AUTHORS NOTE: Here I am writing another note after I said I wasn't going to. Oh well, I want to get a few things out of the way. Peregrine Wulf is the creation of Carolyn Fortuna and don't you dare use her with out permission. ;) I also want to extend my gratitude to Carolyn, my muse. She is my best friend and my collaborator on the later stages of this story. Thank you Carolyn!! I would've been lost on this with out your help, and thank you for loaning Professor Wulf to me.  Now hurry up and finish the books so you can read this story with out worrying about spoilers!

To all the wonderful people who have reviewed, Thank you again! I thrive on reviews and knowing that you all like this, well, it makes me write better and faster!J You've all been an encouragement and thank you again!! Especially those of you who keep coming back!!

Now let's get back to the story. As someone said "poor, poor Vexus." Indeed. It's never easy and it's only getting harder. I know that I am torturing them by keeping her and Snape apart but it's going to be worth it. I hope, for their sake.

BTW: I still don't own any of the people, places or things in the Harry Potter books, dang it.

~The Choice~

Once she started walking Vexus' Thoughts began to scatter. "What the hell am I doing?" She walked with out looking where she was going. "I am losing my mind. I must be losing my mind," she mumbled to herself.

She stopped and slumped against a large tree. She looked down at her trembling hands and turned them over, examining them in he moonlight. Vexus put her hands down and looked up at the stars through the branches of the tree. Vexus remembered how much Kate had loved the nights they spent looking at the stars. She loved to have the constellations pointed out to her. Charles liked to sneak up behind them and scare the wits out of them both.

"Charles, Katie, I am so sorry," she whispered "I am so sorry" Vexus could feel the sting of tears again in her eyes. She slid down and sat at the foot of the tree. She lowered her head into her hands. "What am I doing? What have I done?" The tremble in her hands moved into the rest of her body and she tried not to shake as she sat there.

'Nothing good comes of anything that I do and nothing I do causes anything but pain and trouble.' So many things were racing through her mind but that was the one thought that kept coming to the surface.

"Severus" she whispered the name out loud. And felt the tears slip down her cheeks. 'How do I keeping missing it with him? I am nothing to him. I should have known better. But I just keep on pinning after him like some idiot.' she thought 'he doesn't care for me, he's got someone else now.'

She sneered at the ground " 'You know you want it.' " She mocked the female voice she had heard outside his chambers. "Pathetic to think that I had a chance."

She leaned her head back up against the tree. "So many mistakes, that's all I am capable of."' the thoughts bubbled up in her mind. Severus, Voldemort. Daniel and Sharon. Charles and Kate. Paul. The faces of the couple she had killed.

"Oh my God." she breathed out softly. It hadn't fully hit her until that moment " I killed them."

She had used all three of the Unforgivable Curses. "Oh No, no, no, no, no" she moaned dropping her head down to her knees again. She had used the curses and if anyone knew it would be Azkaban. She had murdered. She had tortured and she had inflicted her will on another. Worse than that was the thing that made her begin to violently shake: she had enjoyed it, she had smiled at the pain and death she inflicted on those helpless people. She was shaking so hard now that she couldn't do anything but sit there.

'This is all wrong. It can't be happening like this. I was supposed to be different I wasn't going to be like Him. I wasn't going to be like Father. I killed and I enjoyed it. I killed them. I've ruined it all' she thought and slumped over to lie on her side sobbing into the dirt.

It was like this that Severus found her. He had stopped following her to investigate a sound her heard behind him. It took him a while to figure out that one, she hadn't disapparated and two that she was sitting under the tree. When he saw her she was sprawled at the base of the huge oak, in the middle of what looked to him like a rather bad fit of some sort. Snape ran to her and took her by the shoulders. "What's happened? What have you done?" She didn't, or rather, couldn't answer. He stood and pulled her to stand up as well. He wanted to shake her to make her answer him, but she seemed to be shaken up enough already.

"Here goes then" Snape drew back and slapped her full across the face, and caught her as she started to fall.

It worked and she came to her senses "What the hell was that for?!" She yelled at him

Snape stepped back and growled,  "You tell me. What is going on? What do you think you're doing out here like this? Are you mad?"

She steadied herself against the tree and felt the side of her face where he had struck her. When she looked up at him her eyes had the same detached look he had seen all those years ago when she demolished, then repaired his chambers to prove a point. For a moment they attempted to stare each other down. She touched her face again and smirked. "I suppose I should thank you for that, and don't worry I haven't done anything" she spat it at him. Vexus gathered herself up and started off towards the school. Snape followed her wake.

From a few yards away the large wolf with blue-black fur that had been following them sat watching the scene, it's green eyes narrowed to slits.  It watched Snape and Vexus walk away and allowed them to get a safe distance ahead before rising to follow them again. As it started to trot after them the moonlight gleamed on the small patch of sliver fur at the base of the wolfs throat.

Snape wanted to ask Vexus about something, he wanted to know more about what had happened that night with Voldemort. Specifically what had happened at the Muggle house. Before he could ask she addressed him "What are you doing following me? Do you think I need constant supervision, or are you just enamored by my charm and can't stand to be away from me?" The sarcasm was thick in her voice. Before he could respond she continued. "I know that you and Albus think that I am 'damaged goods' and you're right. But I'm fine. That's really all you need to worry about." She cast a sidelong glance at him "I am under a lot of stress and you must concede that the past two months have pretty much been the worst two months of my life." She paused for a breath then continued, "I have to deal with these things in my own way. I shouldn't be out here alone, not now; but I didn't anticipate that happening. It just overwhelmed me." she finally stopped speaking and walked a little bit faster.

Snape was amazed; it was more than she had said to him in the past month. He knew that this was an opportunity that wouldn't come again. Again she started talking before he could say anything.

"I want to get a couple things understood. First, you don't discuss this with anyone. Keep this to yourself, I have enough people mixed up in my personal affairs now and I don't need anything else. Second, I don't want to talk about it with you. I don't' really want to talk about anything with anybody. You can understand that I have some" she paused, searching for the word "issues to work out on my own. Deal?" she stopped walking as the school came into view up ahead.

'Why must she make every single thing so difficult' thought Snape. To Vexus he said "Fine. No one will hear of this and I won't bring it up."

"Good" was the curt response before she started towards the school again.

In the following weeks there was a change in Vexus' demeanor. Nothing that anybody could quite pin down. It was a topic of discussion in the staff room the day before Halloween.

"Does anyone know if something has happened?" Asked Professor Trelawney as she, and Professors McGonagall, Sprout and Snape sat together one afternoon.

Minerva McGonagall couldn't resist and quipped, "Why my Dear, you don't know?"

Trelawney ignored her and turned her attention to Snape. "Severus, you know her well. Do you know if there is something wrong?"

Never looking up from the book her was reading Snape answered her  "Why don't you just speak with her yourself if you are so concerned?"

Professor Trelawney flushed and opened her mouth to say something; just then Professor Wulf entered the room

"Hello all, what's the news?" asked Peregrine. As she crossed the room to sit down, Trelawney turned her attention to the new arrival "Peregrine, you're friends with Vexus, Have you talked to her recently?"

A look of surprise crossed Peregrine's face "Now that you mention it I haven't talked to her in over a week. Why do you ask?"

"I am, I mean, we are just concerned, you know, She hasn't been seen very much lately." Answered Professor Trelawney.

Peregrine Looked at her and thought for a moment "All right I'll go talk to her once classes are finished. She has been acting odd. Of course, she wasn't ever a ray of sunshine, if you know what I mean."

As she spoke Snape closed his book and stood. He strode across the room and out the door. Peregrine jumped up and followed. She caught him in the hallway. "Severus?"

He turned and scowled at her "What?"

"We need to finish our conversation. What is your answer?" She followed as he started walking again.

"As I told you then, it is not appropriate and my answer is no." he used the same tone that invoked fear in the hearts of his students. It had no effect on Peregrine.

"Professor, It would be a great thing and deep down you know you want it too."

He cut her off "No I don't and even if I did wanted to sit for a portrait, I certainly wouldn't want it to hang in the school."

Peregrine assumed a crestfallen expression "Fine Severus, I suppose that even my feminine charms won't work."

"No they will not. So don't bother."

Peregrine was still following him and casually asked, "Tell me, you're close with Vexus aren't you?"

Snape stopped walking and looked at her. When he spoke his voice was icy "We are close, in a way. Why?"

Peregrine smiled sweetly, "Why don't you find out what her problem is? She'd tell you I'd wager. In fact most of us thought that you two were something of a couple. Unless that's what the problem is. Did you have a falling out? There's no need to be so hush-hush- about it." She kept talking despite the fact that Severus looked positively murderous.

"I thought, Professor Wulf, that you have known me long enough to know not to inquire into my personally affairs." he growled at her.

She stepped back and spread her hands in a gesture of defeat. "Fine, fine. I'll talk to her and I won't bother you."

Snape bowed his head in mock politeness and then swept away.

Peregrine stood there a moment idly playing with her sliver amulet. She smiled as she set off for the Defense against the Dark Arts classroom.

There were only about 10 minutes left in the last class of the day, on the last day of the week and all the students were ready to get out of the room. Hermione had been right about Vexus, she was a homework giver and as a rule she gave out more than any of the other teachers. Harry hadn't thought that he could be so stressed out by anyone other than Professor Snape (or maybe Professor Trelawney) but Vexus was running a close race. It wasn't that he was scared of her. It was that she was a very determined teacher and her speech about not talking any nonsense had been true. She expected them to live up to her standards (even the Slytherin) and didn't hesitate even to humiliate them if it served her purpose.

Lately in class as the students worked she would sit at her desk writing or lost in thought. This was nothing truly weird about that, except on the few occasions Harry had caught her eye the strangest thing happened. His scar hurt. It wasn't bad, but it was enough to make him wonder. He, Ron, Hermione and several others had noticed that she wasn't out and about very much either. He hadn't seen her at diner in two weeks.

"Class," Vexus' voice snapped him back to the present.

"I am pleased with your progress. I think that the time we've spent reviewing has been beneficial. Since tomorrow is Halloween there will be no homework assignment for the weekend."

There was a rustle through the class and a few sighs of relief. Vexus noticed and smiled despite herself. "Rest assured, the rest of the term will be as fast paced as this review has been. The weeks we've spent going over what you know have been worth it. We have a lot more to cover though. And I want to ensure that you all have a complete understanding of it. Now more than ever we must be able to protect ourselves."

The students listened closely. The Slytherins listened because they considered her one of their own. They knew that there was much she hadn't told them about her time as a student at Hogwarts. Someone had written to Marcus Flint and he had responded with a letter telling all about her Quidditch exploits.

The Gryffindors listened because she had always been fair with them, and for a former Slytherin it was just too good to be true. They knew about her Quidditch accomplishments too. However they knew something that the Slytherins did not, for all the stories about Vexus, her name was nowhere to be found in the trophy case or anywhere else in the school for that matter. Hermione had found out and pointed it out to Harry and Ron.

Vexus continued, "I am going to teach you about things that will make your blood run cold. Things that you didn't even know existed. And we are going to learn how to defend against them. Because before we allow the darkness to fall," She surveyed the faces before her "We should be able to say that it didn't happen without one hell of a battle. That no matter what else happens the light doesn't die with out a fight. That is what we are here to learn. How to, if you will, rage against the dying of the light."

 She smiled at them "Remember as long as even one of us fights it, the darkness will never overcome us. Class dismissed, Happy Halloween." Vexus walked back to her desk as the students filed out.

Peregrine waited until the last one was on their way up the hall before she entered the room. "Nice speech. That was inspiring."

Vexus looked up from the stack of parchment she had been shuffling "Thank you. I try to keep them interested" she smiled weakly and looked back down at the parchment.

Peregrine crossed the room to stand before her desk. "Vexus, I am worried about you. Can we talk for a minute? This is the first time I've spoken to you in over a week. You're not at meals and people are wondering if there's something wrong."

Vexus started poking at the papers again and thought 'I knew this was coming. I should've been trying to not let them notice.'  She looked up at Peregrine and answered "There's nothing wrong, I've just needed some time to myself. There's been a lot of change in my life and I need to work it out."

Peregrine narrowed her eyes "Honestly? I thought that maybe you and Severus had a fight or something. I'd hate to see you two break up."

"We are not and were not a couple," Vexus snapped.

Peregrine took a step back "Forget I said it. Are you coming to diner tomorrow night? They're going to make the announcement during the feast. AND it is Halloween."

Vexus leaned over the work on her desk "I don't know. Perhaps." she looked up and assumed a neutral expression "If you'll excuse me, I need to grade these essays." She picked up her quill and went back to work.

Peregrine watched her for a moment then left. After she had been gone for several moments Vexus put the papers in her bag and left the classroom. She went to her office, locked the door and spent the next few hours grading and reviewing her lesson plans for the coming weeks.

After everything had been put in order to her satisfaction she stood and stretched. By now diner was surely over and she could run down to the kitchens with out being bothered. Her breakdown in the forest had been heavy on her mind and she just didn't want to be bothered with all the trouble of socializing with the teachers and monitoring the students. It had disturbed her that she let herself get in that state, that she had lost control like that. She had been doing that too much lately. Letting her emotions overtake her. She didn't like it. It was dangerous to be so impulsive.

She took one of the less crowded routed to the kitchens and had the elves get her a bowl of soup which she ate leaning against one of the long tables in the kitchen. When she finished she thanked the house elves and returned to her chambers.

Once inside she went to the cauldron quietly steaming on her table. She had "borrowed" a few things from the potions storeroom for a sleeping draught. Even she had to rest and lately her familiar nightmare had started to include more than just her slain family. The thought of it made her shudder.

'What am I doing?' she thought. 'I can't go on like this. I can't be in the middle like this. I have to go in one direction of the other. I am going to lose my mind trying to be on both sides. And it is only a matter of time before Father figures it out.'

"If he doesn't already know." she spoke softly to herself as she changed out of her robes. The draught still had about another half-hour before it would be ready. "I don't know what I want."

'You liked the power you had.' the voice in her head spoke up.

"No, that's true."

'Yes it is, you liked it and you would do it again.'

"No I wouldn't it was evil and wrong and horrible." The inner dialogue continued as she pulled on her nightgown.

'Was it that horrible?'

"Yes"

'Are you sure? It seemed like you didn't really mind it that much…"

She finished getting dressed and shuddered as she spoke to the empty room "Yes, I did like it. I shouldn't admit it, but I liked it."

'Then what is it that holds you here? What have they done for you?'

She went to her bed and lay down on her back staring at the ceiling. It was an interesting thought. What was it that held her here? She lost her family. Daniel and Sharon had been killed during a robbery. Something that Vexus could've easily stopped, had she been there. But she wasn't. She hadn't said goodbye or apologize for leaving like she did. She didn't even tell them where she was and now they were dead.

Teresa was unreachable. Vexus had sent several owls trying to contact her and every one came back with her letter. No reply at all.

Even Severus had someone else now.

'Does he though?' she wondered 'I could've been mistaken and I have the Mark now...' she let the thought trail off unfinished.

"I can't do this. I just can't. I have to be sure; he's the only thing that I have. The only reason I have to not go to Father for real."  She lay there until the draught was ready working out how she would get Snape alone to speak with him.

A little while later as she lay in her bed, her last thought before sleep overtook her was that she would talk to Severus at the feast.

Vexus had made the sleeping draught strong and she slept in rather late the following morning. As she dressed she worked out what she needed to do before the Halloween feast. She needed to stop by the library and pick up a book she wanted to review and she had decided that she would speak to Peregrine and apologize for her rudeness. It was best to at least keep up appearances while she made her decision.

She wound up spending more time than she had planned on in the library and soon the day was nearly gone. When she finally got up to leave she noticed Harry, Hermione and Ron at a nearby table with several books, their heads together discussing something. 'I recognize that, I spent enough time plotting and planning trouble to know when someone else is.' She thought.

She casually walked to the table and was pleased to see all three of the young Gryffindors jumped when she spoke "Good afternoon, Ron, Harry, Hermione. What are you up to this afternoon? Studying up on something?" Vexus made sure that her voice remained soft and she didn't sound mean, just interested.

It was Harry who spoke first "No m'am, I mean, yes m'am, we're working on a kind of special project."

Ron rolled his eyes and slumped in his chair and Hermione just sighed.

Vexus raised an eyebrow and picked up one of the books on the table. Quidditch in the Last Decade opened to a section about Toby Matthews. Vexus pursed her lips and read through the first couple paragraphs. "I wondered what happened to him," she murmured as she put the book back on the table and glanced at some of the other titles: Hogwarts Yearbooks, old copies of the Daily Prophet.

She pulled out a chair and sat down at the table. "I can guess what you're trying to do. I'll save you some time and tell you that you aren't going to find anything. Nothing. I made sure of that before I left. And I must tell you that you should stop with this now. I have been honest with you all. I understand that in these times it is natural to want to make sure people are who they say they are and that you're safe. I understand Harry." She looked from one of them to the other as she spoke. "If you want to know something you need to ask me. I won't kill you or take off points for a question, as long as it's not a completely stupid question."

Hermione was the first one to speak "Why aren't you included in anything. All those years Slytherin won the house cup and Quidditch, you were a big part of that and there's nothing about you anywhere? Why? Did something happen?"

Vexus leaned over the table and spoke softly "I knew that we'd have to do this eventually. How about we continue this conversation somewhere more, private?"

They nodded in agreement and stood up with her.  Vexus led the way and soon the three following figured out where they were headed: Dumbledore's office. They got a few funny looks as they walked. Vexus hadn't been seen in the halls for nearly a month and now to have her walking about followed by the infamous Harry Potter and his friends, well it was interesting.

When they got to the door of Dumbledore's office Vexus knocked and they heard the Headmaster beckon them in. As they entered the office she motioned for them to sit down in the chairs before the headmasters desk.

"Good afternoon, Professor Vexus. What is this all about?" asked Dumbledore. Vexus crossed her arms and answered "I think that we need to go a over a few things with Mr. Potter. Ron and Hermione are here too since they'd be finding out anyway, may as well get them all in on the ground level."

Albus nodded "Fine You lead off."

Vexus clasped her hands behind her back and started pacing "I believe that the questions they have are mostly about why I am not listed anywhere in the school." She looked at the students and they nodded. "Right. I will get right to it then. I left Hogwarts before I had finished my seventh year. There were some, um, family issues that had to be worked out. And it was decided that the best thing to do was to leave. My name isn't found anywhere because I requested that it be removed."

Harry cleared his throat and asked "But why? Why wouldn't you want anyone to know you'd been here?"

Vexus looked at Dumbledore who said, "You may as well get it all out. They'll figure it out, just like you did." His last statement made her scowl.

"I am related to Voldemort." She shot a withering look at Dumbledore who motioned for her to continue. "It wasn't known to me, as I had been adopted by Muggles. I found out about Hogwarts, and everything else, much as you did Harry. I learned, quite by accident, that I was related to him and we all decided that I should leave."

The three of them watched with rapt attention as she told them all of this. She shot another look at Dumbledore and he spoke "You should tell them all of it. Harry already is concerned. His scar has been hurting, hasn't it Harry?" Dumbledore looked over his glasses at Potter.

Harry just sat there in shock, he hadn't told anyone about that, of course by now he knew that Dumbledore always seemed to know more than you thought he did. Harry nodded at them and Vexus sighed.

"I am a very close relation to Voldemort..."

Hermione interrupted "I've got it, it's a riddle! VEXUS! Tom Riddle!" she realized that she had interrupted and turned red. For her part, Vexus rolled her eyes and looked at the headmaster "I took me much longer to figure that out and it's my stupid name."

"These three have had much more exposure to him than you did."

Vexus raised a hand to her head to rub the bridge of her nose 'Why am I even explaining this to them, I don't know if I am going to be staying here' she thought.

She took a deep breath "Good job, you figured it out, riddles vex us." She looked at the floor. "I am his daughter."

Ron inhaled sharply; Hermione let her mouth fall open and Harry's eyes widened in surprise. Vexus kept talking "I didn't know. He was going to kill me when I was a baby, but with the help of a few people I was removed and placed in an orphanage. I didn't know anything about it until my seventh year. Like I said. When I found out I decided that I should leave."

She looked at Harry "That was two years before you came to Hogwarts. I lived my life out as a Muggle, quietly and unnoticed. I thought. Voldemort thought I was dead and by me coming to the school, well that kinda proved I wasn't. When I left we decided to remove all traced of my time here in an effort to keep it from getting back to him. There was one thing we missed. During my seventh year Professor Quirell was on sabbatical in Romania, and becoming involved with Voldemort. I of course had been in his class at school, so he knew about me."

Harry finished "And so did Voldemort."

"Right" she continued "But how were we to know that? During the years since I left, I married and had a family of my own. No magic. I got letters from Professor Dumbledore; they got interesting when you got here. But then last year the letters stopped. I didn't worry about it, you get caught up in your life and time slips away unnoticed." She had started pacing again.

"Once Voldemort was back he sent Death Eaters to my home to kill me, properly this time, but I wasn't there." Her voice dropped down to almost a whisper "My family was though."

Dumbledore stood up and walked around his desk to Vexus. He lead her back to his chair and had her sit down. He turned to the students before him. All three of them were pale and staring at Vexus. "As you can see there is good reason for the secrecy and there is good reason for her to be here now."

Harry spoke "You're like the opposite of me, aren't' you? My parents were killed; your children were killed. My parents were good, yours bad. I am a Gryffindor and you're Slytherin." he trailed off and out his hands down.

Vexus propped her elbows on Dumbledore's desk and put her chin in her hands. "I suppose that I am the 'Anti-Potter' in a sense. Its almost funny." She stood up "I think that covers all your questions. And if it doesn't that's too bad, because that's all you're going to get. I trust you to keep all this to yourselves. There are some people who know, Sirius and Remus know, Professor McGonagall knows and Professor Snape. Keep this to yourself. I am here to do my job and try to teach you as much as I can. I have an, er, unique perspective on the Dark Arts. You have nothing to fear Harry. If your scar hurts then it's probably just the fact that I am his daughter. I can make the Mark burn as well and we are sure that it's all just genetic quirk."

The Headmaster addressed them "Now you three head back to the tower. The Halloween feast starts in a little while and I am sure that you'll all want to be there. There is going to be an important announcement."

Harry, Ron and Hermione stood up and left the room quickly. Vexus watched them leave then turned to the window and leaned her head up against the cool glass. Dumbledore came up beside her and softly said, "I know that took a lot out of you. But it is for the best. I have been worried about you lately. Are you all right?"

She laughed softly "I'm fine. I just have a lot on my mind and it's taking me a while to sort it out. That's all."

She turned away from the window and walked to Fawkes' perch and started petting him. Dumbledore watched her closely "And how are things between you and Severus?"

Vexus sighed, "Why does everyone insist on thinking that we're involved somehow?"

"Because I know that you love him and that he loves you."

She turned around and responded, her voice heavy with exhaustion "Albus, what's love got to do with it? It doesn't matter, it really doesn't. And he..." She left the sentence hanging, unfinished

The headmaster sat back down at his desk and smiled at her "It is your life to live as you see fit. That's all I can tell you. But you should remember that our time is too precious to waste and to miss out on something like love is a crime in itself."

Hours later as she entered the Great Hall, Vexus was still thinking about what Albus had said. 'Maybe I was wrong. Maybe there was nothing going on at all. I need to know. This is it, this decides it.' She walked towards her chair only to see it was occupied already. Madam Hooch was sitting in Vexus' seat next to Snape, their heads together talking rather intently about something. Neither one of them saw her as she stood there gaping at them. Vexus felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see Professor McGonagall looking at Hooch and Snape as well.

"Vexus, You haven't been here, it's been like that for several weeks now." Minerva's face was sympathetic when she looked at Vexus.

"I don't profess to know what it's all about, and I don't try to pry into other people's business. I thought that it was odd the first time it happened. Severus doesn't ever stay for the whole meal and to me it seems like he isn't interested. But we both know that he wouldn't even allow it if he didn't want to talk to her."

Vexus looked at McGonagall and then back to Snape and Hooch. She turned around to face Professor McGonagall "Minerva, thank you." She looked to the headmaster's seat and saw that it was still empty "Please make my apologies to Albus, I think that I am just going to skip the feast." She made a move to leave but McGonagall grabbed her shoulder again "Why don't you just go over there and tell her to move it? It's your right."

"No" said Vexus "I don't care, I am just tired and want to go to bed." She smiled at Minerva and left the hall.

From her seat at the end of the table Peregrine shook her head as she watched the scene. 'Pathetic, the Master is going to be upset about this. He wants them together but they won't cooperate.' She thought. She too stood and left the Hall.

There was much that people didn't know about Peregrine Wulf. One of those things was that she had three brothers in Azkaban. They had been Death Eaters, but hadn't joined until just before Voldemort's fall. Peregrine always felt that sending them to Azkaban was unfair; they hadn't done anything to anyone. They were all younger than her and she almost felt like she had lost her own children. Maybe that was why she was doing what she was doing now.

She apparated a short distance from the house and approached it slowly. The ones outside nodded to her as she passed by. Once in side she made her way to him.

"My Lord, I have news."

Voldemort was standing next to a chair that was facing the fire; it's back to her. He smiled and said "Really? Before you start I need to introduce you to someone. She's just arrived and has had some interesting things to tell me." He turned his head toward the chair and sneered, "Isn't that right my child?"

Peregrine's eyes widened with surprise as Vexus stood and came around the chair to face her, "Hello Peregrine, funny meeting you here."