Remus sat quietly in the living room, waiting for Tonks to wait up. Calvin had told him that she had asked him to send for Hermione, and then gone straight to bed. That could mean nothing good. He nibbled on his thumb and then decided to flick through the Daily Prophet. It had arrived late, filled with talk about the full moon. One young witch, only twenty-two years old, had been reported missing, feared bitten. Reporters based in several wizarding areas told of blood-chilling howls in the forests. Apparently Aurors had been stationed all over the country. In the opinion pages, one writer called for forced confinement of all werewolves, all the time. Another called for all werewolves to be forcibly put down. Remus made himself read every word; forewarned is forearmed.

He was glad he did so; one of the pieces linked the werewolf threat to the actions of the Cunning Changeling, who was murdering people in their figurative beds. The writer inveighed against the threat posed by 'shape-shifting freaks', and called for trenchant action.

Eventually, Tonks came downstairs and rushed over and pulled him into a tight hug. Remus reciprocated, and murmured into her ear, "I'm so glad you're okay, Nymph." He could feel her smile against his shoulder.

"The same goes for you, Remus. I'm not letting you go back there. We'll find somewhere here that can be certified as a secure zone. I'll get you the Wolfsbane."

Remus smiled and gave her a peck on the cheek before pulling out of the hug. "Thanks for the offer, Nymph, but it's not all that bad at Sorrel's."

She hugged herself. "Don't argue with me. It's bad enough, and it gets worse." She paused for a long moment. "You don't have to go through with it, Remus. There are some people out in the world who don't think that all werewolves are naturally evil. I think there are plenty of normal people who manage to be that all by themselves."

Remus laughed sardonically and threw the newspaper over to her. "Well, it sure is getting worse. Look at the article on page eleven. You'd better watch your step."

She grinned cheekily. "I always watch my step, buster." Her smile disappeared as she read the article.

Hermione appeared by Floo at almost exactly five o'clock. She looked rather flushed, and said, "I dashed to get here as soon as I could after my stint in the office. What went on last night? Your message was rather brief. I was on tenterhooks all last night."

They all sat down with a cup of tea, and Tonks launched into a recital of her night. She carefully avoided her proxy identity, saying only that she had been looking after Wing B. She did name Cromwell and Chapman, though, along with her suspicions that they were being paid in drugs. She also carefully avoided mentioning her brush with werewolf jaws in the forest. Both Remus and Hermione remained silent until she had finished, although Remus saw Hermione flinch when Tonks described her encounter with Ron and Pansy. For himself, Remus was appalled at the risks that Tonks had taken, and did not hesitate to say so. "Tonks! What were you thinking? That was incredibly dangerous."

Tonks shrugged irritatingly. "Who dares wins." She added defensively, "I am an Auror, and I am trained for this sort of thing. I did saved a couple of lives."

Hermione nodded. "Yes. Those people were so lucky you were there. I guess the woman you saw was the witch in the papers, and from your story, the boy must be a Muggle."

Tonks nodded, chewing her lip. "Yep, I reckon so. I guess the other wolves I saw in the Parkinson house must either be unregistered or Muggles by origin."

Hermione squinted in thought. "How many werewolves did you see in the dungeon place?"

"I'm not sure. It felt like a lot, though, I'll tell you that for nothing." Tonks paused, and thought. "The hall felt like it was quite big, but I'm quite prepared to admit that I was absolutely terrified. There were the two who fought, and then at least four that seemed to be sniffing about me. But perhaps overall there weren't that many now that I think about it. Less than ten, I'd say."

Remus said, "It's odd that they'd use the Sorrel werewolves to infect people when they have a secret supply."

Hermione shrugged. "It does seem a bit strange. Perhaps they were new werewolves, or something like that."

"Now that you mention it, I think they were a bit smaller than the wolves I saw in Sorrel's," said Tonks. "Perhaps they were just kids."

Remus said, "We've no way of knowing." He hesitated then. "Was I one of the werewolves who was kidnapped?"

Tonks closed her eyes. "I'm sorry, Remus, but I just don't know. I checked in your wing, but I couldn't recognize your wolf."

Hermione interrupted briskly. "I'm sure you weren't, Remus. I'd bet anything that the werewolves used are those who weren't on the Prophet's list. We're up against some professionals. So don't worry."

Remus nodded his thanks, although her logic had not really persuaded him. Hermione then pulled on her lip nervously, before saying, "Tonks, do you really think that Ron didn't know what was going on?"

Tonks said, slowly, "He said that he was on duty all night. That's easily checked. From what he said, it sounded like he didn't know anything." She paused, remembering the conversation. "His voice did sound a bit strange though, as if he wasn't being too serious."

Hermione looked glum, and so Remus quickly said, "I'm sure he didn't have anything to do with it. After all, this is Ron we're talking about. Harry's best friend. He's a big man in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. He's not going to be involved in some illegal werewolf farm."

"He is engaged to Parkinson, though," said Hermione miserably. When no one said anything, she said weakly, "I'm sure he was at the Auror office though."

Tonks said, "Everyone makes mistakes though." Her joke failed to lift the silence, and there was a general pause as they digested everything.

Remus voiced the key question. "What in the name of all that's magical do we do now? We appear to have a massive criminal conspiracy that reaches into Sorrel's Institution, kidnapping and creating werewolves for unknown purposes."

Hermione said, "They also have the press on their side. The Prophet is dancing to their tune, pushing the werewolves into Sorrel's."

Tonks said ruminatively, "Well, the Prophet would write this rubbish without encouragement, to be fair. Perhaps you've got it the wrong way round. Perhaps the werewolves are not the objective, just the means."

"But who benefits from having an army of werewolves?" said Remus.

"Someone who wants people to be scared," said Hermione. "Perhaps this isn't about the werewolves, but about their effect on people. Someone wants the wizarding community in Britain scared."

Tonks nodded, "That might be right. We need more information though. Are the Parkinsons behind this? I can hardly believe that. We need to find out if someone is influencing the Prophet. I can start work on that if I get some free time at work.

"The way I see it, though, I have two pretty big problems. I need to make sure that my choice of cover doesn't get back onto the Stardust wagon because of what I did. The second problem is what to report to the Aurors. I was witness to some pretty big crimes, and I have the link to the Parkinson manor. If I can get a warrant, we would be able to find that dungeon."

Remus interrupted. "No, without the full moon there are no werewolves, and there won't be any proof unless you can get blood samples. Frankly, I don't think you're going to get a warrant just on your say-so. Especially if you say what you did last night. I mean, most of that was illegal, right?"

Tonks shifted uncomfortably, and Hermione said, "Plus, Ron would probably let Pansy know, as they are engaged, and then they would be able to cover their tracks before you arrived."

Tonks said, "But then what? We have to do something. If I had some better evidence, perhaps it would be possible to get a warrant. I'm sure I'd be able to find something out with that. Ah, who am I kidding? Nobody in the Aurors is going to believe that the werewolf attacks are being run using werewolves kept in Sorrel's by some guy in a hood working out of the Parkinson manor. It sounds crazy to me, and I lived through it."

Hermione ignored Tonks' rant. "What if there is something in the Wolfsbane. It sounds like the wolves were being controlled in some way, and it might be something in the potion. I can get it analyzed, if you give me the sample, Remus."

Tonks was nodding in agreement. "If the Wolfsbane does contain any extra ingredients that would count as proof of a sort. It is being manufactured by the Parkinsons in any case."

Hermione said, "I think that's our only real avenue at this point. But, be careful Tonks. From reading the Daily Prophet today, I'd say that Metamorphmagi were next on the list of suspect citizens." She snorted. "After all that you did last night, I'd say that Metamorphmagi were a good sight more dangerous than werewolves!"

"Ha, you didn't nearly get bitten."

Remus said in shock, "You were nearly bitten!"

Tonks blushed and tried to make light of it. "Not really. Just let one of them get a bit too close for comfort." Trying to distract him, she continued, "Perhaps you could go and sniff around Ilkley Moor in the next few days. See if you can find out any indication that there is a pack of werewolves around there. Or if you can find out anything about the people in the area."

Remus nodded, and Hermione said, "The other thing to do is to look in the Muggle press, to see if there have been any other incidents on full moons."

"I can do all that," said Remus. "After all, my previous employer wasn't too happy that I had to take a couple of days off and put an end to my contract."

Tonks and Hermione both sighed and stared into the fire. Finally, Hermione said, "This wasn't what we fought for. I thought, when Voldemort was killed, that the world would become a better place. That there wouldn't be any prejudice on stupid grounds. If this is what the world's like now, I can't imagine what it would have been like if Voldemort had won."

Remus laughed bitterly. "It's like Mad-Eye Moody always used to say. Constant vigilance, or they'll be sneaking in by the back door."

The moody silence was broken by a sharp knock on the door. Tonks was about to get up when they heard Cal's footsteps rushing down the stairs. As he opened the door he said loudly, "Bobby Drake, you're early. Dinner's not ready yet."

Tonks glanced over at Hermione, "Do you want to stay for dinner?"

Draco and Cal walked into the living room then. Remus noticed that, while Draco was looking Hermione up and down rather lasciviously, Cal's eyes avoided her.

Hermione said coolly, "Good afternoon, Nero." She paused and looked at Draco, obviously waiting for an introduction.

Before anyone could say anything, Draco opened his mouth. "If it isn't my favourite Mudblood, all grown up."

Cal and Tonks both shouted, "Draco!"

Hermione stared at him for a moment, and then obviously made the link. "Draco Malfoy?" Without waiting for an answer she stepped up and slapped him. "Obviously you haven't changed a bit."

Tonks said, "I'm sure that my dolt of a cousin is just about to apologize." She stared at Draco fiercely.

Hermione did not give him the opportunity. "I was just leaving anyway. Remus, if you could give me the potion sample."

Remus quickly gave it to her. As she swept out of the door, she said regally, "I will be in touch."

As the door closed, Tonks turned to Draco and said, "Draco, what were you thinking? I thought you'd grown out of all of that rubbish."

Draco rubbed the red spot on his cheek. "Hey, no need to be all huffy. I was just making a joke. Sorry no one appreciated it."

Remus said quietly, "It wasn't funny.'

"Jeez," said Draco. "I'm Muddier than any Mudblood these days. I mean, look at me." He pointed to his Muggle clothes. "She didn't recognize me, I was just giving her a clue from our schooldays. I thought she'd be able to take a joke."

Nobody seemed to be impressed by this explanation, and so dinner passed in an uncomfortable silence. Remus noticed that Draco's steak ended up rather charred and when he looked over at Cal, Cal winked slyly.