Chapter 52

Rita sighed as she went over her notes. She had followed up on the tip Xeno gave her, finding the same suspicious circumstances, no actual proof, but the similarities were hard to ignore.

The McKinnons, Macmillan's, Prewett's, Selwyn's, and the Silverwoods had all been prominent pureblood families for hundreds of years, then within the last sixty years they had all dropped off the map.

They were no longer in the gossip column of the Prophet, no longer invited to the high society parties. They were, of course, still around, but had become far more private and reclusive as the years went on.

Evergreen connected all of them. She knew there was foul play involved, but the families either weren't talking, clamming up at the mere mention of Evergreen, or what was more often the case knew nothing about it.

As far as she could tell, there was only one man that had even met whoever was in charge of Evergreen, and that was Dumbledore. He was clearly protecting Evergreen, meaning he was also benefiting from protecting them, but there was no way to get any answers out of him.

That's how she found herself in front of Xeno Lovegood's door again. She had to ask him for something any reporter worth their salt would never give up, their source. Knocking on the door, she waited patiently for Xeno to answer it.

After a few minutes, a harried Xeno answered the door. "Rita? What are you doing here?" He asked in surprise.

"Is everything alright?" Rita asked, taking in Xeno's disheveled experience.

"…Yes, fine," Xeno said, spinning around and scanning his living room carefully.

"What's going on?" Rita asked, a confused expression on her face at Xeno's odd behavior.

"…It's nothing… I don't think she's here anyway," Xeno said mysteriously, shrugging his shoulders after a long moment. "What can I help you with, Rita?"

Before Rita could answer, she noticed something out of the corner of her eye. A mop of blonde hair peeking out from behind the sofa. She was just about to greet Luna when the girl raised her finger to her lips as she slowly crept forward.

Rita quickly schooled her features, deciding to play along as she concealed her smirk. ".. I just have some more questions about what we talked about earlier."

"Oh," Xeno said, dropping his guard. "Did you not find what you were looking for?"

"I did," Rita replied, now noticing the splotches of fresh paint on the walls as she realized the game she had interrupted. "But I need-" she began to say before she was interrupted by a loud splat, followed by Luna's peals of laughter.

"I got you, daddy!" Luna crowed, dancing a jig. "I finally got you!"

"What?" Xeno said, turning around in shock, seeing his celebrating daughter, then a look of mock betrayal on his face as he realized his daughter had an accomplice.

The look on Xeno's face, and Luna's celebratory dance, was too much for Rita, and as she let out a chuckle.

"That's cheating!" Xeno declared, a look of mock indignation on his face. "That doesn't count!"

"Uh-uh daddy," Luna sing song-ed. "What's the first rule of indoor paint ball?" she asked with a giggle.

"But, but," Xeno sputtered, looking between his daughter and Rita before finally hanging his head in defeat. "There aren't any," he muttered with a sigh.

"What else?" Luna asked, a wide grin on her face now.

"Fine, fine," Xeno said, walking over to his daughter and raising her hand in victory. "You are the indoor paint ball champion of the universe," he finished melodramatically. "Enjoy your tainted victory… I guess," he muttered, looking away to hide his own smile.

Luna beamed, her smile growing even larger as she celebrated. "Thank you Rita! I couldn't have beaten my daddy without you."

"Yeah, you couldn't have," Xeno said, latching on to his daughter's last words. "You got lucky this time, kid, but it won't happen a second time," he said, standing tall as he puffed out his chest.

Rita dissolved into laughter at Luna and Xeno's antics, and the over the top way Xeno took his loss. "Is it always this way with you two?" She asked good-naturedly.

Luna and Xeno looked at each other for a moment before responding at the same time, "pretty much."

"What can I help you with, Rita?" Xeno asked, waving his wand to remove the paint splatters from around the house.

"Right," Rita said, remembering the reason she had come. "I need to ask you more about Evergreen," she said.

"I see," Xeno said, his tone quickly changing as he got serious. "Let's talk in the living room," he said, closing the door behind her.

Rita followed, sitting on the couch across from Luna and Xeno. "How did you discover what you did about the other families?" She asked.

Xeno sat back in his chair, regarding Rita carefully. His many years of investigative experience allowing him to see what she was trying to get at. "You're after my source," he concluded.

Rita nodded, impressed that Xeno had seen through her question so quickly. "I wouldn't normally ask for something like this Xeno," she said, knowing full well what a reporter would do to protect their sources. "But I've hit a dead end, and without your source, the article is as good as dead. I won't be able to expose Evergreen."

Xeno sighed deeply, not surprised that it had come down to this. He glanced at his daughter, eagerly lapping up everything they were saying. It didn't take a genius to see that Luna looked up at Rita like a role model of sorts, becoming a big fan of hers after her coverage of Merlin's vault, but he still remembered the way Rita was before all that.

Rita was a gossip columnist, but a talented one. Even if what she wrote about hadn't interested him, he could still recognize her talent, and how she could find out the things she did. It looked like she'd turned over a new leaf now, but he didn't know how far that extended. What would she do if he told her everything?

"Daddy?" Luna asked, noticing the tension on her father's face. She knew what he was thinking about, but she trusted Rita to do the right thing. "You should tell her."

Xeno regarded his daughter. She had always been so sweet and trusting. It would break her heart if Rita turned out to not be the person she thought she was, and the fallout for them if their secret ever got out.

"It's not the simple sweetheart," Xeno said with a sigh.

Rita looked back and forth between Luna and Xeno, quickly realizing there was a lot more to this than protecting a source. "Xeno, you have my word. I won't reveal your source to anyone, but Evergreen is stealing from people and I think that's just the tip of the iceberg. They need to face justice for what they're doing."

".. Alright," Xeno relented. "But Rita, you need to understand. If someone finds out what I'm about to tell you, it will mean a lot of trouble for not just me, but Luna as well."

Rita nodded, "I promise, Xeno, no one will hear about your involvement in this, even if I have to kill the story myself to make sure of it."

"…I'm the source," Xeno revealed.

"Wh-What?" Rita asked, her eyes widening in surprise, not expecting that response.

"My family line always had a touch of the sight," Xeno explained. "My abilities are weaker than most," he admitted. "I only get flashes, sometimes even less than that, but that's how I learned about Evergreen and the families involved."

".. And both of you are seers?" Rita asked, looking between Luna and Xeno not sure what to think. There were many people that claimed to be seers, but most of them turned out to be frauds.

"Seer is too strong a word for what we can do," Xeno explained. "It's not that exact. We get hints of past and future events, but we don't have control over what we see, and sometimes what we see, we can't even make sense of."

"I see," Rita said, sitting back. She could tell why Xeno was so reluctant to reveal what he did. If the wrong person found out the truth about them, it would certainly put them in danger, and there were plenty of examples over the years of just that happening. "That's why you gave me the names of the families. You wanted me to find the proof on my own."

"Right," Xeno nodded. "What I see doesn't do any good if I can't prove it."

"What else can you tell me?" Rita asked.

"Look into Charlus Potter's death," Xeno advised.

"What am I going to find?" Rita asked.

"That's the piece you need to put it all together," Xeno explained. "You'll find the answers to all your questions with him."

***

Harry sat in his dorm room finishing up the last of his homework when he felt a presence behind him.

"Don't react," Merlin warned. "Just wait."

It was the third occurrence in as many days where they felt the presence of Morgan. So far she hadn't said anything, just observed him, listening in on his conversations, and watching his training.

'How much longer is this going to go on for?' Harry thought without looking up from his parchment. 'Why hasn't she said or done anything yet?'

"It won't be much longer," Merlin replied. "Be patient."

Morgan, unaware of Harry and Merlin's conversation, silently observed Harry. She had seen his shoulders tense ever so slightly after she arrived. 'At least on some level he can sense I'm here,' she thought, impressed.

'He really is the ideal candidate,' she thought. 'His social standing, fame, intelligence, and wealth make him ideally suited to act as my herald after I return.'

She had gone back and forth about this decision a lot, but ultimately decided Harry was far too important to waste on the ritual. Her study group wouldn't live much longer past opening the portal anyway, and if Harry were to perform even a single ritual, he would become a squib in less than a decade.

Her arrival would also raise a lot of questions, even after hiding her true identity behind the Celestia persona she crafted for herself. She would need to lean on Harry's reputation heavily, at least to start as she built up her own reputation and gradually took control of the wizarding world over the next decade.

The Alumni would also have to be eliminated soon after her return. She would need a clean break from them, and all the things they had done over the last few decades, to facilitate her return.

She had already made plans to use Harry's existing distrust of the study group to win him over, spinning a story about how they had killed themselves by performing one too many rituals, turning away from the path of enlightenment she offered.

Morgan had made the calculations to change the portal ritual. 'All I need are three more students,' she thought to herself. 'They'll die opening the portal too, but that hardly matters. The study group can snatch up three more children, ones that no one will miss.'

'There's no better time than now,' Morgan thought to herself as she revealed herself to Harry, knowing she would need to lay the groundwork for winning him over to her side.

Harry felt a flare of magic coming from Morgan and knew something had changed. He looked up from his parchment.

"Act surprised," Merlin instructed.

Harry widened his eyes, plastering a shocked expression on his face. "Celestia… I didn't expect to see you again."

"Hello Harry," Morgan said, a practiced smile on her face. "I hope I'm not interrupting you."

"No," Harry replied, putting his quill down.

"I've talked to Andre. He told me about your decision," Morgan revealed, her smile fading slightly.

Harry looked down, schooling his features to look flustered. "…I'm sorry about that. I want to help you, but there's… there's just so much bad blood between me and Andre. I just don't know what to believe."

"Good," Merlin praised. "Don't reveal too much. Let her make the connections for you."

"I understand Harry," Morgan replied patiently, surprising Harry with her response. "In your position, I would probably feel the same way."

"You would?" Harry asked, wondering if he had misheard her.

Morgan nodded. "They broke your trust. It's only natural for you to distrust them now," she added, casting the blame on the study group.

"…You're not upset about my decision?" Harry asked.

"No," Morgan replied with a shake of her head. "I've never forced anyone into helping me, and I don't intend to start now," she lied. "I just want you to know there's no hard feelings." She said before disappearing again.

Harry stared at the place Morgan stood for a long moment, wondering what her play was, or if she was hiding just outside the range of his senses. 'What was that?' he thought.

"She'll be back," Merlin replied. "That was just the first step."

'Why didn't she try to change my mind?' Harry thought curiously.

"Morgan is an expert manipulator," Merlin explained. "She's going to take her time with this."

***

Harry stood across from Ron in the room of requirement, working on his advanced training. He tilted his head to the right, avoiding one of Ron's spells by just a couple of inches, then doing the same for Draco and Hermione's spells.

"You're getting better," Merlin observed. "But there's still room for improvement. The last spell wasn't going to hit you, anyway. You didn't need to move. Remember, this exercise is about the economy of movement and conserving your strength."

Harry nodded, 'it's harder than I thought it would be,' he thought, throwing his shoulder back to avoid another spell from Draco, his mind processing the visual information much faster than normal, making it feel as if their spells were moving in slow motion.

"You need to maintain your focus," Merlin replied. "Track their spells, see how they move. It's not always a straight line. Sometimes they have a slight curve, or they move a little faster or slower than you expect."

'I know,' Harry thought back, remembering Merlin's earlier lectures as he prepared himself for the next volley of spells. His main advantage over the study group was his technique and his creativity. He couldn't match them spell for a spell in a head on fight, and he had to preserve as much of his magic as he could during the fight. That meant shield charms were a last resort, and the spells he cast needed to use just enough magic to get the job done, and not an ounce more than necessary.

Draco eyed Harry as he dodged around their spells. They had been training like this for the past week. While they worked on getting more efficient with their spell casting, Harry worked on dodging their spells. It was both an intimidating and inspiring sight to see how far ahead of them Harry was, making him glad that Harry was on their side.

He remembered when they first started. It felt more like Harry was just guessing what they were about to do and reacting accordingly, but he noticed a change over the last few days. He was successfully dodging far more of their spells than before, and was already moving before the spells even left their wands in some cases.

He was still behind Ron and Hermione in locating his magical points, but after seeing what Harry was capable of, he pushed himself harder, seeing the obvious advantages of Harry's training.

"Stop," Harry said suddenly, bringing everyone to an immediate stop as he stared at the corner of the room.

"What is it?" Hermione asked, looking at the spot Harry was staring at, but not seeing anything out of the ordinary.

Harry stared intently at the corner, knowing exactly who it was, Morgan. He had caught her watching him multiple times since their conversation.

"It's nothing," Harry dismissed, looking away as Morgan made a hasty retreat. He needed to find a way to deal with her spying.

"She'll reveal herself again soon enough," Merlin said. "It's no coincidence the study group has been avoiding you."

'You think she's going to pick up where Andre left off?' Harry thought. 'How am I supposed to deal with that?'

"We'll have to play it by ear," Merlin replied, knowing that things would come to head soon. Morgan wouldn't be patient for much longer, especially after all the effort she put into escaping. "It won't be much longer before they perform the ritual. She may still let something slip that we can use."

Morgan huffed in annoyance after leaving the room of requirement. Harry could sense her presence. There was no getting around that fact. She didn't know if it was natural for him, or simply something he learned along the way, but it complicated her plans to win him over.

'I need to learn more about him, how he thinks, what he likes,' Morgan thought to herself, but she wouldn't get anything useful by following him, nor could she have the study group do it. He would detect them just as quickly.

'His friends,' Morgan thought with a smile, getting an idea. 'They don't have the same ability to sense my presence. It will take longer to get anything useful, but I can have the study group spy on Harry's friends.'

***

Rita, using her animagus form, snuck into Potter Manor, crawling along the ceiling as she made her way into the living room. She could hear voices talking quietly, easily making out Potter and his wife's voice, along with Dung's. She positioned herself on the far wall, observing their conversation.

"What did Dumbledore say?" James asked.

"He believed me… I think," Dung replied.

"And Moody?" Lily pressed.

"He's hard to read…" Dung replied, after a moment's thought. "But I think so."

James glanced at Lily in worry. It wasn't the definitive answer either of them had been hoping for. "Is it over then?"

"Not quite," Dung replied. "He wants to know what else you found out, and if there's anyone else that helped you."

"Damn," James said with a worried sigh. "If he doesn't get an answer he likes, he's going to send Moody." The thought of the man sneaking into his home and past his wards still worried him. Even at his best, he was still no match for the former Auror.

"What if we go on the offensive?" Lily suggested. "We threaten to bring this to the Wizengamot unless he returns the Potter fortune and backs off."

Rita silently dropped from the ceiling, returning to her human form as she seized on the opportunity to get them on side. "That isn't going to work. Dumbledore already has far too much influence in the Wizengamot to let something like that stop him."

Jams and Dung whirled around, wands drawn as Lily gasped, fumbling for her own wand.

"Skeeter!" James shouted as he glared at the reporter. "How the hell did you get in here?!"

Rita raised her hands, knowing it was a calculated risk, showing that she didn't have her wand drawn. "That's not what's important."

"Not important?!" James demanded. "You broke into my house! I'll have you arrested for this!"

"James," Lily said, putting her hand over James's forearm, knowing that Rita wouldn't have revealed herself like this for nothing. "Let's hear her out first. Why isn't it going to work?"

"You can't be serious Lily," James said, continuing to glare at Rita.

"I know James. I don't like it anymore than you do," Lily replied, thinking about how the woman had nearly ruined their family, and invaded their home. "But we're running out of options."

"…Fine," James said with a huff as he lowered his wand. "Talk, Skeeter, and it better be good, or we'll see what the Aurors think about you breaking into pureblood homes."

"I know we've had our differences, but it wasn't personal," Rita said, lowering her hands, seeing Potter's bluff for what it was. "I go where the story leads me."

James ground his teeth. "Say what you have to say, then get out."

"You're not the only ones," Rita revealed. "There are four other families at least that Evergreen controls the fortunes of."

Dung's eyes widened in surprise. The Potter fortune was large enough already. "What would Dumbledore need all that money for?"

"I don't know yet," Rita admitted. "Finding out Dumbledore's secrets isn't easy."

"Who are these other families?" James demanded, narrowing his eyes suspiciously. He trusted Skeeter about as far as he could throw her, and there was a good chance all of this was an elaborate lie.

"The McKinnon's, Macmillan's, Prewett's, Selwyn's, and the Silverwoods," Rita replied calmly.

"James," Lily said as she thought about the names. "I think she's telling the truth. All those families practically dropped off the map over the last few decades. No one we know has spoken to them in years."

"Alright fine," James replied, conceding that it was suspicious. "But that still doesn't prove anything."

"I'm close to putting it all together," Rita continued. "But I need to ask you about your father."

"My father?" James asked, not expecting that response. "What does he have to do with all of this?" James demanded.

"That's what I'm trying to find out," Rita replied. "What did he think of Dumbledore?"

"He didn't like him," James replied after a moment's thought. "Or that we were working together during the war. He didn't like the idea of me using the Potter fortune for the war effort."

"Do you have any idea why he would put the entire Potter fortune under the control of Evergreen?" Rita asked.

"…He didn't trust me," James replied, looking away, the memory of what his father last said to him still stinging. "He said I would waste it away."

"Was that a conversation you had directly with him, face to face?" Rita pressed. "Did he mention Evergreen?"

"…No," James replied, shaking his head. "He only mentioned Evergreen in his will."

"Did you see the will before he died, or was it only after your father's funeral?" Rita continued, getting a hunch.

"After," James replied, wondering what Skeeter was getting at.

"I need to see it," Rita insisted.

"Alright," James said, now curious what Skeeter was getting at. "Wait here," he said, going to his study.

"What's going on?" Lily asked. "Why is my father-in-law's will so important to you?"

"I have theory," Rita explained. "But I need to see the will to confirm it."

Before Lily could ask anymore questions, James returned, handing the will to Skeeter.

Rita quickly flipped through the pages, getting to the witness signature. "I knew it," she said, a smirk forming on her face.

"Knew what?" James asked. He'd read the will multiple times before and hadn't found anything out of place, or any loopholes, to take back control of his fortune.

"This will was witnessed by Dumbledore," Rita explained triumphantly.

"So what?" James asked with a shrug of his shoulders. "Dumbledore is the Supreme Mugwump. It's his duty to witness all wills for members in the Wizengamot…. Isn't it?" he asked, seeing the look on Skeeter's face.

Rita shook her head. "There's nothing special about lordly wills," she explained. "Anyone with standing can witness them."

"That's what he told me. Why would he…" James trailed off as he realized what Rita was getting at. "The will is a forgery."

"Just like the other four lordly houses," Rita confirmed. "Dumbledore is the witness on all of them."

"Why?" Lily asked, baffled. "Dumbledore doesn't need any of our money. His family already has more than enough as it is. He wouldn't need ours."

"I don't know," Rita admitted. By all accounts the Dumbledore family was already well off, and even if it wasn't, all the positions Dumbledore hold earn him more than enough galleons to live comfortably on.

"…There are some rumors," Dung admitted. "I never put much stock in them, especially since it happened so long ago."

"What rumors?" Rita asked, rounding on Dung.

"Dumbledore had a sister, Ariana," Dung explained. "She was attacked by muggles… It was bad. His father lost his mind and killed them all. When the Aurors caught up with him, they put him in Azkaban."

"They put a lord in Azkaban?" Rita asked skeptically, knowing full well how the Wizengamot protected their own. "Why is it just a rumor? There should be records he was there."

"I knew someone that was a guard at Azkaban. They said they saw him. He was kept separate from the other prisoners." Dung explained.

"And you believe him?" Rita asked skeptically.

"He didn't have any reason to lie to me," Dung replied. "Albus's father, Percival. He killed them publicly, and beyond that, it was gruesome. It was also enough to endanger the statute of secrecy. No one knows how much it cost them to avoid a Dementor's kiss, but it was a lot."

"And Dumbledore spent more or less the next century at the top of Wizarding politics," Rita surmised. "That wouldn't have come cheap."

"We already figured out Dumbledore is being paid off by Evergreen," Lily replied. "But it doesn't bring us any closer to figuring out who's in charge."

"Don't you see it?" Rita asked. "Dumbledore isn't working with Evergreen. He is Evergreen."

James's jaw fell open as all the pieces finally fit together. How Albus had gone out of his way to recruit him in his youth, even turned a blind eye to many of his past mistakes. He thought it was because of Glory, but now he realized Dumbledore had been playing a deeper game from the very beginning.