Damage Control

Monday—December 29, 1997

Kenneth wasn't expecting Angelina when he returned from work that Monday afternoon. He was mentally exhausted — aside from a rough day, he'd had nightmares the night before and hardly gotten any sleep, worrying about Luke.

On Boxing Day, he and Luke had created a list of codes they could use to write letters, and Kenneth had charmed Luke's list so it wasn't recognizable if he snuck it into Hogwarts in his satchel. Luke had the counter-charm so he alone could read it. The idea had actually come from a time in Kenneth's seventh-year — when Harry Potter had given an interview to the Quibbler about what had happened the night Cedric died, and Umbridge banned the edition. Students took to charming the article so it looked like a normal piece of parchment if she asked them to turn out their bags, and she never did figure it out. Even Kenneth had read the article, despite Umbridge's order that anyone caught with it would be expelled — hell, Chrysanthe had given it to him! Now, he was hoping the Death Eaters would be just as stupid as Umbridge had been back then, and wouldn't realize what Luke had.

Luke had also requested Kenneth get a copy of the code to two other families, too.

"Do you think you could somehow get this to the MacMillans?" he'd asked, as Kenneth duplicated the code with his wand so they'd each have it. "Gina and Harriett are cousins and they're both friends of mine. We're all in the same year, but they're in Hufflepuff. Gina's brother is Ernie; he's a seventh-year prefect who was in Dumbledore's Army, and they're all worried. Ernie's been a main part of the current resistance. He and Neville have really been catching hell from the Death Eaters, but they're both members of the Sacred Twenty-Eight, so they won't kill them. Gina and Ern's dad is Straun MacMillan, and Harriet's dad is Keiran MacMillan. I'm sure you don't know them personally, but if there was some way youcould get it to them without getting caught…"

Kenneth had hesitated. "I actually know someone who can possibly pass it along. I'll have to check to make sure,but…"

"Really?" Luke had looked up in surprise. "What about the Woods, too? Alex Wood, he's a fourth-year, and he's terrified… he doesn't want his brother to know what's going on, but he hates not being able to read Oliver's letters. If they had even a little bit of code they could use…"

"Oliver will be easier. I know him personally. I can get this to him, or get Angelina or Alicia to take it to him. Can you make copies for your friends? I can make copies for Oliver and the MacMillans."

"I can do that," Luke had agreed.

So now Kenneth had to figure out how to get cheat sheets to the MacMillans, and he was hoping Alania Pucey could help with that. Her oldest son was engaged to a MacMillan, after all. As for Oliver, that would be far easier.

So even though Kenneth hadn't been expecting Angelina that Monday evening, he was glad to see her, because he wanted to ask if she would take the code to Oliver and Alex. But Angelina forestalled him.

"The Spinnets are dead," she announced without any bloody warning whatsoever, the second the door closed behind her. "They were killed last night."

Kenneth stared at her in shock for a few seconds; it felt like she'd slapped him! Then he blurted, "Alicia! Where is she?"

"She and Iwere there when it happened," Angelina said darkly. "Umbridge sent —"

"What?" Kenneth jerked back as the horror escalated sharply. Umbridge had sentsomeone to kill Alicia's parents?!

Angelina ignored that. "— Miles Bletchley —"

"Fucking hell!" His stomach bottomed horribly.

"— and Cassius Warrington."

He just gaped at her before he started swearing nonstop under his breath and storming around the sitting room. The idea that two young men in their year had taken the Dark Mark was horrible! Not to mention, Umbridge wouldhone in on Alicia, damn it! They had underestimated that bitch, and Kenneth of all people knew notto underestimate Umbridge! Why hadn't he foreseen this?! She'd always hated Alicia!

Karen arrived home from her job at that very moment, so Angelina had to explain all over again. By that point, Kenneth had his wand in his hand and was whacking it furiously against his right palm as he paced, trying to distract himself from the fury welling up inside of him. First Luke, and now this…!

"Kenneth, love, stop!" Karen said in exasperation. "Before you burn your hand!"

Angelina explained, "Bletchley killed Alicia's mum just moments after Mrs. Spinnet opened the front door. Then he cast some spell that caused half the house to explode. Alicia and I just did get a shield over ourselves, but her dad had stepped away from us to check on Mrs. Spinnet, and he got caught in the debris field. It was… really gruesome. His body, I mean." She shuddered slightly. "A jagged, broken board from the roof truss went through him and something hit him in the head. I wouldn't let Alicia look."

"Helga," Karen moaned, wrapping her arms around herself as Kenneth fought the urge to vomit. She added desperately, "Alicia— where is she now?"

"She's at a safehouse with Pucey," Angelina said. "I managed to get a Patronus to him seconds before all hell broke loose, and he showed up just in the knick of time and…" She trailed off.

"And what?" Kenneth demanded.

Angelina met his eyes. "Bletchley cast another Killing Curse at us, and Adrian lost it. He killed Bletchley — he didn't even hesitate. But I know he's upset about it. No matter how much we hated Bletchley, Bletchley was one of Pucey's classmates. He's been about to go spare all day while we've been waiting, turning it over in his mind. We all took a Dreamless Sleep potion last night, and Remus stayed to stand guard, but we've been laying low today so Remus could return to Kingsley and let him know what happened. We all suspect Umbridge will somehow blame Alicia for Bletchley's death."

"Oh,fuck," Kenneth hissed, resuming his pacing. "She would. Goddamnit!"

"Remus wants Adrian and Alicia to stay at the safehouse for a while. I'm going to bunk with the twins for a bit. I don't know if Cassius knew I was there or not," she admitted. "It all happened so fast…"

"Pucey didn't kill him too?" Kenneth spat.

Karen frowned at him. "Kenneth!"

"Well? He should have." Kenneth resumed his furious pacing. Why the hell hadn'tPucey killed Warrington while he was at it?!

"Adrian's pretty shaken," Angelina snapped, glaring at him. "You could be a littlesympathetic, Kenneth. In fact, I was hoping I could take you over to him so you could just be a friend to him. He listened to you the other night when you needed him, didn't he? So you can return the damn favor. And don't you dare blame him for not killing Warrington!"

Kenneth hesitated. That was a good point, much as he hated to admit it. Hesighed. "Fine. I'll behave." And, when Karen glared at him too, he added, "I promise."

"Come on then," Angelina said. "Side along. Karen, lock up and don't let anyone in until Kenneth gets back."

"I won't," she promised.

Angelina first stopped at a muggle pizza joint in the south of London and grabbed dinner, and then they Apparated a second time. The safehouse turned out to be in Wales — a rundown little cottage on the edge of a wood and a lane. Night was falling and the snow was past their ankles. It was bitterly cold and Kenneth pulled his coat tighter while they exchanged security questions.

Adrian let them in. Angelina dropped the pizza boxes on the table and said, "I'll check on Alicia. Get some dinner, Pucey."

"Where is Alicia?" Kenneth asked quietly, closing the door behind him and casting several protection charms.

"She's been in bed all day," Adrian admitted, as he sank into a chair. He looked tired. Different, somehow. Kenneth gingerly sat down next to him and summoned some drinks from the icebox.

"How are you?" Kenneth asked.

Adrian shrugged and kept staring at the wall.

Kenneth glanced at him. "You can be yourself with me, you know. Listen, I'm really grateful you protected her, like you always do. Thank Godric you got there in time."

Adrian just closed his eyes. "I killed a classmate, Towler," he said in a low voice.

"You killed a Death Eater," Kenneth amended curtly.

"Mum and Remus told me the same thing." He didn't sound convinced, though.

"Well, what's the issue then?"

Adrian was quiet for a moment. But finally, he met Kenneth's eyes, and Kenneth realized Adrian looked as upset as Kenneth had felt just a few days earlier when Luke showed him the horrors happening at Hogwarts.

"I never liked Bletchley," Adrian admitted hollowly, shifting in his seat to get more comfortable. "Even in first year, I thought he was a trollish bully. By seventh-year, I knewhe was a fucking thug. Montague, too. Ian was just an oily bastard; he wasn't as wealthy as the rest of us, and he spent most of his time licking our boots. If I got along with anyone, it was Cassius, but even Cassius bought into the blood purity shite. And yet, despite knowing all of that, I pretended to get along with my dorm mates because I had to sleep in the same room with them, and I couldn't risk them harming me if they thought for a second that I wasn't one of them. I fell back on being a loner, distancing myself from the way they bullied and hazed others in the common room. But…"

The silence stretched. Kenneth thought he knew where Adrian was going with it. When Adrian didn't continue, Kenneth broke the silence. In a resigned voice, he said, "But you wonder why you didn't step in more? Stop some of the bullying?"

Adrian nodded slowly, staring off into space.

"Would it have made a difference? Or would they have just attacked you in retaliation?"

"Probably the latter. Can people like that even change?" Adrian sounded skeptical. "I don't know."

"Well," Kenneth growled, "Considering at least two or three of your dorm matestook the Dark Mark and became Death Eaters…"

"Logically, I know that I shouldn't be upset about it. But… imagine, just for a second, if you killed one of the Weasley twins. Even if it was an accident. How would you feel?"

That made Kenneth stop.

What if he accidentally killed Fred or George Weasley?

The twins had been akin to hellions in their early years at Hogwarts. They had pranked Kenneth so many times he often wished he could curse them to oblivion and back. In fifth-year, they'd put fucking Bulbadox powder in his pyjamas right in the middle of fucking O.W.L.s and he'd broken out in boils! It had apparently been in retaliation for him being such a bossy prefect, something about telling them to be quiet so he could study. He'd actually hexed Fred in revenge because he'd been so angry, and McGonagall had given both of them detention. Not that Kenneth had cared; hexing Fred had been worth the detention after the humiliation of being covered in boils. There were many times he couldn't stand them. Not all the time, but yes, there had been many days he wondered how much easier his life would have been if he'd been sorted into Hufflepuff with Cedric and Gilbert.

Still, Kennethdidn't want the twinsdead. They were still his friends, despite all the pranks, and they'd been his dorm mates for seven years.

Just like Pucey and Bletchley, he thought sickeningly.

What he said was, "That's different. Fred and George aren't Death Eaters. They joined the Order of the Phoenix —"

"You can't sit there and tell me there weren't times you were angry at them, or disliked them."

Kenneth shook his head. "There were. A lot of times. But —" He trailed off. Fuck. Maybe this washow Adrian felt.

"I'll be alright," Adrian assured him suddenly, brusquely. "It's something I have to learn to live with. Having cast an Unforgivable Curse twice, I mean."

"Twice?"

"I used Imperius on Warrington so I could see his memories without resistance. That's how I found out Umbridge sent them to kill the Spinnets and the exact sequence of events."

"I know Imperius is an Unforgivable," Kenneth muttered, "but it's not quite like Cruciatus or Avada Kedavra."

Adrian frowned at him. "It takes away a person's will."

"I know that. That's not what I meant. I meant, using it to gain access to his memories is different from killing him or using him to kill someone else, Pucey."

"I know. Like I said. I have to come to terms with it."

"You did all of this to save Alicia, remember?"

He hesitated. "Something Mum told me a few months ago came to mind. She killed someone during the first war."

Kenneth's eyebrows went up. "I can see that. Your mum doesn't strike me as the sort of person someone should cross."

"She said if she had the choice to go back and relive that day, she would kill the Death Eater again and again." Adrian leaned his arms on the table and hunched over them. "Bletchley was absolutely going to kill Alicia. If I had to do it again… I suppose I would kill him again and again to save Alicia. I can't live without her anymore," he whispered, gazing off at the far wall in a way that indicated he wasn't really seeing anything around him.

"Then that's your answer. Stop worrying about it. I would do the same if someone honed in on Karen. I wouldn't even think about it. I would just react out of anger and panic."

"That's exactly it," Adrian agreed. "I didn't even stop to think. I reacted out of anger and panic. Which wasn't good, either. I rushed into the situation without thinking, and that wasn't like me. I could have gotten killed. What if Montague or Flint had been around?"

Kenneth tensed. "Thankfully they weren't."

"Thankfully, but that isn't the point."

"Well, next time, you'll be more careful."

Adrian sighed. "Hopefully."

Kenneth suddenly realized their pizza was cold. He shoved his plate away and changed the subject. "Listen, I need to see your mother, actually. Luke and I created a set of codes to write letters to each other, hopefully without the Death Eaters figuring it out. Luke is going to give copies to a few of his friends, including some of the MacMillan kids. Your mum is friends with the MacMillans, isn't she?"

Adrian roused himself, sat up, and nodded. "Her best mate is Straun, but she also knows Bridget's father. I'll send her a Patronus and let her know you want to talk to her. She wants to give you something, too."

When Kenneth looked confused, Adrian smiled slightly.

"The address to a Fidelius Charm."

At that, Kenneth blinked. "Really?"

"Yes, really. Mum thinks you're great, you know that," Adrian said, rolling his eyes. He cast a Patronus and muttered, "Don't know where the fuck she got the idea, but… there you have it."

Kenneth chuckled. "Hate you too, Pucey."

At that point, Alicia and Angelina came into the kitchen. Kenneth could tell Alicia was pale and had been crying a lot; her eyes were rimmed in red. Her hair was pulled back in a long loose plait, and she still looked on the verge of tears.

"What do you want to eat? I got pepperoni and just cheese." Angelina wheedled. "Come on. You need to eat something."

"I'm not hungry," Alicia mumbled, as Angelina made her sit down across from Kenneth, on Adrian's other side.

"Come on, Alicia," Adrian said softly. "Johnson is right —"

"I don't see that you've eaten," she said, eyeing him and his plate of cold pizza accusingly.

Adrian turned faintly pink, but he didn't have the bollocks to say he wasn't hungry, either. Instead, he muttered, "Fine." He took a bite of pizza, but Kenneth could tell that he was forcing himself to chew it and it probably tasted like cardboard.

Kenneth decided not to say anything about the fact that neither Adrian or Alicia wanted to eat. Instead, he turned to Alicia and offered, "Do you need anything? Karen is happy to bring you a change of clothes or snacks or —"

"I'm fine," she said automatically, staring at the wall in much the same way Adrian had.

At that moment, a she-wolf appeared between Adrian and Kenneth, and Alania's voice came out.

Oh, I would love to see Kenneth! Kenneth, dear, send me a Patronus when you return to your flat tonight and I'll send you the address, along with a time for you to visit.

Kenneth flushed slightly. "Thanks for contacting her."

"Why do you need to see Adrian's mum?" Alicia asked.

"Luke and I created a written code between us to use for letters, hopefully things the Death Eaters won't black out, though it's hard to say if they will or not. Luke wants the MacMillan family to have the code, too."

"Oh." Alicia nodded. "That makes sense."

"He also wants Oliver to have a copy," Kenneth said. "But maybe I'd best visit Oliver since you and Angelina are both laying low for now."

Angelina nodded. "Probably best. I'll let him know you need to see him." She cast a Patronus.

It took a few minutes for Oliver's Patronus to return to them, but it finally did.

Can he stop by tonight? I can take it to my parents and Alex before they go to bed.

Kenneth looked at Angelina. "Send your Patronus back for me. Let him know I'll be there in fifteen minutes. He probably doesn't know what my Patronus is, and it tends to freak people out if they haven't seen it."

Oliver was grateful for the list of code phrases. Despite being exhausted from practice at Puddlemere, he welcomed Kenneth and thanked him.

"Mum and Dad will be glad," he said, glancing at the list. "All of Alex's letters to us have had a lot of sentences blacked out. Maybe this will help. Can't hurt, anyways. Hopefully they won't realize five kids will be using the same list."

"Hopefully not," Kenneth agreed. "And you can change your code up a bit if you want, to add an extra level of protection."

Alania was even happier than Oliver. As soon as Kenneth Apparated back to his flat and Karen let him inside, he sent Adrian's mother a Patronus as he was instructed. Her she-wolf returned almost immediately.

The entrance to Pucey Villa is on top of Chessy the House-Elf's Grave. Come tomorrow evening at six. If Karen heard this message, bring her, too.

The she-wolf dissolved into silver sparkles.

"Well, I guess we'll be at Pucey Villa for dinner tomorrow," Kenneth said, raking a hand into his hair.

"It'll be nice not having to cook," Karen replied. "And Adrian's mother is really kind. I like her."

But to Kenneth's surprise, it wasn't just himself and Karen for dinner the next night.

When they stepped off the Apparition point, Kenneth turned and frowned at the little grave on the edge of a family cemetery.

"I thought maybe she was joking, or it was a code for something else, but it looks like she really didput it on a grave."

"It makes perfect sense," Karen stated. "No Death Eater in their right mind would think an Apparition point within a Fidelius Charm would be on the grave of a house elf. They think such creatures are beneath them."

"Please tell me you didn't join Hermione Granger's S.P.E.W. society," Kenneth joked.

But before she could answer, someone else Apparated on top of the grave.

Kenneth drew his wand without thinking, but the man and woman who stepped off clearly knew the Fidelius Charm. The man was tall and broad, with black hair streaked faintly with gray, and the woman was slender, with gray-streaked, neatly coiffed brown hair. When they saw Kenneth and Karen, they both looked wary and the man pointed his wand at them in return.

"Er, Mrs. Alania invited us," Kenneth said quickly, keeping his wand up. "I'm Kenneth Towler, and this is Karen Pickford. She told us the address last night by her Patronus."

"What is her Patronus?" the man asked curtly, in a deep Scottish brogue.

Startled, Kenneth's wand dropped a fraction and he blurted, "You're a MacMillan!"

"Answer my question, please." The man tilted his chin and kept his wand steady.

"It's a she-wolf," Kenneth said quickly. "Are you Ernie's father, or Bridget's?"

The man relaxed slightly. "I'm Ern's father. Straun MacMillan. This is my wife, Eleanor. Kenneth Towler, you said? You were Head Boy a couple of years ago, if memory serves."

"I was," Kenneth admitted. For some reason, he thought of the memory that Luke had shown him, in which Ernie MacMillan had willingly allowed himself to be horsewhipped to protect other students, just last term. Ernie was honestly doing a better job of protecting other students than Kenneth ever had. But he knew he could never tell Straun and Eleanor MacMillan what Ernie had done. He merely swallowed and added, "Not a very good one, though."

Karen huffed. "Don't listen to him," she said to Straun. "Anyone would have found it hard to be Head Boy and Girl under Umbridge."

At that, Straun chuckled. "Truer words, lass. I can't stand that woman." He and his wife stepped off the grave and he added, "I'm surprised Lon isn't down here to welcome you both."

"I'm right here," Alania's voice called, and when Kenneth looked up, it was to see Adrian's mother on a broom, smiling down at them. "Sorry I'm late, though. I lost track of time."

Straun had already waved his wand and, to Kenneth's surprise, what appeared to be a marble tomb opened. The older man looked back at them and his brow furrowed.

"Miss Pickford, was it?"

"Yes, sir," she said brightly. "I'm a Hufflepuff, too."

Straun's face broke into a large smile. "Oh! Is that a fact? I didn't know I was having dinner with another badger tonight. Do you fly, young lady?"

"Not very well, but I can."

Straun summoned three brooms; his wife got on with him.

Karen pouted slightly. "Oh, I could have ridden with you," she teased, smirking at Kenneth as she swung a leg over her broomstick.

"I can send one back," Straun offered, not knowing the joke between them.

"No!" Kenneth said swiftly. He turned a dull pink. "I'm not the best flyer in the world, and she knows that. She's taking the mickey on me. I don't need to be responsible for her in the air!"

Karen laughed and was airborne before he was.

Alania, however, looked surprised. "I didn't know you didn't like flying, Kenneth."

Kenneth joined them in the air. "It's not my favorite thing, no," he admitted. "I can do it, sure. But I won't lie: it was hard being in a Gryffindor class with four bloody brilliant Quidditch players. We were a small group,just six of us, and everyone flies well except me. Even Lee flies better than I do."

Alania looked at Karen. "I take it you didn't play Quidditch, either?"

"Definitely not," Karen said cheerfully. "I don't mind flying, but I'm not terribly great on a broom. In my class, it was Gilbert and Cedric who were the fliers. They were both Quidditch players for Hufflepuff."

When they landed on the terrace, Straun's face fell slightly. "I remember Cedric. Merlin, he was a good lad. And a damned good Seeker."

"He was," Kenneth said quietly, propping his broom against the side of the mansion next to the French doors into the parlor.

"Cedric was Kenneth's best friend," Karen said softly, putting her broom next to his. "Gilbert, too. It was always the three of them, even though Kenneth was in Gryffindor."

Straun looked at him solemnly. "I'm sorry you lost him, lad. I know the Royles, too. How is Gilbert, these days?"

Kenneth shrugged half-heartedly. "He's been a bit of a wreck since Jane Ramsey was arrested. They were seeing each other, and he was at her flat when the Death Eaters showed up. Right before the holidays."

"Rowena," Eleanor whispered, shaking her head. "That's awful."

"His family are keeping him at home right now, just in case the Death Eaters target him for his choice in girlfriend."

Kenneth saw anger ripple across the Macmillan's faces at the mention of Death Eaters. As they walked through the parlor, Kenneth pulled the coded sheets from his pocket and enlarged them. "This was something my brother Luke and I created a few days ago," he explained. "It's not the best, but we based the code off of old letters — what the Death Eaters hadn't been blacked out previously. I'm not saying it will work for certain, but —"

"It's better than nothing," Straun said, inhaling sharply. "Thank you for thinking of us, too. We have a few days before Ernie and Gina go back to school, so we'll talk about this with them, and with Harriett and my brother. They'll probably have some ideas on how we can change some of the phrases so the Death Eaters won't realize several students are using the same codes."

"It's been awful," Eleanor said sadly. "Not being able to read what our children are sending us. And we know the Death Eaters are blacking out things in our letters, too."

"They've been… really quiet," Straun admitted. "The entire holiday. It's unlike them."

"Luke is that way, too. And Ginny Weasley."

Alania herded them towards the dining room. "You can keep reviewing those codes," she scolded lightly, "but do at least sit down and eat while you discuss things. Cheffy doesn't like it if we let dinner get cold."

Straun laughed. "We wouldn't want to upset him."

Eleanor turned at Karen as she sat down. "Do you have siblings, dear?"

Karen shook her head and looked sad. "No. It's just me. My mother… she's muggle-born, and she was arrested early. She's been in Azkaban for four months. My father lives outside Bristol and is a Record Keeper for the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. It's been really rough on him. Kenneth and I visit him once a week and I cook dinner for him."

"I'm so sorry, dear."

Straun looked at Kenneth. "And you just have one brother, correct?"

"Yes. Just Luke. He's a fifth-yearGryffindor."

"Your father was high up at the Ministry, if I recall. They demoted him in favor of a Death Eater, didn't they?"

Kenneth nodded. "They did. Heinrich Jugson took his place. It really upset him. He wasn't expecting that — he had tried to play things very neutral, and it didn't work. They told him his demotion was because he hadn't properly investigated Bartemius Crouch's disappearance after the World Cup."

Straun snorted. "Bollocks, that's what —" He broke off abruptly and looked at Karen, slightly abashed. "Excuse me — I shouldn't swear in polite company. It's usually just the four of us, and I've been friends with Lon since we were first-years. I neverwatch my language around her, I'm afraid."

Karen, however, just laughed. "It's fine, Mr. MacMillan. I live with this one, after all," she joked, grasping Kenneth's forearm and grinning. "Much to his mother's annoyance…"

"How on earth can your mother not like this lovely young lady?" Eleanor asked indignantly.

Kenneth couldn't help but smile. "Because Karen and I live together. My mother is a bit old-fashioned."

Before Eleanor could remark on that, Karen grinned and added, "Mrs. Towler doesn't bother me. But what I was going to say was, you can hardly offend me by swearing. Not only do I live with Kenneth, but I was a Hufflepuff, remember? We all swear."

"Well." Straun looked sheepish. "I should still mind my manners."

Alania interrupted. "Kenneth, how is Adrian?" she asked, her face suddenly pinched with worry. "And Alicia?"

Kenneth and Karen glanced at each other as the mood changed, and Kenneth rubbed the back of his neck. "Adrian's pretty upset about what happened. And Alicia… Merlin, she's a wreck."

"What happened?" Straun asked, glancing between Alania and Kenneth.

Alania answered darkly, "Dolores Umbridge sent two Death Eaters to kill Alicia's parents, because her father didn't show up at the Commission."

"Not just any Death Eaters," Kenneth said,clenching his fingers around his utensils in his anger. "Miles Bletchley and Cassius Warrington. They were in our class at Hogwarts, in Slytherin, and both joined You-Know-Who. Bletchley hated Alicia even when we were at school. Umbridge deliberately chose him to kill the Spinnets."

Straun swore under his breath.

Karen nodded miserably. "He killed Alicia's mum with a Killing Curse and then killed Alicia's dad by blowing up half the house."

"Adrian got there just in time to save Alicia," Alania said, meeting Straun's eyes. "And he killed Bletchley."

The table went silent. Eleanor looked shocked, but Straun merely inhaled through his nose and nodded once.

Alania went on darkly, "Unfortunately, it also means Alicia will have to drop out of the Healer program."

"Which is exactly what Cecil Vanhausen wants," Straun muttered. "Damn it!"

Alania sighed. "The Death Eaters know there was someone else at thathouse that night. They don't know who, but it makes Alicia a target. As soon as she and Adrian feel up to it, they're going to return here."

"I'm glad," Kenneth said quietly. "I wouldn't want her to be in danger, and she'll be safe, here."

"You're always welcome to visit, Kenneth," Alania said. "You and Karen, both. In fact, I must insist upon it. I think it would help both Adrian and Alicia to see the two of you regularly."

"Thank you," he said, and he meant it. "We'll stop by and see them after they get here, to make sure they're okay."

Straun said suddenly, "You know, I thought there was more to Alicia Spinnet than you said the other day, Lon." He gave her a piercing look. "Well?"

Alania laughed and said cheekily, "Oh, fine, there is. She's Adrian's girl, actually."

Straun arched an eyebrow. "You kept that close to the chest."

Alexander cleared his throat. "Yes, well. Much as we like her, she's a half-blood, and we're currently in the middle of a war on blood purity. The last thing Cecil Vanhausen needs to know is that our youngest is dating the very trainee Healer that Cecil himself keeps slighting…"

Straun snorted and grew serious again. "Considering how he keeps having a go at Atticus for marrying a MacMillan, I'd say it's a wise decision to keep things quiet for now. And especially since her parents were just murdered by Adrian's own classmates?Helga's arse…"

Karen, who had been very solemn throughout this discussion, suddenly snorted with laughter into her serviette when Straun swore again.

Straun laughed at her reaction. "Merlin, I won't lie, it is nice to have another Hufflepuff at the table!"

Kenneth blushed and muttered, "She says that kind of thing whenever I'm not expecting it. Stuff like Helga's arseor tits, and it always catches me off guard…"

"All Hufflepuffs do," Karen said, her eyes sparkling. "You know the secret of Hufflepuff, don't you? Never underestimate a badger."

"That is absolutely true," Straun agreed emphatically.

"Besides," Karen went on, her eyes dancing at Kenneth. "You swear using Godric's name, don't you?"

Kenneth somehow managed to keep his face completely straight and said in an imperious voice, "I have neversaid Godric's tits, Karen."

At that, Karen, Straun, and Alania burst into actual laughter, all three of them positively roaring.

Alexander sighed and rubbed his temple, and Eleanor merely shook her head.

"Alexander, dear," she said grimly, "I'm going to want a brandy before this evening is over."

"You and me both, Nora."