Douglas flipped through the newspaper.Finally, on page four, tucked in an inconspicuous corner, was a small news brief.[Dumbledore's Ambition Exposed? His Confidant Professor Holmes Suspected of Forming Werewolf Army in Italy][Sources indicate that, according to an unnamed informant, Hogwarts Headmaster Albus Dumbledore is attempting, through his confidant Douglas Holmes, to recruit and integrate werewolf tribes within Italy, suspected of forming a private armed force wholly loyal to him.The informant expressed grave concern, believing this action would severely destabilize wizarding society.]
Lupin took the paper, confused, and scanned it again. "No news on Greyback?"Douglas folded the newspaper. Again. Clenched it in his hand. The paper groaned under the pressure."They haven't seen a body."His voice was flat. A single gust could have scattered it. But it carried a chill.Lupin stood by the rough stone marker. The inscription seemed carved into the shadows on his face.His brow furrowed."That's… sloppy, Douglas.""Fenrir is dead. The whole British Ministry would be in an uproar. They should at least send someone to look!"The corner of Douglas's mouth lifted. Just a fraction."Why let them look?"A tiny flame flickered to life at his fingertip. It silently licked at a corner of the paper. The pink toad contorted for a second in the fire, then, along with the ink and newsprint, dissolved into fluttering black butterflies."Greyback," Douglas said, the flame vanishing from his fingers, "is in our hands.""We'll toss him to the Ministry. After he's outlived his last bit of use."
Isabella had been silent. Her eyes jumped between Douglas, Lupin, and the lone gravestone.The weariness cracked open. Something sharper bled through."So…" She drew a sharp breath. The smell of freshly turned earth and sulfurous ash in the valley dried her throat. "I just got back to the Department. The air felt wrong. I went to see Director Lorenzzo. He said nothing. Just shoved this at me."Her gaze fell back on the gravestone, as if she could burn a hole through it with her eyes.Marco stepped forward. His hand landed on his sister's shoulder. Heavy. He spared no extra words. Just laid out the events of the past few days, one by one.The fall of the Red Moon Brotherhood. Lupin's duel with Greyback.The creature of light. The tiny bouncy ball.Isabella's face, as Marco spoke, lost its color bit by bit. Until it was stiff as stone.When Lorenzzo's name was mentioned, her nails dug hard into her palm. A cold, sickening feeling of being played shot from the soles of her feet to the crown of her head."Lorenzzo… He used me."It wasn't a question. It was a fact she had to swallow. Her voice shook.Douglas took a few steps out of the gravestone's shadow. Sunlight hit him. It wasn't warm."Look at it this way. He did want to help reunite you with your brother."He stopped before Isabella, meeting her fiery eyes."And, in passing, use my hand to clean some trash from his yard.""And test just how far the people behind him would dare to stick their necks out."Isabella's breath caught."Go back. Tell him."Douglas's voice was quiet. It cut through the valley wind."Tell him the debt I owed from Italy is paid."Isabella's pupils contracted to pinpricks."Tell him the Vatican's Adam Project is on pause for now. Their 'experimental result' walked off with me. They're worried the International Confederation might start asking difficult questions.""And."Douglas's gaze shifted past her, towards the cave entrance, towards the werewolf silhouettes watching with a mix of awe and wariness."The Ashen Claw tribe is now under the care of Albus Dumbledore and myself."Dumbledore.That name was a stone dropped into a still pond. Violent ripples exploded through Isabella's mind.Dumbledore.That name was a shaft of light, splitting the years of oppressive gloom over her heart.Safe… Marco is safe!A scalding wave of joy burst from her chest, rushed to her eyes. A broken, real smile fought its way onto her lips.It froze before it could warm her cold cheeks.Because another voice, the voice of an Italian Auror, screamed in her head—This isn't sanctuary. This is annexation!The smile died on her face. Twisted into something uglier than a sob.Dumbledore.To her, Marco's sister, that name was salvation.To her, an Auror of the Italian Ministry, it was a sentence.This wasn't shelter. This was a declaration.A blatant, brazen crossing of lines. A show of force from the highest echelon of British magical power, aimed squarely at the Italian Ministry.Douglas wasn't seeking cooperation. He was drawing a line.And she, Isabella Rossi, a loyal Auror of the Italian Ministry, had just been made to deliver her enemy's declaration of war.The budding joy turned into a cold dread. It climbed up her spine.When she looked at Douglas again, the man before her had changed.It pained Marco to see his sister's struggle. But for the sake of his people, this time, he couldn't stand with the Ministry. He pulled her close, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.Isabella managed a weak smile. I'm okay."If the Italian Ministry," Douglas spoke again, his tone conversational, "unconcerned with consequences, wishes to continue using them as pawns…"The corner of his mouth finally curved into a real smile. Thin. Cold as grave dirt."… Dumbledore isn't too old to lift his wand."Each word was an ice spike, hammered into her ears.She knew it wasn't aimed at her.But she couldn't speak.She felt like she wasn't holding a message. She was holding a scalding curse, ready to detonate the entire Italian wizarding world."I…" Isabella's mouth was dry. The sound was a rasp. "I understand."That was all she could force out. The words were flat. Emotionless. As if the immense pressure of her conflict had crushed all feeling to dust.She pulled her hood back up, burying her face deep in the shadows."Take care of yourself, brother."Her voice held a tremble she didn't notice. Then she turned. Almost fled. Her pace was near a run as she headed for the valley mouth, as if unseen beasts pursued her.She couldn't stay another second in this place. This place that tore her loyalty and her heart in two.
Lupin walked over to stand beside Douglas, watching the spot where Isabella vanished."She's in a difficult position."His tone was complicated.Douglas's eyes returned to the gravestone."You should worry about your own business.""You defeated Greyback. Now you have to pick up a new banner. A different one."Lupin said nothing. He looked down at his hands. The marks of battle hadn't faded.These hands had killed. They had saved.Now Douglas wanted them to carry a flag.His shoulders sank under the weight. He could barely breathe.But that weight, solid and undeniable, filled the hollow space vengeance had carved inside him.Douglas said no more.He reached into his pocket. Pulled out the golden bouncy ball.In the fading twilight of the valley, the sphere was the only light source, casting their faces in flickering light and shadow.He idly rolled it across his knuckles, from palm to fingertip and back.Inside the orb, the creature of light was forever frozen in a moment of shock."You know," Douglas mused, a childish sort of mischief in his voice. "What if I put an ad in the paper? 'Lost and Found.'""You think they'd pretend not to see it? Or send a Cardinal to discuss retrieval procedures?"Lupin watched the golden ball dance on Douglas's fingers. He imagined the scene. The corner of his mouth twitched upward.A stiff, long-unused smile finally found its way onto his face."I'd guess they'd hold a three-month conference first. Debating whether it qualifies as a holy relic."The valley wind carried away the last traces of blood.The cold stone marker stood in the silence. A full stop. The end of an era.
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