie said with a strained smile. "_So please hush up."_

Ana seemed to catch on and she gave an embarrassed smile. "Sorry. Didn't mean to ramble. But um…well you probably need to get home so thanks for all your help Melanie and..." Curiously, Ana began to trail off, her delicate blonde eyebrows furrowing over her eyes as she gazed passed the brunet. Melanie frowned at her. "Ana? What's wrong?"

Blinking, the blonde shook her head and returned her gaze to Mel. "What? Sorry it's just…there's this bloke, at the school gates. He's…well he's bloody _staring _at us," she said, her voice curious…and a little scared.

Time came to a screeching halt. Snowflakes stopped falling, hearts stopped beating, lungs quit expanding. Melanie felt as if someone had scooped ice up off the ground and injected it directly into her veins, biting and caustic. "_There's this bloke…he's…well he's bloody staring at us."_

"_Staring at us."_

"_Staring at us."_

The words rattled in her skull, an instantaneous lobotomy. It was her worst nightmare come to life. Again. Someone had found her. A Slytherin. A murdered. Maybe even the men from the alley, the cops from the hospital. They had discovered her true identity and had come to punish her for rescuing Sirius and James. All Melanie could think of was how grateful she was that Remus and Lily were safe and inside.

"_Maybe you are overreacting! It could just be a classmate, waiting to ask you something,"_ her mind supplied hopefully but Melanie immediately discarded the idea. If it were a classmate, Ana would have said so. This man was obviously someone she didn't know. Which meant…there was only one option left.

Slytherin. Or something just as bad.

If, and she was almost 100% sure it was, the case, then Melanie needed to get Ana away from here. She couldn't let the quiet, sweet girl get hurt. "_But if she were here, you could scream for help and have more of a chance! There is strength in numbers," _her survivalist side pointed out. But the image of Ana laying stark in the snow, her crimson blood staining the white ground, made Melanie's stomach church and she knew, no matter how much she wanted to keep Ana here, she couldn't risk her life and live with herself.

For however long or short that may be.

"Melanie?"

With a snap, she came back to reality, her heart in her throat. "Y…yes?" She was stuttering but she couldn't be bothered, her mind flying a million miles a minute as it tried to formulate a decent plan of action. Ana bit her lip and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "I was thinking that maybe…we should go inside. This bloke…well he's attractive…but he's kind of giving me the creeps."

"_Well seeing as they are all a bunch of mu…wait…attractive?" _

From what Melanie could remember, and she could remember a lot, not one of the Slytherin's she had met had been even remotely attractive. The blonde from the alley came the closest but…the cold fury and…monstrosity hovering in his face, in his sneer of disdane…it made him seem wrong. Almost deformed. But not attractive. Definitely not attractive. Attractive sounded like something else, someone else.

Attractive sounded like…

Holding her breath, not letting herself hope but already beginning to do so, Melanie turned to glance over her shoulder, blue eyes zeroing in on the stone pillars at her school's entrance.

And immediately catching the storm grey orbs of Sirius.

* * *

**Ok so...ya. I am alive. Barley but i am. To begin with, i am devastatingly sorry about the extremely long hiatus of this story. In the spring, my old laptop (the only computer i own) crashed and burned. In the most hideous of fashions. You have no IDEA how much of my time and effort it took with it. Fanfics and school crap. It made me cry. Very hard. Then, it took a few months for me to get a knew computer and then i had summer school, Camp and then *dun dun dun* the beginning of my last year of high school. And college applications. Which are trying to kill me. But i had a random inspiration to forgo my school work for a few days and spit out this filler. I am sorry for the shittyness and the cliffhanger but I have a certain schedule of chapters i want to continue with so, again i apologize. :/**

**I do not know if i have any readers left, if i dont i understand, but if i do i would like to hear from you. Though i do not deserve it. :( If you are so inclined, drop me a review, or even a PM and i PROMISE to respond back in kind. It would really mean a lot to me to know if i have an audience left. :/**

**Fingers crossed and hoping against hope, **

**Shadows**


	19. Chapter 19

_Tap. TapTap. TapTapTap. TapTapTapTap. _

The insistent noise of fingers on wood permeated the spacious room, percussive, rapid, agitated. The sound echoed and reverberated through the air, ricocheting against walls yellowed with age and paint, playing against appliances that had seen better days. The source, Sirius Black, sat rocked back on the unsteady legs of a kitchen chair, his fingers absentmindedly drumming against the table as blue-grey eyes stared blankly out a fogged up window in irritated boredom.

"_Irresponsible."_

"_Reckless."_

"_Suspended from all active duties."_

Wood crashed against tile as the chair thudded to the ground, the noise so loud it was like a gunshot in the empty room. Sirius clenched his fists, nails digging harshly into wood as McGonagall's words cycled through his brain, mocking him. It had been three weeks, _three weeks, _and those words still succeeded in making him see red. They were just outrageous. Ridiculous. The moment they had been uttered, he had thought them a horrible joke. In fact, he had outright laughed in McGonagall's face, sneering he reminded her nobody could be spared; especially now, with Slytherins so cocky and presumptuous.

But the elderly woman had not cracked a smile; her lips had not even fluttered. Instead, her mouth had thinned into a dangerous line and she had glared so hotly at Sirius and James that all laughter and joking had abruptly died.

"_I very well know how dire the situation is, Mr. Black," _she had said. "_And you are right in that we cannot spare able bodied soldiers. But you are __**not **__able bodied. You are irresponsible and reckless and because of this you and Mr. Potter nearly ended up dead. I can't have you two running around London in the name of Gryffindor without any regards for yourselves or others. As such, you are suspended from all active duties until further notice." _Here she had paused and leveled them with a look as stern and serious as a death sentence.

"_And if I find that you have disobeyed my orders I__** will**__ find you unfit to wear the crest of Godric Gryffindor. Am I understood gentlemen? Yes? Then dismissed."_

And that had been that. End of discussion, no questions asked. McGonagall had taken the weapons Sirius and James had on them and discharged them from the room. Yes they could have acquired more; hell the basement was full of weapons, not to mention a few satellite locations. But in that brief meeting, McGonagall had taken something more vital than knives or guns: she had taken her support. And that was something Sirius and James could not find somewhere else. Well, except with Dumbledore, but the leader of Gryffindor was no where to be found, out on "business" or other such euphemisms that adults threw around like they meant something other than killing or finding ways and people to do so.

So, Sirius stayed locked up in his tower, some perverse twisted version of a damsel in distress. He hadn't seen James, his partner in crime and everything else, in days, since his parents were less than pleased with current events. And, though he be loathed to admit it to his face, Sirius missed his bespectacled friend. At the very least he made for some entertainment.

A clock chimed somewhere in the house. Noon. At least nine or ten more hours until Sirius could respectfully call it a day and go to bed, only to wake up in the morning and begin this routine of doing absolutely nothing all over again.

The Gryffindor huffed out a breath and dropped his head into his hands. "Bloody kill me," he groaned. Anything was better than this.

"I wouldn't be saying that too loud cousin. Some Slytherin might actually take you up on that."

Okay, anything but _that. _

"Tonks don't bloody start with me alright? Bugger off."

Nymphadora Tonks wrinkled her nose as she slid into the seat beside her relative. "Well isn't someone cheery today," she said. Flat grey-blue eyes rose up and glared at her. "_Nymphadora _I_**will**_cause you physical harm ifyou do not get the bugger out of this kitchen right now!" He was in no mood for his flamboyantly colored housemate. Not today. Not with the sea of his anger at its cusp. Not with the itch of restlessness crawling under his skin like ants, like lava, waiting to be unleashed.

The younger teen rolled brown eyes and rocked back in her chair, lacing thin fingers behind her head. "I'd like to see you try Siri. McGonagall would have your bollocks before you could say 'Please! NO!'"

A derisive snort exploded out of Sirius. "She already has them," he mumbled, glaring dourly at the worn tabletop.

"Hmm true," Tonks mused. "I guess Siri is a more appropriate name for you now eh?"

"Ha ha. You are hilarious Nymphadora." Standing up from his chair, Sirius stretched, sighing as he made his way over to the cabinet. "What are you even doing here? Shouldn't you be out on patrol anyway", Sirius asked, mouth twisting in slight bitterness as he grabbed a glass.

Tonks shrugged her thin shoulders, purple hair dancing across her shoulders as she rocked in her chair. "Hagrid took my patrol. Bit too cold for my liking. I'd rather wait until it gets warmer."

Sirius frowned as he turned to the younger female, the now full glass of water halfway to his lips. "It's the middle of bloody winter." Wide brown eyes rose to meet his, full of faux innocence. "Really? Hell, I guess he'll have to wait a while for me to reimburse him."

Another snort worked its way out of the former Black heir. "It's times like these that I realize we are definitely related," he chuckled before chugging his glass. "Ugh, bugger. What I'd kill to get out of here though! Bloody hell, I'd even clean out Hagrid's stables if it meant a few hours away from the Tower."

And that was saying a lot. It was common knowledge that Hagrid's stables, which were a little ways out of London, was the last place any sane person on Earth wanted to be, with the exception of at the end of a barrel. Rubeus Hagrid, a long time friend of Dumbledore, had an…eclectic taste in pets to say the least. His "kids" ranged from dogs to horses and then branched out into more exotic breeds. It should really be illegal, half the stock he had. Hell, it probably was, but again, having friends in high places didn't hurt and Dumbledore was the highest one could hope to have.

Tonks rolled her eyes again. "Oh don't be so melodramatic, Siri. You make it sound like it's the end of the world." Sirius scowled at her and swiftly reached out to tug the side of her chair, leaving the girl squawking in indigence as she attempted to right her balance. "You try being bloody stuck in here every hour of every day for almost a month! It feels like forever!"

"Yeah? Well imagine what a coffin feels like."

That shut Sirius up quick.

The chair Tonks had been rocking in came down unto the floor with a snap. "Sirius," she said, eyes finally somber, all teasing light gone. "The only reason McGonagall is locking you in here is cuz you and James were thick enough to almost die. _Die, _Black. You and Potter act all invincible but you're **not! **If it wasn't for this Melanie, you and James would be six feet under or _worse, _we wouldn't even have a body to bury!"

Sirius slammed the glass down on the table, the pent up anger in his veins singing for release. "You think I don't know that Tonks? I know how close James and I were; hell I was fucking bloody _**sure **_we were dead the second Malfoy pointed the gun at my chest," he screamed, hand drifting up and absentmindedly rubbing his chest, fingers dancing over the thin shirt and gauze underneath. As a flare of pain went through his chest, brought on by the gauze tugging at his stitches, the anger seemed to seep out of Sirius, his body losing its tense posture as it slumped against the table. He was silent for a few moments before a hand rose up and dragged through his hair, a woe begotten and somewhat lost gesture. "I was so sure…that I would never wake up again." That last admission was spoken in a barely audible whisper, as Sirius stared at the ground, lost in the memory of that alley and his supposed-to-be-but-not-quite death.

But Tonks heard it; she heard every single word and, what's more, she heard all the emotions behind them. She heard the fear, the blame, the anger; everything that roiled in her cousin's head, and more importantly, his heart. The stubborn boy tried to pretend like he didn't have one, that he was some hard arse soldier and having a heart was below him. That was just the Black in him. The truth was, however, out of her whole family, Sirius was probably the one with the biggest heart. It could be slightly hard to see, what with his prickly exterior and his wanker "Casanova" moments, but Tonks saw through all that shite. She might act like an idiot at times, but one couldn't survive long if they didn't have _some _smarts in them. So, even though most people saw her as a berk most of the time, Tonks was actually very astute.

For example, Sirius might be at James' throat half the time and vise versa, but Tonks _knew, _better than she knew her own name, that those two idiots would give the world and the stars beyond for each other. They were best friends, brothers, hell they were almost one person. Those two loved each other unconditionally and Tonks knew that the fact that James had almost died, _again, _in Sirius' presence, haunted her older cousin more than he would ever admit.

And, even though _she _would never admit it, Tonks' heart went out to Sirius. Sure, none of the Gryffindors had stellar lives, what with the constant cloud of Death hovering over them, but Sirius' life truly…sucked. Tonks had been lucky enough to be spared the Black insanity thanks to her mother's genius and disownment (whether by her or her family Tonks never knew). But Sirius had been forced to deal with all that "Tempus Pur" mania. He had been forced into the _wrong _side of this war ever since the age of ten, watching his family and "friends" of the family kill time and time again. He had been beaten and abused and degraded up until the point where he had had enough, running away, bruised and bloody, even though he _knew _it meant his certain death. Fate, although slightly kind, couldn't even find it in her heart to fully give Sirius the life he deserved. Yes, he was away from his crazy arse family, _but _he was still stuck in this God forsaken war. He still had Death tugging on his very heels. He was still trapped in this situation that was slowly killing him, piece by broken piece.

So, even though she never showed it, even though she kept her feelings for him locked deep inside, Tonks cried for the little boy Sirius had never had the chance to be. She cried for all the pain he had experienced and all the agony that was yet to befall him. But, most of all, she cried for the fact that, deep down she knew, no matter his luck, no matter his skill, Sirius would probably never see the end to this war.

"_Given that,_" Tonks thought to herself, gaze drifting over her defeated relative. _"If McGonagall gets pissed over what I'm about to do, she can kiss my bloody arse." _

Taking a deep breath, Tonks ran a hand through her purple hair. "Yeah well, fortunately for us all you and James are still alive and kicking. I mean, without you, who else is going to drive McGonagall up the wall?"

Sirius blinked at her words and then a smirk settled over his handsome features, although Tonks saw it didn't quite reach his eyes. "You're getting pretty close, Dora. I'm sure McGonny will have a few grey hairs with your name on them soon, if she doesn't already that is," he chuckled. Tonks suppressed a smile at his weak attempt at humor and stuck her tongue out at him, hoping to really make him smile. "Not my fault you and James are bad influences. I was innocent before you both came along."

A mock serious expression overtook the older teen's face and he nodded in faux understanding. "That's right. You were "innocent" before we met and "corrupted" you," he said, making air quotations. "So innocent in fact, the second James brought me in the door, you kicked me in the shin and called me a buggering wanker."

Tonks colored at the memory, crossing her arms over her chest. "You were taking my room! How else was I supposed to act? Anyways, that's besides the point!"

Sirius raised an eyebrow at her, leaning his hip against the table. "And what, exactly, is your point? I mean besides bothering the shite out of me."

"Do you want out of this Tower or not?"

At her words, Sirius grew quiet. "That's what I thought," Tonks said with a smug smile, rocking back in her chair once more.

But Sirius was far from amused. Scowling, he pushed himself off the table and leaned over his cousin, supporting himself so their faces were inches from each other. "Nymphadora, that isn't funny. Don't fucking tease me," he growled, eyes intense and piercing.

"Who said I was teasing," she challenged back, lifting her chin in defiance. Sirius might make lesser men wet themselves, but Tonks had lived with him for over five years; he didn't scare her.

Narrowing his eyes at her, Sirius pursed his lips. "You must be joking. McGonagall would have your head, not to mention my bollocks." A smile that would make the devil proud stretched Tonks' full lips; her brown eyes alight with unholy mischief. "That's only _if _she catches us, which, with both of our smarts, I'm hoping she won't."

Sirius huffed and stood back, his brow furrowed in thought. That little voice at the back of his head, the one he so strived to ignore but that kept coming back with a burning vengeance, began to awake in the dark recesses of his mind as he stared at his grinning cousin. "_Don't do this," _it said. "_McGonagall told you the consequences. Is a few hours of freezing cold air really worth the probability of being kicked out?"_

Sirius thought about it, thought _real _long and hard; he weighed the pros and cons, he considered all angles. Then…

"So what's the plan?"

Too bad for Sirius' conscience that the boy was never one to really listen to reason.

* * *

"_Bugger. Tonks wasn't lying. It's bloody __**cold**__," _Sirius thought as he hunched against the wind, blowing into his hands to ward off the biting cold. Needless to say, it wasn't doing much.

However, despite the freezing cold temperatures, the grey and slushy snow sliding beneath his boots, Sirius hadn't been happier in weeks. For the past twenty-one days, locked in and locked down at Gryffindor Tower, all he had seen were the off-white walls of his bedroom, the mustard yellow paint of the kitchen. He had counted every crack in his ceiling, every chip in the wood and tile floors; every cobweb and spider and piece of dust in between. It was _maddening. _

Sirius allowed a smile to tug at his lips as he tilted his head up to catch the fleeting snowflakes on his face, listening to the bustling sounds of London and letting them soothe his soul. Well, no more playing prisoner; he was **free** and he was going to do whatever the hell he pleased, McGonagall and consequences be damed.

A tittering laugh abruptly flared to his left, making Sirius slow in his steps. "Hey there handsome, where you headed? You look a bit cold." Blinking at the airy giggle, Sirius turned to find two _very _attractive women smiling seductively at him as they stood in the mouth of an alley. The brunette on the right winked and wiggled slim fingers at him. "Need to be warmed up?'

Speaking about _doing _whatever he wanted…

Grinning to himself, Sirius changed his direction and began to walk towards the two women, rolling his shoulders and slipping back into his long subdued Sirius Black confidence. He hadn't talked to or seen a bird in weeks; not counting is cousin, McGonagall and Molly Future-Weasely. And those did not count. **At all. **"_So sue me for wanting a little fun," _Sirius thought.

As he approached them, Sirius couldn't help but do a quick appraisal, shallow though it may be. Within seconds, he had singled out the brunette on the right as the more attractive of the two. Yes, the blonde was pretty too, but her makeup was cakeier, her hair stringy under all the spray, her smile too forced. No, the brunette was definitely the beauty. Her hair was pin straight and fluttered attractively in the winter wind; her smile was welcoming and sultry; her brown eyes lidded and beckoning.

All in all, Sirius thought he could do worse. "Actually, I do. Care to point me in the right direction dearie," he grinned. The brunette bit her lip. "Maybe. Why don't you come a little closer and find out?"

Sirius didn't have to be told twice. He quickened his pace.

However, as he drew closer, Sirius had a nagging feeling in the back of his mind that he could do _better. _Which was _insane, _yet he couldn't shake the thought. The brunette was pretty, true, but he couldn't help but feel she would be _beautiful _if she laid off the blush a bit. And maybe curled her hair loosely. Sirius furrowed his brow and his eyes traveled up and down her figure. In fact, she'd look better without the fishnet stockings and the too short dress. Jeans and a nice shirt would look better.

"Hey love, my eyes are up here," the brunette tittered, snapping her ruby red painted fingernails playfully to gain his attention as came to a halt before her. Sirius blinked and locked eyes with her, working up to his full-blown charming smile. "Sorry. I was trying to take in all your radiant beauty and it took me a bit."

The brunette pulled her red lips into a sensual smile, her brown eyes twinkling. "Well aren't you the charmer?" Sirius grin widened but something picked at his conscience, nagging, wheedling, insistent. He tried his best to ignore it.

"You are the charming one my dear," he said, laying on the charm so thick even James would be proud. "So charming I had to come over myself and make sure you were real."

The blonde let out a gurgling giggle, reaching out and stroking his cheek lightly. "Real enough for you?" Sirius looked at her, smile still affixed to his face as he gazed into her washed out blue eyes.

Blue eyes.

That was it! That was what the brunette was missing. Slightly giddy, Sirius turned back to said woman and mentally added his additions. First the makeup went; then the hair curled slightly, making it appear wind tossed; the dress lengthened into jeans, the top into a t-shirt; the high pitched fake laugh melted into a full bodied melodious chuckled; and finally brown cow eyes lightened into the clearest blue, sparkling and full of laughter.

A sense of contentment spread through Sirius as he mentally took a step back and admired his creation. Something stirred in the Gryffindor then and he blinked at the picture he had created. Call him shallow and misogynistic, but the previously pretty woman had transformed into a heart stuttering beauty; the perfect woman so to speak. She looked like something out of a painting, or a picture.

She looked like…

The air in Sirius' lungs froze to ice, the blood in his veins following suit as his heart rammed against his rib cage and screeched to a halt.

This new and improved version of the escort Sirius was talking to…looked just like… Melanie.

Unbidden, the last image Sirius had of the teen rose to the forefront of his mind, her silhouette framed in her doorway as she half-heartedly raised her arm in farewell. Sirius' heart twisted in his chest at the thought of the girl who had saved him life time and time again. For the last three weeks, he was tormented by the thought of her, by her well being and health. By her fate. He had tried to forget about her; after all he couldn't do anything for her locked up in his Tower. It was no use losing sleep over something he couldn't change, he had told himself.

But that didn't make it any better, it didn't lessen his god awful guilt that ate at him day and night. It didn't erase the nightmares of going back and finding her bloody and dead on her doorstep, Malfoy standing over her with a bloody, gruesome grin.

"_You claim to worry for her and yet, the moment you are free, you don't spare her a second thought. Instead you walk around like an idiot and find two bimbos to let lose a little steam,"_ his conscience quipped. "_How very…Black of you." _Sirius grit his teeth at the last sentiment. All his life, he had tried to distance himself from his "family", tried to escape the black stain of his name. And yet, time and time again, he kept proving to be more and more like them. Even Melanie had called him out on it, all those weeks ago. It pissed him the bloody hell off.

"Love? You all right? Maybe we should take this inside eh?"

Sirius was brought of his musings by a thin hand wrapping around his wrist. Shaking himself, he flickered his eyes down, gaze landing on the brunette's hand as it lay upon his wrist. Sirius couldn't help but think that it looked like a pretty hand, dainty and delicate. But, once again, as he took a closer look he saw the smoking calluses on her fingers, the dirt that hid near the nails, the scars that bore testament to the hardships of her life, just as Sirius' did for him.

The ghost of a bitter smile flared upon Sirius' lips. "_It seems we are all black underneath," _he thought.

Taking a deep breath, the Gryffindor brought his head up and flashed his most blinding smile at the two women. "Ah sorry my dears. I just remembered I have a previous engagement that I most attend to. Maybe some other time," he amended.

The two women pouted, their red stained lips jutting out as they tried to tug him back. "Aww come on. You look stressed. A quick rest won't hurt," the blonde coaxed. Sirius just shook his head and fully extracted his arm. "Believe me, you cannot be more sorry than I. Sadly though, I must bid thee adieu."

Nodding in their direction, Sirius made to leave, thoughts circulating around another brunette. However, as a whispered "Bye" floated past him, he was suddenly seized by a reckless impulse. Not thinking about what he was doing, Sirius spun back to the two women and snaked out his arm, grasping the brunette's hand once more and pulling it towards him, brushing a kiss upon the back. "But take this and why don't you two beautiful birds go warm yourselves up for a change yeah?"

Before the women could as what he meant, Sirius pulled back and flashed one last smile before turning on heel and jogging down the street. The blonde followed his figure with a frown. "What do you think he meant by that Sally," she questioned her companion.

The brunette didn't answer. Instead, she opened her hand and showed her friend the wad of pounds the mysterious man had just left in her fingers.

* * *

Snowflakes eddied around Sirius, particle made ribbons that danced through the air and twisted around his body, as if to entice him to accompany them in their joyous dance. Sirius scowled at the flakes, leaning against a stone pillar as he lifted his cigarette to his lips and took a deep drag, letting the smoke curl in his lungs and warm him. "_Fucking freezing my bollocks off here. Can't it snow when I'm __**inside**__?", _he thought dryly.

"_You'd be inside if you hadn't listened to Tonks," _his mind supplied. Sirius contemplated the statement and then shrugged, taking another drag of his cigarette. Touché.

As it were, he couldn't do anything about it now. He was out and wasn't due back till after dark, since McGonagall wasn't supposed to return till close to midnight. Or so he hoped. So he _**really **_hoped.

A shriek of laughter caught his attention and Sirius turned to his left to see a gaggle of boys push each other in the snow, tossing half-hearted snowballs back and forth. Silently smoking, Sirius watched the young teens, for he realized that the boys _were _teenagers, and a feeling of envy and admiration filled him. Here these kids were, happy, health, whole, a testament that Sirius' sacrifices were not in vain. He fought for these people, for the innocent; he fought for their right to go to school, to laugh and frolic and play.

Sirius let the used fag falls from his fingers, his heel digging it into the snow-covered sidewalk. "_Even if I can never do those things myself," _he thought sourly. Sirius himself may not have had a childhood but he'd be damned if this god forsaken, back doors war stole another's.

A flicker of guilt spiraled through him as he recalled the three childhood's he had just abruptly ended not a few weeks ago. Which brought him back to why he was here, freezing his bollocks off in the front of a prison looking school. He was here to make sure he hadn't made the biggest mistake of his life three weeks ago. He was here to make sure he hadn't failed yet _another _person.

He was here for—

"Melanie!"

Startled by the name of the one he sought, Sirius turned his attention back to the snow-laden schoolyard where the boys had previously been wrestling. Said boys were nowhere to be found, the space where they had been empty and barren, but now there were two figures that stood in the middle of the icy expanse, isolated and vulnerable.

Sirius immediately identified Melanie, though given that the other figure had blonde hair it was easy enough. Nevertheless, Sirius felt something warm unfurl in his chest at the sight of the brunette, at the sight of her healthy and whole. "_I haven't failed," _he unconsciously thought and a knot of guilt came apart within his heart. "_Not yet at least." _

The grave afterthought jostled Sirius back into a more somber mood, his feeling dying out as his mind took over. Grey-blue eyes ranked over Melanie's figure, observing, analyzing, as she spoke with her blonde companion. Nothing had changed much; she was still slight, her hair still loose and curled. But, as Sirius narrowed his eyes against the stinging wind, was it him…or did she seem more exhausted, her frame slouched where she stood, as if it were all she could do to stay on her feet? Sirius frowned; was she ok?

However, before he could contemplate the subject more, Sirius saw the blonde's eyes catch sight of him and go wide. Quickly, they darted back to Melanie and Sirius saw her furrowed brow as she spoke urgently. Sirius felt a mixture of relief, excitement, and exasperation go through him. For one, he was finally going to talk to Melanie, make sure no Slytherins had found her, but he was also going to probably have to deal with the blonde's questions. Joy.

Resigned and resolved, Sirius watched as Melanie went rigid for a few lingering moments, but then slowly, as slowly as the earth spun on its axis, the brunette turned and glanced over her shoulder, immediately locking eyes with him.

As their gazes interlocked, the ice blue of Melanie's eyes going wide and fathomless, Sirius had a very peculiar feeling in the pit of his stomach, as if his intestines were writhing in their places. He blinked at the sensation but quickly wrote it off as indigestion; the leftovers he had had for lunch hadn't looked all the edible but he had eaten them anyway, out of sheer boredom if nothing else.

"_Oh yeah? And was changing the hooker into Melanie just an indigestion induced hallucination," _his mind quipped. Sirius scowled. That had only happened because he had subconsciously felt guilty for not finding out how she was doing. Nothing more. His mind decided to leave it at that.

Pushing the thoughts for his mind, Sirius took a deep breath and smirked at the still gawking brunette, lifting a hand in a little mocking wave. Melanie blinked slowly, as if coming out of a dream, before a dazzlingly brilliant smile overtook her features. Sirius chose to ignore the way it stuttered his heart. Spinning back towards her friend, Melanie seemed to share a few quick words before turning around and jogging towards him. Smirk slowing melting into a genuine smile, Sirius pushed himself off the stone gate and began to walk towards Melanie, meeting her halfway. However, as he drew closer, Melanie's brilliant smile slowly began to fade until all that was left was a naked concerned expression. Brow furrowing, he made to ask her what was wrong but she beat him to it.

"What's happened? Is J…Prongs ok? Are you ok?", were the first rushed words out of her mouth. It took a moment for Sirius to process for her words, to untangle the syllables and unwind the words, but once he did, he couldn't help the grin that over took his features.

"Well hello to you too," he chuckled, a twinkle in his grey-blue eyes. Melanie pursed her lips, concern still etched in her brow. "Oh hi. Um sorry, I just…well…," she stuttered, face flushed with cold and emotion. Sirius raised an eyebrow, blatantly amused. Mel exhaled harshly and crossed her arms in front of her chest, concern beginning to melt into irritation. "Don't give me that look! Here you go, just popping up out of the blue again, no warning, nothing," she ranted. "For weeks I don't know if you are dead or alive, hurt or ok and now you just materialize out of nowhere and give me that same impatient look. Well, I've had enough Sirius! I-"

"Are you done?"

Melanie balked at his interruption but Sirius continued. "Cuz if you are, I'd like to talk to you. Preferably inside," he said, gesturing to the snow that was still falling around them. Mel scowled up at him with a look that would put Lily Evans to shame, blue eyes on fire. Sirius flashed her a grin, attempting to coax her. "I'll buy you a cup of tea at the shop down the street," he bribed.

A few seconds ticked by in which Melanie stared hard at him, considering. "Fine. But don't think that a cup of tea is going to get you off the hook, _Padfoot." _As Mel stalked past him, Sirius couldn't help but roll his eyes. "_Women," _he thought, but he followed the brunette anyway.

* * *

**Sorry for the delay. I had to finish college apps and then it was the holidays for me. But i promise the next chapter will get this story rolling. Review please. :)**

**~Shadows**


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Harry Potter, Adventure, Romance