Black Roses

Drowning in Blue

A few minutes after Theodore gave up trying to remove the tension that was crackling through the air, I decided to break the silence.

"Who is she then?" I motioned towards the witch whose sandy head was still bent towards Kingsley's, still deep in discussion. "She's clearly in charge of this group. What should I know about her?"

Titan snorted. "Nothing."

I cocked my head to the side, irritated by his attitude. "What do you mean?"

Titan balled his fists up angrily. "You're just a newbie. You aren't one of us. You don't need to know anything!"

The last phrase was almost shouted. Theodore tried to calm him down, and Anthony leaned over to me.

"Don't mind him," he chuckled. "No one pays attention to him anyway."

I smiled and inclined my head in thanks, but the old wizard had already returned to whatever dreamworld he seemed to permanently inhabit.

Theodore, having coerced Titan into a resentful silence, turned to me. 

"You are quite right,' he said. "She is our leader, of sorts. Her name is Europa Alliandra."

Beautiful. What a beautiful name. I watched Europa as she continued to talk with Kingsley. She was serious and sensible, but also immensely powerful. More so than Titan, more so than Theodore - perhaps she could even have been a match for Kingsley.

My musings were interrupted when Europa and Kingsley approached us and sat down. The other aurors sat up expectantly, and I followed suit. I guessed that copying the pack was the quickest way to get accepted.

Kingsley leaned towards us, causing us all to sway inwards as well like blades of grass in a breeze. His voice was low, as if he was afraid of being overheard.

"Europa and I -" he glanced in her direction "- have been discussing the plan of action. We have identified the village where the most recent attacks took place. From there, you should be able to track any Unforgivables and find the scene of the next crime."

He paused, waiting for... what? Questions? Disagreements? Receiving neither of those things, he continued.

"We have decided that stealth is the key. There will be no need for interaction with Muggles, nor even with the aurors currently examining the crime scene. You need to lie low and wait. Europa will fill you in on the rest."

Kingsley rose, and, with a curt now and a swish of robes, was gone. Europa looked at us, her gaze lingering on me for a few milliseconds longer than it should have done, before she spoke.

"Kingsley summed it up. Stay on high alert. This killer is dangerous, and won't spare us if we make a mistake."

"So no mistakes," Titan said through gritted teeth.

"Precisely," Europa agreed. She rose up and the rest of us did so too. "There is not a moment to lose. Any questions?"

There was one. From Io.

"What were you discussing with Kingsley? It seemed very serious. It can't have been just what you've told us now. There must be something more."

Europa gave the younger witch a look that made her shake slightly, before replying. "We were considering potential threats to the mission." She looked at me again. "We need everything to go perfectly, or lives will be lost. We had to address the issue of... the ability of some of our younger members."

I looked down at my feet, but knew that they were all staring at me anyway. It was starting to feel like I was some kind of freak who they had paid to come and stare at all day.

As we made our way outside, there was no talking, but everyone's minds were ticking away, including mine. What awaited us on this mission? Something scary? Painful? Sad? Would I be injured? Or would I emerge unscathed?

And the biggest question of all: would I survive?

I gulped, and focussed on the steady rhythm of my footsteps, completely out of sync with the crazed spasming of my heart.

By the time we stopped walking, I had lost track of where we had been, and when. We were stood outside the main entrance to the Ministry, in the busy streets of London. After a short pause, we filed into an empty alleyway.

Immediately, Europa started giving the aurors instructions on where to apparate to, but she conveniently missed me out.

"Black," she said, once all the instructions had been given. "You must apparate with Cassini."

I bristled with anger. "I do know how to apparate," I pointed out, annoyed.

"Good luck apparating without knowing where to go," Titan snapped, pulling me towards him by my arm.

Before I could protest any more, we where whirling around and around, trapped inside a kaleidoscope of flashing lights and blue streaks. It felt like I was drowning in the brightness and blueness of it all, suffocating as I swirled around in the spinning vortex.