Author's Note:

Reviews and Comments: To shuweet: Thank you! I think Zee and Tonks are very cute too! I know, the waiting on Hinny is hard! To AQuickRead91: Yes, more people know about Greg, but Voldemort already knows as well. To briana_t: Yes, Tonks knows she's pregnant! But Remus doesn't know that she knows he knows she knows he knows. I wanted Remus to know how his friends would have supported him. He is perfect for the job! To EbonyRivers: Thanks! I do love Friends and Tonks and Zee did need a bonding moment! Yes, Remus does already know but I hope his reaction is still good. To GryffindorHealer: Yes, I do keep you all simmering like the potion, don't I? LOL. Haha, I will keep that in mind!

To AnaGPotter: Every chapter makes you worry about something? Aww, thanks! And ha, I've made so many people care about Greg, I'm happy. And yes, Teddy Lupin is on the way. Shhh… Tonks and Remus don't know it's a boy yet. To BadWolfKris: Thank you! To marauders_mowopapr: Thank you! And yes, we are closer to getting Ginny back! To QuietReader: Thank you! So lovely to hear it was like a breath of fresh air. To SeriouslySam: Of course even the portrait of Fee and Monty want to talk babies! Yes, Bill most definitely knows how to position his tongue, lol. We want Tonks to hide Greg? Interesting. To Steelcode: Yes, new baby mama! To Mizfitz22: Thank you! And ha, I love your pun intended comment! I think you're right, if Tonks had taken much longer, Remus probably would have caved and told her, but I agree, I think letting her find out on her own was the best choice!

To Wolf's scream: Yes, more waiting and yes, I know it's hard on everyone (both inside and outside of the story LOL). Bill is definitely willing to practice! Zee can be a bit underhanded but to be fair, I think it was exactly what Tonks needed. To Ellieoryan7447: If he admits it, haha! I hope the Remus and Tonks scene doesn't disappoint! Getting Ginny to take the potion will be difficult. Glad you loved the steamy Harry scene. To ValGrey02: Zee is like, meh, I've been here. She was good with keeping Tonks calm. To JamesTKent: Thank you! I think he would make a brilliant deputy headmaster as well. To Nuno Neves: Thank you! I always love some Bleur smut. Yes, Remus does deserve everything. To Dianne: You thought Fred was going to get with the fae who saved him on causeway? Interesting. Right now he's just enjoying his brief stint with the bridesmaid. It is sad to see Ginny losing her trust in those she trusted most. As to McGonagall, yes she was born in 1935 (at least she was before JKR decided to put her as a teacher when Newt was a student at the turn of the century) — only thing from Fantastic Beasts I didn't like as it directly contradicted her world. It is adorable watching Harry converse with the babies!

To jaccy3: Thank you very much! Glad to make you say yay twice! To Nightwing2013: Aww thanks! I love that the voices brought tears to your eyes. To XxMizz Alec VolturiXx: Thank you! I really enjoyed writing Monty and Borage banter. To notthatchhavi: Aww, thanks! I'm glad you loved the sweetness. I think Ron and Remus are similar in some ways in terms of how they treat the women they love and how observant they are about them. Fleur is definitely full of good ideas! I think Luka is one amazing man as well. To Vaarshneyan: Thank you very much! It's nice to know you're so enthralled you can't pile more than two chapters!

To ITHersey: I'm very sorry for your loss. As to how we get Ginny to take the potion, you shall see. As to the characters "crackling with magical energy," that is exactly how I picture it. I think all witches and wizards could do it, but only those who tend to let their emotions close to the surface have it. Like it influences how their magic works, if that makes sense. To ScoutGinevra: I want Ginny back, too. To TheRealTonks: You think Ginny will go out with someone else after the potion and tell Harry she's not the right girl for him? Interesting theory. To shivani: Thank you! Yup, seven more days in ASC time. To The Booknerds: Thank you! Yes, it won't be as simple as we think. To Just William: Thank you. To alix33: Anguilla is beautiful and it's where Ginny, Theo, Bill, and Fleur went back before Harry's fifth year. To ANewRanger: Haha, yup definitely modelled after Phoebe and Rachel!

To scrappy8: Thank you! To GodMisha: Thank you! To wanderinon: You think Ginny should be Imperiused to drink the potion? Interesting, but yes, she is one of the ones who can throw it off. Remus does deserve the best! To evergreenlyn: Lovely you've caught up! I think the potion would change her personality along with other things about her. I agree, making her a mindless murder zombie would be too forced. To WinkingSkeever: Just a wee bit LOL. To AccioRxses: Please don't die. Hinny will get there. To yunkol76: I'm so happy you said that! You're the only person to comment on that McGonagall line and I loved it so much! To Roselin24: Thanks for catching up! Thanks for such a lovely comment. To pix25: It was a smart move of Zee, wasn't it?

To Sloopyqueen4: It was sneaky of me, but I consider all fantasies about Hinny included as a Hinny chapter, what can I say? To Chintan: Yes, Tonks has finally found out. Harry enjoys it, but it's the idea that afterwards he feels empty and sad. To Guest: Yes, we will get more Romione and maybe in the library? I did just write some library smut the other day… To tim2604: Thank you! I wish I had a bed like that as well! As to Kata's story, I wanted to look back upon it in some way as she was introduced well over a hundred chapters ago. And Tim… please don't destroy anything… To Arctoid32: You can definitely still be excited for Tonks to be pregnant even though you knew it was coming! To gemini614: Remus was offered both, Deputy Headmaster and Head of Gryffindor. To Atea1793: I don't appreciate the verbal abuse or the claim that I'm emulating Fudge by denying something. I did not deny it. I said I was setting up a time frame for when the deaths occurred and that my wording made sense to me, I then apologized if you found it confusing. As I said, I'm human and we all make mistakes, but I worded it the way I wanted to there. My beta agreed with me. I won't apologize again.

My posting schedule: Weekly.

Thanks to Dusk for her amazing editing skills.

As always, thank you very much for reading and please, please review!

Your reviews give me life! They give me inspiration! And they make me want to keep writing for more than just myself! Thank you for all of your continued support!

CHAPTER TWO-HUNDRED AND EIGHTY-SEVEN:

The One With Auror Arsehole

Harry looked up when Tonks and Zee stepped into the kitchen. The two of them had only been upstairs for about ten minutes and he wondered what they'd been talking about. It wasn't like Tonks to rush over for secret meetings. Nor was it like Zee to insist he keep things to himself. He had Mina and Leo each in a highchair and they were snacking on banana pieces as he nibbled at some of the fresh corn bread that Zee had made for dinner.

Zee put her hands on her hips. "I was saving that."

"For me, I know," he said, making her smack him in the arm as he laughed. He looked at Tonks. "You were crying."

Tonks shrugged. "Well, get over here and hug me then."

Harry did just that, holding her tight. "You all right?"

She nodded, her face buried in his shoulder. "I'm great."

"So, why were you crying?"

"Because we wanted to," Zee said. "Sometimes it's good to have a nice cry."

Harry thought that sounded strange, but decided not to comment. Instead he looked over at Leo. "See, Leo, what did I say? Girls are mental."

"Harry, I won't have you filling your brother's head with lies," Zee said.

"Can't be lies when it's the truth."

At Zee's look, he grinned.

Tonks squeezed Harry's wrist. "I need to talk to you tomorrow or the next day about Gregory Goyle."

"Why?" Harry asked, looking at Tonks curiously.

"He's a person of interest."

"I won't have much to say," Harry told her. "I think I spoke to him maybe a handful of times. He was in Slytherin and kind of known to be a grunting conversationalist."

"Still would like some thoughts," Tonks said. "I'll be speaking to Theodore Nott as well."

Harry nodded. "Theo might have more to say."

Tonks ruffled his hair before she kissed the cheeks of Mina and Leo. "Okay, I'm off. Talk to you lot later."

Harry watched her go before he turned to where Zee was finishing up the chicken she'd been making. "Is she really all right?"

"Yes," Zee assured him. "Promise."

Harry smiled at that and then to Zee's surprise he wrapped his arms around her from behind and hugged her tightly. "You're the best, you know that, right?"

Zee turned to hug him. "Absolutely I do." She pulled his face down to kiss his cheek. "And you're kinda the best, too. I love you, sweetie."

"I love you, Zee."

Zee hugged him again. "Now, why don't you clean up that cornbread you dug into it that I was saving for dinner and set the table. Dinner will be ready soon."

Harry stepped out of her arms, feeling a little lighter. He didn't know what Tonks had needed Zee for, but he knew with absolute certainty that Zee had helped her. Zee was always there when he needed her and he knew that she would always be there for anyone who needed her. He was lucky to have her for a mum. But he did wonder what it was that Tonks had needed him to be so secretive about? How come she didn't want Remus to know that she'd been here?

Whatever if was, he figured it was an easy enough to thing to do. Even if he didn't understand any of it.

~ ASC ~

Tonks Apparated home. When she stepped into the cottage she could smell the rich herbs of the pasta her husband was making. She left her shoes by the door, changing into drawstring shorts and an old crop top before she found him draining the water from the pasta noodles.

"Looks like I made it just in time."

"You did," he said, turning to kiss her. "Did you forget something at work?"

"No," she said, moving to open a bottle of wine before she stopped. Right, pregnant, she reminded herself, as a little thrill ran through her at the thought. She put the wine back and found a pitcher of milk in the fridge, pouring herself a tall glass.

"So, where did you run off to?" Remus asked as he filled two bowls with steaming pasta and tomato sauce topped with meatballs.

Tonks took a seat at the table with her glass of milk. "I just forgot that I told Zee I'd stop by. Tell me about McGonagall."

Remus placed their food down before he sat across from her. "She asked me to be the new Deputy Headmaster."

Tonks' mouth stopped open. "What?"

He nodded. "I know, it's completely ridiculous. I'm not qualified and it should obviously go to Flitwick, but Minerva says that he doesn't want it."

"No, it should not go to Flitwick. Remus, you totally deserve this!"

A small smile tugged his lips. "It's more than I ever could have dreamed of."

"What would your job be?" Tonks asked.

Remus went on to explain what McGonagall had told him. "We'd have to live at Hogwarts again, at least partly each week. Minerva said we could work it out."

Tonks shrugged. "As long as I'm with you, where we are doesn't matter."

He squeezed her hand at that. They talked more about the job, the increase in his salary, etc and when he finally finished, she gave him a small smile.

"You know that you should take it."

Remus let out a slow breath. "I know the Ministry is doing more about relationships and alliances, but a werewolf as a deputy headmaster is something that I need to consider. There could be a lot of blowback on that."

"Yes," Tonks agreed. "But when has that ever stopped you? Remus, take the job. I know you want it."

He bit his lip. "I do want it. I really want it."

She smiled and stood up to clean up the dishes. "Well, that's something to think about then. Now, why don't you play me a song while I clean? Then I need to talk to you about something."

Remus gave her a look. "About?"

"After I clean," she said, shooing him out of the kitchen.

When the sounds of the piano keyed out a moment later, she smiled. She cleaned up quickly, using her wand to wash and dry the dishes, putting everything away before she moved into the living room. Remus was still playing, his eyes closed.

"Come sit with me."

Remus opened his eyes before he did what she asked, smiling when she tossed her legs over his and snuggled into his side. "Everything okay at work?"

"Yes, things are coming along. I asked Higgins to bring me an egg salad sandwich from the snack bar. It was a terrible decision as I decided to throw it all back up."

He half smiled. "Oh? Well, egg salad can have that effect sometimes."

Tonks eyed him suspiciously. "Or it could be because I'm pregnant."

"Pregnant? Wow! That's amazing!" he said, his hands nervously playing with the buttons on his shirt. "Nymphadora, I can't believe —"

"—You — totally — knew!" Tonks shrieked as she jammed her finger into his chest after each word.

"What?" he exclaimed, his eyes wide and his lips twitching. "No, I —"

"You totally knew!" Tonks repeated. "You can't lie to me! 'Oh, Nymphadora, that's amazing, I can't believe it' — bullshit! You bloody well knew!"

"Well I..." he sighed. "Yes."

"How long?" she demanded.

"A few weeks," Remus admitted.

"A FEW WEEKS?" Tonks exploded. "How could you not tell me that I've been up the duff this whole bloody time?"

Remus gripped her hands in his. "I wanted to, but I kept thinking about how I'm the one who told Sirius and Zee that they were expecting and it kind of stole her thunder... I didn't want to do that to you."

Tonks only stared at him.

"Nymphadora..."

"Well?"

"Well what?"

"How did you know?"

"You..." he flushed. "You smelled different."

"I smelled different? What does that even mean?"

Remus let out a slow breath. "I… I woke one night and I just smelled you and me and something else and it took me a minute to realize what it was and well… then I became rather intoxicated by it and… I'm sure you remember the night that I woke you with my tongue."

Tonks' face flushed. "I do. You… that long?"

He nodded. "It wasn't until I heard the heartbeat that I realized how real it was and…" His hand slid over her stomach. "It terrified me."

Tonks cupped his chin in her hand, kissing him deeply. "You're an incredible father, Remus Lupin and I know that you will be an even more amazing dad to our child than you were to Harry."

"It's not… it's the wolf, Dora."

"Remus, the chance of our baby being a werewolf is almost non-existent, we've been over this."

"I know," he said, resting his face in the crook of her neck. "I know we have."

Tonks wrapped her arms around him. "Adrian and Maia have told you otherwise and you went to France all those years ago and met with Montgomery."

"I remember," he whispered.

The memory was fresh in his mind as it had been since he'd first realized his wife was carrying his child. He remembered sitting in the living room of Black Cottage as he and Sirius discussed it after learning that Harry had just become the youngest Quidditch player in over a century.

"So, how was Paris? How was Montgomery?"

Remus grinned and shrugged. "Different than I expected, but well worth the trip I think."

Sirius merely raised an eyebrow.

Remus explained about meeting Philippe Montgomery. The man was a Muggleborn wizard and his wife, Ava, had been bitten by a werewolf a year into their marriage while she was pregnant with their first child. The first transformation on top of the stress of learning what was happening to her had caused her to lose the baby. Philippe had thrown himself into the study of werewolves, determined to find something to save his wife.

But like the world knew, he soon discovered that there was no cure…

But a werewolf and a wizard having a baby wasn't anything to fear. It wasn't impossible for a werewolf to pass on the genes of the werewolf, but the chances of doing so were astronomically slim. Although Montgomery learned that having a mother who was a werewolf did affect the child's moods even if they didn't inherit the werewolf bite. Their daughter Eliana was affected by the cycle of the moon, feeling wild and excited during the nights and wanting to be free from the house. But when she was outside she was calm and happy as if seeing the moon or being near the moon calmed her in some way. Their sons Michael and Henry were the same, but perfectly normal — one would never know that they had a werewolf for a mother.

The research on werewolves led Montgomery through folk and fairy tales, horror stories and fiction mixed with fact and to learn that those who turned into werewolves were not the monsters that stories made them out to be. Those who were bitten, were not the same as those who were born. They were the people they wanted to be and who they allowed themselves to be and if they were evil before that's what made them evil now, not the wolf.

"I could have told you that, Rem, the evil thing," Sirius said with a smile when Remus finished explaining everything.

Remus shrugged. "It was interesting, Siri. I learned a few things I didn't know, but most of it I did already. But the fact that he and his wife have kids is a little scary to think about and kind of overwhelming if I'm being honest. Adrian and Maia explained about the wolf and the werewolf and having children as well when the four of us went out with Montgomery for a bite. He found it fascinating as well as he was completely unaware of the pack culture."

Sirius grinned at him. "So, you can have a family one day."

Remus paled. "Passing on anything werewolf related is not something I want to do, Sirius."

Sirius rolled his eyes. "You just spent the better part of an hour telling me about a werewolf who gave birth to three perfectly healthy non werewolf children. The odds are slim that your child would turn into a wolf, Moony."

"Kids have never been in my future," Remus told him, his eyes wide. "We have Harry."

"Yeah, we do," Sirius said with a smile. "Our own fucking Quidditch prodigy!"

Remus shook the memory from his mind. "Our baby will still have some signs… the moon cycle will still affect the baby."

Tonks shrugged. "Maybe it will, but the moon affects a lot of bloody people. Haven't you noticed a full moon makes people a little mad?"

His lips curved. "I love you, Nymphadora."

"I know," she said. "But I'm still pissed that you didn't tell me you knew."

"How can I make it up to you?" he asked, kissing the side of her neck.

Tonks linked her arms around his neck. "I don't know yet, but when I figure it out, I'll tell you."

Remus grinned, kissing her neck. "Why don't we go the bedroom and see what I can do to make it up to you?"

"If you think that I'm going to let you seduce me after this, you have another thing coming," she said.

He chuckled, bending his head to capture her breast through her top. "When I make you come for me, you might change your mind."

Tonks shook her head. "No. No, I won't."

But he carried her to the bedroom, his mouth on her skin and when she did come for him, twice, it was with a big smile on her face. They were going to have a baby and they both knew that she wasn't going to stay cross with him over it for long.

He kissed his way up her naked body before meeting her lips. "Forgive me yet?"

"No," she said, her lips curving. She let her hands slide over his back, remembering that her husband was still very much dressed. "I'll definitely have to punish you. Maybe I'll have to bring out the strap-on again."

Remus' fingers tightened on her hips. "Now you're just teasing me."

Her lips met his for a long kiss and she smiled, letting her hands wander to unzip him. "Not if you play your cards right, Deputy Headmaster."

Her hand slid into his jeans to grip him and made an 'mmm' sound. She found him hard and straining the fabric as he helped her tug them off, pulling his shirt over his head as well and shimmying out of his boxers in record time. She laughed as his hard cock brushed against her.

"Eager there, Professor?"

He slid himself over her, just enough to tease both of them and she moaned. "So are you, it seems, Mrs Lupin."

And when he finally filled her, she felt pure happiness. They were going to have a baby and nothing was more amazing than that.

~ ASC ~

Neville Apparated to the Goldstein mansion in northern London and let out a slow breath. He had been counting down the days until this get-together with high hopes that Hannah would actually talk to him. He made his way through the Apparition point just as Lavender and Padma Apparated next to him.

"Hi, Neville!" Lavender exclaimed, holding tightly to her girlfriend's hand. "We didn't know that you were coming!"

"Yeah, Goldstein invited me a few days ago. I didn't realize that it was a big thing?"

"Oh, it's not," Padma assured him. "Mandy just invited a few of us over. I think she mentioned Michael, Lisa, Gary, Terry, Stephen, Morag, Hannah, and Sally-Anne. Parvati was invited too, but she had a date."

Neville nodded. It sounded like a Ravenclaw party for the most part. "Sounds fun."

He followed Lavender and Padma into the huge mansion as Lavender babbled on about their summer. Apparently they'd spent their time shopping and spending time together and were looking forward to starting seventh year. Neville thought they seemed rather innocent amidst everything that was going on, but he decided it was better not to comment on it. They were greeted by Mandy who led them into the familiar party room with the indoor swimming pool where he saw his classmates lounging about in swim attire holding beverages and snacking from the impressive buffet table along the wall. He offered a small smile as he approached, his eyes peeled for Hannah, but he didn't see her.

Terry Boot offered him a drink and he accepted the glass of fruity punch which he found packed quite a punch itself when he took a sip. Whoever had made it clearly used more vodka than punch. He made himself a little plate of food, picking nervously as Mandy came over.

"Hi, Neville! Hannah's coming, I promise! She had to work until eight tonight, but will be by after that."

Neville nodded, feeling a bit better at the thought that Hannah would be arriving soon. He went and sat in between Stephen Cornfoot and Gary Rivers to see what was new. He'd always been friendly with the other boys from Ravenclaw, but had never really spoken to them much outside of classes. It seemed Rivers, who's mother worked at the Ministry of Magic in the Department of Mysteries, was spending a lot of time at work lately and Gary was convinced that it had something to do with Voldemort. Cornfoot's father worked in the Department of Magical Transportation and apparently transportation was down for the month of July and they were worried that the fear of Voldemort was affecting people's decisions to come and go. Neville wasn't sure if he agreed with that and he told them what the Wizengamot had to say on the subject.

Rivers nudged him, pointing to the pool and when Neville looked at where he was pointing, he saw that Lavender and Padma were snogging in the water.

"That's so sexy," Rivers said, craning his neck to get a better look. "I mean, really, what's hotter than two birds going at it?"

Terry Boot nodded from the other side of Cornfoot. "Agreed. The tits on Brown and that gorgeous skin on Patil… I bet they look a real sight when they're naked and sliding around on each other."

Neville cleared his throat. "They're dating, which means they do kiss from time to time."

"Yeah," Boot said, his eyes still on the girls. "But they're witches which makes it so much more interesting. Who do you think likes to give oral more? Patil or Brown? I think Brown's a naughty little thing myself. It explains why she wasn't all that into my cock back when we dated briefly."

"Or that could be because you have a small, ugly cock," Rivers said, making Boot shoot him a rude hand gesture.

"I'm just saying, I wouldn't mind watching while the two of them went at it. Every man's fantasy, am I right? Two women?"

Morag MacDougal, who was dating Boot, came and sat on her boyfriend's lap. "What about two women?"

"Nothing," Boot said, his face flushing.

Rivers rolled his eyes. "He wants to watch Lavender and Padma shag."

MacDougal smacked her boyfriend in the shoulder. "Don't be a perve!"

Boot made to protest, but MacDougal smacked him again. "Ow! All right, I'm sorry, it was just a thought."

"How would you like it if someone wanted to watch you shag?"

Boot gave her an embarrassed look. "I get it, Morag, I'm sorry. I was being a prat."

"Yes," she said. "Now shut up and kiss me."

Boot made no effort to push her away and Cornfoot made a vomiting motion next to his friend, making Neville laugh.

It was at that moment that Hannah walked into the room and Neville swore his heart stopped. She had her long blonde hair pinned off her neck and she was wearing a bright periwinkle blue bathing suit underneath a white crochet long-sleeved dress. He watched as Mandy hugged her, taking her bag and urging her to have a seat. He left Cornfoot, Boot, and MacDougal and began to make his way across the pool room towards her.

Hannah's eyes widened when she saw him and Mandy said something to her that Neville couldn't hear, but when he came to stand in front of her, she was wringing her hands together nervously.

"Hi, Hannah," he said, hoping that he had a smile on his face and not the worried frown that he felt like sporting.

"Hi," she said.

Neville reached a hand around to rub the back of his neck. "Er, wanna walk in the garden with me?"

"She'd love too," Mandy said, pushing her friend forward.

Hannah looked like she wanted to protest, but she nodded.

Neville gestured for her to follow him and they walked in silence through the large manor until they finally found the patio doors leading out into the massive garden. Neville found himself unintentionally leading her to the same bench near the blooming jasmine where they'd sat last summer. He took a seat, hoping that she would do the same. When she sat next to him, he let out a slow breath.

"Thank you for coming out here with me."

She nodded, staring at her hands.

"Hannah," he began. "I don't want to make you do anything that you don't want to do. I don't want to make you feel uncomfortable around me."

"I'm not uncomfortable," she whispered.

Neville slid a little closer to her and reached for her hand. When his fingers brushed hers, she jumped. "Please, don't be afraid of me."

Hannah turned her hand so that it fit into his. "Neville…"

Feeling bolder, he used his other hand to lift her chin so that he could look into her blue eyes. "I've missed you. So much. I miss talking to you. I miss seeing you. I miss kissing you. I just miss you. Hannah, you're the first thought I have in the morning and the last before I go to bed at night. You're the kindest woman I've ever met. I think you're strong and so beautiful and being with you makes me… you make me be the man that I want to be."

She bit her bottom lip. "I… you wouldn't understand."

"Can't you at least let me try?"

Hannah moved her face out of his fingers. "Neville, you don't get it. You don't have parents and — oh my god! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean it like that! I didn't mean that you don't… oh gods!"

Neville shook his head, squeezing her hand. "I know that you didn't mean it that way. You're too kind and amazing to ever think like that."

"No, I'm awful! I'm just an awful person who thinks of no one but herself just like my mother always says! She's right about me, I'm a horrible person! Neville, I'm so, so sorry!"

"You're not an awful person," he told her. "You're the kindest person I know with a good heart. I know what you meant and you didn't mean it the way that it sounded."

Hannah's bottom lip trembled. "I'm sorry. Neville, can you ever forgive me?"

"There's nothing to forgive," he assured her. "Hannah, Mandy mentioned to me that this was about your mum, but don't think that she betrayed a confidence or anything because I wheedled it out her."

Hannah let out a slow breath. "I really like you, Neville. I like you so much and it… scares me. You make me feel all of these things. Good things. Wonderful things. Sometimes naughty things."

Her cheeks flushed at the last one and his lips curved.

"You make me feel all of those things, too."

"It's just my mother is… my father died in the first war and I don't really remember him. He was a twin, did I ever tell you that? My Uncle Julius is his identical twin. I don't know what happened, but they had a falling out and when he died, they'd never made up. My Nana used to talk about how close they once were before 'her.' She never came out and said, but I know she meant my mother."

Neville only nodded, keeping his hand in hers.

"My dad's name was Jacob, but everyone called him Jake. I've only met my Uncle Julius a few times over the years as he and my mum don't get along. He has a daughter as well, she's a few years older and a healer, I think. We don't see them and because of that, it's always just been my mum and I. She gets overprotective, you see, she wants to keep me safe."

"She's your mother, of course she wants to keep you safe," Neville said, kindly.

Hannah bit her bottom lip. "Sometimes her good intentions are strange… she says that she's doing what's best for me. Mandy says that she's selfish. But my mum says that she wants to help me find a good man to take care of me and I…" Her cheeks flushed. "I want to take care of myself."

Neville smiled. "There's nothing wrong with that."

Hannah nodded. "I know there's not, but she… Neville, you're rich."

His mouth opened in surprise. "Er, I wouldn't say rich exactly. I mean, my grandmother is well-off, I suppose."

"Yes, and it will be yours one day, won't it?"

"Hannah, does me having money one day make you uncomfortable?"

"No! It's… I don't know."

Neville took her other hand, holding both of them now as he turned her towards him. "I care about you. I want you to be happy. I want you to do what you love and if that means that you need me to… not be with you, if that's what would make you happy, Hannah, that's all that I want."

Tears welled up in her eyes. "My mum's been… I give her my wages from the pub because she says that I need to help support her and she wants me to marry rich so that I can take care of her. She says that it's my responsibility to be a good daughter and to find someone to support us. I don't… Neville, I don't want you to ever think that I was dating you because you had money. I'm a hard worker and I want to support myself. I will support myself. I don't need a man to support me."

Neville used his thumb to brush away a tear. "Hannah… I will always take care of you if you need me too, but I will never include your mother in that unless she starts treating you with the respect you deserve."

"See, I've offended you! I'm so sorry! I can't… I didn't mean…."

Neville shook his head. "Of course you didn't offend me. Hannah, your mother is using and abusing you, can't you see that?"

"No," Hannah said, shaking her head. "She's not. She's never once hit me, Neville. Never!"

"As a friend made me see the other day, not all abuse is physical. She's abusing you, Hannah, emotionally. She's chipping away at your self-esteem, your self-worth, your self-confidence. You're an amazing woman and if she can't see that, she doesn't deserve you."

Hannah stared at him. "I…"

"Hannah," he said, softly. "I don't care if she is your mother, no one should ever force you to do something that you don't want to do. That's selfish of her. She's not looking out for you, she's looking out for herself and using you as an excuse to do it. You work hard at the pub and she has no right to force you to give her your savings."

"But… she's my mum," Hannah said.

Neville nodded. "I know, but that doesn't mean she's a good person. Hannah, how does your mum make you feel? Honestly. It's just you and me here."

Hanna hesitated and when she spoke, her voice came out in a soft whisper. "Ungrateful. Selfish. Stupid. Ugly. Like a terrible daughter."

"You are none of those things," he told her. "Not one of them is true. You work hard. Too hard in fact. You're kind to every person you meet. You're smart and when you put your mind to something, you get it done. The desserts you bake are an example of that determination and creativity. You are beautiful, inside and out. As to being a terrible daughter, that's a complete lie. You gave your savings to your mother. I've listened to you talk and I know that it's you who buys the groceries, who keeps the house, and who cooks the meals. It sounds like you're an incredible daughter whom she should be thanking for taking such good care of her."

Hannah swallowed. "But I—"

"—But nothing," Neville interrupted. "Your mum uses you, Hannah, just like Kevin did. And you don't deserve to let anyone do that to you, ever."

"She's not like Kevin," Hannah told him. "Kevin was… he was mean and my mum's not like that."

"Just because she doesn't say it in the same tone or the same way, doesn't make it any less true."

Hannah looked down at her hands again. "I…"

"Just think about it," he said. "Think about what Mandy's told you, what I said. Think about how your mum treats you and how Kevin treated you. I think that you're a smart witch who will come to her own conclusions."

"Neville…"

"As for me," he continued. "I'm going to thank my lucky stars that I got to kiss you as many times as I did and I hope that one day, you might let me kiss you again. Because I don't care about your mother. I don't care what she says or thinks you should do. I'm not going anywhere unless it's what you want. And I'm not going to let her make you think otherwise."

Hannah's fingers danced along his. "Even if I want to wait… I mean, about…" Her cheeks flushed a rosy pink. "I like it when you touch me, Neville, but I… I want to wait to do… it. Maybe even until after I'm married. Does that… I mean, that's why Kevin broke up with me and I… does that change your mind about me?"

Neville's lips curved. "No, not even for a second. I just want to be with you, Hannah. That's all I want. I want to see you smile and laugh. I want you to bake because you clearly love it. I want you to do things that make you happy and I want to be part of it, if you'll let me. But if you broke up with me because of some reason other than your mother; if I did something that made you feel that we can't be together — I'll hate it, but I'll understand. I care about you and… I would never intentionally hurt you, Hannah. Never."

Hannah continued to stare at him, her impossible blue eyes locked on his and Neville fought the urge to kiss her. She was so beautiful and so sweet and his heart ached at the thought that her own mother of all people had forced her to depreciate her own value. He wanted to spend the rest of his life making her feel like she was the most appreciated person in the history of the world. He wanted to be the one to make her smile every day; the one to remind her how incredible she is. He wanted it to be him.

"Hannah… will you say something? Please."

Hannah's hand cupped his cheek and he turned his face into her hand automatically, kissing her palm. She danced her fingertips over his lips and he kissed those too, his eyes never leaving hers. Then her hand moved into his hair, the other curling at his collarbone as she leaned in and pressed her lips to his.

Neville sighed in pleasure as he kissed her softly, chastely. Her fingers trailed through his hair and he carefully placed his hands on her waist as they continued to share soft kisses that left him aching for more. She kissed the corner of his mouth before she leaned away from him, her eyes fluttering open.

"I'm sorry I messed everything up."

"You didn't mess up anything," he told her. "You just made me realize how important you are to me."

Hannah smiled. "You're important to me, too."

Neville kissed the tip of her nose. "I want you to come to dinner and meet my gran and my great uncle Algie."

"I'd like that," she said.

He tugged her closer to him. "Hannah?"

"Yes?"

"Will you be my girlfriend again?"

Hannah linked her fingers around his neck and nodded. "I'd really like that."

"I'd really like that, too," he said.

And then they were kissing and Neville vowed that he would do everything in his power to make her see how incredible she was. No one was going to make her question herself, not even her mother.

~ ASC ~

Lavender was too busy kissing her girlfriend to care that people might be watching them. Despite the sad news of Dumbledore's death, she thought that this summer had been one of her best. She'd spent almost all of it with Padma and Parvati. Parvati had been the perfect best friend, making sure that she and Padma had alone time on a regular basis, while still hanging out with both of them as often as possible. Lavender had enjoyed taking full advantage of the alone time by snogging Padma's brains out.

This summer had meant a lot of things. Her parents had sold their house, moving into a smaller house in Bournemouth so that her mum could be closer to her sister. Lavender was thinking of working in fashion when she finished Hogwarts and her parents were really great about her dating Padma. She'd been worried that they might not accept it, but they'd surprised her.

As for Padma, the two of them had spent their alone time kissing and touching as much as possible. They had a picnic at the beach and when Parvati had gone for a swim, Padma had slipped her fingers into Lavender's bikini bottoms and she'd lost all sense of reason. Not to mention how much Lavender had learned she loved to pleasure Padma.

For someone who had started off too afraid to touch her own body, she certainly had progressed in the last year. There was nothing she loved more than spreading her girlfriend's legs and using her tongue until Padma was moaning her name. Lavender licked every inch of her from the column of her throat, to the arch of her foot, and she loved every second of it. She loved watching Padma fall apart at her touch, at her kiss, and she loved when her girlfriend did the same to her. Nothing felt as incredible as when Padma used her mouth and Lavender wasn't ashamed to admit it.

Come September, they would be entering their final year at Hogwarts and she was looking forward to the adventure, to being seventh years, and to starting the year with the woman she loved. She knew that times were getting darker and that Dumbledore's death signified something big happening, but it didn't really affect her. She was going to be eighteen in a few months, life was good.

Her father was a bit worried about the war and spent a lot of his time complaining to her mother about what it meant for him in terms of his job. He worked in the International Magical Trading Standards Body and it seemed that a lot of countries weren't interested in opening trade with Britain while Voldemort was steadily gaining power. She wasn't sure how that affected her father's job, but it made him very angry about it. He spent most nights going on long-winded rants that had her mum nodding and responding with 'yes, dear' as he went on and on.

Padma's father was in a similar boat. Prabir Patil was a healer at St Mungo's. He specialized in spell damage and was concerned with the influx of witches and wizards who seemed to be coming in and out of the ward with very serious damage. People were claiming that they were being randomly attacked and they weren't sure how much of it was fact compared to how much was due to panic and accidents.

It seemed that everyone was worried and running scared and yet nothing seemed to be really happening. Lavender didn't think that people were overreacting exactly, but she also didn't think people didn't needed to worry as much as they were. It didn't affect her and it didn't affect a lot of people. She wished that the world would calm down a bit.

Tonight was a fun party that she felt they definitely needed. It was where they could relax, drink, and have a good time. They planned on spending the night and Lavender was looking forward to getting the chance to wake up next to Padma in the morning. Nothing was better than waking up next to her beautiful girlfriend except maybe waking Padma up with a few well positioned licks. Not that she planned on letting her girlfriend get too much sleep that night. If she had her way, she planned on making sure Padma knew exactly how much Lavender wanted her.

Speaking of her girlfriend, Padma's fingers were teasing the waistband of her bathing bottoms and Lavender pinched her hip making the other girl grin.

"Just seeing if you're paying attention," Padma said, sneaking a kiss under ear.

"I am," Lavender assured her, stealing one more kiss before she leading her girlfriend out of the pool before she got both of them in trouble.

Rivers wiggled his eyebrows suggestively at them and she rolled her eyes. What was it with men fantasizing about two women? Sometimes she found it incredibly unnerving. Plus, it was just rude. Men never seemed to react the same to two blokes kissing. The double standard annoyed her.

"I think Rivers enjoyed the show," Lavender said, her voice thick in annoyance.

"Can't blame him. We're both incredibly sexy," Padma replied.

Lavender laughed and hooked her arm through hers. They found Mandy, Sally-Anne Perks, and Lisa Turpin at the buffet table as Lisa commented on how Morag MacDougal was snogging her boyfriend senseless near the pool.

"We have to enjoy the snogging when we can," Padma said, resting her head on Lavender's shoulder.

Turpin rolled her eyes. "Not so publicly would be appreciated."

"Oh, don't be such a prude, Lisa," Mandy said. "It's not very becoming."

Turpin stuck her tongue out. "As someone who's snogged Terry, I'm just saying, he's a sloppy kisser."

"Morag doesn't seem to mind," Lavender noted.

"Or she's teaching him how to kiss better," Padma suggested, making Turpin laugh.

"Bully for her," Turpin said. "That will take some work."

"And a half," Perks agreed. "I've kissed him too and sloppy is the polite term."

"I dated him," Lavender said. "And he was sloppy, but if I told him to slow down, he did well."

Padma chuckled. "Seems like for a sloppy kisser, Boot gets around."

Turpin shrugged as everyone laughed. "Where did Hannah disappear too?"

"She and Neville went for a walk in the garden," Mandy replied.

"Speaking of snogging," Perks said, making Mandy smile.

"To talk," Mandy corrected. "But I hope for Hannah's sake, a few snogs as well. Longbottom is crazy about her and she deserves a sweet bloke."

"Yeah, Kevin's kind of a prat," Turpin said. "I don't know how Hannah put up with him for so long."

"No one does," Perks said. "But then again, we don't always see what we should. I dated Macmillan and I still regret that every single day. I knew he was a bit of a git, but turned out I was way off the pitch."

"Kevin's not that bad," Turpin said. "But he could use a good kick in the bollocks."

Mandy snorted. "I'll volunteer."

There was more laughter before Turpin spoke up again. "So, has anyone been by Parkinson's shop yet?"

Mandy nodded. "I went with my sister-in-law the other day. She's only been open for four days, but her stuff is beautiful. Tazanna bought this gorgeous nightie in purple silk with a matching robe in a lace trim. Can you believe that she designs and makes them all herself?"

"She's really talented," Perks said. "I mean, I am surprised to see it considering the airs she put on around school; how she walked around like she was Queen B."

"She was Queen B," Lavender said. "And she never let anyone forget it."

"Hard to believe that she's married to Goyle now and pregnant," Padma said.

"Hugely pregnant," Mandy corrected. "She was waddling around the shop. I heard Daphne mention that she's due at the end of next month."

"And married to Goyle? He always was a quiet one. I swear I only heard him talk like three times ever," Lavender said.

Mandy nodded. "I heard the marriage was forced upon her."

Lavender shrugged. "I don't know. I just know that I definitely want to check out her shop."

"Me too," Padma agreed. "Is she giving out discounts to Hogwarts alums?"

"It's Pansy," Mandy said.

"So, no then," Padma said. "Just checking."

Everyone chuckled at that as Anthony came over, draping his arm over Mandy's shoulders. "You girls want to go for a swim? Michael wants to break into teams for some water sports."

"What kind of water sports?" Perks asked.

"The kind that involves us blokes getting to hold onto you fine ladies," Anthony said, smiling.

Perks finished her punch and put her glass down. "I'm in as long as I don't have to partner with Rivers."

"I heard that!" Rivers yelled.

"You were meant to," she shot back.

Lavender looked at her girlfriend. "You up for some water sports?"

"As long as you can be my partner," Padma said.

"Aren't you two sweet," Anthony teased. "Now, get in the pool."

"Hey, Brown!" Rivers called out, making Lavender turn. "Which one of you likes to go down on the other more?"

He made a show of licking the air in such a vulgar way that Padma pulled out her wand, muttering about him being an arse. Lavender grabbed her wrist as she called out to him.

"Why? Are you looking for pointers since you can't keep a girlfriend?"

"Burn!" Corner said, grinning. "I need to high-five you for that one!"

Lavender slapped her hand against Michael Corner's, shooting Rivers a dirty look before she squeezed Padma's wrist. "Don't hex him, love."

Padma scowled. "Git deserves it. You know at the end of the year, he said something to me about using my tongue while I was eating ice cream? He's an arse."

"Agreed," Lavender said. "But you still can't hex him."

"How about just a little hex? Stinging boils on his balls? Shrinking his cock to the size of a needle? Please?"

Lavender chuckled. "We'll see how he behaves as the night goes on."

And when Rivers made a kissing motion at them when they walked by, she let her foot slip, knocking him back into the pool.

"Oops!" she exclaimed as Corner laughed. When Padma's eyes met hers, she grinned. "It was an accident."

Padma kissed her cheek as Hannah and Neville came in holding hands. "I love you, Lavender Brown."

Lavender's lips curved. "I love you, too. Now, let's show Rivers how two girls can kick his arse."

Padma grinned. "I don't even know what we're playing."

"Doesn't matter," Lavender said. "We're still going to win and then later tonight, I'm going to lick you like ice cream."

Padma's eyes darkened. "I'm going to hold you to that, baby."

Lavender smiled. "Count on it."

Then she dove into the pool, feeling lighter, and thinking that she could take on the world.

~ ASC ~

Theo stepped into the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, his eyes peeled for the bright pink hair of the Auror whom he was meeting with. He saw Tonks wave so he weaved his way through the desks until he found her.

"Hi, Auror Lupin. Sorry, the Wizengamot ran over a bit."

"No problem," Tonks assured him. "Come on, let's go into one of the conference rooms to chat."

Theo followed her down the corridor and through the door she pointed to. He saw a tall Auror standing by the wall with a mop of dark blond hair.

"This is my partner, Auror Higgins. Higgins, this is Lord Norfolk."

"Theo's fine," Theo said as he took a seat. "I'm not really sure how you think I can help?"

Tonks smiled. "We're just looking into Gregory Goyle and we'd like to know more about him. Harry told me a bit, but he said that since you roomed with him for six years you might know more."

Theo was surprised at the mentioning of Goyle and he couldn't help but wonder just what it was that Goyle had done. "Did he do something?"

"He's a person of interest," Tonks said.

He nodded. They weren't going to tell him anything more, he realized. He cleared his throat. "What would you like to know?"

"What can you tell us about him?"

Theo shrugged, leaning back in the chair a little. "Not much. We weren't exactly friends. He spent most of his time with Vincent Crabbe and he hung around Draco a lot. Draco liked to use Crabbe and Goyle for muscle to make him look more intimidating. He's a prat like that."

"So, Goyle is friends with Vincent Crabbe?" Higgins asked.

"Er, no," Theo admitted. "I mean, they were together a lot, but only because Blaise, Draco, and I were often together and they just ended up paired off. To be honest, Goyle always kept more to himself. If he wasn't in class, he was usually working out or reading somewhere."

"Did he ever say that he was a loyal supporter of Voldemort?"

"No," Theo told her. "Never. But it was common knowledge amongst the Slytherins that his father was. His father hung around mine quite often and it was Goyle who told his father that I'm gay. It's how word got back to my own father about my sexuality."

Higgins' head shot up. "So, he's the reason that you and your father had a falling out? Do you hold any animosity against him for that?"

Theo snorted. "No. My father and I never exactly got along to begin with, but I suppose Goyle helped give it a push."

"What did he say?"

"Something about how disgusting sharing a dorm with a poofter was," Theo said. "My father taunted me with it."

"Did Goyle ever threaten you? Did he ever make it obvious that he found rooming with you made him uncomfortable?"

"No, never," Theo admitted. "Look, I know better than anyone how easy it is to say or do something just to get your father off your back. To claim sharing a room with me was disgusting isn't something that I can even imagine Goyle saying. I'm not saying he didn't say it because I don't really know, but I do know that it's not really his style."

Tonks tapped her fingers on the table. "What do you mean by that?"

Theo shrugged. "I don't know exactly… Goyle is… a loner. He liked to spend all of his time working out, lifting iron, and doing as little talking as necessary. He barely scraped by in his classes. People called him stupid a lot and it didn't seem to faze him. He's… a puzzle… or just lazy. Or both. He's hard to read."

"And his wife?"

"Pansy? Calling her his wife is still a surprise to me," he admitted. "Pansy is… sharp."

"Sharp?" Higgins asked.

Theo nodded. "Oh yeah. She was always head bitch in school. She's the girl who had all the gossip, the real mean girl, if you know what I mean. You didn't want to cross her. She's smart and witty and when she wants something, she doesn't let anything stand in her way. Hearing that she married Goyle of all people came as a shock to me, but her father was in talks with Goyle's mum to marry them off."

"Why was it shocking?"

"Well, Goyle's hardly her type. As I said, she's smart and Goyle's well, not. I always expected Pansy to marry some poor rich bastard. Merlin knew she's had her eye on Draco for years. The Goyle family is less wealthy than her father and Pansy is a material girl," Theo said. "I just don't think that Goyle can keep her in the life that she's accustomed to living. But from what I understand, her marriage choices were between Goyle and Crabbe so, I get why she chose Goyle. He did help her open her shop, so who knows, maybe he's figured her out?"

"Her shop?" Tonks asked.

"Yeah," Theo said. "Sophistication by Pansy. It's in Apricity Lane. It's been her dream for years. She designs and makes her own lingerie and female undergarments. I went on opening day, it's pretty impressive."

"And you think that Goyle helped?" Higgins questioned.

"Well, I assume he did," Theo replied. "As her husband, he would want to do things to make her happy or Pansy would demand it. She's very demanding and expects everyone to fall in line with what she wants. I imagine she's been bossing him around left and right."

Tonks looked thoughtful at that. "Let's get back to Goyle, would you consider him more of a follower or a leader?"

"Definitely a follower," Theo said. "Goyle's not smart enough to lead. Well, let me rephrase that, he would think about, but he wouldn't know how to branch off on his own."

Higgins exchanged a look with Tonks before his gaze fell back on Theo. "And if we told you that Goyle rescued a woman who had been kidnapped and kept hostage by your father and a few other known Death Eaters?"

Theo's eyes widened. "He rescued… yes, I can see that."

"But you just said that he's a follower?" Tonks demanded.

"He is," Theo told her. "But there's one thing about Goyle that I forgot to say — when he puts his mind to something, he does it, without question. He doesn't stop to consider the consequences of his actions. If he saved this woman, it's because in that moment he knew it needed to be done."

"Can he be trusted?" Higgins asked.

Theo hesitated. "I don't know."

Tonks sighed and closed the file in front of her. "You believe that he's loyal to Voldemort then?"

"I don't know that either," Theo admitted. "As I said, Goyle is a loner and he's quiet. When he does talk, they usually are short grunts for responses. It's rare to hear him say more than five sentences in a row. And it's not that he can't, he just… doesn't, if that makes sense. He listens and he observes, but he doesn't speak out. He's a big guy and he's strong. As I mentioned, he likes to work out and he's built. I'd bet Voldemort is using him for muscle more than anything as he's never been great shakes with magic. Is he loyal to Voldemort? I really couldn't say, but I do know that he is loyal to people who give him a reason to be. He would never hurt Pansy for example, but as for Pansy… she only married Goyle because she wasn't given a choice so, I don't know if I would consider her equally as loyal to Goyle as he is to her."

"Why would you consider him more loyal than her?"

"Goyle's always fancied her. Now, being married to her, he would do everything to keep her safe."

"She's pregnant with his child," Higgins said.

"Yes," Theo replied. "And that would make him want to protect her more. Goyle may not be the brightest star in the sky, but he's honourable. He would consider it his number one job to keep Pansy and his unborn child safe."

Tonks nodded. "Interesting. Thank you, Theo. You've been very helpful."

Theo tapped his fingers on the table in front of him. "I'm not sure how. I don't feel like I told you anything. Can I ask about the woman?"

"Kata Novak," Higgins replied.

"I remember reading about her in the paper," Theo said. "You're both saying that Goyle helped get her back to her husband?"

"That's what she says," Tonks told him. "Did you ever meet her?"

"I don't think so," Theo said.

Higgins opened the case file and pulled out a photo of her. Theo looked down at the beautiful woman with blonde hair. She looked familiar, but he wasn't sure if he could place her. He looked closer at the photo and realized that he had seen her before, once.

The day his father had demanded he go to the Nott Estate in Cannes. He remembered arriving and finding his father nowhere to be found despite summoning him there before his return to Hogwarts. But he'd found him sitting in the third parlour, drinking red wine, and getting his cock sucked by a long blonde head of hair.

"Yes," he said. "I've seen her before. Just once."

"When?" Tonks asked.

"August of '95. I remember because I hadn't seen my father in months and he'd summoned me to our estate in southern France before I returned to Hogwarts. He had just heard the rumour that I was gay and demanded that I see him. It was right before my sixteenth birthday when I took the title and everything away from him. The estate is in Cannes and I remember arriving there and this Novak, she was er… giving my father a blow job."

Higgins raised an eyebrow. "While he waited for you?"

"I never claimed that he was a good father," Theo said. "But yes. He was sitting in the third parlour waiting for me while she sucked him off. I remember because when she finished, he claimed that she was 'acceptable' and threw a bag of coin at her. I had just assumed that she was a paid courtesan."

"What happened after he paid her?"

Theo shrugged. "She left the room. Again, I assumed she'd left the estate, but since she didn't use the Floo, I'm guessing that she didn't."

"Did your father routinely keep prostitutes around?"

"Usually," Theo admitted. "He always had two or three concubines around for his pleasure."

"So, you never spoke to Novak?"

"No," Theo said. "And I never saw her again after that day."

Tonks nodded. "Thank you for seeing us, Theo. We really appreciate it."

"No problem," he replied.

"If we have any other questions, we'll contact you," Tonks told him.

Theo stood up to leave before he stopped by the door, turning to look at the two of them. "Um, Auror Lupin, can I ask a favour?"

Tonks raised an eyebrow and he knew that he'd intrigued her by the look in her eye. "You can ask."

Higgins closed the file and stood up. "I'll be in the bullpen."

When the door closed behind him, Tonks gave Theo her full attention again. "What can I do for you, Theo?"

Theo's fingers played with the edge of his pockets nervously. "I… I was wondering if it's possible to visit someone in the Azkaban Crypt."

"Is it possible… yes. Visitors are allowed," she said, looking puzzled before her eyes widened. "You want to visit Lucius Malfoy."

He nodded. "Your partner made mention of my father and… with all due respect, Thaddeus Nott may have been my biological father, but Lucius Malfoy was always a much better father to me than Thaddeus Nott ever was."

"You realize that he will spend a minimum of the next twenty years in the crypt for his crimes? He was convicted as a Death Eater on multiple accounts and for many different crimes. He will most likely die there."

"I know," Theo told her. "He's not innocent, we both know that, but… I'd like to see him."

Tonks offered him a small smile. "I can arrange that, but it may take a few weeks."

"Thank you," he said, standing up. "You know how to contact me if you have any more questions."

"We will," Tonks said. "Thank you again for coming in."

Theo said goodbye and made his way back into the bullpen, carefully weaving through the throng of desks. The wizard being processed on his left looked familiar, but not enough for Theo to place him. He clearly recognized Theo though because the moment their eyes met, he sneered at him.

"Thaddeus' son. I heard that you went and ruined the family name."

The voice made him pause and when he looked over at him again he recognized him as one of his father's old gambling buddies. His face was gaunt and tinted yellow, his eyes bloodshot, and his hair streaked in grey. Derrick, he remembered, Pendleton Derrick. He remembered the man sitting in Norfolk with his father, gambling and talking about whores. It looked like his life hadn't improved much.

"Ruin is a bit harsh, Mr Derrick. Made it better? Well, immensely," Theo said.

Derrick sneered. "Does taking it up the arse make you feel like a man?"

"Does paying for sex make you feel like one?" Theo shot back.

Derrick spit at him and Theo jumped out of the way, crashing into a wall.

At least he thought it was a wall, until hands gracefully moved him out of the way. He looked up into the face of the man to apologize, but he was ignored. Instead the dark haired wizard grabbed Derrick and hauled him to his feet.

"Just bought yourself more time in the brig, arsehole!"

The 'wall' stomped off, giving Theo no more than a look at a very well-toned body in black denim and a black tee shirt. He ordered someone named Proudfoot to take the wizard off his hands before he moved off to another corner of the bullpen. Theo only shook his head. There were a lot of interesting people here and he had to admit, all of the fit Aurors definitely made it worth it.

He stopped by Higgins' desk, resting his hip against the desk behind him. "Auror Higgins? I didn't mean to push you out there, I just… I wanted to know about visiting the crypt."

Higgins looked up at him from his chair. "It was no bother. As to visiting the crypt, well, that can be arranged. Did you have someone in particular in mind?"

He nodded. "Yes. Your partner said that she would take care of it already. Lucius Malfoy."

"Why the hell would you want to see that tosser?"

"As you mentioned, my father wasn't exactly father of the year. He hung out with people like Pendleton Derrick back there and ignored me if I was lucky. Malfoy was always there for me when I needed him. I'd like to see him."

Higgins looked surprised by this. "Well, I guess that's reason enough. What do you know about Derrick?"

"Major gambler," Theo told him. "From what I've heard, he's lost more than he's won. He is a loyal supporter of Voldemort, but he's a drunk and chases whores and gambling more than anything else. I don't know how much anyone would depend on him to get anything done. He has one son and last I heard, he wants nothing to do with him."

"Is the son a Death Eater?" Higgins asked.

Theo shrugged. "Peregrine? That I don't know. I heard he married last year. That's really all I know."

"Off my desk!" A gruff voice said from behind him.

Theo merely lifted a perfectly coiffed brow. "Didn't realize I was on your desk."

The man turned and Theo realized that it was the same 'wall' he'd run into earlier. The man was tall with dark brown hair and stunningly bright blue eyes which were currently narrowed in his direction.

"That's twice today you've been in my way. Move your arse. People are working."

"K, don't be a prat," Kingsley Shacklebolt said as he approached. "I need you running point in conference room B in five minutes. Norfolk."

"Sir," Theo said, giving the Head Auror a nod in return.

"I don't need pretty boys prancing around my space, Shacklebolt."

"Excuse me?" Theo exclaimed. "What did you just call me?"

"You heard me. Get off my bloody desk before I remove you myself," Kane demanded.

Shacklebolt rolled his eyes. "Ignore the buffoon. He's a tosser. I'd complain about him, but unfortunately he's here under Scrimgeour's orders. Higgins, if you're done talking to Lord Norfolk, I need you with K in the conference room."

"Yes, Sir," Higgins said before he gathered up a stack of files and hurried.

Kane merely brushed his dark hair out of his eyes. "Still on my desk, Lord Norfolk."

Theo held his hands up, eyebrows raised as he backed away. "Sorry, Auror Arsehole. I'll plant my pretty boy arse on someone's else's desk next time."

Kane only shooed him off. Theo turned to leave, but when he was halfway across the bullpen he felt someone staring at him. He caught the gaze of Auror Arsehole's eyes on him and he stopped and gave a little wave. The man turned abruptly and picked up a random file from the desk, marching off towards the conference room. Theo watched him go, shaking his head. Apparently it didn't take much to get on the bad side of some people. He pushed Kane out of his mind and instead focused on his visit with Malfoy, wondering how long it would take Lupin and Higgins to secure him a visit to the crypt.

~ ASC ~

Crouch was sharing a drink with Rabastan, Rodolphous, Yaxley, and Selwyn when the scream tore through Avery Castle. He lifted an eyebrow, turning to the other men in the room.

"Don't think that came from the dungeons?"

Yaxley seemed to agree because he stood up and moved to the door to peer out. Bellarosa hurried down the hall, calling for Pucey. "What's going on, Bella?"

Bellarosa only shook her head. "It's Alecto."

"What's wrong with Alecto?" Crouch asked as Bellarosa hurried off.

Yaxley shook his head. "I'm not sure. Let the women handle it. I want to talk more about the plan."

"Now that Dumbledore's dead you mean," Crouch said gleefully. "Just saying it aloud gives me such a tingle."

"No, that's your prick rubbing against your trousers," Rabastan said, making Crouch grin wider.

"That too," he admitted. "But with Dumbledore gone and the Dark Lord getting stronger every day, we're set to make a move."

"We are," Yaxley agreed. "And it's going to have to be done carefully. We already know that someone is feeding the MIA something. They've been too damn close on our heels since Dumbledore went missing for me to believe otherwise."

"Didn't help that my whore spoke to the press," Selwyn said bitterly.

"Maybe if you'd fucked her and then killed her like you were supposed to, that wouldn't be a problem," Rabastan said. "Besides, Kata didn't know the kinds of things that have been leaked. No, this is someone on the inside."

"I still don't think that Snape can be trusted," Rodolphous said. "He's the one who insisted Baddock and Pritchard go up to Hogwarts and both of them were killed, vanishing without a trace? Does no one else find that a little suspicious?"

Crouch looked thoughtful. "A little, but they were young. Pritchard had more use since Alecto turned Baddock into her personal sex slave."

Yaxley pursed his lips. "Snape knows his task."

"What about Pritchard's wife, then?" Rodolphous asked. "Bellatrix mentioned it the other day, about how she's disappeared? Bella was keeping watch over the young, pregnant ones and when one vanishes, she's concerned."

"Again, another child," Crouch said. "It's not like she was good for anything."

"As I have said countless times, if you'd bother to give your wives voices, they could be good for something. Even the young ones. Her husband was killed and she took off, I can't blame her. It wasn't like we had anything for her to do here."

Rabastan nodded. "Well, still. Maybe Rudy's right and we should look into where she went."

Crouch scoffed at this. "Later. Right now, I want to work on the inferno plan."

"Thank you, Bart," Yaxley said, looking pleased to finally be back in control of the conversation.

"I heard Forrester's back in the DRCMC," Rodolphous said. "He would be perfect for you to Imperius again."

Yaxley shook his head. "No, I don't think that I can get close enough again to Tripp. Not again. Besides, he doesn't have access. But there is someone who I think we can get our hands on easily enough."

"Who?" Rabastan asked.

"Pius," Yaxley said. "He hates Bones and he's against the whole alliances with magical creatures deal. I've gotten him talking more than once and he'll be easy to sway over."

"What about the inferno?" Crouch asked. "Was Dragomir's notes strong enough to detail it?"

"Yes," Yaxley said. "Snape's been checking up on it, but Belladonna's been brewing part of it under his eye."

"Why is Brambilla handling it?"

"Apparently she has a real knack for deadly potions," Yaxley said. "I reckon it's how her first husband bit it."

"And her sixth," Rabastan muttered.

Yaxley ignored this. None of them really cared to get into the details on how many husbands the Brambilla sisters had gotten rid of over the years. "The inferno will be ready on time. We just need to get Pius to put part of it in place."

"And you think that he'll be an easy mark?"

Yaxley's lips curved. "Trust me. It won't be a problem. It will be finding the others that will be more difficult."

The scream returned again and this time, they looked up when Amycus came into the room, his face pale.

"Something happen, Carrow?"

He nodded, rubbing a hand down his face. "Alecto lost the baby. A boy, stillborn. She's devastated."

Crouch wrinkled his nose. "Too bad her husband's up and died on her too, can't even make a new one."

Amycus glared at him. "Don't be sympathetic or anything, Bart! My sister only went into early labour and lost her son!"

"Don't play innocent, Amycus, we all know that you've been fucking her," Crouch said.

Amycus' eyes flashed before he stormed out of the room.

"Am I wrong?" Crouch asked.

"About so many things," Yaxley said, "but not that. If Amycus wants to shag his sister, that's his business. You can still be sad for Alecto's loss. She carried the boy for six months and to lose him that way… she's going to be a mess."

"It proves Baddock was too young. I told her that she needed a real man," Rodolphous said. "Not the kind that she had to tie to the bed and mount to shag."

"Too bad you're not one anymore, dearie," Crouch declared.

Yaxley stepped between them. "Enough. I'm tired of playing peacekeeper. You know your tasks, get them done before the Dark Lord reconvenes for the meeting later. He'll want to know where we're at and he won't be pleased that one of the new purebloods didn't survive."

Crouch sobered at those words. "We'll help create the society he dreams, Corban. Baddock's seed wasn't strong enough. Even old Parkinson managed to knock up his new wife and she finally gave him the son he's always wanted just the other day."

The man had come rushing up to the castle to celebrate the joy in welcoming his new son to the world, Pierce Castor Parkinson. He claimed that he was the heir he'd always been waiting for. Crouch hadn't failed to notice how little Parkinson said about his daughter who was eight months pregnant with the Goyle heir. Pierce was the new crowned prince that Castor was concerned about. Derrick's wife had given birth to a daughter a week before Parkinson as well, Violet, they called her.

"One boy died, but one lived," Crouch continued. "It's the sad realities of life. Derrick had a girl, Castor had a boy, we're slowly making our plans. I heard Castor's already cornered Peregrine and his wife with discussions of an arranged marriage between Pierce and Violet. He's trying to play on the friendship that he shared with Pendleton."

"That old drunk is good for nothing," Selwyn mumbled.

"Merlin, the babies are only one week old," Rabastan said, shaking his head.

"Exactly," Crouch said. "And it's time to get things moving, isn't it?"

Yaxley refused to comment on that and instead sent them off with a wave of his arm. Crouch skipped from the room, walking alongside Rabastan and wondered where he should start on his task. Everything had to go exactly according to plan if they were going to pull this off and Crouch knew that no one was going to be able to stop them.

He couldn't wait for the chaos to unfold.

End Author's Notes:

Character reminders — Ravenclaws in Harry's year who were at the party: Michael Corner, Anthony Goldstein, Mandy Brocklehurst, Morag MacDougal, Lisa Turpin, Padma Patil, Stephen Cornfoot, Terry Boot, and Gary Rivers; Hufflepuffs were Hannah Abbott and Sally-Anne Perks; Gryffindors were Neville and Lavender.

As to the Death Eaters:

Pansy's father, Castor Parkinson married Beatrice Macnair and they had one pureblood boy: Pierce Castor Parkinson. Peregrine Derrick was the Seeker for Slytherin in Harry's first year at Hogwarts. He married Laura Bole (in one of the marriages that were not arranged) and they gave birth to a baby girl who they named Violet Laura Derrick. I decided to make Derrick's father, Pendleton, and make him an old friend of Nott's.

Hope that helps.

And yes, it's the next chapter.

Thanks for reading and please review!