~Albus~

Every day, Robert or Lucille came to visit me in the woods and ask if I'd changed my mind about Poppy, and every day I told them that if they didn't lay off, I'd lock them up in a tupperware and hide them in a kitchen cabinet. I'm sure they were telling Nico that, but I guess he knew as well as they did that I didn't really mean that. It was annoying to have them nagging me, but the routine was kind of comforting.

Especially now, when the world seemed to be careened toward its end. The execution just drew closer and closer, and my resolve to get there myself only grew stronger. Of course, the full moon was only a few days after the execution (just my luck), and I could feel myself getting weaker as it approached. I couldn't let that stop my plans, though.

Even if I'd had the energy to think about talking to Poppy, I was now trying to keep from hurting her in an entirely different way. If my plan was to cause chaos with reckless abandon, kill Stillens or die trying... it would only be cruel of me to try to talk to Poppy now. I felt like it would be much harder for her to let me go if she'd only just gotten me back, you know?

I could've just decided to stay here, I guess. That's what I'd promised Gideon and Vinnie I'd do, though they had to leave so early for reporting that it'd be easy for me to get there with plenty of time to spare. But I could have chosen to let Nico bring Poppy tonight, or the next day, or the next, finally gotten to see her again (even if I wouldn't let myself touch her). I could've convinced her to stay here, wait it out with me.

But I couldn't. This wasn't just about me, after all—this was about vengeance. For my dad, for myself, but most especially for Colette. I knew it was just a fantasy, but I wanted to hold my wand up to Stillens' face and make him admit what he'd done to her, see the fear in his eyes right before I killed him. That probably wouldn't happen, and I would cause more destruction by fighting the people who worked for him, but it was a nice thought.

The day before the execution, though, something happened. What was it? It seemed that Gideon and Vinnie couldn't get a straight answer. They'd signaled to Haverna and gotten no response, and apparently she was their main point of contact since the more prominent DA members had been fired from the Prophet. For once, they didn't go off in search of a story. Instead, we all sat around the kitchen table, staring at the pile of ash that had formerly been a howler.

Why a howler and not a letter? To keep the message from being tampered with, I guess. Neither Gideon's nor Vinnie's name was on it—the owl just seemed to know where to go. None of us recognized the owl, either. We'd sat there staring at the envelope until it had started to steam and Vinnie had finally ripped it open.

To my surprise, the voice that came through belonged to my mum. She wasn't shouting, though. Instead, it sounded like she was speaking in a low whisper, which the howler was amplifying to about the volume of a regular conversation.

Headquarters has been compromised, Mum's voice had said. Do not attempt contact with anyone in hiding there. More news should come within a few hours. Be alert—we don't know what information has been compromised. Be prepared to go into hiding immediately.

Since I was the only one who was even vaguely aware that there was a headquarters for the DA, none of us could figure out what that meant. The only mirrors Gideon and Vinnie had were to Haverna and Mr. Longbottom. I was pretty sure Mr. Longbottom would've been in hiding there, so he was out, and Haverna wasn't answering, which was worrying in itself.

Astra had been at headquarters, I was pretty sure. Mum had, too. It sounded like Mum was okay, but Astra? Who else was there? What did she mean by compromised? They'd caught a spy? Someone had broken a fidelius charm?

The best we could figure out between the three of us was that there had probably had to be an evacuation, which didn't bode well. That would explain why we couldn't contact anyone—plenty of people had probably had to leave mirrors behind in their rush. But did that mean someone had gotten in? It must've been a lot of someones, really. I knew that at least the Quibbler and Astra's broadcasting ran out of there, along with plenty of other things. But how could that have happened?

Unfortunately, we didn't get any more news over the next few hours, though none of us let the mirrors out of our sight. Neither Mr. Longbottom nor Haverna had anything to say, apparently. Were they okay? How deep did this compromising go?

By evening, we'd given up hope on hearing more that day. Gideon and Vinnie would still have to go to the execution, whatever had happened, and they knew of a few aurors in the DA who might have more information to share. I supposed it didn't really matter for me, since it was unlikely I'd make it through the next twenty-four hours. So none of us were expecting it when there was a knock on the kitchen window just as we'd settled down in the living room to wait out the evening.

I jumped up immediately, heart pounding all of a sudden. Was Nico completely mad? Surely he had to know they wouldn't be asleep at seven o'clock in the evening. What had come over him?

"What on earth was that?" Vinnie asked, frowning at the kitchen.

"Raccoon, maybe? Stray dog?" Gideon got up before I'd made it to the kitchen. "I can scare it away. Albus, you'd better come away from the window..."

The curtains were drawn, as they always were when the lights were on. It was an idea Gideon had had to keep me safe—make it impossible for anyone to see me through the window. It wasn't working in my favor now, though. I couldn't shoo Nico away before Gideon got there if he couldn't see me.

"Wait," I said quickly, stopping him halfway across the kitchen. He turned to frown questioningly at me, and I tried not to wince. "What if it's rabid?"

"I'm just going to cast some spells at it. I'm not getting out there with it."

"But... maybe I'd better do it?"

"Why?" Vinnie piped up. I turned to find her right at my shoulder, making me jump. "Gid's scared a goat off once before. I think he can handle this."

Just then, there was a knock on the window again. I bit down a curse as Gideon reached out to drawn the curtains back. Before he'd pulled them all the way, I dashed across the kitchen myself.

Sure enough, Nico was crouched on the fire escape. Gideon gasped, but I guess he was too shocked to do anything as I shoved the window open and leaned out. "Are you out of your mind?"

Nico had a nasty-looking black eye, to my surprise. He peered over my shoulder and smiled as if this was going exactly how he'd planned. "Oh, good, the reporters are here."

"Why's there some kid on our fire escape?" Vinnie demanded from behind me.

"I'd like to know the same thing," I muttered, glaring at Nico.

He seemed entirely unfazed as I stepped back so he could slip through the window. Gideon closed the curtains immediately, staring at Nico with suspicion the whole time. I frowned. "What happened to your face?"

"Your sister, actually." Nico shrugged. "On the bright side, I suppose I can sneak her out to see you now."

"Albus!" Vinnie crossed her arms. "What is this?"

I winced and glanced back at Nico. "What are you doing here?"

"Your mum sent me, actually." Nico held out a mirror to Gideon. "This is a direct line to Faith Lindsey. I guess she can keep you updated."

Now Gideon and Vinnie were both staring at him in shock. I couldn't blame them, since I was trying to wrap my head around this myself. After a minute, Gideon shook his head. "Albus, do you know this kid?"

"I... uh, yeah..." I chuckled nervously. "This is Nico. He's a classmate of mine..."

"It's nice to meet you both, finally," Nico said quickly. When Gideon didn't take the mirror from his hand, he set it down on the table. "Though, I mean, I guess you don't know who I am."

"Not at all." Vinnie raised an eyebrow at me. "You're just going around telling people where we live, are you? And that we're DA?"

"I already knew both of those things," Nico said, only a slight edge to his voice. "I'm DA, too, all right?"

"I've never heard of you," Gideon countered.

"I expect there's a lot of DA members at Hogwarts you don't know about. Probably all of them, actually."

"Elaine never said—"

Gideon held up his hand. "If you're really DA, I suppose you can tell us why she's not answering her mirror."

"Probably because there's a box full of them and we don't know which one's which."

"How could she lose track of that?" I asked, blinking at him in surprise.

"She didn't. If you'd just let me—"

"Wait a second." Vinnie narrowed her eyes. "Nico? Is he the one I'm thinking of? The one that ki—"

"Killed my dad?" Without thinking about it, I stepped forward, arm out almost like I was shielding him. "He's turned sides. He spies on Stillens, now. And since it was my dad, and I'm sitting here letting him exist, I think you drop that, okay?"

Gideon and Vinnie were both staring at me like I'd started speaking parseltongue (surely I hadn't, right? There weren't any snakes around). I ventured a glance back at Nico only to find him blinking at me in surprise, seeming confused all of a sudden. Maybe almost wary. I let my arm drop, feeling a little silly now as I turned back around. "Um... anyway... he's trustworthy, I guess is what I'm saying."

"Right..." Vinnie seemed entirely unconvinced, but she reached down for the mirror on the table anyway. "So... Ginny sent you? Why?"

"And how do you know where we live?"

"How did you know Albus was here?"

"Wren told me about Albus. We're both parselmouths, so we can exchange messages discreetly through my snakes."

"Of course he bloody owns snakes," Gideon muttered. He rolled his eyes and said more loudly, "Coming through the kitchen window makes you a bit of a creep, wouldn't you say?"

"A lot less chance for witnesses if I come through the window." Nico shrugged. "As far as anyone knows, you're a pair of dense reporters, and I'm actively working for Stillens. A little weird if I'm calling on you, don't you think?"

"So Wren told you how to get here?" Vinnie guessed, still frowning suspiciously.

"No. I know where you live because I was using the Floo network in the flat across the street for months last year."

"Oh." Vinnie pursed her lips. "I guess that makes sense."

Nico shook his head. "Anyway, back to what's important..." He turned to me. "Have you heard anything at all today?"

"We got a weird howler from my mum," I said with a shrug. "Headquarters was compromised? That's about all we know."

Nico winced. "You might want to sit down."

Soon, we were all gathered round the kitchen table. Though Gideon and Vinnie still seemed a little wary of Nico, we were all desperate for news. He didn't waste any time. "The DA's largest safehouse was broken into earlier today," he explained. "In order for that to happen, a spy on the inside had to kill the secretkeeper. Who was Professor Longbottom..."

My heart dropped. He couldn't actually be serious. That was ridiculous. Mr. Longbottom couldn't die. He was too smart, too good, too safe. But... I guess my dad had been all of those things, too. In the end it hadn't helped.

"Holy Merlin," Gideon whispered.

"Merlin's not a saint," Vinnie said automatically, though she was still staring at Nico in shock. "Wait, you can't be serious."

Nico looked down. "It's a big blow to the DA. All of our physical copies of evidence and records were there, as well as over two hundred people in hiding. They've had to scatter, and I guess almost everything that could've been incriminating or dangerous was burned before Stillens' men got there, but still. Not good."

Gideon reached out for one of the mirrors we'd left on the table, the one that connected to Mr. Longbottom. "So this one's compromised, then? The other side has its pair?"

Nico shrugged. "I mean, who's it supposed to connect to?"

"Longbottom."

"Oh. Then yeah, I'd assume so."

Gideon dropped it like it had become a flaming coal in his hand. It fell to the floor, and though it didn't open, I heard the sound of the glass breaking inside.

Now I turned to Nico. "Why did my mum send you? They've already got a mirror to Haverna."

"Well, that's the thing..." He sighed, looking down at the busted mirror on the floor. "The safehouse was on her family estate, so when the location was leaked—"

"She was outed," Vinnie finished. She hesitated, eyes wide with something akin to horror. "Was she arrested?"

"No, no, nothing like that." Nico shook her head. "She disappeared before anyone came looking. But she did leave a bit of a mess behind for the rest of us..."

"The rest of you?" Gideon shook his head. "There's more?"

"The only one you need to worry about is Absynthe Rinduli. She's the new defense against the dark arts professor—"

"Everyone says she's one of Stillens' plants," Vinnie cut in. "How can she possible be safe?"

"I mean, you're sitting here talking with me." Nico shook his head. "She's one of those missing children the Quibbler's written about, and she defected. Haverna trusted her enough to leave all her mirrors and records with her."

I nodded slowly. Of course, Wren had already told me about Rinduli, so this wasn't as hard to believe. I couldn't let on to that, though. "I guess that makes sense. I mean, if Haverna trusted her..."

"So if she's got all of Elaine's mirrors, why isn't she answering them?"

"I mean, nothing's labelled, for obvious reasons. We don't know which ones might've been left behind and fallen into the wrong hands." He gestured to the mirror on their table. "Now I know what yours looks like, though, so we'll make sure to pull the match out and answer from now on."

"Who left you two in charge, exactly?"

"I'm not in charge of anything," Nico snapped. "I'm carrying a message for Mrs. Potter. That's it."

Gideon pursed his lips. "Oh. Yes."

"I hardly trust you," Vinnie said bluntly. "You expect me to trust some random 'defector'? How do you know she's not faking it?"

"It's a long story." Nico stopped, but when no one else spoke, he sighed. "I can't tell you all of it. But she let me do legilimency on her, and everything she was saying was true. I'm pretty sure Haverna and Longbottom talked to her a lot before they let her in, too. I don't know how else I could prove it to you. It's not like there's a badge."

Finally, Vinnie picked up the mirror Nico had brought with him. "This really connects to Faith?"

"Mrs. Potter confirmed it herself."

Gideon and Vinnie exchanged a glance. "I suppose we could test it," he said slowly.

Nico stood up. "I've got to get back. That's all I know about what's happened, so if you're done interrogating me..."

"You let her know that she'd better call us tonight," Vinnie said, raising an eyebrow. "We've got to interrogate her, too."

They'd hurried off to the living room before Nico could answer. I had to smile a little at how eager they were to talk to Faith. It had been nearly two years since she'd had to leave the Prophet and go into hiding. I was glad they were finally getting the chance to catch up.

"Oh, Albus, there's one more thing." Nico pursed his lips, a worried look on his face that made me frown. "Wren told me to make sure you weren't going anywhere near the execution tomorrow."

I managed to keep my expression even. "Why would I do that?"

"I mean, playing at the hero is what you lot are known for..." Nico shook his head. "She's really worried about you, all right? She wants you to promise you'll stay here."

For a moment, I hesitated. Breaking a promise to Gideon and Vinnie was one thing, but Wren? She'd be devastated when she found out. However, by then it would probably be too late. She'd probably be stuck up in some fancy seating area with James, and it wouldn't be hard to avoid her. I'd either make it out unscathed and give her no reason to be upset, or, more likely, die before she even had a chance to worry.

"I promise," I said, nodding. "I'll stay here."

Nico smiled, seeming a little relieved. "I half thought you wouldn't. She'd have killed me, I think."

I made myself smile too, though my stomach was twisting. I was lying to Wren. Unfortunately, this was bigger than her. Some promises need to be broken.

~~~~

Gideon and Vinnie stayed up late talking to Faith in one of their rooms, so I was surprised when they made it out the door on time the next morning. The execution itself was scheduled for eleven in the morning, but of course the press had to be there much earlier to interview top Ministry officials and such. I sat around until ten, when the doors officially opened to the public. Then, I snuck into Gideon's closet to borrow a cloak and apparated away.

The apparation spots had been specially laid out for this event, and the four locations had been in the newspaper every day for a week. There were already dozens of people heading towards a large warehouse when I arrived. I just slipped into the crowd, hood drawn low over my face. No one even spared me a second glance.

The warehouse looked abandoned. The windows at the top of the building were broken, and there were boards nailed over the few that were near the ground. The whole district around the warehouse was deserted except for the witches and wizards streaming towards the building. I wondered what spells they'd put on the area to pull that off, or if it was just  always this dead in a commercial area on a Sunday morning.

There were two aurors stationed at every door, but they were hardly glancing at the people walking past them. I recognized one of Teddy's friends at the door I was aimed at and managed to weave my way over to a different entrance. The aurors there didn't notice me at all.

The inside felt far bigger than the outside. Though I could still see the bones of the warehouse at the ceiling and in the outer walls, the place had clearly been transformed. On three sides of the space, structures had been erected that almost mimicked mini buildings. The ground floors of each were lined with little shops selling snacks and souvenirs (as if that wasn't utterly appalling), and there was a staircase every two shops or so that led up to the next floors. They both looked like they were filled with seating, as well, in case anyone wanted a better view. Some people were heading up the stairs, some pushing towards the middle. I pulled off to the side, mounting a few steps of a staircase to get a better glimpse at the rest of the space.

The fourth wall was hidden by an enormous red curtain. It didn't quite connect to the other three structures except on the ground level, where there was a covered walkway to somewhere behind the shops on the left. That was roped off to the public, as was a large area in front of the curtain. For half a second, I started scanning the Ministry workers there for James, but I stopped myself quickly. No reason to worry about him. Not today.

In the center of everything there was a very tall stage. If someone had been standing on it, I would've been able to see them from the very back of the crowd at ground level. However, the only thing standing on the stage at the moment was a tall wooden frame that I recognized from pictures in our history books—a guillotine. Were those even still legal in the modern world? I knew muggles had done away with them ages ago. Supposedly, wizards didn't have executions at all, so I shouldn't have been surprised at the gruesome way Russey had decided to do this. My stomach was turning, though. I had to look away.

I turned my eyes upward, and that's when I noticed the third story. I'd assumed it had just been the "roof" of the two floors of seating, but now that I looked closer, I realized that it seemed to be section off into large chunks, some walled in and some open as balconies. What on earth was up there? Surely no one would want to sit that high up. Would it be possible to even see from that far away?

That didn't matter. What I needed to do was figure out where I could stand and wait for the fighting to start. Somewhere tucked away, where no one would be able to see my face, but near enough to join in on the action as soon as it started. The higher levels would probably be easier for hiding in, but would the fighting even reach up there? Maybe I needed to stay on the ground level.

I suddenly became aware of someone's eyes on me. I pulled my hood down further, cursing myself for letting it fall back a little as I'd looked around. Who had seen me? Where were they? I scanned the crowds, but couldn't find anyone staring at me now. Except... wait, no, there was someone headed directly towards me. Someone who looked a little too much like my girlfriend...

I jumped down the stairs and shrank back into the shadows beside them, heart pounding as if it was going to beat right out of my chest. Had that really been Poppy? Maybe my mind was playing tricks on me. There were hundreds of people here by now, so the odds that she'd somehow picked me out of the crowd were ridiculous, right? But what if it was her? What was I going to do? What was I going to say?

In one instant, all thoughts were wiped clear of my brain as she broke through the crowd less than ten meters away. She stared at me for a moment, as if she couldn't believe her eyes. To be honest, I shared the feeling. I felt like I was frozen in place, unable to move towards her or away, not sure which I would do if I could.

And then the moment was broken, and Poppy was sprinting towards me, throwing her arms around me before I could hold her off. I was too stunned to do anything for a moment. I just lightly patted her back, hoping she'd pull away on her own.

"Oh Merlin, Albus, I've missed you," she whispered. Even with all the noise from the crowd, I could hear her perfectly. Was I about to cry?

She pulled back, but not far enough. Her arms were still around my neck. I opened my mouth, and nothing came out. I was too afraid to move, to hurt her.

"I thought I was dreaming for a moment," she said softly. Were her eyes filled with tears, or was that just my own? "It's really you, though."

"It's really me," I echoed. I blinked a few times, but that only made the tears fall. How many times had I dreamed of this moment? But it wasn't right, wasn't how I'd imagined. What was she going to say when she learned the truth?

Poppy was slowly pulling back, seemed confused. "What's wrong?"

"I... I don't..." I closed my eyes tightly. "I'm sorry, Poppy."

"Sorry?" She put her hand on my arm, but I pulled away. "I didn't..." Did her voice sound hurt? I opened my eyes to see her blinking at me like she was trying to process something. "What is it?" she asked after a moment.

I couldn't lie to her. I'd known I wouldn't be able to. I didn't even want to. But I wasn't sure if I could tell her the truth, either. "I just don't want to hurt you."

She laughed seemingly in spite of herself, though it looked like she was on the verge of tears. "Don't be ridiculous, Al. What does that even mean?"

"I'm not being ridiculous..." I wanted to close my eyes, but I didn't let myself. I needed to see her reaction, how she truly felt before she could try to hide it. "I'm sorry. I get if you don't want to be with me, anymore. It's okay."

"Bloody hell, Albus." Poppy now looked alarmed. "What are you on about?"

"I just... I want you to know it's okay, it is a big deal, and I understand if you want to move on..."

"Get to the point," she whispered.

I hesitated. There was no good way to do this, was there? Just get it out. "I'm a werewolf."

"Are you mad?"

That wasn't what I was expecting. I blinked. Her expression had certainly changed, but there wasn't a sign of disgust or fear. Just concern. Maybe she was the one who was mad? "I... no, I'm being serious."

"I know." She shook her head quickly. "I'm asking about all the other things you said. Do you think I'm that shallow?"

"That wouldn't be shallow, Pop—"

"It would be to me." Poppy hesitated, her lip trembling as she wrapped her arms around herself. "I've missed you so much, Al. I would've done anything to get you back, all this time. I'd have become a werewolf myself, if that's what it would've taken. I don't care about that. I just care about you."

I bit my lip. "You don't get it. I've killed someone, and it was an accident. I could hurt you without even trying."

"The amount of times you've stepped on my foot—"

"Not like that!" I held down a groan. Why wasn't she getting this? "I'm going to seriously hurt you, and I can't—"

"Hurt me, then!"

I blinked, nearly stumbling back in surprise. "W-what?"

Poppy grabbed my hand, frowning fiercely at me. "Hurt me, Al. I don't care. I want you, even if that's what it means."

"I wouldn't be able to forgive myself..."

"But I would." She took a step closer to me, and I fought the urge to move back. "Please don't push me away, Al. Please."

At first, I could do was stare at her. The tears were blurring my vision less now that they were rolling down my face, so I could see her pretty clearly. I searched her eyes, looking for a hint of hesitation, uncertainty, but she didn't waver. And I suddenly found I didn't want her to.

"I'm sorry," I whispered, nodding as I did. "I... I'm sorry."

"Don't be." She threw her arms around me again, and this time I hugged her back. Not the way I'd hugged Wren, as if she were a china doll liable to break. No, I hugged her tightly, fiercely, the way any normal person would have. It was more than my brain felt comfortable with. But Poppy didn't react, wasn't in pain. I didn't know where the limit was, but apparently I hadn't reached it yet.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?"

Poppy and I pulled away quickly, turning to find Nico staring at us. He looked pissed, but Poppy still had an arm around me, and I couldn't bring myself to care.

"Nico?" Poppy frowned. "It's Albus."

"I can bloody see that." Nico narrowed his eyes at me. "You literally told me last night—"

"I changed my mind."

"You talked to him last night?"

Nico faltered, but Poppy was already turning to me. "How did you get here? You escaped?"

"It's a long story," I said quietly. "I haven't been here long. I'm sorry I was too afraid to tell you."

"Who else knows?"

"Just Wren," Nico said with a shrug. "Maybe Ciara, too?"

"It's a long story," I repeated, glancing apprehensively out at the crowd. If Nico had found us, who was to say others wouldn't, too? I was suddenly wishing we weren't here. "I'll explain it all after, if we make it through."

Poppy squeezed my hand. "When we make it through."

"Right. When." And even though I'd come here fully prepared to die, my desire to live had suddenly become so strong that I was struggling to even justify why I'd come here in the first place. When we made it through, we'd be together, and I wouldn't let anything separate us ever again.

~~~~

Question of the Day: Pretend for a second that you can choose one character to make it through this book unscathed. Who is it and why?

Answer: I know none of you will believe this, but if I followed my heart no one would die, but unfortunately my head is paying attention to plot and themes and character arcs, so alas...

I will say that I don't want to write a POV character dying while we're in their POV, because I have never died so I don't know how to describe it. So... take what comfort you can from that I guess?

Vote and comment!

~Elli

Word count: 4969