Chapter 13

Questions and Answers

"Why aren't you at Hogwarts?" Harry tried to act conversationally towards the boy standing besides him. Draco Malfoy currently had his arms crossed and was scowling in the direction of his father and Remus. They were leaning over the table, speaking to Sirius through the mirror. The former Auror had gone ahead with Dobby to scout out what they were about to face.

About an hour earlier, Harry had been pacing the room in a state of agitation and impatience. When the door opened and Harry saw Lucius Malfoy entering the room, much too slowly for Harry's liking, he blurted out the one thing he knew would light the fire under the former Slytherin man's feet. He told him that they had found Pettigrew as well as the wizard that had murdered his wife. It was only after Harry had finished speaking, that he realised Draco had been just behind his father. He was now refusing to leave, whatever his father said to him.

While Harry was filling the Malfoys in on everything that had happened, Sirius and Remus returned with the sad news that there were no survivors in the house. They found a man and a woman, presumably the parents of the abducted child and everything about the contents of the house suggested that they were a Muggle family. Sirius borrowed Harry's cloak for extra protection, before vanishing with Dobby to Pettigrew's current location, which according to the house elf hadn't changed so far.

Draco had wanted to be a part of the planning, as had Harry, but when Lucius told his son to stay away so the adults could assess the situation without any distractions, Remus gave Harry a pleading look that asked him to deal with the younger Malfoy. Harry accepted the silent request, for now at least, and stepped away from the table. The room was small enough and they didn't bother using charms to keep the conversation quiet, so Harry could still hear most of what was being said.

When Draco didn't respond to Harry's question, he just shrugged and concentrated on what the others were discussing.

"...only building… empty… three outside..." a few words from Sirius' whispered voice managed to reach Harry.

"Pettigrew? And the other one?" Lucius asked and Harry felt Draco tense up besides him.

"...inside. Can't see… Dobby..." Lucius gave a grunt of irritation.

"What about the child?" Remus asked.

"...no… with the others?" Sirius muttered.

Remus turned away from the mirror towards Malfoy, "See to your people. We need to move quickly."

"Where should they be sent?" there was a minute of silence then Sirius started reciting an address. Lucius gave a curt nod and stepped away from the table. "Very well, I shall send them ahead and return here shortly. Draco-"

"I will wait here father." the boy said without emotion, his eyes not quite meeting Lucius'. The father glared at his son briefly, then he wordlessly left the room.

Harry hurried over to the table, "Sirius, is it like the warehouse last year?"

Harry still had the occasional nightmare about what he had seen there while he was out with the Aurors of the European Ministry. It wasn't the green coloured curse hurtling towards him that had him waking breathlessly, it wasn't even the blackness dripping from the eye socket of the Crowking's follower, but the prisoners of the Witnesses that Harry could barely recognise as being human. He and the others were sure a similar fate awaited the child that had been taken today and they were desperate to do anything they could to stop the vile kidnappers.

"No. It's just a small farmhouse out in the countryside. There are three… no two now, people keeping watch outside, but they don't look like they're expecting any trouble. I doubt there are many more inside." Sirius said, sounding relieved and Harry understood why. He had no idea how much backup Lucius Malfoy was providing, but if the situation had been anything like Rotterdam, it was unlikely to be enough.

Harry felt a little guilt at the fact he didn't dare voice the thought that what was best for the kidnapped child was to alert the Aurors. He knew Sirius and Remus both were having similar conflicting thoughts, but the chance to capture and question Pettigrew, as well as the other mysterious wizard, was not something that was likely to happen again anytime soon. Aurors would probably be able to capture them, better than Harry and the others could, but given Albus Dumbledore's influence with the European Ministry, they imagined Pettigrew may 'escape' or meet a sticky end before anyone had a chance to speak to him.

"I'm coming with you." Harry said fervently, first looking at Remus and then at Sirius through the mirror.

"Okay." Sirius said immediately.

"I-" Harry froze, realising what he had just heard. "What?"

Sirius gave a slight chuckle, "I said you can come. You've been working hard and I made you a promise some time ago, didn't I?"

Harry was stunned but extremely pleased. Remus shook his head and sighed, "I suppose there isn't much point in me saying that I think this is a bad idea? Or that Professor McGonagall or Professor Riddle will not be pleased when they find out?"

Sirius winced as he imagined how that conversation would go. He hastily said, "Harry, you understand you won't be one of the ones charging into the building? You'll be outside, taking down anyone if they manage to make it pass us."

"I know, I know." Harry huffed. He gave a little snort and raised an eyebrow at Sirius, "So just like the warehouse last year?"

Sirius let out a snort of his own. Last year in Rotterdam, he had to stand back while teams of Hit Wizards and Aurors stormed the building. Things hadn't exactly gone to plan however, and two Aurors guarding him, or rather the Head of Magical Law Enforcement, Engrácia, were killed and Harry himself had to fight for his life. "I'm sure it won't be as bad this time. Oh, but just in case, Polyjuice, cloak and a Disillusionment Charm for good measure. Anything to add Remus?"

"Nothing I can think of at the moment." Remus said as he tried not to look to amused at Harry's look of indignation. However much he wanted to argue they were being overprotective, Harry did manage to keep his mouth shut. They weren't going to leave him behind and that was good enough for him.

"I'm coming too." Harry and Remus turned around, having forgotten briefly that Draco was still in the room with them. The Slytherin boy was determined, looking as if he wasn't going to take no for an answer.

Remus looked uncomfortable, "Draco, your father clearly doesn't want-"

"I don't care what he wants." Draco spat harshly. "If Potter's going, then I'm going as well. I will not stand idly by while my mother's killer is still out there!"

"That's precisely why you can't be there. If you can't keep your emotions in check, you'll put yourself and others in danger." Sirius said calmly, without reproach or condescension. "Harry's been training to look after himself, we trust him to have our backs should something go wrong."

"Potter can look after himself?" Malfoy sneered, "Why the potion, cloak and Disillusionment Charm then?"

"Because he can't be seen." Sirius replied without missing a beat. "Just because he's coming with us, doesn't mean we can't practice caution."

Remus raised a hand to try and placate the Slytherin boy, who was slowly growing angrier, "Look, Draco, we understand how you feel-"

"You don't understand how I feel! And I've been learning how to duel, training to fight, just for this moment!" Draco snarled, raising his wand.

"We don't have time to waste, trying to convince your father to let you come along." Remus didn't glance at the wand and kept his eye contact with Draco. "If you want the people responsible for your mother's death to be captured, leave us to handle it."

"Just… try." Draco said through gritted teeth. "Try asking my father. Tell him I'll be taking Polyjuice and staying under a Disillusionment Charm. I'll stay outside with Potter, I won't… I won't put anyone in danger."

Harry had to admit, he felt a lot of sympathy for the boy he had disliked since the first moment they met. If he were in Draco's shoes, and it had been someone like Remus or Sirius that had been killed, he would loathe to stay behind.

Harry caught Remus' eye and gave a little shrug. If Draco was to come along, Harry would make sure he didn't do anything stupid. If it came down to it, he'd stun him, push him out of the way and throw the cloak over the unconscious boy. The werewolf gave a tired sigh, "I'll… suggest it to Lucius."

They waited in uncomfortable silence for what seemed like hours, but it was only a few minutes later that Lucius returned. "They are heading your way Black, four people I could trust to move quickly and quietly. Lupin, I trust that my son will be safe here with Potter?"

"About that..." Remus said slowly, "Harry is going to come with us. I expect the... seven of us will have no trouble dealing with these people, but it won't hurt to have an extra wand just in case."

Lucius looked genuinely surprised, "Practically the whole of the wizarding world is looking for Potter, you think it is wise to have him come along?"

"He'll be under the effects of the Polyjuice Potion. He'll also make sure he's out of sight under his cloak." Draco said hastily. "I'll be doing the same, to make sure he isn't in any danger."

Harry almost let out a snort of laughter, but managed to reign it in and tried to keep his face as blank as possible when Lucius regarded him. "I… see… And you, Mr. Potter, you are happy with this arrangement?"

Harry gave a little shrug and nodded, "If I suddenly feel an overwhelming desire to throw myself in danger, I trust Draco to stun me, throw me in a bush and cover me with the invisibility cloak."

Draco was nodding along, then he frowned. He scowled at Harry when he understood what the Gryffindor had meant, but he clenched his jaw and turned to his father again, "I will."

When Lucius finally agreed, albeit with great reluctance, Draco gave a little sigh of relief. He even gave Harry a little nod with a slight look of gratitude on his face.


Harry, currently disguised as a slightly overweight artist who lived two floors above their hidden-from-sight flat, was trying to keep his eyes on two things at once. First was the little farmhouse. The sun was still up, but he could see a flickering light through the windows, with the occasional glimpse of shadowy figures for brief seconds.

He couldn't see Remus, Sirius or any of the others. Like Harry, they were all Disillusioned, but Harry thought that if he looked closely enough, he occasionally caught sight of a slight shimmer in the air, where the almost invisible wizards and single witch were readying themselves to launch an attack at any moment now. The two guards outside in Muggle attire, were doing anything but guarding. They sat on a bench outside the house, sharing a bottle of something, puffing away on hand rolled cigarettes. They were clearly not expecting any trouble.

Harry quickly shifted his gaze towards the ground, to look at the second thing he had to keep an eye on. No, he hadn't stunned Draco. It was simply that watching for his feet was the easiest way to make sure he hadn't wandered off somewhere. The Slytherin was close enough that Harry could just about make out where he was standing, if he squinted hard enough, but after a while it had started to strain his eyes. It was easier to try and find the patch of tall grass that was folded over by invisible boots and the green besides it that shuffled in an agitated manner as Draco failed to keep completely still.

Once again, Harry aimed his wand at his invisible... ally, for lack of a better word. He didn't think Draco was going to do anything stupid, but Remus had been right, Draco was too emotional right now. Not that Harry could blame him.

Harry turned again to look at the building, just in time to see the two wizards suddenly straighten up, dropping the bottle as well as their smokes.

"Anti-Apparition Charm. That's the first thing we do." Sirius had said when everyone had gathered about a mile down the road. "Five of us will do the Charm, cover a lot of ground, while two take out the guards outside."

Harry saw two flashes of red that hit the guards squarely in the chest, knocking them out before they could even raise their wands.

"When the wards go up, they will immediately know they are under attack. We must move quickly. Remember that there is a child in there, possibly more than one. Our first priority is to rescue them, under no circumstance are you to put them in harm's way." Remus had held his gaze to Lucius until the man gave an irritated nod.

The door blasted open and as far away from the action as they were, Harry thought he could hear the stomping of feet as they crashed into the house. Immediately the sound of curses and hexes flying through the air disrupted the peace of the countryside. There was a harsh bellow that drowned out all other sound and Remus, looking unlike Remus but rather the drug addict that sometimes frequented the alley outside their flat, came into view. He was standing by the door, half his body inside the building as he started to chant his spells out loud. Now that the Disillusionment had worn off, something that they had expected to happen fairly quickly, there was no point in sticking to wordless spells.

Draco muttered something that Harry didn't quite catch, but was thankful to hear him speak regardless. He had forgotten briefly that he needed to keep an eye, so to speak, on Draco Malfoy.

"The one who murdered my wife is mine." the three wizards and the witch that Lucius had called here immediately nodded. Sirius and Remus replied that they would concentrate on rescuing any prisoners and subduing Peter Pettigrew, but warned that if they had a chance to take him out they would take it.

A huge ball of fire erupted from the upper level and a body flew out of a window, landing on the ground with a crack and remaining completely still. Harry didn't realise what he was doing until a hand grabbed his arm.

"What was it you said Potter? Stun and throw you into a bush?" Harry felt glad for the first time, that he was twice invisible, so that Malfoy couldn't see the blush creeping up his face. "It's one of the ones my father brought along, I don't know his name. Judging by the way he fell, I doubt there is anything you can do."

"You're sure?" Harry asked, as he brushed Malfoy's hand off his arm and leaned forwards trying to make out the figure lying there.

He didn't hear Draco's reply, since there was an ear splitting boom accompanying the flash of fire that erupted once more. Black smoke belched from all of the upper windows and another figure crashed out, but this time it wasn't a corpse. The wizard landed and briefly stumbled on the ground before turning and summoning a wall of flames between himself and the building he had escaped from. Then he turned his ragged form and started running as fast as he could.

Before Harry could do or say anything, he felt something smash into his face. He blinked several times to try and clear his vision and realised he was lying flat on his back. As he felt a tiny trickle of liquid dripping down his nose, he was vaguely aware of the retreating footsteps, followed by the vehemently hurled curses of an enraged teenager.

He struggled to his feet, looking around for the idiot that had elbowed his face and run after one of the most dangerous and frightening wizard he had ever had the displeasure of encountering. Flashes of light were appearing out of thin air, but it was impossible to judge where Draco was actually at, he was moving too quickly. With an irritated growl, he looked between the burning building and the rapidly retreating figure in the filthy black robes. He wiped his nose, which thankfully didn't feel broken, let out a curse and started to give chase.

When he neared the farmhouse, he nearly blasted Lucius Malfoy with his wand, briefly forgetting the man's Polyjuiced form and only seeing the look of black murder on his face.

"Malfoy!" Harry called out, feeling slightly awkward at the lack of hostile feelings in his voice as he said the name, "He's gone that way! Down the road, to the fence. Draco's following him, I couldn't stop-"

The wizard started sprinting before Harry could even finish speaking. He was about to follow Lucius when he heard a bellow coming from the building.

"He's a damned Animagus! Pettigrew's a rat! A rat! Someone get that bloody thing!" Harry didn't immediately recognise the sound of the voice, but the way it was said, he was sure it had been Sirius who was shouting at the top of his lungs.

He looked towards the door, and sure enough, there was a rat scurrying out of the space where the door used to be. It made a ninety degree turn and followed the walls, darting underneath the bench occupied by the two unconscious wizards. There was still sounds of duelling coming from inside the house and Harry knew he had to deal with Pettigrew.

"Serpensortia legionis!" the words came out in a half hiss and two snakes flew out from the tip of his wand. He was able to manage four on a good day, but two wasn't bad. He had first tried to use the spell wondering if it was possible to communicate with Professor Riddle using it (he couldn't), but he remembered the brilliant ways the Headmaster controlled his own snakes and wanted to be able to do the same. Harry took in a deep breath before letting out in Parseltongue, "Get the rat, get the Animagus!"

Without a moment's hesitation, the two snakes shot forwards. Pettigrew poked his ratty face out from behind one of the fallen guards and squeaked in distress. One of the snakes lunged forwards into the shadows that Pettigrew had once again disappeared to, the other slithered like a rapid stream to the side to block the rat's escape. Pettigrew shot out directly into that snake with a ferocity that Harry would have described as suicidal, had it been an actual animal. The rat bit down hard just below the head of the snake, causing it to hiss and writhe before becoming still. The other conjured snake appeared suddenly and clamped it's own jaws over the head of the Animagus.

Harry shouted out in surprise, hoping Pettigrew wasn't dead, and just as he did, the rat rapidly started swelling in size. The snake was determined not to let go, causing the jaw to dislocate before being ripped entirely in two, leaving it a bloody mess next to its brother.

"Incarcerous!" Harry cried and the two dead snakes jolted as if brought back to life, they transformed into tight ropes that slithered around Pettigrew's legs. "Stupefy!"

The wizard threw himself onto the ground, managing to avoid the spell, and while he did so, he raised his wand in Harry's direction. "Finite Incantatem!" was followed quickly by "Crucio!"

Harry had been running forwards towards and had been careless with the cloak since he had a Disillusionment Charm over him, he was also far too close to dodge the spell in time. Pain. That's all he felt or thought. Pain and nothing else. He later found out that he had barely been under the spell for more than a second, but even that seemed far too long. His limbs were shaking badly as Remus tried to help him stand. "Harry? Are you okay?"

Harry nodded and turned to Pettigrew. He was unconscious and bound several times over with ropes and chains. Harry let out a little sigh and tried to smile, "Th..that was a little worse than I expected."

"I think you should head back with-" Remus began.

But Harry interrupted with a quick shake of his head. "I'm okay. How's Sirius? What happened to the other one? Did Malfoy manage to get him?"

"Sirius is fine. He's just making sure the girl we found is safe. She was the only one here. I think we managed to get here before they did anything to her, we think they were probably planning on moving her somewhere else. As for Malfoy..." Remus looked up over Harry's shoulder. "If his expression is anything to go by, I'm guessing the other one managed to escape..."

Sirius exited the building just as the two Malfoys joined them, all of them looking like themselves. Harry realised the potion had worn off when his vision started to blur, and he quickly took out his glasses and shoved them onto his face.

Lucius glared at Pettigrew's unconscious form, "Wake him up. He needs to be questioned. He may know where the other one has escaped to."

Sirius and Remus looked about to argue, probably to send Harry away, so he quickly spoke up, "He might know other places like this, places where they're keeping other children. It won't take long to ask and they're likely to evacuate any place that Pettigrew might know. We have to get the information to Tonks as soon as possible."

They still looked reluctant, but with the two Malfoys as well as Harry giving them stubborn looks, they let out a sigh. Sirius wordlessly took out a little bottle of clear liquid from his robes and crouched over Pettigrew. After prising his jaw open, he slipped a few drops of the potion into the unconscious man's mouth. Then he pointed his wand at him and muttered a quiet incantation.

"Peter Pettigrew." the wizard slowly blinked awake, but his expression was dazed and without emotion. He slowly turned to the former Auror who had said his name and gave a small nod, indicating that he was listening. "One of your companions has escaped. The one in the dark and grimy robes. The one who you were with in Seville when you attacked the family and kidnapped the child. Who is he?"

"We call him Saiblinge. He is Wahrzeugen, a True Witness. He is one of the most loyal and trusted followers of the King of Crows." Pettigrew said in a bland tone.

"Where has he escaped to?" Lucius asked impatiently.

Pettigrew turned to him slowly, his expression still blank. "I do not know."

"Where does he live? Where would he have gone to in the event this location was compromised?" Sirius questioned.

"He lives anywhere and everywhere without a roof over his head. He hides himself amongst the lowest of the low, with Muggles in their filthy cities. I do not know where he would be." Pettigrew answered with infuriating calm and Lucius let out a shuddering breath as if to reign in his anger.

Sirius began questioning him about other places, where Pettigrew himself might go to hide or where the Witnesses had taken other children, like the warehouse in Rotterdam. When the compliant wizard finished speaking, Sirius scowled in displeasure. "Is that all?"

"Yes."

"I was hoping this one would know more." Sirius muttered. "He's like all the others, they avoid leaving one person with too much information in case they're captured. One or two of these places are also likely to be traps or dead ends as well…"

"It's better than nothing." Remus commented.

"Dobby." Sirius called as he made some final touches to the piece of parchment he was scribbling on. He rolled it and sealed it with a tap of his wand before handing it over to the house elf that had appeared. "You know what to do."

Dobby nodded with a determined look on his face. "To Missis Tonkses. And not being seen, never being seen."

When the elf vanished they quickly turned their attention again to Pettigrew. Sirius asked, "What are you doing with the Muggles? What orders were you given to be living amongst them?"

At this question Pettigrew opened his mouth then shut it again. He blinked and visibly shivered, tilting his head side to side while making vague wordless noises from his mouth. Harry frowned, "What's wrong? Is the Veritaserum wearing off?"

"No. Even with the few drops I've given him, it should last a lot longer." even so, Sirius took out the bottle and stared at it with a scowl. Harry could guess that the thoughts going through the man's mind probably involved unfavourable opinions about the current Potions professor at Hogwarts, who was the one that had brewed the truth serum. Sirius shook his head, "I think he's trying to fight it off. He is likely to have conditioned himself from revealing too much important information which is, unfortunately, the sort of answers we desperately need."

"Crucio." Lucius said almost lazily. Sirius, Remus and Harry all jumped back and turned their wands to Malfoy. Remus lunged for his arm and twisted it away from the man screaming on the ground. Pettigrew was letting out a shaky breath, but his expression still lacked the anguish of a man who had just been tortured. Lucius ignored the glares being sent his way, "The Cruciatus Curse on those that have taken Veritaserum is a known effect method of extracting information from those who can resist the potion."

"If it doesn't simply rip their minds apart!" Sirius roared, his wand still pointing at Lucius.

"If he is resisting the potion, then that is exactly what we need to do. Weaken his mind enough so that he will reveal his secrets." Lucius said coldly. "You are no longer an Auror, Black, and remember what is at stake here."

Sirius turned his seething glare away from Malfoy and his eyes met Harry's. Harry clenched his jaw and turned away, unable to face him. He was afraid it would show on his face, the fact that he agreed with Lucius Malfoy. They needed this information and he also couldn't hide feeling a bitter righteousness at seeing the man tortured. Hours ago Pettigrew was involved in the killing of two innocent people and the taking of their daughter, minutes ago Harry had endured the same torture, albeit very shortly, that Lucius was inflicting on the Animagus.

Harry only looked up again when Sirius questioned Pettigrew again. "What are the Zeugen's plans with the Muggles?"

Pettigrew shook his head, sweat beading down his brow. "S..su..subjugation… th..through magic… create… create… no. No. No..."

"Crucio." Lucius flicked his wand at Pettigrew again but only for a second, pausing before the others moved to stop him again. "Answer our questions, rat! What is Albus Dumbledore planning?"

"No. No. No. No." Pettigrew muttered through violent shakes. Harry was sure it wasn't just the effects of the Cruciatus Curse.

Harry looked up just then, as Remus moved slightly. He was holding something in his hands, pointed at the figure being interrogated. It was a little glass box where two eyeballs (they assured Harry later that it wasn't real) were suspended in a viscous liquid. The werewolf had been holding it since the moment Pettigrew was revived, recording everything that was coming out of his mouth.

"Peter Pettigrew, are you Zuegen, a Witness of Grindelwald, the King of Crows? Answer me!" Sirius barked harshly.

His head was rocking back and forth, and he tried to stop himself from speaking by biting down on his lips. His mouth twisted open in a silent scream, blood dripping down his chin, and he finally gasped out, "Yes… Yes… The Crowking is my master. The Crowking sees all."

"But he is dead." Sirius continued. "Who commands you now? Is it Albus Dumbledore? Does he command the forces Grindelwald left behind?"

Pettigrew jerked his head wildly and closed his arms tightly around himself, only letting out a long wheezy breath. No one flinched when he started screaming again after Lucius' softly spoken incantation. "The truth, Pettigrew, the truth! We know of their past, of Dumbledore and Grindelwald's secret alliance. With Grindelwald dead, is it now Dumbledore who wields the Witnesses, controlling them to murder, to torture and to rule the wizarding world? Speak, Pettigrew! Crucio! Speak!"

The scream finally subsided and Pettigrew raised his head towards them. His eyes were halfway rolled in their sockets and tears streamed down them, blending with the sweat, snot and blood already covering his face. Everyone waited in complete silence as Pettigrew struggled to work his mouth. He finally managed to utter hoarsely, "Yes… Dumbledore controls the Zeugen. Dumbledore sees all..."

Five people simultaneously let out a shaky breath. They finally had it. Proof of Dumbledore's coalition with his supposed enemy. They had suspicions, strong suspicions, but never any concrete proof that the two sides were one and the same. It was a victory, but they felt anything but victorious. They had always been working under the assumption of this fact, but with it actually confirmed came the daunting realisation of how truly powerful, insidious and evil their enemy actually was. Simply put, their enemy was the most powerful wizard, both magically and politically, in Europe at this time.

Remus cleared his throat, "Pettigrew. Does Dumbledore plan to bring Grindelwald back from the dead?"

Lucius and Draco turned their heads to Remus, looking both startled and horrified at the idea. They hadn't shared their suspicions on the matter with the Malfoys.

Pettigrew was still twitching and wheezing, his face slowly turning an unpleasant shade of purple. "Resurrection… Death and death and life and… together… Immortality-"

With a gurgling noise, he collapsed forwards, crashing face first into the ground. Sirius leaned over and checked for a pulse. "He's still alive."

"What was that about? Bringing the Crowking back from the dead?" Lucius asked softly, as if hesitating to even voice such a thing out loud.

"It was just a theory we had." Remus said vaguely. "You know that Professor Riddle always thought that it was going to happen."

"Yes, I know." Lucius waved his hand dismissively. "I just presumed he was… wrong."

"He wasn't wrong about Dumbledore." Sirius muttered darkly. He swiped a hand over his face, looking exhausted and far older than he looked just an hour ago. He stared down at Pettigrew, who was still twitching slightly, and gave his arm a slight kick. "Okay, we've already been here too long, we should get moving. Malfoy, you said you have somewhere secure we can keep Pettigrew?"

"My people will take him there." Lucius confirmed.

"Do you think we need to question any of the others before sending this location to Tonks?" Remus asked.

Sirius shook his head, "They were all taking orders from Pettigrew or… Saiblinge, was it? I have strong doubts they'll know anything important."

Lucius barked out orders to the three that were standing some distance apart. The witch made her way to her dead comrade, preparing to Apparate away with the body. The two wizards lurched over to Pettigrew. Harry made his way around them. Sirius and Remus were watching the recording, which was faintly being projected onto the walls of the farm house.

"-if people are going to buy it." Sirius sighed. "Would have preferred a clean confession, but I doubt he would have given anything without the Cruciatus Curse."

"That curse is vile enough to coerce someone into saying anything, just to stop the pain. The recording can't prove that Pettigrew was under Veritaserum, and even that isn't infallible." Remus agreed tiredly. He turned around and noticed the boy approaching them. "Everything alright, Harry?"

"Just thinking about the little girl. Are you sure it won't be better for us to take her somewhere safe ourselves?" they had agreed beforehand that, providing no urgent medical attention was needed, it would be better to leave any prisoners they found for the Aurors to deal with. They certainly couldn't take her with them, the safehouse was already cramped enough. Beyond that, having a five or six year old girl who's parents had just been murdered and was without, they presumed, any knowledge of magic or the wizarding world, would be a disaster waiting to happen. They considered leaving her with people they could trust, but it would raise awkward questions when she woke up and started screaming about the people that had broken into her home with wooden sticks and they weren't willing to Obliviate her with their limited experience with the spell.

"Tonks said she would work out a way to send someone trustworthy here, or try and get onto the team herself." Remus tried to dispel Harry's worry. "We need to trust Tonks to do her job. When the girl wakes up, she will need the kind of help that we won't be able to provide. I know you feel bad, but we have to leave it to the authorities to handle the situation."

Harry nodded mutely. Sirius gave him a consoling pat on the arm, "I'll make sure-"

A sudden shout cut him off and they all turned towards Malfoy, Draco that was, who was pointing at Pettigrew's twitching body, which had been hoisted up by the two wizards. "H..his eye!"

Everyone quickly gathered around and Sirius cursed under his breath. "Put him down! You! Hold down his legs, and you grab his arm! Remus the other one, hurry!"

Peter Pettigrew's left eye was black and bulging and dripping and didn't look very much like an eye any more. Harry stared in horror at the sight that he had witnessed once before, Sirius aimed his wand at Pettigrew's face and began a long incantation while trying to pull his hand back. His hand was shaking, not from fear or anger, but purely from exertion, it was as if he was trying to drag out a heavy weight out of Pettigrew's skull.

They barely heard the faint cracking noise over Sirius' voice, but they all heard the cry of a crow. The wizard holding down Pettigrew's leg gave a flinch and relaxed his grip, casing the body to kick out. But Harry was sure he wasn't doing it consciously, Harry wasn't even sure if Pettigrew was still alive as his body broke out into jerky spasms.

There was another caw and with it a beak protruded from Pettigrew's head. Not from the socket of the eye as Harry had been dreadfully expecting, but from above it on his forehead, like a horrifyingly bad imitation of a unicorn. Remus gritted his teeth, while still holding tightly to the man's arms, "Sirius?"

He continued his incantation until the beak slipped back inside and with that Peter Pettigrew gave a final shuddering exhale before becoming completely still. Sirius shook his head and stood from his crouch, "He's gone. Get back, everyone, get back now!"

They stepped back, forming a wide circle around the corpse. They all had their wands out even though most of them didn't have a clue what was about to happen, Harry included. But he didn't dare ask, he just waited with baited breath along with everyone else.

There was another crack, this time much louder and a lot less pleasant. Harry was sure now that Pettigrew was dead, since no one could still be alive while their skull was split in two. With a deathly shriek the black plumed creature birthed out, throwing blood and gore, taking flight much quicker than anyone had expected. It looked like a crow, only larger, about the size of Hermione's pet kneazle and although he couldn't be completely sure, Harry thought that as he watched it glide through the air that it was slowly growing larger.

"Kill it!" Sirius shouted at all of them and every single one of them began throwing spells at it without hesitation.

"Stupefy!" Draco shrieked. "What in Morgana's name is that thing?"

"Something bad!" Sirius replied. "Fumos! Incarcifors! Just blast the damn thing out of the sky!"

The pale smoke that shot out of his wand spread wide, shaping itself into a net that cast itself into the sky. The edges swung around, closing around the gigantic bird and as the ends met together, they locked and formed a vast cage that glinted with a metallic sheen against the sunlight. As it rapidly started shrinking around the creature, the crow flapped its wings once, then darted forwards with great speed. With a sound that was more of a roar than a birdcall, it smashed through the metallic bars as if they were made of paper.

"Do- Where's Dobby?" Remus shouted after he hurled another hex.

"Not back yet! Impedimenta!" Sirius roared. "Remus get Harry and-"

Lucius spoke at the same time, "Travers! Take my son and-"

"No!" the two boys shouted at once, then they aimed their wands and said the spell that was freshest on their minds, one that Sirius had used just a moment ago. "Impedimenta!"

Harry wasn't sure if it was because the creature had flown that slightest bit closer in that time or if it was because there were two wands firing the spell almost simultaneously, but for the briefest of moments the bird was frozen in the air.

It quickly recovered and angled towards them again, but Sirius had half a grin on his face. "On three, the Impediment Jinx! One! Two! Three- Impedimenta!"

The word was echoed by the seven others around him, and although it wasn't nearly as well timed as the two teenagers had done, it was enough. The violent noise it made was suddenly cut off and it went completely still in the moment of beating its wings to avoid the Jinxes.

Although Sirius had shouted, "Get it! Now!", it wasn't really necessary. Half of them had already started sending destructive curses towards the creature. Travers and the other wizard Harry didn't know the name of, launched a familiar green curse and the others spells he didn't recognise at that moment. Harry himself remembered the amount of damage the Blasting Curse had done to his former home, and sent it towards the giant crow with all the destructive anger he could muster.

With a short, panicked squawk, it exploded in the air, raining down ink-black tar over all of them. Despite feeling absolutely disgusted that he was covered in bits of eyeball and dark magic, he let out a bubbling laugh of relief and exchanged a grin with Sirius.

"What now?" Lucius spat, glaring at Pettigrew's form. "We just lost our greatest lead."

The smile faded slightly from Sirius' face. "We're alive. We'll still take him, I want to have a good look through his belongings before leaving him for the Aurors."

"I guess I'll stay behind then." Remus said and Harry handed over the invisibility cloak. "Thank you Harry. Dobby should return soon, he can take you back."

"The elf will need to relay another message to the Auror when it gets back." Lucius sounded a lot calmer after several applications of the Scouring Charm over his robes. "I will drop off Potter at the safe house before returning to England."

Everyone immediately tensed, but thankfully no wands were raised. Remus cleared his throat, cutting Sirius off and said diplomatically, "It's fine, you have your own business to attend to."

Remus took out the box with the two eyeballs, opened it with a tap of his wand and handed one over the Lucius Malfoy. He took it, placed it in his robes and stared at the werewolf with his chin slightly raised. "So I suppose all that talk of trust from before hasn't had time to sink in yet?"

"This is not the time for this discussion Malfoy." Sirius began, his narrowed eyes clearly showing distrust.

"I left my son in your care while I gathered the forces needed for the assault." Lucius said coolly. "One of whom, if I may add, has died today."

Sirius scowled, "We would never hurt-"

"Harry." Remus quickly interrupted. "It's up to you."

Harry stared at Lucius for a moment before shrugging. "I'll go with him. He's right, you need Dobby to get the message to Tonks quickly. I don't want the girl to stay here any longer than necessary."

Sirius eventually gave a jerky nod, "I'm warning you Malfoy-"

"Yes, yes. Get him back safely in one piece, or you will track me down and kill me?" Lucius waved dismissively. "Or were you threatening to go after my son?"

"I told you, we would not hurt a kid." Sirius said through gritted teeth.

"And that is why Riddle's little army is in such a mess. If he had acted with more ruthlessness with the information he had, he might have been able to prevent Dumbledore from gaining so much power." Lucius sneered. Then he pointed his wand at Harry, who flinched back. "Scourgify."

Lucius raised an eyebrow at Sirius, who had raised his wand at the same time. Sirius went slightly red and muttered something under his breath before lowering his weapon. Without another word, Lucius Malfoy placed one hand on Harry's shoulder, the other already gripping his son, and Disapparated.

It took either three or four, maybe five, (Harry had lost count after the second) Apparitions in quick succession to arrive back in the alley outside the flat. Harry clenched his jaw and fought off the wave of nausea that threatened to make this already filthy place a little bit worse.

When he opened his eyes again Lucius stood there facing him. "Alive?"

"Yes." Harry replied curtly.

He crossed his arms waiting for a snide remark about trust issues or such, but Lucius Malfoy merely gave him a slight nod, that could just about be described as polite. "I will return with an update just before I set the plans in motion. It will take a few days."

"Right." Harry said. "I'll tell them that."

"Draco." Lucius motioned for his son, who Harry realised wasn't looking any better than he did at the quick and disorienting travelling. He wondered if this whole show of politeness was just to give Draco time to recover.

Draco stepped besides his father and turned to Harry, giving him a slight nod. Harry returned one unconsciously before remembering the elbow to the nose, but before he could say anything, or even scowl, the two were gone.

With a sigh, Harry stepped into building and slowly began climbing the stairs, before walking back down, then going up again. He stood in front of the door and tapped the handle lightly with his wand before turning it open. He stepped inside and froze.

"Silencio! Incarcerous! Stupefy!" Harry cried in quick succession. There wasn't a single person that should have been in this room at this time. Lucius was warned not to reveal this location to anyone, and the only other people that had been here, Sue and Ernie, should not have even remembered the location as long as they were still wearing the matching bracelets that Sirius and Remus had made.

It was more than that though, with the dark cloak and a tangled mess of hair, the figure had more than a passing resemblance to the escaped Saiblinge, as he stood in the kitchen with his back to Harry.

The figure whirled around in surprise, and was hit with the Silencing Charm. He raised a single arm over his face and the ropes seemed attracted to it, twisting around it instead of his whole body. It quickly formed a cast-like shield, which he quickly shifted towards the flash of red heading his way, blocking it without any trouble.

Harry raised his wand again, trying to think up the most destructive spell he could use without actually damaging the flat, but his arm suddenly dropped to his side, as did his lower jaw. His stare of disbelief slowly turned into a grin, a smile brighter and more genuine than he could have managed in the last few months. "Professor Riddle!"

Tom Riddle returned a quiet little smile. He looked far too pleased despite the fact, or perhaps because, his student had managed to leave him completely silent.