As our rag-tag group of friends and foe left the shrieking shack, we finally had a chance to talk to Dad without backing him up on his claims about Pettigrew.

"I never thought I'd actually get this far." Dad said quietly. "There had been so many chances when he slipped through my fingers..."

"One quick walk to the castle, and it'll all be over." Mum's eyes shone as we climbed into the damp tunnel towards the grounds. "We can be a family again."

Dad stopped in his tracks, and as a result Sasha and I did as well. "You—you want to be with me, Cara?"

Mum frowned at him. "Of course, I do, Sirius. I love you."

Dad turned pink. "I—I thought you meant as a friend when you said it earlier."

"We're married you idiot."

Dad turned a darker shade of pink—nice to see where my excessive blushing came from—"Well I didn't know if you'd found somebody else! I—I wouldn't want to step on any toes, raising my daughters is my priority."

Sasha reached for my hand, and I took it. This was all so new, and so exciting.

Mum pushed her hair behind her ear. As she glanced at Dad, I could see the love-struck teenager she'd once been. "There's never been anybody who could live up to you, Sirius."

Sasha sniffed loudly, and to my surprise tears were bubbling in her eyes. Dad looked alarmed and put an arm around her. "My Sasha-Star, what's the matter? Did you trip?"

Sasha scrubbed at her eyes. "I'm just—so happy we can be a family."

"Me too." I said firmly. I stared at my Dad. I'd been so focused on proving his innocence, I hadn't thought about what happened when I saw him again. "We—we have the same nose, Dad."

He beamed. "All the better for sniffing out traitors—and baked goods."

We walked a while longer down the secret passageway. In the semi-darkness I could hear rustling and stones being kicked against the Earthen walls. Shuddering, I stepped closer to Sasha. The last thing I wanted was more rats.

Harry soon hung back from Ron and Hermione and walked line-in-line with my parents. "So..." Harry trailed off. He looked guilty. "I'm sorry about—"

"Harry." Dad said gently. "You don't need to apologise for anything. I got a little, ah, over-excited at the thought of finding Peter."

"That's an understatement." Sasha snorted. "Only one will die tonight! Why didn't you say: Peter Pettigrew will die tonight?"

Dad sheepishly ran a hand through his unkept hair. "Oh shh, you." He looked towards Mum, and the two of them seemed to have a silent conversation with their eyes. "So, Harry... Once my name is cleared... Well, if you want that is—you can come and live with us."

Harry's eyes widened, two green emeralds in the semi-darkness. "Really?"

Dad looked startled. "If you're happier living with your Aunt and Uncle that's fine, honestly, wherever you're happiest---"

"I'd love to live with you all!" Harry exclaimed so loudly his voice echoed in the tunnel. "I hate the Dursley's!" he lowered his voice. "I—I'd like to have a real family."

Mum intertwined her hand with Dad's. "We will be, Harry, don't worry. We've all missed out on this."

I nudged Harry with my shoulder. "You can share my room! We can paint it a different colour if you don't like blue—and we can get a vinyl player if you get sick of my violin, I hope you like the Beatles, Sasha is weird and doesn't like them—"

The Beatles are good." Harry said with a grin. Happiness was radiating off him in waves, and it was quite infectious.

Sasha scowled. "They're an overrated band."

"I agree." Dad said, and he and Sasha exchanged a sly smile.

It was good to see they were already getting along—I couldn't believe I was going to get a lifetime of this. My vision in the Mirror of Erised was coming true, I was going to get everything I wanted... Just one quick walk to the castle...

As we emerged from the dark tunnel into the grounds, it had grown very dark in our absence. The only light was pinpricks of light from the castle windows, and Elijah's flame lit hand.

Our misfit group trailed through the dewy grass, Snape still floating behind us idly as Mum and Dad talked quietly. I wasn't sure what they were talking about, but both were smiling. Then suddenly the clouds broke above us, and dappled silver moonlight cast over us like silk.

"Remus!" Mum cried suddenly.

Remus had stopped suddenly, and he was twitching. His mouth was agape, his eyes turning silver in the light. He let out a low growl, his wand clattering to the floor.

Dad flung an arm in front of us. "He didn't take his potion—all of you, keep an eye on Pettigrew, your Mother and I will deal with this—"

Remus' hands curled into claws and he hunched over on the ground on all fours, letting out a moan of pain. His teeth were too big for his mouth, becoming huge animalistic fangs, his clothes ripping away into fur—

In the darkness a low roar came from the darkness. Mum had transformed into her Lynx cat form, which she had tried to hide from Sasha and I. Her slick fur was the colour of bark, her claws leaving deep rivets in the ground and her tail whipping around her body.

She flew at Remus, knocking him away from Pettigrew and Elijah. The two of them rolled onto the grass, howling and roaring; Elijah and Pettigrew knocked over in the chaos. In the darkness we could barely see anything, and my heart was racing.

Everything would be okay, we still had Pettigrew...

Then in the darkness, Elijah's scream echoed out.

"Elijah!" Sasha cried, and made towards him.

"No!" Dad exclaimed, gripping onto Sasha's arm. "You'll be too close to Remus—"

Through the gap in Dad's arm, I could see Elijah struggling with an invisible force. His hand was quivering as his flames began licking at the rope. He was screaming, writhing, but whatever the force was, it was strong—

"Didn't you say Evelyn could turn invisible?" Harry said quietly.

Feeling sick, Harry's words were confirmed as a figure flickered into apparition, like ice melting in a summer's day. Dad raised Mum's wand, the sparks from the wand the only light as Elijah's dying flames highlighted the figure stood before us.

I'd once known her as Daphne Greengrass, but now we knew this was a lie. Her face flickered in and out of focus as she dug her heeled boot into Elijah's back. She was smirking like a trophy hunter would with a lion they ensnared.

"Pettigrew—" Dad growled. Peter had scrambled to his feet, the charred rope dangling from his wrist. He was cowering behind his daughter, a triumphant smile on his face. "Get away from her—she's a child—"

But Pettigrew was sobbing, an odd hiccup noise: "My Evelyn, my Evelyn—You came for me, like you said--"

Evelyn stroked her Father's four-fingered hand, still smirking. It was clear who had the power in this dynamic. "Well, Father—I don't have trouble picking sides like you do." She dug her heeled boot further into Elijah's back and he whimpered. "Oh, do shut up, Elijah, nobody likes a whiner."

"Get away from him—" I ducked underneath Dad's arm and pointed my own wand at her. "He's nothing to do with this—and he could fry you if he wanted to--"

Evelyn laughed. "Him—fry me? Oh Lyra, Lyra, Lyra, stupid girl."

Evelyn ran a hand through her perfect dark hair, and as she did, her face began to fade away like a chalk from a blackboard. Her dark skin faded into pale white, dark hair turned to dead-straight straw hair that matched her Father's, one eye blue one eye brown.

"How—how did she do that?" Harry said to me. "That's—that's not normal, is it?"

"She's a Metamorphagus--can change appearance at will." Hermione replied for me. "They're very rare, and very powerful."

Evelyn overheard and looked satisfied. "Why thank you, filthy mudblood." She did a mock curtsy. "That costume was so boring." She frowned, staring down at Elijah. "What are you trying to do, boo?"

He'd managed to wriggle his hand from under his torso and was desperately pointing it at Evelyn's face. But nothing happened. Not a single flame came from his hand. Remembering how easily he'd controlled his fire earlier, I felt cold all over.

"But—but why can't I—" Elijah's glasses were askew, and it was the first time I'd ever seen him look afraid.

Evelyn grinned, showing us a set of perfectly even teeth. "Don't underestimate me."

"Yes! Yes, that's right, daughter!" Pettigrew cried, almost squeaking in his excitement. "Yes! Yes!"

Dad lowered his wand. He looked genuinely shocked. "What the hell did you do to this girl, Peter?"

"My Father may have provided half of my DNA, but its my Mother who created me." Evelyn said. She glanced down at Elijah, who was trying to push her off him. He was struggling, which scared me, considering how slight Evelyn was. "Oh, for God's sakes—I've had enough of this mindless chatter."

Evelyn twirled her wrist in a circle, and flames appeared in her hand. She stroked the flames for a moment, before turning to all of us.

"I'm sure we'll all meet again—though I fear the numbers may be smaller, and the meeting less pleasant."

Then she flung the flames downwards at Elijah, where they struck his arms. Elijah let out a cry, and it broke the spell. Sasha and I bounded forward, Dad in hot pursuit---shouting stunning spells. But it was too late.

Evelyn had blinked out of existence once more—but this time, taking her Father with her. I sank to my knees next to Elijah, the world seeming darker than it did before.

"No, no, no, no—" Dad's voice was fractured, and he span around in a circle, lost. "She can't have taken him—no—no—"

A howl and roar pierced the darkened woods, and we were reminded again of the enormity of the situation. Dad flung the wand on the floor and transformed into his dog form—running full speed towards the noise.

"Sirius!" Harry cried, breaking away from a helpless looking Ron and Hermione, to follow him. "Sirius—"

Sasha reached into her pocket, grabbing her wand. She glanced between us and Harry, a conflict raging inside her. She groaned. "Right—I'm not having Harry get mauled or worse in this crossfire. You—stay with Elijah, Ron and Hermione—I won't be long, I promise—"

She disappeared into the dark forest, and faintly I could hear her calling after Harry. Biting on my lip until I felt blood, I turned my attention to Elijah.

Evelyn's fire had burned away his jumper sleeves, leaving behind charred red flesh. Tears ran down Elijah's cheeks, his face screwed up in pain.

"It's okay, Elijah—you'll be okay." My hands were shaking as I let my powers free, the golden light dancing over Elijah's burned arms, soothing and gently healing him. "You might be left with tiny scars, I'm not perfect, but you'll be okay—"

"She must have been following us the whole time." Elijah screwed his eyes up. "She could see my powers—see our plan—she knew everything. She bided her time—"

His flesh and blood will reunite them with their master...

"I don't understand how she has more powers that us and Kat—" my powers were doing their work. Elijah's flesh was turning pink, then back to brown. It wouldn't take much longer. "She seemed to absorb your powers—it was scary—"

Elijah sat up so suddenly that he wobbled left and right from dizziness, and firmly I pushed him down. One arm was healed, and I needed more concentration for the arm closer to Evelyn's evil fire.

"Somehow—don't ask me how, I'm still feeling woozy—but she's a succubus—like the vampires that suck the life out of men. She can steal powers—take them for as long as she needs, enough to weaken us."

A horrible thought occurred to me. "Well I have no idea about that--but that's not important right now. Have you got your powers back?" Behind Elijah, a shrub bush burst into flames as response. I couldn't help rolling my eyes. "Brilliant." I looked down at his arms, which while lightly scarred, were okay. "You're all done."

I helped him to his feet, just as Ron and Hermione hurried over to us. To my dismay, they were being followed by Snape—his swaying told me he hadn't been up long.

"We told him—we told him everything—" Hermione was breathless as she reached us before Ron and Snape. "He doesn't believe us!"

"I AM NOT MAKING THINGS UP! MY RAT TURNED INTO A MAN!" Ron bellowed, backing up Hermione's words.

Snape snarled when he saw the both of us. "Black—Carrow—you are both coming with me. It's far too dangerous for you inbecile children to be out here—now, where are the others?"

"Remus has a condition!" I shouted. "He would never hurt my parents—werewolves are people too, they just can't control themselves—"

Snape reached forward and grasped me by the arm, and I struggled as he dug his fingers in deeper to my arm. "Not that—foolish girl—the dementors, did you not think they would detect your heathen Father?"

Looking into the darkened forest, I could see the shrub Elijah set alight was freezing, iciles hanging from the charred leaves. Inside I felt like my blood and veins were turned to ice. Snape wasn't lying.

"Dad..." my voice hitched and using all my might I yanked my arm away from Snape. My arm throbbed—I feared I may have dislocated it—but I broke through the brambles and bushes, ignoring Snape's screams behind me.

From the corner of my eye, I could see flames light up the sky. Elijah was keeping Snape away from me. He was giving me time.

With my arm throbbing in pain, I stumbled down a steep banking. Thorns and brambles caught and tore at my sleeves, and branches whacked my face like wandering fingers, but I couldn't stop.

This couldn't have been for nothing.

Breaking through a clearing, I found myself beside a lake. The water was black in the darkness, and very still. Trees encircled the clearing like soldiers, their branches waving in the air like rifles and revolvers. But I didn't get chance to survey the scene more—two people were knelt next to somebody on the ground.

"Dad?" My voice reached a new octave as I sprinted across the dying grass. He couldn't be gone, he couldn't be gone... "Dad?"

Sasha and Harry were on either side of him, Sasha clutching one of his hands. Dad was very much alive, but he his face was full of agony, a deep cut on his side.

"Remus got him in his wolf form." Harry explained, he sounded breathless. "Remus was a bit too close to Aunt Cara—he fell down the banking—we don't know what to do—"

"Heal him, Lyra" Sasha reached out for me, tears dribbling down her cheeks. "Please say you can heal him."

Hands shaking, I pressed both of my hands to the wound. Reaching into my reserves, it was like trying to find water in a desert. There was nothing, only ice and emptiness.

"I can't, I can't, I can't." I was sobbing now, as I knelt over my Father. "There must be dementors near—hold on Dad, hold on—"

"Lyra—Sasha—Harry—" Dad spoke each of our names. His voice was hoarse. "It was my dream to see you all again—this makes everything worth it—"

"No!" Harry yelped. "We're going to be a family! You said! You said!"

Releasing my blood-stained hands from Dad's side, I pulled Harry close to me. My brother sobbed on my shoulder, his tears dampening my hair, and hopelessness crept through me like oozing slime. It couldn't end like this...

"No!" Sasha yelled suddenly, and she pointed into the air.

Following her line of vision, I realised that this was the end. Over a hundred dementors, summoned by the blood that they knew to be Sirius Black, and that flowed through his daughter's veins... They were a storm cloud, and they brought fog and dread.

I couldn't even heal my own Father. We couldn't move him between us, we were all so weak. Mum didn't even know where we were... They were going to kill us...

But Harry stood up suddenly, leaving me kneeling in the dirt next to Dad. A determined glint was in his eye as he raised his wand. "Sasha—Lyra—think of something happy! We're going to beat them!"

This fog was blinding, whiteness mingling with the dark spots of dementors that swooped even lower, desperate for their prey... But still, the three of us stood protectively around Dad, raising our wands in synchronisation.

We were going to be a family. The five of us. We would be complete. All the broken pieces fitting together. No more evil relatives and visits to Azkaban island. No more cupboards-under-the-stairs and what-ifs. I could see us all squished on the sofa watching films, laughing... So happy...

"Expecto Patronum!" the three of us chanted. "Expecto Patronum!"

We'll find Evelyn and Pettigrew. Pettigrew will be the one who loses everything. We'll be okay. We'll be okay.

But the faint white lights, our glimmering hope, was fading fast from our wands. While we tried, there were too many of them, and the spell too complex. The darkness was closing in ever closer, the ice closing my throat.

"EXPECTO PATRONUM!" I yelled, my throat raw. Still, nothing happened. A faint light, glowing and flickering.

One dementor approached me and swiped away the patronus with a fleshless hand. It drew back its cloak, and all I could see was a twisted face with a gaping black hole for a mouth. My heart was going to leap from my chest—it was bending down to my Father, it was going to kill him...

"He's innocent—he's innocent!" Sasha shrieked, and she stumbled to her knees, holding Dad to her chest. His eyes were massive and his breathing shallow as the dementor leaned over to kiss him.

"EXPECTO PATRONUM!" Harry's light of his patronus was extinguishing, but still he tried. That boy would never give up, even if the odds were hopeless.

"Harry—" I dropped my wand and stumbled to my Father's side. I wanted to spend these last few minutes with Harry—if this was the end, we should end this life together.

Suddenly I realised, I would never see Mum again. I would never see my friends, I would never see Fred... This really was the end....

But as I dropped my wand onto the grass, giving in, I caught sight of something in the corner of my vision. Pure, silver light—as bright as a unicorn's horn, purer than anything else in the world.

The world turned silver—it was coating the grass, our skin, the sky. The dementors were retreating.... Something had scared them....

My strength was waning, and as I laid my head down on my Father's chest, to let this silver light take me, I swore.... I swore across the lake I could see a giant silver stag... And behind it was a slight figure... But.... No.... that was impossible...

"Harry?" I whispered, and then I let the silver light take me away, hopefully to something much better than this. 

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A/N  Just so all of you are aware, I start back at University this week. This means updates will be less frequent--but I will still be working on the book! We only have three parts left (and the Q&A) and then the next book will be started :)

And don't worry it will be explained why Evelyn has more than one power...