Convincing Ron took no work at all, after a file was unearthed to show another auror had been possibly cursed as well, in a completely different place than Diagon. From what they could tell he had been working with muggles when he started throwing curses around, and though he had been pardoned-as his behavior was so strange that nobody would argue he hadn't been cursed-it hadn't been followed up on, and there were ties with his behavior that linked him to the case at their desks. That one had happened in October, and the man hadn't been back to work since. Kingsley reported him dead in his home with his wife a half hour after they asked an auror to check up on the man. A seizure had gotten him, just like Don. The body of the wife was spotless, which pointed towards avada kedavra as the curse that took her.

Ginny didn't want to take the kids after Harry explained everything to her; worried that if Harry fell under the spell he would find them with her. Malfoy had a better arsenal of spells that he could use to protect himself and the kids, and she couldn't risk a wizard showing up to attack them. She decided it was best if they stayed at the manor. Hermione would move in with Malfoy too, and that put Harrys nerves to rest as he helped Lily pack her things away in her bag. She had been the least happy to be leaving, and Harry's heart tugged in sympathy as she packed a stuffed rabbit under her pajamas solemnly.

Ron and Hermione met him at the door with Ginny and the kids an hour before they were set to leave, and they all sat together in silence in Harrys kitchen, wondering what would happen next. It seemed scarier than the war, now that there was something threatening at their doorstep-something they couldn't see to defend themselves from.

Malfoy was appropriately morose as he showed them to their rooms, never once bragging about how large the house was compared to the burrow. He didn't even call Ron 'Weasel' to break the somber mood. He served them mini sandwiches on tiny posh plates, and urged them to have some tea to settle their nerves, but was otherwise unable to make things feel normal. Harry didn't know what to say, all words failing him as he stooped in front of his three children, who hadn't been given explanations about anything that was going on. Harry hadn't even told Kingsley he had moved the kids to Malfoy's, on the off chance that news would spread.

When Harry apparated back to his empty house he felt more alone than he had in ages. The emptiness truly struck him when he went to his bedroom, and found that Lily had left a small stuffed bear behind on his pillow, and that Albus had set a snitch on his bedside table. He didn't fall asleep any easier when the cotton ear of the bear was pressed to his cheek, or the humming of the snitch's wings was filling the room with a pleasant white noise.

Work seemed harder, and even though there was four days with no news to report, he felt as if the stakes had raised. The novelty of having the house to himself had worn off of Ron, who looked miserable as his finger traced the edge of a picture frame that held his family, smiling and waving happily at him from the backyard of the burrow. Hermione sometimes sent coffee to their desks from Malfoy's house with a spell, and usually it was on their desks by the morning before they went into the office.

"Never thought I'd miss the sound of Rose and Hugo fighting over the last of the cereal." Ron sighed as he and Harry sat together during lunch, the Unspeakables finally gone off for their own break. Their name fit them, and none of them were known to speak more than a few words at a time, as far as Harry knew. He kept a tally on a memo pad of every word they said collectively during a day, and the number never passed forty five.

Harry was used to having a silent house, but it still burned a little when he called his children down for breakfast, only to remember they were gone. He was going to hate it when they were old enough to move out. "Are you going to see them this weekend? Malfoy is going to cook for us with Hermione and Scorpius."

"Cooking." Ron scoffed, his eyes darkening, "Is that what they call it now?"

Once he had said it, he looked just as surprised as Harry did, and he frowned, shaking his head and saying, "I must be tired, mate, if I think 'Mione would think to do anything with that ferret."

His tone bordered on bitter still, but Harry sympathized. He had been feeling agitated lately too, and over the smallest things. Kingsley was acting similarly, and Harry figured they were all strung out from the stress. He tried to enjoy their lunch break, and leaned back in his seat, but before he could truly settle in the loud speaker burst to life over the auror department, and his grip slipped from around the foam coffee cup. It was mostly cool by then, which Harry was grateful for, but he couldn't help cursing at the large wet stain on the chest and stomach of his auror robes.

"Forget it, mate, listen to this!" Ron said, waving impatiently at Harry to shut up, which he did, bitterly, for all but half a second before the words of the report came through. An auror had just subdued an Unspeakable in the canteen, and alarms were being set off all through the ministry. People were being told to stay put, and to avoid leaving their offices, until the situation was attended to. The alarms only lasted for ten minutes, and then were dismissed. Kingsley apparated directly into their office following it.

"They're toying with us now." He said, his face hard and angry. "The Unspeakable was guarding the house of an aurors today. He cursed two passerbys before he apparated back here, and tried to do more damage. They know we are onto them, thats why they went after him. They want it in the papers; want us to look like the ministry is falling in on itself."

"Isn't it, though?" Harry asked, his nerves on fire, "We can't protect anyone, not really, if we don't know what it is we're facing! We put our kids in hiding, Kingsley! If we can't protect people from this, who can? What are we going to do when they stop targeting aurors and go after people who have no defenses? We haven't got the slightest of leads on this thing!"

"We are going to take a new approach. Right now, we want you out of the Ministry, just to be safe. Go home, relax, try to stay out of sight. There will be a lot of media about this, and we can't afford to make it look like you two were anywhere near involved in it, even if it's just paperwork."

Harry didn't argue, his stomach twisting so violently with worry that he barely let Ron finish his coffee before he had grabbed his sleeve and apparated them both into Grimmuald place. Ron coughed as the dust they stirred, but Harry turned to look at him sharply, and said, "It's an inside job. It's somebody in the ministry that is cursing the aurors, how else would they get to the Unspeakables in the ministry?"

"That's why he doesn't want us there." Ron said, realization dawning. "Doesn't want us getting cursed. Could be one of the Unspeakables thats been camped in the office with us lately."

"We stay here until the weekend, then we can go and see Malfoy and the kids-"

"And Hermione."

"And Hermione."Harry agreed. "But for now we just need to stay where we are. There is no since apparating here and there and risking somebody finding out we've gone to Malfoys. We just need to lay low for a few days, and let some of the dust settle."

"Speaking of dust, think you could apparate us somewhere cleaner in the house next time?" Ron coughed again, and Harry set his mouth in a thin line.

"I'm working on it." Harry said stiffly.

"Oh, he's working on it, he says." Ron scoffed, as they headed into the hall, "That's why I'm close to suffocating over here, is it?"

"Grab a rag." Harry said, "And you can help me clean while we are stuck here. It will help us to stop thinking about whats been going on lately."

Somehow, being in the house set his nerves right, and he and Ron were slowly feeling back to normal, their anger dissipating slowly as they made their way through the second floor of the with dust rags and polishing charms. Mrs. Blacks portrait was the only thing that made a sound for the first days, and it had become easier to drown out her screaming once he learned how to ignore her. She couldn't say too much about him anyways, as he had grown a thick skin, and her comments bounced off of him like rubber balls. Ron was getting better at tuning her out too, when she wasn't calling after him to attack his wife, screaming about mudblood scum. He had managed to do a neat little curse that kept her silent for almost four hours after lunch on the third day, and they didn't pay her much attention as they began working to clean the drawing room. There wasn't much there once they cleared out the doxies from behind the curtains-they had been surprised by them when Ron had opened the window to let in a bit of light, and inadvertently set a swarm of them flying through the room. Harry hadn't laughed so hard in a long time, watching his friend shout and throw his arms over his head for cover, and his sides ached as they finished hexing the last of them. He felt oddly relaxed, and he figured his kids would be safe for another day and a half in Malfoys care.

He and Ron flooed into Malfoys house an hour early when the weekend finally arrived, unable to stop themselves, and had scared the blond so badly he had dropped his wand and slipped behind the couch. Harry rounded the back of it and sheepishly helped him to his feet, saying awkwardly, "Sorry, we didn't have an owl or we would have warned you."

Malfoy glared, but his face softened when Ron asked desperately, "Where are the kids?"

"Rose went with Hermione and James to walk through the gardens. They'll be back for lunch, but Granger is pissed off at me and insisted she take a time out." Malfoy said with a soft smile.

"You fought with her already?" Harry asked, shaking his head with a smile. He wasn't sure why he was so glad to see Malfoy, but his heart was fluttering in his chest and he felt all too hot all of a sudden.

"Sort of. She doesn't like that I have house elves, and I'm not willing to give them up."

"That's 'Mione for you." Ron said fondly, a smile growing across his face. "Is Hugo around?"

"He'll be with the others in the kitchens. They wanted to make a cake, if I remember correctly. Its just down the hall and to your right."

Ron didn't answer, but immediately moved in that direction, half-running to see his son. Harry felt glued to the spot, and awkward, as he realized he was alone with Malfoy. He didn't know what he was supposed to say.

"How's the case coming along, then?" Malfoy asked, seeming just as awkward as Harry felt. Well, that helped his nerves a little, at least.

"It's not." Harry said, "We got dismissed from it. I guess its too much of a risk to keep us around. They don't want us getting cursed."

"Is it something to do with yesterdays Prophet?" Malfoy asked, tipping his head to the side to study Harry curiously. "An Unspeakable supposedly went berserk in the ministry and started cursing at a wizard who runs the records department."

"Is that what happened? I only heard he started firing curses, and then they put us on lockdown. We got sent off right after that." Harry said, and felt the anxiety twisting in his chest again. It had been nice to not think about the case for the past few days, and bringing it up again brought the fear back into his heart with a sharp edge. "We think it's got to be an inside job, if they can get into the ministry like that."

"Or maybe the Unspeakable wasn't effected at all, and rather went after someone he thought was responsible for the curses." Malfoy said, looking thoughtful.

"We would know if that was the case." Harry said, shaking his head. A flicker of movement caught his eye behind Draco, and suddenly he spotted Albus standing in the doorway, grinning broadly. He had almost forgotten that he ought to see his children, and wondered where his head had gone. Since when did Malfoy distract him so easily?

XXXXXXXXXX

The day went well, dinner flew by, and before Harry knew it they were back at Grimmuald place, stung with loss. Seeing his kids again had filled him with such an intense happiness that the moment he left Malfoys manor he felt his mood crash dramatically back down. Ron was in the same boat, moaning about how he wished he could just stay an hour longer to see the kids. Harry wasn't sure why they couldn't, but Malfoy insisted that they needed to be somewhere Kingsley could reach them, as he wouldn't know they were with Draco, and it wasn't safe to tell him where the kids were hidden quite yet.

They went without news for almost two weeks before Kinsleys head appeared in the fireplace, startling them in the middle of having breakfast. The news was good, in a way. They were back to work, it seemed, and there hadn't been a single new attack on anyone. There wasn't a sign that any more would come, and investigation had been put on pause once a witch came forward and confessed with glassy eyes that she had been inventing new curses and hadn't meant to cause so much damage. The auror department had rejoiced, and she had been locked up in a cell, a trial set for that week, but Harry felt as if something was off.

Why had she confessed? It didn't make sense. She was an eighty year old woman who worked in a robe shop, and had never stepped a toe out of line before. What worried him more was that she didn't seem to have a single notion of regret, and her knobby face was impassive as she was led in and out of interrogation rooms. Ron looked uncomfortable as well, but Kingsley seemed all too glad to put the case to rest, telling them sternly that, "She works right in Diagon, her grandfather was an auror who taught her tricks, and she was confirmed by the Unspeakables to have been in the area during each attack. Frankly, we should be glad there wasn't something more sinister at hand."

"People died, Kingsley." Harry blurted, gobsmacked at his blasé explanation. All of his worry and sympathy had been washed away, and it sent off alarm bells in Harry's head.

"And there will be a trial over it, as you well know, but it's time we get back to work. The department has been in a panic since this got out, and I need you to be here in order to set an example for how to continue."

"What about the Unspeakable who was cursed in the ministry?" Ron asked darkly, narrowing his eyes, "You think she managed to sneak in through security and curse him just for the fun of it? She's eighty, and she couldn't have left the scene without being noticed."

"She was here to tailor the new auror robes, actually." Kingsley said, "We hired fourteen more people, and the robes needed some work. It wasn't unusual that she was here. She confessed that she hadn't known what her spell did until she saw it that day, and she was so horrified she went straight to her shop and didn't return until she came here to confess. Guilt was eating her alive, I reckon."

"Why didn't anyone notice her sooner?"

"They were looking for a hardened criminal, Mr. Weasley, not a little old woman who thought she was innocently inventing up spells. You should be happy, the two of you! Its solved, isn't it?"

"Thats the question, sir." Harry said levelly, to which Kingsley frowned at him. It didn't add up. All of that worry over something so simple? No, there had to be more to it. That couldn't be the solution.

"Get some rest." Kingsley finally sighed, "It's been a rough few weeks, for all of us, but it's time to get back to work now, and we can finally relax. Your wife sent congratulatory coffee through the floo, go on and enjoy it, would you?"

Harry and Ron were silent when they went into their office. There was a fine layer of dust and there paperwork was still spread out where they had left it, but Harry couldn't relax. Ron asked with a hard swallow, "You think there is something off about this too, don't you?"

"It feels wrong." Harry admitted, sitting slowly behind his desk. His skin felt like it was crawling, and he turned over the case file that was on his desk. He admitted carefully, "I think we should keep the kids at Malfoy's for another week, just to be safe."

"I was thinking the same thing." Ron nodded, and offered Harry a weak smile, "Is it wrong that I hope it wasn't the old woman? It would make things easier, but I don't like the idea of somebody doing that with magic accidentally. It makes you wonder what sort of things you could create if you were really trying to do some damage, you know?"

"I think-"

There was a knock at the door that cut him off, and a gruff voice called out, "Henderson, from Records. I've been sent to collect the case files for the accidental spell case."

Harry didn't think about it. He picked up his wand and shrunk the four closest boxes to his desk, accioed them quickly, and stuffed them into his pocket, all before Ron answered the man with a tired, "Come in!"

Harry ignored his curious look as the man accioed the remaining boxes onto a cart. Harry had to clap a hand over his pocket when the ones he had taken tried to follow, but the man didn't notice, and left them alone in silence, the door shutting with a soft thud behind him as he headed with his rattling cart down the hall. Ron gave him another look, and then set his jaw, resolving not to say a word about the fact that Harry had just stolen confidential files. He was a good friend, Harry thought.

XXXXXXXXX

There wasn't much in the paperwork, and Harry had it spread all through his house as he checked it over and over again, absorbing every detail. There had to be something he was missing. He could feel it, down into his bones, and when he couldn't make up a single theory as to what the truth was he grew frustrated, and very nearly incendio'd an entire box of paperwork. He missed and set fire to his curtains instead. He and Ron hardly talked at work anymore, and Harry felt less like himself than he ever had before. There was something very wrong and it wasn't just with the case. He couldn't put his finger on it, but he knew he needed to figure out what was going on, and soon.

When he went to pick up the kids from Malfoys there was no question that something was wrong. He felt excitement spark in his chest as seeing them, but he felt lost at how to express it, which brought frustration so bad that he ended up snapping at Albus when he had asked Harry for the third time if he was sure he didn't want to play Quidditch with him before they left for home. Ron had a similar issue, and a sense of dread crept into Harrys gut when the redhead didn't return Hermione's hug as enthusiastically he was expected to. He put it off to them being stressed about work.

"Are you alright, Potter?" Malfoy asked him before he left, catching his elbow as he headed after his kids towards the floo.

"I'd be better if you would all stop trying to babysit me." Harry snapped, and Malfoy immediately released his arm, looking startled. Harry blinked in surprise at himself. Where the fuck had that come from?

"I was only making sure." Malfoy said, taking a step away from Harry, who was alarmed that he felt the heat of a wand in his hand. He didn't even remember reaching for it, but he was overcome with the urge to hex Draco, and felt his fingers twitch with the need to do it. Draco noticed, and asked with a frown, looking distinctly hurt, "Have I done something?"

"No." Harry said, shaking himself. He didn't know what was wrong with him, and he pushed the growing anger down to force a smile, explaining difficultly, "I'm tired, that's all. Been on my guard for weeks, and I suppose it's starting to take a toll on me."

"Oh. I-okay. I'll still see you at the Weasley brunch in two days, right?"

"Yeah." Harry said, and felt himself relax marginally, "I'll see you then."

He disappeared into the floo with too many thoughts in his head to keep track of. Maybe he was just tired, he reasoned.

XXXXXXXXX

Things were not getting better. He was more snappish, and his kids had started to notice. They had holed up in their rooms by the time lunch rolled around, and Harry couldn't remember what they had done to make him so angry, but he knew Lily had stomped up the stairs with red cheeks and tears streaming down her face, and James had followed her with a look of anger. Albus had remained an hour longer, quietly hovering beside Harry as he struggled to focus on the stolen case files, but it seemed that even his middle son could sense his tension, and had retreated up the stairs after his siblings without a word.

Harry didn't expect he would see them again until dinner, and sighed miserably to himself as he blinked at the parchment that had been sat in front of him for ten minutes. He hadn't been able to read a single word he felt so off balance, like his body had a terrible electric energy swirling inside of it. What was wrong with him?

Even his dreams couldn't comfort him, and he woke in the middle of the night the day of the burrow dinner in a sweat, his breathing ragged and hard. His wand was burning in his hand, and he felt a wave of magic coursing down his arm. The lampshade on his bedside table was shredded from a curse he couldn't remember casting. He had to work to make his hand relax around the wand, and his fingers ached when he uncurled them and let the instrument fall onto the mattress. He couldn't tell what had worried him more; his dream, or the fact that he had obliterated his lamp without waking up. He rubbed his tired eyes with the heels of his hands, and felt his pulse slow until it was somewhere near being normal. He had dreamed that all of his children had been cut open in the living room, split apart and bleeding, and his wand had trembled in his hand. He had been horrified, internally, but a perverse sense of pleasure had crawled up between his lungs and made a space for itself, and it made Harry sick to recall it. He didn't go back to sleep after that, and instead sat in his bed, shaking and afraid, with a box of files sitting on the floor beside him. It had to be the case that had him so worked up. He kicked the box under the bed and tried not to think about it. That would help.

He wished he had gone back to sleep hours later, when everyone was awake and clamoring to get ready for dinner at the burrow. His eyes felt heavy in his skull, and his heart felt like lead in his chest every time one of his kids sent him a nervous glance. whatever he had said yesterday seemed to have really put them off to his company, but he couldn't for the life of him remember what exactly had happened. Maybe he should forget the case, and start working on the new stuff Kingsley had assigned them instead. Albus tugged his sleeve midway through the thought, and asked, "Ready, dad?"

"Ready." Harry lied, biting down a waspish comment that had tried to come out with it. He was tired and overworked, that was all.

Authors Note: Alright, so we are almost caught up to where we were! If this chapter is confusing feel free to message me or if you find any errors feel free to let me know! Feel free to review! Thanks!