A/N: Wow I am soooo sorry for the delay folks. Work has been killing me! But enough about me, on to the reviews! Librbelieber lol I'm glad you are enjoying the story. I hope to hear more from you. ShadowCub thank you for your review. Lynettecullen all I can say is wait and see :3. Manticore-gurl I'm glad that you love the pairings thank you. Jemjo all I can say is...Kinda...To my mystery Guest. Thank you for pointing that out, however that particular scene was based primarily on the movie, in which Harry wore red and black. The griffin however was indeed a mistake on my part. I appreciate you being honest and don't mind a little criticism so no worries lol. Weedevil thank you for your review as well. Happy late holidays and New Years by the way! On With The Story!
Chapter 21
Kari stood in the blistering cold looking up at her target. The black leather duster swayed in the harsh winds revealing black BDUs and leather combat boots. Silver eyes scanned the windows of the tower for any signs that the Old Fool was inside. Though she knew that Dumbledore was currently away answering a emergency Wizgamot summons. It still didn't hurt to be sure. She looked to her left at Ashley to receive a silent nod. It was time. They both pulled up their hoods, specially charmed to conceal their identities before starting towards the castle. The cloaked women ran silently at the stone wall with blurring speed. To any on looker they were merely shadows. As one they both jumped high into the air, easily landing on the side of the castle. With swift dexterity that humans and most creatures can only dream of, the two ran up the wall towards the Headmasters suites and office. Silence reigned in the night as the two approached their targeted windows. Once they reached the ledge of the desired destination, Kari looked into the office window. She let her magic flow out to feel for any wards or traps, both magical and non. Confirming the window was not warded, Kari opened it silently. Before entering the office she made sure to freeze all the portraits in the room. Once inside they made quick work of disabling any wards around the area that protected certain items. Ashley began searching through the many books on the shelves while Kari searched the desk. Kari froze however once she spotted Dumbledore's phoenix, Fawkes, watching them with interest. Kari frowned as she noticed the almost pleading look in the creatures eyes. Setting that aside for the moment she continued going through the many documents and assortment of parchments and bobbles, looking for secret compartments. In the central drawer she found what she was looking for.
Inside the small compartment was an old weathered book. Kari pulled out the book that was hand written in eloquent cursive letters. She decided to read a bit to see if it held anything of interest. As she read, Kari felt her disgust towards the old man grow into a deep hatred. Inscribed in the worn pages was a complex spell that bound a phoenix's very soul to a human in servitude. If there was ever a spell that would be considered truly foul and evil it was the one in this book. Quickly reading over the spell, one of Dumbledore's own creation no doubt, she looked towards Fawkes. The magnificent bird let out a sorrowful trill, acknowledging the fact that he was a prisoner of the so-called Leader of Light. The growl of pure, barely controlled, rage caused Ashley to look towards her sister in concern. Seeing her sister on the verge of transform was enough to send up alarms in her mind. Before she could question what had brought about this anger Kari slammed the book shut and stuffed it into her pocket, then stood up. Kari walked towards the fire bird. "Do not fret my friend. I swear that I will free you very soon. The Old Fucker will pay for this sin against the purity of magic with his very soul. Even if I must deliver it to the bowels of Hell myself. I beg you for a little more patience so that I may find the way to release you from the bastard safely." She bowed to the bird and received a comforting trill in return. Nodding to the proud creature, she turned back around to face her sister. "Let's find the bastard's rooms and finish this mission. I wish to return to my mates' side before I decided to simply kill him." Ashley nodded solemnly and lead the way towards the doors on the right of the office. They stood before the door, letting their magic brush against the many wards protecting it. The complex and very lethal wards that the Headmaster placed on his private rooms would make any curse breaker think of retirement, however for the two lycans it was a simple task of cutting the strings. At this point Kari didn't care if the old man found out that he was robbed.
Once the final ward fell Kari carefully opened the door. Inside looked like a mad scientist's laboratory. Jars of specimens lined one wall, several odd devices on another. The king sized bed was pushed towards the back corner with a mahogany nightstand beside it. The room reeked of preservatives and foul magic. The two women split upon entry to search the room for any further evidence they could use against the bastard. Ashley stuffed several of the jars into one of her pockets for safe keeping while Kari examined the devices. In the process of liberating Dumbledore of some of his artifacts Kari came across one object that would not move. When she attempted to wiggle it free the shelf that it was sitting on suddenly began to move to the side. Revealing a hidden room. Getting Ashley's attention they both stepped inside. The walls were lined with a multitude of books. Upon reading some of the covers they realized that these books were extremely rare and dangerous. Kari and Ashley nodded to each other before quickly pocketing all of the books in the room. Dumbledore was in for a very rude awakening when he got back. After ensuring that they had got all that they could find the girls made their way to the window they came through. Ashley climbed out first then Kari handed her the small bag full of the belongings stolen from the old bastard. Just before Kari could lift her self out of the window a bright crimson light slammed into the wall next to her head. Ducking down behind the desk quickly Kari heard slow footsteps approaching. "Who are you and how did you get into my office," Dumbledore asked calmly. Kari cursed inwardly as she spotted his reflection in the window. Go figure the Old Fuck would return early. Sighing quietly she slowly moved towards the opposite end of the desk that Dumbledore was 'quietly' walking towards. "I see you have decided to liberate some of my possessions. I would very much like to have those back if you don't mind." The Old Fool continued to speak using a spell to make it sound as if he was still by the door. However, Kari's senses told her otherwise. Just as she rounded the corner, Dumbledore jumped around the far side with his wand drawn and ready to fire a curse.
Dumbledore froze for a moment in shock which allowed Kari enough time to spring up and fire her own curse at the Old Fool. Despite his age Dumbledore managed to dodge under the spell with surprising dexterity. He sent a short chain a spells in return causing Kari to duck back behind the desk cursing silently. "You are a clever one aren't you? No matter. Soon you will be nothing but a distant memory," Dumbledore said softly before shooting a silent spell at the desk making it explode rather violently. Once the rain of debris settled Dumbledore expected to see at least a wounded body. Instead he saw only shattered pieces of wood and stationary. Blinking in surprise he quickly scanned the area for the intruder. Kari, who hid behind a book shelf while he was talking, listened as the Old Fool walked cautiously around the office. She glanced over to the open window then over to where Dumbledore was checking around another book shelf. She slowly inched closer to the window while he was distracted. Once Kari was just feet from her escape route she sent a chain of spells at the headmaster. Dumbledore managed to turn around in time to block most of the spells however they did as Kari intended and allowed her enough time to jump out of the window. Kari free fell to the roof of the lower tower her and Ashley used to climb up. She landed easily of her feet before propelling off once again to land on the ground. She quickly ran into the forest to meet up with her sister at the shrieking shack. Once she was safely inside the abandoned building she breathed a sigh of relief and took off her hood. Ashley stood waiting in what was once a living room. "Damn old bastard came back early," Kari explained as she walked over to the younger girl. Ashley simply nodded in understanding. "What shall we do with the items we took?" Kari sat down heavily onto a dusty and broken couch. "Call Steven and have him pick them up. Dumbledore will most likely have everyone's possessions searched to find the 'thief' so we need to make sure he doesn't find them. Maybe we should plant some of them on one of the students to throw him off. We need to pick some of the things that won't be of use to us then decide who to plant it on." Again Ashley nodded before rifling through the bag to find the before mentioned items. Kari laid her head back to stare at the ceiling for a moment.
Dumbledore was most certainly powerful for his old age. Kari had no doubt about that. The wards alone were some of the most complex she had seen. She also had no doubt that some of the spells he tossed at her would have been deadly if they had hit their target. Kari frowned in deep thought. She was definitely going to have to keep a very close eye on him. Once Ashley finished separating the items and calling Steven with the details of what to do they snuck back into the castle unnoticed. Kari slipped back into her room silently and took a moment to just look at her mates sleeping in the bed. Fleur was spooning Hermione, her arm wrapped tightly around the brunette. Kari smiled at the sight. She quickly stripped off her clothes and climbed into the bed. Kari sighed happily as she wrapped her arm around both of the women who held her heart, effectively sandwiching Hermione in between herself and the blonde veela. Kari was definitely wishing that morning never came for when it did both her mates would be leaving for the rest of the holidays. Despite being the one to encourage them to spend time with their families, Kari did not want to be away from Hermione and Fleur. Sighing once more Kari allowed the scents of her mates to wash over her, relaxing her muscles and mind enough to let sleep claim her for the remainder of the night.