The Ties That Bind

The Ties That Bind

Part 1, The First Rise

By Laura ([email protected])

Chapter 14: A Life In Between

Elizabeth Murphy (mc): She's new this chapter, so you'll find out who she is when you read. After this chapter, I will write a better description for her.

Timeline: Same night of the trial, in the trial room...

"Then I see you standing there

Wanting more from me

And all I can do is try

Then I see you standing there

I'm all I'll ever be

But all I can do is try."

"Try", sung by Nelly Furtado

Without further ado, here is the chapter...

It was 11 p.m. If the Interrogat did not reach a decision by midnight, they were going to resume tomorrow.

It was weird knowing that they had been in these seats since 8 a.m. this morning. Except for a lunch break and a supper break, they hadn't moved far from the chairs that they currently sat in.

*Do you think that Riley knew we were lying a lot of the time?* Casey asked her suddenly.

*We didn't lie most of the time. We merely omitted some important facts and only lied when it was completely, utterly necessary, which was only a handful of times,* Jessica replied, her mind's voice seemingly tired.

Casey knew that didn't justify what they did, but he let her have it. He still felt guilty for telling Riley where the bloody shirt of Jessica's was. He was glad that Riley had kept their confidence, but he still felt guilty for it. So he let Jessica win this argument.

*Do you think Melovic knows that Tom was in the lab the night Mama died?*

*It's possible that she suspects someone was, but I think that's the last we have heard of it.*

Casey snorted, causing Jessica to look at him. *That isn't the last we've heard of that or of Melovic's suspicion,* he explained.

Jessica sighed.

Thirty minutes later, Riley walked back into the courtroom and sat down at his table. Other than George and Tim, their Auror guards, they were the only ones in the room. Jessica looked at him. He looked tired but determined. She still couldn't believe that he had finally figured out that Mama had been murdered. All these years, and he finally figured it out. And right now, it might be the only thing to keep her out of Azkaban. But back then...back then, it would have been so much more. Back then, before Riddle was thoroughly Voldemort, before his claws were into someone in the Department, it could have been so much more.

Jessica shook her head. That was untrue. Even then, Father and Riddle had their friends. Casey would never have been safe.

Riley turned to her. He didn't smile like he would have another day. But this was a different day. Jessica was a different person to him. And she knew that he still didn't have any idea of who she really was, how deep her treason really extended. And she wondered that if he had any idea, if he would really be defending her like this.

Jessica looked up as the Supreme Interrogat re-entered the room. No one looked at her, causing her heart to lurch a little bit. Jessica sighed again.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"Someone once said to me that justifiable homicide is the most subjective law we have on the books, and he is right. Unfortunately though, it is a needed law, necessary to protect those who were protecting themselves, or, in some cases, protecting those whom, for some reason, were unable to protect themselves. In each case, we have to examine the facts in evidence, investigate what was in the mind of the person doing the killing. We also have to decide whether murder was even necessary. There is no doubt what Jeffery Ziners had been doing to his children was despicable, but his actions are not what we are to directly judge here. We must judge the actions of his daughter, Jessica Ziners, and whether or not they were necessary or too extreme." Melovic paused and looked at her scribbled notes a minute before continuing.

"This case probably would have had a very different outcome if Miss Ziners were older, but we must judge her not in spite of her age but because of it. But it is only one among many factors we must base our judgment on.

"Miss Ziners knowingly had access to powerful Aurors, many of whom she could have told her tale to. And without the knowledge of Madeline Ziners' demise, we very well might have based our judgment on that. But we aren't ignorant of what happened to Mrs. Ziners.

"Nor are we ignorant of what occurred afterwards. Mr. Ziners followed the action of murdering the mother of his children by moving the position of a seven-year old from daughter to mother, making her responsible for the life of her brother, an already unrealistic expectation, and he made it more unreal by expecting her to follow rules only Jeffery Ziners himself knew and rules that only made sense to him. Mr. Ziners did not, however, stop here but drove it further by forcing this seven-year old to wear a blood-soaked t-shirt.

"And yet, Jessica Ziners did not have the right to punish her father for his inexcusable actions. All we can do is factor them in to her thinking that day.

"The question remains - did Miss Ziners perceive that her brother's life was in danger or was 'Father' delivering another brutal - but livable - punishment? Was revenge on her mind or being a savior? Was revenge coloring her vision?

"After some debate, we unanimously came to the conclusion that Casey Ziners was right. A sense of revenge was there, but that was not coloring her vision. Had Jessica Ziners not reacted in the fashion that she did that day Casey Ziners would be dead. Going for help would have been a time-consuming exercise, precious time that her brother could ill-afford to give her. Attempting to stop her father had not only failed, but Miss Ziners knew it to probably be a pointless exercise. Jessica Ziners had every reason to believe that there was only one way to stop 'Father' from taking her brother's life, and though our justice system would have dealt a different blow, Jessica did not have that weapon in her arsenal and our justice system was not present in that study.

"Our justice system is here to protect our citizens and because the system sometimes fails, we have to make laws to allow our citizens to protect themselves. This was one of those cases." Melovic looked at Jessica and Casey, both of whom were returning her look. "We have all decided that both of you were trying to act in the interest of your own lives to the best of your ability, and, you, Miss Ziners, made the best judgment you could at the time to save the life of your brother." She turned to Daniel. "Other than a recommendation that both children receive counseling," she turned back to Jessica and Casey, "all charges are dismissed. You are free to go."

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"Why the sad face? They did win."

"No, they didn't. They just merely survived."

Andre'a gave Riley a startled look. Andorra and Andre'a were in the Dark Operators office. Riley had just entered.

"You still don't get it," Riley said, exasperated. Andorra was sure that he didn't even notice who he was talking to. "These kids weren't trying to win anything. They snapped. Jessica snapped. She wasn't playing a game with her father, and she didn't win a game with her father. She just snapped. She is 12-years old, and she already knows what it's like to snap. That isn't conducive for a normal life. Ever." The word was final, solid, and closed with the thud of Riley's bag as he dropped it on his desk.

"They've never had a normal life, abusive father or not. They are privy to more law enforcement secrets than over half the law enforcement department," Andorra said sternly.

Riley gave her a look. It wasn't offended, and it wasn't angry. Just annoyed. "What? Are you blaming me and Dan now?"
"No," Andorra shook her head. "Just pointing out that they've never had a normal life, and it isn't your fault for not noticing the abuse."

"Oh, I got over that already. Jessica wouldn't have allowed anyone to notice it. If I had noticed something, she would have effectively talked it away. And if she couldn't, I would have been the one killing Casey rather than her. It happened the way it happened. I'm not even sure it could have happened another way where neither child died as a result. I'm just pissed off because it isn't fair."

"Life is never fair," Andorra said.

"I know it isn't," Riley growled. "I'm just saying that I use to see myself in Jessica. Now she's beyond that...she's beyond what I was."

Andorra looked at Andre'a, but it turned out she didn't need to say anything. The girl held up her hands. "Okay, I'm gone," she said and left.

"Riley--"

"A dead Mommy and a Dad that was distant enough to be as good as dead that she was near depending on Danny for some sense of belonging, living in a place where she was the last to belong. This damn department...never enough kids. So you follow Aurors, particularly one that handles damn kids at his feet like it isn't the worse possible thing in the world. But I was wrong," he growled, tossing the memos he had been trying to read at the desk. "The dad was never distant. He wasn't running from them; they were running from him. But I didn't feel a fear that something terrible was going on that they needed rescuing from.

"They didn't win at that trial. They just survived another day."

"What is bothering you, Ri? I'm not Daniel; I can't read your mind."
Riley was so intent on emptying Jeffery Ziners' murder investigation file onto his desk that she almost didn't think he was going to answer, but he did.

"Where there's one lie, there's many," he muttered.

"You think Jessica lied on the stand?"
He nodded. "Yeah, I do, but that's not the point. Even if she didn't, she did lie. She always lied about everything when it came to her dad, to her life." Something wasn't coming out of his bag, and he struggled with it until he managed to get it out, and the bag fell on the floor in his thrust.

He dropped the piece of clothing - it was the blood-red shirt of Jessica's - on his desk before he leaned his hands on the desktop, head dropped, breathing hard.

"I hadn't seen Casey's injuries until yesterday in the courtroom," he finally murmured.

Andorra didn't respond.

"And the thing of it that bugged me...it's like it wasn't all that abnormal to him. He's this little kid...and he looks like he got blasted apart and put together again."

"It was pretty frightening."

"Casey always seems like he has it together. He's this 11-year old that's more mature than most of my peers...he's always so freaking calm and put together. And underneath that clothing - those silly, too old for him suspenders - sat battle wounds worse than the oldest of our Aurors.

"I don't think Jessica meted out extreme enough justice."

"Honestly, I think most of the courtroom would agree with you."

"How did Madeline not murder the bastard? How did she restrain herself?"

"Madeline had more at stake. And Jessica said it in your interrogation of her. Father had contacts."

"If I ever find those contacts, I'll tear them apart with my bare hands."

Andorra sighed. "I want to give you some vacation, Riley, because I seriously think you need it, but I'm afraid to let you loose just now."

"Don't give me a vacation. I wouldn't let myself loose now either."

Andorra smiled. Leave it to Riley to admit to his own lack of sanity.

"Tomorrow?" she asked hopefully.

He sighed. "Maybe."

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

One week later, Jessica and Casey pushed open the doors to Hogwarts, Uncle Danny in tow.

"You're lucky," Casey said. "I have to test on what I read and not on what I saw. You got to see everything in action."

"Okay," Jessica agreed but both males could hear the sarcasm in her voice. "We'll just beside the fact that I was an emotional wreck most of the term."

"Yes," Casey nodded, his voice serious, "And we'll beside the fact that I was in a hospital bed in pain most of that term as well."

Jessica frowned but forced a smile on when her little brother smiled at her.

"Let's go find Headmaster Dumbledore," Daniel said.

"We'll catch up," Casey informed and the two were going through the door to the dungeons before Daniel realized they were missing.

"Off to see Professor Rum."

Danny looked at the top of the Entrance Hall stairs. Professor Dumbledore stood at the top.

"They seem to be really close to him," Daniel remarked.

"And he to them."

"Strange friendship," Daniel murmured.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"We're free."

"I heard a rumor as to such," Gary murmured as he continued to clean the shelves in his office.

"I wondered for a bit there," Casey said, hopping up to sit on Rum's desk. Casey waited for Rum to call him off the desk, but Rum didn't look at him.

"It's weird living with Uncle Danny," Jessica said suddenly, surprising her brother. Rum glanced at her but didn't seem surprised at the comment.

"It will feel unusual for a long while," Gary responded. "It will eventually take on some semblance of normalcy, though you will probably never become completely use to it."

When silence fell on the three, Casey asked, "What are you doing?"
"Spring cleaning," Gary murmured.

"No, you're not," Jessica said, drawing both their gazes again. "You wouldn't do that the Muggle way. You're either looking for something that has to be fetched by hand or you're cleaning something that needs a special type of care."

Gary smiled slightly. "The latter, though I am doing Spring cleaning. I knocked something over while doing that." When Gary's voice faded, and he looked intently back at his project, the siblings exchanged a glance.

*His shaking from his accident*, Jessica supplied to her brother's unspoken question.

Casey sighed.

"Is my final going to be tough?" Jessica asked, grinning when Gary threw her a look.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Her final was indeed tough, but she passed with a something on the low side of Exceeding Expectations. Transfiguration was also an E. The others were actually Outstandings. Defense Against the Dark Arts was the biggest surprise though. Medley had grinned as he handed it to her. She had only gotten a few wrong.

"It's possible, Miss Ziners, that you *might* have a talent."

Casey, however, learned later in the day he had gotten a lot of points marked off, barely scraping by with an E. Jessica gleefully enjoyed it for only a minute, when a stern glance from Uncle Danny had quieted her.

They arrived home late that night. A message was waiting Uncle Danny; it caused him to frown before he told the kids to get into the kitchen and began eating their supper. He followed them in a little while later.

"What is it, Uncle Danny?" Jessica asked near the end of supper. He had looked all perturbed through the meal so far.

"Hm?" he asked once he swallowed.

"The letter. What was it?"

He was silent a moment before he shook his head. "It was nothing. Just a letter from Riley."

"Nothing? Yeah, right," Jessica said.

"Do you want to know something?" Casey interrupted any fight Jessica was preparing to stoke. "I think it's going to be interesting to be able to have a meal without worrying about Father interrupting."

Jessica nodded in agreement. "Definitely interesting."

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"Interesting. Definitely interesting."

Andorra gave him a sympathetic smile. "You're not just an uncle to them anymore. Well, to Casey you are. To Jessica, you're 'Father, Part II'."

"How do I prove to her that I'm not him?"

"You don't prove it to her. She'll come to terms with it in time. Until then, just keep at working being an uncle and a guardian."

Andorra and Daniel walked in silence for a time. While Daniel was sometimes annoyed at the distance between some of the buildings at the Department, he liked it at times because it provided him a place to cool his head.

After another moment, Daniel asked, "Everyone has been steering clear of me this week, so I don't know of any fall out from the trial."

"Was that a subtle way of asking me?" Andorra asked with a smile.

Daniel chuckled in response.

"It hasn't been all good," she answered with a sigh. "Some believe that you and I are both blind to Jessica and Casey's evilness and everyone knows better than to go against that."

There was a pause before Daniel asked, "Are we, Andorra?"

Andorra hesitated before shrugging. "We can't be sure. I think that both kids are in a place right now that we can't touch, and we can't understand. We also can't do anything about it now."

"Do you think that they know who this Voldemort character is?"
"No."
"Tell me the truth, Andorra."

"Honestly, Daniel? Do you want honesty from me in this situation?" Andorra glanced at him.

Without hesitation, Daniel nodded. He knew he was brutal with everyone, including himself. This was one situation where he knew that he couldn't lighten the blow for himself. He hated doubting his niece and nephew, and he wanted to make sure his trust wasn't misplaced right now. He needed Andorra to tell him that, but he knew he needed the truth even more. After over 12 years of lies, he needed the truth.

"I think there is a distinct possibility that they lied on the stand about that, but there is no reason for me to think that other than my gut. And my gut has been wrong before."

"Why didn't you call them on it?"

Andorra shrugged. "What 12-year olds have you met that murdered in order to protect their brother?"

"I'm sure more there are more than Jessica. Fortunately, most 12-year olds do not find themselves in that situation though."

"How many children followers of Grindelwald would have reacted in such a manner as Jessica did?"
Daniel was silent.

"If Jessica knows Voldemort, I am sure she does not even realize it. And as long as you show her a good example, I believe that she will remain on our side."

"Do the Supreme Interrogators agree with you, Andorra?"
Andorra shook her head. "No. Those that did not agree that the kids were wholly good only voted to free them based on politics. Everyone is in denial that we might be headed for another Grindelwald. This incident makes them afraid. Another evil entity training kids so not only will this adult generation follow him but the next as well... They do not want to see that again. I might be in that category; I do not know. What I do know is that what I saw and heard in that trial - that isn't something you would see with Grindelwald or a follower of Grindelwald."

Daniel knew she was right.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"Lily is cute."

"So is Alice."

"And Kelly."
"And don't forget Dorcas."

"But she's annoying."

"So is Lily."

"No, she isn't."

"Ahhhhhhh, James!" James glared at Sirius, but it didn't stop him. "You have a crush on Lily!"

"No, I don't. I think that you don't like her because she doesn't look at you with awe."

Sirius gave him a look and then a grin. "James and Lily, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G..."

Sirius took off when James took off after him. Frank and Remus started laughing, Sirius and James following their lead as they tumbled to the ground, wrestling.

They had forgotten what they had been arguing about by the time they got up and fell back onto the ground by Frank and Remus.

"So, I heard your friend is free," Frank said, having heard about James's friendship with Jessica Ziners.

"Unfortunately, the judges in America are a little slow in the head," Sirius supplied helpfully.

"Yeah, Jessica went free," James said quietly, ignoring Sirius.

"Her uncle and her father. Both of them are bad seeds. It's not a far stretch," Sirius supplied helpfully.

"Nothing's a far stretch for you, Sirius," Remus replied, earning a nasty look. The 13-year old just grinned.

"I totally agree with you, Sirius," Frank said. "Except that one thing kind of doesn't settle with that."

"And what's that?" Sirius asked disbelievingly.

"She was trying to save her brother. And I know that people follow what your sister spouted off, about Ziners trying to kill her brother and the dad trying to stop it, but then there's that other thing."

"What other thing?" Remus asked.

Frank looked over at the silent one of the group. "James knows."

"We shouldn't be talking about this," James murmured.

"Why not?" Sirius asked.

James retorted angrily, "Because Jessica and Casey were being abused by their dad!"
James took off back to his house, leaving Sirius, Remus, and Frank on the Black's front lawn.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

The next day, Drea met Riley as he walked into the bullpen.

"You got a hair cut."

"Yes, I did."
"Why did you get a hair-cut?"
"Because I needed one."

"You got a hair-cut."

"Yes," Riley turned and bit at the next person. "Oh, sorry, Miz Dumbledore."

Andorra smiled at him. "That's fine. You've had a long few months. But you got a haircut. Why? I thought you liked your hair shaggy."

"At least he didn't shave his goatee," Drea, the first person, said.

"I like my goatee, but I did need a hair-cut."

"Why did you get a hair-cut though?"

"Because I needed one."

"Because he was shedding the aggravation of the past few months," Daniel said as he walked into the Department of Magical Law Enforcement bullpen, reading a memo.

Riley didn't respond to that.

"What in the hell is with this?" Daniel asked, gesturing to the memo as he glared at Andorra.

"Not my idea. Melovic's. It's her solution."

"We've got a good set of lawyers for the Department that can investigate the departments at will," he said. "We don't need to bring a new one in for me."

"Yeah, she did. She wants someone who doesn't have anything to lose at the Department and won't be answering to the media. Only to her. Live with it because I think it's a good idea. Not that I don't have any faith in you, but I think it's good for Melovic's peace of mind."

Riley grabbed at the memo as Daniel walked past him. He read it. When he looked up to protest, Andorra held up both hands. "No. I won't hear it. Both of you set an example for your team and be good about this. It will only last a short time."

"A short time? Whose definition of a short time?" Riley demanded.

"Mr. Haderson, you got a hair-cut."

Riley held up his hands and yelled. "Newsflash, everyone! I got a haircut because I needed it. You don't need to notify me that I got a hair-cut because I was there when it happened!"

Everyone stopped to look at him, and when he realized this happened, he turned beet red.

"Nothing to see here," Drea stepped in, struggling to keep a straight face. "Go back to your work."

When they did, she turned to Riley. "You seriously need a vacation."

"I think you're right, Miss Kay."

They finally turned to see the newcomer and both stood up straight, almost as if going to attention. It was Tatianna Melovic.

"I came to see if Mr. Montgomery received my memo."

He grabbed it from Riley and held it up. "This morning, before I left the house."

"And?" Melovic pressed.

Danny glanced at Andorra and her pleading look before answering, "It's good if it'll make you feel better," he responded dispassionately.

"And you'll treat her with the same respect you would treat Miss Dumbledore, right?" Melovic pressed.

Daniel nodded. Melovic looked at Riley. It was a second before he nodded too.

Melovic nodded in response before leaving the group. Andorra left to do her own work then too, while the Dark Operators went to their office. The other four were in there already. Shutting the door, Daniel said, "Team meeting."

Riley and Drea went to their desks. Everyone looked at Daniel.

"To satisfy her conscience, Melovic is hiring a new lawyer for the Department. Her first assignment will be to examine us, to see if we are useful or evil." Daniel held up a hand when they looked about to protest. "This means our job at the Department, so I expect you guys to treat her with respect."

"What's her name?" Richie asked.

Danny looked back at the memo and read, "Elizabeth Murphy."

Feng cringed, causing Danny to enquire if she knew the lawyer. Feng nodded. "Yes. I use to work at the Auror office in Minnesota. She was a defense lawyer up there. She is a real bitch."

"Lovely. That's exactly what we need. Another bitch," Mark said.

"Guys, this is deadly important," Riley piped up. "We need to show this Murphy woman that we really are the good guys. Insulting her will not be a step in the right direction. Let's not get into the habit of calling her a bitch, even if she's not here."
"Dude, you got a haircut!" Richie said, pointing.

Drea burst into laughter. Riley rolled his eyes.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"And Miss Dumbledore wanted me to inform you that Riley Haderson has been approved for a one month vacation." Louise set down a slip of parchment in front of Tatianna. It read, 'I have been informed that Commander Riley Haderson has been approved for one month of vacation time by Captain Daniel Montgomery, Subject's Ranking Officer, and Andorra Dumbledore, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.' There was a place for Tatianna to sign.

"Is this a common procedure?" Tatianna asked, picking up a feather pen to sign her name.

Louise shook her head. "It wasn't for Secretary Ziners."

So after she was done with Louise, Tatianna took off in search of Andorra. Tatianna had known one thing about this job before she took it and had learned one very important thing after having started this job. She had *known* that politics would play a GIGANTIC role in her job. She had *found out* that if there was one person you wanted on your side in the entire Department of Magic, it was Andorra Dumbledore. So, right now, Tatianna would not summon the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement to her office. She would go to her.

When Tatianna entered Andorra's outer offices, her secretary stood up quickly.

"Hello, Madam Secretary," he said.

"Hi," she glanced at the name on his desk, "Mr. Hidleburg."

"It's Jeff," he said hastily.

Tatianna hesitated for a second before saying, "Jeff. I need to speak with your boss."

"She's in the bullpen. She usually is."

Tatianna chuckled, not entirely surprised. She turned out of the office and searched around the bullpen again. Over near the hall to the private offices was Andorra, leaning over another Auror's desk. Tatianna walked over but stood a distance away to allow her to finish without being disturbed.

It was only a second when Andorra saw her, Tatianna knew, but she didn't acknowledge her. It only took her three or four minutes to finish up. When she was done, she walked over to Tatianna.

"Yeah?"
"Can we talk in your office real quick?" Tatianna asked.

Andorra nodded, the frown still firmly planted on her face. When they shut the door to the inner office, Tatianna said, "Don't worry. It's just a quick question of curiosity."
"About Haderson's vacation?"
Tatianna nodded. "It isn't usual procedure to notify me of your Auror's vacations."
"Not usually, but it's different for the Dark Operators. The notification of vacation time is one of the security measures in place to help us to keep an eye on the Dark Operators. It wasn't in place for Secretary Ziners because Captain Montgomery didn't trust him and, frankly, I agreed."

"But I'm different?"

Andorra gave a small smile. "Apparently, you have a trail Daniel can follow and claims he can trust."

Tatianna grinned. "I thought that you said that Captain Montgomery didn't know of my past."

"As my oldest brother so graciously reminded me, even I can occasionally underestimate Daniel Montgomery."

Tatianna shook her head with a sigh. "Either a danger or an asset." She was surprised to see Andorra nod in agreement.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"I'm gonna teach the heathens to play poker," Riley announced to the kitchen at large. It was two weeks after the announcement of Elizabeth Murphy's impending arrival. They were at Briana Manor, waiting for her arrival.

"You just arrived, and you're already gonna teach my niece and nephew a vice?" Daniel said from the kitchen table. Daniel and Andorra were drinking tea at the table as Daniel's turkey cooked.

Riley glanced curiously around the kitchen but saw no house elves. "You cooking yourself?"

Daniel nodded, causing Andorra to grin again.

"You *can* cook??"

"Oh, dear," Andorra said with a chuckle. "Have we stumbled across something that Riley does not know about you, Daniel? I didn't think it was possible."

She received two glares, causing her to smirk.

"I can cook, and yes, you can teach the heathens poker."

Riley nodded and turned on his heel to head out of the kitchen.

"I hope he doesn't get lost," Andorra joke. They had just been talking about the large house.

"Oh, he won't. He's been spending most of his vacation here actually, especially hanging out with the kids when I'm at work, sort of babysitting them."

"What do you mean - 'sort of babysitting them'?"
"They mostly took care of themselves with their father. They don't need that much watching over, according to Casey. And I don't think they need it either, but with all that's happened, I asked them to let Riley baby-sit them. It was actually Riley's initial suggestion, but I let him think that he's actually doing something."

"It's good for him it seems. I've noticed some change back to his old self. I've actually noticed some change back to the self he was at the beginning of his Auror career. I don't think I've seen him wear outright Muggle clothes this much in a long time." She was commenting on the t-shirt and jeans he was in today, which had become a common ensemble for him since starting his vacation a week ago.

"It's good for the kids too, I think. They - and when I say 'they' I mean Jessica - have become slightly less mopey."

Andorra smiled at him over her cup of tea.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"Uncle Danny's seriously going to let you teach us poker?" Casey asked excitedly.

Riley nodded. "Yep. Well, you see, your Uncle Danny and I have an understanding. I stay out of his way, and he stays out of mine."

He didn't think they believed him because both kids burst into hysterical laughter. He led them to dining room table and grabbed at the deck he had stuck in his back pocket before coming over.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

About forty-five minutes later, Andorra asked, "Are you nervous?"
"Nervous for what?"

"Miss Murphy."
"Prosecutor Murphy," Daniel corrected her, causing her to cock her head

curiously at him. "It's what we've taken to calling to her. Sort of practice. It's also to remind us why we're respecting her."

"Because she can take your team apart?" Andorra asked with a laugh. "That's not respect. That's fear."
Danny didn't respond to that.

Suddenly, there was a high-pitched shriek from the dining area. Danny and Andorra looked as it came closer to the door. Riley had Jessica over his shoulder. She was shrieking with laughter, slamming her hands against Riley's back. Casey was next to the two, grinning.

"I'm going to go throw your niece in the lake," Riley said as though there was nothing unusual about the activity.

"What was she doing?" Danny asked casually.

"Cheating at poker," Riley responded, turning away.

"Okay," Danny said to their backs. He was smiling, which caused Andorra to chuckle.

"He really is good for them," Danny said again, finally glancing back at Andorra. She nodded.

"And I think they're good for him. I always pictured Riley as an older brother but having no siblings..."

Daniel nodded.

Andorra glanced back at the door as Danny spoke again. "Her laugh. It's different."

"Happier," Andorra agreed with a smile.

There was a knock on the door.

Danny sighed, knowing as well as Andorra that it was Elizabeth Murphy. He and Andorra left the kitchen to greet the younger woman.

Elizabeth Murphy was only a little taller than Andorra but much younger. She was around Riley's age, Andorra thought. She had long, blonde hair and a petite figure, definitely catching any male interest. Andorra glanced at Daniel. He seemed too distracted to even take Elizabeth in. He had been distracted a lot lately, Andorra noticed silently. She turned back to Elizabeth. The girl would never notice it though if she got male interest. She was very good at her job, and a might bit snooty as well, Andorra had noticed when she had met her earlier that day, but the snootiness was not in her looks. She was very career oriented and very by the book. Oh, she would get along with the Dark Operators all right, Andorra thought sarcastically.

"Hello, dear," Andorra greeted. "I see that you didn't have any trouble finding the house."

Elizabeth nodded. "It's hard to miss."

Andorra ignored Daniel's soft snort of amusement at Elizabeth's words. There was the Daniel Andorra knew.

After letting go of Elizabeth's hand, Daniel took it. "Elizabeth, this is Daniel Montgomery, the commander of the Dark Operators. Danny, this is Elizabeth Murphy."

"Hello, Elizabeth. I'm pleased to meet you," Daniel answered politely, part of his old, long since lost British accent breaking through.

"I'm pleased to meet you too, Mr. Montgomery."

Daniel started laughing at the use of the 'mister' in front of his name.

Andorra started to say something but noticed that Elizabeth kept looking back at the door.

"Something wrong, Elizabeth?" Andorra asked.

"Um...," Elizabeth gave them an unsure look before finally deciding to say something. "There was a man out there throwing a young girl in the lake in your yard."

Daniel laughed. "Yes, yes. That's Riley, throwing my niece, Jessica, in the lake. You see, she was cheating at poker."

Elizabeth looked surprised that Daniel was allowing this punishment.

Andorra chuckled. "Oh, it's fine. She'll enjoy it."

Suddenly, a wet Riley, a wet Jessica, and a wet Casey walked in.

Daniel gave them a surprised look. "Now, how did all three of you get wet?"
They burst into giggles. Casey explained, "Riley threw Jessica in the lake. After Jessica got out, she and I pushed Riley in the lake. After he got out, Jessica and he thought I needed to get wet too, so Riley threw me in."

Elizabeth looked shocked. Andorra smiled.

Jessica and Casey gave Daniel pleading looks. "Uncle Danny, I left my wand in the dining room. Can you dry me?" Jessica asked, her lower lip going out in a pout.

Danny rolled his eyes but said a spell and the young girl was dry. "Thank you, Uncle Danny," Jessica squealed, hugging his legs before running back into the dining room. Casey's lower lip went out in a pout too, and with another roll of the eyes, Danny dried his nephew.

"Thank you, Uncle Danny," Casey said before grabbing his legs in a hug then following his sister.

Danny gave Riley an apprehensive look, to which his second-in-command said, "Please, Uncle Dannyyyyyyy!"

This was followed by an even more dramatic rolling of the eyes before Danny said a spell, and the man was dry. A second before he did it, Danny realized Riley's next intention and tried to block him with his arms, but Riley still managed to give Danny a hug, "Thanks, Uncle Danny!" He said before running off, laughing hysterically.

"And that," Andorra said, "was Riley Haderson, the second-in-command of the Dark Operators."

"That gives me a lot of confidence in this team," Elizabeth murmured, causing Daniel to give her a look.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"I got better marks on my Defense Against the Dark Arts exam than Casey did," Jessica said once they were settled in for dinner.

"Jess," Daniel said in a threatening tone.

"Oh, let her have this," Casey said as he buttered a bun. "It's rare that she actually does as well as me on an exam, let alone better."

Jessica threw a bun at him.

"Cut it out, you two," Daniel said. Both of them nodded obediently.

"So, what's your favorite subject in school?" Elizabeth asked by way of trying to insert herself into a place that she glaringly didn't belong.

"Defense Against the Dark Arts," Jessica answered immediately. "Despite that asssssssssssssss..." she thought quickly, but Elizabeth saw that she couldn't come up with an appropriate substitute that would fit. Finally, she tried, "awessssome professor."

Elizabeth saw Haderson snicker behind his hand.

"You don't like Professor Medley?" Daniel asked.

Jessica snorted. "Hardly. But at least the relationship is mutual."

"Oh, I'm sure Medley likes you."
Casey shook his head. "No, he really doesn't like her. Whenever Jessica gets detention, they give it to Medley to punish her even more."

Jessica nodded dramatically, causing Haderson to snicker even harder. The girl glared at him.

"What's your favorite subject, Casey?" Elizabeth asked the boy.

He shrugged. "I don't know. Transfiguration is pretty cool. I'm going to take Muggle Studies when I get the choice, so it will probably be that."

Elizabeth noticed that his sister gave him a look, but he didn't seem to notice.

"What do you think you're going to be when you grow up?" Elizabeth further pressed the boy.

He only shrugged. "My sister's keeper probably." His grin was positively wicked.

"Keep this up, and you'll be a bloodied and bruised sister's keeper," Jessica muttered before stuffing turkey into her mouth.

He merely smirked at her.

"What do you think you'll be when you grow up, Jessica?" Curiously, a darkness seemed to descend on not just Jessica but Casey as well. It was a good minute before Jessica responded, her voice quiet and devoid of the humor from only a moment before.

"An Auror."

The answer was simple and short.

Her uncle's response wasn't.

"Think about something else. I don't want you to become an Auror."

"Well it's good that it's not your decision then."

There was a silent look between uncle and niece until Danny said, "We'll talk about this later."

"Okay," she said in a snotty tone.

"So, Miss Murphy," Casey said as he cut into his turkey. "What was your favorite subject in school?"
She smiled at him. "Defense Against the Dark Arts," she replied, and the moment she had been waiting for happened.

Haderson set his fork down. "You were a year behind me in school, weren't you?"
"At one point I was," she murmured. "But I skipped my forth year. That put me in your year."
His jaw moved for a second with nothing coming out until he gave her a look up and down. "You look different."

"So do you," she replied before taking a drink. When she set the cup down, she went back to cutting her own turkey. "You look a lot less like a snob than you were then."

Jessica spit the milk she had been drinking back into the glass.

Casey laughed. "It doesn't sound like she liked you much, Ri."
"Don't worry," Daniel said to Elizabeth. "When he was 15, I didn't like him much either."

"I'm sure I would have kicked his butt when he was 15 then, if he were a snob," Jessica supplied ever so helpfully.

"Will you excuse me for a minute?" Riley said quietly and left before anyone responded.

"I didn't mean to embarrass him," Elizabeth murmured.

"Oh, you didn't," Jessica said, stuffing the rest of her bun in her mouth. "He had to pee."

Andorra covered her mouth as she started to snicker. Daniel covered his eyes.

"He had three glasses of water over poker then a full beer so far for supper. Drea said that whenever he's off-duty, he has this bad habit to wait to pee until he's going to die."

"I was saying in the other room," Andorra whispered to Elizabeth, "that these kids are like little siblings to Riley. Do you think I'm right?"

Elizabeth grinned and nodded.

"Did I miss anything?" Riley asked, walking back into the room.

"Jessica talked about your peeing habits," Casey supplied.

Suddenly, Riley was smacked with a piece of turkey. "There, you didn't miss anything now," Jessica supplied.

"See what I have to put up with," Riley supplied, pointing at the kids while looking at Daniel.

"I was reading," Elizabeth said as Riley sat back down, "it says that you're on vacation, Mr. Haderson."

"Yes, my first in three years. And I'm spending it with tweedle-dee and tweedle-dumb over here." He got his revenge by nailing Jessica right between the eyes with a piece of meat.

"Hey, I expect that from those two, not you," Daniel admonished.

"Are they feeding you as a thank you?" Elizabeth asked, her voice deadly serious.

Everyone at the table stopped moving.

Suddenly, Jessica threw her fork at the table. The metal was fire-red, and Elizabeth realized that the girl had burned herself. She had magically heated the metal of the fork without noticing. As Elizabeth looked back at the girl's hand, she saw that it was already blistering. The twelve-year old put it beneath the table when she saw that everyone was looking at it.

"No, we're not thanking him for anything, Miss Murphy," Jessica said. She looked like she wanted to say more but suddenly stood up and took off to the kitchen. Danny, Riley, and Casey all took off after her.

"You know," Andorra said as she set down her own utensils and stood up to walk down the table to retrieve the girl's fork, "If I had to bet, I would have bet a galleon that it would have been one of the Dark Operators to stick their foot in their mouth first. I am surprised that it was you, the ever-so-silent Miss Murphy."

"It's a question that begs to be asked and answered, Miss Dumbledore."

"And you think that Mr. Haderson, Mr. Montgomery, or one of these kids are about to answer it?" Andorra was looking at the fork, a slight smile on her face. "Only twelve years old. Amazing."

"So opening their home to the Investigator that saved one of them from Azkaban has nothing to do with gratitude?"
Andorra set the fork down at the side of Jessica's plate before returning to her own seat. "On Daniel's part, there is always going to be gratitude towards Riley but as to why he's spending most of his vacation at this house? This is the only family Riley has left. His parents are dead. He had no siblings. His old aunt is dead. He had no cousins. He hasn't dated since school. This is it. This is who he has in the world. Daniel, who's been his mentor since he came to live here as a young boy, and Jessica and Casey, who have always treated him like a brother. No more, no less."

Both women turned when the men and kids re-entered. Jessica had a bandage on her hand.

Elizabeth wanted to ask why Daniel didn't magically heal his niece's hand but the death look he threw at her hindered the question.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

For Disclaimers, see A Life In Between, Part 1.........

"You're lucky that it isn't abnormal for kids to get emotional and have some wandless magic. If it weren't, that little stunt would have been questioned."

"It isn't my fault. She pissed me off."

"And no swearing! Did your father let your mouth fly so freely?
"As a matter of fact, he didn't give a rat's ass! And I'm so sorry that I'm having difficultly stopping now, but you'll have to give me a few weeks to be a perfect kid!"

Daniel stopped his pacing and took a deep breath. He desperately wanted to send her to her room, but after hearing what had went on with her father, he wasn't sure that was a suitable punishment right now.

He ran a hand through his hair. "Jessica, I'm going to be having a hard few weeks coming up with this Murphy woman here. I know it's going to be hard to adjust to me, and I know it's going to be hard for me to adjust to you guys."

Jessica sighed and nodded. "Yeah, I suppose." She rubbed at her shoulder as if she was in pain.

"Do you have an ointment for your back?" he asked quietly.

"Malf made me some yesterday." She patted her pocket.

Daniel nodded for her to come in from the doorway to the library, where Daniel had set up his work that he brought home. "Come here."

She gave him a curious look as she cautiously stepped in.

"Sit," he ordered, nodding at one of the sofas in front of the fireplace.

She sat, still looking unsure. "Give me the cream," he said, sitting next to her.

She finally understood, but she didn't give him the cream. She stood up instead. "It's okay, really. I can do it myself."

He grabbed her arm and pulled her back down. "I'm your uncle. It's okay for me to take care of you. Plus, I imagine that it's a little awkward trying to reach it yourself."

She bit her lip but handed him the cream.

When she didn't pull up her t-shirt, he gave her a look causing her to finally pull up the back of her shirt.

Daniel looked at the wound and got sick to his stomach. It stretched from her right shoulder to the lower part of her ribcage on the left side and was half an inch wide at either end, one and a half to two inches wide nearer to the middle. Daniel opened the tube that Malf had prepared, making a mental note to talk to that house elf but also being ready that he wasn't going to get anything out of him. He remembered Malf from his younger days. The little elf had been assigned to Madeline when they were children, and Daniel had never doubted that the elf would have given his life for her had he the chance. It didn't surprise him that he had transferred loyalties to his sister's daughter, the next Mighty Blood.

He gently rubbed the cream over the scar. She was tense the whole time he rubbed the cream and nearly jumped out of her skin when he patted her shoulder to let her know that he had finished. She never spoke. She only merely grabbed the cream and left the library without looking at him.

Daniel sighed.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"You what?"

"I'm sorrys, Master. Was I wrongs?"
"No, no, Molby. You were perfect. I'm just surprised." Severus Snape wiped at the spit on his chin. The ointment he had let Molby give him made the part of his lip that he applied it on numb.

"Whats was the potion she gaves you thises time, Master?" Molby asked, looking at Severus' split lip again.

"It was a liquid Imperius."

"Did it workses?"

Severus nodded. "Yeah."

"What dids she makes yous do, Master?"

Severus looked out the window. "I don't know," he murmured.

"Dids you wants the letter, Master?"

Severus turned back to him, nodded, and held out a hand. "Thank you for stealing it for me, Molby," he said with a rare smile.

The house elf grinned and pressed it into his master's palm. Severus excused him before ripping it open. It was from Jessica.

*Dear Severus,

By now you probably know that Casey and I got through our trial and are free from Azkaban. They basically declared that it was self-defense. I think they also declared me insane at the time I murdered Father, but I don't know. Casey said they didn't, but I think he's lying to me there.

Riley took a vacation and has been spending most of it with me and Casey. That's been a lot of fun. He taught us to play poker. I'll have to teach you this school year.

There's this new woman at the Department. She's a lawyer. I think she's investigating my uncle, but I don't know. She's kind of a bitch.

Uncle Danny doesn't like me swearing. We've had a couple of fights about it. I'm trying to stop. I'm actually trying to stop! Can you believe it?

It's going to be weird living with Uncle Danny. I'm not use to someone actually wanting to be around me and Casey. It's kind of a little suffocating. But Casey reminded me of the alternative, and I guess I'm grateful.

This is going to sound stupid, but I actually miss you, Severus. Stupid, isn't it?

Later!

Jess*

Severus smiled as he folded the letter shut and tossed it into the fire, along with the envelope. He didn't know why he was happy that she missed him, but he was.

Suddenly, he frowned.

He missed her too.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"Andorra says that you stuck your foot in your mouth during your supper at Daniel Montgomery's house."

Elizabeth never looked up from the file in her hands.

"Did your re-meeting with Haderson go as well as you had planned?" Tatianna asked next.

"It went alright," Elizabeth murmured at the file.

"What do you think of it?" Tatianna nodded towards the file.

"It's perfect and tidy."

"But do you think it was influenced by his relationship with Daniel Montgomery and by his relationship with the kids?"

"Honestly, no, I don't. That was probably there. It just didn't influence how he investigated the case. Plus, his more intimate knowledge of the family probably helped him see facts on this case a more outside investigator would not have noticed." Elizabeth set the case file on Jeffery Ziners' murder back on Tatianna's desk.

"Do you have the clearance yet to hand me the Secretary Ziners file?"
Tatianna shook her head. "It took a lot for me to get to that file. It will take a little more for you to..." Tatianna's voice faded off as she looked through one of her office windows. Someone had stopped by her secretary and was talking with her. Elizabeth turned. It was Daniel Montgomery.

"Madam Secretary," Louise Trivers, her secretary, finally said through the magical intercom. "Mr. Montgomery is here to see you."

"I'm in a meeting," Tatianna responded, going to her own file. Elizabeth knew she wasn't really reading and smiled at that.

"He said it's about the meeting you're currently in."

This caused the two women to exchange a curious glance.

"Send him in," Tatianna murmured.

Montgomery had to bend slightly to fit through the door. Once inside, door shut, he looked around the office. Elizabeth noticed that he had a few files in his hand.

"I haven't been in here in a long time."

"You and Secretary Ziners didn't get along?" Tatianna asked.

"That's putting it politely," Montgomery said, his eyes finally coming to rest on Tatianna. He paused a second before handing the files in his hand over to her. "The files on John Ziners, Grens, and Lemore. All of our contacts, meeting places, and such have been blacked out, but other than that, it's pretty readable."

Tatianna took them cautiously, giving Daniel a suspicious look. Glancing at Elizabeth, he explained. "I was informed that you were requesting clearance for Miss Murphy to the Law Enforcement's files on the case. Their files are only a page thin and don't give you much. Since I assumed that you would want the files on the Dark Operators case because it was Miss Murphy, I thought that I would let you read those instead."

"But...clearance..." Tatianna said slowly.

Daniel sighed. "Clearance for Dark Operators matters only need five signatures to be cleared - mine, Riley's, Andorra's, and two of our supervisory squad. I got them this morning."

"But a background check," Elizabeth said. "I know I've had one from my work in Minnesota, but--"

Daniel shook his head. "We've already done one, Miss Murphy, when we first heard your name. And our background checks are much more accurate than the one's the Department performs." He suddenly grinned at her. "I didn't tell Riley who you were because I thought I would enjoy seeing his reaction when he remembered."

Daniel turned somber again and nodded towards the files. "They don't leave this office, and no one can look at them but you two. When you're done with the files, just call me over, and I'll pick them up. Don't bring them over to me. I'll pick them up."

With that, he left.

"I bet when Casey Ziners is his uncle's age," Elizabeth said, "he will have the same exact personality."

Tatianna gave a slight grin at that.

Elizabeth chuckled at her own joke. "Is it just me or is that boy 11 going on 55?"

Tatianna actually laughed at that. "That's putting it mildly. The suspenders are a great touch, though, aren't they?"
She laughed as well. "They were delightful. Jessica seems to be quite the handful though. Casey seems to be her leash to the real world."

Tatianna nodded. "I noticed that as well. Unusual that she then protects him as fiercely as she does and that he needs it."

Elizabeth was silent a moment, thinking about the testimony she had read last night. It had been the girl's testimony. She remembered clearly the part that she spoke about her mother and her mother's death. Finally, she shook her head, "Actually no. It's not that unusual. Casey's a normal, extremely smart, extremely mature child. Jessica is the eldest, the protector. She was given that duty by her own mother. Considering the moment when her mother gave it to her - the circumstances surrounding it - I wouldn't be surprised if Jessica had to give her life to save her brother's that she would."

"Madam Secretary," came through the intercom again, "I apologize, but he's insisting. Vince McCallen is here."

Elizabeth tried not to, but she snickered, causing Tatianna to give her a deadly look.

"Let him in," Tatianna grumbled.

"I didn't think you would," he said as he walked in, "but you did. You called in the cavalry."

"Hello, Vince," Elizabeth said, a smile in her voice.

"Little ol' Liz against the Dark Operators, Anna?" Vince sat down on the second chair, giving Elizabeth a scrutinizing look. "I think Montgomery could step on her."

"You're right, Tatianna," Elizabeth said. "He does need the occasional ass whooping."

Vince grinned. "And who's to say I wouldn't like that?"

"Note to self," Elizabeth murmured, "ask Ambassador Brighton why ever he would have hired a diplomat like Vince."

"Because I'm not suppose to be the diplomat but an asshole."

"Well, you've got that down pat," she give him a cocky grin, causing him to laugh.

"Was there a reason you came today?" Tatianna asked.

"Actually, a very influential man at the Ministry was curious as to how this little thing with you and the Dark Operators is going to turn out."

"Malfoy?" Tatianna asked, disgust in her voice.

Vince laughed but shook his head. "He's not *suppose* to know about the Dark Operators."

"Emphasis on 'suppose to'?" Elizabeth asked.

"Big emphasis."

"Why do you say that?" Tatianna questioned.

Vince sighed, pausing a moment before explaining with one word, "Voldemort."

"You think the Ministry of Magic is run by someone who's following the man that supposedly killed the previous Minister of Magic?" Elizabeth asked.

"In all probability. It's common knowledge among the folks in England that Malfoys are generally bad seeds. In other words, they are desperately trying to find a replacement while Malfoy's desperately trying to halt it. Word is that some on Magical Law Enforcement have a short list of two names and will shove one forward very persuasively next week."

"So we should probably have an interesting announcement next week. It will be intriguing to see how Malfoy will back out of it," Tatianna sighed, leaning back in her chair with a sigh and a crossing of her arms. "Then who was it that sent you on a fishing expedition to my office?"
Vince shook his head. "Sorry. I really can't say who it was. Just don't worry about it. He's a good guy and is just curious about...his, let's say, co-workers." He looked back over at Elizabeth. "So, what's your pre-assessment?"

"You can guess my initial thoughts, but I'm wanting to make a final judgment until I've properly investigated them."

"Okay, that's what I was here for," Vince said and stood up with a smile. After he bid his goodbyes and the door was securely shut again, Elizabeth turned back to her file.

"I don't understand why you ever broke up with him," she said to the file.

"I would think his constant teasing of you would irritate after awhile."

Elizabeth looked back up at Tatianna, giving her a sudden grin. "He was flirting, and you are jealous."

"He flirts with everyone so don't feel special."

And while it drove Tatianna nuts that Elizabeth just threw her head back and laughed, it made Tatianna smile a little. Vince may not understand why she chose Elizabeth Murphy, but this was why. While Tatianna was in an angry fit, all Elizabeth did was laugh. She may never appear as much, but she was tough and never scared. Even of a large man and his merry band of misfits.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"She called in a criminal lawyer named Elizabeth Murphy. She's got training up the ying-yang. National and international experience. Had offers from everywhere in every country where she could speak the native language. Took a little office in Minnesota when her mother got sick. After she died, father got sick, she stayed. And then just didn't move for a while.

"I met Liz quite awhile ago. I was working at Lipsky & Borton then. She interned there and worked on a few cases I was also working on.

"To put it short, she appears nice and friendly and is, to a point. However, that's not how she deals with her professional life."

Marcus smiled. "A real pistol?"

Vince nodded. "And then some. But the fortunate side is that she is extremely intelligent. She was actually advanced a year in school."

"Let's hope she isn't by the book all that much."

Vince laughed. "Imagine that. A Potter okay with by-passing the ever handy, ever popular, infamous 'book'."

Marcus didn't comment. He and Vince had a surprisingly good work relationship, but Marcus did know that he had to put up with Vince's occasional 'Potter bashing' comment. He almost always bit his tongue just to keep the peace.

"Yeah, I think she will put the okay on the Dark Operators. I'm not guaranteeing it, but I wouldn't worry too much."

"With this Voldemort, the Dark Operators will be a great resource." Marcus sighed. "But I guess it's good to put the heat on them every once in awhile, just to prove to them that they are not totally invincible to the bad guys and to their own side."

Vince nodded in agreement. "So, any other errands you need of me?"

The Auror grinned but shook his head. "Not yet, errand boy."

The lawyer chuckled.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"Landon Scooner."

"Ah, come on!"

Brittany Potter laughed. "You sound like James."

Marcus Potter rolled his eyes at his wife. A couple of days after Marcus' visit with Vince, Malcolm and Amelia Black were having tea after the two families had shared a dinner. James and Sirius were horsing around in the Black front yard. Amelia Black had just revealed the name of the new Minister of Magic.

"Landon Scooner is going to make our Auror lives a living Hell, especially while hunting this Voldemort." Marcus knew he would have to rely on Daniel Montgomery more than ever during this time now, which caused Marcus to sigh again. That Auror was having his own set of problems now, with a new Secretary that wasn't any more pleasant than Scooner would be, and now this lawyer investigating his team. Not to mention getting use to being a parent to two very depressed children.

Marcus sighed dramatically again.

"Scooner may be a bureaucratic ass, but he's good at holding things together. He did very well as the Ambassador of Magic in Israel, which you know is a very hard post."

"How long did he have off before you guys considered him?" Brittany asked. He had only been back in town for a week.

"Well," Amelia hesitated a moment before saying, "He was actually still the Ambassador when Mr. Snape brought his name up to me as a suggestion. I spoke his name behind closed doors well before I suggested him to Malfoy."

"I'm sure you asked Scooner before then," Brittany said with a small smile.

Amelia nodded with a laugh. "Oh, yeah. We wanted someone good, but we had to make sure he was ready to deal with Malfoy." Amelia looked back at Marcus. "He told Malfoy because he was going to get demoted that he was worried about the man's ability to follow orders. Malfoy assured him through clenched teeth that he would follow orders just alright."

Marcus merely sighed.

Malcolm shook his head at the younger man, a slight smile on his lips, before he changed the subject. "The School Governors released the restrictions for the Ziners kids just before they took their final exams. Both kids did exceedingly well, which disturbed some of the governors."

"They will live with a black cloak the rest of their lives, I imagine," Marcus replied sadly.

"I know that James is well acquainted with Jessica. How is he taking it?" Amelia asked.

"And how is he taking my mouthy son on it?" Malcolm added.

Both parents frowned. "James is refusing to talk about it," Brittany said. "Though Marcus and I have both tried."

"And he just ignores Sirius," Marcus said. "He's always been able to handle him."

But later that night, Marcus wasn't so sure. After the Blacks left, James locked himself into his room for the better part of the evening. Marcus tapped on his door twice with his knuckles at about 9 p.m.

"What?" came a grouchy reply.

"Let me in," Marcus called back.

"It's locked." But Marcus could hear that James made no move to change that situation.

"Do you really want me to unlock this door, James?" his asked, his voice only slightly threatening.

He heard a quiet sigh but compliance. When Marcus entered the room, James was lying on his bed, a Snitch flying in the air in front of his face. Every once in awhile, he made a grab for it before throwing it up in the air again. Except for one candle and the quickly setting sun viewable from his window, the room was dark.

"You've been as silent as a stone since Sirius left," Marcus said as he turned James' desk chair around so he could sit down and face his son.

"Got a lot on my mind."

"Is it about Jessica Ziners?"

James' silence answered him.

"Is it about the abuse from her father?"
James was still a moment, his eyes glued to the Snitch, before he shook his head. "No."

"What was Sirius saying then?"

"Sirius says a lot. Doesn't mean that I listen to it."

Marcus smiled. "Well, that's good."

James sighed. "I know what happened with Jessica's uncle. I know what they said that Jessica's father did. It's hard to believe that Jessica didn't notice anything. But she told the Supreme Interrogat that she didn't know anything about Voldemort." He looked away from the Snitch to stare out the window. His voice was quiet when he said, "And then I remembered what Sirius had said to you about Daniel Montgomery, about being friends with the good side and thus being able to spy on them. I have to wonder, Dad."

Marcus nodded. "That's understandable."

James gave him an aggravated look. "You're suppose to tell me that Jessica's not a bad egg."

Marcus grinned. "If I could tell that for sure, I would be a whole lot better at my job than I already am. And I would need a lot less people to help me."

"You're not helping me though."

He sighed. "I am sorry, but there is no way to know who a person is truly. Let me ask you this - if you forget what everyone has said about Jessica Ziners while remembering exactly who her father and her Uncle Jonathon were and remembering what you, personally, know about Jessica from your own interactions with her, do you think Jessica Ziners is a bad egg?"

When James started to shake his head, Marcus stopped him. "No. Think about it. Take a few minutes."

Marcus waited as James looked back at the Snitch. He could see his son thinking intently, nodding slightly at times before shaking his head. Slowly, his head lowered, and he shook it. "No. I don't know how much she isn't telling us, but I don't think she's a bad egg."

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Daniel stopped by the hallway to Jeffery's study. Jessica was in the hallway, leaning against the wall straight across from the doorway to the study. Her hands were behind her against the wall, and she was staring at the door. It was shut, but he knew that in her mind, it was wide open.

He stood there for a long time, just looking at her. She didn't look depressed or defeated. She just looked there, intently there. Her shoulders were relaxed...almost tiredly so. She was so much like her mother that it scared Daniel. He remembered what Casey had said on the stand, that Jessica always said that she was like her father but that she wasn't. She was like her mother. And Casey was right. She was the head of her family and not willing to let anyone - either father or uncle - to take that position from her. He knew that he would always be fighting to help her because she wouldn't allow it. Exactly like her mother. Maddie wouldn't allow Danny to help her. As she fell further into her husband's trap, she fell further from him, her own brother. Danny had forced himself to brush it off because short of giving her the Imperius Curse, he couldn't force her to do anything. He had a feeling the same was true for Jesse. Damn kid.

Suddenly, Jessica turned. Before Danny had a chance to say something, she turned and took off the other direction. Danny followed her. "Jess," he called, but she didn't turn. He tried again, but she still didn't turn. He followed her upstairs.

When they started past the library, she stopped, backed up a step, and turned into the room. She walked over to one of the shelves and grabbed a book. *Potions Every Auror Should Know* was the book. Danny wondered what Jeffery would want with that book, but he forgot about wondering when Jessica looked at him with annoyance.

"Did you need something?" she asked, irritated.

"Are you still sure you want to live in this house?"

She nodded. "Yes. Is that it?"

"I'm sorry, Jessica."

"Sorry for what?"

"Sorry that you couldn't tell me. Sorry that you can't tell me."

"Shut up. Shut the hell up," she growled and started past him, and he did something he knew he probably shouldn't have done. He grabbed her upper arm, halting her exit. She turned on him, angrier than he had ever seen her in her entire short life.

"I'm sorry! I wanted to tell you about it! But I tried, and I murdered Mom! She couldn't tell you because he would murder Casey! Or he would torture me! And I didn't care, but after that time in the study, when he forced me and Mama to watch...Uncle Danny, I couldn't..."

When the sob broke through, he rushed over to gather her in a hug, but she stepped away.

"I'm sorry. I couldn't..." she held her hands out as if to ward him off, using her left robe for a moment to wipe the tears off her face.

"Do you know," she said, getting some semblance of control over her emotions for the moment, "...do you know what it was like to have my hands on his throat when he was giving me one of his fake hugs and knowing that I was that close to killing him, to ending all of this? He choked Mama until she did what he wanted, and I kept thinking that I could do that, but I was too chicken.

"I'm sick of hearing 'poor Jessica'. It was never poor me. It was poor Casey. At least I was worth the air I breathed. To Dad, Casey wasn't worth the dirt beneath this house. And the thing of it all, the thing Dad never realized! The thing was...I couldn't have survived this far if it hadn't been for Casey. I hope..." she was sobbing so loud that she had to stop talking when her sobs became near screaming, "...and I hope Casey knows that to me, he was worth my life! He was my reason for surviving! Not just because I survived for him! He held me up! He was my strength! He was my mind! He was my sanity! I never...I never had a reason to live but for him! But it wasn't just about making sure he survived! He gave me hope! He gave me hope that there was life beyond Dad! He gave me hope that that life was worth trying for! He gave me hope that I was worth a chance! Pass this trial! I never wanted to live to go to trial! And he convinced me to work at it! To live! He is the only reason I'm trying to live beyond it! And Casey had no reason to hope! He was just a tool to that asshole! Just a means to get to me! He barely had a name to him! But he's the only reason...he's the only reason that Jeffery Ziners is dead and that I'm not in Azkaban where I should be! It's not poor me! I'm sorry that I didn't tell you! And I'm sorry, but Casey couldn't either! But stop being pissed off about it because it's done! And stop treating me like I'm a little kid that doesn't know what I did wrong! I know what I did. I looked a man in the face and shouted the Killing Curse, knowing it would make him die. I knew his heart would stop beating even before he hit the floor! I know what I did, Uncle Danny. I could have continued to try to tell someone *something*, but I wasn't willing to pay the price, I wasn't willing to save a life that wasn't worth saving only giving up a life that was worth it! Casey was the helpless one. I wasn't!"

With a wet face, Jessica turned out of the library and ran to her room.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Danny sat on one of the library chairs and put his face in his hands. He was at an utter loss.

But, like his niece, he was about to be held up by a little boy.

"Uncle Danny?"

Danny looked up and brushed at himself to gather himself before looking at the boy.

"It's okay. I heard all of it."

Danny looked at Casey with a worried look on his face. The boy smiled.

"Don't worry. I've heard it all before."

Danny patted the chair next to him, and Casey took it. Uncle smiled at nephew, amused by the fact that he himself had trouble finding legroom, but his nephew's feet dangled, barely touching the floor.

"Jessica's complicated. She wasn't like that before Mama died, but after that happened, she felt guilty," Casey sighed and pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose before he continued. "I remember Grandma Jessica said that for some, the Mighty Blood was never a gift. For some, it was just there, nothing more, nothing less. And for some, it was a burden that only weighed partially. But for some, it was a burden that was so heavy that they could sit in the most beautiful, secluded oasis in the world and still feel so weighed down by the burden that they want to collapse under the weight even if they are sitting. I remember she used the word oasis because I had to look it up.

"Anyway, Jessica's of that last category. But then the guilt of Mama's death was added to that weight. And then my life was added to that weight.

"And even though she can give up that weight now, she's had it for so long that she doesn't know how to let go of it."

Danny sighed and paused in silence for a time before turning to Casey with a half grin. "How did you become so wise?"

"Lots of time to think. The most I was ever allowed out of my room was my first year at Hogwarts. I had to make the occasional appearance around and not look like I was locked up at home, so Father let me out occasionally. But, beyond that, I was in my room, usually recovering from something. So I had a lot of time to think. And read." Casey smiled. "I had lots of time for reading too." He laughed then. "I guess that might also be the reason that I hardly ever grow. Never time and no chance for a lot of physical stuff."

Danny paused before squeezing his nephew's knee and saying, "No, the lack of height is so others will underestimate you. You've got big, ol' me, so people are more defensive, but you...you, they won't think will be a problem. But that's untrue, isn't it?"

Casey chuckled and nodded slowly, "In more ways than you know, Uncle Danny. In more ways than you know." He stood up. "In the meantime, I've got to go get Jessica out of bed."

"Why don't you get her out to ride a horse?" Danny suggested.

Casey turned to him, a surprised look on his face. "That really okay with you? Dad wouldn't let us ride the horses unless we were being rewarded for something."

"Casey, you will be able to do a lot more with me than you could have done with your father. Even get into trouble. But I will punish you. I just won't beat you, torture you, or confine you to your room for endless amounts of time."

Casey, still partially turned for his exit, looked down for a moment. After a minute, he looked back up, "Can I make a request, S...I mean, Uncle Danny?"

Danny had cringed at the almost 'Sir' but let it pass without incident. "Anything, Case."

"For punishments, can it be something other than being confined to our rooms? Something like cleaning the Muggle way or something?"

Danny nodded. "I think that can be arranged."

Casey grinned and started to exit it, but he was stopped again but by Danny rather than himself.

"Casey, can you tell Jessica about the 'doing anything you want' and the punishment stuff? I think that might bring her around a little."

Casey shook his head. "No, that's your lot. I'm not about to be yours and Jess' go-between. I got my own life to lead. But I'll give you a tip when talking to her."

"What's that?"

"Never summon her. That's what Dad would do. From his study, he would scream, 'Jessica! Here! Now!' That kind of thing. Don't do that. Jess has a problem remembering that you're not Dad. It's best not to act like Dad then. See ya!" Casey yelled and left successfully this time, leaving a smirking, chuckling Danny behind him.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Casey kept looking at his sister throughout dinner, causing Danny to smile but not comment. Finally, as their plates were nearly cleared, Jessica finally said what Casey had apparently been waiting for.

"Uncle Danny, since you're in charge of our inheritance until we're of age, we were wondering if you could do something for us with it."

Very curious, he replied, "Depends. What do you want?"
"Dad use to help Mr. Evans' business. We were wondering if you could

continue to do so with our inheritance money."

Danny smiled and nodded. "Do you want to invite Lily and her family over? I can talk to her dad then, and we'll set something up."

Jessica smiled and nodded.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Lily smiled as Jessica led her into her home. Lily had been here only once before, when she had been six-years old. She had remembered it as a big, brooding house, and she had been very scared of it. But now it seemed different, almost friendlier. It was probably because, this time, Jessica was all grins.

"Uncle Danny wanted us to move to his apartment, but this is where Mom was, so..."

Lily nodded in understanding.

Jessica turned back to Lily's parents. "Uncle Danny will be here in about ten or so minutes. He gets off at five. It's usually later, but now that he has us, he's been getting off at that time."

"Who was the man that picked us up?" Mr. Evans asked.
"Riley Haderson. He's my uncle's second in command. He's been on vacation."

"He's the one that investigated Jessica's situation," Lily added.

"What does your uncle do?" Mrs. Evans asked curiously as a house elf took their coats.

"He's an Auror. One of the best in America as a matter of fact." Jessica smiled proudly just as the door opened. It was Daniel Montgomery.

"Hey," Danny said with a grin. He shook the Evans' hands and introductions were exchanged.

They ate dinner together and had quite the animated conversation. Afterwards, while the kids went off to play, Uncle Danny set up things for investing in Mr. Evans' business.

Afterwards, Jessica and Casey were delighted when they heard that Uncle Danny and Lily's parents decided to treat the kids by letting Lily stay the night. The next day, there was a depressed departure. Jessica and Casey went out and about the Department for the rest day and didn't return until just before supper. It was after supper that an ugly Eagle Owl arrived at the Manor. It dropped a letter in Jessica's hands just as they were about to leave the dining room.

Danny stopped to look at her as she silently opened the letter. He would have left the kids to their devices but upon turning again towards the door, he noticed the look on Casey's face. It was a look of pure apprehension.

She read over the letter before frowning, but when she looked up, she forced a smile on her face. "It's from Tom, my godfather. He wants us to spend the week before school with him."

Danny gave her a curious look. "Do you want to go?"
Without breaking eye contact, she nodded. "Yes. It would be good to spend time with him."

When Danny walked out of the room, Jessica and Casey turned towards each other.

"That was a nice, *short* vacation," Casey murmured.

To be continued...

Teaser: Chapter 15 is titled: "Casey's Battle".