~Sirius POV~
"Hi, Regulus." Lily smiled softly. "How are you?"
"Trying to survive. What happened to Jade?" Regulus looked at me.
"Nott and Snape captured her a month and a half ago, Reg. We don't know where she is. Please tell me you know where she is?" I begged and Regulus shook his head.
"I'm sorry, Siri. I haven't been on any meetings since I'm in school and I haven't seen any Deatheaters around here. But I think I can help a bit." Regulus took out some notes from his bag. "I've been wrapping my brain around all the possible places they could be hiding her and with who. We know Nott is involved since he has a personal vendetta against Jade. Snape is Nott's chew toy so he'll do anything Nott says. It's possible Malfoy could be involved but I'm not sure because Cissy wrote to me last week saying that he was spending time with her."
"What about Bellatrix and the Lestrange gang?" James asked worriedly.
"Could be, but she's probably still alive since they probably took her for information. If Bella is involved, Jade wouldn't stand a chance." Regulus shrugged. "Crouch, I'm not so sure he's involved since he doesn't have anything against Jade."
"How do you know all of this, Regulus?" Remus asked.
"Mum opened her house for meetings over break so I managed to see some of them. I'm not in the inner circle since I'm still in school, thank Merlin." Regulus said making me sigh in relief.
"Where are the locations, Reg?"
"One's in downtown London but I doubt they have her there, the other is close to Diagon Alley but that's highly unlikely since they'll be getting a lot of attention. The last one is just by York and that's my best guess. It's where a lot of the meetings happen. There's also the Lestrange Manor but I highly doubt it since she'll be dead before she reaches it. I have an owl coming in by the post and it's from Bella." Regulus said standing up. "Let's go."
We all walked to the post office and there stood the owl. Regulus took the note and the owl flew away.
"She's not in York, that's for sure." Regulus mumbled and handed me the note.
She's in the place where bad things happen. It's only a matter of time.
~Bella
"The place where bad things happen? Where's that?" Lily asked reading the note.
"Not here. Let's go to the castle." Regulus said.
"Reg, we can't go inside. We graduated, remember?" I pointed out the obvious.
"You, James and Remus have walked these castle grounds more times than I could count. I'm positive you know a way in." Regulus smirked. "I'll see you by the dungeons in fifteen minutes."
"So Honeydukes?" Remus shrugged.
"Remus, now's not the time for chocolate." Lily scolded making us laugh.
"You're a Marauder now, Lily. I'm sure you know that we always have a way." James said grabbing her hand and running to Honeydukes.
...
"Took you all long enough." Regulus smirked leaning on a wall.
"Shut up, Regulus. Tell us what it means before we get caught and Minnie will kick us out on our asses." James rolled his eyes.
"That won't be necessary, Mr. Potter." We all turned around and found an amused McGonagall walking down the steps. "I thought that you four graduating means that you won't step foot in here."
"You know us, Minnie. We can't stay away from you for too long." James smirked. "Now where the hell is my sister, Regulus?"
"We should talk in my office. There's too much of a crowd here." Minnie said and we all nodded and followed her to her office.
...
"Stop stalling, Regulus."
"I'm not! I swear!" I sighed and sat down on Minnie's desk and she immediately pushed me away.
"Oh come on, Minnie!" I protested. She gave me a look and I backed down. "Sorry."
"She's at Lestrange Manor. It's only a matter of time before she gets killed." Regulus said and you could feel the air getting colder by the second. "She's still alive so that's good, but for how long?"
"You'll help us, right Reg?" I gave my brother a pleading look and he sighed.
"I'll help in all that I can but nothing can be traced back to me, okay? Because then the consequences will be even worse." I nodded and hugged him starting to cry.
"You're still an idiot, you know?"
"So are you, big brother." Regulus smiled a bit and broke from the hug. "I'm seeing three of you. Where's Peter?"
"Following a lead with Alice and Frank." Remus shrugged. "How do we get to the Lestrange Manor?"
"Not by apparating, that's for sure. It's full of protection charms. They're even stronger than the ones my Dad put on Grimmuald Place. You're best chance is to arrive there on foot and as undetected as possible."
"Are there any weak points in the protection charms?" Lily asked and Regulus shook his head. "Dammit."
"You'll just have to pray to not get detected or else Jade gets it." Regulus said sadly. "I'm sorry I can't be of more help right now."
"You've done more than enough, Reg. I won't forget this." I said and put an arm around him. "Minnie, have you talked to Dumbledore?"
"He's still weighing in the chances of saving her or the chances to win this war." Minnie said sadly and looked at the pictures we gave her before we graduated.
"You mean he's leaving Jade like a pig for slaughter?" James scoffed.
"Mr. Potter-"
"Minnie, enough. That's my twin we're talking about. She has a family to get back to. I don't even care if she's an important asset or not, she's still a human being. She has a husband and a family who haven't slept in a month just trying to find her. We're not losing hope, no matter what Dumbledore says. I'm getting my Didi back home, even if it kills me." James said and walked out of the office. I sighed and ran after him only to find him on the floor crying.
"Prongs, I miss her too. You have no idea. The house isn't the same without her." I said starting to cry also.
"I just want my Didi back home. I don't care who I have to hurt in the process, I just want her back here with us." James sobbed on my shoulder.
"If you two are done crying, we have a Vixen to rescue." Remus walked out with Lily and Regulus. "Regulus told us where the Manor is. You two ready?"
"Let's get our Vixen back."
...
~Jade's POV~
"Crucio!"
"CAN YOU STOP!? PLEASE, I BEG YOU!" I cried and fell to my knees again in excruciating pain.
"Begging now? That's new. Asking for mercy are we?" Nott smirked and sat down in front of me.
"P-please! Just s-stop." I begged. "Just kill me already, Nott. You're wasting your damn time."
"Not yet. You see, our plan here is to break you until you're a shell of your former self. Then, when your brother, husband and friends comes to rescue you, if they ever do, I'll kill you right in front of them. Sounds good?"
"You say that I'm evil and cold hearted when it reality it's you." I spat and gave him a glare. Nott laughed and got closer to me.
"You think you're all that tough, Jade? Two months and your boys haven't rescued you. Are you sure they're even coming? And your parents? Do they even care that their little girl is knocking on death's door right now? Or are they to focused on perfect Gryffindor James Potter and his perfect life? How does it feel to be an outcast in a family that doesn't even care if you make it out of here alive?" I looked away and Nott grabbed my face. "Struck a nerve? Good. You're worth nothing to them, Jade. Not even to your dear husband who's probably-"
"I SAID ENOUGH!" I sobbed and moved away from him but the chains weren't letting me. "Just kill me already, Nott. Please! Just let me die in peace."
"Not yet, sweetheart. We're having way too much fun."
...
~Sirius POV~
"Sirius, you in here?" Lily knocked on the door.
"Yeah, I'm here." I said not moving from my spot on the bed. "I've got bad news."
"What happened?" Lily asked sitting down next to me. I handed her the letter that Regulus sent.
"Not at the place. Trying to hunt the fox. Stay where you are. I'm so sorry.
Love,
R.A.B."
"Well shit. What should we do now?"
"I don't know anymore, Lily. I can't take another moment without her next to me. I feel like I could break down at any moment but I can't cry anymore. I've cried every night for two months and I can't cry anymore." I rubbed my eyes angrily and looked at Jade's side of the bed where Lily was currently sitting. "I don't feel at home without her, Lily. This house don't feel like home without her laugh bouncing off the walls. I miss her so fucking much and I feel so fucking useless just sitting here waiting for Reg to tell me a possible location."
"We all feel like that, Sirius. Remus is taking care of James because the idiot punched a wall again. Regulus is doing the best he can, Sirius. We should just give him a bit of time and-"
"There's no time, Lily! Every single second we spend on our asses, she's getting tortured and knocking on death's door. I can't take another second of her away from me. It physically hurts me, Lily. We're all losing our shit without her. I just can't take it anymore." I sighed and grabbed the picture frame next to me and felt the tears coming back. "I just want my sunshine back."
"That's it. It's time we all got off our asses. You're breaking my heart here, Sirius." Lily forced me to stand up and walked down the stairs. "James, Remus, get your asses in here!"
"Lily is yelling. Something's up." James walked in slightly terrified and holding some ice to his knuckles. "Punched a wall while being pissed at the world. What's up, sweetheart?"
"I'm sick and tired of you two whining about Jade not being here."
"Lily, you have to-"
"I'm talking now, shut up James." Lily glared at James making him ship up immediately.
"Have I told you that you look lovely today?" James gave her a smile. Lily squinted her eyes and James backed down. "Continue, darling."
"As I was saying before I was rudely interrupted. It's time we get off our asses and do something. Sirius, you're writing to your brother asking him about possible locations where Jade could be. Remus, you're getting Peter, Frank and the girls. James, get ready to raise some hell and get your damn act together. I'm going to get a drink and make a plan. We leave in a week. That'll give us enough time for Regulus to write back if you write right now." We all nodded and Lily walked towards the kitchen to get a drink. "I don't see you people moving! When I get back, I better not see your faces staring at each other in the living room."
We all looked at each other and ran in different directions.
Time to get my sunshine back.