Squib

"Squib"

by Michele McNally

Chapter One:

Remus Lupin collapsed in exhaustion onto the worn sofa. His long-time friend and fugitive of the law, Sirius Black, stumbled in after him, curling up on an equally beaten up armchair, falling quickly and heavily asleep, his mouth wide open, drooling on the arm of his tattered robes.

They had arrived in 12 Grimmauld Place a week ago, finding the once Noble and Ancient House of Black in a state of disrepair. The old and disturbed house-elf Kreacher had apparently not cleaned in years, but neither man had the time to begin renovations. Instead they had set out immediately on a mission of the utmost importance, contacting the long-retired members of what once was (and would be again) the Order of the Phoenix. All the living members now spoken for, the two had retired to the Order's newly proclaimed Headquarters for a brief rest before they began the infinitely more difficult task of recruiting new members to fight He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.

Ignoring the thick layers of dust adorning the couch on which he sat, Lupin shut his eyes, and was just drifting off into a peaceful sleep when there was a familiar "pop" and the fireplace sprang to life. The two men sprang up immediately, but swiftly relaxed. Channels of communication in the house were protected. It could only be a member of the Order.

Sure enough, the face that floated in the green flames belonged to Severus Snape.

"What do you want?" Sirius sneered at the sight of his nemesis.

"Though I loathe to admit it; help," replied Snape with an equally sour look on his face.

"What's wrong, Severus?" Lupin asked, putting himself just slightly between the two.

There was a silence, and Snape began to look a bit like he was having teeth pulled. "I need you to help me find my daughter."

***

"Twenty years ago, before the Dark Lord had become--" Snape paused, unsure of where to go. "What he became," he settled on. "When I had just begun to be seduced by the power he offered, but had not yet joined his ranks, I had a daughter."

Lupin and Black sat in Dumbledore's office, the wise old wizard looking warmly at them from behind his desk. Snape, on the other hand, sat glowering in the corner, avoiding eye contact with anyone unless absolutely necessary. The three men sat awkwardly together, as if they were back in school, sent to the Headmaster's office for some wrongdoing, and Snape had been asked to explain what had happened.

To Sirius' utter relief, he had spared them the details. In fact he barely mentioned the woman with whom he had conceived a child.

"In the years that followed, I became more involved in the Dark Lord's circle, and my contact with the child became less and less. An unidentified Death Eater killed her mother just before the Dark Lord's defeat. Adriana was four years old at the time and I was...incapable of caring for her."

Sirius scoffed to himself. "Unwilling" was more like it.

"Adriana was sent to live with relatives in America," Dumbledore supplied. "From her mother's side obviously."

"Sent by whom?" Lupin asked.

"Myself, of course," said Dumbledore. "Adriana's location is known only by myself and up until recently, Severus."

Lupin nodded. They had been told of Snape's being Obliviated of this information, hence their being called in to retrieve the girl.

"Do you know her exact location, Albus?" asked Lupin, concerned about the head start the Death Eaters had.

"I should," the Headmaster quipped. "I've been sending her Christmas cards for nearly fifteen years now."

Lupin smiled. Snape scowled. And Black spoke for the first time since arriving.

"This girl," he said, "she's twenty?"

"Nineteen," Snape replied. "She will be twenty in September." If he was going to say more, the waver in his voice stopped any other words from escaping. Quickly he looked away, swallowing hard.

Albus noticed. "Yes," he said reassuringly. "She will." He reached into his desk and removed an envelope not unlike the Hogwarts letters sent to students each year. "The Death Eaters do not know where in New York their target actually is. All they know is that she resides in a state that is actually quite large, as far as I understand. I have here the address of both her apartment, and the pub at which she works. I have also provided you with some American Muggle money and a letter from myself that may aid in convincing her."

"How difficult do you think she'll be able to convince?" asked Lupin.

Albus frowned. "I'm afraid there's no way to tell. Adriana has been living outside even the American Wizarding community, having been classified a Squib. Therefore while she will no doubt recall tales of Voldemort from her childhood, she will have heard nothing of his return. In fact she will not even recognize Sirius as a threat. Your escape from Azkaban barely registered in the American Wizarding News, let alone any publication Adriana would have had access to. I will arrange for a Portkey to take you to her pub first thing in the morning. I thought it best for your first approach to be in a more casual atmosphere."

"We'll need some Muggle clothing," Lupin said.

"Well then," Black grinned, "let's see if we can dig my old leather jacket out of that bottomless trunk of yours."

"Wonderful!" Albus exclaimed with a clap of his hands. "Then we'll arrange for you to leave tomorrow morning, say 8:00? For now though, get some rest."

The men nodded at each other and stood to go. As Lupin moved to leave, Snape caught hold of his arm.

"Adriana believes the Dark Lord to be defeated," he clipped, as if lecturing First Year Potions. "However, the threat of Death Eaters is very real to her. She understands the danger they present. But whatever you do to convince her, do not mention me."

"Don't worry, Snape," Sirius sneered. "We won't blow your cover."

The look that crossed Snape's face as he swept out of the room left Lupin wondering if that was even close to what had motivated Snape to say that.

***

It had been early when Lupin and Black had come to Albus' office that morning. However they had forgotten about the time difference, and when they arrived by Portkey in a dark alley somewhere in Brooklyn, they found that it was either "ludicrously early" in the morning, as Lupin put it, or "pretty damn late" at night was Black's perspective.

Either way, it was 3am.

"Where are we?" asked Lupin. "I thought Albus said we'd be at the entrance to the pub."

Sirius looked up at the large steel door to their right. Faintly, he could hear the sounds of thumping bass coming from behind it.

"Hmm," he said. "I think we are."

Sure enough, the door was unlocked, and apparently soundproof, because the moment Sirius pulled it open, the two men were bombarded by incredibly loud music and a veritable fog of cigarette smoke. Lupin, bless him, was blissfully naïve, owing much to the isolation he faced in his life as a werewolf. Black, on the other hand, had been around the block a few times, and knew exactly what kind of place this was.

Albus had apparently presumed that "pub" was synonymous with "bar." The old man did not seem to realize that the bar Adriana worked in was a far cry from a neighborhood pub.

"Oh my God," breathed Lupin.

Everywhere around them were the most beautiful women Lupin had ever laid eyes on. And none of them were fully clothed.

It had been a long time since Sirius had been in a place like this, and the moment was made all the sweeter when he imagined the look on Snape's face when he found out that his daughter was a stripper.

God, he hoped he would be the one to tell him.

"Well," Sirius said. "It seems that finding this girl is going to be a lot more fun than I thought."

Lupin, however, was feeling very uncomfortable with the situation. True, he was a man, privy to all normal urges, but after all, this was somebody's child.

"Oh, Merlin," he said, looking up at the girl onstage, who was doing things with a snake that Lupin thought might border on animal cruelty. "You don't think that's her, do you?"

Sirius looked. And looked. And then he looked while keeping in mind the photo they had seen of Adriana on the cover of the Daily Prophet the day her mother had been murdered. Even at four years old, the resemblance to Snape had been obvious, with black hair and eyes.

"Nah," he said. "That girl is definitely a natural blonde." He clapped Lupin on the shoulder and led him to the bar. Plunking down what he thought might be enough Muggle money; he ordered a couple of drinks and watched the stage.

"Should we ask someone?" Lupin asked, looking at one of the scantily clad waitresses flitting about the place.

Sirius shook his head. "Let's just enjoy the scenery for now, eh?"

Lupin sighed. Important mission or no, Sirius was still Sirius, more so now, having been without the company of a woman for thirteen years. He decided to let his friend enjoy himself, and set out around the place, looking for a girl who bore some resemblance to the four-year old girl in The Daily Prophet.

Finally he caught sight of her. After nearly twenty minutes of wandering through a sea of blonde hair, out of the corner of his eye he saw a flash of raven curls, and the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen. Her hair, jet black, was thick and wavy, with fringe that fell over eyes that, had they not been half-closed, he would have seen were black as well. She was giving a lap-dance, arched seductively over a chair, straddling some lucky man, with one hand in her own hair and the other curled around the back of his neck. She was wearing a skimpy bikini top, black and silver, that barely covered her full breasts, and clearly exposed a glittering tattoo; a Chinese dragon that curled around her shoulder and trailed down her torso, disappearing below the waistband of the scrap of silver fabric that passed for her shorts. A black jewel sparkled in the side of her nose, and she wore severe leather cuffs around her wrists and neck.

And then she twisted away, and he saw the man she was dancing for.

"Sirius!" he shouted over the music, leaping towards his friend. The girl remained unfazed. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Having a lovely visit with this young lady," Sirius replied, growling slightly. "They call her Dragon."

"And just how much of our money did you spend on this?"

"Don't worry, Remus," Sirius moaned, licking his lips. "We've got enough."

"I hardly think that Dumbledore intended--"

"Dumbledore?" The two men looked at the dark-haired young lady. Sirius looked surprised. Lupin did not. "Albus Dumbledore?"

Lupin sighed, shooting Sirius a look. "Yes. Adriana, I presume."

She smiled, and in that moment lost any resemblance to Snape. But neither of them had ever seen him smile in such a welcoming, friendly way.

"Are you guys friends of his?" she asked.

"Yes, we work for him actually," Lupin smiled awkwardly, very much aware that she was still squirming on his best friend's lap. "That's why we're here, actually. We were sent to find you."

The grinding stopped. "Excuse me?"

Sirius groaned, although it was unclear whether it was directed at Remus or at the fact that Adriana had stopped moving.

"Oh, honestly Remus!" he breathed. "It's not as dramatic as he makes it sound. Dumbledore needed to ask you a favor but he didn't want to put it in a letter. He couldn't be here himself and since Remus and I were in the area, he asked us to deliver the message for him."

Adriana stared down at him for a moment. After a few agonizing minutes of consideration, she nodded.

"Is there somewhere quiet, where we can talk?" Lupin asked.

Adriana shrugged. "I get off in ten. We could go get coffee or something."

Lupin smiled. "Wonderful," he said as the girl slid off of Sirius' lap.

"Hey!" he whined. "That's it? I'm done?"

Adriana turned back. "I said I get off in ten minutes," she smirked. "You are just going to have to wait."

***

Fifteen minutes later found Sirius and Remus sitting across from Adriana in a 24-hour Muggle diner. Though she had changed out her skimpy black and silver costume, Adriana was still dressed rather suggestively. Slipping her imitation leather jacket off of her shoulders, Sirius saw that she was wearing a dark purple sleeveless shirt that clung to her every curve and dipped dangerously low at the neck.

The waitress, looking vaguely like she hated her life, deposited three coffees on their table, along with a large plate of macaroni and cheese and a stack of toast, which Adriana attacked immediately.

"Hungry?" asked Sirius with a smirk.

"My line of work, it's easy to work up an appetite," she replied coyly. "So, talk to me."

Sirius and Remus exchanged a look. "Now is the time for the direct approach, Moony."

Remus wasted no time. "You're in danger."

A piece of toast halted moments away from being devoured. But Adriana's face did not hold the shock that they had expected. Instead, there was definite skepticism. The toast dropped back onto the plate and she crossed her arms.

"Oh, really?" she sneered, looking frightfully like Snape. "From what?"

"Death Eaters."

"Bullshit," she spat, shoving the toast in her mouth. "They think I'm dead. That's why I moved my ass--my whole ass, mind you--to America. Or did no one fill you in on the story?"

"We know all about your parents," Lupin said. "Dumbledore told us. Here." He handed her a piece of parchment; a letter from Dumbledore.

Her food remained untouched while she read it. When she finally looked up from the paper she caught the arm of the waitress closest to her.

"Cate, honey, could you wrap my food up for me, please?" she asked.

"Sure, babe," the short-haired waitress replied with a smile. When she returned, Adriana's food neatly packaged, Adri smiled in thanks, and stood.

"Where are you going?" asked Lupin.

Adriana shook her head, but said nothing. She grabbed her jacket, her food and the letter from Dumbledore and pulled a few bills out of her small leather book bag, throwing them down on the table.

Sirius was on his feet as soon as she got to the door, following after her, leaving Remus to pay for their coffees in a flurry of confusing bills that, to him, all looked alike.

"There are Death Eaters after you!" he called to her from atop the stairs that led to the Diner's door.

"Yes," she called back, walking away, "and now I know. Thank you so much!"

In a feat of false youth, he leaped down the stairs in one jump, cursing his knees as he landed, and ran to her, coming in front of her to cut her off.

"What are you going to do?" he asked, his face inches from hers.

"I can take care of myself," she snapped.

"Against Death Eaters? Against Voldemort?" he challenged.

"Well, we'll see, won't we?" She tried to get around him. He wouldn't let her. She pushed, but he grabbed her by the arms and pinned her to the wall.

"How exactly do you plan to handle yourself against a fully-trained wizard?"

A flip of her forearms and the two hands holding her were slapped away/ She moved one more time and as quick as lightning drew a small black canister from the pocket of her jeans. A jet of burning hot pepper spray seared his eyes and he stumbled back.

"My own way."

Blinded, Sirius tried in vain to wipe the stinging substance from his eyes, but realized too late that he was only rubbing it in harder. Unable to see, he heard Adriana stomp away, disappearing into the web of streets and alleys that she seemed to be familiar with. The next thing he heard was the bell above the Diner's door as Lupin clamored down the steps to meet him. He saw Adri gone, and Sirius' eyes red and watery.

"Hey!" a voice called from the door behind Lupin. The two looked up to see one of the largest men they'd ever seen, and his white apron and tiny paper hat didn't make him any less terrifying. "What's your problem, man?" he asked roughly, making a beeline for Sirius.

"No problem," Lupin interjected, jumping in between them before the man could reach his target. "My friend here just had one too many, I'm taking him home now, no harm done."

Cate, the waitress that had been on such familiar terms with Adriana was watching from the window. Several other waitresses glanced out as they passed by, trying to look like they weren't.

"Listen, Frenchie," the cook growled. "If I ever catch you hasslin' Adri again, it's your ass, understand me?"

Sirius nodded, his vision clearing just enough to make him suitably afraid of the man in front of him.

The cook backed off, and lumbered back up the steps into the Diner. Lupin breathed a sigh of relief.

"So, what now?" he asked.

"Well," Sirius replied, blinking. "She'll head home, no doubt. We can easily get there before her. We'll wait for her."

"And then what? What if she...does what she did to you again? What did she do to you?"

"Caught me off-guard," Sirius growled, looking every inch the out-of-practice Auror itching to get back to work. "It won't happen again." He smiled. "I have a plan."

***

Adri was growling to herself as she emerged from the Subway station, still livid after her encounter with Sirius. The letter from Dumbledore was clutched in her hand. She'd read it a few more times on the train ride downtown. It was indeed the man's handwriting, and he'd had the foresight to casually slip in several details that no imposter could have known.

The letter was for real. So, in addition to being furious, she was also slightly terrified, staring down every single person on the subway who'd even glanced her way, until she was sure they weren't a threat. Now she was walking the final blocks to her apartment with her keys between the fingers of her clenched fist, forming Wolverine-esque claws.

When she got in the building she would check the bathroom, the only other room of her tiny third-floor walk-up, the closets and all the windows, as she did every night after she got home from work, and every evening before she left. Her building was in sight now, but at the top of the block she stopped, overcome with the sudden horrifying feeling that she was being watched.

True, she had no magical powers, but she did possess a powerful intuition, one of the few things she'd inherited from her mother. Add that on to her sordid life on the stage, and she knew exactly what it felt like when someone was studying your every move.

On the sidewalk on the corner of her building there was a small collection of bushes, planted in the latest "Beautify Brooklyn" campaign. There was no breeze in the hot summer night, and yet the bush had just rustled.

Adri brandished her keys and raised her mace, approaching the bush with her chin up defiantly. It rustled again, and she thought it might be a squirrel. She raised her mace higher; she hated those little fuckers.

Then without warning, a breeze did finally blow, and the leaves swept aside to reveal a glimpse of a pair of golden eyes, which Adri reflexively maced.

The howl of an animal in pain ripped through the air and a large black dog stumbled out of the bush, whimpering pathetically. It tripped on one of its paws and fell to the ground, frantically trying to wipe its face on anything it could find.

"Oh no!" Adri cried, seeing that she'd maced an innocent dog rather than a Death Eater, or a little bastard squirrel. "Oh, puppy! I'm so sorry!"

The dog whimpered a little more, and flinched away from Adri's raised hand.

"Oh, it's alright, buddy," she cooed. "I won't hurt you."

Teary-eyed, he whimpered again, but allowed Adri to scratch its head.

"That a-boy," she said. She reached into her tin of food and pulled out a piece of toast, now soggy and cheese-covered from her macaroni. "Hungry, fella?" she asked, holding up the toast. The dog ate it in one gulp, and then leaped up, licking Adri's face in thanks.

"Aw," she laughed, scratching behind his ears. "You're just a big baby, aren't you? Now who do you belong to?" There was no collar on it. "Hmm, no tags, huh? Are you a stray, baby? Or is someone missing you?" The dog rubbed his head against her knee, whimpering again, licking her hand. "Oh, I wish I could take you home with me, but my mean old landlord doesn't allow pets, does he? No he doesn't." It was too bad. She wouldn't mind having a guard dog. "And that's because he's a little bitch. Yes he is, yes he is." She sighed. "Sorry babe."

There was a snap inside the bush. She jumped up, raising her mace. But the dog leapt forward, growling, standing in front of her protectively. There was no more movement, and the night went quiet.

Adri looked down at the dog. "Well, I guess it wouldn't hurt to keep you a couple of days," she whispered, patting the dog on the head. "At least until I find your owner."

The dog seemed to grin as he followed Adri happily to her apartment building.

Smiling, Lupin watched from across the street as Sirius, in his dog form followed Adriana right up the stairs to her apartment.

***

It was sweltering in Adriana's apartment. She didn't leave her windows open, and being the summer, it got very hot in her tiny studio. She dropped her bag on a green plaid couch that looked like it had been purchased from a garage sale for 45 cents, and flipped on the air conditioner.

"Sorry, puppy," she said, stripping off her coat, and to Sirius' still very human delight, her shirt. "Must not be nice to have fur right now."

She walked to the refrigerator at the far side of the room, tucked in a corner next to a tiny stove with only two burners, and an equally small sink, piled high with dirty dishes. Filling a bowl with water, she dropped two ice cubes in it and set it on the floor for Sirius to drink. A little more shuffling around the apartment and soon the metal container with her leftover toast and macaroni was beside it.

She smiled down at the hungry dog and popped a Lean Cuisine into the microwave. Strutting across the floor in just jeans and a red bra, she checked the locks on the door and crouched down in front of the small end-table next to her couch. It was

covered in a scarf and when she lifted it, Sirius saw that underneath it was a box, on top of which were a folded patchwork quilt and two pillows in deep purple pillowcases.

Adri swept the pillows away and pulled the metal box to her. She quickly turned the dial on a combination lock and ripped open the lid. Sirius peered inside. There was a large folder for what he assumed were personal papers, and a small box that Adri opened, depositing her money from the night into a sea of ones, fives and larger bills. As she lifted it out, Sirius caught a glimpse of a photograph, the occupants of which were moving. A woman with a thick mane of brown hair, wearing witch's robes was holding a tiny baby in front of what looked like the lake at Hogwarts. The frame was old and the glass was cracked, but the woman smiled and the baby laughed, pulling on her mother's hair.

Not stopping to even glance at the photo, Adri swept it aside, and from underneath it pulled a dangerous-looking silver handgun. Sirius felt his jaw slacken as she cocked and loaded it like an expert. Placing it on the table, she replaced the box, and threw the quilt and pillow on the couch as her microwave dinner dinged.

Sirius shook his furry black head in amazement. At least she was taking the threat of Death Eaters seriously.

By then it was sufficiently cool in the apartment, and Adri took time from her TV dinner to pull an over-sized T-shirt over her head and slip off her jeans, wrapping herself up in her patchwork quilt to watch TV, sitting Indian style on the couch.

Sirius walked up to her and put his head on her lap, and she slapped the green sofa, inviting the large dog to jump up onto it. He curled up next to her and she scratched him behind the ears, shoveling down her food.

"I'll put up posters tomorrow morning," she muttered softly. "I wish I could keep you, Gorgeous. It's nice to have some company for a change."

She finished her dinner and threw out the container, hitting the button on her answering machine.

"Adriana, it's Charlotte," the machine said. Sirius cocked his head. He'd heard of these message machines. "I'm just calling to tell you that we received your telephone message. Thank you. Your Uncle...really appreciates that...that you'd call him on his birthday. I'm sorry he didn't call you back himself, it's just--" There was a pause. It sounded as if the woman was speaking to someone else. "Well you know how he feels about these Muggle things. We'll see you at Christmas."

Adri sighed, deleting the message. Then she felt a cold nose brush against her hand and she smiled, leaning down to pet the dog. Her smile turned into a chuckle, and she reached up behind her neck and unbuckled the dog collar she always wore to the club. She looked at the tag that hung from it. "Adriana," it read. She buckled it around the dog's neck.

"There," she said, ruffling the dogs ears. "Now you belong to me." Sirius barked happily. He could think of worse fates. She hushed him quickly. "You know," she smirked. "I think I might actually have a leash around here, too."

***

The sun was just coming up when Adriana fell asleep, curled underneath purple sheets on the sofa bed, Sirius watching her as she slept. Outside, Lupin walked the grounds around her building, casting wards around the property. If any wizard Apparated within ten yards of Adri's front door, a screeching siren would alert Sirius and Remus. That would give them enough time to get to Adriana, and remove her forcefully to Hogwarts if necessary. Sirius in the meantime would watch her for the night, and in the morning, Remus would try again to convince her that she was not safe here. It was a fool-proof plan.

Unless, of course, the Death Eaters had already arrived.

"Stupefy!"

Remus had barely enough time to cry out before crashing to the ground, landing with a crash into an overflowing city garbage can. Four black-cloaked men flooded on to the sidewalk. From his place on the ground, Remus noted two things that seemed to bode well for him. The first being that, true to many spells used for Location, they did not seem to know exactly which window in the three tall buildings belonged to their target. The second was that they had apparently not seen Remus casting any charms, and taken him for an ordinary Muggle, out for a stroll. Therefore, his wand was still in his hand.

Inside the apartment, Sirius' ears had perked up the second he'd heard the trash can crash to the ground. Adri had not stirred, sleeping soundly despite the cool light beginning to brighten the dark apartment. Just before the crash, he thought he'd heard the sound of a voice casting a spell, but he supposed his paranoid mind could have invented the noise. Fur standing on end, he watched the window for the signal from Remus.

The early morning was quiet, and everything smelled right to him. And then, quick as a shot, a shower of green sparks exploded into the air like a flare gun. And as quickly as it had happened, the sounds of chaos erupted from below the window. Voices shouted spells and there were cried of pain--none, thankfully, were from Remus.

Sirius leapt off the bed and barked furiously. Adriana bolted upright, grabbing her gun from underneath her pillow. Her long, bare legs kicked the sheets from her, and she ran to the window, where she could hear the sounds of fighting from below the hum of the air conditioner. Although fights outside her window were not uncommon, she clearly recognized the sounds of spell casting.

"Oh, shit!" she cried, leaping away from the window. Sirius followed, concerned that she might run. They needed to stay put until Remus could get to them. Adri could only travel to Hogwarts by Portkey, and Sirius had no wand to create one. But Adri was busy at the moment, not even bothering to pull on pants before grabbing a black duffel bag and shoving anything she could find inside it. Shouldering the bag, and clutching her gun, she ran for the door.

Sirius wasted no time leaping in front of her. He grabbed the bottom of her oversized T-shirt in his teeth and pulled her away from the door. She jerked sharply, her gun landing on the floor underneath her bed. Her bag slipped from her shoulder to her elbow, smacking Sirius in the face. He let go of her shirt with a whimper as a zipper caught him in the eye.

"Stupid dog!" she growled, kicking him aside. Sirius huffed. How quickly attitudes change.

Adri dropped her bag in front of the door and went to the bed to retrieve her gun. The room lit up red as a second signal from Remus flared across the sky.

Sirius leapt, tackling Adri to the ground. She cried out from beneath the dog's weight, but before she could push him aside, he transformed back into a man. She barely had time to react before one of his hands pinned her wrists above her head, and the other was slapped across her mouth.

"Shut up, and stay down!" he hissed.

Terrified, her weapon out of reach, she obeyed, but only until her door crashed open, and her assailant's partner in crime stumbled into the room.

"Sirius!" he called.

"Here!" Sirius replied, lifting his head from behind the bed.

Adri took this opportunity to slam her forehead into Sirius' nose. He let go of her wrists to hold his nose, and she punched him quickly but roughly across the jaw, and shoved his head against the wall. It dazed him, but not enough to keep him from holding her back as she lunged for her gun.

"How many?" he roared over Adri's struggling grunts, blood dripping from his nose.

"Four!" Lupin yelled, casting a Sealing Charm over the door to slow them down. "And they're on their way up!"

"Let go of me!" Adri shouted. She swung her legs onto the frame of the sofa-bed and pushed off, sending herself and Sirius into the wall. Already in pain, he let go of her arms as his body was crushed between hers and the wall.

"Remus!" he shouted as she scrambled for her gun.

"Portus!" Remus cried.

She lifted the weapon and pointed it at Lupin. But the moment her hand closed around the handgun, the room began to spin and she felt a pull from inside her stomach. Her feet left the ground, and she felt herself spin into nothing and back out again the other side, where her bare feet landed on warm grass, and she shut her eyes against the sudden, blinding sun.

"Hello Adriana," a soft voice said.

She opened her eyes to find several pairs of eyes on her, most looking quite alarmed. And no wonder; she was pointing her gun at the figure in the center, a white-haired bearded wizard in purple robes that she would have recognized anywhere.

"Welcome back," smiled the twinkling eyes of Albus Dumbledore.