A/N: Hai guys! I hope you had coffee or something before this, because you could be here awhile. Be forewarned.
Chapter Twenty Two: Beast versus Beast
Hogwarts Castle,
Iverness, Scotland
August 5, 2001
The walk up the path from Hogsmeade was always a bittersweet one for Remus these days. Bittersweet for the memories of happier times when the Marauders roamed; bittersweet for the memories of faces and people once friends and now dead.
The war seemed now without end – a raid here, arrests there, attacks and counter attacks.
Brutality appeared to be on the rise with voices such as Albus Dumbledore's falling on deaf ears. No longer was there any sentiment of forgiveness and reconciliation – now the call was for vengeance, retaliation and terror.
Even he himself had not escaped the touch of war. He bore many scars now – scars of battles with other werewolves, scars of at least two battles with Greyback himself and most of all, mental scars and memories of battles and their aftermath – twisted bodies, mutilations, atrocities, and burnt out buildings. Even his own lover, his Nymie, had lost an arm and an eye to the battles and the war.
So why would the old headmaster call him now to Hogwarts? The image of a spider in the center of its web came to mind – how much information lay in the old man's mind he wondered and how much could he have influenced the course of the war if only he would stop his reluctance to shed blood.
The gates to the school opened at his approach and the giant figure of Hagrid greeted him as he stepped onto the Hogwarts' grounds. The two said little to each other after exchanging greetings – the war had put them on opposite sides with Hagrid maintaining his belief in Dumbledore's forgive and forget policy and Lupin supporting the policy of Minister Bones.
Finally Remus stood before the Headmaster's door and before he could figuratively gird himself for the meeting with the old man, the door opened of its own accord.
"Remus, my boy, come in, come in," came Dumbledore's voice. To Remus' practiced ear, the old man seemed older and more tired.
The werewolf entered and took a chair in front of the Headmaster's desk. Dumbledore did indeed look older as if the weight of the war was telling on him – but there was an excitement in his eyes that Remus had not seen for a long time. Dumbledore was excited about something.
"How goes your visits with your brethren?" he continued in a conversational tone as he waved a cup of tea towards his visitor. Taking a cup himself, he inhaled the steam from the steeping tea and appeared to relax.
"With difficulty, Albus. The werewolves are tired of being made cannon fodder for all the sides in this war. You-Know-Who offers them protection and a removal of restrictions yet tells others that we are dark creatures. The Ministry refuses to remove the restrictions they imposed under the Fudge administration and you – you refuse to repeal the laws that label us as dark creatures in the first place."
"Remus, my boy, you must understand that holding together a coalition is a difficult enterprise at the best of times – and these times, unfortunately are not the best of times. I will move to repeal laws when I have more freedoms with my portion of the Wizengamot and my faction is stronger. You have my word."
Typical politician, Remus thought to himself. Promise much but deliver nothing or little. "Still, Albus, I suspect that a desire for an update on the werewolf population of Britain was not the reason you summoned me here, is it?"
"Remus, Remus – always the impatient one. You must learn to take the time to appreciate the finer things of life. But if you insist, yes, there is a reason why I wanted you here today."
Pushing a copy of the Daily Prophet in front of the worn werewolf, he indicated the picture and cutline on the bottom of the front page. "Something came up in regards to a family with which you had a passing acquaintance."
Scanning the picture and the cutline, Remus read it and then reread it. "So a heir to the Potter estate has been found. What has that got to do with me now, Albus?"
The old man's eyes were twinkling madly now – he must be jumping down in excitement, Remus decided. "Take a closer look at the picture my boy."
Remus looked again at the picture noting in passing that the Granger girl was an attractive woman in her own right, that the Delacour girl had to be a Veela and….yes, there was a hint of something in the young man – yes, a suggestion of James Potter.
"Are you concerned about the Granger girl getting the Potter estate, Albus?" he asked, suspecting that was not really the issue for the Headmaster.
There was now a look of frustration in the old man's eyes. "No, my boy. Look at the young man beside Mlle Delacour. Tell me what you see."
Remus pretended to scrutinize the picture more closely. "The boy?" At Dumbledore's nod, he looked again. "He's hard to make out – pity the picture is in black and white. But I think he may have hair like James Potter."
"Exactly my boy, exactly. I believe Remus that we may have found our missing Harry Potter." There was definite satisfaction in his voice.
"Harry Potter?" The incredulity in Remus' voice was not feigned. "The goblins said he died in October 1994 – and they even locked down the Potter vaults from that date to this."
"Yes, my boy, yes – but the goblins did not know what I knew about young Harry. He could have died – or he could not have died. I believe that he did not die and that the young man we have been searching for all this time is in New York."
Remus pondered Dumbledore's comment. He could smell the excitement in the old man even though he was trying to hide it – excitement and hope. "What are you going to do about it, Albus?"
"Remus, my boy, I am afraid that I must ask you once again to undertake a journey on behalf of the light – for the greater good."
"Albus – you can't mean …."
"Yes, my boy. You need to go to New York City and scout out whom this Harry Wells is. Is he our missing Mr. Potter?"
"And if he is? What then?"
Dumbledore was silent for a moment, stroking his long white beard. "Do nothing, but find out everything you can about him – where he lives, what he does, his magical status – everything you can.
"I must know what we are dealing with – what I am dealing with before I go to New York and bring him back to take his place among us."
Remus felt irritation rise at the cavalier way Dumbledore was suggesting that this young man, even if he were Harry Potter, would just drop everything and move back to Britain.
"Albus, Harry has been gone from Britain for at least 11 years. If this young man is Harry, what makes you think that he will willingly just drop everything and move back to Britain? And why is he so important anyway?"
"Remus, Harry is the Chosen One. There was a prophecy made before Harry was born that implied that he and only he would be the one who could defeat Voldemort. The greater good demands that Harry return – destiny decrees that he must return. There is no other way."
Remus knew by now that when Albus began with that tone of voice there would be no disagreeing, no allowance for contrary opinions. He was in his 'greater good' persona – implying that he was the only one who understood how to plan the future.
"I am tempted to say no, Albus. I have no wish to become your tool to take someone who, although he may be Harry, has made a home for himself and left this country 11 years ago. I heard enough about the mistakes you made in placing him, in trying the Blood Summoning Ritual to bring him to Hogwarts in 1994 – no, I think I will not go and help you this time, Albus."
The friendly twinkle that Dumbledore normally used had suddenly vanished, replaced by a much harder expression. "Mr. Lupin, need I remind you of your oath to me as the Leader of the Order?"
Even as Dumbledore spoke, Remus felt compulsions kick in. "You swore you would never use the provisions of those oaths, Albus," he said, gritting his teeth and forcing the words out. "You are violating those terms now."
"Remus, my boy, what I do, I do for the greater good. I can even release you from your oath – once you go to New York City and scout out who is this young man and then return and share the news with me.
"Remember as well the bonds of friendship you once shared with James and Lily. This may be their only surviving son – how would they feel if their only son were growing up with no idea of his inheritance, of his place in our world.
"No, Remus, what you do – you must do. I order this in the name of the Greater Good."
There was a moment when Remus felt himself divide into two. One part, the part that had protested the task of searching out Harry Potter was now subsumed into the other part, the part of a loyal member of the Order, ready to fulfill his leader's commands.
"How would I get there?" Remus heard himself say in a more mechanical tone.
"International Portkey – directly to the Magical Mall in the city. I would suggest that you might start with the Granger girl – she appears to have some working knowledge of Mr. Wells and can perhaps lead you to your quarry directly.
"Would you be ready now?"
Remus wanted to scream his defiance to the old wizard, but the force of the oaths now commanding his body merely nodded his head.
"Take this bag of galleons as an expense fund and – happy hunting."
With a silent touch of Dumbledore's wand, the portkey, a pink flamingo, glowed blue and Remus Lupin was gone.
Albus Dumbledore nodded his head in satisfaction. That touch with the oath of allegiance to the Order had been a good thing he decided. Soon events would be moving along, as they should in returning Mr. Potter back under his control and ready to fulfill his plans for the Greater Good.
Conference Chamber, The World Below
August 6, 2001
The days since Erin's nightmare about the Twins had seen some short discussions, but Alex Mackenzie had kept his thoughts to himself until the meeting he had called for this evening. He had tried to share Erin's warnings to his superiors, but while they had listened with interest and even some belief, they felt there was not enough information to act.
"Without details as to when, how and why, we cannot act or do anything other than have increased surveillance," the director of the MFBI had told him.
He knocked on the tunnel door and the sentry bid him enter without a word – he was one of the regulars now and he was as welcome as any other member of the community.
The journey down below did not occupy his thoughts – instead he was thinking of how they could prepare for the visit they expected from Albus Dumbledore. He expected Albus would not miss the hint of Harry's face in the photo of the new Head of the Potter Family, but he did not know how the old wizard would respond.
Perhaps they could set up warning wards across the major entrances to the World Below – to be triggered only if someone magical who was not keyed into them attempted to cross them. Perhaps anti apparition wards set up in a permanent fashion; anti Portkey wards – the list went on and on.
Alex knew he could call on the resources of the MFBI for this task, as anything that could keep the conflict in Britain from crossing the Atlantic would be a good thing.
His arrival at the council chamber was greeted with greetings and smiles, but Diana's face looked drawn and fatigued. "Good to see you Alex," she greeted. "Erin's had two more nightmares and she keeps crying about the fall of the Twins. She says we have to get ready and prepare ourselves.
"Any luck with your superiors?"
Alex shook his head. "No, without specifics they will do nothing. But I think you and this world should prepare."
The three young people as well as Diana and Vincent sat down at the council table and looked at Alex expectantly. He felt he wanted to address Erin's concerns first.
"As I told Diana, I have had no success with convincing my superiors to do anything in regards to the Twin Towers. They feel there is not enough specific information to act.
"But given Erin's three warnings, I believe that this world needs to prepare."
Vincent spoke as the incoming council leader. "How are we to prepare?"
"It would depend on when the event would occur and the cause for the collapse of the Twins. While I am no expert in Divination, having barely passed it in magical school, I learned that the closer an event, the more often a warning would be repeated.
"I believe the fall of the Twins is close – and the fact that Erin's dreams refer only to the collapse of the Twins suggests this is not a natural disaster."
"You're thinking terrorist attack, aren't you Alex?" Diana asked.
"You've got it. Islamists tried to set off a bomb in the parking garage of one of the Towers back in 1993 and while I don't know how anyone could attack it now, it would be a tempting target for a terrorist attack."
Vincent next spoke, authority in his voice. "If the Towers are to fall, I see two immediate priorities. First of all, setting up a contingency plan to ensure that we minimize casualties to our own community members. Secondly, we would need a plan to minimize the exposure of our world," he began.
Hermione took the opportunity of a pause in Vincent's discourse to speak in a low voice. "Could I suggest a third priority?"
Vincent bent his head in his traditional courteous manner and Hermione continued. "Why not use this opportunity of this to help? I mean, if we are forewarned, then we can perhaps stack medical supplies – bandages, gauze, water bottles and so on."
Alex and Vincent both were nodding their heads in approval as Hermione was speaking. "We would have to take care not to reveal the source of these supplies, but if things were ready then the first responders would have supplies to hand," Vincent said, adding his own thoughts.
Alex could see that things were well in hand for preparations for the potential Twins fall. It was time now to bring up the other subject for his visit.
"I'm concerned about how Dumbledore might react and how we should prepare for him," he began. "I know this old wizard for a long time and I suspect that he would not seek to react immediately – he's the kind of man who likes to gather intel – intelligence on the five W's – before he moves on an issue.
"If I were he, I would send someone I could trust to scout out where Harry Wells lives and whether this Harry Wells is truly or potentially could be Harry Potter."
Harry interrupted. "What about the reports the goblins made in Britain about my death in 1994? Wouldn't he have believed it?"
Alex shook his head. "No, I would think that as he is convinced that he is the only one who can correctly interpret this particular prophecy regarding Harry, he would have doubts that Harry Potter would have truly died. What are the reports of goblins compared to that?"
"What do you suggest for security then?" Diana asked next.
Alex took out his notebook and consulted some pages of notes he had made. "I am going to suggest that we establish perimeter ward lines at all the major entrances to the tunnels. These perimeter ward lines will pose no inconvenience for non-magicals nor even goblins, but would give a warning to selected individuals when someone magical not keyed into the wards crosses the line. This would help us identify potential 'spies' or scouts from Dumbledore.
"Who would you key in?" Fleur wanted to know.
"You, the members of your family, Erin, Harry, Ben Granger, myself – that is all I believe we need to key in. Just immediate family and friends."
Harry nodded his agreement and both Diana and Vincent also gave their approval on behalf of the community. "How soon could they be set up?" Harry asked.
"It would take me and one of my assistants no more than a day to get it all done," Alex replied.
"Please make it so," Vincent requested. He then turned to Harry and Diana. "Let's talk about the preparations we might need to make about the fall of the Twins."
Alex rose even as the other members of the council came in to take their seats at the council table. He had accomplished what he had come for – but he couldn't help but notice that although he left, Fleur and Hermione stayed behind. They were becoming members of the council and thus part of the fabric of the world below without even realizing it.
Outside Gringotts New York
Ausgust 7, 2001
Remus hated portkeys. He absolutely detested international portkeys. He positively, absolutely detested and despised international transatlantic portkeys.
Once his stomach had finally settled, he looked around him and noted the constant flow of people in and out of the Gringotts NYC branch. While the fashions of American witches and wizards showed much more convergence with those of the muggle world, he still could make out subtle differences between magicals and non-magicals in the area.
He had been waiting outside the branch for two days now, hoping to catch a glimpse of any of the three young people from the photo that had so piqued Albus' interest. Even now, he was still not sure what he had seen – the glimpse of the young man in the picture had been tantalizingly short and only if one saw him at a specific angle could one see a possible resemblance to James Potter.
It was late in the afternoon of the second day that he saw the blond hair and lithe figure of the Veela who could only be Fleur Delacour. The match between her and the picture was remarkably close and as she passed him on the way into the bank he caught wind of a scent. It wasn't her own Veela scent – his werewolf nose could distinguish between human and Veela, but instead, it was something clinging on her clothes – as she was wearing something that had belonged to someone else. And the scent was both familiar and unfamiliar – something that tickled his memories, but at the same time felt different and new.
So he waited.
And waited.
After all, she must come out sometime.
The World Below
Late Afternoon, August 7, 2001
"Is that everything?" Vincent looked at the other members of the council. Harry, still newly on the council himself, looked around before he raised his own hand. "You are not in school, Harry – a simple yes or no will be sufficient." Vincent said with the hint of a smile.
"I've been thinking about how we can protect ourselves in regards to air contamination," Harry continued. "Modern construction, if it burns, can release a lot of dangerous chemicals and particulates into the air – and guaranteed, depending on how the Twins fall and why they fall, they could burn."
Pascal, while now more of a councilor emeritus, nodded his head in approval. "We would need to block off the air flow from the tunnels near the Twins, Vincent. That can be easily done – in fact, if we block off the tunnels completely around the Twins, no dangerous chemicals or other elements would get into the tunnels."
Vincent made some notes on his pad, then summarized again. "So we have the three families near the Twins who will be moved by the middle of the month, we will block off the tunnels around the Twins so that there will be no sign of our world and this will also address air flow issues…."
Father Wells next spoke. "We have made four caches of material for first aid, emergency food and water supplies and emergency medical supplies – easily accessible to first responders up top as per Hermione's suggestion."
Vincent made another note, and then looked up at the council members. "I believe that covers everything. Thank you for you're input and help."
Harry waited until the other members of the council had left, then turned to his father. "Dad, a quick note – Alex said he finished setting up the magical ward alarms this morning and they should be operational now."
Vincent stared off into space for a moment. "Who will be notified if the ward alarms go off?"
"One will go to me – I carry a alarm stone on me. The others will alert Alex and one of the Gringotts guards who will in turn alert Snagtooth.
"It is the best we can do for the moment."
The older man clapped the shoulder of his oldest son. "Well done, Harry. This is a battle that you must lead in – the rest of our world is at a disadvantage when it comes to defending ourselves against magicals.
"Still, let's go to supper. I believe you have an off night tonight in regards to your magical courses, no?"
"Yes, Dad. Thankfully. Fleur is coming tonight – she wants some one on one Fleur Harry time."
Vincent chuckled. "Harry, have you not yet learned that the love of a beautiful woman is a beautiful thing? You have the opportunity to experience beauty in two ways with two very different, yet complementary women."
"But Dad, sometimes they want my input on how I feel about things they like to do like shopping."
Vincent shrugged his shoulders. "That, son, is something that I can claim that I will never have to experience. There are advantages to being the husband of one woman – at least, I do not have to worry about pleasing more than your mother.
"But both of your 'companions' bring much to you and to our world. Hermione with her caring heart and willingness to learn from Peter and Father is our doctor in training; Fleur with her love of children and sense of color and beauty has done much to bring color and beauty to our world. I cannot stress enough how improved morale for a family was improved after Fleur came by and just with a few pieces of carefully placed cloth, fabric and materials, she introduced the sun or the sky into formerly dark chambers.
"Learn to appreciate each 'companion' you have, son. They each bless you in their own way – and bless us in passing."
The two men put their arm around each shoulder and embraced before Harry moved away to his own chamber.
The Streets, New York City
Late Afternoon, August 7, 2001
Remus began the ghosting procedures he had perfected in earlier missions for Albus. First disillusionment, then a spell on his feet to deaden sound and finally quick efficient moves to shadow Mlle Delacour. He followed her first as she walked along crowded city streets and away from the busy business sector. But as she continued walking through more residential areas, he could see a park in the distance – that had to be Central Park.
It was when she crossed the street to enter the park itself that Remus became confused. Was she meeting Miss Granger or this Harry Wells in the park? Then she disappeared.
He had had to keep his distance in tailing her and thus had missed when she entered the tunnel entrance near the Park carousel. Thus, when she was no longer visible, Remus at first looked around in confusion and fear. Had she discovered him? Where could she have gone? And what was the source of that mix of scents that clung to Fleur with such tenacity?
He began circling around the park in ever larger and larger circles trying to recapture Fleur's scent. Then, near the carousel and by an underground tunnel entrance, he picked it up again. But here it made no sense. She had gone into a tunnel? And where would she have gone from there?
Feeling along the tunnel wall, he entered the cool shadow of the entrance and felt along the back of the wall. Yes, the scent definitely stopped here. Then he felt something give and with a sliding noise the back slid to one side, exposing a torch lit brick lined tunnel behind the wall.
Casting around the tunnel, he was relieved to pick up the scent again. Fleur had definitely gone this way. So, walking carefully along the tunnel walls, he began to trace the scent down into the depths below the city.
Harry's Chamber, The World Below
Early Evening, August 7, 2001
The warning alarm jolted Harry awake from the light sleep into which he had fallen. He had known it would take time for Fleur to walk from the Magical Mile to the Hub and he had taken advantage of his soft mattress to close his eyes.
The buzzing that had awakened him was new and at first he did not know what it was. But as it continued to vibrate on his chest, he finally realized what was going off and then he grew alarmed.
A magical visitor not previously approved by the committee had entered the tunnels.
He had to warn somebody.
He rose up quickly and picking up a pipe, he began pounding out on the pipe outside of his door. Moments later, his father and mother peered in.
"Harry, what's the emergency?" Vincent began.
"Our ward alarm has just gone off. An unknown magical has entered the tunnels – by the Central Park carousel entry, I would think," Harry replied.
Vincent thought quickly. "He or she must be following Fleur. But how would this person have gotten past our sentries?"
"Magicals can use invisibility cloaks or a disillusion spell," Harry replied, already calmer because he was talking with his parents. "But they are not impervious to being discovered as Sebastien found out when he tried to hide out on Mom."
Diana chuckled at the memory, but then became more serious. "How can we detect he or she now, Vincent?"
Tunnel paths, obstacles, and possible routes presented themselves and were rejected within seconds as Vincent thought of the challenge of capturing someone who was operating under a shield of invisibility. Then his eyes opened and he looked at his wife and son.
"The labyrinth. He or she has to be lured to the labyrinth."
Harry caught his father's idea. "I think I could tell Fleur on the pipes to detour to the labyrinth," he said quietly. "She's caught on pretty quickly to the pipe codes."
"Harry, do it," his father replied. "I have preparations to make." With that and a flash of his cloak, he was gone.
Harry began calling out an emergency all clear and then began calling out a quick code calling for Fleur. After a few moments of silence, he heard the answering uncertain taps that bore Fleur's signature. With her on the line, he banged out in slow clear code the notice that she was being followed and to change her route to the labyrinth where he would meet her. When the acknowledgement came, he kissed his mother and then tore off in the same direction as his father.
The Tunnels, The World Below
Early Evening, August 7, 2001
(Fleur)
Harry's warning had surprised her and had brought back memories of being stalked in the Black Lake by the grindylows during the TriWizard Tournament. The darkness of the tunnels, hitherto friendly and a sign of the new existence she, Harry, and Hermione were carving out for themselves, now seemed menacing and she remembered anew the mistrust her people, the Veela, gave to caverns and tunnels.
Somewhere behind her, someone magical was following. In front of her, Harry was moving to help her trap this magical in the Labyrinth, an area that she had only visited twice before due to the dark, mysterious nature of the cavern. The only comfort to her was that Vincent was also going to meet them in the same cavern.
(Remus)
A slight hint of fear now tinged the familiar sense of Fleur and the mysterious scent which both seemed familiar yet different and Remus wondered if she somehow had sensed his following her. He thought about the cares he had taken to avoid detection and shook his head in denial. No, walking down these tunnels would be difficult for a creature of the air and fire like a Veela, he thought to himself.
The werewolf within him began snarling himself at first the brick and then the rock tunnel walls. The clanging of the pipes hurt his sensitive hearing and the smells of first dry and then moist air, occasional mold, and a faint metallic odor was also impacting his nostrils. How could anyone move down here, he asked himself, even as the human within him recognized that his inner wolf was reacting to the sense of being confined and trapped?
But the scent beckoned and now he could pick up other trails of that unusual scent. Whomever Fleur was going to see came here more times than just once or twice. It was as if this was a well-traveled highway for this person.
He continued further on, trying to avoid being sidetracked by the other occasions of this scent and instead following the original trail being blazed by Miss Delacour.
(Fleur)
The hand, which grabbed her gently, startled Fleur at first until she heard the familiar voice of Harry and felt his familiar arms wrap themselves around her.
"It's okay now, Fleur, it's okay. Dad's right here and we've got things well under control."
She found herself breathing easier and for the first time was aware of just how fast her heart was beating. A moment later, she saw the familiar form of Vincent and her breathing returned to normal.
In brief low whispers, Vincent signaled to her and Harry the path he wanted them to take to first walk deeper into the Labyrinth and then angle out back towards the Hub.
"For anyone not familiar with this cavern, the lack of light, the fog and the echoes will reduce any advantages an invisible magical might have," Vincent continued whispering. "This time, whoever this person is – he is mine. No one threatens our home, threatens you or Harry, and gets away with it.
"We will discover what this surprise visitor seeks in our world tonight."
Harry led Fleur down the suggested path and Vincent quickly lost sight of them as they moved deeper into the Labyrinth maze. Then he moved in deeper himself and settled himself to wait.
The first indication of someone coming was the sound of rapid breathing back at the entrance to the Labyrinth. Footsteps soon followed and grew louder until whomever's feet the steps belonged to arrived at the Labyrinth entrance.
Then they stopped.
(Remus)
The torch lit tunnels stopped abruptly and now the only thing Remus could see in front of him was a rock walled chamber shrouded in darkness and mist.
"Lumos" he cast silently and the entrance to the chamber filled with light.
And reflected back to him in overpowering brightness – the mist was obviously a water-based fog and his lumos spell was reflecting back from the myriads of water droplets in that fog.
The scent continued ahead, but now Remus began to doubt the wisdom of just blindly following the scent through the tunnels. Obviously Fleur knew this area much better than he did and if he was not careful, he could find himself stepping into something dangerous.
Yet the power of the Order oath was pushing him along and he found himself beginning to move forward again, albeit much more slowly and cautiously. He dimmed his light to a small ball so as to minimize the fog's reflective effect and cast out constantly in sweeping circles to avoid any surprises.
Thus the sudden claws at his neck caught him completely by surprise.
(Vincent)
While there was no obvious sign of the intruder, other indicators such as breathing and footsteps were giving away his or her presence and by now, Vincent's senses were fully engaged and alert. He was now the predator, looking to stalk the prey walking ever so closer into the range of his teeth and claws.
The sudden burst of light did not come as a complete surprise to him – he had grown accustomed to magical spells used to create light in the dark and calculated that whoever was down here would find the darkness of the Labyrinth disconcerting to say the least. But the brightness of the reflection off the ever-present fog did surprise.
Still, his empathic sense had picked up the sudden apprehension of the visitor in light of the light's reflection – enough to determine that their visitor was a man. Now it was just a matter of silently moving from one rock outcropping to the next to the next – and then the visitor was only a foot away.
One extension of his hand quietly and his claws stood ready to rip out their unexpected guest's throat.
"Your wand – drop it," he growled in a low clear voice.
(Remus)
"Your wand – drop it,"
The words were nothing in themselves, but the body attached to them as well as the obviously sharp claws at his throat did communicate to Remus – and to his inner wolf. Whoever this being or person was, he had the drop on Remus – and his inner wolf could sense the power, strength and ruthlessness attached to the claws.
"Who are you and who sent you?" the voice repeated once Remus lowered his wand. Remus could swear that the claws were now penetrating the tender skin of his throat.
"Remus Lupin," he said in reply.
"Make yourself visible – or I will assume that when I rip out your throat that whatever magic you are using will cancel out anyway." It was clear to Remus' inner wolf that first whoever was speaking was the Alpha here and that second he would have to give very clear answers.
"I will have to raise my wand to remove the spell," he replied slowly. Then the figure behind him shifted and Remus found himself recoiling in shock. The male's face had fangs bared and he could feel the sinews and muscles in the male's arms in the dim light of his lumos spell.
"I believe the only words I need to hear are Finite Incantetem," the male said in a continued low growl.
Remus found himself wondering how such a mouth could even speak while he was repeating the words to cancel his disillusion spell. Unfortunately with the finite spell cast, his lumos spell also went out – but that did not seem to impede the powerful male with claws still at his throat.
"I ask you again, Remus Lupin, why are you here? Consider your answer carefully – if you want to live."
Remus swallowed – in the darkness the presence of the male beside him seemed to loom larger and occupy more space than it did in the dim light. "I am searching for someone."
"Who?"
Deciding that he was in too deep to turn back now, he continued. "Harry Potter."
The claws now tightened further and Remus could feel a trickle of blood dripping down from where one claw had pierced his skin. Then the voice spoke again in his ear.
"There is no one of that name here. Why were you following Miss Delacour?"
Remus swallowed hard even as the blood continued to trickle down his throat. The part of him under the thrall of Dumbledore's oath did not want to say anything more, but part of him wanted to burst out with the truth. Finally, despite the sweat on his face and the blood pooling now below his shirt, he ground out. "Dumbledore…."
The pressure of the claw lessened and Remus felt two strong hands pull his own arms back and quick knots tied his arms together. "I believe, Mr. Lupin, that we are going to go for a walk to talk to some magicals about this 'Dumbledore' and your search for Harry Potter.
"Do not try anything – I will have to blindfold you." A black cloth was tied gently, but firmly in front of his eyes and everything went dark.
(Vincent)
Remus Lupin did not smell quite right to the leader of the underground community – and he also sensed hidden reserves of strength in the shabbily dressed man. But the most confusing to him was the sense of two people within the same man he picked up through his empathic senses. It was almost as if the man was possessed.
Leading Remus carefully away from the Labyrinth, he said nothing to him, allowing his presence, the darkness and the sounds of the tunnels to gradually wear down any bravado or sense of superiority that Remus might feel because he was a magical. Remus for his part remained silent, attempting to suss out where he was and where he was going by the sounds, but quickly losing his orientation as the two descended deeper into the depths of the world below.
Interrogation Chamber, The World Below
Approximately 8:00 P.M.
The two men arrived at a chamber that had been prearranged to be a holding cell for any scout that Dumbledore might send. It was far enough away from the Hub that the sights and sounds of the habitable portions of the tunnels could not be easily picked up, but secure enough that a rock fall could quickly seal in whoever their net would capture. Thus, Remus Lupin became the first prisoner in several years of Down Below.
Awaiting them was a small group – Alex Mackenzie the only one who was visible. He had cloaked the others under privacy and notice-me-not spells, thus ensuring that neither Harry, Fleur nor Hermione would be visible to Remus.
Vincent took the first few moments after he arrived in sharing the nature of Remus' capture and the few words they had exchanged. A privacy spell ensured that the still blindfolded werewolf did not hear their discussion.
Alex had little to say other than nod his head at the answers that Vincent had gleaned. But he grew very interested when the lion man went on to describe the dual personas.
He turned and waved a complicated series of spells over the still bound Remus, and then his face grew into a scowl.
"He's under an oath geas – an oath bond, Vincent," the Special Agent reported. At Vincent's confused expression, he continued. "In the ancient days of magic, relations between parties would often be sealed with a magical oath. Thus the master slave relationship or in this case, a lord vassal bond would be sealed with a magical oath that would literally compel the one making the oath to respect the wishes of the 'master' when the 'master' activated it. Mr. Lupin is indeed acting under this oath.
"We know about Mr. Lupin. He's on the list of 'safe' werewolves on the ICW list – he's been vouched for by Albus Dumbledore as a werewolf who has his disease under control. Of course he's been seen as being in Dumbledore's pocket for many years and he is just the type of man who Dumbledore would send to scout out who Harry is."
His face grew pensive as he thought through what he and Vincent had discovered. "But the fact that he appears to be under an oath geas suggests that Dumbledore was forced to activate his oath to ensure that he would undertake this mission. If we could find a way to break the oath, then we might get a clearer insight into Dumbledore's state of mind, what he knows about Harry and what he suspects.
We might even gain an ally – but as it stands now, we cannot question Lupin too deeply – while he is under the oath geas, he will not be able to answer questions that would betray his master and if he is as conflicted as you sensed, questions could actually kill him."
Alex saw Harry and his two companions watching them and a sudden idea came to his mind. "Wells, I do not have sufficient power to break an oath geas placed on Remus Lupin by the power of Dumbledore. But I suspect now that the bindings on your magic were removed long ago and now that you have learned both goblin and wizard magic that you and your two companions might have sufficient power to break even an oath laid by Dumbledore himself."
Harry looked at his two female companions. Both Fleur and Hermione nodded, and then all three looked at Alex. "We're willing to try, but we have no idea what we should be doing," Harry said.
Alex smiled at the three. They were quickly becoming a team – even the way that Hermione stood on Harry's left and Fleur stood on his right told Alex that they were indeed sorting themselves out in their Triad.
"Focus all your magic on Mr. Lupin and cast all together at the same time 'Finite Incantetem". If the combination of your powers are what I think they are, I suspect that the oath geas will be broken."
The three young people looked at one another in a conversation without words, then, as one, they pulled out their wands, pointed them at Remus and with one voice called out, "Finite Incantetem!"
An aura flared blue around Remus and the smell of ozone filled the chamber, then, with a crack, a burnt smell replaced the ozone and Remus fell wordlessly to the chamber floor. The three young people fell backwards seconds later, but did not collapse, instead sat down on the chamber floor appearing to catch their breath.
Alex rushed to them, his wand out, but Harry waved him off. "We're okay – it was just the first time we tried to work our magic together like that. We had to wrestle against whatever the magic that was holding Mr. Lupin – it only gave way when we literally burned it out, overpowering it."
Hermione and Fleur also nodded and then the three young people embraced one another. There was fatigue, but there was also a sense of completeness and joy – they had each tasted each other's magic for the first time together and it felt good.
Alex turned from them to Vincent and the prostrate form of Remus Lupin. He again waved his wand over the werewolf, but the oath geas had been broken. Even Lupin's breathing was less labored.
"I would think that Mr. Lupin will be out for a while due to the breaking of the oath geas," Alex said. "Perhaps we could conjure a bed here and at least allow him to recover on a softer surface than a tunnel floor."
Harry did not have many opportunities to show his magic to his father and he raised his wand to give a demonstration of conjuration, but before he could mentally form the spell, Fleur had beaten him with a smirk.
"Women are always much quicker than men, 'arry," she said with a smirk. Vincent couldn't resist chuckling as he saw the disappointment on Harry's face contrasted with the satisfaction on the face of the French witch.
"You will never win, Harry, against the important women in your life. It is a lesson that you have already learned in regards to your mother and sister; now you have the joy of learning this with Fleur and Hermione," he said, chuckling again.
Hermione was laying Remus on the conjured bed with Alex's help while Harry was speaking with Fleur and Vincent. "I sense that Mr. Lupin will be under for some time due to the power of the magic he experienced," she said after waving her wand over the prostrate man. "I would think at least a day or more."
"I will set wards here to warn us when Mr. Lupin is regaining consciousness," Alex said as he began waving his wand in an intricate pattern. "I suggest that we go and enjoy that dinner that we were considering earlier today – I for one am hungry now."
Interrogation Chamber, The World Below
August 9, 2001, 10:00 A.M.
Remus' first thought as he woke was the pulling sensation of his arms tied behind his back. He was stiff and sore, and could smell dried blood on his neck. There was a slight itch on his neck where something sharp had pierced his skin – then he remembered.
Remembered the low growl of something big and male that had captured him despite his being disillusioned.
Remembered the claws at his throat and then the cut where one of the claws had pierced his skin.
Remembered the fear as he realized he was in the presence of a true 'beast' – someone who could have killed him without a second's hesitation.
Remembered with shame the conflict between Dumbledore's oath and the desire to flee, to leave these tunnels behind because he was carrying out an old fool's wishes.
Now here he was, bound, blindfolded, his wand gone – but with something missing.
Something that had been missing for a long time.
He was bound, yet for the first time he felt free.
The pressure of the oath had broken – and for the first time in a long time, Remus Lupin, werewolf, wizard, and former Marauder, felt free.
It was at this time that he felt his blindfold being ripped away and he blinked in the sudden brightness of torches shining in his face. His next sight was to see a fanged male who looked like something out of a fairy tale – sharp blue eyes set in a face that combined human and leonine characteristics. He instinctively knew that the fangs visible in the mouth were definitely real.
Then he saw the clawed hands and knew he was in front of the mysterious male who had captured him.
The lion man helped him sit up and place his back against the dark rock wall of the tunnel. Then he studied the werewolf carefully.
"Remus Lupin, who sent you?"
Remus tried to clear his head as the blood rushed back into the rest of his body with the exception of his arms. "Who are you and where am I?"
"My name is Vincent and as you are the invader in my home, it is only right that I ask the questions first, Mr. Lupin. So, again, who sent you and why are you here?" There was a definite hint of impatience now in Vincent's voice.
Remus found himself wondering how Vincent could even form words even as he tried to think of how to answer Vincent. The initial blocks on sharing information that had been imposed by Dumbledore's Order oath was removed, but he was still trying to make sense of things himself.
Still, perhaps honesty would be the best place to start. "I was sent here by Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts, a school in Scotland, to find out if Harry Potter is still alive." Let the lion man try to sort that out.
"Hogwarts – that would be Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry?"
Merlin, this lion man knew about magic, Remus swore to himself. But that knowledge would make things a little easier for subsequent conversation. "Yes."
"And who is Harry Potter? Why would this headmaster be looking for someone here in New York City when he is the headmaster of a school in Scotland? And why is Harry Potter so important that you would follow a friend of my family down from the Magical Mall into my home and thus threaten my community?
"Be careful how you answer, Mr. Lupin, as I take threats to my community and family very seriously. Very seriously." With those words, his fangs appeared and Remus swore he heard a low growl.
Then a tall middle-aged man broke into the circle of torchlight. "Vincent, Vincent, please. It does no good to threaten Mr. Lupin. You have done the correct thing and reported this to us at the Magical FBI. Now we can take things from here."
Vincent appeared to growl even louder at the Magical FBI agent. "Mr. Mackenzie, you presume upon our hospitality. While I called you here due to the presence of this magical, you still know that we live by our own laws here – and as we have a good relationship with the goblins of Gringotts, they have offered to help us sift Mr. Lupin's mind and find out by their magic what his purpose is here and why he decided to invade our home."
Mackenzie looked at Lupin with pity in his eyes. "Mr. Lupin, while you are on the approved list of werewolves due to Dumbledore's vouching for you, I will admit that things do not look very good for you right now. You have invaded a protected magical hybrid community as recognized by the Department of Magic of the USA; you have done so while acting under disillusion; you stalked a visiting foreign national – your status will do nothing to protect you from this community's desire for justice and protection if they request it from us.
"And they have very good ties with the goblins – one of the first magical hybrid communities in sometime to do so. The foreign national you were following works for them – and you are probably well aware of how goblins regard their employees."
Remus said nothing during these comments. He was in a dangerous situation, he admitted to himself. He was well aware of the precarious nature of international laws regarding werewolves - being caught by Vincent entering a magical hybrid community, stalking a Veela employee of Gringotts and attracting the attention of the Magical FBI and the US magical authorities – all spelled potential disaster and even death for him.
But with the breaking of the oath, he no longer felt much loyalty to Dumbledore.
"If I tell you all that I can about my mission and who sent me?"
"Cooperation will be helpful, Mr. Lupin, and Vincent here is more interested at getting at the truth than in seeking justice for your invasion," Mackenzie said quietly. "But you must understand that we will be using veritaserum for our interrogation."
Remus nodded his understanding and his acceptance. At that, Mackenzie waved his wand and his bindings fell away. A goblin now entered with a recording crystal and a vial of clear liquid.
"These are a new invention of our goblin friends – they serve as recording devices to capture testimony for others much as a non-magical video camera would do. So, we ask you to stretch your arms and get a bit more comfortable – then we can begin our interrogation."
Remus nodded, rubbing his arms to get the circulation back into them after having been bound for so long.
And then the questions began.
Interrogation Chamber, The World Below
Noon, Same Day
Remus swallowed the water even as he watched the goblin, Mackenzie and Vincent conversing on the other side of what was obviously a privacy shield. The questions had been surprisingly thorough as if they had already started from a fairly complete knowledge base about the Potters, Harry Potter, and Albus Dumbledore.
They had walked him from his relationship to the Potters and Sirius Black to his failure to look up Harry Potter while he was away from the magical world to the search for Harry and his reaction to Harry's reported death.
Then they had plumbed the depths of his relationship with Albus Dumbledore and the Order of the Phoenix including his real attitudes towards his current assignment.
Now they were discussing their findings behind the privacy screen.
"Breaking the oath geas – I will admit Vincent that without your insight into the dynamics of Remus Lupin, we could have ended up killing him due to the conflict between the geas and any veritaserum," Alex said, his hand on Vincent's shoulder.
Vincent found himself regarding the werewolf with some sympathy. "It appears that this Albus Dumbledore's manipulations have ruined more lives than just the Grangers and my son's. How far do his manipulations go?"
Alex sadly shook his head. "A lot farther than I thought, Vincent, and now I can see the real wisdom of Hermione's strategy of a measured approach. Think what Dumbledore could have done if he had learned about Harry's presence without us knowing about his continued efforts."
"What do we do with him now? " Vincent asked.
"I think we use to get some information back to Albus, but that we put him under a magical oath to keep information secret – and perhaps an obliviation to remove the information about coming to the tunnels," Alex replied after thinking for some seconds. "I think we need to allow him to return to Dumbledore, but to restrict the amount of information he brings back to him. Just enough to let the old man know that Harry is dead magically, that Harry Black-Wells wants nothing to do with him or his war in Britain, and that Hermione is the new Head of House Potter."
"Would the magical oath cause the same problem for him that the oath geas caused?" Vincent was concerned that in freeing Remus from one oath that they were putting him into danger again.
"No, the geas is a different kind of oath – it is a compulsion oath that bends the person to their master's will. The oath we are proposing is one that is similar to the one that each of us swore before coming into contact with this world – to simply protect the secret of this world and the secret of Harry."
Vincent nodded. "Perhaps we should render him unconscious, remove him from this world and carry on this conversation with him above. Diana still rents out her loft apartment – we use it occasionally to enjoy the sun and the view of the city during the day."
Alex nodded his head in agreement. "Yes, the less that Remus sees of this world, the better for all of us. While I believe that he is sincere in his rejection of Dumbledore, one must face facts that he has worked for him for a very long time and that it ingrains patterns of thought into the mind."
"I will arrange things up top and notify the young people," Vincent concluded. "I trust that you will arrange for preparing Mr. Lupin for our subsequent meeting."
Alex only nodded before drawing his own wand. Seconds later, an unconscious Remus slumped to the floor.
The Bennet-Wells Apartment, NYC
4:00 P.M.
To say that Harry and his two companions were nervous about meeting Remus Lupin was an understatement. Harry was still wrapping his head around the fact that one of his birth father's boyhood friends was the one that Dumbledore had sent to scout out whether or not he was still alive. Even with the knowledge that he had been acting under a geas still did not erase the confusion he felt towards this man.
Fleur for her part was upset that this man had stalked her, had followed her under disillusion; had tracked her into a world that she was coming to feel as home. While she and Harry had not yet set any firm dates, and Hermione and Harry still skirting with a January date of their own, she still felt that with the formal recognition of their Triad now in place by all their parents and their larger community, that the world below was becoming home. And now that home had been invaded by someone who could have followed her all the way to her meeting with Harry. She felt violated and angry at the man who had perpetrated this violation.
Hermione for her part felt somewhat smug with her initial strategy appearing to have been justified, but also excited with the discovery they had made in working their magic together. This was an unknown phenomena and she felt they had only just begun to explore where this new relationship and power could go.
Joining them in the upstairs loft were Alex, Vincent and Diana. They had carried the unconscious body of Remus Lupin up from the tunnels and laid him gently on Diana's old couch. Now they were simply waiting for Remus to regain consciousness.
Alex had done a masterful job of obliviation of the memories of Remus stalking Fleur to the tunnels, but leaving the actual memories of the interrogation. Vincent gained new appreciation of Alex's skill as a wizard as well as his humanity in not seeking to obliviate with a bulldozer approach.
"Ennervate," Alex said quietly as he pointed his wand towards Remus. The audience around him was rewarded seconds later with signs of movement as the werewolf lifted his head and opened his eyes.
"That hurt," Remus said quietly, taking in the forms of Vincent, Diana and Alex. "I trust I answered all of your questions to your satisfaction?"
Alex nodded his head, but indicating his wand still held in a defensive posture, laid a hand on Remus. "Lupin, before we make any further decisions in regards to you, you will need to make a magical oath to keep what you learn here secret with the only exceptions being what we allow or want you to share.
"Too many lives depend on the secrets of this community and we would rather kill you or obliviate you completely than put this community at risk."
Remus stared into each of the three adults' eyes for several seconds each before he spoke. "I will need my wand to make the oath. Do you have wording for this oath?"
Alex nodded and handed him a slip of paper. The werewolf cast his eyes on it and then nodded. "Fairly comprehensive, but not threatening. I'll do it."
The MFBI agent handed Remus his own wand and the oath was made. When the blue flash indicating that magic had accepted his oath had subsided, then the curtains were drawn and Harry and his two companions entered.
"I suggest that we all get comfortable for we have a few things to discuss with Mr. Lupin," Alex began. With a wave of his wand, several chair floated in and the now seven adults and young people sat down with Remus in on the couch at the base of the circle.
Alex performed the introductions and the only reaction Remus gave on seeing and hearing Harry's full name was a slight raising of the eyebrows. Still, Alex felt that the werewolf would not miss much.
He then turned to Harry and the two young witches. "Mr. Lupin came here exactly as I suspected an agent of Dumbledore would. It appears that Dumbledore reacted to the sight of the photo as you suggested Miss Granger-Potter and it must have piqued his curiosity as he sent Mr. Lupin to check things out.
"Mr. Lupin was operating under an oath geas which acts as an imperious in forcing the person making the oath to obey the instructions of his or her 'master.' It appears that your exercise of Triad broke the oath geas and Mr. Lupin is free in his own mind for the first time in several years.
"I suggest that we let Mr. Lupin tell us in his own words what his mission was."
Remus nodded his head at Alex's words and began speaking in a low voice. "Albus Dumbledore is still fixated on the whereabouts of my former friends' son, Harry Potter, and refuses to believe that Harry is dead despite the goblins' statement in regards to October 1994. Thus when he saw that photograph in the British Daily Prophet, he automatically felt he needed to take action to confirm whether Harry Potter was indeed alive or dead.
"To this day, I do not understand why Albus is so fixated on Harry Potter. He has been focused on him since he was born and especially since the events of October 31, 1981, when my friends, James and Lily Potter were killed by the Dark Lord, but Harry survived.
"So, here I am, sent here by Albus to determine who H. Wells is and determine if this young man is Harry Potter." Here Remus looked at Harry expectantly.
Harry smiled at Remus. "Then I can tell unequivocally that Harry Potter is dead. Albus Dumbledore killed him on October 31, 1994, and we even have the goblin inheritance tests to prove it."
Squeezing the hands of his two companions, he looked to his mother and father, then back to Remus. "Harry Jacob Vincent Wells was born a new magical house on that same day – although my birth parents were James and Lily Potter, my true parents now are Diana Bennett Wells and Vincent Wells."
Remus was confused. "So you are Harry Potter, no?"
"No, I'm not. I died magically and physically because your Dumbledore was so desperate to get hold of me that he used a marginally dark spell to force me back to Britain. That after he left me with my magic hating relatives in the first place, thereby disregarding the wishes of my birth parents.
"But I am not certain how much I want to tell you, Mr. Lupin," Harry continued. "When I discovered the fact that I was magical last year, I began researching my past and my antecedents – and I discovered the existence of three of my father's friends, two of which he had entrusted to my care should something happen to both he and my birth mother. One I understood could not have taken care of me – Sirius Black, falsely accused of betraying my birth parents, was incarcerated in Azkaban. But you, Mr. Lupin, you were also entrusted with caring for an orphaned Harry Potter. Yet you never appeared, never showed up at my relatives.
"You were remarkably absent from my life, Mr. Lupin. So why should I trust you now?"
Both Hermione and Fleur squeezed Harry's hands as a gesture of comfort. All the other adults in the room could see the werewolf hang his head in shame.
"There is no excuse, Harry, for my absence from your life," Remus began. "I will admit that by the time you were born, I was already a member of Dumbledore's Order of the Phoenix. Neither your parents nor Sirius ever joined his order directly – something about keeping their options open.
"When your parents were killed, I did ask Albus where you were. He assured me that you were safe and happy – that he had personally taken charge of you and placed you in a loving, caring environment. So, other than the occasional question of how you were doing, I felt no compulsion to find out where you were."
Harry's eyes flashed angrily. "So he never told you that he ignored my birth parents' will? He never told you that he placed me with Vernon and Petunia Dursley?"
Remus' eyes went wide at the accusation. "You ended up with them? James and Lily would never have countenanced that – they were manophobic and positively detested James and Lily. Albus could not have sent you there."
Harry nodded grimly. "Oh yes, he did – all part of some master plan. So you were absent yourself – and you didn't know that by sealing my birth parents' wills, you were deprived of a bequest of a place to live and a significant sum of money to live on. Albus Dumbledore cost you as well as me.
"Still, the fact is that you came here on his behest and we thought to send a clear message to the old fool back with you. We will not share much of where we live or what I have been doing, but there are certain facts that you need to communicate with the old fool."
With that, Harry told the story of the abuse and of his escape to New York. He summarized the events of October 31, 1994 and the fact of his physical and magical death, producing a copy of the inheritance test made by Gringotts the year before.
"The goblins have confirmed that I am no longer Harry Potter – that magic has determined that Hermione Granger-Potter is the new Head of House Potter. Instead, I am both the head of the Wells house and the head of the Black family – something about being named as such by my godfather.
"I am also an American citizen, twice sworn, once at the age of 13 and the next at the age of 20. As such, both Hermione and I have moved the Black and Potter assets to America and to the Gringotts NY branch.
"Thanks to Dumbledore's manipulations, to his placement of me with magic hating relatives and to my new life and family here, I have no interest in returning to Britain. Britain is no longer my country and this is now my home."
He then turned to his two companions and squeezed their hands again. "Hermione and Fleur have both consented to become my companions and they have agreed to set up their home and hearts here in America.
"This is my home, not over there."
Hermione nodded her head in agreement, and then added. "Mr. Lupin, as current Head of the Potter family, I will honor the bequest my predecessors made in regards to you. But we do this in respect to your past friendship with James and Lily, not your current regard for their son."
Harry gave Remus a hard look. "Can we trust you to give this message just as we told you today? Tell him that Harry Potter is dead at his hand, that his successors are not interested in returning to Britain? Can you tell him this?"
Wordlessly, Remus nodded. Then Vincent growled another warning. "Come again into my world, into my community to threaten my family and my world – you will not return alive, Mr. Lupin."
Remus swallowed again and knew that Vincent was capable of carrying out that threat. He found himself battling an insane urge to present his throat to Vincent as recognition of who the true Alpha was in this community.
Alex got up and led Remus out. "I will speak to Mr. Lupin about getting back to Britain and perhaps setting a few things up before he returns to Britain."
A/N: At 11,000 plus words, we felt that here was a good point to end this particular chapter. And for those of you who wondered about a possible confrontation between Vincent and Remus, well, we hope we clarified who the only real Alpha was. Lions trump weak wolves at every time.
So let's wait until the next chapter as we gain insight into possible Dumbledore plans and two planes crash into the World Trade Centre. At the same time, we perhaps will see some of the work Alex is up to.