Three days later, Florence received an owl from Sloan, telling her to be at the Manor before daybreak on Tuesday. She had not told the twins about the upcoming operation, in fear that they would volunteer themselves to the Order as well. It was kept a secret for the most part, but was given away at the expression Florence had on her face once she opened the letter from Sloan. Fred knew her too well to let it go, despite Florence saying multiple times that it was nothing. After a few back and forth, she caved in and told the two what the Order was planning. Almost instantly, Fred volunteered to go with her, and wouldn't take no for an answer.

So there they were, early Tuesday morning, in the living room of the Manor packing a small bag of essentials that they were going to bring to Hogwarts. Nicolai was there, too, handing out gauze and other first aid items they might need should they acquire a wound that they didn't know how to fix with magic. She was not coming with them in to the Castle, but decided to stay at Hogsmeade just in case she was needed.

Florence was looking over her bags one last time when Fred came to her, looking apologetic, "You know I had to come with you, right? I couldn't possibly live with myself knowing you're out there without me when I have the option to go with you."

"You don't have to go, Fred," Florence said, slightly irritated that he was just as stubborn as she was, "I can handle myself. I've had training, you haven't. Now I have to worry about you when things go wrong too?"

Fred frowned at this, "I can handle myself fine, Florence. I'm not gonna need you to look out for me. I just want to be where you are... I know that sounds reckless but—"

"It is!" she exclaimed, her voice raised slightly which made people turn their attention to them, "It's bloody reckless! I want to be where you are too but not where you could be in danger!"

"Well, that's what I feel about your Auror business too. I hate when you're in danger, and you're in danger almost all the time. You don't see me stopping you, do you?" he shot back, Florence getting up from her seat on the couch, "That's not the same, though, is it? I'm trained for it! If you tell me you've been taking defense classes on the side when you're not running your business, then by all means go ahead! You can be in danger with me. But you haven't been, and you're not equipped for this."

"Harry taught me things at Hogwarts."

"That's doesn't suffice, Fred! Merlin I—"

"That's enough," Julien cut in, silencing the two, "Please, Florence, Fred is coming. I know you don't like that, but Dumbledore's approved of it, so has Arthur and Molly. We're just going to be patrolling the Castle grounds, making sure nothing is off. There won't be any immediate danger, okay?"

Florence grunted, zipping up her bag rather aggressively, "Fine." she said curtly, "Call me when we have to leave," Florence murmured, before heading to her room on the second floor.

Fred huffed. He and Florence rarely fought, and when they did, he always felt terrible about it. "She's not mad at you, you know that, right?" Julien said to him, watching the door to her bedroom close, "She's just worried. She's already lost so much, it would break her if she lost you."

"I know..." he mumbled, before plopping down on the couch himself.

The sun was just beginning to peak out of the horizon when Sloan instructed everyone to head to the backyard to practice a little bit of defensive spells, should they need it. They were instructed to partner up, Florence sparing Fred a single glance before heading to Julien, who scratched the crook of his neck, "Florence," he started, the brunette looking up at him as they went and found a corner where they could practice at.

"What?"

"You can't freeze him out. Especially when we might be heading to a mission this risky."

"He can still pull out of it." Florence said, stepping back a few feet from Julien, "Maybe then I'll stop freezing him out."

"You can't blame the guy, he worries about you. You understand that, don't you?"

"I do... but there are other ways he can worry about me. He can worry about me at home."

Julien sighed, "Okay.... I'm done, I wont bother you about it anymore. Get in to your stance."

The practices had lasted about an hour, before they were all called inside to have a quick breakfast before they had to leave for Hogsmeade. Some people had left for Hogsmeade earlier than everyone else, so that they could assess the situation. Another small group left as soon as breakfast was over, and the last group left as soon as they were given the go signal from the first group.

The residents of Hogsmeade had been very welcoming to the Order, immediately offering accommodations to everyone. The barkeep at Three Broomsticks handed out free butterbeers to everyone as they waited, knowing it was going to be quite awhile since they were going to depart.

Grabbing her butterbeer bottle, she plopped down on a bench beside Nicolai, who was going through her Healer kit to see if she had everything. "Did you want a butterbeer? I could go get you yours."

"Its fine," she said, before zipping up her bag, "Bubbly drinks don't sit well when I'm nervous. I might just go over to Puddifoot's in a bit and get myself a cup of tea. I got a lot of time, I'll be here for the most part."

"Yeah, you're right." Florence said, before taking a swig out of her bottle.

"Do you think its gonna be bad?" Nicolai asked her, Florence sensing the undertone of worry in her voice. Florence set her bottle down, not really knowing how to respond, "Maybe... Sloan says we're just guarding the castle incase something happens when they've gotten the Horcrux, but... I dunno, I think there's more to it than that."

"Stay safe, yeah? For me?" Nic said, leaning her head against Florence's shoulder, Florence smiling slightly at this, "I will, Nic. Don't you worry about me."

"You know I can't help it." She said, "You've been hurt before. I don't want that to happen to you again."

"I know, Nic."

"That's probably what Fred feels too." She added, making Florence sigh, "Not you too."

"What? I'm just saying. You nearly died that one time, he couldn't do anything cuz he wasn't part of the Auror program. He couldn't get to you. Now he can. He loves you, that's what you do when you have a love as big as yours and Fred's."

"I understand him, I do. If the roles were reversed I'd do the same thing. I just...." she sighed, "I want him safe, too."

"You two want the same thing for each other. So just let him be there for you." Nicolai said, before nodding her head to the direction of someone heading their way, "You two need to talk, okay?"

Florence looked over and saw Fred, butterbeer in hand. Nicolai left her seat immediately, heading over to Julien to give the two space. Fred was surprised that she didn't get up and leave as he drew closer. He took it as a sign that he was allowed to sit beside her, "Hey, we need to talk."

"I know," she said, eyes looking up to meet his, "I'm sorry. I was being irrational."

He cupped her face in his hands, before kissing her. It was short, but Florence felt all the love she knew they had for each other, "I love you. And I'm sorry too."

"You don't have to be sorry about anything." Florence told him, "It was just me. I was being unreasonable. I shouldn't get mad at you for things that I'd do if you were in my shoes."

"You getting mad was natural. Its okay. I understood why you reacted that way." he told her, "I was kinda dreading the silent treatment. I'm glad it wasn't all day. I didn't want us going in to something dangerous when we've left things on a bad note."

"Me too... I'm sorry."

"Actually, I wanted to give you something." he said, reaching in to his pocket and pulling out a silver chain. Attached to it was a coin-like pendant, Florence immediately realizing that it was her DA coin. "I was gonna give this to you on your birthday, but now is a good time for it too. Hermione's charms were rather difficult to strip off, but I managed. Its still a Protean, but it will only be connected to this one," he said, pulling the collar of his jumper down slightly to show her his DA coin which he also turned in to a necklace, "Not that we'll ever be apart for very long, but if we are, say you're on dangerous missions like this, and you feel alone, you could always communicate with me through this."

"You never fail to come up with such thoughtful gifts," Florence said, tears brimming in her eyes, "Thank you, I love it. I love you."

Fred unclasped the lock of the chain, moving Florence's hair to the side and putting it on her, "There, so you'll know you'll always have me when you're far away..."

—————

The sky was beginning to burn in to a vibrant orange color as the sun started to descend in to the horizon. Fifteen minutes before six o'clock, Sloan called for everyone's attention. They were to start their journey to the castle, in the same groups as they came in. Florence bade Nicolai goodbye and hugged her, as she and a bunch of other Healers were asked to stay in Hogsmeade for their own safety.

They were wearing black cloaks to cover their faces on their trek to Hogwarts, just incase they would run in to trouble on the way. The journey to the castle went smoothly, and soon Florence found herself walking up the steps to the castle.

"Seems rather odd being here again," Fred whispered to her, "Not like when we came back for the Quidditch game... no one knows we're here this time."

The groups began to split up when they reached the courtyard, the smaller groups going to their assigned places in the castle. Florence was assigned near the clock Courtyard and the covered bridge with Julien and Alastor Moody. It was one of the critical entrance points that Dumbledore had told them to guard, as it opened up to the Forbidden Forrest. The rest of the small groups were scattered around castle grounds, as well as inside, where they roamed the Halls while trying not to get noticed by any students.

Fred had been assigned to go with Bill, much to his dislike. He wanted to be closer to Florence, but didn't really have a say in anything.

Night fell upon them rather quickly, not hearing a single instruction from the other groups, which was a sign that things were quite normal, much to Florence's relief. It had been a long day of just waiting around, that she was hoping that it was all she would have to do for the day. But despite this, she remained watchful and alert, even with occasional yawns escaping from her lips.

"We jus' need to hear from Dumbledore. When everything's alright, we might be able to go home in one piece," said Moody, "But until then, I expect constant vigilance from the pair of ye."

"Yes sir." Florence and Julien answered in monotone.

A black barn owl landed on Moody's shoulder minutes later, instantly recognizing it as one of the messenger owls they were to use to communicate around the castle. He took the parchment attached to its leg and read it. It had been from Kingsley Shacklebolt, informing them that Dumbledore has not yet returned with Harry Potter.

"What's taking that man so long?" Moody muttered, before checking his pocket watch, "Its thirty minutes to eleven o'clock. He should have been back by now."

"Maybe they're still searching for the Horcrux, sir." Florence said. "Well that thing ought to be the size of a grain of sand if its taking them this bloody long."

"Maybe they just got held up?"

"That doesn't sound good if that's the case—holy shit." Julien gasped, seeing a faint green light escape from one of the open tower windows. It lingered in the air, before morphing in to a giant skull-like figure, with a snake coming out from its mouth. It was the Dark mark, hovering above the castle. "Merlin's beard, why hasn't Shacklebolt said anything!" Moody exclaimed, getting up from his seat, "Come, Price, we have to get to the nearest group and alert them of this if they haven't seen it yet."

"But sir, we were told not to leave our posts." Julien said

"Well what's happening up there might be much worse, "We have to get up there quickly. Death Eaters are already inside the Castle and we don't know how many have gotten in."

"But sir our posts—"

"Screw the posts, Price!"

"I'll stay," Florence volunteered, "I'll stay in my post, you two go up there and alert the others."

"Are you sure?" Julien said, hesitant, as he heard his father's voice in the back of his head, telling him to keep her safe, "Florence..."

"Its fine. It's probably more dangerous up there than it is down here."

"Okay," he said, ignoring Moody's shouts telling him to hurry up, "You stay here, okay? Send out any signal of any sort if you're in trouble and I'll come."

"Go, Jules."

With one last glance, Julien ran in to the castle with Moody, leaving Florence alone.

Fear grew in her chest at the thought of Fred being somewhere inside the castle. She couldn't do anything. She needed to stay where she was, just incase something were to happen. She didn't know what, but she stood there and waited and hoped that things were being contained.

After pacing back and forth rather impatiently, she took out her coin protean and used it to send a message to Fred.

But before she could even finish rearranging the metal bits, her wand went flying out of her hand.

She looked up, and saw Raegan Fawley, dressed in black Death Eater robes, her mask in one hand and her wand on the other. She looked more sinister under the faint green glow of the Dark Mark, and Florence felt more vulnerable as she was disarmed. "I told you we'd meet again."

Florence looked around for her wand frantically, seeing it a few feet away. She was able to grab it just as Raegan sprinted towards her, casting a quick jinx towards the raven-haired girl, who managed to duck out of it in time.

"Crucio!" Raegan cried, Florence taking cover behind one of the marble statues in the courtyard.

"Come out!" she taunted, as Florence's chest rose and fell with every single breath she took, wondering exactly how many Death Eaters had managed to enter the castle undetected, or if the others were in danger as well. Raegan was even more hostile than her previous interaction with her. She knew what she wanted, and knew that there would be no more slip ups this time. Florence pointed her wand to the air, sending out a small explosion to the sky in hopes that someone would see her signal. She then peeked out from behind the statue, aiming her wand at Raegan, "Reducto!"

Florence managed to blast one of the pillars behind Raegan, which came crumbling down on her. She had not been quick enough, which resulted to her foot getting pinned down by one of the larger pieces of debris. Raegan cried out in pain, falling to her knees as she was unable to move properly.

Florence came out of her hiding place, standing over Raegan, "And I told you you couldn't take me again."

Her lips curled upwards, as she elbowed Florence's knee, causing her to fall over. While she was crouched over in pain, Raegan was able to successfully get her foot out from under the debris, immediately plucking Florence's wand out of her grasps and grabbing her by her ponytail. "You never fucking learn." she seethed.

Florence grunted, trying to pry her hair out of her grip, but to no avail. Raegan chuckled, as she pushed Florence's face down and stepped on it with her boot, "Oh, are you scared, Price? I bet you are. No one knows what's about to happen to you, nor will it be a priority with what we have going on upstairs. Its just gonna be you and me right now. Remember, just like old times?"

She grabbed her by the hair again, forcing her gaze up at the sky, where, in that moment, she saw two figures on broomsticks, heading for the Astronomy tower, "Your precious Harry Potter and Albus Dumbledore has arrived, just in time."

"You know, this is a very rare opportunity, having this time alone with you like this without being rushed. Last time I tried to kill you, I was on a time crunch, which was probably why I did such a sloppy job. Right now I have enough time to carve out your face, or maybe cut your fingers off one by one."

"I know this is because of your dad, Raegan." she said, struggling to breathe, "But he was a criminal. He deserved what he got, he hurt a lot of people."

"He was still a father, though!" She screamed at her, tightening her grip around Florence's hair, "He was still my father. And he was killed, because of yours, when I was too young to even remember him..."

"You should know what the feels like, right? You of all people should know the pain my mother and I had to go through when he was gone. My mother went insane. All my life, I was made to avenge my father. All my life. This... this right now, is what I was made to do."

"So you kill me..." Florence said, her voice now strained from the pain, "You kill me, and then what? Your father will still be dead. It won't change anything."

"You don't know that." Raegan seethed, "It will change a whole lot. The people you love will feel the pain that my family felt when my father died. Too bad your mother died before you. It would have been nice for her to feel the pain of losing her only child to the same people who killed her husband. The perfect revenge." she chuckled, "But of course, this will have to do. When your uncle and your cousin, oh, and your fiancé find you on the cold hard ground, dead, with the Dark Mark soaring above you, it will feel like Gabriel Price all over again."

"You sure talk a lot," Florence spat, "For someone who's claimed to wanted to kill me all her life, you sure are stalling it."

"I'm not stalling anything, I'm savoring the moment." Raegan shot back, "But if you're so eager to die," she poked the tip of her wand on Florence's temple, "Well, then, let's get on with it then, shall we?"

"I'm not scared of you, I will never be." Florence said firmly, even though it might be the last thing she'd ever say. There was no one there to save her. No Sloan, no Julien, no Matthew who saved her from the killing curse for the first time. She was all alone.

Maybe, she thought, Maybe this is my end.

She closed her eyes, a single tear streaming down her face, awaiting the pain of the killing curse.

///////

a.n: oh my god. This book is almost done. I swear we only have 6 more chapters after this, then on to book 2!!! My goal is to finish this and start book 2 by the end of January so let's hope I get there!

-Denise