The Eighth Year Universe

Love Wins

I Almost Feel Like Giving Up


The chapter title comes from the song:

Redemption by Hurts.


The Hermione Granger School for Young Witches and Wizards

Monday the 6th of September

Theo looked tired when Susan stepped into his office. The school was very quiet because, like Harry had decided to do with Hogwarts, Theo had also delayed the start of the term. Susan had agreed with him at the time – it was for the best, the world being as unstable as it was.

Susan was about to tell him that she had bad news, but Theo spoke before she got a chance.

"Aurora Sinistra just handed in her notice," Theo said. He waved a piece of parchment absentmindedly, "Which I'm glad about because I would have had to fire her if she hadn't."

Susan handed him a cup of coffee and sat down opposite her old friend.

"You know then?"

Theo looked up sharply, "You know?"

Susan raised an eyebrow, "Is my best friend Clara Cauldwell, Oscar Cauldwell's step-mother?"

Theo smiled slightly, "Of course."

"How do you know?" Susan asked calmly.

"Sadie told me," Theo replied.

"Of course she did," Susan said matter of factly, "I worked it out at Sorenson's funeral when Aurora had the brass neck to show up there and talk to Oscar. He wants nothing to do with her, mind you. As far as he's concerned, Clara is his mother."

"Well, she's done a hell of a lot more for him than Aurora ever did," Theo said.

He ran a hand through his hair and sighed.

"I gave her an ultimatum," Susan admitted, "I told her to hand her notice in by Tuesday, or we would fire her. At least this way, she can teach in other countries."

"She won't go back to Hogwarts, then?" Theo asked.

Susan shook her head, "Lilly promised she wouldn't tell Harry, but I threatened Aurora with the fact she would. I think she would be too scared to ask for her job back."

"Hm," Theo mused, "It's a historical transgression, but still, she works with children, so…."

"Our hands were tied," Susan agreed.

Theo nodded and shoved something towards Susan, "If you have an hour, do you fancy giving me a hand with this? I'm barely sleeping right now with…everything."

Susan glanced from the file to Theo.

"Theo, this isn't a complex task," Susan said, a frown forming on her brow, "It's just prep work for a meeting with Harry."

"About restructuring," Theo pointed out.

"Yes, Harry is talking about restructuring Hogwarts because he thinks some subjects taught at first-year level are now redundant thanks to our wonderful school," Susan said. She flipped the file shut and looked up at Theo.

"You just have to sign off on it, so that's not what's bothering you."

Theo ran his hands through his greying hair once more.

"No," He admitted, "It's the prophecy."

Susan leant forward and nodded, "I thought it might be. Has something changed?"

Theo shook his head then leant back in his chair. He surveyed Susan for a moment as if he was trying to work out how much he should tell her. Then he sighed and shook his head again.

"Not exactly. We know what most of it means. We know that Draco and Hermione are certainly involved, and Sadie might be. We know when it's going to happen, and where….but it's just not enough."

Susan nodded, "You think it's the equinox, don't you?"

"Yeah," Theo admitted, "There's a line about the last embers of summer, when darkness falls and another line about the sun setting to the harvest moon."

Susan opened her mouth to say something, then shut it and frowned.

"What?" Theo asked anxiously. He recognised that look on Susan's face. It was the look she got when she had a brainwave.

"That doesn't make sense," Susan said honestly, "Because the full moon this month is on the 20th of September, that's the harvest moon. But the last embers of summer, you thought that referred to the equinox, and that falls two days later on the 22nd of September."

Theo frowned, "No, the prophecy just says 'harvest moon'. It doesn't say anything about a full moon."

"True," Susan mused, "The moon on the 22nd will still be the Harvest Moon, but it won't be full."

But Susan was still frowning as if something was beginning to dawn on her.

"Theo….the prophecy…it doesn't reference any dark rituals or anything, does it?"

"Not obviously," Theo replied, "Why?"

"Because…" Susan trailed off and thought about this for a moment. She sighed and looked over at Theo.

"Generally speaking, a full moon and an equinox falling that closely together…well, astronomical events are supernatural, they boost magic. That's why Astronomy is so important."

Theo nodded, "I know I spent more time in Astronomy sleeping than I did listening, but I do know that astronomical events and magic are linked. What does that have to do with the prophecy, though?"

"I don't know," Susan admitted, "But I have a horrible gut feeling that something awful is going to happen this autumn equinox."

Theo looked tired and resigned. He nodded and looked down at his desk hopelessly.

"Yeah, you and me both, Suse."


The Burrow

Beth Mulciber was unmistakable as Molly's sister. Although Beth was taller and slimmer, they shared the same shade of red hair, face shape, and eyes.

She looked up at the house in front of her and said, "So this is where you live?"

Molly tried not to be offended by that. Instead, she smiled and said, "It's not much, but it is home, yes."

"I think it's wonderful," Beth admitted.

Molly's eyes widened, "You…you do?"

"I know I only have two children," Beth said. Her eyes darkened, and she looked down, "Had….sorry, uh had two children. I can't - "

Molly shook her head and grabbed her sister's hand, "I have seven children. It doesn't matter that two aren't here anymore."

Beth looked down tearfully and nodded, "But we never had anything like this. They grew up in a flat in the Closes. It was modest. This place…it's huge."

Molly frowned and led her sister into the garden, "It's nothing compared to where we grew up."

Beth shrugged and looked over at her sister, "Where we grew up was cold and draughty. Do you remember those blankets you knitted?"

Molly smiled and nodded, "You took yours to Hogwarts with you."

"I still have it," Beth admitted with a smile, "I knitted similar ones for Kyler and Kenna when they were little. They weren't as good as yours though. I was never as good at knitting."

"I have a lot of experience," Molly said with a smile, "I knit a sweater every Christmas for all of the children. I must say, with all the grandchildren, it's getting difficult."

Beth smiled slightly and said, "Maybe I could help you this year?"

Molly's smile widened, "Maybe you could. But I do owe you an apology first - "

Beth held up a hand, "Molly, you apologised enough in your letter. I married a man whose political views were radical, to say the least. I should have expected some comeuppance, but…for all of his sins, I loved him."

"I shouldn't have shunned you for that," Molly said quietly, "The most valuable lesson my children have taught me is that you cannot control who you fall in love with."

Beth shrugged and followed Molly to the backdoor. She smiled when she saw the chickens in the yard, "You have a chicken coup?"

Molly opened the door and nodded, "Gideon and Fabian used to love ours – fresh eggs every morning - "

" - Luxury!" Beth finished as she recalled the same thing their elder brothers had said.

Molly laughed and motioned inside, "Come on in, Beth. We can talk over a nice pot of tea."

Beth smiled and stepped into the kitchen, "That sounds great."


Blacknot Castle

"What are you doing?"

Hermione looked up at Sadie and smiled half-heartedly, "What I do best, I'm researching."

Sadie smiled and sat down opposite Hermione in the library.

"What was it Harry and Ron said about you?" Sadie asked with an amused smile, "When in doubt, Hermione could be found at the library?"

"It was something like that," Hermione admitted.

Sadie glanced at the book in front of her and raised an eyebrow, "You're reading the Bible?"

"I'm finding out more about Lazarus," Hermione replied, "I had hoped it would give us some clues as to who he is, but now I'm starting to think that he only picked it because he thought it was a cool name."

Sadie shrugged and looked at the words on the page, "What have you found out about the original Lazarus then?"

Hermione glanced down at the book and said, "Lazarus of Bethany had two sisters called Martha and Mary. In the Gospel According to John, the account notes that Jesus loved Lazarus and his sisters, so when Lazarus died of illness, Jesus wept and was greatly disturbed."

"Were they lovers?" Sadie asked in surprise.

"According to the bible, no," Hermione replied, "Because it calls homosexuality a sin, so even if they were, it wouldn't be stated here. Reading between the lines, though…I think there was definitely something more profound than friendship between them."

Sadie raised an eyebrow, "Are you comparing Draco and Theo to Jesus and Lazarus?"

Hermione shot her an amused look, "No, but just listen to the rest of the story. Jesus went to the town of Bethany and entered Lazarus's tomb. He raised him from the dead, and Lazarus emerged from the tomb wearing his burial clothes. It was a miracle, witnessed by many jews who were grieving Lazarus and his family, and it made them believe that Jesus was the saviour that they had heard tales of."

Sadie frowned, "Okay…."

"This is the key part for me, though," Hermione admitted, "After his resurrection and the later resurrection of Christ, Lazarus was forced to flee Judea because of rumoured plots on his life."

"So he was hunted," Sadie mused.

"Like he was living on borrowed time," Hermione finished.

"Well," Sadie frowned, "The only person I know who feels like that is Theo, and he's not Lazarus."

"No, I know that," Hermione said in exasperation, "But it does put Theo in a unique position to analyse Lazarus's actions and try to profile him."

Sadie's eyes widened in realisation, and she nodded, "I'll ask him tonight," she said, reaching out to squeeze Hermione's hand, "Don't spend too long researching and remember to eat something, though."

Hermione smiled fondly at Sadie, "I will," she promised.


London

Tuesday the 7th of September

Harry and Hermione were walking through London with cardboard cups of coffee in their hands. They had stuck to Muggle London so they could talk a little more freely. Hermione had insisted that they talk before Harry attended the meeting about what they were going to do next regarding the Statute Saboteurs and Lazarus.

"You know something," Harry mused.

"I don't know anything. I just have some facts that might mean more to you than they do to me," Hermione corrected him.

Harry shot her an amused look, "So you think you know something."

Hermione rolled her eyes, "I've been reading the bible."

"I hope you're not looking for salvation because I think we're all way past that," Harry joked.

Hermione sipped her coffee, then shook her head, "God, no. I was reading about Lazarus of Bethany. I had hoped it would give me a better idea of who our Lazarus is, but it didn't."

"So why do you think it will help me?" Harry asked her in disbelief, "I can barely read the bible at the best of times."

"You don't need to read the bible. You just need to listen to Lazarus's story and see if it resonates with you," Hermione said with a wave of her hand, "He was a close friend of Jesus's. It was actually said that Jesus loved him, and some thought he was Jesus's beloved disciple or lover of some kind."

Harry sipped his coffee, "Right…."

"Lazarus died of illness, and after four days of being entombed, Jesus resurrected him," Hermione explained, "He emerged from his tomb in his funeral clothes after Jesus cried and called for him to come out. Some scholars say that's an LGBT thing, that it's symbolic of 'coming out of the closet', you know?"

"Uh-huh," Harry mused, "And the way you're describing it, Lazarus sounds like Theo."

Hermione gave him a long look, "That's what Sadie said, but she was joking."

"Well, I'm not," Harry admitted, "It's all a bit reminiscent of Theo's 'death', isn't it? He didn't really come out of the closet until after he nearly died. You know, when he and Draco made out in the rain?"

Hermione shot him an irritated look, but Harry waved his hand nonchalantly and continued, "I do realise that makes Draco Jesus in this analogy which is a bit of a stretch, but still…the similarities are worth noting."

Hermione sighed, "Theo isn't Lazarus, so let's just chalk the similarities up to coincidence. But on that subject, I did ask Theo to profile Lazarus from what we knew about him and what he came up with was interesting, to say the least."

Harry looked over at her and asked, "How so?"

"He said Lazarus is arrogant but well-educated," Hermione replied with a shrug, "He knows of the bible, obviously, and Theo suspects he knows the story of Lazarus of Bethany. That implies he's well-read, to know biblical stories when he's obviously a wizard."

Harry nodded as he followed her train of thought.

"But to name himself after a beloved disciple of Jesus," Hermione pointed out, "That makes him arrogant."

Harry's mind was reeling as he tried to process all of that and reconcile it with what they already knew of Lazarus. An idea was beginning to form in his mind, but it wasn't fully fleshed out yet.

"Does that mean anything to you?" Hermione asked hopefully.

"Maybe," Harry replied with a slight nod.

They came to a stop in front of the ministry, and Harry turned around to give Hermine a forced smile, "Thanks for the coffee, Mione."

"Yeah, anytime, Harry," Hermione returned, watching Harry go with a frown forming on her face.


The Head Aurors Office

The members of attendance at this meeting quite clearly showed how important it was. Not only was Draco there in his role as Minister for Magic, but Tiberius McLaggen was also present as the current Head of the DMLE. He had taken on the role as a favour for Draco because he understood why the Minister wanted an experienced hand in that role with the current political situation as it was.

Harry was here too, as a special advisor of the Minister, who was held in high accolades by everyone anyway because of who he was as a person, and as the newly appointed Headmaster of Hogwarts.

Ben, the Head Auror, and his assistant Head, Owen, completed the roll call.

"Owen Cauldwell," Harry said from where he leant against the door, "What the hell are you doing in here? Isn't your wife due to pop any day now?"

Owen smiled slightly, "She was due a week ago, but the baby hasn't made its appearance yet. I'm needed here. She can send a Patronus if she needs me."

Owen had married Sarah Smith – Sally Smith's younger, much more sensible sister. The two sisters taught at the Hermione Granger School, and Harry had to admit, he liked Sarah. She was probably the first Smith he had met who he didn't immediately want to punch in the face.

Harry nodded from where he was leaning against the door. Owen was hovering nearby Ben, who was sitting behind his desk. Draco and Tiberius sat on the opposite side of said desk.

Ben ran a hand through his hair and looked at Draco, "Your hunch was right, Minister, or rather Sadie Nott's was."

Draco's eyes darkened, "Septimus Cauldwell is behind this?"

Ben bowed his head and opened a report, "This is the report on the remnants of the device you brought in, the one found in Diagon Alley."

Draco took the report from Ben and scanned it with a nod, "The conclusion was that it was the same one?"

"Unmodified," Ben agreed quietly, "The device is a modified decoy detonator and from the damage caused, it is the same device that was used to destroy the central tower in the Battle of Hogwarts, causing ten fatalities."

"Orchestrated by Septimus Cauldwell under duress," Owen finished.

"He was believed to be dead," Ben continued, "After his release in 2008, he appeared to commit suicide, so we now have to ask ourselves if he did this himself or if someone found his research and recreated this device."

Draco shook his head, "He did it. He's not dead. His ashes have been living in the hall of my castle for years, so I took the liberty of doing some diagnostic spells on them. The ashes in that urn are not the ashes from a whole body. He cut something off, but he burned it with wood and other fibres, ensuring a quick spell would identify his DNA and thereby pronounce him dead.'"

"Damnit!" Harry snapped, "What happened to him not being a bad guy? What happened to 'I did it under duress, I'm not a Death Eater', huh?"

"Azkaban changes people," Draco said. His tone was even, but his eyes were cold. It wasn't directed at Harry though. He was thinking of his father.

Harry sighed and stepped further into the room, "So he's Lazarus, then? Septimus Cauldwell?"

"No," Ben replied, "He's involved, undoubtedly, but he can't be Lazarus."

At first, Harry and Draco were both confused about that. Then Tiberius McLaggen stepped in.

"Septimus Cauldwell was released from Azkaban in 2008," Tiberius pointed out, "Katerina, Issak and Jelena were all taken between 2005 and 2007. He couldn't have taken them."

"Which means he isn't Lazarus, but he is working for him," Harry mused.

He looked over at Draco, "How would you describe Septimus, Draco?"

"Weak-willed," Draco said with a shrug, "A Ravenclaw so a logical thinker, overly practical at times but a coward, ultimately."

Harry nodded slightly as if those words had his mind reeling.

Tiberius looked at Harry and said, "We looked into the files your mother-in-law gave us, Harry. Lareina Greengrass's insight was invaluable."

Harry looked over hopefully, "Was it?"

Tiberius bowed his head, "Yes. We now know that between 2005 and 2021, 80 children who had been orphaned or wanted to escape a bad situation were kidnapped or manipulated into coming with Lazarus. He told them that they would have a better life, but in reality, only 30 of those 80 children survived."

Harry shook his head angrily.

"From our intelligence, I would guess that nine or ten of them broke away to form the Statute Saboteur group," Tiberius continued, "Lareina Greengrass estimates that twelve are safe at her magic suppression camp, leaving at least eight unaccounted for. They could be children, freshly taken and being primed for whatever Lazarus does to them at his secret base, or they could be adults, soldiers willing to defend that base for Lazarus."

"All we know of the base itself is that it's in Russia," Ben added, "Lareina Greengrass couldn't give us a more accurate location because Lazarus uses shifting wards to ensure that the location can never be pinpointed. It's always moving through time or phase to keep it hidden."

"So the only way to get to Lazarus is to draw him out," Harry said. He didn't notice how Draco tensed when he said those words.

"Potentially," Tiberius agreed.

Owen added, "The other option is that we draw Septimus out and use him to find out who Lazarus is."

"If he even knows," Ben added.

"He'll know," Harry said. He looked over and caught Draco's eye, "If Septimus is weak-willed, he would have trusted someone from his former life, someone he knew was powerful enough to protect him."

Draco's eyes widened slightly, "You mean….a Death Eater?"

Harry nodded, and Ben frowned, "But…I thought all of the Death Eaters were accounted for? Didn't you two, Neville and Theo spend your early career tracking them all down and putting them in the ground or Azkaban?"

"We tried," Harry agreed, "But some slipped through our fingers."

"And as we have just witnessed with the return of Septimus Cauldwell, not everyone we think is dead actually is," Draco pointed out.

"Well, that's a terrifying thought," Owen muttered darkly.

Nobody could disagree with it, though.

"So who planted those devices in Diagon Alley then?" Draco asked, looking between the occupants of the room, "The Saboteurs?"

Tiberius shook his head, "No, this has nothing to do with the Statute Saboteurs. They have, of course, gotten the blame for it regardless. We tracked down the Muggles who planted the devices and did deep memory checks on them. They were enchanted by touching postboxes in the nearby area. They were encouraged to look inside, take the item they found there and activate it at an entrance to the alley."

"Which," Ben cut in, "We now know is Lazarus's trick, not the Saboteurs. It's the same thing he used to control the Saboteurs and get them to do his bidding, the same thing he uses to manipulate the kids he experiments on."

Harry cursed under his breath, and Draco shook his head irritably.

"What I don't understand is why," Tiberius confessed, "I do not understand Lazarus's motivations. He attacked the entirety of wizarding Britain, and he has infiltrated several ministries across Europe. It all seems to be linked to opening up the wizarding world to the Muggle world, but I cannot shake the feeling that this is a red herring."

"I think you're right," Draco admitted, "But I don't know what his true motivation is either. All I do know is that attack? It scrambled us, caused an emergency change in our leadership, and has left the ministry in shambles and the hospital understaffed, overcapacity and in a state of disarray. If he wanted to take the British ministry and put a puppet minister in place as he has across so many European countries, then now is the time that Lazarus would do it."

Harry nodded, his eyes scanning the other people in the room, "Constant vigilance, then?"

"It appears so," Tiberius agreed.

Draco could only nod, but he was thinking about the prophecy, and he knew that Harry was too. That was why, when the meeting was adjourned, Harry slipped a piece of parchment into Draco's pocket, asking him to come by Potter Manor later that night.

He had no obligations to do so, but Draco knew the moment he read the note then burned it, for good measure, that he would go, regardless.


Westley Waterless, Cambridge

Arthur felt uncomfortable when he stepped into the manor where he had grown up. The odd thing was that it hadn't changed much at all – the portraits still watched you walk through the entrance hall without saying a word, and they no doubt still gossiped once you were gone as they always had done.

The décor was the same – a lot of red, some gold and more brass. The manor even smelled the same way it had when Arthur was a child. It brought a lot of memories back – he hadn't been here for several decades.

"Arthur, you came."

Arthur looked up the staircase at Charlus. His elder brother couldn't look more different to him – they had the same hair and eye colour, but that was where the similarities ended. Charlus had a moustache and was dressed in a three-piece suit with a matching cloak. Whereas Arthur had more money these days but still preferred tweed trousers and a shirt with a cardigan thrown over it.

"Yes," Arthur replied, "I wasn't sure if I would."

"No, neither was I," Charlus admitted, "I was surprised to get your letter. Even after our encounter in the graveyard."

Arthur frowned down at the ground for a moment, "Molly and I realised, after Diagon Alley, that the world has changed, and we haven't done a very good job of changing with it, as such."

Charlus bowed his head, "It's hard to keep up, sometimes. Do you still drink tea? Or would a whiskey be preferable?"

Arthur shook his head, "Tea would be fine."

Charlus nodded and motioned downstairs. Arthur was surprised when his brother led him into the kitchen, which had always been the house-elves domain when he lived here.

"You use the kitchen now?" Arthur asked.

Charlus busied himself with the tea, which also surprised Arthur.

"Yes," Charlus said with a sad smile, "Mafalda, my youngest, she was a force to be reckoned with – Slytherin, but as headstrong as a Gryffindor. She insisted that the house-elves have more rights, holidays and such. I would do anything to please that little girl, so we became less dependant on them."

Arthur smiled slightly, "I have one like that – one of my adopted ones, mind."

Charlus raised an eyebrow, "I didn't know you and Molly adopted?"

"We didn't, officially," Arthur replied, "But our youngest son, Ron, he befriended a couple of strays in his first year at Hogwarts. Harry, he didn't have any family, so we took him in every summer and Hermione, she's a Muggle-born, so she spent a lot of her summers with us too."

"Of course," Charlus nodded, "Your son, Ron, he's a hero."

Arthur nodded.

"And he has lost his wife," Charlus added.

Arthur sighed, "Yes. But still, it doesn't compare to what you lost in the Diagon Alley attack. How are your family coping?"

Charlus shook his head and looked away, "Luisa is putting on a brave face, but she finds it as hard as I do, as we all do. We keep referring to Mafalda in the present tense. We forget she's not here anymore, and then it comes crashing down on us again."

He set a tray of tea on the table and sat down opposite Arthur, "And Sam…he's beside himself, to be honest. He never liked Alaric, said a Yaxley was bad news, but he was a nice enough kid, obviously adored the hell out of Orla."

Charlus poured out the tea and sighed, "Then Orla got pregnant at 19. Luisa said we had to hide it, being a big scandal and all. But they got married, had Zoe, and they were fine. It wasn't just for show, you know?"

Arthur nodded.

"Then a couple of years later, they had Mia," Charlus said. His voice was hushed, "And they were a great little family; they were happy. We've all lost a lot, but Sam's hurting more than anyone else, I think."

"I know how he feels," Arthur admitted, "When we lost Fred in the Battle…I didn't think I could know pain like it again. Then Percy died of completely natural causes and so suddenly. It blew the wind out of all of our sails."

Charlus nodded and cleared his throat, "I still say that I have two grandchildren, but I don't anymore. All I have is Ezra."

Arthur didn't say anything.

"Tell me about your grandchildren," Charlus said.

Arthur shook his head and frowned, "No, I don't…I don't think that would help."

Charlus reached across and clapped Arthur on the hand, "Arthur, after all I've lost, hearing about all my little brother has is exactly what would help me right now."

Arthur looked up at him in surprise.

"You broke away and made a good life for yourself," Charlus continued, "You're happy so please, tell me about your family."

Arthur cleared his throat and nodded, "Well, there's Bill. He had Victoire with his first wife, Fleur, but they split up. She's in her 20's now, and she's having her first baby soon. He's got a son, Arthur, he's 15. Bill had him with his second wife, Lara, who he's also divorced. He's back together with his ex-wife. Bloody idiot thinks Molly and I haven't noticed though."

Charlus chuckled, "Children always take their parents for fools."

Arthur smiled and nodded his agreement, "Charlie, well, I never thought Charlie would ever settle down. He eventually married Astoria, though, then they split up and got back together. They've got a son, William. He's 14 now."

"That sounds like Humphrey," Charlus said with a shake of his head, "His head was always in the clouds. The boy is a complete dreamer. He met someone when he was travelling in South America though. They've been together a few years, talking about marriage this year."

"No kids?" Arthur asked.

"Not yet," Charlus said with a smile, "He and Carlos keep saying they're going to adopt soon though."

Arthur didn't blink an eye at that, and he supposed Charlus had been waiting for him to do just that. He just smiled and said, "Well, that's good."

"What about Percy?" Charlus asked, "Did he have any children?"

"Yes," Arthur replied, "Addison is 20, and Alyssa is 15. George has a daughter too, Roxanne, she just left school. I reckon she'll be playing for the Harpies before long."

Charlus chuckled, and Arthur continued, "Ron has four children – Freddie's 22. Ron had him when he was young, named him after his older brother. He and Freddie's mum, they didn't stay together. But then he married Felicity and they had the twins; Gideon and Fabian are 16, and little Genevieve is 14. We've got to call her Evie though, she hates her name."

"He named them for Molly's brothers?" Charlus guessed.

Arthur nodded and looked down into his cup of tea, "Then there's Ginny, my youngest. Her oldest, Hope, she's 22. Ginny had her when she finished her last year of school. She married Hope's dad, Blaise. It was a shotgun thing, mind you. But they made it work, and their son, Cole, he's 15."

"13 grandkids," Charlus said with a warm smile, "How do you manage at Christmas?"

Arthur laughed, "Hermione, one of our unofficial kids, expanded the kitchen for us and put an artificial weather system in place on the house. We can make it warm outside at Christmas when we can't fit everyone in."

Charlus chuckled, "Hermione Black, right? The former Minister for Magic?"

Arthur nodded, "That's the one. We do Sunday lunch every week, and when Hermione comes with her six kids, and Harry brings his four along, it's busy."

"I can imagine," Charlus said with a smile, "But it sounds wonderful. Ezra, my grandson, he's a brilliant Auror. Shows no signs of settling down anytime soon though, and Humph, well, maybe he'll get on and adopt soon. Mafalda always wanted kids, but she never met the right person, I suppose."

Arthur was silent for a moment, then he looked at Charlus, "Would you like to come over for Sunday lunch sometime? It's loud, and Molly spends more time yelling at the boys for cursing than anything else. But you would be welcome there, all of you would be."

Charlus's smile was a little less sad then.

"I would love that, Arthur."


Potter Manor

9 pm – Tuesday the 7th of September

"You've got a house full."

Harry nodded and leant against the bar in his underground basement, "We've got the Longbottoms for the moment, yeah. Daphne is in France with Thea. She's…well, they're both struggling at the moment, to be honest."

Draco bowed his head, "Thea's gone through a lot, and I don't just mean Diagon Alley. I know everything with Thea and Zach Smith was hard on you both, but I think Daphne really blamed herself."

"Yeah," Harry sighed, "She did, which was why I encouraged her to go. I think somehow, those three might be able to mend what's been broken, but they needed the headspace to do it."

Draco cocked his head at Harry and asked, "How's Lilly?"

"Oh, she's sleeping off her regrets, but she's okay," Harry said. He shot Draco a slightly amused smile, "She drank whiskey at Sorenson's funeral yesterday while taking pain potions."

Draco grimaced, "I did that once. I don't think I've ever thrown up that much in 24 hours, to be honest…."

"Yeah," Harry said with a shake of her head, "Lilly thought she'd be fine. 'I've got the constitution of an ox!' she says as she throws up for the tenth time in two hours."

Draco made a face, "That's disgusting."

"Yeah, and guess who was on night duty in the hospital with her?" Harry asked with a roll of his eyes.

Draco snorted in amusement, "I'm sure you were an excellent nurse."

"I've got the bedside manner of a satanic nun," Harry said as he cracked open two bottles of his 'fake' beer. He called it that because it didn't actually contain any alcohol but tasted like it did. Harry said it was just a placebo effect, but it calmed him down when things were tense.

Draco accepted the bottle and sat down on a barstool.

"Your note was cryptic."

"I wanted to talk without Tiberius breathing down our necks," Harry admitted.

"About?" Draco questioned.

"The prophecy," Harry replied, "Because I think we both know it's tied into all of this – the saboteurs, Lazarus and what happened in Diagon Alley."

Draco nodded a ran a hand through his hair, "I have a theory, but it's just that, and it's…vague."

"All of my theories start vague, but they're usually right," Harry said with a pointed look, "So lay it on me, however crazy it seems."

Draco sighed and looked along the bar at Harry, "I don't know who Lazarus is, but if you're right and he's a Death Eater, then this isn't about exposing us to the Muggles. Anyone who was a Death Eater wouldn't want that."

"I know," Harry agreed, "Which is why I'm doubting what I said earlier."

Draco shook his head, "No, don't, because I think you were right. It makes sense for Septimus to turn to someone he knows, someone he knows is powerful enough to protect him. I don't know how you worked that out, but you're right."

"Honestly, he reminds me of Peter Pettigrew," Harry admitted, "And what was exactly what he did."

Draco nodded and looked down at the bar. The wood was marked with initials of Harry's teenage or adult children and from general use. He ran his fingers along one of the scratches, then sighed.

"We assumed this was about exposing us to the Muggles because that's what the Saboteurs want," Draco admitted. He looked up at Harry, "But what the Saboteurs want and what Lazarus wants doesn't necessarily align. We already know that the Saboteurs want to expose us because they think it's the only way that Lazarus will get his comeuppance, so by that logic, that's not what Lazarus wants."

Harry frowned, but he was following what Draco was saying.

"I don't think Lazarus wants that at all," Draco admitted, "But there are so many links into the muggle world with this whole thing, especially with Septimus Cauldwell being involved and that…."

He shook his head, but Harry leant forward, "Draco, your instincts are good. They've saved my life on more than one occasion so trust them. What does your gut tell you?"

Draco looked up at Harry, "That Muggles are involved in whatever Lazarus is planning. The attack was designed to decimate us, presumably so that Lazarus can take over the British Ministry. I'm beginning to wonder if that's with an army of genetically modified Muggles."

Harry's eyes widened, "You think that's what this is about? Experimenting on kids while their magic is still unstable and using that to give Muggles magic? I mean…is that even possible?"

"Theoretically, of course, it is," Draco answered, his eyes boring into Harry's, "But nobody has ever tried it because it's ethically wrong on so many levels."

"Fuck," Harry breathed as the implications of those words truly hit him.

Draco wasn't even done yet, "And I don't know how, but this is linked to the prophecy, Harry. This has been done to scramble us, so the prophecy relates to the real attack."

Harry nodded slowly, "Well, at least we know the date."

"And the location," Draco said. His eyes met Harry's, and they said it in unison.

"The Department of Mysteries."

Draco nodded, "Silver eyes crying through the wind, that means I'll be there, and if I'm right about Hermione being the golden one, then she will be too. Sadie thinks she might be the raven girl because her family is rumoured to be descended from Ravenclaw."

Harry frowned as he listened to Draco speak.

"It's irrevocably linked to your family," Harry pointed out.

"I know, but my father really is dead. He died in prison, and they cremated his remains. You know how secure that prison he ended up in is," Draco said with a shrug, "There's no way he managed to fake that."

"No, I know," Harry promised, "And Sadie's father is involved somehow, but there's no way for it to be linked to Hermione because…."

He trailed off, his eyes widening in horror.

"What?" Draco asked sharply.

Harry looked over at Draco and met the other man's panicked gaze, "They're both Nott's, Hermione and Theo. Alfred Nott was her Uncle, and he was Theo's father."

"No," Draco said firmly, "No, Theo saw him die. Bill Weasley killed him in the Battle of Hogwarts. He's dead, Harry."

Harry ran a hand through his hair, "It wouldn't hurt to double-check though, would it? He'd be in the family mausoleum on the grounds of the HG School, and there are no students there right now…."

Draco fixed Harry with a long look, "If we do this, you can't tell Theo. Unless we have solid gold proof that his father is involved in this, we tell him nothing."

Harry nodded, "Deal. I'll get Ben on the exhumation order first thing tomorrow."

Draco sighed and looked down at the bar once more, "And I'll hope to Merlin that Alfred Nott has nothing to do with this because it took years of therapy for Theo to overcome everything that man did to him, and I don't think he's strong enough to go through it again."

Harry reached over and squeezed Draco's arm.

"As you said, it's unlikely to be him anyway," Harry said gently, "But we have to assume that this person has some personal grudge against you. We could be barking up the wrong tree entirely. The prophecy might just mean that you're all going to be in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"Maybe," Draco said, hoping he didn't sound too hopeful.


St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies

Wednesday the 8th of September

When Michael stepped into Lilly's hospital room in civilian clothing, not his usual Healer's robes, she raised an eyebrow.

"To what do I owe the pleasure?"

Michael gave her a forced smile, "I discharged you about half an hour ago, right before I got fired. So now I'm going to take you home. Merlin knows I owe Neville a favour or two."

Lilly frowned, "You got fired?"

Michael nodded, "You haven't spoken to your Mum then?"

Lilly shook her head, "Not for any length of time. I've had the odd 'hope you're okay' from her. Why did you get fired?"

"I punched Hubert Davies in the face," Michael admitted.

Under normal circumstances, Lilly would have laughed. Instead, both of her eyebrows shot up, "You…you punched…."

"Hubert Davies in the face, yeah," Michael finished. He ran a hand through his hair, "It was when the Diagon Alley attack happened. He was refusing to do anything about it. He said we were safer with the hospital in lockdown, and Clara and I disagreed."

Lilly nodded slowly.

Michael shrugged, "We got into an argument about it, and I told him I was worried because my wife and daughter were out there. Davies turned around and said in no uncertain terms that he didn't give a damn about my wife because she was a Muggle, so I punched him in the face."

Lilly did smile at that, "I think my mothers been a bad influence on you. The Michael Corner I know wouldn't punch his superior in the face."

"Well, the Michael Corner you knew didn't have this much to lose," Michael returned.

"True," Lilly mused. She reached over and grabbed his hand, "But you did the right thing, and if those idiots don't beg you to take your job back, you know there is always room for a Chief of Surgery at the maternity hospital."

Michael smiled, then dropped her hand, "Thanks, Lilly."

Lilly nodded and pushed herself to her feet. She still had to grip the bed for support because putting too much weight on her feet was hard. Michael had said it would be tender for a while.

"Are you good to go?" Michael asked, holding out crutches to her.

Lilly took a breath and nodded, then she put her weight on the crutches and glanced at Ron, who was either asleep or feigning sleep.

"Yeah. I am so ready to go home."


The Auror Office

Wednesday the 8th of September

"You want to exhume Alfred Nott?"

Harry crossed his arms over his chest and nodded.

"Why?" Ben and Owen chorused.

"Because I'm pretty sure we're going to open his tomb and realise it's empty," Harry replied, "Which would be fitting if he's calling himself Lazarus."

Owen frowned, but Ben cottoned on a little faster.

"You think Alfred Nott is alive," Ben said, eyeing Harry cautiously.

Harry met the younger man's gaze and nodded, "For Theo's sake, I hope I'm wrong. But yes, I think Alfred Nott is alive."

"Why him?" Ben asked calmly, "You said you thought it was a Death Eater, but there are plenty of them who could have faked their deaths, so why Alfred Nott?"

"Because I think whoever Lazarus is did die," Harry said honestly, "I was talking to Hermione about the whole thing because she did what she always does when faced with a crisis, and she hit the books."

Ben nodded and motioned for Harry to continue.

"She was telling me about the original Lazarus of Bethany," Harry explained, "And how he died then was resurrected by Jesus. Now that just had her thinking of resurrections in a biblical sense because she's a Muggle-born, but it made me think about something entirely different."

Harry sat down on the edge of Ben's desk and sighed, "When I was 14, I saw Voldemort get resurrected by his right-hand man, Peter Pettigrew. Coincidentally, the reason my parents were dead."

Ben bowed his head, "I know about what happened in the graveyard. It's in the files."

"Not all of it," Harry said carefully, "And I won't disclose it all either, not to anyone. But the point is that I know how Voldemort did it, and I know it could be done again but only by someone who was in Voldemort's inner circle."

Ben's eyes widened slightly in realisation, "Alfred Nott was an original Death Eater."

"He was a schoolfellow of Voldemort's first, then he became one of the original Death Eaters," Harry agreed with a nod, "And realistically, those people are the only ones who would have known Voldemort's secret. Of that group, Alexander Avery and Cyrus Lestrange both died in the first war and passed the mantle down to their sons. Geoffrey Mulciber died of natural causes in 1994 before Voldemort was resurrected, and Albert Rosier died of natural causes in 1997. That only leaves two people, and I know for a fact that Antonin Dolohov is still rotting in Azkaban, so it has to be Alfred Nott."

"Alright," Ben conceded, "I trust your hunches. We'll exhume Alfred Nott."

Harry nodded and caught Ben's eye, "Just do it quietly. The last thing we need is Lazarus knowing that we're onto him."

"Agreed," Ben concurred, and suddenly the air in the room felt a lot tenser than it had before.

- TBC -