A/N: This interlude takes place the day before the gang in Cambridge is preparing to leave.

Interlude: Long Time Gone

London

November 10, 2006

Robards and Fox sat in a van outside Elijah Parkinson's flat, watching the portable computer monitor. The picture grew progressively clearer as their magical bug slowly worked its way into his domicile.

The boy who had dropped off the blackmail package at Daphne Greengrass's house had been happy to provide a description of the man who approached him; or more precisely, the boy's mother had been happy to browbeat her son into compliance. From this description, they had honed in on Parkinson as the likely culprit, and had followed him around with their magical bug for two days. They had finally overheard an ominous conversation suggesting a meeting that would take place at his London residence.

"Who's that?" Fox leaned towards the monitor, pointing at one of the men who entered. The image was still fuzzy, the bug continuing to magically work its way through the room.

"It looks like Anton Greengrass," Robards murmured, tilting his head to the side to get a better view.

Another man entered, and both of their eyes went wide in recognition. "Malcolm Flint?" Fox commented. He furrowed his brows, watching the three men shake hands and toast cheers with tumblers of whiskey.

The image cleared up, and sound began to stream through:

"Are we all set for tomorrow?" Greengrass asked.

"We should be all set – we have the votes in hand." Parkinson smiled, taking a long sip of his drink.

"The Dark Lord will be pleased." Flint grinned, appearing genuinely happy with the prospect. "When the magical world is once more separate from the Muggle, we'll be ready for him. "

Robards turned to Fox, his eyes calculating. "So they did all of this to bring back Voldemort?" Robards mumbled aloud in question.

Fox shrugged. "So far, they haven't admitted to anything really."

"I'm not thrilled your daughter is speaking tomorrow," Parkinson bemoaned to Greengrass.

Greengrass looked unbothered. "I gave her the chance to be on the right side of this. I assumed with Potter dead, she'd come around. I've always taught her to be practical. But apparently she has too much of her mother in her... regardless, I don't think we have anything to worry about."

"Well, we appreciate the sacrifices you made, Anton." Flint nodded to the man.

Greengrass chuckled, shaking his head. "She'll survive, she's a Greengrass. And I bet at the end of the day, she'll be stronger for it. Sure, she'll grieve Potter but she'll move on. Harry Potter was far more trouble than he was worth by the end – too much of an idealist for this world…"

"Is that enough?" Fox asked Robards, who shushed him:

"Well, you were right about how people would react to his death. Just the smallest suggestion here... rumor there... it's amazing how fast people can be turned. All it took was a Muggle bomb, and everyone jumped to conclusions." Parkinson laughed.

"That's enough," Robards confirmed, placing a call into Central Justice and the Corps for backup.

Later that afternoon

"So, just to make sure we understand, you used your relationship with your daughter to try to overturn the lawful government of the WEA, murder a Parliamentary representative, and bring Voldemort to power? For what?" Robards asked Anton Greegrass.

Anton remained silent, refusing to speak.

Minutes passed until finally, Solicitor Amelia Bones ran in, slightly out of breath. "My apologies for my tardiness." She took a seat next to her client and pulled out a notebook.

Robards resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Obviously, she wasn't late, given that until thirty minutes ago, she had no reason to believe her client would be held for questioning.

Bones and Greengrass had a whispered conversation, and she cleared her throat. "At this time, my client will not be answering any questions."

Fox shrugged. "That's fine, honestly. Between what we got on the recording and Parkinson and Flint's accounts, we don't particularly need your side of the story."

Bones' eyes went wide, and she whispered something to Greengrass who gave a reluctant nod.

"What can you offer my client in exchange for his cooperation?" she asked.

Robards furrowed his brows. "Well, we can't promise anything, given the nature of the charges against him. But, if he can help to illuminate what happened, help to ensure that the Death Eaters aren't able to gain a foothold in the WEA, we will provide a recommendation to the Ministers to go easy on his sentence."

Bones nodded to Anton Greegrass, who looked torn but exhaled sharply and began. "The WEA's not working. The combination of Muggle and magical was never supposed to happen; it was forced upon us by the Event. The Dark Lord has offered us a solution to the birth rate problem if we prepare the Wizarding World for him."

Robards leaned forward. "So you killed Harry Potter in order to effectively change the political climate and make it viable for Voldemort to return?"

Greengrass's eyes twitched at the use of Voldemort's name. "It was two for one. Harry Potter was one of the greatest threats to separation. By eliminating him, we removed an obstacle to separation and created a rallying point to obtain support from other magicals."

Robards leaned back and nodded.

Fox frowned. "What about Daphne?"

"What about her?" Anton looked bored.

"She could have easily been caught in either explosion…" Fox pointed out.

Anton gave them the ghost of a smile. "That was easy. Right before the first bomb was set to go off, I told Daphne's sister she was forbidden to call her. I knew it was the one way to ensure she would, in fact, call her. As for the second, it was scheduled for the day Astoria would leave the WEA. I knew Daphne would be too distraught to go anywhere."

"So, you plotted Harry Potter's death and blackmailed your daughter," Fox noted, "all for a self proclaimed 'Dark Lord'?" He was still having trouble processing why the man would be so willing to risk everything.

Anton's gaze was murderous. "It was for her future. And her sister's. The status quo isn't working – it's time for a change. Like it or not, something eventually is going to give, and the WEA will topple."

Fox sat back, carefully eyeing the man. "Alright. Thank you for your cooperation. We have just a few more questions…"