The light of the approaching dawn threatened to peek through the thick, dark clouds as Harry rolled out of bed. It felt as though his heart were beating in his head rather than his chest as he tried to find his glasses, only to realize that they were still on his face. His throat was dry and his mouth parched, but he knew better than to finish the contents of the glass on his nightstand. The mere smell of it invoked images of the previous night when somber tales were shared by the teens.

"Here." The youngest Weasley held out a cup of pumpkin juice.

Harry quickly quaffed the contents. The liquid helped, some but it was far from a heal-all. Still, Harry couldn't help but feel good.

"Did you see something you shouldn't have?" Ginny asked as she too took note of his grin.

He blinked. Ginny wasn't wearing the same outfit she'd worn the previous night. The shirt she was wearing was far too large for her. As the only girl in her family she was the only one who didn't get her older siblings' clothes and the shirt she was wearing wasn't hers.

"We'd better get going," Neville whispered as he closed the canopy to his four post bed before stepping over a still slumbering Ronald Weasley lay sprawled out on the floor with two sets of robes draped over him for blankets and a cushion liberated from the common room as a pillow.

Months of training had drilled into their bodies the need to wake up early for training. By the time they had completed the first kata Harry was sure that he'd sweated out the alcohol.

'Today is definitely a better day than yesterday,' he thought to himself as he watched his sensei correct Theodore's form on a middle kick.

It was not until the rinse that he noticed how he'd felt. It wasn't as though he were truly happy, but that he'd been feeling good for no reason at all. The thought perturbed him as he meditated beneath the cascading water.

"Something bothering you?" Sensei asked as the boys dried themselves off.

"I, I don't know…" he muttered his reply. "I just feel, well, kind of satisfied but I don't know why. Well, I felt that way until the rinse, but now, now I'm just confused."

"Someone hit you with a cheering charm?" Theodore asked.

Harry shook his head.

"The Fire Whisky was clean," Neville stated. "If it hadn't Ginny and I would have been the same way."

Theodore eyed the Gryffindors. "That's how you celebrate Halloween? I guess I should have been with you blokes last night."

With a shrug Sensei set the matter aside. What would have been a long, hard run for anyone else was but a mere stroll for the six apprentices as they rushed back to the castle for a proper shower before breakfast.

A parliament of owls descended upon the students and professors before the food even appeared. Harry could feel the atmosphere in the great hall change as the first of the letters were read.

"I can't believe it!"

"How did this happen?"

"Bloody Hell!"

"That's impossible!"

"Bloody Hell!"

"Do you have a copy of the Daily Prophet?"

"It's not in the Prophet, it can't be true."

"Quibbler?"

"It's in the Quibbler!"

"Bloody Hell!"

"Language Mister Johnson!"

"It can't be true!"

"How did this happen?"

"I can't believe this!"

"Do you suppose he's really back?"

"Sirius Black did break out…"

"But he's not capable of doing this!"

"How could he be in two places at once?"

"I heard that he was spotted in Godrick's Hollow."

"Maybe they're attacking other alleged Death Eaters."

"He can't be working alone."

"I heard he was spotted in London."

"If he can Apparate then he could be anywhere."

"What if he's trying to recruit the other alleged Death Eaters?"

"Who do you think they'll go after next?"

"I heard that it wasn't really him, but someone that drank Poly-Juice Potion."

"That's rubbish!"

"Where'd you hear that?"

"I heard that someone made a big deal about how he was a suspected Death Eater and a duel broke out."

"He's not the only suspected Death Eater walking free."

"Yeah, lots of them were accused but only a handful was actually convicted."

"It's a good thing we already had a Hogsmead visit, I don't know that I'd feel safe going there with that lot on the loose."

"What if Potter's been telling the truth the whole time?"

"What if Dumbledore's right?"

"I can't believe the Ministry would try to cover this up!"

"Why isn't this in the Prophet?"

"I canceled my subscription ages ago."

"The Prophet's been printing rubbish lately – I don't even bother reading it anymore."

Harry looked up from his bacon to see that both Hermione and Ron were looking at him. "What's going on?"

"They say that there's been a mass break out," Ron whispered. "Dad said that the entire Ministry is in an uproar but Fudge won't let anyone in the Ministry talk about it."

"Obviously those who work for the Ministry can't talk to the press about it, but they've informed their families," Hermione reasoned.

Ginny nodded as she set down the letter her parents had sent her. "There will be an official statement by the Minister of Magic this afternoon."

"How bad is it?" Harry asked.

"Some are blaming Sirius Black," Neville answered. "He's managed to elude the Ministry this long, but there are conflicting reports."

"Someone matching Sirius' description was seen in Wales when around the time that Theodore Nott Sr. was attacked," Hermione added as she leaned over the table towards him. He followed her gaze to the table beyond the Ravenclaws and Theodore Nott Jr. Professor Snape and Professor Saotome had both come down from the Staff table to escort the fifth year Slytherin. Word of the attack on his father had clearly reached the rest of Slytherin and the student body as a whole.

"There's no way he could have been in two places at once."

"If he's not working alone it wouldn't be a problem."

"He probably had someone under the Imperious Curse."

It was times like these that Harry wished they were beside the Slytherin table. Hufflepuff and Ravenclaws threw out a myriad of ideas and theories, but it was the Slytherins that were probably the most in the know about what had happened. A good handful of them were the children of Death Eaters, though some were merely alleged Death Eaters. Still, they would be the ones that had the most insight as to the events of last night.

The rest of the morning Harry could feel dozens of eyes on him as he made his way from class to class. The older students that milled around during their free periods to younger students in a rush to reach their next lesson – many seemed to turn and look at him as though seeing him in a different light following the speculative reports that they had received.

Lunch brought about more news as another wave of subscriptions reached the students. The Quibbler was the most prominent as it had released a special print to cover the Minister of Magic's unscheduled announcement while the Daily Prophet refused to adjust their publishing schedule and would have coverage of the event in tomorrow's edition.

Azkabam Suffers Mass Breakout –

The Ministry of Magic has confirmed that a mass breakout has occurred at Azkabam overnight. While the Ministry has yet to complete a census of the prison, the Minister of Magic was quick to lay blame with rogue wizard Sirius Black citing the fact that he was a follower of You-Know-Who and that he had previously broken out of Azkabam over two years ago. They believe that since his escape he has been gathering other dark witches and wizards to his banner and may have resorted to using the Imperious Curse to bolster his numbers.

Given the limited information that the Ministry of Magic is providing, it seems highly unlikely that Sirius Black was the perpetrator of the mass breakout. Ministry officials claim that a bright light believed to be from a Patronus Charm had illuminated the night sky, but it is more likely that a powerful explosive spell was used to break the outer wall of the prison, thus breaking the protections around the prison. Several guards who wished to remain anonymous all claimed that there was no silvery light present and that the only illumination came from the explosion that sundered the outer wall of the prison. The Ministry though refuted such claims – could this be another of many cover-ups orchestrated by Minister Fudge?

"There's no word anywhere about what happened with Nott Senior," Hermione stated. Leave it to her to be the first to skim through the entire two page print of the Quibbler.

"Looks like the smaller papers are jumping on this story quick," Ron stated. "Looks like it was Bella that wrote this."

"Bella?" Hermione spared him a glance as she resumed her scan of the Quibbler.

"She works for the Quibbler," Ginny replied. "She's the only paid writer though she doesn't get paid much. She's our cousin, Uncle Bilius' only daughter."

"Uncle Bilius doesn't live near us," Ron added. "He's older than dad and started his family well before mum and dad got married. Bella's like Ginny - the youngest and the only girl of the lot. She's the same year as Bill and the only Weasley in recent memory to be sorted into Ravenclaw."

"What else does she do?" Hermione asked.

"She works as a liaison for the merfolk," Ginny explained. "They have items that they sell to witches and wizards, but they need someone to represent them since they can't travel on land. She must have been in London at the right time. Usually she's along the coast dealing with the merfolk."

"So there's nothing about Nott," reiterated Hermione.

"There probably aren't many witnesses and the Aurors were busy dealing with the breakout," Ron pointed out. "If it was just a duel gone awry then no one is likely to say anything either."

"Has Theodore been to his lessons?" Hermione asked.

Everyone shrugged.

"Maybe we'll see him in Runes," Neville pointed out.

"So much for having a good day," Ron sighed as he claimed his third sandwich.

"You're still feeling it?" Ginny poured herself some juice even as she eyed the others who had helped imbibe the previous night.

"A bit," the taller redhead shrugged. "My back aches, but at least I didn't make a mess in the loo like someone did." He glanced at Seamus.

"Oy!" the other boy objected the insinuation, spitting out a bit of his chips.

"Someone was feeling good this morning," Hermione teased.

Harry blinked. Why had he been feeling so good that morning? He had nothing to be cheerful about, and the fact that the rinse had snapped him out of it suggested that something or someone else had affected his mood.

"I think Harry was spying this morning," whispered Ginny.

"Harry!" Hermione cried out indignantly.

"What?" the scarred boy replied.

"What?!" Ron nearly spat out his mouthful of food.

"Didn't you realize that you were the only one on the floor?" Dean asked.

"I was being a gentleman," Ron replied.

"Hermione and Ginny didn't sleep in your bed," Seamus added.

"Then who?" Ron's face was starting to turn red.

"Your bed was plenty comfortable," Ginny replied. Cautiously she glanced around to ensure that no one was listening in. "I don't know how you to managed to sleep comfortably."

"Who says they slept?" teased Dean.

Ron's face turned an even deeper shade of red.

"Neville was a perfect gentleman," Hermione said. While her slightly darker completion usually made it difficult to tell if she were blushing, her demeanor seemed to suggest that she'd broached a subject that she'd rather not divulge too much further into the matter.

"I'm sure he was," Seamus chuckled. "But someone wasn't acting proper."

"You should have closed the canopy better," Dean added. "Though I have found that it is difficult to dress or undress in it."

After four years of sharing a room with the other four boys Harry knew that each of them had gotten over their qualms about dressing and undressing. Sure, they had spent most of their first year dressing behind the curtains of their four posters, but by the end of their second year the boys had grown comfortable enough with each other that dressing and undressing was no longer an issue.

Neville cleared his throat.

"Sorry mate," Dean said with a coy smile. "I won't say anything else."

"I won't say anything while Hermione's around," Seamus added. "I'd rather not receive any detentions from the Prefect."

Thinking back to that morning Harry couldn't help but wonder how he'd missed the clues. Neville's bed was between Ron and Dean's, leaving Harry and Seamus on the opposite wall. They'd all been sitting on either Ron or Neville's bed as they passed the bottle around. Even now Hermione and Neville were sitting beside each other though they were far more casual about the fact that they were constantly brushing against one another.

"Did you hear?" Padma asked as she, Parvati and Lavender joined the group at the Gryffindor table.

Ron nodded, "The Quibbler's writer doesn't agree with the Ministry's narrative."

"Black could have Apparated," Parvati suggested as her sister claimed the seat beside Ron.

"Apparation over great distances isn't instantaneous," Hermione interjected.

"It's possible that he wasn't even in Wales, London, or Godrick's Hollow," Padma added. "Remember how crazy it was when he first broke out? There were mass sightings everywhere."

"But most confirmed sightings led to Hogwarts," Neville corrected.

"He could be anywhere though," Ron pointed out.

"What about the Ministry theory that he's gathered followers?" Padma suggested.

"There were many of Voldemort's" almost everyone else shuddered at the dark wizard's name "followers are still free," Harry stated.

"Like the ones you saw in the graveyard?" Ginny asked.

For once Harry stiffened.

"I know you don't want to talk about it, but if you told us about what happened more people might actually believe you," Hermione added. "We believe you, but there are still those who are skeptical. I know that it won't convince everyone, but it wouldn't hurt."

No one seemed to know what to say the rest of the lunch period.

"We're off to Ancient Runes," Neville said as he and Hermione excused themselves from the table.

"Neville and Hermione?" Lavender mouthed once the pair was gone.

Ron nearly choked on his sandwich.

"We have to get to Muggle Studies," Dean said as he pulled Seamus away. Though both were raised as Muggles the pair could not resist the easy grade.

"We need to get to the library," Padma said as she dragged Ron away.

With no one else to speak with Harry excused himself. He wanted to see Theodore, but he knew that Neville and Hermione would see to him.

"Hi Harry." Cho's melodic voice snapped him to attention and spun him around. The sixth year Ravenclaw was with her fellow sixth years.

"Hi Cho." None of the other girls said anything to him though some of them did manage to look at him and smile. It was her smile that he focused on though as it made him feel better. It was not the same as that morning when he felt good, nor was he actually happy, but he felt better.

Word of the mass break out from Azkabam buzzed through Hogwarts. As the resident Defense Against the Dark Arts professor Ranma knew that many of the students would turn to him. Lessons for the week were already set but Ranma was planning next week's lessons. He knew what he wanted to do, but there were things that he needed in place before he could conduct his lessons. Even by the end of the week the Gryffindor vs Slytherin match was overshadowed by talk of the breakout.

Despite his athletic prowess, Ranma was not a fan of most sports, particularly team sports. He enjoyed watching basketball, and football, but not American football or baseball as both sports relied on specialization of skills. As such he was not a big fan of Quidditch with the defined positions and rolls of the players. He respected what the players were able to do, but ultimately the sport itself was not one that he enjoyed.

Still, with two of his apprentices playing he knew that he needed to at least be present. Fortunately the match did not last as long as the Hufflepuff vs Ravenclaw match as Harry, sans weights, caught the snitch after ten minutes. Ginny, also sans weights, scored three goals, and handled the quaffle well for Gryffindor as they scored another five goals. The final score was not indicative of the athletic talent of the individual players unless one were to think that Gryffindor was fielding the best team that Hogwarts had seen in decades while Slytherin was fielding inexperienced players.

With Ginny and Harry absent from that day's training sessions, Ranma had Shampoo oversee their training as he dealt with acquiring what he needed for the next week of lessons. Fortunately for him there were several spectators that had come to Hogsmead just to view the match who happened to deal in magical creatures.

There was some hostility and resentment in the air as his first class of the week. It was always this way regardless of the year as Gryffindor and Slytherin remained a heated rivalry. The Gryffindors were not above holding the win over the heads of the Slytherins, but the fact that the match was not even competitive seemed to invigorate the rival houses.

To him the matter of Azkabam was something that he as a professor needed to address. More pressing to him was the way Neville had taken the news that his parents attackers were now free, Theodore dealing with his father's apparent death, and whatever it was that was bothering Harry. Neville seemed to bottle up his emotions and focused on completing his magic circle, Theodore was distracted, and Harry was somewhere in between. With the big match between Gryffindor and Slytherin now over, Ginny and Harry were once again refocused on their training and lessons. Well, maybe just Ginny.

"Today we will be working with a boggart," he stated as he gazed down upon the seated fourth years.

The raven haired Romilda Vane raised her hand, "Sir, we've already worked with boggarts last year."

"True," he ceded, "but not like this. You've learned to combat boggarts by changing their form into that of something less fearsome, but these boggarts are locked into their current form." Rather than waving his hand to open the locked cabinet he strode over to it and pulled off the seal before opening the door. The hooded figure that emerged glided over the stone floor. "Today you'll be learning how to deal with dementors."

The glass seemed to breeze by despite the fact that it, like all his classes, was a double session. By the end of the first period the fourth years had gone through the entire bag of chocolates that he'd supplied and by the end of the second period only three students remained upright despite the fact that the fake dementors were only half as powerful as a real dementor.

It was no surprise that Ginny was one of the three. Even before he had taken her on as an apprentice she had been among the top ten in her year in Defense Against the Dark Arts, now she was perhaps as prepared as some of the sixth and seventh years. Like Harry and Neville, Ginny was driven by the things that had happened to her in her past – namely the possession by a magical diary in her first year at Hogwarts.

"What they don't teach you about dementors is that they feed off of your negative emotions," he said once he'd returned the boggarts to the sealed area beside his desk. "They prefer fear and despair. Think of those emotions as sugar. Happiness is like biting into a tart lemon. It might be simplistic to think of emotions as flavors, but it's effective. That is why a patronus is so effective against them – it is an embodiment of your happiness.

"I know a guy who is so filled with despair that dementors would be ineffective against him. He'd simply create an embodiment of his personal despair and use it to lure away the dementors.

"There are other emotions that can be used to drive off dementors, but they have to be strong emotions." Stepping into the sealed area, he raised his hand. The bright yellow ball of energy flew from his hand, scattering the fake dementors. "These emotive blasts are effective in slowing down a real dementor, but they don't repel them. Still, they could be used against other beings or creatures that are capable of emoting."

A glance at the clock told him that the warning chime was about to go off. "For next week, I want a full page on your happiest memory and another two pages on the other emotions. Extra points for anyone who can manifest their emotions."

As was usual when their class ended, Ginny rushed off to her Arithmancy class while a few stragglers with a free half hour before lunch asked him a few questions. Lunch itself started as atypical with Professor Snape opting to take his meal in his office while he prepared for his afternoon classes leaving Ranma alone at that end of the table to mull his students and apprentices.

"Professor Saotome," the falsely sweet voice of the Hogwarts High Inquisitor suddenly made the meal all the less appetizing. And it was sushi. He'd so been looking forward to a sushi lunch (honestly he looked forward to each meal).

"Umbridge," he returned as he used his chopsticks to apply some wasabi to the rice.

The short, rotund woman eyed him as he ate, "I heard that you were teaching the fourth years how to deal with dementors."

He nodded, "Yeah."

"Why would you feel the need to teach them that? Dementors are all under Ministry control."

He shook his head, "If that were true then Potter wouldn't have been attacked over the summer – nor are you saying that someone in the Ministry approved of that incident."

She gave an obviously fake chuckle at the notion, though she did seem flustered. "The Ministry is still looking into that alleged"

"Are you saying that the witnesses are lying?" he set his chopsticks down and glared at her.

"It… it is entirely possible" she stammered "that they were merely boggarts, such as the ones in your class. I recall hearing that Mr. Potter's boggart appears as a dementor. Perhaps he mistook the boggarts as dementors since they do take on the shape and abilities of whatever their target fears the most." With each successive word uttered her confident grew. "I am sure that the auditors will find that there were no dementors involved with the incident that occurred with Mr. Potter."

He picked up his chopsticks as another tray of fish appeared before him, "I hope you are correct in your assumption."

With nothing further needed to be said, the High Inquisitor assumed her position at the end of the table with the Junior Inquisitor. No longer able to savor the flavors and textures of the meal, Ranma resorted to his old ways, quickly consuming mass amounts of the food before him in the time provided before he returned to his office.

The second class of fourth years came prepared for their bout with the fake dementors, though they did not fare as well as the previous class. Still, they at least brought their own chocolate. During the evening's remedial/tutoring session he gave after the dueling club, many of the older students attempted to cast the Patronus Charm. While the spell was considered advanced, Ranma knew that the spell was not part of the regular curriculum for the older students.

"Think of the happiest moment in your life," he said, repeating the words that Harry had said when he'd approached his apprentice about the lesson. "Dementors try to make you live your worst memories; that is why they affect some of you more than others. Not everyone has the same experiences."

His own memory was of learning that Akane had not died as a result of the battle with Saffron. Interestingly enough, his patronus was a phoenix. Most people had regular, non-magical creatures but Ranma was not like most people. Not only could he conjure a patronus, but he also could create a physical embodiment for his pride (supera) and anger (atrocitus) as well. The forms for each were different as well as his supera appeared to be a yellow dragon and his atrocitus was a giant red and white panda. Each was effective in dealing with the fake dementors, but he'd never actually used them against a real dementor.

"The Ministry teaches that dementors are repelled by a patronus, but did you know that there are other methods of containing and even killing them?" he asked the students that remained.

Harry of course was the first to appear bewildered by that.

"Dementors are considered a class three threat, but they are also considered a class four demon," Ranma explained. "They, like some higher demons, can consume souls. They are physical beings that can affect the metaphysical or astral plane."

"So one would need something on the astral plane to defeat them," surmised the brightest of his apprentices. Ranma nodded at Su.

"That is correct. Patronus, as well as other embodiments of your emotions, can affect and even harm a dementor, but spells that affect the astral plane can also deter or harm dementors," he explained. "A purified blade or even a maleficent blade could kill a dementor as well as leave a physical scar in the astral plane. Unfortunately there are few purified or maleficent weapons these days as most magi prefer to use magic to ward off creatures from the astral plane, and it would take years to create such a weapon, but they do exist."

He delighted in having their attention on him, not because he was their instructor or professor, but because they found what he was saying informative and useful unlike most of those he'd left behind in Nerima. He really was starting to enjoy Hogwarts and Hogsmead.

While he missed the constant challenge that his various rivals provided, towards the end of his stay in Nerima it had been obvious to him that they were no longer providing him with the challenge that they had previously and it fell on guys like Herb and Saffron to ultimately push the young martial artist to his full potential. As a Sensei and professor he was challenged in different ways by finding useful lessons that would be interesting and challenging.

The mental challenge was there, but he needed a physical challenge. Training with his apprentices and pack kept him in shape but it did not push him to be better. He needed a challenge and the Forbidden Forest would provide him with one.

The Forbidden Forest was not very forbidden, not to him at least. The magical forest was home to a tribe of centaur which he was on friendly terms with. It was home to a nest of acromantula and home to several packs of werewolves as well as a wide variety of magical creatures.

Most assumed that Hogsmead was the only all magical community, and they were technically correct, but the small village hidden in the Forbidden Forest was home to a community of werewolves, not all of them from magical families. Many of those who lived in that village were not in any recognized pack or wanted to have some semblance of normalcy in their lives, but on the nights before and after the full moon the inhabitants were forced to either sneak off into the forest or lock themselves in their cellars to keep themselves and others safe.

As the village was technically in centaur territories the activities that went on within the building were not regulated by the Ministry. The grounds on which the village stood were granted to the werewolves by the centaurs, a gift of good faith between demi-humans. Its location provided those who dwelt within the village the perfect place for their fighting pit.

The village itself consisted of several dozen worn and beaten buildings, each making the Shrieking Shack appear to be livable and hospitable. Gliding past the buildings, he was sure to keep to the shadows until he reached the tall building near the south end of the village. Shampoo had been the one to lead him to this place, and he was grateful for it. The crowd tended to be of the unsavory type, and there was a rough code of conduct, but the proprietors made sure to keep things from getting out of control as that was bad for business.

Though he'd come to view the fights before tonight was the first night that he was to participate. Weapons were not allowed, though wandless magic was. What he'd seen of the fights thus far suggested that the majority of fighters relied on brute force, overwhelming speed, or a mixture of both. The ring itself was enchanted to prevent the spectators from interfering as well as to keep them from being injured.

Few witches or wizards were willing to actually participate, not against the likes of the usual contestants of trolls (full and half-trolls), half-giants, ogres (full and half-ogres), werewolves, and vampires (full and half-vampires). The unusual entrants were the drakes, manticores, golems, elementals, and other constructs that were "managed" by some robed witch or wizard. Even werewolves were considered to be underdogs against the others, though under a full moon they were always favored against the humanoid combatants but few ever bet against the non-humanoid combatants.

Yes, this was the perfect place for him to challenge himself.

The fabled Chamber of Secrets had long been hidden from the staff and occupants of Hogwarts. Designed to allow only those who could speak Parsletongue, its ancient defenses had been pried open with the casual use of modern techniques and ancient enchantments. It had been a simple thing to rig up something akin to a tape recorder with enchantments and have it play back Harry's command to open the secret entrance in the girl's bathroom and to open the final door to the chamber. It was the ideal place to set up shop.

The vast cavern provided him with everything that he needed. There was a workshop for him to work on the enchanted dummies, plenty of tomes on magic, tomes on magical creatures, and ingredients for potions or alchemy, as well as living quarters. Yes, the Chamber of Secrets was the perfect place for him to keep his newest ally.

"I did not expect you back so soon," the man's voice was firm but not challenging. "Has something happened?"

Ranma eyed the man before him. He did not trust the man, but without a wand and bound by blood magic he was not going to be able to go anywhere unless Ranma permitted it. Still, he showed a reluctance to serve Voldemort. But how to use that Ranma was still unsure. "Greyback is captured and in the hands of the vampires."

It had taken him two matches before he'd fought the feral man in the fighting pits, and the vampires had been on hand to assist him in handling the injured wizard. Handing him to them had earned Ranma some points with the vampires. The faction that had been undeclared seemed to now be leaning away from siding with Voldemort.

"That's your plan?" the man scoffed. "For every Death Eater you manage to capture he'll just recruit two more. And there will be those who he will intimidate into joining or Imperious into compliance."

"You've got it all wrong," Ranma said as he poured himself some water. "I'm only taking out those I can't control. Those that can be of use to me, well, I'll put them to use."

The man considered his words before finally sitting on the chair. "So I'm useful to you?"

"Of course," the cursed martial artist replied. "I could not kill the father of one of my apprentices, it'd just be bad form."

Theodore Nott Sr. eyed him warily.

"Eventually I'll have to let Theodore actually see you, but for now he knows that Voldemort can't use you against him and as he is a minor and I his pack leader, I, in your absence, now get control of your estates," he explained.

Nott Sr. was taken aback by this revelation.

"I can see why your father thought that Voldemort" the man shivered at his master's assumed name "was appealing," he added "but I also see why you were hesitant to sign up with his lot. Sure, he is Slytherin's descendent, but he's also what you pure-blood elitists call a 'half-blood'. Not to mention that he's just as likely to turn on elitists if it suits his mood or if he finds you no longer useful. Besides, Voldemort being in power will not fill your coffers or vaults with gold."

"So why take out Greyback?" Nott asked. "He's useful, but he's only a figurehead. Handing him to the vampires will only make the rest of the werewolves resent you."

"Not if I can assure that the werewolves will get enough land to establish their own community, just like the one that the centaurs allowed them to have in the Forbidden Forest."

"You're going to gift them some of my land?"

Ranma shrugged. "I could, but I probably won't. But I do know someone who is willing to make such an agreement."

In truth, he did not know much of the politics that were driving the various factions in England's magical community. Theodore Nott Sr. would help him understand the political structure a bit better so that he did not have to rely on anyone else. Yes, they were allies, but he knew that if he could do it himself then he should not have to delegate to someone else.

"What are you going to do with my arm?" Nott finally asked.

He eyed to appendage in question as it sat in the preserving liquid. Like all of those who had sworn themselves to Voldemort and who the dark wizard had deemed trustworthy, Theodore Nott Sr. had the dark mark. It was a protein charm unlike anything that Ranma had seen, allowing Voldemort to not only signal and summon his followers, but to sense if they were alive. By severing the arm he hoped that he would be able to convince Voldemort and the others that Nott Sr. was dead. "When this is all over, I'll make sure that you have two working arms."