Disclaimer: I do not own any of the rights to the Harry Potter characters. They belong to J.K. Rowling, who lets us play with them from time to time. The Hellsing family as well as any other non-HP characters are my own, so please respect my rights to them as well.

Author's Note: I'm sorry, sorry, SORRY for the delay. Just as I started complaining about the job market, I found myself a job. Needless to say, that's taking up a fair amount of my time. But fear not! I will strive to continue with fairly constant updates. Also, I want to extend my great thanks to all my reviewers: your praise is heartening and your interest is what keeps me going. Again, thank you!

---

"Where is she?"

James looked up from his book to where Sirius stood, his hands thrown up and his eyes blazing. His normally elegant hair was rumpled from the constant raking of his fingers and his limbs twitched nervously. The resemblance between Sirius' human and animal forms was suddenly undeniable—his hunched shoulders perfectly mirrored a dog poising to lunge.

James glanced at his watch. "It's only a quarter 'til three," he reminded his friend, who had been pacing up and down the length of the Leaky Cauldron. "We were an hour early in case you've forgotten, Master Black."

Sirius snarled under his breath. "Still," he muttered as he resumed his pacing.

"Sit down, would you?" James asked, lazily pushing out the extra chair with his foot. "You're driving me bats."

"I'm fine," Sirius deterred.

"Come on now. You'll give yourself blisters, pacing around like that," a cool voice noted. "Give your feet a rest."

The boys' heads shot up to see Remus standing over the table, a light summer cloak thrown over his shoulders, the hood throwing his drawn face into relief. James grinned at his friend as Remus eased into the extra chair and gave him a cuff on the shoulder. "Fancy meeting you here," he joked to Remus and signaled their pretty blond waitress for another butterbeer. Lowering his arm, James glanced at Sirius, wary as to what to expect, and was somewhat relieved to see impassivity instead of anger written over the dark boy's face.

"What're you doing in London?" Sirius asked, a slight current running through his voice.

"You didn't think you were the only one Ani wrote to, did you?" Remus responded in a voice only a few degrees cooler than his usual tone. "She sent Ghost to me last night… I guess he went on from my place to yours." He nodded to James.

"Well then," James said a bit too heartily, hoping to abate the tension, "all it seems we're missing now is the lady of the hour." He glanced down at his watch again. "We've got a few minutes. Drink up, lads, this round's on me!"

They sipped their drinks and James felt an inkling of relief. After a bit, Sirius and Remus seemed to have forgotten their animosity—And what on earth is that all about anyway? James wondered absently—as they discussed the latest Wimbourne Wasps' Quidditch match. He, James, settled back and nursed his butterbeer, pleased that all seemed right again.

The Cauldron's ancient grandfather clock had finished booming the threes when a movement at the door caught James' eyes. Ani Hellsing was moving towards their table, her arm twined through her best friend's. Lily's bright green eyes fell on his and, doing his best to ignore the twinge of exhilaration in his chest, James raised his hand in greeting.

Returning the gesture, Ani unthreaded her arm from Lily's and led her through the crowded pub to where the boys sat. Remus stood to greet them and Sirius rose to borrow two more chairs from a neighboring table. James opened his mouth to make a joke—this was probably the one and only time that the Marauders would ever arrive to anything before punctual prefect Lily—but as Ani slid into a chair and slumped over, the humor died on his tongue. Wisps of curls fell into her tired eyes and she looked nearly as haggard as Remus did just after the full moon.

Remus, his warm eyes shuttered with concern, asked gently, "Everything all right, Ani?"

She managed a half smile and shrugged. Lily, smoothing her long Muggle skirt primly over her even longer legs (James forced his brain away from the vivid and inappropriate thoughts that had begun to crowd in) as she settled down, said quietly, "She's just come from St. Mungo's. They've been there since dawn, waiting while the Healers examine Lynx… I came by Floo not too long ago."

"How is he?" Sirius asked in a voice that James had never heard him use before.

"He'll be fine," Ani answered resolutely.

Ah, James thought sadly, catching Lily's gaze as it flitted past his once more. Ani seems to need more convincing of that than we do.

As though she'd heard his thoughts, Ani shook herself firmly, and flashed a smile that was more like her usual one. "Lynx will be fine," she repeated. "But that isn't at all why I asked you all to join me here." She glanced around the table as though she were only seeing them for the first time. "Where's Peter?" She glanced at Remus. "I thought you were going to send on to tell him to meet us here as well."

"He's off in Wales visiting his grandparents," Remus replied. "He wouldn't have been able to make it."

"Just as well," Lily retorted grimly. "The fewer of us that are involved in this mad scheme, the better."

Even though he knew it would earn him a flaying from the green swords in Lily's eyes, James felt himself perk up at the mention of mischief. "A mad scheme, eh?" he chuckled, rubbing his hands together. "That's my type of girl, Ani," he added, hoping to coax another smile out of her. "Our summer has been entirely too dull."

Ani managed another smile for him while, as anticipated, Lily pinned James down with a glare. "I should think," she hissed, "that in light of recent events, even you would admit that we've had entirely too much mischief for one summer."

"Nonsense, Evans," Sirius interceded, somewhat lessening the uncomfortable squirming sensation James had gotten under her glare. "When you're a Marauder, no mischief is too much."

"Exactly right, Sirius." Ani nodded sharply. "That's why I asked all of you to come here… The more people who are willing to help, the better, and I knew you three would be just right for the job."

"What," Remus began slowly, "does this plan have to do with, exactly, Ani?"

A strange, glittering light came into Ani's eyes and her expression lit with determination. "My father," she answered instantly. "My father and my brother and Blythe. I think I know what happened to them… and we can't let the people who did it get away with it." She glanced at Lily, whose face was rigid with anger and something else—James recognized it as fierce, all-consuming fear. "Lily thinks that the idea is too dangerous: maybe she's right. But even so, I can't just sit around while my Dah and my friend are in trouble." Her fists clenched on the table and, as though it were subconscious, Sirius moved without blinking to cover her hand with his own.

Interesting, James thought as he watched Remus' eyes flare. Very interesting.

Ani's fingers relaxed under Sirius' hand and she went on. "I have to do something," she repeated. "Sitting around, watching my mother lose sleep and pick at her food… it's making me crazy." Her eyes burned ever more brightly and, not for the first time in the years they'd known each other, James suspected that the power inside of Ani Hellsing was something to beware. "So I need you to help me," she finished finally, looking around the table imploringly. "I can't do this by myself."

They were all quiet for a moment. His initial enthusiasm having waned, James began to feel that somehow, somewhere along the way, they'd gotten in over their heads.

It was Remus who broke the silence, and as the words came from his mouth, James felt his own jaw drop. "Of course we'll help you," Remus assured her firmly. "We all will. Just tell us what to do."

James glanced across the table to find his thoughts echoed across Sirius's face. Remus? he thought incredulously. Isn't he supposed to be the sensible one? Since when does he throw caution to the wind?

"Good," Ani said, and her voice—the fever behind it gone—was now bleak. "I know what we have to do… the thing is, I just don't know how we're going to do it."

---

Lily suggested that they ask the landlord for a private parlor—"If you insist on discussing this idiocy, we don't need to do it in the middle of a crowded common room," she sniffed, and despite her harsh words, Ani squeezed her hand—and went off to inquire. She was back a few minutes later, motioning for them to follow her up the stairs.

Pulling the hood of her cloak low to hide her face (Malius Baldrick from the Department of Disappearances had already advised Ani and her brother and mother to keep their business to themselves), Ani followed Lily up the winding stairs. They led the boys into an octagonal room with a large round table in its center. Remus shut the door firmly behind them while Ani wandered over to the window. Wrapping the hem of her cloak over her hand, she absently wiped the dust away, bringing a ray of light filtering through the dirty window. She closed her eyes briefly, leaning against the windowpane. The day had stretched on for what seemed to be years—all she wanted was a bath and a bed. But not yet, she told herself. Now there is business to see to.

Ani and her mother had arrived at St. Mungo's just as the sun had risen. Healer Martenson had left before them in hopes of getting Lynx to the front of the line for examinations. The hospital, tucked in the depths of London, was busy even at the unholy hour. So while her mother queued up to ask the Help Desk witch as to where they were to go next, Ani thankfully dozed (albeit fitfully) in a squashy orange armchair.

They'd spent the rest of the morning threading through the maze of halls that made up the beehive of St. Mungo's. Ani had always entertained thoughts of being a Healer—the fixation had begun when, at the tender age of six, she'd been brought in when she found and inadvertently jinxed herself with her mother's wand while Mrs. Hellsing had been chatting with her cousin via Floo. While the Healer, dressed in bright lime green hospital-wear, made jokes with her and carefully cleaned the remaining ladybugs out of Ani's ears, Ani had been wide-eyed with admiration and envy. The dizzying rush of Healers and their assistants rushing to and fro told Ani that she could never work in an office building, never sit at a desk: this is where the action was.

Now, nearly ten years later, Ani wasn't sure she ever wanted to return to St. Mungo's. All day her tension steadily built and she felt isolated and alone despite her mother's presence. They waited in a cool, sterile room with Lynx, who was magically bound to the examination table. The first Healer who had been in to see them had sympathetically given Lynx a draught to make him sleep after his steadily hoarsening screams had brought Cassie Hellsing to tears. Despite his initial kindness, however, his words held no comfort for the Hellsing women.

"Worst of its kind we've seen yet…not much we can do for now. Come back tomorrow, we'll keep him here tonight."

Her insides clenched as she thought about it. A taste for revenge Ani had never known she possessed welled up within her. Under any other circumstance, the blackness that was steadily filling Ani's soul would have alarmed her, but there was power behind her rage now. Gone was the helpless, directionless anger and fear that had taken hold of her during the first few days of her father's disappearance—now she had an enemy.

Moving abruptly away from the window, Ani settled into one of the chairs at the round table. One by one the others followed suit as though her motion were a call to order, and when they were all seated, Ani wasted no time on pretense. "This is about the Pureblood Sanctity Act," she began. "When we find the ones who support it, the ones who are willing to go to any and all costs—and above—to get rid of all the Muggles and Muggle-born, we'll find my Dah and Blythe." She tilted her head slightly to look at Sirius and James. "You said you'd be willing to help me," she went on, locking eyes with Sirius. "So I need you to tell me what, exactly, you told my brother Rion that sent him running off to find Lynx."

For a moment she thought they would refuse her as they exchanged a long, significant look and Ani prepared herself to give them both a vicious and thorough tongue-lashing. James must have seen something flash across her face, for it was he who rapidly filled her in on all they knew.

She felt oddly calm as she listened to James, with several instances of input from Sirius, speak in a low tense voice about a wizard called Voldemort and his visions of a Muggle and half-breed free world. A steady chill crept through her stomach—a reaction that had nothing to do with temperature. He's mad, Ani thought, her certainty startling even to herself. Only a madman would try to "cleanse" his own people. From the corner of her eye Ani could see Lily's cheeks begin to drain of color. Mildly concerned, Ani reached out and gripped her best friend's hand and listened to the rest of James' account stoically. Her heart rose slightly in her chest when he told them of Dumbledore's attempts at organization against Lord Voldemort.

Sirius, his eyes schooled carefully onto Ani, interrupted James cautiously. "We're not sure if that bit is true," he said, his voice directed at them all but his eyes fixed upon Ani. "All we have is hearsay." Ani only half-listened to his warning, however—if anyone were to restore order to a world that Ani was sure was slowly going mad, it would be Dumbledore.

The room went quiet as James finished and Ani was vaguely aware of her friends staring at her warily, as though she might lash out at any moment. Still somewhat surprised at her cool, Ani let out a slow, loaded breath.

"Do you still have that parchment with you, by any chance? The one with V-Voldemort's symbol on it?" she asked him.

James nodded and rummaged in the pocket of his jacket. He handed it to Remus, who passed it to Lily, who gave it with trembling hands to Ani. She held the parchment flat and her palm and stared at it for a long, tense moment, until when she finally blinked the image was burned onto the blackness behind her eyes. "Well," she said, her voice lighter than her mood, "if we're looking for a group who would do anything to get rid of Muggles, these would be the ones to go after." She slid the parchment back to James and leaned back in her chair, her mind mulling over the information. "Now we just have to find them."

Lily spoke up, her voice trembling almost imperceptibly. "Ani, think about this: we don't even know that these people are the ones who took your dad. I admit that it's the most plausible—not to mention the only—theory we have," she hastily added as Ani made an incredulous noise through her nose. "But it's just that, Ani, a theory. I mean, let's say these… these people did take your dad. Why on earth would they bring this thing with them and then leave it behind? It just doesn't make any sense, Ani."

"Unless…"

Ani's eyes flew to Remus. "Unless what?"

He leaned back in his chair and put his hand over his eyes. Throughout the telling of James' story Remus had kept his eyes focused at a point over Ani's head, lost in thought. Now he had spread his hands out over the table and was tapping his nails against the wood. "Unless that parchment belonged to your dad and not the person who took him," he mused slowly. The drumming of his fingers hastened, as though he could speed up his thought process with his hands. "Like… maybe the person who took him… found it… and that's how they knew that he knew about them. And then he dropped it… on an accident, you know?"

Sirius frowned. "Where would he have left it so that someone could find it?" he asked Remus, and from somewhere in the back of her mind Ani noticed that the tension that had previously tainted his voice when speaking to Remus was now gone. "They couldn't have gotten it from the Hellsings' house: even if they came in the dead of night, Ani's mum or one of them would have heard them."

"Maybe," Remus replied thoughtfully, "they got it from somewhere else…" He glanced down into Ani's eyes. "Your dad works at the Ministry of Magic, right?"

"Yeah," Ani admitted. "He works in the International Magical Office of Law, fifth level." She closed her eyes and thought back to the day after her return from Hogwarts. "I guess that's why he was so upset about that article that talked about the Pureblood Sanctity Act," she thought aloud. "That law would fall under his jurisdiction, wouldn't it? I mean, you know my Dah," she said to Lily. "He'd be livid if someone tried to pass a law right under his nose, especially if it's something he disagrees with so strongly."

"I imagine," James cautiously stated, "that your father—and by association anyone else who thinks Voldemort's mad in his office—would be really valuable to Dumbledore's order."

Sirius leaned across the table. "So we agree then? The people who took Ani's dad must have found that paper in his office; if they were trying to snuff out—" Ani winced and Lily scowled but Sirius plowed on "—people who might prove powerful against them, the Ministry would be one of the first places they'd look!"

James chimed in excitedly. "So if we want to find out who took him, the first thing we have to do is search his office—see if we can find anything that the kidnappers might have missed!"

"Don't be daft," Remus and Lily said in one voice, and Ani had to work to squash a sympathetic smile as James looked somewhat abashedly at them. "There's no way we can just barge into the Ministry of Magic and start rummaging through Cephas' desk," Lily, whose voice had lost none of its edge, informed James. "Especially if there are people who were watching him lurking around nearby."

"What we need," a somewhat gentler Remus stated, "is someone in the office whom we're sure would be on Dumbledore and Ani's dad's side, someone we could talk to and get some straight answers." He looked to Ani. "Any ideas?"

Frowning, she tilted back in her chair and put a hand over her eyes, blocking out the light that had begun to agitate the beginnings of a dull headache. A thought came to her suddenly. "Caradoc Dearborn," she decided, opening her eyes to meet Remus' gaze. "We can talk to him."

"Who is he?" Sirius asked with a frown.

"He's one of the junior officers in the office," Ani explained. "Kind of like my dad's assistant. I've met him a couple of times, Mum's had him around to dinner before… he's about Lynx's age. Dah says that if it weren't for new recruits like Dearborn that the Ministry would be doomed straight for hell." She nodded affirmatively, more than ever convinced. "I even know where he lives," she added as the extra information burst into her mind. "It's not too far from here."

James pushed to his feet. "Let's go now," he directed. "We don't have time to waste."

But Remus was shaking his head before James had even finished. "He's probably still at the office," he said, glancing at his watch. "And we can't just hang around London until we're sure he's home, nor can we hang around the Ministry. It'd look too suspicious." His warm eyes fell on Ani again. "Especially if word of what's happened to your dad has gotten around… people will wonder why Cephas Hellsing's daughter is lurking around his office. And I know that your mother wants to keep this as low-key as possible."

"You're right," Sirius said, and James nodded, looking discouraged. "How long do you think you'll be in London, Ani?"

"They want to keep Lynx for a few more days at least," Ani said, sinking into her seat heavily. "We're not going anywhere."

"Well then, let's try to go and visit him on Saturday," Remus suggested. "Around time for lunch, maybe. That wouldn't be as strange, especially if you've met him before."

"Can we all make it back here on Saturday?" Lily asked practically. "Oh, Ani, don't look at me that way," she said, exasperated, just as Ani was glancing at her with undisguised disapproval. "Of course we'll be going with you… it's not wise for you to be going off on your own. Anything could happen. In fact," she continued, "I really think you ought not to leave St. Mungo's by yourself anymore."

"She's right, Ani," Remus said over Ani's strangled noise of protest. He ignored the dirty look she shot at him. "It's not safe—at least three people have either vanished or been hurt. If you're not with your mother or one of us, you ought to stay inside the Hospital. I don't think anyone will try to attack you there."

Ani struggled for an argument and found none. "Oh, all right then," she resigned angrily. "We'll meet back here on Saturday at noon." She heaved a sigh and stood up, pulling her cloak around her once more. "Come on, Evans, let's get you off in the Floo before I get any more restrictions put on me."

She moved for the exit and felt a brief twinge in her chest. Though she couldn't see her, she could feel Lily's crestfallen expression. Guilt surged through her once more. Brat, she thumped herself mentally. All she wants to do is help you and here you are, snapping at her like an ill-tempered Krup.

Consternate now, she turned around as she reached the door. Three sets of eyes of varying degrees of brown and one of glittery green met hers. She cleared her throat. "I want you to know," she began, and her voice was strangely hoarse, "that I really do appreciate your help… all of you. I know this isn't the ideal way to spend the summer. So thank you."

Her eyes began to feel suspiciously bright and Ani glanced away, embarrassed. An arm tucked through hers and she glanced up to smile into her best friend's face. "Of course," she said gently. "What are friends for?"

---

James watched Remus swirl and vanish within the green flames, and then turned to Ani. "We'll walk you to St. Mungo's and then Floo back," he told her. "I know you're capable of taking care of yourself, but it'll make me feel better if we walk with you. Okay?"

"Suit yourself," Ani said and worry twitched through James as he saw how pale and drawn she seemed after the meeting.

Sirius must have noticed too, for he stepped in with a joke. "It's not that we want to take care of you or anything, Hellsing," he said in that lofty, arrogant voice that James personally hadn't heard enough of since their departure from Hogwarts. "It's just that I'm sure Evans will properly hex us both if she finds out we didn't give you a proper escort."

The ploy worked and Ani laughed appreciatively. James relaxed. "It's true," Ani said as they pushed through the door of the Leaky Cauldron and into the bustle of Diagon Alley. "She might not look like much, but that Lily's a mean one."

"Oh, she looks like much, all right," James muttered and Sirius and Ani laughed again. "Come on, Hellsing, give it to me straight," he said, a corner of his mouth quirking up. "How much begging will I have to do to get Lily to go out with me?"

Ani pretended to look deep in thought. "That all depends," she deadpanned. "How much gold have you got?"

The three of them laughed and cut up as they left Diagon Alley and went quickly through Muggle London. Their banter was so distracting that James felt vaguely surprised when they appeared at the abandoned department store window that disguised the entrance to St. Mungo's. "Here we are," Ani said, the laughter gone out of her voice. She looked gloomily in through the window as though it were Azkaban prison and she a lifetime prisoner.

"Maybe we can come visit you before Saturday," Sirius suggested and Ani glanced up hopefully. "Mr. Potter always enjoys coming into London, and I know Mrs. Potter wanted to see how your mum was doing."

"I'd like that," Ani said softly. Her eyes glowed as they looked up into Sirius', and suddenly James had the sensation that he'd like to be somewhere, anywhere else.

The glow flickered and faded as Ani spoke again. "Are you sure you want to come back to London?" she asked Sirius gravely. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I'd love to see you both… But I don't want you to come back if there's a chance you might run into your dad."

James, stunned, cut his eyes to Sirius and focused intently on the still face. Did Sirius say something to Ani and not to me? he wondered indignantly. I'm his best friend! But the thought was gone as soon as it had surfaced. Sirius' impassive face told James all he needed to know. No—Ani was waiting for an answer. It wasn't a statement: it was a question, a request for trust.

Sirius tilted his head back, his dark hair falling away from his face and he let out a low sigh. He straightened and stretched one arm out to Ani. She moved into him and he put the arm around her shoulders, tugging her close and hugging her briefly. Ani sealed her eyes shut and put her arms around Sirius, and James had to look away from their faces—the trespass would have been too great.

"Don't worry about my father," Sirius said gruffly. "Let's focus on yours."

She nodded and pulled away. That was as close to an admission as they would get, James knew. "I'll see you on Saturday," Ani said softly. She reached out and squeezed James' forearm in farewell, then spoke softly to the mannequin in the window. The life-sized model twitched a finger forward and with a wave of farewell, Ani stepped through the sheet glass, leaving Sirius and James alone on the street.