Why was Avery trying to Imperius students—what was he hoping to achieve? How had Iset been able to throw off the Imperius Curse? And was it really just Avery who was responsible, or were more students doing it too? There was the very real threat of acting before understanding. Harry didn't want to lock Cyprus Avery up somewhere without knowing why he was doing what he was doing because somebody else would surely fill his shoes quickly afterwards. And he definitely didn't want those acting out to close ranks or retaliate.

Unsurprisingly, his wife was on the same wavelength.

"We should question him first," she said quickly. McGonagall had her hand in the Floo pot, but she glanced back at Ginny and paused. "Arresting him immediately won't fix anything...there's no way he's the only one doing these things."

"It'll get him away from here!" Albus shot back, outraged. "It'll make him pay for what he did!"

"Your mum is right," Harry told Albus. Albus groaned, frustrated. "We'll still report this to Hermione and Grey-- it will still be dealt with. But before we make such a permanent decision we need to understand who is acting and why."

"We know why," Lily piped up. Everybody turned to look at her. She shrugged. "They hate us."

"Draco," McGonagall said. She set the Floo pot back down. "You've been working with these children. Did they tell you anything that might be of importance? Did you get any hints that this attack was coming?"

"No, and if I had, I would've come straight to you, Professor!" Draco snapped. "Avery hasn't been to see me. Many of them haven't, actually."

"Well, we can start there," Harry said. He summoned a roll of parchment from a shelf adjacent to McGonagall's desk. A quill and inkwell followed. "If we're going to come down on these students, we need to come down on all of them at once- getting just one is only going to make the others scatter. We saw what happened when we did that with Halloran Carrow; things only got worse. The ones who haven't been to see you, Draco, the ones who have significant ties to Death Eaters, those are the ones we can consider worth examining first."

"No," Draco said at once. He shook his head. "I'm not—comfortable with that. We told these students their names would be private."

"And they are, I'm asking you to write down the ones who haven't been to see you."

"But just because they haven't been to see me doesn't mean they're responsible!" There was a beat. "Ms. Goyle hasn't been to see me, but that doesn't mean she's responsible."

Everybody flashed their gazes quickly to Iset, who was standing between Ginny and Lily. She seemed unsure of what to say back to that.

"I thought you wanted Avery punished and all of this stopped, Draco—"

"OF COURSE I WANT HIM PUNISHED!" Draco boomed. Most everybody jumped, except Ginny, who sighed. "Of course I want him punished! He hurt my son! He invaded my son's mind! He—my son, the only good thing left—"

Harry regretted his words almost immediately as emotion surged within Draco. He frowned and shifted his weight uncomfortably as Draco's words severed abruptly.

"Draco..." he said. "I didn't...what I meant was..."

"I think you said exactly what you meant," said Draco coldly. "There is a difference—a very big difference—between wanting to hold Avery accountable for something we are sure he did, and using the slight trust these students have in me to go on a blind hunt. I won't give names. If I had any evidence of wrongdoing, I would give that, but I cannot jeopardize the slight good I've managed to do here."

"We'll find another way," Ginny said firmly. "Without the names." Harry parted his lips to argue but thought better of it. He pursed them together tightly instead.

McGonagall crossed back over to them. "Before we make any decisions, we'll escort Ms. Goyle and Mr. Malfoy to the Hospital Wing so Poppy can look over them—"

"No!" Albus cried. "No, we aren't going! We want to know what you lot have found out about what's going on outside of Hogwarts! We deserve to know—I deserve to know! You've been keeping secrets from us and it isn't fair! And now you want to keep more secrets from us-- you want to send us away so we can't even have a say in how Avery is punished!"

"You and Scorpius are children—" Draco tried to say.

"I don't care!" Albus yelled. His fists were clenched. "I deserve to know. Scorpius deserves to know. Iset deserves to know!"

There was a pause, and then:

"What about me?" Lily murmured underneath her breath, annoyed. "Don't I deserve to know? He always forgets about me."

Everybody looked at Harry. He reached up and brought his glasses down long enough to rub between his eyes. He righted them, rubbed over his scar, and sighed. He couldn't say he didn't understand how Albus was feeling; he'd felt a very similar way in his fifth year. And he knew, perhaps better than anybody else, what emotions like that could drive someone to do. What the cost could ultimately be.

"I think he's right," Harry finally said. He turned to look at the students. "You deserve more information than you've gotten. But we need more information, too. Before we can even begin to figure out the right move to make with Avery, we need to know everything."

He directed his last words at Iset. She looked away.

"Iset, I know something is going on with your dad. And I'm sure he's threatened you...and I know you're frightened. But I promise...Iset." He waited until she'd looked back up at him. "I swear that I won't let him hurt you. Whatever you tell us....we won't be reckless with that information. We want all of you to be safe, but we can't crack this without more information. We don't know enough-- especially not about what's going on in here, and I think you know something we don't. We'll ask all of our questions now and then we won't ask you anything ever again if you don't want us to. If you'd rather just talk to Draco, or just to Professor McGonagall, or just to Ginny—that's fine, too. But I need you to talk to one of us and tell us what's been going on at your home."

Her eyes swelled with tears. Harry frowned.

"You don't understand," she finally told him weakly.

"I know," he agreed. He was working hard to keep his tone gentle. "That's why I need you to explain it to me."

"I can't..."

"You can. Whatever he said would happen if you did—he'll have to get through me first to do it."

Harry searched for the words to make her believe him. The words to make her aware of the protectiveness surging inside of him. But he'd only ever been good at showing it.

"It's not just him," she countered, her voice small. "It's—..."

Her words seem to stick on the back of her throat. Harry knew this was going to be very difficult for her, and he wished there was another way, but he was at a loss. They were learning more and more about what was going on outside of Hogwarts, but what was going on inside of it was still largely a mystery, and that was what Harry needed to solve the quickest (because his children were at risk).

"We know about the people working with your father," Harry prompted. Her expression shifted just slightly; her dark eyes were locked on her shoes. "The Death Eaters who have been released already. Alecto Carrow. Rookwood, Mulciber, Selwyn, Yaxley. Zabini."

She looked up.

"Did they threaten you?" Harry asked.

She slowly nodded.

"Threatened you not to tell anyone?"

To his surprise, she shook her head. Harry frowned.

"Did they threaten you because you wouldn't join them?" Draco asked.

She nodded. She sniffed a moment later. Ginny was at her side in an instant.

"Iset," she whispered. "Would you like us to leave? Who would you like to talk to?"

Harry assumed McGonagall or even Ginny, as Iset seemed much more comfortable around women, but she surprised him.

"Professor Potter," she said, her voice shaking. She met Harry's eyes, hers brimming with tears. "Can Rose be here?"

Harry parted his lips but wasn't sure what to say. He was a bit taken aback.

"I think...yeah," he finally said. He nodded. "Yeah, if that's what would make you more comfortable, we can get Rose."

"Let's find her," Scorpius suddenly said to Albus. He seemed eager for Rose to join Iset. He turned. "Harry, can Albus and I go get Rose?"

"Not by yourselves," Harry responded.

"I'll take them," Ginny offered. "Lily—with me."

"But—!"

"No backchat!"

"Fine..."

Lily stamped to the doorway after Albus and Scorpius.

"I'll get James, too," Ginny murmured to Harry as she passed by him. "He'll need a Sobering Potion, but luckily we've got plenty leftover from our anniversary."

Harry nodded. "Thanks."

"James?" Draco demanded. "Don't you think enough people know about this already?"

"If Lily and Albus are getting information, James deserves to get it, too," Harry explained. He and Ginny both took the time to give Draco a stern look—daring him to contest them—but he didn't dare.

"Sorted," Ginny said. She patted Draco on the arm as she passed him by. He narrowed his eyes at her as she and the kids—sans Iset—left the office.

"Aggravating woman," he finally growled.

Harry felt a flash of defensiveness. "That's my aggravating woman, okay, so watch your mouth."

Draco gave him a dry look. "I never doubted that for a moment."

"Well...good."

McGonagall cleared her throat. "Let's have tea while we're waiting, shall we?"

Iset was bombarded by three people when the group returned: Rose, James, and Nora.

"That's one more person than we discussed," Draco complained to Harry.

Harry wasn't the least bit surprised by Nora's arrival. "James would tell her absolutely everything anyway, so trust me; it's really not an additional person."

Rose threw her arms around Iset and held her tightly while James and Nora asked fretful, overlapping questions like: 'are you okay?', 'I'm so sorry I wasn't there', 'how can we help?'. Albus still had a tight grip on Scorpius's waist, even though Scorpius was beginning to look less pale. Lily walked over and sat beside Harry at the long table McGonagall had conjured. Harry passed her the mug of tea he'd already made for her.

"I'm over this," Lily told Harry matter-of-factly. "I've got your 'perfect solution': let's snuff Avery and end the drama."

Harry smiled. He reached over and wrapped an arm around Lily, bringing her over long enough to kiss the top of her head. "If only it were that simple, Lulu."

"Trust me," Lily muttered darkly. She took a deep sip and whispered her next words into her mug. "It can be that simple if you want it to be that simple."

Harry rolled his eyes, but he smiled again a moment later as Ginny joined them, settling into the seat on Harry's other side. He passed her her mug. She took an immediate sip.

"Our son is furious," she greeted, her eyes darting over to Albus. His lips were still pressed into a tight, angry line. "I had to talk him down from retaliation three times during our walk back."

"I can't say I'm surprised or that I blame him," Harry admitted. If somebody had violated you that way again...he didn't let himself complete the thought because even the hypothetical situation made his heart rate pick up.

"We've got to do something about this, or the kids are going to do something about it, and it won't end well," she warned lowly.

Harry looked over at James. He was listening to Iset and Rose with his arms crossed tightly in front of his chest, his posture tense. It was his angry, protective stance. And Ginny was right; their children would certainly take matters into their own hands if something wasn't done soon.

"We'll get information and we'll figure something out," he whispered to his wife. She reached over and rested her hand on his thigh in response.

While Albus, Scorpius, Ginny, James, Nora, Lily, Draco, and McGonagall sat at the table, Harry rose. He walked over to where Iset and Rose were talking quietly. He set his hand on Rose's shoulder.

"Let's step through here," he told them both. Rose nodded at once, and even though Iset looked apprehensive, she followed after Rose as Rose gently pulled on her hand.

Harry led them into a small antechamber that led to the Headmistress's living quarters. There was a narrow sofa pushed against the wall to their right, a small table beside it with a vase of red roses atop it, and an old, mustard-yellow velour armchair. Harry gestured towards the sofa and sank down into the armchair. The old cushions gave in with a dusty cough as he sat down; he felt like he was being swallowed.

"Arg," he said. He gripped the arms of the chair tightly and hoisted himself forward. He was sure he looked extremely professional, with his hair flopping into his eyes and his glasses knocked crooked. He perched nervously on the edge of the armchair, afraid to slide back for fear of never returning. Rose gave a tentative giggle from across the dimly lit chamber.

"Okay," Harry said. He righted himself and looked across at his students. Rose and Iset were sitting together in the middle of the sofa. Iset must have told Rose what was happening, because Rose was waiting with a steady patience, her confident eyes on her uncle as she waited for the questions to begin. "First let's...make it cheerier in here." Harry appraised the dim, somewhat-depressing lighting and waved his wand, causing the candles to burn brighter. Better. "Iset, I'd like to start with what happened tonight. Why was Avery unable to cast the Imperius Curse on you?"

He'd honestly thought it'd be the most innocuous question of them all, but she immediately closed up. She cringed into Rose's side and looked at a point as far from Harry as possible. Harry frowned.

"Okay, bad place to begin I'm guessing..."

"It's a good place," Rose argued. She was looking down at Iset. "Iset. It's where it all begins, right? It's a good place to start."

For a moment, Iset did nothing. She'd squeezed her eyes shut, and Harry thought she might remain that way for a while. But gradually, with what could only be described as a result of her trust in Rose and Rose alone, she turned to look up at her. She seemed to be asking her something wordlessly, and while Harry was utterly lost, Rose understood.

"It's okay," Rose nodded. "Next to my dad, Uncle Harry's the best man there is. No ulterior motives. He just wants to help."

Harry—momentarily distracted by the flattery those words ensued—nearly missed the soft exchange that followed. He watched with slight, secondhand embarrassment as Rose reached up and touched Iset's hair. Perhaps she'd intended on brushing it behind her ear. Perhaps she'd intended on patting Iset's cheek reassuringly. Whatever her initial intentions had been, the moment her hand touched Iset's hair, they both froze. Something heavy passed in the air between them, visible even to Harry from across the room. Their gazes locked. For a moment, nobody did anything. Rose's hand was quivering just slightly as she gently pushed strands of wayward hair behind Iset's left ear. Her hand caressed Iset's hair as it fell back down towards her lap. Harry cleared his throat awkwardly.

"Er," he said. "The, er...Imperius Curse?"

"Oh," Iset said, her cheeks darkening in the flickering candlelight. She turned slightly to face Harry. It seemed to take her a moment to order her thoughts; her lips were still curved up in a soft smile. "Yes. Well."

He waited. Rose was examining her still-quivering fingers with a faint smile. Maybe letting Rose join them was a bad idea...he was never going to get answers from Iset at this rate...

"I taught myself how to. How to resist it...the Imperius, I mean. When I was seven. Not alone...my nanny—" she broke off. Her lingering smile fell away. "The woman who used to be my nanny...she helped me."

Harry couldn't do much but stare at Iset, stunned.

"You learned how to throw off the Imperius Curse at age seven?" he finally demanded.

"Yeah," she said, her voice small. "It wasn't...it wasn't a big deal. It wasn't difficult to learn. When you have to do something...well, you've got to, you know? I had to learn how. So I did. Every night, my nanny would read to me, and then we would practice. Over and over again...until I didn't need to practice anymore...until I had it."

Harry didn't want to ask. His skin was crawling and his throat felt tight. Somehow, he thought he probably already knew.

"Your dad," he began. His words were thicker than he would've liked. "Your dad used the Imperius Curse on you."

She looked to the side. She sniffed as she reached up and wiped at her eyes. Rose took Iset's free hand in between both of hers.

"All the time," she admitted. "I probably spent more time Imperiused in my early years than I spent as myself."

He sighed wearily. He rubbed over his scar.

"Okay. I have to ask—it'll be important when we charge him. Can you remember at all why he was Imperiusing you?"

Once again, his question had a collapsing effect. At least he'd expected it this time. He watched with a sick stomach and an even queasier heart as Iset curled up into herself, her cries weak and gasping, like air being let from a balloon. Rose's tear-filled brown eyes glittered as the light flickered off them. Her arm went around Iset's bowed back.

"He—he—wanted me to be like him—" Iset wasn't making much sense; each word was weighed down by multiple sobs.

"Rose...I'm guessing you know?" asked Harry. He knew he really should've insisted on hearing it from Iset's mouth, but he was filled with too much sorrow. He just wanted to make this as easy as possible on her.

"Yes. Iset, do you want me to..." Rose trailed off. After a moment, Iset nodded into her thighs. Rose turned to face Harry, her palm now stroking gently down Iset's spine.

"Iset's mum and dad...they tried to raise her like they were raised, which wasn't anything like how we—or, I guess, how I was raised. They...wanted her to be like them. You know...cold. Violent. Evil."

Evil was the only word Harry felt even slightly encompassed the sickness of Goyle.

"But she wasn't like them. She never was....even as a baby. And by the time she was three, she was arguing with her parents about some of the things they said...and they wouldn't put up with it. So her dad started putting the Imperius Curse on her...at first to make her obey immediately. 'Pick your toys up' or 'go to bed'...stuff like that. But then they started using it to try and make her..."

Rose trailed off. She looked sick.

"I don't really want to..." she looked down at Iset. She seemed to realize this was much harder for Iset to talk about than her, and so she looked back up at Harry. "At first, it was tiny things...they would make her say mean things to her cats. They wouldn't let her have any friends, so beyond them and their friends, those were the only creatures she really interacted with. So they would make her yell and scream and throw things at them while Imperiused until the cats were too frightened to come near her when she was herself again. And then it was bigger things. Hitting them...dousing them in water..." Rose stopped again. She swallowed roughly. "You understand the idea, don't you, Uncle Harry?"

Harry realized his own hands