I want to thank you all for coming along on this journey with me, yet again. I can't explain to all of you, what it means to me, that you continue to come back and read what I have written.

Now though we are getting into the darker side of Harry Potter World. Things start taking an interesting turn in this story, and I really can't wait to hear what you all think.

Now, though, I want to thank those, without whom, this story never would be as pretty as it is. Pienuniek and Sally Hopkinson, I wouldn't be here if not for the two of you. Thanks doesn't seem big enough some days.

Harry Potter & Twilight belong to JK Rowling and Stephanie Meyer, no copyright infringement is intended.

I'll let you get on with it.

Chapter One – Summer – Part I

Summer holidays usually meant one of two things in the Cullen household, no school and lots of mischief. Well, that and plenty of fun. Where kids could be kids and teenagers could be teenagers, but what it didn't usually have was preparing for something that may not be coming for quite some time.

After the last two years at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, facing one of the darkest wizards of all time, we had decided that we needed to be informed; and if that meant learning and studying during our down time, that's what we were prepared to do.

We'd spent the first few days showing our friends how much we knew and also found out in which areas they could teach us. Although that wasn't just a standard point your wand and say the spell. Nooo, they'd thrown us in the deep end and created a backyard-sized dueling match, but it had helped; and we'd shown not only them, but each other, exactly what we were capable of.

Some of us needed that more than others. Well, okay, I, the overprotective vampire, needed to see that his perfectly immortal Veela mate could handle anything thrown at her, and then some, before I'd stop throwing myself in front of her, even if it was to my own detriment.

We were taking a few days to review every spell we'd been reading up on before getting back out in the backyard to practice them all. We were also trying to get everyone together to talk about what had happened during the last school year; the problem we had was getting in contact with Draco, Narcissa, and Neville. For some reason, the letters we sent to Draco came back with the owls. I couldn't understand why we hadn't heard from Neville, though, because those letters were being delivered.

That concerned me. If I couldn't reach Draco, and I hadn't heard from Neville soon, I was going to ask the house elves Dobby and Kreacher if they could help. Thinking of Dobby made me smile; he'd slotted in well at Hogwarts, but he wanted something more for the summer, so Harry, Sirius, and James had taken him home with them.

Although I'm not sure what good that did, considering they'd spent just about every bit of free time at Swan Manor. They'd felt that they'd done Harry a disservice. Yes, they'd hidden him from Voldemort, but they'd also hidden him from learning some of the things he'd need to protect himself if, or rather, when, the so-called Dark Lord rose to power once again. So, in training Harry, they were training us as well, something I was ever so grateful for.

I had read everything that Sirius, James, and Lupin had given us or pointed us to, so I was giving Harry, Hermione, and Isa a chance to catch up before discussing with them by reading the Daily Prophet.

"What are you smirking about over there, Teddy?"

"The Daily Prophet is running a series of really interesting articles over the next few weeks, focusing on the downtrodden luck of a publishing house that put all their eggs into one big, fat, lying basket. And oh, look at that, there's also an article about someone who had finally gotten some precious memories back after losing them nearly fifty years ago."

"You mean they're actually telling the truth?" Sirius asked as he walked in the front door. "That sure makes a change."

Lupin took a seat on one of the open lounges. "That does make a change." He noticed the confused looks on all of our faces. "The Daily Prophet is owned and run by the Ministry. And it posts what the ministry wants us to read; it's not often it tells the truth."

I snorted. "That might be because it's gossip." I lifted the Daily Prophet back up to continue reading. "This reads more like what we refer to as rags in the muggle world. All they print is gossip, whether it be good or bad, right or wrong. They don't care that they could cause a marriage to collapse or send someone into a tailspin so bad they might never get out of it. And this layout, could it get any more confusing?"

I wish we had a paper that would tell just the truth. Somewhere honest people could go to get the news, or even have their own magazines, papers, or books printed. That could be fun … I heard James lament from his spot across the room. He'd stayed close to explain or demonstrate things that weren't very clear in the books we were reading. One could consider what we were doing homework, but we didn't see it that way. We wanted to be prepared, and the only way to do that was to learn all that we could.

I folded the top of the paper down, looking at him. He'd given me the beginnings of an idea; I wondered whether we could pull it off.

What?

I shook my head. "Nothing, James." But I put the paper down and made my way upstairs.

"Where are you going, Teddy?"

"Nowhere, Isa. Finish your reading! I'll be back in a few minutes." When I got to our suite, I pulled out a piece of parchment and wrote to the same department Alice had been in contact with when she'd bought her shop.

To whom it may concern,

I would like to register an interest in purchasing the publishing house that has recently gone out of business. Could you please forward any and all documents, including blueprints and lists of equipment, to Swan Manor, in care of Edward Masen.

Regards,

Edward Masen

Once done, I strode over to the window where Athan had been patiently waiting. "Take this to the Ministry of Magic please, Athan. I'll have a big treat when you get back."

Thank you, Edward. I'll be back in a while.

Once Athan had left, I walked back down to the bottom floor, overhearing the discussion about defensive spells that had started without me. Or more accurately, whether Isa's shield could be used to deflect spells coming at her.

"I don't know if it works like that," she hummed. "But it's not just that; if it worked, I'd have to constantly put it up and take it down to cast my own. Because if I can stop others from getting to me, surely mine wouldn't be able to get through either."

"That's something we're going to have to look into," Remus thought out loud. "Ah, Edward, any luck getting through to the others you wanted here?"

"Not yet, but I'm hoping to by the time the Weasleys get back from Egypt. How long will they be gone?"

"Oh, for another week or so. Did you see how happy they all were on the front page of the Prophet?"

"All except for Ron," Harry mumbled. "Do you think he'll ever be nice again?"

"I don't know, Harry." I sat back in the chair I had been in previously. "I've seen that type of behavior many times over the years in all the schools I had been to. People can change, but it usually takes something big to make them realize what an ass they've become."

"Too right," Sirius cheered, but I caught the look that Remus gave both Sirius and James. There was a story there, and perhaps they'd have to tell us one day. "Well, since we can't talk about the spells with the others yet, what have you guys read, or wanted to ask about?" Sirius continued as if he didn't see the look thrown at him.

For the next few hours, we discussed what spells we'd been reading about. There were all sorts of ways to interpret a spell, and sometimes, the way you said or did an action could turn a defensive spell into an offensive one. That was a scary thought because, regardless of the war that would be coming our way, I really didn't want to hurt anyone.

After a while, Remus and I made our way into the library next to Charlie's potions room. He had agreed to work with me over the summer on not only his potion, but in preparing a better way to become an animagus. The worst part about that particular process, at the moment, was having to keep a big leaf in your mouth for a month. There was no way around that, but surely, we could make it a little less obvious that's what we were doing.

Isa didn't want to register if we succeeded in becoming animagi. She didn't want to give the ministry a way to track us, and I couldn't say I blamed her. From all the stories we had heard about the ministry, I wasn't sure I wanted to give them any way to control us.

"Have you thought about how to make the spell stronger, Edward? I'm not sure the standard animagus spell will work for you or Bella."

"No, I hadn't thought that far ahead, yet. Although, really, that's something we should work on as well because, as soon as I figure out this leaf thing, I want to try doing it. And I know Isa will as well."

"Then let's get working on both of them."

Remus and I were elbow deep in arranging and rearranging notes and ingredients, trying to work out what to do with the leaf and to make the spell stronger, that I almost missed Carlisle's thoughts when he came home through the fireplace. But it wasn't his thoughts that caught my attention; it was the face of one of my friends—in his thoughts—that made me jerk up.

"Carlisle," I called, bringing him to the library. "Why were you thinking about Neville?"

"Is that who this is?" Carlisle showed me his face again.

"Yeah, where's he been? I've been trying to get in contact with him since we came home for the summer holidays."

"He's been in the hospital every day, sitting in between two catatonic patients. I hadn't even thought to ask why; although, I'm now regretting that."

"What's wrong with Neville?" Isa asked running into the library. "Why is he in the hospital? We have to go see him, Teddy. I want to make sure he's okay!"

I pulled her onto my lap, rubbing her back and placing a kiss on her head trying to calm her down. "We can't go now, sweetheart; he's not there at the moment."

"These people he sits between, are they older than he is? One taller, one shorter, male and female?" James asked from the doorway where he and Sirius were standing.

"Yes," Carlisle answered. "Although I haven't gotten a decent look at them because they're in a ward I don't look after."

"I'm sure they are." James nodded before making his way to a chair in the library. "Neville's parents were part of what we called 'The Order of the Phoenix.' We were a group of people who were fighting against Voldemort's reign the last time. In fact, they were pregnant at the same time Lily and I were." James sighed.

"The boys' birthdays are only a day apart. And it's also part of the reason Neville is known as the Chosen One."

It seemed everyone who was home had been listening to the conversation because the library was flooded with bodies. But before James could continue, I interrupted.

"I think, before this conversation happens, that Neville should be here to hear it. He's often wondered about the reason why he was called that because he's never felt it, not once. And if Neville's going to hear it, so should everyone else. Well, at least the twins, Ginny, and the other person I have in mind."

James nodded. "You're right. It's part of a much larger picture, and if we're sharing then they need to know everything."

"So what do we do about Neville, then?" Isa asked from my lap. "He's obviously not getting our owls, and we need him here."

I looked over at Carlisle as a thought popped into his head. "Really? You think that's the best way?"

"I do."

I looked down at Isa. "It seems we're going to work with Dad tomorrow, sweetheart, and bringing Neville here."

"Okay. Sounds like a plan."

~*~UHS~*~

The next morning, Isa and I were ready to go before Carlisle had even come into the kitchen for his morning coffee. Despite the fact that we could eat normal meals, Carlisle had adopted the terrible morning habit of not eating breakfast. Well, as far as we knew anyway, he could be eating at St Mungo's.

Carlisle chuckled when he sat down at the table with his coffee. "You do realize he's not usually there until after eight, right?" He looked pointedly at the clock, showing that it was just six in the morning.

"We know, Daddy. But I'm excited to see where you work, too." Isa could melt Carlisle like no other. The minute she called him "daddy," he gave in to her. But I also knew that, should she need it, he'd also be the disciplinarian she needed. Still, it was funny to watch.

Not that Hermione didn't do the same; it was just a little more obvious with Isa.

"I'm happy I can share it with you, and Edward, of course."

"Of course." I snorted.

We sat and chatted while Carlisle finished his coffee before we met him in the family room after he collected his doctor's bag. It was something he'd gotten used to having with him in the muggle world, and it had stuck, even though he didn't need it anymore. As far as his thoughts were concerned, it still made people around him comfortable, more doctor than vampire. I didn't think it made any difference, but it would be interesting to find out.

"Will you be all right waiting for me on the other side with Dad, Isa?"

"Um …" She looked up at me all wide-eyed and nervous.

"Go on through, Edward," Esme called from the doorway. "I'll wait with her until it's her turn."

I kissed Esme's cheek when she came and stood next to me. "Thank you, Mom." I didn't say anything to her gasp, just leaned down to kiss Isa on the head as Carlisle stepped into the fireplace. "See you on the other side, baby girl."

Stepping into the fireplace, I grabbed a handful of floo powder before throwing it and calling out, "St Mungo's!"

By the time Isa made it through the fireplace, Carlisle had already gone to his office, so we made our way there. Once he was ready, he showed us around the hospital.

Carlisle explained how St. Mungo's was different than a muggle hospital. There weren't wards such as emergency or maternity, but others dealt with all aspects of magical maladies. I supposed that was where the name St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries came from. But it did make me wonder what happened with pregnant witches. Did they have midwives or the like?

"It was founded by a famous healer by the name of Mungo Bonham in the 1600s, and it serves the entire wizarding population of Great Britain," Carlisle continued as we made our way down to the ground floor. "This is the reception area and Artefact Accidents floor—basically an emergency department for all the minor infractions."

"Like what?"

"Oh, you know, cauldron explosions, wands backfiring, and broom crashes. It's amazing the types of accidents people can get themselves into."

Carlisle took us to the entrance from the street, which consisted of a door similar to what we step through at King's Cross Station.

"Why is it here inside this abandoned department store and not, say, in Diagon Alley?" Isa asked the obvious question.

"They couldn't locate a building large enough there, and while they thought about putting it underground, they essentially thought it was too dirty."

We both nodded at his explanation before he led us to a set of stairs off to the side of the reception desk. Instead of going into each ward, we peeked through the window in the doors. It saved us traipsing unknown germs where people could get sicker from them.

The second floor held the ward that was dedicated to Creature Induced injuries. It was where someone came if they were bitten or burnt by something that could hurt them, you know, say a dragon. The third floor's ward was all about Magical Bugs and Diseases. Carlisle explained that there was a serious case of Dragon Pox going around, and the last thing he wanted was for Isa or Hermione to catch it. The fourth floor was all about Potions and Plant Poisoning, anything from rashes to regurgitation to uncontrollable giggling. In fact, we could hear someone hysterically laughing from right there in the stairwell.

"The sixth floor is where you can go to buy gifts for residents in the hospital. It also has a tearoom if you need a break from everything going on around you here in the hospital, but it's the fifth floor that you've come here for today," Carlisle explained. "On the fifth floor is where the people who have been seriously hurt by Spell Damage are kept. They're long-term residents, probably never to leave the hospital again unless there's some sort of miracle."

"This is where Neville's been?" Isa asked quietly, looking in the door.

Carlisle nodded. "I see him on my breaks, or when I come up to talk to a family member in the tearoom. His parents are lying down the left side, about halfway along. They're in a dual-curtained room. Just be aware, your professor from last year is in here, and he's quite noisy."

"Thanks, Dad. We'll see you at home later?"

Carlisle nodded again before turning and going back down the stairs. He worked mostly on the first floor but sometimes helped out in other departments.

"Ready, Isa?"

"Ready."

I opened the door quietly so as not to disturb the patients—or capture Lockhart's attention—and let Isa through before following. She held onto my hand while we made our way past some of the comatose.

This is so sad. There's no hope for these people?

"From what Dad said. But who knows for the future, plus Dad hasn't been in here yet, so who knows what he could figure out."

Maybe we can make something that will help. Between the inventions I plan to make, and the potions you plan to develop, who knows?

"Exactly, sweetheart. I plan to at least read Mr. and Mrs. Longbottom's paperwork to see what we're working with."

We were quiet for the rest of our walk down the ward. The nurses smiled sad little smiles at us as we passed before continuing on with their work. But it was the scene that we walked up on that even had my heart giving a lurch because there was Neville, hunched over, head in his hands, and trying to be as small as possible. I don't think I'd seen anyone in so much pain before, not even Rosalie or James.

And that was saying something.

"Oh, Neville," Isa couldn't help but whisper and fling herself at our friend. "What's going on? Why are you here? We've been trying to reach you!"

Neville was surprised at first, that was for sure, but it seemed he couldn't help but break down when Isa wrapped her arms around him. It took him a little while, but eventually, he sniffled and pulled back. "What are you guys doing here?"

I put down the chart for Alice Longbottom before moving over to look at her husband Frank's. I wanted to recreate them later for Carlisle to look at. Just because they'd tried everything magical to help them didn't mean there wasn't something muggle, or even vampire, that we could do.

"We've been trying to contact you since we left school to invite you to our place, but even though the owls delivered the letters, we never received one in return," I whispered. "We were just about to send our house elf out to find you when Carlisle came home thinking about you yesterday. What's going on?"

"These are my parents," Neville whispered, looking at us to make sure we followed. Isa had sat down on the seat next to Neville and was holding his hand in a consoling gesture. "I'm not sure of the entire story, only that they were attacked and have been here ever since."

"That I follow, but why are you here? And every day if what I'm hearing is correct." I tapped my temple with meaning.

Neville looked down, steeling himself. Before he started speaking, he took in a deep breath. "I live with my grandmother. But she's not very proud of me. So every day before she goes off to do whatever she does, she leaves me here, sitting with parents whom I can never really get to know."

Why do we all have sad stories when it comes to our parents? Isa lamented but shook her head when I went to answer her. "Well, Neville, we've come to rescue you. What time does your grandmother come back to get you?"

"What do you mean, rescue me?"

Isa smiled—not one of her bright sunny day ones; no, this one was softer, full of understanding that this was just a bit overwhelming. "Instead of sitting here in this hospital, all depressed and getting worn out, we've come to take you home with us. You can spend your days with us at Swan Manor, and we'll have you back in time for your grandma to pick you up. She won't have any idea, and the best part"—she leaned in closer to him to whisper, making me smile—"we have a spy here in the hospital, so if she comes back any earlier, they can let us know and keep her distracted."

"I don't have to stay here? Every day? I can come to your house, every day?"

"Every day, Neville. Carlisle will come and get you when he starts his rounds. You never have to sit here ever again if you don't want to," I confirmed. "What do you say?"

Neville slumped in his chair; actually it looked like he might melt right out of it. "Oh, thank Merlin. You have no idea how good that sounds. Can we leave now?"

Isa and I burst out into quiet laughter. "Sure, Neville. Let's get going."

After Neville collected his belongings, we made our way back down to the reception area, introducing Neville to Carlisle on the way. Neville was much calmer by the time we got to the fireplaces.

Just as I was about to explain to Neville about me needing to go first and him and Isa waiting, Carlisle came from the Accidental Artefacts department.

"Leaving now?" We nodded to Carlisle's question. "I'll wait here with the younger ones, Edward; you go on through first."

"Thanks, Dad," I replied, stepping into the fireplace. "See you at home, guys. Swan Manor."

I was home in a flare of green flames.

~*~UHS~*~

A few days later, after Neville had stopped tiptoeing around everyone and relaxed a little, I still couldn't get hold of Draco. The Weasleys were due back in a couple days, and we didn't want to waste time. We only had eight weeks of summer left, so things needed to be talked about.

Instead of wasting more time waiting, I made my way down to the kitchen where Kreacher was working on lunch.

"Kreacher, can you do a favor for me, please?"

"Certainly, Master Edward."

"I need you to find a way into Malfoy Manor and deliver this letter to Draco, but you need to be able to do it without being seen."

Kreacher frowned, taking the envelope from my hand. "Kreacher has heard many bad things about the Malfoy family, sir. What could you need them for?"

"I'm sure you have, being in the kitchens, but you also know that Draco contacted us last summer. Don't you remember what that was about?"

"Kreacher does. Do you trust them still?"

"I do. If you need help getting in, contact Dobby over at Sirius's house; he can help you."

Kreacher bowed. "Certainly, Master Edward. Do you want Kreacher to wait for a response?"

I rubbed my chin in thought. "If you can without getting caught, then yes, please. I need to know an answer."

"What about lunch?"

"Never mind that, Kreacher dear. I can handle the rest," Esme said as she sauntered in. "And Edward can help me after he looks through the package that's just been dropped off on the dining table."

We both thanked Esme before Kreacher apparated out of the kitchen with a click of his fingers. "I'll be right back, Mom. I'm sure it won't take long."

"I'm sure I'll be finished before you are." She gave me her patented mom smile while I left the room a little confused. That was until I saw what was on the table. My request of the ministry had finally come through, and they'd delivered everything pertaining to the publishing house. I sat down to go through it like Carlisle did with the Longbottom's medical records I'd recreated the other day.

I spent the remainder of the time until lunch pouring over the papers and blueprints. Things looked to be well in hand, but I wanted to make sure there were no further spells or potions on any of the equipment before I moved forward with a sale. Merlin knew we didn't need any more incidents like with Lockhart.

"Edward, be a dear, pack up and call the others down for lunch please?"

I looked up, a little surprised that I didn't hear Esme enter, only to realize she was talking to me from the kitchen. "Of course, Mom."

We were about halfway through when I heard the familiar pop that meant Kreacher had returned. His thoughts were a little disorientated, which was a first for him. So much so that I couldn't make heads or tails of them.

"Excuse me, everyone. I'll be right back." I nodded to Isa because she'd heard his return, and she wanted to know what was going on. She wasn't going to follow me, but she wanted answers as soon as possible. Walking into the kitchen, I found a panting Kreacher bent over, holding his knees. "Kreacher, are you okay?" I rushed to his side.

"Kreacher is, Master Edward. Kreacher had to run to and from Malfoy Manor because I didn't know how their protection was done. I didn't want to set off a caterwauling charm."

"That doesn't cause this though," I murmured as I knelt beside our house elf, giving him a hand to stand tall. "Take deep breaths and relax before telling me the rest."

"Kreacher managed to find a way around the spells that also work on creatures without being seen, but after waiting for Sir Draco to give me a reply," Kreacher reached into his uniform and pulled out a letter with my name scrawled on the outside, "there were more death eaters coming around the house. Kreacher had to run through the yard to a place where they couldn't see or hear me to be able to get home. Kreacher was almost seen!"

"Ah, then this is adrenaline," I said relieved. After making sure Kreacher was standing on his own, I was able to stand and get him a glass of water. "Here, drink this; you'll feel better."

"Thank you, Master Edward."

"You're welcome, and thank you for getting this." I waved the letter around. "Now, Isa is telling me that you have to go and rest for the afternoon. We'll take care of ourselves for dinner." I could hear Isa giggle in the dining room.

Kreacher bowed slightly to me then slowly made his way down the hall to his room. If I had to hazard a guess, he was going to drop into a deep sleep the minute his head hit the pillow. After I heard the door close, I looked down at the messy scrawl of Draco and realized he'd written this in a hurry. I hoped things were going okay there, but I wasn't holding my breath.

Carefully, I ripped the envelope open.

Edward,

Mother and I thank you for your letter. Things are … no better and no worse, I suppose. Well, that was, of course, after things went bad at the end of the last school year. It almost seems he's avoiding us some days, yet we are never alone.

That's not your problem, however; please do not feel guilty.

In regard to your request, it seems we'll be left alone on Monday, for the most part, and will be able to get away. He has something on at the ministry and will be gone for most of the day. Mother and I can get away then.

See you around ten.

Draco.

I slumped back against the island in the middle of the kitchen, relieved that my new friend was okay—well as okay as one could get in an abusive household—and that he was going to be here in a few short days, so I could see that with my own two eyes. Although, I had a feeling both of them would have a few more bruises than the last time.

Is everything okay, Teddy? Are they coming?

"They'll be here, Isa. On Monday."

"Good. Do you think we should warn the ones not already in the loop?" Like, say, Sirius? He's not going to be happy to see his cousin in such a state.

I lifted my girl up and placed her on the island next to me. I leaned over to kiss her cheek while I thought about her question. "As much as I want to warn them, I think the element of surprise will be needed."

Especially when it comes to Fred and George; they aren't going to like that Draco is here. Their reaction last year was very telling.

"That it was. Now, though, I think Saffy needs to take a letter to Sirius, James, and Lupin, letting them know everything will start on Monday." At the mention of her name, the little blue owl, who had grown just a little, flew in through the window we'd installed for the owls. I wrote down when they all had to be here and handed it over. "Thank you, Saffy. Isa will give you a treat when you get back."

Thanks, Edward. Back soon!

"She's really come a long way, baby girl. You and Hermione have done wonders for her."

Isa beamed. "Athan has helped too. He's let her grow but pushed her when needed."

"He has. Now, let's go play some games with Hermione and Neville before he has to go back to the hospital."

"Okay!"

~*~UHS~*~

At nine-fifty Monday morning, everyone who had known about the meeting, including Neville, the twins, and Ginny, were congregated in our family room. Those of our family who weren't working—Esme, Emmett, and Jasper—were also present, wanting to know what was going on. The only ones we were waiting on were Draco and Narcissa, but Hermione was the only other one who knew. She was skeptical about what was going to happen but was hoping for the best.

"Is everyone here, Edward?" Sirius asked as he stood from his chair.

"No. We're waiting on two …" There was a distinctive pop from outside, and Draco's thoughts filtered into my mind, letting me know he was here. "And they've just gotten here. Isa, will you go let our guests in?"

The room was quiet, everybody watching with barely concealed interest at what was going on.

James was suspicious; it was like he could sense that something was coming. "Who is it? Who are we waiting on?"

"Just wait," I begged. "It might not be clear why at first, but if you let us explain …"

Oh, Teddy. We aren't going to need to. The picture Isa was showing me wasn't pretty. It seemed that things were worse than Draco had let on. I think this will keep them quiet, even Fred and George.

"Please, everyone, sit. They'll be here in a second." Isa led Draco and Narcissa into the room, holding Narcissa's hand, while Draco had offered his arm to his mother. But the shock wasn't only going to be for our friend but for Narcissa too.

There were gasps from all around the room; the stunned silence said more than any shouting could have done. Just about everyone was silent in thought too.

Only Sirius seemed to have a reaction, although quiet. Dear Merlin, what has he done to Cissy? He didn't say anything before he shot over to Narcissa and Draco, taking Isa's place helping Narcissa into the room.

What Isa had shown me was worse in person. Both of them were covered in bruises, some older and fading, others darker and more recent. I wondered how often both of them used a spell to cover them up. Narcissa also seemed to be walking with a slight limp. Carlisle was going to want to check them over, something I think we're going to have to call him home from the hospital for.

Oh, dear God, Jasper thought. The emotions coming from those two. Betrayal, anger, sadness, even some depression. He then looked to me. Want me to send a message to Carlisle.

I nodded ever so slightly to Jasper's question, not enough to be picked up if you weren't looking for it. Jasper left the room to do that while Esme gasped before running off to get a couple chairs.

"Kreacher, can you fetch some tea for our new guests, please?" Isa called quietly.

"Cissy, what's happened? We lost contact so quickly," Sirius stuttered, helping her to sit in a chair then kneeling next to her, Draco taking the other chair.

Narcissa sniffled before looking at me. You couldn't tell me this last year? Where has he been? Before she turned back to Sirius. "Daddy married me to a monster, Sirius. He took control the minute the ink was dry, control of everything. I lost contact with everyone. But I thought you were dead. Where have you been?"

"Sorry to interrupt, but before we start that, let's introduce everyone." I waved my hand to indicate all those now in the room. "I'll point as I go. Starting over here next to Isa is Hermione. And going around the room we have Ginny Weasley." That name pulled a gasp from Narcissa; she'd obviously heard the story from Draco. "Then her older brothers, Fred and George." Who were still strangely quiet. All I knew was that while they knew things like this happened, they'd never had it quite so in their faces before. "Next to them is Neville Longbottom. Standing by the fireplace is Esme, our mother, and Jasper and Emmett, our brothers. And over on the other couch is Harry Potter, his father James, and Remus Lupin.

"Everyone, this is Draco and Narcissa Malfoy."

"It's so good to see you again, Sirius. Meet my son Draco." They both reached over Narcissa to shake hands but knew it wasn't a good time to get to know each other. "What happened that night?"

Sirius stood with a sigh. "This is going to answer questions, not only for you, Cissy, but Neville as well."

"What do you mean Neville?" Fred finally asked. "What does Neville have to do with anything?"

James snorted. "Haven't you ever wondered why Neville has been known as the Chosen One all these years?"

"I have," Neville piped up. It was out of his control; he hadn't meant to say anything.

"Then we're going to answer that, as best we can, anyway." James leaned forward, elbows on his knees. "When Voldemort rose to power, we—as in all of us and Neville's parents and others—formed a group called the Order of the Phoenix. It was for those of us who wanted to fight against him, to have trusted, like-minded people. It didn't matter who you were, once Voldemort chose to kill someone, they ended up dead one way or another.

"Voldemort learned of a prophecy that spoke about his demise and decided to kill the person who was to instigate it. But all they had was a vague idea. 'The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches … born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies … and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not … and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives … the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies.'," James recited like he'd listened to or repeated it to himself over and over again.

"With Neville and Harry both being born at the end of July," Sirius continued, "Voldemort decided the best thing to do would be to kill them both. If neither of them survived then neither of them would be able to defeat him further on down the line. From what we learned, Bellatrix, Rabastan, and Rodolphus Lestrange plus Barty Crouch Junior were sent after Neville and his parents while Voldemort went directly after James, Lily, and Harry."

Remus took up the mantle next. "The reason Neville ended up being called the Chosen One was for two very different reasons. The first being that Harry was presumed dead and the second was because"—here he sighed—"because your grandmother, Neville, told any and every one who would listen that Voldemort disappeared because of you. The wizarding world needed a hero, and you were the last one standing. It really is as simple as that."

Oh, Merlin. And now she resents me because I'm not living up to the tales she's told about me. Neville was upset, resigned, and more than a little angry. Although, there wasn't anything he could do about it now.

"But weren't you all in hiding?" Narcissa asked, looking around. "There were rumors flying all over the place back then."

"They were, which meant we had a mole in the group. There were only twenty-five of us in the inner circle of the group, and only a few of us knew where they were hidden. Of those, it was only Albus Dumbledore, Minerva McGonagall, Rubeus Hagrid, the three of us, and our other friend Peter Pettigrew …"

Isa's eyes shot to mine because we both knew we'd heard that name before. We listened carefully to the rest of the tale being told by Sirius.

"We never could pinpoint who it was because the one person who could have told us was blown up with twelve muggles by your brother-in-law Rabastan Lestrange. The only part of him that was left was a finger."

The twins chuckled a little at the description before blurting out in perfect sync. "You made it sound like muggles are an explosive device!"

It brought a little bit of levity to an otherwise heavy conversation, giving us all a bit of a laugh.

But it was Isa's thoughts that drew my attention when she looked at me. If Peter Pettigrew died at Lestrange's hand, then how are we seeing him at Hogwarts on the Marauder's Map?

That was the question.

~*~UHS~*~

We spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon talking about everything that had happened in the last two years. Isa and I filled the others in on everything Dumbledore'd had us do and learn, especially last school year in our DADA lessons.

We even filled them in on the memories that Dumbledore had shown us about Tom Riddle himself. To say they were shocked was an understatement. But more so about how much he was putting on the shoulders of Isa and me.

At around three, Sirius decided to use his Polyjuice potion one last time and escort Narcissa and Draco home after they went to the Leaky Cauldron to catch up and get to know one another again. After that, Sirius had decided it was time he came out of hiding; he was going to return to the wizarding world as Sirius Black. After all, he had a godson to protect and get to know.

The one thing we didn't talk about, however, was the fact that we had seen the name Peter Pettigrew on the Marauder's Map. We would, and soon, but we had to digest that fact first.

Isa and I had decided to retire to our suite because there was something I had to talk to her about. Something that I had been wondering about.

Wow, what a lot of information to process. Isa huffed as she sat on the couch in our sitting area. What do we tell them?

"The truth, when we've had time to digest it all." I sighed, taking a seat next to her and raising my arm so she could snuggle in. "I do have a question for you though."

Shoot.

"You've been having these … dreams lately that aren't making a lot of sense. They aren't all the time, but I wondered if they had any ties to your fear of traveling by the Floo Network."

Oh. Green fire, empty house? I nodded against the top of her head when I leaned down to kiss it because she had tensed up a little. Mother and I moved a lot after Daddy died. Every time she racked up a few exes, we'd have to move to a new town since we only moved to small ones. We moved a lot by the floo network; even when I was younger, I disliked it. I watched her memories as she told me what had happened to scare her so badly. One day, we were in a hurry. Mother had really made a mess of things, gotten in between the mayor and her husband. She basically threw me into the fireplace while yelling out the name of the next house we were moving into … then left me there, for hours, all alone.

Well, that certainly explained a lot. But … "The first time we went through the floo network, you were terrified to be without someone at either end. It had to be me, Esme, or Carlisle." Isa nodded to my thoughts. "But did you know that, lately, all you've needed to get there is me? You didn't even really need Esme here the other morning before we went to the hospital."

Isa sat up, looking straight at me. I could see she was going over every time we'd used the floo network, and how much more comfortable she was using it now than she was a couple years ago.

Huh. Do you think one day I might be able to do it all on my own?

I pulled her closer, hugging her tighter. "I really do. One day, you won't have to worry about it at all." We sat that way for a little while just thinking about everything we'd learned that day. "Okay, I need a distraction; want to come to the Ministry of Magic with me?"

What do you need to go there for?

"It's a surprise I'm working on. I'll tell you more when we get there."

"Let's go then. I want to hear all about it!" Isa stood, pretending to pull me from the sofa then leading me over to our fireplace. "I want to try going through myself. Since you've pointed out how much more comfortable I am, I want to try more, but I don't think I'm ready to wait on the other side for you."

I smiled. "Home is your safe harbor; I get it. I'll see you at the ministry." Grabbing some floo powder, I stepped into our fireplace. "Ministry of Magic."

It didn't take Isa long to step through the fireplace behind me, and the look on her face told me how proud of herself she was.

"Where are we going?"

"We have to go to the department that deals with real estate. I want to look into buying that publishing house."

Isa's brows furrowed while she thought it over before she looked back at me. "Whatever for?"

"Something that Sirius and Remus said the other day stayed with me. The ministry owns the Daily Prophet, which means that they can withhold or even dictate what truth they want to run in their paper."

"And when the time comes, you want to make sure the truth comes out whether they tell it or not. That's a dangerous game, Edward."

I shook my head, leading her into the elevators to the rear of the grand foyer. And it was grand; it had a massive golden statue with figures of a wizard, witch, centaur, goblin, and house elf. There was writing around the base of it saying, "The Fountain of Magical Brethren." Was this supposed to tell the story of how magical creatures were with each other because, if that was the case, it was a lie.

"No, it's not because we won't just produce our own paper. From the records I had sent over, there was a list of equipment. In that equipment were several printing presses. It was a large scale operation with many presses and a storefront that is large enough we could house a small museum to literature in the wizarding world."

"So what, we'd open a press to anyone who wanted to print? Keeping one for ourselves to run our own paper, so if they tried to shut us down …"

"They'd only get the one. The one press that was printing our paper. The rest we'd lease for a small fee to anyone wanting to print."

"Or we could run it as a publishing house, as well," Isa mused. "Have a few editors on board, then we could print books as well, not just papers." I nodded, following her line of thought. "How many presses are we talking about?"

"It just listed several. That's what we're here to find out. But considering the amount of books they churned out for Lockhart, I couldn't guess, but I dare say a lot."

Isa smirked while looking up at me. It was just this side of evil, like she knew that we would do some good, but people weren't going to like it.

"And, baby girl, those spells you've been researching to find hidden spells or potions will come in handy. Because the last thing we need is any trace of whatever potion was used on Lockhart's books. We want it to be the real truth and not one believed because of a potion."

"Definitely not."

We were quiet while we rode the elevator both backward and down to the Ministry Real Estate office. I had given Isa a lot to think about, and I could see it all swirling in her mind. She knew I was right, if and when, Voldemort came back, the ministry would spin it any way they could to hide that fact. Of that, I had no doubt.

Once we climbed off the elevator, we followed the signs down the hall and around the corner coming to a glass door. It had gold writing across the door announcing that it was the real estate office. I opened the door, letting Isa go through before me, before looking around. The office was quaint with a few tables and chairs placed around, but there weren't many people. Just an older gentleman, who was dressed impeccably in wizarding robes and black, slicked-back hair. He held his hand out to me, addressing just me. It was something I noticed about the wizarding world; the men were spoken to first.

"Hello, I'm Didymus Genspola. What can I do for you?"

"Hi. My name is Edward Masen and this is my mate, Isabella Swan."

Swan, as in Charlie Swan? Is she finally selling that house of theirs … I could see the galleons float around in his thoughts, something that not even Isa missed. She knew her house would bring a pretty price, but there was no way she'd ever sell.

"I wrote to register my interest in the publishing house that has gone up for sale in Diagon Alley."

Oh … the disappointment was all over his face. "Yes, I remember receiving an owl in regard to that. I sent you the information. What more could you possibly want to know?"

"We would like to inspect the premises. We want to make sure it will suit our needs before we purchase."

There was a furrow to his brow, like he'd never had that kind of request before. Did people in the wizarding world really purchase without seeing their properties first?

"Of course. Let's go back through to the fireplaces and make our way to Diagon Alley. It's right next door to the new clothing store that opened up last year."

Isa and I smiled at each other; it was next door to Alice's shop, and I wondered why she never mentioned it before. We waited while the wizard gathered his things then we followed him back through the ministry and out to the fireplaces, getting another look at that statue. I hoped that when it was built, things were like that, but I couldn't see it now. Especially with how house elves were treated by some families.

Mr. Genspola became more animated as we walked down Diagon Alley, telling us all about the advantages of owning the publishing house. How it was centrally located for the wizarding community, but not once did he mention the fact that it had been the main distributer for Gilderoy Lockhart's books. Not that I thought it was a selling point, and it seemed that neither did he.

"As you can see, the front shop is large, but the space is underutilized. There is much more that could be done with it."

Isa wandered around. The counter could be moved over there. She showed me a spot in her head along the side wall in front of a door that lead to the back, I assumed. That part over there would be good for the museum section, if we divided it with something. Maybe have another counter in there with someone who can answer questions.

I nodded along with her thoughts. "A new coat of paint would be a good thing too," I murmured before gesturing for our agent to keep showing us some more.

"If you follow me." He led us through the door that indeed led to the back, into a corridor. "Over here on the left are a couple offices but, again, the space in underused, as well as the conference room on the right," he said, opening up the doors so we could see what was behind them.

Plenty of room for editors, journalists, and their equipment. This space really was wasted. Isa thought, looking up at me. I nodded, agreeing with her completely.

"The printing happened back here through this door." Mr. Genspola opened the last door in the hallway leading to a very large warehouse-style room. But it was what was inside that room that I was interested in. "As you can see, there are a lot of printing presses left. There are also reams and reams of paper, hundreds of buckets of ink in both black and color, and all the equipment to bind many, many books. Why don't you have a look around, and I'll wait for you in the shop out front?"

I shook his hand. "Thank you, Mr. Genspola; we'll be out there shortly."

We didn't say a word until we'd heard him make his way out to the front of the store. Once he was clear, we looked around the area.

"What do you think?" Isa asked.

"I think we have a great start here." I spun around, counting. "There're fifteen presses." I paused, sniffing. "I can smell that potion in here."

"Me too. But it's farther back. I don't think it's on all the machines."

Isa and I slowly worked our way along the rows of presses using our sense of smell. I found three presses while Isa found two in her row.

Isa was nodding slowly. "Not too shabby. If we can't get the spells or ink off of them, we only lose these. Not a big deal, really." She paused before pointing. "What are those over there?"

I turned around and found a pile of books that were stacked up on a pallet off to the side. Frowning, I walked over to pick one of them up, realizing they were the last of the books that had come off the line.

Isa walked up behind me, squeezing under my arm to look. "What are they?"

"Lockhart's books. The last ones printed before the house closed down." I flipped open to look through, only to realize that some of the memories he had stolen seemed to be missing, and others seemed to be only partly there. Slowing down until we were just looking at one page, Isa and I watched as the words disappeared one by one, in reverse.

"What do you think is causing that?"

"I think it's possible that whoever this memory belonged to is getting it back. And in order to do that, the pages lose their words because they weren't Lockhart's to begin with."

Isa snorted. "You mean that the publisher didn't believe Lockhart so they made their potion with a clause that stated if the original owner of the memory got it back, Lockhart's words would no longer hold power?"

"You might be right." I laughed. "But I wonder what will happen to the potion on the books now, and the people who believed because of it."

"Hopefully, nothing," Isa mused. "But in regard to the rest of this building, I think a yes is in order."

I smiled, putting the book back on the pile. We'd burn those as soon as possible. "I think you're right. Let's go tell Mr. Genspola and get some paperwork signed."

"You mean you get to sign the paperwork."

I bobbed down, placing a kiss on my girl's forehead. "No, sweetheart. We will sign the paperwork; this will be yours as much as it's mine. Even if you legally can't do anything with it until you turn seventeen."

Isa was shocked into silence but grabbed my hand when I held it out to her and followed me back to the front.

Mr. Genspola smiled when we emerged. "Well, what's the verdict?"

"We'll take it!"

~*~UHS~*~

We all needed a break from heavy conversation, so, for the next two days, our friends and family cleaned out and rearranged the storefront, offices, staff room, and the conference room. We were able to strip out all the non-load-bearing walls so we could make more offices for editors and journalists.

Shane, Sirius, and Remus used it as an opportunity to teach us some more everyday spells such as Scourgify, the scouring spell, and even Reparo. But the majority of the walls were moved with vampire speed and strength. By the time we were finished, we had an editor-in-chief's office, three other offices for editors, and three more for journalists. We still had the conference room plus the staff room, which Esme made sure was fully stocked with coffee and teapots, a fridge, cutlery, and dinnerware.

Isa was right; once we tidied up the front and added a screen, we had a decent-sized shop as well as a small museum for literature. And the first books we added was a complete collection of Lockhart's books. We were using them as a warning to others thinking they could get away with what he had done.

Once everything had been cleared, moved, and replaced, we were ready to paint. On the day we were set to do that, Isa was going to work with Remus, trying to clean up the last five presses. Sirius and Remus had looked them over and agreed with our assessment that it was only the ones we had identified.

The night before, Remus had gone over Isa's list of spells she'd collected to see if there was anything to add to the list. He had been very impressed and told her that if she couldn't remove the potion or spells from the presses then they wouldn't be worth saving.

It took us the better part of the day to have everything painted, but it was Isa storming through the door from the back that caught my attention. She seemed to be furious on the outside, but I could hear from her mind that she was just frustrated.

Esme managed to catch her before she made her way into Diagon Alley. "Whoa there, sweet girl. What's going on?"

"I wanted to be able to save those presses, but the spell and the potion won't come off. I tried everything."

"And I told you if that list of spells didn't work, nothing would," Remus interrupted from the doorway. "There's no need to be upset about it. You guys still have ten good presses back there; that should be enough for whatever it is you're planning to do."

We hadn't filled everyone in on what we were doing yet. Isa and I had discussed it, and we wanted to use this school year to plan everything out, down to the name and layout, before opening next summer. During next summer, we would help run the place before handing it off to whom I thought could run it without us until we could come back again. I had filled Isa in on the thoughts I'd heard from Remus and James and knew we would have good candidates in them. In fact, I thought Remus would be an excellent editor-in-chief if we could get his wolf side under control.

Esme bobbed down in front of my girl. "He's right; you tried everything. There's no harm in keeping them in case you come across more spells you want to try later on down the road. Or you could just buy more if the need ever arises. Bella, there is nothing wrong with admitting defeat once in a while."

Isa turned to me. "What do you think, Teddy?"

"I think ten presses are more than enough, and who are you to deny Emmett his fun?"

Isa and Hermione burst into adorable laughter at the smile on Emmett's face.

"Go on, Emmett. Have some fun." I nodded in the direction of the back door, and Emmett took off faster than he'd ever done before. Instead of hanging around, we walked out into Diagon Alley to have some ice cream while we waited for him to have the presses compacted into cubes.

Once he was done, we locked up and made our way home. We were taking the next day off before we were getting back together again to finish discussing everything. It was also the next day Draco and Narcissa could make it over.

~*~UHS~*~

The next day, we were back in the family room waiting for everyone to arrive. Isa, Hermione, and Neville were having a round-robin game of Wizard's Chess while Emmett and Jasper were debating the merits of trying to score such a match. It seemed the more violent the pieces, the more points a person was awarded. I couldn't help but chuckle because it seemed the pieces agreed and got more and more violent the more they debated. Esme was in the kitchen with Kreacher, preparing some food and drinks for all of our guests.

I was interrupted from my thoughts when Athan flew through the window with the day's Daily Prophet. He landed on my shoulder, holding out his leg and nipping at my ear, asking for a treat. I reached up and handed him one while untying the paper with my other hand.

"Thank you, Athan. Go rest."

You're welcome, Edward. Before I go, there seemed to be an uproar in London today; something that was printed in the paper.

"Thank you, again, Athan."

Athan hooted before flying outside to the owlery while I opened the paper. The headline caught my attention as did the picture on the front.

"Oh, shit, this can't be good."

"What can't be good?" Jasper and Emmett asked.

"This," I said as I turned the paper to them.

There, glaring out from the front page, was the picture of a man. One I had seen a few times but only in the minds of people I knew. He was older, scragglier, and gaunter than I had seen, but it was the accompanying headline that drew our attention the most.

CONVICTED MASS MURDERER, RABASTAN LESTRANGE, ESCAPES FROM AZKABAN PRISON.

~*~UHS~*~

**The prophecy is the one written by JK Rowling in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Chapter Thirty-Seven – The Lost Prophecy, page 741. No copyright infringement intended.

Sooooo what do we think? Two big reveals in this chapter, first: The reasons for Neville being the chosen one, and Second: the Prisoner.

See you all in a fortnight.