Frank still felt like he was falling and moving for a very long time even after he felt the cold surface on his face, and pushed himself onto hands and knees.

They were almost in total darkness, only the burn of a blue light leaving streaks across their eyes and slowly dimming to guttural torches in the wall barely illuminated anything. It was just shadows of on top of nothingness, the floor they were on had the exact same depth and shape as the endless black ceiling above. Padfoot was almost indistinguishable except his flashing eyes.

When finally he did get unsteadily to his feet and offered Alice a hand up, their eyes only just dimly took in the doors surrounding them on all sides, and they all huddled closer together in the center. Nobody was going to ask if they should try those out.

Nobody declared where they were for reassurance, but nobody was being attacked either. They just hovered in this endless void until finally the silence became too much. Alice needed a sense of purpose right now, so she took an uneasy breath, and summoned the book to her.

There was no telling which directioned it zoomed from, it just blended in too well with this place. Frank lit the tip of his wand for a better light source than those dusky blue flames, but the chapter title illuminated nothing, they'd never heard of Occlumency.

Regulus frowned in sympathy for Kreacher being found up in the attic after all this time, and wondered if his old elf missed him and was hiding in his favorite spot. Had his parents even mourned his passing, or instead toasted his goodbye as a good one, since he'd died doing exactly what they wanted? Did Sirius even care, or was he still busy mourning Potter and had only mentioned him as a passing thought? Was Kreacher the only one in that place who would even miss him?

He wasn't the only one noticing this detail though, and caught Peter's eyes which were just as worried.

Peter didn't at all like how this was so utterly dismissed by the Sirius in the book, nor how everyone in here just scoffed at his name again and passed over it. He couldn't entirely blame them, after his shrine felt like an extra blow to the back, but his thoughts lingered on Dobby. He may have been the first house-elf they'd heard doing such a thing as going behind their master's back, but that didn't mean he'd be the only one.

Everyone's attention was diverted to the latest development, Snape. Taking private lessons with Harry?!

"Dumbledore's really trying to kill my kid, isn't he?" James asked faintly. His two friends shivered in particular disgust for how pale he suddenly looked in this shadowy place, it really brought up the ghost in him he'd be at the time.

"Oh don't be so dramatic!" Lily rolled her eyes at him, she was even smiling of all things. "This is the kindest thing I've heard Sev do this whole time! He doesn't like being around Harry, but he's taking the time to teach him personally!"

Frank couldn't help but still think her rather naive. After everything they'd heard him doing, she still somehow thought that?

It wasn't just his utter amazement though.

"Don't be daft Evans!" Potter actually snapped at her. "I'm starting to wonder if Occlumency is a poison he's going to slip him or something, how can you even pretend he's still even a decent person after all he's done!"

She riled up in frustration, and to everyone's amazement the two began a bickering round, but one they hadn't seen in quite some time now. The last fight they'd really had was back on the Knight Bus, and he'd believed just as firmly as she had the crimes Sirius had been accused of. A lot had changed since then.

Clearly not enough.

In the meantime they'd been almost passively ignoring each other, even cordial the past few interactions. Whoever would have thought he'd now find himself agreeing with James Potter Lily still needed a reality check.

He'd been proven to be a Death Eater in the last book, had been nothing but an arse to her own kid plus theirs and everyone else in that school given any opportune moment, and that really wasn't any different than back in their time at school now. No matter how much she kept saying he wasn't really like that around just her, Frank wondered what it would take for her to see being one way to everyone but one person didn't make it okay.

"Lily, hun," Alice finally stepped forward, placing her hand gently on her arm, and Lily tensed up and turned sharply to throw her off before she caught herself, stopping at the last moment before slapping her hand away. She took several deep breaths and was nearly fighting back tears.

She was well aware this was a last, pitiful defense in a long stream of issues she had with Sev. She looked Alice in the eye, and took another steadying breath. She did not want to lose their friendship, she couldn't just keep lashing out at everyone when she knew full well they agreed with the Marauders.

Turning almost calmly back to him now, she cleared her throat and said with at least an attempt at a peaceable tone, "Severus saved Harry's life in his first year," she needlessly reminded. "You bent over backwards for him," she gestured to the black dog, "and you've obviously made some sort of peace with your friends no matter the shit they do," she didn't need to gesture at Pettigrew. "Can you not bloody pull your head out of your arse and try to see Sev might be trying."

She spoke that to everyone, maybe without the insults intended at Frank and Alice.

James did not look impressed, and he spoke without thinking, "My friends haven't been inducted into Death Eater's already like Snape is! Remind me  Sirius, about Snape being involved in Mary's-" Then he whirled on the spot with a look of panic and half shouted, "wait!"

Too late, Sirius had long been looking for an excuse to change back, and backing up Prongs was more than good enough in his opinion. With a little pop he stood before them on two legs once more, and everyone except his three friends backed away in shock at the sight.

His pallor eerily resembled that of a corpse in this pathetic lighting, the long dark hair hiding even more well whatever gray should be in his eyes. His clothes were half torn to shreds adding to the gruesome sight, and Remus ran to him at once in concern. If he'd started to change back too early, if their worrying had been obsolete this whole time and he'd actually bitten him-

Sirius doubled over in pain, the retort lost on his lips as he hadn't been expecting it to hurt that badly, but he quickly tried to wiggle out of the worried hands tugging his shirt aside. There were scars beneath, but no bite marks, he already knew that, he could feel the difference.

"Stop moving you idiot," James blustered as he grabbed him practically in a head lock so Remus could see clearly. Peter was already in place, wand tip lit as close to his side as he could without being in Remus's way.

"What's the matter Prongs, finally admitting I'm prettier than Evans?" He tried to grumble, but it came out more as a pathetic huffing.

James squeezed, and Sirius yelped, but more in surprise as something cool began tracing along his side, and the burning finally dulled to a throbbing. He couldn't properly see what Moony was applying, but whatever it was he released a breath he'd been holding in for a very long time and sagged in relief in James' arms, though he'd eat one of those flames rather than admit it.

"If I knew you lot were worried about a real bite, I'd have ignored Prongs's idiocies right away and told you. I think I'd know the difference." He patted James's arm, and he marginally relaxed his grip. They'd all been bitten by Moony at some point, and the burn of that injury always lasted longer than any other kind. Yet Moony had bitten Wormtail on the ear in that cage and he'd immediately changed back, and despite his own losing consciousness there at the end, he was still confident he'd been a dog and stayed one long enough there were no side effects.

Regulus watched in fascination as they fawned over him, until finally he was released from their clutches and he stood back up with a grin and smoothed out his hair. He and Sirius had never even been hugged by mother, and father's only usual affection was a firm pat on the shoulder which Sirius hadn't received since before his time in school. How did he stand others being all over him?

Lily stared as he showed such care for his friend, and couldn't even bring herself to tense up again as he turned wearily back towards her like he expected her to start all over again. Instead she wrung her hands for a moment and tried a new approach. "He can change," she wanted to believe that so bad, that he'd go back to the way he was before he started hanging around those awful pre-Death Eaters. "Give him a chance to prove it."

He tapped his foot, ran his hand through his hair, and twitched uneasily, but his eyes never left her steady gaze. "Shall I only curse him for the shit I know he's done?"

She didn't laugh like he'd been hoping, but there was the smallest twitch to her mouth that could have just been another flicker of azure. She turned back to Longbottom and gave Alice a friendly nudge, the two beginning to whisper finally where on Earth they could possibly be as Alice went on reading about Sirius and Snape nearly brawling in that kitchen before Arthur came in.

He'd meant it, in as much as he could. If that git was the reason Harry never had to see another attack like Arthur's, hell, he'd probably go thank the slimeball. He just didn't believe it would be possible, even if he did make a valiant effort not to sneer in disgust about how he treated Harry that first Monday night, insulting him at nearly every question, surely making the answers needlessly complicated. He didn't have any proof Snape was making Harry feel as stupid as possible as he explained the concept of mind reading, never having heard of this branch of magic personally, but surely the arse didn't have to give Harry zero preparation for what was to come other than 'prepare yourself!'

Remus and Sirius stayed close to James in case he spontaneously combusted from trying to keep hold of himself. He hadn't even seemed to hear Sirius had passed Harry something along in the book, possibly even their mirrors based on the little description given, and barely acknowledged Harry's hilariously pitiful attempts to get together with Cho. He was just focused very intently on Evans and trying to keep his scowl at least as well-hidden as the two of them holding hands while the shadows provided the cover.

Lily certainly didn't notice Potter's efforts, she kept her back to the lot to hide her own shame-filled face as it all somehow turned out even worse than any of them could have imagined. Harry was in even more intense pain and suffering as Severus dragged out flashes of old, horrible memories, and he never gave a single second of caring!

Harry's revelation managed to shock some of the despair out of her that she'd made an arse out of herself again, that Harry's consistent dreams of the long dark corridor ending in a locked door was actually in the Ministry of all places, down near the old courtrooms. She wasn't the only one who shivered with distaste, they didn't need to imagine Harry's dream anymore, wherever they were was a pretty oddly comparable place, it just housed many doors.

"You think that's where we are?" Frank finally asked, quietly enough like he was trying to let the guttering flames drown out his voice. "The Department of Mysteries?"

"Harry's been dreaming of this place," Regulus slowly agreed, "and Arthur was attacked at work on guard duty."

"Merlin's beard, what is this place?" Alice whispered, revolving slowly on the spot with just a tinge of curiosity now. You-Know-Who wanted to get into here, was the weapon behind one of these doors?

Frank grabbed her hand to keep her at his side, but he could see the others all eyeing different doors now too. "Let's get to the last sentence," he said all in a rush, almost pleading with the others not to do something so foolish and have them all wind up almost dead all over again. "Then we can, try a few doors, poke around just a little. But if anything, anything starts to look bad, I'll finish and get us out of this."

"That's fair," James finally agreed. Nobody moved towards the doors anyways, but even though he'd spoken for the others, he seemed the least curious of all, eyes still on Lily.

"Can we at least all agree we're honorary Unspeakables now just for being in here?" Sirius asked with a wide grin, causing all of them to snort in surprise at him.

Harry's lesson with Snape was dismissed, Harry was feeling almost as sick as when he'd seen the attack on Arthur as he joined Ron and Hermione for homework, that barely lasted a page before he was feeling so feverish he went off to bed.

Then it happened again, more vibrant even than when Harry had felt You-Know-Who's mood in the locker room. Harry was sprawled on the floor with laughter that wasn't his, and pain that he couldn't escape when Ron found him.

Lily shivered and pressed her hand to her mouth to stop herself from screaming. Two rounds of Occlumency with Severus and this happened moments later, was it a coincidence? Was he really still a Death Eater through and through? What was going to happen to her son because of it?

Alice came to the final line and was more than glad not to speak that aloud, turning to the others and nodding now was the best opportunity they were going to get. Some more reluctantly than others, they all went to a different door, and pushed. Nothing happened.

They weren't really surprised, but some were more disappointed than others as she finished with the nightmarish statement that You-Know-Who was happier than he'd been in fourteen years.