Evey started awake a few minutes later – at least she assumed it was only minutes. Tony was cradling her, stroking her hair and murmuring to himself. His cheeks were red with blood. He almost crushed her ribs when he realised she'd come back to her senses. Or back to life, perhaps.

"Greyback? Is he dead? Did it work?" she murmured when he finally released her and air was allowed to circulate in her lungs. She still felt a bit woozy, but her throat was whole. The blood she'd lost would be replaced quickly. It was like nothing had happened, just as she'd hoped.

Tony nodded mutely. Evey sat up with care, but the spell of dizziness was already retreating. She saw Greyback lying in the grass, only a few feet away from them, a frozen snarl on his face, one hand outstretched toward her. She had been the last thing on his mind, she was sure. He had died knowing that she was the one to cause his downfall. She found that very satisfying.

But why wasn't he dissolving, like Jeanne's body had? Perhaps it was different for Wolves, but she had to make certain that he was dead. She wouldn't put it past him to pretend. She rose to her feet with Tony's help and took the few steps that separated them from Greyback, then crouched beside him and gingerly felt for a pulse.

Nothing. He was getting cold already.

With a tremendous, relieved sigh, Evey stood up straight, feeling like a massive weight had been lifted off her shoulders. It was done. Her family had been avenged, as well as everyone else who had been unlucky enough to cross the Wolf's path, including Jeanne.

Not that it would do them any good. They were still dead. Revenge was not all it was cut out to be, but in this case, it simply had to be done.

Scabior entered her line of sight a moment later. He stood near Lavender's body, and took turn staring thoughtfully at the girl's corpse and at that of his former Alpha. Then he spotted Evey.

She didn't know what reaction to expect from him at this point; she hadn't seen him in months. For all the Alpha's flaws, Greyback had been like a father to Scabior, a mentor. He'd saved his life and turned him into a surprisingly wise young man. Scabior had every right to grieve, every right to hate Evey for what she'd done, even if, deep down, she believed that he knew it was the right decision – the only one, in truth. From the day she'd entered Asgard, she had tried to open his eyes to who Greyback truly was: a man who once had the potential to be a great leader of men, a great Alpha, but who'd squandered it out of hubris and a misguided view of how to improve things for his peers. A man blinded by bitterness and resentment who wouldn't hesitate to butcher innocent children to get what he wanted. Though in all fairness, Evey doubted that he'd always been like that. His maker had messed him up very badly, according to Ted. Not to mention everything that had happened to him before he even became a Wolf.

Gods, what was she doing? She couldn't possibly feel bad for Greyback, of all people. She had done the right thing. He had to be stopped. He'd brought this upon himself.

Scabior's grey eyes flicked to Greyback one last time. He appeared to be having an inner debate with himself. Then, magically enhancing his voice, he yelled at the top of his lungs: "Wolves! Rally to me!"

When enough of his fellows had gathered around him – only part of the pack was present; all the wizards, as far as Evey could make out – he spoke in a voice that carried far. "Any of you want to fight me for the vacant Alpha position?" he asked, pointing at Greyback's corpse.

The werewolves stared at their fallen leader for a few seconds, shock painted on their faces, but soon they noticed Evey. She recognised most of them, but she'd been closer to the Muggles than to the wizards among them, for some reason. Jabbar wasn't there, but Croyd averted his gaze when she met his eyes. She thought he mouthed the words, "Wolf Girl," but she couldn't be certain, at this distance.

Nobody took Scabior up on his offer. "Then there's a change of plan," he announced. "We target the Death Eaters. Incapacitate, don't kill. Go!"

He turned toward Evey as the others scattered and bowed his head slightly. She bowed hers in acknowledgement. She'd got through to him after all – or perhaps Greyback had lowered himself in his second's esteem all on his own.

As Scabior retreated, Evey realised that Tony was glaring at her. He was angrily wiping his cheeks with a damp handkerchief. It was embroidered with Walden's initials (like other things at the manor, such as the towels and napkins): WRM. Walden Reginald Macnair. Walden had been really mad at Tony for divulging that information. "Do not do this to me ever again. Understood?"

She frowned in confusion. "What? I'm fine. I told you I'd be fine, mate."

"You were dead for nearly two minutes!" he exclaimed in a strangled voice. "I gave you CPR like a fucking Muggle, then I tried to send a mild electric current to your heart with magic – obviously I had no idea what I was doing, since I'm not a bloody Healer – and you still wouldn't move, you jerk! I thought-" He trailed off and inhaled deeply, an old habit she thought he'd long forsaken.

Huh. She'd actually died? Well, to be fair, people "died" and were brought back every day. It was nothing out of the ordinary, really. There was no need to make a fuss, surely, especially at a time like this. "Tony, I-"

"I killed you, V! Do you have any idea how I… I mean, what if you'd… I can't…" He couldn't seem to form a full sentence. Evey couldn't blame him. She'd asked a lot from him.

But it had paid off, right? "You're exaggerating! I'm fine. What's two minutes in the life of an immortal, all-powerful being?" she said jokingly.

"You're lucky Greyback's dead," Tony muttered. "Otherwise I'd happily hand you over to him now, demon spawn."

She chortled, which clearly wasn't the reaction he'd expected. A moment later, though, he laughed with her. "You scared the unliving hell out of me," he said, voice loaded with reproach despite his mirth. "Merlin, Walden would have atomised me if you'd stayed dead. Somehow, he would have. Then Molly would've swept the remaining atoms into Oblivion."

Yes, they would have. But that was beside the point. "They don't have to know," Evey said conspiratorially.

"They certainly won't find out the truth from me," Tony assured her.

She patted his arm. "You did great." She gestured toward Greyback. "It was totally worth it. We'll be safe now. All of us."

They had just eliminated one of the most perilous threats from the battlefield and gained a few allies in the process. Although the battle had favoured Voldemort so far, Harry's army may yet stand a chance.

"V, look," Tony said. He pointed to the gates, behind which some fifty people had materialised – they were not students nor members of the Order, nor even Death Eaters.

"They came," she murmured in amazement. Walden had sent them all a message before leaving Shell Cottage that night, when they'd first heard about the battle at Hogwarts, and they had come. All the people they'd recruited over the months, the vampires and werewolves, moving together as one, wands raised.

Not just a few allies had been gained in the past few minutes. There were nearly a hundred. They could still turn this battle around.

"Now we just have to pray to Hades that Harry came through on his end," Tony said softly. He chuckled, but it held no mirth this time. "We'll look pretty foolish, parading our allies and Greyback's corpse around, if Voldemort still has a Horcrux hidden somewhere."

"Shh! Don't say that. Harry must have succeeded, or he soon will. Now come on, I want to see if Walden's alright." Please, don't let him die again.

"Not like that you're not!" Tony exclaimed, holding her arm back as she started walking toward the castle.

"Oi!" she protested. "What are you doing?"

"V, your t-shirt is…" He gestured at it, and Evey glanced down.

She looked like Carrie at the prom. Gods, how much blood was there in the human body? "Yeah, good point." She tried to imagine Walden's face if he saw her like this, and failed. "Um, I have yet to learn some good laundering charms from Mrs Weasley…"

"I know one." Tony retrieved his wand, which had fallen at his feet, and directed it at Evey's soaked, bloody t-shirt. "Mundo." He eyed her critically. "Yeah, it's far from perfect but…it'll have to do. Let's go."

"Don't do it, V," Walden persisted. "You don't need that on your conscience, believe me. He's not worth it."

"He killed you, Wal," Evey said through clenched teeth. She was holding Rodolphus Lestrange at wandpoint, so to speak. "And now he's… He…" She made a vague gesture with her free hand.

Walden didn't need to look to know what she wanted to show him. He'd been there when it happened. He moved closer to her. "I know, love. But Remus wouldn't want this. I don't want this. Please, just Stun him and move on. Other people need us. Tonks will need us." A good thing that Tony and Evey had showed up when they did, otherwise Teddy Lupin would have become an orphan before turning one month old.

She shook her head stubbornly. "Don't worry about my conscience. It can bear more than you'd think. He deserves to die."

Walden was about to reiterate his several arguments in favour of not murdering an unharmed Rodolphus in cold blood, but the Death Eater spoke first. "Kill me, and you will all die. The boy is one Horcrux short."

That, at least, made Evey hesitate. "You know about the Horcruxes?" she asked dubiously.

"I am no fool, girl. I figured it out decades ago. How long did it take you nitwits to puzzle it out?" Rodolphus sneered. "Without the old man, you are useless. Even now, even knowing what you know, your chances of victory are slim. Your pathetic half-breed allies will be a mere distraction."

"Let's skip the gratuitous insults and move on to the part where you tell us where to find the last Horcrux," Evey said sharply.

In truth, they didn't know if that would be the last. They hadn't seen Harry yet, nor even Ron or Hermione. Had they retrieved the Horcrux supposedly stashed in Bellatrix's vault? If so, had they managed to destroy it? Few things had the power to disable a Horcrux, and they'd lost the Sword of Gryffindor to Griphook.

"If I tell you, you must let me go," Rodolphus tried to negotiate.

"If you don't tell us, I will skin you alive," Evey riposted.

That was obviously an empty threat – for one thing, Walden was fairly certain that she didn't know how to do that and, for another, they did need the Death Eater to find the Horcrux. In any case, Rodolphus sensed that Evey was bluffing, so he did what he did best: he infuriated her further by smirking condescendingly. "Go ahead, then. Flay away."

Bad idea. Evey slapped him with her wand, smashing his nose. He cried out at the unexpected attack, hands flying to his face as blood spurted out of his nostrils. "What in Salazar's name is wrong with you? Are you even a witch?"

"What is wrong with me? You killed my husband! You killed my friend! You are a cowardly sociopath who married a fucking lunatic! If you don't tell me right now where the bloody Horcrux is, I will have a horde of werewolves devour you!"

That, in fact, was a possibility, now that their allies had arrived, though Walden doubted that any of the werewolves were actually cannibals. That was just Greyback, as far as he knew. Nonetheless, it took another wand slap for Rodolphus to come to his senses. "Fine!" he yelled. "Stop whacking me, you crazy bitch!"

"Hey now," Walden growled. "Watch your tongue."

"What's going on?" Tony asked. Evey had tasked him with taking Tonks to safety inside the castle while they dealt with the remaining Lestrange – Rabastan had been incapacitated by Remus just before he died and Bellatrix had run off after Tony had tackled her and saved Tonks in the process. "Want me to Stun him?"

"No. You were right, Tony," Evey said. "There's another Horcrux."

"Ugh. I wish I wasn't right so often," he grumbled. "Is it the Elfish trinket?"

Rodolphus threw him an odd look, but he nodded slowly. "I know where it is. I can take you there."

"Yeah, right," Evey scoffed. "You're not going anywhere, you twat. Give us the address-"

"The place is protected. You won't be able to get inside without me."

"I bet you ten Galleons that Tony can get in alone just fine," she countered. She must be referring to his ability to get past Fidelius Charms, but she was forgetting a little detail…

"Um…" Tony said sheepishly. "Well, actually, I can't, V. Vampire, remember? We can do a lot of spooky things, but…I still need an invitation." Evey cursed profusely. She did tend to forget about that – the Fat Friar had had to invite Tony inside the castle when they'd come last June, because he hadn't returned to Hogwarts since he'd died. Walden had no idea how Jeanne had made it inside, now that he thought about it. He suspected that she'd bullied someone, likely one of the ghosts, who were considered permanent residents, into inviting her in. Not that it mattered right then.

"I co-own the place," Rodolphus said. Despite his bleeding nose, he smiled unpleasantly. He knew he was going to get a respite, and perhaps even an opportunity to escape. The bloody coward had always been a flight risk. "I can invite you in, dead man."

"Fine. We're all going, then," Evey said.

"There's no need," Tony assured her. "I can do this alone. Go help the others. See if they got the rest of the Horcruxes, and a means of destroying them." Evey eyed him doubtfully. "It's your turn to trust me, alright?"

An odd thing to say but, for some reason, that decided her. "Be careful, but hurry. We don't have long."

Voldemort had graciously offered them a one-hour truce, but he'd also given them an ultimatum, and Walden wasn't looking forward to finding out what Harry was going to do about it. The boy was, after all, a foolishly brave and noble Gryffindor, by all accounts.

"I promise I won't die," Tony called as he took off with Rodolphus toward the gates, where they could Disapparate.

Walden frowned after them. "Why did he say that?"

Evey averted her gaze, blushing. What the hell was going on here? Was he missing something? "No idea," she muttered. "Come on. Let's...get Remus inside," she finished grimly.

"We have to walk the last hundred metres," Rodolphus said after they Apparated in a suburban area. He started walking leisurely, hands in his pockets as though they were taking a midnight stroll in the cool spring air.

"So he made more than seven after all," Tony said. "Greedy bastard."

Rodolphus snorted. "He made seven, alright. The Hufflepuff cup was a fake. He despises the House, and rightly so. Bunch of lily-livered weaklings."

Of course, Rodolphus knew perfectly well that it was Tony's House, but he chose to ignore the jibe. "But…he gave it to Bellatrix for safekeeping, didn't he? It was locked away in an ultra-secure vault…" He paused. "Was it a decoy?"

"Not exactly," Rodolphus replied with a blasé shrug. "Just something to keep Bella subservient and worshippy, really." The bitterness in his tone clashed with his casual demeanour. "A false proof that he could trust her with something vital, when anyone in their right mind would know better." He glanced at Tony. "What the fuck are you, anyway?" he asked out of the blue. For once, a light of genuine interest sparked in his eyes. "You're not a regular bloodsucker, hmm? I have yet to glimpse your fangs. And you look like you just graduated from Hogwarts."

"I… That's none of your business," Tony said crisply. "How do I know that the Elfish pendant is not a fake, then? What reason could you possibly have for helping me find it, if it were real?"

"My life is worth more to me than my loyalty to the Dark Lord," Rodolphus said simply. "It always was." Well, that did ring true. "If I can convince the crazy girl to spare me if I help you…so be it."

"Fair enough." He didn't have much choice but to investigate the potential Horcrux, anyway. "How far is it?"

Rodolphus pointed ahead at a little house, nearly identical to the dozen that stood on either side of it. The only way to distinguish it from the others was the green front door, a splash of colour in a sea of dull greys and browns.

"Is this where you live, when you're not at the Evil Lair?" Tony wondered. That was what Walden and he had dubbed it, back in the day, when they'd been forced to remain at the Death Eaters' Headquarters at all times. He had no idea where the others lived, now or then. "With Bellatrix?"

"Actually, I have my own bachelor pad," he said with a twist of the mouth that may have been a self-satisfied smile. "They did leave me a key, however, in case of emergencies. Such as this, I suppose."

They? "Is she openly dating Rabastan now? Are they living together?" Tony couldn't think of anyone else.

Rodolphus laughed out loud, which was quite unsettling. The man rarely laughed, and when he did, it was for all the wrong reasons. "He used to, but not anymore. He's not allowed."

Tony couldn't see what was so funny about that, but he didn't have time to dwell on it. They were facing the house now. "Go ahead. Arseholes first."

"How gallant." Rodolphus produced a key out of nowhere and put it in the lock. It didn't click, but a Dark Mark appeared on the door, glowing brightly. "Be thee welcome in this humble abode, cadaver." He opened the door and made a show of ushering Tony inside like a butler. "If you'll follow me." He headed toward the staircase.

Tony took a good look around as he followed Rodolphus. The décor was plain but incredibly…homely. He couldn't believe that Bellatrix lived here. At the top of the stairs was a door painted a soft pink. Again…not very Bellatrix-y. Rodolphus pushed it open.

Inside the room was a crib.

"Merlin's knitted socks," Tony said in a low voice. "You have got to be kidding me." Again, Rodolphus shrugged. "Is this a trap? Some weird prank? I mean, there's not really a baby in there, is there? Can't be."

Right on cue, a baby started crying.

Oh, no no no. This was wrong on so many levels. "When did you…? I mean, is it…? Are you the father?" he asked bluntly.

"What an idiotic question. Who else could it be? The Dark Lord?" Rodolphus sniggered. That was hardly fair. It could easily have been Rabastan. "Bella is still my wife, leech, despite what you think you know." He gestured toward the crib. "Come now. The jewel's around the brat's neck." The brat. What an affectionate nickname for one's child. Tony glanced inside the crib, half-expecting to find a monstrously deformed shape. The baby stopped wailing at the sight of him.

She looked absolutely adorable.

At least he assumed it was a she, given all the pink baby paraphernalia. "Daw. What's her name?" Ugh. What was wrong with him? Cute or not, this little girl was Bellatrix's daughter. Yikes. That would mean that Bellatrix was a…mother. What a disturbing thought.

"That's none of your business," Rodolphus replied with a caustic grin. "Well, are you going to gaze at her adoringly all night, or…?"

Right. The pendant. Tony leaned forward. It wasn't much to look at; Tony had expected something bigger, fancier…Horcrux-ier. It looked like a silvery star, with a faint whitish glow. He unclasped it carefully. The baby giggled, and Tony couldn't help but give her a big goofy smile. That lovely little thing couldn't possibly be a Lestrange spawn. They must have kidnapped her.

She did have Bellatrix's dark hair, though, a seemingly impossible mass of it for such a tiny baby. Should Tony take her with him? After all, her parents would end up at Azkaban for life and, if people ever found out who she was…

"Are you done?" Rodolphus said impatiently.

Tony took a step back from the crib. There'd be time to come back for the kid later. Bringing her back to Hogwarts in the middle of an epic battle was not a good idea, anyway. She'd be safe here in the meantime.

He scowled at the Horcrux, examining it. Was there any way to determine if this was an actual Horcrux? Without thinking about what he was doing, Tony let out his fangs and bit into the pendant, like a merchant biting into a piece of gold to test it.

It exploded.

Tony felt his mouth rip apart, blood and teeth and silvery shards flying all around him. With the shock and sudden agony, he stumbled and fell on his arse, eyes blinded by the piercing light of the explosion, or perhaps by one of the pointy shards. "Fucking hell!" he cried out, or tried to. It was difficult, with only half a mouth. He knew that the pain was temporary, that everything would be mended in seconds, but damn, it hurt. It felt like forever; almost as long as it had taken Evey to come back to life, earlier. That had hurt a whole lot more, though.

Finally, he regained some feeling in his jaw and blinked a couple of times.

Rodolphus was gone. Of course he was.

But what about the baby? Tony scrambled to his feet in a panic. The crib was empty. To his relief, there was no blood on the sheets.

Had this been an elaborate trap, then? Was the jewel a mere distraction, an enchanted piece of rubbish set to explode when…someone bit into it? No, that didn't make any sense. Besides, Tony had felt something when he'd accidentally destroyed it.

He did a quick tour of the house and backyard at vampire speed, but Rodolphus was gone, and so was the baby.

Well. He'd messed up beautifully. He could only hope that he'd at least destroyed a Horcrux, and not some tacky piece of explosive costume jewellery.

Evey held George tightly.

When she'd walked into the Great Hall and seen so many unmoving bodies lying on the floor, she'd almost retreated. So many. Kids younger than her, kids she might have encountered right here at Hogwarts before she graduated. After everything that had happened that night, she didn't think that she had the strength to face reality and count the dead, but she owed it to the people who had given their lives to acknowledge their sacrifice. Her first reflex had been to seek out Tonks, but then she'd noticed the assembled Weasley family, easy to pick out among the witches and wizards with much duller hair, and she'd sensed that something horrible had happened.

George had been standing a few metres away from the rest of them, his face pale, staring unblinkingly at his mother as she cradled Fred, sobbing, her entire body shaking with grief.

Evey had stared at the scene for a few minutes, her mind unable to process what she was seeing. It was impossible; Fred couldn't be dead. He was her age. He was her friend. He was funny and kind and full of life and he had his whole life ahead of him. He couldn't be dead.

Walden had tried to comfort her when the tears finally came, but she had to go to George. He seemed so lonely, standing there against the wall while his family mourned together. She didn't say a word as she approached him. She didn't need to.

She held him as he cried – or rather, they held each other as they both cried. All the stress and worry of the past few hours came crashing in, followed by grief and anger and exhaustion. She desperately wanted to sleep, to forget about everything, but the battle was far from over. She had to hold it together for a few more hours.

"Hey, Wolf Girl," someone called. Scabior, Evey thought. She let go of George, who slid against the wall and sat down on the cold stone floor, hugging his knees, still weeping. Ginny took over for Evey, hugging her brother.

Evey faced Scabior, half-heartedly wiping her own tears. She had no reason to be ashamed of them. "Alpha," she greeted him formally.

"I don't know how you did it," he said quietly, "but I understand that it had to be done."

"Yeah, no kidding. He was rabid, Scabior. Did you see what he…" She shook her head, images of Lavender Brown's last moments flashing in her mind. "Doesn't matter. It's too late for the ones we lost. We must avenge them and save those who can still be saved. We should move the kids out of here."

"From what I heard, they chose to stay. They're all consenting adults." A blatant lie. Ginny wasn't an adult. And that kid there, the one who used to follow Harry around like a puppy with his Muggle camera… Colin something. He was barely sixteen. Now he'd never get older than that. "They have as much right to fight the snake as you do. They've lost family and friends, too, you know."

Someone cleared their throat. Evey turned to find her husband standing nearby. He didn't look happy – which made sense, given the circumstances, but she had a feeling that it wasn't the surrounding corpses that made him unhappy. "What's he doing here?" Walden asked gruffly.

Merlin's untrimmed nose hair! Jealousy, at a time like this. Honestly. "Walden, you remember Scabior." Of course he did. "He, uh, had an epiphany and decided to join our cause. He and the rest of Greyback's pack. Well, the wizards among them, anyway."

"Is Greyback here, then? I haven't seen him," Walden said with a frown.

"Yeah, I…think I saw him earlier. He must be somewhere outside." She turned to Scabior and gave him a meaningful look that she hoped he would interpret correctly. Please, don't mention Greyback's death right now. I'm not ready to have that conversation.

"He abandoned his pack? Just like that?" Clearly, Walden wasn't buying it. Curse his natural curiosity and desire to understand everything.

"He didn't abandon us," Scabior said. "We quit. He broke his promise, forced us to take part. He was…" Evey inhaled sharply. "He is not worthy of being our Alpha any longer."

Evey nodded. "Yeah. That's a proper explanation. So, Scabior, um…" Quick, say something smart and relevant that steers the conversation away from Greyback. "How many of you are there, exactly?" Eh. It would have to do.

"Forty-two, including myself," the new Alpha replied. "Most of them have never attended Hogwarts, though. They're Squibs, or near enough. Only nineteen of us stand any chance in a duel. If we have luck on our side," he added bitterly.

Not only had they never attended Hogwarts, but they hadn't had any duelling practice at all in recent years – Asgard was warded against magic. It was possible that Greyback had given them a bit of training wherever he'd relocated last year, though, after turning them into unwilling Snatchers.

In any case, it was better than nothing. Even with only nineteen, they would have more adult wizards than they'd started with, and that was without taking into account the freshly-arrived allies. Evey had also sent a text message to Malkoran and Alice, but she had no idea if they would make it on time. They couldn't just Apparate here. Those two alone could win the battle on their own, though, so Evey kept hoping that they would show up eventually.

"When the one-hour truce comes to an end," Scabior went on, "I will leave the Squibs inside. They can tend to the wounded until they receive proper care." Madam Pomfrey was here, of course, but she was only one person.

"Good idea. And you can lead your fighters into battle. You'll work better together, as a pack."

"Any insight on Voldemort's strategy, maybe?" Walden asked. "You know, since you were working for him before this sudden change of heart of yours." The way he said it, Evey just knew what he wanted to not-so-subtly imply: that Scabior had changed sides because of Evey. It was hardly fair – and mostly wrong – but she didn't have time to set him straight.

"'Spare the Pure-blood at all costs. Kill the rest if they get in the way. Capture the Potter boy and bring him to me alive.' That's all he said. To us werewolves, anyway," Scabior said with a grimace. "Bloody wizards. Think they're all superior, but they couldn't make a proper battle plan to save their lives."

"Scabior…you're a wizard," Evey pointed out.

"I'm a werewolf," he retorted. "What's our strategy, then?"

Evey hesitated. "Survive the night, protect Harry and deal with Voldemort somehow, I guess?" Scabior rolled his eyes. "Hey, I'm not in charge of the battle! I did my part, damn you." Walden shot her a questioning glance, but he apparently decided that she meant that business with Rodolphus, though she'd hardly done anything, except agree to not kill him. Yet.

"Who is in charge?" Scabior demanded. "The hour is almost up, and people are running around like headless chickens. We need someone to coordinate this mismatched army. We have to be prepared for the worst."

The worst? "What is that supposed to mean?" It wouldn't come to that, surely. They would keep Harry safe, come what may.

Provided that they could find him. Where was he, for fuck's sake?

Scabior ignored her question. "I'll talk to that McGonagall lady," he said. "Seems like she knows what she's doing, at least." He walked away without looking back.

"V?"

Tony. She turned around, exhaling with relief. Rodolphus couldn't have harmed him, but still, she'd been worried. She hugged him briefly. "Did you get it?" She looked around, scowling. "Where's…"

"Gone," Tony grumbled. "Gave me the slip." He took a step backward, probably at the look on Evey's face.

He'd let the bastard go? How was that even possible? No mere human could outrun an Ancient!

"Hey, it's alright, love," Walden said soothingly, placing his flesh hand on her shoulder. "We have other things to worry about, don't we?"

"On the bright side," Tony said, "I'm 95% certain that I destroyed a Horcrux."

"Destroyed?" Evey repeated dubiously. "How? Do you happen to have an ancestral magical sword somewhere on your person?"

Tony chuckled. "Nah. Turns out Ancients can destroy Horcruxes. I think."

"Wish we'd known that sooner," she muttered. "But what about the remaining 5% of certainty?"

"Well…I had no way of verify that it was indeed a Horcrux. But I'm fairly confident that it was. I definitely felt…something when it exploded. Like a tiny bubble of evil being released into the air but then bursting right away for lack of a proper…receptacle. Vessel?"

Evey started as the massive clock behind her struck midnight. "We'll find out soon enough, I suppose," she said resignedly. "Has anyone seen Harry?"