Morgana stared out her window. When she'd first arrived at St Mungo's, it had shown magically-generated landscapes of tropical beaches or glorious mountains, supposedly to improve the mood of the patients. She'd soon asked for the real view of London, though, along with its morose weather. It was drizzling again.

She was exhausted. She felt listless, almost lethargic, yet she was perfectly lucid.

Which was unfortunate, given the circumstances.

She'd been in the hospital for weeks now, perhaps months. She couldn't remember. Each day resembled the previous one, and they all blended together. The sun replaced the moon in the sky, then returned, then passed beyond the horizon again.

She couldn't sleep. It was a common symptom of vampire blood withdrawal. That and the lack of appetite and will to live.

She was so fucking tired. Why was she even bothering to stay alive? Even if she did survive the months or years it would take her body to recover, what then? This would appear on her medical records. No one would ever hire her again – she would be a pariah, with a social status even lesser than that of a vampire or a werewolf.

Besides, she knew that she would never fully recover. She would always crave it, but she would never taste Ancient blood again. She would never see Catalina again.

It wasn't love. She didn't even like the bloody woman. Cat was abusive, violent, and altogether unpleasant. Morgana's attraction for the Ancient was purely visceral and stemmed from their regular exchange of blood – it had created a bond between them, a bond that could never be broken.

Catalina had not wasted any time when she'd decided to enthral her. She'd used her power on Morgana.

Mind control. Morgana had only found out about it after Evey had brought her to the Bloodmother. Cat had conveniently omitted to tell her about the Ancients' special abilities, until the Mother had forced her to reveal everything and to apologise to Morgana – a fat lot of good would that do her, but there had been some grim satisfaction in seeing Cat demeaned like that, no matter how insincere her contrition had been.

Morgana was strong-willed – she could resist the Imperium curse better than most, due to her past experiences – but it was impossible to withstand the power of an Ancient. Knowing what she knew now made her feel incredibly vulnerable, like she'd been violated. Well, she had been violated, in truth. Consent meant nothing to a thrall. She lived only for the next drop of precious blood, and to receive it, she must serve. She must cater to Catalina's every whim.

Morgana had willingly invited Cat into her apartment, unaware that she was being controlled, and the Ancient had let a single drop of her blood fall into Morgana's mouth while she slept. It seemed so silly. One tiny drop. But that was all it took. After that, Morgana would have been hard-pressed to revoke the Ancient's invitation or deny her in any way. She was hooked.

The very idea that they would never be together again was unbearable to Morgana. It was physically painful, even now that she knew exactly how manipulative Catalina was. So much of what she'd said was true; how could Morgana have guessed that she was lying about the most important thing, about the very thing that had started it all?

In December of the previous year, before she'd met Catalina, her parents had been brutally murdered. They'd been torn apart. The acidic saliva covering the fatal wounds indicated that the evil-doer was a werewolf, according to the experts, and the fact that some bodily parts had been…consumed seemed to point to Fenrir Greyback, who was known to occasionally devour his victims even when the moon wasn't full.

The Aurors had concluded to a random act of violence on Greyback's part. It was nothing out of the ordinary, they told her. The werewolf was rabid. They would do their best to catch him, they assured her.

That was when Catalina had appeared in Morgana's life: when she was at her all-time lowest, so lost in her grief that she could barely get out of bed. She knew that Greyback would never be arrested; he had always eluded the Ministry in the past, and he was under He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's protection. Neither justice nor revenge would ever be served.

Cat had showed up at a time when Morgana was alone in the world. She had no family left. The people who'd claimed to be her friends had abandoned her to her grief, which was too intense to witness.

Catalina had come to save her, to give her that for which she yearned: vengeance.

Locked up in her overcrowded cage, the Ancient had admitted to hiring a werewolf to do her dark bidding. It had enraged the Bloodmother even further, and it had broken Morgana entirely.

Everything she'd done for Cat, she thought she was doing for her parents. To avenge them, and to rid the world of the plague that was Greyback besides. She was convinced that she was the heroine in this story, the sort who was forced to make some tough calls for the greater good, like killing an innocent woman. Cat had not even bothered to depict Evangeline as evil; there was no need. By then, Morgana the thrall would have killed a baby, or bombed an entire city, if it would have helped her achieve her objective.

As a thrall, Morgana had been able to function as a normal witch, doing her job and accomplishing the most mundane tasks, interacting with her peers like any young woman, but her mind had been oddly fuzzy at times. She was perfectly aware of her every decision, but the reasons behind them were sometimes unclear. She could not tell right from wrong.

Deciding to flirt with Tony as a way to get closer to the hybrid had seemed only natural. It'd made sense. After all, Morgana had been chasing Evangeline for months, with no results. Cat had explained that the girl was in hiding and would be difficult to approach, that Morgana would need to be patient but to stay alert.

Morgana had often despaired of ever finding a way into Evangeline's life. The wards around Macnair manor were impenetrable and, as far as Morgana could tell, no one ever got out.

And then, when she'd least expected it, the hybrid had made a surprise appearance at Albus Dumbledore's funeral. Morgana had not even attended in the hope that the girl would be there; she was genuinely devastated by the old Headmaster's passing, and what it meant for the wizarding world in these troubled days.

Evangeline had been there, but she wasn't alone. She had an escort. Attacking her at the funeral would have been insane, in any case. So Morgana had found another way in.

Poor Tony. He'd always been so nice to Morgana while she was in captivity. He'd made her laugh. He'd saved her life.

It had been so strange to run into him that day. Catalina had told her that Evangeline had an Ancient as a guardian, a man named Antonin, but Morgana had no idea that it was the Antonin she knew.

She chuckled involuntarily. His feeble lie about de-aging vampires, his adorable attempts at asking her out. How reluctant he'd been to hurt her, even when she asked for it, asked for more, always more. The pain made her feel alive, almost like she was her own person again. Like Catalina didn't hold her life in her cruel hands.

She wished she'd been reunited with him under different circumstances, but it hardly mattered in any case. Tony was gone. Maybe Cat had made him disappear; Morgana wouldn't put it past her.

Peering out her window, with its depressingly real view, Morgana did a quick recap: she had no family. She'd betrayed the man who loved her. Her body was essentially wasted, beyond repair. She was broken.

She had nothing to look forward to, except oblivion.

"Alright, our favourite pirate made it safely across the portal," Tony reported. "I got his message about two hours after he jumped through."

"I'd say I'm happy about it, but really…I wish he hadn't gone," Evey said.

"Yeah, the house is going to feel peaceful and quiet without him around…" Walden said. He quickly put a hand in front of his mouth to cover a smile. Finally, some privacy. Of course, Tony was still here, but that had never bothered him. His brother was hardly a nuisance.

Ted would be away for at least a month, maybe two, if they were lucky. Unlike Walden, he wouldn't have to stop for the night when he travelled to Imladris, so he could do the trip in one day, and choose to return as soon as he'd delivered his message to the Elves. Though Walden had made it clear that he shouldn't rush.

"Aw, don't be so sad," Evey said wryly.

Walden didn't make the mistake of pretending that he was. He decided to change the subject instead. "Did you see anyone outside?" he asked Tony. He had to admit, if there was one thing he would miss about Ted, it was his heightened Wolfish senses. If Greyback or a Death Eater somehow managed to get through their wards, they would have to rely solely on Tony's enhanced hearing. For that matter, there was currently only one Ancient left at the manor, and Tony had almost been killed by Greyback the last time they'd met. Walden would be completely useless. He wished Alice were here, but they had no idea where she was at the moment.

All things considered, Walden grudgingly hoped that the damned pirate would return as soon as possible.

"Rowle was at the front gate when I came back, but he didn't see me, of course. There was no sign of Greyback. Or Scabior."

Tony was almost his old self again. He'd shaved his ridiculous beard after learning about Morgana's betrayal. He didn't look depressed. He made jokes, and he even called Evey cheesy pet names like he used to do at the Grimmauld place. He occupied himself in his workshop during the day, working on a new cage, and spent his nights in their company – unless they made it clear that they wanted to be alone.

"Oh, now that you're back," Evey said, "there was something I wanted to discuss with the two of you."

Tony and Walden both turned to look at her.

"I can't say I've been very active in the war while you were…absent," she explained, "but there is one useful thing you could do: be guests on Lee's pirate radio show."

"Lee?" Walden said with a frown. "Who's Lee?"

"What radio show?" Tony said at the same time.

Evey shot Walden a flat look. "Lee Jordan. He's George's best friend. He's been hosting a little show on the Wizarding Wireless Network. It's called Potterwatch. I found out about it on Christmas Day. Mrs Weasley made me go to dinner with the family at the new headquarters." Tony and Walden regarded her inquisitively. "Bill and Fleur's home. Anyway. The show's not on very often, but I think it's a grand idea. Lee always reminds people that there's a Taboo on You-Know-Who's name. He gives news of the war that the Daily Prophet doesn't mention, like the most recent deaths or captures, and he advises Muggle-borns on how to hide and what to do and not to do. He even teaches useful defensive spells and wards and, most importantly, he undermines You-Know-Who every chance he gets with his trademark charming goofiness. And he has special guests once in a while – I know that George, Fred, Kingsley and Remus have spoken a few times."

"That's nice, but what are we supposed to talk about?" Walden asked.

"Well, you know the Death Eaters better than anyone else. I was thinking that maybe you could share details about them and continue on the undermining theme of the show by telling embarrassing anecdotes or revealing their weaknesses. If they have any."

Tony was already smiling. "I do love that idea."

"I don't know, V," Walden said. "Me, on the radio?" He wasn't exactly a great storyteller, and he didn't like to have an audience, even if he couldn't see it.

Evey shrugged too casually. "Tony can do it alone, I suppose."

He could sense that she was disappointed. "Alright, I'll give it a try. Have you been on the show?" he asked.

Evey shook her head. "I was in no condition to do that, but it did cheer me up a bit to listen to it."

Whenever he thought about what Evey must have gone through the past five months, Walden felt physically sick. Five months. His mind still boggled. He'd missed their first wedding anniversary! Worst of all, Evey had been alone with Ted for quite a while; Alice had left the estate in early January, according to Evey.

Something rang in the room, startling them all. It was Tony's phone. He got it out of his pocket and stared at it. "Unknown caller," he announced. He glanced at Evey. "Should I pick up?"

"Well, yeah. It might be important. Maybe it's Alice." They'd been trying to contact her for several days, to let her know that they'd returned.

Tony hesitantly pressed the button to take the call. "Hello?"

"Is this Tony?"

Walden could make out the words, but he couldn't recognise the woman's voice.

Tony nodded, then realised that his interlocutor couldn't see it. "Um, yeah. Who is this?"

Evey moved closer to him so she could also hear what was being said.

"Sir, this is Jeanine from the Janus Thickey Ward at St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. I apologise for the lack of formality, but I wasn't given your full name." There was a short pause. "Sir, I'm calling on behalf of one of our patients, Ms Morgana Zhang."

Tony's expression didn't change, but his tone did get colder. "Why are you calling me? I have nothing to do with her."

Jeanine coughed in embarrassment. "Sir, the patient marked you as her emergency contact. Well, that is, she left a note with your first name and a Muggle telephone number."

"Well, what's the emergency?"

"Sir…I regret to inform you that Ms Zhang passed earlier this evening."

Tony remained silent for a moment. His face was a mask. "Okay," he said eventually. "Thanks for letting me know."

He was about to end the call when Jeanine spoke up. "Sir! Sir?"

Evey gestured for Tony to listen. He did so reluctantly. "What?" he barked into the phone.

"Um, the patient left a note before she…" There was a pause that was awkward even on the telephone. "She left a note addressed to you, but I don't know where to send it."

"There's nowhere to send it, due to current…events."

"Oh. Of course. I understand. What shall I-"

"Ask her to read it," Evey whispered.

Tony put his hand on the receiver. "Why? I don't care. I don't want to know what she wrote."

"If you don't, you'll regret it," Evey warned him.

Tony rolled his eyes, but he removed his hand and spoke to Jeanine. "Can you just…read the note to me? Please?"

"Oh, um…are you sure, sir? That's an…unusual request. Those are Ms Zhang's last, um, words and they were meant for you alone, I should think."

"Just read it," Tony repeated firmly.

There was a long sigh on the other end of the line. "Very well. Let's see… Oh. Well, it's…fairly short and to the point, sir. It simply says, I'm sorry."

Tony stood still for a moment, then he handed the phone to Evey and walked out of the kitchen. Evey took it and spoke hesitantly. "Hey, Jeanine. Thank you for letting us know."

"Oh! I didn't know that there was someone else. I, um, still need to enquire about Ms Zhang's personal effects. Will you be collecting them?"

Evey glanced at Walden, who shrugged. "What effects?"

"Let me see…" Jeanine said slowly. "There's her wand… Chestnut, twelve inches, with a dragon heartstring core. The clothes she was wearing when they brought her in. And one gold locket with the picture of a child inside."

Walden blinked. A child? Merlin, was Morgana a mother? Evey and he exchanged a dismayed look. "Is there an inscription?"

Evey repeated the question in the receiver.

There was a pause as Jeanine presumably inspected the locket. "Ah, yes. On the back, there are engraved initials and a date. G.Z., 3. Oct. 74."

G.Z. Gawain Zhang. That was Morgana's brother, who'd been murdered by Travers when he was just a kid. Walden explained to Evey, who looked relieved.

She closed her eyes briefly. "Patients who were in contact with vampire blood for a prolonged period are usually cremated, aren't they?"

Walden nodded at the same time as Jeanine replied. "Yes, that is correct, ma'am."

Evey frowned at Walden as if to say, did she seriously just call me 'ma'am'?

"But wait," Walden said. "Didn't Morgana have any relatives? What about her parents?"

Evey bit her lip. "Oh, I guess I forgot to tell you that part. Jeanine, give me just one minute." Without waiting for an answer, she placed her hand on the receiver and quickly recounted what Catalina had revealed after being imprisoned. What she'd done to Morgana's parents to trick her into killing Evey.

Butchering them had been a ploy to gain Morgana's trust. Cat had then exposed Greyback's true nature, diabolised him and drawn Morgana's attention upon Evey, explaining that slaying her was the only way to kill Greyback. This scheme, combined with Catalina's highly addictive blood, had been more than enough to convince Morgana to do Catalina's bidding. Not to mention the mind control thing.

Merlin, the bitch was crafty. And utterly ruthless. She'd really gone out of her way to try to get his wife assassinated without anyone suspecting her. Walden hoped that she would rot in her cage.

"You still there, Jeanine?" Evey asked in the telephone. "Listen, you should burn Morgana's belongings with her body," she said. "There's no one to claim them. Is there anything else?"

"Will you…will anyone attend the cremation? We can arrange a small ceremony, if you'd like to say a few words…"

Evey hesitated, looking at Walden. "I don't think that Mo was a bad person at heart," he said quietly, "but the idea of speaking at her funeral makes me feel a wee bit uncomfortable, considering that she tried to strangle you."

"Good point," Evey muttered. "Jeanine, no ceremony. She's dead. It won't matter to her, and it certainly doesn't matter to us. Thank you for calling." With that, she hung up. "Am I a terrible person?" she asked Walden as she sat in his lap. He put his arms around her. "I mean, sure, she tried to kill me, but it wasn't really her fault, was it? Catalina manipulated her. She killed her parents. I should be more empathetic about that, shouldn't I?"

"I don't know, love. Vampire blood completely fucks up people's minds. Morgana probably genuinely believed that killing you would avenge her parents, but she also knew that you weren't personally responsible for their deaths. She was willing to murder an innocent person for selfish motives. Whether or not she would have done it without Catalina's influence is another matter, and I guess we'll never know. Either way, you shouldn't trouble yourself with this. It's certainly not your fault."

Evey put her head in the crook of his neck. "Do you think I should go after Tony?"

"No, let's just give him some space while he digest the news. He'll come back when he's ready."

The news didn't faze Tony, in truth. He'd expected it. Morgana's chances of survival in the long term had been slim. She had to cope not only with massive withdrawal, but also with everything she'd learned after being caught. How Catalina had mind-controlled her, raped her, and basically enslaved her. How she had murdered her parents.

What really bothered him was the note.

I'm sorry.

Did she mean it? How lucid had she been, when she'd manipulated him into dating her? Had it been Catalina's idea, or Morgana's? Did she care for him at all?

He ruffled his hair in frustration. He would never know, and it shouldn't matter. After all, he had dived into their relationship with all the wrong motives himself.

What he felt was mostly pity, he supposed. Morgana had had a shit childhood, and when she'd tried to turn her life around, Catalina had destroyed her.

"Are you sure?" he heard Evey say in the kitchen. "I mean, I never really expected her to recover, but suicide? That's rough. I can't even imagine how he's feeling right now."

"What would you even say to him? He just needs time to process the news."

Despite everything, Tony couldn't help but smile. Evey was quite terrible at comforting people, but she always had the best intentions. He should join them in the kitchen and show her that she had nothing to worry about. Change the subject. Maybe enquire about that radio show that she was talking about earlier. That did sound like a relatively fun thing to do, and if it helped with the war effort, all the better.

Alice lay on the bed in complete darkness, eyes closed, as she had for the past…days? Weeks? How long had it been? She felt a twinge of hunger; probably a month, then.

She'd put on a brave face for over half a year, but even she had her moments of weakness, sometimes.

Losing Jeanne had taken its toll on her, but living with Antonin, Walden, Evey and Ted had not left her much time to dwell on it. They'd kept her distracted.

Then Antonin had gone missing.

Against her nature, Alice had remained optimistic for several weeks, mainly thanks to Ted. Evey, on the other hand, had spiralled into depression on the fifth day at midnight, or near enough. It wasn't that the girl wasn't strong – deep down, she was – but Alice assumed that it was simply too much. It was the last straw. She'd lost her parents, her brother, she'd been held captive for months, there had been difficult losses among the Order and her only reward for not giving up on the wizarding world had been to lose her husband and her best friend in a futile attempt at finding other-worldly allies.

Alice secretly believed that the girl had every right to be depressed, but she had never showed it. She'd done her best to keep Evey fed and hydrated, and she'd admonished her when she refused to shower or put on clothes other than her pyjamas.

But then Christmas had gone by, and the New Year, and they still had received no news of Antonin and Walden. Just like Evey, Alice had lost hope of ever seeing the fledgling again. She knew she would feel it if he were dead, but what if he was forever trapped on the other side of that cursed portal? Alice wished she knew exactly where the portal was, but Walden hadn't told anyone. He didn't want Alice to follow them – he wanted her to keep Evey safe if they didn't return.

She'd been angry at him for that. She was fond of the girl, but Antonin would always be her priority. He was Jeanne's son. She couldn't afford to lose him, too.

In her anger and despair, she'd abandoned Evey and left her alone with Ted. She was occasionally plagued by guilt, but she'd kept her distance – until the Bloodmother had summoned them all for yet another surprise gathering. It was becoming tiresome. Alice usually only met with her blood relatives once every ten years, and that was more than enough. Since Catalina's betrayal, the meetings had been especially tense.

But that last reunion had been attended by a very special…guest. Malkoran, the Elder, the Wolves' Alpha. He was not at all what Alice had expected. He was the skinniest Wolf she'd ever met, and too pretty by far.

Evey and he had clicked, and Alice had not seen that coming. The girl had been morose and zombie-like for months, but when Alice had left the meeting room, she'd found Evey and Malkoran sitting side by side on a couch in the parlour and talking animatedly. From where Alice stood, it had looked like they were flirting, but she may have misread that.

Either way, Alice didn't know what to make of it. The girl was married, but her husband had been missing for over four months. Talking to Malkoran obviously made her happy – or less grouchy, at least – and as far as Alice could tell, there was no harm in that. She'd mentioned it to Ted when she'd brought Evey home – they'd taken the train, since Evey refused to Apparate unless it was a matter of life and death.

Ted had been over the moon, and it had taken Alice a while to figure out why, but it was simple enough: the Wolf cared about the girl, and he was one of the few who still considered Malkoran as their rightful Alpha. Generally speaking, Ted just wanted everyone to be happy; therefore, in his opinion, it they could find love in each other's arms despite what they had lost, it was all for the best.

But Alice had indeed misread the situation. Evey insisted that they were just friends. According to her, Malkoran was in love with the Bloodmother, while she was still waiting for her husband to come home, against all hope. She was insulted by the very idea of dating Malkoran, in fact, though Alice couldn't see why. He seemed perfectly datable. For a Wolf.

She let out a long, human-like sigh and attempted to clear her mind. She didn't know what she was supposed to do. Before this, before she'd learned of Evangeline's existence, she'd never had trouble finding something to do. She'd travelled. She'd attended several universities. She'd perfected some skills and learned others. She'd interacted with mortals of different cultures. She liked to paint and draw and take photographs, since the camera had been invented.

Now she was fixated on one thing alone: avenging Jeanne. Whenever she tried to distract herself, her mind always came back to it. If she'd been as ruthless as Cat, she would have killed Evey ages ago. But Walden and Antonin trusted her. They trusted her with Evey's life, and Alice knew quite well that she was the most important thing in the world, to both of them. She couldn't bring herself to break that trust. The other Ancients would despise her for it – well, some of them would, at least. Imhotep and Gorgo, perhaps the Mother herself.

As for Ted… Gods, just imagining the look on his face was enough to make her feel sick. She didn't love him, of course. Not like that. But over the difficult months they'd spent together, they had bonded. Alice considered him a friend, unlikely as it was, and she knew that he was fond of her as well. She couldn't do that to him. To them.

It was always the same circle of thoughts. She was stuck in her own mind.

What to do?

Minutes passed, perhaps hours, and Alice considered her options. Kill Evey and be shunned forever by the people you care about. Fight Greyback and die, or be victorious and shunned forever by the people you care about. Give up on revenge and move on with your life, knowing that Jeanne's ghost will haunt you forever.

Ye gods, her options sucked.

After a moment, she became aware of a persistent light, barely perceivable through her eyelids. Reluctantly, and with great effort, she opened her eyes.

The light came from the small desk near the window. Alice raised her head, frowning. She didn't have any electrical appliances, except…

Her phone.

Ugh. It was so far away. She wished she could do magic and summon the gadget to her. Accio, she thought, glaring at the phone. Of course, nothing happened. It took her a few minutes to muster enough strength to sit, then stand, then take the four steps that separated her from the desk. She felt drained by the time she reached it. It was an effort to even pick up the phone.

9 text messages, the screen said, and 4 missed calls.

Alice wasn't particularly intrigued, but she called her voicemail regardless. At least she wouldn't have gotten out of bed for nothing.

"You have three messages," the recorded voice intoned.

It was followed by Ted's voice. He sounded characteristically cheerful. "Hello doll! It's Ted. The Wolf. The pirate." Alice scoffed at the unnecessary clarification. "I hope you're alright. Haven't heard from you in some time. Evey left you a few texts, but you haven't returned home or even called back, so I assume you didn't read them." There was a short pause. "He's back, Alice. Tony's back. Walden, too, in case you're interested. They're both hale. Also, I'll be away for a while, so it might be best for you to watch over them. Bye!"

Alice didn't move. Could it be true? Before she could fully process, the next message played.

"Hey Al. It's Tony. Sorry it took so long. Sorry I had you worried. There was a… Well, it doesn't matter. We're back. I hope you're okay. Come by the house whenever you want, or call me back, at least, please."

She wiped her cheek absent-mindedly, and it came back crimson. She was crying.

She should hang up the phone. She knew the next message by heart.

"Hey, c'est moi. We're meeting the Wolves at that pub we talked about. Around 10 PM. We can share a taxi if you want. Rappelle-moi pour confirmer."

It was the last message Jeanne had ever left her, over a year ago. Alice had not deleted it right away, and she was glad that she hadn't. Hearing her voice was always painful, but Alice couldn't bring herself to erase the message. If she did, she was afraid that she would forget what Jeanne sounded like. She was already beginning to forget her features, just as she'd forgotten the faces of her mortal children.

She was still weeping, bloody tears splattering the screen of her phone. Tears of relief, for once. Tony had returned. All was not lost.