Okay everyone, here's Chapter Ten, so enjoy.
Oh, and remember, I don't own Harry Potter, nor do I own the song Country Girl (Shake It For Me), which is by the Country Music recording artist Luke Bryan.
Chapter Ten: Family Matters
{Location: Savannah Hill, northern England}
[Monday, 21 March, 1994 A.D.]
(1627; 4:27 p.m.)
In truth, however, Kitch had known from the moment Jessica had interrupted this morning that the two would end up talking about what, exactly, had happened between them, and, if he knew Elianna at all, that talk would involve not only what had happened but what it meant form them both, not only as individuals but as a couple in a newly-formed relationship, and where they would go from there.
"Okay, I'm listening." He said, feeling that he deserved a second Order of Merlin for keeping his voice calm and neutral.
She sighed, though he could, much to his relief, hear the slightest sense of humor beneath it. "I'm going to have to do all the talking, ain't I?"
"Hey," He said defensively. "You're the one who wants to talk, so I'm going to stand here and listen like the good, mindless peon I am."
"Look, about this morning-"
"Yeah?"
"Do you regret it?"
Immediately, perhaps thanks, in part, to the past three attacks by the Black Suns, he recognized the potential trap lurking beneath her words. If he said that he did regret it, he knew, it could not only hurt her feelings but their still-infant relationship as well. If he said that he didn't regret it, however, he would run the risk of looking like the stereotypical male, insensitive and ruled by hormones. Talk about being stuck between a dragon and a fire…
"No." He answered finally, deciding to settle on the truth. "I don't regret it. You've been my best friend for years now, Eli, and now you're my girlfriend. I feel comfortable with what happened, because I know that we both know neither of us would take advantage of the other in such a way. Do you regret it?"
She shrugged her shoulders. "I don't regret it, not in the slightest. I mean, it was amazing, it really was. But Kitch…" She paused for a moment, her brow furrowing in thought. "I've never felt this way before, about you or anyone else."
"Neither have I." Kitch found himself admitting.
"I'm so confused." She admitted, walking around him and his inherited pensive to sit down on the edge of his bed. "I mean, it felt like the greatest thing in the world, like, for those minutes we were together, everything in our lives were perfect. But-"
"We've always been taught that what we did, at our age and in this stage of our relationship, isn't the best thing, right?"
"Exactly!" She answered, sounding relieved that he knew, or at least had an idea, of what was going on inside of her mind.
"And," Kitch continued, going with that sudden inspiration. "You've been taught by your adopted parents that you should wait for something like that until you're not only of age but married."
She nodded her head.
"Wanna know what I think?" He asked, sitting down to join her on the edge of his bed.
"It might help." She laughed as he took her hand in his own.
"Remember that Bible you got me for Christmas the year we met?"
"Yeah."
"I read it." He explained. "I figured that you wouldn't have got it for me just for decorations, so yeah, I read it, and I do believe almost everything it has to say. I mean, I believe in God, and I feel confident that Jesus was his son and died on that cross for the sins of all mankind, you and me included. I also believe, however, that this single book has been passed down over countless centuries and millennia and has been translated about as many times. Pax, were he here, would remind us that when you translate a single sentence from one language to another that it loses just the slightest of its original meaning and context when carried over into another language."
"Hang on," She said, now frowning. "Are you trying to say part of the Bible's missing or has been mistranslated?"
"Missing?" He asked. "I don't know: I'm no expert on that subject, though I'm sure there are plenty enough experts on the subject, both wizard and muggles alike. I mean, I know there'd be plenty of wizards trying to fit us into the Bible in a good way as opposed to the way the Bible makes us all seemed damned. But no, that's not what I'm saying. Mistranslated? Possible, but again, I don't know. What I'm saying is that, even if the Bible, as we know it today, has been perfectly translated down the years from its original version, with nothing altered, added, or left out, some it will undoubtedly mean something different than it originally did."
"For a fourteen year-old boy you seem knowledgeable about this subject." She said, her voice just on this side of sounding accusatory.
"Pax." Kitch explained. "A while back he was reading some kind of ancient text book that he had to translate as he went-"
"That old library book on the elemental nature of life, yeah." She confirmed. "I remember it."
"That's where I learned how things impossibly change, even if it's just a little, as they're translated from one language to another. What I'm trying to say, Elianna, is that maybe we've, because of the helplessly human nature of our ancestors, are getting that book's message wrong in some areas."
"I-"
"Look, Elianna, you're my best friend, and nothing that could ever possibly happen would make me care for you any less than I do now. However, you can't just blindly accept something, anything, as perfectly true-"
"It's called faith, Kitch." Elianna shot back, on the very of being completely angry now. "I have faith, Kitch, that The Almighty has made sure we have the true meaning of His Holy Word."
"I'm sorry if I don't, Elianna, I really am, but all my life I've been taught to not follow someone, no matter who it is, into something, anything, blindly, but to always think for myself, to look at the facts and the evidence on hand before making any kind of decision, and to listen to my heart and my soul when I'm in trouble. Is it God who shows me the right direction to go when I do this? I believe it is, just as I believe it was His design that we met four years ago, a road that has led us here today."
"I suppose you could be right." Elianna ceded. "But, regardless…"
"Where do we go from here?" He asked, finishing her sentence. Elianna, in turn, nodded her head.
"Well, where do you want to go?" He asked, standing back up and pulling her back to her feet with him.
"Huh?"
"Where do you want us to go from here?" Kitch asked, approaching the pensive with his girlfriend's hand still in his own. "Do we end it and go back to being best friends, like we've been for four years now? Do we go ahead with our current relationship and try to ignore what happened as though it never existed? Do we move on with our relationship with limited expectations and take things as they go one day at a time? Or maybe we could run away and…I dunno…elope."
Elianna started laughing as they stopped at the edge of the pensive. "Elope, seriously?"
"Hey, it works in your muggle romance books you and Tabby read, don't it?"
"Rarely." She laughed again. "And they often end with him being hunted down by her ax-wielding father who's out for blood.
"Yeah, good point: I like my head just the way it is, if it's all the same to you. Seriously though, Eli, do we…can we go back to just being best friends?"
"I don't want to, no." She sighed, hugging him loosely. "I've enjoyed myself too much this weekend, all things considered, just to be your best friend."
"And I'm sorry Eli, but what happened this morning was just too awesome to ignore."
"I know, right?" She asked with a laugh. "So then, we take it as it comes, no matter what happens?"
"No matter what happens." Kitch agreed.
"And if that…umm…happens again?"
At this, Kitch allowed himself to flash his best friend a cocky, arrogant sort of smile that got yet another laugh from her. "Well, I won't tell if you don't."
"You know you're a bad influence on me, right?"
"Or maybe you're a bad influence on me."
She giggled as she reached up and kissed his cheek, but before she could accomplish this goal he'd turned his head, capturing her mouth with his own, causing her to go into another fit of giggles.
"Kitch," She asked as he prepared to withdraw the two vials of memories from within his robes. "Are you sure?"
"That you're a bad influence on me?" He chuckled, his hands pausing before they'd reached their target. "One hundred percent positive."
"No, I mean about viewing those memories. What if no good comes from it?"
"Some good will come from it." He countered. "I'll know the truth about what truly happened between my mother and father, back when I was nothing more than a fetus festering inside of Lor Grant's womb."
"Yes, but Kitch, greater wizards, and witches, than you have been driven bonkers, have fallen, gone crazy, because of the curse we call 'The Truth'."
"Imperious said that my mom never tried to redeem him. According to the Dread Lord, the moment she found out what he'd become she just gave up on him, marking him as an inmate for Lusankya from the get-go."
"Kitch, I hate to say this but perhaps she was right in doing so-"
"So you're saying she was right in just giving up on her husband, my father, and not try to save him from himself?"
"I'm saying that to redeem the Dread Lord Imperious might well have been an impossible feat. There does come a point when someone falls so far that it's impossible for them to return. It's impossible to save someone when they don't want to be saved."
"But I can't fully believe that, Elianna. If there's one thing I've learned lately it's that redemption is possible for anybody. My mother and the rest of my family believed I was still alive, not fully claimed by the Dark Side, and because of that love I was able to crawl back from the Dark Side's grasp. Had they gone by what you just said then I'd be sharing Imperious's cell in Lusankya."
"But Kitch," She countered, her voice going softer as she grabbed both of his hands in hers. "What you did you did out of love, not hatred, out of love, not out of a need for power. That's what made the difference."
"I can't believe, though, that Matthias Grant is truly dead, I refuse to believe it."
"Kitch-"
"The man I spoke to today wasn't the Dread Lord Imperious, not fully, at any rate. Part of Matthias Grant spoke to me from inside of that hellish prison, which means he's still in there somewhere. My sister once said that all most criminals need to stay in the light is someone to believe in the good within them."
Elianna's eyes suddenly closed, but only briefly, and when they reopened the warmth from within those orbs of blue was strong enough to flood Kitch's entire room.
"Okay, I'll view them with you."
"It's okay Eli," Kitch said solemnly. "I can do it on my own."
"No." She replied firmly. "We're a couple now, in this thing together no matter which way it goes. I've got your back on this one, just like you'd have mine were the roles reversed. I believe in you, Kitch, and if you believe in your father then so do I."
He didn't know what to say to those words, and taking advantage of his indecision Elianna released her grip on him and plunged her right hand into his robes, retrieving the two memories Kitch had managed to obtain.
Standing quietly beside her, Kitch watched as his girlfriend opened the vials and disposed of the silvery liquid within them into the pensive, and, with neither of them speaking, they simultaneously pressed their faces into the liquid.
The couple suddenly found themselves standing in the shadows of an old house as the sun, a large, orange ball, began its descent over the western horizon, marking the scene as late afternoon in the late winter and early spring. The house was large enough just for a small family, and the surroundings were such Kitch could not recognize them. Knowing, provided the parchment Pax had left with the pensive, that anyone they encountered would ever know they were there, Kitch began to move forward ever so slightly, his eyes alive and alert.
"You ready?" Elianna asked, taking his right hand in her left. "It's not too late to back out of this."
Kitch nodded his head at the precise moment a small pop filled their heads, and turning their heads the couple watched the scene unfold.
Matthias Grant appeared out of thin air, a smile on his face, which was much younger and prouder, but already showed the scars of a tough and combative past decade.
His eyes, however, looked unnatural. Gone were the brown eyes he'd been born with, replaced now with massive yellow irises circling what could only be described as black holes.
The sound of a door being closed caused both Kitch and Elianna to back up so that they could keep their eyes on both Matthias and the lovely, proud woman now waddling her way down the walk, her stomach bulging as a clear sign of pregnancy.
"That's me." Kitch found himself saying as they watched his mother approach the Dread Lord Imperious. "She has to be at least seven months pregnant with me here."
"Hey baby." Matthias greeted as he bent down and kissed his wife's lips. "Sorry I'm late; busy time at the Ministry and all."
"I see."
Kitch had been wondering all for years if his mother had known beforehand that her husband had become Imperious beforehand or if that knowledge had come during their first confrontation, but the sound of her voice as she spoke, combined with the blank, saddened look in her eyes as he gave her a kiss she did not, could not, return, immediately answered that question.
"So, what's for dinner? How are the kids?"
"You're lying to me, Matthias." Lor responded, her voice in that same saddened tone.
"What?"
"I went to Washington today. You've been skipping a lot of work lately, only showing up when absolutely necessary. You've got your Head of Department and even the Minister of Magic himself believing you're working undercover to infiltrate the Black Suns, but I know better."
"Oh?" He asked bemusedly.
"I've known you for many years, Matthias Grant, since I was just a girl. You've never been one to sneak around and hide to get what you want. You're the kind of man who takes direct action. You go at it full bore, one hundred and ten percent. You do not hesitate, nor do you show mercy. If you were truly working to destabilize and destroy the Black Sun Syndicate you'd attack them head on, one member at a time, until they were left in ruins. No, you're not working against the Black Suns, Matthias, because you're the Dread Lord Imperious."
"That's a hell of an accusation to be throwing around baby girl, especially when it's aimed at your own husband." The man laughed, a sound that sent cold shivers up Kitch's neck and back. "I suppose you have some evidence to back this claim up."
"We both know if I had the evidence needed you'd already be in Lusankya. However, the pieces of the puzzle do add up perfectly."
"I see. So what if I am the Dread Lord known as Imperious? Is that necessarily a bad thing?"
"Is it-" Lor gasped, the truth having now been confirmed. "YES it's a bad thing! You've given up all you are, all you were, all you ever had, for a quest to become all-powerful."
"Ask yourself dear; is having all that power within my grasp such a bad thing? Think of all I could do with-"
"No one can ever be all powerful, Matthias! It's impossible and we both know it! I know you now, I know you better than even you know yourself...I see your soul. Like you said last week when you took over the Patriot Post for a full day and released your statement, you care about only one thing; creating a legacy of fear, dying as the most feared wizard in history. Fear is your greatest weapon, your most powerful ally, and that has what's turned this nation upside down and inside out. I also know about your affair with Izumi Tatsu, second-in-command of the Black Suns, and the illegitimate son she now carries."
"She told you this?"
"No. I sent my house-elf to follow you yesterday, and under the effects of Veritaserum Skipper told me what he saw and overheard. A fallen angel I could live with, I could tolerate you falling to the Dark Side; most of us do it at least once in our life, but this..." Lor shook her head. "You have violated the most sacred of bonds, desecrated the most sacred of vows...I'm taking you down, my husband."
"I take it this is where you try to redeem me and tell me that I still have some good left in me, huh? Well, I'm waiting..."
"I can't-"
"You don't have to do this, love." Matthias whispered, closing in on his wife, no signs of aggressive behavior. "Come with me, join me, and learn the power I've learned, know how to control the very fabrics of destiny and time in the grip of your hands!"
"That kind of power can do nothing but evil-"
"If one is to understand the Great Mystery, Lor, one must study all its aspects, not just the narrow, dogmatic view of the Ministry. I know, Lor, I know what haunts your dreams, my wife, and I know how to solve it."
Lor Grant said nothing.
"You have tried all these years to ignore the gifts you were born with, training only enough to weakly control them and prevent any accidental flare-ups."
Still Lor Grant said nothing.
"You are a necromancer, love, it's what you are. Come with me, use my knowledge, I beg you! Allow me to finish your necromancer's training and you will have the power to recall even your father from beyond the grave, true, total resurrection."
Again, Lor Grant said nothing, but this time there was a look in her eyes, a faltering of her rock-solid determination, even a longing…
"You've missed him a great deal all these years, Lor, I know this. Even now it is such a fresh wound."
"Is-is that even possible?" She muttered, and even though it was a memory Kitch could sense the triumphant joy radiating from the Dread Lord.
"Magic is a pathway to many abilities some would consider to be unnatural. We are taught that no magic can reawaken the dead, that there is no method to break through to the afterlife and reunite flesh and soul as one."
"It's impossible-"
"It's very possible, love. I know the secrets, though because I am no necromancer I can never employ such knowledge in my own personal use. Come with me, Lor, and my knowledge is yours. The Ministry will never allow you to pursue your dreams, thus is the reason they denied your transfer request. They sense your powers, my love; they know you will become too powerful for them to control."
"I-"
"Good an evil exist only from our own points-of-view. In truth there is only power and those strong enough to seize it. Join me, Lor, and your father can walk among us again!"
"No." Lor Grant said with a shake of her head. "You see, we've still not found his body, and even if we had his body I'd never shame it or his memory in such a way. As far as I'm concerned you're beyond redemption, beyond saving. I'm taking you down, be it via imprisonment or death."
"I'm giving you one last chance, Lor: stand dow-"
"AVADA KEDAVRA!"
The jet of green light only just missed the man now styling himself as the Dread Lord, and of all the things the man could have done, he laughed. A second jet of green light issued from her wand, this time hitting its mark. Unfortunately, however, the target was gone, disappearing as quickly as a wisp of smoke. Before anyone, past or present, could bother to say or do anything, however, Imperious reappeared, now donning a black cloak and much closer to his wife now than he had been before. Before Lor Grant could compensate for this bold tactic, though, Imperious was already on the move, disarming his wife with a silent swipe of his own wand.
Then, Kitch and Elianna, unable to assist the overwhelmed, pregnant witch, watched in stunned horror as Imperious withdrew a familiar-looking sword from inside of his cloak, the the goblin-made silver blade so sharp that just looking at it seemed to cut…
His mother let out a barely audible gasp as the blade impaled her through her abdomen, and as she slumped helplessly to the warm summer earth Imperious retracted the blade and dug it across his wife's chest, cutting a deep trench in its wake.
Lor Grant lie curled up in a pond of her own blood, her life bleeding away and Kitch and Elianna were still helpless to do anything about it as darkness surrounded them both.
"Kitch." Elianna asked hoarsely, placing a hand on his left shoulder. "You okay?"
"Yeah." He answered with a nod of his head. "How did she survive that?"
"I don't know." Elianna said with a shake of her head as the memory again came into focus, and silent Kitch watched the next scene unfold.
Again he did not recognize the location, but he could tell it had to be somewhere in the American Northwest, maybe the Rockies, for they were high up in elevation now and the vegetation was strictly the kind that thrived in cold, harsh environments.
A cloaked figure stood on the edge of the cliff, silently looking down with his head bowed, and though he did not speak nor move Kitch knew this figure to be his father.
"You survived." He said casually, hiding the surprise he was feeling extremely well. Kitch and Elianna backed away so that they could clearly view both Imperious and Lor.
The latter looked to be completely void of not only the wounds she'd suffered in the previous memory but also of the infant son she'd been carrying. Gone was the saddened look in her eyes too, replaced now by one of determination. Wearing a dark emerald cloak Lor Grant nodded her head.
"You underestimated me Imperious, and for that, along with your other crimes, you will pay."
"Yes, I must admit I did underestimate you, my dear. I confess myself surprised a great deal that I did not end your life yesterday."
"I would have been here sooner, but I had to make sure everything was in order before I moved to do so." Lor replied.
"Ah, so I take it you're the one responsible for emptying my Gringotts vault." He answered, anger now seeping into his voice. "The goblins will pay for their treachery-"
"Claus Thirty-One, Imperious."
"Claus Thirty-One?."
"The Statute of Marital Rights Law, passed in 1977." Lor explained, sounding indifferent to her husband's question. "Clause Thirty-One states that in the event that one spouse is caught in the act of committing adultery against the other spouse the first spouse has the right to be given an immediate divorce from the marriage. In addition this spouse has the authority to claim all monies and properties belonging to the spouse committing said crime."
"Ah, yes, I had forgotten about that particular law. Regardless, I find it odd that there was no hearing in Washington to decide whether I'm innocent or guilty."
"My testimony and the testimony of my house-elf, under the effects of Veritaserum, were enough to persuade the Ministry to convict. I'm here now to make sure you don't miss your date with that bitch, Tatsu."
"I do not remember setting a date wi-"
"I set it up for you." Lor cut off. "Got you both nice reservations at a place called Lusankya, spared no expense either."
"I see: you plan to arrest me, huh? That's funny, especially when one considers that you're not a member of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, an Auror, or even a member of the Ministry."
"Check again." Lor countered. "As of midnight last night I have been temporarily assigned to the Auror Department and tasked with the job of bringing you to justice."
"And yet you're all alone, with no backup in sight; the Ministry of Magic must really be confident in your skills."
"I don't need backup. Now's my turn to make a confession; for years now I've hidden the true extent of my magical powers, not just from you but from the entire world as well. Now, though, you get to be the unfortunate bastard who learns the truth, and you get to do it firsthand."
"I will be most happy to send you to join our unborn son in the flames of Hell. Wizards and witches world-wide will one day fear to even think of me, and you are powerless to stop me."
"Surprise surprise." Lor laughed. "Our unborn son has been born, unscathed by the near-death experience the two of us suffered when last you and I battled."
"I do have a son now. Yes, I am very pleased; at last I have an heir to my legacy-"
"Think again." Lor stepped in. "Kitch will know who his father truly was, but never will he be cursed by joining the Dark Side; I'll die first."
"My pleasure, Lor McGonagall. AVADA KEDAVRA!"
Lor, however, was already stepping to the side, allowing the jet of green light to shoot harmlessly past her. Imperious moved to attack again but Lor was ahead of him, a jet of red light flashing from the tip of her wand, forcing Imperious to take evasive actions as well.
Even before the man stopped moving Lor gave a swish of her wand, sending thousands of small shards of ice sailing through the air towards him, and though Imperious was successful in creating a shield that defended him against most of the ice, several shards did find their way into various parts of his body.
Another burst of green light then escaped his wand once more, and in response Lor pointed her wand to the ground and gave it a quick flick, resulting in a large rock jumping up between her and the Killing Curse.
His mother then swept her wand in a wide arc from right to left and brought it, still in the same fluid motion, high into the air, and a second later the Earth began to tremble.
Looking around them Kitch and Elianna noticed a dozen or so tall, powerful Pine trees had sprung to life, stepping up out of the ground and striding in perfect unison over towards the Dread Lord Imperious.
"I'm impressed; your mother taught you well before you disowned her. I'm sure you know now, however, that she'll never speak to you again. She'll never love you as she once did, when you were a little girl. Once I'm gone you'll have no true family-"
"Shut him up." Lor ordered, and the tree closest to Imperious picked the dark man up with a mighty root, lifting him high into the air as that root wrapped around his mouth.
"It's over, Imperious, so surrender now!" Lor ordered. In response Imperious thrust his wand into the air, causing a fountain of lava to erupt from the tip of the wood...half a minute later a gargantuan troll was standing behind Imperious, swinging a molten axe that cut the tree holding its master clean in two, and as Imperious fell to the ground the fiery troll repeated the process with the other enchanted trees.
A column of water shot forth from Lor's wand, snaking its way around the massive troll and squeezing tightly like a giant anaconda.
A blast of earth and stone suddenly sent Lor flying backwards through the air, her wand going in one direction while she went another. As she landed Imperious closed the distance between them, refusing to give her any chance at recovery even though she was now unarmed.
A silver blade appeared instantly as Lor's left hand retreated from the depths of her robes.
"Again I'm impressed: you've learned the way of the blade. I do wish we had time to sit down and discuss just how you achieved that feat."
"I've already told you; I've always hidden the true extent of my powers and skills, up until now at any rate."
With those words Lor Grant pushed with incredible force against her husband, forcing him to step back and thus giving her just enough space to begin mounting her own offensive.
Her sword was a blur of motion as she weaved through her ex-husband's now-feeble defenses, forcing him backwards, Lor right on top of him at each step.
The anger Kitch had felt just moments ago at the revelation that his mother had never once tried to redeem Imperious was gone now, albeit temporarily, as he watched with prideful awe as his mother pushed the Dread Lord back, her skills seemingly superior to his.
Imperious, however, was not going to go down without a fight. He gave a primal roar as he jumped back to avoid a cleaving motion, and then he charged forward, chopping and slicing with such ferocity that Lor was now backing up, her tactics suddenly changing to a defensive strategy.
"No woman will ever best me with a blade or a wand, especially my ex-wife!" And then his ferocity increased a hundred fold, his attacks wild now, the woman still being backed up at an alarming rate.
"I know your weakness." Lor taunted, laughing now. "I know your ultimate goal. I have seen you at your strongest and at your weakest, and I am in no way impressed nor frightened."
"You WILL bow down!"
And then Lor's blade was free of her hands, knocked aside as the Dread Lord realized victory was now in his grasp. As he made ready for the final strike, however, Lor burst into motion once more.
She kicked the ground with her feet, as though to kick dirt into her enemy's face, and as Imperious flinched, even though it was only for a second, Lor's right hand jerked into the air, plucking from it the wand her feet had sent flying...and then it made perfect sense: Lor had allowed Imperious to push her back so that she could regain her wand...when they'd thought he was controlling the duel it was actually the other way around.
"EXPELLIARMUS!" Lor shouted, and as the magical sword Imperious was wielding sailed through the sky Lor sent another spell at her former husband, the resulting blast knocking him to the ground.
Kitch's mother was silent as she pointed her wand to a large boulder and caused it to begin levitating. The rock continued to levitate closer to Imperious, who was now slowly making his way back to his feet. As he erected himself the boulder then split into a thousand smaller rocks, pebbles really, which in turn now orbited around the dark man...and then they plummeted, taking it in turns to assault every available inch of his body.
As Imperious fell to the ground once more Lor gave another wave of her wand and yet more trees climbed from their homes, alive and ready to aid their mistress in any way she chose.
"Restrain him." Lor ordered, and the tree closest to Imperious, a towering, magnificent Spruce, wrapped the man in its roots and lifted him at least a hundred feet into the air.
Lor gave a snap of her fingers and in response the tree holding Kitch's father whirled him around several times and then slammed the man into the cold, hard earth.
"Restrain him again." Lor answered with a growl. "But this time stand him up so I can slap his lips off his face."
Once the tree had complied with her orders Lor did just as she promised, and then Summoned her own enchanted sword back to her.
"Your oldest son has been born, and your bastard son will soon be taken from Izumi Tatsu by force, but I will make sure you bare no more children ever again."
And as Imperious's eyes, still as inhuman as ever, bulged wider than a Quaffle, Lor brought the blade up in a vertical motion, cutting directly into the man's groin.
"Stupefy." She murmured before his screams could fill their ears, and immediately his body went limp and the memory went black.
"Wow." Elianna gasped as they both pulled their heads free of the pensive's liquid contents. "Your mom meant business."
"Yes," A woman's voice said, shaking with emotions. "I did mean business, especially when I told you, Kitch Grant, that I did not want you speaking with your father until you were of age."
Kitch and Elianna both spun around as though they'd been caught like little kids playing Healer. Lor Grant stood in the doorway, anger and disappointment etched into her face.
"Elianna, honey, I believe your mother was looking for you."
"Yes ma'am," Elianna answered, clearly taking her hint. "I'll go find her then."
And two seconds later Kitch was now alone with his mother, and he suddenly realized how Imperious must have felt in the second memory.
Raven and Duran, now clean
ed, bandaged up, and several thousand galleons richer, were entering the new Grant home at Savannah Hill, and, as had everyone before them, both were greatly impressed by the beauty and grandeur of the place.
"Gotta hand it to Aunt Lor: she sure knows how to pick her homes, doesn't she?" Duran asked, determined to keep the conversation on anything that didn't deal with what had happened between them during their assault on the lair of werewolves.
"You know," Raven answered back. "You've still never told me why you and Billy both refer to her as Aunt Lor."
Duran felt himself sag with relief: he'd been afraid she might insist on being a stereotypical woman and discuss their feelings for one another.
"She was one of pop's good friends." Duran explained as they walked beneath the large lion statue. "When pops died gramps said if something ever happened to him too Aunt Lor would make sure we were taken care of, and even before gramps kicked the bucket she did right by Billy and me."
"And they say you haven't a sensitive bone in your body."
"I don't." Duran defended. "I'm just saying, as far as assets go Aunt Lor's been one of our best ones in the past few years."
"Assets?"
"Yeah." Duran explained. "As far as Billy and I are concerned, you're either an asset or a liability."
"Yeah, and what am I?"
"You're an ass-et." Duran laughed. "Though keep it up and that just might change."
"Really?" Raven asked. "And do you usually confess your secret love to all of your assets?"
Immediately Raven Grant's face began to turn red, as though she'd revealed some embarrassing secret, and Duran, hating himself for it, felt his face begin to burn too, and for several moments they said nothing as a pregnant silence filled the air between them as they moved deeper into the new manor.
Finally, however, it was Raven who broke the silence.
"I'm sorry, Duran."
"Yeah?"
"For earlier, I mean. I don't regret what I did, even if it did put me, unarmed, between you and a fully-shifted werewolf. I am, however, sorry for not thinking of your feelings."
"Nah, it's cool Rae." He answered. "You know, though, no one's ever risked themselves to save me before, not even Billy. It shows me you're still naive, and a rookie, but still...that means a lot to me, as stupid as it was."
"Maybe you've never needed before."
"Oh, I have." Duran found himself admitting. "But Billy and me always had an agreement that neither of us would go out of the way to sacrifice ourselves to save the other."
"You're joking."
"Nope. Both of us agreed that we didn't want the other living with the knowledge that we were alive only because our brother was dead."
"Some might call that cowardly."
"Maybe it is." Duran conceded. "But a Detreo has nothing greater or more important than his word. If we say we're going to do something then come demons or goblins we're going to do it. A Detreo who breaks his word ain't a Detreo at all."
"And Billy will be at rest knowing you kept your word."
"Yep." Duran answered. "You risked yourself for me Rae, and though it was stupid I do appreciate the gesture, though the next time you do it I'll curse you from one end of the planet to the other."
Raven laughed. "So, where do we go now?"
"What you mean?"
"Well, you confessed some kind of love for me, and you don't strike me as the type of person to just do that on a regular life-and-death situation, and though I may not have said those exact words I think we can both agree I feel the same way."
"Yep."
"If we did decide to take this any further it would be a challenge for us. I mean, you're emancipated so legally you're an adult, but you're only sixteen-"
"And there's a reason I don't date." Duran added. "This is new grounds for both of us, not to mention what we both know's going to have to happen sometime in the near future."
Raven nodded her head. "We both have duties. The Dark Side's regaining strength on an hourly basis, and I've promised mom that I'll try to find out as much about the Black Suns as I can, and that's going to be a job in and of itself."
"And I have my duty to my bloodline, to make sure its pure nobility survives into the future. Plus, let's be realistic here: you'll need my help against the Black Suns too-"
"I do need your help Duran, but not with the Black Suns."
"Oh?"
"Kitch, Elianna, and Tabitha will be going to Hogwarts come the first of September. I need you to go with them."
"Oh hell no." Duran answered immediately. "I am so done with school-"
"Please, Duran, please go with Kitch and the others to Hogwarts."
"No!"
"Please, I'm begging you, Duran, and I don't usually beg."
"Why?" Duran asked. "Why is it so important for me-"
"When I said that the Dark Side's gaining strength on an hourly basis I didn't mean just the Black Suns."
"The Death Eaters?"
"My information comes from the underground, sources most would discount, but yes, it does appear that way: Sirius Black's escape from Azkaban last summer was only one in a long line of events that is giving some of Voldemort's old supporters power once more."
"Imperious is still safe behind bars." Duran sighed. "I've figured the Dark Lord would return before too long, so it appears he's our biggest threat."
Raven nodded her head. "Mom, the others, and I will be too busy with the Black Suns to focus on the Death Eaters. I want you at Hogwarts so that if the Black Suns try for him there, or if they make any kind of alliance with the Death Eaters, then I know you'll be there to protect him."
Duran nodded his head, his brain now working full capacity. "Okay then, I'll go. You and the others can handle the Black Suns and I'll keep an eye on the Dark Lord and his Death Eaters."
"Thanks, Duran. I want to know where these feelings would take us," She added. "But not until we're both sure we can do our duties first and foremost without a relationship getting in the way."
"Right place at the wrong time." Duran muttered as they entered the Kitch, running headlong into a visibly-shaken Lor Grant.
"Hey mom." Raven greeted, stopping the older witch. "What's up?"
"I'm about to go have a talk with your brother: Jessica told me about this morning."
"This morning?" Raven and Duran asked together, neither of them having heard anything new in the past day or two.
"Apparently, according to Jessica and Elianna's parents, Elianna got scared of last night's thunderstorm at Oak Acres, so she went to Kitch, who read her some of the tales from Beetle the Bard."
"Let me guess;" Raven cut in. "She fell asleep in his bed, right?"
Lor nodded her head. "And this morning they both decided to explore not only their relationship but their bodies as well."
"Hot dog!" Duran found himself shouting before he'd even thought about it. "You go Kitch, you sly devil-" His sentence, however, died away as he noticed the glares both Lor and Raven were now giving him.
"Did they-"
"No." Lor answered. "Jessica walked in on them before they could take it that far."
"Wow." Was all Raven could say as she sat down in one of the chairs at the kitchen table.
"Anyways, I need to go set that boy straight before they do decide to take it that far."
"Mind doing me a favor, Aunt Lor?"
"Depends."
"Sign me up for Hogwarts too."
"Really?" She asked. "I thought you were done with school."
"Changed my mind." He answered with a shrug of his shoulders. "Figured I might was well go and keep an eye on that horny toad of yours while I'm at it." And as he finished he glanced very briefly at Raven, who calmly met his eyes.
"I see." Lor said, looking between them. "Is Billy going with you?"
"Why should he?" Duran asked, ever as calm as he spoke. "The dead have no need for school."
Lor Grant's eyes went wide as she stumbled forward several feet before catching herself. "Billy's…dead?"
"Werewolf got him, Aunt Lor." Duran explained, deciding she needn't know the full details of the assault. "Never stood a chance."
"I'm sorry to hear-"
"Don't say it, Aunt Lor." Duran interrupted with a sharp snap. "You know the deal, you remember the promise you gave Billy and me: if either of us died avenging pops no tears would be shed for us."
"It's not that easy, Duran-"
"It is, because I know you, Aunt Lor, and I know you won't desecrate my brother's memory or defile his honor by crying for him."
"I know, Duran." The older woman said, forcing her eyes dry with the hem of her robe. "And at least he died avenging Gavin, a warrior's death, just like he wanted to, right?"
"Yep." Duran answered. "He took some of 'em down with him when he went."
"Gavin would be proud of you, Duran, of both of you, for how far you've come since his death: there's no higher praise anyone can give you than that."
"Thanks Aunt Lor. Listen, you got a spare-"
"Third floor, last door on the right; has your name on it."
"Thanks." He answered, and with a nod of her head Lor turned and was gone, leaving Duran alone with Raven. Standing back up, Duran offered Raven a slight bow and then took off for his room, not stopping nor thinking until he was safely alone and behind the locked door of his new, albeit temporary, room.
Once the door was looked he set about taking off his tunic, which he'd used to cover up a majority of the bruises, scars, cuts, and scratches that now riddled his torso, though he'd first forced Raven to check and ensure that none of them had come from a shifted-form werewolf.
As the tunic fell to the ground Duran realized that Lor, knowing him so well, had stocked the beside cupboard with various forms of liquor, both magical and muggle alike. Smiling in spite of both himself and the situation in which he now found himself, Duran righted the upside down goblet and began pouring just enough of the firewhiskey into it to cover the bottom of the goblet.
"Here's to ya, brother." He said in a toast, raising the goblet above his head with his right hand as he looked down at the floor. "May you rule Hell as well as you lived."
Looking back up, Duran brought the goblet down and emptied the contents into his mouth in a single gulp before sitting the now-empty goblet back onto the table to fill it up, this time not stopping until it was full all the way to the brim. No sooner had he made to take his second drink, however, than a woman's voice stopped him cold in his tracks.
"I need you Duran." She said, and as he turned around Duran Detreo suddenly found the urge to laugh nearly impossible to resist.
"Sorry kid, but even if you were old enough for me you're just not my cup of firewhiskey."
"Not like that, you perv. I need you to train me, to teach me."
"Teach you what?" Duran asked, now eyeing her suspiciously.
"Magic." She explained. "I want you to show me how to master the Unforgivable Curses, to train me in how to use Dark Magic."
"Yeah?" He asked. "What you got planned?"
"Revenge." She growled, taking a step closer. "I want them dead, all of them."
"No shit Merlin?" Duran shot back. "I'd never have guessed. I meant what do you plan on doing? How far are you willing to go to get this revenge? Where are you willing to let this quest for payback take you? What are you willing to do to achieve this goal? Who are you willing to take down to make the Black Suns pay for killing your dear little boyfriend?"
"I plan on killing them." She answered back, not blinking as she took another step, and as she did so it did not escape Duran's noticed that she didn't deny his accusation of how she felt about their fallen comrade. "I will go as far and wherever I have to in order to make sure those responsible, in anyway, for what happened to Pax, pay. I will do anything, Duran, to achieve my mission, and anyone who stands in my way, in any shape, form, or fashion, big or small, will suffer a traitor's death."
"I see. Where are you going to base your operations from? What resources do you readily have available to you at this very moment? What resources can you have available in the near or future distance? What kind of firepower can you hope to level against your enemies? And, perhaps the most important question of all, what do you plan on doing once you're finished? Once the Black Suns are no more what do you plan to do with yourself, with your future?"
"I don't know and, at the moment, Duran, I really couldn't care less, okay?. All I care about-"
"Is getting yourself killed." Duran finished for her, backing her up now towards his door.
"What?"
"Don't play stupid, Tabby." Duran continued. "In the state you're in, both mentally and physically, you wouldn't last two seconds against even a single member of the Black Suns; you'd die faster than Pax did."
"Then teach me, Duran." She pleaded. "Show me how to exact my revenge and stay alive-"
"That's the thing, Tabs." Duran cut in again. "You don't care about living. Come on, be honest with me: you want to kill them off in a manner so that you'll die along the way and can be with Pax in the Beyond."
"Yeah?" She challenged. "So what if I do want to die so that I can rejoin Pax afterwards-"
Duran suddenly had Billy's wand, the replacement for the wand Duran had lost earlier, in his right hand and aimed straight at Tabitha's head, once more forcing the girl to go silent.
"You dishonor Pax's memory with that kind of attitude." He growled, his voice dangerously soft. "Pax Onasi died saving someone else's life, someone who never mattered in the overall universe and very likely someone who never will matter in the grand scheme of things. Do you seriously think, you pathetic child, that he'd like you committing suicide in a blaze of glory just to be with him?"
She said nothing, causing Duran to shake his head.
"You're pathetic, Tabitha Harding. You never cared about Pax to begin with-"
"How dare you?" She growled, moving to take a step forward. Duran, however, raised his wand and thrust it forward, her face suddenly stopping less than an inch away from the tip.
"If you'd ever cared enough about Pax to even give him the time of day you'd have let him know how you felt about him long before now and not be using his death as an excuse to go get yourself killed! Your feelings for him are simply the cover-up of a mudblood nigger who'd have been better off staying the mediocre street-urchin she was than try to become something a noble and pure as a witch."
"Why you-"
Before Tabby could finish her sentence, however, Duran caught her in the abdomen with his right foot and pushed with enough strength that she went backpedaling into the hallway beyond. As he grabbed his door, preparing to slam it shut, however, he stopped, catching her eyes as she regained her balance.
"If you want the other two to remain friends with you I suggest you don't let either one of them know what you just asked me to do. Once you've got your head on straight and a real plan of action together, let me know: if I'm bored enough then I might train you. Until then, you little mudblood, stay out of my sight!"
And with that he slammed the door shut. Once he was out of Tabby's sight, however, Duran smiled: that should keep her from doing anything overly stupid on her own for the time being.
{Location: Kasumi House, Northern Oregon, Pacific Northwest, United States of America}
As the day wore on into the latter half of its life, two figures appeared out of nowhere at the head of the walkway that lead to what was left of the ruined home, the resulting sharp crack sending peaceful birds fluttering off in every direction.
The first, the oldest of the pair, walked cautiously forward, a wand sticking out of her hand and at the ready for the first sign of trouble, her brown hair swaying in rhythm with her cloak as they approached the house. The second of the pair, his wand also sticking out of his right hand, had very short hair cut close to his scalp, an anxious look on his face as he constantly looked around, as though nervous they may be caught trespassing or committing some unspeakable act of horrific terror.
"I s-still don't s-see wh-why we ha-have to come back here." He muttered, and not for the first time Jessica Grant sighed as she continued moving forward.
"Because, Milhouse, we need more evidence before we can proceed with the investigation."
"But I t-thought y-you said that w-we already h-had our evidence-"
"It's all circumstantial." Jessica replied with a frustrated snap. "Until we get something that cannot be explained away or otherwise disputed, the Wizengamot would almost certainly never convict Elianna Kasumi of the crimes she's committed."
"You s-said al-almost certainly." Dilbert countered. "Th-that means th-there m-might be a ch-chance-"
"For such a bumbling, dim-witted coward you sure are optimistic." She again snapped, suddenly overcome with the urge to just send the young wizard home and order him to pursue a new career. Looking over, however, she noticed his face droop and his eyes lower, and even without the yet-to-form glistening of tears, she knew her words had cut him.
"Look, Dilbert," She said, reverting to his first name. "I'm sorry, okay? I just hate having to live with someone I know is a spy and a traitor, especially when there's no way I can take them down. That's why we're here. We need some kind of evidence that links Elianna Kasumi to the attack on GAME Island and the subsequent attack by the Black Suns on her home, something that leaves no question as to the truth."
He nodded his head. "An-anything in sp-specific?"
"According to Casper, the weapon used to kill Chancellor Donaldson was what he called a Colt Forty-Five, which will look like this." She said, retrieving a muggle picture of a small muggle gun and handing it to him.
"Wow." He said with a laugh. "The s-sorts of th-things these m-muggles come up with, huh?"
"Also," She continued. "Make sure you're wearing your gloves: he didn't explain it but Casper says that touching anything with our bare hands can dilute the power of any evidence we might find."
"B-but th-they m-make my hands f-feel fat."
"I don't care of they make you hungry." Jessica answered. "I don't not want that little brat getting away with massacre just because we damaged a single piece of evidence. And I promise you, Dilbert Milhouse, if you do, accidentally or otherwise, mess up this investigation, you won't be able to get a job shuffling dragon dung by the time I'm done with your career, are we clear?"
"Y-yes ma'am."
"Right then." Jessica replied, giving her wand a wave over the door, automatically disarming all of the various spells and charms that had been put into place to protect the home following it's assault by the Black Sun Syndicate.
"According to Daniel Kasumi," Jessica muttered, taking a casual-yet-detailed glance of the home's ruined living room as she entered. "He had a gun cabinet right next to the staircase."
"Did h-he own one of th-the gun-wands like w-what we're lo-looking f-for?"
"I didn't ask, and they're not gun-wands, the muggles only call them guns."
"S-same d-difference. W-why not a-ask him?"
"Because, aside from Yvonne and my mother, only we know Elianna Kasumi's our main suspect. I do not want to alert the girl's muggle father that we may suspect her of using one of his weapons to help carry out the massacre of GAME Island."
"W-why n-not?"
"Because, Dilbert, Elianna would realize we suspect her, and any chance we have of bringing her to justice would be lost!"
"O-oh, o-okay th-then." He stuttered quickly as the pair now spread out across the room to begin their search for a weapon that some would say might not even exist. As the pair searched in silence Jessica allowed her thoughts to wonder for a brief moment in time.
She knew that her brother would hate her once she moved against Elianna Kasumi, and it was very possible she may have to even subdue the boy by force, but she was, she reminded herself, willing to risk it. As long as he and the rest of her family was safe then she could put up with a childish, disappointment-induced hatred that would die out as soon as he got over the initial shock and realized the truth about Elianna Kasumi and where the muggle-born girl's true loyalties rested. At that time, Jessica knew, he would forgive her, and perhaps even love her even more for her willingness to save him from such a close traitor, no matter what it cost…
"J-Jessica." Dilbert's stutter-filled voice cut into her thoughts. "I-I th-think I f-found th-the g-gun-wand w-we're lo-looking f-for."
Spinning around, Jessica immediately recognized the weapon from the picture Casper had given her earlier. Pulling a small, plastic bag from her cloak, the same the muggle pleasemen were so fond of using, she walked over and allowed Dilbert to drop the weapon into the bag, which she then sealed and returned to her cloak.
"Okay, that's definitely improved our chances." She explained, smiling now at the younger wizard. "But before we go I don't think it'd hurt for us to split up and look through the rest of this mess, just to make sure we're not overlooking anything. Remember, be careful with any other possible evidence you might find."
"O-of c-course, I'll b-be c-careful."
For almost an hour following the discovery of the muggle gun, neither Jessica nor her partner/apprentice, Dilbert, had much luck turning up anything useful, and, with Elianna's bedroom now the only room left unturned by the pair, Jessica felt the initial spurt of hope the gun's discovery had given her begin to fade, and by the time she found the letter, hidden very carefully and cleverly inside of an old Holy Bible, she'd already admitted they'd find nothing else of value. At first, looking the folded sheaf of parchment over, she'd prepared to simply ignore what was likely a note her brother had written the girl over the holidays, but for some odd reason she found it simply too irresistible, and with a shrug of her shoulders she opened it and began to read.
You've done well in assuring you'll standing watch at the Gate when we make our move. Make sure targets Alpha and Bravo are out of the way so that they can do nothing to impede us when we come for our visit, and let no one out of the dormitories until one of us come to Light your way out. Muggle weather forecasts call for a possible Thunderstorm around midnight, but let it worry you not; all will be well. Once done you will be given your Reward and allowed to return home in peace. If alarmed defend yourself and make it count. IT
Jessica felt the world slow down as she re-read the letter a dozen times in less than a minute. Obviously written in code, she could nonetheless fill in the blanks almost immediately. The Gate, obviously, referred to the Floo House, and targets Alpha and Bravo could only be Colonel Faulkner and Chancellor Donaldson, both of who would very well have been a near-impossible obstacle for the Black Suns to overcome. Light your way out, Jessica then realized, could mean the burning and sacking of the island, and the Thunderstorm, she was now convinced, really meant the Thunder Stone, of which her brother now had custody.
"DILBERT!" She roared, folding the letter up and placing it inside of her cloak just above her heart.
"Y-yes?" He called back as Jessica made for the ruined stairs.
"We're done here. Come on, we're leaving!"
In total silence, saying nor doing anything that would in any way give away the fact that she'd just found what would prove to be the nail in Elianna Kasumi's coffin, Jessica led Dilbert back out of the Kasumi house and back to the front of the home's walk way, amongst the still-blooming hedges that stood taller than either sorcerer.
"We're going to Casper's office. You know the drill, right Dilbert?"
"O-of c-course; we a-app-apparate int-into the alley next to t-the that h-holds Casper's o-office and then enter l-like m-muggles."
Stopping at the head of the walkway, Jessica spun on the spot on the balls of her heels and less than a second later the Kasumi was once again left the way it had been found: seeming, to all the world, as though it were alone.
Nearly half an hour later, her witches garb now replaced with a crimson button-up shirt that tucked neatly into her blue jean pants, her wand stashed, and her body safe from the various pat-down searches and muggle security checks to ensure she was unarmed, Jessica Grant at last entered the cluttered, loud forensic laboratory that Casper Rhys, officially a Special Agent of what the muggles called the FBI, almost always called home.
"Oh yeah!" A loud voice boomed, obviously unaware that he was no longer alone. "Yeah yeah…oh yeah! Shake it for the young bucks sitting in the honkytonks for the rednecks rocking 'til the break of dawn for the DJs spinning that country song, come on come on come on baby! Shake it for the birds, shake it for the bees, shake it for the bacteria swimming down deep in the petrie, for the crickets and the critters and the squirrels, shake it to the moon shake it for me girl! Uh! Country girl shake it for me, girl, shake it for me, girl, shake it for me. Country girl shake it for me, girl, shake it for me, girl, shake it for me! Guitar, now!"
As the large, bulky man spun around from his current station, he began acting as though playing an invisible version of the instrument he'd just screamed out, and at seeing Jessica and Dilbert standing there, watching, he laughed as he pointed at Jessica.
"Shake it for me Jessica!" He bellowed over the loud music, at which time she appropriately affixed him with the best death-glare she could ever manage as she coolly replied.
"Not even in your most messed-up nightmare."
Shaking his head as he flashed a toothy grin he turned and walked over to the wireless that was producing his music, still dancing along as he shut it off.
"Thundering Thestrals, Casper: how in the world do you manage to think with that junk on?"
"Very easily, especially when such a beautiful woman's always in my head."
"I'll be sure to tell Zannah you send your regards."
"You sure you won't take me up on that date?" He asked, now raising the goggles that had been protecting his eyes moments before. "I know this great little place not too far from here: not half bad, either."
"Not if I was drunk, under the Imperius Curse, held at wand-point, knife-point, and forced to make an Unbreakable Vow in which I promised to go out with you."
"That's low." He said, now donning a hurt look. "Oh well, your loss." He said, turning to face Dilbert. "And Dilbert, old man, I'm surprised your still hanging around such a cruel person."
"S-she h-has her m-moments of c-course." Dilbert stuttered. "B-but s-she's a g-great m-mentor f-from who I've l-learned a g-great d-deal. It's b-been an h-honor s-serving w-with her-"
"Oh boy." Casper cut in. "She's got you terrified: I can see it in your eyes. No worries, man: I know some great people-"
"CASPER!" Jessica bellowed, cutting him off in his tracks. "We have work to do, remember?"
"Of course we have work to do." He said, that smile now back. "You and me have to get to work on this relationship of ours."
"Casper…" She trailed off, her voice going low and rigid, causing him to back up with his hands in the air.
"Whoa, easy now gorgeous, I was simply being obvious."
"I. Need. Information. On. The. Gun. Used. To. Kill. Chancellor. Donaldson. NOW!"
"Look, I'm a handsome son of a gun, and the best forensic scientist this side of the Milky Way, but I've done told you: I need a gun to match that slug I took from the good Chancellor-"
"Well then, you're in luck." Jessica answered, retrieving the plastic-bound pistol from her purse. "I found one that matches your description perfectly."
"Hot Hippogriffs, you've hit the jackpot Love-of-my-Life!" He said, jerking the bag free of Jessica's hands so that he could better inspect the weapon. "Well now, old timer, you've seen a lot, haven't you? How'd you enter the country? Come in by way of Okinawa or maybe Guadalcanal? Oh, Normandy, huh? Yeah, well, we'll find out the truth my little friend, no worries."
He then looked back up at Jessica and Dilbert, the former of whom realized suddenly that her mouth was open.
"What?" He asked innocently. "Mr. Colt and I were having a conversation. Nothing wrong with that, is there?"
"What can you tell me about it?"
"Without taking it out to look at it?" He asked. "Let's see, it's black, with a brown handgrip. It's small, not that heavy, old, and deadly in the right hands. Looks to be a little hole at the end, but I suspect that may be where it expels its projectile when fired. Sorry, I'll have to open it to learn much more about it."
"Oh for Merlin's crooked nose…you're worse than my kid brother!"
"How is he, anywho? Heard he survived GAME Island…must run in the family."
"Yeah, yeah, he's doing great. Listen, can you please hurry it up and look at that thing, see whether or not it was what killed Chancellor Donaldson."
"Dilbert, take my advice young man: never fall for a cop or a member of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. On that thought, never fall for a nurse or doctor, either. Not worth it, kid, so not worth it." And with that Casper began fitting his hands with plastic gloves before turning to open the plastic bag and withdrawing the weapon from within.
"It'll take me a few hours, Jessica." He explained. "I'll have to inspect it, test fire it, compare the slug it fires from what we took from Chancellor Donaldson, so on so forth."
"Hurry. Also, can you get in touch with the Ministry?"
"What for?"
"This," She said, now withdrawing the letter she'd discovered in Elianna's room. "Was addressed to my suspect and appears to be written in code describing the attack before it happened. I think the initial is for Izumi Tatsu-"
"And you want me to get some kind of sample handwriting from her time in the Department of Magical Transportation and cross-reference it, right? Shouldn't be too hard considering how far back Ministry records go. Again, though, it'll be a few hours."
"Then I suggest you hurry, Casper; my patience is really beginning to run a little thin."
"Immediately Fuehrer!" He answered back immediately, giving an old-fashioned but accurate muggle Nazi salute. "All hail Fuehrer."
"One of these days, Casper, one of these days." She growled, suddenly wishing she had her wand within reach.
"Yes, gorgeous, one of these days we will make some beautiful babies together. We'll name the girls Esme, Xanthia, Zenobia and Katrina, and the boys will be Adonis, Armel, Aurelio, and Sue."
"That's it I'm going to…wait…Sue? A boy named Sue?"
"One of the best country songs on the market today."
"I give up." She muttered, throwing her hands into the air as she spun around.
For the next several hours, Jessica waited for Casper's results. She'd gone out, eaten dinner (Dilbert, unfortunately, tagging along with her) and then wander the city aimlessly before returning. Finally, however, the results were in, and with Dilbert at her side Jessica was once again standing inside of Casper's forensics lab.
"Well?"
"This gun, according to the Department of Defense records, was issued to a Corporal Rick Kasumi, USMC-"
"USMC?"
"United States Marine Corps…muggle military. Anywho, Corporal Kasumi served during the Second World War, where he saw action at Guadalcanal, Okinawa, and a hundred other bloody engagements. He's highly decorated, received almost every muggle award the muggle government and military could throw at him."
"What else?"
"Always so impatient." He answered, flashing her another of his grins. "Well, I found three different sets of fingerprints-"
"Was Elianna Kasumi's one of them?"
"Well, if the sample you brought me Friday indeed belongs to her, then, yes, hers were the most recent, on top of the others, and the most frequent. Also, I can assure you that this weapon did fire the slug we found lodged in Chancellor Donaldson's brain."
"Finally, some hard, tangible evidence. What about the letter?"
"I'm 98.13 percent sure it's Izumi Tatsu's handwriting?"
"And the other 1.87 percent?"
"Taking into account time, the condition of the samples I got from the Ministry, the physical condition of whoever wrote the letter, and the condition you found the letter in."
"That sounds like enough evidence to me." Jessica said, suddenly much happier and much more awake than she'd been moments before. "It's time to move-"
"I would wait if it were me." Casper interrupted, causing Jessica to freeze in her tracks.
"What?"
"If Elianna Kasumi is your prime target then even this evidence is circumstantial, albeit it harder to explain away. She shares Corporal Kasumi's family name so I'm assuming she's a grandchild or great-grandchild, which means the weapon would have been in the home, thus it's not too far of a stretch for her to have handled the gun, even recently, on behalf of her father, without firing it."
"And the letter?"
"Could have been planted there during or after their late-night attack."
"Damn you, Casper-"
"It makes sense, Jessica. If they're looking to discredit your brother, your family, or even just to throw suspicions off of the true traitors, then they're doing an excellent job."
"Then what are you suggesting-"
"That you give me some time."
"WE DON'T HAVE TIME, CASPER!" Jessica shouted. "The Black Suns are back-"
"And if you arrest your brother's best friend and then she turns out to be innocent he'll never forgive you." Casper said, suddenly all-serious. "Not to mention the fact that if you move against Elianna Kasumi and she's innocent it'll give the real traitor time to cover his or her trail better."
"Look, I've been trained to follow the evidence, Casper, and right now it's leading-"
"W-we do-don't kn-know w-where it's l-leading ri-right n-now." Dilbert cut in. "W-we c-can't s-see the e-end of th-the r-road."
"Kid's right, Jessica." Casper answered. "The road the evidence is driving us down may well have been merely built recently by the Black Suns to mislead us and thus cause untold damage and waste our time." He sighed heavily before continuing. "Give me just a little more time, no longer than a day or two."
"Why?"
"Remember that letter you found following the assault on GAME Island, the one enchanted so that magic has no reparative effects on it?"
"Yeah, what about it?"
"A friend of mine, a muggle, has a device he believes can let us digitally restore burnt or missing letters and give us a carbon-copy of what they'd have looked like in their original, unaltered form."
"Digital?" Jessica asked.
"Computers. It'd be real but not."
"Huh?"
"Never mind. Look, the point is this: if it works I could match it to Elianna Kasumi's known handwriting, provided you get me a sample, and that would be much more tangible evidence, and combined with all of your circumstantial evidence it would almost certainly put her away."
"How confident are you that'll it'll work?"
"I'll bet you twenty galleons, six sickles, two knuts, five dollars, and one cent that it works."
"If it works, Casper, I just might take you up on that date after all."
"I knew you'd come around to my way of thinking, gorgeous."
Shaking her head, Jessica turned and strode out of the laboratory, Dilbert in full pursuit.
And thus ends the tenth chapter. So, what'd you guys think?
It really does look like the case against Elianna Kasumi is beginning to come together, and it certainly doesn't look good for her, does it?
What'd you guys think of Dilbert and Casper? Oh yeah, before I forget, I'll explain a little about Casper Rhys. I recently reread Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, and towards the end, when Harry gets the memories from Snape, he watches a young Lily Evans tell her sister, Petunia, that there must be Wizards working in the post offices on behalf of the Ministry, and so that got me to thinking that maybe the same could be true for other areas, including forensic scientists, thus the character Casper Rhys, who will later be revealed to be muggle-born. As for Dilbert Milhouse...I got him after watching Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace...in case you haven't noticed he's intended to be a cross between Jar Jar Binks and Professor Quirrel from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. As for the way she treats Dilbert and acts around him...I don't really know...I just thought it'd work better in with Jessica's overall attitude. Also, this is in 1994, so many of the forensic technology we take for granted now was still being invented back then, so yeah...what do you guys think?
I don't really know why, after what's happened between them, Raven and Duran are agreeing to put duty before feelings, other than, as they said, they both want to make sure they can do their duties first and foremost without allowing their emotions get in the way, so only time can tell what'll happen between them.
And now Kitch's mom knows he's broken her rules and made contact with his father, the Dread Lord Imperious. So, anyone got any ideas as to what's going to happen next? Think she'll let him live to see Hogwarts Castle for the first time?
Well, until next time...