Weeks later, in the chill of October, I stood in a dark alley in South London with my arms tightly crossed over my chest. Winter was coming in fast, snow had already begun to fall, early for the season; I was bundled in a heavy black leather cloak with layers of thick wool clothing underneath.
Darkness surrounded me as late evening set in. It was the first night I had off from work since September. The Ministry had managed to keep me busy aiding them on classified cases concerning crimes that Death Eaters were committing. Gabriel thought my efforts were best used to catch Death Eaters while they were in the act. He made sure that I consulted on cases that most of his Aurors weren't quite up for because of the questioning moral implications. I did not mind the dirty work; the fighting and self defense took me back to the high point of my hey-day during the first war. At the moment, it was the only thing providing excitement in my life. Benjamin did not mind the assignments either. He was a quick learner and on his way to be an excellent Auror.
I shivered and looked up at the midnight black sky, speckled with white and yellow stars. A terrible pain gripped my heart as I stared up at the constellations. My eyes fell on the infamous shape of Orion, the hunter, drawing his bow in the stars with his faithful hunting dog at his heels. The constellation's brightest star glimmered down at me, as if winking, trying to charm me. I clenched my jaw as my stomach tightened.
Despite they mayhem that Sirius caused in my life, I missed him; the way he spoke softly to comfort me, the way he looked at me when I drove him absolutely crazy, or the way he used to hold me. He was a good, honorable man who had flaws. He had a pure and kind heart. I missed him being a part of Carrigan's life.
"Cadence."
I pivoted towards the voice in the direction of the main street that the alley opened onto. Remus Lupin was marching across the cobblestone towards me. There was purpose in his step and posture. I gripped my wand quickly in the side pocket of my cloak and brandished it forward at him. Remus paused about seven paces from me and raised his hands slowly in surrender.
"What form does Tonk's patronus take?" I asked.
"A wolf."
"Why?"
"Because she loves me," Remus said very softly with a sad tone. I lowered my wand carefully and stood up straight. Remus remained where he had stopped, his arms dropped down to his side while he sighed.
"What is the matter, Remus? Surely you didn't ask me to come here because of your relationship with Tonks?"
"No," Remus shook his head. "Where did Sirius go when you two broke up?"
"To your house."
Remus nodded, then he approached me. He stopped directly in front of me, put his hands on my shoulders and squeezed tightly. "I have information that needs to be passed along right away."
"What? Is your cover blown underground?"
"No, no. The werewolves don't suspect me," he replied. "I have good standing in the pack."
I sighed slightly. Shortly after my father's public return, Dumbledore sent Remus underground to spy on the werewolves that aligned themselves with my father. These werewolves gave men like Remus a bad reputation. They embraced their curse and the wolf inside of them. They purposely placed themselves in crowded areas during the full moon to put harm onto the public and to "reproduce;" they formed gangs that they referred to as "packs."
"Then what is the matter?"
"When is the last time you spoke to Carrigan?"
"Excuse me?"
Remus' question completely blindsided me. He had asked me to meet him secretly in this alley, risking his order's from Dumbledore and life, to ask me how Carrigan and I were doing? Of all the things I imagined he wished to discuss, that was the last thing I expected. I would have been less annoyed if he wanted to talk about his relationship with Tonks.
"Cadence, when was the last time you spoke to your daughter?"
"Not since September first," I replied with agitation.
Remus looked grave at this news. He sighed heavily and ran his hand through his long, brown but graying hair. "Cadence, you should speak with her right away. Word reached us in the pack that there is a new player on your father's side. A powerful young woman who is close to Voldemort."
"What does that have to do with Carrigan?"
"There are rumors of who it is—" I shifted my weight and glared darkly at Remus. I knew where this was going. "—some say it's Carrigan."
"These rumors are circulating the pack?"
"I'm assuming the Death Eaters' circles as well."
"What led to the information?"
"Lestrange met with Greyback last week," he said. "This was the first chance I had to get away. I didn't hear it from Greyback directly, but the information from his meeting has filtered down to the rest of us."
"There is no evidence that is Carrigan," I snipped.
"Whether it's Carrigan or not isn't the point," Remus replied with an angry tone. "I hope that it isn't. I hope that you trust your gut enough to know if your own daughter has switched sides—but Cadence, the point is that whoever this woman is, we need to be prepared that Voldemort has new strength on his side."
"Why is this woman so powerful?"
Remus shrugged. "I don't know. Perhaps the Order can learn more."
"Why did you come to me?"
"To give you a heads up," Remus said. "When the Order looks into this woman, they'll hear the same rumors I have—that Carrigan has aligned herself with Voldemort. They'll go after her unless you give them reason not too."
I frowned deeply. "Thank you."
"I have to go, I've been gone too long now, someone will notice soon if I don't get back," Remus looked over his shoulder uneasily. "Ask Gabriel to help you. He might be able to have Damascus feed you some information from the Death Eaters."
I nodded in understanding, but bit my bottom lip with hesitation. Remus seemed to notice my anticipation and looked at me with raised eyebrows.
"What is it?"
"Nothing," I answered too quickly. Remus gave me an all knowing look. "I'm going to go to Hogwarts to see Carrigan first. I've been giving her space, we had a fight before she left for Hogwarts, that's why we haven't spoken. I've been patient; waiting for her to write me. But this calls for a visit."
Remus nodded. "And Gabriel?"
"I'll see what I can do," I said with a forced smile. Remus bought my fake expression and nodded with relief.
"I'll talk to you later."
"Be safe."
He bowed his head before turning away from me. He shoved his hands deep into his pockets and put his head down as he marched away. I crossed my arms over my check, hugging myself in my leather cloak, as I watched him disappear into the main street of South London. Once he was out of my line of sight, I closed my eyes and Apparated to Hogsmeade.
Snow was falling delicately in front of the gates of Hogwarts. I stared up at the castle through the bars of the gate for a few moments. How was I going to approach Carrigan? Should I consult Dumbledore first?
I pushed open the gate once my mind was made up and briskly walked down the snowy gravel path towards the castle. It was a long chilly trek and I wanted to get it over with as quickly as possible. Inside the Entrance Hall, I shook my leather cloak free of snow flakes, tossed my chestnut brown curls, that were now damp, out of my face and took in the dimly light hall. No one seemed to be patrolling the area for deviant students who dared to venture from their beds at the late hour. I move gracefully across the marble floor to the dinning hall, which was also dark and empty. Once well hidden, against the wall in the darkness of the room, I closed my eyes and concentrated with all of my might on Carrigan.
Her response came faster than I expected.
What are you doing here? Her voice was sounded agitated in my mind as we communicated using Advance Legilimency.
You haven't written, I was forced to come visit.
It's only been a month, you've gone longer without hearing from me.
Not after we've fought and you've run out on me.
Where are you? This is ridiculous.
The dinning hall.
She didn't respond. I assumed that meant she was on her way down to see me. After about ten minutes, I heard the soft shifting of footsteps on the marble floor of the entrance hall. I stood still, peering at the entrance of the dinning hall from my shadowy corner against the wall.
Carrigan's skinny, lean figure appeared in the dim light casting in from the torches of the entrance hall. She scanned the dinning hall looking for me. She stopped directly facing me. I was impressed with her ability to find me in the dark.
"I can hear your thoughts," she said aloud.
"What is your middle name?"
"Arista," she replied calmly as she crossed her arms over her chest.
I stepped forward to look at my fourteen year old more closely. Carrigan looked as beautiful as she always did. She appeared to have put on a few pounds since I had last seen her. She looked healthier, not fat and still lean and toned. Her brown hair was beginning to grow in nicely. She looked like a tom-boy with a bob cut in her long sleeve thermal shirt and baggy sweatpants.
"Mom?" Her coldness broke my heart. "What is it?"
"Rumors are springing up that Voldemort has a powerful young woman for a new follower. Word has reached us, but we're not sure what to expect from her. Any ideas?"
"Why are you asking me?"
"Because the rumors also say you're the powerful young woman."
"You came out here to ask me if I'm a Death Eater?" she questioned with disgust.
"No," I responded quickly. "I know you're not. I came out here to warn you that the next few months are going to be harder for you when people hear about this."
"People already accuse me of being a Death Eater, that wouldn't be a change," she snapped. "I'm sorry you've wasted your time."
"What is the matter with you?" I stepped forward and grabbed her arm before she could get away from me. "What the hell did I do to you that makes you think I deserve to be treated this way? To be ignored, defied and disrespected?"
Carrigan stared up at me in surprise. She was not expecting me to question her behavior, or she was surprised I didn't know the answer to my own question. She looked away from me, down at the ground, with hard eyes as if she were trying to think of away to get out of this. How could she run and hide from our problems and her feelings?
"Why haven't you written me? Why did you run after our fight?"
"I didn't write to you because I didn't know how to apology for running off after our fight," she finally whispered. She didn't look me in the eye as she spoke though. I released her arm. She stood up straight, then turned to me. "I am sorry. I didn't mean to frighten you. I was upset, I didn't think you believed in my abilities. I realized quickly that you were right. It's not that you didn't believe in me, you knew that I belonged at Hogwarts not just for my protection but for my education. I was being arrogant. That's why I caught the train…I didn't know how to write you. I thought Gabriel would tell you that I was sorry."
"You've spoken about this to Gabriel?"
"Yes," Carrigan nodded. "I wrote to him last week because I didn't know who else to go to. He came here to speak to me—how come you don't know about that?"
I frowned deeply as my stomach pinched again with discomfort.
"Mom?"
"Gabriel was probably just trying to be respectful of our relationship. He didn't want to betray your trust and tell me he came out here to see you and he probably wanted you to apologize on your own. He wasn't going to do it for you."
"That's exactly what he said," she said with a weak smile. "I just thought he would have told you that he came here."
"We all have our secrets, Carrigan," I whispered in reply. "Have your peers been mistreating you?"
"Nothing I can't handle," she shrugged. "Why'd you sneak in here? Why not come in the morning?"
"Because I wanted to come to you right away to see if you had any ideas about this new powerful witch that is helping Voldemort. I have to find out more about her before the information gets to the Order or Dumbledore. From my understanding, every thing points at you."
"It could be anyone," Carrigan shrugged. "I'm not the only powerful witch in the world."
"Think of when you were held by him," I whispered quickly. "Did you ever over hear conversations, meetings or plans?"
Carrigan was silent for a few moments while she thought.
"Dorian use to talk about a woman he called the Chaste."
"Chaste?"
"It's not her name, it's her title," she continued. "Dorian believed in the Twelfth Immortal Blood ceremony, he believed all that ancient dark magic bullshit—"
"Carrigan," I sighed at her language.
"—sorry. The point is, he used to talk about the Chaste, a virgin who will sacrifice herself to ensure the survival of the Dark Arts."
I stared at Carrigan in bewilderment. "I don't understand what that means."
"Mom, it just means that a woman, a virgin, who is a follower of dark magic will sacrifice herself for the cause. But, maybe that's who this new powerful woman is on Voldemort's side….at least, that's all I can think of."
I nodded my head slowly. "Is there any way that you are the Chaste, but don't know it?"
"No, that's not possible."
I froze for a moment as my heart plummeted. "Why not?" I tried to sound patient. Carrigan wasn't fazed by my tone, she ignored my concern that she was not a virgin, and continued to speak quickly.
"Because, according to Dorian, the Chaste sacrifices herself to save the Dark Lord from being killed by the Variant."
I rolled my eyes. "Who is the Variant?"
"The person who does not succumb to Unciarius Caedes Immortalis."
I stood up straight and released a heavy sigh. If this superstitious bullshit was to be believed then Carrigan was the Variant, because she did not succumb to the Twelfth Immortal Blood ceremony, the person who was supposed to kill the Chaste while trying to kill the Dark Lord.
"You believe in all of this stuff?"
Carrigan hesitated. "I believe in Guardians and Seers…I suppose this crap isn't too far out of reach, but no, I choose not to believe it."
"Why not?"
"Because that means that we have a lot less control in our own fate and I am not comfortable with that idea at all," Carrigan replied smartly. "I think we choose what we stand for and what we're meant for. We were meant to stop evil, Mom. You, me and Harry. We've chosen to stop Voldemort, that is why we're meant to do it. I may kill a woman while attempting to kill Voldemort—but I don't think it's my destiny and I don't think it's hers."
"You think you're not the Chaste because you're the Variant, but you don't believe in this prophecy?"
Carrigan sighed heavily then looked me straight in the eye. "Whether I believe in the prophecy or not is irrelevant. I realized while I was being held by Voldemort that it didn't matter what I believed. It mattered what Dorian and Voldemort believed. Dorian was an expert and avid believer of ancient dark magic, if Dorian believed I'm the Variant, then I am. And that's what Voldemort will believe."
"Okay," I whispered, still a little uneasy.
"I'm not sexually active, Mom," Carrigan finally said. "As if I have time for that…"
I sighed and pulled her into an embrace. "Thank you," I smiled as I kissed her forehead. "Get to bed. I should be getting home."
"Alright," she nodded. "Tell Gabriel I miss him."
"I will," I said smoothly as we both exited the dinning hall. We parted ways in the entrance hall; she headed for the staircase that would take her back to the seventh floor and the Gryffindor common room, while I headed for the front door of Hogwarts castle and the chilly air that waited outside to greet me.
When I arrived home, the farmhouse was awkwardly quiet and dark. I didn't light any candles as I made my way through the foyer to the staircase. Once in the bedroom, I took off my leather cloak and boots. I stopped at the edge of the bed and stared at the well-made sheets for a few moments. It hadn't been slept in.
Like the rest of the house, my bed was empty. Gabriel was nowhere to be found. He hadn't been home for the last two weeks. We had seen each other at work, but all of my work was channeled through Benjamin, so I would not have to speak to Gabriel. I hadn't spoken to him since I asked him to leave, which I did shortly after he told me who Juniper Quinn Tullius was two weeks ago.
