Carys looked at Noah and Hermione, who were with her in Sebastian's room. A week had passed and he still hadn't waken. She rarely left his bed, and Noah left it only when absolutely necessary. They both felt incredibly responsible for what had happened to him. The good news was that their employers understood the situation and didn't make a big deal out of them missing their respective training sessions. The good news was that they'd read through just about all of Voldemort's journals and found a lot of spells and potions that did an array of gruesome things. Hermione thought that they could successfully be used on the Dark Knight as she wouldn't be prepared for them.
"Okay, what we do know is that the Dark Knight isn't Desdemona." Carys said, gesturing to the chart she'd made. "But, what we do know from the journals is that it was Desdemona that Voldemort trained with, that taught him and instructed him in the Dark Arts. She was the one who he answered to, and she was even more ruthless than him. He was scared of her, and even at the end, wouldn't dare defy her or do something that she hadn't sanctioned."
Hermione nodded. "I read the passages, and performed a bunch of tests. They're all accurate and legitimate."
"Right. That's where this whole bit gets scary. Whoever this is, I think it can be safe to say that she's more powerful than even Desdemona. Because the only way that the Death Eaters wouldn't disband after the fall of Voldemort is if there was someone right there to take over. And the entry the day of his death tells us that she was still in charge."
Noah tapped the chart. "So Desdemona is our link here. In order to find out who is greater in power than her, we need to find out about her. And if someone took over from her, I think we can safely say that she didn't give up power willingly, and is probably dead."
"That's a safe assumption," Hermione agreed, running her fingers through her hair. She was tired, it was past midnight, and they had been strategizing for hours. Harry, Draco, Ron and Ginny had gone to a meeting of the Order to discuss the newest findings, and Luna was in bed asleep. Hermione didn't know how she could be a part of the family she was and not be involved in the Order.
Carys suddenly sat up, and grabbed one of the journals. Used to the behavior, because ideas struck her in the same manner, Hermione leaned back in her chair and waited for the younger woman to explain what it was that she had figured out.
"These spells."
Hermione shifted to look over her shoulder, saw the section Voldemort had done on the protection spells that he had used. "The protection ones. The ones that can only be used on someone that is, for all intents and purposes soulless?"
Carys nodded. "Those would be the ones. I have an idea."
Noah rolled his eyes. "Why am I not surprised?"
"What if we can use them on inanimate objects?"
"They still wouldn't do us any good. We don't need to protect the bookcases from curses."
Carys was still off on her tangent and wouldn't be distracted by her cousin's negativity. "No. Remember how Voldemort was killed? He had to be hit in the head by a curse. The ones that hit him in the chest reflected off and all the ones that Uncle Harry sent at him alone, he could deflect. It was when he had twice the power from your spell, Aunt Hermione, that Uncle Harry was able to defeat him. I don't think he was soulless enough to use the spells on himself." She pointed to the date, which was marked with the day that he had tried to destroy the Potters. "My theory is that he developed these and decided to try them the night that Uncle Harry got his scar."
Hermione was following along pretty well. "And that they didn't work. But then he didn't have the last Horcrux made. He had a little over a quarter of his soul left at that time."
"Yes, which is why I don't think he could use them. They nearly got him killed. And Voldemort, from what you've told me and what I've researched was the type of wizard who didn't make the same mistake twice. He'd have probably put the charms on chairs and maybe a cat or something, and then cursed them." She flipped the page to the next entry, which was after he'd regained his body thirteen years later. "He used a dog, but that's all relative."
What she was getting at suddenly struck Hermione. "My God it's brilliant!"
Noah's head snapped up. He'd been falling asleep in his chair, but the shout from his aunt made him wake up suddenly. "What's brilliant?"
Hermione ignored him. "It works like a Muggle bullet proof vest, doesn't it?"
Carys nodded. "That's my theory anyway. We'll have to try it, see if it works, but I think that we could use this. Since the journals were still in Malfoy Manor and covered in dust along with everything else, I don't think she looked at them. She doesn't think that she needs any help. She was very cocky. If we become impervious to her curses, then we might just have a fighting chance at winning. And," she looked at her aunt, slightly nervous for the first time. "I've been working on a few spells."
Hermione's interest was instantly piqued. "Spells? Really? Let's see them." She rubbed her hands together. She'd been developing spells since she was Carys' age. It was still a hobby of hers, working on a few that would help with everyday things. Magic was always changing and growing. It was natural that new spells and curses would need to be created. And new Unforgivable Curses were invaluable in the defeat of Death Eaters. It had been a curse just out of development that she had made up that had defeated Voldemort.
Carys shook her head. "The only thing I've tried it on is a few spiders that I found in the attic the other day, and it worked on them."
"That's a promising indication. What is it?"
"Neco torqueo. It's Latin."
"Death and torture." Hermione murmured, nodding as she went over the curse in her head. "I think it might work." She laughed as a thought struck her. "There have been three Killing Curses invented in the history of magic. Two of the people to create them are sitting in this room."
"It's like evolution, I suppose." Sebastian said from the bed, shocking them all into silence. "Makes a great leap every few millennia."
And then the room erupted in a flurry of activity. Carys launched herself onto the bed with Sebastian, raining kisses on his face. Hermione dashed to the fireplace to Floo Harry and Noah woke up for good, saw Sebastian's eyes open and patted him soundly on the back.
"Oh my God, you've had us so worried." Carys crushed him in a hug tight enough that Sebastian swore he felt his ribs pop and then slapped him. "If you ever pull anything like that every again, I swear to God I will kill you! What the bleeding hell were you thinking jumping in front of that?! You nearly died because I was stupid enough to take her on." And then she was crying, and holding onto him. Hermione laid a hand on Noah's shoulder and slipped from the room. As much as she wanted to see and hold on to her son, Carys needed a minute alone with him more than anyone else did.
Sebastian shifted so that she was curled up in his lap. She pressed her face into his shoulder and sobbed, wrapping her arms around him, holding him as if she was seriously considering never letting him go again. And truth be told, that was exactly the thought running through her head.
He didn't say a word until she'd gotten herself back under some measure of control. When her sobs had quieted to the hiccoughs, and her arms had loosened their grip on him, and he felt that she would listen to what he said, he spoke.
"It wasn't your fault," he whispered in her ear, "If I hadn't cast that fire spell on her, then she probably would have let us go. If I hadn't done that, we would have had time to figure things out. But I thought that would give us enough time, and when it didn't, she was going to kill the two people in this world that would hurt me the most. And I'd have rather died then let that happened."
Carys didn't answer for a long time. She just held him, and let him hold her. "I thought that you had died when you fell like that."
"So did I."
Carys pulled back and looked him in the eyes. "I'm sorry."
"Nothing to be sorry for. I made a choice, Carys, and if I was in the same position, I'd make that choice again in a heartbeat. It wasn't really a choice. If it came down to you or me. To Noah or me. To anyone that I love and me, there is no choice." He smiled at her, and she felt her heart melt. "That's what love is, isn't it? Caring about someone enough to be willing to give up your life for them? Besides, I know you. I didn't do anymore than you would have had you been in the same position that I was."
Carys couldn't argue with him. Nor did she tell him that she was halfway convinced that she was going to have to die in order to escape from her prophecy. At that moment, the only thing that mattered was that he was awake, and he was alive. That was the only thing that she cared about.
Acting without really thinking about it, Carys closed the distance between them and pressed her mouth to his. She wanted to be as close to him as was humanly possible. She had truly thought that she'd lost him. And she didn't want to lose him. He was one of the very most important people in her life. One of only two that had ever nearly given their life to save hers.
His response was instant and hot. He took immediate control of the kiss, tongue sweeping into her mouth, hands gripping her hips so that he could lift her to allow himself to sit up completely. Once she was settled on his lap, he concentrated on kissing her.
His mouth was firm and unrelenting. Every time she thought that he was going to soften the kiss and let it be gentle and sweet, she was proven wrong. It was hard and heated, lighting a fire somewhere around her belly that traveled up and down her body until she felt that she was going to dissolve into a Carys puddle. She truly thought that she ceased to exist as he took her under.
Their fingers twined together, he eased back from her slowly, drawing her back to the surface of consciousness without her ever really realizing it until it was too late and he had ended the kiss and pulled back. When her eyes opened, he was grinning, and appeared very pleased with himself. She sighed and nestled her head against his throat.
"Damn you, Sebastian, you're too good at that for my own good."
Sebastian grinned. "Thanks." He kissed the side of her head. "Are your legs functioning yet, or do I need to give you another second?"
Carys had to think about it for a moment before shifting off of him so that he could get up. He ran one hand through his hair, cast her another cocky grin and opened the door to hug his parents. Harry, Draco, Ron and Ginny had just gotten back and Harry was anxious to see his son.
Draco poked his head in the door, lifted one eyebrow at his daughter. "What's wrong with you?" he asked, taking in her still slightly shocked expression.
Carys couldn't help but giggle. She'd never lied to her father in her life and wasn't about to start when she knew the expression he was bound to make was one that she would treasure for the rest of her life. "I finally know why he can take a girl to McDonalds on a date and still get invited up to her dorm?"
Half afraid to ask, Draco covered his eyes for a second before sighing. "Why's that?"
"Damn the boy can kiss."
And as she moved past him, Carys was assured that her assumption had been right on the mark. She'd treasure that look for many years.
-->