Heart Scars ||| Remus Lupin

Twenty Seven

Sitting in the great hall for her seventh year at Hogwarts was not how she imagined it would be.

When Adhara was younger, she thought that she would be with her friends and little brother, smiling and laughing, feeling a little upset that it would be her last first feast.

But here she was, sitting at the end of the table farthest from Dumbledore, with only Severus by her side. Regulus was with Evan, Pandora, and Barty. Dorcas was sitting at the Gryffindor table, beside Marlene McKinnon. Adhara watched as Evan's eyes flicked to look at Dorcas every few minutes, clearly missing his best friend.

"Choices are what makes life so difficult. Choices are what define us, they can make or break us. If a choice is easy, then it is probably not the right one. The hard choices are what makes life so difficult, yet so much better. Tuck in."

Dumbledore stared at Adhara while he gave his speech. Her hands shook slightly, out of fear and anger. Fear at what might happen to her and her brothers, and anger that she had been involved in any of this.

Adhara and Severus had finished their list, and made the dark lord incredibly proud of the two teenagers. Though, Adhara was pleased that she had gained his trust.

She could see that he trusted her, more than he trusted his other followers, even Bellatrix. Voldemort thought of Adhara as his right hand, good enough to be his best soldier but not bold enough to betray him or try to overthrow him. He thought that she was a loyal servant, brought up by loyal pureblood parents.

She knew that he could also see her fear. Not necessarily for herself, but for her friends and her brothers. While Regulus' life was in his hands, Adhara would not dare try anything. She was his puppet, the strings were tied to his fingers and he was making her dance.

"Miss Black." Adhara's head quickly whipped around, to see Dumbledore standing by her table. Every head was staring at them.

Adhara looked at Severus, whose charcoal eyes were wide with concern and fear. Adhara gave him a nod that signaled for him to relax.

"If you would accompany me, it would be greatly appreciated." Dumbledore says lightly, and Adhara quickly stands and follows him.

They walk the halls in silence for a bit, putting Adhara on edge. The man looked somber.

"Alastor Moody has lost his leg."

Adhara wasn't surprised. She had seen the effects of Severus' curse, and she was actually surprised that it didn't kill him. Dumbledore must have rescued him in the knick of time.

"He is very valuable to the order-" Dumbledore begins, but Adhara cuts him off. She doesn't bring up how he didn't even say anything about the muggleborns. He only cared about Moody because he was valuable to the order. If he had been a nameless auror, the old man wouldn't have cared.

"I did what I had to. If it meant that Alastor Moody died then so be it. If I died, then there would be no one to protect my friends and family." She narrows her eyes at the old man, and he sighs.

"I wonder, Miss Black, after all of this is over, if there will be anything left of you. Dark magic demands a price."

"It won't matter if there's anything left of me. My brothers, Severus, Remus, James, my friends, they'll all be safe. My life would be a small price to pay."

And then she walked away from the headmaster, heading to the quiet room of requirement.

Remus had been watching Adhara since she appeared on platform 9 3/4.

He had watched her board the train, find Severus, come to the prefects meeting, and then return to Severus. He had even borrowed James' cloak so that he could walk past their compartment a few times.