Lauren A. Black (my Harry Potter oc)

And The Tears Will Fall (Age 15)

"And now for the names of missing witches and wizards. The following are confirmed," the radio announced. Ron listened intently as they listed the names, praying that he wouldn't know any of them. Across the tent, Harry grew more irritated with every name. He hated that radio. He blocked out the sound as he focused on the Marauder's map. He had been watching people for weeks on it and he noticed that, although it was night and everyone should be asleep, three people were still awake. Minerva McGonagall, Severus Snape, and Colin Creevey were all pacing in different rooms. Across the room, sitting in a chair, reading, was Hermione. She sighed as the names continued. But then the announcer said a name that changed everything. 

"Unfortunately, the next name on our list is a Hogwarts student. Lauren A. Black, next is-" no one in the tent heard the rest of the names because of Ron. At Lauren's name, he screamed bloody murder. Hermione hadn't heard the name; neither had Harry. They jumped up at Ron's screams and ran over to him. 

"Ron, What is it? What's happened?" Hermione asked. 

"Who is it?" Harry demanded. Ron opened and closed his mouth in shock. Lauren was gone. Most of the people on the missing list turned up dead and Lauren was gone. 

"Lauren,"  he whispered. "She's missing." Harry froze. 

"No," he insisted, in disbelief. "She - No, they can't- but- no."he sputtered. Hermione's eyes filled with tears. 

"What are going to do?"she asked. Ron looked up at Harry. 

"We keep going," he said. "We take down You-Know-Who and we murder whoever took her." Harry nodded in agreement and Hermione found herself agreeing deep down.

Meanwhile....

Lauren appeared on a muggle playground. She looked around and hid in a small tunnel, her breaths coming in short gasps. She'd escaped - for now. But Lauren knew she needed to find somewhere safe she could hide, with someone she could trust, and fast. Let's see, she thought. 

Sirius? No. They'll look there first and I'll only be putting him and the order in danger. 

The Burrow? No, I can't put them in danger either. 

Harry, Ron, and Hermione? No, I have no idea where they are. 

Think! Where would they never expect a fifteen year-old girl on the run to go?......Perfect. With that, she apparated. It was after nightfall when Lauren arrived. The familiar sign of a pig in a cauldron never looked so inviting. Ignoring the closed sign on the door, Lauren went inside. The bar was empty, except for an older man who was cleaning a glass behind the counter. 

"We're closed." he said flatly. 

"I was hoping you could make an exception for an old friend."she said fondly. The man whirled around and his face lit up at the sight of her. 

"Merlin's beard," he exclaimed, setting the glass down and coming out from behind the counter. "Lauren!" he laughed, pulling her into a hug. 

"Hey Rick," she said, taking a deep breath. She smiled as he released her. "This place hasn't changed a bit." she noted. "Smoke and Firewhiskey." He laughed, shaking his head. 

"I wish I could say the same about you. You're growing up nicely for being raised by Sirius." She laughed. "So, what brings you here?"  Lauren's grin faded as she grew serious. 

"I was wondering if I could crash here for a little bit." Rick smiled. 

"Of course! Anything- just as long as you dance for me." Lauren grinned. 

"As long as you play Rose Tattoo, I'll dance." 

Rick took her to a room in the back of the bar. Inside was a cot and some cases of giggle juice and firewhiskey. 

"I normally keep folks who pass out from drinking back here, but it's all I got." Lauren nodded. 

"It's fine. Thank you." Rick nodded and walked out of the small room. He paused at the door.

 "Does Sirius know you're here?" he questioned. Lauren shook her head. 

"I don't have any way to get in touch with him. But I thought he might show up in a couple days and I was going to wait until then to speak with him." Rick nodded. 

"Alright, well, see you in the morning." He shot one last grin at her and left. Lauren plunked down on the cot with a sigh. She knew she couldn't stay long and she hated to put Rick in any kind of danger should someone find her here, but she didn't have anywhere else to go. She laid down and let her head swirl with what Colin and Harry and Sirius and the rest of the Order might be up to. And finally, she let the tears fall.

Elsewhere...

Sirius sat, blanked face, at the meeting. He hadn't spoke one word since Colin's letter; he'd simply thrown it on the table at the start of the meeting. 

McGonagall stared at him, a worried expression on her face. Her eyes were red and full of regret. But there was nothing else she could've done. 

Molly Weasley wrung her hands and focused on holding back her tears. If anything happened to Lauren, she wouldn't know what to do. Lauren was like her daughter and right now, the one thing Molly was thankful for was that Lauren's real mother wasn't here to suffer even more than Molly was. 

Unlike Molly, Hagrid didn't even try to hold back his tears. He had been bawling like a baby since the start of the meeting. The thought that Lauren was being hurt and that Harry was who knows where was too much for him to bear. 

Kingsley and Tonks were the only ones that could pull themselves together. They were coming up with reasons why the Death Eaters would want Lauren, what they would do to her (which didn't help Hagrid's and Molly's situations), and if she'd escaped, where she could be. 

"Sirius," Tonks asked gently, "Do you have any idea where she might have gone?" Sirius shook his head. Suddenly, Remus entered the room, late to the meeting. His eyes were wild as he threw two pieces of paper on the table, oblivious to the other members. 

"We've got a problem." he said urgently. Sirius wordlessly picked up the papers. 

The first was a sign. It had a picture of Harry on it and the heading read "Undesirable Number 1." The second was a sign of the same format, only this one read "Undesirable Number 2." It had a picture of Lauren on it. Sirius passed the papers around as Tonks handed Colin's letter to Remus, who slumped down in a chair as he read it. His hand shook as he placed it back on the table and broke down. His sobs were the last straw for Molly and she started to bawl with Hagrid. McGonagall and Tonks started to cry as well. Kingsley stared at the table. Sirius felt as if he were being squeezing together and ripped in half at the same time. He took the paper with Lauren and stared at it. He wanted to burst. Unbeknownst to him, tears began to slide down his face. I'm sorry, Anna, he thought. He sent out a silent message to Lauren, wherever she was. Where are you? he begged. You were right, he continued, you're my girl and they took you, and it's all my fault.