"New York, huh?"

"Yeah, I've always wanted to visit." I shrugged as I shoved my hands in my coat pockets, not the one that Andromeda adjusted for me but one I'd found in my vault. Or maybe it was an underground warehouse. I'm not really sure what to call that place, considering just how utterly massive and full of gold it was. I'd shoved as much gold as I could into a bottomless bag Gringotts supplied (for a fee, of course) and didn't even make a dent in the astoundingly vast amount of gold. There were other things in there, but I only took a brown leather coat sitting innocently on a manikin and threw it on. It adjusted to my body, and I've worn it ever since. "Now I just have an excuse to."

"Yeah, yeah." Sirius sighed. "Just because you couldn't convince the ICW to grant you an audience on my behalf doesn't mean we quit trying."

"I know, why do you think we're in NYC?" I grinned as I glanced up at the towers. "Place smells like shit though."

"I thought I was the only one who thought so," Sirius cringed as he sniffed the air experimentally. His face turned green as he almost gagged, thank Merlin he kept himself under control.

"Everyone thinks so, I'd bet," I said, glancing around at everyone bustling about on their own business. "You ready for this?"

"No, not at all." Sirius shuddered as he looked down at the suit Andy insisted he got fitted for before this meeting. "Though I do love this suit, Prongslet."

"Better than robes?"

"By far." He grinned as he glanced down at his watch, Bucherer, and glanced around. "What time is it here?"

"Forget to charm your watch for time zones, eh?" I chuckled as Sirius rubbed the back of his neck. "I'll take that as a yes. It's nearly noon."

"How'd you know that?"

"You look close enough and there're clocks everywhere." I shrugged as Sirius paused before shrugging too.

"Good point. Where are we headed?"

"Woolworth building. You remember who we're here to meet?"

"Uh… Howard? Karah Howard, right? She's the Head Auror?"

"Head of the American DMLE," I corrected easily. "Probably one of the three people in the world who can get you out of all this."

"Who are the other two?"

"Bones and Fudge. The ICW could do something but they won't."

"Yeah, who cares about little old me, right?"

"Howard's giving you a chance," I shrugged, clapping his shoulder. "And who the Hell broke you out of Azkaban?"

"You, Prongslet."

"Damn straight," I chuckled as we walked down Broadway among the hordes of people.

"How'd you even swing this meeting?"

"Sent a letter saying you were framed, thrown in Azkaban without trial, booking, or any due process, and that you were willing to submit to Veritaserum to prove your innocence."

"It was that simple?"

"Americans are pretty big on their Constitution, even the magicals apparently," I shrugged as Sirius looked at me strangely. "They have written rights here, and so do we back in England. British citizens and Americans both have a Bill of Rights; the Wizengamot shattered yours. That's probably why Commander Howard agreed to meet with you today."

"Alright, Prongslet… If you're sure about this." Sirius sighed as we finally stood under the tower. "Alright, so I take it we don't just go in the front door?"

"No. This way." I said, trying to remember the route Newt took in Fantastic Beasts but I hadn't seen that damned movie in years. Eventually, we found the entrance and made our way inside. I blinked; the place looked exactly like it did in the movies. That never boded well, especially considering I wasn't wearing Daniel Radcliffe's face. I threw those thoughts off to the side as far as I could in my mind.

"'Ey! You two lost?" A cookie-cutter man in a cookie-cutter suit and tie asked us in the thickest Brooklyn accent I had ever heard as he folded his hands behind his back. Well, it looks like we found the first NPC of the day, I suppose.

"Yeah, we're looking for Commander Howard's office? We're her twelve o'clock." The man nodded sharply and glanced down at his watch.

"Cuttin' it close, eh?" He rolled his eyes but gestured for us to follow him. "Right this way."

"Okay. Hey, thanks for this," I said as the man shot an eyebrow up.

"Yeah, don't mention it. So, who the 'ell are you two?"

"Harry Noir and Sirius Black." The man nodded as he pulled a pen and a piece of paper out of his pocket. He scribbled something down on the paper before he tossed it in the air. The paper folded itself into an airplane and then shot down the hall.

"There, now Karah'll be expecting you. She was probably expecting you five minutes ago, now she just knows you're here."

"I thought I'd gotten us here early," I grumbled, looking down at my own watch. "It's eleven-fifty. How's that cutting it close?"

"Ask her. She likes people getting here fifteen minutes early, it's a pain in the ass."

"Ah. Alright. Thanks, Mr…"

"Kowalski, Thomas Kowalski. Call me Tommy. Everyone does." The man nodded before turning away to lead us toward Sirius's fate. The Animagus was obviously nervous, his hands and nose twitching slightly with almost every step. I put a hand on his shoulder, and he flinched away from me. I gave him a look, eyebrow raised and everything. He nodded. He sucked in a breath and blew it out, calming himself at least a little bit. At least his nose wasn't twitching anymore. "A'ight, here ya are. Good luck, boys, you're gonna need it." Kowalski said as we stopped in front of a plain, oaken door with a black and bronze nameplate on it. Kowalski brought his fist up and banged the oak three times. Loudly.

"Enter!" Kowalski inclined his head to me and Sirius as he stepped aside and walked away. I glanced at Sirius, who took the doorknob, sucked in a breath, and opened the door. He walked in first with me hot on his heels. "Shut the door." I didn't even need to see the woman to do just that. I shut the door and turned around, absorbing as much of the office as I could.

It was a nice office, it definitely had good taste for a government building. Light wooden walls, a rich mahogany desk, and a woman whose very presence screamed 'I'm in charge,' standing behind that desk with her palms flat on the top.

"So you're the infamous Sirius Black, eh?"

"Y-Yes ma'am, I am." Sirius stuttered stupidly at the intimidating woman who took his measure with just her eyes. She sniffed once and turned those terrifying so-brown-they-were-black eyes at me.

"Lord Noir? Right?"

"I usually just go by Harry, it's what my mother named me after all."

"And she was?"

"Lily Potter." Commander Howard lifted a delicate eyebrow as she glanced at Sirius and then looked back at me.

"You understand this man was imprisoned for her murder, yes?"

"He's my godfather," I shrugged. "If he's guilty, toss him back and it's no skin off my nose."

"Harry!"

"But if he didn't, then Barty Crouch threw an innocent man to the Dementors for almost a decade without a trial. So, Commander, can you see why I may want to go through with this?" Karah snorted as she sat down.

"Yeah, kid, I can see why."

"Marine Corps?"

"Gunnery Sergeant. How'd you guess?"

"I've met a few Marines, they were all just as intense as you. My first guess was actually SEALs but they're on another level."

"Heh, you were close, kid. I got through Hell week but then they went and drowned me in BUDs just a little too long. They pulled me out of the program and I went to the Marines."

"Badass." I said as Sirius, who was utterly lost at the byplay, looked like he was trying to watch a ping pong game. "I took you for an officer, though, not an NCO."

"Thought about it. No one would put a Latina the Brass dropped from the SEALs up for OCS. But you sure know a lot about the American military to be… English? French? I can't tell. Your name is French but you were born in Wales, weren't you, Mr. Potter?"

"Dropped the name like Potter dropped me," she smirked, but I went on. "And I guess that's where I was born, I really don't know." I shrugged as Karah looked at me like I was a puzzle to be solved. "I was sold off to the Weapon X program, if you know what that is."

"Damn… I thought they were shut down in the eighties," Howard grunted. "Good to know they weren't. You know your designation?"

"They're shut down now. My magic reacted a bit… Violently to one of their procedures. They called me Weapon L, lucky number 50."

"Powers?"

"Wolverine."

"Who?"

"Weapon X."

"Jesucristo… All his powers?"

"Down to the bones. Oh, and, obviously, I have magic." She stared at me like she couldn't decide if she should pity me or if I was insane.

"Okay, does anyone want to explain what you two are talking about?" Sirius finally cut in as the conversation turned Greek to him.

"That's classified, Mr. Black." Howard said as she turned to him, opening a drawer on her desk. She took a small phial of a clear liquid and put it on the desk. "Let's get this over with, yes?"

"Yeah…" Sirius said, looking down at the potion nervously.

"Nervous?"

"I… yes." Sirius nodded but took the phial anyway. He popped the top and downed it in one go. He slumped slightly in his seat before sitting bolt upright with a far away, glassy look in his eyes.

"Good. What is your name?"

"Sirius Orion Black."

"Who was your father?"

"Orion Castor Black."

"What is your relationship to Harry James?"

"He's my godson."

"Oathbound?"

"Thrice. Upon my magic, upon my life, upon my memory." I blinked, and Karah paused.

"Your memory?"

"I'd be forgotten if I broke my oaths. Just a body with no name."

"That… I've never heard of that before." Karah shuddered before collecting herself. Howard's next question wasn't even remotely surprising.

"Were you the secret keeper for James Potter?"

"No."

"Who was?"

"Peter Pettigrew."

"What are his whereabouts?"

"I don't know."

"You didn't look into him?"

"Couldn't find him."

"He's a lawyer." I sighed, cutting into the questioning.

"I know," Howard said. "Please remain silent until the questioning is finished, Mr. Noir." I just nodded and she did too. "Mr. Black, how did you escape Azkaban?"

"I was teleported out by a cat." Karah blinked as she cocked her head to the side.

"How did you lose your virginity?"

"Don't answer that." I cut in, looking at the DMLE commander like she'd grown three heads. "How is that remotely relevant?"

"It's standard procedure to ask a deeply personal question after we suspect the potion has been tampered with. As this is technically an informal interview, I can ask anything I wish. Oh, and call me curious." Karah smirked evilly. I sighed, rubbing my forehead in irritation. "Mr. Black?"

"In a broom closet during my third year. To a Hufflepuff."

"Currently, how frightened are you?"

"One more question like that and I might piss my pants."

"Who was your childhood hero?"

"Charlus Potter."

"What happened the night you were accused of murdering Lily Potter?"

"I was the first to get to James' place in Godric's Hollow. I saw the front door was blown open and watched the roof explode."

"Why were you there?"

"I wanted to spend Halloween with my godson. I got there at just past seven that evening."

"Continue."

"The bottom level of the house was clean, I looked in Lily and James' room but they weren't there. I kept thinking maybe no one got hurt…" Sirius's voice cracked as tears streamed down his face. "I… I went into the nursery and… Oh Merlin, Lily… Lily was dead. She was still… Horribly, terribly still… But the boys were crying. I took Harry in my arms and… and I think I collapsed… The last thing I remember was sobbing over Lily's body with Harry in my arms and then I heard footsteps."

"And then?"

"Something hit the back of my head… Then I woke up in Azkaban."

"I've heard enough." Howard sighed, rolling another phial down the desk but this time to me. "Dump it down his throat, he'll be back to normal almost immediately. I nodded and knocked the cork off with my thumb, tilting Sirius' head back and dumping the potion down his throat.

"Thank you." Sirius gasped, looking at the commander gratefully.

"Don't thank me yet, Mr. Black. Our work is just beginning."

"What are our next steps?"

"Mr. Black will be kept held under our protection, we have places that even the CIA doesn't know about. He'll be kept in one of those safehouses until he can be tried by the courts. This was enough to get you a trial, Mr. Black, but I don't have the power to exonerate you."

"I understand. Will I be able to keep in touch with Harry?"

"If he wants to stay here, yes."

"I'll have to go back in July, Hogwarts letters and all that."

"We could get you into Illvermorny if you'd like, I'm sure you can afford it."

"I'd like that, but I have to go to Hogwarts." I grumbled as Karah looked at me strangely.

"I don't understand. If you don't want to go back then why do you have to go?"

"Voldemort isn't dead."

"I thought your government agreed that your brother killed him that night?"

"Did they find a body?"

"They found a cloak and some ashes."

"Then why the Hell do they think he's dead?" I rolled my eyes as Commander Howard nodded grimly. "He was the worst Dark Lord Britain had seen since Morganna. I'd have been shocked if he didn't have a way around death considering the whole Necromancy thing."

"He's a Necromancer!?" Howard barked, coming out of her chair as she stared down at me with hard eyes.

"More of a lich, really. Other than that he only dabbled with zombies."

"A lich, hm?" Howard said as she took her seat again. "Phylactery or horcrux?"

"Horcruxes. Plural."

"How many?" She pinched the bridge of her nose for a second as she stared at me.

"He made five and he wanted to make another with my death or John's but fucked it up badly enough the soul fragment got sucked into me when he hit me with a killing curse." I pushed up my fringe as she raised an eyebrow.

"You don't seem worried."

"I wasn't a Horcrux, I had no reason to be. You know what they did to Weapon X?"

"Barely, my predecessor was one of the ones who found one of their bases."

"Well, they dunked old Weapon X into a nice, refreshing ice bath and then injected him with molten Adamantium." Karah whistled lowly.

"They did that to you?"

"Sort of, they pumped me full of a Vibranium-Adamantium alloy. I think it was something like three parts Vibranium to one part Adamantium." I unsheathed the claws in my left hand, letting her look at them.

"Interesting… But it doesn't answer why you wouldn't be worried about a soul in your forehead."

"Because they killed me. Death spat me back out, but it took Tommy boy's little soul shard kicking and screaming."

"And it killed Weapon X too?"

"Well, sort of. His heart stopped but he didn't really die. They didn't account that a ten year old wouldn't be quite as resilient as a century old war veteran."

"Ah." Karah nodded with her eyes narrowed. "Anything else?"

"There's a new crater in Canada's Northwest Territories, now. Oh, William Stryker's actually dead along with the rest of his scientists and doctors. They were kind of incinerated." Howard stared at me, waiting for me to go on. "What? My magic went haywire. Apparently it didn't like people killing me."

"Right. So there's a horcrux in Hogwarts and four that we have no bead on."

"Nope, there's a horcrux in Hogwarts and one in Malfoy manor. The rest are toast."

"Are they? That would have been your doing, I suppose?"

"And the Goblins'," I shrugged, "apparently they really don't like horcruxes."

"Those little bastards probably hated that they had a tenant not paying rent." Karah chuckled as I blinked.

"Huh. Never thought of it that way."

"Hm. How do you plan to retrieve the one in Malfoy manor?"

"I don't know." I sighed, leaning back in my seat as Sirius looked at me strangely.

"Narcissa was a Black," he said, folding his arms over his chest as he creased his forehead in thought. Then his eyes widened as a smirk crawled across his lips. "Kreacher?"

"Masters calls for Kreacher?" The House Elf croaked as he appeared in front of Sirius. Karah and I both watched him like hawks as Sirius started giving orders to the elf.

"Do you have access to Malfoy manor?"

"Miss Cissy bes there, Kreacher can go to hers."

"Without being seen?"

"Masters thinks Kreacher will bes seen? Foolish masters knows of little of Kreacher. Kreacher will shows him!" The elf growled to himself before he looked back up at Sirius. "Kreacher will not be seen."

"Good. Harry, he's all yours." Sirius grinned as I returned it. I looked down at the scowling elf.

"Alright then, Kreacher. Listen carefully. There's a journal I need you to get in Lucius's possession, it'll feel like the locket."

"There's be another one!?" Kreacher howled, popping away without having to be told. All three of us blinked as silence reigned in the office for almost ten minutes. Then Kreacher came back… With company.

"Filthy, nasty, sneaksy house elf breaks into master Lucy's home! He wills not be-"

"Stupefy!" Karah snapped, the spell taking Kreacher's plus one dead in the back. The skinny house elf collapsed like a sack of potatoes.

"Did you get it?" Kreacher nodded, handing me a small, innocuous black diary. I felt my lips pull into a snarl-like smile. "Good. You did good, Kreacher."

"Thanks you, goodests masters Harry." Kreacher bowed, putting his hand on his chest. "Wills you be needings Kreacher for anything else?"

"Actually…" I smirked as I looked down at the desk. "Can you get into Hogwarts?"

"Hogwarts is open to all elves, Master Harrys…" Kreacher said worriedly.

"Good. I need you to get something for me, the last bit of Voldemort." Kreacher's eyes widened as I quickly explained what I needed him to get for me, where it was, and how to get it. "Do you understand all of that? Any questions?"

"No, goodest masters Harry. Kreacher wills be getting the crown for yous now!" He said before he popped away.

"While we wait for your elf to deliver that, what are we going to do about him?" Howard asked, looking at Dobby's downed form. I sighed and shook my head.

"He's a bound elf. I don't think he particularly likes working for Lucius but I don't think he has much choice."

"He has no choice."

"He can die." I said, and while it might be harsh, it was a choice.

"Harry…"

"I'm not going to kill him, Sirius, but he can go back or he can die. Let's see what he wants."

"If you're sure about this…"

"Commander, if you wouldn't mind disillusioning myself and Sirius, I think it's best we watch this while remaining unseen."

"You're probably right." Karah nodded. "But why wouldn't- Ah. His wand was snapped and you haven't found a suitable replacement yet, have you?"

"No." Sirius sighed.

"And I don't know how to do magic yet. Weapon X made me into a fighter and a pretty decent gymnast but never touched on magic."

"Damn." Karah sighed. "Alright, let's see what this little bastard knows." She stood up, tapping both me and Sirius on the head. I shuddered as the feeling of raw egg slithered down my body. We both stood up and padded to the other side of the room as Karah levitated Dobby into one of the chairs, slapping a pair of cuffs around his wrists and tying him to it. "Ennerverate," she said. Her wand flashed and Dobby picked up his rant right where he left off.

"Let go for this! Dobby's will- Oh… You… Yous not bes the ugly elfy…" Dobby's voice went quiet as Commander Howard's eyes bored into him.

"Who are you?"

"I's be Dobby…"

"You work for Lucius Malfoy?"

"Yes, scarysie lady, Dobby does…"

"You have two options, Dobby. I am willing to let you leave this room but I will have to obliviate you. Or I can make it so you will never have to return to your master again."

"You… Yous can frees Dobby?"

"In a way." Dobby's breathing pitched and he shook his head.

"No! No, Dobby wants to be frees not deads! Dobby's will go back to his master! Dobby will!" The little elf whimpered as Karah nodded.

"Then go, little one. Obliviate, confundo." White light shot out of her wand and slammed into Dobby's chest again. She pulled the cuffs off his wrists and removed the ropes. "Return to your master, you were chasing the other elf but he got away. Go." Instantly, Dobby disappeared and Karah pointed her wand where Sirius and I were standing. In a flash, we were both visible again.

"What a strange elf."

"All house elves are weird." Sirius said as he took his seat, staring at the journal on the table. "How do we destroy that?"

"Leave it to me." I said, grinning almost ferally as Sol chirped in my mind. Then I heard Radin roar. I plucked the book off the desk and just knew my eyes had changed as power poured through me and into the book between my palms. The diary screeched as a black ooze boiled from the pages, dripping onto the floor and boiling away as a foul, noxious vapor.

But the book didn't want to die.

I grit my teeth and poured more electricity into the diary, focusing on killing the damn thing as quickly as I could. Radin roared in my head and I felt my skin pulse with almost unbearable heat. I could only watch the light show as fire and lightning battled against the horcrux, seeing which would hold out longer. The diary screeched again, bucking in my hands but I held on. Snarling, I roared and tore the journal in half. It screamed in agony and fell silent, now just a ruined book lying on the ground.

"Dios mios…" Karah whispered as she looked at the book and then back up at me. "What the Hell was that, Potter!?"

"I can cleanse Horcruxes. They really don't like lightning. Or fire but that can get messy." I smirked tiredly, flopping back in my chair as I swiped a hand over my forehead.

"Obviously. Is that how you destroyed Project X?"

"Oh yeah, but that was completely uncontrolled."

"You're a force of nature, Mr. Potter."

"It just takes a killing curse." I said grimly as she nodded.

"I fear that would be the only thing that would kill you if you really do have Weapon X's abilities, Lord Noir." Howard said, and I completely agreed with her.

"Yeah. I hope not, though. Immortality doesn't really sit right with me… I mean…" I trailed off, gesturing to the split book on the floor as Karah nodded.

"Right. And then there was one."

"And then there were two. Don't forget his main soul."

"Unfortunately we have no idea where that is."

"If it lives long enough after we destroy the bloody horcrux, then it'll probably end up in Hogwarts."

"Really?"

"My brother's called the Boy-Who-Lived and he failed to kill me. Not only did he fail to kill a toddler but Britain's humiliated him. He'll be frothing at the mouth to make sure we're dead and do it in the most dramatic way possible."

"And that would be?"

"Well, killing me, my brother, and James (if he could swing it) in the Great Hall sounds pretty dramatic to me."

"Ah… Yeah, that would do it," Karah sighed. "You're not worried about him?"

"I think that if we take out his horcruxes, his anchors, and he doesn't have a body then his soul will just drift away into the aether. If that happens then we won't have to deal with him anymore. If it doesn't? Well, I'm pretty sure he doesn't keep tabs on his horcruxes. He's arrogant enough to think that he's the only one who knows about them and if I didn't have a pseudo one in my head? Well, I wouldn't have known either."

"How?"

"I have a few of his memories." Thank you, Mr. Slughorn and the silver screen. "They only pertain to his horcruxes but that's more than enough."

"I believe it." She leaned back into her seat. We lapsed into an uncomfortable silence as she studied the two of us closer, I tried to relax but Sirius just kept fidgeting. I was about to open my mouth to tell him to sit still when there was a pop.

"I has it, goodest masters Harry." Kreacher said, laying the diadem on the desk.

"Thank you, Kreacher. That will be all." I told him but never took my eyes off of the diadem. I heard the pop and I knew he was gone.

"With this destroyed, will that be the end of Voldemort?"

"I don't know, it's his last anchor. Destroying it could kill him, or it could make sure that when he tries to grab a new body he'll slip away."

"I- I don't see a downside here." Karah said, tilting her chin back as she looked down her nose at the diadem.

"Me neither." I picked up the tiara and tapped into Sol's powers once more. It wasn't nearly as hard to destroy as the diary was. In fact, I zapped it with about the same amount of power I put into the locket, and the sapphire embedded in the gem shattered instantly. Black smoke screeched in pain, but I kept up the power until it disappeared.

"That was much less violent than the diary."

"Yeah, I think there's a pattern here. You split your soul once, you put half of it into the horcrux. Great. That's going to be a bitch to work out. You keep splitting your soul, well the second is only going to get half of a half. Half of a quarter's just over twelve percent, then you've got six, and so on. If he made five and this was the last one he made?" I spun the metal band around my finger as I crunched those numbers in my head. "Let's see… This is the fifth division of a hundred? So, fifty, twenty-five, twelve, six, three? There was like three percent of Voldemort in this." Karah blinked at the horcrux in my fingers while I stared down at the book on the floor. "Now that bitch? It probably had half of Voldemort in it. But considering he made it at sixteen? Well, things could have been a lot worse if Tommy boy had just been patient." Commander Howard shook her head incredulously.

"So, you what? Killed fifty-three percent of a dark lord today?"

"No, no, look at it this way: there's less than two percent of the Dark Lord out there right now floating around. Fifty percent of a soul may have lingered for a bit, but less than two? Without anchors, Tommy's finished."

"Ah, the shard from you?"

"Yeah. Surprisingly, I was likely just as much Voldemort as Voldemort for a time there… And I killed someone more than fifty times better than him just a few minutes ago."

"It was an inanimate object."

"It had a soul of its own, even if it was just part of one. In my opinion, that makes it a person. And, if you're right, even the Goblins agree."

"You're trouble, kid, but you're entertaining at least." She sighed, flicking her wand to make the pieces parts of the journal come flying into her hands. "I'll have to deliver these to the Department of Mysteries. If you wouldn't mind handing over the diadem, they'll want to look into that too."

"You have one of those here too?" I handed her the diadem, and she nodded.

"We do, they have another name for themselves but it's something like the Department of Advanced Research into Mysteries, Other, and the Realms."

"Wait, wait, wait." I shook my head, cocking it to the side. "Why do you guys call something with an acronym as cool as Department of ARMOR the Department of Mysteries?" Karah blinked and shrugged.

"We're wizards."

"Damn it. I hate that that makes sense." I groaned while Karah and Sirius chuckled.