"Harry, please, talk to us," Hermione pleaded, pulling Harry's attention from the retreating Slytherins. He looked at them, his jaw clenched as he waited for more of their verbal attacks. "We want to understand how this happened."

"Do you?" Harry said shortly.

"Of course," Hermione said, sounding offended that Harry didn't believe her.

"Then why haven't you listened to me?" Harry said. "Why haven't you trusted me about anything?"

"Because it's all mental!" Ron said loudly. "Come on, mate. Snape? Malfoy? What are we supposed to think after what they've been like the last four years?"

"You're supposed to trust me," Harry said.

"We're trying," Hermione said.

"You shouldn't have to try," Harry said and the silence that fell over them rang loud.

They stared at each other for several long seconds, so long they nearly stretched into full minutes. Harry could see the emotions his friends were unable to keep hidden: confusion, anger, hurt, fear. Emotions he had seen in them before, but not often pointed towards him. Eventually, he sighed, preparing for what he knew could very well be his last moments with his friends, the people that had been through everything with him, but couldn't seem to stand by him in this one thing. It would be up to them if their friendship continued. He hoped this wasn't it, hoped he didn't have to lose anyone, but he knew better than to be that delusional. He had different sides to his life now and they did not seem to want to mix. He was going to lose something; he just hoped it would be something he could survive losing.

"You want to know how this happened? Thing is, I don't really know. I don't know how we got here, but we did," Harry said. "What I do know is, even when he hated me, he helped me. When I was confused and scared and alone, he was there. He went against orders for me, for us. He might have hated me, but he has still done more for me than anyone."

"How could you choose Snape over us? Over Sirius? We're your family," Ron said and Harry had to push down the pain in his heart. He gave Ron a small glare.

"You've decided to make it a choice. You've decided to force me to pick. Sirius decided revenge was more important than me. Sirius would rather do what he wants instead of be around for me. Sirius would rather keep hating Slytherins and tell me I'm not deserving of the Potter name instead of realizing I've found something, and just accepting it's not with him," Harry said, his voice thick as his throat tightened. "Everything Snape's done has been to help me and Draco, even when he hated us. Everything Sirius has done has been for him."

"Harry..." Hermione said quietly, sounding sad.

"I don't want to lose you as friends, but I'm not giving them up," Harry said. "They've given me something I can't give up, not anymore."

"And what's that?" Ron said with a sneer.

"A family," Harry said, using the word, even in his head, for the first time. It terrified him, as though now he'd used the word he'd risked cursing what he'd found with two Slytherins and two immortals.

Ron looked disgusted. "What happens when they abandon you like the traitorous snakes they are?"

"They won't," Harry said, finding he actually believed it. "They're not what you think. You don't have to like them, but, if you want to stay my friends, you have to accept that they are in my life, that they mean something to me. You don't have to understand it, just accept it."

Ron looked like he wanted to say something, but couldn't seem to decide what to lead with. Hermione stared at him with shining eyes.

"I've never asked you for anything," Harry said quietly, softly. "Let me have this."

He saw a flash in Hermione's eyes, seeing her gaze turn thoughtful and sad while Ron continued to glare, still unable to hide his disgust. Harry shook his head and got to his feet.

"You've both always had a family, a home. I haven't," Harry said. "I just want what you've always had and, it may not make sense, but it's them."

With one last look and his heart breaking, Harry walked away from Ron and Hermione, and left the Great Hall.

Leif cursed for the umpteenth time as the ward he was attempting to repair failed once again. He narrowed his eyes as he watched the magical threads that should be seamlessly weaving together, but would spark and sharpen and race in the opposite direction when they interacted. He pushed his Aether Magic at them, trying to get a read on what was happening while simultaneously trying to bridge them together. He hissed when the strands broke away, electricity hitting his magic as though in reprimand. 

He huffed, swiping hair that had come loose from his tie back behind his ear. He scowled at the uncooperative wards. It had been five-he glanced down at his watch-nearly six days since he'd received the alert that the Archives' wards had been tampered with and he'd been unable to leave since. He couldn't leave the Archives without warding and he had yet to figure out what the problem was or what had broken them in the first place. The Archives had effectively shut down and he'd been unable to communicate with anyone outside the Ministry for fear of interception. It would be extraordinarily dangerous if some people learned the Archives were basically open access at the moment.

He'd considered Lucius to be behind the tampering given his weeks of threats, but, for all the man was a Death Eater, he did not have the knowledge of complex wards to achieve such manipulation. Someone else had done this, though, likely by order of Lucius. He sighed at the thought and rubbed his furrowed forehead, wincing at the headache that had only gotten steadily worse since he arrived Friday. He glared at the fractured wards around him again, determined to get them fixed so he could return to his friends and boys for the holidays that were quickly approaching in just a couple weeks.

He guided his Aether Magic out again, his silvery-white threads wrapping around the wards' gold strands, prodding them gently for answers and actions. After several minutes, his eyebrow jumped as, for the first time in five days, he found something that didn't belong: a familiar magical signature, but not familiar enough for identification. It definitely wasn't Lucius-he knew the man's magic quite well-but it was certainly someone he knew to a degree, meaning it was someone from the Ministry. He followed the signature, weaving through the extensive shelving until he was in a back corner and staring at quite the gruesome sight. In the blank expanse of wall was the partially concealed body of Unspeakable Broderick Bode. It was as though he'd fused with the wall, half hidden inside the stone and half hanging limply, the blood that had poured from him dried on the wall and floor now.

He wasn't sure how he hadn't noticed Bode in the last few days. He'd examined the entirety of the Archives when he'd arrived and this scene had not been there. He leaned in close to see if he could make out how the situation had occurred, looking at a spot where part of Bode's bicep, elbow, and hand was stuck in the stone, as though he'd been pushing on the wall as it closed on him.

He stood up straight and stiffened as he felt a tug on his magic, an indication someone had crossed his own ward and entered the Archives. He reached out surreptitiously, searching for the intruder's magic. He tensed more and clenched his jaw when he saw and felt the telltale magic of Lucius Malfoy. He watched as the magic moved through the Archives, slowly and silently walking through the shelves himself while trying to think of how to deal with the situation. After weeks of looks and threatening comments, Lucius was apparently finally making his move to get the prophecy transcript. Yet, he had no idea how Lucius was going to find it; even he still didn't know where...

He paused for a moment, frowning back in the direction of Bode.

"You have something of mine, Marcus," Lucius' voice rang through the aisles, regaining Leif's attention. "A couple of things, more precisely, but I will have my son soon."

Leif stiffened defensively and narrowed his eyes into a glare as he stepped out of the shelves to face Lucius. The man turned with an insincere smile and looking as professionally regal as ever despite his threatening air. Lucius brought his cane around to set in front of him, resting both hands on the silver snake head that Leif knew was connected to the man's wand.

"Get out," Leif said shortly.

"I am in need of some documents," Lucius said and Leif glowered.

"No," Leif snapped.

Lucius tilted his head just slightly to the side, his smile turning slightly more twisted. "This is how it was always meant to be. Fate is a funny thing, as I've said."

Leif bristled and pulled at his Aether Magic, readying it for attack. However, as soon as he was about to push it out, it stopped painfully in his chest as though hitting a hard wall. Panic instantly settled in his gut, especially when Lucius very casually reached into a pocket on his robes and pulled out what looked like a clear crystal.

"The Department of Mysteries has such wonderful little items such as these," Lucius said lightly, looking between the crystal and Leif. "There is little research into Aether Magic and Elemental Magic, but enough to have created ways to suppress such magic. It just wouldn't be a fair fight if you had your Aether Magic, would it?"

Leif pulled his wand, then, keeping his eyes trained on Lucius as the man put the crystal back in his pocket and removed his wand from his cane. The grey eyes, exactly like Draco's in shape and colour, but missing everything else that made Draco so amazing, met Leif's steadily.

"You had your time with them," Lucius said. "They belong with us now."

There was little other indication that their fight had begun. Leif dashed into the shelves to dodge Lucius' incoming curse, papers flying as another shelf exploded further down. He had a brief, annoyed thought of how much work it was going to take to put the Archives back together. He'd always found it interesting the thoughts one had when in the middle of crisis. He spun back around as he heard Lucius' steps behind him and immediately cast several spells in an attempt to incapacitate Lucius, ignoring the part of him that still existed from the wars that was telling him to be deadly. He would do anything to protect Alexei, Severus, Harry, and Draco, but he'd done enough killing in his life. He would only kill if he had no other choice.

So, he ducked, he dodged, he deflected, he reciprocated. Shelves exploded, boxes disintegrated, and papers flew.

Leif grunted as he was thrown backwards by an invisible force hitting his chest and he crashed painfully into a shelf, papers raining down on him. He whipped his wand through the air as a large column of fire came rushing towards him, burning everything in its path. He rerouted the fire, sending it twisting up into the air, around him, and back down the aisle to encircle Lucius. He ducked when the fire was dispersed and a Cruciatus raced towards him. He responded by conjuring a thick cloud of dark mist and sending it to surround Lucius. As the man fought his blindness, Leif made metal rods emerge from the stone floor, rising up around Lucius in a makeshift prison cell.

His attempts were interrupted as Lucius made the mist dissipate and the bars melt, leaving scorched stone on the floor from the molten iron. Leif hissed as a Cutting Curse hit the crook of his neck, feeling the deep laceration that opened his flesh and immediately began to pour blood. Ducking another Cutting Curse aimed at his throat, Leif sent a Blasting Curse at the floor under Lucius' feet, becoming less and less concerned with causing the man serious harm. The stone exploded only for the rocky debris to be sent at Leif, fragments cutting his face before he slashed his wand and made the rocks fall to the floor.

Leif hissed again when he felt a small burn on his shoulder and then his head and then his hand before he finally looked up. Sparks were raining down on him, burning everywhere they landed. He threw a shield over him before slashing his wand at Lucius who cried out as four deep, jagged cuts sliced across his face, crossing his left eye, nose, and mouth. It was as though an animal had scratched him, blood gushing from the lacerations.

Lucius roared, enraged, and just as Leif was going to send a Binding Spell, he found himself being thrown through the air. He flew back down the aisle until he hit the wall, hard. He crumpled to the floor, spots in his fuzzy, tunnelling vision and ringing in his ears. He groaned at the crack he swore he could feel in his skull and blinked through his fluttering eyelids to try and clear his vision as Lucius strolled towards him. He tried to move, tried to stand, tried to lift his wand, but his dazed brain couldn't seem to make sense of the messages he was sending it, couldn't send the proper signals to make his body obey.

His wand was ripped from his loose fingers and he forced himself to focus through his double vision as Lucius knelt next to him. He tried to move again, but found it impossible. Lucius must have used some kind of paralyzing spell; he couldn't move, but he could feel and speak. He narrowed his eyes-the only thing he could move-as Lucius' mutilated and bloody face came into view.

"I always knew you were hiding something," Lucius said, pulling a handkerchief from his robes and dabbing it gingerly against the gashes on his face.

"And I always knew you were a bastard," Leif spat. He watched as Lucius pulled out the crystal again, feeling the way its close proximity pushed his Aether Magic down even more.

"You know, there is very little literature on Aether Magic," Lucius said casually, ignoring that Leif had spoken all together. "Even less on immortality."

Leif glared.

"From what does exist, I found one thing in common across the known methods of immortality," Lucius said and looked directly at Leif. "Even the immortal can die. You just have to know what gives the immortality."

If he could, Leif would have tensed. He did feel his heart speed up in his chest, beating hard against his ribs. He fought to pull at his magic, fought to push it out to break Lucius' hold, but, just like his body, his magic wouldn't obey. The crystal's suppression power was extraordinarily strong.

"Now, your immortality is quite...unique," Lucius said. "It seemed complex until I realized it is really quite simple."

How badly Leif wanted to pull away when Lucius reached out and tore the entire left side of his shirt, revealing the runic tattoos that covered his bicep, shoulder, left side of his chest, and halfway up the side of his neck. His pounding heart was nearly painful and deafening as Lucius' wand began to dance and drag along his tattoos.

"Vitality...youth...regeneration...strength...longevity...immortality..." Lucius said, wand tracing each runic symbol that sat amongst connective threads made of full runic sets. "A rune for each thing keeping you the way you are connected by instructions telling your magic what to do."

Leif stared hard at Lucius, remaining stonily silent as Lucius' wand dragged across his chest to rest against his sternum. Leif's eyes winced at the wand digging into him.

"A fascinating way to power your runes and tie them to your life. Connecting your Aether Magic to your core, to your life force," Lucius said. "Your soul, if you will. Then, using that connection to power your runes. Creating a cycle of power and life to exist indefinitely. Except, ‘indefinite' can end, can't it?"

The wand moved again, returning to the rune that sat over Leif's heart.

"Destroy the runes...sever the magic..." Lucius said, "...end the life."

And Leif could do nothing but scream.

Heat and pain exploded across his chest, and the bubbling he felt in his flesh told him Lucius was burning away his tattoos, burning away the runes keeping him alive. He felt his suppressed, but still connected magic jerk and pulse and bristle as the runes it powered, the instructions it followed were torn away. His magic poured what it could into the remaining runes while trying fruitfully to fix the damaged ones, searching for any binding point that could still exist. There was nothing to find, though, as the burning moved to his shoulder and neck, drawing out even more desperate, pained cries.

He could feel his consciousness waning from the agony alone only for new sensations to bring him back sharply. He felt Lucius pour something onto where the rune had been on his chest. It felt cold, but, instead of running across his body, he felt it sink into his flesh. The moment it did, his breathing hitched and he felt something rip inside him. His entire body went cold and his heart beat a strange rhythm. His vision began to fade and his mind began to sink.

"Draco will fulfil the destiny I had planned for him after all. He will make our lord the greatest wizard that ever lived," he heard Lucius whisper, no longer able to see as his body began to shut down. "And it is all thanks to you and your friends."

Leif gasped for air, felt his magic slow even as it fought for something to bind to. It was like he was underwater, waves crashing over him again and again, dragging him deeper.

"Don't worry," Lucius said. "You will see them all again very soon on the other side."

Through the wind whistling in his ears, he heard Lucius walk away though it sounded distant. He continued to get pulled away, to fall deeper, even as his magic fought for him.

The last thing he saw behind his eyelids shone bright in the darkness he was now in. He saw what had brought that light back to his life after so long.

Alexei...Severus...Harry...Draco...

He saw the family he'd only just found...

And he said goodbye.

Alexei pulled his hand from the counter and shoved it in his coat pocket so he wouldn't drum his fingers on the marble as he waited. It took everything in him not to tap his foot impatiently, giving the young woman a tight, insincere smile as his wand went through scanning and registry. Did it have to take so long?

Finally-truthfully, it had only been five minutes at the most-his wand was returned to him and Keena looked up at him.

"What business do you have in the Ministry of Magic today, Mr. Romanov?" she asked pleasantly as though they hadn't done this dozens of times before.

He gave her a slightly sincerer smile. "I am visiting Leif Marcus in the Archives."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Romanov, but that is not possible," Keena said and Alexei frowned.

"I know he's here," he said.

"Yes, but the Archives are currently inaccessible," Keena said.

He leaned on the counter, still frowning at her. "You don't understand. I have been unable to reach him for six days. What is going on?"

"I don't know, sir," Keena said. "I've simply been told that no one is to be given access to the Archives."

"Who told you that?" Alexei asked.

Keena was interrupted before she could respond by magic washing over the reception chamber, leaving behind a shimmering film over every entrance and exit. Alexei looked at the wards in confused alarm, like everyone else, before his attention was pulled to the wispy white-blue ball that was a non-corporeal Patronus.

"A threat has been identified and the Ministry of Magic is on full lockdown until the situation is brought under control. No one is to enter or leave the premises or the location they are currently in," a deep voice said and the Patronus disappeared.

Alexei's stomach twisted with anxiety. Someone was attacking the Ministry? He turned back to Keena when he heard her gasp. She was staring at the wall to Alexei's right and he followed her gaze, finding the huge bronze plaque that listed what was found on each floor of the Ministry. His eyebrows furrowed as he noticed ‘Floor Ten - Archives Department' glowing red.

"What does it mean?" Alexei asked, looking at Keena again.

She looked at him with wide eyes full of fear. "It means the Archives have been broken into."

Alexei's heart dropped and he dashed across the reception chamber, pushing people uncaringly out of the way to reach the door that would get him to the lifts and stairs. He reached for the door handle only to jerk back as he was shocked. He cursed, focusing so he could see the warding. He wrapped his Fire Magic around the gold weave, trying to melt or burn away the warding magic. He yelled out angrily when it did nothing, punching the wall hard enough to crack the marble.

"Romanov?"

Alexei turned and found Unspeakable Barlow approaching him.

"I need to get out of here," Alexei said. "The Archives...who could break into them?"

"Technically, nobody should be able to, especially not with Marcus' wards," Barlow said.

Alexei's eyes narrowed. "Someone that can nullify Aether Magic." He glared at Barlow. "Unspeakables. Lucius had Bode helping him and Leif had you."

"Not exactly by choice," Barlow said, crossing his arms. "There was plenty of blackmail involved."

Growling, Alexei grabbed the front of Barlow's robes and swung him around, slamming him against the wall. People gasped and screamed and stared at them with wide eyes.

"I don't give a damn if he threatened your life," Alexei said angrily. "It is nothing compared to what I will do to you if you don't get me the hell out of here and down to the Archives."

Barlow glared at him, giving a nearly imperceptible nod. Alexei let him go roughly and watched the Unspeakable move to the door, waving his wand in a complex pattern. It only took a few seconds for the shimmering ward to dissolve and the door swung open. Alexei raised his wand to Barlow.

"Get me to the Archives," Alexei repeated and followed Barlow out of the reception chamber.

They took the stairs, Barlow breaking through each ward as needed. They were on the tenth floor when Barlow stopped with a frown.

"What?" Alexei said sharply.

"There are no wards in this corridor, none at all," Barlow said.

"What does that-" Alexei was cut off by the door that would take them to the Archives flying open and Lucius Malfoy running into the corridor. He cast a Killing Curse over his shoulder just as an Auror entered the corridor, the Auror hitting the floor in an instant. When Lucius noticed Alexei and Barlow, he stopped, staring at them, allowing Alexei to see the horrible injuries on the man's face. Despite them, Lucius smirked and held up about five scrolls before disappearing in black smoke.

Alexei shoved Barlow out of his way and dashed through the door Lucius had come through. He ran down the corridor, around the corner, and down the other corridor that had the Archives at the end. Aurors were everywhere and the gold bars that usually sealed the Archives were destroyed. He pushed his way in, ignoring the shouts from Aurors telling him he couldn't be there. He took in the destroyed Archives, casting desperate looks down each aisle as he passed.

Then, he spotted Leif.

He hurried over, falling next to his friend and quickly taking inventory of the injuries he could see. He didn't focus on the cuts and bruises, all his attention on the burns that had obliterated more than half of the tattoos and on the slight pull he could feel on his magic. Leif was still, pale, his eyes shut and his chest jerking every several seconds with fading breath and life.

Realizing exactly what had happened and that time was short, Alexei leapt to his feet and ran to Leif's office. The door had been blasted off its hinges and the desk was a mess, drawers pulled clean out and emptied. He ran to the desk, pushing everything off the top so he could find the very small, inscribed ‘A' that was near the upper right corner. He pressed his palm to it and let his magic bleed into it until he felt the wood disappear. He pulled his hand away, finding the tiny chamber opened and the small vial that lay inside. He pulled it out and ran back to Leif.

At Leif's side, he held up the vial and stared at the glittery white liquid inside. Leif had told him it would give him more time if it was ever needed, would act as a temporary binding point, but Alexei knew there was no certainty. There wasn't exactly opportunity to test such a potion, but he had to have faith in Leif. Taking a deep breath, he opened the vial and then sunk a fang into his own finger. Blood immediately flowing from the puncture, he let three drops fall into the potion, watching it change to a deep, but still glittery red. Once combined, he poured it over the burns and watched it sink into the burned flesh. Outwardly, nothing changed, but he felt Leif's magic change, flowing with more direction. It was no longer falling.

"Come on, frater, you don't get to leave us yet," Alexei said and waved his wand to levitate Leif.

"Bloody hell."

He turned his head to see a large, bald, black man in purple Auror robes.

"Kingsley Shacklebolt?" Alexei said, remembering Leif's descriptions.

"Yes," he said, nodding. "Is he...?"

"Almost and I don't have much time," Alexei said. "I need to get him to St. Mungo's."

Kingsley immediately picked up a quill and tapped it with his wand. It glowed blue briefly and Alexei took it when it was held out to him.

"Portkey," Kingsley said. "It will bypass all wards."

"Thank you," Alexei said and he grasped Leif's uninjured arm.

Kingsley tapped the quill again and Alexei was pulled away. He landed with Leif in the lobby of St. Mungo's moments later, much to the surprise of everyone there.

"Someone, help me," Alexei said and a young brunette woman hurried up to him. "He's dying. He's immortal. His life is tied to runes." He gestured to the burns.

The woman looked alarmed.

"Get Drake Siguard here from Hogwarts," Alexei said. "Get him now. You need a Rune Mage."

"Let's get him into a room and Floo Hogwarts," the woman called out and a stretcher came floating over, catching Leif as the levitation ended. "Is there anyone we can contact for him?"

Alexei shook his head. "I'll do it," he said and watched the woman hurry Leif through a set of double doors.

He stared at the doors for a long time, wondering how he was supposed to tell Severus, Harry, and Draco that Lucius, and soon Voldemort, would know everything.

He spent a long time wondering how he was supposed to tell them that they could lose Leif.

He spent a long time wondering how he was supposed to say goodbye.