A/N: I do not own or profit from Harry Potter.

I read my reviews, and apparently only one other person here is participating in National Novel Writing Month (Nanowrimo). Nanowrimo is a challenge held amongst writers each November to try and write a 50000 word novel in 30 days (that's about 1400 words a day; the equivalent of a short oneshot). I have to say that I've done it, and if you're into writing at all (as most of us hereabouts are), I seriously recommend that you all do it some year, because it's fun and you'll learn a lot. The website is at —seriously, check it out. It doesn't start for a few more days.

And to add to that long advertisement, I have to say that I will be attempting it, so this story may get a bit neglected toward the end of November. I will do my best to keep up, but...well, I may not. End of A/N.

Chapter 19: Nearing the End

Percy sat with his hands clasped, his face stoic.

Macdougal flipped through several of the files, shaking his head slowly.

"My Godric." He muttered. "Well, Weasley, I think you're justified in taking so long to verify all this. This is Skeeter fodder."

Percy raised his eyebrows with displeasure as his Department Head examined his work one last time. After some time, Macdougal raised his head to meet the eyes of his red-haired employee.

"I took a night to look over all of this, and it checks out. You've been quite thorough. I'm going to close this case and put it away, and I mean away."

Percy nodded understandingly.

"I'll appeal to keep this case confidential from the general public, both for your sake, to avoid publicity, and for the sake of the young woman. Have you told her?"

"No, sir. She knows nothing of the Wizard world other than mentioned in my report. I wanted your authorization before I told all."

"Don't." Macdougal told him. "Give her the departmental, custom reply. Until I get authorization from my superiors, we aren't bringing her into all this."

"Yes, sir." Percy's stomach was below the soles of his feet, but his responses were clear and firm. At long last, the two men rose and shook hands.

"You've done good work, Weasley. Nothing less than expected. I want to you to take a few days off while we relocate you to another department, I believe there's been a request for you elsewhere that I've been stalling off."

"Thank you, sir." Percy went through the motions, turned and exited, leaving behind the department. He didn't want a few days off. He wanted something to fill his time with other than the awareness that his...sort-of girlfriend was the daughter of a notorious killer. Not only that, but people knew it. Shacklebolt would know it, and even though he would probably keep it under wraps, there would be record. There would be proof, verification, dug up by himself, Percy Weasley. He'd been loath to turn his report in to Macdougal, half-tempted to just mark the whole mess down as a muggle-killing after go on pretending everything was all right. To just go back to Audrey and tell her that Malfoy had done it, go back to the ministry and say it was a cold case. Just pretend, no one would know better.

But that wouldn't be truthful. And truth, he had to remind himself, was the most important thing. The reality, the bottom line, was what was important. His feelings about the matter were irrelevant.

The story had to be told.

But by Gandalf's nosehairs, it had hurt to turn that report in.

.

1977

"Push, Bella, push!" Narcissa urged her sister. What Bellatrix was enduring, she had no idea, but it was hard for her to watch.

At long last, the child was born. Narcissa grabbed it and whisked it away, laying it down on the nearby table she had made ready.

"Give it to me."

"Bella, it's not cleaned yet." Narcissa said.

"I don't care." In spite of her pain, Bellatrix pushed herself into a sitting position and fixed her eyes on the deplorable shape. "Give it here or kill it yourself."

Narcissa turned back to her, staring. "Bella...Kill it?"

"Do it!" Bellatrix said. "Or I'll do it."

"No! Bella, a baby!"

Bella's lips tightened and her dark eyes flashed in a way Narcissa knew well.

Stubbornly, Narcissa turned back and looked down at the child, determined to bathe and wash the child, wrap it and place it in a cradle. Her face changed as she looked down at the child, and her breathing altered slightly. "It looks...like Lucius."

Behind her, Bellatrix grinned.

Narcissa turned to face her again. Her face was hard now.

"So kill it." Bellatrix said quietly. "You don't want word getting around you can't keep your own husband."

Narcissa's pretty face was like stone. She quietly turned around and picked up the scissors she had laid out.

Bellatrix laid back, assured.

"I'm going to cut the umbilical cord." Narcissa said quietly.

Bella sat up again. "No!" Forcing herself out of bed, she staggered across the room toward her child.

"Bella!" Narcissa caught up the child against her breast and turned to flee.

"Cissy!"

Narcissa was too fast. Weakened, Bellatrix lunged for the door only to have it slammed in her face. She pounded against it feebly, rallied her strength and grasped her sister's deserted wand from the table. With one curse, she blew down the door and shoved it aside, chasing after her retreating sister with all the strength she had left.

Narcissa was halfway down the grand staircase already.

"Wiffle!"

"Yes, Missy Bella?" The stupid animal was at her side already.

"Kill that baby." Bellatrix pointed.

"No!" Narcissa shouted. She was at the bottom of the stairs. Bellatrix came to a stop halfway down, leaning with all her strength on the marble balustrade.

"I'm going to get rid of it!" Bellatrix snapped. "All the potions, and all the poisons, and all the pills wouldn't get rid of it, Narcissa, now you've kept this secret and done as I said so far, you'll do as I say again!"

"Bella, you're bleeding on the staircase." Her sister ignored her.

"Kill it, you filthy thing, or I'll kill you!" Bellatrix brandished Narcissa's wand at the frightened elf.

"Don't!" Narcissa cried, still cradling the child. "Wiffle, I forbid you!"

Wiffle looked from one to the other. "Missy Bella says I must, and Missy Cissy says I cannot! What does poor Wiffle do?" he tore at his large ears in frustration.

"Bella." Narcissa whimpered, ignoring the distressed creature at her feet. "Let me take it away. No one will ever know. You can get rid of it, but don't kill it."

Bella's lips tightened again, her face exuding strength even as she swayed where she stood. "Fine. But it never comes back." She eyed the bundle in Narcissa's arms with disdain. "Go."

Narcissa thrust the child into Wiffle's small arms. "Go." She murmured.

.

Wiffle landed on a back alley in London, looking down at the naked child in his arms. The infant had fallen silent. He scurried down the street. "Wiffle will keep Missy Baby safe." He said to it. There was a large trash bin to his left. He climbed precariously to top it and looked down inside. "Trash bins are always warm." He growled as comfortingly as he could. "Missy Baby will be warm here."

Then he paused. A wisp of garbage passed his nose, and he dropped the lid on his head. "Missy Baby will not like that smell." He whispered. Hopping down, he slithered through a door and into one of the nearby buildings. People walked about hastily, talked loudly, splashed water. He smelt something good that he knew was fresh bread and went into a quiet little empty room at the back. Across the room he sighted the oven.

"Missy Baby will be safe here." He said. "And warm." He crossed the room and pulled open an empty oven and began to deposit the child there until he was met with pause. "But Missy Baby will be found." He looked down at the child. "Wiffle will find someplace else. Missy Baby must not be found, says Missy Bella." He espied a basket across the room, full of linen.

Satisfied, he set the child down there and carefully tucked it in with clean white napkins. "Missy Baby will be safe here." He murmured over it with all the sweetness he could muster. "Good-bye, Missy Baby." He stepped away, watching the child with his large watery eyes, before apparating away with a barely audible pop.

Moments later, the sous chef stuck his head inside the room, swearing he heard something there. Like a slight popping noise.

"What is it?" One of the dishwashers wheeled inside to put away steaming baking pans.

"Nothing, I could have sworn..."

The dishwasher knelt to put muffin pans away. Her eye was caught by something red.

"Oh my..." She shook her head. "Oh, come on! Who put dirty napkins in the clean basket?" She reached over and pulled off the topmost napkin, then fell back with a start. "Michael!"

"What?" He crossed the room to stare down at the ruined linens, and the bundle in their midst. "Get James!" He snapped instantly. He scooped up the child instantly, sticky and slimy, and laid it on the clean table, carefully checking its breathing and heartbeat...

.

Audrey stared at the telephone, waiting...waiting...waiting.

She was never going to get a job.

"They'll call." Lucy advised, finding her sitting with a book open before her.

"They haven't called yet."

"They said it would be a few days before they decided, Love." Her mother reminded her, pulling the book away. "You study too much, and you think too much sometimes. You worry too much."

"I need something to do." Audrey eyed the book. "I can't focus on reading, I haven't got a job yet, all my friends are cramming for Uni, and Dad..."

"Is still dead." Her mother told her bluntly. "Percy's working on it, you know that."

"I know." Audrey reached out and pulled close to her again. "I just need something to fill my time." At the back of her mind was the unpleasant niggling thought that from the start, Percy had made it clear he couldn't or wouldn't tell them everything. It had seemed over the last few days as if he were growing increasingly close to a finish, and the realization resurfaced that she still might not know quite what she'd hoped to know.

But hadn't they come so far? From the days when she envisioned a dark-complexioned thugger hiding in the shadows as the one, the killer. He hadn't had a face or a name, then, just an elusive, creepish devil that lurked around in her mind. Now she had names. She had a motive. She had learnt much more than she'd expected to...She rested her head in her palm as she pretended to read. She had Percy, now, too, and he was a whole other mystery.

She ignored her book as she wondered again what on earth was going on behind these scenes she was slipping through. What was hidden in Malfoy Manor? What had her parents been that was so terrible? For that matter, what was she that was so terrible they'd tried to destroy her, and then ended up killing her father?

The clock struck six unexpectedly, and she glanced up to find she'd wasted many hours and not turned a page. Standing, she'd made it up the first two stairs to her bedroom before the door opened and Davis barrelled in exuberantly. "Audie!"

She stopped, resigned herself, and turned to come back down. "Davis."

"Guess what?"

"What?"

"I've got a date!"

She gave him a look. "You came all the way here and burst in without knocking to tell me this a week after you broke up with one of my friends?"

He dropped his arms. "No, I came because your Mum said you were pooping out and needed some company, and she told me a long time ago that I didn't have to knock anymore, and I could come over and in anytime. And, this is really exciting, because this girl is..."

"Attractive?"

"Well, yes, that, but what I was really going to say is different. She's way out of my league, but I think she seriously likes me. I mean, she's not just pretty, she's...really pretty!"

"Don't be so cheap." She fussed as he tossed an arm over her shoulders and walked her back to the living room.

"No, but she's smart, too. And funny. And since you've unofficially become my best girl friend, I want you two to meet. I think you'd like each other. You remind me of each other."

"Fine, fine. What's her—"

Oh, and I also ran up here for another reason." He turned to face her.

"What's that?"

"Some guy is sitting across the street staring at your house."

"What?" She darted for the front window. "Did he see you?"

"Well, yeah, I had to walk in, didn't I?"

She peered out the lace curtain and saw...Percy. "Davis, that's..." She stopped as she remembered that of course, Davis didn't remember Percy, for whatever reason. He wouldn't know. "That's no one. He's a friend."

"Is that why he's coming over here?" Davis peered out behind and watched as Percy approached the house.

"Yes." She ran a hand over her face and kicked herself when she realized she wasn't wearing any makeup. "Stall him, I'm going to go put some clothes on."

"Um...okay." She darted up the stairs and turned into her room. She had to get down before the two of them met. She wanted to see if Percy had forgotten Davis, or would pretend to have forgotten Davis, just as Davis had forgotten him. Pulling a shirt on over her camisole as she trotted back down the stairs, she landed at the bottom just as Davis opened the door.

"Hi."

"Oh...Hello." Distinct awkwardness. Audrey slipped up behind Davis and swatted him out of the way.

"Hi, Percy." She smiled in welcome and gestured him to come in. "Come on in, I'm surprised to see you."

"You are?" He asked. "Your mother invited me over. So we could...talk." His eyes flicked to Davis, and she understood the insinuation. Get rid of Davis, we have business to discuss.

"Oh." Her mother had invited Percy and Davis over? At the same time? And...hadn't told her?

Davis coughed a little.

"Oh." She suddenly felt terribly awkward standing between the two men. "Um, Davis, this is Percy. He's..."

"Her boyfriend." Percy inserted. Whether it was because he was feeling territorial, or because he didn't want her saying he was a detective, she wasn't sure. She suspected the latter, but didn't comment. They'd never really made it clear they were on boyfriend terms, though she'd hoped that was where he was going with all this. "Um, yes, and Percy, this is Davis."

"Hi." The two shook hands.

This is ridiculous, Audrey thought. Percy clearly remembered Davis. Clearly, they didn't need to be introduced again. Yet clearly, he wasn't surprised that Davis didn't know him. He knew, he knew, whatever had mangled with Davis' memories, Percy knew of it.

"If you'll excuse me, I'd like a word with the ladies." Percy said, all stiffness and business, none of the banter and intelligence she'd actually gotten used to.

Davis glanced between them as Audrey wordlessly took his arm and led him back to the door. "Oh, um, okay..." he glanced at Audrey as she gestured for Percy to go on. "Good meeting you, too..." He muttered once they were alone.

"Look, Davis, this is just something that I need to work out with him."

"Him? You're dating that guy? He's a stiff! Stiff as in, in-the-coffin stiff!"

"We're not dating, we're..." She glanced the way Percy had gone, "I don't know what we are."

"But you like him?"

"I do. I more than like him. Now, please. I'm sorry how this worked out, I guess my mother simply forgot she was having you both over. But, I'm very happy for you that you've got a girl, and I suggest you find her and call her up for a date tonight."

"Which is a nice way of getting rid of me." He responded teasingly as he reached for the doorknob, taking the hint gracefully.

"Yes." She admitted as he left. "Good luck with your girl."

"Good luck with your guy."

"Thanks."

She shut the door and started for the kitchen again. It was all business tonight, apparently, and if Percy's face said anything, she would need some luck tonight.