Disclaimer: I'm not J.K. Rowling. I wish I were, because then I'd be very clever, and let's face it, very wealthy. Harry Potter and all related characters/places/ideas belong to her and she has generously shared them with Warner Brothers, Scholastic, etc. I'm none of these entities. I don't own any of this.

This chapter is neither here nor there; it's just kind of transitional. It's a little choppy and broken up because I wrote a lot of it while I was traveling over the past few weeks (work? What work?). So I constantly had to cut off in the middle of sentences to "stow all portable electronic devices" and then come back to it days later and think "where was I going with this?"

Chapter 4- What Now?

"You've misspelled "cruciatus", did you know? And it's rather redundant to say "evil curse" don't you think? Because if it was good, it wouldn't so much be a curse."

Morgan started at the voice behind her. She had been concentrating so hard on the report she had not heard anyone come in. She glanced up at Remus Lupin, looking over her shoulder.

"Sod off, professor." She shot back. He grinned at her, knowing her too well to be insulted.

"Just trying to help."

She hadn't seen him in a good while, which she thought was too bad. He was the third of Sirius and James' little group, but she had always found him refreshingly different than them. He was quieter, more serious, less inclined to show off. Far more studious and responsible, he had been prefect when they'd been in school, in the hope that he would exercise some control over Sirius and James. Granted, he'd had little success, but he had nevertheless always been the voice of reason in their little group. He would have made a good Auror as well, but his health had always been poor, so he was doing some sort of research for the ministry. Morgan did not know quite what, whenever asked about it he became very vague and changed the topic, and she took this to mean it was secret. He seemed the sort of man who had a lot of secrets.

"Where are James and Lily?" He asked now, looking in their fridge and selecting a flask of pumpkin juice.

"Do I look like James's secretary?"

"Not much, she's taller than you, and blond. But since you're sitting in their kitchen you seemed a logical person to ask."

"I don't know actually. Staying late at work I reckon."

"But it's half past ten."

"Aye, thanks, I can tell time too. Have you seen Sirius tonight?"

"Yes, briefly, and he's still mad at you." He replied promptly.

"Mad at me?" She yelped, looking incredulous. "He should be apologizing to me!" She turned on him accusingly. "Don't you think?"

He shrugged. "I think you should both learn to control your tempers."

She scowled. "He was totally out of order."

"I'm no great fan of anyone who comes out of Slytherin house. But I'd guess you might be a better judge of character than he gives you credit for." He went on before she could respond. "But that said I think you should give Sirius a break, as he really does just want to protect you."

"I can protect myself."

"I'm sure you can, but you don't have to. At least not alone."

"I guess Sirius is not all bad. Especially given the rest of the family. I ran into Lestranges in Hogsmeade tonight. They tried to recruit me. Or Bellatrix did. Rodolphus just stood there looking thick and menacing."

He choked slightly on his pumpkin juice. "What did she do?"

"Her usual thing. Come to the dark side, the ministry are fools, I'm a traitor to my blood."

"Her usual thing?" He repeated. "Does she do this often?"

"Whenever she sees me she takes the opportunity to hassle me. It's nothing, it's just because Sirius and I are the black sheep of the family." She smiled as she realized her unintended pun.

He didn't exactly disagree with her, but he seemed restless suddenly, pacing nervously, occasionally throwing a worried glance her way. She tried to continue with her work, until she realized she was reading the same sentence over and over without really understanding it. She instead watched him pace, thinking about what Evan had told her. She hadn't seen James or Lily yet to give them his warning, but she wondered of she even should. She thought he was sincere, but she didn't know anything about where his information came from. Still, she couldn't keep it to herself, because there was a good chance it was true, and then what? She was partly responsible if the Ministry was betrayed, and if that happened people could die.

"Can I ask you a purely hypothetical question?"

Remus stopped pacing and smiled, knowing that that question usually preceded a question that was not at all hypothetical. "Of course."

"Let's say hypothetically someone told me something tonight-"

He tensed. "Did Marakiv do something to upset you? Because if he so much as looked at you funny-"

Morgan rolled her eyes. "Tone down the testosterone please. He didn't do anything to me, you don't have to rush out to Hogsmeade with wands blazing and break down his door. But he told me something, I think he was trying to actually be helpful, but I'm not sure what to do with the information."'

"Can you tell me what it is?"

"Do you promise not to do anything to Evan?"

"No, I bloody well do not. I've never liked him and-"

She waved an impatient hand. "All right, I get it, you're very tough, you could kick his ass if you were so inclined. Now will you please let me talk?" He nodded, silently, and she repeated, briefly, what Evan had told her.

"Have you told anyone else about this?" He asked after a moment.

"No, who would I? I figured you'd be the least likely to go and try to beat more information out of Evan, and I really think he told me all he knows. And even if he didn't, he didn't have to tell me anything."

"Yes, but your first priority can't be protecting Marakiv anymore. He's not an idiot, he knew what he was getting into."

"So what should I do? Tell Crouch?"

"No, no, I don't like him and I'm not even entirely sure I trust him. Besides, he wouldn't listen to you. No, I think you should tell-"

He was interrupted by a knock at the door. They looked at each other, wondering who would be calling on Lily and James at eleven. Lupin answered the door and from where she sat Morgan couldn't see who it was, but she saw a look of surprise cross his face.

"Oh, hello Sir, James and Lily aren't here."

The wizard who stepped into the room was very old, with long flowing silver hair and an even longer silver beard. He wore impressive dark blue robes embroidered over with gold stars and planets. Even more impressive than the robes was the power that seemed to radiate from him, even as he stood calmly in the Potters kitchen. Morgan gasped as Albus Dumbledore smiled at her. It was a bit of a shock to see him outside of Hogwart's. "Good evening Miss McCarrick. Actually I was aware James and Lily were not here Remus, as I just left them at St. Mungo's."

They both frowned at the mention of the hospital. "Are they hurt?"

He sighed, looking rather tired. "It's all right Morgan, James and Lily will be fine. There was an incident tonight in Surrey. Several Aurors were kidnapped last night, and rather than ask for help, Mr. Crouch chose to keep it secret. He sent several people after them, and they found themselves in a battle with Lord Voldemort himself." Morgan stared, her mouth slightly open. "But they fought well, I am very proud of them. There were some injuries, As I said James and Lily are fine but chose to stay until they knew their colleagues were out of danger. Robert Mason was killed."

There was a silence, until Morgan whispered "Poor Juliet."

Remus had resumed pacing. "He's getting bolder. Why isn't the Ministry doing more?"

"They're frozen by indecision, internal politics, bureaucracy." Said Dumbledore, more bitterly than Morgan had ever heard him sound. "That's partly the reason I'm here. James suggested I might find you here Morgan."

"Me?" She had been staring at her hands since he had told them about Rob, now she looked at him in alarm. "Why?" She squeaked.

"I was wondering if I might borrow your house."

"What? My house?" She couldn't imagine what he wanted with it.

"As I recall your family has a large estate in Scotland, which you inherited after your father passed away last year."

"Oh…yes, we do...I mean, I do...I haven't been there in years though."

"I need a place to hold a meeting, somewhere safe. Besides Hogwart's, Avalon is the most well protected castle in Britain. The enchantments on it will keep everyone safe from muggle eyes as well as from Lord Voldemort. That is if you don't mind "

"Of course not, I'd be glad to have you there."

"This week-end then? I know it's a bit of a rush Morgan, but the events of the last twenty-four hours have convinced me there is no time to waste. I must be going, there's a great deal to do. Take care, both of you."

"Sir…what kind of meeting?"

"Well, I think the time to sit by and let the ministry fumble with fighting Lord Voldemort has passed. It's time to take action. Until then be careful."

He disappeared in a swirl of midnight blue.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Lily woke up feeling groggy and disoriented. Before sending them home the healers at St. Mungo's had given them a potion to fall asleep, and it left her feeling drowsy, but strangely calm despite the events of the night before. They had gotten home about nine o'clock that morning and she guessed by the fading light it was now late afternoon.

They had finally left St. Mungo's when one of the healers made them, insisting that everyone would be all right and there would be no changes. Considering Lily had thought at one point they would not come out alive, it was not so bad. She and James were unhurt aside from a few bumps and bruises. Alice was sore from her brush with the Cruciatus curse, but fine, and Frank had broken his ankle as they sprinted from the house, but the healers had mended it in an instant. The others had not fared so well. Moody had been hit directly in the face with a stunning spell and was likely to lose an eye. Miller was weak from blood loss but would be fine, although he'd probably have a scar from the cut on his forehead. Lily had told him it would make him look sexy and dangerous. Barnes was still disoriented from being under the Imperius Curse, but the healers said he would make a full recovery. Downing had still not regained consciousness when they left, so they did not know exactly what curse had been used on him, but they also knew he was in no immediate danger. The worst was still Juliet. She would not stop crying and rocking, except when she periodically called out Rob's name. She didn't seem to know where she was or to notice anyone around her. Finally the healers had given her a potion to put her to sleep. Thinking about Rob, lying lifeless on that stone floor, Lily felt a tear make its way down her cheek. She hadn't known Rob Mason well, he was a few years older than them, had not been in their year at school as Juliet had, but Lily had liked him a great deal the times they had met, and he was known for his bravery.

She realized it could have been any of them. It could have been her...or James. She raised herself on an elbow and looked at James sleeping. Even in sleep he did not look totally relaxed, his eyebrows were drawn together in a slight frown, as though he was concentrating on something. Lily felt her heart skip a little. I love him so much. When she thought about how close they had come to death that night- James had actually raised his wand to kill her before throwing off Voldemort's imperius curse- she was paralyzed by fear. But she knew, deep down, he would not have done it. You can't kill your other half. We're alive now, we're safe now, that's what matters. But the little voice in the back of her mind pressed in- But for how long? To silence the voice, she reached out and smoothed out the line in his brow, then laid her hand on his chest. "James?" He opened his eyes, and she smiled at him.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Sirius Black was not a morning person, which anyone who had spent seven years living with him ought to know. Which is why he could not even begin to understand why Peter thought it a good idea to show up at his door at half past seven. Peter looked a little taken aback by the fierce glare that greeted him when Sirius opened the door.

"What do you want? And it had better be good."

Peter held up a letter. "Did you get one of these? What's going on?"

Sirius stared at the letter, then at Peter, and shrugged. "What are you on about? So you got a letter?" He had gone to bed early the previous night after consuming a bit too much firewhisky to take the edge off his anger after fighting with his cousin. He hadn't heard about anything "going on."

Peter pushed past him into the room, dangerous considering his mood, and pointed to a letter on the table, which hadn't been there the previous night. "There, you got one too! I asked Remus but he said he's just gotten home and he was too busy to get into it. He didn't say where he'd been all night either. And I asked Morgan but she wouldn't say more than two words to me." Sirius had a pretty good idea what those two words had been. Morgan had little patience with Peter, they all did sometimes. "And James and Lily aren't even home. Something's wrong and I want to know what's going on." Peter was whining, an annoying habit he had.

Sirius picked up the letter that had come while he was asleep and scanned it. It was from Dumbledore, which was odd to begin with, because as much as Sirius respected the old headmaster, it wasn't as though they kept up correspondence. It was concise to the point of being terse, asked him to be in Scotland that weekend, at Avalon, and most importantly, to not tell anyone.

"Morgan's going to open up Avalon?"

"That's her estate, right?"

"Yes, but she hasn't been there since...the summer before her sixth year."

Morgan had never told anyone, even him, what had happened between her and her father the summer between her fifth and sixth year at Hogwarts, but she had never gone home again, spending all her holidays at school or with him. As far as he knew she had never even spoken to her father again. Occasionally he had seen her receive letters delivered by her father's distinctive black owl, but she had always directly thrown them in the fire without reading them. She had not seen him before he died, and though she had made the proper arrangements then, she hadn't shown any sadness or regret.

"So Morgan's decided on a week-end party? What's your problem with it?" He asked Peter.

"Morgan's decided on a week-end party and she asked Dumbledore to send out the invitations? And it's secret?" Peter pressed skeptically.

"Well, when you put it that way."

He left Peter puzzling over it, and went and dressed quickly. He certainly wasn't going to give up his weekend plans for this unless he knew what it was, and it seemed like Morgan was the person to tell him.

"Good luck getting her to talk." Peter muttered darkly. "She's in a vicious mood after not getting any sleep."

"What?!" Sirius spun on him. "What do you mean?"

"Morgan was out all night as well, she'd just gotten in when I tried to talk to her."

Peter wondered what he had said to make Sirius look so deadly as he disapparated from his own house and into Morgan's kitchen. She looked up from a cup of tea and sighed.

"Honey, can we schedule this some other time? I'm too tired to fight this morning."

"I'd be tired too if I'd been out all night." He hissed.

"What makes you think I was out all night?"

"Peter."

"Well, isn't he just full of information today." She said it mildly, sounding bored.

"You were with him, weren't you? With Marakiv?"

"Well, naturally." She replied placidly. "But then I thought, why limit myself to shagging just one member of Slytherin to spite you, when I could ruin your life so much more efficiently by shagging lots of them. So I went looking for others, I'm thinking of taking out an ad in the Daily Prophet, because you know the entire purpose of my personal life is to irritate you- "

"You think you're funny, don't you?"

"Actually yes, I rather do, but you know what I think is even funnier Sirius? The fact that I left Evan at nine o'clock last night. Last night I was at James and Lily's and then I was at St. Mungo's with them and if you stopped thinking about yourself for just one second you'd have heard that YOUR BEST FRIENDS WERE NEARLY KILLED LAST NIGHT."

He stared, his mouth slightly open as though he had been about to say something but was now speechless. Had she been in a better mood she might have enjoyed the look on his face. As it was she still had a sense of grim satisfaction.

"Wha-…what?" He finally whispered. He looked so stricken she didn't want to hurt him anymore.

"They're fine." She said with the air of one bestowing a favor. "Several Aurors were kidnapped. James and Lily and some others went to rescue them. They met Lord Voldemort." His eyes went wide. "Frank and Alice are fine as well. Moody, and Downing are hurt but they'll be okay." She hesitated. "Rob Mason was killed. And Juliet.they think she's gone mad."

No one was actually saying that out loud, but she had heard two nurses whispering about it. Juliet had been asleep when she got there, but Lily admitted she had been horrible, just rocking and crying. Morgan knew Juliet from Hogwarts, a good student and good quidditch player, generally friendly, even to younger students.

She shook it off and sighed. "I have to get to work. James and Lily are at home, but they're tired and I think they need to be alone, don't go over there, okay?"

He nodded numbly, but then remembered what he had come to ask her.

"Morgan wait. What's this?"

"Oh. I quite honestly don't know. Only Dumbledore asked me if he could use Avalon."

"And you agreed?"

"I want to be able to do something to help." She sighed, looking serious and suddenly very grown up. "I'll see you later. We'll talk.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

"He was already dead when we got there, and Juliet and Miller were there as well. Miller was unconscious though, and Juliet wasn't...herself either."

The two wizards sitting across the table from James- they had introduced themselves but he hadn't even been listening- exchanged a glance. "And then what, Mr. Potter?"

James ran his hand through his hair. "Why? How many times have we been over and over this? How many times have I told you this story in excruciating detail?"

He knew what they were doing. They were comparing his account to those that all the others were giving, and to the records of the things he'd already told them, to make sure there were no discrepancies, to make sure none of them were lying. But knowing their reason didn't help with his frustration.

"Mr. Potter-" One of them began.

"Do you think is something I want to keep reliving over and over?" He was practically yelling now, he didn't care. The truth was he was living it over and over again anyway, whether they were asking or not. Over and over again he saw Rob's blank and lifeless face. Over and over again he the black hooded figures appearing around them. Over and over again he saw the blazing scarlet eyes of Lord Voldemort. And the worst one- over and over again he saw himself, as though in slow motion, raising his wand against Lily.

In the past day, that was the thought that had haunted him. The what if…what if he had not thrown off the imperius curse? What if Lily had died by his wand? It had come too close. Voldemort had already killed his parents, he wouldn't allow him to kill Lily as well. There was anger, and fear, both at a slow burn inside of him. He had to do something. He was furious at the ineffectiveness of the ministry, at their bureaucratic fumbling and constant double-checking. It was a time for action, not for paperwork.

He stood, pushing back his chair. "If you have any more questions about what happened that night, I suggest you read transcripts of the five or six other times I've described it." He turned and slammed out the door of the room, ignoring their exclamations, ignoring the shocked looks of the people outside the conference room. He heard someone say "James?" but he kept going, he had to get out of the Ministry.

"James, what are you doing?" Someone grabbed his shoulder and he turned and saw Lily, looking worried.

"I have to get out of here." He said, turning away from her, he disapparated from the Ministry.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

It was the kind of exquisite spring day that made it absolute torture to sit inside the library, which explained why so many students were out on the lawns with their books spread out around them. Some seemed to be studying in earnest, others had given in to the lure of warm weather and sunshine and were simply lounging. Morgan smiled at a group of students quizzing each other urgently on important historical dates. They looked to be about fifteen, so they were likely preparing for their OWLS. Morgan had a pleasant feeling of relaxation and letting her guard down as she walked across the Hogwart's lawn. Hogwarts had always felt like a haven from whatever was going on outside. Under the care of Dumbledore Morgan had always felt protected.

Which was why she had come to Hogwarts. In the turmoil of the previous night she had forgotten about Evan's cryptic warning. It was Remus who had suggested she take it to Dumbledore. He would not dismiss her as the Ministry would, and he would probably know how credible the idea was, and what, if anything, she ought to do about it. And it was well known in the wizarding world that Dumbledore was fighting tirelessly against Voldemort.

Her eyes drifted to a group of first years by the lake, concentrating hard as they practiced levitating their quills. How brilliant it had been when your biggest concern was exams. They looked so small and young. They're eleven, she thought, and I'm twenty. Nine years. How vastly the world had changed in those nine years.

She was barely into the entrance hall when she ran into a formidable looking witch with her arms full of books. Morgan straightened her posture unconsciously under Professor McGonagall's curious gaze.

"Miss McCarrick?"

"Yes Professor."

"What are you doing here at school?"

"I've come to see Professor Dumbledore. I know he is busy but it's rather important."

The witch fixed her a piercing stare and she was uncomfortably reminded of the time she had transfigured one of the common room chairs into a blast- ended skrewt and tried to make it go after Sirius. It had caused a bit of chaos and McGonagall had been furious, but secretly rather impressed, Morgan thought. It had been a pretty good bit of transfiguration for a fifth year, but then Morgan had always had a flair for the subject.

Morgan seemingly passed her scrutiny, for she nodded in a businesslike way.

"All right Miss McCarrick. Do you know where his office is?"

Morgan had been in the Headmaster's office only once, in her first year when her mother had died. None of her many transgressions during her years there had been serious enough to merit his involvement. She remembered he had a Phoenix, which she thought was just about the most brilliant pet she could imagine. Besides that she didn't remember anything about his office, she had been too upset by other things to care. She followed McGonagall's instructions and gave the password ("licorice wand" oddly enough, she'd have thought his password would be something mysterious and meaningful). A gargoyle moved aside and allowed her to make her way up a circular staircase.

She hesitated at the top of the staircase, and then knocked. There was a pause and she could hear the murmur of voices on the other side of the door and she wondered if she was interrupting something. Then the door opened and she found herself looking not at the headmaster as she had expected, but at a man not much older than herself with long greasy hair which he pushed away from his face with a jerky movement. When he saw her his expression changed to one of total disgust.

"Oh- Snape."

He was the last person she had expected to see there. She didn't despise him with the same passion as James and Sirius, and she had even sometimes thought they went too far in their tormenting of him, but that certainly did not mean she liked him. She was pretty sure his intense dislike of her was mostly based on her closeness to James and Sirius since she never actually had to have much contact with him, being in different houses and different years.

"Yes McCarrick, very good. Any other insights you'd like to share?"

"Is Dumbledore here?"

"He's had to step away for the moment. He will return shortly. If you will tell him I've gone."

"Don't go on my account. James and Sirius aren't with me if that's what you're afraid of." She added nastily.

"Why McCarrick, I didn't know you could speak without parroting Black. But don't flatter yourself. Not everyone has such unlimited leisure time as someone whose sole accomplishment is inheriting Daddy's money."

"Yes, I'm sure Lord Voldemort must keep you very busy."

She immediately wondered if she had gone too far, as he went even paler, if that was possible, and his eyes flashed so furiously that she thought he might hex her, or just forgo magic altogether and hit her. Instead, she saw him take a great breath and he hissed "You're a testament to how far money and good looks will get you without any particular talent McCarrick, but those won't save you if you insist on meddling in things you can't even begin to understand."

Without waiting for a response, he turned and walked out of the office, leaving her seething and thinking every nasty thing the boys had ever done to him was completely deserved. She sat in a chair facing Dumbledore's desk and tried to calm herself by looking around. Fawkes was nowhere to be seen, but all the past headmasters and headmistresses in their pictures watched her, nudging each other and whispering. Phineas Nigellus, one of her own ancestors, was looking so aghast at her presence that she made a face at him, and he stomped huffily out of his portrait, muttering under his breath. The only words she caught were "blood traitor". She wished people would come up with something new to call her, that one was getting old.

Besides the portraits, Dumbedore's office had a number of delicate looking tables with strange instruments on them. Morgan spent several minutes speculating what a small cone shaped one that emitted a ticking noise and little puffs of purple smoke might be for.

She was so interested in her surroundings that she did not hear the Headmaster enter, so she was startled when he said "Good afternoon Miss McCarrick." With no apparent surprise at seeing her there.

"Good afternoon Sir. Snape had to leave, he asked me to give you his regrets."

"Yes, I was detained rather longer then I expected." He strode briskly across the office and sat at his desk, facing her. Old as he was, and tired as he must be running the school and fighting against Voldemort, the headmaster rarely showed any signs of strain.

"Now Miss McCarrick, to what do I owe the pleasure of this visit? Although you do not need a reason to visit Hogwarts, I gather this is not a social call."

"No Sir. I wanted to speak to you about something. Maybe I should have gone to Mr. Crouch, but I don't think he'd really be able to take the time to see me. I guess he thinks he knows well enough how to handle things.."

Dumbledore apparently sensed her hesitation. "I do not always approve of his methods either Morgan, you may speak freely, it will not go beyond these walls."

"Well Sir, does it not seem strange that Voldemort managed to capture six Aurors? I mean that he knew who they were, and where they were?"

"Perhaps, but then the Ministry does not operate in secrecy. It is no secret who the Aurors are."

"It's only, I have heard, from someone I think would not lie to me, that there is a spy among them. I mean, it is no surprise that Voldemort has spies in the Ministry, but I did not think there would be traitors among the Aurors."

Dumbledore did not speak immediately, he placed his fingertips together meditatively and kept his eyes on them. After a long silence in which Morgan shifted nervously in her chair, he looked up.

"Well Morgan, it seems you and I are hearing the same rumors, but from different sources. I had long suspected such a thing."

Morgan was not surprised. Dumbledore always seemed to know everything that went on inside Hogwarts walls, it was only natural he was as prescient about what went on in the rest of the wizarding world.

"But I don't suppose you were able to ascertain the identity of this alleged spy?"

"No Sir, I don't think Ev- the person I heard it from- knew."

He nodded thoughtfully. "Have you told anyone about this Morgan?"

"Oh, well yes." She glanced down. "I did tell Remus. I know I ought to have kept it to myself but I wasn't sure what to do."

Dumbledore smiled at her. "No, you've acted very wisely in coming here first. I would recommend that you keep this entirely to yourself for the time being. I know there are people in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement you trust, but I'd ask you to keep this from even them a little longer. The more people who know, the better chance it will get back to the person that people are suspicious. It may be they are serving Voldemort voluntarily, but it also might be that they are under his control against their will, there is no good acting until we know."

She nodded soberly. She did not like the idea of doing nothing, but with so little information he was right that there was nothing to be done.

"I think Morgan, that I owe you an apology as well."

She started at him. "Sir?"

"I fear I may have put you in an uncomfortable position when I asked you to lend Avalon for my purposes. It was the only location I could think of that is so well protected."

"I understand Sir. My father was nothing if not paranoid."

"I know it will mean a great deal of work having a number of people descending on your family's home, I only wanted you to know I do appreciate it."

"Oh, that's no matter, Avalon has house elves."

He nodded silently, and then smiled a little. "Your mother would be proud of you."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 
(S- your helpful e-mail has been duly noted, but I can assure you characters are not going to "promptly begin shagging like bunnies." It doesn't fit the story, and furthermore, any shagging that does occur will be handled tastefully and will not be bunny-like. If you want bunny sex I suggest you write your own story.)