Chapter 30

Warrington like the others around him felt the cold shift in the air and he watched horrified as Alicia disappeared before him. He stepped forward to where she had been and looked at the space where only a shattered saucer laid.

The room was incredibly quiet for a moment before Warrington heard Kingsley's voice.

"Lockdown the ballroom immediately!" he boomed. The doors to the room slammed shut and the occupants looked on shocked that someone had been taken from the room from right before their eyes. "And everyone stay as you are and remain calm." He added. Warrington looked around to Kingsley who had stepped forward along with Clara, Harry Potter and three other men he didn't recognise. Kingsley looked to Clara and gave her a nod in Warrington's direction, she moved towards him with Harry Potter at her side while the men started herding the crowd away from the area. Clara looked annoyed as she whispered something to Harry, the young man shot her his own look of annoyance as he stepped behind her.

"Mr Weasley, please stay as you are" Clara said to Bill who hadn't moved since Alicia's disappearance.

"Clara?" Bill said in disbelief. Warrington normally would question what connection Clara had with Bill Weasley but not today.

"Long time, I know and we'll catch up in a second." Clara said to Bill before she turned to Warrington "Lord Warrington, I am Auror and you of course recognise Harry Potter. He is an intern, purely here to observe nothing more. Please tell me what you saw" she said in an official manner.

"She picked up her tea cup and then vanished. It was obviously an illegal port key" Warrington said.

"Obviously, anyone in the room could feel that if they hadn't of witnessed it. Who is 'She'?" Clara asked.

"Alicia Spinnet, my fiancé" Warrington answered.

"Congratulations" Clara said, she as she hitched her skirt up slightly so she could kneel on the floor. She inspected the broken saucer and the ground where Alicia had been standing.

"What are you doing?" Warrington asked her.

"I'm investigating" Clara said, she stood up from the ground and dusted her hands out of habit not because the floor was dirty.

"I know who has my fiancé" Warrington said the words slipping from his mouth before he could censor himself. He should have kept his mouth shut as he needed to find Alicia but something about Clara's reappearance and her quiet confidence made him want to talk.

"You do?" she asked stepping towards him.

"But I prefer to discuss it in private" Warrington said, Clara looked over her shoulder at Harry Potter who seemed a little too eager in his observing and had also moved in close. "Potter, do you mind?" she asked him, the man stepped back a couple of steps to stand with Bill who was waiting patiently for his statement to be taken. She pulled out her wand and casted a muffliato charm.

"Go ahead, what you say will be kept in the strictest confidentiality. If doesn't comfort you I will take an unbreakable vow" Clara said.

"No, a vow will not be necessary" Warrington said.

"Good and a word of advice keep your head turned away from Potter. He can read lips" Clara said shaking her head disapprovingly. Warrington turned his back to Potter and Bill.

"Theodore Nott, he used to run with Antonin Dolohov. Alicia had a history with him, Theo has it in his head that he and Alicia also have unfinished business" Warrington said to her.

"What kind of unfinished business?" Clara asked.

"I don't know, you'd have to ask Theo yourself or Lucius Malfoy. What I do know is that I need to recover my fiance as soon as possible"

"Cassius, a whole ballroom witnessed your fiance taken away by an illegal portkey in the home of a Malfoy, there are members of the press. I can't protect you, if you do something stupid. Are we clear?"

"Crystal, but I can't sit by and wait for the Aurors to find her. She doesn't have that time"

"Why not? I need full disclosure"

"Alicia is pregnant" he said, Clara cursed under her breath.

"Ok, it doesn't change anything. I will find her but for now, I need you to order your thoughts of the last few moments you saw Alicia here. I want a pensieve record so that the other Aurors can trace the Portkey's origin."

"That is acceptable, I assume you know how to remove your emotions and inner thoughts?"

"Of course"

"Do it now. My department isn't known for keeping secrets well and the last thing we need is this kind of information splashing over the media" Clara said, she looked over her shoulder to see Kingsley motioning to her. She deactivated the Muffliato charm.

"Velasquez, a moment please" Kingsley said, Clara stepped away from Warrington and walked over to where Kingsley was. "Updates" he said.

"Sir, a woman named Alicia Spinnet was taken via an illegal Portkey. I think it best we take pensieve records from Lord Warrington and those closest so we can identify the waitstaff that served the tea, find out about the staff and backtrack the origin of the portkey" she said.

"I'll put Williams onto it, Anything more?" Kingsley asked.

"Yes, Lord Warrington is under the impression Theodore Nott has taken her. Something to do with an old association with Antonin Dolohov. I'd like the discretion to look into it" Clara said carefully.

"By all means" Kingsley said.

"Sir, if I am to do this by discretion I'll need Potter reassigned. He's a little too green to understand that I work in a grey area" Clara said as she looked at Potter with annoyance.

"We've been over this" Kingsley said.

"I know, I allowed leeway as long as I'm not caught but my street contacts are going to flip their lids if I take the kid with me and not in the good way." Clara told him, she knew she should feel honored working with Potter but it was really an annoyance as it impeded her work.

"He understands and I want him to learn from the best, and you're the best. End of Discussion. Now go on with your business and keep me posted" Kingsley told her.

"Yes, Sir" Clara said knowing it was better to placate Kingsley than argue with him.

Alicia pulled on her restraints and groaned in frustration as the vines tightened their hold on her, digging into the flesh of her arms and legs. She could barely make out the room. Panic gripped within her as the darkness suffocated her, being trapped, not sure of anything. The only thing that did feel sure was that she was restrained and underground as she smelt the dank smell of mildew and dirt.

"Don't fight it" a gruff unrecognisable voice said from the darkness. She could only just make out his figure. He was a short stocky man "They will only tighten" he further informed her.

"Who are you?"

"It's unimportant" he said, he move towards her and her body stiffened, her breathing increased as she was afraid of what he was going to do. The air around her sizzled and started glow it illuminated a hand that reached out from the darkness trying to touch her. She watched horrified as the skin of the hand burned as it tried to touch her. After a few second the hand disappeared and the glow dissipated and Alicia was surrounded in darkness again. The smell of burning flesh rent the air, she swallowed her nausea and tried to calm down. "What is important is that you should understand is that this magic won't protect you for very long" he told her.

"What happened to her? The Aurors said she was taken by a Port key" Katie said. She and the twins had come directly to Warrington's house after the Aurors had taken their statements and dismissed them. Maura had greeted them and allowed them entrance into the house and to the kitchen where they now congregated.

"Listen, I would love to tell you all but I have no idea what is going on." Maura said to Katie and the twins. Warrington came into the kitchen and saw the little meeting. Maura looked to him with relief "Ah, Darling please tell me you have news" she said.

"No, I don't. The Aurors are looking into it." Warrington said as he pulled off his tie and undid the top three buttons of his shirt. It had been over three hours and in that time he had been grilled by Aurors and had no progress reports on if they knew where Alicia was.

"Hey if you need us let us know. We could get Oliver to track her down but he's currently in Switzerland training-" Fred started but Cillian appeared at the kitchen doorway and cut him off.

"That won't be necessary" Cillian said interrupting Fred.

"Cillian, when did you get here?" Maura asked surprised.

"Only a moment ago, I got your missive Boy" Cillian said looking to Warrington.

"We have to go to Theo" Warrington said.

"Hold on, you told those Aurors about him" Cillian said, as Warrington had written out the entire evening's events so Cillian knew what was going on. If Cillian was honest he'd rather had been notified three hours ago but decided not to push it.

"I did but-" Warrington started but Cillian interrupted him.

"Which means they will be crawling all over his ass. You think they'll appreciate you mixing in their business? Go get changed into street clothes, we're going to go see a man about a dog" Cillian told him.

"What about us?" Katie asked.

"You should all go home. While we appreciate the support, this is a family matter. We will let you know when we recover Alicia that she is alive and well. Maura, a word?" Cillian asked after he dismissed the young adults in the room.

"Of course" Maura said, she followed Cillian to the far side of the kitchen while the twins and Katie left the house.

"I need you to get that smart ass healer with the floppy hair" Cillian told her.

"Graham?" Maura asked.

"If that's his name then yes. We're going to need him" Cillian told her.

"Ok I will but what do you have planned?" Maura asked.

"Something that will secure my Granddaughter's safety in less than hour" Cillian told her.

"Kid, pick up the pace" Clara said, half an hour later. She had transfigured her maxi skirt back into dark grey skinny jeans, her sandals into boots. Living on a budget was much easier with magic. She kept her hands in the pockets of her black trenchcoat as she walked. Her long legs gave her a wider gait to Harry so he was forever keeping up with her pace as they walked down Diagon Alley.

"I'm not a kid" Harry told her as he had gone home to change into street clothes. He had met her outside of Theodore Nott's house. They had a long conversation with the man but came up empty. Clara would normally try her hand a persuasive magic to get him to talk but she couldn't with Harry Potter in the room. He asked too many questions and she had a feeling he was too green to understand how she worked, how she blurred the lines.

"Yeah, keep telling yourself that" she muttered.

"Why do you hate me?" Potter asked. Clara stopped and looked at him.

"I don't know you. How could I even hate you? but I do despise working with you" She said being honest with him.

If she were truly honest with him, she didn't like the hype of the media around him or the image that he held like he were the only one who fought the war. Yes, he did bring down Voldermort but there were many people who worked hard, died fighting in that war and their efforts were completely forgotten. It might not have been Potter's want but it's how it turned out and having him work with her as an intern just raised her hackles and impeded her work because she worked with less than savoury characters many of whom did not like the way the war turned out. Potter was too recognisable to just blend in, to stay in the background while she did her work. He was not respected by the upperclass and lower classes either revered him or despised his success.

"Why?" Harry asked.

"Because you slow me down. Your face is the most recognisable face in our world. I work on the premise of blending in and using resources of the street." Clara stopped as she saw a street kid signal her. Harry looked to where she had but the kid had slipped out of sight. So Potter missed what she had seen and looked back at her. "You know what I'm wasting my breath trying to explain it to you. So why don't you both do us a favour and go get yourself a drink" she told him, she gestured to the pub that was three shops away.

"What?" he asked confused.

"Go, have a beer in that pub." she told him.

"Alicia Spinnet is missing and you want me to go have a beer?" Potter asked incredulously.

"Yes because I have to go talk to a man about a dog. So stop delaying me and go" she told him.

"Fine" he said, after a month he was starting to learn not to question her when he told him to leave. He went into the pub and she smiled waiting a few seconds before she went over to the street kid. She tossed him a sickle before she entered the alley way.

She walked down the Alleyway a few feet and stopped as Cillian and Warrington walked towards her.

"Clara" Cillian said a slow smile spreading across his lips.

"What the hell are you two doing out here?" She asked them in an annoyed hushed tone.

"You're looking for my Granddaughter. Do you think I'd sit back and do nothing?" Cillian asked her.

"I was hoping you'd allow me to do my job" Clara told him.

"And after three hours what's your progress?" he asked.

"Nothing so far. We've spoken with Theo. He gave us nothing but we put it under surveillance but honestly I think this is out of his league. Illegal portkeys are rare and do not come cheap-"

"That's irrelevant, we need to recover my girl. I need you to stop wasting time. When we both know all you have to do is perform a Teneo curse" Cillian told her.

"Teneo Curse?" Warrington asked speaking up for the first time. But Clara and Cillian ignored him.

"The last time I did that the person we were trying to save died. I nearly died, did it occur to you that I could kill your granddaughter and your great grandchild? Not to mention-"

"I know but we don't have a choice and you're one of the very few in this world who has successfully performed the curse" Cillian told her. "This is my granddaughter. She's all I have. I wouldn't ask-"

"What are you asking her to do?" Warrington asked annoyed that he was still being ignored when he wanted answers.

"The details are not important boy." Cillian snapped at Warrington. "Clara, you told me once that you owed me a debt. I'm calling in that debt now" Cillian said.

"I- " Clara started but she heard a wolf whistle a signal they were going to get company "Merlin, you guys have to get out here now" She told them as she spotted Harry Potter at the end of the Alley way, Cillian turned his head and saw the boy. Cillian pulled out a piece of parchment and handed it to her.

"Come to this address as soon as you can. I'll prepare the space" Cillian said not leaving her any choice in the matter. He grabbed Warrington by the elbow and apparated them out of the alley way leaving Clara to glare at Harry Potter.

"Who was that?" Potter asked.

"Utilised a valuable asset in the field. We have a missing person, if I can recover her from his intel then the means justify the ends" Clara said casually as she quickly read the note. It was an address and thanks to her intimate knowledge of the area she would be able to apparate there with ease. She pocketed the note and looked to Potter.

"But he's a criminal" Potter said.

"Oh and you know that how?" Clara asked casually as she started walking out of the Alleyway.

"Why else would you meet in a dark alley. If-" he started but Clara cut him off.

"Also you've only been on an intern for a week. So you'll learn that some people don't like to been seen with the Aurors. Their reasons are their own and I respect them. It does not mean that they are criminals" Clara told him.

"I do know that but-"

"but nothing Potter. We could argue until we're blue in the face about this. If you want to tell Kingsley about my little tête-à-têtes with strange men in dark alleys then be my guest. I'm going to follow a lead" Clara said brusquely as she walked out of the Alley.

"What lead?" Potter asked.

"Sorry kid but your face will only spook mooks" Clara said mockingly before she apparated away before he could make a retort and she reappeared three streets away from the address Cillian had given her.

"What are you going to do? How do you know Clara?" Warrington asked as he shucked his jacket and rolled up the sleeves of his grey linen shirt. They had apparated back to his townhouse and were now in the Library where Cillian was currently sizing up the room.

"O'Callaghan predicted that our paths would crossed, that I would help her become the person she is. And it happened. End of story. How do you know her?" Cillian asked as he paced the room measuring the space, it met the standards they needed but the furniture would have to be moved. Warrington knew there was more to that story and it bugged him that Cillian had resources that Warrington didn't. That the whole evening filled him with questions that were utterly irrelevant to saving Alicia and his unborn child but he needed to know what world Cillian was dragging him into.

"She's related to Montague. I don't really know her personally, I only know she was disowned because she wouldn't follow their family's traditions. Montague is quite tight lipped about it" Warrington said as if he were the Devil; Montague arrived via the fireplace.

"Why am I here?" Montague asked as he dusted the ash off of his jacket. The front door opened and a second later Clara came into the room.

"I need you to be here" Clara told him. She looked to Cillian and the two exchange a look before she too started moving furniture.

"Warrington-" Montague started but Clara cut him off.

"Grow up already. I need a healer, what I'm about to do is not exactly healthy and if it works then Alicia will need your medical skills." Clara told Montague.

"What is she going to be doing?" Montague demanded directing his question to Warrington. Clara rolled her eyes as she and Cillian magicked more furniture to the walls creating a large space in the room.

"Something called the 'Teneo' curse" Warrington said to him, he had never heard of it.

"What exactly does this curse do?" Montague asked looking as lost as Warrington. Neither of them had heard of such a curse but then there were so many spells and curses in their world that it was impossible to remember them all.

"It allows my consciousness leave my body and possess another body in this case your fiance Alicia's body. Her consciousness will take a back seat. The Teneo curse is the bastard sibling of the Imperius Curse" Clara explained.

"Why haven't we ever heard of it?" Montague asked forgetting that he wasn't supposed to engage with her directly.

"Because there are millions of curses out there and Teneo curse is not a very popular curse as it leaves the possessor's body vulnerable and it is notoriously difficult to perform" Cillian told them.

"Don't forget the side effects" Clara said to Cillian.

"Such as?" Warrington asked.

"Memory transference, Memory loss, Confusion" Clara gave a shrug "there are more but those are the major side effects well besides death" Clara offered in a mockingly casual tone.

"Death?" Montague asked.

"Well I'll be honest, I've never done this with a pregnant woman. So it's not like this will be easy nor am I making any promises that everything will be fine or that I'll be able to reach her. I could die, or worse I may kill her or the child if I do this wrong" Clara said, she silently hoped someone would object to her performing this curse.

"And if you do this right?" Warrington asked.

"I'll be able to look around and see where she is, maybe decipher her location so we can go save her. Do you have a pensieve?" Clara asked Warrington.

"No" Warrington said.

"We will need one and as many empty vials you can get on short notice" Clara said.

"I have one at my home, I'll go get it" Montague said, he went to the fireplace and disappeared into the floo network before Clara could thank him.

"Ok, enough space?" Cillian asked Clara.

"Yeah plenty, ok some ground rules. No matter what you hear or see, do not touch me or try to help me. Are we clear?" Clara told Warrington.

"Yes" Warrington said.

"Good, Cillian" Clara said, Cillian nodded and they moved to the centre of the cleared space. The stood face to face and Clara monkey gripped Cillian's left hand and arm. She lifted her wand and mumbled under breath, Warrington tried to pick up the words she spoke but she was speaking too low for him to hear.

He watched as Clara and Cillian locked eyes, staring intensely at one another as Clara continued her incantation. Wisps of dark tea coloured smoke started to pour out of Clara's wand tip, the wisps glowed as they swam slow trails around Clara and Cillian's hands and slowly around Cillian before it went around Clara, she kept speaking.

He was mesmerised by the magic in the room, the power that was generated from two. Clara slowly inhaled the smoke, her head dropped back and her wand fell to the floor. Warrington stepped forward as he was sure Clara was going to collapse but Cillian shot him a look that made him step back. Cillian released his grip on Clara and her body leaned back haphazardly but didn't fall to the ground.

Her head snapped back up, her eyes were wide and pitch black. Her body straightened and then as if she were a puppet on strings, her arms lifted above her head. Her feet slowly lifted off the ground and she looked like she was restrained, dark welts imprinted into the skin of her forearms. Her breathing became erratic, but after a few moments calmed and she spoke.

"I know it hurts but I need you to calm down, take slow easy breaths. The pain will subside, just embrace the moment" she said in a reassuring and hypnotic manner.

"What is go-" Warrington started to say but Cillian cut him off.

"Shut up, she's not talking to you. She's talking with Alicia" Cillian told him.

TBC- Thank you for reading and there will be more coming in the future