A/N: I keep getting reviews about this, so I'm going to address it now, because I'm sick of reading those reviews attempting to correct me on the use of the word 'ebon', instead of 'ebony'. Directly from Dictionary dot com: ebon-noun, adjective: a poetic word for ebony. Now, stop trying to correct my spelling or my word use. This version of ebony is in a great many literary works. I don't want to get another review pointing out that 'it's ebony, not ebon'.

THIRTY-SEVENTH

My son,

I was thinking that we should invite headmistress McGonagall to the Manor for a Yule brunch. There are some things I'd like to speak to her about, and I'd also like to introduce her to you. I think she'd be quite amenable to things, considering that she's had the blinders she wore since the beginning of her friendship with the old man ripped from her eyes. Rather painfully, I might add. I can't help but feel a bit sorry for her; it's hard to discover that someone you thought you had known well for a great many years turns out to be someone else entirely. It's also a tremendous blow to the pride, to know that you'd been hoodwinked so thoroughly. Makes one doubt their own judgment.

I am really looking forward to the surprises you lot will have for us over the holiday. It will be quite hard to top the celebration last year, but I am sure that you boys are up to the challenge. I will be glad when your schooling is finished for good. I will be able to have you all to myself for a while after you graduate. I have plans for it, and I will not be inviting anyone else. I love you very much, and miss you horribly.

Father

Hello, Father,

Um, why would we invite headmistress McGonagall to our celebration? Though she may be disappointed in the old man, that doesn't mean that she won't go running to him as soon as she finds out who I am. I'm not entirely comfortable with allowing someone who's in near-constant contact with my sworn enemy that sort of sensitive knowledge. Frankly, I'm a little shocked and hurt that you would endanger me in such a way. Have I done something to disappoint you? Have I, in some way, failed you? Do you not want to be my father anymore? If so, please let me know, so that I may make other arrangements for my housing before the end of the school year.

Corvus

Corvus?

Why would you think that you've disappointed me, or failed me? And why, in Merlin's name, would you ever think I didn't want you anymore? Did you not read the rest of the letter, or did you not get past that first question? I had thought we'd talked about Minerva…wait, no, we didn't. I neglected to tell you that she had sent me a letter last year, telling me that she was completely on my side, and fully supporting everything I want to do for the school, and for the wizarding world. Like Lady Longbottom, Minerva wants to be a part of the new world that we are making, and I welcomed her. She also said that she would help to make me more welcome, so that I wouldn't have to hide in the shadows anymore. She was the reason I started to think about developing closer relationships with others. She also apologized on behalf of the professors at the school, as well as the wizarding world at large, for failing me so abysmally whilst I was a student. It was…unexpected, and made me feel accepted, for the first time in my life. I don't think she'll have any problem with who you used to be, and I daresay she'll be there, cheering you on, when you go to Hogwarts and destroy Dumbledore.

I'm very sorry for the misunderstanding, and I get why you reacted as you did. Those damn Dursleys have much to atone for, and one day I will have my vengeance. I will never be anything but proud of you, every single day, for the rest of our long lives together. You are my son; my pride; my joy, and I wouldn't change it for anything in the world. I love you, now and forever. Never forget that.

Father

Father,

I'm…I'm…sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you with my words. I was thoroughly blindsided by your request, and I thought I'd done something monumentally stupid, that had somehow endangered you or your cause. I must admit, I didn't finish the letter. I crumpled it up and threw it away. Fortunately, Draco dug it out of the trash after he saw the devastated look on my face; I guess he wanted to see what you had written so that he could curse you. He read the whole letter, then came and hugged me. Theo also cuddled me, and they helped me work through my insecurities. By that time, your second letter had arrived, the same way I sent my first response, through Rollo. So, I read the first one through, then the second one, and now I feel like an ass.

Yes, once again the Dursleys' treatment of me rears its ugly head, but there's not much to be done for it. I'll just have to work harder to put that behind me, so that, someday, I can receive a little bit of criticism without crumbling. As it is now, that is a weakness I can ill afford to have. If it were to be discovered by the wrong person, they could utterly destroy me without trying hard. I don't know if therapy would help with this, but we need to find something. I'm glad that you want me all to yourself after I graduate. I'm looking forward to whatever you have in mind. It'll be fun, doing father-son things together, before I bond with Theo and Draco.

I love you too, and don't think I could ever survive without you. You are my world, and I know that, should everything fall apart tomorrow, as long as I have you, I will survive.

Corvus

"The Yule holidays are coming up," Pansy said in mid November. She was in the library with the rest of the Hogwarts group, discussing their break, instead of doing their homework. "Have you all decided what to do for the guys?"

"Well," Vince murmured thoughtfully, "I think we should get something for Blaise, Draco, Theo and Greg individually, but not exchange anything with each other. I'll send Greg a note, telling him that we don't want anything from them, either. Then we all will put our heads together and get things just for Corvus. We can't tell him, though. I think it should be a surprise."

"That's a great idea, Vince," Millie replied with a smile. "He and the boys gave us so many wonderful things last year. I know that Yule is about family and love, and celebrating the changing of the seasons, but I still feel like a bit of a chump because they put so much effort into our gifts, and we had nothing even comparable to give in return."

"Believe me," Daphne said, trying to ease the embarrassment her friend was feeling, "I completely understand. It's not even a matter of greed or disappointment for the others, either. They were all genuinely thankful and happy with what they had received. Corvus especially. That was his very first Yule, spent with people who love him unreservedly. We could've given him candy, and he would've been happy. I just have this overwhelming urge to spoil him, without embarrassing him too greatly."

"We all feel that," Tracey contributed with a laugh. "We have all been raised with a certain standard. Our wealth and connections make it easy for us to take everything for granted. Corvus, until Tom brought him into our lives, and our circles, had never received so much as a loving caress. Things we would've turned our noses up at, because we were too good, or too special, make him happier than anyone I've ever seen. He's so full of love, that he's willing to give to whomever earns his trust; it sometimes overwhelms me how much he loves and trusts us, whose parents were set to kill him. You know, I believe the goddess herself has blessed that child and gave him to us when we needed him most."

"I have, and I did," was whispered around them. "His father and he are set to free my children from the suffocating restrictions placed on them by foolish men who had desired only power and control. You, my own, will show the world what it means to be truly favored by Magick. I have watched as each and every one of you grew into the minds and the hearts that will wield the weapons of change. Two more will be added to your ranks, and then you will be complete. When that happens, it will begin."

"So what do you want to do for Corvus?" Blaise asked softly. It was hard to shake the raven; the five of them went everywhere together, but Greg prevailed upon Jason Avery to try and distract Corvus. The preteen scowled darkly at the boy for a moment, but when nothing even approaching inappropriate occurred, the two sat on chairs in a small study area, to discuss the future of Corvus' organization.

"I'm not sure," Draco murmured, watching his fiancé carefully. Since the last 'lesson' with the meat sack, both Jugson and Avery were respectful and circumspect. However, Draco still didn't trust either one, and probably never would. "I know that Tom can get him anything his little heart desires, and my father would jump at the chance to spoil him as well. The trouble is, I don't think Corvus really wants anything, which is going to make this really difficult."

"True," Theo replied softly. "I think, though, from Draco and I should come our family rings." Silver eyes lit up happily at the thought. "He doesn't really wear any jewelry, but I think he'd make an exception for us. We'll have to talk with our fathers and figure out how to make it so that he can wear both rings on his bonding finger."

"I already have a good idea of what I want to do for him," Greg said softly. "I'm planning on doing a wizarding portrait of his parents for him. This way, they will always be able to see him, and talk to him."

"Are…are you sure that's wise, considering the enmity between James Potter and Sev?" Blaise asked the other preteen.

"What better way for James Potter to get over his unwarranted animosity than to allow him to actually see how his son is treated?" Greg queried logically. "Besides, I sincerely doubt that his mum would allow that dickhead to hurt either Corvus or Severus."

"That should be quite interesting," Draco said with a giggle. "If anything, it should make for a very entertaining show."

"After talking with Jason, I've made a few decisions," Corvus told his friends. They were in the Creative Arts classroom, finishing up on a class project.

"It's Jason, now?" Draco asked archly, eyebrow raised. Theo just looked at Corvus, dark eyes inscrutable.

"Yes," Corvus snapped irritably. They'd had this discussion several times before, and the raven was getting heartily sick of it. "Anyway, I've decided that, when it's my turn to take over for Father, his minions should 'retire'. They'd served him for a long time, and suffered a great deal before things changed, so I think they deserve the opportunity to withdraw from the organization, and live the rest of their lives in relative comfort and peace. I'll talk with Father over the weekend and get him on board. His minions need to teach their children everything they need to know so that they can serve me to the best of their abilities."

"That's a really good idea, Corvus," Blaise told his Alpha, glaring at Draco and Theo. He'd heard the discussions, as well, and couldn't rightly understand the jealousy that kept cropping up. "It's also remarkably generous of you."

"Well, I can't see trying to boss around men and women who are a great deal older than I am. All together, they have centuries of experience behind them, and it would be weird to try and act like I'm better or smarter or stronger than they are, simply because of my position."

"This'll give our parents the opportunity to explore other things," Greg said happily. His father and Vince's father rarely had any real time to experiment as they wanted to, because of their involvement with Tom's plans for the takeover of the magical world. "Even if they don't take the option of 'retirement', you'll still have your father to help you over those bumps in the road."

"I know," Corvus replied. "I'd like to see him spend more time with Marguerite, though. I want to see him happy and settled, living a life that he'd deserved from the beginning."

"Do…do you think they'll have their own children?" Theo asked, trying to stamp down the irrational jealousy that kept reappearing.

"You know, I'll have to ask Father that," Corvus said quietly. "The subject has never come up. I know that Marguerite gave up her two youngest because she didn't want to raise any more children, so maybe not. Honestly? I really can't see Father cuddling a newborn. That would just be…strange." At the image that had suddenly popped into their heads, they started giggling uncontrollably, the uncomfortable moment forgotten in their mutual hilarity.

"Jugson. Avery. A word," Theo barked as Draco and he came upon the two second years. Nodding, they all retired to an empty practice potions lab, where Draco threw up locking and privacy wards. "We don't know what you're up to, but it won't work," the brunet snapped angrily. "Corvus is ours, no matter how hard you try and take him away."

"We will eviscerate you, should you step even one toe out of line in regards to him," Draco snarled, silver eyes glowing.

"You need not fear that from us," Benedict said softly. "The last demonstration of the little Lord's irritation made its point very well. We only wish to help his father and he achieve their goals. Our fathers, it is true, had seen him as an opportunity to rise within the organization, and, being the good and obedient sons that we are, we did as they asked. Over the last few days, however, we've seen that he truly loves the both of you very much. We also see how suited you all are, and would not dare to interfere in that in any way. Our purpose now is to gather as many minions as possible for him, so that, when it's his turn, he has a vast army at his fingertips, to conquer and protect what Magick has deemed is his to have."

"Oh," Theo said, looking at the boys with new eyes. "Well, in that case, welcome aboard." He stuck out his hand, shaking the hands of Benedict and Jason solemnly. Draco was a little slower to accept, but he finally did, welcoming the other two as well. "Now that we have that settled, let's sit down somewhere and discuss our mutual goals."

"Greg is going to paint a portrait of the Potters for Corvus," Pansy told her friends. "He's going to use wizarding paints so that our Alpha will be able to talk with his parents whenever he wishes. He's going to need some of the Potters' blood to infuse with the paints. That, and a ritual, will ensoul the painting, so that it will be as if they're really there."

"Corvus will love that," Daphne said with a smile. "I know that our parents, as well as some of the other minions, are working on getting as much family history of the Potters, as well as the Evans, as they can, so that our Alpha can have a more complete picture of his ancestry. So, what else do you think he'll need, or want, that he wouldn't bother asking for?"

"That's a good question," Vince replied. "How about the Dursleys' heads on spikes?"

"As much as I love that idea," Millie responded with a laugh, "I don't think Corvus would appreciate it. Although, come to think of it, he did say that he was about to murder them."

"Well, the muggle man is in a mental hospital," Tracey told them. "He's not likely to get out, either. From the news I've been getting, he's still ranting about Corvus' magic, and his 'freakishness', which the muggles believe is fantasy. However, the woman is free, as is the aunt. The son is still in that juvenile detention center, getting treatment for the way he was raised. He may not need, nor deserve, punishment, since what he did was taught to him by his parents, and he's getting help for that now. I'm not sure I want to do anything to the woman. Granted, her hatred and jealousy of Lily Potter was the impetus behind her behavior toward her nephew, but I can understand that, to an extent. Her behavior, too, was molded by her upbringing.

"So that just leaves the aunt, with that disgusting dog. I've had some muggleborns keeping an eye on Marge Dursley, and I've discovered that she raises bulldogs for a living. So, I think my present is going to be a sterilization curse on all of the dogs, as well as a bit of mind manipulation, keyed to a particular phrase, that will make the dogs attack her. Her favorite dog, however, will be miniaturized and given to Corvus as a 'toy'. Mayhap he'll allow Abraxas to have 'fun' with it."

"You are evil, Tracey," Vince cooed softly with a wide, malicious grin.