Her robes had been discarded somewhere between the Ravenclaw common room and the Great Hall. Now she wore a pair of dragon hide trousers (a birthday present from who else but Chase?) and a form-fitting black top. Her eye make-up was darker than normal and she wore no jewellery apart from a small pouch tied around her neck on a piece of leather.

She spotted who she wanted. It was perfect. He'd never suspect her. Sprinting over to Coach Taurus, she ripped the small pouch from her neck.

"Gem," she said urgently. There was no time for formalities. No time to remember that Gem was a member of staff and should be addressed accordingly. She pressed the small pouch into the older girl's hands. "Take this. Hide it. Do anything, I don't care what, just do it. It's important, please."

She disappeared before Gem could question her about the contents of the pouch:

The Ravenclaw coin.

~~~

Serenity was unlike any Serenity Gem had ever seen before. Touchy, paranoid, frantic even. She ran up to her, muttered something to her and pressed the pouch into her hands then ran off. Gem frowned, distracted for one moment from the site of her father. She opened up the pouch and looked inside. A blue light glinted on her face as the Ravenclaw coin fell into her hand. She pocketed it immediatly. Prince was after it. The four objects of Hogwarts made the Black Wand, her father had told her the story so many times she felt as if she'd written it.

She looked around, now feeling just a little frantic herself. Where was she? Ah, there.

"Brooke!" She called, though the yell was hardly heard above the chaos. "Brooke!"

~~~

Brooke's heart pounded. It must be. It was happening again. And Ren, gentle Ren was under his control. Brooke de Black whirled round. She had to be there. Every instinct told her to walk away, to leave, self preservation was a strong instinct. Yet she could not. She gripped her wand tightly, ever tighter and opened the door to the Great Hall, making sure to keep behind the wood at first, to get a perspective on the situation. The scene did not calm her nerves. But, adrenalin coursing through her veins, she took in the sight. Students screaming, sobbing, shaking, most hiding pitifully under their house benches, she saw a small body on the floor and inexpicably lots of blue and purple bits coating everything. Then at the front of the Hall she saw him, a smug, arrogant all too familiar look on his face.

She heard her name called, in Gem's familiar tone and half turned when she saw, slightly obscured by Prince's bulk, another slight and slender frame.

It was her mother!

Her mother?

Her mother.

The last time she has seen her, she had been pale and wasted and kidnapped by that... that evil, fiend like a smirking devil.

And now he had brought her back, was delighting, revelling in her torment, parading his kidnap victim in front of her own daughter.

Well Brooke would see about that. Her mother had suffered enough. Now she was eighteen years old and capable of defending her mother as she knew her father would do if only he were there. Oh how she longed for her father's presence at that moment. He would see that JP off in an instant, Brooke felt.

So she left her protected place behind the door and strode out into the centre of the Hall. Foolishly walked staright in front of Prince's path.

Wand in hand, Brooke lifted her head and looked him straight in the eye.

"Let my mother go, or you'll be sorry," she said in a voice that did not shake and hoped she sounded like she meant it.

~~~

Serenity was stood a few feet behind Brooke, wand in hand. She stared definatly at Prince, but it wasn't him she was talking to. It was Brooke.

"Brooke, don't. Get out of here. Please," she pleaded. "He won't... she won't..." Serenity couldn't find the words to tell Brooke.

Her voice thick with emotion, she managed to choke out, "She did it, Brooke. She was guilty."

~~~

Yet she heard the words from behind her and knew them to be Serenity's. A flicker of something akin to anger lept into her eyes.

Those words had better not mean what Brooke thought they did. Or if they did then Serenity Gates was more of a traitor than she had suspected, or was more under Prince's power than she could have believed.

"Who is guilty?" she said icily, the Danuliete haughty tone evident in her voice.

~~~

Yet she was Daiva's, a product of the nausueating marriage between a de Black and a Danuliete, something the wizarding tabloids had whispered about for months. The de Blacks were muggle loving Ministry pets, whereas the name Danuliete was sung in the same tune as his name was, or that of his partner. Oh yes. The magical community had been shocked.

And so she stood here, wand pointed, staring him down. "Your mother is." He answered her, eyes flickering to the fourth servant. "Why don't you turn around girl?" He asked, then roughly grabbed her shoulders and spun her.

"Look about. The dead Professor? Your Mother's work. All of this, contrived by us, and your mother was not an innocent by stander. You think I corrupted her?" He asked, hissing now. "No. Your Mother was never innocent. Blood lies on her hands, and she served in Azakban for it. But she's out now girl, and you'd better face your heritage. The blood of murderers runs in your veins."

He sidestepped suddenly, turning her again and shoving her towards Daiva, sending her to the ground. "Tell her it's true, Daiva." He spat, knowing the sheer magnitude of such a revalation would be better than any curse for damaging Brooke. She had lived nine and one half years, believing her Mother's innocence, praying for her release from Azakban, and later for her escape from Prince. Now Brooke had to face the truth, and it was an ugly truth.

"Tell her."

While Brooke and her mother reconciled, he turned to the fourth servant, and leveled his wand at her. Black eyes met hers, drawing her into a silent, losing battle.

~~~

She looked at her own father, who was staring back at her with eyes as deeply black as Prince's. That phrase again rung through her head. She wanted to cut all her veins open so the blood wouldn't run there any more.

She could help hearing, the shouting, the screaming, the terror all around her. She could hear voices in her head as well as in her ears. Shouting for help, for mercy, weeping for the dead. She wanted to cry, the pain hurt, but she would not cry, not here, not now. She looked to her father once more, and could still feel the pain, mirrored in his eyes.

She eventually managed an angry intake of breath. Her face was screwed up in angry rage. it was all she could do to stop herself throwing him to the ground and strangling him with her own bare hands. He meerly looked at her with black eyes and blank smile. Derek Taurus had come to Hogwarts with a purpose and his daughter intended to find him out. But now was not that time. She had to talk to Brooke.

Turning herself back to the screaming she looked around for Brooke, she was staring into her mother's eyes. Gem's mind was balanced for seconds and she knew Prince and her father would delight in seeing her hesitate. With the scales of her mind tipping in favour she ran forward and grabbed Brooke by the hand, leading her away through the throng of people to where no one would noticed them.

"Brooke" She breathed. "I have it, what Prince is looking for. Serenity doesn't have it anymore, what can I do?"

~~~

Those were her orders. What choice was there but to obey. And she had obeyed. Using her newest gift, given by a mis-guided Gryffindor, she had followed, she had watched. Her eyes had not bothered to leave Serenity. When the Ravenclaw Servant had rushed towards Gem and pressed something in her hand she had followed.

Only then did Lys go against her orders and follow Gemini Taurus instead. Her senses were locked on the Quidditch teacher and the diversion They had caused only made her job easier. Her concentration was wholly on Gem, blocking out the shrieks and screams, though one part of her consiousness still remained fixed on Serenity.

She heard it and walked casually back to the Master.

"Sir, Serenity betrays you. She had the Item. Now she," her gaze locked onto Gem, "has it. My orders sir?"

~~~

"Your orders." He commanded Lys, eyes locked elsewhere. "Bring me Gem Taurus." He knew as he said it that Lys could not possibly defeat the Hogwarts graduate, could not bring her by force. Other means would have to be found, but just the lure of her Father would prove a most powerful persuation for the Taurus girl.

As Lys left to fulfill his commanded, he spoke. "I told you not to disobey me." He drawled, then flicked his raised wand in Serenity's direction.

"Avada Kedavra."

There was a flash of green light, more screams, and then the air began to clear. The Gates girl was still standing, shock written on her face.

Behind her, Chase Gates fell dead.

~~~

Serenity couldn't look at him, and instead turned her gaze to his companions. Danuliete was stood regarding the whole spectacle calmly while her sister was trying to persuade her to dance. Azkaban hadn't just claimed years of her life; it had claimed her sanity. And then there was Derek Taurus. She'd seen pictures of him when Gem had shared a dorm with herself and Brooke.

And now Gem had the coin. And Lys was after Gem.

Doing what she shouldn't, turning around, she let a curse fly. "Stupefy!" Lys fell to the floor, Stunned.

Whirling round, she said. "I can't let you have the coin."

Gem wouldn't let anything happen to it. She could trust Gem: she was a Beater - the one who protected you from getting beaten to a bloody pulp by the Bludgers.

But... she'd read something once while researching the Black wand. A prophecy?

She gasped. A traitor.

That's when she realised whata monumental mistake she'd made.

~~~

"Brooke," she said, "How you have grown. Quite," Daiva turned her head slightly and surveyed her, "Quite pretty too." Not as pretty as she herself had been, perhaps was still, she reflected, but a credit to her nevertheless.

Daiva smiled again. "So baby, have you come to join mummy? I knew you would baby." She leaned in closer and whispered, "They wouldn't believe me but I knew it would be you baby. The chosen one, hey Brookey."

~~~

She had absolutely no clue what her mother was talking about, but she seemed affectionate and Brooke, who had not felt her mother's arms around her, or even heard her mother's voice for nine years had the beginings of tears in her eyes.

"Course I am with you mum," she said, "I'll never let them get to you again. Dad will be so thrilled," she said wiping her eyes roughly and smiling at her mother, who had returned from the dead.

~~~

This was twisted. What kind of sick person planned this type of massacure? Or worse, went along with it! She was getting out while she still could.

Grumbling about the stupidity of mankind in general, she made a break for the door.

~~~

"Watch me!" she said happily and took out her wand. "Watch what Mummy can do Brookey!"

Daiva saw her opportunity and never one to miss it, aimed straight and true for a stupid girl, a skateboard tucked under one arm, an obvious target. Asking for it really.

"Avada Kedavra!" screamed Daiva in a commanding tone. It was all over so fast that Sky would never have known what hit her.

"Do you want a go?" Daiva said happily. "Mummy will teach you."

She hugged a frozen Brooke.

~~~

Then forcing her heavy feet to move she took a step back. One step but it felt like a collosal leap.

She couldnt take her eyes off her mother's face. She certainly couldnt look towards Sky. The memory of the body and the flash of green light and the fall replayed itself behind her eyelids. And her mother was smiling, was holding out her hands to her in a playful manner.

Brooke had not seen her mother properly for nine long years, during which time she had seen her family torn apart by scandal and disgrace. Had seen lines appear on her father's rugged face. He had lost his job as a Ministry Auror, had even been on trial at court; implicated in a possible conspiracy with his wife. She had lived in vacations with her paternal grandparents, whom, though dispproving and utterly contemptuous, could do nothing to prevent their only son from scouring the world, wearing himself out looking for evidence to prove that his beloved wife, his Daiva, was innocent, had been cruelly framed.

And now this.

"No," Brooke said the word forming onm her lips and pushing out the sound, "No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no."

She clutched at her face and felt it twist and tears rolled furiously down her face as she started to scream.