Let's Try Again

Chapter 14: 1998

Meadow House - January 12, 1998

Frank Longbottom was up and getting ready for the day. It had now been over a year since he and Alice were healed. Although their families were wealthy, Frank's more so than Alice's, Frank did miss working.

He looked across the table at his wife and son, he loved them both so much. They had moved to the Meadow home a few months earlier because both Frank and Alice felt that Neville needed to get out of Longbottom Hall. So many bad things had happened there, including the torture of Frank and Alice, and the abuse of their son.

They had allowed distant relatives of Frank's, he thought they were his 5th or 6th cousins, to move in. When they had asked why Frank was willing to allow others to move into his ancestral home, he just said that there were to many bad memories attached to the house, it wasn't his home anymore. It never occurred to them that the memories he was actually speaking about was the abuse of his son, and not what had happened to him and his wife.

After a long talk Frank had decided to return to his job and as an auror. Alice had decided that she wanted to stay home with Neville. They had gotten a mind healer for Neville to help him deal with everything that had happened to him in his short life, but he was still more withdrawn then most kids. Neville preferred to spend his time quietly playing in the greenhouse. Alice just wanted to be there for him if he ever needed her.

Today was the day that Frank had a meeting with Amelia Bones to see if he could return to work. He really hoped he could.

Ministry of Magic, Department of Magical Law Enforcement

Frank walked calmly into his old department. He had once loved working here, and hoped he would again. He was a little concerned when he heard that Rufus Scrimgeour was now the head of the aurors, but it wasn't like he could be worse than Barty Crouch. Plus, Amelia might be able to temper his worst habits.

Knocking on Amelia's door he was invited in. Seeing his old friend he smiled, they had trained together when they had been younger. He was a bit surprised to see that there was a younger man sitting in the office as well. Frank knew that he recognized this man, but he couldn't quite place him.

"Frank, it's so good to see you back in these offices. Allow me to introduce you to Kingsley Shacklebolt, he would have only been a trainee when you... Left." Amelia said, her voice going up a few octaves as she finished her sentence.

Frank smiled reassuringly at her. "Yes I do remember Auror Shacklebolt. It is a pleasure to see you again. And I must admit, I didn't realize just how much I missed this place until I came back in. Although I must admit that I'm a little confused. I thought I was here to discuss maybe getting back to work."

"There's no need for that Frank. You were always one of this offices best. I can already guarantee you that you have a job here, there is just a few things we will need to do. Since you have been out of the game for a while you will need to re-qualify for certain things, like your potion making. Kingsley has agreed to be your 'training officer' until your set to return to the field. Until then, I'm sorry, but you won't be able to work in the field on your own." Amelia told him.

Frank was surprised at just how easy it would be for him to get his job back. Re-qualifying was the least he could do. "That is more than acceptable Amelia. I'm more than happy to work with Auror Shacklebolt."

"Please, call me Kings, everyone does. Since we will be working together, you should see the file of one of the more important cases that I have been working on."

Kings handed Frank the file that they had on what had happened to Sirius. It covered everything, from Sirius's illegal arrest, to his being put into Azkaban without trial, going over his release and the interrogation that they had conducted, and ending with all the different places that Kings had searched. While Frank was going through this Amelia and Kings did a bit of their never ending piles of paperwork.

By the time Frank finished going through the file he was furious. Sirius had been one of his friends, they had been in Gryffindor together, Frank had been the year ahead, but they had still been good friends. Sirius had been arrested the same day as the attack on him and his wife. He knew that if he had been free he and Alice would have contested this. The only thing that was keeping him even semi calm was the fact that Sirius was already free.

After that, Frank had willingly taken an oath not to tell anyone about Sirius, and Kings brought him up to date on all the different leads, or lack there of, in the search for Pettigrew. Frank was more than happy to start hunting down the traitor, especially if it helped him help an old friend. Since Frank would be stuck on desk duty for at least a few weeks until he could take his fitness testing, he would be dismantling Pettigrew's life to see if there was any place that he could hide.

Meadow House

Neville and Alice were just sitting down for dinner when Frank came home. He had sent a message home just after he left telling them that he had been able to get his old job back and would be starting right away. Alice smiled at how happy Frank looked when he came in and greeted them.

The Meadow House was the perfect home in Alice's opinion, they had chosen to call the place Meadow House because that was her maiden name. The house was placed in a rural wooded area. Just a few minutes walk through the woods there was a field of lavender that made the area always have a calming smell. The house itself was a lovely three story, Tudor style house. There were 8 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms, 2 drawing rooms, a formal and informal dining rooms, and much more.

Neville himself had fallen in love with the large garden in the back yard. As soon as his parents had seen how happy he was when he saw the gardens they had arranged to by the home right away. The house had originally been a muggle home, so it had naturally been smaller on the inside, but after hiring a magical architect the inside had been expanded to have everything they wanted.

Frank had gotten permission to speak to Alice about the case, so after Neville had gone to bed and he had gotten Alice to swear a secrecy oath, he explained to her. Alice's reaction was far more volatile than his had been.

Alice was a loyal and loving person, and the idea that her friend had suffered the way he had because of a corrupt ministry infuriated her. It was actually enough for her to change her mind about getting involved in politics.

When they had gone to the bank after Frank banished his mother and uncle they had learned some startling information. Although Alice wasn't in line for the Meadows title, that belonged to one of her distant cousins, she was in line for the Hufflepuff one. She had been stunned by this information, she knew that there ad been rumours that her family was descended from Hufflepuff, but so were many others. She remembered that the Smith family often said that they were the rightful heirs, but they had never taken the title, now she knew why.

The worst thing they had learned was from Neville's test. The amount of potions and curses on him had reduced both parents to tears. How could anyone treat a child like that. He had had to go through a complete purge to get everything out of his system and the blocks off his core.

Originally, Alice had just wanted to stay with her son, so even though she had claimed her title she didn't go into the Wizengamot or the school board. Now she wanted too, but she also didn't want Neville to feel like his parents were abandoning him.

She would have to consider speaking to Lord Peverell Gryffindor.

Fathiye, Turkey - May 14, 1998

It was the day of the girls first birth day, and everyone was happy. After they had left Japan, the family had moved onto a dig site near the Dalyan Lycian rock tombs. The sun and the heat made them all happy, although they were glad that they would be moving on before they got to the height of summer.

The main dig site that the goblins wanted their team to work on was in Peru, but they hadn't gotten permission from the government yet. Until then, they would be bouncing around. They had been in Turkey for 2 months now, and would be moving on to Canada before Hadrian's birthday. The goblins had assured them that they would be able to negotiate access to the site by the next year.

Narcissa, Lucius, Draco, and Lyra had come to celebrate the girls birthdays this year. They had become quite close over the past year. Severus often wished that this is how it could have been for them in the past, if Albus hadn't interfered this might have been his life, surrounded by friends and family that loved him.

Draco and Hadrian had become close friends and often sent letters to each other at least once a week. James was often glad that they had rented the post box from Gringotts because he couldn't imagine the strain it would put on an owl to have to try and keep up with the boys. Now, they would put the letter in the mail box and it would go to the bank, and would than be forwarded to the Malfoy's, and the Malfoy's would send their letters to the bank and the bank would forward them. They had originally tried using the mirrors, but they had caught the boys talking until late in the night, every night, so they had had to take them away.

Leaving behind Oochi had been hard for Hadrian, the snake had been his first friend, but now he had other friends. There were about a dozen children that lived at the dig site in Turkey so he had gotten a chance to try and see if he would be able to make friends, of the human variety. He had been relatively successful, too. There were one or two of the kids that he just couldn't get along with, but the rest he had managed to form friendships with. He was still closest to Draco though, even though he didn't get to see him that much.

Hadrian's behaviour was still concerning to his parents though. He would go back and forth between being extremely mature, and being clingy and scared. James had told the others that there was something about his behaviour that just seemed off.

Draco loved having a sister and cousins, There were still times that he missed being the centre of attention all the time, but he wouldn't change his life for anything. He enjoyed getting to spend time with his shy little cousin, there was something about him that just drew Draco in. Something inside him was telling him that Hadrian could be the best kind of friend, and that they could be like brothers when they grew up. He wanted that, he wanted a friendship like the one his parents had with Hadrian's family.

The year had passed so quickly, and the girls had grown so much. The four little girls that had been so small and helpless last year were proving to be experts in chaos. Lyra, as the eldest, seemed to love to play leader. She had the platinum blonde hair and ice blue eyes that were common in her family. She already looked like an ice princess.

Cassiopeia and Ariadne were beautiful little trouble makers. They both had Sirius's full dark black hair, but it was streaked through with Remus's soft brown. Their eyes, like their hair, was a cross between their two fathers, with Sirius's blue streaked through with Remus's soft hazel green.

But the most troublesome one was little Kali. She was the youngest, but she already seemed to have everyone wrapped around her little finger. Kali had jet black hair, it already showed signs of being the traditional Potter mess. The only way her fathers could think to hide that was to have her grow it out. Her eyes were an extremely dark blue. Originally her eyes had been a dark chocolate brown like Severus's, but like they had done with Hadrian, the four parents had blood adopted each others daughter(s) as an extra layer of protection, and Kali's eyes had taken on hints of Sirius's blue. They had also staged a fake blood adoption of Hadrian by James and Severus for Amelia Bones, Cecilia Perra, and Edward Brown. It would allow the other two men to have legal parental rights as well.

The foursome had already formed a pack of sorts and got extremely upset if one of the girls was taken from their playpen without the others. The parents all knew that they were dealing with a group of female marauders. If they were already like this at only one year old, they shivered at what they would be like as teenagers.

Narcissa was over the moon as she set out everything for the girls birthday party. She loved having a daughter, but there was only so much shopping one could do for one small little girl, but with the other three, she could do even more shopping. Plus she had an amazing son and a sweet nephew. Narcissa had claimed the spot as favourite auntie to all the other children, and it was a role that she adored.

It was after the party had ended and everyone was resting that Severus saw something that caught his eye. There was a group of people going through the dig camp that they were currently living in. They would stop at each animal that they saw, spend a few moments with the animal, before giving them some kind of potion before they moved on. Getting up Severus went to see what they were doing.

"Excuse me, if you don't mind me asking you, what are you doing?" Severus asked one of the men. The bank had issued them all ear cuffs that served as a translation device, allowing them to both be able to understand and speak the languages of wherever they were.

"Not a problem." One of the men said. "There has been a reported outbreak of rabies. We're just checking over the animals. Those that don't show any symptoms, we are giving a vaccine, and those that are already infected we give the cure. It is rather infectious and can be transferred by bite. See, this one here is clearly infected, he actually looks to be fairly far along."

As they had been talking they had walked along and were now standing in front of one of the stray dogs that had made their camp home. The dogs muscles were twitching slightly, and its eyes were wild. The thing that caught his attention most was the way the dog kept attempting to swallow. He had seen that motion before, he just couldn't place it.

"Rabies causes fever, anxiety, difficulty swallowing, confusion, agitation, and even hallucinations. As you can see, he is trying to swallow, but is having a hard time."

Severus watched as the man administered a potion, and then watched as the dog visibly relaxed. He spent a little while talking to the man, getting more information on the potion, before he headed back to his tent.

Hogwarts, School Board Meeting Room - June 4, 1998

James was ready. He had everything he needed, and more, to start getting classes returned to Hogwarts. He also had back up.

Alice Longbottom had written to him earlier in the year and requested that he sit as her proxy on the school board. Everyone had been shocked in March when Frank claimed the proxy of the Hufflepuff house. She was still wary of leaving her son, a feeling that he could understand. But he had convinced her that she should attend the meeting herself.

Having Alice there would help him to gain even more support. Alice and Frank were even more adored by the public than he was, the only one that was more loved was his son. Eventually he had convinced her to come, while Frank took a day off work to stay with Neville.

While James was confident, Alice was terrified. She knew that Neville was completely safe, but she missed him. Then there was having to admit that she was the new Lady Hufflepuff. But as Lord Peverell had reminded her, she was making the school a better place for when Neville started.

Walking into the meeting room she spotted Sebastian right away. He was standing with a man that she knew was the uncle of Frank's partner. Going over to them she smiled slightly.

"Lord Peverell. Lord Shacklebolt, a pleasure to meet you."

"Ah, Lady Longbottom Hufflepuff it is indeed nice to meet you face to face, but I must insist, call me Sebastian." James said, making sure Kensington knew just who they were dealing with.

"What a pleasure to meet you my lady. Please, call me Kensington. I have heard great things from my nephew about your husband. I must say, I was over joyed to hear about your recovery, and the recovery of your husband. I do hope all is well."

Alice smiled. "Thank you Kensington, Sebastian. Pleas call me Alice. I must thank you for all the information you have supplied me with about what will be discussed this meeting Sebastian. I would have been so lost without it."

Before James could say anything the rest of the school governors arrived along with Albus.

Catching sight of Alice, Albus frowned a bit, though it was only noticeable if someone was looking for it. "Alice, my dear girl, what brings you here?"

James laid a hand on Alice's arm stopping her from speaking. "Albus, allow me to introduce you, and everyone else, to our lovely Lady Hufflepuff."

Albus froze. Lady Hufflepuff. He had known that Frank claimed the proxy of Hufflepuff, but it had never occurred to him that it would be Alice. Thinking about it, he thought he would be able to make this work for him.

Everyone was muttering as they sat down and started the meeting. For once, James didn't wait before he cut in. As soon as they finished with the minutes from December he called their attention.

"As we have already said, we need to bring Hogwarts back up to par with the rest of the world. I know we all agreed that we would look into the standards the ICW has set and the different courses that we are missing. I figured we would discuss subject by subject to see what everyone thinks."

Carson Blishwick was the first to speak. "Something I think we need to discuss is muggle studies. I have looked over the textbook and found it to be quite lacking. I have to deal with muggles in my businesses of apothecaries. And I can tell you that that book is at least a few decades behind. They talked about how the muggles were in the process of developing a new device known as a microwave. But I personally know that the microwave was invented in the 1940's. And that was the last advancement that they spoke of. If you only relied on that class you would think muggles stopped advancing in the 40's but that isn't true. They are much further along."

The room melted down into chaos at this. Muggle studies was one subject that was oddly controversial. Those of the darker faction wanted the class completely removed, while those that supported Albus wanted it to stay just how it was.

James sat back and watched for a while thinking that he couldn't have asked for a better place to start. Clearing his throat he caught everyones attention, he loved being able to do that, it was good to be powerful.

"I agree with Carson. Muggles are far more advanced then what is taught in the muggle studies class. As far as I'm concerned it is actually a danger to the statute of secrecy. Anyone that uses what they learned in that class would be spotted right away.

Now, I understand that many feel that we should be teaching our students to be witches and wizards, not muggles. I actually also agree with that too, but with some caveats. We need the muggle studies class because it teaches our children how to hide, but I feel that we also need a wizards study course to teach about our society.

So I suggest a compromise. We update the muggle class, and add a wizarding class for counter balance."

"Now, my boy. Surely you understand that we need to show the muggleborn acceptance. We need to unite our students, not divide them. If we brought in a class that taught about how the magical society is better than the muggles we would be guilty of that bigotry you are always bringing up." Albus said. There was no way he wanted a wizard study class in his school. He didn't want the muggleborn to know all about the wizarding world.

"Now Albus, that isn't what he said, you are taking everything he said out of context." Alice admonished. "I agree with Sebastian. We should have both. Our children need to know how to get around in the muggle world just as much as the muggleborn students need to learn how to get along in our world.

We are not muggles, and we should not have to act like we are. I am a witch, and I am proud of that fact. Many muggleborns that I went to school with ended up going back to the muggle world because they didn't understand this world. We need to teach the muggleborns about our society so that they can understand their heritage."

"I never figured you to support the ideals of the death eaters Alice." Molly said, a disgusted look on her face.

"I don't. I support the magical world. We are witches, not muggles. And that is not something we should be ashamed of. The muggleborns are coming into our world. They should be learning how to adapt to our world not try to force our world to adapt to them. Sebastian and I are not saying that we should make them feel inferior, because they are not, but we should be teaching them how to be apart of our society."

The topic was debated for a while longer before a vote was called. By numbers it was close, but it actually wasn't. The fact that both Alice and James supported the idea of updating muggle studies and introducing a wizard studies course meant that it would pass regardless.

They continued on discussing the classes. By the end of the debate they had ended up changing what to do with the two classes that they had already agreed too. It was decided that muggle and wizard studies were far to important for them not to be taught to the younger years. After much discussion it was arranged that the two classes would be combine, but would start to be taught in first year. This would give all the students an overview of both worlds.

Next up was Corbin Yaxley. He proposed that they also include a class that would cover the magical religions. This managed to set off an even larger argument. When James glanced over at Alice, he saw that she was just as exasperated as he was.

Eventually James decided he had had enough of the arguing. It wasn't even a real argument. Those on the dark side gave reasons for reintroducing different magical religions, while Albus and his followers went on about how they needed to keep the children safe from the dark.

"Excuse me, if I may. I think this is another thing that we could compromise on. There are many magical schools in Asia that teach a class called comparative religion. They spend the first half of the year focusing on different muggle religions, and the other half on magical religions. The courses are meant to give a basic overview of each religion and specifically designed to ensure that the students aren't pushed an any specific direction, the choice of religion, or even any religion, is left up to them."

Albus, Molly and Ted tried to make up excuses about how they didn't want to bring religion into the school when Kensington put a stop to that.

"Oh, don't even try that route. I know for a fact that you have made special arrangements and exemptions for the students that practice muggle religion. If you are ok with allowing muggle religions than you can't say that the students can't practice magical religions. A comparative religions course would be a good idea."

Again a vote was called, and again it passed. Like with the muggle/wizard studies class it was an important topic, but they didn't want to force students to study religion if they didn't want too. In the end it was decided that the class would be made available for every year, with the upper years focusing more on the specific religions, but it would be completely voluntary. The class would take place for an hour every Saturday afternoon. James was thrilled. He honestly had only expected to manage to get one new class approved, and now he had two. The plan was to move slowly, they didn't want to make Albus feel that he had been backed into a corner, it would have caused him to react irrationally.

James would have been content with only the two classes for this meeting, as it was nearing the end of their allotted time when Kensington spoke up again. "One of the things that I looked into was the decline in the true understanding of what magic is. One of the things that made me notice this was the fact that some people don't understand how people have different types of cores, and they don't understand how that isn't something that they could control. Another thing is the people getting in trouble for stupid little things. In the trials at the Wizengamot, many give their reasoning for breaking certain laws as that they didn't know it was against the law. I feel that we should bring back a magical theory class that was originally removed after I finished school, and a magical law class, although I am not exactly certain when that class was cancelled because I have no record of us cancelling it. I know that the reasoning given for canceling the magical theory class was due to lack of funds, that is not an issue anymore."

This time, James didn't even bother to speak. He felt that he had made his position pretty clear by now. Instead he chose to just let them yell at each other for a while, the classes were going to be approved either way. The debate, if it could be called that, lasted for almost a full hour before Alice finally had enough.

"Enough. Honestly, you are acting like children fighting over a toy. No, forgive me, children would be more mature than you are all currently being. You have all said your piece. So, now we vote. There is no need to sit here yelling at each other all night. We vote on each class and go from there."

James smiled at Alice as she sat back in her seat, glaring at the others around the table. The vote was called, and both new classes were passed.

After a far more civilized debate, Alice kept giving anyone that started to raise their voice the patented disapproving mother look, except for Molly, nothing on earth could make that woman act like a grown up when she wasn't getting her way, the meeting was called to a close. They had agreed that the magical theory would be taught to all years, while the magical law would be an optional class starting for third years.

Before everyone could leave, James asked to speak to Alice for a moment. They decided to walk to hogsmead and apperate from there rather than floo. Sirius had suggested that they invite Neville and his parents for Hadrian's birthday. Neville had been born the day before Hadrian. They hoped that the two boys would be friends.

On the walk down James spoke in generalities. Alice knew that Sebastian Peverell was the one that had arranged Sirius's freedom, so when he said that a mutual friend was hoping to be able to see her, she knew who he was talking about. Alice really wanted to see her old friend so she agreed to meet him at the bank the next week.

Albus walked into his office, unlike the previous few times he didn't throw anything. He was completely numb with shock. There was no way this was happening.

All the work he had done to skillfully remove all those classes without anyone noticing or trying to stop him, and it was all for nothing. He was going to be forced to bring the classes back now. And he would probably be forced to bring back more classes over the next few years. He was extremely glad that the school bylaws only allowed for two board meetings a year, it would give him time, hopefully, to try and find ways around adding the new classes.

That was another thing that bothered him. His side had come prepared. Even Molly had properly prepared for this meeting, there just wasn't any credible information that supported what he wanted.

"Albus?" When he looked up he saw that Minerva and Andromeda had already joined him and the others and they all had tea and biscuits, curtesy of Molly, no doubt.

"Sorry, my mind seems to have wandered." Albus sighed.

"Albus, that man is ruining everything. And I can't even begin to understand Alice. She above all should know how evil the dark is." Molly screeched in her shrill voice.

"Alice?" Minerva was confused. "Alice Longbottom? What does she have to do with any of this."

"It turns out that Alice Longbottom is the new Lady Hufflepuff." Ted said to his wife and his former transfiguration teacher.

"What did she do?" Minerva asked.

"She supported that man and is helping to force the school to start teaching dark classes." Molly screeched.

Minerva and Andromeda looked to Albus, waiting for him to tell them what had happened in the meeting, he put a lemon drop in his mouth and started to speak. "Actually, we can't really blame Sebastian. Yes, he was the one that brought up the lack of classes, but he wasn't the one that brought up the specific classes. I was surprised, but he seemed to serve as almost... A moderating influence.

If it had been left up to the darker governors, they would have tried to remove muggle studies, and only taught magical religions. Sebastian managed to force them to accept the continued teaching about muggles, I do wish that we didn't have to update the material from that class, plus there is the religion class that will now teach muggle religions. The children that practice muggle religions are far more understanding about how we need to get rid of the darker influences in our world."

"He didn't even speak during the debate of the magical theory or law classes. And Alice only spoke on those when she told the rest of us off for yelling at each other." Ted added. He knew that they would be better served by playing nice with Alice and Sebastian. Those weren't the kind of people he wanted to make enemies of.

They spent the next hour going round and round in circles. They all took turns complaining about the new classes that they were going to have to start teaching. In Ted's mind, it served as more of a therapy session, than a problem solving session. They didn't manage to find a way around anything. Eventually, Andromeda turned the discussion around to something else.

"So, Albus. Have you heard anything from Severus lately. Is there anyway he could give us some hints on where Sebastian is getting his information."

"I haven't heard from him lately. His last letter, from November, was just the same old thing. He's doing well, and to look at past plans. I really don't think he can say anymore. I've been speaking to Filius about what an act of silence entails. From what he's told me, the fact that Severus has even managed to write as much as he has is apparently a miracle. Fillius said that he wont be able to tell us anything. We will just have to wait. There's only 3 years left before he returns, and than he might be able to tell us more. There really isn't anything we can do until then. I know it's hard, but we will just have to pretend that we're happy with the changes. Once Severus is back, I can get the information he has gathered on Sebastian and we can start fixing things then."

"With the act, will he be able to tell us about what he learned?" Ted was a lawyer. He knew just how strict goblin contracts could be. He really didn't understand why Albus hadn't brought the contract to him before telling Severus to sign it.

"I'm not sure. We will just have to wait and see." Albus really did hope that Severus would be able to tell him something. Or at least explain what he meant by past plans. He could tell that Severus was frustrated that he hadn't done anything about the past plans that Severus kept telling him to check, the letters were getting fewer and fewer and more frustrated.

Everyone argued for a while about Severus and his loyalties until Albus shut them all up and sent everyone away. He really was starting to hate school board meetings.

Gringotts - June 13, 1998

Alice, Frank and Neville arrived at the bank and one of the tellers showed them to one of the banks private meeting rooms. Sitting in the room was Sebastian Peverell and Sirius.

Alice dashed over to hug her old friend. She was so glad to see that he wasn't just safe, he clearly looked healthy and happy. Sirius looked better than she had ever seen him. He was nicely tanned, and his body looked fit and strong.

"Good to see you again Ally, Frank. And it's nice to meet you properly Neville. I don't know if your parents would have told you, but I used to babysit you from time to time when you were a baby." Sirius had gone down on one knee so that he was eye to eye with the small boy.

Neville was peaking around his dad's legs. He was still very scared of strangers, but from what the man had just said, he wasn't a stranger. Calling up his bravery, Neville mumbled a shy hi.

They all went to sit around the table. Neville was placed between his parents, he felt like a big boy because he got to sit at the table with all the adults. After a quick discussion Frank and Alice swore a secrecy oath and Neville was placed under a secrecy spell, like Draco. Sirius had made sure to explain the spell step by step, and what it would do, to Neville before he cast it. He could see how nervous the boy was and didn't want to scare him anymore.

Ever since the Longbottom's had recovered, Sirius and the others had discussed whether to allow them to know about James or not. With how Alice had supported James in the board meeting, plus the secrecy vow they had already taken, it had been decided to bring them in on the secret.

So Ragnock, cast the spell that would allow the Longbottom family to see through the glamour on James. That had been one of the best parts of the goblin designed glamour. Only the goblin that cast the original glamour could allow others to see through it.

Alice immediately jumped up, and practically flew over the table, before she was hugging the life out of James. Frank could only smile at his old friend, too happy to even move. Eventually, after Alice stopped crying and calmed down, they explained to a scared Neville that the man on the other side of the table was his godfather. Frank and Alice had named James Neville's godfather when Neville had only been a few weeks old. Neville and Hadrian had initially been extremely close as infants.

This brought another question to the front of Alice's mind. "Where's Hadrian?"

The next hour was spent explaining all about what had happened up until this point. Once again, like with the Malfoy's, it had been decided to leave out the time travel part. They covered what Lily and Dumbledore had done, how Hadrian was abused, and how they had received a message from the future and how that had brought them all together. Frank and Alice added the information about what had happened to Neville, who was now napping in his mothers lap, they all knew that Augusta listened to Dumbledore.

When the meeting ended, Alice and Frank were completely on their side. They were also going to come for the week around Neville and Hadrian's birthday. The family was currently living south of Vancouver in British Columbia, Canada.

The Burrow - July 1, 1998

The way that the days fell on the calendar this year, the last exams had been on the 26th of June, allowing the students to leave on the 27th. Because of that, the three elder Weasley boys had been home for 3 days now.

Charlie had already returned to the River Run Nature Preserve, and Percy was practically living in the library. Bill was waiting for his NEWT results.

Two days before he had gone to the ministry to take the Extra NEWTs that he needed to get his dream job, as a curse breaker. He had spoken to his tester and been told that his results would all come together and should arrive on July 1.

While the fifth year students would have to wait until almost August for their OWL results, NEWTs came out at the beginning of the summer so that the newly graduated students could start applying for jobs. Charlie was going to have to wait for almost a month for his OWL results to arrive.

Bill was sitting at the breakfast table waiting for his results. It was still early enough that both Percy and Charlie were there, the twins were up and ready to congratulate their older brother, and there parents were both sitting and waiting. The only members of the family that were missing were Ron and Ginny, both had wanted to sleep in.

When a ministry owl flew in Bill took a deep breath and removed the scroll. Breaking the seal he opened his results. Skipping over all the formal stuff, he looked to his results.

He received O's in charms, defence against the dark arts, potions, history, arithmancy, ancient runes, and warding. EE's in transfiguration, herbology, spell crafting, and latin. A's in astronomy, care of magical creatures, spell weaving, and french.

Bill let out a sigh of relief. He had managed to do it. He had the grades he needed to apply to be a curse breaker. The plan was for him to go to the bank today with his results and fill out his application.

Looking to his family he announced his results. He only mentioned the available courses at the school, he wasn't about to announce that he had self studied classes and taken the exams on his own. Percy had already started self studying and Bill didn't want to do or say anything that would cause Molly to pay more attention to the extra classes.

While everyone was congratulating him, the twins set off one of their pranks. Bells and whistles sounded in the kitchen and they were all covered in glitter and streamers. Flashing letters spelled out 'Congratulations Bill'. Molly started scolding the twins while all the others laughed. Charlie and Percy pulled out a french vanilla cream cake, Bill's favourite, that they had picked up on there way home the day before.

Molly scolded them almost non stop as the boys all cut themselves a slice of cake for breakfast. Finally Arthur interrupted.

"Enough Molly. It's a special occasion. Let the boys have a little fun. It isn't every day that anyone achieves results like Bill's."

That was all that was said on the subject. Molly sat down in a huff. When Molly tried to make them save half the cake for Ron and Ginny no one listened. Charlie pointed out that if they had wanted cake then they should have gotten up to celebrate with their brother. If they didn't care enough about their brother to get up to support him, then why should they care that they didn't get cake. Molly just glared at them when Arthur voiced his support. There was no need to save half the cake, if there was any left then they could have it.

Fred and George knew that it was a little mean, but they made sure that there wasn't any left. They both took pieces that were larger than they necessarily needed. Maybe if Ron and Ginny learned they had missed out on cake because they didn't care to be there for their brother, they might start thinking about someone other then themselves. It wasn't likely, but it was worth a try.

When Ron and Ginny finally got up around noon, long after all the others had left, the twins made sure to mention about how it was to bad that they had missed out on cake since they hadn't been up. Rather than using it as a learning experience, Molly made them both their own cakes. The twins just rolled their eyes and went to the Lovegood's.

Bill was both excited and nervous as he entered the bank. What if they didn't like him? What if he had gotten the qualifications he needed wrong? What if professor Snape had been lying to him?

Pushing all his worries aside he approached one of the desks and explained why he was there. He was quickly led into one of the back offices. Sitting down he spoke with a goblin about how he wanted to apply to be a curse breaker. The goblin was very blunt when he pointed out that they generally didn't take students from Hogwarts due to their low standards and missing classes. Bill was glad that he had spent so much time studying. Handing over his test results he told the goblin that he had been self studying to make up for what Hogwarts lacked.

The goblin was momentarily surprised by his results, and Bill felt a slight bit of pride in that fact. Eventually the goblin explained what he would need to do. To become a full fledged curse breaker he would need to take a 6 month course at the bank, then he would need to complete a 2 year apprentice ship with another curse breaker. He would only get the apprenticeship if he passed the first 6 months of tests and one of the other curse breakers was willing to take him on, if none of the curse breakers wanted to work with him then he would have to reapply the next year, and do it all again. Accepting this, Bill filled out the application. If it was approved he would start his training the next day.

Arriving home that night, Bill prepared for a fight. He knew that his mother wanted him to join the ministry, but he had no intention of working there. He was meant to be a curse breaker, and he knew it.

Sitting down for dinner they all started to serve themselves when Molly sent Bill a smile and started talking.

"Bill dear, how was your day? Did you fill out your application with the ministry? Which department did you apply too."

All the older children and Arthur drew in a breath before they started to eat quickly. They knew this was going to make Molly flip, and they didn't want to be stuck there. Bill just smiled and slowly started to eat.

"I didn't apply at the ministry."

"WHAT?" Molly shrieked. "You said that you were going to apply for work today. You need to get a job."

"I did apply for a job." Bill said. "It just wasn't at the ministry."

"What do you mean it wasn't at the ministry?" Molly almost snarled. "You need to work at the ministry, it's your dream."

"No, it's your dream." Bill was making sure to take a few bites between each answer so that he could finish his meal quickly enough that he could escape when he needed too.

"Well where else would you apply. Everyone knows that anyone who wants to be anything works for the ministry." Ron put in, food flying from his overstuffed mouth.

Molly smiled proudly at her youngest son. "Exactly right Ronnie. Really Bill, just where do you think you could get a decent job."

Bill just raised an eyebrow at his mother. "I applied at Gringotts. I'm going to be a curse breaker."

"William Arthur Weasley. What are you thinking? That is no job for a son of mine. I absolutely forbid it." Molly jumped up as she shouted at him.

Bill stayed perfectly calm, on the outside. On the inside he was fuming at the woman that called herself his mother. Before he could say anything Arthur stepped in. He was furious at his wife for how she was treating their son.

"Molly Weasley. Don't you dare speak to him that way. You have no control over what job Bill applies for. He is a legal adult, and can therefore do as he pleases. He also has my complete support."

Molly turned on him. "I will not have him in my house. If he wants to remain under my roof then he will stop this foolishness and go and apply at the ministry tomorrow."

"Your roof. This is my roof. I am the one who earns all the money. I pay for the roof over our head, I pay for the food we eat, and the clothes we wear. As long as I am the head of this family Bill will be more than welcome in this house. I honestly don't understand what is going on with you, but this isn't the woman I married. Now, we are going to sit down, eat our dinner, and enjoy our evening. Bill worked hard to achieve his grades, and if being a curse breaker is what he wants, then he will receive our full support. If you can't support him, then you will keep it to yourself." With that, Arthur sat down and returned to eating his dinner.

The older children were all shocked, and proud of their father. Ginny was upset that he had spoken to her mommy like that, and Ron was too busy eating to really know what was going on.

Everyone finished their meals before heading off to do what they normally did in the evening. Molly didn't bother to finish her meal, she just sat and fumed as she watched the others. She knew she needed to do something. Once everyone was gone Molly flooed to Hogwarts.

Headmasters Office

"Albus. Albus. Are you here?"

Albus and Minerva looked up from the plans they had been working on in the library section of his office when they heard Molly's screeching voice. Looking over the railing from the upper level of his office, they saw Molly.

"I am here Molly. Minerva and I were just working on a plan for next year. What can we do for you?" Albus said, his eyes twinkling.

"It's Bill. That foolish boy isn't doing what he's supposed to do."

"What has the boy done?" Albus asked.

"He has applied to work as a curse breaker at Gringotts." Molly shrieked in exasperation.

"What? But he said he was thinking about the ministry like we wanted him too." Minerva said. She had worked hard to make Bill want to join the ministry.

"Well, he didn't. When he went out this morning to apply for a job I assumed that that was what he was going to do, but he went to the bank instead. And Arthur won't hear a word about it. He actually yelled at me." That fact made Molly furious. Maybe it was time to up the love potions.

"From everything that I learned about being a curse breaker after Severus joined it will be almost impossible for him to pass. Given the classes that we offer, and the ones we don't, he will likely fail out of the basic training fairly quickly. Once that happens we can send him to the ministry. I'll tell him that I spoke to a few people to make him feel like I've done him a favour. It should work out in our favour." Albus said, already reworking his plans. This could actually work out in his favour.

"How long is the basic training." Minerva asked. She was still miffed that that boy didn't listen to her.

"It's 6 months. After that he would need to apprentice for 2 years. The only reason Severus didn't have to do all that was because he already had a mastery. For Bill, if by some miracle he does manage to pass basic training I will just write Severus. I'll tell him to make sure none of the curse breakers he has met agree to work with the boy. It shouldn't be hard if he tells them some made up stories about how horrible the boy was in school." Albus told the two women.

They talked for a little while longer, placating Molly.

Nature Preserve, River Run Alley - July 17, 1998

Charlie was both happy and sad. He loved working at the preserve, or The Bubble as it was called by the locals on River Run. But today wasn't a good day.

The Bubble got its nickname from its appearance. There wasn't enough room for a full size nature preserve if they built it like the muggles built things. Instead, there were over a dozen glass domes that had been expanded with space expansion spells. Each dome was 25 km². This gave them plenty of room to create different habitats for all the creatures that were housed inside.

There was an elderly acromantula, named Bernard, that had lived in The Bubble for over three decades. But today, Bernard was dying. He had lived a long full life, he was almost 200, but it was still hard for everyone that worked at The Bubble. They would miss the grumpy old spider. There was also the fact that they would now be missing an acromantula.

That morning Charlie had gone to his boss and told him that he knew where an entire nest of acromantula lived. He had been sneaking into the Forbidden Forest since his first year and he had seen Hagrid going in to check on his old friend. When he explained this to his boss, the man had been surprised. Northern Scotland wasn't their natural environment, and would actually cause the spiders to die early. He had requested that Charlie go and visit Hagrid and see if he would be willing to help them move the entire nest into the preserve. Now he just had to get Hagrid to agree.

It was easy enough for Charlie to floo into Hogsmead and walk up to the school. He was surprised that the gate wasn't even locked. Charlie walked up to Hagrid's hut and knocked.

"Ah, Charlie. What brings ya by. Its summ'r ya should be out enjoyin' yer time off." Hagrid had always liked Charlie.

"Hagrid." Charlie smiled at the boisterous, childlike man. "I was hoping you could help me with something. If you could follow me, it would be great."

Hagrid readily agreed and they walked down towards the floo area talking about the care of magical creatures class. They flooed directly into the main office of The Bubble.

"Was' this place Charlie?"

"This is The Bubble. I'm surprised you don't know, I figured you would move in here if you could. I've been working here since last year."

Hagrid was surprised. "I was al'ways told that it was just a group of small bubbles, only a lil' bigger than my home."

"From the outside they are. But the entire place is covered in space expansion charms. This is just one of them, there are 11 others that are just as big."

"Wow. I nev're knew. So, what is it ya wanted me to come here fer?"

Charlie led him into the room next to where they were keeping Bernard, so that they could see him through a glass wall, but not invade his space. He knew this was going to be hard for Hagrid to see, he was just to kind.

"Hagrid. This is Bernard."

"Wa's wrong wit him?" There were already tears forming in his eyes.

"He's dying Hagrid." Charlie had to grab Hagrid to stop him from trying to get to the spider to coddle him like a baby.

"Let go Charlie. We need ta help 'im."

"There's nothing we can do Hagrid. It's his time. He's almost 200 years old."

"But... Everyt'ing I've heard 'bout acromantula's says they only live to 100, max?"

"In the wild, yes. But, Bernard has been here since The Bubble opened 30 years ago, and he was at the preserve before that one since he was an adolescent. If you look closely you'll see that one of his mandibles is missing. He lost it in a territorial fight a long time ago. If he hadn't been found by one of the beast handlers on a trip, he would have died a long time ago. He wouldn't have been able to hunt and eat properly. The staff here have been providing him with food he can eat properly for decades."

"If we's can't be doin anything, why'd ya bring me here?"

"Well, I know that you have been hiding a family of acromantula in the forest Hagrid. We were hoping that you would be willing to help us move them here."

Hagrid started to fidget. "Now, Charlie. Pl'es don't be tellin' anyone 'bout Aragog. They'd kill 'im."

"You don't need to worry about anyone hurting Aragog here. Acromantulas were classified as an at risk species a few years ago. It's against the law to hurt them. We wanted to bring them here to ensure they were protected. Without Bernard there is an open section."

"But tha' room is way to small for Aragog an' his kids."

"That room isn't the acromantula section. They're just keeping him in there because they have filled the room with a vaporized pain potion so he doesn't have to feel any pain. The section he used to live in is actually a 5 km² forested area. It's kept at the right temperature and prey animals are added whenever the are needed."

"Well tha' sounds nice, but I don' want 'im to think I'm getting rid of 'im. I've had 'im since he was just newly hatched."

"Hagrid, you wouldn't be abandoning him, you would be saving him. The environment of Scotland isn't one that helps acromantula grow. Living where he does now, his life expectancy is practically being cut in half. Not to mention how many of his children have been lost to the fights with the centaurs. Besides, you would be more than welcome to visit whenever you wanted too."

"I could?" Hagrid sounded extremely hopeful about this. He loved Aragog and wanted him to be somewhere safe.

"Of course Hagrid. If anyone could understand your love for your pets, it's the people that work here."

With Hagrid agreeing, Charlie took him to show him the area that would become Aragog's. When they walked into the forested section Hagrid notice something that looked like a log and was covered in goo.

"Wha's this?"

Charlie looked over to see what had caught his attention. "Oh, that. Well, the goo is a mixture of different kinds of sugars and nutrients that help to maintain a healthy system for the acromantula. The special part of it is that when it is bitten, not only does it taste good and gives them much needed nutrients, it also milks a little bit of their venom. It doesn't hurt them at all, but it helps the preserve. See, this place isn't funded by the government or anything, it operates on donations and any money it earns on its own. To help fund it, they often sell different products.

Every time the log is bitten a small amount of venom is collected, it's then sold for potions ingredients. There is a heard of unicorns that are old or injured in some way that live in one of the other bubbles. The staff groom them and anything like mane or tail hair, or chips from their hooves are collected and sold. A lot of the creatures here create valuable items just by being here. None of it is forcefully taken, nor are the creatures harmed in any way. That's one of the most important rules here. Anything that we get must be freely given."

"So, none of them is hurt?"

"Nope. If you want, we can wander around and I can show you some of what happens here. If you like it then we can move Aragog and his family here so they can be kept safe."

Charlie spent the rest of the day showing Hagrid around. Hagrid found everything fascinating. Charlie knew that soon enough they would have an entire nest of acromantula to look after. And Hagrid would probably try to move in.

Vancouver, Canada - August 1, 1998

The week before Neville and Hadrian's birthdays the Longbottom's arrived to visit. Lucius and Narcissa had also come with their two children. It was a good thing that Lucius had insisted that they get their own tent or their wouldn't be room for everyone. The Malfoy's and Longbottom's took up residence in the tent that Lucius had custom ordered.

Remus and the others had taken great joy in mocking Lucius for his desire to out do everyone with his tent. The tent even came accompanied with the rare albino peacocks Lucius bred. Everyone had a good laugh at him, even Lucius.

Like it had been with Hadrian, Draco took to Neville right away. He really did seem to like looking after his friends, which helped as both boys tended to be on the shy side. Draco was always paying attention to the two of them so he was able to make them feel comfortable before they even realized that they felt something was wrong.

Alice had at first been wary of having the Malfoy's around. After all, it was Narcissa's sister that had tortured her and her husband. Narcissa had apologized first thing and the two women were quickly building a friendship. It was when she saw how Draco was with Neville that she fully relaxed. There was no way someone could raise a son like that if they were as awful as rumours made the Malfoy family out to be. She loved spending her days watching her son play with the other children while she got to play with the girls.

When Alice had first seen the newly dubbed Fierce Foursome she had been so excited. She, like everyone else, fell completely in love with the four little girls.

The entire week had been great. Every one had fun and relaxed. Some days they even went out on a boat so that they could watch the Orca's. There was a pod of about 20 Orca's that resided in the area and all of the children were fascinated by them. The adults were fascinated too, but they were trying to act like it didn't faze them.

One of the things that made it nice and relaxing for Alice was that she didn't have to deal with the mail. Ever since the school board meeting she had had to deal with almost daily letters from Molly Weasley trying to set up playdates for Neville, Ron, and Ginny. Alice had thought that it would be a nice idea at first and had agreed the first time.

Unfortunately it was a total nightmare. Alice was a naturally nice person, but there was no other way to put it, Ron was a brat, and Ginny was no better. Ron had spent the entire two hours pushing Neville around. He was a mean bully. Ginny whined every time she didn't get her way. The only time she had seen Neville smile the entire time was when the twins had come to visit, but Molly had run them off quickly after Ron had gone crying to her that they were being mean to him.

Molly hadn't been any easier to deal with. It had been clear that she was attempting to try and get Alice to agree with her and Albus about what to do on the school board. She wasn't very subtle. Molly had gone on and on about teaching the children about how evil the dark is so that they would choose the light. Alice had had a pounding headache within the first 20 minutes. When they had gotten home two hours later, Alice had promised Neville that they wouldn't do something like that again.

While at the Weasley's, Neville had been so withdrawn, now he was open and expressive. Alice smiled as she watched the three 8 year old boys break down laughing. Her Neville was finally coming out of his shell, she was so glad.

Neville finally got his laughter under control, he glanced over to where he knew his parents were sitting. He was so glad that they were happy with their friends. This week had been one of the best of his life. After everything his gran had told him he never thought he would have friends. But he really thought that Draco and Hadrian could be his friends. They were much nicer than that other boy, Ron, or the girl,Ginny, had been.

These were the kind of friends that he wanted. Hadrian was calm and encouraged him to speak his mind. Draco, though a bit louder, encouraged both him and Hadrian to try new things and take a few risks. They both made him feel safe and happy. He had heard that Hadrian had been abused like he had when they were at the meeting, he didn't know how badly because the adults hadn't given any specifics, but he knew it was bad by how upset his mum had been. He saw how Hadrian behaved and was willing to try new things without fear of being hurt again, and that was how Neville wanted to be. The best part was that they didn't try and force him, they just seemed to accept him for who he was. Ron had spent their entire play date telling him what to do and how to be, and Ginny had just whined.

The children had all loved having two different parties, with two different cakes, in two days. The sugar high they had all been on had made it almost impossible for their parents to get them all to bed.

Despite how difficult it was to get them to bed, the boys were surprisingly attentive in their lessons. Since the British wizarding world didn't have any primary schools, the children were taught at home by there parents most of the time. Since they weren't on a traditional school schedule all three families had decided to continue teaching the children year round. It would help them do well when they started at Hogwarts. One thing that would surprise many in the wizarding world was that the Malfoy family taught their son muggle subjects. Math, writing, science, chemistry, history, and biology, were the main muggle subjects that they wanted the boys to learn.

They would focus on the basics of magical theory, history, potions, runes, occlumency, latin, rituals, and the basic outlines of spells they would learn. None of the children had wands yet, and wouldn't even get a training wand until they were 10. The reason that children didn't start at Hogwarts until the year they turned 11 was because that was when their core was open enough for them to have access to power. If a child tried to force their magic to react to soon it would weaken them, and if they pushed too hard it could rupture their core. A child's training wand had limiters on it to keep the magic under control, the most powerful spell that could be cast was a lumos. It was really just to get the child used to holding and manipulating a wand.

Neville was a little further behind because Augusta hadn't seen a use in actually teaching him. But, with the help of his new friends he was quickly catching up. Remus, who was Hadrian's primary teacher, managed to make learning a game for the boys so they liked learning.

Alice and Frank decided that they needed to encourage the friendship between the boys. They liked the changes they were already seeing in their son. He had recovered a great deal from the abuse already, but he seemed to have gotten much better in just the few short days they had been there.

When Lucius and Narcissa started visiting more often they had gone to the goblins. The goblins had rented them a permeant portkey that was tied to the tent rather than a location, so that the Malfoy's could just go straight to the tent. Since they preferred to keep their dig sites secret the goblins had insisted that the Malfoy's signed a secrecy contract. It had worked out to benefit Lucius. Severus had explained about how he used a goblin contract to get rid of his mark, so Lucius negotiated the secrecy contract so that it would remove his mark. Lucius was now free from that binding, and a better man for it.

Both Frank and Alice were more than willing to pay for a portkey and too sign a contract. Having the portkey would allow them to visit as often as they liked, something that thrilled Neville and the other boys. They all knew that Hadrian wouldn't be safe if he returned to Britain yet, so it was better for them to go to him.

While the children were playing, Severus was going over some of the information he had gathered. They had picked this area to stay because it was close to the Xa:ytem site. This particular site showed evidence of an established Salish settlement that dated as far back as 3000BCE.

Sites like this were extremely rare. The natives of North America had worshiped and respected the earth. They didn't build extravagant monuments like many other cultures, instead they prided themselves on the ability to live in an area for generations without leaving a trace behind. Because of their respect of nature it was hard to find any extensive evidence of how they lived their lives.

Severus was going over one of the only texts that had been found from the area. The document was on what the Salish people called the children of the moon. Severus believed that they were talking about what they now called werewolves, but it wasn't matching up.

The original children of the moon were described as being able to change into a wolf at will. They were revered for their enhanced strength and long life. Although they did change under the light of the full moon, there was no mention of them losing their minds to it.

Werewolves like Remus were unable to change at will. Although they were stronger, they tended to prematurely age. There was also the full blown insanity when the moon came up. Remus was always in pain for a few days before and after each shift.

As Severus sat and pondered how they were different everything snapped into place. He remembered being younger and seeing Remus in his wolf form. Pettigrew had used polyjuice to pretend to be Sirius and had sent him to the Shrieking Shack. Although, he hadn't known it was actually Pettigrew that had tried to kill him at the time. But one of the things he remembered clearest was the madness in the wolf's eyes, and the way it kept swallowing. He thought of the dog he had seen in Turkey.

After he had seen the dog he had looked into rabies. He had found out about how it was transferred through bite, just like lycanthropy. It cause so many symptoms that were synonymous with werewolves. Plus, he already knew that the disease could jump species. What if it had somehow been transferred to the wolves.

This was something he was going to have to look into.

He also had to think about the letter he had received from Dumbledore. Dumbledore had written him to inform him that Bill Weasley had started his training at Gringotts. Dumbledore wanted him to shoot down Bill's chances of getting an apprenticeship. He wanted him to tell others that Bill was a slacker that had a temper. Severus wasn't going to do it.

Severus had been writing letters to Dumbledore since he left. He made sure that Dumbledore wouldn't get any real value from the letters, but if Dumbledore ever questioned his loyalties later he would be able to point to the letters and say he had tried. They were just going to need to take a different approach when they arranged for Bill's apprenticeship.

Vancouver, Canada - August 17, 1998

Two weeks after the double birthday parties everyone was sitting and relaxing after dinner when Kreacher popped in. The old elf was practically bouncing and smiling, something Sirius would have sworn the old elf didn't know how to do.

"Master Regulus is waking, Master Regulus is waking."

Everyone jumped up and headed for Regulus's room. Sirius sat down on one side of the bed and stared down at his slowly waking little brother. Remus ushered Kreacher to the other side of the bed so he could watch his master wake up and not be blocked by all the taller humans.

Regulus slowly opened his eyes and blinked a few times. His eyes were dazed and he looked like he was in pain.

Severus stepped forward and gently fed him a pain potion. Once the potion was in his system Regulus started to gain focus.

"Siri... What happened? Where am I?" Regulus's voice was rough from disuse.

"Master Regulus, Master Regulus. Yous is awake. Yous has been sleeping for long time. Ever since the bad cave when you made Kreacher leave you. Kreacher is sorry master. He didn't want to leave yous, but yous orders Kreacher to go. I's sorry." Kreacher was practically bawling.

"Kreacher? Is that you my old friend?" Kreacher calmed as Regulus smiled at him. "You did the right thing Kreacher. You followed my orders, like a good elf. Did you manage to do what I asked you too?"

"Yes Master Regulus. Master Mutt and his friends helped Kreacher to fulfil Master Regulus's order. The bad locket has been destroyed." Sirius had been happy when Kreacher stopped calling him Nasty Master, as annoying as it was, he did prefer Master Mutt.

Regulus glanced over at his brother and grinned. He had seen his brother and his friends transform, so he knew where Kreacher had gotten the idea to call him a mutt.

"It's good to see you awake baby brother. Now I can yell at you properly for being a foolish Gryffindor and almost getting yourself killed, that's my job." Sirius had truly missed his little brother, but that didn't mean he wasn't going to pass up the chance to give him a hard time for being a fool.

"I know, I know. I was almost as stupid as you would have been." Regulus started to lift himself up a bit before he changed his mind and decided it was better to just stay where he was. "What happened? The last thing I remember was being in the cave with inferi coming at me."

"You apperated through anti-apparition wards you idiot. You completely drained your core. You've been in a coma for close to 9 years. Your core is still almost empty. It's going to take a while before you are able to start using magic again."

Before Sirius could say anything else Narcissa bustled into the room closely followed by her husband and son.

"Cissy?" Regulus said.

"Regulus Black. You had better have a good reason for scaring me like this. And Sirius Black. Just why is it that I have to hear from your husband that my baby cousin is awake." She reached out and smacked him on the back of the head. "At least he has the decency to let family know when something major is happening."

"Sorry Cissy.' Sirius muttered "Where's Lyra?"

"Remus is putting her in with the girls." Narcissa told him cooly before turning back to her bed ridden cousin. "Well. What is your explanations for scaring me like that young man?"

As his mother had been yelling at the other adults Draco had gone to stand next to Hadrian. He knew his mum was upset, and didn't want to draw her attention to him. He didn't think he had done anything too wrong lately, not counting trying to bring his horse inside the house last week, but it was better safe than sorry.

"Cissy I had a good reason, I swear." Regulus knew not to mess with her when she was upset. He knew that the only reason she was mad at him was because he scared her. "So... Who are you two?" He asked, looking at the boys.

"I'm Draco, and this is my cousin Hadrian."

"Draco is my son." Narcissa told him, although she really didn't need to, it was more than a little obvious. "And Hadrian is James and Severus's son. Neither of you have answered me."

Regulus and Sirius looked at each other. They knew just how dangerous their cousin could be, they had been dealing with her temper since they were children after all. Luckily for them Lucius stepped in to calm his wife.

"Cissy, it's going to be ok. Everything is fine. Regulus is getting better, see. There is no need to worry anymore, it's done. Let's just figure things out from here."

"Do not speak to me like you are trying to placate an unruly child Lucius Abraxus Malfoy, unless you want to sleep on the couch for the rest of the month. I can see he is getting better. I'm just angry that he has to get better. He was a Slytherin, he should know better than to go running into danger without a plan." She turned back towards Regulus and pinned him with a glare. "You are forbidden from doing anything dangerous for the rest of your life. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes Cissy."

After that, everything calmed down. Everyone filled Regulus in on what was going on, and what they were doing. Regulus was surprised by everything that had happened, especially the defeat of the dark lord. When he heard about Sirius being sent to Azkaban without a trial he started ranting and cursing. Luckily, for Regulus's safety, the children had already gone to bed in Hadrian's room.

When all was said and done, Regulus made a decision about what he was going to do. He would spend a few weeks with Sirius and the others, getting to know his growing family. Then he was going to move back to the Black properties in Britain with Kreacher. The Black library was legendary and Regulus felt that he could use the information in there to help the others.

Severus had secretly gone to him with his idea about the werewolves being infected with rabies, he didn't want to tell any of the others because he didn't want to get their hopes up. Regulus had offered to search the library for information. He knew that there was an entire section devoted to creatures that might hold some information.

Lucius and Narcissa took the extra room so that they could stay close to Regulus. The boys would just have to share Hadrian's room for the week, not that they would be complaining about it.

Malfoy Manor - October 26, 1998

Narcissa was sitting in the library watching Draco sit and read with one of his friends. Theodore 'Theo' Nott was a small timid little boy. Narcissa felt bad for the small child. His mother had died in some sort of accident the year before and ever since then the boy had withdrawn. She was under no illusions Thaddeus Nott, Theo's father was a harsh man. Thaddeous had been, and still was, a true believer in Lord Voldemort and his ideals. There was no doubt that Theo had been sent to make friends with Draco because of how important the Malfoy family was. Draco was holding himself back, but he was also reaching out to the boy, like there was something else going on.

She watched as the little boy jumped at almost every sound. It was only after she had walked behind him and the boy started to hyperventilate that she knew what was going on. She had worked with the staff at the Sea Cliff Home. During her time there she had seen a little girl have a similar reaction. Edward Brown had explained to her that it was called hyper vigilance, it was common in children that were being abused.

Making an excuse to Draco she led Theo away to speak to him for a moment.

"Theo, you know I would never hurt you, right?" Theo hesitated for a minute before he nodded so she kept going. "Theo, did you know that I help out at a place called the Sea Cliff Home? It's a safe place for children that aren't safe at their home. If something bad is happening, you can tell me, and I can make sure that it stops."

Theo chewed on his lip for a few minutes. He was scared to say anything, but he also didn't want to go back home, he knew Lady Malfoy and knew that she was good. "I...I... I don't want to go home. But I don't have any other family. No one would want me. No one cares about me, I'm no-one."

Narcissa gently rubbed his arm, not wanting to scare him by hugging him. "That's not true little one. You are someone, you are Theo. And as for not having any other family, your mother had a rather large extended family. You aren't alone little one. Here's what we're going to do. I'm going to take you to see a friend of mine. While you tell him what's going on, I will go and get your mother's older brother, ok."

When the scared little boy nodded she told an elf to inform Lucius and Draco that she and Theo were going out for a bit. She then flooed them to the DCW and went directly to Edward Perra's office. As a certified mind healer, in both the muggle and magical worlds, he could help Theo.

Knocking, Edward invited them in. "Well hello Narcissa. Pleasure to see you again. And who is this you brought with you?"

"This is a good friend of my sons, Theo Nott. We've been talking and I think he might need to speak to you."

Edward looked at the cowering boy. Giving him a small smile he led them both over to the sitting area in his office and got them some tea and biscuits. He also placed a few stuffed animals around, many children used them to keep their hands busy and to provide comfort while discussing any form of abuse.

"Lady Malfoy doesn't have to leave, does she?" Theo didn't want to be alone.

"I will be here for as long as you need me to be." Narcissa smiled down at the little boy that had a death grip on her hand.

The next two and a half hours were spent talking to Theo about what his home life was like. It took every ounce of strength Narcissa had to not go and skin Thaddeus Nott when Theo described being punished with a spell that made his body feel like it was on fire, had a red light, and started with a 'c'. The only reason Narcissa managed to hold herself back was because she promised Theo she wouldn't leave him.

As soon as Theo told them about the spell, Edward had them move to St. Mungo's for a full health check. The health report showed that since the death of his mother, Theo had been the victim of severe abuse. There was a great deal of evidence of nerve damage that was caused by the cruciatus curse. It was just lucky that they had the potion Severus had developed to repair the damage or else Theo might have never regained his full range of motion in his arms due to the nerve damage.

After Theo was treated for his injuries and asleep, Narcissa met with Edward outside the room. She quickly explained about Theo's family. Theo's father was a devoted death eater that had bribed his way out of Azkaban, his fathers father was one of Lord Voldemort's first followers and had died in his service. But his mothers family was not. His mother had been contracted to his father because her own father had a gambling problem and had bet his own daughter one night when he was having a losing streak. Gwendolyn wasn't given a choice. Theodore Nott Sr. had won her hand and wrote a contract forcing the 15 year old girl to marry his son. Gwendolyn's older brother Gregor had been very vocal about his dislike of what had happened to his sister. Thaddeus had forbidden his wife from ever speaking to her brother again, due to the magic in the marriage contract, she had no choice but to comply. Gregor had never forgiven his father, he hadn't even attended the man's funeral. Narcissa believed that if he knew his nephew was being abused nothing would stop him from protecting the boy, he couldn't save his sister, but he could save her son.

In the end, Edward agreed that they should inform Gregor, as the closest living relative. Narcissa would go and speak to him and his wife, while Edward would arrange for the arrest of Thaddeus Nott.

Narcissa arrived in a flourish at the Davis Estate. She waited patiently in the floo room for Gregor, or his wife, Helen, to arrive. She knew their son, Roger, had just started his first year at Hogwarts.

It was Helen that arrived first. The two women weren't friends, but they were friendly. They often worked on the boards of different charities together.

"Narcissa. Not that it isn't lovely, as always, to see you, but I'm not aware of any upcoming events that we would need to discuss."

"I'm not here about an upcoming event, unfortunately. I was hoping to speak with you and Gregor. It's very important."

"Sure. Follow me, Gregor is in his office."

As the two women walked up to the office they shared a little small talk, nothing to intense.

When they walked into the office Gregor was a little shocked. He knew Narcissa, but they had never been close. He truly didn't understand what she was doing here.

"Helen, Narcissa. What can I do for you two tonight?"

"I was hoping that you could help me with something Gregor." Narcissa said.

"I will try." Gregor was growing more confused.

"I know what happened with how Gwen was forced to marry Thaddeus Nott."

"Do not mention that monster in my house. He murdered my sister, there is no doubt in my mind that is how she died." Gregor hated that man. He took his bright beautiful little sister from him and destroyed her.

"Oh. trust me. I hate that man too. The reason I bring him up is that earlier today Gwen's son, Theo, came over for a playdate with Draco. There was something off in his behaviour and I took him to speak to a friend of mine at the DCW."

Helen gasped. "He's being abused."

Gregor's hands clenched the arms of his chair, but he didn't say anything.

Narcissa nodded sadly. "After he said some things to Edward, he's the co-head of the department that spent decades as a mind healer, we took him to St. Mungo's. His tests showed evidence of broken bones, and muscle damage since Gwen died. The worse part is... Well... There was evidence of cruciatus exposure."

Gregor growled and Helen started to sob.

"Is he ok? What's happening with him now?" Gregor asked through clenched teeth.

"Right now he is staying in St. Mungo's. The healers want to keep him for a day or two. After that, well, that is up to you." Narcissa said giving them an appraising look.

"Up to us?" Helen was confused. "What can we do? We were forbidden any contact."

"Not any more. Since Gwen is gone the contract no longer stands. The DCW has already filed charges, and aurors were on their way to arrest Thaddeus when I was leaving the hospital. As you are the closest living relatives you..."

Narcissa never got to finish her sentence as she was interrupted by both Helen and Gregor. "We'll take him."

Narcissa smiled at them. "I hoped you would say that. He had been told that he didn't have any other family and that no one would want him. When I told him about you, he wanted to meet you. If you want to follow me I can take you to see him."

It was quite easy to get Gregor and Helen to the hospital. Edward was extremely happy that there were family members that were willing to be there for the poor boy. He had already heard back from the aurors he had sent to arrest Theo's father, the man was in a holding cell.

Narcissa knocked on the door that led into Theo's room. When she heard a small voice allowing entrance, she walked in leading Helen and Gregor. She introduced them to him and allowed them to talk. Once Theo started to grow comfortable with them Narcissa explained to him that Helen and Gregor wanted to take him in, so that he wouldn't have to return to his fathers house.

Although Theo was still nervous about new people, anything was better than his father. Plus, he also had Lady Malfoy on his side. If it wasn't nice with the Davis's then he was sure she would help him again.

When Narcissa left she was happy. Theo was with people that loved him and Thaddeus would never come near him again.

When Lord Thaddeus Nott was brought in front of a sealed Wizengamot a month later, he was found guilty and sentenced to life in Azkaban. Due to the laws, the title automatically transferred to young Theo. He would be able to claim the lordship when he was 11. None of this mattered to Theo though, he was busy with his new family. They had even had Roger come home for weekends so that he could get to know his new brother.