I own nothing. Least of all this.

1:52

"You look like you've been through Hell."

I staggered past Cas into the bunker. "Worse. An interrogation by one of the Black sisters."

"The cousins of Sirius Black that you mentioned?"

"That would be them."

"…I see."

"No. And pray you never do. I thought I told you to guard Lupin?"

Cas followed me inside. "Jody is taking a shift. Lupin finished his list some time ago; now he's been doing nothing but asking questions about how Harry grew up."

I gave Cas a sharp look. "How did he react?"

Cas sighed, and stuck his hands in his coat. "He was understandably upset when he learned about Harry's early life. He seemed to take a great deal of satisfaction in Vernon Dursley's fate, although he expressed a desire you could have drawn it out a bit more."

"Same. And the rest?"

"It took a fair amount of explaining, but the fact he could apparently smell the grace within me seemed to leave no doubt in his mind that what I told him was the truth. He was shocked to learn of angels and demons, alarmed to hear what various powerful beings the family has had to face, and proud when he heard what Miss Evans had done to save her boys. Right now, I believe him to be…confused, more than anything else."

"Good. We keep him confused; it'll keep him from sinking into the doldrums. Now, I suppose it's time I tell you all exactly what my business was in London. Gather everyone around, Lupin included; it's best to drop something like this on everyone at the same time."

Cas nodded, and headed downstairs. Now, where was that owl?


"So." I looked around. Lupin in the corner, Jody and Cas covering him on opposite sides. Rowena at the table, and Harry and Dudley on either side. Familial scene. Shame I was about to make it somewhat less touching.

I cleared my throat, and put my hands forward on the table. "In London, there exists the capital of Magical Britain: The Ministry of Magic. Nominally, it reports to the Queen of England, but in actuality, it is the most incompetent morass of bureaucracy you will ever see."

Harry piped up. "What's 'bureaucracy' mean?"

Rowena reached over and fluffed his hair. "It means, dear, that it takes far too many people to get far too few things done."

"Okay, Aunt Rowena."

I continued. "Now, tangled up in this atrocity, are quite a large number of Departments that deal with the regulation of the wizarding world. Things such as the Aurors, which are their version of the police crossed with the FBI, and the Unspeakables, which are their version of HYDRA's research group from the comic books, but without the need to conquer all. Oh, and you are never to reveal anything of what you may learn about them to another wizard, even another Unspeakable. The penalty for doing so is, last I checked, death. Savvy?"

Everyone nodded, although Lupin looked as confused as possible, and mouthed the word 'Hydra' to himself questioningly.

I pressed on. "Now, the Unspeakables, and specifically their Department of Mysteries, are what I've mostly been dealing with. They are how I came to acquire those lovely artifacts we reduced to dust earlier this week. They have also been kind enough to let me double-check on something that existed in my own world, to ensure that there were no major differences, and if so, for me to begin to plan accordingly."

Cas perked up at that. "And were there? Any differences?"

"…Yes. There is one major difference here. Nice and Accurate Prophecies cannot be removed from the Department of Mysteries, unless by the person or persons it explicitly mentions."

Lupin looked as if he was going to bolt.

"Remus Lupin, you will sit right down in that chair and stay. Your previous cowardice in this matter is unforgivable; you will face facts this time like a man."

Slowly, he sank back down, all remaining signs of life disappearing from him.

Rowena set down her teacup. "Prophecies? A dodgy subject, dear."

"I quite agree. But in this case, whether or not the prophecy is true doesn't matter. What does matter, is that out of the four people that can remove that prophecy, two already firmly believe it to be true. And we will have to deal with that as best we can."

Jody spoke. "These two people? Who are they?"

"The first is the one who heard the prophecy when it was given, and who immediately began to arrange circumstances such that none of those mentioned within it would ever be a threat to him. Albus Dumbledore."

"And the second?"

"A person who had a spy nearby, a spy I am beginning to suspect was placed there on purpose by the whiskered wanker. Because that spy was a person who, after delivering the prophecy to his master, learned who it was referring to, and immediately turned to Dumbledore to protect them."

"A name, Witcher."

"The name of the spy, one tricked and controlled by both the Dark and the Light for their own ends, and the childhood friend of Lily Evans, was one Severus Snape. And the master whom he served, and later betrayed to spare the life of his former friend, was a monster named Tom Riddle Junior… or Voldemort."

Movement in the corner.

"Lupin, you will sit there until I am done, and accept that no vengeance will come for you unless you do as I say. Or I'll have Cas break your legs."

"…Yes, Al…Boss."

"Good."

Harry sat in shock. "…And that's why…"

"Yes Harry. That's why. Dumbledore heard the prophecy, one that could have referred to one of two people, and decided that if anyone was going to deal with the Dark Lord, it was going to be him. So, he arranged things such that the prophecy was repeated, overheard, and believed by Snape. Snape passed on the information, and went on his merry way. Dumbledore then moved the families whose newborn sons were the prophecies subjects into hiding, with the only people knowing where they were being two wizards who he knew were loyal to Voldemort. Then he sat back, and waited for everything to play out."

I stretched, then leaned forward again. "Somehow, I believe through a leak of Dumbledore's, Snape found out that one of the families was the Potters. And that they were the ones Voldemort had chosen as the most likely subjects. He pleaded with the Dark Lord to save his friend's life, and although the Dark Lord swore an oath not to do so, Snape still ran to Dumbledore, and begged him as well for his help. Voila! Dumbledore gained a fantastic spy within Riddle's ranks, and now had no reason to protect the families. Two betrayals later, one by Peter Pettigrew, and one by Barty Crouch Junior, Riddle was vanquished, the Potters were dead, the Longbottom's were tortured into insanity, and Harry…had gained a rather unique looking scar. Something I am pleased to see has now faded. But now, Dumbledore had a problem. Despite his best efforts, Riddle had indeed been beaten, and by the subject of the prophecy. And Albus would be damned if the wizarding world started following someone besides him, much less a boy. So, what does he do? Why, he immediately removes all healthy and caring influence from Harry's life, so that when he comes to Hogwarts, Dumbledore will be the only friendly authority figure he knows, allowing him to mold Harry to his will. And who knows? Maybe into someone that will carry his vision of how the world should look beyond his death. The next Leader of the Light."

I practically spat those last words.

"And…this…is what you've managed to piece together over the last week?"

"Most of it. It helped that I knew where to look from the way things happened in my world. I will admit, there were some differences. Like how Dumbledore seems to be less incompetent in this reality, and a good deal cleverer."

"And like how the prophecy cannot be taken from it's place unless by its subjects."

"Which in this world are Tom Riddle, Dumbledore, Harry, and the giver of the prophecy, Sybil Trelawney. Divination Teacher at Hogwarts."

Jody made a face. "…Convenient."

"Quite."

Cas crossed his arms. "And of the prophecy itself? Is it different from your world?"

"The message, no. The voice? Yes. Which gave me my first clue things weren't quite right."

Cas was looking a bit exasperated. "And the message?"

"…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..."

There was silence.

"So…I've got to fight Voldemort?"

"That's one way to look at it, Harry. Another is that you've already fought him, and won. Another is that you merely have the potential to beat him, and it's up to you to fight if you want. Marked as an equal, well, I'd say that's probably your scar. Power the Dark Lord knows not? I have a few theories on that, but nothing specific. The part that worries me is this: either must die at the hand of the other, for neither can live while the other survives."

"Translation, dear?"

"Dumbledore believes that the only way for Voldemort to truly die is for Harry to kill him. He also believes that neither Harry nor Voldemort will be successful in their endeavors until the other is killed. He's wrong. There's only one way to read that part. And it is thus: if Riddle kills Harry, Riddle will remain immortal. And if Harry kills Riddle…he will become immortal as well."

Jody began to raise her voice. "Hold on, I thought you said that Riddle was dead!"

"I said he was beaten. There's a difference. That little bit of Riddle's soul that Harry was carrying was proof of that. The only way for something like that to happen is if Riddle had already split off parts of his soul, in order to cheat Death."

Cas snorted. "I'll bet she didn't like that."

"Indeed. So, what I am going to be doing while at Hogwarts, is two things: protecting Harry here, and destroying any and all parts of Tom Riddle I can find."

"And, if Riddle comes back?"

"Then I intend to kill him, prophecy or no prophecy. If needs be, I'll just have Harry drop a really big rock on his head while he's sleeping."

Harry smirked. "Can it be an Acme rock?"

"…You know, I don't see why not."

Cas cleared his throat. "Getting back on track, how, exactly, can we avoid either outcome of the prophecy? Riddle's and Harry's respective…immortality."

"Simple. We ignore it. If it's fake, then nothing will happen. If it's true, then there's nothing we can do to change it. Fate doesn't like it when someone plays with her toys. And one often meets one's destiny on the road one takes to avoid it."

Blue eyes stared at mine. "He doesn't deserve that."

"Nobody does. I'm sorry. You can try reasoning with Fate herself if you want to, but I doubt she'll listen. In the meantime, I believe Harry has some catching up to do with his Uncle Moony. I, for one, am going to bed."


"You swear it?"

"Lupin, I make no promises, and I swear no oaths. But I can tell you I will do everything within my power to get you your justice."

He looked at me for longer than normal. "…I believe you. Give me the potion."

I handed over the bowl. "Remember, don't drink it until you hear the door swing shut. Once you've drunk it, wait. If anything happens, ride it out. If it gets too bad, get out. Otherwise, we should see you again in a few hours."

He nodded. I turned, and began to walk out of the room.

"…Thank you…"

"Don't thank me for anything yet. After we get you fixed up, I fully intend to punch you in the face for what you did to Harry."

"…I can't blame you…catch you…"

"Catch you."

And I shut the door.


I stared. "…Well, I certainly wasn't expecting that."

Lupin chuffed. At least I think that's what he did. Kinda hard to tell when his mouth was stretched out to accommodate wolf fangs.

"…Can you change back?"

A look of concentration crossed his face. A moment later, the wolf was no longer standing on all fours in front of me.

Lupin slowly stood. "The wolf…it's…it's still there…but now…now it's there all the time…was that really all it took? Was that all it wanted, to be let out more often?"

I shrugged. "Can't say. Can do this, though."

*THUNK!*

Lupin's eyes flashed, then calmed. "…I deserved that."

"Yes. Yes, you did. Now, how about we start getting you that revenge?"

The grin on his face looked as if it should have had fangs.

"Good. This way."

He followed behind as we walked.

"I've gone over the list you've made me; good stuff. Unfortunately, its all secondary ammunition. Nothing we can open a salvo on Dumbledore with, but all excellent stuff we can use to keep him dancing on his toes once we get the fire going."

Lupin growled. "Good. I want him burned."

"In the meantime, how bout we strike a little closer to heart?"

"…And where would that be."

"Oh, I dunno, I was thinking we could maybe, perhaps, go kill Fenrir Greyback?"

"…You know where he is?"

"Of course. And I know for a fact you can take him. Or, if you're uncomfortable with that, I can take him, and you watch my back."

"…No. I have to do it myself."

"Understandable. You think any Muggle weapons will work?"

"I doubt it."

"Pity. Still, I can think of at least one sword around here that can probably kill werewolves. Well, half-a-sword."


I closed my eyes, and reached up to pinch my nose. "Cas? Are you absolutely sure this is the sword?"

"Unless Dean managed to break another priceless weapon in half that I'm unaware of, that's the one."

"Because I hate to point this out, but this sword was broken long before it ever came into Dean's possession."

Mild confusion crossed Cas' face. "How can you tell?"

"Because I happen to know exactly where the other half of it is. In a small, seaside town, by the name of Storybrooke, in the possession of a man named…Rumpelstiltskin."

"The…Rumpelstiltskin?"

"I'm afraid so. This…is the missing half of the sword Excalibur."

Lupin's jaw practically detached. Cas didn't look much better.

"…And it has somehow gotten from Maine, to thousands of years in the past, to here. I kriffing hate time travel sometimes."

"Are you…planning to return it?"

"Good lord, no. Can you imagine Rumpelstiltskin with something as powerful as a whole Excalibur? This thing can kill practically anything under the sun as it is; re-forged, it could have…well, it could probably have killed Death herself."

Lupin and Cas were both looking at the sword now with undisguised fear.

"Don't worry. It should be perfectly safe. I have no intention of taking it out of the sheath unless pressed. I'll stick to my Last Word and magic for now. Right! Now, there's just one more thing before we leave."

Cas cleared his throat. "And what may that be?"

I slapped a book to his chest. "Since you're not a wolf, they won't allow your interference. In the meantime, you, Rowena, and Harry should probably get started on this."

Cas looked down at the book's title. "The Beginner's Guide to…Occlumency?"

I began strapping the sword and sheath to myself. "The art of protecting and ordering your mind. Very handy against people trying to read your mind, as well as possession and the Imperius curse. And especially useful in case you have specific information that should be protected, like, say, I dunno, a certain prophecy."

Cas' eyes lit up in understanding. "…We'll get right on it."

"Fantastic. Alright Lupin, you ready?"

He stretched. "Let's go."

"Grab my shoulder then. Oh, tell me if anything feels off between hops. This is the farthest I've ever gone with passengers, after all."

The look on Lupin's face was not one of reassurance.


"Oooo…I think I'm gonna be sick…"

"Note to self: smoking is infinitely more hazardous to those around you than it is to you."

Lupin stumbled to his feet. "I'm fine…I'll be fine. Whooo…I think it was the sudden direction changes…I'll be good, know that I know what's coming…now…where's Greyback?"

I pointed up the hill. "I believe, in that house. Along with quite a few of his pack members. Are you sure you don't want your wand back?"

"No, it'll just give them an excuse. Besides, they're going to be ten times more scared of you than they are of me."

"How's that?"

"You don't live long as a werewolf without learning to smell what's coming. And today, that's Death."

He began walking forward, and I followed, activating my mask as I did so. I wasn't looking forward to any surprises. The first guard had his head twisted off by Lupin; the second went up in my flames.

Lupin smashed through the door, and roared. "GREYBACK! I CHALLENGE YOU FOR THE POSITION OF ALPHA!"

*ZING*

The dagger hung in the air in front of Lupin's eyes, right where I had stopped it. "Now, that wasn't very nice of you, was it?"

A figure moved forward out of the darkness. As it coalesced into shape, I could faintly pick up more movement in the shadows.

"Lupin…so…you have come back…and I sense that you have decided to embrace the wolf…even more so than I…my, how the mighty are fallen."

"Shut it, Greyback. I'm here for one reason and one reason only; pure, simple revenge. I have challenged you. Will you accept, or hand over your crown now?"

"I…accept. I am the challenged; the only rules are no magic allowed."

"Very well. Your second?"

"RHIANNON!"

A second form crept forward. "I will serve as second."

Greyback grinned. "And what of your second, Lupin?"

I stepped forward. "I will serve as his second."

"Oh, hasn't anyone told you, wizard? Only a wolf can act as a wolf's second."

I grinned back. "That's why he brought me. Smell for yourself."

A pause.

The movement in the shadows, which until then had been constant, stopped. Greyback took a step back in fear. "What ARE you?"

"For here? For now? And for you? Death. The only reason I'm not challenging you for myself is Lupin deserves to make his own way."

Lupin made a slight bow. "Thank you, Alpha."

That statement shocked Greyback even more. "…Very well. He is your second. Arm yourself."

Lupin grabbed the dagger that was still hanging in the air, and twirled it. Greyback pulled his own out of its sheath, and began to bob from side to side. "On my mark."

Lupin nodded in agreement.

"Three…two…one…NOW!"

And they charged.

The fight was short and brutal. Greyback wasn't expecting Lupin to be able to change at will, much less into the form of a massive direwolf. In the end, Lupin ripped Greyback's throat completely out, while stabbing upwards into his heart.

The minute Greyback's body hit the floor, five wolves leapt forward, hoping to take Lupin's new position for themselves. I managed to trap two in my wall of flame, but three made it through and to us. Lupin yanked his dagger from the corpse, and began fighting one. I pulled out Excalibur, and began swinging at another. And surprisingly, Greyback's second attacked the last one.

Half-a-minute later, it was all over.

I watched as the blood on Excalibur was absorbed into the blade. Huh. Looks like I had my replacement for the Sword of Gryffindor. I sheathed it, and went over to where Lupin and…Rhiannon…had started fixing each other up.

I heard Lupin whisper, "Why would you fight?"

The woman answered softly. "You are the Alpha now. And…maybe…you'll be kinder to us than they were."

I coughed. Lupin looked up.

"You okay staying here for a couple of hours, Moony?"

He slowly nodded. "…Why?"

"Well, there is a reward out for Greyback's head. I thought the least I could do would be to drop off the body, collect the cash, and give it to any werewolves that might want to come to America, where I know of a relatively decent werewolf settlement they can stay."

Rhiannon looked up with hope in her eyes. "Can…can they do what…Remus did?"

"Yes. And there's a cure we can get that'll let you do the same. But only in America."

She nodded. "I'll take the offer. If Remus is going to be in America, then that's where I'm going to be."

"Very well. Lupin, I should be back relatively soon. Ish. Round up all the ones that want to come; and help them take whatever's not nailed down."

Lupin nodded, and went back to wrapping a particularly nasty bite on Rhiannon's arm. I hope he got up the courage to try things with her; she seemed like a nice sort, and Tonks, sorry, Sam, deserved better than a mopey self-destructive…never mind. I had things to do and people to kill. Or was that the other way around?

I shrugged, pulled out a sack, and wrapped up Greyback's body. Out came Dawlish's heart: "You are to make your way down to the Department of Magical Creatures. Make a believable excuse as to why you must go. Once you get there, here is what you must do…"

I continued talking as I whirled away.


Three minutes later, I dumped the dead body in front of the appropriate official in the Department for Care of Magical Creatures. A.k.a. Walden MacNair. I watched as his eyes opened impossibly wide, staring first at the body, then at me. I leaned forward slightly, and whispered.

"Human race. Greatest monsters of them all."

MacNair moved.

But I moved first.

Three seconds later, I removed Excalibur from his chest, and slid it back into my sheath. I turned to Dawlish.

"Make the call that is most likely to get Amelia Bones here. When she arrives, tell her exactly what you have witnessed: That I arrived with proof of the death of Fenrir Greyback, and upon revealing the proof, Mr. MacNair attempted to relieve me of my head with his axe, the one that is now buried in the chair I was just sitting in. You are not to tell anyone what I have done beyond killing this filth. You are also to call attention to the fact that Mr. MacNair obviously sports a Dark Mark. Once you have acted upon these orders, you will remember only the series of events that I have dictated, and forget all else. Now go."

He nodded, and stepped outside the office, shouting something or other as he did so. I knelt in front of MacNair's dying body.

"See, the thing is, actually, dead men do tell tales. This is going to hurt a lot, for the both of us."

I reached my thumbs up, and dove into his dying mind.

Everything was falling to pieces, but all I needed were the most recent events.

Specifically, the discussions he had had with his Death Eater buddies on how best to protect themselves in this "uncertain time".

Ah! Got them.

Rowle, Gibbon, Avery…

I pulled myself out of the morass, just in time to watch the last spark of life leave his eyes.

"Good riddance."

I stood, and turned, just in time to watch a stunner fly directly at me. I would like to say that I was able to avoid it, but I did not. I can, however, say that stunning spells seem to operate by deactivating the awake center of the brain. Something I am immensely capable of turning on and off for myself, thank you very much.

I growled. "The next person that tosses a spell my direction is going to end up like the other two bodies in this office."

Amelia Bones lowered her wand. "Aurors, stand down."

"But ma'am, he…"

"I said STAND DOWN. Unless I am much mistaken, Proudfoot, you just attempted to assault the Lord of three Most Ancient Houses."

"Two Most Ancient, and one Most Ancient and Most Noble." I corrected.

"Yes. I had forgotten that. Would you like to press charges on Auror Proudfoot, my Lord?"

"I don't believe that will be necessary. I, unlike some others I could mention, have a fair amount of trust in your judgement."

Bones smirked. "Indeed. Now, from what I gather from Auror Dawlish, you were attempting to claim the reward on one Fenrir Greyback?"

I made a slight bow. "Your Auror is correct, madam. But alas, the reward is not mine. I am merely here because the…perpetrator of justice, as it were, would not be welcome in the Ministry."

"And why may that be, my Lord?"

"Well, examine the method of…dispatch, and you should have your answer. Needless to say, I consider the individual my friend, and though I do intend to pass along the reward to him, I would prefer to keep his name out of it."

One of the Aurors examining the bodies called out. "Looks like Greyback had his throat ripped out, ma'am. Only one thing I know of can do that."

Bones raised an eyebrow. "Werewolf power struggle?"

I shook my head. "Werewolf power vacuum. You're welcome, by the way. You shouldn't have much of a werewolf problem for the next few years."

"…You have my thanks, my Lord."

"And you have mine, Director Bones, for taking the situation well in hand."

"Please, my Lord…" she reached up and removed her monocle, "…call me Amelia."

Ah. Perhaps she did want that Consort Agreement after all.

"Dawlish was right, boss. Dark Mark on the arm."

Amelia barked over my shoulder. "Cause of death?"

"I'd say the massive sword wound in his chest didn't do him any favors, ma'am."

Amelia turned back to me. "Really? A trained professional with an axe nearly takes your head off, and yet you have time to draw a sword from that position while sitting down?"

"I have a lot of practice with dodging?" I lamely answered.

"Hmmm. Well gentlemen, I see this case as closed. Lord Howlfang here merely chose the wrong department to report his deed to, and as such, when Mr. MacNair saw the item in question, he, due to the recent events that have made things somewhat bothersome for 'upstanding citizens' such as himself, took it as a threat to his person and responded with lethal force. If Mr. MacNair had survived, he would have been in Azkaban for attacking a Lord."

Three choruses of "Understood, Boss." Echoed around the room.

"Pack everything away, gentlemen. Now, my Lord…"

"It's Hadrian, Amelia."

She smiled. "Very well then. Hadrian. Would you be so very kind as to step into my office? I have some things I should like to discuss with you."

I bowed. "Lead the way, madam."

"Auror Dawlish, you will accompany us. Now, Hadrian, I believe you promised me lunch next week? Shall we say, Tuesday?"

I managed a smile. "That would be lovely, Amelia."

And it would be. Provided she wouldn't be too put out with me for what I was about to do on Friday.