Disclaimer: Hail to the Queen of the Quill, J.K. Rowling, who has created such glorious characters and who lets us play with them in our little fanfic worlds. May she be forever blessed. Millions of thanks to the Harry Potter Lexicon and all other HP sites for their unintentional inspiration.

Author's Note: The end is in sight! What will Caradoc Dearborn tell Ani, Lily and the Marauders about Cephas' disappearance? What plan will they use to save Cephas when and if they find him? All will soon be revealed! Thank you all for your patience and encouragement—they are deeply appreciated. As I said, I'm wrapping up this story in my mind and am already well on my way to building the second installment. So stay tuned! In other news, I have it from a friend who has read the official J.K. Rowling website (which I have yet to have time to check) that the name of the sixth Harry Potter will be entitled Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Again, that's just hearsay, but my sources are quite reliable. Hearing that got me really excited; I can't wait for it! And now, without further ado, back to the Marauders.

---

In spite of the knot that had been forming in his stomach since breakfast, Remus laughed when Ani charged through the glass in front of St. Mungo's and launched herself into his arms.

"Thank God," she said as Remus tried to disentangle himself from her unexpected but thrilling hug. "If I had to stay in there ten minutes longer I'd have gone nutters."

"Bit bored, are we?" Remus asked with a grin.

"Wretchedly so," she confirmed, but her face was alight for some reason more than just an afternoon of freedom. He wondered what the cause was but didn't have to wait long, for as they turned down the street away from the hospital, Ani blurted out excitedly, "They think they know what curses those bastards used on Lynx, Remus, and they think they know a way to help him!"

Her relief was palpable and contagious, and Remus had never meant anything more than when he said warmly, "That's fantastic, Ani!"

"'Course, it's a new kind of treatment," Ani said, skipping a step to keep up with Remus' longer strides. "They're not sure how long it will take, or how effective it will be, but at least it's something, right?" She threw up a hand and waved as they rounded a corner and saw James, Sirius and Lily sitting on a bench, all dressed in Muggle clothing. "This is a good sign, Remus," she went on happily. "They're going to fix Lynx, and Dearborn is going to tell us where my dad is. I just know it!"

He smiled down at her, feeling like an indulgent parent to an excited child, but kept his thoughts to himself. He couldn't bring himself to deflate Ani's high hopes, but a wary voice within told him that the mission they undertook today would be much, much more difficult than they'd hitherto imagined.

After Ani had hugged all the others and excitedly told them the news concerning her brother, James—their unofficial ringleader—stood and faced them. "We'd best be off," he commented. "Don't want to stand around, drawing attention to ourselves."

The others nodded their agreement while Remus hid a smile. Behind James' no-nonsense, cut-to-the-chase demeanor there was a glimmer of excitement. No matter what obstacle faced them, the excitement of having a mission to complete had pricked at his adventuresome spirit. Lily met Remus' eyes and rolled hers predictably, but he caught an unmistakably affectionate smile playing about her mouth.

Caradoc Dearborn lived in Muggle London about half a mile away from where Diagon Alley lay hidden from ordinary eyes. Ani, having been there before, led the way with Lily at her side and the Marauders falling into guard behind the girls. From his point behind her, Remus could sense Ani's buoyant excitement becoming dampened by apprehension. He knew the others could feel it too, and it was a very quiet group of teenagers that arrived at number 4 Hathaway Place, the very top flat of a redbrick tenement building.

Pushing her hair out of her eyes, Ani rapped purposefully on the door, and took a respectful step back to wait. A young voice, deeper than Remus had expected, called out, "There in a moment!"

Footsteps sounded through the flat and a lock clicked as the door swung open. Caradoc Dearborn, with coal black hair, a straight, serious brow and eyes so blue that they seemed unnatural, pulled open the door, a preoccupied smile on his face. "You're early, Alb—" he began, and then clamped his mouth shut as he saw that his visitors were not who he had apparently expected. "Can I help you?" he began politely, his face telling them that he really had no time for nonsense. He scanned each of their faces in turn and stopped in undisguised shock when he looked at Ani.

"Ani Hellsing!" he gaped, astonished. "What are you doing here?"

"Hello, Mr. Dearborn," Ani said politely. "I was just—"

"Ani, you know it's Caradoc, first of all," the young man reproached absently, then jumped as though he'd been prodded with a sharp stick. "What on Earth are you doing here by yourself? Come in, come in."

He bundled the girls and the Marauders into his apartment with the air of a gracious host, but as he moved past him, Remus caught his eyes darting back and forth frantically down the hall, looking for some invisible spy.

After introductions were made, Ani began apologetically, "I'm sorry we barged in on you like this, Caradoc." She followed Lily and the others into the sitting room and perched on the edge of a couch. She hedged on, apparently uncertain as to how much Dearborn did or did not know about her current situation. "But I'm in London with my mother and Lynx—"

"Oh?" Dearborn asked, his voice a shade anxious. "I had, um, heard he wasn't well." The statement was purposely vague, but the look on his face told them all that he knew more than he was letting on. "Would you all like some tea?" he asked, as though eager to change the subject.

"Sure," Ani responded vaguely as the others nodded. She fiddled uneasily with her fingers, twisting them in her lap, until Lily shot her a pointed look. She cleared her throat as Dearborn reentered the room. "Caradoc, I guess you've noticed that my dad hasn't been into work in awhile now."

The young man paused mid-step and then continued towards them, bearing a tea tray with a kettle and several cups. "Yes, Cephas has been greatly missed at the office," he said, measuring each word like ingredients for a potion. "I hope he'll be back soon."

Ani took a deep, cleansing breath and took the plunge. Remus and the others tensed. "He won't be back anytime soon, Caradoc, because he's missing," she said, her voice low and anxious. "He's been gone for almost two and a half weeks and no one knows what's happened to him, not even the entire Department of Disappearances. I was… I guess I was kind of hoping you could tell us something," she finished lamely.

Dearborn looked deep in thought and Remus looked up and caught Sirius' eye. His friend—for whatever might pass between them, Sirius would always be his friend—gave a half shrug. We won't be any worse off if he doesn't tell us, he seemed to say.

When their host did decide to speak, his voice had lost its measured quality. "Ani, I know you're worried about what's happened to your father," Dearborn chided gently. "We all are. And if I thought there was something I or someone at the office could do to help, you can be certain that I'd do it in an instant. But this is a matter best left to fully-grown wizards. Though it may seem otherwise to you, there are many qualified witches and wizards who are doing their very best to find your dad. Okay?"

This response, this downplaying of her concern, seemed to take the wind out of Ani. She looked helplessly around the group, silently imploring someone to take up her argument. In the end, it was James who reached into his robes and pulled out the telltale parchment. They had no other bargaining chip. "We found this at Ani's house," he said by means of explanation.

A guarded expression on his face, Dearborn took the parchment from James' outstretched hands and eyed the glowing green skull and snake. Something worked over his face that made Remus sit up and take notice. "Where did you say you found this?" he asked intently, not taking his eyes away from the parchment.

"At my house," Ani explained. "James' father found it. D'you recognize it?"

"Yes," he said slowly, running his fingers over the picture. "Yes, we found it the same night that Al…"

He stopped short, realizing he'd said too much, when suddenly another knock echoed through the flat. Dearborn swore lightly under his breath and pushed to his feet. "Ani, kids, you stay here," he ordered. He hurried to the door.

Instantly five set of eyes met. Sirius leaned forward and mouthed, "What do you reckon?"

James opened his mouth and was about to launch into his own theory when a figure in the doorway cut him off. Remus looked up slowly and found the piercing eyes of Albus Dumbledore staring back at him.

---

"Mr. Lupin. Mr. Black. Mr. Potter. Miss Hellsing. Miss Evans. An unexpected pleasure," Dumbledore greeted them, a smile gracing his lined face.

Ani felt her limbs shaking as she stood respectfully to greet her headmaster, who was accompanied by a stunning, slender woman with hair the color of cornsilk. Dumbledore! The blood rushing through her head pounded in her ears. Why on Earth hadn't they first thought of Dumbledore? It's his supposed bloody order, she reminded herself, livid that she hadn't thought of this before. It'd make sense that, if anyone, he'd know what's happened to Dah!

She chanced a glance over at James as Dumbledore conjured up two armchairs and settled down next to Dearborn, the tall woman settling on Dumbledore's left. From the flashing in his hazel eyes, she knew that James was thinking that very thing.

"Thank you, Caradoc," Dumbledore said, graciously accepting the tea that Dearborn had offered his guests. "Aeryn Solmere, I'd like you to meet several of Hogwarts finest students," he addressed the blond woman. "Ani, Lily, Remus, James and Sirius are all entering their sixth year." To his students, he said graciously, "This is Aeryn Solmere, an old and valued friend."

The five of them nodded politely as Aeryn Solmere graced them with the tiniest flicker of smiles. Ani could feel herself gaping at this noble woman, who moved like stream water over stones. She seemed somehow out of place in Caradoc's somewhat bare flat, but she was nothing but polite and gracious as she sipped the proffered tea. Ani caught a glimpse of her eyes and was shocked to see that they were even lighter than Dumbledore's, the color of fathomless water beneath a surface of ice. Up until that point Ani had entertained the thought that perhaps Aeryn Solmere was Dumbledore's daughter—the same serenity filled each of their faces. But at a glimpse of those eyes, she instantly knew better: Aeryn Solmere was of another breed entirely.

Dumbledore took another sip of tea and settled his teacup back on its saucer. He leveled a look at Ani with those pale blue eyes and asked mildly, "What brings you all into London?"

"Ani's father's gone missing, Professor," Lily blurted out. The relief that had washed over her when their headmaster had entered the room was visible even from where Ani sat. "We found this parchment with a skull and snake on it and we think it has something to do with the Pureblood Sanctity Act, because Cephas—Mr. Hellsing, I mean—has worked so hard to keep it from getting passed, and—" She paused for breath and checked herself at the incredulous looks her friends were giving her "—and we just wanted to talk to someone who might let Ani know more about what's going on," she finished.

"I see," Dumbledore said gravely. He looked around at Ani, who felt the air rush out of her lungs. There was an echo of sorrow in Dumbledore's eyes that plucked at Ani's heartstrings. That this man could feel such grief for her family touched her deeply. Aeryn Solmere tilted her head, a motion almost imperceptible, and fixed her remarkable gaze on Ani's face. "I inquired after your father not long ago and had heard, through some contacts in his office, that he had taken a leave of absence. This is untrue then?"

She shook her head slowly. It was uncertain for a moment, but in a blink Ani became certain, more certain than she'd ever been of anything in her life, that Dumbledore knew much more than he let on. Very well. She played along.

"No one's seen him for almost three weeks now, Professor," she said, careful to keep the suspicion out of her voice. "My mother is frantic with worry." She then filled in their headmaster on the events after their return from Bath, ending with Lynx's screams echoing through the corridors of St. Mungo's. "That's the real reason I want to know what's going on, sir," she concluded, her bold voice the only sound in the flat. "I'm frightened for my mother and my other brother, Rion, as well."

"Most understandably," Dumbledore replied graciously, the concern still writ over his face.

Dearborn, who had until this point remained silent, spoke carefully. "And you," he asked Ani, flicking a glance at Dumbledore, "isn't anyone frightened about you?"

"We are," Sirius said in a tight voice. Ani glanced at him: his face was still, but she could see the whites of his knuckles shining in his clenched fists.

"Do you have any idea about what's happening?" Remus hazarded, looking from Dearborn to their headmaster.

The old man sighed and set his tea down on the table before him, leaning back to clasp his hands. Suddenly he seemed greatly weary, the great weight of knowledge heavy on his already burdened shoulders. He knew, she thought wildly to herself in a flare of anger, he knew beforehand that something was going to happen! He should have warned us!

"He did not know."

In her indignation, Ani heard the strange woman speak as though through a haze. She snapped her head around to behold Aeryn Solmere addressing her as directly as if she'd spoken aloud. Her silvery, bewitching eyes held reproach in their calm appraisal. "Your professor had neither the responsibility nor the ability to indicate to you that you or your family were anything but safe," she informed Ani, her voice cool and fluid, like mist. "He had only suspicions, and there was no need to alert you to danger. Nor—"

Dumbledore gently cleared his throat and Aeryn Solmere gracefully acceded, settling back into her chair and sipping her tea once more. Ani, chastened, felt hesitant to meet her headmaster's eyes, but when she did, the blue was like a balm. Her resentment faded.

"To answer your question, Mr. Lupin," Dumbledore said quietly, "I have only that—ideas. I cannot predict, I can only speculate." He looked at Ani again. "And if I could have guessed, could have foretold, that your father or brother or friend were in danger, Miss Hellsing, I assure you I would have taken every precaution. I hope you know this."

"I do, sir," Ani answered.

"However," he continued, his gravelly voice deepening in what Ani recognized as concern, "thanks to Aeryn Solmere, my ideas have more substance behind them."

Lily's eyes went wide. "Aeryn Solmere," she hesitated, "can you… are you a Seer?"

The woman tilted her head once more and smiled. "I am not," she responded. Her graceful hands spread in her lap. "Time is a tapestry that cannot be unraveled by the will of the mind alone. To try to do so would be as futile as to sit at a weaver's loom and follow a single thread through the pattern. I am, however, a keen observer, and therefore I can see things—physical things—that others cannot."

"Aeryn Solmere was visiting a neighboring clan of her sisters when she heard of the recent disappearances from Dumbledore," Dearborn took over. "There are no towns nearby, ordinary or magical. The past fortnight or so there has been an unusual activity in the moors surrounding their home."

"It is our… estimation," Dumbledore concluded, "that a wizard stylizing himself as Lord Voldemort—"

"We know about Voldemort," James interjected. He paused, embarrassed. "Sorry, Professor."

"Quite all right, Mr. Potter," Dumbledore accepted. "We believe that Voldemort and his followers have established their headquarters, so to speak, in those moors." He looked to Ani once more and paused, as if weighing the words on his tongue. "Your father will be there, in their midst."

Ani's heart leapt painfully into her throat as adrenaline pricked her fingertips. The sudden honesty both amazed and bewildered her. But the sensation was instantly replaced by an urgency that swept her dizzy. She had to go to her father.

She pushed to her feet but was instantly caught by the wrist. She sat down hard as Lily pulled her back into her chair and James began to speak. The abrupt admission had struck James and Lily at the same time. "Professor," James started, "when we first got here, Mr. Dearborn wouldn't tell us anything. He said it wasn't our business and that this was a matter best left to older wizards. And now suddenly we're allowed to know everything that's going on? I'm afraid I don't understand, sir."

"We are older wizards, James," Aeryn Solmere reminded him, drawing herself up ramrod straight in her chair. "And we feel that Ani needs to know this information if her father is to live." Her eyes cut to Ani. "Your father needs you, Ani. You have to go to him."

The silence that filled the room was overwhelming, and when it was broken, it was two angry and shrill voices that split it.

"You cannot be serious!"

---

Lily exchanged a guilty look with Remus. Their angry outburst lingered over their heads like smoke, the tension palpable to the senses. Respect warred with indignation and respect won. "I'm sorry, Aeryn Solmere," she apologized stiffly, facing the woman who had put her nerves on edge. Aeryn Solmere had some strange, ethereal, ancient presence that piqued Ani's discomfort. "I just don't see why, if you all have all this information, why you can't go to Cephas—or why you haven't gone before now!"

The look of desperate resolve that had come over Ani's face—and Lily's resultant panic—ebbed away as Lily's words sunk in. And as against her nature it was to challenge her elders, Lily clung to her question like a lifeline. They cannot possibly expect Ani to save her father! her mind franticly rationalized. She could be in terrible danger!

"I don't understand that either," Remus contributed. "You all—" He gestured to the three adults, old and young, dark and fair "—are more magically powerful than the rest of us combined. Why Ani?"

"Ani's youth has little bearing on her importance," Aeryn Solmere countered. "As for why we have not taken action before this, it is simple." She swept her beautiful eyes to Dumbledore. "They need to hear this from you," she told him quietly, and Lily's heart quivered at the gravity in her voice. "It is you they trust."

Their headmaster closed his eyes. He looked older than the earth. A wry smile tugged up the corner of his mouth, and Lily felt struck as she saw a glimmer of the young boy that Albus Dumbledore must have once been. "I," he said, his voice heavy with exhaustion, "greatly wish that what I am about to tell you were not true."

The silence pulsed through the bare room. Like a metronome, Dumbledore's measured voice struck against the air. Fear was in his tone.

"I cannot go to Cephas," he said, "though if it were up to me, I would face the danger in your place, Ani. But this place is warded, guarded by spells and charms that even strong wizards cannot penetrate. Even if I were to be given the exact location by one who could see past the wards, such as Aeryn Solmere, I would wander around it for hours and never find them."

"So why can't Aeryn Solmere go?" Remus demanded. "You just said she could see past the warding!"

Lily wondered, briefly and absently, what magics Aeryn Solmere could possess to help her surpass Dumbledore.

Pain guttered like candle flame over Dumbledore's face. "Aeryn Solmere is bound by the magics of her kind," he said—Though he fails to inform us as to what her kind, exactly, is, Lily thought. He spoke again, voice bitter, and the sound made Lily ache. "The place where your father is bound has become tainted with Dark magic… blood magic. For eons innocent blood has spilled over those stones. For Aeryn Solmere to set foot in this place, the magics in her being would be snared by threads of the blood magic there."

"I do not fear death." Aeryn Solmere's crisp voice belled to their ears. "But before I die, there is work that must be done, work that cannot be accomplished for many years. Otherwise, I should be happy to aid your father, Ani."

"I still don't understand."

This time it was Dearborn who had spoken, and the deep voice surprised them all. "How can Ani see past the wardings if Dumbledore can't?" he asked cautiously. "I'll tell you, Dumbledore, when you first told me about this plan, I had my doubts. But your explanation hasn't assuaged them. In fact, it's made me question you more, I'm sorry to say."

Lily stiffened at the hint of confrontation, but Dearborn's matter-of-fact tone was anything but disrespectful. "I understand your concern, Caradoc," Dumbledore replied. "Ani is the daughter of your good friend. Your worries for her are understandable, as are your questions.

"In order to free her father, Ani must go to the place where he is captured and lead him out again. But the only way she can get to that place is to be lead there by someone who knows its location—one who is part of Voldemort's inner circle." The old, wise eyes pierced them each in turn. "You must help her find such a person and find a way to infiltrate this place. That much I know." He shook his head wearily. "But how you will do it, Ani, I cannot see. Nor can Aeryn Solmere. It is something you, and your friends, must help us to figure out. For I see no options."

The need to cry out in disapproval, to protect her best friend from the horrors that lay ahead overwhelmed Lily. Stammering, she burst out, "You can't ask Ani to do this. She shouldn't have to do this, she can't—"

"I have to."

Lily whipped around to stare her friend in the face. Ani's gold eyes were gleaming with a sort of fever, and her face was pale and set. She met Lily's eyes slowly. "I have to do this, don't I?" she asked softly. "It's the only way."

"Yes, Ani," Aeryn Solmere said after a long moment. "Yes, you do."

The echo of a low, harsh expelled breath caught Lily's ear. She looked away from Ani to see Sirius, his fingers buried deep in his hair, his face contorted. When he spoke, a chill went through Lily. He spoke as if each word cost him his life's breath, and the pain was unbearable.

"I know what we can do," he said hoarsely. "I know how we can get Ani inside."