There was a darkness lurking on the edge of the horizon, a war to end all wars approaching. Lord Voldemort was returning, and there was nothing they could do but be prepared for when he did, no matter how many people were killed in the process.
...
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Millie, in all 13 years of her existence on earth, had never been part of a stranger group. Crookshanks led the way through the darkness and down the stairs; Lupin, Pettigrew, and Jess went next, somewhat resembling contestants in a six-legged race. Next came Professor Snape, drifting eerily along like a puppet with invisible strings, his toes hitting each stair as they descended, held up by his own wand, which was being pointed at him by a grinning Sirius. Ron and Hermione went next, Hermione examining his arm as they walked with Ian behind them, who kept on looking over his shoulder to keep an eye on his daughter, who was walking beside Millie. Harry brought up the rear, his hands dug into his pockets and a small frown on his face.
Getting back into the tunnel was the difficult part. Lupin, Pettigrew, and Jess had to turn sideways to manage it; Lupin still had Pettigrew covered with his wand. Alyssa smirked as she watched them edge awkwardly along the tunnel in single file. Crookshanks was still in the lead. Harry went right after Sirius, who was still making Snape drift along ahead of them; he kept bumping his lolling head on the low ceiling. Sirius, who was watching with great amusement, made no move to prevent it.
He and Sirius began talking, and it looked like a rather serious conversation, so Millie, Alyssa, and Ian shied away. Ian placed a hand on his daughters shoulder, and Millie nodded as she walked a little ways ahead so the two could talk.
"What's wrong?" Alyssa frowned, staring up at her father with furrowed brows. Ian smiled down at her, lovingly tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.
"Nothings... wrong, per say, I just wanted to make sure you were okay. You seemed a little tense back there."
"Yeah, well." Alyssa shrugged, smiling sheepishly. "I thought you..." she trailed off and sighed. "I thought you were going to kill someone, dad. You were going to kill someone. That's not who you are. That's not you. I wouldn't have been able to recover from seeing you murder someone. I would never have been able to look at you the same way again."
Ian sighed and stopped walking, making Alyssa do so as well. "I'm so sorry, Lyssa. I really am. It's just... hard. James was my best friend, my brother. To have him and Lily ripped away from me so suddenly like that by the man I considered a friend... it's maddening. I went from having everything to nothing in one night. You have no idea how horrible that is. It's like Jess or Millie being killed, you'd want to hurt the person who did it, wouldn't you?"
Alyssa tensed up, her face tightening. "I get that, dad. I lost Millie last year, and Jess died. The only difference is I was the one who did it. So yeah, I get wanting to hurt the person. I get it more than I can say."
Ian sighed and pulled his daughter in for a hug, cradling the back of her head with his hand. "I'm so proud of you, sweetheart. You know that, right? So proud."
Tears clouded Alyssa's view as she grinned. "I love you, dad."
"I love you too, darling." They broke apart and continued walking, Ian slinging an arm around her shoulders. "Now, tell me. What's going on between you and Harry?"
