I do not own Harry Potter nor World of Darkness

Manhattan Valley, New York, 2nd November 1992 (Monday)

"A petrified cat?" asked Francesco in disbelief.

"A petrified human, my dear. A human cursed to turn into a cat and never transform back. Didn't you mention there was a race of cat Fera, you mutt?"

Francesco growled.

"Now, now… there's no need to get enraged, my dear friend. It might hurt your promotion, after all. Besides, aren't Philodox supposed to be the negotiators amongst your kind?"

With a snort, Francesco stared at the vampire.

"I am negotiating. Others would have torn you to pieces already."

"Ah, yes. The famous Garou temper. Impressive how you can get anything done without gutting a couple hundred bystanders. It's inspiring, really."

"Save your mockery, leech. What do you want?"

The vampire cackled. "You're truly amusing, Francesco. I knew I made the right choice supporting your candidature to the Board of Directors."

Francesco frowned once again. Yes, it was Harold Zettler that was the one that made his candidature for the Board of Directors possible, but that didn't mean that he liked the vampire. And for how little he liked the Malkavian, he liked being indebted to him even less.

"Your job, dear Francesco, is to travel to England. Go to Norwich. Find the Greengrass family residence, and gather samples from them. All of them. Their daughter Astoria seems to be the main test subject, so her survival is paramount. The family has considerable political influence and the other daughter, Daphne, is one of Harry's friends, so I encourage a diplomatic approach at first, but regardless of their potential usefulness, their lives are ultimately meaningless. If they resist, or if you merely feel the unstoppable need to… indulge in your bestial nature, then feel free to do so. Their survival is, at the end of the day, not a priority."

"I don't kill for no reason, Zettler." growled Francesco, causing the vampire to laugh.

"Sure, sure. Once you're done, be sure to send all the samples to Doctor Vaughn from section 12. I'm sure his project could benefit from this… Maledictus curse."

The Garou growled in irritation.

"You're sending me on a fetch quest, Zettler? Are you serious? Just send one of your minions, I don't have the time for this shit."

"Oh, but Francesco... you are one of my minions. And besides… I like sending you on fetch quests for me. You'll be one of my peers rather soon, but for the moment, you are on a leash - Sir Harold cackled at his own joke - A dog on a leash! Yes… let me enjoy pulling on that leash a few more times, ok? Lemme savor the moment."

Francesco's eye twitched in frustration, forcing the boiling rage down and nodded politely at the vampire.

He left the office, stomping his way through the various offices on the sleepless tower, irritation boiling up to the surface. He pulled his phone from his pocket, dialing his secretary.

"I need a private jet to England ready by the morning. I'll also need you to locate the Greengrass family house."

"Certainly, sir. Is the Greengrass family on your contact list?"

"If they were on my contact list I wouldn't need to find their family house, you stupid bitch!" shouted the Garou.

"Of course, sir. My apologies, sir. What subsidiary are they associated with?"

"Power Potter's."

Greengrass manor, Norwich, 3rd November 1992 (Tuesday)

Jericho Greengrass was watching the runic array on his House elf with fascination. While he had never been as talented in Arithmancy or Ancient Runes like his late sister, the subject fascinated him. The fact that such a majestic subject for his studies had been wandering around his house, cooking his meals and tending his garden was hard to believe, and yet here he was. Hidden away under a spell so simple not even Astoria had any issue learning, the most beautifully complex runic array he'd ever laid his eyes upon. He cursed at seeing the various faded or out-right illegible runes where the House elf had been struck in the past, either by a wild animal or as punishment for messing up something.

Once again he admired the cunning of the House elf breeders… no, not breeders. Crafters. There was absolutely no protection on the runes, ensuring that most everyday activity would, over time, damage the array to the point of uselessness, and with their explicit suggestion to beat the House elf for disobeying orders or failing in their duty, the deterioration process would only accelerate, forcing them to buy a replacement for the elf sooner than they would have otherwise. Very Slytherin of them. He wondered for how long these crafters had been repairing and re-selling the same House elves over the centuries.

The ringing of a bell interrupted his concentration. Looking over at the newly installed CCTV system, a magnificently useful tool his wife Rena had purchased only months before, he noticed a lone man he didn't recognize waiting at his front door.

He frowned, pointing his wand at the House elf.

"Deflecto Impetum!"

The damage on the House elf was already done, but he wasn't willing to increase it any more, not when a simple spell could prevent it.

"Riney, we have an unknown guest at the door. Find out who he is."

The House elf nodded, disappearing with a snap of its finger.

As Jericho flicked his wand to put away his most recent notes and levitated the runes book back to their shelves, Riney re-appeared.

"Master Greengrass, sir, the man's name is Franceso. Man wishes to speak with you and the lady, sir. Man also asks that young Miss Astoria be present, sir."

Jericho raised an eyebrow.

"Francesco? No last name?"

"No, sir. Man only introduced himself as Francesco. He called Riney 'barely sentient Wyld construct' and said he didn't have time wasting on Riney, sir."

That caught lord Greengrass's attention. He was about to simply send the man away, like… seriously, what sort of muggle barbarian would be so crass to come to his front door unannounced without even the common decency of giving his full name? Still, the man knew that Riney was a construct… He was certain that the only people aware of that fact would be the House elves crafters, the people that attended the Fae studies club with Daphne or their relatives. The House elves' crafters would have no reason to come to his house since they could simply reach him at his job, the students were at Hogwarts and their families would never be so ill-mannered as to not properly introduce themselves with their full name.

"Did this Francesco tell you what's his business with us?"

"He did not, sir. But Riney heard man mumble something about being on a fetch quest for Zettler, sir."

Potter's guardian? Well, that explained everything. Coming unannounced was pretty rude, but considering the way Sir Zettler acted when he met him for the first time, this felt very much in character for him.

"Zettler, you say? Riney, invite this Francesco in and offer him some tea. Rena and I will be there in a moment."

Francesco wasn't happy. Despite knowing its location, finding the Greengrass manor had been exceedingly time-consuming and he had only stumbled upon it by chance thanks to a young Ragabash. Leave it to the tricksters to find a hidden place, of course. Who else would check if the manor was in an Umbral Realm? Sure, an Umbral realm with a Pericarp so thin it might as well be the material reality, but still… Why did they even hide in an Umbral Realm in the first place? Was it to keep the muggles away? Surely there had to be an easier solution than this! If Zettler's ilk could hide, then surely a mage should have no problem doing the same without running in the Umbra.

He had been surprised to find the door being answered by a mere construct reeking in Wyld smells, but once inside the house he had found himself surrounded by a handful of delightfully Wyrmish artifacts. He knew of the Rust Spiders in the CCTV, of course, but the book infested with Brain Eaters had been a wonderful surprise. Certainly had managed to calm his mood: he loved Brain Eaters, and the talk with that Kiro Yamazaki guy had given him an idea for a new project… which unfortunately had to wait until after his promotion to the Board of Directors.

"Apologies for the wait, Sir."

The Garou moved his head, shifting his gaze from the bane-infested book to the two mages in black and silver robes. He got up, offering a small bow to the couple.

"It's no issue. I should be the one to apologize for my sudden visit, but I only have a limited amount of time. I would have called but from my understanding, your minister has yet to authorize the use of phones."

"Such a shame muggle has access to amenities our kind isn't allowed to indulge in yet. Hopefully Mr. Fudge will have all the associated bureaucracy sorted out soon." commented Rena.

Jericho smiled, having noticed the copy of 'Darkest of Arts' their guest was staring at. "Speaking of amenities, I saw your interest in my collection. Something tickles your fancy, Mr…"

"Francesco."

"No family name?" asked Rena, taking a seat in front of the Garou.

"Family names are for either Homids or Metis and I am neither. - said Francesco, dismissively. - And yes. I have to admit I wasn't expecting to see a Brain Eater bane, let alone a whole swarm of them bound to a book. Fascinating stuff, truly."

Jericho smiled. Sir Zettler had a certain aura about him that made him feel too powerful, too overwhelming to manipulate, and if what they had heard about this Pentex company were true, he was certainly far too rich to be bribed, at least with money. This young man, however… That particular copy of 'Darkest of Arts' had been a relatively recent addition to his family collection and was so brimming with curses that he had, at times, considered simply throwing the book away. If this man could instinctively feel the dark magic within, he was an individual worth keeping tabs on. And… if he could gain a powerful ally with a direct line to Sir Zettler by using a book he didn't value…

"If you wish to see it, maybe we can come to an arrangement of sorts? After all, knowledge is meant to be shared, not hogged. Perhaps we can lend you that book?"

Francesco smiled, not even attempting to hide his interest.

"Maybe another time, I'm afraid I currently have a tad too much on my plate at the moment. I am currently here on behalf of my soon-to-be colleague, Harold Zettler. He has recently discovered you suffer from some kind of… ailment of sort? Maledict, I believe, was the term."

Soon-to-be-colleague, he said? Well, that had certainly escalated… Was this man in line for a promotion? Perhaps he could send the book as a congratulatory gift…

Rena raised an eyebrow.

"Are you talking about the Maledictus curse?"

Francesco snapped his fingers, pointing his index at Rena.

"That's the name! Thank you, miss. Would you be so kind as to tell me what you know about it? Zettler did sort of… skim over the details."

Rena looked down.

"It is a terrible fate, to one day be forced into the shape of an animal without the ability to turn back."

"Dreadful curse." agreed Francesco, faking simpaty.

"Dreadful indeed. - interjected Jericho. - May I ask why you are interested?"

"You may. You see, Pentex has been harassed by a few clans of backward savages with the ability to turn into animals. Garou, Rokea, Mokole, Nuwisha and a few others, but the one that is currently of interest are the Bubasti. Are you familiar with them?"

"Can't say that we are. Apologies."

Francesco shrugged. "No apology needed, I suspect as much. They tend to be a secretive bunch. - he took a sip from the tea cup the House elf had placed in front of him. - They have the ability to turn themselves into cats. A whole tribe of them. And considering the nature of this Maledictus curse… we would like to learn more about it. Understand it. Figure out whether there's a connection between their gift and your… condition. If there is, we might open up new possibilities, perhaps even a new weapon in our battle against them."

Jericho and Rena narrowed their expression, suspicious at the murderous glint in Francesco's eyes.

"But of course, I assume you would be more interested in the research for a potential cure." finished Francesco, the maniacal glint disappearing behind a facade of politeness and friendship.

Rena froze in disbelief, while Jericho almost laughed.

"Mr. Francesco, you surely don't think that we haven't tried to break the curse ourselves? It has haunted our family for generations, but despite our best efforts it couldn't be cured."

"In that case, I'll start by analyzing the existing data. If you don't mind sharing it, of course. Regardless, I'd like to run a few tests of my own, just to make sure no avenue was left unexplored. If you wish to cooperate, I'll need a few samples of both the environment and the patient. Is there any family member other than your daughter currently afflicted by the curse?"

Jericho wanted to say something. How dare this man just waltz in and suggest that he could handle this curse without even an inkling of magical education? He was about to open his mouth and chase this Francesco guy out of his house, but the look of hope on his wife's face forced his mouth shut. Rena was hoping, praying against all odds, that this man could do what the most accomplished curse breakers of the past few centuries could not. He sighed. His wife would be heartbroken when this Francesco turned out empty handed, but he couldn't bear to crush her hopes. Not today, at least.

"I have a distant relative, Miss Diane Norris, who lives at Hogwarts. What kind of samples do you need?"

"Nothing serious. A glass of water from your pipes, a fistful of dirt from your backyard, a few strands of hair from all of your family members and other trivialities of that same nature. The most invasive sample I can ask for are a few drops of blood from everyone in the manor, but they might not even be needed. Should the test reveal anything unusual, we might ask your permission to perform some more advanced tests, but nothing dangerous for you or your daughter."

A reasonable request. He wouldn't give his blood, let alone his daughter's, to some stranger, of course, but everything else seemed reasonable. The most he could do with hair was use them to make a Polyjuice potion. Still, he should probably air on the side of caution. Perhaps he could send one of the new Auror recruits to check on the man… Miss Tonks, maybe? She was among the best in her class, and being a Metamorphagus she could easily skip the whole Concealment and Disguise course… He nodded.

"I'll go talk to Astoria. Mr. Francesco, I hope you won't mind if I send an associate with you? She's quite capable and I'm sure she'll be more than happy to assist you in your research."

Francesco hid a snort behind a fake smile. Assist in his research… more like keep an eye on him.

"Not at all, Mr. Greengrass. All help is welcomed."


Notes

Chapter is a bit shorter than normal, but it felt wrong to add another scene, considering how the ones in this chapter are so tight-knit to one another

Did you honestly think Pentex wouldn not be interested in weaponizing the Maledictus curse?

Meet Francesco! A Black Spiral Dancer and a (soon-to-be) Board of Director member. He's a pretty important character who will push forward the story and will become especially important once Remus Lupin enters the picture... hope you're excited to see it!

This chapter was a lot of dialogue, but hope it was fun regardless. Sometimes chpaters like this one are necessary to set up major events later, but I still think there was quite a bit of interesting tidbits for everyone to enjoy, both WoD and HP enthusiasts.

Yes, Tonks' role will change quite a bit in the story. Will she still end up with Lupin? Will she ditch the werewolf for a Garou? Stay tuned to find out...

Wow, I am glad to see more an more people are enjoying my story! It's always heartwarming to see a new sub, favorite or comment, so thank everyone for your support!

Next week is going to be hectic, so I'm fairly certain I'll miss the deadline by a day or two. Do not worry, on the 30th I'll be back to Albania and once updates should remain consistent for the foreseeable future.

PS: I have made a TINY retcon to chapter 4, which now includes a mention of the First Tradition. Nothing really changes, but it will be referenced in the future