Chapter 23: Busy as a Bee

Just a quick author's note. This chapter is raw, I haven't had it beta'd yet. My beta's are very busy with their own lives and I wanted to get this out. Some of you are wondering why everyone think Dumnbledore is this wholly evil creature. To Carmus he represents a threat to Balance. To the Dark he is a threat to their traditions. To the Light he is a threat to their standing. He honestly thinks everything he did was the best. That he knew how to make things right. Of course, we all know when you think you know how to fix everything all by yourself, then you are delusional but at what point do you lose yourself in that belief?

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Thursday October 17, 1991

Grimmauld Place
7:39 AM

Remus waited in the Floo room for McGill. A burst of green flame and the man stepped from the fireplace, a subtle twitch made the soot disappear. McGill stood in calf colored pants, with a sky blue tunic over a black under tunic and covered with a darker blue robe.

"Remus. Thank you for meeting me today."

Remus nodded as he led them from the Floo room and towards a sitting room, "Well, to tell the truth, your message intrigued me. I'm afraid that while I am happy about Sirius being declared free and his recovery, it has left me with too much free time on my hand."

"You mean you are bored, terribly horribly bored." Sirius replied from a seat in the room. He was seated, dressed in casual clothes and staring out a window.

Remus grinned, "Yes."

"No reason you shouldn't be but there is no reason for that to remain so. You two should get out a bit more, you are not required to spend time here, you know. I do admit that I am pleased that you have redone most of the house. It makes it more welcoming. What did you do with most of the artifacts here?"

Remus frowned. "Sirius wanted to throw them away but I convinced him not to. There is no reason to throw away his heritage. Not all his family was evil, most were Dark but not evil and one day he will want some mementos."

"Good both for him and us. If you don't mind, sometime after Yule I would like to have a team assess them. What can be cleansed, let it be so. What has to be destroyed, well… we will find out."

Sirius frowned, pulling loose strands of his hair back and nodding. "Sure. I'm not even sure how to go about that. You know I was an Auror, it was all chasing people and fighting a war. I didn't even do the paperwork. I never paid attention to the tutors my parents hired. I know most of the courtesies but most of the estate planning, I don't even know if I have any other properties left except here."

Carmus frowned. "Do you know the name of the goblin in charge of the Black accounts?"

"No."

"Then that will be today's excursion, once I secure Remus' help."

Remus started, "My help?"

Carmus leaned back, crossing one leg over the over. "Yes. You are brilliant, very intelligent. In fact, I need you to get a certification for teaching. We need a new History of Magic teacher. The revised curriculum that I with several others will be more intensive than the current one. First year will start with Ancient Magickal History, covering Atlantis, Mu, Ancient Greece and Egypt as well as Meso and South American and Aborigine culture. Several of the lessons will be co-taught with the Nature of Magic teacher as one should not only know the underlying principles of Magic but how they were developed. I can hire you as long as you are in a program to earn a teaching certification. The Nature of Magick teacher is named Neil Carruthers, and he owes me a favor. I will give you his information so that you two can get together. However the help I need right now concerns Harry."

Sirius whipped his head around. "Harry? Is he alright? He isn't hurt is he?

"No, he's fine. Remember when I mentioned that Sean left me several items to help him? One set of those is a series of seven books. In these books are described Harry's… adventures at Hogwarts. Some of those books are obscured by magick. Hidden until due time or until they are no longer valid. They are books of prophecy which means, you can't read them properly until it is time for the prophecy to be enacted. Yet different things are hidden from different people. I want you to read and take notes on what you read. I want you to discover what may be hidden from me. Who better?"

Sirius turned to look at Remus, eyes wide.

"Of course, I will, Padfoot! So when do I start?"

"Tomorrow. Come over around nine in the morning, they are located in my reinforced library, now how about you get changed Sirius, formal attire and we will go to Gringotts.

/||\\

Outside Gringotts Bank
Diagon Alley
8:20 A.M.

Sirius fidgeted slightly. Remus took his hand and squeezed. "It's alright, Sirius, remember they were wrong. You were innocent. Hold your head high, you are Lord Black and you survived."

Sirius took a deep breath and stepped forward, entering the grand doors of the bank. Carmus stood half a step behind him as it was Sirius' entrance, not his. Subtly cueing him, they walked across the lobby and to the private offices. Carmus stepped forward towards the Goblin seated at the window. "Goblin Krashuk, Lord Black wishes to meet with his account manager. Please inform the appropriate goblin."

The goblin stared at him before reaching for a phone. A short conversation in Gobbledegook and the door next to them opened. "Enter and wait for Manager Hirlat."

"Thanks be to you and may your power of gold grow greater."

The goblin gave a short nod and the three entered the doorway. The three walked down the hall until they came to a door with a golden name plate that said "Hirlat", sitting in the chair provided they waited. A few minutes later the door swung open and the three men entered. A goblin sat behind a large heavy dark oak desk. "Gentlemen, be welcome."

McGill bowed his head slightly and the other two followed. "Manager Hirlat, as you know Lord Black has been indisposed as of late and in no fit state to resume managing his estate. Recently we have noted that he does not even have much of the education that most Lords would in his place. Therefore, we would like to do two things primarily. First, Lord Black needs an in depth listing of his portfolio. Next, we would like to hire a tutor to help Lord Black. While normally we would not hesitate to ask you for such help, we are aware of the fact that Lord Black missing several fundamental teachings regarding estate management and would rather not waste your time teaching the basics."

Hirlat frowned, a rather gruesome sight on a goblin, and held forward a file. "Already provided, as well as a schedule of fees for services. As for a tutor, your best bet is Abraham Ablach. Is that your wish, Lord Black?"

Sirius looked at Hirlat, grey eyes distant. "It is my need, Manager Hirlat. Whatever you must do to achieve this goal, you have my request."

Hirlat nodded. "I see."

Carmus shifted his weight closer, "Manager Hirlat, one more request, on behalf of Lord Black. The Goblin Nation is well known for its various Masteries. Is there any healing help that they may give Lord Black? I do not mean mere physical healing, for the Dementors tormented mind and soul as well."

"That, Lord McGill... I will have to speak to the Elders about."

Sirius sat straighter and inclined his head. "With the gratitude of the Black Family, please ask."

As they left the bank, Sirius watched the people around them. Several of them looked at them in askance, some even flinched from Remus. The prejudice was alarming. A thought formed, he would have to check with Remus.

/||\\

Adderly Hall
Surrey
6:25 PM

Moonflower stretched languidly as Albertus repeated once again that no, there wasn't going to be any sacrifices or satanic rituals because they didn't believe in that sort of stuff anyways. Standing up, he walked up behind his friend and gently nudged him out of the way.

"Hey, Cereus here, ma'am... you aren't getting it. You believe in God and Satan because you are a Christian, yeah?" He waited as she nodded, hands fold. "They aren't, never have been. They don't have a concept of an embodiment of evil and nothing you say will make them agree to have one. Their religion is more like Wicca but even then they don't actually have any God or Goddess. They sometimes personalize Magick with a capital M and call it 'her' but that's because they believe, and in truth, know that Magick nurtures them like a mother does her child. That's it. There is no one guiding force in their belief unless you wish to think of it as Nature. That's it.

"Now, this is what I got from when I was speaking with Lord Malfoy during the planning session for the Samhain. Their rituals are based off magickal needs. That means rituals can and will change based off what the participants need. And since they are magickal people, their needs and their thoughts are very different than ours." He leaned forward. "Perfect example. I recently learned a bit about Wizarding sexuality. For example; no Witch or Wizard is to have sex before seventeen. It's not a suggestion, they don't teach abstinence, and they do teach the children why they are not allowed to have sex. If they willingly have sex before seventeen there is a good chance that their magickal core will destabilize, it can affect their ability to have children, and might even bond them for life to their partner. Now, with all the dangers of underage sex explained to them, they are still teenagers. We teach our children of getting pregnant and STDs, right? But teenagers are teens and they will ignore us and there will be teen pregnancies, right?

"How many teen pregnancies do you think happen among the Wizarding teens? Not just the teens at Hogwarts but all Wizarding teens in Magickal Britian?"

Several people stared at him, shocked at the change in topic. Samhain to teen pregnancy?!

The woman that Albertus was talking to shook her head. "Ten or fifteen a year?"

Albertus shook his head, appalled. "None, not in the past eighty or so years, I've been alive. Our magick is vital to us; to risk it... is unthinkable. And really, he should say underage pregnancy, because after seventeen, it's acceptable. Most first marriages are sealed before they turn eighteen and first children can come any time after the wedding, from a week to a decade."

Cereus laughed. "Thanks, so the question so many of you are asking is what does this have to do with Halloween or Samhain as they call it and the religion in the Wizarding world... it really doesn't. What the point to my tangent is to show you how different they are. They tell their children this information and show them how it can hurt them magickally. Magick makes a difference. Your children are magickal. There is nothing you can do about it. It is intrinsic to them. It is part of them that they can't ignore or hide from unless you want their magick to harm them. Pregnancy can change a life; it can even kill you. Aberrant magick can destroy your entire home or family, they understand the significance of this. That is why they obey this stricture. They aren't just told it can harm their magickal core, they are taught to understand their magickal core and understand how it can unbalance it and what magickal imbalance can do. And it is nothing we can truly understand. We can't because most of us can't physically destroy a flat by having sex. We can't kill someone just because we got laid. We CAN'T. They can. This Magick is not the parlor tricks we see on the telly. It can kill, destroy, heal, save. It is the manipulation of the atomic forces of the planet through will and intent. This is why your children had to be trained. Because ignoring it doesn't solve it. Not In My Back Yard, doesn't work when it comes to Magick. This is a fundamental difference and therefore it causes them to see this world differently. It is inborn in them.

"So too is their faith, not religion, because the Wizarding world doesn't have an actual religion, they have faith and they have rites but the rites of the Dark are not the same as the rites of the Light or Neutrals and even two Dark families may not have the same rites. These rites change based on the family, the need, the magick at the time. Samhain is a major celebration and the rites they want to perform are in recognition of this time and its purpose but it is not a religious rite, it is a magickal rite. A rite to use magick to understand nature. So no... no Satanism, no evil, no devil worshipping. Necromancy on the other hand..." Cereus smiled. "Strangely, we will be talking to the dead and likely they will be talking back to us. There are ghosts, real ghosts, wandering the halls of Hogwarts! And we will be doing a rite in which we send message on beyond the veil of death which is thin at this point in time. Now whether or not they respond back, that's a whole 'nother thing."

/||\\

Hogwarts
Fifth floor teacher's lounge
11:30 PM

Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore sat at the head of the table, smiling benignly at his teachers. He knew by Severus' expression that his eyes were especially twinkly today. He listened as his teachers talked about their bright stars and strugglers in class before talk turned to Samhain. Keeping silent, he listened as Minerva explained the basic set up, a lot of good Light rituals. Meditation, scrying though a bit of scrying could lead to more but he sat up abruptly when he heard Minerva mention Lovat.

"Excuse me, my dear, but can you explain a bit more about the ritual you wish the sixth and seventh years to do?" He asked kindly.

Minerva sighed, "It is Lovat's Guided Ghost Convergence Ritual. It is found in the eighth volume of Lovat's Spiritual Directory. The ritual is designed to allow communication in a more direct method through the veil through the use of a ghost who is ready to move on. For the purpose of this Ritual, we shall be using Binns. That infernal... man has destroyed all love of Magickal History in our students for the past forty years. His one remaining family member has asked us to move him on and will attend the Ritual as well. Of course this does mean that we will need a new History teacher for the rest of this year. I would prefer of course to use Remus Lupin but that may not be possible at the moment, since he is in the middle of helping Sirius recover. Therefore, we will have a rotating list of professors from some of the Wizarding Universities."

Flitwick nodded. "A rather smashing plan and not only that but they can talk to the older years about opportunities. What about next year?"

Sinistra leaned back and smiled. "Well, Minerva, there has been news on that account. Mainly, according to the new catalog, Lupin will be history teacher in a newly restructured program. I attended the last HAARP meeting and just the outline of the new classes was fascinating. They also decided that History of Magick should co-teach with Nature of Magick at least once a month, I think that accommodate Lupin's needs as well as one class every other week being taught by a visiting professor who will be a specialist in whatever culture they are talking about at the time. Just from the framework I saw, I wish we had these classes when I came here."

"Indeed. I dinna know this was decided last meeting because I didn't get to go but there was a question about Nature of Magick classes for adults. Did they decide?"

Sinistra shook her head. "No, he can't but he did give out a book list, everything from year 1 to year 7, no surprise that most of those books were written by McGills. I've already sent the list to Pince to order. Did you get it, Minerva?"

"Yes, and not only that but there will be four copies in the library as well as one copy in the staff room, and one each in the Houses."

Albus frowned. He didn't remember getting any book orders and all books went through him so that he could make sure that they weren't filled with dark and or dangerous spells. He looked at Minvera and flinched. The hard look she was giving him... he hadn't seen such a look directed at him in a long time. Gently he slipped into her mind to discover what was the issue, only to be confronted by a wall. It was tall. It was red as blood and slick as ice. Frowning, he mentally stepped back to see a raised brow on his deputy's face and several other teachers looking at him.

"You dinna expect me to leave my mind unprotected once I was told that ye were a Legimens did ye, Albus?" Her brogue came through strongly. "In fact every teacher here has been told, but I do believe this is the first time ye've been caught. It is verra obvious that your reason for being Headmaster is not for the betterment of our children. You are excused from any further staff meetings and I will be reportin' this to the Board of Governors."

"Now, Minerva, I understand that you upset from these accusation but let us not become prey to them ourselves. To imagine that I would violate your mind as such?" He put his sadness and a measure of reproving into his voice.

McGonagall laughed bitterly. "I could feel you in my mind, Albus."

Albus stood up, shaking his head and folding his hands over his stomach. "I shall leave if it will comfort you," He put as much 'injured grandfather told in it as he could, "I only ask that you not believe all that those who dislike me say."

As he left the staff room, his mind whirled at a mile a minute. What had happened? Who had been told? Schooling his face, he reached into his robes for a lemon drop and headed up to his office. Something was going on and he had to find out what. He barely paused as he swept by the gargoyle and headed up the winding stairs to his office. Seated at his desk, he looked over at the fireplace and upon the fireplace were some silver and glass instruments. They varied in size and shape but not so much in function. The function being to monitor certain people. One had stopped working, Harry Potters, it looked much like a glass dome over a four ringed gyroscope with a timepiece at the center. The time had stopped on the early morning hours of about four months ago. The time that his... the boy who lived took a potion designed to deny his heritage and destiny. And now this. The name was familiar especially since this was at least the fourth letter received from the Hoher-Prinzi family. They wanted what they always wanted, Severus to do a potion for them. Despite the constant refusals, they always came back with another offer.

Albus smiled as he recalled some of the offers he had received as Severus' Custos. And yet, for some reason, something he could not recall, he knew that putting these two in contact would be a bad idea yet to refuse the family of Hoher-Prinzi was foolish. He couldn't declare Severus to be incapable of brewing such a potion yet he also could not allow Severus to brew the potion. A highly advanced genealogical potion that does not require blood but does require some genetic component while seemed to get around the 'Dark Magic Restrictions' he implemented, it would cause too many problems. The standard Goblin test went back four generations, and he had already been position for almost that long. If they used this test, a test that could potentially go back some ten or more generations, then everything he had planned for the good of the Wizarding World would not come to pass. It was harsh but one must prune and shape a tree to get it grown properly. No, this world must forget its blood pride in order to truly achieve Unity.

Yet defying the Höher-Prinzi, the Ruler-Mages of Europe would be... devastating. Too much notice and their representative in the International Confederation of Wizards would take notice of Britain before he got it under control. He needed to reform the base of the society first, so that it would be easier to lead them in the proper way.

His eyes darted to one old silver instrument that clacked with the regularity of a heartbeat. Each ball was a different color. The colors told him much about the health of the person it monitored. The red one throbbed in time to the clack of the balls. His heart was strong and it needed to remain so despite the deprivation to which Albus had sentenced him. Soon, well if he could manage to get his hands on that child, soon, he would be able to release him and their new society, their unified society would begin. First... Voldemort had to be completely destroyed, and then once Muggles lashed back it would be time to unify under him. Of course, he would need help and then... then his beloved would be free. Another twenty years. So long but the end was near.

/||\\

Friday October 18, 1991

Harlow House
19 Edwardian Close, Wooten
Northampton, NN4 6LX
8:50 AM

Trissie straightened her uniform and popped into the kitchen of the Harlow House. Smiling, she looked around the kitchen, it was a Muggle kitchen and therefore fascinating to her as she hadn't seen one before. Wiggling long fingers, a stiff cream colored five and half by eight-inch card floated to hover in the center of the kitchen. On the card in metallic bronze script over a quartered shield was written:

You and your family are cordially invited to celebrate Samhain at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Turning around, she moved towards the refrigerator and examined it. Her supervisor told her about Muggle Kitchens and how magick didn't always work right. She listened as it hummed a slight flat note and frowned. Snapping her fingers, the note rose to a proper pitch and the refrigerator was now sparkling, not a single smudge on its silver exterior. Please, Trissie wiggled her finger and a soft sheen showed just above the metal. Nodding, she turned to rest of the kitchen. Opening one door, she saw dirty dishes. And that was unacceptable. A little magick and all those dishes floated out of the machine and into the sink, where she found soap and a funny looking brush and towels. Five minutes later, she had several dishes scrubbing, while she explored under sinks to find cleaning products and a mop was whisking around the bottom story of the house.

Forty-five minutes late, satisfied. Trissie nodded and popped out.

/||\\

Alistair Lockingen hummed a slight tune as he entered the ground floor lobby and headed up the two flights to the second floor. Shifting the bags to his left arm, he slipped his key into the lock and opened the door. And stopped. In the middle of the sitting room stood a house elf. They turned and with a snap of fingers, the grocery bags popped out of his hands and into the kitchen. Stunned, Alistair closed the door and stepped forward.

"Hello Inspector Lockingen, my name be Trissie. My supervisor be Gilly whom be known to you."

Alistair nodded. "Yes, please take a seat."

Trissie nodded, well informed by Gilly, though tears bloomed in her eyes. Her eyes danced around the room, long fingers twisting together. "Thanks you. I come with invitations for you and Inspector Horn to be spending Samhain with us. It be a traditional celebration. My master did say that you may be bringing your former wife and child if you wish."

Alistair nodded. "Thank you. I think I probably should. Even if I don't know anyone there."

"But you shall! Mistress Malfoy will be there as her son is at school. Master will be there with his son and there be several Muggle families coming as well. If you come, they will be taking you on the Hogwarts Express so you can soak up magick and see Hogwarts! There is to be many talks and displays to explain Magick to you if you come."

Alistair smiled. "Then it sounds like a good deal, however before I do this I need to explain Magick to my ex-wife and son. Is it possible that you can help me with it?"

"Oh no, Trissie can't. I be house elf and you need Wizard to explain. Perhaps Madam Auror Speakney? Trissie be assigned to you, Inspector Horn, Harlow family, and Charter family. Trissie will listen for your call."

Alistair frowned. "Assigned? In what way, Trissie. Remember, I am a Muggle."

"Trissie will be contact with Magickal World, if you allow it then Trissie will do laundry, cook, clean apartment and office. Trissie can carry messages, get books, and help transport you."

"Ah... well you don't have to clean for me."

"But Trissie should. Trissie be house elf... house elf takes care of house."

Alistair nodded, relaxing as he sat back. "That's why you keep pulling and twisting your fingers. You want to clean up but I haven't given you permission yet."

Trissie nodded, ears drooping, "Sorry to be impertinent."

"It's okay. This is information I need to know. How else would I learn this? You can clean and cook as well. Most of the stuff I have is easy to make since I'm not exactly a good cook. If you can improve my diet, I will appreciate it. If I leave you Muggle money for shopping, is that okay?"

Trissie smiled broadly, "Yes, sir!"

"Good, and I'll talk to Gabriel and maybe even my ex-wife. She often mentions being too busy for some things."

"Oh Inspector, Trissie is so happy!" She jumped up, tears flowing freely.

Alistair stared at her before kneeling down. "Please stop crying, they'll think I did something to you if you don't."

Trissie shook her head. "I will, Inspector should rest while I prepare for lunch then go see Auror Speakney."

"Alright. I am going to call Inspector Horn and see if he will have lunch with us; if Auror Speakney has not yet eaten, please ask her to join us as well?"

"Trissie shall!"

Alistair watched as the little being checked the groceries and the refrigerator before things started to float around. The house elf used magick so carelessly, as if it was a given and in her case it was but to see it. That was something else. Turning, he went to his bedroom to call Gabriel.

An hour later, Gabriel was ringing the doorbell. Alistair opened the door and silently pointed to the table upon which rested a still steaming loaf of bread, a large serving bowl of stew, a bowl of salad layered in bright colors, two tarts, a sweating pitcher of ice water and another of what looked like beer, a platter with a pyramid of sandwiches, and finally an icy bowl of sorbet. "She did all that. I tell you, you and I will be the best fed guys in the nick. The Auror is already here and she said she'd be glad to talk to Patience and Edgar about magick this Sunday. Want to come?"

Gabriel grinned. "Always. I'm your bagman ain't I?"

"Not for the past couple years."

Gabriel stared at him, "Always. Anyhow, so Trissie, right?"

"Yes, and she will be happy if you can ask for something, let her clean your flat for you, and thanking them get them all teary." Alistair closed the door and led his partner in.

/||\\

Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry
2:20 P.M.
Headmaster's Office

A man, dressed in a black robe, holding a large leather file entered the room. He sat down before the Headmaster's desk and opened the file, before placing glasses on his face. "Headmaster Dumbledore, I am your appointed Barrister Alexander Clyde. I am approved to work in both Muggle and Magickal sectors. I was selected since I have the most experience in both. I have also been approved to act as solicitor if you need to know. Right now, I am here to discuss the Dursley trial, at which you will appear on the thirtieth of October. I must inform you that considering some of what Mrs. Dursley has claimed, you may face separate charges.

"In specific, what I am referring to is the fact that you told Ms. Dursley as young woman that there was no place for her in the Wizarding World, which is not fact and in fact since more than 85% of the Wizarding World scores well below Magician Level on the scale. In fact, considering that most people scoring on the Magician Level don't even make it to Hogwarts. You only take those who score Upper level on the Magician division. There was a place for her, here. Especially with her younger sister being Magister potential or higher. If Petunia Dursley married a Wizarding person, she would have had children with even stronger magick. The fact that you did this not only to young Ms. Dursely but other siblings of other students shows a lack of care for the Magickal world of Britian. Not only that but since there was no oath given or accepted, what kept Ms. Dursley as she was embittered by your refusal from breaking the Statute of Secrecy? There are those who claim you could not predict what would happen and others who claim you knew exactly what would happen. Considering other evidence... you may be brought to trial for these incidences.

"Another charge is that you told Mrs. Dursely that you would ensure her child would grow up to be a Muggle by sealing his magick. Do you have a license as Mage Level Ward Maker?" He asked, staring at Dumbledore.

Dumbledore stood, hand extended to greet his Barrister awkwardly before letting it fall. "Ummm, no. I have received numerous awards but I have never sought nor attained any degrees in Ward-making, Ward Maintenance, nor Ward-breaking. However, may I ask why? I am trying to understand why I would be accused of crimes."

"Because it is illegal, no matter what your titles are or who you are to place a modified magick sealing spell on a baby. Unless and until, it has been approved by a council made up on nine qualified judges who shall be divide into three from each faction; Gold, Silver, Green. Since you did not put a petition, you or whomever you had do it, did so illegally. Not only that but it resulted in a dangerous situation as these things if not done properly can and do result in death before they are forty, usually before they are thirty. Therefore, it falls under attempted murder. As such, the renewed Ministry of Magick will be searching out any siblings of other students who have passed on early and request exhumation to examine the remain to see what traces remain. Such a binding sinks into the bones and blood, Dumbledore. It lingers, well after death. Worse, it passes on from parent to child. The children of an improperly sealed person will also be sealed and it will kill them as well. It can pass two or three generations before breaking down. If your traces are found on the remains and if they have any child who is also sealed or who has died as a result of the sealing, then you can be charged with Murder for them as well. Is this clear to you?"

Albus sat back, blue eyes widened slightly. "I... I am shocked. And you? Do you believe that I could do such a thing?"

Clyde looked at him. "I am going to be truthful with you because that's the only way this will work. Yes. I believe you did everything they said. I believe you did it because you honestly believe that you know what is right for everyone. However, you are wrong. You may have learned from your mistakes but those were your mistakes, you cannot assume that other people placed in similar circumstances will all react as you did. In your arrogance, you have decided since you could look back and see what you should have done you can guide others in the proper manner but you are wrong. Instead it gets messier and messier, bigger and bigger until it will become so overwhelming. I do not doubt that it started from the best of intentions but it has ended in death, misery, and torture. Yet, my job is to poke enough holes in the prosecution's argument that they will not convict you. And that is the job, I will do to the best of my ability."

"I see." Dumbledore frowned slightly.

"You are thinking about replacing me but it would be a mistake. If you do so, then the question will become 'why'. You can say 'differences of opinion' but what they will hear is 'even his lawyer thought him guilty, why should we believe him?'. On the upside, for you at least, is that some people find the charges unbelievable. On the downside, as more and more of your manipulations are revealed, you will have less support. So right now we need to stop the revelations. Is there going to be anyone else to support these claims?"

Dumbledore sat back and for the first time wondered where it had all gone wrong.

/||\\

Hogwarts
5th year Gryffindor/Ravenclaw Class
Charms

"And now for one last thing before we leave, because Samhain is less than two weeks away, we will be discussing a charm that you will be using for the celebrations. This charm falls under the banner of Necromancy. Now, while Necromancy is a Dark Art, it is not an Evil Art. Necromancy means to speak with the Dead. Therefore, you are practicing Necromancy every time you speak with one of our ghosts or a painting. This is called Passive Necromancy. It requires no casting, no expenditure of magick from you, just ordinary interaction.

"Necromancy is an ancient and sometimes vilified art. There two main camps of Active Necromancy. Demand and Request. And that's exactly the difference Demand Necromancy is when a person demands something of the spirit. And here is something very important. Necromancy deals with spirits... not just the dead. All spirits, however most times people focus only on the spirits of dead humans. It can actually be used to help with the spirit of a living person as well. Demand Necromancy can compel a spirit to inhabit a dead body and create an Inferi but it can also compel a spirit to leave the body of someone it has possessed unwillingly. Two side, two different things, and yet in many places people ignore exorcism as necromancy and label only the making of Inferi as necromancy but they in truth both are.

"Now Request Necromancy is what we will be doing. It is as the same says, a request. We will ask the spirit to do our bidding, not force it. On the night of our celebration, we will be having a ghost pass on. Before it goes forth, we will attach to it requests, wishes, prayers, and other such. By magickally attaching these things to the spirit, we reinvigorate the spirit and bring it to its best point rather than allow it to stay in the rut that it currently exists in. Just in case any of you do not know, the spirit in question is Mr. Cuthbert Binns. A dedicated teacher who died some decades ago and never moved on. Many of you know only his spirit, you never experienced Master Binns in his prime so you don't know how he was. I have chosen a memory to display of a lesson that I once had with Master Binns in my fifth year at Hogwarts." Filius Flitwick waved his wand and floated a large flat bottomed stone basin to his desk. A few whispered words and darkness fell, the basin glowed a soft silver. A tap and suddenly on the far wall appeared the History of Magic classroom. At the front was a middle aged man in black robes and wide smiled.

"Come in, come in. Today we are going to start with the Witch Hunts of the 18th century!"

The lesson was dynamic and fun. After forty minutes the memory ended. Flitwick stood still before allowing the lights to come back up. "That is the Cuthbert Binns we will bring back before sending him on through the veil. Now each of you have on your desk an example of how to make and attach a request to a spirit being. Go over it. Learn it, and by the 30th I wish to review all requests.

"Class dismissed."

/||\\

Saturday October 19, 1991

Abraham Ablach smiled as he entered his grandfather's manor. Although he was ready to accept the most recent commission, he still wanted his father's, mother's and grandfather's input. Heading towards their shared office, he grinned at the thought. Usually he worked with young adults, this time was different. Between the damage given to Lord Black by the Dementors and his previous insistence in refusing to learn, it would be a commitment of years, maybe even a decade. Not to mention, he would likely also be training Lord Black fiancée, Remus Lupin. To make such commitment was a huge responsibility, he wouldn't be able to detach and leave them with the Elder members or a council to help guide him. It could actually be the end of his business completely. Yet to get his hands on the Black Estate, to manage it and help it grow, to one day see it retake its splendor among the Ancient and Noble houses... it would be worth it.

"Father, Grandfather. Blessed Morn. Where is Grandmother?" Abraham stepped in, bowing the bow of kinsmen to the two men.

Andreas Ablach looked up at him with a wry smile. "Feeling particularly bratty today, dear son of my son?"

Laughing Abraham moved to sit on the plush chaise on one side of the office. "A bit of high spirits. You'll never guess what commission, I just got offered?"

Shaking his head at the antics of his father and his son, Alexander Ablach, turned back to the study of his contract. "The Potter child?"

"Nope."

Alexander stared at him. "Well it would have to be someone who is either new to their lordship or a newly found child. There haven't been so many recently. The McGill child, I heard that his mother kept him from the wizarding world for protection."

"No, in fact, due to the number of newly informed Muggleborns, there is this push down in the Ministry to call them instead 'First Generation Returned'. Less negative connotation to help calm the reactionaries."

Abraham nodded. "A good move. Dumbledore certainly poisoned the Muggleborn well, didn't he? And it would have been perfect."

"Perfect and fatal. As you know, I have been watching and I recently saw the results of study that will be printed in both Quibbler and Prophet as well as several medical journals. It was studied both overseas and here. As you know most of the Ancient and/or Noble Houses are inter-related. No one knew to what degree. Most Muggle school children know the effects of inbreeding but it was believed that since Magick was so powerful that it prevented said effects among Magickals. It does... to a point. Britain passed that point about a hundred and fifteen years ago.

"This is the reason most can't carry more than two or three children. The magick is too weak to hold back the defects. Imagine another hundred years... who would be left?"

Abraham looked at his son and grandson with fear and sadness in his eyes. "Dear Lord and Lady, and for what reason?"

Andreas sighed. "I have no clue. Dumbledore is reactionary very much so. Even his 'premeditated' ideas are reactions to what he experienced. For example, did you know that his father died in Azkaban?"

Alexander sat up quickly from his reclining position on the couch, "Truly?"

"Yes, Father asked me to research his parents." Andreas pulled out two files. Father dead in Azkaban. Yet, the interesting thing is the mother. Kendra Dumbledore is also dead, Muggleborn witch. Born Kendra Elaine Adamantine on May 2, 1851 and died June 25, 1899. She was only forty-eight years old, so rather young. Attended Hogwarts from 1863 to 1870, Ravenclaw. Smart with Charms and Theory. High with Potions and Spellwriting, but only passable in Transfiguration, Defense, and Herbology. She had a good choice of career in the Flount Coterie as a Binder but left about six years after her third child. Her children were Albus, born 1881; Aberforth, born 1884 and Ariana, born 1885. Normal family, all born in Mould-on-the-Wold. In late 1891 when Ariana was 6; Albus, 10 and Aberforth, 7; their father attacked four muggle boys. From the arrest report, he called them and this is a direct quote "Vile, vicious little dirty brats who laid hands on a blessed witch". Considering that there are only three females who were close to him and of those three only two in the village, it would mean his wife or his daughter.

Now according to the McKendricks, whose child Elise would play with Ariana, they were good folk. Kendra was a bit reserved but loving to her children. Ariana and Elise delighted in the accidental magick they each did. Now this is where it gets interesting. First, Kendra cuts off all contact with her coterie. No matter what problems she faces, she should have sought help from them. Foolish woman. Ended up moving from Mould-on-the-Wold to Godric's Hollow. Whereupon the two boys resume life but the young girl stays mostly in the house. Many people didn't know they had three children. Those who did, believed that the girl was sickly and that's why she wasn't outside much. So if the child was attacked, it could be that her magick attacked her, it could have turned against her but I doubt that it turned on her. It is more likely that Ariana clamped down on her magick, which as we know is dangerous. Magick must move, if it is inhibited... Kendra Dumbledore died in 1899 under mysterious circumstances. I posit that it was her child who inadvertently killed her through uncontrolled magick."

Abraham shook his head. "Poor foolish woman. The child needed to be in Mungo's. They could have had a Healer help her to control her magick. If this is so, then Albus should have stepped up. When did the poor child die?"

"1899, she would have been fourteen or fifteen. She died in late July... ummm the 28th to be exact. So Albus was 18, Aberforth 16, and Ariana, 15. She died right before Dumbledore returned to Hogwarts and in fact, both boys were delayed in returning to school. Afterwards they were not close. In fact, Aberforth only graduated school because Albus forced him to. He now owns the Hog's Head Pub. He does not like his brother."

Alexander nodded. "I see. Have you given this information to anyone?"

Andreas shook his head. "No, but Father has suggested giving it to the McGill. With other information, it may be possible for the McGill and his new alliance to perhaps destroy Dumbledore."

Alexander frowned. "Yes, but how to do so without meeting with him. Owlpost is too chancy and meeting with him well... Dumbledore would find out. I however have a solution, remember when I asked you to guess who I was going to contract with? It's a commission recommended to me by the Goblins. Apparently Sirius Black needs educating in his duties, and he was accompanied by the Lucan Lupin, whom is wishes to be make Consort and the McGill."

Abraham sighed. "I believe it's time for a family meeting. I believe we should offer this information to Lucius Malfoy who has been chosen as contact to the McGill from the Knights. Not only that, but Alexander, this is an opportunity to bring the Black family back from the Consuming Darkness to the Enfolding Darkness. Teach Sirius Black to shine like a star and his consort to find freedom in his fur. This family will support you."

Alexander bowed his head. "Thank you, Patriarch. I was leaning towards this but I realized this won't be a few years' commitment, I would essentially become their Seneschal. That will invariably form a lasting bond between our families. I would never commit to such a thing without talking to you first."

"No, you wouldn't, you are a good child of the family. However, this is a chance to change the culture of the British Wizarding World like no other. Over the next septad of years, change drastically; either Voldemort will win, Dumbledore will win, or this third side will win. Of them all, only the Alliance respects all of the Dark. As Patriarch, I will approach Malfoy and if he will not help us then I will approach the McGill himself. Prepare your lessons."

/||\\

From a house three Perlins took off. One headed towards Wiltshire, one to London and the third circled the house once and headed towards a wooded area, waiting for further instruction.

/||\\

The Leaky Cauldron
Charing Cross Road
1:45 PM

Na-Lady Sarah Flanders led the way through The Leaky Cauldron. She knew that that Harlow family was not impressed though they would be. As they entered the walled courtyard, she smiled. "The muggle repelling charm keeps people from noticing the Cauldron, considering that this building has been here since the last 900's, it's a significant and important part of our culture. It has always been a pub, inn, or tavern. Which makes sense, the traffic often kept Muggles from noticing who came and went. However, now that we have the charm on the Pub, we still haven't moved it because to set up another access would be a hardship." She pulled out a thin whippy willow wand and pointed the bin. "Three up, two over." She tapped the brick FOUR times and slowly the opening formed. Now, they looked impressed. Smiling, she bowed and swept one hand towards the opening. "Welcome to Diagon Alley."

The Harlow family stared in amazement an arch formed and they could see a street with many people and so many not-people to their eyes hurried into shops. Abigail took her father's hand and squeezed tight. Her younger siblings pressed close to their mother. Na-Lady Flanders smiled softly. "You will come to no harm here. First things first. I have chosen this opening because I wanted you to get the scale of things. We are going to walk the length of the Alley. At one end is Gringotts', it's our bank. It is run by Goblins and I ask that you be polite and respectful to them. I am ashamed to say, many Witches and Wizards look down upon those who are non-human. This is nothing less than base prejudice. Many of them are equal in intelligence and magickal power to us and some even more so. When you think of it, of all the magickal people in the realm, less than ten percent qualify for Hogwarts. No other species has that low a percentage, of course most other species don't have as much control over the world in general. So there are some tradeoffs. Under the new educational guidelines, the mandatory classes will be Potions, Transfiguration, Charms, Wizard Studies since you are Returnees, Flying for one term with Basic Customs for the other two terms, Nature of Magick, History of Magick, Astronomy, and Herbology. These are your Core Classes. With these and the mixture of these lessons, you can choose many careers from them. In your third year you usually chose two to five electives, these are designed to help you settle on a career and in your Sixth year, you will cut whatever is not necessary for your career. Now some Core classes are only up to Fifth year because once you are beyond that, they need to be more specialized and you will get the information in your actual Career Classes. However, there are Three Core Classes that are mandatory for all seven years. Nature of Maigck, History of Magick, and Wizarding/Muggle Studies. The board has decided that no matter what path you take in life, you need to know what Magick is, what our history is, and how to get along. And I find I do not mind it at all."

Lawrence Harlow smiles. "Quite a revolution, then?"

Na-Lady Flanders smiled and nodded at an acquaintance as they strolled down the cobblestones, the slight click of her heel against paving rang within her. "Yes, in some ways and a welcome devolution in others. For example, one of the things they are going to spend time on in class is the elements and I don't mean the scientific ones. For example, say I want to clear water to drink but I am hiking and the only stream is cloudy. I, as an adult, know that I need to use a rune to help me. More likely a bind rune, which is two or more runs written together but you children won't. They will learn the spell 'aguamenti' and think that will suffice. What if you don't have your wand or are not in a place to use it? What if we instead taught you about water, the element and how many things it influences. Would you be more likely to use a rune to draw water from a cactus than walk by it? It's part of the whole Nature of Magick. This used to be taught by the grandparents and elders but few today teach the old lore. We want to move forward but realize we need a firm grounding in the past to do so. Your children, do you not teach them your history so they may measure their accomplishments by them?"

Chanira smiled softly. "My Grandmother, she never went to school. When I graduated high school, she sat me down to tell me all about her village, her family, how despite the fact that others spoke ill of them, she got my mother educated, even going so far as to send her to boarding school. She never expected my mother to show up at nineteen with passports and visas for the family. Yet that's what my mother did. My grandmother would say 'how long down the road'. Now my child will not only be educated in Magick as well. I wish she could have seen this."

"You are attending the Samhain celebrations, yes?"

Chanira nodded as she watched a seller describing uses of dragon's blood. "Yes. We've attended the HAARP meeting recently and it sounds interesting."

"Yes, a traditional sort of celebration. There will be a portion in which we will recall and remember our beloved dead. Since the veil between worlds is thin now and we will be in one of the most magickal places in the United Kingdom, it not only possible but probable that you can garner her attention. Do not be surprised if you feel her presence or touch. At the very end of the ceremony, Lord Malfoy will send all the shades back beyond the veil. Also since we will be doing a spirit convergence ritual, you will have an opportunity to 'attach' messages for the beloved dead. It is very safe. Lord Malfoy is one of the strongest of the Green. He is a Master of the Deep Magick and his family has been leaders among those of families who practice. He knows it can be seductive and powerful, but he has withstood it for decades. He mastered the magick rather than let it master him. I am associates with his wife, Lady Narcissa. Yes, she came with us. In fact, I know that she would have loved to have Sponsored you but her family has already agreed to Sponsor the family of one of their son's classmates. She would never take on too many responsibilities. She believes that she give each her utmost and would never give you less than your due. I do not have any children in Hogwarts right now, but if we suit each other well, I would be honored to step up as your Sponsor."

Lawrence smiled softly. "Thank you."

"Wonderful," Na-Lady Flanders turned slowly, making sure the others followed. "Now,, we are going into Gringotts first, so that you can exchange some money, then we'll go get some books before heading to St. Mungos." She led the way up marble stairs and through a set of burnished bronze door before stopping before two large silver doors with a plaque besides them. "I need each of you to read the words written here, out loud."

The Harlow family looked at each other before shrugging and turning to read them aloud.

Enter, stranger, but take heed

Of what awaits the sin of greed
For those who take, but do not earn,
Must pay most dearly in their turn.
So if you seek beneath our floors
A treasure that was never yours,
Thief, you have been warned, beware
Of finding more than treasure there.

"The Goblins take their word seriously. Be polite, be respectful, and do not lie. Now, welcomes to Gringott's Bank." She pushed open the silver door and let them have the second shock of the day. The hall was vast and cool. The floor were works of art themselves. Quietly, they crossed the floor to a lone teller set off to the side. Na-Lady Flanders approached and give a small bow of the head.

"Ser Goblin. I am here with the Harlow family. We are here to exchange money."

"Na-Lady Flanders, I am Steelbow. Will they also be taking inheritance tests?"

"I am unsure. If they are bound, would it not interfere?"

"If it was a Ministry-grade test, yes. The price will be five knuts per person." Steelbow pulled out a ledger.

"What if I want to add a check spell test to each?"

Steelbow grinned. "Based on the information recently revealed about the breadth of illegal sealing that been going on, all inheritance tests now include such spells. You would be amazed at what we have found."

"Somehow, I doubt it. A disgrace to our world." She reached in and pulled out a sickle and five knuts. "Very well, and let's start an account for the family." Standing up, she turned to the people behind her. "Accounts in the Wizarding world are bit different than in the Muggle world. Basically each family has an account, everything is placed into the Family Vault. And only authorized users have a key. That key is spelled to respond only to authorized users. The family head can limit the amount taken out by children though most families give their children a trust vault, it is refilled periodically from the main vault, but it is not a separate account. Now, Goblin Steelbow here, shall exchange your money. Right now, the rate is...?"

The Goblin stared at them. "Right now, a Galleon is £4.97. And how much did you bring, Mr. Harlow."

Lawrence stepped forward. "In cash, I have twenty five hundred pounds, but as you are a bank, I do want to know if perhaps you can accept a teller check or use a bankcard?"

Steelbow nodded. "Indeed. While we prefer cash, we will take a teller check. We are working on integrating into the bankcard system and while we do not currently accept nor use them, we hope to change that by end of this year. There are three denominations of Wizarding money. Galleons which are gold which is equal to 17 silver Sickles. Each sickle is worth 29 bronze Knuts. Your cash equals five hundred and three galleons and two knuts. How much is the teller check?"

"Five thousand, six hundred and thirty pounds."

"So that is eleven hundred thirty-two galleons, forty seven sickles and three knuts. Altogether, it is sixteen hundred and three galleons, forty-seven sickles, and five knuts. There is a yearly fee, which will come out to one galleon, five sickles. This fee includes two gold keys for the adults, and four silver keys for other family members. At the shops, you can pay for thing by impressing your key on the charge slip. That will tell it what vault to withdraw from. So, shall we make your deposit?"

/||\\

St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries
4th Floor
Spell Damage Ward
Office of Improperly Cast Curses and Spells

Healer Broughton frowned as he read over another file.

"Kyle, what's wrong?" Healer Antilles asked. "Is that a Blue File?"

"Yeah. Goblins are sending another family. They are called the Harlows. Apparently they are related to the Fireste family. But they also have some of the most tangled up suppression spells on them. It's fraying on the Mother which is all well and good except she will have explosive, dangerous, and possibly catastrophic accidental outbursts while for the Father, it's eating him away. He has cancer and it's aggressive. Magick hates to be suppressed. What's worse is they aren't the only ones. I have six more Blue Files. And I don't have the number of trained people to handle all this. The Administrator doesn't want to go outside the hospital but I had to recommend that we seek help from France, Austria, and Egypt. The spells are barely even taught here anymore! Damn them!"

Healer Antilles moved to hug his friend. "Come now, you can't let it overwhelm you. You are brilliant at fixing spell damage."

"Yes, accidental spell damage. This is pernicious and malicious. And most of what is taught in the medical academies... it doesn't over this." Broughton sighed as he leaned on his friend. "Did you read the article which showed that the Hogwarts curriculum is so very far behind the other magickal schools of the world? Well it's even worse for us. The students are so underprepared that the medical school has reformed its curriculum which means ... 'obsolete' procedures were dropped. They were no longer necessary information."

Antilles frowned then nodded. "I remember. Every decade or so they go through the files and anything not encountered in the past three decades, is considered obsolete."

"Yeah which means we don't have enough healers. In the entire United Kingdom, there are only five Healers who have the power, magickal knowledge, and strength to break these bindings. Of those, only three of the five have the technical knowledge and we three only have that because we have made it a hobby of researching old techniques and comparing them to today's. I have SIX Blue Files. Healer Tighe Anderson has ten and retired Healer Farrah Singh has six. That's twenty-three Blue Files. Twenty-three families that have been bound. Of them no less than thirty-two members of those families have died of 'cancer', another seventeen are sick with it. Of the seventeen, five are terminal right now. We can do nothing for them. Not one Blessed thing. How are we to keep them from hating us? This betrayal is beyond forgiving. And more families are found every day!"

Antilles held him tighter. "I... I didn't know it was so bad. All we can do is tell them that an underground rogue group attacked them. When we found out, we sought them to help them. In a way, I think those who did it, they thought it wasn't evil because some of them surely had permission, like the Dursely mother. She allowed Dumbledore to bind her son, but Malfoy, Wiley, and Flanders are working on it. No one told her the consequences but if Dumbledore didn't do it, say he handed it off, he would have told them that she wanted it and when they asked her she would have agreed. So much evil done by."

"That's even worse, yes. How many healers were subverted, how many violated their oaths, albeit unwittingly. How many followed him thinking they were following a force for good?"

"Then they deserve to be stripped of their Healer qualifications. No hear me out! We Healers know that Deep Magick is necessary for healing, that these arbitrary divisions of Dark and Light are false. We are supposed to think things through for the best quality of care for our patients. Any healer who didn't confirm the process, any healer who bound a child without coming back to check on them, any healer who didn't examine the spell thoroughly before using it, deserves absolutely stripped of their rank. This is the core of medical ethics and they violated it. We shall now. Now, I know I am not a spell damage specialist but what can I do to help?"

Broughton smiled. "Want to learn how to do an analysis spell?"

/||\\

The Apartment of Alistair Lockingen

3:00 PM

"Margaret, Louis, please come in.

"Alistair." Margaret replied coolly

"Dad." Louis smiled up at him.

Locke stood up and smiled at them. "Margaret. Long time. I'm here because I'm involved in this and well... it's big. By the way, this is Auror Speakney, she's here to show you some things."

Alistair approached, placing one hand on his son's shoulder. "I don't know if you remember that some odd things used to happen when you were smaller but they did and there was a reason. Madam Speakney is here to provide the proof you and your mother needs. But first let's get you some tea. Trissie!"

Trissie popped in, placing the tea set down. Five sturdy, but ornate cups rested on the platter. Another platter appeared with small sandwiches and cakes. "This be Inspector's ex-wife and precious son?"

"Yes, and thank you Trissie."

"Inspector so kind. Trissie will be back." She stated before popping out.

"Tea?"

Margaret stared at the tea and sandwiches before sitting down. "Much to discuss, I assume."

"Yes." Madam Speakney replied, "We, the magickal population have much to apologize for. Understand, we only did what we did because we are so few against you who are so many and we feared for our safety. It has caused many problems for you and others. We did not understand the depth of our violation of you but we have been awoken to it and we will try to remedy it as much as possible. On August 11, 1983 an outburst of magick was detected. Aurors, wizarding police, were sent and found it belonged to five year old boy who had in a fit of temper turned his bed into sandbox. The bed was returned to its proper state and the memories of the man, woman, and child were removed. This was the first of eight times that their memories were removed.

Louis frowned. "Eight times, you messed with my head eight times?"

"Yes. Uncontrolled magick by a child can often be... terrifying to adults around them. Children have been killed by their parents under the idea that the child is possessed or evil. It was deemed to be better than everyone forgets and when the child turned eleven years old then we would invite them to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. There they would be taught how to control their magick."

Margaret frowned, her lips thinning. "My child was never invited to such a school."

Speakney took a deep breath, "No. He wasn't but he should have been. Recently we have discovered that someone using our records went around and 'sealed' many of the children. To seal them, means to basically bind their magick. It is used as a punishment for horrible crimes so you can understand why we find this appalling. Worse, whomever did it, was not someone who was trained to do so. The seals are improper; they will cause the magick to feed on the body in which it is sealed. It presents as cancer usually bone or blood. Therefore, we are using our records to track down the students who should have been invited but were not and test them for bind. As long as it at its end stage we can cure the cause of the cancer which will result in a cure for the cancer. I have been taught to perform the spell. Please stand?"

"No, you have done enough to our family. Louis, we are going."

"No, you are not." Alistair stood up. "I am not going to let him die because you are pissed at me. I don't care how furious you are. My son isn't going to die when it can be prevented!"

Louis stared at them, he knew these arguments would take a while, then slipped around. "Can you do it?"

Speakney nodded. She pulled out her wand and pointed it at him. "Magicae ostende ligat." A warm honey light that started at his feet, traveled up over his legs and continued until he was completely covered. His parents stared, his father's eyes teared.

"Can you break it?"

"No. But you know as well as I do that the healers are working on it. Perhaps you should call his school and tell them that he'll be out next week. We can take him to St. Mungo's. It's better to do this in a controlled environment, also we should do a blood line test. It could tell us what family he is from and whether he has any siblings. If he is from another family, we can arrange for them to be sponsors."

Margaret pursed her lips.

"Please understand Madam..."

"Miss Venona.

"Please understand Ms. Venona. He was born with magick, some person decided to bind his birthright and did it improperly. If once he is trained he still wants it done, we can do it properly so that it won't kill him or any children he has. Right now we are finding children of bound individuals who are plagued with various cancers and diseases because they would have been magick if the binding hadn't been passed down through blood. It can kill him. As a parent who I can see that loves their child, how can you not do what's best for him. I am an Auror, I can not allow such a thing to happen. I am deeply sorry for how we treated you before but now, it is imperative of us to correct the mistakes and harms of our criminals upon you."

Gabriel sighed and moved over to the young man. "Hey, on the upside, you're a wizard, a real wizard!"

Louis laughed. "Uncle Gabe!"

"Kid, I can't wait until you see the goblins and dragons, and centaurs... hell I can't wait to see them. How about we let your parents fight and we talk to Auror Speakney."

"So you can fix my magick?"

"Yes, we can. In fact, we might fix it in time to celebrate Yule, I think you would like it."

/||\\

Tuesday October 22, 1991

Magische Bundesland Österreichs
Palast der Glas-Lilie
Eastern Family Room

Weide Rene Hoher-Prinzi stared at the sun coming up over the gentle hills. Breakfast in the Eastern Room was always a delight. He turned as he heard his brother enter, the poor man was half asleep and shuffling to the table. "Zeder, you stayed up way too late."

Zeder grunted as he looked for a glass of juice. He hated coffee in the morning, finding the decanter, he pull out the top and took four great swallows before opening his eyes. "Yes, yes, bad habit. I had to stay up, did you read the report from the English?"

"I read the brief, they believe it is the work of people unknown. That it has been done to children. I find it interesting, especially since we got a missive a couple of months ago about missing and sealed children during the last world war. Do you believe there is a connection?"

Zeder frowned, "No and yes. I looked at the records of some sealed children from that time period. The structure is similar. It's coarser than what's being used today. Miss... ahhhh help me with the name."

"Sofia Angelique Sestras."

"Yes, Madam Sestras. When she came, she explained that these children were sealed to protect them and get them through customs which has been turning back any magickal child. We helped her track down those children and their families. Four of them were unsealed and two passed on the sealing to their children. We are tracking them down and clearing them up. But we have practiced and studied sealing much more recently than the Brits." Zeder sat up, taking a plate and starting to fill it. "As the Healers from St. Mungo's said, it's the frayed ends that make me wonder. So much so that I decided to research sealing from over three thousand years ago. We have one the premier magickal libraries right here. And I found it. The spell he or they used. It isn't Light exactly but it's not Dark, nor Neutral. It's 'tamed' for lack of a better word. It was forced into a feedback configuration but it was never intended for permanent sealing. It's a variant of the Schöne Immer Schlafen or Beauty Ever Sleeping."

"A Sleeping Beauty Spell? Seriously?" Wiede frowned at the foolishness. That spell type has long since been banned for their instability.

"Yes, brother. The ends were supposed to reach out and place those connected to the target in a sleeping stasis, but instead by 'tucking' in the strands, they fed it back into the target, causing stasis in the target's body. Rather unevenly though. So part would go through stasis but when a thread shorted or frayed, it would start up again and this is the dangerous part. It would try to catch up to the other parts of the body which means the cells in that part would rapidly multiply."

"Cancer."

"Yes, and not just that but imagine one chamber of the heart going into stasis and the other three work overtime? Or one bicep and the body tries to compensate by filling in the detectable gap?" Zeder shook his head as he munch through another piece of toast.

"Cancer again or heart failure or... this is barbaric!"

"Yes, I plan to report to the Queen herself. Apparently the current Magickal government tried to shut out the Muggle Government despite the fact that their Queen is head of both governments."

"I see. I will be going with you, that will make this a state visit. I am bringing along Lilie, Bach, and Erle. Eiche will be your guard. We will likely be there until past Yule, probably until Imbolc. Since Yule is a Dark holiday, I think I know with whom we shall stay. I am also taking Eisenhut since they are a potions master. I want to find our cousin but Dumbledore has been sly about denying me access to Master Snape. I have researched the problem and it seems that he stands as Regens Custodiam which makes no sense as Snape is obviously a man of means and quality. There is much going on there. In fact, during the Potter trial which is still on-going, it turns out that supposedly Dumbledore offered and did seal Dudley Dursely. Since he is sealed, it was obviously done. The only questions are: did Dumbledore do so or did he get another to do so? And did he make the offer without being aware that he can not make such and offer even if he is Chief Mugwump?" Wiede sighed, "The British make too much of him, he is not the first nor the last champion to defeat their opponent. They are falling as some few have, to unity rather than trinity."

Zeder smiled softly, "Usually unity is good thing."

"Not when it polarizes and disenfranchises the majority of the population. They are leaning towards the so called 'Light' faction, which we know as Sonnenschein. ( You know as well as I do, that a healthy society has all three. But their leaders, their police, their teachers all skew towards 'Light' and they are taught that Wiese is evil. The Nebel is cowardly. Why do you think they did not recognize the spell? The spells were removed from the medical colleges. They are slowly but surely purging their society of all but 'Light'."

Zeder shook his head. "Too much light can burn a person." He frowned. "There has been a decrease in magickal strength lately in Britian, very few exceptional wizards or witches. Perhaps it's Brain Drain?"

"Likely. Why stay where you are undereducated or told that if you try to educate yourself then you are evil. And almost all of this can be traced back to one person... Dumbledore."

/||\\

Windsor Castle
Queen's Office
11:13 AM

A falcon soared in and glided to an almost silent stop on a perch some fifteen feet away. An elf popped in with a bowl of water and platter of meat bites. Offering them to the bird, she quickly took the message. A glance at the seal and she moved to place it on the Queen's desk.

"Thank you, Ressie."

The elf gasped before curtseying and popped out with tears in her eyes.

Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, picked up the scroll and read through it quickly. A state visit from the Magickal German King, for lack of a better word. He was planning to stay with a prominent Dark family since they were staying through Yule and perhaps until Imbolc, a quick glance at the calendar revealed Yule as the twenty second this year while Imbolc would be the fifth of February. Therefore if they arrive on the eighth of November... ninety days. Somehow that wasn't a surprise.

Sighing, she rand for the Keeper of her Calendar. When he entered, she turned to him. "I'm afraid we will have some unfortunate changes to the Calendar for myself, Philip, Diana, Charles, and the boys. We will be needed in the Magickal London for the 24th but I do not know how that can be. It will be the first major magickal holiday that I will be able to attend since I have addressed that segment of my people. To miss it would be to dismiss them. Before it was accepted because we were to be at one remove but the failure of that... Minister means I need to be directly involved."

The falcon cried.

"Ah... Ressie."

The elf popped in, curtseying once more. "Yes, Your Majesty?"

"I am unsure about the etiquette but do we allow the falcon to stay or must we return it."

Ressie nodded. "It is awaiting a reply. If you have none, you tell it and it will leave. Otherwise you can house him in the Royal Mews until you need it. When you need him, you think of the bird or you call and elf to get the bird. You place the scroll in the tube on his back and he returns."

"Thank you, then please house the bird in the Royal Mews... also, perhaps you can help me. You know more about the Wizarding world than I at this moment. We are not wizards as you know, however I wish to respect the Holiday of Yule and it coincides this year with Christmas Eve. I have duties that day and wonder if you can help me with knowledge of magickal travel. I will have to move quickly and securely with my guards and my family."

Ressie nodded, "Wouldn't it be easier for Your Majesty to just use a time turner? We elves can pop you to a secure location at the Ministry then you can spend the entire day in magickal London before spending the day in muggle London?"

Elizabeth started, turning her head slowly. "Time Turner?"

"Yes, small necklace that can help you go back in time. Not more than a day though. The Ministry of Magick controls them. They are from the Department of Mysteries."

"What does that department do?"

"Investigate Magick."

"I see.. and how would arrange to get or purchase a time turner."

Ressie shook her head. "Can not be bought but you are the Queen, then Ministry obeys you. Ask them?"

"I see. Very well, can you arrange an owl for me to pen a request. Andrew," she turned to the young man waiting, "We may have to add some pages to the Calendar. One for magickal days and one for our usual calendar. Please see to it and I will give you the information as soon as possible."

"Thank you, Ressie, could you perhaps ask Della to come when available? We need to make plans for the Christmas Holiday."

/||\\

Malfoy Manor
Wiltshire
Lucius Malfoy's Office

11:44 AM

A large silver tipped Perlin Falcon arced his way gracefully into the office of Lord Lucius Abraxas Malfoy. Looking up from the letter he had received from Brother Ablach. Such information was valuable indeed. It was in the Malfoy nature to keep such information close until the proper time to use it. Yet if he didn't reveal it to McGill... it could be used as justification as a breach of the alliance. While revealing it may in fact lead to stepping a little closer to power in the alliance. A loud cry from the falcon once again captured his attention. With a start he held out his hand for scroll and examined the seal. It was silvery white with castle in a field of lilies. He allowed himself a moment to mentally search the lesser known heraldries of the United Kingdom before standing up to locate a book on European Crest. Settling down into his comfortable chair, he searched for device then color. Upon locating it, he double checked the seal and looked for any other defining marks. There around the castle lay a tri peaked crown almost as if it provided the moat for the castle.

Wednesday October 23, 1991

8:00 AM
Kingston-Upon-Thames
McGill House

McGill's Study

Lucius Malfoy stepped from the flames and with a quick twitch, quickly dispelled the lingering soot from his clothes. Surprised he blinked slowly as he realized that instead of the formal receiving room, he had been allowed to floo to McGill's... no, he was family now, Carmus' study.

"Lucius."

"Carmus."

"Please sit, Dayn has gone to get up some light food but from the tone of your missive, it seems like it was important."

Lucius moved to sit a small table under the window, across from the man who would be essentially his brother in law soon enough. "Yes. In light of our newly revealed connection, I realized that I could not withhold this information. You will eventually essentially marry my brother plus this information could help the Alliance in it's attempts to denounce Dumbledore."

"You truly despise him, why? I mean I know for my part, it's because he's a threat to the balance but you... you are a Dark leader, why do you hate him?"

Lucius stared at the table as food appeared, slowly he picked up his knife and fork and filled him plate with bacon, potatoes, ham and sighed. "Because he tells my son that he should be ashamed for his heritage, that his beliefs are wrong and primitive, that everyone else should look down on him for them. He is a proud young man, sometimes arrogant but he will get over that. However at this age, they take things to heart and I do not want him to be filled with self loathing. It took me years to shrug off his poison, some of my fellows never did. And those in other houses who took everything he said to their core are miserable or fanatics. He destroyed my generation and any chance we had of becoming great together or so I thought. This Alliance offers a chance to change that. As such I can not find it within myself to let this pass."

Carmus seemed to relax, a smile appearing on his face. "Thank you. For trying. If this Alliance fails I do not believe it will because of the Dark. Many of them look to your behavior to determine how they should act. Thank you for your faith, I do hope we prove worthy of it."

A faint pink wash colored that handsome pale face before he nodded and started to eat. Across from him, Carmus read copies of both letters. Lucius found himself watching the changes on his companion's face. Truly the masks were down, if he showed so much emotion. After three quarters of a hour of picking at his food and reading, he stood.

"Please remain seated. I need to speak with my father's portrait." He stood and walked over to to the portrait and knowcked on the frame. Within a minute, the painted figure of his father stood in the frame. Silenty he held up the pages of the letter, the soft rustling of parchment as he changed pages was the only sound in the room. Finally, he lowered his hands and looked at his father. Aden McGill frowned.

"I actually have been visiting other portraits of my acquaintances in order to track down more information. There isn't much about the young man that Albus was fascinated with but there are two things that may help you. First, you need to find a class photo from the year Albus would have met this young man, there may be a name attached to him but the second piece is more important. The young man lived with Ms. Bathilda Bagshot and was according to her, her nephew. Now the Bagshots don't have any European connection, being mostly English and Irish however, she was not born Bagshot. She married into the family. Her last name before that was Adler, which is German for Eagle, there are many Adlers in the muggle world but only few among the Wizarding Population."

"Thank you, father. I will have Angelique see about assigning someone to track down the Adlers."

"Of course. I will also try. Be well." Aden moved from his portrait swiftly.

Carmus walked over to the table and took his seat once more. "Well... plenty of information. Now, about the Hoher-Prinzi, would it put you out to offer them space in the Manor?"

Lucius smiled. "Indeed not. It would be an honor in fact but I was wondering perhaps considering your stature as the head of the Alliance if you would prefer they stay with you?"

"No. They want to stay with the Dark during a Dark holiday. It's better they stay with you. Last time I was in Dumbledore's office I noticed a letter from Rene Wiede Hoher-Prinzi, the current head of the family. He was asking Dumbledore for access to Snape or to see the yearbook of the graduating class. It didn't occur to him that we don't really have yearbooks but the class photo would work, except Dumblore seems to be putting them off. Apparently they are looking for a lost relation and they want Snape's help of a different kind of lineage potion. They have a recipe. Severus has the skills."

"And they plan to stay until Imbolc."

"Yes, you are planning a Yule ball, correct?"

"Of course, and by then my father will be back, he will wrest control of Severus from Dumbledore and of course by Yule, Severus will be installed in the Manor, in his rooms, and Dumbledore can't say anything."

"Good. Lucius... I am trusting you with one of the most important people in my life. Do not violate that trust."

"If I had known he would be a failure, I would have kept Severus from him. I had faith in his policies."

"They are good policies but how he went about them... enough. We can't let this fester but let us be done with it." Carmus took a deep breath, "He loves you and I will accept that. Have you written to your father?"

"Yes, I was able to get a copy of the Ministry's agreement and the Custodis Regent contract. I sent both to my father with a letter. I expect a reply within a couple days. Right now, Father is in a manor on the outskirts of Valleta. Ever since he had Dragonpox, we have kept him in warm climates. Luckily, he has completely recovered but he was enjoying the area, so he stayed. Now... I fear his disappointment in how I allowed my brother to be taken from me."

"Do not, according to the letter, even he could not stop it then. We are stronger now and we will end his false dominion over him."

"Yes, we shall."

Saturday October 26, 1991

Id-deheb u r?am Palazz tal-Belt Valletta
Golden and Marble Palace of Valletta

Thursday October 24, 1991

Dear Father,

It is with great regret that I admit that I have not be able to wrest Severus from the clutches of that pernicious Dumbledore, however we now have hope. You betrothed Severus to Carmus in a bid to protect him, a fact which I discover only two weeks ago, when Narcissa gave us the letters. I know that you know that Dumbledore 'rescued' Severus but it is the 'how' at the time that was unclear. Yes, supposedly he was spying for the Light, but I now have the closest thing to proof that he was not. Dumbledore has him under Custodis Regent. How that got passed especially since he has not reached full adulthood nor gotten married nor had his fiancé sign it, I do not know but I have included the contract the Ministry's agreement to the contract.

At the moment, I have joined McGill, the Light, and the Neutrals in the Alliance of Shadows, whose emblem is here below. It looks somewhat familiar and I hope you can place it where I can not. Together we are working to bring down Dumbledore. We have also discovered that Dumbledore replaced the office MRRO books with his own versions which does not state the responsibilities of attending Hogwarts. So it appears that the Muggleborns truly had no idea of the debt they owed. This is being rectified.

As well it appears that he sealed an infant because their parents objected to magick. They, the Dursleys, seem to hate, revile, and despise magick. Of course these are the same people he placed Harry Potter with. Not only was the placement illegal, not only did he not check up on the child, but the child was in acute danger during most of his life from his so called guardians. They have been arrested and now stand trial for child abuse and attempted manslaughter.

The final piece of new, Father, is the one I believe most disturbing. As you know the size of classes at Hogwarts has been dropping. Apparently, many of the Muggleborns do not get their letter, they in fact seem to stop existing. While it could be that they die through accident or because people fear their magick, the rate is alarming. For more than sixty years it has been going on. Apparently, someone has been going around and sealing these children much like Dumbledore sealed the Dursley child. While there is no proof that he sealed these children, he may have taught his sealing technique to others. As for his motive, there is much speculation, my view is that he used the falling numbers to promote three facts, for the muggleborns 1) that they are truly special since they are among the small amount of muggleborns able to get into Hogwarts, 2) that the reason there are so few of them is because the Purebloods have either driven them out or killed them, and for Purebloods, 3) that to marry a muggleborn would decrease the magickal population as they rarely produce magickal children anyways. Apparently, the Hoher-Prinzi of Magische Reich will be coming to help us deal with this... depraved action against children. According to the letter they sent me, which a copy in included with this letter, they have found that it is a modified Sleeping Beauty curse. They have also requested to stay at the manor from Samhain to Imbolc and I am inclined to accept.

Your loving son,

Luci

/||\\

St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries
4th Floor
Spell Damage Ward
Office of Improperly Cast Curses and Spells

October 22, 1991

Healer Broughton,

I am Rene Wiede Hoher-Prinzi and I have been informed that you are to be our contact in England regarding these vile sealings. I have reviewed the case and upon consultation with several high ranking people and based off the magickal scans that you have given us, we have identified the curse. It is a modified version of an ancient Sleeping Beauty spell. According to Master Healer Zeder, the reason that the cancers are so prevalent is because the feedback is forcing parts of the body into stasis. I will also be bring another Master Healer by the name of Bach and two Journeymen Healers Lilie and Erle. We have a potions master who is called Eisenhut who is a excellent Potions master but I have heard you have access to Snape, if you could arrange a meeting, I believe Eisenhut would be very grateful. He admits that Snape is much better than he himself. They will also have a guard attachment, the head of the guard is Eiche, and this is because they are members of the Royal family. Our official reason for traveling will be a state visit with the Queen of England. While it is too late to arrange things for Samhain, I will be inviting her to Yule.

According to Zeder, the discovery of the type of spell means you will not have to wait a year to detangle it slowly. Instead it should take no more than a month. He also suggest finding another building that will be equipped only for these patients as you have so many of them. Attached you will find some research detailing how we discovered it and what treatment we suggest. However before we are sure both Zeder and Bach wish to examine them in person. We will arrive the 29th.

Be well in Magick,

Rene Wiede Hoher-Prinzi

Ruler Mage of Magische Reich

/||\\

Id-deheb u r?am Palazz tal-Belt Valletta
Golden and Marble Palace of Valletta

Valleta, Malta

Abraxas Malfoy read over the contract, if one could call it so, slowly. Truly it was a masterwork of the basest sort. His sponsor-son was barely better than a slave. This travesty has gone on for a decade which was a decade too long. Anger grew in him with every word. Slamming his hands on the desk, he stood.

"Middy, prepare my baggage, we are returning to Wiltshire." He stood, his dark grey rob billowing about him. With angry strides the sixty five year old wizard strode through the palatial hallways, his rangy form screamed deliberation and fury. His handsome face and silver gilt white hair shone under the beams of sunlight. Striding over to a fireplace, he removed some floo powder from a carved silver box. Throwing it angrily into the fire, he snapped, "Pembroke Law office, Aeacus."

A few seconds passed before a blond hair, bearded face appeared in the fire. "Sen-Lord Malfoy, a pleasure, what may I do for you?"

"Aeacus, do you remember when I had my sponsor-son's betrothal contract written up?"

"Yes, in fact you did not reveal his name nor the name of his betrothed. You were worried about the information getting out and despite my skill at Occlumency, anyone can be defeated." His mellow soothing voice came from the flames.

"Indeed. I bound Severus Tobias Abraxas Snape to Carmus McGill." Abraxas watched as several micro-expressions ran across the lawyers face.

"I see. You did not cede custody to Dumbledore, did you? As I am familiar with the Prince entailments, he has to be forty or married. He is neither."

"I did not."

"Then we can do something with this. You are returning?"

"Of course, I will not let the bastard harm him any further."

"Very well, then my professional advice is contact Gringotts, get a review of the vaults including an itemized list of removals and so forth. Come back, but do not reveal yourself to any but those you trust and myself and Gringotts. Floo everywhere. They are celebrating Samhain on the 31st but the astrological date is the 8th. Which is a Friday and the day of the Hogwarts Board Meeting. My suggestion is go speak to some of the members of the Board and let them know about this then that night during Dinner you should enter and confront Dumbledore publicly in front of the school. You must warn Severus of course, as well as Lucius and the McGill so they can support him.

"Also, speak to McGill about joining the Alliance of Shadows. Their aims will fit your desires."

"Yes, Lucius did mention them, very well. I will see you in a couple days. Be Well, Aeacus"

"Be well, my lord."

Sunday October 27, 1991

Bank ta ' malta, Gringotts
Underground
Bank Manager's office
4:37 PM
Bronzehand growled under his breath. Gringotts once informed of how the Potter fortune had been violated had ordered every vault that ever had been touched, connected, or monies transferred to Dumbledore audited. Heads had rolled and they would continue to do so for this grievous breach of trust. He knew what Sen-Lord Malfoy wanted and he had the proof in his hand. The Ministry of Magick of the United Kingdom had ordered and the bank had followed those orders. Which now meant that the Goblin Nation had in their claws a reason to demand renegotiation of the treaties. They were to protect the treasure of their customers, therefore they needed more freedom to prevent such abuses. Yes, this would be valuable for the next ICW meeting.

/||\\

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Third Floor Corridor
9:00 PM

Isssssss it still here?

"Yes, Master."

The fool hassss not moved it?

"No. He believes that perhaps the Longbottom child is the prophecy child or that if he can encourage him to risk his life that Harry Potter will step into the light. Also, he has heard rumors that Carmus McGill will be attending Samhain and may bring a guest, he is hoping McGill will bring Potter and that once Potter is here, that he can convince Potter to come here for his schooling, playing on his parents' and their desire to have their child here."

I seeeeeeee. So the teacherssss will be busy and you can pass the safeguards?

"I can but try, Master, there will so many people in the castle, including Dark wizards and witches, that they will be more likely to blame than myself."

True... then make the attempt on Thursday.

"As you wish, my Lord."

/||\\

Malfoy Manor
Wiltshire
Lucius Malfoy's Office

Lucius smiled at the paper that had appeared on his desk yesterday. A note from his father. "Tomorrow, 11:00 PM". As the clock struck the eleventh stroke, the fire in his fireplace glowed the fierce purple of international floo and his father stepped out. "Lucius."

"Father."

"I am proud of you. You have learned to ask for help and help you shall receive. We will take back your brother but for now, let's discuss this with your wife."

Pink highlighted his features for a moment before he nodded. "Yes, Father. By the way," He spoke as they left the office for the family sitting room. "did you realize that the Americans are experimenting with new ways to increase wizarding fertility? Some might even bypass the Dark Mark."

Abraxas stopped and stared before following his son once more. That boy never ceased to amaze him.

Monday October 28, 1991

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Family Room

8:00 AM

Augusta Longbottom huffed a bit at the wait. She had written to inform Dumbledore of this visit at least three days prior and still her grandson wasn't ready. She knew it wasn't his fault as he was a good child and when informed did his best. Finally, the door opened and the Headmaster entered… sans her grandson.

"What is the meaning of this Dumbledore?!"

"Madam," Albus Wulfric Percival Brian Dumbledore smiled benignly as he entered. "He will be here momentarily. I wanted to speak with you first. I understand that you wish to remove Neville from school for the day and I was hoping to persuade you not to. While he does not have classes on the weekend, this is the beginning of a new week with new assignments. Yet if it is necessary due to some emergency I would hope you could tell me a bit about it so that we may better look out for any reactions once he returns."

Augusta drew herself up, shoulders back. "It is Family Dumbledore. Not yours. Produce the Heir to the Longbottom name forthwith."

Dumbledore sighed softly. "I did so hope you did not believe these rumors. I never intended any harm, merely to reunite a family and provide safety for an orphaned child. However, what you believe is of course your decision. I'm sure Neville is here."

Dumbledore turned and opened the door to see Neville Longbottom in true Pureblood dress standing outside the door. The young boy tilted his head in respect, "Headmaster" before entering the room and bowing to his grandmother. "Grandmother."

"Neville, you look well. Come, we have Family Business to attend." She place her hand on the crooked arm he held out to her and together they walked past the Headmaster and down the hall. Neither spoke as they left the building and exited the grand gates of the school's limit. They walked a little further and stopped.

"You did well, Neville. He is not to be trusted."

"No, Gran. Some in Hufflepuff and Gryffindor still believe in him and some in Ravenclaw think he just miscalculated but all of Slytherin is against him. First and Second year Gryffindor except for one, are against him. At least half the Third years. I'm not sure about the other Houses." Neville reported.

"I see… good to keep track of that. Now, we will be travelling to France. I will side-apparate you to the International Portkey office. It's time to bring your Great Aunt home. Hold fast."

She felt him tighten his grip on her arm and the uncomfortable squeezing and pulling of Apparation. With a harsh breath they appeared in the International Portkey office where a young woman with copper red hair pulled back in one tail stood. Beside her stood a tall man in Auror robes. He stepped forward, his black dragonhide boots clicking on the floor. Two steps away, he stopped, came to attention and bowed. His short dirty blond hair barely moved. "Lady Longbottom, Na-Lord Longbottom. Welcome, I am Hyssop Rogers, I am here to escort you Port Lyons in France to meet the family of the woman known as Marielle Lecroix. Some of the children show magick, so the binding is breaking but with me there to authorize the release from the Statue, there will be no problem. A French Healer will be there to explain in detail why the binding must be broken."

Lady Longbottom nodded. "Thank you, Auror Rogers. Madam Sestras, thank you for locating her and making contact with the family. If we may go, the sooner begun, the better done."

"Of course, Madam." Angeline held out knotted rope. Please take hold." As each person grabbed a note, she intoned the activation word. "Contact."

A pop, then a buffeting of air surrounded them as they travelled, a slight sea tang brushed by them before they landed in a vacant lot between two buildings.

"Bonjour, I am Healer Mesamours. Welcome to France. If we will exit between the doorframe, it will look as if we have exited a building here. Please." A tall slightly plump woman requested. Neville once again held out his arm to his grandmother and together they exited the door, turning around she noticed it looked like a clothing store. Together the group walked down the street and for a few blocks to a residential section. Mesamours stepped forward.

"Number 547, please."

Nodding at her grandson, they walked up and rang the bell. A young man, only a couple years older than Neville, answered the door. Angelique stepped closer. "Anders, boujour. We came as promised."

"Angelique, welcome all. Please the family is in the great room." He stepped aside to let them in and led the way into the family room. "Mama, the Longbottoms are here."

"Welcome, I am Elise and this is my husband Theodore. My aunts Marta and Celeste, my uncle Roberto, he is married to Celeste. They have those four over there Marcus, Celeste, Lise, and Gemma. My mother passed several years ago. I have my son, Anders who you have met, and my other son Josef who is seated over there and my twin daughters Alise and Annabel. My brother Andrew and my other brother Loren."

Augusta nodded. "I am Lady Longbottom, the current head of the Longbottom family. This is my grandson, Neville Longbottom, the heir of the Longbottom family. The young man to my left is Auror Hyssops Rogers and the woman beside him is Healer Mesamours. You already apparently know Madam Sestras."

"Yes, would you like a seat?"

"I would but it would be best if I remain standing for a moment. Has Madam Sestras explained why we are here?"

Yes, it's about my mother, supposedly she was born in 1940, she was adopted in 1941, she died in 1968, after having three children. I was born when she was only 16, in 1956. I had my first child at 19. My brothers do not yet have children."

"I see. It appears that your mother was the child of Oren Longbottom. He was Brother to my husband Alistair. He lived in France and smuggled his child out. Only recently we have discovered who she is. Now for a question of a sensitive nature, my dear. Exactly how long have you been given to live? With your cancer, I mean."

Elise gasped. "I…I…"

"And you brother, both survivors but quite afraid to pass it on to their children. You are wondering how I know this." Augusta whipped out her wand and pointed it to a teapot on the table. A swish and pour a cup of tea. "Lemon, sugar?"

Elise dropped to her knees. "I don't understand."

"During the muggle's Second World War, we too were fighting a war. Us Witches and Wizards, against a Lord Grindlewald. He despised people with no magick, Muggles. In fear for your mother's life, Oren and his wife, Anastasia bound their daughter's magick and allowed her to slip through the crack with the other muggle children, for if a magickal child was found among them, they were taken. This binding was not meant to be permanent. It has disastrous consequences, including cancers. It killed your mother; it will kill all three of you unless we unbind it. You will need to learn to control your magick but better that than dying. Your children already show a weakening of the binding but they too must be unbound or their developing magick will cause their early too. Are you sure you don't wish a cup of tea?"

Tuesday October 29, 1991

Magische Bundesland Österreichs
Palast der Glas-Lilie
Floo Room
1:00 PM

Rene looked at his family; to be sure, people would not believe that they were royalty. Their clothing were neat and clean but typical Healer and Potion robes. In fact Eiche was the only one of them who looked like he was royalty. Laughing softly, he nodded to the elves, who disappeared with the luggage and tossed in the purple powder.

"Wiltshire, Malfoy Manor." And stepped in.

The sensation of falling through purple fire, the almost silent crackling that surrounded him. He leaned forward slightly and let the magick of the powder move him. It seemed like only a few second that lasted years but at the end he was spat out and gracefully landed on his feet wand at the ready.

"Your Majesty, welcome to Malfoy Manor."

Rene nodded and stepped aside. The fire roared, longer this time as one after another twenty more people came through. Rene nodded. "Lord Malfoy, Lady Malfoy, Sen-Lord Malfoy. These are my companions. Zeder and Bach are Master Healers, Lilie and Erle are Journeymen, Eisenhut is a Potions Master, Eiche is the head of our security detachment. Thank you for opening your home to me."

"It is our pleasure." Lucius bowed. "Please we have ordered a light lunch of soup and salad before we escort you to your wing. I do hope you find everything in perfect order."

"I'm sure well will. Madam Sestras mentioned you are a paragon of Dark Virtue and I have heard nothing less than that from others as well. I am pleased to spend Samhain and Yule with you."

"I must remember to thank her for recommending me with such sterling credit." Lucius led the way out of the Floo room, barely noticing, but definitely observing, Eiche's wariness. Dumbledore would not know what to do Thursday night. Keeping him off balance was playing directly into their hands. As they sat down, Lucius raised a glass. "A toast, to Balance."

"To Balance!"