I would really like to say THANK YOU, to all the people who have already reviewed this story, it's really awesome! And if you could continue to review, that'd be spectacular! But I couldn't just sit here and keep getting the comments that we somehow put in a 'terrible Mary Sue.' I'm not really sure how you can determine if a character is a Mary Sue from the PROLOGUE. I'm pretty sure all of these comments are sent straight towards Caroline- but I'm pretty sure she's one of the most flawed characters that I've ever written, but you don't get to see that off of the FIRST CHAPTER. I could understand if I said 'My name is Caroline and I'm a slayer, I'm super strong and have heightened abilities and when I fight NOTHING ever touches me and not only that I'm AMAZING at magic and I brush my long beautiful blonde hair and kill beasts with my dangerous good looks and use my perfect patronus charm that I got on the first time to keep away big mean ol' dementors.' But no- a Mary Sue is a character WITHOUT any flaws, which Caroline is FULL of. I've been writing for a very, very long time. And I'm sure of what a Mary Sue is and what a Mary Sue is not. But once again, you cannot get the full feel from a character from the PROLOGUE. I actually used the slayer concept from the Buffy The Vampire Slayer series- who then too must be a terrible 'mary sue'. Caroline is strong, not perfect and invincible. Please, other readers, do not let this keep you from reading onward and sending reviews yourself. I just needed to address this, and we will be updating soon. Sincerely, SB1.

A/N(SB1): Hi There! I'm SB1, and this is a pretty long chapter- it was supposed to be a prologue and kind of ran away from us. But hey, you can't ever really complain about a BIG chapter. Roxy's A/N kind of covers it all so I'm going to let her take it away!

(roxypony):

HELLO! I'm almost teary-eyed right now... My first HP fic...8 years late, but we gotta start somewhere. I was so close to posting a story containing this OC several years ago, but things happen... *cough*12-year-old-me couldn't figure this site out*cough* ...anyway, I shoved my HP ocs to the back of my mind for years, got into other fandoms, but I have returned with a roaring passion and I intend to post some HP fics on my own account. (If you want to contact me, you can find my profile on the review page for this fic). I don't wanna get into a lengthy introduction since this is a BIG chapter, but I would just like to say I'm a proud Slytherin fiend of 5+ years. The first character I fell in love with was the smexy Oliver Wood (who I pay tribute to in this fic; you'll see) but eventually I latched on to all things Malfoy, and there I stayed.

We come from a fandom where everyone knows us by nicknames... Finally submitting a story to HP is slightly intimidating. Hello, crazy high standards! I've been a crazy reader of HP FF since I was 10 ...and I'm a huuuuge LadyLilyMalfoy fan. Her Malfoy family stories have inspired me to love everthing about the Slytherin way. I dunno if she'll ever read this... But I just wanted to say :)

Anyway...
While reading, please note that the ### indicates a POV change.

We put a crazy amount of time into writing this, I seriously hope it pays off xD

ENJOY :)
Disclaimer: Roxypony and I do not own Harry Potter, or the song lyric in the summary - property of Taylor Swift.

Looking back, I don't know why I didn't see this coming. The world was all but ending, it had been crashing down around us for over a year now. We weren't deep in the war, but there was one thing everyone knew: you didn't have to be in the game to be taken out of it.

And there was another thing, this was no game. No matter how much the other side seemed to think it was.

My father is a senior correspondent for the International Quidditch Federation. My mother is a sports medicine specialist at St. Mungo's. I had two brothers, my oldest was 21. Ryon was fresh out of Auror training. Oliver is 5 years older than me, on the verge of being promoted to the starting line of Puddlemere United Quidditch Team. (I think the words "I trained Harry Potter" looked good on his resume.) Me, I was 15 - well into my years as a Hogwarts student, sorted into Gryffindor like my brothers were before me. We come from a long line of mostly Gryffindors and the occasional Ravenclaw. No Slytherins. And not a single squib, muggle relative, or anything else that paints a target on your back.

My family wasn't involved in the war, or at least we weren't supposed to be. Our blood was probably purer than half of the murdering, torturing, lying demons that tore us apart. It was a cruel twist of fate that we became another statistic, another feature in the Daily Prophet.

When the Auror Academy accepted Ryon 3 years ago, my parents cried and hugged him. It was a great day, no doubt. We laughed and danced and drank, had a huge party and invited everyone we'd ever met. My parents finally had everything they'd always wanted - Oliver the athletic allstar and Ryon the academically proven superhero. And me, the baby. (Their words, not mine.)

Voldemort came back to power in the beginning of Ry's last year at the Academy. When he graduated with honours, my parents...well, they cried and hugged him again. But there was no party this time, their tears were sad and fearful and their hugs were too tight; everyone knew that in the first Wizarding War, Voldemort targeted the best of the Aurors first.

December 31st was the day my world made a sharp turn that I wasn't ready for. Had I been expecting it, that would have been morbid. Had I been denying it, that would have been naive. I read the Prophet, I knew what was happening. I had classmates whose families were victimized by darkness.

I learned that you can honor the fallen, but you can't prepare yourself for becoming another example of the devastation that lies beneath a shimmering green mark in the sky.

###

Snap! Gunt. Fwap! Gasp. Boom! Grunt. WHAP!

With the last strike, I yelled out, leaning my weight backwards and thrusting my free leg against the maroon punching back, sending it flying back on it's springs. I laughed cockily to myself, bouncing back and forth on my toes and keeping my hands up and protecting my chest. Closing my eyes, I breathed in slowly through my nose and out of my mouth trying to keep my heart rate as close to steady as possible. I lifted up a hand, using the back of my palm to dry the sweat that had dampened up on my forehead.

"Caroline!" I rolled my eyes at the sound of my mothers voice and stopped my movement.

"What!" I groaned, letting my hands fall limp at my sides and I waited for an answer, "mum, what!"

"Oh! Just come here, I need your help anyways." I heard my mom rustle with something, and then exhale heavily. I eyed the punching bag, squinting my eyes slightly and let my lips curl into a small smirk.

"You got off easy, this time." With that, I turned on my heel and jogged slowly towards the house which was only a couple of yards away. I stopped at the front door, reaching up and unfastening the band that held my hair into place on top of my head. Platinum waves fell down over my shoulders, and I flipped my head over a couple of times before running my fingers through it and parting it in the middle.

"Hi, sweetheart. Can you help me move this? My wand is MIA right now, so I can't use magic to move it." She asked, motioning to a large box that laid on the floor. Now, you might be wondering why my mom was calling and asking for me to move the box of heavy who knows what, instead of my father who would seem to be more help than I. Let me dive into a little bit of background information, just to get you caught up. My mum is a witch, and my dad is a muggle- well, my step dad is a muggle. But he has been more of a father to me than my real father ever was. I can do magic, but it's a little bit- on the fritz kind of like, most of the time. It comes and goes when it wants, and when it does come, it isn't very reliable. That's because I'm not a witch, but I'm not a muggle, either. Somewhere in the Walker family line, things got a little switched up. I'm a slayer, meaning that I'm stronger than the average girl, hell, I'm stronger than ten average men. But nothing super wicked, like being so strong that I'm able to pick up semi-trucks like superman. Which explains why I was training earlier, brushing up on my fighting skills. I can also heal at a faster rate than other humans, don't require as much sleep and can run at a bit of a faster pace than ordinary and jump just a little bit higher and I have better reflexes. But as I said before, nothing too crazy, I'm not a superhero- even though sometimes I'm expected to be. Basically, if there's a problem from vampires, to trolls, to just about any kind of creature that you can think of, I'm asked to handle it.

I gave my mom a nod, and bent down, picking up the box on the floor and placing it on the table.

"What's so heavy in the box that you can't pick it up, a ton of bricks?" I joked, sitting down at the kitchen table and leaning back in my seat, balancing the chair on two legs.

"Stop doing that with your chair, I've said it a thousand times, you'll fall one day and crack your head open!" My mum scolded, I placed the rest of the legs of the chair on the floor just to humor her.

"You and I both know that won't happen." I snickered, "so, what's new?"

"Well, remember that school that I told you about, the one that I went to?"

"Hogworms?"

"No, Hogwarts."

"...close enough." My mum just shook her head and smiled to herself before beginning to speak again.

"Anyways, I talked to the headmaster yesterday and things have started to get a little... dark around there."

"Oh, sounds fun." I grinned, knowing where this was going.

"Well, not fun to anyone with the least bit of sanity."

I wraggled my eyebrows at her,

"Who said I was sane?" She ignored me, and continued.

"Well, not only do they need your assistance over there, but you haven't had an education other than the basic homeschooling I was able to give you. So we made an agreement, you're going to go over there and take the basic courses-"
"but, mum I don't nee-"
"-Caroline, just because your magic doesn't work all of the time, doesn't mean you shouldn't know how to use it, just in case you need to. Plus, there's more than spells that they teach at Hogwarts. There's things that you should know, because the can come in handy." I opened my mouth to speak, but she shot me a look which instantly changed my mind, and I closed my mouth immediately. "So, you're going to go over there and take basic courses, but at night you're going to patrol the corridors and make sure that it's safe and if anything does happen to go awry..."

"I come in, do my thing, kick some 'insert name of monster here' butt and then go back to doing what I was doing before."

"If that's how you want to put it."

"Alright, I'm guessing I don't have a say in this anyways so, when do I leave?"
"Tonight."

###

Ryon, Oliver, and I all spent Christmas at home. Mum and Dad had hopefully suggested that I spend my holidays at Hogwarts -advanced security, dangerous times and all that- but wild horses couldn't have dragged me away from the Hogwarts Express bound for King's Cross. I got a lecture on risk-taking when I stepped through the doors, but they didn't take long to get over it. Mum and Dad were just happy to have us all under the same roof.

Christmas was quiet and tense. A few close relatives came over for our annual Christmas Eve feast, but it was nothing compared to previous years. Everyone spoke quietly and laughed rarely. I could tell Ry was getting frustrated, every time he mentioned his new job, the positivity was sucked out of the atmosphere and the subject was instantly changed, usually by Mum. Dad tried his hardest to be supportive, but in reality he was just as scared. He tried to hide it by reminiscing loudly on Oliver's latest great Quaffle save, but nobody was fooled.

At 12:14 pm on Christmas Day, the three of us were lounging in the living room. Mum and Dad had retired to bed. Ry, Oliver and I lingered for another hour, inhaling the scent of our massive fir tree, staring aimlessly into the crackling fire and listening skeptically to Celestina Warbeck's Christmas Special over wizard wireless. No matter what Mum thought, the woman could not sing.

Oliver lay stretched across the sofa, eyelids drooping sleepily and arms wrapped around his Christmas gift - a Firebolt 2. Knowing him, he'd sleep with it every night for the rest of his life - or at least until the next model came out. I was curled up on end of the same sofa, every so often glancing up at Ryon who was across the room in his favourite overstuffed armchair. He held his Auror Academy ring between his thumb and forefinger, staring moodily into the dark red gemstone.

"I hate this." he announced abruptly.

"Me too. Chudley Cannon's re-configured starting line is a complete disaster." Oliver yawned, sniffing the streamlined twigs on his Firebolt 2 for the eighth time in an hour.

"You got bloody Bludgers for brains." Ryon smirked at his brother. "I mean this. Life in general. Look what we've been reduced to." he looked over at me. "Back me up, Arie?"

"I know." I grimaced. "It's like they're expecting us to... drop dead."

"Not you, just me." Ryon grinned, tossing a cushion at me. "They make it sound like the Death Eaters are gonna come kill me in my sleep."

"Don't say that, it's happened!" I groaned, tossing the cushion back.

"The way he snores, I'm suprised he's still alive." Oliver contributed. This time he was on the recieving end of the violently tossed cushion.

"Don't you guys ever look at the Prophet?" I wondered, glancing at today's copy which lay abandoned on the coffee table - "3 Wizards, 8 Muggles Dead in 4th Public Attack This Month..." was splashed across the front page.

"Nope." Ryon replied simply. "It's lies, rumours, and stuff we already know. Life's too short."

"I know it's not fun reading, but you'd think an Auror would keep track of what's going on." I shot back tensely. "You read it, right Ol'?"

"I read the Quidditch page." The middle Wood shrugged, slowly sitting upright.

"I'm not a real Auror yet." Ry reminded me tiredly.

"You're as good as." I sniffed. "You're more than qualified, and Dad said they're desperate for Aurors right now. The ministry will return your paperwork once the holidays over, and you'll be in just like that." I felt an unbidden frown slip across my face, which I forced into grimaced smile - to no avail.

My brother stared back at me through smoldering eyes.

"See, right there? I've spent half my life working my ass off so I could do this. I've finally gotten to where I want to be, and everyone talks it like it's a bad 's what I mean when I say...I hate this."

"Sorry." I replied evenly. "I'm happy for you, I swear. We're all happy for you... it's just... you get why we're worried, right? You understand that at least?"

"Yeah." came his monosyllabic reply as he stared into the flames, tired lines etched onto his young face.

"I don't know why everyone's so worried about him. He'll be such a bloody useless Auror, nobody will even bother with him." Oliver commented in an effort to lighten the mood.

I shot Oliver a warning glare, but Ryon laughed genuinely.

"You always have my back, Ollie." he smirked, slowly getting to his feet and striding out of the room, pausing to bump his knuckles against Oliver's - a universal demonstration of brotherly affection.

"Call me that again and I'll break your back." Oliver replied gamely, lying back down and staring blissfully at his new broom.

"G'night, Ry. Love you." I offered as my eldest sibling slipped past me.

"Wuv you more!" Oliver teased good-naturedly.

"Love you too, 'Rie. And Oliver, you can go lick a Bludger." Ryon replied with a tired smile. He paused in the doorframe for a second, looking thoughtful. Then he turned back to face us with a considerably more upbeat expression.

"Can I borrow your owls?" he inquired.

"Sure, why?"

"I'm sick of this misery bullshit. I'm gonna throw a party."

3 days later, he had it all worked out. Mum and Dad were spending New Year's Eve with our Crazy Aunt Cleo who lived at Sunny Cauldron Bottoms Wizarding Retirement Home (a division of St. Mungo's). Aunt Cleo always served strawberry schnapps that made Apparating impossible and dangerous, so Mum and Dad would be spending the night.

Ryon, Oliver, and I had the place to ourselves. We lived on a reasonably sized patch of land nestled between two hills, completely invisible from both the muggle roads that ran past. Dad moved our family there one year before I was born. After Oliver showed an interest in flying and around the same time Ryon learned it was fun to blow things up it became apparent that living in a Muggle neighborhood would make for a rather restricted childhood. The secluded farm house was a perfect place to raise a family of young wizards, and it was even better now that we were old enough to throw a decent party.

Our owls did their jobs well, carrying the word to Ryon's fellow graduates from the Academy and Oliver's Quidditch friends. I knew better than to invite my school friends; parents talked and this party was supposed to stay under the radar. I knew perfectly well there was no chance we'd successfully hide this from Mum and Dad, so I chose not to involve myself.

But that didn't mean I wouldn't join the fun...

It was in full swing before the sun went down. The guests were an entertaining mix of soon-to-be Aurors (who were either completely serious, or else under the impression that they were about to save the world) and professional Quidditch players (who seemed to be utterly terrified of injuring themselves - a Beater named Romano cut his forefinger on a Butterbeer bottle and panicked because it would affect his grip on his bat).

"How do you put up with him?" I giggled to Oliver as we watched a freaked out Romano nervously conjure a bandage and wrap the finger obsessively.

"He keeps iron balls from flying at my face, that's how I put up with him. Plus, my guys aren't nearly as bad as Ry's. That one over there keep hugging people and patting them down in case they have dark artifacts in their pants."

Aurors are weird.

###

"How are you sleeping?" Inquired my mum, now switching her attention over to the pots and pans in the sink. Even though she could use magic to clean them, she claimed that washing the dishes helped her clear her mind.

"What do you mean?" I countered, raising a manicured brow, "You know I barely sleep."

"I mean, are you still having nightmares?" The smile erased from off of my face as I fell into the thoughts that had gathered in the back of my mind. I couldn't help but shudder when I relieved the gruesome images that my mind had produced- memories. Sick, sad memories that I wanted to stay in the back of my mind. "I mean, I want you to be getting atleast some sleep. And I know you can't having those nightmares about Genevie-"

"Mum, stop!" I snapped, throwing my hands up into the air and covering my ears like a small child. Pausing my mum slowly drew her hands from the suds that gathered in the sink and wiped them onto a small dishtowel that laid lifelessly on the counter. I turned my back to her, staring down at the ground and trying to tame my thoughts into the back of my mind where I had tried so hard to keep them. I felt a light touch on my shoulder as my mum spun me around to look her in the eyes.

"I'm sorry, I just want to make sure you're okay. You have a tendency not to talk to me about things, and we know that never ends up well." She sympathized, eyebrows threading together in concern. I tried to keep my line of vision away from her by focusing on the ground, but she grabbed my chin and forced her gaze upon mine.
"I just don't want to talk about it, okay? There are things that are better left in the past."

###

The clock struck 12, but nobody was ready to go home. Someone conjured glowing bubbles to serve as spotlights that hovered above the house to light the yard. And there was a makeshift Quidditch match underway, 14 Aurors versus the complete Puddlemere team. The Aurors had a considerably lower alcohol tolerance and a lack of flight experience. So someone came to the conclusion that 7 professional flyers against them was a fair match, and away we went. I filled in for the Puddlemere Seeker Bronwyn Lakerton, who was too inebriated to sit upright on a broom.

Ryon played referee, as we circled above him he whipped open our crate of Quidditch balls.

"And... GAME ON!"

##

I turned on my heel, making my way out of the kitchen to start packing for Hogwarts. I knew that they had uniforms, but I really hoped they didn't expect me to wear them. I leaned back onto my dresser, pursing my lips and tapping them with my finger deep in thought. Finally, I rummaged through my closet, grabbing a large duffle bag. I unzipped the zipper and grinned at the components in the bag. Lifting up one of my crossbows, I lifted it up and squinted one of my eyes, pantomiming through the actions. I then went through my closet and threw in pairs of jeans, a couple of jackets and shirts. You know, the usual.

I heard the front door creak open slowly, instinctively I slowed the process of my packing so that I could get better sound quality. I was sure it was just my dad trying to sneak up behind mum and give her a good scare like he always did. Seeing as though he couldn't really play tricks on me- my reflexes made the joke not very funny anymore. I slowed my breathing, closing my eyes, and listened as the creaking on our wood floors came to a stop.

###

Even with their superior numbers, the newly trained Aurors were having their asses handed to them on a silver platter by Puddlemere, though none of us were completely sober. I easily looped their two seekers every time we spotted the Snitch, but I hadn't gotten my hands on it yet. Oliver shamelessly flaunted his Firebolt 2, earning whoops of approval from his teammates.

You could say I come from a distinctive Quidditch family. Oliver was the most obvious, but Dad had been a force to be reckoned with, back in the day. He was a Beater, and a Gryffindor captain once upon a time. Injuries kept him from a path to going pro, but he still made a name for himself on the International Federation. Mum was a reserve Seeker at Hogwarts, and now she made a living putting broken players back together. Even Ryon played while he was at Hogwarts, he was a lead Chaser at age 13, but resigned at 16 to focus on his career path. (Oliver never let him live that one down.) I was knowledgeable of the game and was a solid player in our home matches, but beyond that...

"Why aren't you on the Gryffindor Team?" Ryon demanded, swinging up beside me as I pulled out of a steep dive.

"Try out!" Oliver boomed suddenly, having snuck up on my other side. "Potter's captain this year. Ask him!"

"I'd get clobbered. Slytherins play dirty." I excused myself. I loved watching, but I knew how those matches went.

"I took two Bludgers to the stomach in the space of five seconds and I survived and won the Cup 10 minutes later!" Oliver countered. "You learn to love the pain."

"You're so convincing." I smirked, head buzzing from the Butterbeer I'd pounded earlier. "Hey Ry, back me up. Ry? Ryon?"

My eldest brother hadn't heard a word I'd just said. His steely gaze was fixed on the horizon, his face completely devoid of expression.

"Ryon, you're freaking us out." Oliver commented.

The most terrifying moment of my life came right after that. Ryon turned back to face us, and his face had transformed into a mask of terror.

"They're coming. We need to get everyone out of here. NOW!"

Then I saw it too. Something barely detectable, moving in the distant blackness, sliding in front of the stars...

###

I heard the shattering of glass in mix with my mother's screams,

"Caroline!" Before she even finished calling my name, I bolted out into the kitchen to see my mum huddled in a corner, holding her hands up in defense. A large beast was leaning over her, it's back hunched over, spine jagging out of it's skin. Most likely a shapeshifter, from what I could see. Shape shifters were somewhat like a werewolf, but once the victim turns on it's twenty first birthday, they're changed forever. With no recollection of who they were, and what is dear to them. The saliva from it's jaws spilled off of it's fangs and onto the floor as it prowled towards my mum who was shaking significantly.

"Hey!" I called, grabbing one of the salt and pepper shakers off of the table and with a swift movement, throwing it right at the back of it's cranium. Letting out a blood curling screech, the shapeshifter turned quickly, standing up on it's hind legs and setting it's rouge gaze towards me.

###

"Ryon, who's coming?" Oliver demanded, shaking his brother's shoulder. "What are you talking about?"

"GET OUT OF HERE!" Ryon roared, whipping out his wand. His fellow Aurors, at least those with the presence of mind to know what was going on, flocked to his side, exchanging wild stares and choppy sentences that I just couldn't process... my brain was shutting down from fear and my body tensed up...

Someone grabbed me roughly and jerked me sharply to the right, I became detached from my broom. A blinding flash of pure green light tore through the air above me. I could feel the concussive aftershock of a terribly powerful spell, and I saw a smoking piece of my obliterated broomstick fly past...

###

The beast crouched down before lunging towards me with all of it's speed. My mum crawled out of the kitchen, standing in the living room, hesitant to leave. I waited until the last second before I jumped quickly to the side, sending it face first into a wall.

"Get out of here!" I called over the many screams and wails from the shapeshifter as it tried to free it's skull from the dry wall. Nodding slightly, mum ran from the living room, looking back as she did so. I quickly scanned the kitchen for some kind of silver. My feet were grabbed from underneath me and I hit the floor with a loud crack, as my head made contact with the flooring, my vision went black for a second or so. The shapeshifter pulled my towards it's jaws, digging it's claws into the flesh of my ankles. I winced slightly and grabbed on of the chairs by it's legs, and twisted my torso, crashing it over the beast's vison, causing my feet to be released.

###

Death Eaters.

Maybe a dozen, all on broomsticks. The Aurors -Ministry approval be damned- rose against them and the air above our home became a battlefield. Most of the Quidditch players had disapparated, but a few brave fools stayed behind, wands held aloft. Spells of every colour seared my eyeballs, Defence class had nothing on this.

I realized belatedly I was on Oliver's broom with him, he had one arm around me and the other raised, wand in hand. He'd pulled me out of the path of the mesmerizing green light, probably keeping me from meeting the same fate as my broomstick. I was frozen, I don't think I could have moved if my life depended on it. Unfortunately, it did.

I felt the atmosphere heating up around us as we dodged spells. Everytime a wand went off, the ground was illuminated. I saw bodies.

"Kill the itty bitty baby Aurors, destroy them all!" I heard someone shriek. A voice like I'd never heard - female, but utterly evil, fiendish and manical.

Another curse, red this time, seared the air right above our heads, at the same moment Oliver went into a dive. I'll never know how he operated the broom so skillfully with me clinging to him like a baby koala, but he pulled out of the dive as effortlessly as he'd entered it, rising higher, looping, twisting, dodging - all the while holding his wand aloft, roaring spells I'd barely heard of.

"Where's Ry?" I gulped when there was a brief lull in the noise.

"I don't know." he exhaled in a shudder.

Then I heard the female voice again, harsh and cruel;

"Time to show me what you can do, boy. Get the girl! Show me how well the Dark Lord has taught you the Unforgiveables!"

###

Jumping up quickly, I turned around to face the creature, dodging it's large fanged claws as it swiped at me. I sent an assortment of kicks and punches towards it's torso, causing the beast retreat backwards each time I did so. My eyes scanned the kitchen when I saw one of the knives my mum was cleaning laying on the corner of the sink. I lifted up my leg and gave one of the hardest blows yet, sending the shapeshifter once again back into the dry-wall, my mum was going to absolutely freak out. Quickly, I turned my back, making my way towards the sink. Grabbing the silver blade in my hand, I smiled until it was interrupted by a wail of pain escaping my lips as I felt a pair of claws rip the skin from my shoulder blades, down to my lower back.

###

Oliver swore, and whipped the Firebolt around. We took off like a rocket into the night, careening over the snowy fields. I worked up the nerve to look back and almost vomited when I saw two people had peeled away from the fight in pursuit of us.

"What are you waiting for, take them down!" the same female voice bellowed. Either she was also on a Firebolt or her broom was enchanted, because it outstripped us within seconds. She rose high above our heads, and her silent companion closed in from behind.

"Hold on." Oliver snarled through gritted teeth. He whirled around to face them, wand crackling in preparation to release a burst of magic. But before he'd completed the turn, a jolt of magic pummeled us from behind. The Firebolt 2 cracked down the middle and fell like a dead branch. And we fell with it.

###

I fell to the floor, feeling the back of my shirt become moist from the blood seeping through it. Growling and snapping it's jaws wildly, the shapeshifter loomed over my body hungrily. I lifted one of it's large claws and brought it towards the floor, where I rolled to the side, barely missing where it smashed into the wood floor. I placed my hands behind my head and threw myself back up onto my feet. Grabbing one of it's clawed hands as it swung at me, I twisted it to the side with a loud grunt, feeling the bones snap under the pressure. The shapeshifter let out a wild whine, eyes blazing with rage.

"That's what you get for tearing up my favorite shirt!" I yelled, raising my leg to give it a swift kick to it's throat. I swore to myself as I saw the creature's free claw come from my left and send me flying towards the mahogany cabinets. The unforgiving sound of wood screamed as I made contact with it, a sharp piece lodging itself into my left arm.

"Son of a bitch." I mumbled, gritting my teeth as I ripped the shard of wood from my arm, and scrambling to get back to my feet.

###

They must have intended to keep us alive, because they'd positioned their takedown directly above our pond. A drop to the ground would have killed us, but water was free from ice so we sunk like stones.

Pond weed slithered around my body, but I paid it no heed and clawed my way to the surface. I broke through gasping and coughing. Oliver basically wrapped his whole arm around my head to shut me up, but our assailants were still hovering high above us. I could hear their voices (the other was male) going back and forth in a heated debate, but I couldn't make out the words.

Oliver and I made a break for a cluster of tall reeds at the water's edge. The water was so chilled it felt like we were moving through liquid fire, but adrenaline kept me from succumbing. Once we reached the sheltering reeds, we crawled out of the water and stayed low to the ground. From here we could see the whole pond, and those above it.

"You lost them, you useless fool!" the woman howled.

"I didn't lose them, they're here somewhere." the male barked. He was trying to sound authorative, but his voice had a distinct quaver. "Look on that side."

"I will not take orders from you." she hissed back. "Land, they're either in the water or on the edge. We would have seen them escape."

They flew low, right over our heads and l saw them land on the other side of the pond. Once they dismounted their brooms they wasted no time in combing the shoreline.

"Homenum Revelio!" the woman spat, aiming her wand at the water For a split second the lake was illuminated and clear all the way to the bottom.

"They're not in the pond, they'll be in these bushes." she snapped at her colleague. "Take your time. Search every inch."

"Homenum Revelio." the male repeated shakily. He had a young voice. Too young for this. The sane part of my brain told me.

"They're gonna find us as soon as they get to this side." I whispered shakily.

"As soon as they get close, I'll take them out." Oliver replied grimly, positioning his wand. The adrenaline had worn off, and his wand hand was shaking dangerously - then I realized belatedly that my wand was long gone, where I had no idea. I was helpless. I looked at Oliver's shaking body, it would be nothing short of miraculous if he could aim his wand, much less beat a pair of Death Eaters. I knew he would protect me till his dying breath whether I wanted it or not, but for the first time in my life it truly dawned on me that my big brother wasn't invincible.

We'd be tortured and killed right here in the icy mud, not 100 paces from our own house.

###

"Shit." I breathed, trying to search through the rubble to see where the knife had fallen.

"This would be a lot easier, if I could just kill you with anything. But no, it has to be silver." The large creature once again started towards me, quickly I grabbed one of the disconnected cabinets and like a major league pro, swung it so it collided right into the snout of the shifter, sending it once again bounding backwards into the furthest corner of the kitches. Finally after what seemed like hours searching through the rubble I once again had the silver blade in my grasp. I lunged forward, and jumped over the chairs that had found their way to the floor and landed infront of the shifter.

"Alright, I got you now, stinky."

###

"Homenum Revelio."

Flash.

"Damn."

"Homenum Revelio."

Flash.

"Where the bloody hell are they?"

"Homenum Revelio."

Flash.

"We're getting close, I can smell them." the woman whispered audibly.

"Homenum Revelio." the boy tried again.

Flash. Weaker this time, but drawing closer with every step the Death Eaters took.

I shut my eyes and tried to dissolve into the mud. It didn't work.

"I swear to God, I know that voice." Oliver murmured in my ear. "I just can't place it."

"Get the lady first." I whispered back. "I bet he won't do anything; I think he's just as scared as we are."

"I doubt that very much." Oliver muttered resentfully. "Arie, listen to me..."

"Homenum Revelio."

"...no matter what happens..."

They were 50 feet away now.

"Homenum Revelio."

"...you have to stay hidden."

20 feet...

"But I can help y-"

"Promise me."

"But-"

"Homen-"

"STUPEFY!"

Oliver's crimson curse rebounded immediately as the witch simply flicked her wand.

"I knew you were hiding on us, children!" she cackled demonically. "Come on out and play!"

She strode lightly towards us, and I could clearly see her face in the moonlight. A mass of dark curls framing a small, pale visage with a dainty upturned nose and eyes that looked like pits of hellfire. The same face had leered at me from the front page of the Prophet. Bellatrix Lestrange.

"I'll distract them, you run like hell and find a safe place to hide." Oliver ordered bluntly, tensing his muscles, ready to spring to his feet...

"Hey Lestrange. How'd Azkaban treat you?"

A new voice echoed across the still water, agonizingly familiar...

"No." I moaned.

"God damn." Oliver cursed, voice aching with desolation.

###

Crouching down to the floor, I used my leg to take the shapeshifter's out from underneath it, causing the large creature to fall on the floor. Without a thought, I darted forward and used all of my force to pierce the blade into it's heart. The shifter let out an agonized cry as I retracted the blade and raised it above my head before slamming it once again into it's chest. With a grunt, I twisted the blade to the side as it was lodged into it's rib cage, causing the flailing limbs of the shapeshifter to come to a stop. I wiped the blood from the corner of my lips, standing up slowly and turning to see my once tidy and organized kitchen torn into bits and pieces. I looked down, giving the shapeshifter a nudge with the tip of my shoe, just to make sure that it didn't have any chance of coming back to life. Even though I knew I made sure of that when I stabbed the kitchen knife through it's chest the second time. I pursed my lips, letting them eventually fall into a frown as I saw what had happened. The fight was taken into my home, and if I wasn't there, my mum and even my dad could have died. My heart dropped in my chest but then turned into the usual rage and anger that occupied it as I looked into the lifeless eyes of the creature sprawled out of my floor.

###

Ryon stepped out of the shadows, moving with authorative grace like I'd never seen before.

"Ohhhh, how sweet." Lestrange crooned. "The last little baby Auror. I believe my friends made short work of your classmates. Mr. Scrimgeour was oh-so-silly to believe he could reduce training time to three years and still produce opponents worthy of us."

"At least we haven't lowered ourselves to crashing parties. And recruiting children too? I know exactly who that boy is. I can't believe your master can still-"

"CRUCIO!" Bellatrix howled furiously, waving her wand wildly.

I'd heard of the torture curse but I'd never seen it used. Never imagined I'd see it used on my own brother. He dropped to his knees, roaring in agony as his body buckled. His cries drowned out my own. Oliver's strong arm around my back was the only restraint keeping me from launching myself at Bellatrix.

"Help him..." I heard myself whimper. "We have to..."

"Shhh."

"It's your turn. Show me you're not a complete failure." the witch sneered at the boy, who raised his want resentfully. "Make him writhe."

"Yeah kid. C'mon, show me what you got." Ryon taunted with a ghost of a smirk etched on his face, still twisted in pain.

"C-c-crucio!" the boy fumbled.

Ryon emmitted a low growl of discomfort, but the young Death Eater's curse hadn't even been close to full force.

"Great teaching." Ryon croaked sarcastically to Bellatrix. "Is that your work, or Voldemort's? Speaking of the man himself, he'll send women and children to fight his battles but he's too cowardly to show his own face?"

"You...DARE...defile his name with your foul lips? You have the nerve to dishonour the greatest wizard of all time?" Bellatrix screamed like nails on a chalkboard as her temper flared. "I WILL DESTROY YOU!"

She didn't even utter the curse verbally, and Ryon cumbled in agony again. Screamed louder than before.

"We have to get him. DO. SOMETHING." I hissed, struggling against the gentle but relentless grip that kept me pinned to the ground.

"Arie, please. Just...wait..." my brother and captor requested desperately.

"For what?" I sobbed. I didn't care at the time, but my voice was reaching a dangerous volume. Yet we remained undetected.

"You'll pay..." Bellatrix gasped, still shaking in anger. "You...willl...PAY."

Ryon groaned and writhed. I was seconds away from breaking Oliver's grip and doing something truly stupid like tackling the Death Eater with out so much as a wand in my hand, when the yard was suddenly alight with crackling streams of colour and the thunderous rush of powerful magic.

"Stupefy!"

"Petrificus Totalus!"

"Impendimentia!"

Like blazing meteorites, three figures came charging out of the night and descended around our assailants. Bellatrix blocked all three curses as easily as she'd deflected Oliver's stunner, shielding herself.

"The whole gang came out to play!" the witch shrieked in twisted delight, greeting them with a wicked grin. "And who do we have here...Lumos!"

Her want lit up, casting light on the face of the newcomers. I stifled a gasp - I recognized not one, but two old Hogwarts teachers - Professors Lupin and Moody. I'd never had a class with Lupin but I remembered his face. My first year of Defence class had been with Moody - terrifying and brilliant. The third figure I didn't recognize, a young woman with spiky pink hair and a pale, heart-shaped face.

"Remus, Mad-Eye, and... could it be? Nymphadora." Bellatrix simpered, sneering at each in turn. "So lovely to see you all!"

"Wish I could say the same, Lestrange. I really do." the woman called Nymphadora retorted with a roll of her eyes. Bellatrix's sickly sweet demeanor switched immediately, an expression of hatred clouded her already dark face. Clearly she did not take well to insult.

"How dare you speak to me, you vile blood traitor! Product of blasphemy, you are an abomination to the noble name of-"

"Stupef-"

"EXPELLIARMUS!"

The exchange happened so fast I barely had time to register. Then my heart sank as I realized the young male had slipped behind the others unnoticed, and the moment Moody made a move to take Bellatrix down... all three were disarmed from behind, their wands along with Ryon's clutched in the shaking hand of the young male as he stepped back to Bellatrix's side.

"At least you can disarm if nothing else." she smirked coldly, taking the wands. "Took you long enough though, I thought you were going to let this fool Muggle-lover stun me."

Lupin, Moody, and Nymphadora surveyed the pair of Death Eaters with identical expressions of icy calm, belying the fact that they were at her mercy. Ryon had staggered to his feet and moved to stand beside Moody. The the two Aurors exchanged a respectful nod. The young Death Eater had backed into the shadows as though afraid to be recognized. Bellatrix stood beneath the glow of the bewitched yard light, breathing heavily and staring around with a hungry expression. It was frighteningly clear that she was enjoying this, so many powerful wizards at her mercy.

It was truly surreal, I had no idea how much time had lapsed since the attack began. Hours or minutes, time had no meaning. My body was stiff from being pressed into the frozen mud. My only reprieve was Oliver's left arm wrapped around me, partially for warmth but mostly to keep me from running into the middle of the fray.

"Now." Bellatrix spoke decisively, casting her gaze over the collection of battle-ready wizards standing before her. "My dear-" she addressed her companion. "-keep an eye on our friends while I find our final guests..." she dead-eyed the patch of reeds. I could feel her cruel eyes raking over us as she approached-

"There's no one else here, Lestrange." Ryon barked, voice harsh and tense. I almost didn't recognize it. "The others are long gone, I saw them leave while you were busy preening. You're all pathetic."

The words had barely left his mouth before her lips drew back in a snarl and her wand flew forward with a flash of blue. Ryon was blasted backwards 10 feet and Bellatrix turned away from us and advanced on him - turning her back on our hiding place.

Oliver made his move.

And all hell broke loose.

The next minute was a blur of sinisterly flashing light, echoes of spells, and unintelligible screams. Oliver had charged into the heat of battle the moment the Death Eater's back turned. I shakily got up and stepped clear of the reeds, mesmerized by the violence.

Oliver disarmed the unsuspecting boy first. Moody, Lupin, and Nymphadora reclaimed their wands and engaged Bellatrix. Even with three on one, the dark witch still seemed to have an advantage. She blocked every curse with disturbing grace and percision.

"KILL THE AUROR!" she snarled at the boy between deflecting curses. But the distraction cost her, she was flung backwards by a curse from Lupin. Even laying spread-eagled in the snow she continued to frantically block their spells before they could utter them.

None of it felt real, I felt like I was watching a Muggle motion picture or something, this couldn't be happening to me...

With Bellatrix engaged by the three older wizards, Oliver sprinted to Ryon's side. The elder of the two still lay pathetically in the snow, only half-conscious. An easy target. But my numb feet moved automatically towards them, I'd always been completely safe with my brothers, no matter what happened...

"DO IT, DO IT NOW!" Bellatrix screamed desperately. She was still fighting, but her voice seemed weaker.

The boy had been watching in sickly rapt fascination till now, but the woman's voice seemed to jerk him out of his reverie. He started towards us at the same time I dropped to my knees beside Oliver and Ry.

"I told you to get out of here." Oliver growled, staring at me through eyes glazed in panic.

"I can't leave you here!" I choked out, wrapping my hand around Ryon's.

"Go...please...both...run..." Ry's voice cracked painfully. I gripped his hand tighter and we locked eyes. His hazy gray eyes connected to my dark ones. I felt one desolate tear slide down my cheek to disappear into the snow.

"We'll be fine, I'm gonna keep him safe till the Order gets rid of Lestrange. You have to leave." said Oliver gently to me, sounding less much less fierce. This time there was a note of pleading in his tone.

"Who's the Ord-"

My words died in my throat as I heard a wand swish through the air behind me. I turned slowly, heartbeat in my throat.

I still couldn't see his eyes clearly, but his mouth was twisted into a pertified grimace. His lips twitched as though desperate to speak, but unable to make a sound.

"WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? DO IT NOW!" Bellatrix howled.

"ARIE, GET OUT OF HERE!" Nymphadora yelled at me. Had my brain been functioning, I would have asked how she knew my name.

"I'm not leaving!" I croaked, clutching Ryon's hand.

"I...can't..." the male Death Eater. gulped. His entire wand arm was convulsing.

"JUST SAY THE WORDS! I don't care who, PICK ONE TO DIE!" the witch screamed, voice shaking in stress and anger. "If you cannot do this, how do you possibly expect to complete the task the Dark Lord has entrusted to you? You're a disgrace to your family's-"

"SHUT UP!" he exploded, whirling to face Bellatrix. The moment his back turned, Oliver's wand pointed at his back.

"STUPEF-"

"AVADA KEDAVRA!"

The atmosphere exploded in a blur of light again as a green blaze assaulted my vision. I thought I heard a few more killing curses, but I couldn't be sure. Someone shoved me face-down into the snow, presumably out of harms way. All I could hear was screaming. Moody, Lupin, and Nymphadora converged on Bellatrix, for a moment she was surrounded.

Then I heard two identical pops as the pair of Death Eaters vanished; the spells that had been case simply vanished into the darkness.

I slowly raised my head and surveyed the scene. All that remained was a stunned silence and our would-be saviors with expressions of disgust and disbelief, and... Oh my God...

"Mad-Eye, Remus..." Nymphadora breathed slowly. "How did she overpower all three of us?"

"I don't know." Lupin replied somberly. "This is worse than I thought..."

Moody wasn't listening, his eyes were fixed on a specific point on the snowy ground. I followed his gaze... and my world imploded.

Ryon. Just...lying there. Body slightly twisted as though he'd tried to move out of the curse's path... no... no... nononono... this isn't real. Please God don't let it be real... staring into the blackness through eyes that could no longer see

"He was everything a great Auror should be. Such a waste of talent." Moody murmured angrily, curling his gnarled hands into fists and sinking to his knees. "Such a Goddamn bloody waste."

I curled up into Oliver's chest, taking small comfort in his strong but gentle embrace. I can't remember if either of us cried, but we remained locked in a tangle of arms for a long time.

###

"Caroline! Caroline! Baby!" I heard my mum's cries from outside as she ran towards the house, my dad trailing behind her. She must have ran down to where my father had worked and told him to grab the shotgun and come back to the house.

"Stay back, Marie." My dad instructed, opening the front door and slowly making his way to the kitchen, mum trailing closely behind him. I heard my mum suck in a significant amount of air, and I turned to see her hands covered over her mouth, and my dad lower the barrel of his shotgun. I looked down at all of the rubble in the kitchen and then back towards my parents.

"So," I said quietly, allowing my frown to quickly turn into a smirk. I couldn't show pain, I couldn't let my mother worry anymore about me than she already did. I had to be strong, always had to be strong. Lifting my arms from my sides in question, and raising my eyebrows I spoke, "What's for dinner?"

A/N(roxypony):

First - I only wrote Arie as Wood's sister because I wanted to incorporate him into the story, even if his role is quite minor.
Second - Arie WILL develop PLENTY more depth. This chapter was supposed to be a vague prologue...then it ran away. Nonetheless I like how it turned out.
Third - any guesses as to who Bella's buddy was? I didn't try to make it super-obvious, but I'm not keeping it secret either.
Fourth - this is set in Harry's 6th year. I don't know if Bella is supposed to be in Azkaban at this point, but she was important to the storyline so I may have just broken her out. Either way, this storyline won't be completely HBP-DH compatible, although we're sticking to the book storyline as much as possible.

If you like - please review! Sub/fave is awesome, but reviews are what keeps us going. If you didn't like it, goood for you. Flames will be dismissed, so don't bother.

Both of us have twitters and facebook pages - links on our profiles. Again, if you wanna talk to me, find my profile on the reviews page for this fic :) -soon I will have HP ficcies under my name as well! :D

Also, BIG thanks to our friends from DSS for dropping by - you know who you are! :)

RXP & SB1