A/N: Important! Guys, I have a Tumblr that I'll like, actually be using so if you want chapter previews and general shit go follow me: rmwb-fanfics.

This chapter is short, by the way. There SHOULD be another chapter this week. Friday or Saturday.

Chapter 19: Werewolves: The Truth Behind the Curse

January 14th, 1995

Nearly two months had passed. Two months and Percy wasn't any closer to finding Bill. He, Charlie and Alyssa had spent nearly a week tracking back each and every apparition trail they could follow. The problem was that the largest magical signature present was that of a portkey. So, Alyssa's wolf senses couldn't track it.

Wolf senses. That had been quite the shock. To know that he was not only living in the home of a werewolf, but was related to one by marriage, was frightening at first. Now, Percy was more curious than anything.

From what Charlie had eventually told him; werewolves had a voice in their head. For Alyssa, it was Charlie. Which meant that the two could communicate to each other telepathically. At first, it had been a novel and intriguing magical ability. But after nearly two months of living with Charlie and Alyssa, Percy was growing tired of it. They'd have constant mental conversations and Percy would just sit there at the dining room table staring at them for a bit before standing up to leave. Sometimes, he wondered if they were lying about the whole thing to have a laugh. If that were the case, the joke had grown incredibly stale.

What had become incredibly obvious over the two months Percy had spent in France was Alyssa's pregnancy.

Originally, Percy had figured she was simply gaining weight. Then, he began to notice the morning sickness. This, paired with her lack of alcohol consumption and overall odd behaviour around food, allowed Percy to put the pieces together.

What baffled him was the fact that no one had addressed it. He'd been living with them, and not once had they brought up the fact that he was going to be an uncle. He'd seen a lot of pregnancies in his years. And he figured she was probably in her fifth month. He was certain of that date because Charlie had said they'd gotten married after the world cup. Well, that added up seeing as a child out of wedlock would give their mum kittens.

Percy really wasn't all that perturbed by his brother's secret wife and unborn child. Not as much as he probably should be. No, Percy was just logically lost as to why no one had mentioned anything. He was hesitant to say something because what if he was wrong?

It was more than likely that Alyssa really was simply putting on a few. The last thing he wanted to do would be getting himself kicked out of his brother's home for insulting his wife.

Like, yes, all signs pointed to a pregnancy, but there was that slim ten percent chance that Percy really was over analyzing the whole situation.

So, you can understand Percy's shock when Charlie first mentioned the thing.

'So, do you reckon you'll still be here by the time the baby comes?' Charlie had said, in the most offhanded voice he could possibly muster. It didn't click in Percy's brain at first. The only thing that hit him was the fact that he was acknowledging the fact that Percy hadn't returned to England, because he hadn't given up on Bill yet. Then, the words of the statement pressed into this gloomy, distracted mind.

'Baby?' Percy asked after swallowing scolding hot tea far too quickly.

Charlie stared at him, confused. 'Well, yeah. I thought you knew,'

Percy shot him an incredulous look. 'Well obviously I suspected,'

'Suspected!'

'Well, you hadn't bothered to mention anything of it! No offence, Charlie, but if I was having a kid, I'd probably tell my family,' Percy bit back.

Charlie gaped at Percy for a moment before he burst out laughing. Percy folded his arms and glared at his brother. 'I've been here for two months, and this is the first time I've heard you say a word about Alyssa's pregnancy. The first time! How the hell is that even possible?'

Charlie sobered somewhat. 'Slipped my mind, I suppose,'

Percy gaped at him. Horror and confusion expressed equally across his face. 'How the hell does that slip your mind, Charlie? It's your unborn bloody child!'

Charlie sobered and turned to the sink. Using his calloused hands to scrub a frying pan. 'Do you think I'll be a good father?'

Blindsided by the change of tone, Percy grabbed onto the back of one of the kitchen chairs. 'Er… I mean… You are rather young,'

Charlie sighed and his shoulders drooped. He looked up and gazed out the window above the sink. From where Charlie stood, the burns and scars on his neck were clearly visible in the harsh lighting. 'I reckon you can tell this wasn't exactly intentional,' Charlie began. Percy walked up to stand next to his brother and grabbed a plate to hand wash alongside Charlie. 'It's odd… isn't it?'

'To what aspect of this situation are you referring to?' said Percy in a measured tone.

'How quickly everything gets all… fucked,' said Charlie. Dropping the pan into the sink with a clatter and throwing his arms up in exasperation. He turned around and placed his hands on the counter, leaning against it. 'I mean… I was always going to marry her… I know that. But now I'm in way over my head,'

Percy grabbed the next plate off the stack and shrugged his shoulders. 'Maybe,' he spoke softly, 'but I have no doubts that you'll be an excellent father. You're passionate and supportive and fair,'

'Fair?'

Percy smiled. 'Yes… fair. You have good morals and that,'

Charlie scoffed. 'Right,'

'Now, don't get me wrong, you've got a bit of a drinking problem,' said Percy, turning the spout to face his plate so he could rinse off the soap.

'I'm twenty-two!' Charlie huffed. 'I didn't ask for the mum speech,'

'I'm not giving you the mum speech,' said Percy, shutting off the water and putting the three plates he washed up and away in their respective cabinet. 'I'm giving you the Percy speech,'

Charlie was quiet for a long while before he leaned his head back, so it rested on one of the cabinet doors. 'It's not just the father thing,'

Percy's eyebrows rose slightly. 'No?'

'No,' said Charlie, firmly. 'There's also the fact that we don't know how this kid is going to turn out,'

Percy bobbed is head from side to side. 'Well, that's the nature of a pregnancy… even us wizards don't know everything,'

Charlie bit his lip and leaned off the counter, walking in a straight line before turning on the spot and walking back again. He was pacing. This was a bad sign. 'No… not the usual stuff. We don't know how Alyssa's transformations will impact the baby,'

Percy's mouth dropped and formed a perfect 'o'. He'd heard her transformations. Out in the magically created space beyond the confines of the house. There were wards that prevented her from coming near the cottage, but no silencing charm could block out the screams. Wolfsbane or not, the transformation was still evidently painful.

'Newt has his theories,' said Charlie, pulling Percy out of his train of thought. 'He reckons that… well, he thinks that because the fetus is being held in the werewolf, that the baby will be one as well,'

Percy scratched the back of his neck. 'And does that bother you?'

'I'm not prejudiced… how could I be? I'm married to one… but how can I possibly raise her and take care of her and support her when I'd have no idea how she's feeling? I'd never be able to understand how she… I wouldn't be able to relate to her,' said Charlie dejectedly. Dropping his hands to his sides and collapsing into a kitchen chair. He ran a hand down his face and stared at the floor.

'Well,' Percy began hesitantly. He really didn't know where he was going to go with this, but he might as well voice his thoughts. 'You pointed out a key factor… Alyssa is a werewolf. She'll be able to take care of that side of things,'

'No, Percy, she won't…' Percy stared at him, waiting for further explanation. Charlie sighed and continued. 'She wasn't bitten as a child. She didn't grow up with it. She didn't have to suffer through the segregation and isolation a werewolf would typically receive in youth… She was bitten when she was sixteen, Perce… sixteen,'

Percy opened his mouth to speak but Charlie continued his rant. 'Think of how well you understand yourself at sixteen,'

'Not very well,' Percy replied honestly. His sixteen-year-old self would verbally degrade the current Percy, standing in a magical home in the middle of Paris. Partaking in a supposed 'Adventure'.

'Well, you know yourself a hell of a lot better than you would at five. Or ten. Or thirteen. Fuck, Perce, how the hell is that going to work? How the hell can I help her besides "Oh, I don't know, muscle through it," She's going to be ridiculed, shunned, tormented, avoided, isolated, fuck! Come up with a negative adjective, she will go through it!' A vase shattered and Percy flinched. It was rare that adult wizards had bouts of accidental magic. Charlie wasn't even shouting. It was all just emotions flaring and coming to the surface.

Percy only nodded. Charlie had a point. How could he relate? How could he raise a werewolf and understand they're psychology. Then, Percy caught on to something. 'You keep saying 'she'. Do you know the sex?'

Charlie nodded morosely. 'Do not get me wrong. I would want a daughter before a son. Fuck if I'd have to deal with one of us pricks,' Percy smiled ruefully at his teary-eyed brother. 'But it only adds to the lack of connection… I'm just not a girl, mate,'

Percy snorted despite himself. 'No, you're not… but you don't have to be,'

Charlie looked up from his hands. Percy smiled encouragingly. 'No, really. You don't have to relate to your kid to help them. You don't have to have lived through their experiences to be a good parent. You just need to be there.'

Charlie shook his head. 'How can you be there if you don't understand-'

'Look,' said Percy, grasping at his stray thoughts like a drowning man. 'Ginny and dad are really close, right?'

Charlie nodded hesitantly.

'And why do you think that is?' Percy asked, drumming his hands on the countertop.

'The Chamber? He sat outside her room the entire summer, didn't he?'

'Right, yes, he did… and do you think dad has any idea what it's like being possessed by You Know Who? No. He doesn't, Charlie. No one does except her. But did that stop him?' Percy stood up tall and walked towards the kitchen table, sitting in the chair opposite his brother. 'Did that stop him from bringing her into his shed and showing her his latest muggle contraption? Did that stop him from making her tea in the morning with the most disgusting amount of milk and sugar?'

'I don't get what you're trying to say,' said Charlie, pinching the bridge of his nose.

'He treated her no different than before,' Percy said simply, leaning forward in his seat and staring at Charlie through his horn-rimmed glasses. 'He didn't include her anymore, or any less. He didn't treat her any differently because he was determined to convince her that nothing had changed. That there was nothing wrong even though there was obviously something wrong. That she was different now. Forever and always. But he never drew attention to it. Not because he was avoiding it, no. He talked to her about it plenty of times. But by treating her no different, he allowed Ginny to accept that her experience in the Chamber wouldn't define her. That she was still Ginny. Forever and always.'

Charlie's eyes seemed to betray his understanding as a pair of silent tears slid down his face. He wiped them angrily and leaned back in his chair. 'Don't let it define her,' he said to himself. 'Because she's just… whoever she'll be,' he finished with a light chuckle.

'Did you get anything back from Bill?' said Alyssa, shocking the two brothers and walking off the steps and fully entering the open-concept first floor.

'No,' said Charlie and Percy together. Since the trio had returned to Paris from the mass grave in Eastern France, they'd been sending two letters to Bill a day. One in the morning, and one in the afternoon. Each time, the letters came back along with their owl. Initially, Percy had taken this rather poorly, but Charlie had reminded him that with the right magical protections, or even if Bill was simply deep underground, an owl couldn't find him.

The real test came with Alyssa's idea of using a Patronus to send a message. Neither Charlie nor Percy had ever thought of this manner of communication and hadn't even known you could do such a thing. It didn't matter all that much, seeing as neither brother could produce a corporeal Patronus, but Alyssa could.

They'd called it the dog-test, seeing as Alyssa's Patronus was a dog. If the Patronus stood still and didn't follow Alyssa's command, it meant that Bill Weasley's magical signature was null and void. Essentially, it meant that he was dead.

But when Alyssa had given the dog its message, it had bounded off out of the cottage and into the Parisian streets. Percy's smile could have brightened the entirety of France if he hadn't been hidden in one of Newt Scamander's many magical residences.

So, they knew he was alive. That was more than a start, but they had absolutely no idea where he might be. And more importantly, in what condition he was in.

'Do you think we should keep sending him patronuses? Let him know we're looking for him?' said Charlie, drawing Percy back out of his thoughts.

Alyssa grew thoughtful for a moment before shaking her head. 'He doesn't even know who I am. He wouldn't recognize my Patronus, and he wouldn't recognize my voice. And we don't know if his captors - because I'm sure that's what's happened to him - are nearby. If we go on giving our names and where we are, telling him we're looking for him, we might end up captured as well,'

Charlie nodded resignedly and sipped at his tea. Alyssa drew her chair and sat down awkwardly due to her swollen belly.

'I just wish…' whatever Percy was going to say was cut off by the ringing of a muggle doorbell.

'That'd be the muggle post,' said Charlie absently. His eyes were transfixed on Alyssa and Percy audibly groaned when they clouded over, entering a mental conversation with his werewolf wife.

Percy rose from the table, knowing when his presence wasn't needed, and walked out the front door. He made his way through the forest and arrived at the thoroughly out of place brightly painted azure blue door that he knew led out to the muggle world. He swung it open and peered out to the street. It was early in the morning - just past seven – and there was already quite the number of Parisians walking the pavement. Their automobiles crowding the narrow streets. Percy took a step out and his foot collided with something. Glancing down at his feet, he saw what he'd hit.

It was a large muggle package. Covered in those… damn, what had his father referred to them as? Stemps? Either way, this was muggle through and through. But the address couldn't have been more magical if it had tried.

To Mr. Charlie Weasley, somewhere with dragons

Percy could have laughed at the way it had been addressed. This must have been one of those situations in which wizards were placed in muggle post-offices to distinguish the packages. But why would he have bothered sending it with stemps?

Surely this was from Bill? Perhaps that was wishful thinking on his part, but Percy didn't really care.

Now, he wasn't an idiot, he wouldn't touch this package with his bare hands. So, instead, he drew his wand and levitated it into the townhouse and closed the door with an overexaggerated slam. He walked like a man on a mission through the undergrowth and made it into the clearing where the cottage lay. Charlie and Alyssa were both on the front porch now, eyeing him and the package with concern.

'Don't bring that into the house,' said Alyssa, shooting a glare at Charlie and stepping around him, dropping step by step carefully and walking towards Percy.

Percy nodded sheepishly and brought the package a fair distance away from anything natural or human and released his charm.

'I think it's from Bill,' said Percy excitedly. 'It said it's to Charlie Weasley, somewhere with dragons.'

Charlie's eyes widened and he stepped up to the package. 'Well… we ought to open it,' he drew his wand and used a severing charm on the tape. He then expertly opened the package and peered inside. 'It's empty,' he said quietly.

'What?' said Alyssa, walking up to stand over it with Percy and her husband. 'No, it isn't you dolt,' she whipped out her own wand and levitated two small slips of what seemed to be thick muggle paper.

Percy waved his wand and conjured a small coffee table and Alyssa smiled at him appreciatively, letting the charm go and resting the two slips of paper on the table.

Charlie waved his wand over them. 'I'm no curse-breaker, but I took runes,' he said as explanation. He certainly didn't seem comfortable with this branch of magic; sweat was dribbling down his brow and Percy could have laughed. Bill always made it look so easy.

'It's safe,' he said, finally. Wiping his forehead and biting his lip slightly. He took one and flipped it over. His face contorted into one of pained confusion.

'What is it?' said Percy, picking up the other. It had his name on it, and it seemed to be…

'Train tickets?' said Alyssa, reading over Charlie's shoulder.

'I suppose so,' said Percy, glancing up at Charlie. 'Does yours have your name on it?'

Charlie nodded and collapsed into a conjured chair he created mere seconds before he otherwise would have fallen flat on his arse. 'What if this is a trap?' he said quietly.

'It's worth the risk,' said Percy immediately. 'I don't give a damn if we're being led into some… I don't know… but it's worth the risk,'

'What about you?' said Charlie, turning to his wife who was standing beside his seated form.

'I don't think it'd be much of a good idea to come along,' she placed her hand on her stomach, 'I don't want to risk it… there's no documented werewolf pregnancies… everything is up in the air. Stress might affect me differently… altitude… everything,' she kissed Charlie's hand and turned to Percy. 'Where does your train leave from? And where are you going?'

'Gare du Nord,' said Percy quickly, reading through the foreign muggle ticket. 'And… we're off to Austria… Vienna, to be exact,'

Alyssa's eyes narrowed. 'Are you aware of the magical climate in Austria?'

Charlie, noticing her shift in tone, glanced up at her properly. 'No, not particularly. Why?'

'Do you know why so few live there? Why so few wizards and witches dare dwell in Austria?' Alyssa had conjured her own chair by this point. Staring at Percy and Charlie in turn.

'I wasn't even aware that our kind avoided it,' said Charlie honestly.

Percy frowned. 'I know that it's one of the few countries in Europe that does not have its own Ministry. Its magical citizens follow Hungary's Ministry. Seeing as their country was split up during the First Global Muggle conflict,'

Charlie nodded at that. 'Yeah, Romania has something similar. Parts of it follow Hungary's laws and regulations but the rest follows its own thing,'

Alyssa shook her head. 'But do you know why so few wizards live there?'

Percy sighed. 'Obviously, Alyssa, it is clear that we are not in the know,' he said.

Alyssa glared at him for a moment, and he was quite plainly reminded of Ginny. 'There is a man who is kept there…'

'Fuck,' said Percy. Instantly realizing what she was getting at. He slammed his hand down on the table and groaned at the pain that lashed out through his wrist.

Alyssa nodded, but Charlie seemed confused. Gesturing to Percy, he said, 'Care to explain?'

'Grindelwald,' Percy and Alyssa said together.

'Fuck,' said Charlie in ascent agreement. 'You reckon he's the one who took him?'

Alyssa shook her head. 'I can't see how or why… he's said to have no contact with anyone. Living in his palace of sorts for all eternity… or until he dies. Pick your poison.'

'Bill is a well-recognized Curse-Breaker. He's been in the news… it is possible for Grindelwald to have heard of him, and asked him to break him free,' Percy reasoned.

Alyssa again, shook her head. 'I don't think this has anything to do with Grindelwald. There's more to Austria than just him… There are… rumours,'

'Of what?' interrupted Charlie. Alyssa always told stories like this. Taking forever to get to the point and it was mildly hilarious to watch the two bicker over it.

'Werewolves. Specifically, one werewolf, Fenrir Greyback,'

Percy frowned. 'Isn't he the one who steals kids? Professor Lupin told me about him over the summer with mum.'

Alyssa nodded. 'He's been especially quiet as of late,'

'What about that mass werewolf attack during the summer?' said Charlie quickly. Likely trying to find ways to explain away Greyback's absence. Perhaps in the hopes of not having to encounter him in Austria.

'Not him,' said Percy, solemnly. 'Lupin explained it all to us when he told us about his lycanthropy. Was a bit eye-opening, if I'm honest,'

Alyssa clapped her hands to draw attention back to herself. 'The point is, he's been quiet lately, but back in the first war, he'd hide there,'

'Why there?' said Charlie. Percy felt it was a reasonable question, but as with many of the things Charlie found important, it was completely and utterly irrelevant.

'Charlie, does it matter? He's probably there, and it carries a reputation. Magical people avoid Austria. Alright, now we know what we're getting ourselves into, let's get on that bloody train,' said Percy, waving his ticket in Charlie's face.

'Hang on a moment,' said Alyssa. 'Those tickets were purchased in advance because he wouldn't have known when the package was likely to arrive… check the dates,'

Percy looked down at his ticket and sighed. 'Nearly a month from now… what the hell was he thinking?'

Charlie rose from his seat and helped his wife up as well. 'Muggle post takes ages… there's always a worker's strike or something like that… he just wanted to be safe, I reckon,'

'No… we know where he is, we could just get a portkey there… but I think the date is important. We can't take any chances. You need to arrive when he set it to happen. We don't even know if this is from Bill,' said Alyssa quietly.

Charlie turned to face her. 'It's got out names on it, love. We're going to take the risk and find our brother. We need closure,'

Alyssa nodded and bit her lip, Percy saw tears forming in the corners of her eyes, so he turned away. He could hear them muttering things to each other, whispering reassurances and promises he knew Charlie was likely to keep. Percy didn't know what to think. The horror stories he'd heard of both Grindelwald and Greyback were worthy to star in his nightmares.

But logic won over, as it always did in Percy's mind. Grindelwald was kept high in his tower, and Greyback was a savage animal. Austria was a big enough country to avoid having to deal with either.

Unless, of course, one of them had had a role in Bill's capture.

If either of them did, there would be hell to pay.

Then again, Grindelwald was a megalomaniac dark wizard that none, save Dumbledore, could face. And the other was a child-murdering cannibalistic werewolf that hadn't been seen since the 80s.

So, what chance did they have?

Not much, if he was honest with himself.

'Remind me why we had to do this at seven in the morning?' said Tonks, yawning loudly. Sirius glared at her through narrowed, sandy eyes, and pushed open the door to Flourish and Blotts.

The store was getting ready for its opening at eight. And with it, the book launch of Werewolves: The Truth Behind the Curse by Nymphadora Tonks and Sirius Black.

It hadn't been easy convincing Remus to write his own book on werewolves, but when Sirius had pulled the 'It's for Harry' card, Remus had caved.

It had taken months of hard work, constant letters back and forth and careful planning to make sure the book would release without any ties back to Remus, other than the details of the transformation and its toll on the human body.

And here they were, setting up their autograph desk and stacking copy after copy of their book up and around the desk. The shopkeeper was delighted to have the Sirius Black in his shop helping with the book signing.

Sirius had initially fought the placement of his name on the book. That would make two lies on the front cover of a book designed to tell the truth. It also meant that Sirius could never take a leave of absence on the full moon. It would be rather suspicious now that his name was attached to a book that had already become something of its own celebrity.

The advertisement campaign had started shortly after Christmas. Initially, it was just the ads in The Prophet. Using the term 'Just' was a sever understatement. You couldn't find a copy of the paper without advertisements for their book plastered all across the front page. They were huge, featuring large photographs of Sirius and Tonks, both holding the book with broad smiles and preposterous claims. Essentially, they needed as much attention as possible on the book.

So, with everyone in the United Kingdom having at least heard of the book, they took it one step farther. The wireless had something about the book at every break. You couldn't go anywhere without seeing a poster for the book, or a quote from an interview Tonks had given.

This book signing had been no different. They'd told the world that they'd be here in Diagon Alley, and people were bound to show up.

In fact, it was with some trepidation that Sirius looked out to the front of the shop and saw a rather large group of people had already gathered there. Many, it seemed, had brought posters and flags.

'Oh dear,' said Tonks from behind him. Evidently, she'd seen what he was looking at. 'I suppose we're going to have a bit of a protest,'

Sirius chuckled and rolled his eyes. 'Protesting is such a waste of time,' he reached down and lifted another stack of books out of the box. 'I guarantee none of them have even met a werewolf,'

'Some of the stuff we've said has been rather controversial,'

'Made front page news last week for saying they aren't all like Greyback,' said Sirius, grinning at the memory of seeing his face plastered with a large red 'X' on the front page of The Prophet. Skeeter was having a field day between this and the Tournament. Though she hadn't really had much to say against Harry as of late. There was a brief mention of him having invited a squib to the Yule Ball, but it was nothing compared to the news of Sirius Black supporting werewolf rights.

'It's only 7:15, how are these brainless idiots already here?' Tonks practically wailed.

'Those brainless idiots are the people buying your product,' said the shopkeeper with a wise smile. 'They may be idiots… but they've got the gold,'

'We don't care about the gold,' said Sirius without thinking. The shopkeeper latched onto that.

'Whatever do you mean? Why, yes, one writes for the public and not personal gain, but shouldn't it be a factor?'

Tonks shook her head. 'We need people to see werewolves for who they truly are. We've got some friends and… well… yeah,' she said, having said too much, she continued to unload the boxes.

The shopkeeper remained silent after that.

At quarter to eight, Sirius really had no excuse to delay the signing and after getting the go-ahead from the shopkeeper, opened the doors.

'Hello!' he said with his most charming smile, 'I'd like to ask for all of you to behave… I know purchasing a copy is high on a lot of people's to-do lists, but we must all respect each other. So, please, form a line!' the now enormous group of people, which seemed to be growing by the second, straightened with quite a lot of aggression, all things considered, and Sirius waved the first person in. The line followed him, and he sat himself beside Tonks behind the desk.

'Daily Prophet reporter, coming through!' cried a young man with a pointed hat. Running in with comically long strides and skidding to a halt like a muggle cartoon. He flashed a picture of Tonks and Sirius before grinning broadly.

'Right,' Sirius clapped his hands together and noticed the quick-quotes-quill jotting down what he was saying. He raised his wand to his throat and muttered a sonorous charm. 'Before we get started, I'd like to say that this book signing and printing is sponsored by Nimbus, The Daily Prophet, and Sleekeezey's Hair Products! Without them, none of this would be possible,' some clapping and cheering followed this before Sirius clapped for everyone's attention once again. 'Now, each of you may step forward, ask a question, give us your wishes, or simply scream at us from dawn till dusk but please, let's keep the line moving, alright?'

Lots of verbal agreement met his words, and the event began. It was interesting how many people were genuinely intrigued by what the book had to say. Many seemed interested in the romance of it all, a subject that had been promised in the advertisement, but really only made up a minor chapter of the book seeing as Remus's experience was rather… pathetic.

Some had come for the science of the thing. A lot of people, truth be told, were interested in how it all worked. The general understanding of werewolves dated back to the mid 1700s.

The information was dated, to say the least.

Many were there to see Sirius, and a few wanted to see his metamorphmagus co-author. Her hair was spectacularly pink for the first hour of the book signing, before it had shifted to a violent purple. He couldn't tell if it was reflecting her mood or not, because if his hair could change colour, it would be grey. Because boredom and grey seemed to go together nicely.

One of the protestors made it inside and went on about child murderers and cannibalistic, evil men. Sirius rolled his eyes and tossed him a book free of charge. Judging by the man's clothing, accent, (Not that Sirius was judging) and general aura, he likely had no idea how to read.

They received many questions throughout the day, but the first one that had truly stumped Sirius came from a young woman. She must have been straight out of Hogwarts.

'Audrey Williams, it's nice to meet you both,' she said, extending her hand. No one had gone and introduced themselves to the pair yet, so Sirius shook it firmly and Tonks did the same. 'I've been fascinated with the subject for a while, especially for witches,' Sirius bit the inside of his cheek, thinking of Charlie's wife that had been briefly mentioned back in November. Merlin that felt like decades ago now. They'd actually referenced her situation in the romance portion of the book. As an example of a successful werewolf lifestyle. They hadn't quoted her, seeing as no one except for Percy and Charlie had ever met her, but still, they'd used what they knew.

'You see, in your promotional campaign, you go into detail about growing up as a werewolf, and how that impacts them later in life,' Sirius and Tonks both nodded.

Tonks held up a finger to the Williams girl to silence her and said, 'Sirius, if you could keep the line moving, I'll answer Miss Williams's question separately,' Sirius glared at her and groaned before waving the line over to the left side of the desk so Tonks could give this woman her full attention.

'Yes, a good portion of the book details this topic, but our source for that bit was male, unfortunately,' said Tonks with an apologetic smile.

Audrey nodded and bit her lip. 'Do you mind telling me about your sources? I don't need names or anything too descriptive. Just ages and things like that. I want to know what I'll be reading… Besides, if my daughter asks questions, I'll want to make sure her mum can answer them,' she laughed quietly as Tonks mulled the whole thing over.

'I suppose it couldn't hurt,' she said slowly. 'Just… do you work for a paper?'

Audrey blushed slightly. 'I erm… I write for Young Witches Monthly, but this isn't for them,'

Tonks narrowed her eyes slightly. 'Then who is it for?'

'Me,' Audrey replied, quite simply.

Tonks nodded slowly and glanced over at Sirius for a moment before she pulled Audrey aside and into the backroom. 'One of our sources is a man. He's in his thirties and is working a high-profile magical job. He's been hiding his condition quite well, though it is safe to say that a few people have figure it out. They just haven't said anything, or don't care. He's a wonderful man, and I-' she hesitated, 'I've grown to care about him quite a bit, actually,' she seemed shocked by her own admission.

Audrey nodded and Tonks bit her lip. 'The next is a young boy. Well, teenager, really. He's only been bitten recently so he's still getting used to it all, but he's taken to it surprisingly well,'

Audrey smiled sympathetically and sighed slightly. 'That's good to hear. You know… that he's coping,'

Tonks nodded and hesitated once again. 'The last is… well she's the only woman,' Audrey's eyes widened and nodded for Tonks to continue. 'She… we've never met, actually, we've only heard about her but her story, or… what we understand of it, is featured. In the relationship portion. An example of how non-infected wizards can still find love with werewolves…'

Audrey's brow furrowed but other than that, she nodded. 'Thank you,' she said with a genuine smile. 'I know it was a silly question, but I like to know about the background…'

Tonks smiled, not as genuinely, but nodded at her all the same. 'I hope you enjoy the book. We want to make some real change,'

After that, the interactions hadn't been nearly as compelling. For one thing, they were rather one-sided. Most were skeptical, some were open-minded, and others were simply there because it was the hot topic of the month.

At half past noon a woman Sirius was convinced would be his downfall arrived. 'Sirius! What a pleasant surprise!' said Dolores Umbridge. Smiling broadly. Her face stretching to match that of a toad.

'Dolores!' Sirius greeted as though he were speaking to a lifelong friend, though the exaggeration in his voice was excessive. 'You keep saying that! It's almost as though you find it odd to find me exactly where I'm supposed to be!'

Her smile faltered and Tonks couldn't hold the snort that escaped her. Umbridge glanced down at Tonks briefly but otherwise remained obtuse.

'I was only wondering what you were doing here?' she said sweetly.

Tonks threw Sirius an expression of pure bewilderment while he simply rolled his eyes. Turning his attention back to Umbridge her grinned. 'Well, Dolores, you see, I co-wrote this book so I figured I might as well show up to the author's meet and greet,'

Umbridge shifted on her short legs and gave Sirius a sympathetic smile. 'Yes, but you are a Ministry employee… and associating with this sort of press is not excusable,'

Sirius's grin fell into a scowl and Umbridge took a step back. 'One day, Umbridge, you'll see that associating with this cause was exactly the right thing to do,'

Tonks wished that Umbridge would have gotten flustered. Perhaps rage and embarrass herself. Maybe even scare off. But no, she only smiled. 'Don't worry, Black…' she said rather quietly. Even Sirius was taken aback. 'The right side of history, will show itself soon enough,'

She left, then. The next customer came up in line as though nothing had happened. And though Sirius acted as though his superior's strange behaviour wasn't concerning. His eyes told a different story altogether. He was most definitely in a state of shock.

The day continued. They didn't stop until nearly 11 at night. There was still an enormous line, but the shopkeeper was forced to cut it off and let them all know that there would be stock enough for them to return tomorrow. They'd all be signed copies, thanks to Sirius and Tonks's wonderful customer service, though there would be no meet and greet.

'Tomorrow, we face the reviews,' said Tonks quietly as she and Sirius ambled down the now empty street three hours later. Sirius nodded dumbly and ran a hand down his face. 'What's wrong, Sirius?' she asked after a while of listening to their boots against the cobblestone.

'Umbridge is up to something,' he said, confirming her thoughts of the matter. 'She's usually pretty easy to get riled up. She's a bitch, don't get me wrong, but that was strange… it's like she knows something,'

Tonks mulled that over for a moment. 'Do you think she does? Do you think she knows who our sources are?'

Sirius heaved an enormous sigh and shook his head. 'If she did, something would have happened by now,' he stopped and looked towards the entrance to Knockturn alley. 'Do you think this'll work?' he said after a while. Tearing his eyes away from the alley and continuing the trek to the Leaky Cauldron.

'Yes,' said Tonks firmly. 'This is a war of ideology, of opinion, and of prejudice,'

'Sounds like a lot of synonyms to me, Tonks,' said Sirius, smiling at her.

She rolled her eyes and continued. 'The point is, we're going about it the right way. As much as I don't understand it, I can see why some fights you can't simply throw yourself at. Some fights… some fights are fought like this. Through convincing the public or whatever,'

Sirius chuckled and sighed again. 'I just hope we beat the inevitable,'

Tonks took that at face value. Overturn hundreds of years of bigotry before Harry's secret comes out. 'Yeah,' she said, simply.

'I really need a drink,' said Sirius after a long while. 'You reckon we could coerce Moony out of his teaching duties to join us at the Hogs Head?'

Tonks grinned. 'I reckon I could try,'

Sirius laughed, clearly having absolutely no idea on what Tonks was going to try and do.

Hogsmeade was cold. Early January made it look spectacular, but Sirius had no desire to stay outside for too long. The wind was whipping at his collar and clouds covered the night sky. He and Tonks walked side by side down the main street and hauled open the door to the Hog's Head.

They were met by an interesting sight.

Snape, Dumbledore, Remus, McGonagall, and a large man sat around one of the larger tables. Aberforth was there, distributing drinks and looking as irritated as ever.

'Abe!' said Sirius. He hadn't seen the man since before his imprisonment, and they'd been reasonably well acquainted during the war.

Everyone's heads whirled around to see Tonks and Sirius in the doorway. Aberforth rolled his eyes at Sirius and disappeared behind the counter, and into the backroom.

Shrugging away Aberforth's dismissal, Sirius led himself and Tonks into the room. 'What's with the secret meeting?'

'Isn't exactly a secret anymore, now is it, my boy,' said the large man in the corner. Sirius nearly tripped over his own feet when he realized who it was.

'Slughorn? The hell are you doing here?' said Sirius, none too pleased to see the man who had flunked him in potions.

Dumbledore stood then. 'It is most opportune for you two to have arrived here, I am… well let us say… having a reunion, of sorts,' he smiled kindly and conjured two chairs for Sirius and Tonks. 'Aberforth, you are involved,' Dumbledore said, with forced calm.

The man in question came out from behind the bar and conjured his own straight-backed chair.

'I am waiting on a couple of people, now,' said Dumbledore, taking a delicate sip of his drink.

Tonks leaned over to Sirius. 'Do they know about Bill?' he whispered.

Sirius shook his head. 'Not that I know of,' he responded evenly.

The door opened once again, this time admitting a familiar face. 'Hello, Albus,' said Moody gruffly. 'Glad to see your love of meeting in the dead of night hasn't faded over time,' Sirius honestly couldn't tell if that was meant to be sarcastic or not.

'And that should leave… one more,' said Dumbledore.

They waited in a tense silence for quite some time. When the clock struck twelve, the door opened. A man walked in. He wore a long overcoat, and had a scarf wrapped around his face – presumably for protection against the frigid outdoors. He was holding a leather traveling case – similar to the one Charlie had brought to Potter Manor in November. He appeared to be fairly young. In his early 40s or late 30s. But he walked in a manner that Sirius couldn't describe. It gave off an aura of great age.

Dumbledore hadn't risen for Moody, but he shot to his feet with the energy of a much younger man and walked around the table to greet the man. 'I'm glad you could come. I know I hadn't called upon you last time… but, well, things are different. How's Tina?'

Sirius was trying to get a better look at the man. He seemed to ignore Dumbledore's greeting. 'You summoned me for my expertise, Dumbledore, but I am going to ask you the same question I asked you last time. Why can't you go?'

Dumbledore stared at the man for a moment before shaking his head. He gestured to the table. 'To those who are unaware, this is Newt Scamander,' Sirius's eyes widened at the name. 'I've called him in on some… urgent matters,'

Newt grimaced and nodded to everyone at the table and conjured his own chair, which seemed to be made of bamboo, sitting down without preamble.

'You look… quite well,' said McGonagall in surprise.

Newt smiled gently and pointed to his face. 'You work with plants and animals enough and… well you can find ways to keep yourself looking like this,' his voice started out loud and talkative but slowly simmered down to a near whisper.

'As I am sure you are all aware, tonight we are… reinstating the Order of the Phoenix,' said Dumbledore, gesturing to the table.

Sirius's jaw dropped and he noticed similar reactions around the table. Slughorn got out of his seat and made his way to the door. Dumbledore made no move to intercept, simply saying. 'I need you, Horace,'

Slughorn hesitated with his hand on the door. 'As I have said many times, as I had said when you came knocking on my door two years ago, I will not choose a side,'

He pushed the door open, the wind had evidently grown stronger since Sirius had entered the pub, because the door slammed open and Slughorn's scarves were thrown out of sorts. They saw him round the corner before hearing a loud crack of apparition.

Aberforth waved his wand non-committedly at the door, and it slammed shut. Sirius saw Tonks shift in her seat as Aberforth waved his wand. Supposedly to put up some silencing charms.

'Well… That was an excellent start!' said Moody with feigned exuberance, smiling at everyone at the table sarcastically and pushing away the drink offered by Aberforth, choosing to drink from his own hipflask instead.

Dumbledore sighed and sat down. 'Voldemort is on the rise. We all know it,' Newt sat awkwardly, and Dumbledore nodded to him. 'Save maybe Newt, here,'

Tonks snorted inexplicably and Remus and Sirius both turned to her. 'Now, Sirius and Remus both came to me late this past summer expressing their concerns over the display at the World Cup,'

Everyone at the table glanced towards the two men in question before turning their attention back to Dumbledore. 'Now, I had brushed those concerns aside, but we've had… an incident,'

Sirius could have strangled the man. It had been something he'd always hated with the original Order. Dumbledore's flair for the dramatic. He could never get to the point, and some people always knew more than others. It created a power imbalance, and constantly caused communication issues. He was pleased that so many people were here for this meeting, because he didn't know what would happen if they'd had a repeat of last time.

'Bill Weasley has been kidnapped,'

Newt perked up, inexplicably. And Sirius frowned. How did he know?

'I told him, son,' said Moody. Answering his unasked question while staring at him with both eyes. Sirius nodded and looked up to Dumbledore.

'Bill Weasley… as in Charlie's brother?' said Newt quietly. Everyone turned to him, and he shrugged his shoulders. 'Charlie's my… grandson in law, I suppose,'

'Charlie's wife is Alyssa?' said Dumbledore, his eyebrows shooting to the sky.

Newt nodded. 'I leant him one of my cases,' he said, needlessly raising his case to show the group. Everyone nodded and turned back to Dumbledore.

'I received word from young Percy this morning… they received a package in the mail. It was addressed to Charlie and contained muggle train tickets for both him and Percy. They are scheduled, and they think the date is significant, so they will arrive there the muggle way, and at the date specified. 'No risks,' is what he told me in his letter.'

'Is Alyssa going?' Newt asked. 'She shouldn't… we don't know how the pregnancy will go,'

'Woah!' said Tonks, rising to her feet. 'Charlie's going to be a father?'

Newt gaped at her and turned to Dumbledore. 'When will you learn? You need to share the information with everyone Dumbledore. Everyone. This isn't Bhutan'

Dumbledore shook his head plainly. 'I was not aware of Alyssa's pregnancy,'

Tonks began pacing. 'Let me get this straight… Charlie gets married to a werewolf in secret, who is now pregnant!'

'Er… yes,' said Newt, frowning slightly. 'The trouble is, there hasn't ever been a documented pregnancy coming from a… well… a female werewolf has never given birth, at least, it hasn't been recorded,' many muffled groans came from around the table. Newt didn't seem to notice, instead continuing on with his explanation rather awkwardly. 'See, I theorized that the baby would likely be a werewolf because Alyssa would have to go through the transformations while pregnant… my logic was that the fetus would have to change as well, so it could… fit,' he finished, lamely.

'Good Christ…' said Remus quietly. 'How the hell is Molly going to react,'

'Terribly,' said Tonks and Sirius at the same time.

Dumbledore released a quiet pop from his wand and everyone's attention centered back on him. 'We haven't got much time. Let me assign your roles,'

Sirius stared in disbelief as Dumbledore began to prattle on. How could he possibly give this meeting no direction, no new information, and no reasoning. No, Sirius wasn't going to let this play out like last time.

'Stop,' he shouted. Forcing Dumbledore to halt mid-sentence. 'Tell us why Bill Weasley's capture is relevant to the reorganization of the Order,'

Snape sneered up at Sirius and stood from his seat. 'Because Black believes it is his right to know everything all the time, even though it his lack of communication that landed himself in Azkaban, I shall explain the situation for the headmaster. Because, quite frankly, he has more important matters to get to. Like the protection of your godson,' Sirius noted with some level of confusion the lack of any insult thrown towards Harry.

'The Dark Lord is on the rise. My mark is darkening, and so is that of Karkaroff. Before you say anything, it wasn't he who entered Potter or Weasley into the Goblet of Fire. He is far too cowardly for that. No, this is the work of someone far more powerful, and far more intelligent,' Sirius sighed and sat back down in his seat. Snape threw him a satisfied smirk.

'As for Bill Weasley's disappearance, he is currently running straight into a veritable trap. The only country in Europe practically uninhabited by wizards, reigned by a man locked in a tower, is not the ideal vacation destination. So, Dumbledore is likely going to send… Scamander and Moody to Austria for support on the Weasley brother's behalf. Scamander because he's proven himself with magical creatures and Grindelwald in the past, and Moody because he's a competent fighter,'

Everyone stared in shock at Snape's tirade, but he wasn't finished.

'So, Black, to shorten things for your miniscule, pathetic brain, the headmaster is restarting the Order so that, as you had so wisely suggested in the summer, when the Dark Lord returns,' he paused and sent a legilimency attack Sirius's way, forcing him to shoot back in his chair and refocus his occlumency shields. 'We're ready,'

And with that, Snape whirled around, his cape billowing behind him and strode out the pub.

'Such a lovely chap,' murmured Aberforth from somewhere to Sirius's right.

Dumbledore's frown deepened but he nodded silently. 'What Severus has so… kindly explained, is all quite accurate,'

Sirius rose form his chair. 'Then I should know that my job is to watch for opportunities to recruit at the Ministry, and keep an eye on potential threats,' he said, thinking of Umbridge.

'And apt summary,' said Dumbledore, nodding his head to Sirius. 'Nymphadora, your assignment is the same… Remus, you're here in the school… I'll have assignments for you when we have a better idea of where Greyback is located. Until then… well… continue your duties as a professor.'

Remus nodded grimly, standing with Tonks and joining Sirius at the door. Sirius didn't even bother to acknowledge the others. He walked out of the pub and into the desolate street.

'I really hate that man,' he said after kicking some snow rather aggressively.

'You know you don't,' said Remus from behind him. 'You know you're just… irritated, Padfoot. Which is alright, really,' he paused and waved over Tonks. 'But… he listened, didn't he?'

'Yeah, Sirius, you told him to prepare and he's finally doing it,' said Tonks, supporting Remus's argument.

'Yes, well look what's happened since I first told him to prepare,' Sirius balled his hands into fists. 'Harry and Ginny are both in a Tournament they should never be in. Bertha Jorkins is dead, and Pettigrew is still FUCKING OUT THERE!' he kicked some more snow and let out an anguished cry. 'This is supposed to be over,' he said in a near whisper. 'Harry was supposed to have killed him all those years ago,'

Remus walked up to Sirius and nodded. 'And he will… he will kill him,'

There was a long pause before Tonks broke the silence. 'Sorry, but why does Harry have to kill Voldemort?'

'Fuck,' Sirius groaned, slapping his palm to his forehead. 'Just forget I said that,'

Tonks opened her mouth to interrupt but Remus held up a hand. Effectively silencing her. 'Sirius, didn't you just say how much you hate Dumbledore hiding things? Do you not trust your own cousin enough with this information?'

Sirius stared at Remus for a long time, then settled his gaze on Tonks, who was standing there, shivering slightly, waiting patiently for his response. Realistically, the secret should be shared with as few people as possible. But then again…

Sighing, he grabbed Remus's arm and pulled him towards Tonks. 'You haven't got classes tomorrow, right?'

'No, Padfoot, it's a Sunday tomorrow,'

'Brilliant,' said Sirius, grabbing Tonks by the shoulder and turning on the spot. If they were going to have this conversation, they might as well do it in the comforts of Potter Manor, and with a fair share of firewhiskey at arm's reach.

As the colours of the world and apparition spread across his vision, he thought of Dumbledore's right hand. It had been blackened beyond belief. Last he'd seen the man was at the Yule Ball, which he'd worn a glove to.

Newt Scamander back involved with Dumbledore? Snape seemingly in the know? And Bill Weasley's capture becoming a far more serious topic? Along with the Tournament…

A game was afoot, and Sirius was compelled to know how much of it tied back to Voldemort.

Because surely, it was all him…

Surely.

A/N: Again, I have a Tumblr. rmwb-fanfics. GO FOLLOW IT!

A turning point chapter. So, because speculation is always fun, I'd thought I'd give you the current names for the next 10 Chapters! Each of the 73 currently mapped out chapters has a temporary synopsis and quotes and such. The number of chapters grows with the number of conversations, character moments, or plot-hole-fillers that need to happen. But for now, 73 chapters are planned.

The chapters listed below have at least 2k words written in each of them.

Without further ado...

Chapter 20: The Predictions of Tyco Dodonus

Chapter 21: Dolores's Flaw in the Plan

Chapter 22: The Battle of Nurmengard Castle

Chapter 23: James

Chapter 24: Grindelwald's Silver Tongue

Chapter 25: The Clock is Ticking Faster, Miss Greengrass

Chapter 26: Come, Ginevra

Chapter 27: The Shattering of Ronald Weasley's Worldview

Chapter 28: Race Against the Moon

Chapter 29: Narcissa Black