I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! It's pretty quick, considering my usual schedule, but I had a review that really motivated me to update quickly. Please leave a review, it really helps me out! Enjoy!

Three Months Later

"...and then he trips over his shoe laces!" Wheels exclaimed. There was a chorus of laughter from around the fire. "I was almost toast, seconds away from being arrested, and the twat trips over his bloody shoelaces!"

"Language," Shade scolded, nodding toward Light, but there was no fire to her words; she looked like she was holding a giggle in herself.

"Hypocrite," Wheels replied with a smirk, before pointing at Toxic accusedly with his good arm. "You were there! Why aren't you backing me up?"

Toxic snorted, before rolling her eyes. "Yeah, it's true. It was pretty hilarious, to be honest. I walk out from behind the house, bag of silver spoons in tow, and there's a copper face-down in the street and Wheels making a beeline for the other side of the street." She shook her head.

Spider shook his head, exasperation clear in his tone as he cut in, "Wheels, mate, you're a rubbish example for Roach and Light. I don't know why we rely on you to get anything done; the only reason you haven't been arrested is Hero and your unreasonable amount of good luck.

Wheels shrugged, scratching under his chin with the arm that ended at his elbow. "Or maybe I was just banking on that idiot policeman being particularly clumsy." Spider snorted and opened his mouth to argue when Shade cut him off.

"Before we let the boys argue themselves into dust," she said dryly, "Sparky, did you make any progress?"

Sparky grinned widely. "I did, Shade. Take a loo' at these beau'ies," she said proudly, laying five rudimentary-looking walkie-talkies on the floor in the middle of the circle. "I'm makin' more, o' course," she added defensively, when no one said anything. "Soon we migh' 'ave enough for all o' us."

Stickler's eyebrows flew into his hair. "These could be invaluable," he observed, his eyes taking stock of the walkies in front of him. He picked one up gently, his lips pursed in the way that they often were when he was evaluating how much he could sell something for. "Communication like that… we wouldn't need to run people back and forth anymore. We could halve our delivery time. If something went wrong on a job we could set up new rendezvous' immediately. Sparky, this is genius!" He proclaimed, patting the blonde on the back. She beamed at him.

Shade looked like she, too, was suppressing a grin. She smiled approvingly at Sparky. "For now, we'll use four, so that Sparky still has one too work from. Hero and I will have them at all times; one will stay here at all times, with whoever's in charge, and the last one will go with whoever is going somewhere that needs it."

Sin was momentarily surprised that Shade wasn't giving Spider his own walkie-talkie - after all, he was her second-in-command - but after he mulled it over, he realised that it made perfect sense for Hero to have her own. She was the one with the biggest chance of getting someone out of a predicament without resorting to violence.

"I want one!" Roach whined. Light nodded in vigorous agreement, his mouth too full of mushy peas to speak. Toxic, Hero, Spider and Sin snorted with laughter, and Sparky ruffled Roach's hair.

"You are somethin', aren' cha, Roach?" She asked with a giggle. She grabbed the bowl of soup that sat beside Toxic, swallowing a few mouthfuls before setting it back down.

"Maybe later, when Sparky has enough up an running," Shade told the young boy, amused. Light appeared to have struggled through his mouthful of peas because he crawled out of Spider's lap and into a standing position, his legs wobbling slightly.

"Me too!" He insisted. "I -" he yawned - "I want one too!"

The group erupted into giggles at the five-year-old's pouting face when Shade shook her head. "You'll all be death of me," she remarked mildly. She glanced at the cracked clock face of her watch. "You had enough to eat, Light?"

The youngest child nodded, leaning against Spider. He rubbed his eyes sleepily and Shade smiled kindly.

"Let's get you to bed, then," she said softly, picking him up and swinging him into her arms. Light shook his head but without any real feeling.

"'Not tired," he argued, his eyelids drooping. Sin watched Shade carry Light to the beds, a fond smile on his face. He turned back around as he felt someone tap his shoulder lightly.

"You up for a practice round tonight?" Spider asked, a daring smirk on his lips. Sin nodded eagerly; they had to be careful now, because although Shade had told them they could continue training, she still got irritated when either of them came back with bruises.

Spider stood and had a few murmured words with Hero, which resulted in her rolling her eyes but gesturing for him to leave. Spider grabbed a small portable lantern and headed to the door. Sin handed his glasses to Wheels who took them without speaking - he was too focused on the walkie-talkies - and Sin followed Spider out of the warehouse and down the now-familiar maze of back-alleys and courtyards.

Spider set the lantern on the ground. As Sin began to stretch - reaching an arm as far as he could behind his back - Spider lashed out a fist at him. A few weeks ago, this would have sent Sin sprawling into the dirt, but Sin was used to Spider's antics now. He had learned to always be on his guard the second they left the warehouse together. So the blow never landed; Sin merely dropped to the ground and used the opportunity to swing his leg behind Spider's feet, attempting to knock the older boy's legs out from under him. However, Spider was wise to that trick and jumped backwards.

Sin pulled himself to a stand and ducked under a swing of Spider's. He began a series of lightning-fast jabs at Spider's ribs - none of them actually landed, as the older boy deflected each one - but they were enough of a distraction for him to plant his right foot behind Spider's left and bring it back towards him sharply.

Spider grabbed Sin as he was left off-balance and Sin's fist shot out to smash into Spider's chin. Spider wheeled back and spat out a mouthful of blood, the red staining his teeth.

Sin advanced on him, but before he could make a move Spider threw a right hook. Sin bent back slightly so that the punch merely glanced off of his right cheek, but was ill prepared for the kick that landed solidly below his ribs. Sin heaved as the air was knocked from him, not quick enough to dodge as Spider grabbed his arms and spun him around into a headlock.

"Yield," Sin gasped once he had regained enough breath to speak. Spider released him, taking a few steps back.

"You're good," Spider admitted, "I'm not even going easy on you anymore. You're awareness is much better, but it still needs to be improved." Sin bristled slightly; Spider had been going easy on him? He'd thought he'd been doing so well!

However, he swallowed his annoyance and nodded. He supposed it was praise, however back-handed it felt. "Again," he said, running strategies through his mind. Spider was stronger than him, and more experienced, so he wasn't going to win this through straight improvisation of moves. He needed a plan.

Spider nodded slowly, giving him a few moments to breathe, before swinging his leg up into Sin's side. Sin spun out of the way and brought his elbow into Spider's ribs before backing up quickly. Spider groaned, gripping his side. He swung over to meet Sin's eyes, and as they ticked slightly to the right, Sin leant to the left, bringing his fist up toward Spider's ribs, but meeting the older boy's waiting hand.

Sin took a step away from Spider, his back to the wall. Technically it was a tactically terrible place to be - he had nowhere to run - but it would serve his purposes. He looked to the right and flinched, just as Spider's fist came flying at his face. Sin dropped to his knees and brought his out clasped fists up between Spider's legs just as the brown-haired boy's fist slammed into the brick wall. As Sin rolled away Spider swore loudly, and both the pain in his hand and his groin, and staggered back, clutching his bleeding hand.
Sin took advantage of the other boy's momentary incapacitation to kick him in the backs of the knees, pushing Spider to the ground, and grabbing his head. Sin was in the perfect position to smash Spider's head into the brick.

"Yield," Spider groaned, nursing his hand. Sin released the older boy's head and stepped back, a his expression smug. Spider turned around, leaning against the wall and raising his eyebrows at Sin.

"Clever," he remarked, impressed. "Using your surroundings is always helpful. You've definitely improved, Sin. And you're not even eleven! Just imagine what kind of havoc you'll be able to wreak in Elena's pits in a few months," Spider added, his own lips tugging up with a grin.

Sin tensed slightly at the mention of the vampiress but otherwise didn't react; he couldn't let Spider know about what he was doing. Sin shook it off and gestured to Spider's hand, feeling slightly guilty now that the euphoria of finally being victorious had started to wear off.

"You should go back, get that looked at," he told the other boy. "I'll stay here, practice some of the punches and things on my own."

Spider looked at Sin appraisingly before nodding slowly. "Alright, but try to be home before midnight. Shade is still a little paranoid after the Roach debacle last week." Sin snorted as he remembered the incident but nodded.

He watched Spider leave the courtyard and once he he could no longer hear his footsteps, he switched off the lantern and he too left the small courtyard. He glanced around him before making his way to the abandoned parking lot.

Twenty minutes later, when he arrived, he was surprised to see Elena already waiting for him. She was standing in the middle of the parking lot, perfectly still except for her eyes, which were focused on Sin. He swallowed uncomfortably.

"How?" He asked, furrowing his eyebrows. "I told you I was coming, but I said it might be another couple hours."

Elena didn't move as she replied, her voice still eerily smooth, "Assassin, just because you are so terribly predictable and unobservant doesn't mean everyone else is." Sin sighed. He was used to Elena being frustratingly cryptic, so he didn't push her. "Regardless," she continued, ignoring his rolling eyes, "Let's see what you've learnt."

She tossed a stone at him without warning, but his senses were still on edge from the fight, and it didn't take much effort to tug at the tiny squirming feeling just beyond the reach of his thoughts. The stone froze several feet from his chest before dropping to the floor.

Elena lifted her eyebrow. "Sometimes offence…"

"Is the best defence," Sin grumbled. Elena threw another stone, and again it froze it the air, before shooting back at Elena. Elena dodged to the side with almost inhuman reflexes - actually, now that Sin thought about it, they weren't human at all.

The vampiress nodded approvingly, her eyes still cold. "Good." She gestured to a small circle on the ground, surrounded by a thick ring of dark ground, as if it were wet. Sin, knowing by now not to question Elena's tactics, stepped into the circle.

Elena drew a small box of matches out of her pocket. Sin's forehead creased in confusion - weren't vampires supposed to be particularly flammable? - and it wasn't until she struck a match and dropped it onto the ring that Sin released what she was doing. He cried out and took a step forward to get out of the circle, but it was too late; he was surrounding by a ring of fire, the flames too high for him to step over. They licked up to his shoulder height, and he saw Elena's face over the flames.

"What the hell?!" He shouted at her, pushing down the terror that began to creep up his skin. "Get me out of here!"
Elena stared at Sin impassively. "You have all the tools you need to get out of there on your own," she told him, her tone bored. "So do it. I'm tired of waiting around, of repeating the same drill for weeks before you learn to use your magic. So now you're going to learn quickly."

Sin glared at her, the terror slowly turning into panic as the vampiress didn't reply, and his breath began to quicken. He clenched his palms tightly, closing his eyes, and tried to slow his breathing.

In, out. In, out. In, out.

Once he was sure he wasn't going to have a panic attack, he opened his eyes again. He tried to ignore the fact that the flames seemed to be edging closer and closer to him.

The heat began to prickle at his skin, and he could feel the sweat beading at his temple. He took another breath. He needed to put the flames out - water. He needed water.

Shutting his eyes, he tugged once more at the feeling worming around at the back of his consciousness, and imagined water pouring over the fire. When nothing changed, he swallowed, the terror sneaking back, but he ignored it. Maybe it was his magic abilities that were failing, maybe it was just harder to create something than change it.

With that in mind, Sin tried something different. Instead of imagining the water, he just imagined the cold. He thought back to freezing nights spent in his cupboard with the thin blanket; remembered the bone-chilling cold of icy rain soaking through him when he'd tended the Dursleys' garden the February before last. As he did so, he reached back into his mind and pulled. The wriggling feeling snapped, as if it were a rubber band. He began to shiver, his teeth chattering loudly. He didn't dare break his concentration to see if it was working, but he could no longer feel the heat of the flames.

Sin's eyes shut tight, he let the frosty feeling surround him. His thoughts simulated the freezing cold incredibly well, and he no longer felt any heat at all. It was as if all the warmth had been sucked from his bones, leaving only empty, piercing cold behind.

There was a loud roar in his ears and he didn't realize he had collapsed until he felt Elena shaking him, her tone urgent as she called his name. "Assassin. Assassin! Wake up! You need to stop! You have to let go!"

He opened his eyes slowly, Elena's dead eyes and perfect face swimming lazily into view. "You're holding onto your magic," she said firmly, maintaining eye contact - although it was not nearly as unsettling as usual. Her stare no longer transfixed him. "You need to stop pulling on it. You're going to pass out again from exhaustion, or freeze to death. Stop."

It was with enormous effort that Sin nodded slowly, realizing she was right; he was still pulling on the enormous wave of magic that had been released. He swallowed and did his best to shove back. It was like forcing two incorrect puzzle pieces together, but it seemed to do the trick, as he already felt the cold begin to leave his body.

Elena didn't say anything further, and when he had recovered enough to sit up, Sin turned to see what had formerly been a circle of fire was now a shallow, jagged block of ice.

"I - I did that?" He asked incredulously. Elena nodded silently, tilting her head. Her eyes narrowed, regaining their usual haunting look.

"Well," she remarked dryly, "Wasn't that interesting."

Sin turned to Elena angrily, pushing her away. She flinched back from where he had pushed her, before her eyebrows declined slightly as she look at her arm. "Curious," she murmured.

"What the hell was that?" He asked heatedly. "I could have died! What if I hadn't managed that before the flames closed in all the way?"

Elena rolled her eyes, an act of surprisingly low decorum for her. "I knew your magic was incredibly powerful. You'd have gotten out of it somehow, whether in controlled magic or accidental."

Sin's furious expression lost some of its heat as he asked, "How did you know? That it's powerful?"

Elena pursed her lips, looking remarkably like Shade in that moment. "What have Shade and Spider told you?" She asked, and Sin took a moment to process the unexpected question.

"Told me? About what?"

"About your magic."

"Um… I'm a wizard. There are other wizards and witches and also werewolves and… vampires, and uh, goblins and stuff, and that the wizards and witches have their own world, almost… they've got their own money and government and stuff, and there's even a school - Hogwash or something like that - for wizards to go too. That's… that's pretty much it. Oh, and they use wands. For spells and things. They don't usually - usually it's just kids that do what I do. 'Accidental magic' or whatever."

Elena nodded and sat down across from Sin, crossing her legs. "Nothing else? Nothing about… you?"

Sin shook his head, his eyebrows furrowed deeply. "Uh - no? Should they have?"

Elena let out a long, shallow sigh. "Okay. What I'm about to tell you isn't exactly a secret, but I wouldn't tell Shade that you know. Then she'll want to know how you found out, and unless you think she'll be perfectly on board with our little arrangement, I don't think that will be a good thing for you." She tilted her head as Sin's head swam with questions. Elena paused, as if waiting for him to speak up, but he wanted her to finish before he began bombarding her with questions, all traces of his previous fury gone in place of curiosity.

"I'm going to be blunt, because this isn't the sort of thing subtlety is useful for. Just as there are evil tyrants and terrorists in the muggle world, they also exist in the wizarding one. One of those terrorists was a Dark Lord who most living wizards and witches are afraid to name. This is not completely unwarranted, but for our purposes we will refer to him not as "You-Know-Who" as most of the wizarding community does but as either the Dark Lord or his name, Voldemort."

Sin nodded, still wondering what this all had to do with him.

"Well for eleven years not too long ago the wizarding world was in an all out war against him and his followers. He slaughtered muggles for sport, and killed anyone of magical power who might be a threat - or if he was just in the mood."

There was an edge to Elena's voice that made Sin wonder whether she'd been personally affected by the war, or by the Dark Lord himself.

"When you were just over one year old, the Dark Lord targeted your family." Sin inhaled sharply; that was not what he had been expecting to hear. "He came into your home and murdered your mother and father."

Sin blinked several times. The Dursleys had always told him that his parents had died in a car accident because his dad was drunk. This was… better, he supposed, better that they had died an honorable death. And yet he couldn't bring himself to quite feel the relief he thought he should.

"Then, when he tried to kill you - a mere infant - he couldn't."

Sin's eyebrows flew up. "He couldn't?" He asked in disbelief. "He was the terror of the wizarding world for eleven years - against wizards who could use magic - and he couldn't kill a baby? Me? He tried to kill me?"

Elena nodded, looking a little vexed at his interrupting, but continued without rebuking him. "Not only could he not kill you - he vanished. Died, is seems. All because he tried to kill you." She tilted her head, and the hunger he had first seen in her at the Fights was in her eyes again, scarier than he'd ever seen. He scooted away subconsciously.

"That's - that's why you agreed to help me," he said, his voice tinged with a sensible amount of fear, considering his situation. "Because I - I killed this Dark Lord, and you think that makes me powerful, and you want to use me."

Elena let out a small, amused chuckle. "Spot on, Harry Potter."

Assassin flinched at the mention of his old name. Of the name that had been too weak to carry him.

"That is not my name," he spat at the vampiress. She didn't react, but didn't push the issue either.

"Now, as for what I want in return… it's nothing awful, I assure you. In fact, you would probably do it anyway at some point."

Sin glared at her.

"I want you to come back to the Fights. You're going to be my champion," she said, a grin showing off her long, sharp canines. "In the Fights you've been too. And in my other, more… exclusive Fights. Have you heard of Knockturn Alley, Assassin?" She asked.

He nodded minutely, remembering the address on the card the blue-haired woman had given him.

"Well, you'll be fighting there for me. With others of your age, and with your more… special abilities." She grinned wickedly at him. "Unless, of course, you want poor little Light to have a tragic accident."

In that moment, Assassin knew what it truly was to hate. But he did not dissent. "I'll do it."