Sarah took them all to the small house she'd managed to procure in a Highland village not far from Hogwarts.
The original owners were a young muggle couple with a small son. Sarah had managed, with some help from her wand, to convince them they needed to move back in with the wife's parents for a while so that the plumbing could be fixed.
Sarah and Diego laid Barnaby down on the couch, while Talbott helped Penny into a bright yellow armchair.
"You okay?" Sarah asked her. Penny's face had gone green.
"I will be," she said with some difficulty. "I've learned that apparition and pregnancy aren't a good combination."
"This place is on the small side," said Sarah. "It's the best I could do on short notice."
"As long as it's safe," said Talbott. He knelt next to Penny, holding her hand and stroking her arm as she attempted to gain control of her nausea. "How safe is it, exactly?"
"This house has been placed under the fidelius charm," said Sarah.
Talbott and Diego nodded, but Barnaby asked, "What's a fi-say-de-us charm?"
"Fidelius. It makes this place invisible to everyone accept the Secret Keeper, and any person the Secret Keeper tells. The only other person who can find this place accept us is Dumbledore."
"Is he the Secret Keeper?" asked Diego.
"No. I am," said Sarah.
"So, what do we do now?" asked Penny. "Just hide out here until someone finds a way to get rid of You-Know-Who? What about your work?" she asked Talbott. "What will they think when you don't turn up tomorrow?"
"That I'm the latest in a growing number of disappearances which could easily be explained by accepting that You-Know-Know has returned?" He chuckled. "No, they'll just assume I quit with no explanation. Most of them will be happy to be rid of me. Fudge has been looking for an excuse to rid the ministry of anybody he thinks is too friendly with Dumbledore."
"I'm sorry," said Sarah to the both of them again. "I've completely uprooted your lives, just before you have a baby."
"No," said Penny. "You aren't to blame for any of this. You-Know-Who did this."
Sarah nodded, but she couldn't help feeling responsible.
"You are right though," said Diego. "We can't just sit around here forever until the war is over. What are we going to do?"
"That's why Dumbledore knows where to find us," said Sarah. "He and the rest of the Order are busy dealing with the breakout now. Fudge has finally let the papers get wind of it. But, he'll be stopping by with jobs for us soon. For now, we should all get some sleep. Unfortunately, this place only has two bedrooms..."
"Barnaby can stay on the couch," said Diego quickly. "He's already there, and I'd hate to hurt him anymore by moving him again."
"But," Barnaby began, but Penny interrupted.
"That would be good, because I'll need to give you another dose of potion in the middle of the night. I won't wake anybody else up if you're in here."
"Fine," he grumbled.
The group said goodnight and set off to find the bedrooms. Penny and Talbott took the master, and Sarah and Diego found the bedroom that must have belonged the muggle family's son. It was small and cluttered with toys.
"Only one bed," said Diego, regarding the small twin before them. "Oh well, guess we'll have to make the most--"
Sarah waved her wand and made a duplicate of the bed, placing one on the opposite side of the room as the other.
"That works too," said Diego. "So, are you still mad at me?"
"No," said Sarah, sighing as the let go of the weight of anger. It was too tiring to hold onto it. "But I hope you understand why I was angry. If you had run into the Death Eaters, if they put you under the imperius curse or something, I'd have just told them all where to find us."
Diego gave her a cocky smile that would have infuriated her if she weren't so sleepy. "You were worried about me."
"Of course I was worried about you," she said in exasperation, trying to keep her voice low so as not to disturb the others. "You're my partner, and my friend. I'd never get over it if something happened to you."
Diego stepped forward, decreasing the space between them. "Do you want to know where I was?"
"I do."
"Alright, I took a walk. That's all."
"With a band of Death Eaters on your trail? Why?"
Diego picked up both of her hands, and stared down at them, not meeting her eyes. "Because I love you."
Sarah stared at him. Her heart seemed to have stopped beating. "What?" she whispered.
Diego's eyes met hers. "I love you, Sarah. I have almost from the moment I met you. But then, you started dating Barnaby, and I tried to move on. I never really did. When I saw you again in Diagon Alley, all those old feelings came flooding back to me. Then, we became partners, and I found myself falling deeper and deeper everyday." He swallowed, stroking her hand with his thumb. "I figured Barnaby was out of the picture. When you were so upset that he'd been kidnapped, I hoped it was just because he was still a good friend. I know how much you care about your friends. But then, at St. Mungo's, I saw how you really felt about him. It was too much for me to see the woman I love in the arms of someone else. So I left, to clear my head.
"There. Now you know."
"Diego," Sarah began, but she had no idea what to say. She had suspected that he had feelings for her, especially when he almost kissed her in front of Malfoy Manor, but she had no idea he felt this strongly.
"I know it's selfish," he continued, "but you know, it's not in my nature to give up. You and I make such an excellent team, Sarah. If you let me show you, I know you'd see that we're perfect for each other."
He sat down on the closest bed, pulling her gently down to sit with him. He leaned forward to brush his lips against her neck, just below her jaw.
"Diego," she tried to say firmly, but she still spoke in a whisper. He tried to continued to kiss her neck, but she held him back. "No."
He met her eyes. His were glossy. "Why? Because of him?"
She didn't have to ask who he meant. "Partly." She stood from the bed and walked to the door that led to the bathroom, her hand placed on the handle. "But with everything going on, I feel like romance should be the last thing on my mind. On anyone's. Let's just focus on keeping each other alive until we find a way to bring down You-Know-Who, alright?"
Diego didn't reply for a second; he stared at the wall behind her, thinking. "Do you really mean that? That you don't want romance with anyone? Or are you going back to him the first chance you get?"
"What difference does it make?"
Diego pushed himself up from the bed. "It makes a huge difference!" His volume had increased with his emotion, and Sarah placed a hand on his shoulder to calm him down. He grabbed the hand and held it in both of his own.
"For years at Hogwarts I had to watch you pine over someone who wasn't dedicated to you. I saw you fret over every dance and date, finally going with him at the last minute, usually because you were the one who asked. I saw him following Liz Tuttle, Merula, and Badeea Ali around when he should've been with you. I saw him accepting Valentine's cards from every girl at the school!"
"That's not how it happened," Sarah mumbled, but Diego didn't seem to hear her.
"Look at you! You've been with him for years, and your relationship hasn't changed since school. He never shows you any affection, he's clueless, and after all this time, you aren't even engaged." His eyes were definitely wet now. "If I thought you'd say yes, I'd propose to you right now."
"You don't know what you're talking about," said Sarah angrily, pulling her hand from his grip. "You think because you made all the girls swoon at Hogwarts with your little act that you know every relationship inside and out? You don't. Do you really think the way to get me to want you is to insult someone I care about?"
"I'm asking you," he said, "just to do what you said. To take a break from him for a bit. To step back and see how good I could be for you. To take your time, if you must, but in the end, to choose me."
Sarah said nothing. But Diego seemed to be finished, so she opened the bathroom door to take a shower. They didn't speak while getting ready for bed. Sarah could feel the awkward tension that had formed between them for the next couple of hours before she finally drifted into an uneasy sleep.
***********************************************************************************************
"Sarah," Penny called, early the next morning. "Professor Dumbledore's here."
Sarah shot up from the pillow to meet Diego's eyes from across the room. "Morning," he said. "You're looking beautiful as ever." The flirtatious words were familiar, but the formal, slightly cold tone with which they were delivered was new and unsettling. Sarah hurried to grab her robes and into the bathroom to change out of the pajamas she'd borrowed from Penny.
Dumbledore was seated at the kitchen table, chewing on a buttered crumpet.
"Good morning," he said to Sarah, gesturing for her to sit down. "I'm glad to see you safe and sound, as well as Mr. Lee."
Sarah hung her head. "I know I didn't ask for your permission to go after Barnaby--"
Dumbledore held up a hand. "You acted rashly and, I think, somewhat unwisely," he said. "But, you also saved young Mr. Lee's life. That probably wouldn't have been the case if you had waited for my counsel." He smiled at Sarah. "I knew of your tendency to disregard authority and follow your heart when I asked you to join the Order, Miss Spellman. It wasn't your ability to follow the rules that saved Hogwarts from the Cursed Vaults."
Sarah smiled back. "However," Dumbledore continued, "It would be remiss of me not to question Barnaby myself. We need to find out what information he might have passed along to the Death Eaters."
"I swear, I didn't tell them anything!" Barnaby called from the couch. Sarah was glad to see him sitting up on his own. He looked much better than he had yesterday.
"I'm inclined to believe you," said Dumbledore, "but it would be foolish not to double-check. They may have learned something valuable and then caused you to forget what you said." He stood up and brushed the crumbs from his beard. "Shall we?"
"There's space in the master bedroom, sir," said Penny. "Just through there."
Sarah made to help Barnaby, but he pushed himself up from the couch on his own. She could tell it was taking a fair amount of effort, but he followed Dumbledore into the corridor. Diego stepped from the corridor at the same time. He bumped into Barnaby, nearly knocking him over.
"Sorry mate," said Diego, grabbing Barnaby to keep him upright.
He joined Sarah at the table as Penny placed a fresh pot of tea in front of them. "You are as sweet as you are beautiful, love," he said to Penny, the warmth in his voice once more.
"Where's Talbott?" Sarah asked.
"Stretching his wings," said Penny.
They waited for about half an hour for Dumbledore and Barnaby to return. When they did, Dumbledore looked solemn and Barnaby looked almost as rough as he had in the cellar.
Sarah rushed over to help guide him back to the couch. "What happened?" she asked.
"Unfortunately, Mr. Lee had to relive some truly terrible experiences for me," said Dumbledore. "It also took it's toll for me to invade his mind with legilimency. But, he handled it better than I could have hoped for, and I do not believe he revealed anything to the Death Eaters." He looked at Barnaby. "I owe you an apology, Mr. Lee. I was worried you would be more susceptible to the Death Eater's dark powers, but you showed more loyalty and strength than I'd have ever thought possible."
Barnaby nodded. Sarah guessed he didn't trust his stomach enough to open his mouth.
"What about us, Sir?" said Diego. "What would you like us to do?"
"For the moment, Mr. Caplan, I would like you to stay safe," said Dumbledore. "This mass breakout had been a major blow, but I am hoping it will lead the ministry to accept Voldemort's return. In that case, all of us can be of more use."
He met each of their eyes in turn, and each of them gave him a nod.
"Sir," said Sarah. "There's one more thing." He inclined his head for her to speak. "At Barnaby's house, there was a moment when we were running away from the Death Eaters. Barnaby and Diego were unconscious. None of us had our wands. Merula and Barnaby's mother could have killed us. But, when they tried, something happened. Everything went white and there was this loud rushing noise. I lost my vision. When the light was gone, the Death Eaters were out cold and I was able to get away." She searched Dumbledore's eyes, but they remained impassive. "What do you think that was?"
Dumbledore took a minute before answering. "This is merely a guess, but I believe you demonstrated to the Death Eaters just how powerful you are, and how dangerous it is to hurt your friends."
"What do you mean?"
"You know of course, that young witches and wizards usually develop their powers at around seven years of age, but they generally have little control over their magic." Sarah nodded. "Often, their magic erupts forth when they feel a powerful emotion. You Sarah, were so desperate and determined to get your friends to safety, that even without a wand, the power that lives within you was summoned when you needed it. While uncontrolled power like that can be dangerous, it worked to your benefit that night. That is my guess, at least."
Sarah nodded. She supposed that made sense. She had felt power leave her when it happened, but she also felt that somehow, it had come from somewhere else. Maybe it was just because she hadn't used her wand.
"Very well, then. I'll see you all soon." He gave them a small bow before he took his leave.
The group sat in silence for a few minutes, each lost in his or her own thoughts. After a moment, Penny asked, "Sarah, do you think Beatrice is safe? Merula knows I have a sister. What if she tells the Death Eaters about her?"
Sarah thought about it. "I don't know if we're valuable enough to You-Know-Who for them to go to that much trouble. Where is Beatrice now?"
"She finished Hogwarts last year," said Penny. "She took what happened at the tri-wizard tournament pretty hard. She's living with mum and dad right now. She actually has a job working for my dad."
"She's living as a muggle?" asked Diego, shocked.
"Hey," said Penny, "most of my family are muggles. There's nothing wrong with that."
"No, of course not," said Diego, though he sounded doubtful, "I just remember a Beatrice who was rebellious and daring. I'm surprised she'd be happy living as a muggle."
"It's just until she gets her feet back under her," said Penny.
"Whatever the reason, it's a good thing," said Sarah. "It means she's safe. For now."
Diego yelled and Sarah pulled out her wand as a large shape flew through the kitchen window. It was a large eagle. The eagle landed on the floor next to the table and transformed into a breathless Talbott. Sara's stomach lurched at the look on his face.
"What happened?" she asked.
"On the edge of the village," he panted. "Muggles...they're being attacked."