Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of its characters.

Now that that's out of the way, let's begin…

Last time,

"Just got a floo call from the warden at Azkaban. Our two favourite reporters paid an inmate a visit."

"Who?" pretty much every one of the aurors working this asks.

"Rodolphus Lestrange."

Again, they lapse into silence, then Draco curses under his breath. "He's gonna make me bring him in again, isn't he?"

Ron snorts, "Well, he's not gonna offer up the information. What I want to know is where they found that connection!"

"You and me both."

Now,

28th December 2001

"Hey, Uncle, how are you?" Harry asks as he walks into his uncle's living room.

Remus narrows his eyes in suspicion. "Harry." Harry smiles. Remus sighs and rolls his eyes, "What did you need?"

Harry shrugs, "Honestly, I had some questions. But they're kind of on a sensitive topic."

"Is this for your story? Because I'm really done talking about all this."

"It isn't even directly about him, and it's nothing that's getting published or even mentioned in whatever we write," Harry assures him.

Remus hesitates, then nods slowly, going to the kitchen and beginning to make tea. "Ask away. But I give no promise of answers."

"Fair enough. I'm just wondering about the twins' mother. I mean I know she's… not around anymore, and Benni told me once that she looked like Aunt Alice a bit. I guess I was just curious what she was like, how you met, that kind of thing. Again, in no way ending up in any article at all."

Tea is placed in front of Harry before Remus sits to respond. He smiles gently. "Her name was Heidi. We met when she was 18, dated for a few months. It was only three years after the war and… well, I wasn't in a good place," he explains with a sheepish look, "After we broke up I didn't see her again until almost two years later when she showed up with twins and told me she was dying." He looks sadly into his tea.

Harry hesitates a moment, then puts a hand on top of his Uncle's. "I know a little something about that. A mother putting everything she loves in your arms and begging you to look after them, to make it all worth it, to give them a good life. And then she's gone, and it's a long time before it sinks in and you realise…"

"It's just you now," Remus finishes, "You and this life you're supposed to shape and protect." Remus nods, "Thank you, Harry."

After a few moments, Harry speaks again, hedging carefully closer to the information he actually came for. "So, what did you do from there?"

"Well, she only had a few weeks according to the doctors, we wanted the kids to get used to the new environment before… well, before they lost her. So she and the twins moved in with us."

"Oh wow. That must've been a big change for everyone."

Remus hums his agreement. "They didn't live far away, thankfully, and, being a single mother with minimal familial support, they didn't exactly have much to move."

Harry opens his mouth to press further when the floo activates behind him. He turns to see Benni and Severus walk through.

"How did it go with Kingsley?" Remus asks immediately.

Benni gives a determined look. "There's not a lot he can do, but he gave me an idea. We're going to fundraise, try and get enough donations to rebuild the centre."

Harry and Remus share a worried look. Remus clears his throat, "Benoîte, this might be more difficult than you imagine. People aren't exactly… fond of werewolves at the moment."

"Which is exactly why it's a good idea," she explains, "I can use the campaign to build some positive momentum for the community. I was hoping you'd use your reputation to help me," Benni tells Harry, "we need all the help and backing we can get if we're going to undo the damage Greyback has done."

Harry stares at her for a moment. The look in her eyes reminds him of a conversation they had long ago.

"What would you know of evil?"

"I feel it, every day," Benoit replies, "I had a twin brother once. You say his name in front of anyone who knew him and they flinch in fright and disgust. He tortured my parents and tried to murder me at seven years old. At seven years old the Minister quite gladly sentenced him to Azkaban and I can feel it. Because that's what happens with magical twins. There's a soul deep connection that no amount of hatred or insanity can sever, and I have searched for ways. There are none. I know evil, it's intertwined within me and I will do whatever I can to fight it off. Let me help defeat your evil. Then maybe you can help me defeat mine."

"You felt him," He says quietly as he looks at her, then he looks down. His eyes widen and he hurries towards the floo. "Benni, I'll do whatever I can to help. I promise," He tells her before heading through it to home.


Draco arrives in his house, heading to Harry's office under the stairs hoping to find him there. He'll never understand Harry's choice of office. There are plenty of rooms in their home, but he chose this one, the one that Draco would have believed he'd least want to spend time in. Draco sighs as he walks in to find the room empty, he walks over to the desk, leaning on it with his hands as he debates what to do next.

"You look tired."

Draco whips around, eyes wide as he sees who is before him. "Aunt Bella?"

Bellatrix smiles gently, "Hello, Nephew."

"I-I…what?"

"You look tired. Harry, I assume. From what I've seen, he has that effect on people."

Draco continues looking flabbergasted for a moment before he just sighs and leans back against the desk. "It's not just him. It's this entire situation. There's so much going on and I can't keep up with any of it. What's the point of my job if I can't even protect my family?"

Bellatrix nods, "Well, protecting something from itself? That's always the hardest part."

"How are you here?"

"I don't know, I just am." She walks towards the other side of the desk chair from Draco and smiles at a photo of Draco and Delphini. "She's cute," Bellatrix tells him, voice thick with emotion he doesn't understand.

"Thank you." Draco looks down and then up at her again. "Our second child… we named her after you. Harry and I."

"Well I…I'm not sure I deserve that but, thank you." She looks straight at him again. "Rodolphus put him in touch with Avery. They want Greyback gone but Avery can't do it himself. They're trying to get the Wizarding world to do their dirty work for them. Sevrin just wants to cause pain, he's… he's mad. I tried but nothing I did helped. Nothing helped," She explains.

Draco stares at her in horror, "Do you know where he is? How he knows what he knows?"

Bellatrix smiles at him, "Your answers are on their way. And now you know why. Fix it." She fades away.

"Wh- Aunt Bella?!" He calls, spinning in confusion to look around. He comes face to face with Harry as he walks into the office.

"Draco? What's going on?"

"Aunt Bella, she was…she was here, she was right here," he explains, gesturing frantically in front of him.

Harry nods, "Ah. What helpful hints for us did she have this time?"

"Y-What?!"

"I haven't seen her in years. Not sure about Remus. I think he saw her before I did but I'm not sure. She wouldn't admit it. I only saw her twice. Back when we were trying to deal with Dumbledore."

Draco stares at him in shock, more surprised at this than he was at Bellatrix's appearance. "We're going to circle back to that. First I need to know what you know."

Harry nods, "I know. That's why I'm here. I want to compare notes. We've reached the same places multiple times from totally different angles which means we're both missing half the story, just different halves. If we put them together, I think we can solve this."

There's a few moments of tense silence before Draco nods. "Unofficially. None of this e-"

"Ends up in an article, I know. Geez, this family does not trust me at all."

Draco snickers at him. "So what have you got?"

"You cannot, under any circumstances, ask how I know any of this."

"Agreed. But reluctantly."

Harry hesitates a moment longer, then nods.

"For starters, I just have to know something. That tip you and Anthony sent in. Aren't you also the one that first suggested it wasn't Greyback?"

"Heh, uh yeah. We thought it was, let you lot know, then found out he was being set up."

"By Sevrin and Blood Moon," Draco says.

Harry nods, "Something I've got to know. Did you work out how he escaped?"

"Yes, as he did it a while before we found out. Had a decoy in there taking Polyjuice potions. Went in disguised as a construction wizard when they were building the new wing, snuck him out the same way."

"Rodolphus Lestrange called Sevrin a weapon, said he's powerful."

"Which, still begs the question, where in the hell did he learn magic."

Harry sighs, "Yeah, that's been getting me for a while now but I think I worked it out." Draco looks at him in shock. "Magical twins, they have a bond. Benni told me years ago that she could feel Azkaban through Sevrin. I think Sevrin could do the same through her. But he had nothing better to do for years than hone that skill."

"So he learns magic, and the Rodolphus puts him on Avery's radar. They want Greyback dealt with but Avery can't do it on his own."

"They make a plan to use Sevrin in order to do it. So, what, they want Sevrin to kill him? Was all this a ploy to draw him out?"

Draco shakes his head, "No, Aunt Bella said they want to get the wizarding world to do it."

"Hence Blood Moon's involvement. Set up Greyback, raise hatred and fear of Werewolves, and they'll persecute Greyback without Avery nor Rodolphus needing to lift a finger themselves." Harry looks Draco in the eye. "I have an idea, but it's risky and it could put people in danger."

"If it catches Sevrin, it might be worth it. Besides, if it can happen legally, I've got three teams of Aurors on this."

Harry nods, "Benni's going to try and raise money from the public to rebuild the Sanctuary. Maybe we can use that to lure Sevrin into a trap."

"Use her and the general public as bait? Harry, you can't be serious."

"She's doing this anyway, and there's a good chance he'll target any public event she puts on for it which she'll need to if she's going to change anyone's mind. If we make it a part of our plan, she'll have aurors and protection that otherwise wouldn't be there. Also, and yes, this time I do hear how callous it is, but if a fundraising event is attacked by fanatics, we can use that to sway public favour against them which could help her goal."

Draco hesitates, "I'll pitch it to Robards in the morning, see what he says. You got anything else?"

Harry walks over to the same picture of Draco and Delphini that Bellatrix had looked at earlier. "Do you think all this was worth it? Everything we've done to build a better world. All the sacrifices we've made, the sacrifices those around us have. Have we made it worth it?"

Walking over and taking one of Harry's hands, Draco smiles sadly. "I don't know that anything could ever make it worth that. What I do know is that our kids won't have to make those same sacrifices. Maybe that's the best we were ever going to get. We can't remake our lives, Harry, but we can do our best to secure theirs." Harry nods slowly, and in that moment realises what he needs to do. Will it make him a good man? No. In fact, he's pretty sure that whatever scrap of honour he still has may very well shred by the time this is over. But he knows what he needs to do.

"Let me know what Robards says. I have something else I need to do."

"Is it dangerous?" Draco asks with a frown.

"Yes."

Draco chuckles a little, "Be careful."


29th December 2001

Draco heads to work and fills Robards and Ron in on everything he learnt as well as informing him of Harry's plan. After several long moments of thoughts, Robards agrees.

"Work with the others, form a solid plan to protect the people. Potter's right, they'll need protection either way. You'll have anything you need."

"We need to tell Benni we're doing this," Ron states, no room for argument.

Robards nods, "We'll need to know what she's planning before we can do anything. Bring her in, work with her to plan how best to do this."

"Yes, sir."


While Draco and Ron speak with Benni, Harry heads to the Manor to fill Anthony and Greyback in on the plan as soon as he receives a message from Draco that Robards approved the idea.

"Sounds risky," Anthony tells him.

"Sounds fun," Greyback counters.

Harry sighs, "The place is gonna be swarming with Aurors. You need to stay here for it."

The werewolf narrows his eyes at that but agrees all the same.

"Great. Now, I've agreed to help Benni with it all so I'm going to be there on the day. Anthony, I'm going to need you to write an article about whatever event she puts on so that word gets out. Not only do we want the fundraising to succeed, but we also need to make sure that Sevrin hears about it."

Anthony nods, "I'll send her an owl to get the details and talk to the boss."

"What if he doesn't take the bait?" Greyback asks.

"That's why I haven't told Draco about the possibility of Sevrin hiding at his mother's old place. If this falls through, he'll be back there, if indeed that is where he's hiding."

"We aren't even sure that's where the brat is."

"If you've got ideas, I'd love to hear them!" Harry snaps at the man. Greyback snarls but says nothing. "Right then. Let's do this."


Benni decides their best option is to start with a press conference. She knows her père and Harry are right, public opinion is low since the attacks. People need to be reassured before they will be at all interested in helping the community.

They plan for aurors to mill in amongst the crowd. Some up near where Benni will speak, blending in as casually as possible so that Sevrin is not frightened off. Benni has Harry agree to speak after her to put his face to the campaign from the get go. She speaks to Anthony for his article, Ron looking it over to make sure everything they need Sevrin to know is included while everything they don't want him to is excluded. It's quite possibly the most cooperative the Paper has ever been with the Aurors, no one saw it coming that Harry would be the one to make that happen, but somehow that's exactly what makes it so unsurprising.


31st December 2001

On the day of the press conference, Harry sits alone in his office a few hours before it starts, once more looking at a picture of his family. He always swore he'd leave his power and sway over the wizarding world behind once Dumbledore was taken care of, lest he become like him. Yet here he is, years later, manipulating the world he tries to protect. Manipulating the situation in more ways than anyone knows.

He worries.


Albus Dumbledore is fixing himself a cup of tea when a knock sounds at his door. He answers it, shocked at who he finds.

"Harry. Well, this time it truly is a surprise."

Harry nods slowly, "To us both. Never thought I'd come back here."

Dumbledore nods him inside, closing the door behind him. "What you brings you by?"

He takes a seat, hesitating to answer the question. "I'm not really sure myself. I suppose…" Harry sighs, "When did it all go wrong for you? When did you start taking it all too far?"

"I'm still not convinced I did. You were the one who decided that, if you'll recall."

"You cast the Moral Reversal Spell on me if you'll recall," Harry snaps back. Dumbledore's eyes widen. "Yes, I know about that. I've known all along." Harry huffs, "So maybe don't stand there and tell me you didn't go too far or that I decided so. You made your decisions."

"Do you know why I did it? Cast that spell? What it is I was so desperate to do?"

Harry frowns, "Keep me on your side."

"No. Keep you from theirs." Dumbledore takes a seat across from Harry. "You and Draco were growing close, and the last time I watched something like it take place it ended in Bellatrix. And Remus."

"Your justification for messing with my head is that you wanted to mess with my life?"

"I wanted to ensure you did not fall in with your father. I did not anticipate Draco's own defection from him."

Harry's face smooths out as he realises. "Ah. So that's where it went wrong." Dumbledore raises an eyebrow. Harry nods, "It went wrong when you started thinking you knew people better than they knew themselves."

"What brought on all these questions?" Albus asks, dodging the other man's statement.

After a moment of debate, Harry sees no reason to keep that to himself and fills Dumbledore in on everything going on (minus the part about him working with Greyback of course).

In the end, all Dumbledore has to say is good luck.


Benni steps up to the podium, staring at the people who had come to hear her speak. Well, okay, come to hear Harry more likely but regardless. It's sort of funny, she thinks, the years she spent unable to talk at all, and now the future safety of so many werewolves rests on her words. She steels herself, straightening her notes, then opens her mouth to speak.

She doesn't even get a word out before she spots him, eyes widening in fear. He is not alone as he strolls in casually, a careless smile on his face. Then she isn't scared, she's angry. He raises his wand, as do those with him, even as aurors descend on them through the crowd. Benni locks eyes with her brother for a moment, then she ducks behind the poem, Harry racing over to her as spells begin to fill the air.

"Shouldn't you be out there stopping him?" She asks him.

Harry shakes his head, "I'm not here to stop him. I'm here to keep you safe." She smiles at him, hugging him without restricting his wand arm.

The podium explodes behind them.