Raphael made it clear Persephone wasn't to go anywhere near the warehouse. Not when he found out the horror within.

Instead Persephone shrugged on her black jacket, spelled like all of her coats to safely contain her wings, since it made it easier to blend in. She walked around, Venom making sure she didn't go anywhere near the interior of the warehouse. She didn't need to go in...she could smell the blood from here and had no desire to see what the hell was causing the smell. And when she heard Elena throw up, she knew that decision was a smart one.

Instead she followed Elena...and found a survivor.

Considering who had killed those people inside, it was probably a good thing she had a habit of hiding her wings when she wasn't flying...and kept a broom with her at all times. The poor woman was hysterical after what the archangel had done to her.

If she saw wings, she might freak out.

"Easy. Easy," whispered Persephone, allowing the poor woman to cling to her like a lifeline.

She was very, very glad that the woman couldn't feel feathers at the moment.

Dmitri took the survivor and made sure she was safe. Whether she lived through this or had to be executed, not even Persephone could say.

She crimped her nose at the smell Elena had.

Fortunately it wasn't her problem, because Raphael was going to deal with her for the moment. Her only job was to insure Elena was safe when she needed extra guarding. She put her jacket into the satchel at her side, where she kept her supplies like a full first aid kit meant to keep humans alive during battlefield conditions. It also came with an extensive collection of blood packs for vampires.

Besides, knowing him he'd head home to clean off the blood and that put him too close to the headache that was Michaela to her tastes.

Michaela, who made her distaste for Persephone pretty damn clear the first time they met. She hated anyone she considered competition, and despite her disinterest in men and women alike, it was pretty damn ridiculous.

Fortunately, Michaela had little reason to go near Neha's territory and even less to see Persephone personally. So long as they both kept their distance, everyone was happy. Or as happy as someone as narcissistic as Michaela was going to get.

Persephone was at Elena's side the moment she left Michaela's guest home.

"Had a run-in with the bitch did you?"

Elena's eyes glinted.

"So I'm not the first to call her the Bitch Queen."

"She dislikes competition. Only reason she leaves me alone is because I'm a child in their eyes...and because she's not stupid enough to piss off Neha."

If it were only Raphael she would have to deal with, then she might try something. Neha was a whole different kettle of fish, and the Queen of Snakes had made it very, very clear she favored Persephone for her skill in parseltongue. Knowing what her favorite pets were actually saying was something she wasn't about to dismiss so readily.

The fact Persephone could be as venomous as her pets didn't hurt either.

Elena frowned.

"I take it that you're going to be shadowing me until I'm with Raphael again?"

"It's either me or you deal with Dmitri again. Besides, can you imagine a better payback to someone who's all about status than to walk into his office with an angel bodyguard?" said Persephone with a grin. If she had thought it would matter, she would have walked into the Malfoy Manor with an angel bodyguard just to see the pissed off look on Draco's face.

Elena's mouth twitched upwards. This would definitely piss her father off without having to say a word.

"Besides... I know exactly what it feels like to have 'family' that doesn't want you, only to find your friends care more than they do," said Persephone.

Elena blinked. From the sound of it she sympathized with her, which was odd.

"You don't get along with your father?"

"My father died fifteen months after I was born, and my mother was put into a sleep so deep everyone assumed she was dead as well. At least until Raphael found her and put her on house arrest for the next century for marrying my father. I lived with a woman I was told my aunt, but found out they weren't even remotely related. She hated me because of my father's heritage, and would have thrown me out if given a chance," said Persephone.

Elena had no pity on her face, only understanding. And no little amount of sympathy.

"Shall we then?"

Persephone shrugged on her black jacket, and got into the car. Elena would drive, since she never bothered with a license.

Jeffrey Deveraux was every bit the bastard she had anticipated he might be. Elena's discreet desire for someone to lean on didn't go unnoticed.

Needless to say both girls took no small amount of pleasure/amusement when the man took in Persephone flame-colored wings. And the expression on his face when he found out she was Elena's bodyguard for as long as needed.

The fact Elena rated high enough to warrant an angel bodyguard, and was rubbing elbows with the Archangel of New York was more than enough to snub her father who threw her out cold on the streets ten years ago.

Apparently the news she had been seen repeatedly with Rafael and on speaking terms had garnered his interest. When they left the office, Elena was fuming.

"You want my advice?" asked Persephone.

"Yes," said Elena. Just because she gave advice didn't mean she had to follow it.

"It's clear he wasn't always a prick. So hold close the family that hasn't made it clear they intend to use you for their own gain and make it damn clear to him that unless he does some serious groveling and genuine apologizing you're going to block his calls. He's not worth thinking about, much less speaking to. Though if you like I might be able to wrangle up a few pranks to make his day worse that can't be traced back to you. Illium and I can get very creative if given the chance."

The laugh Elena let loose was genuine.

"I might just take you up on that."

"That does include making him think he's been Made," said Persephone impishly.

Besides, from what Luna said, Elena would have eternity, while this idiot would be dust in the ground.

After they exited the bank, Persephone debated on whether or not to put her jacket back on. Instead she settled for a glamour that hid her wings from humans.

Probably a good thing, because when Elena caught the scent of Uram, the sight of an angel following her was more than enough to get people to move.

Persephone was kind enough to hold Elena's hair back while she threw up. She had kept her eyes averted from the scene inside.

She wasn't even twenty. She had centuries to see such atrocities and she wasn't enthusiastic about seeing them now.

Something Raphael and Venom apparently agreed with.

Seeing how wired Elena was as she examined the dead, Persephone sighed. She was in no condition to drive.

Raphael caught Persephone's eyes. She nodded.

I can fly her to your front door. If she's this tired she might have an accident reaching your house.

Can you fly in rain?

If I have to I'll use the broom. Flying in a storm isn't as hard as you might think, so long as it's not a complete deluge.

Elena was hugging Persephone's waist pretty tightly. She had declined the offer to be carried, so they had to make due with a broom.

"How is this possible?"

"Magicals fly on brooms. Don't you know that old cliché about witches and brooms?" grinned Persephone. She had her jacket on to reduce drag.

"How can you even see in this?" asked Elena. Persephone turned to face her. She had a pair of goggles on that shielded her eyes from the rain.

"Kept my old Quidditch gear. These are specially charmed to keep the rain from sticking. Besides, I've flown in worse while trying to find a small flying ball the size you'd normally see on a gold course with wings and a penchant for not being caught."

Elena blinked the rain out of her eyes. None of that made much sense.

"Now do you want to go slow or fast?" grinned Persephone.

"The faster the better. I'm freezing."

"Hold on tight then!" cackled Persephone. Elena's arms tightened a great deal when the broom suddenly went from a sedate thirty miles an hour to at least eighty. They were at the house in five minutes, though she had to let out a yelp of fear when Persephone performed a steep dive before banking onto the grass in a smooth motion and hovering.

Elena had her head close to Persephone the second she started the dive, so she didn't see the laughing grin on Raphael's face, or the openly amused expression of his vampire butler. It was clearly they had enjoyed the show.

The feel of rain tickled her nose. She sneezed, loudly.

Elena suddenly realized they weren't moving. She looked up, saw the big house...and her first reaction was to hit Persephone in the shoulder for scaring her so bad. She would have hit the back but she remembered just in time about the wings.

Elena followed Raphael, while Persephone gave the weather outside the stink eye. No way would she be able to fly in this weather. It had progressively gotten worse and her wings wouldn't be able to take being waterlogged.

"Sir made arrangements for you to stay until either the rain has ended or until morning. Just don't mind the noise," said the butler.

"That's what silencing charms are for. Would you like me to add them for you?"

"No need. My room is far enough to be able to avoid hearing it," he replied easily, a glint of amusement in his eyes.

At least Raphael didn't expect her to fly in this weather.

Persephone took a long hot shower, got into some clean clothes, and was out like a light once she hit her room with silencing charms just in case. She didn't know where the other two were, and she didn't care. Right now she just wanted to sleep.

The second she saw Raphael and Elena, she merely raised a single eyebrow and gave both a knowing look.

It was about damn time. All that sexual tension was driving them batty!

On the plus side, the pool that she had jokingly set up with the Seven meant she was now five hundred dollars richer, not that she needed it. Dmitri was going to be pissed.

"I'll follow Elena from above in case you get separated," said Persephone. Raphael nodded.

What she didn't add was that she put a tracking charm on Elena so she could follow her in case she lost her. Following the archangel proved to be a challenge. Eventually she gave up on her wings and jumped on her broom with her jacket on. She was so used to hiding them that it only took scant seconds to settle her wings inside the magically expanded pocket.

Finally Raphael told her to wait at his house. She was too young and too valuable to risk against Uram. Besides, Neha would be beyond pissed if anything happened to her. She was quite fond of Persephone.

"You know this is becoming a habit of yours," said Elena.

"I'm the only one with the sense to hide their wings. Mine are too distinctive not to be noticed," shrugged Persephone.

Elena was driving, trying to catch the scent, and as her new bodyguard Persephone was in the other seat next to her. Illium flew up above as a precaution.

"Why Persephone?" asked Elena suddenly.

"I honestly don't know. I mean you would think even someone as backward as most of magical England would have heard of the legend concerning Persephone and Hades. I mean as nice as the name is, who wants to be named after a goddess who was tricked into marrying the god of the dead?"

Elena nodded in absolute agreement.

"Which is why most of my friends, or those I consider to be more like family at this point all call me Seph."

"Seph?"

"It's short for Seraph, or I suppose a shorted form for Persephone. At least they had the decency never to call me Percy," said Persephone making a face.

Seeing Elena give her an odd look, she shrugged.

"I've always been fascinated by angels, and never knew I was angel-born until a certain Toad pushed me off the parapet of a seven-floor tower while I was stargazing."

And when she discovered her wings, she lost any and all interest in Hogwarts or the war. What need did she have of either when her wings could take her far, far away from the pettiness of the magicals?

They were going section by section looking for Uram. They were close to Castle Point when it happened.

"Look out!" yelled Persephone, seeing Illium falling from the sky, the blood crazed Uram close behind and smiling with such cruelty he made Voldemort look as pacifist as Ghandi.

Illium was sinking into the water when they fell unconscious.