Secret of the Blade

by ShadeslayerX

When Lily Potter comes across an artifact of immense power, hidden away by the Potters, old secrets come to light. Plans come undone and the day of reckoning is upon Wizarding Britain. Original Witchblade characters are never part of the action, only mentioned. M rating for adult themes, gore, physical and mental torture. All Criticism is welcomed and encouraged. Enjoy!

11. Chapter 9 - In all things balance

Greetings readers. Here comes yet ANOTHER 20k+ word monstrosity. Still sad that no one wanted to try guessing the easter eggs. One can still hope though. On to the current installment.

Chapter 9 - In all things balance

Only a very few find the way, and most of them don't recognize it when they do. Delusions, too, die hard with memory.[...] Forgetting pain is convenient, remembering it: agonizing. But recovering the truth is worth the suffering and our wonderland, though damaged, is safe in memory... for now.

"Any thoughts on how we're going to find where that son-of-a-whore rat bastard's gone?" growled Remus, anger and resentment oozing through with every word. "It's already been four days. Doubt he's still in the country, even he's smarter than that, for sure." Neither Sirius nor Lily answered his question.

"We definitely can't put a Wanted poster in the Prophet," Sirius replied after a moment's thought, "Given that the Aurors and the Ministry at large will not believe he had any involvement in the attack. Not that they would even consider anything we say as irrefutable proof." Remus raised an eyebrow. "For one, you know their stand on Werewolves…"

"Hmph…"

"And, let's just say, the Blacks doesn't exactly have the best track record in terms of perceived public allegiances."

"I guess Dumbledore giving us a hand is out of the question, after what the both of you told me." Remus sighed.

"You really believe anyone would listen to him after the stunts he tried to pull at the Will reading and in the Wizengamot? Highly doubt it," Sirius said.

"I think we are overthinking it a little," Lily spoke suddenly. "Why can't we just send him a tagged letter? The owls can find pretty much everybody, given enough time, right?" Sirius smiled bitterly. "What? We still had owls coming in, even after the Fidelius Charm had been cast."

"As brilliant as you might be, you still have a lot to learn," Remus told her. "Answer me this, if that were possible, don't you believe the Aurors would have been able to round up every dark witch or wizard ever? Don't you think that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named wouldn't have done it to find us a lot sooner? No, there are ways in which he can make himself untraceable, although it is far more difficult than a simple Fidelius. Not that a Fidelius would be simple, to begin with."

"Hmmm, never thought of that," she replied. "So, we can't advertise and we can't track him. What CAN we do?"

"We could scry for him," Sirius said with a shrug. "The House of Black has a pretty powerful artefact. Effective within a three thousand mile range."

"And you thought of that just now?" asked Remus.

"It is my Mother's."

"Oh…"

"Am I missing something?" Lily inquired, noticing the looks on the two Marauders. "Why can't you just go and get it?"

"You haven't met Mrs Walburga Black, have you?" Remus answered. "Many brave souls have tried reasoning with her. Most of them can currently be found in the Janus Thickey Ward."

"Oh…"

"If she were to hear why I need it, she would have me beheaded. Or worse." Sirius shuddered at the thought. "I am not keen on seeing her. Not that I have in the past five years."

"Let's set this aside for a moment and think about it just a bit. What exactly are we going to use to scry for him? It is not like we have Peter's blood lying about in a dusty vial somewhere, do we?" Remus thought his objection would set his friend's mind at ease. It didn't seem to have worked.

"Oh, we have something much better." A small wicked smile graced Lily's face. "He left quite the blood pool on my living room floor. And a couple of fingers." Remus fell silent as he pondered what he just heard.

"OK, I'll bite," he said, intrigued. "How did he lose two fingers?"

"I had him in bindings, fully intent on figuring out his part in all this. It happened when he tried to escape."

Sirius burst into a sudden fit of raucous laughter.

"Sorry, Lils, but I never pictured you ever torturing anyone. I mean, Merlin's beard, correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't you supposed to be a Healer?"

"You misunderstand what a Healer does," Lily replied with a raised eyebrow. "Let me remind you that a thorough knowledge of anatomy, with emphasis on the skeletal and nervous systems, is a healer's bread and butter. A medical professional among the non-magical populace, a dentist let's say, can be one of the best kinds of interrogators. They know what hurts, when and how to stop it or make it worse." Remus' jaws clenched shut. "If a broken bone sets incorrectly, how would you heal it unless you are willing to break it again." Sirius winced. "A spell meant to restart the heart, in the right, or should I say wrong hands, can very well stop it in place. Pain is just another instrument in a healer's arsenal."

"You make a valid point, albeit scary," said Remus as he accepted a cup from a house elf, who brought in a fresh pot of tea. "So, Peter left a couple of fingers on the living room floor. The building is under Auror control, as they are still investigating the crime scene. How do we go about to get one of them?"

Sirius coughed a little too loudly to be natural.

"Before I called the Aurors on Samhain, I took one of them off the floor. I knew they belonged to Peter."

"Because of the scent of the blood?" asked Lily.

"That too, but mainly because I recognised the scars the fanged geranium left when it bit him in the second year," he replied.

"Not bad. What about the scrying artefact?"

"I still maintain a pretty decent relationship with my Grandfather, I'm sure he'll help if I ask him. After all, he does love to step on Mother's nerves." Sirius smirked. "If everything goes to plan, we should have it sometime tonight or tomorrow morning and, considering how powerful a trace a piece of flesh will establish, we'll have Peter by sundown. Lily, you might want to stock up on mouse traps. See if your lovely host can spare some."

"Are you perchance insinuating this manor has ever had a rodent infestation?" Evelyn inquired as she came down from the nursery.

"Is everything OK?" asked Lily. "Is Harry…?"

"You are such a worrywart. Our kids just ate and fell asleep. It would seem that zooming around the chandelier on the toy broomstick tuckers the little guy out. Now, Mr Black, I asked you a question."

"I would never insinuate such a thing," replied Sirius, with a wink, then cleared his throat. "Although we would appreciate all the help we can get, as we don't exactly have access to the resources of the Order. Dumbledore might have lost his standing with the Ministry, but he still has a lot of people who would blindly follow his lead."

"Sirius, NO!" Lily shouted. "You've been a most gracious host, Evie," she said as she turned to her friend, "but I wouldn't think to impose on you any longer. A couple more days and I'll be out of your hair."

"Oh, pish posh. Take as much time as you need, after all, you went through quite the ordeal. Although, you might want to do something about that thing," her host replied, shooing the furry intruder she brought in. "It's been hissing at the house elves."

"Oh, sorry about that." Lily picked up the feline. "I'll probably have to transfigure something into a cat carrier, since my stuff has most likely been impounded by either the Ministry as part of their investigation, or collected by the Headmaster to be put in storage for what he understands as safe-keeping or dumped on my sister's doorstep."

"He won't be allowed to touch any of your belongings," said Remus.

"That's correct, yes," agreed Evelyn. "He hardly has any legal standing to claim anything that hasn't been bequeathed unto him by James' will."

"Still, doubt the Aurors would be kind enough to let me get anything." Lily sighed.

"Sweetie, didn't I just say not to worry?" her friend interrupted her. "You always overthink when you are hungry." A loud rumble reminded her she hadn't eaten since the last night. She chuckled.

"About that," Remus said as he got up from his chair, "time to hunt down my own dinner." He motioned Sirius to also get up.

"You don't mean…"

"Unfortunately, yes," he replied. "Ran with Greyback's pack far too long." The ladies looked horrified. "At our beloved Headmaster's request, of course," he added quickly. "I might have developed a taste for fresh meat."

"REMUS!"

"I promise, no humans have been hurt in the making of my dinners… recently."

"As delicious as it sounds, I've been trying to wean him off," Sirius said. "A deer here, a rabbit there. The odd stray feline." An evil grin graced his gruff face, as the cat hissed at him.

"SIRIUS!" Lily punched him as hard as she could in the shoulder.

"Ow!" He laughed, "I kid, I kid. We've been eating mostly steak, rare, barely cooked even. It's not like I'd have house elves to cook for me since I left home."

"The joys of a bachelor's life," Remus quipped.

"Before I forget…" added Sirius, "Lily, make sure you call the Potter house elves back to you before Dumbledore tries to trick them into binding themselves to the school."

"Thank you, Sirius," Lily said in her most sincere voice.

"What for?"

"For finding my cat. And for the ever useful suggestions. Bon Appetit! I'll see you two degenerates tomorrow."

- section break-

Sirius and Remus had just walked out the main gate, past the wards that prevented them to Disapparate, when Lily heard the flapping of large wings at the window. She pulled the drapes aside, only to find a large red and golden bird, gracefully hovering, waiting to be allowed inside.

"Fawkes?!" The bird cocked its head and gently nodded.

Lily had expected Dumbledore to attempt reaching out to her sooner, but she didn't expect to see his Phoenix this soon. She opened the window to allow it to enter the room. It swirled about the chandelier and perched itself on the armchair Sirius previously sat in, raising its leg to reveal a carefully rolled parchment.

"Oh, dear," said Lily. "Hope you understand, it is not personal, but I can't accept this, not without some precautions." The Phoenix made no move when its intended recipient pulled her wand out and allowed her to scan the parchment. Lily levitated it, scanned it for any magical traces and read it, but not before stripping away an inactive compulsion charm and a tracker from the roll. She could swear she heard Fawkes scoff at her, if Phoenixes could scoff, in what sounded like utter exasperation, but she thoroughly ignored it.

'Why am I not surprised,' she thought to herself, as she angrily crumpled up the parchment, 'that the bastard would try to appeal to my better judgement. I'll send Harry away when he shoves his amorphous Greater Good he preaches about right up an Inferius' arse.'

She asked Dot to bring her an inked quill and, while still levitating the parchment at arm's length, wrote a slew of creative expletives at the bottom of the page. With a swish of the wand, she rolled the parchment up and reattached it to Fawkes' leg.

"Would you be so kind as to take this back to your bonded, please?"

The Phoenix gave her what looked an enthusiastic nod and made off for the property line.

'Well… time to take care of business. Evie will definitely love me for this…'

Lily made her way to her friend's study and knocked.

"Come in," Evelyn said, audibly distracted.

"Sorry to bother, Eves," Lily said as she entered the room. Evelyn was deep in thought, reading something Lily couldn't see. "I'd like to ask a small favour of you." She was slightly apprehensive, trying her best to tread lightly, knowing she could be pushing it if only just a little bit.

"Mhm?"

"Would it be possible for me to call the Potter House Elves somewhere on the property to give them orders?" Evelyn nodded, not lifting her nose from the papers in front of her. "Where should I call them.

"Front lawn. Have Dot show you where."

"Thank you very much," said Lily, backing out of the study, allowing her host to focus on whatever captivated so.

- section break-

Led by a skipping Dot, Lily made her way to the part of the estate Evelyn indicated as an appropriate spot for the house elf summoning. She was so deep in thought, she didn't notice the ever so faint vibration going through her wrist.

'Anything the matter?' Joan spoke when her Wielder did not acknowledge her request to be heard.

'Hm? Oh, nothing,' Lily replied flippantly. 'Didn't I say you can't speak without a notice?'

'I did as you requested, but you were lost in thought. Should I resort to a mild shock, if such a need ever arises?'

'Do that and I swear on Merlin's beard, I don't care how tightly we're bonded, you are gonna have a very nasty day.' Silence fell, during which Lily could sense a nasty smile, hidden deep within the dark facets of the ruby on her bracelet.

'I thought you were on a mission to retrieve your servants. Yet you hesitate.'

'Wouldn't you? James hated relying on the Elves bound to the Potter House, or so he let me think. He had them run his errands, while he was off sneaking with his posse, doing who knows what.'

'As the Head of his House, he had every right to use his servants as he pleased.'

'Oh, don't you dare defend him. He never called them while around me and he never allowed me to have a single one help me, a mother with a newborn child. Doubt he ever allowed them to answer my calls at all.'

"Mistress Lily?! You awake?" Lily snapped back to reality, with a concerned Dot tugging at the leg of pants.

"I'm fine, Dot, no need to worry."

"We're here. Summon the elvsies."

"Erm… would you hold it against me, if I told you I don't know how?"

"Call them by name. If you wants to calls them all, calls them by the name of the House they's bound to and, if they's allowed, here they be."

"Thank you, Dot. Now, stand back if you would." Dot did as she was bid. "Here goes nothing," Lily muttered to herself.

'Relax, young one,' Joan chirped in, 'after what I have seen you do, you are surely able to summon and control a handful of elves.' Once again, Lily decided to ignore the incorporeal voice.

"Potter Elves, to me right now," she said in as authoritative a voice she could.

With a muffled pop, a single elf, clad in a toga-like gold-and-crimson napkin bearing the Potter coat of arms, appeared. It laid its eyes on its summoner and gasped in shock. In an instant, it disappeared, leaving Lily gobsmacked.

"Hey, get back here. The Lady of House Potter commands it."

A staggered series of similarly muffled pops later, it reappeared with five other elves in tow, all of them bowing their head in deference.

"What was that about?" she asked sternly.

"Pardon me, Mistress," the Potter House Elf spoke in a squeaky voice, "Rosey meant no offence. After the Master's death, we were not able to track you. We thought you and the young Master had perished." After having heard Evelyn's elves speak, Lily was definitely not amused by the elf's excuse.

"Is this all of you?"

"No, Mistress, there are ten of us in service to House Potter."

"And where are the other four?"

"Begging your pardon Mistress, but the Master instructed us to obey Mister Whiskers as if he were our new master. Mister Whiskers had us working in the school's kitchen. He accused you of being the one that caused Master James' death and of kidnapping the little Lord Heir and forbade us to come, should you beckon."

Lily groaned and rubbed her eyes in frustration.

"Bring the other four here, right now," she said through gritted teeth. "Drag them by their ears, tie them up if you have to, shove a sock in their mouths if they protest. I want all ten of you here. From now on, Mister Whiskers is not to be listened to or obeyed ever again. Should he find you retrieving the other elves, you are forbidden from telling him about this conversation."

"Yes, Mistress," squeaked Rosey.

"As for your punishment for abandoning your House in their time of need, we shall discuss that after I have all of you here."

"But Mistress," a scraggy old looking elf spoke, "why would we listen to you? Master James sent us to Mister Whiskers who told us not to listen to your orders. The Master said nothing about you being able to order us."

"Knobby!" Rosey chastised the old elf, but he ignored her

"You may have the Potter name, but you have no Potter blood." The other elves parted ranks as to not be punished by association.

Lily fell silent for a moment, then broke into a burst of laughter, maniacal enough to force the elves to cower.

"You cheeky little rat. Let me assuage your fears," she said, still grinning. "Dot, would you kindly bring my son here, so my elves don't worry about his well-being any more?" Dot nodded and popped back inside the manor. Moments later, she came out the front door, gently pushing a pram. The Potter elves, pulled by the familiar bond of the Potter blood rushed forth to see the little lord, taking turns climbing on the shoulders of their fellows to get a better look. There was little doubt, they were feeling the presence of their young master.

"We thought him lost," Rosey said in a trembling squeak. "What is our punishment, Mistress?" Lily thought about it for a half second.

"You are forbidden from doing any form of work for the next two days," she said, "other than feeding and caring for yourselves and your young ones." The mouthy elf approached sheepishly.

"What of Knobby, Mistress?" Lily gave him a nasty look.

"Rosey, would you kindly you give this one a bath? Wash his mouth out with soap and make sure you give him a good scrubbing behind the ears." Knobby looked shocked but accepted his fate. "Now, go get the other four."

The elves bowed their head and Disapparated with a loud crack. Lily thanked Dot for her assistance and turned to pick up her little man, who had been smiling back at the sun that hit his face.

"You like that, don't you?" she asked him as she took him in her arms.

"Mommy!" little Harry chirped up happily and clung to her neck, in the tightest hug he could muster and nuzzled against her neck.

"Missed you too, munchkin," she said as she hugged him back and planted a kiss on the side of his head. He pulled back and planted a sloppy kiss of his own on his mother's cheek.

"Dadda?" The question took Lily aback for a split second. She'd just realized she hadn't actually had a chance to sit down with her son and explain what had happened to his father. For the many faults James may have had, he did love his son.

"He's… left. On a very important journey."

"Oh?" A single tear started to form in the corner of her son's eyes.

"Don't worry, munchkin," she rushed to say as she wiped it off. "He loves you very much and, who knows, he might be back very soon." The chances of James returning as a ghost were unknown to her and, even so, it was highly unlikely they would return to the house they hid in, for him to reveal himself to them. The smile returned to Harry's face. "Hey, let's go smell the flowers?"

The boy nodded. They spent the next ten minutes going through the rose bushes in the garden, enjoying the magical butterflies fluttering about their heads.

Moments later, Rosey and the rest of the elves returned with their four wayward brothers in tow, tied up with more rope than was feasible to be in the entirety of Hogwarts Castle. Two of them who seemed to be struggling and protesting against being tied up had freshly peeled potatoes shoved in their mouths. Rubbing her temples in order to alleviate her sudden migraine with one hand and still holding her son in her other arm, Lily made her way closer to the noisy bunch of elves.

"For the love of Merlin… I did not mean for you to actually tie them up," she groaned.

"Knobby," Rosey chastised him again, "did I not say you might be going overboard with the twine?"

"Knobby apologizes, Mistress," said the elf as he bowed his head and tugged at the rope. "They called Knobby a liar." Lily cracked a smile.

"Thank you, Knobby. But it makes no difference now. You four, why did you refuse to answer the call of your Mistress?"

"Master James told us to obey the orders the Headmaster gives us," one of the tied elves squeaked out. "The Headmaster told us we were all Hogwarts elves now. We obeyed our orders."

"Unless I and I alone release you from your bond to House Potter, you are Potter elves. No one, not even the Great Almighty Dumbledore, has the right to unbind you from us." The elves bowed their heads in shame. "Would you kindly release their bindings, Knobby?" Lily asked the elf, an order he was quick to oblige.

"Yes, Mistress," he said.

"Line up, all of you. Let's see what we have here."

The ten elves stood to attention in an orderly line before her. All of them looked young-ish, except for Rosey and Knobby, who had clearly been around for longer than the rest of them. But how was she to know? She never had a house elf growing up and the only experiences she had with them were the fleeting Hogwarts encounters and the time spent in the Greengrass household. She cleared her throat and spoke as authoritatively as she could.

"Your new orders are as follow. You are to go back to Potter Manor. Assess the repairs and replacements needed after the deaths of Charles and Dorea Potter."

"What if Headmaster Dumbledore calls us back?"

"Until my son, and your master, takes up the Heir Ring, you are not allowed to answer any calls from Albus Dumbledore. Should he find a way to track you down, you are banned from informing him of the new orders I gave you and of my current whereabouts. You will take nothing from him and you will not relay anything of House Potter's business. I will give you exceptions to this order in a few days. You will screen for magic anything the owls bring to the house, except for owls coming from some people I will tell you about later and from my account manager at Gringotts. Disobey and it will be clothes for you." She looked at the elves, unsure if her threat connected. They were watching her intently. "Is that understood?" The elves nodded quietly. "I didn't hear that. Acknowledge that you understand and will obey these orders as I have stated them. NOW!"

The last word carried an odd reverb on the air. A strangely uniform chorus of squeaky voices followed, all saying: "Yes Mistress, we understand your orders and will do as you bid."

"Rosey, would you kindly relay the punishment I have set for all of you?" The elf nodded, oddly proud of the authority emanating from their new mistress.

"What of Knobby?" the scraggy old looking elf asked.

"Oh, how could I forget? You are spared the bath." Lily smirked. "However, you lot," she continued looking at the four formerly bound elves, "you are not. A good scrubbing should do the trick." Knobby caught himself cackling and quickly stopped when he saw all eyes fall on him.

"Knobby's sorry." Lily ignored him.

"Get the old Potter Manor ready for me and my son's arrival. Once we have settled in, that is when the punishment will be enforced, until then, I need you working round the clock. At that point in time, you will be provided fabric and sewing supplies to make new uniforms, to fit the standing of House Potter. You will keep them clean and whole until I see fit to have them replaced. Understood?"

"Yes, Mistress, we understand."

"I care not of prior hierarchies. Rosey, you will be taking the responsibility of Head Elf. Knobby, you will assist her in those duties. But don't let that go to your heads. The rest of you will listen to them."

"Understood," they said in a chorus, one of them somewhat begrudgingly.

"Rosey, please prepare a maintenance budget for my approval when I arrive at the manor." The elf nodded. "Questions? No? Good. Dismissed."

With a staggering series of cracks, the Potter Elves left.

- section break-

The rest of the day, for a better part, went on uneventful. Lily spent it as she would have liked to for the past days, tending to Harry. She did deserve a bit of downtime and playing with her son was the best kind of rest she would have.

They were about to sit down to dinner when the house and the entirety of the Greengrass domain shook as if under bombardment. The Greengrass elves seemed to sprout from every crevice of the manor to prevent any damage to the furniture and Chinese porcelain vases. Whatever they missed, was quickly subjected to a repairing charm.

"Whosoever dares to disturb our evening in such a manner," Evelyn said, her eyes flaring, "should best have a good excuse for their behaviour or suffer the wrath of the House of Greengrass." She rose from her chair.

"Are you sure you don't want me to come with you?" Lily asked.

"I am more than capable of taking care of myself. Not to mention no one knows you are here. Enjoy your meal. If you'll excuse me for a spell, sweetie, I shall return momentarily." Evelyn smoothed the creases of her dress and exited the room in a calm and collected fashion.

'So this is how a Lady of a Noble Wizarding House acts,' Lily thought to herself, somewhat impressed at the restraint her friend was showing. Should it have been her in that spot, she probably would have shot first and asked questions later.

'As you should and have done for the past couple of years,' Joan chimed in. Lily didn't mind the interruption.

'But that bastard is dead, his followers are being rounded up, and I have you by my side. I need to how to lead a peaceful life. Not yet, though. Still, need to take care of a couple of things.'

A second loud shock rippled through the air. Lily made her way to a window that pointed in the direction of the gate and peered through, only to see the last person she had expected, or, for that matter, wanted to see - Albus Dumbledore. The man was holding his wand aloft nonchalantly, pointing it and shooting spells at different spots of the gate, each sending ripples through the barely visible wards as if to try and unbind them.

That was the moment Evie stepped out of the house, two streets past livid, sparkling wand clutched in her hand, yet eerily composed. With her empty hand, she made a gesture that demanded an explanation of the intruder. Dumbledore apparently tried to placate her, but only got a reply that clearly meant "go away and don't come back", to which he deemed it appropriate to respond with another spell meant to break down the gate. But, in the split second, before it could connect, Evie raised her own wand and reinforced the Shield Charms that were placed on the gate. The Professor's spell rebounded with a loud crack and sent the old man flying backwards, falling onto his posterior, causing Lily to stifle a laugh. Her host then turned her back away from the old meddler, who apparently asked… something that caused Evie to stop in her tracks. Dot appeared next to her, nodded and popped away, only to apparate beside Lily.

"Pardon me, Miss," the elf said apologetically, "the Mistress requested your urgent presence at the gate."

"Why? She seems to be doing just fine on her own."

"Yes, but she said you need to make the old man go away before she, in Mistress' own words, does something the old man might not live to regret."

With a heavy sigh, Lily nodded in understanding. She should have expected that the old codger would be able to find her when she had Rosey and Knobby round up the elves that were reluctant to leave Hogwarts. Of course, the bastard would put trackers on something she'd eventually try to call back.

She made her way to the main door, all the while trying to think of a way to use her tenant's power without allowing it to be obvious. Just before she exited the manor, a nasty smile graced her lips as an even nastier idea popped into her head.

"Rosey, Knobby, to me, please." The two elves apparated in an instant.

"Yes, Mistress."

"Would you kindly get the rest of the Potter elves and make your way to the garden. I will be meeting with your former employer and I would like you to announce my entrance… or exit, for that matter." The two elves gave eachother a knowing look, nodded and disapparated.

She smoothed her garb, ran her hands through her hair, to give it a bit of volume, gave one quick look in the mirror in the lobby and stepped out. In the distance, the Potter elves apparated. Evelyn was taken aback by this display but did not show it. She took her leave of the unwanted guest and made her way towards the manor entrance. When she got near Lily, she whispered to Lily not to let him on the grounds.

The elves stood to attention and, in a magically amplified voice, announced:

"Lady Lily, of the Ancient and Noble House of Potter."

Dumbledore did not seem to react, although he did take a slight step back.

"Thank you, Rosey, Knobby. Don't go too far, I may require your assistance shortly to take out the rubbish." Once she saw the two elves nod, she turned to the man on the other side of the gates. "If you'll excuse me, Headmaster, would you kindly answer me this. What the hell do you think you are doing here? Last I heard, private property was still just that, private, and one would need an invitation and permission to enter."

"Lily, you have to listen to me. Voldemort is not dead and…" The old man's probably planned tirade was cut short by a sudden burst of raucous laughter from Lily.

"You need a vacation, Headmaster. Last I checked, nothing save a cockroach or the odd chicken can survive without a head. Hell, even they would die of starvation after a while."

"This is no laughing matter, Lily," the old man said, trying to sound as stern as he could, but failed. "You must listen to me, child…" Before he could continue, he found himself landing on his behind.

"That's Lady Potter to you, Headmaster," replied Lily, sounding half-bored. "Unlike your post as Chief Whoever of the Whatchamacallit, which can be easily stripped at the whim of your peers, my title as Lady of House Potter has been bestowed through a far more ancient ritual and is, for the better part of it, well, permanent. You will show respect, or I will make you show it. Rosey, Knobby, feel free to gently dispose of him, should he not treat the name of your Mistress and your House with the proper deference for one of his station." The elves nodded. "Now, from the beginning, with respect Headmaster."

The old man cleared his throat and straightened his half-moon glasses.

"Lady Potter, I regretfully have to inform you that, while this victory over the Dark Lord may be valuable, he is far from dead and we must take steps to prepare for his return."

"The night that prick you call the Dark Lord attacked my family, you had every ward and every mean of getting help dispatched to us with the utmost haste. No one came. Yet, oddly enough, you sent your puppy to fetch the only one who you expected to be alive out of all of us in that house. Why is that?"

"I believed I informed your Ladyship of the prophecy…" Lily yawned.

"Did the prophecy tell you to purposefully hinder us? I understand the rest of the Order of the Phoenix might have been busy or under attack themselves when Voldemort blew our front door off its hinges. But what about the so-called protection wards in Harry's room?"

"I…" the man tried to formulate an answer.

"OK, let's ignore that question for the moment. Although, I'd still appreciate a modicum of clarification with regards to that at some point. You still have not come up with an answer to the most important question. What does sending the Heir to the Ancient and Noble House of Potter away from his mother have to do with all of this madness?"

"It was a natural interpretation of the prophecy." Lily raised an eyebrow, but let the man continue. "It had been foretold the Dark Lord would finally be defeated by someone born to a couple who had defied him openly on more than one occasion."

"So, in your incommensurable wisdom," interrupted Lily, "you considered the happy couple to be the happily wedded Lily and James Potter. My dear Professor, have you ever stopped to consider that, perhaps, by deciding to, in your words, protect us, you inadvertently painted a target on us? Voldemort had been opposed by pretty much everyone? What made us so special?"

"It would have been a toss-up between you and James or the Longbottoms," Dumbledore said defensively. "Both families are part of the Order of the Phoenix and both had a young baby. The one the Dark Lord himself would mark as his equal would have been the one."

A howling wind picked up and it started to drizzle.

"Are you sure you don't want to continue this inside?" Dumbledore asked.

"Oh, no, Professor. I'm afraid My host doesn't allow it," Lily said with a smirk. "Feel free to conjure an umbrella, should you find it necessary. So, let me get this straight, the only way to ensure the Voldemort's fall would have been to allow him to come and mark the one he considered to be his equal." Dumbledore remained silent. "In other words, throw the two families under the bus and the one who gets the golden ticket gets a visit from the Dark Lord himself. You would just send in your puppy, to fetch what was left. Brilliant move, old man… brilliant move." She clapped slowly, as to emphasize the oozing sarcasm that she had poured into her words.

"I had trackers embedded in the wards I have set around your house," Dumbledore started to explain. "They would have alerted us the moment the Dark Lord would have set foot inside the house, yet, when I checked on them, they seem to have been… disabled somehow."

"Oh, no, not disabled. Removed entirely," Lily interrupted his exposition. "Had I not done that, we would have not been able to even cast a single spell the moment old Moldy entered the house. Even so, whatever else you've done prevented us from Portkeying out of the house. An odd effect added to the normal protection regular wards would afford, don't you think? Don't answer that, I don't want to hear another lie. Tell me why you sent just Hagrid and no one else. And why only to retrieve Harry?"

"While the alarming wards might have gone down, but I was still able to keep an eye on your vitals." To Lily, the old man seemed to be making it up on the fly, yet she was patient enough to have him talk himself into a corner. "James knew of ways of summoning me and the rest of the Order should the need have arrived. The night the Dark Lord attacked, James did not activate any of my contingency measures. The moment I saw both your life signs disappear, I tried to scan the house for survivors. When I sensed Harry and no one else, I sent word to any of the Order who could help, but no one answered. As I was not sure what had happened, I sent Hagrid. His… blood makes him fairly resistant to many effects of the Dark Arts…" Lily yawned.

"My dear Professor," she said, "your story is so full of holes, it makes a broken sieve jealous. You say my life signs disappear?"

'That might have been my doing,' chimed Joan. Lily ignored the interruption and continued:

"Then HOW on Merlin's unholy ghost do I stand in front of you? And what did you do when both James and I supposedly died? You send a wandless 53-year-old Hogwarts dropout, instead of coming yourself… Tsk, tsk, tsk. So scared were you of seeing the effects of your handiwork?"

"No such thing, my dear. Young Harry defeated the Dark Lord, he needed proper escort…" Dumbledore tried to continue his explanation but was soon cut off by a renewed burst of laughter.

"You are telling me you reheheheally believe an 18-month-old baby able to defeat one of the darkest wizards of our times? You do need a prolonged vacation, Professor. I'd suggest Azkaban, I hear they let you rest in peace, with no one to bother you. Do you really want to know what had happened that night? Your poster boy weakened Old Running-Away-From-Death and I have freed his wretched head from his miserable shoulders. No miracle save by a baby, what-so-fucking-ever."

"But the Prophecy…"

"Both it and you can go die in a ditch for all i care, Professor. Your great intellect couldn't see that, with the proper interpretation, it could have been a self-defeating prophecy. Now, would you kindly get to the part where you tell me WHY I must give up my son for your greater good."

"Glad you asked that…"

"Oh, I've been asking that from the very beginning, you bloody fossil." Lily muttered angrily.

"Right. You see, even if young Harry did not defeat the Dark Lord, the ensuing fame would most likely get to his head if he were to grow up in the Wizarding World. That is why I want him to be raised among Muggles, far from fame and accolades."

Lily looked at the decrepit old man she had respected until very recently with something akin to disgust. Without uttering a single word, she turned away from the gate and made for the house. Dumbledore must have had his eyes closed because he didn't see her reaction to his plea.

"Thank you for understanding, Lily. I will not remove him from the family, as I'd need him to go to your sister. He should not have any contact with you or the Wizarding World in its entirety. But rest assured…"

The Headmaster stopped mid-speech when he finally heard the sound of the door closing behind Lily. He stood there, twiddling his thumbs, casting the odd warming charm on himself, as the wind and drizzle had soaked his robes to the bone, and waited. The Elves were still standing guard behind the gate.

"Are you sure you want to stay with her?" he asked them. "The Hogwarts students would appreciate your efforts much more than her. She barely has any idea how to put you to good use." The elves remained silent, although one of the younger ones did look somewhat uncomfortable. The man noticed that and decided to press on with a simple request. "Could you get me a glass of water?"

Rosey scoffed and disapparated. Even an uninvited guest is still a guest and should be shown the basic courtesies. Minutes passed, Dumbledore noticed, and neither Lily nor the elf returned. Finally, Rosey appeared with a loud pop and handed him a glass of ice cold water and a neatly folded piece of parchment. With a snap of her fingers, the elves disapparated.

Dumbledore opened the parchment, gave it a cursory look and blanched.

"You are lucky I am a patient woman, Professor. The only thing you said this evening that made any sense whatsoever was living among the non-magical. For the better part of my life, I have been lied, used and abused, most of it with your knowing consent.

Now that I have broken those shackles, I will not return to blindly following orders, simply because of some greater good. I will not be parted from the last good thing in my life, on the whim of a madman, raving about something that he clearly has no control over.

Since you put so much trust in prophecy, look to the fates of Oedipus and Acrisius in the ancient Greek myths. See what blindly listening to prophecy has brought them."

The Headmaster looked at the note again, shook his head, folded it neatly and Disapparated. The names were not in any of the books in Hogwarts and, therefore, needed to be researched further.

- section break-

Little over an hour after Dumbledore's impromptu visit, all in the Greengrass manor were settling in for a quiet evening. Yet, it wasn't meant to be, not yet anyway, as both Evelyn and Lily jumped at the loud sudden knocks at the window. They pulled the drapes slowly and peered into the dark, squinting to see the source of the sound.

"Any idea what it is?" Lily asked, hand on her wand.

"Whatever it is, it isn't big," Evelyn said calmly, "nor is it dangerous or the wards would have picked it up and notified us." Not having seen anything through the drapes, she decided to open the window and allow it to enter the room.

A blur flew right in, darted around the chandelier, and crashed into the liquor cabinet. As it did, it let out a faint shriek and did not move. Upon closer inspection, it was no larger than a tennis ball.

"Is that an… owl?" Lily sounded apprehensive.

"Disillusioned, most likely," replied Evelyn, picking the blurry creature up in the palm of her hand. It was trembling. "Don't worry, you poor thing. I'll take care of this nasty charm."

With a flick of her wand, the effect was dispelled, revealing a fairly ruffled pygmy owl. It hooted happily and raised its wing to reveal a piece of parchment, tied to its leg. Another wave of the wand and the piece of parchment flew in her hand.

"This is for you," she said as she handed Lily the note, which read it several times.

"Took him long enough," the Lady of House Potter said as she crumpled the note in her hand.

"Is everything alright?"

"Sirius has everything set up. Tomorrow morning, we'll find the damn rat who betrayed us."

"That's brilliant. Let me know if there is anything you need help with."

Lily was about to answer when she was interrupted by a fairly familiar pop.

"I am sorry," Rosey squeaked, "don't mean to disturb, Mistress, but I bring good news. We still have much to do to bring it to its former glory, but Potter Manor has been made suitable for residence."

"That is good news indeed, Rosey. Thank you for letting me know. Make the necessary preparations for us to move in tomorrow or the day after. You may retire for the night." The elf nodded and disapparated.

"Tomorrow morning?" Evelyn asked as she summoned a bottle of the Ableforth gin they shared a couple of nights ago. "Isn't that a bit soon?"

"No, Evie, it's going to be just fine. Leaving Harry on your hands, while I am off playing the vigilante, makes me feel like I have overstayed my welcome."

"Nonsense, my dear. I feel Harry has grown a little fond of Daphne. Here," she said as she handed Lily a glass of navy strength gin, which Lily accepted gladly.

"Thank you. As for the children, don't worry, we'll be visiting," Lily promised, taking a sip. "As often as time allows, of course."

"You'd better. Or I'm gonna have Dot kidnap the two of you." Evelyn's smile gave Lily the impression she wasn't joking about that. All she could do at the friendly threat was a laugh.

'There is one thing I'd like to ask before we leave."

"Which is…?" her host inquired with a raised eyebrow.

"Would it be possible for me to borrow a cat carrying case? Mine is in Godric's Hollow, and I honestly don't know if DMLE has emptied the house in their investigation. Even so, if I know Dumbledore before he was dismissed from the Wizengamot, he most likely encouraged them to make the house into a national monument or even a pilgrimage spot, without asking my opinion or permission."

"That is… oddly specific," Evelyn said, her face split into a wide grin. "I should start reading some of the Muggle books you do. If they can improve one's imagination to such a degree, they must be good." She took a sip of gin.

"I can suggest a couple of authors if you want. Tolkien would be one of them," Lily started.

"Oh, let me stop you right there, sweetie. I doubt I'll ever have the time to enjoy any book to its full extent. As for the cat carrier, I'll have Dot bring one of my old ones to your room in the morning."

"Thanks, Evie."

"Don't mention it, Lil."

Just as they were about to go to the nursery, to spend time with the children, another knock could be heard at the window. This time it was not as frantic. Dot opened the window and allowed a fairly large eagle owl to enter. It glided gently to the headrest of the armchair Sirius had sat in that morning. Tied to its leg, there was an envelope, bearing the seal of the Department of Mysteries. Evelyn made for the envelope, but the owl denied her. It blinked towards Lily.

"Looks official," remarked Evelyn.

"This… doesn't bode well," replied Lily, more for herself than anything else. Once she retrieved the letter, the owl bowed and flew through the open window. Her bracelet did not vibrate, nor did her own guest alert her to any undue charms. "It is from Director Croaker. He wants to meet at the Leaky. Cryptic as always."

"If I may say so, be careful with him, Lily. He is not above making anyone, and I do mean anyone, disappear."

"Don't worry, I'll be careful, Evie."

'Even so, he wouldn't expect something like me,' Jeanne chimed in, maliciously as ever.

"Let's hope that will not be necessary," Lily muttered as she wrote her reply on the back side of the invitation and tied it to the Department owl.

"Did you say something?" Evelyn asked, slightly distracted setting the bottle and glasses aside.

"Oh, nothing, don't worry about it. Why don't we go check on the children?"

"After you, Lil."

- section break-

Rufus Scrimgeour growled at the loud pop of the uninvited guest who rudely interrupted his filing of paperwork by Apparating in his study. Wand in hand, he turned towards the sound and saw a familiar elf leaning against a cabinet by the door.

"What in blazes do you think you're doing here…?" he started to ask before he found his voice gone at a snap of the elf's fingers.

"Walls have ears, Mr Scruffy. Please, no names," the young elf said in a hushed squeak, "mine or Mistress's. She sent letter. Your eyes only. She requested your verbal reply." She felt uncomfortable, having cast magic at a human, even if her mistress had allowed it for the purpose of the visit.

Running a hand through his greying hair, the Interim Head of the DMLE nodded and took the envelope the elf held out for him. His brow furrowed as he went through the short message several times over in a very short amount of time.

Rufus,

Junior came back in the wee hours of the morning raving like a loon about having him being the one that attacked the Longbottoms and that killed my husband. Worse, I have no idea of anything he said is true, or he took some Muggle drugs. I spiked his tea with a sleeping potion and tied him up with what feels like half the linens in the house. Winky has been instructed to bring you if you so choose to deal with my son. If not, tell her how long until you can get here, fully armed. Do not tarry. If not for my sake, for the promise you made to me after Nottingham last year.

The letter was unsigned, yet he knew exactly who had written it. The elf was looking at him expectantly. The man gestured at his mouth and, with a snap of the elf's fingers, he regained his voice.

"First things first," he said, pointing his wand at the bit of parchment in front of him, "Incendio." All traces of the written communication vanished in a puff of soot and smoke. "Can't have names now, can we, elf. Tell your Mistress I will be there in ten minutes."

"Understood, Mr Scruffy. Sorry about…" the elf pointed at her mouth.

"Go keep your Mistress safe, even from the young master, if you have to," said Scrimgeour. The elf nodded once and was gone in a muted pop. He opened the door and summoned the few Aurors he thought to still be in the pit.

"Proudfoot, Shacklebolt, Brown! Gear up! We have a lead on a Muggle baiter."

That was all they needed to hear, judging by loud thuds of the chairs hitting the floor. It would seem that they were as eager as him to avoid the tedious chore of paperwork.

In mere moments, he had all his gear, wand, spare, emergency portkey and combat knife secured. Minutes later, two of the three Aurors he had called upon entered the office.

"Where's Brown?"

"At home," replied Shacklebolt. "His brother in law was in Moody's party when they went after Rosier. He fell in the line of duty, so Brown is comforting his sister and his niece."

"Remind me to send my condolences when we get back. Meanwhile, we'll be going without him then. Now, I have received reliable intel on the identity and location of a Muggle baiter."

"Isn't three Aurors a bit too much for a mere Muggle baiter?" asked Proudfoot.

"Don't be fooled, all of them are dangerous, this one is very much so."

"I mean, most of them are harmless. Right?"

"If you believe that the Statute of Secrecy being breached by a snot-nosed kid is harmless," Scrimgeour growled back, "especially with how thin the memory modification squad has been spread lately, by all means, take the day off. Take the week off, why don't you?" The two Aurors gave their superior a worried look but said nothing. "I'll be making the Portkey to our destination. Wands out, don't wander off, don't split up."

The Portkey deposited them in a fairly familiar garden, in front of a large two story house.

"Isn't this…?" said Proudfoot. "Sir, why are we at Director Crouch's house?"

"Sorry, boys, you were right. There is no Muggle baiter. I have received a message from Director Crouch's wife. It would appear Junior has escaped and hid in his family home."

"Didn't the Director say he would be processing Junior himself?" Shacklebolt asked. "Did he allow him to leave?"

"That's just it," replied Scrimgeour. "The Director would not have done that. At least not willingly. He was not in his office, nor anywhere in the Ministry. Until we capture Bartemius Crouch Junior, we will not be able to ascertain his means of escaping."

"Alright, Sir. So, what is your plan?"

"We will be picking him up for processing. I want him alive, so, Proudfoot, make sure you hit the bastard with a petrification charm the moment you lay your eyes on him. Shacklebolt, break his legs. I'll break his fingers."

"Isn't that a tad bit… extreme?" the youngest of the group asked.

"This man escaped from one of the most protected buildings in all of Magical England, would you like him to have any sort of mobility when we find him, Shacklebolt?"

"No, Sir, that makes perfect sense."

"As good as he may be, I doubt he is nimble enough to dodge everything we throw at him." The Aurors nodded. "Oh, and, for the record, I claim full responsibility for this operation."

Before anyone could reach the threshold, the front door opened silently. One of the men was about to ask something, but an elf shushed them and ushered them inside. With a bony finger, it indicated towards the back of the house, then to the right. The men looked at the elf, then at eachother and nodded. They crept along the main corridor, all the while scanning for signs of any other humans in the house. The arrived at a door which opened silently, revealing a room clad in shadows, yet there was an unmissable shape of a man bound to the couch with an impressive amount of bedsheets and drape cords.

Shocked, Shacklebolt bumped into a dresser, causing a vase to tumble down and smash on the floor. Yet, to everyone's surprise, it made no sound. Wanting to avoid any surprises, Scrimgeour raised his wand and launched a series of wordless curses to the bound individual. His deputies followed suit. Even though the target seemed to have felt every curse, showing signs he was clearly in agony, mouth agape and squirming and writhing against his bonds, the room remained unusually silent.

The Aurors stopped their onslaught only when the poor bastard in front of them stopped moving. An elf made its way into the room and, seeing its master unconscious, snapped its fingers.

"Is he…?" asked Winky.

"Unconscious? Yes," growled Scrimgeour. "What we hit him with lit up his nervous system like a Christmas tree. That amount of pain is bound to put him out of commission for the next couple of hours until we have him fully secured."

"Winky made everything quiet. Mistress said young master was very bad and must not hear Mr Scruffy coming."

"Excellent work, Winky. You did exactly what your mistress bid you do. You're a good elf." Winky turned a shade pinker.

"What now, Sir?" Shacklebolt asked.

"We bring him to the holding cells. As soon as we're there, fetch an Unspeakable. I am going to have his magic sealed until he's to go to trial."

"Would you like me to get a Healer as well?" the young Auror asked. "After all, once he's awake he will feel every broken bone in his body."

"Seal, then heal. I don't want him to wake up capable of any kind of magic."

- section break-

The barely used fireplace in the office flared up to life and, out of the Floo network, stepped a man covered in a heavy grey cloak. He dusted himself and removed his hood to reveal his face. His host wordlessly bade him take a seat and continued reading the report in front of him. Minutes later, he raised his eyes to the visitor.

"You're early. Thought we agreed, you let me know of any visit beforehand. Can't have my work interrupted…"

"My apologies, Sir. We had urgent updates on Bagnold and Crouch."

"Crouch? What updates could you possibly have? You informed me four hours ago that he was killed."

"Director Crouch's killer, his son, had been apprehended an hour ago, Sir."

"You told me he was far more dangerous than the Ministry had anticipated. How was that accomplished, if that was the case?"

"Sheer dumb luck. He hid in his own home. Upon hearing his ramblings of killing and torturing people, his mother spiked his tea, tied him to the couch, then called for an Auror she knew personally."

"You having a laugh on my expense?"

"No, Sir, I wouldn't dare to. That is literally how it happened."

"What of Bagnold? She bad mouthed her superiors and was detained. What more is there to be said?"

"She was under the Imperius. Not in control of her own actions."

"Do we know the identity of the caster?"

"Unknown. Magical signature is unclear. Must have used a loan wand. Or a disposable one."

"You mean… there could be disposable wands? What would the threat level to the public be?"

"You need not worry, Sir. They are strictly regulated and it's nigh on impossible to make or acquire such an implement. Besides, most of them are merely toys, their core capable of withstanding only the smallest magical applications. It rarely can handle anything of the magnitude of the curse involved."

"For your sake, that had better be true. What about the matter you were supposed to talk to me about today?"

"The notices have been sent. All that is needed if to appoint your proxy, Prime Minister. I have word from the Queen's Secretary. Their representative's identity is hidden until they are able to be picked up for the meeting."

"Thank you for your report, Director Croaker. Please, keep me apprised."

"One more thing, Sir. I need your signature for the executive order. We need an interim Minister and Head of the Wizengamot to preside over the trials. At least until the High Council is to meet."

"Same ones we discussed a couple of days ago?"

"Yes, Sir. Marchbanks and Ogden."

"Marchbanks? The one from Education? Isn't she a tad too old for a Chief Witch?"

"I am referring to her son, Sir."

"And Ogden was the Whiskey brewer?"

"His family is famous for their Firewhiskey, yes. However, I am not talking about the head of the house, but about his second son. The Harvard graduate."

"Leave the paperwork here. I'll have them ready for you by 5 PM. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to attend to the issues of the rest of the country. Good day, Director."

"Thank you for seeing me on such short notice, Sir."

He pulled his hood back up and walked through the fireplace.

- section break-

November 5th, 1981

Having a young mysterious woman carrying a young baby in a sling enter a building that housed mostly single, hard-working men would have raised eyebrows. It certainly had the ancient doorman curious.

"Pardon me, Ma'am, but are you sure have the right address?" he asked.

"It'd better be," the woman snapped back, as she removed her sunglasses. "You know how long I've been looking for this bastard?" She sounded pissed. "He upped and left me when he heard I may be pregnant." She shifted the sling to show her discomfort. "Now I find him in this dump on the corner of Cock Lane."

"I'm afraid I'm gonna stop you right there miss. This is a respectable place. Maybe if you tell me your name and who is it you are looking for and…"

"Ms Jane Darcy, here for Mr Sirius Black. Is he in?" she asked, her voice in a squeak of mock deference.

"I am afraid we do not have a tenant by this name." The woman simply dropped her dark sunglasses to the tip of her nose and gave a stare that felt like it bored into his skull. "Ah, Mr Black. You should be able to find him on the second floor, end of the hall." She nodded and made her way past him. "Please," he stopped her with a raised hand, "do remember that some of the other tenants do work night shifts. Do not make a ruckus or I will be forced to call the authorities."

The young mother paid no heed and waved him off, knowing he would never remember seeing her by the end of her visit.

She reached for the knob of the familiar door, hoping Sirius had keyed her into the security wards and charms and grant her entry. Alas, no such luck, as the knob came to life and tried biting her hand. She yelped and muttered some choice words when she heard sniggering from behind the door. She knocked. Nothing. She banged on the door.

"Who is it?"

"Jane, you immature man-baby."

"Jane? Jane who? I don't who you are talking about."

"Your wife and your son. Open the damn door or so help me God, you will regret it."

"Why would I open, if you are that mad at me?" the teasing voice from beyond replied.

"Why would I be mad? I want to congratulate you on your new family. Let me shake your… throat," she growled.

"Fine, spoil my fun, why don't you?" Sirius said as he opened the door. "Just out of curiosity, what would you have done to me?"

"Oh, not to you, but to your doorman. The stories of your conquests he would spread might give you a big head, but, if persistent enough, would definitely end up on the front page of the SUN muggle tabloid. You might actually have had to move from this lovely abode," she said, grinning.

"I didn't know you were that proficient in memory charms."

"You forgot about my Charms Mastery and Healer training again. There's a lot of things you don't know I am capable of."

- section break-

"Morning, Lily," Remus greeted her, as he stepped out of the kitchen carrying a fresh pot of tea and cups.

"Morning. I was kinda hoping that you would be able to restrain his antics. That doorknob almost had my finger for breakfast."

"Three years as a Gryffindor Prefect I tried."

"Every teacher in Hogwarts can attest to the fact that he failed," Sirius chimed in, taking one of the cups of tea from the tray on the table.

"Well, I hope you will be on your best behaviour," Lily warned him. "You wouldn't want your godson to follow in your steps, would you?"

"I solemnly swear I am up to…" Sirius started, but Remus cut him off before he could finish the sentence.

"Don't you start with that again."

"Fine, spoil my fun this morning, the both of you."

"I'm sorry, gents," Lily interrupted, "but remember, we're not here to have fun."

"Serious, your mommy, ain't she," Sirius asked little Harry, whom his mother set him in a summoned collapsible crib. "Lily, I am fully aware of what we have to do here today. As per your request, I have the instrument with which we will scry for our quarry," he said and pointed to a globe-like bowl and a phial containing a liquorice-black potion, with slivers of darkened colours floating through.

"Perfect…"

Lily picked up the phial and inspected it. Even with her expertise, she had no idea what she was looking at.

'What do you think that is?' she asked Jeanne.

'My experience with potions is limited, I am afraid,' it replied.

"OK… so, how do we use this?"

"We pour it into the bowl," Sirius answered.

"Yes, and…?"

"And we add the bit of the rat we are trying to trap." Sirius pointed to the blood-stained finger bones next to the bowl, as he was levitating a toy Snitch around Harry's head. The boy seemed to be enjoying himself, as did his godfather. Lily could feel he was not paying attention to the matter at hand.

"AND…?" she asked, snapping her fingers.

"Hm? Oh, the bones will dissolve in the potion which will, somehow, indicate Peter's location."

"Somehow?!" Lily's voice cracked in frustration. "We need his exact whereabouts, not take a dart to a map and simply pray it lands somewhere close. And why did you strip the flesh from them?"

"Don't judge him," intervened Remus. "He never saw it in action. He tried to distance himself from everything related to his family, be it material and ideological since the moment he got sorted in Gryffindor."

"Hey, all I know is it works," insisted Sirius. "My great grand-uncle used it to catch many a debtor back in his day. Filled the bank vault to the brim. And the flesh was decaying since I applied preservation measures too late. It would have muddled the results. Almost lost my last meal while cleaning the bones."

"So we're going to go off of an old Black family anecdote, mere hearsay, when we only have that little to work with?!" She felt her blood pressure spike, her ears ringing slightly.

"Why don't you sit down, Lily?" Remus said as he tried to lead her to the couch. "Drink a bit of tea and just hear us out."

"You know I am a joker," Sirius spoke up. "Yes, I'd rather find entertainment in everything I do, preferably at somebody else's expense. But this is not one of those cases. That bowl was delivered by my Grandfather in person. Yes, to my knowledge all my family was in Slytherin house and yes, I am the first Gryffindor in generations."

"Is this going somewhere?" Lily inquired, sipping from the mug Remus forcibly placed in her hands.

"Yes, just drink your tea and listen," he replied. "You can imagine we don't exactly see eye to eye, my family and me. Yes, my Father was supposed to be the head of one of the darkest Houses in the Sacred Twenty-Eight, if my Grandfather actually let him do it that is. Yes, old Arcturus did decree the House of Black not take any side in this War, and yes, he didn't like it that I sided with Dumbledore and the Order of the Phoenix."

"Your point?"

"My point, as you clearly demand it, is that my not-very-dear old Head of House wouldn't give up a treasured heirloom, not to help me out of all people. Not without a very good reason. If there's anything that man respects is the notions of Family and Loyalty. Traditionally, The Blacks and the Potters wouldn't be on the same page on pretty much anything. But, even so, he thinks better of the devil he knows over the unknown entity that would fill the void your House would leave if you were to go extinct."

"But I am not a Potter," Lily insisted. "Why would he agree to help me?"

"You may not be a Potter, but your son is the last of the House of Potter. Your house has been dealt grave treachery, stabbed in the back by a rat-faced bastard. Plus, your mother-in-law was his sister."

"And, if it doesn't work, what then? As I said, we only have those bones to work with."

"If it doesn't work, then, I, Sirius of the House of Black," he said as he stood up and raised his wand in front of his face, "hereby swear that I will go to the ends of the known and unknown world to find that traitor, even if I have to break into the Minister of Magic's personal office to find a way to locate him." He gave off a faint glow just as he ended his sentence.

"As do I," said Remus and gave off the same faint glow.

"You boys are screwed now if this doesn't work," Lily chuckled an exasperated chuckle. "Fine. So. Are we doing this?"

"Yes!" both men agreed in unison.

"You'd better pray this works, or this is going to be a very long day," Lily said, wearily.

She emptied the phial in the bowl and let it settle. Yet, the contents, now freed from the constraint of the glass bottle, turned into a cloud of liquid smoke, the streaks of colour far more vibrant.

"I'd suggest you don't touch it," warned Sirius. "If it is strong enough to dissolve bones, I don't want to see what it does to bare skin."

"Fair enough."

"Plus, it would kinda be redundant…"

"What?"

"Scrying yourself."

"Hmph!" Remus stifled a peal of laughter.

Lily ignored him and added one of the bones to the mix. It floated on the surface for a moment, then disappeared in a bubbly mess. The liquid cloud started churning and slowly started rising from the bowl. The three had to take a step back, as the liquid turned to a gas-like black substance, spreading and reaching the size of a road map. It depicted a large part of Europe.

"That's a tad on the large side, isn't it?" Remus quipped.

"Don't worry," Sirius tried to reassure the both of them. "It is working. See? This is our location," he said, pointing to the white miniature replica of the Houses of Parliament that formed where London would be on the map. "The colours are converging to the British Isles. And… yes, here we go." The cloud changed its shape, enlarging to focus on the United Kingdom. Slowly, it shifted to the southwestern part of the country.

"There!" Lily pointed excitedly at a rat figure scurrying away from London. "Is this happening now?"

"He's never run a day in his life, so doubt he'd scurry this fast. I believe it is following the general trail of his presence."

"OK… and where exactly is he running to? Could he be going to his old family home?" Lily asked.

"I wouldn't know," Remus replied.

"Come to think of it, we never actually found out where his family lived, did we?" Sirius asked his fellow Marauder, who nodded in agreement.

The miniature rat ran through the fields and hid into what looked like a wooded area.

"Can it focus further?"

"If Grandfather was correct, it won't show the exact address, but it should show us some sort of landmark for us to figure out where our quarry is located. Wait a second!"

The map slowly centred on the area and the trees parted, allowing them to see what hid behind them.

"Are those… rats?" Lily was miffed. "Great, he hid among rodents, how are we to find him now?"

"Those are not rodents, Lils," Remus intervened. "They might look similar, but those are too big to be rats. No, they seem to be a part of the Mustelidae family. Minxes, badgers, ferrets and the such. That one looks like a Stoat."

"How does that help? I'm pretty sure there're lots of them in every woods in this damned country."

"Lil, remember, this bowl will not show who is he with, but rather where he is," said Sirius. "So the muscly-whatever they're called…"

"Mustelidae," Remus corrected him.

"Those, they are related to the names of the places. Unfortunately, this bowl never learned to spell it outright, so we're going to be playing picture charades, to figure out where Peter hid."

"Ideas? Asking only because I was never that good at charades, to begin with," said Lily.

"Probably, if we figure out what Mustelidae are here, we'll get the answer." Remus sounded happy, a puzzling challenge for him to unpack. "For example, I can safely confirm those long-bodied animals look like stoats," he continued, noticing the other two did not share in his enthusiasm. "And that looks closer to weasels."

"That one looks like it's holding a fishing pole," said Sirius, pointing to one that was closer to what looked like a body of water.

"Out of all of the Mustelidae we have, otters fancy fish over pretty much anything else."

"Otter… fishing pole… fish pole…" Sirius started muttering to himself. "Why does that sound familiar?"

"Don't look at me," said Lily, "geography and zoology aren't exactly my strong suits."

"Well then…" sighed Remus. "We might as well start throwing darts at the area and hope we find the otter hole that rat hid in."

He paced around the room, rubbing his eyes and temples. While he might put on a happy face, Remus knew what he still had to deal with. The curse that plagued him, for which he had his friends to lean on, was about to rear its ugly head. He was tired and, for the first time in nearly a decade, he was about to face it alone once again. He needed to focus on finding that bastard he'd called a friend for half his life. And soon, at that. The moon was not going to wait for him.

A minute passed. Sirius levitated the paper plane around Harry's head once again, to his godson's sheer enjoyment. Lily was wracking her brain over the map, trying to decipher the map. It was now showing a very oddly shaped house, which looked familiar, yet neither could quite place it. Meanwhile, Remus kept looking at the bare bookcase his friend kept in his apartment. It was an assortment of new books and old, some of which looked like they haven't been touched in ages. Sirius also had an entire collection of highly detailed drawings on the geishas of Japan, the Concubines of Siam, the Catamites of Greece, the Harlots of India. Remus would have blushed if he didn't know who got them for his friend - a surprise birthday present from the rest of the Marauders in his fifth year.

He needed to clear his head and a fresh cup of tea, he thought, wouldn't hurt. Just as he was about to enter the kitchen, he noticed something that wasn't that common to find in a wizard's house - Sirius' motorcycle keys. As well as something that, definitely, would be out of place in the house of a self-styled rebel - a calling card for one Arthur Weasley, Department of Misuse of Muggle Artefacts.

'Isn't that…?' Remus asked himself as he picked up the card. "Hey, Sirius, what's this?"

"As magical as I am, I'm afraid I haven't developed the capacity to see through walls Moony."

"This." Remus entered the living room and handed Sirius the card.

"Weasley. Yeah, met him at a meeting of the Order of the Phoenix. He was interested in how I charmed my motorcycle. Why?"

"Notice the name?"

"What exactly are you talking about?" asked Lily.

"Weasley? Weasel? It's part of the Mustelidae family and it was one of the animals we saw on the map."

"Grasping at straws already?" Sirius laughed. "The man is a glorified pencil pusher. Do you believe he would be hiding Peter? They barely spoke at any of the meetings. Not to mention, I have no idea where the man lives."

"You might want to check the back of the card," Lily said, with a triumphant smile. Sirius turned the card and saw an address.

"The Burrow, Stoat Hill, Ottery St Catchpole!" he read out loud.

"Stoats, fishing otters? More of the animals on the map," Remus said, smiling to himself.

"I believe it is worth paying a visit to Mr Arthur Weasley," declared Lily, the men nodding in agreement. "That's all fine and good, still, how are we going to find Peter in Ottery St Catchpole?"

"Oh, I have another small trick up my sleeve."

"Sirius, there's no time for games."

"Don't worry, I'll show you in due time."

"He may be a joker, Lily," said Remus, "but he does get anything he sets his mind to done."

"Fine, fine." It was only 10 o'clock in the morning, but Lily felt like she'd already run a marathon. "Got everything ready? Let's go, or we'll miss that bastard."

"What about Harry?" Remus asked.

"Right, we can't take him with us," Sirius sighed, "Merlin knows Peter may be a coward, but he did train with us quite a bit and we manage to put the fear of God in most of the Death Eaters."

"And," Remus added, "if his new companions ever taught him anything, he is bound to be even more dangerous."

"I guess, I can't persuade any of you two gentlemen to stay and take care of Harry, could I?"

"Fat chance, Lil."

"Yes, we all need to have a word with our vermin of a former friend."

"In that case, permission to call on a nanny?"

"Lily, I don't think my apartment is ready for an unknown woman, witch or not, to visit."

"What, you think she's gonna start cleaning?" Lily grinned once again. "And strip this place of its charm? No, I'll call one of my House Elves to take care of Harry. Just need to get your permission, a common courtesy, I'd say."

"Permission granted."

"Rosey!"

"Yes, Mistress?" the elf asked with a soft pop.

"Please take care of your Master for me for a few hours."

"Yes, Mistress," Rosey replied, happily.

"Might be a good opportunity for him to get accustomed to you."

"Understood, Mistress."

"Right, ready to go now, boys?"

"Ready."

"How do you want to get there? Brooms, Floo network or Apparate?"

"Unless you know a magical shop that would be connected to the Floo network, I'd go for Apparition."

"Then, what exactly are we waiting for?" Sirius asked and took a small box that stood next to the bowl. "See you in the northern outskirts of the village." With a loud pop, he Disapparated.

"That damn hothead," Remus growled as his friend Disapparated.

"Rosey, I leave Harry in your care. Guard him with your life."

"No need to ask twice, Mistress."

Lily nodded and Disapparated with Remus. When they arrived, she stumbled for a moment before regaining her footing. Sirius was dusting and drying himself off, after having landed face first in a small puddle, while Remus was trying to get his bearings.

"So what now? Choose a direction and start walking?" demanded Lily.

"Oh, ye of little faith…" Sirius shook his head in mock disbelief. "My dear old Grandfather was kind enough to also provide me with a very useful, albeit gruesome, instrument." He dramatically held the box up high, opened it and bowed as if to present it as a gift.

"What's that?" Lily felt her curiosity piqued.

"I hope you are not afraid of spiders, Lil," he said, as he picked up a tiny metal spider-like mechanism, like a many-legged pair of hair-thin tweezers. "That little thing, once awakened, will track the rat, should we be anywhere within 100 meters from him."

"And how does that work? How does it know what to hunt for?"

"Well, all it needs is a drop of blood from our quarry and it will sniff it out from even the smallest of holes. Once it finds its target, Spidey here injects it with a mild paralytic tailored from the blood."

"And do we have any blood to work with?"

"Remember the puddle he left when he lost his fingers?" Sirius asked as he produced a small reddish vial from thin air. "We have enough to find him and get him subdued."

The spider sensed the intent of its master, crawled up his arm and sucked a drop of blood from the open phial.

"That's it. Right… all we need now is to get close enough for our spindly friend to sense its quarry."

"Shall we visit this lovely little village in that case?" asked Lily, as she reapplied the Jane Darcy glamour and started walking towards the houses in the distance.

"After you, Moony." Remus shook his head and followed the blonde woman in front of him.

- section break-

The village main street was the opposite of everything they were used to see in London. There were no crowds, the houses were clean and colourful, set far enough one from the other to allow the entire village to breathe. Should things have been different, this would have been a nice place to raise Harry in, Lily thought. It was quiet, peaceful, and the few people whom she did see on the street seemed welcoming and friendly enough. But she had something else to do before she could think of that.

"There it goes," Sirius said, pointing to the spider that was now scurrying away. They followed it to the village square and to a secluded corner.

"Well, Padfoot, I hope you brought your appetite," Remus said as he noticed the storefront. He clenched his jaw and tensed his muscles, ready for anything his former friend might have set up for them.

"Don't tell me it's an all-you-can-eat-buffet that rat hid in," Sirius sniggered, all the while having a tight grip on the wand hidden in the fold of his robes.

"No, only your run-of-the-mill Magical Menagerie," came the calm reply of Jane Darcy. To the men, she seemed far more relaxed than normal. Then again, she was the same woman that killed the darkest wizard they've seen in decades.

They opened the door and let the spider slip inside, along the wall and into the shadows. Before they could even think of following the small bug, a familiar voice greeted them.

"Well, I'll be, if it isn't Sirius Black. Good afternoon," said the shockingly redheaded man as he stepped forward from the front of the counter, grabbing his hand and shaking it vigorously. "What are you doing here? Finally decided to drop by with that moto-sickle?"

"Hello, Arthur. Didn't expect to see you here. And it's pronounced motorcycle. Shouldn't you be at the Ministry at this hour?" Arthur looked around sheepishly.

"Family emergency, you could call it… Oh, haven't I seen you before?" he asked as he shook Remus's hand.

"Possibly at the Order meetings," replied Remus. "Dumbledore had me detached all over Europe most of the time this past couple of years."

"And who is this charming lady?"

"Oh, just a distant relative from…" Sirius wracked his brain trying to come up with a plausible location.

"The United States, dear cousin, have you already forgotten? Jane Darcy," she introduced herself and extended her hand. "Pleased to make your acquaintance."

"The pleasure is all mine. Arthur Weasley, at your service. Did you say you are cousins? That means we are related as well," the man said pointing at Jane and himself.

"Are we now?" she asked and gave Sirius an inquisitive look. "I don't believe anyone mentioned the Weasleys being related to the Black family."

"Yes… well…" Sirius started.

"Well, you can chalk it up to… a fall out in the family. Irreconcilable differences and all that nonsense." Arthur looked uncomfortable.

"What did you say you are doing here at this time of day?" Sirius diverted.

"Promise you won't tell Molly? Bill, my oldest son, started Hogwarts this year. Now he sent me a letter asking… No, demanding a pet, or he threatened me he would send an owl to my boss detailing the contents of my shed. Not that is anything wrong having Muggle artefacts. Although…" he rambled on for quite a bit.

Sirius laughed heartily, while Remus kept glancing around nervously, looking for any sign the spidery mechanism.

"That boy of yours sounds like my kind of kid," said Sirius, trying to cut the man's digression short. "So, your heart set on anything yet?"

"I was about to present him with this," the elderly shop owner intervened, trying to close his initial sale. "A rat who's seen better days and who is in need of a loving owner." Sirius, Remus and Jane all perked up their ears and turned to see the rodent, frantically struggling in its tiny cage.

"Yes," Arthur continued, "apparently its former owner died and, by the time it was found by the rest of the family, it was missing a couple of digits, see," he said pointing at the rat's left paw.

"Still, from all I could determine in a preliminary check, it is a magical creature and highly intelligent one at that. I am sure your son would love it."

"I… highly doubt that," Remus spoke up. "When was the last time you were in Hogwarts? Lately, students nowadays have more cats than owls. Hell, the caretaker has one so mean that tries to hunt even the House Elves. You put that rat in Hogwarts, it will die before the year is out."

"Didn't think of that," the dismayed father grumbled.

"Why don't you get him an owl?" chimed in Jane. "That way, he is bound to write home a lot more and, if he takes care of it properly, he is definitely going to get a lot more fresh air than trying to catch a rat under his bed."

"Dear cousin, I'd listen to her, if I were you. She may be young, but she made quite the fortune in the States giving advice, even if most of it is unasked. OUCH!" he yelped as he felt a sharp elbow in his ribs. "I jest, I jest."

"I don't know, Sirius. I do have a soft spot for broken things… as my shed can attest."

"I have an idea. Here, let me get the rat and give it a good home. My place is quiet and I am sure it will get the rest and love it deserves," Sirius said as he eyed the rat intensely. It seemed to feel the unwanted attention, as it struggled even worse against the bars, unaware of the silvery metallic slivers creeping just feet away from it. "Consider this a birthday gift. For me?"

"Oh, shoot… Happy Birthday! I forgot…"

"Don't worry, I don't like to advertise it. And it's already passed."

"Promise I won't forget next year."

"Let me take care of the rat and we'll call it even. See, the poor thing is so tired it fell asleep."

"If you like, I have quite the selection of tonics," the shop owner chirped but stopped once he noticed Sirius's glare. "Would you like a carrying case?"

"I can take care of that cage, no worries," Remus said and transfigured it into a more comfortable looking one, not neglecting to add protective charms, to prevent its occupant from escaping.

"That will be 10 Galleons."

"That rat is not worth more than 5," Sirius growled and slammed the coin on the counter. "And, Arthur, should this one try to swindle you, let me know. I still have some sway with the shadier characters in Knockturn Alley." Both Arthur and the shop owner shuddered at the not-so-veiled threat.

"Cousin," Jane tried to cut the tension, "I believe it is time to leave or we're going to be late for that meeting…"

"Yes, sorry about that. Well, Arthur, it was nice seeing you, but we have to run." One quick glance later, Remus nodded in confirmation that he collected the spidery mechanism and placed it in his pocket. "Give my best to Molly."

"Yes. Oh, don't forget, I still want to see that motorcycle soon."

"I will drop it by later this week, can't leave my post as an escort for my beloved cousin…"

"It's been a pleasure meeting you," chirped Jane in the sweetest voice she could possibly muster.

"Bye," said Remus, shaking Arthur's hand.

"Don't forget to feed it regularly and give it plenty of water," the shop owner said as the three exited the shop.

Once out, Sirius shoved the cage in Remus's hands, grabbed both of them and Disapparated. They reappeared… somewhere.

"Where are we?" Lily asked as she dropped her glamour, wand in hand.

The little bit of sky that could be seen through the partially collapsed ceiling was steel grey. Remus took a whiff of the air. It felt cold, damp and salty. The stench of rotting fish and decomposing algae filled his nose.

"A bit cold to go to the beach, don't you think, Padfoot?" he said with a smirk. A wave crashed just outside the window.

"We're near the beach?" Lily asked.

"We're still in England," Sirius replied, as he set the cage on the table and pulled out his wand. "An abandoned cannery on the coast."

"Where?" A loud ferry horn blared in the distance. "Dover?"

"Yes…" Remus looked astounded.

"I knew your family was rich," he said, "but never thought they would have, of all the things possible, a Muggle-style cannery."

"It's mine and mine alone. Won it in a game of poker. It's rundown, but it will suffice for what I intend to do to him. Raised up enough wards to make sure no stray muggle would saunter in by mistake." Sirius's voice turned grave. "Lily, I believe you need to let us handle it."

"What?!"

"Yes," said Remus. "I know he betrayed you and your son, but it is a matter of honour. You've drawn your quart of blood, let us bleed him dry."

"I know how you feel about James, especially after all we had found out in the past couple of weeks," Sirius continued, "but his slight against us is far worse. The four of us, we… we were close. Far more so than with our own families. Remus grew up alone and friendless, due to his condition. James's family was happy, but he was an only child and his parents were always busy. I definitely was the odd pup in my pack, pardon the pun. Peter…"

"Peter looked like the perfect chew toy," Remus intervened. "He'd been bullied pretty much his entire life and he was a pushover. I took pity on him. The four of us were probably the oddest first years Gryffindor had in ages. Slowly, we learned to trust each other and became inseparable. To the point in which the three of them even became Animagi, all for my sake."

"He betrayed our trust and the bond we shared for over a decade."

"All you had to do was ask, you know? Gents, don't let me get in your way. Extract as many pounds of flesh as you feel would satiate your hunger for vengeance. One thing though…" The men raised an eyebrow. "Don't spoil your fun by killing him too early."

Lily was about to bow out and Disapparate when Sirius stopped her.

"It would be poor manners of me not to allow you closure," he said and, with a flick of the wand, he opened the cage and levitated the rat at eye level. "Remus, would you do the honours?"

Lily watched Lupin point his wand at the limp rodent and, wordlessly, shot a drop of light straight at its face. Soon, its flesh stretched out, its limbs lengthened, its fur retracted and was replaced with the man's shaggy and well-worn clothes. With another swish of the wand, rope wrapped tightly around a now floating, knocked out Peter Pettigrew.

"Wake him up and make your peace with him. You have one minute."

"I only need 10 seconds," said Lily, walked up to Peter and slapped him square across the face. "Wakey, wakey, you rat bastard." He remained unmoving, so she slapped him again even harder. He blinked once, twice and looked around to see his captors.

"Good afternoon, Peter," Sirius said, once his prisoner's gaze fell on him. "Enjoyed your nap?"

"Well, Sirius, you do have to remember, he is under a lot of stress, so a nap was probably the thing he needed," Remus quipped when Peter turned to look at him.

"Lily… Oh, thank Merlin you're here…" Peter started to say when he noticed her in the room.

"I was on my way out actually," she replied.

"No, please, don't… Don't leave me with them… They'll… kill me!"

"Not before doing unspeakable things to you, be sure of that," Sirius growled.

"It's useless, Peter," Lily told him. "I just wanted you to look me in the eye one more time before these two have their fun with you."

"No… no…" His sobs were followed by a squeaky chattering of teeth.

"I also wanted to say I forgive you," she continued, paying no attention to his pleas, "because, by the time this ends, you would have wished I was the one to take care of you. I don't know what they intend to do to you, but I can guarantee it will be far less pleasurable than a quick and clean death. Gentlemen, have at him. I wash my hands of this… filth. I have another meeting, after which I will be going back to my son." She turned on the spot.

"Take care, Lil," said Sirius.

"Personally, I would fillet him. Consider this your Birthday gift," she replied.

"Could not have asked for anything better," he said, twirling his wand as though he was thinking what curse he should apply first. Lily hmphed and Disapparated.

Another wave crashed just outside the window, sending slight tremors throughout the entirety of the building.

"So, Peter…" Sirius started, clearing his throat. "Just one question."

Peter looked too terrified to reply.

"Why? Why did you betray James?"

Quiet.

"I do believe the cat's got his tongue," Remus said, twirling his own wand in expectation.

"Fine, suit yourself. I'll talk. Let me teach you something. My Grandfather would probably kill me if he heard I told this to anyone, but I'll willingly take this risk, for you. After all, we are all friends here."

"Brothers even," added Remus.

"Remember the lesson on the Unforgivable Curses in the 7th year? Did you ask yourself who came up with those Curses?"

"I admit, I chose not to. The effects are gruesome enough."

"Ever asked yourself who first called the collection of spells with specifically malicious effects Dark Arts? No? It was mainly my family, the Blacks. For the better part of the Middle Ages, we dealt with researching spells best suited for defensive and offensive purposes, especially against Muggles. Don't get me wrong, we would have loved to have them called Black Arts, but the Wizengamot of the time thought it would be a disservice to our family, especially if we wanted to be accepted in normal society."

"Get to the point," Remus yawned.

"Want to know what was there before the Cruciatus curse?"

"No, S-Sirius…" Peter stuttered. "P-please d-don't…"

"So he still has a tongue. Do you want to answer my question?"

"I-I'll go qu-quietly… Aurors… Azkaban…" Peter cried.

"Are you so terrified that you would willingly go to Azkaban? And thrive in that Dementor infested den? If you made a better rat than a human, Wormtail, that's not much to boast about."

"YOU TELL ME WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE DONE IF YOU WERE IN MY PLACE!" the small man shouted back, feeling the sting at the heart of his pride.

"YOU SHOULD HAVE DIED! DIED RATHER THAN BETRAY YOUR FRIENDS, AS WE WOULD HAVE DONE FOR YOU!" Sirius's voice boomed through the abandoned building. One of the decrepit walls crumbled in the back.

"People were dying left and right…" sobbed Peter. "W-what was there to be gained by fighting the evilest wizard who ever existed?"

"Only innocent lives, Peter," Remus said with a deep sigh. "I thought I knew you, but you are proving far more of a spineless coward than I ever thought possible."

"Dumbledore never moved against the Dark Lord… what chance would have I had? You don't know what he did to those who crossed him… who failed him…"

"You should have realised, Peter," Remus said almost growling. "Failure or not, If Voldemort didn't kill you, we would."

He raised his wand and, wordlessly, slashed the air, sending a purple flame through Peter, who started writhing and struggling against the bonds. The small man passed out under the strain of the curse he'd been hit with.

"Oh, no, no, no, you don't get to die that easily, don't you dare pass out on us now," said Remus, in a rushed whisper. In a blink of an eye, he produced a small satchel, full of spirit of hartshorn, took a pinch and shoved it right in the man ratty nose. Peter snapped back to consciousness and coughed. A rivulet of blood trickled from the corner of his mouth and one of his nostrils.

"Thank you for sticking around, Pete. After all, I promised I'd tell you what came before the Cruciatus Curse…" said Sirius, psyching himself up for what he was about to do. "Peter, I wish there would have been another way, but you left us no choice. Try not to soil yourself too soon"

After a string of what sounded like Welsh, violet mist flowed thick from the tip of his wand and surrounded Peter, who tensed in anticipation.

"What was that!? WHAT DID YOU TO ME?!" he blurted out in confusion.

"Don't worry, it is not as fast acting as a Cruciatus," Sirius replied, as he wordlessly started casting seemingly ineffective spells all around the bound man. "A flaw most would say, but I prefer to call it a blessing. It allows the victim, in this case you, to be fully aware of what is happening. It would spread slowly, starting from your toes upwards." Peter winced. "Ah, there it is."

"What's happening?" Remus looked intrigued.

"What do you need in order to successfully perform the Cruciatus Curse? Merely uttering the incantation is not enough, one must possess a deep desire to cause the victim pain. And to take pleasure in their suffering. If anything, the curse I used is far more imperfect than the Cruciatus. And all the more dangerous for it. It does not take into account the intent of the caster and, therefore, it will cause the same absurd amount of pain regardless of one's desire."

"That is gruesome…"

"You have no idea. The fact that it does not care for the intent of the caster also means it will not end… not until it has run its full course. The effect is permanent and, to my knowledge, there is no known cure for it."

"OK, I get it, it hurts like a bitch, but what exactly causes the pain?" Peter started howling in pain.

"Oh, shut it! Muffliato!" With a wave of Sirius's wand, the screams disturbed them no more. "His blood is crystalizing, turning to tiny glass shards. Slowly. Very slowly. Ever got a sliver of glass stuck in your flesh?" Remus nodded, his face, a mix of horror and wonder. "It is excruciating. And where does blood go? Or rather where doesn't it go? The moment the curse hits the lungs, he will start coughing and sputtering. I'd recommend you don't get hit because it will spread to you too. It's hard enough to lose two friends in the span of a week, don't need to add you to the list as well. After the blood, the body crystalizes."

Another wave crashed into the side of the coast, sending yet another shock throughout the building. Part of the ceiling above them collapsed and fell in the open space between them and Peter. Remus raised his wand and cast a bubble-like shield around the three of them.

"That should hold it for now," he said, just as Peter gave in to a bout of whooping cough.

"Protego!" Sirius shouted, just in time to catch the bit of blood heading towards Remus. "Let me take care of that." He waved his wand in a long series of swishes, flicks, and drawing runes in the air.

"What exactly did you cast?"

"You could call it the Curse of the Glass Plague. The incantation is in Welsh. Very loosely translated, it means glass shall be your body. As you can clearly deduce, it is highly contagious. The spells I've put on the floor and around him are to ensure that not even a flea can enter the area of the curse's effect."

Peter's lower jaw became stiff and started to blacken as the blood vessels started to burst underneath the skin. Remus couldn't bear to look any further, but from the corner of his eye he saw that below the belt Peter was a violet glass statue, and the line was moving upwards.

"Why use it then, Padfoot?"

"Because those affected by it can not return as ghosts, nor can their souls can be summoned, even by a necromancer. It's done."

Remus looked at the still-shifting Peter-shaped statue with a certain degree of horror. As he reached towards it, Sirius grabbed his hand.

"Didn't I tell you it's contagious? Let me finish this and it'll be safe to touch."

With a wave of the wand, the statue locked into itself.

"What are we going to do with it?"

"Until we destroy it, his soul is locked in there, looking on. I never asked if they would still be alive inside that glass casing. There used to be a cave full of people the Blacks wanted punished with something worse than death. Don't know what happened to that place or if there are any surviving statues.."

"I am wracking my brain trying to find anything on par with the ghastly effects on display…"

"It's somewhat akin to the flesh-eating rain ol' Snake Face liked to use. Supposedly, my ancestors learned it from an Unseelie Fae and only the Heir, bound by the Unbreakable Vow, is allowed to know it's secrets. They are never to teach the curse and the spells that keep people safe from it's spreading under any circumstances, only to their Heir apparent in turn. It is not even in the family Grimoire and it is meant to only be used on those who have betrayed the House beyond forgiveness.

"Would you be compelled to use it on your cousin?" Remus asked.

"Bellatrix? No, but both I and Grandfather would be expected to use it on Snake Face if we would have ever gotten the opportunity to do it in a safe manner."

"Clearly it's not a combat spell unless you are willing to sacrifice the entirety of the battlefield."

"And, eventually, one of the two of us will have to swear cousin Andromeda in and teach her the secret."

"Why her? She's a lawyer for Merlin's sake."

"She's to be the next Head of the Family. Unless she doesn't want to learn it and keep someone, namely me, on as an enforcer."

"Can she do that?"

"She may consider it, but I doubt Grandfather would allow it in the end."

The ground trembled underneath them and the wall behind Peter collapsed.

"Time to go, Sirius, this place is going to sink into the sea!" said Remus, anxiously. The spell they placed on the ceiling started to give way, rubble crashing onto the floor near them.

"One more thing, and we'll go," replied Sirius and raised his wand towards the statue. "Reducto!"

The spell hit Peter in the right hand, blowing it to bits, yet leaving the rest of him intact, though cracks were starting to spread. The floor gave way and the statue started plummeting to the depths of the sea, but not before Sirius summoned three of the statue fragments. Once safely in his hand, he grabbed Remus by the elbow and Disapparated.

"Are you going to leave him like that?" asked Remus, when they reappeared in the apartment.

"Sure. Let the waves have at him, for as long as he endures."

"Did you know the building would crash on us?"

"I had my suspicions it would collapse sometimes soon, didn't expect to have it go so fast."

"And you didn't warn me… Geez, thanks a lot, Padfoot."

"Having you react naturally to the tremors and the waves gave it more urgency. And you played your part perfectly."

"OK, but why did it go at all?"

"The cannery had been built on the waterfront to have easy access to the fishing vessels. When it was abandoned, it fell into disrepair and the waves eroded the ground underneath. I thought we would have had a bit more time or I'd have had some more precautionary measures in place. My anger might have made my magic speed up the process of decay. Still, I feel he found a far more just end, at the mercy of the sea than what I had in mind. Now, he will feel the pain of ages, while the waves pound him to sand, rather than being blown to bits."

"And why'd you get his fingers? That makes no bloody sense…"

"I have an idea or two," Sirius said with a smile. "Just you wait."

"Sirius.."

"Yes, Remus."

"I don't want to remember what you cast in the cannery." the lycanthrope said as he turned away from his friend.

"If you're sure Moony."

Remus nodded, and Sirius drew his wand and spoke an incantation.

- section break-

The London sky was the same steely shade of grey as it was in Dover and the wind was whipping at their face, therefore, the people on the street had their collars turned up, their heads down and their umbrellas gripped tightly. It was the perfect weather for the meeting Lily was heading to. She turned on Charing Cross Road and faced the broken down old storefront she knew so well.

'Anything the matter?' her companion asked, an unanswered chime later. 'You feel uneasy.'

'I don't like this one bit, Jeanne.'

'Is he such a dangerous and powerful combatant that we would not be able to overcome him, should this meeting turn violent?'

'It is not a matter of whether we can best him or not. Rather, it's more of a matter of whether he has a contingency against you…'

'You believe he knows about my existence?'

'The Department has access to some powerful wards and spells, all of them unavailable to the public. If they investigated the remnants of our house, who's to say they haven't found any evidence that I have bonded with a Witchblade? My colleagues are probably among the very few people able to find it.'

'That is indeed anything but good.'

Lily steeled herself and opened the door to the Leaky Cauldron. In spite of the hour, the place was empty.

"Ah, good afternoon and welcome to…" the innkeeper started.

"Not today, Tom," she said,

Walking past him, she strode down the hall to the private meeting room the Director of the Department of Mysteries was waiting for her. The man was sitting at the six-person table, his hood pulled down. Yet, behind him, leaning against the wall, there was another hooded person, most likely another member of the Department of Mysteries.

"I am glad to see you are fine, given the circumstances, Lily," started the older man, a slightly crooked, albeit sincere smile on his face.

"Thank you, Director Croaker. If you don't mind, sir, I'd like to skip the pleasantries and get to the reason why we are meeting here, instead of your office at the Ministry."

"We have been infiltrated, I am afraid. All the offices are being scanned for surveillance spells and searched for intrusive listening devices. For what it's worth, we already have checked this room and brought it to my preferred level of security."

"A fair enough reason."

"As for the matter at hand, I would greatly appreciate some clarification about the events of Samhain, unless it is a family secret."

"There are some things I could not speak of."

"In the eyes of the law, you are the acting Head of the House of Potter, Guardian to the Heir of the house. If you deem it a family secret, I am not allowed to proceed any further, unless I wish to bring the wrath of the Wizengamot and all of the other Noble and Ancient families upon my department."

"Understood. Ask away," Lily said, straightening herself in the chair. She was the figurehead of one of the most important families in Magical Britain.

"Let's get one thing out of the way," said Croaker. "We have managed to piece most of what had happened that night at your house. There are certain… aspects, if you will, that do not fit any pattern of behaviour one would expect from you. So, I would appreciate you to treat this conversation with the utmost honesty, just as I will."

Silence fell for what felt more than a couple of seconds.

'He knows…' Lily thought to herself, trying to remain calm.

'He may suspect something,' Jeanne said softly, 'but it is highly unlikely he is aware of my presence. Or nature.'

"Do we have an understanding?" Croaker asked impatiently. "Lady Potter!"

"I am sorry. Yes, I agree," she nodded. The second Unspeakable came to the table, pulled out a chair and sat down.

"The wards fell too fast," a familiar voice said. "Tell us what happened when the intruder approached the house.

"I was on the ground floor, with Harry in my arms, but nowhere near the windows. James saw He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named walking towards the door. He threw me his Invisibility Cloak and told me to leave with our son." She stopped, trying to recount the events of that night.

"Take your time, we wouldn't want you to miss anything important," said the familiar voice.

"The alarms should have sounded way before James was supposed to even see anyone hostile approaching. The moment he saw Him yards away from our house, he tried manually raising one, so back-up could join us. I could feel the runestone key to the alarms breaking before it could even activate. Funnily enough, the wards were fine the day before. I've been checking them three times per day."

"What was the house's wardstone made of, if you don't mind me asking?" the director chimed in.

"Granite," said Lily. "Does it matter?"

"Lady Potter," the almost-familiar voice spoke up, "the wardstone we ran our diagnostic on upon arriving at the house was crafted from sandstone. Badly eroded sandstone."

"How is that possible? I saw the wards keyed into the wardstone with my own eyes, I added a few myself."

"How it could have been switched without your notice and without the wards flickering is something we will look into until such a time in we have run all the necessary checks, the house remains unavailable for habitation. All personal effects were removed from the premises on November 1st. They will be forwarded to any address you provide."

"Thank you. I expected them earlier."

"You are aware of the standard operating procedure," Croaker intervened, "they have been checked and inspected for any useful information. Once cleared, they're released. And, you have been a tad hard to find." Lily shrugged innocently. "Now, the second question is - How did your husband come to have a healed fracture on his wand hand and the arm unavailable to channel any magic?" She had to blink for a second.

"What do you mean the arm could not channel his magic? His arm broke when he was thrown backwards by the magical backlash of me forcing the cancellation of a vow he tricked me into making some years prior. He saw the retired healer in Godric's Hollow the very next day and you can confirm that with her as well." The Unspeakables shared what seemed to be a very meaningful look, after which the hooded one shook their head.

"I… see," the hooded voice said. "That aside, what happened when you tried to take the Portkey from the nursery?"

"The item was charmed to take us to what James deemed to be the safest place he could think of - the Shrieking Shack, a fairly secluded place just outside the formidable defensive wards of Hogwarts. However, it didn't work as it should have. It turned red-hot the moment I touched it. I dropped it on the floor and tried to extinguish it on the carpet."

"The Portkey had been tampered with, you say?" Croaker asked, in a flat voice.

"Her story checks out, Sir," the voice said. "Whoever did this wanted it to go into a permanent feedback loop which caused it to disintegrate upon the magical strain."

"Fair enough. What happened next?"

"I tried to reinforce the nursery the best I could," Lily continued. "A minute or two later, Old Running-from-Death came upstairs and removed the door with incredible ease, he walked into the room and asked me to step aside and let him kill my son. I took umbrage at that and fought him. I dodged a Killing Curse. That gave me the opportunity to hit him with slashing and piercing curses and managed to remove his head. He was even viler without it, so I crushed the head underfoot."

"I see," said the Director, as he rubbed his eyes and gestured to his subordinate to leave. "I thought we agreed not to lie to one another, Lily," he said, looking her dead in the eyes after the door closed again. "The investigation revealed that there were some illegal wards on the nursery, which have been forcefully taken the day before the attack. You wouldn't know what happened with the wards, would you?"

"I did not cast them, nor can I be certain who did. The wards, as you are aware, were a collective effort, on my behalf, James', his friends' - Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew, who was also our Secret Keeper. Professor Dumbledore also had a hand in them, as did several members of the Hogwarts staff and Order of the Phoenix."

"So, what did you do, when you noticed something wrong?"

"The layout reminded me of something I saw in one of our reports. A sacrificial array, far more intricate than anything that I've seen. James was out, having his arm looked at by the healer, and, knowing it can be far more damaging to leave it up until he came back, I attempted to remove it, against my better judgement."

"Why is that?"

"Sir, that array could have shielded one person from something even more destructive than a Killing Curse at the cost of James' life and mine."

"Even IF it could do that," Croaker sighed, "it would still be illegal. Though the array itself was a masterpiece, and i'd love to pick the brains of whoever thought it up." He stood up and paced around the room. "There is another issue I would like to discuss with you. The body of the intruder was not bisected by spells, but by a physical object. What kind of item did you use to accomplish that?"

"That, Sir, I'm afraid is a family secret." As she said these words, her voice gave off a faint reverberation. "I cannot disclose the nature of the item, but it was the same thing I used to remove that monster's head."

"I see. In that case, it was that very same item that drained the corpse of residual magic."

"I… don't think I fully understand what you are saying, Sir."

"Muggles believe that the soul moves on 3 days after death. That's actually true for the dissipation of magic in a recently-deceased witch or wizard." Lily looked intrigued. "This is not classified information, don't worry. It is publicly available, just not that… easily accessible. There were signs of that process being underway throughout your husband's body, except for the right arm, where the magic had long since dissipated. The corpse of… what did you call him again? Running-from-Death contained so little magic, any investigator would have easily concluded that he died 4 or even 5 days before Samhain. However, it wouldn't corroborate the story the wounds tell. Are you sure you can not disclose the item that caused that?"

"A Potter Family secret," her voice reverberated yet again. "All I can say is that it was stowed away, waiting for the right person to unearth it in the Potter Family vault."

"As I have said before, I am forbidden by law to pry into whatever the Head of the House deems Family Secrets. Although, I would like to know if you found any Cainite Grimoire volumes in France," said the man, with a faint smile on his face.

Lily was rendered speechless. How did the Director come across this information? Evie swore to never speak of it.

"How do you know about them, Sir? I thought I took every precaution upon my departure from the country."

"There is… a Taboo placed on the name. Any time the name is spoken, an alarm sounds in my office and the next three minutes of the conversation they are brought up in recorded for further research."

'There goes our endless source of information,' Lily thought.

"Rest easy, I cannot take them from you." The Director's words stunned her. "The volumes cannot be taken by force once claimed. They must be willingly given, hence the reward placed on them. The entirety of the DoM knows I seek them, but can only speak of it if some trigger words are heard. Standard Compulsion ward on the Department." Knowing the look budding in Lily's eyes, he raised his hand to prevent the incoming tirade. "Before you decide to chew my ear off for this, it has been stipulated in your contract when you joined the Department of Mysteries. Any information relevant to the Department can be taken without the person's consent or prior notification." Lily was restless in the chair. "You did sign, therefore, I can do that legally. Unless…" he paused and produced the parchment paper with a single signature visible - hers. "Unless you wish to break the contract. Which would make the entirety of the situation highly uncomfortable."

"Fine," she growled through gritted teeth.

"I hereby swear I shall not pry into whatever information makes you so uneasy. I assure you, it is not ongoing and is only triggered by a very odd selection of words pertaining to the information that the Department of Mysteries considers of vital importance." This time his words carried on the wind, slightly echoing in the room.

"That would put most people at ease, Sir…" Lily trailed off.

"It will have to do for now." Lily nodded. "The Grimoires are an interesting collection of disparate information, not all of it relevant to the Department. I am willing to offer some incentive for you to look up things in the volumes you possess. I will not take them from you, but I can have you do the looking for me. You'll be paid the hourly rate for someone in Research for transcribing all you can find on the topics that will be on the list provided upon agreement."

"Where would you have me do the work?"

"While I would prefer to have you work at the Ministry, you could certainly do this work from home. Who am I to tear you from your son's side at this sensitive time? However, if you do decide to work on this from the Ministry, I can guarantee, should the need arise for you to depart in a hurry, the volumes will be sent to your residence the moment you depart from the premises of the Ministry."

"You seem to have thought of every counterpoint I could bring for now."

"You will hand the parchment to me, tell me how long it took to fill, and the sum will be added to your next paycheck. Do we have a deal?" The Director extended his hand.

"Agreed," said Lily, and shook it.

"Before we continue, however," the man said, as he pulled out a business card from his pocket, "I'd suggest you set up a meeting with this gentleman."

Lily took the card and saw it said only a name, Talisin Nighbert, and a room number, 218.

"What is this, Sir?"

"You may be a good liar, but you are far from perfect. You will need to learn to lie better, not to mention to keep your secrets… secret. It would have been far too easy to pry into your head, the way your mind is working. Hence, Occlumency. Once you return to work, you will be taking a refresher course on Occlumency with the Department's instructor. Owl him a week before your return. Once you're back, I'll give you the list of topics for your research."

"Understood, Sir."

"Have a nice day, Lily. And hope to see you back soon."

A.N: I always thought that Sirius and Remus should have killed Peter in the Shack in PoA. I feel that getting rid of him would make the future more interesting. The Occlumency instructor is from one of author Corwalch's wonderful works. I hope he does not scalp me for not asking for permission.