A Sirius Change

Chapter 10 - Delusions

Cordelia landed on the back porch. She stumbled and grabbed a hold of the sideboard until she could regain her balance. She had gotten used to travelling by Portkey, but still didn't like it. It made her dizzy. She couldn't help herself, she didn't want to, but she looked down and saw paws. She knew she would, but for some reason it still felt like a shock. She felt the need to change building in her quickly. She thought briefly about the clothes she was wearing. She really liked these jeans, they fit just right and were worn to just the right thickness. Oh well, she thought, as the change overtook her and she collapsed on the floor of the porch.

The pain was there still, but the rush of the release countered that. When it was done she got up and stretched her cat body. She stretched her legs out in front of her and then in the back and gave a great shake. It felt good. She felt strong and agile and hungry. It wasn't like a hunger that she'd experienced as a human. It was more of a compulsion that needed satisfying. The compulsion didn't much care about her civilized sensibilities. It wanted flesh and didn't care who, or what, donated it. With this driving her, she set out for the forest north of the house.

She was just approaching the woods when she heard the howl. She glanced back over her sleek, black shoulder. She knew she was nearly invisible on the dark edge of the forest, so she wasn't frightened. It was a bit unnerving as her human perceptions and her fear of dark forests fought with her compulsion to go stalk and kill. Her human mind was telling her to stay out of there, because you never knew what might be hidden within those depths. Sirius had told her enough stories about the Forbidden Forest at Hogwarts for her to be suitably cautious. At the same time, her leopard was calculating just what kind of advantage she could have hunting in a dark forest. She could feel the anticipation of the hunt and started to reach out with her more attuned senses. The hunt at the Pard had been led by Peter. She simply followed and allowed him to bring down the food. She had a bit of a panic when she thought about trying to hunt alone and succeeding. She was very concerned that she wouldn't find anything, given her inexperience, yet at the same time her nose was beginning to tell her feet where to go.

She had begun to slink down the trail when she heard the rustling behind her. Her first instinct was to turn and attack. She turned and crouched back into a place off the path. She heard a snuffling that sounded far more animal than human. She backed further into the wood, readying herself to spring. Maybe her prey would just find her. That would be right convenient, she thought. As the prey approached, she realized that she knew that scent. Her brain told her it was animal, but the human left inside recognized human cologne. She let out the breath she'd been holding and moved out of the crouch. She spotted him as he let out a howl.

She approached him as he stood still in the path. He was waiting. He looked like he was waiting for her approval. She prowled up to him and nudged him, shoulder to shoulder. He nodded his head and nudged her back. Then he took off down the trail and she gratefully followed.

******

They loped up to the porch, while the nearly full moon beamed overhead. It had begun its descent into the western horizon and the first glimmers of light were coming from the east. Cordelia was tired, but she felt satisfied. They had found a nice plump dear. Remus attracted its attention while he indicated to Cordelia to go for the kill. She had and she had been amazed that she could do it. It was instinct.

As Cordelia touched the porch, she released herself from her leopard form. The pain was there again, but also a sense of accomplishment, restfulness, and satisfaction that accompanied the change. She straightened up from the ball she had rolled herself in and immediately noticed two things. She was naked, and Remus was beginning to stretch and come out of his transformation as well. Unfortunately, that meant he was naked as well. Remus looked up, their eyes met for a moment, and both uttered an embarrassed laugh, as Remus averted his eyes.

"Errrrr, I'd better be getting something on," Cordelia stammered. "I'll bring you some of Sirius' clothes."

"Thanks," he mumbled, as he got up off the floor and held the door for her, still looking away from her.

She hurried up the stairs to her bedroom and grabbed the white terry robe she kept there. After that was securely in place, she rifled through Sirius' dresser for jeans, and a shirt. She briefly wondered boxers or briefs, than realized it didn't make any difference as Sirius didn't leave any spare pants here anyway.

She ran down the hall and knocked at the door of the room that Remus generally used when he came to stay. She heard the shower running across the hall and left the clothes on the bed.

She went back to her room and showered herself, then threw on a pair of jeans and a white t-shirt before heading downstairs.

By the time she got there, Remus was in the kitchen, making coffee. He offered her a cup as she entered and she took it gladly. She set about making some toast, as she really wasn't hungry and was still slightly nauseated from the deer blood she'd drank.

"You all right?" Remus asked once she sat down.

"Yeah, I think I'm okay. I feel better than yesterday, less tense. How are you? Thanks so much for helping me last night. Did Sirius send you?"

"Of course, but had I known I would have come anyway, without him having to ask."

"We very much appreciate that." Cordelia was quiet for a bit. "Oh! Did you have your potion?" She saw the look on his face and said automatically, "No, of course not. You weren't expecting the full moon for another couple of nights. Are you all right?"

"Actually, I feel pretty good. I don't feel as sleepy or as groggy as I usually do, and I feel relieved as well."

"So will we still have to transform on the full moon, then?" Cordelia asked.

"I have no idea. This is the first time I've transformed on a night other than the full moon. I don't know if this takes care of it."

"Preventive transformation?" Cordelia offered.

Remus laughed and thought a bit. "Yeah, I wonder if it works that way. Have they taught you that?"

"No, we hadn't gotten there yet, and I'm not sure it applies to the full moon. It applies to other times, such as when you know you're going to be in a situation that generally triggers your change. If you can plan a safe place to change, then you can prevent the painful and dangerous transformations that you seem to have." Cordelia paused, "at least that's what they've told me. I should have listened to them and found a safe place before I hurt Sirius."

Remus looked up.

Cordelia blundered on, "How badly was he hurt? Is that why you're here and not him?"

"His back was bleeding the last time I saw him, but he wasn't incapacitated. He thought I could be more effective in helping you hunt than he could."

"Oh, yes ... right, well, of course ..." She was trying to be upbeat, but she really had wished Sirius was there with her now. This was her irrational side, but irrational or not, she wanted him. Remus was still a bit of a stranger to her. He was very quiet and reserved. She didn't want to ask questions that would offend him, but she also knew a good source of information when she saw one.

They talked a long time about how it felt to transform and hunt and kill and feed. It was difficult, but she needed to know from someone that knew.

"I was surprised that I could change, frankly. I'd never tried it before, but I saw you bounding off when I arrived. I know I couldn't let you out there alone. I've investigated these woods, remember?"

"Is there awful stuff in there?"

"Not too bad when you're an animal, but I wouldn't tread there after dark as a human."

"Sirius and I have been to the little pool in there about two kilometres. I never saw anything spooky."

"It's what you don't see, Cordelia," Remus said with a smile.

"How was this change different from usual?"

"Besides finding myself on the porch with a beautiful naked woman at the end of it, it was better than normal. I pictured the wolf and then relaxed and thought about the good times I'd had in that form and found the change flow more easily than normal. Generally, I'm resisting it because it does hurt. I know the pain now and dread it each month. It's better with the wolfsbane, but then again it isn't. The transformation isn't nearly as painful, but I have far fewer hunting skills when I take it. Plus my desire for meat is less. It's a double edged sword, isn't it? If you dampen the bad, it dampens the good as well."

"Isn't that the case with whatever you do?"

They both laughed, as they heard the front door open and close.

"Hallo? Are you two awake?" Sirius called from the entrance hall.

He came into the kitchen and gave Cordelia a brilliant smile, but didn't meet her eyes, then turned to Remus, "Thanks. Sorry I couldn't make it."

"Did Harry come over?" Remus asked.

"Yeah, he fixed me up," Sirius assured him, looking at Remus..

The bandages weren't visible through his shirt, but you could see lumps along his back that weren't natural. Cordelia didn't want to think about the actual damage she may have caused.

He took her by the arms and kissed her. She hadn't expected this. She thought he might be hurt and angry. "It's okay," he whispered to her. She smiled and he kissed her again, long and deep.

Remus cleared his throat. Cordelia pulled back and smiled sheepishly.

"I could leave you two alone," Remus offered.

Sirius waved the comment away, "No, we have plenty of time. Kate said she'd take the kids to the zoo today and keep them for the weekend. She knows it's a full moon and thought it best for them to stay away from here. Will you stay the weekend, Remus?"

"I suppose I might. I don't have plans, since it's a full moon."

"Good," Cordelia said happily. She set about pouring Sirius a cup of coffee, when there came the scratching of an owl as it pecked at the door.

Sirius crossed the sunny kitchen in a few strides and unlatched the door. "I wonder what the rag has to say this morning," Sirius said as he let the bird perch on his shoulder. He fed it some toast and slid a knut into the pouch, then tossed the Daily Prophet to Remus without glancing at it. The paper was still folded up and in its protective covering.

Sirius went about gathering some breakfast and sipping the coffee, Cordelia had settled into her chair with the The Scotsman, as Remus opened the Prophet.

"Holy Merlin's Hell," said Remus with a sharp intake of breath. He held up the paper with its headline and a picture of Cordelia leaving Peter Michaels' house. Sirius snatched up the paper as Cordelia stared at it, open mouthed, shocked.

Sirius was halfway through the article when Cordelia glanced out the window and saw Colin Apparate onto the patio just off the kitchen. Cordelia had been pacing, waiting for her turn to read the article. Ten more security wizards Apparated right after Colin. Cordelia saw Colin gather them all and issue orders. Within a few minutes they were spread out and Colin had approached the door.

"Come on in, Colin," Cordelia called as she crossed to the door to open it. Colin entered and instantly locked the door and drew the curtains. He left the kitchen and she could hear him go from room to room checking entrances and pulling drapes. Before he got back, as Sirius was handing her the newspaper, they heard shouts and noise on the driveway. Cordelia peeked out of the front curtains and to her horror there must have been twenty to thirty people in her driveway. There were wagons full of crystals and firelights with banners on the side that read "Wizarding Wireless" and "Witch Weekly." Thankfully she did not see a Circe wagon, but then she knew Ginny would not participate in this hysteria; besides, if she wanted to know anything they would tell her. At least Cordelia had a fighting chance with Ginny. She knew she couldn't trust anyone else.

Colin came back in the room and pulled Cordelia away from the window.

She was sputtering and protesting, but Colin looked at her firmly. "Cordelia, I don't want more pictures and I don't want you to get injured. I don't know who all is out there and they might not all be journalists, to use that term lightly. You don't need to see this group and they most certainly don't need to see you."

Cordelia opened and closed her mouth a couple of times as she looked from Colin to Sirius and back again.

"He's right, you know," Remus commented softly.

Colin shot him a look. "They've already got a picture of you and her naked on the porch here. Someone sent me an owl about a half hour ago with it. It wasn't moving, so we're thinking it was taken with a Muggle camera, however that's not the point. It could easily have been someone with a wand, not a camera."

"Or a gun," Cordelia added helpfully.

Colin glared at her, "Or a gun," he said. "How can I get you two to take me seriously? Why was I not informed that the three of you were up here?"

Sirius looked up, "It was just the two of them last night. I didn't get here until this morning."

"That's even worse. If they can place you at home last night while she was up here naked with your friend the werewolf, how the hell are we ever going to explain that?"

Cordelia looked up at that. "Is it illegal to be naked with someone?"

"We have some very strict laws about adultery," Sirius said as he began to pace.

"What the heck were you two doing up here by yourselves naked, anyway? Sirius, you knew about this and you're okay with it?" Colin said incredulously.

"Of course," he snapped. "I sent Remus up here to be with her. She was changing and she injured me. She needed to hunt and I couldn't be with her. When you change back the clothes don't come with you. So when they were done hunting and changed back to humans they were naked. I don't think for a minute that anything adulterous happened." He was talking to Colin, but glanced at both Cordelia and Remus.

They answered, "No," in unison.

Colin took a deep breath and turned to Cordelia, "What about with Michaels?"

"Colin! No! Never! Yes, I have been spending an inordinate amount of time at his house, but we've never even considered any kind of relationship. He loves his wife and I am deeply in love with my husband."

"I thought so, I just needed to hear it from you," Colin commented, calming slightly.

"We'll need some help with what to do next. I'm not a public relations expert. I just do security and right now this place is not secure. But neither is the townhouse. We're working on that. We should have additional wards in place soon."

"What about Charlie and Ian? They're at my mum's. Are they safe there?" Cordelia asked.

"I've got a team there now. Meanwhile none of you are to go out. No one goes near a window. I don't want anymore pictures of you and her. We'll arrange for them to get some pictures of Cordelia and Sirius sometime today. So what does the article say exactly?" Colin had turned to Cordelia who still held the newspaper in her hand.

Cordelia read it aloud. There had apparently been someone stationed outside of Peter's flat for quite some time, recording all of Cordelia's comings and goings. An anonymous source had also provided proof that Peter was a wereleopard. Cordelia felt a pang at that as he had kept this information from most of his acquaintances. He wouldn't lose his job, they knew, or his wife, she had been there for every single one of their sessions, but a lot more people were going to believe in wereleopards which would make it more difficult to hide. The Pards had counted on people believing in werewolves, but not having the imagination for wereleopards. Many people scoffed at their existence and that allowed the groups a lot of leeway for their activities.

Cordelia tossed the newspaper on the table when she was done. Remus picked it up and began to examine it. Colin let out a harummph and left the room. Sirius came closer. Cordelia was standing and leaning back on the counter, in a corner of the kitchen that couldn't be seen from the windows and doors. Sirius faced her, "Are you all right?"

She looked sad. "Yeah, I guess. You do believe me, don't you? Nothing ever happened."

"Yes, of course I believe you," and he reached out and pulled her into his arms and they stood like that for a long time.

For the next few days, there was siege mentality at the farm. Colin ran the security forces, Draco relayed developments from London, Cordelia tried to get work done, Remus sent stealth owls, and Sirius paced. As the full moon approached they began to work out a plan to allow Cordelia and Remus to escape into the woods. They decided that Draco had the capability of slipping in and creating a diversion to the press while Cordelia and Remus slipped out.

Thankfully it worked. Cordelia and Remus, in animal form, were able to slip out of the stables with no one watching. Sirius saw them slip into the forest and was getting himself a drink when Draco wandered into the kitchen.

"Nice place, this. Not quite Malfoy Manor, but the Hunters obviously did well for themselves. I never would have thought that you married for money, boss, but you did well for yourself. Does all of this go to you if Cordelia dies?"

Sirius glared at Draco, "Cordelia is not going to die anytime soon, and no, this does not go to me. Kate's will specifically states that the farm will pass to Cordelia, then to Charlotte, then to any female children of Charlotte's."

"Ah, matrilineal inheritance, how very feminist."

Sirius just looked at him in exasperation. "Thanks for the diversion. Cordelia and Remus will appreciate it."

"Glad to be of service, even if it is in the service of lycanthropes. Don't they creep you out, though?"

"Errrr, no. Why should they? Do you want one of these?" Sirius asked, gesturing to his glass of deep amber brown whisky.

Draco shrugged as he got himself a glass, "The whole animal thing. I've watched a few transform and it's the most wretched thing I've seen. Well, not the most wretched, but it was odd."

"I've seen it more than a few times and, it just isn't that odd to me. Maybe it's because I was just a kid when I started to see Remus' transformations. It always fascinated me. Are you forgetting I can transform as well?" Sirius poured out and added some of the liquid to his own glass.

"Yeah, but yours are magic. Just poof, and there's the dog. You don't see your bones reforming."

"Well, I'll thank you to keep your opinions about transformations to yourself. Cordelia has enough issues adapting to this. She doesn't need you telling her it's repulsive."

"What about you? Are you having issues adapting to this? I heard you got scratched up." Draco winced as he took a sizeable gulp from his glass.

"Yes, she got me good across the back, but it's not bad and it's almost healed." Sirius said as he reached back and touched his bandages.

"Aren't you afraid for the kids?"

"No," Sirius stated firmly, effectively curbing any more discussion of lycanthropy. "Now, what have you found out about those wizards that took your family's sculpture?"

Draco looked at Sirius for a bit, but did turn his attention to business. "I have a list of everyone who did the inspections and cleansing of the Manor after Lucius was arrested last year. I've gone through the list with Harry and the intelligence wizards. Most of the wizards and witches are very reputable agents. They're either ID agents or they're Aurors, except for this one, one Blaine Waters. He was a minor ministry official, he was brought along as a scribe to the cleansing. They gave him all sorts of things to remove from the premises and he was to catalogue them and get them to the appropriate ministry department. I figure the sculpture just didn't find its way to its home, although I wasn't aware that it was particularly magical. It never did anything when I touched it."

Sirius noticed a strange smile of remembrance flickering at Draco's mouth. "Is there any connection between this chap and Peregrine?"

"Not that we have discovered yet, but we're working on it."

"All right. Are you going back to London?" Sirius asked casually.

"I could. I thought you might need a nifty diversion to get them back in. Do you need me to stick around?"

"Actually that would be nice, thanks. If you could."

"Yeah, I've got nothing planned. Ginny is in crisis mode, meeting with editorial staff and the like."

Sirius looked surprised. "She's doing a piece on this?"

"Well, she has to react somehow. When I left her this morning with the Prophet, she was cursing them and swearing to do an expose of them and their lousy reporting methods, etc. So I don't think you have to worry about her, but yeah, she has to address it. It's a big story, Sirius. One with sex and intrigue, adultery and lycanthropy, and naked picture to boot. What more can you ask for?" Draco said with a smile, draining his glass.

Sirius just shook his head, and drained his own. "I'll find you a room, and you can get some sleep. They'll be out for a few hours at least."

Sirius moved into the hallway, turning off lights as he went and climbed the front stairs. He showed Draco to a room near Lupin's, and headed off to the master suite he and Cordelia always used when they were there, grateful to be alone for a change. Welcoming the chance to think through the information Draco had provided. He stood well back from the window, but looked out on the grounds towards the forest. The moon was bright overhead and he could see the reporters camped out around fires and wagons. They seemed to be letting their guard down and he was hoping most would be asleep when Cordelia and Remus came back. With a deep sigh, he curled up on the bed, fully clothed and tried to sleep.

The alarm went off before dawn. He woke Draco, and they took up lookout positions in the attic, which had a number of small windows that they could used to observe the grounds. Sirius took the one facing west and Draco took the one facing south.

"I think I see Lupin," Draco said softly, after nearly an hour of watching, just as the sun broke the horizon.

Sirius crossed to Draco's window, "Where?"

"Over near the edge there, by the large spruce."

"Holy crap, there's someone down there!" Sirius exclaimed.

"Can I blast him from here?" Draco offered urgently, drawing his wand and beginning to open the window.

"No! Let's get down there," Sirius said as he sprinted down the narrow steps.

They raced down the steps and came to a halt in front of the kitchen door.

They could see a crowd at the edge of the forest. "Stay here and do what Colin tells you," Sirius ordered as he tore from the kitchen to the basement to open the small door on the other side of the house.

He figured correctly. As soon as he opened the door, a black blur came bounding in. He closed and latched it before he could tell if she was followed.

He could hear a commotion upstairs. He summoned Cordelia's robe from the bedroom, as he watched her writhe in the centre of the basement floor. In the way that the brain sometimes can be completely practical, the thought that they should get a rug down here flitted through his mind.

She came into her fully formed human state with a cry, and a string of curses.

Sirius tossed her the robe as she stood. "We've got to help Remus. He was stunned, and I think I might have hurt some idiot reporter that came up on us just before we reached the Portkey."

"Oh, hell!" Sirius instantly knew the implications of this.

They bounded up the stairs as team of security wizards brought a bound, bleeding, and silenced man through the door, followed by the still unconscious, but human, Remus.

Colin rounded on Cordelia, "What the hell happened?"

"Don't yell at me. That idiot struck first."

Sirius glared at Colin. Colin paced a large circle, breathing deeply. "I'm sorry, Cordelia."

Cordelia took a deep breath. "It's okay. We're all a bit stressed, aren't we?"

"Okay, what happened? We need to know so we know if we can hold him or if we have to let him go."

Cordelia took a deep breath and wound her arms tighter around herself. "We were getting close to the Portkey. Remus was supposed to transform then use it to get us both back to the basement, just like we all planned. All the media was up by the house and it seemed most of them were asleep. Remus transformed when this man comes through the trees with his wand out, stunning Remus. I didn't know what kind of spell, and well, I tackled him, it was defensive. I know I clawed his leg and possibly his torso, then I was pulled off him and I ran to the basement door."

"We had a wizard there that pulled you off, but he wasn't close enough to have seen the initial attack. But from what you're telling me, he struck first, and was aggressive," Colin concluded. "Good, we can charge him and hold him for questioning. I'll be back. Draco, come with me."

"Oh God. I just realized, he's infected. I didn't mean to. Oh, shit." Cordelia started to hyperventilate.

Sirius grabbed her by the arms. "Deep breath. There's nothing you could do. He struck first. You were defending Remus. Remus will thank you when he wakes up."

By this time, Cordelia was shaking and crying and Sirius was holding her.

He wanted to go beat the crap out of whoever it was. Sirius understood all about guilt and wasn't pleased to have this bestowed on Cordelia at the moment, but he also knew he couldn't alleviate it. It was something she'd have to figure out for herself.

After a bit, she took a couple of deep breaths and seemed to pull herself together.

Sirius let her go and tilted her head up to meet his eyes. "Go up and shower and dress. I'll come up and let you know the status. I'll send a security witch up with you if you want."

"Ummm, yes. I suppose that would be good. Remus looked okay, didn't he?" Her voice shook and her body trembled as she began to take a few steps towards the stairs.

"Yeah, I think he was just stunned. I'll check, though, and come up as soon as I can."

"Okay," Cordelia said softly as she wiped her eyes with her shaking hands. "I feel sick."

"I'll send up some tea as well," Sirius offered.

"All right." Cordelia said, sounding tired and defeated. He hoped a good night's rest would help. Sirius escorted Cordelia to the bottom of the stairs and left her to go up with a quick kiss and a squeeze of her hand.

Sirius returned to the study where Colin and Draco were standing over the man. He had been bandaged and silenced, but the look in his eyes was fear and belligerence. Sirius was just getting briefed by Colin when Remus walked in.

"What do we know so far?" Remus asked, briskly.

"Only what Cordelia told us. Do you remember anything?" Sirius asked.

"I was just coming out of the transformation. I hadn't even got a chance to stand up all the way when this git comes bounding through the bushes, wand drawn, and curses me. I lost consciousness, and didn't even quite hear what kind of curse he used. I'm not much help. What happened to his leg?"

"Cordelia tackled him after he cursed you."

"Holy Merlin's ghost, does he know?"

They all turned to look at the man. He had heard them and nodded.

"I think we need to see what he has to say," Sirius stated. The others nodded and Colin removed the silencing charm.

"You bloody bastards, allowing your wereleopard to run all over, infecting innocents. She should be skewered and skinned. That's the only way to deal with wereanimals. They aren't fit to be human after all."

"Shut it," yelled Sirius as Lupin and Draco also pointed their wands at the man's heart. "You will answer our questions and you will not add your own opinions like that again. Do you understand?"

Sirius began the questioning, "Name."

"John Doe," the man said belligerently.

"All right, John. We'll find out your real name soon enough. We'll go with John for now. Why were you in that part of the forest?"

"I was told they would be there."

"By whom?"

"My employer."

"Who is?"

"Not your concern."

Sirius glared at the man. "I do beg to differ. My concern is to get as much information from you as possible. You've just been infected with leopard lycanthropy. Can you be certain that your employer would keep you around?"

"You don't need to worry about that, do you?"

"No, I guess not. What were you doing in the forest?"

"Taking a walk."

"A walk?" Sirius was incredulous. He could feel that anger and frustration were building. He had been working on maintaining a more diplomatic posture, but it was going to be difficult in this case. He had the feeling that this session was going to be long and involved and also suspected this person didn't know a lot about what was going on. Sirius glared at the man, considering how best to encourage him to divulge whatever information he had.

John glared back at Sirius, then turned his attention to each of the individuals in the room. Sirius followed his gaze. He seemed to be evaluating each of them and trying to determine who might hurt him the worst and who he might be able to make into an ally. At least that's what Sirius would have been thinking if he were in this gentleman's shoes. Remus was standing by the book shelf, absentmindedly flipping through a book he'd withdrawn from the shelf. He was barefoot and the jeans and sport shirt he'd thrown on were worn and faded. He looked completely non-threatening, but the man shifted uncomfortably in his chair before removing his gaze. Colin stood by the door with his arms folded across his chest, wand in hand. He had a much more threatening posture. It was a bodyguard posture. Draco leaned against the desk, his clothing a bit rumpled from sleeping in them, but otherwise unflustered. Sirius thought he looked bored by the whole affair, then he realized it must be his interrogation face. He'd seen it on other individuals who were good at interrogation. The trick was not to give anything away; to appear completely neutral. Sirius understood that anger and threats would only go so far in encouraging an unwilling person to talk, there had to be some sort of incentive for the one answering the questions.

Sirius stood in front of the man, stroking his beard and thinking. He really wanted to beat the crap out of him, but he realized the other men in the room wouldn't let him and that it wouldn't be very useful. He had to tuck one hand under his arm to keep from balling his fist and giving that desire away.

He took a deep breath.

"Let's try this again," Sirius stated, as calmly as he could.

They tried various tactics for the next hour. Sirius took the lead in questioning, but John was not talking. They got out of him that he had been a petty thief until a stint in Muggle prison had reformed him. He had gone back to school and trained as a photographer. He claimed that he was just there with the press corps and got lucky. He saw some motion in the forest and went over to investigate.

"My wife says that you approached them aggressively and cursed Remus before he could complete the transformation," Sirius looked to Remus for confirmation.

Remus nodded, and looked at the suspect directly. "Yes, he did. I was not able to defend myself and was not even standing when he came through the bushes."

John looked at Remus with disdain. "Why should I worry about you? They won't trust your testimony. You're a werewolf."

Sirius laughed and said, more to himself than anyone else, "Sometimes it's good to be king." Then louder, "Do you realize that he's my best friend and that he was up here to help my wife? Do you understand the clout that I have? I don't have use for this power often but this is one of those times. He is well very connected. Why on earth would you think he would not be believed?"

"Everyone knows you can't trust a lycanthrope. And everyone knows your wife's been running around on you. Why the hell would you defend her? Maybe I thought I was doing everyone a favour by trying to kill her."

"WHAT?" Sirius wheeled on him. "You were trying to KILL her?"

"Yes. I wasn't supposed to let that out, but yeah, that's what my assignment was," Mr. Doe said with a casual arrogance that made Sirius want to smash his face into the wall.

Sirius had the man by the front of his shirt and up against the wall, and before anyone could stop him, he'd landed a few blows to the man's mid-section.

Draco pulled him off and dragged him across the room and pinned him to the wall. "Stop it, Sirius. He's already been infected and now he could accuse you of assault. I'll handle it from here out. I can persuade him to tell us a lot if you stop attacking him."

Sirius shrugged away from Draco. "Fine," he spat.

Draco looked at him for a long moment. "Can I use what I know?"

"What do you mean?" Sirius asked.

"I mean I was trained at interrogation, but the methods were not always thoroughly legal."

"Don't give him anymore excuses."

"I'm a bit more subtle than that. I really need to teach you good guys a lot," Draco smiled and approached the subject.

"Hello, Mr. Doe. I'm Draco Malfoy."

"Yes, I know who you are. Did I hear right. That you're taking over the questioning?"

"Yes. Does that matter?"

John put his chin up, like a kid telling the schoolyard bully he wasn't afraid of him. Sirius laughed just a bit in that he knew Draco had been the schoolyard bully during his tenure at Hogwarts. Maybe this was the way to go.

Draco slid a chair up and turned it backwards. When he sat down he was inches from the man's face.

"First, we'd like to apologize to you for your injuries and for the Deputy Chancellor's outburst. You did know he was the Deputy Chancellor of the International Federation of Wizards, didn't you?"

"Yes," John mumbled. "Not a fit one, though. I've heard all about you," he called out to Sirius, then lowered his voice. "He's nutters, he is. I mean, really mental. Peregrine says he should be locked up." With this, the man closed his mouth, instantly aware that he'd let something slip he had not intended.

Sirius circled the room. Draco had raised one eyebrow, "Peregrine? Avian Peregrine?"

"No. Never heard of him."

Draco laughed. "Come on now. You want us to believe that? We already know that Peregrine has been behind everything that's happened to our favourite Deputy Chancellor this winter. We just need you to fill in the blanks so we can stop him. If you co-operate, you may not see the inside of Azkaban. If you don't, our Deputy Chancellor has a special relationship with the Dementors, perhaps he could arrange a cell near theirs."

John went deathly pale. "Not them. I met up with one of them once a long time ago. I don't want anything to do with them."

Sirius had come up and was standing behind him. He leaned over and whispered in his ear, "Do you know how to conjure a Patronus?"

John looked over his shoulder. Sirius could see the fear in his eyes, but he didn't answer the question.

Sirius just smiled.

"You'd feed me to them after infecting and assaulting me?"

"You came on my property and just admitted to planning to kill my wife; I'd do it in a heartbeat."

"But she's a ..." John was making a face like he'd tasted something putrid, "... a wereleopard."

"Yes, she is. So what, she's still my wife. ."

John was stunned and shaking. "All right. All right. Can't get much worse, can it?"

Draco smiled and laughed his best maniacal laugh, which Sirius thought was pretty damn good. "Oh, it can get worse, trust me. It can get much worse."

John Doe looked surprised, but started to talk in a shaky voice. After another hour of questions in which Draco's training came in quite handy, they learned that this man, still referring to himself as John Doe, was hired by an organization called Artways. He'd never met his contact, but had met the secretary that gave the assignments and paid him. He admitted to meeting Peregrine once, but Doe said Peregrine was not his contact at Artways. He didn't even know if Peregrine had anything to do with Artways or was a buyer from them.

He finally admitted that his assignments were typically to steal wizarding artworks and pass them to Artways. He said this was his first assignment that hadn't involved theft and that he was paid significantly more money for this. He was assured there would be others around and that no one would accuse him of anything.

Once the realization dawned on him that he was on the hook for attempted murder and assault and the fact that he was now most likely infected by a wereleopard, his resolve to protect others crumbled. He told them he knew of at least ten other people employed by Artways. They had all been criminals that had done their time. He knew some of them from some time he had spent in a prison in Australia. He knew most of them had day jobs and even had heard them talk about their jobs. He didn't know where they worked and wasn't sure he believed any of them about their real lives. He gave them names, but also said he knew they weren't their real names and he didn't know them by anything else.

He couldn't give an address for Artways as it was the type of building that kept moving. He'd be informed by secure Floo network where it would appear at what time and he'd have to be there if he wanted the assignment.

After having him retell the story at least three times, Draco sat back and nodded to Colin. "He's done. Nothing else to tell. Shall we go talk about this in private?"

Sirius nodded and he and Remus moved towards the door. Colin approached Mr. Doe and began moving him to the fireplace where they could Floo to the IFW secure wing.

Once gathered in the drawing room, Sirius was excited. He knew they were on to something. Remus and Draco watched as Sirius paced the room.

"Don't you see!" he exclaimed excitedly. "It all fits. Doe said he knew one of them was a carpenter. I bet if we got a description he would be someone who worked on the townhouse. And that woman he told us about. The one who was a graphic artist, he said she was an explosives expert, and I would lay galleons on my hunch that she worked at Circe. Can we get a hold of Ginny to confirm that?" he asked, as he moved towards the fireplace.

"No! Let me. We don't need your head showing up in her fireplace right now, if we don't know who's in her office."

Sirius stepped back and waved Draco through.

He threw a pinch of glittery powder into the flames. "Ginny?" he called out.

After waiting a bit as he saw a multitude of shoes moving about in the room, Ginny's face appeared.

"Oh! Hi. Can I get back to you? I'm in the middle of figuring out how we're going to handle the news about Sirius and Cordelia. Hey, is it true Cordelia infected someone already?"

Draco shook his head. "I think you want to talk to us right now, but I need you to be alone."

"Hmm. All right then." The conversation paused as Ginny cleared her office. "Do I get the story?"

"I didn't say that, but we need some information from you on an employee."

"You do? For the investigation or was the journalist who was attacked one of mine?"

"You had a person up here in this circus?"

"Of course! Even if I don't do a story it would be irresponsible of me not to at least be there and gather the information."

For some reason this irritated Draco. "You would make a profit at the cost of Sirius and Cordelia's peace?"

"No! They know I would check with them before I printed anything, but if I didn't get the same information that everyone else did, then I'd be accused of covering up because I was too close with the wizarding administration. I'd never be able to credibly issue any criticism or praise for that matter again."

"Its okay, Draco," Sirius cut in. He bent to be seen in the fireplace and tossed in another pinch of the green powder. "Ginny, I need to know everything about one of your graphic artists that worked at Circe at the time of the fire. The only name we have for her is Lexus our source tells us she's about five foot one, with short, blonde hair, thin, with a crescent scar on her left hand. Does any of that sound familiar to you?"

"Not off the top of my head, but I could poke around. We keep visuals on all our employees."

"Ginny, if you could find that out, Cordelia and I will give you an exclusive interview. We have to do it sometime; it might as well be for you."

Ginny couldn't contain her squeal, "Wow, Sirius, that would be fabulous! Do you realize what that would do for our circulation numbers?"

"I think I do," Sirius said cynically.

"I'm sorry, here I am going on about me. Is Cordelia all right? This is what happened when you were gone, wasn't it?"

"Yes. Could you check on that employee and get back to us?"

"Absolutely!"

"Oh, and see if she gave you any references," Draco added.

"I'll send my owl if I find anything."

"Thanks, Ginny."

"No, thank you, Sirius. It means a lot to me that you trust me with this story."

Sirius smiled and stepped back. Draco talked to her for a few moments, as they seemed to be arranging to meet somewhere.

Sirius noticed that Remus was looking at him in a disapproving manner.

"What?"

"Are you sure doing an interview is the best idea?"

"No, I'm not. I'd rather ignore the whole mess, but if we don't speak out the rumours will soon be worse than the truth. You heard how fast she got the information about John Doe being attacked."

"True enough." Remus sighed. "I just don't want to see Cordelia attacked and slandered."

"It won't be the first time the wizard press has had problems with her. You weren't around when we married. It was right after my trial. The wizard press had a field day about her being a Muggle and then when I became Deputy Chancellor, there was more than one move to impeach me because of her."

"You can't impeach a DC, can you?" Remus asked.

"No you can't, but that didn't stop a lot of bigots from suggesting it. I'm just glad I wasn't made Minister of Magic. They could have ousted me because of her."

Draco had turned from the fireplace. "He's right. I remember the fuss that was made ... hell, I helped make the fuss. When Sirius was made DC I was just starting to work both sides. I had to put up a good front, so I wrote editorials and organized rallies. Hell, I even threw stuff at you during one of your first speeches."

"That was you?" Sirius looked at him.

Draco smiled, looking slightly proud of himself.

"I guess you should talk to Cordelia then," Remus commented to Sirius.

"Yes, I guess I should." With that, Sirius left the room and headed up the stairs.

Sirius found Cordelia just waking up. There were deep circles under her eyes, and there were creases on her face where a wrinkle in the pillowcase had indented her face. She was beautiful to him, particularly in this half sleepy, very vulnerable state. He sat on the edge of the bed, staring at her, as she sat up stiffly and stretched.

"What is it?" she asked, obviously suspicious.

"I made a deal with Ginny," Sirius ventured, realizing that he may as well get the bad news out of the way first.

"What kind of deal?" She had a wariness to her voice that he wasn't familiar with.

"The bloke you attacked gave us some information that might help figure out what's been going on. An associate of his is a graphic artist and was an explosives expert."

"Did he work at Circe?"

"She, and I've asked Ginny to find that out. In return I told her we'd do an interview."

Cordelia rolled her eyes and collapsed onto the pillow, dragging the other pillow over her head. "Ugh! Can't we just leave it be?"

"Not with the pack that's lurking out there. Ginny said it, and she's right. If we don't come forward there will be rumours that are worse. If we do this with Ginny, at least we have a chance of getting it right."

Cordelia removed the pillow from over her head. "You're right. When and where?"

"We didn't work that out. But not here, and not now. Next week will be soon enough. Ginny runs a monthly, so she has more lead time than the dailies. Plus I want to let the whole thing simmer a bit so that we can answer most of the claims, and put to rest the rumours."

Cordelia heaved a deep sigh. "We'll do it in your office. I don't want anyone to be in our house."

"That would be fine. That would also allow Colin to monitor the process. We can have our own record, just in case."

"You don't trust Ginny?"

"I trust her, but she's trying to sell magazines. I want to know that she's not misquoting and I want her to know that we are recording it."

"That does make sense. How's Remus holding up? He didn't get any sleep."

"He's gone up to rest now. How are you? Do you need more sleep?"

Cordelia nodded. "I'm still pretty knackered. Did you sleep last night? You fancy a nap with me?"

"I can nap with you, but the back isn't quite healed. Do I chance it?"

"With two transformations within the last five days, I think I can be trusted."

"Let me wash up, and I'll be right there."

"All right. I'm not going anywhere," she answered sleepily.

And she didn't. When he was done in the bath, he towelled off and slid into bed with her, but she was fast asleep. He wrapped one arm around her and gathered her close. She turned towards him and snuggled her head into the hollow of his shoulder. He glanced at the window and watched the sunset once again. He hadn't been out of farmhouse for three days now and was starting to get that feeling of confinement again. He took five deep breaths and pulled Cordelia closer to him. If he had to be confined this was the way to do it, he thought, just before he drifted off.

The walls were moving in. They were getting closer to the edge of the bed until there was nothing in the room except the bed, Cordelia and himself. Cordelia was sprawled out on her back, asleep, he thought, but she looked different. There was a fear in her face, even with her eyes closed. Then he noticed it. There was blood pulsing from the large gash in her neck. Unbelievably he leaned over and began to lick the blood from her neck. There was a wind blowing through the room, although the windows had disappeared when the room had collapsed. He held up a claw and ripped it down her chest and buried his face in the wound. She cried out and in this nightmarish dream he was triumphant because it meant she wasn't dead, even though he had just dealt her what his rational mind had told him was a mortal wound. She flailed back and he brought his head up from his efforts to enlarge the wound and consume her. She raised her head and looked at him and he returned her stare. She was calling his name over and over, each time sounding more and more panicked. He lunged and took the hands that were beating on his shoulders and pinned them to the bed. He shook his head and finally realized that they were both awake. He let her go immediately and backed up, sitting on his heels. He scanned her quickly, and while her nightshirt was ripped open, her body was intact.

She said it a couple of times before the words brought his attention to her.

"Sirius! Are you awake?" She had scrambled up to the head of the bed and drawn her knees up to her chest.

He shook his head and ran his hand over his face. "Sweet freaking Merlin, that was bad."

"A dream?" she ventured.

"Worse. But you're okay?"

She took a deep breath and seemed to relax. "Except for the shirt. Damn, this was a comfortable one," she said, smiling slightly and looking at the tattered remnants of her shirt.

"Thank God," Sirius let out his breath.

"What were you dreaming? Whatever it was, it was pretty hot. I woke up and you were doing wonderful things with your tongue." Cordelia smiled a bit.

Sirius smiled ruefully, "I was licking the blood from a gaping wound in your neck!"

"Oh. Not as romantic as I was hoping." Cordelia lowered her eyebrows in concern.

"No. Then I tore a hole in your chest, and had decided to try to eat your heart."

"Ah, that must have been when I woke. I thought you were just expressing your appreciation for my body at that point. It was quite arousing. If you hadn't actually bitten me, we might have been on to something," Cordelia said wistfully and quite seductively from her position against the head of the bed.

Sirius couldn't decide whether to laugh, or be horrified, or feel guilty, or aroused, or disgusted.

Cordelia reached out and took his hand, the humour gone from her face. She placed it in the centre of her chest and looked into his eyes. "I'm all right. No wounds. You didn't hurt me."

He let his hand wander over her body, coming to rest just beneath her breast with his thumb, stroking the round underside. "I could have. I was tearing you apart in my dream."

"That's all it was. A dream."

"Bloody nightmare."

Cordelia had brought herself up to him so they were only a breath or two apart, kneeling on the bed. "Okay, a nightmare. I'll help you with it. I'll get worried if it recurs. We've been cooped up here, I know as well as you do why you react badly to not being allowed to move around freely. Your mind just instantly takes those stresses and works them out as a nightmare. It doesn't mean anything."

Sirius looked into her eyes. He never could resist her eyes. "But what if it does?"

Cordelia kissed him long and hard. When she broke off, "Not tonight. Not right now." He pulled her close and kissed her so hard and so passionately there were tears streaming down both their faces by the time he removed his mouth. He leaned her back and began licking tears, not blood from her neck and moved his hands across all of her to assure himself she was whole. She was whole and her skin was soft and smooth and perfect and he wanted to climb inside that skin to be with her. Their pace became frantic as he wanted to remind himself by hand and tongue of the terrain of her body. When most of her body was warmed and moist with his tears and their sweat he hovered above her, looking, inspecting now with his eyes. She was beautiful, and perfect, and the shape of her body, and the lines of her face, and the way she looked at him stopped the breath in his throat.

She met his gaze and smiled a wickedly erotic smile. She ran her hands down his back to his hips and brought him to her. He was holding back, but she was insistent. She ran one leg down the outside of his and back up again, tickling the back of his knee and thigh. She brought her leg up around his hip and urged him forward as her hands grasped his face and brought it down to hers. "Bring it on," she whispered into his ear as she traced the whorls with her tongue.

He groaned and murmured, "You wanton wench."

She laughed and bit his neck in response as he came to her strongly, forcefully as hard as he had the night she had hurt him. She wasn't going to let him be gentle tonight. She was grasping his hips and balling her fists in an attempt, he assumed, not to rake his back with her nails.

He gripped her wrists and lifted them above her head, while her hips came up to meet his over and over and over. Faster and stronger, their cries and exclamations were louder and feral and uninhibited. He knew there was no one in this wing to hear them. She had climaxed once, but encouraged him to continue, as if he could stop at this point. He could feel the tension building in himself and in the room, like the approach of an electrical storm. She captured his mouth and kissed him like it was the end of the world, and with that the world did vanish and all that was left was her and her body and the energy that was moving between them. He could have sworn he saw a flash just before he climaxed and mixed his body and her body with her soul and his. For a brief moment he felt wrapped in a velvety cloak, warm, safe, together, not alone, not dead, not bloody, not guilty.

**********

A few days later, Draco was back in London. He'd helped Sirius and Cordelia get back to their townhouse. Colin had established a set of wards that kept the reporters at least 300 meters from the townhouse. This allowed them some freedom, and the mob of reporters had dwindled down to a handful of die-hards trying to make a story of Cordelia taking Charlie to pre-school, or Ian to the park. He'd just finished a day of sitting in his office, compiling a list of all the art charities in the wizard world. Cordelia's mum was helping out with the Muggles. He would meet with her later in the week to compare notes. Right now, he was stiff from sitting all day and tired and hungry. He really wanted to just go home, grab some takeaway and go to sleep, but he'd made a reservation with Ginny at a new restaurant near her loft. She was seeing if it merited a food critic visit, and he had always been willing to try something new. The problem was that between the time they made the reservation and today, the restaurant had grown enormously trendy. He hated trendy restaurants with a passion. He had spent too much time in them as a child so that his mother could be seen and commented on in the society pages of the Daily Prophet.

Draco shook off his surly mood, as he approached the building. At least it's with Ginny and not Narcissa. It could be worse, he pondered to himself.

Ginny was waiting outside the door for him. She came towards him and leaned up, kissed him. Her hair was down and combed out. She wore a lovely lightweight cloak, black trousers, with boots peeking out from under. He found himself hoping she'd worn the green robes as well. They fit her precisely and brought out the warm tones in her hair and skin. They were also rather low cut across the bodice, which allowed him certain fantasies, and liberties, once they were alone.

He took her hand and led her through the crowd in the lobby to the maître d' stand. He gave his name and they were seated promptly. They had been well seated in a small alcove booth that allowed them room for food, but also the ability to sit close together.

He scanned the room, worried for the moment that Narcissa would be there. She wasn't. Draco didn't feel he was up to a battle with her about Ginny this evening.

Through the appetizer and salad he was able to drape an arm over the back of the booth and run his fingers up and down her long neck. She had one hand resting on his thigh under the cloth as she was telling him a story about the last time she'd been in Hong Kong.

The salmon was really very good, broiled with jerk seasonings and served with a papaya salsa. He tried Ginny's peanut sesame chicken, which was also edible. They had a good selection of wine. Not great, but adequate, and the salads and side dishes were prepared artistically, if not all that original. Ginny had insisted on a chocolate mousse for dessert, and Draco felt compelled to assist her in determining its worth.

"That definitely deserves a full review," Ginny said, pulling on her cloak.

"Why don't you just write it up?" Draco asked, as he guided her through the obstacle course of the other diners.

Ginny cast him a significant look over her shoulder, "Because it wouldn't be an accurate reflection of what the average patron would experience. They knew who we were tonight."

"I'm not that influential. Not anymore anyway."

"Not you silly. They know I run Circe. They were trying to impress me."

"They were? I didn't see any effort that shouldn't be expected," Draco stated plainly.

"No, they were very discreet. But I noticed our salads had a greater variety than the table next to ours. Our entrées came out sooner, and prettier, and they took the thirty galleon bottle of wine off the cheque," Ginny explained.

"Really? I hadn't noticed." Draco pulled on his cloak and opened the door for her.

"I thought you had better observation skills than that."

"Not while you're around."

Ginny laughed as she passed through the door and into the lovely cool evening. Miraculously it was not raining, and you could even see a few stars, despite all the light in the city.

They walked hand in hand to the end of the block.

"Ginny?" said a surprised voice, as they turned the corner.

Ginny instantly dropped Draco's hand and moved away from him. She acted as if she had been caught in some illicit act and her voice was a few notes higher than it had just been. "Percy! Hello. What brings you here?" Draco could tell she was trying to be polite, but hide her surprise.

Percy Weasley was staring at him with what could only be classified as revulsion. "Ginny, what the devil are you doing here with him?"

Draco raised his eyebrow at Ginny, but remained silent.

"Errr, nothing, nothing at all. Well, having dinner at the new restaurant, of course. What does it look like I'm doing here? " Ginny stammered, gesturing down the block.

"It looks like you're out on a date, actually. But that can't be. You'd never date the likes of him" Percy scoffed.

"Why do you say that?" she answered. Draco could see the beginnings of anger on her face. He smiled inwardly. Good, he thought. She'll stick up for herself if she gets angry.

Percy's mouth hung open. "You are! You're dating this cretin? After all he's done? Ginny, are you out of your bloody mind?"

"No. I am not out of my mind, and yes, I am dating him." Ginny was speaking in low tones, obviously trying not to attract attention. Percy was not making that effort, Draco observed.

"Does Mum and Dad know? You know they'd never put up with this," Percy said disdainfully.

"What's there to put up with Percy? I'm twenty-seven. I don't live with them. Why would it be any of their business, or yours, for that matter, whom I date?" Ginny said indignantly.

"I can't believe you, Ginny. How can you betray the family like this? You know how Dad felt about ... you know ... his father," Percy ranted with a dismissive gesture towards Draco.

"Yes, I know quite well what Dad thinks about Lucius Malfoy. The whole wizarding world knows how Dad feels about Draco's father, but what the hell does that have to do with me or him or dating?" Draco noticed she'd lost the quiet undertones her voice had had just a few minutes ago.

"Ginny, you are so naïve sometimes. He's using you. His kind always does."

Draco cut in. "Excuse me, I don't appreciate being referred to as 'his kind.' What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

Percy interrupted, "You know just exactly what you are. You are and have always been a Dark Wizard. I heard you'd changed sides, but I don't believe it for a minute. No one can change that drastically."

Draco rolled his eyes. "You know, I get that a lot. I can accept that you don't believe what I've done, or who I am now, but it still has absolutely nothing to do with your sister or my relationship with her."

"It has everything to do with it." Percy glowered in righteous indignation. "She has obviously been manipulated into this date. Come on, Ginny. You can eat with me. You don't need to keep on with this charade. Do you need money?"

"Percy! I've already eaten. I was NOT manipulated. This is not our first date." The other people along the street were staring, as they went by and moved cautiously away.

Percy's eyes got very wide now, then turned to Draco. "Do you have her under an Imperius curse? I'll report you so fast it will make your head spin."

Draco took a deep breath before attempting to answer this question.

"Go away, Percy. He does NOT have me under any curses or enthralling. I met him at Christmas, we've been seeing each other since then."

Percy reached for his wand, but Draco's was out first. "I'm going to remove the curse," Percy said indignantly.

Ginny started laughing. Draco looked over at her. She was doubled over with laughter, bracing herself on the corner of the building. "Okay Percy, if that's what you want to believe, go ahead. Remove the curse."

"Then you'll come with me?" Percy asked.

Ginny looked at him like he was a blast-ended skrewt, "No. I'm going home with him. He's got quite a nice flat and a lovely king-sized bed."

Draco didn't know eyes could get that wide, but Percy's did. "Finite Incantatem," Percy ordered through gritted teeth.

Ginny was still laughing when Percy reached for her arm. He'd got a good grip and was pulling her across the sidewalk.

"Percy! You're hurting my arm. What the hell is wrong with you! Do I need to say it again? I was not under the Imperius curse or any other curse for that matter. I find Mr. Malfoy, here, to be charming and intelligent, and he is making a rather decent effort to relearn a better way of doing things. Sirius trusts him ..."

Percy snorted in derision at this recommendation.

"... and so do I," Ginny finished. Draco looked over at her, this surprised him. He knew she trusted him in some things, but never thought she'd admit it to one of her brothers.

Percy glared at her, with his hands balled into fists, on his hips. "So, I'm honestly supposed to believe that you like him?"

"Yeah, that's exactly what I want you to believe. Percy, please give us a chance."

Percy shook his head. "Ginny, you will get hurt."

"That's my business, Percy."

"Fine," Percy paused, looked away for a moment then continued. "Fine. We'll see what Mum and Dad have to say."

Ginny reached out and grabbed Percy's arm. "Will you let me tell them?"

A triumphant glint sparkled in his eyes. "Hesitant to tell Mum and Dad? Not sure about this, are you? If you were that sure, you'd have told them long ago, Ginny."

"It's just more complicated than that, Percy. Will you let me tell them in my own time, my own way?"

"Does anyone else know?"

"Bill knows and I think Fred and George suspect. But other than that, no."

Percy looked away, thinking. "I will give you one month to either stop seeing him or tell Mum and Dad."

"I'm not going to stop seeing him," Ginny said resolutely.

"Then you have one month. If they don't know by then, I will tell them and they can tell you themselves what a mistake this is."

"It's not a mistake," Ginny said softly, almost to herself. Her eyes were filling up, and she looked away.

Percy reached out, but Draco had his wand at Percy's nose, "I think it's time for you to go." Draco was glaring at him, "... or I will curse you across this street. Do we understand each other?"

Percy stepped back and shook his head in apparent disbelief. "You just ruined my appetite anyway. I'll come by your loft tomorrow, Ginny."

"Don't bother, I won't be home."

Percy scrunched his face into a distasteful moue, turned on his heel, and walked back down the street.

Draco put away his wand and turned to Ginny. She was gingerly wiping her eyes with her fingertips, and sniffling just a bit. He put his hand on her shoulder. She turned to look at him. "Well, that was fun," she managed through a forced smile.

Draco smiled, "I'd say you didn't do too badly. You're not quite ready for Narcissa yet, and Lucius will be the NEWTs, but as an ickle first year in relationship confrontation, you get an O."

Ginny laughed at this. "So what about my parents?"

"Your dad is third year, your mum is probably the OWLs."

"What about Fred, George, and Charlie?"

Draco thought for a moment. "Hmmm, Hermione has probably already told George, Charlie is practice. He'll handle it much like Bill. They seem more able to see you as an adult. Fred, well ... he wasn't too pleased to see me with you the night of the fire, so he might be trouble. Why oh why do you have to have such a large family?"

"Does complicate things, doesn't it. And they are each so different. You're right, though. We need to approach each one differently. I would have rather broken it to Percy slowly."

"Yeah, seeing us without any preparation would not be the route I would have preferred either. Of course, I'd have preferred never to have seen the git again, but ..."

"Draco! He is my brother." She glared at him, then averted her eyes. "Okay, he is a git, but still..."

They began walking, arm in arm. They reached the point where they would go one way to Draco's flat and the other to Ginny's loft. Draco began to turn them towards his flat. Ginny hesitated. Draco looked at her quizzically. "Do you want to go to your place?" Draco asked.

"Um, yeah. But I think I want to go alone, Draco."

"Is this about Percy's objections?" Draco was slightly irritated by this.

"No ... well, yes, I guess, ... a little. I don't know. I just really need some time to think about it all, and I can't think with you there."

Draco smiled a bit at this. "Why do you need to think? We do quite well together when we don't think."

"I can't just spring this on Mum and Dad. What if they don't believe I do care about you? What if they all think you're just manipulating me?"

"Why do you care what they think?"

"They're my family, Draco. I don't want them to misunderstand the relationship you and I have. They'll think you're abusing me. I need to tell them in a way that assures them that you were my ...

"Mistake?" Draco offered.

Ginny smiled, but was insistent, "No! That's just it. You were not a mistake, well, maybe at first, but not now."

"Prove it. Come home with me tonight."

"Oh, come on. Like you haven't had enough proof the past few weeks."

"I have a very high standard of proof."

"I bet you do. But, no. I need to be alone tonight. I need to figure out what I want from you and what you want from me, and how that fits with the rest of my family."

"You'll probably need my help with that one part."

Ginny looked exasperated. "I'll owl you when I get that far."

Draco raised an eyebrow. "So will this be later tonight or next month sometime?"

"Probably tomorrow."

"If it's tomorrow, I should come home with you now and explain myself before vital decisions are made."

Ginny glared at him. He laughed, then she laughed and he pulled her close.

"Okay. I guess I need to think about how to confront this with Lucius and Narcissa, without getting me or you cursed too severely."

Ginny looked up at him, "Why don't you ever call them Mum and Dad?"

"They gave up that right." Draco looked away sharply. He didn't want to talk about them. She dropped it.

"Right then," he said. "You know where to find me if you get lonely tonight."

"Yes, I do," and she kissed him. It was a long, deep, passionate kiss, but she pulled away and Disapparated immediately.

Draco shook his head and turned towards his flat.

************

Ginny ordered the Quick Quotes Quill to halt and sat back on the couch. "I think that's about it, unless you two have anything you want to add?"

Sirius turned to Cordelia, as Cordelia shook her head. "No. Can't say I want to add to that. I think you covered just about everything."

"Are you sure you don't want to say more about The Pard? If it comes out later, it might call into question your credibility."

"Argh!" Cordelia groaned as she covered her face. "I know that, Ginny, but I just don't think it's my place to out them, when they've worked so hard to maintain that confidentiality for thousands of years."

"Don't you mean secrecy?"

"No! Confidentiality. Yes, their existence is a secret, but it's a secret for preservation, not to exclude the rest of the world but to protect us from the vile prejudices that would have destroyed us a long time ago."

Ginny raised her eyebrows, "Us?"

"Yes, us. I am one of them now, no matter what I think. I'm under the same obligation as all the rest. That we be as unobtrusive as possible."

"Don't you think this raises the profile of wereleopards just a bit?"

"Unfortunately it does, but the purpose of the interview was to demystify it so people will ignore it

again."

"You think they will, with you as their high-profile poster woman?"

Cordelia rolled her eyes. "Maybe if they see how boring I am, they'll get tired and move on to someone else."

Ginny smiled, "We can only hope."

The door slammed open and Draco walked in.

Sirius bellowed into his blue flame intercom, "Samantha!"

"Yes, sir?" came the timid voice.

"Did you tell me Malfoy was on his way?"

"No, sir. He told me he was expected."

Sirius turned to Colin and shrugged. Colin glowered at Draco.

"What? I've never knocked, and I'm not about to start now, particularly if I'm being excluded from internal gossip."

Ginny got up and gathered her things. "Can a photographer come by later and take some photos?"

"Do they have to? Can't you use the photos you already have of us?" Cordelia asked, in a suddenly tired voice.

"It would look better if we got current ones. Like you have less to hide. Can we get a picture of you both in animal form?"

Cordelia looked at Sirius. Sirius shot Colin a questioning look. Draco made a sour face. "Who the hell would want to see that?"

Ginny shrugged, "What would be so distasteful?"

"The wereleopard of course, not that Sirius' dog act is the least bit attractive, but c'mon, Ginny. People do NOT need to see a wereleopard."

"What? I mean, she looks just like a real black leopard, what on earth would be offensive about that? I think she's rather beautiful."

Draco shrugged. "I forgot, your family believes that all humans are the same, all valid and all worthy. I admit that being a pureblood doesn't make you a better wizard, but ... are you going to put that on your front cover?"

"I was thinking of it," Ginny said blandly.

Draco rolled his eyes, "Fine, whatever. As long as I don't have to watch the transformations. I just want to make you aware that there are plenty of folks out there that will be offended and probably cancel their subscriptions. Ticking off readers is not something you want to do right at this point in time."

"Look, Malfoy. Those decisions are none of your business and if you want to discuss it further we can take it outside."

"Fine," Draco said as he tugged her out of the door by the arm of her jumper.

As soon as they were clear of the doors, he pulled her around to him, trapped her up against the wall and kissed her. Long, hard, and unremittingly.

She pushed him away and nearly slapped him, but he caught her hand just in time. "What was that about?"

"I was just yanking your chain, Weasley. I haven't kissed you in a week. I needed my fix."

Ginny wrenched her had out of his grasp, "Yar, right." She started to walk away, but Draco grabbed her wrist.

"I am serious about the animals. I know your family is more ... open-minded ... shall we say? But there is still a lot of prejudice against weres of any form."

"Point taken. Dinner?"

"Sure. My place or yours?"

"Are you cooking?"

"I could."

"All right, I'll be there at seven." Ginny waved over her shoulder without turning back. Draco returned to the office. Cordelia was taking her leave, and Colin was gone, back to his office to direct the troops, Draco assumed.

Sirius looked over from Cordelia and indicated that Draco should take a seat by the desk. "I'll be right back. We need to discuss your next assignment."

Draco slumped in the seat, wondering what could be more fun or more important than going through and contacting every wizarding art gallery in the western hemisphere and asking about stolen or suspiciously consigned artwork. He had suspicions that Sirius wanted him to go back to Australia and requestion all of those wizards, since he hadn't thought to ask about any Muggle artwork the first time around.

Sirius came back into the office with obvious enthusiasm. "Right then, new assignment." He began to pace behind his desk. "I just read an article in the Muggle news that most of their artwork is stolen on commission. That means ..."

"I know what that means. My father did it several times. He'd contact an art dealer and express an interest in a painting or a piece of sculpture, and the dealer would suddenly have the piece available."

"Right. I want you to consign a painting, or whatever."

"Me? Why me? Oh, the credibility thing. You think since dear old Dad did it they wouldn't hesitate to get me anything I wanted, legally or illegally."

"Precisely."

Draco scowled. "Yes, but see, I'm trying really hard to overcome that reputation. If I get caught up in that again, no one will ever believe I'm not dark, or at least criminal. Besides, everyone knows I'm working for you, they'll see in a minute it's a set-up."

"I'll fire you."

"Thanks, yes, that would be most helpful. Sirius, couldn't we get an ID agent to do this? Isn't that what they're there for? All this cloak and dagger stuff?"

"No, this is my project. I want this office to bring down Peregrine."

"So it's personal?"

"You bet."

"I know I'm not one to talk, but is that the best way to do this? Don't you think you might be getting too close to the problem here?"

"No, I do not. So, I want this to look real. We both know that Peregrine is running this show and that he used these guys to attack me. But we also know that Peregrine has taken great pains to cover his arse and put enough intermediaries in between him and the crime that it won't look like he's running the show. Harry's dug around a bit. What he found out was that Peregrine generally does not reveal himself to the client. Because of who you are, we're hoping Peregrine will want to take care of your request personally.

"We'll provide enough cash to make it worth his while to keep you happy and possibly even reveal himself to you. If this operation goes right, we'll be able to connect Peregrine to his art theft ring and to the explosion, and hopefully from there to Cordelia's poisoning, Ian's fall, and even Cordelia's unfortunate Portkey experience."

"You're not expecting much out of this operation, are you?" Draco drawled sarcastically.

"Nah, and don't be too concerned that the whole operation is depending on you to come through," Sirius replied with a wry smile. "You pick the artwork, but I want you to contact this person." Sirius held out a scrap of parchment.

Draco took it and looked up sceptically.

"She's the graphic artist at Circe. We think she cast the explosive charm that caused the fire there. I thought you might want to get her yourself. She'll be your first contact."

"I don't know, Sirius. This witch probably knows I'm seeing Ginny, most people at Circe do. Wouldn't she think that was suspicious?"

"Oh, it wouldn't be a bad idea to appear to cool things off with Ginny."

"What!" Draco exclaimed, glaring at Sirius.

"You don't really have to. You can see her all you like. But from what we've been able to find out about this woman, she likes to date and we think it would help if you took her out a couple of times in some visible places. We have a feeling that she'll like the status being on your arm, and speed up the process."

"Holy Merlin, Sirius. This whole thing is tottering on the reputation I've been working for nearly a year on living down." Draco ran his hand through his hair and then over his face. "Shit. Fine. Fine. I'll do it. But this is the last time I do this. I joined this office to give you guidance on how Dark Wizards think. I also thought maybe I could teach you blokes about what kind of spells and charms the really evil wizards are coming up with. Instead you want me for my former reputation. Damn it, Sirius. I don't want you to be using me this way for the next thirty years. How is anyone ever going to trust me when you put me in these situations?"

"Because you're the only one who could pull this off. I could have before I got this job, but now there would be too great a risk to the credibility of the organization as a whole. One employee can get away with this, the DC can't."

"What about some of Colin's goons?" Draco offered, hoping he really wouldn't have to do this.

"I thought about that, but neither Colin, nor Remus think that this is such a good idea. I won't even go into the fact that Harry won't allow the I.D. to participate. But the main reason is that I don't trust them."

That made Draco look up and stare at Sirius. "You trust me?"

"Yeah, I do. You can pull this off. In fact, I'm depending on you to do it. My vengeance is depending on you to do this. It wasn't easy for me to do that, you know."

"Trust me to do my job?"

"Yeah, that too. I wasn't sure you'd do what you were asked to do. You've defied orders before. But mainly I want to get this guy so badly my fingers itch to curse him. I find myself thinking over which curse would be the best for him. I'm trusting you to get him for me, since I can't get him myself. I'm trusting you with my family's safety as well. As long as he's out there, we're at risk. I don't know what he'll want to do next. If you want to get really dramatic, our lives are in your hands. That took me a long time to decide, that this was the right plan. Don't blow it."

By this time, Draco was leaning on the desk with his head hanging down. He straightened up as Sirius finished. He was speechless. He knew Sirius had begun to trust him, but didn't think he was there yet. In fact, he had been suspecting that the reason Sirius wanted him to do this was because Sirius didn't trust him yet. He was beginning to think that this was a test to see if he would actually prove himself by nailing Peregrine, or fail miserably if that was not the outcome. It had not occurred to him that by making this request, Sirius was trusting him to do a job Sirius knew he couldn't do himself. Wow, he thought.

"Okay, just to confirm here. You're asking me to do this for you because you trust I can do it, not to put me in temptation's way and see how I'll react?"

"Of course not." Sirius looked genuinely surprised. "If I were going to do that, it wouldn't be this case. This is much too important to use as a test. Hell, I should have thought of testing you last winter, damn, that was a good idea, but no, this isn't a test. I think you and only you can pull this off and I think that this is the only way we're going to nail Peregrine. And I really really want to nail Peregrine. So, will you do it?"

"Yes, I'll do it, on one condition."

"What's that?"

"That I be allowed to tell Ginny what I'm doing and why I'm doing it. I'm not risking that relationship with duplicity."

"By all means. Can she keep it to herself?"

"Yes. She knows about the Gerald thing, and she's managed to keep that under her hat."

"Okay. It's a deal. Thanks." They shook hands.

"I'm a damn good actor, Sirius. Allegra didn't pick up on me, I think I can pull this off."

"Ready?" asked Sirius.

Draco sighed, "Ready."

"After you contact Artways you can meet the broker at the ArtisticAlley Charity Ball. It's going to be held at Kew Gardens in two weeks."

"Damn, Narcissa is setting that up."

"Good, then you can introduce her to your new witch." Sirius smiled a rather cynical smile.

Draco glared at Sirius, but took the tickets. "Fucking A," he mumbled as he walked out of the office.