Harry tried to get a sense of his surroundings. Waking up in a daze, his memory was spotty but he remembered awkwardly waving at Cho, who was dancing to the music with her friends, thankful that he did not have to hear Katrina's teasing then watching Ron and Hermione faint beside him. All around him, people dropped like flies and his last memory was of his head hitting the wooden floor. His initial thought was that Voldemort had finally stepped out of the shadows, to get his revenge for the graveyard. Hadn't he wanted to prove to his followers that Harry surviving the killing curse had been a fluke, not a sign that he overpowered their revered Dark Lord? Was it possible that he had obtained his desired weapon or, growing impatient with his lack of progress, he decided to throw off Dumbledore and the Order by murdering Harry?
He expected to be alone, surrounded by death eaters, until he heard frightened voices. All different but asking the same questions: Where were they? What was going on? Harry could not answer either one, his vision impaired by a spell, making him unable to see where they were taken to from the Three Broomsticks. He wavered on whether this was Voldemort's doing, with the presence of his friends and classmates, doubtful that he would be careless and expose his revival. The mass murder of school children did not sound like his usual style.
Like waking from a sudden dream, Harry's vision returned and he found himself sitting in a white and gold antique chair, Ron to his right and Hermione to his left. Their hands were bound to the chairs by invisible restraints, a shock shooting up his arm when he attempted to lift his right hand. Harry continued to doubt Voldemort's involvement as he looked around him, seeing several Slytherins like Malfoy, Nott, and Carrow. He would not threaten the lives of his followers' children, those who would likely swear their own allegiances in the future. Listening to the Hogwarts students fret, Harry searched the room for any clues. The room was an open kitchen, its size and grandeur comparable to one in a mansion, but he noted the absence of windows. Was the room enchanted to reflect a calmer space and in actuality, they were in a dungeon?
"I don't see Ginny," whispered Ron. "She went outside with Corner. They must've taken anyone who was in the Three Broomsticks. Harry, do you think it was…you know who?"
"Maybe, maybe not." Harry winced, relaxing his hand against the arm of her chair. "If it was, why would he take Slytherins? Half the kids here don't believe he's back so they wouldn't suspect him anyway and if they are in on it, Malfoy should consider an acting career."
"Dumbledore will find us," said Hermione, confidently. "Don't you remember what Katrina said in Hagrid's cabin? How wizards can be tracked? It's not an easy spell for someone our age, of course, but for him, it'll take seconds. He'll rescue us, wherever we are."
"Ooh, I'd dial down that optimism." Lukas sauntered into the room. "Your signatures are wiped clean in a secure place like this. It's a special enchantment. You're ghosts. He'd have better luck tracking a demiguise. Guess you're not that smart, are you, mudblood?"
There was a myriad of reactions to his presence. To most, he was the handsome, respected MACUSA auror at the beginning of a grand career in protecting the wizarding world from criminals. Hermione and the Weasleys regarded him as an ally to the Order, seeing him around Grimmauld Place when he visited with Kane and his task force. Whether they knew him well or not, they all believed him to be on the right side of justice. Harry was the sole person aware of his true self: a traitor who allied himself with Cayden, who was now at the top of his list of culprits. If Lukas was here, Cayden played a role in their kidnapping.
Fred and George, confused by his vitriolic tone but angered by his slur towards Hermione, moved to stand, deterred by the restraints. "Don't call her that!" snapped Fay.
"You're that reporter's daughter. The one that kisses Fudge's ass," he said, cruel but accurate. Fay was being told by Hannah Abbott to ignore him. "Will he care when he learns you're gone?Nah, he'll just see it as a compelling story."
"Is this a twisted part two to your uncle's seminar?" asked an irritated Pucey, oblivious to the severity of the situation. "He's getting as paranoid as Moody. We probably haven't left the pub. We get it. The world is dangerous. You've had your fun, Carlisle. Whatever game this is, end it. You made your poi—"
Pucey's head struck the table. "W—why did you do that?" Greengrass said to Lukas, his wand poking out of the sleeve of his leather jacket. "Are you mental? When our parents find out about this, they'll sack you as an auror."
"I know you're slow but try to pay attention. This isn't a game. The reason you are still alive is because you're more useful alive than dead," he told the speechless crowd, moving around the u-shaped table. Finn Barnes had red marks on his wrists from fighting the restraints. "You can call yourselves leverage."
"For what?" asked Roger, putting on a brave face. "What do you want?"
"None of your business. Is this another hero act? Didn't work out that great the first time, did it?" he taunted, referencing the attack in Hogsmeade. Katrina had mentioned to Harry that Lukas was one of the masked figures. "Sorry to disappoint you, ladies, but the Hogsmeade Hero is a dud and a shitty duelist. He couldn't land a single hit on me. As I said, you're leverage but don't mistake that for immunity. If you push us too far, we won't be that nice. Only one of you is truly safe."
Lukas stopped behind Harry's chair. Neither said a word but it was not necessary. Being Katrina's brother, Lukas would know that if she opened up to anyone at Hogwarts, it would be him. Though this was Cayden's plan, he could not risk Harry's life, at the expense of losing the devious partnership he had with Voldemort.
Lukas flicked his head. "But you knew that already, didn't you, four eyes? You're being saved for a special someone."
"Voldemort?" That single word, from Hermione, sent a wave of tension through the room. "You're working for him?"
"No. Aw, it's tough when you don't have the answers, isn't it?" He leaned close to Harry's ear. "Too bad your sister isn't here. You really need to work on those big brother skills. Start with teaching her not to be such a tease. She kind of owes me but she'll get a do-over when she joins us. I bet she's delicious."
In his anger, wanting to hurt him for how he spoke about Katrina, Harry swung back his hand. The pain was severe but worth it when his restraint hit Lukas, the older boy wrenching back with a burn on his neck.
He pushed Harry's head against the table, his wand pressing into his cheek. "You little snot, I'll—"
"Lukas, behave yourself," Harry heard. "These are our guests and you will be respectful."
His cheek no longer forced into the lacquered wood, he lifted his head to a young man in the doorway. He looked similar to the teenage boy in a photo Katrina had shown Dobby in the Gryffindor common room. Instead of the uniform worn by the task force, he was wearing a crisp navy blue suit, a golden flower tucked into the pocket, and since that photo was taken, he had grown some stubble. There was no mistaking that this was a grown Cayden Coller. The way he could reduce an arrogant Lukas to a meek version of himself reminded Harry of Voldemort, his swagger alone giving him a commanding presence.
As he walked towards Lukas, Harry could see the resemblance between him and Roger, such as his dusty green eyes and dark hair, but Cayden had a tanned complexion, inherited from his mother's side of the family, and a slight accent. During her months of research, Katrina learned that before moving to Bristol, months prior to their deaths, his parents had a home in Barcelona, the birthplace of his mother.
Lukas did not meet his gaze. "Didn't I tell you to give them a proper meal? Half of them are near tears and your wand is in one of their faces. They're not to be harmed. They haven't eaten in days and I can hear their stomachs growling. Let's remedy that, shall we?"
Two days, sixteen hours, eleven minutes, and forty-two seconds.
That was how long it had been since fifty-three students mysteriously vanished inside the Three Broomsticks. Trapped by Kane's barrier, Katrina spent it lying on the cold floor of the empty classroom that doubled as her prison, tormented by the ticking clock above the door. Purrsephone was her main source of contact, not counting the occasional visits from Snape or McGonagall to bring her meals and check on her. She did not acknowledge either professor or let them heal the burns she accrued from repeatedly hitting the barrier, her emotions overriding her logic.
The brunt of her anger was directed at Kane. Her guardian, a man whose code was to put the mission first and succeed by any means, had done a full 180, refusing to involve Katrina in the rescue of her brother and classmates. Though she was confined to the classroom, she gleaned information on what he and Dumbledore were planning by enchanting Purrsephone's collar, the kitten unaffected by the barrier and able to slink around the castle. With their meetings being held in Dumbledore's office, the information was limited. Katrina knew that they had not found Cayden's location, a three way battle was waging between Kane, Dumbledore, and Fudge on how to handle the matter, and the castle was on lockdown.
"Mr. Moore told me that this is a favorite of yours. You were in this same position last night." Snape was reflected in the arched window, holding a tray of food. "I understand—"
"Spare me your rehearsed sympathy," she said, keeping her eyes on the wall. "You don't understand what I'm feeling. My brother is the hostage of an insane person. He could be torturing him and instead of listening to reason, you're running around like chickens with heads cut off. Two days and you haven't found them or you have and you don't care if my brother is dead."
He dropped the tray onto the nearest desk and blocked her view of the wall with his body. As Purrsephone sidled into the room, Katrina thought the barrier lowered a third time, a visible glimmer in the doorway.
"You think I've never feared for the safety of those I cared about and felt helpless to protect them? I do understand what you're going through, Katrina," he said, solemnly. "I understand that you're concerned for your brother but saving his life cannot come at the expense of yours. Cayden going rogue was unanticipated but if he intended on harming the students, he would have made that evident by now. He knows you'd give your life in exchange for your brother and whatever his intentions are, it is clear that you are essential to his ultimate goal. You need to be calm."
"Calm?" She glanced up at him. "What else? Should I trust that the adults know what they're doing? Because you don't. I know Fudge won't let you out of the castle or if any professor tries, he'll have you arrested for treason. I know that he won't budge on Dumbledore working with the aurors and he's hiding the truth from the parents of those who were taken by silencing Madam Rosmerta and her staff and the villagers. He won't even believe that Cayden's alive."
"You know quite a lot for someone who's spent hours staring at a wall." Snape grabbed Purrsephone as she nibbled his pant leg. "I wondered why she was outside Dumbledore's office this morning. You've enchanted her collar to eavesdrop, I suppose. Very—"
He froze like a statue, his fingers grazing the bell on her collar. Slipping out of his grasp, Purrsephone climbed into Katrina's lap, the yellow flecks in her eyes shining like stars. Before Katrina could process her kitten's actions, Snape, his hands at his sides, fell to the floor and Jace appeared by the window. Through her 'eavesdropping', Katrina knew that he was part of the tense discussions but due to their friendship, Kane prohibited him from visiting her, in the event he disobeyed orders and attempted to free her from the classroom.
"Nice one, Seffie," he said, praising the kitten. "You've gotten good at that."
Katrina stood, looking from her best friend to the unconscious potions professor. "Jace, why did you do that? I can't leave unless Kane reverses the spell. It's blood magic."
He showed her a vial containing a minuscule amount of blood. "Then it's a good thing I swiped this while Kane was threatening Fudge. He was trying to use it for a locator spell on Lukas but that bastard's cloaked. He didn't want me anywhere near you but he's not here and I'll accept my punishment from him and my dad after we save Harry, Hannah, and the others."
Healing the burns on her shoulder, Jace briefed her on the past two days. Fudge was adamant that the missing students were not in danger, preferring to stick to his narrative that it was the work of a lowly criminal and not the resurrected nephew of prominent Ministry employees. He trusted that his aurors could find them, unwilling to accept help from Kane or MACUSA. In his mind, Kane was falling for Dumbledore's hysterics over Voldemort, to relive his glory days, and any hopes of Kowalski swaying his stalwart opinions were dashed by the MACUSA president choosing to remain neutral in the conflict.
The British aurors were unable to piece together how Madam Rosmerta did not see the students whisked away from her pub or how the attackers entered Hogsmeade under their noses. Tonks, a fan of Blazing Phoenix, knew that they were playing a concert in Paris that night and had not yet left, leading her to suggest the attackers had masqueraded as the band.
The previous night, Fudge began receiving letters from concerned parents, who were informed by friends of the kidnapped students, leading him to reluctantly work with Kane to avoid a scandal. In a matter of minutes, Jace and the task force deduced that the security enchantments encompassing Hogsmeade was tampered with, presumably to allow Cayden's goons into the village. It meant that he had someone on the inside, a mole like Graham.
The problem was finding their location, Cayden learning his tricks from the best. Kane and Dumbledore uncovered possible hideouts but were hesitant to search them, thinking they were merely decoys rigged with traps. Cayden's enchantments, taught to him by Kane, made it difficult to confirm the correct spot, the intuitive wizard cloaking himself and his minions from being seen or tracked on a map. Jace was left behind to guard the castle while Dumbledore and the Ministry aurors searched a potential hideout in Wiltshire and Kane and members of the task force, those who doubled as MACUSA aurors, left for Barcelona.
"The enchantment erases a person's magical signature, what pops up when we cast a spell," he explained, conjuring a map. "McGonagall thought we could track the students but they're untraceable too. Kane says it's through our wands because it's specific to that person. That's why we're struggling to find them but when Snape said you enchanted Purrsephone's collar, it hit me. Roger's bracelet."
"You said they were all wiped. How does that—I cast a protective charm on it," she said, catching onto his idea. "It was my magic so it's not cloaked. If the spell's strong enough, it could give us a hint of where they are…"
"I sent a message to Kane and Dumbledore but spells must be blocking it and we can't waste time." He pricked her finger with the tip of his wand. "Hope this works."
A drop of her blood landed on the map. Carefully linking hands with Jace, they combined their magic to cast the locator spell. The droplet initially did not move but then it glided across the map, to a point in Southeastern England. Katrina recognized it as Bristol, Cayden's old home. Using Kane's blood, Jace lowered the barrier and pulled Katrina through, recasting it to encase Snape and casting an illusion spell to masquerade Purrsephone as Katrina. Before visiting her, he had spoken to Ginny about distracting Umbridge, Fudge's enforcer on no one leaving the castle without her permission. Like Katrina, the remaining Hogwarts students were confined to their common rooms, except at meals, after news of the kidnapping had reached their parents.
Through the ceiling, Katrina heard a panicked cry and Filch shouting at Peeves. With the diversion underway, she and Jace sneaked out of the castle and headed towards Hogsmeade.
"What about his secret helper in the village? Aurors must be on guard. What if it's one of them?" she asked Jace, as they neared the gated entrance.
"I've got their breaks timed to the millisecond. We can't apparate on the Hogwarts grounds." Jace kept her hidden behind the gate, waving at the passing owner of Honeyduke's. "If they see me around, it's nothing newsworthy but you're different. Getting into the hideout, if we find it, is our next problem. It'll be armed to the teeth."
"I can siphon any enchantments," she suggested.
"It could tip them off. We need to know what we're facing and I have an inside source." He led her to the alley between a cauldron shop and a hair salon. "Do you remember Natalie Picquery? Nosy Natalie?"
Natalie Picquery was a former classmate of Jace's at Ilvermorny, three years above him and both in Thunderbird. Throughout her school years, she had a reputation as a gossip and being dreadful with secrets. Jace often told Katrina how she would get in trouble for divulging their quidditch team's plays to impress her crush, the Horned Serpent captain. After graduation, she received a job as an investigative journalist at the New York Ghost, earning comparisons to Rita Skeeter but with a likable personality. She served as a useful source for the aurors at MACUSA and she was currently on assignment in Bristol.
Earlier in the morning, Natalie reached out to Jace. Aubrey had arrived in Bristol, supposedly chasing a lead on a kidnapping in New Mexico, and, having been friends during their time at Ilvermorny, she asked to stay at Natalie's apartment, to ease her search. Though it was not uncommon for an auror to work lengthy hours, Natalie noticed that Aubrey was being very secretive about the case, one that her private sources had no knowledge of, and she wanted to get details from Jace. He hoped to mention it to Kane but he departed the castle before his arrival through Dumbledore's fireplace.
"The locator spell proves that Bristol must be where they're hiding. I told Natalie that Aubrey was going rogue and to let me handle it." He peeked at the map. "They're cloaked in the hideout but not outside it and she said Aubrey's been shut in her room all day, working on the case. Natalie's left the apartment so it's our one shot. Savage and Pritchard are about to switch. Ready?"
Grabbing ahold of his sleeve, Katrina felt her feet lift off the snowy ground and just as quickly, they landed outside an apartment building. Keeping her close, Jace turned over a decorative rock, revealing a key and a note. Owned by a wizard, the building had additional security, with the doors enchanted to only open with a specific key, to prevent thefts. On the note, Natalie scribbled her apartment number and that she heard another person in Aubrey's room. Together, they walked into the building, passing numerous tenants, muggles and wizards, and halted at Natalie's door. Jace flicked his wand at the wall, which became partially transparent to show a single shadowy figure in the kitchen.
Tapping a finger against his lips, Jace cautiously opened the door, he and Katrina preparing for an ambush. Instead of Aubrey, there was an exact double of Katrina, dressed in a low-cut crop top, black skinny jeans, a matching leather jacket, and knee-high boots and her red hair tied into a high ponytail, opening a cabinet below the sink.
"It's me, Nat. I'm about to nab this creep and he's into the innocent types," said Aubrey, observing a collection of potions. "You know, the 'Oh, I'm so sweet and pure and good. I couldn't hurt a fly. Tee hee'."
"Actually, I don't sound that ditzy." As Katrina disarmed her, before she could reach into her jacket, Jace tied her up with thick ropes, removing her disguise. "And I've never said tee hee. You haven't done your homework. Where's my brother?"
Incapable of much movement, Aubrey shrugged in reply. "Never met him. Isn't he at school with you? Is he missing? That's so sad. Back together and now torn apart again…"
Jace tightened the ropes with a clockwise twirl of his wand. "Cut the crap, Bree. We can do this two ways and no, neither of them are easy. Either you talk willingly or we make you talk." Her smugness faltered when Katrina removed her gloves. "You've never seen Katrina siphon before, have you? It is not fun. Your body gets weaker and weaker and your organs start to fail and as your heart pumps faster to keep beating, your veins rub together. It's excruciating. I've soundproofed the walls so go ahead and scream. I doubt your boss will race to save you. Should we find out if I'm wrong?"
"Kane wouldn't let her out alone…not with just a guppy like you, Jace. Is this a top secret mission? Adorable," she said, in a childish voice. "I'm not telling you anything. Your pet kitten won't hurt me. It might upset Kane and she'd never—heh, she wouldn't—ugh."
Aubrey closed her eyes, to hide her pain. "Here's a cool fact. I don't need touch to make you suffer. I can draw on magic from any source like those potions under the sink," warned Katrina. "That's your blood vessels starting to boil and in terms of Kane, he'll understand that I had to cook you like an egg to get my answers. Start talking."
"I'm not—fine, fine!" she shouted. Katrina lifted her hand from the counter. "They're in a compound underground, on the property that used to belong to his parents. Cayden wanted me to go to Hogsmeade to meet with an informant and find out how close Kane was to finding it. He said it would be easier if I looked like you because the villagers would think you were asking about your brother. Before you ask me, Jace, I can't tell you the informant. It's a curse that gets enacted when we talk about other followers. Thank the Slytherin brat for that."
"Course you can't. Tell us how to get in." Aubrey stared back at him in defiance. "Answer or Katrina gets private time with you."
Faced with a difficult choice, she confessed that getting into the compound would be simple for a siphon, Katrina able to lift the protective enchantments, but getting out was the hard part. It was extremely secure, hexes and curses activated by the use of unapproved magic with or without a wand. If they cast something as insignificant as a lighting charm, it would trigger the defenses and when an intruder was detected, the interior scrambled itself like a maze. Aside from hexes, they had to contend with Cayden's potion, the mist traveling through the corridors to randomly inhibit their abilities, if they concocted a way to use their magic. She likened it to a death trap for Chimaera's enemies.
Katrina knocked her out and plucked a strand of her hair. "I have a way around the anti-magic hex. I've seen Kane cast it on himself when he has to get in somewhere that's sealed off to anyone but the caster. It's a charm that masks you as someone else. I could use Aubrey's hair to fake being her in the compound and I'll have her wand as a backup."
"And I can do that with a guard. I have a crazier idea and you won't like it but to do this, we'll have to divide and conquer. I can handle the guards and you do some acting." He nodded towards Aubrey. "Pretend to be her and find the students. When you do, we'll message each other. It's risky, I know, and if you'd rather wait for Kane, I won't argue, Katrina."
"No, we have to get them," she insisted, swapping Aubrey's clothes with hers. "How long before Cayden gives the order to send a new, bloodier message to Kane? They've got plenty of options besides Hannah and Harry. We're getting them back, Jace."
After formulating a plan, admittedly imperfect and dozens of ways of being caught, Katrina dove into Aubrey's memories to get an exact location of the hideout and its defenses and a better perspective on how the older girl's personality and how she interacted with Lukas and other members of Chimaera. Their biggest fear was bumping into Cayden, neither believing they could honestly win against him in a duel. Apparating to the edge of the outer barrier to the compound, they spotted a blonde boy around nineteen, an auror for the French Ministry named Henri Dubois according to Jace, pacing around the trees, wearing a black hooded uniform like Lukas's from the Hogsmeade attack.
A goat mask in his hand, he pointed his wand at the trees concealing her and Jace. "Montre-toi!"
Deciding to maintain her appearance to distract the guards, especially Lukas, Katrina stepped out from their hiding spot. "It's me, you croissant eating nitwit," she spat. He did not lower his wand until she showed him Aubrey's, made of mayhaw and rougarou hair. "Don't they teach you frogs how to identify someone without needing to see them? If you're this jumpy with me, what are you going to do if Carlisle shows up? He won't be as generous as me. The brats still alive?"
Henri scowled at her insult. "Zey are in ze kitchen with Lukas. I 'ope you have good news for—"
Jace hit him with a stunning spell. Taking his wand, he changed into the sleek uniform and dropped a couple blonde hairs into a vial of polyjuice potion. Once he stuck another hair on his watch, Katrina cast the masking charm, as she had done with Aubrey's hair and her bracelet in the apartment.
"You sure about this?" he asked, resembling Henri. "Maybe you should take it now."
"No. It'll throw off Lukas and that's useful," she said, stowing the vial in her jacket. "I'll take it when necessary. Step two?"
"Count of three and then we pray to Merlin." She took off a glove and dug her fingers into the dirt. "One, two, three."
If a stranger asked how Draco ended up in his current predicament, they would book him a bed in St. Mungo's. One minute, he was at a table with his friends at the Three Broomsticks, listening to the band and keeping an eye out for Katrina, who had been acting dodgy for weeks and even more so with Graham, and the next, he woke up in an unfamiliar room, restrained to a chair and surrounded by other frightened Hogwarts students. He could not begin to explain why Lukas Carlisle had kidnapped them. His arrogance was not surprising to Draco, being on the receiving end of it from the age of five and forced to be respectful to the Carlisles to appease society's notion that pureblood families of high standing were great friends. Despite his and his friends' fights with Carlisle or the equally irritating Moore, this side to him was different: icy and viciously cruel, a complete opposite of his image as an honorable, courageous auror.
It all seemed to be a lie. He was not the successor to his uncle's legacy but part of something sinister. The ringleader was someone older, someone Draco vaguely recalled visiting his father on a late summer night. Behind the closed doors of his study, his father conversed with the young man, Cayden he had introduced himself to the students like a gracious host, and the Dark Lord, Draco trying not to eavesdrop as he sneaked out to Daphne's manor for a party, her parents away to visit her ill grandmother. At the time, he thought the man was another death eater but if that was the case, why would he have taken Draco and the Slytherins?
Though he literally kidnapped them, he did not conduct himself like a criminal. An aura of sophistication encircled him, reminding Draco of his father with his suit and polite manners. If they were not tied to their chairs, receiving painful shocks if they tried freeing themselves, he would have fallen for the act. No one spoke since he entered the room, too afraid to make a sound. Cayden had not said much to them as he prepared a meal, with the lackluster assistance of Lukas, but every so often, Draco noticed him glance at Davies.
"What do you want with us?" inquired Chambers, against Li's hushed whispers. "Is this to get to Dumbledore? You kidnap us and when he gets here, you fight him because he wronged you or whoever's in charge?"
Cayden wiped his hands with a rag. "No. I expect he'll come for you but nothing to do with him." Various hors d'oeuvres appeared on their plates. "I've told you that you won't be harmed. Eat."
They could not deny the delicious smell or their growling stomachs but their fear outweighed their hunger. "W—we can't exactly move," stuttered Pansy, indicating their hands.
"I lifted your restraints but if you run, it'll be the same result," he advised, as some subtly motioned to flee the room. "You don't have your wands and none of you are that proficient with wandless magic, not when you're weakened and certainly not against Lukas or myself. Spare yourself the unnecessary pain."
Knowing he was right, Draco picked at his plate and placed his free hand on Pansy's back to comfort her. Around the table, the older students were communicating through imperceptible looks, contemplating their options until Dumbledore arrived to rescue them. Adrian and Miles were eyeing the men as they cooked, waiting for the perfect moment. Cayden stopped dicing tomatoes and walked over to Potter, his plate untouched.
"He's going to get us killed," muttered Theodore. "Stupid Potter. Who else but him?"
"I know you were raised by muggles and they're quite barbaric but surely they taught you proper manners," he said to Potter, maintaining his tranquil tone. "It's rude not to eat, Harry."
Potter kept his hands under the table. "You're not fooling anyone except yourself. It's an act and you won't be this confident when Dumbledore shows up with Kane Carlisle. You want to discourage us from running because we outnumber you and your magic might not work where we get to before you catch up to us."
Cayden let out an amused chuckle. "You've heard of my little invention. It's true that it needs adjustments but I assure you, magic or not, you've got no chance of success. You want to lead your friends to safety? Be my guest. Kane trained both Lukas and me to be lethal in many forms of combat. Numbers won't matter. If you want to test my patience, any blood that's spilled is on your hands."
"You said you won't hurt us because we're leverage," said Potter, in a pathetic display of false bravado. "They won't give you what you want."
"I used to think that way when I was younger but you'd be surprised how far people are willing to go when you've got something that means everything to them." If he wanted to slice Potter's throat, it was not obvious by his face. "I learned that from Kane so I'd keep that in mind. I was his best student."
"You're wrong," he asserted.
"Ooh, are we torturing them? Finally," said an unmistakable voice. "I told you that would be more fun."
Draco dropped his fork as Katrina strolled into the room. He questioned if it was her, just by her revealing outfit and an arrogant demeanor that did not match the girl he had gotten to know the past few months. Lukas, similarly wary, gripped his wand.
"We need to send an incentive to light a fire under his old ass." Her snobbish tone further convinced Draco that she was an imposter, someone under polyjuice potion or a disguising charm. "I have mine."
It was unnerving to see such a murderous expression on her face, directed towards him. Like any normal person, Katrina could get angry but never to this degree, her rage calm and collected as opposed to outright and volatile. Others had not caught on, believing that this was the real Katrina tugging on Draco's hair.
She dragged her wand across his cheek. "Let me do it," she begged Cayden. "Carve him up like a turkey. We can have one of each, a pureblood, a halfblood, and a mudblood. What are you staring at, fuckface?" Lukas's wariness faded, replaced with a look of pure loathing. "Aw, are you triggered?"
"Aubrey, leave him be," said Cayden, his back to a confused Potter. "We're not hurting them. Change and mind your manners. Don't make me tell you twice."
Pouting, she released Draco, purposely swinging his face towards his plate, and picked up an empty glass on the counter, next to a bottle of elderflower wine. "Be useful and pour me one," she said, holding it out to Lukas.
He snatched the glass from her. "You weren't supposed to dress like that. It's like you were asking to get snatched, Bree."
"Because you're an expert, perv?" she taunted.
"Enough bickering," chided Cayden. Taking the glass of wine, she turned away from a riled Lukas. "What did you find out?"
Aubrey's change was instantaneous, back to a petite brunette. "He's got nothing. Our birdie says he's stalling until you get antsy and screw yourself over and he's got that brat stashed somewhere secret" She was speaking in her regular voice, not Katrina's. "I did hear the aurors talking about Wiltshire and Barcelona so they're taking the bait. Can we revisit my original idea? I get not wanting to ruffle feathers but is a twit like Malfoy a loss? We'd be doing the world a favor."
Standing behind Draco in silent warning, Cayden ordered her to assist Lukas with the cooking. "Ignore her. She's a petty one, particularly in regards your mother." Draco could not imagine how his mother drew Aubrey's ire, their families hardly acquaintances. "All that fanfare of pureblood solidarity but we're a backstabbing lot, tearing each other down to get ahead."
Whatever caused her animosity, Aubrey was adamant about taking it out on Draco, feigning compliance with Cayden's request for leniency while making eye contact with Draco as she chopped carrots with a sharp knife. Potter, putting his incessant desire for heroics above the lives of others, refused to at least take a bite of his food. Emboldened by his example, some abandoned their plates, wanting answers into Cayden's grand plan.
"If you'd prefer not to eat, it's your choice. You're hoping that Dumbledore will come through that door and be your valiant savior." He stirred a boiling pot by rotating his index finger. "He won't find you until he agrees to my terms. I've got hideouts around the world, decoys as well-guarded as this compound. He'll have his hands full with—"
"Where did you get that ring?" interrupted Davies, his eyes on a simple silver band, bearing a raven coiled around a cursive D, on Cayden's left hand.
"Finally noticed it, have you?" asked Cayden, twisting the ring. "Perhaps you were sorted into the wrong house. I was wondering when you'd speak up but the lack of recognition…someone altered your memories. It was my father's, given to him and his older brother one Christmas morning by their father. A Davies tradition, he called it."
Davies was baffled by the revelation that Cayden was his cousin. Draco heard stories of him losing family during the war against the Dark Lord, his father telling him that the relatives had been estranged for nearly a decade. Their deaths were reported as gruesome, the culprits setting their home on fire and the body of Davies's aunt covered in scars, but his father never mentioned the couple having a son.
Telling the truth flipped a switch inside Cayden, a darkness overtaking his features. He claimed that Davies's father had betrayed his parents out of envy, leading the death eaters to their doorstep.
"M—my father wouldn't do that," defended Davies. "He visits their graves every year. Why would he bother if he wanted them dead? Whatever you think happened, it's a misunderstanding."
"I don't think it. I lived it," he snarled. "I was in the house as it burned, hiding in the cellar. Your father didn't tell the aurors that I existed so they only searched for two bodies and I would've perished in the flames if Kane Carlisle hadn't found me."
"Maybe your parents never told him about you because we were going through a rough patch." Cayden was not placated by that excuse. "They hadn't seen each other in years. If my father knew you were alive, he would've taken you in. I—is that why you're doing this? You want Dumbledore to bring him to you to get revenge? It won't heal your pain. You can end this and I'll take you to him. We can start over and be a proper family, the one we should've—"
"YOU ARE NOT MY FAMILY!"
His voice boomed through the room, shaking the table, plates, and utensils. In a fit of explosive rage, he apparated from the counter to Davies, seizing him by his collar. Every head was turned in their direction, even Lukas and Aubrey pausing in their tasks.
"I want nothing to do with you or your spineless father," he spat, any shred of politeness gone. "You're not on my hit list today…no, that'll be a special day but if you'd like to speed it up, I dare you to tempt me. I'll rip you and your brother Chester to shreds and drop your barely living corpses in the middle of teatime in the living room. As you're taking your final breath, your parents begging for your lives, you'll get to watch them suffer too. I'll erase you like your father did to me and my parents."
"C—Cayden, p—pl—please," sputtered Davies, trying to pry his fingers from his collar.
As he unexpectedly loosened his grip, Draco thought he was remembering his rule of not harming a student, but he switched to lifting his wrist. He was staring at a bracelet made of blue and bronze string, which Davies had been wearing since the first quidditch match.
Davies winced as Cayden's nails dug into his wrist. "Did I not tell you halfwits to scrub their magic before bringing them inside to limit tracking through a locator spell?" He was addressing a perplexed Lukas and Aubrey. "If you had, then why did you let him in with this?"
Lukas stifled a laugh. "A dinky bracelet? Why would we care about th—"
Struggling to breathe, he reached for his throat. Aubrey looked from him to Cayden, whose hand was clenched into a fist around the bracelet he tore from Davies's arm.
"Because it has a protective charm, you idiot!" Tightening his fist caused Lukas to slouch over the counter. "And it isn't his magic that cast it, which means it can be traced!"
"Hey, hey, take a breath," said Aubrey, speaking like a mother soothing a child. "You're spiraling down a crazy rabbit hole. The professors wouldn't give a damn about a lame arts and craft project, Cayden. If they don't know about it, neither does Kane and if he somehow did, he would've found us by now."
As Draco and many others cupped their ears to muffle the sound of a blaring alarm, a piece of parchment popped out of thin air above Cayden's head. He angrily hissed to both Aubrey and a wheezing Lukas and apparated out of the room. Roper whispered to Bones, the whispers carrying along the table. Overhearing Cayden, she learned that Dumbledore and the aurors were spotted near the compound. Had they actually been discovered thanks to a bracelet?
"Guess Dumbledore's smarter than your deranged boss." Lukas glared at Selene. "Do you think they'll bother with a trial or just chuck you in a cell?"
"Stop being so sensitive, idiot," said Aubrey, taking a sip of her wine. "They won't get past the barrier. Next she'll have you worrying that someone already got inside and masked themselves as one of us to fool everyone. What if they're in here with us? Maybe it's me."
She made ghostly noises. "Shut up, Bree. We should be out there, not babysitting."
"Did you get put in timeout, Lulu?" Jace Moore was leaning against the doorway. "Not ready for the big boy things?"
Fudge must have partnered with MACUSA to find the missing students. Lukas did not look threatened by the fact that he infiltrated their hideout. Draco had never seen them in action but both being aurors, he suspected they were fairly matched in a fight.
"Come to be the hero or has he sent you in as the guinea pig?" he asked Moore. "You can't use your magic or it'll kick in the building's defenses."
"Then how fortunate that I'm not using my wand." Moore twirled the wand in his hand. "I found one in the woods with Dubois. I'd love to hear how you conned him into this bullshit. He gets spooked by his own shadow. I bet my masking charm will dupe your hexes."
"We were prepared for that," replied Lukas, grasping his wand. "Either way, it's two against one."
Moore made a dramatic gasp, his hand on his chest. "Congrats, buddy. You learned how to count and you're absolutely correct. You against the two of us."
Lukas went numb, Aubrey plunging a knife into his lower back. Was she a double agent, spying on Cayden and leading Dumbledore to his location? Draco's eyes grew to the size of a quaffle as she reverted to Katrina. His mind reeling, he contended with the notion that Katrina had been masquerading as Aubrey, instead of the opposite, to mislead Cayden.
Shoving her into the counter, Lukas apparated, leaving behind the blood-stained knife. "Forget him," Moore told her, flicking his wand to remove their restraints. "In and out. We're on a time crunch."
"J—Jace, how did you break in?" asked Abbott, as Potter hurried over to Katrina.
He healed a burn on Weasley's wrist. "A story for later. I've got your wands but only Katrina and I can use magic without activating the protective enchantments. Less talking, more getting the hell out. The corridors shifted when the alarm went off and we have to find another exit."
"Dumbledore didn't give you a way out?" asked Chang, anxiously. "Shouldn't we wait for him?"
Katrina's face was mostly buried into Potter's shoulder, her brother squeezing her in a tight embrace, but Draco noted a shared hesitation between her and Moore.
"He's uh not here." Eager smiles fell faster than a brand-new Firebolt. "Don't panic. It's a powerful illusion spell to make them think he's out there with the aurors."
"Moore, tell us you're joking," said Adrian, rounding on the auror. "You wouldn't be dumb enough to come alone. You're an auror and you don't have backup? Where's your father or—"
"They couldn't get his exact location so they've been searching everywhere. I sent messages out but Cayden's enchantments are interfering or they'd be with us," he said, putting his arm around a trembling Abbott. "Fudge threatened to imprison any professor who left the castle too. You can see how this wasn't my number one choice, Pucey. Cayden is going to figure out it's an illusion so we need to go. We can bicker over who would've had a better plan later."
Moore at the forefront, using an enchanted map as a guide, they sneaked out of the room, the corridors bathed in a bluish light. When they reached the end of a hallway, he and Katrina checked both sides for roaming guards and if their magic was intact. The invention that Cayden had alluded to in his conversation with Potter was a potion of his making, with the effect of restricting a wizard's magic. Being released as a mist through the compound, they could become powerless while dueling a guard.
"Shit. Ward and Ortiz aren't out in the woods anymore," Moore whispered, glancing around the corner. "Lukas must've brought them."
"A—are they aurors too?" asked Bell.
"No. Ortiz is a curse-breaker," he said, rolling up his sleeves. "Kowalski's used him a couple times when we have to investigate places crawling with dark magic. Ward was imprisoned at Shadow Isle but he got out on parole back in June. He's dangerous. I'll draw them away."
"But Jace," started Abbott.
"I'll be okay, Han," he said, reassuringly.
The moment he crept around the corner, he engaged the two men in a fight. Jets of colored light zoomed past them, striking the walls and ceiling. As a gangly, bespectacled man hit the wall, shaking it off like he was slapped by a feather, Katrina cast a barrier over the corridor, to hide them from view. Draco witnessed her fleetingly clench her wandless hand into a fist. The spells continued to zip past them, no clear sign of who was winning the duel.
"Why wouldn't Lukas get Cayden?" Potter asked her, as she chanced a peek.
"Would you want to be the one to tell him that two teenagers broke into your super secret hideout? He wants to catch us before he finds out or he'll act clueless," she theorized, Daphne squealing at a stunning spell hitting the barrier. "Whichever saves him from having his heart ripped out."
"How are you so sure?" said Chambers, his unabashed hatred of Katrina seeming to make him distrustful of her and not their kidnappers. "Why did Moore bring you?"
"Chambers, belt up," snapped Dunbar. "Do you want to be trapped in that nightmare kitchen again?"
"No but it doesn't mean we should trust her." If they were not in such dire straits, Draco would be hexing off his mouth. "Something's not right with you. How did you trick them into thinking you were Rhodes? Your impersonation was spot-on for someone who met her once when Moore brought you to MACUSA."
"Not now," Katrina told Potter. "Jace has been gone for five minutes. Get in that room."
As she ushered them into a nearby library, she closed the door. Potter pulled on the handle, repelled by a charm. She intended to find Moore, promising to return before the magic wore off in the corridor and that Cayden's guards could not enter the room.
"Harry, we can't make noise," said Granger, keeping him from pounding on the sealed door. "We have to be quiet. We're not any help without our magic."
"She left because of you," said a heated Davies, accusing Chambers. "Why did you have to attack her?"
"Because she's lying to us, Roger, and you don't have to read one of Dunbar's father's articles to get that," he argued. "Of anyone he could've gotten, why did Moore bring her? Fifteen years in a basement and she's this talented actress who can mimic Rhodes perfectly? He couldn't teach her all that. For all we know, she's working with that psycho too."
"I know one thing. I don't need magic to knock out your teeth." Weasley and Granger grabbed the back of Potter's shirt. "You've had it in for my sister since that day on the stairs and I'm sick of you running your mouth, Chambers."
A loud creak made them turn towards the door, the knob rotating as they collectively held their breath. Davies picked up a book from an armchair and when the door opened, he swung it, almost hitting Snape.
"Davies, are you mad?" he asked, knocking the book from his hand.
Everyone stood far from the door, fearful that he was a disguised guard. "We know you're not Professor Snape," said Selene, hiding Daphne and Pansy behind her. "The professors can't leave the castle."
"I'm well aware of the risk, Miss Carrow. The other professors are dealing with our esteemed High Inquisitor." He stowed his wand in his robes. "If I were an imposter, would I know that you spent an afternoon in my office in fourth year after getting burned by a fire crab because your older sister Athena had referred to you as—"
"Okay, it's him," she conceded, her cheeks redder than Weasley's hair. "Why are you—Moore said you could go to prison for defying Fudge."
"That is not my greatest concern." He peered around the room. "Is this all of you? Where is your sister, Potter?"
"Funny," Draco heard outside the door. "I was about to ask you the same."
At the end of the corridor, where Katrina and Jace had disappeared, was the real Aubrey and a hulking, muscular man. Draco did not know the man by name but he had seen his picture in the Daily Prophet heralding him for the capture of a criminal in Berlin a week after returning from his fourth year. Snape opening the library door meant Katrina's spell was lifted, the magic sapped from the area.
"Look at you, breaking the rules. Such a rebel, professor," she said, snidely. "Why don't you have one of your little rats tell me where she's gone? I'd love to snap her neck but everyone wants to bend over backwards for that bitch. Tell me where she is and I'll spare your pitiful lives."
"Aubrey, we can discuss this like proper adults," he replied, cognizant of his disadvantage. "You should consider the fallout of your actions. If you let us pass freely, I will not inform the Minister that you were involved in this crime. You don't want to be sent to Shadow Isle and abandon your mother, do you? And Stark won't want to lose his recently earned Order of Merlin. Second class, wasn't it? There's no need for a fight."
Her subsequent giggle was unhinged. "Fight? Is it really a fight when you're outmatched? You're stalling because your magic's gone bye-bye. Even if you had it, our enchantments would make it turn on you and the effects would be tenfold and unless you've been hitting the gym when you're not playing with your potions kit, I could beat you myself. I'm giving you an out so take it…or is your empty head muddling past and present and this is you making up for your mistakes? Maybe you see it as a second chance but I'd at least wait a few years to minimize the outrage."
Snape's dark eyes narrowed to slits. "Dumbledore is on his way with Kane Carlisle." Neither she nor Stark flinched, likely believing it to be a deception. "You'd risk your capture or worse? Carlisle will kill you and tell Kowalski that it was necessary to rescue the children. He has no qualms against it."
"Then you should tell me where she is, Snape." Stark cracked his knuckles. "If I have to kill you to get your brats to talk, I will. Your life means nothing to me but it does to some of your students. I bet they'll sing like canaries as I crush your—"
A metal pipe struck Aubrey's face. Clutching her cheek, she stumbled, blood splattering onto the stone floor. A second pipe flew towards Stark, who caught it, but then a golden whip curled around his wrist. Had the potion not affected that part of the building? With a harsh tug, Stark was thrown off balance, the whip possibly weakening him yet deteriorating, and Katrina emerged from the side, pulling down on his head and sweeping his leg, like she had done to Draco in Hogsmeade when she lost her memory.
Draco watched her traded blows with a savage Aubrey, a deep cut on her cheek, certain that he was in a hallucination and had never left that kitchen. As she dodged a punch and whacked Aubrey across the face with the pipe for a second time, Stark grabbed her, lifting her into the air.
Just stall.
That was Katrina's goal until Kane was at the compound. He had finally gotten Jace's message but before he could join the party, he and the members of the task force had to fend off the curses enacted by Cayden and escape the fake hideout that began to implode when he received the note. Leaving the Hogwarts students in the library, she searched for Jace, to assist him and give him the good news, but fate had other plans in the form of Aubrey and another goon named Stark, a man with a troublesome past with Kane. They were threatening Snape, who had gotten to the compound, perhaps on Dumbledore's orders, and knowing that they would hurt him, she went on the offensive.
The potion slowly affecting that part of the compound, Katrina was on her own in the fight. As Stark lifted her, his tactic being to crush her bones, she jammed the knife she had used on Lukas into his arm and with him temporarily distracted, she wrapped her legs around his neck and repeatedly slammed her elbow into his head. Aubrey was getting up, blood caked under her nose and a bruise under her eye. Using her upper thighs, she brought Stark to the floor, the blow rendering him unconscious, and kicked at Aubrey's stomach, knocking her to the ground before driving the pipe through her leg.
"Fuck!" cried the petite brunette, unable to heal the wound with magic.
Feeling a soreness in her ribs, Katrina considered bringing her to a spot where she could regain her magic to heal her but her first thought was checking on Harry. A force like a troll's club tackled her, causing her to land on top of Lukas. Gripping her shoulder, he flipped her over and as she tried to move, he put her in a chokehold.
"Miss me, kitty cat? Is this our foreplay?" he whispered in her ear. "You've been holding out on me. It's getting me excited. It's like we're in my bedroom. I've been dreaming about that lots of nights. You missed our fun, didn't you? That pleasure…ugh!"
His full weight no longer pressing into her, she regained her footing, a bloody metal pipe spinning past her. Lukas had Snape pinned to the wall, his forearm against his throat.
"You can't win, Kat. Give yourself up or he's dead," he said, taking a knife from his jacket. "If I nick the right artery, you won't be able to get him somewhere with magic before he bleeds out. My loyalty is to Cayden, not Voldemort, so why would it matter if I killed him?"
"Do not listen to him," said Snape, his voice strained.
Katrina jumped onto Lukas's back, violently tearing into his neck with her teeth. The feral act led to him letting go of Snape and together, in his attempt to buck her off, they fell through an open door, blood gushing from his wound. He tossed her like a rag doll and as she landed on her side, she felt a tingling in her fingertips, the potion dissipating from the room. Not wanting to tip him off, she stretched out her hand towards the knife he dropped, wincing from him kicking her in the gut. Katrina seized the handle and shoved the blade through his sneaker, pinning it by transfiguring the stone floor to embed the knife. She punched him in the throat then across the face, Lukas's head smacking into the floor.
Snape rushed into the room, his eyes darting from the inert Lukas to her. "Katrina, you're in no condition to walk and I cannot heal you until we're at Hogwarts. Moore has reunited with the students to lead them out. Carlisle and Dumbledore are at the outer barrier with the aurors. Let me help you."
A strange sensation swelled in her gut. It was comparable to how wizards described using a portkey. There was a sudden shift in her surroundings, the new room ice-cold and empty. She slammed into the wall, an invisible hand choking her. Cayden appeared, his other hand holding a glass sphere that contained a swirling blue mist. The mist was expelled from the sphere, circulating the room.
"I knew you'd come. You gave yourself away when you interfered with Lukas's punishment. Aubrey would've relished in his suffering but you care too much." His nose nuzzled her cheek. "Don't be afraid. I did all this for you so could be reunited, maravilla…my sweet marigold…ah, ah…"
Katrina whimpered as his wand prodded her ribs. He gently pushed her hand down from his suit jacket with his sleeve.
"I've removed that masking charm. You can't hide behind Aubrey's magic, not even with your siphoning, and I wouldn't want you to hurt yourself," he said, his wand tip resting on her ribcage. "How bored you must be at that school, pretending you're as unskilled as your classmates when you could take them out with the magic in a single finger. It's brilliant, how you figured out a loophole to my potion when you latched onto Lukas and that illusion spell. The time delay was a nice touch."
"L—let me go or you won't get what you want," she threatened.
"I already do. I told you that we're family." In her mind, she weakly cried out for help, praying that her magic could break through his defenses. "We only need each other. It's why Kane kept us apart. Together, we're unstoppable and he can't have the pupils outshine the master."
"If you hurt him, you'll never get that dagger." He moved his wand from her ribcage. "Yeah, I beat you to your buried treasure and I hid it somewhere after you kidnapped my brother. You could extract my memories but I split that one in half, meaning I have half of the coordinates and I put half in someone else. You want to kill Kane? Fine. Then you might lose that second vital piece. Maybe it was Kane, Harry, McGonagall…no, maybe it was that girl I split a cupcake with a month ago at dinner."
Cayden jerked her head sideways. "You're bluffing. Perhaps you did split the memory but you didn't forget who has it." As his lips grazed her ear, she touched the wall. "I've studied siphons my entire life. When you get a taste of magic, directly from the source, that satisfaction drives your every thought and you can't fight the craving. You'd tell me anything to have more. Lukas would be willing."
The door blew off its hinges, Cayden blasted by a jet of green light. Kane stepped into the room, instantly sensing the potion.
"Come to save your favorite?" mocked Cayden, wiping dust from his suit. "Careful, Kane. You might be developing a heart."
"It's over, Cayden. Having your guards unmasked? It's rather reckless." His wand disappeared under his sleeve. "Some of your sycophants have gotten away but we have their identities. You didn't plan this well."
Cayden showed no concern for his followers. "Not up to your standards, old man? You haven't made a move. That's not like you. Scared that you'll lose or don't want your precious protégé to see the beast who raised her? Go on and fight m—"
A silver glow formed around a stationary Cayden, his muscles frozen, matching the ball of light between Katrina's hands. "He said it's over. Take a hint."
As the ball expanded, the floor crumbled beneath his feet and he plummeted deep into the ground. Woozy, the light vanishing into her palms, she was kept steady by a stunned Kane.
"How did you…" She nodded at a crack in the wall, less than an inch wide. "You siphoned through that?"
Kane carried her out of the compound, Katrina resting her head on his chest. The aurors, from the British Ministry and MACUSA, and Dumbledore were detaining the captured guards. Aubrey was not one of them, having escaped through a secret passageway.
"No smart-ass comment, scumbag?" Jace asked a tied up Lukas.
"I punched him in the throat really hard," Katrina mumbled into Kane's jacket. "I sprained his vocal cords."
"That is an improvement. Alaric, Elizabeth, I've left a trail for you. You'll find our mastermind at the bottom of a hole. I'd say about fifty feet deep. Go retrieve him." The two aurors headed into the building. "Jace, don't bombard her with questions. She siphoned a room full of magic. If I hadn't disarmed those protective hexes, she'd be in a worse state. She needs her rest."
"Poppy has a bed prepared in the hospital wing," Dumbledore told him, ensuring he could not be heard by the British aurors. "Her injuries are a quick fix and I've asked Minerva to keep Dolores occupied. She'll believe Katrina was one of the hostages."
Jace offered to take her to the hospital wing, to allow Kane to interrogate Cayden and his followers. "Told you we could do it, tiger," he said, quietly.
With a faint pop, he apparated back to Hogsmeade and brought her into the castle, past a haggard Umbridge being tormented by Peeves and his barrage of Christmas ornaments.