Serena woke a few weeks later to the bedroom door opening and Cathan throwing something on her bed

Serena woke a few weeks later to the bedroom door opening and Cathan throwing something on her bed. She rolled over to face him and glared harshly.

"That's rude," she said pushing whatever he had thrown at her onto the ground. She pulled the sheets back over her head and sighed loudly.

"It's from Parrish, I thought you might want it," he said close to the bed. He picked up the brown paper package as Serena sat up, pulling the sheets off her head.

"What is it?"

"I may be rude, but I don't open your mail," he said throwing it back to her. She caught it and looked down at the small package with raised eyebrows.

"It just arrived with the paper."

Cathan said nothing else and left the bedroom, closing the door behind him. Serena yawned and laid back in the bed as she looked at the package. She untied the string around it and unwrapped the brown paper. She was surprised to see a brown leather journal. She flipped through the pages and found that they were empty; a letter fell out from between the pages and she picked it up, breaking the wax seal.

Dear Serena,

This journal caught my eye when Amber and I were in Diagon Alley. I know how much you enjoyed writing in your previous journal. I think it was something that comforted you and helped you work out everything that goes on in your head. Perhaps it is more helpful then the Pensieve your Father and Remus bought you. I know it's not your Aunt Chloe's, but I thought it would help. Writing is something that has always helped you in the past, and I think in the madness we live in you may have forgotten it. So, I hope you put this journal to use, and write to whomever you feel will help you understand what you don't.

I love you Serena, and I wait with ready arms for your return.

Always,

Parrish.

Serena felt a small smile on her lips and she brought the letter closer, kissing it gently. She would give anything to be back in his arms. Parrish was a warmer man then Cathan, and she didn't enjoy her time with him.

Although, since living with Cathan she hadn't heard Voldemort's voice in her head, she hadn't had any visions, and she hadn't felt his emotions. She thought it was odd to suddenly go cold turkey with her powers, but she wasn't complaining. She enjoyed sleeping through the night without seeing death, and she thought it good that she didn't collapse with Cathan's overwhelming emotions while they worked. And she hoped that perhaps because she wasn't hearing his voice in her head, Voldemort wasn't looking for her anymore. But as much as she hoped that, she also felt like a fool for doing so.

She pushed the sheets off of her and tucked the new journal under her pillow. She would write in it later tonight. There really was so much to write about. Maybe Parrish was right, writing did help her sort out her thoughts, visions, and feelings.

Cathan was sitting at the kitchen table, reading the paper and eating porridge when Serena emerged from the bedroom. She went to the sink and washed her hands and then went to make some porridge. Her eyes fell on Cathan's gun that lay on the counter next to the picture of orange juice and she wondered if he was ever going to teach her to use it. She frowned. She wasn't sure if she wanted to use such a deadly weapon. She frowned even more…what was worse, killing someone with your own hands or with a gun? Either way you were still killing someone…still taking their life when it wasn't yours to take.

A throbbing on her forearm brought her back to reality. Serena cringed at the pain and looked down at the Dark Mark that seemed to be moving on her skin. She closed her eyes and touched the mark, knowing that the shrill pain running through her arm was caused by Voldemort calling his Death Eaters to him. She pulled the sleeve of her shirt down quickly to hide the mark and took her porridge to the kitchen table, where Cathan sat.

"Why do you use that?" Serena asked pointing to the gun that was on the counter by the kitchen sink. Cathan glanced at it over his paper and frowned.

"Clean up is easier," he whispered.

"How is blood splattered everywhere easier to clean up?"

"I don't have to deal with the bodies, and no one from the Ministry knows it was a wizard…Muggle weapon makes people think a Muggle killed them, and when Muggles find the dead bastards they don't go into some unknown death file…just the unsolved murder file."

"How do you know so much about Muggles?"

"They're my specialty," grinned Cathan. "Particularly the female Muggles."

"How many women have you been with?" Serena asked with raised eyebrows.

"Couldn't tell you," Cathan said still grinning. Serena looked disgusted and shook her head.

"What?" Cathan asked. "You mean to tell me the only man you've been with is Parrish?"

Serena looked at him and nodded her head.

"Yes," she said. "He's the only one I've been with."

Cathan frowned and shook his head.

"How do you know what you like then?"

"I'm not having this conversation with you," Serena said shaking her head. Before Cathan could say anything else she changed the subject. "Are we going to actually start something interesting today? Everything we've gone over I know already."

"I know," Cathan said.

"If you knew then why'd you waste the time going over it with me?"

"Had to see how sharp you were," Cathan shrugged. "It never hurts to practice Serena. That's how you get stronger at things."

Serena rolled her eyes.

"Okay," she sighed. "So what else are we going to go over then today?"

"I'll teach you something new I suppose," Cathan said.

"Like what?"

"How to break a person's neck."

He said it so casually that it sent chills through Serena's body. Breaking someone's neck meant killing them. She cringed and put a spoonful of porridge in her mouth. She really didn't know what to say to Cathan at all.

"Have you had any visions recently?" Cathan asked breaking the awkward silence. He said it softly, almost in a whisper, as if it were a touchy subject and he was afraid the question would make Serena yell at him.

"No," she said back calmly.

He looked at her fro a long time with interested eyes. She didn't look at him so that he couldn't use Legilimency on her.

"Have you told Adhara about her death yet?"

"How do you know about that?" Serena snapped looking at him crossly.

"Caught a glimpse of it just now in your head," he said with a shrug.

Serena glared at him. So he had used Legilimency on her.

"No, I haven't had the chance."

"You didn't have the chance the whole time you spent in the safe house and cave with her?"

"It slipped my mind."

Cathan shook his head.

"It shouldn't have."

"Shut up Cathan, you don't understand what you're talking about."

"What I understand is that you haven't warned your Aunt that she is going to die at Hogwarts under a pile of rocks," he said crossly as he stood up and threw his paper on the table. He took his empty bowl to the sink and began to wash it. "What I understand is that you are not warning someone that their life is in danger."

"You know Adhara wouldn't listen to me anyways. She wouldn't take any precautions. She would still fight in that battle whether she was warned of her death or not."

"That's not the point Serena," said Cathan turning around and looking at her. "The point is you're not using your gift."

"I'm sorry I haven't found the right moment or way to tell Adhara she's going to die," Serena said crossly standing up. "I'll tell her the next time I see her."

"The next time you see her could very well be the day she dies," snapped Cathan as he walked out of the kitchen. "Come in here, let's start."

Serena rolled her eyes. She hadn't told Cathan that Adhara had taught her to break a person's neck already. She just never practiced it because she didn't like the idea of killing someone with her bare hands.

When she entered the living room she saw Cathan standing over two dummies. Serena stopped on the spot and shook her head. She couldn't believe he was going to make her use one of the dummies again. The last time she used one it exploded under her because she was so frustrated. Cathan had been trying to teach her how to pop a shoulder out of its socket (it was a nasty thing), and when Serena had tried she fell over onto the dummy and it exploded. Serena had never seen Cathan laugh so hard as feathers and foam flew all over the living room.

"Do we have to use the dummies again?" she asked as he knelt down next to one of them.

"Yes," he said. "Unless you want to try and break my neck."

"With pleasure," she said.

"Get over her," he pointed to the spot across from him with the other dummy. Serena rolled her eyes and sat down next to her dummy, facing Cathan.

"Because of the circumstances, we're going to practice breaking the neck from behind while our enemy is lying on the ground," he said. Serena liked that Cathan called the dummy his enemy, rather then his victim, but in reality that's what any person would be if they were about to have their neck broken. They'd be a victim, whether they be the enemy or not.

"You have to learn the different between the victim and enemy," he said staring at her blankly. Serena blinked and looked away from him. She wished he'd stop penetrating her mind. "We need to fight fire with fire, a Death Eater won't act on compassion and let you live. If you wish not to die then you have to learn how to kill. It's a matter of self defense."

Serena blinked and turned her head away, looking at the dummy.

"Our compassion is what sets us apart from them," she whispered. She looked back up at him with a glare. "Get on with it."

Cathan looked at the dummy and swallowed, then straddled it from behind.

"Hey, get on your dummy," he said. Serena smirked, suppressing a giggle, and straddled her dummy.

Cathan slapped her shoulder and pointed at the dummy.

"Focus."

"Oh I am."

Cathan said nothing and took a long breath to relax himself.

"Now grab here, on the chin with your hand this way, and grab here on the back of the head with your other hand," Cathan said on top of the dummy. Serena couldn't help but laugh at the sight of him. "Serena, stop it! Pay attention."

"I am," she said trying to stop laughing. She picked up the head of the dummy the way Cathan had instructed; a hand on the chin, and the other on the back of the head; then she twisted and turned, pulling her hands in different directions. The dummy's head snapped with a fake crack and laid to the side, broken.

"See," Serena said. "I know what I'm doing."

Cathan broke the neck of his dummy out of frustration and stood up shaking his head.

"You're incredibly immature."

"Sorry," Serena laughed. "But you were straddling the dummy's butt. I didn't know you liked it like that."

Cathan glared at her.

"I guess you aren't in love with Kendra after all," Serena joked.

Before she knew what had hit her, Cathan was on top of her, tickling her stomach sharply. She grabbed his arms and pinned him down, but he flipped her over and wrestled her to the ground.

"Now I know what gets under your skin," she said. "I just have to make fun of your sexuality."

Cathan managed to flip her over onto her back and grabbed her head in the position to break her neck. Serena took a cool breath with a smirk on her face. He wasn't going to kill her. He leaned in close to her ear, breathing slowly.

"Now what do you do?"

Cathan wasn't straddling her back like he had the dummy's. Serena could feel his knees next to her left hip.

"I don't know," she sighed.

"Until you know what to do, don't patronize me into a fight," he said softly.

Serena threw her left elbow back straight into his groin. Cathan released her head and fell back on the ground moaning in pain. Serena stood up as he lay on the ground holding his crotch and smirked at him.

"Don't put yourself in a position that will allow me to patronize you," Serena said. "And by position I mean situation…not a sexual one with a dummy."

"I hate you," Cathan said. Serena laughed a little.

"I hate you too Cathan."

She left living room and went to her bedroom, closing the door behind her. She collapsed on the bed and picked up the journal that Parrish had sent her. She opened it and her fingers grazed across the yellow, aged paper. Before she could conjure a quill to start writing a shutter shot through her body and her head fell on the journal, unconscious.

"Hello Serena," said a calm voice. Serena sat up from the wooden floor that she was lying on and looked around her. Darren was sitting in a small white folding chair at a table with a white table clothe over it. There was shattered glass all over the table from place settings, broken glasses, and vases. Dead flowers littered the table along with the silverware, and some ribbons. Serena frowned deeply and rubbed her throbbing her head. She was back under the White Tent.

Kendra couldn't be seen. Serena looked around her slowly, no one was under the tent except for her and Darren. She turned her eyes to him in the form of a glare.

"Now what do you want?"

"Just wanted to check up on you."

"Bullshit," she said.

"No shit," Darren said slowly picking up a white rose that was lying on the table. "I wanted to know if you had any visions since our last meeting."

"No," Serena said remaining on the ground. "Not that I would tell you if I had."

Darren nodded slowly.

"Are you not forcing them now, or they just aren't coming?"

"They aren't coming," Serena said. "I know that this gift is a part of me and I must accept it and take the visions as they come. There is no use fighting who I am."

"You seemed to have come to terms with that fact pretty quickly," he said. "Consider only a few weeks ago you wanted to be rid of the gift all together."

"How do you know of that?"

"I'm dead. I know everything."

Serena rolled her eyes to his blunt statement.

"If you've been contacting me, have you been contacting Voldemort also? He doesn't have the gift of premonition but he has a very strong mind. Have you been contacting him through Legilimency?"

"No," Darren was not looking at Serena. She stood up slowly and stood before him.

"Look me in the eye and say that."

He looked up at her with a glare.

"No, I have not been contacting the Dark Lord."

"Has he been contacting you?"

"No," Darren said with a small laugh. "The Dark Lord is powerful, but he does not know of the White Tent and the connection it creates between the dead and the living."

"Can you contact other people through it?" Serena whispered looking out at the hill of dead bodies. "Could I contact other dead people I mean?"

Darren was looking at Serena with sad eyes.

"No Serena," he whispered. "We share a connection because we are both Seers. If somebody else was in the tent they wouldn't' know you're here, and they wouldn't be able to answer you like Kendra couldn't."

Serena frowned.

"Oh," she whispered as her heart fell. She had thought for a shining second that she'd be able to talk to her Mother. "But if they were in the tent you could talk to them, because they're dead, right?"

"Yes," Darren said very slowly.

"How do you bring people to the tent?"

"You can't bring people to the tent," he said. "They come when it is time."

Serena sighed and rolled her eyes. She hated vague answer like that. When it is time? What kind of an answer is that?

"When is it time?" she asked.

"When they die," Darren said. "Your Mother passed through long ago and she won't come back."

"But Kendra has come in and out of it."

"Kendra has drifted between death and life for sometime now," he said looking at the rose in his hand.

"Why can you come to the tent then?"

"I remain in the tent."

Darren's voice was sad as he spoke. He looked up from the rose and held it out to Serena.

"A white rose for you, my dear Serena," he said. "May it bring strength to your pure heart."

"I would hardly call my heart pure."

"You sound like Adhara," Darren said.

"How did you know my Aunt?"

"Reputation."

Serena nodded her head.

"Darren, do you still have visions here in the tent?"

"No," he whispered. "I do not need to have visions now. I told you Serena, I'm dead, I know everything now."

"Right," she said slowly.

"You should tell Adhara of your vision."

"You sound like your brother."

"Ouch," Darren said with a smirk as he touched his heart. "Don't insult me, Serena."

"Why should I tell Adhara?"

"Because it is avoidable."

"Telling her is avoidable or her death under a pile of rocks is?"

"Her death."

Serena nodded.

"I will take that into consideration."

"If you don't tell her you'll be responsible for her death, Serena. And we both know how guilty you are of killing people."

Serena frowned and glared at Darren.

"I want to go," she said. "Let me out of here."

Darren bowed his head and Serena blinked.

She was back in her bed, her face on her journal and pillow. She sat up and looked down to something that was clutched in her hand. Her eyebrows raised and she gasped at the white rose in her palm. Was that even possible?

She jumped out of the bed and opened the bedroom door. It was dark in the living room and Cathan was lying on the couch, sleeping. She looked to the Muggle clock he had hanging on the wall and saw that it was one in the morning. She had been out all day?

Serena turned and went back into the room. She opened the new journal and conjured a quill then began to write quickly. When she was finished she pressed the dead rose into the front of the journal and flattened it between the pages and cover, then slipped the journal under her pillow.