Heir Of Voldemort

Set - immediately after chapter 19

Notes: We´re getting close to the end now. This is the second-last chapter and all loose ends are going to be tied up soon.

For those of you who have lost track, a witch called Cassandra was blackmailed into carrying Voldemort´s heir (her family´s life for a kid). Vollie went to the Potters. He go baibai! Cassandra was left with the child and now, after Vol´s second rise and fall, she has finally been caught by the Ministry, who have sent her to Azkaban.

Meanwhile, her son who has grown to be none other than Xander Harris has been told the truth. He´s on his way to rescue his mum, with help from her lover (Ethan Rayne), Giles, Snape, Ginny Weasley and Draco Malfoy.

Will he succeed?

Will they triumph?

Will I ever learn to write notes properly?

_________________________

Despite the absurd hour of the evening, nine o´clock at night, after all the offices had closed, the conference room in the lower floor of The Leaky Cauldron was packed with Ministry wizards and Aurors. A couple of Hogwarts teachers were also present, Professor McGonagall among them.

Word had come in from the outside that someone wanted to make a plea for the mother of the Heir of Voldemort.

Not only was that a rarity, but the fact that it had been backed-up and substantiated by Professor Flitwick, a teacher of Hogwarts, meant that it was taken seriously. For an experienced wizard like him to stand with the ones making the plea...

Benjamin Stone was actually worried.

He didn´t want to be the one to admit it, but there was something going on here that was far beyond what he had imagined, when he had heard there was an Heir of the Dark Lord.

Part of him wished that the Dementors were still allowed to ply their kisses to the guilty. It would have taken away all the trouble of this additional trial. It would have saved energy and time.

Unfortunately, after an incident some years ago, when Bartemius Crouch Junior had been given the kiss, before he had come to a trial and testified, the Dementors´ power was reduced to that which they held in Azkaban.

Stone tapped the tips of his forefingers together.

It would have been so much easier...

He shook his head wearily as he thought it.

The Head Auror was seated at the end of the long, rectangular conference table that stood opposite the door, half a dozen of his people sitting at his end, including Black and Wood, although he didn´t know why he had allowed the two most...

Well, he wouldn´t entirely call them dubious, but Black had a violent enmity with Severus Snape, the chief witness cited in the list of those supporting the plea, and Wood had been strangely distracted since they had capture Bones.

Sighing, he glanced around the room again. While it wasn´t exactly a small room, it felt strangely enclosed and claustrophobic with the number of wizards and witches huddled against the walls.

At every sound from the hall, every person in the room went rigid, the communal intake of breath seeming to suck the air from the room, all eyes flicking to the door, only for the indrawn breath to be released when silence fell again.

Stone was convinced that, if he had tried to, he could have sliced through the atmosphere with a knife.

He had known that the thought of a Heir would trigger terror, but even the sound of what might be the Heir...

Only Voldemort had ever caused such a reaction.

It would be interesting to see what would happen once the little party to give the plea arrived.

Hanging torches were suspended over the table, illuminating it, while leaving most of the sidelines of the room in darkness, which made the whispers and rustles passing among the two dozen other witches and wizards seems much eerier.

The dark wooden panels that lined the bottom half of the wall shone in the flickering flames of the torches, empty picture frames hanging on the creamy strip of the upper walls, the residents of the frames exiled for the evening.

Leaning back in his seat, Stone scratched the thick scars on his right cheek.

He knew why the frames had been emptied.

Like many of the others in the room, part of him had a deep, uneasy suspicion that the person coming to make the plea for the mother would be none other than the Heir himself, which was why there were so many people from high ranks in the ladder of importance in the magical world present.

Had the pictures been filled, the residents could reveal the news to the outside world, before the Ministry even knew all the details.

He and the half dozen Aurors were supplemented by some of the more powerful wizards and witches from the Ministry, who were making it clear that they had their wands and weren´t afraid to use them.

Even the Minister of Magic had decided to make an appearance.

Halfway down the table, Cornelius Fudge was seated.

Somehow, although Stone couldn´t help wondering about that, the once-stout wizard had managed to keep a grip on his role as Minister of Magic throughout the chaos of the Dark Lord´s return and his second fall.

He looked awful.

The weight had dropped from his body, leaving the impression of a rapidly deflated balloon, his face sallow and gaunt, his eyes flicking this way and that suspiciously, as if he expected everyone present of treachery.

It had taken a lot of convincing to get him to come out of his office, from what Stone had heard.

Apparently, he had become paranoid in the wake of the discovery that dozens of his loyal workers were, in fact, drones for the Dark Lord and even with Voldemort´s defeat, he was still convinced that everyone was out to get him.

The blackly amusing part of that theory was that Voldemort had never given a damn about Fudge. He had known that the Minister of Magic was a bumbling imbecile and had thought it fitting that the wizard was the one in control.

Now, the fact that someone wanted to liberate the mother of the Heir of the Dark Lord had been enough to get him out of the office, albeit nervously, to make certain that Bones remained where she was.

They were simply waiting for the group, who were coming to plead for the witch.

The far end of the table was empty except for the tiny figure of Professor Flitwick, who was perched on a large pile of cushions on the chair. Normally, he was a cheerful little wizard, but not today.

He had never looked more serious: his mouth was a thin line, his forehead marred with a frown, his small hands gripping his wand, which was laid on the table in front of him, his eyes moving around the room as if daring them to challenge him.

Stone couldn´t be sure if the white-haired Professor knew what was actually going to happen, or if he knew as much as the rest of them: that a group were coming to the aid of the Mother of the Heir and he was their voice of authority.

Professor Sprout was hovering near by. She seemed torn between sitting down with him, or staying out of the way. After all, Bones had been one of her first pupils, when she had been given the exalted role of Hufflepuff House Mistress.

A rap at the door made everyone jump.

Standing up, a twisting sensation in his stomach making him feel horribly nauseous, Stone cleared his throat and barked out, "Come in."

The door seemed to open in slow-motion, every single person in the room holding their breath. Stone´s heart was beating faster than he believed it possible. It felt like it was going to tear right through his sternum and his stomach was still roiling.

The first person to enter the room was one he recognised, his mouth falling open. A face from his schooldays was definitely not what he had in mind, when he had agreed to hear the plea.

Tall and lanky, his curly, sandy hair a lot greyer than Stone remembered, the exiled Wizard looked around, muttering something back over his shoulder to whoever it was that was with him.

"R-Rayne?"

The wizard´s eyes came back around, looking up to the head of the table. "Well, well, if it isn´t little Benji Stone..." The tone in the man´s voice wasn´t the jovial one that the Auror remembered either. "Been a long time, mate..."

"What are you doing here?"

"Me? I´m here for the plea," Ethan Rayne smiled, but it was lacking in humour and warmth. "I´m the Leader of the few, the faithful, the band of brothers..."

"And a sister."

The female voice came from behind him and he seemed to take that as his cue to enter the room. There had never been quite such an odd combination of people in one place as far as Stone could remember.

Rayne was at the fore, clad in black trousers and a deep red shirt. He looked more of a muggle than a wizard, except for the wand stuck in the belt of his trousers. He was followed by another muggle-dressed man, who made Stone want to whimper.

"Giles."

"Stone."

"You know them?" Sirius Black hissed.

Stone nodded slightly. "School friends," he replied, his voice choked.

It had been nearly twenty-three years since he had seen either of the elder men, who had been his inspiration, before they had been thrown out of the school, Hogwarts, for experimentation with demons.

They had, despite their rebellious streaks, been exceptional students in their fields and he really didn´t want to have to go face-to-face with them.

The next figure to appear made Black start to rise, a low growl sounding in his throat. Stone´s hand on his shoulder pushed him back down, the Head Auror staring at Severus Snape, clad in his regulation black.

Stone felt sweat beading on his brow.

This wasn´t a good sign.

A petite, red-haired female was next.

Virginia Weasley.

"Isn´t that...?"

"Ginny?"

"Weasley...isn´t...can´t be..."

The whispers rushed around the observers.

If she had been a shock, that was nothing compared to the tall, slim, blonde man with the pale, pointed face who stepped behind her.

"Malfoy!" Wood and Black were both on their feet. The young Malfoy boy took a startled step back and he actually did look frightened, a hand on his shoulder from behind seeming to calm him.

Ethan took a step forward, hazel-green eyes flashing dangerously.

"Sit down, Dog-boy. You too, kid," he growled low in his throat, his eyes suggesting that any move they made would be very stupid. Giles´ expression screamed the same warning without words. "The boy stands with us."

Shooting a malevolent glare at the two older wizards, Black sat back down. Wood, though, looked from one face to the other, then - to the confusion of Stone - he actually smiled at them.

"I knew you wouldn´t give up on her."

"Wood!" Black snapped.

Wood cast a glance across the table at Black, whose handsome face was ugly with hate and anger. "Right, Black," he murmured, sitting down, looking towards the two older wizards at the door expectantly.

The sixth and final figure to enter the room was one of the oddest that any of the witches and wizards present had seen, and that was really saying a lot. Or at least his clothes were.

They were muggle clothes, but he was wearing at least half a dozen pieces on his upper body, in different lengths and colours.

Black hair flopped in loose strands over a high, smooth forehead, emphasising the young man´s striking face, good-natured brown eyes looking around the room with apparent interest.

"Oh, you can all breathe again," he said, giving them a goofy half-grin. "Can´t be good for you to hold you breath for that long."

It was like he had hit a glass sheet of tension with a hammer.

The silence crumbled away, as whispers were exchanged, looks passing between people, most centrally going to the dark-haired boy, who didn´t seem aware of how... relaxed he appeared compared to his companions.

"So...you´re all here for the plea thing, huh?"

A Yankee Muggle.

All right, Stone noted in the back of his mind, this was beyond bizarre.

The youth was talking, ignoring the pointed looks of Rayne and Giles.

"They told me I should tag along," he grinned affectionately at them. "I think they wanted someone who made them look kinda respectable and proper and hey! You don´t get much more opposite that than me..."

A few people chuckled.

The boy certainly had a gift with lightening the atmosphere.

Although he looked exhausted, pale and drawn, he seemed to like the fact that he was making those around him smile, flashing that unassuming smile in the direction of the people who had laughed.

"Aren´t you the boy who was seen at the mother´s arrest?"

The smile on the young man´s face wavered slightly, then he nodded. "You got me, Stone-guy," He pointed at the Auror. "And I gotta say you did a pretty good job in finding her, considering how she was hiding."

"And why, pray tell, have you been included in these proceedings?"

Brown eyes met Stone´s, aged beyond their years, experience and pain weighed in equal measures in them. "I fight the Dark side," he replied simply. "It hurt my mom and my friends. I´m here because of them."

"You?" Black snorted. "A muggle?"

Those same clear eyes met Black´s blue ones.

"Yes, me," the boy said. There was no malice or anger in his voice. "I help the Slayer." Hisses signified that at least a dozen people had drawn in a breath through their teeth. "I fight demons," he paused, then smiled a little. "Get knocked around a lot too..."

"The Slayer...you know the Slayer?" Stone´s hand spread on the surface of the table, his eyes still on this odd boy.

"Met-slash-flirted with three of them. Buffy, Kendra and Faith," he looked like he was about to smile, but it faded. "Kinda wish I could do more to help them, but hey, I´m the zeppo..."

Stone had to fight to keep himself upright.

This boy...he knew the Slayer? And her successor and the one that followed?

It was absurd.

Utterly absurd.

A muggle, helping a Slayer.

Muggles weren´t meant to know of her existence.

"You really know the Slayer?" Even Malfoy looked impressed.

"On a best-buddy level."

"Xander, would you please, shut up?" Giles hissed. "We´re here for a reason."

The boy, Xander, if that was his name, grinned that infectious lop-sided grin again, his dark brown eyes twinkling, although there did seem to be something shadowing them. "Sure, G-Man."

Fanning out around the head of the opposite end of the table, Ethan Rayne took a seat beside Flitwick at the very end, making certain that the dark-haired boy was seated beside him.

Snape was just around the corner of the table from the muggle with Virginia Weasley by his side, looking white and nervous. Opposite them, Giles and Malfoy sat, looking equally nervous.

Slowly, Stone sat back down, mentally counting to ten.

This was a vast amount to deal with.

Not only was the Head of his House from school standing opposite him, but two of his mentors, someone he considered an ally, someone that he viewed as an enemy and the daughter of an old friend.

And the strange muggle boy who claimed to know the Slayer(s).

He couldn´t say what it was about the boy, but the youth seemed to give off a wave of friendliness, despite looking utterly absurd. He seemed like the kind of young man that you could meet in any pub and chat with without even knowing who he was.

It went without saying that his nature was infectious.

For him to be the one to break the uncomfortable silence, to get people talking and moving and...well, yes, breathing.

There was something about him that made people feel comfortable.

Stone had met very few people who could win other witches and wizards over to them so easily, but this unassuming, cheerful, rumpled muggle boy seemed to just flow with generous, good energy.

Even though he had no idea who the muggle was, he found himself liking the boy.

He also knew that if there was anyone that a Slayer would be drawn to, it would be this boy. He...felt like the embodiment of goodness, so different from anything she probably fought and she would probably find peace in him.

"We had best get started."

"Yes," Rayne was the one to stand up, his voice shaking a little. "We´re here to plead for the release of Cassandra Bones."

Stone tried to keep his expression neutral. "You are aware that she was found guilty of all the crimes she was accused of, Rayne?" he said, feeling sweat gathering on the smooth surface of the table beneath his warm palm.

"She was found guilty, but she wasn´t guilty of any of it."

"She was a willing consort of the Dark Lord, Rayne. She bore him a child," Sirius Black growled. "She admitted it under the influence of veritaserum. You know that´s a crime."

"It´s a crime, unless there is a reason behind it."

"And what possible reason could she have other than getting power and being his favourite whore?"

"Why you filthy son of a fuc..." Rayne looked ready to leap across the table and grab Black around the neck, to strangle him with his bare hands, his eyes flashing, his face going scarlet with outrage.

"Ethan," Again, it was the muggle boy who spoke, one hand coming up and touching the fuming wizard on the arm. "Calm down," Brown eyes looked across at Black, who seemed to shrink back in his seat. "He doesn´t know. None of them do. Losing your temper won´t make it any easier."

"Alex..."

"Ethan," The boy looked up at him. "Please. Killing and maiming aren´t of the good, even if he did insult her. I should know. I´ve seen it."

By the light of torches above him, his young face looked so worn and world-weary that even Stone found himself wishing that he could give the boy some kind of help for whatever was causing him to look so emotionally drained.

"Right," Ethan´s word was more of a snarl.

"G-Man, can you take over?" Brown eyes moved to the opposite side of the table, where the other older wizard sat. "Something tells me Ethan isn´t about to be Captain Sensible about this."

"I-I-I´m afraid I can´t, Xander. He´s the one who knows what exactly happened."

The youth sighed.

"What about you, creepy-black-wearing guy?" Snape looked startled that the boy had spoken to him. "Any chance you could shine some light on just why...uh...Bones, is it? Yeah, can you give us a reason why this...Bones should be released?"

"Hold on a moment," Stone nodded towards the goblets that were sitting in front of each of them. "Before you continue, perhaps you should take some veritaserum..."

"Still don´t trust me, Stone?"

"Do you blame him, Snape?" Black´s voice was bitter.

The muggle looked at Black, a strange expression in his eyes. "Something tells me you don´t like our creepy-black-wearing guy much," he murmured. "Kinda reminds me of me and a dislike I had for someone...neither of you is a vampire with a soul, right? If you are...God, don´t even make me go there."

"Vampire with a...soul?"

More than half the bemused eyes were on the boy.

"Oh, right, you probably don´t know that kinda thing. My bad...so, creepy-black-wearing guy, anything you can give me to work with?" Stone cleared his throat. "Oh, yeah, after we drink the...hey, how do we know it´s not poison so you can kill us all and not bother with this whole trial thing? You don´t want the mother free, so it´d be a lot easier on..."

"Xander..."

"I give you my word that it isn´t poison," Stone stated. "It´s a refined version of the usual truth potion. You will remain coherent throughout the questioning and in full control of all of your faculties."

The muggle studied him. "Have you taken some? I mean, if we´re telling the truth, its kinda only really fair if it´s potion all round. And does it taste gross? I tend to get sick from gross tasting stuff..."

Malfoy´s shaking laugh made the muggle look at him. "And you said I provided babble, Xander?"

"Shut up, Draco," A finger was pointed at the blond. "I´ve good reason to be nervous so I can babble if I want," It was said with a small, tired smile, though. "Don´t make me go primeval on your white ass."

Draco Malfoy returned the smile with one of his own, which had never been seen before. It wasn´t the standard and infamous Malfoy smirk. Instead, it was a quiet, genuine little smile. "Arse-bandit."

"Butt-monkey."

"Hard to believe that they´re adults, isn´t it?" Giles sighed, pushing the goblet in front of the muggle towards him. "Xander, we are rather short on time, so would you please refrain from insulting our allies and drink your potion."

"Yes, daddy G-Man."

"And refrain from calling me that. Ever."

Xander merely smiled, then drank down the contents of the goblet in front him, as Snape did the same. He pulled a face. "That tastes like cat pee!"

"Xan..."

A hand was raised and pointed around at the committee. "And don´t even ask how I know what cat pee tastes like. It´s a long and very unpleasant story I don´t want to remember right now."

Again, despite the tension in the room, several people laughed behind their hands.

"So, Snape-guy was about to spill his guts...though not literally cos ew! Gut-spillage is definitely not something I would want to do as a hobby."

"Xander, would you please shut up for one moment?" The boy nodded, licking the inside of his mouth, as if trying to get rid of the taste of the potion. "Severus, can you tell us what you know of the mother of the Heir?"

"Yes," his voice was quiet and steady, but could be heard in the tight silence that had fallen. "Cassandra Bones was kidnapped along with twenty other witches of child-bearing age. Voldemort desired an Heir. He selected her to carry it for him."

Leaning on the arm of his chair, Stone´s eyes narrowed. "Did she accept this task?"

"She did."

Black muttered something about a filthy whore, Rayne on his feet again, only to be hauled back down by the boy.

"Look, buddy," Xander looked across at Black. "Do you mind? We´re trying to get the truth out and not piss off my God-father so he actually rips off your arms and legs in a temper tantrum, which I´m pretty sure he could do right now. Could you maybe, I dunno, be quiet?"

Black´s lips thinned, his eyes flashing. "I only say what I see, boy."

"Were you there?"

"Er...pardon?"

Xander´s gaze was on him and it was unwavering. "Were you there?" he repeated in that calm voice. "Did you see what happened?"

"Well...not exactly..."

"Okay," Xander looked around the room inquiringly. "Would anyone else like to join angry-guy here in the we-didn´t-see-what-happened-but-we´ll-put-the-witch-in-Azkaban-anyway club?"

The silence was frightening.

It hung in the air, looks exchanged warily.

Somehow, the boy had just pointed to a damn big hole in their legal system.

It seemed like an eternity before the boy spoke again.

"Go on, creepy-black-wearing guy."

"You need to ask him a question, Xander."

"Oh! Right...okay, Snape-guy, tell me this. Did Cassandra Bones want to carry the Heir of Voldemort?" Several people flinched and Xander rolled his eyes. "You guys, it´s just a name."

Snape started speaking again. "She didn´t want anything to do with it. She would have preferred death. He used her surviving family against her."

"He did what?" The Head Auror sat up a little straighter.

"In order to make Bones join into a union with him, Voldemort told her he would spare her family. She agreed to the trade. He had them killed anyway. She didn´t find out until the Dark Lord fell."

"Good God..." Stone´s face had bleached of all colour. He was about to ask why she hadn't mentioned it at the trial, when he remembered the dosage of truth potion she had been forced to ingest. Only direct answers had been allowed. She hadn't had a chance.

"You´re saying that Cassandra Bones wasn´t a Dark Sider?" The question from Black was directed at Snape, but the potion seemed to be having an affect on the young muggle as well.

"Well, duh! She hid for all the time that he was back. She never returned to his side, even when he could have given her power and glory."

Stone felt a prickle of hope. A flaw in their argument. "Snape, did Bones return to her Master?"

"It appeared so, but I was later told I was mistaken."

Stone´s brow wrinkled. His eyes turned to Malfoy, who sighed, then picked up the goblet in front of him and drank. A moment later, as his chin dropped to his chest, Stone directed the question at him. "Malfoy, did you see Bones?"

"She returned to him a year after he returned. She went to his bed for one night, then left to raise the Heir."

The Auror gave them a triumphant look. "I´m afraid that ruins your arguments."

"The Hell it does..." Ethan whispered. The wizard´s face had gone a sickly shade of grey-green and Stone saw Snape´s eyes widen, as if he knew something about why the other wizard was acting thus.

"Ethan...?" Giles was the one to begin the question, looking as confused as Ginny, Flitwick and Xander.

"What have you done, my boy?" Flitwick whispered, staring at his former pupil. His face contorted as if he understood what was causing Ethan to look so unsteady. A small hand touched the tall wizard´s arm. "Good God, Rayne..."

Snape shook his head at Rayne. "Ethan, you don´t have to..."

"I do, Sev. We both know it," Rayne reached for the goblet and downed the potion, grimacing. He waited for a few minutes, then looked directly at Stone, his hand locked - white-knuckled - around the goblet. If he gripped it much harder, the metal stem would splinter. "All right... hit me... same questions... whatever you like... be prepared to grab a bucket..."

"Rayne, did Cassandra Bones return to her Master at any point in his second rise?"

"No."

"Can you explain how she was seen there?"

Green eyes closed in pain. "It was me."

"Good God..." Flitwick whispered again, his hand gripping Ethan´s wrist, his own eyes closing in sympathy.

"What the fu...?" Black was silenced by a wave from Stone.

"What do you mean?"

Rayne´s eyes slowly opened. He seemed oblivious to the shock and horror on the faces of those at the head of the table with him. "We brewed polyjuice potion and transfigured it into pill form. I took it and took her appearance, then went to him."

"Bloody hell..." Giles whispered.

Stone leaned forward, staring at the wizard. "You mean to say that in the form of Cassandra Bones, you went to Voldemort?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

Rayne stared back at him, in a way that said he thought Stone was deeply stupid for asking. "Cassie was terrified of seeing Voldemort again. We knew we had to stop him looking for her and the only way she could do that was to tell him herself."

"And you went as her."

"Again, yes."

"How did you convince him?"

"I..."

"Ethan, you don´t need to say it," Snape cut in, reaching passed Xander to grab the wizard´s other hand. Flitwick nodded, his face white. "It...it was enough that you had to do it."

Rayne smiled a tired smile. "It´ll let them see what it was really like, Sev," he said quietly. "And in answer to your question, I let him use my borrowed form for sex as a test of my loyalty to him."

Several people gasped.

Someone retched wetly in the shadows.

Even Stone looked stunned and he had seen and dealt with a lot.

A mirthless smile spread on Ethan´s face as he looked at Sirius Black. "I suppose you´ll want to arrest me for being a consort of the Dark Lord now, eh?" Black´s face was white as a sheet and he looked nauseous.

"How...?"

"Well, he had this bit that stuck up and I had a hole I don´t normally have..."

Someone else immediately vomited at that image.

Xander touched Ethan on the arm. "Did...did mom know about that?" he asked. He looked as pale as Black did, staring up at the wizard with hero-worship and awe in his brown eyes. "Did she know what you did to save her?"

"She didn´t have a clue about it, Xander."

"Mom...?" Stone came to his feet and it seemed that everything in the room had slowed down. His finger rose and pointed at the boy seated at the end of the table, between Snape and Rayne. "You!"

"Shit!"

Ethan´s hand went to his wand, as he moved to step in front of the dark-haired boy, but Xander shook his head.

"No, Ethan," he said firmly, standing up. "It´s time they know and if they want to blast me to pieces, let them." He spread his arms out. "I never got to introduce myself. Alexander LaVelle Harris, only son of Cassandra Bones and the one son and heir of Voldemort." His goofy grin was flashed at them. "Nice to meet you."

A stunned silence fell.

While Stone - and probably quite a few of the others - had been certain they would attack the heir on sight if they saw him, everyone seemed so utterly shocked by this revelation about the boy...

The goofy, happy, smiling, normal and utterly wonderful-for-the-soul boy...

Voldemort´s Heir...

"You don´t look like the photograph..." Stone said lamely.

Ethan released a sigh. "Do you honestly think Bones would be stupid enough to send a picture of the real Heir? This boy is the Heir of the Dark Lord and I should know, because I delivered him myself."

Giles, Malfoy and Snape were all on their feet at the sides of the table, along with the shell-shocked Flitwick, wands gripped in their hands, but not raised, in case anyone tried anything.

"Good Lord..."

The stunned silence was back.

"Uh...is this good or bad?"

Ethan didn´t reply.

He had dropped heavily down in the chair, as if stunned that he had just revealed everything. His head was buried in his folded arms on the table and his thin shoulders were shaking. He was either crying hard or he had finally cracked and was laughing like a loony.

"You...you can´t be..." Black whispered, shaking his head. "You...no..."

That seemed to be the general sentiment.

"He´s under the power of veritaserum," a witch whispered from further into the room. "He can´t be lying."

Xander, though, was distracted by Ethan. "Ethan? C´mon...don´t cry!" He bent and wrapped his arms around the man´s shoulders, hugging him. "What would mom say, you big baby? You want me to give you the puppy-dog-face? You know I can do it!"

That certainly wasn´t what anyone had expected of the Heir.

Snake features, yes. A desire for world domination, yes. A sunny-faced young man who could light up a room with a smile and who tried to comfort people who were upset...definitely not...

Ethan lifted his face, tears streaked on his cheeks. "You are a bloody marvel," he rasped, hugging Xander fiercely as he came to his feet. "Now, if anyone has the knobblers to take a pot-shot at my God-son..."

"How can you guarantee he won´t attack us?" Stone knew, he just knew by the boy´s innate...goodness, that he wouldn´t attack them, but he had to ask.

"One, no wand," Xander was the one who replied, Ethan´s body half-shielding his one. "Two, kinda have an aversion to the whole magic thing. Makes me nauseous, so I leave it to people who know how to do it. Three, I don´t like violence. Four, the whole working-with-the-Slayer-against-darkness thing."

"You...were serious?"

"Yup," Xander nodded. "Non-magic muggle-style helper of the Slayer present and correct...kinda figures why I get beat up a lot."

Then, someone laughed.

It was Wood.

And it wasn´t just a quiet chuckle.

It was real, hysterical, full-throated, body-shaking belly-laugh.

"Good grief, this is priceless!" A few looks went to him, suggesting they thought he was utterly mad. "Don´t you see...the Dark lord...he has an Heir...who is a completely normal kid! A normal squib kid..." He doubled over again, clutching his gut as if he were in pain. "A normal squib kid who fights the bloody dark side! A kid who fights what his own father creates!"

Someone else tried smother a chuckle, but it came out as a snort.

That broke them.

Laughter surged around the room, the sheer tension giving way the cathartic purge as they realised that Voldemort still believed his son was an evil little fiend who would take on his legacy.

"You know," Snape murmured. "I would pay good money to see Voldemort´s face, when this news was broken to him..."

"You mean...he doesn´t know?"

"Never seen the kid." Rayne affirmed, still keeping Xander shielded by his body.

Xander peered over Ethan´s shoulder, brown eyes anxious. "So could I go and get my mom back now, since you kinda, y´know, sent her to jail for being abused and tormented by a raving psycho?"

"Absolutely not!" Cornelius Fudge´s voice shrilled out.

"Aw, shite..." Wood groaned. "I hoped he might have died of the shock."

"I doubt it would make much difference," Snape muttered, raising a snicker from Ginny, who swatted his arm.

The Minister of Magic flashed an angry look at Snape. "Shut up, you traitor!" His wand came up, shaking slightly, and pointed at Ethan. "Stand aside!"

"I´ll do no such bloody thing!"

"Stand aside or I´ll curse you, by thunder!"

"Cornelius..."

"Back, Stone! He´s the Heir of You-Know-Who! He can´t be left alive!"

Ethan´s eyes were flashing with anger and his hand was close to grabbing his wand, but he didn´t see a pair of hands coming at him from behind, until he was pushed to one side with enough force to knock both him and Flitwick to the floor.

Xander moved forward to where his Godfather had been standing, his hands spread - empty - by his sides. "You got me," he said, calm. "I´m Snakeman´s kid. I´m the one who could bring him back. Reign of terror, blah, blah, blah..."

"I should kill you!"

"Xander!" Draco lunged towards him.

He looked like he was prepared to leap in front of the Heir to defend him - which was, in itself, a very bizarre thing for a Malfoy to do, but he owed the younger man for what he had done to his mother - but something seemed to push him back.

The blond staggered, blinking. What the...?

The dark-haired boy was standing, calm as can be.

"You know what I was doing three nights ago?" he asked, as if oblivious to the wand levelled at his chest. His voice was calm, comforting. "I was standing beside a bomb, under my school, with an undead guy who could defuse it, while my friends were trying to seal the Hellmouth."

A few puzzled looks were exchanged.

Giles was listening and looking utterly bemused by what he was hearing. He had never heard this particular little tale, but he couldn´t help wondering why Xander was telling a story when the Minister of Magic was liable to blow him to pieces.

"Xander, I would suggest..."

The boy looked over in the direction of Rupert Giles. "I´m okay, G-Man."

"Don´t ever call me that."

Xander smiled a little, then turned his gaze back to the jittery Fudge. "Anyway, me, bomb, basement...it was about to go off..." The boy started to move towards the Minister. Every eye in the room was on him. "We had seconds...if we had run, neither of us would have made it out." He drew closer to Fudge. "He asked me if I was willing to die." He was an arm´s length from the wizard, the tip of the wand touching the middle of his chest. "And I told him something..." His empty left hand rose and touched Fudge´s shaking one that was gripping the wand, closing around it to hold it steady. "I told him..." He kept the tip of the wand pressed against his breastbone. "I told him I like the quiet."

"Xander, get back," Ethan had scrambled to his feet and was rapidly rounding the table towards the boy.

His other hand rose in the direction of Ethan.

"Don´t worry," the boy said quietly, not taking his deep brown eyes from Fudge´s wild ones. Ethan suddenly looked as if he was having trouble moving, a puzzled expression on his face. "I know what I´m doing."

"I should kill you, boy!" The muscles in Fudge´s cheeks were twitching wildly, his hand still shaking around the wand he was holding. His frantic eyes were staring at the boy and he looked like he had completely lost the plot. Strangely, though, he didn't seem able to look away from the boy's tranquil face. "Filth like you! Polluting our world!"

Stone couldn´t help feel a surge of anger at the insults the Minister of Magic was hurling at little more than a helpless boy. "Minister..."

"Don´t start, Stone!" Wild eyes flashed dangerously in his direction. "This scum shouldn´t be allowed to live! Its my duty to do away with him!"

Xander´s lips lifted in a tired smile. "Not the first time I´ve heard that," he said quietly. "Go ahead..."

"Alex! NO!" Ginny Weasley shrieked, trying to grab him.

Xander glanced quickly over his shoulder at her and she immediately staggered back a couple of paces, straight into Snape´s arms. Like Rayne and Malfoy, she seemed a little stunned by something.

Every eye was on the pair by the table.

Fudge´s hand was shaking more than ever, despite being held by Xander´s around the wand, his eyes bulging. "You..." his voice was shaking with a combination of confusion and fear. "You aren´t afraid."

It was a flat statement.

That tired, but genuine smile crossed the boy´s face again. "Like I said to Pete," he replied. "I like the quiet." He inclined his head. "It´s up to you, sir. You do what you think is right."

"Minister...look at him..." Stone whispered.

Snape added his voice. "Do you think we would speak against you, if we believed he could do us harm?"

"Shut up! SHUT UP!" Fudge practically sobbed, his whole body shaking with the vehemence of the words.

"Back off, guys," Xander´s voice was so soft it was barely even a whisper. His gaze was holding Fudge´s, the hand closed around the Minister´s loose enough for the older man to shrug it off. "This is his decision."

The Minister was staring at him, pale, wild-looking and frantic. His eyes darted to his hand, which was trembling against the boy´s, then back to the passive brown eyes that were focused entirely on him, concerned.

"You-" Fudge´s voice shook and he sounded like he was on the verge of breaking down. "You would let me kill you, boy? You would let me?"

"If it meant you freed my mom and believe that your world will be safe again, yes."

The loose skin of Fudge´s cheeks was twitching. He was trembling like a leaf in the wind. His lower lip was quivering as he stared at the youth. He looked more like a scared little boy than the Minister of Magic.

When his voice slipped out, it was a tremulous treble.

"A-A-Avada..."

***

Shuddering against the back wall of the cell, Cassandra had given up completely.

Let them violate her, mind and body.

Let them break her.

She was hurting too much to fight them anymore.

Pressing up against the cold, slime-matted stone, the texture rough against her cheek, she mumbled to herself as she scraped slime free with her nails, which was slick on the skin of her face.

Every so often, she would nudge her temple hard against the stone. It made her head hurt briefly, a dark, black bruise spreading on her brow, but the pain made her forget, just for a minute.

Had anyone looked in on her, they would never have recognised her as the dignified witch she had been at her trial.

Long blonde hair hung like dirty, blood-matted string around a face that was marked with bruises and raw cuts, from her initial reaction to the Dementors. Her eyes seemed to have doubled in size, ringed in black and exhausted beyond any level that sleep could relieve.

Her robes that had been semi-intact when she had been ushered into the cell were little more than scraps, torn by twitching fingers and ripped by the witch´s savage convulsions on the floor.

Her small feet and hands were bare, bruised and covered in open grazes that were coated with the filth of the walls and floor.

Her knees were bunched up against her chest and she shuddered as a gust of icy wind screamed through the cell, her slime-covered fingers coming up and jabbing at her bloody face randomly.

"Touched me...there...there...there..." she mumbled, giggling a little.

Her near-black eyes flicked to the far side of the cell, where he was standing. He always stood there, in his flapping robes, watching her, even when the others were the ones to hurt and violate her.

"Rude to stare..."

Did she actually say the words aloud?

She couldn´t be sure.

Did she even think them or was it someone else?

It might have been him, but she wasn´t certain.

Or maybe it was no one...or someone who wasn´t there...

She choked on a half-sob, half-giggle.

Gone...here...all the same...

A ripple of dizziness washed over her, when she the robed figure of her guard move past the opening of the cell, leaving her unguarded for a moment. Had it been even a day or two earlier...

Two days?

Was that how long she had been here?

It felt like longer.

Maybe forever, but not quite a couple of days.

Cringing back against the wall, she rubbed her cheek against the stone, her hand crossing in front of her chest and slapping at the cold, damp slabs. She slapped harder and harder.

Something cracked and she whimpered.

It hurt!

Her hand was limp at the wrist and she stared at it.

"All broke...all broke..."

A clatter from the doors of her cell distracted her from the pain of her wrists and she slammed up against the wall, staring anywhere but the door, wondering if they had come to hurt her like everyone else. If she didn't look, they wouldn't get her. If she didn't look. If she didn't look.

A gasp escaped her as warmth seemed to flood the icy cell and her body.

Only one person ever elicited that reaction in her, but he...no...

"Yessssss," Voldemort hissed from his corner of her cell. "My son has come to me!"

"No!" Thrusting her limp hands into her hair, Cassandra shuddered as pain rocketed through her. "No! You won´t take him! You won´t! You won´t!"

"Mom?"

Terrified eyes ducked away from the figure standing at the door of the cell. "Alex... go... leave... please..." she whispered, the ridges of brick in the wall cutting against her spine. "I don´t want him to...no...no..."

"Mom, it´s all right."

He stepped right into the cell.

Voldemort hissed with pleasure and moved towards him.

"NO!" Lunging to her feet, Cassandra threw herself at the Dark Lord with a wild scream of fury. She seemed to pass straight though his body - how odd! - and would have crashed against the bars when a gentle pair of hands caught her.

Suddenly, Voldemort was gone.

Warm, gentle arms were holding her.

This wasn´t right...

In her nightmares, he was never so warm...so soft...

He was dead.

Dead at his father´s hands...

Or living and cold, laughing, her blood on his fingers...

Yes, yes...that had to be it.

Any minute now, his hand would thrust through her chest and squeeze the life from her heart...

"Mom? Can you hear me mom?"

She tried to pull away. "You´re not Alex...you´re not...you can´t be... " Yanking away, she scrambled back into her corner, cowering down, trying to make herself as small as possible.

"Mom," his voice sounded just like him. They usually didn´t sound so painfully like her boy. "Mom, look at me."

"No...no...no..."

"Mom, please?"

The quiet desperation in those two words caught her.

Despite all her mental warnings not to look, to run, to stay away, her eyes rose.

"Oh God..."

It was Alexander.

"Oh God..."

He really was here...

"Alex..."

He nodded.

"Oh God...Alex..."

One of her hands - shaking, dirty and blood-stained - rose up towards him and she managed to give him a smile, before it felt like someone pulled a curtain of black down on her world.