▬▬▬ CHAPTER THIRTY ONE ▬▬▬

MY NEPHEW WAS PLAYING POKEMON SHIELD AND HE CAUGHT THIS GARBODOR (which is literally a TRASH pokemon) AND NAMED IT 'KATRINA' (that's my name btw)

😡 😡 😡

AZKABAN WAS LIKE A CREEPIER version of Alcatraz (hell, even their names were similar). It was a massive towering fortress on in an island in the middle of the North Sea. The prison building itself was as tall as a skyscraper, with inky dark walls and very tiny windows in only a few cells. Supposedly, it was super secure, but Ethan doubted it since he didn't even have to try to get in here in the first place.

It was pathetically easy. First, he went to the Leaky Cauldron (and he had been there multiple times when it came to helping Esmerelda shop for school supplies) and asked a wizard how to visit a prisoner in Azkaban. He was told that all he needed to do was go to the Ministry to set up an appointment and that was exactly what he did (but not before nabbing the guy's wand when he wasn't looking).

Getting into the Ministry was pretty simple too. He walked into the building and got checked by security even though the only 'checking' they did was on his wand. They didn't even bother to scan him for any other weapons nor did they pat him down, meaning the knife sheathed around his ankle had gone unnoticed and they were clueless at the fact that his earring could turn into a sword. Anyways, he made his appointment, used a little luck manipulation to get him the earliest date slot and now one speedboat ride later, here he was.

It took him hours to get here though, mainly because the idiot taking him to the island had no idea how to drive the fucking thing. Apparently magic was malfunctioning all around them to the point where technology was able to be used and he didn't want to take any risks with apparating.

"Luckily the borders are still up so muggles won't be able to see it," the Auror who was guiding him said through chattering teeth. "We'd be in big trouble if that were to happen. I hope whatever's going on doesn't get any worse..."

Ethan said nothing as he followed the man into the building.

The Auror must not have been good with silence because he then let out an awkward chuckle before saying, "So, what brings you here? I, uh, I heard you were visiting Sirius Black."

"I am," he replied curtly.

"Why's that?"

Ethan gave him a cutting glare, as if he was saying, 'Is it really any of your business?'.

"Sorry, just trying to make conversation," the Auror mumbled, before finding another topic to talk about. "That's the bracelet you've got there. Bit girly don't you think?"

Ethan glanced down at the charm bracelet hanging around his wrist. It was Esmerelda's. After her body was given to camp, Chiron quietly asked if he would like to keep some of the things that were on her person, like the ring, bracelet, and brooch. It was one of the things he had to remember her by, and he didn't think he could ever part with them now that she was gone.

He wordlessly gave the Auror another, more deadlier, glare. Thankfully, the Auror got the message and, with a stiff nod and a mumbled apology, continued on walking.

The inside of the prison building was just as miserable as the outside. It was no longer too chillingly cold since all the dementors had rebelled and left the island to go attack a bunch of innocent mortals around the country. The walls were dark and stony with questionable stains on them (he figured it was either piss, vomit, blood, or a combination of the three), and it's stony floors were equally as filthy too.

They must have passed by hundreds of cells, each containing a prisoner. Esmerelda hadn't been kidding when she said the prisoners were treated poorly. They were all disgusting to look at, with matted hair, dirty skin, and skeletal-like bodies. They smelled like they hadn't bathed in ages too, and he had no doubt that the guards didn't provide them with decent showers. Some of the prisoners were crying, others were screaming, and a lot of them weren't even moving anymore.

This was probably the most inhumane prison that had ever existed. He had no idea why the wizarding population would allow such a thing to even exist. Surely they had laws to protect the prisoners from abuse, right?

(Probably not, actually.)

This place was nothing but a cesspool of diseases and misery. He would've felt bad for Sirius if he didn't hate him so much for causing the death of Esmerelda.

They reached probably the fiftieth floor before they stopped in front of a staircase. Beside him, the Auror was completely out of breath which told him he wasn't used to having to actually climb the stairs. The guards here probably just apparated to whichever level they needed to reach.

"He's just up the next floor," the Auror told him quietly, his breathing slightly harsh. "I haven't seen him, but the other guards told me he's pretty much unresponsive. Apparently he had been crying and screaming since he was first dragged in here and now he's gone quiet. I reckon he lost his voice or something."

Well Ethan could certainly relate to that. He did nothing but scream and cry the night he found out his lover had been killed thanks to her foolish uncle's mistake. Frankly, he didn't think Sirius deserved to cry over her death. Sirius didn't love her nor did he even treat her like family, and it was obvious from how he treated her throughout the months; he had been neglectful, purposely ignorant, and even cruel at times. Always acting like he knew better with his high-strung morals and never addressing the real problems.

He remembered how Esmerelda would always cry to him about her uncle, about how mean he was, about how he talked about her and her deceased father like they were monsters. Sirius' clear disdain towards his brother was like a stab to the heart to her, especially since Regulus clearly cared for him even in death.

I should've tried harder, he hissed at himself. It had always been his plan to keep her in New York since he found out about the Fates cutting a life string (which turned out to be hers all along). Sirius' unnecessary anger towards her for charmspeaking him—for his fucking safety no less—and murdering a literal Death Eater who was trying to fucking assassinate her for a whole year and kill her friends only fueled his plan more.

But he hadn't tried hard enough. He had been too soft on trying to persuade her to leave, never pushing her too far because he saw it as 'too risky'. He allowed her to stay, which was the biggest mistake he had ever made.

His thoughts went back to the funeral, where he watched the fire eat away at her shrouded body until it was nothing but ash. He felt a similar burning heat course throughout him, except it was due to all the unbidden rage he was feeling.

They finally made their way up to the next floor where the Auror started to guide him to Sirius Black's cell. It got quieter the closer they approached, and when he finally reached the cell he found out why.

Sirius was huddled at the farthest corner of the room. His knees pressed up against his chest, chin placed over them as he stared off at the wall with a haunted look on his face. He was in an almost worse state than the other prisoners and he was only here for about a week. He wasn't as filthy as them, but he looked just as traumatized and miserable, which he rightfully deserved.

He didn't even bother to address the two of them until the Auror cleared his throat.

"Sirius Black," he called out. "You've got a visitor."

Sirius slowly looked to the side, his eyes immediately zeroing in on the taller figure. He had never met him in person, but the eye patch and the familiar tanzanite ring dangling around his neck was all he needed to see to know who he was. His eyes widened in horror.

"You!" He cried out, his voice hoarse and weak.

"So you know each other," the Auror noted, looking between them.

Ethan shot him an irate look. "Well, duh. Why do you think I'm visiting him?"

The man's face flushed with embarrassment. "W-well, I, uh—"

"—Just get out already," he said curtly. "I need to have a private conversation with the prisoner."

The Auror swallowed. "I'm sorry, but I don't think I'm allowed to leave you alone—"

"—Get. Out." Ethan said in a dangerously low voice.

The Auror gave out a feeble nod before hurrying away.

I can't believe this guy got a job in law enforcement, Ethan inwardly snorted. He literally just got scared off by a teenage boy.

He made sure to watch the Auror's back the entire time he scurried away and once he was certain the man was gone, he turned his attention back to the prisoner trapped within the cell.

Ethan felt his lips curl up in a cold smile as they locked eyes through the bar gaps. "Nice to meet you, Sirius. I take it you know who I am?"

"Ethan Nakamura," Sirius whispered, his face growing paler by the second. "Y-you're Essie's boyfriend. What are you—what are you doing here?"

"You don't get to say her name," he hissed. "Not after what you did."

Sirius fell silent.

"You took her away from me," he muttered darkly. "She loved you so much that she'd die for you, and you knew that, didn't you? Don't lie to me, I'll know when you lie. You knew from the very beginning how far she'd go for you and you hated it, you ungrateful piece of shit. All you did was whine and bitch, yet she was always willing to put herself in danger for you. Remember when the Fates gave you a little visit and cut the string?"

If it was possible, Sirius' face turned a shade whiter.

"It was Essie's all along," he continued. "But she thought it was yours. Either way, you didn't care. You just kept pushing her away because of all your petty little feelings. I was the one who cared about her, I was the one who tried to keep her safe, but all she kept worrying about was you instead of herself!"

"You were manipulating her," Sirius argued weakly.

He merely shrugged. "So what if I was? I wanted her to put herself first for once, to stop letting herself get hurt every time she clung on to her worthless uncle who clearly who clearly didn't give a shit about her. Is that so bad? It was much kinder than my second option, which was to kidnap her again—though I clearly should've done that in the first place. My last resort was to kill you, by the way, which I also should've done."

Sirius stared at him in a mixture of horror, shock, and disgust.

"You're sick in the head," he said, his voice trembling with fear.

"At least I'm not the one who got Essie killed," Ethan said, shaking with fury. "You led her to a trap."

"I didn't know," he wept, squeezing his eyes shut. "I thought it would only be the Death Eaters—I didn't kn-know about the other two! If I knew, I wouldn't have—"

"—What, you wouldn't have come? Is that what you're trying to say here?" Ethan let out a cruel laugh filled with pain. "You think I'm gonna buy that with your foolish recklessness? Don't lie to me! You're arrogant and careless! You would've went there regardless of whatever the threat was just like how you thought you could fight in a fucking godly war! So don't tell me you would've stayed away!"

Sirius didn't say anything. Instead he rocked back and forth in his corner, shaking his head in denial as he mumbled to himself. It was a pathetic sight.

"Not gonna say anything?" Ethan taunted, his anger continuing to rise. "It's 'cause you know I'm right. Whether you knew who would be waiting for you in that trap or not, you would've barreled in regardless. Esmerelda was always going to die either way because of you."

Sirius' body wracked with sobs as he buried his face in his knees. After several seconds, he finally looked back up, a defeated, but hateful glare on his face.

"Why..." He heaved. "Are you here? Just to—just to break me down?"

"No. You can do that on your own," Ethan replied coolly. "Are you aware that you've been granted a trial on April fifteenth? You're just about a month away."

"Yes, I've been told..." He answered warily.

"Apparently, it's going to be a 'fair' trial too," Ethan continued, emphasizing on 'fair' as if he knew better. "You've even been provided a lawyer. I'm sure you're feeling hopeful about that, aren't you?"

Sirius didn't say anything in response to that, his eyes glued on the boy as if waiting for an attack to happen.

"Unfortunately," a sadistic smile began to crawl up his face. "The lawyer the Ministry provided you with is determined to lose the case, as the Ministry ordered him to do. They already look bad to the public eye from constantly denying the return of Voldemort only to be proven wrong, and they'd only look even worse if it turned out they put an 'innocent' man in Azkaban twice. So you see, your trial on the fifteenth is nothing but a sham trail that you're destined to lose. They're gonna keep you locked up in here for the rest of your miserable life."

Now Sirius looked even more horrified than when he first saw him. He looked ten seconds away from fainting and his entire body began to tremble in terror at the prospect of being stuck in Azkaban forever.

"No," he said in a broken whisper before his voice rose. "No, no, no, NO, NO, NO! I CAN'T STAY HERE! I CAN'T—I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!"

He started to scream in agony, his screams echoing throughout the building and joining the other tortured souls.

Ethan watched silently as Sirius lost his mind. Being put back in this hellhole right after witnessing the death of his own niece was seriously breaking him apart at the seams.

He idly wondered if he had terrifying nightmares of Esmerelda too, because he certainly did. He would dream of her smile and the sweet moments they would share together before she was suddenly falling on top of him, her own knife embedded into her abdomen just like the nightmare he had a month ago.

He waited patiently until Sirius' screams went hoarse and his sobs turned into quiet, broken cries.

"Sirius," he called out to him quietly. "I absolutely despise you, but Esmerelda loved you despite that being her downfall. I know she wouldn't want you to rot in this cell forever, so... I came here with an offer. I can help you earn back your freedom."

The man's eyes shined with desperation and that was when Ethan knew he got him.

As the son of Nemesis, he was very good at cutting deals with people—regardless if they were gods, monsters, demigods, or mortal. It was how he managed to get out of the Underworld. Gods were easy to see through; they always wanted more power, more freedom, and more control. So it wasn't hard for him to figure out that Melinoe was dissatisfied with Hades' rule and wanted more freedom to haunt the mortals whenever she wished. He had offered her just that: join Kronos' cause and help him leave the Underworld, and she could terrorize as many people as she wanted.

Naturally, she easily accepted the deal with an eager vigor.

The same thing was happening right now.

"Yes!" Sirius rasped out, hastily crawling over to him and grasping the bars.

His face was close enough that Ethan had to step back since he could smell his awful breath.

"Get me out of here," Sirius begged, desperation laced into voice. "Get me out of here please—I can't stand it here! A-any longer and I'll—I'll...!"

He couldn't finish his sentence before breaking down into another round of sobs.

"Sirius," Ethan said more firmly. "I need you to listen to me closely."

Sirius breathed in shakily before nodding excessively.

"Do you accept the deal?" He asked slowly.

"Yes!" Sirius whispered immediately, his knuckles turning white around the bars.

"But you know, this is supposed to be a deal between the two of us, and deals always go both ways. You need to give me something in exchange." Ethan pointed out.

He shook his head. "I don't care! I'll do anything, just get me out of here!"

"Anything?" The upper corner of Ethan's lips curled up. "Do you really mean that?"

"Yes!" Sirius cried out hoarsely. "Anything! Just please get me out of here! Get me my freedom back!"

"Are you willing to swear an oath on it?" He asked slyly.

"An oath?" Sirius asked.

Ah, so Esmerelda hadn't told him about how swearing on the River Styx would work. That, or he never bothered to learn. Either way was fine with him. It was much more preferable this way anyhow.

"I just need you to say that you swear on the River Styx to adhere to your end of the deal. It's nothing special, that's just how we... officialize things back at camp." Ethan explained. "So are you willing to swear on it? I help you win your court case, and in return, you follow through with your end of the deal, which is, as you've stated, 'anything'. Oh, and I also feel like it's best you keep this deal to yourself, meaning you don't try to communicate about it to anyone in any way, shape, or form, nor is anyone allowed to figure it out on their own."

Sirius was barely listening to what he was saying. All he could really focus on, and care about, was the fact that Ethan could let him get him out of this hellhole and clear his name for good.

"Alright, alright, I'll do it! I swear!" He hissed impatiently.

Ethan shook his head, "No, no, you gotta swear on it properly. Say that you swear on the River Styx to accept and follow through the terms of our deal."

He instantly opened his mouth and said the damning words: "I swear on the River Styx to accept and follow through the terms of our deal."

There was a rumble of thunder that boomed above them, and Sirius flinched at the sudden noise. But other then that, he had no idea what he had just done, nor did he know about the severity of his words.

Ethan now had Sirius' life in the palm of his hands.

So reckless, he thought darkly, a feeling of satisfaction swelling within him. He really doesn't learn to be more careful, does he?

"Alright I did the oath thing," Sirius said hastily, and Ethan was amused by how clueless he was to the power his words held. "So you'll help me, right?"

"That's what I said," he nodded.

"How are you going to do that?" Sirius asked, desperate for answer.

"It's pretty simple honestly," he said. "As the son of Nemesis I could easily manipulate the justice system to work in my favor, or I could increase your luck during the trial and you'll miraculously be proven innocent. There's a lot of things I can do with my powers, but... that's just too easy. I like a fun little challenge."

Besides, he could always use a little practice beforehand*.

Sirius didn't really like how he was toying around with his life like this, but he was hardly in the position to complain. As long as he was cleared of all charges and his innocence was known, he'd be fine with whatever the boy wanted to do.

"What are you going to do?" He asked.

"Well first off," Ethan began. "I need you to tell me everything you know."

╞═════𖠁𐂃𖠁═════╡

When Ethan descended down the prison tower, he went straight for the Auror who had taken him here.

"O-oh are you done with your, er, talk?" The man asked.

"Yes," he answered. "I was wondering if any of the Death Eaters who broke into the Ministry are here yet?"

The Auror shook his head. "Not today, sorry. They'll be transferred here tomorrow though, from what I heard."

He rose a brow. "Why now though? Weren't they all caught with Sirius Black in the Ministry after the attack? Why was Sirius brought here before any of them?"

"Well, everyone knows Sirius Black's a nasty little Death Eater, the worse of all of the lot. I even heard he was You-Know-Who's right hand man. Plus, he was already an Azkaban-escapee so of course we'd send him straight back to his cell along with Dolohov and the Lestrange brothers. The others though—Lucius Malfoy, Crabbe, Nott, Macnair, Jugson, Avery, and Travers—they're all from respectable Pureblood families so—"

"—So you're saying they got special treatment," Ethan finished, disgust written all over his face.

The Auror quickly grew flustered. "No! I mean, not exactly. Minister Fudge didn't really want to arrest them right away, but the public was already angry with him. He had no choice but to allow their arrests so they're being transferred to Azkaban tomorrow."

"So they'll be at the docks then," Ethan asked, not even bothering to try and sound discreet. He knew this man was too much of a dumbass to piece together anything anyways.

He let out a tired sigh. "Yeah, and I'm the one stuck driving them to it and sailing them all the way here. I can't stand any of those infernal muggle contraptions. I hope they'll let me use a carriage to take them to the docks. I do not want to spend my day trying to figure out how to work the boat and a car. I mean, there's this other guy—Arthur Weasley—who's fond of muggle things but he hardly knows how to work them either, 'sides, he's not an Auror so he's not allowed to transport the prisoners—"

Ethan blocked out the man's rambling, a plan quickly formulating in his head. At this point, everything was going very well for him. He could imagine his mom now, watching him from afar and nodding her head in approval.

He'd get his revenge. For him and Esmerelda.

When he returned to his hotel in London, he was ready to collapse in bed when an Iris Message appeared before him right when he was just about to call it a day.

"What do you want?" He grumbled in annoyance once Annabeth's face formed.

"Damien told me you left for Britain!" She shouted angrily. "Are you out of your mind?!"

"Are you here to throw a bitch fit or should I just swipe through the IM?" He snapped impatiently.

"Of all the times to leave the fucking country!" She fumed. "Ethan, you need to get back here now. Do you have any idea how much danger you could be in being so far away from camp? Essie was—"

He sent her a deadly look at the mention of her name and Annabeth had to force herself to calm down.

"Look," she said in a steady tone. "You're one of the Nine. We're all certain of it now. Which means Gaea's after you too. It's not safe to be so far away from camp, look at what happened to Essie—"

"—Are you saying it was her fault?!" He demanded, wishing she was physically here in the room so he could strangle the life out of her for daring to suggest such a thing.

"Of course not!" She exclaimed. "I'm not blaming her for anything, Ethan, okay? I'm just trying to warn you that the distance is too risky. We won't be able to help you in time if Gaea decides to target you next so please just come back. Return to New York at least, if you don't want to step back into camp."

He turned away. Camp was... almost too painful for him to be around in. He didn't think he could bear to god back there, not when every inch of the place brought back old memories of him and Esmerelda in his head. She had left in imprint on not just him, but everything else too.

He would glance over at the Hecate table, thinking she would still be there only to see Lou Ellen sitting alone. He'd see the young kids from her knife-throwing class wandering around and remembered how she would excitedly blabber about them. He couldn't even stand being in his own cabin anymore since she had been in there too, and some of her clothes were still left behind in his dresser.

It was just too painful for him to deal with. So he chose to left, chose to get vengeance instead, and allowed his body to burn with hate.

"Ethan," Annabeth called out to him, pulling him away from his thoughts. She looked just as tired as he was, and he knew the only other person who understood even an inch of what he was going through was her.

But here was the difference: Percy was alive while Esmerelda was dead.

"You came to Britain for revenge, didn't you?" She asked knowingly. "You can't—you can't let your anger blind you, Ethan. Gaea and her minions—they're still out there. You know they're good at exploiting people's fatal flaws."

He winced at that. They had done the exact same thing with Sirius and Esmerelda. Used their fatal flaws against them to hurt her, except it had backfired. While Sirius was supposed to die and Esmerelda was supposed to live, the exact opposite had happened instead. Esmerelda's fatal flaw had won through, and she sacrificed herself for him.

"You have to come back to New York," Annabeth pushed on. "If Gaea notices that you're all the way out here—heck I'm sure she's already aware of it—she'll come after you next."

"Then let her come," Ethan bit out. "Let her target me next. I don't care. I'll gladly welcome the challenge."

Ethan couldn't care less about Gaea's plans for him. So what if he was next? She wanted to send her servants after him too? Fine. She could throw as many as she wanted and he would have fun destroying each and every one of them.

And he especially wanted to meet Pasiphaë and the Giant who had killed Esmerelda. He wanted to torture them just like they had tortured her. He wanted to destroy them until even their essence was unable to be repaired.

He could see Annabeth's shoulders tense up with frustration. "You're not thinking this through clearly!"

"I'm thinking this through clear enough!" His voice rose.

"Ethan!" She had to close her eyes and take a deep breath, clearly stressed out by everything going on. "You need to listen to me. You are one of the Nine. Gaea has already killed Essie, if she kills you too then we'll be down to seven! We need to stay alive! We can't defeat her without you!"

"She won't be killing me."

"You can't know that."

"I've got business here, alright?" Ethan told her. "I'll come back once I'm finished."

"Ethan—!"

"—Bye." He cut her off before swiping his hand through the IM.

╞═════𖠁𐂃𖠁═════╡

The great thing about being in the United Kingdom was that everything was so close by. It only took him an hour drive to reach Foulness Island, the location of the docks that the Death Eaters were going to be sent to before being transported off to Azkaban.

He came there extra early—at around 3 AM—and parked the rented car in an obscure location before walking over to the docks to wait around for their arrival. At around six o'clock, he finally heard it, the familiar clomp-clomp-clomp of hooves.

He actually went and got a carriage, he thought in amusement when he saw a Medieval looking prison carriage appear, being led by a pair of English thoroughbred horses. Sitting on the driver's seat was the Auror from before, who looked more at ease driving a carriage than a speedboat. Behind him was a large cage imprisoning at least seven Death Eaters. He recognized the one with the long platinum blonde hair immediately.

Quickly, he ran forward and easily jumped into the driver's seat, saddled right next to the Auror who jumped in surprise.

"Wha—you!" He sputtered.

"Sorry about this, dude," he apologized before knocking the guy out.

(He didn't really bother to cover his face up—they were shit at finding people anyways.)

He then took the reins and got the horses to slow down to a stop. Then, he jumped out of the seat and walked to the back, feeling the eyes of the Death Eaters on him. He unlatched the door and swung it open.

"Who are you...?" One of them cautiously asked.

"Ethan Nakamura," he introduced himself before brandishing his sword. "I'm here to kill you all."

All hell broke lose.

Someone tried to tackle him down, but Ethan easily stabbed his sword through his gut before kicking the body off the blade and slashing down the second Death Eater to come at him. That was when they started to panicking. One Death Eater tried ramming his shoulders through the bars as if he could actually break them, others were trying to run to back despite the limited space of the cage. A few more tried to fight him, but they were easy to kill too.

The cage bars and floors were stained with blood, Ethan's face and clothes were splattered with it as well. One by one, the Death Eaters went down, until one was only alive.

Ethan stood amongst the carnage, staring down at the cowering man on the floor.

Lucius Malfoy. 

"Hey," he greeted him as if he hadn't just spent a minute slaughtering his comrades. "Remember me?"

It took Lucius a while to remember. "You... you're that uncouth boy who attacked my son all those years ago."

"Yep. How's your son doing? Is he still a little bitch?" Ethan asked.

Lucius bristled with contempt, but kept his temper in check. "When I first met you you had both eyes. What a shame that you've lost one."

"And what a shame that you still haven't cut that hair of yours," he returned. "It's still long enough for me to wrap around your neck. Luckily for you, I'm not here to do that."

"You're not going to kill me?" Lucius questioned warily.

He shook his head. "I only needed one of you Death Eaters alive, so you should be grateful that I picked you to live. But don't feel safe just yet, I can always kill you and find another one.

"What do you need me for?" Lucius asked.

"Let's make a deal," he said. "You give me the location of a certain someone and I let you live."

He knew the man was a coward and would take the deal immediately if it meant being spared, but Ethan never said anything about freedom. No, the second Lucius gave him what he wanted, he was going to knock the piece of shit out and leave him for the authorities to deal with.

Lucius regarded him cautiously. "Location? And how do you know that I have the information you need?"

"I have a somewhat reliable source," he replied, his mind flashing back to his and Sirius' conversation back at Azkaban. "Now do you wanna live or not?"

"Who are you looking for?" He asked immediately.

Ethan gave him a cold smile before telling him the name.

╞═════𖠁𐂃𖠁═════╡

Remus had been pacing around the living room of Grimmauld Place for nearly an hour now, his mind overwhelmed with everything going on for the past two weeks.

He couldn't believe it. The Death Eaters had tricked Harry, only for both groups to fall for a trap by an immortal sorceress and some other monster whose target was Esmerelda and Sirius. Their goal had been to force Esmerelda to kill her uncle and then take her away, only for Esmerelda to end up dead instead. Then Ministry officials flooded into the room after they left and locked Sirius back up in Azkaban. As if to make things worse, they couldn't even have a proper funeral since Esmerelda's body had been given to Camp Half-Blood... though he could understand why they had the right to it.

And now... now there was a chance that Sirius might not even get the justice he deserved. Not with his Ministry provided lawyer, Leviticus Haverford, being chosen by Fudge himself. It was obvious Leviticus wasn't going to bother doing his job properly because he hadn't even visited Sirius in Azkaban to discuss the case! Arthur, Kingsley, and Tonks even confirmed it when they met the guy back at the Ministry building—Leviticus Haverford only had the well-being of the Ministry's appearance in mind, not Sirius.

"There's no point pacing around, Lupin, you might as well sit down," Moody growled from his spot on the couch.

"I can't," Remus replied, still pacing. "Everything's falling apart so fast. What are we—what are we going to do? Magic isn't working as good is it used too, the kids are all traumatized, Essie's dead, and—and Sirius is going to be locked away forever!"

"Can't we get him a different lawyer?" Ted asked, looking up from the countless of law books on the table. "He should be able to request another one, can't he? Or he could hire another one—he's got tons of money."

"Even if he requested another one, the Ministry would just give him another corrupted lawyer and his trial would still be a sham trial," Andromeda shook her head. "He can't hire another one either, all lawyers work in the Department of Law Enforcement, so they work for the Ministry too. They'd be under Fudge's control."

"That is all kinds of fucked up," Ted muttered under his breath, running his hands down his face in a stressed out manner. Everything about this situation was stressful and he just couldn't see an end to it.

The only good thing to come from the aftermath of the Battle of the Ministry was that people were at least finally aware that Voldemort was actually back. But it was too late now. The damage had been done and there were far more devastating consequences that came after the battle that transpired on February the fourteenth.

Molly stepped into the living room, looking just as worn out as the rest of them.

"Dinner's ready everyone," she said, exhaustion laced in her voice. "Come on."

They all rose to their feet and shuffled into the dining room where Arthur was already waiting for them.

"Smells delicious as usual Molly, thanks," Tonks said, her usual chipper tone not so bright anymore.

The food certainly smelled delicious, but it only temporarily distracted them from their current problem.

"I've got a letter from Ron," Molly said softly as they began eating. "He says Harry's still not well. Neither of them are, really. I think... I think we should pull them out of school for now, there's only a few more months left until the year's over with. I really don't think we should keep them there after what they've been through. They need time to rest."

"I agree," Andromeda spoke up. "After... after what happened to Essie in her second year, Dumbledore allowed us to pull her out of school for the remainder of the year to give her a much needed break."

"I know Luna's father had already done it," Arthur added. "Ginny told me."

"Neville's grandmother and Cedric's father though," Remus winced, having heard some things about the woman and knowing Amos' stance with the Ministry. "Let's hope they see reason... I'm all for having the other kids be pulled out, though. I reckon we should tell Dumbledore when he comes back."

"The kids deserve a break," Moody agreed. "After what they been through... after the things we've witnessed. I've got a lot of questions about it though, and I have a feeling some of you have the answers I'm looking for."

Tonks, Remus, Andromeda, and Ted fell silent.

Molly looked around the table. "What are you talking about?"

"What happened to us back there wasn't normal," Moody said in a low voice. "No magic's that powerful. And the fact that we couldn't even use our own... Something else is going on and I know that some of you lot are aware of it and I know Dumbledore's in on it too since he covered the whole thing up and pinned the blame on the Death Eaters."

"Moody," Remus began. "You're right about everything, but we can't... what happened back there isn't easy to explain."

"Plus, we promised Essie and Dumbledore to keep our mouths shut about it," Tonks added meekly.

"Secrets aren't gonna do us any good in here!" Moody barked. "Enough dawdling, spit it out!"

But none of them spoke. Instead, they looked down at their food, conflicted looks on each of their faces.

Arthur frowned. "If any of you know what's going on, you shouldn't keep it to yourself. The kids were effected by this—our kids were affected by this! One of them was even..." He had to suck in a breath at this part. "One of them was even killed. So we've got a right to know what really happened to them!"

"...You're right," Andromeda finally spoke up. "You all deserve to know, and so do the kids... But Remus wasn't lying when he said the full truth isn't easy to explain. We should wait until Dumbledore, the kids, and the rest of the Order come so we can tell everyone at the same time."

Tonks turned to her in surprise. "Mum!"

"Your mother's right, Dora," Ted cut in before she could say anything else. "After what's happened, everyone's got to know."

Remus inhaled before nodding in agreement. "Alright," he said. "Alright, we'll follow through with Andromeda's idea, and we should also do it once we've got the kids taken out of school. Is that fine with you, Moody?"

Moody grunted in response. "Fine. Just as long as you finally spit the truth out. My mind's been going crazy since that night..."

"I'll send a letter to Dumbledore," Andromeda said, rising from her seat only to stiffen up when she heard a long SMASH sound.

Tonks whipped her head towards the doorway. "What was that...?" She asked quietly.

"Someone's breaking in!" Moody snarled, jumping to his feet and whipping his wand out. "Wands out everyone!"

"But our spells might not even work—"

"—Doesn't matter, it's the only thing we have!" He barked.

"Oh Merlin, what if our protection's down too?" Remus whispered, his palm growing sweaty as he held his wand up. "Muggles would be able to see us."

"That's the least of our problems, we've got an intruder. Now stay alert!" Moody hissed at them before swiftly leaving the dining room.

Everyone followed after him, their wands out. They had no idea what to expect. Who could it be? Death Eaters? Voldemort? It certainly couldn't have been a random muggle passing by on the street.

It was when they reached the foyer did they find out who their intruder was, and it was definitely more terrifying than what they initially thought.

Standing right in front of the front door was a young man. He was of tall stature, dark haired, and with East Asian features. There was an eye patch covering his left eye and the look on his face was cold, detached, yet angry and deranged at the same time.

And worst of all was that he was covered in blood. Lots of it. It splattered across his face, stained his clothes and dripped down onto the floors. In his hand was a blood soaked bronze sword and in the other was... was...

"Who are you?!" Moody demanded, wand aimed right at him.

The teenager didn't even look fazed. "I'm Ethan Nakamura," he introduced himself, and several wizards felt their hearts drop to their stomachs once they heard the chilling name.

"I'm Sirius Black's new lawyer," he added, and when none of them spoke he dropped the bloody body onto the floor.

When they saw the person's face, their eyes widened.

"Oh and," he continued on casually as if he hadn't just dumped a potentially dead body on them. "I kidnapped Peter Pettigrew to help me out with the case. You wouldn't happen to have a cell I can lock him up in, do you?"

— author's note —

Ethan: 🧍🏻‍♂️

The wizards: *traumatized*

* "Besides, he could always use a little practice beforehand." So I didn't want to make it obvious until the very end that Ethan was planning to be Sirius' lawyer (with bad intentions of course), but what I'm basically implying in that sentence^ is that Ethan's using this to help him practice his uh... lawyering skills(?) rather than just straight up using his powers. He wants to go at it the hard way and practice first, even if he's unfamiliar with how wizarding court works (but you know he'll be determined to learn anyways).

As for how Ethan's gonna be his lawyer when Leviticus Haverford already is, he's planning on having Lou Ellen disguise him with the Mist so he could look like the lawyer. Meanwhile the real Leviticus will be... indisposed :)

(Ethan kidnapped her out of LOVE tho, so Peter's kidnapping could never compare 😒💅)

TAKE A LOOK AT THIS CAKE thehesperides MADE:

It looks better than the cake The Cheesecake Factory food poisoned me with 😍

From Dragon Queen:

From thebetterburnette: