As a belated birthday present from me to you (I turned 29 yesterday, joy) I'm posting several stories from the drabbles as full stories~! Enjoy!

It said volumes that her first act upon losing her friends...well, Hermione, as she went chasing after Ron for being an idiot and leaving like he had...was to hit Gringotts covered by a hooded cloak and unceremoniously robbing her own vaults.

It had shocked her greatly upon learning she had multiple vaults, not just the Potter Vault (apparently the one she had been using for years was the "trust" vault, since she hadn't know to claim the main one). The goblins had no idea, because she spent the better part of a week robbing each vault and selling off properties she didn't want. But not before she robbed those as well of anything remotely of value.

Everything was summarily moved to offshore accounts and bank vaults, all under mundane control.

She wouldn't trust a goblin as far as she could throw them, and the corrupt excuse of a Ministry was under the hands of the Death Eaters. She wouldn't put it past them to rob her after the war was over purely because they could.

That done, she allowed Hermione to find her while at the same time making arrangements to get a one-way ticket as far from England as humanely possible while making it impossible to find her at all.

She found it disturbingly easy to use information against others, and it amused her to no end that she was quickly gaining a name for herself in the mundane underworld as "Viper the Information Broker".

Mostly because she was whittling away the Snatchers by exploiting something Hermione balked against using against Voldemort's idiots.

The Taboo was an ingenious peace of work, but Viper (she really, really liked that name and any connection to her birth one was starting to fade) was more than happy to tell the Familigias of the UK how to get their payback on the assholes who were disrupting their business, and that they didn't deserve any mercy whatsoever.

She found a lot of doors opened up to her after that.

After the final battle in the school, she did something that would have had England up in arms if they ever discovered it.

She spread word to the mafia families, the "good" ones that had a reputation for being mostly honest in their dealings and powerful enough that messing with them would have brought far more trouble than it was worth down on the heads of the corrupt Ministry if they tried to erase their memories, on how to find and enter the "magical underworld", right down to how one got through to Diagon, the Ministry and St. Mungo's.

Then she went straight to Andy's tiny Fidelius protected cottage and kidnapped her godson...and left England in the dust.

She refused to let Theo grow up in this hell hole if she had any say in it, and this gave Andy something to focus on other than the death of her daughter.

Viper the Information Broker was one devious bitch. Or bastard. No one was entirely sure what gender they were, just that when they gave you information... for an exorbitant price, but at least when they gave you information it was either accurate or you'd get your money back and whoever gave them bad information quickly found themselves on the wrong end of a very terrifying and pissed off Mist... it was as close to accurate as possible.

Viper's network quickly learned the cardinal rules of dealing with the Mist. Either you sold them accurate information, or as close as humanly possible, or they'd come after you like the wrath of god. Viper did not tolerate liars, and they really didn't tolerate traitors.

And the less said about how rich Viper was through insider trading and some very unusual business deals, the better.

Skies had tried to snag the Mist quite a few times, partly because they were powerful but also for the potential to be able to get their hands on the accounts, but Viper was too strong for any run of the mill Sky.

It was not a joke to state that the Viper was the strongest, most powerful Mist Flame alive.

In an undisclosed location, on an Unplottable track of land...

"Mama!" said a happy five year old who's hair shifted through a multitude of colors before settling on a vibrant indigo.

"There's my little wolf. How was your day?" said Viper smiling. Not a smirk or a sneer, but an honest smile that only showed around this little bundle of light.

Andromeda had been devastated, finding someone had taken her grandson from her...at least until Viper made it known that the boy's Godmother had taken him away from a war torn country to protect him from being used against her. She hadn't liked it, not at all, but she accepted that the Witch-Who-Survives (Magic, she hated the titles they kept heaping on her even when she was long gone) had done the one thing to insure Teddy's safety and survival.

Her friends were not happy with her at all. Then again she cut all ties save for the one with the twins who were the only ones who had even a vague idea how to contact her in the event they needed help leaving England permanently.

The two of them had narrowly avoided losing Fred, and as a result they had attached themselves rather firmly to her. They were the ones providing all the 'artifacts' to locate her and Teddy, because Molly Weasley was a force of nature that felt the overwhelming desire to smother anyone the same age of her children into a bubble, regardless of whether they wanted her mothering or not.

The closer she was to the person, the worse it was. Especially if they were an orphan with no other family to turn to.

Viper made sure Theo (she refused to call him Teddy or any variant Andromeda might have come up with on the grounds it would be easy to slip up and be found) studied whenever she was out, and that he knew without a doubt that she loved him.

She had grown up without love, but she'd be damned if she let the same thing happen to her godson.

"I learned my ABC's today, mama!" said Theo proudly.

"In which language?"

The earlier he learned a language, the easier it was. She abused her ability to speak to snakes to do the same, but she wanted him to learn it on his own.

"Italian!"

"Good boy," she said smiling. "Now what does the little wolf want for dinner?"

"Pizza! With a lot of extra sauce!"

"Hmm, I don't know about whether we have enough sauce to make a little wolf happy... I suppose I'll have to order out," she said in mock thought.

Theo pouted.

"Mama's cooking is the bestest!"

"Theo, proper pronunciation is important."

Theo's puppy dog look would have melted ice. It was that bad.

"I like Mama's cooking best," he said in French.

She patted him on the head, and he climbed up onto her shoulder and lay his head on top of hers.

Viper removed her hood, changed her hair and removed the illusion of tattoos o her face.

"I suppose we'll have to go out then," she announced. "Now what are the rules for going out, little wolf?"

"Pick one color before we go and stay with it. No magic unless it's necessary. No pretty fires, because it would draw the wrong attention. Stick with Mama at all times, and when I'm lost use the port key back home and call from the mirror," said Theo dutifully.

"And if we get into trouble?"

"Call for a house elf and wait until you summon them again before I come out of hiding," he repeated without hesitation.

"Very good little wolf. So what color are we going to be today?"

"Indigo!" he said happily. His hair and eyes turned a brilliant shade of indigo that was very eye catching, and she smiled as she changed her shirt to match. Most people would assume it was dye.

With the fact no one knew what Viper really looked like, the two of them could enjoy a day out and no one would be the wiser to her presence.

She wanted to enjoy this peace until Theo was eleven. By then he would be safely ensconced in Beauxbatons which was still run by Madame Maxime.

The half giantess had been perfectly understanding about why she was enrolling her son in France rather than Scotland as was tradition.

While they were more strict on certain rules, after Maxime because Headmistress the prejudice had dropped to nonexistent levels. Mostly because no one was stupid enough to spout that crap around the Headmistress and not expect to be bodily thrown through the window. Which overlooked a cliff.

More than one idiot from England thought they could get away with harassing others over their bloodline or creature heritage only to find themselves 'corrected' via the woman hanging them upside down out the window in warning.

Besides, the ratio of girls to boys was horribly skewed towards the girls. Theo would thank her in a few years, and Sirius would be crowing while Remus looked on exasperated while silently cheering his son on.

Girls went for the sensitive hot boys that knew how to fight and wasn't a total misogynist that loved their mothers. And metamorphamagi always guaranteed that any child they had would be magically powerful...it was hard to worry about genetics when you could shift your form and if you had the right skills, your gender.

And she would teach Theo to protect himself. Once he was old enough, he would have to distance himself from her...because she's found her niche in the underworld and is loath to cut herself off from it.

She isn't crying, and she's not suffering from separation anxiety from sending Theo off to his magical education for the next seven years. Even if it means she has to go on an extended vacation whenever his summer and winter leave was up.

Maxime hugged the much smaller girl in her arms as Theo quickly integrated himself with his new roommates. She never once held anything from the woman who was going through the same thing all mothers did.

Any rivalry that could have been because the girl had gone to Hogwarts instead of their school went out the window after the war. This was a general who was sending off their child to a boarding school, one who had done everything in her power to keep him safe.

Maxime once more cursed Albus Dumbledore for turning this woman into a broken child without a second thought all because of some half-arsed prophecy. For his inability to realize what he was doing to a child who had never been allowed to experience the wonders of childhood innocence, even once. Just brief glimpses of what being whole could be like.

So no, she feels not a single iota of guilt hiding the fact Theo Noir is in fact Theodore Leo Lupin-Tonks-Black-Potter, the missing "heir" of the Black fortune.

Seeing him safe and happy, and able to be around other children for longer than a few hours, Viper reluctantly leaves. The longer she's around magic, the more the temptation to go home is.

This isn't her world. They had used her, reviled her, treated her like a bird in a cage that they could trot out whenever it amused them and left her for dead.

While the underworld wasn't for the faint of heart, in it she could be free. No one treated Viper like a glass doll to be coddled. No one dared to cross her or lie to her, because she made it clear she hated liars.

She could be free, in a way she had only dreamed of.

And knowing Theo was safe in the school meant she could partially relax. She would come without a second's hesitation if anything happened...Maxime wouldn't dare hold that against her, but for now she was free to work.

Even if returning to that home made her want to bawl her eyes out, because there's no multi-colored head of hair to greet her with a cry of "Mama!" whenever she opens the door.

She needed a break. She could visit Mafia Land for a while and scout the place there.

Viper felt herself relax. Here she was just another Mist with a well deserved and terrifying reputation.

She visited the bar first, planning to get shit-faced before crashing in the rather modest, if very well guarded apartment complex she had been delighted to find online.

No one bitched about traps and the like if you bought a flat there, so long as it didn't mess with the traps and surprises of the other tenants.

"Now what's a pretty face like you doing here?" purred a smooth voice with the distinct flare of a Sun.

Viper scowled at him, before realizing belatedly she wasn't in her "Mist" disguise. Perhaps coming here after dropping Theo off for his second year wasn't such a smart move.

She could at least rebuff the annoying Sun she recognized immediately as Reborn without having to deal with his inept attempts to get into her pants.

Seriously, why was she always sexually harassed if she wasn't acting as Viper? Guys would come up to her, with or without Theo and bother her!

"If you're trying to get a bed warmer for the night, there's some very receptive Rains and two Lightnings three bars over. I'm not interested," said Viper flatly with a cross expression.

"Yes, but they're not as interesting as you," purred Reborn smugly.

"They also don't know who you are, and I know Viper. They dislike it when one of their best informants is compromised by a stupid Sun," she said bluntly.

"You're such a prickly Mist I would have mistaken you for a Cloud," he said smugly.

Viper glared at him.

"Let me put this in terms you can understand, Reborn," she hissed at him, her eyes flaring with Flames. Unseen she had no idea that the indigo eyes were briefly colored in orange. "Fuck off."

Reborn smiled at her, and if she had any interest in the man it would have made her heart flutter. He was sinfully handsome, even she would admit that much.

But she was Viper, and she knew perfectly well the sort of man Reborn was. He didn't think much of his "conquests" and if she was going to date anyone it would be an all or nothing. Besides, he was rather vicious and she didn't trust him anywhere near Theo.

"May I at least know your name?" he asked, tilting his head with a glint of amusement in his eyes. She barely kept herself from shivering.

"Call me Mystique," she lied, it coming out so smoothly it was hard to tell she wasn't telling him the truth.

She hated lies, but Mystique was the Marauder name Sirius had jokingly given her years ago. Even thinking of him made her heart hurt.

Reborn took her hand as she was about to leave.

"Well my Mysterious Mystique, until next time," he said with a light kiss on the back of her hand with his best mysterious stranger smile.

Some girls might kick themselves over turning someone like Reborn down. But Viper had been hurt too much and wasn't in the mood for some quick fling. And she had no doubt that's all she would be to him, just another fling.

Didn't mean she hated being flirted with. It was nice to know she had actually attracted the attentions of the notorious hit man. He was rather picky about his conquests.

Unseen by Viper, Reborn watched her leave.

The little Mist was rather prickly, but he wasn't the World's Greatest Hitman for nothing. He saw the pain hidden in her indigo depths, the sheer level of power behind her eyes. And that brief touch of her hand confirmed his suspicions when he saw that fleeting glance of vibrant orange.

The girl was an active Sky, and she likely didn't even realize it.

Reborn chuckled to himself, taking a long pull of his glass.

He would track down the minx sometime, and maybe have more success. For now he'd let her escape his grasp.

She found it strange, switching between Mystique and Viper like it was perfectly natural.

Mystique was a powerful, if unknown Mist who played the informant of Viper and got herself into some rather unusual situations.

Whereas Viper could do their thing and continue to expand their accounts and their network.

Theo was only fourteen when Viper was approached by the Checkerface who gave her a bad feeling.

The I Prescelti Sette sounded like it would be a great honor and definitely acknowledged Viper as the strongest Mist alive...except she knew damn well something was up with it. She also was the only one of the group who had books who spoke of the Arcobelano with any detail.

Like the fact that while they were the strongest of a generation, they were also shoved into the bodies of infants and that never ended well for anyone. There was also no details of them ever breaking the curse or returning to their true ages until it was time to pass the pacifiers on.

Viper does not like this, but the only other Mist anywhere near as strong as her was Theo, which she refused outright to get involved in this.

It wasn't in her nature to let others take the hit when she was perfectly capable of shouldering the pain herself. Her saving people thing had been thoroughly destroyed by this point, but when it came to keeping her precious people safe she wouldn't hesitate to dive in like a Lightning with Cloud tendencies.

Now if only she could find a way to keep that damn Reborn from flirting with her alternate identity as Mystique. The man was persistent as hell, despite the fact she wasn't interested!