"Can't believe it took a year and a half before we're finally allowed to attend a bloody meeting," Walden muttered as they walked toward the main gate of the property, to a spot where they could Disapparate from, outside of the wards. "There's so much we could have done already."

"Like what?" Tony asked wryly. He felt as frustrated as his brother for being left out for so long, but what was the use of complaining about it, especially now?

"I could have negotiated with the giants myself, for one thing. I speak their native language and several dialects, so I might have had more luck than Hagrid," Walden replied. His tone implied that he would have succeeded even without luck. "We could have tried to recruit some vampires – I'm one of them, after all. And I could have talked to the werewolves who don't belong to Greyback's pack, too. I know most of the minor Alphas."

"That's what Remus has been doing," Evey pointed out.

"He's joined Ben's pack, but he's gained nothing so far, not even relevant information," Walden countered.

Evey ignored him. "As for the vampires, they don't exactly hang out with their own kind, or with anyone else, for that matter." Vampires and werewolves were opposite in many ways; unlike werewolves, who tended to live in packs, vampires were usually loners, sometimes even hermits. "And there aren't that many of them anyway."

According to the latest Ministry count, which dated from the early 1970's, there were fewer than a hundred vampires in Great Britain, though there were about thrice as many part-vampires. Vampires were under a strict obligation to drink animal blood exclusively; turning people or feeding from them, even with their consent, had been outlawed soon after the International Statute of Secrecy came into existence. Vampires weren't even allowed to drink from live animals anymore; it was considered animal cruelty. A whole blood market had therefore developed, as well as a not-so-secret black market for human blood, as was to be expected. People in desperate need of quick cash were known to sell their blood, a practice that was quite dangerous for the vampires who purchased it, since they were not immune to blood diseases. At least part-vampires didn't need blood to survive.

Walden shrugged. "Still worth a try."

"Look, you can't really blame the Order," Evey told him gently. "They had good reason not to trust you. Either of you. Or me," she added after a brief hesitation. Merlin knew, she'd kept her share of secrets from the Order.

"And if Voldemort had realised that we were alive and captured us," Tony went on, "it would have been a disaster. You are well aware that he has ways of obtaining the information he wants." He himself was too good an Occlumens to have his mind overtaken, even by Voldemort, especially now, as a magic-proof Ancient, but Walden was another matter, though Tony didn't say that out loud. Now that he thought about it, it would be a good idea to teach Evey the basics of Occlumency, just in case. He would bring it up later, when they got back home.

"But any member of the Order could be taken and interrogated, with the same result," Walden retorted. "And what does it matter if they realise I'm alive? They already know that I deserted and went over to Dumbledore."

They had reached the area that was not warded against Apparition and they paused at the gate for a moment. "Wal, it's no use bringing this up now," Evey said. "Just be glad that they're letting us participate at last."

Walden scoffed. "Do you really believe they will let us do anything?"

"What do you mean?" she asked with a frown.

"They want to know what happened to you, V. How you escaped. They want to pry out what we're hiding from them. I doubt they'll send us on missions. They still don't trust us, you know, whatever they might say when we get there."

Evey reflected on it for a minute. "Well, it's about time they knew everything, don't you think? I'm sure they'll understand why we kept it secret for so long, and when they see that we're willing to be completely honest, they'll accept us."

"No offense, but that sounds incredibly naïve," Walden said.

Evey smirked. "Are we seriously going to fight over this? At least let us get there first and see what they want. Then you can call me naïve, if you're proven right."

They had discussed it at length the previous night and they had all agreed that it was time to reveal the existence of the Wolves and Ancients to the Order. It was simply too important: what if the Wolves who had refused to help rescue Evey decided to join Greyback and form an alliance with Voldemort? They had to be prepared, if it ever came to that. And the Order should know about Tony, and Evey, although both were still reluctant to let anyone know. But it was necessary. There was too much at stake; secrecy was a luxury they couldn't afford any longer.

Although Tony highly doubted that the Ancients would see it that way.

They materialised at the Burrow a few seconds later and Evey knocked on the door. Molly asked her a question – they each had a personal question and answer that served as password and proved that they were who they claimed to be – and they were allowed inside when Evey gave the correct answer.

They were among the first to arrive; only Arthur and Bill were sitting at the table. Molly offered them tea, which Tony refused with a grumble. She knew that he couldn't drink anything but human blood, so why did she keep asking? Evey and Walden both declined as well, probably for his sake.

There was a knock on the door before they had time to take a seat. Tonks, Alastor Moody and Kingsley Shacklebolt walked in soon afterward, and Remus was close behind them.

They were waiting for Dumbledore and Snape, Arthur said after they'd exchanged all the adequate social niceties and everyone was settled down, with tea and biscuits for those who were lucky enough to be able to ingest them.

It was another half hour before the Hogwarts Headmaster and the former Potions Master joined them. Snape was his usual austere, greasy-haired self and sat down at the end of the table without a word while Dumbledore greeted everyone warmly and gratefully accepted Molly's offer of a cup of tea.

"Mr and Mrs Macnair," Dumbledore said jovially, "thank you for joining us today. And you, Antonin." Actually, Evey had decided to keep her maiden name, but she still grinned at the words. She was still on what Tony called a 'wedding high'. Dumbledore smiled at them all in turn, his blue eyes twinkling, before pursuing. "I'm afraid that this meeting will not be particularly exciting, as there seems to be very little to report." He shifted his piercing gaze to Evey. "But perhaps we will begin with something that should have been discussed weeks ago." He gestured toward her. "Mrs Macnair, would you please let us know what transpired during your captivity at the hands of the werewolf known as Fenrir Greyback?"

"Known as?" Bill repeated with a frown. "Why? It's not his real name?"

Evey shook her head. "No, but I don't know what the real one is."

"What I would like to know," Moody cut in, "is how you escaped." He cocked his head toward Remus, who, Tony noticed, had seated himself as far away from Tonks as he could get. "By all accounts, Greyback's…pack numbers in the hundreds. How did you get past them, girl? Or did you magic your way out of there, somehow? I'm also inclined to think that the place is heavily warded, as indicated by the fact that no information could be extracted from the werewolves that were interrogated."

"Who were interrogated," Tonks corrected him, almost distractedly. "They're people, Alastor." Remus glanced at her briefly before returning his attention to the retired Auror.

Moody made a dismissive gesture and fixed Evey with both his normal eye and the magical one. That device was quite ingenious; Tony wished he could study it. He'd never dare ask, though. Moody was the Auror who'd arrested him and, quite frankly, he was terrifying, even now that they were on the same side. "How did you make it out of there?"

Tony had assumed that Molly had already made up some likely story for the Order, but apparently, she'd kept silent. She must be tired of covering up for them, though, and no wonder. They'd had no right to ask that of her in the first place.

"She didn't escape on her own," Walden replied coolly. Moody had also arrested him, after Voldemort's supposed demise, though Walden had been released soon afterwards, after Tony had confessed to murdering both Gideon and Fabian and having Walden under the influence of the Imperium Curse. Tony had a feeling that Moody knew that he'd lied. "We asked for help."

"And how did you do that, lad, what with you being confined here at the Burrow while the girl was gone?" Moody's enchanted eye was searching the three of them in turn. Not for the first time, Tony wondered if it could see through solid matter, such as their clothes, or even their flesh. It was a disturbing thought.

"Did you really believe I'd just sit here while you were doing nothing to find her?" Walden said scornfully. "Of course we bloody well went out to look for her. Every fucking night." Funny how his Scottish accent was always more pronounced when he was angry or upset, just as it had been when he was a child. And how he tended to swear like Jeanne, too.

"Hey," Tonks interjected, "that's hardly fair! Walden, we did everything we could to find Evey. Remus went out of his way to get information, at great risk to himself."

"And how did you expect that to work?" Walden went on. What was he doing? They hadn't come here to put the blame on anyone. What would be the point? Evey was here now, and safe. Walden glared at Remus. "I'm sorry, mate, but you just don't cut it as a werewolf. It's a wonder you even managed to be accepted in a pack, even one as rubbish as Ben's." Benjamin Blackwood was the Alpha of the Oxford pack. Apparently, Walden had had dealings with him in the past, seeking help to apprehend some rogue werewolves, most likely. Walden turned to Tonks. "All the packs in England wouldn't dare go after Greyback even if they were working together, but you expect him, alone, to do it? This is–"

Evey abruptly put a hand on his good arm. "Cut it out," she whispered through gritted teeth. "What the hell are you doing? Remus is not to blame, and you know it. He couldn't have found me even if he had every single Alpha in the whole damn world at his back. You know that."

Walden opened his mouth to retort but clearly thought better of it when Evey kicked him in the shin. His jaw closed with an audible clack, though he still glowered at his wife.

Evey gave him a last warning look before directing her attention to Remus. "Sorry about that. It's been difficult for everyone." That was a mild word for it. She turned to Moody. "I'm afraid answering your question will necessitate a few…um, contextual elements," she told him apologetically.

She proceeded to tell them everything, just as they had planned. It took a long time, and she was often interrupted by questions, mostly by Moody, Tonks and Remus; the latter looked dumbfounded when she explained that she'd survived a werewolf bite and actually gasped when she later announced that she'd transformed into one. Dumbledore didn't speak at all. He was listening intently, eyes focused on Evey, but he didn't look surprised by anything she said.

He knew, Tony thought. Somehow, Dumbledore had known all along, part of it at least, but he'd never told anyone. For Evey's sake? To reduce the chances of Voldemort finding out? Some other obscure reason? Tony suspected that he wouldn't like the answer, whatever it was. Behind Dumbledore's grandfatherly, chipper attitude, a cold, calculating man examined every situation ruthlessly, and carefully weighed his various options. Tony had seen that side of Dumbledore when Walden and he had first approached him about joining the Order, and it had creeped him the hell out.

Snape remained silent and affected a bored, unconcerned expression throughout the entire story. Arthur and his son looked shocked, but they didn't interfere. Molly, of course, did her best to conceal the fact that she'd known for months, without much success; it was written all over her face. No one called her out on it, though.

When Evey came to the actual planning for her rescue – if it could be called a plan – she turned to Tony. "Maybe you should tell that part. You were there, and you're less likely to grumble about the whole thing," she added with a pointed look to her husband, who pretended not to notice.

Tony obliged, although there wasn't much to say. The essential had been covered.

"So Greyback – or whatever his name is – is in fact a werewolf with supernatural abilities, and he is immortal and near-indestructible," Shacklebolt summed up the part that apparently bothered him the most. Evey nodded. "And there are thirteen others like him."

Technically, twelve, since Rasputin was unaccounted for. But that was irrelevant, and they were not naming anyone, so Tony let it slide.

"Yes, but as I said, only Greyback follows Voldemort. Well, in Greyback's mind, he's not a follower. He considers himself above everyone else. He actually referred to himself as a god-like being once," Evey said wryly.

Shacklebolt waved that away impatiently. "If they don't work with Voldemort, they might help us," he went on, addressing Dumbledore. "The vampires as well. They've already helped one of us, so we have reason to believe that they are opposed to Voldemort."

"No, that's not quite right," Tony said. He didn't like where this was going. "They don't support or oppose anyone. They don't take part, neither the Wolves nor the Ancients."

This was precisely what Tony had been afraid of. It was one thing to let the Order know, but they couldn't afford for the werewolves or the vampires – especially the latter – to find out about it. They'd given no names, of course, but this was still enough to get them executed. The Order had to see that. "If you involve them, or even attempt to contact them, they're more likely to destroy you in a fit of annoyance than to kill Voldemort. They cannot know that you know. I thought she'd made that clear," he went on, indicating Evey. "We thought you ought to know about the Wolves, in case some of them decide to join Greyback, though it's unlikely, but the Ancients… We gave you that information out of courtesy, not because we think they can help us win the war. They will not."

"But that's ridiculous!" Tonks exclaimed. "Kingsley is right, they have already involved themselves. And it concerns them as much as it concerns us," she continued. "If Voldemort takes over the country, who knows what will happen next? He won't be satisfied with that. He wants to rule the world, to rid it of all…impurity. We're all concerned, immortal or not."

"Besides, Voldemort seeks to avoid death," Shacklebolt added. "If he learns that there are immortal beings around, it's only a matter of time before he hunts them down. And he will find out, sooner or later. Greyback will mention it, or he'll have the knowledge extracted from his mind. I daresay that they are in more danger even than we are."

Tony shook his head vehemently. "No, no, no. That's all wrong. For one thing, you can't use magic against Greyback, in case you'd forgotten, though Evey literally just told you that a minute ago," he said. Evey cleared her throat and Tony blinked, realising that he was being Walden-esque. "Yeah. Anyway. Greyback won't tell Voldemort, you can be certain of that. He's not stupid. He despises Voldemort, and certainly doesn't trust him."

"Don't you see?" Walden said heatedly. "Greyback's using Voldemort as a springboard for his own takeover. He doesn't care about blood purity and all that rubbish. All that matters to him is the cause, as he calls it – the werewolf cause."

"Though he can use magic," Evey explained more calmly, "Greyback despises the wizarding world at large. He blames witches and wizards for the past and ongoing poor treatment of werewolves, for the dreadful lives they must do with." She glanced at Remus. "He's not wrong on that account, obviously, but he's going about it the wrong way, as I'm sure you'll agree."

Remus nodded. "As I've said before, they need a true leader, someone who can make things better without angering the rest of the world." He frowned suddenly. "We need a proper leader," he amended in a low voice.

"I'm sorry, Remus, but this is not what we need to focus on right now," Shacklebolt said quietly. He leaned forward and addressed Tony. "These…Ancients, they are your people. They allowed you to fight alongside us, and they already gave us assistance in rescuing this young lady. What makes you think that they would refuse an alliance?"

"Are you dense, or what?" Tony exclaimed. He was running out of patience. "Do you need to hear it in another language, perhaps? Walden speaks many, if it helps," he said with a twist of the mouth. "They cannot know. Three simple words; it's not that complicated. Can you get them into that thick skull of yours?"

"Don't make us regret telling you, Shacklebolt," Walden warned him.

"Mr Shacklebolt," Evey said after throwing them both a disapproving glare, "what they're trying to say is that, regardless of their potential will to help, we must not involve the Ancients, because it's against the rules to reveal their existence to mere mortals, if you'll pardon me the expression. Tony has already put himself at great risk just to save me, and we were lucky to be released with a warning. If they realise that we've told anyone else – and a large number of people at that – the consequences would be dire, possibly deadly. Not just for us, but for the entire Order."

"On the bright side," she went on with a sudden smile, in an obvious attempt to distract them, "you have one Ancient on your side, a vampire and…well, me. Surely you can find some use for us?"

"Oh, I believe we can," Dumbledore spoke at last.

"Told you they would allow us to help," Evey gloated as they made their way back to the manor house. Her green sneakers left muddy footprints in the melting snow.

Walden mumbled something indistinct under his breath, then spoke up so they could understand him. "Molly made us promise to give you proper training before we did anything else, though. It'll take some time. The war might be over by the time we-"

"What are you implying?" Evey huffed, stopping dead in her tracks to confront him, hands on her hips. "That I'm useless? That I'm slow?"

Tony hid a smile behind his hand. She was so cute when she was angry. But she would kill him if she knew that he was thinking that.

Walden gaped at her slightly. "No! I'm just…I'm being realistic, V. You've become…better at duelling, but-"

Ouch. He'd hesitated too long. Way too long. To be fair, Evey was quite terrible at duelling.

"It's not my fault if I have a lousy teacher!" she yelled at her husband.

Tony took a step forward. That was hardly fair! He'd been teaching her, too. "You can't become a master dueller in a few months, darling. No one expects you to. And besides," he went on quickly before she could retort, "you have other things to learn. Occlumency, for a start, and you really should learn how to Apparate on your own. And perhaps take some time to master your special abilities – being a werewolf, being invisible. We should experiment, find out if you can both at the same time, how quickly you can transform, that sort of things."

She was still cross, but it wasn't directed at Tony, so she made her voice softer to address him. "I don't need all that just to recruit a bunch of vampires and werewolves," she argued. "I'm just going to talk to them, not fight them to the death."

Walden sighed. "V, we have to consider exterior threats. Every time you go beyond the wards, your safety is at stake. Anything could happen. I'd never allow you to go anywhere alone, but even if we're with you, well, we were there when Greyback captured you the first time."

"You'd never allow me? I know we're married, but you're not the boss of me," Evey said. Her voice had decreased in volume, which somehow made it sound even more dangerous. Her blazing eyes could have set Walden on fire.

"That's not what I said! Don't put words in my mouth," Walden protested vehemently.

They were being ridiculous. "Cut it out, children," Tony said with mock sternness. "V, you know that Walden is only trying to keep you alive. And Wal…stop being sexist."

His brother glared at him with a betrayed look in his eyes. "I'm not!"

Tony chuckled. "I know, but you need to choose your words more carefully, mate." He put one hand on Evey's shoulder, and the other on Walden's. "How about this? We give Evey some intensive training for two months and, in the meantime, Walden makes appointments and initiates discussion with the vampires and werewolves. From the manor. No one goes outside for now. Alright?" They both nodded reluctantly. "And who knows – with a bit of luck, they'll have caught Greyback by then and it'll be relatively safe to step out of our little high-security haven."

Evey snorted in a very unlady-like fashion. Then again, she tended to do most things in a very unlady-like fashion. "Might as well wish for world peace. They'll never catch him, not unless he lets them."

Tony shrugged. "Fair enough. But do you agree to the terms? We only want what's best for you, V. You know that."

"Fine!" she said, exasperation seeping in her voice, which had thankfully returned to its normal volume. "But I want to add one condition." Tony gazed at her expectantly, and Walden frowned. "You will also teach me how to become an Animagus," she told her husband.

Walden opened his mouth to refuse, Tony guessed, but he thought better of it. "If you insist." He wisely didn't say that it would take years, that it was hardly a priority, that it was also a rather dangerous pursuit. People had died trying to master the trick. He wisely left it at that, likely hoping that Evey would abandon the idea when she realised how difficult it really was.

Evey allowed herself a small, self-satisfied smile.

She's a Slytherin alright, Tony thought amusedly. And she definitely wouldn't need lessons in how to wrap her husband around her little finger.