Disclaimer: See "Stories of the Hogwarts Sisterhood"

Disclaimer 2: Wellard and the other Aurors (except Achilles) come from "Hornblower".

To flamers: I don't take kindly to flames so get out of here, if you know what's good for you.

Note 1: This is a sequel to "Stories of the Hogwarts Sisterhood"; taken place several months later during Easter holidays, so read that first.

NOTE 2: The next few chapters will be dark

Rated Pg-13 for language, content and characters' death.

Thank you for your reviews!

Chapter 27: Edrington Understands

Achilles stared at the Auror Headquarters entrance for a while before he walked in. He hesitated before he marched straight to Pellew's office (sometimes Pellew sat in his office and sometimes he sat outside with the rest of the Aurors to interact with them.)

He had so much in his mind that he bumped into Edrington. "Oops, sorry." he said absentmindedly.

"Achilles? Is that you? I thought Pellew have given you a few weeks off." asked Edrington in bewilderment.

Achilles stared at his best friend for a while before he shook his head. "I'm here to take a permanent leave."

"Permanent......." said Edrington slowly as he quickly tried to figure out what Achilles meant.

Without waiting for him, Achilles walked hurriedly past him.

"Achilles, wait!" called Edrington and followed him.

"Hey, what are Achilles doing?" asked Bush to Edrington in shock when Achilles walked right past his cubicle without even looking at him and Hornblower, (who was talking with Bush at that time).

"Follow me." said Edrington simply and they got up.

They walked behind Achilles and they stopped when Achilles paused in front of Pellew's door.

The door was grand and well-polished. The name "Edward Pellew" was on it in bright, sliver block letters. The letters were glowing, which meant that the Head was in. If the letters were not glowing, it simply meant that the Head was not in the office.

Achilles knocked loudly.

"Come!" ordered a sharp voice.

Achilles opened the door and went in. As he did, the other three Aurors rushed to the door and Edrington put his ear to it.

"Philip, what are you........" started Hornblower.

"Shush!" hissed Edrington.

Hornblower and Bush looked at each other for a while before they pressed their ears to the door too.

***

Once Achilles entered the office, he saw Pellew staring grimly at the two opened files on his table, with an expensive-looking quill in his hand.

One of the files had Kennedy's picture and profile on it while the other one had Wellard's. Achilles saddened at the sight of those files. For a moment, he couldn't accept the fact that they were dead. Two weeks ago they were still alive and now........

Pellew sighed sadly and wrote quickly on Wellard's profile (as if he wanted to get it done as soon as possible). Even though the words were upside down, Achilles could see what he was writing:

Died at the age of 22, on his official first year in the Auror Headquarters.

When he was done, he closed Wellard's file.

"Just a minute, Mr McGonagall, I still have to add something to Mr Kennedy's profile......" said Pellew flatly.

He wrote on Kennedy's profile and Achilles read:

Died at the age of 28, on his official sixth year in the Auror Headquarters.

Pellew put away his quill, closed Kennedy's file and shifted the two files aside.

He looked up at Achilles seriously. "Now before you start, Mr McGonagall, I must say that I am quite surprised that you are back here. I thought that you might want a longer leave since Mr Wellard, Mr Kennedy and your sister are........um.......well, I don't think I should say that word."

Achilles licked his dry lips. Pellew didn't say the word "dead" and Achilles was grateful for that.

"Anyway, are you here to report to me that you are back for work?"

Achilles swallowed. "Um, no." he said, suddenly sounded as if he had not used his voice for a long time.

Pellew blinked. "Come again?"

"No." said Achilles, louder this time.

Pellew stared at him hard as Achilles searched his robes for something. He paused and pulled out a white envelope.

Wordlessly, he handed it to Pellew.

Pellew jumped up from his seat and snatched the envelope anxiously, opened it and took out a letter with Achilles's handwriting. He read through it carefully and his eyes widened as he read. He looked up suddenly at Achilles when he was finished.

Achilles looked back at Pellew with no expression on his face.

"Mr McGonagall, is this some kind of a joke?" demanded Pellew loudly.

Achilles shook his head slightly.

"You can't resign now! Not with this war going on!" roared Pellew.

"I have to, Sir. People died every day in this war. A few days ago we lost Mr Kennedy, Mr Wellard......."

"Oh please, don't remind me......." muttered Pellew.

"And now I have lost my sister too," continued Achilles quietly. "My mother has suffered too much. Her good friends, who were Aurors too, died a long time ago because they were killed in action. Then she lost some of her students and Athena to this surprise attack."

Achilles stopped for a minute before he started again: "Her heart had been broken for too many times. I don't want her to lose me as well, that would kill her. So I was thinking......."

"You were thinking that if you resign, you have a better chance to live longer, isn't it?" interrupted Pellew.

"Yes." mumbled Achilles.

Pellew sighed again, folded the letter and pressed his fingers to his forehead, as if it hurts.

"I don't know what exactly to say about you, Mr McGonagall. You are filial, but a bit stubborn and silly as well."

Achilles didn't say anything in defence.

"Are you sure about this?" asked Pellew in concern after a moment.

"Yes, Sir."

"No regrets?"

"No, Sir."

Pellew looked at Achilles and said finally, "Take out your Auror things and give them to me."

Without a second thought, Achilles reached into his robes and took out his Auror badge and gun. He placed them onto Pellew's desk silently. Handsomely, he drew out his sword from his belt slowly and presented it to Pellew.

Pellew took it unwillingly. "The Headquarters will miss you when you are away, Mr McGonagall. And you are welcome to come back for a visit anytime."

Achilles nodded.

Pellew put down the sword and extended his hand to Achilles.

Achilles took it and Pellew shook it.

"Goodbye, Mr McGonagall. I wish all the best to you." said Pellew sincerely.

"Same to you too, Sir."

"You may go."

They let go of each other's hands. Achilles stepped back and saluted to Pellew smartly.

Pellew nodded back.

Achilles turned around and opened the door. Once he did, he saw Bush, Hornblower and Edrington standing there, staring at him with their mouths open.

"What?"

"You resign?" asked Hornblower in disbelief.

"Yes."

The three Aurors didn't say a word.

"Now if you three excuse me, I have things to pack in my cubicle."

Hornblower and Bush were still before they stepped aside slowly to let Achilles pass. Edrington followed Achilles to his cubicle and leaned against the frame as he watched his best friend tidied his things up with his wand.

"Achilles?"

Achilles took out a box under his desk and tossed his files in.

"Achilles, will you stop for a moment and listen to me?"

Achilles paused for a second before he continued.

"Achilles!"

"Look, Philip, I'm busy right now. If you want to talk, see me at the Atrium later."

He ignored Edrington's frown and continued to pack.

Edrington swallowed. "Fine."

***

Edrington and Achilles were sitting together on a bench near the fountain at the Atrium, staring at the fountain silently. Edrington had been quiet since Achilles arrived with his belongings shrunk and kept in his robes (to save him the trouble of getting them around).

"Oh for Merlin's sake, say something!" said Achilles impatiently after 10 minutes.

"Achilles, do you really want to quit your job?" asked Edrington seriously, without looking up at Achilles.

"Um, yes." lied Achilles as he took out a box of cigarettes from his robes. He lit it and started to smoke.

"You're lying." said Edrington flatly.

Achilles took out his cigarette and held it between his fingers but he didn't say anything.

"I had known you for 27 years, you can't hide anything from me." said Edrington coolly.

Achilles took a puff from his cigarette.

"Being an Auror is your biggest dream, how can you give it up like that? Just because of this bloody attack.............."

Achilles yanked the cigarette out of his mouth. "Look, Philip, it isn't only because of this damn surprise attack that I wanted to quit this job."

"Then what?"

Achilles threw his cigarette away. "Philip, have you ever lost someone? Someone that you really love?"

"Erm, no."

"That's it!" Achilles jumped up from the bench. "You don't understand my feelings right now, Philip. You never have the feeling of losing someone that you love before, while I have lost my good friend, my sister, and perhaps my future brother-in-law! I nearly lost my mother too if it isn't for her group of friends!"

"So that's the reason why you quit? Because you don't want to lose any more of your loved ones?" asked Edrington slowly.

"Actually it's the other way around. My mother lost her two friends to this job years ago, she lost Athena too. I don't think she can take it anymore and I understand her feelings. She had lost one of her children. I don't want her to lose the other one."

"That means you." said Edrington.

Achilles nodded. "This job is too dangerous. I think I will do something else to keep my mother from worrying."

"Um, Achilles?"

"What?"

"Forgive me, but I don't think you know anything else except catching Dark wizards." said Edrington truthfully.

"With my NEWTs grades, I'm sure I can find some other job." said Achilles confidently.

"What a waste of a good Auror." mumbled Edrington.

"Pardon me from saying this, Philip. But if your mother is like mine, and you have lost someone during this war, you will understand." said Achilles.

"I don't want to think about that." said Edrington as he got up. "So there is no other way to convince you to come back, isn't it?"

Achilles shook his head.

"Well then," said Edrington and held out his hand. "Good luck, pal."

Achilles took his hand and shook it. "By the way, Philip, if your children have done something wrong, don't punish them too harshly. Cherish what you have now or you will regret it."

***

Once Edrington got home in the evening and let the house-elf, Twinky, to take his coat, a 4 year-old girl with curly blond hair ran to him with her arms outstretched, screaming: "DADDY!!!"

He squatted down, caught his daughter neatly and lifted her up in the air.

A 6 year old boy with neat blond hair was in the living room but he remained in his seat when he saw his father.

"Hey there, Diana. How's Daddy's girl today?" asked Edrington affectionately.

Diana Edrington smiled sweetly as she kissed her father on the cheek. "Good."

"And how are you, Alex?" asked Edrington to the living room.

Alexander Edrington didn't say anything.

"Alex?"

"He wrecked your painting this afternoon." said a voice from upstairs.

Edrington looked up and saw his wife coming down the stairs. Isabelle Edrington was a striking beauty with long blond hair and bright blue eyes. She was wearing a black long dress, which showed off her figure perfectly.

"What?" exclaimed Edrington, startling his daughter with his exclamation. "Sorry, Diana," he lowered his daughter down. "Go and play somewhere else, okay?"

Diana nodded and ran off to a room nearby.

Edrington turned to Isabelle. "He destroyed my painting?! Which one is it? And how did he break it?!"

"He took one of your guns out in your study to play with it and accidentally fire a shot at your painting. You know, the one with the unicorns on it. Now the painting has a hole on it. Reparo doesn't work on it."

"Oh no, anything but that! That's my favourite!" said Edrington loudly.

He glared at his son, who whimpered in his chair. "ALEXANDER EDRINGTON! YOU COME OVER HERE RIGHT NOW!"

Alexander climbed down from his seat slowly and walked timidly towards his father. He had his head low, would not dare to look at Edrington's furious face.

Edrington lowered himself down, until his face levelled with his son's and stared at him, hard. "Alexander, do you know how much does that painting cost?" he asked in a very cold tone that he used for his men sometimes.

Alexander shook his head frantically.

"20,000 Galleons!" roared Edrington. "And you had destroyed it!"

He straightened himself quickly. "Looks like I would have to punish you for that........ now where's my father's cane?"

"Cane? Oh no, Philip, don't cane him, please!" said Isabelle in horror.

"Look Isabelle, if I let him off, he will do it again!" said Edrington and yelled, "Twinky! Get my father's cane here!"

"Philip, I promise that he won't do it again!" exclaimed Isabelle and she squatted down and put her arms around Alexander to protect him.

"He would probably do it behind your back," said Edrington, his tone suddenly changed from furious to gentle. "I can't let him off. He must learn his mistake. Twinky! What's taking you so long?!"

"Here it is, Master!" squeaked Twinky, scampered to him with a long stick with a 2 cm diameter.

"Thank you, you may go." said Edrington coolly. "Move aside, Isabelle."

"No. I won't let you beat him. I shouldn't have told you about the painting."

"I would find out sooner or later even if you didn't tell me anyway. Now move aside, Isabelle, before I lose my temper on you as well!"

"DADDY!" someone cried and Diana dashed out of the room. "Daddy, don't beat Alex!"

She hugged her father's legs tightly to prevent him from walking. "Daddy, Alex is sorry! Don't beat him!"

Diana began to cry even before Edrington could do anything. "Don't beat him........"

Edrington was about to remove his daughter from his legs when he remembered Achilles's words: "Don't punish them too harshly."

He looked at Diana in surprise. She actually knew how to plead for her brother at such a young age......

"Don't beat him, Daddy, please." said Diana, her eyes filled with tears.

"Let Alex off, Philip. Look at Diana, she doesn't want her brother to suffer." said Isabelle quietly.

Edrington turned to Isabelle.

"If you don't want Alex to hate and fear you for the rest of his life, Philip, don't beat him."

Edrington stared at his son, who stared back with fear in his eyes. For some reasons, he suddenly reminded him of Achilles 20 years ago. Didn't he run away to live with him because he thought that his mother was being unreasonable?

He turned his stare to the cane. Did he want his son to be another Achilles and run away because of him? Did he want to lose his son like what Professor Minerva McGonagall nearly did?

A cold feeling swept over him and he threw the cane to the hard white marble floor. He had understood how Minerva felt. "Let go, Diana."

"Will you beat him?" asked Diana.

Edrington shook his head and Diana let go.

He walked to his son, squatted down and said gently but firmly, "Son, don't play with my guns again. It's very dangerous. Do you understand?"

Alex blinked.

"Answer me." said Edrington.

Alex nodded vigorously in his mother's arms.

"Good."

"Apologize to your father, Alex." whispered Isabelle loudly and urgently.

"Sorry, Dad, I'm really sorry that I have ruined your painting." said Alexander as tears began to roll down his cheeks.

"I will try to find ways to mend it. Isabelle, take him to the bathroom for a wash-up."

***

Philip was sitting awake in his dark blue silk pyjamas on his king-size double bed, thinking over the conversation between him and Achilles and the incident that evening.

"Cherish what you have now or you will regret it."

"If you don't want Alex to hate and fear you for the rest of his life, Philip, don't beat him........."

"Philip? Philip? Are you all right?"

His wife's voice snapped him out of his thoughts. He turned around and saw Isabelle sitting beside him in her usual bedtime attire: a deep red sexy nightgown. Even though she was already the mother of two children, she still looked as pretty as she was during their wedding night years ago.

Edrington realized how fortunate he was. He had an elegant, beautiful and loving wife, two kids, and a fortune he had inherited from his father that worth over 50 million Galleons. He was as rich as Lucius Malfoy, no, richer. But still......

"Isabelle, will you still love me if I lost all my money?"

"I didn't marry you for your money, Philip." said Isabelle frankly.

She looked at him seriously. "I marry you because of your heart. Sure, you are posh, sarcastic and a bit stuck-up, but deep down, you are compassionate. You have a quirky sense of humour, you are smart and handsome too."

Edrington reminded his steady look on his face but his heart, he was cheering that Isabelle wouldn't divorce him just because he went out of money.

"Money isn't everything. It can't buy friendship, it can't buy love either. So no matter what, I won't leave you as long as you love me."

"Do you ever mind at the fact that I am an Auror?"

"Sometimes. You are always so busy in the Ministry. You sometimes go aboard for your job. And you always nearly lose your life to it. Take a look at the Hogwarts surprise attack. You hurt your cheek, you lost your colleagues as well. I nearly died when I heard that there are over 50 Aurors killed and hoped frantically that you are not one of them. How I am glad that you are not."

Edrington gazed at his wife for a long time. Now he understood fully why Achilles wanted to quit the job. If he was Achilles, he would resign too.

Suddenly he hugged his wife tightly.

"Philip, what are you......."

"I love you, Isabelle. I will cherish you for the rest of my life."

He added a kiss on her cheek to prove his words.

"And I promise that I won't punish our children too harshly."

"Glad that you have thought it over." said Isabelle, smiling.

She kissed him sweetly and he returned it with every bit of passion he possessed.

***

The next morning, Achilles was packing the last of his things into a box at his apartment, ready to move back to his old home when Dumbledore apparated right in the living room.

"Dad? What are you doing here?" asked Achilles in surprise.

Dumbledore looked pale. "Is your mother here?"

Achilles froze. "What do you mean by that?"

Dumbledore took a deep breath. "Achilles, your mother is missing."