"Bloody hell, we need to do more than this. We need help. Remus is not getting anywhere, and neither are we." Walden paced the room as he spoke. They hadn't been allowed to go outside to look for Evey, but that hadn't stopped Walden. He sneaked out every night to gather what information he could but, as Tony had predicted, information of any sort was hard to come by. Werewolves, in their human form, could not make use of the enhanced senses that came with their monthly transformation, but they could still tell a vampire apart from a living person – apparently, the stench of rot and decay was strong enough to perceive even then, though why they smelled these specific scents was another matter entirely, since vampires had no body odour.

On the other hand, vampires could not detect werewolves. They were truly disadvantaged. The ones Walden had found – mainly fellows he already knew, and few of them had accepted to talk to him – were reluctant to speak about Greyback. Most of them were terrified of him, and Tony couldn't blame them.

"I told you a million times, Wal, even if they agreed to talk, Greyback's den will be protected. Magically warded. He's got Voldemort on his side, remember? They probably can't tell you. Remus will face the same problem wherever he goes, no matter whom he speaks to. Although, to be fair, it's miraculous enough that he's survived so long out there. He's like a sheep among the actual wolves." Tony sighed. He had been a vampire long enough now that exhaling air felt weird to him. Almost…unnatural. "What more could we do?" They had the same conversation practically every night. He didn't understand why they even bothered. Evey must be dead by now. He was as heartbroken as Walden was, no matter what his brother might think, but he would have to face the fact sooner or later. It was unlikely that Greyback would have kept her alive for so long, no matter how curious he might be about her.

Walden stopped dead in his tracks, his back to Tony. "We should call Jeanne," he announced matter-of-factly.

Well, that was a novel idea. But definitely not a good one. "You really have no clue how much trouble I'm in, do you? If she finds out I've turned you…" He shuddered at the thought. She may look frail, but Jeanne was more dangerous than anyone he'd ever met.

"She'll find out sooner or later," Walden pointed out.

"It can wait a few centuries, as far as I'm concerned." Didn't he understand that he was in danger as well? Jeanne might decide to kill Walden just to teach Tony a lesson. Or out of sheer spite. Or for fun.

Walden turned to face him. He hadn't shaved since he'd awoken as a vampire. His beard and hair were a mess. Tony didn't understand how their hair kept growing, now that they were dead. Then again, there were many things about vampires that were utterly unexplainable, at least from a purely biological point of view. "Are you going to make me beg?" Walden demanded. "Do you have any idea what it's like? How useless I feel? I don't even know if she's alive!" Tony opened his mouth to say that he would have to consider the fact that she might indeed not be, but his brother forestalled him. "I know you think she's dead," he went on accusingly, eyes blazing, "but I won't quit until I know that for sure."

Tony tried to approach the matter differently. "What could Jeanne do about it, anyway? She's a vampire, same as us."

"She must have connections. It's her job to get information, isn't it? She managed to infiltrate Azkaban, and for all we know she played a part in the mass breakout. I would hate her for it, but it'd prove that she can handle herself, at least. She's resourceful. She can help, Tony. I know she can."

Tony shook his head. "Even if she can, she's not likely to. Not when she finds out about you. Hell, we'd be lucky if she lets us live."

"I'm willing to take that chance."

Of course he was. He really should have ended up in Gryffindor, noble, suicidal fool that he was. "Look, even if I agreed, we'd still have to invite her in. We can't have a conversation like that on the threshold and hope that no one walks in on us. That's just not possible. Jeanne can only be invited in by the owner or a member of the permanent household. I doubt that we'll be considered permanent enough."

"Then we explain it all to Molly. We come clean." Walden said that as if it were the most evident thing in the world.

"Are you out of your bloody mind? I'm already in trouble! If they find out that I've told anyone else about them..." Us, Tony reminded himself. About us. It was bad enough that he'd told Evey, no matter how…special she was, but if he told Molly, too... "The Bloodmother will atomise me," he whispered fatalistically.

"Tony, it's Molly. She'll keep it to herself. You know she will."

Merlin, had his brains melted when he'd died? Or was it Evey's doing? "It doesn't matter whether she keeps it to herself or not," Tony said through gritted teeth. "Jeanne will know, and it will only add insult to injury. We have nothing going for us, Wal. This won't be a debate, or even an argument. This will be Jeanne tearing us apart."

"That's not true, though," Walden murmured. "We do have something. We have Evey." Tony frowned. What did he mean by that? "You may have squandered your only shot at creating an Ancient, but you made her," he explained. "I know she's not a proper vampire, but she can turn invisible. She's at least part Ancient, isn't she? She's something entirely new. Don't you think it might compensate for your transgression?"

Tony stared at him in bewilderment. Evey was even less of an Ancient than Walden was, from a purely vampire-y point of view, but she'd somehow absorbed a much more important…ability, it was true. Walden had tried to turn invisible – he still tried, occasionally – but no miracle had occurred so far. The only thing he could do, that other vampires could not, was to retract his fangs at will. It wouldn't be enough to impress Jeanne, Tony knew that for certain. Evey, on the other hand… "You'd just throw her to them like that? Do you have any idea what they might do to her, if they find out what she is?" Walden made no reply. Actually, Tony had no clue himself, but he liked to be prepared for the worst. He hadn't known the other Ancients long enough to predict their reactions. They weren't bad people, not really, but…well, some of them seemed to have forgotten how humans were supposed to behave.

Walden simply looked at him expectantly. "Ugh, fine," Tony grumbled after a moment. Walden had a point. He would have to face Jeanne eventually. The problem, he told his brother, was that the summoning thing worked only for the maker. He could call for Jeanne, but there was no guarantee that she would show up, and no knowing when she would. She was no witch, Tony reminded Walden. She couldn't simply Apparate in the yard.

"Just do it, alright? I'll get Molly while you do that." Walden was already at the door, walking with an air of determination.

Bracing himself, Tony nipped his own finger and, when a single drop of thick, dark blood welled from the incision, he deposited it on the exact spot where Jeanne had bitten him to transform him. All the while, he prayed to the gods that his maker wouldn't answer the call. It might mean saving Evey, though Tony doubted that Jeanne would be able to do anything about it, but it might also mean Walden's death. Molly's death, too. There really was no telling how Jeanne would react, what she would do. She was as dangerous as she was unpredictable.

Tony regretted giving in to Walden's request already. Worry was gnawing at him – worry for Evey, for Walden, for everyone alive in the vicinity – but it wasn't the only thing that was gnawing at him at the moment.

On a whim, Tony bit himself again, just to taste blood, even his own, disgusting dead blood. He was so fucking hungry that his entire body seemed to burn with hunger. He'd never felt such pain in his life – or death. Even the Cruciatus Curse couldn't compare.

He would need to feed, and soon, whether he liked or not.

Because if Jeanne didn't murder them all, Tony might.

Molly had taken it all stoically, as Walden had known she would. She was clearly annoyed that they hadn't told anyone, but he had expected that as well. She seemed to understand why they'd kept it a secret, at least. If word spread, and Voldemort found out that immortality was only one bite away from him, things could quickly degenerate. Even if he didn't have the spark, he would find a way to use that knowledge to his advantage.

The three of them were sitting in the kitchen, sipping tea – well, Molly and Walden were. Tony sat across from them, brooding. He had called for Jeanne over an hour ago, and he kept staring at his finger, for some reason, with an occasional glance at Molly.

Walden had had in mind to ask for Jeanne's help for a while now, but had kept it as a last resort solution, knowing how much trouble Tony would be in when his maker discovered what he'd done. Walden wasn't going anywhere with his investigation, however. Tony was right – the werewolves would never assist them in finding Greyback, and Walden simply couldn't wait any longer. He could only hope that Jeanne would deign to make an appearance.

She did, half an hour later. Walden hadn't really expected her to come this very night, to tell the truth. She must have been close to their location, or perhaps she knew people who could Apparate.

In any case, he was glad that she was here, no matter how irate she might become in a minute. Tony had to be exaggerating about the whole murder thing, though. Walden didn't know Jeanne very well, but he'd seen how she looked at Antonin. She would never harm him.

Tony opened the door, Molly at his side. Walden stood some distance behind her, and he hoped that he hadn't just condemned her to death by revealing the Ancients' secret. He couldn't afford to doubt his decision now, however. What was done, was done, and he would suffer the consequences.

Jeanne gave Molly a baleful, one-eyed glare before shifting her attention to Tony. "What is the meaning of this?" she demanded imperiously, hands on her slim hips. "Who is she?" she went on before anyone could reply. "Another lover?" she sneered.

Lover? Walden thought, frowning slightly. What was she going on about?

Apparently, Tony was as confused as Walden felt. Obviously, this was not at all the first thing he had expected Jeanne to say. "What?" he said, scowling. "No, she's a friend. A trustworthy friend. Jeanne, this is–"

Jeanne raised a hand sharply. "Don't bother. I don't care for the mortal's name. What do you want? What's the emergency?"

Tony cleared his throat. "We need to talk," he muttered, eyes downcast. Walden didn't blame him; Jeanne was quite fierce when she was angry.

"Well, I don't have all night. Are you going to let me in or what?" she demanded impatiently.

Tony gave Molly a sideways glance. "You may come in," Molly said coolly. Jeanne ignored her entirely as she stepped inside the kitchen. She started to smile when she saw Walden, but froze a second later. Damn. He had hoped to break the news to her calmly, but his pale skin – in contrast to his former tan – must have given it away, not to mention his fangs. He had Tony's ability to keep them out of sight whenever he wanted, but he was still struggling with it on occasion.

"Enfer et damnation!" Jeanne swore in a very unlady-like fashion. Before Walden could speak, she turned to Tony and slapped him hard enough that he fell to the floor.

Molly gasped, but she had her wand out a moment later. Walden moved toward her and put his hand on her arm, gently but firmly. This was the last thing they needed right now. Magic wouldn't work on the Ancient, anyway. Tony was heaving himself up gingerly, groaning. A blow like that would have killed anyone else instantly. Perhaps Walden had overestimated Jeanne's affection toward his brother. "Jeanne," he said quietly, in an attempt to appease the youthful-looking woman, "hear us out before you do anything you might regret. Please?" He couldn't help the edge of concern in his voice.

"You dare address me, mongrel?" Jeanne spat at him acidly.

Walden gaped at her for a moment. This was worse than he had anticipated. Molly recovered faster than him. "Excuse me! I will not tolerate that sort of language in my house!"

Jeanne shifted her attention to her, but Molly stood her ground firmly, meeting the Ancient's gaze. "Do you know how easily I could kill you, old woman?" Jeanne said softly.

"Not as easily as you'd think, not with me here," Tony said, shielding Molly with his body. There was no mark on his cheek where the blow had landed, but Walden had rarely seen his brother looking so furious.

"Aw, would you look at that," Jeanne sniggered. "Are you going to protect her, like you protected your lover?"

"Why do you keep saying that? I don't have a lover, burn you!" Tony exclaimed.

"Not anymore, you don't," his maker said sweetly.

Realisation struck Walden just an instant before it did his brother. The only woman Tony had slept with since he was freed from Azkaban, the only person who could be qualified as his "lover", was the one he'd met on his birthday. Natalie, Walden thought her name was. Evey had told him about that episode.

Tony stared at Jeanne blankly for a moment, then Walden caught the exact moment when he understood what she was saying. His eyes widened, and his jaw dropped slightly in a way that would have been comical in other circumstances. His fists clenched almost reflexively, to Walden's surprise – as far as he knew, Tony had never hit anyone in his life, let alone a woman.

Everyone remained silent as Antonin struggled internally, then eventually stormed out into the night without a word.