Light banished darkness, and in the glow of it, Lorelei felt her tears as warm as blood on her cheeks. She felt North crowd into her side and she buried her fingers into his fur and pulled him close. They were falling forward, and she had no idea where they would end up. You had to be careful with portal spells. It took time to do one right. She hadn’t been careful and she hadn’t taken time, so common sense said that they would be lucky to survive this at all. She hadn’t even been able to think of a good destination.

I should have thought of Hogwarts, she thought, nestling her face into white fur. Maybe the potions room. I don’t even remember what I was thinking when I opened it. Somewhere safe. Somewhere away. Maybe Sirius was able to pinpoint a spot to aim for. Thinking his name reminded her that he was here somewhere too. She tried to look back and saw a dim shape falling after her. Did he still have Esme? She couldn’t tell.

The portal was becoming narrower which meant it would spit them out soon. But where? That was the question. And would anyplace be far enough to escape Brohm again? She shuddered, clutching North so tight he wheezed.

Then, there was cold and darkness again and the smell of dirt and stone. Sirius landed behind her with a thud and the last of the light faded. Lorelei scrambled to her feet, ready to fight. She had no idea where they were and it took her a panicked moment to realize that they were alone. A soft chuckle came from Sirius and she turned to look at him.

“What’s so funny?” she demanded. She couldn’t believe he could laugh after such a narrow escape.

“This,” he said, motioning around. “I guess this was a safe place.”

“You know where we are?” she asked, more hopefully. He nodded and set Esme down, then stood up and wriggled his arms to get the circulation going through them again.

“The last time I was here,” he told her. “I was the one sick, and Esme took care of me. Now, we’re reversed. This is a cave in the Forbidden Forest. We’re not far from Hogwarts. You can probably see the lights from here.”

“Oh good,” she sagged again with relief. Then she lit her light spell to peer at her sister. Esme was still motionless. Her breath misted here and Lorelei summoned up a blanket to cover her with. She pointed and North obligingly laid down to add his warmth to the pile.

“Let’s rest,” she said. “Get our wits about us, and then go back to the castle.”

“Fine,” Sirius slid down the wall to sit beside Esme on the floor. He reached over to pet North, which the dog allowed. “Why couldn’t they touch North?”

“He’s charmed,” Lorelei said. She hadn’t sat down, but was leaning against the wall with her arms folded tight over her chest. “His collar is warded against all vampires and it keeps them from touching him. He burns them.”

“Why didn’t they make one for you?” he asked. She hung her head and didn’t answer. “Well?” he pressed.

“We did,” a weak voice said. They turned to see Esme’s eyes open to slits. She glanced at her sister, then looked at Sirius. “It burned her.”

“Shut up!” snapped Lorelei. Then, she remembered that Esme had been unconscious for at least a day. “How…are you feeling?”

“Like the last little piece of a vampire lord was sucked out of me through a hole in my neck,” Esme said. Her eyes closed before Sirius could tell what color they were. She hadn’t tried to move yet. “I’m trying to decide if I prefer the method you used.”

“How long have you been awake?” Sirius asked her, prepared to pretend to be peeved if she’d tricked him into carrying her.

“Since he screamed,” Esme whispered. “I’ve heard that sound twice now.” He knew she meant Brohm, and from the way Lorelei went still, he knew that she did too. Sirius was tired of being so grim.

“Wait a minute,” he said, looking from North to Lorelei. “If the vampire charm hurts you, how can you touch North?”

“I’m not a vampire,” Lorelei sighed. She looked at Esme. “But I was changed, a little. Enough to turn my eyes red, anyway. Enough to mark me as his. The charm is meant to protect. It tried to protect me from the bit of him that’s still there, but it couldn’t drive it away without hurting me to get to it. See?”

“No.”

“North is meant to protect her, too.” Esme said. Her voice was still fragile, and she didn’t open her eyes this time. “Combine the two protections and it works. The charm doesn’t hurt North. North doesn’t hurt Lorey.”

“Have you tried to wear it since you were cured?” Sirius asked Lorelei, keeping his eyes on Esme to see if she reacted to that. She didn’t.

“No,” Lorelei said softly. “I thought they were all dead, so there wasn’t any need to.”

“Failed,” Esme said, almost chuckling. “Went through all that, went through all this, only made things worse. Worse than failed.” She sucked in a ragged breath and winced as if it hurt.

“No,” startled to hear her talk that way, Sirius smoothed her hair back from her face. He thought her brow felt warmer than it should and laid his cold hand on it. “You did what you could. No one can ask more than that of you.”

“Throwing rocks in the water,” Esme said. “And the ripples go out and the ripples get bigger, and then there’s the Morthahg and Ficus and everything gets worse and worse.”

“That’s life,” Lorelei said. She was watching Sirius and his concern had gotten her attention. “What’s the matter?”

“Perhaps a wee bit feverish,” he said. She nodded.

“I might’ve known. She would have to be delirious to be feeling guilt.”

“I’m not sorry,” Esme said suddenly. “Can’t be guilty if you’re not sorry. Price must be paid. I just thought it would be me to pay it. I didn’t mean for everybody to pay.”

“What’s she talking about?” Sirius looked at Lorelei, who shrugged.

“Throw a rock in a pond and it makes ripples,” she said. “No matter how small the stone is the ripples spread out until they reach all the sides of the pond. That’s how life is. It starts out as a little thing and then it spreads until everyone is affected. Ten years ago she told a little white lie, and now it has escalated to this. Morthahg running loose, a school destroyed, another school threatened, vampires, Sliders, murders, and werewolves, and it all started with something she said over her shoulder as she left the house one night. But she’s not sorry.”

“Why should she be?” Sirius said. “She paid for it, didn’t she?” Before Lorelei could reply, a light winked through the trees beyond the cave entrance. They both saw it and froze. Soon, they could hear the heavy stride of feet in the snow. Sirius swore under his breath and became a dog again, pushing North aside to lay across Esme too.

“Who’s there?” Lorelei called. She had her wand in hand, and remembering how she has reacted to Messalina’s ghost, Sirius hoped whoever was out there answered quickly.

“Is that you, Professor Zephyr?” a voice called and Sirius didn’t recognize it, but he saw Lorelei relax a bit. “

Over here!” she called. After a moment, the Elmskill professor Dormire stepped into sight. He wore a cap with ear-flaps over his bald head, sturdy mittens, and a quilted parka. Under all that, he was still wearing his khaki shorts, so his legs were bare. He made an odd sight in the winter woods. He had a wizard’s lamp bobbing over his head, casting clear blue light in a circle around him.

“There you are!” he said cheerfully. “I found them!” he bellowed over his shoulder. Other lights and faint voices answered. “The Morthahg’s been active,” he explained, turning back to Lorelei. “One of the detectors picked up a magical disturbance and since you were the only witch unaccounted for, we were afraid you’d been attacked! Are you all right, dear?”

“Yes,” Lorelei smile was strained and unconvincing, but Dormire didn’t notice. His bright eyes had focused behind her to the dogs and Esme.

“You found your sister,” he said, in a strange tone. He glanced back at Lorelei. What was he thinking, Sirius wondered. If he knew that Esme was Lorelei’s sister, he must know of the bad blood between them. To see Esme with a vampire bite in her neck and Lorelei so off-kilter had to make the man suspicious.

“Yes,” Lorelei said again. Then, more searchers appeared. Madame Hooch was there, and Flintwick, and a stranger Sirius assumed was also an Elmskill teacher. The fourth wizard, he recognized, and it was all he could do not to growl. It was a Ministry official, and before Lorelei could speak, he aimed his wand and cast a capture spell towards Esme. Sirius and North both scrambled to get out of the way. North was a familiar and could probably tell what spells he didn’t want being cast on him. Sirius had no intention of being captured again this far along. They got out of the way in time, but Esme was bound. P>