"Mummy, Daddy, are they coming?"

Giselle and Sirius stared at Lyra as she sat at the dinner table with a pout on her lips. As she was growing up, she understood the concept of today was more special than the rest and she knew that her most favourite people in the world should be there to celebrate with her.

"No, honey. They can't come, I'm sorry," Giselle said and kissed Lyra's forehead. Her daughter huffed and frowned at the cake in front of her, her small breath barely making the candles flicker.

"Don't be sad, Ly," Sirius stroked his daughter's hair and tried to cheer her up, "I'll tell you what; why don't you stuff your face with this cake? It's all yours." Giselle shot Sirius a look and he shrugged.

"She's be sick if she ate it all," Giselle sighed and Sirius rolled his eyes.

"She's not going to eat it all at once, don't worry Elle. Now," he turned back to Lyra, "before you eat the cake, Mummy and I need to sing something first." Lyra giggled and bit her lip excitedly as her parents sang (or in Sirius' case, shouted) 'Happy Birthday'.

"Make a wish!" Giselle exclaimed as Lyra eventually blew out the two golden candles. The young girl squeezed her eyes tight and smiled, deciding on her wish. Sirius removed the candles from the chocolate cake and Lyra's face lit up as she shoved her whole face into the rich sponge. The chocolate toppings splattered all over the three of them.

"Merlins beard, Lyra," Giselle groaned, wiping the chocolate from her eyes while Sirius laughed, managing to capture the whole moment on a camera.

"This is definitely one for the boyfriend," He muttered, licking the chocolate form his own skin and Giselle laughed as Lyra immerged from the chocolate explosion.

"Say 'Quidditch'!" Sirius said, pointing the compact wizarding camera at Lyra who grinned at her father, attempting to say it. The camera's flash lit up the whole room but something brighter caught Giselle's eye. The flames in the fireplace that stood in the living room began to grow and change its hue. She scooped up Lyra who was drawing pictures with the gooey chocolate and took her into the hall. Sirius caught the appearance of the green flames and cleaned the sweet mess up with a flick of his wand.

"I'll go and give her a bath," Giselle muttered into his ear and he nodded, watching them disappear up the stairs and off towards the bathroom.

The scent that filled the bathroom as she washed her daughter was sickly and heavy but as soon as all the chocolate disappeared, Lyra's natural fruity perfume took over. Giselle gazed at her daughter as she poured warm water over her fluffy dark hair and she smiled when Lyra mustered a soft sigh.

"There we go, duckling. You're all nice and clean now." Her voice was gentle as she dried the small girl who beamed up at her mother.

"Let's go," She murmured as Lyra clung onto her mother's side. The pair slowly descended the stairs as Giselle was very cautious as to who had arrived this late in the day. She poked her head in between the railings and sighed, slightly relieved, when she saw Kingsley Shacklebolt and Andromeda standing in the living room with Sirius.

"What are you guys doing-," Giselle began but she trailed off when she spotted the grimaces on their faces. Putting Lyra down on the sofa with her plush toys, she walked over. Sirius snaked his arm around her waist and scowled at the pair in front of him.

"What's happened, why are you here?" She asked and Andromeda stifled a sob.

"It's my sister," She blubbered, her trembling hands trying to cover her mouth. Giselle frowned and looked towards Kingsley whose grave expression made her insides squirm.

"Kingsley, please tell us what's going on," Sirius breathed and the sheer fear in his voice sent shivers down Giselle's spine. She clung onto Sirius and stared back at them.

"It's about Frank and Alice and er…" The man was a mess. This was the first time Giselle had seen him in such a horrific state. Wiping his brow, Kingsley looked to Andromeda for help.

"Your brother and my sister got to them. I'm so sorry," Andromeda whispered and Giselle's jaw dropped.

"I'm going to kill him," Sirius snarled, his eyes darker than a thunderstorm.

"But their secret-keeper was-,"

"They changed their secret-keeper a fortnight ago to Marlene, mere hours before she was killed. They knew the risk the moment Marlene died but the Death Eaters were still trying to trace them until," Kingsley sighed and pressed his lips together, "until today. You're both in grave danger."

"Why?" Giselle asked with a voice stronger than her own. She had wanted to know this reason for months but the topic was violently shot down every single time.

"We're begging you," Sirius pleaded and his grip on Giselle tightened, "please."

Andromeda looked at Kingsley, tears rolling down her cheek, and he stared at them all. His dark expression told them he was clearly at war with himself but he battled through and decided it was right for them to know.

"Albus is going to kill me," He growled but cleared his throat and licked his cracked lips.

"You-Know-Who is after you, the Potters and the Longbottoms. Nobody is sure as to why or what he wants but he wants to kill you all. Albus has been trying to get more on the matter but nobody was to know because of the risk to all of your lives. It was essential to hide you all as You-Know-Who is only wants one thing." The three stared at him.

"One thing? What one thing?" Sirius found his voice first and it was incredibly feeble.

Kingsley didn't reply but his eyes darted to the sofa where Lyra sat, sleepily playing with her dolls. Giselle caught the look and clutched her chest as she felt her windpipe seize up.

"No… NO! Why her?!" Giselle screamed, making all in the room jump and Sirius held her tight, pressing her head to his chest to calm her down but she could hear the fast beating of his pulse. Baring his teeth, Sirius glared at the pair.

"Please tell me Dumbledore has his reasons for sending you here tonight or can I protect my family in peace?"

Andromeda sobbed and shook her head, "I'm sorry Sirius but you need to come with us-,"

"No."

"You must," Kingsley begged, "We think we have a lead on the double-agent case and we need you."

"And what if I refuse?" He raised his voice but Kingsley easily calmed him.

"Then you're putting your family in danger. You must go."

Giselle let out a shaky breath and clung onto Sirius' shirt, pulling his head down towards hers, "Go, Sirius."

Her lips brushed his stubbled cheek and landed on his mouth. Her kiss was deep and passionate but it moved something in Sirius. It was a strange feeling and it almost brought him to tears because he knew that they were right; if he wanted to protect his family, he needed to leave.

"But I don't want-,"

"There's no time for wanting anymore, Sirius. Lyra and I need you more than ever and if going after whoever the double-agent could be before they ruin anymore lives, then so be it. I know you want to stay here and guard us from the war but its okay," Giselle gazed into his eyes and kissed him once more, "I promise."

Sirius stared intently into her deep blue eyes and breathed out. She was right.

"Ok," He mumbled, grabbing his coat from the hallway and slipping it on. Lyra watched her parents from the sofa curiously because she wondered why her father was putting on his coat and why her mother had tears down her face. Biting her lip, she climbed down from the chair and rushed over, hugging her father's legs.

"Where you going?" She asked and Sirius bent down and picked her up. He slowly cradled her, whispering light things into her ear that made her giggle. He breathed his daughter in but her aromatic scent tightened his chest. He didn't want to leave his daughter on her second birthday.

"I love you," He murmured and Lyra pecked his cheek.

"I love you too." His lips pulled up into a crooked smile as he gave Lyra to Giselle.

"Don't be too late," She said and he nodded, steadily placing a kiss against his wife's forehead.

"I won't be."

"Promise?" Sirius nodded.

"I promise."

"Happy birthday, Lyra," Kingsley Shacklebolt said gently to Lyra and she smiled, cocking her head to one side.

"Merlin, you look just like your parents," Andromeda added but she had to stay silent as she knew she would start blubbering again. Giselle wished them a safe journey and took Lyra into the kitchen.

"What do you wanna do, duckling?" She asked her daughter and Lyra shrugged, biting her lip. She sat in her mother's lap and played with the treasured pendant around Giselle's neck, secretly wishing that her father would come back.

"We could play with your dolls or-," Giselle was cut off by Lyra who jumped up, her eyes fixated on the far window that faced the front garden. Frowning, Giselle stroked Lyra's hair and looked towards at the window. Nothing was there.

"Mummy, what was that?" Lyra asked with her voice low and wavering.

"That? I didn't hear anything," Giselle replied but there it was again. The hum was quiet and calm but the crack could have been heard from miles away. Giselle froze and tightened her arms around Lyra when it suddenly hit her. She knew exactly what that sound was.

The Fidelius Charm had failed.

Sirius was going to return at any moment, she knew he would. Once he arrived, they were going to go to the safe house and meet the Potters there. That was the plan - the only plan they had. Her heart was thrashing about inside her ribcage, she was surprised it hadn't escaped.

The footsteps of two were silent but the third were stumbled, the terror alive in each step as the third in the party was desperate to run. The girl didn't want to be there, she was terrified for whoever hid inside this strange cottage whether it was beast or man.

"Lyra, listen to Mummy, ok? Do what I tell you to, promise?" Giselle muttered quickly, scooping her daughter up into her arms and Lyra nodded with her eyes wide in fright. Her hands were shaking as she hooked them around Giselle's neck. She ran from the room and headed for the stairs but the blast was phenomenal.

The front door was on its hinges, glass and wood splattered on the floor. Lyra screamed, her head buried in her mother's neck and Giselle fell down the stairs from the explosions force. She cursed under her breath and shielded her daughter from the newcomers' sight. She dared to look them in the face, she wanted to show them that she wasn't afraid – but the familiar face that stared back caught her off guard.

"Bartemius, see to your sister," Lord Voldemort ordered, his bare feet gladly crushing the shards of glass as if they were blunt and useless. Giselle held her daughter to her chest but struggled to draw her wand. Bartemius marched over and disarmed her lazily. His smile sent chills up her spine and a single tear threatened to fall.

"No, Barty, please-," She began to yell but Barty growled and ripped the mother and daughter apart. Lyra screamed and struggled to reach for her mother, like a lion cub reaching helplessly for its mother, but thick ropes appeared and bound Giselle's limbs together. She cried and swore at her brother, pleading for him to let them go.

"We're family, Barty! She's your fucking niece, don't do this!" She shrieked but Bartemius stopped and turned to his sister with Lyra still battling against his strong arms.

"I don't have a sister… Not since I joined the Death Eaters." The words were razors, puncturing her lungs as he twisted the words she had used on him. She felt dead inside.

He carried the struggling child to Lord Voldemort who stood in the kitchen doorway, hissing at his female companion.

The girl beside the Dark Lord began to cry at the realisation of the circumstances. These people were no beasts or murderers; they were a family who was being ripped at the seams like a ragged old book. She felt compelled to help the woman and her young daughter but her hands were literally tied. Her wand lay abandoned at her home in the north but the force inside knew what to do.

"No! Use me, kill me instead! Please spare my daughter," Giselle cried, belligerent to move to Lyra who was sobbing in Voldemort's arms. He seemed disgusted at the sight of the child but his crimson eyes told a different tale. He placed her on the empty kitchen table and bound her with thick rope, the sort that burned the skin with the slightest movements.

The companion caught the young woman's eyes and winced. The spark was imminent and bright but it certainly did not go unnoticed. The fire burnt through Giselle's ropes and she was set free. Her chest was heaving as she leapt over to the kitchen but Barty caught her legs and the siblings came crashing to the floor.

"NO!" He shouted in her ear, his hands trembling but strong as they found her neck. Giselle whined and kicked him square in the chest, the air hitting his lungs hard and making his world spin. She wanted to grab her daughter but Voldemort was definite.

"I brought you for a reason, Crouch," He jeered, scolding the boy, "now keep her away. Elenora," The stranger groaned and struggled against his dominance, "it is time."

"Mummy!" Lyra screamed when she watched her mother battle the strange man, magic and muggle violence combined in a vicious attack. She wanted her mother to hold her close in her arms and whisper softly into her ear. But the blood was scaring her, the screams were too loud and the light was blinding. She cried for her father, tears and sweat mingling as she struggled for freedom but a cold slap from the tall man above her silenced her.

Voldemort couldn't stand crying children; it drove him insane at the orphanage years ago. He had a skill at silencing them but it was a rarity for him to use it. He wanted this to be quick and still but Giselle Black was making it very challenging. The female groaned and fought the ties but he slammed her down beside Lyra. He commanded for the ropes to disintegrate and dissolve with the air but he made sure her tongue was immobile. Elenora looked at the pureblood child and held her hand for comfort, but Lord Voldemort scowled and shook his head clearly sickened at the affection. He had a job to do and the time had come.

A sting from his wand made the woman's hand retract in pain. Their contact was gone but their sides barely touched. Voldemort wasn't sure whether the sacrifices needed contact but it didn't matter to him.

"Stop fighting, Giselle, you will lose!" Barty screamed and slapped Giselle across the cheek, the strike drawing more blood. She winced and punched him straight in the nose.

"Once Sirius returns-,"

"He's dead!" He lied, hoping it would shut his sister up, "It's too late, 'Elle! You've all lost and the Dark Lord has won! Surrender now and survive with us or deny him and die. Please," He grabbed her face harshly and gritted his teeth. Giselle had to blink away the blood to see his dark stare.

"Join us and he'll let you live," He murmured. The look she gave him could have curdled milk but it was enough to send him a clear message. He tightened his grip and forced her up off of the floor and onto her knees. Giselle felt his nails dig deep into her face and she was scared to examine the scene around her.

It wasn't clear what Lord Voldemort was doing but his intentions were proof enough.

"Please," The girl called Elenora screamed, "Please Tom... For the sake of Isabella!" The name had an immediate reaction and Voldemort roared. The light in front of him imploded and the life from her body dripped like the blood all around them. A luminescent power seeped from the corpse's chest and it floated above her, a ball of pure power. Giselle was drawn to it, her eyes wide and deeply intrigued and Voldemort's thin lips pulled up into a smile though his eyes were ample.

The woman wasn't dead. Her eyes were open and glassy but her chest moved up and down in a shallow rhythm. Voldemort stared incredulous at the sacrifice, knowledge and logic lost on him completely for she should be dead but he needed to focus. The ball edged towards Lyra and suddenly exploded above her.

The young girl screwed her face up and let out an inhuman scream, something only the ears of Death could comprehend and it seemed to please Lord Voldemort immensely. Giselle grew weak at the sound yet she threw her mesmerised brother off of her and stood up, reaching for her daughter but her body was thrown back when Voldemort flicked his wand.

"No!" He bellowed and Barty caught her for the last time, his newly found wand pressed hard at her temple. She wrinkled her nose and let her tears fall, praying in silence for Sirius to arrive with the Order.

"Please, kill me and spare Lyra! She means you no harm, just let my daughter live," She begged and Lord Voldemort glanced the youngest Black who seemed too weak to even open her own eyes. Her skin was aglow and it petrified Giselle.

"What have you done to her?! Please, give me my daughter and take me instead!" She pleaded but Lord Voldemort scowled and walked over to the kneeling woman. His blood-stained emaciated hand grabbed her and pulled her to her feet. He forced her to face her daughter and her brother. Barty watched carefully with his lower lip bitten.

"Giselle Black, you have a choice. You can either join me and your brother, fight for the side that is right and just," His sharp hand turned her face to the shell of the mysterious girl lying on the table, her sea green eyes wide and glassy, "or you can join her and die a coward. Death is impatient, Giselle." His voice chilled her very core and she squeezed her eyes shut, the tears clearing her vision.

"I will never join you – I'd rather die than betray the Order and my family. Please, spare my daughter and kill me instead."

Lord Voldemort tutted and dropped her face. Instead, his fingers found her neck and he held it tight, her whole spine rigid in fear. His yew wand found a particularly precious pressure point that held her still.

"Such a shame," He breathed and caught Barty's eye.

"Look at your sister. I want you to see the light leave her eyes," He murmured and Barty barely nodded, his eyes slowly catching hers. It was worse than a stab in Giselle's heart, the way that he didn't care for her.

"Any last words, Black?" He asked with his voice cold and jagged. Giselle held her head high and stared Death in the eye.

She knew she had to be strong but it was difficult. The knowledge of the inevitable was something no human being could accept with but only the brave could face Death with a welcoming hug. True, she was absolutely terrified at the thought of the blackness of demise but it would feel like boiling water on her skin. Painful at first but the soothing and weightlessness would follow... It would always follow.

Giselle took a deep breath and thanked Death.

"I hope you rot in hell," She whispered and Lord Voldemort's cackle was as sharp as a thousand knives.

"Pity…Avada Kedavra!"

Giselle was wrong. Death was peaceful and calm – like falling asleep.

Over!

I wanna thank all my faves (new: swanrage, Brendap245), followers (new: Brendap245) and reviewers! I would absolutely love to hear what you thought of this chapter and/or the whole story as your feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thanks again for reading (God I love this story, its like my baby) and the sequel to this will be posted very soon, keep an eye out for it. Its called 'Alohomora'.

Thank you!