Gray: Scorpius Malfoy and the Scepter of Night

by Fiery Gray

UNDER EDITING! (IV): Scorpius is back for his Fourth Year and finds himself along with his friends fighting on different fronts with the Ministry's new approach, the resurgence of werewolf prejudice and even estrangement from his family. All the while still fighting to stop the Shadow Master from gathering the pieces of the Scepter, before it's too late. COMPLETE

19. Chapter 19: Taking Action

Parts (101-103)

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IV

Chapter 19

Taking Action

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Part 1: What To Believe

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Orous' terrible Hogwarts start didn't end there though, he was in such a rush to get away that he knocked over the stool and tripped which resulted in the whole school laughing at him. He very much wished the floor would eat him alive so he wouldn't have to there being humiliated, the assistant - Calderon? - helped him up though kindly and asked if he was alright. He wiped his eyes as he nodded, physically he was alright and mentally he was far too messed up for the assistant to help so he continued on to the silent table. No one clapped, no one cheered, no one applauded, no one even looked welcoming. He sat fearfully as far away from the others as possible, wishing he was home with his dad and the dogs as he buried his head in his arms. It was the closest he could get to vanishing as he fought off tears.

"Orous, is it?" a voice said after a awhile, Orous looked up in surprise and saw it was a fellow First Year speaking, a scrawny boy with stringy brown hair and emerald eyes. The boy gave him a nervous but kind smile, at least maybe not everyone hated him, "I'm Vern, Vern Dursley."

"Hi," Orous muttered uncertainly and Vern moved closer to him.

"So erm... Where are you from? I'm from Surrey," Vern offered, trying to make conversation with him. Orous was surprised, who would want to talk to him? When he nothing, Vern babbled on nervously, "My parents are muggles but I already knew about my magic even though I was raised a muggle, my uncle's a wizard, you see. Well he's my Dad's cousin but they were raised together and 'uncle' makes more sense than whatever kind of cousin I think he'd be really."

"M-My Dad's a Firefighter," Orous mumbled out, "My Mum's a witch though so I've always known about magic too, I was raised more muggle though. I think."

"My Dad's a boxer," Vern told him and chuckled, "Kind of ironic, I've never thrown a punch in my life."

"Me either," Orous commented, hoping it was true. He thought it was true. He certainly didn't remember punching anyone... He'd probably just accidentally light them on fire instead.

Vern was nice enough though and helped take his mind of his embarrassment by talking to him during the Sorting, which they did keen an eye on. The two other First Years from the train both went to Gryffindor, which is where he realized Scorpius also was. He said as much to Vern, who pointed out the black-haired boy sitting with him was his cousin, Albus, with the two red-haired girls being Rose and Molly who were Albus' cousins - but not sisters to each other - in turn. The girl with a long braid of blond hair was his cousin's friend, Abby and another boy was also a friend of his cousin's called Michael. Orous felt somewhat embarrassed, he'd mistaken the scrawny boy with scruffy hair for a fellow First Year as he only liked about ten. He got the strangest sense of deja vu from them all, he supposed the boy he'd been connected to might've been classmates with them and that was what was so familiar. He was snapped back to reality when the Sorting ended however and all hell broke loose. Shadows attacking. And Dementors. Calderon yelled for them to get behind tables he was using as barricades, the teachers left standing were fighting, including - thankfully - Brutus' brother.

Orous knew he should run too but his eyes were drawn to the Dementors, the terrifying beings that made you relive your worst memories and could steal your soul with a kiss. He stared at one, waiting for the memories he knew would come as he had so many bad from his imprisonment, it was happening to others around him after all. But it didn't happen, he met one's gaze - or at least where its eyes would be - but he felt nothing. He didn't even feel the chill sucking the life from the air, he already felt cold constantly so he didn't notice it. And in a way, that terrified him much more than anything the Dementors were supposed to be doing. Was he really alive after all if such beings no longer affected him? Was he actually no longer there like he felt? At the very least, there was something so intrinsically wrong with him that Dementors no longer had any effect on him. The damage to his soul? His thoughts were shattered by Vern grabbing him to get him over to safety, which was unexpectedly nice of him. Orous hadn't been afraid though, not of the chaos at least. And then it was over, one silver dragon and flash of light later where the Shadows were banished somehow. He was mistaken as having been effected though and given chocolate, it didn't help him in the slightest.

After that, they were led to the Hufflepuff Common Room with Vern and the other shaken students. The entrance was near the kitchens, where you had to tap the barrels in a specific way to be allowed entry. Gryffindors and Ravenclaws had towers - if he remembered correctly - while Slytherin had a dungeon but Hufflepuffs had a basement. It was surprisingly comfortable, everything projected a warm - metaphorically speaking of course - cozy feeling although the circular doorways reminded him of hobbit houses from the movies. They had to wait there, dinner was brought to them and the Hufflepuffs were just there feeling anxious. Orous didn't like the crowd and was relieved when they were taken to their dormitories, he shared a room with Vern and three others where their things had already been taken. He was glad Vern was in his room at least, sharing a room with four strangers was more terrifying then three strangers and one person who'd been kind to him. He still pulled shut the patchwork drapes surrounding his own four poster bed, he didn't feel uncomfortable undressing in front of them. His horrible night wasn't over yet though, he slipped into a nightmare of the magic being torn from his soul and woke screaming again. Except this time, he had no dad, no dogs.

"Are you okay, Orous?" Vern asked him with concern amongst grumbles at being woken from the others, at least he had one person on his side at least.

Walking around the castle bothered him, he felt like he should know the way because he'd been there sort of when connected to the boy. He mentally curses his stupid memory, the frustration eventually led him to try map out the school though to avoid being lost. He didn't like being lost anyway, it reminded him of his abduction. Classes started the next day, he and Vern stuck together despite being somewhat opposites when it came to class preference. Orous quickly realized he actually was good at practical magic, he seemed to just naturally excel at every spell he tried. Maurice was the only one on par with him, Corin was ahead of the class too but still not on par with him and Maurice. In contrast, Vern was terrified of doing spells and would only attempt them only with great reluctance which meant he was naturally behind as he was mentally holding himself back as well as not practicing as much during lessons anyway.

"I don't really to be a wizard to be honest," Vern confided in him hesitantly which surprised Orous actually, not wanting to be wizard was a rather strange thing to him as it was just a part of you. He thought it was rather like wishing for a different skin tone or eye color, except worse as he knew now the power was part of your very soul and removing it... well, it wasn't good, "Dursleys aren't supposed to be magical, it scares my Mum, silences my grandma, makes my brother and sister sneer, even makes my Dad uncomfortable I think. I tried so hard to hide it when I first realized strange things happening, I thought if no one realized then I could just live like a muggle like I was supposed to. That didn't happen though."

"Magic is part of who you are, part of your very soul," Orous told him quietly, "The first fundamental law of magic is 'tamper with the deepest mysteries - the source of life, the essence of self - only if prepared for consequences of the most extreme and dangerous kind.' You'd have to cross that line to stop being a wizard, you'd need to destroy your very soul. You should embrace what you are, Vern, if your family would rather you lose yourself then be magical then they're not the kind of people you should be around."

"I didn't mean that, I just... Magic can do so many bad things, it's terrifying to think that I- that everyone here really, has it," Vern tried to explain, "It scares me to think what it's capable of."

"Are muggles any different?" Orous wondered instead, "Look at if you gave a man a knife. In some hands, a surgeon could use to save lives but in others, they could use it to take the lives of others. Good or evil has nothing to do with magic, muggles and wizards are all still humans. All humans can do so much good or so much evil, the only difference is the tools they have to do it."

"I guess you're right. I'm just going to have to get used to it."

Vern did seem to put more effort into spells after that but he still much preferred the classes without wand work, such as Herbology and he excelled and loved Potions especially while Orous found it tedious although they did both love Flying. Orous wasn't a fan of Hogwarts' structure in general though, everyone having to wear the same uniform like generic drones and set in such a rigid framework of classes instead of the much more flexible home-schooling he was used to when they just worked at his own pace instead of doing a set thing in a set lesson. And the homework, not even his mother - at least to his memory - had asked for so many rolls of words. The only reason he did half as much as he did was at Vern's urging, even then he did the bare minimum. Something else he hated about Hogwarts - aside from the Aurors wandering around, reminding him oddly of prison guards - was the bullying. It just so happened that Vern's uncle was the Harry Potter and apparently, the Potters were even less fond of the Dursleys. The son of the hero of the wizarding world was a bully, James and his gang picked on Vern constantly and Orous by proxy. Vern was loyal to his cousin and didn't want to get him in trouble so kept quiet on the whole thing, students didn't want to incur James' wrath so other First Years took it upon themselves to avoid him and Vern. Orous stood by his friend though, Vern stuck by him after all and was patient with him while the others in the dormitory mocked him for his nightmares as it woke them. He also missed his dad terribly despite writing daily, he missed the dogs too. He missed the comfort and connection cuddling them provided, Hogwarts felt extremely cold.

Ashain reminded him of Brutus still, especially in how he could ramble a bit but Orous liked his stories and he loved Defense Against the Dark Arts, it was nice feeling somewhat more able to defend himself and dueling came naturally to him. Although he didn't enjoy everything about the subject, the Patronus lessons were the only time a spell didn't come to him easily and in fact would take him all year to be able to get even the smallest amount of sparks. The other worrying thing was the boggart, they studied it briefly which he thought was to help them face their fears after having to face them with Dementors. The strangest thing happened when it was Orous' turn though, Vern dealt with parents' disowning him by turning them into clowns and then came Orous ready with his fear of abduction. And nothing happened. The two clowns stood there as if they weren't aware of him, he waited and cycled through some alternate fears but nothing. Ashain eventually had him move on to the next person, saying he must be truly fearless even if he didn't sound convinced as if he wasn't sure why it had happened but simply didn't want to alarm him. Orous wasn't convinced either, the hat couldn't read him right, Dementors couldn't affect him and now boggarts? Was this all because of his damaged soul too? He thought it likely but not good.

---

"So we're just supposed to sit here and do nothing while my sister's being held captive?!" Albus burst out incredulously when Scorpius was done explaining the situation to the rest of them, even Roman who stood leaning in the doorway eying everyone with a mixture of intense dislike and absolute terror.

"Well what you would you rather do?" Scorpius asked of him rather calmly and almost sarcastically, "We can't do anything unless we know where we're going and we can't find that out, Varanian's good at what he does and if we were to try help then we'd be hindering rather than helping. You know this, you're just not thinking."

"Of course I'm not thinking! My baby sister, one of my best friends and... Cassia is in hands of psychotic maniacs and I can't do anything," Albus burst out but venting his frustration seemed to help as he threw himself back onto the couch with his arms folded grumpily, "I hate this stupid plan."

"I hate it too," Roman muttered under his breath, unintentionally drawing attention to himself, "How could Varanian be so selfish to just dump all these people on me?"

"Roman," Scorpius said warningly as he threw him a look.

"What?" Roman wondered as if he genuinely didn't realize how utterly insensitive and selfish he'd just sounded.

Scorpius was debating what to say in reply when he was distracted by the front door but merry whistling told him it was Wyatt before he'd even seen him. Sure enough, the young man strolled into view with a fistful of gummy worms that he was shoving into his mouth and a full bag of the in his other hand. He paused with a full mouth when he noticed the unusually crowded room.

"Um... Did I miss a memo?" Wyatt attempted to ask through his mouthful of gummy worms.

"You have to watch all these people," Roman told him brightly which only added to Wyatt's confusion.

"No, he doesn't," Scorpius interjected, knowing he needed to watch the Aurors guarding the Scepter which Roman also knew, "I'll explain."

Scorpius left with Wyatt, heading into one of the many unused rooms nearby rather than going through it all again in front of everyone. Wyatt was content to munch on his gummy worms while Scorpius filled him in on everything, trying to be as quick and concise as possible without leaving anything important out. It was only after that Wyatt sighed and rubbed eyes tiredly.

"So much for a nice rest and some gummy worms after coming off an all-nighter stake out," Wyatt pointed out before a somewhat contrived smile formed on his face, "Guess there's no rest for the wickedly awesome like myself, eh?"

"I guess not," Scorpius sighed as Wyatt stood to leave, "Be careful."

"Careful is my middle name," Wyatt offered with a wink as he left.

Scorpius headed back to the others, passing Roman sitting talking to Molly in the kitchen and caught a snatch of their conversation about Percy not killing Enas... Whatever that meant. He didn't want to intrude and it didn't seem relevant to him in that moment so he left them to it, Albus, August and Michael were still in the sitting-type room though. Michael was healing August's bruised eye and talking about the Scepter, Albus was glowering at August. Antonius was just sitting at the window, his face devoid of hope and Scorpius felt his heart twist sympathetically. Not only had his sister been kidnapped but his father was in a coma that he might not wake up from, his mother had already left so Antonius didn't really have anyone. Scorpius almost went over to him to try talk to him but he had no idea what to say to comfort him, there was nothing you really could say or if there was then he just didn't know it. He still almost went over anyway, recalling how it was better to be there for Latimer even if he didn't know what to say although Antonius was far too young to ever worry about that. Scorpius still found himself striding over.

"Hey," Scorpius offered as he sat down beside the younger boy.

"Hey," Antonius greeted him turn and glanced at him, making Scorpius realize he should probably have tried to think of things to say before coming over.

"I erm... You err... It... um... was... err... brave of you to... to come... here..." Scorpius babbled barely coherently, Antonius still looked at him somewhat confused.

"No braver then everyone else? What's that got to do with anything?"

"I meant erm... I um... err..." Scorpius trailed off lamely, feeling his cheeks burning from his inability to form a functional sentence, why had he gone over to him again? "I mean um... w-we'll save them... I promise so don't... don't worry."

"You shouldn't make promises you can't keep," Antonius said sharply.

"What makes you think I'm making a promise I can't keep?"

"To save Cassia, Abby and Lily, we need to rescue them from Soul Eaters. To save my Dad, we need to get through a barricade of Aurors to steal a piece of a protected Scepter, get through a protected mansion to steal another piece and steal back a piece from the Soul Eaters then figure out a way to destroy it because Horcruxes aren't easy to destroy. To save them all, we need to all of those things," Antonius explained and looked at him without hope, "Just because I'm young, it doesn't mean I'm stupid like everyone thinks. I understand and I get that none of that is easy, the odds aren't in our favor."

"Well of course it sounds bad when you put it like that."

"How would you put it then?"

"We saved you, didn't we?" Scorpius snapped defensively, first Ashylos seemed resigned to the fact he'd likely die and now Antonius was resigned to the fact he'd likely lose a family member? They'd beaten the odds before and they could do it again. He didn't want Professor Ashain, Abby, Cassia or Lily to die or for Ashylos to be destroyed. He wanted them all to live, even if it was irrational and unlikely. Seeing Ashylos' death was a reminder of easy it was to fail but he had to try, right?

"I don't think saved is the right word," Antonius pointed out, "And they weren't even after me really, they were just using me to get to my Dad to get to you to get the Shadow Master. Breaking my soul and destroying my life was just a means to an end, an end that they got."

"Your life isn't destroyed, you just don't realize it yet because things are bad now but they'll get better," Scorpius protested, trying to sound comforting but Antonius simply shook his head, "Just don't give up."

"I'm not giving up, I just know that I'm pretty much dead already," Antonius told him and attempted a feeble smile that failed miserably, "Hope for the best, prepare for the worst... That's what my Dad used to say."

"I'll do everything in my power to save him," Scorpius said seriously as he put his arm around his favorite professor's son comfortingly, "And that is a promise."

---

There were some good things about Hogwarts though, namely friends. He had forgotten his desire for friends and his dad's assurance he would find some in Hogwarts, Michael helped them out right from the start with tips on remembering the location and classes or just anything. The others kind of started gravitating towards each other, Orous never thought he'd have a circle of friends even if he was closer to some more than others. It wasn't quite the same as home but it did take his mind off things and did help him feel somewhat apart of the world, having to interact with people who paid attention to the rare times he could work up the courage to speak. He never felt like he should speak, he was used to mostly silence from his captivity after all. Except with Brutus. Until his growing ease was shattered by the revelation of Scorpius' scar, they both knew what that meant. His friend was the boy who Orous had been connected to, the boy was the reason they'd broken his soul, the boy who had done nothing but ignore his pleas for help. If he had just told someone then Orous could've been spared months more of suffering, he could've been spared having his soul damaged. And it was his friend, his own friend had ignored him when he needed help the most.

He was devastated. He no longer felt able to trust any of his friends and was just counting down the days to the Christmas break, he was happy to see his dad again. His mum was still gone though. He also met the pregnant pit-bull who went into labor on Christmas, drastically changing their plans but Orous oddly didn't mind. Sometimes it was easy to forget good things amidst all his bad memories - the nightmares didn't let him forget - and the unrest in the wizarding world but a puppy was born, a cute, innocent creature that was untouched by all the darkness in the world. He liked that. Being away from Hogwarts and his friends even, also gave him time to think things through more clearly and he thought he'd been too harsh with Scorpius. Could he really blame him for not saying anything? It wasn't as if he'd done it deliberately to hurt him, he'd just been so desperate to avoid those painful memories that he denied the obvious before him. Had it been wrong? Yes. But Scorpius was just a kid in a horrible stressful situation, they both were. Even Michael had forgiven him for accidentally destroying his eye, didn't friends forgive each other's mistakes? Orous resolved to make amends and overjoyed at getting to keep the puppy, another reason he was now looking forward to Easter.

He returned to Hogwarts, both glad to be back and wishing he was staying. He made amends with Scorpius and started to feel comfortable with his friends again, until the unthinkable happened. Vern's parents were killed by the Shadow werewolf Greyback. Vern was devastated and their positions became reversed, Vern was the one upset and Orous was the one trying to comfort him for once. He must've cried every day for the week, bounced between bouts of sobbing and begging Orous for some magical way to bring them back the second week, crying and raging about revenge against Greyback the third week then mellowed out into unhappy numbness after that. Orous just tried to be there for him and make sure he was eating still and try take his mind off it, there was nothing else you really could do. His parents were dead, not even magic could change that. Vern tried to put a brave face on when they weren't alone, he wasn't one to complain. Orous felt almost bad leaving him to go home for Easter, Vern didn't even have a home to go to now. He felt guilty for being so glad to his dad, he didn't know what he'd do if he lost him. Life was too short, it was why he wanted to make a scrapbook of Noelle the puppy's life so far, celebrate the precious life while you had it. It was only a matter of time before the Shadows took it all anyway, they were the stronger force after all.

"Orous," a familiar voice whispered and Orous jolted awake on the last day of the break to see Brutus standing there, despite his liking of the deformed wizard, he felt immediately fearful of being taken again, "Don't worry, I'm not here to hurt you. I just need your help to save my friend."

"M-My help?" Orous babbled out fearfully to which Brutus nodded, "What could you possibly need my help for?"

"At some point, you're going to wake up and be called to my brother's room. My brother's your Professor Ashain," Brutus explained, confirming what Orous had suspected all year, "Something's going to happen to someone he cares about, the only way to save them will be to go to Pandoran Hills where you were kept because of the enchantments I've told you about."

"How will they be able to navigate it?"

"They'll take you with them, of course and you can lead them where they want to go. Except I'll intervene, give my brother what he needs to save the person and let him go."

"Erm... I don't understand," Orous wondered in confusion, why injure someone then turn around and save them? What was even the point of that?

"All you need to do, is say you need Scorpius to come with you for moral support," Brutus told him, "I just need some of his blood to revive my friend, then he can leave safe and sound."

"What if... What if I don't want to do that?" Orous asked fearfully, thinking it sounded very much like a trap and Brutus looked saddened.

"I could threaten your or your family but I really don't want to do that," Brutus said with sincerity, "I just need to save my friend and this is the only way, no one dies or gets hurt in my plan. Please just do this one thing for me, Orous."

"I..." Orous began, not even sure what he was going to say. Brutus looked so tired and desperately, he also didn't smell of perfume anymore. Brutus had always been good to him and no one was getting hurt, right? He did owe him for his kindness and things would probably be worse if he refused, the Shadows were stronger after all, "Okay."

Orous felt utterly miserable after agreeing to Brutus' request, it felt like a betrayal. And he felt even worse when the time came, he heard a voice calling to him and randomly found that he had sleepwalked all the way to Ashain's office with Scorpius, Maurice and Michael. Well, he didn't think it was random actually, he knew it wasn't. He regretted it even more when he realized what had happened, they'd ripped the magic from Ashain's son's soul. It felt as if a knife was twisted into his gut, Brutus had destroyed the soul of his six-year-old nephew and for what? Was his friend's life really worth that? The boy was better off dead now really but then what right had he to decide the boy's life? He just wanted to break down and cry, he hated himself even more for going along with it but what choice did he have? They'd have to go anyway or the boy would die, Brutus could at least hold up his end of the deal and spare his nephew. Maybe they'd found some way to remove all ill effects of having your soul removed? Who was he kidding really?

By the time he'd decided against going along with it, it was too late. Scorpius and Ashain were imprisoned... He had no idea what had happened to the others, he hadn't been paying attention. What kind of horrible person was he? He just stood by Brutus' side like a whipped puppy, Brutus stuck - sort of - to his word and let Ashain go with his son's magic but nothing different. The boy would never recover, just like Orous still didn't feel the warmth or properly alive even after a year and a half. He trudged along with Brutus and Scorpius, hoping Brutus would throw him back into a cell to be tortured by Selwyn because that was what he deserved really. He deserved to suffer, he was just a horrible person. Brutus took them to a room with Calderon was and tried to coax Scorpius into giving his blood, Orous realized quite quickly that it wasn't Calderon. It had to be a trick because that wasn't part of Brutus' plan, in fact it was Brutus' plan. Not the Shadow Master's. Why would the Shadow Master have such a lack of input? Unless the Shadow Master was the one in a coma from last year, it explained Brutus' desperation. He called out to Scorpius to ignore the call but his friend didn't seem to be hearing him, everyone was just ignoring him. Was he there?! Brutus was moving the potion over to the Shadow Master, Orous had to do something. He couldn't let the Shadow Master be revived, he'd never forgive himself if he didn't fight. Even if it meant turning against Brutus.

"Forgive me," Orous muttered as he withdrew his wand, casting the Levitation Curse on the knife and driving it into Brutus' hand.

It was too late though, it was too little too late. The Shadow Master was revived. It all happened so fast, the next thing he knew the Shadow Master drove the knife through his gut magically. Orous lay there in agony, gasping for breath as blood poured of him. He thought he was going to die, like he should've been since they broke his spirit. But he didn't, a series of blurred memories later and he was in the Hogwarts Hospital Wing, scarred but very much alive. Or as alive as he could be. He met Ashain's son there, completely out of it of course because his life was over now too. Orous felt an odd mixture of anger and determination, he'd been right there with the Shadow Master and he had fought, he had failed but he had fought and if he'd done better then he'd have succeeded. And he wanted to fight, maybe one of Maurice's many soldier rants had rubbed off on him but he wanted to fight. He wanted to fight the Shadows, he wanted to do everything in his power to stop them breaking someone else's soul like they had to him and Antonius. His newfound goal gave him strength and confidence, he gave as much advice as he could think of for helping Antonius recover. He did have a better start, he had people to hug him and remind him of things as they knew they had to so hopefully he'd recover more of his memories faster than Orous had.

His dad clung to him for dear life when he returned, Orous was glad to see him although still felt bad for Vern. Considering the Potters' dislike for him, he knew Vern was dreading the summer but there was nothing he could do about that. His own summer was actually good, he was introduced to Flannery Leebin the wizard equivalent of a psychologist and started having sessions with him. He was maybe slightly eccentric but immediately likable and surprisingly easy to talk to, it helped to talk about it and Leebin's advice helped him as well. He also discovered his map was not his map, rather a secret map that flashed odd hints at him before he deduced the password to it and that it had come from James. It was no wonder the bully always knew where to get to Vern when he had a magical map that showed where people where, he wasn't quite sure what to do with it though. That was the year the Shadow War began and Orous was a soldier this time

---

Part 2: Carrying Through

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'I still can't believe you won,' Corin was still saying days after at breakfast with a grin plastered on his face when Maurice finished reading through a letter from his father, 'First Years almost never win in all of Primaire, it hasn't happened while I've been here. And you're deaf too, a deaf First Year has never won Primaire before. And you haven't even had you're ninth birthday yet. I still can't believe it, my best friend the champion.'

"Tell that to my Father," Maurice pointed out unhappily, confusing Corin's good mood and he shoved the letter to the part-giant to prove it, "He says I probably just got lucky, it proves nothing and I need to do better."

'I can't believe he said that,' Corin protested after skimming it through, looking actually angry now, 'Don't listen to him, Maurice, everyone else knows you did good.'

Maurice shrugged it off but it had taken away his good spirits. He'd wanted his father to be proud of him, after all he was the closest he had to real teachers from his home school. But his father wasn't, it still wasn't good enough. He'd gotten ninety-nine percent scores on all his final exams - except the basic reading, writing and numeracy here he got ninety-eight but he still thought was decent considering he hadn't known French for a year yet - too but his father didn't think that was good enough either as it wasn't a hundred percent so he could do better although Corin said even if you got everything right then they would still class it as ninety-nine. He was best in the year for overall scores and aside from the basic skill class, best in the year for each individual subject. His father still did not deem it good enough, he didn't even say well done but try do better, just outright insisted it wasn't good enough. Maurice was extremely disheartened and felt an absolute failure by the final day of the school year, despite people he barely knew or didn't know congratulating him. He didn't care about though, his father's opinion matter more than random regular people. He packed up his things and filed out of the school with the rest of them, each carriage had a sign by it with the names of the students to go home on it based off where they lived.

He felt he deserved the pain of the blood quill use over the summer, his father was so ashamed of his abysmal results that he was barely even around him and refused to play chess with him. Maurice felt oddly lonely without his father, Corin or Pyrrhus around. He wished he was in a school, everyone should just live in schools. He did wonder into town though to expand his personal library, feeling more confident now he was capable of communicating in French. Corin wrote to him over the summer sporadically as he was staying with his father in England for most of the break, it was the closest he got to not feeling unhappy unless he was especially engrossed in a book - naturally on war orientated subjects that Beauxbatons lacked - or practicing. He also started getting into the habit of reading the paper, it was good to be aware of your surroundings and Beauxbatons had made him realize his knowledge of life outside his home school was somewhat lacking. He was glad when his next letter for Beauxbatons arrived, he still preferred his home school but it was better than being home and bought everything on it before his father had even returned from work. He was so glad when September came and the carriage pulled by winged horses arrived for him on an especially rainy day, he didn't even get to say goodbye to his father as he was at work already. Second Years didn't have to go to a separate room, they just got to settle back in to their dormitories and wait for dinner. A prefect showed them where that was, the layout was identical to First Year and everyone had the same roommates as the previous year. Corin was waiting for him in their room and proceeded to hug him upon his entering, or rather squeezing him tightly and aggravating the fresh blood quill wounds.

"Corin, I need to breathe," Maurice insisted and Corin let him go, relieving the pressure to the painful wounds as his hand went to his necklace. Corin was about the average height of an adult male while Maurice was over a foot shorter.

'Sorry,' Corin was apologizing sheepishly, 'I don't know my own strength sometimes. So how was your break?'

Maurice really didn't have much to say in contrast to Corin who had been with his father in Hogwarts, the British Magical school that Roman despised and Corin readily admitted to not thinking it as nice as Beauxbatons. The year was similar to the previous year, they had the same classes and teachers as in the First Year in the same locations with the only differences really being that he now had a much better grasp of the French language and was on much better terms with Corin. Maurice actually preferred it to the First Year, he liked having a better grasp of things and it was nice having Corin to talk to about their classes. Corin tried to get him to be interested in Quidditch but Maurice steadfastly refused but other than that they were still friendly, they had a shared interest in dueling and Corin was of reasonable intelligence for a part-giant, still being interested and determined to do well on his classes. The autumn passed quickly and the pointless Christmas break was soon upon them, Corin would still be there although admitted he'd be staying with his father for the Easter one. They started sharing more personal things by then.

'So what do you want to do when you grow up?' Corin asked of him one of the days as they played chess in their room together.

"A soldier, of course," Maurice told him readily, deciding he didn't need to keep it from Corin, "That's what the first school I went to was training us for."

'A soldier?' Corin repeated as if confused, 'Ministries don't have armies.'

"Well they should do," Maurice insisted, "Think about it, no one is prepared whenever someone comes to threaten the normalcy of the wizarding world like Voldemort or Grindelwald. The wizarding world then struggles and scrambles to deal with it, generally having to build a kind of makeshift army even if not in name out of the people fighting the newcomer. In fact, the challenger is much better prepared as they already understand the need of soldiers to fight for them and have or are making steps to achieve that. If Ministries already had a military force then they wouldn't be so unprepared when the next threat arises."

'That makes sense,' Corin admitted hesitantly, 'You're really smart. You're lucky, I have to try really hard to do well and even then people just say it's because of Maman.'

"You are smart, you'd be a good soldier," Maurice offered although Corin didn't react, clearly he didn't understand how much of an honor it would be to be described as a good soldier.

'Well thanks. I think.'

"What do you want to be then?"

'Promise you won't laugh,' Corin blurted out immediately looking anxious.

"When have you ever heard me laugh?" Maurice wondered and Corin nodded in acceptance before taking a deep breath.

'When I grow up, I want to be the Minister for Magic,' Corin confided in him, eying him fearfully as if afraid he might laugh before elaborating, 'I know what I am, both of my parents are half-giants and like everyone says, giants or those related to them aren't known for being smart. But I want to prove everyone wrong, I want to show the world that being part-giant doesn't mean you're stupid or can't do anything. I want to be the first part-giant Minister for Magic to prove to the world wrong.'

"Why would I laugh at that? It's an admirable goal," Maurice pointed out although he wasn't sure how likely it was, not because of Corin's blood status but just because he didn't know an awful lot about how someone became the Minister for Magic, it was different depending on the country anyway.

'You think?'

"Of course."

'Thanks,' Corin said and smiled weakly as he finally made his move, playing right into Maurice's plan.

"If and when you do become Minister for Magic, you should create a wizard military," Maurice offered as he checkmated Corin happily while his friend laughed.

'If and when I do become Minister for Magic, I'll make you the General.'

---

Rose and Corin were shooed to the Common Room by Grant before they could even contemplate following through on Vern's bizarre request, the entire house was confined to Gryffindor tower as were the houses to their respective areas. She wished they weren't, she'd rather have liked to see her brother as he must be upset too with friends and cousins missing but he was a Hufflepuff unfortunately. She wished he'd been a Gryffindor. Most of the Gryffindors seemed more annoyed at the sudden restriction then the missing students, they hadn't even had enough information for it to me anymore then rumors she supposed. Her cousins were stressed - three of them were missing after all - though, Freddie paced anxiously, Louis and Roxy sitting quietly and worriedly while James flexed his incredibly grazed knuckles as he ranted about how he hoped the Slytherins were being arrested right now along with Ashain - despite being comatose - as 'clearly' they were responsible for his siblings disappearance as some Shadow conspiracy. Rose worried about him sometimes.

They weren't allowed out until dinner and even then it was with Grant escorting them to the Great Hall, Elwood gave a quick speech mentioning some students were missing but the Aurors were working on it and believed no one else was in danger so things would continue as normal tomorrow. Rose couldn't help but feel somewhat annoyed, he made it sound as if eleven missing students was a minor inconvenience being dealt with and didn't mention the two students hospitalized, the professor, his children or the fact it had been the Shadows either. Trivializing it made it seem like an insult to their names, she thought the way Corin accidentally broke his plate by stabbing his steak too forcefully indicated he agreed with her. Although at least they'd have freedom again, meaning they should be able to go after the sword of Gryffindor. Or should they?

"So what do you think?" Corin whispered to her as they headed back to Gryffindor Tower after dinner, "We take Albus' cloak and go get the sword now?"

"We don't even know why we're doing it," Rose voiced her concerns, "Vern's pretty badly injured, he might not have been in his right mind when he asked us to do that. He was talking nonsense."

"Maybe to us but at the start of the year we both turned down the chance to be a part of something Shadowy, don't pretend like you haven't noticed the others sometimes going off together sometimes," Corin pointed out and Rose sighed, she had just been ignoring it but she'd recognized it too.

"Is it really so wrong to not have wanted to be involved in Shadow things? Having runes cut into your chest, your memories messed with, being possessed by Specters, almost being torn apart by werewolves and almost being murdered by a teacher you trusted are not fun things," Rose protested defensively and ashamedly, "I almost died last year when Scorpius, Maurice and I were up against Florian. Almost dying is terrifying, I don't... I don't know how everyone can just brush it off so easily. I needed time. I just wanted to be normal for a little while, is that really so bad?"

"I wasn't criticizing you," Corin told her and looked guilty, "Being in the face of death is scary. And you have a more justifiable reason at least in my opinion, I didn't want to be involved just because I thought it was depressing to be around the girl who dumped me."

"You..." Rose began but trailed off, unable to think of something positive, "Yeah, you're right. That is worse."

"Merci," Corin snapped, throwing a dark look in her direction, "But I regret it now. And now she could be hurt, almost all my friends could be and one of them is lying in the Hospital Wing right now. I want to do something. I want to help."

"What if he isn't thinking straight?"

"Well the sword returns to the Sorting Hat so it's not like it'd be lost forever when we send it away."

"That doesn't make me feel any better," Rose admitted.

"Well what would you rather do? Nothing?"

"Fine," Rose sighed in agreement and upon reaching Gryffindor Tower, headed up to Albus' room while his dorm mates were still in the Common Room. It had been awhile since she'd been in there, not since she'd been dating Reuben Tear where they'd gone to snog sometimes, "Lock the door, would you? We can sneak out under the cloak and they won't know we were here."

"Well a locked door might be a clue," Corin grumbled but went over to do so regardless while she got out her cousins trunk to rifle through it, "Albus and the other two roommates are slobs."

"It's not that bad," Rose insisted in confusion, it was actually quite neat, "I doubt your room is any better."

"Are you kidding? Maurice runs the place like a military operation, anything out of place or over cluttered is a potential disadvantage if we were attacked," Corin told her while she scowled worriedly, unable to find the cloak, "You know what he's like, it's easier to go along with it then fight him because he'd never let it go."

"I can't find it."

"Ah, well maybe Michael or Scorpius have it?" Corin wondered and went over to go through Scorpius' trunk while she took Michael's, which admittedly was much neater then her cousins. Michael didn't have it though, "Not here."

"Or here," Rose confirmed as they replaced the trunks, her frown only deepened, "What the bloody hell happened to the cloak then? Did Al really go and lose such a valuable family heirloom?"

"Apparently. I guess there goes our plans to get the sword."

"At least not tonight."

"Oi! Who looked the door?!" a voice called from the other side.

"What do we do?!" Corin hissed at her in panic.

"Err... Follow my lead," Rose whispered and undid the top few buttons of her blouse before ruffling Corin's neat hair into a mess.

"What was that for?!" Corin demanded forcefully yet quietly while she grabbed his hand and dragged him over to the door, opening it to see Reuben Tear and Angelo Jordan waiting in annoyance.

"Sorry, we got the wrong dorm," Rose apologized and giggled as she pulled Corin along with her past them, "Come on, Corey baby."

"Corey baby?" Corin repeated in confusion before seeming to realize and violently yanking his hand away from her, his face flooding with red as he blushed but thankfully the other two had already gone into their dorm out of sight, "Now they'll think that we're dating! And were snogging! Or worse!"

"That's kind of the point, unless you want to tell them we were looking for my cousin's invisibility cloak to steal the sword of Godric Gryffindor," Rose pointed out and Corin said nothing but did glare at her, stalking away and muttering angrily in French.

She returned to her own dormitory but didn't sleep, her gaze kept drifting to Abby's empty bed. Abby was always the last one to fall asleep, if Rose couldn't sleep then Abby always seemed to be awake to talk to. She worried a lot about the war, especially after Nick's death and sometimes Rose even heard her crying despite it being almost a year. The silence seemed strongest now. She wondered where the others were now, how they were or even what Albus had done with his cloak. Honestly, how could be so stupid to lose something so special? She slept little and completely forgot about exams the following day, she scrambled through them but was sure she did terribly as she couldn't focus for a damn. How could she when friends and family were missing? There was still no word of them. The cloak and sword still took a back seat to exams until after that at dinner, when Olivia Nott slid in with her and Corin at the Gryffindor table amidst booing and hissing from the Gryffindors. She didn't seem the slightest bit concerned by it however, her arm was still in a sling.

"So, have you done it yet?" Olivia asked of them.

"Done what?" Corin wondered, he looked as if he'd slept even less then she had.

"Sent the sword like Vern wanted," Olivia elaborated at a lower volume.

"Oh. No, we haven't."

"Why not?" Olivia demanded sharpish.

"Maybe because it's not that easy," Rose shot out, not liking her tone. Stupid, stuck up Slytherins.

"Fine, I'll just do it myself," Olivia decided and stood as abruptly as she'd arrived, Rose exchanged a look with Corin before they both scrambled after her.

"You can't just walk in and take it, you need a plan," Corin insisted as they passed Hugo and Lorcan, "And how are you supposed to take it anyway?! You only have use of one arm!"

"Hey Hugo!" Olivia called out, bringing them all to a halt, "You're friends with Vern, right?"

"Yeah, he and Orous have been really great to me," Hugo pointed out, concern shining through on his face, "We were just visiting him actually. Vern, not Orous. The others are all still missing."

"Want to help me with something for him?"

"Are you insane?!" Rose screeched at her furiously, Olivia looked utterly unfazed however, "You can't go around telling people and getting my brother involved!"

"Whatever it is, I'm in," Hugo agreed, giving her a somewhat annoyed look.

"Like Corin said, I probably can't lift it with one arm and if you can't trust your brother then who can you trust?" Olivia wondered.

"You're insane," Rose reiterated.

"I'm trustworthy too," Lorcan offered unhelpfully.

"Well come on then," Olivia said to the two younger boys and continued on, Rose and Corin scrambled after them, "We need to steal the sword of Godric Gryffindor."

"Hey, that's our job. Shouldn't you be resting or something?" Corin complained at her while Hugo looked surprised, Lorcan had been spending too much time with Maurice to reveal his expression but his amber eyes narrowed somewhat, "Why do you even care about this?"

"Because Vern slipped into a coma after you left, he held on long enough to tell you that though because it had to be important. It might be the very last thing..." Olivia explained but trailed off as her determination was marred by the worry briefly before her resolve rebuffed it, "So I'm going to do it. You can help or go to hell, I really don't care."

"Why does he want the sword? It's not like it can help him," Lorcan pointed out.

"He doesn't want it for himself, he needs us to send it to Scorpius and the others. He said some of them weren't kidnapped and were going after those who were, something about Ashain and a Horcrux then he passed out."
"The sword can destroy Horcruxes," Hugo recalled, his blue eyes bulging with worry as he frowned, "I don't really know what that has got to do with the others being kidnapped though."

"What is a Horcrux anyway?"

"Something not good and none of your business," Rose snapped at her as they reached Neville's office, where he kept the sword hanging on the wall behind the desk. The problem was that he wasn't alone, they froze as they heard voices.

"-And now I've lost Abby and August too!" Neville was saying or rather sobbing by the sounds of it, "I've lost them all."

"Yer still have Heather," Hagrid's voice offered in what sounded like an attempt to be comforting, "An' Abby an' August aren't dead yet, are they?"

"They don't need both of them to steal the Scepter!"

"Didn't Vern say something about a Scepter too?" Corin whispered barely audibly as they backed away from the door.

"Yeah," Olivia confirmed before Rose could say so, she threw the younger Slytherin a dark look for beating her to the punch.

"Maybe the Scepter is a Horcrux that they need to destroy?" Lorcan guessed randomly, "They can put people into comas like what happened to Aunt Ginny in her First Year, it might've been what happened to Ashain. He has been acting weird on and off all year too."

"Well that's just ludicrous," Rose protested, finding it incredibly difficult to believe.

"We can find out why after we've gotten it," Olivia pointed out although curiosity flickered in her azure eyes.

"We're not going to get it while those two are in there," Corin offered truthfully.

"We don't need to steal the sword," Hugo piped up, Rose was about to snap at him for his stupid statement when he elaborated, "The Sorting Hat can summon it, Scorpius and enough of the others are Gryffindors for them to be able to get it somehow. That'd be easier to take and to send."

"Elwood was at dinner so his office should even be free now," Olivia said and Rose recalled seeing him there too but she still thought it a stupid plan.

"We don't know his password on how to get in there though," Rose stated but to her surprise, Corin snapped his fingers excitedly.

"Yes we do!" Corin burst out, "Don't you remember? Molly was ranting about having to reschedule the last match with Krum and Elwood? She had to go to his office and she mentioned his password because it was 'The Boy Who Lived' because Elwood hero-worships your uncle."

"He might have changed it by now."

"It's worth a shot," Lorcan pointed five of them headed off there while dinner was still on, Rose still very much wishing her brother wasn't a part of this before they reached the ugly stone gargoyle, "The Boy Who Lived."

And it actually worked, the statue jumped aside and they ascended the spiral steps. She suddenly felt very afraid, this was where Florian had tried to kill her after all and where he'd killed McGonagall. At the very least, she thought they should have checked to make sure Elwood was still in the Great Hall. Or maybe she was just nervous about being back there or the possibility of being in trouble. Elwood wasn't there though, the portraits of all the former Headmasters - except Varanian - were though. At least they were mostly pretending to be asleep, she'd have felt worse if they staring at her accusingly. She hoped they were asleep, or else they'd be able to accuse them. She couldn't bring herself to look at McGonagall's portrait though. Lorcan was the first to reach the Sorting Hat, it was perched precariously on a shelf and he snatched it without hesitation.

"Wait," Corin interrupted and took it from Lorcan, using the Duplicating Spell that Maurice had used on the werewolf bracelets to clone the hat. He put the copy back on the shelf, "It won't be able to sort students but we should have the real one back before then."

"Good thinking," Rose offered as Olivia took the real hat from Corin, shoving it inside her robes as they left, "Elwood won't notice at a glance that it's missing."

"Yeah," Olivia nodded, "I'll ask my brother to use his owl, Father got him a new one as a graduation present. It's a pretty fast owl, mine's on delivery still."

"Let's just hope it does some good," Hugo said with a sigh.

---

Corin stayed back in his mother's quarters for the holiday but they still spent time togetherduring the day and sat together at meals, on Christmas day he was incredibly surprised when Corin returned while he was reading before breakfast as it was later then on regular days. Corin had a smile on his face and handed him a lump of golden gift wrap while Maurice gripped his translator necklace in his free hand.

'Merry Christmas,' Corin offered brightly but Maurice handed it back to him which destroyed the taller boy's smile.

"You know I don't celebrate such a thing," Maurice explained, he thought he had made it pretty clear that neither his father nor his previous school had celebrated it or even mentioned such a thing before. Corin pushed it back into his hand though.

'Now's a good time to start.'

"I didn't get you anything," Maurice pointed out as he gave it back to Corin again but Corin again shoved it back to him.

'I know.'

"Then why give me something?! Is the whole premise from what I understand that it's exchanging meaningless materialistic things with each other?"

'The premise is that Christmas is a time for giving, for thinking about others and the gift doesn't matter as much as the thought behind it. You're giving someone something because you care about them, it's not like balancing scales,' Corin explained, 'When I was two, I gave Maman a painting I did as a gift for Christmas. It's super terrible as I was so young but she kept it because it's the thought that counts, she kept all the lame pictures I gave her as gifts until I got old enough to realize money buys nicer presents. You give someone something because you care about them, you're my friend and I wanted to give you something. I don't care if you give my anything in return, it's not what Christmas is about.'

"You people celebrate some bizarre things," Maurice pointed out as he begrudgingly unwrapped the gift, a book on dueling tactics - in English even - which actually looked quite interesting, "Thank you."

'Do you like it?' Corin asked, looking somewhat worried that he wouldn't, 'I know you love dueling and Moreau recommended that book as being useful about it. I even got it in English because I know that's your preferred language.'

"Well technically my favorite language is sign language but yes, English is certainly preferred out of the languages I know. And it looks interesting."

'How many languages do you know?' Corin wondered, looking curious.

"English, Runic, Greek and Ancient Greek, Sign Language then French and Latin from here," Maurice told him but Corin was gaping at him, "What?"

'You're nine and you already know all that. I thought being fluent in English, French and learning Latin myself was impressive.'

"Its part of the curriculum at my first school, well except sign language but that's because I'm deaf. Their teaching style is superior to here," Maurice insisted proudly, "You learn so much more working longer days and every single day without stupid rest days and sending people home for breaks, I didn't see my Father for four whole years when I started there the day I turned two."

'That doesn't sound very fun.'

"What does fun have to do with training to be a competent soldier?" Maurice wondered seriously, Corin gave him a strange look but seemed to decide to change the subject instead.

'What is this sign language you keep mentioning? I have not heard of it.'

"It's a language that you speak with your hands," Maurice explained and let go of his necklace to sign as he spoke "The different movements mean different things, I'm signing what I'm saying right now."

'That's pretty neat but isn't it easy to use your necklace still?' Corin wondered when Maurice had put his hand back to his necklace.

"The necklace uses my own magic to work, it's why I can't use it and my wand at the same time. It is easier in a way, most people don't know sign language let alone would bother to use it and it frees up your hands. It's tiring but you get used it, sign language is still my favorite though," Maurice said and tried to think how he could explain his preference, "It just feels more... immersive? I can see people's mouths moving and see the words but I can't hear it, I'm speaking right now but I can't hear my voice so really it could be completely wrong as you've mentioned with French but I wasn't taught to speak French articulately like I was English. With sign language I know exactly what I'm saying and what's being said directly, it just feels more natural or something... That probably doesn't make sense."

'No, I think I get it. I do speak English and French fluently since I was a baby, I know what it's like for one to feel more natural. I wish my Father spoke French,' Corin admitted, 'Can you teach me sign language?'

"Why?"

'Why not?'

"Well it might interfere with your studies, it's going to take more than a day."

'Well then we'll just ease off if we have a particularly heavy workload.'

So they did, starting that Christmas break he started teaching Corin sign language and eased up if the workload was heavy as it took Corin longer then him even with Maurice's help. Another good thing about it being after the break was that the dueling tournament returned, even though they'd still have to wait until after the Easter break for their shot they liked watching. Corin also continued pleading with him to come and watch Quidditch, finally begging him to in February because it was his birthday.

"I don't see why it being your birthday makes any difference," Maurice pointed out truthfully and Corin gave him an incredulous look.

'Come on, Maurice, your Father has to celebrate birthdays. Christmas and Easter, I get it, maybe he's super against anything do with religion or believes in a different religion or something but birthdays,' Corin countered, 'He has to celebrate birthdays. Don't you get gifts on your birthday? Anything?'

"No, never. It's just a way of gauging your age, I'm sure the gift-giving isn't very popular or well known. How is being born a worthy enough achievement to give gifts? I don't know a lot about birth but I'm pretty sure the person being born doesn't do anything, it's just a natural process the mother is going through and even they aren't putting conscious thought into it. As far as I know anyway. You don't really consider it an achievement to vomit, do you?"

'I don't know a lot about birth either but I'm pretty sure it's not like vomiting, more like a magic portal to get the baby out of the Mother's stomach.'

"Corin, babies come from wombs not stomachs because that's part of the digestive system. Do you know nothing about human anatomy?"

'It's not the point,' Corin protested, 'Birthdays are thing with gifts and cake and celebration and party. That's why I was with Maman today, opening my gifts.'

"Well my Father never did that."

'Because your Father is insane, he's the worst.'

"I don't think he's the worst," Maurice insisted defensively, recalling Pyrrhus mentioning his own father being so terrible, "What responsibility do parents really have to celebrate things with their children anyway? My Mother abandoned me as a baby because she didn't want a deaf son and I've barely seen my Father, parents aren't that important really."

'I'm sorry,' Corin apologized with a look of sympathy in his direction.

"For what?"

'Sometimes I get mad at my Father because he didn't care enough about me or Maman to learn French or move to France and propose so I could grow up with both of my parents,' Corin explained with a glint of anger glittering in his eyes before it dimmed, his sympathy returning, 'Your parents make my issues feel so stupid and pointless though because you're even worse off.'

"Fine, I'll see Quidditch with you," Maurice agreed to try cheer him up.

He supposed it was fair to do something Corin wanted when he was learning sign language and had given him a gift for Christmas anyway, it actually worked and Corin's spirits picked up immediately. He dragged him out to the match, explaining the tedious rules as they watched in the staff box with the headmistress. It was utterly pointless in Maurice's opinion, what purpose did it serve? He thought it was rather boring too, watching people flying with balls zooming around a giant space. He was at least somewhat relieved to see he wasn't the only one who looked bored, the headmistress herself was looking rather disinterested in the game. At least Corin was happy though, frequently turning to explain the game without noticing Maurice had long since stopped using his necklace to pay attention as watching it was dull enough. But he did it for Corin. It did seem even more of a nice thing to do when Easter break came not long after that and Corin left to go stay in Hogwarts with his own father, leaving Maurice alone again.

Roman didn't seem to have any interest in spending time with him, Maurice thought he knew why. Normal people apparently already had their parents caring about them, celebrating the day of their birth apparently and wanting to spend time with their children but not for Maurice. He thought it had to be because he was deaf, his deafness meant he had to earn his parents' love rather than have it freely given. That had to be it. His mother had already abandoned hope for him but not his father, if he could just show he was good enough and meet his father's high standards then maybe his father would like him too. How to do that all came back down to the most important thing: being a good soldier. His father would surely love him if he was a good soldier since he understood that.

---

It felt strange for Brutus to be back at the Ashain mansion, it had been over twenty years since he'd fled to escape the Aurors at his father's urging. Atticus had let him go, he wondered if his brother regretted the choice now. Or if he would if he hadn't been plunged into a coma anyway. Brutus would undo that though, the urgency was the only reason he didn't feel bad for leaving his newborns so soon. He'd always found the place somewhat creepy, it wasn't sure whether it was the foreboding itself or just the fact his grandparents resided there but he had. Despite that though, it was home. Even after all those years, it was the first place that popped into his mind when he heard the word 'home' and the last place he'd ever felt truly at home. He'd ran away to escape the Aurors and he'd never stopped running really.

He slipped through the trick gap in the wall surrounding the grounds, not sure if his grandfather would even let him enter despite being aware of his allegiance to the Soul Eaters. He went in through the kitchens, where the house-elves were cleaning the dishes after presumably dinner. Brutus didn't like them, he'd frequently tried to befriend them in his youth but the little buggers had spurned him every time. He knew they'd treated Atticus likewise and his father too, their only loyalty was to the man who treated them so cruelly. He didn't know whether they truly were mindless and stupid, simply horrible themselves or just too whipped by his grandfather but it didn't matter either way now.

"I'm here to see Corvinus Ashain. Someone take me to him," Brutus announced to them and one stopped its work, walking on ancient legs over to him and gesturing for him to follow. Brutus obeyed and waited until they were out of the kitchen before drawing his wand, "Imperio."

His spell struck the creature in the back but Brutus allowed it keep on with its goal of bringing him to his grandfather, now wasn't the time. He followed through the painfully familiar halls, watching the ghosts of memories pass him by as he walked. Good memories of his brother, his father stinging him just as much as bad memories of his grandparents. Sometimes he wished he could go back to those memories and live his life again, the only problem was that he wasn't sure how to stop it going so badly wrong a second time. His grandfather was where Brutus had expected to him to be, the parlor with the huge portrait of himself. Corvinus was somewhat egotistical.

"Ah, Brutus, one of my least favorite grandsons," his grandfather greeted him in a conversational tone, not acting the slightest bit surprised as if he'd expected to see him all along. Brutus never knew if he really wasn't surprised or he just never showed it, "How interesting to see you again."

"I need you to show me the secret room," Brutus told him as he strode over.

"You're here about that?" his grandfather wondered and raised an eyebrow curiously, it surprised Brutus how young and healthy he looked. He'd thought he would've been a decrepit old fossil by now despite having heard the contrary, not that it mattered really, "Not for what I did to your Father? I'm glad you're finally putting your career prospects over something as trivial as family, you have done surprisingly well for yourself. Although that's not saying a lot considering the standards set by your Father and Half-Brother."

"Just take me there, I need to make sure they didn't do anything to compromise the final Scepter piece."

"Very well, I could use a stroll," his grandfather agreed as he stood, smacking the nearby house-elf unnecessarily to make it move to lead the way for them to follow, "Take us there."

"You haven't changed," Brutus commented as they walked.

"Change is for fools, you should embrace you are. After all, your life revolves around you," his grandfather explained his spiel that Brutus had heard too many times already.

He looked at Brutus as if trying to gauge what he was thinking but said nothing else until they'd reached the entrance, Brutus kept his expression definitively blank. He placed his hand onto the entrance, opening it into the small cramped room it led to. Brutus took out his wand and flicked it, slicing his hand but he gritted his teeth through the sting of pain as it was really nothing. He waved his wounded hand to shed the blood onto the ground, revealing the steps through a misty translucent veil just as Romulus had described in his journals. His grandfather didn't look the slightest bit surprised or intrigued by the development, he struck the house-elf again to urge it down before them.

They followed the poor old creature down the spiraling stone steps, again spot on with what Brutus had been expecting. It led to the open dungeon-like room with shimmering mirror-like walls at the end, veering off either side into a labyrinth if Romulus' journals continued to be accurate. A labyrinth which held the wand Ashylos had crafted from the handle of Herpo's Scepter, the final piece that they would acquire later as they needed the middle section to connect it to the orb they had. The house-elf twitched for some reason, desiring to go there for some reason but the Imperius Curse prevented it. That was somewhat unexpected.

"Well it doesn't seem as if they've done anything, what would they have done anyway?" his grandfather wondered as they strode across the flagged stone ground with the house-elf by their side, "Your Father is pathetic. A lunatic, a coward and too lacking in focus to harness any shred of intelligence he has inside his head."

"You're right," Brutus said as he stopped, recognizing the trap which just made his task even easier and he had an idea what to do to activate it. He'd wanted it to be him, he felt as if it was the only way it could go down. His grandfather had walked into it though, turning back to see why he'd stopped, "I'm not really here to check anything, I am here for what you did to my Father. I'm here to kill you, Grandfather."

"You think you can kill me, Brutus?" his grandfather laughed, an arrogant smirk on his face.

"I don't have to," Brutus whispered and willed the house-elf to follow its master.

The second it crossed the line, the trap activated. Jets of crimson blaze shot up from the ground, his grandfather screamed as the flames tore into him. Brutus flicked his wand, summoning the Blood Rune orb to himself and quickly casting another spell so it wouldn't burn his hand while still hot. He left his grandfather to the flames though, dignity forgotten as he screamed, writhing in agony as the fire ate through his flesh. Too overwhelmed to protect himself, it wouldn't matter anyway as it was cursed fire. The house-elf didn't move or scream, it didn't fight its death and Brutus was oddly aware of its relief to finally die. Brutus stood and watched as his grandfather was cinderized by the fire, the repulsive scent of burned flesh scorching his nostrils but he still stayed. He thought he'd feel pleased or maybe guilty as it was his grandfather still but he didn't. Brutus just felt relieved as well that the old bastard was dying. The flames stopped after a few minutes, leaving behind only ash.

---

The week of Easter break did give Maurice the perfect opportunity to focus on practicing solely for the dueling tournament, unfortunately they still hadn't changed the rules to allow more severe attacks. Upon Corin's return, he set to work on helping him prepare as well which wasn't entirely easy. Corin's height made him an easier target although his blood also meant he'd be more resistant to several spells, disarming wasn't one of those spells though unfortunately. As Second Years, their house matches was the first duels back after the break in the third week of May much to Maurice's delight. Restricting or not, any chance to flex his dueling muscles was good as it was incredibly important. In fact, if he could win with a restricted spell pool then he should have no trouble when he was fighting with full strength.

Like the previous year, Corin had his first match before Maurice but returned much faster with his first win. Maurice actually found it easier than the First Year, he didn't know whether it was because he was just more used to using magic or he just had confidence because he knew he'd already beaten his house mates before but he thought it was easier. His first duel was incredibly quick, he fired a Disarming Charm slightly to the boy's left quickly followed by a Body-Bind slightly to the boy's right. As predicted, the boy tried to dodge the first spell and in doing so landed straight into the path of the Body-Bind. Immediate victory. Corin won his next match also, Maurice still wishing he was able to see his friend's matches because then he'd know better where to advise him on his strengths and weaknesses. Maurice won his next match equally easily, the girl was fast enough to beat him to the first strike but his dodge was effortless and she clearly hadn't expected a counter attack so quickly as she simply seemed to scream as his Disarming Charm struck her. Corin won his next match, taking much less time than the previous year. Maurice's next opponent finally put some effort into it and the duel lasted more than five seconds, she balanced defense and attack much better but she wasn't the fastest and was felled with ease. That put both of them into the final eight, time would tell whether history would repeat itself or whether Corin would make it through to the final four with a guaranteed spot in the Second Year Final. Corin's match was actually first this time and after quite a while, Corin returned victorious.

Maurice's next match was ironically easier, the boy was good at defending but so lacking in attack that Maurice was surprised he'd made it that far. Maurice overwhelmed him with an assault of spells that he couldn't defend against all of them, making both Maurice and Corin into the final four. Corin unfortunately lost his next match though, Maurice was all the more determined to win and avenge his friends' loss. He shot an icy spell he hadn't used yet or been taught in Beauxbatons first in his next match, making the ground around his opponent's feet slippery then firing a Disarming Charm for them to dodge. They slipped and fell in doing so, Maurice threw down a Body-Bind to ensure they didn't get back up and won his way to the final against the girl who'd beaten Corin. It was a short duel, Maurice went for shock and awe and didn't stop firing until she was on the ground in a Body-Bind. Moreau grabbed his wand arm and raised it into the air to the cheering crowd, Maurice remained the best in his year in his house. Corin was ecstatic for him and for himself as the part-giant had still done enough to be in the Second Year final in a month, Corin virtually abandoned homework in favor of practicing and tried to get Maurice to teach him the ice spell but Corin struggled with it.

The month seemed to pass quickly before the Second Year Finals were upon them, Maurice couldn't wait and was glad his match was sooner for once. He was up first against the weedy boy that he'd beaten last year and won easily, Corin's match took longer but he also won his first match. He went up next against a stocky boy who was so terrible at dodging that Maurice wondered how he'd gotten so far, he wished they'd put up more of a challenge though as they were nine and ten years old already. Corin also won his next match, putting them both into the final four. Maurice's next match was against the same tall girl from the previous year, she hadn't learned her lesson apparently and fell for the same tactic of using her height against her that he'd used previously. He'd expected better. Corin lost his next match though after a lengthy battle, yet again inspiring Maurice to avenge the part-giant's loss although he thought really he should probably be glad to not be against Corin in the final. It didn't matter though, his opponent had no major flaws and Maurice simply had to outlast and outmaneuver him. Moreau yet again raised Maurice's wand arm into the air, the still undefeated victor of his year. Corin was clearly disappointed to have lost after coming so close but was nonetheless supportive and willing to practice with him for facing off against the First Year victor the following week to be the champion of Primaire.

His match was still last and it again took place in the outdoor amphitheater, Superieur was won by the same boy from last year who was now a Tenth year while a rather talented Fifth Year managed to win the Moyenne spot. Maurice wasn't expecting his fight to be too difficult, he was against a First Year after all and the Second Year tended to win. He wasn't wrong, the rather short girl wasn't lacking in talent and in fact could probably beat some of the Second Years easily but she was more of a diamond in the rough and Maurice bested her without breaking a sweat. Moreau raised his wand arm into the air for the sixth time in two years, it didn't feel as much of a victory as the previous year but he was still somewhat proud and hoped his father would see that it hadn't just been luck the First Year. His hope was destroyed with his father's next letter, insisting it wasn't anything special to win against someone younger then you or against people he'd already beaten the previous year. Maurice angrily engulfed the letter in flames, it made him feel somewhat better but didn't take the sting away from the fact his father still didn't think he was good enough. He wished he could talk to Pyrrhus, Pyrrhus would surely appreciate that it was something good. That year, he did get ninety-nine on every subject but it also still didn't meet his father's high standards.

After an uncomfortable special lesson instead of literacy about puberty and sex education - which Maurice found incredibly disturbing and for the first time ever, he let go of his necklace and deliberately didn't pay attention - it was time to return to home. Or rather just to his father, Maurice thought it didn't feel like home. Beauxbatons felt more like home then there and even that still didn't truly replace his home school where he'd grown up, that was his true home really. The break actually got off to a rather unusual start, Aurors came to their apartment to speak to his father and Maurice was naturally shunted into his own room and not allowed in on the conversation. Afterwards though, his father hugged him for the second time in his memory. Maurice had no idea why, his father just clung to him tightly and Maurice hugged him back cautiously, wondering if maybe he had proved himself after all. His father abruptly pulled away though, heading into his room and locking the door. When he came out, he pretended as if it hadn't happened. Was Maurice that bad really to deserve such cold treatment? Corin sent him an intricately decorated leather-bound notebook for his tenth birthday, his father didn't even acknowledge he'd been alive for a decade.

Maurice was glad when his Beauxbatons letter came, he was looking forward to being a Moyenne. His father managed to mess up his good mood there though, pointing out that it was his last year in Beauxbatons and that he'd be moving back to England next year to start Hogwarts. Maurice was devastated enough to almost cry, his father took him away from the home school he'd grown up in and loved then when he was finally comfortable in Beauxbatons and had - at least he thought so as Corin had described them as such - a friend, he took him away from there too? Why? Why even send him to a school he hated? Did his father just outright hate him? Maurice thought he probably did. His spirits were low for the rest of the summer, even Corin stopped writing to him after he mentioned he'd be moving to Hogwarts after the year. Trying out some more powerful spells made him feel somewhat better and he bought Corin two gifts in preparation, a book on politics that he thought - and hoped - would be useful for his plans to be Minister for Magic for his birthday and a Platine scarf for Christmas because it was cold in winter and he had no idea what to get. For the last time, he got into the carriage pulled by winged horses and was flown away to his final year at Beauxbatons. The layout was a bit different for Moyenne Years and they now had the Moyenne areas rather than the Primaire to go to but he was still sharing a room with Corin, the part-giant was waiting for him eagerly.

'Guess what? Guess what?' Corin signed as soon as Maurice was through the door, excitement glittering in his dark eyes, 'And is this right? I've been practicing.'

"Very good," Maurice complimented and signed at the same time before putting his hand to his necklace, Corin reverted back to speaking with words.

'I've talked to Maman and I'm allowed to start at Hogwarts next year as well.'

"Why would you do that?" Maurice wondered in confusion, "You love it here."

'True but we've got to stick together, that's what friends do,' Corin told him before shrugging, 'I can always come back here if it doesn't work out.'

---

Scorpius quickly found that waiting was something they'd have to get used to. Waiting. And waiting. Everyone was getting antsy by nightfall, Wyatt hadn't returned with news of the Shadows making a move and Varanian hadn't returned or ringed him with news of locating the missing three. He supposed no news was better than bad news but he was anxious to be doing something, he knew time was of the essence for Professor Ashain. He could only hope that Ashylos' silence meant that the professor was still alive and they still had a chance, the more time went by the less chance they had though as it meant they had less time. Roman made them dinner and set up bedrooms for them in the spare rooms, not that Scorpius thought any of them got much sleep. Roman was the only one who looked as if he'd gotten any sleep, he was sipping tea and reading the paper the next morning as if nothing was wrong. He had made them breakfast though.

"Is this all you do?" Albus complained of him as they sat around the table to eat, "Sit around here while Varanian and Wyatt do all the work."

"I do work," Roman protested defensively, "I do research. And discuss important things. And keep findings organized. It's important, you'd never find anything the disordered way that Varanian does things."

"So basically you do housework?" Albus scoffed and dipped his words in sarcasm, "Yes, how could anyone forget the importance of cooking and cleaning? That's what's going to save my sister and friends, that's what's going to stop the Shadows. You're basically a housewife."

"I am not a housewife!" Roman snapped angrily, "I do other things, I told you. It's just that Varanian's a metamorphmagus and Wyatt's an animagus whereas I'm not so it's easier for them to you know, not be murdered by the Shadows who want to kill us."

"Excuses, excuses. Name one useful thing you've done?"

"I... I helped stop the Shadows getting the Scepter when they attacked the Ministry," Roman pointed out and turned to Scorpius, "You were there too, you know I was there!"

"Yes, you were there," Scorpius confirmed tiredly.

"See! I did stuff. And... And I got Mordekai the werewolf, if I hadn't done that then he'd have never been to lead the werewolves away. So there, I've done things that are useful."

"Being around while other people are doing useful things isn't the same as doing anything useful," Albus insisted irritably, "Face it, you're just useless. A useful housewife."

"What's wrong with being a housewife or husband?" Antonius wondered.

"I'm not useless or a housewife!" Roman screeched and snatched away Albus' plate of food as he went to jab his fork into it.

"Hey!" Albus cried out angrily, glaring at Roman.

"No food for you! You can make your own damn food if it's not good enough for you!"

"Why?!"

"Why do you think?! You insulted me!"

"Fine! I'm sorry you're useless, now give me back my bloody breakfast!"

"No!" Roman scoffed and stalked off with Albus' breakfast, shutting himself into his own room.

"Well done," Antonius offered sarcastically while Albus slumped sulkily back into his seat.

"Shut up, August," Albus grumbled.

"I didn't say that, Antonius did," August pointed out.

"I said shut up, August!" Albus screamed at him, August let his head fall onto his hand unhappily.

"What is your problem with Roman?" Molly half-wondered and half-complained and Albus sighed, "We need to stick together not turn on each other."

"I don't know. Maurice is messed up in the head sure but he's still not someone I'd want to mess with in a fight, I thought his Dad would be more like him not just pathetic."

"Well he is messed up in the head, just in a very different way," Scorpius said, "And what have I ever said about him to make you think he was any good in a duel?"

"Nothing I guess," Albus sighed unhappily, "I'm just fed up waiting and he's an easy target because he's really pathetic."

"Why don't you go and apologize then?" Michael wondered and Albus snorted.

"Because now he's gone and pissed me off. Anyone want to share their breakfast?"

"Take mine," Antonius offered and shoved his plate over to Albus, "I'm never hungry anymore and I can barely taste anything anyway."

"Thanks, mate," Albus nodded appreciatively as Antonius stood and left.

"Should we be worried about him?" Michael asked of no one in particular.

"Why would be worried about him? He's fine," Albus brushed it off with a dismissive wave of his hand.

Scorpius thought Albus should've apologized but he did understand the building frustration, he kept pacing himself for something to do and his attempt to distract himself by doing some more of his animagus work failed due to his inability to concentrate. It must be worse for Albus, both because his own sister was missing and because he was more impatient then Scorpius was. Roman didn't make them lunch but then they tended to just have two meals a day anyway so he wasn't surprised, Varanian finally returned when they were starting to wonder about dinner in the evening.

"What did you find out?!" Albus demanded, pouncing on him practically the second that Varanian walked through the door.

"I couldn't find out where they're being kept, one of the generic isolated farmhouse buildings they use," Varanian told him, now having his usual tawny-haired exhausted appearance without his scars visible, "I couldn't find out which one though, the Shadow Master will be personally involved in this and anything with him doesn't give a lot of information out."

"Will be?" Scorpius wondered as he noted the odd use of tense, Varanian nodded and a bemused scowl creased his features.

"Yeah, the delay in going after the Scepter has nothing to do with the Aurors finding out and getting out guards but everything to do with the Shadow Master wanting himself or one of his Lieutenants to oversee it. Something unknown kept the Shadow Master busy yesterday, the spy Lieutenant couldn't get away without breaking cover, Rabastan was the one in control of the Specters while the Shadow Master was indisposed and can't multi-task like his mast instead. I have no idea why Brutus or the Shadow Master were busy though, nothing Shadow-related or good or bad or even noteworthy has happened the past two days."

"Does that really matter?" Albus complained with a frown of his own.

"Something that ties up both the Shadow Master and Brutus as well as preventing the Shadow Master from being able to control the Specters - usually he can multi-task - is probably important, especially since we know the Scepter is important to the Shadow Master."

"Maybe its woman troubles," Roman guessed, having slipped out of his room and was leaning against the wall.

"Roman," Varanian said warningly as he threw him a look.

"What?" Roman wondered obliviously.

"So are you just giving up or what?" Antonius asked seriously although his eyes remained devoid of hope, Scorpius thought it quite sad to see hopeless in the eyes of a child.

"Of course not," Varanian insisted, "I just learned they're going in at nightfall, that's not a lot of time so I have a new plan. We get to the Scepter first and wait for them, that way we have the Scepter and know the kidnapped kids will have to come through alive. They'll have a limited amount of people with them through the caves, we just have to hope the Shadow Master isn't one of the so we can overpower then and save the others."

"Did you forget about the Aurors guarding it?" Roman complained.

"No, it's just something we'll have to get past. Cause some kind of distraction and incapacitate the ones who remain, get in before the others return because they won't be able to follow as they have no one with Ashain blood to get in."

"You could just pretend to hold us hostage and threaten to kill us if they don't stand down?" Scorpius offered, thinking it might be faster than having to fight the Aurors but Varanian's answer was sarcastic.

"That will definitely help make me look innocent."

"Why do you have to fight them at all? Can't you just make yourself look like Harry Potter and tell them to go away?" August spoke up for the first time, "They'll probably realize you're not him eventually but by then we'll be in."

"Wouldn't work," Varanian shook his head, "They know I'm a metamorphmagus capable of doing that, they ask Potter a security question to confirm it's him before following orders. I don't know enough about his personal life to be able to answer them."

"Um... Hello," Albus said with a wave, "My name's Albus and I'm the son of Harry Potter. I know personal stuff about my Dad, I can tell you stuff about him that you think they might ask."

"That... Might actually work," Varanian admitted after a moment's thought and Albus grinned at having suggested something useful, "Plan B is the distraction."

---

Part 3: Dusk

---

Corin seemed to decide that was all there was to it and they would both go to Hogwarts, Maurice hated the shift in schools slightly less because of that and he thought it would be nice for English to be the main language again as well. He was devastated to learn there was no dueling tournament though, that was Beauxbatons best feature. The year got off to a hectic start, there was no more basic skills class but it was instead replaced by two new classes: Astronomie and Vol sur balai or Astronomy and Flying in English. Astronomie was taught once a week at night and the teacher, the elderly Mathilde Michel, seemed to make up for it by giving them time consuming homework which required pinpoint precision to plot stars and things. Being in Moyenne also meant it was apparently alright to up the amount of homework given, almost every subject piled it onto them and Corin stayed up frantic some nights as he struggled to stay on top of it. Maurice didn't mind, nor did he have a problem with the increased workload as it gave him more to do on the pointless break days. Vol sur balai also took place once a week, it was taught by Emma Lemoine and was a mixture of practical learning to fly on broomsticks and the theory behind it. However, they didn't start the practical until the spring when the weather was better and they'd already learned a good deal of theory. Maurice noticed he and Corin were really starting to rub off on each other, he was trying new things at meals while Corin was denying deserts.

Corin also had a strange offer for him, inviting him to spend the Christmas break with him in Hogwarts with his father to give him a glimpse of what the castle was like beforehand and because it was Christmas. Maurice wrote to his father but was expecting - and maybe even hoping a little as it made him nervous - his request to be denied, after all his father never let him do anything he wanted like return to his home school. He was shocked when Roman agreed, he wondered if his father had done so deliberately just to surprise him. Maurice was suddenly very nervous about the break, he didn't really want to be intruding on Corin and his father. Even if Corin had issues with him. Maurice hadn't even met the guy.

'Do you need anything?' Corin signed to him one of the days closer to the time in December, they regularly bounced between English, French, Latin and Sign Language for practice, 'For your skin condition, I mean.'

"Oh, nothing. I don't really have a skin condition," Maurice admitted without thinking, Corin looked at him in surprise that turned to confusion though and switched back to speaking so Maurice put a hand to his necklace.

'If you don't have a skin condition then why do you and your dad pretend you do? Why do you wear those fingerless gloves all the time?'

"Promise you won't overreact," Maurice told him and Corin's scowl only deepened.

'Why would I overreact?'

"I wear the gloves to hide the scars," Maurice explained as he took off the gloves to show Corin, the part-giant's eyes almost seemed to bulge out of their sockets in shock, "In my first school we used blood quills, they're great for making the information sink in but a side effect is these scars that tend to bother people."

'Of course it bothers people, Maurice,' Corin said as he stood, looking very much like he was yelling, 'That's abuse. That's torture. That's highly illegal. That's wrong.'

"Are you yelling? You look like you're yelling. You promised not to overreact," Maurice complained at him irritably while Corin looked incredulous.

'Can you really not see that this is wrong?'

"There's nothing wrong to see!"

'Doesn't it hurt?'

"Of course it hurts, Corin, you're carving words into your skin," Maurice pointed out and Corin's eyes welled with tears, "But that doesn't mean it's wrong, it's an effective method of teaching because it causes you pain. You'll be damn sure to remember what you're learning to avoid the pain going through it again."

'Hurting people is wrong,' Corin insisted, still looking like he was yelling, 'It doesn't matter how good it makes you remember things. And you were just two, I wasn't toilet trained or even speaking in full sentences when I turned two. It's wrong.'

"Locking a person up seems wrong but if it's a prisoner who is being punished for a crime then it's justified, it's the same with this."

'It's not even close to the same thing.'

"You'll have to elaborate if you expect this to be an effective debate," Maurice pointed out.

'There is no debate or even a question, making someone use a blood quill is wrong and you just don't know any better. They brainwashed you into thinking otherwise with their no fun, no celebrating, no giving you a break, no kindness, no friendship, no love. And you don't even realize how bad it is that they took away your normal child life.'

"You just don't realize the benefits and how much better off I am because of it," Maurice scoffed in protest while Corin went into the bathroom, shaking his head and wiping his eyes and closing the door behind him, "AND LEARN TO KEEP YOUR PROMISES! BECAUSE YOU ARE COMPETELTELY OVERREACTING! IF I SOUND LIKE I'M YELLING, IT'S BECAUSE I'M TRYING TO BE YELLING! And if I'm not then pretend I am and tell me so I can improve my yelling voice so I can project through closed doors."

Maurice put his gloves back on and stalked off to practice dueling to take his mind off things, he didn't see Corin again until dinner where the part-giant seemed to just ignore what had happened. He didn't apologize and instead started up a conversation over their Astronomie homework, Maurice went along with it but was still waiting for his apology. He still hadn't gotten one by the time they were back in their room.

"Corin, isn't there something you want to say to me?" Maurice questioned of his friend then, fed up with waiting and not wanting to just ignore it.

'No. I'm not apologizing,' Corin told him, looking quite calm, 'It's wrong and I'm right but there's no convincing you, we're just going to have to agree to disagree.'

"Agree to disagree?"

'Accept that we have differences of opinion and get back to our usual routine.'

"Oh, alright. But I'm still right," Maurice insisted to which Corin simply shrugged as he got ready for bed, Maurice made a mental note to not show him how far the scars extended anytime soon.

They finished up the last few days until the winter, they stayed one more day as the carriages were busy with taking the other students home. They headed off the next day, the Headmistress coming to see her son off and Maurice felt his twist strangely painfully as he watched Corin hugged and kissed by his mother. That must be what mothers were supposed to be like. He didn't understand why Corin was embarrassed, he was lucky his mother cared about him. Maurice didn't have that. He didn't have a mother at all. She'd abandoned him as a baby according to his father, not wanting a deaf son. He couldn't decide whether to be angry with her, on one hand she had left but on the other he had been a baby, he hadn't done anything to deserve her love. None of his successes were good enough for his father ether. Maybe when he was a good enough soldier she'd come back, both of his parents would love him. Or maybe nothing would ever be good enough. It made him both sad and angry to think of her so he did his best not to, he did have more important things to focus on then an absent stranger. He didn't know what she looked like, he didn't even know her name. He wondered what she was like, children did inherit traits from their parents. Did she look anything like him? Was she anything like him in terms of personality? Had she been good at school? Good at dueling? Was she a good soldier? It was foolish to wonder and wrong to crave a relationship with his mother, or want his father's love.

They made it to Hogwarts and Maurice thought he actually liked the castle better then Beauxbatons, it had a more rustic look to it that was more in line with the tower in which his home school resided over the impractical elegance of Beauxbatons. The school had held firm against Voldemort's army so it had proved to be more fortified, then again Beauxbatons had never had an army attack it so it wasn't exactly fair to compare them on that front. Beauxbatons also hadn't been infiltrated and cause for so much scandal and chaos as Hogwarts had so Beauxbatons did have that going for it. Hogwarts certainly introduced him to some interesting people right off the bat, Marius Calderon and Scorpius Malfoy. Marius had the most impressive and masterful grasp of wandless magic that Maurice had ever seen, it was amazing. And Scorpius... Maurice didn't know why, he just took an immediate liking to him. There was also Corin's father, who fitted it in more with what he'd imagine a half-giant would be like as Hagrid didn't strike him as especially intelligent. He was friendly and nice though, which was the exact opposite of his father so clearly Hagrid wasn't very father-like but he wasn't human so Maurice could forgive him. In contrast, he took an instant dislike to Rose Weasley as his father had warned him against the Weasleys and he saw why, such a stuck-up know it all who clearly didn't actually know it all. He did get roped into helping Scorpius translate something from runic though which gave him something to do over the holiday and brushed up his rusty runic skills.

Most of the teachers went home the day after the students did like in Beauxbatons but the very interesting Marius stayed, they also got Atticus Ashain the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher which was sort of the equivalent of Bataille and Defense combined. He was a former Auror though, the closest wizard profession to a soldier so Maurice found him fascinating and enjoyed talking to him about such things. He also liked not having to stand for the Headmaster as Varanian didn't seem to expect that from anyone, Varanian was certainly an oddball though. Maurice wasn't sure if he was suffering from some kind of mental issue right then, some kind of disease or if it was actually some kind of Dark Magic because he was not usual. Corin definitely disagreed on the latter, insisting he was just seeing things that weren't there so Maurice let it go. The runic he translated was actually rather interesting though, all about Blood Runes and what they could do for protection. He thought Varanian was probably acting strange because of that, weak from foolishly using too much of his own blood or something. Corin seemed somewhat annoyed with his father's attention as well so Maurice mostly tried to translate at night so he could spend time with him during the day to not leave him alone. Christmas was painful though, he felt very much like he was intruding on Corin's time with his father and even slipped out after exchanging presents with Corin to give them privacy and went for a walk to clear his head.

Despite everything, Maurice couldn't help but feel somewhat envious and wished he had a better relationship with his father. Next year he was definitely getting his father something, maybe a gift would help or at least show his father that he cared about him. His father was all he had really now that he was cut off from his home school. His home school that absolutely wasn't terrible like Corin thought, it was the best possible place to be and he wished he was still there. That was where he'd been raised and that was where he belonged. He wouldn't care about his relationship with his father if he'd stayed there, not cared who his mother was, never have met Corin or know friendship. What you didn't have, you didn't miss. Maybe this was all just to test how true he could stay to his training and not stray from his path, he was a soldier first and everything else came second after all. It would still be easier if he was still in his home school and had never had left, it still came to mind first when he thought of home. He supposed Hogwarts would be his new home now and liked how it was smaller than Beauxbatons, he wondered if it was usual for schools to feel more like homes then where your parent lived. Probably not for normal people but then Maurice wasn't normal, was he?

---

"I don't like this plan," Latimer complained when Maurice was done explaining it, "I'm not of age."

"It doesn't matter if you're not of age, they have enchantments up to shield those within it from the trace," Maurice pointed out, "You know, because they'd be screwed if Abby or Lily managed to do magic while captive otherwise."

"You've said that, I meant that I haven't gotten my apparation license because I'm too young so it's illegal."

"You're seriously worried about laws?" Maurice wondered dubiously, "You'll only be in trouble if you get caught and even then, they could just ignore it. Potter let me get away with torturing Pyrrhus last year, if the Head Auror is just going to bend the laws to his whim then why shouldn't the rest of us?"

"I'm more worried about splinching," Latimer admitted with a sigh, "If I can't apparate myself into a hoop a stone's throw away without leaving behind my prosthetic foot then how do you expect me to apparate all three of us to an isolated farmhouse miles away?"

"Because I know you can do it. You were the first to apparate and have consistently done so aside from your foot, that's to do with not accepting it as a part of you not being unable to apparate. You can do this, Tobias," Maurice said seriously and Latimer's reddish-brown eyes flicked back to him, "I wouldn't be asking you do something that I wasn't sure you were capable of."

"You know, our mother always thinks she's right too," Orous pointed out quietly and sadly, unable to stop seeing the similarity and not feeling great about Maurice pressuring Latimer to do something.

"Would you quit being so negative? Do you not want to save the others?"

"I just think we should tell the Aurors or something."

"Sure, tip off the Shadow Aurors so they can move the others," Maurice quipped sarcastically, "It's getting dark now, the Shadows will wanting to use the cover of darkness just like we are so time is running out now. Whatever reason they had for delaying, it won't last forever before they go after the Scepter."

"Okay," Latimer agreed after taking a deep breath, "We'll go for it, just no one get mad at me if you get splinched."

"Good, I'll get the prisoner and you prepare yourselves."

Orous sighed, feeling his heart twist up anxiously as he went to retrieve the Invisibility Cloak while Maurice went back in to the prisoner. Latimer twirled his wand around himself, placing the Disillusionment Charm over himself then doing the same to Orous. Maurice's plan actually relied on stealth considering the Shadows apparently had a failsafe of transporting the prisoners to another location at any sign of trouble, they also would keep the trio separate so even if they got to one then the others would likely be taken before they could get to them too. It wasn't that Orous didn't want to help, he just thought the three of them didn't stand much of a chance alone. He wished they could contact Scorpius with the others, he didn't know whether had found out anything yet but they'd have more chance united with Varanian - an actual adult - to help.

"Are you ready?" Maurice asked as he returned with the prisoner and kept his wand trained on him while his free hand touched his necklace, the man held his twisted right arm as if it pained him but looked otherwise unhurt although his breathing seemed uneven. His oceanic eyes watched Maurice with a mixture of fear and... Something else that he wasn't quite sure of as the man's expression was otherwise neutral, actually he reminded him almost of Maurice.

"Ready as we'll ever be," Latimer admitted.

"What's your name?" Orous questioned of the prisoner whose eyes darted to him immediately.

"Rathan," the prisoner answered before Maurice violently slashed his wand, Rathan cried out in pain and was flung back from the force of the spell that Orous realized was the Acutus Curse from the gash that appeared above his right eye.

"I TOLD YOU NOT TO SPEAK TO ANYONE BUT ME!" Maurice yelled and Rathan quailed before Maurice struck him with a stunner, rounding on Orous instead, "You don't speak to the prisoner."

"Why did you do that?!" Orous demanded in shock.

"Because you can't talk to him, for torture to be effective the victim needs to be afraid. He's not going to be afraid if you're all nice and sympathetic to him, he'll feel no reason to do anything. And knowing his name is unnecessary, it'll just humanize him."

"And it's so wrong to think of people as people?! I think he might be our grandfather!"

"Orous, it's easier to kick a random object then a random person. You want to diminish your attachment not find reasons to care, I don't know who he is and I don't want to know. All that matters is he's the enemy."

"You can still be kind to people," Orous insisted, "Brutus was kind to me and he's still a Shadow."

"And you're not afraid of him so he fucked up there."

"We're wasting time, let's just get this over with," Latimer interrupted and Maurice nodded as he whisked his wand around himself to cast the Disillusionment Charm over himself, Orous wasn't sure if he was doing non-verbal magic, mouthing the words subtly or speaking so quietly it wasn't audible or noticeable.

"No turning back now, if you want to leave then now's your chance," Maurice offered them and despite his doubts, Orous didn't budge nor did Latimer. Maurice turned back to Rathan and revived him while backing up to stand by him and Latimer, "Imperio."

Orous swallowed, hoping his suspicions were wrong as the Imperised Rathan stood and no longer seemed by his broken-looking arm or the blood dribbling down his face from the Acutus cut. Maurice tossed him his wand, Rathan caught it with his uninjured arm before disapparating. Latimer took a deep breath as he put a hand on each of their shoulders before disapparating them too. To say apparation was uncomfortable was an understatement, Orous felt as if he was being compressed through something small like a tube. He thought he felt rather like toothpaste being squeezed out and was relieved when it stopped, he staggered forward. He fell and retched onto the dark ground.

"I can't believe I did it," Latimer whispered as Orous wiped his mouth ashamedly, "And don't worry, Orous, a lot of people vomit the first time. You get used to it."

He glanced around and saw they were in the ruins of a burned out barn which was where they were supposed to be, he also saw something else behind the others and almost threw up again. Bodies. There was a pile of corpses. Some looked more like people, they were still recognizable anyway despite the glassy glazed over eyes and had expressions permanently twisted into pain. Others had started to decompose, bloated bluish-purple skin and decaying slivers of flesh falling off bones. The air was so rank with the stench of rotting meat, so thick it seemed to clog both his nostrils and stick to the inside of his mouth. He actually preferred the smell of his puke. The color drained completely out of Latimer's face as he turned to see the source of the smell, Maurice though looked entirely unfazed.

"The prisoner did say they stored bodies here to be made into Inferi, they move them when there's enough. I did mention it," Maurice explained casually before a thoughtful expression flickered in the cold oceans of his eyes, "You know-"

"Don't you dare," Orous interrupted him darkly through gritted teeth, "Don't say you know how to make Inferi, don't say that it could be useful. It's sick and its wrong. Dark Magic. Necromancy. Those are people, Maurice, innocent people murdered by the Shadows."

"They're corpses, they're not people anymore. You'd think they'd want to be help fight against their killers if they had a chance. And I wasn't going to say that anyway."

"What were you going to say then? How great Inferi are? How cool it is to see a bunch of dead people?" Orous asked of him bitterly as he got to his feet, "What, Maurice? What were you going to say?"

"It doesn't matter, you crucify me for anything I say right now," Maurice complained as he strode over to the ruin of the window, pausing abruptly as pain crossed his face.

"What?" Latimer asked of him as he went over to him.

"Scars are just hurting rather badly right now, damn Alzay, I'll get her for this," Maurice muttered as he let go of his necklace to clutch his chest as he continued to the window, "They bought our prisoner's story about passing out from his injuries when he tried to get away, the enchantment didn't pick up us as it was broken after detecting him like I said. We'll give it another minute for him to get inside the farmhouse, let them be lulled into a false sense of security before we go in."

"Maybe you should tell him about Alzay being his mother, Orous, he'll freak worse if he finds out from her."

"I was wrong, he's not going to care she's his mother," Orous pointed out, trying to decide whether it was stranger to be talking about his brother behind his back - quite literally - or to be talking with a pile of bodies behind them, "He doesn't care about family or anything, he's not going to care what Shadow she is specifically."

"C'mon, you know he's not that bad. His dark side is just pretty dark."

"Okay," Maurice announced as he turned back to them, "We go in now."

---

He managed to finish the translation and passed it along to Scorpius' friend, the short muggleborn Michael Sanford to pass along before heading back. He was almost disappointed to go, he thought it would be cool to see the Blood Runes in action. They were thrown back into the sea of Beauxbatons work instead though as well as preparing for the dueling tournament, now Moyenne their house matches would be the last before Easter in the third week of March and in the meantime they still had the entertainment of watching the other duels. Maurice couldn't wait, especially since Hogwarts apparently didn't do a dueling tournament and Maurice thought they should be ashamed of that fact. Especially when England had a high amount of Shadow attacks, they were in other countries - including France - too but had originated in England and had a high amount of attacks there including the destruction of Azkaban. He'd have thought teaching the next generation to defend themselves through the good practice of a dueling tournament would be something they'd be interested in but apparently not, maybe that was why Voldemort went after England not France. Well maybe not but it still annoyed him, he really enjoyed the tournament despite the stupid limitations. They also started flying, Maurice hated flying. It was a jarring experience to not be connected to the ground and broomsticks were uncomfortable to sit on anyway, he couldn't even touch his necklace or sign with a grip on the boom needed which made him feel more isolated. He hoped Hogwarts didn't teach the subject.

Corin's match was actually the very first and he came back quickly with a victorious smile, Maurice had to wait a bit but also won his first match against an overweight boy whose movements were too sluggish to be any good at dodging spells. Maurice won. Corin won his next match faster as well, Maurice's next match was against a girl he'd faced before who again screamed and froze when he fired a spell at her. Getting the first spell in was good but you needed to be able to do more if it missed, was deflected or dodged. Corin won his third match, making him one of the final eight. Maurice's next opponent was actually more rounded and decent as a duelist, he might have done better if not up against Maurice first as while not bad, Maurice was simply much faster and won. Winning their next match would put them in the final four but this time it didn't matter, only the winner and runner up went into the year finals for Moyenne and Superieur. Corin came back out the victor yet again though, putting him into the final four. Maurice's next opponent actually had speed but spent more time dodging then casting spells, the sporadic attacks were easy to dodge and his quick amount of spells eventually overwhelmed the boy which put Maurice also into the final four. Corin had his match first and after a while, emerged as the winner meaning that if Maurice won then he'd be up against his friend. The girl had good aim and speed but was too rooted to the spot to utilize it fully effectively. Maurice won, of course he won and now that putt him into the house final against Corin.

Maurice wouldn't hold back, aside the already tedious restrictions anyway. Friends or not, it was a duel and he saw no reason to not try his best nor would he want Corin to duel him any differently. His mind clicked into soldier mode and he was already planning on how to use Corin's adult size to his advantage, he was a bigger target after all in comparison to other children his own age. They had practiced together though, working on Corin's agility despite his height and it paid off as Corin dodged his initial spells, even firing back counter spells like Maurice had taught him. However, Corin - like the others - didn't fire spells in as rapid succession as Maurice had been taught to do. Corin had talent but Maurice knew he was better, he didn't think Corin would win unless Maurice made a mistake and it was only a matter of time. And then Corin fired the icy spell he'd tried to teach him the previous year, causing the ground to become slippery. He saw a hint of a smile on his friend's face, assuming victory as he fired a Disarming Charm. Maurice leaped into the air to dodge the spell, firing a spell at the ground as he did so to dissipate the ice. He landed on nice solid ground and fired a spell while Corin was still reeling from the surprise at Maurice overcoming his tactic, Corin got his bearings and tried to dodge too late which sent his wand spiraling from his hand. Moreau raised his arm into the air to the cheering crowd, larger than for Primaire house duels while Corin looked on. The part-giant looked somewhat disappointed but clapped for him with a thin smile regardless.

"You're really not upset with me for winning?" Maurice asked of him after.

'No,' Corin signed and shook his head, 'I'm upset that I lost I guess but that was my fault not yours, you were simply the better duelist and I'm okay with that. You've practically been trained to do this your whole life so I'm especially not surprised that I lost to you.'

"It was clever what you did with the ice to try throw me off balance."

'Thank you. Still want to practice for the Third Year Finals?'

"I always want to practice dueling, experience is more valuable than gold."

They practiced through Easter break although he didn't think Corin believed he had any chance of winning against him, runner up seemed the best he was hoping for. Primaire had their house duels and it wasn't until the first week of June that they got to the Moyenne finals, there were less duels for them as there were less people - eight instead of sixteen - but Maurice was still eager to go. His duel actually came before Corin, his opponent wasn't bad but somewhat slow when it came to dodging so Maurice caught him out. Corin's duel took quite a while but he emerged victorious, putting them both into the final four. Maurice was up next against the weedy boy he'd fought before and beat him for the third time, slowing him down with the icy spell and eliminating him effortlessly. Corin's duel wasn't as good however, after a long while his opponent returned the victor to face Maurice in the final, the tall girl he'd dueled before. For the third time, he also beat her by simply overwhelming her with spells too fast for her to dodge and defend. Moreau grabbed his wand arm and raised it to the cheering crowd, possibly for the last time. If it was unusual for a First Year to win Primaire, it was unheard of for a Third Year to win Moyenne as they had three older and more experienced years to contend against. It was strange not having the bracket finals the previous week, giving Maurice much more time to practice.

The day came, again outside in the sunny outdoor amphitheater. As there were four years in Moyenne and Superieur as opposed to just two in Primaire, it would take more than one duel for Maurice to win. The older two years went against each other than the younger and the winners of both faced off for the final, a Tenth Year took Superieur again and then it was on to Moyenne where the Sixth Year slaughtered the Fifth Year champion. Then it was Maurice's turn, up against the Fourth Year. Maurice was actually disappointed, the Fourth Year had a larger pool of spells and grasp of both offense and defense but they were still slower than Maurice like everyone in his own year. He could dodge easier and ultimately won, he iced the ground and showered the boy with offensive spells while he was busy dissipating it. Then Maurice was up against the Sixth Year, a boy four years older than him and finally Maurice had a really challenging opponent again. The boy had speed, skill and more experience and practice then Maurice. Maurice had to push himself to test his speed, the boy was very good at the Shield Charm and Maurice very much wished the match wasn't so restricted because a fiery spell or a bone-breaker would be perfect for bypassing it. The boy got the upper hand, firing spell after spell - although not in as much rapid succession as Maurice could do - that Maurice was forced to dodge without being able to really do anything in turn which meant it was only a matter of time until he lost.

The boy grew tired of his though, shooting the icy spell at the ground around Maurice's feet amidst his Stunners. Maurice slipped and allowed himself to fall instead of dissipating the ice and righting himself, he slammed up a Shield Charm despite not having been taught it in Beauxbatons yet. To his own surprise it worked, shielding and deflecting a Stunner back at the boy which was almost immediately followed by Maurice's own Body-Bind. The boy was forced to duck to avoid his own spell being deflected as he'd been partway through casting another stunner, he ducked straight into the path of Maurice's low-flying - due to Maurice being on the ground - spell that he hadn't noticed. Maurice won. He actually had not expected that, he was breathing heavily as a proud-looking Moreau helped him to his feet and raised his wand arm into the air for the final time. He smiled to the roaring crowd, surprised and pleased by his own victory. Everyone told him it was something to be proud of, teachers and random students alike, Moreau even claimed he was the best duelist he'd ever taught and said he'd miss him when he went to Hogwarts. Everyone was delighted except for the one person who Maurice wanted to impress, his father still didn't think it was good enough and claimed the boy had gone easy on him due to his age. Maurice was deeply ashamed to actually shed three tears over his father's letter, he tried so hard and nothing was ever good enough, nothing was even worthy of acknowledging it wasn't bad.

His spirits were low despite his supposed achievement, it didn't help Corin's opinion of Roman any but no amount of telling him to ignore his father made him feel any better. If even trying his best wasn't good enough, how was Maurice ever supposed to win his father's love or be a good soldier? Getting ninety-nines on all his exams was again nothing to be pleased with in his father's eyes, he left Beauxbatons in misery and threw himself into blood quill use over the summer because he felt he deserved to suffer for being such a failure. He'd just have to do better. His father didn't acknowledge his birthday again but Corin sent him another gift, Maurice didn't buy Corin's in advance that summer as his father claimed he'd have to come home for holidays now due to how badly he'd done in Beauxbatons. They moved back to England at least, it was nice not deciphering his necklace's gibberish constantly as it could translate English perfectly. He got his Hogwarts letter and went to Diagon Alley to get his things, his father refused to let him have a pet which Maurice had wanted as he thought it would be nice to have an animal companion. At least that would like him. Hogwarts didn't have carriages pulled by magnificent flying horses, they had every crammed into a grubby muggle train station and into an ugly old piece of metal tubing that Maurice neither liked nor trusted. It was somewhat painful to see all the mothers and fathers hugging their children in farewell, kissing them and assuring their love, wishing them well. His father did none of those things, Maurice wasn't good enough for that.

He met up with Corin though, his friend having had to get another train from France then get on the Hogwarts Express. They even managed to get a compartment with Scorpius and Ashain, neither seemed to feel much like talking however. Molly Weasley was also there, his cousin somehow although Maurice didn't exactly place much importance on extended family as he didn't even have a decent relationship with close family. A girl he didn't know who was the daughter of a dead woman he'd never met who was the sister of a father he barely saw didn't seem much like family to him, Corin was more family then that. A freak of a boy also joined them, his hair pure white, his skin colorless and his eyes a bloody crimson. Then again, Maurice shouldn't be judging someone considering his deafness and there was something about the oddly hopeless boy that intrigued him. Much like with Scorpius. Orous was the boy's name. He didn't say anything to him though, he also didn't seem much like talking and instead just debated what house they'd get in sign language mostly. It was a tediously long journey and Corin was incredibly disappointed to not be allowed ride the Thestral drawn carriages, instead having to take the boats with Hagrid and the other First Years. Maurice didn't like the boats, the jostling on the water actually made him feel rather sick and he thought he might've been if the journey had lasted any longer but he was too embarrassed to say anything to Hagrid despite knowing him. They were led into the Great Hall to be sorted, they had to put a talking hat on their head and that would pick their house. Maurice had thought it was stupid the first time he heard it and still did.

He had to stand near the front so he'd know when his name was called, Marius seemed to be going alphabetically. Orous took a long time, much longer than anyone else before finally getting Hufflepuff. He didn't know anyone else until Corin, they'd agreed to try get Ravenclaw as it seemed to suit them best but the hat ruined their plans by putting Corin in Gryffindor with Scorpius and the others. His friend looked horrified, Maurice didn't think it mattered that much though. After all, you could still be friends with people in other houses, couldn't you? Maurice wished his last name didn't begin with 'R' as it felt like forever until his name was called, he felt suddenly nervous as he approached stool as he wondered how he would know which house he was put in when he couldn't hear. Marius lowered the battered old hat onto his head regardless.

'Don't worry, I can still communicate with you,' words formed inside his mind that he could only assume was the hat? 'Of course it's me, who else would it be?'

'I don't know, just sort me already,' Maurice complained in his thoughts, already bored with the tedious sorting process.

'I'm thinking. It's quite a dilemma of where to put you,' the hat told him, 'You'd do well in any house. Your loyalty is unwavering enough for Hufflepuff, your mind sharp enough for Ravenclaw, your courage strong enough for Gryffindor and of course, you have the calculated cunning of Slytherin.'

'Well pick one.'

'You pick one.'

'Isn't that your job?'

'Is it so wrong to be curious as to your opinion?'

'Does it really matter what I think? Or what house I get? It's hardly important.'

'Quite the contrary, it's very important for you especially,' the hat insisted, 'Your upbringing left you with a rather unusual mind and an unusual situation, everyone is going to have to make a choice with the conflict arising out there in the world but your choice is going to be the most difficult and dangerous.'

'Why? There's not really anything special about me,' Maurice pointed out, unless it was because he was deaf he supposed.

'It's not every day I meet an eleven year old who's had their childhood scarified to prepare them for war, you're a soldier without a cause but you are a soldier. At some point, you're going to have to choose which side you're fighting for. With your mindset and skill, you have the capacity to a great deal of a good depending on the choices you make but you also have the capacity to do so much evil. It's all here, inside your head,' the hat told him and Maurice felt oddly disturbed, 'The lines are blurred enough for you already, making your choice even harder to predict. And it starts here, the house situation will influence you more then you realize.'

'I think you're overreacting,' Maurice thought firmly, soldiers were just part of the collective and he didn't see how he could do so much good or bad either way.

'Both of your parents have sat where you sit and I put them in the same place, it was a tossup for your father between Ravenclaw and Slytherin. Looking back, Ravenclaw might've been better off in the long run. Your mother however, she was a Slytherin to the core. Smart, cunning, resourceful, ambitious, self-centered, determined very extremely, traditional and a natural leader. She was smart but not wise enough for Ravenclaw, far too cold-hearted for Hufflepuff and lacked the noble mind that Gryffindor craved despite bravery and the courage to fight for convictions until the bitter end,' the hat explained, telling him more about his mother in one paragraph then he'd learned in his previous eleven years of life combined, 'You remind me much more of her then of him.'

'Then put me in Slytherin if you think I'm like her.'

'You're also different in a lot of ways. I'll rule out Ravenclaw, your warped mindset makes it impossible for wisdom and your adherence to your upbringing shuts off much creativity and Hufflepuff because your heart is too closed. Which leaves Slytherin and Gryffindor, you'd do well in either for better or worse. The house of your family or the house of your friend. What do you think?'

'I think Slytherin sounds more like me, Gryffindors have a reputation for being somewhat headstrong and impulsive. Logically I think that Slytherin be better.'

'Leave logic to me, where do you want to go? Who do you want to be? It's your life and there's more to it than the rigid soldier framework they tried to trap you in, what would you be like without that.'

'Being a good soldier is the most important thing,' Maurice insisted and was about to say Slytherin, that seemed more focused on important traits whereas while courage was important, it wasn't something to be learned or practiced really. His eyes still drifted to the Gryffindor table, Corin watching him desperately and Scorpius, Michael, semi-friends that he was somewhat fond of.

'Is it?' the hat asked of him and Maurice looked away, friendship was definitely also something that mattered to him. But what was more important? Being a soldier or being a friend? He had to say-

"GRYFFINDOR!"

---

"Are you ready?" Scorpius asked of Antonius as they were gearing up to go, mostly grabbing on jackets and shoes, paranoia making them check to ensure they had their wands within reach. Varanian had gone to change completely into Auror attire after talking to Albus about his father, drinking water as he listened. Antonius was pulling on his coat, his eyes melancholy but his expression set. He still felt protective of his favorite professor's son.

"You know I only brought this coat because Dad told me too. I never thought it could be the last time he ever told us to bring coats," Antonius told him quietly but seemed to shake himself of it before Scorpius could say anything, "Yes, I'm ready."

"It's okay to be scared."

"I'm not scared," Antonius protested with a strangely annoyed look in Scorpius' direction but Varanian returned from his basement before Scorpius could say anything, it was strange to see Varanian wearing glasses, "Do you have a spare wand that I can use?"

"No," Varanian told him seriously, "You're eight."

"My Dad is the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, I've been there for all his classes this year and I know spells. I know the incantations and wand movements, I could be useful."

"Knowing spells doesn't mean you can use them."

"Eight year olds can use magic," Roman insisted stubbornly, "The younger you start the better, home-schooling is so much better then magical schooling."

"I know that but it still takes practice at any age, we don't have time to teach him and giving an untrained child a wand can do more harm than good."

"I've done magic before, I'm good at exploding stuff," Antonius said defensively, "I blew up the doors to the Hospital Wing so they could get out and the side of the pipe in the Chamber of Secrets when it was filling with water to drown us."

"Accidental magic isn't the same as using a wand, I'm sorry," Varanian told him and Antonius hung his head disappointedly, Varanian's expression softened sympathetically and he patted the boy's shoulder comfortingly, "Chin up, Anton, you can be useful. We can't get to the Scepter without you and we'll need you to get to after the final piece as well."

"We will?" Scorpius wondered instead of correcting Varanian's incorrect naming of Antonius, the younger boy raised his head while Varanian nodded.

"Dom figured out how to get down to the labyrinth beneath the Ashain mansion for the third part, you need to be an Ashain to open the room then drop the blood of an Ashain onto the floor to get onto the staircase. She said you'd need an Ashain down in the labyrinth too but she had to go before she could finish explaining, Corvinus tried to kill Aurelius but he got away and is in St Mungo's so we couldn't use him. Corvinus is a Shadow so that just leaves Ashain's kids, time is of the essence so we need to go after that soon if you want Ashain to live. So stay close to us, Anton."

"Antonius."

"I know that!" Varanian hissed and lied, "Anton... Anton is a nickname, yeah. That's it."

"I like Anton," Antonius muttered, "Even if it's because you forgot my name."

"Very convincing," Scorpius quipped sarcastically, trying not to smile.

"Quiet you," Varanian complained at him but didn't look too concerned.

"So are we all like part of your Shadow-fighting group now?" Albus asked as he came over to them, "You know like Dumbledore's Army? The Order of Phoenix? What do you call yourselves? Varanian's Army? The Order of the Thestral?"

"Knights of Light is my favorite, I always like Knights," Roman spoke up while Varanian looked incredulous, "Wyatt likes Lizards or Lizard army, stupid names if you ask me."

"There is no group and there is no name! I'm just trying to stop the Shadows and you people are just..." Varanian snapped and trailed as he gestured trying to think of something, "Around. And honestly, how many times do I have to say this?!"

"Maybe people would think you were more innocent if you had a name," August pointed out, "It would differentiate you from the Shadows more and you'd have more people."

"There's no name, no army, no people and that's the end of it," Varanian insisted as he altered his appearance to look like Harry Potter, scar and all. When he spoke again, he sounded like the man he was impersonating as well, "Would I pass for Potter or has your father changed at all since the last time I saw him?"

"No, you look eerily perfect," Albus offered, looking impressed and gave him an okay sign with his fingers, "You even sound like him, spot on."

"Do I?" Varanian scoffed dubiously, "Not too recognizable? Not too much like myself? Not too high-pitched?"

"No."

"Oh, I'm glad," Varanian wondered and a triumphant smirk swept Harry's face, jabbing a finger at Albus who looked utterly bewildered, "And you tell that bloody woman when you see her!"

"Um... I don't know who-"

"He means my aunt, Annie," Michael answered for him which only increased Albus' expression of surprise.

"Yes, her," Varanian interjected, "Now come on, you need to be out of the bounds of the apparation wards. I'll go deal with the Aurors, I'll apparate back when they're gone and we can start apparating people there. Hope you're up for that, Polly."

"I'm good with that and I remember where we're going," Molly assured him with a nod.

"Molly," Scorpius corrected as Varanian headed towards the door.

"That's what I said, your hearing must be faulty."

"I can apparate too," Roman protested as he jogged to keep up with him, Varanian looked genuinely surprised.

"You want to come?"

"Absolutely."

"Roman, you realize how badly this could go wrong and we're probably going to have to fight Shadows at some point, you'll be out in the open and will be at risk at seeing Specters," Varanian pointed out, "If anyone wants to stay by the way, now is the time to say because there's no turning back when we leave."

"I'm aware of the situation, Varanian, I'm not stupid," Roman snapped, looking deeply offended, "And I'm not useless either. I want to come."

"Fine," Varanian shrugged it off as he strode out the door.

Roman looked momentarily surprised and afraid before going after them. No one stayed behind. Varanian led them to where the ring took Scorpius when he used it to go there, Scorpius assumed it was outside of Varanian's protective charms. At least it looked like there, it was harder to tell with the inky blankness seeping into the twilight sky. The metamorphmagi disapparated without saying another word, the crack sound making Roman jump and yelp in surprise.

"Let's hope this works," Scorpius breathed and Molly gave him a smile, slipping her hand into his.

"It will," Molly told him, "Dunno how the rest of the night will go but this part of the plan will work."

"And you just know that?"

"Just watch," Molly said before glancing to a nervous-looking Roman who had started gnawing on his fingernails, "You know you don't have to come if you-"

"I'm not useless, dammit!" Roman shrieked defensively as he straightened himself up, abandoning his hands and standing determinedly despite the fact he was trembling slightly. Varanian returned with a crack that had Roman yelp and jolt once again before relaxing somewhat when he recognized Varanian or rather Harry Potter, "You're going to give me a heart attack one of these days."

"You can still stay if you want to," Varanian pointed out in his own voice as he shifted his appearance back to his usual self and discarded the glasses, rubbing his tired eyes, "It worked. Thankfully they didn't want me want to look at anything, those glasses scramble my vision. P-Molly take one person since you're less experienced, Roman and I will take two so we only have to make one trip."

Molly didn't wait another second before disapparating them, in fact Scorpius half-wondered if she'd taken his hand in preparation anyway. He found himself back on the coast where he'd been before, except now it was dusk and black waves cascaded around them and this time he wasn't standing on top of the cliff but down by the rock face where the Aurors had been. The Aurors were gone though, Wyatt stood leaning against the wall with his arms folded waiting all alone. He smiled at them in greeting while Varanian apparated in with Antonius and Albus, followed momentarily by Roman with Michael and August.

"Romeo so nice to see you out and about," Wyatt offered, seeing surprised to see him to which Roman scowled at him irritably while they walked over.

"Roman. Ro-man. How hard is that really?" Roman complained but Wyatt didn't lose his smile.

"Okay, so I'm going to have to cut-"

"We know," Antonius interrupted and shoved his hand out to Varanian.

Antonius gritted his teeth determinedly when Varanian drew his wand across the boy's palm and left behind a bleeding cut in its wake, he then did the same to Albus and August. Roman's eyes darted around in terror and he gulped down some of his Calming Draught from the flash he had on him, only the whistling wind could be heard though and he saw no sign of Shadows, Specters would be hard to spot in the dusk light. There were no obvious markings for where to put their palms but the trio stepped forward regardless, Antonius was the first to press his palm against the stone but it only started rippling when the other two had also done so.

"I think only three of us will be able to go in too," Varanian said.

"If I go all lizard then it probably won't pick me up if I ride in on someone's shoulder," Wyatt offered as he moved away from the wall.

"Go for it," Varanian agreed and gestured for Wyatt to go for it, Wyatt jumped and transformed mid-air. His body compressing itself rapidly into the little winged lizard, he glided onto Varanian's shoulder readily, "That gets us an extra someone in but two of us will still have to stay outside. I'm going in obviously, Scorpius in case Ashylos shows up and Michael because he's good at healing spells, which we'll need for their hands. You two can disapparate yourselves back to safety if necessary, sound good?"

There were murmurings of agreement although Roman still looked petrified, Scorpius supposed it made sense although he didn't like the idea of his girlfriend being out there. She could apparate though, she could get out of there if things went bad. Michael took Albus' free hand and Varanian took Antonius' to go. Scorpius let go of Molly's hand and instead cupped her face with his hands, capturing her lips in farewell. She circled her arms around him and pulled him in closer as she kissed him passionately back, he heard someone - probably Roman - give a disapproving grunt before they pulled away. Molly gave him a nervous smile as he stepped back, taking August's hand and disappearing into the rockface.

---

They threw the cloak over themselves and cautiously approached the little farmhouse where the three were being held, there were two entrances and Maurice would take one while Orous took the second with Latimer. He was just glad to be away from the bodies. Despite the fact that both doors were supposed to be guarded, Orous didn't see any Shadows outside. They stopped at the first door and Maurice slipped out to continue on to the second door around the other side, he was still under the Disillusionment Charm.

"Alohomora," Orous whispered and flicked his wand at the door.

He heard it unclick, followed by a loud creek as it slowly opened. It was apparently only guarded one man, a stocky guy who scowled in confusion at not seeing anyone as he peered out the opening door. Latimer cast a non-verbal stunner that struck the unsuspecting Shadow, Latimer hastily left the cloak to catch the guy before he fell and made a loud noise. Latimer's eyes bulged at the apparent weight of the guy and Orous rushed forward to help him, trying not to grunt from the effort as they managed to slump his unconscious body onto a chair by the door. Orous' heart was pounding but it remained quiet, no sign that they'd been heard. Latimer seemed to let out a silent breath of relief and slipped back under the cloak.

Orous saw they were in the kitchen, a rustic place with a flagged stone floor and low hanging beams. He very much doubted it had been used as that for a while though, there was no sign of cooking utensils or food and the counter was covered in a thick film of dust or dirt. Some of the cabinet doors were opening or hanging off their hinges, showing the empty insides. There was a fire in the fireplace though, dim embers flickering in the dusk. There was no one else there though so they continued out into the corridor, it was empty here too but Orous did hear voices. The first door they came to was open and the source of the voices, they paused to glance inside. He saw Rathan sitting on a chair facing his mother, she was helping him put his wounded arm into a sling and Orous saw the cut over his eye had been stitched up already.

"-That worthless Kalya girl screwed up and people got wind of the kidnapping, tried to stop it," his moth- Alzay was saying, Orous didn't think she really had any right to be called 'mother' anymore, "It was Maurice who did this to you, wasn't it?"

"Yes," Rathan confirmed and Alzay's face twisted angrily.

"I'll get him for this, Father, don't worry," Alzay assured him and Orous squeezed his eyes shut, feeling like throwing up again at the thought of having held their grandfather prisoner.

"You shouldn't be upset. After all, you wanted him to be ruthless child soldier," Rathan pointed out quietly while Latimer urged them into a walk again, causing him to miss out on the rest of the conversation, "You shouldn't be surprised or upset that he is."

They passed the bowed steps that led upstairs but walked by them, Maurice wanted them to search downstairs while he took upstairs. They had to move slowly as the floorboards were sensitive and creaked if they didn't step lightly, he hoped Maurice had been able to navigate alright as he wouldn't know if he made a sound or not due to his deafness. Then again, they probably would have heard some commotion if he'd been caught. They froze abruptly as another man came down the stairs, striding over to the room that Alzay was in.

"We're moving now. We're grouping at the next location with the Master then going after it, finish up quick and go. Rabastan just Spectered the kids over to them, so just head there when you're done," the man said into Alzay's room before heading down the corridor, right past them to presumably pass the word along.

Latimer swore, it would probably have been inaudible if his mouth wasn't on perfect level with Orous' ear. They headed back out the way they'd come, leaving the guy unconscious in his seat. They'd probably think he'd just fell asleep, he hadn't technically seen them after all. They - unfortunately - returned to the barn, Maurice had insisted it be their rendezvous point as it was sheltered.

"What took you two so long?" Maurice's voice demanded the second they got inside, Orous jumped as he saw his brother waiting and Latimer pulled the cloak off them.

"What took us so long?! How were you so fast? How did you even see us through the cloak?" Orous wondered in surprised succession.

"I didn't see you, I noticed the dirt being disturbed around the base of the door and knew it had to be you. Well, unless someone else is running around under an invisibility cloak which is why I have my wand out," Maurice answered one of his questions and waved his wand as if to prove it, his free hand resided on his translator necklace though, "And its faster without a second person slowing you down."

"They moved the others," Latimer told him dejectedly.

"I know, I found Cassia just in time to see a Specter transport her away and I used my necklace to listen to the conversation after when the Specter possessed one of the guards to speak to the others. They moved them to meet up with the Shadow Master and then they're going to where the Scepter is," Maurice explained and a cold smile crept onto his face, "And before you ask, yes I know where that is. We can get there first and wait for them."

"Did you just say the Shadow Master?"

"Yep. And he's bringing the piece of the Scepter he has, it's the perfect chance to destroy it and maybe the master."

"You think you can kill the Shadow Master?" Orous choked, actually managing to laugh at the ludicrousy of it.

"That's why I said maybe. So let's get going, unless you're going to abandon them just because someone powerful is going to be there," Maurice said as he approached them and told Latimer where they were going, some random section coast side and took Latimer's hand.

"It's okay if you want to back, Orous," Latimer offered but Orous shook his head and took his friend's other hand, he'd faced the Shadow Master and lived once before.

He just hoped Varanian or someone who knew what they were doing had also figured all this out too because he still thought they didn't stand much of a chance, he supposed the best they could hope for was that Latimer might be able to disapparate with the others before the Shadow Master killed them all.

"Let's just hope I don't throw up this time," Orous offered before Latimer disapparated them, the sensation of being squeezed through a small space like a straw overcome him but thankfully he didn't fall over upon arrival. He didn't even throw up, the fresh ocean air over rotting corpses might have helped now that he thought about it.

"I'll kill you!" Maurice snapped abruptly, forcing Orous to turn back to the world around him. They weren't alone, Roman and Molly were also there on a shelf with a sheer cliff on one side and the raging sea on the other. Roman was the target of Maurice's anger, his wand arm already aiming at their father but Latimer grabbed his arm and yanked it down while Roman's eyes bulged in terror but he made no move to defend himself.

"No one's killing anyone," Latimer insisted as Maurice glared at him, a hand going to his necklace, "They're on our side, we need to stick together right now not kill each other."

"He's not on our side, he's a traitor!"

"He's your father," Orous protested.

"The Shadow Master is coming," Latimer pointed out, keeping a tight grip on Maurice's arm, "Your Daddy issues can wait."

"Too late," a new voice said and Orous looked around to see cloaked figures stepping out of the shadows all around them.