September 16th, 1995
Number 12 Grimmauld Place

"Lily?" Sirius lightly snapped his fingers in front of her face, startling her for a moment. "Are you paying attention?"

Lily glanced between them, more than a bit uncomfortable when she realised nearly the whole of the Order was watching her. She sent Molly a pleading look out of the corner of her eye, far too distracted to really respond. After a moment, Molly discreetly inclined her head towards her and, with the help of Remus and Sirius, ushered most of the others out of the meeting. When the three of them returned, only Arthur and Amelia Bones remained, the latter of whom looked particularly annoyed. She was across from Lily, eyeing her sharply over the rim of her glasses, and her arms were crossed. She said nothing when Molly shut the door, and she did not get up to leave either. Sirius put his hands up, wanting absolutely no part in removing her from the room, and Remus, standing beside him, gently lowered his hands once it was clear no one was going to start dueling. Arthur sighed, taking a seat beside his wife, and Lily, her mind still reeling, finally spoke:

"I spoke with Severus about the….state of things at Hogwarts," She sent Amelia a dark look. "He remarked, and rather nonchalantly, mind, that several people seem to think he's vengeful on behalf of his father. I would appreciate it if you would do something about Skeeter, who seems to be the one causing a lot of this trouble."

Amelia narrowed her eyes. "That," She said coldly. "Is not my job. If the Prophet wants to pay her to write whatever the hell sells in her columns, then they can. Do you honestly think anyone believes that nonsense?"

"Delia -" Lily began.

"Delia Fudge is cynical to the core of her being, something I'm surprised you haven't figured out already. She and the Minister have both been like that, they always have," Amelia shortly replied. "And, since I know you're going to bring it up again, I concur with Cornelius' minimal statements about You-Know-Who. We have little more intel than we did when he returned at the end of May, and, frankly, starting a wildfire of rumours about his location will only cause mass hysteria. You're an auror yourself, Lily. I should think you know that."

"Fudge is leaning heavily on the Prophet, though," Arthur countered. "I think he's afraid, to be frank. I can't say I blame anyone for being afraid, after what happened the last time, but the fact he does not want Dumbledore involved concerns me."

"I don't want Albus involved, at least not where the Prophet is concerned," Lily said, raising an eyebrow when they all turned to her in surprise. "What? Is that so irrational? We have a hand against Voldemort if Harry, El, and I are able to refocus -"

"To the contrary, if we keep more to our chests -" Amelia snapped.

"Everyone knows that the only man Voldemort is truly afraid of is Albus," Lily snapped back. "That is not what we need. We need the focus to be on the threat. I want the Prophet to keep the speculation about me and my family to a minimum because it takes away from the gravity of the situation with Voldemort, but -"

"You are never going to be able to have both, Lily," Amelia cut in. "People have been speculating about your family since the day James died, and the fear of You-Know-Who, the fear that the Ministry will not be able to handle the threat, and the fear, even, of the Order being vigilante is real. Those things are never going to go away, and you're going to have to come to terms with that at some point."

Lily bristled, beginning to respond though Sirius cut in before she could.

"What she wants is not unreasonable," He said, sharing a look with Remus, who nodded. "You have to at least recognise that, Amelia."

"I recognise that we are all in a precarious situation, that the Minister's mind is increasingly warped by fear, and that there is very little we can do but maintain the offensive," Amelia said, standing up and looking over them all. "I suggest all of you acknowledge the same because we are going to get nowhere without cooperation. If you don't believe that, then you're playing the fool already, and that is a dangerous role indeed."

September 18th, 1995
Hogwarts

"...Severus, your concerns about Nymphadora are ridiculous and you know it."

"...I said I am concerned that she has...a conflict of interest with her treatment of a few members of my house. I never said she was as absolutely insufferable as Gilderoy Lockhart, whom, I will remind you Minerva, I had the displeasure of teaching just a few years before he became…..whatever it was he became before Dumbledore put him up for the Defense Against the Dark Arts post."

"...You were a few years below Fudge, were you not? I will remind you I taught Cornelius, and watched him become Minister of Magic. We all have wounds, Severus."

"...His younger daughter is very much the same as him. I recall, he was the only Ravenclaw often in detention for cutting classes and did about average on nearly all exams. Much like James Potter," Snape could not hide the disdain in his voice. "Cornelius….straightened himself out as an adult. But speaking of Fudge's daughter, tell your students to stop encouraging her to torment other members of her house. I have her slated for detention in a few minutes for -"

Snape turned around suddenly upon hearing the door to his office creak open. Sure enough, and just barely on time, Cat Fudge stepped into the room, wearing a tattered hoodie, tank top, and leggings. Both teachers frowned, and Snape's eyes narrowed when she slumped down in the chair in front of his desk, looking both as if she were bored and as if she had done something she wasn't supposed to. McGonagall eyed her closely for a few seconds, and then sighed and left the room. Snape waited until the door slammed shut to begin pacing, well aware that she had been likely eavesdropping. He watched her pull off her glasses and examine them against the light, and he watched her casually flick her wand as if it were a nervous habit. He could tell she was resisting the urge to say something, he imagined, would be reason enough to give her more weeks of detention, and it was amusing to watch, for a little while that is.

"You would do well to follow your sister's example more closely," Snape said coldly when she put her glasses back on. "Though I think others are perhaps better, at least Lexenly is thoroughly responsible and does not engage in some of the….less than respectable activities you do."

Cat squirmed. "Is this about the portable swamp on the third floor?"

"Is that not why you are here?" He silkily countered. "As I understand it, Professor McGonagall has Fred and George Weasley in detention for the same matter after Gryffindor finishes their…..Quidditch practice."

Cat laughed. "What we did wasn't that bad!"

Snape frowned, his gaze darkening again when Harry entered the room as well. "You're late, Potter," He spat. "Gryffindor can spare one Quidditch practice without their prized seeker."

Harry glanced warily at Cat. "Why is she -"

"You two," Snape dropped down two heavy crates in front of them. "Are going to clean some cauldrons by hand for me. No magic. And," He caught Cat slipping her wand into her purse. "If I catch either of you using magic, I will tack on another month of detentions. Miss Fudge, you are already on thin ice for not being in uniform, so do bear in mind I have little patience for you."

Cat grimaced and wrinkled her nose in disgust when she saw the thick, tar like substance in many of the cauldrons.

"You expect me to touch….that?" She shuddered. "Surely -"

"Miss Fudge, I will not repeat myself," Snape cut in, gesturing to Harry. "If you need to be taught how to do this, I imagine Mister Potter can assist you."

Harry and Cat watched Snape walk towards the back of the room. She began muttering to herself, sliding off her jacket and setting down her purse. Harry began working, seeing her tentatively approach the first cauldron with the cleaning supplies. He tried not to laugh when she poked at it, as if she expected it to attack her.

"This is disgusting," Cat let out a small yelp upon the residue meeting her skin. "It's -"

"Haven't you cleaned things before?" Harry asked, watching her try to distance herself as much as she could from what she was doing.

"No," Cat replied, shuddering. "I've put things away, I've done laundry, but nothing like this."

Harry rolled his eyes and playfully socked her in the arm. "Alright," He said, using a slightly damp cloth to jokingly swat at her. "You're going to learn some useful muggle skills today."

Cat frowned. "I know how to live like a no-maj!" She protested. "Almost all of mommy's family are all no-majs!"

Harry smirked. "Okay," He said, putting up his hands. "You can do this yourself? Prove it."

September 20th, 1995
London

It was terribly late, and nearly all of the lights were off in the row house. Upstairs, Delia could hear the shuffling of the cat, whose bell was rattling. She tightened her light shawl around herself, slipping down the stairs into the small living room. Glancing into the kitchen over her shoulder, Delia considered getting a glass of wine (or a bottle) but paused on the steps, closing her eyes for a moment. She tightened one hand around her wand, the other tightening around the letter in the other. Letting out a low sigh, Delia walked over to and sat down on the couch, pulling her legs up to her chest. Shaking a bit, she reached over to flip the switch and turn on the lights.

Then, she set her wand down on the small coffee table by the couch. Her eyes lingered on the family photographs, all of which were static on her insistence. She smiled a little at the photographs; her and Cornelius' 1977 wedding; Lexenly just after she had been born a year later, and then Cat, then Edward; their latest family photograph from just a few months prior, shortly before the end of the Triwizard Tournament. Things had been simpler then, better. Delia glanced back at the letter in her hand, lightly opening it, almost as if she were afraid of it. Then, she started to read:

Cordelia -

I need you to come home. Your brothers and sister are already back. This is difficult for all of us, and I do not appreciate the way you seem to blame your step mother for what happened. Bella did nothing wrong, and the fact you seem to think her capable of killing so many people is absolutely appalling.

The police have said that they all appear to have died of natural causes but that they need to ensure no one who lives on or has lived on the property is involved. Please understand that your absence and accusations are making things more difficult for all of us.

I don't know what you're thinking, and perhaps you are not thinking at all, but it is getting tiresome. I expect your return within the end of the month. Keep in mind that, without your step mother, we would have nothing. We would still be poor, and you would never have gotten your position in your world. I know Bella is imperfect and has hurt you, Ryan, and Raquelle, but she means well. Jake will remind you of that, I'm sure. Do not forget everything she has done for you, for all of us.

Your loving father,

Reisnger John Kessinger

"Delia?"

She startled, but set the letter aside, meeting her husband's worried gaze.

"Don't worry," She said tiredly, picking up her wand and tapping it against the letter, setting it on fire. "I'm going to be just fine."

"It's four in the morning," Cornelius sighed and came over to her, sitting down beside her. "Delia," He said, glancing to the letter as it curled and hissed in the flames. "Is something wrong?"

Delia stared at him for a few seconds and then shook her head, curling into him. He held her close, hoping to soothe her. Delia closed her eyes, her head throbbing. Cornelius lightly raked his fingers through her hair, his arms securely holding her. He could feel she was shaking, though he wasn't sure if it were from whatever had been in the letter or if it had been related to the raid on the Malfoy Manor she had partaken in earlier the day before. He wasn't sure which would be worse. Still, slowly, Delia was calming down, her breathing becoming more regular. Eventually, she reached for her wand again to extinguish the flames before it could cause anything else to become ablaze, content with most of the letter having turned to ash.

"I didn't want to wake you," She said quietly. "I didn't even want to be awake myself."

"Whatever it is, m'dear, I'm sorry," Cornelius softly spoke, letting Delia rest her head on his chest and curl tighter against him. "If you need anything -"

"I know," She said. "But I'll be fine."

Cornelius looked at her, his brow furrowed in concern, but then nodded. "Alright," He agreed. "Just remember you aren't alone, love. You never will be."

Delia managed a small smile. "I know," She whispered. "I know."