A/N: Hope you all enjoy this last chapter--yes, it IS the last chapter. Enjoy.

Vilandra let out a cry as she fell painfully to the floor, her wand flying from her hand.

"Vilandra!" The shriek was so familiar, and so reassuring, despite the fear etched in every syllable. Vilandra looked up as Hermione ran to her, hugging her tightly.

"Lonnie." She turned her head and only noticed then that the person clutching her arm so desperately was Chaim.

"You see?" All three turned to the voice, and saw Ron sitting in a chair that had materialized. "We're all one big, happy family. All we're missing is my youngest son."

"You stay away from him!" Vilandra shrieked, tears in her eyes. He let out a sigh, shaking his head, his red hair falling messily into his eyes.

"I don't understand why you get so angry when I say I want to see Sterling. He's my son, and I will find him. I will bring him here, and then the only people missing will be Leroux and the twins. Then, everyone I care about will be safe."

"And what about the people we care about?" Vilandra snapped. Hermione squeezed her arm tightly, trying to get her to stop, but Vilandra didn't care what happened to her. Vilandra needed to get her anger and hatred for this man out of her system. She needed to be as angry as she could—otherwise, she wouldn't be able to kill him. Ron sighed as he leaned back in his chair.

"It's most regrettable that you chose a Malfoy, Vilandra." Hermione frowned and turned to her daughter, stunned. She hadn't heard the news of Salai and Vilandra. "If it had been anyone else, I may have spared them. But, it's a Malfoy." Vilandra began to stand angrily, but Hermione pulled her back down.

"You don't even know him." Vilandra growled angrily.

"I know his father, and believe me, that's enough." Ron snapped. "It's almost a shame he turned out to be a traitor, really. He was so useful. Every time I needed something done, he went out and did it. I was most impressed." He let out a long sigh. "And then he went out and became a spy for Dumbledore." Ron shook his head and Hermione grimaced. "No matter. Soon, the war can begin. Once I have Sterling, everyone I care about will be safe."

"Everyone you care about would be safer if there was no war at all!" Vilandra hollered. Hermione squeezed her arm tighter and Vilandra flinched. She couldn't help it, she was just so angry with him!

Ron leaned forward in his chair and Hermione shrank back with Chaim, pulling Vilandra back as well.

"You know, Vilandra, I could've left you out there." He growled in her face. "I could have started this war, and you would've been out there fighting for your life like everyone else. I gave you an alternative."

"Join you or die, some choice!" She spat bitterly. He slapped her across the face and Hermione's gasp echoed even louder than the slap did. Chaim leapt to his feet but Hermione yanked him back down.

"Don't touch my sister!" He hollered at Ron. Ron growled angrily.

"What have you done raising our children, Hermione. They have awful manners. They have no respect for their father."

"You're not their father!" Hermione shrieked, clutching Chaim desperately. Ron's face contorted with rage.

"You're all safe here with me!" He bellowed. "Why can't you understand this! During this war, if you're not on my side, you will die! With me, you're safe!"

"We'd be safer if there was no bloody war!" Vilandra shrieked again, this time getting to her feet, despite her mother's attempts to keep her down.

"Don't speak to me like that!" Ron hollered.

"You keep saying you wanted to be a part of our lives, that you love us, but you don't!" Vilandra shrieked. "If that were true, not only would you not have become evil, you would've come back to mum when you found out she wasn't going to follow you!"

"Don't raise your voice at me!" Ron hollered.

"I hate you! I HATE YOU!" Ron let out an angry growl as he slammed his hand against Vilandra's throat. She flew against the wall, Ron's hand still clutching her neck, lifting her off the ground. Hermione let out a strangled cry as her eldest daughter was pressed against the wall, clawing at her father's hand around her neck.

"No!" Hermione jumped to her feet but with the wave of his hand, Hermione flew into the back wall, her head colliding painfully with the stones, and she fell in a crumpled heap, unconscious.

Chaim stared at his mother horrified when he heard a strange hacking noise. He turned back to Vilandra as she continued to claw at her father's hand.

"You brought this upon yourself." Ron hissed at her. Vilandra struggled to breathe, trying to choke out Chaim's name for help. He didn't know what to do. There was nothing he could do! He looked around panicked when suddenly, his eyes fell on Vilandra's wand. She'd dropped it when she'd apparated into the cell, and it still lay there, completely fine, waiting to be used.

"The last thing you'll see, Vilandra, is your loving father—staring into your dying eyes." Ron hissed. He looked at Ron, and was sure his back was turned too far for him to see Chaim behind him. He scrambled hurriedly to the wand, picked it up, and aimed it at his father, shouting the first thing that came to mind.

"Expelliarmus!" He hollered, Vilandra's wand aimed at his father's back. Ron let out a gasp as he dropped Vilandra, stumbling back. Vilandra fell to the floor heavily, inhaling sharply and coughing roughly, trying to get air back into her lungs.

Ron turned angrily and Chaim's eyes grew wide as he backed up, the wand falling from his trembling hand. Ron stormed towards him, kicking the wand away viciously as he passed it. As he approached his son, he threw out his hand, causing Chaim to fly backwards into the wall.

"If my family wants to die with everyone else, then so be it!"

"No!"

"Avada Kedavra!" Ron's body went rigid for a few seconds, and everyone in the room stared at him stunned. Then, he fell to his knees, his eyes staring blankly ahead until he finally fell face-first to the ground, unmoving.

It was that easy? Vilandra thought, breathing hard as she stared at her father's now-dead form. That was all that needed to be done? Pushing these thoughts from her mind, the fifteen year old crawled to her little brother, who cradled his left arm painfully. She reached him and hugged him tightly, and he hugged her back just as tightly.

As she hugged him, Vilandra looked to the side, staring at her mother. She hadn't moved. Vilandra suspected she probably wouldn't for a very long time. She just sat there, breathing hard, Vilandra's wand still aimed upward towards where Ron had once stood. Vilandra looked back at Chaim as he clutched her tightly, looking the opposite way from where his father lay.

Without a word, Vilandra gingerly pulled herself from his grasp. He didn't protest. He merely kept his back turned to the scene behind him. When Vilandra was sure he would be all right, she stood unsteadily—feeling slightly dizzy from her minute and a half with no oxygen—and made her way around her father to her mother. She bent down beside her, watching Hermione as she continued to breathe hard. Vilandra gently reached out her hand and pulled her wand from her mother's grip. Hermione's hand stayed frozen in mid-air. She forced her mother to lower it, watching her face intently.

"Mum?" She asked cautiously. Hermione turned to her, and everything happened at once. She burst into tears, grabbed Vilandra, and pulled her against her tightly. Vilandra didn't know what she could possibly say. For once, she couldn't be the adult. She had to find solace in just being there.

Chaim suddenly appeared on Hermione's other side—probably having hugged the wall to avoid Ron. He wrapped his arms around his mother and Vilandra smiled. Hermione would be okay. They would be okay. Everything would be okay.

Five Months Later
Four hours before the departure of the Hogwarts Express.

Talak shoved Rhett playfully as they walked down the corridor. Rhett shoved him back, forcing Talak to walk into a suit of armour. There was a loud clatter as he knocked it over and he looked around nervously. Leroux laughed jovially. Vilandra managed a smile. It had been a long time since the death of her father, but things hadn't gotten back to normal quite the way she would've liked. Her mother had been sent on leave; she had a nervous breakdown and spent seven weeks in St. Mungo's. She'd gone home after that, and she seemed to be doing all right. She spent a lot of time with Sterling, and that was an improvement that Vilandra liked a lot. She was fairly sure her mother would be all right in the end.

The person she was most concerned about was Chaim. He hadn't spoken a word since what had happened in the dungeon. The last word Vilandra had ever heard him say was 'expelliarmus'. She hoped he would be okay.

The war had ended before it even began. It had been the most pathetic thing in the world. Since Draco had been part of the Death Eaters, he knew where everything was, where all the most powerful wizards were located, and where everyone in cells were being held. It took the Order no time at all to storm the entire base, and since the Order members were far superior to the Death Eaters, they were overpowered almost immediately. All were sent to Azkaban, and Draco was given one of the highest honours ever received by any witch or wizard in over a century. Vilandra didn't remember the name, nor did she really care. All she cared about was the fact that Draco had helped end the war before it even began.

"Lonnie?" She turned to Leroux as she continued walking. He and the twins had stopped. He motioned the door beside himself. "We're going in here."

"Oh, right." She laughed, trotting back towards them. "Sorry." She pushed open the door and entered the classroom first, not wanting to have to look at any more of their 'Vilandra's still upset' faces. They bothered her, and even when she wasn't upset, the faces made her upset.

The four cousins walked into the classroom, heading for the office at the back.

"Hello?" The voice within the office called, obviously having heard someone coming.

"Hello, Professor Lupin." Vilandra pushed open his already semi-open door, and entered his office. He smiled brightly at her.

"It's my four favourite Gryffindors. To what do I owe this pleasure?" He asked brightly, motioning the seats in front of him. Vilandra and Talak sat down in the two available chairs. Rhett and Leroux just remained standing.

"We wanted to wait until the end of the year to tell you this so that the shock wouldn't cause you to lose focus and break down in class." Rhett grinned. Lupin frowned at this, studying all their smug faces.

"Why am I slightly frightened?" He inquired, his eyes flickering back and forth between the twins—for they wore the biggest grins.

"We found one." Leroux finally burst out. Lupin frowned.

"Found what?"

"A secret passage!" Vilandra shot in before anyone else could. "One that's not on the Marauder's map!" Lupin's eyes widened and Rhett hastily pulled out the map. He put it before Lupin and the five of them crowded around it.

Rhett had already spoken the words and tapped the map with his wand, so the corridors and passages were all clearly visible.

"Right there." Rhett and Talak said in unison as they pointed at an empty corridor.

"It's there." Talak repeated.

"Right there!" Rhett agreed.

"We swear!"

"We double swear!"

"We aren't lying."

"Heavens, no!"

"No."

"No." Vilandra placed one hand on either twin's mouths, letting out a slow breath.

"He gets the idea." She let her hands fall back to her sides and Lupin smiled at them.

"Well, I'm impressed." He admitted, falling back into his chair and leaning back in it, watching the four before him, a sort of pride in his eyes. "You're proven yourselves to be as wonderful as the Marauders, and for that, you have the honour of redoing the map."

"Yes!" Leroux and Talak high-fived.

"I shall help you with it, of course, but we must hurry. We only have a few hours before you all need to go." They nodded and Talak and Vilandra retook their seats. Lupin pulled out a blank piece of parchment and smoothed it out on the table. "What would you like the front to say?" He inquired.

"Um, if it's all right with you, professor Lupin, we were thinking we'd keep the front page the same, and just add ourselves underneath." Leroux shrugged. "After all, you're the ones who found everything but that one passage. Wouldn't be fair for us to take all the credit." Lupin smiled.

"I would be honoured to be allowed to remain on the map." He pulled out his wand and aimed it at the parchment, about to speak, when Vilandra stopped him.

"Wait!" Everyone froze. They all turned to her as her eyes twinkled mischievously. "Help us turn into Animaguses." There was stunned silence, then the three boys turned to Lupin, looks of pleading in their eyes. He rolled his own.

"Oh, all right, but not this year! It takes practice, and lots of it." He sighed, shaking his head. "I suppose—yes, we can do it next year. We shall update the map next year, and insert your Animagus names onto the cover beneath ours." He smiled at them. "I'm proud you've finally found another passage. You've all worked hard, and you deserve your new map." They all smiled at each other. "Now, off with you. Go have your feast and chat with your friends. Almost time to leave again."

"So, next year?" Vilandra asked suspiciously. Lupin smiled.

"Next year. You have my word." She smiled and the four of them filed out, Leroux waving at Lupin before closing the door.

-----

"They've been gone for a while." Lexa smirked, leaning against Talak. "I think they're trying to suffocate one another with their tongues." Vilandra laughed, shaking her head.

"Come on, we all know Leroux and Jase make out whenever they have the chance." Sharka insisted, sitting on Rhett's lap with her head against his shoulder. Vilandra herself may as well have been sitting on Salai's lap, but she was still half-on the seat.

Vilandra was glad that all four of them had boyfriends or girlfriends now. It made it seem less awkward when one of them wanted to run off, because then all the others could, as well.

Vilandra opened her mouth to say something when their compartment door slid open. Chaim stood in the doorway, staring at Vilandra, not saying a word.

"I'll be back." She said to her friends, standing up from her position and exiting the compartment, sliding the door shut behind her. She followed Chaim without a word until he slid open another compartment door and entered it. She followed, again closing the door behind herself. Chaim stayed standing near the window so Vilandra sat down, not sure what to say. Chaim merely lay down on the long seat, resting his head on Vilandra's lap. She smiled, running her hand through his thick red hair, looking out the window as she did so.

The scenery flew by quickly, and Vilandra merely watched it, not saying a thing. She figured Chaim just needed someone, and she understood how he felt.

"Is everyone all right?" She was so startled she almost jumped up, which would've sent Chaim crashing to the floor.

"P-pardon?" She asked, not having heard her brother due to her shock. He cleared his throat.

"Is everyone all right?" He repeated. "I-I didn't want to talk about it before. I didn't want to remember…" He trailed off, closing his eyes. Vilandra sighed.

"I know, baby." She whispered, still running her hand through his hair. "But everyone's all right. Mum is getting better, and she and Sterling have been together for a long time now. I think they're doing well." He nodded.

"And you?" She smiled.

"You know me. I'm not well until everyone I care about is well. I was worried about you." He nodded.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry." She insisted. "I'm just glad you're feeling better." He nodded. They sat in silence for a long while and Vilandra couldn't help but say what she'd been thinking for five months. "Chaim?"

"Hm?" She took a deep breath.

"Thank you." She finally said. "Thank you—for saving me." She gritted her teeth as she felt his shoulders tense up, but he spoke anyway.

"You would've done the same for me." His voice was hardly above a whisper.

"You know it." She smiled down at him.

"I-I want to be more like you, Lonnie." Vilandra raised a confused eyebrow. "I want to be there for people. I want to stop being a wanker to Sterling." Vilandra smiled.

"Well, everyone starts somewhere. I think you started out pretty well. Saving someone's life—don't get any nicer than that." She smiled as he let out a small laugh. At least he had laughed, regardless how small it was.

"I want to be a prankster, too." He admitted. "You always seem to have so much fun, and it's sad that not everyone can be as happy and carefree as you. So, I want to follow in the Weasley footsteps. I want to make uncles Fred and George proud." Vilandra smiled.

"That's my boy! I like the way you think! You remind me of me!" He let out another small laugh. "I think you should execute this devious plan with your friend, Kian. He seems like a really nice bloke, and you've become really good friends." Chaim nodded.

"Yeah, I like him a lot. He's a good guy." Vilandra smiled.

"But you'll need one more person. Two isn't enough for chaos-induced-pranks." Chaim smirked.

"How about Alca? She's a Weasley." Vilandra smiled.

"Brilliant, little brother. You see, I knew we were related." He actually laughed this time, and the sound sent a warm, tingling sensation down her spine. Things were returning to normal, and she couldn't be any happier.

"I can't wait until next year, now." Chaim admitted.

"Well, you know what?" Chaim looked up at her. "Why don't you go talk to them about it right now. You can spend the whole summer planning your pranks. Of course, you'll never surpass us." She motioned herself with a smirk and Chaim laughed as he thought about all the chaos the twins, Leroux and Vilandra had caused that year, despite all the horrors.

"We'll surpass you if it's the last thing we do." He stood up and headed for the compartment door. He opened it, but didn't leave. He turned back to Vilandra. "Hey, Lonnie?" She nodded, informing him that she was paying attention. He smiled. "Thanks."

"For what?" She inquired. He shrugged.

"Everything." He gave her another smile and then disappeared down the corridor. Vilandra smiled and stood up, returning to her compartment. She saw that Jase and Leroux were still gone, but the others were all still in the compartment.

She slid open the door and jumped on Salai. He let out a startled gasp, but grinned at she half-lay on him. She leaned up and kissed his lips.

"All right?" He asked. She smiled.

"Never better."

End.