This has taken a long time, but I'm updating again. To all the people who like it, I hope you enjoy what I'm going to do with this. For those who don't, you are entitled to your opinion, but if you have a specific version of how a story like this should be, then why don't you write the story the way you want it to be? Thanks so much to everyone who sent me wonderful reviews, and I hope I don't disappoint. Any mistakes, I apologise for, and any plot holes too, I should have written my ideas for the next few chapters down and am writing from memory.

The afternoon sun glared over the village of Hogsmeade, brilliant beams of light shining down on the faces of the young students milling around, laughing and joking with their friends over a Butterbeer to ward off the sharp chill in the air, or wandering down to the Shrieking Shack, contemplating the horrors that occurred to warrant the name for the building. However, amongst the happy crowd were four youngsters who were not overcome with the joy of leaving the school grounds for a day. They were focused on more important things. One pair, a brunette Ravenclaw and a blonde Hufflepuff, walked on ahead, unaware of the second pair following them at a distance. The latter, a silvery haired Gryffindor and a tall red-head of the same house, were ducking in and out of the crowds, wearing casual clothes like the rest of their classmates with long coats and boots to ward off the cold. Sansa Stark kept her eyes glued to Margaery's back, avoiding looking at their clasped hands and focused on keeping them in sight. Dany walked beside her, a perplexed look crossing her pale features.

"While stalking your mortal enemy and your… whatever she is to you now…" started Dany, shoving her hands in her pockets and watching as her breath fogged up in front of her. "…Is perfectly logical, if a little creepy – I mean I get it. You're pissed off, you hate him and everything, but why exactly are we drawing this out? Why not go up to him and yell at him or something, rather than sneaking around?"

"Because I'm not jealous," replied Sansa, continuing to glare at Joffrey over the heads of their fellow students wishing she had enough magic to explode it from here with her mind. "I'm angry."

"There's something you aren't telling me," said Dany, looking up at Sansa. Still, the Stark girl said nothing. "Look, if you're dragging me along, then I want to know what's happening." Dany pushed herself up onto her tiptoes, peering over a group of people in front of her, watching as Joffrey and Margaery retreated down the road leading out of Hogsmeade towards a hill. Suddenly, Sansa stopped, grabbing Dany's forearms and spinning her so they were facing each other.

"I'm not telling you everything. I'm sorry," she said, her blue eyes sparkling earnestly. "But I don't know what I'm about to get involved in, and it's not fair if you're dragged along too."

"You're scaring me now, Sansa. What's going on?" asked Dany, frowning. Sansa tilted her head down, staring at the ground before looking up again, her features pulled into an anxious expression.

"I'm going to follow Joffrey and Margaery. The truth is that Margaery doesn't really like Joffrey at all. She despises him, but she's just using him to get revenge for what his family did to her father." Dany's eyebrows slowly rose as Sansa continued speaking. "But she's being really stupid about it. She told me last night that she had convinced Joffrey to show her where Cersei keeps disappearing to. Joffrey had been taken there once before, and he said she was keeping something there. Margaery convinced him to go and have a look. But she's all alone, and if Cersei's going to be there, then they could do anything to her."

Dany blinked a few times, trying to process this information.

"But," Sansa continued, quicker this time. "She told me to stay here, but I can't. So I need you to tell someone what's happening if we're not back by nightfall, okay?"

"Wait, Sansa! What the hell?" asked Dany, shaking her head and knocking Sansa's hands away. "You're really just going after her, all alone? You think you can tell me that and expect me not to come with?"

"You can't! What if you get hurt?" protested Sansa, a plea in her voice.

"What if you get hurt?" retorted Dany, folding her arms. "I'm coming with," she said adamantly. Sansa cast her gaze to the path that led out of Hogsmeade. Margaery and Joffrey were nearly out of sight by now.

"Fine," she said through gritted teeth. "Let's hurry."

Dodging through the crowds, Dany weaving a path while Sansa shoved past people, knocking shoulders and not bothering to throw an apology over her shoulder, they broke into a sprint as soon as they were clear, no longer afraid of being seen at the risk of losing the two, who were already nearing a large cave. Panting as they began to ascend at full sprint, their legs burning, their lungs screaming, they carried on regardless as Margaery and Joffrey entered the cave.

"Down!" hissed Sansa, hurling herself off of the path behind a large cluster of rocks, Dany right behind her as Joffrey turned to check if they were being followed. Poking her head over the top of the rocks, she saw that Joffrey was satisfied and entered the cave, Margaery at his heels, her sweet smile plastered on her face, her hand clenched by her side.

"Almost there," gasped Sansa as the climb steepened. Each footfall dislodged rocks and stones from the path, sending them tumbling down the road. Dany nodded, keeping pace with Sansa despite her smaller stature. Finally, they arrived in the cave, pausing only to draw their wands before running in. As she ducked inside, Sansa realised she didn't really know what to expect. She had rushed into this situation completely blind. It was beyond stupid. But she had a bad feeling about this whole situation. Margaery was playing with fire. She was smart, sure, but Cersei was ruthless.

Sansa emerged into the cave, Dany by her side as they heard a strangled cry that was quickly silenced, the remnants of the sound bouncing back off of the walls, mingling with their heavy, desperate footsteps. It was dark, the light of day unwilling to uncover whatever acts would be carried out in this dull place. Lighting her wand, Sansa's eyebrows shot up in surprise.

"Sansa?" gasped Margaery in equal disbelief, which quickly turned to anger. "What are you doing here?" she hissed. "I told you to stay away!" At Margaery's feet lay Joffrey, limp and unmoving with his eyes closed, lying sprawled on his back.

"You think I'd let you do whatever this is by yourself?" asked Sansa, ignoring the Hufflepuff for the moment.

"Not to interrupt, but is he dead?" interjected Dany, her wand also lit as she stared at Joffrey's body with a mixture of amusement and shock on her face.

"Don't be ridiculous," replied Margaery, rolling her eyes. "He's unconscious." She twirled her wand in her fingers, her gaze shifting from Sansa to Dany. "You should go. Now."

"I'm not leaving," said Sansa immediately.

"Me neither," added Dany.

"For the love of God!" cried Margaery. "Fine. I don't' have time to argue. Help me find the Portkey," she said quickly, lighting her own wand and rummaging around in the cave, overturning stones and looking in small cracks in the walls.

"What?" asked Sansa while Dany shrugged and turned, examining the wall behind them. The cave was about three by three metres, in a ragged circle hewn from the rock.

Margaery continued looking, clawing deeper into the tiny cracks in the rock. "The Portkey. Cersei crossed a line. She has my brother. I know it. That's where she keeps disappearing off to. Joffrey let it slip that there was a Portkey – boy can't hold his alcohol too well."

"What does it look like?" asked Dany from the other side of the cave.

"He said it was a bracelet that Cersei's mother gave her. It has a bronze snake twisted around it," replied Margaery, sounding glad one of intruders was making themselves useful. "The Portkey will be active in four minutes and twelve seconds exactly."

"Margaery, this isn't a good idea…" warned Sansa.

"It's my brother, Sansa," growled Margaery. "I need to look, at least. What if it was your brother? Or sister? Or Dany?" asked Margaery, before a pause. "If it were me?"

Sansa ran a hand through her hair, mulling it over. "Fine," she sighed, choosing a section of wall and beginning her search. The rock was cool beneath her fingers as she crouched down, her knee brushing the wall. A chill crept from the wall through her jeans and onto her skin. Running her hand over the floor, she turned over a loose rock, finding nothing but a spider. Minutes ticked by as the shuffling and scrabbling sounds echoing around the cave became more urgent. Finally, they struck gold.

"Found it!" exclaimed Dany, holding up a small metal object glinting in the light of their wands.

"Thank you!" cried Margaery, rushing over and grabbing the bracelet, holding it up so the light emanating from the wand tucked behind her ear would chase away the shadows obscuring the design. Sansa and Dany leaned in closer, breathing in the stale, damp smell of the cave. The bracelet look old and a little tarnished, but the pattern, the scales on the snake's back and the detail in its face was still clear.

"So what now? Where does it take us?" asked Sansa, looking down at Margaery. The Ravenclaw met her gaze, an apprehensive yet determined look crossing her face.

"I'm not sure. But I doubt we'll be greeted like old friends. I want you to leave. Both of you," she added, glancing at Dany.

"Not a chance," replied Dany confidently.

"Same," confirmed Sansa. "You can't go alone."

"I'm not happy about this," grumbled Margaery, but knew she wasn't going to win. "Don't get yourselves hurt," she said as she checked the time. "Twenty seconds."

"What if your brother isn't there?" asked Sansa quietly.

"Then at least I'll have closure," replied Margaery. Sansa reached out, brushing her fingers against Margaery's arm.

"Is it worth all of this?"

"Yes. Ten seconds." Margaery held out the bracelet. "You can still turn back," she said, looking from Sansa to Dany. Dany immediately placed her finger on the object. Almost too quickly, Sansa thought, before shaking her head. This was it. Leaping into the unknown. She looked up at Margaery, who was staring at her, before she felt the jolt of the Portkey coming to life, like a hook around her stomach and yanked her away.