"Once a soul is split, it's usually for one reason."

"And what reason is that, Professor?"

"Immortality."

"Immortality, sir?"

"Yes, Tom. They cannot be killed nor die unless the object or creature they put their soul in is destroyed. You would have expected many to tear their soul apart to stay alive, wouldn't you?"

"..."

"To create a Horcrux is to commit the most evilest act of all: murder in cold blood. The creator may become immortal but they also start looking more monstrous. And their soul, once the Horcrux is destroyed, becomes no more. The person who created it is left only with the remaining soul they have left and if they were to die... the soul they have left is gone."

"And what you mean by gone..."

"It's completely destroyed. It can't become a ghost and if there is an afterlife, it can't move on to it because it will no longer exist."

The pile of dust Meredith had managed to sweep up was unbelievable. Twelve years, even under the maintenance of an elderly house elf, ended up with her taking three dustbin-filled piles to the trashcan. Over the summer, she and Allen had been walking through a bright light (it looked like fragmented glass) that the latter called an Ark Gate to help a man named Sirius clean what he called "The House of Black". Sirius was a man with black hair and striking gray eyes a couple shades darker than Allen's (when he was in a good mood). She suspected that he might even be handsome, had he not been wrongfully trapped in what her charge had stated to be "the most horrid imprisonment one could be suspected to". He was an amusing man.

And her charge, Allen. He had informed her at the beginning of summer that he had regained his old memories. He was the same but different, in many senses. There was a weariness in his eyes, a haunting look, that dimmed the innocence that use to shine so brightly. He was more careful with his expressions and how he portrayed himself than he usually was.

And his family.

Meredith had gotten to meet them. When she asked if they were blood related, he responded with a no. That a gene somehow brought them all together. And they indeed did not look like family. All of them were different ethnicities. Portuguese, French, Egyptian, American, Greek. When they greeted her, they seemed... bored. Save for the twelve-year old boy who had been eyeing her across the table in a way that sent goosebumps moving down her arms.

"Harry had a nightmare last night," Sirius informed after the ravenette had gone trapaising up the stairs to his new room. "His scar was hurting."

"What was the nightmare about," Allen had asked from where he was placing the books on the shelves. Another difference that had come with him. Allen's fringe swept over his face, allowing the scar to be seen. And although he still covered his hands in gloves when in public, he didn't do so anymore when inside an area with people he was familiar with.

"Voldemort."

Meredith furrowed her brows together as she quietly swept. Voldemort was suppose to be a Dark wizard. One of the worst who wished to stamp out or enslave Muggles.

"Just him?"

"No." Sirius' lips twitched into a scowl. "Peter. He was assisting Voldemort. They killed one of the Ministry's witches; Bertha Jorkins, and are planning something with Harry after the Quidditch World Cup."

"After... so Tom is making plans..." Allen hummed thoughtfully. He glanced around before spying his golem lazing around on the table. "Go inform Albus of this, Tim."

The golem flapped his wings in acknowledgement before taking off through an open window. Sirius and Meredith watched him leave for a moment before the former turned to Allen. The older person had strode across the room to reach another stack of books.

"How's Buckbeak?"

"Buckbeak? He's fine. Road thinks he's a great pet. I'm a little surprise that you didn't want him, Sirius. I almost wish you would had; he's quite fond of atracking Jasdevi. I have to threaten those two all the time not to hurt him."

"I've met Road and Tyki before," Sirius stated dryly. "I don't think that I want to be introduced to other members of your family."

"No? That's a shame. I believe that you and Lyssa might have gotten along swimmingly."

Allen had gotten back to the bookshelf when Harry's feet on the stairs reached Meredith. The boy came in with excitement on his face, as though he had realized something.

"Allen," he began with a grin. "I was wondering if you could teach me some Dark Arts."

Thud.

The book Allen was about to put up slid from his hand and hit the wooden floor loudly. At the same time, Sirius tensed and snapped his attention over to Harry. Their voices were nearly in sync when they both determindedly went, "No."

"What?" Meredith was surprised to see how quickly the bright light was dashed from Harry's face. "Why not?"

"Because..." The white-haired male reached down to pick up the book he had gotten. When he rised, Meredith noted the way his brows slightly moved together and his lips twitched downwards into what was nearly a frown. "The Dark Arts is a type of magic that slowly taints a person. The more you use it, the more you sink. The faster you sink."

"You were the Dark Arts teacher and you're fine," Harry persisted.

"That's because I have God's holy crystal in my arm, Harry." That, he sounded bitter about. "And the fact that I literally embody darkness. Voldemort went chasing Dark magic and look where it got him! Bodiless, powerless, and an echo of his former self. Not to mention that every wizard or witch I had personally taught are dead, in Azkaban, or living their normal lives like cowards."

"I'm not Voldemort," Harry responded coldly.

Allen stared at him for a long time. Sirius and Meredith almost didn't dare to speak.

"No," he finally said after a few moments of silence. "You're not. Very well, if you're so insistant."

"Allen..." went Sirius.

"Don't Allen me." The male shifted his gray gaze over to him. "If he so wishes, then I will do it. But I will start out with the Unforgivable Curses."

Sirius paled at the thought.

"Yes, the Imperius Curse would be the best one to let Harry see exactly what it feels like to to use the other two." Meredith looked worriedly at the sharp smile Allen had adorning his face. "But before we start, I want Harry to take care of a little creature for me. If he takes care of it well enough by the time we return to the Weasleys from the World Cup, I'll take us somewhere that we can practice."

"That's a little cruel." Harry glanced at Sirius with a frown when his godfather spoke. "Even for you."

Allen's tone had become cold. "Cruel would be allowing him to continue with following the Dark Arts until it consumes him. To use it's magic, one must constantly deprive themselves of their humanity. He will have to see firsthand exactly what that feels like."

Meredith, who was wanting a change of subject, glanced back at Harry and was glad to see that he looked the same. So fishing in her memory for something to use, a smile painted her lips as she found something.

"Allen?"

She patiently waited until he looked at her to set the broom down. "I was wondering... what World Cup have you been asking me to go with you to"

His expression brightened immediately. "Oh, that's right. It has to deal with Quidditch, a sport wizards and witches play while riding on brooms. The Quidditch World Cup is the hype of the season. I believe it's Ireland and Bulgaria that are playing. The game itself is interesting but all those poor folk who would be willing to bet and gamble..."

A dark smile flashed across his face so quickly, that Meredith had to blink and ask herself if she actually saw it. "Events like this are always a good way to earn money."

...She regretted asking.

A day later and Allen had finally managed to convince Meredith to come with him and Timcanpy to the Burrow. He had been asking her all month, wanting her to get a slice of wizard life. He had demonstrated some magic to her at the St. Vincent's and she was in awe. And her eyes misted over with delight every time he opened a Gate to get to Sirius'. He was happy to see that she got along quickly with Molly and both women chatted to their hearts' content. And then there was Sirius enjoying a conversation with Arthur.

"What kind of magic is that," Hermione asked Allen greedily after she had seen the Gate close.

"It's a sort of transportation my relatives had set up," he admitted. "It beats the average way of wizard travel." Or any travel, really. After a brief glance around, Allen spotted Harry. "Ah, there you are!" He handed him the rabbit that he had been holding in his hands. "This here is Periwinkle. I got her at the end of school. I want you to take care of her. Only you."

He had actually gotten the rabbit yesterday at Diagon Alley. It was an average rabbit with her white fur spelled to a color between a pale violet and a pale blue. Harry wasn't the sort to call off learning so he didn't ask questions about it... Yet.

Allen got to see Bill and Charlie once more, the elder two of the Weasley brothers. He had found them a delight to teach back when he was a teacher.

"It's strange seeing you as a student instead of a professor," Bill commented.

"Yes well, now I can punch annoying students at my leisure," he jokingly responded back.

After that, Allen could be found in the kitchen helping out with the food. He had told Timcanpy to go watch Harry, Ron, and Hermione for him then he heard Molly complaining about her children.

"-if it's not one, it's the other starting something and it grinds my nerves."

"I know what you mean," Meredith responded with a smile. "I watch over at least forty or so kids. At least I have some others willing to help me out but... well, our eyes aren't everywhere you know."

"Forty?" Some food went flying around the kitchen and into some pots. "I don't know how you do it, Miss McClaine."

"Please Molly, call me Meredith."

Allen smiled when he saw the surprise on Molly's face. Then the door to the Burrow flew open as a loud voice filled the area.

"I'm home"

Lavi, he figured, smiling wryly as he turned his attention to the door. Sure enough, the redhead was there, his bandana dismissed and his dark red locks spilling messily over the right side of his head. His emerald eye fell on Allen and his smile widened.

"Beansprout! To think that you would be here."

"Lavi..." Allen's tone implied that he was going to be losing his patience. "You know as well as I do that my name is Allen."

"Yeah, but I just wanted to tease you."

He was seriously debating hexing Lavi right now.

"Lavi!" Both Fred and George appeared and slung their arms happily around his neck.

"Didn't think that you would be coming."

"We know how Lionell is."

"Hardly lets you outta his sight."

"Yes well, my dear old dad thought that I might as well go since you guys got the tickets."

"Lavi, were you a part of the Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes?" Molly had paused her cookies to rest her hands on her hips as she looked at the ex-Exorcist. Lavi paused for a moment as his smile faltered and he shook his head.

"No, Mrs. Weasley. If I was, my name would have been on it."

Lies, Allen thought.

Molly shook her head and the three went scampering away. After a moment of thinking, Allen told the two women that he won't be able to finish cutting the onions and hurried after the three redheads.

"Allen?" Fred was surprised when he reached them just before they went into what Allen speculated to be their room.

"What are Weasley's Wizard Wheezes?"

Their faces shifted into one of delight as they all glanced at each other. Lavi especially, which meant that he had lied to Molly. How wasn't he a Wealsey?

"It's a joke shop we're planning. We've been developing goods. Ton-Tongue Toffees that enlarge tongue, Canary Cakes that temporarily Transfigure a person into a bird, and so forth and so on."

"The only problem is getting the money for the materials," George added.

"Seeing as the three of us are poor..."

"Hm..." Allen folded his hands behind his back as he smiled. "And if I were to help you get these materials?"

"You don't have to," Lavi commented. "You probably don't have enough mone-"

"I have enough gold in my vault to take care of half a town, Lavi. I could have helped the Weasleys with their finance troubles but Molly and Arthur insist that I don't need to. If I can help you guys start a shop, I'd be more than happy to help. And after that..." Allen glanced at the twins. "Noah's Ark would be more than happy to fund it."

Lavi's jaw dropped as Fred and George glanced at each other incredulously.

"Noah's Ark," Fred asked in disbelief. "The Noah's Ark? You know someone in it that might fund us?"

"...That's me, Fred." Allen sighed. "I'm one of the bosses in it."

Stares. That's all he had gotten in turn. Just stares of disbelief. Allen pinched the bridge of his nose before looking at Lavi meaningfully. "It was founded in 1865. And I'm not exactly what one would call a 'forgetful' face."

Comprehension dawned on Lavi. He didn't know of Allen's immortality but knowing the Bookman and the implication given, he might think that Allen used his face and memories to get him back up on high the rung. Which... was sort of true? If one didn't count the Noah family themselves and his involvement with them.

"Will you give us a tour of the company one of these days," the redhead asked curiously.

"Yes but it will more likely need to happen next summer, given how this one is nearing it's end." Allen smiled. "I will help with the money of the materials myself as well. There's not a shop yet for Noah's Ark to fund."

The rest of the day went on merrily. Everyone ate outside, Allen got to watch Bill and Charlie slam the tables together, Hermione's cat chased gnomes through the yard, Timcanpy ate Sirius' food. But when they all laid down and quiet pervaded Allen's ears, he scowled at the dark ceiling as he heard small voices in the back of his head. It wasn't like when he lost his memories and they whispered in his mind, nor was it like Neah speaking to him. They were another force from the outside collectively speaking, crying, in his head. All of them were muted enough to inform Allen that whoever it was that lost someone, they were a good distance away.

Even still, it buzzed in his skull like an angry bee and as he tossed over on his side to see Tim sleeping happily on his pillow. He wished that there was some sort of noise to drown it out.

Allen had woken a couple hours earlier than anyone in the house. The reason why was so that he may exercise peacefully before anyone had woken up. He must've gotten too lost in the routine, as what he heard next was a yelp (loud to his ears) before Allen himself went crashing to the floor.

"S-sorry," Arthur went, his ears bright red as he rushed forward and held his hand out. "I had forgotten that you do that."

"Yes, I believe I might forget a minor detail like that as well if I hadn't seen a person in about twelve years." Allen accepted his hand gratefully and was pulled to his seat. He frowned when he noticed that the chair he had been balancing on had lost a leg. "Repairo."

Arthur watched as the leg reattached good as new. "You can do magic outside of school?"

"When Moldy attacked me-" The Weasley couldn't help but smile at Voldemort's nickname "-it merely reversed my body although every scar I had ever recieved is still on me. I wasn't reincarnated or anything, which means my hundred and so years went on. So yes, I can do magic outside of school without a Trace." He glanced up at the staircase. "I don't want the kids to know though. Being underestimated is an advantage I would like to have."

Arthur nodded as Molly came down with a look of concern. Shortly after was Sirius. "What was that loud crash?"

"Ah, sorry Molly." Allen's cheeks dusted pink as he rubbed his upper lip in embarrassment. "I might have fallen."

Sirius barked out a loud laughter that added annoyance to his embarrassment. Allen shot him a glare, to which the man ignored.

Shortly after that, Allen pulled on his shirt while Molly had gone to wake everyone up. Meredith was the first to come down, her hair in a morning nest that she was trying to feverishly tame.

"Oh, I'll finish this in a second," she sighed, taking a seat at the table. Her silver brush was still holding onto the knots in her hair.

"Would you like some help," Sirius questioned uncertainly. After a moment's hesitation, she nodded. The man slowly approached before gingerly running the brush through her locks.

"The pressure you're using isn't going to get the job done," Meredith commented. "Put more muscle into it."

Allen shook his head as Sirius did just that. While the ravenette was busy with the brush, he pulled out his wand.

"What are you doing," she asked while Sirius was focused on the task at hand.

"The Quidditch World Cup has precautions in place to prevent Muggles from going or entering the Cup. I have to cast charms to protect you."

"Muggles aren't allowed?" Alarm lit on her face when Allen nodded. "Why didn't you tell me this before I agreed?"

"It was because I knew you wouldn't come." He wordlessly began casting protection spells. "Muggles and wizards are alike in many ways but their genetic make up is slightly different, making Muggles to be easily more suspectable to magic. I'll also be lending you my wand for appearances just in case but I utterly doubt the Ministry will refuse whoever I bring to the World Cup with me."

"Don't you need that?"

"Meredith, I'm quite potent at wandless and wordless magic. Not only that, I have a few... abilities that help me out otherwise."

When he was done with the charms, Allen set his wand on the table in front of Meredith. A glance at Sirius, whose brows were furrowed as he was halfway through brushing here hair, made Allen smile faintly at the look of concetration he had.

Then Ron and Harry came down the stairs. Harry eyed Sirius and Meredith curiously as the brushing went on but all eyes then fell to Ron as Allen scooted a chair back to sit in a chair and he cried out in surprise.

"Mate, your hand is black."

A quick glance told Allen that he had forgotten to pull on his gloves. He sheepishly rubbed the back of his head with his left hand as Harry's eyes tracked it as well. "Yes, it's always been like that."

"Always? Did someone curse you?"

"Ah, now that you mention it, yes. A long time ago but none of that matters. If it helps, just think of it as an expensive tattoo. Most people tend to believe that."

The morning was full of hustle and bustle as everyone moved about. Meredith's hair was wavy once more when they all managed to depart from Molly at the Burrow and head towards Stoutshead Hill. Allen and Timcanpy lingered beside an upbeat Lavi as they walked.

"Will BaKanda and Lenalee be there," he inquired softly.

"Yuu couldn't afford tickets so he isn't coming. Lenalee is but I doubt that we would see her. She find Quidditch...relaxing. Even without her Dark Boots, she likes flying. Leisurely, I mean." He smirked. "You know, you and Kanda should have one final sparring match. It's his last year at Hogwarts and I can tell that he missed the two of you beating each other up."

"We didn't beat each other up," Allen mumbled back.

"So all those bruises and broken bones came from ghosts?"

"..."

Lavi sighed. "Yuu's going to try becoming an Auror. And I think I just might too, in a couple of years." Allen shot him a surprised look. "Why are you staring at me like that? Any safe life we might have had disappeared when we put on that Hat. And I know that you must be missing the adrenaline rush of battle as well. You were the most driven Exorcist I had ever seen."

They all were... but Lavi had a point. The second official mission he had been on with Lenalee almost killed him because he was trying to kill an Akuma before it detonated. And when he had lost his left arm to Tyki, he still tried leaving the Asian Branch to kill Akuma or die doing it. Because it was the only life he had...

And it still was to a point. Allen might have all these friends, a family, but there was still a sort of emptiness in him that had been there since the Holy War ended.

Maybe this time... He'll wander the world like he use to. Even with the threat of human despair eating at his sanity. Or perhaps he would become an Auror or some sort of wizard bounty hunter. Maybe...

They made it to the Hill and Allen saw that they weren't the only ones. A Ministry of Magic employee, Amos Diggory, was there with the Hufflepuff Seeker, Cedric.

"It's good to see you, Allen," he greeted, despite not sounding too happy.

"Hello, Amos," he politely responded back. Yes, everyone in the Ministry might have an idea on what he thinks about their government. While his help from time to time was something they would come to him before was useful, they didn't like him in the slightest. He glanced around. "Will it just be the three of us?"

"Yes. The Lovegoods had gone a week early and the Flawcetts weren't able to get tickets, so it'll just be us." Amos casted a wary glance at Sirius.

"Don't worry about him." Allen's tone turned cheery. "Sirius is harmless."

"Right..." was the dry response. As though Amos couldn't believe that a man falsely accused of murder and spent twelve years in Azkaban were harmless.

Hm... Allen was beginning to think that his idea on harmless was probably just a skewered as Hagrid's on magical creatures.

"It's nearly time," Arthur had stated after glancing at his watch. "Alright, everybody touch the shoe. A finger should do."

Allen was glad the Meredith chose to be on one side of him so that he can mumble to her as he shoved Tim into his pocket. "You might want to bend your knees. The landing is going to be rough."

She barely opened her mouth to ask why before the Portkey activated.

Allen always hated wizard travel. There was always some quirk to it. Floo travel had soot and spinning, Appartition had an unpleasant sensation as though he was being squeezed through a dark tube, Portkeys felt like he was in the midst of a violent tornado that couldn't yet kill him.

That's one of the reasons why he liked the Ark when dealing with instantaneous travel.

Allen's feet hit the ground and he nearly buckled. Then he immediately turned to Meredith and grabbed her arm to steady her. He wasn't the only one, with Sirius on the other side doing the same. Lavi, Fred, George, Ron, Hermione, and Harry all fell.

"I think I like your way of traveling better," Meredith moaned as she regained her footing and her hands flew to her hair, which was as messy as it had been earlier.

"As do I," Sirius grunted.

The large group wandered past tents to find a Muggle by the name of Mr. Roberts. He became suspicious enough for a Ministry wizard to come by and Obliviate him.

"Oh," Meredith went sharply as he walked off.

"Are you sure that it was right to bring a Muggle here," Lavi asked quietly.

"She'll be fine." They walked to their saved plot. Sirius could be heard laughing at the error of the name on the same, given how they spelled Weasley as Weezly. "I've made sure of it."

They all pitched in to set up the tents. The magic-raised people were completely useless in this task. Then again, it wasn't as though Lavi and Allen were any help. Their past lives and current ones had little, if at all, camping experiance. Before, they had stayed at the Black Order or at various inns. Sometimes they would sleep under the stars, if need be. And now there was Hogwarts, Lavi's home, and Allen's Ark.

"Shouldn't you know this," Lavi asked while Allen inspected a pole. Hermione and Harry were helping them with this tent. "I thought you went camping around the world with Mana."

"Okay, first of all, Mana couldn't even afford a tent," he retorted back with enough annoyance for the group to glance at him. Hermione gave a small start when she recognized the name spoken. "And second of all, we travelled around Britain. I didn't start travelling the world until I met my stupid Master."

Everyone save for Lavi glanced at each other in astonishment. They all knew that Allen, if he found the need to, would find a way to make a snarky comment that one would be reeling from but none of them ever heard him flatout call someone stupid. Even Kanda would have his intelligence insulted with a comment instead of a single word.

"Oh, right." Lavi's tone was casual as a demonic glint shined in his eye. "You said that Cross doesn't age, yeah? How much debt do you think he'll send your way if he finds out about you?"

The Golden Trio watched, both concerned and fascinated as Allen's pale skin lost even more color. He was nearly as white as his hair.

And that's because Cross Marian was alive. How could Allen have forgotten those debts? How high have they piled up over the past twelve years? He was usually on top of those things, so as to avoid stuff like this.

"I-is he okay," Meredith asked worriedly as he started swaying. And her worry grew when he began muttering "debts" in a repetitive pattern.

"He'll be fine," Lavi commented as he took the pole from Allen's hand and observed it. Timcanpy settled on his master's lap but Allen was too lost in calculating just how much debt could have possibly accumulated. He glanced over at Meredith. "He told about things... before the orphanage, right?"

She nodded.

"Well Allen had a teacher named Cross Marian. The only one least capable of teaching children but I guess he did alright with Beansprout. Anyways, he always piled up debt and left it on Allen to take care of it. I bet he'd consider fifty Galleons pocket change. That would be about a thousand five-hundred guinea - Sorry, wrong currency." His brows knitted together as he thought. "Two-hundred and thirty something pounds, give or take."

"That's pocket change," Hermione asked incredulously as she watched Allen continue to sway.

"To him. And I never did say that the debt was small." Lavi waved a pole. "Now hurry up before I say something that will make Black Allen appear."

A little later, when Ludo Bagman had come around asking if the Weasley group wanted to participate in a bet, a recovered Allen was far too quick to agree to it.

"I have a hundred Galleons on me," he stated as he began pulling out a pouch that contained some gold. Meredith frowned as she watched but didn't move to stop him. If he was going to catch up on debt, now was the time to do it. "I bet that not only will Ireland score first and win the match but that Victor Krum would catch the Snitch."

Ludo laughed as he accepted the bet jovially. And Lavi, knowing that Allen wouldn't have betted unless he was dead certain, gave up his well-saved fourty for the same thing Then the Weasley twins also betted on that as well and Ludo walked off a little less joyously.

"There you are, Allen!"

He barely had a chance to see who called his name before porcelain arms wrapped around his neck. He spun around halfway to keep his balance before setting the person down. "R-Road?"

She smiled before her eyes caught sight of Lavi. "Well if it isn't Bookman Junior. Are you still cataloging history?"

"I didn't expect to see you," he responded stiffly.

"The same could be said for you~" She turned towards Allen. "Tyki guessed that you would be here. He's searching around for some small fries for the two of you to pick off after the game. He wants a tag-team effort so that he don't lose all his money to... well, you."

"Is it just you two who had come here?"

"Nope! Erra came along and Tyki's keep an eye on him. Wisely wanted to come but all this magic in one place gives him a headache. Everyone else is either tending to Noah's Ark or staying inside the Ark. Although..." She hummed. "I think Jasdevi went to go South America to see a band called Kiss."

"I jope that they don't cause too much trouble."

"Hold on, the Ark," Lavi hissed. "Allen, why is the Noah here?"

"..." A quick glance around informed Allen that there was no way he would be able to quietly talk to his old comrade. "I'll tell you later."

Lavi glanced around, noticed some stares, and nodded. before backing up. Allen put on a smile as he motioned to the girl. "For those of you who don't know, this is Road Kamelot."

"Hello Meredith," she waved cheerfully. The woman waved back hesitantly but she smiled back nonetheless.

"Hello Road."

After that, everyone was hyped for the match. The Wealseys could hardly sit still on the prospect of the match, Lavi included. And it all started with amusement, given how Cornelius appeared in the Top Box with them talking to the Bulgarian Prime Minister. When Cornelius tried miming out everything he was saying, Allen translated, much to the surprise of everyone except for... Lavi and Road, of course. The Bulgarian Minister looked astonished as well before telling Allen in his language that he knew very well what Cornelius was saying and was enjoying how he was making a fool of himself.

So Allen refused to translate for Cornelius no matter how much he asked. Then there was the brief and tense welcoming of the Malfoys, to which Draco pointedly ignored Allen. He was probably doing it for Lucius benefit or from the punch he was given at the end of last year. Either way, Allen decided to act the same way.

Then the true fun started. The excitement of watching the opposing Quidditch teams fly through the air as they tossed the Quaffle back and forth, the Bludgers soaring towards their target, and no Snitch to be found. Meredith was as captivated as any other wizard and Allen enjoyed that look of amazement on her face. And when she had a question, she would turn towards Sirius and ask, who would then respond and she would be right back to watching the Quidditch game.

After that came the hours of verbal reruns from the group as they chatted excitedly. Allen excused himself so that both he and Road would go find Tyki. And they had, between the two encampments of Ireland and Bulgeria. Tyki grinned at him from where he sat, cigarette hanging from his lips as Erra hung back from the wizards and watched them. Some of them were obviously uncomfortable by his presence but, since he looked about twelve, no one said anything.

"I knew that you would show up, Allen," he commented as he shuffled the deck expertly in his hands. "Did you know that your gambling title, 'The White Demon' did not make its way to other countries. We're going to have to rectify that."

The foreign wizards shared glances with their teams as Allen sat at the tabke and gave a nod with an inmocent smile. "It looks that way."

Meredith was completely unaware that she had fallen asleep until Sirius was there waking her up.

"We need to leave. Now."

She blinked her eyes as she watched Sirius move on towards te other girls. She sat up and rubbed her eyes, dimly aware of the screaming outside. When it snapped into focus, she grabbed Allen's wand from her nightstand and headed outside.

Arthur had gotten the boys out from the other tent with a grave expression.

"Bill, Charlie, Arthur, and I are going to help the Ministry," Sirius informed as Ginny and Hermione followed him out. "The rest of you run for the forest. Is that understood? We'll find you when it's safe."

The children nodded and went running off towards the trees. Meredith's stomach did a flip when she noticed a family being levitated in the air. A Muggle family. And the people below, hooded and masked, were laughing.

"C'mon," Lavi grunted, grabbing Meredith by her wrist and pulling her after the children? That's right, she's a Muggle. She had no way to stand up to magic. Even these children stood a better chance than she did.

As they ran, Meredith did a headcount. Ginny, Hermione, Fred, Ron, George, Harry, Lavi... Allen was missing.

She dug her bare heels into the dirt, nearly making Lavi fall himself. "What the-?"

"Allen," she cried, turnng to look back at the chaos behind her. Harry even had that rabbit that had been leant him but Allen, and even Timcanpy, were absent.

"He's fine, lady. Trust me - Hey!"

Meredith wrenched her hand from the redhead's grasp. "I have to give him his wand. All of you guys keep going."

"Meredith!" Lavi had yelled when she went charging straight into danger.

Spells whipped over her head as she ran but all she could think of was Allen. He might be older, stronger, and probably more intelligent but he was still hercharge. She refused to let one of her children be here in the midst of all this danger.

Then something hit her back and she was sent sprawling to the Earth. She barely had time to remember that Allen's wand was in her hand when her knuckles scraped the ground painfully.

"Look what we have here," a male spoke up. His voice was smooth. Oily. Disgusting. It sent chills down Meredith's spine as she pushed herself up enough to turn around and glare at the speaker. Like the other enemy wizards, this one was hooded and masked. "A Muggle. Should I help you fly like that family we caught? Or would you like to have a sort of... different fun?"

"As God is my witness..." She slowly got to her feet, her brown eyes narrowed. "You, filthy wizard, will be sent straight to Hell."

"Me? Filthy?" He laughed darkly. "No, I'm not like you, Muggle. Crucio."

Unbelievable agony seemed to sprout up from Meredith's cells and a scream tore from her lips. She didn't notice that her legs had given out beneath her and her face hit the ground hard. She was unaware that her body was spasming out of control while the wizard laughed. It didn't matter because she was in pain. She was agony.

"Meredith!"

The lack of pain she felt hurt almost as much as the one she had recieved. Her eyes cracked open to briefly see something white flash by. There was a flash of black, a spray of something dark, and screaming. Then Allen was there, staring at her worriedly as he held her upright.

At first, Meredith didn't think it was him. Allen was pale and silver eyed. This person was darker with shining, gold eyes. A small, cross-like thing showed on the visible part of his forehead. He was covered in white. But it was Allen.

"I was wrong," she breathed in fascination as she placed a hand on his cheek. "I thought you were God's Child... But I think you're his angel."

There was a flinch that she ignored. He never did like God, she always knew that. But he had to be an angel.

Allen's golden eyes narrowed. "What spell did that wizard use? Do you remember what he said?"

Meredith furrowed her brows as she contemplated. She could barely remember what she said before the pain. "I think it was... cru...cio?"

Rage unlike anything she had ever seen made it's way onto Allen's face. She could feel his hands trembling from where they were holding her. His grip had turned firm, not enough to hurt her but enough to make her worry.

"Earl..."

Both of their attentiond drifted off to that boy Meredith had seen in that beautiful white city. The Ark. "What would you like for me to do?"

"Erra," Allen breathed. He looked from the kid to Meredith before letting her go and stood up. "Take her to the trees with the others. Keep them safe."

The boy nodded and helped Meredith to her feet. She caught sight of Allen's wand and picked it up. As they were about to walk off, Allen's voice made him stop.

"I've changed my mind for tonight." Meredith looked over to see Allen staring at the wizard struggling in white bonds that held him. It came from the white, glowing cloak Allen had on and she noticed a part of it was stained red. That was probably because the wizard's arm was laying uselessly on the ground. "If you come across any Death Eaters, get rid of them."

Erra nodded and continued to oull Meredith away as she watched something purple flicker in Allen's right hand. "Hurry up, human. You don't want to see that. The Earl doesn't want you too either."

"...What's Allen going to do," she asked as she looked away.

"I haven't known him long..." he admitted. "But something tells me that the Earl doesn't like it when someone hurts something important to him."

No, she thought, as screams filled the air and a brief glance back only showed her a blinding purple. He doesn't...

Sleep did not come easy for anyone in the boys' tent. After the Death Eaters dispersed at the Dark Mark's appearance, everyone was on edge. It had taken them all a while to settle in bed and even then, Allen was pulling and stretching Timcanpy like there was no tomorrow. However, it wasn't because of the Death Eaters or the Dark Mark.

It was because of himself.

Killing was something Allen didn't like to do. Something he always tried to avoid. Because his Noah reveled in it.

When the screams began and danger wanted to rear it's ugly head, his inner Noah was excited at the prospect of bloodshed and fear. It was, and still is, starving for a meal. The entire event had been electrifying in so many ways and made his Noah Difficult to contain. Capturing people alive was always difficult. He had to be careful to reel himself in andit was exactly that cautiousness that let them get away.

But when Allen found out that they had used the Cruciatus Curse, that anger had nearly driven him. It was so hard keeping himself from accidentally hurting Meredith. It's why he didn't escort her to safety. Because he was the most dangerous one. He wouldn't be able to forgive himself if he hurt Meredith.

But the man who hurt her was a different story.

Innocence saved peoples' soul. It sent them on to whatever afterlife there is. That wizard had hurt Meredith, someone he considered family (because she had been what he imagined a mother to be these last twelve years). He did not deserve salvation.

So Allen had to rely on Dark Matter to send his soul to damnation. It had been obliterated and will never exist again.

The Noah in him didn't like that. It wanted him to devour it. Like he had mentioned, it was starving.

Allen sighed softly as he finally let Timcanpy go. There would be no sleeping tonight, so why even bother? He slipped off his bunk and went pushing the tentopen to outside.

Road sat calmly be the tents. When Allen approached, it took him a moment to note that sleeping Erra's head was placed in her lap as she ran her fingers through his dark locks.

"I figured that you would still be awake." Allen smiled softly as she spoke and sat beside her. "You never could sleep after killing a human."

"He was someone who killed others," he responded quietly. "I don't feel guilty about killing but... that's why I feel guilty."

"You feel guilty about not feeling guilty of destroying a murderer?"

"The Mana I knew as a father... he didn't like violence, Road. He believed that violence created despair and despair creates Akuma." And empty smile was on his face. "He would probably be disappointed in me."

"But you don't know that for sure."

"...No." Allen sighed heavily. "I don't."

Road lingered by Allen's side until the dark sky began to light up. She prodded Erra awake so that they could leave.

"Bye, Earl," he mumbled as he walked through Road's door.

And then Allen was alone.

The wizards, witches, and Muggle in the tent all began to wake up and taint the air in a somber mood. Meredith's eyes looked as though she could barely stayed awake as they packed up their tents. Arthur sighed when he noticed a large group of people lurking near the Portkeys.

"Allen could create a Gate," Sirius spoke, making everyone glance at each other with a bit of a brighter light. Allen gave a nod a motioned in front of him, a Gate appearing in merely a split second thanks to his years of use. Lavi was the only one accustomed to the sight of the Gate and eyed Allen curiously before stepping through. Only when the Burrow was in sight and everyone was accounted for did Allen close it off.

Molly, who was sitting in front of the Burrow, had pulled Fred and George (who were still in awe about the Akr) into a hug.

"Would you like to head back to St. Vincents?" he asked quietly to Meredith.

"Yes, I probably should." Her smile was thin and weary as she held out his wand. "I believe that I have had enough magic for today."

He dully hummed in agreement, knowing that she had. He was careful to take the wand without any quick movements, unsure as to whether or not she was upset with how he handled last night's... situation.

So he summoned another Gate and waited for Meredith to go through. He was surprised when she went to hug him first. Then she ran her hand over Tim's wing, who had come to rest on his head.

"Thank you for sending that man to Hell." She leaned away and cupped his face. "You'll still visit me during the holidays, yes? Even if you won't live at the orphanage during the summer?"

"I will," he agreed, a soft and genuine smile growing on his face. He expected Meredith to give him the cold shoulder or something.

She pulled away from Allen and waved at Sirius before picking up her trunk and pulling it into the Gate behind her. Allen closed it before looking back at everyone else. Harry still had Periwinkle in his hands.

"Ah." Allen smiled a little. "We'll train in the middle of the afternoon. That might be enough to ensure that you don't throw up."

"Wait, what?" questioned Harry as Allen walked past. He paused momentarily in his steps.

"Just watch Periwinkle for several more hours."

Then Allen continued walking off. When Ron and Hermione glanced over at Harry, the ravenette shrugged in response.

I hope Erra's personality is alright. I think it fits for Feedler, whose Parasitic Tongue is creepy as hell. He's a little creepy himself, mostly silent, and always observing. He also has a short temper and tends to speak when he either has full confidence in his words, when he has to, or when he thinks his pride is wounded. I also have some ideas for the future Noah that have yet to reincarnate. And as for my two OC's (which I only created last moment for the book), their full names are Erra Otoug and Lyssa Sideris. T_T I need to fix my spelling errors in the previous chapter but I'll have to wait until I feel like that won't burn me out. My internet kept screwing up when I saved it so I had to rewrite that so many times... Nnngh.

~MillenniaPhoenix - I do have a few ideas, yes. And I wonder what theories you would sprout up with after the chapters are posted. Thank you so much for sticking with it after about... a month worth of silence, I think?

~SheuOgama - Ooo! To think that those coincidences came from the fact I named them after Gods! Lyssa is the Greek Goddess of mad rage, frenzy, rabies, and the like. Erra is the Akkadian god of plague and mayhem. Also fitting for the two Noah, yes? And Otoug is a class of wicked spirits and Sideris means: may the child grow up to be as strong as iron.

~snowsong - I've had people tell me that before on another story of mine. Yes, I did like it but I felt that it was too... rushed when I read over it. I'm glad that you like the way its going! And I dunno, I think Allen getting revenge would be difficult since it deals more with Voldemort. There's a nasty surprise that's going to come with him too. I feel bad that I killed Neah off from before I even started typing the story. Then I sit down, think of it for about three minutes, then shrug it off and keep writing. Wrong place, wrong time.