~Albus~

Apparently, the same day that Nico came to visit me, Lily was attacked by Katreena Predatel. Gideon and Vinnie were late getting home because they had to cover the whole thing. They assured me that Lily was fine, and I got a message through Lucille later that confirmed it (did she know about Nico now? That surely couldn't have gone well). However, I still wished I could see Lily myself. Lucille offered to tell Nico that, when I expressed it to her (exact words being well stop whining to me about it and just get Nico to bring her over). It wouldn't be a good idea to see Lily, though, would it? Would she agree to not tell Mum?

The next day, as Gideon and Vinnie were off tracking down more details about the story, I took Nico's advice and snuck out to the woods. I think he'd been mostly joking about throwing logs around, but I figured trees were probably a nice, safe object to test my strength on. It crossed my mind that Lily had also technically been in the woods when she'd been attacked, but I shrugged that off. Sure, the wand Teddy had gotten for me still felt like I was using someone else's hand instead of my own, but I didn't think any of Stillens' people would try their chances against a werewolf.

So that's how I spent my days, practicing magic so that this wand might finally start to be semi-reliable, and testing my strength on trees. More often than not, I was actually just punching the trees, really. It seemed to hurt them more than me.

About a week into that, I was woken up in the middle of the night by someone knocking on the kitchen window again. I groaned and pulled my pillow over my head. Was Nico just going to show up whenever now? Gideon and Vinnie were here this time. Asleep, sure, but it might not stay that way for long.

Especially if that tapping kept getting louder. I finally huffed and picked myself up off the couch. This had better be good, considering it was nearly two in the morning.

To my surprise, Nico wasn't the only one sitting on the fire escape tonight. A little bit of my frustration melted away when I realized Wren was with him. She waved when she saw me, her smile somehow making me want to cry just a little bit.

"We brought you something," Nico whispered as soon as I'd opened the window. He hopped inside, then turned around to offer Wren his hand to help her down. "I think you'll like it."

I frowned, trying to imagine what they could have possibly brought me that Gideon and Vinnie wouldn't have been able to get. I shot Nico a questioning glance over Wren's head as she threw her arms around me. "What is it?"

"A wolfsbane potion."

My eyes widened. "Where did you get that?"

Wren pulled back, shooting Nico a frown. "He won't tell me, so it was probably illegal."

"Don't ask questions you don't want answers to, love." Nico patted her head, which made her huff. "You wouldn't want to know, all right?"

Wren was pulling a bottle out of her bag, and I couldn't help staring at it. It looked like a completely normal bottle. I raised an eyebrow. "Was it illegal?"

"Illegal is... a relative term."

"No, it's literally the opposite of that." Wren pressed the bottle into my hand before crossing her arms. "Could you be arrested?"

"Probably not."

"Probably not?" I chuckled at the indignant look on Wren's face. "You're probably stressing her out more by not telling her at this point."

"Exactly!"

Nico put his hands up, an amused smile on his face. "You have to promise not to be angry."

"I promise nothing," Wren said.

"Fine." He rolled his eyes. "I don't think I can be arrested because I stole it from a criminal, all right?"

"That's somehow worse."

I waved my hand in Wren's direction. "She'll be fine. What criminal? Where were you?"

"I had to report last night," Nico explained with a shrug. "I just happened to wander down to the basement, and just happened to see a room with the name Bosko outside. It was in her bathroom cabinet."

Now Wren and I were both staring at him in shock. I slowly shook my head. "Are you out of your mind?"

"She wasn't there, and there's literally nothing that could connect this back to me."

"Except that you were there last night," Wren pointed out.

"So were dozens of other people, I'm sure. I mean, think about it. What need would I have for a wolfsbane potion? None at all. And she had plenty of the stuff. It's practically a victimless crime."

I would've been happy to hear that he'd wiped out her whole supply, but just the fact that he'd stolen this from her at all seemed almost like justice, in some small way. "That's probably the best explanation you could have possibly given."

"Albus! Don't encourage him!"

"What? Where else were you planning on getting a wolfsbane potion?" I pursed my lips to keep from laughing; the fact that we were all stuck whisper-yelling at each other somehow made this seem hilarious.

"I... I don't know..." She glanced between us, clearly still frustrated, but it felt like she'd realized she wouldn't win this argument. "I just think we could approach things a little more carefully—"

"Listen, I saw an opportunity and I took it. That might've been the only chance I'll get, too. Would you prefer to not have anything?"

"Obviously not." Wren sighed. "I just... I mean..."

I put my hand on her shoulder. "Let it go, Wren. Nico's not stupid enough to get caught just for my sake. No need to worry."

Wren hesitated before she nodded. "I am glad you were able to get it."

I stepped into the living room to hide the bottle inside my bag. There wouldn't be a way to explain where I'd gotten it, not without compromising Nico and Wren. Best for Gideon and Vinnie to simply not know it was there.

When I came back into the kitchen, Wren was studying some of the newspaper clippings up on the wall. Nico raised an eyebrow at me. "Been bored out of your mind lately?"

"Not as badly." I kept my eyes on Wren. "Is Lily really doing all right?"

She tensed up just a bit, as if I'd startled her out of her thoughts. I realized she'd been reading the article Vinnie had written about her, when I asked them to take her a message initially. She certainly hadn't held any punches in that one. Even just the title was rough: Predatel: Lestrange is "Too Caught Up in Ideals," implying that Wren didn't have any herself. I suddenly felt the need to go cover it up, not let Wren see.

"She's okay," Wren said, now startling me out of my thoughts. "I think it shook her up more than she's letting on."

"Makes sense." I sighed and leaned back against the counter. "Do you... do you think she could keep a secret like this?"

Wren glanced at Nico, but he just shrugged. "I think so?" she said, more of a question than an answer. "You want to tell her?"

"I want to see her. Surely if you guys could sneak out of Hogwarts, Lily could, too."

"Well..." Nico winced. "They've ramped up security since the attack, and I've been having to obliviate the guards to get off the grounds. Wren and Lily wouldn't know the spell well enough to do that without leaving a trace..."

"Oh." I pursed my lips. That was indeed a problem. Of course Wren didn't mind coming with Nico, but would Lily?

"Obviously I don't care if your sister knows I'm a spy, but even if she knows she might get to see you, I feel like she wouldn't take that well. Would she?"

"Probably not." My shoulders slumped. "I guess we'll have to wait for the next Hogsmeade visit, then. When is that?"

Wren winced. "That's probably not going to work. Your mom made us both promise to not leave the grounds..."

"She what?" Nico was staring at her as if she'd just informed us that she knew there was a bomb planted in the kitchen. "You didn't tell me that!"

She blinked, seeming caught off guard. "It's not a big deal."

"Yes, it is!" He gestured out the window. "Do we look like we're on the grounds?"

"Well, no, but..." She'd grown a little paler, looking out the window with a frown. "It's fine, I'm sure—"

"I wouldn't have let you come!" Nico groaned. "She'll kill me if something happens to you. And you're sitting here lecturing me about safety!"

Wren hugged herself tightly. "I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself, thank you. And of making my own choices."

"Those choices normally involve directly disobeying Mum, do they?" I raised an eyebrow.

For about two seconds, she met my gaze, trembling a little. Before I could really tell what was going through her head, she looked down. "No," she said softly. "I... I really just didn't think about it until now. I'm sorry..."

Nico opened his mouth to say something (from the look on his face, it was likely snapping at her about simply forgetting that), but I cut him off, putting my hand on Wren's arm and leaning down a little to see her face better. "Hey, it's okay. Mum's not going to know, all right? And even if she did, I think she'd be more worried than anything. You'd probably just get a lecture on safety. She wouldn't really be angry."

Wren didn't say anything, and she didn't look up. After a moment, I tilted my head. "You know she wouldn't be angry, right?"

That finally got her to meet my eyes again, though she still looked troubled. "Of course I do."

"Okay..." What had gotten into her? I hadn't seen her like this since... well, since the summer before fourth year, right after she came back. She'd reacted like this, except worse, to nearly everything. I remembered her dropping a plate once because James had startled her, and she'd nearly started crying. She'd looked terrified then, even after Mum had just repaired the plate and told her it was okay. Now it was like a little bit of that terror was back. She didn't really think Mum would flip out on her, did she? I pursed my lips. "Do you... do you believe Mum wouldn't be angry?"

For a moment, Wren frowned at me, seeming almost confused. I didn't really know how to ask it any better, unfortunately. Her gaze turned inward, and I tried not to look relieved that I didn't have to try to explain. She still looked too troubled for me to be relieved, anyway.

Finally she looked up, something close to shame clouding her face. "I... I don't know."

All this time, and she didn't know if she believed that. That Mum was completely different from her parents, that she probably wouldn't even yell at her like she might with the rest of us. That she was safe. Mum wasn't going to hurt her. A lump appeared in my throat. I couldn't think of anything to say, so instead I just pulled her into a hug.

She was still trembling, or maybe just trying not to cry. We stood there for several long seconds before she pulled back, wiping at her eyes. "I'm sorry. I know that's horrible of me to say, because obviously your mom is a good person, and I know that, and—"

"Wren, it's okay. No one's upset with you. Except maybe Nico, but he's going to drop it right now." I cast him a significant look, but he was staring at us with an odd look on his face, looking. as if this had all made him extremely uncomfortable. No problem there. "There's really nothing to be sorry for."

Though she nodded, and she'd smiled a little, I had a feeling she was faking it. I'd noticed that sometimes, especially when she was trying to convince everyone she was fine, Wren would just... I don't know. Suddenly get over whatever little bit of negative emotion she'd let slip through. I was probably wrong, but sometimes I wondered if she was doing something like occlumency to keep us from worrying. Unfortunately for her, I'd seen it happen enough times that I wasn't fooled. "Listen, I am upset, okay?"

Instantly, her smiled disappeared. She took a step back. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't—"

"Not at you." I winced. Great, now I was just making it worse. It was too late to not explain, though. "I'm... I'm upset at your parents, I guess. That they hurt you so much you have trouble accepting it when other people don't. That they act like... like they can love you and also put you in so much pain at the time. So it's not your fault, and I know that, and Mum knows that, and that's why no matter what you do, I think it'd be a rare occasion when she even raised her voice at you. If... if that makes sense."

"Oh." Wren considered that for a moment for she nodded slowly. "Oh, okay."

"You know, it's kind of like with Cassie." I patted her shoulder. "We know you've been through a lot, and we're going to keep that in mind when we're interacting with you, even if you do manage to piss off Mum. Which I don't think you can do, by the way. We all know you're her favorite child."

She laughed seemingly in spite of herself. "That's not even remotely true."

"Then why did she always tell us to be more like you?" I chuckled. "Don't worry, you're everyone's favorite, so it's all good. Anyway, um... what were we talking about?"

Wren glanced at Nico, who made a face. "If I'd known you were going to be doing therapy, I would've stayed outside."

"Nico..." Wren frowned at him. "He's joking."

"I am not." I think the fact that he was smiling a little made her drop it. After a moment, though, the smile faded. "We do have some bad news, though. I doubt the reporters would've heard about it yet."

Just like that, my heart was pounding in my ears. "Is it Colette?"

His eyes widened in surprise. "No, definitely not. I haven't been able to find out anything about her."

"It's Carrow." Wren sighed. "You know they've been discussing how she's going to 'pay for her crimes,' I assume?"

Somehow, that was a relief, though I know it probably shouldn't have been. "Vinnie's got a list up in the living of all the ridiculous things that've been suggested, actually." Wren and Nico exchanged a glance, and my relief started floating away. "Why? What's happened?"

"Nothing yet," Wren said quietly. "But... apparently Russey's plan is to have her executed."

"What?" I shook my head. Surely I hadn't heard that right. "Can he even do that?"

"So far, he's been able to do everything he's tried," said Nico. "He's already had someone killed publicly, too."

"Yes, but..." I trailed off, reality sinking in. "That's absolutely mad. He'll just get away with this?"

"I don't know." Wren pursed her lips. "Ja—" I glared at her, and she cut herself off. "I mean, I'm not sure if this was Russey's idea or Stillens'. Russey might be trying to something daring to solidify his position in the Ministry, and maybe even turn on Stillens."

"Or it might be part of Stillens' plan," Nico added. "He might be ready for a full takeover of the government. It's not like it's a secret that he's here, after all."

I shook my head. "What makes you think it's going to be that big of a deal, exactly? What if Stillens just wants to get rid of anyone who might have legitimate claim to being the Minister?"

"There's been a lot of talk at the Ministry of something big coming. Russey hasn't let us into the loop yet, but he's implied there's good reason to expect changes soon. A lot of changes."

Barring the frustration I felt at the fact that Wren was obviously telling me things James had said, and I didn't want to hear word about him, I was started to be filled with dread. Either way, if Russey or Stillens ended up in total control of the Ministry, it would be a nightmare. Worst case scenario. It'd be over, and we would've lost.

"Is the DA doing anything about that?"

Nico frowned. "We're not supposed to have information from Russey's inner circle, so we've only been able to tell them things I've picked up on at the manor. It's enough for them to be on alert, but I don't know what they're going to do."

Well that was comforting. I didn't bother to ask what James's little project had planned; from what I understood, they weren't really equipped to actually fight, and though I could have said that, I didn't want to upset Wren. She didn't offer any information about them, either. Instead, she started fiddling with the end of her sleeve. "I'm afraid it's going to be really bad, whatever happens. It could turn into a true battle. People are going to get hurt..."

Last year, when they'd executed a man for murdering our ambassador to the MACUSA, his family hadn't even been able to see him before. It was all done behind closed doors, and we'd only ever heard what the Ministry told us about it. "Will it be open to the public?" I asked curiously.

"I think Russey would want to make a spectacle of it," she said quietly. "Draw the DA out of hiding, maybe, make them think they have to make one last stand?"

"I don't think he'll be making them think anything," said Nico. "If this happens, and the DA doesn't do anything, I doubt we'll ever have a chance like that again."

"Maybe he just wants you to think that."

"Wren..." Nico shook his head. "The DA has almost no connections anymore, not to anyone with any amount of power. Probably ninety percent of them are fully in hiding. There's only so much we can do from the shadows."

Wren met my eyes, but I didn't really know enough about the state of the DA or the country to know if he was right or wrong. It sounded like Nico knew what he was talking about, though. Instead of the fear that I could see on Wren's face, though, I was being filled up with anger. How dare Stillens come to my country and try to overthrow it? How dare he imprison and torture and vanish my best friend? How dare he treat Wren that way, treat Astra that way, treat my father that way?

Listen, I'm not delusional. Even as I was thinking these thoughts, I knew there wasn't anything I could really do about them. But right there, hearing Wren and Nico worriedly discuss how the war might end, I decided I could only really care about one thing. Stillens had destroyed literally everything in my life, and who knew what he was doing to Colette right then? I couldn't stop him from taking over the country, but I could wreak a little havoc, especially at what would probably be the largest and most tumultuous event in the history of the Ministry. I could find him, and even if I died in the end, I could make him regret ever hearing my name.

~~~~

Question of the Day: Do you think Albus should let Poppy know he's escaped? Or is he justified in his thinking?

Answer: I have personal opinions on this but I won't answer just so my opinions don't get muddled with his.

Vote and comment!

~Elli

Word count: 3293