Gray: Scorpius Malfoy and the Crux of the Alchemist

by Fiery Gray

UNDER EDITING! (VI): While the Shadow War continues far away from the walls of Hogwarts, Scorpius is left facing the frustration of being stuck inside starting his first year of NEWT classes. He finds himself drawn to the mysterious new Alchemy professor, the subject itself shedding light on certain things while Shadows and a defector lurk closer then he realizes. COMPLETE

8. Chapter 8: Building and Breaking

Parts (31-34)

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VI

Chapter 8

Building and Breaking

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Part 1: Torture

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James Sirius Potter was loving life as a Soul Eater, he'd been reluctant at first but now he was really enjoying it. He lived in luxury, everything he needed was provided for him along with anything he wanted within reason, there were plenty of slaves to get things done. He was learning a lot, he'd improved greatly upon his dueling technique and spell library, started getting into the Dark Arts – which weren't Dark if used for good reasons – and torture. It sounded really bad James found it had become a guilty pleasure of his, now he couldn't bully scumbag Slytherins anymore that became his way of venting. It wasn't like they were really people anyway, just slaves who volunteered for the chance of seeing loved ones again before realizing what they signed up for.

It wasn't evil, he knew he wasn't evil so it couldn't be wrong for him to enjoy it, to feel powerful and in control of something for once. They weren't people, they were just objects to experiment with and it was good to experiment for the sake of… researching… stuff. He found it really quite fascinating learning what hurt more and what elicited what reaction, he was also quite curious sometimes just to see what would happen if he did certain things. His anatomy knowledge had increased massively as well. It was also kind of exciting taking over the world, watching the cities fall one by one like they were little more than poorly constructed tower blocks that some toddlers had constructed.

The lands they conquered were better off anyway, sure scores of people died in the process but their society was much better with slaves to do things, James was loving life. The only downside was loneliness, his friends and family were still in England. Even Carver, his extremely handsome best friend who was also a Soul Eater was being left there for the time being. James missed him. He missed the others too, he couldn't wait until they took England so his other friends and family could see how great life was with the Soul Eaters. They'd thank him, he was sure and apologize for ever doubting him in the first place. They would cry in their guilt for trying to lock him up for doing a good thing, praise his name for showing them a better life and being the good, merciful son he was, James would consider forgiving them. He had Stephan though, Carver's eldest half-brother sometimes disturbed him but otherwise proved to be a good companion. Not as good as his brother though.

"Hey James," Stephan greeted him on his way back from a dueling training session, he was tall but thin – not muscular like his more attractive brother – with dark hair and coal-colored eyes, he was in his early twenties and smiled at him in greeting. All his smiles seemed varying degrees of sinister for some reason.

"Hey Stephan, what's up?" James wondered, he could use the company because with Christmas Eve dawning he was feeling kind of sad about not having anyone. Not unless he counted his personal house slave anyway.

"Y-"

"Stephan!" a girl's voice shrieked irritably and they both stopped to see another of Carver's half-siblings approaching, the violet-eyed fifteen year old Viola who had once been a friend of his sister's and a scumbag Slytherin. They were on the same side now but he still didn't like her, she'd nearly gotten his sister killed and didn't seem to care, "I-"

"No, Viola, how many times do I have to tell you?" Stephan cut her off, his expression turning to one of irritation while hers stayed set with rage.

"But you can track down Florian, I know you can! Your Mother was only the best tracker and I know she taught you!" Viola insisted angrily and stamped her foot childishly, "He murdered our Father! He has to die, him and his worthless brat!"

"Uncle Pyrrhus will get what he deserves in due time," Stephan brushed it off, "There's already people tracking him and just because my Mother was only the best tracker in the world, it doesn't mean she taught me. For now I have my duties here and so do you, be patient little sister."

"Bull crap! Stephan, you're good and you know it, you're just putting your own ambitions before our Father's justice."

"This may have escaped your notice but taking over the world is a big task and some of us have real important things to do, petty revenge can wait and Father would understand that," Stephan told her seriously before jabbing his finger back the way she'd came, "And even little tasks must be done so get back to work. Or sleep since it's late, whichever you're supposed to do."

"I hate you!" Viola screamed at him before storming off.

"Teenagers," Stephan sighed with a shake of his head as he started walking again, James at his side before the older man turned back to him, "So anyway, remember how you want revenge on Leebin for abandoning you?"

"Yes," James said slowly, surprised and somewhat honored Stephan remembered that.

"And you want to start doing real tasks instead of just training?"

"Yes."

"Well then I have the perfect task for you," Stephan told him and clapped him on the back, changing their direction to lead them on a different path which led to the torture dungeons, "It seems Leebin is the Secret-Keeper for Calderon's location and his Occlumency is impeccable so we're going to have to torture the location out of him. I'd like to put you in charge of that task."

"Really?" James wondered hopefully, excited on both counts and Stephan smiled again, continuing to walk with his arm around him to lead him… James would be lying if he said he didn't like that.

"Really," Stephan confirmed, sounding sincere, "I think you're ready. Do you?"

"Absolutely!"

"Good. It will have to be intense, based on his skill level of Occlumency he might entirely be capable of separating his mind from his physical pain to some degree so he might be able to resist easier. You'll need to arrange shifts so yourself and other torturers can get some rest if he doesn't break quickly, do not let him sleep, he cannot be allowed a reprieve and the more uncomfortable the better. Do you understand?" Stephan questioned seriously and James nodded in understanding, "If it lasts two weeks, arrange for him to given a potion to save off sleep and every fortnight after. Only allow him water every three days to keep him weak and experiencing further discomfort, food only every three months for the same reason. If it takes that long of course, maybe you'll get lucky and he'll break within the hour. There'll always be a Healer to hand in case he gets hurt too bad or for some reason you have to break these rules."

"I won't let you down, Stephan," James assured him and Stephan smiled, instead of lighting up his eyes, it seemed to darken them dangerously.

"Then do the Soul Eaters proud and take as much personal satisfaction as you want," Stephan told him as he unlocked one of the furthest in doors, "He's been Cruciated so stay from that for a bit, don't want to drive him insane. I tried to get in through Legilimens but that's all so far, he's a virgin sack of flesh to be torn apart. He's all yours. Oh and if he asks, we killed his family."

Inside it was fairly dark, there were torches lit that illuminated the blood stains on the walls and floor from past occupants but the darkness still seemed to consume them just as the cold consumed their heat. You needed to go down a flight of stairs to reach the ground but you could still see clearly in the room though, the brickwork was all exposed and all the same shade of gray so dark it was practically black in the gloom. There were two people already there, the white-robed Healer standing by and a figure lying in the middle of the floor. Stephan closed the door behind him, leaving James to his task. He walked slowly down the stairs without taking his eyes from Leebin, each slapping step he took echoing around the room.

It was Leebin. He had the same reddish-brown hair that seemed to naturally spoke and looked so soft, the same oval glasses on his handsome face. He'd been stripped shirtless and was barefooted, he was only wearing red plaid pajama bottoms, he'd probably either been in bed or going to bed when he'd been taken. James was somewhat disappointed Leebin wasn't muscular, he wasn't fat though but rather just thin and bony with a treasure trail running down from his navel. He had scars too, some across his neck that looked like they'd come from a werewolf and even deeper ones across his stomach that also looked like they'd come from a werewolf. Had he been attacked by a werewolf at some point? James didn't know or care really. He had a shiny wedding band on one hand, thick shackles binding his wrists to the ground but nothing else noteworthy about him aside from the fact he was sleeping.

James watched him curiously, it was all very rhythmic and calm. His chest rising and falling, his breathe causing strands of hair to sway slightly backwards and forwards. James could feel his pent up rage, Leebin had promised to help him then abandoned him like the traitorous bastard he was and god was punishing him and rewarding James here it seemed. But he also felt oddly aroused, Leebin had always seemed attractive to him with his fairly youthful handsome face, how he listened to everything James said, his voice, his soft-looking hair that James had always wanted to… Who was stopping him? James crouched by Leebin and ran his hands through his hair, grinning to himself. It was soft. He caressed Leebin's face gently – he'd never gotten to do that to anyone either – before moving his hand to Leebin's chest, it was still firm. Leebin started to stir then though, James jumped up in panic and kicked him as hard as he could.

"I'm sorry, Uncle Hogan!" Leebin yelled stupidly as he snapped away, turning onto his side and cringing at the pain.

He blinked a few times sleepily and James kicked him again, this time in the fleshy part of his stomach which had him yelp in pain again and try curling his body instinctively and protectively into a ball. James kicked him in the groin, Leebin tried to shift his position to protect that instead leaving his stomach unprotected so James could kick him again. He felt his rage fueling him again, how dare he abandon him!? He kicked Leebin again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And… what was he supposed to be doing again?

"Do you remember me?!" James spat at him angrily, resisting the urge to kick him again so Leebin could actually glance at him.

"J-James?" Leebin wondered, sounding somewhat surprised and pained.

"Oh so you do remember me?!" James sneered and kicked him again, punctuating each of his next words with another kick with the final being forceful enough to send him back onto his back, "After. All. You. Did. Abandon. Me. When. You. Said. You. Would. Help!"

"I was fired," Leebin lied breathlessly, probably winded from the kicks and his eyes fluttered closed against the pain, "F-From Hogwarts. All the counsellors were because of… because of Chastity."

"It was your fault! You said you'd help me and you didn't! You left me!"

"I-I'm sorry."

"Damn straight you should be sorry!" James screamed at him and Leebin flicked his eyes back open to glance at him.

"Why are you doing this, James?"

"Because you know-"

"No, why are you doing this. Joining the Shadows," Leebin interjected and James was so taken aback by the question he didn't kick him again for interrupting like he should've, "Y-You always stood against them before, you hated anyone suspected of being one."

"Well that was before I realized they were good," James told him seriously, "They saved my life when my own Dad wanted to send me to jail, my own Dad Leebin, he just wanted to leave me to rot. But the Soul Eaters? They're giving me a great life, they're making the world better."

"Better for who, James? Is it really best f-for the world or just what you feel is best for you?"

"I think-" James started to say before realizing something and angrily kicking his side again instead, Leebin whimpered in pain, "This isn't a stupid counselling session! This is a torture session, your whole life is a torture session now. My torture session, I own you. And if you don't tell me what I want to know then I'm going to do a hell of a lot worse than kick you, I've been taught how and I'm good at it."

"What do you want to know? Don't they teach you to ask that?" Leebin queried and James kicked him as hard as he could, his cheeks burning at the obvious oversight, "O-Okay, that one I deserved."

"Tell me where Calderon is," James demanded and withdrew his wand threateningly, Leebin merely shook his head. He raised his wand and Leebin cringed.

"It's not too late, you know?" Leebin said quietly and James met his eyes thoughtfully despite himself, they were kind of a nice shade of cyan. Not as nice as Carver's eyes though, "You don't have to do this, James, you don't have to choose this life. Your Father loves you, your whole family was worried when you went missing- Harry was a wreck. Tell him what you did, he'll forgive you and take you back, whatever you know to tell him about the Shadows will keep you out of prison. He won't even care, he just wants you home safe and sound again."

James stomped angrily down on Leebin's glasses, Leebin screamed as they shattered and shards went into his eyes. He kicked at his eyes repeatedly to make sure that was the case before moving his foot away, Leebin's eyelid seemed stuck half open with pieces of stabbing through, into and in the eye behind it while more dug into the area around his eyes. There was blood, he looked like he was crying crimson tears. Leebin rolled onto his side to be closer to the ground and the broken frames fell off him as he started desperately trying to pull the shards out of his eyes, James hadn't actually done that before. It was interesting, it looked painful. He deserved it with his stupid cowardly lies.

"I told you, Leebin, this isn't a counselling session. You pathetic coward," James spat while Leebin just shakily kept trying to help his eyes which were now an indistinguishable bloody mess to him, "It is too late. The Soul Eaters are wonderful and we're going to win, Dad will see that. They should be coming to me for forgiveness and to ask me to keep them out of prison, not the other way around. So tell me what I need to know or get ready to scream because I'm going to cut off one of your fingers."

Leebin shook his head once more and James crouched to grab one of his bloody hands, using a powerful severing charm to cut off his literal ring finger. He screamed and screamed even louder when James used another spell to cauterize the wound, James smiled to himself. It felt good to be the one with the power. He took the ring of Leebin's severed finger before lighting the limb on fire, taking away personal items was good in torture. Leebin was shaking as he went back to trying to get the glass out of his eyes with his one unhurt hand, James wasn't sure whether from the cold or fear or if he was actually crying now.

"Took your ring, you don't need it anymore because we killed your family," James taunted him as the stench of burning flesh clawed at his nostrils, as bad as it was it would be worse for Leebin though, "And can you smell that? That's the smell of your own flesh burning. Not nice is it? I told you, I'm going to do worse than just kick you. So, coward, are you going to tell me where Calderon is?"

Leebin choked on a sob as he shook his head again.

"Looks like we're doing this the fun way then," James smirked and raised his wand, Leebin screamed as he cast his next spell. James liked the sound of his screams, served him right for being a traitor.

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"Crucio!" Atticus Ashain cried as he cast the spell on his prisoner.

The guy he had tied to a chair in his own home but Atticus had cast silencing charms to ensure no one overheard. He'd also searched the entire house from top to bottom and for hidden areas but no sign of his son so far, he would find Antonius dammit. Normally he would really be quite repulsed by use of the Torture Curse but he found he didn't care, it had been three days since Antonius had gone missing and he was beside himself. Three whole days, he hadn't slept, he hadn't eaten, he just had to find Antonius. He didn't care what it took, he needed his son to be safe. He let the spell down and the man continued sobbing.

"TELL ME WHERE MY SON IS!" Atticus screamed at him and the man flinched fearfully. He should be fearful, Atticus didn't think he'd been so angry in his entire life.

"I don't know!" the man insisted desperately, Atticus flicked his wand at the man's knee and he screamed at was shattered, "PLEASE! I don't know!"

"Do you know what the three most common causes for child kidnapping are?" Atticus questioned, making an effort to yell, "One: Parental dispute but it's not that because Skye wouldn't kill her brother for that. Two: ransom but it's not that because there are no demands. Three: perverts like you so you see why I'm here, you're a registered muggle sex offender and you live on the very same street so tell me, WHERE IS MY SON!?"

"I didn't take your son!" the man insisted and Atticus flicked his wand at the other knee, the man screamed once more, "I swear I didn't! I don't even like boys."

"STOP LYING!"

"I'm not lying! I swear!" the man sobbed, "I didn't even know Skye Winters had children."

"Well she does and they're my children and I'm going to get my son back!" Atticus snapped at him and raised his wand again threateningly, "If you didn't take him then you're going to tell me who did or I'll kill you and go to the next on my list."

"It wasn't anyone on the list!" the man shrieked and cowered away from the wand, his eyes bulging. Atticus slashed him across the face with the Acutus Curse, he screamed again.

"I knew you were involved!"

"I wasn't, I just saw it out the window!" the man cried and Atticus lowered his wand slightly, he was listening, "Just as was getting back from work, I saw this kid running out of Skye's house. He looked kind of like you but ten and not insane but then… then… there was this popping sound and this guy appeared in front of him, he grabbed and they just… vanished."

"That's impossible!" Atticus yelled angrily and the man flinched again, if it was wizards then it changed everything, "Skye said it was muggles! They slit her brother's throat-"

"Well she must've lied!" the man whined, "I'm just telling you what I saw, I thought I was just seeing things until you walked in here with that… that stick. I wouldn't lie to you, I don't want to die, please."

"You've been useful," Atticus admitted and the man hung his head in relief, "Obliviate."

Atticus disapparated before the man could raise his head, reappearing in his former home. Skye was doing the dishes, she jumped fearfully and spun in terror before relaxing slightly when she saw it was just him. The words died in his throat as he saw his former wife, would she really have lied to him about something like this? Maybe. Maybe was enough to keep his rage burning. If he was wrong then… well who cared?! Nothing mattered apart from saving Antonius, he had to save his son. Their son.

"I told you not to do that," Skye complained at him before scowling, "You okay? You look a wreck."

"Maybe because my son is missing!" Atticus yelled at her before he could stop himself, "Tell me what happened."

"I told you what happened."

"Well tell me again and this time, don't leave out the part where a wizard grabbed him and disapparated with him when he tried to flee," Atticus snapped and Skye averted her eyes guiltily, he felt his jaw dropping in shock, "You did lie?! What the hell, Skye?! What the fu- Tell me what really happened!"

"Atty-"

"TELL ME!" Atticus screamed at her and raised his wand threateningly, Skye's eyes filled with tears.

"Or what? You're going hurt me," Skye wondered tearfully as she wrapped her arms protectively around himself, he did feel a sliver of sympathy. What was he doing? He shouldn't be raising his wand to his wife. Ex-wife.

"I'm going to get our son back," Atticus said instead, catching her eyes, "Tell me what happened and tell me now, if you care about Antonius at all then you'll tell me. Who took him?!"

"Wizards," Skye admitted, spitting out the word like it was something vile, "They came to me and told me that I needed to ask to see the kids over Christmas because it's really hard to get to him when he's in Hogwarts with you-"

"YOU HELPED THEM?!" Atticus screamed at her, rage filling him once more and Skye flinched tearfully, "How could you?!"

"You don't understand, they tortured me-"

"Oh so that makes it okay to betray your ten year old child?!"

"I refused!" Skye yelled defensively, tears flying from her eyes, "I refused when they tortured me! I refused, okay?! So they killed my boyfriend, they killed Carl. Then they took Jasper and told me they'd kill him too if I didn't help them, I didn't have a choice. But then Jasper didn't want to let them take him and Tony fought back-"

"Antonius!" Atticus interrupted her angrily, his voice cracked as he thought of his son feeling hurt and betrayed as he tried to fight because he was a fighter. He had a good son, "If you knew anything about him at all then you'd know he prefers to be called Antonius, its his name and that's what he wants, Tony's gone, that's who he wants to be and he deserves to get what he wants after the crap he's been through!"

"Crap he's only been through because of magic," Skye stated bitterly, "I wish I'd never even met you."

"Well don't worry, Skye, I'm going to go and I'm going to save our son from the Shadows," Atticus assured her darkly and she glanced at him, "But so long as I live, you'll never see him or Cassia again."

Skye opened her mouth to speak but he turned on his heel and disapparated, he couldn't bear to look at her anymore. He had to save his son. Whatever it took. He couldn't waste his time, every second was another second Antonius was being held against his will. If wizards were responsible then it was most likely the Shadows... He had an idea.

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Part 2: Brothers In Arms

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Celestine sat in wait, idly cruciating his son to pass the time. He was waiting for Ron Weasley to find out Leebin had been taken, he'd know it wasn't himself thus likely Cel himself and knowing the idiot, Ron would rush over here to confront him in person. He knew going after Leebin would bring them under suspicion but it had to be done, besides he had a plan and it would get rid of Ron in the process. He caught sight of a shadow of movement, registering it was Brutus Ashain just before the older man grabbed his wrist and jerked it painfully back. Celestine screamed in pain and heard a sickening snap, his wand dropped from his fingers releasing Vale from the spell. The little freak curled itself into the fetal position, shaking and sobbing from the residual effect of the curse.

"What the hell, Brutus?!" Celestine snapped at him as he pulled away angrily as he stood, nursing his almost-certainly broken wrist. He hated Brutus. What did she see in him? He'd done everything she'd ever wanted yet the deformed freak who questioned and argued with her plans was the one she loved. What was he doing wrong?

"Stop torturing your son," Brutus shot back immediately and his grotesquely deformed – not as bad as Vale's monstrous appearance though – face spared a sympathetic glance for the toddler before his dark chestnut eyes darted back to him, "I guess you're even for the Leebin boy's broken wrist."

"Break Selwyn's wrist, he's the one who did it. Besides, it was an accident, apparently the kids just got caught in the crossfire."

"Well Selwyn's not also torturing his son."

"Selwyn doesn't have a son," Celestine pointed out testily, "Why are you even here? Shouldn't you be destroying Lebanon with our Master?"

"The Master was worried about your cover being blown," Brutus admitted, glancing distractedly at Vale again as if he wanted to pick him up and comfort him, "What's this plan you mentioned to avoid this?"

"I'll tell you later, okay? It's about to go down and I don't want you screwing it up, Ron could be here at any minute."

"Fine," Brutus grumbled, "But leave the kid alone, I'll be watching."

"Fine," Celestine agreed irritably and the deformed lump stepped back into the shadows, vanishing from sight.

He sighed, he missed Rabastan. He also thought he probably should've forced Brutus to heal his broken wrist, it was actually quite painful. On the other hand, he had been taught to duel with his left as well as his right and it might look good for his credibility to have his preferred hand broken. He picked up his wand with his left hand anyway and Vale froze, his freakish eyes bulging as he stared at it. Stupid Brutus, couldn't he see Vale was a monster not a child? Why was he the only one who could see him for what he was?

He heard a pop behind him, surprise shooting into his mind at his anti-apparation charms had been broken. He reacted before the thought had fully formed, instinct ruling him as he spun and cast a nonverbal Shield Charm. It was a good thing too because a spell had already been fired, his shield shattered as it took the brunt of the curse but Celestine was thrown back anyway. He crashed into a book shelf, sending tombs flying before he scrambled back up to his feet. The caster was Ron Weasley, his face red with rage like his hair had once been.

"What the bloody hell, Cel?! What do you think you're playing at?!" Ron yelled at him furiously, "Harry trusted you, we all trusted you! How could you go dark side?! How could you betray everything we've ever fought for?!"

"I was never on your side, Ron," Celestine admitted as he got to his feet, there was no reason to lie to him now, "And don't pretend like you were ever on mine, you've always had it out for me."

"What are you on about?! We treated you like family! We always-" Ron scoffed, faking a look of bewilderment before his caught sight of Vale whose tearstained face looked absolutely terrified, "Really? Your own son? He's two freaking years old! What did you do to him, Cel?!"

"Nothing," Celestine smirked as he idly started making a wand movement while keeping it as his side, "I never left a mark on the inhuman freak, even the Cruciatus Curse never leaves a mark."

"You son of a bitch."

Celestine jerked his wand upwards and pulled, the shelving unit on the wall flew out and hit Ron in the head. It smashed upon contact and sent the older man down, Vale screamed and crawled like a worthless coward under a table. Celestine kicked Ron's wand away from him and hit him with a stunner while he was groaning in pain, trying to get up. He crouched and ripped open Ron's sleeve so he could start drawing the Shadow Mark onto his flesh, branding him with the writhing skeletal snake symbol of the Soul Eaters and doing a minor healing charm to make it look older, another to disperse the smell of his burnt flesh. Ron should be grateful really, most people didn't get to be unconscious when they received the Mark.

He then revived Ron, the older man stirred and started to sit up. Celestine opened his mouth to speak but was taken completely by surprise as Ron smashed his fist into his face, he was knocked onto his back with his wand flying and Ron lunged on him with another punch already hitting his nose painfully. Celestine instinctively but stupidly also went to punch Ron with his right hand, connected to the broken wrist. He screamed at the waves of pain it sent cascading through his arm but nonetheless, the blow had been strong enough to disrupt Ron's position. Celestine struck him again – this time with his unhurt left hand – to knock the older and weaker man off him, he scrambled for his wand while Ron spat out a mouthful of blood and what looked like a tooth.

Celestine stood breathing heavily while Ron remained on his knees doing the same but he kept his wand aimed on him anyway, he could taste blood himself as it was dribbling down from his nose while his right eye throbbed from the first blow along with his broken wrist. Ron cringed and touched at the Shadow Mark as if he'd only just noticed it, his blue eyes widening in horror at the symbol before turning to him darkly.

"You really think this is going to convince Harry that I'm a Shadow?" Ron questioned of him, sounding almost amused, "You really think your little mark is going to turn my best mate against me after all we've been through over the years? You're an idiot."

"Harry's not going to think you're the Shadow because of that, he's going to think you're the Shadow because that is what you're going to tell him," Celestine told him and Ron have a snort of derision.

"And why the bloody hell would I do-"

"Didn't you ever wonder what happened to James?" Celestine interrupted and Ron's expression became puzzled, "Harry's wrong, Varanian doesn't have him. We do. And Lucy too. It's so easy to take a squib from a muggle school and make her write a letter claiming to be staying with a friend this Christmas. We have your niece and your nephew, for now they're alive but they're dead if you don't play ball."

"I don't believe you," Ron said but his tone was much quieter.

Celestine smiled knowingly as he levitated the photograph from his pocket and over to him since he couldn't use his free hand easily due to the break. Ron picked it up, his eyes widening again as he saw it. It was a picture of James and Lucy, tied up with a copy of today's Daily Prophet to prove they were alive as of right now. Of course it was a lie, they weren't prisoners but they would reluctantly pretend to be if ordered to.

"When Harry comes, I'm going to tell him you're the Shadow and point out the Shadow Mark. He probably won't believe it so you're just going to confess, you're going to tell him you're a Soul Eater. A Shadow will then appear, acting like he obeys you and will take you away, make it look like you're escaping with him," Celestine explained to him and Ron looked at him with a mixture of loathing and defeat, "If you don't comply, tell Harry the truth or any attempt to send him a sign then James and Lucy will be killed. And don't think if I'm arrested it won't happen, if I'm arrested then they'll know to do it even more. You either take the fall or I take you niece and nephew's lives, don't you think the Weasley family has had enough deaths lately?"

"I hate you, Cel, you're a right git," Ron stated seriously as he stood, Celestine magically burning the evidence into nothingness.

"But you'll do it."

"If I do it, I want you to let them go."

"Eh, Lucy can be let go back to her muggles but we can keep James with you for leverage," Celestine lied easily and Ron sighed, "Sound fair?"

Ron opened his mouth to reply but the answer was lost at another popping sound as the famous Harry Potter himself appeared, looking rather distressed as well. His jet black hair seemed messier than usual even by his standards, his emerald eyes and glanced between then both with his wand darting with it. He knew he was more inclined to favor his protégé over his oldest friend as the culprit, hence why he had ultimately come to his house in the first place but Ron was the one with the Shadow Mark on his arm giving him doubt.

"It's Ron, Harry," Celestine burst out immediately, looking upset, "He tried to Imperise me into confessing and h-he has the mark on his arm."

"You're both under arrest under we figure this out, Alaric's orders," Harry said very quietly and shot them both with the spell to check if they were under the Imperius Curse, of course they weren't.

"It's Cel, Harry," Ron countered, much to Celestine's surprise but he didn't let that show on his face. What was Ron playing at? Had his plan failed? But Ron had agreed… Unless he thought it was too unbelievable to immediately give in? Ron held out his arms as if innocent, "C'mon mate, this is me. Who are you going to believe? He put this symbol on me to frame me."

"Then why are you at his house?"

"Confront the git of course, go on Harry, arrest him."

Harry slowly turned his wand on Celestine, he didn't fight the Disarming Charm launched at him because he thought that would make him look guiltier. Ron picked up his own wand and swallowed before hitting Harry with the Knockback Jinx when he wasn't looking, the Head Auror was thrown backwards off his feet and his wand torn from his hand in his surprise. Ron kept his wand aimed at Harry, his expression blank. Harry could only gape at him, his mind seemingly struggling to process what was happening.

"You're my brother, Ron, I love you," Harry choked out tearfully, "Why?"

"Because we can't win, Harry," Ron told him, his blank expression and wand unwavering, "Not this time. I want to win, I don't want to see any more of my family to die."

"This is the wrong way-"

"This is the only way," Ron interrupted and insisted with a note of finality so serious that for a second Celestine almost believed him, tears rolled down behind Harry's glasses.

"Master! Come on!" a Soul Eater Celestine didn't know the name of urged of Ron as he stepped out of the shadows, having been transported by Specter to bypass the broken anti-apparation charms. He slashed his wand absentmindedly at Celestine as he noticed him standing as a potential threat, Celestine cried out once more in pain as the Acutus Curse sliced through his chest and knocked him down. Somehow, he thought Brutus was behind that.

"About time," Ron snapped at the newcomer and grabbed the man's arm, the Specters transporting them both far away.

"No," Harry breathed as he got to his feet, he kicked angrily at a fragment of the shelf Celestine had knocked Ron out with earlier which caused Vale to yelp in fear since it landed near him, "NO!"

"I'm sorry, Harry," Celestine whispered as he sat up painfully as his chest bled freely, thinking of the bullying he'd endured as a child to make his sorrow more genuine. Harry had noticed Vale though and grabbed the boy out from under the table, more roughly then he'd have expected.

"Vale, I need you to tell me what happened and I need you to tell me the truth right now," Harry snapped at the toddler, Celestine felt a pang of fear because he hadn't accounted for Vale. Vale whimpered fearfully, apparently not wanting to get involved so Harry shook him, "Vale! Tell me! This is very important!"

"Uncle Ron comed and attack Daddy," Vale answered in a terrified sob, "It was scary."

"How did the mark get on Uncle Ron's arm?!"

"I don't know, Uncle Harry! The sleeve was ripped and thered it was," Vale lied through his tears and Harry let him go, looking shattered before seemingly realizing he'd been too rough with Vale and pulled the monster into a gentle hug. Celestine resisted the urge to smile to himself while Vale's terrified frightened eyes caught his over Harry's shoulder, he was a smart little freak of nature it seemed.

---

James paced irritably in the dungeon, waiting for Leebin's more severe injuries to be healed so he could get back to torturing him. Or rather start again since he'd just woke up, he'd left another torturer – who'd got a little burn happy – with Leebin to work on him while he got some rest. And had had a chance to work out a rough schedule for the torture as well like Stephan had wanted to ensure there was no break. He'd had a rather rude awakening, having been ordered to pretend to be a prisoner to blackmail one of his Uncles for something, Lucy too. He hadn't really gotten to talk to her, he didn't know what her capacity as a Soul Eater was after all, whether she was forced like Heather or willing like him. He was surprised though when a Soul Eater stepped out of the shadows with his Uncle Ron.

"Uncle Ron?" James wondered in surprise, his uncle's surprised diminished by the urge to vomit engraved on his face. Clearly, he was not used to Specter transportation.

"James, you're okay," Uncle Ron said, sounding relieved. He was looking terrible, he hadn't been in good health since his injury a few years back. He'd lost weight and muscle, gained grays and wrinkles.

"Sorry, thought this room was unoccupied. Must've got them mixed up," the Soul Eater apologized while quickly snatching Ron's wand from his hand while he was distracted by his queasiness and nephew.

"What are you doing with my uncle?" James questioned of him before noticing the Healer treating Leebin out of the corner of his eye, he was giving him water, "Hey! What the hell do you think you're doing, Siberius?!"

"Tending to the prisoner like you ordered, Master," Siberius the Healer pointed out testily in his slightly accented voice as James stalked over to him, he was a thin Caucasian man of average height with a head of shoulder-length white hair despite not being too old. James thought he was quite handsome though, except for his attitude.

"He's only allowed water every three days."

"Well then this can be the first."

"James, what- what have you done?" Uncle Ron stammered out in confusion, looking shocked and hurt, "You're one of them?"

"Yes," James admitted proudly as he turned to his uncle and folded his arms, a smile forming on his face, "I'm a Soul Eater, I have assignments and everything."

"Oh James."

"It's good! We're making the world a better place!" James protested and gestured to the healer, "Right, Siberius?"

"Yes, my life is so much better now my wife was mutilated and dragged off to be a slave, my children taken away to be taught and instead of saving lives I just prolong victims pain," Siberius answered in a bitter, sardonic tone what earned him a scowl.

"Well maybe they wouldn't have to be taken away if not for your terrible attitude, that'll poison their minds against us."

"Good."

"I'm happy with being a Soul Eater," the Soul Eater offered helpfully while Uncle Ron hung his head sadly.

"If my uncle's not here to join us then why is he here?" James asked of the Soul Eater.

"To be killed, he's taking the fall for Master Cel."

"I knew it," Leebin burst out, seemingly without thinking.

James kicked him in the jaw for speaking out of turn, thankfully for an excuse to hide his panic and delight at the thought of Cel being a Soul Eater too. He couldn't just let his uncle die though, surely with some time his uncle could see the light. Siberius helped Leebin up and went to go finish giving him the water, James surreptitiously tapped the canteen with his wand as an idea occurred to him.

"Change of plan, lock my uncle in a cell rather than killing him," James spoke up and smiled to himself as Siberius poured the now scalding liquid down Leebin's throat, Leebin screamed in agony and Siberius moved the canteen back in horror. James was impressed, there was real steam. Not to mention the fact this would take away any possible refreshment for Leebin, he neither deserved it nor was it useful for breaking him, "I heated the water up a bit, Siberius, there's nothing to say we can't give him scalding water. Only heal him enough so he can still talk when you're done. Well, go on Siberius, what are you waiting for? It's your job to give the prisoner water, this is what you wanted."

Siberius gave James a look of utter loathing before turning back to Leebin very unhappily, James watched eagerly with a smile. Leebin's eyes bulged in fear and he tried to pull away but his broken hands were still shackled to the floor, Siberius' face was guilt-ridden as he poured the burning liquid down Leebin's mouth with his eyes closed and a muttered apology. He tried to pretend to be done but James heard the slosh of water.

"All of it, Siberius," James insisted and Siberius poured the rest down Leebin's throat despite the screams of pain, his scarred cyan eyes filled with pain, "You know, you have pretty eyes without your glasses. I'm glad I broke them."

"What is wrong with you?" Uncle Ron asked of him, sounding heart-broken and looking sickened while Leebin lay down on his side, clutching his stomach with his eyes squeezed shut as his insides were presumably burned as well.

"I'm saving your life, you should be grateful," James snapped at him, angry at the lack of gratitude while Leebin wretched onto the ground, "Leebin deserves what he gets, he doesn't have to be tortured if he just tells us what we want to know. Plus he should never have abandoned me."

"I don't know if you have the authority to spare his life," the Soul Eater commented awkwardly and James threw him a murderous look instead as he folded his arms.

"Does Stephan Hunter?" James asked, knowing Stephan would back him up and the Soul Eater's face drained of color while Siberius started healing Leebin again.

"Wh-Why y-yes, he's the most likely candidate to replace Rabastan as one of the Shadow Master's Lieutenants."

"Good because he happens to be a close person friend of mine and if you go get him then I'm sure he'll agree with me that its best to keep my uncle alive, he's more valuable alive and could have some use down the road."

"I erm… I'll find the prisoner a cell and ask him," the Soul Eater agreed and conjured chains for his uncle quickly, leading him away.

Uncle Ron didn't even say thank you, he just looked disappointed and saddened. And James was the bad one? He'd saved his uncle's life, even after Uncle Ron had betrayed him along with the rest. He was a great person, he was the best. He was right and they were wrong. He shook his head as Siberius finally seemed to have finished with Leebin who was still curled up in pain, James couldn't wait to break him.

"Can you speak?" James questioned of him with a kick of encouragement, "Say something."

"Something," Leebin croaked weakly.

"Didn't I tell you that I'd do worse than just kick you?" James questioned of Leebin with a smirk as he raised his wand, "Anything you feel like telling me about Calderon's location before we begin? No? Oh well…"

---

Atticus Ashain paced anxiously, glancing at the clock every five seconds to see if time had miraculously sped up. It hadn't. It was ironic that it was Christmas morning but unlike in his childhood, his attention to time had nothing to do with waiting until he would be able to wake his father to open his presents. He was just waiting to go to a meeting, a meeting where there was only a fifty-fifty chance the other person would actually show up. Well, fifty was better than the zero chance if he didn't even try. And dammit he was going to try, he would try for Antonius, he had to save his child.

"Daddy?" Cassia questioned as he wandered out, still in her pink nightdress. She didn't look enthusiastic or happy for Christmas, she was worried for her brother, "Are you going to go to bed? It's late."

"Technically it's early," Atticus countered but stopped to pick up his little girl and hold her tightly, assuring himself she was still there at least. He kissed the top of her head and squeezed her tearfully, "I love you so much, sweetie, you're the best daughter in the whole wide world."

"I know, Daddy, you keep telling me. I love you too, you're the best," Cassia told him and he felt a painful pang in his heart, he wasn't the best. He was the worst, he couldn't even protect his children.

"Come on, let's get you back to bed," Atticus offered and carried her back into her room, tucking her back into her bed where the dog still slept and the vulture was perched on its stand, "Try get some sleep, Cassia."

"I'll try," Cassia said quietly, "You should try too, Daddy."

"I'll try," Atticus lied as he left to go back to his pacing, only this time moving into his classroom to ensure it wouldn't disturb her.

How was he supposed to sleep when his son was missing? Or eat? Or do anything other than focus on getting his child back? Finally the clock turned over to a reasonable time to leave and he left, magically sealing both his office and classroom door, putting on some protective enchantments to – hopefully – ensure Cassia would be safe while he was gone. He headed out, nervously, hoping against hope.

"Where do you think you're going, Ashain?" a familiar but unwelcome voice commented on his way out of the gates, stepping out in front of them.

"Wherever the hell I want to go, Syn, it's a free country," Atticus spat at her angrily, she of all people would have to be the Auror in charge here.

"That's Lead Auror Cistro to you," Syn told him testily, staring daggers at him that he returned.

"I'm not afraid of you anymore and I don't give a damn what your title is, get the hell out of my way or find a reason to stop me."

"I have a reason," Syn sneered, "I know you helped your brother escape arrest as a Death Eater, I know you helped him fake his death, I know you're in league with him still."

"And I know you're wrong and I know if you had any proof of your ludicrous claim then I'd be in New Azkaban already so get out of my way!" Atticus snapped and Syn sulkily stepped aside, he stalked past her.

She wasn't entirely wrong about everything but he couldn't admit that or he would be in trouble, nor could he bring himself to care at that particular moment. He disapparated the second he reached Hogsmeade, finding him under the gray, murky morning sky and standing outside the gates he hadn't seen since his father had disowned him for 'killing' Brutus. The gates still stood but the home of his childhood was gone, the home of generations of Ashain children was gone. Still, he strode into the ruins. Not that there was much left to call ruins, some snow-covered piles of rubble and a massive crater. Curiously, the blanket of snow didn't cover the crater revealing the scorched earth. He heard familiar cawing and glanced up, seeing the flock of vultures that had once resided there flying overheard.

"Weird, isn't it?" a gruff voice commented as snowflakes started to fall, dying the second they touched the ground, "Who ever thought the Ashain Mansion would fall?"

"Not me," Atticus admitted as he turned to face his brother. Brutus was standing a few feet away from him watching him with the same dark chestnut eyes he watched him with, the same extremely dark auburn wavering in the gentle breeze. They were the same average height but Brutus was very muscular and of course, his features deformed, "You're early."

"So are you. And you look a wreck."

"I wasn't sure you'd come."

"I wasn't sure either, this could be trap after-" Brutus started to admit but Atticus withdrew his wand and flung it wildly, leaving himself unarmed.

"This isn't a goddamned trap, Brutus, I want my son back," Atticus snapped, cutting the chase immediately and Brutus' eyes widened in surprise, "Don't play dumb with me, I know he was taken by wizards and I know who those wizards were most likely to be. Give me my son back, Brutus. I don't care about any of this other crap, I want my child."

"Atty-"

"He's ten freaking years old! Haven't you people done enough to him!?" Atticus interjected angrily, "Give me my son back!"

"I don't have your son."

"Don't lie to me! I-"

"I'm not lying!" Brutus interrupting, holding out his hands as if innocent, "We didn't take him."

"If you didn't take him then who did?" Atticus demanded as he folded his arms and Brutus sighed, "Tell me, dammit! It's my son!"

"Pyrrhus Florian," Brutus admitted reluctantly while Atticus was taken completely by surprise, that was not a name he'd been expecting.

"Pyrrhus Florian? What the hell would he want with Antonius?"

"I have no idea," Brutus sighed with a shake of his head, "We have trackers hunting him but he's difficult to trace, the most recent location they tracked him too was your ex-wife and considering your son just happened to go missing then… It was probably him."

"Well what does he want?" Atticus wondered in confusion, he had no idea what the defector and former professor wanted.

"We don't know," Brutus insisted but looked worried.

"Doesn't your all-knowing, all-powerful Shadow Master know what her ex-underlings are after?"

"No she doesn- Wait, did you see she?" Brutus changed his sentence mid-way through, looking him in shock.

"So it is a she?" Atticus questioned triumphantly and Brutus sighed, averting his eyes as he nodded, "She's your lover isn't she?"

"H-How did- Wha-" Brutus stammered incoherently as his eyes darted back to him with an expression of utter shock.

"I've been wondering to myself for a while why you're still dedicated to this train wreck, clearly this is interfering with your morals now. At first I figured you were staying out of loyalty to your friend but this has gone way beyond that, it has to be a stronger bond and Calderon did mention once having a sister. He quickly retracted but…" Atticus trailed off and shrugged, "I figured he wasn't lying now, he's protecting his sister and you're protecting the woman you love."

"Yes," Brutus admitted in the quietest of voices, "Are you going to tell anyone?"

"Do you have children with her?"

"Twin sons, Lazarus and Omega. They're a year and a half."

"No," Atticus sighed heavily and Brutus looked relieved, "But not for her, for my nephews because I give a damn about my family."

"I give a damn too, okay?" Brutus protested defensively, "I really don't know what Florian wants. It worries me, I really am trying to get him. When he left he took his three year old son, Oathan, I want the kid back safe and sound. He has a half-brother who misses him."

"Have a soft spot for half-brothers?" Atticus wondered, thinking of themselves.

"We think he's behind the attacks on Scorpius and the Scamanders, that he's trying to kill the scarred wrists. We also think he's in league with Jack Thorne, this muggle who merged his soul with One, world's most powerful Specter and now they're… Not a good thing. And now he took Antonius," Brutus recounted for him, "If you see a connection that I'm missing then feel free to point it out."

"No clue," Atticus admitted with a shake of his head but he did think of something else, "But you think if we can figure out what he wants then we may be able to figure out where he's going, we can get the kids back."

"We should help each other," Brutus agreed and stepped forward and offered his hand, "We should work together to stop Florian and save the kids."

"We should," Atticus said slowly and started to reach forward to take his hand before pulling it away, "Just to clarify, this is only to save my son. I'm not joining you on your quest to destroy the planet."

"This is only to save my nephew," Brutus confirmed with a firm nod, "We only share information on Florian, we don't tell a soul, this has nothing to do with the Soul Eaters."

"Deal," Atticus agreed and shook his brother's hand, Brutus smiled at him weakly.

"This feels right, doesn't it? Us working on the same side."

"Yeah," Atticus agreed once more, this time sadly. He wished they were on the same side, "So what now?"

"Go back to Hogwarts, protect the scarred wrists: Scorpius, the Scamanders, Orous and Maurice. Try find out who's after them and what connection Antonius could have, I'll keep my people on Florian. If I find out anything, I'll contact you and if you find out anything then you contact me," Brutus decided quite rationally, even if Atticus would rather be out there. His brother's plan made more sense.

"Okay. How do we stay in contact? I'm not sure owls are the best method."

"Then don't use owls, we can talk through Patronuses," Brutus offered and flicked his wand, sending a silver hawk shooting out.

"I'm not sure I can cast one right now," Atticus admitted and Brutus held out his hand, Atticus' wand flew back to its which he then handed back to him, "I'm not sure its best anyway, if we're not alone and they blurt out a message…"

"Good point," Brutus conceded while Atticus focused on a happy memory and waved his wand, to his shock his Patronus wasn't his usual turtle but a different kind of bird. Brutus grinned and clapped him on the back, "Way to finally outgrow sharing your Patronus with your mother. Is that an Osprey?"

"I don't know," Atticus shrugged as the silver birds faded, "I'm not my daughter."

"If we just sent the birds without messages then we should avoid others overhearing, if we see the other's Patronus then we'll meet here the next day at say midnight in UK time."

"Okay," Atticus agreed gratefully and Brutus turned to go, "And Brutus?"

"Yeah?" Brutus wondered as he turned back to him.

"Thank you."

"Any time, Atty."

---

Part 3: Family

---

"Al, wake up," Vern's voice hissed and Albus' emerald eyes snapped open irritably, he felt like he'd only just closed them, "Your Mum wants to leave soon and she wants to have opened up the gifts before then so she says come on."

"I'm getting up," Albus grumbled as he pulled himself up into a sitting position, finding his roommate and cousin already up and dressed.

Despite James' room being currently unoccupied, his mum still didn't let Vern have it. Unlike his friends, he did think joining the Shadows was a low not even James would sink to – although apparently Uncle Ron had and he would've expected that even less – but he also thought there should be no problem letting Vern have it even temporarily because – despite his relationship having improved with Vern – their room was quite small for the two growing teenagers. Plus Albus was of age now, surely he earned his own room?

"Still upset with Abby staying with Sequoia?" Vern questioned as Albus dragged some clothes over to him.

"What makes you say that?"

"Because in your sleep last night you were punching your pillow and cursing Sequoia's name," Vern pointed out and Albus felt his cheeks burning scarlet as he started getting dressed.

"I wasn't asleep when I did that," Albus admitted ashamedly and Vern quickly found the curtains very interesting, he decided to change the subject, "So… You and Olivia, still together?"

"Just had our two year anniversary."

"Have you erm… Have you ever told her that you love her?" Albus wondered nervously and Vern glanced back to him.

"Yeah, why?"

"What- I mean do you remember what she said she when you first told her?"

"Well she said to me first so I said it back, we smiled and kissed," Vern said with a dismissive shrug as he folded his arms, "Why?"

"No reason," Albus sighed sadly, still hurt by Grozda's reaction. What was he doing wrong? Whatever it was, he'd be willing to change and do it right. Anything she wanted, he just wanted to make her happy and for her to love him back.

"Keep an eye on Hugo, will you?" Vern urged and Albus' focus shifted back to his cousin.

"Hugo?"

"Yeah, he's probably going to take his Dad going Shadow pretty badly and he's already going through a lot of crap at Hogwarts but he doesn't like to worry people."

"People still giving him a hard time?" Albus wondered curiously although in truth he was more worried about Rose, he thought Hugo took things better than she did. Plus he wanted to ask her if she'd heard from Abby because he was worried about her, she shouldn't be staying with Pentakel. The jerk was obviously trying to take advantage of her, was he really the only one who noticed or just the only one who cared?

"You didn't hear it from me but the last day, his roommates threw a bucket of pig's blood over him to wake him up."

"Nasty," Albus cringed as Vern threw on a coat, "Why don't you just keep an eye on him though? You know him better and all."

"Because I'm spending Christmas with my brother, remember?" Vern prompted and Albus did vaguely recall that, he also felt rather more disappointed than he would've been a few years ago. They'd taken the Dursley boy in since he was a wizard after his parents were killed while his grandmother raised his muggle siblings, recently his brother had been making an effort to rebuild their relationship though, "I'm not going to the Burrow."

"You should come, it'll be awesome," Albus stated encouragingly but falsely and Vern threw him the expected confused look, no one was going to be in a good mood after he news about Ron, "Well anyway, its family and stuff, you should come not hang out with a Dursley."

"I am a Dursley, Al, and that's your family not mine. I never feel like I belong at those things."

"Well of course you're not going to feel like you belong if you don't show up and hang out with your brother instead."

"I don't belong because I don't belong," Vern insisted, "And it's too late, Malcolm will be here to pick me up any second."

Albus sighed as his cousin left him to finish changing, his spirits still poor. He was surprised to see his dad was actually there, he was sitting staring blankly off into nothing but he was there. It had to be the unhappiest present-opening ever, like they were going through the motions but all of the emotion had been sucked out. They were all quiet, mumbling thanks and half-smiling. It wasn't from a lack of gratitude – Albus had actually gotten some pretty neat things and treats, he knew Lily felt the same – but just a lack of cheer, the good eclipsed by the bad. His parents watched with sad eyes, his mum actually bursting into tears and running from the room when he opened one from Uncle Ron. Albus stopped reading out the labels after that. Vern had opened his before he left and there was a pile for James, just in case. He left Abby's gift unopened because he was still upset with her.

After that it was a quick Floo over to his grandparents at the Burrow, where the torturous Christmas gloom continued. They were late and the last ones there, the last ones who were coming anyway and it felt like there was less every year. Uncle Bill was there but he was widowed so alone, Uncle George but since his divorce he was also alone, Aunt Hermione but obviously her husband was absent now he was a Shadow, his other uncles were dead. There were also newcomers though he noticed, Victoire was with her husband Teddy Lupin – although he'd have been there anyway, plus his grandmother Andromeda – and Dom – he wondered if it was rude to notice she was looking a tad larger in the stomach department, odd considering he'd have thought she'd be getting plenty of exercise with Gray – with her much older husband Aurelius Ashain, Louis had brought his new girlfriend who was also an Auror, Freddie was with his long-time girlfriend Caitlin Birch and their year old – she'd be two in the spring – daughter Charla. Molly and Lucy weren't there, Lucy was with muggle friends and Molly with Gray. Roxy, Rose and Hugo were also there along with Cel Rooke and his son Vale, his grandparents were also obviously in attendance at their own home.

His grandmother, Andromeda and Freddie's girlfriend Caitlin were in the kitchen cooking, his mum went to join them as soon as they'd arrived. His grandfather was sitting with the now motherless Vale on his lap, trying to cheer up the poor toddler who looked tired and sad. In contrast, Charla seemed bubbly and happy as Freddie showed her off to his sister, Teddy, Victoire, Louis and Louis' girlfriend who Albus really needed to learn the name of. Aurelius was dressed in puke green and orange robes that Albus wouldn't be caught dead in, sitting with the father-in-law who despised him, Uncle George, Cel and Aunt Hermione. All but he and Aunt Hermione were drinking, his aunt staring off into space with her head in her hands while Aurelius just seemed reluctant, his dad went over to join them. Hugo was sitting near their grandfather where Lily went over to him, Rose was pretending to read and Dom was wandering around scarfing down food. Huh, maybe that was why she'd put on some weight. Albus went over to Rose though.

"Hey Rosie," Albus greeted her.

"Don't disrupt me, I'm reading," Rose insisted but he sat with her anyway.

"You've been staring at the same page since I arrived. And the words are upside down anyway," Albus pointed out and she sighed, glancing at the book and righting it, "How are you doing?"

"My Dad's a traitor, how do you think I'm doing?!" Rose snapped at him immediately, her voice cracking and tears filling her eyes before she composed herself, "Okay, I guess."

"Have you heard from Abby?"

"What is your obsession with Abby recently?" Rose complained at him with a roll of her eyes, "Did you not hear about my Dad?!"

"I did but I'm still worried about Abby," Albus insisted defensively, "I can't do anything about Uncle Ron but Abby… I bet Pentakel's parents wouldn't do anything to help her."

"The Pentakel kids are orphaned, Sequoia just lives with his sisters."

"What?! That's even worse! Why would her parents let her go?!"

"Al, Abby's miserable at Christmas," Rose stated as if it were obvious, "Her brother died, her sister can't be bothered to show up and her parents are just sad about Nick on Christmas. She was excited again at the thought of spending it with Sequoia in a pleasant environment, they want her to be happy and so should you."

"But she's not going to be happy if he's taking advantage of her!" Albus insisted, still not sure why he was the only one who could see it, "Like you say, she's miserable and vulnerable and Sequoia is just manipulating her. He's a Ravenclaw, they know how to do that. What if he tries something with her?"

"Abby's a responsible girl, Al, and Sequoia's a good guy whether you believe it or not. She'll be fine. Not that it's any of your business or mine in the first place."

"Hey guys," Dom greeted them with a cheery smile, "You don't happen to have any spaghetti do you?"

"Why would we have spaghetti?" Albus wondered in bewilderment at the bizarre request.

"I don't know. But do you?"

"No," Rose shot her down, "Any news on my Dad from Aaron?"

"No. Are you sure you have no spaghetti?"

"Why do you even want spaghetti?!" Albus questioned and Dom plopped down beside him unhappily.

"Because we didn't have breakfast and I'm starving, all I can think about is food," Dom admitted, "I really, really fancy some spaghetti with butterscotch sauce."

"That sounds disgusting."

"I know," Dom agreed with a sigh, "But I want it."

"Well dinner will be ready soon," Rose assured her, "Even if it's hopefully not that. Why don't you go have a drink with your Dad who isn't a Shadow?"

"No," Dom shook her head fiercely, confusing him slightly, "I mean, it's just best to stay sharp not to drink considering the Shadows and all. Aaron has a no drinking policy and we'd like to stick to that, that's why me and Aurelius aren't drinking."

"I thought it was because he's used to expensive drinks and doesn't like this cheap stuff?" Rose wondered.

"That too, he has us both spoiled rotten. Last week he took me to a restaurant and we had-" Dom started to say but trailed off as an epiphany seemed to dawn on her, "Forget the spaghetti, I wonder what lobster would taste like with butterscotch."

"Are you feeling okay?"

"Me? Never better. I'm going to go look for lobster," Dom announced as she headed off.

"Is it just me or is Aurelius' eccentricity rubbing off on her?" Rose questioned of him and Albus could only nod in agreement, "Let's hope Louis' girlfriend is nice, although Eudoxia is such an ugly name.

Luckily, dinner didn't take all that long to be served albeit not what Dom was hoping for and they could have a lovely family dinner. Except for Uncle Bill glaring murderously at Aurelius the whole time, Aunt Hermione's reluctance to eat, several of the adults – including Albus' dad, much to his surprise – drinking much more than they did usually, everyone trying to ignore the absences weighing on all of their minds and finally Vale who also didn't want to eat but unlike his aunt, screamed and cried when they tried to make him. The adults kept taking it in turns trying to get him to eat, oddly it was Aurelius who finally succeeded but even then it was far less then what would be considered a substantial meal and his grandfather managed to get Vale to drink some juice. Charla was no trouble.

"Now that we've finished that delicious meal – thanks Gran," Freddie announced as they moved back into regular seating to digest the food, pausing to thank their grandmother, "But before everyone takes the dishes out, Caitlin and I have an announcement."

"You're getting married?!" Uncle George guessed in a drunken slur and there were some assorted laughs, Freddie only smiled as he took his girlfriend's hand and pulled her up as well.

"No, not a marriage," Freddie shot it down and Albus swore his uncle looked somewhat disappointed by this. Freddie and Caitlin were trying not to smile though, "But a pregnancy! Caitlin and I are expecting another baby."

"Congratulations," Uncle Bill offered cheerfully, starting the chorus of best wishes while his grandmother rushed over to hug the couple.

Albus couldn't help but notice the disheartened look on Dom's face who didn't offer congratulations, she looked like she was really wrestling with something and put a hand on her stomach. Had she eaten too much? Or too much weird at least? Instead of heading off to the bathroom like he expected, she stood and cleared her throat to get attention onto herself instead. The room quietened and Dom fidgeted nervously.

"I-I also would like to say something," Dom stammered out, Aurelius giving her a look of surprise.

"You're finally getting divorced?" Uncle Bill guessed hopefully and Dom threw him a glare, snatching Aurelius' hand as if to prove that false.

"No," Aurelius offered and Uncle Bill slumped into is seat unhappily.

"I'm pregnant," Dom announced and unlike with Freddie, there was an awkward silence before his grandmother smiled and started to move over to hug her as well.

"Congrat-"

"NO!" Uncle Bill burst out furiously and jumped to his feet to cut her off, his face red with rage, "No! No! No! No! No! NO! You can't do this! You cannot be pregnant with his child, he is an old man with grandchildren and just… no! Its sick, it's wrong, it's an abomination of life!"

"Merlin's sake, Dad, for once in my life couldn't you just try to be supportive of me?!" Dom yelled at him angrily but tearfully, "Freddie has a baby and he practically gets a standing ovation, I have a baby and it's an abomination of life?! Aurelius is just as good a person as Caitlin is, our child is just as much a Weasley as their child by blood. Why can't you just be happy for me?! How can you even talk that away about your own grandchild?!"

"It's not my grandchild! It's not a child, it's a disgusting thing that shouldn't exist! And it won't exist because you're going to get rid of it, you're going to get an abortion and kill that thing and send it straight back to hell where it belongs or I will make you!"

"I-"

"Don't," Aurelius interrupted in a deathly quiet voice that made it all the more threatening, surprising even Dom judging from the expression on her tearstained face, usually he was very amicable, "Don't threaten my family, not my wife, not our unborn child. I don't care that you don't like me, you have no right to speak to your daughter that way."

Everyone was speechless for a moment, Dom sniffed and buried her face in her husband's chest as Aurelius put his arms around her. Uncle Bill's face twisted once more with rage and the second he opened his mouth, Aurelius disapparated both him and Dom. Apparently he was done letting his wife be yelled at, Albus was somewhat regretful he hadn't had the chance to offer his support. He couldn't wait to tell Professor Ashain about his upcoming new sibling who was also Albus' new cousin, he wondered if that was enough of a family connection to get biased good grades or at least less homework. He did feel bad for Dom though and the baby, poor kid didn't know the screwed up family it was being born into.

"Why are you smiling?" Lily wondered of him curiously while his grandmother started berating Uncle Bill for upsetting Dom.

"Because I love our family despite how screwed up it is," Albus offered truthfully and clapped his sister on the shoulder cheerfully, "No matter what crap gets thrown at us, we're still going to stay strong."

"Your optimism is stupid."

"You're stupid," Albus countered childishly but Lily smiled nonetheless as she stuck her tongue out at him which totally was not immature as Abby would probably say. He sighed sadly, their Christmas was probably going better then hers anyway despite everything since she was probably crying in the bathroom because she wanted to go home. He wished Abby was with him now. He'd make sure she was safe and happy.

---

Carver sighed heavily, not sure what compelled him to return to the home he'd been thrown out of. He didn't know why but he felt like he was on borrowed time lately, he was secretly against the Shadows and he couldn't help but feel it was only a matter of time before he was found out and killed. Before that, he just had to try and do as much good as he could because he had a choice, he could choose to be a better person. Leebin had taught him that. And now Leebin was their prisoner, he'd be tortured and killed, he'd die horribly when all he'd really done was try to help people. Carver knew he could probably save him if he tried, Leebin would have to go on the run with Pyrrhus and Jack though who would also torture him for Calderon's location. He wasn't sure he trusted them to not kill him, not after the Antonius abduction.

He did wish he could talk to Leebin though, tell him what he was doing and ask if it was the right thing. Stopping the Shadow Master was the right thing he knew but was it still the right thing when it involved abduction and murder, even torture? Was there a better way? Or were the sacrifices worth it? Maybe he was just having doubts out of guilt, Martha had been found out and butchered by a sorry excuse for a torturer. He could understand Ethan's point, now she was lying in the Hospital Wing in Hogwarts alone and in pain, trapped. Hogwarts was difficult to get into, he very much wished he could be with her now to apologize and whisk her away to safety. Whereas safety was, nowhere felt safe or had the stability of home. Maybe that was why he'd returned home for Christmas, he could return to neither Hogwarts nor the Training Tower and the home with his mother was all that was left.

He knocked on the door, loudly and clearly because he knew his maternal half-siblings could get pretty loud. A minute later the door was opened by Damien, the two year old was still bald, he had a long face but an easy smile, he alone of his mother's children had also inherited her azure eyes. His toothy grin widened more when he saw him and he threw his arms around his leg, Carver scooped him up to give him a proper hug. He supposed he should be glad, Damien was the most affectionate of the Reed kids.

"Carber! I lub you," Damien offered and gave him a sloppy kiss on the cheek, Carver patted him gently on the back as he carried him inside, "I'm berry glad you'b comed back, Carber."

"I missed you too," Carver told him as he closed the door behind him, it was only sort of a lie.

It was always dark inside because his stepdad, Pegasus Reed, didn't like to let in much light. The couches were black leather and the carpet brown, now littered with toys and torn wrapping paper. His sisters were in there playing, Meg was the oldest at five with bushy shoulder-length brown hair and Emerald a year younger but her hair was kept cropped short although she had put a flower in it, both had dark brown eyes like their father. Meg was the only one allowed to wear dresses and have long hair, Pegasus had decided Emerald was too ugly. Carver thought this was both untrue and completely unfair, Pegasus had driven her to tears because of it numerous times and then mocked her for crying because it made her look uglier. Meg seemed to be showing off a new doll to Emerald who was playing with a ball, they both stopped when they saw him though and Emerald grinned as she ran over to him.

"Hey Em," Carver greeted his younger sister and scooped her into a hug as well, he had a soft spot for the girl, "And Meg, how are you?"

"I got this new dolly for Christmas and this dress and six more dresses and a hair clip and a pretty pink rocking pony that is upstairs and a new hat and three pairs of shoes and four skirts and these other dolls and eight stuffed animals and two ribbons and two tops and a new tea cup set," Meg reeled off for him in her upbeat know-it all voice, she was her parents' favorite.

"Em an me gotta ball!" Damien told him excitedly and pointed to what Emerald had been playing with, apparently not realizing this wasn't a lot.

"How lovely, a whole ball between the two of you," Carver offered and Damien's smile widened further as he nodded.

"An we gotta keep the box!"

"How awesome."

"Hey Carver, didn't Daddy throw you out because you went and did bad like your good for nothing Father?" Meg questioned curiously, sounding very much like she was quoting verbatim.

"Shut up, Meg, I'm sure Carver can come home for Christmas," Emerald snapped defensively and nestled her head in further to his neck.

"Oh, okay then," Meg shrugged and opened her arms for a hug with a grin, Carver put the other two down to oblige, "But if you want your old room, Daddy gave it to Damien."

"You can hab it back," Damien offered immediately, "I lub you more than your bed, Carber."

"Very kind of you, Damien," Carver assured the toddler who smiled again, "But I won't be here for long."

"Please don't go," Emerald pleaded and squeezed his hand.

"I don't have a choice, sorry Em," Carver told her gently and rubbed her shoulder when she hung her head sadly, "Where are your parents anyway?"

"Mummy went upstairs to put the baby down for his nap," Meg informed him helpfully, "Daddy was punishing Amadeus for being naughty, he took a bite of an apple without permission."

"Daddy hates that," Carver muttered as he stood again although in truth Pegasus probably didn't, he just invented and abandoned rules constantly. The mute Amadeus would have a hard time asking for permission anyway, "Well I'll go up and say hello."

"Can you please stay for dinner?" Emerald pleaded desperately.

"I will ask."

Carver then left the three and headed upstairs, sadly recalling last Christmas when he'd been happy to be spending the holiday with James. He kind of regretted it now, he wondered if James would've still joined the Shadows if he hadn't let Xerxes get inside his head. It was dark upstairs as well, he found his parents' room – where they also kept the baby until it started sleeping through the night and could be trusted in one of its siblings rooms – where his mother would probably be. He'd never had the best relationship with his mother in truth, he tried but… they just didn't. Nervously but much more gently then before, he knocked on the door and heard his mother giving permission to enter. His mother and stepfather's room was the biggest room, not that it really felt it when Pegasus got the largest bed and chunky furniture to the cut the floor space down. The baby bassinet was by the window, he saw a sleeping pink lump bundled in blankets there while his mother lay on the bed beside it rocking it gently.

"Boy or girl?" Carver asked curiously, it had been born after he left and his father's tenth child was also due to be born this month. He groaned inwardly, why did his parents have to have so many freaking children?

"Boy. Caradoc, Pegasus called him," his mother told him before seeming to realize he was there and scrambled to sit, spinning to face him with her beady azure eyes widening in shock, "Carver? What are you doing here?"

"It's Christmas, time for family and all," Carver offered uncertainly as he strode over to her and sat on the bed beside her, she continued to watch him in shock, "Plus I thought I should meet my new baby brother."

"DON'T PRETEND LIKE YOU CARE, YOU SHADOW SCUM!" his mother spat before abruptly slapping him across the face, it was surprised it had taken her so long. She actually lowered the volume as baby Caradoc stirred though, "You hate me having kids."

"You hate you having kids!" Carver insisted quite truthfully and his mother pouted as she folded her arms, "You think caring for children is the worst thing in the world."

"Pegasus needs heirs, it's my duty as his wife to provide them for him."

"No, it isn't. Pegasus is an asshole."

"Pegasus is a wonderful man and he loves me! You just don't understand how marriage works."

"Pegasus is not a wonderful man, Maeghan."

"My name is Mary, Carver," his mother protested irritably, "You should know that, Pegasus likes the name Mary better than Maeghan."

"Mother, people who love each other don't make them change their names," Carver insisted determinedly, "You can't put up with his crap."

"Is that why you came here? To insult the wonderful man who puts a roof over our heads, food on the table, the man who raised you like his own son even though you're not and who loves us?"

"Firstly, Pegasus is not capable of love and secondly, no," Carver stated and sighed, "I did just come to see my family on Christmas."

"If you wanted to see us for Christmas then you shouldn't have joined the Shadows," his mother pointed out stubbornly, "Pegasus says they're bad, like the Voldemort people. I should've known you'd join them, you've always been bad. Pegasus says I shouldn't blame myself though, I'm a wonderful mother who does everything right and it was clearly all Xerxes' fault because I did everything right, that's what Pegasus says. Why did you even join them anyway?"

"It's a long story," Carver sighed and his mother looked at him thoughtfully for a moment before patting his hand.

"Well it was good for you to come back so maybe the new Shadow Voldemort people aren't so bad, I'll ask Pegasus if you can stay just for dinner. If you help me with dinner it would be good too, it's harder when it's just me cooking without you."

"Thank you," Carver offered and his mother nodded before leaving to go ask Pegasus because Pegasus knew everything.

He sighed as he watched his sleeping brother, wishing very much they could trade places so he wouldn't have to deal with the war anymore. He heard the door creak and turned in surprise at how fast she'd spoken to Pegasus but it was just his final maternal half-sibling, Amadeus who was three. Pegasus had decided his first born son was so ugly – again not true – that he had to wear a mask, hence why the boy was wearing one of those blank drama masks tied around his head right now although Pegasus also used a paper bag with eye sockets or a sack with eye sockets which made him look like a scarecrow. He had dark almost black hair like Pegasus that cascaded in waves almost to his shoulders, his eyes were also dark and barely visible through the gaps in the mask. In truth, Carver often found Amadeus quite creepy because he never spoke, could never gauge expression because of his face being covered and he liked to randomly follow him, he was very clingy. Amadeus limped over to him and Carver pulled him into a hug which had the toddler clinging to him tightly, he was being nice to his siblings after all today. It was Christmas, maybe Amadeus had grown out of his silence and Carver knew he should really be more sympathetic to the least favorite child.

"How are you, Amadeus?" Carver asked of him gently and pulled Amadeus away to give him a chance to answer, the boy said nothing while the door opened and his mother returned, "I thought so."

"I'm sorry, Carver, Pegasus says you can't stay because you're a fugitive and it could make him look bad if we let you stay," his mother informed him and Amadeus immediately clung to him again but his mother wrenched the boy off, "Bad Amadeus! Carver has to go now, he doesn't want you getting in his way. Goodbye, Carver."

"Can I say goodbye to the others?"

"Pegasus said no," his mother barked and Carver sighed as he stood, Amadeus' eyes looking watery as he waved shakily while Carver took a last look around because he'd probably never come back or see the siblings again.

"Goodbye then," Carver offered and disapparated sadly.

---

Part 4: Slipping

---

Maurice sat on his bed sadly of his small room back in Cade's house, it was all very neat and he'd just finished finding spaces to slot in the gifts he'd received so it was once again idea. It was better to be neat, clutter hindered your movements if you were attacked and had to duel your way out of it. He wished he'd stayed in Hogwarts, he could've kept an eye on Martha and the school. Christmas was supposed to be a time for family though, he'd tried to be with his but he wasn't a Knox. Cade had raised Orous, they knew each other and they loved each other, were both familiar with the muggle environment. Maurice felt rather out of place and attempts to make him feel included just made him feel even more like he didn't belong, it was their world, their family and their home. It didn't help Orous still hated him.

He'd been raised in schools, they felt much more like home to Maurice and the constant lessons kept his mind occupied, away from thoughts like that. He pulled his favorite photograph out of his pocket, one of him and Lenore. Lenore, his girlfriend who had died months ago in the attack on Hogwarts, she wasn't dead in the picture though but smiling and laughing, full of life. He'd known for years what death was, how to cause it and he had many, many times but he'd never known until then what it felt like to experience the death of someone you loved. It hurt. He saw movement out of the corner of his eye as the door opened, his twin being the one to do it. Maurice put a hand to his necklace in readiness to translate.

Dad says it's your turn to help with the dishes, Orous' words came simply around his head before he turned to leave. That was all their conversations were now, short and succinct and only if truly necessary.

"Orous, wait," Maurice called after him, recalling what Scorpius had said about talking to him as he got up and went over to his brother who turned back to him irritably. What would be the socially acceptable way to phrase this? "Why do you hate me now?"

I don't hate you, Orous stated blankly, Maurice was getting better at being able to tell if people were lying with his Legilimency but his brother's broken soul made it impossible to get a read on him.

"Then why are you treating me different?"

I'm surprised you noticed, Orous said before sighing, I'm just. I don't even know

"You have to know, tell me. What did I do?" Maurice half-pleaded and half-demanded, unsure of the best option, "I thought we were brothers."

So did I, Orous insisted, And then when I needed you, you just let me down

"When?"

When I had to murder our mother to save your life. Of all the things I thought I had to worry about with you, you not having my back wasn't one of them, Orous explained and looked saddened while Maurice just shifted uncomfortably, thinking of the event was just painful and Orous had very nearly died as well, I never wanted to kill and as much as I hate Alzay, she was still our mother and I can't be happy about her death. Especially it was me. You're fine with killing but I'm not, I feel sick to my stomach thinking about it. And my own mother, what kind of horrible person kills their own mother

"Alzay killed her mother, I killed her father and you killed her, that's just how it goes in our family," Maurice pointed out but if anything, Orous looked worse, "Look, I still don't see why you're mad at me. I refused to duel her, I didn't tell you to kill her instead."

What was I supposed to do. Let you die

"Maybe. What did you want to happen?"

I wanted you to pick up your wand and fight, you preach about war and soldiers and fighting but you just threw down your wand in the end. Why couldn't you just duel her and kill her yourself

"Wait a minute," Maurice offered and held up his free hand as something dawned on him, "All of you people constantly criticize and mock my stance as being wrong, insist I should be more like everyone else but here when I actually do something human like not want to fight my own Mother its wrong? What do you expect me to do?! What do you people want from me?!"

I don't know, Maurice, I told you I don't know, Orous stated as he held up his hands, backing out of the door, And again, dishes

Orous left him and Maurice glumly went out to go help Cade with the dishes, feeling even worse about his relationship with his brother now. He was no closer to fixing it then he was to stopping the Shadows, word had struck yesterday they'd taken the capital of Lebanon. He thought this meant the Shadow Master was likely going to try bridge the gap between Egypt and Turkey, having a solid center of Shadow territory to amass their army before branching out. Not that that really helped with figuring out what to do, killing the Shadow Master was the obvious answer but that was far easier said than done considering he had an army, a powerful Scepter and was powerful even without it. He was even less sure about how to repair the rift between him and his brother, even further from figuring out how to get over his grief for Lenore.

Maurice sighed heavily and lazily washed the dishes with the magical gift he'd been born with, he wondered if Cade ever found it weird how he couldn't do magic. It was a strange world to be a muggle. He hoped Roman was enjoying his Christmas, he was probably just delighted to not have to deal with his own sons. Maurice went to bed early after that but tossed and turned for hours, still feeling rather alone. He was alone. Lenore was dead, he had no parents, his only brother hated him and his friends couldn't care less. Feeling restless and thirsty, he got up in the middle of the night and went to get a drink with a swarm of dogs to help him. He sat in the dark sipping his glass of water, he still didn't see the point of holidays in schools. Wasn't working more productive then this?

The dogs wandered off randomly and it took him a second to realize why, Cade was coming down the stairs. He started to wonder if a hearing person would've heard footsteps before his line of thought came to an abrupt halt, Cade wasn't alone and he wasn't with Orous. It was a woman he'd never seen before with bouncy brown hair and chocolate brown eyes, she had quite a curvaceous figure and had her fingers interlocked with Cade's. They were smiling and talking to each other, heading towards the front door and not noticing him in the dark. She was fully dressed and all bundled up against the cold while Cade was in his pajamas, beneath her coat he noticed she was wearing a St Mungo's uniform. She put her arms around his neck when they got to the doorway and he encircled his around her waist, they kissed passionately and excessively lengthily before she left. Maurice took that as his cue to light his wand up to alert Cade to his presence, the muggle leaped so frightfully back he hit the front door.

"Who's the witch?" Maurice demanded of him.

'You saw that?' Cade signed to him as he strode over, his fright turning to guilt while Maurice nodded. The tall man sighed as he sat down beside him, 'Her name is Tabitha Morse, she's a Healer at St Mungo's. She was working today but wanted to say hello when she finished, she's really nice and we're dating.'

"Cade, you shouldn't be dating," Maurice shot out immediately, surprised and annoyed Cade could date after how bad things had gotten with Alzay, "What if she's another Shadow who's drugged you with Love Potion?"

'Because I'm not head over heels in love and obsessed with this woman after one date. Besides, her parents were killed when the werewolf army attacked Hogsmeade.'

"Well then why are you keeping it a secret?"

'It's not a secret, we just haven't been dating very long and I don't want to bring it up unless it gets more serious in case it doesn't work out. We're taking it slow.'

"How long have you been dating?" Maurice asked him curiously.

'Since June,' Cade admitted and Maurice opened his mouth to insist that was a pretty substantial amount of time but Cade had already started signing once more with a concerned expression, 'What about you? Are you alright? Why are you down here in the middle of the night?'

"Couldn't sleep."

'Do you want to talk about it?'

"Don't try to change the subject. What's to talk about?" Maurice scoffed, "Orous hates me."

'Orous doesn't hate you,' Cade insisted, 'He may be upset with you but he doesn't hate you.'

"How'd you know?"

'Because I know my son. He wouldn't have done what he did if he hated you, he's upset with you but he's upset with himself more.'

"Well how do I stop making him be upset?" Maurice questioned and Cade shook his head at him.

'People are complex, you can't just wave your wand and fix things,' Cade signed to him seriously, 'Tell me, are you sad about your mother dying?'

"I don't know," Maurice admitted with a shrug, "I thought I was but… I guess I'm more sad for what she wasn't then who she was if that makes sense. It's eclipsed by Lenore's death anyway."

'You still miss her?'

"Yes," Maurice stated firmly and subconsciously pulled out the picture of them to look at, "I loved her, I really did because I'm not heartless like my friends think."

'What makes you think they think that?'

"They always say stuff like I'm not human or I'm not a person just because I think about something differently to them, they think I should be over Lenore by now."

'It really bothers you that they think that, doesn't it?' Cade signed, looking quite surprised.

"Yes. Just I think differently, it doesn't mean I'm not human. I can feel things," Maurice insisted, feeling upset, "I think I've come a long way to being more normal and seeing things from their side, doesn't that matter? Just because I view things from a more strategic point of view and can be more ruthless about things, it doesn't mean I don't care and anything I say or think is wrong. I wish I was as heartless as they think I am but I'm not!"

'Why do you wish that?'

"Emotions complicate things. And they suck and they hurt," Maurice snapped childishly and idly thumbed the photograph as tears pricked his eyes.

'It hurts that Lenore's gone.'

"Yeah, I never realized before how someone you know for a relatively short amount of time could have such a profound impact. It feels like there's this gaping void where she used to be and I don't know how to make it feel better."

'It never gets better,' Cade signed to him, 'I lost my family when I was around your age and it still hurts that they're gone. But it does get easier in time.'

"How much time?" Maurice asked but Cade shrugged, "It feels like it's never going to get any better, she died and it hurts. I let her down and apparently I let Orous down, now I've lost two of the people who matter the most to me. I understand how to be a soldier but I don't understand how to deal with this."

Whatever Cade was going to sign next was lost as Maurice buried his face in his hands to hide the fact he was crying, his guilt-ridden grief crashing down on him. Cade didn't abandon him though, he just put his arm around him comfortingly.

---

"Want some turkey?" Pyrrhus Florian offered to their new prisoner, waving a plate in his general direction.

He, Jack and One, Oathan and the successfully captured Antonius were currently staying in a motel but had moved frequently and constantly since taking him. The Aurors may not care much but the Ashains did, he wasn't particularly concerned about Antonius' father but his uncle was scary as fuck when he was angry and involving his family was the easiest way to make him angry. Ideally, Pyrrhus had wanted to stay in an unused house to have a proper Christmas dinner for his son but they hadn't managed to find one. Nonetheless, he'd done his best with what the motel provided and gotten gifts for Oathan so it was something.

"No," Antonius answered with a stony look.

"There's no point going hungry just because you don't like being a prisoner," Pyrrhus insisted pleasantly before nibbling on the meat, "In fact, when you're a prisoner you should always eat since you need to keep your strength up if you plan to escape."

"I don't eat meat that comes from birds," Antonius stated icily, "My sister can speak to them so she thinks its cannibalism."

"We have ham too," Oathan assured him brightly and lumped some onto the plate, taking it from Pyrrhus to hand to Antonius who just glanced disinterestedly at the plate, "Are you sad that you gotted nothing for Christmas? You can have one of mine if you like, you can pick whatever thing you want."

"My uncle's dead and you're holding me prisoner against my will, a Christmas present is not going to cut it," Antonius snapped irritably causing Oathan to look somewhat disheartened.

"Two Christmas presents?"

"For the love of…" Jack complained as he stalked over and struck Antonius across the face with the back of his hand, using enough force to knock him over, "Eat!"

"Hey! No striking our guests," Pyrrhus insisted and lazily healed Antonius' very minor injury as the boy got back up, a flicker of guilt crossed Jack/One's face.

"He's useless to us if he dies," One pointed out testily as his… it… they? folded their arms. Pyrrhus was unsure of the correct phrasing.

"What do you even want with me?" Antonius demanded as he glanced between them, "You've had me a few days and all we do is keep traveling, it doesn't seem like you have an actual destination in mind."

"We'll get to that," Pyrrhus assured him as he brushed it off, "For now, it's just important to make sure no one is on your trail."

Antonius' expression remained stony but he did take the plate from Oathan to start eating, causing the boy to beam as he started chatting to him about how they didn't have Christmas at the Training Tower. Jack/One slinked back to their corner without another word, still annoyed with him for killing Jasper when he could've destroyed his soul. Pyrrhus leaned back against the wall and continued eating the turkey as he watched the two boys.

"Funny, isn't it?" Joel commented and Pyrrhus shrieked in surprise, jumping away as his dead brother appeared by his side once more with a cruel smirk, "You think you're so much better than us yet here you are keeping a child prisoner, you're just like the rest of us."

"It's not the same," Pyrrhus insisted defensively, ignoring the looks the others gave him, "I'm not hurting him."

"No, you're just going to wind up destroying his soul. That is so much better," Joel quipped sarcastically.

"It is," Pyrrhus whined, it was to kill the Shadow Master after all and it wasn't like he wanted the boy to be hurt.

"Not like Dad wanted us to be hurt either, he just cared more about what he wanted then what you did."

"That's right I did," Linden commented and Pyrrhus shrieked as he jumped again, his father just appearing on his other side. He smiled, "He's my favorite age too. I remember when you were my favorite age, all I used to do to you…"

"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" Pyrrhus screamed at them both and backed away from the wall to face them both, suddenly finding it quite hard to breathe, "Both of you shut up and leave me alone!"

"Oh, baby brother but you are alone. We're all inside your head," Joel taunted.

"Aw what's wrong, Pyrrhy?" Linden cooed as he appeared by his side again, reaching out to caress his cheek.

"GO AWAY!" Pyrrhus yelled as he recoiled in fear of his father and backed off still finding himself incapable of breathing, spinning as he did so to see the actual read people in the room, "Th-The air is choking me, I need to go outside."

Pyrrhus practically ran outside and slammed the door shut behind him, he leaned back against it and hung his head. He shivered as the cool tendrils of the winter wind stroked his skin but at least he knew the air was fresh, he stood there for a minute breathing heavily before noticing it oddly getting warmer.

He looked up in surprise and saw instead of the snow sprinkled environment it had been when he'd last been out there, it was hot with the bright burning sun set in a clear blue sky with no hint of white to be seen. He staggered forward in surprise, the frosted grass was now a vibrant green. He wasn't even sure it was the same place.

"What is happening to me?" Pyrrhus asked of no one in particular.

"You're insane, remember?" his brother pointed out and Pyrrhus spun to see Xerxes standing behind him, he backed away but his brother continued to approach him with a look of disgust, "I knew it, I always knew it. That's why I never liked you, you're insane and a disgrace to wizards everywhere."

"It's not my fault!"

"Well it's not mine," Xerxes scoffed as he backed Pyrrhus against a picnic table, "I saved you and stabbed me in the back. You're just rotten to the core, aren't you? To kill your own brother after everything I did for you."

"You did one good deed, Xerxes, stop acting like it makes you a saint!" Pyrrhus yelled at him in frustration, "You know why I started trying to become an animagus?! To escape the Training Tower because it was that bad!"

"But you didn't," Marvin commented as he appeared on his left, "You never came back for me. You left me to rot."

"Because by the time I'd mastered it, I'd lost all sense of hope and knew if I fled then I'd be hunted until I died," Pyrrhus insisted as he felt a rush of sadness as tears pricked his eyes, "I couldn't help you, I couldn't even help myself. You turned bad anyway."

"We all turn bad eventually, you know that," Linden pointed out in a patronizing tone from his right, "You're going to destroy a child to save a world of bad."

"I'm not doing it for the world," Pyrrhus protested determinedly as the tears rolled down his eyes, "I'm doing it for my son."

"You'll fail you know," Joel taunted and Pyrrhus spun to see his brother had appeared on the other side of the bench, "You're a loser, Pyrrhy, and you'll always be a loser. Your plan will fail, you'll have six dead kids and nothing to show for it. They'll kill Carver and Martha for their betrayal, Oathan will either be killed or enslaved in the Training Tower once more and you'll die a failure."

"I have to try and it has to work, it's the only way."

"If you're going this nuts over one random child you barely know, how do you expect to complete your plan when you have to kill Oathan's half-brothers?" Marvin questioned of him but he was still staring at Joel's direction where beyond him he saw a ten year old version of himself sitting with his father on the other picnic bench, his child self crying because he knew he couldn't get away. They'd been on holiday on there, that's what he was seeing, a memory, "Including Maurice, the child you mentored and actually give a damn about? There's no hope, Pyrrhus, there never is."

"Well I'm going to try, dammit!" Pyrrhus insisted as he jumped up onto the bench beside him, whipping out his wand and aiming it as his father on the bench, "Avada Kedavra!"

The jet of green light struck his father and he toppled over dead, the edges of Pyrrhus' mouth curled into a smirk. It felt good to kill his father and actually seemed to get rid of them, his child-self watched in horror though. He spun on the bench, firing Killing Curses with perfect aim to every one of his hallucinations to send then spiraling. Finally he struck his wand through the air and lit the other buildings up in an explosive inferno of fire, he cackled with delight while the tears continued to stream from his eyes.

"WHO'S A LOSER AND WHO'S A FAILUE NOW?! I CAN DO THIS!" Pyrrhus screamed at nothing and his child-self fled.

He fell to his knees on the bench, sobbing shakily as he tried to banish the bad thoughts from his brain. Finally he wiped his eyes, the crackling flames filling his ears and sending warmth into the cold air. Wait, cold? He leaped to his feet and spun as he took in the scene, it was now more like the motel he'd thought he'd been with the ground covered in snow while more fluttered down form the inky air. He could see his breathe in front of him and then he saw the dead, littering the ground while some random child ran. The inferno was still there, destroying the other buildings.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Jack demanded of him and yanked him down from the bench, "We're supposed to be not drawing attention to ourselves!"

"Wh-What happened? Did you kill those people?" Pyrrhus stammered out anxiously and the Specter-man looked at him incredulously.

"You killed those people," One insisted, much to Pyrrhus' shock and horror.

"B-But I was just hallucinating."

"Well don't," Jack spat as he pushed him away, "And now we have to move again and try cover our trail again."

"You could've at least let us destroy their souls if you were going to butcher a load of muggles," One added irritably as it stalked back in the direction of their room, Pyrrhus swallowed fearfully and looked back at the devastation he'd caused.