It didn't work. Alice sat back on her bed that night in frustration. Timothy was supposed to report to the MLE, instead he went straight to the muggle police. Now she didn't know if the Aurors even knew he existed. Her hope of contacting help was now dead.

Alice said they ought to be creative. And look at their resources. Her companions were in a bare room with nothing but the bed to sleep in, and a small slot where their food was delivered. She herself was staying in a different part of the mansion, with no knowledge of their whereabouts.

There was one option she had not explored yet, and it was worth a shot. If she could do a bit of magic, it may come out of the registry because of the underage restrictions. The trace will ping the Ministry records and perhaps quite possibly, get them some help. Granted that some people were paying attention to notice that the registry was spurting records of people who are supposedly dead, it would at least serve as an evidence for the MLE to start looking.

But for that Laurence made sure they did not have any wands…

.oOo.

Teddy's hand was shaking as he uncorked to smuggled vial open.

"Basin! we need to find a basin big enough for our head," It might be a memory that Alice had to let them see.

Peggy searched the room frantically.

She found one in the bathroom and they immediately crowded to pour the vial's content in it.

"About time," said a voice.

Teddy looked around to see where the voice was coming from. Garbled, and fuzzy, but was unmistakably Alice.

"What on earth?"

"Teddy, look, the basin is talking," Peggy instinctively jolted backwards.

Alice rolled her eyes. "Shut up Peggy, you've seen pictures and ladders moving and now you're shocked with a basin of water? I can't find any mirror here. So I put the communication charm on the water. Besides, a mirror would have been way too obvious."

Teddy stooped closer. "How'd you do it?"

"I casted a finite spell on a communication mirror once. Turns out it only contained anchoring spells, twisted up to copy and transport to the other mirror. It's not as complicated as you think. "

"Well?" said Peggy.

"Well what?" Said Alice.

"Do you have a plan?"

"I'm running out of one. Right now, I'm down to how to practicing the killing curse wandless to avoid being tortured to death."

"How is it going?" asked Peggy.

"It's not going well. I could not even kill a cockroach with it yet. But I have another plan. I'm going to need your help," said Alice.

"Is it going to save us?"

"We have a low probability."

"I am not ready for this," said Teddy.

"No. Of course not. You're a minor. Your experience with dangerous pressured situations are nonexistent. Thus, you have minimal control over your moves. I can tell you theories, but applying them for the first time would be entirely different. Your learning by error and adjustment is not yet sharpened, add that to the fact that we only have one shot at this.

Alice heaved a great sigh. "But nobody is ready. We just make do with what is available to us."

.oOo.

"Remus, wait! You are not well!" Tonks ran after him.

"No, I will not stay here whilst my son is threatened to be declared dead again," he ignored Tonks and walked steadily outside the house, but Tonks could see it took all his effort to remain upright. Still he marched resolute forward towards the open moor so he could apparate.

She tried to stay his advances, but he was determined to walk to the apparition point. "It'll be your own casket lowered if you keep going!" she snarled. Then apparently realizing her own forwardness, she added in a gentle voice, "Please…we've got it covered."

He sighed. "I am tired, Nymphadora. I am tired of staying behind and doing nothing. Being nothing. I will not stand it again if you go down because of me."

"Then do me a favour. Sleep. And be more useful tomorrow."

"I will not sleep well until I see him well with my own eyes. And if you will not apparate me to the ministry, I will go there myself after you are gone, and I hardly care if I do not arrive in one piece."

"Oh how you break my heart." She flung her arms around him with a sob.

He looked at her sadly, with his face pained, but he managed to smile. "We are all broken, Dora."

The luch green faded as they slowly dissapparated away from the moor.

.oOo.

Theodore Lupin held out his hand and poised to swish as instructed. Then he heard an unexpected thud behind him.

"Quickly Teddy. You waste time every time you stall."

But Teddy had already turned his head to the noise. "Peggy!" Peggy was on the floor, her breathing laboured, as if gasping for air. The young metamorphagus quickly went to kneel beside his friend.

"Oh. That would be the poison," said Alice from the basin.

"What do you mean?" said Teddy.

"Laurence thought it would be more productive to lace her food with poison."

"How could you feel unnaffected about all of this? She's been poisoned!"

"If you also care about her, you would set about starting the task I asked you with. Now stretch out your hand and do the spell!"

"Alright," he finally said.

Theodore Lupin did not have any wands. But didn't his dad once levitate a few things just using his fingers?

He stretched his hand in front of him and tried to imagine the piece of wood to float.

"Wingardium... leviosa!"

Nothing happened.

"Teddy, try floating something light. Like that feather behind you," instructed Alice from the basin.

Teddy turned his head around. Looking at the feather very hard, he chanted again the immortal words that could probably save their lives. "Wingardium Leviosa"

The feather twitched. Not enough. He was going to try again, but, somebody stepped on the feather.

"Hey, don't-" Teddy looked up and saw Laurence's face looking down at him livid.

.oOo.

"Harry Potter."

"Harry Potter!"

Harry stopped himself from rolling his eyes by closing it and clenching his teeth as once again. Ever since this morning, Harry had the privilege of hearing his name bellowed.

This time, his name was bellowed by the Warden book of spells in front of him. He stared intently into his eyes, his convictions unwavering.

"I have heard of your current stunts. You went on a mission to save the Lupins without clearance,"

"The evidence clearly states that the children are alive," Harry replied.

"You still had no clearance. If you keep acting like this, more people might get hurt. You can't just deviate from Legal process. "

"I know that, but sometimes, -"

"We have to make exceptions?" the warden raised his eyebrow. "Everyone says that."

"With all due respect to your experience sir, There will be situations where we have to decide on foot. "

"The law is there for a reason."

"Yes, the law. To give everybody a fair chance. Now I'm going to look through the book of magic traces just in case. but they may be able to sneak a spell somehow, I realize it's not much to go on, I know the chances of them doing magic if they don't have wands is very slim, even now if they're held on illegal detention."

The warden sighed. "You are hallucinating in such faint hopes. You should never have handled this case. Your emotional invovement took much toll in your judgement. It's not going to appear because they're already dead. The bodies have appeared and been appropriately buried. We were all there at the funeral. Again, you have no clearance to see the Underage Magic records."

"But if you would just listen-"

The warden cut him off, getting impatient this time. "We follow standard operating procedures. Some people still have hopes their loved ones would still appear in the record trace. But you know it's never going to happen again. Go home, son. Go home."

Just then, the quill quivered behind the warden, signaling another minor using underage magic. The book recording of traces moved to write something on its ledger.

And there, on a freshly laid page, wrote the magic quill, "Teddy Remus Lupin, hover charm, November 21st"

Harry offered him a smile. "Now, do you see it?" said Harry.

Author's note:

I've just had a bothering thought. I vaguely remember Molly saying that (A) Mr. Weasley and she had eloped the same age as Bill and Fleur had their wedding and (B) It was because of the war. And (C) Lily and James were of the same age when they got married (D) also during the war. so by transitive property, statememt (E) REMUS FREAKING LUPIN is the same age as Arthur Weasley. It's such a bothering thought I have a need to discuss it with someone. He is sooo Old. But I don't care.