"That is strange."

"Tell me about it." Moria replied, biting her thumb as she thought about it. "I've never heard of accidental magic to be like that. Have you?"

"Well everyone is unique I guess." Florentia commented and Moria sighed, unable to argue with that. Still…

"I know, it's just…I don't know, it doesn't feel like an accidental magic thing, instead it feels like something more."

"You're probably just diving too deep into it."

"What are you? Giacintro?"

"What did I do this time?" The said auror asked as he walked into the room, placing his lunch on his desk. Rosetta smiled.

"Oh you know, past words coming back to haunt you. Normal stuff."

"Oh fun." He grunted sitting down.

"Have you ever heard of a young witch having an out of body experience due to accidental magic?" Moria asked. He paused, frowned, before opening a file.

"Can't say that I have, but then again, each witch and wizard are unique." He replied. "I mean I knew this one kid who literally pulled a rabbit out of his a-"

"MOVING ON." Moria snapped, whacking him on the upside of the head. "I'm just worried. She also said that she had this strange dream with orbs talking about fate and destiny."

"Merlin knows she didn't learn that from you." Nico called out from his cubicle. Moria threw a glare before frowning.

"It's just strange…that's all."

"Look, if there is any problem that's goes on further with her outer body experience and talking about orb things, I'm sure that there is someone here that can speak to her."

"I'm not saying she's nuts."

"I'm not either. There are people who work with really powerful witches and wizards to try and figure out how to best have them handle their accidental magic, be it emotional or something else. Both Harry and Max seem to be highly gifted." Giacintro remarked. "You've already told us that Harry's manage to regrow hair, shrink clothing he didn't like, turn a teacher's wig blue, and a bunch of other stuff…before he was seven, no telling what he's gonna do in current years. And Max has managed to transfigure herself with dog features to fit a picture she saw in a book. If that's not powerful magic, I'm not sure what is." Giacintro grumbled.

"Honestly I just hope it doesn't get too bad."

"Too bad?" Rosetta asked.

"Max is…different." Moria commented. "Not in a bad way mind you, but she's always been the one to hide her feelings."

"You do it too."

"I know I do. But here's the difference between her and me. I get rid of that anger and frustration by punching something, be it a criminal or a punching bag, I at least get the stress out."

"She doesn't, I assume?"

"I don't think she wants to worry anyone." Moria mumbled.

"She'll be fine. She has you as a mother, I doubt she can be that bad." Giacintro responded and Moria let out a snort.

"Thanks."

Felisa sighed as she sat on the roof, watching the lights of the town twinkle and glow. It was such an ambient atmosphere, yet her thoughts were clouded. 14 people…why would he do that? What purpose would that create? Did he think that it would scare the Auror department into leaving him alone? If anything it would make them work harder.

"Uncle…what are you thinking?"

"Besides how much of a failure you are?"

She spun around and spotted the familiar figure standing there. "Uncle…how did you-"

"I have my resources. And don't call me uncle anymore…you betrayed your family."

"Betrayed…I did no such thing!" She exclaimed. "I had nothing to betray."

"Oh but you did. See, you're family…" He stated as he got closer. She took a step back, but barely managed to not fall off of the roof. She grunted as Fermi gripped her shoulders, pushing and then holding her forwards. She looked down and saw nothing but the street below. "You're my family. What must my buyers think when they spotted you with the aurors?"

"Nothing!" She exclaimed, looking over her shoulder in a panic. "I didn't rat you out, I swear!"

"That's right…you didn't. And you won't. Ever."

Felisa felt weightlessness as her uncle released his hold on her and she plummeted to the ground, screaming, before scrunching metal was heard. He stared at her form that had landed on a car as people rushed to her stunned. He smirked and then, calmly, walked away from the ledge and into the shadows, smirking as his nieces blood stained the ground and slowly, very slowly her fingers twitched.

"She's lucky she isn't dead." A healer said, looking at the injured girl. "With the amount of internal injuries, most people wouldn't have survived the trip to the muggle hospital and then the trip here to St. Stregoneria."

"Well she's a tough one." Moria commented, glancing at the other group as they stood there. Guards were in front of Felisa's door. The healer looked at the quizzically.

"A lot of security for a girl who tried to commit suicide."

"Can never be too careful." Moria stated simply, pushing her hair back as she waited for the healer to leave. Once she did, they closed the door.

"Lucio, I'm sorry."

"Don't be." Lucio stated looking at Giacintro. "You couldn't know this would happen."

"What do you think?"

"I can't picture Felisa being desperate enough to try and commit suicide, even more the fact choosing my place as the jumping ground."

"Yeah. It's too short. If she was desperate enough she would have gone to the apartment complex next door." Florentia commented, contemplating. "So why would she fall off the building? She's normally a lot more agile than that."

"Yeah, unless someone pushed her off." Nico stated, looking at his wrists before looking at his half-sister. "I mean, you can only be so agile when someone is dangling you off the ledge."

"So we agree then?" Lucio asked. "Fermi's involved in this?"

"I don't see how he couldn't be." Basilio stated. "He had to have been panicking about her staying with us."

"Or more worried about how his buyers would react to her being with us." Moria grumbled. "We need to put a stop to him. Especially with the fake potions he's selling in the black market."

"They're the idiots who buy them."

"Some of them aren't idiots." Moria snapped. "Some of them are desperate, and need those potions to use as supposed medical reasons." Giacintro went silent at this. "I don't want innocent people thinking that this potion or herb will heal them or make their symptoms less painful and then they suddenly die."

"…I see…Lucio? What do you think?"

"I think we should get ready for a raid on his potions warehouse. Get ready."

"Born ready."

It was a dark night, the air still, reeking of the discarded fish carcasses and salt water. The only sounds were the waves lapping against boats. Soon several shadowed figures silently strode towards the abandoned warehouse at the edge of the pier. They all worn black, their faces partially covered by dark cloth.

"Remember the plan." Lucio whispered.

"We do." Moria hissed out before gesturing to the other members of this party that hadn't been on Lucio's team previously. "But do they?"

Lucio sighed, not answering her but then nodded ushering them forward and they all positioned themselves in front of the door. Lucio raised his hand up and then closed his hand into a fist. Giacintro and Basilio smashed their foot into the door, splintering it open.

"MINISTRY OF MAGIC!" They're voices echoed and men who were placing potions into cardboard boxes froze and then screamed trying to run away. Spells flew all over the place as aurors rushed to capture the fleeing suspects. Giacintro ran down a hall, followed by Moria.

"This place is a lot bigger than I imagined." Moria stated.

"It has to have an undetectable extension charm." Giacintro replied as they ran down another hall, the sounds of the fighting gradually lessening and disappearing. They slid to a stop in front of a large door and looked at each other, before Moria nodded and Giacintro braced himself before smashing the door open.

"MINISTRY OF MAGIC!"

"Yes, yes…no need to yell." A voice called out and the pair saw, lit by a single, flickering light above. Dark containers surrounded them, and though the pair couldn't see anything, they didn't move any farther almost sensing that something alive was in there. The two aurors gripped their wands tightly.

"Fermi."

"Ah, Auror Black and Muraro. The dynamic duo. Or should I say two large thorns in my sides?"

"You're under the arrest for trafficking illegal goods, attempted murder, murder, and a lot more that I'm sure I'm forgetting from you warrant, but we'll be sure to tell them to you in Povelgia."

"My my…attempted murder, now where did that charge come from?" He cooed looking at them as he began to drink something out of a glass. Moria's eyes narrowed.

"Your niece will be having some strong words for you, I'm sure."

"Ah, I see, the damn brat survived. Pity."

"Oh I'll show you something to pity about you ba-"

"Have you ever heard the tale of Samson and Delilah?" Fermi suddenly asked. Moria paused looking at Giacintro.

"I don't really care to be honest."

"You see Samson fell in love with a woman named Delilah, who was bribed by his enemies to discover his weakness. His hair."

"Well you're missing quite a lot of that, aren't you?" Moria spat out and Giacintro snorted. Fermi ignored her.

"You see his hair gave him strength, and when Delilah cut it, his strength went, until of course it grew back and in a mighty sacrifice he pulled down temple pillars killing himself and his enemies."

"Lovely story, I'm sure it will do well in Poveliga."

"Oh…I'm not going to Poveliga." Fermi responded pulling out a vial with a green liquid in it. Immediately their stance changed, going into defense mode.

"DROP IT!"

He ignored them and opened the cork.

"I SAID DROP IT!"

He drank it all down.

"That does it." Giacintro snapped rushing to him and twisting his wrist, making Fermi drop the now empty vial and it shattered on the ground. He went to cuff the man, however Moria noticed a sneer form on Fermi's mouth.

"Gia! Something's wrong!"

"Oh nothing's wrong Auror…" Fermi snarled and then smashed his fist into Giacintro, propelling the man through the wall.

"Gia-" Moria began to call out but Fermi was suddenly in front of her. "He's fast…"

"TOO SLOW!" He roared, swinging his fist to her. She barely managed to cover her head as his arm smashed into her sending her flying across the room, into the empty vials that were being used to store potions. She yelped as glass cut into her arms and back, but before she could move Fermi had appeared over her and grabbed her by her throat.

"This potion took years to make. Imagine. Men with this strength as my soldiers…think of the possibilities. Can you name a few?" He asked, tightening his grip on her throat. She made a chocking sound and he sneered and with his free hand snapped his finger. Almost on cue the bins shook and began to break off. "It took us awhile to work out the kinks in the potion…and well…why don't I let your teammates deal with the rejects?"

And Moria watched in her fading vision as what had once been humans emerged as monsters. Their muscles had expanded to the point that the skin in some areas had burst, their eyes had shrunk, what had once been white now a dark black, their eyes golden now. Drool dripped down their jaws, as they growled like savage beasts. Fermi looked at them indifferently.

"Li destroy." He said simply and the creatures shrieked before rushing out the hole that Giacintro had made.

"N-No…"

"You Auror Black. ARE MINE." He roared before tossing her. She hit the floor once before rolling to her feet. She gripped her wand tightly.

"STUPEFY!"

He laughed as the spell hit him. "Is that the best you can do?"

"Bastard…" She growled before rushing to him, kicking him hard, he stumbled backwards as she aimed her wand again.

She summoned a large crate and threw it at him. "Expulso!" She cried out and the box exploded. He stumbled farther back but she didn't let up on the spells, forcing him back into the main area where everyone else was fighting the rejected group. She barely seemed to notice, but kept her mind open to be able to dodge other attacks and wayward spells from the other aurors. She kept hammering spells at Fermi pushing him back. She looked up and saw some crates hanging above him. She threw another spell at him, forcing him back and then aimed at the rope holding the crates.

"Succidite!"

Fermi looked up as the rope sheared off and the boxes tumbled onto him, bursting and wood exploding everywhere. Moria panted as she walked over to see if Fermi was still conscious. There was no movement from under the boxes. She sighed and then tuned in to the fighting going on around. Giacintro had regained consciousness and was helping Nico fight one of the monsters.

"I have to-"

Before she could finish that thought she heard cracking and turned back around as Fermi exploded from underneath the boxes, spearing her with a long pole shaped piece of wood, impaling her in her shoulder into the stone wall. She yelped loudly, but aimed her wand at Fermi's face. He however grabbed her wrist and smashed it into the wall, forcing her to release her wand.

"Did you really think a useless nobody like you would beat me, Cagna?" He teased gripping her wrist tightly as he played with her wand.

Moria snarled angrily, lurching towards Fermi, yet unable to move as he looked at her wand while his minions continued to fight the other aurors. "But I must admit, the quality of the wand is excellent. I think I'll keep your wand, wench. As a trophy for the weak bitch who dared to challenge me." He teased. She glared at him.

"Forget pain. That is a weakness. Something that cannot be tolerated. Leave pain, leave weakness."

Malcolm's words taunted her and Moria gritted her teeth, glaring at Fermi. She wrapped her hands firmly over the metal pole that had impaled her shoulder to the wall.

"You assume too little of your opponents, Fermi." Moria stated slowly staring at him. "You do not try to know them or try to understand them. However that is a fault that is your weakness." She continued and her eyes seemed to glow golden. Fermi stared at her and then felt the hand that held her wand growing warmer, yet he was unable to loosen his grip.

"I am Moria Althea Prescott, daughter of Mable and Maarten Prescott. I am an auror of the Italian Ministry of Magic. Mother of Maxine Bryn Black…godmother of Harry James Potter. To many that is all. However…" She said, her voice growing in strength and her grip tightened on the pole. The heat began to become unbearable and rebellious magic, colored gold and red, wrapped around his arm like a python, cinching tightly on him. He began to try and pry his hand loose, but it seemed that the potion was not working to release its grip on the wand.

""However I am also the wife of Sirius Orion Black! And I've learned a thing or two about being UNPREDICTABLE!"" She yelled as the wand's energy exploded and Fermi dropped the wand, letting it clatter onto the floor as he stumbled back. She wrenched the pole out of the shoulder, dropping to the ground and then dashing to Fermi smashed it into his arm. She swung around, slamming her leg into him, though he managed to block it, before swinging his leg at her. She ducked and pivoted away, dodging his punch. She returned with two swift punches to his jaw, but it didn't seem to faze him. He blocked her next punch, and tried to kick her again but she blocked it. She grabbed his head and smashed it down onto her knee twice and then smashed it into her other knee once, sending him reeling backwards. She rushed forward, punching him hard in the face again, before delivering two punches to the kidneys. He stumbled further backwards and Moria ran to him. She wrapped her arms around his waist and summersaulted smashing his head and neck into the concrete ground before throwing him back with her legs. As he flew into the air she jumped and then slammed him down again onto the ground. As he struggled to stand she grabbed her wand, feeling the familiar wood.

"Fermi, now you're going to Povelgia. Either you can go peacefully or act like a child…" She began as he sat up. She paused as he looked at her. His eyes were darkening. Just like the others. It seemed the potion wasn't full proof. She frowned taking a step but stopped when she realized the wood underneath them was old and barely stable.

"I won't…"

She looked at him as he struggled to stand and her expression turned to one of concern as the veins in his body seemed to darken his muscles bulging.

"I won't…be…I WON'T BE DEFEATED BY A DISGUSTING WOMAN!" He roared rushing at her and tackling her. The wood underneath them split open and they tumbled below.

"MORIA!?" Giacintro called out, managing to defeat his opponent and rushing over to the opening. "MORIA?!"

Moria shifted in pain and looked up to see a pair of dark eyes staring at her. She grunted in panic trying to get away, before she felt something drip onto her stomach. Looking down, she saw a darkened piece of what once had been a metal rod that had supported the ceiling had fallen and speared Fermi who lay on top of her. The sharpened, jagged edge rested just above her belly and with each breath she could feel the edge. Grunting she shoved the dead weight man off of her, and sat up. He was staring at her with wide eyes, and his fingers twitched, but judging by where the pole was, he had severed his spine…and he wasn't going to live much longer. The potion had given him a few extra minutes…but that was all. He kept on twitching as Moria watched, before his eyes slowly closed and the twitching ceased. She stared dumbly at the figure and such a pathetic end to a man who had aimed for greatness before she heard shouts of her teammates. She looked up and saw their worried faces. She gave a sigh and then waved.

"I'm good. Covered in blood, but it isn't mine…mostly." She called out and their relieved faces showed. "Everything good up there?"

"Yeah. Come on up, we have loads of cleaning."

"Cleaning?" Rosetta said looking at Basilio like he was crazy. "Nu-uh! Come on! It's time to celebrate!"

Celebrating apparently meant getting drunk at Moria's home. After placing several silencer charms to not wake up the children, Moria sat there and watched as her teammates drank themselves, sipping on a small cup of firewhiskey. When the clamor grew too boisterous, Moria withdrew, as she normally did in situations like this, and wound up on the porch, staring into the trees of her backyard. She sighed, rubbing her head as her heart ached, the memories of similar parties in England echoing past. Lily and Alice trying to not drink too much, Remus and Frank watching from a distance and sighing knowing they would have to be lugging drunk as skunk adults to their respective houses, and James and Sirius already over their limit and dancing like morons. Drunk morons who would regret it the next day, but happy nonetheless.

"You know watching the moon by yourself is rather lonely." A voice said and she turned.

"Hey Gia."

"Hey, too loud?"

"Nah, just needed some air."

"Well they're starting to head out, said not to hold you up and they'd see you on Monday."

"I should probably say goodbye."

"Nah, they know you aren't the most social of people after a mission. And considering what happened…"

"I'm fine."

"Physically, yes. Mentally…"

"You make it sound like this is the first time I've ever seen someone die. I lived through the first Wizarding War, and my childhood was surrounded by death. I'm fine."

"…where you happy with his death?"

"Hm" She asked taking another sip of her drink. He looked at her.

"Fermi's passing. Were you satisfied by his death?"

"…it was kind of eerie, actually." She admitted looking at her drink. "For a few brief moments, whether it was the pain…I thought I was seeing my uncle again."

"I see."

"To me it was like I watched him finally die."

"And did that make you happy?"

"No…incredibly sad." Moria admitted. "Because I wasn't strong enough now to save a fallen soul."

"Some souls you can't save, Moria." Giacintro admitted. "No matter what you try, or do, some fall…and they can't be brought back into the light."

"How poetic."

"Doubt there is a lot of English men who can say that off the top of their head." He teased and she laughed, swirling her water.

"No, I can't say that I've heard a lot of stuff like that. However thinking about it, Sirius wasn't all that poetic. He had his moments, but he was more of the 'I'll tell it to you straight' than be poetic." She stated. Giacintro looked at her and then outside the porch for several long silent minutes.

"You know Moria, I was wondering…"

He looked over to see she had fallen asleep, no doubt the alcohol kicking in. "Passes out really quickly though."

He sighed and leaned against the banister to make sure Moria didn't sleep off the porch, and stayed like that a few hours.

"…rus…"

"Hm? You up?" He stated yawning, and looked at her then blinked.

She was crying.

"Si…rius…" She murmured in her sleep. He watched her and then sighed and stood. Then, with a slight grunt he picked her up. She barely stirred, making him wonder how much she had either had too much to drink, if she was that bad of a light weight, or she was that tired. He figured it was a combo of one of the two.

"Sirius…"

"No I'm not him…but I'm sure if you keep at it, you two will be back together one of these days." He murmured softly and thought he could hear a soft laugh as he entered her home again, going up the stairs and after careful deliberation, entered Moria's room correctly. Gently he laid her on her bed and took off her shoes. He looked at the window and then smiled.

"You are very suspicious of me, aren't you?" He asked looking over his shoulder to see a pair of green eyes peering at him from the door. The boy that the eyes belonged to ducked as Giacintro walked out. Harry stared at him defiantly.

"What were you doing to Mum?"

"Making sure she didn't fall asleep on the porch and fall off of it." Giacintro replied easily before bending down and smiling at Harry. "You're very very brave, and very loyal. Your parents would be proud of you." He stated simply, causing the young boy to blush. He smiled and tousled Harry's hair before heading down the stairs. Giacintro sighed as he exited and continued walking down the path to find an area that didn't have an anti-apparation charm around it.

"That was very noble you know…"

Giacintro whipped around to see Felisa looking at him. He let out soft grunting sound and lowered his wand.

"What are you doing out of the hospital?"

"I came to see what you would do." She stated and then gave a smile. "It's clear that you love her. Yet you have decided not to act on it to spare Moria Black the awkwardness. A noble thing."

"It's not a noble thing, but it is the right thing."

"You do not see those as both?"

"Felisa, in my world…nothing is just noble or not…it comes as a double-edged sword. But right and wrong, is that same as black and white. And for me to move on…I needed to do the right thing." He said softly. "Besides…she was never mine to begin with. Her eyes…belong to the man named Black."

"…well, to me Mr. Muraro." Felisa stated, going on her tiptoes and kissing Giacintro's cheek. "That was noble. And you…are a very noble man."

And with that she walked back down the road, leaving the stunned Giacintro in the darkness.

A group of two watched from the shadows, one whose hair was white as snow.

"So…there is the woman who has dishonored our family."

"Sister…please…I-"

A rough smack to the face silenced the girl.

"Be quiet. That woman that sleeps in that house has destroyed our family's legacy and tainted our younger sister. She will pay. Dearly."

"How?" The other one asked tiredly. "She bested our uncle as did her team."

"We will find a way." The other girl mumbled. "We'll find a way."

"WITCH! Witch! The witch is here!" Eligio called out as Max walked down the hall to her classroom. She paused for a moment and then continued moving forward, holding her books tightly. One of the other girls, Gisella looked at him in disdain.

"Say something, you witch!"

"Would you knock it off!" Gisella snapped.

"But she's just like a witch!" Eligio sneered pointing at her. Max kept her gaze forward. She just had to get to class. "She never says anything!"

"Why does that mean I'm a witch?" She grumbled, but was ignored.

"Not only that, she's got a weird color for skin and weird eyes! She's a witch!"

Max rolled her eyes, though the sting from the comment about her appearance was still there. The headache was growing now, a soft ringing tone beginning to enter her head. She kept walking, albeit hurried, grunting when she ran into a figure. She looked up to see Harry glancing at her in confusion then up past her head. He frowned.

"Again?"

"It's fine."

"No it's not. Eligio should lay off on the whole witch thing."

"It's not like he's exactly lying."

"Even so, he should keep his bloody mouth shut." Harry grumbled. Max shrugged.

"At least winter break is coming up. That means our lockers get cleaned off."

"Yeah, no more 'the bastard son' written on my locker."

"You could have always wiped it off…"

"They put it right back up. And telling Mum will do squat."

"I know." Max muttered and Harry sighed. "Come on. We don't want to be late to our classes."

"See you later." He said and then walked away. Max sighed, and then continued to leave to her own class. Suddenly a tennis ball slammed into the back of her head. She stumbled slightly, her face burning as she heard laughter; Eligio's prominent among them.

"What's the matter witch? Can't act all big and tough without your bastard brother, witch?"

"Stop calling him that!" She snapped. "He's not a bastard and I'm not a witch!" She hissed out. "Why can't you just grow up and act like a mature person, instead of an insolent baby!"

The hall grew deathly quiet and they stared at Max, who straightened her back in defiance.

Then Eligio smacked her and shoved her onto a locker.

"Oh, so the witch thinks she's big stuff, does she?" Eligio said as Max glared at him, the side of her face smarting as a group of kids crowded around them. "Think people really care about, do you?"

"Shut up."

"Your dad didn't really care about you, did he?" Eligio countered and Max glared, one hand nursing her red cheek. The ringing in her head grew louder. "Otherwise he wouldn't be in jail. Why would let himself make that mistake, if he wanted to actually stay with you and your Mama?"

"I said, SHUT UP…" She growled, her eyes now beginning to burn. Eligio sneered, not hearing the faint cracking sound as he grabbed her hair and yanked it.

"Granted, you witches are nothing but sluts. My mama says that's all your mama is and was! Maybe your dad got tired of having her around."

"SHUT UUUUPPPPPPP!"

An explosion roared through with the scream, locker doors flying open, some of the doors ripping off of the latches, and glass exploded from the windows above the halls. Children screamed as books, papers, and glass rained down on them.

"MAX!"

Max was clutching her head hard, the ringing sound unbearable. She felt arms wrap around her and she looked up, and in her blurred vision saw Harry. And as suddenly as quickly the mayhem had happened, it ceased, the ringing slowly ending. Children were crying in panic and teachers were rushing out of their classrooms. But suddenly a high pitched scream filled the air and Max looked from under the crook of Harry's arm to see Eligio clutching his face, his hands stained with red. Her eyes widened as she looked at the destruction.

"Harry…" She whimpered. "What did I do?"

And for once, he had no answer for her.

Moria sighed as she got to work, her files already nearly overfilling her desk. She'd have to stop her research about Sirius again. Grabbing the first one, she began to read it. She blinked and frowned. "What?" Giacintro asked.

"There was another suspicious death of a dealer."

"Again? That's the fifth one this month."

"I know. Same mysterious way he died too. No poison, no marks, nothing that would lead to any physical means of death by another."

"The Killing Curse does that."

"Well yeah, but I've never known the Killing Curse to cause a man to claw at his own throat. The Cruciatus or the Imperius Curse, yes, but there wasn't any evidence of those, and it." Moria stated with a sigh. "We're missing something, aren't we?"

"It looks like it." Basilio remarked. "Something's going on inside the rings now…something big."

"Yeah…" Moria murmured. "I just hope it doesn't blow up in our faces."

Suddenly their discussion about the death was cut off as the lone muggle telephone on Giacintro's desk began to ring. The group blinked and Lucio lifted his newspaper in confusion.

"I didn't even know the blasted thing still worked."

"Neither did I…should I answer?"

"It's probably some collect call."

"Well I left the number with the school, but…"

"Oh for the love of…" Giacintro grumbled and picked up the phone. "Hello? Muraro here." He commented gruffly as though daring the person who rang the phone. He was silent before his brow furrowed. "Sure. I'll get her. Black. It's for you."

"Me? Why?"

"Something at school."

"…if that boy's gotten into another fight." She grumbled picking up the receiver. "Black here. What did he do this t…"She trailed off, her brow furrowing, before her eyes widened and her grip tightened on the handle. "I'll be right there."

She hung up and grabbed her coat. "I have to go. I don't know if I'll be back or not."

"What happened?"

"There was an accident at school; I need to go pick them up."

"Go ahead, we'll see you tomorrow." Rosetta called out as Moria rushed away. Mere seconds after she left a worker from the Accidental Magic Reversal Department arrived, looking flustered and angry.

"What do you want?" Lucio asked curiously. "Aurors don't have to worry about accidental magic."

"Where's Auror Black?"

"Heading over to pick up her kids. Accident at school."

"No shit there was an accident. Her daughter just let out a really large amount of accidental magic."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. It's not something we can obliviate from everyone's heads either, so we'll have to make up some excuse! I have to go tell the kid to not be so careless, get some obliviators, make up a different story..."

"Let one of us do it." Lucio commented. "Takes one less thing off of your hands." The man looked relieved and nodded. Lucio looked at Giacintro. "Muraro, head over to the Black residence."

"Why me?"

"Just do it."

"Fine, fine." Giacintro commented, sitting up and stretching. He grabbed some of his work files and waved goodbye to his teammates before heading out.

Moria rushed into the office panting hard. "Max? Harry?"

"There you are. What took you so long?" Eligio's mother snapped, but Moria spotted Harry and Max's heads poking above two chairs seated in front of the principal's desk. She hurried to her children, ignoring the enraged mother.

"Are you two alright?" She asked. Harry nodded but Max looked away.

"I want those two expelled!" Eligio's mother ranted and Moria looked up.

"For what? They haven't done anything." Moria stated and noticed Max flinch.

"Haven't done anything?!" She snapped walking up and jabbing her finger at Max, who was staring at her lap. "This little monster hurt my precious Eligio!"

"Excuse me?! Your precious…Your son has been bullying my children since they entered school!"

"Your daughter hurt my Eligio!"

"Allegedly, there is no evidence that-" The principal began.

"No evidence!" His mother shrieked, as Moria's hands turned into fists. "Windows shatter and lockers fly open with no cause hurting my Eligio and a few other students, and yet this little brat doesn't have a scratch on her even though she was in the middle of it!"

It felt as though the wind had gotten knocked out of her and she glanced at Max who was now turning her cheek away from her mother's gaze, her hands tightening on the hem of her skirt.

"I knew she was trouble. The moment that pale, pasty little brat entered this school with that godforsaken brother, the moment she opened her mouth and spoke, I knew that she was going to cause destruction."

"Explain to me how windows shattering is my daughter's fault?!" Moria snapped, her voice cracking. "Or for the matter my son's fault? In my opinion it's an accident!"

"Oh sure, like you said, your children are these little angels that can do no wrong!"

"I never said they were angels, but unless you can put a brick, explosive, or anything that can shatter glass and rip doors off lockers in their hands, I highly suggest you back off."

"…I'm sorry…"

Moria turned and saw Max staring at the wall, her eyes glassy with tears. Eligio's mother rounded off on her.

"You think sorry is going to magically heal my baby's wounds? Sorry is going to make all those kids feel better?!"

"I'm…sorry…" Max whimpered out, her voice cracking as tears began to slide down her face as Eligio's mother kept screaming. Moria smashed her fist to the desk, startling the other woman and principal from her stare. Her eyes were nearly golden now.

"Yell at my daughter again…and I'll throw you through the wall." She hissed. "Harry, Max. Get up. We're leaving. I'll come by later this week to pick up their things."

"Mrs. Black-"

"No. Don't. It's clear that in this town, or more for this matter in this school, foreigners get the short end of the stick."

"Mrs. Black, really…this school doesn't-"

"A grown woman was just screaming at a little girl and you just sat back and watched." Moria stated, pointing her finger at him. "Do not say you treat your students fairly. Harry, Max. Come on."

"I'm not through-"

"YES. You are." Moria stated, before ushering her children away and out the door. "And so am I." She added before closing the door.

Giacintro looked up as Moria, Max, and Harry came in. Moria at first looked confused and then sighed.

"Please don't tell me you're here to lecture her." She hissed out and Max barely responded, staring off into space, folding her arms to where her hands were tightly pressed under each armpit.

"I'm supposed to, but I'm not going to." He replied easily. Max didn't wait long after that before rushing up the stairs to her room. Harry hesitated before following her. Giacintro let out a slight chuckle.

"Protective."

"He always has been. The poor sap that steals her heart is going to have to be in it for the long haul." She replied as she slid into a kitchen chair with a sigh.

"The other kid alright?"

"Yeah, but I was this close from making his mother's face become nice and personal with the floor." Moria growled. He shrugged before walking to the fridge and opening it. He retrieved two beers. She looked at the one in confusion.

"I know you aren't a drinker, but I figured that this would probably qualify as a reason to have one when I was assigned to discipline her for using magic in a muggle zone." He replied. A few moments of silence ensued before she took the beer and opened it, sniffed it and then took a sip. It was bitter and it burned, but it seemed to quell the fire that was brewing in her stomach and masked the raw feeling in her throat.

"…I wish they had told me."

"Hm?"

"Harry and Max. I wish they had told me the bullying had gotten worse."

"I doubt they wanted to worry you."

"Gia, the kids were writing messages on their lockers about Harry being an orphan or a bastard child and that Max was a child of a whore and the spawn of a murderer. I would have honestly preferred being worried and knowing than being left in the dark." She retorted. "And yes I may have been paraphrasing, but that was the basic gist of the comments."

"I see."

"They aren't going back. Not to that school at least." She amended.

"I wouldn't expect you to put them back in." Giacintro admitted. "I'd question your sanity if you did. I bet if you asked, there can be a squib that would gladly teach them. Or the Oracle. I hear she's been wanting to meet the famed Potter boy and the daughter of one of the first female aurors for a while to read their palms."

Moria let out a sigh and took another tentative sip, her brows furrowing for a moment before she removed the bottle and pushed it away from her.

"Sometimes I wonder if I was the best person for the job of being a mother." She murmured.

"Seems like you've done fine to me."

"I've taught both of my children to internalize their problems instead of ask for help." She snapped. Giacintro looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "…it's how I always lived." She finally added looking down. Silence ensued for several more minutes.

"It's funny you know?" Moria commented. "When I was younger, I never pictured myself as a mother. Sure, at the time I didn't think I'd live to see my teens, but even when I thought about the notion of becoming a mother, I thought I'd be horrible at it. I was too…angry all the time. Too bitter." She drew designs in the condensation that had built up on the table, but she barely seemed to care. "And then when I went to Hogwarts, I didn't think people would even be attracted to me."

"Seemed like that wasn't the case."

"No…no I was lucky." She replied.

"Luck?" Giacintro said. "Sure, love has to do with a bit of luck, but it also has something to do with compatibility, an ability to have the strengths where the other lacks and weaknesses that the others don't have, luck…well it's just one thread in that whole thing." He explained. She was silent.

"You know…when I thought about coming here…at first…I thought it'd be nice. Different scenery, different people. The past was just that…in the past and I didn't have to drown in those memories of what I lost. But…" She trailed off taking another swig. "But as the years dragged on…I realized how much I missed England. I miss the crappy weather, the food…small meaningless things that shouldn't really make me sentimental about home."

"You miss him too, don't you? Sirius Black."

"Everyday" She finally managed, "and trying to find things about his case here, and seeing that I can't do squat, makes it worse. Sometimes I think that he'll come walking through the door annoyed that I didn't drag him along on this grand adventure I'm having." She said with a snort. "Now, if I said that in London, I'd be carted off to the loony bin. Guess that's a good thing here. Your husband can be convicted of a murder that you're sure he didn't do and not be ostracized by it." She stated.

They were silent for a few moments and Moria sighed.

"I don't know what to do…it's like I'm wandering in the dark without a flashlight and I don't know if I'm heading in the right way or off a cliff." She mumbled taking another sip.

"Moria…all these years, you've always allowed yourself to be the shoulder to lean on." He spoke after several long minutes. "Have you ever let yourself grieve?"

She was silent, before taking another gulp of her beer and setting it away from her. She stood up and shrugged.

"Thanks for not going hard on Max…" She said with a watery smile and Giacintro saw that her eyes were glassy. "And thanks for letting me vent. It really helped."

He looked at her and offered a shrug. "That's what teammates do."

"I prefer the word friend outside of work." Moria stated with a watery laugh, wiping her eyes and crossing her arms. "In any case…thank you."

"It's never a problem." He replied softly. "What are friends for?"

She offered a smile and he left. She then looked up at the stairs and with a sigh climbed them, going to Max and Harry's room, about to knock.

"-aren't going to go to Azkaban. Mum wouldn't let it happen."

"But I hurt someone."

"It was an accident. They don't send people to Azkaban because of an accident."

"They sent my dad away without a trial, why would they care to send his daughter in there?"

"I won't let them."

Moria smiled at how adamant Harry was the resolve hard in his voice. Finally she knocked slightly before opening the door. Max looked at her, an absolute wreck. Her eyes were bloodshot and puffy, tears streaming down her face, and every time she inhaled through her nose it sounded clogged.

"Sweetheart…"

"Are they sending us away?"

"No."

"Am I going to jail?"

"Nope. It was accidental magic. Obliviators are on their way, and the story that a weakness in the school's structure caused the implosion."

Max sniffled her response, curling up as Moria brushed her hands through her hair.

"I love you sweetheart, okay?" Moria offered, rubbing her back. "You aren't to blame for what happened. It was an accident." Max didn't respond again, staring into space. Moria sighed, kissing her temple offering a gentle reassurance. "I'll see you two downstairs for dinner, okay?"

Harry nodded and Max gave a weak response of recognition. Moria gave a small smile and kissed both of their foreheads again before walking downstairs. Max stared at wall, not even glancing at Harry as he sat down next to her, trying to make her feel better and Arian nuzzled her hand.

She could have killed Eligio, her temper had nearly killed someone. No not her temper. Her voice. She had tried to voice action from her words, shut him up permanently.

"My voice would have killed him…if that's the case…why speak at all… my voice would kill anyone ..."

So why speak at all…?

Adan watched Max resting in her bed from the shadows just outside the window, frowning.

"She is a powerful girl, Adan. Gaia must be proud that the soul protectorate that houses her daughter's soul. Even more, she can begin awakening the forces to combat the darkness."

"We will see."

"What is it Adan?" Toche asked finally settling in the branch next to Adan. "I would have thought you would be wanting to get this over with and freeing the past lives from their cycle."

"She's only a little girl, Toche…would you have put so much trust in Magdalena if her abilities had awoken so soon?" He asked. "I was stupid back then and if I had found Eva, I most likely would have made her…but is it right?"

"You're beginning to question this fate?"

"I'm questioning her age. Not even the Potter's boy fate will happen till later." Adan stated. "She's not even in her tenth year."

"So what do you suggest?" Touche asked, looking at his fellow guard. Adan shrugged.

"I do not know….but what would you do?"

"…that is a tough question. I don't even know…" Touche added finally. "I guess we will have to see…won't we?"

Adan was silent, watching Max and frowning. Yes…they would have to see.

Moria stretched that night. Harry and Max were in bed, Max having barely eaten that night. She didn't necessarily blame her daughter though. It was a stressful day, and unlike Sirius who would eat when stressed, Max rarely ate in stressful times.

"What a day…" She murmured wanting nothing more to sleep. She looked up when she heard footsteps and saw Max standing there. "Oh sweetheart, you nearly gave me a heart attack." She commented with a smile. Max remained silent. "Do you want something sweetheart?" She asked as she sat up. Max was still silent.

"Sweetheart, if you don't tell me what you need I can't-" She began but then the words froze in her throat as Max looked up, her mouth moving, forming the words…yet no sound came from her. She scrambled off the bed and grabbed her daughter, who seemed stunned and mildly confused. "Max. Maxine, say something."

Again Max simply moved her mouth, but no sounds came from her. Moria stared at her daughter in stunned horror.

Her once vibrant daughter who always spoke her mind had locked herself away.

Now all that was left was the mute shell of a girl that had been broken.

Succidite means cut down