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

17. Chapter 17: Flight of the Thestral

Parts (64-67)

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VI

Chapter 17

Flight of the Thestral

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Part 1: On The Way

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Scorpius had to turn away from the engulfing light, holding up his hands to try block it out. And then he felt as if he was falling, he didn't seem to land yet became aware he was lying on something soft.

Somehow, Scorpius just knew he was no longer inside Leebin's mind and back in the real world, even before opening his eyes and recognizing Myriam's bedroom except it seemed darker. He sat up and almost gasped, it was as if someone hit him in the head with a slab of concrete. He clutched at it in pain, in his peripheral vision catching sight of Leebin sitting up and having the same reaction.

"The mental arts are pretty taxing like that," Martha's voice commented cheerfully and he looked up, glancing at her through the gaps between his fingers, seeing she was sitting cross-legged between them with her wand on her lap and a smile on her face despite looking suddenly tired, "Side effects include exhaustion and intense head pain."

"Why doesn't your head hurt?" Scorpius mumbled at her while his head continued to throb painfully.

"Oh, it does but I'm not going to baby it," Martha scoffed as if it was obvious and Scorpius cautiously lowered his arms which Leebin also did looking slightly dazed, her attitude making him feel rather pathetic. He also noticed she was still smiling.

"And why are you smiling?"

"You called me a friend," Martha said as if it was obvious.

"Right," Scorpius muttered and looked around, his eyes bulging in shock as he saw it was pitch black outside, "Its night."

"So?" Leebin mumbled beside him and Scorpius felt a flood of relief that Leebin still seemed with it.

"It was day when we started."

"I told you time works differently inside the mind and it could take a while," Martha pointed out which Scorpius supposed was truthful.

"I still didn't think it would take so long, we should probably be back in Hogwarts right now. They'll probably think we're missing or something."

"And who are you?" Leebin wondered of Martha.

"Martha Seneca, I was the friend who was helping him to save your mind," Martha explained and there was a flicker of surprise on his face presumably due to her age but he didn't say anything else about it as he just seemed to be getting his bearings.

"So someone fill me in, what day specifically was it when you… you know? What month are we in? How long have I been gone?"

"It was June 2nd."

"What?!" Leebin burst out in horror, several books flying off the shelves at his outburst as his breathing started to become more rapid in panic."

"Calm down," Scorpius offered comfortingly, "I know it's been a while but it could be worse-"

"No you don't understand!" Leebin cut him off desperately, "The Shadows are going to attack England, they're going to attack England four days from now."

"What?!" Scorpius burst out in a shock of his own, Leebin nodded which made his longer hair fall into his eyes which he frustrated pushed aside.

"June 6th, that's what Carver said."

"Carver told you that?!" Martha questioned, her surprise evident on her face, "Carver spoke to you?"

"Yes, he- he wanted to help me, to save me and wanted me to pass this along to the Aurors so they could prepare, he was secretly against the Shadows," Leebin explained and Martha's expression saddened that he seemed to catch, Scorpius also felt a new kind of respect for her brother, "What- What happened to him?"

"He died. Killed in a crossfire with the Ministry and the Shadows when they tried to get Calderon," Martha told him sadly, causing Leebin's eyes to widen in surprise once more before settling into a look of guilt, "He was my half-brother."

"I'm sorry, truly."

"Did he say anything else about this attack?" Scorpius prompted, feeling kind of bad but also knowing they didn't have much time if it was true but Leebin shook his head.

"We still need to warn the Ministry though so they can take steps to-"

"No, we can't," Martha shook her head, earning a scowl from Leebin, "Flan, the only reason you're not dead right now is because the Shadows believe you're insane. If they find out we restored your sanity then they will kill you, they'll kill your whole family out of spite for screwing with their plans. No one can know you can that you're sane, no one but those closest to you so you can't go around passing on information to the Ministry."

"But-"

"She's right," Scorpius realized and found himself in agreement, Leebin's gaze shifted to him, "No one can know that you're okay."

"I have to pretend I'm still insane?" Leebin stated and they nodded in confirmation, he clearly didn't seem happy with this but seemed to understand, "Then what about the attack? I can't just do nothing."

"I'm part of Gray, I'll alert him and we'll deal with it. The Ministry is useless anyway, riddled with corrupt Shadow Aurors."

"They may be more useful if we can alert Harry to the spy," Leebin insisted, "Ron Weasley was framed, Cel Rooke is the Shadow, he's one of the Shadow Master's Lieutenants."

"He is?" Scorpius wondered in surprise although he did recall there were doubts about Ron, Leebin nodded in confirmation.

"Do you have any proof?" Martha questioned, making Leebin look taken aback, "I believe you but you did just lose your mind. Potter will be shaken by the believed betrayal and be relying on Rooke even more, it'll take some concrete proof to make him see sense."

"I don't have any proof," Leebin admitted reluctantly, "Just what I heard and saw. Ron's their prisoner, he was kept near where I was."

"Where was that?" Scorpius prompted as he thought of saving him but Leebin flinched at the memory, a photograph nearby cracking.

"I don't know."

"Okay," Scorpius offered, regretting asking as Leebin now looked lost in his own little world as he stared sadly down at his scarred hands that were short of several fingers. He turned them over idly, "Did Carver tell you anything else noteworthy?"

"Not about the attack," Leebin said slowly as he tore his eyes away from his hands to look back to him, "But he did tell me about his uncle's plan to stop the Shadow Master, that'll probably be enacted soon too…"

"What? What was the plan?" Scorpius questioned, desperate to save Antonius.

"He said Pyrrhus Florian was his uncle-"

"We know," Scorpius and Martha cut him off in unison.

"Right… Well he said Ashylos' wand was the third piece of the Scepter and it wasn't destroyed in the explosion like everyone thought, it came into Antonius' possession and it's bound to him now."

"So?" Scorpius wondered.

"So it gives him a connection to the rest of the Scepter, they thought it meant he would be able to summon it from the Shadow Master. Then they could destroy it, strip her of that added power so Calderon would be able beat them this time," Leebin continued cautiously, "But to make sure Antonius was strong enough and the Shadow Master couldn't interfere, they want to add extra magic to Antonius' soul. They teamed up with Jack/One, this person who's a merged Specter and muggle soul, apparently they can… do that, I guess. But apparently they can't see Antonius' soul since it's already broken, so they won't be able to remove the magic once it's added to his soul. He can't survive with magic added to his soul, Antonius will die. Carver felt conflicted because of it."

"So that's the plan," Scorpius mused as Leebin's words slowly sunk into his mind, as they did so a burst of panic struck him, "Did- Did he say when they were adding the magic to Antonius' soul? If they've already added it then… then it might already be too late."

"He didn't say."

"Martha, what do you think your uncle would do?" Scorpius questioned instead of the girl, Martha shifted uncomfortably.

"He'd wait, he wouldn't add the magic too soon because if Antonius died before the Shadow Master arrived then it's all for nothing but… he might also add it a bit before, give Antonius time to get used to it," Martha explained reluctantly, "It could've gone either way at this point, we haven't heard of someone having the magic ripped from their soul recently though – it would kill them – so that's a good sign I guess."

"Right," Scorpius muttered, trying to think through the throbbing in his head, "This is good though, we know the Shadow Master will be in England in four days and we know Florian will have to bring Antonius to face him."

"They still need to get Calderon first."

"We need to save him as well," Scorpius nodded as he recalled the last time they'd fought, worrying for his cousin, "Last time they almost ended up destroying each other, not to mention everything around them."

"He does have the best chance of stopping the Shadow Master though, no one else has that kind of power," Martha commented neutrally, reminding him just because she was helping him it didn't mean they were on the same page about everything.

"I don't suppose you'd know where they'd move him too?" Scorpius asked, glancing back to Leebin.

"No," Leebin admitted and looked hesitant, "But… I know who does know."

"Who? I need to find him to protect, he's not the Shadow Master-"

"I know," Leebin heaved a reluctant sigh and went to wring his hands nervously before seeming to find difficulty doing it with only half the fingers, "Claudia Oak."

"Who's she?" Scorpius asked.

"A muggle woman, the Minister's ex-fiancée. If anything happened to me then the plan was to go to her, she lives in a small town not too far out of London called Pathwood. She should know where Calderon is."

"Thank you," Scorpius offered gratefully, Leebin said nothing and continued looking downcast. Scorpius stood up, Martha jumping up so quickly to go with him that she almost fell off the bed.

"Do you really think we can stop the attack?" Leebin asked worriedly.

"If we can't then I don't think anyone can," Scorpius admitted, not arrogantly but truthfully as he had more faith in Varanian then the Ministry, "We should get going, we have a lot to do in not a lot of time if we're to stop the Shadow Master."

"Wait, there's something else you should know! Shadow Master's not a man."

"He's not a man?" Scorpius repeated in confusion.

"No, she is Calderon's twin sister. The Shadow Master's a woman," Leebin told him and Scorpius gaped in surprise, no wonder no one had found her if they were looking for the wrong gender. Roman had been right, "And Brutus Ashain is her lover."

"He is?" Scorpius wondered, now that did surprise him. Or did it? Brutus had shown signs of caring for him- her as well as his brother, he hadn't been protecting his evil boss but the woman he loved, "I would not have expected that."

"Interesting," Martha also mused, "Do you have a name or description?"

"No, Carver just said she was a woman and Brutus' lover," Leebin said with a shake of his head before throwing his legs over the edge of the bed, seeming marginally surprised at being able to move.

"Okay, so we're looking for a woman," Scorpius nodded in confirmation before continuing to the door with his head still aching, "We still need to go. And we can tell Myriam we succeeded, you ready to see your wife again?"

"Give me a minute," Leebin muttered, looking suddenly nervous and Scorpius could only nod as he left with Martha following him.

They headed back down the corridor, Maurene seemed to have gone to bed but Myriam was still there with Lysel. She sat on the couch with his small, frail body cuddled up to her in his blankets. He was asleep and Myriam's head also lolled until she caught sight of them.

"Did it work?" Myriam asked, still looking as if she was afraid to hope as she got up to walk over to them.

"It worked," Scorpius confirmed and glanced behind him as Leebin finally followed them into the room, Myriam's attention also shifted to her husband.

"Flan?" Myriam wondered as she approached him.

"I'm me, Myriam," Leebin confirmed quietly, tears bubbled in his wife's eyes and she smiled before throwing her arms around him. A look of panic crossed Leebin's face and he visibly tensed for a minute before relaxing into her hug, cautiously starting to hug her back before holding her tightly, "I love you so much."

"Come on," Scorpius muttered to Martha, giving the couple some privacy as they let themselves out of the Leebin house back into the streets of Hogsmeade, "Thank you. For helping to save him."

"It'll still take him some time to adapt," Martha said as they walked idly away from the Leebin house, "Time works differently in the mind, from his perspective he passed out from his intense torture into a strange dream and woke up suddenly with his wounds healed. I wouldn't consider him saved yet."

"Well he's better off than he was before."

"True," Martha confirmed and inclined her head in agreement, "So what's the plan now?"

"The plan?" Scorpius repeated in surprise, "Aren't you going back to Hogwarts?"

"Why would I do that? There's a war coming in three days. I want to help."

"How can you help?"

"Well, for starters how do you plan on getting Claudia to tell you where Calderon is? She's been told not to tell anyone, odds are she won't tell you," Martha told him quite truthfully, "You know I'm a capable Legilimens, I've also been trained to torture if I really had to. Besides, I know my uncle. If you want Antonius alive from him, I'm your best chance."

"Hmm…" Scorpius mused as he stopped walking, he could see the merit in what Martha was saying but he had planned to ring to Varanian once she was gone to fill him in and get a plan going. He didn't trust her enough to take her to Varanian's hideout, she'd helped him and he was glad but he still didn't trust her, the last thing he wanted was her telling Florian and the lunatic launching an attack on Varanian's base. He could just ring a message to him he supposed and continue on with Martha alone, however he was supposed to do- Actually he had an idea, "Ever flown on a Thestral before?"

"No."

"Well you are now," Scorpius told her and started leading her out of Hogsmeade for a more secluded area to transform, he also discretely pressed the tip of his wand against the ring to activate its message properties, "If you want to stop Shadow Master attack on England June 6th anyway."

"Err… Yeah," Martha agreed, seemingly puzzled by his word choice but Scorpius didn't care. Varanian knew about the attack now, he could work on that while Scorpius worked on saving his cousin and his friend, "Will you know where to go?"

"I'm hoping Thestral senses will kick in, if not I'll have to ask for directions."

Scorpius stopped when he was satisfied at the distance before taking a deep breath and transforming, his body no longer hurting as it shifted to that of a Thestral and wings sprouted from his back. He tried to lower them and crouch a bit for Martha to climb on, she did after casting a quick disillusionment charm over herself but he still found it rather uncomfortable carrying a person on his back.

He'd also never tried to fly with someone on his back before, he started off at a gallop to build up speed before taking flight. He was somewhat surprised at his success, it was easier then he'd thought but also more uncomfortable then he'd envisioned. Still, the important thing was that they were on the move and his Thestral sense did kick in. He knew where he was going. The time for failure was over, the time for success was now. He'd just saved Leebin and he would save Calderon and Antonius too, he couldn't fail anymore.

---

Carver found his life was in a rather weird zone, the more he was working through his issues with Leebin the less satisfied he was with his own life. He wasn't feeling angry anymore so he didn't feel like taking it out on others anymore, unfortunately that was James' favorite pastime and he still wanted to be friends with James. His girlfriend broke up with him over it, he honestly couldn't blame her. Being on the team, he actually saw the people James' hated really weren't that bad. And he still felt sympathy for Michael, the boy seemed to be having a hard time. Carver tried to work up the courage several times to speak to him, to tell him he could relate, to encourage him it got better and apologize for how he'd treated him. Some Gryffindor he was because he never managed.

Viola came to him asking for his aid in helping her get a Scepter piece in the school the Shadows were after but he refused, he wanted nothing to do with them. If he'd thought that was the worst thing that could happen though, he'd be mistaken. Latimer – one of the people they bullied who was on James' hate list – attempted suicide, Carver had never felt guiltier about anything in his life and it struck a very raw nerve because of Ethan. He was horrified and James didn't seem to understand, Carver was concerned by his friend's lack of remorse. He wanted nothing more than to talk things out with Leebin except he couldn't, the counsellors were being fired because of Latimer's suicide attempt despite the fact most – including Leebin, the only one Carver cared about – hadn't even met him.

He was devastated and miserable, he wanted nothing more than to tell Latimer how sorry he was. He hadn't wished the boy dead, he was ugly – hardly a crime – and an oddball – more off-putting – but he was still at least a somewhat decent person. He didn't deserve this, he didn't need to die anymore then Ethan did. Latimer's protective friends wouldn't let him close though, he put his effort into a card and poured his heart out with his apology inside it and words of encouragement inspired by Leebin. Albus agreed to pass the card on at least, Carver could only hope they did. Even if Latimer didn't forgive him, he hoped maybe something he said might help and that Latimer would get better.

Viola once again asked for his help at the end of the year, wanting to kidnap James' sister to ensure they could get the Scepter. Carver just made sure James wasn't in Hogsmeade because he didn't want to be involved, feeling disheartened that James continued to enjoy what Carver was becoming disgusted with. It made him almost glad to be back home for the summer, for once his mother wasn't pregnant so in better spirits although she still did let the kids go wild. Carver found them rather tedious and Amadeus had developed an annoying habit of following him around, Emerald did somewhat but she'd leave and was more pleasant company. Amadeus didn't talk, he'd just stare at him from behind his sack or mask. Carver thought that was something to be concerned about.

---

Scorpius found himself rather regretting his decision to fly, he had very much overestimated just how long it took. Hogsmeade was in Scotland, Pathwood was literally hundreds of miles that he was flying. He foolishly tried simply flying as fast as he could to get there sooner but was forced to realize no matter how fast he flew, it was still a marathon not a sprint. Just in the air. It didn't help his head still throbbed, the whipping wind only seeming to seep into his brain and make the pulses of pain hurt even more.

He flew all night – or rather all morning, they'd entered into the early hours of the morning before leaving if the amount of time that passed before sunrise was anything to go by – but still wasn't there yet. It was impossible to tell how long it took exactly but he knew it was at least afternoon before he finally set them down in Pathwood, his spindly legs wanting nothing more than to collapse and let his exhausted body sleep. Between the tiredness he'd suffered as a result of being inside of Leebin's mind and the long flight with Martha on his back to boot, he felt thoroughly exhausted. And the battle hadn't even started yet.

"Why don't you get some rest?" Martha commented as Scorpius landed on the outskirts of the town under the cover of some trees, she clambered off him and he transformed back into a human.

"No," Scorpius shook his head although remained weakly on all fours, he was tired but still determined, "We need to find Claudia."

"I know," Martha insisted as if it were obvious while Scorpius sat up, "But that doesn't really need both of us. I can ask around and find out her specific address while you take a quick nap, you'll have better luck saving people if you're not completely dead on your feet."

"Alright," Scorpius agreed with a sigh, leaning back against the tree as his eyes fluttered closed, "But I don't think I'm going to get much sleep right…"

---

Carver received his OWL results in the mail, he'd done worse in some areas and better in others but then he'd focused on the subjects he cared about because he did still fear people catching on to his prior training. He spent some time with his dad again too, he refused to let him around Ethan but he found himself spending time with Pyrrhus again as well as his maturing siblings. Viola wouldn't be returning to Hogwarts, her involvement in the abductions had made her Shadow status known so she'd had to leave. She murdered her own mother for trying to convince her to turn against the Shadows, his dad worried for her lack of remorse but she was quite happy to be back in the Training Tower. He started his NEWT year , choosing to take only Transfiguration, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Charms and Potions as he viewed them as the most essential and important subjects. Any hope of James having outgrown his cruel streak was dashed, he was still focused on bullying and still on this one kid. Carver wished he would at least spread the pain not overwhelm the child.

James also confided in for the first time about the realization that he was gay, something Carver had suspected and craved before yet now a relationship with him was actually theoretically possible… He found James' cruelty was off-putting, he missed the boy he'd befriended and feared the monster James was becoming. He loved James, he still considered him his best friend and would not stop trying to get him over this dark streak but he had no desire to date him while he was like this. Carver had gotten past his anger and he felt better for it, he was sure James could do the same. Even though James seemed to relish the pain he inflicted and went much further then Carver ever had, Carver feared one of these days he'd go too far and really hurt someone.

He managed to convince his dad to let him stay with him for the summer, the chance to spend time with the son of Harry Potter appealed to him. Carver was doing it for James though, he thought maybe something to look forward to would dull his anger and maybe he could use a break from the stress of war and all. Long as his dad didn't screw it up. He was quite anxious about it, a run in with Maurice had exposed his Shadow-taught skill. He could choose not to be a Shadow but he couldn't erase his past. The holiday was a mistake, he spent the whole time watching James being manipulated by his dad who was convinced he was a sadist and wouldn't be hard to get on their side. The only good to come of it was his mum thought Harry Potter had taken a liking to Damien for some reason so she now liked the boy, meaning she was happier being around her baby.

Carver did love his dad but they had very different viewpoints, they always would. It saddened him really, he wished he had things in common with at least any of his parents. Not for the first time he wished that Hogwarts still had counsellors, he'd love to ask for Leebin's advice. He'd been working with James so he must've believed he had a chance, whether he was a sadist or not. The year went from bad to worse, his dad had knocked someone else up and his mum had fallen pregnant again to her great unhappiness, James got expelled, James joined the Shadows despite Carver's best efforts. It was just as he'd feared. And then it continued to get worse when the Shadows attacked, despite fighting against them people ended up jumping to conclusions and believed him to be the one thing he fought so hard not to be. His dad died, killed by Pyrrhus. Despite the difference of opinion, he hadn't wished his dad dead. He felt as if his life was unraveling, he didn't know what to do.

---

"Wake up," a familiar voice commanded.

Scorpius jolted awake in surprise as he felt as if he'd only just closed his eyes, finding he was lying under a tree with sunlight filtering through the leaves overhead with Martha standing before him. He blinked tiredly and Martha shoved a bottle of water into his hands, he didn't think twice before opening it and started to chug down the refreshing liquid. He was thirsty after the flight, he downed three quarters of it before stopping to draw breath.

"I got her address," Martha told him and Scorpius nodded in relief as he started on finishing up the bottle, "I also thought you could use a drink."

"Thank you," Scorpius offered gratefully as he finished the last of the bottle, Martha held out a hand to him to help him which he took, "Let's go."

"You like sticking to the point, don't you?" Martha asked of him as she started leading him through the town, the very muggle town which had him feel immediately guarded.

He merely shrugged in answer to the question, not sure what to say to that. He still thought he'd rather Varanian be here but he had to admit, Martha was pretty good in a crisis. But then he supposed she had been trained like Maurice, she'd been preparing for situations like this all her life. Thinking of Varanian made him glance at the ring on his finger, hoping for a reply but found it quite blank.

Martha led them through the town as if she'd been there her whole life, Claudia apparently would have to live on the opposite side of town to the one he'd landed in and on the outskirts to boot. It was a nice little cottage with a neatly trimmed hedge around the outside, the front yard was a garden filled with different color flowers. They walked up to the door and Martha knocked politely, Scorpius leaned over her to press the doorbell instead which had Martha jolt in shock as if she'd never heard a doorbell before.

"Did you just trigger some alarm?" Martha asked in alarm.

"No, it's just a doorbell," Scorpius said while she continued to look at him like she was speaking a different language, "It's so muggles know when people are at the door."

"Have muggles not heard of knocking?" Martha wondered in genuine curiosity before they were distracted by the door opening.

"Yes?" the woman who answered it prompted, she was tall and pretty with shoulder-length chocolate brown hair tucked behind her ears, "Can I help you?"

"Are you Claudia Oak?"

"I am," Claudia confirmed and frowned, "What's this about?"

"This is about Calderon."

"I don't know anyone by that name," Claudia blurted out immediately, almost mechanically but her face betrayed her anxiety and she backed more into the house, "You have me confused with someone else, goodbye."

"No, we don't," Martha insisted and put her foot in the door as Claudia tried to close it on them, pushing it back open again and withdrawing her wand as she headed into the house.

"Martha!" Scorpius hissed and rushed in after them to a spacious living room, a white couch facing a flat screened muggle television, a door to the kitchen – visible as the door was the open – resided to the right while a white staircase went up that stretch of the rest of the wall, "Don't hurt her!"

"I'm not going to hurt you, we just need to know where he is," Martha told Claudia, keeping her wand on her threateningly though and backing the terrified muggle up until she fell back onto the couch, "We want to help him."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Claudia lied once more but Martha had captured her eyes, she pressed her wand to Claudia's forehead and the muggle gasped before falling unconscious.

"What did you do?!" Scorpius demanded as he ran over but Martha didn't answer, he faced the girl and realized her eyes were closed and her face set with a look of focus, "Martha? Martha, what are you doing to her? Martha?!"

"Hmm?" Martha wondered as she snapped out of it, stepping back from the sleeping muggle.

"What were you doing?!"

"Legilimency," Martha shrugged as if it was obvious, "Do you want the information or not?"

"I do, I just… don't want to hurt her. Or for you to hurt her," Scorpius admitted although he didn't see another way to get the information, if Claudia wasn't going to tell them before then she certainly wasn't going to tell them now.

"I'll be gentle," Martha assured before raising her wand to the woman's forehead once more, closing her eyes and looking focused. Scorpius was forced to wait. And wait. Time dragged by unhelpfully and agonizingly slowly before finally she stepped back from the still unconscious muggle, taking a deep breath, "Okay, I know where Calderon is. I erased her memory of us and sent her to sleep, she'll be fine as soon as she wakes up and will just think she had a nap after work."

"Really?" Scorpius wondered in surprise at how simple it had been, Martha merely nodded as she headed over to the door. He followed and left after her, she closed the door behind them, "Where is he?"

"Um… That's the bad news," Martha admitted as she led them away from Claudia's house, "He's way up north, almost in Scotland."

"But we just came from Scotland!"

"That's why I called it bad news," Martha said looking regretful, "Sorry, Scorpius."

"It's okay," Scorpius sighed as they wandered away from the town looking for cover, not looking forward to the journey. But he was looking forward to the destination, "It's not your fault."

"You sure you're up for another long flight so soon?"

"I'm going to have to be, aren't I? There's no other way, the Knight Bus would give us away and I doubt Calderon's location is connected to the Floo Network."

"No," Martha confirmed, "Would make it too easy to find."

They reached a closed off section of land and he once again transformed himself into his animagus form, Martha climbing on and Scorpius took flight for the second time that day. Except this time, the sun was almost set to set not set to rise. Next stop though was his cousin and that hope spurred him on, gave him strength.

---

Part 2: To Claudia and Calderon

---

"Do you actually have any idea where you're going?" Orous questioned curiously of Florian.

The night had passed rather erratically, Florian would apparate several times to random places then they'd walk or drive – in whatever car nearby he could steal – for a bit then apparate some more then maybe rest for a bit in an abandoned home or hotel after Florian put up a bunch of protective enchantments only to wake him – if Orous had actually managed to fall asleep – to start the process again. He wasn't surprised Florian looked such a frightful wreck if he was living his life like this, his long red hair was matted with filth and his bagged eyes were bloodshot from a lack of sleep.

He was coming to sorely regret his decision, since Florian was their lead to Antonius he'd hoped going with him would lead him to his friend. Something his other friends had apparently not thought of in their flat out rejection, or maybe they'd just been right about him being nuts. According to Florian, Antonius had turned on him and gone off with Jack/One who'd kidnapped his son while he'd managed to escape with the wand he needed for his plan to stop the Shadow Master. Orous hadn't been able to get more details then that, Florian's explanations were disjointed and difficult to follow.

"I know we're going nowhere," Florian told him as they walked down a random muggle street in a city Orous wasn't familiar with, nodding vigorously, "We just need to wait. They only have three days, they'll trigger my enchantments. They have to. And then we'll get them and save Oathan."

"But how can you be sure they'll act in three days?" Orous complained.

"Because they only have three days! Okay!?" Florian screeched before leading him into an alleyway.

"Okay."

Orous sighed heavily and wondered if Florian would notice if he ran away. He didn't just doubt Florian's flimsy plan wouldn't work, he wasn't entirely convinced Jack/One had taken Oathan and Antonius. For all he knew Florian had just lost them in his excessive moving and panicked or they'd willing left because of his instability. At least Florian was letting him have his freedom, he hadn't taken his wand and wasn't treating him like a prisoner although Orous wasn't sure if that wouldn't change if he did try to leave. He didn't leave though, this was the closest they'd had to a lead on Antonius in months and he had to see it through.

"And let me know if you get hungry, gotta keep your strength up to fight One," Florian offered before holding out his hand again.

Orous took and went through a series of apparation, he thought he'd been okay with apparation but several times in a row like this make him want to vomit. Florian was good at feeding him, bad at remembering feeding him though it seems as they'd had dinner not too long ago. They stopped in an abandoned house and Florian started putting up protective enchantments once more, Orous went and sat down on one of the armchairs with a dust sheet thrown over it. His eyes drifted around, finding faded photographs with scorched edges lining the mantelpiece. One seemingly of parents with a young child made him think of Florian's son, his brother who he found himself much less invested in saving then his friend. He wondered if that made him a bad person, he knew he should care but…

"It's working! It's working!" Florian burst out abruptly in excitement, snapping him from his thoughts, "One resurfaced, he's going after that muggle woman connected to Alaric. It's time."

---

"Accio ball," Antonius cast lazily with the stolen wand Jack/One had given him to use for the time being.

The ball propelled itself across the hotel room into his waiting hand, he'd gotten much better at the spell now. He could do it even lazily in his boredom like this, he didn't know if was because of Alaric's extra power or his own willingness but he'd excelled since he'd had the magic added. Oathan watched from the bed quietly while the television played some boring muggle cartoon, at least he finally seemed to have given up fighting but the betrayal never seemed to fade from his violently violet eyes. It wasn't Antonius' fault though, he hadn't wanted Oathan to be mixed up in this but he just kind of… was. Antonius threw the ball back to the other side of the room to go again, there were only a few days until the Shadow Master attacked. Assuming they could still get his wand back, plus Calderon.

"Accio ball," Antonius cast yet again, the ball started to fly to his hand obediently only for it to stop as Jack/One phased in and caught it.

"We got Claudia's address," One announced with a satisfied smirk, Antonius scowled at them as he sat up. Just because he had to work with them, it didn't mean he liked it nor had forgotten the people it killed.

"Took you long enough," Antonius complained as he stood up, folding his arms while One narrowed its eyes darkly, "We do have a time limit here."

"Ungrateful runt," One scoffed before the expression softened and the voice changed slightly to Jack's, "Let's just get going, as you say we're still on a time limit."

"Come on, Oathan," Antonius called to the smaller boy, Oathan didn't move, "Oathan!"

"I don't wanna," Oathan said for the sake of being difficult.

"He said get!" One barked at the boy and grabbed him roughly, half throwing him off the bed to make him stand.

Antonius put his hand on Jack/One's other arm, he didn't know what exactly would happen over the next few days but he know he'd be free of it. Best case scenario: the plan worked, the Shadow Master was defeated and he'd get to spend his last few months with his family, with his friends. Worst case scenario: he failed and died. Either way was rid of Jack/One.

They rematerialized outside a nice house with a hedge and a garden of flowers, getting an overwhelming feeling of déjà vu which he chalked up to the connection he had to Alaric with the Minister's magic in his soul. It was how he'd figured Claudia out in the first place. It occurred to him as they approached the door that they hadn't discussed a plan on how to get her to tell them Calderon's location, or what he'd do to the poor woman's soul.

"You're not going to hurt her, are you?" Antonius asked worriedly, Jack/One gave no answer as he knocked on the door.

"Yes?" a familiar voice he'd never heard before asked as they opened the door.

She was beautiful with dark brown hair tucked behind her ears, he liked darker hair. Or maybe that was Alaric. Flashes of Alaric's memories of her took over his vision as she rubbed her eyes, looking as if she'd only just woken up. Memory of her yelling at him in tears, throwing back her ring and telling him she couldn't marry someone who couldn't trust her. But he couldn't. It saddened him but he just couldn't, it didn't stop him loving her though.

Antonius flashed back to reality at the sound of her screaming, he blinked and saw the others had moved into the house. Claudia was on the floor screaming as Jack/One held his hand down to her, a shadowy light confirming he was attacking her soul. Antonius rushed forward and grabbed his wrist, yanking it away.

"What are you doing?!" Antonius yelled at him, horrified naturally at him destroying someone's soul, Claudia specifically because of Alaric's residual feelings and desperate that they needed her alive to give them Calderon's location, "We need her alive!"

"I know, I was just torturing her soul," One insisted as if it were obvious, rolling its eyes, "Geez."

"Can't you get the information without torturing her?" Antonius pleaded guiltily, looking at the crying woman on the floor and knowing from experience how much it hurt to have your soul damaged.

"No!"

On that note, One threw Antonius off his arm out of the away. Antonius hated it, he hated it so much. He could only hope Claudia would cave sooner, if only to spare herself the pain. Jack/One raised their hand once more to the poor woman, only to be struck in the back by a jet of light that caused a massive explosion.

Jack/One screamed as they were flung forwards, Antonius himself was thrown backwards from the impetus of the blast. He hit the laminate floor painfully and bounced off it, he groaned. Antonius pulled himself up to look in the doorway, seeing Florian standing there with his wand outstretched to where Jack had been standing with Orous by his side.

---

"Are we there yet?" Albus wondered tiredly of Maurice.

They'd been up all night and all day following the trail, or at least so Maurice said. They'd arrive at a location, wait for him to make complex motions with his wand to tell them what to do next or walk for a bit first. Sometimes Corin would help. The only sleep he'd gotten was occasionally nodding off in boredom waiting for Maurice, he'd had nothing to eat – they had no muggle money with them to buy food – and the only thing he'd had to drink was water from the tap in a muggle bathroom. He wanted to find Orous too but he felt as if they were just on a wild gnome chase, he thought maybe it was best to just pass this information along to the adults since they seemed to be getting nowhere.

"Clearly no," Corin stated the obvious and Maurice lowered his wand, putting a hand to his necklace as he noticed them talking while Corin signed at him in that hand language the deaf boy could understand.

"Albus," Maurice complained at him with a glare, "We're doing the best we can and we're gaining on him, he's taking breaks to sleep and eat which is giving us a chance to catch up. We're getting closer, we'll get him."

"I wish we'd take breaks to sleep and eat," Albus muttered under his breath unhappily, listening to his growling stomach while Maurice went back to his wand motions. He noticed Rose suppressed a yawn beside him.

"Okay, I got the next location," Maurice announced happily as he spun back round to face them, Albus sighed, "Ready?"

"As much as I'll ever be I guess."

---

Orous was shocked, Florian had actually been right. He'd apparated them to the house and they'd walked in the already open door to see Antonius grappling with a man who was seemingly trying to attack a woman although had no wand, near them was a small crimson haired child who he thought had to be Oathan. His half-brother reminded him strongly of the mother he'd murdered, he had the same soft features Maurice shared but unlike Maurice he had Florian's fiery hair – although with a slight wave to it more like her and Maurice and Orous himself for that matter - and vividly violet eyes. He was scarred too, his small hands already riddled with engraved words and around his eye was a cross, a fresher looking wound also crossing through it. Florian had already jabbed his wand at the man's back though, casting… one of the blasting spells there was to send him flying.

"Daddy!" Oathan cried in delight, his face lighting up as he saw Florian while Orous had more focus on getting to Antonius who'd also been knocked off his feet from the force of the blast.

The man recovered faster than Orous would've thought a human could before any of them could move however, he held out his hand to Florian who immediately fell to the ground screaming in pain which had Oathan freeze in shock. He'd deduce that had to be Jack/One and that had to be attacking his soul, this was what Florian had meant by something he couldn't defend against that he needed Orous for. He didn't like Florian but he was still his ally in his moment.

"Expecto Patronum!" Orous cast as he focused on a happy childhood memory with his dad.

His silver dove shot out of his wand, looking wispier then he remembered but nonetheless struck Jack/One. The man screamed and threw himself back, releasing Florian who scrambled shakily back to his feet and inclined his head to him in gratitude. Oathan started towards him again but Jack/One recovered again, they vanished into shadow and Orous barely had time to wonder what was happening before he reappeared to grab Oathan.

"No!" Florian cried as Jack/One wrapped his arm around Oathan's neck to hold him in place, jabbing a wand at the boy's head.

"Give me the wand or I'll kill the kid," Jack/One growled threateningly.

Before they could obey, Oathan opened his mouth wide and bite down on Jack/One's arm seemingly quite hard. The man cried out again and dropped the boy, Florian swiped his wand through the air and Jack's flew from his own hand to hover instead aimed at its master. Orous flicked his own wand at the man again, wanting him out of the picture.

"Stupefy!" Orous cried.

"Protego!" an unexpected voice cast and a shield sprang up, defending Jack/One from the spell. It was Antonius, he was on his feet with his wand out protectively of Jack/One. Orous could only gape at him.

"Antonius, what are you doing?! He's-"

"He's bad I know but you don't understand, Orous," Antonius insisted seriously, his expression one of certainty, "We have a way to stop the Shadow Master and unfortunately he can help."

"Forget that, Antonius, we can take you home to your family," Orous offered and he saw tears welling behind the boy's eyes, "You don't have to worry about that, it's not your fight."

"I want nothing more than to go home, believe me, but I have to do this. I'm the only one who can and I don't have time to explain."

"Try," a voice commanded and their eyes all shifted to the doorway where his twin stood, Rose, Corin and Albus behind.

---

Things were quickly turning into a disaster for Antonius, Orous showed up Florian for some reason and then Maurice, Corin, Albus and Rose. He'd be lying if he said a part of him wasn't happy to see his friends, after months of no contact with anyone he cared about without even knowing if he would see them again, it was nice to see some familiar faces. On the other hand, they didn't know or understand about the plan and even if he told them he didn't think they would understand. They thought he was just a weak child, incapable of taking away the Shadow Master's most powerful weapon.

The room erupted into spell fire, Maurice fired a fiery spell at Florian who dropped Jack/One's wand in order to counter it, dispersing the flames. He was weakened from the attack on his soul, Antonius realized, off his game and from the glint in Jack/One's eyes he had too. Orous jumped protectively in front of him though, signing frantically at Maurice. Rose, Albus and Corin all fired stunners at the two adults while this was happening, Albus' missed, Florian dodged Rose's and Jack/One phased into darkness to avoid Corin's after grabbing Oathan's arm to take him too. Claudia screamed in panic as the jets instead smashed into her house, shattered a plant pot, photograph and punching a hole on the wall. She crawled behind the couch as a defense, not a bad idea.

"I DON'T CARE!" Maurice screamed angrily at his twin, "He took my hand, he took my friend and I'm taking his life! Stand aside!"

"Antonius!" Albus called to him with a look of relief, holding out his hand to him as he rushed over, "Come to me, I'll get you out of here."

"Flipendo!" Antonius cast guiltily, sending his friend flying back into the wall while Maurice cast another spell at Florian.

Florian waved his wand and Jack's wand jolted back to life, he swished through the air and a crescent shaped burst of wind swung out towards his friends. Maurice jabbed his wand at his feet, they seemed to root into the ground and prevent him from being effected while Corin and Rose were knocked over like bowling pins. Maurice slashed his wand up and sprung out of the ground, higher then someone could normally jump and sent a jet of green light plummeting down at Florian. Orous grabbed his arm in shock and yanked them both out of the way, falling in his haste as the pair hit the ground while Maurice landed on his feet.

"Orous, stop protecting him!" Maurice snapped at him.

"Calm down," Orous shot back but it fell on literal deaf ears.

Jack/One phased back into existence by Antonius' side with a grip still on Oathan, he swung his wand and a stunner quickly shot on target with Maurice. Albus threw up his wand as he got to his feet though, his free hand clutching the back of his head and an expression of pain on his face from hitting the wall. Antonius felt like apologizing. A Shield Charm slammed up to block it before it could hit Maurice, the explosion of light got Maurice's attention though and the defense incurred One's wrath. He jabbed their wand at Albus while Maurice sent a stunner at Jack/One, Antonius waved his own wand.

"Protego!" Antonius cried, casting a shield to deflect the stunner.

This earned a look of confused rage from Maurice while Jack/One's spell connected with Albus, there was a sickening snap and Albus screamed in pain as his lower leg twisted violently to the left. He fell, clutching his wounded leg and Antonius felt another stab of guilt.

"Don't hurt them, please," Antonius pleaded at Jack/One, who he noticed for the first time had retained injuries to his back from Florian's initial spell. The flesh he could see through the tears in the fabric looked charred, torn and bloody, "Its Florian we want."

"Just give us Oathan and you can have the wand," Florian offered conversationally as he and Orous got to their feet.

Orous and Florian were back on their feet in front of the couch, Claudia was cowering behind it, Rose was crouched by her wounded cousin – Albus still clutched his leg in pain - near the door with Corin back on his feet beside them, Maurice was somewhere in the middle just further back while Antonius himself stood with Jack/One, Oathan still in their grip. Most of them had their wands drawn and were eying the others suspiciously, waiting to see who would make the first move.

Most of the people in the room Antonius had no desire to see hurt or more hurt yet they would, they would fight unless someone did something. Unless he did something. An idea clicked into this mind, Florian was offering the wand for his son as expected. Since he was on the run with no real place to go, what were the odds he'd brought the wand with him?

"Accio my wand!" Antonius yelled and jabbed his wand in Florian's general direction.

Everyone seemed surprised by his choice of spell or wording maybe, freezing for a second more and watching. Why not though, wasn't this what he'd been practicing? His wand flew from Florian's back pocket, the man tried to grab it but missed as it flew across the room and into Antonius' waiting hand. He felt a rush of power holding it, he felt complete in a way he'd never felt with his substitute wand and immediately abandoned it.

"Enough!" Antonius cried.

There was a burst of crimson from his wand, a pulse that swept through the entire room. Several scrambled to put up Shield Charms but even those fast enough were blown aside by his magic, by his power. Everyone the light touched fell to the ground – or toppled over if they weren't standing – unmoving but for the rise and fall of their chests, they were all unconscious.

Antonius took a deep breath, not sure entirely how he'd done that but he was glad for it all the same. He ran his fingers over his wand, it felt good to have it back. It also made him feel more confidence, if he'd got it from Florian then maybe he could- no he could, he had to – get the rest of it from the Shadow Master. They still needed Calderon though, Antonius just hoped he'd agree to their plan.

"Rennervate," Antonius whispered as he crouched over Jack/One, still needing his aid and the Specter-man stirred.

"What did you do?" Jack groaned as he got up, Antonius rising with him.

"Stopped the fight before it started, there's no reason for any of them to get hurt," Antonius explained and insisted, "Do you understand? We're going to leave them alone, all of them. We got the wand, we get the information from Claudia and we leave. Okay?"

"Okay. But we get to torture her to make her talk."

"Torture but not kill," Antonius countered and Jack/One narrowed his eyes, "We only have three days, we still need to actually get Calderon to join us after we get to him and you're injured. Do you really want to waste time on this? Neither of us is getting what we want."

"Fine," One reluctantly agreed as it folded its arms, "We'll torture the information out of her then leave her alive but unconscious with the others, go to somewhere secure so I can heal up then we go after Calderon."

"Sounds like a plan."

---

Scorpius flew with Martha on his back, feeling they were simply going back the way they came as he soared the skies with the same familiar landscape beneath him. He flew until the sun set and then kept on flying into the night, he was sure into the early hours of the morning before they finally reached their destination. He landed in a copse outside the place, a cabin in the mountains. Martha climbed off him and he transformed back, half-collapsing onto the ground to rest for a minute. He was tired, his eyes stung from lack of sleep and his body utterly felt physically drained from all that effort, on a now empty stomach to boot…

---

Scorpius half-collapsed on the ground when they got there after turning back, his eyes snapping shut tiredly. Martha decided she may as well leave him to rest while she scouted out their terrain, she didn't think he knew anything about this stuff. She rubbed her own tired eyes but pushed it aside, she could sleep when she was dead which would probably be sooner rather than later. She was cold too and her head still hurt from the use of mental arts, Scorpius may be the one flying but she was still getting no rest.

She watched the Aurors from the bushes and trees, putting the stealth training she'd had into practice and was grateful the moon was almost full as it provided enough light for the trained eye to work with. There were only four of them, they had a pretty uniform way of rotating the rounds so learning and memorizing their movements wasn't challenging. She knew where they'd be, it would be quite easy to neutralize them.

The way she saw it there were four options: they could kill them – her least favorite option and the one she thought Scorpius was least likely to approve of as well but the dead were least likely to get back up to stop them – or they could stun them – the most secure option since they'd be down but them using real spells might draw their Trace, it was harder to get away with them animagi or mental arts – or sneak by them – the easiest way in but may be harder to leave with Calderon plus if there was any enchantments inside that they triggered or something went wrong they'd still be there to rush back in – or she could take them down with Legilimency. That was probably her favorite option, however if they knew Occlumency then it was much more of a risk and she wasn't sure she could do it.

She went back to ask Scorpius what he thought, only to find he was actually sound asleep on the grass where she'd left him. He looked so cute when he was sleeping, his white-blond hair looked silver in the moonlight and spread over the dark grass. She liked blonds. He looked younger too, the tension he constantly carried in his face was gone. Martha sighed, she didn't really want to disturb him. He had enough to deal with, she could do this for him.

Martha returned closer to the cabin and waited for one of the Aurors to come by, finally one of the men did. She jumped out in front of him and jabbed her wand at his face to help her channel her power, capturing his eyes with her own and mentally propelled herself into his mind. He tried to resist but he clearly didn't know Occlumency, his thoughts were clogged and cluttered with worries about his family in the war which made it easier to dive into the deeper layers of the old Auror's mind. There were enchantments inside, she saw from his memories, and Calderon was too. She'd have to take them out.

She also decided to try something she hadn't before as she felt the need to retain control and didn't trust suggestions or trickery, she'd try full on possession. She shut his consciousness in with his subconscious, sealing them in with a mental barrier so she could control his body. It was a strange kind of feeling really, she knew she was standing there by the trees but she was also seeing from his eyes and was aware of where his body was. It was almost like controlling a puppet, she was vaguely connected to it as she held the controls that had the wires between them. Except her mind was thinking what movements her hands should make rather than physically making movements with her hands, it was very surreal.

She controlled the Auror, guiding his movements as if they were her own to follow his route still. She waited until he'd cross paths with one of the others, the man giving her – well the Auror - a nod of acknowledgement that she had him return in passing. As they walked by though, she had his wand slip expertly into his hand and strike his ally in the back with a silent stunner, following it immediately with a spell to slow his momentum so he'd land quietly and finally a disillusionment charm to make the unconscious body less likely to be seen. She went around the cabin, using the Auror to quickly and silently take out the others with as little effort. Seemingly little anyway, she could feel the pain creeping in already as possession was straining her own mind. She pushed through it though, almost there.

Martha finally had her Auror go through the cabin, removing the protective enchantments and for good measure casting some of her own that would shield the area from the Trace thus allowing them to perform magic unhindered should they have to. Finally, she made sure the Auror's consciousness was still safely sleeping in his subconscious before removing his memory of her and leaving him to sleep with the others.

She collapsed onto the ground where her body physically could, breathing heavily from the mental toll it took on her. Her head was swimming in pain, she got to all fours and tried to breathe through the pain, letting her mind adapt because she'd have to live with the throbbing. Shakily she got to her feet and found the Auror she'd possessed, also casting a disillusionment charm on his body before finally returning to the still sleeping Scorpius. She leaned weakly against a tree, feeling utterly drained from the possession and weak from the lack of food, water and sleep she had. She wished she could drop to the ground and sleep too, she couldn't though. And neither could he.

"Scorpius," Martha said firmly and his gray eyes shot open immediately.

---

"Hmm?" Scorpius muttered as his opened, slightly annoyed Martha wouldn't give him five seconds to rest. He rubbed his still-tired eyes and looked around, seeing her leaning against a nearby tree.

"I've subdued all the Aurors," Martha told him and Scorpius blinked in shock, hadn't he only just closed his eyes for a second? "We should go get Calderon now, we're on a time limit."

"Wh- Di- Was I asleep?" Scorpius spluttered out in surprise as he stood.

"Yep."

Martha pushed herself off the tree, leading him towards the cabin. He followed quickly and saw bodies of Aurors, for a panicked moment he thought she'd killed them but he noticed they were breathing. She walked inside and he had another jolt of panic.

"Shouldn't we be more cautious? What if there are enchantments?"

"I disabled them. And put up one so we can safely use magic without detection," Martha answered casually, shocking Scorpius yet again as she led him through the comfortable cabin without a hint of hesitation. She took him upstairs and paused finally at a door, nodding to it, "And I know the layout from the Auror's mind, Calderon's in there."

"Martha…" Scorpius started to say but found himself utterly speechless at all she'd accomplished, he was impressed as she turned to him, "You're brilliant. Just… wow."

Martha's blushed furiously, looking her age again as she looked down but smiled sheepishly at his praise. Scorpius stepped forward and found the door locked, he withdrew his wand and quickly cast a silent Unlocking Charm to grant him access. He put his hand on the doorknob before glancing back to Martha.

"Do you… Do you mind if I have a moment alone with him?" Scorpius asked and Martha gestured for him to go on as she moved away readily.

Scorpius took a deep breath before twisting the doorknob, pushing it open and going inside. He found he was in a comfortable, spacious room albeit with bars on the windows. There was a large, comfy looking double bed in front of him and lying on it was a very familiar man that girls considered handsome with jet-black hair in contrast with his incredibly pale skin. Despite everything, Scorpius smiled at the sight of him. He'd found his cousin, he'd finally found Calderon.

---

Part 3: Clashes

---

"Hey," Scorpius said nervously and Calderon sat up immediately, his dark eyes wide with surprise as Scorpius approached him.

"Scor- Is that... really you?" Calderon croaked weakly as if his vocal chords didn't get much use these days, peering at him in the gloom like he struggled to believe what he was making out.

Scorpius opened and closed his mouth a few times, trying to think of what to say while Calderon continued to gape at him. After last time a wave of guilt hit him, the harsh things he'd said and the way he'd ran off. Words failed him not for the first time in his life as he reached his cousin, instead he threw his arms around Calderon to hug his cousin tight.

"I'm so sorry," Scorpius spoke finally as tears erupted from his eyes, he felt Calderon cautiously hug him back as the lump in his throat tried to choke him, "For what I said, for what I did… It doesn't matter, I didn't mean it. I know you're the Shadow Master, I know you're a good person at heart. I don't care that you're Voldemort's son."

"R-Really?" Calderon wondered, sounding as if he was tearing up himself, "You don't hate me?"

"No," Scorpius confirmed as he pulled away, wiping his eyes and seeing Calderon was indeed crying, "I know you were just trying to protect your sister."

"We were always told if normal people do then we'd be hated, everyone would turn on us because of who our father was. We always knew it would happen then we'd wind up back where we were born, back in Azkaban so I expected it really. And now I'm here."

"Not for long, you're not," Scorpius announced determinedly as he got up off the bed, Calderon's eyes followed him slowly in confusion and he realized his cousin's movements seemed oddly sluggish, "I'm here to rescue you."

"Rescue me?" Calderon repeated in surprise before shaking his head and cautiously lying back down, on his side so he was still looking at Scorpius after wiping his still tearstained cheeks, "It's okay, you can go on without me. Save yourself, Scor, I'm at peace with my fate."

"But you're a prisoner," Scorpius pointed out incredulously, astonished someone – especially someone with a fear of Azkaban and imprisonment like Calderon did – would prefer this.

"I know. They treat me better then all my other captors though," Calderon told him, looking as if he was having a hard time keeping his eyes open, "I'd rather be a prisoner then a fugitive, I don't want to cause trouble and I don't even know what I'd do. Hogwarts was my life, I can't go back to that now though when I'd be on the run. I'd rather wait, I had a good time while it lasted and that's all you can hope for. You can go tho- Why did they take you in the first place? You're not Voldemort's son."

"Are you alright?" Scorpius asked in concern at Calderon's odd behavior.

"I'm sorry," Calderon muttered still tiredly, "They give me Power-Repressing Potion, takes away all my strength and power and energy. It's hard to focus or think… I feel like I'm dying, it's hard."

"What?! Dying?!" Scorpius spluttered out in alarm while Calderon smiled weakly as his eyes closed, he hated that damn potion.

"It was nice to see you again though, I'm glad you don't hate me."

"I'm not leaving you here," Scorpius decided, even more determined than before to save his cousin now as he went over and pulled the lanky man into a sitting position. Calderon seemed to force his eyes open to glance at him once more, "Come on, I'll take you to Varanian. Wouldn't you like to see your old buddy Va- Pippy? He'll keep you safe until the war ends and we sort all this out, you won't be trapped and dying."

"That sounds nice…"

"Scorpius, th-" Martha's voice called from outside the room.

She was cut off by a loud bang and the next instant she was flying into the room, literally her body being smashed through the door and flung further back into the corner of the room in a hail of splinters. Her body hid the ground with a painful looking thud, he heard her groan in pain and stir slightly indicating she lived but she didn't get up.

His attention returned to the doorway anyway, he withdrew his wand and positioned himself protectively in front of Calderon – who was helpless in his current state with his magic repressed – to face the attacker. He'd expected it to be Aurors, returning having figured out what happened somehow but he was wrong. Jack Thorne walked into the room, Michael's father, Annie's brother confidently with a dark glint in his eyes that hadn't been there before. Scorpius was aware of his transition but this was the first time he'd met him since knowing.

Even more surprisingly however was the boy who walked in with him, the very boy he wanted so desperately to save: Antonius Ashain. He didn't see Florian though, oddly enough. Wasn't he supposed to running this whole operation? Regardless, he was going to protect his cousin. He raised his wand and Jack oddly raised his hand, was he adept at wandless magic like Calderon? Scorpius prepared to counter a spell or to levitate something protectively to shield him, however it was useless.

He felt as if an invisible hand had tugged at his heart painfully and then saw the black beam shooting at him from Jack's hand, pain immediately flooded his brain. Beyond his brain, the pain wasn't physical or mental but on a level beyond, his soul. He felt as if he was torn apart inside at any rate, he was aware of nothing but his own agony and all for just a split second.

"NO!"

There was another bang and Scorpius realized he was on the floor, the pain stopped or at least diminished enough to a bearable level. His body still ached as if it had taken a beating except internally somehow, he also now felt groggy. He felt arms around him as he tried to get up, seeing Calderon had dropped to his side and was worriedly trying to help him into a sitting position while Antonius appeared on his other side in the next second.

"Are you okay?" Antonius asked him worriedly as he dropped to his knees beside him with a guilty expression, Scorpius was glad to note he looked in good health.

"I think so," Scorpius admitted and let his eyes skim further, Martha was still down and Jack was lying in the other corner in a pile of splinters that had been a table a few minutes but getting up. He put his hand comfortingly on Antonius' shoulder, "Don't worry, I promise I'm going to get you home to your dad, okay?"

"No, I can't go home," Antonius said with a shake of his head as he stood up and stepped back from him much to Scorpius' surprise, "There's something I have to do. And you too, Calderon."

"Hmm?" Calderon mumbled while Scorpius felt a pang of anger at Florian brainwashing the poor kid to work with his insane plan.

"I have a way to take the Scepter from the Shadow Master, weakening her but she'll still be more powerful than normal people. You're the only one who can beat her, we need your help."

"No, you don't!" Scorpius snapped irritably, "You don't need to throw your life away to stop the Shadow Master or force Calderon to fight, we can find a better way then Florian's delusional ideals."

"I don't wanna fight," Calderon moaned fearfully and clutched at his head, his eyes bulging fearfully.

"Florian may be crazy but his plan makes sense," Antonius insisted, looking somewhere between hurt and determined, "I can do it, I know I can. I have to, the Shadow Master has to be stopped."

"Not like this!"

"Yes, like this," Jack's voice spoke except he didn't sound quite himself, Scorpius had almost completely forgotten about him and then his voice seemed to return to normal, "We're trying to end the war, stop the Shadow Master, make a world my son can have a future in. Don't you want that?"

"Not like this," Scorpius reiterated firmly as he stood, still feeling shaky and achy but he certainly wasn't going to give up. He wasn't going down without a fight. Antonius raised his wand uncertainly, looking unsure who to side with.

"We won't touch his soul," Jack growled begrudgingly, seemingly putting Antonius' mind at ease as he went to go stand by Jack while Scorpius felt a pang of hurt at the betrayal, "Now stand aside, Calderon's coming with us. We can convince him later when that Repressing Potion is not clogging his mind."

"Right," Antonius muttered and nodded, apparently decided. Scorpius was saddened, shocked and hurt as it sunk into his mind that after all this time worrying and wanting to help him Antonius didn't want to be helped.

"If you want my cousin, you're going to have to go through me," Scorpius said, again positioning himself between them and Calderon protectively, "And I'm not giving up on you, Antonius, you're my friend and I won't stop trying until you're safe back home with the people who love you."

"It's too late for me, Scorpius," Antonius admitted quietly, looking more upset, "I don't know how much you know about it all but… the magic has already been added, I'm going to die."

"Just because the magic has been added, it doesn't mean there's no hope for you," Scorpius told him, managing to keep his voice calm despite the panic that exploded into his mind, "We can find a way…"

"Stop thinking about saving me and start thinking about stopping the Shadow Master, that's what matters. That's what we're fighting for, that's the priority. Everything else can wait until after."

"Y-"

Scorpius was cut off as he noticed Jack twirling his wand while he was distracted by talking to Antonius, a fiery spell shot towards him. Scorpius barely managed to throw up a Shield Charm in time to defend himself but even that felt exhausting, he wanted to counter it but his wand arm felt like lead and it felt like his heart stung painfully. He staggered back slightly but Calderon caught him, he must've stood while Scorpius was talking.

"You're weak from the attack on your soul," Jack taunted in the odd voice, "Since magic comes from the soul, your ability to use spells will be effected until you've had time to recover. You can't win."

Scorpius wasn't sure if he believed that and at any rate, he refused to give up. He straightened himself determinedly and sent a stunner shooting towards Jack, Scorpius felt like he'd just taken a punch from the gut. Jack dodged his spell before lashing out with an Acutus Curse, Scorpius was forced to cause his own and slash it in the opposite direction to block it, making sparks fly from there invisible blades of invisible spells clashed in the air.

Jack didn't stop there though, he did the same again. And again. And again. And again. And again. Scorpius was forced to counter each time, each time making him feel worse and weaker. He could feel his legs becoming more wobbly, his wand arm becoming heavier and his body drooping. Jack raised his wand to do the same again, Scorpius tried to raise his but his arm trembled and fell.

"Told you so," Jack taunted.

"Don't kill him," Antonius begged with an expression of panic.

Jack slashed his wand again but it wasn't Acuta this time, instead a crescent of crimson flames swept out. Scorpius tried to summon the strength for a Shield Charm but failed, the fire struck him and Scorpius screamed in pain as he felt it burn him. He was thrown back from the force of the spell as well, he hit his head on the wall and slumped into consciousness.

---

"No!" Antonius whined

He saw his friend spiraling across the room burning, he hit his head and at least stopped screaming as he hit the ground while clearly breathing. Calderon's eyes widened his shock but his body seemed to take a while to catch up, he tried to go to his cousin but his movements were sluggish and Jack/One sent him to the ground with a stunner.

"Why couldn't you have stunned him?!" Antonius complained unhappily as he looked to his unfortunate ally.

"I did," One insisted with a shrug.

"I meant Scorpius!"

"Because burning hurts more than stunning which pretty much does nothing. I didn't destroy his soul like I wanted, this is a two way street," One told him with a look of annoyance, "If you want us to meet you halfway then you have to meet us halfway as well, his soul will be fine and he's not fatally wounded. Win-win."

"I still hate it," Antonius muttered unhappily, "Glad you didn't do it to Calderon at least."

"We need him at full strength to take down Sal, let's just hope this Repressing Potion wears off in time for him to face her."

"Let's hope he's willing," Antonius added, Jack/One said nothing.

Calderon had seemed reluctant, Antonius hoped it was just because of the potion that seemed to be affecting him since he didn't see much like himself. He wasn't sure anyone else could defeat the Shadow Master, even without the Scepter so they'd be in trouble if he still didn't want to fight. Antonius supposed he could relate to not wanting to fight a sibling but Calderon didn't have to kill her, the Shadow Master would be as helpless as he currently was imprisoned on that potion.

Jack/One walked over to Calderon and crouched to touch his shoulder, he then gestured for Antonius to come over so they could leave. Antonius approached, casting a guilty look on Scorpius. He hoped he'd be okay with that burn just like he hoped Albus would be okay with his injured leg. He felt terrible for hurting his friends, for causing them pain. He wished they'd never have gotten involved, even if he survived the initial fight now they'd probably never forgive him. He was going to die hated by everyone, he wiped the tears before they could spill from his eyes. At least – hopefully – he'd die with them safe.

"I'm sorry," Antonius whispered to his conscious friend as he reached Jack/One and Calderon, noticing the first rays of dawn shining through the bars on the windows. Two days to go. He touched Jack/One's shoulder and the trio vanished into the shadows.

---

Albus was having a funny dream about Abby telling him she hated him then sending some kind of carnivorous massive, mutated dog-plant at him, it bit his leg and it hurt so much yet it still hurt more to hear her say those words. He cried that he was sorry, he didn't why but he was. When he turned around she was gone though, Antonius stood there laughing at his pain while Abby walked off with Pentakel beyond. He was glad to wake up.

Except he wasn't lying all nice and cozy in his nice comfortable four poster Gryffindor bed, he wasn't even lying in his smaller, less comfortable bed at home. He was lying on something hard like the floor, in fact he wasn't even lying but sitting in an uncomfortable bend position. And the dream was having trouble diminishing, the pain in his leg was so vivid he felt as if it was real. Wait… It was real. The battle, the spell, Antonius-

Albus snapped his eyes open and risked the urge to cry out as his leg still hurt, he instead bit down hard on his tongue and whimpered at the pain. He was sitting against the wall, he'd fallen leaning against a table or chest of draws or something furniturey at any rate. His leg was out before him, visibly twisted with his knee - and the lower leg with it – had been turned ninety degrees to the right. It looked painful and gross, it felt painful and gross. He groaned in pain, willing for it to diminish but it didn't. Damn it hurt. He tried to reach for his leg in the hopes gripping it would somehow help but felt his elbow hit something.

"Ow!" a female voice whined and he glanced to his left to see Rose stirring, rubbing her nose where he'd elbowed her in the face, "Ow, did you just punch me in the face?!"

"No," Albus scoffed as his cousin sat up.

He spared a glance and saw Corin lay on his other side, Maurice a few feet away, a small red-haired boy a few feet away on the other side. Florian slumped in front of the couch, Orous with him and a woman's head and arm sticking out from behind the couch. They were still in the same place he'd been when they'd fought, disappointingly there was no sign of Antonius or Michael's Dad though. He couldn't believe Antonius had attacked them, what was going on? Why would he do that?

"Then why does my nose hurt?"

"Because I elbowed you in the face," Albus said through teeth gritted against his own pain, Rose glared at him, "Elbowed. Not punched, elbowed. It's completely different. And an accident. And get over it, my leg feels looks broken!"

"Of course it's broken, legs aren't supposed to bend that way!"

"Stop yelling, I'm trying to sleep- Wait," Corin murmured sleepily before his mind also seemed to catch up, he sat bolt upright with his usual neat hair all unkempt as his beady black eyes darted around the room.

"Why is all the noise?" a child's voice queried and Albus saw the small boy blinking as he sat up, apparently Florian hadn't been lying about a son. The connection solidified by the fact as soon as the boy laid eyes on Florian, he scrambled to run over to him, "Daddy?! Daddy?! Daddy, wake up!"

"Oathan?" Florian muttered tiredly, raising his head and blinking the identical violet eyes. The noise also stirring Orous and the woman behind the couch, only the deaf remained undisturbed by the noise.

"Daddy," Oathan repeated and Florian's eyes watered as he scrambled to sit up and pull the boy into a fierce hug, Oathan hugged him back and sobbed into his shoulder. Florian had a look of utter and absolute relief on his face as he held his son tightly, "I missed you, Daddy. I missed you so much."

"I missed you too," Florian admitted, tears of his own spilling from his eyes while he smiled, "But its okay, it's okay now. It's over. I'm not going to let anyone take you away from me again, they'll have to kill me first."

"I love you, Daddy."

"I love you too."

It was almost touching. Almost. He hadn't forgotten Florian had murdered Abby's brother, not to mention kidnapping Antonius or the other people he'd killed. He belonged in a jail cell, having a young son didn't change that. The kid would be better off in a dumpster then with that lunatic anyway. The woman slipped away through the door on the other side of the room, Albus opened his mouth to call after her but was distracted by Maurice stirring as Corin was shaking his friend awake frantically with eyes on Florian.

"What are we going to do?" Albus whispered to Rose worriedly, "We shouldn't just let Florian leave but we're not in much state to fight him or contact Dad to come for him."

"I don't-"

"PYRRHUS!" Maurice barked murderously over Rose's answer.

Evidently having woken up, the boy leaped to his feet with his wand back in his hand and aimed at Florian already with a jet of red streaming towards the man. Albus cried out in panic, fearing Maurice might accidentally hit the nearby Orous or the small child Florian still held. Florian reacted quickly though, swiping his hand and a wand rose to slam up a Shield Charm to defend all three of them. He leaped to his feet and it flew to his hand as he did so, protectively placing himself in front of Oathan. Despite his earlier qualms, Albus found himself equally disliking Florian's show of skill.

"Maurice, come on. This is pointless," Florian said and made motions with his hands that Albus knew to be sign language even if he didn't understand it. He'd guess Florian was signing what he was speaking though, Maurice just couldn't hear without his hand on his necklace.

"Pointless?! YOU CUT OFF MY HAND! KIDNAPPED MY FRIEND AND MY FOOLISH TWIN!" Maurice raged and cast a vicious looking purple curse but Florian dodged it nimbly.

"We're on the same side!" Florian insisted as he signed again, Maurice had cast another spell at him but he avoided it again.

"No, we're not," Albus scoffed bitterly as Maurice cast yet another spell that Florian sidestepped to avoid, at least he was now far enough away from Orous and Oathan for Albus to root for his friend, "Get him, Maurice!"

"He can't hear you," Corin pointed out testily while Maurice increased the tempo of his attacks, Florian avoided them all with flawless agility with just the occasional Shield Charm, "He's not trying to hit Maurice."

"I don't want to fight you," Florian told him looking serious, signing his words while still dodging, "I want to stop the Shadow Master too, really, I have valuable information!"

"Information?" Rose repeated, sounding slightly intrigued but Maurice didn't waver in his assault, "Will you tell us what you did with Antonius?"

"Yes!"

"Maurice, stop! We should hear him out while he's being coherent," Orous protested, also signing and Maurice's eyes narrowed darkly as he stopped firing. He didn't lower his wand though.

"And for what it's worth, I'm sorry about your hand," Florian admitted still having to sign his words, looking wary still of attack but sounding sincere.

"Just speak," Maurice growled what Albus was thinking.

"So you agree to a truce?"

"I agree to a truce," Maurice promised and lowered his wand cautiously without taking his eyes off his former mentor, Florian looked relieved as he was also able to lower his.

"Okay," Florian said, taking a deep breath, "First of all and most importantly, the Shadows are going to attack England next. They're going for London on June 6th-"

"Avada Kedavra," Maurice cast, cutting Florian off.

Albus was shocked as a jet of green burst from his friend's wand, Florian was too and having relaxed due to the truce he didn't react fast enough. The deadly spell struck him square in the chest, sending his lifeless body hurtling to the ground beside his small son. Oathan dropped to his knees by his father's body, Albus thought he was better off without him. Despite hating Florian, Albus couldn't help but feel attacking him after agreeing to the truce was… not noble and what about the attack now? That had seemed important.

"What the hell, Maurice?!" Orous burst out angrily, "You didn't have to kill him!"

"Not until he finished telling us what he knew at least!" Rose added, not that Maurice could hear them since his hand still wasn't on his necklace.

"I did what had to be done," Maurice announced as he pocketed his wand and folded his arms.

"You killed my daddy," Oathan breathed as he looked up, his eyes finding Maurice and his young expression twisting with rage. He grabbed up Florian's wand at aimed it at Maurice, not looking the slightest bit threatening.

"I-"

"Avada Kedavra!" Oathan cried, much to everyone's shock.

Even more surprising was the streak of violent green light that did indeed shoot from the tip, much like Florian he was too caught by surprise to react in time. Corin however must've been paying more attention, he shoved Maurice out of the way but hadn't enough time to then move himself out of the path. Rose shrieked as the spell struck her boyfriend, Corin dropped to the ground.

For a long second Albus had hope. Surely a mere child didn't have the power to kill someone, surely Corin's part giant status could spare him from this. But Corin's black eyes had lost their shine, staring sightlessly at them. Albus felt sick but none more so then Maurice, if the look on his face was anything to go by. He tore his eyes away to glance back to Oathan, the boy had dropped back to the ground and slowly looked away back to his dead dad. He buried his face in Florian's chest, his shoulders shaking from muffled sobs. Rose dropped back down beside him, horror on her face and tears in her eyes, Orous was also staring at his dead friend in tears.

"Corin," Maurice said, choking on the word as tears leaked from the oceans in his eyes before he picked up his wand and stood with it jabbed towards the young killer.

"Don't," Orous whispered and signed the words while more tears streamed from Maurice's eyes.

"He killed C-Corin! He k-k-"

"He's four years old and your brother. Killing him won't bring Corin back to life," Orous said, still signing and Oathan looked to them with a tearstained face, "It'll just be more death. There's enough death."

"Corin…" Maurice reiterated and choked on another sob before lowering his wand, seemingly – although he'd been fooled before – deciding to spare the child and instead burying his face in his hands.

"Everyone put your wands down!" an unfamiliar voice commanded.

They all – except the deaf Maurice who hadn't noticed – turned to the doorway the woman had gone through, seeing she was back with a group of Aurors behind her. Albus wished they'd arrived just five minutes faster. Corin had been alive then, heck Florian had been alive then. Somehow, Albus hadn't realized before just how quickly people could die. And an attack was coming in just a few days.

---

Part 4: Preparing

---

Atticus Ashain paced anxiously over the rubble, his footsteps rushed as he was particularly impatient. He was almost glad his mind was in chaos lest he think about the last time he'd been here when he'd murdered his ex-girlfriend/boss or further back to how this had once been his home, where he'd played in the halls with his brother and laughed at the table with his father. His dark chestnut eyes stung from tiredness as stopped to rub at them in the silvery light of moon, it was rather tedious how his body wanted to waste time eating or sleeping when he had other things to worry about.

"Atty?" Brutus' gruff voice questioned and Atticus spun to see the deformed man standing there, his eyes shifting around uncertainly as he approached him, "What do you want? I'm kind of busy right now."

"Are you aware of what's happened the past few days?" Atticus questioned, seeing no time for pleasantries, "With Calderon missing, Florian dead and those kids-"

"I'm aware."

"You're not the ones who took Calderon, are you?" Atticus asked, feeling like he already knew the answer but still wishing he was wrong. He didn't think he'd ever think it but somehow he felt Calderon would be better off with the Shadows, at least he had some faith in Brutus.

"No," Brutus shook his head in conformation, "It looks like it was One, I think its planning on pitting them both against the Shadow Master."

"Is… Is the attack still going as planned?" Atticus pressed fearfully, feeling incredibly guilty for wanting the answer to be yes.

"It's still happening," Brutus offered cautiously, "But not quite the same way. With any luck though, we should still be able to walk away with Antonius and Calderon safe."

"I need details, Brutus, because I have to be there, I have-"

"No," Brutus cut him off firmly, Atticus scowled and opened his mouth to protest, "It's too dangerous for you to be there, caught up in the thick of it. Not to mention the fact it'll be difficult to explain, do you really want your son to be saved just to go back to the woman who threw him under the dragon in the first place?"

"Well no," Atticus admitted in a mutter, "But still, he's my son. I have to be there."

"You don't have to be there because I will be there and I'm in a much better position to help then you are," Brutus assured him but Atticus frowned, not entirely sure of his brother while Brutus put a six-fingered hand on his shoulder, "Look, Atty, I swear to you that I will do everything in my power to save your son, okay? But if you're there, you're the one I'll be worried about. I just need you to trust me."

"Trust you?" Atticus repeated in surprise for a moment, considering Brutus' stint as a Death Eater then now as a Soul Eater but he was helping now. Atticus bit his lip, Brutus had been good so far about this and he was in a better position, "Do you promise me, Brutus? Do you promise to return my son to me safely?"

"I promise, Atty," Brutus said seriously, "I promise I'll return your son to you safely."

---

Harry Potter was not in a good mood. Sure he was infinitely relieved his son and niece - who along with Orous and Maurice were safely back at Hogwarts now - were alright, sad for Hagrid over the loss of his son, guilty at his feeling of his own failure to find to save them, afraid and anxious for the knowledge of the impending attack not to mention Riddle's disappearance, tired from the stress over the past few days but overwhelming all of that was his frustration. He knew Alaric was weak right now from the full moon last night but England was about to be attacked, they really needed him.

At the very least, Harry just needed Alaric's authority to act. Surely he could manage just that? But no, he'd ignored every one of the increasingly desperate letters Harry had sent him while trying to work out a game plan with Hermione and Cel. They'd decided it was best to just evacuate London, let the Shadows have it and live to fight another day. Once – and he hated to think that this – once it was taken, it was also give them a chance to see the kind of forces the Shadows used to occupy a city to launch an effective counter attack.

He just needed Alaric's approval to get things in motion, or at least it was the fastest way to get things in motion and they had to move fast because they had no time. Which is why he showed up at Alaric's house personally, after knocking repeatedly and loudly then giving an excessive amount of time for Alaric to get to the door to account for the fact he wouldn't be moving quickly after the full moon. It finally occurred to Harry that maybe something had happened, using that justification he magically unlocked Alaric's door and entered his house. He stalked cautiously through the house with his wand out in readiness, he saw no signs of a struggle however.

He found his letters though, unopened and left by owls on the kitchen table. There was no sign of Alaric though so Harry made his way upstairs, still seeing no signs of a struggle. The bedroom was the last place he checked but was the room that held his target, after starting to have a shred of faith in the man he was just lying in bed after all while chaos happened. Harry felt his frustrated rage reignite.

"Alaric!" Harry barked at him and Alaric's eyes slid open slowly, unevenly and seemed heavy as if he struggled to keep them open, "London's going to be attacked tomorrow!"

"Wha…?" Alaric mumbled and trailed off with a scowl, he pushed his body shakily up into a sitting position.

"The Shadow Master is attacking London tomorrow, we want to do an evacuation but I need you to approve it so get up."

Alaric swung his legs over the bed while Harry spoke, apparently having decided to get up. He mumbled something intelligible and his head lolled before he fell – much to Harry's surprise – off the bed, his head thudding against the bedside table. Harry rushed over and saw him stirring, he helped the Minister back up onto the bed. He noticed up close how unhealthy Alaric seemed, his sickly skin was clammy and he was blinking heavily as if fighting to keep his eyes open, his head kept nodding as well as if it was too heavy to lift.

"Are you alright?" Harry wondered, he hadn't expected him to be that bad.

"I… th… ull… moon… bad," Alaric muttered weakly before fainting once again except this time Harry caught him before he could hit the ground, instead helping Alaric lie back onto the bed, "No… I need to…"

Alaric tried to speak but he'd slipped back into unconsciousness the second his head touched the pillow, Harry wasn't admittedly an expert on werewolves but he still didn't think Alaric should be this out of it. He decided it was worth getting a Healer to come check him over, both for the sake of in case something was seriously wrong and because he still needed his approval. Or the Healer could declare Alaric unfit and give them temporary rights to make the decisions, allowing for the evacuation he wanted. He contacted the Healer who arrived promptly, Harry had to not very patiently wait for him to be looked over but the same one who'd seen to him before so was currently aware of his situation.

"Well?" Harry questioned as the Healer left the Minister's room, "What's wrong with him?"

"He's just suffering the effects of the full moon," the Healer offered timidly to which Harry frowned.

"Should he really be that unhealthy?"

"No. Usually only those weak like the very young, very old, those ill or injured from some other cause or muggles suffer to the extreme like this," the Healer told him, sounding surer speaking about the diagnosis, "I can only suspect it's because of what happened to his soul, it must've weakened him and made him more susceptible to the full moon effects. I've given him some potions to help his body cope physically but he's still going to be pretty out of it for at least a few days, what he really needs is just to rest."

"Alright," Harry sighed, "But what you're saying is that in your medical opinion he's unable to make decisions as Minister for a few days?"

"He's not going to be properly conscious for a few days so… yes, I would say that."

"I'm going to need that in writing," Harry told her seriously, already gesturing for to follow, "I need to evacuate London, it's going to be attacked tomorrow."

---

Brutus Ashain slipped back into the house they were using as a base while in England, it was abandoned or they'd killed the owners or something. He didn't know, quite frankly he'd rather not know, he'd rather not be there at all in fact but at the same time he'd rather be there then not be there when stuff was happening. He didn't want them to attack England at all, it was his homeland, where his family lived and he just…

He didn't want that, he didn't want any of it really. He wanted the good after-world but he didn't want this war transition, a part of him really hoped the England invasion would just fail. A part of him knew that would probably be worse though and now he had a nephew to worry about saving, if he ever wanted to have a chance of rebuilding his relationship with his brother he had to save the kid. Plus he would rather his nephew survive anyway, this whole sneaking behind Sal's back thing worried him though. He didn't know how she'd react if she ever found out, he suspected badly.

He located his lover, her slender form leaning thoughtfully out on the balcony with her long wavy dark black hair flowing slightly in the gentle summer breeze. It seemed quiet without his sons, they'd just turned two yesterday so the war had been put on hold pretty much to celebrate but now they were gone back to lands under her control as had Vathan. He missed them, he wished Atticus could've met them too.

"Hey," Brutus greeted the Shadow Master, she glanced back to him as he approached and greeted him with a peck on the lips, "How's it going?"

"I'm worried about Tommy," Sal admitted surprisingly right off the bat, "What One would do to him, what it even wants with him, what it wants in general."

"I don't know."

In truth, Brutus hadn't given it much thought with everything else but this was Tommy. He could take care of himself once the power-repressing potion wore off so One's plans would likely fail, he was glad she cared about her twin still though. Unfortunately he had meant more about the impeding attack, while he wasn't keen on it he did kind of need it to happen to be able to save Antonius and keep his promise to his brother. Since the Ministry was currently aware and evacuating, he didn't know if this would affect it. He also needed her head to be in game or she'd be more likely to get hurt. At least the evacuation gave him a chance to rescue Oathan for Vathan, he'd set the trackers on it.

"Will this affect our attack?" Brutus prompted while putting his arms around her gently to comfort her about her concern for her brother, her beautiful face looked up at him with a raised eyebrow over her dark eyes.

"Since when were you keen on the attack?" Sal wondered curiously.

"I'm not but if you're going to go through with it then you need to be focused, if you're not then it's more likely to fail and you could get hurt," Brutus offered as he rubbed her shoulder soothingly, it wasn't a lie, "It's scary enough to see you use that Scepter when you are focused, it's a lot of power."

"Well you can put your mind at ease," Sal assured him and stepped back, she held out her hand and the Scepter she'd propped by the doorway shot to her hand. It flashed azure as did her eyes, "I'll be focused when it comes to the attack, not that it'll be much of an attack with the evacuation. Potter thinks he's doing London a favor but it's just making it worse for themselves to lose the home advantage so long as we don't push the attack back to give them time, we'll take the city and the Ministry falls to us with ease. The populace may have escaped but millions of displaced people won't have been able to get far especially not the muggles, our army can congregate in the city then branch out for the evacuees who should be fairly easy to round up. Cel will tell us where they are anyway."

"Right."

"I worry about Tommy because I can, not because it's distracting me. And once we take London, we can put the trackers after Florian onto finding my brother instead since Florian's dead now. With any luck he'll be found as we take England, if not it should be easier to weed out One once we control the whole country," Sal continued, sounding very much as if the entire thing had already been thought out, "Potter's just made this easier, it'll be my first city I take solo and then we succeed where my father failed."

"Wait, what do you mean 'take solo'?" Brutus wondered worriedly and Sal tore her eyes are from the Scepter to look back to him, lowering her arm as she did so.

"I mean since the city will be deserted, I'm just going to show up alone and take it. Then we move in the army rather than them attacking the city with me."

"I got that but I mean, I'll still be with you… Right?" Brutus questioned anxiously, "I'm always with you during these times."

"It's unnecessary though, I'm taking an empty city. You may as well wait with the army and lead them in."

"No, Sal, I should be with you," Brutus insisted desperately as he had to be there to save Antonius which of course she was unaware of and put his six-fingered hands on her shoulders, she looked at him curiously, "What if something goes wrong?"

"I told you I'll be focused."

"And I believe you but just because the Ministry won't be there, it doesn't mean Gray won't or One or some other unknown entity. I know you're very powerful but still, isn't it best to have a second body there? Just in case, things have gone wrong before."

"True…" Sal agreed and looked thoughtful for a minute before nodding with a smile, "Alright, Brutus, you can stay with me. We take London together, tonight so it'll fall in the early hours of tomorrow."

Brutus breathed a tense sigh of relief.

---

Scorpius was having a great dream, everything was peaceful and good. He was happy. Until he woke up. The first thing he noticed was the searing pain across his chest, he groaned and moved his hand to his chest as he started to sit up while his head still throbbed dully. He shivered as a gentle breath of wind brushed against his bare arms and realized he was shirtless, his chest bandaged but a comfy blanket didn't fall off him like he thought nor was he lying on a bed although the clothing from his torso had been repurposed as a pillow.

He looked around and saw rocky walls, to his right was an opening where the wind was coming from. He was in a cave. And he wasn't alone, he saw a small figure sitting by the entrance curled up with her knees to her chest and her wavy red hair shifting slightly in the breeze. Events swirled in his mind as his memory caught him up, Calderon, Jack, Antonius… He must've passed out. And from the sunlight, he must've been out a while.

"You're awake," Martha commented as she seemingly had heard his groaning, she got up cringing slightly as she did so and moving more stiffly as if hurt which he recalled she had been. Her clothes looked a bit rough for wear and her eyes had thick black bags beneath them but it otherwise wasn't noticeable, she offered him another bottle of water, "Are you thirsty?"

"I-" Scorpius started to protest but realized he kind of was and took the bottle, "What happened? The last thing I remember is getting hit by that spell."

"You hit your head and passed out," Martha told him curtly as he drank the refreshing liquid, she crouched by him, "Jack/One and Antonius stunned Calderon, vanished with him in a blur of darkness. I saw you were hurt so I did what I could for you and used the bed sheets for bandages, I'm hardly an expert Healer. I figured it wouldn't be a good idea to stick around for when more Aurors inevitably showed up so I took you, found this cave and let you rest."

"You let them get away?" Scorpius snapped in frustration before he could stop himself.

"I was pretty banged up – I still am – took me awhile to get my bearings," Martha pointed out and he sighed.

"I know, I'm sorry," Scorpius apologized unhappily as the weight of his failure dropped down upon him, he hung his head, "The one I'm really mad at is myself. I had them there, both right there. And I failed them. Again."

"It's not your fault, Jack/One has powers that aren't usual or easy to counter."

"I don't care! I still failed, all I do is fail!" Scorpius yelled at her angrily in frustration, the pain in his chest not helping his temperament any.

"Do you know what they tell us in the Training Tower about failure?"

"I don't care what they tell you in the Training Tower about failure!"

"Fine," Martha shrugged and moved away, returning a second later with muggle sweets, crisps, muggle sandwiches – they were in muggle plastic containers – plus a handful of blackberries, "But here, you should eat something to get your strength up. Got the muggle snacks from Claudia's town and picked the blackberries from around here, they're good."

---

Oathan felt miserable. Completely, utterly and thoroughly miserable. He'd lost his grandpa, he'd lost his mother who had always been mean to him anyway, he'd lost his brother although Vathan wasn't dead - as far as he knew - but as good as dead since Oathan had no idea where or was or how to get to him and now he'd lost his daddy. His daddy, who'd saved him from all the bad things he had to go through at home in the Training Tower, who took care of him, who let him play, who made him feel safe and loved and happy.

Now he was gone, and it hurt. Deep down inside in his heart, it hurt that he was gone. He hadn't realized it was possible to feel so hurt. Everyone he loved was gone. And Antonius had turned on him and his brother had been the one to take his daddy from him, his daddy had been right about people being bad, about them turning on you. His daddy had been trying to help them and warn them about this stupid attack, they'd called a truce but his bad brother had still killed him.

He couldn't stop thinking about it, it played over and over and over again inside his mind, over and over again the lifeless lump that had been his daddy only seconds before thudding to the ground beside him. And those eyes, those sightless glazed over eyes boring into him. And his brother's face, he looked so much like their mother. And his brother had wanted to kill him but the other one had stopped him, Oathan wished he had killed him. Then maybe he wouldn't feel this hurt, maybe he'd be with his daddy again.

Then those people had come and taken them away, but him in chains because he was bad, because he killed that boy with an unforgivable curse and they weren't sure what to do with him. Oathan regretted that boy had died and made those people sad, how was he supposed to know he'd get in the way though? He didn't know why it was a big deal anyway, since when was killing bad? Why did they teach them about killing at home in the Training Tower if it was wrong? Why did you have to kill to pass the test if it was bad? Why did Jack/One kill those people if it was bad and why did no one take them away?

Oathan didn't understand. His bad brother didn't get put in chains either because he'd killed his daddy who was 'bad' apparently, it made Oathan feel angry. Who were they to decide who was bad or good? His daddy had been good to him, his daddy had been gooder to him than anyone so why was he bad? He'd even been doing anything bad when he died – when his bad brother killed him – but that was okay? If he deserved to be punished because he took a life then his bad brother should too, what made his daddy's life any less then the boy's? Or Carver's? Aurors had killed him, he didn't see them in trouble. Who made up these stupid rules?!

The world was just against him, just like his daddy had said. He'd been right, he'd been right about everything except for caring about Maurice. The Soul Eaters were right, killing was the best way to deal with an enemy. If his daddy had just killed him and Orous instead of wanting to spare them then Maurice wouldn't have been able to live to kill him instead, dead people couldn't hurt you and if everyone was bad then what did it matter if they died? No one would explain it to him anyway, he'd been taken to a cell in a dungeon. He knew what that meant, back home in the Training Tower it meant punishment and he could only assume this was the same since wasn't the whole point that he deserved to be punished for killing the boy? He was going to get it, those Aurors were going to hurt him and hurt him bad he suspected.

He supposed he deserved it for killing that boy, he had no idea what would happen to him after or how badly they'd hurt him but at least they'd be even. He'd cried so much about his daddy dying that he thought he'd ran out of tears, his eyes stung from crying so bad. Eventually he cried himself to sleep. He hoped that meant he wouldn't be able to cry when they tortured him, he may deserve it but he didn't want them to have the satisfaction. They were taking a long time, he thought either it meant they were busy with the attack about to happen or just wanted to make him feel dread. He'd only seen an Auror once and they'd brought him food, he was hungry but he hadn't touched it. The only reason he could think that they'd bring him food before torturing was that there was something wrong with it, it had to be poisoned somehow.

"Alright, kid," a voice said and Oathan blinked himself awake, seeing an Auror opening the cell door while another stood beside him and his insides froze fearfully at the thought of being tortured. Deserving it didn't mean it would hurt any less.

He followed the Auror shakily though as he was led out, to Oathan's surprise he was led back the way he'd come in through the fancy fountain place. People were all being lined up by Aurors, other people – who he could only assume were masters – giving directions about an evacuation which seemed to be a fancy way of saying leaving the city. He could only guess it had to do with the attack, he hoped the stupid Soul Eaters razed this dumb Auror city to the ground along with their ridiculous rules.

"Where are we going?" Oathan asked his captors as they led him to a fireplace, one of them tossing a handful of dust which made the fire green. Floo.

"New Azkaban prison," one of the Aurors told him as the other stepped into the fireplace with him, "Until this crisis passes and we figure out what to do with you, you'll stay there."

Suddenly they were swirling dizzyingly through space and Oathan was glad he hadn't eaten the poison because he thought he'd surely throw up if his stomach wasn't empty, it was worse than phasing with Jack/One. Unfortunately an end to the uncomfortable travel meant imprisonment and torture, that's what they did to prisoners. Fearfully he wondered how frequently, either they'd hurt him worse but less often or more often but less damaging since they needed to make sure torture victims lived or you couldn't torture them anymore.

He stepped out of the fireplace with a nudge from the Auror, expecting to see a dungeon but instead surprised to find himself in an empty room not unlike some of the places they stayed in. It was empty and covered in dust though, the floorboards looked rotten and the broken windows were boarded up. It hardly seemed secure, was the prison so 'new' they hadn't even built it properly? A second later the other Auror stepped out of the fireplace, looking around in surprise as was the first Auror.

"This isn't New Azkaban prison," the second one said with a scowl.

"Where are we?" the first one wondered in a tone of surprise before the air shifted behind the second, revealing someone hidden by a disillusionment charm who stunned the second Auror in the back. The first one dropped his look of surprise and shoved Oathan at the cloaked figure with a look of boredom, "There you go, piece of cake."

"Well done," the cloaked figure offered before stunning the other Auror who oddly gave no resistance.

Oathan wasn't sure whether to be pleased or afraid, the figure dropped the disillusionment charm and he saw someone else do the same from behind him. He swallowed, seeing they were dressed in black with the same symbol on their robes that his mother had burned into his skin. He trembling in fear, he may not know what the Aurors would do to him but he knew what the Soul Eaters would do to him. He didn't want to go back.

He kicked the man in the groin as hard as he could before turning and trying to flee, the man cried out in pain but managed to grab his arm anyway and wrenched it painfully to force Oathan back. He slammed Oathan against the wall before throwing him roughly to the ground, his face red with rage while Oathan whimpered in fear and pain from the bruises he was sure were now forming as the man raised his wand threateningly.

"Avada Kedavra," a familiar girl's voice spoke and the man's eyes just about had time to widen in surprise before the green light hit him, Oathan flinched as the man thudded down beside him dead. Just like his daddy… "Get up."

Oathan scrambled to sit up, rubbing his sore wrist where the man had grabbed him as he looked around. He was surprised to recognize the second Soul Eater standing there, he hadn't given her much of a look when she dropped the disillusionment charm. She was his cousin, Viola. Her violently violet eyes rested on him darkly, her face twisted with hatred. He must've took too long to obey her command because she grabbed him, hauling him upright and half-dragging him away from the bodies to an emptier area of floor before pushing him against the wall and stepping back with her wand still aimed at him.

"What… What are you doing?" Oathan asked shakily and fearfully, he didn't think she liked him very much and he certainly didn't like the murderous look in her eyes.

"Getting revenge," Viola spat at him and her lips curled in a smile so demented and twisted it was barely recognizable as such, "Your father murdered my father and since Uncle Pyrrhus foolishly got himself killed him before I could get my hands on him, I'm going to kill you instead. I just wanted to look you in the eye so when you get to hell, you can tell your daddy that I was the one who sent you there and I did it because of what he did."

"Please don't," Oathan pleaded with tears in his eyes.

He felt tired of all this then afraid as noticed the broken window behind her, the shards of glass. He concentrated like his daddy had taught him, flexing his fingers and the glass rattled obediently unbeknownst to her. He could save himself but he'd rather not have to. He'd had enough of revenge, he thought there'd been enough death. He didn't want to kill his cousin, he'd never killed someone he actually knew before.

"Figures you'd die a coward," Viola scoffed and Oathan tearfully focused as she spoke the words, "Avada-"

"Kedavra," Oathan finished as he clenched his fist, the shard of glass shooting from behind in her and stabbing her through the neck which silenced her.

A crimson spray shot out from the glass and her eyes bulged in fear not madness this time, she crumpled to the ground. She didn't die though or look away from him, she didn't drop her wand. She fumbled with it feebly, shakily trying to aim it at him still. Her mouth opened and closed, spluttering out blood not words. Her movements slowed gradually and finally she went still, her eyes still locked with his own.

Oathan slumped to the ground, leaning against the wall for support. It didn't feel good to kill. And now his cousin was dead. He hugged his knees to his chest and buried his face into them as he sobbed into his jeans, wishing his daddy was there to comfort him or Vathan or his grandpa. But they were gone, they were all gone. And he was alone, he was all alone, stuck in a bad world where everyone just wanted to hurt him or betray him or torture him or kill him or kill the people he loved. He hadn't asked for this, he hadn't asked for any of this.

"Did you kill the girl with wandless magic?" a low slow voice asked calmly and quietly, Oathan's head shot up to see a strange creature was standing there. It was about his height except it wasn't human, it spindly arms and legs but in contrast a large head with eyes that would be big if not narrowed and floppy ears that looked like bat wings. It wore nothing but a crimson sash around itself, "Did you hear me, boy?"

"I killed her," Oathan admitted guiltily to the strange creature, trying to think of magical creatures that fitted its description. A house-elf? "She tried to kill me."

"How would you like to come with me?" the possible house-elf offered without a change in its stern expression or neutral tone of voice, "My master has need of a young wizard of raw talent such as yourself, we can teach you."

"Why would I want to go with you?"

"We will ensure you are cared for, that these people-" the creature stopped to gesture around at the bodies littering the place "-shall not find you. Or you can take your chances here alone, deal with the Shadows and the Ministry."

"Who are you?"

"I am a servant of my master."

"Um… why does your master need me then?" Oathan asked with a mixture of curiosity and suspicion.

"I cannot say. Should you choose to come with me you will be told in time however," the creature told him, much to Oathan's disappointment, "So will you come?"

"Erm… Okay," Oathan agreed with a sigh and wiped his eyes.

It wasn't like it could be any worse than staying to face whatever horrors the Aurors had in store for him. Or the Soul Eaters if . ?docid=42190458they tried to take him again, he thought they'd probably be mad that he left. It wasn't like he had anywhere better to go, everyone he loved was dead or gone. Tears continued to bubble in his eyes as the memory of his daddy dying again hit him, dead was gone forever. It still hurt. All that was left was bad people who wanted to hurt him, maybe these creatures were kinder then humans.

"Good," the creature stated neutrally as if he didn't care one way or the other before offering Oathan its hand to help him up, which he took, "If you had said no I would have had to snap your neck."

"What?" Oathan wondered in panic as he stood.

"Nothing," the creature said quickly before there was a crack as it took Oathan away.

---

Antonius sat in yet another empty house, sitting in a window seat and summoning a large rock he'd picked up from the outside. He was glad to get his own wand back, aside from the obvious reasons it was important. It felt right to have his wand, he also found the spell came to him easier and felt more powerful with it. Although the latter could just be inside his head. Calderon was lying on the floor in a makeshift bed still unconscious, Jack/One was out.

"Here," a familiar voice commented as Jack/One phased back in, tossing him a bag with a yellow 'M' on it, "Got you some grub, you should eat because you have a big day tomorrow. Or tonight, they may attack in the early hours of the day."

"Okay," Antonius agreed without argument.

He opened the bag, pulling out a burger and sampling some fries. He swallowed, realizing this may well be his last meal if something went wrong or even if it went right he may still be killed. His last meal could be from a fast food restaurant, his hunger waned. Guiltily he thought of his friends again, if he did die then he'd die hated and the last time he'd seen them would've been in confrontation. He hoped Albus and Scorpius were alright with their injuries.

"Rise and shine, Tommy boy, you've gotta eat too," One commented and Antonius' eyes shifted in surprise to see him waking Calderon.

"Scor!" Calderon cried as he jolted upright, spinning in panic while a feeble display of yellow light shone weakly around him before seeming to realize his cousin was nowhere to be found. Antonius thought it was a good sign though, the Power Repressing Potion had to be wearing off.

"He's long gone," One laughed and tossed Calderon a bag just like Antonius' while Calderon's face twisted in worry, lights flickered orange before fading, "But alive. So eat."

"I'm not hungry," Calderon muttered, narrowing his eyes and shoving the bag aside before folding his arms determinedly.

"Well now you're just being difficult."

"Come on, Calderon, eat," Antonius pleaded and the former assistant glanced at him with a slight look of surprise as if noticing him for the first time, he didn't want Calderon to starve. He liked Calderon, he was a good person, "There's no reason for you to go hungry."

"I'm not doing whatever you want. And why aren't you with your dad anyway? Ticcy will be worried sick," Calderon asked of him in confusion before glancing back to Jack/One, "And who even are you?"

"Don't you recognize me, Tommy?" One questioned and Calderon gave a long, hard look as he scowled.

"Nope, never seen you before in my life."

"I only exist because of you," One growled, frowning in affront as if offended Calderon didn't remember him. Calderon only looked more confused which just had One look angrier, "It's me, One. I have a body, I'm a person now, dammit! Remember me!"

"One?" Calderon repeated, his eyes widening, "But- But how? You're a shadow of a Dementor, a parasite-"

"It merged itself with Michael's dad's soul, Jack, that's the body he has and shares somewhat with him," Antonius provided and the understanding soaked into Calderon's face, "It's still a parasitic monster, of course."

"Right."

"I'm not a parasitic monster, I'm a person," One insisted angrily and Calderon laughed, a shrill high-pitched laugh that seemed several pitches higher than the laugh he should be capable of making. Antonius smiled to himself despite everything, he missed hearing that laugh in the halls of Hogwarts. Calderon laughed and laughed, clutching his sides and wiping a tear from his eye while One continued to scowl, "What-"

"You'll never be a person, stealing someone's body doesn't make you one," Calderon scoffed as if it were obvious, "The fact you think it does just proves even more you just don't understand humanity, you don't have any humanity. Destroying a human life to make your own is wrong, it's intrinsically and morally wrong but you don't get that, you don't feel that. Until you do, you'll never be a person."

"I am a person!" One protested defensively as it stood up, removing his wand and jabbing it angrily at Calderon, "Unlike you, you'll be dead before the sunrises tomorrow. You and Sal both, you'll wipe each other you're so evenly matched. You'll be dead and I'll be alive, who'll be a person then?!"

"Err… I don't know, Anton?" Calderon wondered and One blasted him with a stunner.

"Hey!" Antonius cried as Calderon thudded unconscious to the ground, One folded their arms unapologetically, "What did you do that for?!"

"I just wanted to make sure that potion was wearing off, since we'll need him to use magic to be able to fight," One shrugged as he picked up the bag of food and went to sit down to eat it, "Clearly it is so there's no reason to keep him conscious when he's only going to be difficult."

"Yes there is! We need to talk to him about the plan and get him to ag-"

"Oh please," One sneered at him, "We don't give a damn if he agrees, throw him in with her and he'll have to fight. He won't be convinced and we're not going to waste my time on it, you're kidding yourself if you ever thought I was. You know us well enough to know that."

"I hate you," Antonius muttered irritably, hating even more that he was right. Except about one thing, "And what did you mean by evenly matched and that they'll destroy themselves? The plan was Calderon to win."

"Maybe, that's what Florian believed," One shrugged once more as it pulled out its burger, "I think it's more likely they're just going to wind up killing each other and I know them better then you two do."

"Well I disagree," Antonius protested defensively but One didn't seem to care, shrugging disinterestedly.

"We'll have to wait and see who's right in the end then I guess. Not long now."

---

Scorpius thought Martha was right, the food was good although he was so hungry that he would've eaten it anyway. He'd been running – and flying – on empty so he had quite an appetite, one he hadn't realized he had until he started eating. It did also give him a chance to calm down and clear his head. Martha said she'd already eaten her share so went back to keeping watch at the entrance, he hoped she hadn't been doing that the whole time he'd been out and had gotten some sleep.

"How long was I out?" Scorpius asked curiously and worriedly of Martha.

"I don't know, awhile," Martha answered unhelpfully as she moved back over to him, she must've noticed his scowl, "But it's still the same day if that's what you meant, the attack is still set to happen tomorrow."

"Okay."

"You feeling better now?" Martha wondered and somehow Scorpius didn't think she meant his injuries.

"Yes," Scorpius admitted as he finished off the last of the blackberries, "I'm still a failure though."

"In the Training Tower they tell you that it's only a complete failure if it's a waste, everyone makes mistakes but what matters is that you learn. And never give up."

"Don't worry, I'm not giving up. I'd never give up," Scorpius assured her quite truthfully as he was already thinking ahead.

"Good," Martha said with a smile.

"We know where they'll be, confronting the Shadow Master when he- she" Scorpius had to correct himself as he recalled Leebin's information, someone owed Roman a drink "-attacks. We just need to be there too, if we get there in time hopefully we can get Calderon and Antonius to safety before the Shadow Master attacks. They need the potion to wear off Calderon if they expect him to fight, he can apparate and he's against the plan so leaving should be easier than getting there."

"You're still against the plan then?"

"Yes," Scorpius confirmed seriously, "Calderon doesn't want to fight and he shouldn't be forced to. And Antonius is too wrapped up in this to think straight, I need to bring him to his family then we can worry about finding a way to save him. A way I'm sure is faster if he's not taking on the Shadow Master."

"But if he's already there and the Shadow Master is already there when-"

"If that's the case then maybe we can try it but he has more chance of surviving if we're there to protect him and we get him out of there the second the Scepter leaves her hands," Scorpius shot out irritably, he had zero faith in Florian's plan and he cared much more about saving the Antonius and Calderon. He wanted to bring the boy home, the way no one had done for him, "It just depends on time. Do you think there's enough time to get back to London?"

"Do you think you can fly with your burn?" Martha countered and he nodded.

"My chest was hit not my back so it shouldn't affect my wings. You still want to come?"

"Of course," Martha nodded and stood determinedly, "I'm going to see this through to the bitter end, if you fly fast enough anyway."

"I'll fly fast enough," Scorpius promised, both to her and himself. He would. He had to.

He got up and awkwardly put his shirt back on over his bandaged chest, he felt a bit stiffer and stingy then he would've liked. Regardless, he didn't think it would affect his flying much if at all and wasn't giving up. If he failed at least he would fail trying, not lying pained in a cave. It was if they got there it would be bad, neither he nor Martha would be at the top of their game. Still though, he got ready then transformed – and tried very hard not to cry out in pain at how it aggravated the burn across his chest, it settled down once his form was stable again – and let Martha climb onto his back before taking flight once more.