AN: Please review! Recently they've been lacking, and I need them to keep my morale for this story up :) It's currently sinking, you know, :(
The Mudblood's Daughter and The Hallows Horcruxes
Cleo laughed, and punched Sirius on the arm, as she ate her breakfast. "You're a Muppet!" she joked, before spooning her porridge into her mouth, beaming across the table at Cassie, who was smirking, her hair back to it's previous dark curls, only a little lighter than before. Sirius grinned, saluting her and Kathleen gave him a weird look. You fancy him, don't you? drifted into Cleo's head, in the form of Kathleen's voice, and Cleo stilled, her laughter dying, as she looked at her sibling.
"What? No! Of course not!" she protested loudly, causing Sirius to look between her and Kathleen in confusion. Cassie just smiled at him, and said 'It's a Hallows thing'. Sirius went 'ah' in understanding. Cleo meanwhile was glowering at Kathleen, who shouted in pain when Cleo kicked her in the shin. Kathleen glowered at her sister, and went to kick her back, only to miss and kick Sirius, who barked in pain. Cleo snickered behind her hand, before Molly quickly told them to hush as she tried to adjust the wireless to listen to Christmas Carols as they ate breakfast.
Charissa and Charlie sat in their bedroom, talking quietly, sad expressions on their faces, as Charissa clasped Charlie's large, leather trunk shut. Charissa rest her hand on the scratched initials of C.W and sighed, closing her eyes to prevent tears falling from her eyes, as she looked at Charlie. "Are you sure you want to do this?" she asked, her voice shaky, and Charlie nodded. Charissa bit on her bottom lip, before kissing him on his stubbly cheek. "Well, all the kids trunks are in there, other than Cassie, Cleo, Kathy and Lottie's. The House elves have the house ready for your arrival."
"What about Mum?" Charlie asked, and Charissa thought for a moment.
"She'll refuse to leave this place, most likely, but I'll wear her down. Eventually," Charissa sighed quietly, clasping her hands in her lap. The couple looked at each other, in silence, eyes not leaving the others. "You'll send me letters everyday, right? And make sure all the kids keep up with their Friday Meetings, right?" Charissa asked, nervously, and Charlie nodded. Charissa looked around the room, her eyes flicking over the now bare walls, and swallowed heavily, sniffing.
Charlie placed a hand on her cheek, and pulled her into his lap, his arms tightly around her waist. "I'll miss you too," he whispered, and she gulped, blinking back her tears, and kissing him. It was timid, shy, almost like the first kiss they had ever shared, after her accident with a Hungarian Horntail. And like he did then, he slid a calloused hand up to her cheek, stroking it with his thumb, responding slowly, trying not to scare her away. Her lips were soft against his, gently pressing against his chapped lips, her fingers lightly stroking the gingery stubble on his chin, and along his strong jaw.
She pulled away slowly, keeping her eyes closed and resting her forehead against his, breathing slowly and deeply. "I love you," she murmered, and Charlie gently kissed her nose, sayign 'I love you too' under his breath. Charissa's breath hitched, and she looked Charlie in the eye, seriously. "Keep them safe. Stay alive. I'll come and see you soon, okay?" she said, and he nodded, sliding her off his lap.
He stood, stretching his arms and rolling his neck, before grabbing the handles to the trunk. As he went to leave, she reached out and grabbed his scarred arm. He inhaled sharply, part of him wishing he had the strength to shake her off and keep going until he was as far away as possible. But he couldn't, because he loved her too much to turn her away. So he looked at her, and saw her smiling up at him tearfully.
"Thank you, Charlie, thank you for doing this," she told him, and Charlie looked at her, before smiling, and kissing her cheek. When he pulls away from her cheek, he gives her one of the most heart-breaking smiles she had ever seen, and even with his rugged, rogue look, rough around the edges personality, she couldn't help but immediately think about how... lame... Aldric was, compared to Charlie, and that Charlie was way more perfect then he could ever hope to be.
"It's no problem," he whispered, and Charissa smiled. She knew it really wasn't. Not for Charlie. Not for her.
Narca-Jane's first thought when she woke up that morning, in a warm, cosy canvas tent, shielded by at least five different protection charms and shielding spells, was that it was finally the Twenty Third. Teddy wanders in through the tent opening, rubbing his hands together and blowing on them to get them warm again. He has snow in his hair, that has turned completely white, and his jacket is wrapped tightly around him.
Narca-Jane groaned and rubbed the back of her head, yawning, as she saw her friends starting to stir. Teddy gave her a tired, half-smile, before going over to the furnace, and standing next to it to warm himself up. Teddy had been outside from around midnight, keeping guard, on watch for Blood Hunters or Stealer's. Narca-Jane looked at him worriedly. Ever since the morning before, on the twenty second, he had been acting weird, almost distant.
Narca-Jane frowned. Maybe this hunting thing was too much to ask off him? Maybe he wanted to go home... Narca-Jane took a deep breath, and cleared her thoughts. No. She was reading into it too much. Yes, that was it. She was being silly. She kicked her covers of her body, and stood, going towards him. Teddy looked at her, briefly, before staring down into the furnace.
"We have to catch the train at 22:13. That gives us about..." Narca-Jane looked at her watch, a frown on her face when she noticed it was nearly lunchtime, "Ten and a half hours to get ready," she said, and Teddy nodded, not speaking to her. Narca-Jane took a calming breath, to stop the annoyance in her rising, and looked at him. "Teddy, are you alright?" she asked slowly, keeping her voice low so she didn't disturb or attract the attention of the others.
"Hm?" he sounded, as if he'd forgotten she was even there, and Narca-Jane looked at him, her expression getting icy. She repeated her question, her tone colder, and more sharp. The distant sound of Scorpius in her head called to her quietly, and Narca-Jane took a deep breath, pushing it down. Teddy just shrugged, saying 'Nothing'. Narca-Jane pursed her lips, her hands on her hips, and she turned to look at him.
"Listen, Teddy. You are my husband. And husbands are supposed to talk to their wives about what the bloody hell is going on in their head. And Teddy, right now, you sure as hell aren't. Which means you better do something quick, or your going to have one pissed off wife," Narca-Jane growled out, and Teddy groaned, before looking at her with a tired expression. Narca-Jane didn't soften in the slightest.
"Narca-Jane... it's just...I'm tired, that's all," he finally sighed, and Narca-Jane grit her teeth to prevent lashing some cold, cruel comment at him. She said 'Fine' sharply, before walking towards her bag. She pulled out a change of clothes, and disappeared into the bathroom part of the tent, leaving Teddy by the furnace. Teddy groaned, running his hands through his hair, before he realised Stella was watching him, her arms crossed and her eyebrows raised. "What?"
"What was that about, Theodore Lupin?" she asked, her eyes sparking. Narca-Jane was upset because of Teddy, and she wanted to know why he was upsetting her. Narca-Jane was her best friend, and she wasn't about to let anyone hurt her. Especially not her best friend's husband. Teddy rubbed his eyes, letting his head fall back.
"I can't lose her," Teddy said, and Stella looked at him in confusion. He frowned in frustration. "She's my wife. I love her. But I have this gut feeling that I'm going to lose her, Puffball. That I'm going to wake up one morning, and she'll just be gone, or that she won't... she won't survive the battle. And I just can't bear it. And my instant reaction is to push her away, and just not deal with it."
Stella looked at him, before walking over and pulling him into a hug. "Oh Teddy, you're not going to lose her. She won't let you," Stella gushed, shaking her head. Teddy pulled away, and nodded, smiling at her. Stella looked at him, right in the eyes, before she walked away. As she turned, the frown fell onto Teddy's lips, as he thought about Stella's words. Somehow... he wasn't as comforted by those words as he should have been.
Narca-Jane walked right past Teddy when he tried to talk to her, and out into the daylight, her baby pink wellingtons crunching over the white, flawless snow. She looked above her, her hair covered by a baby pink wool trapper hat, the loose curls under it pooling around her shoulders, over her matching pink scarf, and brushing her waist. The sky above her was crystal clear, a deep blue colour, not a single cloud to blemish it. Trees surrounded them, but somehow she could see the sky through a gap in the canopy of over head.
Narca-Jane wasn't sure why she was out here, but all of a sudden, she was grateful she was. She shoved her pink gloved hands into the pockets of her heavy black wool coat, the leather belt at her wast gleaming in the light of the afternoon sun. She hunched up her shoulders, and took another step forward, the sound of crunching under her boots making her smile a little.
A sudden flash of purple and silver moving between the trees caused her to blink, and without thinking, she rushed after it, her hair bouncing around her shoulders, a childlike quality to the whole experience. She came to a stop between two tall, barren trees, looking around in confusion, when there was another flash of purple to her right. She spun, and rushed towards it, allowing herself to call out 'stop' almost pleadingly. She rested a hand against the bark of a tree, her breath coming in long short wheezes, before she straightened up, still breathing heavily.
"Hello?" her voice echoed, and her eyes searched through the gaps in the trees, trying to catch a glimmer of the purple anywhere. When there was no sight of it, she frowned sadly, and turned to go back in the direction she came. She jumped in surprise when a pair of beady black eyes peered at her, flaming orange wings outstretched, a long feathered tail blowing cold air towards her. "Oh my God..."
She reached out to touch it, slowly, hesitating, and the Pheonix leaned forward, rubbing the top of its head against her hand. She giggled, and gently scratched the birds feathers. "Where did you come from?" she asked, a small smile on her lips. A sudden twinkle and spark of blue in the birds eye caused her to gasp. "No! You're Fawkes? Bloody hell! I've heard stories about you, I have!" Narca-Jane gushed.
The bird chirped, and Narca-Jane sighed. "You're beautiful, you are," she complimented, her eyes admiring the glowing amber bird. "But why are you here?" she pondered, when a shout from the trees distracted her, causing her to look around to see where it came from. Frowning when she saw nothing, other than trees trunks, and white snow, she turned back to look at Fawkes, only to let out a sad sigh when she saw he was gone.
She went to leave, her eyes low, when the glint of a golden orange feather caught her eye. She bent down, and picked up the long, delicate looking feather, her eyes shining. "Thank you, Fawkes," she whispered, before she used a minimising spell on the feather, and tucked it into her pocket. Suddenly, she felt really lucky.
Teddy felt guilty, as he called out for Narca-Jane. The tent had already been pulled down, and packed up, and they had all already cast disillusion spells on themselves to change their appearances, apart from Teddy, who could use his metamorphic ability. His hair, sandy and cropped short, his skin a golden tanned colour, features softer, more curved, he looked a little like Jensen Ackles, he had heard Adalyn comment dryly, as she had changed her own fiery, orange hair into long caramel blond curls, her eyes hazel, until she seemed to be a version of Nikki Reed, who played her favourite character in the ever-famous Twilight movies, Rosalie.
A Rose McGowan look-a-like wandered towards them, from inside the trees, and she flicked her hair over her shoulders. "Hey, Pappy, I looked for Paws all over there, she was no where in sight," she said, and Adalyn looked at her, before replying 'It's cool, Puffball' and picking at her hair again.
"Where's Plushpaws?" Raine asked, looking positivly normal, with a distinct Asian look about her. She had long black hair, olive coloured skin, and slanted dark brown eyes. Adalyn shrugged, raking through her tiny black purse for something, and Teddy wasn't paying attention, looking for Narca-Jane with worried eyes. Stella was the one who answered, smiling at her, as she replied to her question.
"Oh, Plushpaws went to take down the all the enchantments on the camp. It would be too dangerous to leave them up, especially around here. What with all the muggles and animals that come wandering around," Stella told her, while Teddy looked even more worried, searching through the thick trunks for Narca-Jane in the growing shadows, as the sun began to set. The weather was beginning to get worse and colder, and the group of five where all wrapped up warm in the clearing, waiting for Narca-Jane.
Eventually, a dark shadow began to appear through the trees, and the form of Narca-Jane walked towards them. Teddy shouted in relief, rushing towards her, and she held up a hand, a cold look on her face. "Don't talk to me, don't touch me, and deffinitly don't look at me, until you have sorted out your problems with me," she ordered, and Teddy swallowed, as she looked around teh group. "Okay, so who is who here?"
"Well, I'm Stella," Stella said, pulling her red hat tighter over her ears, her lips painted red. Narca-Jane nodded, smiling, and saying 'You look just like Paige from Charmed, in the last series, you know'. Stella nodded, a pleased smile on her face. "That's what I was aiming for!"
"Raine," Raine said, raising her hand, and Narca-Jane quirked an eyebrow, a small smirk on her lips, before nodding her approval. Raine smiled to herself.
"And obviously, I'm Adalyn," Adalyn said, and Narca-Jane looked her over, an appreciative look on her face. 'You look good', she said, and Adalyn blushed, before nodding her thanks to her friend.
"I'm Riley," a soft voice came from the shadows, and Adalyn screamed in surprise, her hands flying to her mouth, a deep red over coming her pale skin. Riley looked... well she looked normal. Mousy brown side plaits, a pink beanie hat, tanned skin, dull blue eyes. She looked so plain, you'd almost miss her in a public place. She would perfectly blend into the crowd, and no one would recognise her, ever. It was like Riley's worst nightmare come true.
"You did great, Plushpaws," Narca-Jane said, her tone soft, and comforting, and Riley frowned, before shrugging. Narca-Jane smiled sadly, before looking at her fellow Honours. "Well then, I guess it's just me to go then, isn't it," she said, smirking, and Adalyn grinned, nodding. "Well then, Adalyn, could you do the honour please?"
"Gladly," Adalyn said, her tome menacing, and Narca-Jane chuckled evilly, before Adalyn whipped out her wand and pointed it at Narca-Jane, who stood at the centre of the clearing, everyone looking at her.
"Occultus visio."
