Poison Fairytales

Chapter 7: Where To Park Your Broomstick

By: Jondy Macmillan

Disclaimer: The world of Harry Potter belongs to JK Rowling, not me. If it belonged to me, the couplings would be primarily slash, and there's a good chance Hermione's dearest dream would be to become a stripper. This is not because I hate Hermione, mind you. I like her muchly. However I tend to think anyone that self restrained has an inner nympho. Anyway, all characters within Poison Fairytales with the exception of Ron Weasley, and all locales with the exception of Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, Durmstrang, and the Ministry (and the obvious; LONDON) belong to me, Jondy Macmillan. Yay me.

A/N: Due to the obscenely long disclaimer, there is no author's note today. Yay you!

A/N2: Minor correction; in the scene in chapter six where Casey bumps into Bobby and Prue talking at the gala and Prue says she was telling Bobby how much she loved him; Casey looks up and says Dirk, looking for the boy that imperius-ed his girlfriend into screwing around- that should be Joshua, obviously.


"Hey handsome," Conrad glanced up. A lovely woman in a white dress was looking at him expectantly, "Last time I saw you, I think you were beating your brother up with a cricket bat."

"Do I know you?" Conrad tried to place her oddly familiar face. He hadn't played cricket for ages, and he didn't remember this pretty stranger ever watching.

"You know of me," the woman corrected, extending a hand, "Prue Gelliston. But you can call me Precious."

"I am not calling you that," Conrad reeled back, suddenly remembering the face of this girl. He'd only seen her in the yearbook and glimpses on their missions, or so he'd thought. Now he remembered her sweet smile and pretty face in a different setting. Arcadia had been right. Prue had been at that wedding when he was nine. He remembered her blurrily smiling at him that night.

Prue shrugged, "Have it your way."

"Why are you even talking to me?" Conrad demanded.

"You're Casey's little brother. I love Casey, and by default, I love you."

"That's twisted. I'm not into threesomes," he growled, but she simply smiled.

"I bet I could change your mind."

"I have a girlfriend," he retorted.

"The witch with the bright pink dress," she observed.

"No. She's just a friend."

Prue pursed her lips, "You know Con, if you love her, you should be with her. Not your girlfriend.

You think you have forever, but really…" Prue snapped her fingers.

Conrad couldn't help it. Maybe it was the way she'd called him Con, just like Harper. Maybe it was the steel that had just materialized in her eyes. Determined that his words would be true, he spat,, "We will have forever. I'll protect Harper, the way Casey couldn't protect you."

Prue's eyes narrowed, "I could snap you in a second," she purred, "And your little not-girlfriend."

"Not now. I'm all grown up. I can take you or anything else that comes at me."

"No. You're just a little boy, Conrad. You and Casey are both little boys in some ways, pretending to be men."

As Conrad was about to reply, a disturbance in the crowd drew Prue's attention. Clucking her tongue softly she said, "You see. Fist fights at a ministry gala. How childish. I better go save him."

She was gone before he could say a word.


Bloody and defenseless, Joshua Kenth lay slumped against a brick wall. The wetness of the asphalt was soaking through his slacks, but Joshua couldn't bring himself to care. He was hypnotized by the hypnotic violet eyes of the pixy-like girl crouching before him.

"Joshua," Elanore smiled, reveling in what he'd just told her, "I think it's time to play a game."

"I like games," he told the dark haired girl with a wicked grin, even as he coughed so hard that he couldn't breath. He looked at his palm. Great, blood. How in the hell did he let Elanore catch him? It had been an accident. So careless these days. He never thought one miniscule young woman would be more tricky than a horde of goblins.

"So do I. You're just as glad as I am we're back together, aren't you?" Elanore purred, placing a kiss on her lover's lips.

"Of course, Ellie," Joshua replied darkly, forcing himself not to shrink away from her touch, "Of course I am."

"Good," Elanore sat back, satisfied, "Then I guess we'll be visiting Gradaver. Our wayward Precious has been very, very mischievous."

Joshua gulped. If Gradaver Moerte didn't kill him first, Casey Hargrove would have his head.


"Did you hear about the famous auror that's coming to visit?" Noah demanded, barging into Casey's room near three in the morning. A startled, decidedly feminine voice shrieked as the owner of the voice ducked under Casey's comforter, and Noah blinked.

Casey was half naked, wearing reading glasses and pretending to read a book upside down.

"It's just me, mate," Noah announced, "And that was pretty obvious, you know?"

Sheepishly, Prue came out from under the quilt, "Can't you even attempt to knock?"

"I could, but I have to keep Hargrove on his feet," Noah came and sat down on the bed, ignoring the hot looks Casey was throwing his way, "How are you, Prue?"

"I'm good," she wrinkled her nose, "And Frank's good. I know you're dying to ask. He said he'll come around tomorrow."

"I don't see why we can't just have Joshua imperious him too," Noah complained.

"Joshua doesn't have the balls or the strength to carry out two curses at once," Casey replied despondently, "And Prue flies lower under Gradaver's radar than Frank does. I don't know how your boy got into such a high position."

"I do," Prue chirped, and then coughed something that sounded vaguely like 'hand-job' but was cut off near the end as she realized who she was telling.

Noah paled, "You can't be serious."

Frantically, Prue said, "No, no! Joking, I swear."

"Oh," Noah lightened.

"By the way, Weslen," Prue asked, face suddenly hard, "I've been meaning to ask you. Why exactly does my boyfriend's thigh say 'Property of Noah' in black marker?"

Noah reddened, as did Casey. Indignantly, the redhead asked, "Where?"

"Right below your bum, behind your left leg. On the back side, obviously Casey," Prue rolled her eyes as Casey tried to find said marks.

"When did you?" Casey demanded of Noah.

"Two months ago. We were drunk. It's an old habit. Sorry, Hargrove," Noah apologized, looking completely not sorry. Casey scowled; he had liked the old, serious Noah. The reincarnated happy-go-lucky version got up to no good.

"Look at it this way. At least now you match Polaris and Frank," Prue fondly recalled the markings Noah had made in the Hogwart's days. She particularly remembered how red Serendipity's face had turned when she found Polaris's. Noah's permanent, real magic, magic marker was quite the trouble-making tool.

"Just remember though," Prue added in a cold voice, "Casey belongs to me."

"Sure thing," Noah gulped, wondering when Prue Gelliston had managed to get so scary. Oh wait, probably when she died.

Glancing back and forth between his girlfriend and his colleague, Casey said, "So, uh, famous auror?"

"Oh, right. Actually, the only reason I came to tell you is that apparently they're going after Gradaver. I don't think they know they're going after Gradaver. Actually, the owl they sent mentioned the 'infidel' who had been 'trespassing with intent to conspire' in the International Ministries. No mention of the murder of low level officials or anything. Just trespassing."

"So who is it?" Casey asked.

"An auror from Prague. Part of a famous team…" Noah trailed off impishly.

Casey paled. Figuring he'd messed with the redhead enough, Noah announced, "Elsinore."

"Oh," Casey breathed, "It's just her."

"Just who? Casey," Prue prodded.

"You haven't heard of Elsinore and Ebony? They're like the…like the Cloak and Dagger of the dark wizard catching world. Sisters," Noah chewed on his lower lip, "No one even knows their real names except for their super close personal acquaintances, ain't that right Hargrove?"

"Why do you keep asking Casey?" Prue wondered.

Noah smirked, "Oh, you'll see. Stick around until early tomorrow morning. That's when she gets here. She'll be staying two rooms down the hall. But actually I lied. I don't know if it's Elsinore or Ebony who's coming."

With that said, Noah disappeared. Casey was glaring furiously after the man, but it did nothing to make him re-appear or take back his words. Even though Prue spent the rest of the night pestering him to talk about the famous auror pairing, he refused to say anything, just turned sort of pale and green.


At dawn, Noah, Casey, Audra Dusserre, Wilhelm Buckland, Chalcedony Chase, and Prue all gathered on the lawn outside Willowcrest Manor. Audra spent half of her time giving Prue distrustful glares, while Wilhelm was trying to sidle up to the brunette and ask her out. Ignoring the old man, Prue engaged in a conversation about gardening with Chalcedony, although to Casey's knowledge, Prue knew nothing about gardens.

At half past seven, quite promptly, an auror in a thick black cloak appeared on the lawn. The woman beneath the cloak was barely five foot four, but she took confident strides over to the group. She had wild, wavy chestnut colored hair tumbling out of the hood of her cloak and spilling over her breasts. Causally dressed beneath the cloak in a simple, elegant black suit, the first person the woman acknowledged was Wilhelm.

In a clear voice, the woman asked, "I presume you are the headmaster?"

Startled, Wilhelm Buckland opened his mouth to object, but was cut off.

"CK!" Casey cheered, and the pretty brunette turned.

"Casey!" she ran straight for him, and everyone was startled as he opened his arms to give her a bear hug. Prue frowned.

Quickly realizing that introductions should be made, Casey released the auror and said, "Prue, this is Claudia Katarine Perris. She's an auror from Prague I attended Willowcrest with."

Prue raised an eyebrow, "Are you Elsinore or Ebony?"

"Elsinore," Claudia Katarine replied happily, "And you are?"

"They call me Precious," Prue cocked her head to the side.

Casey paused. For some reason Prue looked sort of mad. What had he done wrong? He removed his glasses and rubbed them clean with part of his shirt, as though that would make the problem clearer. Unfortunately, when he put them back on, Prue still looked irritated.

"Is the headmaster here, Casey?" Claudia Katarine asked in a thick accent.

"No, why? I can help you with whatever you need."

"So accommodating," Prue piped in childishly.

"Well, you'll see in a second," Claudia Katarine replied enigmatically. She didn't seem eager to stick around for Casey to find out however, and scurried off to introduce herself to Audra, Noah, Chalcedony, and Wilhelm.

Seconds later, everyone turned as they heard a loud crack. Casey turned white as a sheet as another woman in a cloak threw herself at him. This one was taller, with messy black hair and alabaster skin. She looked like a panther who had just found her lunch as she pressed herself up against Casey.

"Nadine," Casey squeaked.

"Casey," the woman practically purred, "I've missed you."

"Uh," the redhead replied eloquently.

"Haven't you missed me?" a sultry pout took over the woman's very red lips.

"Excuse me," Prue jumped between the two quickly, looking even more aggravated than before, "I don't believe we've been introduced, Miss er-."

"My name is Vanadine Delilah Perris," the woman replied snootily, eyeing Prue like she was some sort of noxious bug.

"What's that make you," Prue snorted rudely, "VD?"

"Jus Nadine," the woman replied icily, "I'm Casey's girlfriend."

There was a moment of silence. Very, very, uncomfortable silence.

"Hmm, see I was under the impression that I was Casey's girlfriend," Prue shot a nasty look towards a very uncomfortable Hargrove, "And I'm not often wrong about these things."

"She's my ex-girlfriend," Casey jumped in, his voice panicked, "We broke up when she got involved with another guy."

Prue levelly met Nadine's annoyed gaze. The dark haired woman blinked first and then said, "Casey stumbled upon me and a friend in a compromising situation. But I've come to win you back. Seeing the competition I'm sure it won't be a problem."

"Bint," Prue muttered.

"I think I have to…um," Casey thought frantically for some sort of excuse, "Go show CK her room!"

With that said, Casey ran, grabbed the brunette auror's arm and dragged her into the manor.

"I suppose that means he won't be showing you yours," Prue raised an eyebrow.

"I'll be sleeping in his," Nadine replied confidently.

"It'll be a tight fit then," Prue said levelly, "Since he'd spend most of the time cowering between us like a scared bunny rabbit."

"Shame. Casey's a fine man," Nadine drawled, examining her nails.

"Cocky bastard is more like it," Prue muttered under her breath.

Suggestively Nadine said, "If you don't want him…?"

"I never said that."

Quizzically, Nadine finally raised her dark eyes, "You know he doesn't love you, right?"

Narrowing her eyes, Prue asked, "What are you talking about?"

"Casey's in love with some dead girl. That's why he really dumped me."

"He told you about her?" Prue asked, surprised.

"No, but he said her name in his sleep. I checked it out. I think her name was Prudence something…His heart belongs to her. You can't ever win. Trust me, I tried."

Prue half smiled, "By the way, we haven't been introduced."

"Oh?" Nadine asked disinterestedly.

"I'm Prue Gelliston," Prue cocked her head, "And since you already know, you should back off. Ten years ago or now, I'll always want Casey," Prue met the auror's eyes with a fierce look, "He belongs to me."


"No, no, no," Harper chided her boyfriend, "You're not doing this right."

"I don't get it," Conrad groaned, trying the spell again, "Maleficus fera orior!"

He waved his wand lamely at the glass jar in front of him, but nothing happened.

"You're doing it wrong," Harper protested, but she was cut off by Professor Dusserre.

"You're not just doing it wrong," the curvaceous teacher scolded, "You're butchering the entire art of it. Here, let me show you. Maleficus fera orior!"

A single swish of her wand, and Audra Dusserre had produced the perfect bottle genie. The tiny, twig like creature was molded of blue and purple and gold, soft to the touch, and would at any moment grant three wishes.

"See?" Professor Dusserre asked with a satisfied smirk, "Defluo."

The bottle genie instantly evaporated.

"You coddle them too much," Professor Weslen's voice cut in sharply, "How about this, Hargrove? If you and Valente don't create one of these little buggers before class is out, you can spend time with me during lunch practicing."

Conrad groaned, and Harper scowled at him, "See, now you have to!"

Today they were having a joint class between Advanced Alchemy and Charms. However, Professor Dusserre had been twitchy all morning, and Noah had been incredibly snappish. It was sort of off putting.

Conrad and Harper spent the rest of the period trying to get the spell right. It was only in the last five minutes of class did they manage to create their very own, albeit slightly hyper bottle genie.

"You do realize it's not supposed to bounce up and down like that, right?" Professor Weslen asked keenly, "I could keep you for this."

"Oh, please don't," Harper pleaded, banging her head into the table.

"Fine. But if you come into class tomorrow and can't perform this spell perfectly, I can't promise anything," the man half-smiled, "Now hurry and leave before Audra sees you escape."

Discretely, Conrad and Harper slipped out of the classroom, racing down the hall until they were out of the manor. Gasping for breath, Harper said, "I think it's safe."

Conrad pecked the dark haired girl on the lips, and smirked, "Me too."

He darted in for a more involved kiss, but abruptly pulled back when he noticed a certain brunette eying them with a distasteful look on his face.

"Ben. Geez mate, don't sneak up on us like that," Conrad admonished. Harper turned to guiltily face her almost-ex boyfriend. To her great relief, he didn't look too torn up to find them snogging on the porch. This may have been because Avarick and Chauncey were standing directly behind him.

"Hey," Avarick frowned, hands on her hips, "Are we going to Nataraja or are we going to stand around gabbing all day?"

Avarick had been in a foul mood all day. It had been her idea to go to Nataraja, probably to see if being around Shilpa would put Harper and Conrad into the same state as her. However, Harper doubted there was anything that could bring her down from the particular brand of happiness Conrad was delivering. She'd never felt quite this way before, even back in Hogwarts when they were dating.

To their surprise, when they reached Nataraja Shilpa wasn't the perky hostess behind the stand. Instead it was a pretty girl with shiny dark hair and a faintly sarcastic smile.

"Welcome to Nataraja. How many, please."

"Er, five," Benvolio said nervously, wondering where Shilpa was. He didn't like change very much.

"Oh!" Shilpa scurried up to them, "Hey!"

The dark haired girl turned, "Are these regulars?"

"Yeah. Guys, this is my cousin Chandrika," Shilpa announced with a big smile, "She's going to be helping out round here."

"I prefer to be called Cherice," the girl said politely, "But didi refuses to do so."

"Didi?" Chauncey inquired.

"It means big sister," Cherice explained.

"Oh."

They ate lunch quietly. Cherice was their server. Despite the large smiles Shilpa occasionally cast their way, Harper noticed that she would sometimes look longingly towards Conrad. Harper couldn't seem to quash the shame she felt for breaking Shilpa and Conrad up.

He saw her pushing her food around her plate and asked, "Harpy, are you okay?"

"I'm good. It's just," she nodded towards Shilpa, "I feel bad."

Conrad placed a comforting hand on her knee, "Don't worry, Harpy. I'll take care of you, no matter what."

After they'd finished lunch, their friends started down the path back to Willowcrest. Conrad pulled Benvolio aside.

Icily, Ben asked, "What do you think you're doing Hargrove?"

"I have a favor to ask you," Conrad scowled, "Don't think I want to be doing this."

"Way to persuade me," Ben growled, but expectantly waited for the redhead to speak.

"If anything ever happens to me, you'll take care of Harper, right?"

Benvolio blinked, "What would ever happen to you?"

"Look, just answer the question. You'd take care of her for me, right?'

"This is a stupid question," Benvolio frowned, "She's yours now. You take care of her."

"Promise me," Conrad said fiercely, "Please."

"Um…okay. Sure, why not. But only till I find someone better," he half smiled to show it was a joke.

"There's no one better than Harper," Conrad grinned.

"I know."


They were on a mission. Technically, they were supposed to be hunting down the alleged serial muggle killer in Knightsbridge. However, the rain was thick and visibility was low, and they had actually given up the hunt awhile ago.

"I'm bored," Nadine smacked her lips together, "Why don't we go back to Willowcrest and you can show me your room, tiger?"

Casey frowned at the auror, "I don't know if you noticed, Nadine, but I have a girlfriend."

"Yeah, leave him alone, Nadine," Claudia Katarine drawled, "He doesn't want you."

"Get bent, CK," Nadine told her sister.

"So cruel. I'm gone," dramatically, Claudia Katarine apparated away. Seconds later, Nadine pursed her lips and followed. Casey frowned. He wasn't sure why he'd gotten stuck with the auror sisters for this mission in the first place. Just because he'd known them in the past, the headmaster seemed to feel it was his duty to baby sit them.

Speaking of babysitting, Casey wondered how Joshua was doing. He was supposed to report in the previous night, but Casey had been too distracted to notice. It was just as he was thinking this that Casey heard the noise and saw the flash of light. It had been dim in the constant downpour, but he'd seen it. Following his instinct, Casey ran in the direction of the commotion.

"Hello?" He called out against his better judgment, "Is anyone there? Do you need help?"

"No," to his surprise, the voice that replied was all too familiar, "No help needed here."

She giggled, but her voice sounded off. It was as if she was crying.

"Prue?" Making his way through the thick rain, Casey found Prue slumped at the side of a building. There was a dead man on the ground next to her, blood soaking his shirt.

"Prue," he gasped, "What happened? What are you doing here?"

"I don't know what happened! I thought Joshua was supposed to fix this!" she exclaimed in a choked sob, holding her head in her face, "I though this was supposed to stop!"

"Come back to Willowcrest with me," he said gently, "Then you can tell me what's happened."

"No Casey!" Prue screamed, startling him, "I won't go back with you. Not now, not ever!"

"What are you talking about?" he asked, thoroughly confused. The rain was getting thicker now; big, fat drops splattered on his nose and into his eyes, making it hard to see. The blood pooling around the man's body was dissipating into puddles created by the rain.

Realization hardening her features, Prue drove one hand into the thinning blood, her palm staining red. Pulling back, Prue lifted her hand, raindrops causing the stains of crimson to drip down the lines of her palm and onto her wrist. For a few seconds, it looked like she had cut open her veins.

"Do you see this? Casey Hargrove, do you see this?" she shrieked, voice laced with pain, "I killed this man. I don't care if a spell made me do it, I still killed him. I watched him die."

Her face scrunched up as more tears formed. The blood on her hand had already washed away, but she was still waving it around in the air like some sort of war trophy.

"I killed him," she sobbed, "I killed him."

"Prue, I know. It's okay," he tried to coax her into his arms, but she broke away.

"No Casey. It will never be okay."

And then she was gone. Casey was left alone in the rain, the poor dead man at his feet. He frowned. He should contact the main auror office about this. He should get this cleaned up quickly. The weird thing was, he didn't care. He just wanted to go after Prue.


He didn't see her again until two days later, no matter how many times he tried to contact her. It was late at night, after a class. At first, he was completely unaware she was there. Then that odd feeling that always told him someone was watching made him look up. Prue smiled grimly as Casey entered the room. He almost didn't notice his brother standing in the dark shadows of one corner, and couldn't tell which of the twins it was. His eyes were drawn to the moss eyed girl perched on his desk. She'd highlighted her hair to a faded, familiar white blonde, the long brown strands underneath the layer of blonde sticking out. It had all been tied back messily, as if she'd been rushed. She was wearing strappy cream colored heels and similarily familiar dress.

It looked almost like the dress she'd worn to his aunt's wedding so many years ago, he realized with a start. It wasn't something he'd normally remember; a girl's dress. But this was the one they'd first…well, he'd gotten the privilege of taking that particular dress off. This one was a soft pastel green in color, draping her body in supple folds and then pulling taut across her breasts. The thick straps of the dress had slipped off her shoulders and the skirt barely touched her knees. A cream colored sash had been tied artfully around her waist. A glint of metal caught his eyes in the knot of the sash and he recognized the gold, jewel encrusted key he'd given her when he was seventeen. They had buried her with it.

"What's going on?" Casey asked suspiciously, settling down on the big comfy couch he'd saved from the rain two years ago and had decided would fit perfectly in his office if he ever got one. The second he'd started teaching, he'd taken advantage of his new office and stuffed the couch in it.

Prue pursed her lips, as if what she had to say was distasteful, "It's not good Casey. Ellie convinced Joshua to take the curse off of me."

"How do you know?" he asked cautiously.

"She told me. They told me," a malicious grin flashed across Prue's face, and Casey felt his heart stop, "They also told Gradaver what a naughty little witch I'd been. You know, he'd noticed that I'd been avoiding the killing. He just hadn't thought it important."

At her words, his brother stepped out of the shadows and came to kneel right between Prue's knees. It was Conrad. He was dressed normally, in a green flannel button down emblazoned with gold lettering on the back and dark jeans. But there was something off about his eyes. He looked like the woodsman in Snow White. The great betrayer.

Conrad leaned in and touched his lips to Prue's. Right before it became a kiss, Casey heard her breathe, "I've got a new curse on me now."

Casey blinked. Then he laughed. Startled, Prue and Conrad broke apart.

"What's so funny?" Prue snapped.

"This," Casey gestured to them, "This is so…Hogwarts drama. Tell Gradaver that if he's trying to break me, he'll have to do better than making you kiss my little brother."

Prue snorted, and Conrad crumpled to the ground, "Funny, that's what I said too. Minimal, I told him there had to be sex involved, but he was insistent that there was no time. So I told him I had better ideas than creating this production. He doesn't listen to me…but you do. Mm, I like you Casey. You're fun to play with."

Even though he knew she was now completely under Gradaver's control, before she managed to apparate away he pulled her into a tight hug and mumbled into her hair, "I like you too."

One second she was in his arms. The next, she was gone. Conrad groaned from the floor, "Ow, my head."

With a big smile, Casey wandered up to his brother. Then he smacked him, hard.

"What the bloody hell was that for?" Conrad demanded with a scowl.

"You moron. What kind of auror are you- letting yourself get imperius-ed into snogging my girlfriend?"

"One who's not an auror yet," his borther retorted, "Wait. I kissed Prue? Ew, you're right. I did!"

"What 'ew'? She's hot," Casey replied defensively.

"Yeah, but no offense; you guys are old."

"But she's hot," Casey tried again. When he was Conrad's age, he hadn't cared where it came from as long as it looked good.

Conrad raised an eyebrow, "Right. And old. Shit. I kissed another girl. What am I supposed to tell Harper?"

"You could always not tell her."

"Big bro…you're kind of a jerk, aren't you?"

"Whatever. Forget Harper. You ever lay your hands on my girl again and you won't be able to impress your girl without your pants on, ever again."


"I'm trying to explain, you know," Conrad told Harper, who had buried her nose furiously in a book.

"I know," she snapped, "I'm not mad at you. I can't believe that hag laid a finger on you."

Conrad watched Harper fume silently for a moment, and then said, 'I'm sorry."

She twirled around to face him, "I told you I'm not mad at you!"

"You sound mad," he replied meekly.

Face softening, Harper sighed, "I promise, I'm not mad at you. Come here."

Obediently, Conrad knelt before her and she lightly kissed his forehead. He kissed her cheek, and she in turn kissed his. Their lips finally met in a soft, sweet kiss.

Abruptly, Avarick's voice said, "Ahem. Am I interrupting?"

"Of course you are," Conrad replied unkindly, placing his arms around his girlfriend and squeezing her tightly.

"Con!" Harper exclaimed, but she didn't struggle.

"Anyway, glad to see you're so jolly. I'm actually looking for Chauncey. Have you seen him?"

"I heard he was going over to Nataraja," Conrad scratched his chin thoughtfully, "But I thought it was strange. Isn't Nataraja closed today?"

"I think so," Harper frowned, "Should we head over and check?"

Avarick nodded, explaining that she needed Chauncey's help with her Potions homework. The more scatter-brained twin happened to be an ace at potions.

They trudged through the moors slowly. The earlier rain had made the ground soft with mud and wet with puddles. When they reached the restaurant, it's windows stood dark and foreboding. Even the normal holiday lights that were strung up all year round were suspiciously dormant.

"The door's open," Avarick whispered fearfully.

"Oh just go in already," Harper pushed past them, wondering if she should call out for Shilpa. She heard a noise to her left, near the table they always sat at for lunch. Frowning, Harper flicked on the lights. The restaurant burst into radiant light, revealing two figures intertwined on Harper's lunch table.

"What in the name of bloody Merlin are you two doing?" Harper screeched, more stunned at the fact that her sacred table was being tarnished rather than the fact that she was watching someone who looked identical to Conrad get his brains snogged out.

Chauncey looked up guiltily, "Ah, well, see, Cherice here was just helping me practice- er I mean I was helping her practice for um, Romeo and Juliet. Her high school is doing it this spring and she er- wants to be Juliet?"

"Good job making all of that sound like a question," Conrad congratulated his brother.

Chauncey sat up, trying to smooth out his clothes while Cherice had already leapt to her feet, straightening her hair and the mini dress she wore that was showing off a little bit too much leg.

"What's all the commotion down here?" Shilpa's clear, sweet voice called out, "Chandrika?"

"It's alright didi," Cherice called back, but Shilpa was already half way down the stairs that lead up to the Macdougal family's apartment.

"Chandrika! What's happened to you? Chauncey?" Shilpa asked tentatively.

"They were practicing for a school play," Avarick announced, half amused, half annoyed.

"But…you're not in any school plays, Chandrika," Shilpa sounded confused. Conrad, Harper, and Avarick all snickered as both Cherice and Chauncey turned red.

After Cherice had been scolded and sent up to her room, Conrad guided Chauncey out of the restaurant. Shilpa was left sitting in the booth, miserably, Harper and Avarick across from her.

"I don't know what to do. Auntie left Chandrika in my care," Shilpa moaned, "And told me not to let her get into trouble."

"It could have been worse. Chauncey's a good guy," Harper bit back a smile, "Trust me. I've known him since forever ago."

Shilpa glanced up wearily, unsure whether to believe the girl who had stolen her boyfriend, "Do you truly think so? My family wouldn't like it…Maybe I should tell her she's not to see him."

"Don't tell her. Slap her up. You're her 'older sister', so act like it and slap her around like she deserves to be. Everybody needs to be slapped once in a while, everybody," Harper grinned, "Or you could just let them be for a while. As long as they don't get caught, what's the harm?"

"Yeah," Avarick agreed, "Conrad will keep his brother in check, so you take care of making sure Cherice makes good decisions and it's all good."

Shilpa cast them a timid smile, "You know, you guys aren't so bad. It's nice to have people my age around now."

"Not just people!" Avarick objected, mortified, "We're friends!"

"Friends?"

"Aren't we?" Harper asked carefully.

"Yeah," Shilpa smiled, "I think we are."

As they left the shop, Avarick crowed, "Yes! One small step for inter-muggle-wizard relations!"

"You're so weird," Harper shook her head at her friend. Still, she was glad. Chauncey had found someone, Shilpa was no longer peeved at her, and Avarick was finally coming out of her slump.

Plus, they were almost halfway through their first year at Willowcrest and no one had dropped out yet. Things were going great, weren't they? Harper felt something tight in her stomach, something cold touch her heart. No, she furiously shook it off; everything was going to be perfect. Everything.


Two weeks passed in complete and total peace, but Casey couldn't help feeling twitchy. He hadn't seen or heard from Prue even once since that time in his office. Nadine spent most of her time trying to lure him into her bed. Casey had never once thought that having a gorgeous woman chase him would be quite so tedious.

He didn't know whether to be surprised or relieved or just plain uninterested when he found Prue and Frank sitting in the classroom he was just about head into. His class would be there soon; actually, his brothers had already entered and were staring at the two intruders with hard looks.

"Casey," Prue giggled, "Long time no see."

Perplexed by their sudden unannounced appearance and on his guard, the redhead asked, "What are you doing here?"

Prue tilted her head and said in a childlike voice, "I just came by to visit…Conrad."

Mentally, Casey groaned. Conrad raised an eyebrow and made a facial expression that belied the fact he hadn't expected visitors.

Frank grinned, "A little birdie told me that he would be interested in an employment opportunity we have."

"What? Not when he's not spelled," Casey glanced at his brother, who was exchanging equally confused looks with Chauncey.

"He doesn't need a spell to want to join us, Hargrove," Frank grinned, "He'll come of his own free will."

"Right, like I would," Conrad retorted.

"Let me show you something," Frank motioned for the redhead to come closer, but Conrad wearily backed away.

"I'm not falling for any of your tricks, mate," Conrad informed him.

"Well that's no fun," Prue pouted.

"Go ahead and look," Casey encouraged him easily. He was confident that he could stop them in a second from forcing him to take a potion or from pulling their wands on the boy. Dubiously, Conrad stepped away from his brother, leaning in to look at something Frank cradled in his palm.

Casey and Chauncey never saw the moment when Conrad's eyes changed. They never saw a potion or a spell released, but when Conrad looked back up, his eyes were stony and he said to Prue and Frank, "Let's go."

"What?" Chauncey demanded, "Are you nutters?"

"Conrad," Casey objected. He hadn't seen anything happen. He honestly hadn't thought he was sending him into danger just by letting Frank show him something. Marching up the blonde, Casey swiped at his hand. Frank grinned and opened his palms. There was nothing there.

Casey made to dodge around the blonde and grab his brother's arm.

"Cryoketos," Prue whispered with a dark smile. Icicles shot out from her wand, coming within millimeters of Casey's face. Chauncey had already ducked under a table, but one of the icicles still speared the leg of his jeans. Casey heard him curse loudly, but he was already chasing down Frank, Prue, and Conrad. Chauncey discarded his pain and was on his feet in seconds.

He ran past Harper, Avarick, Benvolio, and Merlin in the hallway.

"What's going on?" Merlin called after Chauncey. When the redhead didn't answer, he started after him, Avarick on his heels. After a second's hesitation, Harper and Benvolio followed. They burst out of the manor onto the lawn, Prue, Conrad, and Frank turned to face them. They looked as though they were waiting for something.

"Damnit Prue, I made that spell," Casey was yelling, "What's the bloody idea using it against me."

The students gathered up behind Chauncey, wondering what in the world was going on. Then Harper saw Conrad, "Con?"

Conrad raised his eyes to meet hers, but he said nothing. His face was grimly set.

"What in the name of the seven hells are you doing?" Harper asked Conrad angrily.

Casey didn't give Conrad time to answer, instead aiming his wand at them all, "Clypeus Niveus!"

From the lawn a shield of blue rose from to trap the three, but they easily stepped over it.

"Casey, you'll never achieve anything if you don't shoot to kill," Prue purred, "Cryokesio."

Wisps of fog emerged from Prue's wand as she suddenly appeared behind him, trapping his hands in midair. With a smirk, Prue's lips grazed his cheek as she danced away from him. He broke out of the jinx and said, "You bloody- I told you to stop using my spells against me."

Prue just winked at him, then paused, sniffing the air like she was a canine. With a start, Casey saw both Frank and Conrad were doing the same.

A crack broke through the still air, and a man appeared behind Conrad, placing his hands on the boy's shoulders. The redhead didn't react at all.

"Casey," Prue said, suddenly uneasy. It was like she was introducing her father or something, "I'd like you to meet Gradaver Moerte."

Gradaver was a tall man, with beyond pale skin and a perfectly haughty face. He was slender, in long black jeans and a tight, ripped black shirt. He had silver hair, held back in a high ponytail that fell down to his waistband. His eyes were jet black.

Avarick leaned over to Harper and whispered, "He's how old?"

"I just wanted to check that he was right for us," Gradaver said in a voice like gravel, "Are you, Conrad?"

Conrad turned to face the man and nodded, not meeting his eyes. Harper couldn't take it anymore. She ran towards Conrad, wrenching him away from Gradaver's grasp, "Conrad."

Roughly, Conrad shoved her away. She fell hard into the dirt, but Benvolio was at her side in a second, holding her back from trying to go after him once more.

Gradaver smiled, "This is good."

He apparated away before anyone had a chance to even volley a hex at him. Before Prue, Frank, and Conrad could follow, Harper rammed the side of her foot along Benvolio's shin and into the arch of his foot. At the same time, Chauncey lunged for his brother, holding him tightly.

"Conrad!" Harper screamed, breaking free of Benvolio's strong grasp, "Conrad, please!"

He turned towards her, pushing his twin away, "I can't. I can't do what you want, Harper."

"Why? Why would you join them?"

"I have no choice," he said regretfully. Prue and Frank were leaning casually against the wall, watching their newfound comrade fight. Harper thought she saw the three nod slightly in agreement.

"You always have a choice," Chauncey yelled from his newfound spot on the ground, "Always."

Avarick had buried her face into Merlin's side as Ben moved forward to retain Harper again.

"Leave her be, mate," Merlin said softly, causing Avarick to look up in surprise.

"I can't," Ben replied, "Harper, come away from him."

"Yeah Valente," Conrad's gaze turned cold, "Get away from me."

"Conrad Thaddeus-Roderick Hargrove," Harper snapped, "Don't you dare get tetchy with me when I'm trying to save your arse!"

Colder still, Conrad said, "Get away from me woman. I mean it. I hate you. I hate everything about you. And if you don't go do what your little boyfriend over there says this instant, I might just kill you. That's how much I hate you."

Harper took a step back, shocked. The wind in the valley was picking up, whipping her hair around her head so hard that she was sure it'd leave welt marks on her cheeks. Still, she stood her ground, "No."

Incredulous, Conrad demanded, "Excuse me?"

"I said no. If you want to kill me, do it. I don't care. Con, I love you."

Sadly, Conrad shook his head, "Sometimes that's not enough Harpy. You should know that."

He turned to walk towards his new allies. Prue held her arms out to the boy, and Harper panicked.

"Con!" she yelled, "Please don't go with them. Don't go with Gradaver!"

They were already gone.

"Please," Harper fell to her knees, whispering it over and over and over again, "Please, please, please."

"Harper," Ben tried, crouching next to her, "He's gone. They disapparated."

"No," Harper said furiously, "He'll come back."

"Valente," Merlin said, "I don't think he's coming back."

"No!" she screamed, "I know him, he'll be back."

So the three friends stood huddled around her. After ten minutes, she started to tremble. After half an hour, she started to sob. The wind had already started to howl, and the sky was blacker then pitch. Avarick broke away from Merlin's arms, "Harper, honey."

That was all she said as she wrapped her arms around her best friend, but it was all she had to say. The dark haired girl collapsed in the blonde's embrace, tears streaming down her face.

"I want to go home. Please Avarick, let's go home."

"Okay. Let's go home."


Three days had passed since Conrad had left Willowcrest, and Harper still hadn't left her bed.

"Ben, you've got to help," Avarick pleaded with the brunette.

Wearily, Benvolio lifted his eyes from his Advanced Defense text, "I've tried, Avarick. I've tried six times now, and she keeps rejecting me."

"You're just sore because you fancy her," Avarick said impatiently. When Benvolio tried to object she said, "No. Don't lie. You fancy her, and you can't stand that she told Conrad she loves him."

"Well…" he sighed, "I knew she loved him though. I mean, when I finally asked her out, she said no."

"Benvolio Asher, don't act like such a spoiled brat. If you want Harper, fight for her. Show her how much you like her. And aside from that, she's your friend. And Conrad's your friend. Don't you feel the least bit guilty for abandoning them both?"

"I did not abandon them," Ben replied impetuously.

"Okay. Then why didn't you try to convince Conrad to stay?" Avarick asked shrewdly.

"He wouldn't have listened."

"You don't know that."

"I could tell," Benvolio said softly, "I could tell he wouldn't stay. He told me two weeks ago to keep an eye on Harper. So I knew he didn't plan on coming back to us."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

Avarick replied lightly, "Then hadn't you better convince Miss Valente to get out of bed? Or doesn't that fall under keeping an eye on her?"

"I guess it does."

When Benvolio reached Harper's room, Simone stood. She smiled guiltily, "I tried giving her some soup, but she wouldn't take it."

"Simone, that was…nice of you," Benvolio observed.

"Don't be getting used to it," she chuckled, and left the room.

Ben went to sit on Harper's bed. The dark haired girl was hidden under the covers, only her eyes peeking out, staring at the ceiling.

"Harper? Do you want to go to Nataraja? We haven't see Shilpa in the past two weeks, I bet we're losing discounts," he said softly. Harper turned over to face the wall.

"Maybe we could just stay here instead. We could go to the dining hall and talk?"

Harper ignored him again. Benvolio wasn't normally the type to get easily irritated. He hardly ever got mad, even. But Avarick had already gotten on his nerves today, so maybe that explained it. He ripped the covers off of Harpers bed, "Alright Valente, enough of this."

Mutely, Harper rolled to face him.

"I said that bloody enough," Benvolio yelled, "Conrad is gone."

"I know," she said meekly.

"Well-" he hadn't expected her to speak, and was startled.

He tried again, "Well, he's gone, and starving yourself to death isn't going to do him any good."

When that failed to move her, he said, "You know he wouldn't want you to sit in bed and mope like this."

"You don't know that."

"Well, if he would want you to do this, then he's a bloody prat who didn't deserve you in the first place. Now bloody get up, get dressed, and come eat dinner with me. You have five minutes."

Harper looked at him with something resembling awe, and said weakly, "Okay."


Casey had called an emergency meeting among the aurors at Willowcrest. Noah, Claudia Katarine, and Nadine all came, only to watch him sulkily nurse a bottle of Firewhisky at the local tavern.

"She took my brother," Casey muttered again wondrously, taking another shot of Firewhisky.

"She did indeed," Nadine observed coolly, "And I think you've had enough, tiger."

"Tiger, tiger," Casey mused, "A real tiger would have stopped her. But I didn't think she'd actually do it."

"She's an anomaly. A freak of nature. Casey, baby, no dead woman is meant to be alive."

"It's my fault she's dead," he said.

"What?" Noah asked. He'd been sitting quietly all this time, observing Casey's reaction. The dark shadows of the tavern flickered across the group in time with the dancing candlelight on their table.

"It's my fault she's dead- or that she died, I mean," Casey corrected himself in a half slur.

Coldly, Noah ordered, "Explain yourself, Hargrove."

"I should have protected her," Casey said miserably, "I could have protected her had I known what I know now."

"Damnit, you bloody fool," Noah exploded, "Don't you think I feel exactly the same way about Frank. We all have someone we could have- would have protected if we had been aurors. But you weren't an auror, you were a seventeen year old boy with a silly guitar and notions of grandeur. Get over yourself."

Casey looked up, blinked, and then took yet another shot.

"Casey," Noah advised, "I'm sure she has her reasons. Maybe Joshua…well, maybe not Joshua."

"Forget her," Nadine urged, "I'll make all your thoughts of her disappear."

"I doubt this is the time," Claudia Katarine informed her sister, who ignored her.

"I'm not going to forget Prue. You didn't make me forget her last time, so what makes you think you can this time?" Casey asked Nadine as icily as he'd ever spoken. The woman haughtily shook her mane of dark hair and made a disgruntled noise.

"That speck of a girl could never match me," Nadine finally said.

The redhead raised an eyebrow, "I think she has. Looks, personality, intelligence- face it, Ebony," he emphasized her auror name, "You've been tracking her for years and she's evaded you. You've been after me, and she beat you. Just give up."

"You aren't," Nadine countered.

Dejectedly, Casey replied, "I'm in love. Ain't it grand?"

"Love and hate aren't so different. They're just strong emotions going in opposite directions. If you could turn your love into hate," when Casey pointedly glared at her, Claudia Katarine raised her hands defensively, "It was just a suggestion."

"Come on, Casey, come with me," Nadine purred, pulling the drunken redhead off his stool, "I shall take away all your pain."

He didn't resist. Noah watched him start to follow her. The expression on Casey's face said that he didn't believe Nadine could make anything go away, but that he was willing to let her try- or at least was too numb to stop her. Come on, Hargrove, Noah urged mentally, think. The older auror thought that if Casey's feeling for Prue were really as strong as he always claimed, he wouldn't be so stupid, even in light of this betrayal. Not if there was still some level of doubt. After all, he'd already made the mistake of not trusting her once before, back in Hogwarts. Even though this was an entirely different situation for Casey, an alarm still should have been going off in his head.

Casey stopped and let go of Nadine's hand. Noah had never been prouder.

"What are you doing?" the woman asked in her heavy accent.

"I don't want you. Leave," Casey told her, "You too CK. Take your sister and go. Somewhere far away, if you'd so oblige."

"Sure, Casey. You know I wish I could say yes to that," Claudia Katarine's eyes hardened, "I'll take her, but we'll be in London, hunting your girlfriend. Don't cross us."

Casey met his friend's suddenly belligerent gaze, "We'll see."

The two gorgeously deadly aurors apparated away with a thunderous crack. Casey collapsed back onto his stool, then levelly met Noah's eyes, "Tell me what you know."

"What?"

"You never call me Casey unless you're feeling guilty. What reasons do you think she has? What do you know?" he asked in a hard voice.

"To tell the truth..." Noah paused, squeezing his eyes shut, "I told Frank to take Conrad."


End of Chapter 7