A/N : Okay, so for the 22th time ; if you recognize it, it's not mine.

May 1944 - Germany - Scheinacht Castle

Rommel spent three weeks in an army hospital before being allowed to leave, at which point he was given a few days' leave for a complete recovery, and he climbed with relief in the staff car that had been sent to take him back home. Phtisis was one of the few diseases that had no real magical cure, which accounted for the long time it had taken him to get over it. But being left in a bed the whole day for these three weeks had been the height of boredom. The only thing he had been able to do was to watch that memory Himmler had given him. Maybe he should not have done it, but he had to at least know who.

And it had been as horrible as expected, yet the blond wizard could not help thinking he somehow deserved to witness that nightmare, since he had been, in some twisted and sickening though undirect way, responsible for it. But what made it even worse was that the stream of memory was more or less improved, so as to make him experience the feelings of the man the memories belonged to. Watching a friend of his being tortured and killed because of him was already agonizing, but when he had to feel the pleasure of the murderer... that was thoroughly disgusting.

Yet, if he was sincere with himself, he had to admit that, was he given the choice, he would still make the same decisions ; he knew what the consequences would be, yet he still had chosen to save his men. He had to cope with it, so he merely refused to think about it, not quite forgetting it, but putting it away until he was able to make this sacrifice worth it, by helping in the defeat of Grindelwald. He was helped in this regard by the fact that the war had now been raging for five years, and as a soldier he had seen many people die. After some time, one got used to it. It was sad to accept so much death as an everyday event, but there was no other choice in a battle. Only after there would be time to bury the dead and to mourn those who had fallen. Moreover, whoever had chosen the victim had been quite incompetent at it ; the man was an acquaintance, but not such a close friend. It did not make his death any less horrible, but it definitely made it easier for Rommel to deal with it. He had felt a little guilty at his relief that it wasn't someone closer to him, but it was not the time to dwell in self-pity.

Besides, Lucie and Manfred had been able to visit him after the first week, which had noticeable improved his mood. It had been almost a year since he had last seen his son, and the seven years old boy was growing at an incredible speed. He had taken at least five centimeters since the last year. He still did not seem to have a knack at math, unlike his father and much to his dismay, but given time...

Tom Riddle had been, as well as captain Aldinger, living at Scheinacht Castle - quite a pompous name for what was hardly more than a big house - and Lucie had not asked questions about that whole nephew affair... yet. According to the young British wizard, security had seriously tightened in Germany as the war went worse and worse for them on all fronts. It was of course impossible to Apparate from one country to another in war times, wards were set to prevent that ; Rommel had been able to only because of his rank, the wards having been set on his magical signature so as to allow his passage. Only the highest ranking wizards in the Third Reich had been granted that privilege. The chimney network was also controlled almost totally by the Gezaupo. The Feldmarschal had been able to use his on several occasions, but only thanks to temporary Deviation and Conceiling spells, not to mention that, being officially in Africa at the time, the Gezaupo had really no reason to keep his chimney under observation. Now that he was back, though, the matter was entirely different. Rommel now felt really grateful he had Tom with him, for if he needed to pass a really crucial information on to the Allies, he could send the teen by more unconventional ways - maybe even by broomstick, if he really was in a hurry. He himself had never been a very good flier, and did not even liked to fly, but maybe Riddle did, and anyway extremes situations called for extreme measures.

The staff car finally stopped in front of the doorway, and the short blond man got out of the vehicle with relief. At last, he was home ; maybe not for a very long time, but it still felt good to be there.

The door opened, and a small whirlwind made its way toward Rommel, who soon was strongly hugged by a brown-haired boy who had a big smile spread on his face.

"Manfred ! Don't exert your father !"

A young woman with long dark hair came out and adopted a scolding tone, though Rommel knew she did not really mean it. Manfred must somehow have known it too, for he did not seem to be about to obey.

"I guess I have to make up for all the hugs I did not get in the last months", the blond wizard said teasingly. "uuufff - still, I'd like to breath, Manfred !"

The boy finally released him, but kept hold of his hand. Lucie smiled, but she was way too reserved to hug her husband outside of the house. Still, her tenderness when she grabbed his other hand said everything there was to express. She was a wonderful wife, and Rommel had never regretted his marriage in the eight years they had spent together.

They entered the house, and the following hours were completely oblivious of dark wizards of any kind and such matters as wars. They avoided mentioning it as much as possible, as they usually did in these rare, blessed moments that saw them together.

Later, this evening, Tom felt he could safely leave his room. He had not wanted to get in the way, and he hated these kind of sloppy occasions and family gatherings of any kinds. Of course, he never had any. Yet, he couldn't help but be a little angry that his fellow wizard did not even ask for him when he had not seen him. As he had never cared for family lonks (or so he told himself) he couldn't fathom the idea that after nearly a year of separation, a man could want to spend time with his family only. His only consolation was that Aldinger was in the same situation as him, but it was really little consolation. Besides, the captain had been a friend of the family for a while, since he was Rommel's aide since almost the beginning of the wars, and he was much more at ease and used to make himself discreet when he was in his superior officer's home.

Later in the afternoon, Manfred had come to him. In Tom's opinion, the boy was an irritating, bothering thing, always sticking around him. The kid had indeed been told that Tom was his cousin, and therefore seemed to consider him as some kind of big brother, and he didn't let go of that obsession, no matter what the teen told him with growing exasperation. Whenever Tom read in the library (there wasn't a lot of things to do around apart from reading) the boy would come and interrupt him. Actually, Tom found the boy extremely annoying, even when he just kept silent and played quietly with his miniature tanks and panzers magically animated, pretending to be his father.

"You are just as boring as the other grown-ups", Manfred had complained once. "Weren't you ever a kid ?"

"No !" Tom had snapped impatiently.

And that was somehow true ; he had never considered himself a child. However, the boy did not seem about to give up on him - unfortunately, the wizard teen thought, not ready to admit, even to himself, that he was flattered by the boy's attention.

"If I bore you, why don't you just go bother someone else ?" the teen added.

"He is with Mother", Manfred shrugged. "I think they want some, uh... time together to talk and do adult stuff."

"Well, that's exactly what I want too, so..." Tom waved his hand dismissively - with little or no effect.

"Is that true that you defeated plenty of Allied soldiers and saved a lot of our officers ?" the boy queried with curiosity.

"Who told you that ?" the British teen frowned.

"Father said you were very brave, so you must have made lots of prisonners and stuff like that. Did you really receive the Iron Cross ?" excitation was audible in the seven years old voice.

"He said that ?" Tom half opened his mouth in surprise, then corrected himself ; of course Rommel had. After all, it was the truth. He felt pride at the deserved praise, and suddenly Manfred's presence did not seem so annoying any more ; he had managed to catch the young wizard's interest. "Yes, I received the Iron Cross", he even answered the boy's last question.

"Tell me how you got it", the kid pleaded.

Tom rolled his eyes, but he complied without needing a lot of persuading. The newfound adoration in the boy's eyes made him feel good, even though he reasonned with himself that looking good in the eyes of a mere kid was not really such a deed to be proud of.

He had thus spent several hours with the kid, and then, when Manfred had went downstairs to spend some more time with his father, he had resumed his reading about warfare and strategy. Not that he found the subject so fascinating, but it did seem a little less boring that advanced math books (did Rommel have any normal book ?). But, eventually, he came down for the dinner, and then stayed for a cup of tea, while Manfred, to his relief, was sent to bed - not without making a fuss. Captain Aldinger, who attended to all of the meals, tactfully offered to take him to bed, and with his usual discretion did not come back.

Lucie poured three cups of tea, offered some sugar and milk around, then she sat down, a cup in her hand, on the couch, near her husband. There was some silence before any of them spoke. Then, Lucie put down her cup, and with determined eyes stared at her husband.

"Now that Manfred is in bed, and we are certain we are not listened to, I think you owe me some explanations, Erwin."

Tom was really surprised to hear such demands from her. During his stay in Scheinacht Castle, she had appeared to him as a shy and mousy kind of woman, devoided of any real personnality. She had never asked him anything, in fact rarely adressed him at all. But now, he realized he did not know her at all ; he had been too quick to judge her. He would have to remember that harmless looking people were not always really innocuous...

The teen cast a glance at the Feldmarschal, and bit back a sneer. The man knew how to handle his subordinates, but he didn't know what to say to his wife...

"Lucie, I..." he started.

"And I will not tolerate any lie !" she warned him.

"I was not about to lie", he scowled. "And now, if I may finish my sentence... what exactly to you want to know ?"

"We don't have a nephew called Tom Ritter, as far as I know", she stated calmly. "And I checked. Although we are, actually, related to a Ritter family, we never were close to them."

And she would have checked, Tom thought with a fiendish grin. Of course, she had not asked him, knowing how likely he was to lie...

"You do realize, that the more you know, the more you will be in danger", Rommel said. It was not a lecture, at most a reminder.

"I will be in danger anyway", the young witch retorted, "because I am related to you, and therefore our fates are bounded. So I think I deserve to know at least why."

"You do", the blond wizard granted quietly. "I can't tell you the details, though. Is that acceptable for you ?"

"I don't want to know the details", she shrugged. "I want to know what is going on. And before you add even one word, Erwin, I think you should have talked to me before taking such decisions."

"Maybe I should have", the german wizard's face hardened slightly, "but I did not see you much lately, and it was my decision to take, even though it does involve you as my wife."

Lucie seemed to be about to argue, then thought better of it and clasped her mouth. She folded her arms and waited intently.

"All right", Rommel relented. "Tom is British. He doesn't have any family. I decided to take him with me."

Beautiful. Just beautiful, and he knew quite a lot about manipulation, Tom thought, eyeing the couple with glimmering eyes. Rommel had said nothing but the truth, yet he had said it so that his wife would unmistakeably reach the wrong conclusion. When she would realize just how he had tricked her... Ha ! she would be mad at him ! If she ever discovered it, of course.

But it was not so easy to trick her. At first she seemed sorry for Tom (much to his irritation) then merely suspicious.

"And you just decided to take care of a poor orphan, out of the goodness of your heart", she narrowed her eyes warningly. "Please, Erwin, don't play that kind of games with me. You are not telling me the truth. Or at least, not all of it."

Heck, Tom liked her style... no dwelling on a poor orphan, oh no... really, Rommel had a good taste.

"Right", the blond wizard admitted, slightly exasperated. "Not all of the truth. But I can't tell you more for now. The less you know, the safer."

"And when may I expect to be told the truth, full and whole ?" she did not look happy with it, though she realized that her husband was indeed right.

"I don't know", he looked at her, helplessly. "A few month, I hope. But I really can't be sure."

"Fine", she relented. "But don't try my patience, Erwin. I won't wait forever."

Tom looked at them, and wondered how a friendly, family talk could turn so quickly in a confrontation. They were both frowning at each other, neither of them happy with the situation. But, now that the discussion had more or less ended in a draw, they eased off a bit. There was an uncomfortable silence.

"So, Tom, how do you like Germany at this time of the year ?" Lucie finally asked, breaking the ice.

He smiled and decided to play nice. He had always been able to fool everyone with his acts... except maybe Dumbledore. But the woman wasn't Dumbledore, and he was confident he could earn her fondness and trust in no time. It might prove useful, after all.

After the first evening's incident, no further mention was made of Tom's situation. He was officially a friend and a blood relative, and no one asked further. Manfred must also have been thoroughly briefed by his mother, for he did not ask any question about Tom's family, like he did when they were first introduced. This easy life kept going for a few days, until his new orders were sent to the german wizard.

A young, Aryan-looking, military clad man, looking no more than twenty years, rang at the door, and saluted when the Feldmarschal opened the door.

"A courrier for you, sir."

Rommel dismissed the youngling and tore open the "top-secret" libelled letter, then read it with attention. His face betrayed a flicker of surprise, but nothing more, as he neared the last lines. Then, he folded back the letter in the envelope, thoughtfully.

"Are you leaving soon, Father ?" Manfred asked, jittering around as he played with Rommel's cap and Feldmarschal baton.

"Yes", the german wizard nodded.

"Where, where ?!"

"Well, I don't know if I can tell you", Rommel teased the seven years old. "You can read now, so you know what was written on the letter... it's top-secret."

"Pleaaaase !" the boy insisted. "I promise I won't tell anyone, not even captain Aldinger."

"What are you not going to tell me ?" the aforementioned entered the room at that same moment.

"I won't tell you where father is being sent", the kid replied with a big smile.

"Oh, you won't ?" the captain raised an eyebrow. "Well, I suppose I will know where I am once we get there..."

"Oh, I take it you would be able to recognize the Eiffel tower", Rommel chuckled.

"The Eiffel..." the captain looked surprise, then smiled. "Now that's nice, I always wanted to visit Paris."

"No drinking wine while on duty", Rommel teasingly warned him.

"Ha, you're taking all the fun out of it", Aldinger complained.

"Can I come with you, Father ?" Manfred pleaded.

"Of course not", Lucie cut him shortly. "Don't be silly, young man."

She did not look very happy, but even Tom could understand that it was not easy for her to see her husband leave so soon. They had hardly had a few days together, and already he was being sent hundreds of kilometers away. And with the new restrictions, he probably would not be able to come back during the week-ends, even with chimney powder.

"What are you going to do in France ?" Manfred insisted, his small face twisted in a pout at the idea of being once more left behind.

"Now that is really top-secret", the german wizard replied. "No, sulking won't make me change my mind. Aldinger, we are to leave in three days, I'd like you to make the necessary arrangements..."

He went on, giving instructions. Tom didn't listen to him. France... Now, that was a chance. They would be much closer to Great Britain, and much farther from Grindelwald - all the better. Besides, he had been given names and ways to contact the French underground, and that may be his chance. He would be able to send a report on the situation in England, and maybe he would receive further instructions...

The day just before their departure, Rommel was visited by some guy called Karl Strollin. Tom dimly remembered seeing him leaving the hospital while he, Lucie and Manfred arrived, which meant he had visited the Feldmarschal then too, yet Rommel had not spoken to Tom about it at all. Granted, they had not had much occasions to speak privately, but the teen somehow had a feeling it was important. The two men spoke together in Rommel's office for about an hour, then Strollin was taken back to the door. He looked hopeful, while the Feldmarschal on the other hand looked very unhappy. Tom promised himself to ask him about it the first time he got the occasion, but such opportunity did not present itself before their departure for France.

There was only the three of them ; Rommel, Tom and Aldinger. They had been given no escort, since the Feldmarschal had not requested any, and the road they were to follow was considered safe. And so they left, once again. Somehow, Tom had the feeling their stay in France would not be peaceful...