Tony paced anxiously among the ancient standing stones of Stonehenge. The Wolves had told their peers that they would be here around two o'clock. It was almost three! Had something happened? It had been raining hard all over the country for the last couple of days. Maybe there had been an accident. That was the main reason for Tony's dislike of automobiles – or any Muggle means of transportation, for that matter. Too dangerous, too unpredictable. He'd offered the Wolves assistance, had offered to Apparate with them, but they'd refused stubbornly. No vampire was getting anywhere near Greyback's den, they'd insisted.

Finally, just as his watch beeped with the turning of the hour, Tony heard a car approach, and spotted it a moment later. It was in one piece, if extremely muddy. The driver was the first out; it was the Asian bloke Tony had seen last week during the negotiations. He was followed by the arrogant Wolf who'd been so intent on keeping Greyback's location secret.

And then the back door opened, and Evey jumped out, looking around wildly. She began running as soon as she caught sight of him, ending her course in a crash that would have knocked over any human. As it was, Tony stumbled backward slightly as he enfolded her in his arms.

Against all odds, she was alive, and apparently unhurt. A powerful wave of relief flooded him. Thank Merlin. Until the moment where he'd set eyes on her, Tony hadn't truly realised how much he'd missed her, how worried he'd been about her, how terrified he was that she might be dead. He'd been so focused on keeping Walden from spiralling into manic depression that he'd never really stopped to think about how he was doing.

Her heart was beating so strongly in her chest, it reverberated inside his own. She was wonderfully alive, and she very nearly made him feel alive again. "Where is he?" Evey murmured. "Where's Walden?" Tony could detect the fear in her voice.

Of course. She didn't know yet. He'd almost forgotten about that, in his relief at seeing her and the anticipation and worry that had preceded it. "Walden's fine," he said soothingly. "He just…he wasn't allowed to come." That wasn't strictly true, but then again, in a way, the sun really didn't allow Walden to come outside in broad daylight. Walden wasn't even aware that Evey was being rescued today, in fact. He'd been asleep when Tony had received Jeanne's message. They were communicating by text messages now, none of the others being familiar with owls or any sort of magical means of communication, and Tony had to admit that it was rather practical. The Order should learn how to use mobile phones, he thought. He would mention it to Molly. Or Arthur, preferably. He was more likely to appreciate the idea. It would take the Death Eaters a while just to understand how they were communicating, and make it that much harder for any spies they might have. Voldemort would never admit that something the Muggles had come up with might turn out to be more efficient than anything magical.

"What the hell did you get yourself into?" Evey muttered. She was still holding on to him, hugging him tightly. "I thought that the Ancients didn't involve themselves in the lives of ordinary mortals. So much for secrecy."

"Well, you're not exactly ordinary," he replied, smiling, even if she couldn't see it. "But there's a lot you don't know," he admitted. "I'll explain later."

Evey disentangled herself from him and looked up at him sceptically. "We're going back to the Headquarters, right? I need to see Walden. I need to."

He shifted uncomfortably. That wasn't the plan, strictly speaking. "We will. Um, soon."

"Tony," she said, a barely veiled threat in her voice, "if I don't get to see Walden in a matter of minutes, I don't know exactly what I will do, but it won't be pretty."

"You don't get to make demands, little girl," Jeanne said crisply. She was standing a few paces away from them, hands on her slender hips. "You ought to be grateful. We didn't have to rescue you."

"You didn't rescue me," Evey pointed out, gesturing toward the Wolves. The pirate Blackbeard waved amiably. "They did."

"Ah… V, this is Jeanne, my maker," Tony introduced them lightly. "Jeanne, this is Evey." They glared at each other, and Evey crossed her arms over her chest.

Oh, Merlin. Tony had expected that these two wouldn't get along – they both had strong characters, and Jeanne was annoyingly possessive of him – but this was hardly the time or place. "Um, ladies? How about we get out of here before you get into a proper catfight?"

Jeanne glowered at him, but Evey grinned mischievously, as though she couldn't dream of anything she wanted to do more than wrestle an Ancient with her bare hands. Tony noticed that she hadn't even glanced at the rest of the Ancients, or Wolves, to try to figure out who they were. That was saying something.

"Take us to the appointed location, then," Jeanne commanded. "We shall talk there, away from prying ears." Tony knew she meant the Wolves, but she threw Evey another dirty look, as though the fact that the werewolves were eavesdropping was somehow her fault.

"Is Walden at that location?" Evey enquired.

Tony passed a hand through his hair. "Um… Well, that is… There's something we have to do before you can–"

"If you don't take me back to the Headquarters, I will Apparate there myself, and to hell with splinching," Evey said fiercely.

That didn't sound like an empty threat. Tony glanced at Jeanne, who shook her head firmly. "No. We had an agreement, Antonin." Evey scoffed, probably at the way Jeanne pronounced his name.

"Give us just a few minutes, an hour at most," he pleaded. "Just so I can explain–"

"No!" his maker repeated loudly. "We are going to the rendezvous point, right now. No discussion. Keep the girl under control, for Lilith's sake."

Evey didn't seem impressed. Then again, she'd just spent five months in Greyback's company. No doubt it had hardened her somewhat. "You're not his mother, burn you. Stop talking to him as if he were a child." She rounded on Tony. "I mean it, you know. I don't care if I lose an arm in the process. At least Wal and I will be assorted," she added with a faint, bitter chuckle.

This time Tony glanced toward the Bloodmother, who was observing their exchange with obvious curiosity. Well, everyone was, in fact. Some of the Wolves were smirking, and the bloody pirate was laughing openly. The Mother made no sign that Tony should do one thing or the other, but the other Ancients seemed to expect him to obey his maker.

He was going to have to disappoint them. Grabbing Evey's arm, he Disapparated swiftly – although not quickly enough that he didn't catch the first of a no doubt long stream of flowery curses in the refined language of Victor Hugo.

The moment Tony caught her arm, his face set in a resigned, grim expression, Evey realised that she shouldn't have made such a scene. It was childish. What would the Ancients think of her? Gods, she'd just made a fool of herself in front of people like Dracula and the Original Vampire and Merlin knew who else. Not the best first impression.

But it had been months since she'd seen Walden and, thanks to Greyback, she'd believed him dead. She'd hoped that he was alive, she'd tried to remain optimistic, but the Wolf had successfully instilled doubt in her mind. She just had to see him.

"I'm sorry if I got you into even more trouble than you're already in," Evey told Tony sheepishly as they Apparated at the–

The Burrow? She frowned at the misshapen building. "Why are we here?" she asked suspiciously.

"We relocated the Headquarters," Tony explained curtly. "V, you did just get me in trouble, so let's not delay, alright?" He marched toward the house, and she followed.

He knocked on the door, and talked briefly to someone inside before it opened. Mrs Weasley hugged her before she could even take a step inside. She was crying, Evey realised. She stood awkwardly, unsure what to do or say. Mrs Weasley finally allowed her to breathe again and scanned her thoroughly, taking in her man's clothes (borrowed from a pile of abandoned items at the prison), her dishevelled hair (nothing unusual there) and her unchanged figure (her supernatural metabolism worked wonders). "Are you hurt, dear?"

"No, not at all," she assured Mrs Weasley. "I'm fine."

It was now Nana's turn to celebrate Evey's return. The dog barked happily and bumped into her, demanding to be petted. Evey complied with a smile. She'd become huge, since Evey had last seen her. "I'm fine," she repeated. "Where's Walden?" She was surprised that he wasn't there to welcome her, especially with the commotion Nana was causing. The realisation only made Evey more anxious to see him. Something was decidedly off.

"Of course," Mrs Weasley said hesitantly, glancing at Tony.

"He's upstairs," he said softly. "Second floor, door on the left."

Evey knew the one. It was Percy's old bedroom, right next to Fred and George's. She ran up the stairs and didn't bother knocking before barging in. The room was completely dark, so she patted the wall in a purely Muggle reflex, searching for a switch, before remembering that the Weasleys didn't have an electrical installation. She had completely forgotten that she could use magic again. She summoned a tiny ball of light from her left hand, and hoped that someone had thought to retrieve her wand from the Ministry.

Walden was lying on the bed, body rigid, white as a sheet. His chest didn't rise and fall like that of a breathing person. Merlin! Was he in some sort of magical coma? Evey moved closer and sat down on the bed gingerly. She put a hand on his chest, then at his throat. No pulse. She was about to panic when her eyes fell on a glass half-filled with red liquid on the bedside table. Then she finally understood.

Walden was dead after all.

"I'm sorry, V," Tony murmured behind her. "I had to do it. That is, I didn't have to, but–"

"Hush," she said. "It's fine. I don't care. He's alive, that's all that matters. Well, alive enough," she amended. She placed her fingers on Walden's cheek. It was cold to the touch. Damn, he really looks dead. It will take some getting used to, she thought with a shudder.

If he was asleep, then he wasn't an Ancient. But Tony had clearly turned him himself, or he wouldn't be trying to apologise – though why he would think he needed to apologise to her, Evey couldn't fathom. He'd obviously saved Walden's life. He deserved a bloody Order of Merlin and a knighthood from the Queen, as far as Evey was concerned.

Though, granted, Walden likely wouldn't see it that way. He'd always said that, if he were to die, Evey should teleport Tony on the moon to make sure that he couldn't turn him. She'd jokingly acquiesced, but she'd never imagined that the situation would ever actually present itself. And worse, that she wouldn't be there for him when it did.

All she wanted to do now was to cuddle beside Walden and wait until he woke up, but she knew she couldn't. Not yet. Sighing, she looked up at Tony. "Tell me everything."

They settled in the kitchen, with some tea for the girls. Tony looked at their steaming cups with envy. He would give decades of his life for one sip of hot tea, and centuries for one of Molly's freshly baked scones.

He shook his head, dispelling images of food and drink he would never taste again. "We moved here because…" He hesitated. "Well, because Sirius is dead, and using Grimmauld Place feels weird, now that he's gone."

"Sirius is dead?" Evey repeated weakly.

"He died at the Ministry. Just after you disappeared, I think. Bellatrix got him."

Evey looked upset for a moment, as if she was on the verge of tears – which would be perfectly understandable – but she recovered quickly. Yes, her time with Greyback had certainly toughened her up. Tony wasn't sure if it was a good thing. Evey inhaled sharply, then released the air slowly. Just like that, she'd regained her composure. It seemed that she'd had a lot of practice with that calming method. "And Walden? Who killed him?" Her face didn't change, but her eyes blazed as she said the words.

Tony hesitated only a brief instant before telling her. What could she do, anyway? The man was in Azkaban. She couldn't get to him. "Rodolphus Lestrange. Killing Curse. He shot Wal in the back." He added that Rodolphus had been arrested and returned to prison, along with most of his fellow Death Eaters – those who were present at the Department of Mysteries that night, in any case. As far as Tony knew, only Bellatrix had eluded capture. Only her, but Bellatrix alone was probably deadlier than any ten Death Eaters.

"And Harry? Is he alright?"

"He's…distraught, understandably enough," Molly replied sadly. "But he wasn't harmed. Nobody else was."

"That's something, I guess," Evey muttered. "Anything else I should know?"

The Ancients want you and Walden to have babies, as a reward for their assistance in rescuing you. And for not executing us. He didn't say that aloud, however. He wanted to avoid the topic as long as possible – preferably until Walden was awake. In truth, Tony didn't want to be the one to tell her.

"Not much, no," he replied casually. "What happened to you, then?"

"I'm linked to Greyback," Evey announced without preamble. "We have a sort of physical connection. Those wounds I got last year?" she said, glancing at Tony. He nodded. He remembered only too well. "That was him getting hurt."

He stared at her. As far as weird explications went, this one took the prize. Molly looked confused. They hadn't told her about that. It was one of the few things Walden and he had held back – more for Molly's sake than for secrecy reasons. She would have freaked out, and Tony was in fact grateful to Evey when she continued speaking, without leaving a chance for Molly to interrogate them.

"And it works both ways. Thankfully, if I may say so," Evey went on with a sour smile. "I assume that you already know that he's a Wolf, given the team you assembled to rescue me." Tony nodded again. "Right. Last piece of news, then." She paused as if to give the revelation some weight. What now? Tony thought dismally. "I can turn into a werewolf."

That was not poss–

Oh, right. They weren't supposed to use the P-word.

Tony laughed. What else could he do? Molly eyed him with some concern. "Sorry. It's nervous laughter." He briefly ruffled his hair with both hands. "I just don't get it." He frowned at Evey. "It's been over a year since Greyback bit you, and yet you never transformed during the full moon when we lived at Sirius's place. I mean, we used to joke about this, remember?" Because it had seemed so extravagant and bloody impossible.

"It doesn't have to be the full moon," Evey explained. "I'm like Greyback – loath as I am to admit it. We can turn at will. I don't think he has to transform when the moon is full, either, but he does, to keep up appearances. His pack didn't know what he was until very recently." She grinned viciously.

"The Wolves won't be pleased that you revealed their secret to mere werewolves," Tony pointed out.

"They'll be even less pleased to know that it was Greyback himself who told me," she said smugly. "And that he named quite a few names as well."

Damn. They would be angry, that was for sure. Was Greyback utterly mad? Or had he seriously not considered the fact that Evey may escape some day? "You've been trying to discredit him, haven't you? To his pack and to the Wolves."

Evey nodded. "Quite successfully, I believe, at least as far as the pack is concerned. He hasn't been seen since I first transformed and almost tore his throat out." Molly looked shocked to hear Evey speak like that, but she made no comment. She was uncharacteristically quiet. Well, it was a lot to process.

But the most pressing matter was that Greyback was at large. Could his fellow Wolves track him down? Tony certainly hoped so. He never wanted Evey to be captured again. "V, if there's nothing else…" He trailed off, looking at her questioningly.

She shrugged. "Isn't that enough?"

It was too much, and Tony had many questions, especially about her 'physical connection' to Greyback. What the hell did that entail, exactly? But Jeanne would slap him senseless as it was. He couldn't delay any longer. "We really should be going. They want to talk to you. The Ancients, I mean. It's…a bit of a mess." That was a euphemism.

"Can't it wait? At least until Walden's awake?" Evey pleaded.

"Molly will let him know what happened, and where to find us. He'll meet us there when he wakes up, don't worry." Molly nodded reassuringly but remained silent.

Evey grimaced in plain annoyance, then sighed resignedly. "Fine. Let's get this over with."