Sirius hated this all- It was as if everything he touched fell apart. Eloise was still being held after all, and the only hope he had was a man that would sooner cut his own hand off than help him with anything- but Remus was right. If he wanted Eloise back, he was going to have to not only be civil with Severus, but thankful to him as well. It was not himself and his own pride he had to think about now, which had been such the norm in the past. Now he had his son, who did not deserve this distress at the absence of his mother, and Eloise too, he needed to think about- to put himself before. Which, admittedly, he had not done for them yet, as it was his own reckless abandon that caused him to be thrown into the Veil. He was beginning to feel like he should've died in there- Maybe then these things wouldn't be happening to the people he loved.

Poor Harry felt even worse, seeing all of this as his fault. He had just gotten this family, things were just starting to look bright for the first time since Hagrid busted the door down and took him away to Hogwarts. He could barely stand anything right now- And he was starting to fear that nothing would be accomplished before he was forced to return to school, which was only a little over a week away. But still he sat in silence, partially because he was in the same room that Tonks and Pollux were napping on the couch in, and partially because he didn't know what to say to anyone- truth be told he was blaming himself for everything more than even Sirius. Seeing him like this though- a constant struggle to keep himself together for his tiny son, to not break down and lock himself away and drink- Harry knew in his heart this was all on him.

No one else seemed to agree, however. But it did nothing to change his mind, especially with all the thought he had put into the theory. It was day three of nearly no sleep, between the guilt and the cries of Pollux, who still did not understand why his mother did not come when he cried out for her. Tonks was the only one who could appease the child for any real length of time, so she had taken off from work indefinitely to stay with her nephew. 'Good practice', as she called it, when Sirius would mumble his gratitude as he tugged at his hair when Tonks took the screaming infant from him because they were both growing too distressed. But he had to sit in here, for his bedroom was too depressing and confining, and the drawing room was where Sirius was meeting with Remus, Dumbledore and Snape- still discussing what could be done for Eloise.

"I don't understand, Albus." Remus replied to the plan the older wizard proposed. "Severus is already trusted, so why have him do this? He could just walk in." Remus looked at the older man for an answer, but Sirius only looked at the floor. He didn't want to think about what the Death Eaters would do if they failed- of what they were even doing now, for that matter.

"Because, my dear boy, if they believe Sirius was able to just waltz in under all their protective charms, they will be forced to scatter, to regroup. And while they're broken and in a panic- we stand a good chance of defeating them for good. You see- we have here an opportunity to save many, many more lives besides Eloise."

"You mean in addition to." Sirius corrected bitterly. Dumbledore looked at the younger wizard over his glasses and gave a small, kind smile.

"Of course." He agreed. "All I need is for you to agree to give your hair, and we can begin."

"Headmaster- if I may interrupt. Miss Eloise, I highly doubt, has time to wait for the polyjuice to brew. It takes a month, and the exact right conditions..." Snape spoke up at last. Again, Dumbledore smiled.

"I have friends in many places and of many talents, my boy. All needed supplies are at hand other than Sirius' part." Dumbledore sat patiently waiting, watching Sirius. He sat quietly for a long time, before slowly reaching just behind his ear and plucking and entire strand of hair without even wincing.

"Alright." He agreed, looking up at them at last, holding the hair at an arm's length away toward Snape. "Do what has to be done."

The next night Severus Snape stood in the living room of Grimmauld with a look of pure nausea at the thought of what he was about to do. Sure, Eloise was a kind young woman, who, while Snape disagreed with her taste in men, did deserve to come home. In many ways she reminded him of Lily, and she was another new mother who was ripped away from her son by Voldemort. In his heart he wanted to help her- but having to do it while wearing the appearance of Sirius Black made his skin crawl. There was just something about these Marauders, he thought bitterly. James, Remus and Sirius all having seduced women they, in Snape's opinion, did not deserve in the least. A few moments after he had arrived, Sirius came down the stairs with a bundle of folded laundry in his arms.

"I believe these will do." He said quietly, handing the clothing over to Snape. The pile consisted of a pair of blue jeans, an old Led Zeppelin shirt, a pair of boots and a thin brown leather aviator's jacket.

"You do have impeccable fashion sense, Black." Snape commented, as he sorted through the pile.

"Severus." Remus said quietly. Snape looked over at the werewolf and silently agreed to not start in on Sirius tonight. "The first dose is on the counter in the loo at the end of the hall. You should have about a thirty minute trip from here to Malfoy's, even on the bike. Once you land, go ahead and take the next dose. From there, Dumbledore has these." Remus handed Snape a bottle of pills.

"Encapsulated potions?" Snape ask, shaking the bottle. He seemed impressed.

"Each one, according to the Headmaster, is only a thirty minute dose, but good in a pinch. There is five more hours worth of Polyjuice in there." Remus explained. Snape nodded.

"I should- get ready then." Snape said with a glance over at Sirius. He expected a comment about how to behave while wearing his face, but Sirius only stood quietly by. He headed down the hall and into the bathroom. Remus crossed the room and put both of his hands on his best friend's shoulders.

"Padfoot, mate?" Remus said. "Talk to me."

"He could get her killed, Remus." He said quietly. Remus, who knew this about his baby sister, only shook Sirius a bit.

"Severus is a brilliant wizard, mate. Whether you wish to admit it or not. He's so deeply infiltrated their ranks that Voldemort would think Severus was donning your persona for them if he was caught. He's smart. He knows what he's supposed to do." Remus waited, but Sirius only shrugged and slid down the wall behind him, coming to a small ball in the floor. He looked up when they heard Sirius' own boots coming down the hall. Snape stepped back into the room, a perfect doppelganger of Sirius- minus the tired bags under Sirius' eyes. After all, Snape was loosing no sleep over the situation.

"I'll need your wand, Black." He reminded Sirius, standing over him with his hand outstretched.

"Be willing, Sirius." Remus warned. "The wand needs to obey him." Sirius took a deep breath, nodded and handed the wand over. Remus looked at Snape and gestured out the door. Snape started to follow before Sirius called out to him, and the words made him stop in his tracks.

"Thank you, Severus." He shouted after him. Snape blinked a couple times and then continued after Remus toward the motorbike parked on the curb.

Snape had to admit, as he landed the motorcycle, that he could see the appeal in owning one. It was much more comfortable and far sturdier than a broom. But he had very little time to think about this, because he knew as soon as the tires contacted the ground in the garden that the wards set all over the property were setting off that something had arrived, and he had to get out of sight while the motorcycle was investigated. After all, he may look like Sirius, but his magic still read the same- So the motorcycle would set off wards that he on foot would not. While the night guard was out investigating the alarms, he could enter the house. He hurried over to the bushes and hid as he heard others coming. As they headed toward his parking spot, Snape ran as quietly as possibly on the other side of the shrubbery toward the Manor.

The door was unlocked, not that Snape was surprised. The whole property was so magically guarded that there was no real reason to lock the doors. He walked in and ducked into the elves' private halls through a passage he knew in the sitting room, just past the entry hall. The elves' passages ran all through the house, and where designed to allow the house elves to serve the family without cluttering the halls or being seen. Snape knew that this passage would be clear at night. He hurried down the path to where the stairs would take him up into the Study where Voldemort often held up and even slept on a large, plush velvet couch. He took his time climbing the stairs, and at the top stopped and took the vial of potion out, grimacing as he swallowed down his second dose. He then put the empty vial in his pocket and leaned against the door, his ear flush against the thin wood. There was no noise for a few moments, so Snape opened the door a small crack. The room was almost completely empty, except Voldemort, stretched out as he did many times on the grand couch. Bellatrix was asleep in the floor at his feet. This, Snape knew, was good for him, and he headed back down the stairs.

The House elf passages did not go down into the dungeons, unfortunately. But Snape was confident that whoever was standing guard was inferior to his magic and he should be able to get down stairs and send Eloise home before making his presence know long enough to escape after scaring the Death Eaters about their power and safety. Snape peaked out, straightened the jacket Sirius loaned him and headed for the stairs leading to the dungeons that were just opposite the elf door in the entry hall, around a small corner in its own little nook. As he suspected, Goyle was standing propped against the door, reading what appeared to be a filthy magazine. Snape shook his head, but walked straight over to Goyle, Sirius' wand drawn. He was nearly across the room to him before he noticed he was not alone.

"Black!" He bellowed, fumbling to drop the magazine and draw his own wand. Snape didn't give the other wizard time to arm himself before hitting him square in the chest with a hex and kicking his unconscious form out of the way of the door and moving on, hoping that Goyle's cry had gone unnoticed.

The dungeons where poorly lit, and Snape cast a lumos maximus charm to light his path as he moved down the the cell where he knew they last had Eloise. Propped in a chair sat Alecto Carrow, her feet braced against the bars of Eloise's cell. She was bouncing a ball of sparks off the wall just above Eloise's head. Eloise was curled in a ball, eyes squeezed tightly shut. Snape paused for a moment and thought about his next few moves. He was, after all, supposed to be Sirius. He crept as silently as possible up behind Alecto and pulled her chair out from under her. The young witch was so stunned she only managed to scream before Snape knocked her out too. He then blasted the cell door open.

"Open your eyes, Eloise." He instructed in his own voice rather than trying to sound like Sirius. She looked up, stunned. Snape pushed a finger against his lips, warning her to keep quiet. "It's Polyjuice. Sit up." He said, tugging her to sit up properly. He knew she was greatly injured and felt bad about being so rough, but time was no longer on his side and he knew it. He pulled a tin out of the other side of his jacket and handed it to her before swallowing four of the pills from his pants pocket and swallowed them down.

"I don't-" She started to say. Snape took the tin away and opened it before she could say anything more. He started to explain but shouts could be heard coming down the corridor. A hex hit the stone just above his shoulders. He grabbed her wrist and held her hand palm up, dumping the small stone into her hand as he let go. It was only a few seconds later before she disappeared. He turned to face his fellow Death Eaters, and smiled with Sirius Black's face. Bellatrix and Walden where both right behind him when he turned and faced him, and he bowed at them with the arrogant smile of Sirius' he hated so much, before activating his own portkey and escaping, a killing curse shooting through where his heart had just been not a second before.

Wow, it's been a few months- I'm sorry! I hope everyone enjoyed the update! Be sure to tell me if you liked it, leave some sweet reviews for me! Thank you all so much for reading!
Hugs!
~Duchess