It was a tired group that returned to Potter Manor that evening. Assam left Darjeeling in the care of Pekoe and other agents whilst she and Rosehip left for the palace. Pekoe couldn't help by mutter, "Follows her like a dog on a leash that one…"

Darjeeling for her part just laughed, "I would have said puppy, but that's me."

Pekoe laughed and left the room to confer with the agents that were on duty around the manor, leaving Darjeeling alone with the letter her brother left her. With nothing for it, she sat down and started reading.

My dearest sister.

If you are reading this, then I can only apologize for no longer being on the mortal plane. We never did go flying with Granny Minny over the heights of Scotland and over Hogwarts. I pray Lily is reading this over your shoulder and that you can both laugh at your overly dramatic brother, in the event that she is with me, I write this letter for that.

Moldeshorts sows terror and seems unstoppable, however, Dumbledore brought to myself, Lily, Alice and Frank a Prophecy. One about the Dark Lord.

"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies... and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not... and either must die at the hand of the other, for neither can live while the other survives... the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies…"

I know not who made this tripe, but Dumbledore and, it seems, the Dark Lord believe in its validity though I'm sure your brain is working to pick it apart. I fear it will be a self-fulfilling prophecy if Dumbledore and/or Moldeshorts gets their hands on "the one" and, considering the former's interest in Harry, I fear you will have to contend with it for much of his life.

As the Aunt-Regent of House Potter, you have command of our considerable resources to protect Harry. I know you'll do your best.

What I wouldn't give for simpler times again when my only concern was that you would tease me over my methods to woo Lily. But time nor history waits for anyone.

Do not trust Peter, for if you are reading this, he has betrayed us. Do not trust Dumbledore. And for Merlin's sake! Convince Moony to dig himself out of his pit of self-pity (If I know him as well as I do, he's probably drinking a pub dry) it'll do no one any good.

Your loving (and amusing) brother

James Potter

Darjeeling was openly crying by the time she finished reading. It took a while before she composed herself, but when she did, she sought out Pekoe. "I need to head out and pick someone up."

Pekoe raised an eyebrow, "But…" she began before seeing Darjeeling's face properly. The tear tracks and puffy eyes killed any resistance she had. "Who? Why? Where?" she asked.

Darjeeling sighed, "Remus Lupin. He's the closest thing I have to family now and if I know him as well as I do, Wolf's Head in London."

Pekoe sighed, "I'll arrange a guard. They'll be out of sight." she promised.

As Darjeeling and her guard disapparated from the manor, Pekoe bit her lip, wondering how much flak she was about to catch from Assam.

Remus was on his fifth glass of whiskey of the night. He had been a regular at this pub for years and the bartender knew to keep the drinks coming. The sorrowful air that Remus oozed would have stuck out like a sore thumb in the wizarding world, but here, he was just another patron.

Remus frowned at the thought that the rest of Magical Britain was celebrating the deaths of two of his closest friends. The tears that had been falling all night continued to fall. He couldn't even take solace in the fact that little Harry had apparently survived since he couldn't find out where he was with the best explanation being "Dumbledore's Orders" as Professor McGonagall had told him.

Before he could wallow any further though, a familiar voice spoke to his side. "Fancy seeing you here Remus."

Remus winced, he knew that voice. "Mary," he whispered. "How did…"

Mary growled at him, "You are that predictable Remus. I have lost count of the times I've had to drag your sorry arse out of this place." when Remus didn't say anything, she waved over the bartender. "This one is done for the night, I'll take his tab. Hopefully, this will knock some sense into him."

The bartender nodded, "Right away Mrs Lupin." he replied, mistaking her for Remus' wife.

After he was rung up, Mary took him by the arm and, quite forcefully, dragged him away. Once they were away, he spoke again. "Mary. Why did you come for me? I couldn't even save your brother."

Mary wasn't having though, "Remus John, if you keep trying to blame yourself for things beyond your control then, so help me, I will find a way to get McGonagall away from Hogwarts just with give you both barrels!" she shouted, losing her patience with the man.

Remus winced and even Mary's guards took steps back from their charge. Mary though, continued, "Now, do you want to help me or are you going to keep trying to drink yourself to death?"

This focused Remus and all thoughts of drink were banished. "What do you need? How much do you need? When do you need it by?" he asked in rote, having been Mary's in for the Marauders and pranking the targets she wanted.

Mary smirked and grabbed his elbow in a vice-like grip, "Hold on." she said.

And with a mighty crack, they were off.

As soon as they righted themselves after disapparation, and Remus retained control over his stomach, Mary turned to see Pekoe standing at the door of the room. "About time." she grumbled, "Apparently you're so important that the Director is getting personally involved and has been on my case since you left!"

Mary raised an eyebrow. "But I thought Assam was in charge of operations?"

Pekoe shook her head before motioning for them to follow her, "Assam is the Number Two at the Task Force and handles much of the Operational Management, but she still has a boss. Though admittedly, so does the boss but seeing as though that's the Queen, the buck stops there." she said as she opened the door to the Floo Room.

Sitting across from Assam was Maho Nishizumi, former Student President of Kuromorimine School of Witchcraft and, evidently, Director of the British Magical Task Force. "Thank you Agent Pekoe, you are dismissed," Maho said.

Bowing out, Pekoe left the room in silence before Maho sighed, "Next time you go on a rescue mission Darjeeling, please let us know. You just about sent me into early retirement."

Mary didn't say anything as Maho rose. "Mister Lupin I presume?" she asked, receiving a nod. "I am Director Nishizumi of the British Magical Task Force. It's our job to clean up the mess that the Pureblood-led Ministry makes and protect not only British National Interests, but also we have clearance from select members of the International Confederation of Warlocks to protect the interests of all member nations."

Remus thought for a moment, "International Magical Peacekeepers? Like NATO?" he asked.

Maho shrugged, "Sort of, we only gained our international mission in the past fifty years or so. The organization dates back to the early days of Queen Victoria's reign." she explained before looking to Mary, "You trust him?"

Mary nodded, "Absolutely." she replied, pushing down the feelings that flared at that pronouncement.

Maho didn't appear to notice, instead, choosing to nod, "Good. Then Remus John Lupin, consider this an official offer of employment. We've had our eye on you since Darjeeling's first year but didn't dare make contact with you for fear of Dumbledore's interference."

Remus raised an eyebrow, "Somehow, I doubt that he would have been that effective but I understand the concern." he remarked before looking between Mary and Maho, "Director… I have a… health condition." he began.

Maho cut him off. "We know of your Lycanthropy. In fact, we are quite willing to work around it and you'll be pleased to know that there's a division in the R&D section that is dedicated to easing and eventually curing it."

Remus' eyebrows shot into his hairline and he was rendered speechless. "Well… When do I start?" he asked.

Maho smirked, "Seeing as though we know of your prowess in battle, I'm assigning you to be the personal guard of the most highly valued target in the country: Darjeeling."

Mary's heart threatened to leap out of her chest, but she just about kept a lid on her emotions. But Maho's face soon killed any joy she felt. As did her next words. "Agents embedded near Death Eaters and our contacts at Gringotts have confirmed some intelligence that we feared was true. Voldemort was defeated but he wasn't killed."

Remus rubbed his brow, some Firewhiskey sounded really good about now but he needed his wits about him. Darjeeling, however, frowned, "I don't think I like where this is going."

Maho sighed and walked to a window and looked out of it. "I had three agents scan your nephew Darjeeling. Then I did it myself because I couldn't believe it until I saw it myself," she said before sighing again. "It appears he tried to use your nephew in a ritual to create a Horcrux, and we don't believe this was his first go at it."

The room was silent for quite some time before Assam spoke up. "However, it's not all bad news. The Goblins have a method that will remove the taint that we believe to be the incomplete Horcrux before destroying it with, according to them, "at most the baby Potter should feel nothing more than a heavy hand resting on his brow." though I would imagine that you will want to see for yourself."

Mary mutely nodded before sinking into a chair. A sudden thought crossed her mind. "My… my brother wrote a final letter to me and in it, he mentions a prophecy."

Maho snorted, "We're aware of the text of the prophecy in question. We have agents everywhere and the Department of Mysteries is quite… amiable to our missions."

It was clear to Mary that Assam found something amusing with the director's words, but was doing her best not to be heard. Regardless, Maho continued. "We've begun breaking it down word by word but I'd like to hear your thoughts on it."

Mary nodded, her analytical mind was one of the best, only beaten by Assam. "Well, starting at the beginning: "The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches" that's bloody vague and gives Dumbledore the perfect excuse to avoid fighting the noseless one." she replied before thinking further, "Actually the next line is even vaguer "born to those who have thrice defied him" what does defying him even mean? Because depending on how you look at it, Lily was defying him ever since she was born just by existing."

Maho nodded, "Then there's the next bit. Arguably the most understandable bit." she remarked.

Mary shook her head. "Born as the seventh month dies? I disagree. In what calendar are we talking about? Gregorian? Julian? Mayan? And the next bit: and either must die at the hand of the other, for neither can live while the other survives. It makes no sense as it contradicts itself in the same fragment."

Remus spoke up. "How do we know that this is a prophecy and not a ploy by one side or the other?" he asked.

Maho grimaced. "We don't," she said simply. "But because Dumbledore and Voldemort either believe it to be a true prophecy or want to use it to their own end, we have to assume that they will manipulate events to ensure that it becomes a self-fulfilling one."

Hearing the clock chime, Maho turned from the window. "It is getting late and I need to brief the Queen and Prime Minister." she said, nodding to Remus and Mary, "Please no unexpected trips out for the immediate future Darjeeling. We cannot lose you or Harry."

With that, Maho flooed out. Mary sighed and looked at nothing in particular. Seeing this, Assam motioned for Remus to follow her out of the room for a moment.

After he shut the door behind him, Remus turned to her and was surprised to see her look so defeated. However, it was when she spoke that he realized just how bad things were. "Mister Lupin, right now, Darjeeling does not need more guards. What she needs is a friend."

Remus blinked. "If she doesn't need any guards then why did Director Nishizumi assign me to be her personal guard?" he asked.

Assam sighed and rubbed her brow. "When she went to the Wolf's Head, she did so with no warning and a hastily cobbled together guard," she revealed. "If the Enemy had found you both then…" she trailed off, unwilling to think of the possibilities.

Unfortunately for him, Remus' mind did go that far and he was horrified. Assam continued though. "The fact that she went there, effectively alone, at this point, speaks to how much she values, if not you yourself, then your abilities," she explained.

Remus frowned. A worrying question on his mind: "Has it sunk in yet?"

Taking a guess at what he was referring to, Assam could only shrug, "I don't know, but what I worry about is that she is consistently moving, always lurching from one crisis to another."

Remus let that stew for a moment before Assam turned and made to leave, though not before giving him one last piece of information: "I know that she is strong, but even the strong have a breaking point. And with her magical and political power, woe betides any caught in the cross-fire when she does snap. DO NOT LET THAT HAPPEN!"

Stunned at the magical flaring that accompanied Assam's order, Remus stood in the corridor for a time before Mary poked his arm, "You okay?" she asked.

Remus scoffed, "I'm fine now that I'm not drowning my sorrows in the bottle. How are you feeling?" he asked gently.

Mary smiled sadly, "Ask me again in a month or two." she murmured.

Remus sighed, "You need some sleep Mary, and I need a Hangover potion."

Just then, Missy elf-popped beside them and handed Remus what he had asked for. As he downed the potion, Missy turned to Mary. "Young Master Harry is sleeping, Mistress should follow suit and listen to Master Remus."

Mary grimaced as her best friend and her Elf-friend ganged up on her. "Alright, I'll sleep for an hour or two. Wake me."

Remus nodded, "Of course." he lied, fully intent on conspiring with the other elves to ensure that she would sleep for longer. But it had the intended effect as she went to her bedroom and laid down to get some rest.

What neither Remus nor Mary knew was that the elves were intent on making sure that none of the humans in the manor overworked themselves. This is why, mere minutes after Remus downed the potion, he sat in a chair and fell fast asleep since the potion was a hangover cure merged with a sleeping potion. Neither would wake for many hours, indeed, most of the morning of the next day had passed before Remus woke and later still before Mary did, but the elves did not mind, for them, if their humans were unable to care for themselves, they would care for them. Because that is what family does, and Potter Elves were family.