Dreaming Of You

Dreaming of You

Part 7 - So Much For Kansas

Chapter 12

What would I give to live where you are

What would I pay to stay here beside you

What would I do to see you

Smiling at me?

"I am losing my mind."

James looked over at Sirius. "Haven't we been over this already?" He ducked a swat of Remus's hand. "Well, we have!"

"A new sort of losing my mind," Sirius conceded. "And this one isn't nearly as much fun."

"It can get worse?" James asked under his breath.

"Yes, it can." Sirius gave his friend a nasty look. "But as you aren't interested, I shall simply have to suffer in silence."

"So it isn't about Lianne?" Remus asked, when it became obvious Sirius was waiting for someone to.

"Not exactly." Sirius sighed with real sadness, causing James and Peter to look up in astonishment. "It's about how I haven't seen her in three days. I'm getting worried."

James frowned. He'd already experienced one of Sirius's rather violent reactions to the tentative suggestion that Lianne really was nothing more than a figment of his imagination, so he didn't think suggesting a Lucid Dreaming Elixir would be a particularly good idea. Unfortunately, it was all he could come up with.

"I thought you saw her every night," Remus said, confused.

"I did, up till three nights ago." Sirius pulled his feet up onto the armrest of the library chair he was sitting on, scowling fiercely at nothing. "Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe she really is just a - "

"I don't believe that!" They all looked at Remus in surprise. "Come on, Sirius, we know there's magic in the world! If there's magic, why can't there be a magical true love?"

Sirius blinked. "You sound like me. You sound like her."

Remus glared. "You're missing the point, Padfoot. You're too smart to fall in love with a dream. I know you are! If you're in love with this girl, then I, at least, will continue to believe that she isn't just a dream. I believe, and will keep on believing, that she is real!"

James applauded at the end of Remus's speech, spoiling the effect. But the point seemed to have gotten across.

Sirius nodded. "Ok. Ok, thanks, Moony. I do believe in her." He laughed. "Even if I have lost my mind."

~*~

"Ok, fine, I'll go. Even if I have lost my mind." Lianne gave Mr. Harvey one more doubtful look, the walked straight at the wall between the CD store and the shoe store.

To her amazement, she stepped right through it. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, she told herself. I mean, there's Diagon Alley, there's Platform 9 3/4, of course America would have places where you can walk through walls - "Ow!"

She turned to glare indignantly at Mr. Harvey. "I'm sorry, Lianne, I thought you'd gotten out of the way," he apologized. "Now, I believe some Americans will accept either wizard money or - what are they called? Dollars? Well, most stores accept either, so you shouldn't have to go to the Gringotts office until you get your wand. I have some things of my own I need. I'll meet you back here in an hour and a half?"

Lianne nodded. "But where - "

"There's a mall directory right up there." Mr. Harvey pointed at the wall behind her. "I'll see you later." He walked away.

Lianne sighed. "Ok, fine. I guess I'm on my own." She looked around, and spotted the directory. Struggling through the crowd of people, some wearing Muggle clothing, some in robes, she went to examine it.

Words wrote themselves on it as she approached:

Welcome to the Baltimore City Wizarding Mall. Please select the category of shopping you wish to search.

Accessories

Animals

Books

Clothing

Food

Magical Supplies

Miscellaneous

Music

Toys

Lianne stared for a moment, then laughed aloud, ignoring the people who turned to stare at her. "Real magic. Go figure." She glanced at the list of supplies she needed. "Um... clothing? Can I search that?"

More words appeared:

Clothing: Please select the form of clothing you wish to search.

Children's

Costumes

Formal

Men's

Women's

Other

Lianne gave the "Other" category a suspicious glance before deciding, "Well, I don't think I'm a child anymore, so I'd better search for women's."

This time, a map formed, apparently of the mall. A flashing red light was marked "You are here" while steady green lights marked four separate shops where she could find women's clothing. Figuring she didn't want to get too far away, so that she couldn't get too lost, Lianne decided on the closest, Galadriel's Garments.

"Thank you," she told the directory, hoping it could understand things that weren't direct commands. After a moment:

You are welcome.

Lianne grinned and hurried away.

~*~

Lianne woke up with a start, staring around the unfamiliar room in bewilderment before remembering just where she was. Mr. Harvey had dropped her off at the airport yesterday, and she'd flown over to England. She'd been met by a female Ministry worker, Clara Simmons, who'd brought her to Hogsmeade - actually Hogsmeade! - and arranged for her to stay the night at an inn, the Night Owl. And today...

Today I am going to Hogwarts. Lianne stared at the bed in front of her with a sigh. It was almost anti-climactic, after all the times she'd imagined it. She'd usually envisioned something along the lines of Sirius swooping down on his flying motorcycle to carry her off to a world of magic and fantasy. Not being passed on from person to person for them to watch over until they could hand her over to someone else, as though she was just so much inconvenient luggage. Not being all but snatched away from her home without even getting a chance to say goodbye to her friends, because her family got killed in some car accident that might as well have never happened, for all she could remember it.

And she didn't even have her dreams of Sirius to comfort her. It seemed that ever since she'd learned that, hey, she really was a witch, all her previous fantasies had deserted her. And just pretending he was there didn't work anymore. Not after dreaming about him like she had. It wasn't enough, and never would be again. She bit her lip hard, using the sharp pain to force back her tears. If she started crying now, she'd never stop.

~*~

"I've lost her."

"Sirius, will you calm down?" James was starting to get truly alarmed. He'd woken up to find Sirius, who was not exactly one of nature's early risers, already awake, just staring at the wall. "Four days really isn't that long, you know."

"And you said you believed she was real," Remus reminded him.

"Oh, I believe, all right," Sirius said. If voices were colors, James thought, the one Sirius was using would have been grey. It was not a reassuring notion. "And - I can't explain it. I just know I'm never going to dream about her again. So I've lost her."

It would have been pointless to ask how he knew. That was assuming there was still some measure of logic to the whole business. Anyway, logic and Sirius might often end up in the same sentence, but if so, it was only to demonstrate the concept of antonyms.

"What are you going to do about it?" Peter asked hesitantly. "If that's true, I mean."

"What do you mean, 'what am I going to do?'" Sirius stared at Peter blankly. "I'm going to study for my O.W.L.s, finish my fifth year, go home for the summer - "

"I meant, what about Lianne?" Peter clarified.

"Can I do anything?" Sirius shook his head. "I told you, I know I can't - I won't - well, I know the dreams are over. What do you expect me to do, throw myself off the Astronomy Tower?"

"You aren't planning to, are you?" Remus asked cautiously.

"No, of course not." Sirius looked at the wall again. "It would hurt too much."

"Ah." Remus frowned, unsure as to whether or not this was a good thing. He glanced at his watch. "Um - you know, we have breakfast soon..."

"I know. You guys go ahead," Sirius told them. "I'm not hungry."

James gave his friend a sharp look. "Starvation isn't exactly a painless death, either," he pointed out.

"True." Sirius nodded thoughtfully. "Maybe I'll come with you, after all."

When they went down to the Common Room, Anya Marrette, Lily Evans's best friend - and the biggest gossip in the House - immediately pounced on them. "So are the rumors true?"

"Which rumors?" James asked warily. Caution always paid off with Anya. You never knew what she'd heard. Once, she'd gone around insisting that Dumbledore was having an affair with - of all people! - Flitwick. Because the two professors had been locked in Dumbledore's office for a scandalizing fifteen minutes, deep in discussion. Or, as Anya put it, "discussion - cough, cough."

"The Slytherins say Sirius's gone insane." The blonde turned to the Marauder in question. "Have you?"

"Have I what?" Sirius appeared to notice the girl for the first time.

"Gone insane," Anya said patiently. "Snape says you're hallucinating about some nonexistent American Muggle - " She stopped in mid-sentence as Sirius, white-faced, strode past her to the portrait hole. James ran after while Remus stayed a moment to apologize.

"I'm going to kill him," Sirius said conversationally as James caught up with him. "I haven't decided how yet, but I know it will be torturously painful. And if it was one of you three who told him - "

"We'd never!" James snapped indignantly.

"Good. I'd hate to have to kill someone I like." Sirius shoved the portrait open viciously, earning himself a squawk of outrage from the Fat Lady, who he'd never really gotten along with. "Shut up."

"You know, Padfoot, death might not be the answer here," James suggested delicately, scrambling to keep up with his longer-legged friend. "I mean, you know Anya, she could've heard you herself and blamed it on Snape to make things more interesting - "

"James, I am not in a good mood right now!" Sirius growled. "And McGonagall is always telling me I need to learn to share."

"This probably isn't what she - "

"Prongs!"

James shut up. He could usually tell when he could push Sirius, and when he couldn't. Right now, his Best Friend Radar was screaming that this was definitely a time when he couldn't. Maybe he could run get Madam Kelari in enough time to keep Snape alive. Not that he cared what happened to the slimeball, but he knew Sirius would be sorry for it later. Like when he got expelled.

~*~

"Now, Miss - Trivon, isn't it?"

Lianne sighed. "Treyvan. You know, like the 'tray' you carry?"

"I'm sorry, Miss Treyvon - "

"Ok, how about just Lianne." She shook her head a little. She didn't think it was a particularly difficult name...

"All right." Professor McGonagall nodded. Lianne had nearly fainted when she met her. Not only was this a book character - well, I thought she was a book character - but she was so young. She couldn't have been teaching more than five years. It was kind of disappointing. "Well, Lianne, Professor Dumbledore, the Headmaster, is going to announce you to the students at breakfast this morning. We haven't had a transfer student in years, so there'll probably be a bit of a fuss over you."

"Am I going to get Sorted?" Lianne asked hopefully. She'd always wondered where the real Sorting Hat would put her.

"What - " McGonagall looked briefly flustered. "Someone mentioned - well, I suppose it's better if you know. Yes, you'll be sorted into one of four Houses - Slytherin, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Gryffindor. Your House is where - "

"That's ok, I know already." Lianne lifted her bag from the floor to her lap. She'd been told to just leave her suitcases in the hall - she'd gotten strange looks, for not having a trunk - but she'd refused to let go of the bag with her art supplies in it. She'd go crazy if she lost her sketchbook.

"Really." McGonagall didn't look pleased. "Someone's been rather talkative at the Ministry, I see. Well, Lianne," she stood, "just wait here until you hear Dumbledore call you, all right?"

"All right." Lianne nodded, and her wand fell out of her hair, clattering on the floor. McGonagall winced. She'd looked mildly horrified to find Lianne using her wand as a common hair stick, but she hadn't said anything. Lianne didn't see the problem. At least she always knew where it was.

~*~

"You know, he might legitimately be sick," James suggested, exasperated. "People do actually go to the hospital wing for that, you know."

"Hah." Sirius was unmollified.

"If I were Snape, I'd hide from Sirius right now," Peter said.

"Well, he can't hide forever." Sirius took a steadying breath. "I want to know how he found out about Li. How dare he spread rumors about her, anyway?"

"Padfoot - "

"Don't tell me to calm down, Moony," Sirius warned. "I'm not in a calming down mood."

He stopped talking as the people around them fell silent. "What's going on?" James asked, looking up.

"Haven't you been listening?" said a third-year a few seats down. "There's a transfer student coming from America. Dumbledore's just announced her. She's going to be Sorted."

"Really?" Remus looked interested. "We haven't had a transfer since my parents were here. I wonder why we have one now..."

"Who cares?" Sirius was about to go back to ranting under his breath when he sat up straight in shock. "That's her!"

"What?" The other three Marauders twisted to see the girl who'd walked out. She had her brown hair pulled back by her wand, which seemed rather disrespectful. Other than that, there was nothing particularly outstanding about her.

Sirius, on the other hand, seemed to disagree. "That's Lianne!"

~*~

Lianne kept her eyes down as she walked out. Crowds didn't usually bother her, but she wasn't usually the focus of their attention. It was kind of different when they were staring at you, than when you were doing the staring.

She glanced up at the man - the wizard - she was standing beside. He was very tall, with long auburn hair streaked with white. Again, she felt cheated, somehow. She'd expected him to have pure white hair and beard. She consoled herself by noting how very blue his eyes were, and that he really did have half-moon spectacles.

Apparently, she was expected to do something. "Hello," she offered, when nothing else came to mind.

Dumbledore took pity on her. "Hello, Lianne. Welcome to Hogwarts." He steered her to a stool. "Sit here, please."

Lianne sat, trying hard to ignore the butterflies in her stomach. This is it, she thought, rocking the stool back and forth a little on its slightly uneven legs. A couple weeks ago, I'd've killed to be - She stopped that thought where it was. She didn't want to think about killing to get here. Definitely not.

"Now, this - thank you, Minerva - " Dumbledore took a battered old hat from McGonagall, "this is the Sorting Hat. You just put it on, and it will decide which House you belong in."

Lianne nodded, and took the hat from him. She wished it looked a bit more like the pictures, with eyes and a mouth slit. But then again, do I really want to put my head in something that has a mouth? She lifted the Sorting Hat to her head. Now or never, I suppose.

She let the hat drop to cover her face, its brim hitting her somewhere around mid-neck. Whoever this hat was made for must've been enormous. Hagrid-size, I bet. I wonder how many half-giants -

"Well, Miss Treyvan, I see you know something about the Sorting process already."

Lianne nearly fell off the stool as the voice sounded. She'd been expecting something, yes, but she hadn't realized it would be like this, as though there was actually a person standing behind her, whispering in her ear.

"And - well. That's interesting." The hat - was it the hat? It had to be - sounded surprised. "So you think you're a Slytherin?"

Lianne bit her lip. She'd always insisted she belonged in Slytherin, out of a deep dislike for all the annoying Gryffindors. But now - have I ever heard of a nice person in Slytherin? They're all called ambitious, or power-hungry, and usually evil. Fans might argue that Slytherins were merely misunderstood, but somehow, Li wasn't so sure that was the case anymore.

"Nice recovery, my dear. Shouldn't like to send a nice girl like you into that House. No, I think you'd fit best in - "

~*~

"Gryffindor, Gryffindor, Gryffindor - "

"Will you be quiet?" James shot an annoyed look at his friend. "Muttering is supposed to be soft."

Sirius paid no attention, continuing to stare at the girl who'd just put on the Sorting Hat, repeating his prayer for her placing over and again. James sighed, offering up his own hopes. Just don't put her in Slytherin. Not Slytherin, that's all I ask.

A rip opened in the hat. Sirius fell silent immediately. James closed his eyes, afraid to listen, knowing how bad this could turn out to be. Not Slytherin, not Slytherin...

The hat made its decision.

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

~*~

Lianne stared at the inside of the hat in shock. "Hufflepuff?"

But the hat was clearly through speaking to her. She didn't wait longer than an instant before taking it off and handing it to Professor Dumbledore. He directed her to the politely applauding table decked in yellow and black.

She didn't pay too much attention to what was happening as the students at the table tugged her into one of the empty seats. She could hardly believe it. Hufflepuff was the one House she'd never envisioned herself in. No one ever did. She'd never thought that hard-working even particularly described her.

Then she realized that about half the students at the table had sketchbooks open in front of them. She began to smile. Maybe that hat knew what it was doing after all...

~*~

"Hufflepuff?"

"Padfoot, there is nothing wrong with Hufflepuff!" Remus insisted. "It's a very respectable House!"

"Much better than Slytherin," James agreed. Personally, he was too relieved that his worst fears hadn't been realized to feel insulted on Lianne's behalf. Looking at her, he didn't really think she felt insulted at all. A little stunned, perhaps, but that was probably just the surprise of a talking hat.

"But she deserves better than Hufflepuff!" Sirius wailed.

"I think you're making too big a deal out of this," James said firmly. "The Sorting Hat put her in Hufflepuff, so that's where she belongs. Most Hufflepuffs just wouldn't be happy in Gryffindor."

"It isn't an attack on her personality, no matter what you seem to think," Remus added. "Peter was almost in Hufflepuff, and there's nothing wrong with him!"

"And all the Hufflepuffs are really nice," Peter offered. "It's kind of a compliment. Like, she's a nice person, so let's put her with other nice people."

"She ought to be a Gryffindor," Sirius muttered rebelliously.

"Does it matter?" Remus asked reasonably. "I mean, she's the same person no matter what House she's in, isn't she?"

Sirius scowled, but there wasn't much he could say to that. Except - "You sound like a professor."

"Oh, no! The horror." Remus grinned. "Someone has to. I can't see you taking your problems to McGonagall."

Sirius snorted softly. "She'd send me straight to Madam Kelari." He laughed suddenly. "Hey - now I don't have to worry about going to the hospital wing! My dreams really are over!"

"Yeah..." James frowned. Is that a good thing, he wondered, or a bad thing?

"So are you going to talk to her?" Peter asked curiously.

Sirius blinked. "Well - yes, of course. Why wouldn't I?"

"I dunno." Peter shrugged. "Just - if you only know her from your dreams, I wasn't sure she'd know you."

Sirius paled. "She'll know me. She has to." He turned imploringly to James. "She'll know me, right, Prongs?"

"Of course," James reassured his friend quickly. "You're very difficult to forget."

Sirius glared. "That is not what I meant and you know it." He craned his head to get a proper view of Lianne at the other table. "She isn't looking at me. What if she really doesn't know me? What if I am going crazy?"

"You could go talk to her," James suggested. "She'd either recognize you immediately, or not at all. Then you'd know."

"What, like now?" Sirius leaned back in his chair hurriedly. "No. No, definitely not."

Remus gaped at the taller Marauder. "Sirius, you aren't scared?"

"Yes, and you would be, too," Sirius said bluntly. "If she doesn't recognize me, then that's it. I won't have a choice but to report myself as an official nutcase. I'd have to be some sort of idiot not to be scared." He dropped his gaze to the table. "I almost don't want to know."

"Well, I do." James stood up. "I'm going to talk to her."

~*~

Lianne pushed a piece of sausage around her plate aimlessly. They'd already fed her at the Night Owl, so she wasn't noticeably hungry. The people in her House had insisted on forcing food on her, though. They had made it clear that breakfast was not the most important meal of the day in this House - it had a three-way tie with lunch and dinner. No one was going to let the new girl get away without a plate filled with food she wasn't interested in eating.

"'Scuze me, are you Lianne Treyvan?"

Lianne twisted in her seat - and her eyebrows shot as high as they could go. She came within an inch of calling the boy in front of her "Harry Potter" before she realized his eyes were decidedly blue-grey, and not green in the slightest. But he had everything else - messy black hair, glasses - all right, these were gold-rimmed rather than black, but still, they were there - and he was only as tall as she was.

"Yes?" she said, realizing he was expecting some form of reply.

"Ok. Good." He didn't seem to have a very clear idea of why he'd come over. "I'm James Potter."

James Potter. Lianne swallowed hard. If she hadn't had so much proof that all this was real already, she definitely would have begun doubting here. James Potter. The father, rather than the son. The fourth Marauder. From the previous generation.

The previous generation... Lianne inhaled sharply, almost whistling backwards. James Potter's best friend... She had to ask. She had to, even though she probably wouldn't like the answer. She'd never forgive herself if she didn't at least ask.

"Say, James," she knew she didn't sound casual, but she'd always been a lousy actress, "do you know a Sirius Black, by any chance?"

That startled him. "You know Sirius? Really?"

"Oh - " Lianne said the first thing that popped into her head, "I met him when his family was visiting America. Last summer."

James frowned a little. "I thought they went to visit a cousin in France last summer."

"Um... change of plans?" Lianne said hopefully.

Enlightenment struck James's face. "Oh. I see." A pleased, rather surprised smile spread across his face. "Yeah, he's mentioned you, and he thought he recognized you."

Lianne stared up at the boy, hardly daring to form the hope into the words of an actual thought. "Really? He remembers me?" She ducked down to grab her bag suddenly, startling James. "Well - if he really does, he'll remember how I made him pose for a few hours. I have that picture finished, and watercolored... if he'd like it?" She ended as more of a question than a statement, gently tearing the page from her sketchbook along the dotted line.

"Well... I guess he would." James took the picture uncertainly. "I'll give it to him."

"Thanks." Lianne smiled gratefully. "Tell him - tell him I'm very glad he remembers me."

"I think he'd want me to say the same to you." James smiled back at her, with real warmth. Something about what she'd said, or how she'd said it, had somehow made him very happy.

~*~

"Well? Well?" Sirius turned away as James approached. "No, never mind, don't tell me. I don't want to know."

"Ok. Fine." James grinned. "I'll just keep this picture for myself, then. Though what I'd want with a painting of you - "

"What picture?" Sirius demanded, spinning in his seat so fast it skidded on the floor. "You mean she really did remember?"

"As far as I could tell." James shrugged. "You did go to France over the summer, right?"

"What's that got to do with it?" Sirius snatched in vain at the picture James was holding just out of his reach. "Come on, what picture?"

"She says you met when you came to America last summer." James laughed. "And much as I'm enjoying being taller than you, if you stand up - ok, there you go." He let go of the picture as Sirius jumped to his feet to claim it.

"I remember this!" Sirius stared at the painting in amazement. "She made me sit and pose for ages, and she kept complaining about how I'm a horrible model. I kept laughing, and that made her laugh, and then she couldn't draw. She had to start over twice."

"Have you ever even been to America?" Remus asked.

"Don't think so." Sirius wasn't paying much attention. "It's her. I can't believe it. It's really truly her."

Slowly, he began really grinning for the first time in four days.

~*~

Lianne hesitated in the hall as everyone hurried off to their first classes, not quite sure where she should be. She'd watched the Gryffindor table hopefully as they all got up to go, but she supposed she'd missed Sirius. If he was really there. She still wasn't quite sure she believed it. She didn't think she would believe it, until she saw him.

"Miss Treyvan?" Lianne looked behind her with a start, to see Professor Dumbledore. "Would you come with me, please?"

"Um... sure." Lianne followed the Headmaster as he led her through the Great Hall to a staircase. He didn't say anything more as they traveled up it, and through twisting corridors that were positively horrific to a girl who could easily get lost walking from her house to the bus stop, which was on the adjoining street. She wasn't sure if the wizard was thinking, or if he was just trying to give her time to adjust to the strangeness of her new surroundings.

Lianne supposed she ought to have been more frightened than she was, but instead she was fascinated by - what else? - the paintings. She just itched to stop and examine one of the landscapes people wandered in and out of, or maybe ask questions of a portrait as to how it was painted. An Impressionistic overgrown cottage had painted dots of sunshine actually streaming down from between two clouds, while a more realistic woman chatted with a Picasso-like young man in front of it.

The only reason Lianne even noticed they'd reached their destination was by the sudden lack of interesting paintings to look at. She realized with a start that this must be Dumbledore's office. Personally, she found it somewhat duller than it was described. Of course, if she thought of the time as being before the descriptions she knew were written, that made things easier. If quite a bit more confusing.

"Now, Miss Treyvan - " Dumbledore stopped. "Am I pronouncing it correctly? Treyvan? I've rarely found anything as irritating as a mispronounced name."

"No, you've got it right," Lianne assured him. "Treyvan. Lianne Treyvan."

"Miss Treyvan, then." Dumbledore nodded. "I'm afraid you have a rather difficult choice ahead of you. You've been raised as a Muggle until the past few days, have you not?" Lianne nodded. "So you've had no training in wizardry whatever."

"Not unless you count reading just about the entire fantasy section in the library." Li grinned.

"I'm afraid not." Dumbledore's eyes smiled at her from behind his glasses. "But you're four years older than our current class of first years. If you'd started training when you should have, you'd be a fifth year right now."

"Is that bad?" Lianne asked warily.

"Well... it's certainly inconvenient for you," Dumbledore told her. "It leaves you with only two options. One, you could be put in a class with the rest of the first years, and graduate with them in seven years' time."

"When I'm twenty-two?" Lianne shook her head stubbornly. "No way. If the second choice is shorter, that's what I want."

"It won't be easy," Dumbledore warned. "I assume you want to graduate as quickly as possible. Correct?"

Lianne nodded firmly. "I want to go home." She glanced at her hands to hide the fact that she was blinking back tears. "I miss my friends." She did her best to keep the bitterness out of her words.

"Then what you need," Dumbledore declared, "is a crash course in magic, theory and practical. I've discussed your situation with the professors, and they have agreed to temporarily give up their planning periods. When one teacher has a free period, he or she will teach you that subject until the class is over."

"I think I can do that - " Lianne began.

"Just wait, Miss Treyvan," Dumbledore cautioned. "I must warn you that if this is what you want to try, you will be rushed through classes that most people take seven years to complete. I expect you'd like to graduate with the fifth years?"

"I'd like to," Lianne said cautiously.

"Then you have a little less than three years." Dumbledore sighed. "You'll have to give up nearly all of your weekends, and Christmas and Easter breaks. I'll try to arrange something for the summer, as well, so you probably won't have much of a break there either. But you can still choose the slower option, if you like."

Lianne frowned. "I don't know if I can work that hard," she said honestly.

Dumbledore nodded. "It will not be very enjoyable."

"And I'm not sure I can learn everything quickly enough." She shook her head. "What happens if I just don't understand something?"

"A tutor can be arranged for, if you'd like," Dumbledore offered. "Or you could choose one from the friends I'm sure you'll be making. Hufflepuffs are a friendly lot, they'll be glad to help you if you need it."

"I guess." Li pulled her wand out of her hair and stared at it. Blue sparks fell from it, leaving a trail to hang in the air. "What would you pick, sir?"

Dumbledore smiled. "Personally, I'd try the quicker method. If it doesn't work out, we can always try placing you in the slower classes. But you won't be able to switch from the usual classes into this."

She nodded. "True. And no offense, but I really don't think I want to be here longer than I have to. Even though it does seem very - magical." She grinned.

"I understand." Dumbledore smiled, before pulling out a folder. "I wasn't sure whether you'd want this option or not, but I went ahead and drew you up a schedule, anyway. The only spot left to fill is your elective. Though most Hogwarts students take two, only one is required. The list is - oh - " He rifled through the papers in the folder. "Drat, I seem to have lost it - no, here it is." He handed her a sheet of flat parchment, which Lianne thought was a bit odd, seeing as how all the descriptions talked about rolls.

She looked down at it. There was a list of the courses and what they involved, including a few that the books had never even mentioned. She read one in surprise:

Magical Photography - the art of photographs. Learn how to take pictures to advantage, and study the history of the magical camera as related to the Muggle camera. Students will be required to provide a camera, and advanced years will need ingredients to brew Developing Concoctions. Practical exams will include taking photographs, developing pictures in both magical and Muggle techniques, and showing mastery of the interaction between images in a photograph.

"What are these?" Lianne wondered aloud, blinking. She was supposed to choose one of these things? Now?

Dumbledore took her question at face value. "These are extra subjects that students may choose to specialize in. I believe Muggle schools offer things like art, or drama. Students here generally choose something that they think will help them with their careers."

Lianne shook her head. "I want to be an artist - and illustrator, actually. And there's no art class here."

"I'm afraid not," Dumbledore agreed. "We did try it a few years ago, but after a group of young men tie-dyed the Astronomy Tower, I was forced to give up on the idea."

Lianne grinned, but it quickly faded back to an expression of bewilderment. "What subject would you choose?" she asked.

"Well, my electives were Care of Magical Creatures and the Study of Ancient Runes," Dumbledore told her. "But in your position?" He closed his eyes in a moment's thought. "Not Care of Magical Creatures, nor Magical Photography. Those classes would be too difficult to speed up. Arithmancy is rarely a good subject for an artist, and I've always thought it rather dull in any case. You were Muggle-born, so Muggle Studies would be wasted on you." He opened his eyes. "What classes are left?"

Lianne looked down at the sheet. "Um... Illusions, Wizardry Across the Globe, and Study of Wizarding Laws. Oh - and Divination."

"Ah." Dumbledore nodded. "Wizarding Laws is mainly a debate class, so that one's left out. Any of the other four would be workable, though - Divination, Wizardry Across the Globe, Ancient Runes, or Illusions. Myself, I'd choose Divination. Professor Fierston might be close to retirement, but he is one of the best Divination professors this school has ever had."

Li nodded. "Can I think about it?"

"Take as long as you'd like. This is hardly an easy decision. Don't feel you need to rush." Dumbledore sat back in his chair, closing his eyes, and - to all appearances - just went to sleep.

Lianne looked back down at the list. Wizardry Across the Globe sounded dull. Apparently, you didn't get to actually learn other countries' ways of doing magic, as the name implied. All you did was study them. As for Illusions... well, maybe. But she hadn't the faintest idea what that class would be like, even though it said "creating shapes of light" and "images in the air." At least with Divination she'd be on firmer ground...

But do I honestly want to know about the future? Lianne stared unseeingly at the words. She had trouble dealing with things that had already happened. She hardly needed the burden of things that hadn't come yet.

She sighed, shaking her head. She was drawing this out unnecessarily. She knew what she was going to pick.

"Er... Professor?" Lianne waited until Dumbledore opened one eye, smiling at her. "I've decided."

~*~

"I can't believe we've been at this school for over four years, and we don't know where the Hufflepuff Common Room is," Sirius grumbled. "Everyone knows the Ravenclaws are by the Astronomy Tower, and we found the Slytherin dungeons our first year, but Hufflepuff? Nothing!"

"Why can't we just ask a Hufflepuff?" Peter asked, trudging along after the other three.

"And they'll just up and tell us?" Sirius scoffed. "That would be stupid. No, we need to use cunning. We need guile. We need trickery."

"We needed a left turn back at the painting of the ballerina," Remus interrupted, squinting at their map. "I think. All these stupid hallways keep moving, I never know when a map's gone wrong."

"So someday we'll make an accurate one," James said, shrugging. "In the meantime, let's - "

"Say, what are you lot doing here?" A plump girl coming around a corner had nearly bumped into them, and was now giving them a very suspicious look. "I know you aren't Hufflepuffs - you're those trouble-making Gryffindors Sprout's always going on about."

"Who, us?" Sirius attempted to look innocent.

"You are!" the girl insisted. "You blew up a whole greenhouse!"

James scowled. That one had actually been accidental, and mostly his fault. How was he supposed to know those Bubotuber thingies were flammable? "It was only one corner," he informed her. "And the windows hardly sizzle at all anymore."

"Huh." She didn't seem to believe him. "Well? What do you want?"

The Marauders looked at each other. "Where's your Common Room?" Remus asked hopefully.

She snorted softly. "Hardly going to tell you, am I? What do you want to go there for?"

"I - we - want to talk to the new girl," Sirius said, apparently throwing caution to the winds. "Lianne."

"So you can corrupt her, too, I suppose," the Hufflepuff grumbled. "Stay put, then. I'll go and fetch her."

She walked off, glancing back suspiciously at them several times, to make sure they actually did stay where they were.

"I can't believe that actually worked," James said in mild amazement.

"She probably just didn't want us knowing where her Common Room is," Remus said, grinning. "In case we run out of greenhouses."

James glared at him. "You're never going to let me forget about that, are you?"

"Nope."

"All right, then." They looked up, to see the girl approaching briskly. Lianne was following somewhat more slowly, apparently having gotten distracted by the paintings. Muggle-borns always were fascinated by them. "Here she is, and if you turn her into anything, I'll tell Professor Sprout on you!"

"Thanks, Ellie," Lianne said absently as the girl stalked off. She still wasn't looking away from one of the pictures, and the young girl in it appeared to love the admiration.

Sirius, on the other hand, was staring at her. "Um... Lianne?"

That got her attention. She spun so fast her wand flew out of her hair and banged into a wall, setting off a shower of sparks. Everyone yelped and jumped back, and the painting girl fled to a safer landscape.

Li stooped to pick her wand up with a sigh. "Only me, I suppose." She looked back at Sirius. "So... you got my picture?" Her voice sounded a little too high to be natural, and she was standing very formally, with her hands clasped tightly in front of her.

"Yes, and I really like it." Sirius grinned quickly. "I don't think my nose is that big, though."

"I just draw what I see," she said, shrugging innocently. James grinned. He had the feeling he was going to like her.

Remus tugged at James's shoulder. When he looked over, Remus jerked his head at an empty classroom nearby. James nodded, and pulled Peter along as they went in. Best to give the two some privacy.

Besides, they could always use a Spying Spell.

~*~

Sirius glanced after his friends. "I suppose they think they're leaving us alone," he said wryly. "In the middle of the hallway."

"We're alone right now," Lianne pointed out. She bit her lip nervously. Did he want to be alone with her? True, he'd been alone with her plenty of times already - if he really was the one she'd been dreaming of. If.

He looked just like her Sirius, with the shoulder-length black hair, the big brown eyes. He looked like the boy she'd dreamt of. But that didn't mean he was. No matter how badly she wanted him to be.

"Yeah." He seemed to be discovering a new interest in the wall beside her. "Look - Li - this is going to sound really stupid, but I've got to ask. Have you been having any - any really weird dreams lately?"

To her shock and dismay, Lianne found tears threatening to fill her eyes. She blinked them back. "Well, yes. There was one just last night about a pink cat with rhinoceros horns - "

"Not like that." Sirius caught her hand in his. "You have, haven't you? You've been having dreams like mine." He searched her eyes with his own. "Lianne - ok, I know we've only just met, but - I feel like I've met you before."

Lianne smiled. "Once upon a dream. Just like Sleeping Beauty."

"Um... yeah." Sirius frowned, anxiety in his eyes.

"I know what you mean," Lianne hastened to tell him. "Those crazy dreams. Like I was here. I made you pose for that picture."

Sirius nodded, something lighting in his eyes. "You said I'm the worst model you've ever worked with - "

"The only model," Lianne interrupted, grinning.

"Right." He nodded, matching her grin for grin. "Li - I've missed you."

She flung her arms around him. "I've missed you, too," she said softly as he stiffened in shock. "For longer than you know."

~*~

"I can't do this!" Lianne flung down her quill, nearly crying in frustration. She turned to Sirius pleadingly. "Explain it once more. Why do I have to add the belladonna before the newt tail? Why does it matter?"

Sirius shook his head tiredly. He'd been trying to help Lianne with all her work for the past two months, but with that and his own work, and then that Animagi spell he, James, and Peter were trying as well, he wasn't sure he could manage anymore. He was a good enough student, sure... but not much of a tutor.

"If you add things in the wrong order, it's a different potion," he said, trying to think how else to explain it. "Add the belladonna first, and it's Wart Remover - "

"Yes, I know!" Lianne had circles under her eyes that were already nearly as dark as Remus's. Sirius wasn't sure she was going to be able to take three years of this. According to what she said, she wasn't even going to get Christmas off. Personally, he didn't know what he'd do if he didn't have a break in two days. He thought he might go mad.

"I know," she repeated more softly, after some of the surrounding library-goers gave her nasty looks. "But I've got to write six and a half more inches of this essay, and I haven't the faintest idea why that's happening."

Sirius pulled her Potions book over, to see what she'd been looking at. It wasn't at all helpful. "I don't know, either," he confessed. "My best subject's Transfiguration. James is the potion brewer of the group."

"Oh." She nodded, retrieving her quill unhappily. "I understand." She turned back to the essay. She didn't have to write as many as normal students did, but her essays were more heavily weighted. She didn't dare take a zero on even one.

Sirius sighed, standing up. "Tell you what," he said. "I think James should be done with Quidditch practice about now. Work on something else, and I'll go find him."

~*~

Gradually, all the Marauders began helping Lianne muddle through her work. It sounded easy, as most of what she had to do was simply understand - but when they realized how quickly she was being raced through concepts they'd been able to spend weeks on, they all revised their opinions of how difficult a time she was having.

James had been happy to help with Lianne's potions work, and Remus had actually volunteered to explain Defense Against the Dark Arts. Even Peter had pitched in with his best subject, Astronomy. And she rather fortunately seemed to have a natural aptitude for her chosen elective, Study of Ancient Runes.

Soon, the only thing she couldn't quite keep up with was Charms.

~*~

"I just don't know how to explain it to her." Sirius paced the Gryffindor Common Room, taking what he felt was a well-earned break from his own studying. They had O.W.L.s coming up in just a few weeks, but when he'd started confusing Mandrakes and Manticores, he'd decided it was time to look at something other than a textbook. What with trying to re-learn half his first year classes to help Li in addition to everything else, the words were blurring more than the time he'd tried on James's glasses.

"Explain what?" James asked, chewing on a quill.

"Charms class!" Sirius waved his arms expansively. "The theory behind creating an individual charm. She can't get any further in there till she's got that down, and if Flitwick can't get it through her head, I sure can't!"

"Who's good at Charms that you could ask?" Remus suggested, busily recopying a chart of the effects of different potions ingredients. He insisted that he only learned things by writing them down, so he always ended up with three or four copies of all his notes. "Maybe a Ravenclaw? Or a Hufflepuff, since they're her House."

"She's asked around Hufflepuff already," Sirius said, flopping into a chair morosely. "That's how she got an Herbology helper. None of the people who offered to help was good enough at Charms."

"You know who's a really good Charms student?" Peter spoke up. "Lily Evans." He quailed under James's darkest glare. "Well - she is!"

"That's true." Sirius nodded thoughtfully, scanning the Common Room.

"Padfoot, you can't be seriously considering asking her for help!" James exclaimed, scandalized. "She - she's - "

"She's the best Charms student in our year," Sirius pointed out. "And I don't want help for me. I want it for Lianne."

"I think it's a great idea," Remus said, looking up. "The only subject you're really qualified to tutor someone in is Transfiguration. You do well enough learning other subjects, but you shouldn't teach them. Lily's really smart, I bet she'd be a lot of help."

"Fine." James rolled his eyes, and went back his timeline of goblin rebellions.

Sirius kept one eye on the portrait hole, waiting for Lily to enter. When she did, he immediately got up and went over to her. The group of girls she was with began giggling madly.

"Lily, can I talk to you?" he asked, after grinning cheerfully at the other girls.

"Why?" Lily folded her arms. "You've gotten my diary, I suppose now you want to find out if I've got any secret love letters?"

"No, I want to ask you a question about Charms," Sirius told her, trying to be patient.

"Ask Flitwick." She started to walk away.

"Lily, please."

She stopped, then turned to face him, an odd expression on her face. "Did you just say please?"

Sirius nodded. "Want me to say it again?"

Lily shook her head, apparently in amazement. "And here I thought none of you boys even knew what manners were."

Sirius shrugged. "Well, it took three years of special training, plus several knocks to the head from various female cousins, but I think I've got the concept down."

Lily smiled reluctantly. "All right, Black. Ask."

"Right." Sirius ignored the increase in giggles from behind Lily. "How would you feel about being a tutor?"

She narrowed her eyes. "You don't need tutoring."

"No, but Lianne Treyvan does," Sirius replied. "The new girl, that they're rushing through classes."

"Your girlfriend?" The corners of Lily's mouth twitched as Sirius tried and failed not to turn red. "Yeah, I've seen her in the library, with about a thousand books. She seems like a nice enough girl, even if she does have rather unfortunate romantic taste."

Sirius decided to ignore that last comment. "So you'll help her?"

Lily sighed. "I suppose. Not that I need the extra work, with O.W.L.s and all. But if you four can manage, I certainly can."

~*~

"I'll never make it."

"Don't talk like that, Li, of course you will," Sirius assured her. "The O.W.L.s aren't that hard. I mean, even Snape passed 'em!"

"Snape didn't have to race through his classes," Lianne retorted. "Snape didn't have it sprung on him that, hey, you've got O.W.L.s in just one month! Snape had five years to prepare!"

"Calm down, Lianne," said Ellie, the Hufflepuff girl who'd glared at the Marauders the first time they'd tried to see Lianne. "You know this stuff, right?"

"Well, I'd better, seeing as how tomorrow I've got a whole day of tests on it." Lianne pushed back her hair with a sigh. Her friends had finally managed to convince her that wands did not make good hair sticks, but that left her with hair falling in her eyes. She thought it had gotten longer simply to spite her, in the year and a half she'd been at Hogwarts.

Why couldn't I have been a normal sixth year? she wondered, only slightly bitterly. Then I wouldn't have any tests but ordinary exams to worry about. All her friends had said how relieved they were that there were no major tests this year, the break between O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s. If she'd been an ordinary sixth year, she'd've been joining them in relief, rather than frantically trying to memorize five years' worth of magic.

"Look, Lianne, I know you can do this," Lily told her calmly. "You've passed exams for first year to fourth year - "

"Barely."

" - and you're doing very well with fifth year material." Lily ignored the mutter. "Just keep trying this Interpretation Incantation, and you'll get it eventually."

"Hah." But Li picked up her wand and tried again anyway. She'd pull this off if it was the last thing she did. Though she found herself thinking that it seriously might be.

~*~

This time I know I'm going to fail. Lianne kept her mouth shut, though. She wasn't the only one taking N.E.W.T.s this year, she was just the least prepared. They were all having a last study session - cramming session - before their exams tomorrow. Lianne thought she might be sick.

"Don't be worried, Li."

She looked over at Sirius with a start. He smiled at her encouragingly, if tiredly. Remus and Lianne were now no longer the only ones with circles under their eyes. Almost all the seventeen-year-olds in the school looked like they'd seriously messed up with some dark eyeshadow.

"I'm not," she lied, trying to sound cheerful. "I only need five out of twelve, right? That isn't even half!"

Honestly, she didn't know if she could manage three out of twelve. N.E.W.T.s were scored by one point for each of the seven required courses, one point for an elective, one point for a written test, and three for how well you could combine your knowledge in practical use. Five out of twelve was the lowest possible passing score. James and Sirius, who wanted to be Aurors, needed at least nine out of twelve. Lily, who was hoping to be chosen as a professional Diviner by the Seers' Guild, had to have eleven. Five wasn't so bad, really, when she thought about that... but it still felt like more than she could manage.

~*~

Three days later, all the seventeen-year-olds were sitting at breakfast, desperately impatient for the mail to come. Everyone was certain they'd be the only student in their year to fail. James was paging through his History of Magic book, positive he'd confused the Dwarf Battles with the Goblin Rebellion of 1768, in which dwarves had been involved. Lily's friend Anya was near hysterics, having only realized after the exams she'd transfigured a rabbit into a teapot, when it ought to have been a teacup.

Lianne was sitting quietly at the Hufflepuff table, eyes half-shut, breathing deeply. Sirius, who had come over to sit with her, had joked that she had to concentrate on breathing in case she forgot to and fainted from lack of air, but he'd let it go when she'd threatened to hex him cross-eyed. She'd actually turned James's nose purple the day after her O.W.L.s, to Lily's unending amusement.

At last, the owls came soaring rather cautiously in. They knew what to expect when delivering exam results. The hall went silent, except for the flapping of wings. A tawny owl swooped down to Sirius, after puzzling over the Gryffindor table for a moment, and a school owl came to Lianne.

Li just held her letter, watching as Sirius tore his open. "All right!" he exclaimed, reading the first line. "Li - I've got eleven!" He looked over at her. "What did - you haven't even opened it yet?"

"I'm scared." She thrust the envelope at him. "You do it for me."

"They're your scores, you do it." Sirius pushed it back, as nervous as she was.

Lily and the other Marauders came running over, fighting through the crowds of seventh years racing about to tell their friends their scores. "Sirius, Lianne, you'll never guess!" James shouted gleefully. "I - Lily and I - we've got perfect scores! Twelve out of twelve!"

"All right, Prongs!" Sirius grinned. "I got eleven," he added proudly. "What about you two, Remus, Peter?"

"Five," Peter said, sounding more relieved than anything. "You know I botched the entire combination section? I was afraid I wouldn't pass at all."

"I got nine!" Remus was thrilled.

"Good for you, Moony, you can be an Auror with us, after all!" Remus didn't look particularly pleased by Sirius's declaration, but he kept grinning anyway.

"What about you, Lianne?" Lily turned to her. "Oh - you can't bear to look?" She smiled more gently than usual. "I had to open Anya's. Want me to check yours, or do you think you can?"

"You." Lianne shoved the envelope to the Head Girl. "Don't tell me unless it's good news."

Lily slit the envelope with a fingernail, and pulled the letter out. She scanned it, and broke into a grin. "Lianne - look!"

"I've just said I don't want to," Lianne protested, but Lily thrust the letter under her nose anyway. "I - oh." She leaned back in her chair with a thump.

"Lianne?" Sirius took her hand anxiously. "What is it?"

"Sirius - " Lianne looked at him, eyes wide in amazement. "I got a seven."

Chapter 13

Where would we walk, where would we run

If we could stay all day in the sun?

Just you and me, and I could be

Part of your world.

"I wish you hadn't decided to be an Auror." Lianne hugged her knees to her chest, watching Sirius pace the main room of his apartment.

"What would you have me do, sit back and watch while Voldemort conquers the entire world?" Sirius snapped. "You were Muggle-born - how would you like to see your friends slaughtered for no reason at all?"

"I'd hate it!" Lianne said indignantly. "You know I would. That wasn't what I said. I just said I wish you didn't want to be an Auror. It's horribly dangerous. Ellie says half the people who come to the hospital she's training at are Aurors, and she's not even allowed to see the worst cases."

"I can't not fight, Li," Sirius told her. "You've got to understand that. And besides," he grinned, "someone has to watch James's back."

Lianne looked down. It had been two years since they'd graduated Hogwarts, and she'd been getting steadily more nervous as her friends got older. Even though she couldn't find copies of the Harry Potter books anywhere, no matter how many Muggle bookstores she asked in, she still remembered the most important events. She hadn't really thought about it, at Hogwarts, but now... every time she saw Peter, she had to wonder.

I just can't believe that of him, Li thought, putting her chin in her hands as Sirius began pacing again. Peter's so nice. Kind of stupid sometimes, and awfully scared, but I feel like that a lot, too. Not all of us are as brave as Sirius and James. And she'd seen Peter with his friends - he worshipped them. He thought his Auror pals were the greatest people under the sun. He wouldn't turn them over to You-Know - to Voldemort.

She hadn't mentioned it to anyone yet. She didn't even know if she should. How do you tell someone that you read a book years ago with all your friends as characters, and now you think one of them is a traitor? It didn't make sense. She didn't even understand it.

Well, she had some time yet, before she had to decide what to do. James and Lily weren't even engaged yet.

And maybe they never will be. Lianne considered the idea. After all, who was to say that this had to follow the plot of the Potter books? Maybe Lily and James would never get married, Harry would never be born, and Peter - he'd stay on this side. Maybe.

~*~

"I think it's wonderful that James finally proposed to Lily," Sirius said with a grin. "I knew he would. Remember how he couldn't stand her, when you arrived?"

"Yeah." Lianne stared down at her hands. An engagement ring sparkled on her own finger, as well. Sirius had asked her a few months ago, and she hadn't hesitated a moment in saying yes. They were going to be married next year, after they turned twenty. It would be a quiet wedding. It had to be, now. Big ceremonies tended to attract very unwelcome attention. Especially when Aurors were involved.

Sirius had chosen most of the guest list. Lianne didn't have any friends that he wasn't also close to. Of course, she had tried one last time to contact Erin, Autumn, and Hazel. She'd given that up after her first summer as a witch, when they simply returned her letters, or ignored them. But she'd hoped they'd care about her wedding.

They hadn't. The parakeet had returned, fluttering about the room in distress that it had no response from her friends. Lianne supposed it might have something to do with her insistence on using birds other than owls - owls always bit her, for some reason - but her parakeet had never failed to deliver any other letters. It wasn't a stupid bird, no matter what Sirius said about it.

Lianne sometimes wondered what might have happened if she had gone home like she planned, after she finished witch school. What would Autumn and the others say, then? Probably not much. They obviously didn't care about her as much as she'd thought. That was why she'd stayed here. Nothing was calling her back to America, while she had friends, here in Britain. And of course, there was Sirius...

"Li? Aren't you pleased?" Sirius looked at her, concerned. "What's wrong?"

"Oh, I'm very happy." Lianne smiled quickly. "Thrilled. I was just thinking about something else."

"Ah." Sirius stood up. "Well, I need to go, now, anyway, so you can keep thinking. I expect you wouldn't have noticed if I'd walked out five minutes ago."

"I would!" Lianne exclaimed indignantly. "Where are you going?"

"Hogwarts," Sirius told her. "I need to talk to Dumbledore about - Auror business."

Lianne sighed. It wasn't precisely that Sirius wasn't allowed to tell her about Auror business. He was - some parts, anyway. He just insisted she was safer not knowing all of it.

"See you, then." Lianne kissed him goodbye, before he Disapparated to a point close enough to get to Hogwarts from.

I still wish he wasn't an Auror. Lianne shook her head. No good going through that again. It always made her feel like such a coward, to be an magical artist while Voldemort was at large. But I'm not good at fighting! I'd be a lousy Auror. Not even magically powerful - and James says my mind doesn't work properly. Too trusting. All she could do was art - and who'd ever heard of fighting evil by drawing?

~*~

"Harry's so cute, isn't he?" Sirius said besottedly as he and Lianne reentered their apartment. Lily and James had just had a small celebration for their son's first birthday, and Sirius always loved seeing his godson. But it just made Lianne nervous.

"Yeah. He's adorable." Lianne sat down on the couch, and her husband flopped next to her. She sometimes wondered if she was Harry's godmother. She didn't think so. The Potters hadn't mentioned anything about it. As far as she knew, Sirius was godfather, and that was it. Maybe the boy didn't have a godmother.

Lianne twirled her wand between her fingers unhappily. She hated thinking about Harry. He really was a darling baby... but he was also an unpleasant reminder of what might happen in just a few months.

She still didn't know what to do about what she knew - or didn't know. She couldn't believe a thing like that of Peter. She knew Sirius and James and the others never would. She wanted to tell someone - but she didn't know who. Who'd believe me, anyway? I never even took Divination. How would I know about this?

"Ugh." Sirius stood again. Li looked at him questioningly. "I need to go to Hogwarts."

"What, again?" She shook her head. "No, never mind, I know it's important." Inspiration struck. "Say - can I come?"

Sirius sighed. "Li, I'm not telling Dumbledore Auror business in front of - "

"No, I want to talk to him," Lianne interrupted impatiently. "It's got nothing to do with Auror stuff. And I'll come anyway if you say no."

"I know." Sirius shrugged. "Fine with me. Just don't listen in on us."

~*~

"Well, Lianne, it's certainly been a while." Dumbledore smiled at her, a bit bemused. "Not since your wedding, I believe."

"Yes." Lianne nodded nervously. "I - I need some advice. Or something."

"I see." Dumbledore looked at her over the tops of his glasses. "And you don't want your husband to hear?"

Lianne had ordered him out before speaking, pretending it was in revenge for not letting her stay for his conversation, and he was to meet her at home. "No. Definitely not." She took a deep breath. "Professor - what would you do if you knew something - something important that you just knew no one would believe?"

"That depends on what it was I knew." Dumbledore frowned thoughtfully. "I assume this isn't purely hypothetical?"

Lianne shook her head. "No, sir."

"And you don't want to tell me what it is you know?"

"No. Not yet." Lianne brushed away her hair distractedly. "Maybe later. When I know for sure if you'll believe me."

Dumbledore's expression deepened, eyes serious. "Lianne, I assure you that, whatever you tell me, I will not doubt you."

She shook her head again. "Don't make any promises, sir. Not yet. You don't know what you're saying."

"All right," Dumbledore agreed. "Then tell me what you think I'll believe. We'll see what I can do with that."

"Right." Lianne nodded. "I - I know something. It's pretty unlikely on its own, but the way I found out... people'd lock me up in a nut house if I said. It's crazy. And this thing I know... there's no other way I could've known it. I can't just say it without proof. And I haven't got any."

"I think I understand," Dumbledore said as she paused. "A bit, at least. What you know - does it have anything to do with Voldemort?"

Lianne started, then nodded. "Yes. Yes, sort of. It's really complicated. And the worst part is, I don't even know if I believe it. Like I said, I don't have any real proof. But if it is true, I can't just sit back and do nothing, I can't!"

"Of course not," Dumbledore said soothingly. "You haven't done nothing. You've come to me. We'll solve this, Lianne. Don't worry."

How can I not worry? Lianne thought, upset. I'm living out a book!

"But are you sure you don't want to tell me everything?" Dumbledore continued, concerned. "I could help you more if I knew what was distressing you so much. Can't you at least tell me part of it?"

Lianne shook her head, more out of despair than anything. "You'll say I'm crazy."

"I told you I wouldn't," Dumbledore reminded her. "I won't disbelieve you, Lianne. You can tell me."

She stared at her hands, clasped tightly in her lap. "I - all right. Part of it. It - it's about Lily and James. They're in danger. Voldemort - he wants to kill them."

"I'm aware of that." Dumbledore's voice was grave, and, though she couldn't see his eyes while she studied her hands, she was sure they matched his tone. "I - that information has been given to me already, by a reliable source. I would be very interested to know how you discovered it - but you needn't tell me, if you don't feel ready," he added quickly.

"I don't." Lianne swallowed against the threat of tears. So Lily and James were in danger. It was all going the right way - the wrong way. It can't end like that. It can't! "I think I know who the traitor is!" she blurted.

Dumbledore sat up very straight. "Do you indeed?"

Lianne shrunk down into herself, trying to disappear. "No. Yes. I shouldn't have said it. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have even brought it up. I don't know. I don't."

"Lianne, are you sure?" Dumbledore grasped her shoulders, his eyes boring into hers. "If you have any idea - even a guess - you must tell me. For Lily and James's sake. It isn't common knowledge that there's a traitor among their friends. If you know that - Lianne, you've been right so far. You may continue to be, you may not. But any help you can give would at least put us on guard."

Lianne stared into his face desperately. "I - I - oh, don't ask this of me!" She yanked away. "You don't understand! It can't be like this! It's not supposed to be like this! It's just supposed to be a story!"

"What is?" Dumbledore asked.

"No! I can't!" Lianne's shoulders shook with the effort of holding back her tears. "He wouldn't, he wouldn't! He'd never betray them, I know he'd never! He's their - he's my - he's one of us! He has to be!"

"Lianne - Lianne, listen to me!" Dumbledore stood an instant after she did. "Think how you'd feel if something happened to Lily and James because you did nothing. People can be made to act against their wills - "

"Not if I'm right," Lianne cut him off softly. "You don't know what it would mean, if everything goes that way."

"You came because you trust me." Dumbledore tried a different approach. "Can't you trust me enough to tell me this?"

"Maybe eventually." Lianne backed away, shaking her head. "Maybe. If I can find proof. But not yet. I have to wait."

"If you wait much longer, Lily and James will be dead!" Dumbledore snapped.

Lianne shuddered at the word. "You have till October," she said finally. "If you really think I'm right, nothing will happen till then. But - I can't tell you more. Not now."

With that, she turned and fled.

~*~

Dumbledore watched her go, an odd expression on his face. "Perhaps I handled that badly," he murmured.

He'd suspected from the time Lianne arrived at Hogwarts that she wasn't exactly what she appeared. For one thing, the American government should have picked up her magic long before it had. True, she wasn't a powerful witch, but she certainly wasn't a Muggle.

And then there was her lack of surprise at magic in general. Most Muggle-borns took a while to completely accept Hogwarts. Lianne had taken to the castle well, but it was more than that. It was as though she recognized it. As though it tallied with something she knew already.

He knew she had some sort of secret. The signs were clear. He'd hoped she confide it to him while she was a student, but she'd kept to herself. Maybe I should have simply asked her, while she was here at school. She'd been less nervous then, almost eager. Perhaps she hadn't realized then just how dark her secret was.

You have till October. If you really think I'm right, nothing will happen till then.

Dumbledore sighed. He just prayed she was able to trust him soon. Before it was too late.

~*~

"Lianne." Sirius entered their apartment, a strange look on his face. "Lianne, Dumbledore gave me a message for you."

Lianne looked up sharply. "Really? What?"

"He said, 'it's October, are you ready?'" Sirius frowned. "Li, what does he mean?"

Lianne shook her head. "It's nothing, Sirius. How are Lily and James?"

Sirius shook his head. "Not so good. We've decided on a - a way to protect them, though. We should manage it before the end of the month."

"The Fidelius Charm," Lianne whispered, almost involuntarily.

Sirius started. "How did you - no, never mind, I don't want to know." He sighed. "I'm to be their Secret-Keeper." He looked away. "Li - I'll have to go into hiding. I understand if you don't want to come - "

"Don't be stupid," Lianne interrupted. "What else would I do?" She turned back to her current illustration, a watercolor of a phoenix and a unicorn for some new novel, Ruby Tears. "Look, I've got to finish this, then. Apparently, I don't have too long."

~*~

"Hello, Lianne." Dumbledore looked up from what he was writing at his desk. "I'd hoped you'd come before this."

"I didn't know if I'd come at all," she admitted. "Professor - when are you doing the charm?"

"In three days' time." Dumbledore stood, when she didn't sit. "You know Sirius is to be the Secret-Keeper?"

Lianne nodded. "Yes. But - Professor, couldn't you do it?"

"Me?" Dumbledore was astonished. "Whatever for? Lily and James wanted Sirius, he's agreed to it, I don't see any problems."

"It - it would make me happier." Lianne sank down into one of Dumbledore's office chairs, hardly paying attention to her actions. "Please, sir. I'm scared."

"We all are," Dumbledore agreed, coming to sit in the chair beside her. "Lianne, are you ready to tell me - "

"No." She shook her head hard. "No. I can't. But it will all be all right if you're the Secret-Keeper."

"That's up to Lily and James," Dumbledore warned her. "I can't tell you if they'll agree."

"They'll have to," Lianne said firmly. "It would be much safer. No one would ever find them then."

Dumbledore sighed. "Well... if you don't want to tell me... I'll talk to them about it."

~*~

"I don't see why you can't have Dumbledore do it," Lianne muttered as Sirius prepared to leave for the Potters' house.

"Li, I've explained," Sirius said impatiently. "He's old, and he's got a lot on his mind already. It's not fair to add any more to his burden. Don't you think I'll be a good Secret-Keeper?"

"Yes. I'm just worried." She sighed. "If you won't let Dumbledore, at least tell me you'll do it."

"Who else would?" Sirius asked, bewildered.

"I - I don't know." Lianne lost courage. "Just - make sure you do it, ok? Promise me you'll keep them safe."

Sirius smiled. "Of course, Li. You know I will." He kissed her once more, then Disapparated.

Lianne closed her eyes, breathing deeply. "Well," she said to the empty air, "I've done what I could, then."

~*~

"Sirius?" Lianne woke up with a start on Halloween night. The bed was empty beside her. "Sirius!"

She jumped up, not bothering to even grab her dressing gown as she ran out of the bedroom of their new apartment. She couldn't find him anywhere. Chills spread through her body. Oh, no... no... no, please no...

A piece of paper on the kitchen table caught her eye. She snatched it up, scanning it frantically. Her stomach plummeted.

Lianne -

I've gone out to check on something. Don't worry. Everything's fine. This is just routine. I'll be back soon. Go back to bed.

I love you.

Sirius

She shook her head helplessly. I should have told Dumbledore, she realized, tears burning trails down her face. It's all my fault.

Why didn't I do something?

~*~

"Remus!" Lianne shouted again, more urgently, banging on his door.

At last, he snatched it open, bleary-eyed and irritated. "Li, it's the middle of the night, what are you doing - "

"Shut up!" She shoved past him into his apartment, ignoring his objections. "Have you got any Floo Powder? We never have."

"Yes, but what does it matter?" Remus didn't like to be reminded that he'd never been good at Apparating, but right then Lianne didn't care. "Aren't you supposed to be in hiding?"

"It's too late." She conjured a fire in his fireplace while he fetched the Floo Powder. "It doesn't matter anymore. We're going to Hogwarts."

"Why didn't you just go - hey, wait!" Remus hurried after her, almost forgetting the powder in his haste.

" - quite sure?" Dumbledore was holding one of Lianne's hands, looking horrified.

"Of course I'm sure!" Lianne shouted. "Would I have come here if I wasn't sure? Lily and James are dead by now, and it's all my fault!"

"Lily and James - " Remus went white. "But - the Secret-Keeper - "

"It didn't work." Lianne shook her head. "I should've warned you it wouldn't, I should've made you try something else." She looked over at Dumbledore with a start. "Harry - Professor, you've got to send Hagrid for him. Hurry!"

"Lianne," Dumbledore said gently, "Voldemort never leaves survivors. If Lily and James really are dead, I'm afraid Harry - "

"Do you trust me or don't you?" Lianne screamed. "Send Hagrid this minute or I'll go to his cabin and do it myself! This is important, do you understand me?"

Remus's eyes widened as Dumbledore, after only an instant's hesitation, left his office at a full run. He'd never heard anyone shout at the Headmaster that way. "Lianne - why did you say - Lily and James - "

"They're dead." Lianne scanned the top of Dumbledore's fireplace, then found a can of Floo Powder. "And I've got to hurry." She left the office as quickly as she'd come.

Remus wasted no time in following. "That was stealing," he informed her.

"I don't care." She'd dragged an enormous magical encyclopedia off one of the shelves in her living room, and flung it on the table. Paging through, she added, "Go home, Remus. I have to find Peter."

Remus stared. "What for?"

"Because," Lianne told him grimly, "he's going to be dead really soon."

~*~

Sirius stood horrified in the ruins that had once been the Potters' hiding place. I don't believe it. Peter betrayed them. He fell to his knees, sobbing quietly.

"Sirius?" He looked up to see Hagrid approaching, clutching a strained-looking broomstick. "What're yeh doin' here? You shouldn' - the Muggle police - "

"Hagrid - they're dead." Sirius stood helplessly before the larger man. "They're dead. I couldn't save them."

"'s ok, Sirius." Hagrid put an arm around his shoulders while he cried. "I know yeh did what yeh could."

Something in Hagrid's other arm squealed. Sirius looked up sharply. "Harry!"

"Yeah." Hagrid smiled at the little boy. "Beats me how the kid kept alive, but Dumbledore knew he would. Now I've gotta take him to the Professor, though."

"Wait!" Sirius looked up pleadingly. "I'm Harry's godfather - let me take care of him. I couldn't protect Lily and James, but I can protect their son. Please."

Hagrid looked as though he would've liked to, but - "I can't, Sirius. I said I'd take him to Professor Dumbledore, an' tha's what I gotta do. You can see him later on."

"Right." Sirius stared at the ground, a realization striking him. No. No, I won't be able to. I'll never see little Harry again.

Everyone thought he was the Secret-Keeper. Everyone would think he had done this - that he had betrayed his best friends. Peter would never have to pay for it.

Oh, yes, he will, Sirius thought grimly, his mind suddenly snapping into focus. I'll make him pay.

"Take my bike, Hagrid," Sirius said suddenly. "I - I won't need it anymore. And that broom doesn't look like it can go much longer."

"Well - thanks, Sirius." Hagrid smiled. "I'll get it back ter yeh as soon as I can."

"Don't worry about it." Sirius shrugged. "Just keep Harry safe, ok?"

"Sure thing." Hagrid left his broom with Sirius, flying off with the motorcycle.

Sirius allowed himself one last sigh. Time to get to it, then.

There was a spell in one of the books he and Li had, some encyclopedia or other. A spell to find someone. In a distant, separated corner of his mind, Sirius was amazed at the clarity with which he recalled it. Hurriedly, he performed the spell that, unbeknownst to him, Lianne was casting for the third time, after much cursing, miles away.

An image appeared in his head. A street. A Muggle street. Thinks he's safe if there aren't magic folk about, I suppose. Sirius couldn't care less about secrecy from Muggles. He Apparated directly to the street Peter was hurrying along.

"Peter!" Sirius bellowed, as Muggles screamed and dove away from him. "Peter, how dare you!"

On the other side of the street, Peter looked up. An expression of panic crossed his face, just before he scrambled with the rest of the crowds to get away from the "madman." Oh, no. No, you don't. Sirius threw himself after the smaller man, fury lending him speed. He shoved the Muggles out of his way, ducking past cars that screeched to a halt to avoid him.

It wasn't much of a race. Peter was short and out of shape, and had never been able to sustain a run long in any case. But he had another plan. He turned, fists clenched.

"Lily and James, Sirius!" he wailed. "Lily and James! How could you!"

"How could I?" Sirius roared, raising his wand. But his words were lost in the deafening explosion that blew through the street. By the time the dazzle spots from the accompanying flash of blinding light had cleared from his eyes, Peter was gone.

Sirius stared at the spot his once-friend had stood, unable to believe it. Peter, he thought dazedly. Peter out-dueled me. It was a tactic he himself had drummed into the little rat, when the Slytherins kept pounding on him - catch your opponent by surprise. Attack where and when he least expects it.

Why the hell didn't I stay Secret-Keeper? Even as Sirius thought it, other words floated up from his memory.

"Just - make sure you do it, ok?" Lianne stared at him with wide, pleading eyes. Sirius blinked, wondering what she was talking about. Who else would be Secret-Keeper? Why did she look so terrified? This was it, Lily and James would be all right now. "Promise me you'll keep them safe."

"She knew," he whispered, as the light dawned far too late. "She knew he'd betray them."

How Lianne had known, he hadn't the faintest idea. But she'd tried to tell him. She hadn't wanted to believe Peter could do something like this, but she'd tried to give hints. And he'd ignored her.

Sirius laughed suddenly. That was why she wanted Dumbledore to be Secret-Keeper so badly. And here I thought she didn't trust me.

As the Aurors began Apparating in around him, his laughter only increased in bitterness and volume. And now, I'm going to be blamed, and little Peter will get off free. Oh, God, how ironic.

They'd probably even think he murdered Peter. He'd be punished for that, too, and he hadn't even had the satisfaction of seeing the rat die. He laughed maniacally, not even able to be afraid of what had to be coming. He'd see the terror soon enough, and the guilt - oh, the guilt - that would come. But now, all he could see was the damned, damned irony, the mockery fate had set on him. All he could do was laugh, and laugh, at the great bitterness that really wasn't funny at all.

~*~

"Sirius!" Lianne raced down through the Muggle streets, hardly noticing the cold, though she still wore only a nightgown. "Oh, God, oh, please, God, don't let me be too late!"

"Miss!" Someone grabbed her arm. She recognized the uniform of an Auror incognito, and tried to yank away. "Miss, you can't go there, there's been a gas fire - "

"Shut the hell up!" Lianne snarled. "There's been a curse, and my husband's out there, and I'll be damned - " she kicked him hard, " - if you're going to keep me from him!" She bolted onward the second the Auror's grip relaxed in pain.

She spotted him, and threw herself forward in the hopes of reaching him by sheer speed. What she'd do about the Aurors holding him she didn't know, all she knew was that she had to get to him, had to get to him now -

"Mrs. Black, please stay away." Firm hands jolted her to a halt. "Your husband is dangerous, he's just blown up the street - "

"He hasn't!" Lianne twisted frantically, desperate to get to Sirius. He's so close, so close - "It wasn't him, you've got to believe me! He wasn't - he wouldn't - "

"Mrs. Black!" The hands spun her around, and she found herself staring into the face of Bartemius Crouch. If he wasn't holding her hands back, she'd've clawed him across the face. "You really must stay away! If you don't, I shall have to magically restrain you."

Lianne went limp. "All right," she whispered.

"Thank you," he began, releasing her.

She rushed forward again. "Sirius! Oh, God, no, don't let this happen! Sirius, look at me!"

She didn't think he could even hear her. He was just standing there, as they tried to lead him away, not even putting up a fight. Just standing there. Laughing. Just like the book. Lianne didn't notice her tears until they blurred her vision, and she tripped over something. No - that was a spell, wasn't it? Someone'd stopped her with a spell. If it was Crouch, this time she really would claw his eyes out.

A hand reached down to help her up. Lianne slapped it viciously away, jumping to her feet by herself, to face - "Mad-Eye Moody?"

The Auror frowned at her, eyeing her - with both eyes intact. "Mad-Eye? That what they call me now?" He shook his head. "Now, look, missy, wife or not, you can't go charging a Death Eater."

"He isn't a Death Eater!" Lianne wailed.

Moody snorted. "Wife's always the last to know, I suppose."

"That's for cheating, not turning to the Dark Side!" Lianne shouted. "He hasn't gone Dark, I swear to you I'd know if he had! I'm his wife, for God's sake! How can you say you know? You don't even know him!"

"He's blown up a whole street," Moody pointed out calmly. "That's powerful Dark magic."

"It wasn't him!"

"Well, it sure wasn't one of these Muggles." Moody shrugged. "Not much point in trying to convince me now, though."

Lianne stared at him. "What do you mean?"

"He's been sentenced already. By him." Moody jerked a thumb at Crouch. "Azkaban. For life." He caught Lianne around the waist when she tried to run off again. "Uh-uh, missy. It's tough, but that's what happens to Death Eaters. This street's no place for a girl in her nightdress. Go home to your mother."

"My mother's dead." Lianne couldn't bear watching them drag her husband away, and shut her eyes. Then, remembering that this might be her last sight of him for years, she opened them again.

But it was too late. The Aurors on scene had moved to obscure her vision.

He was gone.

Chapter 14

I don't know when, I don't know how

But I know something's starting right now

Watch and you'll see, someday I'll be

Part of your world.

"Thirteen years." Lianne flung her purse down on the sofa angrily. "Thirteen years I wait for him, and now he's been free a whole year, and does he come to see me?" She kicked her shoes off. "No!"

She sat down on the couch beside her purse, propping her feet on the coffee table. She supposed she ought to get up and make herself some dinner - but what was the point? She didn't feel like eating. She was too disappointed.

Ever since last year, when Sirius had escaped Azkaban, she'd hoped he'd come find her. Maybe. Every time she came home from somewhere, her hopes would raise, no matter how much she told them not to. And it was awful, to open the apartment door and not find him.

One thing that made her happy was that she could now legitimately call her apartment an apartment, rather than having everyone correct her that the term was flat. She'd moved back to America ten years ago, not having anything in particular to hold her in Britain. She'd thought about going to France, simply because she'd never been there, but then she remembered she didn't speak French. So America it was.

She hadn't gone to Maryland again, though. Too many memories there. She lived in Florida now, and was quite happy with the complete lack of snow.

A loud squawk interrupted her thoughts. Lianne sighed. "Time to feed the birds. Ok," she called, "ok. I'm coming."

She made a point to pat each individual bird as she fed them. She had six - two parakeets, two cockatoos, a macaw, and a toucan, of which the Muggle zoo would probably disapprove, if she'd bothered to tell them. Well, the Muggles probably wouldn't like pet owls, either, and her birds served the same purpose as other witches' owls.

Sounds of a scuffle in the hallway attracted Li's attention. "I'll be right back," she told Dragonfly, the macaw, before peering outside curiously.

Her stomach dropped. The building's security guard was attempting to restrain a large black dog. At the sight of her, the dog struggled even harder to get away.

"Oh, no, you don't, mongrel!" Ryan, the guard, growled. "I'm not letting you off on a rampage through a nice building like this!"

"Ryan!" Lianne called, rushing into the hallway. "Ryan, let him go!"

"Sorry, Lianne," Ryan shouted back. "But he's - "

"He belongs to a friend of mine!" Li said desperately, as the dog yelped in pain when Ryan grabbed him too hard. "Please, you're hurting him!"

Looking as though it was against his better judgement, Ryan let the dog go. He immediately bounded towards Lianne - then thought the better of jumping on her. He hesitated, then sat docilely at her feet.

"I'm sorry," Lianne apologized quickly. "My friend - Remus - he was going to drop this guy off today, just for a little while, but I didn't realize Remus wouldn't bring him up himself."

"It's ok, Lianne." Ryan grinned. "Just don't let him make too big a mess of the building. And I hope he doesn't scare your birds."

"He won't." Lianne's smile was only barely polite, and quite chilly. She hoped Ryan would take the hint and go.

He didn't. "So how's your painting coming?"

"Good." Maybe if I'm rude, he'll let me be.

"That's nice." He smiled. "I wish you'd tell me what books you've illustrated, I'd be sure to buy them."

Lianne stopped herself from rolling her eyes. He didn't know that she illustrated wizard books. He was just a Muggle, after all. "Some other time, Ryan. Aren't you on duty now?"

"Oh, yeah." He grinned a goodbye, then stopped. "Say - join me for dinner some time?"

Lianne just sighed and held up her left hand, pointing at the wedding ring. She'd told him her husband was dead, but the ring had been a deterrent so far.

Until now. "Lianne, you said yourself it's been thirteen years," Ryan said gently. "Don't you think it's time to move on? Just dinner. Think about it." He glanced down at the dog, who was growling with narrowed eyes. "Unfriendly mutt, isn't he?"

"Maybe he just doesn't like you," Lianne suggested, very sweetly. "Ryan, I really don't like the thought that anyone could be sneaking into the building while you're away. I could be murdered in my bed!"

"Right." Ryan waved. "Remember - think about it!"

Lianne ignored him. She went to the door of her apartment. "In," she said to the dog. She followed him, then made a point of turning her back to shut and lock the door. I'm going to feel awfully stupid if I'm wrong, she thought. But she knew she wasn't.

"Nice birds."

Lianne turned, her breath catching in her throat. "Oh - Sirius - it is you! I knew it!" She flung herself into his arms.
"Li - " was all she gave him the chance to say, before pulling herself up to kiss him fiercely, with thirteen years of pent-up love. She only pulled back when she realized his hair was nearly twice as long as hers, and that was only because she was startled.

He took advantage of the opportunity to speak. "Lianne - I'm sorry I didn't believe you."

"Don't talk," she scolded him. "Sit." She pushed him onto her sofa. He winced as dirt from his robes got onto the white material, but she didn't care. What did a couch matter when she had her husband back? "You look half-starved, what can I feed you?"

"Li!" Sirius objected. "This isn't how our reuniting is supposed to go!"

"I suppose you want me to let you wallow in guilt." She shook her head. "I can order pizza, but that'll take a while. Do you want a pop-tart?"

Sirius stared at her in disbelief. "No, I don't want pop-tart! Lianne, talk to me!"

"I am talking, haven't you been listening?" Lianne opened the refrigerator. "I've got some leftover spaghetti - no, wait, it's moldy. Or did I use that weird sauce Remus likes? Maybe it's supposed to be that color."

Sirius began laughing. Lianne turned around. "What?"

"You are deliberately preventing me from dwelling on the past, aren't you?" he asked, grinning.

"Only partly." She grinned back. "I still say you need proper feeding."

"That leaves your cooking out, then." Sirius stood, going over to take her hands. "Li - I really missed you."

"I know." She smiled, melting at his expression. "I love you, Sirius."

"I love you, too, Li."

~*~

"Lianne? Can these birds get all the way to England?"

Lianne looked up. "You want to write to Harry."

Sirius started, then shook his head. "Obvious, I suppose."

She shrugged. "Somewhat." She glanced at her birdcages. "Try Tinkerbell. The toucan."

"Tinkerbell?" Sirius blinked. "I don't want to know." He looked around. "Um... can I borrow some paper? And a quill?"

"There's writing paper... um... in the third drawer of my desk." She pointed. "And don't take one of my good drawing pens to write with. Look in the center drawer. You can use any of those."

"Right." Sirius sat down to start his letter.

~*~

"Oh, no." Sirius looked over at Lianne, his face pale. "Li - Harry - "

"His scar's hurting, isn't it?" Lianne looked down sadly. "All right. I understand. You need to go be with him now."

"Li - you know I'd stay if it weren't important," Sirius told her earnestly. "I'll come back here as soon as I can. You'll never even miss me."

"Miss you?" Lianne raised her eyebrows. "I'm sure I won't. I'm coming."

Sirius stared. "You can't come. You've got a job here."

"I haven't," she countered. "I'm technically a free-lancer, but most of the work I do is for British publishers, and their British authors. That series I was working on, before - before you left, it hit it big, over in England. And they've decided they really like my work, so they keep hiring me back to do more illustrations. They'd be thrilled if I moved back to Britain, even if it's only for a little while."

"But - you have friends here," Sirius objected.

"Some," Lianne agreed. "But no one it would bother me much to lose touch with. Ryan's the only one who'd really care, and he'll find someone else to chase after soon enough."

"It's too dangerous!"

Lianne glared at him. "If I used that argument on you, you'd laugh at me." She sighed. "Look, how about this. I'll stay with - with Remus, or someone, and just come visit you, wherever you decide to stay?"

"No. If Voldemort really is back - I won't put you in danger," Sirius said stubbornly.

"What do you call staying here with me, then?" Lianne demanded. "I've waited thirteen years for you to come back to me, I'm not letting you go anywhere without me, not ever again!"

Sirius stared at her, then shook his head. "I can't believe you aren't scared."

"Oh, I am," she assured him. "But - scary with you is better than scary without you."

~*~

"Lianne? What are you doing here?" Remus's jaw dropped. "Why didn't you tell me you were coming back to England?"

"It was a kind of spur-of-the-moment thing." She shrugged. "Can I stay with you for a little while? Just till I find a place to rent for about a year."

"I - I guess so." Remus held the door open wider, letting her in. "Li - Dumbledore said he was - sending someone to you - "

"Yes." Lianne nodded. "Sirius. He's on his way through Scotland, as far as I know. He won't let me contact him till he gets to Hogsmeade."

"He's going to Hogsmeade?" Remus gaped. "That's dangerous!"

"Yes, I know." Lianne sighed. "But he wants to be near Harry, and... well, that's probably for the best. Poor kid's going to need - " She stopped quickly. No, that hasn't happened yet, has it?

"Need...?" Remus prompted curiously.

"Help," Lianne finished lamely. "With... stuff."

Remus gave her an odd look, but didn't question it. Nice for me, Li thought. I'd really hate to have to give him answers.

~*~

"The Tri-Wizard Tournament," Sirius snarled, kicking at the floor of the cave Dumbledore had suggested for him. "Of all the bloody things that could've happened, it had to be this! Do you remember the death rates?"

"Yes." Lianne drew her legs up against her chest. "I suppose there's no use in me saying how it's supposed to be safer?"

"No." Sirius reached over to pat Buckbeak. The hippogriff snorted, having only recently forgiven Sirius for making him stay invisible the entire time they were in Florida. "I wish I had some idea who could've entered him!"

Lianne hesitated. Well... it's worth a shot. "Isn't there a new professor at the school?" she suggested. "Could it be him?"

Sirius gave her a look of disbelief. "The new professor is Moody. The Auror."

"It could be," Lianne insisted. She threw caution to the winds. "Someone could've used Polyjuice Potion, so that everyone just thinks it's him - "

"Look, Li, if you can't be serious, at least be quiet." Sirius scowled. "I am not in a joking mood. Besides, what would this unknown evil of yours have done with the real Moody, huh? No," he shook his head, "no, my money's on that Karkaroff guy. A former Death Eater, remember? He'd have it in for Harry for sure." He sighed. "Honestly, Li - Mad-Eye Moody? Where do you get ideas like that, anyway?"

~*~

"Why can't I go with you?" Lianne demanded angrily, pacing alongside Sirius as he walked the cave over and again. "It's the last task - anything could happen, and you won't be able to do much as a dog! And who knows what-all is in that bloody maze?"

Sirius froze. "Maze?"

Lianne stared at him in disbelief. "Obviously. The maze Harry's got to get through, remember? Third task? Is this ringing a bell at all for you?"

"But... I never told you it was a maze..." Sirius said slowly. Suspicion darkened his eyes. "Li - you know something about this."

"Well - yes," Lianne admitted reluctantly. "But you wouldn't believe me."

"I would!" Sirius said indignantly.

She shook her head. "You wouldn't. I tried to tell you once, and you laughed at me. No one would believe this until I could prove it, and the only way to prove it is if it happens. When it happens."

"Lianne, I swear I'll believe anything you say," Sirius told her, impatience showing in his eyes. "You know I will. Who can you trust, if you won't trust your own husband?"

Lianne looked down. "Promise?"

"Promise."

She took a deep breath. "Crouch. His son's the Death Eater at Hogwarts. The cup in the center of the maze is a Portkey, and the Crouch kid's going to make sure Harry touches the cup first. I - dammit, I can't even remember the details! I finally tell someone, and I can't bloody remember half!"

"Li, that is more than enough." Sirius looked grim. "I've got to get to Hogwarts, and tell Dumbledore." He blinked. "Why didn't you tell him before this? You could've stopped - "

"I told you, I tried telling you before, and you didn't believe a word of it - "

"When?" Sirius snapped. "You've never mentioned a word of this before!"

"Remember when I was talking about Moody?" Lianne waited, but Sirius just looked blank. "Guess not. Anyway, you thought I was joking, so I figured that if my own husband didn't believe me, no one would."

Sirius just shook his head. "Never mind, Li, I've got to stop Harry touching that Portkey - "

"We've got to."

"You are not coming."

"I am. What, you think you can just march up to Dumbledore in full view of the Ministry's representatives and demand that the Tournament be interrupted?"

"I - " Sirius stopped. "Ok, you have a point - but it will be dangerous - "

"My safety isn't the issue here." Lianne breathed deeply. And there's still part I don't want to say. Part I am praying won't come true.

~*~

"Ms... Treyvan, is it? I'm sure you have excellent reasons for wanting this Tournament stopped," Fudge said patiently, while Lianne forcibly restrained herself from slapping him, "but it's simply not possible."

"I'd like to know how she got here in the first place," Snape added, narrowing his eyes at her. He hadn't liked Lianne ever since he'd discovered she was in love with his school rival back in his fifth year, and her marrying Sirius had done nothing to redeem her in his eyes. "The grounds were supposed to be closed off."

"That's none of your business!" Lianne snapped, as snootily as she could. "It concerns Dumbledore. I am going to speak with him. Now."

"Dumbledore's busy." Fudge moved to block her way. "I'm afraid he hasn't time to see just anyone."

"He'll see me," Lianne said decidedly. "And if you don't get out of my way, Minister, I shall - I shall - " Inspiration did not choose that moment to strike. "I shall be very upset," she finished, after an awkward pause.

"The Headmaster has more than enough to deal with," Snape sneered. "What with that horrible black mongrel trying to attack him - "

"He's not a mongrel!" Li gasped in outrage.

"Is he yours?" Fudge asked in surprise. "You really should keep him on a leash, or something of the sort."

"And bathe him," Snape muttered.

That's it, Lianne thought angrily. Screw distraction. If Sirius can't get there by now, it's his own fault. She did what she'd been itching to do for the past five minutes -

Crack!

Fudge's face turned sharply at the blow of her hand. Lianne took off for the Quidditch field, some sort of curse she didn't really want to think too hard about barely missing the top of her head.

She got there just in time to see Dumbledore returning from where he appeared to have been conversing with thin air behind the stands. A large black dog that admittedly did need a bath followed anxiously. The Headmaster made a sharp turn away from the maze when he saw Lianne.

"A Portkey?" he whispered softly, barely speaking.

Lianne swallowed hard. "Yessir. To a graveyard." The dog gave a tiny yip of surprise. "I'll explain later, sir, just stop anyone touching that cup!"

Lianne knelt beside the dog. "It'll be ok," she whispered, to both Sirius and herself. "He'll stop things. He'll make it better. No one will have to die. It'll be ok."

~*~

"Lianne." She looked up at Dumbledore's deeply troubled face. "Sirius - Lianne - they've touched the cup. Cedric and Harry both. They're no longer in the maze. I don't know how long ago it was - but they're gone now."

Lianne caught her breath. "Cedric - that's right. I'd forgotten." She looked down. I thought it was stupid, she remembered suddenly. I didn't see why anyone cared about him. I thought his death was a joke. "Oh, God, another death on my conscience."

"What do you mean?" Dumbledore stared into her eyes, not allowing her to glance away, even for a moment. "Lianne, I think that now is the time to explain."

"Right." She bit her lip, looking into those not-so-twinkly blue eyes. "Voldemort's coming back. I can't remember any details - I couldn't find the books anywhere, and believe me, I looked. And by the time I thought to write it down, I'd forgotten a lot. But not the important parts." She suddenly focused on Dumbledore, rather than the past. "Professor! You have a traitor on your staff! It's - "

"Professor! Something's happening!" someone - a Weasley boy? - yelled.

"The Portkey!" Dumbledore looked back at them. "Wait in the pumpkin patch by Hagrid's hut." He ran off.

Lianne looked at Sirius. "Go. I've still got to warn him." She shoved him in the right direction, but found him trotting at her heels as she darted towards the commotion.

Harry - it had to be Harry, she hadn't seen him in years, but he looked just like James - Harry was on the ground blinking dazedly, and another boy lay crumpled beside him. Cedric. The third one I failed. But Lianne didn't have time to think about that.

A man lifted Harry and started to carry him off. A man who she'd've sworn was Mad-Eye Moody, except she knew he wasn't. Li put on another burst of speed, wishing she was in better shape.

"Dumbledore!" She grabbed his shoulder and jerked him towards her. "Moody - that's not him - Polyjuice - he's got Harry - " That was all she got a chance to say, before the Headmaster, as well as McGonagall and Snape, took off for the castle at a dead run.

~*~

"What I want to know is," Dumbledore leveled his gaze at Lianne, "how did you find out about all this? The whole story. Now."

Sirius nodded. "I think we have a right to know. It can't be as ridiculous as you keep saying."

"It can and it is," Lianne insisted. "All right, then - listen. I read these books that told all this stuff. As a story."

"You mean - an enchanted book?" Dumbledore frowned.

"No, a Muggle book," Lianne said. "Books. Whatever. They told Harry's story. You were both in it."

"Weren't you?" Sirius asked.

"I'm not a part of Harry's life," Lianne pointed out. "Anyway, I haven't been able to find a copy of any of them since. But I remembered about Lily and James, and Peter, and - and about this Tournament."

"And Voldemort's second rising?" Dumbledore leaned forward. "Lianne - how did these books end?"

"I don't know." She shook her head miserably. "I only read the first four." She blinked. "Hey - wait - you believe me!"

"Of course we believe you," Sirius said impatiently. "You're telling the truth, right?"

"Well, I suppose since it's already been proved..." Lianne shrugged. "You wouldn't've acted this way if I'd told you this a few months ago."

Sirius turned a little red. Dumbledore sighed. "I would have, Lianne. You know that. I wish you could have found it in your heart to trust me."

"Yeah." Lianne, too, sighed. "So do I."

~*~

"Lianne - God, Li, warn me before you do that!" Remus scrambled to his feet. He'd fallen off the couch in surprise when she'd Apparated into his living room. "You're getting as bad as Sirius was!"

"Sorry. I was kind of in a hurry." Lianne grimaced. "Look, Remus, you got that letter, right?"

"Letter? What letter?" Remus glanced down reflexively at the papers he'd dropped, then scooped them up hurriedly.

"From Dumbledore? About the Tournament and all?" Lianne waited for recognition to dawn. "Yeah, that letter. Anyway, there's an Auror meeting in a week - no, not Monday night, before you ask - and you're supposed to be there."

"But - I'm not an Auror," Remus objected.

"Neither am I, but I'd like to see them try keeping me away." Lianne laughed. "They need an errand-runner, after all. And you have to admit, I can move around a lot easier than Sirius can. My publishers think I'm taking a year to do all the European sightseeing I never got around to before, so I've even got a ready-made excuse if anyone gets suspicious."

Remus nodded. "I can't run errands," he warned her.

"I know." She shrugged. "Dumbledore wants you there, though, so you must be good for something."

Remus sighed. "Ha, ha, Li. So where and when do I report?"

"Friday at seven in the morning," she told him, grinning when he groaned at the early hour. "And it's at Dumbledore's house, actually. In Ireland."

"Dumbledore's Irish?" Remus raised his eyebrows.

"Apparently. Part, anyway. Sirius made leprechaun jokes for a week after he found out." Lianne smiled. "Well, I've got directions here... somewhere..." She began rummaging through her purse. Remus flipped idly through his papers until she found a flattened roll of parchment. "Aha! Anyway, directions to Dumbledore's house." She handed it over.

"Thanks." Remus accepted it. "Look, do you want to sit down, or have some tea, or something? Apparating's pretty tiring, if you don't have much power to start with."

"Well - yes, actually. Some tea would be great. Thanks." Lianne grinned.

Remus led the way to the kitchen, and pointed his wand at the kettle to start it boiling. "So." Li sat at the table, across from Remus. "How've you been?"

"Oh - all right." Remus shrugged. "I've got a Muggle job. In a bookstore."

"That's good." Lianne nodded. "Any pretty girls work there?" she added teasingly.

"A few." His ears turned pink, and he became very interested in how the boiling water was coming.

Lianne grinned. "Aha! Someone special?"

"Kind of." Remus turned around, frowning. "Li, can I ask you something?"

"Sure." She leaned her chin on her hand. "What?"

"Well... it's a really long story..." Remus began, "but I've been getting these really weird letters..."