August 22, 1994

10:49 PM

World Cup Camp Grounds

"That was a nice bit of cash made, no?" Embry asked Thomas. "It'll be some nice pocket money to have."

The match between Ireland and Bulgaria had just finished to a somewhat similar result. Bulgaria caught the snitch but Ireland still won the match but the injuries were much more brutal this time around. Krum and Ivanova had to be carried off the field along with Lynch, Mullet, and Quigley.

The group had sat in the top box which had more seats than last time where Thomas, Embry, and Bertram spoke to Minister Oblansk of Bulgaria in his native tongue and laughed heartily at the mans jokes which were very good if not very dark and crass. It had started innocently enough really, they had all taken their seats near the Malfoy's -whose Patriarch looked ready to have a stroke at sitting near the Weasley's- when Minister Fudge came in and spoke loudly to Mr. Oblansk who pretended to not understand a word that was being said.

Thomas introduced himself and asked the Bulgarian Minister if he needed a translator. Oblansk declined the offer politely but was intrigued by their group and asked where they were from. That lead in to an in depth discussion about language and the beauty of conversation. They had spoken so intently that they had ignored nearly everyone else including Fudge who turned red and whined to Lucius Malfoy about uncooperative foreigners. That had earned him several glares but no one commented opting to return to their conversations and ignore the incompetent man.

"Yeah it was," Thomas murmured as he eyed Lucius Malfoy who stormed into his tent that was decorated with green Peacocks, leaving his wife and son behind, both of whom followed at a slower pace. Lucius had been in a rather foul mood since the family meeting they had nearly a week prior.

AUGUST 16, 1994

12:00 PM

MARLEYBONE ROAD, LONDON

Artorius sat at the head of the conference room in the Landmark Hotel, waiting patiently for the last of his guests to arrive. To his left sat Thomas and his wife with Harry sitting next to them along with Arthur and Bill. Bertram sat to his right with Cedrella and Septimus. Andromeda Tonks, her husband Ted, and their daughter Nymphadora sat near Arthur and Bill. The wolves with Black blood -Like Colin, Brady, Seth, Derek, and Danielle- stood around the table behind the people who were seated.

Thomas was a little concerned about sitting at the table to the Lord Regent's left because he knew of the symbolism that it showed. It didn't sit well with him knowing that this was Wilfred's place but he was a descendant of Phineas Nigellus Black and Wilfred wasn't. He didn't voice this out loud because he knew that none of them held anything against him and would give him grief for thinking that way. Thomas felt a bit at ease since this meeting was being streamed live to their group at their safe house via a few enchanted mirrors.

There was a knock on the door and all eyes looked over. Brady, being the closest to it, went to answer it. He didn't get the door open all the way before a coat was thrust upon him.

"Take care of that," Lucius Malfoy said lazily. "Be sure not to wrinkle it." He narrowed his eyes and swung his cane up to block the path of his wife and son. "What are they doing here?" He demanded as he glared at the Weasley's, Harry, and the Tonks family.

"They are members of this family, here at my request," Artorius said with a pleasant smile and a cool tone. Despite that his eyes were like steel as he gazed directly into the eyes of the Malfoy patriarch.

"I'm not sure if you know this, Lord Regent," Lucius began, but he was interrupted.

"If you are referring to the terrible business of their being disowned, Lord Malfoy," Artorius murmured, his tone still cool. "That is a non issue since it was the will of Lord Black to bring them back - I agreed and made it official. They are after all family," He added silkily. "And despite what happened during the war, family has always been valued above anything else in the house of Black."

Those who knew about Sirius knew that he had probably snorted derisively at the comment but they didn't dwell on the subject for too long as Lucius had spoken again.

"Are you sure that is wise?" He asked and several glares met his statement but it was the hissing voice of Artorius that caused him to freeze.

"That is all that will be said on the matter," Artorius' cool tone was now sharp like a blade. "Now sit!" He barked at the Malfoy patriarch who glared back defiantly. "Lose the glare you death eating bastard and sit down!" The last two words were laced with Black family magic which worked on Lucius, much to the Death Eater's surprise and dismay. "Sit down Narcissa and not one word from you boy." He added sternly to the other two while pointing his finger at them as Lucius struggled with himself to not give into the command though it was futile. After they sat down across from Andromeda and her family Artorius continued, "I know I said this was a family meeting," He said as Brady lit Malfoy's coat on fire like it was normal for someone to do. Brady grinned viciously at Lucius who narrowed his eyes before going back to his spot. "But I want to get one thing out of the way first."

He turned to Thomas and nodded to the Alpha wolf. Thomas nodded as well before squeezing his wife's hand and picking up a large black book from beside him. He stood and began thumbing through the book. Cedrella, Andromeda, and Narcissa looked at the book intently.

"All Blacks know what this book is," He began solemnly and there were several nods. "This is the records book on every marriage that has taken place in this family that were added by the Lord Black or the regent of the house. It holds all secrets they have discussed with others both in and out of the family and anyone with Black blood may view the information unless it is stated that they are forbidden from doing so or if they are underage." He stopped on a page that had the name Malfoy at the top.

"Your page Mr. Malfoy-"

"Lord Malfoy." Lucius snarled through gnashed teeth as he thought of the current indignity that was being done to him. Thomas swiped his hand like he was backhanding someone and Lucius was knocked back into the wall behind him, causing the chair to break in the process.

"Pick up the slave so we may continue," Thomas had not looked up from the book but several people were staring at him in awe especially the Weasley's. Derek picked Lucius up with on hand while Bertram fixed the chair and moved it back to the table. Derek plopped Lucius into his seat and wiped his hand on his slacks like he had just touched something nasty. "Now Mr. Slave," Thomas continued warningly. "One more outburst like that and you will lose an appendage and will lose more if you continue." He paused and nodded at Collin who whipped out a knife and threw it at Lucius who cried out when it struck him in his right shoulder.

"Be grateful that I didn't throw it two inches to my right otherwise you would have lost the use of that arm." Collin informed him in a crisp manner. He turned to Draco who was acting like he was angry with what was happening. "Problem?" He asked sarcastically.

"There is no problem," Narcissa interjected, joining in on the act.

"Mother," Draco 'protested' but Narcissa gave him a look.

"Be silent child," She turned to Thomas, "Please continue, good sir." Her husband gave her a look of disbelief which was 'mirrored' by Draco.

"Please call me Thomas, dearest cousin," Thomas told her kindly. "We are after all, family." He looked to Draco and Lucius with a blank expression. "This is not Malfoy manor and you two are not the cream of the crop here," He narrowed his eyes at Lucius. "You married into this family Lucius, not the other way around. You do what we say, when we say it and without complaint." He looked at the book in his hands. "Perhaps you can explain why you have been casually taking funds from your wife's vault since you two married in 1978? No answer? Strange. Was the dowry not efficient enough for you? Is the house of Malfoy in dire straits?"

"What does it matter if I did take funds from her vault," Lucius asked him. "I'm her husband and the head of her house."

"Ha!" Several people chortled or snarled at him.

"Mr. Slave," Thomas smiled a feral smile that showed off his sharp, pearly white teeth. "You have never been her head of house. The moment you signed the marriage contract and accepted the dowry -which was twice the amount normally given since the decision was made to forgo the bride price- you acknowledged that you willingly entered into this family and recognized the status of the Black family."

"The Black family is a proud and pure family just like mine," Lucius grimaced. "At least, until recently." Several growls echoed throughout the room at his words but Thomas chuckled.

"I wasn't talking about blood status you moron, I was talking about the Ancient and Noble status." Lucius stared at him blankly and Thomas laughed outright. "Oh this is genius. Did you even read the contract that you signed?"

"What is your point?" Lucius glared at the Alpha who shook his head in amusement before looking down at the book in his hands.

"Article A, paragraph three, sub-section two point one states and I quote: I, the undersigned, do acknowledge that upon the legal binding of this contract by marriage, that the Most Ancient and Noble house of Black is the primary family in these proceedings and I, the undersigned, am the secondary house. If the house of Black feels I have in anyway violated this agreement, they may annul this union or take control of my house." Thomas looked at the rapidly paling Death Eater and grinned broadly.

"Now you see Mr. Slave," He murmured with glee as he placed the book on the table and began to remove his coat. He walked back to his seat and placed it on the back of the chair. "I suppose I shouldn't be too hard on you for stealing Black family funds or living under the presumption that you had control over your wife since there was no one to correct you. Until recently." He added as he began to roll up his sleeves. "You really should have read the fine print before you signed your name in blood, Mr. Slave. But again I can't hold that against you since no one could correct any misunderstanding between your house and ours. There is however, the matter of the infraction against you before you married Narcissa." Lucius looked confused as did several other people but Thomas pressed on by turning to the Weasley heir.

"Bill," He called and the red head turned to him. "Would you mind reading a passage from page two? My hands are kinda tied at the moment." Thomas smiled and pantomimed his words by clasping his wrists together. Bill nodded as Thomas finished rolling up his sleeves. Several sets of eyes looked towards his tattoos as he did so.

Bill grabbed the book and flipped to the desired page and raised an eyebrow at Thomas.

"Second to the last paragraph," Thomas told him and Bill nodded before clearing his throat.

"The house of Black shall never be subjugated to a lesser house or person. We shall not take their mark or sigil. To do so is to betray our noble house which will result in the disowning of said person or people, making their family line ineligible to lead the family, or the death of said person or people." Bill grinned wickedly at Lucius who seemed to have lost all the blood in his face.

"You see these," Thomas said to Lucius as he moved his arms to show off some of his tattoos. "Are just a few pieces of art that I have on my body and they will not be the last. This, for instance," He held out his left arm, showing his Black family tattoo. "Is what I got not too long ago. I have pride in my family and this shows it. From what I understand, you have something similar." Thomas nodded to Derek who grabbed Malfoy's left shoulder roughly and gripped his forearm before slamming it onto the table. Malfoy winced as Derek ripped off his sleeve, exposing his mark.

Several people looked at it in disgust and Artorius stood up while Thomas spoke again.

"Similar," He repeated with a sneer marring his face. "But mine have strong meanings. Yours is the mark of a bastard son of a muggle and a near squib. I have nothing against non-magicals or squibs," He clarified for everyone, most of whom were in shock at the information that was revealed. "But you, a proud pureblood whose house motto is 'Bow before no one' bowed to one of the things you hate most: a wizard with muggle ancestry. Tell me Lucius, what part did you prefer to kiss; your master's feet or his ass?" He smirked as Lucius glared at him.

"The moment you took that mark, your bloodline was forever ineligible of inheriting our assets." Artorius took over at this point. "Look to your father Draco," Artorius said to the teen. "Look to the man you thought of as great. Look at him and see him as a slave to a man whose entire stance and campaign was nothing short of hypocritical. Look at him and see the one responsible for denying you your heritage here in this family because he decided to be marked with that disgusting thing."

Artorius paused and glared at Lucius.

"I won't dissolve your marriage though I am tempted to," He growled low in his throat. "All that would do is leave you to your own devices and frankly that is not good for anyone. No, from now on the house Malfoy is under the control of the Most Ancient and Noble house of Black." The magic in the air began to swirl before a bright light was emitted, sealing the fate of house Malfoy for the foreseeable future.

"Don't look so angry Lucius," Thomas smirked at the infuriated wizard. "You should be used to being somebody else's bitch."

The meeting dissolved into the standard family meeting after that bit of excitement. Arthur had tried to refuse to accept money from Artorius but he was told that it was standard for all members of the family to have an allowance. It also helped that most of it was coming from the Malfoy family vault (Which, while big, were not even close to the size of the Black family vaults) and so far Arthur used the money frugally.

There had been a private reunion between Andromeda and Narcissa which almost began with spell fire when Narcissa slapped Andromeda across the face. Narcissa nearly broke down as she explained that she had been wanting to do that because of how Andromeda had basically left Bella and her behind while their parents controlled what they could and couldn't do. She said that she had hated Andromeda for that but she hugged her older sister none the less and said that she missed her.

Artorius had watched this reunion with a blank expression but it pained him to think that his mother was on the other side of the Atlantic thinking that she wouldn't see her sisters again when he had the power to change that. He couldn't though because there was no way to explain how there was two of him at the moment without telling people that he and the others were from the future.

Harry promised him that after the other versions went back to their time, that he as Lord Black would bring Cassius and Octavia back into the family. Whether he would do it while living in Britain or in America was a whole different matter entirely.

Thomas looked over to the Weasley's and Harry as they entered the Black family tent. He caught Harry's gaze and nodded solemnly to him. It was almost time for the confrontation. They had sent in an anonymous tip to Amelia Bones who doubled the security in secret by hiring hit wizards -Wizards for hire- who were being paid out of her very deep pockets. They had set up a patrols around the camp grounds but some of them weren't going to take this seriously and the Death Eater contingent would slip through their lines. Technically one already did since Crouch Junior was on the grounds but that was a different issue entirely.

As much as Thomas hated waiting, they were ready and they would succeed.

"Do we really need the bloodsucking demons here?" A man in Death Eater garb hiccupped and ignored the hisses he heard around him. "What use could they possibly be?" He demanded with slurred words. There was a whooshing sound followed by a squelch. The mans head was suddenly on the ground, rolling away and the body fell forward.

"Anybody else have a problem with our involvement?" The voice belonged to the vampire elder known only as Aelfstan, which meant Elf Stone. A fitting name for someone who looked like an elf straight out of Middle Earth, sans pointed ears. He was much older than anyone ever knew but he was not as old as some of the vampires in the superior branch of vampirism. "Or are we going to proceed as planned?" His voice was calm, his accent wasn't recognizable but it wasn't distracting. He grimaced at the blood on his clawed hand because it didn't smell right to him. He was wondering if it was the alcohol or something else.

"You fucking monster," Another man slurred as he went for his wand only to get gutted with the Omega blade that was in the vampires other hand. The man was gasping for breath as his skin began to decompose before he stopped breathing altogether. Aelfstan kicked the corpse away as it started to ash before looking at the other humans with a challenging expression. His clan smirked at their human counter parts.

"Leave it," Alecto Carrow, one of the more sober Death Eaters grunted. "We're already two men down and several people are either late or not coming at all. We don't need this right now." She thought about the fact that Malfoy and Nott both declined the invitation earlier in the week. Lucius had seemed enthusiastic while Nott said he would think about it then days later, both said no. Lucius was acting rather oddly and from the whispers she heard, a new Lord Black had been named while operating through a regent. It was possible that both things were unrelated she had thought at the time but you never knew with someone like Lucius. She glared at the vampire elder who looked bored. "Can you refrain from killing any more people who are not us?" She demanded and the vampire smiled as he admired the sword in his hand.

"That depends," He told her, still looking at the sword.

"On what?" Amycus Carrow, Alecto's brother, growled.

"On whether or not they get in our way," Aelfstan smirked over at him. "You keep these...inbred curs out of the way, then the rest us will stay out of yours." He ignored the outraged sputtering form all the Death eater gear wearing magic users and peered through the trees. "They are celebrating," He observed as the cheering from the Ireland supporters was heard. "Now will be a good time to start. The screams that follow after our appearance will buy us a little bit of time until the other hit wizards and Aurors arrive." He looked towards the bodies of the hit wizards a few of his clan had drained with disinterest but turned back to Amycus when he spoke.

"You do not command here," Amycus snarled through his teeth before getting angrier when all the vampire did was smile. It reminded the Death Eater of Dumbledore with his benign expression and the twinkle in his eyes. The difference though was that the vampire had no twinkle but rather an icy stare that Amycus was sure would make even his master shiver. Not that he would ever say that out loud.

Aelfstan ignored the Death Eater and turned to his clan.

"Gentlemen," He began with an even bigger smile. "Ladies, let's show these wizards how you really terrorize people." He flitted away with his clan following, leaving the Death Eater wearing magic users before they could say a word.

"Damn that bloodsucking corpse!" Amycus swore as he pointed his wand at three muggles they had captured. He remembered how Aelfstan had 'graciously' allowed them to keep them as pets for the evening. Amycus wanted to kill the vampire leader but he was far more educated from working in the Department of Magical creatures to know that you needed a group of wizards and witches to subdue just one vampire but that wasn't always guaranteed.

"Move out!" He roared at his group as he levitated the muggle family into the air and brought them into the fold.

As the celebratory cries became screams of panic, the Aurors on duty, the hit wizards in the area, converged on the scene with Amelia Bones in the lead.

"Looks like that tip was right boss." Rufus Scrimgeour, the head auror grunted as he raised his wand. He sent a silent stunner at one of the vampires who dodged then ran towards him. "Blast, they are vampires!" He exclaimed as noticed how quick that stunner was dodged. He sent a blasting hex at the ground to distract the vampire who merely jumped over the debris and flew towards the auror.

The vampire slowed down in mid air before he was flung into another vampire.

"What the-" Scrmgeour began but took a step back when a tent peg stopped a few inches from his face. He eyed the peg before looking to see where it could have come from. He saw a female vampire blinking at him, arm extended like she just threw something. The peg flew back to her and she spun out of the way. When she turned back to face them, she crouched and bared her fangs before a whitish blue arrow struck her in the head. She shrieked as she burst into dust, causing all the other vampires to stop what they were doing and look over.

"What the devil?" A hit wizard stuttered.

"You mind if we cut in?" A voice commented from behind the wizards who turned around. There stood Thomas and his group, clad in armor with weapons drawn.

"Kill them!" One of the vampires snarled as they charged forward. Some dropped their intended victims while their leader glanced curiously at the new arrivals. The wizards raised their wands.

"That's not going to work," Thomas commented as he walked through the group. He was dressed in black and silver armor that covered most of his torso except for his forearms which were covered in elastic material. He had a wolf head affixed to his left shoulder with his right shoulder being free. His pants were made of the same elastic material and his boots were steel tipped. He had the new and improved Alika in his right hand which was shrunken down slightly. He twirled it before launching it into the air with the blade facing up.

He clapped his hands together and produced a shockwave that sent the vampires flying. The wizards stood there, gaping including the normally stern looking Amelia Bones. Thomas caught his weapon when it came back down and Artorius, Bertram, and Wilfred stepped forward.

"Who the hell are you?" One of the hit wizards demanded as the rest of Thomas' group joined him up front. "Better yet what are you?" The tone as slightly accusing but still very demanding. Thomas turned to him and narrowed his whitish blue eyes.

"I'm complicated," He said hotly as Tanya joined him brandishing a sword. "And far more qualified to deal with them then you. If you want sport, take the death eating bastards over there." He jabbed his thumb over his shoulder towards the wizards who didn't stop what they were doing. "You wanna talk wizard, do it afterwards because they are far more important. Alright troops, lets rock and roll!" He roared at his team and they set off.

Seth summoned his bow and shot arrows at some of the on coming vampires. Tabitha took to the air with Embry and attacked them from above. Poseidon and Matilda summoned any available water supply to distract the vampires. Collin sent rocks or tree roots at the vampires. Brady lit a few of them on fire.

"He's right you know." Amelia Bones snapped out of stupor when she heard Artorius speak. "We should concentrate our efforts on them." He spun around and sent an explosive hex at the ground near some of the death eaters, causing them to fly back. His friends followed him, all dressed in their battle gear. The other wizards followed as well after a few moments.

Thomas made his way through the crowd of people and vampires with his wife by his side. They destroyed the vampires that got in their way and pointed the humans in the right direction to safety. When the saw the leader just standing in his spot, they rushed over to him.

"Who are you?" Aelfstan murmured to them as they began to circle him.

Thomas and Tanya said nothing. Thomas sped over to him before leaping into the air. He arched his back with his weapon raised. He slammed his weapon down on the vampire elder who lazily raised his blade, thinking the sword would protect him. His eyes widened when the two weapons met because the force was stronger then he expected. He hastily used his other hand to hold the sword as he staggered.

The loud clang and a powerful shock-wave caught the attention of the other vampires who turned to see their leader get his right arm sliced off by Tanya. The arm crumbled into dust and blood squirted out of the wound though the vampire didn't make a sound. Thomas kicked him away and kept up his attack as the vampires arm began to regrow at almost an alarming rate. It started with the bone, then blood and flesh until a brand new arm appeared and Aelfstan took a swipe at Thomas who ducked and stabbed the vampire in the stomach to further drive him back.

Tanya followed and tried to hack the other arm off to get the sword but Aelfstan blocked the attack as Thomas shoved him harshly and sent him flying. The vampire elder crashed through the trees and landed into a small clearing. Tanya and Thomas rushed forward to continue their attack as some of the other vampires rushed after them to help the leader.

They were intercepted by their more powerful cousins who quickly destroyed them. Santiago nearly laughed out loud when one of the weaker vampires tried use some moves that were practiced in Capoeira, the Brazilian martial art.

Tolo, he thought. (Fool) I was there when that style was in it's infancy. I know every move because I learned from the best. He used a leg sweep to bring the vampire down before ripping out his heart.

"You smell vile," He spat at the vampire as he crushed the heart in his hand, causing the vampire to become dust. He wiped his hand on the clothes that were on the vampire before he was killed. The blood that these vampires had would dry up and crumble after the vampire was killed but it was still nasty to smell.

"They do, don't they?" Felix commented from his right and Santiago turned to see him rip a vampire in half. He grimaced as he was covered in blood that began to dry. "I need a bath." He muttered as he caught a vampire by the throat without looking at it.

"We all do," Heidi murmured, killing a vampire with ease.

"Hey I managed to stay clean," Garrett said, helping his mate with a few vampires though she didn't need it. "Though I'm sure Auqaman and Ariel will have no problem giving you a rinse." He teased the young she-wolf and the godly named hybrid with a knack for water control.

"I'll show you a rinse." Matilda muttered threateningly as she stabbed a vampire in the head. Poseidon gave the former American nomad a half-hearted glare but he rolled his eyes when Garrett grinned at him before sending a ball of water at him, leaving the vampire sputtering.

"You little shit!" Garrett howled. "This is one of my favorite coats!" He smacked one of the enemy vampires, knocking its head off.

"Get Brady to dry it." Was the rather dry response from Poseidon.

Future Harry and the other magic users from the future had disillusioned themselves so they could blend into the surroundings and provide cover for the people that were trying to get out. Their younger counterparts and most of the Weasley's had left already via portkey to the Black family ancestral home before they would head to the Burrow with Percy.

"Avada Kedavra!" Amycus Carrow screamed as a jet of green light shot towards a mother who was running with her child. Esmeralda conjured a large mirror to cover the woman which caused the curse to bounce back to its caster as it cracked from the force. The wizard fell to the ground as the curse struck him, the look on his face was nothing short astonished.

The curse was said to be impossible to block which was true, but it could be rebounded by strong, ancient magic, or enchanted mirrors though that option wasn't publically known. Then again, who would have thought to conjure a mirror to block the dreaded curse when they would be trying to avoid it?

"No!" His sister shrieked as she saw her brother. She frantically searched around. "Who did that?!" She shrieked again before pointing her wand in a random direction and shouted, "Crucio!" The red beam of light shot towards a small child who was crying for his parents.

Derek, who had finished with the vampire that he had, blurred through the panicked gathering until he was in front of the child and took the curse. He did not make any sounds or gestures that related to pain as the curse washed over him. He was actually fine and currently sapping Alecto's magic thanks to his power. He turned to the boy behind him and got down to his level to shield the boy from further attacks.

"What's the problem little man?" He asked the sobbing boy who was trying to calm down enough to tell Derek about his parents.

"I'll take him," Esmeralda offered as she appeared back into view. She picked up the crying boy who didn't put up a struggle. "I trust that you will take care of that thing?" She nodded to Alecto and Derek nodded as well. Esmeralda turned away and disillusioned herself and the boy and began to look for his parents since she had seen what they looked like from the boys surface thoughts.

Derek spun around to face Alecto with a look of pure fury. "You stupid bitch, how dare you cast that spell at a child?!" He snapped as more Death eater garb wearing wizards began throwing spells at him which absorbed and threw back at them. "Stay out of this!" He yelled at them as they fell to the ground with cries of pain. Derek glared down at Alecto before he smiled. "Feel that you death eating whore? That's me draining your magic," His right hand shot up and a short beam of red light left his hand and struck a witch who tried to engage him in battle. He continued as the other woman screamed, "Very ironic isn't it? You hate squibs and muggles yet when this is all said and done, you'll be just like them." He asked Alecto who moaned piteously as she felt her magic began to lessen.

"Baby," Mary said softly to Derek. "We need to finish up." She ignored the woman on the ground and focused solely on her mate.

"Tell the others to stay out of the way," He told his mate as he slowly turned to her. "I have an idea to end this quickly." Mary nodded her head and flashed away. "Well miss Carrow, let's put that magic of yours to good use." He eyed each of his intended targets and began to pull from Alecto's magic even quicker than before which caused her to lose consciousness. When she woke up she would be without magic while in the holding cell at the ministry.

As soon as he got the signal from Mary, he shot beams of light out of his hands into the sky. The beams formed an energy ball. Derek dropped his hands, thought and said the word 'Pain' and snapped his fingers. Several sparks erupted from the ball and shot towards their targets like heat seeking missiles. The targets were hit hard and fast; their screams were louder than what the panicked crowd.

"Good lord." Several people murmured as they saw the results. Bertram, Artorius, and Wilfred stunned the screaming people and began to bind them with ropes.

"What are you doing?!" Bartemious Crouch, who had joined the furor earlier, demanded. When none of them answered him he grabbed Bertram by the shoulder. "I asked the three of you a question boy." Bartemious expected an answer but what he got was a fist to the face.

"Do not touch me again." Bertram flatly told him and had to restrain himself from doing or saying anything else. He turned around to resume his task. He dodged a stunning spell that was sent his way just as a cry of "Morsmordre!" was heard and the dark mark of Lord Voldemort was seen in the sky.

"Find out who cast that," Madame Bones barked. "And Rowle, what in the name of Merlin were you thinking?"

"He attacked a department head," Rowle said dumbly as several people moved out to where the spell was cast.

"Who put his hand on my person without my permission," Bertram pointed out. "He's lucky that all he received was a punch, considering the damage he's done to my family with his treachery after the last war."

"What are you talking about?" Madam Bones asked him as Crouch glared at him while fixing his nose.

"We may discuss that after my cousin and his wife have dealt with the vampire elder," Artorius said as he finished his task and walked over to her. He removed his helmet and stared directly at her and held his hand out to her. "Artorius Black; Lord Regent for the Most Ancient and Noble house of Black."

"What are you?!" Aelfstan was spitting tacks when none of his attacks worked and he kept losing limbs. He nearly lost his head and he was sure that not even the sword would be able to bring him back with its power even though it increased his healing capabilities quite a bit; healing things and re-growing limbs that may have taken awhile to grow or heal. "Answer me damn you!" He roared suddenly before he screamed when the arm he was holding exploded. The omega blade sailed through the air before Tanya caught it. "Give me that!"

Aelfstan attempted to rush forward but he forgot about Thomas who cut off both his legs with one swipe of his weapon.

"You should have watched your back." Thomas commented to the screaming immortal. He held his hand out to his wife, asking for the sword. She tossed it to him and he caught it and it began to sear his flesh. "Well," He grunted slightly. "I guess this thing doesn't like me or rather, my power." He looked down to the Vampire elder who was now calling for help and crawling away. "You have no allies left; your entire clan was killed. Including the ones you left at your fortress in Germany."

Aelfstan, momentarily forgetting his pain, turned to Thomas in dread. That place had been his home for nearly six centuries and now it was gone? It was impossible to think about.

"Yes, its all gone." Thomas murmured over the sizzling sound emanating from his hand. Takoda had told him that he could hold the blade for sometime but his hand wouldn't heal completely until he let it go so he wasn't worried. "The paintings, the scrolls; everything. You really should have stayed out of this, but its a little late to think about that right now." His eyes cut to his mate and he nodded to her. She stepped forward and raised her sword.

"May you and your clan find solace in the next great adventure," She said solemnly over Aelfstans protest. "An adventure that has long since been over do for all of you." She slammed her sword down and through the vampires head. He turned to dust just like the rest of them.

"Are you ok?" Thomas asked her softly after she lifted her sword up and she nodded slowly.

"It had to be done or he would have tried to come after us." Tanya shifted her weight from foot to foot and sighed when Thomas prompted her to continue. "I just feel strange about killing him while he was begging for his life. When I was younger, it wouldn't have mattered to me because my opponents were like me; he wasn't. I've never used a sword in my all my years and he needed a magical one just to be on par with us and we were holding back the entire time. I just feel strange." She whispered and Thomas walked over to her. He put his weapon down and pulled her into a one armed hug.

"I feel the same way but we did what we had to do to make sure he couldn't keep using this thing or seek retribution." Thomas hugged her tighter before speaking again, "We need to get this sword into the trunk and meet up with the others. That asshole Crouch is about to start world war three because Bertram punched him. We can talk more later if you like?" Tanya nodded against his chest and pulled away from him. She took his free hand and they began to walk back to the campsite.

Ares roared with great fury as he destroyed another practice dummy. He was hoping that the sword would have been enough but the vampire he gave it to had failed spectacularly. He couldn't interfere directly by giving boost to either the death eaters or Riddle because he would have gained the attention of Hecate, though he was pushing it by giving Aelfstan the sword since vampires were magical creatures. He could get away with this one because he didn't hand it to the vampire personally and used his mortal persona to broker a deal.

Now he would have to come up with a new plan of attack or one that would distract the council long enough for him to destroy these new players. For now he would work off his rage then pay a visit to his sons.