Chapter Five

Debts, Deals, and Dissension

The night that Rosie went into labor, the sky was teeming with lightning, that made no sound. The air was thick and humid, but no rain fell. Everyone expected a storm, but the clouds stubbornly withheld their arsenal. There wasn't a single person in my family who wasn't on their last nerve by the time the sun fell beneath the horizon.

"For the last time, Sophie...Aunt Rosie's not going to have the baby for several hours. It would be pointless going to St. Mungo's now."

"But what if we miss it?"

Landon sighed and put down his quill on his writing desk and turned to his daughter.

"Then we'll visit them another time. You're not going to think her baby's any less adorable if it's a couple of days old."

Sophie sighed and folded her arms across her chest in a pout. There weren't a lot of things that Sophie disagreed with her father on, and generally she listened to what he said, but this was something she'd been adamant about for some time.

"But me and Ezra are the only ones left home while everybody else is at school! Somebody's gotta be there for Aunt Rosie!"

"Of course, you're completely forgetting about Lucas, Emma...Leah...."

Sophie rolled her eyes. "Oh, they don't count! Lucas doesn't care, Emma's too young, and Leah's definitely too young!"

"And so are you," he said decisively, turning back to his work.

"I am not!" Sophie stomped her foot on the floor, determined to win him over. She quickly changed tactics, grabbing onto his arm and pulling on it. "Pleeeeease?"

Landon sighed, letting her drag his hand away from the parchment in front of him, and he turned toward her once more. "In the morning..." he said, "If Rosie's still in labor...we'll go."

"The morning? That's not good enough!"

"Sophie, your father's right. You need to be getting to bed anyway—we'll visit the hospital in the morning," Claire said calmly as she stepped out of the kitchen, beginning to straighten up the living room. Sophie shot her an uncharacteristically sour look, frowning.

"You can't tell me what to do," she spat venomously.

"Sophie."

She froze, the harshness in her father's voice sending her straight to silence. She didn't have a chance in the world of visiting now, and she looked down, toeing the carpet with her foot, not wanting to look over and see the expression on Landon's face. Instead, she sighed, sulking back toward her room. Ezra watched her as she passed, surprise in his eyes.

"If I've told you once, I've told you a hundred times! Do not leave your shoes in front of the door!"

"Maddie..." Adam said gently, resting his hands on her shoulders from behind, pulling her away from Lucas.

"No! I'm sick of it," Maddie said, brushing him away and turning toward him. "Every time I come home, I trip over those damn shoes..."

Lucas bit his lip, shuffling to the door and picking up his pair of sneakers, carrying them with him as he hurried off to his room. Maddie watched until the door snapped shut behind him before she rounded on Adam.

"And you know what else I'm sick of? I'm sick of being the one to yell all the time! Why do I always have to be the one to yell?"

"Honey, calm down--"

"NO! I will not calm down, Adam! I'm the only disciplinarian in this house, and I'm done with it! I hate having to come home every day and be the one to scream and dole out punishments. Why don't you grow a pair and step up for once?"

Adam took a deep breath and held it in for several moments before letting it out in a sigh. There was no use trying to talk sense into her when she was in this state. But she was looking at her expectantly, and he couldn't keep his gaze averted for long.

"I'm sorry..."

"I don't want you to be sorry, I want you to do something! It's so easy for you, getting away for days and weeks at a time. You don't have to come home to this every single fucking day. You don't have to worry about anything but work--"

"That's not true and you know it," he interrupted her, and she folded her arms, raising her eyebrows—she'd wanted a fight, he knew this. "I worry about you and the kids all day long. Every time I go away, I worry. I worry that you're not safe, I worry that you're stressed out, I worry that you're not happy--"

"Yeah? Then why don't you ever do anything about it?"

"Maddie, I'm not going to fight with you..."

"Why not?!"

"Because nothing I say will make you happy! You aren't happy unless I yell at you, and after I do, you get upset. It's an endless circle, and I'm not going to take part in it." He turned, starting toward the hallway.

"Get back here!"

"I'm not fighting, Madison. Not tonight," he said decisively, refusing to look back even as he shut the door to their bedroom behind him, leaving Maddie fuming behind it. After a few moments of glaring at the door, she spun on her heel and grabbed her purse and her wand, disapparating on the spot.

"Emma Louise Scoresby, I'm going to give you until the count of three..."

"No! Go away!"

Molly sighed, slumping against the wall beside the door to her younger daughter's room, raising a hand to her forehead. "If you don't get your butt out here in the next three seconds..."

"You'll what? Ground me?"

"Young lady, you do not talk to me like that--"

"Go ahead! I don't care anyway!"

There was a loud thump as something that sounded like a shoe hit the door. Molly ran her fingers through her hair, letting out a soft, aggravated groan. She looked at the cordless phone in her hand, thinking deeply. Aiden was scheduled to go into surgery earlier that evening, but she had no way of knowing whether or not he would be out yet. Besides, Aiden wasn't the only person Emma listened to...

"Emma, Auntie Rosie won't be very happy if you don't come to visit her," she called through the door, clearing her throat and keeping her tone light. There was silence on the other side of the door. "Emma?"

"Molly? Is everything alright?" Julie stepped out of her bedroom, in the process of getting ready to visit Rosie at the hospital. While their house was being rebuilt, Molly and her family were staying at Aiden's mother's house and the last few months had been hectic, to say the least.

Molly sighed softly, leaning against the wall next to the door. "Emma's giving me trouble again..."

Julie glanced toward the door uncertainly before looking back up at her daughter-in-law. "Why don't you go ahead and go to St. Mungo's, I can take care of everything here."

Molly stood up straight again and shook her head. "Oh Julie, you don't have to do that...you're about to have another grandchild. You need to be there..."

"And I will," she said reassuringly, resting a hand against Molly's arm. "But you don't need any more stress—go on. We'll meet you there."

One couple alone seemed able to stand each other.

"Can you believe it? The first night we're home at the same time, and it just happens to be Rosie's big day. If that's not luck..."

"She'd kill me if I wasn't there, too," Eli was saying as he packed a bag for Leah. Callie was sifting quickly through the mail.

"I won't be able to stay the whole night—and I'll bet Leah will be fussy by midnight. But I'd understand if you wanted to stay..." she glanced toward him and he nodded slightly.

"I think if I tried to duck out, she'd get Wesley to curse my brains out," he snickered, folding a plastic bag of Cheerios in with the rest of Leah's things. He stood, slinging the bag over his shoulder and stepping over to Callie, kissing her on the forehead affectionately. He raised a hand to the side of her cheek and looked down at her when he pulled away.

"What?" Callie asked slowly, unable to help the grin that was spreading across her lips as her eyes met his. He shook his head.

"The first night we're together, and we're getting ready to spend it in a hospital waiting room?"

Callie's grin shifted into a mischievous smile and she ran her fingertips up the length of his side. "Well, we don't have to stay there the whole time...there are on-call rooms you know..."

Eli bit his lip playfully, reaching up with his other hand and tucking a lock of her hair behind her ear, his fingertips lightly caressing the side of her cheek. "I like the way you think..."

Callie laughed softly, leaning up and brushing her lips tantalizingly against his as she spoke, "There's a message for you on the machine...I'll go get Leah...then you can meet us there..."

Eli raised an eyebrow suggestively. "Are you sure there's isn't time for--"

"Eli! Leah's in the other room!" Callie laughed, playfully pushing him away. "Go get your message, I'll see you in a bit..." She turned, starting toward Leah's room before she was suddenly swept back into her spot. She gasped, giggling as Eli pulled her close once more and leaned downward, trapping her lips in a kiss.

She grinned, melting into him and kissing him back, her hands resting against his chest. After a moment, he pulled away, letting her go and adjusting the bag on his shoulder.

"I'll see you in a bit, love..."

"I'm going to kill them all."

"Rosie, dear...perhaps you should sit down--"

"I can't sit down! I can't stand up when I have a damn contraction, and if I don't pace, I'm going to curse the next thing that moves!"

Wesley quickly put his hands in his lap and sat stock-still, not wanting to incur the wrath of his wife, who was quickly becoming frustrated with the emptiness of their hospital room.

"You're sure that you called everyone?"

"I'm positive—before we even left the house, I made sure everyone knew..."

Rosie glanced toward him suspiciously and he bit his lip, painfully aware of the presence of her wand on the bedside table. If there was some way he could just sidle over to it without her pouncing on him like a rabid hyena...

"I figured at least my mum would be here..." Rosie glanced toward the window. The sun had set long ago, and she could just make out little flashes in the clouds above the expanse of streets laying out in front of the hospital. Of course, everyone milling around on those streets, trying to get in before the storm hit, were completely unaware of St. Mungos' existence. The building, like most of the Scoresbys' houses, was unplottable.

"They'll be here," Wesley said calmly, standing up and moving toward her. He rested his hands on her shoulders from behind, gently working at the tension in her back. "I promise."

She looked up at him disbelievingly, but finally gave a small sigh. "They'd better."

Wesley gave her a smile and kissed the top of her head before taking a small step towards her bed, snatching the wand from the bedside table before she could catch him.

"Rosie! So sorry I'm late, I--" Maddie paused on her way through the door, looking around in amused confusion. "Am I the first one here?" she asked incredulously.

Wesley looked quickly over his shoulder and moved his hand across his throat, signaling for Maddie to stop talking, shaking his head quickly before Rosie could turn to face her sister, looking livid.

"Oh! Erm...here, I brought you something," Maddie quickly interrupted Rosie's annoyed reply, hurrying into the room and stopping at the bed. She rifled through her bag for a few moments before pulling out soft blue material folded neatly into a square and tied with a navy blue ribbon.

"It's my baby blanket from Lucas—sorry if you're not having a boy, but it's the only color I had," she laughed nervously, turning and holding out the baby blanket. There was a small silence in which Rosie's expression went from brain-cursingly mad to tearfully grateful in record time.

"Maaaadieeee!" she cried, crossing the room and throwing her arms around her sister and hugging her tightly. "Thank you!" Her voice was distorted by small sobs and Maddie looked up at Wesley, wide-eyed, before patting Rosie on the back hesitantly.

"It's...it's okay, Rose...it's not like I was doing anything with it anyway..."

"But you came...and you brought me something..." Rosie explained through her tears, pulling away to look up at her.

"Well, I...I was originally going to bring you flowers, but I thought that would be kind of cliché...and stupid..."

At that moment, the door opened once again, and Adam stepped inside, carrying a sleepy Lucas on one arm, and a small bouquet of flowers in the other.

"Where's the party? I brought guests!"

Maddie turned to look at her husband and, spotting the flowers, raised an eyebrow. "Classy, Adam."

"Where is everybody?" Adam asked as he set Lucas on the floor, but Maddie quickly stepped over to him before Rosie could get over her emotional outbreak and bite his head off.

"Dear, why don't you take Lucas and find something to eat? I think we've got things under control here..."

"O...kay..." Adam consented, raising an eyebrow and glancing toward Rosie and Wesley in confusion.

"Anyway," Maddie turned back to her sister, "I'm sure people are on their way. Why don't you get comfortable?" She tried leading her to the bed, but Rosie wouldn't budge.

"Maddie...I've been having contractions for the last day and a half...nothing is going to make me comfortable."

"Right..." Maddie glanced around, casting about for something to distract her with. "Well—the good news is, you're not in America, huh? You know...having contractions trying to have a peaceful dinner with Gracie and Jude..."

Rosie sighed, rolling her eyes slightly. "No, Maddie, because unlike you, I didn't get on a plane the day before going into labor..."

"Day of..." Maddie muttered, but suddenly the door flew open again.

"Rosie! I'm so sorry. Emma was acting up and, well...your mother will be here soon, I promise. But Aiden hasn't gotten back to me, I think he may still be in surgery..." Molly bit her lip guiltily as she let the door swing shut behind her, but before it could, someone caught it and stepped inside behind her.

"Molly! I thought I was following you," said Callie as she moved Leah to her other hip, dropping her purse to the floor beside the door. "Rosie, how are you feeling? Is there anything you need—anything I can get you?"

Rosie looked around the rapidly filling room before her gaze settled on Callie once more. "Where's Eli?"

"Oh, he's coming. He just had one little thing to look into, he won't be long," she sank into a chair, shifting Leah to her lap.

But what Callie didn't know was that Eli would never show that night. He was distracted, and though he knew he was letting his little sister down, he was unable to tear himself away.

Eli watched the blinking light on the answering machine for a few moments, going over the list of people who could possibly have called him while he was out. There was Rosie, of course, yelling at him to get his butt to the hospital. His mother could have called for a chat. His team manager could have had something to say. But Wesley was probably keeping Rosie from making threatening phone calls, he would be seeing Julie at the hospital soon, and he'd been at practice the whole day with ample opportunity for the manager to pull him aside and talk to him in person. So, who could it be?

Reaching out to press the button, he considered leaving the message for when he got back later that night. After all, if it wasn't Rosie, then it wasn't someone who needed him desperately, and he felt that his time should be devoted to the person who needed him most. But curiosity was plaguing him now, and he simply had to find out who had called him. He pressed the button, and was met with a curious silence. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, a voice found his ears, simultaneously chilling and intriguing.

"Hello Eli...by now, I imagine you're wondering who this is. Well, don't worry; everything will be explained in due time. But while I've got you here, let me lay down a few ground rules. After this message has played out, you will not leave. You will put down whatever you have in your hands, especially if you've been smart enough to draw your wand by now. You will not use the phone to try and call anyone, and you will not yell for help. I imagine your ego would prevent you from that anyway, but let's say for argument's sake you get desperate."

Eli stared at the answering machine, too startled to consider refusing to abide by what the voice was telling him. Slowly, he set Leah's bag down on the floor, but his wand was sitting several feet away on the coffee table.

"Very good...Now, I want you to tell me something. Is the house empty?"

Eli looked around quickly, the distinct feeling that he was being watched causing the hair on the back of his neck to stand up. He clenched his hands into fists, unable to accept the idea that anyone would be able to break into their house without his knowing.

"Yes..." he answered through gritted teeth, feeling ridiculous for answering to a bodyless voice.

"Fantastic, we're off to a brilliant start. Now, what I want you to do next may seem counter-intuitive, but we're almost through with this part of the night, so how about we finish strong? I want you to pick up your wand—slowly."

There was a pause in which Eli stood defiantly still, his glare fixed on the answering machine. He was going to call this woman's bluff. If she continued on, he would grab his wand and disapparate, his suspicions that she was actually in the room gone, and he would deal with it later when his sister wasn't in need of him. But this plan soon fell to pieces when the voice returned.

"Come along now, Eli...we haven't got all night."

At once, Eli dashed to the coffee table and snatched up his wand, turning on the spot and brandishing his weapon.

"Where are you?" he demanded, his voice ringing out in the seemingly empty house. "How dare you break into my house! Show yourself!"

"Expelliarmus!"

The spell hit him from the corner to which his back was turned, the corner in which the answering machine sat, the corner from which he had been standing mere inches. Before he could retaliate, his wand flew from his hand, falling with a clatter to the floor near the answering machine and rolling beneath the end table on which it sat.

"You really don't know how to follow orders, do you, Scoresby?"

As Eli turned to face the source of the voice that had so abruptly changed his evening plans, his breath caught in his throat. The Disillusionment Charm was fading, and a woman was slowly appearing in the darkness of her corner. She was painfully beautiful, but something lingered about her features that hinted to him that she had not always been the way she looked now.

Long, dark waves of perfectly ebony hair framed a face as pale and ghostly as a spectre, and her eyes, glittering and dark, were fixated on him. He couldn't breathe for the way she was looking at him, dark intent in eyes that had once been vibrant green. She was simultaneously the most alluring and most terrifying thing he had ever seen, so much so that her mere existence could only be attributed to dark magic. She was a servant of a thoroughly iniquitous force, but commanded the power and authority of one who possesses great sway over the tides of the universe.

"Who are you?" Eli managed, his voice caught between impressed and utterly bemused.

"I..." a slow smiled creeped across the woman's pale lips, "...am the last person you will ever say 'yes' to..."

"Yes! He called him. Why do you think Callie's here? Dammit Rosie, you've asked the same damn questions like fifty times now since we've been here. I can't imagine what you've put poor Wesley through--"

"Maddie, maybe you ought to calm down...you're not the one who's in labor," Adam said cautiously, glancing between his wife and Rosie, the tension between them rising to an almost volatile degree.

"What I've put Wesley through?" Rosie's voice rose incredulously, and Wesley moved to put his hand on her arm, but she slapped it away like an annoying fly. "Where's my wand? What did you do with my wand? I want Maddie out of here!"

"Rose, you don't mean that--"

"Yes I do! I can't do this with her belittling me--"

"Oh, what're you gonna do to me, Rosie? You're giving birth to a child. Don't make threats you can't live up to...."

"Erm...Maddie?" Adam took a small step toward her. "Might I remind you of the death threats you've made when--"

"Shut up!" she snapped, shooting him a small glare before looking back at Rosie. "Eli's not here! Big deal! You can't just sit around and wait the whole night until he shows up—your baby's got a schedule of its own, and no matter what you do--"

"Maddie? Remember when Aiden wasn't in New York with us and you forced yourself to wait--"

"Shut UP!"

"Enough."

The whole room was still as Julie stepped through the door. Emma trailed along behind her, looking between the adults, bewildered.

"There will be no more arguing, do you hear me? Rosie, calm yourself. Madison," she turned to her, flicking her wand, a chair scooting out from beside the wall and stopping just before it could hit the back of Maddie's legs, "--sit down."

Maddie slowly sank into the chair behind her, looking stricken. Julie watched her shrewdly until she was sure there would be no more outbursts, then she turned to the room at large.

"We are a family. And we're about to become just a little bit bigger," she slowly looked around, her voice chiding them all, even Molly, who stood in the far corner, having kept to herself for the duration of the fight. Emma ran to her now, clutching at her hand and turning to watch Julie cautiously. "Now, I don't care what your problems are, but we will not bring this baby into a dysfunctional atmosphere. Everyone is going to smile...and be happy for Rosie...and we'll deal with the situation at hand."

Nobody moved. All eyes were now on the woman dominating the room, and no one seemed daring enough to challenge her, not even Lucas, who like his mother always had something to say.

"Now...Callie, where is Elijah?"

"He was right behind me when I left. He had to check a message, and then he said he'd meet us here," she answered quickly, shifting Leah to her other shoulder.

Julie nodded once before turning her attention to her youngest daughter. "Rosie, that's the best answer you're going to get, and you're going to have to deal with it."

Rosie, standing by her bed, nodded, looking dejected but otherwise relieved that someone had taken control of the situation.

"Now..." Julie smiled sweetly, her entire demeanor changing in an instant. "How are you feeling, dear?"

"Erm..." Rosie's hands went to her stomach and she glanced downward before looking back up at her mother quickly. "Actually, I think...I think it's happening..."

There was a sudden flurry of motion, and the room sprang to life once more. Maddie jumped up from her seat to join Rosie at her bedside, Lucas shouted, "COOL!" and hurried after his mother, Wesley was at Rosie's other side in an instant, helping her back into the bed. All of this stopped when Julie spoke again, the command back in her voice.

"Absolutely not. Everyone—you're crowding her. Molly, Adam, and Callie...find a waiting room and take the children. Rosie has everything she needs here, and we'll let you know the second something happens."

Callie looked shocked, Adam relieved, but as they were on their way out the door, Julie spoke again.

"Molly--"

She turned, looking back, though Emma was tugging at her hand. "Yes?"

"Where's Aiden?"

"I'm not....I think he's still in surgery," she bit her lip.

Julie nodded once. "Find a Healer...but be on the lookout for Aiden. He'll want to know."

Molly nodded and swept out of the room. Julie turned to Rosie again.

"Alright, sweetheart....let's have this baby."

"Quidditch," the word was full of disgust and demeaning as it slipped from Selene's lips. She was twirling her wand between her fingertips as she slowly circled the living room of Eli's house. "I've always hated the sport...and the egos it creates."

"So, what? This is about the Cannons?" As she moved, his gaze followed her, watching for the slightest movement that might cause her to lose her sight of him, and he could make for the corner and grab his wand. But she watched him vigilantly.

Selene laughed incredulously, the sound scathing. "Exactly my point." She stopped and turned to face him dead-on now. "You and your entire family...you've had this idea stuck in your heads that you reign above everyone else. Because you have your name in the tabloids, you feel the need to lord over your inferiors--"

"It's not like that," Eli spat back, indignation rising in his tone. "I don't give a damn what the tabloids say--"

"No?" Selene cut him off, raising her eyebrows slightly. "Not at all?"

Eli hesitated, watching her closely. She began to circle again, taking slow, deliberate steps, her wand spinning in her fingers, but somehow never seeming to turn away from him.

"You mean to tell me that you wouldn't care in the slightest if the Daily Prophet had your face splashed across the front page, pitted with accusations of terrible things?"

He grit his teeth, clenching his hands into fists. "What are you getting at?"

"Nothing you need worry your bloated ego about so long as you do precisely as I say..."

"I'll never help you--" he began, taking a step toward her, wanting nothing more than to rear back and destroy that hauntingly beautiful face. But she stopped instantly, and he found himself staring at the tip of her wand inches from his nose.

"You will when you realize I have more than libel and slander at my disposal." She began to advance on him, and Eli couldn't help but take steps backward the closer she came. She was threatening and enticing all at once, and the fact that his wand lie across the room far beyond his reach was beginning to make him feel vulnerable despite himself.

"You're bluffing," he said, attempting to sound braver than he actually was. His resolve was slowly dwindling as he was being backed into a corner.

"With one strike, I could have you lying on the floor, helpless to move a finger much less stand up at all as I wait for your dear wife and child to return from St. Mungo's. Then, I would ensure that you had a perfect vantage point as I slaughter them slowly and with no regard for the years of emotional turmoil that would invade your thoughts as you bemoan the fact that you had every power in the world to stop me, simply by abiding by what I say."

"Stay the fuck away from my family," Eli growled, a last burst of courage erupting from the pit of his stomach as he stepped forward, grabbing her wand arm and pulling it away from his face. Selene reacted instantly, twisting her arm with inhuman speed and spinning around. As she did so, her foot shot out, knocking Eli's legs out from under him and sending him sprawling against the wall. Her wand was in his face again in an instant as she little more than murmured, "Crucio."

Stars burst before his eyes, and Eli slipped to the floor in agonizing pain, biting down on his tongue to keep from crying out, but the sound escaped regardless as he writhed, his body contorting wretchedly.

"Rosie...you might want to lighten up on Wesley's hand a bit—I think he might need it later..."

Squeezing her husband's hand as if clinging for life, Rosie cried out to drown out Maddie's voice. She was in the worst pain of her life and nothing her sister was saying was making it any better.

"One more comment, Maddie, and I'm throwing you from the room," Julie said warningly, giving her a glance that clearly said she meant business. Maddie sighed, but fell silent, glancing toward the Healer crouched at the foot of Rosie's bed.

"Isn't there anything you can do? She's been like this for hours!"

"Mrs. Wright, you have to understand. This is Rose's first pregnancy, and the baby isn't exactly the smallest..." the Healer explained with patience that was clearly wearing thin.

"Leave it to you to give me a freak giant for a kid," Rosie growled at Wesley, who responded merely by pressing his lips to her forehead and squeezing her hand, though he was surprised he still had any control over his at all—he was fairly certain she was going to rip it off.

"It'll be over soon, sweetheart. Then you and the baby can have the best sleep of your life--"

"More like the last sleep of your life," Maddie mumbled.

"Madison!"

"What?! It's true!" Maddie looked up to see Julie glaring daggers at her. But before she could be tossed out into the hall, the Healer spoke again.

"The baby's crowning. Rose....it's time to give me one last good push, okay? You're almost through...just one push."

"You can do it, baby. Just a little bit longer," Wesley urged gently, pushing the hair back from Rosie's eyes as she sat forward, her breathing ragged as she fought to contain a scream.

Eli's breath caught in his throat as Selene finally lifted the spell. But before he could react, she was kneeling in front of him, seizing the collar of his shirt.

"That was nothing to what I'll do to your wife if you choose to defy me, Scoresby," she half-whispered, and though her voice was soft, it was infused with a deadly promise. He turned his gaze up to meet her dark eyes and when he did, she sneered.

"But thanks to your obstinance, I've kept you too long. Calliope is in the waiting room of the second floor of St. Mungo's, growing angrier with you by the minute. You will go to her, but you will not say anything about what has happened tonight. You will be given your first task soon, but if you fail to keep quiet until then, I'll follow through on my promise that your family won't live to see another day. Do you understand?"

Eli narrowed his eyes and kept his lips firmly shut, defiance lingering still, despite his his downtrodden resolve.

"I asked you a question, Scoresby! You will answer me!" The tip of her wand pressed against his chest, and he winced as the fabric singed. When he still didn't respond, she repeated, "Crucio."

As the pain rippled from his chest to the tips of his extremities, Eli found himself agreeing, struggling against the crushing weight of guilt that had begun to press down on him. While closed his eyes against the mind-numbing pain, he became faintly aware that he was finally alone. Selene had, at last, disapparated.

Later that night, as Rosie settled back against the pillows of her hospital bed, holding her newborn son to her chest with Wesley's comforting arm around her shoulders; as Maddie lightly kissed her sleeping husband awake; as Molly relived the tale of the night to Aiden (with Emma's help of course); as Eli mumbled an excuse to a livid Callie about falling asleep after listening to his message "from the captain"; as Sophie left a tearfully apologetic letter on her father's work desk, the world at last seemed to find its peace. The storm had moved on, shedding no rain upon a family that had grown so tired of the squall and clamored to find a moment of peaceful solitude. But their troubles were only beginning.

"Did you even go to St. Mungo's? What's going on? Is--"

"For the last time, Morgan, I will not check up on that wretched family for you. If you want to see your new grandson, then it's up to you to gain their trust."

"So it's a boy?" Morgan asked eagerly, stepping toward Selene with intent curiosity in her eyes. Selene sighed and sank down into an armchair in front of the fireplace. She wrinkled her nose in disgust as the back of her heel found one of Morgan's empty wine bottles beneath the chair.

"For god's sake, if I'm going to remain in this abysmal house of yours, you're going to have to keep it clean."

Morgan glanced about, her cheeks flushing faintly as she summoned the House Elf, who quickly set about tidying what Morgan had carelessly left behind.

"But you know. You can tell me! You see everything that goes on—please!" Morgan stumbled as she hurried to Selene's side, kneeling beside the chair with frantic suppliance.

"Your concern for the Scoresbys is pathetic, and I refuse to indulge in your pitiful pleading. As I said, if you want anything from them, you'll have to get it yourself."

Morgan drew herself up in indignation, glaring down at the woman beside her as she rested her hands on her hips. "You can't speak to me like that! You owe me for everything that I've done--"

"Wrong." Selene got to her feet so quickly, that Morgan took several dizzy steps back, catching herself on the bookshelf. "You are in debt to me. I've kept you from your miserable self-pity, I've saved you from the embarrassment of your sickeningly morose emotions. And I alone possess the key to the thing you most desire..."

"So when are you going to give it to me? Huh? Every day, you string me along, you boss me around, and dangle my husband's life over my head—and for what? When are you ever going to let me be with him again? You say there's a Horcrux...well, what if I don't believe you?"

"That's not your call to make. But if you continue this half-assed attempt at defiance, you will join your husband shortly." Selene drew her wand, and Morgan instantly deflated, knowing she was at a loss. She was nothing against Selene in a duel, and she knew there was no chance at inciting mercy if Selene was angry at her.

"Well, I'm giving you my house, the least you could do is consider holding up your end of the deal," she muttered, stumbling toward the door to the hall. Selene watched her go with repugnance, slipping her wand back into her pocket. After a moment, she settled back into the armchair, her eyes falling upon a scrying glass in the corner of the room, dark shapes moving beneath the surface. With a grin, Selene returned her gaze to the fireplace, content that her plan was coming together with such delightful swiftness.