Tonks moved closer to the raging bonfire. About forty werewolves were gathered around it, all silently watching as their former leader turned to ashes. One of them was standing apart from the rest, arms crossed over his chest, contemplating the pyre. Tonks knew that he had to be the one in charge – the man they called Scabior, according to Evey's intel on Greyback's pack. She walked toward him determinedly. Maybe it was rude of her to approach him now, when he was mourning his…friend? Mentor? Boss? It was unclear exactly what their relationship entailed, but Tonks didn't care. If Scabior returned to his den, she might never find him again, and she absolutely needed to talk to him.

"Are you Scabior?" she demanded.

"Yeah," he said curtly. He didn't look at her. He seemed hypnotised by the flames.

"I'm-"

"Nymphadora," Scabior finished for her. "Lupin's w…wife." He'd hesitated. Barely an instant, but he'd almost said the dreaded word: widow. Finally, he deigned to turn his grey eyes on her. "I'm sorry for your loss, ma'am."

Ma'am?! He was older than she was! Not by much, but still. She held back a scathing retort, but the man had better not try her patience. She was most certainly not in the mood. "Likewise," she said insincerely. Greyback had massacred several students last night; he deserved this. No, actually, he deserved much worse, but Tonks would have to settle for this. At least he wouldn't hurt anyone else, wouldn't ruin anyone else's life. "What are you going to do now?" she asked without preamble.

"I will lead my pack," he said simply.

She exhaled impatiently. "How? The same way he did?" She threw a thumb backwards at Greyback's blazing corpse.

Scabior's eyes narrowed. "He was a fair and capable leader, until very recently," he noted.

"Taking children from their homes and turning them, eating people… Was that fair? He was doing that long before the war, from what I've heard. He bit my husband when Remus was only four."

"He saved my life," Scabior said quietly. He gestured at his fellow werewolves, who were stealing curious glances at them. Tonks briefly wondered why they'd decided to burn their Alpha's body here and now, instead of returning with it to their lair, where the entire pack could gather for this sad excuse of a funeral. Then she realised that she didn't give a damn about the answer. "And theirs. Remus Lupin was a…tragic exception to the rule. His father-"

"Oh, spare me," Tonks snarled. "I know the story. It is no excuse. It's barely even a reason."

Scabior nodded thoughtfully. "I agree. To my knowledge, however, there were only two exceptions: your husband and Evangeline. Everything else was…rumours. Exaggerations. Fenrir was not an evil man."

Tonks had a feeling that the heat from the fire intensified for an instant, just as Scabior said the name. "He served Voldemort. He used you, manipulated you. And I'm fairly certain that he's been doing that from the beginning, and not since very recently." Scabior was obviously delusional. Evey was only half-right about him: he had eventually realised that what Greyback was doing was wrong, but he still believed that the former Alpha was some sort of…werewolf hero, a symbol. Now perhaps a martyr. Good gods, was that why they were burning him here, where everyone could see? That was all Tonks needed right now. "And he killed a bunch of kids last night," she added. "Personally, that's something I would categorise as 'evil'."

"Evangeline…" he began to say.

"For Merlin's sake, you have got to stop blaming the girl for everything Greyback did! He murdered her parents and her little brother because she smelled nice. He devoured children because he wanted her to come back to him willingly. Do you have any idea how utterly psychopathic that sounds?" Tonks exclaimed. "I don't care how he behaved around you, how sane he appeared to you. The man was a bloody lunatic."

"You do realise that this is his funeral, yes?" Scabior said sharply.

"Oh, I'm sorry, am I being disrespectful?" She grabbed his arm and pointed to the castle, where people were magically transporting bodies out of the Great Hall. "These people died for a good cause. They didn't murder anyone. They deserve a proper funeral without a bereaved lady's rude interruption. Greyback should have been thrown in an unmarked grave and left there to rot and feed the maggots."

"What do you want from me?" he hissed at her. "Why are you here? Don't you have more important things to do?"

Oh, yes. Bury my husband. Return to my infant son with the knowledge that he'll never get to know his father. That I must raise him alone. The tears threatened to submerge her, but she swallowed her grief. Be strong. For Remus. "I cannot let you go without a promise that things will change. That the kidnappings will stop, that you won't turn innocent children into werewolves on purpose. That there'll be no more useless violence, no more killing, no more cannibalism."

"And what do we get in return?" Scabior said through clenched jaws. "Hatred. Disdain. Paranoid fear. A life of poverty and misery. Wizards always demand things from us," he said, "but they're not willing to do anything for us, not even show a smidgen of compassion."

That was a good point, Tonks couldn't argue with that. "I'll see to it personally that you are treated equally and with fairness," she vowed. A better life for werewolves. Remus would have wanted that.

Scabior scoffed. "Words are wind."

"Not my words," she retorted. "From now on, I am an Auror no longer. I will talk to Kingsley Shacklebolt, the soon-to-be interim Minister for Magic, and we'll constitute a department within the Ministry that will be dedicated to improving relationships between the government and werewolf packs. We need better communication. We need diplomacy and a common vision. As leader of the largest pack in Great Britain, you could be their spokesperson. Together, we can-"

"Bollocks," Scabior muttered. "That'll never happen. With all due respect, you're not thinking clearly, ma'am. You're blinded by grief. Come back with a more realistic offer when it's worn off."

"If you call me ma'am again, I will throw you on that pyre!" she yelled. "It's Tonks, okay? Just call me Tonks, for pity's sake."

He seemed taken aback by her outburst, and perhaps by her choice to focus on that part of what he'd said. She couldn't blame him for that. She took a deep breath. "And how do I contact you again, then," she went on more calmly, "when I'm no longer hysterical with grief?" He hadn't said it outright, but it had been heavily implied.

Scabior hesitated. "I can't remove our wards," he said eventually. "We need protection, especially after…" He trailed off. After Greyback decided to chew some poor kids. Bloody right they would need protection. Greyback was such a fearsome figure, everyone tended to assume that all werewolves were like him, which had hurt the reputation of werewolves all across the UK for quite a while now, and perhaps even abroad.

"Protection is exactly the sort of thing that the Ministry can provide," Tonks pointed out. "If you'll allow it."

"I suppose I could give you my phone number," Scabior said uncertainly. "If you really mean to help us." He was speaking in a low, moderate tone, as if he was afraid to set her off again. He was just humouring her, she knew, but she would get his phone number and extract a promise from him, at least until they could have an official meeting, he could bloody count on that.

"I do mean it," she said firmly. "And I will."

For Remus.

"Wow. Did you see Mrs Weasley versus Bellatrix earlier?" Evey said with unconcealed awe. "That was fucking epic. Wish I'd bet on the outcome. Mrs Weasley looked fierce."

"It was quite spectacular," Walden agreed. A mother defending her children was a more dangerous enemy than a pack of transformed Wolves, and Molly had already lost a son to Voldemort's minions. Bellatrix had finally reaped what she had sowed.

The mad Lestrange witch was dead, and so was Lord Voldemort. His corpse still lay where it had fallen after his own Killing Curse had rebounded on him. You'd think he would have learned his lesson, but there he was. Dead for good, this time. Hopefully.

And Harry was unharmed. He had been a Horcrux himself, he'd explained to the crowd that had gathered around him after the deed. When Voldemort had "killed" him in the Forbidden Forest, he had actually killed the part of his own soul that rested within Harry's body.

Or something like that. Walden was too tired to try to make sense of it. Dawn was only half an hour or so away, he could tell; he felt sleepy already. He would need to find shelter from the sun soon. He wasn't worried about that, however; the castle had lightproof rooms for the occasional vampire guests. Though he might have to share a room with a fellow vampire, given the attendance.

"Blimey, I can't believe it!" a woman's voice called out. "You did it!" The owner of the voice clapped him heavily on the back. By the strength of it, Walden guessed who it was.

He turned around drowsily. Indeed, it was Alice. "Good of you to join us." He didn't mean to sound bitter but they could have used a second Ancient during the battle. What had taken her so long? She couldn't Apparate, but she knew where to find people who could.

Alice briefly hugged Evey, then cleared her throat and avoided their gazes. "Yeah, um…sorry about that. I could have come sooner, but I… I was…" Now she didn't sound like Alice at all. Alice never hesitated. She was always brutally honest.

"We lost track of time," someone else said. Walden looked to his left. The Wolf Musashi? What the hell was he doing here? "And our phones were off."

Walden glanced from one to the other, frowning. Evey, on the other hand, was giggling. "Best news I've heard all day." She paused, considering. "Okay, given the circumstances, more like third best, but still, yay." She gave them the thumbs-up.

"What news?" Walden asked, feeling at a loss.

"Aw, you're so adorably innocent," Evey said, gripping his arm. Now that the battle was over, she sounded almost giddy. "I'm pretty sure that these two were shagging," she went on in a barely-lowered voice.

Alice gasped at the choice of word. "We were not-!"

Musashi smiled. "Well, the term is a bit crude, but apparently that's what the kids are calling it these days..."

Alice put her face in her hands. "I've never been so humiliated in my entire existence. I'll be leaving now. I have to find Antonin, anyway, make sure he's alright after…what happened." She marched away, muttering to herself.

Walden scowled after her. Had something happened to Tony? He'd lost sight of his brother during the final part of the battle.

"She's such a hypocrite!" Evey exclaimed, probably long before Alice was out of earshot. "'Wolves are the worst'," she said, mimicking Alice's Irish accent very badly. "'Unsavoury beasts', 'grubby louts'." She scoffed. "Yeah, right."

"Hmm. She's not entirely wrong," Musashi conceded. "Some of them are. But you haven't met the whole pack, so you wouldn't know." He took on a more serious expression. "How did you do it, if I may ask?"

Walden stared at him in confusion. "We didn't do it," he replied uncertainly. "Harry…the boy, there…he killed Voldemort."

Evey shrugged. "Voldemort kind of killed himself, in truth," she said. "The man never learned from his mistakes, did he?"

"I meant Greyback," Musashi clarified. "How did you kill him?"

Walden gaped at him. "Greyback is dead?" Well, that certainly explained why he hadn't seen the Wolf all night but… He turned to his wife, whose eyes widened, in embarrassment rather than shock, he could tell. "Did you know about this?" he asked suspiciously.

Evey let go of his arm and bit her lip. "Well, um…yes. I didn't say anything before because I didn't want you to get upset and…make a fuss."

Was she kidding? If anything in human history had ever been worthy of making a fuss, this was it! "But how did you…? How are you…alive?" There was a bit of blood on her tee-shirt, but everyone seemed to have at least a bit of blood on their person, so he hadn't paid it much attention.

"Was it Antonin's doing?" Musashi asked. "It must have been."

"Yes!" Evey said excitedly. "Yes, exactly. Tony did it. He, uh… Well, Greyback was on a massive killing spree, you know, trying to get me to surrender, but he got distracted while attacking one of the girls and…Tony just swooped in, invisible, and wounded him lethally."

Musashi was eyeing her dubiously, but he asked no further question. "Good riddance," he commented off-handedly. "If you'll excuse me, I must attend to a Wolf-related matter." He retreated quickly. Evey watched him leave with a troubled look, likely wondering what Wolf-related matter he could possibly have to attend to here and now.

Walden, however, was far from satisfied with Evey's explanations. "I'm going to fucking kill him!"

"Who, Tony? Why? He got rid of Greyback for good! That's grand news, Wal. You should be happy."

"Happy?" he repeated incredulously. "Evey, have you already forgotten about that connection you shared with Greyback? If Tony harmed him, then you must… He must have harmed you, too. How could he possibly know that you'd survive? That was an insane risk to take! What was he thinking, for Merlin's sake?" He couldn't believe that Tony would put Evey in harm's way, whatever the reason. What was wrong with him? He could have killed her!

"Well, I'm fine, aren't I?" Evey said with forced casualness. "I barely felt anything. It was over in a minute. We should have done this ages ago. Honestly, Wal, it's nothing to-"

"Pardon me," someone interrupted them. "May I borrow Evangeline for a moment?"

Walden turned to glare at the man who had called his wife Evangeline. Nobody called her that. It didn't help the intruder's case that he was good-looking. Too good-looking, despite the scars on his left cheek. Who did he think he was, to interrupt them like that? Wasn't it obvious that they were in the middle of an argument?

"Mal!" Evey cried out with unexpected cheerfulness. "You came! A tad late, but it's the thought that counts, I suppose," she added with a grin.

Now he was lost. She knew that bloke? This extremely good-looking fellow that Walden had never seen before or even heard of?

"Mal, this is my husband, Walden. Wal, this is Malkoran, the Wolves' Alpha," Evey introduced them perfunctorily.

That was Malkoran? Damn. He'd imagined him bigger than that, more imposing and definitely more threatening. More like Greyback, in fact. And certainly not handsome enough to make him almost physically sick.

The Wolf put his hand forward and Walden shook it reluctantly. How in the blazes did he know his wife? "Nice to meet you in person," Malkoran said. "Evangeline has told me much about you."

Would he stop calling her that? She should be Mrs Macnair, to him. "Oh, really? And when was that, exactly?" Walden enquired nonchalantly.

"When you abandoned me to go gallivanting with the Elves," Evey replied. The way she said it, you'd think it was all Walden's fault that she'd been forced to socialise with the Alpha Wolf.

Malkoran coughed discreetly before the argument could degenerate. "I felt Greyback pass away." Evey looked down guiltily, as if she were in any way responsible for his death. "But I did not come to scold you. You did…what you believed had to be done, I suppose, given your personal history."

"Mal, he was on a rampage! Just last night, he savagely murdered at least half a dozen innocent children, for fuck's sake." Evey blushed at her own use of the cuss word, which was totally unlike her. She usually swore like a sailor unabashedly. "There was no other way." She threw Walden a sidelong glance. "Tony did what had to be done."

"With no regard for your safety," Walden snapped.

Malkoran gestured soothingly. "I can sense that you wish to have a private conversation. I will be out of your hair shortly. I was just wondering if you knew who that boy is," he went on, pointing to a familiar blonde head. Well, Walden was familiar with his father, at least. He hadn't seen the kid in over a decade, back when Lucius used to bring his son to the Ministry to parade him around proudly.

"Blondie over there?" Evey said with a puzzled frown. Malkoran nodded. "That's Draco Malfoy. He's Harry Potter's secondary nemesis, a wannabe Death Eater and a spoiled, entitled twat. Why do you want to know?"

"Because he's our new Wolf," Malkoran said quietly.

Evey was glad for the distraction. In any case, it was about time that Walden found a place to spend the day. They would continue their…conversation later, when... Well, when she'd had time to talk to Tony, hopefully. They had to get their stories straight. She wasn't going to lie to Walden, of course. He just had to understand that she'd taken a risk that was entirely warranted and calculated and more than worth the hypothetical cost. After all, if she'd died, she'd have died a bloody heroine, sacrificing her young life to save a bunch of innocent people.

Okay, that was bullshit. In truth, she'd never seriously considered the possibility that she would die. She just knew that it was the right thing to do and that there would be no better opportunity to do it.

She didn't like to overthink these crazy ideas of hers. Overthinking often got in the way of getting things done.

Like the way she'd greeted Mal when he'd suddenly appeared, as if they were old pals. Such unnecessary familiarity. What could she say? She'd panicked. She'd messaged him on a whim, but hadn't really expected him to show up, and he had come at the worst possible moment. Walden was clearly annoyed, and rightly so. She'd have to come clean about that, too. Not that she'd done anything wrong – she'd simply…omitted to mention Mal's existence before.

A few minutes later, Evey left Malkoran – and Silver, who'd joined them; this was obviously the Wolf-related matter he'd mentioned earlier – to discuss with the Malfoys, after introducing them all. She'd never met Mr and Mrs Malfoy in person before – though she'd glimpsed Lucius Malfoy at the Ministry in 1996, when he was trying to steal that fateful prophecy; his glorious long hair was not what it used to be – but she knew them by name, at least. They looked absolutely lost, the three of them huddling together like puppies who were afraid to be separated from each other at the pet shop. Their trademark arrogance had been sucked away from them over the past two years.

Evey couldn't believe that Greyback had decided to turn Draco fucking Malfoy, of all people, into a Wolf. He'd had many flaws, but he was usually more discerning than that. He must have been drunk, or perhaps the moon had been playing tricks on him. Or maybe Draco just smelled really nice, she thought wryly.

"Hey."

Evey stopped in her tracks and turned to face George. He stood in the middle of the Great Hall, hands in his pockets, ginger hair in disarray. And she'd thought that the Malfoys looked lost.

She felt the tears assault her eyes. "Hey," she said softly. She stepped closer to him and patted his arm awkwardly. "How are you doing?" A stupid question, she knew, but what was she supposed to say?

"You know how I lost that ear last year?" Evey nodded uncertainly, unsure where he was going with that. It had never seemed to bother him before; in fact, he seemed rather proud of his battle scar. "Well it's like that, but a million times worse. It's like half of me is gone, but somehow I'm still alive."

Gods. She couldn't stand the pain in his eyes, the hollow ring in his voice. "I'm so sorry, mate."

He waved that away. He must have heard it a hundred times in the past few hours. "Where's your friend Dolohov?"

She blinked at the unexpected question. "Um…not sure. I haven't seen him since the battle ended. He was with Tonks, fighting…" Augustus Rookwood. She didn't say the name aloud; he was responsible for Fred's death. Rookwood was alive, but that only meant that he would get to spend the rest of his life in Azkaban, a fate some would deem worse than death.

"And your husband? Is he around?" George went on without missing a beat.

"He's asleep, George. He's a vampire, and the sun is up, so…"

He chuckled dryly. "The sun never stopped Dolohov, did it?"

Evey sighed. "Tony's different. He's an Ancient." When she saw the dumbfounded expression on George's face, she was suddenly reminded that he didn't know about that. The Order of the Phoenix was better at keeping secrets than Tony or herself, clearly.

"An Ancient? Like those immortal vampires from the stories Dad used to read to us when we were kids?"

Oh, what the hell. "Exactly like that."

"That explains a lot. But that means he's awake somewhere, then?" Evey nodded. "We need to find him. Maybe it's not too late." He started walking toward the door with determination.

"George, wait up!" she said, running after him. She stood in front of him. "Why do you want to see Tony?" He despised Tony. And what did he mean by 'maybe it's not too late'? "What do you have in mind?" She had a very bad feeling about his sudden interest in her best friend.

"He brought his brother back," George murmured in reply. "He can bring back mine, too. It's only fair. After all, he killed my uncles. He can do us that one small favour, surely."

The bitterness in his voice was very unlike him, but Evey focused on the words rather than the tone. "George, you can't do that," she began to say.

"Don't tell me what I can and cannot do!" he growled. She took an involuntary step backwards. "Be honest now. If Dolohov had been around when your brother was murdered, wouldn't you have asked the same thing? Were you not happy that he turned Macnair? Would you rather that he'd died and stayed dead?"

"I wouldn't, but Walden was not happy, that I can tell you. It took him a long time to adjust, and he still very much hates being undead." She didn't like it, either, but better undead than truly dead, in her own selfish opinion. "It shouldn't fall to the family and loved ones to make that decision, George. Do you really think that Fred would want that?" She didn't explain that Tony couldn't bring back his twin even if he wanted to. She had to reason with him first, so that he could realise on his own that this was a mistake. "I know it's not fair." She made a gesture that encompassed the remaining dead bodies across the Great Hall. Some of them had already been taken away by their families so that they could be mourned in peace, at home. "None of this is fair."

"Dolohov wants to redeem himself, doesn't he?" Evey frowned at that. Hadn't he already redeemed himself a dozen times over? He'd killed Greyback; that alone should earn him an official pardon, and a fucking Order of Merlin, too. She let George finish his thought, however. He needed to get this all out of his chest. Denial and anger were part of the five stages of grief, weren't they? "Let him turn them all. We can still save them, can't we? Fred, Remus, Lavender, that Creevey kid… It's only been a few hours. If Dolohov's truly an Ancient, he can still bring them back."

"I can't," Tony said. Evey started slightly. She hadn't heard him approach.

George glared at him. "And why is that? Is my brother not worthy of becoming a vampire? Doesn't he deserve to live? Is there some sort of 'Death Eaters only' policy?"

"It's not up to me to decide who deserves to live or die," Tony said quietly. "I've learned that lesson the hard way. And George… Look, even if I wanted to, I can't bring your brother back." He raised a hand when George tried to interrupt him. "Even if it weren't too late already, I literally can't. I can turn only one person in my entire existence, and that was Walden. I'm all out of…vampire-making juice."

"That's probably not the best way to phrase that," Evey muttered.

George ignored her remark. "Then you wasted your one shot, bloodsucker."

"Most people agree with that sentiment," Tony said. "But if you'd been in my shoes, I'm guessing that you would have selfishly turned your own brother… So we're not that different, are we?"

"We are nothing alike," George snapped.

"George, please," Evey said. "I understand, okay? Believe me, I know how you feel. You're right. I would have done anything to save my brother." She sighed. "But there's nothing to be done. Fred is gone. You have to accept that, or it will destroy you."

That finally did the trick. She could almost sense his rage crumble away. He let out a dry sob, and Evey hugged him. "I just don't understand why he's not here," he said in a trembling voice. "We always said…" He paused, hiccupping. "We always said we'd haunt Hogwarts together when we died. We'd be Peeves's successors, you know? Or we'd gang up, the three of us, and entertain the students for the rest of…" He couldn't speak anymore. She let him cry on her shoulder in silence.

"George, dear?" Mrs Weasley said a few minutes later. "We're…we're going to head home. With your brother. Are you coming?" Evey looked up at her when George released her. Mrs Weasley's eyes were red, but that was to be expected. She did her best to smile at Evey. "We'll…" She cleared her throat. "There will be a wake. Tonight. You're welcome to attend. The three of you," she added, turning to Tony. "Tonks will be there with Teddy and we'll… Remus…"

Evey nodded. She didn't need all the words to piece out what she meant. "We'll be there. Of course. Mrs Weasley, if there's anything we can do to help…" She trailed off. What could she possibly do?

"Thank you, dear. George?"

He sniffled and embraced his mother briefly. "Yeah. Let's go home."

Evey watched them shuffle away. The rest of the family followed behind them; Ron and Ginny, Mr Weasley, Percy and Charlie, then Bill who brought up the rear and magically carried his younger brother's body. Everyone respectfully moved out of their way as they advanced.

"Well. That was heart-breaking," Tony said conversationally when they were out of sight.

"I can't believe Fred's gone. Gods, I can't believe any of them are actually dead. Everything that happened, it feels like it was all a dream."

Tony put his arm around her. "What do you want to do? I can fetch Walden's travel coffin and get him back to the manor. I don't fancy staying here, to tell you the truth." Unexpectedly, he smiled. "Unless you want to flirt with Malkoran while the hubby's unconscious."

Evey turned around and hit him in the stomach. It only caused his grin to widen. "Shut up!" she exclaimed, though she was half-laughing. "I told you, it's not like that. We're just friends. Barely even that. Acquaintances."

"I'm just messing with you. You undersold him, though. He's not good-looking, he's insanely hot. No wonder Wal had a jealousy attack." She glared at him. "Oh, lighten up, biscuit. We're alive. Well, you are, anyway," he amended, still smiling. "The big bad Wolf is dead, V. That means that not only are you alive, but you can actually live. See the world. Get a job. You know, have a normal adult life."

"You're never going to forgive me for making you bite me, are you?" she asked softly. She knew him too well; she could see the tension behind his smile.

Indeed, that sobered him up. "Maybe sometime in the next century," he mumbled. "But you were right, it was a risk worth taking." He was only saying that because she'd survived. They'd been lucky. She was only fully realising now just how much of a mess it would have been if they'd failed – if she'd died, or if Greyback had not, or both of these things. She shuddered at the thought. "To be honest," Tony went on, "I'm more worried about Walden forgiving me. I overheard you two arguing earlier… Maybe I should make myself scarce these next few…years." He looked away. "Maybe I should just leave. You ought to be able to enjoy your married life with some privacy. I bet you could do without a roommate with a painfully acute sense of hearing."

"Don't be absurd," Evey chided him. "I can't imagine not having you around, Tony. What would I do during the day if you weren't there? I'd be bored out of my mind." She put a hand on his arm. "I'll talk to Walden, alright? Explain to him exactly what happened, tell him it was my idea." She bit her lip, feeling suddenly very guilty. "I mean, it was my idea. I just didn't have the nerve to tell him, before."

Tony glanced at her uncertainly. "I don't know, V. It's not just that. I…" He hesitated.

"What? Come on. You can tell me anything, you know that, right?"

He was silent for a long time, so long that she began to think that something was seriously wrong, though she couldn't imagine what. "I just…" He shook his head as if he'd made some sort of internal decision. "What about Ted?"

Evey scowled. "Ted? What about him?" She'd send several messages to the Wolf since he'd left for Middle-earth, then many more the previous day, asking for help in the battle. She'd received no reply, and she was mildly worried, but still, it was odd for Tony to bring this up now.

"I should go find him, don't you think? See if he's alright, at least."

"That's…nice of you," she said slowly. Nice, but weird. Did he really care that much about the Wolf? "But Tony, after everything that happened… I'd rather you stayed for a bit. Please? For me?" She wasn't sure why she was being so insistent about this. After all, he'd been cooped up for a long time, just as she had. He deserved a vacation, if that's what he really wanted. And he loved Middle-earth, had already talked about going back when things settled down here.

She'd kind of hoped that she would be going with him the next time he visited, though. With Walden, of course.

Tony looked…conflicted. What the hell was going on with him? He was obviously lying. Or not telling her the whole truth, at least. "I'll tell you what," he said eventually. "I'll stay for another few weeks, until everyone's properly buried and we've had time to grieve and process everything that's happened. Until you decide what you want to do with your life, though I assume you'll be working with Walden, if he's still okay with that."

Evey nodded. There had never been an alternative option, not for her. If Walden didn't want to return to his old job, hell, she'd take it. Surely he would at least put in a good word for her at the Ministry. "Besides," she said, "if you stay in Scotland a bit longer, I'm sure Harry will help clear your name. You could get a pardon from the Minister – odds are, it'll be Kingsley. He has no reason to refuse. Then if you really want to leave and start a new life somewhere else, it'll be that much easier."

"Sure. Though if Ted hasn't resurfaced by then, I will check up on him." Aw. He really was worried. "I mean, someone has to, and it looks like Alice will be too busy with her new...lover." He grimaced. "Have you ever pictured your grandma having sex? Because that's what I've been doing for the past half hour and I can't seem to stop. Also, does it mean that Silver is my granddad now?"

Evey was holding her stomach, laughing. It earned her quite a few disapproving looks from nearby mourners. She did her best to keep her mirth under control, but silently thanked Tony for his ability to make her laugh even in such tragic situations, when she most needed it. "Let's just forget about Ted for now, okay? He's a grown Wolf, he can take care of himself. You go get the coffin, and I'll find out where Walden has settled down. Then we can all go home."

The three of them together, as it should be.

Tony looked back over his shoulder as Evey went further inside the castle to find Walden.

He should have said something. He should have told her the truth. But if he confessed, if he came clean…he'd never see her again, would he? Walden wouldn't allow it. Hell, Evey wouldn't allow it. She'd be…disgusted. Revolted. They would both hate him.

He kept walking toward the main gate, hands in his pockets, his mind in turmoil.

He couldn't do that to them, nor to himself. Without them, he had no one. He was no one.

That meant living with Evey, having her painfully close to him at all times. So close and yet so far, knowing that he could never have her… It was still preferable to the loveless void that would otherwise be his prison. She did love him, after all. Just not the way he wanted her to. Not that she should love him any differently, of course – she belonged with Walden, that much was obvious. For all their bickering, and despite Walden's unwarranted jealousy, they were soulmates, if such a thing existed.

He could always leave without telling them why, preferably while they were both asleep. A clean break. But it'd crush Evey's heart if he abandoned her like that, for no apparent reason. He couldn't do that to her.

He had no idea why this silly crush hadn't faded into nothingness yet. It should have, by now. He'd never been so smitten in his entire life. It made no sense. He did have a faint hope that it would wither, however, now that he was finally able to date women the way he used to. Maybe that was all he needed, a return to 'normal', or what used to be normal, anyway. Being with Morgana hadn't made much of a difference, but if he could keep himself distracted often enough… Maybe it would drive Evey out of his head and heart eventually.

Besides, she was safe now. Greyback was dead. She didn't need Tony anymore, didn't need an Ancient at her side permanently. And yet she'd been very insistent that he stayed, which was…a bit confusing. They were friends, yes, but why did she so badly wanted him at the manor? He could live literally anywhere in the world and visit her the next instant, thanks to the illegal Apparition network – or the legal one, if he was pardoned.

Maybe it had something to do with Walden. It was obvious that she loved him, no doubt about it, but why the hell did she keep lying to him? Hades, Malkoran, the near-certainty that she was immortal, what had really happened with Greyback… The lies and omissions were piling up. Didn't she trust him? Why would she confide in Tony instead of her husband?

She couldn't secretly be in love with him, could she?

Nope. Don't go down that road. You know she isn't. You're just day-dreaming again, reading into meaningless things. It had been a stressful year – couple of years – for everyone, and stress affected people differently. Walden and Evey would be okay after everything was out in the open and they had a chance to talk things through. Malkoran actually seemed like a nice bloke, once you managed to look past his disturbing attractiveness. Walden would realise that soon enough, hopefully.

Everything would be okay.

For them, anyway.

Tony's future had been foretold, after all. Whatever he did, he'd be miserable; ergo, it didn't really matter what he decided to do.

Right now, he was going to retrieve his brother's travel coffin, just as he'd told Evey. Then they would go home, the three of them. Evey would certainly sleep the day away with Walden and that would give Tony some time to consider his options.

To confess, or not to confess? To leave, or not to leave?