"Dumbledore wanted me to go with you two to the train station," said Gabriel from behind his newspaper at the kitchen table. I looked up at him from my trunk, in the sitting room, where I was making sure all of my things were packed.
"Why?"
"You need someone to protect you."
"Yea," I said coming into the kitchen. "And a lot of protection you've been for me."
"Shut up," he said with a smile. I smiled back at him as Sirius came into the kitchen.
"Ready?" he asked kissing my cheek. I smiled at him and kissed his lips quickly.
"Yea, I think so," I said. "Gabriel is going to take us I guess."
"We don't need you to," said Sirius quickly looking at Gabriel with a nasty look. Gabriel put down his paper to look him in the eye. "We'll be fine. We can protect each other."
"Like you protected each other last time?" Gabriel suggested.
"I don't need you judging us," I said to him with a glare before Sirius could say anything. The last thing I wanted to happen was for the two of them to starting fighting. "Now please, Sirius, get your stuff and mine together and we'll head over there. You can Apparate us and our stuff?"
Sirius nodded.
"Sure."
He left the room to get his things.
"I'm going with you Cadence, Dumbledore wants me to."
I sighed.
"Sirius is going to Apparate us from the front porch to the platform. What could go wrong?"
"I kidnapped you between the train and platform nine," he said crossly. "It wouldn't be very difficult."
I didn't look him in the eye. I knew he was right. It had been incredibly easy for him to kidnap me. He had taken over the form of someone I thought I could trust—my Grandfather—and walked me out into the Muggle world. It wasn't until we were in the parking lot that I realized it wasn't my Grandfather at all, but an imposter…but by that time it was too late.
Gabriel had once been a Death Eater so he knew how they thought. He could plan ahead like one of them would, and he could make very educated guesses as to what they're moves would be. Sometimes this was a little unnerving when one thought about it, but incredibly useful too.
"I would bet they're going to try and take you again."
"Why?" I said crossing my arms over my chest.
"Because it's what I'd do if I were hunting you," he said. "You just escaped again. And I'm sure your Father was more then upset about that—"
"I'm sure he was too," I said with a smile and turning back to my trunk. I bent over and closed it, locking my clothes and school things in it. I hadn't told Gabriel, but I had packed many of the clothes that he had bought for me. I wouldn't admit it out loud, but I liked all of them. I left the underwear behind though. I thought it would be a little inappropriate to wear the silk and lace panties and bras that Gabriel had bought for me.
"He was probably furious," Gabriel said slowly. I could tell he was looking my legs and ass up and down as I was bent over. I stood up straight in my jean short overalls and long sleeve shirt and put my hands on my hips as I glared at him. He smiled at me and then continued talking. "Somebody probably got tortured because of your little escape."
I stopped what I was doing and turned sharply, looking at Gabriel.
"What did you say?"
"Someone probably got tortured," he said again slowly. He was looking at me with raised eyebrows.
"Gabriel," I said coming to him. "Do you know anything about blood bonds?"
"What?" he said looking at me like I was crazy. "Why?"
"I-I I'm just wondering."
Gabriel eyed me very seriously and reached out to touch my right arm.
"Does it have anything to do with this?" he asked rubbing his thumb up the wound that was covered in gauze and my clothing. His touch sent shivers through my skin, even with my clothes between our flesh.
"I'm just wondering," I repeated very seriously.
"You never told me why he cut your arm."
"He was trying to mark me and I moved too much."
Gabriel tried to penetrate my mind, but I blocked him with a small smile.
"If you were telling the truth you wouldn't block me."
"Yes I would," I said back. I went to the sitting room and retrieved my trunk, dragging it into the kitchen with two hands. Gabriel came forward and lifted it off the ground easily and took it to the front of the house. I sighed and went to sit on the couch to put my shoes on. I pulled on my black heels and watched as Gabriel came back into the room.
"Why are you wondering about blood bonds?"
"If two people were to do a blood bond, what kind of bond forms between them?"
"A strong one," he said leaning against the threshold frame of the room. "Particularly if one or both persons are powerful Legilimences."
I frowned deeply.
"Is there some sort of pain involved with it?"
"Some people can handle being cut open, but others can't…I suppose it depends how big the wound is that the people choose to switch blood with."
"I know that," I said standing up and pulling down my shorts that were riding up a little. "I meant, if one person was to see something form the other persons head with out meaning to, would there be pain?"
"See?" he questioned.
"Yes," I said with annoyance. I knew he was asking so many questions hoping to make me annoyed enough to just tell him everything that had happened.
"I suppose it's possible," he said coming into the room. He titled my chin so I was looking up at him. "Cadence, if Voldemort performed a blood bond between you and him that could be very bad."
"Why?"
"Because in his eyes you have some of the purest blood in the entire Wizarding world," he said slowly. "The Coleman line goes back to medieval times, even farther back then Merlin's time. Then he shares deep roots too. He thinks you're more pure then him because you came form two magical parents. His Mother was a pure blood witch, but his Father was a Muggle. With your blood he would try to counteract his Muggle genes, and hopefully your blood would replace it. Then he would be the purest."
"I don't see why that's so important."
"Cadence," said Gabriel very seriously. "You know how powerful you are. You have the ability to control things with your mind, conjure things, and penetrate the minds of others. Your Father has some of the same powers and is more powerful then you in some ways. But imagine if you take both of your powers, both of your strengths and put the together. The strength of paired powers would be unstoppable."
"You make it sound like only I could stop him."
"I would never put so much pressure on you."
"Doesn't mean the rest of the world wouldn't," I whispered.
"Cadence, is that what he did?" he whispered cupping my cheeks. I looked up at his dark eyes and felt myself falling into them. I pulled away from him and turned, picking up my over the shoulder book bag.
"Yes," I whispered very softly. "That's what he did."
"And you've had one of these episodes where you've seen what he's seeing?"
"I felt his rage of me escaping," I whispered putting the pieces together. "I felt the anger and frustration…I saw flashes of a man being tortured before me. It must have been the person guarding my door…I don't know...I just didn't think anything of it really until you said that."
Gabriel nodded.
"I'm definitely going with you."
I sighed and walked out of the sitting room. As I walked down the hall towards the front of the house Sirius appeared at the bottom of the steps with the rest of his things.
"Ready?" he asked.
I smiled and nodded.
"I'll take the luggage," Gabriel said going to the trunks and holding their handles.
"You don't have to come with us," I said quickly. But he was already gone. I frowned slightly and looked up at Sirius. "I'm sorry."
"It's not your fault he's a stubborn ass," said Sirius. "Come on."
I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and pressed my body against his. He held me close and concentrated on King Cross Station. With a loud pop we appeared on platform nine and three quarters, with Gabriel only a few feet away.
"Took you guys long enough."
Sirius grunted and grabbed our trunks.
"Let's find a seat," he said nodding to the train.
"Alright, I'm coming," I said as he walked off. I looked up at Gabriel. "You shouldn't have done that."
"Why not?" he asked crossing his arms over his chest. "I'm supposed to be protecting you."
"You didn't want to begin with, why are you doing such a good job?"
"Because you deserve the best, Cadence," he said pinching my cheek. "Get going. Have a good semester. I'm sure I'll see you around."
"Don't make a habit out of coming to Hogwarts with the excuse to see Dumbledore, just to see me really."
"You know I will."
I smiled and nodded.
"Bye," I said hugging him. His arms wrapped around my waist for only a moment and then he stepped back. "Thanks for everything."
He nodded.
"See you."
"Bye," I said walking away.
When I looked over my shoulder before climbing on the train he was still standing there, watching me. His eyes met mine for a second and he fixed his cloak. I felt my heart skip a beat as I remembered the last time I boarded a train and saw him. He was gone with the blink of an eye and I realized as Sirius took my hand to pull me up that the only reason Gabriel had come was to see me off…to say good bye.
"I found Lily and James in a compartment," Sirius said. I smiled and nodded. He stopped me for a moment and for a split second I was afraid he was going to ask me about Gabriel. "They don't know what happened to me, do they?"
"Lily does, and I'm sure she told James," I whispered. "They only know you were taken by my Father. Why?"
"Lily asked me a security question," he said back. "To make sure it was me. I'm sure she'll do it to you too."
I smiled. Lily was a smart girl. I was happy she was taking the right steps to protect herself and the people she loved.
Sirius opened the compartment door for me and I stepped in. Our luggage was on the rack above the seats, and James and Lily were sitting on a seat holding each other's hands. I took the seat next to the window and smiled at the two of them.
"Hi," I said.
"Who interrupted our conversation the first time we met?" Lily asked in greeting.
"Sirius."
"And?" Lily said eyeing me oddly as if I had given her the obvious answer.
"Snape," I said.
Lily nodded.
"Everything went well then?" she said smiling and hugging me.
"I'm happy you're asking those questions," I said.
"Well of course," she said sitting back down. "How were we supposed to know that Death Eaters hadn't taken your places?"
I smiled as the door of the compartment opened again and Remus walked in. He was looking grim as ever. I smiled and greeted him with a hug and kiss to the cheek.
"How've you been?"
"Fine," he said slowly with a forced smile. "And you?"
"Fine," I returned his smile and sat back down allowing him to greet Sirius.
Peter Pettigrew followed close behind him. Everyone greeted Peter with waves and hellos, and before long we were all squished into the compartment, three on each bench.
"Did you all have a good summer?" asked Peter with his nervous twitch. I looked at him oddly for a few moments.
"You could say that," said James slowly. "I think interesting is a better word."
"Yea," Sirius scowled. "Interesting. If you call being chased, kidnapped, beaten to a pulp, almost killed, and saved by the a-hole who—"
"Yes," I said quickly. "That could be defined as interesting."
I glared at Sirius sharply. He gave me a frown and grunted, leaning back against the cushioned bench. Lily moved uncomfortably in her seat and stood up quickly.
"Well, James," she said. "We'd better get to helping the first years…making sure they're comfortable and everything. We have to patrol the corridors every once in awhile too."
"Whoa," Sirius said quickly. "What?"
James looked at his best friend with an innocent smile.
"Dumbledore made me Head Boy."
"What?" Sirius repeated in complete shock. "No. He made a mistake. And you didn't accept it did you? You did!?"
James shrugged and stood up with Lily.
"I wanted to take it," he said now with a blank expression.
"This is your doing," Sirius said sharply looking at Lily.
"Sirius!" I said in shock and embarrassment.
"What's wrong with James taking up some responsibility?" Lily snapped looking at Sirius. Her hands were on her hips and she was glaring down at him. "Heaven forbid he not fool around and get put in detention all year."
"But, what about us and all the mischief we could cause?" Sirius said desperately. "I had some really great things planned this year."
"Well," Lily said opening the compartment door. "I guess you'll just have to do them alone…or with somebody else." Lily turned and marched away from the compartment.
"James," sighed Sirius looking at his best friend. "I can't believe you're choosing her of me. I'm your best mate!"
"She's also the woman that I love," said James very seriously standing up. "Don't worry mate, we'll still have our fun." He clapped Sirius on the shoulder and left he compartment, closing the door.
Sirius looked at me and the others in disbelief. I was a little surprised myself, but I didn't think it was necessarily a bad thing for James to start being responsible. He had changed over the last year, and even though he didn't realize it, Sirius had too. I think Sirius had been looking forward to coming back to Hogwarts so much because he knew he wouldn't have to worry about me or our safety. He knew that inside Hogwarts he'd be safe to act out of line. He'd be able to get some action and not put his or my life at risk for it. Sirius always lived for the action and excitement, but after the last few weeks I'm sure he'd had enough to last him a while.
The rest of the train ride was pretty uneventful. Lily and James came back a few times to sit and talk with us, but there was an awkward silence between Sirius and them. I was a little upset with Sirius for not being happy for James. I didn't say anything to him though.
Before I knew it we had arrived at Hogsmeade station and were being herded towards the castle in horseless carriages. I was happy to lay my eyes on the beautiful castle again even though it had only been a week since I had last seen it. There was a pulsing happy feeling in me to be returning home. Not only was Hogwarts my home, it was the one place I felt safe. My Father could not reach me here. I had the magical protection of the castle, the staff, and most importantly Dumbledore. There was no person my Father feared or hated more then Dumbledore.
I knew now that I could relax a little. I didn't have to keep looking over my shoulder. I could stop worrying about Death Eaters coming to get me or the ones I loved. I could focus on my studies, and my friends. I could focus attention on my relationships and what I wanted to do after I left Hogwarts…which really was only one thing.
"Hey," said Sirius wrapping his arm around my waist as I looked up at the castle. People were moving past us, heading up into the school, but I didn't pay them any attention. "You happy to be back?"
"Yea," I said with a smile. "It's like being back home."
Sirius smiled and kissed my cheek.
"Yea," he agreed. "It is."
We grabbed out stuff and together made our way into the Entrance hall with the crowd of other students. It wasn't long until we found ourselves eating at the Welcome Feast, and before long I was tucked in bed at the top of Gryffindor Tower.
