We miss the point to carry on,
we miss the point.
To carry on where.

August 25th 2PM

There is no denying it, being alone at the Burrow is utterly and completely boring. All the Weasleys had gone off to work, except Molly who was off visiting some friend of hers. She had been nice enough to invite me along but Draco had shot down the idea. It was just too dangerous for me to go out, especially without protection.

Draco had left around noon saying that he needed to pickup some things in Knockturn Alley for his defense classes and I certainly couldn't go with him. Apparently Knockturn Alley is a darker and seedier version of Diagon Alley. I found the whole idea of a "good" Alley and an "evil" Alley hilariously funny. It made me think of the Mall of America back in Minneapolis and I tried to imagine what would happen if the mall had its own evil counterpart.

Draco didn't understand what was so funny of course and he just stared at me like I was nuts as I tried to explain. He would never understand though as I'm sure he would need to visit Camp Snoopy in the mall to comprehend the hilarity of an evil Camp Snoopy. I made a mental note to myself to make sure and get Draco to visit me once I was back in Minneapolis.

I was lying on the couch, staring at the photos in the album the Weasleys had gotten me, beginning to contemplate how safe it would be to head out back and fly by myself for awhile when the fireplace flashed green and Severus stepped out gracefully. My eyes lit up and I quickly got up and walked over to him. I flashed him a quick smile before pulling him into a hug. He really had stayed away too long.

"What is the meaning of this?" Severus asked as he stepped backwards out of my arms.

"I missed you," I said softly, "Why have you been avoiding me?" It was a stupid question to ask, I already knew the answer. I needed to hear it from him though, and he needed to admit it so that I could tell him how wrong he was.

"I didn't expect that you would want to see me," he replied with his head slightly bowed.

"Severus," I said sternly, "I hope you don't think I'm going to hate you because of what happened to my father. Of course I'm angry about what happened but everyone has been very kind to me and I'm sure I'll get through this." He looked up at me and our eyes met. "I'm sure we'll all get through this," I added.

There was something there between us, some sort of connection that I couldn't figure out. Maybe it was our magic pulling us closer to one another or perhaps it had something to do with the way people reach out to others blindly in stressful situations. At the moment I didn't care what it was, I needed someone to take my mind off things.

"Severus," I whispered as he reached up to brush my hair away from my eyes. His fingertips grazed my forehead lightly and I closed my eyes at the softness of his touch. When he pulled his hand away I opened my eyes to stare up into his once again.

"Is anyone home?!" a voice yelled from behind the front door and a soft knocking followed soon after. I was startled by the sudden interruption and I quickly turned toward the door in surprise. When I turned back to Severus to ask if he knew who it could be he had already disappeared. "Jenny, its Remus, are you in there?" Remus called out from the other side of the door and knocked once again.

"Damn it," I hissed softly as I looked around the room in search of Severus, "I'm coming Remus, just hold on a moment!" I called out toward the door. The knocking stopped and I walked toward the door, listening as I walked, hoping that I would hear Severus moving around in the kitchen or the bathroom, or anywhere in the Burrow. I was hoping that he hadn't run off once again.

As I went to unlock the front door I suddenly felt a hand drop down on my shoulder. I didn't need to turn around to know that it was Severus. I knew when he was close the same way I had always known when my father was near. It was just something about the way they each had a presence which filled the room.

"Jenny," he said softly, I could feel his breath move over my ear.

"You don't need to explain," I said and he moved closer.

"Yes," he said firmly, "I think I do."

I remember feeding him potions and thinking to myself that I had never seen eyes like that. Even when I attempted to divert my gaze elsewhere I could still feel his eyes on me. It was a feeling that I can't even describe, it was like bugs crawling on your skin and sweat rolling down your back.

"It's my eyes," I stated as I stared down at my feet, "I have his eyes." There was silence once again until I heard a gentle knocking on the front door. I had forgotten about Remus. "Severus," I began but stopped when I felt his hand leave my shoulder. I slowly turned around to watch him walk away from me and then disappear into the kitchen.

I threw up my hands in frustration and opened the door, letting a very confused werewolf walk past me into the Burrow. "Jenny is there something wrong?" he asked, his voice full of concern.

"No," I answered firmly, "everything's fine." He glanced at me for a moment as if he wanted to inquire further but fortunately for both of us he was intelligent enough to know when to just let it go. "What brings you here?" I asked as we both plopped down on the couch.

"I thought I'd come over and keep you company," he replied, "Arthur told me you'd be stuck here all alone." We both looked up as Severus walked into the room carrying a tray.

"Not more tea," I groaned causing Remus to chuckle, "Haven't you people ever heard of pop?"

"Pop?" Remus and Severus questioned at the same time.

"Yes pop, soda, cola," I snapped, "It's a fizzy, sweet, carbonated drink full of caffeine and sugar." They both looked at me in equal confusion and I decided to let the matter drop. "Never mind," I mumbled as I watched Severus pour the tea.

BRIIIINNGGG, BRRIIIIINNGG!

"Damn," Severus cursed as he spilled the tea, "What the hell is that?!" Remus covered his ears with his hands. It took me a moment to realize what was causing the noise but when I did I immediately began to dig through my backpack.

"Where is it?" I mumbled to myself as I searched my bag. "AHA!" I exclaimed as I pulled my cell phone out triumphantly. I was staring at the number being displayed when Severus finally spoke up.

"Can you make that horrible noise stop please?" he said angrily, "It's killing the poor werewolf." Remus was still clutching his ears and tears were beginning to roll down his cheeks.

"Sorry," I said as I pushed the 'Accept Call' button on my phone. I had forgotten that I had even brought my cell phone with me when I left Minneapolis and I was more than a little surprised that it even worked in such a rural location.

"Whoever this is," I said angrily into the phone, "make it good, this has got to be costing me a fortune." My head began to ache slightly as I thought of how much the roaming charges alone were going to cost me.

"Is this Miss Jenny Riddle?" asked a deep male voice that I did not recognize.

"Yes," I replied, "Who's this?"

"Hello Miss Riddle," the voice answered, "this is Officer Michael Wilkes with the Minneapolis Sheriff's Department."

"Is there some sort of problem?" I interrupted nervously. I had never had to deal with the authorities before.

"I hate to have to inform you of this," Officer Wilkes said slowly, "but your father's home was broken into."

"No," I hissed while I rubbed my forehead. My headache was soon becoming a fully formed migraine. Remus began to ask me what was wrong but I held up a hand to quiet him. "What did they take?" I asked quickly.

"We're not quite sure," he replied, "We'll need you to go through the house with one of our officers. We spoke to your employer and he informed us that you were going to be in New York."

"Yes," I said, "but I'm in London now and I'm not sure when I'll be back."

"That could prove to be a problem then," said Officer Wilkes, "It does seem that the first and second floors of your home were left untouched but the basement was ransacked."

"No," I said as I leaned down to put my head between my knees, still clutching the phone tightly in one hand. I was beginning to feel a bit dizzy. "My father's paintings were in the basement," I explained, "Did you find any left down there?" There was a slight pause and my heart fell.

"I'm sorry Miss Riddle," he replied sadly, "We did secure the house…"

"Wait a second," I interrupted, "have you spoken to my father's estate lawyer yet? His name is Charles Smith and his office is in Minneapolis." Severus and Remus gasped in surprise when I spoke the lawyer's name. It was a reaction I was expecting. I hadn't wanted to mention Mr. Smith to anyone in case he was the same Mr. Smith that had disappeared. After all, he could have a very good reason for leaving the wizarding world.

"Jenny…" Severus voice said in a low whisper. I turned away from them both and stood up to pace back and forth in front of the fireplace, one hand gripping the phone, one hand rubbing my forehead.

"We did attempt to contact Mr. Smith," explained the officer, "but we were not able to locate him. We visited his home and office but found both empty. I shouldn't say anything about this because we haven't investigated nearly enough yet, but it does seem that he took off in quite a hurry."

"THAT BASTARD!" I yelled as punched the side of the fireplace. My knuckles began to bleed but in my anger I barely registered the pain.

"Now Miss Riddle," Wilkes said softly, "We have no evidence to suggest that Mr. Smith took the paintings."

"BULL SHIT!" I yelled causing Remus and Severus to jump, "He's the only one who would've known about my father's paintings."

"Do you have any idea why he would've taken them?" asked the officer. I thought about it for a moment but the only answers I came up with were ones that involved the wizarding world and I certainly couldn't tell Officer Wilkes that.

"No," I answered hesitantly, "but he would be the only person besides myself that would've known my father painted. Maybe he thought they were worth money or something. Who knows?" There was silence as Officer Wilkes and I both thought about the situation.

"We will be investigating the robbery of course," said the officer, "but I wouldn't get your hopes up. Of course we'll be investigating Charles Smith as well and we might have an easier time with that. A few paintings will be difficult to track down. A person, on the other hand, has a much more difficult time keeping themselves hidden."

"I suppose," I said slowly, resigning myself to the fact that my father's paintings were gone before I could even truly take possession of them.

Suddenly I remembered something and couldn't help but smile slightly. My father had hidden two paintings in the closet of his bedroom. They were both wrapped so I had never really seen them but I knew they were there.

"Officer Wilkes," I said with excitement, "I need you to do me a favor. There are two paintings in the closet of the master bedroom at my home. They're both wrapped and I'd ask you not to open them. I'd like them taken out of the house though and put somewhere safe."

"That won't be a problem Miss Riddle," he replied, "I'll have one of my officers go and pick them up immediately and we can hold them here at the station until you get back."

"Thanks officer," I said gratefully, "I really appreciate it. I may have someone come and pick them up though but if I do I'll make sure and call you first and inform you. Would that be okay?"

"That won't be a problem," Wilkes answered. "Why don't I give you my number?" He gave me his phone number and told me he would call me if anything came up in the investigation.

"Miss Riddle," he said before ending the call, "please be careful. There's something about this whole thing that doesn't seem right. I don't know what it is," he added, "but all of it seems much too personal to be a normal robbery."

"Don't worry," I replied, "I'll be careful and I'll let you know if I come up with anything that might help the investigation." We both said our goodbyes and I put my phone back in my bag. Severus and Remus were both staring at me as if waiting for me to explain.

"Is it the same…" Severus began.

"I think so," I said, "but Charles Smith is a pretty generic name so it may not be. It would be one hell of a coincidence though."

"So all of your father's paintings are gone?" Remus asked.

"All but two," I answered with a grin, "I almost forgot that my father had hidden two paintings in his bedroom. I've never seen them though; he always had them wrapped up." Remus nodded and poured himself another cup of tea.

"Will you be heading home?" Severus asked as he shifted nervously in his chair. I couldn't help but smile slightly at his question. It seemed as if he was almost worried I would leave.

"No," I answered sternly, "the paintings are already gone and there's nothing left there for me. I asked Officer Wilkes to keep the last two safe so they'll be there when I get back or else I figured that one of you great wizards could just zip over there and pick them up for me."

"Just zip over there?" asked Severus with one eyebrow raised.

"Well yeah," I replied with a smile, "I'm sure there must be some faster way to travel back there to get them rather then by plane. If not, I can always get them when I get back."

"I'm sorry," Remus said kindly. I couldn't help but smile at the werewolf. He just seemed too nice for his own good. It made me sad to think about his friends and how each of them had passed away leaving him alone. In the case of the Marauders it seems that nice guys truly do finish last.

"It's alright," I said with a sigh, "It would've been nice to be able to at least see all of the paintings but there's nothing I can do about it now. Hopefully they'll track down that bastard."

"Do you really think he took the paintings?" Remus asked.

"Who else would know about them?" I asked as I crossed my arms over my chest and leaned back into the couch.

"Maybe someone found out who your father was?" Severus offered. I thought about it for a moment and then shook my head.

"I doubt it," I replied, "If anyone knew it would've been Smith. Especially if he is that inventor that disappeared." We discussed the robbery and Mr. Smith's identity for quite awhile until Remus announced that he had to leave. There were a few things he needed to pickup in London and he wanted to get home before the sun went down.

"Bye Remus," I said as we stood next to the front door of the Burrow. I gave him a quick hug and waved as he drove away. I stood in the doorway and watched as his car disappeared into the distance.

"Well Severus," I said sternly, "I think we need to talk." I turned around just in time to see the fireplace glow green for a moment, leaving me alone in the living room. "What the hell is wrong with you Riddle?" I hissed to the empty room.

"Only a Dark Lord in training and already scaring the boys away," I added with a grim smile.