Eliza woke up in the Hospital Wing in Hogwarts. She could remember everything clearly except the person who attacked her in the end.

Her body was regaining strength well, especially after a day of long dreamless sleep but her heart cringed. She didn't want to show her weak side to anyone so she held a poker face for the remaining days in Hogwarts.

She wasn't the only one hurt. Hermione and Ron had to be kept for more days as well. Friends came around and gave sweets to Eliza, Seamus even spent half a day telling her about this girl he had a crush on while Dean filled the rest of the day telling her about football championships.

Harry was coming every day and though he tried to speak to her, she ignored him. Luna, Ginny and Neville came pretty often as well and would spend almost the whole day, especially since Hermione's and Ron's beds were across Eliza's.

Reading the newspaper was not helping Eliza either. She listened but not once looked up. Furvus was glued to her side and not once left.

"That's one loyal pet right there." Ron mumbled, watching Furvus guard his owner. "And those green eyes...I guess that's how Eliza's animagus would look?"

Neville glanced at the kitten too and felt a shiver down his spine, "I guess he does seem human sometimes."

It was quite lively and everyone knew Harry was not a crazy lunatic spreading out lies. For the moment, it was peace. It was sickening.

"Hey, Liz?"

Eliza didn't have to look up to know who came to her.

"I just- I- I'm sorry. It's all my fault and-"

"It is." She interrupted, "It's all your fault." Eliza continued coldly.

Harry's been apologizing for the past three days and no matter how pitiful he looked doing that, Eliza's heart closed completely. Nothing could get past it.

Next day everyone was allowed to leave and Eliza decided to go around, have a walk. She met Peeves but he acted like he didn't see her. She heard paintings hush between themselves but she ignored them.

Somehow, she ended up in the dungeons. Her legs led her in front of Snape's office but she wasn't sure she wanted to see the happy face of someone who loathed her father. Instead, she turned around and continued to roam around.

It was already night when she found herself in front of Snape's office once more. This time, she knocked but no one responded so she invited herself in.

Willy was there as always. He opened his eyes when she entered and waved his wings in greeting. Eliza walked to him and for the first time, patted him softly. He didn't resist at all as if he knew she's in pain.

She thought Snape would return soon but he didn't. In the end, she sat down under the window sill and pulled her legs in front of her chest, holding them tightly. It was silent and lonely and Eliza could still hear Sirius' loud laughter echoing in Grimmauld Place.

Was that how he felt when Ophelia died? Was that how he felt when Regulus died? Eliza was sure he didn't dwell on it much since it was war back then. But then, the second war was just around the corner and Voldemort wasn't going to die out of nowhere.

What about her then? She had no family left and her only hope at a bright future was fading slowly. No, there's Remus, a voice inside her head said. But Remus is not Sirius.

Yes...no one could replace Sirius. These thoughts were so heartbreaking that she started to cry. She spent a few hours standing there, crying.

Her eyes have lost that youthful glint and the color of her iris darkened considerably. Eliza was empty and she looked drained out of emotions and life. She was standing on her bed all alone, staring ahead at an empty wall with nothing; no regret, no sorrow, no guilt and no expectation whatsoever.

Her mind was blank and her heart was aching, reactions that slowly intesified as days passed. Bellatrix was still alive and that wicked laughter was haunting Eliza day and night, forcing her to live through that pain again; it was torture. Everything she learned during that year at Hogwarts was insignificant because she couldn't protect her father, she was a coward and her self confidence dropped lower than zero.

"Eliza,"

Remus was keeping an eye out, just in case his goddaughter would try something foolish again. She didn't, she wasn't doing anything at all. Food and water became venomous and Eliza was afraid that if she would go down in the kitchen, she would remember; memories were everywhere inside that house and that was the sole reason she didn't leave her room ever since she came back to Grimmauld Place.

"Eliza, you have to eat at least." He tried again but she didn't seem to have heard him.

Downstairs, Tonks was feeling terrible. Watching Remus was even sadder than watching Eliza and the fault of Sirius dying was also pressuring Tonks. They were cousins, she was Eliza's aunt in a way but Eliza was not even accepting Remus who raised her since she was a kid.

Actually, they knew they couldn't trust the brunette after everything that's been going on so they decided to take her back to Grimmauld Place instead of taking her to Lupin's place.

"How is she?" Tonks asked worriedly when Remus entered the kitchen.

He shook his head and took a seat at the table.

"She's getting worse and that wall she built between herself and the world became thicker. I don't know what to do." He admitted, grabbing a hand through his hair as he sighed.

"Maybe she should get out of this house; it's poisonous for her, especially after last summer. She's taking the melancholy from the house itself and Mrs. Black is not helping." The young woman explained, watching Remus' expression fall even more.

For the last few weeks she hasn't seen one smile and it seemed like he aged a few more years.

"I don't know how to tell her about Sirius' will. He left everything to Harry and I'm not sure she will understand why."

"I'll talk to her. Just leave it to me, alright?" She was suspiciously optimistic.

Tonks wasn't the kind to give up easily and she was going to get Eliza out of the house, even if that meant she had to drag her. For those kind of moments, when the wizarding world was dark and heavy, there was the muggle world and that was exactly where Tonks dragged Eliza.

They walked around for a few hours until they stopped for lunch somewhere in a cosy restaurant.

"I have something to tell you," Tonks begun, knowing that what she was going to announce was certainly going to snatch some reaction from the brunette, "We'll have to leave the house for a while. It might be enchanted and it might endanger the secrets of the Order."

Eliza heard that loud and clear and her eyes moved on the woman. It was difficult to understand what was going through her head because Eliza wasn't sketching even one expression or at least a twitch.

"What enchantment?" She asked coldly.

"According to Sirius' will, everything he possesses will go to Harry."

For a moment, Tonks was sure she saw anger flash in Eliza's eyes. It was normal, after all she was the rightful inheritor, but there was a reason why Sirius didn't want Eliza to get anything that was related to the Black family.

"You have to understand that Sirius hated his family just as much as they hated him. He wanted to free you from this heavy burden and give you a choice." Tonks found it necessary to explain that to her.

"Does that include changing my name?" The green eyed witch asked, her face expressionless.

Tonks sighed, "Maybe. Like I said, that's your choice. You can take your mother's name or-"

"I won't. I'll use that name in Hogwarts until I'll graduate and then everyone will know me as a Black." Eliza interfered, her tone raising a bit in annoyance.

"The enchantment placed over the house may come down to the name and blood as well. Even if she doesn't admit it, Mrs. Black would prefer you than Harry. However, officially, twelve Grimmauld Place is Harry's as well as the-"

"Is that everything you wanted to tell me? Is that why you dragged me out here? To tell me that I have nothing?" The brunette hissed.

Eliza's heavy gaze was making Tonks very uncomfortable. She was just a sixteen years old girl but the atmosphere around her was incredibly overwhelming. A few muggles noticed as well and moved a bit further from their table.

"You know, Liz, it's not yours or Harry's fault that Sirius died. You should find a different way to express your anger." Tonks started after a few seconds of silence.

She was conflicted between saying more and not because she didn't know how Eliza will react.

Eliza didn't react at all; she continued to stare at her plate, playing with the food instead of eating it.

"You should meet Harry. He will understand you better than any of us." Tonks muttered.

"I doubt that."

The way back was even more awkward than before and Eliza distanced a bit more from Tonks. However, she accepted the news and only got mad when it came to her name. It was obvious she wasn't touched by insignificant details about her father's will and didn't want to hold onto something that was his.

When they entered the house, Eliza went straight into her room, passing Kreacher on the way. The house elf snickered and mumbled something about Sirius but Eliza couldn't care less. She went in her room and took a long look at Regulus' stuff. Voldemort was back and everyone knew it; everyone was finally admitting to themselves that the darkness was getting stronger.

Eliza didn't come down until dinner when she only walked inside the drawing room and stared at the Black family tapestry for a while. Just as Tonks said, the Order moved the headquarters to somewhere else and they didn't tell her where.

You can stay here, if you feel comfortable, said Remus and the others agreed. However, only he and Tonks would come around and check on her but most of the time, she was alone. Furvus was coming and going regularly while Willy finally started to act like her owl not Snape's.

One of the days, Eliza stopped in front of Mrs. Black's portrait and wondered if she should speak to her or not. Sirius said before that his mother would say anything to annoy her but his mother also recognized she knew Ophelia was a pure-blood...

"Maybe another time." Eliza whispered as not to awake her grandmother.

When Eliza returned to her room, Willy was already waiting inside glaring at Furvus. Eliza sighed and grabbed the letter from Willy harsher than she was intending to, almost taking him along since he wasn't letting it go easily either.

There were letters from her friends coming regularly and Eliza was expecting another one from Hermione; surprisingly, it was from Malfoy.

"I thought he's in Azkaban." She mumbled to herself, Willy's eyes boring into her forehead.

I would lie if I were to say I am not happy that your late father has died under such circumstances. My family will keep you protected for as long as the Dark Lord is taking care of his own affairs. However, dear Eliza, I am afraid that you shall not disturb Draco during his mission.

She read it twice before her eyes fell over the last part. You shall not disturb Draco during his mission. Eliza couldn't help but scoff at the mere thought; she had better things to do than meddle in Draco's troublesome life affairs.

"Take care of yourself and please write to me as often as possible."

Remus was being annoyingly overprotective. No matter how parental he was being, he wasn't Sirius and their relationship was never going to be the same.

Furvus jumped on Eliza's shoulder and she apparated at the station before Remus could say something else. Apparating was something she learned by herself with the help of Furvus. He brought her some books and granted to her recent state of mind, she succeeded from the first try.

Of course, Remus seemed annoyed that she didn't inform him beforehand but Moody looked very content by the news.

Apparating in King's Cross was entirely new for her and compared to the other years, the crowd was making her nauseous. The brunette sneaked through the students avoiding any skin ship, no matter how insignificant.

Unfortunately, Seamus and Dean were already there and she quickly changed directions, entering the train with some Ravenclaws and making herself disappear through the back, in search of a silent cabin.

Standing all alone wasn't the best idea because she's been all alone for most of the summer. Even if the Order changed their location, Eliza stayed in Grimmauld Place.

Remus was watching her like she was going to turn against them and follow Voldemort against humanity. Of course that wasn't going to happen but she never spoke against that theory either, giving them only vague answers when they were asking.

Her eyes were set on the familiar scenery, watching it as if it was the first time. It all looked so fragile, ready to break and bent at the slightest snap of someone's finger.

Furvus meowed and drew her attention on what he wanted. It was quite an old story but Furvus wanted his owner to become an animagus. Eliza chuckled when she saw the book under his paw, old and rusty yet full of memories.

She grabbed it and flipped through the pages until she got to the chapter about animagi. The process seemed a bit too much for her at the moment so she just closed it and placed it aside. Furvus sat on it, making sure if she were to forget it there, he'd take it for her.

When they got to Hogwarts it was night and Eliza waited for everyone to get off before she did. Unfortunately, she met Malfoy. She could already envision Draco doing dirty work for Voldemort, posing as a threat and getting killed when he wasn't needed anymore, just like the rest of his followers.

Even more unfortunate was when Blaise saw her. Eliza wasn't sure when it happened but Blaise Zabini became quite fond of his potions partner. The black sharp-looking boy decided he wanted to take the carriage with her which raised a few questions all around.

"Are you ditching your friends so easily?" She asked once they got inside. "Why are you here?" She asked the blond who followed Blaise.

Malfoy sneered but he looked like he wanted to say something. Eliza was sure he was going to ramble about his father or something close to that subject but he didn't. Draco didn't utter a word.

"There's a new teacher, Slughorn. I'm not so sure what he'll teach but his intentions are clear." Blaise rounded up his summer vacation with that new piece. "He's having this Slug Club where he invites only students with some sort of connections."

"Strange since Longbottom has nothing of interest." Malfoy scowled in his seat. He heard the story before because Blaise didn't give any names.

Eliza glanced at him before her eyes fell on his body. If he had a mission then he had the Mark; she was sure of that.

"Neville's parents were amazing Aurors. He's getting good at Defense against the Dark Arts too." She retorted coldly.

"I doubt that. If-"

"It's not a matter of your concern anyway. You're going to train hard to become a good, loyal dog as well. The difference is made by the masters." She bluntly admitted.

Blaise frowned, his eyes glancing from Malfoy to Eliza. It was really intense and he couldn't help feel like those two had something more going on than they wanted to admit.

"What are you saying?" The blond hissed, leaning towards her.

"You tell me. Your father advised me not to interfere with your mission. Are you finally going to step up and take your father's place now that he's in Azkaban?" She emphasized every word she knew would piss Draco off.

"You don't know anything." The blond said through gritted teeth.