Wow you guys, I really must apologise for letting this stew as long as I have. This chapter fought me every step of the way, and I'm still not quite sure on parts of it.

Let me know what you think down below! ~ Kiad xxx

In the Light of The Dark

How to Raise Wolves

Chapter Fourteen – Elphinstone

Amelia could feel the tension inside her growing as she dressed for the day ahead. Sirius had insisted on formal robes, as they were effectively going to be on official house business and she scowled at her appearance in the mirror. She'd perfected her French braiding (mostly for work) some years prior, and it wasn't often she wore her hair down, but those that still followed the old-ways believed that heads of house should wear their hair loose as a status symbol to demonstrate how many years they had held their position. It was an old custom, but it was one that many families still followed and she hated it. It wouldn't have been so bad if she had straighter hair, but her thick, red curls just wouldn't lay flat, and the 'unique' results for redheads, cautioned by Sleekeazy's bottle label ensured that she never went near the stuff.

"Amelia, are you coming for breakfast?" Alice asked, knocking on her bedroom door. She sighed, turning away from the mirror, giving up on her hair and opened the door for the younger woman. Alice took one look at her hair and burst into giggles, little Neville also following suit from his mother's arms.

"Laugh it up, I'd like to see you do better." She growled; beyond irritated by now.

"I'm sorry." Alice replied, calming herself. "Let's fix it for you." She stepped past her and into the room, plonking Neville down onto the bed and moving a chair for the other woman to sit in, back in front of the mirror, which she did with a glare. "I know Sirius said he wanted you as traditional as possible," Alice started, gathering hair from her temples and braiding it backwards. "but sometimes a difficult situation calls for a creative answer."

"What are you doing?" Amelia asked, turning her head slightly to see the unusual braid Alice had constructed.

"It's called a waterfall, and Lily taught me how to do it, to keep it out of my eyes whilst we were studying. You take a piece of hair and split it into two," She started to demonstrate on the other side of her head. "You take a third piece and place it between them before you twist them around to lock it into place, keep adding and twisting until you get to the back of your head on both sides and tie whatever you have left in your hands together." She finished the braid off by plaiting the excess and tying it off with a piece of grey leather. The effect was quite stunning on Amelia's thick hair, and enough of it was still 'down' to be keeping with tradition.

"Thank you." She said gratefully, turning her head from side to side to see the full effect. "I can French plait it, put it into a bun and give you another half a dozen styles where it's up, but ask me to leave it down and I'm at a loss on how to control it."

"You're welcome, if you ever need a hand, let me know, I used to be terrible at doing my own until Lily sat and taught me."

"I will, thanks."

"Can I ask you something?"

"I get the feeling you're about to." Amelia replied with a smirk.

"How are you coping with…" Alice paused, uncertain on how to word her question without sounding rude. Amelia raised an eyebrow at her in the mirror.

"How am I coping with what?"

"With the Malfoys." Alice rushed out before wincing. "I mean, I know that he wasn't charged but…"

"If you mean to ask me whether I'm going to arrest Lucius at any time, I am not. As much as we all know what he did, as you said, he was never charged."

"But they're going to end up living here." Alice said softly. "You understand that, right?"

"Look," Amelia turned to face her and tried to pick her words carefully. "this situation is what it is. From what I've heard the light aren't so rosy, and I've learnt so much shit about Dumbledore in the last week that I can't even be sure that we were fighting for the right thing. If Sirius is to be believed, the Dark Lord wanted to keep it in the political arena, and if the rumours about his bloodline are true then he would have had no reason to push it to open warfare unless he was provoked. I can easily see Dumbledore not leaving a situation like that alone, and deciding to push it to warfare himself."

"Sirius told us some things that James had wrote in the Potter journals, if even half of it is true, then Dumbledore might well be the real enemy if the Dark Lord ever returns."

"What will happen, will happen Alice, I can't change anything about the situation we're in at the moment, and I gave my vow to Sirius that I would do whatever it took to look after these kids, throwing Draco's father in Azkaban goes against that vow. I'm here to stay, my opinions on the man be damned." There was a small silence following her passionate speech and Alice seemed to be a mixture of amused and victorious. "You played me." She stated rather than asked.

"I needed to make sure." Alice replied. "I will not apologise for it Amelia, I needed to be absolutely certain as to where your loyalties lay. You know that Sirius would never ask you to do something illegal, but I need you to understand that what we're doing, this situation… I needed to make sure that none of us are in danger of you using your position."

"I understand." Amelia replied, reaching up to grasp her former Aurora's hands. "You have every right to be wary, and I understand that there are going to be things happening around us that might conflict with my work but, you need to understand that I would never do anything to put this Household in jeopardy." They shared a smile before Alice seemed to shake herself out of her musings and glance at her watch.

"Oh Merlin, we need to get to breakfast before Sirius comes looking, or even worse; Melania. I like the woman but she scares the living crap out of me." Amelia laughed at that and went to pluck Susan from her play pen, which had been set up in one corner of her rooms. The two women made their way downstairs and were greeted warmly by the rest of the household. Lucius and Narcissa had caved to Remus's wishes the previous evening and had slept at the manor, making it twenty for breakfast (the little ones included). It was starting to turn into quite the household, and even though she knew that the Malfoys, plus Arcturus and Melania were only temporary additions; they would soon potentially have yet another family staying with them.

O_o_O_o_O

Minerva jumped when her Floo flared to life in the grate. Her skittishness, following the conversations at Caddington the previous night had yet to completely dissipate and the unexpected green flames had sent half of her tea flying out of its mug.

"Forgive me Minerva." Filius said as he stepped out of the fire and took stock of the situation. A few swishes of his wand later and her tea was cleared up and a fresh one had been levitated from her kitchen. "I had not meant to startle you."

"Its quite alright Filius." She replied with a tight-lipped smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "I don't know what came over me."

"I do." He replied, hopping up into one of her armchairs. "You're not sleeping, you are worried about the Potter boy, you are worried about Black, you are furious with the Albus and it turns out that the Snape boy has been giving you a hard time." Severus's placement on the school's staff had caused quite a bit of controversy amongst the rest of the teachers in Hogwarts. Most thought he was far too young to hold the position of a Professor, and that was before Dumbledore had made him the head of Slytherin. As such, most of her older colleagues had yet to break the habit of calling him 'boy'.

"Severus will do what he will do, and say what he has to say." She replied politically. "It is true that I care not for the situation, but it is one of my own making."

"Minnie, in all the years I have known you, and there have been quite a considerable number of them now; I have never seen you lose hope in a situation. Not like this anyway. I know that we rely too much on you, and I know that you have the hardest job out of all of us, but you must remember that I am here to support you my friend. I remember a time when we kept nothing from each other, can we not return to what we once had?" Minerva considered her friend's words carefully. She and Filius had known each other for a long time, almost as long as she and Pomona had known one another, and it was true that before the events of the past few years, they had been close friends. He'd helped her out of the hole she had dug herself during her time at the ministry.

"You must understand that there are things I am unable to share with you Filius; despite how much I may want to."

"Then share with me what you can." He replied softly. She considered his offer, of the dangers it could put him in if Dumbledore got to him before the weekend, of the danger it would put her in.

"How about I devote my Saturday to telling you everything I am able?" She asked. "It is getting late, and I am growing weary."

"Then Saturday it is." He agreed with a nod, hopping down from his chair. "Be warned that I have questions Minnie, and lots of them." She smiled thinly and showed him out when he excused himself. She shut the door behind him, resting against it and taking a moment to collect herself before striding to her desk and penning a letter to Sirius, sending it with her owl; Sulis and deciding to finally head to her bed for the afternoon. Her marking was done and she had no classes left for the day, so an early night was definitely in order.

O_o_O_o_O

"I need to speak with you." Alice whispered to Remus, when she was certain that they could not be overheard. Amelia and Sirius were out visiting the Greengrasses and Lovegoods so the werewolf had promptly plucked Susan out of her Aunt's arms that morning and didn't seem to be letting her go. He nodded at her, and the four of them (Neville not having left his mother's arms for the best part of the morning) slipped away from the conversations in the family sitting room and took temporary refuge in Sirius's office.

"What's wrong?" He asked with a frown as he closed the door, and noted her nervousness.

"I have a confession, and I can't keep it a secret any longer." She replied, sitting Neville on the desk so that she could start to pace. "I have been going over everything in my head, and I don't think there will be any harm in telling you and Sirius, but I don't want anyone else to know." Her pacing was stopped by him placing himself in front of her and gripping her arm in gently.

"What's wrong?" He asked again, meeting her eyes and trying to convey his own calmness onto her agitated state.

"I knew about Athena." Alice replied quickly. "I knew that she existed, I helped Lily with her in the early days and I knew that she had been given to Emma and Dan."

"I would ask why you didn't say anything, but I am well aware of the dangers you would have caused if you had." Remus said with a sigh, after a short moment of silence. He took a seat behind Sirius's desk and nodded to the chair in front. Alice nervously took it; lifting Neville into her arms as she did. "Why now?" He eventually asked, once he'd collected his thoughts. "Why tell us at all?"

"Because I can't keep it a secret any longer." Alice whispered. "Because I can't watch you and Sirius struggle to come to terms with what they did, knowing that I can help."

"Who else knew?"

"No one that I'm aware of. Not even Frank knew. Lily and I practically went through our pregnancies together, with Frank busy at work, and Augusta spending most of her time in the political ring, I was left alone most of the time. Lily needed help as her pregnancy with Harry was hard, and with looking after Athena as well, it was a bit of a handful for her. I don't know if they told anyone else, but I'm guessing not." Remus nodded at that, not knowing what to say. "I know that I should have said something sooner." Alice whispered. "But I just wanted to be sure that we were safe. I know that we are now, I know that the Lord Black will do anything to keep this family together and safe from Dumbledore and I know that Amelia will do her best to protect us from the ministry. I know that the Lady Black will be one of the best allies we could have possibly courted, and I know that you and Sirius would die before you let any of these kids be put in danger."

"I still don't get why you felt the need to come forward like this Alice." Remus said quietly. He held up his hand when she went to protest, wanting to expand on his confusion. "I understand why you didn't come forwards earlier and I know why you have come forwards at all. But, why to me? Why like this? You look half scared to death that I'm going to be angry with you."

"You aren't?" She asked. He sighed and stood up, placing Harry on the floor and lifting Neville out of her arms to join him. He pulled her up from the seat and wrapped her in a hug, rubbing her back when she broke down in his arms.

"How could I ever be angry at any action taken to protect her?" He asked quietly. "How could I ever be angry at you? Why should I be?"

"Because I have kept this from you." She replied through her tears. "Because I have withheld information into House matters."

"House matters that were ours to discover ourselves." Remus replied. "Arcturus took vows to keep Lily's silence on the matter and I have a suspicious feeling that he knows more about Athena than he's letting on. I think he knew something about Dorea's adoption of her as well. If he couldn't share what he knew, why should we expect you to? You were keeping the little one safe, and that's all Sirius can ask of any of us." She pulled back and sniffed, smiling when he wiped her eyes with the sleeve of his knitted jumper.

"I'm being an idiot, aren't I?" She asked, laughing when he let out a huff of half amusement. She wiped her cheeks, her nervousness gone and her shoulders a little lighter. She knew that as long as she had Remus to turn to, she'd be okay.

O_o_O_o_O

"Thank you for agreeing to meet Lord Greengrass." Sirius said, sitting down after shaking the man's outstretched hand. Amelia had bobbed a small curtsy when he had taken her hand and kissed it, but Sirius knew that he was under no duty to show the same courtesy so instead maintained eye contact and stretched his shoulders back. The Bones family, although an Ancient house, was one rung below the Greengrass one in terms of political power. The Blacks however, outstretched the Greengrasses by quite a large margin.

"It is my pleasure to host you Heir Black, and please call me Hadrian." The man replied smoothly, not giving away any of the surprise he had felt when Sirius had stepped out of his Floo. He wasn't sure who he had been expecting after receiving a missive from the Black heir, but it definitely hadn't been Sirius.

"Very well Hadrian." Sirius replied with a nod. "I will get straight down to business if I may." Hadrian nodded once and Sirius went on to explain, in great detail the situation with the prophecy, the finding of the first four children, and how their suspicions were raised about his daughter after tracing the Bones line back as far as they could. "We still can't be certain of who the fifth child is." Sirius said, finishing off his tale. "We have narrowed it down to either your daughter, or the child of the Lovegoods."

"So how do we proceed?" The man asked stiffly. He had not asked any questions during Sirius's explanation of the situation, even though he had many fighting for precedence in his thoughts.

"I would like to invite you to take dinner with our household at Caddington Hall this evening. We can place the prophecy orb down and see if young Daphne has any reaction to it. If not, you may leave safe in the knowledge that she isn't going to be labelled as a prophesised child."

"And if she does?" He asked.

"Then an there will be an open invite for you to join our household. As I explained; we have no idea what is in that prophecy yet, as soon as we do, we can go from there. We are all flying blind here."

"And what of your allegiances?" He asked with a raised eyebrow. "I find it curious that you are sat here as Heir Black. Word was that you had all but denounced your family." He knew that he was treading on thin ice with a question like that. Sirius would well be in his rights to dismiss the question, or call him out for fishing, but the man gave a characteristic half smile and nodded his head.

"You would be right. Until Samhain I was all but estranged from the Blacks. However, recent events have brought into sharp relief that which I have yet to achieve."

"And that is?"

"Security." He said simply. "Security for my mate, security for my godson and security for myself. I have so far failed that child in the worst possible way, now I must make reparations to his parents for his orphaning."

"I see." There was a short pause which the Lord Greengrass used to take stock of the situation he had found himself in. "I would like to know of my daughter's fate." He said finally after some deliberation. "I will commit to the dinner this evening, and nothing more."

"That is completely understandable." Sirius replied. "And that is all I am asking for right now, apart from secrecy of course."

"Will the Lovegoods also be joining us?"

"They will, they are next on my list to visit."

"And what do you have to say in all of this Lady Bones?" He asked, turning to Amelia. She had been unhappy to learn from Sirius that she would have to drop her moniker of 'Madame' for the day if they were on official business. Circe how she hated the politics of it all.

"As it is through the Bones family by which this situation has been brought to you, anything you require from the house will be granted." She was quite pleased with how she worded that one. She didn't want to give him any ideas about asking for anything through her job. Hadrian nodded once and stood; holding out his hand for Sirius to shake, dismissing them in a way that raised Sirius's hackles.

"I will see you at six sharp then Heir Black." He said when the man went to shake his hand.

"The Floo address is The Orrery, Caddington Hall." Sirius replied. "We will see you then." Hadrian nodded again and turned to Amelia, bowing to kiss her hand once more, breaking protocol for the fourth time that morning. They were shown the Floo and they stepped through into Sirius's office, taking seats on either side of the desk.

"I don't like him." Sirius said with just a hint of a pout.

"I could tell." Amelia replied with a laugh. "You almost growled at him as we left."

"He ignored protocol four times in the space of the two hours we were with him."

"How? I did not notice." Sirius sighed and rubbed his eyes, fighting back his frustration.

"He should have greeted me before you, he should have at least bowed his head when he did, just like you acknowledged him with a curtsy. They were the first two slights. "The third came when we were dismissed, as again he gave no bow of any kind, before giving you that which he denied me. An argument could be made that since we were there on Bones business, that you held primary over the situation however, the Blacks are several rungs higher on the political ladder than the Greengrasses. I didn't learn much from my parents, but I learnt how to recognise when I was being insulted."

"Perhaps he wasn't aware he was." She replied diplomatically, still cursing the politics of it all.

"Oh, he knew what he was doing all right. Wyndam taught both of his children well, and Hadrian has been gearing up to take over the House for at least the past two years. I believe that old man Greengrass wasn't confident that he would survive the war."

"It seems that I have much to learn." Amelia sighed, irritated. "I didn't even know there was a second Greengrass child."

"That's because they had a daughter." Sirius replied quietly. "She fell to the Knights of Walpurgis, not long after graduating Hogwarts. That's how Hadrian ended up marrying the Selwyn Heiress, Matthew Selwyn was forced to pay damages for the death of Harriet Greengrass in the shape of his only daughter." Amelia groaned and let her head fall on his desk with a gentle thump.

"How did our internal politics get so fucked up?" She asked despairingly. Sirius laughed at that, not even denying the fact that she was right.

O_o_O_o_O

She awoke to the early evening dusk, and the sound of someone moving about her quarters. She grabbed her wand from her bedside table and quickly tied her housecoat around her waist. A disillusion and silencing charm later and she was peering around her bedroom door, anger and adrenaline cursing though her. She was going to disembowel whoever was in her sitting room, and she was going to do it slowly and painfully. She caught sight of a head of white-grey hair, sitting on her settee; facing away from her and she lifted her wand, pointing it at the man's head; ready to strike.

"You know that your sneak charms never worked on me." The man said in a cheery voice from his seat before lifting one of her cups to his lips and sipping on the tea he'd apparently made himself. She sighed in relief and dropped her wand; sagging against her door.

"Elphinstone Urquart you better have a bloody good reason for scaring me half to death." She growled; sliding down her door to land with a thump on the floor. Her wand clattered out of her hand and she dropped the charms, shedding them from her skin and revealing herself to the former Auror. He finally stood up, placing his cup on her coffee table and turning to face her. His eyes went wide when he saw her pale, shaking and quite evidently exhausted. He rushed around the furnishings, his speed contradictory to his age, as he knelt down to check her temperature and generally fuss over her in a way that made her feel safe. It had been a long time since she had felt truly safe, but as he pulled her forwards into his arms, whispering apologies for his absence, she felt safer than she had done in almost half a decade.

"I didn't know if I would ever see you again." He whispered; brushing his hand over her hair. "I am truly sorry to have left you mea Leaenae." He rested his forehead against hers, still brushing his hand over the back of her head in a comforting gesture. She wanted to scream at him, curse him, shout at him until her lungs gave out, but she couldn't bring herself to do it, knowing that this man, above everyone else would understand her anger and embrace it. "I missed you so."

"I don't know whether to swear at you or kiss you." She whispered into his shoulder. She felt him shake as he failed to hold in his amusement and she looked up to give him a grade one scowl, further increasing his mirth.

"You, my dear are in need of a cup of tea and some dinner." He said, brushing a piece of hair away from her cheek, tucking it behind her ear. "And then you're going to tell me exactly what is going on." She nodded tiredly and allowed him to pull her to her feet, sitting on the settee to watch; as he bustled around her small kitchen, fixing her a cup of black tea and ordering two plates of dinner from the elves. It seemed oddly domestic and she felt warmth seep into her bones, maybe she could get through this.

O_o_O_o_O

"Hello Heir Back." Pandora greeted with a smile and a bow, before greeting Amelia in the same way. Sirius smiled as he took her hand and placed a kiss upon it, before turning to offer Xenophillius a handshake. "You are most welcomed into our small home. I expect you will wish to see our little Moon?"

"Why don't we take a seat and have a chat before you introduce us to your daughter." Sirius replied with a smile. "And please, I insist you call me Sirius."

"Then we must offer the same curtesy Sirius." Xenophillius responded. "It will be Xeno and Pan from here on out, please come and sit down and I shall prepare a pot of tea. You will have to excuse my wife if she starts without me, she has been most eager to meet you." The Lady in question blushed and shot her husband a look of admonishment, but she led them through to the sitting room nonetheless and Amelia could see just how different this meeting was going to be, compared with their last. Sirius had still been grumbling about the Greengrass Lord when he stepped through the Floo for this visit, and she was glad of the warm and open welcome they had received, if for nothing else but to shut him up.

"Xeno is unfortunately correct." Pandora started, once they were all settled. "I have been waiting for this meeting, father of the prophesised."

"You have the Sight." Amelia, rather bluntly stated, internally wincing at her own lack of decorum. This politicking stuff was going to take some getting used to. "I apologise for my bluntness." She immediately corrected. "Its just, the last week or so has been trying for all of us, and any insight you may be able to give us would be invaluable."

"I do not have the Sight in the sense that you mean." Pandora responded with a frown. "I cannot See the future, only the magic that links us together, and links Sirius with his children, both present and future."

"So, you have Mage Sight?" Sirius asked quietly, the strange, blonde woman stirring his natural curiosity.

"No." She replied with a serene smile. "I do not have Mage Sight. I can sense the fabric of Time, and the influence Fate, Chance and Magic have upon it. I see the things that link us together, rather than the magic itself, and I know of the lost things which live amongst the spaces between us. I see more than most, but less than all."

"My wife's gifts are rather unique." Xeno said as he appeared in the doorway, carrying a tray of steaming mugs. "You must forgive her if she appears vague."

"There is nothing to forgive." Sirius said with a smile. "In the last month alone, I have been shocked more by things I thought I understood, than I have by those I have still yet to discover. I have never had a love of Divination, however, following the events of the last few weeks, I cannot dispute that it is a valid gift, for those who carry it. Please continue Pan, your unique perspective may shed new light on our situation." Pandora's subsequent smile lit up the room, and Amelia found herself quietly deciding that this couple were the best bet for the future of their children, not that she would get a say in which family Fate had chosen to join their own.

O_o_O_o_O

"What time is everyone due to arrive?" Remus asked quietly, watching as his mate sifted through papers on his desk.

"About six, I thought it best to give the elves time to prepare."

"How did things go?"

"They were both amenable to taking dinner, Hadrian refuses to commit to anything further than that. We were just about dismissed out of hand at the Greengrasses, If the fifth child is theirs, we're going to have a hard time of it."

"And the Lovegoods?" Sirius let out a sigh and dropped back against his chair, folding his arms and closing his eyes for a second.

"The Lady Lovegood possesses gifts like nothing I have ever seen. She spoke of things that could not possibly exist, but her voice held no deceit that I could detect. She is adamant that she doesn't have the Sight in the traditional sense, and its not Mage Sight either. It is something else, something I can't quite put my finger on, but can't deny the existence of either."

"She has the blood of the Norns." Remus replied with a nod. "Any gifts she possesses are unlikely to be any we've seen before. I can look into things more if Luna is discovered to be the fifth."

"At this point I'm almost hoping that she is." Sirius replied with a grimace. "It's selfish and I feel like a wretch, wishing that on either of those girls, but the Lovegoods are my preferred option to work with."

"I guess we'll see after dinner. You should get cleaned up; I'll have Flip run you a bath."

"Thanks, Moony. I owe you one."

"You owe me several after the amount of entertaining we've been having to do this week you absolute dog." Remus laughed. "I'll accept payment in the form of books and chocolate."

"Deal."

O_o_O_o_O

"You have been trying to carry this on your own?" Elphinstone asked incredulously, irritation towards the Black boy growing in his chest. He'd met the young man only once before, during his and James Potter's Auror training. He'd not thought much of Sirius's attitude, however now that he knew most of the story, he could see just how the chip on his shoulder had developed. What he didn't understand was the decision to leave their greatest asset in the hands of the Snape boy, what in Merlin's name were they thinking?

"Don't be mad at Sirius." Minerva said quietly from the side of him. "It was my choice not to tell Severus the full story, I am to blame for the fact that I am just about now defenceless. I have written to them asking their permission to bring Filius into the fold. He already knows a little about Harry, and the fact that he's still alive. We were planning on removing the memory to prevent Albus getting a hold of it, but following what has happened I think it's best if we leave him be."

"Well I'll still be having words with Black if I see him." He muttered angrily. "You are their biggest asset and he's trusted your safety to a turncoat. You deserve better mea Leaenae."

"They offered to attempt to take a position here themselves. Remus was quite confident that they would be able to get at least one of them into a job."

"Did they ask you to retire?" He asked quietly. "Because if they did, I will brain them myself."

"No Elf they didn't ask me to retire." She replied with a chuckle, the pet name slipping out. "Augusta and I discussed it, but she pointed out that I would be of most value here, and with the right protections in place, I'll end up being crucial to their future plans, especially when those bairns enter these halls. I can't stand to think what will happen to them if I at least can't keep an eye on them." She let out a yawn and he wrapped his arm tighter around her. They were huddled on her settee together, watching the fire and wrapped up in her mother's old, Tartan blanket. It was peaceful, warm and so very tempting; to stay wrapped up like that forever, but she knew that soon he would have to return to his work, and she would have to return to her classes, and so she vowed to savour every moment of this peace.

So what did you think? I know that I went a little off the beaten track there, but Minerva's relationship with Urquart is canonically correct for this time period... I don't know whether I'll explore it to it's conclusion, I guess it depends how much you guys like the idea of it.

Please let me know your thoughts on this chapter, it would mean a lot.

Remember to stay safe out there folks, the world is a dangerous place right now, stay in if you can and read Fanfiction!

Peace out xxx