p style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;"Einbr /br /She woke slowly, gripping her pounding head as she studied her environment. It was a small room, with two doors. One lead to a bathroom, and the other was locked. Just as she turns her back on the locked door, it opens. It was a woman with long blonde hair and a red /br /"About time you woke up." the woman smirked, "Let's go."br /br /"Go where?" She /br /"Train, of course." the woman chuckled, "Any questions?"br /br /Despite her sense of stupidity, she asked, "Who am I? And who are you? And what am I training for?"br /br /"Geez, you ask pointless question. You're Ein, I'm Drei, and you are my assistant. You do what I tell you to, until you become good enough to do it yourself."br /br /"Do what?" Ein asks, head still /br /"Kill people." Drei shrugs, like or it should have been obvious, "Now hurry up or else."br /br /"I can't kill anyone-" she starts until every nerve in her body feels like its on fire. The intense pain lasts only for a second, but echoes long after it /br /"Just shut up and do what I say and maybe you will be able to." Drei shrugs, "Let's go. You've wasted enough time."br /br /Ein nods and slowly follows the mysterious woman named Drei. They were inside what seemed to be an old abandoned warehouse, filled primarily with boxes of ammo, guns, and several sealed boxes. br /br /At the front of the main room, a man with long, wild facial hair was standing with two revolvers. Without a word, he tosses one of them to Ein, who catches it /br /"Careful with that." Drei smirks, "Otherwise, you'll die."br /br /Ein gulps and holds it carefully, both hands shaking. Drei chuckles and waves her wand (How does she know it's a wand?) and several bricks fly out of the boxes and hover at various heights and /br /"Alright, we'll start easy." Drei says, kneeling beside the cowering girl, "First, hold the gun like this-" she says as she corrects the hand placement, "Your target is those bricks. Line up the target with both of the sights on top, disengage the safety just above your hand, and squeeze the trigger."br /br /Ein, though scared, does as she's told. Aiming At the closest brick, she gulps, flicks the safety off, and pulls the trigger. The gun jerks to the side with a loud echoing bang. The brick exploded into hundreds of pieces and particles of dust. br /br /"Keep going until you run out of shots. Don't worry about speed until you can hit them all." Drei smiles as her apprentice aims again, and another brick explodes. br /br /Suddenly, she flashes back to her own training. To Reiji kneeling beside her and teaching her to use a gun. His calm advice and his support even after she stupidly tried to imitate De Niro. She returns to reality when the gun fires blankly. br /br /She hands Ein a speed reloaded, teaches her to open and replace the bullets, then repairs the bricks so she can try again. br /br /"This time, try and aim faster. See if you can keep that accuracy while speeding up your firing." she advises, and Ein again fires, gun flailing wildly, "Focus your strength on the fingers, not the arm. That'll reduce the recoil." br /br /Ein nods and fires again. This time, the gun remains controlled, and the next shot is fired faster than before. Again and again Ein repeats the process, growing a millisecond faster each time. br /br /Finally, just as the sun starts setting, Drei takes the gun out of her hand and reloads, "This is your goal." she smirks, and turns towards the hovering bricks. She unloads all six shots seemingly at once, but each hits a different brick, leaving only a cloud of dust and rubble. "Empty the gun in less than four seconds, without missing a shot. Let's eat, and after that Zane will teach you magic."br /br /The man nods, and pot of soup flies through the air, landing in front of them. Each of them takes a bowl and eats. It wasn't the best she'd ever had, but given how hungry she was, she wasn't /br /She musters the courage, and asks, "Why can't I remember anything?"br /br /Drei stares at her and answers, "Believe me, memories only get in the way. One day, after you've been doing this for a while, you'll realize that it doesn't matter."br /br /"I don't want to do this at all!" she /br /Zane quickly draws his gun and points it at her, "Then die. You only have two choices. Kill or die."br /br /She continues crying, but never answers. Drei glares at Zane, who lowers the gun and continues eating. The meal passes quietly and Drei conjures a chair and sits against the wall as Zane hands her a /br /"A word of warning. I'm not the teacher that Drei is. Listen to her if you want advice. I'll tell you once, and after that you're on your own." Zane says calmly, standing roughly twenty feet away. With a wave of his wand, ten stuffed birds float in front of her. "Use any spells you know to destroy them." he says, eyes fixed on /br /She gulps and tries to remember anything that might help. A voice is chanting a spell, so she takes the chance, "Diffindo!" the first bird split down the middle, cotton spilling /br /"Another. And try something different." Zane says /br /"Reducto!" she yells as the second bird /br /"Next."br /br /"Incendio!" the bird burst into blue /br /"Again."br /br /For the next five birds, she tries every spell she knew to destroy them, though the stoic teacher wasn't fazed. br /br /Finally, for the last bird, he changes his instruction. "Use whatever spell you feel most comfortable with."br /br /She nods and says, "Diffindo!" br /br /Like before, the bird split down the middle, but this time with a shower of blood. Its organs spilled to the floor, staining the floor. She stares in horror at what she had /br /"Not bad. We might want to teach you a few more, but I can work with that." Zane smiles, completely unfazed by the pool of blood or the tearful girl crying beside it, "Get over it. That dumb bird wasn't even alive." he /br /"That will do for tonight." Drei says, helping Ein to her feet, "Ein, go take a shower and get to bed. You'll be up early in the morning."br /br /Ein mods and slowly walks through the hall, staring at her blood soaked /br /Drei stares at the man, "That was unnecessary."br /br /"The sooner she familiarizes herself with the sight of blood, the better." Zane answers, cleaning the mess with a wave of his /br /"True, but that doesn't make it any less pointless." Drei smirks, "There are plenty of better ways to introduce it slowly that won't risk any damage to her mind."br /br /"You care about her?" Zane /br /"Crucio." she laughs as he squirms in pain, "I couldn't care less one way or another, but it would reflect badly on me if she failed. And I would think that you would feel the same, since the only decent thing you ever did was a failure."br /br /"That can't have been Zwei." Zane smiles, "Because I killed him."br /br /"Afraid not." she smirks, "That was undoubtedly Reiji."br /br /"Then I'll track him down and kill him again. It makes no difference to me."br /br /"Wait until she's done with her training." Drei chuckles, "I don't have the patience to teach her magic."br /br /"I'll do as master orders." Zane says calmly, walking into his room. Drei locks Ein's door and steps into her own /br /p
hr style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; background-color: #ffffff;" /
p style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;"br /"How did it go?" Eren asks calmly, handing the figure behind her a /br /"Scythe was gone when I got there, but I saw cal." Reiji sighs as he downs the shot and sits next to /br /"What happened?" br /br /"I don't know what they were playing at, but Inferno launches an attack on the village. This bar was one of the few places that wasn't destroyed." Reiji answers, looking around the empty pub, "I broke the wards easily enough, and apparently that was where inferno was keeping the diplomat we heard about."br /br /"Is he okay?" she smiles, pouring both of them more /br /"Malnourished, and definitely tortured, but he'll live." Reiji shrugs, "I stayed after for a little bit, just to clear away some of the debris, but I had to run when the aurors got there."br /br /"I suppose that's to be expected." she sighs, "It would have been nice to kill scythe, but we saved the diplomat, put some of infernos best hitters in the ground, and foiled their attack. I'll call it a win."br /br /"Wouldn't have been without your fancy firing." he smiles, "How'd it work?"br /br /"Wonderfully. I wasn't that sure about the idea of carving a sniper rifle out of wand wood to far cast spells, but it turned out rather well." she shrugs, picking up the long wooden instrument behind /br /"I'm glad. It took over two years to finish. Even longer to get the charms right." he smiles, "But we didn't foil their plan. Cal said that they accomplished their goal."br /br /"I saw fireworks just after the battle started. Could that have been a signal?" she asks, glancing over her /br /"Probably, but when I was over there, all I saw was a broken down tea shop and traces of blood from a kids getting caught up in the attack." Reiji sighs, draining his cup /br /"How many causalities?" she sighs painfully, looking out the window at the row of destroyed /br /"We pulled out half a dozen bodies from the bar, but they were the only one while i was there." he responds, eyes drawn to the lights of the /br /"I'm guessing that's aside from the ones we killed?" she /br /"Yeah, I'm just pissed that I couldn't pay that masked bastard back for the bullet he lodged in my chest a decade ago." Reiji /br /"We will." she assures him, "But we'd better go. Those lights are getting close."br /br /Reiji nods and places a galleon on the counter before following his wife out the door to the hogs /br /p
hr style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; background-color: #ffffff;" /
p style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;"br /Harry watched sadly as Daphne slowly deteriorated the next day. Though she had been discharged, her nerves were wearing thin. She spent the next day pacing uncontrollably around the entrance hall, begging for answers from any staff member that walked through the doors. None of them had an /br /Giuseppe had left teaching DADA to Snape, so that he could assist in the search. Classes for the last week of school were slow, as many students had been injured, though by some miracle, none of them had been killed. br /br /Cyrus had completed his regime of potions and has left the hospital wing before Harry had even arrived the morning after the attack. Pompfrey told him that he would break the new gently to Morgan, and then search for /br /Perhaps the only good news was that thanks to Cyrus, they had a possible lead on inferno. The prophet wasn't wasting any time, as the morning paper was completely dedicated to the /br /Hogsmeade Attacked! Cyrus Greengrass rescued! Head of the Auror Office Traitor!br /br /Yesterday morning, Headmaster Albus Dumbledore of Hogwarts School of witchcraft and wizardry, announced that he would allow the students under the third year to travel to Hogsmeade village as an end of term treat. br /br /Tragedy struck, when an unknown group attacked the village. The famed teachers of Hogwarts arrived within moments, led by Albus Dumbledore. While the teachers engaged the attackers, Cyrus Greengrass, who you may remember was kidnapped from his hospital bed last summer, arrived on the scene, escorted by a man named Reiji Asuma. br /br /Reiji joined the fray after many of the teachers had fallen, and through questionable means, retaliated against the group. During this time, Dumbledore was engaged in the second greatest duel of his life, as the great champion fought valiantly against a female attacker identified as the same witch who massacred over seventy muggles last summer. br /br /The remaining attackers retreated when the mysterious Asuma joined forces with the headmaster, and the tragic incident came to an end. br /br /Group of rescuers, teachers, and aurors worked tirelessly through the night, and have announced the official toll. Eleven of the mysterious group were killed, and one remains in custody. Ten people were killed in the attack, eighteen were wounded, and one girl is /br /Hogwarts has reported that no students were killed in the attacked, but Astoria Greengrass, youngest daughter of the rescued diplomat, has not been seen since. br /br /The official statement from the ministry is that the group was responsible for the kidnapping of Lord Greengrass, and when he wouldn't cooperate, they attempted to use his daughter as leverage. The only thing more shocking is the alleged person behind this /br /Sources within the ministry have confirmed that the man responsible is Rufus Scrimgeour, ex-head of the Auror office. These allegations come directly from Lord Greengrass, who was reportedly tortured by /br /Minister fudge stated at a press conference this morning that this would be taken as an attack against the ministry, and has granted increased powers to the auror corp. among these, the reinstated order allowing use of the unforgivable curses against a known suspect. br /br /The daily prophet offers our deepest condolences to the Greengrass family, who had yet another member torn from them just as they received one back. We urge the public to report any strange occurrence to the auror office immediately. br /br /Harry was pleased that they were giving it their full attention, and hoped that they would be able to find Tori. br /br /p
hr style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; background-color: #ffffff;" /
p style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;"br /"As expected." scythe sighs as he places down the Daily /br /"So, Zane got outed?" Cal asks, staring at the cover, "When are you going to use her? I have to agree about her power, but her attitude isn't doing her any favors."br /br /"Neither did Zwei and you know firsthand what he is capable of." Scythe smirks. br /br /"You think that she's that good?"br /br /"Of course. I haven't felt such promise since I started with Ein." he smiles /br /"Well, your little princess should be waking up anytime now, so I'd best get going. Dorry!" she shouts, and a fit young elf pops into the room, "Bring some food to the factory, and replenish the stock of ammo."br /br /"Yes Milady." he bows, popping /br /"Given what he did, Zane will not be involved today." Scythe says as she steps towards the door, "Whether you continue training her in magic, or focus on firearms for now is up to you."br /br /"Fine." she shrugs, apparating after she passes the /br /p
hr style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; background-color: #ffffff;" /
p style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;"br /Ein's uneasy sleep is broken with a loud crack. She jumps out of bed, wand grabbed from the nightstand and pointed at the intruder, curse on the tip of her tongue as the small creature hides behind its /br /"Miss Ein..." it stutters, "Here is your breakfast... Please call Dorry if you need anything else." with another pop, it vanishes. On the side table, a large tray was covered, but she could smell /br /Her stomach growls as she approaches the tray. Under the cover, she eyes the mouthwatering pancakes, bacon, sausage, and eggs, along with a glass of orange juice. Part of her mind is cautious about eating food given to her by a bunch of murderers, but the hunger part wins out and she feasts on the plentiful /br /"Not bad, huh?" Drei says from behind her. She gulps, and nods quickly, "Relax. It's not poisoned. Though I understand your reflexes are pretty good. You nearly killed my house elf."br /br /"Sorry about that." she /br /"Hey, I'm not complaining. If you do kill him, it just means that you've got the guts to do this job." Drei laughs. br /br /At the word 'guts' she recalled what she'd done yesterday and suddenly lost her appetite. br /br /"Done already?" Drei smirks. At Ein's nod, she continues, "Good. Let's get started."br /br /She followed Drei out of the room. They walk to the same place as they had the day before. Thankfully, that man wasn't there. Drei waves her wand and six more bricks float into the air at varying distances and heights. br /br /Each was a different color than they were the day before. Rather than red, they were white, and from where she was standing, looked to have a different texture than they had /br /Drei hands her the revolver, "You know what to do." she smirks as she steps back. Ein raises the gun, aims at the first brick, and fires. The bullet hits its mark with a resounding crack. Unlike before, the brick didn't shatter, but the bullet passed through, leaving a gaping hole. A moment later, blood poured from inside the /br /Ein was shaking as she watched the blood drip to the ground. "Keep going." Drei said /br /Ein's hands were shaking, but she manages to hit the next brick. Again blood pours out of the center. At Drei's urging, she kept during, hitting each brick. br /br /"Not bad." Drei remarked as she banishes the bricks to a box and summoning a few more, "This time, don't pay attention to the blood. Remember: They're only bricks."br /br /Ein nods and fires. The first brick bleeds profusely, but she swallows back the bile and fires again. Again the bleeding starts, and again she fires. In less than ten second, the six bricks were bleeding onto the /br /"That's what I wanted to see!" Drei cheers, handing her the reloader, "Let's keep it up."br /br /Ein reloads the gun as Drei changes the bricks. Completely ignoring the blood, she fired again and again. Each time, she began a fraction of a second faster. br /br /By nightfall, she was completely unfazed by the sight of the blood, and she'd almost reached the speed that Drei wanted. br /br /"Good. Now, I think we'll try some magic." Drei says as she takes the gun. Ein pales slightly when she remembered the cruel man that taught her before. Seeing this, Drei sighs, "Relax. Zane won't be teaching you today. Just a warning, I'm better than Zane, so I'll expect a higher standard. If you can't keep up, that's not my problem."br /br /Ein sighs happily. Of the two, she certainly preferred Drei. She might be a monster, but she seemed more human than Zane. br /br /Drei stands across from her, "Try and hit me. It doesn't matter what spell."br /br /Ein nods and launches a cutting curse. Drei dodges effortlessly and with a wave of her hand, a bolt of yellow light slammed into her chest. "I never said I wouldn't fight back. Hurry up. Don't hold back. If you want to win, try and kill me!"br /br /Ein struggles back to her feet, and then jumps to the side to avoid a jet of green light. "I'm waiting!" she calls. br /br /Ein stands up and uses a blasting curse, which is easily deflected, and followed up with another yellow spell, which she dodges by a hair. With a split second before she could counter, she sends a stinging hex and Drei ducks to the side, hissing as it grazes her arm. br /br /"That's what I'm talking about!" she roared, tossing back a lime green spell. Unprepared, Ein only has a fraction of a second to dodge. br /br /For a split second, she's sure that she'll be hit. But then she reacts on pure instinct and falls to the ground, dodging the spell completely. Drei's eyes widen, 'I see that she learned well.' she thinks happily as she blocks the flame charm. br /br /They traded spells for a while. More and more she began relying on her instincts and training from before she lost her memories. Just like her nephew, she gave her a decent fight, but she didn't have the endurance to keep up with her. After a course of minutes, she collapsed, gasping for air. br /br /"That was pretty good." Drei shrugs, "I think you might be able to keep up with me. Go take a shower and get some sleep. Your real training starts in the morning."br /br /After a couple of deep breath, Ein nods and stumbles out of the room./p