The Daily Prophet was a disappointment. The only reason I had kept reading it was because hidden under all of the garbage and lies they were printing was the truth of the Ministry. It was obvious that the Ministry felt Harry Potter was an immature, attention-craving boy who was trying to be over-dramatic by concocting a story about Voldemort's return. What made me even more uneasy was that they were making Dumbledore out to be a cracked pot. If the Ministry did not have Dumbledore as an ally in the trying times that were about to come I don't think the country stood much of a chance of defeating my father. No one seemed to want to believe that Dumbledore had no interest in the Minister position (like the Minister seemed to so intently think), rather he was simply interested in our survival.

I crumpled the paper fiercely in my hands abruptly and threw it across my cubical in frustration. I had only been at work for half a day and already I was wanted to quit. I did not want to work for the Ministry when they were so blind and stupid, but Dumbledore had asked me personally, nearly begged me, to stay at the Ministry for the time being. The Order of the Phoenix had two battles to fight right now: the emergence and hidden acts of my father and the Ministry's backlash against the claim that he had returned. The Order needed eyes and ears inside the Ministry to keep up with their activities. And, as Gabriel reminded me, I needed a job.

"Something wrong?"

I frowned and swiveled in my chair to look at the entrance of the cubicle. Mitchell Scott was leaning against the cubicle wall, just outside the threshold, looking at me with raised eyebrows over his memorizing amber eyes. His arms were crossed and on top of the edge of the wall. He appeared calm and collected, but his eyes betrayed him; he was looking at me with deep concern. I was not sure if he was worried about me personally, or if he was worried that I had gone mental and was a risk to his safety.

"I hate this place," I said quietly as I leaned back in my chair.

"Ah," Mitchell said as he walked into the cubicle. He had grown his hair out since the last time I had seen him. Now, his straight black hair was long enough to tie back in a small ponytail. He was wearing blue jeans and a Black Sabbath tee shirt. I had no clue who Black Sabbath was, or why he was wearing such informal clothing to work. "I'm not going to be here long."

I wasn't sure if he read my mind or if he was just stating a fact. I looked at him with raised eyebrows.

"Why?"

"I am going to New York for a few days," he said looking at me over his shoulder as he cleaned up his desk. "Just need a vacation."

I nodded my head slowly. This was my first day back since my Father had kidnapped me in mid-May. While I was held captive, I had killed Penelope Talon, a.k.a. Mary Scott, in self-defense. She was a Death Eater that we were assigned to bring in. She had personally betrayed me, which was why I was on her case, but she was also Mitchell's twin sister. He knew that I had killed her, but we had yet to discuss it. It seemed like something that should be discussed, in some way.

"Why do you need a vacation?"

Mitchell looked at me with raised eyebrows, as if I should know the answer to that. "Need to get away."

"Do you want to talk about Pen—"

"—do I want to talk about you murdering my sister?" he interrupted me ruthlessly. I looked at him with sad green eyes, frowning and silent, waiting for him to continue. I was sure he would. "No, Cadence. I don't want to talk about that."

"Would you have done differently in my situation?" I asked quietly.

He was silent as he turned away. I rolled my eyes and turned back to my desk in my chair. I was supposed to be doing a mountain of paper work for my reinstatement, but I was procrastinating by reading the paper and now staging a fight with my partner.

"No," he said sadly. I turned to look at him with mild surprise. He was still facing his desk, standing up straight with tension through his shoulders. He turned to me, leaned against his desk and crossed his arms over his chest. He looked pained, haunted, as if he knew what I had done had been in self-defense but it still did not sit well with him. I was not sure what pained him more—that I had killed someone, or that I had killed his sister, even though she was an evil, lying, murdering Death Eater. "She was still my sister, Cadence. I just hoped it would have ended differently."

"She wouldn't have changed, Mitch," I replied. "I'm not proud of what I have done. But, she wouldn't have changed. She would have died for my Father or herself. She would never have been loyal to any force that moved against him."

Mitchell nodded his head once, but said nothing. He turned back to his desk and collected a few things; shoving papers and files into his side-bag. He swung the bag over his shoulder and gave me a weak smile.

"I'll see you in a week or so."

"Alright," I replied. "Have a nice vacation."

"Thanks."

He walked out of the cubicle without another word and did not look back. I frowned deeply. I wasn't sure where he was going or what he was really up to, but I was worried that he wasn't actually going to New York for vacation. Once Mitchell had walked away, I stood up and left the cubicle. I weaved my way down the aisles of Aurors' cubicles to arrive at Gabriel's cubicle.

"Hey," I said entering it. He was sitting at his desk, reading a case-file. He turned in his chair and beamed at me.

"Hello," he said taking my hand and pulling me onto his lap. I giggled lightly as I wrapped my arms around his shoulders. "It's nice to see your face."

"You saw it this morning," I smiled.

"I like seeing it as much as possible," he shrugged before stealing a kiss from my lips. "What brings you over here?"

"Mitch is going out of town," I whispered. "He didn't give me specifics. Only that he was going to New York."

"I'll write to Dumbledore," Gabriel responded very quietly after a moment of thought. "Perhaps we can spare someone to tail him."

I nodded. "Alright."

"Anything else on your mind?" Gabriel asked with raised eyebrows.

"I really hate this place."

"You're too good of an Auror to be working somewhere else," Gabriel said with a mild expression of annoyance on his face. We had this discussion at least once a day in the last week and he was no doubt getting sick of my complaining.

I sighed. "I know. But I don't believe in this place and its agenda. I have a hard time working for a system I don't support."

"It's just a matter of time. When your Father makes his return public the Ministry will be looking to you for a great deal of help and support."

"I don't want that either. I just want to stop him."

"I know. We will, Cadence. This is a game, more so then it was the first time. We have to play the game," Gabriel's words did not comfort me, which he could see. He tried to make up for it by kissing me slowly with wonderfully soft lips that broke down my fear. Gabriel could betray me in the worse way and I would probably always forgive him, just for his kisses. His kisses calmed my worries of work, but as we continued to exchange our affections for each other, he sensed that something else bothered me, something we had not discussed recently. "Are you still worried about the sex?"

"I was never worried about the sex," I replied between kisses. "The sex is mind blowing. I'm worried about being pregnant."

Gabriel pulled away and looked at me seriously. "If it happens, we have options."

I frowned seeing a deep desire in him that he had not voiced since my miscarriage a year ago. "Are you hoping that I'll carry the child to term?"

"You've made it clear that the child would not survive," he said blankly. I could tell he was perturbed by the fact that I would not carry our child to term.

"That doesn't answer the question, Gabriel," I said with a gentle but serious tone.

He frowned and looked at our laps before looking back up into my eyes. His eyes were dark chocolate brown today, making my heart melt as I stared at him. He looked torn, and as usual, I could not read him.

"Would it be so bad to try?" he whispered.

I sighed uncomfortably and bit my lip. "Gabriel," I rubbed my head.

"Forget it," he said instantly at the sound of my sigh. "If you're pregnant we'll get an abortion."

"Gabriel," I said his name viciously. "It's not something that I want to do. But what happens if I carry the child to term and a monster is born?"

He rolled his brown eyes and shook his head.

"I don't think you would give birth to a terrifying being," he responded. "People aren't born bad. How they're raised makes the difference."

"You want a child?" I questioned cutting straight to the point.

"No," he laughed. "If it happens, I think we should carefully consider our options."

I shook my head in disbelief. Gabriel was saying no, he didn't want kids, but really he did. If he had another chance, he would want to raise a child right. I, however, did not want any more children, not even accidentally.

"Cadence," he whispered my name then took my chin to look him in the eye. "I love you. If you really do not want another child, we will not have another one. Another child is not worth losing you."

I smiled easily as my heart melted. "I love you too."

He kissed me quickly. The words had barely left my lips as he pressed against mine. I moaned gently into his mouth as we shared our love while wrapping my arms around his shoulders.

"You know, there is a reason you two aren't partners anymore," said a cool female voice. I pulled away from Gabriel and turned on his lap to look at the cubicle entrance.

A stunningly tall, and skinny, redhead had entered the cubicle. She was wearing a knee length black pencil dress and red high-heeled pumps. Her long red hair was back in a tight ponytail that cascaded down her back in delicate curls. The back of her dress opened in a long V shape, cutting down to the center of her back, at the waist. Her pale flesh was perfect, not a spot or flaw on her. She had sapphire blue eyes that would have chilled any man to the bone, but to me, they made me uneasy. Something specific about this red-headed bombshell made my skin crawl with uneasiness. I could not place my finger exactly on it, but there was something about her eyes that chilled me, made my skin crawl and my senses heighten.

She effortlessly flipped her cinnamon ponytail over her shoulder and set her eyes on Gabriel's, looking past me as if I didn't exist anymore. I felt him shift in his seat, despite my body still on his lap.

"Cadence," he said. "This is Athena Sawyer, my partner."

"Hello," I said extending my hand to the woman who looked like she could be a reincarnation of the Greek goddess without doubt. "Cadence Coleman."

"I know who you are, Ms. Coleman," Athena said as she looked me over. She briefly took my hand and shook it firmly.

"Most people do."

"Aren't you supposed to be working?"

I smirked at Athena's harsh look and stern body posture. As I took her in I realized that I was either not going to like her at all or I was going to love her. She appeared to be that kind of person. The kind that is on a person's Christmas list or their hit list; always on either, never on both, and never not on one of them. Perhaps it was the stern harshness of her eyes, her undeniable beauty, or the way she held her posture. She was a strong woman, I could see that, but her appearance only made me respect her. It did not make me trust her.

"Most people also know that I'm an amazing procrastinator when it comes to desk work. I'm more useful in the field," I replied.

"Yes," Athena returned my smirk with her ruby red lips. "I have heard you're excellent in the field. If you define excellent as violent, unreasonable, stubborn, and insubordinate."

I leaned close to Gabriel's ear as I continued to smile and stare at Athena. She was glaring at me with hard sapphire eyes, making me grin broadly. She was revealing more about herself with every word. She was a rule-follower, a by-the-book Auror. No doubt, that is why Scrimgeour had placed her with Gabriel. He never did things by the book, and Athena had to learn to find a balance…Gabriel probably did too…

"I like her," I whispered loud enough for Athena to hear. The comment bothered her as she rolled her eyes and turned away, setting files on her desk. Gabriel patted my thigh, urging me to get up off of him. I stood up and fixed my black blouse while Gabriel stood up next to me.

"You like her because she doesn't like you," Gabriel said as his hand rested on the small of my back. I nodded in agreement, as I continued to smile. Athena, if we ever got to know each other, would have tons of fun. I got under her skin easily and I'm sure if pushed far enough she could get under mine. "Either of you want lunch?"

"I'd love to get lunch with you," I said looking up at him.

"We have a meeting with the Minister," Athena said. Gabriel frowned and looked at me with apologetic eyes. I forced a smile and shrugged.

"It's fine," I said. "I have paper work to do anyways."

"I'll see you at home tonight then," Gabriel said kissing me again slowly. I smiled against his lips and kissed him passionately in return.

"Gabriel," Athena said walking out of the cubicle. Her tone was short and strike. "Meeting."

I raised my eyebrows as I pulled out of the kiss.

"She must work you pretty hard," I whispered.

"She's a little up tight," he admitted.

"She should probably let down that ponytail and let someone screw her."

Gabriel laughed and shook his head before kissing me again. "I'll see you later," he whispered close to my ear. His breath was hot on my skin, causing me to sigh with happiness. I stood on my toes and stole one last kiss from him before he left the cubicle.

"Bye," I whispered as my hands rubbed against his chest. He gave me a calming smile before stepping out of the cubicle. I watched him walk away towards the lift and looked around abruptly. This was not my cubicle. I rolled my eyes as I walked out of it, heading back for my own.

In my cubicle, I collected the paper work necessary for my reinstatement. I slipped it all into my bag and slung it over my shoulder. I pivoted without a second thought and left the cubicle while gripping the strap of my bag. I would do the paper work from home. There was no reason for me to be in the empty cubicle by myself.

The air outside in London was thick and humid. I could feel my hair curling as soon as I stepped out onto the streets. I had intended on walking to Grimmauld Place, but I did not want to in the heat. I closed my eyes, clung to my bag, and Disapparated on the spot. It was just as sticky on the porch of Number Twelve. I opened the door carefully and quietly, so not to disturb the portrait of Sirius' mother, and entered the foyer. I moved forward towards the bottom of the staircase leading up into the depths of the house. Without warning, something came throttling down the staircase towards me. I dived out of the way as Benjamin's half-naked, well-built body sprawled across the first floor landing. I raised my eyebrows.

"What's going on?" I questioned slowly as I stepped forward to help Benjamin. He groaned uncomfortable but sat up on his own as I knelt next to him.

"Ben, I am so sorry," Carrigan's panicked voice echoed down the stairwell. She appeared a few moments later in workout shorts and sports bra. Benjamin was rubbing his head, groaning in pain. Carrigan bent over and grabbed his arm, pulling him up to his feet. "I didn't think that would happen. I didn't think I could hit you that hard!"

I stood up and looked at the two teenagers with mild amusement.

"That was a good hit," Benjamin said. He looked over at me. "You're home early, Cadence."

"Are you sure you're okay?" I questioned ignoring his observation. "You just fell down a flight of stairs. What the hell were you two doing?"

"We were training," Carrigan said. She put her hands on her hips and looked at me with sharp midnight blue eyes. "What are you doing home?"

"I'm going to do paper work," I said lifting my bag up to show them. Carrigan would not let my early arrival at home slip. She was going to grill me until I caved about leaving the office. "I just didn't want to do it at the office."

"Right," Carrigan smirked. "You hate being back at work, don't you?"

"I thought I was your Mom and you were my daughter."

Carrigan laughed. "Yea, I know."

"Ready to start again?" Benjamin asked calmly.

"Are you sure you want to?" Carrigan smiled at him. There was a happy twinkle in her eye as she looked up at him. "We can take a break."

"I'm fine Carrie," he said.

"Alright," she nodded. She turned and dashed up the stairs without another word. I looked at Benjamin with curious eyes. His crystal blue eyes smiled at me weakly.

"She's doing well today?"

"I'm probably going too easy on her," he said honestly with a shrug. "She shouldn't have been able to push me out the room and down the stairs like that."

I laughed. "Maybe, she's finally starting to get better then you."

Benjamin laughed lightly. "Maybe…does Gabriel know you're home?"

"Yes," I said slowly as I studied him. "Benjamin, should I be concerned that you're rolling around a dusty old library half-naked with my thirteen year old daughter?"

"No," Benjamin retorted quickly. He looked uncomfortable suddenly with the direction the conversation had gone. "Look, Cadence, Carrigan is a very special girl. But she's still a girl. And I am not interested in pursuing a relationship with anyone right now. Being responsible for Carrigan is a challenge enough. I can't imagine trying to be in a relationship. No one would understand the relationship Carrigan and I have."

I smiled slightly. "I understand. Thank you. I'm sorry for questioning you like that."

"Don't be sorry. You are her Mother, Cadence," he said with a slight bow of his head. He turned and dashed up the stairs as Carrigan called his name. I sighed heavily, but could not help smiling. Benjamin was a good man and I was happy that he was Carrigan's Guardian.

I made my way downstairs into the basement to have lunch while I did my paper work. I was not surprised to see Sirius sitting at the table, staring blankly across the room at the wall, while he gripped a double shot glass in his hand. It was empty and the bottle of fire whiskey that sat next to his hand on the table was close to empty. I frowned deeply.

"Have you been drinking all day?" I asked.

"It's only noon," he replied. "So, no I have not been drinking all day. Not yet anyways."

I threw my bag down on the table and took a seat next to him.

"Dare I ask why you're drinking?"

"Nothing else to do," Sirius shrugged.

I frowned deeply because his answer was layered with so many meanings that I could not think of an answer. "So, you're drinking?"

"Yea," Sirius said. We both fell silent for a few moments, then he continued to speak. "You all get to leave the house. You have your jobs, your lives, everything outside of here. I have...this place. This glorious reminder of my horrible family legacy."

Sirius jumped up abruptly and threw the shot glass against the wall. I jumped in surprise as the glass shattered against the basement wall and sprawled across the wooden floor.

"Sirius," I hissed with disappointment.

"Shut up, Cadence," he yelled. "Shut up! You don't get to judge me for how I handle my collapsed life."

I lowered my eyebrows to glare at him. "Sirius, shitty things happened to you and you're just drowning in it. You're letting it rule you. I get it. It's just as bad as being locked in Azkaban—"

"—it's worse!" he shouted.

"You have people here!" I yelled standing up. "You have people here who care about you. You have Carrigan! All this time you are spending drinking and moping alone you could be spending with your daughter."

"She's training," he whispered as he turned away from me. "She's training to be a murdering assassin, just like you. She doesn't want to spend time with me."

I frowned and sank back in my chair as his words settled into the air around us.

"You're not making it hard for her," I whispered.

"You can just never lay off, can you?" he questioned ruthlessly. "You always have to come back with some snide comment that makes everything hurt all over again."

"The facts are the facts, Sirius. I can't help if you don't like them."

"We're never going to just get along, are we?" he asked as he leaned over the table to pour himself another drink, in a new shot glass that had been sitting near the bottle. He took the shot quickly, before I could answer, and was pouring himself more as I remained silent. He drained the fire whiskey into his glass and slammed the empty bottle down viciously on the wooden table, causing it to shake.

"No," I whispered. "I guess not."

"At least we can agree on that."

"I don't like it," I said quickly with glaring eyes. "I don't like that we can't get along. For Merlin's sake, Sirius, we're adults. Why can't we get along like adults?"

"Because, we don't agree on anything. We see the world and relationships two very different ways," he shrugged.

"You hold onto grudges too long," I said realizing that this was still about how I wasn't with him, I was married to Gabriel. "And you're never going to let the fact that I married Gabriel go."

"I just don't understand it."

"You're not capable of understanding love, that's why you don't get it," I retorted. "You stand there all hurt and in pain because you still love me and you can't let go. You can't admit that you're the one who left. You left because I didn't want to marry you, as you should have. I would have left too. But you can't get over that I'm not in love with you anymore. You can't get over that you left me but I moved on."

"SHUT UP ABOUT YOUR HAPPY MARRIAGE!" He raged. I leaned back in the chair in complete shock. Sirius had never screamed at me before in our lives. He looked away from me, guilty because of his outburst, and snatched up the bottle of liquor on the table. He had forgotten it was empty though, and upon realizing it he threw it against the wall, just like his first shot glass.

"Hey," Benjamin said as he emerged in the basement. I frowned and put my head in my hands on the table. "You guys should know that we can hear you."

"You can hear Sirius yelling but he didn't wake the portrait of Mrs. Black?"

"It did," Benjamin's voice was light. "You were still screaming, that's why you couldn't hear her. I stunned her though."

"Why did you come down instead of Carrigan?" Sirius asked as he looked Benjamin over. "Protecting her from the damaging truth?"

"The truth that her father is a selfish drunk? No, I didn't come down to protect her form that," Benjamin said with a frank smile as he looked Sirius over with disappointment. "She didn't hear you. I told her I was coming down to see what was going on. But, Sirius, she's not an idiot. She knows you're the only two in the house with us. She knows you are fighting. And if she hears exactly what you're saying, like I can, then she'll never forgive you."

"What do you know about it?" Sirius hissed.

"She may not tell me everything now, but there was a time when we did talk—"

"About me!"

Benjamin frowned and shook his head. "Sirius, she's finally starting to get close to you. She's starting to trust and know you. Don't screw it up."

"You don't know anything about my daughter," Sirius said viciously. I wasn't sure how much of the alcohol was talking, which was making me nervous. I had never seen Sirius drunk and angry before.

"Actually, Sir, I do," Benjamin said. "I know her well enough to know that she won't come back from this. She won't come back from you being an alcoholic asshole. She can forgive you for not being there when you were in Azkaban. She can forgive you for not being there while you're on the run. But you're here now, Sir. You're here and she's ready to be your daughter."

"You won't let her be my daughter," Sirius jabbed his finger at us. "Neither of you will. You both have her training like," he hesitated. "Well, like she's not thirteen. Like she's going to be an Auror tomorrow."

"Sirius, we've discussed this," I said sharply. "She has to train. She is more powerful then I am. She is a powerful young woman and her powers will destroy her if Benjamin does not help her manage them."

"But does she have to train the way she's training now?" Sirius questioned. "Does she have to exercise all morning? Physically fight her way through the afternoon? And mentally practice blowing up the library in the evenings? Does it have to be that way everyday?"

"Yes," Benjamin responded. "Yes she does need it. Because she needs stability and discipline. She needs to be able to control her body, mind and emotions. If I could have it my way I wouldn't let her go back to Hogwarts, because I think it will distract her. Carrigan is so powerful that if she lacks discipline in the slightest way, she will lose control. And we can't afford that."

"Are you done?" Sirius snapped.

"Yes, Sir," Benjamin said respectfully. Sirius turned away form us and made his way to the liquor cabinet, where handsomely made crystal glasses for alcohol were kept. He opened the bottle cupboard and searched for another bottle of liquor. There appeared to be none left in the cabinet thought as Sirius cursed a storm. I sat, staring at the table in silence, as Benjamin turned on his heel and left the basement. When he was gone, I looked at Sirius with dark angry eyes.

"You know he's right," I said standing up and picking up my work bag. "That's why you're drinking."

I walked to the stairs and marched straight up them while my mind raced. How could this be happening? How could Sirius be an alcoholic? I was surprised when I saw Remus Lupin's handsome face in the foyer of the house. He was in the process of hanging his cloak on the coat rack.

"Remus," I said with a smile. He turned and smiled at me with his calm gentle brown eyes gleaming. He stepped forward and kissed my cheek in greeting.

"Hello, Cadence," he said looking me up and down. Concern entered his brown eyes because he could no doubt sense my discomfort and anger over Sirius' drinking. "Shouldn't you be at work?"

"I came home to do some paper work," I replied. "I got into a fight with Sirius instead."

"Of course you did," Remus said. "It wouldn't be a normal day if you two didn't fight about something."

"Just reinforces that we wouldn't have made it this far."

"There was a reason you both separated from the start," Remus gave me a weak smile as if to comfort me. He knew the words did not comfort me though. His creamy brown eyes begged for me to continue. He could see that something deeper was bothering me.

"I had hoped that we would be able to be friends again," I sighed. "For Carrigan's sake."

Remus frowned as he pulled me into a tight embrace. "I am sorry, Cadence. I wish I knew a way to make it better."

"How long has Sirius been drinking?" I whispered in Remus' ear as he continued to hold me. He pulled back slowly, frowning deeper then before. The age lines on his face were more evident as he frowned and the candle light flickered in the foyer. It was the only source of light in the front of the house because the curtains blocked all light from entering the windows.

"I've never noticed it as a problem," he said carefully while his hands remained on my shoulders.

"I think it is a problem," I replied. "He's been drinking all morning…that's what we just fought about."

Remus nodded his head. "He drank a lot when you two had your falling out, just for the first month after it happened. I noticed he started drinking more a couple weeks ago, when Dumbledore asked that he stay inside. He just feels restricted."

"Well his outlet for that restriction is pushing everyone else away," I said. "Will you talk to him, please?"

Remus' brown eyes suddenly looked very uncomfortable. I realized I was putting him in an awkward position—between Sirius and me. We were both Remus' friend, but he knew Sirius better and longer. I never held it against him that he took Sirius' side in fights. Before Remus could give me an answer, the sound of rushed feet greeted our ears. We both turned in surprise to see Benjamin practically flying down the staircase into the foyer.

"Cadence!" he said. He seemed surprised to see me so soon. He anticipated that I was still in the kitchen, another floor below. I stepped towards him.

"What?"

"Carrigan is gone."

Benjamin's voice was shaking with anger, I could see it written all over his face. His crystal blue eyes were so cold I thought a chilly frost would come weeping out of them and freeze anything that moved on the spot.

"What?"

"She's gone. Her backpack, some clothes, and that awful gaudy dagger Gabriel got her are all missing. She's gone."

"Go somewhere quiet and focus all of your energy on her," I said quickly. "Gabriel is always able to find me when I'm in trouble."

"I don't know if she's in trouble," Benjamin replied sadly. "What if she overheard us in the kitchen? What if she ran away?"

"You will still be able to find her," I said holding his shoulders. "You're her Guardian, you will always be able to find her."

Benjamin nodded his head. "What are you going to do?"

"Go the Ministry and get Gabriel. We'll take to the streets. I have a few ideas where she might go."

"I'll go tell Sirius," Remus said moving past us. His hand ran across my back in a comforting manner as he moved away.

"Remus, make sure he doesn't do anything rash, like leaving the house to look for her." Remus bowed his head in acknowledgement then disappeared down the stairs to the kitchen. I looked back to Benjamin and nodded my head, mostly to reassure myself.

"When you have a connection go straight to her, don't worry about telling us first. And when you find her, make sure it's her. Ask a question that only she would know the answer to."

"Of course," Benjamin said. He pulled away from me and moved up the stairs. I frowned deeply and looked around the empty foyer before heading to the door. The only thought that raced through my head was that I had to find Carrigan. If I had not been procrastinating and come home to do my paperwork I wouldn't have fought with Sirius and Carrigan wouldn't have run off. I slammed the door violently behind me in my rage; I didn't care if I woke Mrs. Black's portrait. On the porch of Number Twelve I Disapparated with a loud crack that echoed off the stone walls of the house. A long crack in the cement of the porch formed from where I stood and down the stone steps of Number Twelve. Upon Disapparation by anger how gotten the best of me and my energy had severely damaged the porch steps. I didn't care. I was to angry to care. I was angry at Sirius for many reasons, at Carrigan for running away, and myself, for procrastinating.