Carnation // [2]

Chapter 10

"Our 'almost' will always
haunt me."

Aurelia stepped back inside the house after placing protective charms around the property. Kira and Evan should be back soon with new information. Hopefully they had enough to begin their search.

She walked into the kitchen. It was massive. Big enough to cater for an entire army. Why did these rich Purebloods feel the need to have such massive homes. To show off their wealth? It was ridiculous. She found the cupboard that had the glasses in and grabbed one. She brought it too the sink and turned the handle on the tap, watching the water pour out and into the glass.

She turned off the tap and brought the glass up to her lips. The icy water hit her tongue. It was refreshing. She put the glass down onto the counter. It clinked against the granite. She looked at the time, tapping her fingers on the counter. They should be back soon. Any minute now.

Did Sirius ever feel like this? Anxious and alone in the dark cells of Azkaban? His only company the thoughts of their past. He was innocent. He had to be. Some days her certainty faltered. Those days were the worst. Was he innocent? He was the only one who knew where the Potters were. The days she spoke to Remus made it worse. He believed so fiercely that Sirius betrayed them. He was their best friend and the whole situation hit Remus hard.

She did not want to believe that he betrayed them. Betrayed her.

The sound of the door swinging open caught her attention. She stood up straight and downed the rest of her water. Putting the glass down, she walked into the entrance to see if their mission went well.

"So, how'd it go?"

Kira sighed, dropping her coat. Both hers and Evan's levitated to the hooks next to the door. "Barely found anything. We were being watched."

"Watched? By who?"

"I don't know. Someone in the ministry. Could be more than just the one we noticed." She ran her hands through her hair. Her eyebrows scrunched together.

"It wasn't completely worthless," Evan added, looking between the two of them. "They found quite a few descriptions of her wand and the mirror that was hidden."

Kira began walking to the living room, her body still tense. "Let's write all this down so we can go over it."

They followed her. She conjured a notebook and quill and sat down on an armchair. They followed suit, making themselves comfortable on the couches.

Kira spoke, but she kept her eyes on the notebook as she wrote, the quill scratching away on the parchment. "They found one of her diaries in France, near a castle. She worked there as an advisor to the king. They said it was cursed."

"Is yours cursed?" Aurelia asked, thinking of the diary that the Anne Horne pretender gave her.

"I don't think so." She frowned, her quill stopping for a brief moment before she continued scribbling down information on the paper.

Evan frowned. "That's not exactly what you want to hear."

She shrugged. "Could be worse. Now, Evan, what did you find?"

He leaned forward, recalling the information. "Most descriptions of the wand described it as having a dark wood. Some say it was black as night."

"So poetic." Aurelia chimed, a small smirk gracing her face.

"Shush. Some say it was a detailed wand, some described it as having a floral detailing. The mirror was similar. Floral detailing, but bright gold. They said it was small, so a hand mirror. It was described as having a pearlescent sheen over the glass."

Kira stopped writing and looked up. "Nothing about the ring then?"

He shook his head.

She sat back, putting the book on the table next to her. "Maybe the diary has something that would help us."

"Are you sure? What if it's cursed?" She really did not want to end up with one of them dead.

"It's fine. I've opened it and flipped through the pages. Nothing has happened so far. You two can just stand a couple of meters away and all should be well." She gave her a cheeky grin and Aurelia sighed, shaking her head. She would open it either way, there was no use in complaining. "I'll look over it later."

Evan rested his elbows on his knees and clapped his hands together, "So are we looking for these artefacts or what."

Kira looked at him, her eyes wide. "I don't you to be in any more danger."

He smirked. "They already know who I am and that I'm helping you. I'm already in danger. I'm going to help you."

She sighed, but a smile creeped its way onto her face. "So, we're working with a dark wizard who for some reason must want these artefacts."

"Is he powerful?"

Aurelia nodded. "Quite." She thought back to when he attacked them. His spells were powerful, and he was barely knocked off balance by the two of them. There was no doubt that the duel could have continued on for much longer if they had not escaped. "He clearly has a large network if there were people working at the ministry watching you."

Kira looked at them, her expression turning grave. "We're messing with someone powerful. We have to be careful if this is going to work."

They nodded. "I can go out and gather supplies tomorrow. So, we can keep moving from place to place. We can't rely on just this place alone."

"It's a good safe place if things go bad, but you're right. We need to be able to be on the move and be prepared for anything." Evan looked around the room, perhaps reminiscing about the house.

"Are you sure you won't be followed?" Kira asked, concern reaching her eyes.

"I'm sure." She had spent months in training and a few years as an Auror. She had often needed to be stealthy and was well-versed in the ways of concealment.

"Good," she breathed. "Evan and I will try to find some more information."

"I've got that massive library. It has books about all types of magic, especially dark. Powerful witches and wizards. There has to be at least one on Dhara Horne. And knowing my family, possibly something the ministry won't even have."

"Got to thank them for being so pretentious."

"It's the one thing they're good for."

Aurelia looked at the two of them. What were they getting themselves into?

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Next update on Monday, 6 March
At least I think Monday is the 6th

Hope you are enjoying!

- walkingmasterpiece xx