The Forbidden Book

The color in the sky was fading out to a sort of peachy red in Amsterdam as the crowds began to filter out into the bars and clubs that lined the streets, and a young woman with black hair leaned out the window to survey them.

"The air out here smells SO good, Jen," she said, pulling her head back in the window and smiling at her companion, who was hunched over a small desk in the corner of the hotel room. "Let's go to a club. It's so much fun to watch the Muggles dance, and you might meet some cute guy or something."

"Mm, no…I'm still working on this page." The dark haired girl that she had called Jen was intently studying the yellowed pages of a leather-bound book, just as she had been doing for the last three days. "I can't seem to conjugate this particle properly. I'm not even sure it's a whole word."

"Jenova!" The black haired girl sat on the bed with annoyance. "You haven't moved from that desk since you got that bloody book, and you can't live much longer eating that stale carrot cake. Will you at least agree to go out with me somewhere and eat?" She bounced up and down on the bed, and Jenova looked up at her with no small amount of irritation.

"Sera, I don't want to go out. I've almost got six full pages of this finished, and even working on them in random order, I'm fairly certain that what we have here is the book I've been searching for. Until I'm sure, I can't leave this book alone." Bending her head back over the book, she pushed a strand of her dark brown hair out of her eyes. "I know it's in here somewhere…"

"What is wrong with you? You used to love taking snack breaks and laughing at people trying to dance. Now all you care about is that stupid book…"

"It is not a stupid book!" Jenova stood up from the desk so fast that she knocked the chair backwards onto the floor. Her brown eyes flashed dangerously at her friend, and Serafina's eyes widened. "If all you want to do is play around, then go back to London and sit behind your desk for the rest of your life and pretend that none of this is happening!" As soon as she said it, she knew something was wrong and covered her face with her hands. "Oh my God…was that really me?"

"I told you, you're too stressed out." Standing up, Serafina put an arm around Jenova's shoulders with a smile. "I know this is important to you, but you're being too serious about the whole thing."

"Dammit, Serafina, you know as well as I do what would happen if the Death Eaters were to get a hold of this book and it were the one." Flexing her fingers, she shook her head. "I know it's the one. I can't afford to let it out of my hands."

"You also can't afford to kill yourself over it. I'm sure that your mother wouldn't have wanted that." Jenova was silenced by this, but only for a moment as she looked back up at her friend.

"You're right. I know you're right. Will it make you happy if I go and get some dinner with you?" Serafina nodded in reply, and Jenova smiled as best she could. "All right. Just let me put this book somewhere and we can go." Jenova headed for the bathroom, where she had been hiding the book for the last three days and closed the door.

Absently, she set the book down on the counter as she leaned toward the mirror and gazed at her reflection. To look at her right now, she didn't resemble most people's idea of a witch in her jeans and black v-necked shirt, but this simple appearance quite effectively hid the fact that she was fairly powerful. Her long, dark brown hair was laced with deep red highlights and tied back in a thick braid that fell past her shoulders, tiny flyaway strands floating free around her cheeks. Everything looked in order with the exception of the dark purple circles under her eyes, which stood out against her pale skin like bruises.

Serafina was right; she hadn't been sleeping much in the last few days since she got the book, and it seemed like the only thing on her mind was finding out its secrets and delivering it to Albus Dumbledore, one of the only wizards she had been able to find that shared her concern over the book.

Looking down at her hands, Jenova studied the silver and garnet ring that wound itself around the middle finger of her right hand. It had been her mother's ring long before it ever found its way onto Jenova's desk, and she could still remember playing with it when she was a little girl. A little girl playing with Serafina out on the lawn of their old home, being swung around by her father, one of the Ministry's finest Aurors. Even the memory was starting to become blurry.

Jenova pushed the thoughts back as she reached around and unbraided her hair, then proceeded to brush it out carefully. Perhaps she should just stop trying to translate it and take it to Dumbledore right now, so it would be safe. It would be nice to get back to a magical community and get out of these Muggle clothes. She didn't mind wearing them every now and then, but it was a bit like wearing a mask on Hallowe'en…you wouldn't want to wear it all the time.

With a charm, she rebraided her hair and splashed a little water on her face, Summoning a hand towel to dry herself off before looking around the bathroom for a hiding place for the book. She didn't want to hide it in the same place twice, just in case someone was watching her.

A quiet thump outside the door froze Jenova to the bathroom rug, and she reached for the doorknob slowly, wondering if she should call out to Serafina, to make sure she was all right. Something told her that it wasn't a good idea, though, and she pulled her hand back as quickly as she had put it forward.

The hotel room outside was silent now, an obvious indication that something was very wrong, and Jenova knelt beside the keyhole. Using a simple charm, she widened it just enough so she could peek out into the room. Her body was overcome by a wave of nausea as she surveyed the scene that lay just beyond the door.

Two figures in hooded black robes were moving through the room, searching through the desk and dresser drawers as they came closer to the bathroom. Between the twin beds Serafina lay on the floor, one arm outstretched toward her friend as if she wanted help, but from the accusing blank look in her glassy eyes, Jenova knew that it was too late to help her.

Turning away from the keyhole, Jenova tried to think of what she was supposed to do now. She pulled the book down from the counter and hugged it to her chest as she leaned on the wall. No matter how much she wanted to go to Serafina, she had to get out of the room. Already the Death Eaters were heading for her hiding place, and she squeezed her eyes shut as she Disapparated from the bathroom.

I'm so sorry, Sera.

When she reappeared on the street, Jenova didn't waste a moment looking back at the hotel. She ran as hard as she could away down the street, the book held tightly in one hand. This wasn't going to help anything…she had to figure out where she could go, or they would get the book for sure.

There was only one place to go, she told herself as she squeezed herself into an alleyway to cut across the crowded square. She would have to get to Hogwarts.

* * *

The envelope had a Muggle stamp on it and hadn't arrived by owl, so it didn't take a genius to figure out what was in the envelope or who it was from. The only question left in Jenova's mind was what to do now that she had it.

As soon as she had discovered that the book existed, she had alerted the Ministry of Magic in the hopes they would be able to get to it before the Death Eaters, but much to her dismay they had denied any knowledge whatsoever of Voldemort's re-emergence and returned all her owls unopened. A few days later, however, she had been contacted by a man called Arthur Weasley, who worked in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Department. He wrote that he believed her story and that she should contact Albus Dumbledore as fast as she could.

Dumbledore had been just as concerned as Jenova and had charged her with the important task of finding the book and making sure it was safely delivered to him at Hogwarts, the wizarding school at which he was the headmaster. Jenova had not attended Hogwarts, however, she had been a student at the Greymalkin Academy in Switzerland when she was a child, so she had no idea where the school was. His latest letter had said that if she needed, he would be happy to send someone to get the book, but she was waiting for this Muggle letter to decide whether or not to take him up on the offer.

Jenova worked as head translator for one of the leading wizard publishing companies in London, and although she loved her job dearly, it was rarely a source of excitement. So when this book had come to her attention, hidden away in the stacks of a Muggle bookshop, she had hoped that maybe this was meant to be her small way of fighting against the Death Eaters.

"Miss Kestrel?" One of the office aides Apparated in front of her desk, and she put down the envelope. "This just arrived by owl for you." He was holding a large envelope with a slight bulge in the center.

"Mm, thank you. Just leave in on my desk." The aide did as she requested and Jenova reached over to pick it up with a slight frown. She wasn't expecting a parcel.

Carefully, exercising as much caution as she knew how, Jenova opened the parcel and upended it on her blotter. All at once, her stomach began creeping up into her throat as something small and round fell out onto the blotter and bounced once. Picking it up, she discovered that her feeling of nausea was well warranted, as the thing which had fallen out was her mother's silver and garnet ring. Jenova stared at it for a long moment as if it were a snake about to strike, then picked up the parchment with shaking hands.

As soon as she unfolded it, her stomach stopped creeping upward and dropped to the floor. In bold black ink at the top of the parchment was the icon that every wizard knew to fear…the Dark Mark. Underneath it, there was a short message written in heavy block letters.

Turn over the book and perhaps no one else will be harmed.

The shaking had spread from Jenova's fingers to her whole body as she picked up the ring, understanding now what it meant. This was the ring her father had given to her mother when they were engaged. She would never have taken it off…not unless…

Very slowly, Jenova opened the Muggle letter and examined the photo that was enclosed. Putting aside the Muggle letter, she picked up some ink and parchment and began composing as she held back a scream of tears.

I will pick up the book and deliver it to Hogwarts personally. Please don't try and contact me. I will be in touch.

She sealed the letter with her maroon wax and stood up behind her desk, preparing to head to the Owl Post Office and mail it. Before she did, she reached over and picked up her mother's ring, sliding it onto her middle finger slowly as she tried to blot out the image that crawled to the front of her mind. She wouldn't let them get the book. Not ever.

* * *

It was dark now, even darker since she had turned down another dark alley, and she was running out of options.

Unfamiliar with the Muggle streets and unsure how to get to Hogwarts from here, Jenova had managed to step in a water-filled hole and twist her ankle, making her regret ever wearing these Muggle shoes instead of transfiguring them into her usual boots. So now she was wet, disoriented and in extreme pain as she limped away from the men who were now trailing her as easily as hounds with a scent.

The pain was starting to make her dizzy as she looked around for a place to hide. If she could just figure out where she was, maybe she could Apparate to London and figure out where to go from there. It was the only solution she could see, and started making her way toward the noise and lights of the night clubs.

"Hello, Jenova." The voice seemed to come from the corners around her and she paused for a split second, trying to figure out where to go. In that instant, a figure in a black robe and white, faceless mask Apparated behind her and slipped an arm around her throat. She pushed forward in a feeble attempt to escape, but a soft voice near her ear stopped her.

"Don't struggle," the man said, his breath hot on her skin, and she fell back against him, defeated and shivering.

Two more hooded men Apparated in front of her, and she was sure she could see the taller of them leering at her behind the mask. Through a haze, she could feel a hand reach under her shirt and pull the book free of her waistband.

"S-stop," she groaned softly, trying to pull away again.

"Shut her up," the man in front of her said absently as he began to flip through the book, and the man who had his arm around Jenova's neck tightened his grip as he put a hand over her mouth. Something cold and hard was hidden in his hand, and it pressed against the corner of her mouth, suddenly making her aware that it was a glass bottle. "This is the book," the Death Eater said, looking up at his colleague. "Kill her."

"Leave her to me." The two in front of her Disapparated and the one who maintained a firm grip on her revealed what was in his hand. It was a tiny bottle filled with a blue-green liquid, and he pushed the cork off without releasing her, then forced the contents of it into her mouth as she tried weakly to struggle. The liquid was cold and bitter as it flooded over her tongue and an incredible heaviness settled almost immediately on her chest.

Poison, she thought as she began to black out, losing feeling in her extremities first and falling forward toward the ground. The Death Eater reached out to catch her and she tried to push him away, catching the sleeve of his robe with her hand and tearing it.

The last thing she saw before she lost consciousness was the image of the Dark Mark burned into his left forearm, and her eyes closed slowly.

…Death Eaters…