OOC: Sarah tells Race about the Initiative...Race doesn't even know his sister associates with them.

Hope you don't mind the sort of love interest between Race/Jessica...

IC:

Jessica and the team made a beeline for the changing rooms, fighting through the swells of reporters that were trying to bar their way. Timothy eventually gave a deafening bellow that echoed off the tunnel walls--startled, most of the witches and wizards stepped back. Jessica gritted her teeth as she pressed on, her broom on her shoulder. After the large man's eruption, the barracudas were no longer pressing in as hard...

Heath had been flagged down, dragged to the side and stopped by one reporter...Jessica saw the flash of blond hair and knew instantly that Heath was telling Sarah what he knew. As the other newscasters swarmed (cautiously, aware that Heath could probably shout as loud as Tim) the man was lost in the crowd. The others powerwalked on.

The reporters would surely come up with some bizarre story explaining the teams unexpected collective foul temper...

As he stalked along, Jake was already unstrapping his leather guards and braces, as were the others. Jake was muttering furiously under his breath, whether incantations or just plain profanity, she couldn't tell.

She followed suit,removing her gloves and other external items, skipping ahead of the others, anxiety and nervousness commanding her entire system. She was almost in a daze as they wound their way through the tunnels, shouts echoing off the marble, her mind racing, spinning, screaming...over her head she could her hundreds of thousands of wizards moving about after the game, and none of them having any idea what was about to happen...

They were going to take Race.

She would not allow it.

She slammed into the locker room and was instantly peeling off her robes--revealing jeans and a T-shirt underneath. As the others streamed in, she whirled to face them, aware that her eyes were glowing scarlet with a horrid, horrid truth.

"Jack still has my wand." She whipped her robes to the floor in a fury, and her broom nearly went with it, "MY FATHER still has my wand...I'm useless, I'm completely useless, there's no way i can use magic without tapping into that Other Power, and we have to keep that a secret..."

"No time for that now, Dragonfly!" Joshua stepped into the room and looked at her, "You need to apparate into the crowd and stop this..."

She was on it already, turning on the spot. She slipped quickly into the nothing and then out, her destination as vague as 'The stands!'

She appeared suddenly in a mass of humanity, feeling the strangers jostle up against her in the confusion.

Hey is that the Dragonfly?

Yeah I think it is!

Hey! Hey, my kid loves you, would you mind waving your wand for an autograph...

Look! It's Jessica Vandenbrooke!!

She cursed as the wizards turned their faces towards her, some with looks of shock, some with looks of anger, some with looks of longing. The little pale circles surrounded her, nameless, people without souls, without the special knowledge she had...she had been stupid to apparate here, now those trying to take Race would know exactly where she was...

Through the sea of humanity, she saw the hem of a black rope whip away.

"HEY!" She bellowed, springing forward.

It had been Jasper, and with him were two very familiar figures--Race and Eden.

But they were gone--apparated into the nothing. She stumbled forward (after nearly bowling a half dozen persons over) her eyes wide and blank, seeing nothing.

They had gotten away.

"Jessica!" She whirled once more, to see Kara and the other Hogwarts students looking back at her, "What are you doing out here? Are you alright?"

Jessica wasn't thinking clearly. She grabbed Kara and Dan and hauled them along, "Ever been downtown Denver? Well now's your chance. My father has a mansion here, and since you're all staying the night in the city anyways..."

Curt and Ashley tagged along too, watching as Jessica dragged the other two out of the magical boundaries of the field and onto the busy street. While Jessica was dressed as any normal Muggle, the other four still had their Hogwarts robes on. This didn't seem to faze Jessica, and she dashed across the street agaisnt the light, causing quite a few angry beeps and honks.

"Jessica, what ARE you doing?" Ashley gave a little scream, having never seen a car before, "WHAT in the bloody hell is going on?"

Curt took ahold of her hand firmly and lead her across the street. The group stood on the other side of the street, watching as Jessica stalked on, almost delusional.

"What's her deal?" Kara looked at Ashley.

Ashley shrugged, "Dunno, but this is her city..."

So the four followed through the downtown heart of the big city...

__________________________________________________________

"WHERE IS SHE TAKING THEM?" Sarah hissed under her breath. She had dashed out of the left exit, and was frantically searching the parking lot. She gazed past the shimmering barrier and watched as Jessica hauled along four of her friends, heading up the street towards her fathers manor. Sarah felt her heart clench with fear--Jessica was a bull headed child, she probably thought she could take on everyone there to get Race back...

She was either bull headed or out of her mind with worry....

Sarah sprinted back into the building--flying, racing, leaping, pushing past everyone looking for Jake or someone from the Initiative, "NO! THEY'LL ALL BE LOST IF SHE TAKES THEM THERE!"

OOC: Yeah, the love interest is good. It just adds another layer to the story. I was thinking of adding something similar for Eden, but we’ll see where the story takes us…

By the way (I thought I should ask this at some point), do you want Race to be bitten or not?

IC:

It was torture. For Eden, it was worse than having Crucio cast upon her a million times. Standing there rooted in place inches away from her brother’s back, longing to reach out and strangle him for what he was doing to her… to Race. She couldn’t take it. Having her every action controlled by her own brother was more repulsively painful than she could endure. She had to break free, and soon.

“Now listen to me Race,” Jack cooed, coming ever-nearer to the boy. “I know you’re a stubborn Gryffindor, but I expect you to stay still while I do this. I only wish to bite you, not kill you. This process is a very delicate thing. I could easily get in too far if you fight against me; so be a good boy and lie still.”

Race looked positively sickened by what Jack had just instructed him to do.

This was her cue. Eden willed herself to scratch and claw at the invisible barrier containing her free will. She pictured it as a bubble encircling her, and with every punch and jab, she was weakening its structure. It was a strange occurrence to feel herself fighting so hard for something, when in reality her body was as still as a statue behind Jasper’s tall frame.

As she channeled her entire magical being, she laid one last blow to the structure of the circle. It shattered into a million microscopic fragments, and Eden suddenly found herself sprawled on the floor with a splitting headache. Jasper’s eyes flew to her in an instant, but Eden’s wand was out before he could even grasp his own.

Jack had just completed his full transformation. His dark-haired wolf form turned from Race to Eden, a glazed look coming over the animal’s eyes. Jack was ready to strike, and Eden made no hesitation in pointing her wand at the wolf, yelling, “Stupefy!”

Jack lunged at her with a savage growl in that very moment, but Eden rolled quickly to the side. Her spell hit the wolf straight in the chest, and he fell limp to the floor in the exact spot where Eden had previously lain.

Eden was back on her feet at lightning speed. She had her wand pointed at Jasper, as her brother mirrored her action. The two were locked in a battle of wills, and Eden was not about to give up now. She only broke eye contact for a split-second to look down at Jack’s unconscious wolf form.

“You think one stunning spell can knock a wolf out?” Jasper chuckled. “You have much to learn about our kind, Eden.”

“I want you to let Race go. There is nothing you can gain from biting him!” When Jasper offered no response, Eden continued. “Let him go, Jasper. Do it now. As soon as the Initiative realizes he’s gone, they’ll be here in an instant. This is the first place they will come!”

As if in slow motion, the sound of movement caught Eden’s attention. From the corner of her eye, Jack rose from his spot on the floor. He shape-shifted quickly, regaining his human form only to look at Eden with the most heated contempt.

“I cannot have this indiscretion ruin our plans Exley! You underestimated her strength regarding the Imperius, so it’s your responsibility to deal with her. And you’ll do it NOW! There can be no more room for mistakes. Not when we have limited time before their forces will find us.”

Eden turned to Jack, making sure to keep an eye on the wand still pointing at her. “You’ll have to kill me, because I will not let you bite him! It does not serve your purposes well, Jack. There are other ways, I assure you. This is the most ridiculous plan I’ve heard of! You think they won’t find Race here?”

“This is none of your business, girl!” He was bellowing at the top of his lungs, balling his free hand into a fist while the other gripped his wand so tightly Eden thought he might snap it. “You have meddled enough! I’d kill you myself right this instant if the Wolfram didn’t insist on your wretched survival!”

Eden was so momentarily stunned by Jack’s coldness that she didn’t notice Race pulling out his wand.

OOC: I’m not really sure what I meant Race to do here, but you can decide.

OOC: This post is a lot of nothing. It just gives you a little insight into Jack's mind and what he really is up to..

If you pay attention to this post, you'll hear mention of 'Units' in the Initiative. Its basically a team, a cell made up of maybe seven people. Jessica's Unit (predictably) is her Quidditch team. Sarah Cunningham's cell is composed of James Kotsier...and others, who we won't name yet.

And i just realized my epic fail....did my Gryffindor House team only have six people? Race, Dan, Curt, Kara, Ashley, and Jessica? Wooww....either that or I've completely forgotten about someone else. If its someone else i forgot, it would be easy enough to write in that the others dont really hang out with him/her...yikes, I can't believe I'd forget something that major! Sorry!

IC:

Jack's mind was whirling. Exley's interference was going to cost Jessica her wand, and it was complicating a large number of other triple agent plans he had been nursing for the past five months. The American wanted nothing more than to turn his wand on the girl and blast her into nothing just to keep things from getting more convoluted, but it would not do. Such an action would effectively ruin--again--months of careful plotting and planning. He should have known it--the one thing he had not factored into his equations was Eden's heart. She did not want to stand by and watch all of this, and this was about to make things very difficult for him...

The strange unexplainable energies that bubbled inside of him were the only things keeping him master of himself. Even so, Jack felt his conscience waver. The urge to spring forward was becoming harder and harder to ignore. Jack was clenching his fist hard around his wand, certain that every child, every wolf in the room knew about the tattoo, the mark of the Initiative blazed into his flesh...the game was over, the game was up.

Jack took a step towards Race, swinging around now and looking him full on. Had Race caught on yet to what was happening? The boy had his wand out, now, but looked scared stiff. There was no way he would be able to muster the strength to cast a curse. How anticlimactic would it be if the lad keeled over from fear in a dead faint?

Jack imagined that he was quite terrifying for such a child, and inwardly the American felt a pang for the things he was putting ANOTHER child through. Such pity would not have been felt by any other Wolf--except Antigonus. That was what he and Antigonus had in common. Even in the throes of their deepest transformation, they could both still feel, they could both love. The Wolfram's greatest mistake was that he thought himself to be the only wizard with that much inner strength...

But still..

It was hard not to give in, to leap at the boy and bite him much less rip out his throat. It was a constant test of will...and with Eden yapping in the background, it was distinctly harder and harder for Jack to maintain his control.

Damn you, Antigonus. Why can't I be RID of these children? Why must we constantly use them in this battle...

He thought again of his daughter, how her involvement had been involuntary. Where was she right now? On her way with the other members of her Unit? No. He would not let his child see him in this state again. She had already seen him in his full wolf form, and then he had nearly killed her...

Because he had been distracted by the chattering of Jasper and Eden.

Jack had barely listened as Eden harped on about how what he was doing was wrong, how there were better ways...he gave a roar of frustration.

"You do not know what you speak of, child! Sarah Cunningham is the first of many names I have sold to your godfather. THIS is the only effective way to teach Sarah and her Unit that when a Wolf bites, he aims to kill." Jack snarled, "I cannot touch Sarah herself, because then the Initiative will know, unfortunately, that I have turned on them. I can write Race's turning as an unfortunate accident, a slip up on my part..."

He bared his fangs and looked over at Race, who's face was registering complete denial.

"My...my sister?" The boy sounded as though he were going to throw up.

Jack looked back to the girl, "I could not turn Jessica because of her position in the worlds limelight. The son of a meek wizard will not cause such an eruption in the grand balance of things. I will turn Race Cunningham, and the Initiative will be warned against acting out again..."

Race was now trembling as Jack put a claw on his shoulder...
__________________________________________________________________________

Jake tried to remain calm as Sarah told him about Jessica's fleeing the scene with four others. It was hard, though. The pair were down in the tunnels again and Jake had to repress the urge to whirl, grab the woman by her shoulders and give her a shake.

For her part, Sarah was keeping her cool remarkably well.

"So obviously Jessica and the four others think they can free Race." She was saying smoothly, "But that's considering that Jessica was thick enough to try and tell her friends what's going on, why she's really at Hogwarts, who her father is, and what he would want with Race."

"She wouldn't do that." Jake managed to bite off without screaming.

"Fair enough. So Jessica is leading along four underage kids who have no idea what's going on, and they're all heading for her house? What does she hope to accomplish in all this?"

"I can see her logic, but its strained." Jake grunted, "She doesn't think that her father or the Wolves would incapacitate and Turn five Hogwarts students in one night--that would put too much pressure on their store of polyjuice potion, and in general it would be a mess to try and arrange cover stories for their absences in case of death. It's still dangerous, though. Jessica doesn't have her wand, she lost it to Jack at their first accidental encounter."

"If she's with Jack, then we're safe, right?" Sarah looked over at Jake, "Right?"

Jake stopped walking, suddenly, and punched the wall. He was normally not given to outbursts like this, but now he needed to bruise his knuckles against something as he spat out the following discourse: "Honestly I don't know what to think about Jack anymore. Sure, he sent Yates to warn us about the plan...but Race shouldn't have been involved to begin with! We knew he was going to reveal your name, Sarah, but this? Turning a child? Jack was barely able to get out of Turning Jessica when she so nicely decided to wander in for a visit...what I'm scared of is that...I--I know Race will be turned tonight. And I don't think I can handle that failure."

"Antigonus might suspect." Sarah stated gravely, "That's what I'm thinking. Jack might have fed the Wolfram my name, but the Wolfram wanted more, to test what appears to be his most trusted man. If Jack succeeds...despite the price, he'll be in even further into the Inner Circle."

Jake sent a withering glare over at Sarah, "And you're ready to trade the life of your little brother so that Jack can get closer to his Wolfman buddy? We don't even know what side Jack is playing for anymore! This could be BAD instead of good! Are you really that far gone that you'd just stand down and let all this happen?"

Sarah almost went for her wand, but stopped, clenching her fist instead. Jake found that he would not have made a move to defend himself even if she had pulled her wand from her back pocket. He almost wanted her to curse him, wanted her to make him hurt for what he was implying. Instead, Sarah rolled up her sleeve and showed him her tattoo, her Mark.

"See this symbol? You have one, too. It rips me to shreds, Jake...you see my greatest paradox? Loosing my baby brother would mean that Jake is closer to Antigonus for the moment of truth, when we can cripple the Wolves from the inside out..." Her gaze hardened, and Jake could tell that she was holding back tears, "Loose one, save a thousand."

"They shouldn't have put you on this case." Jake growled, "They shouldn't have."

"Every Department is in on this." Sarah replied, her expression stony, "Every Unit is holding hands because we all have a personal stake this time. We can't ignore it and just let the Brits handle it like with the Dark Lord...this time it affects everyone across the globe. Even the kids. We have to face that, Jake. Saving Race, taking him from Jack's grasp could throw the entire Project into the ocean."

Jake's heart was pounding in his ears, "You're torn between being a good sister and being a good agent, aren't you?"

In contrast to her hard expression, Sarah's voice was weak and frail, "...yes..."

He flexed his hand, feeling the pain shooting up from that region, "And you're just wanting this all to be over so we can all go back to our lives, aren't you?"

Sarah's gaze flicked down to the fresh wedding band on her left ring finger, "....yes..."

Timothy thundered in from nowhere, the rest of the team behind him, "WHERE'S JESSICA?"

"On her way to her fathers place with four others." Jake wheeled around to intercept the big man before he was trampled down into the dirt, "She didn't get there fast enough...they took Race."

"Why Race?" Mat Cooper asked, scratching the back of his head, "I thought we were planning on..."

"JACK!" Heath uttered the word laced with such venom and hatred, some of the others looked at him concerned.

"Yes, Jack." Sam Keller said, clasping his hands behind his back. Out of them all, he was the oldest, the most seasoned. He looked at the others and spoke quietly but firmly, "What happens next is up to him. Jack and Antigonus will expect us to try and get the boy back, and if we just stand away and let then handle it, they'll be suspicious. We must at least try...but be prepared. Jack may have no choice but to bite the boy in front of us--"

A cry of outrage broke out among those assembled.

"WHAT?"

"We aren't letting Jack bite the kid..."

"There is no WAY...that goes against everything we--"

"It's Sarah's choice." Jake locked eyes with Sam, and knew that his announcement had met approval from the senior agent, "Her brother, her choice."

All eyes fell to the other woman. She was standing there, limbs akimbo while she contemplated all these things. She drew a great shuddering breath, and finally one tear managed to squeeze past her defenses.

"We'll send both our Units after Jessica to fetch her, but for all outside purposes we will try to get Race back. Put up one hell of a fight, mates...but if we're starting to loose, scram."

There was a silence. The other agents knew what was happening, what would happen if Race was turned by Jack's teeth alone. How this was going to help their cause while at the same time making things even more difficult than before. Joshua, being the youngest in the group, had to sit down.

"We're wasting time." Heath said softly.

There were seven Cra-acks and the hall was suddenly empty.

______________________________________________________________________________

Jessica had gathered her wits somewhat, and realized that she was in a poor spot indeed, standing in the middle of Denver with four other Hogwarts students, all of whom were wearing their wizarding robes. There was nothing she could do about that now, though, at this point, and so she pressed on.

She wasn't sure why her feet were still steering her towards her house, why she could not stop or even explain to her friends what was going on. All she could manage to get out was, "We have to save Race!"

She could appatate out and be with him right at this moment, throw down her gauntlet and fight her traitor father to the death to get him back..she could do a lot of things right now, but she could not abandon what she had started. Ashley, Dan, Curt, and Kara were along for the ride whether they liked it or not.

If they died, she would kill herself out of grief...

Across two more streets, down another ally, they were heading into the more upscale neighborhoods, more spaced out. Their panicked flight (panicky for Jessica, exhilerating for the others) was finally leading them to where they wanted to be...

Dusk had fallen over the dark drawing room again. Despite how little light there was now, Antigonus would never turn on a light. He favored the darkness, especially in this room. He hadn’t left the dusty space for hours. Intermingled with his thoughts of Fiona were thoughts of Jack. He would be getting a visit from the man later on. It was killing him, not knowing what was happening in Denver.

Most likely, Race Cunningham would be bitten tonight. The Initiative would learn a valuable lesson. For numerous reasons, the Wolfram couldn’t help but wish he were the one biting the boy, tasting the sweet blood trickling over his skin. It had been so long since there was someone important enough for Antigonus to bite himself. Of course, he had two young girls in mind that he would possibly bite in the near future, but biting Jessica Vandenbrooke was just too risky at this point. Although turning Race Cunningham into a wolf would scare the Initiative, they would keep and even greater watch over Jessica.

However, the other girl could very easily be bitten by him. Eden would fight back against the Wolfram when he dug his teeth into her soft skin, and Antigonus always preferred the fighters.

A light knocking on the drawing room door caught the Wolfram’s attention. He rose from the armchair he had previously occupied, taking up residence by one of the far windows instead. “You may enter,” he said commandingly.

The door opened and closed with the same quiet clicking noise. Antigonus knew the identity of the person in the room without turning around. His keen sense of smell immediately recognized a fellow wolf.

“Noah, why is it you have come to see me?”

“I – I thought you might be lonely, Master. You’ve been in this room nearly all day,” the boy’s soft, young voice replied. He hadn’t moved from his spot near the door, waiting for permission to do just about anything.

Antigonus turned around to look at the young wolf. For eleven years old, he looked remarkably baby-faced. He was very small and thin, his frame looking almost identical to his father’s. The only maturity he carried himself with was in his intelligence. Even for a first-year Ravenclaw, he was extremely clever.

“You are very observant,” Antigonus told him gently, “So much like your mother.”

Noah turned away immediately, looking at the ground.

Antigonus took the boy’s face in his hands. “Listen to me; you will see her again. We have been trying to bring her back since she was captured. Noah, you know that Azkaban can’t hold that woman!”

Noah stayed silent, but he mustered the courage to look his master in the eye.

“She is a wolf; she will return to us.”

The boy looked convinced, though his sadness had not lifted. Antigonus put his hands on Noah’s shoulders, steadying him.

“You must not mourn her absence, but await her return. Do you understand me? I don’t want you to think on it for another second. Go back to your rooms. There will be a House Elf with a tray of sweets waiting for you there.”

The Wolfram shooed the boy out of the drawing room, but once he was alone again, he sunk back down into the armchair by the windows. He couldn’t help but feel jealous that the person Noah cared about was only in Azkaban, while his own wife was dead.
__________________

Jack had turned back to Race, but neither looked as if they were about to make a move just yet. Race was too petrified to do anything other than stare at Jack with the foulest of expressions. He was hiding his fear, Eden thought. On the other hand, Jack was back in his human form looking as cross as Eden had ever seen him. He took a great long moment to stare at Race, not doing or saying anything.

Eden tried to push past her brother, but he and Radner both gripped her arms tightly. Jasper snatched her wand from her hand without hesitation, and there was nothing Eden could do but watch Jack creep nearer to the boy and put a hand on his shoulder.

“Don’t!” she screamed, “You can’t put him through that kind of pain for nothing! LET HIM GO JACK!”

“Keep her quiet!” Jack yelled, not bothering to divert his attention from Race.

It took too much effort to restrain Eden, and Jasper couldn’t risk letting her arm go to reach into his pocket. So instead of casting Silencio on her, Jasper simply clapped his hand over Eden’s mouth.

Eden almost laughed at his foolishness. Even after all that torture, Jasper still wasn’t the great wolf he made himself out to be. He hadn’t learned all he could, or should have yet. Eden bit down hard on one of his fingers – she couldn’t tell which, but the loud growl of pain that emitted from deep inside her brother’s throat was enough to wrench her arm free of his grip.

She punched Radner in the face with all of her strength. He reeled back a few steps, purely out of shock. This gave Eden ample time to take her wand from the place where Jasper had dropped it.

She could feel the Jasper’s blood pooling in her mouth. She spit it out onto the pure white marble floor right beside where her brother knelt clutching his hand.

It took a few moments before Eden realized that Jack was standing right behind her. It gave her nearly no time to react when he grabbed her wrist tightly and twisted it with all of his strength. She let out a cry that was both involuntary and deafening, causing Race to clap his hands over his ears.

“You will not interfere again,” Jack stated. “Crucio!”

The pain was ten times more intense than it had been from her godfather’s Cruciatus. Eden writhed on the floor as her screams echoed through the room. This was it. She surely thought she would die right there on the marble floor. But once the pain subsided, her body ached and she could barely see let alone move.

OOC: Basically I wanted to show how Jack has become fed up with Eden. He can't kill her of course, but he wanted to incapacitate her for at least a substantial amount of time. Also, the part about Antigonus is to show his compassion towards Noah, and to show that he's expecting to see Jack (hope that's alright).

OOC: Yep, that's fine. Yeah, Jack is sick of Eden around because it puts his daughters life in more danger when she just leaps at people to try and help them.



I don't know much about wolves...is there a specific spot that werewolves are supposed to bite humans for the greatest effect, or is it all really the same so much as the fangs score the flesh? Meh, i dunno. I'll correct this post if there is anything wrong.

Is Azkaban the ONLY wizarding prison? I wouldn't mind coming up with something about an American wizarding prison, but idk...did Rowling say that Azkaban was the only wizarding prison in the Harry Potter Universe?


IC:

Jack kicked Eden over onto her back and stared down at her with anger in his eyes. With a wave of his wand ropes flew from nowhere and bound her tightly. No amount of sheer will would get her past the bondage, not this time. The American gave a piercing stare to Jasper, who had been so weak as to let the girl out of his control in the first place. Jasper stared back quite evenly, and Jack had to chuckle to himself. Jasper was not scared of him, probably because the only one he was scared of was his godfather. The look in Jasper's eye was something along the lines of, 'I'm following your orders because its what i was ordered to do'

That was fine. The boy wasn't doing a good job anyways. Jack gave a pointed nod to Radner, and he dragged Eden's bound and limp form to the side where he kept it under close attention.

"Now...where were we?" He swung back around to face Race, his tail flicking.

Race was edging towards the door in the hall, looking around desperately for some way out. There was none. Jack bared his fangs and stepped towards the youth, "Don't listen to Eden, my dear boy. This really will be quite painless and simple, so long as you comply. I told you before, if you're just quiet about it, i won't need to get nasty..."

Race inadvertently backed himself up against the far wall, and Jack made his move.

Fangs flashed, blood spattered, and a boy screamed--falling to the floor in a tangled heap of bloody robes.

Jack wiped his mouth of the blood, licking his teeth to get the remainder. His heart was pounding from excitement at the deed--but at the same time he was filled with utter revulsion. A strange feeling came over him. He wanted dearly to rush at the boy laying moaning on the floor and devour him, rip him to shreds and leave nothing left...but somehow he held it back. It was getting harder and harder...

Now that Eden was out of the picture, Jack was able to master himself more quickly.

A few more Wolves under his command walked into the room and (without a word) carried Race out of the room. They would bring him into the basement and put him under their care. He would not die.

Jack strolled lazily over to where Eden lay. He wasn't sure if she was even conscious, if she had even seen what had happened. He waved his wand and the bonds were gone. Her eyes were open, yes, but that didn't mean they were seeing.

He knelt down on one knee and looked at her, "There...now that thats done, i can let you hobble around. Listen, girl. You have meddled enough in my affairs. Your godfather is in charge of the happenings in Britain, here I am the Wolfram. Do not forget that..."

He pulled another wand from his back pocket and set it on the ground, "This is Jessica's. Give it back to her. When we come at her to finish her off, i want there to be a spectacular fight..."

Laughing, he threw both his arms in the air and was enveloped in a cascade of cobalt blue and black sparks, a showering curtain that left traces of power lingering in the air long after he was gone...

_______________________________________________________________

He appeared in a similar fashion outside the Wolfram's door. Pocketing his wand, he rapped twice on the great oak thing and waited for a response from his master.

OOC: A wolf can bite anywhere they like, but every wolf has a favorite place whether it be arm, leg, chest, whatever. It just has to be somewhere that the person won’t bleed to death from, like the neck.

I’m pretty sure that Azkaban is the only wizarding prison that Rowling mentioned in the books, but if you’d like, feel free to have one in America. I’m sure that Azkaban isn’t the only one.

IC:

There was nothing she could do. Jack’s Cruciatus was too strong. Her every muscle ached, crying out for rest. But Eden could not rest. Even though she was nearly blind, she was not deaf. She could hear Race’s screams echoing through the room. Jack’s growls were almost equally as loud. Although she was dying to regain her sight, Eden felt inwardly thankful not to have seen the carnage.

It was like some kind of horrific nightmare come true. Race was being bitten virtually ten feet away from her, and there was nothing Eden could do. The bonds held her tightly; there was little room to breathe let alone squirm free.

However, it was over as soon as it had begun. There was a fuzzy sort of picture forming in front of Eden, but she took it as a good sign that her vision was returning to her. Jack was coming towards her. He was telling her of his power here in America, giving her Jessica’s wand to return to her. Then, he was gone in a flash of blue and black sparks.

Eden longed to reach out and grab the man’s throat; to ring his neck with her bare hands. It was just then that she saw the blood; a puddle of it on the other side of the room. It was Race’s blood, but where was he?

“You’ll be going back to Hogwarts now,” came Radner’s voice from somewhere behind Eden.

She felt steady hands on her back, vanishing the ropes that bound her and helping her limp frame to its feet. They were Radner’s hands, but Eden caught a glimpse of her brother just behind the other man.

“Jasper…” she said breathlessly, looking as his cold face.

He looked at her reproachfully. “You’re making a fool of yourself, Eden.” He swept closer, his face coming into acute detail once he was close enough. “I can’t help but wonder what you wish to accomplish by all of this resistance. You are just one little girl, no matter how powerful you, and your talent at potions, may be.”

Eden nodded ever-so slightly. “I cannot argue with your logic dear brother. I am even able to understand why Antigonus is doing all of this. I just can’t agree with turning innocent wizards like Race Cunningham into wolves for our godfather’s personal gain.”

“It is for the cause,” Jasper stated, “A cause that you will either jump on board with, or be killed for fighting against. I think you’ll see a new light when you’re a wolf yourself Eden. I realize how hard it is for you to fathom why we do this right now. But when you’re a wolf… oh, everything’s different.”

“He really has his heart set on biting me, doesn’t he?”

Jasper nodded. “There’s something you’re not aware of yet. It has to do with blood. It’s very simple; every person’s blood has a taste to a wolf. We rarely distinguish between those that we bite to transform though, as most normal people taste relatively alike. But for a wolf to bite his own kin… that is the sweetest taste known to our kind. The blood of our families has a special effect on us.”

“I see. His desire to transform me is purely based upon his own pleasure then?”

“Not entirely. He believes you will be an asset to our forces, of course. Your potions are what stabilize us.”

Eden turned away from Jasper, unable to face his demanding eyes. Why should she go back to Hogwarts when her time there was only to postpone being bitten? Once she was a wolf, her education would be of no use. She already knew more about potions than she would ever learn at Hogwarts, and that’s all Antigonus needed her for, wasn’t it?

“I – I just don’t know why I should bother to fight back at all,” Eden sighed dejectedly.

Jasper gave a quick wink to Radner, and the older wolf exited the room discreetly. He wrapped an arm around his sister, who looked mildly appalled at his gesture of kindness.

“Get off me!” Eden shouted, pushing Jasper away. “You Imperius me, you bring me here under your control, you help Jack’s plan to bite Race, and then you try and be nice to me? HOW DARE YOU!” She turned on him, pulling out her wand. “I should never trust a word that comes out of your mouth! It’s all lies!”

“Eden, listen to me!” Jasper yelled, “You don’t know what you’re saying. It’s the Cruciatus; you can’t think straight right now. How about I take us back to the Manor, hmm? You can’t possibly go back to Hogwarts in this state. You could use some Calming Draught from the Wolfram’s stores. You know it’ll work – you made it after all.”

The proposition was tempting, Eden couldn’t deny that. Her head felt as if it were spinning as an after-effect of both the Imperius and Cruciatus curses. However, she wasn’t ready to place that much trust in her brother just yet.

“No, I’m staying here. I need to see Race, to make sure…”

“He’s not dead. That’s not what Jack nor the Wolfram wants. They need him alive.”

Eden sighed, suddenly feeling more desperate than ever. She walked over to the fireplace, turning her back to Jasper. She wove the usual enchantments, getting ready for a journey back to Scotland. “Don’t sleep too comfortably. I’ll be seeing you again soon.” With that, she stepped through into the darkness of the portal.
____________

A knock on the drawing room door woke Antigonus from his nap. He rose from the recliner quickly, straightening out his ruby-red robes.

“You may enter.”

Yates stepped through the door cautiously. “You have a visitor, Master. Jack is here.”

“Send him in. You may wait outside.” Antigonus sat in one of the recliners by the fireplace, offering Jack a seat in the opposite chair once he entered the room. He poured some brandy for the duo, placing Jack’s cup on the end table between them. He then took his time in examining Jack’s cool expression before speaking.

“You have been successful in biting the boy, have you not?”

OOC: Nah, I've taken enough 'American' liberties, we'll stick with Azkaban. Oh yeah, and I've effectively written myself into a corner with Jessica running off and the Unit trying to get her back. I might just not explain that whole part and just have them back at the school...seriously i have no idea where to go with all of them. They can't really storm the house or anything...dangit i hate it when i do this lol.

IC:

"I have been successul..." Jack said in a voice tinged with malice, "Though I must say your goddaughter made the job significantly more tedious. Despite the fact that she again slipped from Jasper's control, i managed to bite the boy on his arm. He is being cared for right in my home, and when he has recovered he will be ready for whatever you want him to do. The message, i think, will be quite effective. The Initiative will back down a little bit from all their counterintelligence work against us directly, but you can be sure that they will be working twice as hard on my daughter, strengthening her and preparing her for whatever must come.." Jack gave a small smile, "You see, master, she was in love with that boy."

Jack had seen Yates, and his blood had't run cold. There was no way the man should have survived the Branding with the mark of the Initiative. A plausible explanation for this marvel came to him. If Branding him with the mark was a way of making him Jacks, then turning him into a Wolf was Antigonus's way of making him his own. The poor man, Yates was nothing more than a shell right now, instantly obeying whoever commanded him. It didn't seem to be much of a change from the norm except now he had no free will whatsoever...Jack shuddered to think of such an existence in a constant Imperioused state...

Jack bobbed his head respectfully, "You commanded and i obeyed, master."

OOC: That’s okay, it happens. Whatever you want to do is fine with me. Eden is back at the school now, just to let you know.

IC:

“And you shall be rewarded for such loyalty and success, Jack. You have proven yourself one of my most capable wolves. For this I shall give you something more valuable than you could ever imagine. This substance will give you the strength and power that only I have attained as a wolf. It is the blood of your daughter, and my own goddaughter will be retrieving this for you,” Antigonus explained, a tiny smirk curving the corners of his mouth upwards. “This will be a lesson for Eden in obedience.”

He diverted his eyes to the fireplace, where the golden embers lapped at the chimney walls. The sight was enough to make him calm for the time being.

“There is much work ahead of us. We need to build up an army of wolves that cannot be defeated by the Initiative, nor any other organization bent on killing me. This is our first long-term priority, and it needs to be attended to. I have taken careful measures to ensure that we will be biting young people now; people that will make strong wolves. But we do have a problem, and it is a big one. We do not have enough females among our ranks to bear the children of these wolves. This is where I turn to you, Jack. I need your help on this issue. What do you propose as a solution to this problem?”

Antigonus watched the man carefully; curious to see how he would stand up to this test of his character. Of course, he had no doubt that Jack was loyal to him. It was just about the only security he had now.

Any other man would have seethed inwardly at these grim orders, but actually Jack felt a hollow victory. Now he had a glimmer of Antigonus's future plans. This did not complicate matters at all, in fact, Jack had anticipated this thread of logic long ago. Things were finally falling into place, evening out after the initial mishap. Jessica's sojourn into the manor earlier in the year had shaken Jack, but it had been ironed out for now. Operation Dragonfly seemed to be rattling along at a good pace, despite the bumps that had shaken it on the way.

Race had been a necessary but undesirable casualty. There was no way that the American government could reimburse Sarah and her family for the loss of a loved one. Property, belongings, worthless material things could quickly be replaced...but the life, the humanity of the child would never be replaced. Jack vowed to make the sacrifice worth his while as he spoke.

Jack tried to keep his tone respectful as he addressed a rather ugly issue, "Master, you know that when Jessica is turned--eventually, of course, we cannot afford it now with the media on her at every turn--she will be as powerful a wolf as you or I because of the Energies vested in her. We both know that, and I do hope you are not suggesting that in order to spread that same power around, you would have her passed from Wolf to Wolf just for the perks of having young babes with the selfsame abilities..."

It was interesting. The thought of biting his daughter and turning her was repugnant, but not so much as her simply being used as a tool for the reproductive needs of an entire army. Jack wondered if he needed to get his priorities straight. It was getting harder and harder as they days went on...

OOC: I'm in the process of working something about the kids, and maybe possibly a summit for the Initiative with a lot of coolness...sorry that my posts are getting shorter, but i seriously wrote myself into a corner lol.

“Jack, you misunderstand my logic,” Antigonus told the man. “I do not wish your daughter to be ‘passed from Wolf to Wolf’ as you so bluntly put it. That is not my intention at all, though her kindred would certainly be of the most powerful wolves among us. My true intention is to bite more females in the most general sense. As long as they have not grown old and lost their reproductive capabilities, we will take them and accept them into our clan. Even if they are young like both Eden and Jessica, they will come to understand their duties in due time, once we make them realize what could happen if they don’t.”

The Wolfram turned from his fellow wolf, opting to move toward the drawing room’s largest window. The sky was illuminated only by the large claps of thunder that had just recently erupted. Otherwise, the forests around the Manor were of the deepest black and the sky was almost the same. Only the moon kept the world around them from plummeting into darkness once the lightning had passed.

“This is no easy feat to accomplish. I believe you have come to that realization Jack, but I shall not cease to stress how important you are in fulfilling this objective. You are one of the best Converters we have within our ranks. Do not believe that this power will go unused, for there is much beyond biting sixteen-year-old boys that I require of you now. For instance, I am bestowing upon you the honor of spearheading this operation. I call it, for intelligence purposes, The Woman in Red. A clever pun, if I do say so myself.”

OOC: Just as a heads-up, a “Converter” is someone who is skilled at transforming humans into werewolves without losing control (and possibly killing them). I will probably refer to this term quite a bit.

OOC: I need Antigonus to agree to this plan, since the Wolfram completely trusts his American counterprt.

IC:

Jack lowered his hackles, "Forgive me, Antigonus. I should have known what you meant by your plan. We all need to understand our duties eventually, I agree. As for this mission, tell me all that i will need to know, and it will be done."

He gave a feral smile. Things were coming together, weren't they? Now Jack needed to put into motion a plan that would assure him that he had Antigonus's trust..

"Antigonus, i must ask you something. The Initiative still foolishly thinks that i am on their side. The American Initiative summit is coming up very quickly, representatives from Britain's government will be there as well, and they will expect me to explain my actions. The information i have given you this past year is all true, but if i do not attend the Summit, they will think that i have abandoned them and fallen away, and our larger purposes will be thwarted. You have seen into my mind, friend. You know my loyalty is sound."

It was true; Antigonus had long known about the American Initiative’s summit meeting. It had lingered in the back of his mind for quite some time. He, of course, trusted Jack Crosslin completely. This man was indeed very valuable to the efforts of the Wolfram’s clan because of his false involvement with the Initiative. This meant that Jack had to keep up appearances with the Americans.

“Of course your loyalty is sound, dear comrade. I wish you to attend this summit, and you will naturally pass the information spoken there on to me. This will benefit us greatly, as I feel that this meeting is of particular importance,” Antigonus told Jack. He looked at the man before him with the usual formality on his face, but let a small clandestine smirk crack his lips. “My intuitions are not usually unfounded. As it is so, the Initiative will have plenty to worry about in the coming months. Let me now tell you of your mission.”

The Wolfram paced to the other side of the room, standing beside the large easel. “It is your task to bite the first female for WIR. I was planning on stalling this particular operation until Eden’s graduation from Hogwarts, as she is my kin and it would be fitting for her to be the first, but there can be no more delay. The Initiative is getting too close to us. We must act now and build up our forces before it is too late. So, I am trusting you to carry out this first transformation. The name of the woman you will bite is Verona Epling. She is the Arithmancy teacher at Hogwarts.”

Almost before Jack had time to process the information, Antigonus had traveled across the room very quickly and was standing right beside the American wizard. “It does seem dangerous, but I assure you that you will come out unscathed. Arithmancy is certainly a fascinating subject, but I know for a fact that pouring over books and numbers for her entire career has left Miss Epling at a loss to, let’s say… defend herself adequately,” Antigonus said with a flourish. The same furtive smile as before had yet again cracked his lips, turning them up ever-so-slightly at both corners. “I will be preparing entryway into the castle for you tomorrow night. The Arithmancy classroom is on the fourth floor, and Miss Epling’s chambers should be just beyond that. You’ll find her there. However, you must bring her back here before Converting her. Any other details you will need to know can be found in this report.” With a wave of his wand, a sealed envelope appeared in the Wolfram’s hand.

“The entire clan will be relying on you to do this deed,” Antigonus stated, handing Jack the envelope. “I only wish you success, for everyone’s sake.”
_____________

Eden stared down at her roll of parchment, wondering if she could cram the rest of her Potions essay onto it. Perhaps if she wrote smaller…

Murtlap Essence is useful in relieving the pain of minor cuts and wounds. It is comprised of the strained and pickled tentacles of a Murtlap, and is yellow in color.

The words on the parchment were now very difficult to read. Eden had crammed her letters together so closely that the ink ran and made the whole sentence appear to be a single, extremely long word. She sighed loudly, pointing her wand at the sentence and vanishing it. She quickly re-dipped her quill into her ink bottle and prepared to start once more.

“Eden, I need a word with you.”

Feeling thoroughly frustrated that her second attempt at the sentence would be postponed, Eden looked up across the table to find the face of Noah Radner staring back at her. He looked unfazed as always, but there was a remarkable aura of happiness radiating from him. Eden wondered what on earth had made him so joyful.

“It’s pretty late Noah, shouldn’t you be in bed?” Eden asked him. “I was under the impression that you liked your beauty sleep.”

Noah smiled and rounded the table, sitting down in the empty chair beside Eden. He cast a short-lived glance around the vacant common room, making sure that the two girls near the fireplace would not hear what he had to say. “I’ve got something important to tell you from Antigonus. He told my father that I should give you the message.”

“Alright, what is it then?” Eden didn’t have a very good feeling about whatever news Noah was carrying, but she set down her quill, intent on hearing it.

“Well, Antigonus said that you’re supposed to be here in the common room tomorrow night at midnight. I’m supposed to be here as well, standing lookout. We have to make sure no one else is around.”

“Why is that?”

“Jack will be coming through the fireplace portal. It’s the only way in since the castle is so well-protected,” Noah stated matter-of-factly. “He needs us to make sure that Jack gets through, then back without anyone seeing.”

Eden groaned. She knew that nothing good would come of Jack Crosslin sneaking into Hogwarts during the dead of night. “Did my godfather perhaps explain why Jack was coming here? I assume it’s not simply for a little chat with us…”

“He said that we would find out in due time. Even Dad wouldn’t tell me!” Noah said, “I guess we’ll just have to wait.” He hopped down from the chair, heading off across the room towards the boys dorms. “See you in the morning.”

Unlike Noah, Eden wasn’t able to think so lightheartedly of Jack Crosslin penetrating the castle’s defenses. She couldn’t repress the dread that was swallowing her whole, making her so dangerously curious… she had to find out what Jack was doing. She couldn’t bear not knowing what his purposes were at Hogwarts. After a minute or two, Eden let herself drift back into reality. All she wanted to do was figure out what horror would befall the castle at Jack’s hands, but instead she forced herself (most begrudgingly) to pick up her quill and resume her Potions essay.

OOC: Sorry to leave you hanging, I've been gone for a while, and I'll be gone till at least Tuesday....AHHHH this was a great thread, don't want to kill it.

OOC: Don't worry about it. I'll keep watch for when you get back

OOC: Back! Post coming shortly! Thanks for being so patient!

OOC: No problem, I look forward to resuming this!

OOC: I suppose I never really established what happened to Jessica's mother...do you want to do anything about that? Like add it to the plot somehow? i can't think of anything.

I fear i made Marx a bit too much like Dumbledore, let me know what you think about it...

And i think it is important to note that Sarah is a Liaison officer between the Aurors and the Initiative, she's just running both sides and trying to keep them posted.

If this is all getting to political and whatnot, then just let me know and I'll back off.


IC:

His business in Britain finished, Jack apparated back to Denver with a flash of blue and black. He stepped into existence on his own front walk, hands jammed coolly into the pockets of his robes. A light wind came from the north and stirred not only his hair, but his heart as well. It had been quite a day.

The house towered before him, outlined rather majestically in the night. No lights were on inside, exactly as he had left it. He strode up the walk, nodding briefly at the guard Wolves standing at attention flanking the door. They saluted back.

The British Wolves stationed all around the mansion were for Jack's comfort if he needed an extra pair of eyes and ears. At least that was what Antigonus said. Jack's sharp suspicious mind had always figured that the Wolves were here to keep an eye on his doings.

Jack let the door slam shut behind him with a bang. He gritted his teeth, banishing such grim musings as they came back to his mind, fresh. This far along, there was no room for second guessing. He was an ally of Antigonus, and was trusted completely. He would think of nothing else, would allow nothing else into his head.

His feet took him a different direction than what he had intended and soon he found himself trotting down the thick carpeted stairs to where Jessica's room lay--tucked cleverly away in the deepest coolest depths of the mansion. In her youth, Jessica had always taken pride (or rather, thought it was extremely 'wicked sweet') that her room was the most difficult to stumble upon in the entire house. Jack knew for a fact that most of the Wolves stationed had no clue it resided so far down, and in this he found solace.

It was in Jessica's room that he had ordered Race be taken. Now he stood in front of her poster plastered door (having descended quite a way via stairs) and for one wildly shining moment nostalgia took over. Instead of checking in on a dying child he was rapping on the door to command his daughter to turn her infernal radio down...telling her that dinner was NOW cold thanks to the long trek to tell her that dinner was ready in the FIRST PLACE....

A moan of pain from inside (accompanied by the low fiendish chuckle of a fully turned Wolf) cut Jack's remembrances short, bringing him back to cold, harsh reality. It stabbed him, rived him deep in his heart and he was filled with a rushing fury for the destiny that had befallen him. He knew what was going on behind that door, and now he only wanted to punish the perpetrator...

Jack exploded into the room, eyes blazing and fists engulfed in his strange dark blue energies. The sight that befell his eyes was one that nearly made him break all seals of his power, made him go stark raving mad with rage.

One of Antigonus's Wolves was crouched over the boy, poised to kill, to bite, to devour. Race was barely conscious and crying from sheer pain and horror while drool fell from the Beast's terrible maw and onto his trembling form...

"Away!" Jack spat with such wrath that it cut straight through the Wolf's fuzzy comprehension of what was happening. The man/beast straightened and looked at Jack with fear in his--

Jack did not think, his mind was clouded with a need for condemnation. His hand was in the air before he knew it, and sweeping down. There was a CR-A-AACK and the Wolf fell to the ground, dead, with a gaping hole in his chest from the azure bolt of pure ire that had smote him.

There was silence in the room save for Race's pain laden gasps.

"You are conscious, i see." Jack spoke in a shaky voice, trying to force his tone to stay even, "I am glad to see that you survived. Please do not move around so much, you will only hurt yourself much worse."

Jack stepped towards the bed, over the dead form now soiling the carpet. Race was in such a fragile state that he did not have the presence of mind to recoil. Jack eased him back down in a laying position, trying to calm the boy, "Peace, lad. You have nothing more to fear."

Jack looked at the corpse of the Wolf in abhorrence. He would need to explain this to Antigonus. The Wolfram had a heart, strangely, he would understand. Although Jack was starting to have his doubts--

~No doubts!~ He ordered himself!

He seemed to have come just in time. The Wolf had smelled the blood coming from Race's wound and came to investigate. The bloodlust was almost sated before Jack had arrived on the scene. Once more, Jack found himself filled with a detest for the Wolves and what he himself had become...

Jack inspected the wound he had inflicted to Race. It wasn't bleeding anymore (Jack had been careful when he struck, careful to cause only minor bleeding) but it looked like the mess on the boy's school robes was enough to draw them in for a closer look...

Seeing the black robes brought Jack's mind to something else--how was the Initiative was going to explain these happenings to Hogwarts? It would be easy enough (Jack hated himself for writing it off so swiftly) to explain this to the Cunninghams, but now Jack lent the majority of his worry to Britain and how she would handle this. Was the country ready for another Dark Lord, for another war?

Was the whole WORLD ready for a new era of darkness?

Race was sleeping again. Jack's aura had washed over him, thoroughly deadening the pain and making sure that his dreams were pleasant. He could only shield the boy for so long, as a Wolf he was going to see and do many awful things...

Turning away from the bed, Jack kneeled and inspected the Wolf he had killed. It was one he did not know by name, but that was good enough.

"Brute." Jack cursed, waving his hand and transfiguring the ugly mound of hair and blood into a teacup. He slipped the delicate object into his pocket.

He strolled back upstairs, not before cleaning the room of any trace of a fight, and sealing the entire downstairs off with the strongest magicks he could muster. No Wolf would come this way again unless bidden and watched.

Before he retired to his office, he passed through the kitchen--setting the blue teacup on a breakfast platter with a dozen others of the same style.

____________________________________________________________

Remus Brimley was a thin, small, sad little man. If one saw him on the street, firstly, one would not guess him to be the Prime Minister of Britain. Second of all, one would never guess the volume that his completely unmagnified voice could achieve when aroused...

Jake Grose was thinking many variations of the above statement over and over in his head while he endured the ranting and the raving of the most important man in that country. Jake briefly entertained the thought of silencing 'Bullhorn' Brimley with a wave of his wand (it was a startlingly appropriate moniker), but decided against it. Foreign policy wasn't done like that.

"The Initiative said it would handle this situation!" Bullhorn rumbled, fists balled. The windows in the circular office rattled very slightly at the shocking volume.

"I know." Jake replied past gritted teeth, trying hard to keep his tone respectful. He stuck a finger in his ear and rotated it, "Ahh..."

"And now there is a dead Hogwarts student!" Bullhorn roared, stamping his foot in rage, "I am beginning to think that the American's are completely incompetent! Nothing comes to mind when i try to think of how you have handled this EFFECTIVELY. NOTHING!"

Professor Oswald Pagodas Marx cleared his throat softly and smiled graciously at the Minister, "Remus, I must ask you not to shout. We have students trying to sleep this night, and it just will NOT do if a good three-quarters of them complain tomorrow during classes about a peculiar sort of thunder..."

"Quite right, quite right..." Bullhorn waved a hand and returned his heated gaze to Jake (who had been wondering dimly what one of Bullhorn's speeches during the primaries would have been like to experience), "But the very SPECIAL Agent Grose hasn't answered my question."

"You haven't yet POSED a question in the last hour and a half." Again, Jake was trying his hardest to keep at least a small grain of patience preserved in his voice, "All I have endured are increasingly vehement declarations of my agencies actions, or lack thereof as you have implied heavily. If you have questions, Minister, then ask, do not blindly accuse."

"BLINDLY ACCUSE?" Bullhorn thundered, (the portraits on the wall yelped and covered their ears) "YOU REALLY TH--"

Professor Marx cleared his throat.

"You really think that my accusations are blind, Special Agent Grose?" Bullhorn continued in a furious whisper.

"I think they are made without proper knowledge of background." Jake said coolly, "Our Operations are not wide open for your inspection, Minister, as you seem to believe
The Aurors you sent to our DC office were turned away."

"You said that we were your partners in this Situation!" Bullhorn whispered again, eyebrows doing all the yelling for him,

"Partners, yes." Jake snorted, "But our Operations in our OWN country are our own! Jurisdiction over the events at the Mile High Stadium belongs to US."

"My people were hurt over there!" Bullhorn snapped in the most ferocious breath he could manage.

"Your people?" Professor Marx commented lightly, inspecting his nails, "By that, Remus, of course you mean...my students..."

"Yes, quite right, quite right..." Bullhorn growled, subdued.

"Remus, if i may be so daring and forward to say it..." Here there was a slight edge in the Professor's voice, "I would urge you STRONGLY to keep an open mind and hear our American guest out in his explanations."

"Yes, quite right." Bullhorn repeated again. He stared Jake down, "Alright. You'd better start talking..."

"First of all..." Jake felt that he had to make the following perfectly clear, "I am (and have been for several months now) DIRECTOR of the Initiative due to the absence of Jack Vandenbrooke, and would appreciate being addressed as such, Minister." Jake continued before Bullhorn could comment on this, "And as to your crying about a dead Hogwarts student, there is none. Race Cunningham is not dead. He has been turned into a werewolf, that is all."

Bullhorn made a sound of disgust, and it was echoed by all the portraits of past headmasters on the south wall behind him...echoed by all but one.

"If the boy is not dead, this seems to be a reason to rejoice." Albus Dumbledore commented from his position closer to the left side of the wall, those half moon spectacles winking in the light, "Not to cough disquietingly into our sleeves..."

"In light of recent times, Albus, death would be a greater mercy than being Turned." Bullhorn turned to the portrait, a rather ugly expression on his face, "But i can hardly expect you to know what is going on, seeing as you are stuck there so pathetically..."

"Really?" Jake muttered, "Did you really just take a shot at a painting to sate your own frustration?"

"What was that, SPECIAL AGENT GROSE?" Bullhorn whirled back to Jake, shouting once more. Jake staggered back from the sheer sound he encountered.

"REMUS!" Marx bit off shortly.

"I would rather that your Initiative go about its plans WITHOUT using children as bargaining chips." Bullhorn paid the Professor no heed, and stepped towards Jake angrily, "Or if you insist on such a plan, then use some of your own, not ours!"

Jake's heart gave a dull little throb when he heard the Minister say those words. ~That, unfortunately~ He thought, ears still ringing, ~Is exactly what we are doing...~

"Minister, I am warning you..." Albus spoke up once more, "Do not turn these plans to stop Antigonus's Wolves into a mass genocide against all Werewolves--"

Bullhorn continued without even showing that he had heard the old headmaster speak, "We have kept all of this in the dark for too long, SPECIAL AGENT Grose. If one more thing happens to one more citizen...I'm going to the Daily Prophet."

"You would do that?" Jake said in a voice of disbelief, "You would kill the nearly two hundred ears of peace?"

"This is not America!" Bullhorn retorted, "We do not keep things under wraps until it all blows up! Our politics here are not all cloak and dagger, here in Britain we know where to draw the line between reality and fantasy! If there is a danger, the people ought to know!"

"Then they will wonder who is taking care of the problem." Jake said quietly, in contrast to Bullhorn's booming voice, "And then you will blame us, isn't that right, Minister? America is your friend in this conflict, sir. Do not burn bridges that you cannot afford to loose. Our Operation is still going strong."

"An Operation you will breath nothing about to us!" Bullhorn hissed.

"And by 'us' you mean 'you'." Jake flashed, not willing to take it any more, "My dear Minister, the reason that you are so angry here tonight isn't because of sixteen year old Race Cunningham...it is because you want some of the glory, you want to be seen by your country as a great hero. You're just angry because no one is telling you what's going on."

Bullhorn was quite shocked at this. For a moment it looked as though he were about to start some serious shouting again (out of the corner of his eye, Jake was sure he saw Marx moving as though ready to silence the man if he dared ignite) but the Minister simply walked to the fire, groped for his hat and cloak and left this parting remark--

"Our countries are starting to drift ever apart, Special Agent. i do hope that you come to your senses and work things out in your own precious time. Oswald, good night."

And then he was gone into the fire.

As the green sparks settled, Jake sighed and looked over at Marx, "Is he really going to..."

"Go to the Prophet? Probably not. As you can imagine, Remus is mostly bark and no bite. He will think about things tonight as he sleeps, however, you can be sure of it."

"I figured."

"But he is angered, now. Sarah will not breath a word of what is going on to him, or to any of her fellow Aurors. You were right in your assumption, he wants to know what is happening. I would too, if I were in his position. He has as much to loose as everyone else."

Jake chose to ignore that, his ears were still ringing too much to allow any pity for the Minister, "Where is Sarah?"

Marx rolled back his sleeve, showing that he too bore the Eye of the Initiative, "You think i would know? I do not, she has not contacted me since she contacted all of us. Our only hope at this point is that Jack shows up at the Summit next month. I do have a question for you, Jacob. How is Jessica?"

"Fine." Jake lied, "She'll be back in classes tomorrow."

"That is good to hear. I will be watching out for her."

"Good, it's what she needs." Jake slipped his hands in his pockets, "As for the summit..."

"You don't think Jack will attend?"

"I don't know what to make of Jack anymore." Jake ran his fingers through his hair, "After Race...I wonder what else he isn't telling us?"

"Rather," Albus spoke up, "I think the question is, 'what CANT he tell us. I know this from a very very good friend of mine...being a triple agent is not as easy as you may think it is."

"I wouldn't compare Jack to Severus Snape." Jake chuckled, "At least not at the moment. And i should hope that Jack gets out of this ordeal alive...for Jessica's sake."

"Indeed." Marx said in a grim voice.

Jake gave a great consuming yawn, "The rest of my Unit is back in DC, i should head back there as well. Jessica will contact me if she thinks that anything else is happening. She's awfully shaken up...I think she and Race were friends."

"Very good friends, from what i heard." Marx sighed, "If Race recovers, Jacob, what does the Wolfram plan to do with him?"

"That is something that only Jack can tell us." Jake sighed, "As always, our entire mission rests on the shoulders of the two most unusual people in the entire wizarding world...save possibly for your Harry Potter."

"Those energies..." Marx shook his head, "And if you're thinking that Jessica is the next hero of the Harry Potter vein...I urge you to not forget Eden."

"Eden, the Wolfram's godchild?"

"And Jasper. Do not underestimate either of them. By the time all of this is done..."

"Believe me, it is not part of my job to underestimate." Director Grose stretched again, and gave another yawn.

"You are tired." Marx stated.

"I am." Jake said, "I have been cleaning up this mess and just waiting for another."

"Go back to Washington." Marx looked over at the young man standing there, "YOu are too young to be worrying so much about these things."

"How do you think Race, Jessica, Eden, and Jasper feel?" Jake said, strolling to the fire, "We'll be in touch, Professor."

"Please, call me Oswald!"

Jake cracked a grin as he put one foot in the fire...preparing to head back to the station house...

OOC: *whew* I'm back, baby!!!

OOC: I’m agreeable to whatever use you may have for Jessica’s mother. I am actually planning on having something pop up related to Eden’s own father…

Marx is fine with me. Though he does somewhat resemble Dumbledore, perhaps he and Albus are simply good friends, much alike in their temperaments?

I do think the political aspect is necessary. It gives more depth to the story.

I also just realized that Noah wasn’t Radner’s son, but his nephew. Scratch the nephew bit; let’s just say it’s his son. I’m not sure what I said about Noah’s mother then, but I’ll fill you in with this post.

IC:

“Have a seat, will you Damon?” Antigonus stated smoothly, peering across the long, lavish dining room to where the other man stood. “There are pressing matters I have been meaning to discuss with you.”

Radner nodded and approached, opting to head towards where his master was seated at the head of the lengthy table. He bowed respectfully before pulling out the nearest chair and seating himself beside the Wolfram. His master was wearing his usual crimson-colored robes, though this set was complete with intricate black trim and detailing around the neckline. Radner had only seen this particular set of robes on very special occasions, and was inclined to believe that his master’s news would be good.

Antigonus poured Radner a glass of red wine from the bottle that sat between them on the table. “I think that I have underestimated your value to me, Damon. You are one of my most trusted wolves, and I thank you most sincerely for this.”

“I am grateful, Master.”

“As a reward for your faithful services, I wish to inform you of some upcoming events,” the Wolfram said, taking a sip from his drink most delicately. “Only one wolf before you has heard this news directly from me, and that is Jack Crosslin. Do you wish to hear what I have to tell you?”

“Yes, Master.”

Antigonus nodded in acquiescence. “Well then, the news I must relay to you is that of our imprisoned colleagues. Some have been kept in Azkaban for decades, others for only short times, but all of them have suffered greatly at the hands of the Dementors. Once and for all, we will be able to put an end to this nonsense. A mass breakout will be occurring in three days time. They will all resume their rightful places here, with us.”

“Master, this means…”

“Yes, you will be reunited with your dear wife again, Damon,” Antigonus stated, a faint smile cracking his lips. “I am so very happy for you, my wolf. Loretta will be overjoyed to return to her husband and young son. I believe the last time she laid eyes on Noah, he was only five years old.”

Radner stared up at his master, ready to break down in tears at the thought of his wife finally returning to him. Antigonus sensed this surge of emotion in his wolf, and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

“Cry, Damon. Love is not a weakness; it gives us strength. I know that you will be thrice the man you are now when you have Loretta back, much as you were when you both served me together. I have not made the mistake, as Voldemort before me, to live a life void of love. It is the strongest human emotion of them all, and never would I encourage nor force you to hide it. You should be delighted to feel so strongly – you mustn’t ever hide anything from me, most importantly your emotions.”

“Yes,” Radner said softly, “I will never hide my emotions from you, Master. However, I cannot cry now. Pardon my honesty, but I just can’t believe that she will be in my arms again after… after six years in Azkaban. It’s too good to be true… I can’t believe this will really happen until I am able to hold her…”

The Wolfram took another sip from his wine, though Radner’s remained untouched. He took a moment to consider the man sitting beside him, all the while gently rocking the ornate glass in his hand, making its contents rotate effortlessly. “You will not be disappointed, I assure you. Your wife is among the five wolves currently in Azkaban. All of them, every single one, will escape. They have been ordered to do this, though I sense that more than a few are reluctant to face me once more.”

“Loretta will be weeping in your presence, Master. I know that she regrets her capture. She will always be loyal to you, she is not a traitor.”

“No my friend, your wife is not whom I speak of,” Antigonus stated, his tone suddenly turning malicious. “I am a forgiving Master, though a few wolves stand out in my mind as not deserving my forgiveness; Spencer Exley, first and foremost. His impulsive behavior caused the capture of three of those four wolves, not including himself!”

“But sir, did you not say that you had forgiven your old debts?” inquired Radner, looking up at the Wolfram in surprise. “I was under the impression that you would press forward and leave these things behind.”

Antigonus let his eyes fall on the wine glass in his hand as he continued to swirl the contents. “Some cuts run too deep, Damon. You will come to understand this in time, but for now all I can relay to you is that Spencer Exley is no wolf of mine. He, of course, holds too many of our secrets to let him go completely, so I have certain special plans for him instead.” Finally placing the glass on the table, Antigonus leaned closer to his servant, making strong eye contact with him. “There is no more time to talk of that now, you must prepare yourself for Loretta’s return.”

“Yes, of course,” Radner stated, “Thank you for sharing this information with me, Master. I am grateful to you, always.” He rose from his seat, bowing to the Wolfram once more.

OOC: By the way, when is the summit taking place?

OOC: The summit is happening in a few weeks time...I've kind of abandoned Jessica in recent events, in a few posts we'll establish what she's been up to/how she is, and then we'll get back to everything else. Glad we're back with a bang, mate! Post tomorrow!