Chapter 15
"We'll show that muggle filth what they're worth! Torture and kill to your hearts' delight, men, you've got 30 minutes to create as much mayhem as possible for our Lord," Ian Parkinson stared avidly at Iverson, the newly raised Inner Circle member leading this raid, as he laid down his commands.
Men surrounded him in heavy black robes and white masks like his own. The room pounded with energy and excitement. Twenty waited anxiously.
Nothing compared to it. To hold another life in your hands then just tear it away. To see that light die in their eyes. The man next to him panted in excitement, wand already in a shaking hand.
As one, a mass portkey dropped them inside the village of Clayburn, Scotland, a village full of muggle cattle waiting for the slaughter. It was late night and all were asleep, defenceless in their homes. The Death Eaters split, each small group taking a home. Parkinson ran with two others, cackling as they blew open the front door and took the house. One by one the family were dragged screaming from their beds. A mother. A father. Three children. Parkinson paused when one of the children looked so much like his daughter it was shocking. None of the others paused, however, and soon that young girl was screaming for mercy under the Cruciatus curse. Parkinson tried to distract himself by torturing the father. Twenty minutes later Parkinson glanced nauseously at the dead body of the girl and her family.
He shook his head, 'Cattle, they're mearley cattle.'
"Let's move boys, see if we can't wreak some destruction before our time limit is up."
The three ran outside, throwing reductos and bombardas at random buildings, lighting up the village in flames and screams. The screams and laughter rose and rose over the rooftops; a manic song of terror. It grew and grew to a powerful crescendo...
Then nothing. Silence. The Dark Lord's followers looked around, then blackness swallowed them all.
When light came again, all twenty were standing together despite having been hundreds of feet apart before. A single ball of light hung above them, situating them in the center surrounded by a vacuum of darkness and silence Even the footing underneath them was no longer black paving, but hard paced dirt.
Iverson was clearly trying to speak, spinning around to look at them all.
Panic rose in Ian's throat, 'What is this?'
Suddenly the shadows moved and a huge black tentacle whipped out of the darkness and snatched up Iverson, dragging him along the ground towards the edge of the shadows. As his foot hit the edge, he started screaming – the horrified scream of a panicked animal. The scream reached the very core of his soul and shook him deeply.
Men scrambled towards him, grabbing a hand, an arm, trying to save their leader; but, it was futile as he was dragged into the void.
They didn't have to wait long as Iverson's mutilated body came flying from the void, landing with a squelch in the center of their mass; his dead eyes frozen wide in terror.
"Good evening gentlemen," a cold voice echoed around them from nowhere, yet, from everywhere.
Parkinson's heart rate doubled as his eyes searched the darkness.
"Take note of this lesson well. This is what happens to those that bend a knee to the self-professed Lord of the Dark. You will learn that the dark is not his companion but rather his end. His power is nothing and his cause foolish. You live and die at my whim."
A shadowed figure appeared to the left. Wands flashed and a dozen green curses of death flew his way. They never reached him though, as the figure vanished into the dark, reappearing on the right. He gave a cold dark laugh.
"The shadows do my bidding."
More of the tentacles lashed out from all sides dragging four more screeching men to their fate.
"I am the Shadow. Take note, the Dark Lord's days are numbered. Whether your days count as quickly is up to you. Now begone!"
Ian knew nothing but darkness.
"Kai, that even gave me chills," Nicholai, his squad's illusionist chuckled as the group of unconscious Death Eaters were portkeyed away to Riddle's headquarters.
"Most of these men stay with Voldemort out of fear instead of loyalty. If we can appear more frightening then him then perhaps we cam disrupt the group," Kai responded, leaning against the wall of the large stone room. "Of course, some of them are just sick fucks."
"And when they wake up and find out that they never made it to that village, that it was all an illusion?"
"They'll spread the word of my power and of what I spoke. I am to be their boogeyman."
Susan knocked on the door to the Room of Requirement a ball of nervous excitement. Today was her hard-earned private training session with Professor Boudreau. She had come in her training clothes. They were black to the ankle, highest in her class save Blaise. The more black, the more skills a student had. She had a long way to catch up with Blaise, but she was determined.
She'd asked her Aunt all she could about this new professor. Auntie had known little about him except that he'd graduated from Le Fay Institute of Magic which was incredible. Also, he had some apparent link to Nicholas Gryffindor, the new head of the Wizengamot.
"Come in Susan," a rich voice called from the other side. He voice never failed to make her take notice.
Looking around, the room was very different than when during class. A pair of comfortable armchairs sat around a fire. Boudreau sat in one of them, a banker box of red notepads to his right and a small pile on his lap for reading. He was dressed casually in jeans and and a blue button up shirt.
The room felt relaxing and elegant, 'I wonder what his real rooms are like,' she thought.
The beige carpet was very soft and padded she noted as she walked over to him.
"Sit, sit," he waved at the other chair as he packed away the student essays very carefully into the box beside him.
She froze for a moment when he looked her in the eyes for the first time. She could feel the power rolling under the surface. Once again she thanked her Aunt for teaching her how to sense someone's power.
"I like your drive, Ms. Bones. You have a determination and maturity that I strive to see in my students. That is why you are here. You could have succeeded very well at Le Fay Institute."
She held her breath. No one had ever said that to her before, had seen something in her before. She was just a Hufflepuff after all.
"Now, this is your time – what do you want from me?" he leaned forward, green eyes still locked on hers.
"Ever since I was a child, my Aunt trained me so that I would never be taken from her like my parents – brutally and without cause," she found herself saying. "I am quick; I am strong; but, it is not enough. I am neither quick enough nor strong enough to defend those I love. I need an edge. I need something they don't have."
She had no idea what possessed her to be so honest, but it felt good to do so.
A little smile graced his lips, "Your Aunt trained you well. I've nothing but the highest respect for her. The regular class, it'll make you faster and stronger . But, an edge...an edge I can give you."
He stood suddenly and led her to an open patch of carpet where they both sat facing one another, cross-legged.
"Now, do not question what or why. Just do," he said very seriously.
She nodded, curiosity peeking.
"Close your eyes. Relax and breathe deeply. In-out-in-out," he demonstrated, laying his hands on his thighs, closing his eyes. She watched his body just lose all tension. "In your minds eye, picture a candle burning. There is nothing but my voice and this candle."
She felt the tension release from her body as she breathed deeply, feeling the air travel in and out of her lungs. As she relaxed she picture this candle in her mind. Tall and yellow with a flame burning brightly.
"Now, one by one, feed your thoughts and emotions into the fire of the candle. Acknowledge each one then let it burn away until nothing is left but you and the candle."
'This is curious,' she thought.
Acknowledge. Burn. And it was gone.
'He sure is cute when he's serious.' Burnt.
Fear she'd never succeed. Burnt.
As she continued she felt lighter and lighter, clearer and clearer. The candle was everything. In-out-in-out.
"Now, snuff out the candle," a voice whispered quietly in her head.
She acknowledged the direction then burnt it. An imaginary wind blew softly across the candle, gently fizzling out the flame.
Dark. Calm. Peace.
In the corner of her mind's eye she saw a new source of light. She moved toward it, feeling drawn. As she got closer it got bigger and bigger like a sun casting warmth and light.
'Touch it, feel it, embrace it,' that voice whispered again.
She reached out and felt warmth and power – a sense of being home. It felt – like her.
"Come back now Susan. Wake up," the voice was louder and more forceful this time, snapping her out of her haze of warmth and pleasure. She recognized the voice now.
'Professor?'
And suddenly she was back in the room, the soft carpet under her legs, feeling the calmest she'd felt in her life.
"What...what was that?" her voice sounded raw and loud in the blissful quiet, no other sound than the crackling fire. She looked back in his eyes. They held the crinkle of a smile at their corners.
"That Susan, was your magical core. You must reach it the first number of times through meditation – which I must say you're a natural at."
He stood, stretching languidly, "Reaching your magical core is the first step in wandless magic."
He let that sink is as he strode over to the chair and picked up the box of essays.
"Wand...wandless magic?" she couldn't believe what he was saying. She'd wanted an edge, but this was incredible, "I could do that?"
"You just achieved the first step. Now, that took an hour and a half. When you can clear your mind and reach your core in less than a minute, come see me again."
She was still gaping like a fish when he reached the door, opening it and motioning her to follow.
"It's not much longer before curfew, Ms. Bones, you'll likely be wanting to be getting to your common room."
She nodded to him dumbly and waved goodbye as they went separate directions. Wandless magic. What an incredible thing that would be. And the calm clear headedness that meditation had brought – she wanted to feel that way all day, every day. Was that why the Professor was always so calm? So understanding?
She shook her head; she could do this, just wait and see.
'I wonder if Blaise can do wandless magic?'
Having returned from his lesson with Susan, Kai sat curled up at the end of one of his black leather couches, planner in hand. A warm fire crackled softly in the fireplace in front of him and a glass of red goblin wine perched on a wrought iron table beside him. Hogwarts was content and wrapped a calming blanket of magic around the descendant of one of her creators.
The assassin turned professor breathed deeply and sighed in contentment. It had been a long time since he had felt this relaxed. Thinking back across the 5 weeks since his escape, he never expected to be where he was today.
A soft knock at the door brought him from his quiet contemplation. He closed the planner and stood. Activating the charms on his door he frowned; it was Tonks. She was in her natural form, long black hair and blue eyes showing her Black lineage. More surprising was that she was in an shimmering black cocktail dress, her hair twisted into an elegant knot. She looked stunning.
He opened the door, "Hello?"
She smiled slyly, "Wotcher Kai."
"What are you doing here?" He fought to keep his eyes on hers and not on the curves very clearly displayed before him.
She smirked, "You threw me out of Shadowed Soul for the first time exactly a year ago. Want to go out to dinner?"
Kai raised an eyebrow, "Are you serious?"
If possible, her smirk became more mischievous. That smile was what captured him in the first place. Cheeky little asshole.
"You thought if you came, I wouldn't be able to say no."
"Yup," her eyes sparkled.
God he missed her. Why not, it's just dinner.
He stepped back and gestured for her to come in.
Her smirk turned into a bright smile.
"Alright. Give me a bit to get appropriately dressed," he shut the door and headed off towards his bedroom.
"Leave your hair down for once," she called after him, "I like it like that!"
"Yes ma'am! Any other orders ma'am?" was returned from the open door.
She barked a laugh as she wandered about his living room, never having been inside his rooms. She spent most of her time scanning the numerous bookshelves surrounding the fireplace. Finding an interesting book on metamorphmagic she settled into the exact spot Kai had been sitting, relaxing into the soft leather. She smelled the contents of the wine glass before sipping it, hmming in pleasure.
She quickly lost herself in the pages and the atmosphere.
"Making yourself at home?" A voice came from behind her.
"Yes. What wine is that? It is magnificent," she breathed deeply aware of his closeness.
"Goblin, 1856," he leaned over her shoulder and stole the wine glass back.
She giggled as his long hair tickled her shoulders. "How did you get a hold of goblin wine, especially that old?"
"I have friends in high places."
Standing up from the couch, she turned and nearly gasped when she took him in.
He was very debonair in his dark gray Armani suit, classic dark green tie and cufflinks making his eyes flare. His hair, shortened to his shoulders, was silky and ebony black.
"Well, young man, if we do not leave soon, I can't say I will ever let you leave."
He raised a dark eyebrow at her, this was an interesting role reversal. He laughed inside a bit, young man indeed, Tonks had no idea that he was only 17 to her 22. At some point he'd need to let her in on that little secret.
He held out his elbow for her to take, "Did you make reservations for the evening or shall I call ahead?" Kai asked his date, trying not to be too taken by her charm like he had been the first time.
"I took care of everything. Does 'Flare' sound good?"
"Good choice. You only forgot one thing."
She paused, "What?"
"Flowers."
"Pardon?"
"When someone comes to pick up their date, it is traditional to bring them flowers or chocolates or something of the sorts. Are you new at this Cami?"
Her breath caught in her throat as he used her nickname. He kept walking calmly threw the halls, left hand over her smaller one at his elbow, her sputtering, "But, but…."
"Well," he continued, "I supposed I can make up for that this time." A wave of his hand and a dozen roses, stems intertwined lay wrapped neatly together in his arms, thorn-free and the exact shade of pink she normally kept her hair. "Flowers for the lady?"
She smiled brilliantly and took the flowers, maybe this would work. She really hoped it would.
They chatted for a minute with Professors McGonagall and Sprout who they met on their way out of the castle, Pomona gushing about how handsome they looked together.
A quick ride in a thestral drawn carriage and they apparated out to the classy place in the restaurant district off Diagon Alley.
They were seated and were quickly served a bottle of red wine. Eyes of many in the restaurant were on the pair, young attractive strangers that they were. No one knew them as neither traveled in their natural form often; it was a treat to go 'au naturel' together.
They resigned themselves to the glances and ordered their meal before discretely raising a silencing barrier.
"So, you said you didn't know me," Kai stiffened at Tonks' words, "I'd argue that you know everything about me that's important. But I propose we re-up our old game of 50 questions. If I remember, it was your turn."
Kai tried to relax himself, she was just trying, "First bout of accidental magic you remember?" he offered.
"Well, I was watching this movie when I was five with a talking pig. I loved the pig so much I changed my nose to his. Gave my mother such a fright. You?"
Kai chuckled, "When I was six I was being chased by these kids and apparated onto the roof of a house."
Tonks looked aghast, "You? Bullied? I can't see it."
"You should have see me, scrawny, scruffy thing, really," his eyes momentarily got distant, thinking about why he was that way.
"When I was in school all I remember is the guys asking me to changed into celebrities or other people. Curse of being a known metamorph I suppose."
Kai took her hand and squeezed it gently, "No one asked me to change, probably because they valued having all of their parts still attached."
Tonks laughed, her eyes lighting up.
"But yeah, I can only really remember being bullied by my cousin."
"You've got family?" she asked, remembering that he was an orphan.
He shook his head sadly, "They're not my family."
"My mum and I weren't too popular with her family either. She was a Black and my dad is a muggle," Kai winced.
"Toujours Pur," he muttered.
"Yeah. Before it was just me, mum and my cousin Sirius. Then, there was that mess with him being the Potter's secret keeper and then him escaping Azkaban. It shocked my mum and me. It's just us left now."
The assassin looked at her with wide eyes. She didn't know? "Black wasn't the Potter's secret keeper."
Tonks looked at him like he was crazy. One black eyebrow raised in an almost Snape-like fashion, "I'd like to think that as well, but it doesn't mean it's true."
"I've seen Pettigrew. He's not only alive, he's a Death Eater."
Tonks held in a gasp.
"Don't worry," Kai drawled with a lazy smile, "I'll move him to the top of my list."
"You'd do that?" she smiled at him with pure affection.
You know you're a strange pair when your date is touched when you move someone to the top of your kill/capture list…
"Of course. Sirius is your family."
'And practically mine, as much as that mutt irritates me some days.'
"And I've always respected the man for breaking out of Azkaban," Kai added lightly.
The auror leaned over the table and kissed her assassin softly on the lips, only to have to sit back as their dinner arrived. Kai blinked at the brief contact; longing for more from her. He'd really missed sitting and and talking with her over wine, casually observing other patrons. It was a comfortable, easy ritual for them, one that had drawn them together in the first place.
They talked lightly as they used to as their meal continued. So long apart had made them long for the other's presence. As the evening progressed and another bottle of wine was opened the pair got closer together, her leg against his, her hands brushing his.
"Craziest thing you've ever done?"
Kai laughed, white teeth gleaming, "I've done a lot of crazy things. I have thrown myself out a fifth story window admittedly..."
Tonks chuckled at his comments, "Boys are foolish."
"Thing you've done you're most proud of?" the Riker asked.
"Honestly?" He nodded. "Becoming your friend."
His emerald eyes widened and his face flashed surprise for a moment before it was masked, "How so?" the calm in his voice was slightly forced.
"Well, because even though you literally locked me out and then figuratively locked me out, I stuck with it and eventually, you let me in," she squeezed his hand. "Ever since I first saw you I wanted to know you." She paused, "It was torment the past months without you. I felt like shit because if you had accused me of what you did in those first weeks it would have been true. Even though I had never given away any information I gained at Shadowed Soul I still felt like I had betrayed you. Still do…" her voice faded away and Kai saw tears in her eyes. He cupped her face in his free hand, walls crumbling.
"Oh Cami, we both made mistakes," he whispered, thumb caressing her cheek. "Yes, you should have told me you were an auror. But I over-reacted in not letting you try to explain. I," he paused, his eyes locking on hers, "I don't often let people in, Cami, and I've never taken well to betrayal. Let's start over and we'll try to see where this goes, hmm?" She smiled and held his hand to her face with her free hand.
She kissed his palm, "Let's get out of here, enjoy the rest of this beautiful night."
Paying the bill, they strolled the alley towards Diagon's apparition point.
"People love to stare, don't they?" Tonks asked as they strolled hand in hand.
She subtly eyed the passerbyers, watching their eyes drag slowly across the couple, whispering questions to their companions about the pair's identity.
"They're taken with you beauty, my dear," Kai whispered in her ear, "just as I can't take my eyes off of you."
She smiled affectionately at him, "Charmer."
"I pride myself on it," he chuckled. Tweaking his voice magic, he let his power wrap around his words. "And if we weren't in a public place I wouldn't take my hands off you."
She shivered. Merlin she loved when he did that!
At the apparition point, Kai apparated the pair of them directly into one of the carriages, a cheeky smile on his face.
Tonks' lips were on his the moment the door to his chambers closed behind him. He took control, pressing her back against the door, arms pressing her body against his.
She kissed him slowly, languidly, tongue caressing his. He tasted like mint and red wine and smelled like a forest after the rain. One hand carded into his soft hair, the other hand roaming the planes of his chest. His hand pressed on her side, undoing the magical zipper wandlessly. The strapless dress fell softly to the stone. A quick flick of her wand and his jacket and shirt vanished.
She tossed her wand away in favour of running her hands all over him, memorizing every inch again. Her wand having been discarded, she pulled desperately at his belt, quickly pulling his dress pants off his narrow hips, hands trailing over his hip bones. She summoned her wand to her hand, surprisingly both of them, as he picked her up, wrapping her long legs around his waist. She giggled loudly when he tossed her playfully on the bed, slowly climbing on top of her.
She grinned mischievously as an idea came to mind. Using her auror-trained skills she smoothly flipped them over, switching their positions. With a quick flick of her wand, his hands were bound to the headboard above his head with a pair of navy blue silk scarves. Kai looked up at her, amused glint in his eyes, knowing that if he felt at all threatened, he could free himself easily, but enjoying the play.
"You're mine tonight Shadow."
Dear Mum,
Sorry I haven't wrote in a while. Been busy. School is going fine. My grades are still doing OK. Snape is still a git so my potions grade isn't great.
Quidditch is awesome, we've found the replacement players that we need and I'm sure we'll crush those slimey snakes this year with Ginny as our seeker.
The only problem is this new Practical Defence teacher. He clearly favours the Slytherins in class and frankly, he's a right ruddy bastard. He obviously doesn't know what he's talking about.
And, he's really buddy-buddy with Snape to boot!
And you should see how old he is, he's but a mite older than me. I wish I could just send a few good curses at him – I'm taller than him too Mum! He's not so tough except that if I touched a hair on his head I'd be expelled.
What do you think I should do?
Love Ron