Chapter 60 - Chapter 60: Holding onto Pronglet:6

"We need a moment of your time."

Both Lucius and Nott looked at Sirius expectantly.

Sirius swallowed the urge to say something mean to them in response, and reminded himself it was Christmas and the season of goodwill. He glanced around the room where everyone else was pulling on outerwear in anticipation of heading out into the snow covered grounds. After Harry had spilled the beans about his new broomstick, the Weasleys had suggested an impromptu game of Quidditch and Sirius had agreed. It would be good to get out in the fresh air.

He signalled to Remus to take the crowd out. He motioned at the study door and went towards it without checking that the other two men were following. He wandered over to stand in front of the window as Lucius closed the door behind him.

"Wilkes contacted me just before I left to travel here this morning." Nott said. "Last night, there was an alarm triggered on one of his properties."

Sirius turned around with a frown. "And I would be interested in this because?"

"He had his elf check out the disturbance this morning. The property is in the North of England and unoccupied. There has been the occasional wildlife in the past that has triggered the alarm." Nott continued as though Sirius hadn't spoken. "The elf reported that it wasn't wildlife but four men."

Sirius straightened, his heart stuttering and then pounding in his chest. Had they found Voldemort and his cronies?

Nott held up a hand. "The elf recognised Crouch from his wanted poster and the other three as former associates of Wilkes; Oliver Mulciber Junior, Augustus Rookwood and Dennis Travers Senior."

"That's impossible," Sirius murmured, momentarily shocked, "they're all in Azkaban."

"Yes. Wilkes was surprised too." Nott said dryly. "Clearly, either they are still in Azkaban and someone is impersonating them, or a breakout has been affected."

"But you think the latter?" questioned Sirius intently.

"While Crouch used Polyjuice to impersonate his father, he had fresh hair samples. It is unlikely he had hair samples for those three individuals." Lucius said matter-of-factly.

"I believe the breakout is at Tom's behest." Nott said quietly. "If the rumours are true and he has tasked Fenrir to kill your steward before he can take his place beside Tom again, and with Crouch and Pettigrew focused on the tournament and your son, he needs another group of followers to help him. There is a rumour of something planned for this evening."

"He may view those who went to Azkaban as loyal and dedicated compared to those of us who escaped imprisonment." Lucius confirmed.

"They present less of a risk." Nott added. "They have nothing to lose in rejoining him unlike those of us who have maintained or grown our social, financial and political power in the years since."

It made too much sense.

"Where is this place that they're hiding?" Sirius asked.

Lucius brushed a piece of lint from his clothing. "The property was formally owned by the Mulcibers. Senior sold it to Wilkes just before he died and the Dark Lord was…injured in 'eighty-one. It's entirely possible that Junior doesn't know it's now owned by Wilkes."

"Very interesting. Where is it?" Sirius pressed.

"Unplottable." Nott replied. "I'm unaware of the exact location."

"I believe it's near Newcastle but I am in the same position as Benjamin; I don't know the exact location." Lucius lifted a hand from his cane. "Mulciber Senior offered it to me first and I turned him down as I had and have no interest in owning a property that far North."

"Wilkes is the only person with that knowledge." Nott said. "If he was to have the Aurors visit him and inform him of a rumour of a possible trespassing on the site, I'm sure he'd confirm the location for them to check it out."

Bloody Slytherins, Sirius bitched inwardly; they were always thinking of covering their own arses. And he was doubly annoyed as they could have told him before the lunch had begun.

"I'll be sure to pass that onto Amelia." Sirius said dryly. "I'm guessing Wilkes didn't report it because he doesn't want to tip his hand on his own position?"

Nott raised an eyebrow and neither man spoke but their silence spoke volumes.

Sirius sighed. "Any other rumours that we need to know about?"

"Not a rumour but a fact." Lucius said. "Severus Snape has been spending a lot of time with his old friend, Avery, lately."

Sirius harrumphed. He knew Snape had been spending time with Avery. Avery was an idiot and a wonderful stooge for Snape to inform the Death Eaters that he'd been in touch with Crouch and through Crouch, the Dark Lord. They'd all agreed that Snape trying to pass that information through Lucius as he had done in the past wouldn't work; Snape trusting Lucius when he under the House of Black primacy was impossible if Snape was truly to look like he was on the side of the Dark Lord.

"Snape informed Avery that he'd actually met with Crouch." Nott continued. His eyes were sharp as they met Sirius's guarded gaze. "You may think you know differently, but Snape spied on Dumbledore and spied for him at the behest of the Dark Lord. Whatever you believe of Snape's loyalties, you would be wise to watch your back."

"I can assure you that I don't trust Snape." Sirius said easily. He trusted that Snape wanted the Dark Lord dead; that he would protect Harry in that goal. But did he really trust him to save Sirius's life or not place it in danger? No, not really. Their truce was a thing of fragility and newness.

"Wise." Lucius said shortly.

Sirius glanced out of the window. "Unless there's something more, we should join the others. Tell them I'll be out shortly. I have to call Amelia."

"Nothing more." Nott confirmed. "And you're right; we should see who is winning the Quidditch match, although if they actually manage to get Theodore on a broomstick I'll give a galleon to whoever persuaded him."

Sirius ushered them out of the study and picked up the Ministry issued communications mirror Amelia had given him for emergencies. "Black to Bones."

The mirror suddenly flared and Amelia's head appeared. "Sirius?"

Sirius cleared his throat. "There's a possible Azkaban prison break from Azkaban involving Travers, Mulciber and Rookwood."

"What?" Amelia asked sharply.

"Wilkes had an alarm triggered on a property that was once owned by Mulciber last night. His elf identified all three plus Crouch. My sources say they don't know where the property is just somewhere North near Newcastle. Since it's unlikely that the advanced Polyjuice would work without current hair samples, and that Voldemort may have believed that he needed extra hands for whatever he has planned next, and may feel the Azkaban lot are the most loyal or least risky to trust…"

"Bugger." Amelia snapped. "Well, there goes the rest of my day. I'll have to go to Azkaban and verify myself before I can confirm."

"Figured." Sirius said. "It was suggested Wilkes might give up the location if the Aurors were to visit and say there was a rumour of a trespassing making the rounds."

"I'll send Rufus." Amelia promised. "Bugger." She said again before her gaze narrowed on him. "Has Snape received the present from Crouch yet?"

"Not as far as I know but it sounds like Crouch has had a busy time." Sirius said dryly. "If I were him, I'd leave it to the last minute and make it difficult for anyone to plan anything to counter."

Amelia stared at him through the mirror. "Take care of yourself, Sirius. I'll call if I have news from Azkaban."

The mirror blanked out and Sirius picked up the mirror, made it smaller and tucked it into his jeans' pocket. He hurried into his warm woollen coat and leather gloves, and headed out to join the others.

There was quite a crowd by the time he got to the stands. He took the stairs two at a time and squeezed down the seats to a seat next to Remus and Minerva. Albus stood on the other side of her, beaming with benevolent happiness at the sight of so many students either playing or watching.

Sirius pointed out at where a line of students waiting on broomsticks hovered, waiting for their turn. Hooch was in the centre of the pitch and as she blew her whistle, one Chaser on either side veered off from the game to join the end of the line while two of the students at the front moved to join their teams.

"What's going on?" He asked.

"Tag Quidditch." Minerva replied enthusiastically. "We had so many students wanting to join the pick-up game that the Weasleys suggested it instead. Two teams; team one plays for the North hoops, team two for the South. If you're the first in line you're playing for team one, second for team two – regardless of which team you were in when you started. When the whistle blows, one team member from each team has to leave. Regardless of your position preference, when you join the team, you play the position just vacated unless another member of the team switches with you. It's very exciting. The Seekers are the only players allowed to remain in the game without a changeover. Harry and Draco are the Seekers; team one and two respectively."

Sirius scanned the sky for Harry and found him circling the North hoops.

"He does look good on that new broomstick, Sirius." Albus commented.

"It is a shame he won't be able to play until next year." Minerva murmured.

Albus chuckled. "I'm sure Miss Weasley will do marvellously." He glanced over at Sirius. "Everything alright, my dear boy? Remus said you'd been delayed." His twinkling eyes darted to Lucius and Nott further along the row at the end.

Remus and Minerva looked at him expectantly too.

"I'll tell you after the game." Sirius promised.

He felt a chill on the back of his neck and shivered. It was cold out. He stomped his feet and rubbed his gloved hands together.

"Oh for…" Remus cast a warming charm on him.

"I guess Nott managed to keep his galleon." Sirius said dryly, nodding towards where Theo and Hermione had settled, her parents watching enthralled at the broomstick acrobats. Theo was chatting happily away with Hermione's Dad. Actually meeting muggles had intrigued the Slytherin into intelligence gathering and Sirius knew that Theo was undergoing something of a mind shift. It was what was needed throughout the wizarding world, Sirius mused. He'd have to talk with Cornelius and Arthur about that.

Arthur stood chatting away to Ted, arms waving excitedly about whatever the subject was. The only two Weasley boys on the ground, Bill and Percy were chatting with Sian, and Sirius was glad that someone was keeping her occupied. Percy had remained quiet through the day, almost shy with his family as he slowly repaired the damage between him and his siblings. His relationship with Arthur seemed closer and Sirius was glad to see they'd made progress.

Sirius's lips twitched at the sight of Molly huddled together with Augusta, Andromeda, Hermione's mother and Narcissa. A snatch of conversation drifted over to him and he suddenly understood how they'd found common ground; they were discussing Narcissa's pregnancy.

Remus met his eyes in perfect understanding. They both gave a delicate male shudder at the topic of water retention and decided they were best ignoring the group.

Merlin, Sirius thought as he felt another chill run through him, it was freezing even with the warming charm.

Minerva suddenly grabbed his arm. "Look!"

And Harry was diving. He shot forward on his Flaming Arrow, gracefully diving to the ground. Draco followed but everyone could see it was too late; Harry was going too fast for Draco to catch him up. The Snitch was Harry's and he grabbed it inches from the ground, lying flat on the broom to make the catch. He flew upwards as everyone but team two cheered.

Albus clapped enthusiastically. "Oh, wonderful game!"

Sirius cheered and whistled some more but he was glad when they started to make their way down the stands to the ground. He arranged to meet with Albus in his office and went to collect his son who was surrounded by a group of teenagers all cooing appreciatively over the broomstick.

Harry disengaged himself as soon as he spotted Sirius and greeted him with a wide smile. "It's fantastic!"

"Bloody brilliant!" Ron agreed cheerfully.

"Glad you like it, Pronglet." Sirius ruffled his hair, and Harry dodged him to nod a greeting at Hermione who slid her hand into Harry's while ostensibly ignoring her smirking parents behind her. "Well, I don't know about you all but I think getting inside out of this cold is a good idea."

Harry frowned. "It is chilly."

Hermione shrugged. "I'm fine but I just saw Lavender and she said most of the girls are heading in to start getting ready now so I should go too I think."

"Yeah, Susan and Hannah have left to get ready." Neville commented.

There was a flurry of goodbyes and a promise to meet up with her parents for photos later once Harry had collected her from the tower.

Ron watched Hermione leave with a frown. "I don't get it! I mean, the Ball isn't for another three hours! Why are the girls all getting ready now?"

Sirius patted Ron's shoulder comfortingly. "We are men, Ron. The mysteries of womankind are not for us to know."

"And don't you forget it, Sirius!" Andromeda said laughing.

Molly poked Ron in the ribs. "I can explain why the girls need more time to you in great detail if you'd really like to know, Ronald." Her face was lit up with a mischievous smirk so like the twins that Sirius almost did a double take.

Arthur was grinning at his wife, love shining out of his fond gaze at her teasing their son. "She would and all!" He commented.

Ron's face was a picture of horrified terror. "No, that's OK, Mum! Really!"

They were all laughing as they entered the castle and Sirius attempted to forget the possible prison break-out and the potential attack later that day as he focused on soaking up the feeling of family and contentment.

It was so different to the previous year when he'd spent the day skulking about the edges of the Forbidden Forest, avoiding the Dementors and trying to catch any kind of a glimpse of Harry, for a second Sirius couldn't catch his breath.

Harry nudged him, a questioning look of worry in his eyes and Sirius shook away the bad memory and smiled at him. He slung an arm around Harry and hugged him as they walked.

o-O-o

The new dress robes looked good. They reminded Harry of the morning dress suits that he'd seen some men wear for weddings and in old Fred Astaire movies that his Aunt had watched in the afternoon sometimes; tailored in the body before flaring from the waist into tails at the back. His robes were a deep emerald, tightly buttoned over a matching stiff dress shirt; they were almost black with their only embellishment the embroidered crests of his Houses on his upper right arm. Harry wore a matching cumber band teamed with tailored black dragon hide trousers. New dress shoes, polished black leather, completed the outfit.

Harry looked at himself critically in the mirror, noting that his hair was fashionably ruffled. His spectacles were the same gold that Hermione's jewellery was made from and would match. He smoothed a hand over his chin, noting the absence of bristles and stubble. Sirius had taught him the charm for shaving in the Summer but Harry hadn't needed it back then unlike most of his dorm mates. It seemed like his body had started to catch-up with the others though, and he had made the decision to get rid of the barely there facial hair when he'd started getting ready for the Ball.

He checked his appearance one last time and did a quick tempus charm. He was picking Hermione up early and bringing her back to the rooms for the photos her parents wanted to take. Ron, Draco, Neville and Theo were similarly bringing their dates.

He had time though so he took a deep breath and checked on the corsage that Neville had helped him put together. It was a wrist band of white carnations set onto a deep emerald green band. He had no idea of the colour of her dress but he knew she knew what colour he was wearing and Andromeda had hinted they would be coordinated.

A soft rap on the open bedroom door had Harry glancing towards it.

Sirius smiled at him. "You look good."

His father looked good too; dressed all in black, he looked dangerous and deadly. Sirius was ostensibly escorting Minerva although Harry knew he was a way for Sirius to be close in case there was an attack directed at Harry.

"Thanks." Harry felt a rush of nerves at the thought of the actual Ball. As many times as he'd rehearsed his dance with Hermione he was still anxious about it.

And about what could happen while he was dancing…

"You're going to be really careful, aren't you?" Harry blurted out. "About going off with Snape?"

Sirius walked into the room and placed his hands on Harry's shoulders, meeting his eyes firmly. "I will be very careful. You just try to enjoy the Ball and remember; your job is to keep an eye on your baby ravens, OK?"

Harry rolled his eyes at the nickname Sirius had coined for the Heirs of the Potter alliance and his other friends – any of the students who could feasibly be targeted by Crouch. He suspected Sirius had given him the task of watching over them as a way of keeping him from away from whatever was going to down with Crouch through Snape.

In some ways, he was relieved to be kept out of it. He knew Sirius had agreed a kind of truce with Snape but Harry didn't trust him and never would. If the mind healing had helped him understand and come to terms with the Dursleys abuse of him, it had also helped him understand that Snape hadn't been all that much better in how he'd treated Harry. He recognised that Snape had been much more civilised towards him since the start of the year but it didn't change Harry's distrust of him.

"I'm not sure it's worth putting yourself at risk." Harry said out loud.

"No, you're not sure Snape is worth putting myself at risk for." Sirius countered, his hands squeezing Harry's shoulders gently. "Spying is hard, Harry. It's hard and it's dangerous and it's necessary if we're going to be able to anticipate Voldemort's end game. Snape…" he sighed, "as much as I dislike him, he's invaluable to us as a spy, and as a spy, our spy, he deserves a measure of protection and support for the risk he's taking which means we do our best to make sure his cover isn't blown until it absolutely has to be blown."

Harry flushed a little at Sirius's words but they were simply an explanation, lacking the note of chastisement that Harry felt should have been there – because Sirius was right. Snape was taking a big risk with the spying and they should be supportive. And if Harry was supportive of Draco and Theo who were in a similarly risky place – supporting Harry from within the heart of Slytherin – then he would be supportive of Snape.

"You're going along with him to protect him as much as to protect his cover, aren't you?" Harry mused out loud.

Sirius looked at him with amusement. "I was a Hit Wizard once upon a time. Some of the instincts don't go away." He admitted ruefully.

And the Grim animagus form would reinforce Sirius's protective instincts, Harry considered with a nod of understanding.

"Moody and Remus are backing you up, right?" Harry asked, not for the first time.

"And half of the Auror department who are patrolling." Sirius said firmly.

Harry nodded again. "Has Amelia been in touch again? Wasn't the Rat Squad going to check out the hideaway?"

"She has been in touch but unfortunately to confirm Travers, Rookwood and Mulciber are in the wind." Sirius sighed. "The Rat Squad verified that the property looked like it had some squatters overnight but was empty again. I figure one of them, probably Mulciber, realised the wards didn't respond to him anymore."

"I can't believe that they broke out of Azkaban so easily!" Harry commented. Crouch had impersonated the Minister to get them released into his custody and the Azkaban warden hadn't checked his identity. Amelia had apparently fired him on the spot.

"Frankly, I'm more worried about the five missing Dementors that went with him to ostensibly guard the prisoners." Sirius commented.

Harry grimaced. "Yeah."

"Look," Sirius said, "go and have a good time. We're as prepared as we can be. I have more tracking charms on me than a three year old and good people backing me up if Crouch does stage a confrontation."

Harry's throat closed up as words crowded at the back, eager to be spoken and yet he didn't want to speak them because he knew Sirius couldn't promise not to die…

"Hey, hey." Sirius waited until Harry met his gaze again. "He won't kill me, Harry." He said with quiet authority. "He hates me. I killed his lover and he wants revenge. A quick death won't give him the satisfaction of hurting me. It's more likely that he's going to try to capture me and I'm going to do everything I can to deny him getting his hands on me; alright?"

Harry reached forward and hugged him. "Just…you have to promise to be really, really, really careful and don't go haring off or anything."

"Careful will be my new middle name," Sirius said, hugging him back tightly, "I promise. Now you'd better get going or Hermione will think you're standing her up."

Alarmed, Harry shifted to perform another tempus charm. Sirius was right; it was almost time to leave but he still had plenty of time and he breathed out with relief.

Sirius went to ruffle Harry's hair and stopped at Harry's glare. "No ruffling?"

"Do you know how long it took me to get it like this?" asked Harry as he picked up the corsage and they made their way downstairs.

"I really don't want to." Sirius joked.

"Oh my!" Molly clasped her hands to her chest. "You do look very handsome, Harry!"

Miriam Granger beamed at him. "Oh I can't wait until you and Hermione are both here. It's going to make a wonderful photo!"

Harry smiled at her. "I'm going to get her now."

The walk to the Fat Lady seemed unusually long.

The Gryffindor portrait took one look at him and sighed. "Do you know the trouble this is causing me? Young men of all houses just turning up with the password? And where did they get it? Hmmmm?"

"Professor McGonagall gave it to me?" offered Harry nervously.

"A likely story." The Fat Lady harrumphed. "Well? What is it?"

"Ladybugs." Harry answered promptly.

The portrait swung open.

Harry hurried inside to find a group of guys already waiting in the Common Room staring at the girls' staircase, an anxious looking Michael Corner included. He was stood beside Anthony Goldstein who waved Harry over.

"Hey, Harry." Michael was holding a corsage of pink carnations and Harry couldn't help but think that they were going to clash with Ginny's Weasley hair despite the message of friendship in the flowers.

"Hey." Harry greeted him and nodded at Anthony. He took out his wand and conjured his patronus, causing a few of the boys to hustle backwards as the patronus stampeded out of the wand and into the room. "Go to Hermione and let her know I'm here, Prongs, please."

The patronus went off to carry Harry's message and he found himself the centre of attention. He went red but smiled sheepishly.

"I don't suppose you can resend your stag to get Gladys Kidd for me?" Anthony Goldstein grinned at him.

Gladys Kidd was in Ginny's year but she and Ginny had never been close. Harry grinned at Anthony. "If he comes back before she comes down, I'll send him." He promised.

His heart sank a little as he saw calculated eagerness start to enter the rest of the guys' faces but luckily their attention was arrested by footsteps on the staircases.

Ginny appeared first.

Harry had to admit that she looked stunning. She wore her red hair loose and it fell in a gentle wave to rest on her shoulders. Her dress was modest; long sleeves and a square neckline with a high waistline in a beautiful cornflower blue that showcased her colouring. She had fastened a matching blue satin choker with a pretty cameo clasp. For the first time, Harry recognised that she was an attractive girl rather than simply thinking of her as Ron's little sister with the unfortunate crush on him.

Ginny's face lit up as her gaze fell on the sight of the three boys waiting. Harry surreptitiously kept back as Michael took a hesitant step forward. If Ginny's gaze lingered for a moment on Harry, he wasn't going to draw attention to it. He was dimly aware of Anthony moving to greet Gladys who had followed Ginny down the stairs.

Michael finished fastening the corsage on Ginny's hand and Harry finally thought it was alright to approach.

"You look lovely, Gin." Harry said sincerely, resolutely ignoring the blush that rose on her cheeks. "Are you and Michael going to wait for Ron before heading over to your folks at my place?"

Anthony cleared his throat. "Neville and Ron headed out for their dates just before you got here."

Ginny glanced at Michael. "So we should make our way then?" She turned back to Harry. "Unless you want us to stay and wait for Hermione with you?"

"That's OK." Harry said. "You know the way and Molly would kill me if I delay you." He grinned at her.

He caught Michael darting an apologetic look at Anthony, and Harry suddenly understood the two friends had intended spending the evening together as they were buddies under the protection system that the heirs of the Potter alliance had devised.

"Oh, hey, you can go along too, Tony." Harry invited him quickly. "Sirius won't mind and I'm sure your parents will want the photos he's bound to take of you and Gladys."

Both Michael and Anthony gave him pleased smiles. Anthony looked as though he was about to say something but before he could, Harry heard footsteps on the staircase and turned to see Hermione step into the Common Room.

She took his breath away.

Her hair was piled high on her head in a complicated do that left tendrils dangling, framing her face and drawing attention to her graceful neck. The dress was a figure hugging floor length sheath of dark green satin; there was one shoulder strap and her arms were bare. The gold jewellery of her Christmas presents glinting at her wrist, neck and ears. She was wearing green satin high heels, and had a small gold evening bag in one hand which he figured contained her wand.

Harry walked up to her without even realising he was closing the distance between them, taking her hand and kissing her knuckles. "Hi."

"Hi." Hermione said.

They grinned at each other for a long moment, Harry absently keeping hold of Hermione's hand. He eventually remembered the corsage and offered it to her.

"You look so beautiful." Harry said softly. If Ginny's appearance had helped him to see Ron's little sister as a girl in her own right, Hermione's had given him a heads up on the beautiful woman she was becoming.

Hermione smiled widely at him. "Thank you." She let him slip the corsage onto the wrist which was bare and patted his arm. "You look great too."

"Shall we?" Harry offered her his arm and she happily took it.

He turned around and was pleased when he didn't see Ginny and Michael or Anthony and Gladys. It would give him more time alone with Hermione as they walked to Harry's quarters.

o-O-o

Hermione was relieved when Andromeda shooed all of the kids out of Harry's and Sirius's rooms to the Ball. As much as she loved her parents, she wasn't sure she could take one more photo. She glanced at Harry and returned the shy delighted smile he gave her. He always made her feel special when he gave her that smile; as though he couldn't quite believe he'd been lucky enough to be going out with her rather than the other way around.

They both slowed with trepidation as they approached the doors of the Great Hall where Professor McGonagall was presiding over the entry way.

Ron clapped a hand on Harry's shoulder and squeezed sympathetically. "Rather you than me, mate."

"Thanks, Ron." Harry said dryly.

Luna tugged Ron towards the hall. "Good luck with the Dancing Gibbydallies!"

Hermione rolled her eyes but decided it was a good name for the nerves fluttering in her belly at the idea of dancing in front of everyone.

Neville smiled at them softly, his hand clasped tightly in Hannah's before he followed Susan and her date, a fourth year Hufflepuff called Oliver Rivers, through the doors.

"Good luck with Obroski, Potter." Draco drawled as he passed them with his date hanging off his arm like a limpet. Although, Hermione inwardly conceded, the dark haired, dark eyed, Moira Selwyn, was a stunning contrast to Draco's light colouring. And despite the limpet tendencies, she also had enough gumption to be able to carry off a poised and articulate performance in being introduced not only to Draco's parents but Sirius and the rest of the House of Black.

Theo and Jeremy wished them good luck as the rest of the Weasleys clattered past, Fred and George had snagged fellow Quidditch team members, Katie and Angela, as dates. Ginny was presumably already in the Hall having left with her date ahead of the rest of them.

"Ah, good." Professor McGonagall smiled at Hermione and Harry as they brought up the rear. "We now have all our Champions. Just wait here." She nudged them into position by the door.

Cedric grinned at them. Cho looked stunning in a yellow Chinese dress, beautifully embroidered in bronze and turquoise with black accents; the colours of Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw combined. Cedric, in black, looked debonair. "You two look amazing."

"Thanks," Harry said, "so do you both."

"I love your new broomstick." Cho said. "Can I join your next practice session? I'd like to see it in action again?"

"The Flaming Arrow is a good choice." Viktor chimed in. He looked distinctly uncomfortable in his dark purple formal wear but his date, Natalie Warren, looked stunning in a contrasting shade of lilac.

It was funny that the Head Girl and Head Boy had ended up being the dates for the visiting Champions, Hermione mused, as she caught sight of Robert Ogden smiling happily at Fleur. Robert had kept to classic black too but Fleur looked princess like in shades of pink.

She let the conversation drift over her since it centred on Quidditch and took in the Great Hall. The ceiling was swarmed with a thousand candles casting a soft glow over the changed school dining room. Instead of the usual tables, small round seating areas filled the edges of the room, leaving a dance floor in the centre.

The band, tucked away in the corner, gave a trumpet call and the Headmaster glided up to the centre of the dance floor. He was dressed in a vibrant sherbet lemon colour with a matching cap. He beamed out at them all.

"Welcome honoured guests…" there was a wave towards the VIP table where the Minister and other Ministry dignitaries sat…

"…the members of the press, professors and students all!" Dumbledore smiled warmly. "And a very Happy Yuletide it has been here at Hogwarts today! Let us enjoy this Yule Ball and our Christmas feast just as much!" He flung an arm out toward the Champions. "To begin, our Champions will perform an opening dance! Give them a warm round of applause and encouragement!"

The Headmaster sidled off the dance floor as the music started.

"Off you go, Mister Krum!" McGonagall said briskly. "Now, you Miss Delacour! And you, Mister Diggory!" She gave Harry an encouraging look. "Try to enjoy it, Harry!"

"I think I'd rather face the dragon again." Harry muttered as he pasted a smile on his face and led Hermione onto the dance floor.

She gave a breathy chuckle as they separated to bow and curtsy at each other before moving into a classic dance hold. They moved slightly stiffly, too aware of the audience to relax, but they performed the steps perfectly, finding the pattern immediately thanks to all the practice they'd done.

"At least you're with me this time." Harry whispered.

She smiled at him happily, giddy from the comment. "I would have been with you fighting the dragon if I could have been."

She wasn't aware of relaxing nor of Harry doing the same, their feet continuing the moves as their bodies began to subconsciously match the rhythm and sway of the music.

Harry smiled back at her. "I know."

She sighed as she caught sight of Sirius sneaking into the Hall to stand beside McGonagall as her escort. Her grip on Harry tightened and he drew her closer to comfort her automatically.

Hermione really wished they could have one night of not worrying about Voldemort or Crouch. But the Yule Ball was too tempting a target and the likelihood of nothing happening was remote. The best they could do was plan and hope they thwarted the attack.

Harry had confided in her that they were worried that Crouch was targeting Sirius and Hermione just knew Harry would have preferred to have had Crouch go after himself rather than Sirius. He had also said that it was an additional worry to the on-going concern that someone from Harry's group of supporters would be targeted.

The Potter alliance and Harry's friends were all paired up in a buddy system to ensure everyone's safety. Ron and Neville had organised everything; briefed Harry and told him not to worry. Still, Hermione knew Harry felt a responsibility to everyone who was in the alliance; to his friends. As much as she wished that they were going to relax and enjoy the evening, she knew the truth was that they would spend most of it watching out for everyone.

She couldn't really complain about Harry's protective tendencies; she wouldn't be alive if Harry hadn't spotted she was missing and tried to find her when the troll had invaded Hogwarts in their first year. But the part of her that was a fourteen year old girl simply yearning for a romantic night with her boyfriend was a tad resentful and disappointed. Hermione could admit that to herself but she never had intention of letting Harry know; he'd be hurt and that was the last thing she wanted.

The music ended and they separated to bow and curtsy again before making their way to the Champions' table. Each table had ten places; eight of the places were assigned to the Champions and their dates while the other two had been assigned to Professor Dumbledore and Madame Maxime. Karkaroff didn't look too happy being consigned to the Ministry VIP table.

She absently noted that Sirius and Professor McGonagall were sitting on the same table as Dean, Ron, Draco and Theo along with their dates. Snape was on the table next to them with Neville, Seamus, Blaise and Daphne, all of their dates and Doctor Jordan.

Dumbledore picked up the menu in front of him and smiled. "I will have soup to start." Immediately a bowl of soup appeared in front of him.

The Champions all followed Dumbledore's example and it wasn't long before they were eating and chatting away.

"I am looking forward to ze duelling tournament starting in ze New Year." Fleur said, responding to a question Dumbledore had asked her. "My friend Claire, she is very good."

"My cousin Eric is entering." Viktor confirmed.

"It's just as well Harry isn't eligible." Cedric joked. "According to our duelling instructor, he could be professional."

"I prefer Quidditch." Harry commented with a flush. "Hermione's planning to enter though, aren't you?"

Hermione nodded. "Me and quite a few of the others in the duelling clubs." She gave a self-conscious shrug. "I think Daphne has a good chance of winning it. She's very good."

"Greengrass?" Cho sniffed. "She's very young."

"So's Harry but he's leading the tournament." Robert pointed out dryly. "Greengrass is ruthless in the duelling ring. She put Harry through his paces the last time we had a practice session."

"What about you, Madame Maxime?" Harry asked politely. "Did you duel professionally?"

"Alas, no." The French Headmistress smiled at him approvingly. "I was never any good at ze duelling."

"Nonsense, Olympe!" Dumbledore said chivalrously. "Why I remember a certain European School Championship where if I remember rightly, you just missed out on a medal position!"

As Natalie asked to hear the story, the table settled into a comfortable atmosphere and it wasn't long before they'd coaxed a tale out of Dumbledore as they moved to the main course. The subject meandered after that through a variety of topics and everyone was enjoying dessert when an owl entered the Hall causing a commotion.

"Who vould send mail at this hour?" Viktor said grumpily as the owl swooped down to land beside Snape.

Hermione frowned as Harry tensed and glared at the gift. "It's probably a late Christmas present?" She theorised.

"Who would be sending Snape, uh, Professor Snape a Christmas present?" Cho demanded with a cautious look at Dumbledore over the slip of respect.

Dumbledore raised his thin white eyebrows at her but gave her a mischievous smile. "Ah, sometimes I forget that students don't think we have lives outside of school!"

Cho blushed prettily. "I'm sorry, Professor."

"Not to worry, my dear." Dumbledore said, his blue eyes landing keenly on the gift-wrapped package that Snape had taken from the owl. "I believe Professor Snape was particularly looking forward to this gift. I am relieved it has arrived finally."

Hermione shot an anxious look toward Harry who managed to dredge up a smile for her. But then, he darted a glance toward Sirius who nodded at him slowly.

The game was afoot it seemed, Hermione mused with exasperated worry, wondering what was the deal with Snape's present.

She was aware that there was more going on with the situation with Voldemort than Harry had told them. There were secrets from the Summer that he hadn't shared; a trip to the Ministry that had upset him for weeks afterwards; the mind healing which Hermione figured had something to do with that than either the lingering damage of his childhood with the Dursleys or the newer death threats.

It was also clear to Hermione that while the official story was that Bill and Caro were providing extra security for the tournament, they were in fact searching for something in Hogwarts – something that they'd thought they might find in the Chamber of Secrets or Godric's Hollow but hadn't.

Then there was the matter of the Headmaster's wand. Harry had told her that the wand ownership was a bit of a mess having once belonged to an old ancestor of Harry's before being stolen, although because the Headmaster had won it in a duel, he had a legitimate claim to it and so there was apparently an on-going question of who the wand belonged to. Again, Hermione thought she wasn't getting the full story.

She would be annoyed with Harry – was annoyed with him deep down if she was honest – but she understood that whatever he was keeping secret, he was probably keeping secret for a reason. And in all probability that reason was probably protecting her and his other friends who he hadn't confided in either – she knew Ron had no more clue of the things she felt Harry was keeping from them than she did.

But the present and Snape's reaction was the latest thing and now she was Harry's girlfriend, Hermione felt she had a right to know. She turned to ask Harry but the words faded as she realised Harry was doing a review of the Hall – checking that everyone was accounted for and safe.

She didn't need to ask him, Hermione thought with sudden blinding clarity. They all knew Snape had been a Death Eater, ostensibly a spy for Dumbledore, but still a Death Eater. If Snape hadn't truly changed his loyalties and had been in touch with Voldemort or Crouch somehow…

The present was a signal, part of the anticipated attack; Hermione was sure of it.

But why hadn't Harry confided in her, Ron and Neville if he suspected Snape of being a traitor? Maybe he was trying to protect them…or…

Or Harry knew what the present represented because Snape had told them; had been in touch with Voldemort and Crouch because Snape was spying.

But Harry didn't trust Snape. She was sure of that. And she didn't trust him either. She knew the Headmaster trusted him and perhaps before the Summer Hermione might have accepted the Headmaster's word on it but not since his involvement in placing Harry with the Dursleys and his part in denying Sirius a trial had emerged.

It was no wonder Harry was worried, Hermione concluded. He couldn't trust Snape and knew something was going to happen. Oh, she wished he had confided in her!

Dessert was finished.

Professor Dumbledore moved to announce the feast was over and the dance floor was open. The band struck up a cheerful tone.

"Would you like to dance?" asked Harry, offering his hand.

She managed a smile. "I'd love to."

The music swept over them and Hermione was pleased to see other people heading for the dance floor. She kept tight hold of Harry. She had no intention of letting him out of her sight the entire night.

Harry's steps faltered and she followed his gaze to where Snape was slipping out of the Hall.

"Harry?" Hermione prompted him gently and he gave an apologetic smile as he started them dancing again. "I guess Snape's gone to open his present somewhere private." She said briskly, hoping Harry would take the opportunity to open up to her.

He nodded but didn't say anything and Hermione sighed, swallowing down her irritation at his continuing silence. She didn't want anything to spoil their evening. Instead she leaned into him and wasn't surprised when he drew her closer, accepting the silent offer of comfort where he wouldn't accept the invitation to confide.

o-O-o

The staff room had been closer than going to his own rooms and Severus knew it was empty since all the remaining professors, except for the patrolling Moody, had been in the Great Hall when he had left. The fire crackled in the staff room but Severus was oblivious to it as he focused on unwrapping the package.

It was a book, a muggle book. There was a note in the cover.

"To my lover, 

B."

Severus flipped through the pages and found a photo tucked between the pages. It was a picture of Crouch standing in a clearing in the Forbidden Forest – the clearing where the dragon pens had been, he realised with a frown. There was writing on the back.

'Bring Black. 10pm.'

Severus made a quick check of the time – there was just over another hour before they were supposed to make rendezvous. The feast had just finished but the Ball was anticipated to last until midnight so Crouch's time made sense. Everyone would be milling around by ten. Some students would no doubt be wandering the grounds rather than in the Hall; the professors and the patrols would be distracted. Crouch had chosen wisely.

He tucked the picture into the inner pocket of his dress robes and frowned at the book. It was a muggle book called 'Danny, Champion of the World' by Roald Dahl. Severus had never read it but he knew of it. He was the story of a boy and his father getting the better of a rich arrogant landowner. He wondered if Crouch believed himself to be the hero; the tenacious Danny? With the Dark Lord cast as William and Black as the landowner? Had Crouch even read the book, Severus mused; Crouch was a pureblood wizard with little exposure to the muggle world – how would he have even known about the book?

And if Crouch had not read it, Severus mused then the choice must have been someone else's…

He remembered the Dark Lord had kept an extensive library filled with muggle and wizarding books. He had been one of the rare few allowed to see it.

His mind slipped back to that meeting…

"I understand from Bella that you are almost ready for your interview with Albus Dumbledore." The Dark Lord said.

Severus bowed his head. "I am, my Lord."

"Hmmm." The Dark Lord twisted his lips in a semblance of a smile. "You avoid my gaze well, Severus. A good defence against a Leglimens but if you avoid his, he will know you have something to hide."

And Severus knew this was the test. He breathed in deeply and raised his dark gaze to meet the red-tinged eyes of the Dark Lord. 

There was no time for preparation as the Dark Lord immediately attacked. For once, Severus was actually thankful of the pain Bella had caused him in her constant attacks on his mind because, damn her, the barrier had he had built in fury to keep her out helped.

The pressure on his mind had been immense and for a second Severus thought he would falter and allow the Dark Lord inside. But then the panicked realisation that if the Dark Lord got inside his mind he might see how utterly disgusted he'd been at Bella and Rodolphus, at their violence and the abhorrence of their political views, had him slamming the Dark Lord out of his head with a furious push.

"Good, Severus." The Dark Lord said with a thoughtful gaze. "You are a natural as am I." He turned suddenly. "Come with me." He moved, his robes billowing out behind him dramatically. 

Severus followed because there was no other course of action available to him. He was surprised when the large room he was led into was a library – wall to wall shelves filled from floor to ceiling with books.

"Muggles do have one area of superiority over wizards," the Dark Lord said thoughtfully, "imagination. The ability to create and weave worlds out of nothing but words. Do you read, Severus?"

"Occasionally, my Lord." Severus murmured, although his reading was mostly potions related.

"You will need imagination in your role as my spy, Severus." The Dark Lord said quietly as he moved to a bookcase and began to peruse a shelf. "You will need to create a character; one that is remorseful of his past choices and deferent to the old fool. You will need to live this character every day, Severus, until it is as comfortable as your own skin and never allow the real you to be shown ever again."

In hindsight, Severus wondered if the Dark Lord had given away more about his philosophy on life than advice on spying. Because wasn't that what Thomas Marvolo Riddle had done? Hadn't he reinvented himself as the Dark Lord? Worn the character of Voldemort until the Heir of Slytherin had been the skin that encased him?

Which meant…

Severus sat down and carefully started to page through the book. He found what he was looking for on the page where Danny suggested using the sleeping pills in the raisins to capture the pheasants. The writing transformed as soon as Severus touched it.

"Severus,

You and I know the truth of your loyalty. Only a Prince can inherit the crown and understand that in sacrificing a rival Queen, the reward is the gift of her King's loyal dog.

What kind of father would I be if I did not give my son and heir a present at Christmas? 

I trust you'll find a way to keep the pheasants asleep."

There was no signature but there didn't need to be.

Severus swallowed around the tight lump of panic in his throat. Dear Merlin! The Dark Lord had cast Severus in the role of Danny and...

And it was all a ruse; a manipulation to ensure that Severus was loyal and assured of his position, despite the presence of Crouch who seemed to have the Dark Lord's favour.

Severus might even believe that there was a kernel of truth in the words; he and the Dark Lord shared some commonalties which disturbed him – a disinterested muggle father being the primary one, with the need to be the consummate Slytherin another. And what better way to assure Severus of his place as the one true son than to offer him a false promise of paternal pride and inheritance of the Slytherin title?

He would have fallen for it when he was a young Death Eater; when he had craved the Dark Lord's acceptance and approval; when he had believed in the cause; when he had been as angry at his own father as Crouch no doubt was of his. But even on his darkest days he would never have exchanged Lily's life for an opportunity to kill Black.

Never.

And the Dark Lord had never understood that.

Wood popped loudly in the fire bringing Severus back to himself. He called for a house elf. "Take this to my quarters." He instructed brusquely.

He checked the time again. Forty minutes.

Crouch thought the Dark Lord was giving Black to him but the Dark Lord's words were clear; he meant for Severus to have him. There would be an opportunity when they were alone for Severus to kill him…

And Severus could easily hide the body in the Forest and blame Crouch. He had the Dark Lord's backing for any upset Crouch might feel at being denied his prize.

Of course, he wasn't actually going to kill Black.

There were a number of excuses at hand; no chance of a surprise attack with Black suspicious of him and that it was too risky for his cover among them. Then there was always the 'Bartemius needed the reward more than him' excuse because wasn't serving the Dark Lord its own reward?

Yes, any number of ways to demur over the gift of Black's head on a platter.

Of course, the gift was only to sweeten the order of keeping the elf and the Summers woman asleep.

Severus tapped the book lightly. The Dark Lord was absolutely determined that they remain asleep which meant that they knew something, something important. And it probably wasn't where the Dark Lord and his minions were located. Severus doubted that they were in the same place that they had been staying in immediately after the Crouch residence. All of which meant that the reason why the Dark Lord was worried was not about the location being known so much as something else; something important – something the elf or the Summers woman had overheard or seen.

Moody stepped into the staff room. "Snape! I thought I saw you skulking back here." He closed the door with a slam and Severus admired the tactic that would give the impression to anyone lingering outside that he was confronting Severus not meeting with him.

He also wasn't surprised that Moody did a quick sweep of the room to check it was empty. He erected a privacy bubble.

"Well?"

"Ten o'clock in the clearing that was used for the dragon pens." Severus said succinctly. "You can't place Aurors within the Forest in that area without something like dragons to scare away the Acromantulas on the East and without the advance permission of the centaur herd to the West. Anyone following us to close the gap between the Forest and Hogwarts will be easily spotted."

"So you'll be alone?" Moody grimaced, his scarred face creasing in unexpected ways.

"I'm sure Black and I are capable of handling things." Severus said with more confidence than he actually felt.

"There'll be a patrol by your position at ten-ten." Moody said gruffly. "Tell Black."

Severus nodded.

Moody harrumphed and stomped away to the door, yanking it open. "Go and dance, Snape! Stop skulking in rooms!"

Severus rolled his eyes but when he swept out of the staff room he was surprised to see Karkaroff hovering at the end of the corridor.

"Are you lost, Igor?" Severus asked, allowing his disdain full reign.

Karkaroff glanced around wildly as though he was expecting Crouch to jump out of a tapestry as he hurried to Severus's side. "It's a trap!" He hissed.

Severus raised an eyebrow. "Of course it's a trap, Igor."

Karkaroff glared at him. "For you!"

Oh.

And Severus hadn't actually considered that part of it with the Dark Lord's missive because the Dark Lord clearly still trusted him. Whereas Crouch did not and Severus had almost forgotten that part of Crouch wanting Severus's help to deliver Black was as much about testing Severus's loyalty as it was about actually getting his hands on Black.

"Igor, do you think I'm stupid?" Severus snapped, irritated that he had almost forgotten to be wary.

Karkaroff tossed him a disgusted look and raised his hands. "Go ahead then. Don't say I didn't warn you."

"If I do say anything," Severus pointed out dryly, "it would no doubt lead to your death." He sniffed and whirled away.

He checked the time again. He had twenty-five minutes to get Black and be at the rendezvous point. He hurried down to the Great Hall. Black sat on a table conversing with the Bulgarian and French Ambassadors, Cornelius hanging on his every word like an eager puppy.

Severus caught Black's eye and slipped back out of the Hall, waiting impatiently in an alcove. He caught sight of a dozen young couples meandering through the school and out of the door without coats as though it wasn't December. He mused that in normal circumstances he'd probably be prowling through the rose garden checking to ensure that the couples weren't alone long enough for anything to happen; Hogwarts hadn't been home to a teenage pregnancy for over a hundred years and the staff took pride in that record.

It wasn't long before Black exited the Hall. He immediately made his way to Severus.

"Lay on, MacDuff." Black said brightly.

Severus wondered at the use of Shakespeare; wondered if the reference had meaning. Possibly, he was seeing symbolism where there was none after the wordplay in the Dark Lord's message. He sighed and motioned for Black to follow him.

This was going to be a disaster, Severus thought, because Karkaroff was right; it was a trap and he was leading them right into it.

o-O-o

The greenhouse was filled with the perfume of the flowering blue and white Winterbell plants. The rushing sound of the watering system provided a constant backdrop to the chimes and echoes of the bells.

"It's so beautiful here, Nev." Hannah sighed. "I'm glad we came here rather than the rose garden."

The rose garden would have been freezing. Neville had suggested the greenhouse with its beautiful scent and array of flowers – a heated greenhouse no less – instead. It was a suggestion that had met with approval by Hannah, and by Susan.

Harry's rules; no couple in the alliance or Harry's friendship circle went outside of the Great Hall without another couple in attendance. The rule had been met with a chorus of complaints when Harry had announced it at the last Heirs' meeting, but Harry had been insistent. The couples didn't have to stay together all the time but they had to be within yelling distance of each other. It had been that, Harry had said, or nobody went outside of the Great Hall.

And those in the alliance had felt it then; the hard tone of an order backed up with the power of the magical oath they had sworn. Harry was protecting them; they were honour bound to follow his lead.

Neville shook off the memory as he focused on Hannah. She looked incredibly pretty in a dress of pale sunshine yellow that played up her blonde hair and blue eyes. The tight bodice flared into a bell-shape skirt that fell to the floor. The white carnations corsage he had presented her with was wrapped around her wrist.

He stopped her in front of the small rock garden that took up the far right corner of the greenhouse. The trickling sound of the water running over the dark stones was a perfect backdrop for their first proper kiss on a real date. Of course, they'd kissed plenty of times on their practice dates but this was special…

Hannah smiled at him brightly, a hint of mischief in her eyes. "We should kiss, Neville, before we're late getting back and Harry gets all worried about us."

Neville rolled his eyes. But it was a fact. He'd said they'd be back in twenty minutes and if they were a minute late, he was fairly certain that Harry would come looking for them.

"You look beautiful." Neville said, taking hold of Hannah's hand.

"You look good too." Hannah grinned at him. "Mum is going to be stoked with the pictures your Gran took."

"I can't believe you charmed her into taking extra copies!" Neville said, pulling her closer.

"I'm very charming." Hannah said with a grin, rising up on tip-toes to brush her lips against his…

A scream tore through the bell chimes and babbling water.

Hannah wrenched herself away from Neville. "Susan!"

Neville went after her immediately, following as she ran towards where they'd left Susan and her date Oliver. Oliver was in their year; another Hufflepuff. He was quiet but personable enough. They ran around the corner and found Susan alone, her hands covering her face as she sobbed.

"Susan!" Hannah ran over to her best friend, panicked.

Susan lowered her hands and threw herself into Hannah's arms. "Oh, Hannah!"

"What did he do?!" Hannah snarled, morphing from the sweet girl Neville had been kissing to a fiercely furious female in a heartbeat. "Did he try something? If he did, I'll hex his balls off!"

Susan burrowed closer into Hannah's shoulder and carried on sobbing.

Neville floundered helplessly. Should he go after Oliver and hex him himself? A part of him wanted to at the sight of a clearly upset Susan sobbing her heart out. Harry was going to be furious with Oliver and with him for letting Oliver do whatever it was that had upset Susan. Wasn't the whole idea of the buddy system making sure none of them got hurt?

"What happened, Suse?" Hannah said in a low voice, rubbing Susan's back sympathetically.

Susan lifted her head just enough to shoot Neville an embarrassed glance before she shook her head and lowered it again.

Hannah frowned and made a shooing motion at Neville. "Can you wait outside of the door or something?"

He wanted to protest but Susan was already upset and clearly his presence wasn't helping.

"I'll be just outside." Neville promised. He could guard them from there. He went outside, shivering as the cold air hit him hard after the warmth of the greenhouse. He closed the door just enough that the girls wouldn't feel the cold but he could still hear them.

"What happened?" hissed Hannah.

"He tried to kiss me!" Susan blurted out. "And when I said no, he just grabbed me and…"

Neville was going to kill Oliver.

He glared out into the darkness and frowned when his eyes caught on movement in the dark. Two figures dressed in black were walking swiftly across the grass to the forest. He squinted and he realised that it was Sirius and Snape.

Strange.

His heart beat a little faster. Maybe they'd gotten some information on whatever Voldemort had planned? Should he follow them or tell Harry or…

"He said that it was obvious that because I'd dragged us along with you and Neville that I must want to kiss him!" Susan's distressed voice drifted through the partially open door to him. "He said it was my fault!"

"It was not your fault!" Hannah assured her heatedly.

Oliver was a dead man walking, Neville thought.

"I told him I'd only agreed to come to the ball with him as a friend!" Susan replied, her words still thick with tears. "He wouldn't listen!"

"Did you hex him?" demanded Hannah.

"I kicked him!" Susan replied. "Then I screamed and he ran off!"

"Coward!" Hannah muttered. "Wait till I get my hands on him!"

There was going to be a line, Neville considered wryly. Susan was very popular. Oliver was going to find himself very unpopular for trying to force her into a kiss she didn't want.

A noise to the side of the greenhouse caught his attention. It had sounded like scuffling. Was it Oliver? If it was, he was going to hex him into the back end of beyond! He frowned and walked slowly over to peek around the corner.

There was nobody there.

The side of the greenhouse stretched out in front of him, empty and dark.

He shivered again as a brush of wind reminded him he was without any outdoor clothing. He should go back inside the greenhouse and persuade Hannah and Susan to return to the castle. If they waited any longer Harry was bound to come looking for them anyway. He rubbed his arms and turned around.

The sight of something swinging towards him filled his vision for a split second before the side of his head exploded and everything went dark.

o-O-o

"Neville's late."

Harry frowned and checked the time again. He hadn't been keen on any of the alliance leaving the Great Hall – something a lot of them had picked up on and so they hadn't moved – but Neville had said that he'd promised Hannah a real first kiss and Harry had understood immediately that Neville could hardly do that in front of everyone in the Great Hall.

Hermione lowered her glass of punch and did her own tempus charm. They'd danced off and on since the end of the feast; retiring to a table where Ron had set up camp since he and Luna had apparently agreed that he was only obligated to give her one dance. Luna had spent the rest of the evening dancing with a host of others. Ron had quietly assessed each guy who'd wandered up to invite Luna with the practiced eye of a big brother. Harry's best mate had spent an inordinate amount of time glaring at Michael Corner for the first part of the evening.

He hadn't needed to, Harry ruminated briefly. Michael and Anthony had stuck together with their dates – heading to the dance floor together, stopping for a drink of punch together, and wandering over to sit with Ron even. They hadn't left the Great Hall and slowly over the last hour Ron had started to relax about Ginny's date.

"You're right." Hermione said as though it had been in doubt.

Ron tore his eyes away from where Luna was being whirled around by Fred on the dance floor and joined Harry in frowning. "Neville's never late."

Which was worrying because it hadn't even been ten minutes since Harry had seen Sirius leaving with Snape.

Every single thing in him was screaming that something was wrong.

Only he really didn't know whether it was worry about Sirius or whether it was Neville being late.

"Maybe he and Hannah are just taking their time?" Hermione offered awkwardly. "It's a special night for them since this is the first 'real' date they've been on."

And Harry hadn't really made it all that special for Hermione since the feast had ended; since he'd seen Snape take the present.

Harry gave her an apologetic smile and slipped his hand into hers. "I'm sorry. This is supposed to be a special night for us too and I know I'm being a worrywart about everyone but I can't help it." He didn't want anyone else getting hurt because of him.

Hermione squeezed his hand lightly. "I understand."

Ron cleared his throat, drawing their attention. "So Neville, mate?"

Harry bit his lip. "I think we should go look for them. Neville said he was going to the greenhouse with the Winterthingies."

Hermione rolled her eyes at him. "Winterbells! We just wrote an essay on them!"

"I can't remember what they're called either." Ron said leaping to Harry's defence.

"I have a lot on my mind right now." Harry added.

"Such as what's going on with Professor Snape?" Hermione asked pointedly.

Sometimes, Harry reflected, he really hated that Hermione was so smart. "Yes," he said tersely, "and no; I can't explain."

He saw Ron and Hermione exchange a shared look of frustration at that.

"Look, you know there's some stuff I can't tell you." Harry said defensively, rubbing the back of his neck. "Sirius agrees and it could put you in a lot of danger to know it." And it could put people like Snape in danger if they knew and Voldemort got his hands on them.

"We just want to help." Hermione said, folding her arms over her chest, a familiar stubborn tilt to her head. "We understand the danger."

Ron nodded enthusiastically.

But they didn't understand, not really, Harry thought tiredly. Because as much as he claimed they'd been with him through his adventures, they'd never faced Voldemort the way he had. And he never wanted them to face Voldemort the way he had; the way he was going to have to eventually.

"We should go and find Neville." Harry said firmly, getting up.

He felt rather than saw the exchange between them but Hermione skipped a few steps to catch up with him and slip her arm around his while Ron fell into step on the other side of him.

Theo materialised from somewhere just as they got to the doors of the Great Hall. "Problem?"

"Neville's late." Harry said. "We're going to look for him. Can you keep an eye on things here?"

Theo simply nodded. "Consider it done."

Harry left without another word. He felt something pushing him, pulling him, forcing him to walk and find Neville, to hurry.

The greenhouses looked benign as they approached; only one was lit up and Harry assumed it was the one Neville had gone into with Hannah. The outside of it looked deserted. Nobody else was around and Harry shivered violently in the cold. Hermione tapped him with her wand and Harry felt the rush of warmth as the charm took hold. He sent her a grateful smile.

Voices drifted out of the partially open door as they got closer; Hannah and Susan, Harry recognised as he started to distinguish them. Where were Neville and Oliver?

Harry released his wand into his hand and carefully nudged open the greenhouse door. He poked his head around it and his eyes widened at the sight of Hannah and a very upset Susan sitting in the corner. He pushed open the door fully and hurried inside, Hermione and Ron at his heels.

"What's happened?" Harry asked bluntly.

Susan bit her lip and looked away from him, clearly embarrassed.

"Oliver tried to kiss her!" Hannah replied angrily. She tucked a lock of Susan's hair back behind an ear. "He wouldn't take no for an answer and Susan had to kick him and scream for Neville and me!"

Anger swept over Harry in a rush.

"Oh, Susan!" Hermione hastened to Susan's other side and placed an arm around her. "That's terrible! Are you alright?"

"Where is the bastard?" Ron snarled angrily, voicing the question Harry wanted to ask.

"He ran off!" Hannah said.

Harry grimaced as he started to have a suspicion about why Neville was late. "Neville went after him?"

Hannah's head shot up and she shook it emphatically. "No!" She pointed at the door. "You didn't see him? He just went outside to give me and Suse a bit of privacy and…" she blanched, "he should be out there!"

Harry's heart stuttered in his chest. Neville had been outside of the greenhouse on his own?! There had been no-one outside the greenhouse. He was missing!

"Maybe he went after Oliver anyway?" suggested Ron, nervously.

Harry didn't think so. Yes, Neville was more confident now to have gone after Oliver over what had happened with Susan but not if it meant leaving the girls unguarded.

Hermione's eyes met Harry's frantically in silent agreement with his assessment. "Harry, the map might show…"

He lifted his hand. "Accio Marauders' Map!" He called. Stupid, he berated himself. He should have had it on him all evening.

The map zoomed through the door and smacked into his hand.

He opened it quickly and tapped it with his wand giving the password in a muttered half-breath that was too low for Hannah and Susan to overhear.

The map unfurled and Harry's eyes darted around trying to see where Neville was as they all crowded around him. Oliver, Susan's date, was back in Hufflepuff tower…the rest of the alliance was in the Great Hall…a few of the Durmstrang students were on their way back to the ship…Hagrid and Madame Maxime were in the rose garden along with Rita Skeeter…

He shook his head. There was no sign of Neville anywhere. There was also no sign of Sirius and Snape – they must have gone beyond the Hogwarts' wards.

"No Neville." Hermione confirmed.

"Where is he?" Hannah demanded, clearly frightened. "He was right outside the door! I swear!"

"I don't think he's in Hogwarts anymore." Harry said tersely.

"Is there some way his presence could be hidden from the map?" asked Hermione.

"I don't know." Harry admitted.

"We should ask Sirius." Ron said. He frowned. "Where is Sirius?" he asked puzzled, pointing at the map. "Why isn't he on the map?"

"He went to check on something with Snape." Harry almost growled in frustration as he collapsed the map.

There was no doubt in his mind that Voldemort's Yuletide attack had begun; Neville had been taken, and Sirius was walking with eyes wide open into a trap.

He had to find some way of telling Sirius about Neville, Harry thought frantically. He could send his patronus but then…if Prongs arrived in the middle of the confrontation with Crouch and distracted Sirius at the wrong moment…

No. He had to go himself. But he still had the job Sirius had given him to do, (and which he had already failed at since Neville was gone, Harry reflected with bitter disappointment), and he had no idea where Sirius had gone with Snape.

"Harry…" Hermione murmured, reading him with ease. "This isn't your fault." Her hand rested gently on his arm.

Harry swallowed down the urge to snap at her.

"No, it's mine." Hannah said in a small voice. "I was the one who told him to wait outside."

Her self-loathing kicked Harry into action.

"Hannah, it's not your fault." He said firmly. He took a deep breath. The map had shown him Moony was on patrol by the Forest with Tonks and Moody. Moony would be able to answer the question about the map and might know where Sirius was headed. "All of you go back to the Great Hall. Get everyone gathered together in my quarters and make sure nobody else is missing." He handed the map to Hermione.

"What about you?" She asked anxiously.

"I'm going to find Remus." Harry said. "He can help with the map so we can find Neville." And help Harry locate Sirius so he could tell him.

She bristled immediately. "You can't go alone! That could be exactly what Crouch wants!"

"She's right, mate." Ron backed her up. "I'll come with you."

"Why you?" Hermione asked tartly. "I'm just as capable of backing Harry up as you!"

"But I'm his best friend!" Ron retorted.

"I should go with him." Hannah piped up. "Neville's my boyfriend!"

"Enough!" Harry shouted. "We don't have time for this! You're all going back to the Great Hall." His magic swirled around them and he yanked it back under his control. "We still have the rest of the alliance to protect. That's your job now."

But they had a point about him going off on his own. It was how he'd almost got caught at the World Cup by Crouch. If Neville hadn't turned up that time…

"Accio my invisibility cloak!" Harry said, lifting his hand. A moment later, there was a firm smack as the cloak landed in his palm, a pool of silvery material. "See; I'll use this and I'll be fine."

Hermione sighed but nodded, giving in.

Ron's jaw firmed. "Just be careful, mate."

"Look after everyone, Ron." Harry ordered, ushering them out of the door.

Hermione paused beside him and kissed his cheek. The swirling emotions in her eyes gave away her unhappiness but there was nothing for it, Harry determined, as he watched them leave the greenhouse. He owed it to Neville to find Remus as soon as possible. He headed out as soon as he was under the cover of the cloak, heading for the last position he'd seen Remus on the map.

o-O-o

Sirius shivered violently and wished he'd thought to delay Snape enough to grab a cloak. Being outside in Scotland in mid-December without a coat or a warm wool cloak was stupid. He resisted the urge to turn into Padfoot to gain the benefit of his form's thick furry coat and instead did another warming spell.

Snape looked as frozen as Sirius felt. His usually sallow face was white with cold. And perhaps Sanpe's lips were turning blue, Sirius mused; it was hard to tell when the only light was the starlight falling through the tree canopy.

"Have you done a warming spell?" demanded Sirius.

Snape stared at him with blatant confusion.

"It's freezing out here." Sirius said. "Neither of us have coats. Do a warming spell before you freeze to death." He rubbed his arms.

"Perhaps you should take your own advice." Snape carped as he removed his wand and tapped his robes.

"I've already done three." Sirius huffed. "They're not making a dent."

Snape frowned. "Then you're doing them wrong." He huffed out a breath, a silvery mist that drifted in the cold air. "You always were hopeless at Charms."

"I was in the top three." Sirius shot back.

"Lily was top."

"James was second."

"And Lupin was third." Snape said dryly.

"Huh." Sirius rubbed his upper arms furiously and wondered whether he had lost feeling in his fingers. "Fine. I was in the top five."

Snape made to open his mouth.

"What the hell time is it and where the hell is he?" Sirius demanded before Snape could correct him on class order again.

"A good question." Snape said.

Suddenly, Sirius felt a bad chill at his back and his mind slipped into a flash of memory…

James lying dead on the floor…

The cemetery and the tombstone that made it all real…

Sirius shook himself furiously and whipped around, his wand pointing out towards the advancing cold. "Dementors!" He called out as his back bumped into Snape's.

It was no wonder he was bloody cold!

"We're surrounded!" Snape hissed out.

"Can you make a patronus?" Sirius asked tersely.

"Yes." Snape snapped back. "You?"

"Yes," Sirius said darkly, "but after so many years of exposure, I don't do well around Dementors. I'm not going to last long."

Snape breathed in sharply at Sirius's admission. "Would Crouch know that?"

Sirius bit off a swear word. "Probably. It was all over the Ministry that I had a bad reaction to the Dementors at the tribunal set up for the Death Eaters caught at the World Cup."

"There will be a patrol here in ten minutes." Snape said brusquely. "We just need to last that long."

"Right." Because he'd lasted all of one second in the courtroom.

Sirius swallowed down his panic. It had no place in a fight. He needed to focus. He needed to fight the Dementors and get back to Harry.

The dark shapes by the trees glided closer.

Sirius thought of Harry; of opening his presents with Harry that morning. "Expecto Patronum!" His silvery Grim erupted from his wand and ran toward the Dementors.

He heard Snape cast his own patronus.

For the next five minutes, Sirius cast patronus after patronus. But as one Dementor would be occupied another would glide forward to take its place. His strength was weakening; his focus futzing in and out as memories flickered through his mind as the Dementors drew out the worst of his life.

Behind him, he could hear Snape's voice grow hoarse as he called out another patronus. Snape's breathing was laboured and Sirius didn't think Snape was going to last much longer.

Sirius dragged in a sharp breath of air; his mind was going foggy but he knew there was one option left open to him and he took it. "Familius magicus protectus!"

The gold and silver magic of the Potter and Black families swarmed around him, wrapping him and Snape up into a protective blanket while at the same time tendrils spread out to shove the Dementors back. But it was draining and Sirius was already weakened. He could feel his hold on consciousness slipping away and tried desperately to hang on. If he was out of it, he couldn't prevent a follow-up attack.

But it was no use.

As the chill of the Dementors faded, his eyes closed and didn't open as he fell to the floor of the Forest with a soft thud.

o-O-o

The sound of Black falling would have usually had Severus spinning around but he was more focused on remaining upright as the tendrils of the family magic Black had called faded away. He felt as weak as a kitten. Summoning a patronus was advanced magic and took a lot of power. Summoning several in a short space of time had used up a lot of magical energy.

A slow clapping had him lifting his head defiantly to assess the new threat…or rather the threat they'd thought they would face: Crouch.

He was disguised again – as Cornelius Fudge of all people. A gold talisman hung around his neck and Severus recognised it as a Ministerial artefact. There were several of them in existence and all had the same purpose; to protect the wearer against the effects of the Dementors and to be able to order them around. He assumed Crouch's had once been his father's. Crouch Senior had been the Director of the DMLE at one point.

He put together the facts that had emerged that day quickly. Crouch had affected an escape from Azkaban pretending to be Fudge the night before for three Death Eaters and in doing so had taken a number of Dementors with him. Clearly, he was putting the Dementors to good use by weakening Black before he took him or killed him.

The latter was more worrying especially since Severus knew he would struggle to put up a fight to save Black with his current energy levels. He could barely lift his wand.

"My, my, my." Crouch smirked at him evilly which just looked so wrong and out of place on Cornelius Fudge's face that Severus's stomach turned. "You delivered!" His eyes glittered. "Well done, lover."

Severus shivered and he knew the Dementors were drawing close again, sapping what little was left of his energy. He inclined his head. "What do you intend to do with him?"

Crouch grinned. "I guess there's no harm in telling you." He dug into a pocket and drew out a collar. "I found this in the family vault. Shall I show you? Let me show you!" He practically skipped over to Black and placed the collar around his neck before Severus had drawn breath enough to lift his wand.

Black morphed in front of his eyes into a Grim.

Severus frowned heavily. That was bad. If Crouch kept the collar on him Black wouldn't be able to transform into a wizard and escape. Of course, Black might be able to escape as a Grim. Severus was hardly an expert where the animagus was concerned.

"I always wanted a dog." Crouch said gleefully. "And now I have one!" He looked over at Severus. "The collar will keep him obedient too. It delivers quite a sharp shock if he disobeys me!" He clapped his hands together. "I'm going to love our training sessions."

Severus shivered again at the anticipatory gleam in Crouch's eye.

"Well, I must get the puppy home. I do mean to give him a home for life and not just for Christmas after all." Crouch said abruptly, turning back to Severus with a smirk. "And we must provide you with some reason why you don't stop me from leaving, hmmm?" His wand snapped up so fast Severus wondered if he'd blinked and missed it.

He tightened his own hold on his wand, sensing that an attack was imminent. "I'm more than capable of maintaining my cover, Crouch." Severus snarled.

"Tut, tut, lover. I'm only thinking of you! But I amafraid I will need to leave the Dementors here." Crouch smiled nastily. "I'm sure someone will have come looking for you before they feed, lover."

He was so focused on Crouch that the spell hitting him from behind took him by surprise. His body snapped into paralysis and fell heavily to the Forest floor, crushing the dead leaves and grass beneath him.

He could see everything; could see Crouch and another man, Rookwood – his mind supplied helpfully – take hold of Black, and produce a portkey. They disappeared in a whirl.

The descending cold told him the Dementors were closing back in.

Fear crept into his belly.

Black was captured and immobilised.

Severus was surrounded by Dementors and paralysed.

The odds weren't looking good that either of them would survive the trap Crouch had set for them and they had willingly walked into.

o-O-o

Remus strode purposefully towards the Forest. It wasn't quite a march but it was a fast walk. One that Moody was having trouble keeping up with. Tonks had started to lag too, her innate respect for the retired Auror seeping into her performance as she allowed her pace to match his. Remus respected Moody but he wasn't willing to sacrifice a moment in reaching Sirius and Snape.

He had agreed with Harry when Sirius had first told them of the anticipated trap, Remus thought furiously; Sirius going with Snape into a trap was a really, really bad idea.

The decision to wait for ten minutes for a patrol to trip over them in the Forest meant that there was ten minutes when Sirius would be alone to face whatever Crouch had thought up because Merlin knew Remus didn't trust Snape to want to back up Sirius and in stark terms, to protect his cover, Snape might choose not to back up Sirius too.

"Go on with Lupin, girl!" Moody snapped. "Don't wait for me!"

Thank Merlin, one of them had their heads screwed on, Remus thought as Tonks ran up to join him, abdicating her place at Moody's side finally.

A twig snapped up ahead of him and Remus caught the scent of something. His wand was out and pointed at thin air as he came to a sudden halt.

The air shimmered and suddenly Harry's head and neck emerged from his invisibility cloak. "It's just me, Remus."

Remus's heart sank. He'd so hoped Sirius's ploy of giving Harry the job of watching out for his friends and alliance members would mean that Harry wouldn't attempt to interfere with Sirius's decision to go with Snape. No matter that he agreed with Harry, he didn't want Harry getting caught up in whatever was going to go down between Sirius and Crouch anymore than Sirius did.

"Harry…" he opened his mouth to berate Harry for delaying them.

"What the hell are you doing here, lad?" Moody snapped out.

"Neville's missing." Harry explained briskly. "I need to tell Sirius. Do you know where he is?"

"I'll tell him." Remus said swiftly. "We're on our way to back him up now. You get back to the school and make sure nobody else is missing."

For a second, Harry's jaw tightened in a manner that Remus recognised all too well from his friendship with James but Harry nodded abruptly, perhaps sensing Remus's inner urgency. Harry reached for the hood on the invisibility cloak but before he could pull it up, the sound of hooves racing over the ground had them all turning to meet a young centaur who halted just in front of them, rearing up as he stopped.

"I come to warn you, Raven!" The centaur said breathlessly. "Dark Ones that feed on the souls of others are in the Forest. Our weapons are useless against them."

"Dark Ones?" questioned Harry.

Moody grunted. "Dementors! Bloody hell!"

Harry's eyes widened in horror and Remus had a feeling his own face reflected the same. Sirius was incredibly sensitive to Dementors…his friend stood no chance if faced with a number of them!

"Where?!" Harry's question yanked Remus out of his thoughts.

"Where the pens of the firebreathers were placed…" The centaur had hardly stopped talking when Harry took off running.

Remus swore and followed him. From the pounding footsteps he could hear, Tonks was just behind him and so was the centaur.

They entered the Forest at speed; the trees looming up in front of them only for Harry to dodge them with ease, finding the path as though he'd travelled it before. They broke into the clearing and Remus felt his entire body go cold.

Five Dementors circled a dark figure on the ground – Remus couldn't tell who it was – and one of the five was reaching for the man's head…

"Expecto Patronum!" Harry yelled.

Remus stared at the sight of him. Harry looked every inch a powerful wizard. He stood proudly; his back straight, his wand pointed firmly without a hint of shaking or tremors…his face was white with tension but his green eyes were dark with grim determination…

Prongs clattered out of the wand – a silvery stag that charged immediately for the Dementors chasing them away with ease, sending them tumbling into the Forest – into Acromantula territory. An unholy scream ripped through the air and there was a cacophony of chittering.

Dear Merlin! The Acromantula were eating the Dementors!

His stomach rolled uneasily and Remus ignored the surge of nausea as he followed Harry as he hurried over to the fallen wizard.

It was Snape.

Remus's heart sank with disappointment and he didn't have to look at Harry to know he was devastated.

The Potions Professor blinked up at them a flush of humiliation filling his cheeks.

"Finite Incantatem!" Harry snapped out.

Snape sagged onto the ground for a moment before he rolled and got unsteadily to his feet. Remus repressed the urge to help him, knowing his assistance would be unwanted.

"Where's Sirius?" Harry demanded as soon as Snape got vertical.

"Crouch took him." Snape bit out.

And even though he'd prepared for those words, they hit Remus like a sucker-punch. He closed his eyes briefly.

"I'm sorry, Potter." Snape's uncharacteristic words had Remus's eyes snapping open.

Merlin! Remus flushed with shame. He'd forgotten in his own pain about Harry.

Again.

He was an idiot, Remus rebuked himself harshly. Sirius would expect him to be there for Harry. He turned to say something comforting or reassuring or…something to Harry and stopped before a word passed his lips.

Harry looked as though he'd been carved from granite; hard and unyielding. His expression was shuttered; closed down, giving away nothing of the emotions that had to be running through him.

"There was nothing I could do to stop Crouch taking him." Snape sounded disgusted with himself. "The Dementors…they weakened us both and…"

Harry held up his hand and amazingly Snape followed the silent command to stop. "Was Neville with Crouch?"

Snape's face flickered with surprise. "No. Was he meant to be?"

"He's missing. We should get back." Harry started walking back towards the school but paused by the centaur. "Thank you for the warning."

"You are welcome, Raven." The centaur said quietly, shifting restlessly like a nervous foal.

Harry continued walking.

"The lad's not wrong. We need to get back and round up the cavalry." Moody huffed as the rest of them all hesitated in the clearing. He turned around and started to limp after Harry.

Remus sighed as Tonks fell into step beside him and offered him a grim smile.

"He'll be OK, Remus." Tonks said determinedly. "I know he will."

He wondered who she meant; Sirius…or the boy walking up ahead of them looking as though the weight of the entire world rested upon his shoulders.

o-O-o

Sirius snapped into wakefulness with an inner sense that his very life depended on it. He stopped himself from opening his eyes though and took deep careful breaths to continue the impression he was out for the count while he assessed his circumstances.

Firstly, he wasn't human.

He'd sometimes slip into Padfoot when he was asleep – particularly if a dream involved him running around as Padfoot – but those instances were rare. They had been even in Azkaban if he'd been stupid enough to fall asleep in human form and tempt the Dementors with his dreams. Add to that that he'd been battered unconscious by magical exhaustion not asleep and he ruled that out as a reason for his sudden change in form.

Which meant his turning into Padfoot hadn't been by choice.

He assessed his physical state.

Tired.

Achy.

His body was pained as though he'd been back in Azkaban for a year. The exposure to the Dementors had done its work. His mind was cobwebby but clearing up fast though thanks to his Occlumency.

He wasn't injured – or not much anyway. All his limbs felt intact but there was a solid bruise along his left flank – possibly from hitting the deck when he'd passed out. Otherwise there was no sting of scratches or pain to indicate an injury.

There was something around his neck. A heavy cold feeling like a necklace…or a collar. Well, that was disturbing.

There was a heavy metal circle around one ankle that he remembered all too well from his days in Azkaban.

So, turned into his animagus form, collared and chained.

He breathed in deeply to take in the scents around him. He wasn't in the Forest anymore. He scented dust and concrete beneath him; wood burning – a fire at the other end of the room maybe since he couldn't feel its warmth anywhere close by.

There were the underlying scents of Azkaban; unwashed bodies and hair, systematic decay that couldn't be eliminated with a quick wash and scrub after only a day outside of the prison. He was wherever the escaped prisoners were then.

Maybe another Mulciber property.

Maybe.

Would they be in the same place as Voldemort? His heart beat a little faster at that thought.

Maybe not. He couldn't see Voldemort allowing the prisoners close to him while he wasn't at full strength. He'd keep them once removed like he'd done with Snape.

Sirius spared a thought for the spy. He hadn't a clue what had happened after the family magic had driven the Dementors back – driven them back but perhaps not away. Hopefully, it had given Snape a chance to get away.

Someone close stank of fear; sweat mixed with too much cologne…it was familiar something he had already scented earlier that night.

He let one ear flap open and listened carefully. The drag of a chain on the ground near to him meant that the other person was a prisoner just like him and his heart stuttered in his chest as he realised it meant someone else had been taken.

He needed to open his eyes. He opened one cautiously. His vision was fuzzy but cleared as he blinked a couple of times.

Neville filled his gaze. Pale and scared, curled up in a corner and tied to the wall with chains.

Crap.

Neville's frightened gaze was fixed on something on the other side of what looked like a large and empty room and Sirius followed his line of sight until he saw Crouch with two other men. He vaguely recognised one as Mulciber and the other looked like Rookwood. From what Sirius could make out, the two were getting their instructions on guarding Neville and himself.

Crouch glanced in his direction and Sirius wasn't quick enough to look away or close his eye.

"Oh look! The puppy is awake!" Crouch skipped over to Sirius.

Sirius moved because he was damned if he was going to lie on his side in the presence of a threat like Crouch.

Plan, thought Sirius hastily; keep Neville safe, get them both back to Harry who would be going out of his mind with worry, hopefully kill Crouch on the way…

And the first order of business was to change back into his human form. It only took a second for him to realise his mistake.

Sharp pain flooded through him like needles all over his skin.

It left him panting and shaking, belly to the floor as he tried to regain his breath and his senses. Dimly he became aware of Neville shouting.

"You're a monster!"

"Now, now. That's no way to speak to your new father, my boy." Crouch said, smoothing a hand over Neville's hair.

Neville yanked his head out from under Crouch's touch. He glowered at the wizard despite the fear that lurked in his gaze. "You're not my father! My father is worth ten thousand of you!"

Crouch went to hit him and Sirius moved, his animal instinct surging forward…

His jaws snapped around the other man's wrist and he bit down, heedless of the pain that flooded him again.

Crouch howled and tried to shake him off to no avail.

Sirius clamped down until he tasted blood, heard the snap of Crouch's arm beneath his teeth.

And suddenly, a spell impacted his body and sent him scuttling back, impacting the wall with a smack.

He was hurt, he could feel a slash across his flank, the blossoming bruises on the side that had hit the wall, but his Grim form was resilient – more resilient than his human form in truth. Padfoot was immediately on his feet, snarling and growling.

The three Death Eaters surrounded him.

Crouch grimaced as he took in the damage to his arm. "You'll pay for that, Black!" He gestured with his uninjured limb. "Don't touch the boy! Play with the dog as much as you want; just don't kill him." His smile was malevolent. "That honour is mine." He started to walk away to a door on the far side of the room. "I'll be back."

Sirius watched him go dispassionately. He didn't relax though. There were two Death Eaters remaining and he knew they wouldn't hold back.

Mulciber laughed, a high reedy sound. He wasn't sane, Sirius determined, taking in the other man's darting eyes and sweaty, trembling demeanour. He looked like a drug addict, jonesing for a fix.

Rookwood was as still as a rock in comparison. And Sirius knew he was the more deadly even before he spoke. "You take the dog. I'll take the boy."

Mulciber at least paused at that. "Crouch told us not to touch the, uh, boy."

"Crouch isn't the boss the last time I checked." Rookwood said harshly. "And until I see the Dark Lord myself and get told Crouch should be listened to, I'm not taking his orders." He motioned with his wand for Mulciber to get to his task.

Sirius really didn't like the way Rookwood was looking at Neville.

Neville was doing his best to look defiant but his eyes gave away exactly how scared he was. Sirius wasn't going to let anything happen to Neville. Frank had been his friend; Alice had been his school-mate. He might not be Neville's godfather but he owed them both the simple duty of protecting their son just as much as he was sworn to protect Harry.

Rookwood advanced towards Neville. "Deal with the dog!"

But Padfoot wasn't a dog. He was a Grim, and Grims were magical guardians who protected the souls of the innocent; they were portents of death for evil. And without hesitation, Sirius made a conscious decision to sink completely into Padfoot; allowed himself to be submerged by the instincts of the Grim because his intuition told him it was the only way he could protect the boy beside him.

And as Mulciber raised his wand and Rookwood took another step toward Neville, Padfoot moved.

The chain holding him to the wall broke under Padfoot's Grim strength. Mulciber fumbled his wand in shock and it was satisfying to chase him away with a threatening snap of his already bloody jaws.

Neville yelled for Rookwood to leave him alone and Padfoot leaped up to land on Rookwood's chest, using his paws and the force of his momentum to push Rookwood away from the young wizard. Rookwood was thrown backwards and Padfoot twisted so he came down on all four paws. He stood between Rookwood and Neville, facing Rookwood with a lowered head and an angry growl.

Rookwood lifted his own head and got the message. If Rookwood wanted Neville, he'd have to go through Padfoot to get him.

Rookwood brought up his wand and Padfoot snarled in satisfaction.

The fight was on.