PART SIX
Diagon Alley.
Willow and Dawn were walking along the cobblestone street of Diagon Alley. "Well I think we got about everything." Willow said marking off items on her checklist. "We just need to stop off at Daedelus' shop in Knockturn Alley and pick up Faith's present."
"Any idea what Faith bought her?" Dawn asked and Willow shook her head no. As they walked toward Knockturn Alley, Dawn caught another glimpse of a hooded figure behind them. "You do know were being followed right?"
Willow stopped in front of a shop and made like she was window-shopping. "Uh-huh. Every since we left the Leaky Cauldron."
Dawn stood next to Willow. "How do you want to handle it?"
"I have an idea." Willow smiled at Dawn in the window. "As soon as we reach Knockturn Alley." Dawn nodded in understanding.
They started walking again and the hood figure started following, but after several seconds Willow and Dawn broke into a run and dashed toward Knockturn Alley. The figure tried to keep up but they made it to the Alley first and disappeared into the shadows that envelope the place. The figure walked slowly hoping to sneak up on his prey or at least get an indication as where they were hiding. The figure walked several more paces before he stepped on the hem of his own robe and fell face first to ground. The air seemed to shimmer and the darkness melted away revealing Willow and Dawn who were barely containing their amusement. For most of the day this menacing person has shadowed their movements and now here he is at their mercy because of his own clumsiness.
"Bloody hell!" They heard the man curse in a decidedly feminine voice.
Dawn walked over to her pulled back the hood that still covered her head and was shocked at what she saw. Sitting on the ground looking more embarrassed than menacing was a very attractive woman with a pale heart-shaped face, dark twinkling eyes and head of bright pink hair.
Willow stared down at her a flush creeping into her cheeks. "…ummm hi."
The Ministry of Magic.
Sir James Houston sat in the Ministry's reception area glancing at his watch again. He had arrived ten minutes early for his meeting with the new Minister of Magic, but they had kept him waiting for nearly three quarters of an hour while several wizards who had arrived after him were quickly ushered in to see the Minister. He knew what they were doing. He was only a muggle so anything he had to discuss with the Minister was of little or no importance, at least not of more importance than wizarding business.
He got up and went to the reception-witch's desk. "Have you informed Minister Scrimgeour of my arrival?"
The reception-witch looked up annoyed. "Please have a seat sir the Minister is an extremely busy person and will see you in do course."
Houston glared at the elderly woman. "The Minister will see me now."
"Is there a problem here?"
Sir James turned and was face to face with a rather large heavy-set woman with a stern round face.
"This gentleman is demanding to see the Minister." The reception-witch told her.
"Is he now?" The woman smiled haughtily at him. "And did you tell him that Minister Scrimgeour is a very important person and cannot see everyone who walks in off the street."
"What is your name?" Houston asked the large woman.
"Dolores Umbridge." She answered as if he should be impressed.
"Miss Umbridge you will tell Minister Scrimgeour that Sir James Houston is here for an appointment we were to have exactly," He looked at his watch and Umbridge was amazed to see that is was still working. Muggle devices weren't supposed to function here. "Thirty-four minutes ago. And if I leave this building without having that appointment the consequences for those who prevented me from seeing him will be most unfortunate."
Umbridge wasn't about to let some muggle intimidate her. "Mister Houston, Minister Scrimgeour has vitally important wizarding business to conduct and cannot concern himself with what I'm sure are purely muggle concerns."
Out of the corner of his eye Houston saw that two robed men had arrived. They were quite clearly Aurors and probably summoned by the reception-witch. Umbridge noticed them and was hoping that their presence would make this troublesome muggle think twice about going around demanding things. The nerve of these people she thought.
If Dolores Umbridge thought two Aurors would intimidate Sir James Houston she was sorely mistaken. Compared to some of creatures he's faced while with the Legacy these Aurors, and indeed most wizards in general, were nothing more than an annoyance. Umbridge was so confident that she had the situation completely under her control that she didn't even move when this muggle walked right past her and into the Minister of Magic's office.
"SIR!"
Inside the office the newly appointed Minister of Magic, Rufus Scrimgeour, an elderly gentleman with gray-streaked tawny colored hair that looked very much like a lion's man, sat behind his desk with his hands clasped in front of him peering over his wire-rimmed spectacles at the apparently anguished couple in front of him. Standing off to his right was his new Head Auror Kingsley Shacklebot who was also listening intently.
"We want to know what you're doing to find our daughter." The woman said through tears.
"Minister Fudge promised us that he would use his every resource, everything within his power to find her." The man said comforting his wife. "Now I want to know what's being done."
"I understand your distress Mr. Parkinson, but I don't know what this office can do to find a runaway girl."
"My daughter did not runaway!" Mr. Parkinson practically shouted. "She was taken."
Mrs. Parkinson sobbed even more uncontrollably. "Pansy would never run away from home. She would never do something that cruel to us."
Scrimgeour turned to Shacklebot. "Auror Shacklebot was given the assignment to look into your daughter's disappearance. I've asked him here to give us a report on what he's discovered."
Kingsley Shacklebot stepped forward. "From the information I've gathered so far it's become quite clear Mr. Parkinson that your daughter has run away."
"No. No. No." Mrs. Parkinson repeated over and over.
Shacklebot continued. "During the interviews with many of her friends at Hogwart's they all stated that for several weeks before Christmas break Pansy was distracted, withdrawn. She'd stopped hanging out with her friends and spent most of the time alone in her room. Did you notice any of this behavior when she came back?"
Mrs. Parkinson looked up. "She was quiet. She did spend a lot of time in her room. But if there was something wrong why wouldn't she talk to us. We're her parents."
"That I can't answer Mrs. Parkinson."
Just then the door to the office burst open. They could all see Dolores Umbridge waddling behind a man dressed in a muggle suit.
"SIR!" She shouted. "You cannot go in there."
Shacklebot pulled out his wand and took an immediate defensive posture, while Minister Scrimgeour rose from his chair surprised. "James?"
"Good afternoon Rufus. I do hope I'm not disturbing you."
"Not at all James." Rufus came around his desk and shook the man's hand. "I wasn't aware that you'd arrived."
"Clearly." Sir James looked over toward the door at Umbridge and the reception-witch who was trying to be invisible behind her desk. "You might want to speak to your staff about that."
Minister Scrimgeour glared at Umbridge. "I understand. I'll make certain it never happens again." He turned to the Parkinsons. "Mr. and Mrs. Parkinson if you will excuse me." He said motioning them to the door.
"Yes of course Minister." Mr. Parkinson said helping his wife up. "Thank you for making time in your schedule to see us."
"Auror Shacklebot will remain on your daughter's case and we will do everything we can to bring her home."
"Thank you Minister." Mrs. Parkinson said almost weeping again.
The Parkinson's left followed by Shacklebot. Minister Scrimgeour grabbed the double doors; still standing in the doorway was Dolores Umbridge. "After this meeting I want a few words with you." Then he closed the doors in her face.
"Congratulations on your appointment as Minister." Sir James told him.
"Thank you. Please sit." The Minister made himself comfortable in his chair. "Now what was important that we had to meet now and not at our usual monthly briefing at Whitehall?"
Sir James' smiled faded. "Voldemort."
Outside the office the Parkinsons had said goodbye to Shacklebot, who had promised to inform them immediately with news of their daughter. They walked to the fireplace across from the reception-witch's and threw in some floo powder. Within seconds they were back in their own home.
"Do you really think they'll find her?" Mr. Parkinson asked his wife as he took off her robe.
"They had better." The mask of motherly concern she wore back at the Minister's office disappeared and was replaced with a look of cold determination. "Because I'll be damned if my planning is ruined by that little bitch."
London.
A tall attractive woman with short-cropped blond hair walked through the door of her penthouse tossing her coat on the sofa as she walked while a young woman with short dark hair followed her. There were both wearing sweats and it was clear they had both just come from a workout.
The older woman was called Amanda, an Immortal born over 1200 years. Her younger companion was an Immortal as well although not nearly as old Amanda. Her name was Venus and her adopted father was one of Amanda's oldest friends.
Amanda walked to the kitchen and got two bottles of water from the refrigerator and tossed one to Venus. "You okay V? You've been quiet all morning."
If fact Venus had been quiet since she showed up at Amanda's door two days ago. Of course she'd told her old friend that she was merely in town for a visit, but Amanda knew her well enough to know that there was something else going on, something that V wasn't quite ready to talk about.
"I'm fine." V lied as she drank her water.
Amanda came around and sat on the barstool next to her. "No you're not. What's wrong?"
V looked at Amanda who could see the tears welling up in her eyes. "I served Jasper with divorce papers."
V had gotten married several years ago to an Australian businessman and Amanda had met her husband once or twice since then and he seemed like a decent man. She didn't really know him all that well, but it was plain to her just how much he loved V and how much V loved him.
"Oh honey, are you sure? There's no way you two can work this out?"
V sighed. "That's just it, I'm sure we could. I don't doubt that he loves me Amanda that's the problem. He loves me so much that he thinks he has to protect me." V got up. "Jasper thinks just because were married that it's his job now to save me. He's just unwilling or unable to understand that he can't help me. I've told him more than once that I'm a big girl and I've been around long enough to know how to take care of myself but he's so afraid of losing me that he's going after Immortals who challenge me himself."
Amanda groaned. "Why do all the good ones always have to have overdeveloped hero complexes?"
"I don't know. It's sweet and I love him for it, but it's going to get him killed and can't live with that. So I'm doing the only thing I can do. Walk away."
"I wish I could tell everything will work out." Amanda put her arm around her and the two women sat in silence for several moments before Amanda got up. "Well enough with this being depressingly girly." V chuckled. "I'm going to have the bath."
She walked over and had barely touched the door to her bedroom when it was burst open from the inside. As she fell to floor three black clad figures in hoods and masks rushed out.
"Amanda!" V cried as she rushed to her friend's aid. She tried to grab one of the fleeing figures but it raised a thin wooded stick and she was surrounded by a green mist and was suddenly flung backward into the wall.
Amanda jumped to her feet and grabbed the arm of the… the thing… that attacked V and spun it around as she did she noticed a mark on the thing's forearm. "What the hell?" As she stared at the mark the stranger hit her in the head with its free hand. As stumbled backward she saw the robed figure was holding something very dear to her in its hand. "My crystal!"
She tried to snatch it but another of the intruders raised its hand and she went flying back toward V who caught her. By the time the two of them had steadied themselves they heard three very loud pops and the mysterious intruders disappeared.
"What the hell just happened?" V asked. "Who the hell were those jokers?"
"Death Eaters" Amanda whispered.
"Death Eaters?" V was confused for moment before she remembered a story her father had told a decade or so earlier. "Wizards? What the hell are they doing out of their Enclave?"
"Running amok." Amanda spat. "Again."
"What do they want with you?"
"They wanted my pendent, the one Rebecca gave me."
"Why would they want your crystal necklace?"
"It's not just a necklace, remember? It's a piece of something else. If they wanted it that means they have…" She held her face in her hands. "Oh my God."
V was about to go to her, but Amanda quickly composed herself and sprinted toward the door grabbing her coat and sword along the way. "Where are you going?"
"To tell an old friend about what's happened." Amanda answered. "Stay here!" She added as the door closed.
more to come…