"You were with Gabriel when you found her?" Dumbledore asked me.

I was standing in his circular office at Hogwarts, looking at the photographs of past Headmaster and Mistresses with great interest. Dumbledore was sitting at his desk looking very concerned about the news I had brought him. He no doubt was thinking the same thing Gabriel had been when we moved the girl's body—I was in more danger then originally thought if the killer was close enough to place the girls body only a block from where Gabriel and I had been.

"Yes," I said looking at the Professor. "I was, and I'd rather nobody else know about that."

Dumbledore nodded his head. "Very well. Miss Coleman, I think there is a very high chance that the killer meant to kill you that night—but because you were with Gabriel he didn't."

I sighed and shrugged my shoulders. "Perhaps. But then that means that he had to go get another girl to kill when he realized I was with Gabriel. You're suggesting that he just had this girl's body on hand ready to go."

"I know it's a frightening thought, but it is completely possible that he had been keeping her prisoner somewhere before bringing her to the block to be killed."

"That is frightening and it means I'm not doing my job well enough."

Dumbledore sighed. "Cadence, this is not your responsibility alone."

"Professor," I responded quickly with some annoyance as I crossed my arms over my chest. "The Muggle papers are calling him the Tattoo Killer. He has a name to them! He is a serial killer! And they only know half of the story!"

The room around me began to shake with my anger and raised voice. Dumbledore sat in his chair very calmly as the room shook. All of the people in the photographs screamed and gripped the side of their frames as if hoping that would stop them from falling off the wall. What stopped them is me getting a grip on myself and controlling my powers. When I looked back at Dumbledore he was frowning at me with sullen eyes. I bit my bottom lip, put my hands on my hips and turned away from him. I didn't want to be lectured by the old man.

"I'm not going to lecture you," he whispered. "Just simply suggest that you get a hold of yourself, Cadence. You need to be using Legilimency all the time, and it will help you control your emotions. Perhaps that will help you find this monster and stop him."

"I can't control my emotions or powers because I'm so stressed out about this guy!"

"You are letting them rule you then," said Dumbledore. "And if you do that the results could be disastrous. I'm going to write to Gabriel and demand him to come back. You need his help with your powers."

"No," I said quickly. "No, don't do that."

Dumbledore raised his eyebrows at me and I could read in his crystal blue stare that the decision had already been made. Gabriel was coming back to England because of me. I was still a little girl in Dumbledore and Gabriel's eyes and they had to set me straight. I shook my head and bit my bottom lip to control my anger. There was nothing else to be said so I walked out of Dumbledore's office, slamming the door behind me—a very childish thing to do.

Students were between classes when I left the office. A rumble of anger followed me as I walked by students and teachers causing pictures to shake off of walls and statues to lean over. The crowd of students parted as I marched down the hall, clearly looking upset. People's eyes followed me and the destruction that I was causing as I walked by. All talking stopped so people could stare at me with fear. I realized that my actions and lack of control caused people to question my power and reputation even more then before. I sighed and tried to relax.

As I brushed my hair behind my ear I caught sight of a tall blonde haired boy standing at the end of the hall. His dark blue eyes locked with mine for only a moment, and he turned away, intimidated by my stare. As soon as he turned away a rage that I hadn't felt in a long time rose in me. I had the sudden desire to take my wand and kill the boy as he walked away, constantly looking over his shoulder at me. I had stopped in the middle of the hall, not moving as everyone moved around me, staring at me awkwardly and nervously. My head was splitting with pain—something about that boy had triggered the connection that my Father and I shared. Now I could only feel my Father's rage toward the boy, so I also felt that way about him even though I had never met him. I rubbed my temples to push my Father from my mind. I had to get rid of his presence and his emotions.

I looked up and the boy was gone. It was the most peculiar thing for many reasons. First of all, I hadn't had a mental connection to my Father in years, to have it so suddenly was very confusing. Secondly, what kind of grudge would my Father have against a teenage boy at Hogwarts? I didn't recognize the boy at all, but I supposed it was possible that he was the son of a witch or wizard who needed to be persuaded to join the Death Eaters…or maybe he was the son of someone who had betrayed my Father. I wasn't very sure, but I knew I needed answers—I couldn't just ignore my Father's rage.

I moved down the corridor quickly in the same direction that the boy had moved. The crowd was thinning because class was about to start. I saw the boy disappear down the steps to the dungeon and broke into a run to follow him. As I reached the bottom of the steps I saw the boy's blonde haired head diving into a classroom, he was probably hoping he had lost me. I marched down the hall and walked into the classroom before the teacher could shut it.

"Miss Coleman!" said Professor Slughorn with great surprise. I could see in his beady eyes a bit of anxiety at seeing me. I smiled at him.

"Hello, Professor! It's so good to see you," I forced a pleasant attitude. "Before you get too far into class, can I talk to this young man for just a moment?"

"Yes, yes of course," said Slughorn looking to the blonde haired boy I had pointed at. "Mr. Jasper, you can go on."

The pale boy looked at me with a nasty glare. He was a very handsome young man—hardly a boy—now that I could see him close up. He stood up slowly when Slughorn gave him a scolding look and asked him to go outside with me again. I walked out into the hall and he followed, crossing his arms over his chest. He was well built for his age and taller then me. I sighed and folded my hands behind my back.

"You know who I am?" I asked.

He nodded.

"You have me at a disadvantage then Mr. Jasper," I whispered. "What's your name?"

He was silent and I shifted my weight to my left leg, sticking my hip out.

"Look," I said. "I'm not here to kill you or anything. I just want to know who you are."

"And why I ran from you?"

"Well if there's a reason, then yea that'd be nice."

"You wouldn't kill me," he said with a nod of his head.

I sighed with frustration. "What's your name?"

"Nero," he said. I nodded my head and looked him up and down again. He was probably only a year younger then me…hell, he could have been the same age as me.

"Why did you run from me?"

"You're the daughter of the Dark Lord," he said. "Wouldn't you run?"

"Do you have something to hide Nero?" I asked stepping closer to him.

"No," he said too quickly for my liking and taking a step back. "And don't use Legilimency on me!" He tore his eyes away from me so I couldn't read his mind. I smiled slightly. He was a smart kid.

"Are you afraid of me because you know I'm not for my Father?"

He looked me sharply in the eye.

"I am not a follower of Voldemort," he said boldly speaking my Father's name, which not many people did these days. I stood up straight.

"But your parents are?" I asked.

Nero hesitated and nodded.

I nodded. "Alright. You should go back to class." I passed him and began to walk away.

"What do you want with me?"

"I just wanted to know why you ran," I said with a shrug as I looked over my shoulder. "See you around."

I bounded up the stairs to the Entrance Hall. When I reached Dumbledore's office he looked greatly surprised to see me.

"What's the matter Miss Coleman?" he asked.

"I want to know everything there is to know about Nero Jasper," I said taking a long breath because I had just run from the entrance hall to the seventh floor office. Dumbledore raised his eyebrows at me and crossed his arms behind his back. He moved away from the cabinet he had been lookin into when I entered the office and looked at me closely.

"Why Mr. Jasper?"

"When I saw him in the hallways as I left I had a connection with my Father's emotions. I haven't had a connection in years, Dumbledore."

Dumbledore took in the information with no facial expressions to reveal his concern or surprise. He simply nodded his head once, turned away from me and sat down at the desk.

"Mr. Jasper is one of the finest students out of Slytherin," said Dumbledore folding his hands on his desk. "He's a seventh year, his parents both went here and were in Slytherin."

"He admitted to me that they were Death Eaters."

"I have known that for sometime," Dumbledore nodded.

"We're watching them?"

"No," Dumbledore shook his head. "Nero came to me a before Christmas, concerned that his parents were Death Eaters, and offered to help us by spying on them. When I asked him to report on his holiday he told me that he had nothing to report, and he wished I'd leave him be."

"That's a sudden change," I whispered leaning back in a chair. "Do you think they found out?"

"That he was going to report to me, yes," whispered Dumbledore. "For now he is safe here, and I think he will be fine when he leaves Hogwarts if he joins the Order. Unless his parents were doing something very important for your Father, he should be fine. Telling us that they are Death Eaters doesn't threaten them."

"Not in this day in age," I stood up straight and fixed my cloak. "I find it harder and harder to trust the people closest to me with each passing day."

"Is something else bothering you besides the Tattoo Killer?"

"Don't go calling him that too," I stood up straight and pointed at Dumbledore, who frowned and apologized.

"You're avoiding my question though."

"Why don't you just peer into my mind with Legilimency?"

"Because, you're blocking me," said Dumbledore with a half smile. He peered at me over his half moon spectacles and I felt my heart quicken with nervousness. Albus Dumbledore had the greatest Legilimency powers I had ever met, maybe only challenged by my Father. I was so surprised that he said I was blocking him that I let my guard down, allowing him to penetrate my mind with his stunning crystal blue eyes. The old man laughed and shook his head. "Don't let your emotions get the best of you, Cadence."

"Thanks," I said sarcastically. "I think that's all. We need to watch Nero Jasper, Dumbledore."

"He is safe here."

I sighed and nodded my head. "Don't let your guard down."

Dumbledore smiled and nodded. "Thank you for the advice."

That evening, Dumbledore had scheduled a meeting in Remus's basement, for all of us to discuss the most recent murder. I had vowed that this murdered was done, the previous kill was going to be his last, even if it meant that I killed him. I was so anxious, I was tapping my wand on the table in Remus's basement quickly as he and James put chairs around it.

"Cadence?" Lily questioned as she put a tea tray on the table. James went to the cabinet in the far corner of the basement and opened it, pulling out some small whiskey glasses. Remus followed, grabbing a bottle of fire whiskey out of the cabinet.

"What?" I asked looking up at my best friend with raised eyebrows. She stood up straight and crossed her arms over her chest, staring at me.

"Nervous?"

"No," I said readjusting in my seat. "Just anxious."

"Where is Padfoot?" James asked.

"Upstairs with Ales," I whispered. Alessandro had come with us to the meeting. When we arrived early, Sirius and Alessandro had remained upstairs discussing something. I thought it was very odd, considered that the day before Sirius had warned me not to trust Alessandro. "They've been buddy-buddy for the last twenty four hours."

"Odd," said Remus looking up the stairs. "Sirius doesn't trust anyone."

"Maybe he's trying to trust Alessandro," said James.

"Or finding more of a reason not to trust him," Lily said sharply. James gave her a harsh glare and Lily shrugged innocently. She kissed James cheek, apologizing for the low blow at his best friend. He seemed to forgive her immediately because he put his hand on her pregnant stomach and kissed her neck as he wrapped his arms around her.

I sat silently as the other three laughed and talked. There voices were so far away, despite them being in the same room as me. I was thinking about Gabriel. No one knew that Gabriel had been with me when we found the girl on the park bench, and I wished to keep it that way for the sake of my very fragile relationship with Sirius. I bit my bottom lip. What did it mean that I was hiding meetings with Gabriel from everyone? Was I having an emotional and mental affair with Gabriel because I wanted to hid our meetings? If that were the case I had been having an affair with Gabriel since we met when I was fifteen. I frowned as the thought raced through my mind. As if on cue, Gabriel entered the basement at that moment, followed by Albus Dumbledore.

I frowned even more and looked away, standing up to pour myself some tea. The room grew silent around me, no doubt waiting for my reaction to Gabriel's arrival. For all Lily, James and Remus knew this was the first time I was seeing Gabriel in two years. I don't think James and Remus realized how much I missed Gabriel or had been writing to him in attempts to bring him back. Lily however, knew ever degree of my pain. The only person who knew the depth of mine and Gabriel's relationship was Lily simply because she was the only person I could talk to about it.

"I'll go upstairs and get Sirius and Alessandro," said Remus awkwardly.

"I think we're also waiting on Moody, then." James added.

"He will not be coming," said Dumbledore. "He's out patrolling London."

I looked up at this. "I should be out with him then."

"He has it under control, Cadence," said Gabriel softly.

All I could do was glare at him.

"Should we leave you two alone to catch up?" Lily said coolly, trying to cut the tension in the room.

"No," I said crossly. "Gabriel would be dead when you all got back."

Gabriel laughed out loud as Remus appeared at the bottom of the steps with Sirius and Alessandro behind him. Sirius's eyes fell on Gabriel instantly and I saw them look at him blankly, which surprised me. I expected hatred to burn from Sirius's pupils. Alessandro moved forward to greet his cousin, which seemed forced and awkward; just as awkward as me not greeting Gabriel.

"How've you been putting up with Cadence?" Gabriel asked.

"Just fine," Alessandro said. "She's not as cold as you made her out to be."

"I'm sitting right here you know!" I snapped. Both men grinned a similar, heart breaking grin at me and I nearly died. Sirius came over and stood behind my chair, putting his hand on my shoulder. I put my hand on my chin and looked away from Gabriel.

"Let's get started," said Dumbledore motion to everyone to take a seat. "It will just be us tonight." Everyone took their seats slowly. Dumbledore sat at the head of the table, with Gabriel on his right and Remus on his left, me next to him. Alessandro sat next to Gabriel, across from me, and Sirius on my right. James and Lily were between Alessandro and Sirius.

"There are so few of us here because the matters concerning the murders of young Muggle women have been kept to you few alone," said Dumbledore. "Last night, Cadence discovered another body within a block of where she was meditating on a park bench with in a few blocks of the Potter's flat. I have spoken to Moody and Gabriel about this and we all fear that Cadence is in more danger then we, and even she, realized."

"I'm fine," Cadence said quickly.

Dumbledore gave her a steady glance over his glasses and then turned his attention back to the table before him. "Cadence, if you please."

Cadence snapped her fingers and the tack board with the clues she and Moody had found appeared. At the top of the board was a line of papers with names and question marks on them. The first two papers had large question marks on the center of the pages, and below in parentheses 'accomplice' was written followed by another question mark. The next two pieces of paper read the names Emanuel Carson and Abraham Carson. Emanuel's name had a red X written over it, and Abraham's had a red question mark. There was another piece of paper after Abraham's with a question mark on it.

Cadence stood up and moved to the floating cork board. She motioned to the nine pictures of the victims on the board.

"We have ten victims, nine dead, one managed to survive but she has no memory of her attacker," she whispered. "These four we believe were killed by the first murderer," she motioned to the first piece of paper with a question mark. "These next three by another murderer. We're presuming they are different murderers because of the time the Dark Mark is tattooed on their arm is different. The eighth victim was killed by the Carson brothers. Ales managed to kill Emanuel before he and his brother could kill the ninth victim. We're assuming that Voldemort has killed Abraham for his incompetence, but I'd rather not assume so I'd still be on the look out for him. Our last victim was found last night. There are two possibilities: that she was murdered by the Carson brothers and put on ice, then placed on the park bench by a fifth person, or pervious killer, or we have a fifth murderer."

I took a slow breath and looked around at the people around me. "Basically, more innocent women are dying because they look like me and we have no idea who is doing it. The Death Eaters are always a step ahead, and for all we know they've killed two more women by now."

"Voldemort is trying to get to you," said Gabriel. I blinked and looked at him blankly. I wasn't expecting him to say anything, and frankly I was annoyed that he had the nerve to say anything at all. He had been in Italy for the last two years, what gave him the right to discuss anything that had happened in the last few months here in England?

"He's getting under your skin by killing innocent women who truly have no connection to you, that's why he's killing Muggles. He wants you to get angry and come after the people killing those girls," Gabriel continued. "He knows you well, Cadence…you're not the 'stand-around-and-let-it-happen' type. He knows you're going to come after the Death Eaters hurting these girls. And if you do you'll be playing into his hand."

"You're right," I said putting my hand on my hips. "I'm not the 'stand-around-and-let-it-happen' type, which is why I'm going to meet up with Moody as soon as we're done here."

"No," Sirius said quickly. "I can't let you do that, Cadence."

"Frankly, Sirius you have no control over me," I said.

"You're my girlfriend," he said quickly. "You can't just go parading outside when it's incredibly dangerous for you to do so. You have to stop thinking about yourself; you have responsibility to me as the man you love. If you love me, Cadence you will stay in where it is safe."

I stared at him for a long time, waiting for fear to appear in his eyes, but it never came. He wasn't afraid of losing me like he made it seem. I sighed and turned away.

"I've done what you asked, Dumbledore," I said snapping my fingers, making the cork board disappear. "I've updated everyone on the Tattoo Killer. Now, if you will excuse me."

I marched towards the stairs and up to the main level of the house. I heard people yelling after me, but I didn't care. They could yell all they wanted, I wasn't going to sit on my ass and let another girl die because she looked like me. I pulled my cloak on as I left the house, slamming the door behind me. I Apperated on the spot, hoping no one would be able to find me.