A/N: a short, interim chapter; just to keep you on the edge of your seats, and tie up a few loose ends.

Thanks to my beautiful reviewers!

Mandi: Oh, to tell you would be to ruin it all! But we'll just she where she ends up, shall we?

Serpents-tear: the Blackhawks are about vengeance. Of course, this means 'taking the law into their own hands', as they kill for money, and therefore they are 'of the dark'. Yet they hold true to the ideal of justice. It's a tale of mistreatment, much as poor Asa'Morana was a tale of mistreatment. Poor lady- we'll see if she turns up in later chapters.

Chapter 35

Jason Fox was not an overly bright person, though he was reliable. He followed orders very well. That may have been why they sent him. Jason- very plain-looking to anyone who observed him, with his nondescript brown hair, too-wide set brown eyes, snub nose and thin lips on an easily tanned background- entered the house, preparing himself for what he knew would be inside. In the front door, he murmured to himself as he stepped through the front door. Into the master bedroom, he muttered as he stepped into the master bedroom. Press the mirror in firmly, he articulated as he pressed the mirror in firmly. Empty the test tubes, he chanted as he unstoppered and emptied the test tubes onto the floor. The white substance in them wisped away to nothing, not even staining the carpet. Jason watched as it dissolved, then took out the bottle of liquid he had under the crook of his arm. Unstoppering this also, he began to spread the liquid over every surface in the house. Once he was done, he walked out the front door again, charming his boots clean from the place. From a safe distance, he sent a spark inside.

There was an earth-shattering explosion that broke many windows, billowing clear blue flame and black smoke from the site. After only a few minutes- which managed to melt to glassy smoothness the walls of the adjacent buildings- the fire died back down to nothing, leaving only a glassy indent where a house and garden had once been. Nothing was left, not even the fence.

When the police arrived, there was nobody there, other than the spectators, drawn by the sound. Nobody had seen anyone, and nobody had heard anything. A mystery, the police department decided, and- seeing no resolution- put the case aside. The woman who owned the house was never popular, anyway, and the house had stood vacant for a while. Nobody really knew where she was. Nobody really cared.

~*~

Jeremy Potter sat beside his parents, gazing blankly at their blank gazes. "Not too much longer, mum," he muttered to his mother's face; "A little bit longer," he whispered to his father's green eyes.