Mitigate [S. Black]

fourteen | trouble is brewing

HER KNEES PRESSED AGAINST THE DEAD GRASS, the blades of it itching her slightly through her worn-out jeans. Alessia had advised against the possible idea of trying to find a place to stay, even though Sirius had thought a muggle motel would have been safe. However, she was too afraid that someone would be able to track them there, so she had turned his idea down. Now that the necklace had been destroyed, she was positive that Voldemort knew about her return. In the past few weeks, two of his five horcruxes had already been destroyed and he'd have been a fool if he didn't know what was happening by now. Alessia didn't want to take any risks that might lead to him or his Death Eaters finding them.

That reluctance had lead them to where they were now, Sirius setting up a make-shift tent and charming it to be larger than it looked while she knelt on the grass some distance away transfiguring two pillows into twin-sized mattresses. There was no use for a third — one of them would be keeping watch at all times throughout the night, taking shifts.

Remus was walking around outside the area they had claimed for their impromptu campsite. He'd cast the Protection Charm that Hermione had used in the books, per Alessia's suggestion: Cave Inimicum. Now he was testing to make sure his charm had worked, and whether or not he'd be able to see or hear Sirius and Alessia outside the boundaries. After five minutes — the designated time he and Alessia had agreed would take him to decide whether it worked or not — she went and allowed him back into their area. The fact that he hadn't been able to reenter on his own proved that the charm was good.

"Here, let me just do one more..." Alessia pursed her lips in thought as she pulled out her wand. She'd read upon specific spells that would help them on this journey, pouring over them and practicing their wand movements as much as she could. At this point, she either had to be confident in her abilities or just hope for the best. She opted for confidence.

Holding her left hand out with the palm held outward, she raised her wand and flicked it downwards as she spoke the hex deflection charm's incantation. "Salvio hexia." A haze protruded from her wand, seeming to bleed into the protective barrier around their small campsite and settle into it. Alessia felt just a little more at ease, knowing that any hexes that might possibly be cast by anyone on the outside wouldn't be able to hurt them. "There. Just to be safe."

Remus looked at her in amusement. "You've got all this figured out, don't you?"

She sighed. "Not really." It was an honest answer. Anything she knew was courtesy of the books she'd read as a child and the studies Lily had helped her with; but even then, she was entirely aware that there were now things she wouldn't be able to predict. Things had been set in motion now, the future had already begun to change, and Alessia could only hope that it was changing for the better.

"Well, don't worry, Less." Remus gave her a smile and patted her on the back. "You're not alone. Now, let's get these mattresses into the tent now, shall we?"

Together, they levitated each mattress and directed them into the tent on opposite sides of the space provided within it. Remus then set to work starting a fire, while Alessia and Sirius carried what little belongings they'd all brought with them inside the tent. "You okay?" He asked her, watching as she spread out a blanket on one of the beds.

She cast him a glance over her shoulder. "I should be asking you that." When he simply raised an eyebrow, Alessia sighed and turned to him. "I know you heard everything I told Kreacher, about what happened with he and Regulus and..."

Sirius busied himself with pulling the other blanket out of Alessia's bag and draping it over the second mattress. "Yeah, well. It sucks, but I'm fine."

Alessia pursed her lips. "Despite the horrid things he did before he defected, he was still your brother," she said softly. "It's okay to miss him... to mourn him."