Dear readers,

As you might have noticed, it has been embarrassingly long since I've published anything concerning the Harry Potter xo Avengers universe. My first reason is the lack of time and opportunity (life has been a b*tch lately and I have a bit more to worry about than focus on writing stories; though I probably shouldn't have started all four at once). The second reason is much simpler; I completely lack motivation to keep on going with the Marvel-verse. The last movies, while pretty awesome, completely drained any interest I had in that universe (fine, I admit the Clint/Laura pairing completely butchered it with time).

Maybe I'll pick up where I left someday but it won't be until a really long time, and I am the first to be frustrated at an unfinished fic. The trouble is, I have the plot, I just don't have the words to put it down.

As a compromise, I figured might as well post a draft of what I had intended to write. If anyone is interested by continuing what I've started, feel free to PM me to let me know.

Many thanks and apologies to those who have favorite, reviewed and followed this story up till now; I'm sorry I couldn't go till the end.

Special thanks to Blue for her beta-proof work at light speed.

New York

Ginny is curious about her new sister and takes advantage of Percy going to New York for a week to follow him and track Natasha down. Natasha just stopped working for Stark and gets Ginny's letter. She agrees to spend a few days with her. They go shopping and play tourists. Ginny tells her she reminds her of Bill but in a female way. She's also glad she returned into Bill's life because she had never seen him so happy before, and she hopes they will get along in the future. Natasha brings her to a nightclub on their last evening before she needs to return on a new mission.

The music was heavy and so loud she could feel her ears ring and the bass vibrating in her chest. Wizards had their own music, their own band, but Ginny had to admit that muggle discothèques were one of a kind. They could shake their bodies –there was no way she would call this dancing –in the dark, under laser lights, and no-one would give a care. So she imitated the closest person, raised her arms in the air and bounced to the rhythm. From the corner of the eye, she could see Natasha moving gracefully, her body twisting in waves, as a man came to stand behind her and follow the motion.

Ginny was caught off-guard when her sister allowed him to put a hand on her hips and bring her back against his front, both swinging in synchronization. Natasha's arm went backwards and wrapped around the man's neck, pulling his face into her hair. The teenager wondered whether she knew him or if he was a complete stranger, she couldn't recall if Natasha had mentioned a boyfriend –or if this was custom among muggles to share themselves in that way.

She kept moving, keeping an eye on the couple, and soon was caught up in the mood and forgot momentarily about them. Natasha was a grown woman after all, she could look after herself. Not to mention that the man was, from what she could see, rather good-looking. As long as she didn't forget to bring her home…

Natasha drives Ginny back to the hotel, where Percy is expecting her. Though Natasha recognizes him, she introduces herself as a friend of Bill's. She returns with Clint, who saw Percy, and thanks him for covering for her the past few days at SHIELD. Clint jokes he expects to meet the family properly one day and she kisses him.

The Avengers - Bill's house

The parents and Georges are visiting him when Molly asks an unexpected question:

"Tell me Bill," Molly said, approaching her oldest son. "Who is Natasha?"

Bill blinked twice and stared at his mother.

"What?"

"Percy said she was a friend of yours…and Ginny has a lot of compliments about her," the woman went on, only to be interrupted by Georges:

"You mean she won't shut up about her?" he said with a light grin, and added for his brother's information: "I don't know how a muggle managed to seduce our little sis. What's her secret?"

Bill rolled his eyes. He was at least hoping to keep Natasha's presence for himself a while longer.

"Ginny met her last time she came to our house. They spent a couple days shopping in the muggle side of New York, that's all I know."

"That explains the unexpected pile of clothes in her closet." Ron muttered.

"Gold has a lot of value in the muggle world. I think she just exchanged a galleon in pounds." Bill explained, not wanting to tell them that Natasha had actually paid the bill. He still wasn't sure if she had been trying to win over his –their- younger sister over or just having fun. Maybe a bit of both.

The moment is interrupted by someone ringing at the doorbell. Natasha is there, looking panicked but composed. She has come to his house before briefly, so he isn't surprised to see her there.

"Natasha? What-"

"I need your help." She interrupted before he could speak more. "It's a long story but-" she paused as Arthur Weasley stepped in the background, eyes wide and mouth half-opened. Bill saw her take in who he was, wondered if he should intervene or say something. But after her face drained of colors she ignored him entirely and focused back on him. "Clint's in trouble. I didn't want to get you involved, but I don't know who might be able to help on that one and my boss is one stubborn idiot."

"It involves magic?"

She nodded, still avoiding Weasley senior's curious gaze.

"I can't tell you too much right now," she added. "But you have to come with me. If I bring you there, it'll be easier."

"Okay, let me grab some stuff, I'll be right there."

He turned around, halfway expecting Natasha to follow him. She didn't. He hurriedly picked his coat and his wand and was putting on his shoes when his father finally spoke:

"This is…" he started expectantly.

"Natasha," Bill shot quickly. It seemed that now was not the time for the big revelation. "Can you tell Fleur I'll be gone for…that I'm gone with Natasha? Sounds like an emergency but I guess I should be home tonight. I'll send an owl if not."

"Son, are you sure…"

"Fleur will understand," he interrupted. "Sorry for dashing out like that. Bye!" he added and darted out of the house with a wave.

Natasha came in a car. Bill experiences first hand her erratic driving while she explains the situation (Loki took over Clint's mind control, she just wants to have him check their Helicarrier's defenses against magic). When Bill asks what is Helicarrier, she smiles and tells him he will soon find out.

Helicarrier

Bill and Natasha embark on a Quinjet to board on the Helicarrier. He is awed by the muggle technology and has trouble keeping his voice down, but no-one tries to approach them. They meet Maria straight after landing.

"Is there a reason why everyone steps aside when you show up?" he asked discreetly as they stepped on the platform. Natasha smirked.

"They fear me. Come, and don't answer to anyone except me. They have no business knowing who you are. Hello Maria," she added to a brunette woman who had been approaching.

"Who is he?" 'Maria' asked with both raised eyebrows.

"He's with me," Natasha replied curtly. "He specializes in magic."

The other woman's frown deepened. A slight wave of recognition fell upon her face.

"Wait a minute…Isn't he the guy you were…"

"Yep."

"Oh." She paused. "We will address this at a later date, understood?"

Natasha shrugged away the veiled order carelessly.

"Sure. What's new?"

"Banner and Rogers are on their way. Fury wants you to greet them." The brunette shot Bill a look. "Better keep the civilian out of range once you're done with…whatever you have planned for him."

"I will Maria," Natasha assured her and led her brother away at fast pace. Bill followed her swiftly; he couldn't figure out why exactly, but something in 'Maria''s inquisitive look made him uncomfortable. Natasha didn't speak until they were approaching the closest door. "Stay away from the one named Banner," she warned. "He might not look like much, but you don't want him angry."

"Oh?"

She didn't offer more information and promptly moved forwards.

Natasha introduces him to her boss Fury –he briefly wonders if there is any reference with Fury the owl –who makes clear he won't be staying long. They show him the cage in which they intended to lock Loki and asks him to test it against magic interference.

"Would you mind trying?"

Bill stared at the cage and apparated inside. He left the premise just as easily. Fury's disgusted expression nearly made him laugh.

"I'm a curse breaker, but I could probably put up wards to enclose magic." He offered, checking the cage and touching its glass. "Is this recorded?" He suddenly asked, alarmed, "I'm not supposed to…"

"I ordered the feed to be cut when we entered the room," Natasha interrupted. "Only level 9 agents will be allowed to visualize the backup –which means not many people. Director Fury, Deputy Director Hill, Agent Coulson and myself will be the only one to know."

"Since when do you order around my agents, Romanoff?"

"Since my only living relative has set foot on the stage. I told you, Director, the moment we have our intel, I am sending him back home. And he is not coming close to any of them."

Bill keeps close to Natasha while on the Helicarrier. He gets a few annoyed looks when people try to talk about confidential subjects with his sister, but since he doesn't understand much, occupies himself by admiring the machines and reflects that the magical world is far behind on muggle inventions. Natasha leaves for a mission, he is asked to stay in the control room, from which he admires the view. SHIELD agents ask if he and the 'Widow' are related. When he asks who is 'Widow', Maria arrives and explains his sister is one of their best agents, mostly because she has a unique past. Bill doesn't like the way she says 'unique', though he suspects it has nothing to do with magic. He decides to ask Natasha later. She returns soon after with Loki and the others; they gather around the table for debriefing. Bill stays mostly because he wants to know how much he should report to the ministry –if they would ever believe him.

Loki brushed the glass. It turned a deep shade of purple, making him raise his eyebrows in surprise.

"A magical ward? You have sorcerers among you?"

"It's supposed to contain him; he shouldn't be able to escape. That is, if his magic is similar to ours." Bill explained uneasily in the control room. All attendants stared at him. Bill squirmed under the sudden attention; he could handle wizards just fine but he had never been in contact with muggle's most advanced technology. It resembled magic so much sometimes that it made him uneasy.

"I was told you were a magic specialist, not a magic user," Stark raised. Natasha beat him to the answer.

"He studied ancient magical rituals." She half-lied smoothly. "He knows a lot about what our European ancestors call magic. Practical magic, that is."

"Interesting. If that voodoo works, I'll call to set some all around Stark Tower. In case aliens actually invade New York. Deal?"

"Uh…"

"Leave him alone Stark," Natasha intervened again, raising one perfectly still eyebrow towards the genius. Instead of biting the bait, Stark remained quiet, but still immensely interested. No doubt he'd charge when no-one was looking. Inside his cage, Loki looked perplexed, but barely so. Fury barely held back his smirk.

"How can he break away?" Rogers asked with a hint of curiosity.

"He needs to crack through the defenses rather hard -I drew several safeties and reflective shields, including one that should negate his powers, or at least, dull them. Then a self-igniting one; should he try to break through magically, they would feed on his own magic and reinforce the field." He had discovered that particular spell in Egypt; where some caves sheltered incredibly strong magical creatures. It had been one of his proudest moments. "No-one can enter or leave unless the runes are destroyed."

"Seriously Romanoff, where did you find him?" Stark asked again, too curious.

The meeting ends, Natasha tries to convince Bill to return to England but he won't for fear of losing her again. She forces his hand by arguing that he has done enough and she won't let Fury manipulate her more than he already does by using him. She's called to interrogate Loki on her own. Bill is being led to the bay when the Helicarrier shakes unexpectedly. He saves a few agents from falling off board thanks to magic but blacks out when he's too slow to dodge a falling metallic beam. When he wakes up, he's in the medical bay and everyone is watching the battle of New York on screen. He witnesses the Avengers in action, including his sister, and is awed and slightly afraid at how powerful Natasha truly is.

The Burrow

Natasha brings Bill back at his parents' house. Nobody is there. Bill leads her to the attic where they kept their childhood stuff and returns downstairs. He meets Ginny and tells her Natasha is upstairs. She slips that she's up for some more sisterly time at the moment Molly enters the room. Bill then admits he found Hemina again, news to which his mother doesn't react the way he expects. In the attic, Natasha goes through the dusty boxes.

The stuffed rabbit caught her attention. Natasha slowly reached for the toy. The soft purple fur still felt soft under her fingertips, the left sewed black button eyes threatening to fall if pulled. She took it gently in one hand and stood up again. She toyed with the necktie, a green crossed tissue that had been added around the rabbit's neck for what end, she didn't know. Decoration? A fancy addition from a little girl to her toy? Her thumbs ran over the pelt. She closed her eyes and inhaled its sent. In spite of the dust, there lingered an old smell of lavender and wood. A vague tug in the back of her mind brought the memory of a laugh, a fragile picture of blue pastel wallpaper and wooden furniture.

She opened her eyes again and turned around. A large mirror stood a few feet away from where she stood, the glass reflecting her image perfectly. Natasha stepped in front of it and watched herself hug the stuffed rabbit in her arms, bringing its head under her chin.

A soft snore distracted her from her contemplation. Hemina stared at her twin brother lying in the middle of their mother's old robes. He was exhausted from all their playing and running in muggle London's streets. Leaving her brother sleep, she returned to stare at herself in the mirror. The purple bunny Ellen had bought her from the muggle children store felt soft in her hands and seemed to stare at her in return. A small smile grew over her lips as she hugged the plush tighter. It was hers and hers alone and she would give it all the love a little girl her age would.

Voices coming from downstairs brought Natasha back to present. She blinked at the memory and instinctively glanced around. The cellar was different of course, this wasn't the same house. The drawer that contained her mother's dresses wouldn't be there anymore, neither the low table.

She headed back to the staircase, absentmindedly keeping the bunny against her chest. It was hers after all.

Mother and father were in the middle of an argument when she reached the lower part of the stairs. Still hugging Bunny close to herself, Hemina stopped at an angle where she could listen without them seeing her. Molly was gesturing widely, worryingly. She did that a lot lately; war was coming and their family would not go without casualties if they stayed in London. Hemina didn't get the meaning of 'war', except that it wasn't a good thing and her parents were afraid of it. This was something they couldn't control, something that no-one seemed to be able to control and something to fear.

And then she heard her name.

"Hemina will bring His followers to our door," her mother said. "If You-Know-Who hears about her-"

"He won't have a reason to," her father countered tiredly. "Look, Molly, he has people under his orders, he leads operations. Albus said You-Know-Who is getting more powerful. He won't be interested in a little girl."

"This little girl is a Pureblood and a magical prodigy," Molly argued. "If he knew what she was capable of, he will either kidnap or kill her."

"And what do you suggest we do? I can't leave now, I pledged myself to the Order. I don't trust any of our family to keep her safe and even if we send her away we'll have to send Bill away with her."

"You have to," her mother insisted. "She is a danger to this family."

"She is your daughter, not a curse."

Hemina held her bunny closer and made herself smaller in the staircase, bringing her knees under her chin.

"She's so strange," Molly went on. "She never shows her emotions, never cries, never laughs."

"She does when she's with Bill."

"And she never obeys, never listens to what I say! I can't have it anymore Arthur."

Willy chose that moment to open the cellar's door and loudly walk down the steps. Both parents raised their head in direction of the noise and spotted her sitting on the stairs, watching them. Hemina kept her eyes on her mother. Her mother wanted her away because she feared her. She feared she would bring war to their family. Molly stared back, a determined expression on her face. It had occurred to the little girl before that her own mother wasn't fond of her, not that she was so afraid of her.

She stopped on the edge of the staircase, overhearing bits and pieces of an argument between a familiar voice –Ginny, and an unfamiliar one.

"I won't have a stranger under my roof! Tell her to leave at once!"

A redhead woman in her middle-ages. Vaguely familiar, an older version of the woman she had seen in her…what could they be called, flashbacks?

"But mom, she's-"

"No she isn't! Your father and I saw her body, Ginny, she was not aliv-"

A stair creaked under her weight and both women looked up. Natasha involuntarily held the stuffed rabbit closer and met the woman's eyes directly. She felt void of emotions, a familiar blankness wrap around her. The woman's eyes widened in shock and her skin turned white.

"No," she whispered. "No, you're dead."

Natasha took the few remaining steps and paused at the bottom of the stairs.

"You never did like me much as far as I recall."

Molly took a few steps back, bumping into a closet on her way and crashing the vase on top of it. She looked like she was facing a ghost, just like William not so long ago. The main difference was her brother had embraced her return. Her mother…was another story.

Natasha returns straight to New York without saying goodbye. She keeps the rabbit on Ginny's urging.

Bill's house, months later.

Bill invites his siblings to officially meet Natasha, who brings Clint for moral support. Molly and Arthur decline the invitation, as does Percy since he has a last minute job to do in France. While Fleur and Ginny are happy to see her, Georges, Ron and Harry (who is invited too) are rather reluctant to welcome her. Diner is tensed, though Clint manages to amuse the Weasley's with his lack of knowledge on the magical world. Ginny suspects Georges is about to pull a prank on Natasha while Bill is in the kitchen when she sees him point his wand under the table, but before she can stop him-

And suddenly, Ginny heard Barton hiss 'shit' and he was darting on Natasha, tackling her waist down, and screaming: "Everyone out! Run out!"

But his words were smothered by another cry, a much deeper and pained yowling. Ginny froze in horror as she recognized Bill's voice. Ron dove out the door, not having his wand on him. Harry had pulled out his and was watching anxiously.

Barton seemed to be struggling with Natasha on the ground, the former holding the latter in a sort of headlock and whispering words in a foreign language. A split second later, Natasha had head butted him backwards and was scrambling to stand up, hand reaching for a knife. Harry cast a stunner at her, but she ducked easily and threw the knife at him. Only years on the run dodging spells saved Harry, as the blade missed his hair by an inch. And then Barton was back on her, one hand blocking her fists, the other waving a frying pan to counter her knife.

Ginny decided to obey the man's former order, pulled Harry's sleeve to the next room –the kitchen, where her brother was last heading. Bill was still screaming, hands clenched white into his hair, curled into a ball on the carpet. His face was a concentration of pain and horror and fear. And as suddenly as it started, everything stopped. Bill was still sobbing and whimpering, his whole body trembling in a way only a Crucio could do. A few moments later, Barton was up and pushing the door open, a bleeding dash on his forehead. He looked pissed.

"Who did that?" he snarled, glaring at each and every one of them –except for Bill. "Who had the fucking awesome idea to cast a fucking spell on her?"

"It was just a tickling charm," Georges protested. Before his sentence was over, Barton was over him, pulling the younger man up with the sole grip of his neckline.

"When someone says, 'no magic', it's 'no magic'," he growled, his face too close of comfort. Harry and Ron took a step forward to take his defense but the man ignored them. He shoved the twin brutally backwards against the wall. "You almost got us all killed tonight."

"I didn't know she'd get nuts at the contact of a spell!"

"Tasha has PTSD, and this was a trigger. I haven't seen her that confused for years!"

"You call that confused? I call that homicidal!" Harry suddenly butted in.

Ginny blocked out the shouting and turned her attention to her older brother. Bill was still shaking, and although his eyes were still red-rimmed, he looked focused enough.

"You'll be alright?" Bill didn't answer but kept focusing on the wall, his breath slow and unsteady. She noticed the pearls of transpiration dripping over his face. "Bill, what happened?"

"It was hell," he whispered, voice broken and shaky. "What she lived through; it was hell." He paused and eyed Barton and the three others, still into their shouting match. "Where is she?" he asked softly, then louder: "Where is she?" When none replied, he shouted: "Where the bloody hell is she!"

All four guys fell silent. Georges, Harry and Ron blinked as if suddenly remembering he was there. Bill had only eyes for Barton.

"I need to see her," he whispered, and slowly moved to stand. Ginny helped him stabilize. "She's…she's alive, right?"

Barton nodded and released Georges.

"Unconscious. I put her on the couch."

Bill nodded absentmindedly.

"What the hell happened?" Ron demanded angrily.

"I could relieve her feelings. Everything she'd gone through, I could feel it. It was a nightmare," he babbled, gaze lost in the vague. "And all this time, I knew she was hurting. But I didn't expect it to be so…" tears trailed down his cheeks, his throat felt too tight. "That's…she's safe now. I…" he took a step forward, two, and fell against the wall, unconscious in turn.

Ginny watches Natasha wake up confused and ashamed. She and Clint leave the house on a sour note, though Fleur assures them they will always be welcomed at their place. Ginny, who doesn't want to lose another sibling (though she doesn't know her well), asks her if she can visit again soon. Fleur later admits to Bill that Natasha scared her and she wonders what had happened to her to make her react so badly at a little bit of magic. She also says that Natasha makes her uneasy because she feels like she's approaching an empty vortex whenever they stand close. Bill remembers Hemina didn't react to the Dan's 'obliviate' spell but Georges' triggered something, and vows to find out what has happened to her.

Auror office

Bill decides to stop by the archives of the ministry to gather more information. As he suspects Hemina was actually kidnapped, he goes to see Dan, the Auror who tried to erase Natasha's memory unsuccessfully.

"I need a favor."

The wizard glanced at him.

"Depends."

"About twenty years back, I need to know if there had been a series of magical children being killed intentionally or not, or reported missing, in England. I need to know if anything had been…going on at the time."

"You're speaking of a time of war Bill; unfortunately magical children died all the time."

"Children from old wizard families then," he amended. "Young children, no over eight."

"Why?"

"It's personal."

"Is this related to the redhead muggle woman you were flirting with a while ago?"

"Not flirting –for god's sake –but –I don't know. Maybe," Bill muttered. "Also, would you mind asking around about the 'Red Room'? It's an underground organization from Russia that might have been involved. Just ask, don't get in too deep. Last I heard, they might still be active."

"Fine," Dan replied with a shrug. "I have a friend who has a friend in the Unspeakable department. I'll write if I find anything."

"Thanks."

Barely a week goes before Bill gets a note from his contact. They meet at the Leaky Caldron.

"Your letter sounded urgent," Bill said as he sat at the table. Dan sounded uneasy.

"Where did you hear about the Red Room?"

"I stumbled upon it during some research," he lied. "But I hit a dead end."

The Auror wiped his mouth, a nervous tic he had gathered over the years.

"They're bad news. Very bad news. My contact said they had been operating during the muggle's Second World War back in the ninety fifties for the Russian government, and they had been grooming spies. Their science division involved wizards who might have…" Dan's skin paled suddenly. "Sorry, just reading the report made me sick." Bill swallowed heavily: that didn't sound good. "They used muggles' technologies and combined experimented dark spells on living subjects. They had been trying to build the perfect soldier to counter the same project the American muggle army had developed. Some active reports go back to barely twenty years ago –I can't believe Aurors didn't push harder on that case."

"Are they dismantled?"

"Only the muggle branch survived apparently," Dan went on, still pale. "Can you believe that Grindelwald himself might have participated during the mid-forties? Old notes said he was interested by a project called the 'Black Widow'," Bill felt his blood freeze. "They wanted to build the perfect spy, the perfect witch –powerful and invulnerable;" he paused and swallowed. "It's a good thing they never succeeded. The Russian Ministry of Magic shut the project when peace was signed."

"Yet the muggle branch survived?"

"It's taken care of by some muggle organization. We can't butt in every time muggles have their trouble; we'd be buried under tons of requests." He paused and stared straight in his eyes, suddenly wondering. "That woman, was she one of the children taken?"

But Bill didn't answer. He was too busy trying to assimilate what he had just been told. Natasha had been kidnapped to be a test subject. A test subject driven by madmen, one that should have killed her, but she had survived. She had survived. She had been a powerful witch even at a young age, powerful enough to worry her own parents she might attract Voldemort's attention. Either her power had helped her overcome whatever treatment they had inflicted on her or…or the Red Room had succeeded in creating their powerful witch. Not in the way they might have expected, but they had managed it. They had turned her powers into an unbeatable shield, complete negating spell casting. Cross the past thought; they didn't create a powerful witch, they had created the perfect anti-wizard weapon.

"No," he heard himself saying. "It was a mistake."

The loss of one's magic in exchange of the safety of never being influenced by magic. Was that why she was halfway crossed on the family tree? Did her missing powers made her half dead? He wasn't sure he wanted an answer. No need to let Dan know his memory charm had failed; should he know what Natasha truly was, his sister would most likely end up locked in an Unspeakable cell and interrogated or even worse. He thanked the Auror and walked away. He had a lot to think over.

London

Natasha reluctantly returns to England after Bill and Ginny cooed for weeks. Fury the owl is exhausted by the come and goes so she decides to give him a break. Also has a bad feeling in her guts, has been having nightmares two nights in a row. When she arrives at Bill's house though, Fleur is in tears: Bill has been missing for two days and no traces of him have been left. She tells Natasha she and Bill have a link and wonders if she couldn't locate him. Natasha manages by using a crystal that points on a map. Ginny and Harry (who were staying with Fleur while the others were out searching) try to apparate with her to the site, but Harry seems to lose his powers when he tries. Ginny tries and succeed with difficulty, and Natasha thinks that Bill's theory is correct. (Bill has written his supposition after meeting with Dan that she could be immune to magic except to her family's; her powers has been morphed into a 'void' that would nullify spells thrown against her, but her own blood could still reach her).

Natasha sneaks in the apparent abandoned building on her own. Harry and Ginny decide to follow, but trigger protective shields that have been erupted around (since Natasha nullifies magic, they didn't sense her). A group of wizards wearing hooded capes show up and capture Ginny. Harry is left stuck outside the shield. Ginny is brought inside the building by the hooded group and straight to the place they have been keeping Bill.

"Look what we have here!" they said, pushing the teenager inside the cage. Ginny ran to her brother and checked his injuries. The sticky red on his clothes and his paleness of skin suggested blood loss. She wondered briefly how long he had been held inside, and why, just why people couldn't stop their mad race for power. Hadn't they all suffered enough? Couldn't they catch a break for once?

"Nice of you to join the party," Bill said amiably, smiling slightly. Ginny swallowed and touched his shoulder.

"You were hard to find," she said shakily.

Bill kept his eye on the crowd and smiled weakly.

"I'm glad you're here Gin, but I'm not talking to you," he whispered, barely audible. "I'm talking to her."

The young woman turned around just in time to see one of the Followers pulling out something black and metallic out of nowhere. Bill's hand suddenly reached out and brought her head against his shoulder, hiding her face in the fabric of his cloth.

"Don't look Gin," he whispered. "She wouldn't want you to."

Muffled sounds –pow, pow –started echoing in the room. Someone screamed. Someone shouted 'Stop him!' and sounds of spells being casted around the room and destroying furniture around them. Ginny had been on the battlefield long enough to recognize the sounds of injured people, or dying ones. When she managed to free herself from her brother's grip, nearly each wizard was down, bodies spread lifelessly on the ground, and a copper-like smell started rising in the room. Standing in the mist of corpses –because Ginny knew what a dead man looked like –stood Natasha wrapped in one of the hooded capes, red hair tied back in a ponytail, a long gun in her left hand, pointed at one last halfway standing Follower. Before Ginny could speak –to stop her, anything –the trigger was pulled and a bullet crossed through and through the masked person who fell limply on the ground.

"I agree, you were hard to find," Natasha said carelessly, walking towards them while putting the guns back into a sort of hostler. Ginny watched with a mix of fascination and horror the complete impassive face of the woman as she stepped over corpses to join them.

Bill chuckled –which made Ginny jump.

"Sorry you had to rescue me," he said quietly. Natasha shrugged.

"It's my job remember?" she shot back, and Bill offered a sad smile. She was about to reach for the key to open the cage when Ginny spotted one of the last Follower slowly rising his wand.

"Watch out!" she shouted at the same time 'Adava Kadevra' was launched.

The wizard's spell hit Natasha before she could even make a move. Ginny froze as she saw the older woman's body jerked forward. She expected her to fall forward and join the others on the ground, but her elder sister merely grabbed her gun from its hiding place and shot the last Follower without a flinch, even after being fully hit by the deadliest spell ever. Ginny could only watch, speechless. Next to her, Bill groaned a little and shut his eyes tight. Natasha ran back to his side and checked his pulse.

"You all right?" Bill asked, trying to lift a heavy lid.

"I'm not the one bleeding all over the place," Natasha replied dryly. "And those bastards did their job well; magic has no effect on me, remember?"

"How come?"

Ginny had blurted the words without thinking.

"Later," Natasha said in a tone that allowed no compromise. "Can you and Willy apparate outside?"

Ginny shook her head.

"This place has anti-apparition wards all over it."

"Then help me carry him outside. It'll be a better place to sew his wounds back."

They return to Bill's house –Harry carries Bill while Ginny carries Natasha. Back home, Bill is sent straight to St Mungos and Ginny and Harry agree to keep Natasha's involvement a secret for everyone's safety. Natasha reflects on how her presence in her brother's live might put them in danger. Fleur chides her and tells her how Harry's close ties to Voldemort led to many deaths and he still blames himself. She doesn't let Natasha go until she has a promise to return to visit soon or at least when Bill is better, because otherwise he will come after her and won't give up till he convinces her he won't push her away (he is stubborn like that). Natasha retorts that must be a family trait and leaves after promising.

Epilogue

They decide to try to hypnotize Natasha to get her memories back and visit a specialist. Bill and Clint both go with her for moral support.

"Can you tell me where you are Natasha?"

The redhead frowned, whined a little and protested:

"I'm Hemina," she said with a small, childish voice. "Not Natasha."

Next to her, Bill tensed slightly. Clint glanced at him before reporting his attention on the doctor. Said doctor nodded.

"Sorry Hemina," he corrected with the same tender but firm tone. "Can you tell me how old you are?"

"Six," she replied confidently.

"Are you still living with your mommy and daddy?"

"Yeah."

"Do you have any siblings, Hemina?"

"I have my Willy and Charlie." They noted the possessive mark before her twin brother's nickname. Bill nodded, recalling with trembling hands that he was always 'hers'. "And a baby Percy soon."

"Hemina, I need to ask you something. It's about a night you lived through not so long ago." Everyone in the room held their breath in anticipation. "Do you remember when Ellen babysat you? The night Willy heard someone walking in the house?"

Natasha stilled and tensed, her breathing accelerating slightly. Clint tightened his fists.

"It's alright Hemina, you are perfectly safe with me."

"Bad men," she muttered, growing agitated. "Willy was right, they are bad men."

"Calm down Hemina, can you do that for me?"

The redhead shifted on her seat uncomfortably.

"It's dark." She started quietly. "And cold. Willy said he heard people downstairs, but he's too scared to go see by himself. He's always scared when I'm not with him." Bill felt his cheeks flush. "But I'll go, because I'm quiet," she added with the arrogance of the child she was back then. "There are three big men in the staircase, they don't look nice. They don't smell good either…and they're weird."

"How so Hemina?"

"They…I think one of them is a muggle." She seemed hesitant. "He doesn't have a wand, and he's excited about something. I don't know what they say, they made themselves very quiet. Ellen is with them and she looks…weird."

"How so?" he asked encouragingly.

"She's sitting at their feet on the steps and she's not moving." Pause. Her breath got caught in her throat. "They're moving up. They're going to Charlie's room." Her tone turned harder. "I won't let them in."

Natasha fell silent for a while, only breathing hard and determined. The doctor didn't speak for two full minutes and waited. She eventually spoke again:

"People are scared of fire. So I set the last step on fire, before they can come up to the ground. They're surprised," she added with a satisfied smirk as Bill's jaw fell low in shock. "So I grow the fire till they have to back up. It's not normal fire; it's my fire, so when they try to pull it out it won't go down." Her smile widened. "One of them even gets caught and the fire burns him. He looks like he's dancing…" her voice trailed off and she suddenly gasped as her expression turned into one of fear. "They saw me."

The tension in the room raised a notch. Everyone stared at her even more intensely.

"What happens next, Hemina?"

"I try to scream, but they make me quiet too." A silencing spell, Bill thought. No wonder why he didn't hear a thing. "They make me fly to them and they take me with them." Natasha's voice panicked: "The fire is spreading and it's going to Willy's room. I want to warn him but they hit me and I-" she whimpered. "Don't hurt me, please."

Both men turned pale. Clint was holding back strongly and Bill wanted nothing but to hold her. The doctor was about to wake her up, but she went on, plaintive and scared:

"They're big and scary and I don't like them, and they tell me my name is Natasha and that I'm Russian and they take me to this place and it's so dark and it smells like blood all the time and-"

"Hemina," the doctor interrupted firmly, and Natasha yelped,

She opened her eyes, forehead sweating and limbs trembling. Clint reached out for her hand, which she gave, and didn't protest when he pulled her against him and held her tight. Bill's face was as white as a sheet.

"So that's what happened," Natasha said, voice shaking slightly. All traces of her previous fears might have left her face, but her hands were still shaking.

Bill comes in terms with the fact he couldn't have done anything to save his sister, and Natasha tells him she's glad she was the stolen one because she doesn't think Bill would have survived the Red Room. Clint leaves them alone to say goodbye –the Avengers are needed in Slovenia.

"But we'll keep contact, right?" Bill insisted. "I'd like to take news from you, from time to time. Percy and Charlie want to meet you too, since they didn't get a chance last time. And Georges wanted to apologize in person. He really regrets having lashed out the way he did. He thought you were going to replace Fred."

Natasha snorted.

"Maybe one day. Don't invite your parents though." He felt a pang in his chest when she said 'your'. Some barriers would be up for some time; he hoped she would allow them to lower in the future. "I'm not…I don't think I will ever forgive them."

"Duly noted," he replied lightly, but seriously. "And I'm serious, do write. Oh, and Ginny might come find you herself for some sisterly advice." He paused and smiled. "You have a new fervent admirer."

"It's all new to me," Natasha said, avoiding his gaze. "How am I supposed to deal with this?

"Up to ten months ago, I thought you had been dead for twenty years. Trust me, this is new for me –for all of them -too," he reminded her gently. "I'm sure you'll do great, so don't worry too much."

"Whatever you say, Willy."