Disclaimer: Just what is a Philosopher's Stone good for? Anything besides luring eleven year olds into traps? No? Clearly I didn't write Harry Potter.

Friday, November 20

Bright red flame flashed into being over Pollux's desk and just as quickly disappeared. The old warlock dropped his tea and drew his wand before the cup bounced off the edge of the desk and onto the floor. He had the incantation half out of his mouth before he saw that the intruding object left behind was merely an envelope and he should perhaps not incinerate it. After a thorough probe for traps which took nearly half an hour he opened the letter—with magic of course. He was fairly certain who the sender was and by Modred he wasn't about to touch anything the old fool sent him.

To the Esteemed Warlock Pollux Black,

I have recently encountered a most intriguing and promising notion relevant to the condition suffered by your grandson's ward. I do not claim the idea has much promise, but it may have some nevertheless, and it would be negligent not to explore any potential solution, however farfetched. I should like to hear your thoughts on the matter.

A tête-à-tête vis-à-vis would be preferable. If such is agreeable to you, kindly name a time and location of your choosing.

Despite the long and fervent disagreements between myself and various members of your noble house, I bare no ill will towards your person, nor indeed to any relative of yours. As evidence thereof, I shall meet any requirements as testament of this good will as you deem necessary. It is Harry's welfare for which I am concerned.

Most Sincerely,

Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore
Chief Warlock
Supreme Mugwump

P.S. Pray forgive my method of delivery. Your most excellent wards are turning away my owls and I deemed the fate of young Harry, and indeed of us all, a matter worthy of bypassing them.

Pollux sneered. Then he huffed. Then he twitched.

He tossed the parchment aside and incinerated it, then leaned back in his chair and tapped his fingernails on the desk, frowning deeply at its surface.

Meddlesome troll! The man was as tenacious as a niffler after a gold pocket watch. There'd be no getting rid of him now. And he was not wholly unintelligent; it was possible he could have stumbled across something…interesting. Unlikely. Very unlikely. The paragon of virtue and Light, having a solution to a Dark curse? When Merpeople rode Aethonans. Still, if he was honest, Pollux had no solid leads. He was not at all worried; they'd barely begun to study the situation, after all.

Perhaps it would be prudent to hear to fool out. But by Morgana he was going to get as much out of Albus bloody Brian buggering Dumbledore as he possible could!

Remus frowned at the map that covered the parchment tabletop. "A sea cave? What put you onto this?"

Celestia didn't bother looking up from the stacks of parchment she was juggling. "A memory from the matron of the orphanage Riddle grew up in. She used to take them to the village, here," she pointed at a dot not far away from the bright red circle, "for holiday. The memory indicates that on one of the trips two other children came back from an outing with Riddle terrified and were never the same. It was slow going, but combining her memories with geological and geomagological surveys of the area this cave is within walking distance of the village, even for three young children—"

"That's one heck of a walk," Remus stated.

"Perhaps," Celestia shrugged. It was at least two miles. "Maybe that was part of what traumatized the children. It's out of the way of the village or any of the tourist attractions. It's nearly impossible for muggles to get to, so just getting them there would be traumatic even if he did nothing else, and he wouldn't be disturbed if did have other plans for them. At first blush there are lots of ravines and headlands and such in the area, but nothing that would be as hidden as this place."

She finally stopped fussing with her papers and all but flopped the folio onto the table, obscuring most of Kent.

River straightened from his examination of the map and looked at Celestia. "That's all you have?"

"That's all," she replied.

Remus caught River's eye and both raised skeptical brows. Remus cleared his throat. "What are we looking for, exactly?"

"No idea. That's why I'm sending you and not going myself."

"Explain," Tiberius said from the corner. He'd taken one look at the map, nodded to himself, and backed away to let Remus and River get closer looks. There wasn't much to look at to be honest. The geological and topographical overlays were interesting, a bit, but the geomagological surveys didn't have a single ping. No magical residences, to wards, no ritual circles or standing stones, to ley lines, to bits of wilderness inhabited by magical creatures…nothing. Of course, the last geomagological survey of Dorset was twenty five years ago, so Riddle could easily have set something up himself after its time.

Celestia frowned at the large wizard. "Well, obviously, we need multiple wizards to be able to pick up magical traces over a large area and diverse skill sets to detect potential traps before triggering them."

"Okay," said Remus. "And you're not going because?"

Carmichael chuckled. He stood in the doorway, leaning against the frame. "Are you kidding? What if the cave is guarded by a dragon, or a manticore, or acromantula, or another basilisk? Celestia works with parchment and pensieves. No offense, Celestia, but I wouldn't send you to get past a bowtruckle."

Celestia merely rolled her eyes.

Remus pressed on. "Is there any indication that the cave is guarded? Or that Riddle ever went back to it?"

Wisps of silver hair fluttered free of her loose chignon as Celestia shook her head. "None. It could be completely empty, or it could be Riddle's dragon guarded keep that can only be opened by a vampire coven on the full moon after a human sacrifice." She scooped up her parchment and huffed at them. "And if you louts don't get going we'll never know, will we?" She marched past Carmichael and off towards her office, which was more of a personal library of scrolls of notes and memory vials.

"Well," said Tiberius, "this trip will either be very interesting or very short."

Two hours later Remus peeled his face off a rough stone wall and swallowed. His companions showed no such discomfort. It was difficult not to feel outclassed by their nonchalance. The magic in this place made his skin crawl. He was testy enough for the week before the change, rather than a week after. He glared at Tiberius. "What?" The question echoed back harshly.

"So you can smell them. You said your senses change throughout the lunar cycle. I thought, perhaps…"

"Of course I can smell them!" Remus snarled. "But it's not every day someone tells you the rotten corpse you can smell is going to get up and try to eat you."

River chuckled. He actually chuckled. With a glare at his partner, Remus marched past Tiberius and started pulling an old broom out of the pouch tied to his waist.

"Where are you going?" River asked lightly.

"To the Ministry. I don't know about you two idiots, but I'm not going through that door without half a dozen Aurors at least." Remus mounted his broom and pushed off over the water. He stopped there, hovering, and turned to look at his companions. Neither had moved.

"Aurors?" River asked. "But why would we need—"

Remus rolled his eyes. "You want to face an army of Inferi without back up? Good luck. I'm sure they'll all stand nice and still while you draw devastating runes on them. I would rather let the Aurors do what they're good at, what they're paid for, which is to take and return nasty spell fire. Not to mention breaking through mysterious dark wards."

River raised a brow at Tiberius. "With time I am sure we would be able to breach the ward."

"I don't care," Remus said. "Our prerogative was information only, not curse breaking, not battling bloody Inferi, not to mention whatever else is in there. If you recall, all three of us are authorized to abort the mission without cause or justification. Well, I'm calling it. We're done and we're going for back up. Take any notes you want. I have what I need. I'll be apparating from the cliff top in ten."

Without looking back Remus turned and sped back down the tunnel—well, in as much as the cautious pace that allowed him to dodge the rough and twisty cave walls could be called "speeding."

Castle Donerth

"You cannot be serious, Arcturus!" Cassie's mouth dropped open in abject horror.

"Course not." Arcturus let the relief settle in before he continued, "He's Sirius!" Across the room, her great nephew chuckled as he read over the letter they were discussing.

"No, Arcturus," Cassie said sternly, ignoring Sirius, "I am serious. There hasn't been a light sorcerer in the Trefoil Lodge in three hundred years! You can't possibly mean to let him—"

"It's all arranged, Cassie," Arcturus said gravely. "Pollux insisted. Said if he's going to meet the old goat it will be on his terms and his turf. For Morgan's sake, I put him in charge of this venture and if he's willing to welcome the man I don't see what grounds you have to object!"

Cassie twitched like an angry cat. Her off-hand curled into a claw at shoulder level and she began rapidly tapping her fingers against her thumbnail. Even after a lifetime growing up together Arcturus could never figure out the pattern in that habit. "I don't' like it," she snarled. "Will the wards even let him through? You won't take them down—"

"Of course we won't take them down! Don't be daft, woman! If the wards won't let him through it'll be proof enough he's up to no good and we can blast the old bugger to bits like the good old days."

That brought a smile and her fingers stilled.

"I'd really rather you didn't blast Dumbledore to bits, Grandad. I happen to be rather fond of him."

Arcturus narrowed his eyes at his heir. "Then you just hope his intentions are as pure as he lets on. The day may come, my boy, when you realize how much damage his meddling has done over the years. You still see him as the benevolent avatar of justice he pretends to be."

Cassie snorted. "Personally, I think he's delusional enough that he actually believes it."

Arcturus dismissed her comment with a wave. "It wouldn't surprise me. But delusional or not you cannot underestimate his efficacy." He looked back to Sirius. "I won't ask you to oppose him on principle as we do. But you must learn to see him as a man like any other. He can and does make mistakes. And as his power and influence are greater than any other wizard currently alive, his mistakes tend to be proportionally larger."

Sirius shrugged but at least he looked uncomfortable. Good! As much as he denied it, the boy was beginning to think for himself and he wasn't finding the answers he had expected. Pinwyth popped into the room and held a silver try out to Sirius, bearing a letter. Arcturus turned back to Cassie.

"Well, the meeting is not till next week. No use worrying about it now." Sirius suddenly turned and strode towards the door. "Where are you off to now, boy?"

"The ministry," Sirius called from the doorway. "Remus found something!"

"I have a right to be there!" Sirius growled.

Scrimgeour grimaced. "You are too emotionally connected to this case, Black. Your judgement is compromised."

"Put me on the team."

"I said, no. Do not make me—"

"Save the bullying, Scrimgeour." Sirius stepped toe to toe with his boss. He was risking insubordination, even dismissal, but Morgana damn the man if he was going to sit this one out! "I have the skills and you know it. I have a better motive than anyoneelse you could possibly round up, and you know it. I am fully capable of following you and anyone else on the team without your permission, and you know it. And damn you if you think I'm going to sit home like a good dog when I could take a shot at the pile of shit that screwed with Harry's soul! His soul, Rufus! I willbe there. And if you try to arrest me for showing up I will freeze this entire department under so much legal red tape you'll be retired by the time you see the top of your desk again." He held up the hand with the Black Family ring, "it will be easy, and you know it."

They locked eyes for an eternal moment. Scrimgeour snarled. "I could sack you for insubordination."

"Won't stop me from coming," Sirius countered.

"I could arrest you for interfering with an active operation."

"Not if I come as a member of the Order. That's Dumbledore's prerogative. Shall we go ask him?"

"Dumbledore doesn't have jurisdiction here."

"Horseshit. You wouldn't dare go without him. The Order hasn't been disbanded, and won't be while there are still Death Eaters out there. How's the hunt for Rookwood coming, by the way? Dumbledore can send me wherever the hell he wants. Or I can get the Unspeakables to bring me along as a consultant; don't think I can't. Or how about I invite my grandfather? He could make a very convincing case for this venture being personal business of the House of Black. You really want to fight that battle? The Auror Department versus the House of Black?"

Scrimgeour growled and glared but Sirius knew he had him cornered. "Very well, Black. I am allowing your request to accompany the operation."

Sirius smiled but it was short lived.

"I am officially noting you as a consultant and an observer," Scrimgeour continued. With a snap of his fingers a quill sprang upright on his desk and began scribbling as he talked. "…As well as the fact that you are coming against my recommendation and without clearance for active duty. You may not pull rank on anyone there. You will not so much as draw your wand without explicit instructions to do so. Am I clear?"

Sirius glowered. "And if I do?"

Scrimgeour seemed to tower over Sirius. In the back of his mind Sirius wondered how he had gotten here, head to head against his boss, maneuvering the man to his whims, a man he respected and admired. Scrimgeour leaned forward, bringing them nose to nose.

"You've got what you wanted, Black. You're on the mission. But if you think this stunt of yours will help your career in this department you have another thing coming. You could be a good Auror, Black. You and Potter both had the makings to be two of the best I've ever known. But you've changed, boy. They've given you power, but it doesn't suit you."

He stepped back, still glowering. "I don't recommend you get used to it. Too much power never did anyone any good. Just you think on that tonight." He grabbed the quill on his desk and scribbled a signature at the bottom. With a tap of his wand the paper folded itself into a plane and sailed from the office.

"Dismissed!" he barked when Sirius hesitated.

Sirius spun and marched from the office, unsettled. He brushed the feeling away. Later he'd have time to think over this conversation, maybe talk to Mad Eye. Tonight though he had more pressing things to think about.

Hmm…power…

Sirius smirked. Well, tonight would be one time when more power would not be a problem.

It was no easy feat managing an 18 month old and a three month old, not to mention twin three year olds. Whoever said the two's were the worst year should be fed to the giant squid. They obviously had NO IDEA what three year olds were capable of! In general, Molly didn't think much about mothers with fewer children; not that she thought less of them, she just didn't think about it. She didn't have time! But whatever pride she may have had about her mothering skills had been shredded as her twins broke barrier after barrier regarding what three year olds could and could not accomplish.

Nevertheless, she did feel a sense of satisfaction whenever evening approached to find all her child healthy and reasonably content, the house still standing, and dinner...well, there would be food and it would be edible and served at a more or less reasonable hour. Enough of it wound up on the floor, the ceiling, and all over various siblings that she'd stopped trying to cook anything too complicated. She'd learned long ago that all men really needed was a hunk of hot meat with a bit of seasoning, and a bit of something strong in the after dinner cuppa. Well, that's what her man needed anyway, so it might as well be a rule.

She checked the roast and the potatoes. She eyed the green beans and gave it up; the boys wouldn't eat them anyway. Percy might; he'd try anything. But not even Charlie would eat green beans. Gently slipping Ginny into a sling on her chest, Molly did her rounds of the other children. On her way back to the kitchen for a cup of tea a melodious ding sounded through the house, followed a second later by a rather alarming buzz! Molly quickly headed to the door, drawing her wand.

"What in Merlin's name," she muttered. The ding meant a visitor crossing the wards; nothing to worry about. The buzz, on the other hand, meant the wards had stopped someone on the edge of the property, someone deemed a threat.

Molly shifted the sling so Ginny was on her back. It was not at all her preferred carrying position for a three month old, but if she needed to defend the house she couldn't have a baby in the line of fire. Molly stood just inside the door and peeked behind the curtain.

At first she was very confused! A tall man in austere black robes was striding towards her door, a toddler perched on one hip. The boy was obviously Harry, and a second look revealed the wizard to be Sirius Black.

Molly opened the door but didn't step out. "Sirius? I wasn't expecting you for…" She cut off as she noticed that he was not alone. Her eyes grew wide. Behind him, at the edge of the property, stood a crowd of wizards and witches, also in black. "Sirius!" She stepped just far enough through the door to point her wand over his shoulder. "Get inside, quick!"

Sirius paused midstride and gave her a puzzled look. He glanced over his shoulder then laughed. Laughed!

"What, them? Don't worry, Molly, they're fine." He walked over and stood at the bottom of the porch steps.

Molly lowered her wand a bare inch. "Fine?! Who are they? They set off the wards! What are they doing here?! And what are you wearing? Sirius Black, what on earth have you gotten yourself into! You look like a Death Eater!"

"Whoa, whoa, slow down, Molly, please," Sirius said, growing, well, serious. He lowered Harry to the porch. "Here we are, Pup. Miss Molly is going to let you play with Ron tonight. I will be back with Jordy bright and early to get you, okay?"

Harry looked between them and Molly realized he was picking up on her fear and frustration. The crowd at the gate didn't seem agitated; they were hardly looking at the house at all. They certainly weren't prowling around or trying to break through. Lowering the wand all the way she patted Harry on the head. "There, there, dear. Nothing to worry about, I'm sure." She smiled warmly. "Dinner will be ready before long, and for afters I have a lovely banana pudding. Ron is in the den. Why don't you go say, 'hello?' There's a dear!"

Sirius squeezed Harry's shoulders and guided him through the door. The den was immediately to the left inside, so they could watch him toddle over to Ron in the middle of the floor.

Molly pulled the door just to and then gave Sirius a sharp look. "You were saying?"

"It's just the family, Molly, nothing to—"

"The family? You mean the Black family?! Sirius Black, how dare you bring a bunch of dark sorcerers here! Here! I have children inside this house!" Her wand began shooting sparks with every other word, brighter and hotter as she wound herself up. The nerve of him!

In a more rational state Molly might have taken pity on the gymnastics his expression did at her outburst. He went through shock, confusion, embarrassment, and outrage before settling into something like determination. "Molly!" he said firmly. "In case you forgot, James and Lily's son is also in your house, the boy who is now my ward: my child. And you know I love your sprogs. I would not put them in danger, Molly. Not ever."

"Then how do you explain—"

Sirius held up a hand. "Stop! They are my family, Molly. I left them for a while, but I have Harry because of them. Harry is safe because of them. Yes, nearly all of them use dark magic, and they're the best at it in all of Britain, which I assume is why your wards won't let them through. But—BUT," he paused as she nearly interrupted him again, "they are not Death Eaters, they never were Death Eaters, they think Voldemort was ridiculous, and they are helping me, and Dumbledore, clean up after him. They are helping us, Molly. I need them."

Molly sniffed, but kept her wand lowered. She looked him up and down. "And this…costume?"

Sirius tugged at his cuffs. "It's…well, it's a little ridiculous. It's a uniform."

"A uniform.," Molly repeated dryly. "Like the De-"

"It's not like the Death Eaters," Sirius said, rolling his eyes. "Apparently, the Blacks have a number of 'uniforms,' and they're all called 'the uniform' and you're just supposed to know which one they're talking about every time. But it's just a dress code for different situations. Apparently going on adventures requires plain but sturdy, close fitting, black robes with no loose bits. After all those could catch on things which might aid an opponent in a duel, or alert someone of our presence, or knock over something important, or, heaven forbid, get snagged." He shuddered, more, she deemed, from the ridiculousness of it all than from the thought of snagged clothing.

Molly cocked an eyebrow. "Adventures?"

Sirius shrugged. "We're helping Dumbledore clean up something Voldemort left behind. A team of Aurors will be there, and Remus, maybe a few others. But Remus thinks we'll run into some nasty dark magic. There's no one better in Britain when it comes to taking down dark magic than the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black," he finished in mock pride.

"Only because they're the best at using it," Molly said, but there was less bite in it than she would have liked.

Again, Sirius shrugged. A ding from the wards caused them both to look up to see a witch in black crossing the yard. The Black uniform molded itself to her figure in ways Molly had never imagined. It was alluring, but mostly just frightening. Molly tensed but Sirius smiled.

"Andie!" Sirius called as the woman approached. "Molly, please meet my cousin Andromeda Tonks."

Molly blinked. "Tonks? As in—"

"Ted Tonks, yes," the woman replied, extending a hand to Molly. "Ted is my husband. I am so pleased to meet you at last. Ted speaks very highly of Arthur."

Reluctantly Molly took her hand. "Molly Weasley. How did you get past the wards? They won't let any dark wizards onto the property."

Andromeda smiled. It was truly disarming and made Molly feel even more confused! Everyone knew Bellatrix Lestrange's face, and to see one so similar looking so…friendly was very jarring.

"Well, you see," Andromeda said, "I am not a dark witch. I know quite a bit about dark magic, and of course I have used some, but very, very little, and not in nearly a decade. Well, actually, there is one incredibly useful vermin repelling ward that is technically classified as dark, but it's a small price to keep rodents out of my classroom."

"Classroom?" Molly echoed.

"Oh, yes, I teach at our parish school. I had to make sure Dora was fully prepared for Hogwarts and I always feel that if you really want something done right, just do it yourself."

"Which is also why you design all your own clothes," Sirius quipped.

"Yes, well, if the fashion industry wasn't run by wizards without a clue how to cut on a bias, I wouldn't bother. Now, shut up, Sirius. Go see to grandfather before he gets impatient and takes down these excellent wards just to keep you on schedule." Sirius turned and walked back, chuckling. Andie turned back to Molly once he was out of earshot. "Mrs. Weasley, I, uh," she suddenly became very shy, drawing in on herself and swallowing. "I wanted to ask you something, a favor."

"Oh?" Molly immediately grew suspicious.

Andie nodded. "Well, you see, when our Dora was born…suffice to say Ted and I won't be having any more children. I understand if you don't want to; I now the Blacks have a reputation. But I heard you had a little girl recently, and I just…as a woman, as a mother, would you…" She took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a moment. "Could I see the baby, just for a moment? Please?"

It was the last thing she expected and Molly was stunned. The woman could have raised a wand and burned the Burrow to the ground in the time it took her to recover her senses. She was only roused when the baby in question wiggled in the sling on her back. Molly felt a tiny fist rap against her shoulder and was reminded just how vigorous and opinionated her baby girl was: more so than any of her boys had been at this age. And she knew that if she gave in to her fear—and really, what mother wouldn't be at least a little afraid of handing her baby, her only girl, to a stranger, and one with ties to highly questionable characters at that?—if today she shut out the woman before her, one day her daughter would be ashamed of her for it.

Molly Weasley looked at Andromeda Tonks, née Black, with her wild hair, heavy lidded eyes, and strange black clothing, and smiled. "Of course."

A/N: Next up, the Cave! The cave adventure has been a major work in progress for nearly a year, folks. I originally had it as part of this chapter and it was just unmanageable, so here you go! The cave chapter is already drafted and is in beta review so hopefully you won't have to wait too long.

Also, new story summary! Much less angsty. Me gusta.

Please leave a review! They really make my day and are instrumental in keeping up the motivation to make time to write. And making the time is very hard with two kids under three! I admire all those authors who update weekly and I wish I could do that for you but reality just won't let it happen. If you want more chapters faster, or if you want to see more with these characters beyond Christmas of 1981, please review! If you like this story, please also consider sharing it so more people can like it and feed the Muse. Thank you!