Former Auror

The day took forever to end. It seemed that, after the little reprieve that Caitlyn had offered her classes the day before, the children were quite reluctant to go back to the old ways of a proper lesson. She had to discipline, scowl, threaten, and punish more on that day than in the previous four weeks. At least, she didn't have the Marauders to cope with.

She couldn't wait to see Vi again, to finish their conversation. She was terrified of it at the same time, of course, but so eager.
Yet, after her last class, she didn't see her. At dinner, she didn't see her. Her chair was desperately empty at the professor's table. Concern grew fast in her stomach, freezing it from the inside like she had swallowed ice cubes. Hagrid was there, though, talking to his neighbor with his usual thunderous happiness.

"Hagrid, would you have seen Vi, by any chance?" she asked him after the plates had disappeared from the tables.

"Eeer, ne, not since I last talked to her at 5 p.m. Sorry, miss."

"I understand, thank you."

She went back to her bedroom, and instead of going through the pile of homework that needed grading, she just sat on her bed, biting her nails, as she had done when she was waiting for her N.E.W.T. results.

She was considering going to McGonagall, or maybe Dumbledore himself, when she heard squishy footsteps outside her bedroom. She rushed to the door, almost tripping on the carpet by the bed, and opened it violently.

"Vi!"

The young woman was looking at her like a wet dog caught in the rain. She was, indeed, quite soaked and muddy, looking absolutely miserable.

"What in Merlin's name…"

"Professor Kettleburn's favorite Niffler… It escaped. I spent the evening chasing it out, and it jumped into the lake…"

The misery in her voice, the look in her eyes, and the absurdity of the reason for her delay took a second to sink in for Caitlyn before she started shaking slightly, then outright laughing.

"The Niffler! In the lake? Oh gods, Vi, here I was thinking you had been attacked or worse!"

"Hey! Don't laugh! The little demon is worse than the troll! Look at me!"

"Oh, I do, Vi. Believe me, I do! And it's the funniest thing I've seen in a while!"

"Merlin, I didn't know you could be this mean! Can I please go and take a bath? I smell like weeds and dead fish."

"I thought you just came out of the said bath!"

Vi groaned and moved away, deciding that ignoring the banter was probably her only way out of it with a shred of decency left. Caitlyn closed her door with a chuckle, reassured but also a bit ashamed of herself for getting so anxious so quickly with no real reason.

"You're losing your mind, my girl…" she whispered to herself.

She looked over at her pile of papers to grade and found out she had no more motivation to tackle them than she had before. Still, she was a professional. She went to sit at her desk and tried to focus on the letters dancing on the parchments rather than the idea of Vi, alone in the baths upstairs…

She only went through ten of this assignements, all of them rather mediocre without being terrible, when a gentle knock shook her door.

It took most of her power of will to not jump like a little girl excited for a Christmas present and just go open it like a woman in actual control of her thoughts and actions.

Vi was looking just as wet, with her pink hair falling in front of her eyes, her grey Muggle shirt stained with black spots of water, and her skin still slightly glistening under the dim lights of the candles on the walls. Despite the similarities with the previous situation, the emotions and feelings this view birthed in Caitlyn were completely different.

"I guess you feel a lot fresher?"

"You guess right. I swear, those baths are magical, in more ways than one. You should join me sometime!"

Cait choked and almost spat as Vi was passing right in front of her to invite herself into her room.

"I mean… I know those baths, I do use them myself every day, you know?"

"Well, I never saw you there, so I only have your word…"

Vi's face was all tease, her lips curved upward in that cocky grin she mastered so well. As before, she fell on the bed as if it was her own.

"You wanted to talk, you said?"

"Erm, yes, I did. I mean, I did say it. I do want to talk."

"Then shoot, I'll listen."

Caitlyn sat next to her, in the exact same position both of them were in the evening before.

"Vi, listen… About this date you talked about…"

Vi rose up a little, on her elbows.

"You're breaking up with me."

Caitlyn chuckled.

"We're not even together, Vi."

"Your fault, not mine."

Cait laughed and sighed at the same time.

"As much as I love your ability to joke and laugh anytime at anything, I'd like to be serious for a second."

Vi bit back another snarky comment and just breathed.

"Sure. Go ahead. Sorry."

"Thank you. This date… Look. I need to know if you mean it, or if you're just playing tease."

Vi looked at her like a rabbit caught in the lights, and then blushed, turning her eyes away.

"I mean… Sure. I'd like to get to know you better and all. Even if you're high society. You're a cool woman, Kiramman, and you're hot. In my book, that's worth hanging out to see what more there is underneath this posh girl accent of yours."

Caitlyn looked horrified, then insulted, then falsely angry.

" I do NOT have a posh accent!"

"I'm sorry, Cupcake, but you kinda do…"

"You take that back!"

"Only if you go on a date with me!"

The former Auror couldn't help but smile and marvel at this capacity Vi had to diffuse any serious situation and turn it into something fun.

"A date?" she asked back with an exaggerated accent, inspired by the way her grandmother used to talk. "My good woman, how preposterous of you! By Merlin's undergarments, this is unheard of!"

The women looked at each other in silence before giggling and laughing like teenagers.

"I'd love to go on a date with you, Vi, and get to know you better as well," finally answered Caitlyn with her gentlest voice.

Vi beamed radiantly.

"Well, my day just got a lot better! I needed that after that damn Niffler!"

"Who knew the mighty Vi Lanes, for all her training and sit-ups, as you called it, would be defeated by Kettleburn's Niffler?"

"The greatest shame of my life, a stain that will never truly disappear!"

The women kept laughing and joking, until Vi prompted a question, very grave and serious all of a sudden:

"Can I ask something?"

"Euhm, yes, of course."

"Why is your hair blue?"

If Caitlyn had been drinking tea, she would have spat it all across Vi's face.

"What?"

"Why is your hair blue? I dyed mine pink after I discovered that in the US. I spent my childhood being jealous of my friend Neeko, who was a Metamorphmagus and could change her color as much as she wanted. Powder liked it so much, she wanted to do the same thing, so she enchanted her hair to be sky blue. We never managed to bring it back to normal… Yours are a color I've never seen before, like dark blue, or night sky or something like that. So what's your story?"

"First of all, I can't believe your sister managed to make a permanent metamorphosis spell at such a young age…"

"Yeah, she was that kind of genius. Completely mad and probably came close to blowing up our roof more than twice a week, but so brilliant."

Caitlyn smiled.

"Second of all, thank you for the compliment. My hair had never been characterized as night sky before, and I like it very much, thanks. Lastly, I do not know. This seems to be in my family's genetics, although it skips generations here and there. My mother had regular black hair before they turned grey, but my grandmother had the same hair as I do. I never really thought about it, to be honest."

"I'm a bit jealous, ain't gonna lie."

"Your hair is lovely, Vi. I really think so."

"So do I, but I had to cheat to get it."

"I do wonder what you look like, as a full-blown ginger."

"Trust me on this, Cupcake, you don't. At least, I don't. If you have any shred of attraction toward me, it would vanish faster than the students when the bell rings."

Caitlyn leaned forward, bringing her face closer to Vi's.

"Vi Lanes, I am not that shallow. I don't think any attraction would disappear just for your hair color."

"So you're saying you are attracted to me!"

Caitlyn retreated.

"I can neither confirm nor deny. You will have to wait for an official statement once the department is ready to communicate."

"I can't believe you're pulling some Auror bullshit on me!" protested Vi.

"Some habits you just don't forget."

They spent the next hour talking about anything—hair colors, Caitlyn's former job, Vi's American experience before the tragedy—until Caitlyn yawned quite ungracefully and Vi, for once, picked up the clue and left for the night, not without a few more teases and undisguised innuendos.

The last thing Caitlyn thought before closing her eyes was, "Wasn't this a date?"

"Are you sure?" insisted Caitlyn.

Vi had already lowered her head in despair, and the old witch's voice was filled with regret.

"I'm really sorry, my dears, but yes, I'm sure. I did see a young woman with long blue braids a few days prior to these terrible events. I remember her because those hair were, well, quite noticeable, but she disappeared really quickly. It lasted barely a second. I couldn't tell you where she went even if my life depended on it."

"What about a strange-looking man with a golden eye? He would have come by the village maybe a day or two before the attack."

"No, again I'm sorry, but this doesn't ring any bell."

"Alright, I understand. Thanks a lot for your help."

The old woman closed her door, leaving the professor and groundskeeper out in the cold of dusk.

"It's pointless," pestered Vi. "Nobody saw anything usefull. How is that possible?"

"It's understandable; there was a troll running around, after all. That tends to make a good diversion."

"You think the man with the golden eye didn't come to scout the place, like he did for the other attacks in the country? And sent my sister instead?"

"I can only make conjectures, Vi, but contrary to the other places, Hogsmeade is quite famous due to its proximity to Hogwarts and the students' visits. Maybe scouting was not necessary. It could also be that the day was too busy and no one noticed him. There is quite a lot of activity around Halloween. It seems Powder was here before the attack, yes; at least we know that."

"Yeah, well, we still ain't better now than we were yesterday…"

"I'm sorry, Vi. We knew this was a long shot, but I still had hope."

Vi shook her head, her pink hair, slowly getting longer, moving before her eyes like a curtain of raindrops.

"Not your fault, Cupcake. It's just… I feel so useless. My sister's out there, and I'm here doing… nothing. I'm stuck. I don't know where to look, I don't know who to speak to, I don't know what to do with myself."

Caitlyn tried to give her the most reassuring smile she had in store.

"It sounds like you need a drink. Should we head out to the Three Broomsticks? Have an ale, and maybe ask a few more people?"

"Cait… I'm sorry. I'd rather go back to the castle. I'm not in the mood for a girl's night out."

Caitlyn's heart chipped in her chest. She wanted to ask about that date they were supposed to have, but the respect she had for Vi's pain sealed her lips.

"I understand. Should we head back then?"

Vi scratched her head, looked away, embarrassed.

"Actually, if you don't mind… I'll just walk back on my own. I need to clear my head. Think things through, you know?"

Caitlyn nodded.

"Very well. Go ahead then. I'll stay here a little bit; there might be a few people we haven't talked to yet."

"You sure? I don't want you wasting your time chasing your tail."

"I am, don't worry about me. The Auror in me can't stop here, that's all. I'll let you know if I learn anything."

"Thanks, Cupcake. See you later."

With a quick wave goodbye, the pink-haired witch turned away and followed the path back to the castle until she disappeared from Caitlyn's vision.

The former investigator spent a small additional hour wandering Hogsmeade, asking the same questions to every inhabitant she hadn't bothered before, going back to the scene of the battle where every trace of the spells and explosions had already been washed away, by the wind, the rain, or the cleaning magic.

Tired and disappointed, heavy-hearted, Caitlyn allowed herself the small pint of ale she had offered Vi an hour earlier.

"Everything alright, dear?" asked Madam Rosmerta. "You got quite a look on your face."

"I'm alright, yes."

"But?"

Caitlyn sighed and let her blue hair hide her face for a second, gazing into the golden liquid in her glass.

"One of those days where nothing goes the way you'd like them to, you see what I mean."

"I guess I do, love. Happens to all of us."

"I suppose so, but I wish I'd be the one paying for this bad luck. Vi needed a win today."

"Vi, the gorgeous woman with the pink hair?"

Caitlyn smiled gently.

"The very same, indeed. She's going through a tough time; I wish I could have helped her."

Rosmerta smiled and offered to fill the glass again, tempting Caitlyn, who finally declined with a small gesture.

"You get points for trying, love. We can't expect our friends to solve everything for us, just to be there and try."

"Maybe. But points are not solutions; it doesn't make things better."

"Better, I don't know, but it surely makes them easier. If you think your friend is having a rough patch, imagine what it could be if she had to go through it alone. Trust me, love, results or not, your help is appreciated, I just know it."

Caitlyn smiled at her again.

"I guess this is true, what they say about bartenders and all."

"That and more, love. That and more."

Caitlyn walked the path back to the castle, hoping to enjoy the evening breeze and the quiet of the forest's edge. It was dark already, but at that time of year, the sun would set around 4 p.m. anyway. Yet on this day she didn't appreciate the calm and the beauty of the magical nature around her. This time, there was a pit in her stomach, a fear she could not shake, a bad feeling like a nightmare mixed with deja-vu. Every bush seemed to host a horde of monsters, every tree to hide a threat. Something was wrong, and she couldn't say what or why.

Nothing happened until she reached the castle, nothing happened until she walked the hallway to her room, and nothing happened when she sat on her bed. And still, the feeling lingered. Her only solution to find sleep was to focus her thoughts on Vi: her struggles, the plan to help her, the sadness in her eyes, the blue of her eyes, the red of her lips…

Her night was agitated, filled with nightmares of purple and blood, of fiery shadows lurking in the dark, and a golden eye shining in the sky. She woke up in sweat, her unease far from gone.

"Hey, Cupcake, you alright?" asked Vi as she grabbed the teapot on the table, ignoring McGonagall seated between them.

"Yes, thank you. I slept poorly, that is all."

"Same. Sorry again for bailing on you yesterday. You were just here to help me, and I left you there, but I…"

"Vi. Don't apologize. It's alright. And you were right; I didn't get anything more, so believe me, I'm the sorriest of the two of us. But today's a new day. We'll think of something."

Without even looking at her, Vi gently put her hand on Cait's shoulder, surprising her with the unexpected touch.

"You're the best, Cait. See you later."

And she left the professor with her steaming cup of coffee, dragging her feet to her designated seat next to Hagrid's, visibly exhausted and in desperate need of the caffeine she was holding.

The children soon started pouring into the Great Hall, bringing with them the usual thundering roar of chatter, laughs, complaints, and screams. To every adult in the room, it seemed that youth was never tired of being loud, no matter the hour of the day. While they tended to complain about it, they all knew it was also a well of energy for them to tap into. At least until it gave them a headache, forcing them to call for silence in their classes.

Soon, the chatter and clanking of forks and spoons were drowned out by screeching and rustling wings as the mail began to drop from above. A letter landed a few centimeters next to Cait's omelet.

Instantly, she recognized the handwriting and loudly dropped her fork to tear the seal apart.

"Dear Caitlyn,
Things are worse than I expected. There have been several reports of this yellow-eyed man in the past month—more than we thought—and every single time, the village was attacked a few days later. But the press has not been made aware, and my sources tell me that those reports seem to have disappeared.

It is clear that they have people in the Auror department, and likely at the highest levels, whoever 'they' are.

I did find a witness, and I got a name: Silco. He seems to be the man with the yellow eye, and he was accompanied by a hooded he referred to as 'Master.' That is, if you believe the rambling of a crazy old woman locked in St. Mungo's after the first attack last year.

I will continue my investigations, but I shall be more careful now. I have a bad feeling about all this.

Take care of yourself, Kiramman."

Caitlyn jumped out of her seat and looked over at Vi, ignoring the chair that fell to the ground behind her and the surprised looks of colleagues and students alike. She took a step forward but was cut short by McGonagall stepping in her way, pale-faced and wearing an expression Cait had never seen on her before.

"Miss Kiramman."

"Yes? Is there a problem, Professor?"

"Have you seen the newspaper this morning?" she asked, concerned.

Only then did Caitlyn notice the papers folded in McGonagall's right hand. Her blood iced in her veins when the old woman handed it to her, opened to page three.

Cait's throat closed as she read the title, and she choked, suffocated.

"I'm sorry," whispered the Head of Gryffindor. "You might not know this, but we knew each other pretty well, she and I. She often spoke of you, when you entered her department, and I know you were quite close. She was a great witch."

Caitlyn didn't register the revelation. She was just locked on the words on the paper and the moving picture that showed a rare smile from the woman she would never meet again.

FORMER HEAD AUROR FOUND DEAD.
Auror Grayson seemed to have been the unlucky victim of a werewolf rampage…