Gray: Scorpius Malfoy and the Call of the Dark

by Fiery Gray

UNDER EDITING! (II): After the events of last year, Scorpius is reluctant to return to Hogwarts. The Shadows may have lost the battle but they haven't given up the war. The Shadows are after him. Scorpius finds himself with an unlikely ally in his fight against them as he seeks to save two missing boys on top of school. All the while though, the darkness is calling. COMPLETE

6. Chapter 6: Exclude and Seek

Parts (21-25)

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II

Chapter 6

Exclude and Seek

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Part 1: Suspension

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They stalked out of the private room, Brutus kept an arm on Tommy's shoulder to guide the boy and stop him from running off or being distracted by the people. Tommy was wide-eyed with awe as his eyes continued darting round to every inch of the hospital as Brutus steered them towards the exit, his heart still beating frantically in shock over what he'd done but he tried not to think about it, he had to focus on getting Tommy back.

"Why are there words written over these doors, Brutus?" Tommy asked with intense curiosity.

"So people know which ward is which or directions to get the right one, like that one is for people with severe burns and that one is for people suffering from diseases like Dragon Pox," Brutus explained disinterestedly as he gestured to the two closest wards he'd used as examples.

"What's that one for?"

"Isn't Rabastan teaching you to read?"

"Erm... Spell Dam-age... Damage. Spell Damage?"

"Very good."

"I like the sound of that one," Tommy spoke up excitedly as they made it back to the ground floor.

"What one?" Brutus asked as Tommy gestured to a sign.

"Calderon something."

"Cauldron Explosions, not Calderon."

"Oh. I still think Calderon sounds better..." Tommy pointed out before gasping, "Brutus! Those two people are trying to eat each other!"

"That's just kissing."

"Th-They're trying to suck each other souls out?! I thought only Dementors could do that?! Why is no one stopping them?!" Tommy wondered in horror and the couple kissing were abruptly thrown to opposite sides of the room, Brutus grabbed Tommy's arm to get him to the exit faster and finally they were out in the night.

"They weren't sucking each other's souls out, its just a thing that people do that's not the same as what Dementors do."

"Oh. What purpose does it serve then? Is it some kind of torture or attack or magic?"

"No, its just... I'm not explaining it to you either but its not a bad thing," Brutus growled irritably.

Tommy nodded in understanding and said nothing as he went back to taking in their surroundings, his eyes pinging to everything so quickly that Brutus was surprised he was able to take in anything at all. He didn't actually know where they were going as they walked through the muggle streets, he just wanted to clear his head and he didn't think Tommy would mind not going right back to his prison for a bit.

He hadn't spent that much time in muggle streets, not much beyond getting to the entrance to places like St Mungo's or Platform Nine and Three Quarters. After he'd graduated Hogwarts his father had given him his mother's address, or rather the only address his father knew for her which was from her Hogwarts days. It had taken him months to work up the courage to go there and even then he hadn't gotten beyond standing in the street outside, it taken him years to bring himself to actually go knock on the door. He'd discovered all that time standing outside debating what he would say to the woman - if such filth could be called that - who'd abandoned him at birth had been a waste, the house was empty and deserted, it had been for years which he supposed explained the lack of life from the dilapidated place and the twisted overgrown weeds.

There were no weeds there though, it was more like a deserted Diagon Alley at night when the street vendors had all packed away and the shops were mostly closed. Only instead of comforting cobblestones there was just blank stretches of ground and a huge gap in the middle for the multicolored metal boxes the muggles used for transport, some of them were just in the street just left there for no apparent reason but the street where his mother had lived was the same only with houses rather than shops. The stores were all selling stupid useless muggle things, even the clothes looking shops were all weird styles although Tommy looked particularly fascinated by a window with 'Discount Jeans for Sale! 30% Off!' but he pulled him away and kicked some piece of garbage that was lying in the empty street, he shivered as it suddenly seemed to get darker and colder but Tommy seemed unfazed but his expression darkened.

"Don't be so amazed my muggle crap," Brutus chastised the boy.

"Are you in a bad mood over what happened with that healer?" Tommy asked quietly.

"Yes. I think I made a mistake, it was a moment of weakness."

"Valuing life isn't weak."

"Rodolphus told me to kill the healer and I didn't, if he ever finds out then its going to come back to bite me in the ass."

"He won't find out, you erased her memory so she can't tell him and I won't, I promise."

"Well thank you for that," Brutus offered although it didn't make him feel the slightest bit comforted. Then again, going back and finishing her off seemed an even less appealing choice.

"I think you did the right thing," Tommy went on, "she must be a nice person if she helps people and isn't a Death Eater, she doesn't deserve to die. Its good you didn't kill her, Brutus."

"You realize that if she knew you were then she'd turn on you in an instant? Everyone would. She's not that good..."

"Then why didn't you kill her if you thought she was bad?"

"I don't think she was bad, I'm just telling you that you shouldn't think so highly of people. Just because they're not Death Eaters doesn't mean they're not bad, people have treated me like crap my whole life and most of those people weren't Death Eaters," Brutus told him and suppressed another shiver that Tommy seemed oblivious to, "don't be so quick to trust, just because I saved one woman doesn't mean you should view non-Death Eaters as good or it'll bite you in the ass."

"Then why did you save her?"

"Because I wish I was as heartless as people assume," Brutus sighed and brought them to a halt, "come on, I have to take you back before anyone gets suspicious. If anyone asks I apparated us to a graveyard, transfigured the healer into a bone and buried her."

"Okay," Tommy nodded as Brutus apparated them back to Malfoy Manor, Tommy staggered away from him and retched but nothing came out, he probably had nothing to spit up for lack of food, "do you ever get used to being apparated?"

"Eventually," Brutus offered as he opened the door to the basement, the magical enchantments were oddly enough missing, "why-"

"Rodolphus came for the girl, no point having enchantments for an empty room," Narcissa answered before he could even finish his question. Brutus sighed, suddenly wishing he'd taken longer.

"Hello Aunt Narcissa," Tommy greeted her nervously but her blue eyes remained cold towards him.

"Never call me that again," Narcissa told him firmly and a look of hurt crossed his face.

"That's what Mother-" Tommy began but was silenced mid-sentence by Sal's scream, Brutus tried to usher him into the basement before he could freak out magically but it was too late, "not my sister... NO!"

Tommy's cry of 'no' was so high-pitched that Brutus flinched at the irritation it caused his ears, Narcissa's empty cup and saucer exploded and tore through the paper she'd still been reading, Tommy himself seemed to dig his nails into his filthy hair as he squeezed his eyes shut. Explosions echoed all around them as every glass and piece of ceramic in the kitchen shattered explosively, scattering shards across the counters, cupboards vomited up the small triangles of glass mixed with ceramic. The windows cracked and burst outwards, the drapes billowing as a ferocious howling wind battered through them to get into the house, the floorboards curled upwards at the edges.

Brutus actually started to feel a little afraid. The light fixtures were ripped from the ceiling and Narcissa had to jump up to avoid one as it smashed through the kitchen table, it left them in the shadows of the dark dusk. He shivered violently at the cold and then he saw Sal was now scrambling to her feet fearfully in front of him, how had she got there? He hadn't heard a pop signifying apparation, it must have been lost in the noise of the wind. Tommy's magic didn't stop though, the house started shaking like an earthquake. Displacing anything that hadn't been destroyed, Narcissa was knocked off her feet and Brutus had to lean against a wall to stay stable while Sal was slammed against him. Tommy stood firm in the heart of the chaos.

"Do something!" Narcissa shrieked at him over the roaring wind, "before he destroys everything!"

Brutus made a dive for Tommy and apparated them both outside, unwittingly taking Sal too as she'd been forced against him by the quake. He opened his mouth to tell Tommy to calm down but was flung backwards along with Sal, Tommy lay on the grass clutching his head. The ground had stopped shaking but the wind continued, whipping them with so much force it physically hurt.

"Its okay Tommy!" Brutus called to him, "Sal's okay! Stop! Its okay."

Tommy's dark eyes flicked open to meet his for a moment before darting to Sal, he was breathing heavily and seemed to squeeze his hands more into his head but the wind started to die down until there was nothing left but the silent dusk. Brutus shakily got his feet, his whole body was aching painfully. He helped Sal to her feet before going over to help up Tommy, tears squirting from his eyes as he started to sob uncontrollably.

"I'm sorry," Tommy whimpered, "I'm so sorry."

---

Scorpius walked numbly back to Gryffindor Tower, James complaining loudly about unfairly getting suspended for no reason and that Calderon was completely insane or biased or both. Scorpius just didn't say anything, considering he'd gone into the Headmaster's office expecting to be expelled, suspension was actually an improvement. Not that it mattered, Michael had gotten the worst punishment despite having done nothing. They lost a few weeks of school, Michael lost his eye forever.

He was glad to not see his friends as he went to the dormitory, he didn't think he could face them at that moment, he didn't even know if they knew or not. He wasn't actually sure how long they were being suspended for and he did have clothes at home so he was sparing of what he packed, his took the Thestral gloves Molly had given him for sentimental reasons rather than for Quidditch as he certainly wasn't taking his broom. He wondered if they'd be back before the match in November or if Molly would have to replace them or if they'd even be allowed on the team at all, serious offenses usually lost you the privilege but then considering Calderon's lack of interest in Quidditch he probably wouldn't think of it as a punishment.

Then again, would Molly want him on the team after what he'd done to Michael? Would she even still be friends with him? Would Michael? Would any of them? Calderon would barely look at him and he was so disgusted with himself that he didn't want to look at himself either, why would his friends or Professor Ashain want to? What would his parents think?

He supposed he'd find out soon enough and went back to packing, he couldn't blame them for thinking the worst, he didn't deserve friends if all he did was hurt them. He froze in the middle of packing photographs when he got to the picture of his friends after the pillow fight in the first year. Michael was in it. He was smiling with his flawless face, he had rather soft delicate features and identical hazel eyes looked back at him happily as he tossed the handful of feathers into the air. The image was quickly overlapped by the memory of Michael's present condition, the jagged stitched wound and the grotesque eye that would never see again.

And Scorpius had done that to him.

He was crying before he realized it, he buried his face in his hands and threw himself down on the bed as he sobbed. Guilt stained memories swept through his mind, his own voice promising Michael against using the spell and his voice breaking it, Michael's howls of pain. You're a monster, his mind taunted him and he didn't disagree, he'd give anything to take it back. His wrist was burning and he started to spare it a glance only to see the friendship bracelet that Michael had given to him, he cried harder.

"Malfoy?" a voice questioned.

"Go away!" Scorpius shouted through his tears without looking up to see who it was, he just wanted to be alone.

"Your father is here now, you have to go," the person told him and Scorpius realized it was one of his roommates as he'd thought but an adult's voice who he knew well.

He sat upright immediately and a glance confirmed it was Grant, his look filled with loathing. Scorpius hastily wiped his eyes even though it was already far too late to hide the fact he'd been crying from his most hated professor, he stuffed the pictures into his bag quickly but it made him catch sight of Jack's letter. He shoved that into the bag too, not wanting to leave it in case it was found and the information on Varanian's in-laws fell into the Shadow Auror's hands. Maybe it was paranoid but he didn't want to take any chances, he didn't want to be responsible for another disaster. He walked in silence with Grant back to the Headmaster's office, before they'd even entered the room he could hear shouting.

"- He still has one perfectly good eye and Malfoy was the one who injured him anyway!" James was trying to protest over a woman hollering.

"That doesn't make it any better!" the woman was yelling back, "so I suppose its alright that Neville has only one arm?! Or Uncle George only one ear?! The poor boy is only twelve! What were you doing picking fights with children younger than you?! Your father and I raised you better than that, James Sirius Potter!"

The woman didn't stop yelling as they entered, Scorpius saw that as expected it was James' mother, Mrs Potter looking ready to explode with fury while James listened with an irate look. He cast Scorpius an accusing glare which his mother quickly admonished him for as he should 'pay attention when you're being yelled at!' He saw that both his father and James' were there as well, his mother was absent which he took to mean she was staying behind with his grandmother. Oddly enough though, his father and Harry Potter were in conversation with each other when they entered, Calderon looked close enough to be part of their conversation too but he hadn't been speaking but rather staring out the window where a raging storm could be seen. The men stopped their conversation when they arrived though, their expressions were identically unreadable for two who were by all accounts drastically different and not on the best of terms.

Scorpius walked mutely over to them, hoping his eyes were no longer red from crying but he had a feeling that they were. He waited for someone to say something, waited for his father to explode with anger but neither said anything. On the contrary, Potter simply went over to his wife and son to tell them that it was time to go and they'd talk more about it when they were home. James looked somewhat relieved at the reprieve in being yelled at although it vanished under his father's disapproving glare, Mrs Potter looked irked at having been interrupted and was the first to Floo back.

"Aren't you going to yell at me?" Scorpius asked his father.

"Yeah! Yell at him!" James snapped irritably and was immediately chastised by Potter who got his son to go next.

"No, I'm not," his father answered quietly as if James hadn't spoken and he exchanged the briefest of nods with the senior Potter before he Flooed away too, "especially not here."

Scorpius nodded in understanding, for the first time he was actually hoping to get yelled at because he knew he deserved it. His father led him back over to the fireplace and lectured him on how to Floo because it had been awhile since he'd last done it, deciding to go first to make sure Scorpius knew what to do. Scorpius almost protested to this before he realized that it gave him the smallest chance to speak to Calderon, Grant had long since left after all. His father took his bag and Flooed away and Scorpius looked back to the former assistant, Calderon was leaning on the desk with one hand and holding out the other, flexing his fingers as he stared intently at the window with his tired eyes.

"Calderon?" Scorpius questioned and Calderon flicked his dark orbs in his direction, "I'm sorry."

"I know," Calderon said quietly.

"Are you very mad at me?" Scorpius asked instead, biting his lips in dread for Calderon's anger but Calderon actually looked surprised at the question as he shook his head.

"No. Just disappointed. And sad."

Scorpius felt his heart twist painfully as tears threatened his eyes again, disappointment was worse than anger. Much worse. He hung his head and went for a handful of Floo powder, there was nothing else he could say. He had no defense for what he'd done, he'd been in the wrong and he knew it. He threw the powder and followed after his father, stepping out of the fireplace back in Malfoy Manor to find the three Malfoys all waiting for him.

"Oh sweetheart, were you crying?!" his grandmother burst out immediately and rushed over to him, pulling him into a hug and stroking his hair, "you poor, poor baby. You shouldn't be suspended for too long, that Calderon knows you after all."

"That wasn't why I was crying! I deserve to be punished, I hurt my friend, my friend," Scorpius pointed out miserably pulling away.

"I think you've been through enough to serve as punishment for a lifetime."

"He lost an eye, grandmother."

"You lost a lot more. I knew you weren't ready for school."

"No!" Scorpius yelled feeling suddenly angry, "don't use that as an excuse! I'm not ruined, I'm not damaged, I'm completely normal! I did something wrong and I was completely in control of myself and to blame, don't treat me like I wasn't, I-"

"Scorpius go to your room," his father interrupted and tossed him the bag, "just go to your room."

Scorpius stormed off to his room, the place he hadn't expected to be for another few months. He wasn't sure whether this was part of his punishment or his father just hadn't wanted to have that discussion, he hadn't wanted to say anything in case it was a punishment. He curled up on his bed, his tears resuming from where they'd left off and before he knew it he'd cried himself to sleep.

He only realized he'd been asleep because when he opened his eyes he was once more soaked in sweat as well as being in darkness from the late hour. There was a lantern lit beside his bed with a note under it in his mother's handwriting advising him that he had been saved some dinner in case he was hungry, he needed only ask a house-elf to heat it up for him if he woke up.

Scorpius wasn't hungry. He wasn't sleepy though either, he decided instead to pack away the things he'd brought with him for something to do. It was so silent without the snore's of his roommates, his room felt oddly empty. He couldn't help but wonder how things were back in Hogwarts, his friends probably knew by now about what had happened as his absence would have been noticed. He wondered whether Michael had had dinner in the Great Hall or the hospital wing or just not felt like eating at all considering his situation, he didn't know whether Michael would be back in the dormitory or still in the hospital wing either. Wherever he was, Scorpius hoped at the very least that he wasn't in pain from his injury, he'd suffered enough.

Scorpius was once again stopped as he came to the last thing in the bag - or rather the first but he'd just left it to come back to - which was the letter from Michael's dad. He didn't know whether Jack would be aware of what had happened to Michael or not or how he'd react, Michael's mother had probably been made aware of the situation but he wasn't sure on Jack. He didn't think Jack would have been told, Michael's parents weren't together after all and if Jack hadn't even known Michael was a wizard until recently then clearly Hogwarts hadn't kept him up to date before. Although he had been in jail. Still, Scorpius thought they'd only tell the parent that Michael lived with which was his mother meaning Jack was probably in the dark unless the mother had told him.

He blinked in surprise as something dawned on him and veered him away from debating things he couldn't know, what he did know was where Varanian's in-laws lived and now he wasn't at Hogwarts anymore. There was nothing stopping him from trying to find them in order to find Varanian, it was all he had.

---

Part 2: Fathers and Sons

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Brutus left his room, not bothering to make his bed or deal with the dirty laundry because he knew the creepy house-elves would have it done by the time he returned. His felt like he had grit stuck in his eyes from not sleeping, he'd been tossing and turning since news had hit about the entire Depart of Mysteries fiasco and of course, the official return of the Dark Lord. The Wizarding World was officially at war. He'd had a break from his Death Eater duties since the twins' birthday as he wasn't to be involved in moving them to the new location due to his brother's status as an Auror, Rodolphus had just wanted him away until things died down a bit and that day was the end of his vacation.

He reached the kitchen - or one of them anyway - where he was surprised to see his brother already there, standing leaning against one of the counters sipping a mug of something hot. Brutus thought he'd probably just got in, he looked as tired as Brutus felt which bothered him. His usually neatly combed back hair was in disarray and even his clothes had a worn look to them, in fact Brutus was sure they were the same ones he'd been wearing the day before yesterday. Stupid Aurors were determined to push his brother when clearly Atticus couldn't handle it, he was very fragile and forcing him to the brink of exhaustion wouldn't help anyone. Despite being almost twenty-two, Atticus looked young for his age and was frequently asked if he actually was of age much to his immense frustration, Brutus had suggested growing a beard to look older.

"Hey," Atticus greeted him with a tired smile, "sleep well?"

"Better than you I guess," Brutus grunted with a nonchalant shrug as he went to pour himself a drink while the kettle was still hot, "did you sleep at all?"

"No, was up all night working," Atticus told him shaking as his head as Brutus made himself some tea, "I only just got in."

"I figured. You look like crap."

"Thanks," Atticus offered sarcastically.

"When are you back in?"

"Half-nine."

"That's like three hours away!" Brutus burst out incredulously, "can't they get someone else to work and give you a break? Someone more qualified?"

"I'm perfectly qualified!" Atticus snapped angrily and Brutus bit his tongue, that might have been the wrong thing to say, "I passed my training with flying colors and since I was one of the few who knew he was back before everyone did, I'm in higher standing with Mad-Eye and people, they trust me."

"I meant more experienced, you're only twenty-one."

"Nearly twenty-two! If they wanted someone more experienced then they would pick them."

Brutus opened his mouth to make a reply was distracted by the golden eagle that soared in through the open window, he exchanged a look with Atticus as the bird morphed into their father. He looked tired too, his dark chestnut eyes darted around frantically and warily almost in a bird-like way, his eyes were sunken and his skin an unhealthy shade of pale. His wiry frame was covered in a tattered black cloak that he had taken to wearing since being tortured by Death Eaters, at least he'd started leaving his room again.

"I circled the house and it doesn't look like there's anyone waiting to launch an attack," his father informed them seriously as he started to make himself some coffee, pausing constantly to scan the room again, "I'm going with the precarious assumption that we're not in imminent danger at the moment so you can relax. I'm just going to check make sure the house-elves weren't killed while I was gone so they can check to make sure Mother and Father weren't attacked while I was gone, quarter of an our is more than enough time for Death Eaters to penetrate the Mansion and kill them in their sleep, sleep is for suckers who want to be defenseless!"

"Should... Should we be concerned for his sanity?" Atticus asked slowly after their father had left, Brutus scowled after him.

"Probably. But then he has been nuts for years," Brutus answered trying not to sound worried, he actually hadn't been paying that much attention to his family since he'd become a Death Eater even during his recent break beyond noticing Atticus' absence, "does... does he do that paranoid thing often?"

"I don't know, I haven't been around much with work. Don't you know?"

"No, I've been busy with... stuff."

"Would it kill you to keep an eye on him?" Atticus complained in a derogatory tone, "I get that stringing along gold-digging floozies ranks high on your list of priorities but I can't be in two places at once, he's your father too and its not like you're doing anything. Doesn't family matter to you at all?"

"Of course family matters to me!" Brutus snapped angrily, "and I haven't dated anyone in months! And just because I'm not an Auror it doesn't mean you should speak to me like my life is valueless! Doesn't family matter to you?! Do you just not think of father or us when you're too busy being an Auror?!"

"There's a war going on! You may be content to laze around at home and wait for it to be over but it won't be over if some people didn't stand up and fight, I want to help I'm actually doing something useful! What are you doing? Nothing! Is it really hard to spare some time to make sure our father's alright because I can't?"

"Yes you can! Just quit being an Auror!"

"Quit being an Auror?!"

"Yes! Its not like you need the money! There is a war going on and you're just going to get yourself killed if they don't work you to death first!"

"Is that what you think?!" Atticus yelled as he slammed down the mug.

"Yes, its what I think! You're not cut out for this, you don't have what it takes, you're in way over your head and you're just going to get yourself killed like your mother did!" Brutus yelled and tried to reign in his temper, "I'm trying to save your life, listen to me for once! The Death Eaters are bad people, you don't know what they're capable of."

"I know bloody well what Death Eaters are capable of much more than you do! I may have been young but I still remember what it was like during the first war, you were safe here with father but I was in the thick of it with mother, right up until they murdered her. I'd rather die fighting to stop things like that happening again than live knowing I didn't do a damn thing, assuming there would even be a world left to live in."

"Atty-"

"They're still alive, everyone still alive for now," their father interrupted obliviously as he rejoined them, effectively ending their argument before a smile split his face, "you know I was thinking since you're both here for once that we could breakfast together, its been awhile since we did that."

"I have to get some sleep before work," Atticus answered first and their father's face fell, Atticus looked slightly, "I'm sorry."

"How about we all meet back here for dinner then?"

"I have to work."

"I have to be somewhere too," Brutus added guiltily and their father's face fell further as he gazed into the self-stirring cup, "I'm sorry."

"Its quite alright," their father said nodding half to himself.

"I'll try get some time off for your birthday, how about that?" Atty offered and their father nodded again in acknowledgement or maybe just still nodding to himself as he didn't look up, "I'll see you later, I promise."

"I love you, please don't die," their father whispered as Atticus left the room without hearing the barely inaudible voice, "does he know that you're a Death Eater yet?"

"No," Brutus answered equally quietly as he finished his drink, "I have to go too, stuff to do."

"Don't let anything happen to him, protect him."

"I'm trying. Would be easier if he didn't have a death wish."

"He doesn't anymore, he's just dedicated. He's alright now."

"I still worry about him," Brutus admitted as he put down the empty mug, "will you be alright?"

"Yes, yes," his father muttered as his head bobbed up and down more, "I have to check for intruders again and then I'm going to go back to my room where its safe and no one can attack me."

"Well um..." Brutus began but trailed off, not really sure what to say to that, "do whatever makes you feel safe, I'll try make dinner if I can... Take care, Father."

"I love you too, please don't die," his father quietly begged as he left.

---

Scorpius had a plan in place before the sun was up and he just had to hope Jack hadn't heard about Michael or he would need a new plan, he wrote out the letter and owled it while it was still dark. Considering how long Jack had taken to reply last time, it was better he get the bird moving as fast as possible. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't afraid and he felt bad for being so deceptive but he couldn't exactly ask his parents to drop him off at Varanian's in-laws house, on the other hand he was determined it was the only way and it gave him something to focus on other than what he'd done.

It was oddly quiet in the house, his parents never did yell at him for it and seemed to think simply not engaging him in much conversation and sending him to his room was enough punishment. Or maybe they just didn't know what to say to him, how to react to the whole situation. Mostly they just looked sad. His grandmother seemed more vocal than she had been over the summer which he took to be a good sign, even though she fussed over him and worried about his education and didn't seem to hold him the slightest bit accountable.

Jack replied surprisingly quickly, agreeing wholeheartedly with the plan and seeming as oblivious to his son's condition as Scorpius had thought which meant he had to act. He woke up early on the planned Thursday morning, pocketing his wand even if he didn't expect to be able to use it but he liked having it just in case before creeping downstairs. Even though his family were still asleep, the house-elves were already working on making breakfast like they did every day but there was only one who he could trust.

"Yip, can I talk to you?" Scorpius asked of his house-elf friend.

"Of course, Master Scorpius," Yip agreed cheerfully without stopping mixing eggs.

"In private," Scorpius added and Yip cocked his head to one side curiously before nodding, following Scorpius out of the kitchen, "I need you to apparate me to the Rainbowside Lodge in Plymouth. And cover for me so my family don't find out."

"I don't think I'm allowed to do that," Yip said slowly looking worried, "why would you even want to do such a thing?"

"Its important. Please."

"I don't wish anything bad to happen to you, its for your own safety that you remain here not in a muggle place."

"I'm meeting someone, its not like I'm wandering off alone. You can meet him if you want, see for yourself that I'm in good hands," Scorpius pleaded, "I'll only be gone for the day, you can pick me up at seven from there and if I'm not back then you can come looking for me or tell my parents or whatever you want. Please, Yip, I'm asking you as my friend not as a slave to my family."

"Well..." Yip began but trailed off, seeming to be debating the issue over in his mind for what felt like the longest of times, "I get to meet the person that you're meeting, right?"

"Of course."

"Well... alright, Master Scorpius since we're friends but if I don't see you there at seven then I am going to hunt this fellow to the ends of the Earth. May I ask what this mysterious errand is?"

"I'm sorry but I can't tell you."

Yip started to nod in understanding and he'd taken Scorpius' hand before he'd realized it, Yip snapped his free fingers and in flash Scorpius found himself standing in a gloomy street. There was hardly no one about due to the early hour, the morning was grim and dark, the street small and crammed with muggle transport vehicles. The Rainbowside Lodge was a bad name for the place, the multicolored paint was peeling off the letters and the 'R' was dangling upside down, the 'b' was missing completely. The dark brick was chipped and cracked, the bars on the windows made it seem more like a prison than somewhere people willing stayed the night. Yip cast him a disapproving look, disparaging of the dank place.

"Just a second, we're a few minutes early," Scorpius whispered and Yip fidgeted, probably uncomfortable at being out in the open in a muggle place. They didn't have to wait long however as Jack came out a few minutes after that, dressed in the same leather jacket as before with leather pants to match this time and boots, "Jack!"

"Hey," Jack greeted him as he noticed him before his jaw dropped at seeing Yip, "wow, what is that thing? That the little elf thing you mentioned?"

"I am Yip the house-elf," Yip announced proudly.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Don't you have a little elf hat? In the movies elves always have little hats with jingle bells on it, I expected a little elf hat."

"We don't have those."

"Well you should get them, you'd look cute. And you'd jingle."

"You can go now, Yip, thank you for this. I owe you one," Scorpius intervened before Jack could say something badly offensive, "see you here at seven, I'll wait in that little dead end alley just there with Jack so there's less chance of you being seen."

"Are you sure you really have to do this?" Yip asked him pleadingly and Scorpius nodded, Yip snapped his fingers again and was gone without another word.

"Magic is awesome," Jack stated gazing in amazement at the spot that Yip had been standing, coming over and waving his hand through the empty air, "I can't wait until I get magical powers."

"You're either born magical or you're not," Scorpius pointed out.

"Yeah, yeah, keep believing that," Jack brushed it off and went over to a motorcycle that looked out of place in the dingy street because of its pristine condition, every shade of blue on it was crystal clear. There was a leather jacket thrown across the seat and two full face helmets, Jack tossed him the jacket and grinned, "ever been on one of these before?"

"N-No. Can't we just..." Scorpius stammered awkwardly, he'd never thought motorcycles looked very safe but he trailed off for realizing he'd about to stupidly say apparate or Floo, did muggles really only have only lame ways of traveling? "walk?"

"Nope, the Embry's live away a ways. I ain't walking that far or we'll be here all day and I'd rather jump in front of a bus then use one, riding is way quicker and way funner. You'll like it if you give it a chance, you're in good hands with this baby, she wouldn't let anything happen to you. Now put on the jacket, its for your protection and good against the wind."

"Did-Did you just refer to your motorcycle as a she?" Scorpius wondered in confusion as he pulled on the leather jacket, that he actually didn't mind it so much.

"Damn straight," Jack said firmly as he handed him the smaller of the two helmets, "now this is a sport bike so I have to lean forwards quite a bit so just keep your arms around my waist and hold on tight."

"What?! I'm not doing-"

"You want my help you can do it my way, I didn't have to put time, effort and money into helping you but I am because I'm a good person. And you owe me again, wizard boy," Jack interrupted as he pulled on some gloves from his pocket and finally picked up his helmet, his grin back in place as he winked, "it'll be fun, if Mikey can do it then surely you can."

Scorpius swallowed nervously, he thought he was having the exact opposite of fun but Jack did have a point about his help and especially after what he'd done to Michael, he should be complaining. Jack told him about where to put his feet before putting on his helmet, decoratively patterned with thorns, and helped Scorpius with his. Scorpius was still filled with dread as he climbed onto the back and wrapped his arms around Jack's waist, feeling foolish and uncomfortable being in such close proximity to a muggle man.

Scorpius felt his heart beat faster as Jack made that horrible revving sound, beginning to doubt his whole plan. He was alone in a muggle place miles from home, with a muggle man he barely knew or trusted, on his way to see two more muggles who may or may not be able to help him find a fugitive marked for death and about to go on a muggle contraption that might possibly kill him. Maybe he'd been so focused on trying to take his mind of his guilt over hurting Michael that he had missed a fatal flaw in his plan - that it was insane.

He screamed as the bike sped off, the sound muffled to his own ears. They were zooming through the streets, weaving in and out of the barren streets, weaving past the few cars there were. It took Scorpius a few minutes to realize he was actually enjoying it, he wasn't sure how fast Jack was going - or even if they were supposed to be going that fast - but he liked it. It was sort of like flying only on the ground, the wind whipped past him as they soared through the roads. Scorpius was actually disappointed when they stopped.

"Okay so I figured we could get some breakfast first, odds are the Embry's aren't even up yet," Jack commented as they dismounted the bike and removed their helmets, Scorpius was tempted to suggest just riding around on the bike to kill time but decided against it. Jack was actually being logical.

Scorpius followed him inside the building they'd stopped outside of, a 'McDonalds' from the sign. There was hardly anyone inside, a handful of people that seemed to be scattered around in the corners but Jack strode confidently over to the ordering counter and Scorpius stuck fearfully close by his side. Feeling afraid again, did any of the muggles in there want to hurt him? Would they attack? He clutched the wand in his pocket desperately, it made him feel slightly comforted while Jack flirted with the woman taking their order, whatever he'd said had made her giggle. Jack stopped only to ask him what he wanted but Scorpius just asked for whatever, Scorpius was relieved when they left with their order for the furthest table away from the other customers. Scorpius had some kind of edible breakfast thing that would have been alright if not for the disgusting slab of cheese and a milkshake, Jack seemed to have the same.

"So what did you think of riding a motorcycle?" Jack asked conversationally.

"I want one of those," Scorpius admitted and Jack laughed.

"Told ya. They're fast and fun and much safer than cars, sexier too. Cars are killers, let me tell you."

"Do you actually know anyone who died in a car crash?"

"My mum," Jack said immediately and Scorpius was caught off guard, he hadn't expected Jack to say anyone let alone so close to him but then he didn't know a lot about cars or how often people died in them, "when I was two."

"I'm sorry."

"Its okay," Jack shrugged it off, "shit happens. Seriously though, be wary of cars because people can die or get hurt. Y'know Mikey's been in three car crashes? Don't think his stepdaddy dumbass Bob is a good driver because he was driving every time and the lucky sod got off without a scratch every time but Mikey got broken bones. Its not the drivers who get slammed because they got airbags, its the passengers who are in the firing line so if you're ever in a car make sure you're the one behind the wheel."

"I'll bear that in mind."

"Good... So, how's Mikey?"

"Why don't you ask him yourself?" Scorpius wondered, not wanting to have to tell Jack about what he'd done to his son but Jack sighed.

"We don't exactly have the best relationship, he pretty much hates me I think, especially since Crystal married that ass. You want my advice? Never cheat on a pregnant woman because one stupid drunk mistake and not only will the girl hate you forever but the kid will too. Besides, his writing is illegible."

"You cheated on Michael's mother while she was pregnant with him?"

"Yeah. Its not like I'm proud of it, in fact I regret it more than anything else I've ever done and that is saying a lot which is why my advice to you is don't do it."

"I wasn't planning on it."

"Good... So, how's Mikey?"

"Didn't you already ask me that?"

"You didn't give me an answer," Jack pointed out as he finished his food and leaned back lazily in his chair, his piercing eyes not leaving Scorpius' face, "I know changing the subject when I see it. Did something happen?"

"I-I don't know if its my place to say," Scorpius answered with a sinking feeling, he definitely hadn't thought it all the way through.

"Tell me," Jack commanded and Scorpius shifted in his seat, afraid if he told him that Jack would just leave him there stranded, "I know I'm not the perfect dad but I do care about him, look I keep this picture with me all the time, it was taken the day he was born. Never good with dates but I was there, barely in time because he was born so quick and less than an hour later he would have been born the next day. If something happened to him then you should tell me because I have a right to know."

Jack took out his wallet as he spoke and removed a small unmoving muggle photograph to show him, like Jack had said it was a tiny baby - presumably Michael - being held by someone who wasn't visible in the picture beyond hands. He was wrapped in a white blanket with his little hand curled around the edge, his eyes were half open. His perfectly intact undamaged eyes on his perfectly intact unscarred face, unknowing what his friend would do to him in the future. The guilt was like a punch to the gut.

"Not now. I'll tell you once we get to the Embry's," Scorpius whispered hopelessly and Jack looked concerned, "I promise."

---

Part 3: A Different House

---

Brutus left the mansion, you needed to be off Ashain grounds to be able to apparate which he did. Malfoy Manor had no such protection, or at least it had been removed so the Death Eaters had easy access. Not that they were using the manor as much since Lucius Malfoy's incarceration and the son's return from Hogwarts but he'd been told to go there so he could be taken to the new location. Sure enough, Rodolphus Lestrange was waiting for him, leaning against the wall in the hallway with his arms folded and a dark expression.

"You know what's interesting?" Rodolphus commented icily.

"I'm on time," Brutus growled in complaint, "early in fact."

"Not that. I was talking about the news recently, or rather lack of news. You see, I was looking forward to reading about a healer disappearing from St Mungo's on June 6th or better yet, the discovery of a corpse but there's been nothing. Do you know why?"

"Because there's bigger things going on than some stupid healer?"

"Because you didn't kill any healer!" Rodolphus roared with sudden fury and Brutus jumped, "I told you to kill the healer who treated him!"

"I erased her memory, its just as good... and draws less suspicion!" Brutus protested defensively.

"Memory charms can be broken! The dead can't be raised!" Rodolphus snapped and drew his wand, Brutus' eyes bulged fearfully. They wouldn't really kill him for that... would they? "if I tell you to kill someone then you bloody well kill them, there's no place for weakness in the ranks of the Death Eaters!"

"Are... Are you going to kill me?"

"If I was going to kill you then I would only do so after forcing you to peel the flesh from your own family's bodies first and make you watch as they died in agony! What's the healer's name?!"

"The healer?"

"Who treated Tommy! So we can go to her house and take her out!"

"Erm..." Brutus answered awkward while the woman's name popped into his mind: Avlyn McCallister but it didn't leave his lopsided lips, "she didn't say."

"Well what did she look like then?!"

"I don't know, like a woman?" Brutus offered unhelpfully, unwilling to give up someone to death.

"Crucio!" Rodolphus yelled flicking his wand at him and a jet of unstoppable red light hit him. It felt like thousands of burning knives were boring through his bones, he could hear himself screaming and if possible the pain only intensified the longer it went it on. And then abruptly it stopped. Brutus didn't remember falling but he was on the ground when the pain stopped, breathing heavily as his body treacherously trembled, "did that refresh your memory on the elusive healer's appearance?"

"I... don't... remember," Brutus lied as his mind was flooded with details of her appearance but he was damned if he was going to tell Rodolphus after being tortured. Was that really what he put Tommy though every day? "I swear. I was focused on making sure Tommy got healed and we weren't interrupted, not what some woman looked like."

"Really?"

"Yes! If I remembered don't you think that I would tell you?!" Brutus barked and Rodolphus peered at him as if debating this for a moment, Brutus tensed fearfully as the wand in Rodolphus twitched before lowering and his mind breathed a sigh of relief.

"Yes I think you would," Rodolphus admitted as Brutus cautiously started to get to his feet, had he actually got away with it? "if you're too weak to kill then you're obviously too weak to resist torture, especially by my hand. I'm particularly adept at it. We'll just have to hope your memory charm holds or I'll do a lot worse than that, do you understand?"

"Yes, sir."

"I prefer master."

"Yes, Master."

"Good. We'll deal with your reluctance to kill at some point but for now to the twins, we've wasted enough time on this," Rodolphus offered with a smirk and abruptly grabbed his shoulder, apparating them both away.

---

Scorpius thought Jack was noticeably quiet as they left the McDonalds, probably anxious over what had happened to his son. Despite that, Scorpius still found himself loving the motorcycle ride and thought he might overlook his dislike of muggles long enough to get one for himself one when he was older and everything was alright. His laugh at the ludicrous thought that someday things being 'alright' was muffled by the helmet but he still laughed, until they came to a stop.

Penrose Street was much nicer than the street he'd met Jack on, it was houses rather than multistory buildings. The detached red brick houses all looked very neat with their little fences and gardens out the front, the sunlight was streaking its dazzling light across the multicolored leaves on the trees in some of the front yards, shades of red, orange and gold because of the season. It didn't provide much warmth but it was much easier on the eyes than the grim place where Jack was staying.

The street started at a right angled bend after the first two houses meaning the Emrby household was the first of the row at the corner, there was a short red brick wall surrounding the shortly cut lawn with a white trim. Either side of the spindly black gate which had a '3' build into the design the wall heightened, an intricate stone flower was crafted on the top of either side that looked magically made. On the right side there was a huge weeping willow that obscured his view of the house and dripped some of the trailing leaves over the side of the wall.

"So what happened to Mikey?" Jack asked as soon as they'd dismounted and removed their helmets, Scorpius sighed and looked away from him.

"There's this older kid that picks on us and I was dueling him, he was winning and I was mad so... so I tried to use this nasty spell on him," Scorpius told him, still without looking.

"Good on you."

"Michael was there, he didn't want us to fight."

"He's a pacifist like that."

"Yes he is but he... he jumped in the way of the spell to protect the other kid and he got hurt instead. It struck him across the eye, he can't see with it anymore and he has a horrible wound. That's why I got suspended and I just came from home rather than school."

"Yeah but its magic right, they can't just wave their magic wands and fix him?"

"No. Trying to heal it magically just makes it worse, the bully tried it and it hurt Michael worse."

"They can't do anything?" Jack wondered sounding worried for the first time since he'd asked what had happened, "can't they magic him up a new one?"

"They might be able to give him a magic eye, I think they can do that," Scorpius answered and for the first time realized it was true, they were expensive though he was sure but he didn't think his family would mind paying for it. Maybe things weren't so hopeless after all, he'd still have a scar though but it might not be so bad. He brought his head back up at Jack, his mouth opened and closed a few times as if trying to think of something to say while his expression flickered between anger, sadness and an unreadable expression.

"I need a drink," Jack said finally and pulled the helmet back on as he straddled the bike once more, Scorpius started to cry out for him to wake but it was lost in the rev of the engine as he sped away.

Scorpius swallowed fearfully, now he was alone in a muggle neighborhood. Memories of his abuse at the hands of the muggles filtered into his mind as he eyed the seeming innocuous houses, half-expecting for the doors to burst open and find himself swarmed by muggles trying to imprison him now that his protector was gone. He gripped the wand in his pocket and felt stronger, if the worst came to the worst he could risk expulsion to defend himself, he'd overcome his fears before, he could handle it. If he couldn't handle being alone in a muggle street then how was he supposed to help Varanian stop the Shadows?

He pushed past his fear and strode over to the gateway to the Embry's house, unlatching the lock manually and coming into the neat little yard. There was a quaint little path leading up to the white door in the center, two beds of multicolored lined the front of the house and the rest was all lawn except for the tree. He went over to the door and pressed the doorbell, jumping as it played a tune instead of simply going 'ding-dong' like the one at Marvin's house, the tune sounded oddly bittersweet and incredibly ominous considering he was willing going to muggles. What was he thinking? What as to stop them from holding him prisoner? He forced himself to stay calm as he saw a silhouette through the stained glass window on the door, he clung to his wand like his life depended on it as the door was opened by a woman.

Scorpius was immediately reminded of the woman in the pictures that he'd seen in Varanian's room the year before, only much older and without dark curly hair as hers was white and wavy, tied back in a loose bun. She peered at him from her ovular spectacles and smiled kindly at him.

"Can I help you, dear?" the woman asked gently.

"Are-Are you Gail Glenda Embry married to Richard David Embry?" Scorpius blurted out nervously and the woman's look became somewhere between concerned and curious.

"Yes I am, and you would you be?"

"Scorpius. Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy. Can I come in?"

"Sure," Mrs Embry agreed and moved aside to allow Scorpius entry into the narrow but cosy entrance hall, gesturing for her to follow him into a sitting room.

Scorpius realized he was in the right place immediately, the cabinets and bookshelves lining the walls were scattered with pictures and he saw Varanian in more than one. In fact he was sure some of them were the same as the ones he'd seen in Varanian's room, except they were frozen and unmoving. There was different ones too though, plenty with children with dark curly hair, the older black and white ones seemed to be Ethel as the happy little girl and the newer colored ones had to be Varanian and Ethel's children. Although new was relative, they had been dead about for over two decades.

There was a man in there sitting reading a book that he put down when he saw them, he too was older with curly gray hair laced with a few stubborn strands of dark, his dark eyes twinkled with curiosity as he raised an eyebrow at them. He and Mrs Embry featured in the pictures too, younger versions of them with the color in their hair. Presumably-Ethel was the living image of her mother for facial features only she had inherited her father's hair, both of her parents had brown eyes as she did.

"This is Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy, some sort of wizard child," Mrs Embry said to the man, drawing Scorpius back to present and he blinked in surprise.

"How do you know I'm a wizard?" Scorpius wondered, he didn't think he looked too out of place and he was still wearing the muggle leather jacket after all.

"Just... everything."

"So what can we do for you, son?" Mr Embry - presumably him anyway - asked.

"I'm not your son," Scorpius snapped before he could stop himself and tried to sound less abrasive, "I need your help. I have to find Varanian."

"Never heard of him."

"Weird how you have pictures of him then," Scorpius pointed out gesturing to the nearest photograph that had Varanian in it - which happened to be their wedding photo - with his wand because he'd still been clutching it, "he was married to your daughter."

"And our daughter died a long time ago, we haven't seen Pip since," Mrs Embry told him as she went over to the golden couch her husband was sitting on, perching herself on the edge of the armrest and folding her arms, "sorry but we can't help you."

"I know you're lying. I spoke to Varanian recently and he said you'd been helping him."

"Why don't you start from why you want to find Pip and why we should help you?" Mr Embry asked him calmly.

"I... Okay fair question," Scorpius admitted lowering the wand he had been unwittingly brandishing but he kept it in his hands, "I don't know how much you know but I'm on his side, I need to talk to him about the whole situation. Just take me to him, he knows who I am."

"Does he?" Mrs Embry wondered exchanging a long look with her husband.

"Yes he does, he would want to speak to me. I think."

"Well wait here," Mr Embry offered as he got up and left, Scorpius shifted impatiently and nervously.

"Would you like something to drink?" Mrs Embry said politely and Scorpius' heart twisted in terror as he remembered what had happened last time a muggle had offered him something to drink, he violently shook his head, "well would you like to sit down at least?"

"I'm good," Scorpius pointed out, not feeling like giving up the advantage of being able to run if something went wrong or they attacked him. Old people could be bad too, like Linden. She wasn't sitting either. His eyes drifted back to the photographs for something to look at, a reminder of them being connected to Varanian made him feel a bit more at ease. The silence stretched uncomfortably and he had the urge to break it, "so... have you known Varanian long?"

"Yes. Our daughter, Ethel, introduced him to us at the end of her first year when we picked up at the platform, had been hearing about him since the first week though because they were thick as thieves since they met. He was practically living here by the time they graduated, married right out of Hogwarts on Pip's eighteen birthday in July. They moved out then, started a family a year later."

"And then they died," Scorpius said quietly and Mrs Embry only nodded solemnly. Silence fell again although at least now she was staring at the photographs rather than at him, he still felt obligated to break it, "what was Varanian like when he was young?"

"The word cocky comes to mind," Mrs Embry offered after a moment's thought, "he wasn't so bad when you get to know him."

"Why are you helping him? He's not really related to you and you could be in danger from knowing where he is."

"Because its the right thing to do," Mrs Embry shrugged, "he was the man our daughter loved and the father of our grandchildren, nothing can change that. I believe in the afterlife, I believe they're watching over us and I dread to think what they would say if we turned our backs. He would do the same for us without a second thought."

"Alright," Mr Embry announced as he returned, "you have to go now, Mr Malfoy. Just walk forwards from our front door and don't stop until you reach the end of the street."

"What? I thought you were going to take me to Varanian," Scorpius protested but Mr Embry only gestured him towards the door.

"Just walk."

Scorpius scowled as he went to the front door that Mr Embry opened for him, he headed out feeling apprehensive. Was it some kind of test? Or some kind of trap? Was it a muggle way of politely refusing to help him? Or did they just want him out of the house to contact Varanian or go to him to discuss it? Why was he walking up a muggle street?! Was he supposed to come back when he got to the end of the street or what? He sighed miserably and carried on walking up the road, feeling like an idiot. He definitely needed to think things through more.

Abruptly a scarred hand shot out from behind one of the parked cars and grabbed him, Scorpius started to cry out fearfully but he was yanked back so he could see who the hand belonged to. Varanian. He relaxed immediately and opened his mouth to express his relief only to find himself being apparated.

---

Brutus was given a quick tour of the house which he wouldn't have minded if his legs would stop shaking, it didn't take long though because the house was not a mansion but a house, only a few rooms bigger then the box his friend lived in. Despite the size there actually seemed to be more Death Eaters around though, he didn't know whether it was because of the heavy effort to recruit or because they had more free reign to bring in whoever without Narcissa complaining about it. Either way, he didn't like it as he got some disgusted looks from the people he didn't know. And from the people he did know. He hated it.

Rodolphus took Tommy away to be 'trained' and Brutus felt a renewed sympathy, it was no wonder the poor kid was nuts when he had to endure that every single day. He went down into the basement where the twins would have to stay, naturally. It was a lot smaller than the Malfoy's and extremely empty, there was no junk or treasure or pictures. In fact there wasn't even a bed, just four concrete walls and the wooden steps leading downwards. There was a window though, an extremely small window that was too high up anyone to see out of but rays of sunlight were dancing through it to illuminate the emptiness.

Brutus shivered violently despite the sunlight as he came down the steps and sat down on the lowest one to rest his shaking legs, he glanced across at Sal who was standing in the center of the room staring into the shadows. Her hair was longer than when he'd first met her, meeting her shoulders although it was as filthy and matted as ever but it hadn't been cut back like Tommy's had.

"Hey," Brutus called out after a minute of not being greeted as he usually was.

"Hey," Sal said expressionlessly before glancing to him, revealing a black eye but she smiled as she came over and sat on the step beside him, "welcome to the new prison. Its very empty."

"What happened to your eye?"

"Rodolphus hit me."

"Why?"

"Because we tried to do magic without him, we thought if we erased our memories of Azkaban then we would be able to do magic normally like they wanted."

"And it didn't work?"

"It didn't just not work, it backfired and now we can't forget. Rodolphus tried to reverse it and couldn't so he got angry, punched me in the eye and beat Tommy," Sal explained, "I hate him."

"So do I," Brutus admitted clenching his fists angrily, Rodolphus shouldn't have any right to treat them like that.

He gazed into the darkness but his thoughts were drawn away from Rodolphus as he wondered, why was it so dark with sunlight? He at the shadows while Sal sat silently beside him before he realized something off about the shadows, they weren't just shadows, they were shaped like people. But not like him and Sal sitting on the steps, like people standing up staring at them. It struck him that they were staring at them, where the shadow head shape was there were two pitch black holes where eyes would be if they weren't just shadows. He jumped back in shock and drew his wand, Sal just raised an eyebrow at him.

"What's wrong?" Sal questioned curiously.

"Get back, those aren't real shadows, they have eyes," Brutus barked and hauled her further back up the steps with him, not sure how to tackle shadows, he'd never heard of that before.

"I know," Sal pointed out and Brutus turned away from them to look at her in confusion but she looked completely unfazed, "you never noticed them before?"

"No!"

"They're always down here, people just don't notice them I guess," Sal shrugged and Brutus glanced back to see they were gone, he scowled and stared into the darkness only to notice them again, "or just don't care."

"What the hell are those things?!" Brutus demanded, hoping he didn't sound as afraid as he felt.

"You don't know?"

"Of course I don't know!"

"I know something you don't? The novelty," Sal commented cheerfully with a sly smile, seeming to relish knowing something he didn't for a change or possibly because of what they were, "honestly, Brutus, they're just shadows... Shadows of Dementors."

---

Part 4: Basement Brooding

---

"Shadows of Dementors?" Brutus repeated dubiously.

"Yes," Sal told him still smiling, "why? Didn't you know Dementors have shadows?"

"Shadows don't have eyes."

"They do when they come from Dementors, you can make them break away from the Dementor and then they just follow you around, they become more like your shadows. I like shadows, they follow you around so its like you're their master," Sal said as she reached out to hold his hand, Brutus jerked his hand away frustratedly from her cold bony fingers, "I'll be a good master."

"What have I told you about holding my hand?!" Brutus snapped and Sal just shot him a disinterested look, "how do they break away from the Dementors? Shadows can't do that."

"Maybe not normal shadows but these ones can. They won't hurt you, Brutus, don't be afraid."

"I'm not afraid!"

"Then why are you still standing and aiming your wand at the shadows?"

"Make them go away," Brutus pleaded and Sal looked at him like he'd seen the strangest thing in the world before laughing, a strange awkward laugh like she'd never laughed before.

"Shadows follow you, not go off on their own. Shadows need a master. If they don't have one then they could hurt you, Brutus, then you should be afraid."

"I don't understand."

"Dementors feed off happiness and their Shadows want the opposite, they feed off suffering. The Dementor sucks out the happiness and its Shadow thrives off the pain and suffering left in the victim, no one ever notices the Shadow. People don't realize either the purpose behind the Dementor's Kiss, its the most painful thing anyone can endure and the Shadows want that more than anything, they crave the pain of the victim's soul so when the Dementor sucks it out they tear it apart until there's nothing left but people only see or care about the shell left behind where a person once lived.

"Dementors show restraint for the Ministry because they get a good haul off the prisoners but they are greedy, they didn't tell the Ministry about us because they didn't think they'd be allowed to have the two extra victims if they did and if the Dementors knew a prisoner was close to death then they would take their soul as they died rather than letting them move on. I don't know if the Ministry knows or not, whether they turn a blind eye so the Dementors will keep guard, encourage it because they believe prisoners deserve it or simply too moronic to realize it. Either way though, its bad and those are the people who run our world?

"You can free the Shadows from the Dementors, they get new ones after awhile and bind them to you instead, they only feed off of your suffering then and thanks to the Masters like Uncle Lucius and Rodolphus we suffer a lot so they have plenty to feed from. If you tried to make them go off on their own then there's no one to stop them from just tearing souls apart, it happened before so believe me if they were free then they'd be more likely to hurt you. You have nothing to fear from the Shadows down here."

"Is that why its always cold?"

"You think its always cold?"

"No," Brutus lied, it sounded stupid if he was the only one who felt it and he felt even less safe if what Sal said was true. Or she could just be mad and making things up to scare him, that was what the other Death Eaters would say, "have you told anyone else about them?"

"Why would I do that? No one would believe us or care. Besides like I said, they're not a threat right now."

"Sal, dragons could eat you, rip you apart, crush you to death or light you on fire with their breathe. If one was asleep then it still wouldn't be a good idea to stand next to it."

"Brutus, you're completely safe with the Shadows. They haven't hurt you in all the months you've been guarding us, have they?" Sal asked tilting her head to one side.

"Well no," Brutus admitted but still felt no better, "but that doesn't make them safe."

"Well I couldn't get rid of them, even I wanted to so either get used it or tell someone and hope they believe you."

Brutus stood their for a long moment debating it, he could tell Rodolphus and maybe Rodolphus would know how to deal with it and get rid of the Shadows. Or more likely, he would laugh, call Brutus a liar and torture him again. Brutus would really rather avoid that. Slowly he sat back down at the top of the steps, he would look into the matter himself via the library at home and hope he found something. There had to be something. He shivered.

---

"Why aren't you in school?!" Varanian demanded disapprovingly almost the second they'd materialized, he was dressed in muggle clothes again, "didn't you listen to me when I said the Shadows were after you?! And don't go near my in-laws, are you trying to get them killed?"

"I got suspended," Scorpius told him trying to risk a glance to see where they were but there didn't seem to be any buildings.

"Why?!"

"I was dueling with-"

"Fine," Varanian interrupted holding up his hand to silence him, looking thoughtful for a moment as he glanced their surroundings which consisted of empty fields and a scattering of trees. He sighed, "alright, Scorpius, I'm going to trust you. This is where I've been hiding out."

Scorpius scowled in confusion at their desolate surroundings, wondering if Varanian was sleeping out in the cold before the former headmaster pointed. Out of nowhere a building started to appear, battered gray stone walls started forming in front of him with windows either devoid of glass or boarded up, the only one not was shattered. It was a large building, towering menacingly above them and blocking out the sun, wide too and seemed to bow in the middle, bits of the roof were missing and you could see the rotted skeletal frame in places. It made him think oddly of a demented grinning face with most of its teeth punched out.

"You're staying here?" Scorpius wondered as he stared at the decrepit derelict building that Varanian had proceeded to steer him towards, up close he saw monstrous the cracks in the filthy stone, "in an invisible wreck?"

"Its not just invisible, I used the Fidelius Charm to hide its location. Its unplottable, intangible and soundproof. Except to me and now you too. You won't be able to tell anyone though, even if you want to unless I die, then you'll be the prime Secret-Keeper," Varanian explained, "and yes, I know it looks like a wreck but magically I've made sure its structurally sound and not dangerous. Because of their careers I asked my in-laws for a list of inhabited or abandoned places I could stay at, I chose this one because it was one of the most isolated and less structurally sound so if anyone found the destroyed list they wouldn't think I'd go for it."

"Why does it matter with the Fidelius Charm?"

"Because I wasn't sure I could cast it until I did, its complex and powerful magic. I couldn't do it twenty years ago, if I could've then I wouldn't be in this situation."

Scorpius nodded in understanding as they went inside the deeply dilapidated building, it wasn't any better inside where the dank reek of mold greet him. The floral wallpaper was so faded you could barely recognize the pattern and that was in places where it wasn't peeled almost completely off the walls, the floorboards were coated in an inch deep film of dust and even if Varanian hadn't been leading him then Scorpius would have known the way to go from the trail of dark footprints.

"This is the other reason I chose this place," Varanian offered as he came to a halt at the end of the trail of footprints in one of the desolate reception rooms.

Scorpius noticed there was a thin doorstep or random piece of wood lying there but didn't see why it would be a reason for choosing it. Varanian crouched down and grabbed the piece of wood, lifting it up as he stood and to Scorpius' surprise, the floor lifted up too or at least a square of it. It was a trapdoor. Varanian stepped back revealing stone steps leading down into the darkness, he gestured for Scorpius to go down first.

Scorpius crept down the steps, finding it immediately cooler and devoid of the awful mold smell. There was a solid concrete wall to his right and a metallic railing to his left going along the steps, it was dark ahead of him but to the left seemed to the area Varanian was occupying. The only source of light in the room came from a lantern on a long spindly table pressed against the wall opposite the steps but further to the left, Scorpius went over to it and saw there was an odd selection of wands on the table scattered amongst photographs of Varanian's family, the same ones he'd seen in Varanian's room the previous year as well as en empty glass. The walls were solid gray slabs of concrete with an odd assortment of cracks and scorch marks in them that he could see from the light.

The table was pressed up against a small camp bed that was wedged in the corner, the pillow looked flat and the green blanket thin and scratchy. It was only when Scorpius turned around that he saw evidence of Varanian working, there were boards positioned randomly around the illuminated area and every inch of them was covered in bits of paper; newspaper clippings about Shadow attacks, handwritten notes, maps, pictures of objects, pictures of people, lists of names.

"Wow," Scorpius said as he studied the boards.

"Its my research on the Shadows and everything," Varanian explained as he came over to stand beside him, "I did have it on the walls but it was distracting me from sleeping at night."

"Did you find out anything useful?"

"Depends on your definition of 'useful' really. I haven't figured out where the Shadow Master is or who the Shadow Master is yet but I've found out other things."

"Like what? And why do you have so many wands?"

"Well I figured out why Shadow-inflicted injures don't respond to healing even with spells that normally would and its to do with the wands. One of the times the Shadows attacked me, I got struck in the arm with a curse that injured me a bit, just a nasty gash really and I still disarmed him and got away. But when I tried to heal with it some potions it didn't work, I don't know that much about healing admittedly but I know that spell should have been able to be healed and I know that potion was good.

"But it got me thinking about the whole thing, the head healer who treated the staff injured in the Hogwarts attack claims of that some of the spells used were ones that should have been able to be healed and the papers slandered him as incompetent and insane for awhile until St Mungo's healers started agreeing with him then they just shut up about it. You can't change a spell, you can make up new ones but not change the purpose of existing ones. So if its not the spell then what else could it be?"

"The wand?" Scorpius guessed considering Varanian had mentioned wands a few moments ago.

"Yes, exactly. I studied wandlore for awhile so I do know something about it, I disarmed some of my Shadow attackers and just took their wands, I discovered this," Varanian told him as he took out his wand from the table and aimed it at the wall, saying an incantation and a crack appeared that he then repaired with another spell. He picked up a wand from the table and did the same thing, an even larger crack appeared but it didn't repair with the second spell, not even when Varanian went back to using the first wand, "the first wand was normal and the second was one I swiped from the Shadows, the damage can't be undone even with a normal wand. Its like that with all spells I've tried and more than that, the spells are also more powerful without trying. There's a taint in the wands the Shadows use, polluting the wand to every spell that comes through it is as effective as possible. And by effective I mean can do the most irreversible damage. All wands are different but I stole some with the same length, core and wandwood as the ones I took to make for a more accurate comparison and got the same result."

"You stole from Ollivanders?!"

"I didn't have a choice! I'm a fugitive, I can't access my account at Gringotts to get any money. Its Auror protocol to cut you off from your funds, if you have a vault then they tell Gringotts to deny access to anyone who comes for it and contact them immediately. I'll be more than happy to reimburse Mr Ollivander when my name is cleared and I can access my money again but for now it was important, I needed to make sure wands weren't being made like that and I recognize them as Ollivander wands so good thing is he's clean. I need to know as much as I can if I'm actually going to succeed in stopping the Shadow Master, I didn't want to steal but its important and I really do have every intention of paying him back and returning the wands.

"But not now, we'll get back to that," Varanian said rounding on him angrily, "how did you manage to get suspended for dueling?! Don't you realize how much danger you're in outside of Hogwarts?! Do you know how stupid it was for you to be dueling random students in the first place?!"

"It wasn't like I did it on purpose!" Scorpius protested also angrily, not liking Varanian's accusing tone, "and I have questions too! Why didn't you ever contact me?! Do you realize that the school's crawling with Aurors?! Do you know which one or ones are trying to kill me?!"

"Alright, anger isn't going to help, we need to work together not tear each other apart," Varanian said after a deep sigh, seeming to calm down and he looked thoughtful for a moment before flicking his wand in the direction of the darkness beyond the boards and a spindly chair dragged across the stone floor towards them, screeching with a sound akin to claws across a chalkboard, "sit. I'll ask you my questions and you answer then you can ask me your questions and I'll answer so we'll be all caught up, that seem fair?"

"Yes," Scorpius admitted although he thought it was a little unfair that Varanian got to his questions answered first but he did want to tell Varanian about the Aurors in case he didn't actually know. He sat on the chair while Varanian went to sit on the bed, presumably there were no other chairs, "so which question did you want to ask first?"

"Start from the start. Tell me about the attack on Diagon Alley and the attack on the school went down."

Scorpius was slight surprised by the request but he supposed it was relevant if Varanian was researching the Shadows, a first hand account was better than the semi-truths they put in the paper. So Scorpius told him what he knew about the attacks, he hesitated over whether he should tell Varanian about how he started walking towards the people, only Michael was aware of it that he knew. He looked at the man he'd spent the last year despising and plotting his downfall, the underlying scorn he'd always seen in the headmaster's face was gone, his short scruffy tawny hair was intertwined with dirt and if anything, Varanian just looked tired but there was a determination beyond it and his silvery eyes gleamed with alertness as he patiently waited for Scorpius to continue. He had trusted Scorpius with where he was staying, it was only fair and he might know something.

"Well that's interesting," Varanian commented seemingly half to himself.

"Why do think it happened?" Scorpius asked worriedly although he wasn't sure if Varanian would answer.

"I'm not sure exactly but I think they want you alive, you were most vulnerable like that and they didn't take the opportunity to take you out. They need you alive to revive the Shadow Master. This could be bad."

---

Part 5: The Way of the World

---

"Why?" Scorpius wondered with scowling,"isn't it better they're not trying to kill me?"

"In a way," Varanian said carefully, "but if they need you alive then they might try to force your hand to manipulate you into being in the open or doing whatever they need you to do. What's it like with the Aurors there? Is there a lot of them?"

"There's a lot of them, positioned all over the school and they do patrols too, in the corridors and around the grounds. They don't come into the common rooms or classes but they stand in the Great Hall. They don't really say anything to you, just stand or walk around watching, they stay in pairs mostly and keep to themselves."

"Who took over as Acting Headmaster? They mentioned it was someone already employed by the school but now who, it was Neville Longbottom I assume?"

"Nope."

"The Astronomy guy... Koray?"

"Nope."

"Not that Arithimancy guy, surely?"

"Thankfully no," Scorpius offered with relief that Varanian seemed to share and tried not to smirk as he wondered whether Varanian would guess.

"Who then? Hagrid?"

"Nope."

"They couldn't have picked Ashain?"

"Nope."

"One of the new staff then? Everyone else is either a woman, a ghost or left."

"Nope."

"Then who?!" Varanian demanded getting more irate.

"Calderon," Scorpius told him but Varanian's expression didn't change.

"Seriously, who?"

"Calderon."

"Marius Calderon?"

"Yes."

"Not our Marius Calderon?"

"How many Marius Calderons do you know?" Scorpius wondered as Varanian seemed to be struggling to wrap his head around it, "does it really surprise you that much?"

"Its just... strange, it is Marius we're talking about," Varanian admitted as he ran his hand through his hair before his stunned look became a scowl, "wait, why in the world would Marius suspend you for dueling? You usually only suspend someone for dueling if they're caught at it a lot or someone gets seriously hurt."

"Someone did get seriously hurt," Scorpius whispered guiltily and told him about what had happened with James and Michael.

"Marius let you off light," Varanian snorted when he was done, "I would have expelled you both."

"Thanks," Scorpius muttered sarcastically although he thought it was probably fair, he deserved to be punished for what he'd done, "didn't you ever duel anyone when you were in Hogwarts?"

"Yes. A lot. And that was wrong of me, if I could go back and slap my younger self then I would. But its not the point, Marius being Acting Headmaster could actually be useful. When you go back you need to go to him and warn him about the Aurors, with any luck he'll be able to send them away because I don't know how much control an Acting Headmaster has and even a proper Headmaster or Headmistress can be overruled by the Ministry."

"I don't think he'd me any favors, he would barely look at me," Scorpius admitted miserably as he recalled Calderon's disappointment in him.

"It isn't about doing you a favor, its about protecting you and the rest of the students from Shadows. I know some of the Aurors are corrupt."

"Do you know which ones?"

"Rowan Ellisar, he's the one who tried to kill me. The others I don't know but there are others," Varanian offered and look irritated, "they're so paranoid, they always use Polyjuice Potion if they meet in person and its near impossible to spy on any conversations they have through Floo or through mail because they don't use owls but rather Specters to deliver it. Or they just do that for Ellisar because they know he's compromised as I know he's one of them."

"Specters deliver it?" Scorpius wondered in confusion and Varanian only nodded.

"Specters have some way of teleporting people or objects, they use it to deliver mail or sometimes if they're meeting in person, makes it hard to track them and impossible to get at their mail because they burn it after reading. The Shadow Master may be an evil maniac who got himself put in a coma but he was smart, he still is smart."

"He's not a threat in a coma though, just the other Shadows trying to revive him are."

"He's not completely in a coma, they don't mention it a lot but he's trying to communicate some way because they debate whether to follow the random orders or not. At least the lesser important people do, the ones running the show obey without hesitation," Varanian informed him before pausing thoughtfully for a moment, "you know, they might have been trying to draw you to them to have the Specters transport you away to wherever, not quite sure how they're hypnotizing them or whatever it is but it could be the reasoning behind it."

"But they can't teleport out of Hogwarts can they?" Scorpius asked worriedly, "there's anti-apparation wards."

"Specters aren't effected by anti-apparation wards, I think its why they use it rather than using more conventional means. Although saying that, I don't think they can get to Hogwarts because other defenses in place unwittingly stop them, that's why they needed the Blood Runes to destroy the defenses last year so they could attack," Varanian said with a painful look of guilt, "then again, no one knows how they got in in the first place or how they got out, if they got out because they couldn't have apparated in. From what I've gathered from the Aurors, they're pretty convinced Marius vaporized the other Shadows and just insists he didn't because he doesn't want to admit to killing so many people with power like that, regardless that they have no intention of charging him because it was justified and he saved a lot of lives. I'm more inclined to believe Marius though, its not something he would lie about and the Shadows haven't mentioned losing that many people."

"What happened to the Shadows attacking then? If they didn't die or apparate or be teleported."

"I don't know, use the cover of light to get out possibly."

"How does Specter teleporting work anyway?"

"Well all the reports of Shadow members vanishing into the shadows as they were chased is because they run into a bunch of Specters and then the Specters teleport them to somewhere else or the Specters go to them instead and take them away. I don't think they can get through the Hogwarts defenses, especially if Marius helped which he probably did but they might be able to teleport within Hogwarts if they were already within the boundaries. I wasn't sure if it was to do with the Specters at first because when it happened to me during the attack, I had the strangest feeling of deja vu like I'd been teleported like that before and I've never come across the Specters before so I thought it wasn't right. I just wasn't thinking straight though, I've gotten really good at noticing the Specters and I know they're instrumental in how the Shadows can teleport.

"Some people find it easier to notice Specters than others you see, they have a way of blending into shadows or darkness. If they're moving or there's a lot of them clumped together then its harder to see them, they're more like a mass of shadows or darkness so people don't see them for what they are which is why they're good for spying, they can just blend into the shadows and keep an eye on people. They were anyway, the people taking over can't utilize them as much or as easily as the Shadow Master could plus you crippled their numbers. They can possess people, if Ellisar is contact with the more in charge people then they like to possess a random muggle and communicate through them then take their soul and discard the body. They can use magic through muggle bodies though, without wands even.

"I haven't been able to find out anything besides that about the Specters though, I don't have access to a particularly great selection of books to research them. No one really seems to have been able to find out anything about them, no one knows what they are or where they come from and hasn't been able to find out. Dom and the Ashain did well to figure out the Patronus fends them off, it doesn't destroy them but it repels them the way it does to a Dementor or a Lethifold. I think the Specters are in the same family as Dementors, both being creatures of dark that can take souls and are repelled by Patronuses although how exactly, I'm not sure. You should try the Hogwarts Library, its quite extensive and you might have more luck."

"Calderon seemed to know about them," Scorpius pointed out recalling how Calderon had known what had happened to his grandfather and about them being unable to possess gray souls.

"Presumably from talking to the Shadow Master. Do you have anymore questions?"

"What does Rowan Ellisar look like?"

"I'll show you a picture when you're out of questions."

"Okay, why didn't you try to contact me?"

"Didn't want to risk it with the Aurors there but we do need to work on some form of communication. Next," Varanian answered swiftly and leaned back against the wall.

"What was that Potion you mentioned them using? I thought I heard it mentioned somewhere before."

"Polyjuice Potion?"

"Yeah that. What does it do?" Scorpius wondered as he tried to recall where he'd heard the name before.

"It allows the drinker to take the form of someone else."

"It turns them into Metamorphmagus?"

"No," Varanian snapped looking offended, "you can't become a Metamorphmagus like how you can become an Animagus, you're either born Metamorphmagi or you're not and you can't get rid of it. Metamorphmagi can change their appearance at will to whatever, there are limits but basically you have free reign. Polyjuice Potion on the other hand, just turns the drinker into a specific individual for a limited amount of time. In the case of the Shadows, they just use it to disguise their identity long enough for the meeting."

"I think Albus' dad used that before."

"It was used in the Second Wizarding War by both sides on occasion but the Shadows use it now, I think its why several professional Potion Makers are missing."

"The Aurors haven't realized that?"

"I don't know, there's a lot they don't realize is linked to the Shadows and they may not target someone specifically. I think they go after someone close to the victim to show they're serious then either threaten or abduct another family member to force their hand, a lot of families or sometimes friends of victims of Shadow attacks go missing after but long enough after that the investigation has ceased or at least been clumped into the mass number of victims of the Shadows and not given any more individual time. Ellisar and other Shadow Aurors he communicates with use their position to destroy any evidence before non-Shadow Aurors come across it, in this country anyway. They're attacking in other countries too, Ireland, parts of Europe, the Middle-East, Egypt in Africa so far, not just to steal things anymore, random murders of magical and muggle folk.

"The Shadow Master must have a damn good memory if he was able to keep track of all of this, the people they attack are mostly pre-planned by the Shadow Master and they're just carrying on for when they revive him. I'm not sure if they broke out everyone or just those they thought would be useful but they have an army from the prisoners of Azkaban that they're using to attack, their Specter numbers may be down but their witch and wizard numbers are up. Former Death Eaters are as ruthless as they ever were, some are even gaining rank, the werewolf Fenrir Greyback is making a name for himself amongst them, he's very happy with his new cause and the full moon is the worst night for attacks. Roland Seraph wasn't broken out of Azkaban but he's already high up, I've heard his name mentioned. But that's not important right now, we need to talk about your safety."

"My safety?"

"Yes, Scorpius, don't you realize how much danger you're in outside of Hogwarts? Hogwarts is protected, even with Shadow Aurors there, its not easy for them but you're not protected outside of school."

"I'm safe at home, my family will protect me," Scorpius protested, thinking it was a stupid topic of conversation when he'd much rather be hearing about the Shadow activities but Varanian rolled his eyes.

"Don't you understand that they can't? The Specters can possess everyone whose not a gray soul, do you understand what that means? Your own family could be possessed, they could become the ones after you. Unless you really think your parents or grandmother are gray souls?"

"I..." Scorpius began but trailed off, he didn't think they had ever killed anyone.

"I thought so," Varanian continued seriously, "you need to find someone else to stay with, someone who is a gray soul, someone who won't turn against you."

"My Aunt Daphne, she killed a Death Eater during the Battle of Hogwarts. She was only seventeen and was really broken up about it, still is I think... she can't hold a job and she drinks a bit."

"Alright good, ask if you can stay with her or get to her to stay with you when you get back. Its for your own safety. I have to go now but I'll be back later, just stay here until then. The picture of Ellisar that you wanted to see is on one of the boards, his name's written by it," Varanian told him as he stood and headed for the stairs.

"Wait, you're leaving?!" Scorpius burst out in panic as he jumped up and went to follow.

"Yes, I don't learn all this from sitting down here doing nothing. I'll be back later."

"Can I come?"

"No," Varanian stated dismissively as he headed up the stairs, leaving Scorpius alone.

Scorpius didn't know what time it had been when Varanian had left but it felt like an incredibly long amount of time that he was gone. Scorpius found the picture of Ellisar and was horrified to recognize him as one of the Aurors he'd seen around, there actually was one confirmed Shadow Auror at the school that was casually patrolling the corridors and hanging around Hogwarts.

He studied Varanian's boards intently, there was a long list that unraveled longer when you tried to look at it that seemed to be a list of the names of Death Eaters as all of the names he recognized were Death Eaters. Almost all had letters by their names, d or a or s with the occasional question mark and some had more than one letter. A handful of the names had a star by them, including Bellatrix, Rodolphus and Rabastan Lestrange, his grandparents and Brutus Ashain that he recognized. All but Rabastan and his grandmother had a 'd' beside them - although Rodolphus' had a question mark - and his grandfather also had an s. He spent so long going through the list that he thought he'd figured out that 'd' meant dead, 's' meant they were involved with the Shadows and 'a' meant they'd been imprisoned in Azkaban, the question marks presumably were if Varanian was uncertain about something and he actually was clueless about the stars. The ones with multiple letters had to mean both, like his grandfather had been working with the Shadows but was now dead or Fenrir Greyback had been in Azkaban but was now a confirmed Shadow.

There was also maps, one of England, Europe and another of the world with multicolored markers of some kind that possibly indicated attacks or maybe sightings if Scorpius had to guess and plenty of other random notes and things. It was all very extensive though, Varanian was extremely thorough and his dedication was astounding. Despite his interest in avenging his grandfather, Scorpius had gotten bored with the boards and list and only gone back to it for lack of anything else to do.

There were more extendable lists, labelled 'victims' and 'missing' which was more self explanatory and most names had notes by it about their death or disappearance and general notes about them, some were blank though and he assumed Varanian hadn't found any information on them or hadn't gotten to them yet. He felt a pang when he recognized the names Lorcan and Lysander Scamander as the twin sons of a friend of Albus, Rose and Abby's families and they'd also gone missing two weeks before their tenth birthday according to Varanian's notes. Varanian also noted that 'SM' and 'unidentified boy' had gone missing two weeks before their tenth birthday without a trace as well but nothing else on the matter.

He took the lantern and went to search the dark section to appease his boredom and to not think about what he'd read, it was a coincidence and it had nothing to do with magic - or at least Scorpius' abduction didn't - and it shouldn't even be on the board at all. There was a few books, some clothes, potion making materials, filled vials, ink, quills and spare parchment but nothing of real value. He thought back to his dreams about the boy, magic had been involved in his abduction, in fact the Shadows had as he'd mentioned hearing something about the attack on Azkaban before it happened... NO! he told himself firmly, it has nothing to do with anything. It wasn't real. It didn't happen. I was just going a bit mad and I'm fine now. He isn't real.

---

Brutus had tried his best to find out anything he could about the Shadows of Dementors but had came up blank, due to the nature of them, witches and wizards hadn't actually done an incredible amount of studying when it came to Dementors. Or at least those who had hadn't written anything about it for him to find, not in the extensive library at home, not in any of the book shops or magical libraries. All he had to go off of was what Sal had told him which wasn't in any way helpful for getting rid of them, she could say they were safe all she wanted but Brutus was incredibly unnerved by them.

It wasn't all bad though, his dislike for being around them made him push to get the twins out of the basement and treated better, with Rabastan on his side they were actually succeeding. The twins now had a mattress each, blankets and pillows to sleep on, they were daily allowed meals that the Death Eaters were provided with as well as allowed water if they were thirsty, they were also permitted books to read for entertainment and to improve their learning literacy and they were allowed a change of clothes while theirs was washed. On Rabastan or Brutus' shifts if one of the twins was in training then they were allowed to either take the other one upstairs to bathe or outside the isolated grounds for some fresh air if they wanted.

Mostly it was Sal who benefited from it, Rodolphus was even harder on Tommy with the war being official and it was nearly always Tommy in training. Brutus thought it was paying off, Sal was starting to resemble looking human rather than a skeleton with a thin sheet stretched across the bones. She was still frighteningly thin and unnaturally pale but she was getting there, Tommy was further off but he was starting to look less skeletal as well. Brutus did worry about Tommy, he was so withdrawn he barely spoke and Brutus worried Rodolphus had broken whatever spirit and sanity that Tommy had left. The few occasions when Sal was the one in training, Tommy sat in the corner with his knees hugged to his chest, sometimes he cried and sometimes he was just silent. He didn't seem to want to talk much either but the random incidences of magic had stopped, Brutus tried to bring him outside as often as he could because it was the only thing to bring the faintest ghost of a smile back to his face, albeit on shaky legs.

"Its so beautiful outside," Tommy said abruptly one time they were outside, the leaves were starting to change color ready to fall and Brutus was surprised to see silent tears had streaked down his face, "why is it so beautiful when the world is so bad?"

"The world isn't all bad," Brutus pointed out.

"What is the point? There's nothing good, nothing worthwhile. Its just pain and suffering, either inflicting it or enduring it. War and death and torture and beatings and pain and sadness and suffering and misery and failing and insults and starving. What is the point? There's nothing good. Why do people live if its just badness? Why am I alive? To either suffer or cause suffering and why? What is the point of more pain? I don't understand, is that the only purpose in the world? To cause pain? Is that all people want? Why bother being alive if that's all there is too it? How can those leaves be beautiful when there's nothing beautiful about the world?"

"There is good things, you just haven't gotten to experience them."

"And I never will," Tommy whispered tearfully and Brutus didn't have the heart to lie to him, "if they're even real at all I will never get to do it, I think its just a fantasy that masters mention to give us false hope. There should be more to life than pain. And my memory is so good, I can remember so many bad things but not a single good one outside of fantasies and hearing lies about good things. I've never been hugged - Mother thinks it encourages you to be weak, I've never laughed with friends - I've never laughed at all, no one's ever told me that they love me, no one's ever praised me - I've never succeeded at anything worth praising... There's nothing good. What's the point if there's nothing good in the world? Mother always said things would be better if we were free and they're not, there's nothing good in life."

"You can't think like that, Tommy."

"Prove that the world's not all bad then, do something good for me."

"What?"

"Kill me."

"I'm not killing you!" Brutus snapped immediately feeling angry and tried not to think of his brother. Tommy's lips curled into a cruel snarl and his eyes glinted darkly, Brutus shivered as the light around them seemed to fade.

"See?" Tommy said quietly, no longer crying but his voice was so cold that Brutus wanted to shiver again before he realized the tree they'd been staring at was now on fire, "nothing good. Just lies and empty words. No kindness, no goodness, no happiness, no freedom, no love. Just pain and suffering. Life dies and shadows thrive..."

---

"I'm back," Varanian announced and Scorpius was jolted from his thoughts, he'd just been lying on Varanian's bed planning what he could say to get his parents to let him stay with his aunt. Varanian came down and placed a takeaway bag on the table, "I.. I got Chinese food, I don't know what you like but its evening and I... thought that you might possibly be hungry. And I shouldn't let you starve."

"Well thanks," Scorpius offered as Varanian started unpacking food boxes with sticks and some bottles of water that he handed to Scorpius who moved back over to take them and sat back on the chair while Varanian took the bed again. Varanian explained about the 'chopsticks' and helped Scorpius get the hang of them although Varanian himself seemed only to succeed half the time and Scorpius actually found himself doing better than the metamorphmagi, it made him feel oddly at ease with Varanian and he much preferred the Chinese food to the McDonalds breakfast although conversation was non-existent. Varanian was either lost in thought or too busy focusing on eating properly so Scorpius decided to try break it instead, "so... looking at the board I couldn't figure out why some names are starred?"

"How much do you know about Marius' past?"

"That he was the son of Death Eaters," Scorpius said slowly, he was fairly certain Varanian already knew this but he was afraid of saying something that Varanian didn't know and making him turn against Calderon somehow. Then again, he didn't know much more than that.

"Yes," Varanian nodded, "the starred names are people Marius mentioned as having known personally, I think the Shadow Master is someone who knew him as a child so I starred them as potential suspects but considering how they're all dead except for your grandmother or Rabastan Lestrange, I'm not so sure it is someone he's mentioned or it could be Rabastan. How's your classes going? Has Ashain taught you to duel yet because you said you were losing to James?"

"Not yet, we were about to start learning it before I got suspended."

"Well we'll have to do something about that."