Remus Lupin was having a very good day. He started his it off with the most minds blowing dirty sex of his life. His wife of six months had just found out she was pregnant. Apparently, pregnancy brought out her more kinky side. Not that he was complaining. He planned on riding that wave for as long as he could. With a most Harry like grin plastered on his face, he surveyed his new office.

As Liaison to both Lord Black and Potter, He was given two offices to choose from. All Noble Lords have an office within the Ministry of Magic. Lupin chose to occupy Charles Potter's old office. The man had always treated him like a son, regardless of his hairy little problem. He even went so far as to offer him a job right out of Hogwarts, in this very office no less. Remus was young and let his pride got the better of him. He was determined to make it on his own and refused to be a charity case.

Charles wanted him because he saw the potential he had. He was also a realest. He knew that with even an internship with a Noble House Remus would have more doors open to him that even some pureblooded wizards would have. He was well respected and many other Lords would always follow his lead in all things. It was one of the reasons that Voldemort had him and his wife killed. It sent a message to all the other Lords that he was a force to be feared.

One Lord in particular read the writing on the wall sooner than most. Orion Black saw through the speeches and lies that were spewed by Voldemort. He and Charles were often on different sides of most issues. He respected and admired his childhood friend. Charles was a Gryffindor and by nature bold. He was a Slytherin so of course he was sneaky. He could smile in his face of a madman while he plotted behind his back. If Voldemort would assassinate a Pureblood Noble Lord, then were any of them truly safe.

He reconnected with his wayward son and set in motion things that he hopped would lead to the man's downfall. Bellatrix was a lost cause; she was corrupted long before he saw the truth. He even went so far as to order his youngest son to join the snake's ranks and his beautiful niece into a loveless marriage with a vile excuse of a man. Two decisions that haunted him to the day he died.

Regulus did not meet a gentle end, but he did die with honor. His death wasn't in vain; he discovered the bastard's secret to immortality. It was a bitter cold comfort to Orion, who fell into a depression that almost ended his life. In the end, it was Narcissa's words that brought him back. It was to her that he told about the horcrux at Regulus's funeral. She also saw the haunted look in Horace Slughorn eyes. He was about to give his condolences, when he overheard Orion. He made a hasty retreat, but even after Narcissa cornered him in the garden, the man gave nothing away. Hope was not lost for she knew his Achilles heel. It went by the name Lily Potter.

She knew that her cousin Sirius was close to Lily, and she was sure that he could help her. He may not have always got along with Regulus, but he was still his brother. She knew that he would come to Regulus's funeral, and Sirius didn't disappoint him. He came to the family plot, in the cover of night. When he knew everyone would be gone. A huge black dog dropped a single flower on the grave of Regulus Black. He was followed by a great stag. The two stood at the grave of her cousin. The dog lay down next to the grave and started to whimper in grief. The stag settled down next the dog and laid his head over the dog. There they stayed, and she felt like it was wrong to intrude. It was then that she was sure that it was Sirius. That meant that the stag was James Potter. They were brother in all but blood after all.

Even before she relieved herself, they seemed to know that she was there. They both looked at her and after a second nodded so she knew it was alright to come. It was a magnanimous display of trust they showed in her, after all she was married to one of Voldemort's inner circle. She told them about what she knew, as well as what Orion had sat in motion and begged for their help. Two days later she was given a slip of paper with an address on it. When she got there she was met by Lily Potter.

James and Sirius were there, as well as Remus. They had the loveliest sit down. In which she relieved all she knew. James and Sirius were surprised by the news that their fathers were childhood friends. They were even more surprised by the man's actions and the extent that he went to oppose Voldemort. What affected her most was the compassion and understanding that Lily showed her. They were never friends when they went to school. In fact she was sure that she had never even spoke to her.

Here was a woman she hardly knew and would probably never even consider speaking with on the street. Yet, Lily was shedding tears for the abusive, loveless marriage that she accepted, as a matter of honor and duty. The life of a Black was one of duty, and she was raised to perform that duty without objection. She would have to bare him a male child per the Marriage Contract. She was also protected, by it to never have to take the Dark Mark. What was slipped in the Contract was that if Lucius ever was convicted of a crime that brought shame to the House of Black. He would surrender all Malfoy vaults, properties, and Wizengamot votes. It would be up to Lord Black to deem what is shameful. It was a nice little loophole. Orion Black was nothing, if not shrewd.

When Lily left the room to compose herself, Narcissa told Sirius that she never knew people like Lily even existed. He explained that was one of the reasons that he ran away. James told her that was what was so special about her. She could weep for an enemy as well as a friend. Narcissa followed her into the other room and had the most enlightening talk of her life. In Lily Potter she found the friend that she had waited her whole life for.

Even after Lily got the truth out of Slughorn, they would often spend time together shopping or taking walks in the park. Of course they would always be safely hidden under a glamor charm. They were the go between for the Marauders and Orion. Through pregnancy and child birth, Narcissa saw that the ideas that were shoved down her throat as a child was just a big pile of shite.

Orion secretly financed the hunt for the horcrux's. Remus was out of the country when the damn prophecy was made. He didn't even get to attend James's funeral. Sadly, neither did Lily, Sirius and Harry for that matter. They were already in hiding in France.

"You ready for this Moony...I mean Mr. Lupin?" Narcissa gave him a mocking curtsy under her glamor charm. He was so lost in the past that he didn't sense her come in. She recognized the faraway look in his eyes and signed. "Of all people, I though you would be looking to the future, not the past. You're soon to be a father, are you not?"

"Just remembering how this all got started, that's all. 12 years of my life. I spent looking for those cursed things. Only 3 remain now."

"So you got that damn snake then."

"Killed it…proper."

"Good...it always gave me the creeps."

"I suppose I owe you an explanation." Ginny breathlessly told Harry. They had finally managed to pull themselves apart. By the look in Harry's eyes, it was the last thing he wanted to do. She had to agree with him on that count. He was an amazing kisser. Granted, she had only Neville to compare him to but...Damn. His lips were surprisingly soft and he most defiantly knew how to use them. His tongue was as nimble as a dancer, and he knew just were to put his hands to drive her insane.

Hermione would often go on about how she could snog her brother for hours. She never really got it till now. She guessed she just needed a proper partner. She could definitively get use to this. What surprised her was that he hadn't picked her up and carried her to the bedroom. Truth be told, she wasn't sure if she would object if he did. Her head told her that it was too soon. Plenty of her friends had told her that jumping in bed with a bloke to soon always ruined the relationship. He would see you as a slut and that was all he would want to do with you. She didn't think Harry was that sort of guy. She was fairly sure that his mum raised him better than that. The problem was that every other part of her wanted him to ravage her, and he had that look in his eyes again.

"Um...what?" Harry mumbled into her neck as he made his way down it. Lips, teeth and tongue were working in harmony to drive Ginny crazy. She let out a long slow moan that was the sweetest music to his ears. He started to attack the crook of her neck when she grabbed two handfuls of his wild hair and pulled.

"I can't think straight when you do that." She said, though it mostly came out as a moan.

"Then don't." Harry told her as he moved in for the kill. One hand full of hair kept him in place, while the other gave him a slap to the cheek. Not too hard, just hard enough to clear his head and get his attention. He shook his head for a second to refocus himself. When he looked at her, she could still see the lust in his eyes, but it was now in check.

"Are you ready to listen now?"

"Not when you're dressed like that. I am just a mortal man after all." Harry said as his eyes ran up and down her body. His robe was barely covering anything up. A smile spread across Ginny's face. She rather liked that she could drive him crazy like that.

"No problem. I'll just streak over to the girl's dorm and put something on." She said as she hopped off the counter. His robes fell open as she did that. Whether it was on purpose or accident, Harry wasn't sure. The only thing stopping him from getting to see Ginny in her full glory was that the robe clung to her breasts. Freekin Tease.

"You're evil...you know that right." To Harry's credit, he was trying his best to keep eye contact with Ginny, but it was torture. This made Ginny smile even brighter, if that was even possible.

"Maybe...just a little." She gave him a wink and put two fingers close together so only a small gap was between them.

"I'm gonna need another cold soda." Harry over emphasized the cols part.

"You're thirsty?" Ginny was surprised by the sudden subject change.

"No. It's for my bits." He grunted at Ginny.

"Oh...sorry about that." She shamelessly giggled out.

"No you're not." Harry teased her as he grabbed her by the hand and lead her out of the kitchen and to a bedroom. She gulped when she saw a king sized bed. Harry ignored it and walked over to the closet and opened the door.

"Merlin! I've seen smaller stores. Where did you get all these clothes? You're not a cross dresser are you?" Ginny said as she walked into the massive closet the walls were covered with racks of clothes. They ranged from very formal, to casual. In the middle was a bench and full length mirror. The cloths looked as if they had never been worn. Then she saw the collection of shoes, it was to die for.

"This is a guest room, and no I'm not a cross dresser. I'm not above bribing someone to achieve my goals and Aunt Nimpy has a very wide range of taste when it comes to clothes."

"What kind of sick person would name their kid Nympy?"

"I'm guessing that her mum was a good potion when that happened. I'll just be out here while you pick out an outfit. Then we can talk." Harry opened the door to leave. When he was almost out the door, Ginny asked him. "Not that I'm complaining, but you've already seen me naked. The mystery has already been solved." Harry hung his head for a moment and mumbled something to himself before he answered her. "Because, my self-control has its limits." With that he shut the door.

When Ginny emerged from the closet she was bearing a light blue silk blouse that fit her perfectly. It was unbuttoned enough to show a little cleavage, but not so much that it was all that you looked at. The skirt that she was wearing was just about mid thigh and nicely showed off her shapely legs. She wore black velvet boots that went up to mid calf. She had on Harry's odd looking robe; it was open in the front. Harry was sitting on a couch when she came into the room. By the look on his face Ginny was guessing he liked the way she looked. Damn...she looks sexy and dangerous.

"Why does everything fit like it was made for me?"

"Magic"

"Cool" Ginny noticed that he was looking at a photo, when she came in. She walked over and plopped down beside him on the couch. She leaned over to look at it and Harry took the opportunity to breather in again. It was very old pitcher she gathered by the clothes that the two boys were wearing. Both of them were laughing and playing. Both of their hair was black, but ones was wild like Harry's and one was long and straight like Professor Black's.

"Is that your dad and godfather?"

"No, they are their dads actually."

"But I heard that Potters were considered light wizards and the Blacks were always dark wizards?"

"When you're playing in the sandbox does any of that shit really matter? How many friendships ended when they came here and were forced into Houses? Until then, did anyone really care about blood status?" Harry made a good point. Aside from Luna, she didn't have any friends that weren't in Gryffindor. Though the DA was made up of people from three of the houses, she didn't really talk to any of them outside of that.

"I see your point."

"So...what are you running from?"

"I don't run from a fight Potter." Ginny snapped at Harry and she instantly regretted it. "Sorry" He really saved her bum earlier today and had every right to ask her.

"Don't be. Never stop being who you really are to please someone else. I pushed and you pushed back. It's one of the things that I like about you...you're fiery."

"Thanks...I think. I'm just use to...never mind, it's not important." Harry saw that it was, but he would respect her privacy for now. She would tell him when and if she was ready. She started to bite her lower lip and Harry could see she was struggling with something. He ran his hand through her hair. It felt like silk between his fingers. Ginny closed her eyes and leaned into it. It had the calming affect that he hoped for and by the look of it; she was enjoying it as much as he was.

"You know that you have about every shade of red that there is in your hair. It's like a wildfire." The intense way he was looking at her hair told her he was being sincere and not using some line on her. What he said touched something deep inside of her. Most people teased her about it, but Harry like it. No, he was entranced by it...by her. He didn't want her to be anything but herself. She hadn't felt this accepted since she was a little girl. Before she picked up that damn dairy and ruined everything.

She knew that she was falling for him in a big way. She thought that she cut that part of her heart off a long time ago. Over the last few years she had build an impenetrable fortress around her heart. But the git walked right past it like it wasn't even there. Or did she just open the door to him willingly. She wasn't sure anymore. All she truly knew at that moment was she wanted to snog him senseless right now. When his eyes met hers, all her reserve went out the widow and she brought her lips crashing down on his. And for the second time that morning they fell into a world all their own.

It was Harry that pulled away. The panther in him wanted out...no, it wanted to mate with her badly. He knew being in a room with a bed in it wasn't a good idea.

"What? What's wrong?" When Harry stood up she got the answer to her question. "Oh"

"Ya think." Harry said over his shoulder as he walked out of the room. She got up and followed him out, but not before she looked back at the comfortable looking bed.

"How did you know that I needed to go to Diagon Alley?"

"I didn't. It was the most plausible lie to get us out of here today."

"Thank you by the way for that. I suppose it's pointless to tell you that you don't have to come with me."

"And how often can you say that you ditched the first day of class."

"And right under the Headmasters nose, no less."

"So sweet it has to be fattening." They both burst out laughing. It was Ginny that was the first to recover. Her face turned very serious. Harry could tell she was finally ready to talk about it. He took a seat in the nearest chair. Ginny started to pace back and forth in an attempt to sort out her thoughts.

"Have you ever made a mistake that changed your life before?" Harry gave her a nod and she continued. "It was my first year. When I think back then, I had my whole life planned out. I was going to marry Neville, have three kids and be ridiculously happy. Stupid I know, but he was different back then, or I was just too blind to see who he really was. Then again, I was 11 years old, what did I know." Ginny started to pace again. "I-I trusted the wrong person...no, thing. That would be more accurate. Sorry I'm rambling." Harry said nothing. She needed to get this out, for herself if nothing else.

"Like I said I was 11 and entirely too trusting...Bad things happened Harry...really bad things. People got hurt. I hurt people...I almost got someone I consider a sister killed." tears were running down her face and all Harry wanted to do was hold her and take away the pain she was in. He wanted to tell her that everyone makes mistakes. That she was only 11 and she shouldn't be so hard on herself. He would before the day was through, but now she needed to get this out, so he remained silent.

Ginny laid it out for him, every gut wrenching detail. She wasn't sure just when he got up and wrapped her in the most comforting hug she had ever had. She cried into his chest as she told him her darkest moments of that year. He listened silently as he stroked her hair. Occasionally he would give her a little kiss on the top of her head to let her know that it didn't change what he thought of her. It was her biggest fear that he would blame her as much as she blames herself.

"Then he told me I owed Neville this Life Debt. It was pure shite! He was just using it so he could control me! Neville treated me like his own personal toy after that. Like I wasn't even a person and I was stupid enough to believe them." It was Harry that was pacing now, he was fuming mad. His fists were clenched in an eerily quiet rage. It was the kind that made the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end. The pictures on the walls started to rattle and furniture started to move on their own.

"Those dirt bag sack of shits I'm going to shove my boot so far up their asses that-"

"HARRY!" Ginny shouted at him. She did the only thing that she could think of. She wrapped her arms around him tightly from behind. She had his arms were pinned at his sides. Her chest was pressed firmly against his back, and was holding onto him as if their lives depended on it. He felt her trembling against him. It was then that he saw that several things around the room were spinning rapidly in the air and that the walls were shaking. He ran his tongue across his teeth and felt fangs. He felt the prick of the claws that were forming in his clenched fists. It took a few second for him to get his magic under control. Changing into Shadow right now was probably not the best idea. It wasn't until Ginny felt his body completely relax that she let go of him.

"Sorry about that."

"And people say I have a temper."

"Those bastards are going down!" It wasn't a threat. It was a fore drawn conclusion. It was time for Shadow to stretch his legs once more. For Ginny it was nice to have someone that saw those two for what they really were.

"I love that you want to help, but this is my fight Harry. It's my freedom that we're talking about. I have to be the one to take them down. If I don't...then I'll never be truly free." He understood the wisdom in her words He didn't like it, but he understood it.

"Don't expect me to just stand back and do nothing. Nobody fucks with someone I care about and gets away with it. I'm not built that way!" Harry rounded on her.

"Don't expect me to stand around and be a damsel in distress. Because, I'm done with that! Never again!" Ginny got toe to toe with him. Even with the height difference, She let him know that she wasn't backing down on this. They glared at each other for a full two minutes, before Harry threw his hands up in the air in frustration.

"You gotta give me a bone here Ginny. There has to be something I can do to help." Harry said refusing to look at her.

"I don't want to use you Harry." Ginny softly put her hand on his forearm.

"You're not built that way either and we both know it." His voice was soft as he turned to look at her.

"Okay, there is something that you can do for me. Can you teach me Occlumency?"

"Why? What happened?"

"Funny you should ask."

It was never good to the bearer of bad news. That was what Markus Flint's mum always told him. His father was a violent man and he had learned his lesson well over the years. Black eyes, broken nose, knocked out teeth, cracked ribs, and the list went on and on. With that in mind, he should have known better than to not look at the headline of the Daily Prophet, before he gave it to the Dark Lord. Markus's father for all his cruelty, was a kitten compared to Lord Voldemort.

He had been under a cruciatus curse for what felt like years. In reality, it was for about three minutes. The whole time, the Dark Lord was ranting on about what he read in the paper. Maybe it was time to rethink this whole Death Eater thing.

"How dare that snot-nosed little brat think to challenge me. Lord Voldemort...the greatest Wizard that ever lived." Voldemort ranted as he tortured the stupid boy that brought him the morning paper. All of the Death Eaters in attendance knew better than to answer that question. They had no desire to trade places with the boy. When no answer came he looked to the boy with disgust. He had already lost control of his bowels. He released him from the curse and kicked him away.

"Remove this pathetic excuse for a Death Eater from my sight. I must say, the quality of followers I have has greatly diminished over the years. No self respecting Death Eater should last under ten minutes." Again no one answered. "Greyback! Take this thing down to the pit and teach him to embrace pain."

"Yes my Lord." The Man walked over and hoisted him up by the ankle. Flint dangled helplessly, as the Lord of the Werewolves walked out with his newest toy.

"And tell Wormtail to come up. It seems that an old friend of his has returned."

"Yes my Lord."

"Were Bellatrix?"

"She's with a healer, my Lord."

"How badly was she injured yesterday."

"Some of the wounds were severe, but she should make a full recovery."

It was such a pity. In her youth, she was his best Death Eater. There was nothing that she would fail to do for him. The years at Askaban had not been kind. She had lost what she once was. She failed to bring him the prophecy, failed to bring him Longbottom, as well as loosing the Weasley girl. Now she had to chance to bring him the Potter boy and failed once more. She will have to be reeducated in what he expects from one of his inner circle, as well as a lover.

The doors to the chamber burst open and three battle worn Death Eaters came in. Their robes were torn and had scorch marks from curses that just missed them.

"My Lord. We've lost control of the Ministry and the Wizengamot."

"Crucio!" The first fell under the curse. He thin looked to the other two. "Explain Now!"

"A massive shakedown…at the Ministry. Everyone was being checked for the Dark Mark. If they were found, they were shackled with magic blockers and their wands were broken on the spot. Those that we had under the Impero have been freed. We had to fight are way out. We were attacked by civilians as well. They kept screaming about the spoils of war."

"They are after our vaults, my Lord!"

"Your grasp at the obvious is astounding Crabbe. We will have to secure what's in our vaults first. They will be too busy at the ministry and under manned to give the goblins proper aid. They should have stayed neutral. It is time that we make a hefty withdraw."

"What about the Ministry my Lord."

"We will let the dust settle first. What has been lost will be reclaimed, mark my words."

"You summoned me my Lord?"

"Ah Wormtail, It seems that your old friend Black has returned and he has brought the Potter brat with him as well."

"He was never my friend my Lord."

"Never the less, I need to know all there is about him. He and the whelp fight differently than that of Dumbledore's followers."

"Of course, my Lord."

"Oh, there is one more thing you can do for me Wormtail."

"I live to serve you my Lord."

"The boy must be educated in the true use of power...Bring me the body of James Potter."