Chapter 19

Vesryn walked along the trail up the mountain with a tired expression on his face as Aurelius struggled to follow after him. The dark-haired boy was red in the face and breathed heavily as he dragged his feet, one after the other. Vesryn stopped for a moment as he turned around to let the boy have a moment of rest. Sighing lightly, Vesryn shook his head as Aurelius bent over with his hands on his knees, wheezing.

"No wonder you got caught sneaking into the library. You walk like a decrepit old man." Vesryn said as he looked past Aurelius and noted the distinct trail he left behind.

"S-sorry. This is just… really exhausting." Aurelius responded as he wheezed.

"Well, you might have an easier time if you stopped dragging your feet and walked with your head up. You tripped four times in the last ten minutes." Vesryn pointed out as he looked at patches of dirt on the boy's clothes.

"It's a wonder how you're not bleeding or haven't broken something."

"I've never walked this far before. We've been walking for forty minutes." Aurelius complained as he placed his hands on his hips and stood up straight, his head tilting up toward the sky as he took a series of deep breaths.

"Maybe you should walk more. It'll do you some good to be in better shape." Vesryn said as he turned around and started walking again, causing Aurelius to groan as he followed after him.

"We're wizards. Why would we have to walk anywhere? We have brooms and we can learn to apparate." Aurelius remarked as the pair drew closer to the peak.

"Well, you don't have a broom yet do you? You also haven't learned to apparate." Vesryn retorted as they stepped onto the flattened area of the mountain that now contained several wooden huts, which made up the new sanctuary.

"Besides, If you apparate the way you are now, you'd likely keel over from exhaustion and nausea the moment you arrive anywhere."

"Really? How do you know?" Aurelius asked as Vesryn picked up on the sounds of laughing and talking just as they rounded the corner of one of the huts.

"It's how Moody brought me here that first night. It feels as though your entire body is being compressed through a tiny opening." Vesryn answered as he saw Charlie talking with the red haired woman that he saw during lunch at the Three Broomsticks. The woman was walking with a large pot in her hands as she listened to him with a smile on her face. Scattered around the area, were the other witches and wizards of the sanctuary that were all seated upon the numerous benches and chairs that were set up to form a dining area that was made complete with large tables.

"Ah! Vesryn!" Charlie called out as he turned to the woman next to him and said something to her before jogging over to them.

"I wasn't expecting to see you up here, Aurelius. Well, come on, both of you. Come meet my family." Charlie said with a wide smile on his freckled face as he placed his hands on the boys' shoulders and guided them over to the woman that was placing the large pot down on the nearby table.

"Aurelius! It's been such a long time!" The woman said loudly as she walked over with her arms wide to pull the young boy into a tight embrace. Vesryn raised an eyebrow as he was sure he heard the boy groan, followed by a series of cracks from his spine.

"How have you been? How's Aberforth?" The woman asked as she set the young boy down and brushed off his shoulders.

"I'm fine, Mrs. Weasley. Gramps is doing about the same as usual." Aurelius answered with a smile before he turned away with his eyes wide open and his hand rubbing his back.

"That's good to hear. And you must be Vesryn. Charlie's told me all about you. I'm Molly, Molly Weasley. This is Ginny." The woman introduced herself with a soft smile and pointed towards the young red haired girls sitting nearby before she clasped her hands together in front of her.

"It's a pleasure to meet you both, ma'am." Vesryn responded with a slight nod of his head.

"Oh, please, you can just call me Molly." She replied as she looked him for a brief moment, her lips pursing together.

"I'm sorry for what you've been through. I can't imagine what it must be like to go through that at such a young age." She said softly as she looked him in his eyes before she was forced to duck as three broomsticks flew directly overhead. In a split instant, Vesryn watched as her expression changed before she screamed out loud.

"BOYS! GET DOWN HERE THIS INSTANT!" The volume of the woman's voice came as a sudden surprise, as Vesryn winced and covered his ears. The three brooms came to a sudden halt before turning around and descending to the ground, where the three boys dismounted and walked over to their mother.

"What did I tell you about flying so close to people's heads? Huh? Put the brooms away, Ron give Charlie back his broom. Dinner's almost ready." Molly scolded before she turned around to face Vesryn.

"Vesryn, let me introduce you to my twins, Fred and George. And this is Ron. Say hello, boys." Molly said as she handed her daughter half a stack of plates before they began to set the nearby tables.

"Hello." The shorter red boy said as he handed the broom in his hand back to Charlie before his brother brushed past his shoulders to approach Vesryn.

"Hey, I'm Fred."

"I'm George." The twins said shortly before leaning and whispering.

"Do you really live here with those dragons?" The twin called Fred asked as he looked past the nearby buildings at the dragons that were all either sleeping or simply watching the commotion take place.

"I do."

"Wicked." George said with a smile as he nodded his head.

"Hey, is it true you beat Greyback?" Fred questioned as he draped an arm around Vesryn's shoulder. Vesryn turned to look at Charlie with a raised eyebrow as the red-headed man just turned away.

"I'll go help Percy with the rest of the food." Charlie told his mother as he rushed off toward one of the wooden huts. As he disappeared from view, the twins ushered Vesryn toward a table and sat down on the bench, setting their brooms against the edge before turning to Vesryn with excited eyes.

"You have to tell us how you did it."

"All about it."

"There's not much to say. He attacked, I was better and he lost." Vesryn said flatly as he looked around at everyone that seemed to be enjoying themselves, some of whom were making themselves busy by carrying trays, pans and plates of food to the different tables to help Molly.

"Come on. He's one of the most dangerous criminals out there."

"There has to be more to it. How'd you beat him?" The twins asked, taking turns with their questions in a manner that made them seem like one individual. Vesryn looked at them for a moment before looking past them at Aurelius, who appeared to have pulled out a notebook, quill and ink pot from somewhere and was ready to write. Closing his eyes, Vesryn sighed before leaning against the table behind him.

"Fine. Fenrir Greyback. From what I've gathered from both my encounter with him and from what I've been told is bully. A dangerous criminal, yes but ultimately still a bully." Vesryn explained as he spread his arms to the side, his elbows resting on the table behind him.

"He targets children and individuals he knows are weaker than him. He doesn't go after people that he knows can fight back. He ambushed me thinking I couldn't fight back. Clearly he was wrong." Vesryn continued as he thought back and analyzed the encounter in his mind. Opening his eyes, he could see how everyone around him was listening and giving him their full attention. Shaking his head, Vesryn continued to tell them how the encounter with Greyback went, making sure to leave out the specific spells he used.

"What about after he transformed? I thought werewolves are supposed to be a lot stronger than normal people." Aurelius asked as he wrote everything down.

"Alright boys, enough. Come get your dinner and quit bothering the poor boy." Molly said as she set a stack of plates on the table before moving to place more on the other tables nearby. Vesryn sat in silence as the surroundings became a bustling center of activity, the Weasleys and the witches and wizards of the sanctuary moving back and forth as they helped themselves to the spread of food that was laid out. As he saw Charlie walking out of one of the huts with a tall, spectacled, red haired teenager, Vesryn felt an odd sense of nostalgia flood over him.

The chatter of friends sharing stories and cracking jokes, of brothers battling over food and the sight of a mother watching over her children with a look of happiness in her eyes even as she scolded them. He could see the bonds of friendship built between the witches and wizards of the sanctuary. He saw the love expected of a mother for her children as Molly sat at the edge of the table with her daughter in her lap as she watched her children eat without reaching for a bite herself. Judging by the state of their clothes, he assumed she was doing it out of habit, in the hopes that they'd eat their fill before she would join them.

"Why aren't you eating? Here, have some of this. You're a growing boy, you should eat more." Molly said as she placed a plate down in front of him, snapping him out of his reverie. Vesryn turned his head to look up at the older woman, a wide smile on her face that somehow seemed both gentle and excessive.

"Thank you, Mrs. Weasley. I was just lost in thought." Vesryn said calmly as he looked away and picked up the spoon in front of him. Giving another glance at the lively surroundings around him, Vesryn began to eat as he thought to himself.

'This all feels… bittersweet.'

As Vesryn enjoyed his dinner amidst the lively atmosphere of the Hogsmeade Sanctuary, the same could not be said for the man named Viktor Nott. Sitting at one end of a large dinner table, the elderly lord set down his silverware before picking up the nearby napkin. Across from him on the opposite side of the table was Lucius, who was seated with a blonde woman on his right and a young boy on his left who had short hair with the same white-blonde color as his own.

{A/N: Went back to fix the hair color of Lucius. Apparently I gave him like three different shades of blonde in the last chapter he appeared. I think narcissa is just blonde in the books while lucius and draco are white-blonde. Minor detail but whatever.}

"Was the food to your liking, Lord Nott?" Lucius asked before taking a sip of wine.

"Let's just cut to the chase, Malfoy. We've wasted enough time." Viktor responded as he wiped his mouth with the napkin before throwing it on his plate. The man then snapped his fingers to his side before pointing towards the plates in front of him. With a pop, a short, gray skinned creature with long, bat-like ears, a pencil-like nose and green eyes the size of a tennis ball appeared next to the table wearing little more than a pillow-case. With its head lowered to avoid making eye contact the creature snapped its fingers before disappearing from view alongside all of the empty plates and dishes.

"Pathetic creature." Viktor said with a sneer on his face.

"Draco, go to your room if you're done eating. I have business to discuss." Lucius ordered the boy next to him.

"Yes, father." The boy responded as he got out of his seat.

"Come Draco. Let's see how your studies have progressed." The woman said as she left the table and walked alongside the boy.

"When can I get my own wand?"

"We'll go at the end of the month."

"But mother, that's a whole week and a half away. Can't we go sooner?"

"Absolutely not. Not until I'm sure you don't embarrass us in a manner like your friends Crabbe and Goyle." The woman answered as the pair disappeared from the room, the doors closing shut behind them.

"So. What did you want to speak about?" Lucius asked, leaning back in his chair and crossing one leg over the other.

"The plan failed. Greyback was useless."

"So he appears."

"How?! How did a half-breed child manage to escape Greyback?!" Viktor shouted, his fist slamming onto the table in front of him.

"He didn't." Lucius answered.

"What do you mean by that? How else would you explain his failure?"

"Well, if you had taken the time to gather a bit of information instead of barging into that office, you would know that the boy beat Greyback." Lucius answered as he picked up his wineglass to take a sip.

"What? That's impossible. He must've relied on his dragons."

"He did. To corner and capture Greyback. AFTER he beat him into submission."

"How'd you find that information? I couldn't get anything from Lee."

"That's the problem. You tried to get it from Lee. Whatever his faults, that man is dedicated to his job. If he believes you have no business knowing the information, he won't give it to you. Neither will his nephew, for that matter. The other members of his squad? I found them a bit more loose-lipped when introduced to a handful of galleons."

"So he really beat Greyback? So what do we do? Hire more?"

"No. We've already underestimated him once. We shouldn't attempt a brute force method again without knowing what else he's capable of. Too many variables."

"Then what? That look on your face looks exactly like your father's when he has a plan." Viktor said as he crossed his arms.

"Make him an offer he can't refuse."

"What kind of offer?"

"He's an orphan, is he not? Despite his supposed power, he has no family, no background. So. Adopt him." Lucius answered with a smile as he swirled the wine around in his glass.

"Adopt him? Are you joking? You want me to adopt that filthy little half-breed? Do you honestly expect that will work? What if he refuses?" Viktor questioned, his eyes narrowing.

"Firstly, yes. I do believe you should adopt him. You making an appearance right before Greyback escaped puts suspicion on you. Right now, the masses believe that you wanted Greyback dead, so they won't suspect you, but the investigators still might. By adopting the child that 'survived' an attack from Greyback, you'll present yourself as someone that is firmly against the mutt. Secondly, yes, I expect it will work. As for his refusal, it really doesn't matter, does it? As long as the minister approves the adoption, his refusal will mean nothing. The boy will have to accept it, unless he wants to go against the ministry itself. Ah, I believe Cornelius is looking for a new vacation home, so I'm sure he won't refuse your request to foster a 'helpless' child." Lucius explained as he set his wineglass aside and leaned forward on his elbows, interlacing his fingers in front of his face.

"As long as the adoption is approved, then he has no choice but to follow me home."

"And once he's within the boundary of your residence, everything he has will then belong to us. It's just a shame that he will 'succumb' to the injuries the werewolf inflicted on him." Lucius said as the two men shared a smile and picked up their glasses.

"A shame indeed." Viktor replied, his left hand clenched tightly into a fist as his mind conjured an illusory image of his mind where he saw himself standing in front of a crowd of dark robed figures. His left hand grasping onto a bundle of chains leading to several shadowy figures behind him. As the elderly man was lost in his own fantasies, Vesryn was seated on the ground, leaning against the large figure of a black dragon, a sneer on his face as he shut the book in his hands and tossed it onto the ground nearby.

"What a load of shit. Noble my ass." Vesryn muttered as he looked at the book next to him before waving his hand to set the newly bought book on fire. With a scoff, he crossed his arms across his chest and closed his eyes to sleep for the night as the discarded book was slowly consumed in flames. The pages disintegrating to ash before the leather covering the book soon followed, the title being the last thing to vanish into the dark of night.

'The History and Traditions of the Most Ancient and Noble Houses of the Wizengamot, The Bastions of British Wizarding Purity.'