Cold Case Set On Fire

"I think that is a very wise choice," Kate said. They were interrupted by the scurrying of one of the house elves into the kitchen to start some of the yeast dough for the large homemade cinnamon rolls that Angus made for breakfast every day.

"Oh, Suki," Kate said. "I did not realize it was time already to start the rolls."

"Takes time to rise, it does," Suki nodded. She noticed the new child. "We have a guest."

"We do," Kate said. "This is Ekko. Ekko, this is Suki, one of our house elves. You'll like her, I think. Suki, let's be sure she has all she needs, yes?"

"Yes, Mrs. Lupin," Suki answered.

"Would you ask Marcus if we could borrow some of Poppy's things, please?" Kate asked.

"Yes, Mrs. Lupin. Shall I prepare a room for her too?"

"Please, and see if we can't give her a room close to Anabelle's tonight."

"They could perhaps share the pink bathroom," Suki suggested.

"That would work, I think," Kate said.

"Straight away, then," Suki said, snapping her fingers and disappearing.

"There is a pink bathroom upstairs and it sits between two of the guest rooms--the rose room, and the blue room. Each of those two rooms has a door opening into the pink bathroom. I should think you two should be able to manage to share a bathroom for the night," Kate said. "Suki is going to get clothes for you, Ekko, and to start the fires in the rooms. Breakfast is at 7 am, but you should take your time. The house elves can fix you a plate whenever you wake up.

"Feel free to make yourselves at home. There is always awake staff here, and the house elves can help you find anything you need or want. There is a tapestry bell pull by your beds that summon one of the house elves to you. You are free to continue to drink your tea or eat, as you like. When you feel like you want to go upstairs, the blue room is the fourth door on your right, the pink bathroom is the fifth door, and the rose room is the sixth. No hurry."

"I can show 'em!" Abbey said cheerfully.

"Yes you can," Kate laughed.

"You gotta come for breakfast," Abbey said. "Aggie makes these cinnamon rolls every day that are this big!" She used her hands to show a big circle the size of a salad plate. "They're so good! And there are eggs and berries and potatoes and sausages..."

"It's all served buffet style," Kate laughed, looking at them. "The kids get excited about breakfast because they get the freedom to choose whatever they want. Lunch and dinner are not usually buffet. You ladies are certainly old enough to make your own choices. Now, is there anything either of you need before you decide to go relax for the night?"

"Stories, Gram! And sparkles!" Abbey chimed. "They need stories and sparkles! You should see the libarry. Its gots lots of books."

"Library," Kate corrected gently. "There is a house library, if you choose to find something to read. It isn't overwhelmingly big but Robert has done a good job, I think, in stocking a little bit of everything. If you're a book-a-holic like Abbey and you need a little reading to take your mind off the day, that's the place for you. Its on this floor and its the third door on your left down the hallway. Or little Miss Abbey would be delighted to show you, I'm sure...."

"Don't forget the sparkles, Gram!" Abbey sang, wanting to be the perfect little hostess.

"Maybe they don't like sparkles, Abbey," Kate said.

"But you and Papa make the best sparkles!" she pouted. "Show 'em!" Kate smiled, trying to repress a slight giggle and decided it was easier just to appease Abbey.

"Alright, but just a few. They might annoy Suki while she makes her dough. And they look better in the dark anyway. Dragonflies, then?" Abbey nodded. Kate looked up at the ceiling and gracefully tossed up her hands towards the ceiling as if she were just casually tossing a handful of fairy dust up towards the sky. Graceful little sparks of multicolored light flew out of her hands and danced into formation as beautiful sparkling multicolored dragonflies flitting happily across the ceiling and making brilliant displays of colors with their wings. Abbey was delighted and laughed, fascinated with the colors.

"If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go see how the others are getting on. If you need anything, I'll just be in the living room. Abs, don't be a pest, will you?"

"I am never a pest," the four year old looked at her grandmother and watched her leave the kitchen.

Ekko still wasn't sure how much she could trust Hit and the others, exactly, but right now she didn't think she had much of a choice but to interact with her and everyone else. She should probably stop being so negative about the entire situation and make the most of it. But make the most of what, exactly?

"I'd actually like to visit the library." Hit said softly, suddenly sounding a little embarrassed. The Gryffindor loved reading books even though she didn't really like doing it when she knew other people would be around because they'd, no doubt, mess it all up for her. She had all sorts of books in her trunk at Hogwarts that were all different genres and lengths and all that other good stuff.

Both Hit and Ekko looked at the dragonflies in awe, Ekko's eyes widening with glee as she followed the dragonflies flitting around with her eyes. "They're so pretty!" she exclaimed, wanting to reach out to try to touch them. She felt Hit finally take her arms off of her shoulders and Ekko found herself almost pouting because of it. She looked at Hit and noticed that she'd moved her arms away because she was also entertained by the dragonflies flitting about.

After Kate had left the kitchen, Hit looked at the two younger girls. "So Ekko, do you want to go take a bath before going to bed? You can go first, then I'll go once I get something from the library to read." Ekko bit her lip, she didn't think she wanted to leave Hit's side right now. Besides, she wanted to make her talk about her shoulder that was still slightly exposed through the torn clothing that she had yet to change out of. She must have forgotten about it.

"I- I think I'll go to the library with you, then I'll take a bath." Ekko responded shyly.

Hit nodded. "Then, Abbey, will you show us where the library is, then our rooms?" she asked softly, tucking a strand of loose hair behind her ear.

"Sure!" Abbey said. Then she whispered. "You wanna know a secret? Gram comes upstairs when I get ready to go to sleep and she always makes more. Papa makes pretty sparkles too, but Gram's are better. Don't tell Papa I said that." She motioned to them. "Gram," she called, "will you make more sparkles upstairs?"

"I'll put sparkles in every room if it gets you back to bed," Kate called, laughing. "You can read for a bit, and then I'll be up."

"See?" Abbey looked at Ekko and Anabelle. "And they stay up on the ceiling all night long." She walked down the hallway to the library and turned on the light. She heard an annoyed bird screeching. "Oh, sorry, Archie," she said, looking over to the corner of the room to a where a large perch was being occupied by an equally large bald eagle. "That's Archie. Gram taught him to do owl things for Mama. He looks mean, but he's not. We can pet him, and he won't bite--not like some of Papa's pets."

Abbey made her way over to the shelf where there were some easy chapter books. She'd read some of these, but she was always eager for more. She had been looking for a particular book but she wasn't finding it. She went over to the sofa, got down on the floor and looked under the sofa. Sighing, she got the book out from under the sofa.

"My sister does that," she said, unhappy with Dakota. "She's the same age as me, but she doesn't like chapter books like I do. So she gets mad and hides the ones I like under the couch because she thinks I don't know where she puts 'em. Uh oh. She gots some of Mama's and Gram's favorite fiction books under here too. You want a good book? Better look under the couch."

She took the book and then went over to the picture books. A couple of those for good measure would be good too. Once she had her books, she plopped down crosslegged on an oversized ottoman and opened a book to wait politely for the older girls. A library was always a wonderful place to be, so as far as she was concerned, they could take all the time they wanted. She would wait.

Abbey's sisters were both younger, and she was thoroughly enjoying having some older girls to be around. Abbey was sometimes frustrated because she didn't have much in common with Dakota or Julia. Abbey was different from her sisters in a lot of ways. She was brighter, more inquisitive, and more mature than a four year old. She was an incessant reader, and had yet to find much of anything, other than James Blood, that she was afraid of. The world was full of adventures that were just begging for an opportunity to be taken.

Abbey also had had bursts of accidental magic practically forever, so she had always had just taken it all in stride. Her siblings didn't experience it and didn't understand it. They thought she was weird when it happened. That made her feel alone and sometimes lonely, and it drew her often to the adults for comfort.

Once in awhile, she saw things or knew things that other people did not know. Gram said it was okay, and said that the women in the family all could see things. Sometimes it was a good thing, and sometimes it was a horrible thing. Gram saw lots of things, and Mama could see things too.

And then there was that other thing that happened to her that did not happen to her brothers and sisters. Abbey sometimes had fur. That seemed like it always had been part of her. When she got excited or got near a place to swim, the fur just happened, and she changed forms into a Labrador puppy. She couldn't explain it. She couldn't control it. Nor could she change back. She always got stuck as a puppy, and it always took Papa to change her back. Abbey didn't know where it came from, but it was not something her siblings did. It made her feel always so different.

And it was part of the reason she was so drawn to these older girls tonight. She longed to not feel so different just for a little while. She knew she was too little for them, but it was fun pretending, just for tonight, that she had new friends.

Hit looked at all the shelves in the library, feeling just a bit overwhelmed by all the books there. It wasn't as much as the library in Hogwarts, obviously, but it was certainly more than what she had at home. "You know, you're a really lucky girl, Abbey." Hit smiled at the younger girl who'd sat down with an open book. "I wish I had all this to choose from at home."

The taste was bittersweet when talking about home. She loved her house, she really did, just like she loved her family but they didn't care about her or the things she liked. It's not like she needed them to care about her anyways. But it would've been nice to have someone there with her besides Ryo (she didn't mean that in a bad way) to celebrate her seventeenth birthday.

With a sad smile on her face, she gently picked out a book from one of the shelves and sighed contently. It looked interesting and was certainly not one she'd read before so it would definitely keep her occupied. Out of the corner of her eye, Hit could see Ekko standing beside her, trying hard to find a book to read. Maybe a little too hard, though.

Hit laughed softly as she bent down so she was at the same eye level as the younger girl and said, "Find something you like, Ekko?" She saw the little jump the other girl did when she spoke and laughed again. "Oh sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

"I don't know what to read.." Ekko commented softly, shaking her head.

"Well, what kind of things do you like? Maybe that can help you find something." Hit said, trying to help her out.

"Um.. I like stories about magical creatures.." Ekko replied softly, suddenly feeling her cheeks get hot. She liked stories about magical creatures, meaning vampires and werewolves, and she just found out she was one. Was it weird?

"Okay, so magical creatures it is. Why don't you read this book with me? It's about vampires. You can probably learn a few things about them that way too." Hit offered. Ekko nodded but continued looking at the shelves. She probably wanted her own book to read anyways. ".. and what about this one too?" The Gryffindor pulled another book, a shorter one, out on the same topic. Ekko extended her hands out to take the book from Hit and smiled.

"This works."

"Good, okay, I think we're good to go then." Hit said softly and looked at Abbey. "Wha'cha reading about?" She asked, accidentally getting informal though she doubted it really mattered much with the little girl.

A frown formed on her lips briefly as she thought about a hippogriff who would be afraid to fly. It was a sad thing. she thought, to have such an amazing ability but be too afraid to use it. Of course she knew it was only a story, but Hit had a habit of getting too into stories. It was probably why she liked books so much.

"Yup, that works." Hit responded, a nod from Ekko following her words. The frown on her face had been lifted, but she looked at Ekko with sad eyes. She thought the younger girl was being too quiet, almost like she was afraid to speak too much and she wondered if it was just because she was scared or if it was because of something that had happened to her while with the werewolves.

Ekko gave her a curious look and Hit just shook her head, following Abbey out of the library and up the stairs with a slightly confused Ekko following shortly after.

She knew Abbey was annoyed with the portrait but Hit couldn't help but say, "Well, I think he's just trying to look out for you. It is the middle of the night and a little girl like you needs her beauty sleep." She said with a soft laugh escaping her lips. The other girl seemed surprised to see talking portraits and she couldn't really take her eyes off the thing. Hit assumed, by her reaction, that she'd never really had those things in her home when she was with her mother.

She wondered how Ekko felt about not having her mother anymore. It had been a year since her death, but it must still hurt. She didn't want to ask, though, that'd just be plain insensitive.

Hit looked into the blue room after Abbey mentioned it. The pajamas that were there were her size and she thought about going in to change but decided she would continue with the two girls until they at least got to Ekko's room. Hit listened to Abbey but watched Ekko, being drawn to the younger girl's curiosity about how things seemed to work in this house. Hit was curious too, obviously, but watching Ekko made her think about Naomi and how curious she had always been about things. A small smile had found its way onto her lips and she laughed softly when she heard Marcus and Abbey's conversation.

"Good night." she called softly before turning her attention back to Ekko. "I'll go to my room now. You go change and settle down with the book, I'll come check on you in a bit. If you need anything before I come, though, you can come get me." she said softly with a slight wave as she walked back to the blue room.

Ekko had only nodded in response to her words and walked into the rose room where she quickly changed into the pajamas laid out for her, which were slightly too big for her so she assumed the owner was a little older than she was, before settling into the bed with the book Hit had given her in the library. She stared at the cover for a while, wondering what it would be like for her to live as a vampire instead of a human.

Judging from what she'd already been told, it wouldn't be too different considering she was only half and didn't have as many needs as full vampires did.

Robert knew those that had been out during the night might well be tired so he delayed breakfast to give them a bit more time to sleep. He was up at his usual time, had dressed, had a cup of Earl Grey, and had composed an owl to send to Lorcan D'Eath, summoning him to the Minister's office at 10 in regards to a matter of importance. He knew it would force D'Eath to hand over the running of Slugs and Jiggers over to his staff for the time needed for the meeting, but it wasn't as if Lorcan was all that dedicated to being there every single hour it was open. As in every other rule, there were exceptions to when D'Eath took time away from the shop. Robert was merely going to insist that today's meeting be one of them.

He busied himself with paperwork he had brought home. He was certainly not wasting time by being home at this hour. He had plenty to do. There was always some financial thing to handle, and today it was in signing and issuing paychecks. There were many that needed taken care of, and it was his custom to check each of the paychecks themselves. He wanted to check that each time card had been calculated correctly, benefits applied correctly, and that every galleon and sickle that each employee had rightfully earned was given appropriately. As often as he could he can the Ministry issue bonuses for things like performance, good attendance, raising personal performance skills at work, or for some exceptionally well done or above and beyond task that deserved extra recognition. He still signed every single paycheck once they had been through all the checks and balances. He was down to merely signing all of them now, but with all the employees the Ministry had, that did take some time.

Brian came downstairs dressed for the day and grabbed a cup of French roast coffee.

"It's awfully quiet this morning," Brian observed.

"We were up late last night, so I decided to let everyone rest a bit longer," Robert said. "Oh, I sent an owl off to Lorcan D'Eath. I need to meet with him at the Ministry this morning to at least inform him he has a daughter. I do not intend to take Eleanor--Oh, Ekko, as she prefers to be called. I do not know how D'Eath will take the news of an illegitimate child."

"He should hardly be surprised."

"I agree, but still, this is an adult conversation, and I prefer to not have the girl there until he has been allowed some time to prepare."

"I know she deserves to know her father," Brian said. "But, perhaps we're rushing it. What if he isn't ready for her?"

"Then we can keep her here until we find out what his intentions will be. However, we cannot keep her from Hogwarts forever. She needs to be in school. Medically, I could certainly provide enough documentation for an excuse to the headmaster that would allow some time for her to recover from her ordeal, but that wouldn't last forever. She does need time to sort herself out a bit. However, D'Eath himself, if he is not opposed, may be actually good for her. After all, biologically, there is hardly anyone better for teaching her what a half vampire is than her very own half vampire father."

"I'd like to be with you," Brian said.

"Because you don't trust me?" Robert asked.

"No," Brian said. "Its him I don't trust. He's only friendly with you when he wants something."

'I know, and I only contact him when I need something. We're both very aware. If you're expecting him to warm up to a bromance with me, you would be sadly mistaken."

"Be careful, Robert, let you find him as a frenemy."

"Yes, well, I don't see that happening either. The fact that we can be in the same room for a moment without attempting to murder each other hardly qualifies us as frenemies either. If you must categorize it, why don't you just file it under 'Business' for right now?"

"If it is business, then, might I bring Anabelle, since she was a major reason we found this child at all?"

"If you and she both think she is ready to be part of a discussion with a father who is about to be told he has a child he knew nothing about, then, I have no issue with it. That is between you and Anabelle."

They both started to smell food and started to hear the familiar sounds of the breakfast board being set in the dining room. He was sure it would be filled to almost overflowing with just about anything anyone could imagine.

"Please tell Suki to keep the food hot until everyone has had a chance to eat this morning," Robert said. He heard Kate's and Khaat's footsteps on the stairs, and where Khaat went, Marcus always followed. Edward was probably always up and would probably be emerging from the gym at any moment.

Khaat's little ones would be getting up soon, and, if he knew the house elves, Dottie was going upstairs to enchant the guest rooms to not pick up quite so loudly on the noises in the upstairs, to perhaps help them to avoid being rooted up rather rudely. Dottie would do no more than turn down the volume on the hallway noises. The smell of food, Dottie would do nothing to interfere with that. Anabelle and Ekko were welcome to sleep or get up. Whatever they chose. Either was perfectly acceptable

Hit shifted in the bed, eyes struggling to open as a beam of warm light hit her face gently through the light colored curtains that were supposed to cover the window in the room. She placed an arm over her eyes, a soft sigh escaping her lips as she let herself get a bit more oriented before she allowed her arm to fall from her eyes, which blinked a few times to adjust to the light that was entering the room.

For a moment she'd thought everything that had happened the night before was only a dream. However, she was pulled from that thought when she realized that she was not in her bed at Hogwarts but instead in a bed in one of the guest rooms of the Lupin's home. The thought caused her to sit up in the bed, the movement provoking a small whimper to come from the other side of the bed.

The Gryffindor turned her head toward the sound, where the final bit of proof that what had happened had been real laid. The ten year old girl they'd gone to rescue the previous night lay, still sleeping, beside her in the bed. Hit questioned it for a moment, Ekko had been given her own room, so why was she in the same bed as Hit now?

Oh right. After she'd changed into the pajamas provided for her, Ekko had waited for Hit in the rose room but grew bored far too quickly and had gone to the blue room in search of the older girl. She'd found a half shiftless Hit standing in the room, facing away from the doors, with a bandaged shoulder that Ekko remembered she'd wanted to ask about again. The eyes that had fallen onto the blanket that was pulled up over her legs now focused back onto the younger girl beside Hit and she brought her hand up to touch her injured shoulder. Ekko had seemed really disappointed to learn that it had, in fact, been Dylan who had injured her.

Hit hadn't wanted to answer her at first in fear of that same reaction. The girl didn't need anymore trauma. But Ekko had been insistent and she'd ended up having no other choice but to tell her.

Ekko hadn't wanted to go back to her room after that and the two of them had stayed up a little longer, reading. When Ekko had finally fallen asleep, the book laying flat over her stomach, Hit had moved both books to the table beside the bed and she'd gone to bed as well. Now as she looked at the girl, Hit wondered if knowing how dangerous Dylan could be would affect her in any way. Thinking back to her encounter with Dylan, Hit had noticed that he'd seemed a little too protective of Ekko. Like there was something more to his protection than what he'd wanted to show. Like he had actually cared about her.

No way. That couldn't be it. A werewolf caring for a vampire, that was a funny thought.

The smell of food had begun to come into the room and Hit carefully removed herself from the bed. She'd let Ekko sleep in for a few more minutes, she'd decided while she got herself ready. Luckily, her clothes from before they'd gone to get Ekko were ready and Hit quickly changed into them. She put her hair into two low ponytails that fell neatly in front of her shoulders and she returned to the bed where Ekko had barely shifted her position.

"Ekko." Hit said. "It's time to get up." she cooed softly, causing a slight stir from the younger girl. "C'mon, hurry or you won't be able to eat." she said as a joke, hoping hunger would wake the girl up.

"Mm.." Ekko softly protested, slowly being drawn from her sleep. Hit remembered having to do this often with Naomi when they were younger, her sister having developed a habit of sleeping in longer than she should. The ten year old's eyes fluttered open and she sat herself up, rubbing her eyes as she stretched and let out a small yawn. "I'm up, I'm up." she said softly, before moving off the bed and blinking up at Hit. "You're changed already?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'll probably be going back to Hogwarts after breakfast. I can't go making the Headmaster angry, can I?" Hit replied.

"Oh.. Will you come visit me?" Ekko asked softly.

"Yeah, definitely. Whenever I go to the Ministry again, I'll ask Brian if I can come." she answered. "Now go brush your teeth and we'll head downstairs to eat."

Ekko nodded and ran off to brush her teeth, though Hit noticed she seemed slightly disappointed that she would have to leave soon.

Shortly after, the two girls went down the stairs and toward the adults. A yawn escaped Hit's lips, though she tried her best to keep it in. "Good morning." she called to them, stopping with a smaller figure shadowing her.

"Good morning..." A softer voice called from behind the Gryffindor, where Ekko stuck her head out from behind her.

"Good morning, ladies," Robert smiled. "Help yourself to breakfast. Plates are on the sideboard. If pancakes are your speed, the pancakes this morning are white chocolate chip, and there is warm raspberry syrup in the red glass pitcher. And Suki makes a mean omelet to order."

The breakfast buffet was generally a large spread because it fed so many. There were always eggs, bacon, sausages, potatoes, fruit, toast, Angus's enormous cinnamon rolls, pancakes, and just about anything else that could be inhaled by the family and staff. The family never seemed to get lunch at the same time, and because of the long work hours, dinner was not together either. Breakfast, however, was typically something they could make time to do as a group.

"How did you both sleep?" Kate asked, pouring herself a cup of tea. "I didn't hear a peep out of you all night. You both tuck in, now, and get yourself a good breakfast. Take your time and get what you want. Brian will take you back to school when you're ready to go, Anabelle, but there's no rush. And, Ekko, we do have to see about getting you some clothes today, and since I am a partner at Madam Malkin's, we can make sure you have everything you need."

"Can I go, Gram?" Abbey asked.

"Not this time, my dear," Kate laughed.

"But we should buy more books!" Abbey protested.

"It depends on what Ekko wants to do," Kate said. She looked at Ekko, amused with Abbey. "She really will survive without more books, but you really should give a bit of thought to what you think you might need or want. We'll get it taken care of straight away."

Ekko's eyes followed Hit as the older girl grabbed plates for the both of them and handed one to her. She followed behind her, watching her grab what she thought was too little food for Hit, having only gotten some eggs and bacon, and a spoonful of diced fruit. Ekko looked down at her own plate which had bacon, sausages and pancakes on it. Comparing the two, Ekko knew that she had grabbed more food that Hit did, and that meant that she would be eating less. Wasn't it supposed to be the other way around?

"Aren't you going to get more food?" Ekko asked.

"No, I don't ever really eat a lot. Especially in the mornings, never have that much of an appetite." Hit responded, shaking her head.

"Appetite.." Ekko, well, echoed. "Oh, okay."

That was strange, Ekko thought to herself. Or maybe it was normal and she just never noticed since she was always hungry when she woke up. So were the wolves she had lived with up until now. They were always too hungry, she remembered thinking at one point.

Hit set her plate down, and Ekko placed her own next to Hit's. "We slept fine, at least I did." Hit responded to Kate's question.

"I did too." Ekko nodded.

"We talked for a bit, read and then went to bed, though Ekko beat me to that part." Hit laughed softly.

Ekko looked down at her plate, almost out of embarrassment, but started laughing as well until Kate mentioned Brian taking Hit back to Hogwarts once she finished her breakfast. She frowned briefly, but didn't want to seem sad or angry or whatever she would come off as so she tried her best to make it go away, despite what she felt.

"I don't mind if Abbey comes along," Ekko said. "I think it'd be fun to look at books with her after getting clothes."

It felt strange, having people care for her. The closest thing to caring for her she'd gotten at the den was when Dylan got her new shoes once her old ones had finally been worn out so bad that they tore. And the shoes hadn't even actually been new. Just a pair he'd found somewhere. But it was more than what any of the others had ever done for her, so she hadn't complained.

She guessed being at the den was a chapter in her life she was supposed to put behind her now that she was away from there, but it didn't change that she was going to miss Dylan. Or that he'd hurt Hit. She already knew that Dylan could be dangerous when he wanted to be, but she'd never really seen him hurt anyone or anything, so she'd always assumed that he more docile than everything made her think. Than he'd made her think.

Guess she was totally wrong in believing him.