Disclaimer: Nada. J'ai rien

Once again here are my opening responses to my lovely reviewers! Thank you to y'all! Also many warm, grateful appreciative hugs to any favorites and alerts for this story!

bbbbb: is that enough b's? Anyway, you, good sir, are incredibly lucky as I am updating today! The day of your review! Ooooh, aaaaahh. Sorry about the incredibly long wait though.

brilliantbluelights: Thanks for the review! You helped me get through this chapter. I know this one feels slow, but I had to cut chapter 12 in half since it was twice as long as before and the second part (and the more suspenseful section) is I'm proud to say already 2/3 written. Just gotta finish the last third then it'll be out.

TonksSmiles: Thanks for your review! Sorry for the annoyance; I should be ashamed of myself because it annoys me, too.

animegirl03: Thank you! It really warms my heart any time anyone reviews.

.: Awww, you made me blush! I hope it doesn't get too convoluted… it's going to get trickier in a chapter or two.

SparklimgMoonlight1: I try to be really original in my plot, and it makes me incredibly happy to hear it from someone that I actually succeeded.

_: Alot of people like Al. He's my second favorite character!

TachanGyu: no tiene idea que feliz me hizo su crítica. Gracias por dedicar tiempo para escribirme.

glistening_moon: Once again, Al gets a HUGE part! Hope you like it!

ginervaweasleyrocks: yeah sorry for the delay, RL has been keeping me busy…. Thanks for the review and I hope this doesn't disappoint.

BlackGryphon101: thanks for the review! It really does inspire writers to keep writing.

Emily_Redbird: EEEK! Remus is my favorite, too. However I'm going to torture him for a bit because I feel that most time traveling writers sway his emotions far too easily. I mean look at how he reacted when Snape killed Dumbledore. He's a loyal, steadfast man who has had his fate shaken far too many times… Thanks for the review!

So a bigger AN note at the end of the page. Most importantly though… I need a beta. More information at the bottom with the rest of the AN. Sorry for the terrible wait but RL caught up to me and wouldn't let me go.

Warning: Naughty Language and Death Eaters, so ye be warned.

Chapter 12: The Start of Many

Hugo groaned and flopped backwards unto to the cushioned pillows that the Room of Requirement had provided so graciously so to avoid cracking his head open on the stone floor. While a flurry of plans had erupted at first of how to rescue Al from the myriad number of witnesses who thought (with admittedly reasonably sound reasoning) Al had helped a mass murderer escape and was abetting and aiding said criminal now, Rose had meticulously pointed out flaws and crushed one plan after the other for a daring reunion with her captive cousin.

"Well then," exploded Teddy in one huff of breath. He was trying to work past Rosie's anal tendencies and proclivity to measure out every single last possibility. "Please enlighten us on a fool proof way to sneak Al out of the Great Hall without any possibility of failure or capture or further disruption of the time. Oh, and find James while you're at it."

Teddy's outburst shocked Rose into silence because due to his long experience of being the oldest "cousin" to ten younger kids his patience was legendary. His tetchiness was so rarely experienced (with the exception of James who had adored Teddy but all the while tried to "relax" Teddy by "releasing all that pent up anger" by stuffing his socks with Cockroach Clusters, editing his homework assignments, and the like) that Hugo himself had never truly seen it.

Hugo gaped at both Teddy and Rose and nervously glanced back and forth between the two rising tempers.

However Rose was not one to take anything sitting down, her eyes flashed and she drew herself to her full height.

"Do you want them to get even more fodder for the Death Eaters? Must I remind you that the ministry is crawling with "Imperiused" Death Eaters who would gladly pass on any information they learn to Voldemort? Why don't we just hand ourselves over, all trussed up and drugged for their convenience? Why don't we—"

"Why don't we all calm down? We won't get anywhere with all these shouting," Remus suggested mildly. His gaze on both his son and Rose made the two blush crimson; their lowered faces revealed that the chastisement had substituted their irritation with guilt.

"Now, let's try it over again, yeah? Remus is right, you know, the best plans usually don't come from shouting at each other hoarse and red in the face. But if we get out of this alive, I'll tell you a story about your Granddad James and the rest of us," Sirius had produced a few weak smiles at his humorous tone. "Of course, we were utter berks at fourteen so it didn't end that well for us. Pretty funny, though."

The tension significantly diffused, and the weak smiles that had decorated each countenance in the room slowly grew larger.

Teddy blew out a breath and sighed. He raked his hands through his hair as he shook it out. Concomitantly, his hair grew an inch or two for Teddy to rumple as he planned. Hugo greatly suspected that if Teddy were alone, he would probably be changing his appearance more rapidly as he often did in a sign of anxiousness.

Nymphadora Tonks-Lupin ducked her head and hid a grin. Truly, Theodore Remus Lupin was her son; his talents and inherited qualities notwithstanding, his and mannerisms carried his lineage in every way. She had recognized Remus's tendencies to betray his growing anger by the quivering of his jaw and mouth before her son's outburst. She also saw the long fuse that was needed to alight her cool son's bad humor that was so unlike her quick to anger attitude that it must be all Remus. Tonks also remarked to herself the same way the two men sat across the circle, and their similar statures (of course, Teddy could change his length and width at any time, but she could tell this was his most comfortable state) made them also mistakable for one another.

Then again, she could see so much of herself in her son. Her precious boy. Today, she had awakened uncertain that her son would live to be old enough to bicker or learn to control his temper. After all, Teddy was the son of two Order members, a werewolf and a traitorous niece of Bellatrix Lestrange. The odds were not in their favor of survival, but here she sat with her grown son.

Tonks delighted on seeing that brief smile upon his face because she knew with absolute certainty and conviction that it was hers.

His smile was proof that this was without a doubt her son.

Dora knew that Remus had questioned earlier the wisdom of trusting these children and most of all "their" son.

It would be the perfect trap, her Auror training whispered to her. What would Mad Eye say, huh? You are being foolish not interrogating them or even complying with them. What if they're lying? What if they are all Death Eaters under the effects of Polyjuice Potion? It wouldn't be the first time…

But then Teddy Lupin had smiled, and she knew.

The man in front of you is your son. He is everything that you're fighting for, and he exists.

And since then, every little action that Tonks had filed away under either her husband or her own habits had reinforced that thought.

Dora caught the inquiring eye of Sirius sitting next to Teddy. Furtively shaking her head to place herself in the here and now life or death situation, she forced her mind on puzzling out the best solution to their dire dilemma.

Remus was speaking.

"If there was some way to intercept Al as he is moved from the Great Hall? He can't possibly be kept there forever. It's been too long as it is for a prisoner to be stationed surrounded by so many students."

"Nope," Tonks interrupted, popping the "p" sound. "Fudge is paranoid and a fool. He won't move Al until he has a whole battalion of Aurors. Besides, this way the students can report to their parents how well armed and prepared the Ministry is to face any threat."

Of the Ministry's inherent stupidity, Tonks was certain. She had swiftly became Alastor "Mad Eye" Moody's protégée owing to her blunt points about the blatant political game for which the Ministry used the Auror Department. Instead of preventing war, Tonks thought bitterly.

She screwed her eyes tight like she was warding off a bad migraine and changed her hair color from a dark blue to a soft ginger.

"There must be some way to avoid being detected by the gaurds!" Rose exclaimed once again at her high stress level again.

"Maybe if we cast masterful Disillusionment Charms?"

"No good," Sirius said glumly. "The Dementors will see right through those."

"What if we create a distraction—"

"We mustn't disrupt the time flow even more!"

"Must we?"

The conversation stopped. Lily Potter, who had remained quiet and still throughout the whole debate as is her custom in front of strangers, and her absurd question had thrown everyone entirely. What was the point of this silly little query?

"Haven't you been listening?" Rose snapped. "We mustn't mess with time!"

"But we've already have," Lily timidly replied. When it appeared that Rose would snap back once more, Lily plowed on; her voice gaining strength and volume.

"Our parents never talked about two strangers and Sirius Black interrupting May 31, 1994. Face it; there is no way around this. We could try to plan around the fact everyone already knows that there are strangers in Hogwarts, or we could go with."

Seeing that every face was focused raptly on hers and that each one was considering her words seriously and like a valid plan and argument, Lily once again continued with her train of thought that had been blossoming for the past ten minutes.

"Even we do decide to act like we never here I'll wager you that the real Death Eaters and Voldemort will act like they're here. The people of 1994 shan't be prepared for Voldemort. It'll be a massacre. I mean, we have been staring at the Marauders' Map, and we have yet to even spy Dumbledore on the school campus."

"Actually," Remus frowned. "That's very strange. From what I recall of my year here, he hardly left the campus with all the Dementors running about."

"Something must have called him away," Hugo shrugged dismissively. "Dumbledore's a busy guy from all accounts."

"Yes, but he would have come back for this."

"Maybe the owl had reached him yet."

Remus Lupin seemed reluctant to accept this as a very plausible explanation. Wouldn't Albus want to see to the safety of Harry? Or at least the comfort of Hagrid?

Sirius read his friend's doubting expression on his face, and leaned forward to place a hand of comfort and reassurance on his shoulder. When his heartening gesture failed to reciprocate any new emotion, Sirius smiled mischievously.

"Don't tell me you and Dumbledore became the best of chums! I thought I and apparently our dear Mrs. Lupin were the only ones could stomach your broodiness. Unless, you've held back from me, and secretly, you have become the life of the party."

The glare that Remus sent Sirius was enough of an answer. So was Sirius's laugh in turn.

Lily smiled fondly at the two of them. When she was young, she had called each Marauder (with the obvious exception) in one of her father's most prized picture, Grandad Pongs, Grandad Padfoo', and Grandad Moony. She knew each the stories about the Marauders as well as her father did. But Lily once again furthered her argument.

"Well besides Dumbledore's absence, we can't trust the lot," clarifying for the benefits of the mystified faces, Lily spoke. "The Ministry, I mean. Like you said before, there will be many "reformed" Death Eaters mixed with the Ministry forces."

"Just like Snape was," Tonks bitterly stated.

Remus's expression hardened. "We'll have to get him out of the picture at once; something that will leave him down for awhile."

"Oh, so you finally don't trust him, Moony. What made you see the light?"

"He murdered Dumbledore." Remus spoke without inflection or tone, but his jaw was locked and his eyes cold.

"WHAT? THE BASTARD DID WHAT?"

Sirius had leapt to his feet as if Snape was in the room at the moment. "He killed Dumbledore! I knew it! He's still on Voldemort's side! He—"

Sirius paused in mid rant then leapt for the door.

"Wait! Wait, Uncle Sirius!"

"Sirius!"

"WAIT!"

Teddy, forgetting his wand and the fact that he was an accomplished wizard, tackled the sprinting animagus a meter from the door.

"Get off! He can get to Harry! The traitor can get to him!"

"He's not a traitor, Grand- Uncle Sirius. Severus Snape is on our side."

"He killed Dumbledore," Remus's face was stony, and his face warned them against making light of this or deceiving him in any fashion.

"Yes, he did," Rose soothingly said. "But Dum—"

"But what, then? My godson's is being taught Occulemency by Voldemort's spy!" Sirius muttered rebelliously to the ground as Teddy had yet to get up from his back.

"Dumbledore asked him to."

Silence met Teddy's assertion, and incredulous faces began shaking no.

"It was the only way that Snape could truly gain Voldemort's trust. Dumbledore was dying from a curse that was on the horc- on an object Dumbledore believed could help defeat Voldemort. Albus Dumbledore managed to destroy it but the curse had already been enacted. He retained Severus Snape's help, and Snape gave Dumbledore a year to live. Dumbledore also knew that as punishment for a screw up by Lucius Malfoy, Draco Malfoy was told to kill Dumbledore or else. So Dumbledore let himself be killed in exchange for a spy whom the Dark Lord would trust above all other Death Eaters."

The moment of silence stretched out for a minute. Then two. It was going on three when Dora broke it by croaking, "And Harry actually believes all that?"

"Yes."

"Merlin's pants why?" Dora's chest was tightening. How could this be true…

"There's another reason, but I don't exactly know it," Lily simply and plainly said. "But Al's middle name is Severus. I think my father knew what he was doing when they named him Albus Severus Potter."

"Then we trust him."

Sirius spoke resolutely and without a trace of doubt in his voice.

"Harry has a smart head on his shoulders. He wouldn't be fooled by Death Eater's trick. I trust him."

Standing up once more, Sirius tilted his head to the side, and reminded them that Potter needed rescuing at this moment, and it was unlikely that any of them could sneak Albus and themselves past the guards. That and they needed to get "their arses into gear", and think of a distraction worthy of the Marauder age.

"I was thinking about the distraction we would need…" Hugo started. "We need something clever, something tricky. Clever, really, rather than big. Easter Hols kind of clever…"

Teddy instantly perked up. "But could we repeat? It would be hard, and so many things can go wrong with it…"

"Not if your careful, Teddy. If you go indistinctly…"

"And we transfigure your clothing," Rose added eagerly.

"And change your voice," Lily supplied.

"That would give us time! We could split up. Rose and Sirius could go look for Pettigrew. I'll go find the cloak. We've all heard this story countless of times, it's in the humpback witch passage. Then, we could…"

"Um, excuse me… Would one of you care to explain?"

Albus Potter tried to shift to a more comfortable position. That's if one exists, Al thought irritably. About forty minutes ago, McGonagall had waved her wand and tied him quite tightly to a chair. About thirty minutes ago, Kingsley Shacklebot and his squad of Auror's had swarmed the place. About twenty-five minutes ago, Fudge had shouted down the advice of all the Aurors and quite a few teachers that the intruder must be moved, but that was twenty-five minutes ago- yet he still remained.

Every eye in the Great Hall stared at Albus with unbridled curiosity. He wished that they would move him away from the center of attention into a perhaps small room or send the students back to their dormitories, but now with the legions of Aurors descending upon Hogwarts, the contingent minister wanted more witnesses to his most assuredly great capture of Sirius Black.

One pair of green eyes, shaped and colored remarkably like his own, were not filled with interest and eagerness but rather by hate and anger.

It was very disquieting that Al's father, even the thirteen year old version of his father, could ever look at him in such a way. He was used to his father's warm, smiling eyes or on occasion, the exasperation with a joke or a child's play gone awry. Rarely had Albus ever seen true anger, except when his father felt that he was being extremely disrespectful or overtly endangering himself or others (one such occasion had involved, Al running away on the Knight Bus with Lily when he was seven, but that's another story).

The hatred was unnerving. Merlin, Al thought miserly. Why did it have to be 1994? Of all the effin' years.

While Al was lamenting his situation, he failed to notice the Minister of Magic walk up to him with a man that Al could only describe as a very unkempt lion.

With a heavy step, the man approached Albus Potter with an eager gleam in his eyes. Warily, Al stared back resolutely.

"Want to give up now, boy? Time's nearly up you know…"

"Time for what?"

"The potion! The potion! You must know that Polyjuice Potion only lasts an hour… maybe an hour and a half before it starts to wear off."

"You're mental." Al turned his head and winced. He had strained his neck muscles on the right, but he refused to look left and into his father's contemptuous eyes…

"No respect! Why, you must be mad!" Fudge spluttered while he snatched the lime green bowler hat off his head and twirled it rapidly. His agitation with Al's admittedly flippant behavior was palpable as he pressed his weight from foot to foot. "Do you really think that you can hide the truth from us? Look around! There's no way you can continue this little… little scheme of yours. Your scheme and cabal are finished! Furthermore—"

"Minister, if you would allow me to interrogate the prisoner?"

The lion man quickly stepped to direct the line of questioning away from Fudge's self righteous fuming words.

Al drew himself up as well as he could to face the man head on. This was a man not to be trifled with.

"We could do this with or without your consent."

He paced around Al's trapped form, his voice low and yet more threatening than ever. Out of the corner of his eyes, Albus saw all the students nearby straining to catch the hissed words from the grizzled maned man.

"How do you figure?"

Al tried to remain nonchalant.

"Well, the way I see it is that Black is going get caught. It's not boasting on the Auror Department's part. We have this place surrounded. No one can get in or out without our say so."

Merlin, I hope you're wrong, or we are all screwed.

"Eventually, Black is going to be back in our custody. You know he's awaiting a Dementor's Kiss."

Not if we can help it.

"But maybe, he won't have to do… Not if he blames it all on you, boy. Where do you think that's going to leave you?"

Al stared back stonily. He was not going to give into this intimidation. Briefly, he wondered if this is how his dad's captives felt like. The antagonism, the presumption of guilt, the disgust that emanated from the lion man's very stance. He wondered if any one had ever confessed just to stop all the glares and the accusations. But Albus Severus Potter had something that his father's criminal didn't— knowledge of his innocence.

"No answer, huh? Well, let me tell what will happen, most assuredly. Sirius Black is going to sing; he's already betrayed one "friend", he'll do it again."

Remus Lupin flinched and visibly clenched his fists. A flash of pain clouded his scarred face and hot, rancid bile rose up in Al's throat at the obvious torture that sentence caused Remus Lupin. He knew without looking that similar hurt would grace his teenage father's face.

"No."

"No?" The man's mocking smile that accompanied his taunt only furthered enraged Al. "No, he won't betray you like he betrayed the Potters?"

"No! No, HE DIDN'T"

Al's furious exclamation silenced the Great Hall while blood rushed to his head, and he couldn't seem to stop the words coming out of his mouth.

James Sirius Potter, in his youth and childhood, had been known for his rashness; recently, Al's temper had surpassed his older brother's. And this man… this horrid man showed no sympathy or courtesy to all the pain and suffering around him, stemming from his words.

"Sirius shan't blame you. Really? Because based on past tendencies, he'll be singing in a—"

"No! He won't tell you anything because he never has betrayed anyone in his life!"

"What about the Potters, then? What do you say about his blatant treachery?"

Before Al's incensed reply was even fully formulated, McGonagall's wand twisted in the air once again, and rope wove itself in Al's mouth, gagging him.

"Perhaps, it would be best to continue the sensitive questioning under Veritaserum in the Ministry? After all, the children should not hear this."

Fudge nodded nervously as he glanced at the obviously irritated Scrimgeour, but relaxed when the Head of Aurors nodded curtly.

"But not in the Ministry. We will continue this conversation in Azkaban."

Remus Lupin looked up from his hands that gripped the edge of his chair tightly. He stole a peek at the noticeably distressed Harry Potter and at the fuming ally to his former brother in all but blood, and he hated Sirius Black even more. He never thought he could hate someone as much as he loathed Sirius. But even now, Sirus could not leave this orphaned boy less damaged then he already was.

And that earlier taunt, for a moment or two, Remus Lupin had dared to hope that these past twelve years had only been a nightmare, and Harry was here to wake him up. He had dared to wish, but the lies the stranger kept spouting… Remus knew it was too good to be true.

He turned away as a few tears leaked treacherously from his eyes.

Al's fingers tingled, and a violent shudder ran down his spine. He realized instinctively that if he went into that Fortress in the North Sea, he would never be quite the same again.

Even in their minds, Voldemort's voice was cold and unsettling. Only Bellatrix Lestrange looked pleased to be in close proximity as to hold the Dark Lord's hand. On the other side of Tom Riddle, Yaxley appeared ill and slightly green with fear.

"I do not know how Potter achieved this… this feat of magic. It is well beyond his capabilities. I do not possess the knowledge of this spell even as traveled and well read as I am."

All around the circle, Death Eaters avoided eye contact lest they be blamed or seem presumptuous. They instead focused on containing their thoughts in case a stray thought earn them a death sentence or a torture sentence.

"My Lord… then it cannot be the boy, my lord. He is weak, my lord… he is…"

"I know what he is, Bellatrix. But while it is… strange that I do not recognize the spell, it will not affect us for too long. We have tolerated and played games with Potter's friends for an intolerable time."

"What would you have us do, my lord?" A nameless shadow ventured from the safety of the circle. His voice was slick and simpering, and at his question the rest of the circle gained enough courage to lay eyes upon their master.

Voldemort laughed that dangerous laugh, full of malice and the promise of sadistic pleasure. "Ah, Rookwood. Ever the eager innovator. Always searching for answers, hmm?"

"Yes, my master. I always look for ways to serve you."

"Kill. Kill the boy's allies. Every last one of them. I want none of the Weasleys alive except the youngest son. Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger will die last. Their deaths shall not be clean or painless. Bellatrix, I leave this task to you. See that they do not remember their own name… only one name. The name for which they suffer- Harry Potter. I want them to die cursing his name."

"Yes, whatever you so desire, my lord. They will rue the day they met Potter."

Bellatrix leaned against Voldemort in an effort get closer than she already was. A long tongue darted out between her lips to lick them. Unlike Voldemort's cold, dead eyes, her eyes were dancing, alive with the thought of the screams that Mudblood would produce… Maybe she would feed her to Greyback and let the blood traitor watch as his filthy lover writhed in pain…

"Cut down every man, woman, and child that stands between Potter and me. I do not know what trick let him live, nor do I know what magic has brought my followers from different years, do not let that deter you. Destroy anything that has ever sheltered or protected Potter from me. I thought that merely exploiting his friends would provide enough. I was mistaken. Kill them. Kill them all."

"No one shall be left breathing, my lord."

"We will kill all the Mudbloods and blood traitors."

"Cull the young 'uns before they grow!"

"Bastards!"

"Bitches!"

"Dirty! Filthy! Inhuman!"

"KILL!"

Elliot Teague woke up as usual to an empty bed. His wife had hardly spoken to him in almost three months. To be fair, Elliot had shared very little, and he preferred this silence to the screaming and the foul words that flew in the air. He used to be greeted with a blast of insults, for which he had an equally hateful reply. Though he had found refuge in the long hours that the Auror department had required him to take upon as he was part of the Sirius Black recovery squad, he still dreaded those few and far in between moments spent at home in the presence of his sinking message. But then again… the house seemed more quiet than usual. His wife was no fairy, and he could usually hear her stomping around the kitchen before she left for work in a shop in Diagon Ally.

Then he remembered. Elaine had left him yesterday. All her possessions and a few that they had acquired together as a couple when they still had loved each other had been packed and whisked away. To where he could only hazard a guess. Only a short note to explain the end of their coupled life.

Like an Inferi, he walked unaware of his once familiar surroundings to fix himself a cup of strong black coffee.

He idly stirred it while watching the early signs of life in the street. Would he even go to work today? What was the point? He tried to sort out his tangled thoughts and emotions.

Thus he sat there until a quarter till one, the fire place roared to life, and green flames erupted from the wood. Teague glared at it as an excited intern popped his head through the flames.

"What is it, Crowley? Can't ye see that I'm not—"

"It's Sirius Black! He's entered the Great Hall of Hogwarts! We've caught one of his accomplices. Shacklebot is leading it! Apparate to the gates of Hogwarts and meet up with Murphy. He's in charge of your group. Hurry now!"

And without a further ado, the intern popped back into the fire.

Thirty minutes later, Elliot Teague was stalking the East corridor on the sixth floor. Supposedly, he was only to review it and ensure that the escapee, Black, and his still anonymous ally had not encamped in the open without any convenient hiding spots before reporting back to the Great Hall to be part of the squad on hand to handle the "dangerous" prisoner.

Dangerous, Teague snorted. The kid didn't even look old enough to shave, let alone concoct this grand scheme.

Of course, the kid was probably a fully grown man under the influence of Polyjuice Potion. He heard rumors from the other Aurors that the reason it was so disturbing was that he looked like an aged version of the Potter boy. How Sirius Black and the others have gotten so close to the boy to steal some piece of him and mix it properly (mind you, that meant that one of them was incredibly accomplished in potion making) was a chilling concept to ponder.

Incredibly stupid, although, to leave one of theirs behind to be coerced into a confession from the grizzled and war tried Head of Aurors. Scrimgeour had learned his lessons in strength and heavy handed tactics from his predecessor, Bartimus Crouch, Sr. And learned the lessons well, Scrimgeour had. Elliot would not be surprised if the boy was being force fed Veritaserum rather than a sentence of immediate and permanent stay in the deepest layer dungeon of Azkaban.

Nonetheless, they were clever enough to infiltrate the Great Hall (by seemingly appearing out of thin air, of course impossible in Hogwarts, yet they had no clear contingency plans to escape or to even carry out a discernable mission.

Unless of the mission was to make a point of how easy it was to bypass the Dementors that cloaked the school in an ocean cold and despair.

His many fights and quarrels with his wife echoed back at him…

"STUPEFY!"

Teague's Auror training kicked in, and he dropped to the floor and erected a shield charm. He sent a Blood Curse in the direction that the voice came from. Another Stunning Spell narrowly missed hitting him straight on, but a well timed step saved him. He caught the swish of a black cloak and the afternoon sun was reflected of a silver glint of polished metal…

Suddenly, red paint blossomed on his pant leg. The pain almost caused him a fatal mistake, and he knew he had to hide and, or Elliot Teague would not overcome this opponent.

"Come out, now… you know you can't win this!"

He ducked into the narrow space in between two supporting columns and sent a Blasting Spell hoping to at least wound if not kill his attacker.

"Glisso!"

The floor under him became slippery as it turned into ice. He managed to stay mostly upright while moving at a frightening space into the open once again. Teague chanted the beginnings of the Caterwauling Charm before a loud bang and Stinging Hex stopped his last chance of winning this duel. Teague had been an Auror a long time, and he knew that whoever he was dueling had a much greater skill, yet he or she was holding out…

A jet of green light was all Teague knew before his world went dark.

Goodbye, Elaine, we could have made it in another life.

Author's Note:

RL has been terrible lately, and please assume for future references that it will remain so for the time being. However, Chapter 13 is basically ready and Chapter 14 is planned out, too. Be ready for those, but after those, there might be a sizable break.

Once again, I apologize for the maturity level that leaps and bounds because we all know that an author matures incredible in three years.

Beta Issue: I need a beta. I really do. More to make sure that my twisted thoughts make sense because it's about to get very complicated and suspenseful. Anyone can apply as long as they are timely.

Thank you for all of you who stayed with me throughout my long breaks from fanfiction and I hope I won't lose you all!

Flame on people… Flame on

Please have constructive criticism, with your lovely reviews

Thank you for the long wait,
Random Under the Sun