It didn't surprise Tonks to learn that Remus had never been to a concert before. Over dinner, when she and her companions described the thousands of young witches and wizards from all over the world who descended upon Hogsmeade for the weekend, he paled considerably, and finally confessed that he had never seen anywhere close to that number of people in the same place. At the time, Tonks and the other teenagers had only been appalled at all the fun he had missed out on. But now, as Tonks led Remus across the trampled field towards the gyrating sea of intoxicated people in front of the spectacularly lit stage, she began to wonder if it had been a mistake to bring him here.

The place was crawling with security. Aurors raced every which way, subduing drunken brawls and generally attempting to instill order amidst chaos. Tonks felt her heart rise to her throat sickeningly when she saw a familiar, huge man stalking through the crowds, his gray eyes alert and wary, his chest emblazoned with a silver WCU.

She turned around abruptly and Remus ran into her, his hands shooting out instinctively to steady her as gravity threatened to pull her to the ground.

"Turn around," she muttered, trying to keep her voice steady. "Turn around, we're going back to the Burrow. This was a stupid idea."

Remus's brow furrowed.

"Why? What's wrong?"

She looked up at him, intensely aware that his hands had drifted to her waist.

"There are WCU people here," she whispered. He had to bend his head to hear her over the din of the music and the screams of the crowd. At her words, his eyes scanned their surroundings surreptitiously, quickly finding the man she had encountered at the Ministry. His features darkened.

"Marcus Belfry."

"You know him?" She was on the verge of a heart attack. What if this Marcus bastard recognized Remus?

"I've seen him before," Remus said, and – noting the panicked look on her face – he managed a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, he's never seen me."

Tonks shook her head, her heart beating a tattoo against her ribcage.

"Let's just get out of here, okay? It's not that important, it's just a dumb concert, it's not worth the risk – "

His hand on her cheek stopped her nervous rant. She looked up to find him smiling at her.

"Hey," he said softly. "This isn't my first rodeo. I know how to avoid the WCU, I'm not completely useless."

She snorted. He was far from useless.

"This is something you've been looking forward to for a long time," he continued, "and I want to experience it with you. As long as nobody throws silver at me right in front of Belfry or one of his cronies, there's really nothing to worry about."

She looked up at him, still not entirely convinced.

"You didn't see Belfry at the Ministry a few weeks ago. He's… he's mental. I woudn't be surprised if he could smell lycanthropy from a mile away."

To her surprise, Remus let out a barking laugh.

"Marcus Belfry is a raging lunatic, but I can assure you that his olfactory senses are not that refined. He's actually a bit of an idiot, if I remember correctly."

He could clearly tell that she was still nervous.

"Tell you what," he said, his hands tightening on her waist. "How about we join Sirius, James, and Mrs. Weasley on the hill?"

He jerked his head towards the large hill to the east of the stage. Many of the less enthusiastic attendees had gravitated towards its gentle slope, where they could spread out blankets and watch over small children, while also listening to the bands. After making sure that all the teenagers knew they were supposed to meet them on the hill at eleven o'clock exactly, the three adults had wandered in that direction with Rosa and Regulus in tow.

"We can still listen, and we can avoid all the… unpleasantness down here," Remus said. "Honestly, I don't think I'd do very well in there anyway."

He jerked his head towards the densely packed dancing mob.

"It's just too many people. Especially with you… I know we're probably pretty safe here, but… honestly, I don't know what I would do if I thought you were in danger. And I don't want to find out."

He looked mildly embarrassed by this admission, and ducked his head. Tonks suddenly had an overwhelming urge to snog him senseless. Reaching up to curl her hand around the back of his neck, she stood on her tip-toes and kissed him. His chest rumbled with pleasure as he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her flush against him. Tonks was finding it very difficult to remember that they were in the middle of a crowded field – especially when Remus's lips drifted down to her neck, his stubble rasping against her sensitive skin. They really should go someplace private…

"Professor Lupin?"

Remus pulled away from her abruptly, and they both turned to find Terry, Clarence, Dennis, and Stan staring at them with identical expressions of shocked glee. The four teenagers were dressed to party, and were clearly rather drunk – though not drunk enough to overlook their friend enthusiastically snogging their former professor.

"Umm…" Remus said intelligently, rubbing the back of his neck.

The only thing Tonks could do was laugh. She snorted, and looked up at Remus. Though the light from the waning moon didn't show colors that well, she was willing to bet that he was beet red. She continued to giggle, and he looked down at her, his mouth starting to twitch despite himself.

"You're no help at all," he said, his voice strained. She was still half in his arms, and she buried her face in the crook of his neck, trying to restrain her giggles. He chuckled, and she felt the vibrations through her entire body.

Regaining her breath, she looked over at her four friends, who were now grinning outright.

"Hey guys," she said, forcing herself not laugh again. "Fancy seeing you here."

"I knew it!" Clarence cried. "I knew there was something going on with you two! Professor Lupin was always looking at you – no offense, professor –"

"None taken," Remus said, looking amused.

"And then there was that thing in the Great Hall…" Clarence continued. Tonks winced, the mention of that morning bringing back awful memories of how she had treated Remus when she had first learned of his condition. Her hand tightened on the back of his shirt involuntarily, and he tightened his hold on her waist in response. Clarence was still rambling, obviously tipsy.

"… and all the times at practice when you two would go off into your own little world, and then you were always gushing about him in the common room – "

"I was not gushing!" Tonks interjected, feeling a furious blush rising on her own cheeks as Remus looked down at her, his eyebrows raised in amused curiosity. "I was merely commenting on his Defense talents, that's all!"

"Gushing, eh?" Remus said softly into her ear, tickling her side briefly. She swatted his stomach and he chuckled.

"Oy, watch it, you," she said, grinning.

Her friends were eyeing them with varying degrees of fond amusement and – in Clarence and Terry's case – slight envy. Tonks decided it was time to change the subject.

"Where are you lot off to?" she asked, seeing that they had come from the direction of the dancing mob.

"Three Broomsticks," Stan said, his hands shoved in his pockets. "The next band is shite, so we're going to get another drink. Join us?"

Tonks looked up at Remus, who shrugged.

"Sure!" she said. "Is it okay if we bring some other people too? We came with the Blacks, the Potters, and the Weasleys; they're sitting over there."

She gestured towards the hillside, where she could just make out James, Sirius, and Molly sitting on several blankets they had brought. As they traipsed over, they saw Sirius rising to his feet, Rosa in his arms. He looked up, smiling as they approached.

"Bedtime for little Rosa," he said fondly. "She's falling asleep. Didn't even make it half an hour."

No sooner had he said it, than Rosa opened her eyes and – catching sight of Remus – cried out, "Ray!"

She held her little arms out to him, squirming in her father's grasp. Remus – looking quite befuddled by the tiny human who seemed to prefer him over everyone else – looked up at Sirius, who grinned.

"Well, the princess has spoken, and she wants you."

With that, Sirius handed his daughter over, laughing as Rosa wrapped herself around Remus like a monkey. The young man's face softened as he looked down at the small girl in his arms. Tonks turned to Sirius, grinning.

"We were going down to the Three Broomsticks for a pint, if any of you want to join us," she said, and Sirius's face lit up.

"I could do with a nip before taking the kids home," he said, then turned to his companions. "Anyone else?"

James and Molly shook their heads.

"Love to mate, but we've got to stay here in case there's some crisis of the teenager variety," James said. Sirius clapped him on the shoulder, then gestured to Regulus.

"Come on, Reg," he said. "Time to introduce you to the best pub in England."

Twenty minutes later, they were once again squished into a corner booth in the very crowded pub, the sound of the music festival echoing from outside. Only three months had gone by since the last time Tonks had been pressed against Remus on a bench in the Three Broomsticks, but so much had changed since then. They were no longer his students, all the adults had real drinks (Rosmerta had checked all their ages, even Sirius's), and Remus's large, warm hand was resting on Tonks's knee under the table, unleashing butterflies in her stomach. Rosa was sitting on his lap, happily sipping juice. Sirius and Regulus had pulled up chairs at the end of the table, and the eight-year old boy was drinking butterbeer through a straw as he eyed his surroundings curiously.

Upon learning that Sirius worked with Remus in Eastern Europe, Tonks's friends eagerly asked for tales of their escapades. Sirius was all too happy to oblige, ignoring Remus's half-hearted protests.

"Ooh, so many stories, so little time," Sirius said, grinning and rubbing his hands together eagerly. "What should I start with, Moony? The one Alex told us – how you got your nickname?"

"Aagh, nooo," Remus groaned, letting his head fall back against the wall of the booth with a thump. A smirk threatened at his lips though, and Sirius forged ahead with the story, pushing another Firewhiskey towards Remus to soften the blow. After Sirius had reduced the teenagers to tears of helpless laughter, Remus looked up from his glass, his face bright red and his mouth quirking upwards despite himself.

"I'm never going to forgive Alex for telling you lot about that," he said, shaking his head. "Not one of my finer moments…"

"If we're talking about your finer moments, we should get Charlie Weasley in here," Sirius said, grinning evilly at his embarrassed friend. "Now he has some stories to tell about you. Did you really have a threesome with two veelas?"

Remus – who had just taken a sip of whiskey – almost hacked up a lung. Rosa, who was sitting placidly on his lap, looked around at him in slight confusion. Everyone else at the table was in peals of laughter, though Tonks couldn't help but feel slightly annoyed, and not the tiniest bit upset. Two veelas? Really? If he'd been with two of the most beautiful women in the world, how could she possibly compare?

I suppose I could morph… she thought unhappily. The idea made her vaguely sick.

Beside her Remus was still coughing, his eyes watering.

"Bloody hell, Sirius," he said, then grimaced when he realized he had sworn yet again in the presence of young ears. He shook his head, obviously giving up on not corrupting Rosa and Regulus. His blush deepened as everyone continued to chuckle.

"Just for the record, it was only one veela," he said determinedly. "Charlie has a habit of embellishing things. The wingspan of that baby Hungarian Horntail he captured keeps increasing every time I hear the story."

"But it was still a veela," Stan asked, his eyes wide with admiration. Remus let out a huff of embarrassed laughter.

"Yes, she was," he said, fiddling with his glass as it sat on the table. "I was drunk, she was drunk, we were all drunk. I'm actually surprised Charlie even remembers that night, he was snoring under the table for most of it."

His words were greeted with laughter, and Remus glanced over at Tonks. Her unhappiness must have been apparent, for he suddenly reached a long arm around her, pulling her close to him.

"Veelas definitely have beauty, but they don't tend to have much in the way of personality or brains," he said casually. "I prefer a woman who has all three."

Warmth spread through Tonks's body, and she couldn't help but grin when she felt his lips brush against her temple. She looked up at him, and he smiled down at her, his hazel eyes achingly tender.

"Yeah, yeah, you two are hopelessly in love, we get it," Sirius said loudly, gesturing for Rosmerta to bring them another round. Tonks and Remus laughed, grinning at each other like idiots.

Another drink or two later, the conversation had shifted to current events at the Ministry – the Auror Department in particular. Sirius was asking the cadets about their training, and what Mad-Eye was like as a teacher.

"Mad-Eye – I mean, Professor Moody," Terry said, smiling nervously at the slip-up, "is a bloody good teacher. I mean, he really knows his stuff. And the rest of 'em work us hard, but… well, they're all in Umbridge's pocket, aren't they?"

Tonks and the other teenagers nodded, and Sirius and Remus glanced at each other. Terry continued.

"Just the other day, one of those arses from Durmstrang made some comment about muggle borns. Just straight up said that they shouldn't be allowed to work for the Ministry, because 'we can't be sure where their loyalties lie'."

The brown-haired boy took a deep breath, obviously still fuming.

"I swear, I would have rearranged his face right then and there if Clarence hadn't stopped me. Of course, Professor Krum agreed with him. Spent ten minutes talking about how the presence of half-bloods and Dark Creatures in our society is dangerous and destructive. And all of these other cadets just lapped it up – not your students, obviously, Professor… Professor?"

Everyone turned to look at Remus, who had gone completely white.

"Krum?" he stammered, his voice even more hoarse than usual. "Vladimir Krum?"

Terry nodded, his eyes concerned.

"Yes. He's our physical defense instructor."

"He's also the head of the Werewolf Capture Unit," Stan interjected from the corner, giving Remus a steady, understanding look. Remus shook his head, obviously uncomfortable under everyone's suddenly sympathetic gazes.

"It's fine, I just… didn't know he was teaching kids, that's all."

Terry gave a humorless chuckle.

"He wouldn't be, if Moody had anything to say about it. He's an Umbridge implant. Mad-Eye hates him. I think that's why he was so keen to get you there to teach the Auror cadets."

Sirius looked at Remus sharply.

"What?" he said, shocked. "Mad-Eye asked you to teach at the Auror Department?"

"He didn't know about my condition," Remus explained. "Once I told him, he understood why I didn't want to do it. But now – maybe I… Merlin, I just can't believe Krum is teaching kids."

His last sentence was practically whispered, his face partially buried in Rosa's black hair. Sirius looked at him in concern.

"Do you know Krum?"

Remus raised his head, looking at Sirius with incredibly haunted eyes.

"We've met. Once. It was almost six years ago now, and I was… well, I wasn't really myself. I doubt he'd recognize me."

He took a long swig of beer, avoiding everyone's eyes. Sirius shifted in his seat, clearing his throat.

"Well, let's make sure he never gets the chance to recognize you, okay? I know it's bloody infuriating that he's teaching others to think the same way that he does… but if you went into the Ministry, you'd only get yourself killed, or worse."

Remus nodded, his eyes fixed resolutely on the tabletop.

"I know, mate. Believe me, I know."

There was a long, solemn silence. Everyone stared into their respective drinks, unsure of what to say next. Finally, the silence was broken by a soft chuckle. Remus was smiling down at the tiny girl on his lap. She had fallen asleep, leaning back against his chest with her head tucked under his chin. His right arm was still wrapped around Tonks's shoulders, but his left had come up to hold Rosa tightly.

"I think someone's tired," he said quietly, and Sirius smiled fondly at his daughter.

"Yes, it's definitely past her bedtime," he said, laying a few galleons on the table to pay for their drinks. He waved away the sickles and knuts they offered him, and turned to Regulus, ruffling the boy's black hair affectionately.

"Past your bedtime too, mate," he said, and the boy smiled shyly. Regulus was a quiet kid, kind and sensitive. Tonks often wondered how her cousin could have possibly produced such a placid child, but Sirius had told her once that Regulus took after his namesake in more than just looks. Tonks had never really talked to Sirius about his dead brother, but she knew that it was an incredibly sensitive topic.

"Should we head back to the concert?" Tonks asked as Sirius and Regulus stood up. Dennis looked at his watch.

"Shite, yeah, the Banshee Brothers are on in ten minutes!"

They piled out of the pub, Rosa now firmly ensconced in her father's arms. Sirius waved goodbye, heading towards the cemetery where the Aurors had roped off one of many designated Apparition zones. At such a crowded event, it was never a good idea to let people just Apparate wherever they wanted.

Tonks, Remus, Stan, Dennis, Clarence, and Terry set off towards the loud noises and flashing lights of the concert. Other scattered groups of young people were meandering along the road as well, some coming from the concert and others staggering back after a few too many drinks. Some of them waved happily, greeting the teenagers or Professor Lupin. Despite the heaviness of their earlier conversation, Tonks couldn't help but feel giddy. The cool night air felt wonderful after the crowded heat of the pub, Remus was holding her hand, and he was laughing loudly at something that Dennis had said. Oh yes, she could get used to this.

Suddenly, Remus stopped walking abruptly. His hand tightened on hers almost painfully, and she looked up at him in alarm. The others stopped a few feet ahead, looking back at him in confusion.

Remus's eyes were closed, and his body was tense. He was breathing deeply through his nose, and it only took a second for Tonks to realize that he smelled something. His eyes snapped open, and he looked back in the direction they had come from.

"Stay here," he growled, his voice almost unrecognizable. And then he took off, sprinting down the road with inhuman speed. Tonks gaped after him, then glanced at her friends.

Like hell we're staying here, she thought, before they took off as one.

There was no way they could catch up with him. He was almost out of sight already, but there was only one place he could be going. The cemetery. Tonks had never thought she would be grateful for the grueling exercise routine that Mad-Eye put them through every day, but now – as she sprinted as fast as she could down the road, concentrating fiercely on not tripping – she sent the old codger a mental thank you.

She and Stan were pulling ahead of the others, and as they rounded the corner at the end of the road and left the warm light of the street lamps, she felt her heart rise to her throat. Far off on the edge of the cemetery, the light of the waning moon cast strange shadows on a terrifying scene.

Four figures surrounded Sirius and his children. They had obviously ambushed the tall Auror, disarming him and shedding the first blood. Even from this distance, Tonks could tell that Sirius was wounded, his body sagging as he struggled to keep himself between the attackers and his family. Tonks gave a strangled cry as she saw one of the dark figures pull Rosa from Sirius's arms. The little girl's screams rang out across the moonlit field. The three other men tightened around Sirius, one of them reaching for Regulus.

They were obviously not very experienced criminals, because not a single one of them noticed the enraged young werewolf bearing down on them. With a feral cry, Remus unleashed a blast of blue light on the three men around Sirius, knocking them to the ground. The man who held Rosa panicked, tossing her aside as he made a run for it. He was brought down with an even stronger blast of wandless magic, his body falling senselessly to the grass.

The other men, meanwhile, had managed to recover. They attacked Remus viciously, and the young man more than matched their ferocity. But he was outnumbered and still injured, the wandless magic was clearly sapping more energy than he could afford to use, and he had lost the element of surprise. He was holding his own, but he needed help, and Sirius was badly injured by the look of things. Tonks found herself running faster than she ever had in her life.

Remus whirled between the three men, blocking spells with hasty shield charms, sending his own spells back, and lashing out with fists and feet. It barely registered in Tonks's mind that this was the first real fight she had ever witnessed. It looked much faster, and a lot more vicious than the spars and duels she had experienced at Hogwarts and at the Auror Department.

Remus had managed to stun one of his attackers. But as Tonks sprinted the last hundred meters, one of the men snuck a blasting spell through Remus's shields, knocking him backwards. He cried out as he hit the ground with a painful thud, and the two men advanced on him quickly.

And then Tonks was there, followed swiftly by Stan. Tonks brandished her wand at the man who was closest to Remus, throwing herself into the duel before she could give herself a chance to feel scared. The man stumbled backward, surprised by yet another ferocious defender. Out of the corner of her eye, Tonks saw that Stan had simply tackled the other man, and was now beating the asshole into a bloody pulp. Remus was gaping at them in shock, but she had no time to check if he was alright.

The man she was dueling was unnaturally pale, and she didn't think it was just the moonlight. He was a very skilled fighter, and his lips pulled back into a cruel smile when he finally got a good look at her. Long, razor sharp canines glistened, and Tonks suddenly realized that she was dueling with a vampire.

"Well, well," he purred, dodging her disarming spell. "Fresh blood."

He lashed out at her with a cutting spell, but she blocked it expertly. He sniffed the air.

"Hmmm. Not a virgin. Pity. Virgins always taste so much better."

"Yeah?" she asked, refusing to be intimidated. "Well, if you don't like what's on the menu…"

She shot a disarming spell at him, immediately launching herself towards him as he blocked it. He obviously hadn't expected her to turn this into a physical fight – a fact that she took full advantage of. With a cry of rage, she roundhouse kicked him in the face. He dropped to the ground with a thud, and she stunned him, just for good measure.

"… then fuck you."

She turned around to find both Stan and Remus grinning at her stupidly. Remus was still on the ground, clutching his ribs, and Stan was standing over another unconscious vampire, his fists bruised and bloodied. Both of them had obviously borne full witness to her rage.

"What?" she asked, still shaking with adrenaline. Remus gave an almost hysterical laugh, standing up slowly.

"Remind me never to make you angry," he said, shaking his head. "You are fucking terrifying."

She snorted, willing her hands to stop shaking.

"Where's Sirius?"

"Here."

The weary voice came from behind her, and she turned to find her cousin hunched on the ground, holding Rosa and Regulus to him tightly. The two children were shaking silently, their eyes wide, and Tonks's heart sank. Nobody should have to experience such helpless fear, least of all children.

The others arrived, breathless and wide eyed as they took in the scene. Clarence – who was a fairly gifted Healer – rushed to Sirius's side, running her wand over his left leg, which was soaked in blood.

Suddenly, Terry cursed loudly. He was looking across the field towards Hogsmeade, and everyone followed his gaze to find a group of burly-looking Aurors and WCU men running towards them. They must have seen the unmistakable flashing lights of the duel.

Stan grabbed Remus's arm, unceremoniously dragging the smaller man towards the bushes at the edge of the cemetery.

"They're going to scan everyone, that's procedure in situations like this," Stan said, his voice strained and nervous. "You need to stay hidden, Professor. You hear me? Not a sound."

But Remus was looking back at the prone men lying unconscious on the ground.

"What – what's going to happen to them? What will they do to them?"

Stan made a noise of frustration, tugging on his former professor's arm.

"You can't do anything for them, mate, I'm sorry. But you can do something for yourself! Get down!"

"Remus, please!" Tonks cried. But Remus turned to her, and she could see the struggle in his eyes. These men had committed a terrible crime, yes. But they must have had a reason. And now they would be at the mercy of the Department of Magical Creatures. They would receive no trial, no plea bargains, no other choice but Azkaban and death.

Stan obviously realized that Remus could not be trusted to save his own skin. With a muttered oath, he practically carried the smaller man into the bushes, pushing him down and following him into hiding.

Not a moment too soon.

Once in a while, Stan Shunpike wished he had followed his mum's advice and just gotten a job on the Knight Bus with his Uncle Ernie. If he had, then maybe now he wouldn't be huddling in the bushes outside Hogsmeade, practically pinning down his former professor who just happened to be a werewolf, in an attempt to protect said werewolf from Stan's own colleagues and superiors.

It really was a ridiculous situation. But as he felt Professor Lupin – Remus, his name is Remus, he's only four bloody years older than I am – trembling against him as Marcus Belfry's unmistakably cruel voice echoed through the darkness, he realized that this was the only thing he could have done. Because Stan had seen firsthand what Belfry and his cronies did to innocent lycanthropes, and there was no way he was going to let them do that to Professor Lupin.

It was too dark to see anything from within the thick shrubbery. But they could hear every word of the scene transpiring not ten feet away from them.

"So, Auror Black – they disarmed you, injured you, and took your daughter away," Belfry was saying, his voice cold and unfeeling.

"Yes," Sirius ground out. This was the third time they had questioned him about the order of events.

"Then cadets Tonks, Nott, Clearwater, and Mr. Arthur here – all of whom just happened to be in the area – came and… dispensed of this filth?"

He sounded incredibly skeptical.

"Yes," Sirius said resolutely.

"Tell me something, Cadet Tonks," Belfry sneered. "How did you know what was going on?"

"We saw the flash of the disarming spell, and then we heard Rosa screaming," Tonks said, her answer prompt and concise. Nice job, Tonksy.

"And how, exactly, did four barely-trained 18-year olds manage to defeat three vampires and a werewolf in combat?"

Stan felt Remus stiffen beside him. There was a werewolf out there? It must have been the man who had tried to run away, because the three men Stan had seen had definitely been vampires.

"Practice," Terry piped up. "Our DADA teacher was fantastic."

"Boss!" another voice called out from further away. "The werewolf is waking up!"

Stan listened as Belfry strode over to the werewolf. A quiet groan indicated that the man was awake and in pain.

"Look at me, wolf."

A pause.

"Look at me, you piece of shit!"

The man cried out, and Stan could imagine Belfry right now, yanking the wretched werewolf to his knees by a cruel fist in his hair. Belfry's eyes would be gleaming. He always enjoyed inflicting pain.

"Why are you here? What were you planning to do with Auror Black and his children?"

No answer. The sickening sound of metal meeting bone echoed across the field. Belfry had whipped the man in the head with his pistol.

"ANSWER ME!"

The man whimpered, his breath ragged and desperate. Belfry spoke again, this time his voice dangerously low.

"Answer me, and I'll think about giving you a quick death, instead of a long, painful one."

Remus jerked beside him, and Stan wrapped his arms firmly around the man's slight frame, holding him down. If Remus revealed himself, he would accomplish nothing more than giving Belfry two werewolves to kill, instead of just one.

The werewolf was sobbing openly now.

"We – we just wanted the children! We were going to ransom them back; we just needed the money! I – I didn't want to hurt anyone, I just… I need Wolfsbane – "

"Well," Belfry said, his voice now disturbingly calm. "I have good news for you then."

There was a slight pause. Stan heard a quiet, heartbreaking whimper escape from the man he was holding down. Remus knew just as well as he did what was coming next.

"You don't need Wolfsbane anymore," Belfry said.

The gunshot split the night air with awful clarity. Remus flinched violently in Stan's arms, huddling into himself. The shot was echoed by cries of horror, torn from the throats of the four teenagers who had not been expecting it. Sobs of small children joined the chorus, and Stan realized that Rosa and Regulus were still there. Stan's jaw tightened. If he ever got the opportunity, he was going to make Marcus Belfry pay for every life he had ruined, every trauma he had inflicted…

"You fucking bastard!" Tonks screamed. "You just murdered him in cold blood! In front of children!"

"Haven't we had this conversation before, girly?" Belfry sneered. "That was a werewolf. That means I had the right to do whatever I wanted with him. In case you've forgotten, he just tried to kill Auror Black and kidnap those children you're so concerned about! He was no better than a rabid dog. And the only way to keep the disease from spreading is to stomp it out. I am doing what needs to be done, and I don't need some pink-haired bitch telling me what's right and wrong. Shut your mouth."

There was a long silence, broken only by the occasional whimpers and sobs of Rosa and Regulus.

"Cuff the vampires," Belfry finally said. "Send 'em straight to Azkaban, I don't have time to deal with 'em. I have to go see Mr. Krum and Minister Umbridge about this. The Dark Creatures are getting bolder, more violent. Something needs to be done."

Finally, after several minutes of shuffling and metallic clinking, loud cracks of Apparition filled the air.

"Get yourself to St. Mungo's, Auror Black," Belfry said coldly. "You're looking pale."

And with a final crack, he was gone as well.

Sorry for the wait! Hope you like it :) Thanks so much for all the reviews!