Note – The guy who died is named Xander Olivier, NOT Xander Oliver.

Sorry for the long wait. Anyway, enjoy the chapter.

Chapter Four – Preparation Part 1
Kimaine James
Saturday, 15 June, 2 am

I ignored the whispers and curious looks I received as the Ravens openly stared at my little group. Everyone had been summoned to the Assembly Hall for an emergency meeting. The Ravens were quietly speculating amongst themselves, wondering what was going on at this hour. They certainly knew that it was something big.

I knew I made a terrible sight – white tank top drenched in dried blood, the rest of my clothes soaked through with rain and smudged with dirt. However, the blood belonged to Kerri, not me. The Ravens didn't know that, of course, but Kerri's ugly looking gash was still bleeding for all to see.

On my left side stood a rather stoic Ozymandias. He, too, was covered in blood, but it wasn't that visible what with the black clothing he wore. As far as I knew, he hadn't sustained any serious injuries.

Professor James called for silence, and immediately all eyes were on him. His voice was serious and sad altogether as he started speaking. "Tonight, we lost one of our own. To all those who knew him, I'm sorry to say that Xander Olivier is no longer with us."

Gasps rang out through the hall, and I could even hear someone let out a sob. Probably one of his female friends. Those who knew him glanced worriedly at Kerri. The ginger was dead to the world, though. She was still in shock.

I couldn't blame her. I gave her hand a gentle squeeze, and nearly gasped aloud at the death grip she suddenly held my hand in.

My brother continued, "He was stolen from us while on a mission with Miss Alders and Mister Malkira. They had been discovered and had to fight for their lives. It saddens me to admit, but I am partly to blame for Mister Olivier's death – I was the one who suggested the mission to Professor Bulero in the first place." Adrian cleared his throat unsteadily and swallowed hard. "It is thanks to Mr Malkira, here, that Miss Alders was able to be returned home safely." Adrian shot a truly grateful look at Ozymandias, who didn't even nod in acknowledgement. Ass. "The first ever mission of the Ravens was a complete fail."

Next to me, Ozymandias twitched slightly. I found this odd for two reasons – One, the aristocratic Pureblood didn't strike me as the type to twitch. Two, he had to be hiding something. Why else would he twitch?

Adrian's voice interrupted my thoughts. "And for this reason, we will have to assign four of you to the second mission."

Dread filled me. What was my brother thinking?! If this second mission failed, too, and we lost someone else…

"I know this upsets some of you, and I apologize for that, but I cannot express to you how important this mission is. A lot of extremely useful information can be obtained – information about the children in Camp Zimbini, the Death Eaters' patrols, their movements and plans for our Province. We also need to find out which Death Eaters we are dealing with, and who exactly is in the Eastern Cape. Not only is this information crucial in our movements, but Mister Malkira informed me that the Death Eaters have a Seer in their custody. He added that he saw them administrating the Forceful Prophesy potion, but he wasn't able to hear the Prophesy as the fight started out right about then. We need that girl, and we need the Potion."

A few moments of silence followed Professor James' words as they were processed. Finally, someone spoke up.

"Excuse me, Professor, but why is this girl so important?" a girl I'd barely noticed in passing asked. Sasha Covington, if my memory served me correctly. She had olive toned skin and wavy light brown hair done up in a high ponytail. She was pretty, too, and appeared to be around my age. 16, I'd guess.

It was a valid question, and I wondered what my brother's response would be.

Adrian pursed his lips as if he was debating something. Finally, he said, "If she happened to prophesize something that involves the Ravens, and it fell into enemy hands, we'll be done for. Do you understand now, Miss Covington?"

The girl nodded hesitantly. "Yes, I understand, Professor James. But…what if she already gave them what they needed and they had decided to…dispose her?"

"I doubt that they would do such a thing, Nix," the soft voice belonging to the guy next to her said. He was quite attractive, with shaggy blonde hair and a slightly pale olive complexion. At Adrian's encouraging nod, the guy continued: "Genuine Seers are hard to come by these days. They wouldn't just…kill her off. She's extremely useful to them."

I found myself agreeing. If I was evil, and I had a prisoner who spit out prophesies, I'd keep her close, too.

"You're right, Mr Orsino." As he said this, Adrian's eyes fell on Kerri, whose fresh gash, which ran from her temple to her lip, created a gruesome sight. For a moment, Adrian appeared lost. He didn't know what to say, and he just sent me a sad, tired and hopeless look.

I knew exactly how he felt. I wanted to smile at him, and I really did try to, but I couldn't get my lips to move. This whole thing – Voldemort, the purpose of us Ravens - had gotten even more real the second I'd heard of Xander's death. It was a harsh wakeup call from Reality.

Adrian seemed to notice my pain, and drew in a deep breath. He straightened and once again addressed the Ravens. "The next Mission will be on Sunday night – that gives you just enough time to prepare. I've discussed this in length with Professor Bulero, and we've decided who will be going on this mission." Adrian paused and shot me a quick, apologetic look. My eyes widened. No, he could NOT mean what I thought he did! "Kimaine James, Lefu Zorn, Vasilisa West, and Sasha Covington - you are the ones chosen to do this mission. You shall receive further details in the morning."

Brother or not, I was going to kill that man! What the Hell was he thinking?! He couldn't just send me away, not when my best friend needed me!

Seeing my anger, Adrian subtly shook his head, the same tired look reappearing in his green eyes. I deflated slightly and nodded. Fine, I'll give him a piece of my mind later. By the way he winced; he saw it in my eyes.

My anger wasn't unfounded. How could he expect me to abandon my friend in her time of need? But the other, irritating part of my brain whispered about duty. It was my duty to follow orders. It was the way I'd been raised.

Shut up, brain.

Adrian yawned, and immediately looked sheepish. "Sorry…long night. It's 2:30 am, so how about you all head off to bed? We will meet at 8 for breakfast," he said. The Professor thought for a moment, before adding, "Dismissed."

As the Hall slowly emptied, I became aware of Malkira looking down at Kerri. I couldn't understand his expression, but his eyes were hard. Why?

Feeling my stare, his eyes rose and met mine challengingly.

I narrowed my own protectively. "Whatever is going on in that mind of yours, let it go, Malkira. She's just lost the single most important person in her life."

Some emotion flickered through Ozymandias's dark eyes, but it was gone before I could even try to identify it. He swiftly turned around and stalked out of the Hall, leaving only Kerri, Adrian, Vasilisa and myself.

As if sensing that this was a private moment, Vasilisa walked over to me, gave my arm a light squeeze, and left the Hall. I smiled faintly as she left.

For a moment, nobody moved. Then suddenly Adrian dropped his act and rushed forward to pull my best friend into a tight hug. Kerri tried to keep herself still, but her emotionless mask soon cracked and she buried her face into my brother's strong chest. Silent sobs shook her tiny body. I closed my eyes tightly, not wanting to witness my best friend's absolute heartbreak.

No one deserved this amount of pain. I wouldn't wish it upon even my worst enemy.

No one deserved this.

Xxx

Vasilisa West

After the news of Kerri' boyfriend's death, I did not feel like going back to our joint room. I'd leave the two best friends alone to grieve their loss – I didn't want to intrude.

So I found myself tired, hungry, and bored to death. I glanced around at the lingering students, but none of them stood out right now. They were all tired-looking and weary. I shook my head and lifted my gaze as I noticed moving in my peripheral vision. It was that Ozymandias dude, and he was sneaking off into one of the darkened hallways – one I'd never gone down before.

Quickly drawing up a battle tactic, I superstitiously glanced around me. By now, I was an expert at doing this. However, the itching feeling in the back of my neck coming from the rose tattoo was a constant reminder of my real mission.

Shaking my head to rid it of those thoughts, I decided to follow Ozymandias into the dark hallway, of course casting a Notice-Me-Not spell to not get spotted. The walk wasn't long, but what surprised me was the fact that the arrogant Pureblood didn't notice that I was following him.

Something was distracting Malkira, and I knew I had to figure it out.

One way or another.

After considering a few different situations, I decided that something important must have had happened tonight, not counting the death of Xander Olivier. Malkira didn't strike me as the type to read casually.

We reached the library and I raised an eyebrow at the section he was heading to. It was the astronomy section.

I watched as Malkira pulled out books about planets, specifically about the moon. After collecting a few rather large books, he sat down heavily at one of the tables.

After a few minutes, he let out a low, self-depreciating laugh. "Genius," he muttered to himself as he pushed a book away. He scribbled something on a piece of paper that he silently conjured, before pulling a second book closer.

I leaned against one of the shelves and continued to watch the tanned Pureblood. I wasn't exactly hidden, so I wondered what had Ozymandias so preoccupied. Besides reading some astronomy books, obviously.

Malkira paged through the book quickly and pushed it away with a disgusted look as he brushed dust off of his hands. He added a few more words to the paper and grabbed the third book. After a few more minutes, he paused and muttered, "During the night of the Red Moon, Faith is lost for the birds…"

Against my will, the corner of my lips turned up in an amused smirk. So Ozzy was into poetry, huh? Who would have thought? This was actually pretty good blackmail material…

""The last Red Moon of the year will surface on 23 August,"" he read aloud, frowning over the book. He sighed and rubbed a hand over his face, seeming confused. He turned a few more pages, before stopping at one and reading intently.

I focused my gaze on his hands, something about them bothering me. After a few seconds of intense study, I realized what it was. They were abnormally large. I snorted silently.

For the next few minutes, the library was silent except for the turning of pages and the occasional scratching of a pen. I was growing bored, and a huge yawn escaped me. I paused mid-yawn at the sudden frustrated whisper that fell from Ozzy's lips.

"Dammit, Estelle," he whispered and ran a hand through his now loose hair. "Get outta my thoughts." This was followed by furious scratching and then the drop of a pen.

Interest peaked; I silently padded over to Ozzy until I was standing right behind his chair. The fact that he didn't notice me was amazing – was he truly that distracted?

I glanced at the paper on which the Pureblood had made notes.

"During the night of the Red Moon
Faith is lost for the birds
When the second hand upon the clock's face
Hints to the twelfth symbol
Victory shall be theirs."

A prophecy, it seemed like.

Next to the first line, he'd scribbled: "23 August."
Next to the second line, he'd drawn a sloppy raven which he then crossed out.
Next to the final two lines, he'd drawn a clock proudly displaying 12 o'clock on a flag.

Then, lastly, underneath all of that, a single name was written. It was crossed out, but I could still read it.

Estelle.

Seeing an opportunity, I said brightly, "Well, well, well Ozzy. Here I believed you were a cold-hearted bastard. Who's Estelle?"

Ozzy actually jumped in surprise (which he would later deny, of course) and turned deadly black eyes to me. "DO NOT call me Ozzy," he said calmly, with a threatening undertone. "And who she is, is none of your business."

I noticed that his face was once again carefully blank. "She must be someone important," I prodded. "Is she your girlfriend or something?"

Malkira flipped a page, acting as though he did not hear me. Fine, then.

"Where did you get the prophecy?" I asked, abruptly changing the subject. When he didn't answer, my suspicions were confirmed. "So you did manage to hear the prophecy that girl made. You lied to Professors James and Bulero."

Malkira flipped another page, completely ignoring me.

Which was fine – I'd gotten what I came to do.

Xxxx

Kimaine James
6:23 AM

I quietly slipped out of my bedroom, taking extra care to close the door softly. Kerri had finally fallen asleep only moments before, much to my relief. The poor girl had spent the last three or four hours crying her heart out, falling asleep, and then wake up screaming from nightmares.

Thanks to that, I could not sleep. However, I could not find it in me to be angry with Kerri. It wasn't her fault, after all. If I put myself in her shoes…I shuddered as images of my reaction to my friends' deaths all those years ago surfaced in my mind. Let us just say I never wanted to experience that pain again.

I sighed as I slipped out of the Girls Dormitory building. As I'd expected, the sky was still dark – a fact which irritated me to no end. In the last few years I'd begun to hate winter – I hated the short days. I missed summer where the sun would rise just after five, and night would fall only after 8 pm. Now, the sun didn't rise before 7 am.

Menacing storm clouds in the sky already promised a crappy day.

The sun would be rising soon, I thought with glee. Thank goodness.

The air was cold and biting, and I cursed myself for not grabbing a jacket. I hadn't wanted to wake Kerri by rummaging around in my closet. I regretted that decision now that I was freezing my ass off, dressed only in a pair of black sweats, fluffy red slippers, and a dark grey sweatshirt.

The sacrifices I make for friends.

I walked along the still-wet dirt path, not having an exact location in mind. I kept my mind blank as I wandered through the grounds. I shivered and wrapped my arms around my middle. I was near the Quidditch Pitch when I heard it.

It was a muffled curse, followed by a sigh of frustration. I was instantly curious. I mean come on, how many normal people would be awake at this time, especially after last night. I silently moved in the direction from where the sound came from. I ducked underneath one of the Quidditch stands, only to be met by a curious sight.

Sitting on the ground with her legs crossed was a girl who appeared to be around fifteen (or maybe sixteen) years old. Her head was bowed, and from what I could make out in the dark, she had black hair in a pixie cut that stuck out all over the place. "Fucking useless abilities," the girl muttered lowly to herself, only to jerk her head up in surprise as she whirled around to face me.

I wondered idly how she knew I was there. I tried to hide my amused smile as she glared fiercely.

"You," she snapped, waving an accusing finger in my face. She jumped up and I noticed that she was short – about 4'11, if I had to guess. "How dare you try to spy on me?!"

"Me, spying on someone? Um, no," I muttered unconvincingly. I narrowed my eyes in concentration as I tried to remember who this girl was, exactly. The girl looked young (and not exactly familiar, though I knew she had to be a part of the Ravens), and I felt my eyebrows rise. Her skin was so pale it seemed to friggen glow.

Dull blue-grey eyes glared daggers at me. "What are you looking at?" she asked rudely. Suddenly looking self-conscious, the girl lifted a hand to her right eyebrow. The movement drew my eyes and I saw that she was touching a thin scar up the right side of her face that cut into the edge of her eyebrow.

I frowned. "That's not what I-," I sighed, "Never mind…What are you doing here this early?"

Narrowed eyes regarded me suspiciously. "None of your damn business," she said with a sniff. "Who are you, anyway? You're that girl from last night, who was covered in her friend's blood, aren't you?"

I grimaced at the reminder. "Yeah, I'm Kimaine James."

"Prof's little sister, right? Arcadia Welsh, number 25." She brushed off the dirt from her grey skinny jeans and straightened her dark blue top.

Something about her niggled at the back of my mind. What was it?

"We've got a Seer a while back. She is Number 25. Just… be careful around her, alright?" the ghostly voice of Adrian drifted through my head.

Right, a Seer. That's probably what she was trying to do right now – force herself to see into the future. "You know, you're not going to achieve anything by forcing your mind to do something it doesn't want to do right now," I told her conversationally. I thought for a moment and added, "Except if you had Impetuosa Prophetia, of course."

"Does it look like I have the Forceful Potion?" she asked snidely.

I bit my lip to keep myself from making a sharp retort. Instead, I said, "If you asked Professor Frost, Grey's own Potions Mistress, you might be able to get some. She's in Building C, on the first level, classroom number 41."

Arcadia blinked at me a few times. I offered her a tired smile before turning around, ready to leave. Her voice stopped me, however.

"Thanks," she said.

Xxxx

Adrian's office was empty, not that I'd really thought he'd be there. I still had a little over an hour before breakfast, and Adrian had the most comfortable beanbags… I sank down onto one gratefully and closed my eyes. Within seconds, I was asleep.

Gentle shaking brought me back to the world of the living. I yawned and blearily looked at Vasilisa. "What're you doing here, Lissa?" I mumbled sleepily.

The brunette rolled her eyes. "Breakfast starts in five minutes. Your brother sent me here to fetch you."

I stood up and stretched. The hour and a half that I had slept wasn't nearly enough.

"I also brought you a change of clothes," Vasilisa added, looking pointedly what I was already wearing.

"What's wrong with sweats, slippers and a sweatshirt?"

"I'm not even going to dignify that with a response."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," I said brightly and accepted the clothing. "Thanks, by the way." Lissa dipped her head in acknowledgement. I walked until I was behind Adrian's desk and turned around. I looked over the clothing that Lissa brought and found myself impressed. It was a simple pair of black yoga pants, a red tank top, old ratty sneakers, and a Bring Me The Horizon hoodie. It was perfect for training.

After slipping into the clothing and putting away my nightclothes, I walked back over to Lissa, who was also dressed in yoga pants and a tank – hers white. On her feet were obviously expensive Nikes. "Won't you be cold?" I asked as we hurried through the hallways.

"Nope. Today's weather forecast is 26 degrees Celsius." She didn't sound too pleased.

"Damn, that's hot after yesterday," I complained. Yesterday had been only 13ᵒC after all.

Nothing else was said as we reached the Assembly Hall. We were a bit late, and our arrival caused a momentarily pause in Professor Bulero's speech. I coughed awkwardly and said a quick apology. The Professor nodded and waved us on. There were only two places left – at different tables. I shot Vasilisa a sorrowful look as I took my seat. She grinned as she continued walking a few tables down.

After a second, Professor Bulero continued. "As I was saying, after breakfast there will be a quick briefing on tomorrow night's mission in room 15. Those not involved will go to Professor Frost's classroom," here he nodded at the scarlet-haired Professor stood next to him, who smiled and nodded. "Normal training will start at 10:30."

Professor Frost took over. "There will be a small memorial held for Xander Olivier – it is open for only those who knew him. It will be held at 7, at his family's estate. Those who will be attending the memorial should meet here at half past six." She shot a sad look at Kerri, who was surrounded by some of our other friends. "Now enjoy your breakfast, but try not to take too long. That is all."

With that, Professors Frost and Bulero walked over to the Professors' table, where 13 other tired-looking Professors sat.

Food appeared on the table. I wasn't that hungry, though, thanks to the harsh reminder that one of my friends were dead. God, I hoped that Kerri was okay.

"Earth to Kimaine," someone sitting opposite me said gently. I lifted my eyes and met warm ones belonging to Lefu. "Are you alright?"

I managed a half-smile. Lefu hadn't exactly gotten along with Xander, but I was touched that he still asked. "I'm as good as can be expected, I guess."

I started eating some porridge then, not in the mood to talk. Lefu thankfully got the message (as did those sitting around me). I finished quickly and stood. I walked over to Kerri's table. The ginger smiled tearfully up at me, and I gave her a quick hug from behind and a squeeze on the shoulder before making my way out of the Assembly Hall.

I couldn't face the crowd right now, not with Kerri being so miserable.

I knew how she felt, in a way. The day I lost two of my best friends… I shuddered. At least Kerri was not there to witness Xander's death, and for that, I was thankful.

I sat down on a bench that was placed all over the schoolyard and pulled out my cell phone. Somewhere during the night, I'd subscribed to Wistful's blog, and wanted to see if she'd already texted some updates. She had.

A moment of silence for Xander Olivier. He was on a mission for the Ravens, which failed. He paid the price. – Wistful.

Voldemort was in EC for a brief visit to gather information about the failed Raven mission. Whether he is still here or not is unknown. Be careful, Little Birds. – Wistful

It's been confirmed that werewolf Fenrir Greyback is in the Hogsback area. Don't go out at night, my little fireflies, or you may be dinner. - Wistful

I sighed. How did she even know this stuff? Moreover, what was with her calling us fireflies?

"Don't think so much," someone said teasingly, "Your poor brain is going to explode."

"Shut up, idiot," I told the ghost. It was the most annoying ghost I have had the displeasure of meeting, and he just kept popping up. "Now shoo, Alberto."

Said ghost placed a transparent hand on his chest. "Ouch, now that hurt me, Kimmy."

I winced at the childhood nickname. Nobody has called me that since… I shook my head quickly. "Whatever. I don't want to talk to you right now." I didn't care that I was being rude.

The "young" ghost frowned and took a floating seat in the air. "What's bothering you, sweetheart?" he questioned, his tone worried. "You haven't been this snippy in years."

Okay now I felt somewhat bad. Sure, Alberto was annoying. Nevertheless, he was a good ghost who tried to be there for everyone. "I'm just tired, Alberto, that's all."

The ghost nodded with a knowing look. "Tired can mean a lot of things, ay."

"I know. It's just…the Ravens haven't even existed for that long and we've already suffered a casualty."

Alberto gasped, looking horrified. "Oh sweet baby Merlin, who was it?"

I grimaced. I did not want to tell Alberto that it was Xander. Alberto was a gay ghost, who had this huge crush on Xander. In addition, add that to the fact that I was not ready to talk about Xander…

"It's Xander, isn't it?" the ghost questioned quietly. "I can just see it in your eyes." Alberto paused, and offered me a sad smile. "I'm sorry for your loss, Kim."

I smiled but averted my gaze. This ghost, although he was super annoying at times, knew more things about me than any other being in this universe.

"It will get better, I swear it to you."

And I believed him.

"Yo, JAMES!" a voice called. I looked up and quickly studied him. He was around 5"8' and had a mocha skin tone. As he came closer, I saw that he had faded black hair and bright green eyes. He offered me a cheeky grin as he stood next to me. "Prof A sent me to look for you. You're needed for a briefing."

I nodded distractedly, still trying to figure out who this person was. He was young – probably fourteen. "Thanks. I'm sorry, but who are you?"

He smiled cutely. "I'm Jerell Payton Jordan, number 1. But you can just call me J.J!"

Oh. OH. I now knew who he was. Jerell is the son of Emma Jordan, who is a famous Healer. In addition, if I wasn't mistaken, a Death Eater had killed Jerell's father some years back. The poor guy… it sucks to not have a parent. "Oh, right, hi. Thanks for telling me, J.J."

I noticed his smile falter slightly, no doubt knowing that I was feeling pity for him. He quickly recovered, though and gave me another smile. "Better hurry, then. The Profs looked impatient."

I smiled at him. "Thanks again, Jerell. See you later." He nodded. I waved goodbye to Alberto the Ghost and started walking in the direction of the Assembly Hall. It was over within two minutes, and once again, I interrupted Professor Bulero's speech.

I cleared my throat awkwardly. "Sorry, Prof."

"You're making it a habit to arrive late, Kimaine," the African professor said with displeasure clear on his face.

"So start arriving on time," Adrian added seriously.

I nodded and hurried over to stand in between Vasilisa and Lefu. The African frowned at me, while Lissa just grinned.

"As I was saying," Bulero said with a pointed glare my way, "You will be leaving tomorrow night at eleven pm sharp. You will be transported right in the middle of Camp Zimbini. Do not worry about being detected – we have arranged four invisibility cloaks to be delivered later today. They are spell resistant and it is an actual cloak – so you will be wearing it. It won't easily fall off, either."

We nodded. My eyes were wide. Those invisibility cloaks were extremely expensive! I could not even afford one…neither could the Alders, or any other Pureblood family I knew, for that matter.

Adrian spoke up next. "Like I said this morning, a lot of extremely useful information needs to be obtained tomorrow night. We need information about the children in Camp Zimbini, the Death Eaters' patrols, their movements and Voldemort's plans for our Province. We also need to find out which Death Eaters we are dealing with, and who exactly is in the Eastern Cape at the moment. With the new laws Voldemort will soon bring up, we need to move as fast as we can. We really don't want any of you married off just yet."

I smiled slightly at Adrian's attempt at a joke.

Adrian's expression quickly went serious. "But please, I beg of you, to be careful. I am not saying that Mr Olivier was not careful, but… We cannot afford any more losses."

I bit my lip. Adrian made it sound as if Xander was just an asset. Which he wasn't, dammit.

Adrian cleared his throat. "Do not be late tomorrow."

"Yes, Professor," we chorused.

"Good," Professor Bulero said. "The four of you will now go to Professor Muller's classroom for a brief training session, before you will be sent back to join the rest of the Ravens. Dismissed."

Great. I really disliked Professor Muller – grumpy old bat, if you ask me.

"Cheer up, she can't be that bad," Vasilisa said quietly as we started walking.

"Believe me, she is," Lefu told her.

I paused as I remembered that we had not introduced ourselves to the other girl yet. I turned around to face her. "I'm Kimaine James. This is Lefu Zorn and Vasilisa West."

She nodded stiffly. "Nice to meet you. I'm Sasha Covington."

I smiled and tried to keep my eyes off her birthmark that I had noticed seconds before. It was an inch beneath her lower lip. It was not that it was ugly or anything, but I was certain that it would probably offend her if I stared.

By the way she was refusing to meet my eyes, I knew that she was silently grateful.

I smiled sadly as we continued our track to Professor Muller's class.

Xxxx

"Do you understand now?"

I stared blankly at the aged Professor. I have no idea what the hell she just said.

She sighed. "I take that as a no. Miss West, if you would please explain to James here what to do."

Vasilisa looked away from Sasha. "Sure, Professor," she said. She walked over to me and shot me a grin. "Spell too complicated for you, James?"

I scowled. "No, I just don't get what the old fart is saying," I mumbled quietly to make sure said Professor couldn't hear me.

"Whatever. Okay, so the Telepathic Communication Spell really isn't that complicated," Lissa started. "In fact, its function is exactly as its name suggests. When using this spell, it enables the user to communicate telepathically with everyone who joined them in casting the spell. This particular spell lasts as long as nine hours – it all really depends on the castors, though, so it may be more or less than the estimated time."

I twisted my lips and nodded in understanding. I wasn't sure why I was having such difficulty with understanding this basic concept.

My mind drifted to a dimpled, smiling brunette. I realized what was bothering me – Xander. Even though we hadn't been too close, his death affected me.

Vasilisa sighed. "Look, I know it's not easy to lose someone. But don't let this shut you down, alright? We can't afford to have you unfocused. This mission needs to be successful, Kim. So get your head on straight."

I shook my head. "No, that's not it. We weren't close. It's not that I'm sad…"

Lissa interrupted me. "You may think that you're not sad, or affected by his death any less than I am. But the fact is, you spent a lot of time with him and Ald- um, Kerri, and although your thoughts aren't constantly plagued by his image, subconsciously you miss him. The sooner you accept that, the sooner we can move on." Lissa brushed her fringe out of her eye with annoyance.

I subtly clenched my jaw. I didn't want to admit that I was even slightly affected by Xander's death anymore. Sure, I was sad earlier, and even crying. But I'd moved on. Right? "Explain the spell," I said curtly.

Lissa opened her mouth, to argue no doubt, but sighed instead. "The spell was created in Afrikaans. The words are, "Bevry my gedagtes, kommunikeer met dié wat saam met my praat.""

I repeated the words a few times, stumbling over the pronunciations. "I know I'm the one from South Africa and all, but what exactly do they mean?" I asked with frustration. I couldn't say the words if I didn't know what the heck they meant.

Professor Muller appeared next to me with a displeased frown. "You need to brush up on your Afrikaans, Miss James. Just because you haven't been attending normal school for a year, it doesn't give you an excuse to stop with your Afrikaans Studies!" she scolded. She cleared her throat after taking a deep breath and said, "If you translate it to English, it's something like "Free my mind, communicate with those who speak with me" if I'm not mistaken."

"Sorry, Professor," I said insincerely. "Thank you. But why is it in Afrikaans, and not Latin? I mean, most spells are Latin, are they not?"

The old Professor nodded. "Yes, that is true. This spell was recently created by someone codenamed Wistful-you know who she is, I assume. She's from an Afrikaans family, so is her group. The Fireflies are known as freedom fighters. Not much is known about their group, but it has been confirmed that at least one of them is a spell creator. Thus, this spell was created."

Okay, so that all made sense so far. And I also now understood (sort of) why Wistful had called us "fireflies" in her text messages. But… "How did you get the spell, Professor? And why would they share it with us?"

"I just told you that the Fireflies are freedom fighters, haven't I? They greatly approve of the work that the Ravens are doing, and were saddened to hear about our…loss. We received this spell via Patronus in the early hours of the day. It's very useful." Professor Muller pulled her wand out of her robe pockets and gestured at Vasilisa and me to do the same. "Not a lot is needed for this spell to work. Basically, all you need to do is reach into your magical core and imagine it leaving your wand and connecting with the magic of those casting the spell with you. No special wand movements are needed. Now, close your eyes and focus your magic. Can you do that for me?"

I gave Lissa a "what the heck" look, but she shrugged and closed her eyes. I frowned but did as I was told. After a few seconds, I found the pulsing ball of neon green energy that was my magic. With a few prods, I managed to pull loose two strands. I gently tugged at them and guided them through my body and out of my wand. They hesitantly reached out, and after a few seconds touched a purple strand, and then a dark blue one. The blue one was extremely strong, so I figured that one belonged to the Professor.

"Now speak the words," Professor Muller said quietly. "On the count of three."

One… two… three.

"Bevry my gedagtes, kommunikeer met dié wat saam met my praat."

Our magic merged suddenly with one another. The surge that was released caused me to stumble slightly and clutch my head. Oh gosh, it hurt.

"Don't fight it, girls," Professor Muller said sharply. "Just accept the magic and the pain will go away!"

Easier said than done. My magic was trying with all its might to push the foreign magic away. I grimaced and tugged at the neon strands, hard. BEHAVE, I commanded. They're welcome.

To my disbelief, that worked. The pain immediately went away.

Holy shitcakes, I thought

"Don't curse, Miss James!" The voice was painfully loud and seemed to bounce around my head.

I guess the spell had worked.

Now how to get rid of the damn thing?

Xxx

I wiped my forehead with disgust. Gosh, I was sweating like a pig. At least training was over now. Training was finally over!

Someone prodded my side, and I turned around to snap at them. "That fucking hurt, you moron!" Not only was I sweating, I was filled with bruises, too!

Lefu grinned at me, not sorry at all. "Something tells me you're hungry. You're always this grumpy when you haven't eaten in a while."

I rolled my eyes and continued walking. "Whatever."

"You know I'm right."

I hummed in thought as I wiped my forehead again. I glared up at the sky as I walked. "Why is it so hot? Isn't it supposed to be winter?"

"Yes, it's winter," Lefu replied, "But this is also South Africa. You know how unpredictable the weather can be."

"True." I rolled my shoulders, hoping to get rid of some of the tension in my back. "But 25ᵒC is still hot."

"Stop complaining. Jeez, yesterday you were moaning about how cold it was. Make up your mind."

I wasn't even going to dignify that with a response, I thought with a sniff.

Lefu grinned and grabbed me into a hug. "I'm sorry, okay? What are you going to do now? Take a shower, I hope."

I playfully punched him. Jeez, he could be such an ass! "I'm going to talk to Adrian."

"Gonna give him a piece of your mind?"

"You know me too well," I said dryly.

We stopped walking, as we were now standing at the entrance to the school closest to Adrian's office. Lefu smiled gently down at me. "Good luck in there, Kim. Don't be too hard on him, okay? He's still your brother."

"I'll see."

"Good. I'm not going to Xander's memorial, so please look after Kerri for me. Okay? And tell her I'll think of her. She'll understand why I can't go tonight."

I nodded in understanding. Lefu and Xander's families have always been at odds with one other…Kerri would understand. "See you tomorrow, Lefu."

Thinking of Kerri, I needed to check up on her as soon as I was done talking to Adrian.

The hallways were slightly cooler, for which I was thankful. I kept my mind carefully blank as I walked to Adrian's office. I needed to calm down and be able to think rationally for when I give him a piece of my mind.

But what was I going to say to him? How would I explain to him that it was wrong to just give us a new mission so soon? That it was wrong to send me away when-

My thoughts stopped abruptly as I reached Adrian's office. His door was open a crack, and through it I could see Kerri's back facing the door as she argued with my brother. "Just let me go, dammit Adrian! I'm not a little girl anymore!"

"You are sixteen years old, Kerri," Adrian said calmly. "To me, you are a little girl. You just lost your boyfriend. There's no way I'm going to allow you to-,"

"I will go on my own, then! I don't need your approval! I just wanted to ask you first, since that's the kind of girl I am. But since you won't allow me to go-,"

"You will do no such thing." His voice was so cold that even I shivered. "If you so much as step a foot out of campus tonight-," he trailed off threateningly.

"Please, Adrian," Kerri pleaded quietly. I noticed her shoulders shaking slightly as she bowed her head. "Please allow me to do this. I need to do this. Not only for Xander, but for Kim and myself."

Why was she bringing me into this, and what exactly was "this"?

"Kerri, I cannot-,"

"I'll be able to keep an eye on her," Kerri quickly said. "I can make sure that nothing happens to her. Isn't that what you want, Adrian?"

My eyes narrowed. Oh, no way am I allowing you to do this.

My eyes widened as I saw Adrian sigh with defeat. No, no no no Adrian! What the fudge do you think you're doing? NO!

Adrian unfolded his arms. "Swear to me that you'll look after yourself."

"I swear," Kerri said unconvincingly.

"Kerri-,"

"Fine," she snapped. She shook her head, causing her red curls to bounce. "I'll look after myself as soon as I've had my revenge. Deal?"

I couldn't make out what was said next, thanks to my magic jumping back. I hadn't even realized that there had been a privacy ward, nor the fact that my magic had broken through it. I waited impatiently and with increasing frustration as their silent argument continued. Finally it seemed to end. Kerri spun around and left the office with a triumphant smile. When she exited, she saw me and offered me a smile.

"How are you?" I asked. I kept in mind the fact that I wasn't supposed to have heard what was said in the office.

She gave me a sad smile. "I'm dealing. But I'm much better now. I need to go take a shower. See you soon?"

I nodded and watched her leave. After a few seconds, I turned around and entered my brother's office. I sent a burst of my magic at the door and it slammed closed. I glared at my brother with crossed arms and tapped my foot.

Adrian ran a hand over his face and peeked at me through his fingers. "Don't give me that look," he said with a sigh.

"What look?" I asked, playing ignorant.

He dropped his hand and sat down heavily. "That look that says you're pissed with me."

"Oh, that look. Yes, I am quite pissed with you, actually. What the hell were you thinking?!" I growled at him. "Sending me on a mission? Even having a mission so quickly? And my best friend needs me, for goodness sake Adrian! I can't just leave her behind!" I threw in that last line to see what his response would be, since if I was correct; he'd told her she could join us on the mission.

Adrian looked at me with a grimace. "About that…"

I allowed my eyes to widen with disbelief. "You can't mean what I think… ADRIAN! How could you!"

He pinched the bridge of his nose. "I couldn't say no to her."

"Uh, yes, you could! You are her superior, dammit Adrian. Your word as a Professor is law – she has to listen to you!" I was aware that I was shouting now, but I couldn't help myself. I was pissed as hell.

Adrian glared heatedly at me. "I couldn't deny her revenge, Kim!"

"Why the Hell not?" I shouted. My magic lashed out, causing one of the windows to shatter. Adrian didn't even bat an eyelid.

"Because," he said quietly. "I can't deny her the revenge she seeks, when I'd do the same if I could."

My anger died down instantly, instead replaced by a deep sorrow and confusion. "What do you mean?" I asked wearily.

Adrian sighed and ran a hand through his dark hair. "If I was given the opportunity to avenge Mother and Father, I'd do so in a heartbeat. You may not remember them as clearly as I do…but I loved them with all my heart. It was cruel to have them taken so horribly from us. Hermione Riddle is to blame for their deaths. If she was in front of me right this second…" Adrian stopped talking and clenched his fists. "I would kill her, and make that little Granger watch."

Little Granger… the "name" sparked a memory I'd rather not relive.

The shortest of them all was the first to lower their hoods. It was a girl who appeared to be around 13 or maybe 14. She had curly brown hair that fell to her lower back, and warm brown eyes. "Why did I have to come, Herm? I just want to go home," she whined.

I pushed down the memory, not wanting to think of that day…the day everything changed. "You never told me that Lady Riddle was responsible," I said quietly.

"I didn't want you to know. I think it was good that I never told you. If you'd known-,"

"Then I would've done something that day," I finished. "I wouldn't have just stayed there…But you can't punish Emily Granger for the actions of her sister."

His two Death Eaters followed behind Lady Riddle, while the younger Granger hesitated. She made sure that no one was looking, before waving her wand at my bonds and whispering a spell. To my shock, the ropes holding me went slack. "I'm so sorry, Kimaine James. You're free now," Emily whispered before hurrying out of the room.

Adrian frowned at me, no doubt knowing what I was remembering. "Don't let her one act of kindness erase all of the wrongs she's done."

I started to feel angry again. "Don't tell me what to think! I'm just grateful, that is all!"

"Why are you grateful towards a murderer?"

I felt my face go blank. "She was there when you weren't. She helped me when you didn't. She saved me, when you didn't."

Adrian opened his mouth to reply, but I held up a hand to stop him. This was a sore topic for me. The thought that Emily fucking Granger saved me when my own brother was too much of a coward…

"Don't talk to me again. I'll see you tomorrow," I said unemotionally. With that, I turned around and left his office.

Memories of that night weren't something I wanted to have. They made me hurt, and they made me angry.

"Why didn't you come to rescue us, Adrian?" I asked in a small voice. I was still cold, even though I was wrapped in a gazillion blankets. My lips wobbled and a few tears rolled down my cheeks. "We waited for you, but you never came."

My brother lowered his gaze shamefully. "I thought…I thought that you were…"

"SO WHAT IF I WAS DEAD!" I cried. "Who cares about me? What if they were still alive? Why didn't you come to save them?! And who cares if you were scared? I'm supposed to mean more than just that to you. I'm your little sister, Adrian."

"You don't understand how afraid I was-,"

"No, Adrian," I interrupted him. "You have no idea how I felt."

I shook the awful memory from my mind. Now wasn't the time.

As soon as I reached the room I shared with Vasilisa and Kerri, I grabbed my clothes for the memorial and entered the connected (magically-enlarged) bathroom. I took a long shower, imagining all of my negative emotions flowing out of my body and going down the drain. I couldn't think of only myself tonight; I needed to be Kerri's pillar.

With that thought, I finished my shower and climbed out. I quickly towelled myself off and got dressed. I muttered a drying spell on my hair, and after that slipped into my shoes. I looked myself in the mirror – something I haven't done in quite a while. I started at my shoes. They were plain black ballet flats. Next were my stocking-clad legs, and then the decent-length plain black dress. On my wrists were a few different multi-coloured bracelets-gifts I'd gotten from Xander over the time I'd known him. I also wore the pair of diamond earrings he'd bought me for my sixteenth birthday. I sighed and looked into my eyes. Tonight they were a dark green – a lot darker than they usually were. My straight black hair made me look even paler than I usually was, but for once I couldn't find it in me to care.

I noticed once again how similar Adrian and I looked – the same jaw, lips, and eyes – and I quickly turned around and left the bathroom. Kerri was sitting on my bed, waiting for me. She was once again sad-looking, and I sighed. I walked over to her and grabbed her hand. "It's time, Ker," I said quietly.

She nodded and stood. Slowly we left our room to go to the meeting place for Xander's memorial.

It was going to be a long, painful night.

xxx

Ozymandias Malkira

Egypt, how I have missed you, I thought dryly as I stepped out of the fireplace. I hated long-distance Floo-ing, but it was necessary. I still had some things to take care of at the family estate.

"Mister Malkira, you're home!" a servant exclaimed, her voice filled with excitement.

I studied her face. Darkly tanned, black hair, dark eyes. Nothing special. I dismissed her and started walking to my bedroom. I reached it without any delay, and was pleased to notice that someone had lit my fireplace. I took a seat in my chair and stared into the dancing flames.

The last two days have been…interesting, to say the least. The first mission, death, that Alders girl and her friend, the professor's sister… and that annoying West girl. She seemed oddly familiar, but I couldn't remember where I've heard of her before. Maybe…no, that can't be.

A servant handed me a glass of amber liquid. I took a sip and was pleased to taste my favourite brand of brandy. Very lightly tanned skin, extremely long hair, green eyes… "Thank you, Isis." Isis was a favourite of mine. She was the only intelligent servant I had.

"Of course, Mister Malkira," the servant said with a small curtsey. "How is South Africa?"

I took another long drink and sighed. "Does the name Vasilisa West seem familiar to you?" I asked instead.

Her eyes narrowed in thought. After a few seconds, she nodded. "Yes, it does, Sir. Vasilisa West's father is the leader of the group Jang Mii, which is Korean for rose. The group can be seen as the Mafia. They are very influential in Britain and certain parts of Africa."

I hummed in thought. "I knew there was a reason I kept you around for so long, Isis."

The servant smiled at the praise and bowed her head.

"I'm going to bed," I said lazily as I finished my drink. "Wake me up at 8 tomorrow. Dismissed."

Isis nodded, bowed, and left the room. After redressing into my night clothes, I slipped into my large bed. I fell asleep almost immediately.

Images of her plagued my dreams.

Estelle smiled at me - a kind, full smile. Her soft brown curls lifted in the gentle wind. "I love you, Ozymandias Malkira."

I slept peacefully for the first time in weeks.