Ch. 21- Brewing Storms

Jonovan Malam Orion was pissed. Oh he was confused. And bewildered. But mostly he was fire-spitting pissed. He kept staring at Zoey, waiting for the girl to open her mouth and start talking.

If he touched her, Zoey knew, her hair would immediately turn a red more vibrant than the Weasley's. She sighed and stared into her hot chocolate, which had long ago cooled into lukewarm chocolate. He hadn't said anything since that first encounter, though he had dragged her away from the upsetting sight in room R527.

"How did you get past security?" She frowned slightly. "How did you even track where I was?"

"Magic." He said flatly, an answer that had been much more entertaining back before he'd known the wizarding world existed.

"Riiight…"

He didn't respond. Silence was a tool, and the best one against a certain Zoethia Malam.

Sure enough she sighed, finally confronting the dreaded conversation that was long and far overdue. "I've always known. Ever since it happened I've known."

"The whole time?" Jon tried not to gape at the idea. "Since you were- dammit, Zo, you were only five!"

"Yeah," she tried to laugh as though the idea of it were entertaining. "It wasn't like there was much of a choice. It was either lie to you or- or never see you again."

Jon was floored by the declaration. He tried to imagine his life without Zoey underfoot, making breakfast with his mom in the mornings and waiting to walk home together after school. Without her peppy energy, without the responsibility of looking after her as they grew up… of course in the more trying moments he'd imagined it. What teenage boy, saddled with the care and keeping of a cousin eight years younger, wouldn't be upset with the restrictions it forced on his life? Who wouldn't wish that frustration away?

But as an actual possibility…? A life where he and Zoey had grown up as just cousins instead of siblings? It was unimaginable.

He could tell from her expression and eyes that she was dead serious. With a defeated groan Jonovan ran a hand down his face, leaning back in his chair with a defeated slump. Only after he'd let his anger go could he admit to himself that it had sprouted from confusion and hurt more than anything, but he put all those feelings aside to focus on the more pressing need: information. "Start from the beginning."

The Great Hall was packed as students formed a constant stream to and from the house tables, some of the students looking forward to eating while others were were eager to trade candlesticks floating overhead for true sky. Lilly Potter was engrossed in her supper, idly feeding her rabbit while proof-reading a History of Magic essay.

"Lily?"

"Yeah?" Lily Potter looked up from the lettuce she was feeding Charles Fluffington to see her cousin standing there. "What is it, Hugo?"

The tall first-year Hufflepuff sat down nervously, clutching a school newspaper in his hands. "Have you seen this yet?"

Her nose wrinkled, "The Scandals? Hugo, that thing's absolute rubbish. You should put it in the trash."

"But- it's- it's got Zoey in it."

"What?" Lily immediately stopped what she was doing, giving the topic her undivided attention. She and Hugo had been spending more time with each other and other Hufflepuffs and less with the transfer, but they both considered her a friend. One of their few friends that wasn't family or star-stuck by their Legacy ties.

The article was freshly printed just before supper, but had already made it's way across the Great Hall. There were dozens of them clutched in hands of every house, and now that Lily cared to look she saw that there were quite a few groups huddled around them and talking.

She frowned at the moving picture it featured, which showed younger versions of Zoey and Assistant Orion. The young assistant was posing for a picture in front of a turreted castle, a huge crowd walking by him in the background. Zoey, who looked about nine or ten, would sneak up at Jon from behind and launch forward with the obvious intent to tackle him. Of course it didn't work the way she had planned and ended up latched to his back, laughing at herself. Jon spun in place to make her scream and beg him to stop, but his firm grip on her legs betrayed the caution in his teasing action. Holding her headband- which had two giant black circles sticking up out of it for some reason- Zoey giggled and kissed him on the cheek, making him act grossed out and drop her for more theatrics.

The small image of Zoey would fall, quickly pick herself up off the ground, then run off the edge of the picture with Jon close on her heels. The young the History Assistant would be the first to return to view on the page, then a few minutes later Zoey would come and sneak up on him again and repeat the cycle.

Lily went on to read the article, which cited that the squib had been known to meet with Orion frequently and sometimes late at night. Saying that such improper conduct could only be expected from someone with Slytherin heritage. It took her a moment to realize who it was about.

"How did the author even get this picture? And since when is Zoey a squib?" Then she shook her head, "You know what, nevermind. It's not true."

"Perception is reality, Lil." Hugo looked around the hall, watching at the entire school's focus remain on the article and a certain transfer student. Zoey had been generally well-liked when she first arrived, largely due to startling individuality, but her continuing strangeness has been chipping at the foundation of that affection. Unlike Lily he had been following the Scandal articles, and though Hugo personally didn't believe them he knew how frequently she'd been mentioned. As time went on the passages had become less and less flattering toward their friend, and now this last article was turning the school against her.

Lily bit her lip with worry. She had to admit, the overly-friendly picture and Zoey's relationship with the assistant- which she always somehow avoided explaining- was certainly gossip-worthy. It also didn't help the general image of her friend that she'd announced a Slytherin heritage to the entire hall. Nobody had gotten over their prejudice of the Second War. Nobody.

The current shunning of Slytherin House was proof of that.

"I'll bet James knows."

"Huh?" Lily blinked and looked up at Hugo.

"The picture." He waved the article up and down in the air, "I'll bet James knows where the article came from."

"Genius!" Lily exclaimed as she stood from Hufflepuff table. Very few people were trusted with the identity of the Scandal's author, writer, and editor. Neither of them knew if it really was done by three people or not, but it was mostly only older students who seemed to know the author, and James Sirius Potter, a 6th year, could easily be one of them. "Let's go ask him-"

A bit of asking around Gryffindor table and they got the same answer from everybody; James was at the Quidditch Pitch, running practice for their next scrimmage. Apparently it was a bit of a controversial point, since James had practically doubled Gryffindor's Quidditch practice schedule in preparation for the game against Slytherin. Half the House was looking forward to demolishing their rival, the other half was bummed that their friends were missing on a Friday night.

Walking through the halls revealed that there were countless copies of the School Scandals in the hands of every House, even a few Slytherins had already gotten some. They were the only House that didn't get the regular circulation of the paper, and the fact that they already had Scandals proved how interested in this edition the school was.

Hugo crumpled his copy in his hand and picked up the pace for the quidditch pitch, Lily practically jogging to keep up with his tall strides.

James was standing on the reserves platform, calling out direction to his team as he watched them practice their plays and occasionally throwing practice balls at unwary teammates. It was his way of testing their reflexes against bludgers.

Roxanne cursed as she got hit in the knee and chewed out over it.

"Rox! You're a bloody beater, it's your job to watch the bludgers!"

His redheaded cousin rolled her eyes, knowing better than to argue when the eldest Potter was in Captain mode. He was always stubborn, but he was spectacularly mule-headed over Quidditch. He never took a word of advice from anybody, and talking back was just asking for laps.

She focused on the bludger- a real bludger, which she was more than capable of keeping track of thankyouverymuch- which was making it's way toward Rose's back and knocked it at the Chasers, watching it disrupt their play with satisfaction. Of course, their Captain had a different opinion…

"What was that!" James Potter roared, his focus shifting toward the chasers. "If that's all it takes to slip you up I will knock you off those brooms myself!"

As his disapproval moved on Rose flew over to hover by Roxanne. "Thanks for that." she hadn't even seen the bludger heading towards her.

"Meh," Rox waved off her gratitude and rolled her shoulder to stretch it out, watching James send all the chasers away for a round of laps. "I wanted a break anyways."

While their teammates got punished they took the chance to catch their breath, Roxanne still massaging the muscles of her right shoulder. It had been bothering her a lot lately; maybe she should see Healer Prin about it.

"Hugo?" Rose asked aloud as she saw her impossibly tall younger brother make his way onto the bleachers. "What's he- what're he and Lily doing here?"

Roxanne followed her gaze and tilted her head with her own curiosity. "Let's find out." Ignoring the ache in her shoulder, she flew beneath the platform James stood upon and hovered beneath it, putting a finger to her lips when Rose flew up a few moments later. Rose wasn't sure why they were bothering with the sneaking instead of just asking, but joined Rox anyways.

"Pretty condemning, right?" They heard James say with obvious smugness.

"There's not a single fact on this whole page." Lily protested. "And where did Scandals even get the picture? Unless Zoey gave it to them- which I very much doubt- this isn't legal to publish!"

Rose's eyes widened. She hadn't even thought of that. Apparently James hadn't either, as his voice gained an edge of guilt. "That's- the entire paper's unofficial anyways, Lil. It's not illegal if it's not official."

Hugo's footsteps moved toward the Potter siblings, his shadow on the platform moving with him. "Do you know anything about this- this?"

Apparently he had been unable to find an appalling enough word, so he just laced the second 'this' with as much derision as possible and waved around the article about.

"I know it's true."

"James Potter you take that back right now!" Lily demanded, stomping her foot and sending a small layer of dust onto the two eavesdroppers below. Rose dipped her broom aside to avoid a particularly large piece.

Roxanne rubbed the specks out of her eyes as James retorted smugly "But that would be a lie. I've seen the transfer sneak off to see Orion in private, sometimes well into the night, with my own two eyes. And with the Marauders Map. Plus, you can't deny their relationship is obviously strange."

"Her name is Zoey." Hugo said gruffly, shocking Rose with how firm he was being, "And you should call the Assistant by his title."

"That's still not a denial." James said triumphantly. "But hey, why don't you ask her yourself? Check in on the blue-haired brat and see what she has to say. Oh but wait-" he made a show of looking around even though Zoey wouldn't have had any reason to be at the Quidditch Pitch "-she doesn't seem to be here. That's strange, it seems nobody's seen her all day. And oh, have you noticed…?"

Rose knew what he was about to point out, having been the one to notice and tell James in the first place.

"Orion doesn't seem to be available either. He disappeared shortly after the transfer, and everyone knows because History of Magic was so boring today. Now, isn't that a strange coincidence? I wonder if it's related. I wonder," He leaned toward them but his voice only got softer with confidence, "if they'll come back together from their little weekend field trip."

"They won't." Hugo said with confidence. He'd lost his hero-worship toward the girl that had saved his life by fighting a kelpie, but not his respect. "This- this,-" he once again failed to find a good word for the situation and just waved the article a second time, "Is completely bogus."

Lily nodded agreement to his declaration, going so far as to rip their Scandals copy in half. She and Hugo, with the true loyalty of Hufflepuff, would never believe its lies.

Rose and Roxanne watched the torn paper float in the wind to the green grass far below them all, then glanced at each other. Rose was downright shocked at their blind loyalty- the evidence had been right there in front of them, but they'd completely ignored it. It's not like there was another explanation for Orion and Zoey's relationship besides secretly-romantic.

James stood up straight with a slight frown at their declaration, then straightened his quidditch robes and smirked again. "We'll see." Time would prove him right. Until then, he waved the young pair off his pitch and got back to practice.

After the chasers finished their lap he got the team running their drills again, only this time he jumped on his own Firebolt and watched their efficiency from above. Alone in the air, he smiled openly at the success of the Scandals article, pleased with the presentation Christine Creevy had given the school. It had taken care of so many of his problems, it was almost too perfect.

Ever since he'd seen the transfer girl with blue hair he'd known that she was allied with Malfoy, she was the girl that had tried to befriend Peeves before the end of the last year. He'd tailed her for a little while to try understanding her motives, watched her befriend first Lily and Hugo and then on to Lysander, obviously worming her way into the Legacies' good graces for reasons unknown. It wasn't till she made that comment about his father that he realized how truly dangerous she was.

The Harry Potter, mocked for 'surviving being a boy'… it made his blood boil. There could only be one person stupid enough to say that even once. As soon as he'd heard her say that to Albus in the library he realized that she had been the thief in the greenhouses.

The one that seen him with Scorpius's wand.

It had been a problem- a real problem. He couldn't turn her in to Lysander or any other Prefect. The transfer knew that he had stolen another student's wand, on a test day no less. With the way she'd somehow won over practically the whole school, someone might actually believe her. If that information was leaked to a professor James would never forgive himself for the ruin it would bring to his family's reputation. Or the trouble it would land himself in.

He'd needed to knock her down from a place of influence in important circles, but that hadn't been easy. Especially while keeping his motivations a secret. As Christine had reported, Zoethia became friends with practically all of Hogwarts. James knew he'd first have to cast a bit of imperfection on her image- at least within his family to start, to gain allies in his fellow Legacies. The rest of the school would quickly follow. Rose had become easier to recruit as she become more and more frustrated with her mandated tutoring sessions.

For a bit, he had thought he wouldn't need to do anything. Christine had pegged the transfer as a squib and then Zoethia Malam became targeted by practically all of the school to see if it was true. If there was ever a time that James Potter was grateful for Slytherin bigotry, it had been then, as he'd watched the girl get pegged with every manner of spell, charm, and mundane projectile as they attempted to test her squib-ness. Not once had the strange transfer girl responded to it- not a single comment or glare was sent their way, or even a query as to why? She had just let them do it, as though it was okay for them to.

Even better, nobody had spoken up on her behalf. Though the hazing had died down at James's suggestion when one of the pranks had caused her physical injury, a two-inch cut on her shin when she failed to dodge the spear that he'd tried to trip her with. There hadn't been many people there, but the few who were stopped and stared as she went tumbling in a cartoonish-fashion and her books cascaded out of her hands.

The smothered laughter in the hall had quieted when she turned over and revealed the bleeding limb, blood seeping between the fingers she was using to staunch the flow. Her half-lidded gaze met each of the audiences'- not accusing or angry, more like she was looking over books on a shelf and assessing what each had to offer.

When their gaze met Zoey's eyes narrowed for a fraction of a second, and in that eyeblink James Potter would swear that her glittering gaze changed colors. Then her green stare had moved on to the rest of the onlookers, her wordless assessment making them quiet and eventually silent themselves. It was like muffliato had been cast over them and their thoughts, unable to take action unless she permitted it.

Then the girl blinked, breaking the spell as she wordlessly collected her books. When she stood and walked on, a tear in her sock revealing perfectly unblemished skin, a sigh of relief went through everybody. She hadn't actually been hurt- she'd just wanted them to think she was. And in any case, it was obvious now that if she'd had magic it would have responded to their assaults by now.

At least, that was what James had assured the four other people that had been there. And that was what Hogwarts continued to believe. But the eldest Potter knew Zoey wasn't a squib. He'd never believed she was. Plus he had seen her blood, not just on her leg at first but staining her hand as she had gathered her bookbag. She had healed herself, wandless and wordlessly, in the span of a few moments. She might actually be a powerful witch. He had told the school to stop so that her magic wouldn't manifest in a more blatant manner under their mild assaults- but of course Slytherins never listened to anyone, and they'd continued.

Even his social standing wouldn't keep a false rumor circulating for long. James needed more- thus their excursion into Ravenclaw Tower- but it seemed he needn't have worried as the transfer graciously served him the means of her own demise. On a silver platter. On Halloween morning.

Her public allegiance with the Slytherins and against the rest of the Houses- against his own brother, a Potter, would have been enough to turn the school against her with time. Then the transfer had just put a little bow on the situation when she declared that her mother was Slytherin, making her almost as bad as those snakes herself. That, coupled with her sudden disappearance, had the set the stage for him.

Now with another publication of Creevy's Scandals article, with the picture that they'd stolen from her room, there was no chance of the transfer regaining her previous position of positive influence in Hogwarts. Now, if the transfer ever tried to blackmail James with the story of how he'd stolen a wand, he'd have more than enough support to shoot her down. Now, everything was right again.

James was still going to find out her and Orion's connection to the Minister of Magic, but for the moment that wasn't urgent. After all, he reminded himself as he dove down the pitch to set a practice snitch free, right now he had a scrimmage against Slytherin to win.

Unlike Jon, Zoey had known that this conversation would happen someday. She'd imagined it playing out a thousand ways, she even had a piece of paper back at her room- in her real house, not the Tower- with a preplanned speech. Carefully worded to explain and calm her cousin at the same time. But of course, right now she couldn't remember a word of it. He wanted her to start at 'the beginning', she tried to think back. What was the beginning?

"We don't know how it happened," Zoey Malam took a deep breath and closed her eyes, her mind far away from St. Mungo's small cafeteria. "And there was even less of an idea back then. All anyone knew was Zelina Avery went into the field for work and disappeared for a few days; eventually, somehow she was picked up by the forest search and rescue group, but by then she was already… like that."

Jonovan sighed as well, but he needed to know. "How bad is it?"

"Bad. Sometimes she doesn't even remember who she is." There were other people that had been struck by the same condition, but Zelina's was by far the most extreme. She was Patient Zero, the first and the worst of the victims. "It just- it happens again and again without any warning, and…" she remembered the vacant look in her mother's eyes not two minutes after she'd said happy birthday.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

She winced at the hurt hidden in his voice. "I did. We did. You, Aunt Mary and Uncle Peter- you all knew."

"No we didn't." Jon scowled. "I would definitely have remembered Aunt Zel being alive instead of missing and declared dead."

"Yes, you did. But- you forgot. You were obliviated."

His knuckles popped as they clenched into fists. "I was what?"

"They wiped your memory. They had to, you- you and your parents went straight to the cops and tried to report my- Zelina as being kidnapped by a cult."

Oh no… "The Statute of Secrecy," Jonovan growled like a swear. For wizards the punishment was part of their justice system. For muggles there was very little choice.

"You were muggles that had proved incapable of keeping the secrets of the Wizarding World. Obliviation all around." Zoey nodded sullenly, sinking into her seat. "So- so that night, when I got back, Miss Cringle gave me a choice."

"Your counselor?" The woman had met with Zoey every week of her life for as long as he could remember, to help her through the loss of first her mom and then her dad.

"Yeah she- she's kinda been my magical liaison to the wizarding world, at least until you discovered magic." She smiled at the description, but it was a fleeting expression. "Anyways, Dad was already in the hospital with cancer. I couldn't live with him, so- so I only had two options."

"If I wanted to stay with you, I could never tell you about magic or mom or-" Her throat clenched as she realized she'd called Zelina her mom. How long had it been? She'd had to stop… years ago. It wasn't good for her mom's sanity to see that the daughter she thought she'd seen a week ago had grown years older. After a few bad episodes Zoey had made the conscious change in her mind.

That was also when she started wearing the Healer robe, so that she'd have an excuse for why she was at St. Mungos. Usually she didn't even tell Zelina about having a mom here, but today she had just… hoped. And been utterly crushed.

She didn't realize that she was crying until Jon reached across the small booth table and brushed a wet tear off her cheek. "Or what?" He prompted, trying to keep her engaged in the conversation and not wherever her wandering thought had taken her.

"It was lie to you three," she needed a moment to remember the conversation so she spoke slowly. "Or get adopted. Apparently Mom's old forms had someone else- some wizard's- name on it. They were going to see if she would be willing to take me in."

"Who was it?" He'd been under the impression that his Aunt Zelina had been a lone wolf that rarely let anyone close. Or at least, that's what his parents always said of their lost sister-in-law. Who had been in a hospital for ten years, instead of skipped out on her daughter and dying husband.

Jon frowned. This was bothering him already, how had Zoey kept this to herself practically her whole life?

"I don't know." Zoey shrugged. "It was someone called Tori- Victoria Greene or something like that, I don't- I didn't even meet her. I didn't want… if I left I…"

She was about to cry more. Jon sighed and moved to the other side of the booth to hide her from the rest of the room. Even though it was empty, the one thing Zoey hated more than crying was the idea of being seen. He looked at the open doors and closed them with a thought, turning the lock with magic as well.

"You don't have- other people are gonna-"

"I do. And I don't care." He kept his glare focused on the door, as though daring the universe to send someone to disturb his younger cousin in her moment of vulnerability. He scarcely remembered her crying as she grew up with him. She was much the same as now, always smiling and cheerful. That made the times she cried all the more shocking and monumental.

While most girls went through the phase of crying over anything and pouting to get their ways, Zoey had been abnormally mature. She never shed any tears at home. She'd always go back to- Jon blinked at the epiphany. "This is why you always went back to your old house. You weren't checking to see if she was back, you were just trying to be close to her."

Zoey nodded her head in agreement. "I wasn't 'clinging to a ghost'."

He winced both at her defensive tone and the memory of when he'd said that. "Sorry."

She just shook her head again and leaned against him, pulling her knees up to her chest and curling into herself. It was too much- this conversation, the swirling emotions of even planning to see Zelina, the wrenching result of that birthday cupcake, which she hadn't even eaten…

It was always disconcerting for Jonovan to find Zoey crying. She didn't cry properly. Listening to her, it was easy to tell that she'd never really learned. It was a sound of pain rather than sadness. Zoey would hold her breath between sobs, choking her own tears until she simply had to breathe and then she would take in shuddering gasps of air like a man who'd nearly drowned, almost hyperventilating in her need for oxygen. Soon as she caught her breath and started crying like a normal person she would hold it in again to repeat the cycle, rubbing the tears from her face.

Jon rubbed her back comfortingly for as long as she needed, waiting until she'd literally cried herself into exhaustion. He was feeling a bit lost- he'd had a plan for her birthday, but obviously that wasn't going to happen. Zoey was not going back to Hogwarts in this state. He operated the hot-chocolate machine and floated a fresh set of cups over to them with a touch of magic, setting one in front of her and taking a sip of his own.

He scowled at the watered down flavor, evaporating the extra liquid before taking another sip and still finding it sub-par. The inadequacy was almost a relief; here was at least one thing that he could make better for Zoey on her birthday. "Hey," he shook her lightly, "do you want to get out of here and get some real hot chocolate?"

Zoey hiccuped with surprise, but did manage to chuckle lightly. "With marshmallows?"

"Of course," Jon smirked, standing up and offering her a hand. "It'll take two minutes to get home."

Her hand was already in his when she realized what he'd said. "What do you mean-"

There was a sharp crack as Jon apparated them out of the dreary wizarding hospital, standing on a hillside neighborhood lined with streetlamps and telephone poles. A dog barked at them from down the street, and a few people who were walking by jumped at the sound of their arrival but Jon had covered them both with a spell of invisibility, and so the muggles walked on with a grumble about backfiring car motors.

"-home…" Zoey finished as she stared at one of the buildings that was no different from the others. The same paintjob, the same woodwork and architecture, the same cookie-cutter style as every other house of the street. But knowing the pictures, pillows and warmth that it held inside it's exterior was like a punch of longing to her gut. Zoey gripped Jon's hand tighter and looked up at him in askance, knowing that they really shouldn't be here in the middle of the school year and especially not in wizarding robes.

"Mom and Dad are on a trip," Jon read her hesitation easily and pulled her toward the house they'd grown up together in. "They're out on a Mediterranean Cruise for the week with their agency, so we have the weekend to ourselves."

That had happened a lot growing up; Aunt Mary and Uncle Peter were often away on trial trips for their Travel Agency. Sometimes they took Jon and Zoey along, but just as often- especially over the school year- they'd be left at home alone. As they stepped inside, they were both hit with a combination of nostalgia and deja-vu at the old pictures, worn furniture and dim lights.

Zoey plopped down on their soft couches and pulled one of the pillows to her chest, resting her chin on it. "Are you sure this is okay?"

Jon nodded at the familiar image but snapped his fingers in a casual command. "Shoes off, Zo."

Grinning, Zoey did as he asked and walked them over to their shoe cabinet, leaving her stockings on. She walked over to the fridge and opened it up, looking at their coldcuts hungrily. "Do you think they'll notice if we cook some?"

"Not a chance." His parents would think they'd eaten it themselves. He easily reached around her and pulled them out, moving around the kitchen with a deft efficiency that only came with years of experience. "Want potatoes in the oven?"

Her mouth was watering already. Zoey nodded and they both got changed out of their flowing robes before setting to work in the kitchen. They set the radio playing normal muggle music that wasn't sung by 'Weird Sisters' in a strange imitation of heavy metal. Zoey quite happily sung along to it, her mood improving by leaps and bounds.

Looking at her, Jon felt his worry settle. She was strong- she just needed a bit of support from time to time. There was still one last thing he needed to know, however. "I understand that you couldn't tell me growing up…"

Zoey stopped and looked up at him, her knife poised over her potato slices.

"...but after I learned of magic- after I got my own- why didn't you tell me then?" This time Jon was the one to drop his gaze. "Why hadn't you told me since?"

Zoey bit her lip, reaching forward to grab his hand with her small one. "You had- you had so much to go through, remember? At first I- I was worried what would happen if it made you upset…"

He grunted a reluctant acknowledgement. Four years ago when he'd suddenly gotten his magic it had been completely haywire, setting explosions and raging tempests at the smallest changes of his moods. The only person that could approach him without harm was Zoey, and even she had been struck by a stray bolt from time to time, which would just spiral his magic wilder with his panic and guilt over hurting her…

Dangerous thought path, Jon realized when all the electronics of their house flickered in response to his memories of past events. The clocks flashed midnight and the refrigerator hummed as it came back to life, as though his emotions had been an electric surge, as though proving her point. If this was what happened now when he had near-total control over his magic, what might have happened back then? "And after that?" Like, say… yesterday, when she'd apparently made and executed a plan to sneak out of Hogwarts to see the very woman he thought long gone? Without telling him anything? "Why did you just sneak away? Do you have any idea how dangerous that was?"

She sensed his rising anger, but didn't have anything better to answer with than the truth. "After then- then it was just hard. How was I supposed to walk up to you and just go 'Hey Jon, I have a really big secret I've been keeping from you my whole life' like it was nothing? How was I supposed to say it?"

"…That would have been fine." he told her with a note of hurt accusation.

Zoey winced and looked down, pulling her hand back. "I'm sorry. I- sorry."

He looked at her crestfallen expression, then sighed and reached out to flick her forehead. The soft snuck echoed through her head. While Zoey theatrically complained in her usual manner Jon went back to his cooking tasks. "There. Now we're even."

She stopped rubbing her forehead and looked at him in awe. "Really?"

"Consider it a birthday gift," he said dismissively, but they both knew he'd have forgiven her any day of the year.

Her relief was palpable. "Thanks Jon."

Jonovan Malam Orion just grunted and got their idle hands working on their dinner instead.

Minutes after they had left, Draco Malfoy walked by. He was freely scowling at the Healers and staff of St. Mungo's to encourage them to scuttle out of his path with even more haste.

Normally his wife, Astoria Greengrass Malfoy, would have chided him for the expression. Would have apologized on his behalf and teased that his face might get stuck like that with a soft smile and giggle.

But she wasn't here to calm his ire- in fact, Draco suspected she was counting on him losing his temper so that she could become the 'reasonable' party of the two of them. And in this case, for once, she was just as frustrated as he was. He snarled at the circling answers and paperwork and bogus hoops they'd been jumping through for the past few weeks- no, for almost two months now. Ever since they'd heard the name 'Zelina Avery' in these halls they had been trying to discover what she was there for. They knew Zelina had no family of which to speak, and had tried to find who was funding her stay here at St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies. Staying here wasn't cheap, and yet even this offer had been met with denial, delays, and insufficient information.

Every question had been answered with secretive looks between coworkers and another circular route that was obviously meant to dissuade his interest. They had tried again and again to find out anything about Zelina's life in the past twenty years, but without success. They kept getting sent away in circling paperwork that to an experienced Pureblood like himself told Malfoy that some sort of Ministry cover-up was involved.

Someone else might have been discouraged- but he was Draco Malfoy. He could not be deterred by such simple bureaucratic antics. And he had a debt that was long since overdue to repay. A debt that had always bothered him, but until now had seemed impossible to return.

Now, he knew Zelina Avery was alive. And for only the third time since he'd known her, she was in need of assistance.

The first time he had been sixteen, a brat, and completely and utterly out of his depth. Voldemort had expected complete and unending devotion from all the Malfoys, even as he'd given Draco a suicide mission he had no hope of accomplishing.

How was a sixteen year old boy supposed to kill Albus Dumbledore, one of the greatest wizards that had ever lived? The Dark Lord Voldemort himself hadn't been able to do it. Draco had tried his own methods- poison, curses, but failed completely and utterly. He hadn't really hoped to succeed. Dumbledore might have been an old codger, but he was still an old codger that didn't deserve to die. Or maybe Draco just really didn't want to become a murderer.

Either way, the vanishing cabinet had become his best solution. If he could fix it, Draco would be able to appease both the Dark Lord and wash his hands of the matter. Voldemort couldn't blame him for the weakness of the other Death Eaters.

...Or at least, that was his hope at the time. But that would require repairing the damned thing first. The task had seemed more and more impossible as time went on, as Draco had poured through book after book and studied theories and imported as many magical materials as he dared try get through the mail.

Nothing had worked. He remembered fighting through wallowing despair until one night he'd sat before his latest attempt and gave in, gave up. He'd closed his eyes and felt a tear fall as he realized he had failed. Voldemort would kill him and his family, ending the Malfoy line, and Dumbledore would die anyways, and all because he couldn't repair a dumb piece of wood.

He had snarled and, in a fit of rage, punched the cabinet so hard he felt his knuckles split. His blood stained the wood.

"Well that was productive." A smooth voice had come out through the assorted piles of junk in the Room of Hiding.

Draco had spun around searched for the speaker, but couldn't see another soul. He pulled his wand out. "What was?"

"Crying and hitting things. That always fixes things, doesn't it? Did you get that plan from a two year old?"

"I was not crying." he had declared, but knew he couldn't deny the physical aspect as the blood started trickling down his fingers. He uttered lumos on his wand and cast the light along the shadows big enough to hide in. "What do you want?"

"Help." the feminine voice said simply, startling him. "And so, it seems, do you. Unless you want to suffer the Dark Lord's wrath."

He went stiff as a board even as a chill went down his back. "I don't know what you-"

"-please spare us your breath and our time. You know you're not the only Death Child operating in Hogwarts- you've got your cronies out front, remember?" Crabbe and Goyle were indeed keeping watch, but Draco wondered how she knew who they were while polyjuiced. And for that matter, how to deal with their failure. He opted for silence at the moment, and was rewarded as his elusive speaker kept talking. "He has His own purpose for me. It took me a while to figure out what you were for. Then again, you haven't exactly been subtle now have you? Everyone knows what happened to Katie Bell, poor girl. You do realize that curse will forever haunt her?"

"Don't act like that bothers you," Draco snarled even as he flinched internally. Another stain on his life. He had caught a flash of movement around the corner and started for it.

"I'm not, just saying that was a waste of a wonderfully constructed curse. Xavier will be disappointed; I do believe he had hopes for it..."

"Xavier Avery?" he blanched. The Averys were not a family to mess with. No Pureblood lineage was, but while the Malfoys and Notts and Parkinsons were names that wizards feared, the Avery family was the one that Purebloods dreaded. The were the head of the wizarding world's largest Black Organization, seeped in the blackest of dark magics and illegal trade, and no Pureblood lineage failed to give the respect that warranted. No Pureblood reached adulthood without owing one of them something. Xavier, despite being a seventh year, was known for being ruthless himself and to mess with one Avery was to incur the wrath of their entire organization. Draco hid his internal panic as he demanded "What kind of help?"

"Finally, back to the problem at hand. You need help with this," The girl had suddenly revealed herself, standing with her back to the roaring fireplace so it's light would hide her finer features. She put a foot on the cabinet as though it were already a sign of her victory. "and I need you to help Greengrass."

The Greengrass family was another Pureblood line. His mind had immediately gone to his classmate. "Daphne's in trouble?"

"Ugh," she sounded sickened by the thought. "That slut? As if- she can fend for herself as the Dark Lord takes their mansion."

"He what?" Draco had abandoned his etiquette in hopes of gaining more information.

"Takes the Greengrass mansion, and funds." Apparently his expression had been amusing, because she snorted in the manner of a laugh. "What, don't tell me you thought war was cheap? As time goes on and His war is getting longer and his forces grow, even The Dark Lord needs to maintain the perks for his soldiers. The Greengrass fortune is even larger than your own, Malfoy- though I hear that has dwindled since His rise- and He will soon decide it is necessary for His purposes."

"So..." he took a moment to wrap his mind around this. Lord Voldemort had indeed been all but bleeding his family dry in the past years, and the idea of him moving on to other Pureblood families was at once a relief and a dismay; this war would go on far longer than he'd imagined. "So what do you suggest?"

"I'll get this working for you." she kicked the cabinet into a standing position, a feat that would only be that smoothly possible with a touch of magic. "And you keep an eye on Tori."

"Tori... you mean Astoria? Daphne's sister?"

"Yes." She said like the answer should have been glaringly obvious, setting a hand on her hips as she twirled a hazel wand in her left hand. "So, Malfoy, is it a deal? I save this cabinet- which, incidentally, also saves your own hide- and you make sure Tori Greengrass survives this war underneath the Dark Lord's radar."

What did she really want? He had asked himself. She spoke of Lord Voldemort like a devoted follower, but both of her forearms were bare of any mark or scar. She revealed his plans like it was afternoon gossip and, it seemed, she held the means invade Hogwarts in the palm of her hand for a while now. If she was truly one of his followers, she would have let the Death Eaters in immediately. In fact, Draco realized, she should do so now and herself, she had no need to give him any kind of credit. This trade was saving him twice over by both completing his job and by allowing Voldemort to think it was him and him alone who succeeded. She either was secretly against the Dark Lord or seriously cared about this Tori girl.

At the time, it hadn't occured to Draco Malfoy that the true answer might be both.

"Are you..." he had hesitated to ask, but had needed to know the risk this had truly entailed. "Are you a double agent?"

"Don't be stupid, double agents just get themselves killed." she scoffed, pulling out a small blade as she turned to a cabinet. Draco Malfoy's only choice was to take her offer and they both knew it. "I have no plans for dying anytime soon. What about you?"

That was the night Death Eaters had successfully invaded Hogwarts. That was the night that Albus Dumbledore, finally and truly, died. That girl, of course, had been Zelina Avery, Xavier's younger sister and a decent hand at shady magics herself.

Both for his sake and his wife's, Draco Malfoy would cut through all the damned red tape that was stopping his efforts.

Even if he had to march into the office of the Minister of Magic himself to do it.

Jonovan Malam Orion woke with a stiff neck and his arm asleep under his head. With a groan he sat up on the couch, the living room illuminated by the television still playing the science fiction channel. It must have been an explosion or something that'd knocked him from his rest; usually he slept like the dead.

He paused to realize the surrealness of the moment; he'd fallen asleep to and then been woken by a television. After months of being immersed in wizarding culture it was a weird feeling. Jonovan realized he'd missed it. Magic was nice… but the familiar reality of the world was better.

Of course that was when an alien jumped onto the screen and started screaming scientific nonsense.

A soft grumble and rustling fabric made him turn to his left, seeing Zoey turn over on the recliner and put a hand over her eyes to block out the light.

His muscles aching Jon sat up from the loveseater he was long enough to occupy alone, and often did. Turning the screen off with the remote he ignored the needling of his waking arm and went over to Zoey, seeing her curled up around a couch pillow like some sort of cat.

"Zo." He whispered, nudging her shoulder. "Zoey, get up."

"...no." she turned over and buried her face into the corner of the couch, her voice slurred with sleep.

"Com'on Zoey." Jon sighed and shook her with more force. "You can't sleep here."

"Why no'? I's my birtday."

"It-" he paused. He knew she was referring to the couch while he meant the whole home, but her words struck a chord. Zoey obviously needed a break, and it was her birthday after all- why send her back to Hogwarts? Why shouldn't she celebrate where she wanted to? It was the weekend.

Smiling, he pulled the pillow from her grip. "Bed. Let's go." he prompted her for a few more minutes, without success. Zoey was an early riser- usually up on her own by 6 am- but when she was asleep she was deep asleep. Fairytale-princess style.

Or, Jon sulked, Dreamless-Sleep Draught style. Magic really did take the fun out of everything, he decided as he picked her up, grunting "This is not part of my job description" even though she hadn't grown an inch in the past four years and was fairly easy to carry.

She patted his side, smiling. "I'll mak' pancakes."

"Now that's a bribe," he said approvingly as he carried her up to her bed, a path so worn he could do it with his eyes closed. As he set her down and covered her with her featherbed he took a moment to look at her- really look- and see that his image of her had changed over the day.

He'd always thought of Zo as a brat, one that he was fond of and related to, but an annoyance nonetheless. Her 'moments' of maturity were just that- moments inbetween her persistent childish personality. Moments that hinted toward the adult she could someday be but was far from becoming.

Now, however, he found himself reevaluating everything. Her cheery front was thicker than he'd realized. Zoey had been living with adult concerns and stress ever since she'd moved in with him and his parents. And now that he thought about it, she always became serious when it came to serious situations. It was her childish moments, reserved for trivial matters, that didn't fully suit her. It was as though she were desperately trying to cling to her chance for innocence.

As though sensing his stern gaze Zoey frowned in her sleep and rolled over, reaching for her stuffed animals. She fumbled for a moment until her hand felt the right one and pulled out a stuffed seal from the mountain of toys, kissing it on the fuzzy forehead before she hugged him to her chest.

Jon snorted at the image and reset the blanket on her shoulders, but relaxed. She really was a brat- a surprisingly capable brat, he had discovered today, but not an ignorant one. He patted the seal she'd had since she was four and named 'Seabert', with all the originality of a child.

All in all, despite what he'd discovered Zoey was still as important and vulnerable to Jon as she'd always been. She was still his responsibility and, of course, his cousin. Practically a younger sibling in Jon's eyes and one hundred percent his top priority.

Unfortunately he had other responsibilities as well. Jon left her room quietly as possible and apparated to Hogsmeade, making his way to Hogwarts so he could grab the papers he needed to grade by Monday morning.

Walking inside he navigated the empty halls, pursing his lips at the litter. A number of the school 'Scandals' newspaper was strewn about. Jon had checked over the piece during the first few weeks of school, but finding it largely consisting of trivial teenage gossip instead of news he had dismissed it.

The boy walking in front of him cursed as he accidentally dropped his copy, fumbling with the several books and bags he was juggling in his rush to get back to his dorm.

"Here," Jon picked it up and held it out, surprised by the boy's reaction. The lad paled visibly as he looked between the paper and the man who held it out to him, then he turned and ran down the hall, loosing quite a few more sheets as his went.

Ah, Jon realized, it was well after curfew. He was probably expected to pursue the student and issue detention. But he wasn't on patrol this night, so Jon let him leave and summoned the mess of strewn notes to his hand. Looking through them with proud curiosity- there was a surprising amount of detail here- he stopped dead as his eyes fell back upon the Scandals article.

The featured article accompanied a picture of him and Zoey, years ago on one of their family vacations. She usually kept that tucked in her journal, and it hadn't moved the way this one was. She'd wanted to keep the polaroid snapshot muggle. Jon quickly skimmed the article to judge why the image was of interest to the students.

It was a good thing that boy had run off, because Orion's anger flared so suddenly his magic burned the entire stack of notes along with the paper in his hands. Far away Rasputin woke with a hiss, slipping out of his locked cage to stand at his master's side. Four eyes glowed an acidic green while Jon pulled in his anger and popped his neck, using his magic to recreate the article he had just cindered.

After all, Jonovan Orion would need the evidence if he was going to track the culprit.

Tada! the long-awaited exposition of Jonovan and Zoey's relationship. It was so hard to write in a way that flowed naturally- I hope it turned out okay. It ended up taking longer than I'd planned but I wanted to really address everything I was willing to share at this point.

Just in case anyone missed it- Jon and Zoey are COUSINS. They grew up in the same house because of what happened to Zoey's parents. Jon was 13, Zoey was 5 on the day she moved in. Aunt Mary/Uncle Peter are 100% muggle, and don't know that Hogwarts even exists. Jon (22 yrs old) is acting as Zoey's legal guardian for the time being.

I do have a whole backstory set up for Zelina, Draco, Astoria, and some of Dumbledore's Army- but the only person who knows all of that story has lost her memories, so... you'll have to wait for further details. bwahaha

And yes, this chapter sets up the conflicts of quite a few character-developing conflicts for the next generation characters. Enjoy!

~E