I own nothing. Least of all this.

1:54

"Good day, Lord Howlfang."

"Good day, Lord Malfoy. I trust everything is in order?"

"Indeed. I have arranged for the Head of St. Mungos to meet us at the Floo entrance in ten minutes. Just enough time to…review…certain details."

"Very well, then. Let us review away."

"Point one. You intend to revive Lord and Lady Longbottom by Obliviating everything up to and including the…events…that led to their current state?"

"Correct."

"Good. Here is a license I have obtained for you to legally preform the Obliviation."

I took the offered slip of parchment, and slid it into my coat.

"Point two. I have discovered that the head of the Janus Thickery Ward, the one in which the Longbottoms reside, has been receiving payments off the books during his time there. Coincidentally, they began shortly after the Longbottoms were placed into his care."

"No chance of him being paid by Madame Longbottom?"

"None."

"Damn. We'll have to be prepared for any illegal doses of potions as well."

"The Head of St. Mungos is a Potions Master."

"Well done. Next point?"

"I have received the copy of Heir Potter's blood-test from your lawyer. He stated that he was extremely sorry that he was unable to provide the full document, but someone had paid the Goblin Nation a good deal of money to keep certain information off of it. He went on to say that I would probably have more luck if I were to look into it personally."

Thereby keeping him even more occupied. Good on you, Ted. Wish I'd thought of that.

"All we know for certain is that whatever names may have been left off, that Heir Potter is not the Ward of the Longbottoms. I doubt they would be able to pay the Goblins anything at this time."

"I wouldn't be so sure, Malfoy. Perhaps Dumbledore wished even more than we thought to keep the Longbottoms' names out of this. Lord Black was already dealt with; your right as proxy to the Blacks would be easily blockable if it was also revealed that you were the servant of the other name listed for Magical Guardian."

Malfoy's eyes widened.

"Yes, I am aware of the Dark Lord's true name. But I shall not be revealing it, except under great duress. Dumbledore is the enemy now, and revealing something like that would only strengthen his cause."

"…Yes…yes, I agree…" he rasped.

It was a complete lie, of course. After all, I was going to be teaching History of Magic. Sooner or later, it was bound to come out.

"Currently, all we should concern ourselves with is how to destroy He-With-Too-Many-Names' hold over so many powerful Houses. If you can focus on the Potter and Longbottom side of affairs, it should keep the old man worried enough to let me work on other things in the background."

"Such as depriving him of Lord Ogden's support."

"You've read the Prophet then, I take it?"

"Yes. Very well done. I myself am well-acquainted with Lord Greengrass' abilities in the…import…business. And to seal a similar deal with the only other legal publication in Magical Britain through the Lovegoods was a brilliant idea. I wish I had thought of it myself; a Consort arrangement between Draco and the Lovegood Heir would have been ideal. But there's no prize for second place, now is there?"

He didn't think I had…did he? He would only think that if…Skeeter. She and I were going to have a long talk after this.

I gritted my teeth. "Quite. Incidentally, young Draco was able to deduce a manner of contact with me. He was unable to get in touch with Heir Potter directly, something I suspect has to do with the wards at his present location, and thus sent his owl to my lawyer. He inquired if Heir Potter would wish to come flying some time in the coming week, and I wished to insure it was alright with you before I gave you Heir Potter's answer."

"But of course. It would be our pleasure."

"In that case, Heir Potter would be pleased if he could come on Wednesday."

"I will have the Quidditch pitch prepared."

"Excellent. Also, Heir Potter was fascinated when your House Elf delivered your earlier message. Due to the fact his earlier life was devoid of friends thanks to Dumbledore, I think it would be a good idea to use said House Elf as the courier between your son and young Harry. But to do so, he would have to belong to the family to whom his location's wards respond. Because of this, I wish to offer to buy your House Elf, and give him to Heir Potter."

"…You are aware, of course, of how much a House Elf is worth?"

"Naturally. But I know how much security matters in the game we are playing, and I thought you would prefer if your son was dealing with an Elf that already knew Malfoy secrets, and could be trusted not to betray them. And I am of the belief that all owls directed to young Harry would eventually be read by the Headmaster."

"…You make a very good point. Very well. I shall sell him to you for…"

He named a sum.

I pretended to consider it, then slowly nodded. "Acceptable, for the security alone. I shall direct the gold be transferred to your account once we are through at St. Mungos."

"You honestly believe you will be able to make a timely escape from the clutches of the Ministry after the disturbance we are about to cause?"

"Why not? I'm having lunch with the Head of the DMLE next week, seeing as how she has asked for my assistance dealing with the corruption in the Ministry that allowed for three gruesome murders to occur with nary a clue as to the perpetrator. Seems killing Fenrir Greyback and…removing…most of the remaining werewolf population in Britain gets you a fair amount of good will."

"…Yes…yes, I can see how. Is dealing with the Senior Undersecretary's murder yet another thing you have in the background?"

"In a manner of speaking. Much more important to me is the fact that Dumbledore has mentioned having a scar on his knee in the form of a map of the London Underground. A network of tunnels that runs right…underneath…the Ministry."

"…Do you honestly believe…"

"No, definitely not. Dumbledore's too Light for that. I think. But it's certainly worth pointing out to the Director of the DMLE."

"…You're a kite dancing in a hurricane, Lord Howlfang."

"He who dares, wins, Lord Malfoy. Now, I believe we are expected?"


I knelt in front of Alice Longbottom first. They had both been in a fight for their lives at the time I was resetting their memories too, and I had more faith in Alice's ability to restrain Frank then I did vice versa.

Malfoy had his wand trained on the medi-wizard in charge of the Ward. He had attempted to curse me in the back after I had announced my intentions, and Malfoy had responded with an Incarcerous, followed by a Perfectus Totalis. Malfoy had then ordered the Head of St. Mungos to perform a check on the Longbottoms for any abnormal potions, and then call the Aurors. He had declared Alice to be under a Confusing Concoction, and was now checking Lord Longbottom.

Because of the potion, I was resetting her memories back to before the actual fight to be on the safe side. It would probably destroy some evidence of Barty Crouch's betrayal, but there was still Frank. I took a deep breath, let it out, and raised my wand to Alice's head.

"Obliviate."

The control may have been a great deal finer than if I had been wandless, but it was still like vacuuming out sludge. Whether that was due to the potion or the damage, I couldn't say. I fully expected to spend quite a bit of time in here, and it was more than likely the Aurors would be waiting for me when I emerged. That is, if Dawlish was unsuccessful in delaying them, as I had ordered him to. Still, I took my time, making sure to erase any and everything that could have caused even the slightest amount of trauma to bleed through.

After what seemed an eternity, I pulled myself out of the giant void I had excavated. Hopefully, it would fill back in after I left. I really didn't want to feel responsible for any further mental issues she may develop. Poor woman had suffered enough.

As far as I could see, no Aurors yet, but the Head had gone. I turned to Malfoy. "Have the Aurors been called yet?"

"Just left to call them. And Lord Longbottom was not under any behavior altering potions. His case of trauma was more severe than his wife's, thus probably not requiring the insurance. Speaking of, were you successful?"

"I believe so. She should be waking up soon. I would advise sitting down to avoid appearing as a threat."

"A noble suggestion, but as you can see, it would be a bit hard to conjure a chair at the moment."

I absent-mindedly waved my hand, and two chairs appeared. One for Malfoy, and one directly between the Longbottoms' beds.

Malfoy looked from me, to the chairs, then back again. "And just when were you going to mention you were capable of that?"

"I wasn't. I wanted to see the expression of our mutual friend…" I nodded at the still-bound form of the wizard on the floor, "…when he realized that his employer was no longer the most powerful man in the wizarding world."

"And of course, the fact he will probably weasel out of any charges and report your power to said employer is nothing to worry about at all?"

"Oh, it is. Just not to me."

"…I see."

Alice Longbottom began to stir. I holstered my wand, sat, and placed my hands under my chin.

Her eyes opened slowly, still cloudy from the potion, but clearing.

"…What…what…happened…where am I?"

"I am afraid that you are in St. Mungos, Janus Thickery Ward. And have been for some time. As to what happened, there was an attack on your house."

"…Can't…remember…"

"You were subjected to multiple Crucios, that caused great damage to your nervous system. We have only just been able to reverse the damage, but your memories were unsalvageable."

"…How…long?"

"Just over ten years. I'm sorry."

"…Frank? …Neville?"

I flicked my eyes to her left, and her gaze followed.

"…No…Frank…"

"We were waiting to see if the treatment was successful before treating him. His case is far worse than yours was. Your son, however, is perfectly fine. He is being raised by his grandmother. Now, Lady Longbottom, I appreciate that this all must seem a lot to take in. But as it stands, I and my friend in the chair over there…" I nodded at Malfoy, "…stand to be in a fair amount of trouble with some very powerful people for healing you when they very much did not wish you healed. I would like your verbal approval to heal your husband in the same manner I have just healed you."

"Frank…please…"

"Lady Longbottom! Your permission!"

"Please…help him…"

Good enough.

I slowly pulled out my wand, and then it was down into Frank Longbottom's mind.

Less sludge, more chaos. This was much worse than Alice's; his mind was actively fighting off any and all intrusions. Thus, more time required. On the bright side, the actual events of the fight were a good deal clearer. Yay for no potions.

When I finally re-emerged from Frank's mind, I pulled my wand away from his forehead, gently placed it into my pocket, stood, and turned.

Only to stare directly into the rather angry gaze of Amelia Bones.

I gave what I thought was an innocent look.

"…Parlay?"


"Well, Lords Malfoy and Howlfang, as it stands, he has a ready-made excuse that he was merely protecting the lives of a pureblood Lord and his Lady from what he thought was an attack."

I crossed my leg over the other one at the knee. "As expected."

"However, there is still enough suspicion that allows for an…investigation…into certain financial matters."

"Good. If nothing else, the DMLE should be thorough. Wouldn't you agree, Lord Malfoy?"

Malfoy smiled the grin of a shark. "Indubitably. I for one would be more than happy to lend any help the DMLE would request in this matter."

"The DMLE thanks you, Lord Malfoy. I must once again apologize for taking so long to respond. We take the news of an attack on two Lords of the Wizengamot very seriously, and it was only an unfortunate series of events that delayed us so long."

An unfortunate series of events. Described Dawlish very well. At the very least, his performance would muddle whatever Amelia had suspected as to the relationship between Malfoy and her soulless Auror. After all, it would be impossible for her to tell if he was prevaricating because his controller wanted the Longbottoms healed, or because he had been ordered to do all he could to ensure the apparent attack on Malfoy had no effective response. Tricky business.

Malfoy brushed an imaginary hair from his robes. "I am sure. Still, no harm done. And two prominent members of society have been restored to their rightful place. Perhaps now we can finally learn some of the facts of that awful night."

Amelia gave him a sideways look. "Perhaps. Although I suspect it will be a while. Certain parties are already moving to keep the official status of the Longbottoms as unfit, thus casting doubt on any information they may see fit to share."

I snorted. "Five to one odds I can name one of those parties."

Amelia sighed. "Not taken. Thank you for your time, Lord Malfoy. If you would wait outside, I have some questions for Lord Howlfang. Your opinion on certain subjects may be requested."

Malfoy rose and drew himself up to his full height. "Of course, Madame Bones. I live to serve."

Once he had gone, Amelia threw up secrecy spells and turned her full attention to me. "So. This is how you're keeping Malfoy busy. Good deeds to change people's perception of him."

"Oh lord no, this was just as profitable for him as for the Longbottoms. One, it will cost 'certain parties' political capital to keep this under control. Two, he wasn't kidding when he said he wanted details from that night to come to light. Did you know that the Longbottoms were under the exact same protections as the Potters? Amazing, really, that the protections set up by 'certain parties' failed not once, but twice. Within a few days of each other, I might add. And third, after arranging for something like this, he may not only get Madame Longbottom as an ally on the Wizengamot, but on the Hogwarts Board of Governors as well."

"An organization that is defunct now that the owner of the school has returned." Amelia drawled.

"Oh, I wouldn't say that. Not for a few more years at least."

"Hmph. Now, as to the real reason I asked Malfoy to step out. You may have noticed I failed to mention exactly what the cause of the delay on our end was."

"The thought had crossed my mind." I deadpanned.

"The long and the short of it is, whether by accident or by design, Auror Dawlish suffered a terrible accident and dropped a cauldron full of ink directly in front of the DMLE Floo."

"…I see. Why on Earth would you see that as an accident?"

"He managed to slip on the ink just as the Floo activated and got his lower half stuck in the Department of Waste Management's Floo."

"How on Earth did he manage that?"

"I believe the first thing that came out of his mouth once he realized where he was falling bore a remarkable resemblance to the words 'Oh, crap.'"

"…Poor fellow. Just not his lucky day, was it?"

"I think you mean lucky week. He's been put on probation and demoted from Senior Auror. And I'm seriously considering assigning him to Azkaban."

"Well, for one, he wouldn't have to worry about the Dementors."

She considered that for a moment. "Yes. I hadn't thought of that. I believe it will be Azkaban."

Sorry, Dawlish. But the chance to have a man on the inside should things start hopping with Sirius sooner than I liked was just too good to pass up.

"Incidentally, I found it interesting that there was no attack in the Ministry last night. Interesting indeed, considering the conversation we provided to Dawlish's controller, the fact that two marked Death Eaters still ended up dying, and the fact that there was an attack on yet another known Death Eater not twenty minutes ago. The very one I decried as under no suspicion, yet I privately suspected the most."

I leaned back and pretended to think. "The fact that Dawlish was a witness to MacNair's death probably threw off the controller's plans for that evening, if MacNair was on his hit list. Most psychopaths have a compulsion with numbers, and he might have figured that two a day was the limit. That being said, the attack today doesn't fit the pattern. Only one Death Eater, daylight, witnesses, an arrest. If Malfoy is the controller, then an attack on him that failed thanks to outside help would be an excellent way to keep his cover. On the other hand, if he is controlling Dawlish, why on Earth would he order him to have an 'accident', thereby decreasing the odds of his own safety? Unless he planted the attacker. Unlikely, considering how hard he was pushing for an investigation. Why would he do that?"

"I don't know. And I hate not knowing."

"As far as I know, only two sets of people knew what Lord Malfoy and I might, theoretically, have been planning to do today: the staff of St. Mungos, and the office that issues the permits for non-Ministry Obliviation. I know you're going to be stretched thin, what with all of this plus dealing with 'certain parties', so until you get around to investigating Malfoy, I shall keep as close of an eye on him as I can. I'm buying a House Elf from him, hopefully it'll have some information I can pass along. If not, it's still one less thing to worry about him using. Incidentally, is the Ministry warded against House Elf apparition?"

"It is not. And if there's a way to do it, we've never been able to convince the bloody Unspeakables to share it."

"Pity. I'll look into seeing if the Goblins will be willing to share their method of doing it."

"The Goblins can do it?"

"If they couldn't, don't you think that more than a few pureblood wizards would have…you know what, you're right. The Goblins might never have had to deal with it because they knew the average pureblood was stupid enough to assume House Elves wouldn't work. Which might also explain how Malfoy made at least some of his money, if no one ever noticed. Still, worth looking into."

"…Yes. Now, I'm afraid I have a very irate Minister to report to. And you have a Malfoy to celebrate with. And I appreciate the offer of information; still, better not to start on that mess just yet. I'd rather 'certain parties' get what was coming to them; if that means ignoring a few blots on the Malfoys' ledgers, then so be it."

"Very well."

I stood and stretched. "Maybe there won't be an attack tonight, if the controller saw the notice I presume you put in the paper. Oh, and one more thing that's been bothering me: how on Earth did you recognize me in MacNair's office?"

Amelia grinned. "Simple. 'Winchester' is the code name assigned to a top operative of the Men of Letters. And the only 'John Winchester' I've heard of recently is the one that destroyed an entire Muggle corporation because they hurt his friend. Rather a magnificent performance you gave on camera, Witcher."

"…Ah. In fairness, there was quite a lot of other illegal stuff they were doing, on both the Muggle side and the Magical side."

"Oh, I know. I took the liberty of jumping on the opportunity with both feet. All evidence from the Magical side of things was either deleted, shredded, vanished, or obliviated. As far as I know, the connection between Hadrian Howlfang and the Witcher is now known only to me."

"And Lord Greengrass. But I doubt he'll tell."

"Indeed. Not when you're betrothed to his daughter, at least. And one more thing allowed me to put the two sides of you together: the fact that the only stop you made in the Ministry was to the Records Department, where it appears the official record of a certain godfathering ritual has gone missing. Didn't want Malfoy to get it?"

"Not until later. When there were more copies of it. Some things are so easily lost, you know."

"True. Still, I must insist on the return of Ministry property."

I gave a theatrical sigh. "Very well. Will bringing it on Tuesday suffice?"

"Yes, that will do quite nicely. Now, would you mind telling me exactly why the fact Sirius Black was godfather to Harry Potter is something Malfoy should not yet know?"

"Look into the protections on the Potters and the Longbottoms, and I'll tell you if what you found is correct on Tuesday."

"…I'll do that. Good day, Lord Howlfang."

"Hadrian, Amelia. After all, we do still have a date, don't we?"

"…Yes, I suppose we do. Noon, at the Three Broomsticks, Hadrian."

"I shall be prompt, Amelia."


Malfoy stood from his chair. "Everything under control, I take it."

"Absolutely not. And the less under control it is, the harder for Dumbledore. Now, I believe we have a transaction to complete?"

Malfoy nodded. "To Gringotts?"

"To Gringotts."


"Well?"

"Confirmed, sir. Greyback is dead, and all of his wolves have disappeared without a trace. And there's more."

"More?"

"Death Eater attempted to kill Subject Witcher upon his delivery of Greyback's body. Witcher responded by shoving half of a sword through his heart."

"Half of a sword? The only broken blade I can think of that he would deem worth carrying would be…"

"Impossible to say for certain, sir. But it does seem likely."

"…Inform the Queen. If the Witcher has indeed retrieved half of Excalibur, it will be all the incentive we need."

"To what, sir?"

"Why, to prepare for the return of King Arthur, of course."