Hello again, loves! Not as long of a wait this time, so I hope you don't have to reread or anything to know what's happening in the story! I just want to shout out that this chapter's song is See You Again by Wiz Khalifa and you should listen to it as you read. It adds a lot of mood to the story and, well, it's an amazing song! So, if you want to get to the story, just go to the unbolded part!
Shadowstreak
I dare you to listen to that song on repeat while reading this chapter. I was listening to it as I re-read it and I thought that it fit it really well, especially towards the end! Tell me if you hate me by the end of this!
CastielLunaWinchester
Yeah, I am glad you enjoyed those little details. I was going to type more about her fifth year, but then this idea came to me and I had to force myself to push past it because, well, there is only so much interaction I can write between the toad and Caity without one of them killing the other. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter!
Two years later, I found the last Horcrux that wasn't the snake or Harry. Then I ran into Harry in some random forest, talking about hunting Horcruxes.
"You know, the only one left is his snake, right?" I ask, leaning casually against a tree. The three jump. "You've made this entire trip for nothing. Then again, you are definitely safer here than at Hogwarts."
"Caity! Where have you been for the last two years?" Hermione demands, coming up and hugging me.
"Hunting Horcruxes," I reply, pulling the sword of Gryffindor out of my bewitched satchel, and I hand it over to Harry. "You'll need this for the snake…"
He takes it slowly, still not believing I was there, apparently. "So… have you been hiding because you know your parents are pissed at you for disappearance, or because you didn't want to be caught?"
"A little bit of both…" I say slowly. There was no way that I was going back home anytime soon. Not when I KNEW I was going to get into trouble.
"Right… you're almost as wanted by the Death Eaters as Harry is," Ron replies. I hadn't seen them in two years. They had grown up. Grown up too fast. But, then again, so had I. At their age, I was ending a war. Of course, they had been born into it. I had been thrust into it.
"Tell Malfoy I say hi the next time you see him," I say.
"Caity… Malfoy switched sides when you left. He was… heartbroken," Hermione says.
"I know," I say quietly. "He wasn't the only one," I say. "But, I doubt that he'll stay on that side…"
"Wait, you changed sides?" Ron asks, bringing out his wand.
"No, you dolt! I was heartbroken!" I spit. "Now, I've gotta go, got something else to do," I say.
I apparate away, landing at the little cottage I had found. It reeked of death and evil. I hadn't gone inside yet. Now that I had nothing better to do, I might as well explore. I cover my nose at the smell, gagging slightly. I was not expecting the damn snake, Nagini. What the hell was it doing there? Then the damn thing spoke.
"Hello, godling," Unicron hissed from the snake's mouth.
"Sonovabitch!" I yelp, leaping back. The bracelet must have realized that it wasn't an insult but an exclamation of shock, because it didn't burn. "The snake? Really? Are you kidding me? You couldn't, I don't know, be Fudge or something? You had to be the snake?"
"I am always near the ones I spread evil to," he hisses. He crawls closer, nearly enough to touch, but I leap back again. He chuckles, sliding to block the exit. "Do you not like snakes?"
"Uh, no. No no no. Never in a million years. Stay away from me. I really don't like them," I say, backing up as he slithers closer. "You know, you should have picked something else. That thing's a horcrux," I warn.
"The soul that once resided here was destroyed when I possessed this vessel. A small price to pay for a vessel that the foolish mortal listens to," he hisses.
"Right, no, stay over there. Not over here," I say shrilly as he comes even closer. I REALLY don't like snakes. When I was younger, I had been going into my house, and two enormous snakes had been sitting on the steps, refusing to move, and basically scarring me forever and keeping me outside of the house for a good two hours until my dad got them off the steps. I had hated them since.
I shriek as he touches my boot, curling up and around my body until he was about at my height. "Oh nonononononono!" I whimper, closing my eyes and trying not to move, as though that would make it any less traumatizing.
"Had I known you were so terrified of snakes, I would have done this years ago," he purrs, apparently incredibly amused by the situation.
"This isn't funny. Please please please go away," I beg. I can't believe that I was begging Unicron for anything. The house was beginning to shake on its foundation, like there was a small earthquake, and I was at its epicenter.
"Calm down, godling. I won't bite you," Unicron snaps impatiently right next to my ear.
I had never considered that Unicron would have the same ability to take away my will that Optimus and Megatron had, but I sure as hell just found out. I actually fainted from the power of the order. That might be the reason why the eldest gods didn't use it very often. It was a little too powerful.
I very very very nearly scream as I find myself in a pit of snakes, quite a few of them crawling on me. Then my fear paralyzes me, making it impossible for me to move. I hated it when my reaction to fear was that. It was especially bad when I locked up after a nightmare and couldn't move for the rest of the night.
"They won't harm you. They are venomless, and only hunt small mammals, such as mice," Unicron sneers.
"I DON'T CARE! GET THEM OFF OF ME!" I whisper shrilly.
"Get out yourself, if you can," Unicron sneers. Almost an order, but not quite. Still safe.
I mutter obscenities under my breath at him, yelping as the bracelet burns white hot, making the snakes hiss angrily and writhe away from me. Slowly, being very very careful, but not so careful that I would tense, I relaxed, calming down and actually taking time to simply shoo the reptiles off me.
"Nice, snakey. Just move off my stomach, why don't you," I say calmly, trying to get the last one to move. The thing was, it was being particularly stubborn in giving up its warm spot. It even hissed at me, coiling up to attack.
"Mine!" it hissed to me.
"No. Now get off of me," I growl, gently pushing it.
"MINE," it insists.
"Okay, don't say I didn't ask," I growl as I quickly move my hand, unceremoniously flicking it about three feet away from me. I stand, leaping back as a snake slithers by my foot. "Now, everyone just stay back," I say.
"Or maybe you should all crawl on her again. She was awfully warm, wasn't she?" Unicron adds meanly. I don't give them the chance. I jump off the wall, pulling myself over the edge, finding myself at a zoo. That would explain their lack of aversions to humans.
"I'm confused. Do you want me dead, or do you want me alive?" I snap as I back far away from the snake tank.
"I don't care either way. You will not last long in either state. Immortals are neither alive nor dead, that implies we are subjected to things such as death and life, and other mortal handicaps," Unicron sneers.
"Right, I forgot living was a BAD thing to you," I mutter under my breath all but silently. I bite my lip as I receive second degree burns from the bracelet. It had happened for too often for me to actually yelp in pain from it anymore.
"I think I will remove your ability to speak in the next dimension you are sent to," Unicron sneers, circling around me like a predator. I spin around, keeping him in sight at all times. The snake hisses in laughter, and I feel like it was enough to make a child cry at the sound.
"I doubt that you would," I spit, apparating away. I wince as I look around, seeing where I was. At least I was wearing regular clothes, which is to say, muggle clothing, because I was at King's Cross Station. But it looked like I had gotten hit by a truck. I duck into one of the bathrooms, washing my face and cleaning off any blood I had on me. I brushed my hair and pulled it back into a ponytail. I then changed my clothes, donning tough blue jeans, combat boots, a plain black tank top, and a brown, well worn leather jacket. Completely different from the flannel shirt I had worn over black skinny jeans and tennis shoes. Much better if I got into a fight, what I was wearing now. Next, now that I looked completely different, I strapped on my weapons. Seven knives, a gun, my wand, a folded bow, an enchanted arrow, and a boe staff that shrank down when not in use. I was not taking any chances.
I left the bathroom, glancing around to make sure I wasn't being followed or anything. I wasn't. I apparate away, into one of the crowded streets of London, spotting The Leaky Cauldron. I confidently stride into the nearly deserted pub, glaring at the patrons as they stopped talking and all looked up at me.
"Well well well, what have we here? The lost Primespark! Fell off the world two years ago. What do we owe the HONOR of your return?" one of them asked.
"Oh, look at her, dressed like a filthy muggle! Maybe that's what she REALLY is, just a filthy little mudblood, I suppose it would be a leg up from a WHATBLOOD," their companion sneers.
"I heard that she left to become a muggle, because the witch she took her magic from came back and took it BACK!" a patron from across the room spat.
I sigh as one of them blocks the door that led to the alley. "Where are you going, Primespark? We's been askin' some questions, we have. Where you been?"
"Please get out of my way," I order, glaring at him coolly, completely unfazed.
"Or what you gonna do 'bout it? I's hear you ain't got no magic," the man sneers, trying to seem intimidating.
Everything in the pub flies up, nothing breaking, not a drop of liquid spilling, but enough to get their attention. I examine my fingernails idly. "Even if that WERE true, I can still kick your arse, now move," I order. Trembling, the man steps aside, and I easily set everything back in place, walking through the door and into the alley. I enter Diagon Alley for the first time in years, well, I enter it traditionally for the first time in two years, and take in the scene. There are a few brave souls walking hunched over and trembling across the streets, as well as Death Eaters everywhere. I duck my head and keep it down until I get to the joke shop. I grin at the familiar twin red heads as they look up from the empty shop. With the school year having started, there are no children here, no adults, either.
"Welcome to We-" Fred begins to say before I raise my head to look him in the eye. "Bloody hell, you've grown!" he exclaims, rushing over and hugging me.
"Fred, what are you- Caity? Caity Primespark? Merlin's beard, is that really you?" George asks as he comes into view.
"The one and only," I say. "You guys have got to be careful with what you're saying on that radio. If one of the DE heard it, or even Voldy himself, you'd have yourselves a might bit of trouble with them trying to kill you," I say.
"Aw, you listen to it? You missed us, didn't you!" Fred teases, delighted.
"Yeah, I heard it, you nitwits. The Order, Potter, Hermione, Ron, the MA, EVERYONE who is against the DE's have heard it!" I tell them.
"You've been keeping tabs on everything?" George asks in surprise.
"Of course I have. You'd have to be mental not to."
"Well, I do believe this calls for tea, care to join us?" Fred asks.
I agree to tea and patiently wait as they tell me about what's been going on with the MA, everything I hadn't been able to hear about. Then I tell them what I had been doing for the last two years. I freeze as the door opens with a cheerful jingle. I slowly turn my head, just enough to see who it was. I was half delighted and half exasperated upon seeing them. Two sets of twins locked eyes, then slowly made their way over to me.
"Hey, Sunny, Sacha. Long time, no see," I say, turning to face them fully. I pull out my staff just in time to block Sideswipes attack, he had transfigured a toy sword into a very real, very deadly one, and he definitely knew how to use it.
"Long time?" Sides growls, pressing, trying to get me to give.
"No see?" Sunny finishes, going to attack me from the side. I twist, kicking Sunny in the stomach as I vault over them, rolling neatly as I hit the ground, and spinning again, stowing the staff and drawing a long dagger.
"WHOA WHOA WHOA! NOT IN OUR SHOP!" Fred and George shout, standing in between us to keep us separated.
"At least you've been practicing in the last two years you've been gone," Sunny growls, still glowering at me, but no longer in a threatening stance. Sides growls and returns the sword to plastic and places it back where it was. I tuck my dagger safely away, still looking at them warily.
"Of course I have. Nothing much else to do but train when I wasn't on the move," I say evasively.
"You still are too wide with your kicks," Sides adds.
"Yeah, I've been working on it," I say.
"Didn't even leave without a proper goodbye," Sunny says.
"I wouldn't have left if I had given a 'proper goodbye' and you know it. I would have been ordered to stay and then there would still be five horcruxes instead of one," I say.
"You found the diadem?" Sides asks, surprised.
"Destroyed it third year," I tell him. "Basilisk Fang."
"You sent Sirius to do what you should have done yourself, still," Sunny reminds. I nod, not denying it.
"Yeah. I don't plan on going back anytime soon, Sunny. And you aren't going to make me," I say, backing up.
"She thinks that we came alone, doesn't she?" Sides asks his twin with a grin that would make a macho man run for the hills.
"I believe she does," Sunny says, making an identical grin. I would have paled had I been able to, but it seemed as though my blood froze for a moment anyway.
"You see, you go out that door, Jazz, Aaron, and Cade are all waiting for you there," Sides says.
I spare a brief glare at Fred and George who look at me guiltily. Then I apparate. I feel a hand on my shoulder, appear at the place I had been planning, and kick them off, glaring at them before apparating once more. I sigh in relief as I find myself in the Forbidden Forest, on the very edge, right before you entered Hogwarts' grounds.
I pause, listening carefully for anything nearby. A subtle crack of a stick sets me on high alert as I spin, drawing my dagger back out and stabbing, setting the man on the defensive instead of the offensive and then hopping back, ignoring the paralyzing jinx sent my way. A thing that I had figured out was that if I didn't want to be affected by a spell, I wouldn't be. It was useful when dealing with Death Eaters or bounty hunters.
I was put on the defensive myself as my attacker shoved me back further, disarming me as my dagger, I should mention that this was my least favorite one, at least, embedded itself into the tree to my right. In the same movement that I used to kick out, I pulled out another knife. Dagger. Same thing. Ish.
My kick disarmed the man, but I wasn't the only one thoroughly prepared to be disarmed. I was down to my last dagger, my favorite one, a gift from Megatron once Sideswipe deemed me adept enough to have one of my own, and he had gone through about six as well. I hadn't been able to get a good look at the man, we had been moving too fast, and I had been focussing more on the lethal objects in his hands, than his face. I pull out my staff, blocking his next blow, and kicking out, twisting as he caught my leg and held it there. I used my staff to steady me as I took a low blow and swept his legs out from under him. He didn't let go, and I ended up falling as well. I growl as I am relieved of my weapon and a knife is pressed to my exposed throat. I grit my teeth as I pull out my last dagger and stab down, striking it into the man's thigh. He grunts and rolls away, taking it with him. I huff as I pull out the bow, ignoring the arrow that would be useless at such close range.
I dodge his next kick, striking with the bow and twisting the taunt wire around his arm, disabling it until he cuts through it like butter, and wrenches the bow out my hands. I ignore the snap as my wrist breaks, instead, pulling out the gun with my free hand and backing up as far as I could, which wasn't very far. I fire, the specialized dart hitting him in the shoulder, but he barely stumbles as it takes effects. The gun is out of my hands before I can blink, and I barely block to hit coming my way. Normally, a guy his size could not move this fast, and I would be able to use that to my advantage, but this guy seemed to be faster, stronger, and far more experienced than I was. Must be one of my family members. I find my arm twisted behind my back, my knees hit the leaf carpeted ground, and my own dagger is pressed to my throat. I grit my teeth as I fall limp, out of weapons and out of options.
"A tranq gun? Really? Where did you even get this?" Megatron growls as he looks at it from across the clearing.
"Black market. Who else is going to sell one to a teenager?" I demand sarcastically.
"You got a gun off the black market? Why did you even get a gun?" he demands as he doesn't recognize the sarcasm.
"Oh, I don't know. In case someone tries to attack me and I don't feel like stabbing them?" I say sarcastically.
"Someone attack you? I doubt that would be possible, you would simply disappear before they could get to you," Megatron scoffs.
"Are you going to let me go?" I ask, struggling faintly.
"Stop," he orders. I freeze. "You are not going to run, you are not going to apparate, you are going to sit right there until I say you can move." Megatron then slowly releases me. I sigh and comfortably sit on the ground, absentmindedly putting my wrist back in place before healing it. I move it around experimentally before looking up at Megatron expectantly.
"So, I'm not going anywhere anytime soon. Why is it that I had everyone waiting for me, so much that you got Fred and George to snitch on me the moment they found out I was in the shop?" I demand.
"Idiot child! You know that there are troves of bounty hunters looking at you! You are public enemy number two, under only Harry Potter himself! I am sure that you know his whereabouts are as well," he growls. I listen to the faint sounds of caterwauling.
"Yup. He's in Hogsmeade. About to get into Hogwarts," I reply. Megatron glares at me. "Well, you asked!"
"You should not have gone off on your own. You knew how bad everything was going to get. There is a REASON why you lived with so many people surrounding you, even though it would have been more tactical to spread out. It was for your safety and you just tossed it away! You deliberately put yourself in danger to do a task that wasn't even yours!" Megatron begins.
"Megatron, I left to keep everyone else safe. And I also found the form that Unicron has taken in this dimension, and why he took that particular form. He's taken Nagini as a vessel so that he can stay close to Voldy and continue to manipulate him," I inform him. Megatron sighs and shakes his head.
"It is not your job to go against him. That is our job. The ADULTS," he reminds me. I am reminded of Sentinel, Unicron's last vessel. I wouldn't have had any hope of actually defeating him, even with the plasma cannon. I was selfishly glad that they had taken care of that instead.
"I KNOW it's not my job to go against him, but it IS my job to find him, and to make sure as few people get hurt as I can," I say stubbornly.
"You are here for BALANCE!" Megatron shouts at me. I flinch but don't back down.
"I'm here to HELP," I retort.
"No. You were supposed to stay out of the way, make sure that this timeline went as normally as possible, maybe even better than it had been supposed to go, and you were to LEARN CONTROL!" he says. "Which you CLEARLY DO NOT HAVE! I understand that you don't like sitting idly, but you are a CHILD and you will be for a very long time! You cannot do everything yourself! You are not strong enough, and you have not got the nerve to fight to kill, even if you HAVE taken the life of a bot in self defence. When will you LEARN that you need to stay out of the way, and you need to stay safe, and most of all, you need to LISTEN!" he screams at me.
"I can take care of myself, Megatron. I'm not a little kid anymore!" I shout back.
"Unicron fights far better than I could, and he would be out to kill! You can't even hold your own against me!" Megatron sneers.
"I WASN'T GOING TO TAKE HIM ON MY OWN! I WASN'T GOING EVEN GO AFTER HIM! I JUST WANT HIM TO LEAVE ME ALONE! THAT'S ALL I WANT FROM ANYONE, JUST SOME PRIMUS DAMNED PEACE!" I shout back at him angrily.
"THAT'S WHAT WE ALL WANT! All we want is peace and for you and your brothers and our FAMILY to be safe!" he shouts back at me.
"Why do you even care," I scoff coldly. Megatron sputters in shock.
"Why do I care? Because you're my SPARKLING! Why in pit wouldn't I care?" he demands.
"Because NO ONE does!" I scream in exasperation.
"Since when has that been true?" Megatron scoffs.
"Since forever! I know you all think I'm just a brat, and let's face it, I AM! No one cares about brats," I spit bitterly.
"Brats are selfish, cowardly, and only care about themselves. You would gladly give something that you want to someone who actually needs it, are one of the bravest I know, and have a hero complex so bad it is like you have a death wish!" Megatron scoffs.
"I don't have a death wish," I mutter quietly. I sigh, my shoulders slumping. "I just think that other people's lives are worth more than mine."
"I doubt that. Some idiot decided to spread a lie that you were dead throughout Hogwarts, and there was a funeral. Nearly everyone came," Megatron growled.
"Well, I'm obviously not dead," I say. "But if you must know, I already knew about that. Actually, I was there. I had heard that there was to be a funeral for the missing and assumed dead student, and I came. Imagine my shock when I found out that it was for ME."
Megatron splutters, not having words for how I had attended my own funeral. "Come on, little one. We're going home," he finally says, sighing. He grabs my arm firmly and apparates us to the Primespark Estate. I stare in shock at the place I had lived in for fifteen years. It looked like a prison more than a home. There were more wards, enchantments, and just plain obstacles to get past than Azkaban.
"Real homey," I say sarcastically.
Megatron snorts humorlessly. "Right. You should see the inside if you think that this is bad," he tells me, keeping a firm hand on my arm and leading me inside. I sigh at seeing that all the decorations have been taken down, replaced with fakes that would attack you if one were to steal them. Or if an unwelcomed visitor was in the house at all.
I remain silent as I am led through the mansion, feeling awkward. You would too, if you were in my position, left home with no warning and then being dragged back two years later. Not to mention your family is furious with you for it.
"CAITLIN ROSE, WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING?" is the first thing I hear as I am dragged into the kitchen. I could hear people inside and had put up quite the silent fight in my attempts to NOT have to face them.
I stare at Ellie warily as she glares in me, hating myself as my eyes automatically took in her stance, the fact that she was weaponless but dangerous. I stopped myself from reaching for my wand to be ready to defend myself from her.
I open my mouth to respond, but she cuts me off. "Two years! Two years you have been missing, not one owl, not a visit, not even a goodbye, and then we hear that Megatron is DRAGGING you back here, DRAGGING! Are we really so bad that you had to be had to be forced here against your will? Wasn't coming home to see us enough?" she demands. I close my mouth from when it had been opened and she had cut me off, and glared at her coldly.
"If you knew this was the unwelcome you would get if you returned, would you be especially inclined to come back?" I ask softly. Ellie starts, looking guilty for a moment. "Use your brain. I left without a goodbye because if I had tried to say goodbye, I wouldn't have been allowed to leave, owls can be traced, and visits are a little hard to fit in when you are in hiding and you are obviously not welcomed or wanted," I spit, spinning away and shoving forcefully past Megatron as he made to block my path.
I gag slightly as he grabs the collar of my shirt and jacket and drags me back into the kitchen. "Hey hey hey, easy on the leather! It took me weeks to save up to buy this!" I protest. Ellie has left, luckily.
"Doing what?" Megatron demands. I glare at him but don't answer. Most of the jobs were legal. Most. But there were some that were not. "Do I even WANT to know?" he asks with a sigh.
I shake my head.
"Caity?" a scratchy, slightly broken voice asks. I spin, surprised to see Bumblebee, who was just getting his voice back, apparently, staring at me in shock. I'm ready for him to attack me, to shoot me, or to even yell at me. I'm even ready for him to sneer at me and then turn and walk away as though I weren't there. I was not, ready, however, for when he danced over and pulled me into a hug that was so tight I couldn't breathe.