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Literature Text
Rosetta hummed softly to herself as she walked down the street to get to the floo connection for work. She paused looking at a few tables set up on the sidewalk, selling knick knacks and pieces of junk for quick cash. She paused in front of one table that was selling what looked like fake pieces of gems.
“Pretty…” She murmured.
“Would you like some? For yourself or a friend?” The teller asked. She was a young woman, apparently shy as she seemed nervous in talking to Rosetta, who smiled apologetically.
“I would, but I don’t have any money right now…besides I have too many stuff on my office space…then again….” She murmured thinking about it. Florentia’s desk was filled with plants, not really suitable to have anything else on it, and the boys wouldn’t keep that on their desk…but Moria only had a few photos of Harry and Max, not a lot of trinkets…maybe one of these could work with her? And if it didn’t she could always find room on her desk for it. But the money part was the issue.
“You have such a pretty face…I suppose losing one by accident won’t be too bad.” The girl commented, blushing softly. Rosetta blinked.
“Oh I couldn’t…this is your…”
“It’s just a hobby.” The girl said offhandedly. “I don’t mind giving gifts to aurors.”
So this girl was of the wizarding world, Rosetta figured. “Oh…I guess….still I feel bad not giving you anything.”
“Don’t worry…it will pay itself back in due time.” The girl replied with a smile.
“…I guess then…well thanks…” Rosetta stated looking at a small bottle of shards of colored glass. “I’ll take this one.”
“Alright. Thank you for your business.” The girl said kindly watching as she continued down the sidewalk, her gaze never leaving. It only shifted when she saw another person she recognized, though this one through history books and newspapers. Her eyes widened and she quickly packed up shop and ran down several alleys. She needed to warn her sister.
“Marisa!! Wait!!” She called out as she finally made it to where her sister could hear her. “Someone is at the ministry that will destroy your plans, you have to wait!!”
“Be silent sister! I already know.” A voice hissed out from the darkness. “We will wait…whatever the case, you did your part. Now you and your useless flesh return for my side.”
“…yes…sister.” Marinella stated softly and slowly walked into the grown shadows, vanishing from the light.
“Uuuugggghhhhh….”
“Uh oh, that doesn’t sound like a happy groan.” Giacintro teased as he glanced up from his paperwork, looking at Moria whose head was resting on her desk. “What’s wrong?”
“Harry and I got into a fight.”
“That’s not an unusual thing in a family.” Rosetta replied, as she entered the room, placing the small vial of gem shards on the table. “For you.” She added.
“Where did you get this?” Moria asked, momentarily distracted.
“From a sidewalk vendor. For free too.”
“Free? Why was that?”
“I don’t know. She said it was because I was an auror, but still…”
“I’m going to check and see if they’re cursed or something.” Moria stated, pulling back her sleeves and grabbing her wand before pointing them at the gem. They watched as she did several spells to check if there was a poison or a curse on them. When nothing reacted Moria picked them up and sighed.
“Well…I guess they’re safe then.” Moria stated, looking at the small pieces of glass in the bottle. Rosetta looked at her with an apologetic smile.
“So the fight…What was it about?”
“There’s some movie that’s PG-13 that he wants to see. Considering the content, I said no…at least for now, but he was insistent. Then we started yelling, and he said I hate you and uuugghhh….now he won’t even talk to me.” She grumbled.
“Just give him a little time to cool down. You two are both hardheaded, so it’ll be difficult, but not impossible to talk to him.” Nico stated.
“I know it’s just…Max still hasn’t talked, Harry and I aren’t speaking anymore, I don’t know what is going to happen once I get back to England, or for that matter what I’m going to do in England…I mean for Merlin’s sake, I feel like I’m failing as a mother.”
“That’s just stress.” Lucio stated as he entered the room. “Lord knows everyone in this profession has it.”
“I know…but still...” She murmured. “I don’t know what I’m going to do with everything, I feel like my choices are limited.”
"It is our choices Moria that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities."
She looked up at the familiar voice, nearly falling out of her chair.
“Dumbledore?” She asked, looking at the tall and thin, aged wizard, with silver hair and beard, wearing lime yellow robes, that stood out from the darker uniforms of the aurors. He looked amused at the dropped jaws from the other aurors, but Moria seemed more bemused than stunned. It had been Christmas when she had met the Weasley’s and now Dumbledore? It seemed that Italy was attracting more English wizarding folk than before. “What are you doing here? We didn’t hear that there was going to be a visit.”
“Oh no, far from it. The start of summer break has been just started, and I assumed that I should need a break before the before class festivities rear their ugly heads.”
“Oh…” Moria commented, yet looked curiously at Dumbledore, clearly sensing there was more than that. “I’ll go ahead and get to my lunch for a break. I think there’s something else you want to talk to me about…” She stated looking at the wizard. “I’ll be back in a bit.”
“Alright.” Lucio stated waving her off.
“Holy hell…that was Albus Dumbledore.”
“Yes Rosetta, we are all aware.” Basilio replied with a grin. “Why don’t you lift your jaw off of the ground?”
“Oi!! It’s not my fault that I’ve never met people like him before. Man, Moria sure has connections.”
“I doubt she likes how some of these connections came to be.”
“He was her headmaster before.”
“Yeah…but remember, Dumbledore and her know each other from the war as well, and I doubt she wishes that connection was made.” Giacintro reminded them. The others looked at one another and then shrugged.
“I must say, the choices in the cafeteria are much better than the cafeteria in London.” Dumbledore stated pleasantly. Moria shrugged.
“I miss fish and chips though, but I guess beggars can’t be choosers.” She stated taking a bite out of Cacciatore. “So, why the sudden visit? I know for a fact you don’t particularly like leaving England in the off chance the school, or Fudge needs you. And most of the time you’ve just sent letters to me asking about Harry’s wellbeing.” She added. “So?”
“It is safe to assume that the next school year, Harry will be joining the Hogwarts ranks.”
“…yes?” Moria stated with a raised eyebrow. “I thought we already covered this a few times in the last few letters.”
“May I inquire what you would do?”
“I have no idea.” Moria stated. “Researching Sirius's case won't happen because of who I am. And even if they would let me be an auror there, which is highly unlikely for the same reason I can't go to see Sirius, I’m not going to work in a Ministry that doesn’t do its job very well, even more with the fact, I doubt they would trust me enough considering who I’m married to.” She replied with a shrug. “I suppose I could either not take a job since I have enough money at the moment, or get a job in the muggle w-”
“Or perhaps, become a teacher in Hogwarts.”
“….huh?” Moria stated, her mouth half food with a bite of chicken. Dumbledore smiled.
“I was hoping you would join our staff in Hogwarts next year. I trust having his godmother close to him would be beneficial to Harry, not to mention that this subject is in a serious need of being renewed."
"You want me to be the new DADA teacher? Look, Dumbledore, as flattering as that is, considering that nearly every Defense teacher has left, been fired, or killed after working for only a year, I will have to decline. I'd rather not be cursed. Besides, even though I’m an auror now, I was always better at transfiguration, and I doubt McGonagall will be willing to let me have her job."
The headmaster shook his head with a chuckle. "Not DADA, I was actually thinking of History of Magic. The students' grades have been dreadful for years; which leads me to believe that Professor Binns needs to enjoy his eternal rest some way other than teaching. I recall you doing quite good in that particular subject."
"…I'm not sure if I could be considered good at it Dumbledore." Moria said. "I just had a really good memory…and I had to make sure I didn't fall asleep so everyone could look off of my notes."
"Nonsense, Moria," he told her. "You were always an excellent student. I recall you tutoring Mr. Potter, Mr. Black, as well as Mr. Pettigrew a couple of times with positive results. I also understand you will be in need of a job."
“I…” She started then stopped, looking at her plate. “…do I need to answer right away?”
“Of course not.” Dumbledore stated pleasantly. “You can think about it over this month, though I hope your answer is soon.”
“Alright…I’ll think about it.” She murmured with a sigh. Dumbledore merely smiled.
Nearly two weeks passed as Moria mulled it over. Dumbledore had returned to England, but she didn’t know if she was cut out to be a teacher. She and Harry still weren’t talking to each other, and Max was silent as ever. How could she handle a classroom of kids, if she couldn’t even handle two? She groaned loudly, pressing her head to her desk. Giacintro looked at her and threw a paper ball at her head.
“Any louder, and people will think you’ve turned into walrus with your groaning.”
“Har har.” Moria grumbled stretching at her desk.
“What’s bothering you now?”
“…Dumbledore suggested that I become a teacher when I move back to England. For Hogwarts.”
“And the problem is? I mean the pay can’t be any better than the pay aurors get paid, and you know finding a job in the ministry with your married name will be hard to come by.” He stated as she got up and walked around her desk, leaning against it so she could look at him, tired of sitting. She sighed.
“I know…it’s just…what if I suck at it?”
“What do you mean? Kids love to talk to you when they come to visit their parents. You treat them like they’re adults.”
“That’s just the point. I treat them like adults, not like the kids they’re supposed to be.”
“Sometimes, being treated like an adult makes kids like you even more.” He stated as the other members filed in. “All in all, I think you’d make for a kick ass teacher.”
“Thanks…” She murmured.
“What’s this about being a teacher?” Florentia asked with a laugh and Moria groaned.
“Sister…I’m not sure…I don’t think this is right. What if the auror I gave the gems to kept them?”
“Then Moria will come here to save her friend, no matter what, we won’t lose.” Marisa stated coldly, though Marisella looked less than convinced. Marisa extended her arm and Marisella watched as the white snake familiar coiled around the arm, sliding along it. In front of Marisa was a whole gem, a chunk missing out of it. Marisa had made in the months that had followed after their uncle’s death. It was nothing more than a conduit between Marisa and the physical world. She bit her lip as Marisa cooed at the reptile, who opened its jaw and red liquid began to drip down from its fangs.
“Now it’s time, Lachne…” Marisa cooed softly and the blood dripped onto the broken jewel in silence. Marisella walked away as the ominous glow filled the room and her sister and uncle’s secret weapon reawakened.
“A history teacher?”
“Yes.”
“Isn’t that for aging and balding men?” Rosetta teased, while Moria huffed.
“Not EVERY history teacher is like that in England!!”
“And who was this Professor Binns, then?”
“….okay NOT ALL history teachers are like that.” Moria huffed angrily, leaning against her desk as her teammates sniggered. “Besides the fact, Binns has been dead for god knows how long…I don’t think he technically c-”
It happened in slow motion. The vial that was sitting on Moria’s desk began to crack before shattering completely. As Moria moved to avoid the glass, the pieces of crystal flew and embedded into her right arm. She yelped loudly, collapsing onto her knees, clutching her forearm. And then everyone was surrounding her as she gripped her arm tightly.
“Moria?!”
“Oh god!! Get a healer!!”
“Moria, can you say anything?!”
“My….arm…” She hissed out, her hand becoming white from how hard she was gripping her arm. Giacintro helped her stand, letting her lean heavily on him. Several higher officials rushed in as Lucio picked up a shard, staring at it. It had turned black and he frowned, glancing at Moria.
“What’s going on?”
“Auror Black’s been attacked.” Lucio stated coldly lifting up Moria’s sleeve to see that the shard had sunk deep into her upper arm. Removing it, even by magical means could damage her arm. “She shouldn’t leave, no telling what can happen…”
“I…I checked the shards…what the hell…” Moria murmured.
“Which is why you are staying here.”
“But the kids-”
“Why does Auror Black need to stay here?” One of the higher officials asked and everyone swiveled to him, looking at him flabbergasted.
“Why…Auror Black as a shard of glass in her arm, we don’t know what it will do to her.” Lucio stated angrily. The other higher officials looking at their comrade in confusion who sniffed.
“Auror Black likely received a simple angry message that attached itself to the bottle. You know full well we receive those all the time, even more the fact that Ms. Black is a well-known auror. It was likely just a threat.”
“Even more the reason that she shouldn’t return home!!” Lucio snapped.
“This isn’t a babysitting center.”
“I’ll be fine Lucio.” Moria murmured, seeing that he was now treading onto dangerous grounds, though she looked suspiciously at the higher up, who merely smirked at her. He had been one of the ones still against women joining the auror department, and that likely meant he didn’t think this was as bad as it possibly was. She sighed, standing.
“Muraro. Go on ahead with Black. The rest of us will investigate this.” Lucio stated softly, glaring at the higher up’s receding back.
“I’m fine.” Moria stated.
“Even so, I’d feel much better if you let him stay a little bit at your place.” Lucio stated and Moria sighed before nodding.
“I’m home.” She called out and saw Harry quickly turn around, putting his back to her. She sighed as Max waved. Giacintro looked at Moria who merely shrugged. Giacintro came in and set down his bag glancing at Harry. He looked over to see Moria had left the room to change out of her uniform and sat down next to the boy startling him.
“Something bothering you kid?”
“None of your business.”
“Cheeky, aren’t you.” Giacintro mused. Though the kid never really liked him, most likely due to events involving his feelings for Moria earlier on.
“This wouldn’t have anything to do with Moria not letting you go to that movie is it?” He asked and Harry flinched. “I see. You know she does have the right to say no, don’t you.”
“I’m not a baby.” He protested.
“I don’t think she sees you as a baby.” Giacintro stated with a chuckle. “For one, the movie I think you want to go see would make grown men’s skin crawl with the amount of gore, so much so that I question why it was given a PG-13 rating. Two, mothers are supposed to shield their children somewhat, even mother’s like Moria.”
“What does that mean? Mum is a great mum.” He stated defensively "I just wish she didn’t baby me.” He complained.
“You’re only ten, you’re allowed to be babied a bit.” He replied almost with a wistful tone. “I lost my mother when I was eight, and I wish she could have babied me a bit more.”
“…what happened to her? To your mum?”
“Some men hurt her…she never recovered.” He replied simply. Harry gulped. “Relax, your mother isn’t going anywhere. She loves you and your sister too much.”
Guilt flooded in at that moment and Harry looked down at his lap.
“Is Mum angry at me?”
“Nope. A little hurt and wishing you talked to her, but not angry. I think she’s angrier at herself for not handling it better.” He stated. Harry flushed and Giacintro chuckled.
“Excuse me.” Harry stated before hurrying from the table and then up the stairs where Moria had gone. He then looked at Max who was staring at him.
“Sssooo…you ever play poker before?” He asked pulling out a deck of cards.
Moria hissed as her left hand brushed against the small knot on her right arm. Instinct told her to try and pull it out, but logic dictated that her arm would be worse off if she did so. She sighed pushing her hair back.
“Kill…”
She blinked and looked up, expecting to see someone. Slowly a headache began to develop and she massaged her head, trying to lessen the pain.
“Kill…kill…”
“Okay, who the bloody hell is out there.” She grumbled and stood walking over to her door, and opening it, and Harry ran full force into her, nearly causing her to fall down. She however managed to keep herself righted and then looked at the top of Harry’s head.
“Harry?” She questioned.
“I’m sorry…I don’t hate you…” She managed to hear him mumbled against her stomach and she smiled slightly.
“What brought this on?”
“Just…why aren’t you angry at me?”
“Because you’re a kid, and you wanted to go to the movie and I said no?” She stated with a chuckle. “I wasn’t expecting you to jump for joy at me saying no.”
He was silent, and she thought she saw his eyes growing glassy before he shook his head hard.
“But…”
“Harry, what’s bothering you? I’m not angry about the fight.”He flushed. “…I’m nervous.”
“Why? It can’t be because of the movie. You aren’t seeing it until I check about it and see if you can.” She stated again and he shook his head.
“It’s just…what if someday I make you so angry, that you don’t want me around and you send me back to the Dursley’s? I mean…”
“Harry James Potter, I would sooner send you to live with the Dursley’s permanently before I turned into Walburga Black and declared muggleborns the best thing to be in the Wizarding World.”
“Max’s grandma?”
“Trust me, if you had met her, you would have agreed. She was a horrible, horrible woman.” She said earning a chuckle from Harry.
“Oh think its funny do you?” She teased and he sensed the change and tried to scramble away, but she latched onto him and dragged him upwards, beginning to tickle him. He laughed loudly as she tumbled backwards, managing to sit on her bed and resume her tickling, laughing as he squirmed around, trying to get her to stop through his own peals of laughter. Suddenly her arm twinged and she flinched, gripping it tightly as spasms of pain radiated from the location where the shard was. Harry looked up and his brows furrowed in concern.
“What happened to your arm?”
“Let’s just say I got a present from some moron…idiot sent a shard into my arm. That’s why I’m home early, and Gia’s babysitting me.” She grumbled, rubbing her arm. “Bloody thing hurts too.”
“Well why don’t you take it out?”
“The healer wanted to, but we don’t know what damage will happen if they take it out. For all they know the curse might activate when they remove it and cause either more damage to me, or cause damage to other people.” She explained. “So right now I’m on house arrest.”
“Oh…”
“I’ll be fine, promise. Anyway, on the topic about the Dursley’s, there is no way I would let you live with them. The only person who could make me do that is either your parents, or Dumbledore. And I don’t see that happening. Now then, since I actually get to make a nicer dinner, what do you say we head downstairs?” She added and nearly watched Harry begin drooling. “Has it been that long since I’ve actually made something?”
“No, it’s just…well…I like your cooking.”
“Flattery will get you somewhere Mr. Potter, now then let’s head downstairs. Giacintro is probably bored out of his mind. Your sister right now is in the drawing mood, and you know how that-”
“Oh for the love of…you swindled me!! Where the fucking hell did you learn how to play?!”
“Language Muraro.” Moria chastised. “What in the world are you…?”
The pair stopped and stared at the small pile of Euro sitting next to Max along with a pocket knife that Moria knew Giacintro had gotten from his father.
“I was only gone for ten minutes.” She stated, trying hard not to laugh.
“Your daughter is evil at poker.” Giacintro complained angrily.
“She’s just good at reading people. Max leave the pocket knife. See what else you can get from him.” Moria commented, before beginning to laugh as she watched Max put down her hand again and Giacintro’s face drooped. Harry soon joined her and Max grinned impishly, as Moria turned around and headed to the kitchen, her headache still a dull throb.
“But I don’t get it. Why go after Moria?” Nico asked. “I mean sure, she’s efficient in her job, but wouldn’t going after someone higher in the food chain have been more effective?”
“I don’t think this was directed at the aurors in general…just her.”
“But I gave her those crystals.” Rosetta stated, her face losing its color. “Does that mean…”
“It might, but I doubt it.” Lucio stated as Felisa entered.
“What are you all researching this late? And where’s Moria and Giacintro?” She asked, pushing her hair back.
“Moria was attacked, so we sent her home. Muraro’s guarding her.”
“Is she alright?”
“Yeah, just a piece of crystal is stuck in her arm…”
“C…crystal?”
“Yeah…why? You’ve heard of someone who uses that to attack people?” Lucio asked, looking up at Felisa to see her face had drained off its color.
“M…my older sister Marisa. She’s a jewel witch.”
“Jewel…witch?”
“It’s an ancient type of magic that’s rare. Only a few bloodlines carry it now. Their magic can be controlled by jewels. In some variations, they can summon spiritual beasts inside gems. But the last time I saw her, she could barely control gems.” Felisa stated. “It couldn’t be her…could it?”
“Even if it isn’t…we need to be sure, and she might lead us in the right direction.” Lucio stated. “Can you lead us to her?”
“Maybe, I don’t know if my sisters moved after our uncle’s death. But we can at least start there.” Felisa stated and the group hurried out into the night. It only took a few moments, jumping from each green zone for apparating until they finally reached a rather secluded lake. In the distance right next to the bank a large home, strangely designed stood almost in a menacing tone.
“That’s it?”
“Mhm…”
“Well it doesn’t look to be used…maybe they left and-”
Whatever Rosetta was saying was cut off when the ground underneath them opened and they plummeted into the darkness. For several heart stopping moments they all plummeted, before they hit the ground and rolled a bit more down an embankament before stopping.
“…okay…never mind.”
“Where are we?” Florentia asked as Felisa looked around.
“I…I don’t know…I’ve never been…”
“Sister.”
They all turned, the aurors pointing their wands and the solitary figure standing a little ways away from them.
“Marisella!!” Felisa exclaimed, her shoulders slumping in relief. “You’re still alive, where’s Marisa, are you both-”
“You should not have come.” Marisella stated softly, and a dozen red eyes appeared out of the shadows behind her. The aurors took a step back.
“Marisella?”
“You should not have interfered.”
Several minutes later, the group was being dragged on the ground, by grotesque, now corporeal beasts. They were all bruised and Florentia was bleeding severely. Marisella and the group of beasts entered a large cavern, a figure farther away, her back facing them.
“Please forgive the shikigami. They aren’t from here, so they aren’t used to such hotheadedness.” The woman spoke out, and Felisa’s eyes widened. “Uncle received them only a few weeks before his untimely death from Japan. Seems fitting that I use them now.”
“Marisa?? Marisa what the hell are you doing?!”
“Doing? Why, I’m doing what you were supposed to have done when our uncle was murdered. Getting revenge.”
“Marisa, our uncle’s death wasn’t Auror Black’s fault!! A beam fell and impaled him!!” Felisa screamed.
“She shouldn’t have interfered in the first place!!” Marisa shrieked and the reddish glow filled the cavern, and the shikigami hissed, almost in fear. Marisa turned to look at her sister, her face which had been contorted into an ugly expression shifted back to a placid look, her eyes hardened. “And I will insure she doesn’t interfere ever again.”
The headache had grown worse. Despite taking a potion, and then a Tylenol, nothing seemed to ebb the throbbing pain in her head. Moria was barely able to connect in any conversation in dinner, and putting Harry and Max to bed felt as though she was pushing through wet concrete. She had had headaches before, but never this bad. Maybe it was a migraine?
“I’m heading to bed…” She murmured to Giacintro who looked up from the table. “You can take the couch.”
“You okay?”
“I’m fine…just a really bad headache.” She replied, rubbing her temple. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Alright.” He stated uncertainly as she sluggishly climbed the stairs. She barely managed to change into a t-shirt and shorts and collapse onto the bed, her head pounding. She was surprised at how easily sleep came though, as darkness filled her vision quite quickly. She felt as though she was floating, the only sensation being a tether that connected her to her body and the sensation of the real world.
“Kill…”
“Kill? Kill who?” Moria asked the voice that suddenly echoed in her head. The darkness around her seemed to grow, beginning to swallow the tether whole
“Kill them. Kill those you hold dear.”
“Who?”
“The boy and girl…” The voice whispered and Moria balked.
“Harry? Max? No, I won’t.” She argued, but the voices and whispers seemed to grow in her head, as she covered her ears to little avail.
“Do it.”
“No….I…I can’t. They’re my kids, and even if I tried, Gia…”
“Disable the man, and do as I say. KILL.”
“N-No!!” She whimpered.
“Kill. KILL…KILL THEM!!”
And as though a pair of scissors had sheared through it, the tether that had been holding her in control of her body snapped, and she floated into the darkness, swallowed whole and she knew no more.
Giacintro couldn’t get into a comfortable position on that couch. It could have been the fact that Harry and Max had a tendency to stuff toys, candy wrappers, and other items into the sofa, thinking Moria would spot them. Or it could have been the fact that this wasn’t his bed, or his apartment. Also it could be the fact that his legs dangled over the sofa’s arm.
Whatever the case was, sleep would not come to him. Sighing he sat up and pulled a colored pencil that had been lodged into the sofa and tossed it onto the coffee table, before standing and going to the kitchen. He was rummaging around for a snack when he heard a creak. Turning he saw Moria standing there.
“Good grief, you’re incredibly quiet when you need to be.” He grumbled. “Sorry, I’m just hungry.” He added when she didn’t respond. When she didn’t reply, he turned fully to her.
“Moria?”
Still no response. He then noted her eyes were only halfway open, and they looked absolutely dead. Slowly, almost as though trying not to startle her, he went for his wand.
“Moria? Can you hear me?” He asked and suddenly she sprung forward, dashing towards him. “Stupefy!!” He hissed out, but she nimbly jumped, dodging the spell that slammed into the kitchen wall. She kept dodging spells he was throwing, finally managing to grab his arm. He cursed and grabbed her wrist, flinging her over his shoulder. To his surprise she managed to right herself and stopped just short of hitting the wall. He then saw a dark glow coming from her arm, in the location of where the shard had been.
“Mo-”
He barely managed to voice his plea, before she slammed the crook of her arm into his throat, not hard enough to kill, but enough to send a feeling of swallowing fire and cutting of oxygen momentarily. He stumbled backwards, dragging in a sharp breath, but barely managed to right himself, before she brought her elbow sharply down on his head. He collapsed onto the ground. Silence reigned for a while as Moria stared at the limp form. Her eyes then slid lazily to look at the table, where the pocket knife lay.
“Take the knife.” The voice whispered in her head and almost like a puppet, she did as she was commanded. “Now go…and do what I want…”
And slowly, Moria advanced up the stairs again.
It was quiet…this darkness that she floated in. There was no more pain now, nothing but darkness. She didn’t have to fight anymore.
But was that what she wanted?
“My little Moria…” A soft voice murmured, and it was a voice that she recognized.
“Mum…” She murmured lifting her hands up and felt hands intertwine with hers. She forced her tired eyes open to see both of her parents. They were smiling kindly, before they enveloped her into a hug.
“You’ve done so well, sweetheart…you’ve fought over and over again.”Her father stated with a grin.
“…I’m tired, just let me sleep.” She complained.
“Sweetheart, you can’t give in now.”
“Why not? Like Dad said, I’ve been fighting, and fighting, and fighting. I can’t keep doing it. I’m not that strong. I’ve never been that strong. I’ve made so many mistakes” She murmured, curling up.
“Yes, you have.” Maarten said softly, and smiled when she looked at him. “You struggled. You suffered. But you have always followed your own path. Don’t let this path end now.”
“Why? What difference does it make?”
“Because if you let this path end…their paths will as well” Mable stated and suddenly Moria’s vision flashed to where she was back in the real world. She saw she was standing over Harry, who lay blissfully asleep, his face incredibly clear in the soft glow of the light that Max had likely accidentally kept on. Moria saw a glint of a knife.
“Kill the boy first…” A voice whispered, echoing in the darkness and the blade rose.
“HARRY!!” She cried out and wrenched herself out of her parent’s hold, ignoring their smiles as they vanished back into the darkness. She pushed through the darkness, the feeling as though puppet strings strong around her, but she continued to fight through the darkness and suddenly managed to latch onto the frayed tether.
Moria’s arm rose slowly, the tip of the blade aimed at Harry’s exposed throat. A quick death for him. But suddenly Moria’s arm froze, the blade shaking.
“What are you doing? Kill the boy.”
“…N…no…”
Moria’s eyes flashed back and forth as the struggle of control commenced. She chocked violently, her arm shaking.
“Kill him! Kill him at once!!”
Moria’s jaw grew taut as she fought against the hold, the headache and the ringing voice shrieking at her. Her left hand shook violently, jerking back and forth as the fight for control raged in her, both children remaining blissfully asleep. Arian spent the nights upstairs asleep.
“I…I won’t kill him!!”
“You will do as I say!! Kill the boy!! You will kill him and that brat daughter of yours!! KILL THEM!!”
Moria clenched her eyes shut, letting out a slight whining sound, before swinging her left hand down, and the sickening sound of metal meeting flesh sounded in the air.
Something was dripping on him.
At first he tried to ignore it, because he was having a wonderful dream of him on the Quidditch team and grabbing the Snitch, but the dripping continued until he woke up annoyed and wiped his face. Whatever it was, smeared and now confused searched his nightstand and found his glasses, putting them on and blinked looking at his hand.
It was stained red.
“What the…” He murmured and then looked up. Moria stood over him hunched over.
A letter opener stabbed deep into her upper right arm.
“Mum?!” He exclaimed scrambling up.
“H…arry…g-get you a-and your…your sister, o-out of here!” She forced out through clenched teeth, her left hand shaking over the handle.
“KILL THE BOY!! DO YOU HEAR ME?!”
“Mum, what’s going on?!”
“No…time…g…get out of…here…” She hissed.
“But-”
“KILL HIM!!”
“NOW!!!” Moria screamed as she wrenched the knife down her arm, the fresh pain forcing her to be more aware, giving her slightly more control, but not a lot. Max sat up in a panic and scrambled to get out of bed and tried to get to her mother, but Harry, now realizing that whatever was happening, he needed to protect her, grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her out of the room. Moria collapsed onto her knees, gripping the handle tightly as sweat and tears slid down her face.
“YOU WRETCHED WOMAN!! DO AS I COMMAND!!”
“Shut up! SHUT UP!!” Moria snapped, smashing her head into the floor. The pain cleared her head momentarily, enough for her to realize that she needed to get the piece of crystal out. Swallowing, she slowly began to carve the blade down, and pain rocketed through her system, blinding her. Images of a cavern flashed through her head, and she could see the other aurors chained to the walls. A girl stood in front of them, her face nearly black with rage, her eyes almost glowing.
“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! STAND UP AND KILL THOSE TWO BRATS!!” The voice was screaming loudly in her head as her slow and painful task of dragging the knife down continued. Blood seeped around the handle, making it hard to hold and her vision was growing blurry with the pain. She was almost there.
The pain radiating from that spot felt like someone had placed a hot iron poker into it. Gritting her teeth, she continued to drag it towards that spot and once there, the pain, near excruciating at this point. As she finally reached the spot, she dug down under the shard.
She screamed in pain and with a hard wrench, tore the fragment out. She collapsed onto the ground as the voice ceased instantly. For several long, silent minutes nothing moved. It was as though time had ceased. The only indicator that it, in fact, hadn’t was the blood flowing lazily down Moria’s arm, staining the once clean rug. Finally after nearly ten minutes, Moria slowly rose, grunting in pain. She looked down at the nearly black piece of shard almost blankly. Her arm was covered in blood, her shirt soaked in it as well. At this rate, she was likely to go into shock from loss of blood. Stumbling up she limped to the bathroom, trailing blood behind her and aching in so many places, likely because her adrenaline was running low. Finally she made it to the bathroom, and after rummaging around for a few moments, found what she was looking for.
Known as the greater healing potion, it was something that the Italian’s had been making for years out of garlic, lemon, calendulas, fennel, and a bunch of other materials that she couldn’t remember. The good news was, she knew it worked…she had had to pour it onto Remus a few times after bad transformations. The bad news…was well just that. It couldn’t be drank for some reason…only poured onto the wound. And if she remembered correctly, the curse words she heard Remus emit during that was clear signs that it hurt like hell.
Grabbing a towel she jammed it into her mouth and then after uncorking the bottle, poured the liquid down her arm. Her vision went white as pain flooded her system, and a scream burst out of her mouth, muffled by the towel. She heard a sick sizzling sound as her skin mended, though she knew that even this wasn’t likely to heal it completely. After cleaning the remaining blood off of her arm she pulled out a medical kit from under the sink and slowly, methodically wrapped the bandage around the wound, pulling it tight. Dull throbbing pain continued, but now she barely felt it, the body numbing her response to it. Finally she grabbed her wand that had been on her nightstand and walked downstairs, hoping that everyone was alright.
It was shocking, as the aurors watched. The glow around that jewel had grown as the woman screamed at it, her face nearly purple as she screamed over and over again to kill someone. And then the jewel shattered, spraying Marisa with shards of glass. She screamed in pain, clutching her face and Marisella ran to her.
“Are you alright, sister?!”
“That bitch!!” She shrieked. “I’ll kill her!!”
“She managed to fight it off?” Marisella asked in shock only to be backhanded across the face.
“SILENCE YOU LITTLE WORM!!” Marisa roared as Marisella cowered. “I’ll deal with her! You watch the prisoners!!” She ordered and Marisella nodded, going slowly over to the others.
“Marisella, Marisella you have to stop this.” Felisa pleaded with her older sister. “You know this isn’t right.”
“We’re just getting revenge for our family, Felisa. You should understand that.”
“And what happens after?” Lucio asked and Marisella glanced at him. “If Marisa gets her revenge, what happens after? Do you really think it is going to be done with Auror Black?” He asked and her back straightened.
“Your sister is sick, Marisella.” Rosetta said gently. “She needs help. What she’s doing will never get better, and all it will lead is to more heartbreak.”
Marisella was silent as she looked back at her twin sister, who was fuming, muttering angrily to herself and then sighed softly looking back at her sister and the aurors.
“I’m not the storyteller here, Felisa. And I don’t have the puppet strings. Whatever goes on…it’s Marisa who holds those strings. And I’m not going to interfere…not right now.”
“Mr. Muraro! Mr. Muraro!” A voice hissed out and Giacintro groggily opened his eyes, a headache forming. Two pairs of eyes, one green the other silver stared at him anxiously, Harry continuing to shake him.
“Wh…what is it? Where’s your mother…” He murmured.
“I’m right here.”
The trio turned and saw Moria leaning against the doorway, her face pale and tired. Her hair had been pulled out of its loose ponytail, and she looked like she had fought off an animal with her right arm. The children stood up quickly and rushed to her, nearly tackling her.
“Mum!!”
“Are you two okay?” She murmured softly, her voice tired. The two nodded, looking at her anxiously.
“Are you alright?” Harry asked nervously. She offered a tired smile and nodded.
“My name of the human pincushion lives on, but I’m alive.” She said softly, before looking at Giacintro who was standing, rubbing his head trying to lessen the pain.
“You have a bony elbow.” He mumbled.
“Sorry.” She replied with a slight smile, but it slowly fell off. “We have a problem.”
“No shit. That gem piece took control of you. We need to get you to a hospital to get it.”
“No…that’s not the problem.” She replied tossing him something which he managed to catch. Looking at his hand, he was surprised to see a blood covered, black colored gem piece. “Not anymore at least. I took care of that. But we have another problem.”
“What?”
“The others figured out who cursed me. But they’ve been captured.”
“How could you know that?” Giacintro asked. “You’ve been here the entire time, and we didn’t get a patronus.”
“That gem piece is what connected me to Marisa.”
“Fermi’s niece?”
“Yeah. I’m not sure how she managed to do this, but it was her. Anyway, when I was busy trying to get that thing out of me, I saw flashes of a place that I had never been too, and Marisa was standing there as well as Marisella…and in the background, I saw Lucio and the others.”
“We need to get other aurors then.”
“We don’t have the time. Marisa’s going deeper and deeper into madness. And I’m beginning to think she’s storing some of Fermi’s smuggled items. There’s no telling what will happen.”
“We need to contact someone, Moria.”
“I know…” She replied finally. “But I don’t know how much time we have.”
“We’ll find a way.” He promised. “Now come on. We need to get to the ministry.”
Moria flinched as the bandage was wrapped tighter around her arm, observing as Giacintro and others talked about plans. She glanced at Harry and Max who were lying in makeshift beds out of desk chairs. Chelsea, who had moved back to London had been alerted, and they had gotten word that she was making her way back to Italy, but international port keys only did so much, and it took time.
“We don’t have a specific location though.” One of them remarked, looking at the map nervously. “They could be anywhere.”
“They’re near water.”
Every man turned to look at Moria as she stood. Harry sat up sleepily, rubbing his eyes and Max looked at her mother tiredly. She walked over gently prodding the black crystal that lay on the corner of the map. “I saw images of a house next to a lake.”
“You were probably just imagining it in your pain.” One of the higher ups dismissed, though many of the younger aurors, those who worked side by side with her, seemed angry at such an accusation.
“I wasn’t imagining anything like that!!” She snapped angrily. “I literally saw them. Why would I make up something like that??”
“I’m just saying you’re confused.” He replied haughtily rolling up the map. “Women take things much too literally.”
She opened her mouth to show how literally she took offense to that but the man huffed.
“We’ll start here, here and here.” He stated pointing at the map.
“But-”
The man ignored her and Giacintro and despite glances from the other aurors, they split into groups. “You stay here.” The man ordered Moria. Moria watched stunned as the groups left then her eyes narrowed angrily.
“Nine years, nine years and the bastard still thinks I’m baggage!!” She snapped angrily. “Ugh, I swear! By the time they even get a clue of where the others are, it will be too late.”
“Well…let’s go then.” Giacintro said finally and Moria looked at him.
“Go?”
“Like you said, the others probably won’t last longer and with the way the higher ups are acting, they’ll be dead before they even get close to finding them. Can you find them?” He asked tossing her the still tainted gem. She hesitated then cut her hand open and allowed the blood to drip onto the shard, before closing her hand tightly around it. Images flashed around her again and she saw the cavern, a water from the lake above dripping down. The house above was elaborate and unique, easy to spot.
She unclenched her hand and returned to the aurors office, blinking rapidly to clear her head. She then nodded.
“Yeah. I found them.” She replied softly.
“Well let’s suit up.” He stated and she nodded. The two children watched bewildered as Moria and Giacintro suited up.
“Mum, where are you going?” Harry finally asked and Moria sighed.
“To stop Marisa and her sister. All of the others are in danger.”
“But why do you have to go?” He asked nervously. “The others…”
“The other aurors have no idea where they’re going. You saw them Harry.”
“But she’s after you…”
“I know…which means that she won’t stop until I meet her head on.”
“D…don’t….g….go…”
Moria froze and turned around, her eyes wide and Harry looked to his left in surprise as Max bit her bottom lip, looking at her mother pleadingly.
“Max?”
“Mummy, don’t go.” Max pleaded softly as Moria walked over to them and knelt in front of them. “We need you here. So don’t…” She said, tears gathering in her eyes. Just that. Just hearing that and Moria’s resolve nearly crumbled. She pulled the both of them into a hug which they both returned eagerly. She didn’t want to go. She wanted to stay…but the memory of her snapping out of that trance, standing over Harry about to kill him brought her back to reality.
“I don’t want to leave you two…” She said softly. “You two are my whole world. But that’s just it. Marisa is going after me…and she’s already nearly forced me to try and kill you two. If she got control of me again…”
“There’s no guarantee I’ll be able to snap out of it.”
The finished sentence hung in the air as she swallowed, cupping their faces with her hands. She gave them smiles.
“I’ll come back. I promise.”
“Mummy…” Max sobbed as Moria kissed her forehead before giving them a smile.
“Have I ever broken my promises to you two?” She asked, and the pair slowly shook their heads. “Then I won’t break this promise. I’ll see you two soon. I promise. But you two promise me you’ll look after one another while I’m gone. Chelsea is going to make sure you two are safe.” She said, kissing their brows. The children sniffled slightly before turning at the sound of a pop. Chelsea stood there, her hair messy, clothes hastily put on.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. Chelsea. Take them home, get them packed and take them to London.”
“But…”
“They need to be far away from here. There’s a mad woman out there who intends me to suffer by using them. And I’m not going to let it happen.” She said rubbing their heads again. “I’ll be there soon.”
“Aren’t you going?”
“I just need to finish this…and then I’ll be home.” She promised with a smile. The two children hugged her once more, and she returned the grip hard, kissing their temples, and Harry didn’t even complain about how uncool it was. She smiled.
“I’ll see you two soon.” She promised and they nodded before going over to Chelsea.
“I expect to hear from you soon.”
“You will.” Moria said and with a turn, the trio were gone. She swallowed, reigning in her emotions.
“Moria?”
“I’m fine. Let’s go. I have a family I need to get back to.” She stated and the pair raced out of the building, Moria silently hoping that this promise she didn’t break.
“This look like the place?” Giacintro whispered as they sat in a tree that overlooked manmade lake and a lone house. Moria nodded.
“Yeah. Creepy aura and everything.” She added. “Come on. We have to get everyone out of here.”
“I know. But how do we get in there? I mean this isn’t going to be easy.” Giacintro added looking at the place.
“I don’t know…I don’t think being on the ground is a good idea though.” Moria stated. “Traps.”
“Right. Well…tree branches are close enough.” Giacintro stated and Moria nodded. As they hopped around they looked for an entrance. As Moria jumped to one particular branch, instinct told her to grab the branch ahead when she saw she was going to miss the last branch and she grabbed the branch above her with her right arm.
Pain spasmed through her and she fell backwards losing her grip on the tree and fell towards the ground. She heard Giacintro call out to her and then saw a blur jumping to her, and before she hit the ground, she was snatched up. Blinking she looked and saw Giacintro had managed to snag her, his face in pain due to the fact he was now in a split, wedged between two trees.
“Sorry.” She whispered.
“It’s okay.” He wheezed, his groin on fire as he managed to shimmy up the trees and to a low branch. She gripped her arm tightly, her face a pale color in the moonlight. Giacintro frowned.
She had to be exhausted and in pain. Healing only did so much. A part of him was just about to suggest they contact someone else to join them when they saw to the ground open up seamlessly feet below them. They stared at the opening, it seemed to be almost mocking them. They looked at one another.
“What do you think?” She asked.
“…well…it’s better than jumping all over the place.” He stated and she swallowed before nodding. They jumped down, their wands extended. Then slowly they entered the shadows walking forward into the unknown.
“Pretty…” She murmured.
“Would you like some? For yourself or a friend?” The teller asked. She was a young woman, apparently shy as she seemed nervous in talking to Rosetta, who smiled apologetically.
“I would, but I don’t have any money right now…besides I have too many stuff on my office space…then again….” She murmured thinking about it. Florentia’s desk was filled with plants, not really suitable to have anything else on it, and the boys wouldn’t keep that on their desk…but Moria only had a few photos of Harry and Max, not a lot of trinkets…maybe one of these could work with her? And if it didn’t she could always find room on her desk for it. But the money part was the issue.
“You have such a pretty face…I suppose losing one by accident won’t be too bad.” The girl commented, blushing softly. Rosetta blinked.
“Oh I couldn’t…this is your…”
“It’s just a hobby.” The girl said offhandedly. “I don’t mind giving gifts to aurors.”
So this girl was of the wizarding world, Rosetta figured. “Oh…I guess….still I feel bad not giving you anything.”
“Don’t worry…it will pay itself back in due time.” The girl replied with a smile.
“…I guess then…well thanks…” Rosetta stated looking at a small bottle of shards of colored glass. “I’ll take this one.”
“Alright. Thank you for your business.” The girl said kindly watching as she continued down the sidewalk, her gaze never leaving. It only shifted when she saw another person she recognized, though this one through history books and newspapers. Her eyes widened and she quickly packed up shop and ran down several alleys. She needed to warn her sister.
“Marisa!! Wait!!” She called out as she finally made it to where her sister could hear her. “Someone is at the ministry that will destroy your plans, you have to wait!!”
“Be silent sister! I already know.” A voice hissed out from the darkness. “We will wait…whatever the case, you did your part. Now you and your useless flesh return for my side.”
“…yes…sister.” Marinella stated softly and slowly walked into the grown shadows, vanishing from the light.
“Uuuugggghhhhh….”
“Uh oh, that doesn’t sound like a happy groan.” Giacintro teased as he glanced up from his paperwork, looking at Moria whose head was resting on her desk. “What’s wrong?”
“Harry and I got into a fight.”
“That’s not an unusual thing in a family.” Rosetta replied, as she entered the room, placing the small vial of gem shards on the table. “For you.” She added.
“Where did you get this?” Moria asked, momentarily distracted.
“From a sidewalk vendor. For free too.”
“Free? Why was that?”
“I don’t know. She said it was because I was an auror, but still…”
“I’m going to check and see if they’re cursed or something.” Moria stated, pulling back her sleeves and grabbing her wand before pointing them at the gem. They watched as she did several spells to check if there was a poison or a curse on them. When nothing reacted Moria picked them up and sighed.
“Well…I guess they’re safe then.” Moria stated, looking at the small pieces of glass in the bottle. Rosetta looked at her with an apologetic smile.
“So the fight…What was it about?”
“There’s some movie that’s PG-13 that he wants to see. Considering the content, I said no…at least for now, but he was insistent. Then we started yelling, and he said I hate you and uuugghhh….now he won’t even talk to me.” She grumbled.
“Just give him a little time to cool down. You two are both hardheaded, so it’ll be difficult, but not impossible to talk to him.” Nico stated.
“I know it’s just…Max still hasn’t talked, Harry and I aren’t speaking anymore, I don’t know what is going to happen once I get back to England, or for that matter what I’m going to do in England…I mean for Merlin’s sake, I feel like I’m failing as a mother.”
“That’s just stress.” Lucio stated as he entered the room. “Lord knows everyone in this profession has it.”
“I know…but still...” She murmured. “I don’t know what I’m going to do with everything, I feel like my choices are limited.”
"It is our choices Moria that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities."
She looked up at the familiar voice, nearly falling out of her chair.
“Dumbledore?” She asked, looking at the tall and thin, aged wizard, with silver hair and beard, wearing lime yellow robes, that stood out from the darker uniforms of the aurors. He looked amused at the dropped jaws from the other aurors, but Moria seemed more bemused than stunned. It had been Christmas when she had met the Weasley’s and now Dumbledore? It seemed that Italy was attracting more English wizarding folk than before. “What are you doing here? We didn’t hear that there was going to be a visit.”
“Oh no, far from it. The start of summer break has been just started, and I assumed that I should need a break before the before class festivities rear their ugly heads.”
“Oh…” Moria commented, yet looked curiously at Dumbledore, clearly sensing there was more than that. “I’ll go ahead and get to my lunch for a break. I think there’s something else you want to talk to me about…” She stated looking at the wizard. “I’ll be back in a bit.”
“Alright.” Lucio stated waving her off.
“Holy hell…that was Albus Dumbledore.”
“Yes Rosetta, we are all aware.” Basilio replied with a grin. “Why don’t you lift your jaw off of the ground?”
“Oi!! It’s not my fault that I’ve never met people like him before. Man, Moria sure has connections.”
“I doubt she likes how some of these connections came to be.”
“He was her headmaster before.”
“Yeah…but remember, Dumbledore and her know each other from the war as well, and I doubt she wishes that connection was made.” Giacintro reminded them. The others looked at one another and then shrugged.
“I must say, the choices in the cafeteria are much better than the cafeteria in London.” Dumbledore stated pleasantly. Moria shrugged.
“I miss fish and chips though, but I guess beggars can’t be choosers.” She stated taking a bite out of Cacciatore. “So, why the sudden visit? I know for a fact you don’t particularly like leaving England in the off chance the school, or Fudge needs you. And most of the time you’ve just sent letters to me asking about Harry’s wellbeing.” She added. “So?”
“It is safe to assume that the next school year, Harry will be joining the Hogwarts ranks.”
“…yes?” Moria stated with a raised eyebrow. “I thought we already covered this a few times in the last few letters.”
“May I inquire what you would do?”
“I have no idea.” Moria stated. “Researching Sirius's case won't happen because of who I am. And even if they would let me be an auror there, which is highly unlikely for the same reason I can't go to see Sirius, I’m not going to work in a Ministry that doesn’t do its job very well, even more with the fact, I doubt they would trust me enough considering who I’m married to.” She replied with a shrug. “I suppose I could either not take a job since I have enough money at the moment, or get a job in the muggle w-”
“Or perhaps, become a teacher in Hogwarts.”
“….huh?” Moria stated, her mouth half food with a bite of chicken. Dumbledore smiled.
“I was hoping you would join our staff in Hogwarts next year. I trust having his godmother close to him would be beneficial to Harry, not to mention that this subject is in a serious need of being renewed."
"You want me to be the new DADA teacher? Look, Dumbledore, as flattering as that is, considering that nearly every Defense teacher has left, been fired, or killed after working for only a year, I will have to decline. I'd rather not be cursed. Besides, even though I’m an auror now, I was always better at transfiguration, and I doubt McGonagall will be willing to let me have her job."
The headmaster shook his head with a chuckle. "Not DADA, I was actually thinking of History of Magic. The students' grades have been dreadful for years; which leads me to believe that Professor Binns needs to enjoy his eternal rest some way other than teaching. I recall you doing quite good in that particular subject."
"…I'm not sure if I could be considered good at it Dumbledore." Moria said. "I just had a really good memory…and I had to make sure I didn't fall asleep so everyone could look off of my notes."
"Nonsense, Moria," he told her. "You were always an excellent student. I recall you tutoring Mr. Potter, Mr. Black, as well as Mr. Pettigrew a couple of times with positive results. I also understand you will be in need of a job."
“I…” She started then stopped, looking at her plate. “…do I need to answer right away?”
“Of course not.” Dumbledore stated pleasantly. “You can think about it over this month, though I hope your answer is soon.”
“Alright…I’ll think about it.” She murmured with a sigh. Dumbledore merely smiled.
Nearly two weeks passed as Moria mulled it over. Dumbledore had returned to England, but she didn’t know if she was cut out to be a teacher. She and Harry still weren’t talking to each other, and Max was silent as ever. How could she handle a classroom of kids, if she couldn’t even handle two? She groaned loudly, pressing her head to her desk. Giacintro looked at her and threw a paper ball at her head.
“Any louder, and people will think you’ve turned into walrus with your groaning.”
“Har har.” Moria grumbled stretching at her desk.
“What’s bothering you now?”
“…Dumbledore suggested that I become a teacher when I move back to England. For Hogwarts.”
“And the problem is? I mean the pay can’t be any better than the pay aurors get paid, and you know finding a job in the ministry with your married name will be hard to come by.” He stated as she got up and walked around her desk, leaning against it so she could look at him, tired of sitting. She sighed.
“I know…it’s just…what if I suck at it?”
“What do you mean? Kids love to talk to you when they come to visit their parents. You treat them like they’re adults.”
“That’s just the point. I treat them like adults, not like the kids they’re supposed to be.”
“Sometimes, being treated like an adult makes kids like you even more.” He stated as the other members filed in. “All in all, I think you’d make for a kick ass teacher.”
“Thanks…” She murmured.
“What’s this about being a teacher?” Florentia asked with a laugh and Moria groaned.
“Sister…I’m not sure…I don’t think this is right. What if the auror I gave the gems to kept them?”
“Then Moria will come here to save her friend, no matter what, we won’t lose.” Marisa stated coldly, though Marisella looked less than convinced. Marisa extended her arm and Marisella watched as the white snake familiar coiled around the arm, sliding along it. In front of Marisa was a whole gem, a chunk missing out of it. Marisa had made in the months that had followed after their uncle’s death. It was nothing more than a conduit between Marisa and the physical world. She bit her lip as Marisa cooed at the reptile, who opened its jaw and red liquid began to drip down from its fangs.
“Now it’s time, Lachne…” Marisa cooed softly and the blood dripped onto the broken jewel in silence. Marisella walked away as the ominous glow filled the room and her sister and uncle’s secret weapon reawakened.
“A history teacher?”
“Yes.”
“Isn’t that for aging and balding men?” Rosetta teased, while Moria huffed.
“Not EVERY history teacher is like that in England!!”
“And who was this Professor Binns, then?”
“….okay NOT ALL history teachers are like that.” Moria huffed angrily, leaning against her desk as her teammates sniggered. “Besides the fact, Binns has been dead for god knows how long…I don’t think he technically c-”
It happened in slow motion. The vial that was sitting on Moria’s desk began to crack before shattering completely. As Moria moved to avoid the glass, the pieces of crystal flew and embedded into her right arm. She yelped loudly, collapsing onto her knees, clutching her forearm. And then everyone was surrounding her as she gripped her arm tightly.
“Moria?!”
“Oh god!! Get a healer!!”
“Moria, can you say anything?!”
“My….arm…” She hissed out, her hand becoming white from how hard she was gripping her arm. Giacintro helped her stand, letting her lean heavily on him. Several higher officials rushed in as Lucio picked up a shard, staring at it. It had turned black and he frowned, glancing at Moria.
“What’s going on?”
“Auror Black’s been attacked.” Lucio stated coldly lifting up Moria’s sleeve to see that the shard had sunk deep into her upper arm. Removing it, even by magical means could damage her arm. “She shouldn’t leave, no telling what can happen…”
“I…I checked the shards…what the hell…” Moria murmured.
“Which is why you are staying here.”
“But the kids-”
“Why does Auror Black need to stay here?” One of the higher officials asked and everyone swiveled to him, looking at him flabbergasted.
“Why…Auror Black as a shard of glass in her arm, we don’t know what it will do to her.” Lucio stated angrily. The other higher officials looking at their comrade in confusion who sniffed.
“Auror Black likely received a simple angry message that attached itself to the bottle. You know full well we receive those all the time, even more the fact that Ms. Black is a well-known auror. It was likely just a threat.”
“Even more the reason that she shouldn’t return home!!” Lucio snapped.
“This isn’t a babysitting center.”
“I’ll be fine Lucio.” Moria murmured, seeing that he was now treading onto dangerous grounds, though she looked suspiciously at the higher up, who merely smirked at her. He had been one of the ones still against women joining the auror department, and that likely meant he didn’t think this was as bad as it possibly was. She sighed, standing.
“Muraro. Go on ahead with Black. The rest of us will investigate this.” Lucio stated softly, glaring at the higher up’s receding back.
“I’m fine.” Moria stated.
“Even so, I’d feel much better if you let him stay a little bit at your place.” Lucio stated and Moria sighed before nodding.
“I’m home.” She called out and saw Harry quickly turn around, putting his back to her. She sighed as Max waved. Giacintro looked at Moria who merely shrugged. Giacintro came in and set down his bag glancing at Harry. He looked over to see Moria had left the room to change out of her uniform and sat down next to the boy startling him.
“Something bothering you kid?”
“None of your business.”
“Cheeky, aren’t you.” Giacintro mused. Though the kid never really liked him, most likely due to events involving his feelings for Moria earlier on.
“This wouldn’t have anything to do with Moria not letting you go to that movie is it?” He asked and Harry flinched. “I see. You know she does have the right to say no, don’t you.”
“I’m not a baby.” He protested.
“I don’t think she sees you as a baby.” Giacintro stated with a chuckle. “For one, the movie I think you want to go see would make grown men’s skin crawl with the amount of gore, so much so that I question why it was given a PG-13 rating. Two, mothers are supposed to shield their children somewhat, even mother’s like Moria.”
“What does that mean? Mum is a great mum.” He stated defensively "I just wish she didn’t baby me.” He complained.
“You’re only ten, you’re allowed to be babied a bit.” He replied almost with a wistful tone. “I lost my mother when I was eight, and I wish she could have babied me a bit more.”
“…what happened to her? To your mum?”
“Some men hurt her…she never recovered.” He replied simply. Harry gulped. “Relax, your mother isn’t going anywhere. She loves you and your sister too much.”
Guilt flooded in at that moment and Harry looked down at his lap.
“Is Mum angry at me?”
“Nope. A little hurt and wishing you talked to her, but not angry. I think she’s angrier at herself for not handling it better.” He stated. Harry flushed and Giacintro chuckled.
“Excuse me.” Harry stated before hurrying from the table and then up the stairs where Moria had gone. He then looked at Max who was staring at him.
“Sssooo…you ever play poker before?” He asked pulling out a deck of cards.
Moria hissed as her left hand brushed against the small knot on her right arm. Instinct told her to try and pull it out, but logic dictated that her arm would be worse off if she did so. She sighed pushing her hair back.
“Kill…”
She blinked and looked up, expecting to see someone. Slowly a headache began to develop and she massaged her head, trying to lessen the pain.
“Kill…kill…”
“Okay, who the bloody hell is out there.” She grumbled and stood walking over to her door, and opening it, and Harry ran full force into her, nearly causing her to fall down. She however managed to keep herself righted and then looked at the top of Harry’s head.
“Harry?” She questioned.
“I’m sorry…I don’t hate you…” She managed to hear him mumbled against her stomach and she smiled slightly.
“What brought this on?”
“Just…why aren’t you angry at me?”
“Because you’re a kid, and you wanted to go to the movie and I said no?” She stated with a chuckle. “I wasn’t expecting you to jump for joy at me saying no.”
He was silent, and she thought she saw his eyes growing glassy before he shook his head hard.
“But…”
“Harry, what’s bothering you? I’m not angry about the fight.”He flushed. “…I’m nervous.”
“Why? It can’t be because of the movie. You aren’t seeing it until I check about it and see if you can.” She stated again and he shook his head.
“It’s just…what if someday I make you so angry, that you don’t want me around and you send me back to the Dursley’s? I mean…”
“Harry James Potter, I would sooner send you to live with the Dursley’s permanently before I turned into Walburga Black and declared muggleborns the best thing to be in the Wizarding World.”
“Max’s grandma?”
“Trust me, if you had met her, you would have agreed. She was a horrible, horrible woman.” She said earning a chuckle from Harry.
“Oh think its funny do you?” She teased and he sensed the change and tried to scramble away, but she latched onto him and dragged him upwards, beginning to tickle him. He laughed loudly as she tumbled backwards, managing to sit on her bed and resume her tickling, laughing as he squirmed around, trying to get her to stop through his own peals of laughter. Suddenly her arm twinged and she flinched, gripping it tightly as spasms of pain radiated from the location where the shard was. Harry looked up and his brows furrowed in concern.
“What happened to your arm?”
“Let’s just say I got a present from some moron…idiot sent a shard into my arm. That’s why I’m home early, and Gia’s babysitting me.” She grumbled, rubbing her arm. “Bloody thing hurts too.”
“Well why don’t you take it out?”
“The healer wanted to, but we don’t know what damage will happen if they take it out. For all they know the curse might activate when they remove it and cause either more damage to me, or cause damage to other people.” She explained. “So right now I’m on house arrest.”
“Oh…”
“I’ll be fine, promise. Anyway, on the topic about the Dursley’s, there is no way I would let you live with them. The only person who could make me do that is either your parents, or Dumbledore. And I don’t see that happening. Now then, since I actually get to make a nicer dinner, what do you say we head downstairs?” She added and nearly watched Harry begin drooling. “Has it been that long since I’ve actually made something?”
“No, it’s just…well…I like your cooking.”
“Flattery will get you somewhere Mr. Potter, now then let’s head downstairs. Giacintro is probably bored out of his mind. Your sister right now is in the drawing mood, and you know how that-”
“Oh for the love of…you swindled me!! Where the fucking hell did you learn how to play?!”
“Language Muraro.” Moria chastised. “What in the world are you…?”
The pair stopped and stared at the small pile of Euro sitting next to Max along with a pocket knife that Moria knew Giacintro had gotten from his father.
“I was only gone for ten minutes.” She stated, trying hard not to laugh.
“Your daughter is evil at poker.” Giacintro complained angrily.
“She’s just good at reading people. Max leave the pocket knife. See what else you can get from him.” Moria commented, before beginning to laugh as she watched Max put down her hand again and Giacintro’s face drooped. Harry soon joined her and Max grinned impishly, as Moria turned around and headed to the kitchen, her headache still a dull throb.
“But I don’t get it. Why go after Moria?” Nico asked. “I mean sure, she’s efficient in her job, but wouldn’t going after someone higher in the food chain have been more effective?”
“I don’t think this was directed at the aurors in general…just her.”
“But I gave her those crystals.” Rosetta stated, her face losing its color. “Does that mean…”
“It might, but I doubt it.” Lucio stated as Felisa entered.
“What are you all researching this late? And where’s Moria and Giacintro?” She asked, pushing her hair back.
“Moria was attacked, so we sent her home. Muraro’s guarding her.”
“Is she alright?”
“Yeah, just a piece of crystal is stuck in her arm…”
“C…crystal?”
“Yeah…why? You’ve heard of someone who uses that to attack people?” Lucio asked, looking up at Felisa to see her face had drained off its color.
“M…my older sister Marisa. She’s a jewel witch.”
“Jewel…witch?”
“It’s an ancient type of magic that’s rare. Only a few bloodlines carry it now. Their magic can be controlled by jewels. In some variations, they can summon spiritual beasts inside gems. But the last time I saw her, she could barely control gems.” Felisa stated. “It couldn’t be her…could it?”
“Even if it isn’t…we need to be sure, and she might lead us in the right direction.” Lucio stated. “Can you lead us to her?”
“Maybe, I don’t know if my sisters moved after our uncle’s death. But we can at least start there.” Felisa stated and the group hurried out into the night. It only took a few moments, jumping from each green zone for apparating until they finally reached a rather secluded lake. In the distance right next to the bank a large home, strangely designed stood almost in a menacing tone.
“That’s it?”
“Mhm…”
“Well it doesn’t look to be used…maybe they left and-”
Whatever Rosetta was saying was cut off when the ground underneath them opened and they plummeted into the darkness. For several heart stopping moments they all plummeted, before they hit the ground and rolled a bit more down an embankament before stopping.
“…okay…never mind.”
“Where are we?” Florentia asked as Felisa looked around.
“I…I don’t know…I’ve never been…”
“Sister.”
They all turned, the aurors pointing their wands and the solitary figure standing a little ways away from them.
“Marisella!!” Felisa exclaimed, her shoulders slumping in relief. “You’re still alive, where’s Marisa, are you both-”
“You should not have come.” Marisella stated softly, and a dozen red eyes appeared out of the shadows behind her. The aurors took a step back.
“Marisella?”
“You should not have interfered.”
Several minutes later, the group was being dragged on the ground, by grotesque, now corporeal beasts. They were all bruised and Florentia was bleeding severely. Marisella and the group of beasts entered a large cavern, a figure farther away, her back facing them.
“Please forgive the shikigami. They aren’t from here, so they aren’t used to such hotheadedness.” The woman spoke out, and Felisa’s eyes widened. “Uncle received them only a few weeks before his untimely death from Japan. Seems fitting that I use them now.”
“Marisa?? Marisa what the hell are you doing?!”
“Doing? Why, I’m doing what you were supposed to have done when our uncle was murdered. Getting revenge.”
“Marisa, our uncle’s death wasn’t Auror Black’s fault!! A beam fell and impaled him!!” Felisa screamed.
“She shouldn’t have interfered in the first place!!” Marisa shrieked and the reddish glow filled the cavern, and the shikigami hissed, almost in fear. Marisa turned to look at her sister, her face which had been contorted into an ugly expression shifted back to a placid look, her eyes hardened. “And I will insure she doesn’t interfere ever again.”
The headache had grown worse. Despite taking a potion, and then a Tylenol, nothing seemed to ebb the throbbing pain in her head. Moria was barely able to connect in any conversation in dinner, and putting Harry and Max to bed felt as though she was pushing through wet concrete. She had had headaches before, but never this bad. Maybe it was a migraine?
“I’m heading to bed…” She murmured to Giacintro who looked up from the table. “You can take the couch.”
“You okay?”
“I’m fine…just a really bad headache.” She replied, rubbing her temple. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Alright.” He stated uncertainly as she sluggishly climbed the stairs. She barely managed to change into a t-shirt and shorts and collapse onto the bed, her head pounding. She was surprised at how easily sleep came though, as darkness filled her vision quite quickly. She felt as though she was floating, the only sensation being a tether that connected her to her body and the sensation of the real world.
“Kill…”
“Kill? Kill who?” Moria asked the voice that suddenly echoed in her head. The darkness around her seemed to grow, beginning to swallow the tether whole
“Kill them. Kill those you hold dear.”
“Who?”
“The boy and girl…” The voice whispered and Moria balked.
“Harry? Max? No, I won’t.” She argued, but the voices and whispers seemed to grow in her head, as she covered her ears to little avail.
“Do it.”
“No….I…I can’t. They’re my kids, and even if I tried, Gia…”
“Disable the man, and do as I say. KILL.”
“N-No!!” She whimpered.
“Kill. KILL…KILL THEM!!”
And as though a pair of scissors had sheared through it, the tether that had been holding her in control of her body snapped, and she floated into the darkness, swallowed whole and she knew no more.
Giacintro couldn’t get into a comfortable position on that couch. It could have been the fact that Harry and Max had a tendency to stuff toys, candy wrappers, and other items into the sofa, thinking Moria would spot them. Or it could have been the fact that this wasn’t his bed, or his apartment. Also it could be the fact that his legs dangled over the sofa’s arm.
Whatever the case was, sleep would not come to him. Sighing he sat up and pulled a colored pencil that had been lodged into the sofa and tossed it onto the coffee table, before standing and going to the kitchen. He was rummaging around for a snack when he heard a creak. Turning he saw Moria standing there.
“Good grief, you’re incredibly quiet when you need to be.” He grumbled. “Sorry, I’m just hungry.” He added when she didn’t respond. When she didn’t reply, he turned fully to her.
“Moria?”
Still no response. He then noted her eyes were only halfway open, and they looked absolutely dead. Slowly, almost as though trying not to startle her, he went for his wand.
“Moria? Can you hear me?” He asked and suddenly she sprung forward, dashing towards him. “Stupefy!!” He hissed out, but she nimbly jumped, dodging the spell that slammed into the kitchen wall. She kept dodging spells he was throwing, finally managing to grab his arm. He cursed and grabbed her wrist, flinging her over his shoulder. To his surprise she managed to right herself and stopped just short of hitting the wall. He then saw a dark glow coming from her arm, in the location of where the shard had been.
“Mo-”
He barely managed to voice his plea, before she slammed the crook of her arm into his throat, not hard enough to kill, but enough to send a feeling of swallowing fire and cutting of oxygen momentarily. He stumbled backwards, dragging in a sharp breath, but barely managed to right himself, before she brought her elbow sharply down on his head. He collapsed onto the ground. Silence reigned for a while as Moria stared at the limp form. Her eyes then slid lazily to look at the table, where the pocket knife lay.
“Take the knife.” The voice whispered in her head and almost like a puppet, she did as she was commanded. “Now go…and do what I want…”
And slowly, Moria advanced up the stairs again.
It was quiet…this darkness that she floated in. There was no more pain now, nothing but darkness. She didn’t have to fight anymore.
But was that what she wanted?
“My little Moria…” A soft voice murmured, and it was a voice that she recognized.
“Mum…” She murmured lifting her hands up and felt hands intertwine with hers. She forced her tired eyes open to see both of her parents. They were smiling kindly, before they enveloped her into a hug.
“You’ve done so well, sweetheart…you’ve fought over and over again.”Her father stated with a grin.
“…I’m tired, just let me sleep.” She complained.
“Sweetheart, you can’t give in now.”
“Why not? Like Dad said, I’ve been fighting, and fighting, and fighting. I can’t keep doing it. I’m not that strong. I’ve never been that strong. I’ve made so many mistakes” She murmured, curling up.
“Yes, you have.” Maarten said softly, and smiled when she looked at him. “You struggled. You suffered. But you have always followed your own path. Don’t let this path end now.”
“Why? What difference does it make?”
“Because if you let this path end…their paths will as well” Mable stated and suddenly Moria’s vision flashed to where she was back in the real world. She saw she was standing over Harry, who lay blissfully asleep, his face incredibly clear in the soft glow of the light that Max had likely accidentally kept on. Moria saw a glint of a knife.
“Kill the boy first…” A voice whispered, echoing in the darkness and the blade rose.
“HARRY!!” She cried out and wrenched herself out of her parent’s hold, ignoring their smiles as they vanished back into the darkness. She pushed through the darkness, the feeling as though puppet strings strong around her, but she continued to fight through the darkness and suddenly managed to latch onto the frayed tether.
Moria’s arm rose slowly, the tip of the blade aimed at Harry’s exposed throat. A quick death for him. But suddenly Moria’s arm froze, the blade shaking.
“What are you doing? Kill the boy.”
“…N…no…”
Moria’s eyes flashed back and forth as the struggle of control commenced. She chocked violently, her arm shaking.
“Kill him! Kill him at once!!”
Moria’s jaw grew taut as she fought against the hold, the headache and the ringing voice shrieking at her. Her left hand shook violently, jerking back and forth as the fight for control raged in her, both children remaining blissfully asleep. Arian spent the nights upstairs asleep.
“I…I won’t kill him!!”
“You will do as I say!! Kill the boy!! You will kill him and that brat daughter of yours!! KILL THEM!!”
Moria clenched her eyes shut, letting out a slight whining sound, before swinging her left hand down, and the sickening sound of metal meeting flesh sounded in the air.
Something was dripping on him.
At first he tried to ignore it, because he was having a wonderful dream of him on the Quidditch team and grabbing the Snitch, but the dripping continued until he woke up annoyed and wiped his face. Whatever it was, smeared and now confused searched his nightstand and found his glasses, putting them on and blinked looking at his hand.
It was stained red.
“What the…” He murmured and then looked up. Moria stood over him hunched over.
A letter opener stabbed deep into her upper right arm.
“Mum?!” He exclaimed scrambling up.
“H…arry…g-get you a-and your…your sister, o-out of here!” She forced out through clenched teeth, her left hand shaking over the handle.
“KILL THE BOY!! DO YOU HEAR ME?!”
“Mum, what’s going on?!”
“No…time…g…get out of…here…” She hissed.
“But-”
“KILL HIM!!”
“NOW!!!” Moria screamed as she wrenched the knife down her arm, the fresh pain forcing her to be more aware, giving her slightly more control, but not a lot. Max sat up in a panic and scrambled to get out of bed and tried to get to her mother, but Harry, now realizing that whatever was happening, he needed to protect her, grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her out of the room. Moria collapsed onto her knees, gripping the handle tightly as sweat and tears slid down her face.
“YOU WRETCHED WOMAN!! DO AS I COMMAND!!”
“Shut up! SHUT UP!!” Moria snapped, smashing her head into the floor. The pain cleared her head momentarily, enough for her to realize that she needed to get the piece of crystal out. Swallowing, she slowly began to carve the blade down, and pain rocketed through her system, blinding her. Images of a cavern flashed through her head, and she could see the other aurors chained to the walls. A girl stood in front of them, her face nearly black with rage, her eyes almost glowing.
“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! STAND UP AND KILL THOSE TWO BRATS!!” The voice was screaming loudly in her head as her slow and painful task of dragging the knife down continued. Blood seeped around the handle, making it hard to hold and her vision was growing blurry with the pain. She was almost there.
The pain radiating from that spot felt like someone had placed a hot iron poker into it. Gritting her teeth, she continued to drag it towards that spot and once there, the pain, near excruciating at this point. As she finally reached the spot, she dug down under the shard.
She screamed in pain and with a hard wrench, tore the fragment out. She collapsed onto the ground as the voice ceased instantly. For several long, silent minutes nothing moved. It was as though time had ceased. The only indicator that it, in fact, hadn’t was the blood flowing lazily down Moria’s arm, staining the once clean rug. Finally after nearly ten minutes, Moria slowly rose, grunting in pain. She looked down at the nearly black piece of shard almost blankly. Her arm was covered in blood, her shirt soaked in it as well. At this rate, she was likely to go into shock from loss of blood. Stumbling up she limped to the bathroom, trailing blood behind her and aching in so many places, likely because her adrenaline was running low. Finally she made it to the bathroom, and after rummaging around for a few moments, found what she was looking for.
Known as the greater healing potion, it was something that the Italian’s had been making for years out of garlic, lemon, calendulas, fennel, and a bunch of other materials that she couldn’t remember. The good news was, she knew it worked…she had had to pour it onto Remus a few times after bad transformations. The bad news…was well just that. It couldn’t be drank for some reason…only poured onto the wound. And if she remembered correctly, the curse words she heard Remus emit during that was clear signs that it hurt like hell.
Grabbing a towel she jammed it into her mouth and then after uncorking the bottle, poured the liquid down her arm. Her vision went white as pain flooded her system, and a scream burst out of her mouth, muffled by the towel. She heard a sick sizzling sound as her skin mended, though she knew that even this wasn’t likely to heal it completely. After cleaning the remaining blood off of her arm she pulled out a medical kit from under the sink and slowly, methodically wrapped the bandage around the wound, pulling it tight. Dull throbbing pain continued, but now she barely felt it, the body numbing her response to it. Finally she grabbed her wand that had been on her nightstand and walked downstairs, hoping that everyone was alright.
It was shocking, as the aurors watched. The glow around that jewel had grown as the woman screamed at it, her face nearly purple as she screamed over and over again to kill someone. And then the jewel shattered, spraying Marisa with shards of glass. She screamed in pain, clutching her face and Marisella ran to her.
“Are you alright, sister?!”
“That bitch!!” She shrieked. “I’ll kill her!!”
“She managed to fight it off?” Marisella asked in shock only to be backhanded across the face.
“SILENCE YOU LITTLE WORM!!” Marisa roared as Marisella cowered. “I’ll deal with her! You watch the prisoners!!” She ordered and Marisella nodded, going slowly over to the others.
“Marisella, Marisella you have to stop this.” Felisa pleaded with her older sister. “You know this isn’t right.”
“We’re just getting revenge for our family, Felisa. You should understand that.”
“And what happens after?” Lucio asked and Marisella glanced at him. “If Marisa gets her revenge, what happens after? Do you really think it is going to be done with Auror Black?” He asked and her back straightened.
“Your sister is sick, Marisella.” Rosetta said gently. “She needs help. What she’s doing will never get better, and all it will lead is to more heartbreak.”
Marisella was silent as she looked back at her twin sister, who was fuming, muttering angrily to herself and then sighed softly looking back at her sister and the aurors.
“I’m not the storyteller here, Felisa. And I don’t have the puppet strings. Whatever goes on…it’s Marisa who holds those strings. And I’m not going to interfere…not right now.”
“Mr. Muraro! Mr. Muraro!” A voice hissed out and Giacintro groggily opened his eyes, a headache forming. Two pairs of eyes, one green the other silver stared at him anxiously, Harry continuing to shake him.
“Wh…what is it? Where’s your mother…” He murmured.
“I’m right here.”
The trio turned and saw Moria leaning against the doorway, her face pale and tired. Her hair had been pulled out of its loose ponytail, and she looked like she had fought off an animal with her right arm. The children stood up quickly and rushed to her, nearly tackling her.
“Mum!!”
“Are you two okay?” She murmured softly, her voice tired. The two nodded, looking at her anxiously.
“Are you alright?” Harry asked nervously. She offered a tired smile and nodded.
“My name of the human pincushion lives on, but I’m alive.” She said softly, before looking at Giacintro who was standing, rubbing his head trying to lessen the pain.
“You have a bony elbow.” He mumbled.
“Sorry.” She replied with a slight smile, but it slowly fell off. “We have a problem.”
“No shit. That gem piece took control of you. We need to get you to a hospital to get it.”
“No…that’s not the problem.” She replied tossing him something which he managed to catch. Looking at his hand, he was surprised to see a blood covered, black colored gem piece. “Not anymore at least. I took care of that. But we have another problem.”
“What?”
“The others figured out who cursed me. But they’ve been captured.”
“How could you know that?” Giacintro asked. “You’ve been here the entire time, and we didn’t get a patronus.”
“That gem piece is what connected me to Marisa.”
“Fermi’s niece?”
“Yeah. I’m not sure how she managed to do this, but it was her. Anyway, when I was busy trying to get that thing out of me, I saw flashes of a place that I had never been too, and Marisa was standing there as well as Marisella…and in the background, I saw Lucio and the others.”
“We need to get other aurors then.”
“We don’t have the time. Marisa’s going deeper and deeper into madness. And I’m beginning to think she’s storing some of Fermi’s smuggled items. There’s no telling what will happen.”
“We need to contact someone, Moria.”
“I know…” She replied finally. “But I don’t know how much time we have.”
“We’ll find a way.” He promised. “Now come on. We need to get to the ministry.”
Moria flinched as the bandage was wrapped tighter around her arm, observing as Giacintro and others talked about plans. She glanced at Harry and Max who were lying in makeshift beds out of desk chairs. Chelsea, who had moved back to London had been alerted, and they had gotten word that she was making her way back to Italy, but international port keys only did so much, and it took time.
“We don’t have a specific location though.” One of them remarked, looking at the map nervously. “They could be anywhere.”
“They’re near water.”
Every man turned to look at Moria as she stood. Harry sat up sleepily, rubbing his eyes and Max looked at her mother tiredly. She walked over gently prodding the black crystal that lay on the corner of the map. “I saw images of a house next to a lake.”
“You were probably just imagining it in your pain.” One of the higher ups dismissed, though many of the younger aurors, those who worked side by side with her, seemed angry at such an accusation.
“I wasn’t imagining anything like that!!” She snapped angrily. “I literally saw them. Why would I make up something like that??”
“I’m just saying you’re confused.” He replied haughtily rolling up the map. “Women take things much too literally.”
She opened her mouth to show how literally she took offense to that but the man huffed.
“We’ll start here, here and here.” He stated pointing at the map.
“But-”
The man ignored her and Giacintro and despite glances from the other aurors, they split into groups. “You stay here.” The man ordered Moria. Moria watched stunned as the groups left then her eyes narrowed angrily.
“Nine years, nine years and the bastard still thinks I’m baggage!!” She snapped angrily. “Ugh, I swear! By the time they even get a clue of where the others are, it will be too late.”
“Well…let’s go then.” Giacintro said finally and Moria looked at him.
“Go?”
“Like you said, the others probably won’t last longer and with the way the higher ups are acting, they’ll be dead before they even get close to finding them. Can you find them?” He asked tossing her the still tainted gem. She hesitated then cut her hand open and allowed the blood to drip onto the shard, before closing her hand tightly around it. Images flashed around her again and she saw the cavern, a water from the lake above dripping down. The house above was elaborate and unique, easy to spot.
She unclenched her hand and returned to the aurors office, blinking rapidly to clear her head. She then nodded.
“Yeah. I found them.” She replied softly.
“Well let’s suit up.” He stated and she nodded. The two children watched bewildered as Moria and Giacintro suited up.
“Mum, where are you going?” Harry finally asked and Moria sighed.
“To stop Marisa and her sister. All of the others are in danger.”
“But why do you have to go?” He asked nervously. “The others…”
“The other aurors have no idea where they’re going. You saw them Harry.”
“But she’s after you…”
“I know…which means that she won’t stop until I meet her head on.”
“D…don’t….g….go…”
Moria froze and turned around, her eyes wide and Harry looked to his left in surprise as Max bit her bottom lip, looking at her mother pleadingly.
“Max?”
“Mummy, don’t go.” Max pleaded softly as Moria walked over to them and knelt in front of them. “We need you here. So don’t…” She said, tears gathering in her eyes. Just that. Just hearing that and Moria’s resolve nearly crumbled. She pulled the both of them into a hug which they both returned eagerly. She didn’t want to go. She wanted to stay…but the memory of her snapping out of that trance, standing over Harry about to kill him brought her back to reality.
“I don’t want to leave you two…” She said softly. “You two are my whole world. But that’s just it. Marisa is going after me…and she’s already nearly forced me to try and kill you two. If she got control of me again…”
“There’s no guarantee I’ll be able to snap out of it.”
The finished sentence hung in the air as she swallowed, cupping their faces with her hands. She gave them smiles.
“I’ll come back. I promise.”
“Mummy…” Max sobbed as Moria kissed her forehead before giving them a smile.
“Have I ever broken my promises to you two?” She asked, and the pair slowly shook their heads. “Then I won’t break this promise. I’ll see you two soon. I promise. But you two promise me you’ll look after one another while I’m gone. Chelsea is going to make sure you two are safe.” She said, kissing their brows. The children sniffled slightly before turning at the sound of a pop. Chelsea stood there, her hair messy, clothes hastily put on.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. Chelsea. Take them home, get them packed and take them to London.”
“But…”
“They need to be far away from here. There’s a mad woman out there who intends me to suffer by using them. And I’m not going to let it happen.” She said rubbing their heads again. “I’ll be there soon.”
“Aren’t you going?”
“I just need to finish this…and then I’ll be home.” She promised with a smile. The two children hugged her once more, and she returned the grip hard, kissing their temples, and Harry didn’t even complain about how uncool it was. She smiled.
“I’ll see you two soon.” She promised and they nodded before going over to Chelsea.
“I expect to hear from you soon.”
“You will.” Moria said and with a turn, the trio were gone. She swallowed, reigning in her emotions.
“Moria?”
“I’m fine. Let’s go. I have a family I need to get back to.” She stated and the pair raced out of the building, Moria silently hoping that this promise she didn’t break.
“This look like the place?” Giacintro whispered as they sat in a tree that overlooked manmade lake and a lone house. Moria nodded.
“Yeah. Creepy aura and everything.” She added. “Come on. We have to get everyone out of here.”
“I know. But how do we get in there? I mean this isn’t going to be easy.” Giacintro added looking at the place.
“I don’t know…I don’t think being on the ground is a good idea though.” Moria stated. “Traps.”
“Right. Well…tree branches are close enough.” Giacintro stated and Moria nodded. As they hopped around they looked for an entrance. As Moria jumped to one particular branch, instinct told her to grab the branch ahead when she saw she was going to miss the last branch and she grabbed the branch above her with her right arm.
Pain spasmed through her and she fell backwards losing her grip on the tree and fell towards the ground. She heard Giacintro call out to her and then saw a blur jumping to her, and before she hit the ground, she was snatched up. Blinking she looked and saw Giacintro had managed to snag her, his face in pain due to the fact he was now in a split, wedged between two trees.
“Sorry.” She whispered.
“It’s okay.” He wheezed, his groin on fire as he managed to shimmy up the trees and to a low branch. She gripped her arm tightly, her face a pale color in the moonlight. Giacintro frowned.
She had to be exhausted and in pain. Healing only did so much. A part of him was just about to suggest they contact someone else to join them when they saw to the ground open up seamlessly feet below them. They stared at the opening, it seemed to be almost mocking them. They looked at one another.
“What do you think?” She asked.
“…well…it’s better than jumping all over the place.” He stated and she swallowed before nodding. They jumped down, their wands extended. Then slowly they entered the shadows walking forward into the unknown.
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Hopefully one more chapter and part three is done 
I know I said only one chapter…but I swear it will only be one more chapter after this. It felt better ending there. For one there was a lot in this chapter, so I didn’t want to do everything in this. So yeah…
And yes, I referenced Inuyasha. This was my favorite episode (not for the reason of being cursed, just my OTP being really shown in those episodes, so I really liked it) in the series, so why not. The ending is completely different so tada XD
I know I said only one chapter…but I swear it will only be one more chapter after this. It felt better ending there. For one there was a lot in this chapter, so I didn’t want to do everything in this. So yeah…
And yes, I referenced Inuyasha. This was my favorite episode (not for the reason of being cursed, just my OTP being really shown in those episodes, so I really liked it) in the series, so why not. The ending is completely different so tada XD
Read and review, i love to hear your thoughts.
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