The motel was practically deserted when they pulled up. Arthur dropped them off next to the fire pit and left with the car back to main road. Lucius wondered where he was going. Fenrir was dozing in a chair, his feet propped up on the fire pit, and woke at the sounds of the car doors.

"Hey," he said, grinning wolfishly. "Manage to stay out of trouble on your way here?"

"I did," Lucius said shortly eyeing Severus teasingly. Severus was still in a testy mood and didn't acknowledge him. He nodded hello to Fenrir and disappeared into his room a little bit away from them on the first floor. Fenrir watched him go with a curious expression.

"The hell's wrong with him?" he asked. Lucius shrugged.

"Who knows?" he replied. "He won't tell me what I've done wrong this time. I feel like we're back in Hogwarts."

"He does this a lot?" Fenrir asked. Fenrir didn't know Severus that well outside of the Death Eaters. He was much older then them and had never been to Hogwarts due to his status as a werewolf. In fact, Fenrir had been a werewolf since he was three years old and knew very little about the type of environment Hogwarts had. He had never understood-or cared to understand-why Hogwarts was so important to wizards.

Lucius however, knew a great deal about Hogwarts, its students, and most importantly Severus. He had been a fifth year Prefect when Severus had been sorted into Slytherin House and had immediately taken the kid under his wing. It had not been done kindly on his part. Severus had been a master at Potions even then but his attitude and introverted behaviour left little room for such things as acquaintanceships and networking.

In fact, Lucius remembered quite vividly exactly how the rivalry between James Potter and Severus Snape had started. Most thought it was over Lily and perhaps it was but she was only a small part of it. James had not truly fallen for Lily until they were both practically adults by which time the hatred between Severus and James was at its strongest.

The true point of contention between them started at the beginning of their second year. James had made a joke-a joke in poor taste but a joke nonetheless. Lucius couldn't remember what it was and he doubted Severus did either. However, Severus couldn't separate harmless humor from demeaning criticism because of his childhood. The only clear difference to Severus was that in Hogwarts, he was free to respond freely. He had thus laid into James with a tongue every bit as sharp as the one he had today.

Severus had been cruel with his choice of words and Lucius remembered the complete look of horror on James's face as Severus ridiculed him over everything from his hair to his shoelaces. The Potter boy clearly hadn't considered this type of reaction to a simple joke even if Severus had been the butt of it. James might have been able to brush it off had Severus not refused to apologize.

And just as anyone with a wounded ego would have done, James turned on Severus and fired back with every ounce of cruelty he had. James and Severus entered into an all out war with each other but it was Severus's refusal to be anything but obstinate that led to him being blamed for the entire feud. And by the time Albus Dumbledore had discovered the true nature behind Severus's cruel words and antisocial behaviour it had been too late. He had been swept up in the promise the Dark Lord had given to all of them.

Lucius knew that Severus was still feeling the loss of Lily's friendship. He had been there the first time Severus had come back from visiting her grave. There was too much history between Severus, Lily, and the Marauders for any of the remaining involved peoples to move past it. They had all been hurt, Severus most deeply.

"Yes," Lucius said, not telling Fenrir any of this. If Severus found out he would never speak to him again. The man was intensely private. Lucius still didn't know when his birthday was and he was the closest thing Severus had to a best friend. "Yes, he does this quite a bit."

"I've heard rumors about him," Fenrir said. "Mostly that he's impossible to work with."

"You just have to know what you're doing," Lucius replied. Fenrir smiled, probably putting what he had heard to what he had seen. Lucius decided to change the subject. "Where is everyone?"

"Potter and Granger left with the Weasleys. I don't think we'll see them any time soon. And nobody's showed up since Papa Odie left. They must know he's not here. Even Marty's gone."

Lucius was surprised at that. He wondered if this was a sign that they shouldn't be there either. Were the wards only good as long as Papa Odie was there consistently? Were they safe to remain there? He didn't believe that Severus would let them walk into a dangerous place without warning no matter how cross he was.

"But I do have good news," Fenrir continued, looking thoroughly pleased with himself.

"What?" Lucius asked, taking the bait.

"Potter left behind a copy of the manuscript for his second book," Fenrir replied and Lucius glared at him. That was not the news he had been hoping to hear. He had-for one wild moment-thought that Fenrir had managed to convince Granger to hand over Skeeter to them. He should have known better than to have such high hopes for Fenrir Greyback.

"How is that good news?" Lucius snapped. "Do have any idea what that could do to all the work we've done?"

"It's not like Odie didn't already know," Fenrir said calmly not at all displeased by Lucius's reaction. He had probably expected it. "They all know about you."

"Have you started reading it yet?" he asked. Fenrir nodded gleefully.

"Did you really get into a brawl with Arthur Weasley in the bookstore?"

Lucius groaned and walked away. There was a shower and a bed waiting for him in room 206 and he was determined to focus on that and not on Fenrir's jeering.

00000

The next morning, the motel was still was still empty but Lucius had finally been able to push the worry from his mind long enough to sleep for eight solid hours. He did, however, wake up intensely hungry. He couldn't remember the last time he had eaten but he was sure it was at least two days ago.

Fenrir and Severus were already at the fire pit eating what was left of the two hundred pounds of beans Marty had cooked up. Severus kindly handed him a bowl and Lucius knew that meant he was over whatever he'd been mad about in the first place. He was certain it had something to do with the fact that he'd helped Potter with his court hearing but he was too tired to care beyond that. Severus would just have to deal with it.

"What are we supposed to do with Odie gone?" Fenrir asked as Lucius laid into the beans with gusto. Nobody paid his lack of manners any mind and he wondered when he had lost his table manners.

"Odie will probably be in jail for at least a few weeks, maybe longer," Severus said. "He has some serious charges stacked against him. Also, Lucius you can't go into the Muggle World for awhile. You're a fugitive now."

Lucius simply nodded around his food. He didn't care if he never went to Muggle World again. He did however have a sudden thought.

"Who is Inspector Reyna?" he asked. Severus looked at him sharply and with a great deal of concern.

"How do you know that name?" he asked.

"Potter mentioned it once," Fenrir said, also remembering the conversation that passed between Granger and Potter while they had been bound to dining chairs.

"He was on the motorway," Lucius supplied. "He tried to ask me questions about Odie."

"Inspector Reyna," Severus said, his tone clueing Lucius into the fact that he was weighing his words carefully. Lucius even stopped eating to pay more attention to his words. "Is what you would call an 'In the Know Muggle'."

"The hell is that?" Fenrir asked, looking as if he wanted to laugh at the term but not sure if it was funny yet or not.

"It's a Muggle that knows that Magic," Severus replied.

"Like someone who's related to a Muggleborn," Lucius said thinking of Granger's parents. Severus shook his head however.

"No, this term applies exclusively to people who work with the Muggle government," he said. He looked deeply uncomfortable. "They come across Magic every now and then in the course of their everyday jobs. Most are Obliviated after they become useless but some of them slip through the Ministry's net. Inspector Reyna is one of them and he's very good at continuously slipping through that net."

"Are you saying the Ministry of Magic is targeting him?" Lucius asked. That would make sense why Potter would think to take them to Reyna after being at odds with the Ministry himself. The enemy of my enemy and all that.

"Not in so many words," Severus replied. "I doubt they realize that he manages to slip by them so often. The only reason I know about it is because he's been watching Potter."

"Why?" Fenrir asked.

"Protection," Severus said. "Reyna has known about Magic since the first war. He fought several Death Eaters when they attacked a Muggle department store in London, hoping to ratchet up a body count. He killed two Death Eaters, wounded three, and apprehended the last one. They were all rounded up by Aurors."

"What does that have to do with Potter?" Lucius asked, impressed by the story but not really caring about it. It didn't have the information he wanted.

"Nothing," Severus said. "I"m saying that Reyna knows Magic when he sees it. He knew Potter was a wizard before Potter did and he's been watching out for him ever since. I heard he clashes with Hunters quite a bit."

"How does he know Odie?" Fenrir asked.

"Odie heard about what happened in the department store," Severus said. "He went to meet Reyna. They communicate about Muggleborns and Hunters and such. They aren't technically allies but they drop a hint to each other when necessary."

"Interesting," Lucius said. "What do you think he's asking Odie now?"

"Probably why he insists on being such a child sometimes," Severus snapped. "Papa Odie takes unnecessary risks. He's trying to die but when you're immortal all you do is leave destruction in your wake."

Odie had no heartbeat. That seemed incredibly important to Lucius in that moment. He just didn't know what to do with that information or even how to ask about what it meant.

"All that still doesn't answer my question," Fenrir said and they both looked at him with confusion. They had both forgotten what his original question had been. "What do we do now that he's not here?"

"We'll have to leave the motel," Severus responded. "The wards will start to fail after a few days. They're too reliant on an anchor and unfortunately Papa Odie is that anchor."

"Where do we go?" Fenrir asked.

"Hogwarts," Severus said immediately. Fenrir opened his mouth to argue but Lucius headed him off.

"No one will know you're there," he said. "It's still summer. By the time the students return Odie should be out of jail." He looked at Severus for back up and he nodded.

"Lucius is right," he said, not knowing why Fenrir didn't like the idea of Hogwarts but determined to sell it to him nonetheless. "No one will know you are there. I promise."

Fenrir looked from one to the other trying to determine if they were just telling him what he needed to hear and not the truth. But in the end, they were able to convince him to go.

00000

They Apparated to a trail just outside of the Hogsmeade railway station. From there they followed the road to Hogwarts's front gate where Severus placed his hands on the wards and waited patiently as they read his identity and allowed the gate to be opened.

None of them was surprised to find Dumbledore waiting for them on the front steps.

"Good morning gentlemen," he greeted pleasantly.

"Headmaster," Severus nodded. Lucius nodded as well and Fenrir just stared until Lucius stepped on his toes.

"Hi," he grunted awkwardly but the Headmaster didn't comment.

"I heard a most interesting story," Dumbledore continued. "About a Pureblood on a motorway in London. Apparently there was a car accident." His eyes were twinkling and he didn't seem to be looking for an explanation. In fact, he seemed to be laughing at the predicament Lucius had found himself in. Lucius was smart enough to know that to other people his life would actually be funny. He wasn't laughing.

"Yes," Lucius replied. "I heard that same story."

Dumbledore smiled, delighted for whatever reason.

"How is your defection going for you Lucius? Fenrir?" the Headmaster asked. Lucius looked at Severus as if he might help them answer the question in the correct way but Severus simply raised his eyebrows. He could tell that the Potions Professor wasn't going to be much help anytime soon.

"Alright," Lucius said. He didn't elaborate and Fenrir just nodded in agreement but didn't seem as if he was going to say anything soon.

"Hmmm," Dumbledore hummed clearly searching for something else to say. He had probably been hearing about what they were up to since they had parted ways at Willow Point. There likely wasn't anything he needed to know that he didn't know already.

"The full moon is in a couple weeks," Fenrir said suddenly and Lucius repressed the urge to roll his eyes at the weak attempt to bring silence to an end. "Will I shift in the woods?"

"You are certainly welcome to," Dumbledore said politely. "I believe someone will be joining you as well."

"Who?" Fenrir asked.

"Remus Lupin shifts in these woods on a frequent basis," the Headmaster said lightly despite the fact that Fenrir perked at the mention of Remus. Lucius wasn't entirely certain what had happened between Fenrir and Lupin during the war but it hadn't been pretty. As far as he knew, the two of them hadn't spoken in at least a decade if not longer.

"Oh, alright," Fenrir said and then fell silent again.

Soon after that, they were allowed to go in.

Lucius and Fenrir followed Severus down into the dungeons and into his personal quarters.

"Since you're here as my guests and not as guests of the school you'll have to stay with me."

"Do you even have extra beds?" Lucius asked, concerned that he might be sleeping on the floor for no apparent reason considering the hundreds of empty beds in the place.

"No," Severus said. "The house elves will have to take some camp beds out of storage."

"Great."

"Don't get glib with me," Severus snapped, slinging his rucksack onto his dingy looking couch. Lucius was fairly certain it was older that Severus was. "It's your own fault you aren't still holed up in your manor."

He sneered the word manor reminding the blond wizard that he often claimed that Lucius's wealth had made him weak. Severus didn't think that Lucius was capable of perseverance and that Draco was even worse. He wasn't entirely wrong but it still annoyed Lucius so much that when Severus turned his back to walk away, Lucius flipped him off.

Fenrir actually giggled at the immature display.