Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Cave inimicum,” Up whispered, waving his wand through the air. “Salvio hexia. Muffliato. Fianto duri.” He repeated the spells a couple times, making his way around the campsite that had been set up. He could feel his friends’ eyes following him as he circled. They had voiced many times about the amount of work Up had put into the protective charms, saying that there was no need for anything past the first spell. He knew better, though. In the middle of the second Wizard War, no one could be safe—much less four sixth year wizards.

Up finished with the spells, quickly hoping outside the boundary to check his work. He blinked as he no longer saw the tents, stepping back across the threshold.

“That should do for now,” he said, rubbing his hands together and finding his way to the fire that was slowly being built. Asher, Junior, and Monroe crouched by the pit, trying to warm their bodies as the sun slowly dipped behind the horizon. Up took a seat on the ground between Monroe and Junior, slipping his wand into the inner pocket of his jacket. He brushed a speck of dirt from his pant leg, and stretched his hands toward the warmth. It was times like this that always felt nice. Just the four of them, best buddies since first year, together and not worrying about dying.

For a while, none of them said anything. Saying something meant bringing everyone back to the reality of death. Everyone around them was dying. They had already lost Connor in a Snatcher ambush, and at any moment, they could all be as good as dead. The only hope for the world was Harry Potter, and nobody knew where he was.

Listening to one of the rebel wizard radio stations, they heard that Hogwarts’s golden trio had been spotted at the Ministry, but had luckily escaped. No word since then.

“How much longer do you think this is gonna last?” Junior finally spoke, breaking the silence. No one replied, their eyes glued to the crackling fire in thought. He looked to the faces of his best friends, his heart falling as each of them solemnly gazed into space.

“You guys,” he tried again. “I don’t know how much longer we can do this. On the run. Hiding from the Snatchers. Living off week-old stew from the pubs we managed not to get spotted in. We can’t live like this for much longer.” Up winced when Junior’s voice cracked on the last word, panic etched into each sentence. He was right, though. Ever since the four of them had escaped Hogwarts, it had been hiding in the forest and moving camp every week. They tried their best to get food from Diagon Alley and Vertic Alley, but it proved futile as their wealth slowly dwindled. They hadn’t had much to begin with, and going to Gringotts was out of the question. Both Up and Asher were muggleborn, and Junior and Monroe had been put on the Snatcher’s list.

“We know, Junior,” Up breathed. “But there’s nothing we can do.” He shared a look with the brunet boy, shrugging his shoulders.

“I don’t care. We can figure something out. If—if those three have managed to stay alive and out of sight, so can we.”

“Honestly, mate,” Asher cut in, his Scottish accent silencing Junior. “You think we’re as capable as them? Together, we don’t have half the brains of that Granger girl, much less the abilities of the Chosen One. And don’t get me started on all the resources Weasley probably has with his pureblood status.”

Monroe glared at the Scottish boy. “You don’t have to be so blunt about it, Ash.” Junior found a sudden interest in his shoe laces, ducking his head down. Ever since the most recent Snatcher encounter, Asher and Monroe had been at each other’s necks. They had narrowly avoided capture, Asher almost revealing all of them when he tried to save a muggleborn who had been caught.

“It’s war. No amount of sugar coating is going to change that.”

There was silent agreement as the conversation tone died down. Asher resumed poking and prodding at the fire, constantly letting the stick he held catch on fire, then smothering the flame.

“It’s almost Christmas time,” Up blurted, unable to handle the silence. Monroe sent a weary glance at Up, trying to give him a smile.

“Yeah,” Monroe said. He smiled wider. “I, uh—I can almost smell my mum’s snicker doodles.”

“And the popcorn balls,” Up added.

“Chocolate gateau—”

“And peppermint cauldron cakes.” The boys grinned at the thought of the food, trying to remember how holiday had been before everything had fallen to shit. Up wondered if there was still any happiness left in the world. Somewhere out there, there had to be a good wizarding family whose biggest worry was if the boggart in the attic was taken care of yet. Given, every sane witch and wizard out there had some sort of edge on the topic of You-Know-Who, but Up could hope. How many more teenagers and grown wizards were trapped in a cave, unsure whether they could face the outside world?

The wizard radio suddenly crackled to life from inside the tent, only a muffled voice escaping the thick fabric. Up scrambled to his feet when he heard the sound, bolting for the device. The wizard stations they knew about had gone silent recently, and the four of them had wondered if the rebels had been discovered and compromised.

Asher, Monroe, and Junior were hot on Up’s tail as he nearly dove into the tent, snatching up the radio. He turned the volume up, holding it close as the four of them huddled around it. Up messed with the knob a bit, trying to find a clearer signal as the words came through.

The first thing he noticed was that it was a girl’s voice.

“Help me, p-please. Is anybody there? I-I don’t know where I am. I think I might’ve splinched myself-f pretty badly. Please. If somebody is listening, meirda, please help me.” Her voice continued on, continuously repeating the same phrases, swearing in Spanish.

Up flicked his eyes towards his friends, a question in them.

“No way. No fucking way man. We don’t know who she is. It could be a Snatcher trap for all we know,” Asher objected, throwing his hands down.

“Or it could be a girl who splinched herself, who needs our help.” Up and Asher glared at each other for a moment, the radio getting louder with each of the girl’s pleads for help.

“If there’s anybody out here, p-please ayuadame—” her voice broke as a sob came through, splitting Up’s heart in half. As he listened to the voice, something started to come back to him. There was something oddly familiar about the girl’s voice. Her use of Spanish.

Then, it came to him. He had only seen her a couple times around the common room, but it was undeniably her.

“Guys. Isn’t that Tazia? You know, the fifth year?” he asked, hesitantly. Junior furrowed his eyebrows, leaning in closer and listening to the radio. Realization dawned on his face as another Spanish slur came through.

“Oh my God, it is,” Junior said, jaw dropping. Monroe and Asher quickly came to the same conclusion, and Up felt himself getting sick.

“We need to go find her—help her!” Up exclaimed. “She’s dying,” he added when he saw the look on Asher’s face.

Monroe tapped his wand to the radio, whispering a charm. He took the device from Up, cradling it as he sat on the bed. Monroe had always been the best at charms, retaining the memory for all the simple ones that had easily been forgotten by so many wizards.

“Hello?” he said into the radio, head inclined ever so slightly. It went dead for a moment, the silence deafening.

“Hello?” a voice croaked back, weak and feeble. “Is there someone there?”

“Yes, yes. Is this Tazia?”

“Taz,” the voice in the radio coughed. “But, yes. Mierda.” There was a groan of pain from the other end of the radio.

“Are you okay?”

“For now,” Taz replied. “I've splinched my leg. I think my arm is broken. It’s b-bad. I-I’m broadcasting this signal from my wand.”

“Okay, Taz, listen. We’re going to come and get you. Just sit tight.” Monroe turned to Junior, waving his hand through the air. “Grab the Dittany from my bag. Up, with me. Asher and Junior, be ready for us when we bring in the girl.” He quickly took control of the situation, something Up had only seen from Monroe a minimal amount of times beforehand.

Up quickly found his feet. Monroe ordered a few more things to be done around the tent, the radio still tucked under his arm. He passed the device to Up, telling him to keep talking to Taz.

“What do I say?”

“Anything,” Monroe said as the two dashed outside, shuffling out of the protective barriers Up had set up, the snow crunching under their feet. “Keep it going while we find her. She’s got to be close to be that weak and still manage to get a clear signal though.”

As Monroe muttered a few spells under his breath, trying to locate where the girl could be, Up stared at the radio in his hands.

“Taz?”

“Who’s there?” she asked, her voice sounding weaker with every syllable.

“It’s, erm, me. Up—Walker Upperson, that is. Sixth year,” he said, awkwardly using his full name.

“Walker?” Taz mimicked. Up felt a pang as he heard his first name, something he hadn’t been called in a while. The war had changed many things about the world, including how Up saw himself. He was no longer Walker Upperson, Hogwarts prefect and top form student. He had resorted to using the nickname that Asher had given him so long ago. Up. If there was one way to look in the midst of a war, it was up, to hope. You could never let hope die.

“Uh, yeah. H-how bad are your injuries?” he asked, trying to find something to talk about. Up glanced over to Monroe who was still working out the navigational charms on his wand. Monroe was so much better at knowing what to say to people.

“I’m not going to lie, Walker,” Taz spoke. “They’re p-pretty bad…” She began to trail off, her voice fading.

Up clutched the radio tightly. “Taz? Taz!”

Her voice came through again, soft. “S-sorry. I’m having a hard t-time staying awake.”

“Got it!” Monroe exclaimed. He ran over to the radio. “We’re on our way, Taz. Keep talking. Whatever you do, don’t fall asleep.” Monroe looked to Up, taking his shoulder. “Ready?”

Up shook his head, the unpleasant memories of Apparating resurfacing in his mind. “Just go.” He felt Monroe’s hand tighten around his shoulder blade, squeezing as the two spun, the air being sucked out of their lungs.

It was over in a minute, Monroe finding a soft landing in the snow while Up fell forward, rolling onto his back. He muttered a string of choice words, complaining about how Apparating got him every time, when his eyes fell upon the curled up figure. She barely had anything covering her besides the large sweatshirt she was adorned in. Taz’s black hair fell in pools around her, some caught in the tree she had propped herself up against. Her right leg stuck out at an odd angle, blood pooling around her knee cap.

Monroe and Up dropped beside her just as her eyes closed. Her teeth chattered madly, eyes closed, and left arm wrapped tightly around her small torso. The other lay limp at her side, looking dead. Monroe pulled the dropper of Dittany from his pocket, going to work on the small girl’s leg. As Up looked at her, he couldn’t help but notice the dark cut across Taz’s left cheek, running down her neck. Her jeans were torn to bits, dirt smudged all over her petite body.

“Taz,” Up said, holding in a breath as he pressed his fingers to her neck. He breathed when he felt a pulse, letting his head drop for a moment. She was alive, for now.

“Taz,” he repeated, taking a hold of her face, shaking her softly. Her eyes twitched, slowly fluttering open. She turned her head ever so slightly towards Up, the corner of her mouth lifting to a smile. “Stay awake,” he muttered. Up stole a glance back to Monroe who was still working on Taz’s splinched leg.

“Talk to her. Keep her talking,” Monroe urged.

Up turned back to the girl, her eyes slowly closing again. “No, no, no, no, Taz. Taz, I need you to stay awake.”

“Uh hmm,” she mumbled, head falling back onto the tree.

“Taz,” Up said, her name rolling right off his tongue. He couldn’t say it enough times. “What happened to you? Weren’t you at home?” The last he remembered, Taz had been one of the few Hogwarts students who stayed in their homes, refusing to attend the corrupt school.

“Y-yeah,” she stuttered. “I w-went back to the s-school for…” Taz trailed off, struggling to finish her sentences. “To help.”

“Help?” Up questioned. “Help who?”

“The D.A.,” she whispered.  “The damn idiotas n-needed all the help they c-could get.”

“The D.A.’s back and running?” Monroe questioned, dropping the Dittany back into his pocket. “Never mind, no time for that. We need to get you back to the camp. Up?”

“I got her,” he said, carefully finding his feet. He bent down, scooping the small fifth year into his arms. Up made sure to be careful around her arm and leg, daintily holding the girl. Her head rolled forward, hair covering her face. She was nearly weightless, and something bothered Up. The size Taz had shrunk down to. Up could feel her ribs through the sweatshirt, her sharp hip bones also prodding at him. She had no meat on her. When was the last time she had eaten?

Monroe Apparated the three of them back to the camp, running ahead and holding the flaps open for Up and Taz. Up quickly ran inside, softly laying the girl down on his empty cot. Monroe dug through his medical bag, hastily trying to locate anything that could help the girl. Asher and Junior hung back, knowing better than to cross Monroe when he was frantic.

Up kneeled at Taz’s bedside, taking in her small figure. Her hands lay by her sides, green veins showing through her pale skin. Cold seemed to radiate off of her instead of heat. Her lips were blue, mouth hanging open slightly. It was a terrible sight to see how weak the girl looked.

Monroe went to work on the girl, scanning her for any more injuries and casting healing spells on her. In no time, her skin began to show some pigment, lips returning to the normal pink. Taz’s leg no longer stuck out oddly, and the only trace of blood was stained into her jeans.

“Taz?” Up said hopefully, not having moved from her side. He laid a hand on her shoulder, waiting for her eyes to open.

“She should be up for a couple hours, mate,” Monroe said. “She’s fine, but she needs her rest, and so do we. Up didn’t tear his gaze away from Taz, watching her chest rise and fall rhythmically. It was a great change from when he saw her in the forest. There, she had been in constant pain, and her breaths ragged. Here, she was comfortable, free from whatever had happened to her.

“I’ll take first watch,” Up offered, finally turning to his friends. Asher and Monroe didn’t argue, diving for their own cots. Junior, on the other hand, stared at Up. He rubbed the bridge of his nose, looking at one of his best friends.

“What?” Up asked.

Junior shook his head. “Nothing. It’s just that, something’s off. It doesn’t feel right.”

“What doesn’t?”

“Taz,” Junior replied bluntly. “She doesn’t seem right. Are we sure this isn’t a trap?”

“Junior, look at her. She could barely sit up in the state she’s in. Furthermore, actually overpowering any of us,” Up argued, rolling his eyes.

“Just,” Junior said. “Take precautions.”

“Fine.” Up opened the pocket of Taz’s sweatshirt, patting around until he found her wand. He pulled out the object, eyeing Taz as he did so. “There. Here’s her wand.” He stuck the thing towards Junior, waiting.

“You want me to take it?”

“You’re the one being pissy about the ordeal.”

Junior frowned, taking the wand from Up. He walked over to his own cot, lifting the thin mattress and sticking the wand under it. Content with himself, Junior laid down, pulling a blanket over himself. With a nod toward Up, he closed his eyes, waiting for sleep to take him away from the cruel world.

Up didn't know how long he sat on the ground next to the cot, but he didn't mind. He couldn't help but wonder how Taz had been injured. When they found her, her leg had been obviously splinched, meaning she had Apparated. The burns and tears at her clothing and skin showed that she had been attacked. Was it Snatchers? Up couldn’t remember Taz’s blood status, racking his brain. He doubted she was muggleborn, though. The fact that she was only fifteen and managed to Apparate without decapitating herself told him that she was pretty experienced. They don’t even offer Apparition classes until sixth year, and only then if you’re of age by the next test.

Monroe had been taught how to Apparate in secret by Connor, his older brother. So far, he was the only one out of all of them who managed to Apparate without Splinching.

Out of the corner of his eye, Up thought he saw a twitch from Taz’s direction. Her eyes remained closed, nothing out of the ordinary happening. It was probably just a trick of the light. The girl shouldn’t be awake until morning. He could wait until then to figure everything out.

Up finally stood, giving Taz’s sleeping figure one last glance before he headed outside the tent. It wouldn’t do any of them good to be found in the middle of the night.

* * *

Up twirled his wand in his hand, feeling the small carvings etched into the wood as it passed between his fingers. He crossed his legs, immediately uncrossing them and shifting his position on the log he sat on. Nothing seemed comfortable to him anymore. Just last night, on his watch, he had been listening to the radio, searching for the rebel stations. He had finally found one, with the same message playing over and over.

“‘...and that concludes this episode of MuggleWatch. Our next broadcast may be tomorrow, or in a month—’

A crash. Some scrambling. Lots of yelling.

“‘Run for it!’

‘Stupefy!’

‘Reducto!’”

Then radio silence for a couple seconds, returning with a voice that hadn’t belonged to any of the rebel wizards.

“‘To any mudbloods tuning in, this is only the beginning. You all think you’re safe, but your numbers are dwindling. Give up now, and the Dark Lord may take mercy on you. Stay happy in your camps, but remember, we’re always watching. You may think you’re alone, but you forget to look behind you. Give up while you still can.’”

The sequence played over and over, as if put on a loop, and it set Up on edge. The voice of the Death Eater on the radio shook his bones, and he couldn’t help looking over his shoulder every once in a while. Asher called the message a bluff, planted by the Death Eaters to instill fear on the wizards. He honestly thought it was fake, but Up couldn’t bring himself to that conclusion.

Up found himself standing and pacing across the snow-layered ground. There were still drops of blood stained against the white snow from when Monroe and him had brought in Taz last night, and no one had bothered to clean it up. He tried to shake the image of Taz’s pale body from his mind, but then he remembered back to her frail frame. She had woken a couple minutes after the sun rose, requesting water and food that they didn’t have.

Monroe had placed her arm in a sling, her leg having fully healed with help from the Dittany. Junior was still weary around the girl, going to the trouble of hiding her wand again when she asked about it. He was jumpy around her, and Up couldn’t understand why. Did Junior actually expect a fifteen year old girl to be much of a threat to them? She would’ve died without their help.

“You okay, Walker?” Taz’s voice broke Up’s thoughts. He glanced around, finding her leaning against a tree. Their eyes connected, and she immediately looked down, kicking snow up with her foot. The cut on her cheek was healed, now only a think pink scar.

“Up,” he corrected her, not knowing what else to say. Taz looked back at him, furrowing her eyebrows.

“What?”

“Sorry, it’s just that I haven’t used my real name since…” Up said, trailing off. Taz gave him a nod of understanding, kicking up some more snow. It clouded around her feet, settling in a thin layer on the boots she wore. They were just a couple sizes too big for her, as they had belonged to Asher before he tried to transfigure them for the girl.

“So,” she said after a moment of silence, biting her lip. “I guess we’re stuck here? What even is ‘here’ and how’d you end up in it?”

“I was wondering the same thing about you,” Up countered, taking a seat on the log again. He patted the spot next to him, inviting Taz over. She smiled, pushing off the tree and hobbling over to him. Carefully, she sat next to him, laying her slinged arm in her lap while stretching out the leg she had splinched. They sat for a moment, not knowing what to say.

“You guys don’t trust me,” Taz suddenly said, looking at Up.

“No, it’s not all of us. Junior is just a bit jumpy, that’s all,” he replied, careful on what he said.

Taz didn’t say anything for a while, letting the information sink in.

“You took my wand.”

Up fell silent, glancing towards the tent. No doubt Junior was in there, trying to find a new hiding place for Taz’s wand. When he had heard the Death Eater’s broadcast, it put him deeper into paranoia. Somehow, he had convinced himself that Taz—itty bitty Taz, the fifth year Gryffindor—was working to get them captured.

After only being awake for a couple hours, she had even noticed how apprehensive Junior was around her. In the tent, his eyes followed Taz wherever she went. He tried to convince the rest of them to keep guard over her when she would simply go to relieve herself outside. Up had argued over how unreasonable Junior sounded, managing to persuade him to just have a lookout outside the tent whenever Taz went out, putting Up where he was now.

She quickly noticed his tense motions, changing the topic. It wouldn’t do to be on any of her rescuers’ bad sides. “So, how did you guys end up living in the forest?”

Up loosened up at the change of subject. “Well, a month after school started is when things started to get really bad at Hogwarts. They went into a craze after Potter had been spotted at the Ministry; enforcing a stricter curfew, torturing information out of some of the students.” He paused, chewing the inside of his cheek and taking a deep breath. “I was trying to sneak from the Room of Requirement to the Ravenclaw common room to talk to Monroe, when I saw Ginny—Weasley’s younger sister—being followed by one of the Carrows, the brother.”

Taz’s face fell pale as she bit her lip. She tried to hide it, rubbing the bridge of her nose and cheeks.

“Something didn’t feel right,” Up continued, noticing Taz’s small motions. “Ginny was heading to the Room of Requirement to check up on the PotterWatch broadcast, it being her shift and all. No one was supposed to be out of bed.”

“What did you do?” Taz asked, holding onto every word Up said.

“Well, I knew how invested Ginny was in bringing Potter home and safe. So, I tried to distract Carrow by sending a stunning curse in his direction. It didn’t hit him, but did piss him off a lot. Ginny escaped into the Room of Requirement without being seen, and I ran. Asher found me, got Carrow off my track and pulled the guys together for an escape. We’ve been on the run ever since,” he finished.

“Geez. What a hero,” Taz half-heartedly chuckled. Up slightly cringed at the title, feeling his actions were nothing more than making sure another person didn’t die. If the Room of Requirement was found by the Death Eaters, hope could just as well be lost at Hogwarts. The outed Muggleborns would no longer have a safe place to hide. They would have no way to get provisions to the school. Hogwarts might have as well been a prison with the safe place gone.

“And your story is?” Up asked, giving Taz a soft smile.

Taz sighed, sucking in her lips and making a popping noise. She shifted her position and scratched her arm under the sling.

“I didn’t go to Hogwarts at the beginning of the year, just like loads of others. My mother refused to let me go back, as if I wanted to. The Snatchers started showing up in the main city. They raided houses, and it got tenser everyday as muggles were attacked. Finally, as if we weren’t expecting it, they stormed into our house. Mum had already set up a port key just in case, and managed to get me to it. To keep things short, only I got through, arriving in Hogsmead.” She paused, sniffling and rubbing her nose with her sleeve. Up awkwardly shifted, wondering how to comfort the girl.

“I got into the castle with some help. In the end, I—” She froze, mouthing hanging open. Taz snuck a look at Up, before returning her eyes to her sling.  “I was found, and had to escape. I tried to Apparate, and you know what happened next. I’d probably be dead without you guys.”

“Just… Just being decent wizards. I’m really glad we found you.”

“Why’s that? Am I not just another mouth to feed? Junior thinks I’m going to turn you all in.”

“No, it was something you said when we found you.”

Taz eyed Up. “And what would that be?”

“That the DA is back and running.”

“They weren’t earlier?”

Up shook his head. Sure, they had started a radio station, but, at the time, it was just for communication out of Hogwarts. No one had organized the army as it seemed futile. Half the students were gone, and Snape had eyes everywhere. It was just too dangerous.

But, times had changed. The Golden Trio had broken into Gringotts for Merlin’s sake. If anything, that put the Death Eaters at Hogwarts on edge. They’d be careful, but they were bound to mess up somewhere.

It was the perfect situation to set up an army, or at least a base for one. That could mean operations were moving faster. Thank Merlin, it meant that they still had a chance! Before he left the school, Ginny had talked over plans with a small ‘council’ that Up had been in.

First, keep Hogwarts safe, which had failed early in the year. Snape had made sure of that. They were pressed into the Room of Requirement.

Second, find some way to contact Potter from the school, even if he couldn’t respond; hence Potterwatch (Set up expertly by Monroe). These two steps had been all a part of Phase One. Shelter and communication. Safety and a way to help.

Phase Two had never fully been developed, but the idea was to learn to protect yourself, just like in Up’s fourth year when Umbridge had taken over the school. It wasn’t necessarily putting the D.A. back together—just expanding it. New recruits and new spells.

Ginny had started Phase Two.

“If the D.A. is back…” Up started, staring off at nothing in particular.

“We’ve got a real chance!” Taz finished his sentence, hope lighting up her eyes. She jumped from her seat, slightly wincing as she swung her sling, but continued nonetheless.

“We need to get a hold of Ginny.”

Chapter Text

Taz shifted awkwardly in her cot, nervously twiddling her fingers. She glanced around the empty tent, taking in the pure silence that she had been left with. After her and Up’s talk outside the tent, he had called the other guys in for a meeting. It had all been going well, with Taz listening in from across the room, until Junior spotted her and pushed for a private meeting outside. The only snippets of the conversation that she had heard were that Up wanted Monroe to work on his communication charms, similar to the fashion they had used on the radio to find Taz.

When the conversation had moved outside, Taz stood from her spot, hobbling over to the walls of the tent. She doubted Junior had bothered to put up a silencing charm on the tent itself. Taz pressed her ear to the fabric walls, straining her hearing as she tried to follow what the boys were saying.

She moved around the tent, trying to find a spot that was closest to the talking. Finally, Taz stopped, figuring it was as good as it was going to get. Again, she could only hear bits and pieces of the conversation, but nonetheless tried to make out what they were saying.

“What then?” came what Taz recognized as Junior’s voice.

A couple inaudible words muffled through the tent, and Taz pressed farther into the wall.

“—can’t bring her with us.”

“Why not?”

Taz furrowed her eyebrows. Were they talking about her? She quickly glanced around the tent, honestly wishing that she had her wand right now.

“No reason to. We don’t owe her anything.”

Taz looked down to the sling her arm was in, then down to her messed up knee. Monroe had only been able to do so much for her, none of them exactly trained in the medical magic area. He had mentioned to her that it would take a bit of rest for her to fully heal, especially since Taz had Apparated in the condition she had been in.

“We can’t just throw her out, Junior!” Taz froze as she heard yelling from outside. She felt as though someone had just punched her in the stomach. Her legs began to shake as she gasped for a breath. They… They wouldn’t kick her out, would they?

“You all know that we don’t have the supplies to feed the four of us, much less another mouth who can’t even help out because she has the Trace on her!” Junior screamed back.

Taz’s heart dropped to her stomach, taking in Junior’s words. Her good leg gave out, leaving her tumbling to the ground. She rolled herself over, sitting against the wall of the tent. Everything Junior said was true, there was no denying it. Taz ran her hand through her long hair, pulling it out of her face. Her mind spun around the fact that she might just be out in the forest again, running from Snatchers all by herself.

“You guys aren’t just going to throw her out into the cold. What was the point of saving her then?” Up said, still yelling.

“No, Up. I, um, have a better plan,” came Junior’s voice. It suddenly became quiet and Taz could no longer hear the conversation. She strained her ears, but got nothing out of it. Whatever they were talking about, she didn’t like where it had headed.

Taz breathed deeply, closing her eyes and curling her hands into fists. A moment later, she found herself loosening her makeshift sling and standing. With help from the tables and bunks to stable herself, she made her way over to the cots that the guys had been sleeping in. She peered at them, quickly finding Junior’s bunk. Taz limped over to it, lifting the mattress. Nothing. She knelt down, pushing aside things from underneath the bed in search of her wand. Nothing there either. The only thing that was under there was Junior’s backpack, which had been sealed with a charm. Taz prayed that her wand wasn’t in there as she shimmied painfully out from under the bed, finding her feet.

She searched the rest of the beds, peeking into every nook and cranny where her wand could possibly be hidden. Taz had no idea where Junior could’ve put the wand in the tent, unless…

Taz made her way to the front of the tent, curling her hands into fists to keep them from shaking. She pushed aside the tent flaps, peering outside. Looking directly to her left, she could just make out the figures of the guys a couple meters away from the tent. Junior’s back was to her and there, in his back pocket, were two wands.

The girl swore to herself, ducking back into the tent. Of course he had taken it with him. Taz knew there was nothing she could do now to get her wand back. She bit her lip as she realized she’d have to leave it behind.

“WHAT THE HELL! NO FUCKING WAY, JUNIOR.”

“Up, just listen to me. I—”

“WE’RE NOT USING HER AS BLOODY BAIT WITH SNATCHERS.”

“It’s our best chance at getting Connor back—”

A cry escaped Taz’s lips as she heard this. She bee lined for the opposite side of the tent, as far as away from the group of guys as she could get in the tent. On her way, she stopped by the kitchen area, if you could call it that. Taz began throwing open the drawers, desperately looking for anything sharp enough to cut through tent material.

There was about nothing in the drawers, much to Taz’s dismay. She bent down to the last cupboard, trying to keep her hopes up. Taz looked through the cupboard, feeling the emptiness, until she glanced in the back corner. Something shimmered, catching her eye. Taz grabbed at it, pulling out a Muggle pocket knife. Her father had had one just like it.

Taz lifted her head as she heard more yelling from outside. There wouldn’t be much more time until someone came back inside. She hobbled to the back of the tent, flicking open the pocketknife. Taz pressed it into the material, cringing as it made a tearing sound as it ripped through the fabric. She dragged it down, hoping that none of the guys could hear the sound from outside.

The rip was just big enough for Taz to fit through, unnoticed by anyone. She stuffed the pocket knife into her trousers, glancing once more back into the tent. The yelling had died down, too silent to make Taz comfortable.

Taz adjusted her sling, leaning on her good foot as she built up her strength. When she left, she’d be running through unfamiliar territory in the middle of winter with only a thin jumper and jeans. She contemplated the pros and cons of staying. On one hand, she wouldn’t freeze to death and she had a group of people with her. On the other, though, she had just heard them planning on handing her over to the Snatchers. Taz knew she could still run into Snatchers while running, but it was better than being handed over to them.

In the blink of an eye, Taz was out of the tent, sprinting as fast as she could with her weak knee, away from the guys. Her overly-large boots sunk into the snow, slowing her running more than she was pleased with. Taz pulled up the hood of her jumper and crossed her arms, clenching her teeth together as she passed through the protective shields around the camp.

The cold hit her harder than she expected, the wind incredibly strong. Those protective charms had really done a spell on the campsite. Taz wouldn’t have predicted the harsh conditions, and now wished she had thought through her plan a bit more. But she pushed on. The wind nipped at her, constantly throwing her hood off of her and pushing her into trees.

Taz grabbed onto a particularly thin tree, wrapping her good arm around it as she peered around. She looked back at the campsite, only realizing that the protection charms must make it invisible to the wandering soul. Her tracks had already been blown away by the whipping winds and, for once, Taz realized she was lost. She fixed her hood, pulling the strings to make it tighter and keep it on her head.

The weight of what she had just happened dawned on Taz as he looked around the forest. She was injured, alone, and wandless. There was nothing in her view, and Taz didn’t know how long that would last.

She gulped, letting go of the tree and marching through the snow. The only way she could go now was foreword. There was no use to standing attached to a tree. It was either this or being handed over to Snatchers and Taz knew the only way that would happen was if she was dead. There was no chance in Hell that she’d ever give herself up until she had finished what she started.

Up couldn’t believe what he was hearing from his friend. How did Junior get such an idea in his head? Putting a fifth year out as bait to try and catch a Snatcher didn’t settle well with him.

“Taz hasn’t done anything. She’s injured. Why would you even think of such a plan?”

“Connor—”

“No,” Up cut him off. “We’re done with this Connor shit. Snatchers aren’t going to bargain for the release of Connor because we capture one of them!”

“But, if we have a Snatcher we could get all their information. Places they’re searching, what’s happening on their side, and where they’re keeping the wizards they’ve Snatched. Think about it, Up!” Junior said.

Up clenched his jaw, glaring at Junior. “Did you not see her last night? Who do you think did that to her? We can’t just throw her into the crossfire off of some crazy plan you had.”

“It does sound a bit rushed,” Monroe piped up. “Even if we worked this plan out, Taz won’t be healed fully for a while.”

“Then why are we wasting our time on her? She’s not doing anything to help. She’s just a waste of space. Might as well kick her out.”

“Junior, she can’t even do magic without someone finding her. We can’t send her off defenseless,” Monroe argued.

“Well, she Apparated here and I don’t see anyone looking for her. Maybe they turned the Trace off,” Junior said, huffing. The three boys in front of him froze at those words, running over what he had just said. It all seemed to hit them at the same time. Taz was, what, fifteen? That meant she still had the Trace tracking her anytime she did magic. If she had Apparated into the forest the night before, it was only a matter of time before scouts were sent out to look for her.

“We need to move camp,” Asher said, finally offering something to the conversation. Even Junior raked over his words and came to realize what had happened. Up guessed that Snatchers would already be in the forest, probably around the spot that Taz had been before the guys had found her. Wizards and witches that weren’t an active part of the resistance probably weren’t as high a priority as others, seeing as they hadn’t come the night before. But there was no doubt that they couldn’t be here right now.

All the of the guys fell silent, each of them casting paranoid glances into the forest around them. No doubt, they needed to get out of there. If Taz had been found out at Hogwarts before she escaped, her name would definitely be on the list.

“I’ll go get Taz,” Up said. “You guys figure out our next move.” Monroe nodded as Up back away from the conversation. He turned, jogging over to the tent and ducking under the flaps. They all needed to get out of there as fast as possible. Once the Snatchers came, it’d be hard to get out unscathed—especially with the condition Taz was in.

“Taz!” Up called, glancing around the tent. There was no response as his eyes landed on the bunk area of the tent. Taz wasn’t in her cot. Instead, the blankets were thrown messily around on not just her bed, but the rest of them, too.

“What the…” Up breathed, running over to the cots. They were all upturned. The pillows were on the ground, halfway sticking out of the cases. Some of the backpacks were open, their contents spilling out.

“Taz!” Up called again. Another look around the tent and he could see that all the cabinets had been opened, exposing their emptiness. He made his way over to them, inspecting all the drawers. None of the guys had ever gotten in the habit of putting stuff into the cupboards, liking to keep their possessions in their own trunks and bags.

Except, Up had hidden something in the bottom cupboard, just once. It was for emergencies only seeing that sometimes it was difficult to quickly grab from his backpack.

Up knelt down to the cabinet, grabbing the door and pulling it farther open. His eyes immediately went to the corner he had left it in, but there was nothing there.

He stood, looking around the tent one last time. “Taz!”

Asher, Monroe, and Junior stumbled into the tent, eyes wide. “What’s wrong?”

“Taz is gone,” Up said, taking a deep breath. They gazed over to the sleeping area, gawking at the mess of everything. Junior opened his mouth, ready to snap something about being right the entire time, but Asher hushed him. He ran over to his bag, one of the ones that had been spilled out on the floor.

“There’s nothing missing,” Asher reported. He took out his wand, waving it over the mess. The objects picked themselves up, going back into the bag.

“What was she looking for?”

“I don’t know, but my pocket knife is missing,” Up said.

“I… I think she was looking for her wand,” Junior said, pulling the two wands out of his back pocket. He gazed at Taz’s before stuffing it back in his pocket.

“Makes sense,” Monroe commented. “But why did she run? Especially without a wand. She’s going to get herself killed out there.”

Junior and Up paled as they caught each other’s eye. If Taz had somehow heard the commotion outside, would she run? Of course she would.

“Wait a second,” Asher said, making his way to the back of the tent. He peered at a space on the wall, sticking his hand out. Asher felt the rip, pushing through the hole and found himself outside the tent. Looking down, he noticed the boot prints leading away from the camp. They cut off at the edge of the barrier, into what looked to be a growing snowstorm.

“Oh shit,” Asher muttered, crawling back into the tent. The guys had formed a semicircle around Asher, anxiously waiting to find out what happened.

“She left,” he breathed. “Cut right through here, with Up’s pocket knife I’m guessing, and ran straight into the forest.

“But, she’s injured, and there could be Snatchers out there looking for her,” Up said, eyes wide. “We need to go after her.”

“No!” Junior shouted. “She left on her own. We don’t have to go after her.”

“She wouldn’t have left if you hadn’t wanted to use her as bait!”

Junior fell silent, knowing Up was right. Up looked at each of his friends, all of them nodding in agreement. It was too much for the small girl to handle. She was already injured, wandless, in the midst of an impending snowstorm, and may or may not have Snatchers on her tail.

“The longer we wait, the worse the situation is going to get, you guys,” Asher said.

Up nodded. “I’m going to go find her.”

There was silence as Up prepped himself, casting a couple simple charms to keep himself warmer under his jumper, also giving himself better vision.

“Up,” Junior said. “You can’t go out there by yourself.”

“Then bloody come with me,” Up snapped, turning and poking his head outside the entrance of the tent. He stepped outside, gripping his wand tight in his hand as he looked into the forest. The request had been completely sarcastic, so Up was surprised to see Junior step out beside him. He gave Up a weak smile, one that was meant to comfort himself rather than Up.

Up faced the tent once more, speaking directly to Asher and Monroe. “Pack up everything and meet us back at the lake. If we’re not there in thirty minutes, you know what to do.”

“Yeah, yeah. Nearest town. We know, Up,” Asher said, sarcastically saluting to the boy. “Now go out and find her.” Up cracked a smile, nodding to Monroe before turning back to face the vast forest. Without another word, he pulled his hood up, marching through the barrier as Junior followed behind him.

The snow and wind had let up slightly, making it easier for Taz to drag her legs through the snow, but not easy enough. The cold had numbed most of her nerves, so the pain in her knee didn’t bother her as badly, but nothing saved her slinged arm whenever gusts of wind threw the small girl into trees. She cradled the arm close to her torso, cursing every time pain stung through it.

Taz had lost track of how long she had been trudging through the forest, just praying to an unknown god that she wasn’t walking in circles. After a while, the trees had all begun to look the same; Large, ominous monsters that towered over the girl. Their bare branches were claws reaching down to her.

Taz shook the thoughts from her head. She had more pressing matters than how scary the trees were looking. The girl shivered once more, feeling the metal pocket knife pressing into her abdomen. The thing was ridiculously cold due to Taz’s lack of body heat. She wished that she had grabbed one of the guys’ cloaks before leaving.

“Stupid, stupid,” Taz muttered to herself, sticking her hands into her armpits for any kind of warmth. Maybe if the girl had thought through her plan a bit more, she wouldn’t be stuck in the situation at hand.

But, no. Taz knew she needed to keep pushing on. There had to be a town around here somewhere, because why would she have Apparated here in the first place? That was the one bit of information that bugged her. She had no idea what had prompted her to Apparate into the middle of a forest rather than, say, one of her friend’s safe houses.

Looking around, Taz knew that she didn’t recognize the place whatsoever. There was something nagging her in the back of her head, but she just couldn’t figure it out. Maybe there was a town somewhere nearby that she had been aiming for? Taz couldn’t figure it out. When she had Apparated, she had been in a lot of pain already, plus the fact that she was running for her life. The village she had been in had had protective charms around it to keep anyone from Apparating in or out while within the boundaries. The only thought in her mind had been to get away to somewhere safe, not exactly specifying where to land. No wonder she had splinched herself so badly.

The girl clenched her teeth as she thought about trying to Apparate again, but dismissed the thought. Right now, she was in worse shape than she had been before, with her leg and all, and the thought of risking even more Splinching pained her. Even if it didn’t happen as badly as it had done the night before, she probably wouldn’t be found as quickly as Monroe and Up had found her.

She frowned as her mind wandered to saviors the night before. It had almost been perfect for her, until that idiota Junior had opened his mouth, ruining everything. She had almost started to warm up to being around Up. Of course, Taz had seen him loads of times before in the Gryffindor common room, but he had always been surrounded by his friends. Never in a million years had she thought that he’d be the kind risk his neck for a fifth year like he had the night before.

Had it not been for Junior, Taz would’ve thought about staying with the guys, but he unnerved her too much. In the short amount of time that Taz had stayed in their tent she had noticed that the boy would not stop glaring at her. And then he had brought up throwing her to her certain doom. Taz just didn’t feel safe being in the same area as him, and the girl now knew to listen to her gut.

It didn’t take long for Taz’s bravado began to shed away, leaving her with a bothersome weariness. Each agonizing step made the girl want to close her eyes and rest a while. Her legs shook, feeling as though they were going to snap at any second as she pushed through the wind and snow. Taz actually wouldn’t mind getting some sleep if there wasn’t a mild snowstorm whipping at her from every side. If she could just find a snow bank or a ditch of some kind, she might be able to rest a while.

Taz stepped behind a larger tree, leaning up against it. She was glad for momentary relief from the strong winds and walking on her bad knee, but it only left her to feel all the pain from before. Aches had begun to form on her shoulder as it supported the piece of cloth that Monroe had used as a sling. Needles poked into her knee, sending pain spiking up her leg. She sunk farther to the ground as the pain began to pick up. Without the constant nipping of the cold, her nerves began to wake, and that wasn’t doing her any favors.

Taz tried to stand, but only fell to the base of the tree as she tried to straighten out her knee. The girl gasped, staring at her leg.

No, no, no, no, she thought, raising a tender hand to her mouth. Her lip quivered as she realized the severity of her injury.

Suddenly, a voice carried in the wind, finding Taz.

“Taz! Taz, where are you?” shouted the voice. It took the girl a moment until she recognized who it belonged to. Taz propped herself against the tree, peering around. There, to her right, she could just barely see faint lights accompanied by two figures.

She fell back into her spot, squeezing her eyes shut and letting her head fall against the tree. Nothing seemed to be working in her favor. Taz grabbed the tree with her free hand, straining to pull herself to her feet. When the guys found her she didn’t want to look like a weak little girl. She wanted to keep some of her dignity.

Using the tree to keep herself propped up, Taz waiting for Up and whoever he was with to find her. She had no idea what she was going to do after this, though. Going back to the guys would just be embarrassing.

Taz winced as she accidentally put pressure on her bad leg, leaning into the tree to keep herself from falling over.

“Mierda,” Taz muttered, a string of Spanish escaping her mouth. “Rodilla estúpido—”

“UP, DIVE!” shouted a voice, Taz immediately recognizing Junior. What was he doing—?

“Stupefy!”

“Protego!”

A blast exploded behind Taz as the spells bounced off the protective shield. She covered her head with her arm, getting knocked off balance and falling to the ground painfully. Taz rolled to the side, just able to see past the tree to all the commotion. There, right behind her, was Up and Junior, wands up and aimed at three disgruntled looking men who mirrored them. They stood about five meters from each other, daring the other to take a closer step.

Taz bit her tongue to keep herself from calling out when she noticed more Snatchers hiding in the woods.

“Drop the wands boys,” said one of the larger, darker skinned men with a heavy accent, stepping forward. To say the least, the man looked like a rat. His clothes were torn and dirty and his hair was unkempt. From head to toe, it looked like these men hadn’t seen the sunlight for a while.

“Right after you,” Junior spat back, only raising his wand higher. As he spoke, Taz watched as the hiding Snatchers slowly stepped out of the woods, standing in the open. There had to be at least five or six of them, not counting the three that already faced Up and Junior.

The boys realized they were outnumbered, but didn’t lower their wands. Taz watched Up count heads, his eyes wandering around the area. He glanced in Taz's direction, looking for any other Snatchers before glancing down and locking eyes with the girl. Up blinked, looking away to continue counting.

“Is this supposed to intimidate us?” he asked the Snatcher, raising an eyebrow. “Eight Snatchers to take in two wizards? Hardly seems necessary.”

“Yet here we are. I’m going to enjoy this.”

“Wanna put your talk to the test?” Up snapped, standing taller after having seen Taz. Junior wildly looked at Up, his hand slightly trembling. The taller boy just nodded. Junior made his way around Up, standing nearly back to back with his friend.

The Snatcher, a smug grin growing on his face, glanced back to his group.

“Honestly, boys,” he said, returning to them. “You should’ve listened when you had the chance.”

Without hesitation, the Snatcher flicked his wand, jets of light flying at Up and Junior. The rest of the Snatchers followed, sending one spell after another at the duo. They dodged the attacks almost rhythmically, moving as one, keeping their backs to each other. The both of them cast a shielding charm as spells and curses flew at them, spinning the next second and sending attacks at the disgruntled men.

Taz’s jaw dropped as she watched them duel. Soon, Snatchers began to go down, and there wasn’t even a scratch on either of the boys yet. The girl wondered how many times they had fought together. It had been five months since the Ministry had fallen, and here were these two sixth years, taking out a team of Snatchers.

She ducked, covering her head as spells rebounded in her direction, hitting the ground beside her. Peeking back up, Taz counted the remaining Snatchers. It seemed that the two boys had taken out four of their opponents, leaving half the group left. They weren’t surrounded anymore, so Junior swiveled around to face the Snatchers with Up.

The dueling came to a halt, the men just glaring each other down as they breathed, chests rising and falling rapidly. Junior cracked a smile, looking separately at the standing Snatchers. The leader was still up, clenching his jaw as his anger showed from head to toe.

Junior huffed, his hands no longer shaking as he said, “You done, bo—”

“Crucio!” the Snatcher screamed. Red smoke curled out of the tip of his wand, encompassing a growing ball of electricity. It shot out towards the boys, lightning in their direction.

“Protego duo!” Up and Junior shouted at the same time. A bright shield surrounded them, closing off just as the red beam hit the barrier. It crackled a moment, exploding and traveling along the barrier as it couldn’t find a way to its intended targets. The Snatcher kept pushing, though, raising his wand high in the air and taking a step towards Up and Junior. The boys had clamped both their hands onto their wands, their arms shaking as they tried to keep the shield strong.

Suddenly, the red lightning stopped exploding against the barrier. In what seemed like slow motion, the curse rebounded off the round of the shield. It turned, finding itself a new target in the snow. Up’s head turned as he watched the curse bounce right off the shield, heading straight for Taz on the ground. Her torso stuck out while the bottom half of her body was hidden behind a large tree.

It struck Taz square in the chest.

Her screams sounded as though a thousand banshees were shrieking the death of a madman. It pierced the air, topping the whistling of the wind. Up had never heard someone sound so agonizingly in pain as much as he did now, watching as his protection spell wounded the small girl.

Taz convulsed, kicking and punching the air wildly as small, stinging stones pelted against every inch of her skin. It felt as if someone was dragging her by the hair through a burning rock bed. All sense of her surroundings disappeared as the curse consumed her entire, already frail body. Taz couldn’t take it, every part of her feeling like it was going to explode. She couldn’t even hear herself screaming anymore.

And then, just like that, the pain stopped. The girl coughed, feeling like her stomach was going to come out her mouth. She didn’t even have the strength to lift herself off the ground. Taz just rested there, taking in every second that she was free of the pain.

The lead Snatcher who had cast the spell looked dumbstruck at the heap of girl in the snow, furrowing his eyebrows as he studied her. He looked from her back to the two boys. Junior was just as surprised as the Snatchers to see the girl sprawled on the ground.

Up made a move towards Taz, hoping the Snatchers stayed distracted long enough for him to get Taz out of their line of fire.

“Ah, ah, ah,” tutted the Snatcher, menacingly pointing his wand from Up and Junior to Taz. The girl had managed to somewhat pull herself together, still recovering from the curse. She propped herself up on her elbow on her good arm, shaking.

The Snatchers next to the leader still had their wands trained on the two boys. The leader waved at his last goon, pointing to Taz.

“Looks like we found our little underage witch,” the leader sneered. The fourth Snatcher, a particularly gangly man with dark hair, wove through the trees and towards Taz.

“What’cha want me to do to ‘er, Angulo?” the Snatcher asked.

“Don’t you touch her you—” Up started, but the leader, Angulo, cut him off with a silencing charm.

“I would keep your trap shut, kid,” Angulo said. “Unless, of course, you want something worse to happen to your friend over there.”

Up stayed still, silent already due to the charm on him. Angulo smirked. With the flick of his wand, he disarmed both of the boys. Junior gasped as his wand flew from his hand, flying to the Snatchers landing in Angulo’s hand.

“That’s better,” he said, pocketing the wands. “Now, where were we? Oh, yes. Quinn, you were about to teach our little wench here the consequences of underage magic outside of school.” The Quinn man nodded, turning to Taz. She was still recovering from the first hit and sure as Hell wasn’t ready for the second one.

This one wasn’t as strong, but left her in a coughing fit after only a couple seconds of exposure to the curse. Her arm gave out from under her and Taz fell into the snow, crying out in pain as she arched her back.

Up watched, silent and rooted to the spot. His mind was racing, trying to think of any way to stop the torture, but came up blank. The two Snatchers still had their wands on himself and Junior, and it didn’t look like Angulo was going to call them off anytime soon. He winced as Taz was hit a third time with the curse, her screaming shooting daggers in his chest.

“Wait, Quinn,” Angulo said, holding up his hand as the man prepared a fourth hit. “We don’t want to completely fry her brain. She still needs to fetch us some Galleons.”

Up grimaced at the words, but glad that the torture had come to a stop. He cast a glance in Taz’s direction. She wasn’t moving except for a twitch in her hand. The girl laid on her back, staring blankly at the sky.

Quinn turned to Angulo, clearly annoyed that he had been interrupted. The two got into some sort of argument, completely pulling their attention away from the situation at hand. In the moment, Quinn’s back was to Taz. She rolled her head towards the two boys, mouthing something in their direction. Up barely made it out, but read her lips. “My wand.”

Up furrowed his eyebrows, looking questioningly at the girl. Her eyes flicked to Junior, whose face lit up. Slowly, without catching anyone’s attention, his right hand traveled down his waist. He pulled up the hem of the back of his shirt, revealing to Up the wand in his back pocket.

Taz faked a smile, remnants of the curse still in her system. She turned back to her own pants, feeling for the cold spot near her abdomen. Silently, she stuck her hand into her pants, grabbing the silver pocket knife that was slightly sticking out. Up immediately recognized the object, watching as Taz swiftly flicked the knife open. In a flash, she pulled all her energy together and leapt towards Quinn. She stabbed the two inch blade into his calf, twisting it.

Quinn cried out, falling to the ground. A split second later, Up had leaned over to Junior, grabbing the wand from his pocket and removed the silencing charm with a wave.

“Stupefy!” The boys watched as the last of the Snatchers went down, frozen figures in the snow.

With a quick wave of the wand, Up placed the silencing charm on the screaming and swearing Quinn on the ground, disarming him in the process. The two boys hurried over to Taz, who had once again fallen to the ground in pain. Though the curse was not on her anymore, she could still feel the burns it had left. She hadn't even noticed that her arm had come out of the sling.

Up fell beside her, tossing the wand to the ground as he looked down at the girl. Junior took a look at the girl, shaking his head and making his way to the stunned Snatchers. He pulled their wands out of the snow, gathering them up. He tossed Up’s wand over to the boy, nodding.

“We need to get going before they wake up,” Junior said, casting a glance at Taz.

“Can you walk?” Up asked Taz, watching as she awkwardly sat up. He reached his arm down, offering it to the girl. She took it, wobbling as she pulled herself to a standing position. Taz slowly put pressure onto the leg, feeling a small pinch of pain. It wasn’t too bad. She took a hesitant step forward, subconsciously grabbing a hold of Up’s arm to keep herself on her feet.

“What are we going to do with him?” Junior asked, wand pointed at Quinn. The man was cradling his leg, mouth opening and closing with empty air.

“I don’t care,” Up said. He cast a nervous glance at the stirring Snatchers. “We just need to get out of here.”

Chapter Text

Taz grumbled as she limped through the woods, Up at her side with Junior up ahead, levitating the frozen body of Quinn. The minute that they had started walking, the girl had clamped her mouth shut and refused to answer any of Up’s pestering questions. She realized quickly that the only thing he actually cared about was badgering her, trying to figure out why she had run.

Junior also fell silent, making no attempt to speak to either of the two people trailing behind him. His eyes had locked onto the Snatcher at the end of his wand, and all his concentrations had gone to floating the man and making sure he didn’t wake up.

To be completely honest, the silence was incredibly uncomfortable and no one enjoyed it, but none of them would let that on. Of course, Up would be talking if he could, but the only person he felt like doing so with had stayed silent after everything he said.

He snuck a glance at Taz who had her eyes glued to the ground, her arms crossed. She was still adorned in the clothes they had found her in the night before. The thin jumper barely seemed warm and her jeans were pretty much torn from the knee down. Her black hair was still a mess, tied together with a rubber band that the girl had found.

Taz was an utter mess. No matter how much she lied about it, the dark circles under her eyes gave her away. Up knew that she thought she would’ve survived on her own out here, but he wasn’t exactly sure. There was a village nearby, but not for miles. Hours of walking wouldn’t have done the girl any good.

Up returned his gaze to his own path, watching his breath crystalize before his eyes. His grey boots kicked up the soft snow.

Suddenly, Taz let out a shiver next to him. She quickly sucked it back in and wrapped her jumper tighter. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the taller boy look over at her. He looked away before their eyes connected.

“You cold?” he murmured, just out of earshot of Junior. His didn’t look at Taz, instead watching his boots kick up the snow. She didn’t respond at first, taking her time, finally shaking her head ‘no’.

They got five feet before Up spoke again, in the same hushed tone.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes,” Taz snapped, finally looking up to the boy. She narrowed her eyes at him. “I’m f-fine.” He barely caught her stuttering on the last word, but elected to ignore it. Up frowned, taking a deep breath.

Fine, he thought. He punched his hands into his coat pocket and stared straight ahead. Taz had slightly been caught off guard at the boy’s reaction, but found it fitting. How else was he going to react when she put so much edge on her words?

She shook it off. In all honesty, the small girl was actually quite cold, but it wasn’t as bad as it had been earlier. Without all the wind and constant downfall of snow trying to bury her, the weather was somewhat tolerable. Actually, seeing as how she had just felt as though a thousand knives were digging themselves into her at the exact same time, the cold shouldn’t have been a bother. Taz was surprised that she was even walking, for that matter.

During her short time at Hogwarts, she had seen what the Cruciatus curse did to students her age. Every night, there was at least one student brought into the Room of Requirement to heal, begging to not be forced back out there. It was hard watching them being kicked out by morning, but they couldn’t risk it. Too many student disappearing and the Carrows would start cracking down on all the students, harsher than before.

Taz herself had been lucky not to come during the beginning of the school year. The DA members would never let her take a step out of the Room of Requirement. Snape knew that there were ways out of Hogwarts, but he hadn’t realized there were ways in, too. She had spent most of her days sneaking through the hidden tunnels and bringing back supplies from the various citizens in Hogsmead. It was the only job they would give her. Otherwise, Taz thought she would’ve gone insane.

They had to walk a bit faster than Taz had anticipated, but they arrived at the edge of a frozen lake within ten minutes. Junior left the Snatcher’s body floating, making his way to the very edge of the ice. Taz watched with curiosity, squinting as she watching the brunet. He studied the lake’s surface for a moment before tapping his wand against it. The small spot suddenly glowed a bright golden color before dimming.

Before Taz could ask what had happened, a rustling made her turn her head. She watched as Monroe and Asher stumbled out of the brush, appearing as if they had been there the entire time.

“Hey, look who’s back,” Asher said. Taz couldn’t tell if the boy meant it sarcastically or not, ignoring the remark nonetheless.

“Oh,” Asher added, studying the floating Snatcher. “Is he dead?” The boy stepped closer, gently poking his wand against Quinn’s side. Quinn twitched slightly, Asher quickly jumping back.

“Yeah, no,” Up said, grumbling. “Junior finally got his Snatcher prisoner.” The sandy haired boy narrowed his eyes, glaring out of the corner of his eye.

“We’re bringing him with us?” Monroe asked, observing the body. He shook his head, turning to Up. “I don’t know, man. I’m already pushing it by Apparating the five of us by myself. Added another just is too risky.”

Taz suddenly perked up. “Wait, five?”

“We’re not leaving you here,” Up said to her.

“Well, who said I was coming with you?” The girl crossed her arms and shifted her weight. She raised an eyebrow, looking at each of the boys. Dumbstruck, none of them moved.

“So you’re just planning on staying here?” Asher said, breaking the silence.

Taz rolled her eyes. “Of course not. I can Apparate, unlike three of you,” she stated, feeling as though this information was obvious. “Plus, there’s no reason for me to come with you. Like Monroe said, he can’t Apparate all of us.”

It was silent again, someone trying to come up with anything to say. The boys agreed, Taz wasn’t wrong, but it wasn’t right to just leave her on her own.

Surprisingly, it was Junior who spoke up.

“We just saved your life!” he exclaimed, throwing his hands up. Suddenly, the Snatcher’s body fell to the ground, landing painfully, but they ignored it. “We just saved your life and you’re going to run off again?”

“Discúlpeme?”

Junior stalked dangerously close to the girl, fuming. Words seemed to just spill out of his mouth as he glared at the small girl.

“I mean, from where I was standing, it looked like the Snatcher team was about ten seconds away from finding you.”

“Hey, I didn’t ask two idiotas to come after me,” Taz defended. “I could’ve handled myself.” The lie came easily, not wanting to prove the indignant boy right.

He laughed. “No, you couldn’t,” Junior said, his voice low but mocking of the girl.

“How would you know? You’re the one who took my damn wand and wanted to use me as fucking bait.”

Up felt his chest tighten as he held his breath. So she had heard them arguing. He had expected this much, but this seemed to cement the idea in his head. Up could barely believe it. Not even a day after they take her in, and she felt as though it wasn’t safe to stay with them.

“At least I’m not throwing myself randomly around the countryside and hoping someone picks me up. News flash, that’s not brave, that’s stupid,” Junior retorted.

“That’s what you think I was doing, esé?” Taz snorted, her tone suddenly changing. “Let’s talk about bravery when you give me my wand back.” She stumbled towards Junior, shoving him back roughly.

“WOAH,” Up said, jumping forward. He stepped between the two, opening his palms to a pissed Junior. Up glanced from Taz to Junior, trying to figure out his next move. There was a collective sound of everyone pulling out their wands and raising them when Junior suddenly pulled his out, aiming straight for Taz. Up immediately stepped in front of the girl, blocking her from Junior’s sight.

“Okay, calm down.” He had his own wand lifted, slightly shaking as he pointed it straight at one of his best friends. “Just calm down, Junior.”

The brunet huffed, his chest rising up and down. He clenched his jaw, and Up felt as though Junior’s glare was burning right through him.

“Please don’t make me do this,” Up pleaded. “Just don’t do anything rash.”

Junior pressed his lips into a tight line. He averted his gaze from Up, eyeing Asher and Monroe, wands up and pointed at him.

Taz just glared at Up’s back, hands balled into fists at her sides. A stream of swears was filtering its way through her mind as she impatiently waited for something to happen. She tried to calm herself down, closing her eyes and breathing deeply.

“Up—“

“Junior,” Asher suddenly cut off, stepping towards the brunet. He ran his free hand through his red hair, wand still raised. “She doesn’t owe us anything. Let it go, mate.”

After a moment, Junior let his arm drop, but kept his wand in his hand. The others copied, the tension in the air quickly disappearing.

“See, we’re all good now,” Up coaxed. He turned his head and sent a look to Taz, who gave him a reluctant nod. “Let’s just put this behind us and get going.”

Like Hell that Taz would put that behind her, but she reminded herself that she had to pick and choose her battles. She sent a glare at Junior, who unsurprisingly copied.

“But,” Monroe said, waving his hand through the air to get everyone’s attention, “there’s still the problem with Apparating. I just don’t think I can safely Apparate this many bodies confidently. Do we honestly have to bring him?” Monroe motioned to Quinn, who still lay sprawled on the ground.

“Yes.”

Monroe groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose and sighing.

“How ‘bout you ask Mexico here to help,” Junior sneered. “She seems confident on her magic.” Monroe looked up to Taz, offering her a smile and a pleading look.

Dios mío, Taz thought. She watched as Up looked to her, biting his lip.

He stepped closer to her, and, in a hushed tone, said, “Look. I know Asher said that you don’t owe us anything, and you don’t, but we could really use your help right now. After this, I promise—promise—that you can go on with your life and you never have to see us again.”

“Never?”

“Never,” Up repeated.

Taz barely hesitated before answering. It was too simple of an offer to reject.

“I’ll need my wand,” she said. With a glare from Up, Junior reluctantly slipped it out of his back pocket and handed the stick to Up. The sandy haired boy gently held it out to the girl until she took it.

For a moment, just a moment, Taz thought about Apparating away and continuing on her way. It would’ve been easy at this point, but something inside of her stopped herself.

“But, don’t I still have the Trace on me?” Taz asked Monroe, a worried look on her face.

“It won’t work if I’m doing the work,” the boy said. Taz held her wand loosely between her fingers, twirling it with ease. She gave a look to Up who offered a shrug.

“Okay, where to?” the girl finally said.

“My sister’s place,” Asher spoke up. “Last I heard from her, it’s safe there. And I think she’ll have a place for him,” he said, motioning to the blond Snatcher.

“Sounds good,” Monroe said. He waved everyone to step closer together into a circle. Junior flicked his wand, dragging Quinn’s body across the snow. Once at his feet, he grabbed the man’s shoulder with a disgusted look. Monroe stepped around them and placed himself next to Taz. Everyone fell into place, holding onto each other’s arms and shoulders.

“Okay, Taz. Just think about Apparating, but don’t think of a place, alright?” Monroe instructed as he put a hand on her small shoulder.

“You ever done this before?” she asked, biting the inside of her cheek. Monroe’s face slightly fell.

“No,” he stammered, “but I have read about it.”

“Don’t make me regret this, Monroe,” Asher said as he tucked his wand into his back pocket.

Monroe didn’t reply, instead taking a deep breath. Taz copied, looking down at her oversized books. Just think of Apparating. Apparating. That was easy. She tuned out Monroe counting down from three and tried to focus herself. In a moment, Taz felt as though her breath had been knocked out of her as the uncomfortable spinning started. Her hands curled as she tried to focus.

It was all over in a second. Taz caught herself from falling, but watching as some of the boys stumbled. Junior doubled over, dropping Quinn’s body in the street, coughing hard. Asher closed his eyes and rubbed his temples, swearing under his breath.

“Um, Taz, you mind?” Up said from beside the girl. She glanced at him as he held up his hand, which had hers in it. Taz flushed, quickly releasing her tight grip and dropping her hand. Awkwardly, she stuffed it into her sweatshirt pocket and took a sudden interest in the surroundings.

They stood in the middle of an empty road, small houses lining either side. Asher looked around, studying each house carefully. He finally landed on the light blue one on the corner of the street. He pointed, motioning for everyone to follow him.

“Wow,” Asher said as he pushed open the fence gate in awe, furrowing his eyebrows. “I know I haven’t been here in ages, but it sure has… changed.” He looked back at the group following him. He shook it off, continuing up the pathway to the porch.

It seemed that the others agreed as they looked at the house with confusion. Taz didn’t realize what the big deal was. The house looked like any other, nothing too out of the ordinary.

Asher stopped a couple feet from the door, hand hovering over the button for the bell. He clenched his jaw, pulling away and instead rapping his knuckles against the wooden door.

“Hey, Char!” the red head called through the door, greeted only by silence. He knocked again, getting antsy. “Charlene! It’s Asher!”

As silence passed once more, Asher started rocking back on his feet, biting his lip.

“Maybe she’s not home—” Up said, only to abruptly be cut off by the large wooden door swinging open and revealing the red face of a blonde girl, a bit older than all of them. She had both hands on the door frame and side of the door, a forced smile on her face as she studied the six bodies on her porch. The blonde was breathing heavily, seeming as though she had just gone for a run.

It only took her a second to recognize the boy in front of her before she screamed “Asher!” and threw her arms around him. He hugged back, pulling the girl close and lifting her into the air.

“Asher, it’s so nice to see you,” the blonde said as she fell out of the hug. Her Scottish accent was almost as thick as Asher’s, Taz noticed. The blonde turned, noticing everyone else standing around them. “Up! Monroe, and Junior! It’s so nice to see you boys again,” the girl said, pushing through and giving each of them a small hug. She suddenly stopped when she saw Taz and Quinn’s body, confusion written across her face. The blonde turned to Asher, who meekly replied with a smile and a shrug.

“We need a favor.”

* * *

What Taz had predicted as the run-of-the-mill, peppy cheerleader blonde was in fact quite the opposite when Asher explained to his sister what had happened with the Snatchers finding them. Charlene, as she had introduced herself, sat on her couch with her mouth pressed into a flat line and legs tightly crossed as Asher spoke. The red head said every word with caution, cringing as his sister’s expression hardened.

“And, so I thought this was the safest place to go after it all,” he said, seeming to regret the choice of going to his sister’s house more and more.

Charlene blinked, eyes narrowed at her brother who sank further and further into the couch cushions. She didn’t say anything for the longest time, merely recrossing her legs in the opposite direction. Taz felt like the tension could be cut with a knife as she awkwardly sat in the group. She bowed her head and found a sudden interest in her shoelaces.

“Well,” Charlene finally spoke. She took a deep breath and looked at each of the five people individually, her expression softening as she glanced at the small black haired girl. Charlene cleared her throat and smoothed out her jeans before looking back to her brother.

“You were smart to come here,” the blonde said. “They just did a sweep of this area so there won’t be any checks for a while.” Without directly saying so, everyone unanimously understood the meaning behind ‘they’.

“So, we can stay?”

“Of course you can,” Charlene said. She uncrossed her legs and seemed to finally loosen up. “It’s just I haven’t heard from you in so long and…” The girl trailed off, biting her lip as she looked at Asher.

“I know. I’m sorry, Char.”

“Great. So, um, what’s next?” the blonde asked, her hands falling into her lap. “I mean, what do you suppose we do with him?” She motioned to the dining room where Quinn was ruggedly tied to a chair, still out cold from another stunning spell.

Taz finally looked up, cringing as she saw the Snatcher’s body sitting limp, almost dead except for the slight rise and fall of his chest. Junior had tried to come up with a rope binding spell, but it had only ended in a thin rope being conjured and loosely draping itself over the man.

Everyone fell quiet for a moment, expectantly glancing at Junior.

The boy struggled for words, clenching his teeth together. “Just give me a couple of days to talk to him, alright? I can handle it.”

Charlene kicked herself to her feet, standing in front of everyone. “Well, I’m going to start making dinner for… for seven?” She counted heads, hesitating on the Snatcher that sat in the dining room.

“And I’m gonna need him moved out of my cooking area,” she nodded, clearly uncomfortable with the situation. Junior jumped to his feet, waving his wand and lifting Quinn into the air.

“Last room on the left good?” the brunet asked as he made his way towards the hallway, dragging the Snatcher’s body and chair with him.

“Third around the corner.”

“Got it,” Junior said, quickly disappearing around the bend of the hallway. Everyone seemed to let out an exhale when Quinn disappeared from their sight. Even unconscious, Quinn put everyone on edge. If the events from the forest hadn’t convinced them to be cautious around the man, waking him may do the trick.

“You guys can take any empty room you want. This place is huge,” the blonde chuckled as she walked towards the kitchen. “Just try and stay away from the family portrait in the back. They like to make noise at night and I can’t seem to take it down.”

“Thanks, Charlene,” Up said, shooting the girl a smile. They all stood, swiping their bags off their various spots on the ground and threw everything over their shoulders.

“Taz, could you grab that duffel?” Monroe asked, lifting what looking like the tent bag. He pointed at the black bag that sat next to Taz, offering the girl a smile.

Taz looked up, nodding once she saw the bag.  She hiked it over her shoulder and stood, having trouble staying balanced as she swayed. Quickly, the girl caught herself by holding onto the back of the couch. She didn’t say anything, only glancing at her knee where she had Splinched herself.

Monroe had worry written across his face as Taz looked back up at him, but she faked a smile.

“Where to?” she managed to say, stepping towards the hallway. Monroe seemed like he wanted to say something else, but the boy shook his head and waved it off. Taz followed him as they wove their way around the furniture and walked into the hallway. They made their way through the house, Taz realizing that Charlene hadn’t been wrong when she had said the place was huge. There were at least four bedrooms, and that was just the first leg of the hallway. She was curious about the rest of the house, making a mental note to check the rest of it out after helping move everything.

Monroe chose one of the first rooms, dropping the tent bag onto the ground and taking the black duffel from Taz, setting it on the bed. The girl went back and forth between the front of the house and various rooms, ignoring the pain in her leg as she helped move bags.

Just as she picked up the last little drawstring bag from the dining room table, Charlene came bustling out of the kitchen with an oven mitt on one hand and her wand in the other.

“Taz, right?” Charlene said, back to being full of energy as Taz had seen out on the porch. Taz barely had time to nod before the blonde grabbed her arm and dragged her into the kitchen.

“Ok, I need you to stir this,” Charlene babbled, letting go of Taz’s arm and lifting a small pot off the counter and handing it to the girl. She took it, peering into the mess of translucent pink liquid in the pot.

“With what?” Taz said, an eyebrow raised as she looked back at Charlene.

“You wand,” she simply said, turning to a cookbook that floated at the blonde’s eye level. Charlene squinted at the tiny text, reading it off to Taz.

“Just wave in a circular motion and say ‘Turbatio’, and I’ll stand here and say…” The girl leaned closer to the pages, trying to make out the writing.

Taz shifted awkwardly from foot to foot, biting her lip.

“I can’t.”

“No, it’s simple, don’t worry. If only I could read this stupid—”

“No, I mean I actually can’t do magic,” Taz blurted out. Charlene turned away from the book, eyebrows furrowed together. “I’m only fifteen.”

The blonde took a moment to comprehend what Taz had just said, realization dawning on her face. Taz, on the other hand, felt her face warming, not understanding why she was so embarrassed about the subject.

“Wait, then…” Charlene said. “Oh,” she faltered. Taz merely nodded, biting at the inside of her cheeks.

“No, it’s okay.” Charlene turned away and pulled open a drawer. She retrieved a wooden spoon and handed it to Taz. “You can just use this instead. I’m just used to, well, you know.” The black haired girl bashfully took the spoon and began stirring the liquid. She tried to focus on what it could possibly turn into and how it related to cooking at all, but her mind continuously wandered. Obviously, Taz knew she couldn’t stay. Up had promised that she never had to see them again. Though, as she thought about it, that put her in a tough situation.

Taz had no set destination in mind. When she had been forced to leave the school, the one thing on her mind had been to just get out of there. Now, she was out had had nowhere to go.

The girl pulled herself out of her thoughts as she noticed Charlene waving her wand, muttering a spell as she looked at the floating book. Taz didn’t pay much attention to the words, just watching in awe as the wand flicked through the air. There was a flash of white and a popping noise, and suddenly Taz wasn’t holding a pot anymore. It had transformed into a plain white platter with little pink and white cakes shaped like cauldrons resting on top of it.

Charlene smiled to herself, squealing as she rushed forward and took the platter from Taz, setting it down on the nearest counter.

“Are those—”

“Peppermint cauldron cakes? Yes,” Charlene said, cutting of Taz. “Here, try one.” The blonde swiped up a cake, bigger than her palm, and handed it to Taz. Graciously the girl took it, the smell of peppermint already starting to fill the room. She took a bite and felt the chocolate filling melt in her mouth, mixing in with the cake and changing into a candy cane sweetness.

“How are they? I haven’t had an excuse to make them in forever, and they’re Asher’s favorite during Christmas time, so I just had to,” Charlene babbled, taking a cake for herself before Taz could answer.

To be totally honest, Taz loved the cakes. She hadn’t had something even relatively as delicious as them in long while. Actually, she couldn’t remember the last time she had something remotely good tasting.

“They’re great,” Taz said through chews. “Can I have another?” she asked tentatively. Charlene nodded and Taz went for a second cake.

“There’s going to be so much more where that comes from. While you guys are here, I am really going to go out on my cooking,” the blonde said. She turned away just as Taz froze, halfway into a bite.

“I bet the guys will like that,” Taz coughed out, swallowing the bite of cake rather quickly.

“And you,” Charlene continued, swiveling and waving a spatula at the fifteen year old, “are going to be in for a surprise that I know I have to show you.”

“I’d love to see it,” Taz said, glancing quickly at the clock. It was already five and the horizon had covered up what was left of the sun. “But, you know I’m leaving tomorrow, right?”

A wave of confusion washed over Charlene, head tilted slightly to the side. “But you guys just got here.”

“Yeah, I’m leaving.”

“Wait, I’m confused.” Charlene set the spatula on the counter, leaning back and looking intently at Taz.

The dark haired girl cupped her hands behind her back, copying Charlene and resting against the wall.

“They made a deal that I didn’t have to stick around after we got here,” Taz explained, trying to ignore the sudden disapproval on Charlene’s face. It was almost as if this woman, who she had met just under an hour ago, had made it her goal to be Taz’s older sibling.

Charlene didn’t speak. She opened her mouth, trying to figure out something to say, but nothing came out.

“Why?”

“I’ve, uh, got some other problems to deal with, and hanging out with your hermano and his friends isn’t going to help me,” Taz rambled, stuffing her hands into the sweater pocket.

“What kind of problems?”

Taz turned suddenly, slightly jumping at the voice behind her. Up stood in the doorway, leaning against the frame. He was already adorned in a fresh t-shirt and jeans, hair wet from washing up.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to interrupt,” he said when Taz didn’t reply right away. The girl found herself smoothing out the wrinkles in her sweater before she looked up at him.

“No, it’s fine,” she said. Taz ran a hand through her hair as she looked to Up. “It’s nothing, though.” The sandy haired boy looked her in the eyes, hesitating. Taz peered back with confidence, raising an eyebrow.

Up pushed himself off the door frame, crossing his arms. The two still didn’t speak, mentally trying to read each other. Taz kept her face straight, copying the boy’s stance to mock him.

“If it’s ‘nothing’, it’s not a problem, then?” Up asked.

Taz nodded her head, muttering a “Yes”. It wasn’t exactly clear to Up why the girl had changed what she had said the moment he questioned it, but he understood that she wasn’t going to tell him. At least, not with Charlene standing there watching the exchange.

Taz, on the other hand, knew perfectly well why she passed it off as nothing. She already owed these boys enough as is, and didn’t want to add to the pile. No matter how much Up said they were even, Taz knew they weren’t.

“Okay,” Up breathed, clapping his hands together. Without another word, he left, giving Taz one more look.

It was silent as Taz glanced at Charlene, biting her lip. She offered the dark haired girl an apologetic look.

“Ouch.” Charlene picked up a second cake and handed it to Taz. “Here, take another.”

“Gracias.”