Harry Potter 1. In Trouble

I was in trouble. Of course, it didn't surprise me.  
  
"Do you know what this is?" he asked me once again, waving the tiny glass vial in my face. I struggled to recede from the pale green liquid, but I couldn't run. I was, after all, in a tiny cell and chained to the wall. I still refused to address the man with the dark cloak and the seemingly innocent bottle in his hand. On his forehead was the tattoo of the Brethren, wizard who had taken a mortal vow to their master and in exchange received a wallop of powerful spells and curses.  
  
"This, my friend," the wizard said to me, "is a special little serum. Surely, you know of its effects? You have studied this in your school, no?" I glanced over at my friend. I wish I hadn't brought him into this. Instead of just me, both of us would die. Knowing him, though, he wouldn't have it any other way. He and I both knew what the serum was, but we weren't about to talk. The man continued his monologue.  
  
"This is known as a truth serum," he said as he stroked the bottle gently with his pale white fingers. "A few drops of this, and you are forced to tell the truth in a matter of mere moments. What is so effective about this liquid is that one dose lasts for ten minutes. Of course, it can be administered again as needed. All we need is a test run…" He then began advancing towards the nearest of his two victims, me. What else could I do? I kicked, bit, scratched, and did anything else that could stop him from using me as a lab rat.  
  
"Leave her alone!" my friend cried out bravely in protest, to no avail. I had to admire his courage; during this whole course of events, he had never lost focus. Then he said something that put a temporary end to my struggling.  
  
"It's not her you want," he said, his voice low in shame. "It's me." I was shocked to hear him say those words. Him, involved with the Brethren? He was too quiet, too… normal to be mixed up with them. I, however, had an excuse. One thing separated me and everyone else my age, including wizards: I possessed an immense amount of magic. My friend was just like everyone else… wasn't he?  
  
"My master knows of your presence here," the man replied in his dry flaky voice. He sounded exactly like a snake, the symbol of the Brethren. "However, your friend is just as valuable to our cause as you are." He then continued his advance. I could only struggle with the fingers that pried my mouth open. Mumbling a spell to levitate the bottle in mid-air, a few drops of the doomed liquid fell onto my unwilling tongue. I was about to spit it back into his face, but the wizard suddenly threw my head back against the wall. I swallowed on instinct, and it was then that I knew that the masquerade was over. 


	2. The Truth Serum

I felt the serum slide down my throat and into the pit of my stomach; it was liquid fire. It spread rapidly to my extremities, and healing scars burned anew with hot, flashing pain.  
  
"I won't tell them anything; I won't tell them anything," I kept saying over and over to myself between moans of agony. The rational part of my mind knew better, however. With a few more painful moments, the pain subsidized, and the serum was fully in control.  
  
"This is it," I thought to myself in rejection. I gathered what was left of my scattered courage and put on a brave face, but my insides were quaking with fear.  
  
"Ah, I see that we are ready to begin," the Brethren wizard said, his face contorting into a grotesque version of a smile. "What is your name?" My voice came out flat and toneless, though I struggled with all of my might not to say the words.  
  
"Rosemary Jacques Black," my voice said.  
  
"And your parents?" the man replied, confidant in my answer.  
  
"Elizabeth Jacques and Sirius Black," I answered after shuddering violently. I had come so close to overcoming the spell that the serum put on me! The next question, however, came before I could regain my dissolving strength.  
  
"Where is Sirius Black?" he asked. I told him the only answer I knew.  
  
"I don't know."  
  
The wizard looked at me suspiciously for a minute, deciding whether or not to believe me. This pause in the interrogation was giving me the valuable time I needed. He must have dismissed the thought because he then asked me another question.  
  
"How did you overcome the Cruciatus curse?" he said, referring to when I was subject to that curse before my friend and I were first brought here. He had asked the question too late, however, because I had expelled the truth serum with a powerful surge of magic from my body. That was how I had defeated the Cruciatus curse before, with the help of my friend. Although I no longer had to tell the truth, I decided to play it safe.  
  
"My friend helped me to overcome the spell," I replied.  
  
"Who is your 'friend'?" he asked, puzzled.  
  
"Him," I said, acknowledging the boy who was chained on my left. It was the truth, after all. He gave me a raised eyebrow in return, but the Brethren sorcerer didn't look at all suspicious about my claim. He gave a simple shrug and fired another question.  
  
"Where was the last place that you know your father was at?" he asked, his voice low and rasping.  
  
"He was in the Himalayas," I quickly answered. I had anticipated this question and had thought of someplace to name. The Brethren wizard gave me a nod, a slight shadow of a smile on his lips.  
  
"How long have you been lying to me?" he asked, smiling crookedly now. I was taken aback by this accusation. How could he have known I was lying? All the same, however, I attempted to distill his fears.  
  
"I haven't been lying to you," I replied rather indignantly. Too late I remembered that I was supposed to be speaking in a monotone characteristic of the truth serum.  
  
"How long?" he asked again, stepping closer to me as his fingers fumbled for the potion in his swirling cape. I could sense the frustration mounting in him, and so I tried one more desperate gamble.  
  
"The serum won't work on me," I cried out as his fingers reached the vial. "Nothing will work; you can't make me work for the Brethren." The look of anger on his face was immediately replaced by indifference. Somehow I had the feeling I had only made matters worse.  
  
"Very well, I have done all I can," he said, shrugging his shoulders casually. Without warning his face was in mine; his eyes were like cold flint, with specks of icy blue.  
  
"However, we can and we will make you work for the Brethren," he voiced coldly. "My master will take care of you two personally." At the word "personally," I shuddered violently. I couldn't face him; no had ever done so before and lived! The leader of the Brethren was famous for his mastery of the Dark Arts. Rumor had it that he was the sole apprentice of Voldemort during his reign of darkness. Anyone who possessed the slightest threat to his strives for ultimate power was killed without doubt or mercy. Even the most powerful of wizards had switched the name "You-Know-Who" from Voldemort to this mysterious master… and we were about to be "taken care of" by him? It was enough to strike fear into the strongest of wizards, let alone two students of magic. A turn of a key startled me out of my panic- stricken thoughts. The Brethren wizard had left, the most powerful dark wizard the world had ever seen was coming for us, and there was no escape. 


	3. Secrets Revealed

I had completely lost it by then. I started to cry hysterically.  
  
"He's coming for us," I cried out in despair. "I don't want to be here; I just want to go home!" I was sure that my friend was rather embarrassed by my crazed antics, but he tried to comfort me all the same.  
  
"It's all right, Rose; everything will be okay," my friend said quietly, but my distraught mind told me he was trying to comfort himself as well. I had never felt so frightened before. The sheer panic of not knowing what was going to happen was eating away at my mind.  
  
"Rose," my friend said to me, a firmer tone evident in his voice, "trust me. Everything will turn out all right, you'll see." I struggled to stop the incessant tears as his word echoed in my mind.  
  
"Do you really think so?" I asked, reminding myself later of how I felt when my mom would try to comfort me, especially after receiving another exotic postcard from my almost nonexistent father.  
  
"Of course," he replied. His voice was soothing, like gently falling rain in spring. Then I remembered his strange comment from earlier in the silence.  
  
"What did you mean when you said that the Brethren wanted you instead of me?" I asked, the flow of tears slowing to a halt. I saw him sigh heavily, as if he was taking a large load off his back.  
  
"Well, it's kind of a long story…" he trailed off. I had the feeling that he was still unsure whether to explain or not.  
  
"Please?" I asked carefully.  
  
"Okay," he consented, and I concentrated on him rather than our dire future. "Have you ever heard of the Othersight?" I shook my head.  
  
"Well, the Othersight is a sense that everyone has. You know the feeling you get when you think something bad is going to happen? That's the Othersight. Only in my case, it's a little different.  
  
"Not only can I feel that something is going to happen, I can tell what it would be. That's not all, though: sometimes I'll bump into someone, and some of their memories will brush off on me."  
  
"That's weird… no offense of course," I remarked quite frankly. "What kind of memories?"  
  
"Just ones with a lot of emotion attached," he replied. "On the day we met, Rose, we shook hands. Some of your memories were shared with me. For example, I saw you and your parents on a beach, though I assume that was before your father left." He trailed off into an awkward silence, leaving us to our own separate thoughts. My friend was right. When I was young, I used to go to the beach with my mom and father, when we were still together. I was sure I had never told my friend about that; I didn't like to talk about my father much. I coughed unceremoniously to try to break the stillness.  
  
"Why would they want you, Rose?" he asked. He had a right to ask, I suppose, since I hadn't been explaining myself as well as I should. I suddenly realized what my friend had gone through only a minute before. I tried to find the right words, but they refused to come. I decided just to go right out and say it.  
  
"I suppose it's because I have a lot of magic in me," I started. "You know how most wizards can wield one element better over another? Well, I can use all of the elements equally. In other words, any type of magic comes easily to me, and most spells come out with a lot of punch. I guess they want me to do something for the Brethren." My heart pounded, but it was of relief. Finally, to be able to tell someone a secret that was such a burden to keep! I looked to see my friend's reaction. To my surprise, he smiled.  
  
"That's really cool," he said, and I raised an eyebrow in bewilderment. He explained, "Just think: if we were to work together, the Brethren would be no trouble at all."  
  
"Or anyone else, for that matter," a dark voice interjected. 


	4. Darkness and Prophecy

Chapter 4: "Darkness and Prophesy"  
  
Our eyes turned to the speaker at once. The voice was strong, but the malevolence behind it was not hidden. The man was tall, with dark hair and a sweeping black cloak. His eyes, however, was the component that got me into a cold sweat. Full of violence and hatred, those piercing ice gray eyes froze my heart. Those eyes showed neither mercy nor pity. I struggled to retain whatever strength I had left to answer him, but luckily my friend stepped in for our defense.  
  
"Is that what you want to do with us?" he asked boldly. I marveled at his courage but knew that this would only buy us more trouble. We waited for a reply, but none came from the dark leader of the Brethren. Suddenly, my friend screamed out in pain as the wizard cried out the Cruciatus curse.  
  
"Stop it, please!" I cried out, even though I perfectly knew I couldn't stop the sinister wizard. To my surprise, however, he did call off the curse, and my friend was left gasping for breath. Then the wizard addressed us both.  
  
"Next time you speak to me, my young friends, you will show me the proper respect by calling me by my title, lord," he said, his voice like icicles. I managed to calm my mind and decided on a different tactic from my friend.  
  
"We are gravely sorry, my lord," I said as courteously as possible, "but we were ignorant of your title. Please excuse our transgressions, my lord." I saw him smile, but it was not jovial.  
  
"I am glad to see that some people seem to know their place," he said. I realized that he had actually given me a compliment, no matter how small it was. "Perhaps you and I can talk."  
  
"Thank you, my lord," I replied after finding my wits. The wizard was so unpredictable; I couldn't tell what he would do next. It was no small wonder why he was greatly respected by the Brethren.  
  
"I have brought you and your friend here for a purpose," the dark wizard continued. "You see, the Brethren are strong, but they are witless. I must plan for every possible miscalculation myself.  
  
"Long ago, the Ancestors, the Great Ones, harnessed the wild elements of magic. We all know the story; it is taught in every wizard school. What is not commonly known is that the Ancestors made a Prophesy." I found myself hanging on every word he was saying. My friend was also spellbound by the power of those words. I was reminded of World War I and II, when Hitler began his rise to power. Both Hitler and this dark master were powerful orators. The wizard continued his monologue after sighing softly.  
  
"The Prophesy specifically named two Guardians, who would have the powers of all the Ancestors combined. Such Guardians were thought to be great warriors and leaders. Only the three of us now know the truth, and two of them are the Guardians themselves." With a shock, I realized that the leader of the Brethren actually thought that my friend and I were the Guardians mentioned in the Ancestors' Prophecy! I glanced over at my friend for guidance, but his face showed no emotion. I remembered his gift, the Othersight, and suspected that he had already known he was a Guardian. It slightly annoyed me; why didn't he just tell me before? I realized that the wizard was expecting a reply to this revelation.  
  
"What would you want of us, my lord?" I asked, almost afraid of getting an answer.  
  
"If you agree to my terms and cooperate, I shall grant you and your friend's freedom. If you refuse, then I shall kill you both, and that would be the end of this escapade," he replied, giving the answer I dreaded. A quiet, firm voice came out of the silence.  
  
"You can't kill us," my friend said. "Only at the hands of the ones we love can the Guardians be killed." His words confirmed my suspicions. He had known the Prophecy, then, or at least part of it.  
  
"There are ways to kill you," the dark wizard directly addressed him. His face was a mask of cold fury. "Not everyone has your resolution and courage." Was he implying that he could persuade someone we knew to kill us? I tried to come to my friend's defense, but I was too late.  
  
"I am also tired of your constant interruptions and signs of disrespect," the leader of the Brethren cried out coldly, a wand suddenly reappearing in his hand. He aimed at my friend and called out a single word.  
  
"Silencio!"  
  
Instantly, the cries of protest coming from my friend were cut off. He tried speaking again, but no sound came.  
  
"Now then," the dark wizard said with slight gratification, "back to business. My terms are as follow: one, you obey my orders to my satisfaction; two, any orders given to you that contradict my own must not be obeyed; three, you may not go to any places I do not authorize. They are very simple terms, and at the end of one week, you are free to continue on with your petty lives." He stopped then and waited for me to make the most important decision I would ever make. I shouldn't agree to the terms; if I really was a Guardian, then I should only use the responsibility for good. If we didn't agree, however, he would kill us, and we wouldn't be able to do anything to stop his evil plans. That was the advantage to agreeing: if we could stop him, then everything would be fine. Of course, he could twist the terms so that he could force us to do something we didn't want to do. then what should I decide to do? A minute or so had gone by, and I was still lost at the decision.  
  
I glanced over at my friend, who tried to speak again but couldn't. The decision would have to be my own. I decided at last to follow my heart, and an answer came to my lips.  
  
"We agree to your terms, my lord," I said. The dark wizard smiled; the malice was not hidden, however.  
  
"You have chosen well, Guardian," he answered. "I shall make the necessary arrangements. You begin now." Then he turned to leave, but I still had something more to say.  
  
"My lord?" I ventured to call out, well aware of the unpredictability of the wizard's answer.  
  
"Yes?" he answered, slightly annoyed.  
  
"If it pleases you, my lord, I would like to discuss this decision with my friend," I said, careful to choose the right words.  
  
"Of course, Guardian," he replied with a cold smile. "Retournez!" My friend rubbed at his throat and spoke, trying to control his rising fury.  
  
"Thank you, my lord," he said statically, no emotion present in his tone. His eyes glared at the turned back of the wizard leader, however. The key turned in the lock, and we were left in silence. 


	5. Birds of a Feather

Chapter 5: "Birds of a Feather"  
  
"So," he said in the same static tone.  
  
"So what?" I asked, irritated.  
  
"So you agreed to his terms," he replied.  
  
"What else was I supposed to do?!" I exploded at him. All the tensions of the ordeal had been building up, and now like a volcano, I blew up at him.  
  
"You had no other choice," he sighed in resignation. "Maybe we can do something to stop him."  
  
"Oh, and what are two kids going to do against a powerful dark wizard and his entire organization?" I asked vehemently. I knew it was mean to say that, but I couldn't help it.  
  
"I'm sorry," he mumbled quietly. I finally came to my senses. We needed to work together, not blame each other.  
  
"No, I'm sorry," I said. "You're right; maybe we can do something."  
  
"The question is," my friend asked, mainly to himself, "what?"  
  
"Do you have any idea of what he wants us to do?" I asked, hoping his Othersight could help us.  
  
"No," he replied, "but I am sure that it won't be good." A minute of silence went by before he spoke again. "You overcame the truth serum rather quickly."  
  
"It was nothing compared to the Cruciatus curse," I smiled grimly. "I wish we had our wands with us."  
  
"If we did," my friend stated with a lopsided grin, "then we wouldn't be here now, would we?"  
  
"I suppose not," I replied, returning the smile. "What do we do now?"  
  
"Wait, I guess," he shrugged. In the quiet that followed, a crazy idea entered my mind.  
  
"Wait a minute," I cried out in excitement. "Not all spells need a wand, right?"  
  
"Rose, the ones that don't are usually potion of some kind," my friend replied, but I wasn't about to give up.  
  
"I didn't need my wand to expel the truth serum," I stated, a broad smile on my face. It took him a moment or two to understand.  
  
"It would take a wand to do that, but you didn't need one!" he exclaimed. "Go ahead and try an unlocking spell; it doesn't hurt to try." I immediately concentrated on the words of the Alohomora spell.  
  
"Alohomora!" I cried out. There was a sudden flash of light and pain, and I shut my eyes tight. I had never gotten a result like that before! Of course, I had never used the Alohomora spell on myself before, either.  
  
"You did it, Rose!" my friend called out, causing my eyes to open in surprise. The chains had fallen off my wrists. I stretched out my muscles and immediately came to my friend's aid. The Alohomora spell was easy to cast, and it wasn't long before we were sprinting down the torch-lit corridor. So far we hadn't run into any Brethren, but the chance of that happening was vast. Suddenly, a bird screech and a ruffle of wings put a halt to our tracks.  
  
"What in the world.?" I could hear my friend say as we stared through the barred window into another cramped cell. Inside was a huge scarlet and gold bird, who screamed out in anger as it recognized us as humans. Almost immediately, my friend went into the Othersight. Gradually the bird calmed down, and I waited somewhat patiently for an answer.  
  
"She's a phoenix," my friend eventually said after returning from the Othersight. "She was captured and sold to many owners before the Brethren acquired her. She's been locked down here ever since, Rose. Can't we help her?" My friend looked at me with a pleading look. I eyed the phoenix bird again. Phoenixes were legendary for their sharp talons and beak, and their feathers acted as a tough armor.  
  
"Is she. safe?" I asked, glancing at the razor-sharp talons, four on each foot.  
  
"Of course," he replied. "She's promised not to harm us if we help her." I stared at the phoenix and found myself gazing straight into her eyes. They weren't bloodcurdling eyes like I had expected; on the contrary, they were filled with intelligence and hope. Those eyes convinced me at last.  
  
"Alohomora!" I called out, and the phoenix jumped from the open doorway with a cry of joy, blowing us both down to the ground.  
  
"Whoa, easy there!" I cried out as she beat her wings. She realized where we were and waited for us to get up.  
  
"We need to hurry up and get out of here," my friend said, being the rock of good sense as always. The phoenix gave a cry as she took to the air.  
  
"She says she knows the way," he said as the phoenix flew down the hall. "Come on!" Together we ran after the phoenix and hopefully not into the Brethren. 


	6. Mirage

Chapter 6: "Mirage"  
  
We continued following the phoenix until we reached a solid oak door.  
  
"Do we go in?" I asked, afraid of what we could find on the other side.  
  
"It's the only way to go," my friend replied, but even he sounded unsure.  
  
"All right," I replied, and together we pulled the heavy door open. In the enclave before us, three Brethren wizards stared back at us.  
  
"Hey!" one of them shouted; the cry startled the other two Brethren into action. I breathed a gasp as I struggled to push the door closed.  
  
"No!" my friend cried as he put a hand on my arm. "We need to go through there!" We pulled the door open again, catching one of the wizards fully on the jaw with the handle. With a bloodcurdling battle cry, the phoenix flew outstretched into the room, talons and beak open wide. The other Brethren yelled out in surprise and ran from the bird of death as we headed towards the opposite door. We ran smack into two other Brethren, who had heard the commotion.  
  
"Fillipio!" I shouted at the first wizard, and he was sent backwards into his follower. We pulled the door open as the second wizard grabbed at my boot. My friend's arm was suddenly there; he tore off the gripping hand, and we ran. Suddenly I stopped.  
  
"Wait!" I shouted at my retreating friend. "Aren't we forgetting something? What about the phoenix?" My friend stopped and closed his eyes, searching with the Othersight. A few precious moments slipped by, and he returned to the real world.  
  
"She says that we should go on without her," he said. Then he gave a sly grin. "I don't know about you, but I'm not going to let her steal all the glory." I smiled back.  
  
"Neither am I," I replied, and we pushed the door back open. Feathers of beautiful fiery colors were everywhere; the phoenix herself was backed into a corner, surrounded by a half-dozen Brethren. Charging in full canter, I shouted out curses as counter-curses flew back at me. Suddenly everything stopped, and even the phoenix froze in panic. A huge slobbering troll appeared out of nowhere and loomed over us, roaring with terrible ferocity. One more moment of paralyzing fear, and we scrambled for cover from the horrifying monstrosity. The Brethren yelled out in terror, and before the troll could take a single step, they had disappeared. A huge column of air buffeted into me as the phoenix suddenly took flight. She yelled out a battle cry and attempted to take the troll head on. With a strange twist of fate, however, her talons, beak, and her entire body passed through the troll, like it hadn't been there at all. Then everything happened at once. The troll trembled violently and, without warning, simply vanished. The phoenix slammed hard into the wall, so when she struggled to rise, her right wing hung limp by her side.  
  
"Wait!" my friend had shouted during this fiasco. I had completely forgotten about him when the troll had appeared seemingly out of nowhere.  
  
"What happened?" I asked, suddenly very confused.  
  
"The troll was an illusion," he answered, and the phoenix gave him a furious scream of shock. He quickly tried to defend his words. "I meant to tell you, but you just rushed in. You were going to get slaughtered; it was now or never."  
  
"So the troll was never really there?" I asked. "How in the world did you pull that one off?!"  
  
"Using the Othersight," he replied and shrugged his shoulders. "It's kind of complicated, though." Not wanting to hear a detailed explanation, I shifted my attention to the phoenix, who was still lying on the floor. When I tried approaching her, she backed away, treating me as another threat.  
  
"I just want to look at your wing," I pleaded with her. A few tense moments passed by when I could have sworn those talons were going to rip me apart, and she sat up straight, allowing me to step in. Although I wasn't an expert on birds, I could tell that her wing was badly bruised, maybe even broken. She also had countless scratches, bruises, and burns from her Brethren attackers, marring her beautiful plumage.  
  
"You may have broken your wing," I concluded, "but that's only a possibility. All the same, I'm afraid you won't be doing any more flying for a while." This was met by a frustrated cry, but she didn't attack me in blind fury, much to my relief. She stood on her feet unsteadily but refused my aid.  
  
"We don't have much time before they come back," my friend said in his calm, sensible way. I nodded in agreement, and the three of us continued as quickly as possible, much more cautious than before. 


	7. Wink!

Chapter 7: "Wink!"  
  
The following rooms had no Brethren, but we continued to be cautious as we reached the final door before the meeting hall, as the phoenix said to my friend. Slowly I pulled one of the double doors open to darkness. No one was inside the huge room with the vaulted ceiling and the flying buttresses. If I didn't know any better, I would have guessed that this was a cathedral. In fact, I could see the outline of what could have been an altar only yards away. Nothing disturbed the silence, and I was tempted to yell out just so the quiet was ended.  
  
"The coast is clear," I whispered instead to the two figures hovering behind me. My friend pulled the door open freely, and we all stepped inside. With a sudden slam the door shut behind us. Whirling with panic I tried pushing it open again, but it was locked. Without warning the candles in the hall were lit all at once with magic, and we found ourselves surrounded by at least a score of Brethren. With a shriek of fury, the phoenix attempted to take flight, but the wing restrained her. She used her fearsome beak and talons instead. Instantly, curses and counter-curses flew as I struggled to protect my friend and me as best I could.  
  
"Look out!" he shouted as a curse I hadn't seen came firing at me. Instinctively I ducked, and I heard the explosion of magic behind me. I was tiring quickly because I needed to use all of my energy to cast spells. Levitating a nearby table I slammed it into the nearest Brethren as I pushed through the crowd with my friend in tow. We started to dash for the opposite door.  
  
"Come on!" I shouted at the phoenix, and she half-hopped, half-flew after us. The wizards immediately gave chase.  
  
"Don't let them escape!" I heard one of them cry, but I was concentrating on moving my legs faster. My friend led the way, dragging me along like a pull-toy. Why couldn't I run any faster? With every step I took, a new weight was added, it seemed. Suddenly a stray curse hit my foot, instantly cutting off any feeling to it. My foot felt like it was no longer there. It was a Neurapraxia curse, an effective curse that temporarily cut off the nerve endings to the afflicted part. I had to admire the originality of the Brethren; my foot was still on the end of my leg, but it certainly didn't feel like it.  
  
"Are you okay?" my friend asked as he turned and noticed my limp.  
  
"Yeah, just keep going," I managed to gasp out. An eternity seemed to pass before we reached the last set of double doors that would hopefully lead to freedom. My friend pulled both doors open as the phoenix and I went through to the cool night air. He hesitated for a moment, and the air in front of him suddenly began to warp into a ferocious three-headed dog. I was reminded of the legend of the Sorcerer's Stone, when a similar three- headed dog blocked the entrance to the stone.  
  
"That should do the trick," I heard my friend mumble as the "dog" bounded inside.  
  
"That won't keep them occupied for long," I said. "Come on!" We started to run down the street when my friend stopped.  
  
"Where are we?" he suddenly asked. I looked around; I didn't recognize any of the buildings, though they looked antique. We were in the middle of a city, but the decor looked like it came from the Renaissance. An outline from a building in the distance alarmed my senses, and without warning it all began to click.  
  
"We're in Rome," I said.  
  
"Rome? As in Italy?!" my friend exclaimed in surprise.  
  
"That building over there," I said, pointing towards the horizon, "that's the Coliseum. And the building we just came out of: that's St. Peter's Basilica!"  
  
"We were in St. Peter's Basilica?" he repeated, still shocked at the fact that we were in Italy. It was a long way home to England! The phoenix nudged me forward with her beak unexpectedly.  
  
"She says that the Brethren are coming this way," my friend translated. We started to run again. It was going to be difficult hiding two teens and a phoenix in an empty street, though, so when the Brethren were lost behind a corner, we ran into the nearest open building, a pharmacy. Hiding behind some store shelves, we watched as our pursuers passed right by without a sideways glance. I was about to give a sigh of relief when two wizards came running back and stepped inside. We helped the phoenix hide behind a large display of assorted heartburn medications as the two Brethren began their search.  
  
Suddenly a blustering, red-faced man ran over to the Brethren, yelling angrily in a language I knew as Italian. The wizards waited patiently for the man to finish before one pulled out his wand and erased the pharmacist's memory. The other Brethren looked towards the back, and then he turned around and left the pharmacy. The other wizard followed suit. My friend and I both let out a sigh this time, and I giggled. It felt so good to laugh and smile after all this!  
  
"We're not out of this yet, Rose," my friend cautioned. The phoenix gave a nod in agreement. It was strange, but I found myself believing that she was more human than bird. I helped to extract her from behind the display, trying to protect her damaged wing as best I could. We were about to leave (avoiding the red-faced man, who was still standing motionless because of the spell) when my friend went back towards the shelves.  
  
"Hang on," he said, "I have an idea." Taking a roll of bandages and a tube of ointment, he attempted to bandage the phoenix's wing. To keep myself occupied, knowing that I would only get in the way, I stared out the window and looked for passing Brethren. I also tried to massage some feeling back into my foot. Slowly but surely the curse wore off, and I soon had my foot back to normal at about the same time that my friend had finished. The phoenix did seem to be in less pain, despite the makeshift medical care. She crooned with pleasure and relief.  
  
"Well, that's done," my friend commented, wiping his hands on his robes like a typical guy.  
  
"Wait," I said, "what about money?"  
  
"I guess we should pay for this stuff," he replied rather guiltily. "Do you think that five sickles would do?"  
  
"He doesn't seem like a wizard to me," I replied. "Do you think he'll accept our currency?" I glanced at the gold in my friend's hand.  
  
"Oh, I'm sure that it would be okay," he said. He shrugged his shoulders as he placed the money on the counter. I stole a glance outside and was alarmed to see the parade of robes. The Brethren were coming back this way!  
  
"Hide!" I warned the others, and we managed to squeeze behind a shelf just as they passed the window. Unfortunately the procession stopped in front of the pharmacy window as the wizard in front strolled casually to the glass. I held my breath as the eyes swept over the storefront. Suddenly his eyes caught my own, and I knew we were caught. The hair on the back of my neck tingled as we were connected in our twin stares, but to my surprise, he actually winked and turned away. Waving a big paw over his head, the rest of the Brethren followed and walked up the street, back towards the church. I dimly heard my friend sigh with relief.  
  
"That was close," he commented. I was still thinking about the unusual behavior of the Brethren, however. He had seen us and even winked at me! Why did he let us go, then?  
  
"Rose?" my friend called, jarring me out of my thoughts. "Are you okay?" I made a quick decision not to alarm them by telling them about the Brethren.  
  
"Yeah," I replied, keeping my voice even. The phoenix tapped her beak on my friend's shoulder. He translated her thoughts to me.  
  
"She says that the man is starting to wake up," he said. "We better leave while we still can." We had all stepped out of the pharmacy by the time the red-faced man took to his senses. I stole back a glance, and I watched the pharmacist as he noticed and picked up the knuts on the counter, shaking his head slowly in disbelief. He had been a muggle after all! I couldn't help but laugh. 


	8. A New Day

Dawn found us dodging from shadow to shadow, trying to conceal ourselves from view. I knew that people were starting to awaken, however, and our phoenix friend would certainly attract attention. The phoenix was gradually getting more and more excited, though I had no idea why. I asked my friend about this; he told me that he had been wondering about this as well. I glanced towards the east, and the first pinks of morning were starting to color the skies. I was reminded of home and sighed. The first rays of sun started to pierce through the empty street, and the phoenix gave a sudden cry and met the new light in the middle of the street. I watched in awe, for as the phoenix bathed in the sunlight, tiny sparks of magic shot out from beneath her ruffled feathers. I could only stand and stare as the phoenix suddenly gave out a luminosity of her own. Brighter and brighter she became until I was forced to shield my eyes to keep from being blinded. Finally I could sense that the light coming from the phoenix had disappeared as quickly as it had come. I slowly opened my eyes.  
  
"Wicked..." I heard myself exclaim slowly as my eyes met that of the phoenix: only she wasn't a phoenix any longer. She was human, a little older than me, with wavy brown hair and the familiar golden-brown eyes. The only evidence of her ever being a phoenix bird was two brilliant feathers that had fallen to her feet. She followed my eyes to the crimson feathers that shone golden, and she stooped down quickly and put them away from sight.  
  
"I'm sorry I didn't warn you," the girl who had been a phoenix apologized in an accent I recognized as American. "I didn't mean to scare you or something." I struggled dumbly to find a response.  
  
"That's all right. I just..." Here I paused. I didn't want to offend her.  
  
"Didn't know," my friend supplied for me. "Neither did I, even with the Othersight."  
  
"My name's Kari," the phoenix girl said.  
  
"How did you get here, Kari?" my friend asked curiously.  
"Well, it's a long story, but I suppose I'll have to start at the beginning," she said, beginning her monologue. "I lived in Chicago. I didn't know I was any different from muggles or even wizards until I turned seven. It's kind of funny how it happened: I was just sitting at my desk (I was going to a muggle school), when I got an itchy feeling all over. I looked down to discover that I was actually sprouting feathers! My teacher, Mrs. Bottles, took one look at me and hurriedly told the class that I was having a severe case of the chicken pox!" We laughed, picturing the event in our minds. Suddenly we heard a crash behind us, and we froze in fear. It had luckily only been a stray cat, who had knocked over a garbage lid. We recognized the warning, however.  
  
"Anyway," Kari said quietly, "I was taken to the nurse's office. I didn't know about magic, much less what was happening to me. The nurse called my parents, they picked me up, and I never went to that school again."  
  
"What happened next?" my friend asked, caught up in the story. I was, too.  
  
"Well, my parents explained to me that they were wizards, and they brought me to a local witch doctor. By this time, my parents told me that I looked like an ash gray bird, and I couldn't speak anymore. The doctor took one look at me and told my parents that I needed to go to the emergency room. Floating me on a stretcher, we were halfway there when I felt a burning sensation. I had burst into flames! My mom fainted and my dad tried to put me out, but I must have blacked out or something. The next thing I knew, I was in the hospital, and my mom was feeding me with a spoon. I tried to talk to her, but only a tiny squeak came out. My dad told me that I had burned into ashes and then reborn into a baby bird."  
  
"Wow," I replied in awe. That was all I could say; I was so taken aback. "What happened after that?"  
  
"I grew quickly. Then one day, I suddenly heard a voice in my mind. It was my mom, but her lips weren't moving. She didn't know that she was talking to me through her mind until I tried to talk back. They told me that the doctors couldn't reverse my condition, but she said that turning into a phoenix 'happens' in our family. My grandmother and her grandmother had been phoenixes, I found out. We went to my grandma's house the next day. By this time I had grown into a fully grown, human-sized phoenix.  
  
"My grandma taught me how to change back into human form, and soon I was shifting back and forth with ease. The only thing I needed to change was sunlight. The longer I stayed in darkness, the weaker I would become. That's why I wasn't able to change right away when you found me... Everything went well over the next couple years. I went to the Chicago Academy of Wizardry when I turned eleven, and no one knew I was really a phoenix until..." Kari paused, lost in thought. A tear had sprung unbidden to her eye, and I realized that this must have been when she was discovered and taken captive.  
  
"Until the man came," Kari said again, hastily wiping away the tear. "He... he was doing a routine inspection, he said. He came up and told me that I needed to come with him, that it was about my parents. I didn't know any better; why would I? No one saw me leave in the carriage with him, and I never saw my family again." Now I could see a hint of blinding rage behind her eyes. I was angry as well; how could anyone be so cruel as to take a kid away from her parents just because she was different?  
  
"Keep going, please?" I tried to reassure her.  
  
"Well, there's really not much else to tell. I was sold numerous times to different wizards and even a muggle who wanted to use me in his circus! I was used to show off, haul heavy loads, and even fight in some cases. Then the Brethren purchased me, and I was locked in that cell ever since," she said and paused. "Thanks for rescuing me."  
  
"You're welcome," I replied, and I glanced over at the sun. It had already extended above the horizon. A roar of an engine nearby caught my attention, and I realized that all three of us were still standing in the middle of the street.  
  
"Sorry," my friend apologized to the driver, who commented "stupid capretti" darkly in Italian before driving away. I had a feeling I didn't need a translation to understand what the driver had said to us. "Yeah, you too," my friend mumbled.  
  
"Where do we go from here?" I asked. Kari and my friend glanced at each other.  
  
"Well, do you know anyone who lives in Rome?" Kari commented. I shrugged my shoulders.  
  
"We could try the tourist center, although I doubt that it would be open this early," suggested my friend.  
  
"Let's try to go to the wizarding section of Rome," I said. The others agreed.  
  
"Then it's settled," finalized Kari. "We'll go to Gringotts and trade our money, and then we'll go somewhere to eat because I'm starved! The only problem is the Brethren..." She didn't need to continue; we all knew. It was only a matter of time before the Brethren would catch up with us, and we needed to be ready. 


	9. Make New Friends, But Keep the Old

To my surprise, we found the wizarding half of Rome with ease. Using the Othersight my friend had noticed an unusual amount of magic in a secluded flower garden in a public park. Making sure no one was watching, I had placed my hand on the seemingly solid brick wall behind it. The magic had rippled at my touch, and my hand passed through. I had stepped through the barrier into an alley, with a bustling street beyond. My friends had come up right behind me. Now we walked quickly to the street, trying to blend in. A few strangers noticed our appearance, but they continued on their conversations.  
  
"They probably think we're tourists," whispered my friend. "It doesn't look like the Brethren told them anything about us." We walked up the street towards a large building, which happened to be the place we were looking for: Gringotts.  
  
"Is it just me, or does it look exactly the same as the one at home?" I commented. It was true; it was the same white alabaster columns and huge double doors.  
  
"Even the one in Chicago looks like this, though I've only been there once," Kari stated. We stepped inside and looked for the exchange counter. A grumpier-than-normal goblin was waiting, and an elderly couple was receiving Italian wizard coins. We waited nervously, or at least I did. What if the Brethren had anticipated us and had told the goblins?  
  
"Yes?" the goblin stated in a monotonous voice. We were up.  
  
"We'd like to exchange currency from English to Italian coinage, please," my friend said, slightly stammering over his words. I hadn't been the only one that was nervous, then.  
  
"How much?" replied the goblin. We looked at each other, and then I started to empty out my pockets. It was lucky that the Brethren had only taken our wands away. The grand total came to five galleons, eleven sickles, and twenty-three knuts. It wasn't enough to buy a room, for instance, but it would hopefully be enough for us.  
  
"Have a nice day," the goblin sneered as he handed us our new currency. "Next!" As we walked out of Gringotts, Kari did a nice impression of the goblin, and my friend and I laughed.  
  
"And now, my friends," she acted with bravado, "where shall we eat?" We were put into more fits of giggles, but until then I hadn't realized how hungry I really was. As in answer, my stomach growled just how long it had been since I had last eaten.  
  
"Let's go to the inn over there," I suggested. They glanced to the place where I pointed my finger: the Red Tomato. It seemed to be a decent place and looked clean enough. Passing under the swinging sign (Kari had to duck), we stepped inside the darkened inn. Suddenly a slim angry man with brown tousled hair knocked into us. He didn't bother to apologize to us, even though he had pushed me down to the ground. He turned around and yelled at another man standing nearby.  
  
"He's one of the best!" he shouted. "If you don't like him, then live with it!" He spat at the cleanly polished floor and stormed out of the inn. There was a minute of uncomfortable silence, and then everyone returned to their respective conversations, some casting glances at the doorway. The other man who had been yelled at, blonde and with odd-shaped glasses, slammed his chair against the table and stomped to what I guessed was his room at the inn. I didn't notice another older gentleman who stood nearby me until he spoke.  
  
"Siette tutta la destre, mancanza?" he asked as he helped me to my feet. I looked him over; his hair was slightly grayish, but his soft blue eyes twinkled with youth. Small wrinkles creased his face, but to whether they were leftover from smiles or worries, I had no idea.  
  
"Thank you, sir," I replied. I would have spoken in Italian if I knew any.  
  
You're welcome," he answered in perfect English. He was not from Italy, that was certain. The mysterious gentleman looked at me strangely in curiosity, then in sudden recognition.  
  
"Come with me, mancanza," he exclaimed, motioning excitedly. "Your two young friends may join you as well." My instincts were instantly alarmed: this man could be working for the Brethren! Although he didn't wear the mark physically, he could be a spy. Reluctant as I was to go with him, however, there was always the chance that my suspicions were unfounded. I glanced at my companions, and my friend gave me a shrug of consent.  
  
"Okay," I assented at last, and together we followed the stranger to his quarters at the back of the inn. We were gestured inside, and he looked furtively around for any possible followers and eavesdroppers before closing the door. The room itself was sparsely furnished, with a bed, closet, table, and two chairs as its only furniture. Kari tapped me on the shoulder lightly.  
  
"Are you sure this is such a good idea?" she questioned; the concern was evident in her voice.  
  
"Well, it's not like we have much choice," I responded softly as I kept my eyes on the puzzling stranger. He turned to me, the look of recollection back on his face. All of a sudden he grabbed me by the shoulders and embraced me! I cried out in protest, and he immediately let go, aware of his mistake.  
  
"I'm sorry," he apologized, "but it's been so long... I haven't seen you since you were a baby, Rose."  
  
"Who are you, and how do you know my name?" I demanded, taken aback.  
"My name is Remus Lupin," he replied. "I'm a friend of your father's. You probably wouldn't remember me; it's been years..." He trailed off again, lost in reconnaissance.  
  
"Lupin?" I thought to myself. The name sounded familiar... I placed the name with a face I had seen once in a photo. Of course! He had been my father's best man at my parents' wedding. I remembered my mom telling me about to Lupin; my father and he went to school together. I told this to the man called Lupin.  
  
"Wait a minute, you two know each other?" Kari asked in surprise. Lupin and I both nodded.  
  
"I don't know you two, however," he stated.  
  
"My name's Kari, and he's..." Kari paused in thought for a moment. "Hey, what is your name?" Sensing my friend's discomfort, I stepped in his defense.  
  
"He... doesn't use a name," I said. My friend nodded in accord.  
  
"I know it sounds strange," he tried to explain, "but I just don't use a name."  
"A strange request," Lupin replied, "but these are strange times. For now, I'll call you... Anonimo, which means anonymous in Italian. Is that all right?" My friend agreed. I glanced over at Kari and could sense immediately that her curiosity was not satisfied. She had shot a dark look at Lupin when he hadn't pried further.  
  
"Do you know where my father is, Mr. Lupin?" I asked quickly, changing the subject before Kari could object.  
  
"Please, call me Remus," Lupin replied. His tone changed to melancholy. "I'm afraid I don't know, Rose. It seems that your father has disappeared rather well this time. I've talked to many of his friends, but they don't know where he's gone to." I sighed heavily. I didn't know my father very well, but... he was my father, after all. I hadn't seen him since I was very young, when he had to leave. I remember him holding me in his arms, embracing me tightly. All I could remember of my father was his heartbeat and a tear that fell onto me. He had kissed my mother good-bye, turned around, and opened the gate... I had never seen him again, only in postcards. I had been living with my mom ever since. I was still lost in thought when I realized that the conversation had gone on without me.  
  
"Well, you're welcome to stay with me," Lupin was saying. "I can help you get back to England. What exactly brings to Italy, anyway?"  
  
"It's kind of a long story..." my friend said.  
  
"We have time," Lupin answered. "I don't think you're in a hurry to go anywhere. Just start at the beginning."  
  
"Well, after school let out, we planned to get together over the summer," I answered. "We didn't know Kari then. My mom and his parents agreed to vacation in the same place: Dover."  
  
"The first chance we got," my friend continued, "we got together near the cliffs. Our parents weren't far off, and we were just looking at the view and talking about the next school year, I think. All of a sudden, I got the feeling that something bad was about to happen, and something zoomed overhead. They were wizards on brooms, who threw curses down at us. We tried to run, but there were too many of them. They dismounted and threw a Cruciatus curse at Rose. She was able to overcome it with a little bit of help from me, but we were overwhelmed at the end. I assume that one of them threw a Stupefy spell at me, because I blacked out and don't remember anything else."  
  
"We figured out later that it was the Brethren," I said. Lupin looked at us with concern; the Brethren were notorious throughout the world for their cruelty and mastery of the Dark Arts. "We were imprisoned, and we met up with the leader himself, but we managed to escape. We freed Kari, and we've been running from the Brethren since late last night."  
  
"You mean to say that you actually met the leader of the Brethren?!" cried Lupin, astonished. "And yet you managed to escape? Tell me, what exactly did he tell you?" Together we related the story of our conversation and our escape. Lupin and Kari, who didn't know why we had been captured by the Brethren, were certainly surprised by our narrative. Then Lupin got up from the table, opened the door, and again looked for any eavesdroppers. Evidently there were none because he returned to his seat.  
  
"Did you ever think that the Brethren let you escape?" he asked suddenly. My friends shook their heads, but I couldn't do that so readily. With a sigh of reluctance I told them about my encounter with the leader of the Brethren search party. Lupin gazed gravely at me.  
  
"I must confirm your suspicions, Rose," he said after a minute of silence. "Your escape just seems too easy."  
  
"Easy?!" Kari cried out. "You call that easy?! You try escaping from the Brethren, then!" She looked ready to pounce on Lupin.  
  
"He's right, Kari," my friend calmly defended Lupin. "The Brethren deliberately let us escape. The question is: why?" This was met with silence.  
  
"Well, who's hungry?" Lupin asked cheerfully, breaking the solitude. "I'm sure you haven't eaten in quite a bit." We agreed rapidly, and we went back to the front of the inn. The unanswered question flew to the back of my mind as I acquainted myself with my father's friend and did justice to the delicious meal. 


	10. Lost and Found

That morning we had retired to Lupin's room to take a well-deserved nap. Before I had drifted off, however, I had noticed a shadow lean in closely. I had recognized the form as Kari, and I had immediately known what she was about to ask me.  
  
"Rose, you've known your friend for a long time, I bet," she had said, confirming my suspicions. "So why doesn't he use a name?" I had smiled in the darkness and given the only answer I could.  
  
"Kari, go to sleep."  
  
"Why won't you tell me?" Kari had protested. "Why does it need to be a secret?"  
  
"Because I'm trying to respect my friend's privacy. Now go to sleep," I had said and turned over.  
  
"You don't really know, do you," Kari had mumbled underneath her breath. "You probably don't even know his name." With a final grumble, she had left me in peace, and I was finally able to sleep. I didn't wake up until three in the afternoon, but I was still exhausted. I was stretching quietly on the floor when Lupin slipped into the room with a package in his hand.  
  
"What's that?" I softly asked, not wanting to disturb Kari, who was still sleeping.  
  
"I think you and Anonimo should see this," Lupin replied grimly. Seeing that my friend was already awake, we hovered around Lupin's shoulders as he sat down at the table and opened the package.  
  
"I got this from the owl post," commented Lupin as he unwrapped the brown paper. "There was no return address." The wrapping fell to the table, revealing its contents, and I gasped slightly in recognition. Two wands sat side by side; one of them was my own. My friend took the other, a look of astonishment on his face. Beside the wands was a small note tucked neatly inside. Lupin took the note as I picked up my wand and polished it on my shirt.  
  
"Take a look at this," Lupin said after reading the note, and he read it out loud.  
  
" 'Guardians,  
You left rather quickly, and in your haste, you had forgotten your wands. They are enclosed with this note. Your instructions are as follows: return to London immediately. Your friends Remus Lupin and Kari Sky may accompany you on your journey. You will wait in London until we contact you with further instructions. If you refuse to do so, the consequences are clear.' " The note was unsigned, and no writing except for Lupin's name was evident on the packaging.  
  
"Wow," a voice said behind me, "what's that all about?" It was Kari, who was trying to brush through her wavy brown hair.  
  
"It's from the Brethren," my friend replied. "They must have followed us."  
  
"It didn't take them long to find us," I mumbled under my breath.  
  
"That's because they never lost you," Lupin responded, overhearing my comment. "So, Guardians, the choice is up to you. Are we going to London?" I thought about it for a moment, and my friend spoke our answer.  
  
"I miss home," he said. "We might as well go."  
  
That night I found myself on the Continental Express, heading towards England at over one hundred kilometers an hour, or at least that's what the brochure said. The train was run by muggles, but that's why we chose this particular one. We could have been in London overnight if went by magic; however, we didn't want to attract the attention of the Brethren or their spies. I snuggled into the corner of our booth, leaning my head against the window. Lights, cars, and houses flashed for a moment before disappearing into the night.  
  
"Comfortable?" my friend asked as he slid into the seat across from me.  
  
"Oh, hello," I said, slightly startled. I hadn't even heard him slide open the door. "Yeah, I am, actually." We sat in silence as we stared out the window at the passing lights. I heard him sigh in introduction.  
  
"Rose," he asked, "what if I told you that I thought someone was following us?" I thought of my answer for a moment and shrugged.  
  
"I would say that you probably weren't far from wrong," I replied. "After all, the Brethren should be keeping tabs on us now that we've left Rome."  
  
"I figured as much," he answered. "Remember when we were buying our tickets? A man was behind us, and I recognized him as the one who had pushed you back in the inn. As we were leaving, I accidentally bumped into him. The Othersight told me that he was scared and angry. He had somehow been affected by the Brethren. I know it might not mean anything, but he ordered a compartment two down from ours."  
  
"Well," I said, using logic to the best of my ability, "he could be trying to sneak out of the country because of the Brethren, or he could be what you think: a spy."  
  
"Or my Othersight could be wrong," my friend inserted. "I've never known it to lead me astray, though."  
  
"I sincerely doubt it," I echoed. Just then the compartment door glided open, and Kari stepped inside with Lupin just behind her.  
  
"It's amazing, the things you can find on a train!" she exclaimed.  
  
"Haven't you ever been on a train before?" my friend asked, puzzled.  
  
"Only in freight," she beamed, "but this is awesome. It's like being on a moving hotel. You wouldn't believe what I found in the bathroom!" After this outburst, my friend stifled his laughter as I gave her a strange look. Somehow I had the feeling I didn't want to know what Kari had found.  
  
I woke up the next morning in the north of France. Kari was already up and gone, so I got dressed and went to the dining car, where I found the rest of my companions.  
  
"Morning, sleepyhead," my friend teased me as I grabbed a bagel and a cup of milk from the buffet.  
  
"Hmm..." I replied sarcastically. Kari made room for me to sit with her in the booth. Lupin hadn't arrived yet, so we conversed as we ate breakfast.  
  
"How did you sleep, Kari?" my friend asked.  
  
"Pretty well," she answered. "The train was rocking back and forth, and it wasn't hard to get to sleep. I only wish that they'd turn down whatever they use to keep it cold in there!" My friend agreed and turned around at the newcomer.  
  
"Morning!" my friend called out to Lupin, who had just arrived with a cup of coffee and a newspaper tucked beneath his arm. He returned the greeting and noticed the overstuffed table.  
  
"Well now, what do we have here?" Lupin said as he saw the array of food.  
  
"Pancakes, bacon, sausage, eggs, hash browns, muffins, Danish, toast, bananas, apples, oranges, grapefruit, bagels, milk, coffee, apple or orange juice," Kari rattled off. "The sign says 'help yourself'."  
  
"I think that's what I'll do," Lupin replied. After selecting his breakfast, Lupin sat down and opened the first section of the newspaper. Out of the folds fluttered a note down to the table. I picked it up out of curiosity and inspected it. The note looked almost identical to the note that had come with our wands.  
  
"Listen to this, everyone," I said and proceeded to read the note aloud.  
  
" 'Guardians,  
We left the choice of transportation to you, and you believe that you are no longer being watched. By the time you receive this note, something of importance from each of your belongings will be taken. If our instructions are followed, then your possessions will be returned. When you arrive in London, take the muggle underground to the Big Ben clock tower. A man in a trench coat with a dark red suitcase will await you at noon, exactly. DO NOT BE LATE, AND COME ALONE.'  
  
"The last line is capitalized and underlined," I concluded, waiting for a reaction.  
  
"Well then," my friend said in the silence.  
  
"Does that mean we can't go with you to the meeting?" Kari asked, concern apparent in her voice.  
  
"I guess not," I answered, and I handed the note to Lupin, who read it over quickly to himself.  
  
"I think we should go back to our rooms now," Lupin cried out suddenly as he stood up. "Someone on this train works for the Brethren, and if we can catch him or her in the act, we'll know who that spy is." We rushed to our rooms and finally reached them. No one was nearby, so on the count of three, we unlocked and pushed open the doors. We had arrived too late; both rooms were catastrophic. Clothes had been flung everywhere, some papers out of my journal had been torn out, and my wand was lying on the floor by the wall. It looked like it had simply been thrown across the room, perhaps in frustration or in haste.  
  
"All right, everyone," Lupin said as we began to clean up the mess. "Let's get everything organized and see what's missing." 


	11. Plans

Chapter 11: "Plans"  
  
It had not taken me long to figure out what had been taken from me. A photograph of my parents and me, the only one I had, was gone. Kari was missing a feather, one that had been given to her by her grandmother before Kari was taken. A pocket watch had been taken from my friend's belongings. He had told me once that it had been in the family since the early nineteenth century. What Lupin was missing was the only thing I didn't know. He hadn't spoken since he had cleaned up his own possessions, and once that was finished, he had simply left. I mentioned this to Kari and my friend.  
  
"Maybe he just doesn't want to talk about it," my friend suggested.  
  
"Or it's so secretive that he's going to refuse to tell us what it is," Kari added, still irked about my friend's own concealment.  
  
"Hey," I said, turning to him. "What about the man two doors down? He could have easy access to our rooms, especially if he was a wizard."  
  
"He's not a wizard," he replied with the self-assurance of the Othersight, "but he could have stolen the keys from the conductor."  
  
"Wait a minute, who are you talking about?" Kari asked, clearly confused. I told her about our conversation from the night before. By the time I reached the end, Kari had already made up her mind.  
  
"Don't you see? It's got to be him!" Kari cried out excitedly just as I finished. "You know, I have half a mind to go right up to him and confront him." She started to stand up, but my friend held her back.  
  
"No, Kari, we just can't go up to him and demand our stuff back," he protested Kari's quips of anger. "Do you want us to get in more trouble?"  
  
"He's right," I said in the silence that followed. "We should just follow the instructions. Remember from the note before this one? 'The consequences are clear'."  
  
"But this could be our chance to get back at the Brethren!" Kari exclaimed angrily, reminding me of the furious phoenix she had once been.  
  
"The reason we're here isn't for revenge," my friend said gently, trying to calm her down. "We want to try and stop whatever the Brethren are planning, so that innocent people aren't hurt."  
  
"But..." Kari tried to say again, but he shook his head. She grumbled incoherently as she sullenly crossed her arms. A long quiet ensued before I ventured to speak once more.  
  
"So we're back to where we started," I said. "What can we do against the Brethren?" Another silence followed, and I felt the need to burst out and say something before something else happened. Fortunately Kari did so for me.  
  
"Hey, Anonimo, or whatever Lupin calls you," she said rapidly. "How come you don't use a name?"  
  
"Wh... what?" my friend stammered in reply, shocked out of whatever he was thinking of. Kari repeated her question, impatient for an answer. "I... well..." He wasn't off to a good start. Without warning, however, the door coasted open, and Lupin stepped inside. He unknowingly saved my friend from certain embarrassment.  
  
"Listen," he said as he took the only available seat next to my friend. He didn't notice or ignored my friend's sigh of relief. "We're pulling into Calais in about a half-hour, so we need to pack up. We'll take the Chunnel to Dover and take the bus to London. From there the note told us what to do."  
  
"Hold on, Remus," I said, doing some calculations in my head. "We'll never make it by noon if we take muggle transportation. It's already ten o'clock."  
  
"Maybe we won't have to take a muggle bus from Dover to London," Kari commented after a moment. "We could use magic, you know. It's not like we're not allowed to use some."  
  
"That will shave off some time," I inferred.  
  
"I thought the Knight Bus only ran at night," my friend inserted.  
  
"Another bus runs during the day," Lupin answered. "For the time of day we want, however, it may prove difficult to board."  
  
"That bus doesn't happen to run over water, does it?" Kari asked hopefully, but Lupin shook his head no.  
  
"It should give us enough time to figure out where to go exactly," I concluded. "The instructions say that as soon as we're in London, we need to take the underground to Big Ben." As I said this, I glanced over towards my friend. The note had also said for the Guardians to come alone. Kari and Lupin seemed to sense this at about the same time.  
  
"You two will be all right," Kari said, sounding very unsure. "Remus and I will... explore the wizarding half of London, I suppose."  
  
"I could show you around. I've been there more often than not," he replied, but still there was a slight look of helplessness in his eyes. He abruptly turned businesslike. "Let's pack now and talk about this later." Lupin stood up and held the door open for my friend to pass through, and they left. Kari started packing as soon as they were gone, and I was left to wonder about the future. With a long sigh, however, I decided to follow my friends' example and opened up my case. 


	12. High Noon

Chapter 12: "High Noon"  
  
Everything had gone without a hitch, so far at least. We barely caught the next train to London at Calais, and we all felt uneasy about being on the Channel floor, with nothing but muggle technology to uphold the Atlantic Ocean above. We arrived in Dover, and Lupin managed to flag down the wizard bus. Within fifteen minutes we arrived at Diagon Alley; by muggle transport, it would have taken much longer. As soon as we had gotten off the bus, my friend and I quickly left Diagon Alley and ran into downtown London. It seemed our luck had run out just then because the subway train we were supposed to take had left two minutes before.  
  
"What are we going to do now?" I cried out in despair and exhaustion. "We have to be there in fifteen minutes!" The worst thing was that I didn't realize until then how much I had relied on Kari and Lupin. Now that it was just my friend and me again, we didn't have the needed support.  
  
"Relax, Rose," my friend stated calmly as he directed me towards the schedule, "another train to Big Ben arrives at 11:48. Once we get there we'll need to run, though."  
  
"We've been running all day," I replied with a sigh. "We'll just have to run some more, that's all."  
  
~~~  
  
The train arrived and left with us on board. Each passing minute was spent like years, and I could have sworn that I would celebrate my sixtieth birthday by the time we reached our stop. As soon as the sliding doors opened, my friend and I were already out of our seats and running to the stairway leading to the tower above.  
  
"Sorry... excuse me... sorry!" I cried out as I swerved out of the path of a stern-looking business man. My friend was having the same problems as me, and we temporarily lost each other until we reached the stairway at the same time.  
  
"No problem," he grinned at me while we took the stairs two at a time. Big Ben stood waiting for us down and across the street. The time was 11:59.  
  
"HURRY!" I yelled as we took off again.  
  
Just then the first tolls of noon began to boom.  
  
We hardly looked both ways before dashing into the crowded street. The blood in my ears was pounding so hard that I only dimly heard the screeching tires and horns honking angrily. My friend remarked later that a car managed to slam on its brakes and stop only inches from hitting me. I almost tripped on the curb as my friend seemed to fly in from behind. Through the sidewalks of tourists we flew. Three chimes, four, five: I didn't think we could've run any faster until we did. I didn't even have the time or the breath to apologize as I bumped mindlessly to find the clearest path. Eight, nine, I could see through my sweat the man leaning against the tower, dark red suitcase in hand. Using my desperation to propel me even faster, I shot ahead like a quaffle towards the golden hoop. In fact, I almost slammed into our destination, shooting my arms forward to catch myself. The twelfth and final toll rang throughout London, and as I fought to catch my breath I could see the man check his watch casually.  
  
"I always appreciate someone who is on time," he stated calmly. "There are always those who arrive too late or too early to engagements, and these people... annoy me." The way he said that sent shivers up my spine despite the sweat. I looked up to get a closer look at the man. He could have been any age for all I could tell. The man wore the typical Dick Tracy hat, gray trenchcoat, and dark sunglasses. In fact it felt like the whole setup was phony. He waited patiently for my friend and me to recover.  
  
"My name is Angelo," he said as we stood up straight. "I am the head of operations here in England. And your names are...?"  
  
"My name is Rose, and his name is Anonimo," I quickly responded.  
  
"Anonymous in Italian? Interesting," he interjected in surprise. "My role is to provide you with your missions for the next week." He paused here to randomly look around. "This place is too open for my liking. Let's go inside." Pointing to a door I hadn't noticed before, we walked over to it, Angelo in the lead. A wand seemed to appear in his hand, and the unlocking spell required little effort on his part. He held the door open for us to step through and let the door close behind us, leaving a tiny sliver of daylight to signal our presence here. The clock tower echoed with the noises of various gargantuan chains and gears. A loud "tic" signified another minute gone by. Satisfied with our surroundings now, Angelo continued.  
  
"Your mission is as follows: there is an ancient artifact that now lies in a British muggle museum that we would like to acquire. At midnight tonight you will proceed to this museum and use whatever means necessary to apprehend the artifact. No one must accompany you. The name of the museum is the Museum of English History, and the artifact is the Galleon Sword. Do you understand?" We nodded in answer.  
  
"Good," he replied. "Once you secure the artifact, proceed immediately to the Leaky Cauldron, where I will be waiting for you. I am sure I do not have to explain the consequences of failure, correct?" We nodded again. "Then we will meet again at the inn no later than two tomorrow morning," Angelo answered in the silence. "Oh, and one more thing: I believe this belongs to you, Anonimo." A fling of Angelo's hand and a small gold pocket-watch flew into my friend's hands. With an abrupt about- face, he exited Big Ben, leaving us in the darkness of the empty clock tower. Or, at least, we thought it was empty. A voice suddenly materialized out of the black.  
  
"Hey, what are you two doing in here?" the voice cried, a powerful flashlight beam blinding us. I couldn't see, but I could hear the shuffle of more than one pair of boots.  
  
"Well... we... er..." my friend tried to explain, but we certainly couldn't tell them that we were just being given our mission by an underground Dark Magic society, which was the truth. I recovered my sense of sight just as the nearest guard grabbed my arm. I tried to scream, but my throat was too dry in panic. All I could do was look in horror as they began to surround us.  
  
"Hey, why don't you try picking on someone your own size?!" another voice shouted, and a figure jumped out of the shadows.  
  
"Kari?!" I heard my friend exclaim as she stood nose to nose with the largest of the guards, a defiant look on her face. I could see the guard fumble for something and realized what it was too late.  
  
"Expelliarmus!" he yelled, and the spell threw Kari back onto me. Almost immediately afterwards my friend pulled out his wand and fired a Furnunculous curse in return, giving us enough time to get to our feet. Since Kari didn't have her wand, and it would have been dangerous for her to transform now, I tried to protect her as best as possible. There were four guards in total, but they kept going in and out of the darkness, making our jinxes go helter-skelter. The leader who had pulled out his wand first was distracting my friend, leaving me to fend off the remaining three. Without warning, however, the door opened wide; the light poured in like lightning flashing across a stormy sky. Now it was the guards' turn to be blinded because we had our backs to the doorway. Acting on instinct, my friend and I both called out the Stupefy spell while they groped at their eyes. They fell to the floor in individual heaps as we allowed time for our own eyes to adjust.  
  
"Are you all right?" the figure in the doorway asked. I recognized the voice as Lupin's.  
  
"Yeah, thanks to you," I replied in surprise. "What are you and Kari doing here? Didn't you remember the note?"  
  
"I thought we left you behind in Diagon Alley," added my friend.  
  
"We followed you, of course," Kari answered. "What, you actually thought we would leave you two alone to deal with the Brethren yourselves?"  
  
"But the note..." I started to say, but Lupin interrupted.  
  
"The note," he repeated, "said that you were to come alone. We decided to follow you in case something like this happened."  
  
"You think we were set up?" I exclaimed incredulously.  
  
"It was too much of a coincidence for Angelo to leave and those guards to show up," Kari responded.  
  
"And those guards had wands," Lupin added. "No wands are allowed on guards protecting national monuments, in case they're discovered by muggles."  
  
"They were hired," my friend sighed at last, "by the Brethren."  
  
"But why would they hire goons to attack us?" I asked, suddenly very confused. "Why would the Brethren want to hurt us? We've already agreed to work with them."  
  
"It was probably a test of your abilities, to find out how powerful you actually are," Lupin replied. This was met by silence, except for the echoing mechanisms of the clockwork above.  
  
"We should probably talk about this somewhere else," Kari finally said. "This place gives me the creeps." We rapidly agreed and left the tower's inner machinery to four limp guards. 


	13. Mission Impossible?

Chapter 13: "Mission Impossible?"  
  
The rest of the afternoon was spent preparing for our "mission." It was not a very well-known museum, so security was pretty lax. We decided our route through the museum by actually visiting it. Thanks to Kari's supposed "charm and wit," as she called it, we discovered that the only security we would have to face were cameras, alarms on specific display cases, locked doors, and two old men who acted as guards. They didn't really have a reason for anything more; none of it looked like it was worth very much. We headed towards some more cases on the second level when Kari suddenly ran forward and grabbed something.  
  
"It's my feather!" she cried, holding up a long beautiful tail feather.  
  
"The one that belonged to your grandmother?" my friend asked, just to make sure, and Kari nodded in response. We reached the case that she had found the feather on, and my eyes suddenly caught on the words we had been searching for.  
  
"Hey, look at this," I informed everyone. We all looked down at the artifact that my friend and I were supposed to take that night.  
  
"That's it?!" exclaimed Kari. "That's what you two are going to risk life and limb for? You know, it figures that the Brethren would want this piece of junk." That comment summed it up for all those present. The "ancient artifact" was nothing more than a rusty, beaten-up sword. I could barely see the dull metallic sheen underneath the corrosion. The blade was double-edged, but it was chipped and worn thin in some places. The leather- bound hilt was chewed, ripped, and falling apart. The sword, if it could really be called one, looked like it hadn't been touched or taken care of for hundreds of years. When Kari started to read the card next to it, I stopped to listen.  
  
"The Galleon Sword," Kari introduced. "This blade was found in the basement of this building. Many attempts were made to identify and clean the sword, but there were no results. The way the reader sees the sword now is the same way that we, the curators of the Museum of English History, have found the blade. The sword was named for the first curator of the museum, Dr. John P. Galleon. Discovered by Peter M. McCullough, janitor, in 1952." After she had finished, we started to snicker.  
  
"A janitor?!" I giggled quietly.  
  
"Apparently they discovered it among some other junk," my friend smiled. "The sign over there says that this whole exhibit is being removed due to lack of funding. Good riddance, too, they were probably thinking!"  
  
"Look how this 'sword' is hidden by the other things in the case," Lupin remarked. "They probably wouldn't even miss it if it disappeared."  
  
"Question is: why would the Brethren want it?" Kari's question stumped us all. I was only pulled away from my thoughts when I realized that everyone else was starting to walk away. I took one last look at the broken sword, wondering, and turned away.  
  
~~~  
  
I checked through my backpack one last time before we would have to go inside. I held the flashlight deep inside the bag so we wouldn't attract attention.  
  
"Flashlight... rope... wand... gum... Gum? What's that doing in here?" I whispered.  
  
"Kari thought we might need it," my friend said quietly and shrugged.  
  
"I think we've got everything," I concluded. "Are you ready?" He nodded, and I watched his face as he dropped into the Othersight. The only evidence of any change was in his eyes: they flashed silver before transforming back into a metallic shade of his normal brown. I felt the air around me being shaped by an invisible hand. We had decided beforehand that he would use the Othersight to shroud ourselves in darkness. To the normal eye we would be wraiths of the night. I put up the hood to my black robes, and I was now shapeless as well. Towards the back entrance we tiptoed silently. It hadn't taken long before the dimly lit doorway barred our path. Taking off the darkness temporarily, my friend concentrated on something else. Slowly, but surely, the form of a cat began to take shape on the steps.  
  
"Here we go," I breathed as I scratched the door to imitate claws. I simultaneously mewed softly for an added effect. It didn't take long before one of the guards unlocked and opened the door.  
  
"Hello, my little friend," he smiled as he saw the kitten on the doorstep. "Are you lost? Hungry?" As he moved to pick up the cat, my friend made the form shy away from his outstretched hands. This was the most dangerous part; he had to control the cat and shield us from view at the same time.  
  
"I'm not going to hurt you," the guard called out lightly as the cat seemed to skip down the steps in fright. The guard followed the cat down, and we took our chance then. We quickly flew past him into the black of the doorway, but the guard spun around in alarm. Holding my breath, I prayed that the darkness would be enough to conceal us. To our relief he turned away, only to find that the cat had disappeared as well.  
  
"Perhaps it was frightened as well," the elderly guard murmured to himself. Shrinking ourselves against the wall, we waited as the guard passed by, who was most likely wondering to where the cat had gone. 


	14. The Galleon Sword

Chapter 14: "The Galleon Sword"  
  
It turned out that we never needed the things that we had packed. My friend shielded us from the cameras with the Othersight, and I murmured a spell that would allow me to see in the darkness. We had already taken account of any mishaps we might have run into, so it was a simple task to avoid them all. Be it as it may, however, we had forgotten one thing.  
  
"The display cases!" I exclaimed softly. "They have alarms!"  
  
"Are you sure that this particular case would have them?" my friend whispered back. "I mean, they are going to move all this rubbish."  
  
"The only way to know for sure is to try the case," I replied.  
  
"Wait a minute, take the gum out of the bag," he whispered excitedly. I did so with a puzzled look on my face. "Now chew it."  
  
"Why, and why me?" I finally asked.  
  
"It's sort of nasty," he answered with a grimace, "but you need to use the gum to lift the case." It made sense; we didn't want to leave fingerprints, and there were three other chunks of dried gum on the case.  
  
"Why me?" I asked again. "It's your idea."  
  
"It's wintergreen-flavored," he said, pulling a disgusted face. "I really hate wintergreen." With a sigh of resignation I pulled off the wrapper and popped the gum into my mouth. To tell the truth, I really didn't like wintergreen either, but it wasn't like I had much choice. It seemed to take forever before it was pliable enough. Finally I pulled the gum out of my mouth and held my breath as I stuck it on the case. We both sighed with ease as the gum held and the museum remained eerily quiet.  
  
"We're not out of the woods yet," my friend reminded me. Trying hard not to grimace, I stuck my thumb onto the chewing gum and started to lift. A millimeter at a time and still no alarm had gone off. One inch. Two inches. Even time was holding its breath, it seemed. Slowly my friend's fingers stretched out for the sword, sliding under the raised glass and gripping the torn handle at last. Beads of sweat began to form near my brow as I concentrated on not dropping the case down on my friend's arm. Hours of time seemed to pass when I suddenly let out a small gasp. The gum was already losing its stickiness, and my thumb was about to slip! Realizing the danger we were in, my friend pulled the sword out as fast as he could without touching the glass. As he did this I began to lower the case. Without warning three things happened at once. My thumb gave way, and the glass fell into its niche. My friend was able to swing the tip of the blade out of the way, but unfortunately he swung it too far. With a crash the blade clanged against the stone floor, paralyzing both of us in sudden trepidation. The noise seemed to echo in my mind, like a continued reminder of our fatal transgression. A minute passed by, and we could hear no one climbing up the steps to arrest us. I heard my friend swear softly in relief.  
  
"You really shouldn't use such strong language," I reproached him playfully. He glared at me in pretend anger, and we both would have laughed under any other circumstances. He absently held the sword aloft, a strange look on his face. I realized he had been in the Othersight when he shook his head and came out of the trance.  
  
"What's wrong?" I asked.  
  
"The sword," he replied struggling to find the right words. "There's something strange about it. Maybe you should hold it and find out for yourself." He held the sword out to me, hilt first.  
  
"Are you sure about this?" I said as I grabbed it. As my fingers clung to the remnants of the leather hilt, sudden warmth spread rapidly up into my hand and arm and to the rest of my body. I knew I could have imagined it, but I could have sworn that the sword began to gently thrum in answer. One thing was for certain, however: the sword had been infused with magic.  
  
"Wow." That was all I could bring myself to say.  
  
"So you felt it too?" he asked, more of a statement than a question. I simply nodded, still captivated by the impression that flowed in me through the blade. Shaking my head to come back to the present, I handed the sword back to my friend, who put it in my backpack.  
  
"Come on, let's get out of here," he said quietly, the Othersight coming over him again. Our journey to the back exit went by uneventfully, but my nerves were heightened now that the "mission" was almost complete. Not only were we trespassing on private property, we were also stealing, no matter how bad the blade's condition was. Finally we reached the door we had entered by. Unfortunately the door was unable to be opened from the inside without a key.  
  
"Looks like we'll have to use the Alohomora spell," he shrugged. Now that we knew I could use magic without a wand to perform simple spells, we had decided to use that to our advantage. Who could trace a wand to its owner when no wand was used?  
  
"Alohomora!" I cried out gently; the bolt slid and the door opened inaudibly. The cold night air felt good to my flushed and sweaty face, but my friend didn't dare lose the Othersight to enjoy the same feeling. Moving faster and faster until we broke out into a run, we put as much distance as possible between crime scene and criminals. 


	15. Mission Accomplished

Chapter 15: "Mission Accomplished"  
  
The Leaky Cauldron soon stood directly in front of us; its windows glared suspiciously and pointed fingers in accusation. According to the nearby bongs of a distinguishable clock, it was exactly two o'clock in the morning. My friend at length dropped the shroud of darkness he had kept on us and prepared for the final task of the night: facing Angelo and hoping we did everything right. Looking at each other in apprehension, we opened the door and entered the Leaky Cauldron.  
  
"Do you have it?" the man in the far corner table asked statically. Walking over in silence I swung my backpack off and unzipped the large front pocket. The hilt had stuck out of the backpack because the sword was so long, but Angelo peered inside to see the blade, as if he doubted his own eyes.  
  
"Well done," he simply responded.  
  
"That was it? That's all he's going to say?" I thought furiously. I wasn't expecting a parade, but a little more gratitude would have been nice. It wasn't much of a sword, but still, there was the magic. How could anything that beaten up actually hold sorcery?  
  
"What should we do with it?" my friend had questioned during my musings.  
  
"Keep it with you," the Brethren wizard replied, shrugging his shoulders in the manner that my friend always did. "It is of no use to us until it is claimed." He got up and started to head out the door.  
  
"Claimed?" I tried to ask, but Angelo had already gone. 


	16. Hello and Goodbye

Chapter 16: "Hello and Goodbye"  
  
Later that morning, of course, Kari wanted to know every little detail of what happened. She would have forced us to tell her right when we entered the door to Lupin's apartment, but thankfully she was asleep. We had slept in for the first time since this whole fiasco started. Unbelievably we still hadn't seen or even contacted our parents yet. Now that our mission was over, we felt safe calling them. My conversation with my mother was as follows:  
  
"Hello?" I heard her say.  
  
"Hi, Mum," I replied.  
  
"Rose?!! Thank God, are you okay? I was so worried; I thought I'd never see you again..." She would have gone on around these lines if I hadn't interrupted.  
  
"I'm all right. My friend's with me, and we're with some other friends now," I said.  
  
"Where have you been? Did you disappear on purpose?" she asked, her tone altering from relief to suspicious fury. I worked quickly to defend myself. As much as I wanted to tell her the truth, I knew it was too farfetched for her to believe me.  
  
"No, Mum, it's too hard to explain over the phone," I answered.  
  
"Where are you, Rose? Where can I pick you up? Is your friend with you?" she said, instantly forgetting her anger.  
  
"Yeah," I answered her last question first. "We're at Remus... I mean, Mr. Lupin's apartment." Evidently this information caught her by surprise.  
  
"Remus Lupin?" she repeated, shocked. Then in a softer voice she said, "Is this about your father?"  
  
"No, Mum," I said once again. "Do you know where to go?"  
  
"I think so," she responded, not quite as hysterical as before. "7840 Hackettstown Avenue, right?"  
  
"Apartment 3C," I added. "I've got to go, now. Bye Mum; love you."  
  
"I love you, too, Rose," she said at last and hung up. I was going to go back to the spare bedroom where Kari and I had slept last night when Kari popped out of the room and pulled me aside.  
  
"Come on, let's go for a walk before you have to leave," she said, pulling my wrist towards the door.  
  
"But I haven't packed yet!" I tried protesting.  
  
"I did it for you. Now let's go!" Kari silenced me, and she dragged me downstairs and outside.  
  
"So," she said as we crossed the street to a small park, "what exactly were you doing last night? It doesn't take that long to get a sword."  
  
"What?!" I replied, stunned. "Do you really think there's something between him and me?!"  
  
"Well, you two were out rather late," she answered slightly disappointed. "You got pretty close to each other on the train a couple days ago..." I shot her a look that would have curdled milk. Suddenly a rustle in the bushes near us caught our attention. Without warning a man dressed in a long trenchcoat bounced out of the bushes, blocking our path.  
  
"Hi, my name's Anjou," he said, smiling with a crazy gaze in his eyes. "Wanna see something?" I was about to reply no when he pulled open his coat. At first I saw only his bare chest, but then I realized what he was doing when my eyes flickered downwards. He was flashing us! He quickly closed his coat and ran off in a zigzag direction, laughing and yelling "I got ya!" at the top of his lungs. Still shocked from the experience, I stared after the flasher with a mixed look of horror and disgust.  
  
"Oh my God," I said slowly.  
  
"Damn it, he wasn't even hot," Kari cried out in disappointment. I simply switched my stare of repulsion from the man who had long since disappeared to her. Then we started to crack up.  
  
"That must have been the strangest thing that's happened to us yet!" I cried out between fits of giggles.  
  
"Or at least the funniest!" she replied, and we began a new set of laughter. Just then, my friend came running up to us.  
  
"You should have seen what just happened!" Kari laughed, but the look on my friend's face was so somber that we were silenced.  
  
"Rose, it's another note," he explained, handing me a carefully folded sheet of paper. "I thought it would be best if we read it together." I slowly unfolded the note, fully sober now, and read the words to everyone.  
  
"'Guardians,  
Before you go ahead and do something you may regret, we will tell you now that your parents are not allowed to be involved. You will dissolve all contact with everyone, including your friends Remus Lupin and Kari Sky. Proceed immediately to the Tower of London, the White Tower. We will contact you and your parents separately.' Oh no..." I said, appalled by this sudden turn of events.  
  
"What do we do now?" Kari asked, stunned.  
  
"I guess... we just have to do what it says," I heard my friend say softly, and he turned his head from us. "We were so close to getting home, too... I... I'm sorry." I noticed with shock tears gathering in his eyes before he turned away and headed towards Lupin's apartment. I looked at Kari, whose melancholy face mirrored my own. "Well," she said after a while, "I guess you better go."  
  
"Thanks for everything," I replied, remembering back to when she changed from phoenix to human in the light of dawn.  
  
"We'll see you after this whole thing is over," she said awkwardly. Deciding that if I stayed any longer I would never leave, I took this chance to turn away and follow the footsteps of my friend. There was one thing that I regretted not doing: I couldn't bring myself to look back.  
  
~~~  
  
The old prison whose name once brought chills to wizards and muggles alike now loomed over my friend and me. My farewell to Lupin had been much like the goodbye to Kari, and I struggled not to think of them as I leaned against the wall of the White Tower. I focused my attention on the stones instead. Those bricks had seen both the innocent and the guilty led inside the tower to brisk trials and even swifter ends. Some were freed and others were doomed to spend eternity within those walls, but many were hung, disemboweled, quartered, beheaded, tortured, or burned at the stake, and all of these had been done to a select few. What did the innocent think as they were led through these walls only to be executed? Did they think of the same things I was thinking of now?  
  
"Rose," my friend said, "he's here." The man we knew as Angelo had appeared before us with the stealth of a phantom. He had the demeanor of an executioner, however.  
  
"You should be thankful that I have done this for you," he said, his voice so low that I could barely hear. "My master is not as forgiving as I am. Your next assignment is to meet a friend of the Brethren. At 7:00 tonight you will proceed to the Palace Royale restaurant. Ask for Monsieur Evrémonde, and the waiter will direct you."  
  
"Excuse me," I ventured to ask, "but what exactly will we be doing with Monsieur Evrémonde?" Angelo gave me a slightly ruffled look for interrupting his pause, but he answered my question.  
  
"You will give him this envelope, and you will answer his questions," he responded. "However, there is one word of caution: if he asks you to leave the restaurant with him, it is imperative that you do not do so. You will now stay at the Leaky Cauldron; a room is already reserved for you." Then he pulled something out of his pocket, an old, careworn photograph. "I believe this belongs to you," he said, handing to me. Without further ado, he abruptly turned away like he had never seen us before. I looked up at the sky just as the first of many raindrops tapped my nose. Although we were not prisoners of the Tower, we were prisoners at the whims of the Brethren. With these gloomy thoughts in mind, we left for the cell that Angelo had so "graciously" offered us. 


	17. The Palace Royale

Chapter 17: "The Palace Royale"  
  
The drizzle had grown to a downpour by the time we reached the Palace Royale, on the Strand. We had tried to make ourselves as presentable as possible, but we weren't prepared for the formal dress code that greeted us under the restaurant awning. Fortunately the dress standards were lessened for the customers inside. The Palace Royale could have been placed in France and nothing would have to be changed: so much French was being spoken. Stepping inside to leave the cold wet night behind, we walked up to the podium where a middle-aged gentleman stared down his nose at us.  
  
"Pardon nous, monsieur," I started, thanking one of my professors back home for helping me to learn a little French, "a Monsieur Evrémonde is expecting us." Without blinking an eye, the Frenchman immediately gave his reply.  
  
"Monsieur Evrémonde," he said somewhat sternly, "is a distinguished patron of this restaurant. However, he is expecting two visitors to join him, although he has neglected to tell me that you were to be children." He said the last word with disdain, as if it left a foul taste in his large mouth. Without warning he snapped his fingers, and a waiter appeared simultaneously.  
  
"Jacques, please show these children to Monsieur Evrémonde," he said to the waiter and dismissed us. We moved briskly towards the other end of the restaurant, where a secluded corner table held a single gentleman.  
  
"Monsieur Evrémonde?" Jacques spoke and bowed his head in respect. "These are the two visitors that you have been patiently expecting."  
  
"Merci, Jacques," the patrician responded. "Asseyez-vous, sit down, please." We followed his instructions and waited for the game to begin.  
  
"I am Monsieur Evrémonde," he said, although he must have known that his name had been repeated to us multiple times. "Is this your first time to the Palace Royale?"  
  
"Oui, Monsieur," I answered for the both of us, deciding to use the same tactic I used with the master of the Brethren.  
  
"There's no need for formalities here," he replied with a noisy laugh. "I own half of this place. Welcome to the Palace Royale, then. Now, as I understand, you were sent by the Brethren, n'est-ce pas? To put this bluntly, I was not expecting kids to join me, and I had ordered a bottle of Chardonnay as an appetizer. Is there anything that you would prefer to drink before dinner is served?"  
  
"I'll simply have a glass of water, please," my friend said.  
  
"Nothing for me, thank you," I added, unsure of whether to trust whatever was put before me.  
  
"Suit yourself," he said, and he shrugged his shoulders casually. He waved a single finger at Jacques, who had been standing nearby all this time.  
  
"Make it a glass of Chardonnay for me and a glass of water for le petit garçon," Evrémonde said, and Jacques vanished as quickly as he had appeared. I took this opportunity to scrutinize Monsieur Evrémonde. He was heavyset and balding, but he definitely had the scent of money about him. Wrinkles creased his face, marking his rather extreme mood changes. His eyes were pinpoints compared to the rest of his gluttonous face and especially his nose. He seemed to be a man who knew what he wanted and knew how to get it. In other words, my overall impression of Monsieur Evrémonde was that of an overgrown, greedy, spoilt child. It was all too soon before he started to speak again, perhaps enjoying the sound of his own voice.  
  
"I have so far introduced myself," he said pompously, "but I am afraid I don't know your names."  
  
"My name is Rosemary Jacques, and my friend is called Anonimo," I said cautiously, not wanting to reveal my true name. I didn't think he understood what my friend's "name" meant, but he did draw a puzzling look.  
  
"I know that kids your age are curious more often than not," he continued, "and that you must have many questions forming in your minds. I myself am very inquisitive, so let's get acquainted with one another by playing a game. It is very simple: I will ask a question, and you will answer. Then one of you will ask a question, and so on and so forth. Let us begin then, shall we? One query is foremost on my mind: why did my friends the Brethren send you to contact me?" We looked at each other, and my friend gave the answer.  
  
"We have an envelope for you," he said, taking the folded envelope out of his pocket and handing it discreetly to Evrémonde. I watched as Evrémonde thumbed through its contents, startled to see the pale blues, reds, and greens that designated currency. "And in answer to your question, we're special, I guess. The Brethren are using us for something, though we don't really know what."  
  
"Fair enough," Evrémonde responded, placing the envelope in his breast pocket. "Now ask away!"  
  
"Why are you interested in helping the Brethren?" I instantly asked.  
  
"The Brethren and I... have mutual interests. If I help them, they help me, and we all go home happy, n'est-ce pas?" Evrémonde laughed again at his own little joke, not noticing or ignoring our static faces. After his chuckles had finished, he asked, "I am very curious now. Why are you special?" I explained as best I could, and luckily I learned that Evrémonde was not a muggle, or we would have been there all night. It was now my friend's turn, but just then Jacques returned with two glasses in hand.  
  
"Merci, Jacques," Evrémonde said and smiled. "It is too bad that you are not allowed to join me in this Chardonnay. The variety and quality of wines here are extraordinary. Only the best for the Palace Royale!" Before he could find another quality of his precious restaurant, my friend thankfully stepped in.  
  
"Do you know why the Brethren sent us to see you?" he asked.  
  
"I haven't the foggiest, though heaven knows there is plenty of that here in England!" Evrémonde remarked, making yet another "joke." "However, I do know that the Brethren were supposed to show me a demonstration of its influence and power. No offense to you, my friends, but I now believe they were joking! Perhaps you can explain this to me... are you to demonstrate your powers?"  
  
"Perhaps sometime later," I quickly answered, saving both of us. "Right now I'm getting a little hungry."  
  
"Ah, mademoiselle is hungry?" he cried out with joy. "Now it is my turn to show you what you have been missing all of your lives! The food here is made for a king- no, a god!" Evrémonde was clearly ecstatic about tasting the food from his restaurant. He ordered for us, and dinner passed by uneventfully. He got particularly exuberant when three bowls of piping hot soup were set before us.  
  
"The Palace Royale is famous throughout the world for its French onion soup," Evrémonde bragged. There was one thing that kept me from eating the delicious smelling soup: I was allergic to onions.  
  
"Mademoiselle," Evrémonde said, noticing my untouched bowl, "I may be mistaken, but I heard myself that you were famished." He certainly was mistaken; I had realized by now that Evrémonde had a tendency to exaggerate. I had only picked at my food (it wasn't as great as he had said) and was still hungry, but I didn't want to be sick either.  
  
"Come on, Rose," my friend said, taking on the same flamboyant tone as Monsieur Evrémonde. "It's really good!" Evidently it had been, because his bowl was already empty.  
  
"All right, I'll try it," I said, giving in to both their demands. The soup was delicious, but I knew if I had anymore, I would start breaking out in an ugly rash. Sneaking an empty glass underneath the table as Evrémonde started to tell a supposedly humorous story to my friend, I poured the onion soup into the glass and put it on the floor, underneath the table and hidden from view. When I was finished I looked back up and noticed something curious about my friend. Although the jokes were still of the same horrendous quality as before, my friend was guffawing heedlessly, as if it had been the best joke in the world. I also noticed that he was hiccuping as well.  
  
"Maybe he thinks Evrémonde isn't as bad as he seemed to be," I thought to myself as I joined in with a polite laugh. By the time dessert had arrived, however, a definite feeling that something was wrong was nagging at me.  
  
"So... so..." my friend tried to say, but he was laughing too hard. I perceived with sudden alarm that his eyes were glossy, and I knew for sure that he wasn't using the Othersight. He had also seemed to have lost sense of his balance and coordination. In fact he was having trouble sitting upright in his chair... I realized with a chilling feeling in the pit of my stomach what was wrong with my friend: he was drunk!  
  
"Finished your soup, have you?" Evrémonde directly addressed me. "See, I told you it was the best. Only the best here!" I had to think quickly. Since my friend had eaten the same things I had, there must have been something in his water from earlier... or his soup. Thinking ahead I pretended to take on some of his symptoms.  
  
"The best I've ever had!" I agreed, smiling foolishly wide. I gulped down some of my drink quickly to force myself to hiccup. A half hour passed by, and even though everyone else had left the restaurant, we were still left, laughing louder than ever. Now Evrémonde and my friend were engaging in a belching contest, and though I joined in sometimes to keep the pretense of drunkenness, I was shocked and disgusted by their behavior.  
  
"Oh my, look at the time," Evrémonde said as he pulled a gold watch and chain out of his pocket. "It's even past my bedtime! We simply must do this again. I'll have my chauffeur drive us home."  
  
"That's all right," I replied quickly before my friend could answer, "but we'll get a cab, thanks."  
  
"Nonsense, I insist on driving you home," Evrémonde said, a little more forcefully than before. "London is a dangerous place for two young people like you." His face was now more sober than it had been the entire evening.  
  
"Thanks, but we'll just get a cab," I repeated.  
  
"Your friend would like to go home with me," he said, using a different tactic. "Wouldn't you? I'll show you my cars, and I have a bowling alley in the basement."  
  
"A bowling alley?!" my friend cried out, too intoxicated to realize the danger we were in. "Come on, Rose, please? Let's go to the bowling alley!" I tried to give him a secretive warning look, but he was too smashed to take a hint.  
  
"You don't even know what a bowling alley is!" I protested, to no avail. I knew I was in trouble. One girl against a three-hundred pound man wasn't much of a contest. He got up from the table and started to pull my friend with him, who was still pleading to go to the bowling alley. I grabbed my friend's free hand, forgetting any charade of insobriety, and braced for a tug-of-war with Evrémonde. Suddenly two hands grabbed me from behind and forced me to release my grip.  
  
"Merci, Jacques," Evrémonde thanked my captor. I struggled, kicked, and screamed, but the hands refused to loosen.  
  
"She's too loud!" Evrémonde cried out at last. "Do something to make her shut up, would you?!"  
  
Without warning the doors that led to the kitchen burst open, and two figures stood there. I was astonished to see Kari, in her phoenix form, but the other was a huge wolf, bounding towards us. At any other time I would have laughed to see the look on Evrémonde's face as the wolf stood inches from him, a bloodcurdling growl in its throat. Evrémonde instantly let go of my friend's wrist and ran out of his beloved restaurant, screaming unintelligibly in French. The wolf turned to us now, and as I met those eyes, I knew I was going to be next. With a shriek Kari flew between us, attempting to stop the wolf from eating us, no doubt. At this point while they were distracted, Jacques began to pick me up off the ground, throw me over his shoulder, and leave discreetly.  
  
"Uh, Kari?!" I shouted, and she wheeled around, allowing the wolf to jump around her and leap onto us! There was a scuffle, and I was thrown to the ground, but I had my eyes shut tight. I felt a huge weight fall on me, and despite my better judgment I opened my eyes. The wolf and I were nose to nose. I wanted to scream, but couldn't. Its breath was rancid, smelling oddly of garlic, but I couldn't breathe with it on top of me. Fortunately when Jacques began to run, it drew the wolf's attention away from me, and the wolf hurdled off. I struggled to find my wits as Kari forced the wolf's attention from Jacques to herself, causing it to chase her around the restaurant, chairs flying everywhere. I had a feeling that Kari had already been exhausted before she came in, and now she must be undergoing torture. Spotting a door nearby, I skirted the pair and opened it. A large garage, with a delivery truck as its only occupant, greeted my eyes.  
  
"Quick, Kari, in here!" I yelled to the phoenix, who must have understood my plan because she dived inside with wolf in tow. She veered back out again, and I slammed the door shut, trapping the wolf inside. By the time I turned around, Kari stood behind me, already back in human form. Her face and hair was haggard from her flight.  
  
"Do you always have to wait until the last minute to rescue us?" I asked jokingly. "What in the world was that wolf doing here?"  
  
"That wasn't... a wolf," Kari said, still trying to catch her breath. "That was... Lupin." 


	18. A Deal

Chapter 18: "A Deal"  
  
"What?!" I cried out in surprise upon learning that the wolf was the man who had been at my parent's wedding. "Is he an Animagi?"  
  
"No," Kari said standing upright. "He's actually... well... he's a werewolf." My jaw dropped even lower.  
  
"Your eyes look like they're going to pop out of your head," Kari giggled.  
  
"A werewolf?" I repeated, still stunned.  
  
"Yeah," she responded. "Boy was I surprised when he told me. Of course tonight had to be a full moon! With you two in danger, as usual, I wanted to keep an eye on you. Do you remember when some of our stuff was stolen on the train, and he wouldn't tell us what he was missing? Turns out the Brethren stole his special potion thingy that keeps him from attacking anything that moves when he's a werewolf. Guess who had to change into a phoenix to try to keep him under control? Of course when they began to drag you away, I couldn't keep an eye on him and rescue you too." Exasperated at her own experience, Kari stared angrily at the door, and her facial expression changed to surprised puzzlement.  
  
"Do you hear that?" she said as she reached for the door. "It sounds like Lupin's not alone..." Now that she had mentioned it, I could hear at least three voices shout out curses, both magical and vulgar, behind the closed door. Together we threw it open, but it was too late. Whoever had been there was gone, and so was Lupin. We were about to search the garage in case the werewolf was merely hiding when a polite cough behind us made us spin around.  
  
"You should not have come back," Angelo said to Kari.  
  
"Wait a minute, how did you...?" Kari tried to say, but for once she was speechless. Angelo focused his stare of disapproval to me.  
  
"We gave you explicit orders not to go anywhere with that... Evrémonde," he said, expressing extreme loathing at the Frenchman's name. "And we also said that you could no longer remain in contact with Mr. Lupin and Miss Sky. You have failed on both counts."  
  
"Now wait just one minute here!" Kari interrupted, finding her voice again. "It wasn't their fault! Evrémonde, or whoever that fat guy was, tried to drug them! And we came on our own. They certainly didn't know that we were coming!"  
  
"You have interfered in our plans one too many times, Miss Sky," Angelo fired back angrily, "and that outburst will be your last by the time we are finished with you!" At the same time his wand appeared in his hand, and he was about to fling a curse at Kari when I stepped between them.  
  
"Angelo, let's make a deal," I said, making a desperate gamble. "We keep Kari, and we'll follow your orders for another day, added to our week."  
  
"Three days for that brat!" he haggled back.  
  
"Two!" I compromised.  
  
"Done," he replied, and he held out his hand. I took it and shook, but his skin was like ice. "Stay at the Leaky Cauldron, and we will arrange transportation for you." Giving a final glower at Kari, he swept his trenchcoat and walked out the door. Kari stuck out her tongue at the closed door and turned to me.  
  
"By the way, where's our friend?" she asked.  
  
"I don't know," I said, looking around. "I haven't seen him since... oh." We both looked at the boy on the floor. Noticing us at about the same time, he smiled and hiccuped.  
  
"That soup was really good...!" he cried out, and he fell limp to the floor in a drunken stupor. 


	19. A Change of Scenery

Chapter 19: "A Change of Scenery" The rest of the night was uneventful. My friend spent the night on the couch, and we followed his example by sleeping ourselves. We were about to eat some breakfast when he walked in. I could tell even from not getting up from the table how pale and green his gaunt face looked.  
  
"What happened?" he mumbled, holding his head up with the door frame. His face suddenly turned greener.  
  
"Bathroom's that way," Kari pointed to the door. With great effort and to our relief, he succeeded in ambling to the bathroom without any mess to clean up.  
  
"Poor guy," I said. "Too bad he wasn't allergic to onions."  
  
Just then a soft knocking on the door was audible. Kari, despite her exhaustion, sprung out of her chair and prepared to answer the door cheerfully. Instead, empty air greeted her.  
  
"Stupid ding-dong ditchers," I could hear her mutter underneath her breath, but she didn't close the door. I noticed that she picked up something before returning to the table. She tossed it casually to me.  
  
"Looks like another note," she said, confirming my suspicions. I felt a little guilty opening the letter without my friend, but I knew he couldn't read anything with the hangover he had.  
  
" 'Guardians, Your next assignment will be detailed when you arrive. Take the 8:28 am Delta flight to O'Hare airport. You will be approached by a man who will identify himself as a member of the Brethren. Follow his instructions. Your friend Remus Lupin will remain in custody until you are finished'." Again, like all the other notes, it was unsigned.  
  
"O'Hare?!" Kari cried out suddenly. "That's in Chicago! I'm going home!" With a whoop she leapt up and started to dance around the room. I was content just to watch amusingly, but then she grabbed my hands and pulled me up. Together we danced, or rather, she dragged me about. I was about to collapse to the floor laughing when I noticed that my friend was standing in the doorway again.  
  
"Isn't it great?!" Kari yelled exuberantly as she detached from me and shook my friend's shoulders wildly. "We're going to Chicago! I'm going to see my parents again!!"  
  
"That's wonderful." my friend managed to mumble before beating a hasty retreat back to the bathroom.  
  
It turned out that none of us had ever flown in a plane before, so we were all pretty nervous. My friend had sobered up with time, despite all the methods that Kari said were "foolproof." Those included cold showers, coffee, headstands, and even an anti-nausea spell, which had the opposite effect on him. Luckily all the aftereffects had worn off by the time we boarded the plane. We had been forced to undergo strict security measures. They had even checked our wands for "insects", and we had a hard time explaining the beaten up sword in our luggage. We had checked through without further problems, fortunately, and now we found our seats.  
  
"Excited that we're going to Chicago, Kari?" I asked, hoping I wouldn't get the same reaction as before.  
  
"Are you kidding?!" she said, beaming.  
  
"Where do your parents live?" my friend interrupted before Kari could bounce up and down in her seat in excitement.  
  
"We used to live in Evanston," she replied, "but that was a long time ago, almost five years. I was thirteen when I was taken. Who knows where they could be now?"  
  
"We'll help you find them when we aren't working," I said, noticing the downwards note in her voice. My friend nodded in agreement.  
  
"What's your school like?" I asked to change the subject. Her demeanor brightened slightly.  
  
"We have a joke about our school," she said. "It's called the Chicago Academy of Wizardry, or CAW for short. The seal has a raven on it, to represent wisdom, I guess, but it looks like a crow. So our rivals in Madison call us scarecrows. That's okay, though, because we call them cheese-heads for all the dairy products from Wisconsin." We laughed, and I suddenly noticed that we were in the air.  
  
"Well, I guess we didn't die on takeoff," my friend joked. He was back to his own self, at last.  
  
"Wanna play cards?" I asked, holding up a new deck of muggle cards.  
  
"I'm in," Kari responded, turning towards me.  
  
"Not me," my friend answered as he rolled over. "It's an eight hour flight, and I plan on sleeping through most of it." Almost instantaneously he was snoring. We giggled at him as I shuffled.  
  
"So what do you want to play?" I asked, accidentally dropping some of the cards mid-shuffle.  
  
"Let's do fortune-telling!" Kari said as she grabbed the deck from me. "Am I a girl?" she asked the cards. She flipped over one card, a diamond. "All right, red is yes and black is no."  
  
"What do you do? Ask the cards yes or no questions? It won't be very accurate. they're not wizard cards," I added softly.  
  
"I know," she replied, "but it's just for fun. Now, are we going to have fun in Chicago?" Kari flipped over a card, the two of spades. "Figures."  
  
"Are we even going to make it to Chicago?" I asked, giggling. This time it was a jack of clubs.  
  
"Will we crash into the Atlantic and die in a fiery grave?" Kari laughed, and it was the ten of hearts. "Well, Rose, it's been nice knowing you."  
  
"Are you lying?" I remarked, referring to the cards. Kari flipped the card; the six of diamonds could be seen.  
  
"Should we even listen to you?" Kari cried out between chortles, and the cards answered with a five of spades. This went on for a half-hour or so, and by the end of four hours, we must have played all of the card games in the world, wizard or muggle, at least twice. We spent the rest of the time talking or sleeping. It took forever to reach the U.S., let alone Illinois. We all woke up when the captain announced some "minor turbulence." At the same time, the plane began to rock back and forth wildly.  
  
"Some 'minor' turbulence?!" Kari cried as we were jostled in our seats. "A two-year-old could fly a broomstick better than this!"  
  
"Hey, not everyone are wizards here!" my friend hissed at her in warning. A particularly nasty bump would have sent me flying if I wasn't buckled in.  
  
"Oh my God, I don't wanna die!" Kari cried out in panic. "Please land this plane, I don't wanna die, land this plane NOW!!" Many people in earshot turned their heads at her, but she was too busy having an anxiety attack to notice. Eventually the turbulence vanished, and we had no further problems until we landed in Chicago. I had never seen such a busy, crowded place before. Of course it was a long wait in line for "security reasons," and all of our belongings (and ourselves) were scanned once again. The sword had presented some problems, but when my friend explained that it had been "in the family for generations," they passed it to the next checkpoint without any further suspicions. Finally we were outside in the Chicago summer air.  
  
"Whew!" my friend breathed, droplets of sweat glistening on his face already. "It's hot and sticky out here"  
  
"We never had weather like this at home," I added.  
  
"What can I say?" Kari smiled benignly at us. "Home sweet home!" 


	20. Sweet Home, Chicago

Chapter 20: "Sweet Home, Chicago"  
  
Taking the bus downtown, we found Cardamum Alley with Kari as a guide. The overall atmosphere was completely different than Diagon Alley. For one thing, there were so many people that we could hardly cross the street without bumping into someone. One group of wizards were playing jazz, improvising the music as they went along. Ice-cream that wouldn't melt was offered to us twice before we even reached the shops. We were content to simply walk around, but then Kari walked straight into someone, knocking all of her things to the ground.  
  
"Sorry!" Kari apologized, kneeling down to clean up.  
  
"That's all right," the girl mumbled, and a change in emotion was suddenly marked in her face as she looked up at her assailant. "Kari?!"  
  
"Susan?!" Kari exclaimed back, her eyes lighting up. My friend and I glanced at each other in surprise. We looked back and caught Kari and Susan embracing in excitement.  
  
"Oh my God!!! Where have you been, Kari? How long has it been?" Susan asked.  
  
"Almost five years, I think," she replied. "What's going on?"  
  
"No way, I asked you first," Susan teased. "You're the one who disappeared without a trace!"  
  
"I haven't been in school, remember?" Kari joked back. "You've got to fill me in! Have you gotten a boyfriend yet?"  
  
"Just a couple. wait a sec! You're telling me what happened to you, or else!" Susan playfully wielded her clenched fist underneath Kari's nose. I coughed politely to show that my friend and I were still waiting for an explanation.  
  
"Oh!" Kari blurted out, noticing us at last. "This is Susan, one of my best buds from school. Susan, this is Rose and Anonimo. They're from England." As we shook hands, I looked at Susan more closely. She was a little shorter than me, which was pretty short, especially for her age. I assumed that Susan was the same age as Kari, seventeen. Susan had flamboyant blonde hair with red highlights, which seemed to match her personality perfectly. Although she wore formal black pants, she let her spunkiness show through by paring them with a lime green tank-top and heaps of small necklaces.  
  
"Kari, for the last time, tell me what happened," Susan pleaded, a serious tone entering her voice. "You've been gone for so long. Some people had given up hope of ever seeing you again. One minute you were there, and in the next, you just. vanished." Kari turned to us uncertainly.  
  
"Is it okay if we tell her?" she asked softly, her voice low so that Susan couldn't overhear.  
  
"Is there anywhere that we could speak in private?" I turned to Susan and asked. She noted the hint of gravity in my tone and nodded.  
  
"I've got a summer job over at O'Leary's as a waitress," she replied. "We can talk in one of the back rooms if you want."  
  
"That's perfect," my friend agreed as I nodded my head. Trying not to bump into any other people, we headed towards an ancient barn that had been converted into a pub. We stepped inside, and to our delight it was instantly cooler. Even though the door was open, I knew that a special spell was being used to keep the coolness inside.  
  
"Hey, Orlando," Susan called to a boy bussing tables nearby. "Working today?"  
  
"As usual," he responded, walking over to us with a huge bin of dishes in his hands. "I'm trying to get a promotion, remember? Anyway, what are you doing here? You're a bit early; you're not supposed to work until seven."  
  
"My friends and I need to talk about something in private," Susan answered. "You mind if we take a room in the back?" Orlando shrugged his shoulders casually, despite the heavy container.  
  
"Be my guests," he said simultaneously. "I won't tell the boss." Susan thanked him profusely and led us to the back of the barn/restaurant.  
  
"Who was that?" Kari asked when we were out of earshot. "I don't remember seeing him around."  
  
"You wouldn't," Susan corrected her. "He moved here a couple years ago from Florida. He's a really nice guy. We went out for a while, but we both decided that we were better off as friends." Kari growled in mock jealousy.  
  
"So unfair," she explained after seeing Susan's puzzled look. "You've gotten the chance to have a boyfriend, and me... grr!" We had traveled past the bathrooms to a small pantry. Susan had opened the window for some circulation, because it was evident that this room was used for storing food, not holding people. We sat down on the floor, a little uncomfortable, but good enough for our purposes.  
  
"So, Kari," Susan said at last, "'Splain yourself, girlfriend." With help from my friend and me near the end, Kari told the entire story, except for the part about the Prophecy. We had decided at that time that it would only confuse Susan more. This was also the first time that we had a chance to tell my friend about our little escapade with Anjou. To see the mix of horror and shock on his face brought Kari and me to tears. When Kari had finally reached the end of our amazing-but-true story, Susan's eyebrows were high in surprise.  
  
"Whoa," she said, mouth open wide. "Sounds like you've been busy."  
  
"You're telling me!" Kari replied. "What did you think happened to me?"  
  
"I don't know; I never actually wanted to think about it," Susan answered softly. "There were rumors, of course. none of them were true, though. People were saying that you ran away or were smuggled out of the country for political reasons. Some even thought that the Ministry was covering up your disappearance. Your parents. well, they were heartbroken, and they didn't believe the Ministry when they concluded that you ran away. The man that was there that morning had been checked out by the Ministry, so he didn't even come under suspicion. We all helped put up posters and stuff, but by that time, you must have been long gone."  
  
"Where are my parents?" Kari asked. Susan looked rather guilty all of a sudden.  
  
"Well, they. after a year with no luck in finding you, they moved. They said that the house in Evanston reminded them too much of you. I visited them in their new place every so often, just to check up on things, but I. I stopped after a while. I guess I reminded them of you, just like the old house did. I have their new address, just hang on a sec." Susan said as she dug into her pockets. She finally took out a small clear cube, which I recognized as an Annutoire, used to keep track of names, addresses, and dates.  
  
"The Sky's, please," Susan addressed the Annutoire, and the cube filled up with a violet-colored fog as it projected the address above in golden yellow writing.  
  
"1656 Echo Lake Road," she read the address aloud. "The only times we talk now are through Christmas cards. I'm really sorry for not being there for them." Now she looked really ashamed.  
  
"It's okay," Kari accepted the apology and smiled in encouragement. "You tried your best, and that's what counts. That was really cheesy, wasn't it?" Susan giggled, back to her own self.  
  
"We better go, before my boss finds us," she said. "Mitchell doesn't like people in here."  
  
"You're right, Susan; I don't," a voice came in through the doorway. Susan turned around in surprise and horror, and I assumed that this was her boss. "Who are these people? What are you doing here in the pantry?"  
  
"I. I was showing them around," Susan answered in a flattering tone. "They were curious to see just what a wonderful job you did turning this place from a crumbling old barn to a respectable restaurant." Mitchell gave her a skeptical glare.  
  
"In the pantry, Susan?" he commented as he scrutinized all of us. I had to admit that at this point, Mitchell seemed scarier than all the Brethren put together. I decided that a hasty retreat would be our best bet, but Mitchell was blocking the way. With a shift in fortune, however, a figure from behind came to our rescue.  
  
"I sent Susan to get some more napkins, sir," Orlando said after catching Mitchell's attention. "The others had to follow her because I was busy." After staring at Orlando (and perhaps thinking that he wasn't going to do much to a guy twice his size), Mitchell finally consented to let us pass. Soon we were in the front of O'Leary's again.  
  
"My hero!" Kari cried out when we were out of hearing, and Susan and I burst out laughing. My friend's ears turned pink, and I laughed even harder.  
  
"All in a day's work," Orlando replied, bowing to Kari and flirting madly. "By the way, I never got your names."  
  
"I'm Kari," she said, smiling back. "I. used to live around here." Orlando turned to me expectantly.  
  
"My name's Rose," I answered, offering my hand in greeting.  
  
"It's a pleasure to meet you," he replied as he took my hand, flirting with deep green eyes behind chocolate brown skin. I blushed crimson, not expecting that sort of attention. Noticing my embarrassment, he moved quickly towards my friend.  
  
"Anonimo," he said, simply stating his "name" as salutation.  
  
"Orlando," he replied, and the two shook hands cordially. This was the most formal I had ever seen Orlando yet. "So. where exactly are you staying?"  
  
"With some old friends of mine," Kari said quickly. It wasn't exactly the truth, but it was much easier than trying to explain everything to him.  
  
"Well, if you ever need anything, just drop an owl," Orlando responded. "Maybe we can get together sometime, if you want."  
  
"Thanks, Orlando," Kari smiled. With that farewell, we traded the cool dark surroundings of O'Leary's Pub for the warm humid air of Cardamum Alley.  
  
"No offense to you guys, but I really need to get going," Susan said. "I was only supposed to be here to pick up some ingredients for a potion that my mom's trying to make."  
  
"She still works at the Ministry, right?" Kari commented. Susan nodded.  
  
"My mom looks for cures to magical ailments," she added, turning to us. "In other words, she mixes stuff up and hopes that it doesn't explode. There's no telling what would happen to her if it wasn't for me! She's working on fixing a rash that happens when you touch a beezlebel plant. I only hope I'm not going to be her next, ahem, 'test subject'. there's beezlebel plants all over the house! I would offer to have you stay with us, but under the conditions, I don't think you'd want to."  
  
"We'll probably stay with my parents; don't worry," Kari answered, looking rather relieved after hearing about the beezlebel plants. Susan looked uncomfortable again after Kari mentioned her parents.  
  
"When you see them," Susan said at length, "could you tell that I'm sorry for not keeping in touch? I'd feel a lot better if you did."  
  
"Of course," Kari replied, "thought I don't think it's really necessary."  
  
"If you need help against the Brethren, or whatever they call themselves, don't hesitate to send an owl," Susan concluded. "It was nice meeting you, Rose. Oh, and Anonimo? Don't let Orlando get under your skin. He flirts with every girl that walks in! See you later, everybody!" Turning to leave, Susan knocked into someone, but this time she didn't drop anything. With a hurried apology to the man, she waved to us and walked on. It was then that I realized that the stranger Susan had bumped into hadn't moved at all. Instead, he turned to us, and my heart sank knowingly.  
  
"You've become increasingly difficult to track," the stranger said, "but it might help if you gave us hints to your next destination."  
  
"Who are you, and what do you want?" Kari asked vehemently.  
  
"I'm Nicholas, head of operations here in the Midwest," he answered casually, but he retained the authoritative tone of Angelo. Nicholas appeared to be in his early thirties, with sandy hair and octagonal-framed glasses. The frames caught my attention, and I realized where I had seen such a pair before: at the Red Tomato, the man who had been yelled at by the one who shoved into me.  
  
"I know you! You're the guy from the inn!" Kari accused Nicholas, who had recognized him at the same time.  
  
"I'd hoped that you would've forgotten that unfortunate incident," he replied. "That wasn't one of my finest moments."  
  
"What happened, exactly?" she asked, giving him a scrutinizing look.  
  
"If you must know," Nicholas retorted, somewhat annoyed, "I didn't like a certain colleague, and I had asked if he could be replaced. Of course the answer was no, and we simply got into an argument. Nothing happened that concerns you."  
  
"Sorry I asked," she mumbled back to me, out of earshot from Nicholas.  
  
"Angelo has warned me about you, Kari," Nicholas said, probably hearing the comment anyway, "but I'm not going to let you get under my skin. Now, if I'm correct, this is the fourth day of your commitment to the Brethren. The next five days can go smoothly or painfully, depending on your relationship with me. You have two choices: cooperate, or don't cooperate. Your decision will affect the way I treat you. Is that understood?"  
  
"Yes, sir," I answered. Despite Nicholas' can-did attitude, I had a feeling I didn't want to be on his bad side.  
  
"Good," he replied. "As I understand, Kari, you wish to see your parents again. I have convinced my superiors to allow you to seek accommodations with the Sky's. Tonight at 7:45 you must meet me at the Lake Zurich movie theater. Until then." He nodded in farewell and vanished like the tears from a crying baby who had just been given a sucker. I realized that Nicholas had dropped a small bag on the ground. I picked it up and showed to my friends.  
  
"I think he dropped it on purpose," my friend concluded.  
  
"Let's open it and see what's inside," Kari added. At first when I undid the drawstrings, I saw only a small letter. I gave this note to my friend and continued to probe through the bag's contents. When my fingers reached a powdery residue, I sneezed and realized what it was.  
  
"Floo powder," I told everyone.  
  
"How can you tell? You can't even see it," Kari commented.  
  
"I'm allergic to Floo powder," I replied, sneezing again. I handed the bag to Kari as my friend unfolded the note.  
  
"You're allergic to a lot of stuff," Kari giggled.  
  
"The note's addressed to us," my friend interrupted. "It says we need to use the Floo powder now."  
  
"But what about my parents?" Kari asked.  
  
"It doesn't say anything about them, or where we should go with the Floo powder," he responded. "It doesn't even say where we're going to find a fireplace!"  
  
"Try the address on the back," I smiled, pointing to the handwriting. He scowled and read it.  
  
"It matches the address on the building over there," Kari noted. The name of the shop she was pointing at was Gloria's Homemaking, half-covered by the Owl Emporium. I gave the bag to her, who led the way to the door. Glancing at the inside all I could see was the window display of muggle furniture, "specially modified," of course. I certainly wasn't prepared for what we saw when we walked in.  
  
"This place sure is bigger than it looked from the front," Kari stated in awe. We had to agree; there must have been a special enlargement charm that fooled our eyes. Any type of furniture of appliance imaginable was crammed in the shop that felt more like a warehouse. We looked around for guidance but didn't see a soul. Suddenly a voice from behind us caught our attention.  
  
"How may I help you?" she had asked casually. Her dark skin was creased with wrinkles, and she put me at ease by smiling kindly.  
  
"Excuse me, ma'am," Kari replied, "We're looking for fireplaces."  
  
"Your parents were browsing and sent you off?" the woman returned. "Don't tell me; I'm a good guesser. My name's Gloria, the owner. Fireplaces are straight ahead, on the opposite side. You can't miss it, child. If your parents need help, don't be afraid to call for me."  
  
"Thanks you, ma'am," my friend said, who hadn't spoken a word during this entire exchange. We took our leave of Gloria, who simply waved at us and vanished again.  
  
"There was something strange about her," my friend said suspiciously, referring to Gloria. "I didn't like her sneaking up behind us like that. Nearly gave me a heart attack."  
  
"I like her," Kari retorted stubbornly. "She reminds me of my grandmother. I agreed with her. My friend only grumbled again and muttered something about girls under his breath.  
  
"What's that?" Kari asked mockingly. "Speak up!"  
  
"Looks like someone may need another nap," I whispered softly to her, and we both giggled. My friend only sighed and rolled his eyes, careful not to speak his thought out loud again. This conversation had taken up the time needed to walk to the other side of Gloria's Homemaking.  
  
"Whew, it's definitely warmer around here," I commented.  
  
"You know, it could be due to the fireplaces, which are all lit," my friend smiled mischievously at me, gaining revenge for my past whisper.  
  
"Come on, choose a fireplace, and let's go!" Kari called out.  
  
"Wait a minute, we don't even know where we're supposed to go!" he protested.  
  
"Where else? To Kari's house," I said.  
  
"Who's got the bag?" he sighed while rolling his eyes. Kari dangled it in front of him tauntingly before dumping its contents into the palm of her hand.  
  
"There's not much here, so only take a pinch," she added. I tried not to inhale too much of it, but my eyes were already watering. "Who's going first?"  
  
"I will," my friend volunteered, and before anyone could object he threw the powder in, causing the flames to burn an emerald green, and called out "the Sky's house." He stepped into the flames and vanished before we could protest.  
  
"Guys always have to so kung-ho, don't they?" Kari complained. I agreed, though I didn't have the slightest idea of what she was talking about.  
  
"After you," I said, bowing with a flourish towards the fireplace. I also managed to stifle yet another sneeze.  
  
"No, no, I insist: after you," replied Kari, laughing. Already feeling my eyes get puffy and irritated, I flung the powder out of my hand and wiped off the residue on my shirt.  
  
"The Sky's house," I cried and walked into the fire. The whirling of light, color, and fireplaces did nothing to quell my allergies. When I opened my eyes again, I found myself staring at a dark brick wall. I realized that the opening of the fireplace was not designed to allow people to walk in and out, as most wizard fireplaces were. I ducked and stepped out of the way just as Kari came flying through.  
  
"Ouch!" she yelped as she hit her head on the bricks.  
  
"Low clearance," my friend chortled as she exited the fireplace and rubbed her head gingerly. I looked around the living room. Everything appeared to be neat and tidy; I guessed that Kari didn't inherit the "neat gene," since her rubbish was usually all over the place.  
  
"Are you sure we're at the right house?" I asked jokingly. The sound of soft footfalls on the stairs nearby froze us all in front of the mantle.  
  
"Who are you?" a zaftig woman asked, glaring at each of us suspiciously. "What are you doing here? How did you get in here?"  
  
"Thr. through the fireplace, ma'am," my friend stammered out, clearly intimidated by the maternal manner of the woman. At this answer she spluttered words out furiously.  
  
"But. this is an unlisted fireplace!" she exclaimed fiercely as she continued her advance. "I have every right to contact the Ministry! Breaking and entering, that's what this is!"  
  
"Ma'am, maybe you should sit and calm down a bit." I tried to appease to her, but to no avail.  
  
"The Floo Regulation Panel is certainly going to hear from me!" she yelled out, more enraged than before. "You three hooligans had better explain yourselves, or I'll."  
  
"PLEASE, MA'AM, JUST GIVE US THE CHANCE, THEN!" my friend shouted hoarsely. The interruption seemed to do the trick because she stopped in mid-sentence. Nevertheless she tried to retain some sort of control over the situation.  
  
"Who are you?" she asked again in a darker tone. I heard Kari gulp nervously.  
  
"Hi, Mom," she said at last, and she gave a lopsided grin. I watched the woman's face change from a purplish shade of red to a bleached white in a matter of seconds.  
  
"K. Kari?" she managed to form the word as she looked at her in shocked astonishment. Then unexpectedly she stumbled backwards and tumbled to the floor in a dead faint.  
  
"Mom?" Kari cried out as she rushed forward to help her mother. "Do you want me to help?" my friend said with wand in hand as we rushed forward and attempted to lift Mrs. Sky onto the couch.  
  
"I don't think she'd appreciate the headache you'll give her with the Enneverate spell," I remarked thoughtfully. "We're better off finding some smelling salts." Just then the front door opened, a man carrying a small brown briefcase was bewildered to see three complete strangers standing over the prone form of his wife.  
  
"Anna?" he burst out as he rushed over and pushed us out of the way. The man paid no attention to us as he patted her pallid face. "There's some lavender crystals in the kitchen. just sitting on the counter." As he mumbled this my friend was already up and searching. He finally returned with a tall plastic container filled with assorted powders.  
  
"Is this it?" he said, tapping Mr. Sky's shoulder.  
  
"Huh? Oh, thank you," he replied automatically. "A dash of lavender should do the trick." The container leapt out of my friend's hand, and I noticed the single spoon attached. The spoon unfastened itself, and the container measured exactly one dash into the indent of the spoon. Mr. Sky, not to be distracted from his wife's care, grabbed the spoon absentmindedly, spilling some of its contents. I watched with slight amusement as the container dived to catch the fallen powder. What remained in the spoon was waved beneath the nose of the fallen woman.  
  
"Lavender again?" I could hear her mumble as she came to. "I must have fainted, didn't I?" Her husband nodded, and they smiled. She must have remembered why she had fainted, however, because she started to wave her hands wildly. "Kevin, do you know who's standing over your shoulder right now?!"  
  
"No," he responded as he looked over at Kari, "but she looks like a very nice girl."  
  
"I'd certainly hope so," Mrs. Sky cried out with exasperation. "She's our daughter!"  
  
"Wh. what?!" he stammered back. "You're kidding me, right?"  
  
"Surprise?" Kari offered. Mr. Sky had to do a double take before realizing his wife's words. All three Sky's embraced, together for the first time in years.  
  
"What have you been doing?" her mother demanded.  
  
"Shipped around the world as a freak and locked in a dark cell for who knows how long, but other than that, nothing much," replied Kari sarcastically.  
  
"My poor baby!" Mrs. Sky cried out, and she hugged Kari and her husband even tighter.  
  
"Mom, stop; you're embarrassing me in front of my friends," Kari tried to protest.  
  
"Speaking of which." Mr. Sky announced hastily, probably just as eager to escape from the hug as Kari was.  
  
"Mom, Dad, this is Rose Black and Anonimo," Kari introduced and turned to us. "Obviously, these are my parents, Anna and Kevin Sky."  
  
"How do you do?" Mr. Sky greeted.  
  
"It's a pleasure to meet you," I answered back.  
  
"What happened to you, Kari?" her mom asked, so the entire story spilled out again, leaving out the parts about the Prophecy, of course.  
  
"So now we have to meet them again tonight at something called a movie theater," Kari concluded.  
  
"That's a place where muggles go to see moving picture stories called movies," her dad supplied. "I don't know why these Brethren would want to meet you there, though."  
  
"Isn't it obvious, Kevin?" Mrs. Sky answered, rolling her eyes. "If they met in a place with lots of wizards about, they might get recognized. We could drop you off at the movie theater using the muggle car. I don't think it'd be a good idea for us to go in."  
  
"You're right," her husband responded. "You three know how to handle the Brethren better than us." My friend leaned in close to Kari so that I could listen as well but not the adults.  
  
"So that's it?" he asked doubtfully. "They're just going to let you fight the Brethren on your own?"  
  
"They've always let me be independent," Kari shrugged in return. "If they thought we would need their help, they would offer it."  
  
"It's a good thing too," I grinned. "Otherwise the Brethren may have to deal with angry parents along with you!" 


	21. At the Movies

Chapter 21: "At the Movies"  
While in the car we learned a little more about what the Sky's did during Kari's absence. In order to escape from all the chaos that surrounded her disappearance, they moved as soon as they could. The only house available at the time, however, was in a muggle neighborhood, but that was perfectly all right with them. Mr. Sky simply drove the muggle car to a portkey to go to work at the Ministry. Mrs. Sky owned an antiques shop in Cardamum Alley, and together they kept searching for their daughter. Until now there had never been a sign that Kari was still alive. There had been rumors, of course, but as soon as they had tried to investigate, the leads always ended up at a dead end. Just as Mrs. Sky had ended her narrative, Mr. Sky had driven into the parking lot of the movie theater.  
"Where do you want me to go?" he asked. "Should I drop you three off at the entrance?"  
"It's their first time at a movie theater, dear," his wife replied. "I'll go with them to get tickets. Just park in neutral." Together we stepped out of the car and up to the window.  
"Three students for. Val?!" Mrs. Sky suddenly exclaimed.  
"Hi, Mrs. Sky," the girl behind the glass smiled sheepishly.  
"Are you working here?" Mrs. Sky asked back. "I see you help your sister sometimes at my shop."  
"My sister's the witch. I work here to earn some muggle money, like a normal muggle teenager," the blonde-hair girl called Val answered, putting extra emphasis on the word normal. "Three tickets for what movie?"  
"Any movie catch you fancy?" Mrs. Sky turned to us.  
"I. really don't care," my friend said quietly.  
"Oooh! How about that one?" Kari cried out excitedly. She pointed out a poster of a couple of guys waving long light sticks. There was also a girl brandishing a strange-looking muggle invention I recognized as a gun.  
"Whatever," I shrugged my shoulders in resignation. That was how we received three tickets for Star Wars: Episode II in our possession. Kari's mother left before we reached the glass door, and it didn't take us long to find our Brethren friend Nicholas on a bench nearby.  
"Hello, Rose, Kari, Anonimo," he called, nodding to each of us in turn. "You're on time, as usual, it seems."  
"We've learned that lesson the hard way," my friend muttered, and we sat down as Nicholas stood up. "What do you want us to do this time?" Nicholas permitted himself a small smile.  
"It should be rather simple for you," he grinned confidently. "After all, you've done it before." He paused for a dramatic effect, giving him time to gauge our reactions. It didn't take long.  
"Wait a minute," I exclaimed, eyebrows arched high in surprise, "what do you mean, we've 'done it before'?" Nicholas' grin stretched to an amused smile, showing perfect white teeth.  
"It's the same drill: different artifact, different museum," he said. "I'm giving you some time, though; you can do it tomorrow night. The next morning you'll receive a note with further instructions. Any questions?"  
"Two, actually," my friend smirked wryly. "Which artifact, and which museum?" Outwardly Nicholas appeared to be unflustered by this "stunning revelation", but I could tell that he hadn't meant to omit the most important part of our orders. I managed to disguise my giggles as coughing into my sleeve.  
"My superiors want another sword," Nicholas continued, ignoring our smiles. "You don't have to break into another museum this time, though; the Sword of Conundrum is located in a warehouse on the corner of Ashland and 18th downtown. The warehouse belongs to the Field Museum, but it's low- profile and low-security, I've heard." He turned to leave, but he must have changed his mind because he looked back over his shoulder to give the last word.  
"Kari, I'm afraid, can't help you with this mission. Good luck to both of you, not that you'll need it. After all." We watched him climb over another bench nearby that blocked his way to the exit and head out the door with a sarcastic grin.  
"Wait a sec," my friend asked, puzzled, "did he say 'both of us'?"  
"Where's Kari?" I finished his question. We spent the next twenty minutes searching for her. She would have gone right past us in a multitude of people, in fact, if she hadn't been laughing so hard.  
"Kari! Where have you been?!" my friend demanded.  
"Where else but at the movie?" she ecstatically answered back. "Wow! I think I entered in the middle of it, but it was awesome, anyway! There was this really hot guy named Anakin, I think, but he's mine, so back off! Why don't we have light sabers, anyway?"  
"Light sabers?" I asked slowly, a single eyebrow raised.  
"Those were the long glowing sticks. They're so cool, especially if you don't have a wand!" Kari gushed wildly. "I bet they could block curses if we tweaked them right!"  
"Kari, you do realize that the movie was fiction, right?" my friend smiled cautiously. She shot him a dirty look.  
"They've got magic, too!" she hissed. "If they could make a light saber, then so can we! If I didn't know better, I would say that you were jealous 'cause I got to see the movie, and you didn't!"  
"Hey, calm down, both of you!" I cried out over the mêlée. "We don't need to bicker like this! Now apologize, you two!" With some effort they muttered apologies without Kari biting his head off in the process.  
"Anakin's still mine," Kari added mischievously.  
"Relax, phoenix-girl," I smiled, glad to see that the spat was over. "I don't think you'll get much competition from us." Laughing, we left the movie theater together. 


	22. Bricks and Carnations

Chapter 22 "Bricks and Carnations"  
The next day Mr. and Mrs. Sky drove us into Chicago to prepare for the mission that night. We had a difficult time locating the warehouse; we finally found it after a few hours of frantic driving. I had been on muggle transportation in London, but the traffic was nothing compared to Chicago! Noticing a small floral shop directly across from the warehouse, Kari, my friend, and I got out of the car and headed towards it. We kept the pretense of doing something productive by looking at assorted carnations, lilies, and roses in a large window display. In truth we were watching the warehouse for any sign of activity. My eyes caught sight of the video cameras focused on the gate in the chain-link fence. Meanwhile Kari attempted to start a conversation with the Latina lady behind the counter.  
"How much for a dozen of these?" she asked, pointing to the carnations.  
The woman replied in a thick Mexican accent, and Kari looked again at the strange muggle paper money in her hand that her mother had given for an "emergency."  
"Maybe I should settle for a half-dozen," Kari answered sheepishly. As the woman wrapped up the flowers, my friend decided to mention the warehouse directly.  
"It doesn't add to the backdrop, does it," he stated, pointing casually towards the large brick building.  
"You are not from around here," the woman responded, her curiosity aroused.  
"We're from England," I said. "What's that building used for? It looks like there's a lot of security."  
"Used to be old meat-packaging plant, I think," she commented, warming up to the conversation. "Now it is used for storage."  
"What's inside, anyway?" asked Kari.  
"Old stuff," the lady shrugged. "Very.how you say: valuable. The señorita in charge, ella está loca, pero está amable."  
"Well, thanks," I said, not understanding a word she said, and we took our leave of the flower shop and headed back to the car. Kari tried to the best of her ability to hide the carnations from her parents; fortunately my friend distracted Mrs. Sky as we got into the car.  
"Why aren't you giving them to her now?" I whispered as Kari carefully hid the flowers underneath the seat.  
"They're going to be from Susan," she replied softly. "She's going to owe me big time after this!" 


	23. In the Box Marked 'Weaponry'

Chapter 23 "In the Box Marked 'Weaponry'"  
Not wanting to attract anymore attention than need be, we had the Sky's drop us off a block away from the warehouse that night. Mrs. Sky was so tense and worried that she actually hugged both of us, telling us to be careful. Now that we were free from the suffocating embrace, my friend and I walked down the street by hugging the darkness. I practically held my breath the entire way in case someone would hear us. Of course, the way my heart was pounding, they could probably hear us anyway. It wasn't long before the ominous shadow of the warehouse above loomed over us.  
"Doesn't this seem familiar?" I mumbled in spite of myself as I glanced at cameras perched high on the fence posts.  
"Ready?" asked my friend, and I nodded. The silver of the Othersight flashed over his eyes as the darkness concealed us from view. I paused at the front gate which was flooded with white from street lights above. Then I took the object that Mr. Sky had loaned me for this purpose. Shaped much like a muggle cigarette lighter, I now released the cap and captured the light streaming from the fluorescent bulbs. When finished I recapped the "lighter" and put it back in my pocket. Continuing our way under the cloak of darkness we came to a small fence door in the middle of the larger gate.  
"Alohomora!" I cried out softly, and the door opened without a sound. I did this again when we reached the building itself, and then we were inside the former meat packaging plant. Machinery from its meat past still cast eerie shadows across the room, but what astonished me the most were the boxes. Stacked end on end on huge shelves that reached up to the ceiling, they created aisle after aisle of uniformed secrecy. Each box could contain valuable treasures that would be worth thousands, or even millions of galleons, though there was no way of telling way could be inside.  
"How are we ever going to find it in this maze?" my friend voiced his concern in a moan. Looking for guidance led me to the large sheet of paper posted on the door we had just come out of.  
"This might help," I replied with a lopsided grin as I directed his attention to the map.  
"Figures," he muttered as his finger traced the sheet. It finally rested on the southern half. "According to this, we could find it either in 'medieval' or in 'weaponry'."  
"Which one's closer?" I asked.  
"Weaponry," he answered. "It's located in aisle 23." I scanned the black ceiling above for signs, but nothing revealed itself. Before I could tell my friend, I realized that he had already gone into the Othersight, his eyes focused on an invisible object. I watched him as his eyes changed back into their normal velvet brown eyes.  
"This way," he motioned, and I followed him through the semi- darkness. I found myself glancing furtively for any pairs of eyes; even though the darkness hid us well, the feeling of being watched refused to dissipate. We moved down an aisle and stopped halfway.  
"It should be one of those boxes up there," he said, pointing up to the fifth shelf of boxes.  
"Looks like it's time for more magic," I sighed. "Wingardium leviosa!" With quite some effort (it was, after all, a wooden crate containing massive metal pieces), I managed to bring the box slowly to the floor. My friend slid the lid off and rummaged through its contents. He emerged with his head shaking "no". I brought the box back up again and repeated the process. After searching two more with no luck, I levitated the last box marked weaponry down to our level. We both reached for the lid at the same time, knocking heads. With whispered apologies we lifted the lid and looked inside. There, right on top, was our goal. It was in the same shabby condition as the Galleon Sword; in fact, the similarities were uncanny.  
"Well," I whispered as my friend held the hilt with two hands and a strange look on his face, "that was easy." Just then a heavy hand fell on my shoulder.  
"Well, well, what do we have here?" a low voice answered my fears. For a moment I turned back to my friend and was startled to see the flash of anger that entered his innocent eyes as he glared at the guard. The grip on my shoulder simply tightened until I was forced into a grimace of pain. Concern, then dejection replaced the unnatural fury that had risen in my friend only moments before. We both knew it then: we had been caught. 


	24. Interrogation

Chapter 24 "Interrogation"  
"I believe you kids have some explaining to do," the guard said as he pushed me forward and then my friend into me. As we marched at a quickened pace, I was left to wonder how we were apprehended. We took everything into account; the plan had been perfect. Then a horrifying thought emerged in my panicked mind: the Brethren! If we didn't bring back the sword, what would happen to us, to Kari? What would happen to Lupin? Fortunately I wasn't able to dwell on these nightmarish thought because we had reached a tiny office on the end of the hall and had been shoved inside. A key was thrust into the lock outside and turned; still watching us with heightened suspicion, the guard went into the opposite room and picked up something that he held to his ear and mouth.  
"I can't believe this," a voice next to me sighed with frustration. He flopped onto a nearby chair, holding his head in his hands.  
"I don't think it was our fault," I said slowly, trying to make sense of the thoughts that flickered and died in an instant. "He probably was just lucky, that's all."  
"Well, we weren't lucky, that's for sure," he grumbled. "How are we going to get out of this mess?" Just then the "lucky" guard began to talk into the object he was holding (my friend thought it was a "fellytone," but then again, he was never really good at muggle studies), and the words drifted in through the door. Raising a finger to silence my friend, we listened intently to the gruff voice.  
"Hello, Jane? This is George. Yeah, I know it's three in the morning. The alarm you put on that box went off, and, you won't believe this, but I caught two kids rummaging through it. They're right in my office. I hope you don't mind me using your telephone. ("Telephone? So that's what it's called"). You're coming over now?. All right, see you in a bit. Good-bye," he said, and he put the telephone down on the desk. We didn't dare to discuss what we had just heard because the guard, George, was now glaring, demeaning and mocking us at the same time.  
"George?" a female voice called out from far away some minutes later.  
"That must be Jane," I thought to myself. As she approached him, I was able to get a look at the voice at the other end of the telephone. The first feature I noticed was the intense sparkle in her clear blue eyes, despite the time of night. Instead of the anger I was expecting, she seemed to be rather amused by our capture. Her graying hair pulled back into a quick ponytail matched the silver trim on the hem of her blue robes. Suddenly her eye caught my own, and I was inclined to believe that the sparkle grew even more, if that was possible.  
"Let me talk with them," was all that I caught her saying in her conversation with George. He seemed reluctant to do so but consented in the end, so Jane was finally inside the office, staring at both of us with a ghost of a grin on her face.  
"So," she said at last, "how did you manage to get the box down? It was, after all, on the fifth shelf." There wasn't a good reply to answer that, so we simply said nothing at all.  
"Did you get a ladder and bring it down by hand?" Jane asked, mostly to herself but loud enough for us to hear. I had the feeling she wanted us to hear her. "No, you wouldn't be able to do that. That box weighs about three, four hundred pounds. Maybe you used the forklift? Of course, it's stored right next to George's office, and the motor was still cool. Or maybe it was magic?"  
I couldn't help myself; my horrified eyes gave me away. But was she a muggle? As in answer, she leaned in close, as if she were afraid George would overhear.  
"I would understand if you did that," she said, revealing my fear. "I'll have to ask you to empty your pockets now." Reluctantly we did so, and the light extinguisher found its way onto the table. Jane picked it up lightly.  
"Nothing else?" she asked, but we shook our heads no. We had left our wands back at the Sky's house. "Well, this device explains how you got in. But how did you get the box down?"  
"Please, ma'am, we used magic, but we can't tell you how we did it," I said at last, guilty and afraid of what she might force us to reveal. I added, "We can at least tell you that we didn't use wands."  
"And we certainly couldn't use this," my friend remarked, hefting the Sword of Conundrum into view. Looking at it, I couldn't help but see the uncanny resemblance to the Galleon Sword. A sudden spout of laughter radiated from Jane.  
"Of course you wouldn't have been able to," she chuckled as she reached for something in her robes. "After all, this is the real Sword of Conundrum." With this revelation she lifted an exact replica of the sword that my friend held, right down to the last shred of torn leather on the hilt. My friend gazed in awe at the twin blades.  
"No wonder it felt wrong." he mumbled, a strange glint in his eyes.  
"It felt wrong?" both Jane and I asked at the same time.  
"Never mind," he replied quickly, revealing nothing to Jane or me. The result was a long stuffy silence, which was finally broken by Jane.  
"So why were you after this sword?" she asked, scrutinizing each of us with her bright blue eyes. Fortunately Jane had unknowingly provided me with a response.  
"Probably the same reason why you made a copy of it," I smirked mischievously, eyes twinkling. She opened her mouth as to fire back with an equally witty remark, but evidently nothing had come to mind because she slumped back in her chair in defeat.  
"You have me there," Jane half-smiled. "What do you propose we do, then?"  
"We can ask each other questions, but all of us have to give truthful answers," my friend said, borrowing a page from Monsieur Evrémonde's book.  
"Fair enough," she responded with a sly grin, "but since I'm older than both of you put together and more, I'll go first. Answer my last question."  
"We were after the sword," I sighed, "because we were told to get it. I can't tell you who, though."  
"And why not?" Jane asked. I was beginning to forget that we were on opposite sides; her infectious personality and those eyes that could see right through you made her seem trusting. "I can call the authorities, and you would be in trouble either way you choose. It would just depend on how much trouble, that's all."  
"Of course, your 'authorities' aren't holding our friend hostage and forcing us to do their every bidding," my friend snapped back hotly. Luckily for her, Jane caught his drift.  
"I didn't know; I'm sorry," she responded sympathetically. Before she could think of another question, I needed to ask a few of my own.  
"Why did you make a copy?" I inquired.  
"In case something like this happened," she said. "You see, my job here is to research and protect everything you saw in those boxes. But the real reason why I'm here is to guard this sword." She paused for a moment and then continued, "Would you believe me if I told you that the sword I now hold in my hands is one of the most powerful weapons of magic in wizard history?"  
My jaw dropped.  
"We. we knew it had some magic, but. we never thought. wow," my friend breathed.  
"How is that possible?" I asked at last, still astonished by the disclosure. "You would think that it would be guarded by dragons or something."  
But who would want to steal this old, broken-up thing?" Jane said, tossing the sword lightly in her hands. "That's the best defense it has. Unless you knew what it really was, you could never tell by looking at it."  
"What if someone did know?" I pushed on. "Or just got lucky?"  
"Well, luckily for us, the sword can only be used by certain people," she responded, refusing to elaborate. She continued before I could demand an explanation. "I still want to know how you got the box down in the first place." We looked at each other for assistance, but we figured we had nothing to lose by telling her.  
"You see, it's a special ability that Rose has."  
"I don't need a wand to cast spells," I continued for my friend. At first Jane looked stunned, but she soon regained her composure.  
"Ah ha," Jane answered softly. "And are there any other 'special abilities' that you're not telling me about?"  
"Well." my friend said somewhat reluctantly, and he continued to explain the Othersight to Jane. As he finished, Jane sat back in her chair, deep in thought. Finally she gave a reply, mostly to herself.  
"Curious," she said quietly. "I wonder."  
"Excuse me," I asked gently, hoping that this time she wouldn't skirt around the issue, "but what's curious?" Her sparkling blue eyes scrutinized me as she answered the question at last.  
"You two have quite unusual talents," Jane said. "Very rare, especially for wizards of your age. I was simply wondering." She looked as if she were about to say more, but my friend interrupted her pause.  
"This wouldn't have anything to do with the Prophecy, would it?" he questioned. Evidently she was taken aback by his statement because her eyebrows arched high in surprise.  
"How do you know about the Prophecy?" Jane asked hurriedly, clearly worried by the information. "Who told you?"  
"We. can't tell you," he answered with a strained grimace.  
"Then at least tell me this," she echoed. "Was it the same person who's holding your friend, who's forcing you to obey him?" I nodded. I wanted to tell her everything- about the Brethren, about Italy, about the other sword- but a stupid promise kept me from doing so.  
"I have a feeling you know more about the Prophecy than we do," my friend continued to interrogate.  
"All we know is that somehow we're connected with it," I added.  
"I was hoping I wouldn't need to go through this- I could lose my job," Jane sighed. "But since you, and more importantly, your 'employer,' knows of its existence, I don't see any harm in helping you. I'll tell you as much as I can, but in order for you to understand, I first need to tell you a story." 


	25. A History Lesson

Chapter 25 "A History Lesson"  
"First, let me ask a question," Jane began. "You're both from England, right? What school do you got to?"  
"Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," I responded automatically.  
"A perfect example!" she replied, delighted. "How many founders were there?"  
"Four," my friend answered this time. "Godric Gryffindor, Rowena Ravenclaw, Helga Hufflepuff, and Salazar Slytherin."  
"Do you know why there were four founders?" Jane asked. "Why not three, or five?" He shrugged his shoulders.  
"Maybe because there were four Ancestors?" I guessed out of the blue.  
"Exactly," she confirmed my answer. "We all know the story of how the Ancestors were the first to control the wild magics. However, according to legend, and those who know the Prophecy, it is believed that there were actually six Ancestors at one time.  
"Now there were certain rules that the Ancestors chose to live by. One of these said that an Ancestor couldn't show emotion: no hate, love, anger, sadness, fear, anything. Well, since they were only human, two of the Ancestors unintentionally fell in love. Fearful that they would 'corrupt' the others, the Rogue Ancestors, as they were called afterwards, banished themselves from the group, leaving behind everything they had lived for, including their magic.  
"Legend has it that the Rogue Ancestors became the first muggles, which may explain why every so often a witch or wizard will pop out of a seemingly pure muggle family. The story says that the other Ancestors searched the world for their companions but were unsuccessful. But as they searched, they suddenly realized something- they had broken the code too! By working together, the Ancestors had become a family, emotions and all. The night they had returned home, they hurriedly got rid of the rule (after all, they were the Ancestors) and went to bed.  
"That night, each of the Ancestors had a peculiar dream. The next morning they compared their visions and wrote them down: the Prophecy as we know it today. However, the dreams were not the only odd thing to happen the night before.  
"When the Rogue Ancestors left, they had also left behind the tools they had used to harness the wild magics. Although they were hundreds of years old, up until then they still looked brand-new. But overnight, with the disappearance of their owners, they had rusted over and showed their true age. One of the Ancestors cast a powerful charm on them to keep them in their present condition, rusted and useless, until they were claimed again. Thus the tools became another part of the Prophecy as well. You can probably guess what form these tools took."  
"Swords," I replied slowly, the light coming to me. "Twin swords." Jane nodded in answer.  
"So what does the Prophecy actually say?" my friend asked rather hopefully. She gave him a calculating look.  
"If you two are whom I suspect, it'd be cheating to tell you," she said. "It could even be regretful if you knew too much of your future." Noticing his crestfallen face, she smiled in spite of trying to hide it. "All right, all right, I'll give you a piece of advice. two, actually.  
"One, you must beware of false friends and true enemies. Be careful of whom you trust, because they may not be who they seem."  
"And the other?"  
"A warning, really," she said, her tone turning dark. "Once the swords are claimed, they can be used by anyone, for good or evil. The blades are double-edged; remember that, both of you."  
"Does that mean.?" I started excitedly.  
"Yes," she answered my question. "I might lose my job because of it, but if you're the Guardians mentioned in the Prophecy, you'll get it one way or another, and not legally." She looked longingly at the battered old blade before continuing.  
"This is the Sword of Ralos," Jane said at last, "and it belongs to you, now." With that, she presented the sword hilt-first to my friend. "The other is called the Sword of Ranul. Use them wisely." We rose to our feet together, sensing that our meeting was over. A hurried glance into the other office, and I found myself staring back at poor George, whose face was purple with livid anger and shock from witnessing our transaction.  
"What about George?" I asked, mortified.  
"Oh, him? A simple Memory Charm, and he won't remember a thing," Jane replied nonchalantly. "I'll say that the sword is out for. cleaning. Well, it's certainly past all of our bedtimes, so I suggest we all go home now." We stammered out thanks, but Jane was intent on shooing us home.  
"Don't let your 'employer' get a finger on these swords. If you need help again, don't hesitate to contact me, unless it's three in the morning. Then don't bother. Good luck, both of you." She mumbled something under her breath, like "you're going to need it," but I must have not heard her properly.  
  
We wasted no time exiting the building, because once we were out of sight, exhaustion played with our eyes and made eerie forms appear in the darkness. Finally we were out in the open air, and my fatigued mind realized how cold it had gotten, even for summer. I half-stumbled the block or so to where the car was waiting. My friend tapped on the window because all of the Skys were asleep. Blinking owlishly at us, Kari reached over and unlocked the door.  
"Took you a while," she murmured sleepily. "Start talking." And with that, she turned away from us and went right back to sleep. I smiled, but I knew I wanted to join her. My friend and I crawled in, and MR. Sky began the long car ride back. Mrs. Sky turned to see what we had brought back.  
"Very. interesting," she replied after my friend wearily held it up. In the light of the mysterious Prophecy that surrounded it, the sword should have been infamous for being underestimated. I found myself leaning my head on my friend's shoulder, but frankly, I was too tired to care. Together we slept into the night as we drove through the empty streets of Chicago, sword between us. 


	26. Early in the Morning

"Come on, Rose, we're almost there," my friend said as he shook me awake by using his shoulder. As I rubbed at my sleep-laden eyes, I realized that since he hadn't wanted to disturb me, he had been stuck in that position since we had gotten into the car. I apologized as he stretched his cramped muscles. Surprisingly he replied that he didn't mind, but I couldn't give much to the though because we had just then pulled into the Skys' driveway.  
  
"What time is it?" I muttered to Kari, who glanced at the rising sun in the east.  
  
"I'd say around five in the morning," she answered. "Wait a minute, five in the morning?! No self-respecting person should be awake now!"  
  
"Your father gets up at 4:30 to go jogging, dear," Mrs. Sky said, glancing sternly at her daughter.  
  
"Oh," she grinned widely through her teeth. "Never mind!" I giggled. Mr. Sky picked up the newspaper from the stoop, but as he did so, a piece of paper fluttered back to the ground. His wife swooped down and grabbed it before I could see what it was, but I had a hunch.  
  
"Kevin, you dropped this," she said as she started to hand it back to him.  
  
"Wait," I stepped in, "can I see that for a tic?" Shrugging her shoulders, Mrs. Sky gave it to me; the others gathered in close to see what it was.  
  
"Yep, it's another note," Kari mumbled as I became the designated reader.  
  
" 'Guardians,  
Assuming that the Sword of Conundrum is now in your possession, you may proceed to the Lakewood Wildlife Preserve. Meet us at noon at the center of the preserve. Bring both swords.' Lakewood? Where's that?"  
  
"That's only fifteen minutes or so from here," answered Mr. Sky.  
  
"Good, it gives us time to sleep," Kari muttered, glancing sharply at her mother. I thought that she shouldn't complain- after all, we were the ones who had to go after the sword.  
  
We spent the rest of the morning trying to recuperate from our exhausting night and from what Mrs. Sky called "jet lag." As soon as we got away from her parents, we quietly told Kari what had happened the night before, including the Prophecy. At half-past eleven, we left for Lakewood, as it was known to locals to describe both the magical creature preserve and the muggle park nearby. At first we sat in silence, but I noticed how strangely my friend was looking at the sword he now held between his knees.  
  
"Hey," I asked softly, "what's wrong?" He shook his head to rid himself of the trance he had been in, although he hadn't been using the Othersight.  
  
"Nothing really," he replied. "it's just that. well, I don't think we should even try to claim the swords."  
  
"Why not?" I asked, curious. "I mean, they do belong to us. Well, not exactly, but. we are the Guardians." He didn't respond. Instead, he slipped back into staring at the blade, as if trying to memorize every nick and ding. I looked closer at him and realized what he was actually trying to say to me.  
  
"You're afraid of it, aren't you? You're afraid that we wouldn't be able to control the magic, or that we'll end up using them to the Brethren's advantage," I said quietly so that not even Kari could overhear.  
  
"Aren't you?" he echoed. "Don't you remember anything that Jane said? These are powerful weapons of magic, and we don't know how to use them. Besides, once the swords are claimed, anyone would be able to use them, including the Brethren. That's exactly what they want." I though long and hard about that; I'd never thought about it that way before. After a few minutes, my friend gingerly placed a hand on my shoulder.  
  
"How about this- we won't claim the swords until it's absolutely necessary. Okay?" he said. I looked up at him, smiled, and nodded. 


	27. Tides of Fire and Ice

Due to lunch time traffic, we arrived at Lakewood with only ten minutes to spare. Hurrying past the entrance, we left Kari's parents to reach the center of the large preserve by noon. Somehow, I was oddly reminded of Big Ben back home in London. Luckily we found a guidepost marking the center without much trouble. Kari checked her watch: 11:59.  
  
No one was waiting for us there, though. In fact we waited by the post for quite some minutes. I found my eyes drifting to a few copper streaks and a group of shrieking children laughing in delight. When one of the streaks paused for a moment to do a headstand, I recognized it as an ardillia. Squirrel-like creatures with four bushy tails, they moved so fast that often all you could see was the red-brown stripe on their backs. Usually they avoided humans, but if they had an audience, they would literally perform for peanuts.  
  
I watched them do flips and chase each other with blinding speed until all at once all five ardillias halted at once, pricking up their ears and catching the scent on the soft wind. It was then that I realized how quiet it had gotten in the forest. It was as if the world was holding its breath before braving the icy waters of the unknown. As moments passed, I noticed that I was holding my breath in anticipation or apprehension. but of what? I slowly began to exhale, not wanting to be the one who disturbed the silence.  
  
Suddenly a human scream erupted out of the stillness and ripped its way through the forest, and everything began to happen all at once. The screech had only heralded a multitude of panicked voices, but lying underneath the mad chorus was a sound like thunder, or waves on a distant shore. Then like a tide breaking on a sheer cliff face came the stampede of panicked flush bodies, terror etched in their white faces.  
  
"What's going on?" Kari yelled over the turmoil.  
  
"I don't know," my friend cried back in return, "but we better hang onto something.!" Thinking quickly we all grabbed hands, and with her free arm, Kari wrapped herself around the post just as the mob hit us.  
  
When the first onslaught of bodies hit me, they slammed like a weighted sledgehammer. A horrified yell escaped from my throat as I was battered heedlessly. Suddenly a burly man hurled his way through between my friend and me. My arm felt ready to be torn off, but the man achieved what he was going for, and I found myself dragged and shoved into the middle of the rushing crowd.  
  
"Rose!" the double shout rang out, but all I could do was run with the crowd and pray I wouldn't stumble or fall. This was the point when the sword, which I had forgotten about up until now, came in handy, because when people saw it waving towards them, they pushed to get out of the way, allowing me to occupy the temporarily vacant space.  
  
"Rose!" a voice shouted out again. I recognized it as my friend's, but how could he be so close? "The tree! Grab the tree!" I blindly grappled for a branch and was pushed away from the first one I held, but to the trunk of another I was able to hang on and wait for the tide to pass. As the last people, a terrified mother pulling a crying child, ran down the path to the entrance, I reopened my eyes after having shut them in trepidation. I immediately noticed my friend down the path away, clutching to a tree on the other side. No wonder he had seemed so close.  
  
Despite having nearly been trampled by a mad rush, I smiled.  
  
"You think they do this everyday?" I grinned. My friend managed to smile in return.  
  
"Probably not, no," he said. "But it would make a good exhibit, wouldn't it?" Then his face grew serious. "What were they running from?"  
  
"You could try using the Othersight," I suggested. Then a crash from the other side of the clearing caught our attention.  
  
"Oh. Never mind."  
  
The leathery wings and scaly back of a dragon filled my vision. Ashen gray in color, it was relatively small for a dragon, but that didn't lessen my dread. It was clearly angry about something because when it took off into the air having reached the clearing, the dragon immediately set an old dead tree on fire to relieve itself of excess fury. The ardillia who had been crouching in terror inside had fortunately escaped the blaze, tails slightly singed. It wasn't normal behavior for a dragon to light inanimate objects on fire; it must have been provoked. The dragon landed inside the clearing, and for the first time I could see its face. Cold steel eyes glared icily around its surroundings, bringing to mind the ice gray eyes of the Brethren leader himself. Any minute now it would see the wooden guidepost with Kari still wrapped around it and mistake it for another dead tree to burn. I turned to my friend half-apologetically.  
  
"I think it's absolutely necessary."  
  
Then I turned and began to jog swiftly into the clearing. 


	28. The Sword of Ranul

Chapter 28: "The Sword of Ranul"  
  
"What? Wait, no!" he cried out softly behind me, but my attention was focused elsewhere. It didn't take long for the dragon to notice me. Its eyes stared at me in contempt as I was slowly brought to a halt in awe. If it could, I was absolutely sure it would laugh at the pathetic threat I made towards it. A voice popped up in my mind.  
  
"Now you've done it, Rose," it sneered. "Your friend was right; you don't know how to use the sword! Even if you did, it won't do much good against a dragon! What were you planning on doing, stabbing it in the toe before it burnt you to a crisp?!"  
  
"Well, I have to try something!" my will retorted.  
  
Just then a soft humming vibrated through me, seeming to come from nowhere and everywhere at once. I was dimly aware of the sword pulsating in my palm, glowing with an interior light, for everything began to slide out of focus. Slowly the humming grew in strength, and I could sense that a word was forming. Finally I understood what the mysterious voice was singing to me, and as if someone were controlling me like a marionette, I lifted the sword high at the dragon and shouted the word aloud.  
  
"_Stupefy_!"  
  
A strange sensation, like a mysterious energy, seeped in through my toes and coursed through my veins. As it passed through into the sword itself, the singing reached a crescendo. Just as my body felt ready to be ripped apart by the trapped power, a huge explosion of light and magic erupted from the tip of the outstretched sword, aimed straight at the dragon's cold gray eyes. The spell had been so powerful, in fact, that my hands were seared with a hot flash of pain. The voice suddenly ceased, and there was a moment of absolute silence.  
  
Then the earth rumbled beneath my feet as the air buffeted around me, whipping my long black hair away from my face. The sight of the fallen dragon's head only meters away greeted me as I reopened my closed eyes. As a wave of warm air hit me as the dragon exhaled, I backed away instinctively, stunned at the stunt I had managed to pull off.  
  
"Rose!" a voice cried out, but this time it came outside my mind. "Rose, are you okay?" It was Kari, who had abandoned her post and was now staring mouth agape at the dragon. I looked around for the guidepost, but then I observed that when the dragon had fallen, it had crushed the post beneath it. Kari must have gotten out of the way just in time.  
  
"Yeah, you?" I replied, still bewildered.  
  
"I'm fine," she said as we continued to look at the dragon that was now snoring peacefully, sending up little curls of black smoke each time it exhaled. I noted out of the corner of my eye my friend who had come running up to us. He, too, looked just as surprised as we were at our encounter.  
  
"You two all right?" he asked at last.  
  
"We're peachy," Kari answered. She was the first to regain her senses. "Rose, do you realize what you've done?!"  
  
"Er, no..." I said rather uncomfortably.  
  
"This is a full-grown Appalachian Smokesinge!" she cried. "When I was in the circus, I heard about these things; they were usually really tame, and so they could be used. Only you needed forty or fifty wizards too, because if one of those dragons were provoked, there's no stopping it!"  
  
"F... f... forty or fifty?" I managed to croak out incredulously.  
  
"Fully trained!" added Kari.  
  
"Rose, look..." my friend said, pointing at the sword in my hand. We all turned to look.  
  
"So that's what it's supposed to look like..." Kari stated slowly. The sword had transformed itself back into all of its former glory. The blade gleamed such bright silver that it had the luster of moonlight and looked as if it could cut through diamond. The hilt had magically bound itself anew, now tightly wrapped with hardened black leather. On the pommel stone was a flawless cut of a quarter moon in translucent white pearl and rays of crystal-clear diamond. The Sword of Ranul had truly been claimed once more. 


	29. Seven Minutes and TwentyThree Seconds

Chapter 29: "Seven Minutes and Twenty-Three Seconds"  
  
"Er... hate to interrupt and everything," said Kari as she glanced up, "but they're starting to come back, and I don't exactly think we want to be seen here like this..." I grimaced in answer.  
  
"Imagine if they questioned us: three teenagers, two with swords, by a sleeping dragon? They'll either call us heroes or arrest us... or both!" I cried.  
  
"Publicity isn't what we need right now," my friend agreed. "Especially when they find out the swords were stolen! Come on, let's get out of here." We sneaked quickly around the dragon so we wouldn't be noticed right away, attempting to use the dragon as a shield. Unfortunately some people returning were coming from the woodlands themselves, shrinking our routes of escape. This group in particular seemed to be on a head-on collision with us, and even more ominous was the fact that most were carrying a pad and quill, even a camera: the press!  
  
"How could they have gotten here so soon...?" Kari wondered aloud as we attempted to shift course without attracting attention. It was too late for that anyhow; a few moments later we were surrounded. As shadows of light flickered and jumped to an unheard rhythm as a flashbulb went off, the three of us attempted to fight the reporters off us without getting on the front page.  
  
"Please, no comment!" I shouted at the nearest reporter. Just then I felt something poked hard into my back.  
  
"Don't worry, this is strictly off the record," he sneered sarcastically as the other "reporters" revealed wands. "I suggest you come with us." One started to reach for the sword, but I snatched it back.  
  
"We keep these," my friend replied for me. Grinning, he added, "Here's my wand, if it makes you feel any better." The wizard simply grabbed it and glared at him nastily. As we were prodded and shoved along, Kari took the situation rather well, considering.  
  
"Hmm, let's see: dragon set loose on dozens of people, rude kidnappings: wonder if we're dealing with the Brethren again?" she wryly commented. As I glanced at our captors, I noticed that they weren't too keen on her choice of words. Deeper into the forest we went with no apparent path. Suddenly the trees thinned, and we received our first glimpse of a small wooden cabin that had not been on the guidepost. There was a welcome party awaiting our arrival, and at the head stood...  
  
"Seven minutes and... twenty-three seconds. Well done," Nicholas cried out as we stepped into the clearing. The others began to applaud, though some did so grudgingly. I realized why when I saw money exchange between hands.  
  
"Whoa, wait a minute! What's this all about?" Kari asked.  
  
"Quite simple, really," he replied as he stepped forward to meet us. "That's the exact time it took from when we set off that firecracker underneath the dragon to when you appeared here." Then he looked straight at Kari. "You didn't _really_ think it was an accident, did you?"  
  
"So let me get this straight," my friend answered. "You were willing to risk dozens of lives, not to mention the lives of the endangered creatures that live here, acres of irreplaceable woodland, and even the risk of being exposed by nearby muggles... just to play a game with us? That's pathetic."  
  
"It wasn't so much a game," Nicholas replied hotly, "as it was a test. And Rose here passed with flying colors... unlike you." Then he added darkly, "Funny, really. I always though that it was the knight who rescued his damsel... not the other way around." My friend looked ready to jump on him, right then and there; he was that furious. Instinctively both Kari and I held out our arms in front of him in case he did so, and fortunately he got the hint. In response to this suppressed attack, Nicholas simply snorted in contempt before turning to me.  
  
"As I was saying, you passed, with evidence of the sword, of course," he said, now staring down at the awe-inspiring blade that had been hidden underneath the grime of the Galleon Sword. "Remarkable- to think _that_ could have emerged out of a piece of junk. Almost like... a diamond in the rough." Suddenly his eyes focused on the hilt. "What's that on the pommel stone...?" Before I had a chance to answer, Kari cut in.  
  
"We know we weren't brought here to look at some pretty sword," she said. "So Rose passed your 'test.' What else did you bring us here to Lakewood for?"  
  
"To inform you of your next mission, of course," he replied. "Without the... ahem, 'specialized' sword, it would be useless to tell you." Then he made a hand signal that caused the man who stood to the side of him to step forward. The one word to describe him was average; in fact if he hadn't come to the front, I wouldn't have noticed him at all.  
  
"This is my apprentice, John Doe," Nicholas introduced to us. John gave us a curt nod. "He may not look like much, but his mind's as sharp as cheddar. His ability to blend in with any crowd makes him useful as a spy, in case you wanted to know. In fact, he's been tracking you since you first stepped foot on American soil... but I'm getting off topic. He will give you two your mission," he said, looking directly at Kari and my friend. "As for you, I will tell you yours personally. Won't you step inside?" Mockingly bowing, he flourished his hands towards the decrepit cabin that stood behind him. With a raised eyebrow that I gave to my friends, I followed Nicholas into the one-room hut, leaving my friend and Kari in the hands of the mysterious John Doe.  
  
"So, what do you think?" Nicholas said as he waved his arms wide. The only objects inside was a wood cot with a mouse-bitten mattress, a rough wood table that promised splinters to any unwary fingers, and two chairs. Nicholas took a seat in the one that faced the door. "It may not look like much, but a few throw pillows would do wonders with the place!" I had had enough bad jokes from Monsieur Evrémonde, however, and I didn't need any from him.  
  
"Let's get to business, shall we?" I said smoothly. "What's the mission?"  
  
"Won't you take a seat?" he asked, motioning towards the opposite chair. I took one look at the splinter-infested chair that looked ready to break apart the moment a _butterfly_ landed on it.  
  
"No thanks, I'll stand."  
  
"Suit yourself," he muttered. "Your mission? I think you'll rather enjoy it, considering it's an offer you can't refuse. My master, after reviewing your progress, is very pleased with you. So pleased, in fact, that he's giving you a deal, out of the goodness of his heart." I shuddered instinctively at the thought. Nicholas continued without noticing. "How many days are left on our contract? One? Two? That's right; it began the following morning, so you have two days left. If you agree to complete one final mission, my master is willing to release you early from the contract. Of course, all instructions given to you must be willingly and quickly obeyed, but if you finish the mission according to our satisfaction, we will arrange transportation for you to go home, and we will terminate the contract immediately." Then he half-smiled, his eyes glinting maliciously.  
  
"As I said before, _this is a deal you cannot refuse_. So what will it be?"  
  
"I suppose I have no choice, then..." I replied.  
  
"Don't say that!" Nicholas exclaimed. "You always have a choice– we just like to make sure you choose the right one."  
  
After thinking about his words for a moment, I said, "Very well. What do we need to do?" Nicholas smiled.  
  
"It's quite easy. Unfortunately you'll need to do a bit more traveling though. You can either take a late flight tonight or fly early tomorrow morning, your choice. First, we'll need to take you downtown to shop for more... _formal_ attire, and by tomorrow afternoon you'll be in Philadelphia and ready for the night's events."  
  
"Wait... Philadelphia? _Formal_ attire?" I interrupted.  
  
"Yes, and you would understand if you would let me finish," he reprimanded. "Tomorrow night happens to be special for a variety of reasons. Tell me, what do you know of American history?"  
  
"Well, not a whole lot," I admitted. "I know that the muggle government declared its independence from Britain on July 4, 1776. I think the wizard government declared independence sometime earlier, though."  
  
"Yes, on June 5, 1775," he replied. The answer to my own question hit me upside the head like the whack of a broomstick handle.  
  
"That's tomorrow... Let me suppose there will be a celebration of your nation's birthday in, say, Philadelphia tomorrow night?" I presumed.  
  
"As a matter of fact there is," confirmed Nicholas. "Philadelphia is, after all, the capital of the wizard government. The gala you'll be attending will count the highest ranking officials among the guests."  
  
"And you want us to...?"  
  
"Crash the party?" he finished for me. "More or less, yes. But you'll learn even more when you reach Philadelphia. In the meantime, I've got a lot of work to do to prepare the stage." As he stood and turned away from me, I took this as my hint that I had been dismissed. I started to turn towards the door when Nicholas interjected, "Oh... and one more thing."  
  
I looked back at him quizzically.  
  
"You are not allowed to tell _any_ authorities about this mission. That _includes_ Mr. and Mrs. Sky. Do you understand?"  
  
"Yes, sir," I said rather dejectedly. That had been the first thought in my mind when I had learned of my third mission.  
  
"I will pick you up and escort you downtown myself. Now you may leave." With his "permission," I gladly left the rundown cabin and its single occupant to tell my friends this news. As I blinked in the strong sunlight, John Doe turned towards me.  
  
"Is my fellow brother finished with you?" he asked. I nodded, wilting under his glance. "Then follow me." As he led us through the woods, we walked in silence. Anything that needed to be said should not have been overheard by our guide. We arrived near the entrance of the clearing, and I couldn't help but glance over at the fate of the dragon. True to what Kari had said before, at least forty professional wizards now surrounded the snoring Smokesinge, probably wondering how to put it back into its padlock without waking it up again.  
  
"Remember– _no_ authorities," he was reminding us darkly. Despite the summer heat, I shivered involuntarily. He turned and melted back into the shadows. Suddenly Kari stuck out her tongue at his back.  
  
"Remember– NO authorities," she mocked him. "That guy gives me the creeps!" I wholeheartedly agreed.  
  
"Where do we go from here?" my friend asked, bringing up the subject at hand.  
  
"Back to the entrance, and my parents, I guess," Kari sighed. "How am I going to tell them? The Brethren sure didn't give me a lot of options."  
  
"Tell them the truth," I supposed. "You're going on a top secret mission from the Brethren, so you can't tell them any details."  
  
"We probably can't even say it's from the Brethren even though they already know," my friend noted. "We can't even tell some random stranger if he's an adult because he would have some sort of authority over us!"  
  
"Wait a minute, say that again!" Kari exclaimed.  
  
"Um... he would have some sort of authority...?" he repeated unsurely.  
  
"No, before that!" Kari interrupted.  
  
"If he's an adult..."  
  
"That's it!" she shouted. I fixed her with a look of horror.  
  
"Not so loud!" I warned her. "We don't want a certain John Doe to overhear..."  
  
"Do we agree that we can't tell _any_ adults because they would hold authority over us?" Kari asked, fortunately much more quietly. We nodded. "Then what if we told people _our own age_?"  
  
"Kari, you're not going to drag Susan and Orlando into this, are you?" my friend groaned.  
  
"Why not?" answered Kari. "They'll actually believe us, and they're not restricted from telling my parents _or_ the government!"  
  
"I don't know about this," I shook my head. "The Brethren will figure out their mistake and twist the terms again to say that we can't tell anyone at all."  
  
"Then we simply won't tell them directly," she retorted. "We'd just have to find a way to do it... wait a minute, I know!"  
  
"Know what?" my friend cried, caught up in her revelation.  
  
"I'll show you when we get back," she winked in return. My friend seemed slightly disgruntled at her sudden withdrawal. Just then an exclamation of the name "Kari" could be heard. Mr. and Mrs. Sky had found us.  
  
"You wouldn't happen to have anything to do with that dragon over there, would you?" were the first words out of Mr. Sky's mouth.  
  
"You've got a lot of explaining to do, young lady," were Mrs. Sky's.  
  
Kari could only smile sheepishly back. 


	30. Comebacks

Chapter 30: "Comebacks"  
  
"Okay, refresh my memory," my friend rolled his eyes at Kari. "Why are we standing in the middle of your front yard again?"  
  
"Because we're waiting for Nicholas to pick us up and take us shopping," she answered, fortunately not noticing or caring about his eye roll.  
  
"And what do you have in your hand that you keep _waving_ about like a flag?" he grumbled. Kari caught full meaning of his words but deftly ignored them.  
  
"You _clearly_ weren't paying attention," she chided him. "On the outside, this is an ordinary, 'hey, I'm free Saturday, wanna hang out?' note to Susan. The code words will clue her in to hold the letter up to a bare light bulb, where, like magic, the real message in my lemon juice ink will appear. And no amount of magic-revealer that the Brethren might have will reveal this borrowed muggle magic! By the way, why do ask?"  
  
"So in case someone's passing by and asks what three ridiculous- looking kids are doing standing in the middle of the lawn watching an empty street, I'll have an equally ridiculous answer," my friend replied malignantly.  
  
"Anonimo?"  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Shut up." I couldn't help but snicker at Kari's bluntness. Just then a car turned the corner and drove towards us.  
  
"Hey, look, it's slowing down," I commented.  
  
"Good, maybe the Brethren will have some normal transportation for once," Kari mumbled. The automobile never stopped; however, a newspaper was thrown out of the window and at our feet.  
  
"I think you spoke too soon," I grinned as I glanced through the note that had been attached. "Listen:  
"'Guardians,  
You and your finely feathered friend...' Hey, they mentioned you by name, Kari! I think they're really starting to like you."  
  
"Oh, ha ha," she answered. "But just for the record, I am finely- feathered, thank you very much."  
  
"_Anyway_..." my friend cut in, clearly trying to get us back to the point.  
  
"'You and your _finely-feathered_ friend need clothing that we will purchase. However, you must follow these instructions exactly, or we will not be responsible for any death, maiming, or other related injuries that may result. Very carefully pick up the newspaper now at your feet and bring it to a secluded place outside where you will be hidden from view. At exactly 4:15, all three of you must be holding the newspaper. If all goes well, we will meet you at your destination,' " I finished.  
  
"What time is it?" my friend asked immediately.  
  
"Mom?" Kari called out, stepping towards the house.  
  
"Yes, dear?" answered Mrs. Sky from somewhere within.  
  
"What time is it?" There was a small pause, and then she replied,  
  
"About quarter after."  
  
"What?!" Kari exploded.  
  
"Exact time, Mrs. Sky!" I cried out, feeling panic rise up inside me.  
  
"4:13," she responded after a few more precious seconds were lost. "Why?"  
  
"We... er..."  
  
"We have to be somewhere at 4:15," I answered for Kari. Mrs. Sky poked her head out the front door.  
  
"Well, I'm afraid I've already closed down the fireplace, so you can't use floo powder..." Just the thought of it made my nose start to smart.  
  
"We need a place where we can still be outside but out of sight," my friend said, as always the voice of calm and order.  
  
"Portkey, huh?" Mrs. Sky guessed immediately. "Let's try the backyard then. Careful how you pick it up!"  
  
Finally we found a place in an array of bushes; although space to stretch was minimal, it served the purpose of seclusion well. Mrs. Sky stood by the backdoor, acting as timekeeper.  
  
"Ten seconds left! Hold the newspaper now..." As we followed her instructions, Kari looked up at us.  
  
"Er, has anyone here ever traveled by portkey before?" We shook our heads "no." "Does it... hurt, at all?"  
  
"I don't know," my friend grinned, "but there's only one way to find out..." Meanwhile, the few seconds left were being noted.  
  
"5... 4, I love you, Kari; 3, be careful now, 2..." One was drowned out by a sudden whistle of the wind and a jerk forwards as I shut my eyes tight. As suddenly as it had begun, the shadows of the leaves had become the bricks of Cardamum Alley. I noticed Kari clutch at her stomach.  
  
"Let's _not_ do that again..." she weakly replied. Just then a small cough from behind caused me to spin around.  
  
"Glad to see you all made it in one piece," Nicholas greeted us. "That was our apprentice's first attempt at a portkey." As she giggled nervously, Kari's face suddenly shifted to a pale shade of green. Nicholas went on anyway. "If you would all follow me, please..." We ducked into a small clothier's shop just across from where we had arrived. I couldn't help but gasp at the scene that awaited me. Rack after rack of beautiful sparkling robes, every type of jewel known to wizard expertly crafted... and prices that stretched well into the four-digit range and beyond.  
  
"All right, you may buy anything you need here..." Nicholas stated.  
  
"_Anything_?" Kari immediately asked, eyeing a pair of three-karat diamond earrings.  
  
"Wi... within reason," Nicholas stammered back, evidently just noticing the price range of Kari's jewels.  
  
"Define 'within reason,'" she replied with a devilish grin. 


End file.

Harry Potter, Adventure