Ch 23
A/N: Hey guys, I'm so sorry it's taking me so long to update. I got a new job recently, but I know that's no excuse. I promise I will keep going on this no matter what, so please stick with me.
...
Victoria sat in the Leaky Cauldron stirring her coffee idly, staring at the door, waiting impatiently. Sighing she put the spoon down and took a sip. Finally she spotted him come through the door, his long silver hair and beard blowing in the strong wind. He spotted her almost immediately and made his way to the back table she sat at. Smiling she greeted him, "Professor Dumbledore, it's so great to see you!"
"And you Miss Knight." He smiled back taking a seat across from her.
"I ordered a tea for you, but it's probably cold by now," she grimaced.
"That was most kind of you," he smiled waving his hand over the cup, steam started to rise from it before his hand had made it back to his side.
She gaped at him, "You can do wandless magic?"
He gave her a smirk, "I'm afraid I can. Is that bad?"
"Are you kidding! I've heard of people being able to do it, but I've never seen it first-hand," she exclaimed, her eyes widened in surprise.
"Have you ever tried it?" He asked taking a sip of the now hot again tea.
Her eyes widened even further, "No, why would I? I'm not that good."
"What makes you say that? Mr. Moody has informed me that you are excelling at your Auror lessons," his blue eyes twinkled with pride.
"Really," she was surprised; it wasn't like Moody to compliment anyone, but to say it to another person was even rarer. "Well I appreciate the compliment, but he obviously thinks too highly of my magic. I'm sure I'm not that good."
Cocking his head to the side he gave her a piercing glance, "How is it that you can be so certain if you have yet to try it?"
She thought about what he said for a moment. It was true, she'd never tried it, but then again why would she? She'd never known anyone who could do it, she'd heard of people being able to, but it was a very rare talent. Shrugging she decided that she didn't have anything to lose, "Ok Professor, I accept your challenge." Placing the spoon back into her cup she concentrated hard on it. Much like she had when she was training to be an animagi, she cleared her mind of everything around her. The din of multiple conversations was silenced, the smells emanating from the kitchen suddenly vanished, and she didn't even notice Dumbledore's eyes fixed on her. She waved her hand over the cup then backed away in shock as the spoon started swirling by itself.
Dumbledore clapped his hands together beaming at her, a surge of pride filling him, "Well done Miss Knight."
"I…I… how?" She looked down at her hands as if they were foreign to her body.
"You see, it is true, you never know what is possible until you try." He smirked over his cup.
"But… I… I did it," she looked up to him as if looking for confirmation that it was actually her doing and not his.
He nodded, "Yes you did it. I must say you are a natural."
She shook her head staring at her cup as if still unsure if she could believe her eyes, "I would never have tried that."
"I am pleased you did," he continued to smile at her. "We must always continue to improve ourselves."
She looked up at him smirking, "Is that why you chose to give Moody my name? So that I could improve myself?"
He smirked, not giving an answer. He said simply, "Nevertheless, I believe that you would not have continued on at Hogwarts regardless of my gentle push."
"I guess you're right, I was planning on leaving anyway. Actually I didn't have a plan before you gave me the opportunity."
"Ah," he said raising a finger in front of his face, "but that is where you are incorrect. You have given yourself the opportunity. Well before I had given your name to Mr. Moody he had commented on your aptitude on the battlefield. More than once during the war he commented on it."
She gaped at him again, "Moody said that? As in Alastor Moody, the man currently training me?"
Dumbledore nodded, "The very same."
Shaking her head, she stopped the spoon by putting her hand on it and taking it from the cup, "I'll never believe it."
"As you wish," he paused taking another drink. "Are you enjoying training?"
A grin formed quickly on her face, "It's what I've always wanted. How could I not be happy?"
He studied her, although most of her countenance confirmed her statement, her eyes gave her away. "I think that you are not being altogether truthful with me."
Averting her gaze she heaved a sigh, "I love training, I really do it's just…" she paused looking up at him again, "I miss Hogwarts."
"I see," he couldn't contain the smirk that crossed his face, "and what about the castle is it that you miss?"
"Everything," she said quietly. "I miss seeing you and Professor McGonagall and Poppy and Severus every day. I miss teaching the students, seeing their faces the first time they learn something new. I miss just being in the castle, finding something new about it all the time." Shaking her head she paused. Looking back up at him again she continued, "I don't want to sound ungrateful, because I do love Auror training, but I just miss Hogwarts."
"I understand Miss Knight. The castle is a magnificent place, a place of good friends and wonderful experiences. It is easy to see how anyone would miss it, nevertheless I believe that you are where you need to be… for the time being." He paused, giving her a sly grin and starting again, "If you truly believe that the castle is where you wish to be, I must admit I do have an opening in my staff yet again."
"No Professor, you're right," she sighed. "I do love training and it's where I need to be. I haven't learned everything that I need to. I still wouldn't feel right coming back yet." Pausing for a moment she took another sip, "What opening do you have now?"
"I fear I have recently lost another Defense teacher. Gilderoy is now at St. Mungo's, however I do not foresee him coming back."
"Wow. Poor guy. I hope he'll be okay."
Nodding he continued, "Physically he is fine. He was casting a rather powerful memory charm, however he happened to be using Mr. Weasley's wand."
"The broken one I take it," she smiled. He looked at her quizzically, causing her to clarify, "Poppy told me about it a while ago."
"Indeed, he managed to wipe out his memory nearly completely."
"So, I take it you haven't found another teacher for his position yet?" she asked motioning to Tom for another cup.
"I have not. I had wondered if you had any recommendations," he studied her closely.
She thought about it for a moment, mentally running through everyone she knew. Suddenly a thought came to her, a wide grin taking place on her face, "How about Remus?"
"Mr. Lupin?" Dumbledore asked, sounding only slightly surprised.
"Yeah, why not?" she demanded. "I think he'd be perfect. And he's always wanted to be a teacher; he just never thought anyone would give him a chance."
He thought about it, "It is an interesting proposal."
"I mean how much better could you get, a werewolf to teach Defense?"
"You make a very valid point." He smiled nodding his head, "I will offer it to him."
"You will!"
"I will." He said smiled watching her jump out of her seat.
Running around the table she wrapped her arms around him momentarily giving him a tight hug. "You have no idea how much this will mean to him," she said into his hair. Pulling back she tried to compose herself quickly, "I'm sorry Professor."
He chuckled, taking one of her hands in his, "It's quite alright my dear. Even stodgy old Headmasters need a hug now and then."
"Who are you calling stodgy? You obviously don't mean yourself," she teased.
"I appreciate your kindness; however you must concede I am old."
She playfully studied him for a moment, looking over his white hair and beard. Finally she shook her head, "No older than you're supposed to be."
He laughed lightly pulling her in for another hug. "You are too kind. A trait too many people take for granted."
Pulling back from him she smiled, "A trait that I seem to share with you."
His eyes twinkled at her, the comment warming his heart, "So it would seem."
Pausing for a moment she returned to her seat, picking up her coffee again. "So Professor," she started after taking a long drink, "the last time I talked to Severus he told me about the Chamber of Secrets being opened. What happened with that?"
"Surely you've heard," he looked surprised.
"No, I don't exactly get time to see the paper much anymore. Moody's got us training all hours."
"It was Lord Voldemort," he answered simply.
"Voldemort? You mean he's back?!" she asked, worry evident in her tone.
"No," he smiled reassuringly. "He had preserved a part of himself in a diary that made its way back into the castle."
"How did the diary get back into the castle?" She asked, now transfixed on his every word.
"Through an unlikely source," he answered easily, "the Weasley's youngest child, their daughter Ginny."
She shook her head, "I can't believe it, one of the Weasley's did this?"
"Not exactly. It was found out later that Lucius Malfoy had slipped the diary in with her books. Lord Voldemort used her merely as a vessel to bring his younger self back."
She listened as he explained, still shaking her head, "That's amazing. I can't believe that the man is gone and still finds ways to cause problems."
"He does have a knack for causing trouble." He smiled at her over his cup.
She was quiet for a moment, and then looking up at him asked, "Do you still believe that he'll be back?"
He took a deep breath before answering, "I cannot say, however I would not let my guard down."
She studied him for a moment, "You don't think he's really gone, do you?"
"No," he answered truthfully, a wistful look in his eyes as if he was looking into a memory. "Tom Riddle was a brilliant boy. It is no doubt that Lord Voldemort learned far more, and unfortunately far worse."
"I can't imagine going through all that again, but at least we knew he was a real threat then. Now we can only guess that he's still out there. It's just scary."
"Scared is what we must not be my dear. He would take too much pleasure in it. We must keep living as usual, it is the only way."
She nodded, "You're right." Smiling she added, "You always are."
He chuckled, "Not always, but a great deal of the time," he said with a wink.
…
Victoria had been more than happy to have spent a week off training, seeing Dumbledore and spending more time in her flat than just long enough to sleep. Although she'd enjoyed her time, especially being able to see Regina for more than five minutes, she was glad to be going back to work. On the morning of the 31st she fed Regina and quickly apparated out. Arriving in front of the Ministry only a few seconds later, she made her way to Moody's cubicle. As it had been the first day, the office was empty. Taking a seat in front of the desk, something caught her eye.
Noticing that he had the Daily Prophet sitting open on his desk she saw what had gotten her attention. It was a picture of a prisoner. Picking up the paper she realized that the picture was of Sirius. He looked crazed, his eyes wild, laughing and screaming as he held up the number in front of his chest. Scanning the top of the page quickly she read, "Mass Murderer Escapes Azkaban"
She couldn't believe it. There was no one in history that had escaped Azkaban. Continuing to read over the article it said that Sirius had gotten out just the night before. It was still a mystery to the Ministry and to the guards at Azkaban. Reading the last sentence she couldn't help but laugh, "Although Black is still at large the Minister begs for the wizarding community to remain calm."
Shaking her head she replaced the paper back on Moody's desk, just before he came around the corner holding a steaming cup.
He nodded at the paper, "I see you've seen it."
"I have," she nodded sadly, "I don't know how he could have done it. I mean no one has before."
Moody let out a short laugh, "Shows how good their security is. A mass murderer on the loose."
Victoria looked down, choosing to study her hands, "He lost it. Lily and James were killed and he just couldn't take it. It could happen to anyone."
"Aye," Moody grunted taking a seat, "but not everyone takes twelve innocent people."
Nodding she chose to remain silent, not wanting to argue with Moody. It had been twelve years, but to her it felt as if Sirius had just apparated out of her flat to find Peter. She would never forget that night and the terror she felt for Sirius, nor would she forget the despair she felt for Lily and James. Two people she'd never met, but she felt just as responsible for their deaths as Pettigrew was.
A few minutes later they were joined by Tonks and Caden. Tonks was sporting purple robes this morning with vibrant blue hair down to the middle of her back. Tonks smiled at Moody, "Wotcher Moody! What are we learning today?"
"Nothing," Moody stated simply, putting his cup down on his desk.
Caden shot him a curious glance, "We're not learning anything?"
"No, today you three are joining me in the field."
Victoria sat up straighter in her chair, beaming, "Really! Do you mean it?!"
He gave a quick nod getting up from his seat. "You'll need some things before we go." He walked past them out of the cubicle, leaving the three to sit and stare at each other. They heard him call from a few cubicles away, "Waiting for an invitation?"
They all scrambled to follow him as he left the main room and turned down a corridor. Catching up to him at the end of the hallway, he led them into a supply closet. The three shared confused looks but followed him. Picking up three ordinary looking wrist watches he handed them to the trio. Inspecting it Victoria noticed it had the Ministry logo in the center of the face, the large letter M with a lit wand sticking up through the center of it. Moody explained, "This is our way to contact you. Put it on. I never want to see this off your arm again. You go to sleep, you're in the shower, I don't care. Never take it off." He watched as they each strapped it to their arms. Giving a nod he continued, "You'll know when it goes off. It will light up, shake, and give a very loud whistle. When you hear that you are to report here immediately, no questions. It may be your parent's birthday, a wedding, it doesn't matter." They all nodded, thinking about the important things they may be missing as a result, but knowing better than to voice their annoyance.
Turning back to the shelves he pulled out three brown trench coats. On the top left pocket, embroidered in black was again the Ministry logo, but underneath it read "Ministry of Magic Auror Office". Handing one to each of them he said, "This is official wear. There is only one person in this office that is not required to wear this and that is for religious reasons. And before you go getting any big ideas, no Nymphadora you cannot say you have religious reasons." He watched as Tonks pouted, slipping the trench coat on. Moody continued, "The only time I want to see you out of these are if you are undercover."
They all nodded the other two now slipping into their coats as well. As soon as they were all suited up Moody led them back into his office. After they were all seated again Moody folded up his paper, putting it into the top drawer of the desk and started, "Since this will be your first time in the field we're going to make this an easy one. Intelligence has just informed us of a dark wizard in Surrey exploding mail boxes." Moody stood, waiting for them to follow him, "Let's go."
…
The trio had been learning a lot through their months helping Moody in the field. It was now the beginning of November. The leaves had started to change color, painting the trees with their golds and reds. The air was crisp, making Victoria thankful for the trench coat that she was now forced to wear. She sat on her couch one afternoon, thankful to have one day off, reading the Daily Prophet. What she saw shocked her to no end. The paper read:
Hogwarts a Haven?
Mass murderer Sirius Black remains on the run this morning, eluding capture after his appearance in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. This raises the question with many parents, are our children really safe at school? Deputy Headmistress Minerva McGonagall sent us an owl this morning stating: "Although it has been confirmed that Sirius Black was in the castle, we would like everyone to know that all of the children are safe. A thorough search of the castle has been made resulting in no further information. We encourage parents to contact the Headmasters office if they have any questions about the situation." Is it true that all the students are safe? When students are in danger of being attacked by a mass murderer it is hard to believe Hogwarts to be the sanctuary that it claims to be. You choose parents, but I for one do not believe that Hogwarts is as safe as they claim.
- Rita Skeeter
Victoria finished reading and stood to find her two-way-mirror to talk to Remus. She still couldn't believe that this was happening. What was Sirius doing breaking into the castle? If he broke out of Azkaban why would he go somewhere so public? As luck would have it her watch started whistling loudly before she found the mirror. Looking down at the offending object she sighed and apparated away, still wondering about Sirius.
Appearing inside Moody's cubicle she realized that she was the last to arrive. Moody shook his head, "Next time be faster," he growled.
"I will be Moody," she answered looking down like a child who'd just been scolded.
"What have we got?" Tonks asked brightly.
"Intelligence just reported a wizard by the name of Tarquin McTavish trapped his Muggle neighbor inside a teakettle last night." Moody said handing a file to each of them.
Caden let out a soft laugh. Moody leaned over the desk, "Think that's funny do you?"
"No," Caden answered leaning as far back as his chair would allow him, "no sir, but you have to admit, it's a bit humorous."
Moody gave him a dark look, "That's how things start boy. First Muggle baiting, and then killing. It may seem funny now but when it's full scale Muggle obliteration it won't seem as humorous."
Caden turned a brilliant shade of red, gulping he said, "I'm sorry."
Moody leaned back again continuing to give Caden a dark look. Finally starting again he said, "We are going in there undercover. Tonks, you are going to be an old woman."
Tonks smiled and then screwed up her face, making it almost look painful. In an instant she suddenly had white hair that was curled so tightly she nearly looked like a poodle and her skin held so many wrinkles she looked like she had a bleached elephant skin on. Moody studied her for a moment, finally saying, "Not that old, you're going to be playing my wife."
She gave him a curious look, studying his appearance and then screwing her face up again. This time she had dark hair with gray intermingled and her skin held a few wrinkles, but not nearly as many as she'd had previously. Moody gave a nod, "Good, now we'll have to get you clothes." Turning to Victoria he said, "You are going to be her faithful pet, Lady Midnight."
Victoria rolled her eyes, "Lady Midnight? Please tell me you're kidding."
Moody chose to ignore her and turned to Caden, "And you are going to be running surveillance."
"How am I going to do that?" Caden asked.
"Constant vigilance. You will be watching the perimeter of the house, making sure nothing happens." Moody answered casually. "Does everyone have their roles?"
They all answered in the affirmative. Getting out of his chair he walked back out of the cubicle, this time each of them following him silently.
An hour later they apparated to a dark alley, Tonks had now changed into a plain A-line black dress, looking like she'd stepped out of the fifties. She held a black and white hounds tooth bag containing Victoria, or now Lady Midnight, in her cat form. Caden had transfigured his trench coat into a plain brown suit, and was already making his way down the road. Moody stood next to Tonks, looking nothing like himself. He now had dark hair that was balding, a large stomach, and was shorter than Tonks. He had just taken a polyjuice potion that contained the hair of a Muggle who had been on the street moments before. The man had his memory modified to think that he was supposed to be going to work late to help with inventory. He grumbled looking over his appearance, "He couldn't have found someone taller?"
Tonks shushed him, "It was the first person Caden found. Did you want him to wait longer?"
Moody grumbled something incoherently and waited for Caden's signal. Their story was that they were a couple new to the area and were meeting their neighbors. Tonks held a tin of biscuits as a welcoming gift to round out her appearance.
They had been waiting for nearly a half hour when finally Caden gave them the signal. Victoria could feel her heart beat faster in her little chest. She couldn't help but wonder if she would have a good enough reaction time if something went wrong. In her feline form she wasn't able to use her wand so she had to hope that she could change back quickly enough. She waited impatiently as she heard Moody knock. A moment later a little man with ginger hair, a beard of the same shade, and a scowl on his face answered the door. "What're you sellin'?" He asked impatiently.
Tonks answered with a smile, "Oh, nothing dear. We're August and Helen Ladd and we're new to town. We just moved in across the street. Wanted to pop by and say hello."
McTavish eyed her suspiciously and then looked to the house across the street. It was true that someone had just moved into the house that day and there were currently no lights on. Turning back to her and nodding he let them in. Moody spoke as they entered the house, "Sorry about the cat. My wife won't leave the house without her."
Tonks gave him an indignant look, playing her part well, "Dear, you know Lady Midnight can't stay by herself. She's too sensitive."
Moody shot a dark look at Victoria, "Sensitive right, bloody nuisance is more like it."
Victoria let out a low growl, letting Moody know that even though she was in her cat form she did not appreciate his words.
McTavish shrugged, "No matter. Fancy a cuppa?"
"That would be lovely." Tonks smiled following him into the kitchen.
Moody looked out the windows quickly, noting Caden's position. He was in front of the house, seeming to inspect a car in front of him. Moody caught his eye and tipped his head to the kitchen. Caden seemed to get the message and moved to the side of the house.
As Moody entered the kitchen he heard Tonks say, "It is a wonderful neighborhood. Everyone is so nice."
Realizing that McTavish already had the teakettle on the stove Moody stiffened as he took a seat next to Tonks. Tonks gave him a slight nod when McTavish's back was turned. A moment later the kettle started to whistle and McTavish brought it to the table where the pot set. Moody noticed him give Tonks a strange smirk and suddenly the room was covered in smoke. Coughing Moody looked around and Tonks was nowhere to be seen. The door from the kitchen stood open, swinging back on its frame, obviously the way McTavish had escaped. Moody ran out after him, looking around the area. Caden stood a few feet away, looking down the road where Moody could see McTavish running away. "What're you standing there for?" Moody growled chasing after him.
Snapping out of his revere Caden followed Moody. The men shot spell after spell at McTavish until he was finally hit and thrown to the ground.
A little while later the trio was back sitting back in Moody's office. Victoria and Tonks hung their heads, both mad at themselves for not seeing the attack coming. Caden paced just outside Moody's office, all waiting for Moody to return after taking McTavish to holding to await his trial. They didn't wait long as Moody apparated into his seat a few minutes later. Moody looked to each of them in turn, they each cringed, waiting for the shouting. He simply sat back, crossing his arms in front of his chest. Finally stating, "You all know what happened. I have no need to yell at you. The girls didn't see the attack coming. Caden, you froze. I only have one thing to say to each of you," he stated, his tone even, this scaring them even more than his yelling. Then he bellowed, "CONSTANT VIGILANCE! How many times do I need to say it for it to stick?! Constant vigilance! If all of you had been more vigilant it would have gone smoothly today."
None of them could look him in the eye, all feeling as if they'd failed. Finally Moody shook his head, "Get out of here. Be back at 7 in the morning. You're going back through drills."
They all rose, not speaking and apparated out. Each knowing what drills meant, another trip to the house they'd first been in and a duel with each other. It was going to be a long day.
…
Early one morning, Victoria was woken up by hearing a man's voice in her flat. It took her a moment to pull herself out of her groggy state, realizing that in fact it wasn't a dream, but Remus calling to her from the two-way-mirror sitting next to her bed. Trying hard to focus on the object she gave him a weary smile, "Morning Remus, what's up?"
"I just thought I'd call you for a chat," he said, although his tone said there was something he wanted to discuss.
"Well could this possibly wait then? Until I'm awake maybe?" she asked flopping back into her pillows.
"I don't have much time Victoria." He answered, his voice producing an uncharacteristic hard edge to it.
Pushing herself back up on her elbows she gave him a slightly annoyed look, "Alright, what is it?"
He held up a piece of yellowed parchment. Her eyes suddenly widened, knowing exactly what it was that he held. Wracking her brain for an explanation she stammered, "I… uh… I can explain!"
"Really?" He asked giving her a skeptical look, "and how's that?"
She sighed knowing that she had to tell the truth, "Ok, I didn't realize it was missing until I was already home. I must have missed packing it. I'm really sorry Remus, it was an accident."
He looked down, shaking his head, "Do you realize that this could possibly be the way that Sirius is getting into the castle?"
She looked up at him curiously, "Remus, he helped to make that. Don't you think that he'd remember the ways into the castle without it?"
"That is besides the point." He snapped.
This was a side of Remus she'd never seen, a side she wasn't exactly happy with. "I'm sorry, really. I didn't mean to leave it. I thought I had it with me."
Heaving a deep sigh he started again, "I'm sorry as well. My mood this morning has little to do with you."
"What's wrong?" she asked sitting up fully, watching him closely.
He looked at the map for a moment and then back up at her, "I was looking at the map last night and saw something that is still nagging at me."
"And that would be?"
"Peter's name," he stated simply folding the parchment back up and setting it on the desk behind him.
"Are you kidding?" she asked incredulously, leaning forward. "How could his name be on the map? He's dead!"
"I don't know."
"Well… maybe the map made a mistake. Maybe there's some sort of glitch in it. Maybe you just glanced down and thought that you saw his name when it was someone else," she stated quickly, trying to find a logical answer.
He shook his head, "The map never lies," he answered quietly. "I know what I saw, I was studying the map. I had been trying to find an answer as to how Sirius had done it when I saw his name. There's no other explanation."
"But if Peter's really alive, then what does that mean?" she asked pulling her legs up to her chest.
"That would mean Sirius is innocent."
She shook her head, it was all too much to take in when she wasn't entirely awake, "Wait a minute. Sirius might be innocent?"
Remus nodded, "He was never given a proper trial. In all reality he may have been sentenced wrongly."
"So what do we do now?"
"We wait," he answered with a sigh. "I will keep an eye out here and let you know if I find anything. However, all we can do is to wait."
…
Victoria was in the middle of a wonderful dream when she was rudely awoken by the sound of her watch whistling as if it were a fire alarm. Cursing she pulled herself out of bed quickly and dressed. Apparating into Moody's cubicle a minute later she saw Tonks already there, looking as bleary eyed as she felt. Caden arrived a moment later in a panic, "Moody I can't be here. He's missing, I can't find him."
"Who?" Tonks asked her voice much huskier than usual.
"Anthony! He's gone!" He shouted, looking frantic.
Victoria put a hand on him, trying to comfort her friend, "Caden relax. Maybe he just went out for something. It will be ok."
Caden shook his head, still feeling that something was wrong, but took a seat anyway.
Moody looked oddly calm for having summoned them in the middle of the night. Noticing this Victoria asked, "What's going on Moody?"
"It's you last day." Moody answered evenly, leaning back in his chair.
Tonks stifling a yawn asked, "What do you mean? Are you throwing us out?"
"No, you are finished with your training. I have nothing more to teach you." Moody answered easily.
"So, what now?" Victoria asked eyeing him curiously.
"Now you three are going to go through the labyrinth. It's your final challenge. Don't go thinking we're going to make it easy on you, we're not. This is designed to break you. If you can make it through you will be an Auror." Moody said leaning in slightly, making them realize the honesty in his words.
Caden gulped, "Do we only have one chance at it?"
Moody nodded, "One chance. If you fail it's over."
Tonks smirked, "No time like the present."
Moody smiled, enjoying her enthusiasm, "Alright you heard the girl. Let's go."
…
A few minutes later having just been dropped there by Moody, Victoria found herself in front of what looked to be an abandoned warehouse. The paint that had previously been on the building was now faded beyond recognition and the door in front of her had peeled in places so that the cold grey metal showed through. A sense of foreboding enveloped her as she reached for the handle and opened the door. Stepping inside she saw that there was nothing but a corridor in front of her.
Exhaling in relief she started down the corridor. The place was lit by torches set into brackets on either side, while paintings hung on the walls. Each painting was of a creature framed with a gilded golden frame, giving the impression that she was in some sort of art gallery. It was like someone had taken every creature from a Defense book and painted it. Looking curiously at the pictures she couldn't figure out how this could possibly be at test when there was nothing for her to do but walk down a hall.
As she continued down she noticed the paintings contained every kind of creature imaginable. There were multiple breeds of dragons, a unicorn, and a red cap, but all of these paintings were still, as if they were done by Muggles. Shaking her head she continued down the corridor, nearing the end, when she noticed a painting to her right stirring. Recognizing it as a griffin almost immediately she watched in horror as the creature gracefully shook it's feathered head, stretched it's enormous wings, and leapt with cat-like grace from the frame.
Suddenly she was staring at a fully grown griffin that took up nearly the entire space of the corridor. Looking up at it she wracked her brain for anything she could possibly do to get out of the situation. The griffin was not making things any easier as it emitted a fierce call and beat it's wings irritably making the flame of the torches dance madly. She mentally berated herself for how long it was taking her to find the solution to this problem. Finally as she looked the animal in the eyes, she realized the answer.
No spell could penetrate it's skin, nor could a potion. There was only one way to dominate a griffin and she knew what she must do. She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath, feeling the griffin start to tense as if ready to strike. Opening her eyes once more she let all of the fear she felt subside, simply staring this beast in the eyes. She did not blink, nor did she breathe. She could feel her heart beat wildly in her chest as if it wanted to flee her body, but outwardly she showed nothing. Feeling the animal's colossal wings beat the air, coming dangerously close to hitting her, she continued to stare it down. For a moment, she wondered if she wasn't completely insane for standing there in front of this gigantic animal and doing nothing but looking at it. Suddenly the air became still, the wings tucked back behind it's body. Watching in amazement she saw it bow it's head before her then jump back into the frame it had come from.
She still couldn't believe that she'd managed to escape without being mauled to death. Stepping over to the frame, she noticed that the beast now sat perfectly still, belying it's true identity. Shaking her head again, she continued on, her heart now returning to a normal pace.
Arriving at the end of the corridor she realized she was at a crossroads. In front of her there was a brick wall, to the left there was a path that looked like it was lit by invisible windows shining in sunlight. To the right was a path even darker than the one she'd just come down, lit by candles flickering dimly. Although the intellectual side of her was telling her that this should be an easy decision, go to the light, but there was something that was pulling her the other way. She took one last fleeting look down the brightly lit path, wondering if she'd completely lost her mind, and set down into the darkness.
As she took a step down the corridor the darkness enveloped her. Looking back she realized that the path behind her had closed itself leaving her no choice but to continue on. The only sounds she could hear were the steady beat of her shoes on the concrete floor and the crackle of the candles on the walls. The light was sparse, but enough to let her see her way. Her body tensed with each step, readying herself for another creature to come out at her, but nothing came.
As she got to the end of the path she saw a black wrought-iron door, but something seemed to be in front of it. It was some sort of a silvery mist that floated a foot off of the ground, but did not seem to form a true shape. Stepping closer to it, the mist turned into two figures. Gasping, she realized who it was. These were the ghosts of her adoptive parents. Reeling back for a moment, she took them in, they looked exactly like she'd last seen them. That was when she realized that these weren't really the ghosts of her parents, but something to scare her. Finally she looked at them again and realized there was only one way out. Closing her eyes, she tried to ignore the thought that she would be walking through her parent's ghosts. A million emotions coursed through her body at the thought, but she held them back trying to steel herself. As she reached for the door handle, feeling like she'd dumped her hand into a bucket of ice water she forced herself to say that it wasn't really them, just a well-executed charm. Once she felt the door open, she opened her eyes once more and stepped through, ignoring the freezing feeling of stepping through the charm.
Stepping into the room she had to blink a few times, her eyes adjusting to the sudden bright light. This room was covered in mirrors, there was no doors or windows, but light seemed to emanate from everywhere. A moment later she noticed one of the mirrors seem to move. Sighing in relief as she saw Tonks step through she smiled, "You ok Tonks?"
Tonks smiled, "Never better. Where are we?"
Victoria shrugged, "No idea. I don't know how we're supposed to get out of here either."
Seconds later they watched as the mirror on Victoria's other side opened, revealing Caden. He looked a little worse than the girls, a slash across his right arm, and what looked like scorch marks on his cheek. "What happened to you?" Victoria asked stepping over to him and healing his wounds quickly.
"Peruvian Vipertooth nearly got the better of me," he growled, more mad at himself than anything.
"They're pretty vicious, you're lucky." Victoria pulled her wand back, surveying her work.
Tonks spoke a moment later, "What's that?"
"What?" Victoria and Caden asked in unison, following Tonks's gaze. They now realized what she saw, in one corner of the room now stood a blazing fire and just beyond was another person. Caden gasped, seeing the man, "Anthony, oh god!"
He started at him, but Victoria pulled him back, "Caden, think about it, it can't be that easy."
Pushing her off, he continued, "I don't care!"
Breaking free from her he ran to the man, making it to the middle of the room before three figures apparated in front of him. They were all in black cloaks with hoods and strange metal masks covered their faces. Victoria could feel her heart beat wildly again, these figures looking exactly as the Death Eaters had many years ago.
In an instant the three "Death Eaters" were firing spells at the trio. Tonks and Victoria both fought back as if their lives depended on it. Caden, however, kept glancing to the corner of the room after each spell he cast. Victoria watched him out of the corner of her eye, realizing he was going to do something stupid. As Caden lobbed another spell at his adversary the spell connected, causing the "Death Eater" to be thrown back violently into a mirror. Taking the opportunity Caden ran at Anthony. Victoria saw him run, but knew there was no way he was going to make it. Watching in horror she saw all three "Death Eaters" turn on Caden, without thinking she jumped in front of him, knocking him to the ground and taking the full force of the three spells. The last thing she saw as she hit the ground was Tonks taking out all three "Death Eaters" as they watched her fall.