Family Trip to Romania

"Well, it seems they've been here for some time. At least that ugly old woman was. She's gone now. " Khaat laid the death eater's wand on the nightstand. She had never used the killing curse before. It was, after all, unforgivable. Not that it stopped anyone else from using it if it suited them.

"Thank you, "Khaat said, as Miseria helped her clean up the blood and the wounds that they could see, at least at this point. She made a mental note to ask Miseria or Rob to repair anything they didn't find. "Tonight it was only the one old woman, but we may wake up to something totally different tomorrow. Who knows? Do not--not--go outside without either Rob or me. It appears that your father was into something extremely dangerous. And, yes, I do know at least part of it. What's important for you to know right now is that we're safe for tonight. I'll tell you everything in the morning. I am so sorry to have awakened you. But when I knew she was out there, I had to go ward her away from the house. Believe me, she isn't coming back. Ever."

"I didn't have a choice. It was that, or she was going to kill me. My best guess is that she either hoped to lure you outside, thinking you would be easy for her. Or she figured I would be just plain stupid. She tried to stun Rob this evening, but he certainly was onto her and stopped her before she got away with anything. He told me about it when he got home. I don't know--either she figured he was too strong to mess with, or she wanted to eliminate us one by one. I used my seer abilities to see what happened to your parents. As I said--I'll tell you about that later. But your dad was a very good man, very brave. So was your mother. And they loved you with all they had. One thing I do know is that they did not want you to be alone, and they did not want you to go trying to get revenge for their deaths. I'm positive of that. Your father and mother died trying to stop the dark arts from taking over. The same thing my uncle died for. My uncle once said, 'There are some things worth dying for.' What I saw of your parents told me that they believed that trying to stop the dark arts was definately worth dying for. And if you want to go to their funerals, we will go. I am not worried about that for one moment. Don't you worry about it either."

Khaat sent Miseria back to bed, and then Khaat changed into her comfortable long white gown that was meant for lounging but she sometimes slept in it too. It was amazingly elegant for just lounging, but it was also deceptively cormfortable. When changing she found a couple more cuts that she and Miseria had not found. She found, strangely enough, some muggle first aid supplies in the bathroom--gauze and tape. It was enough. She knew sometimes they used that in Hogwarts too, although it seemed silly to her.
Exhausted, Khaat fell asleep, sitting on the bed, leaning against the headboard, Remus's wand still locked tightly in her hand, an angry black bruise forming up at her hairline on the left side of her face. Just one more annoyance, she figured.

Khaat rose early, just before sunrise. She dressed and cleaned up her room, and hid the deatheater wand in her bag. She decided to wear a pair of jeans, tan suede boots, and a long tan suede coat. She put on tan gloves and took her bag with her. Everything she needed was always in her bag. And this morning, she had the wills of Miseria's parents inside.

She took a walk and found, on the edge of the forest, what clearly was a wizarding owlery disguised as a local farm. She paid the farmer for the use of an owl, write a scroll to Jess Potter at the Order and sent it at once. She asked the farmer how to find the local ministry office, and he was happy to tell her it was hidden in a flat above the coffee shop. She would have to wait at least an hour before it opened. She thanked the farmer and as she did, he warned her about the sharp increase in death eaters and deaths in the village, mentioning Miseria's parents. Khaat thanked him.

She went to the coffee shop and ordered a large cup of strong, black coffee.
To her delight, they used large stoneware mugs here, similar to what she preferred at home. She sat thoughtfully, enjoying the first cup of coffee for the day. As she sat there, an old man with a long white beard came in, dropped off a copy of a newspaper to the owner of the shop and then, standing behind Khaat, hissed in her ear, "Return the prophesy or die." He glanced up, smiled at the shopkeeper and told him to have a nice day, and left. Khaat left her coffee on the counter and returned to the house, with a bit of a quickened step, seeing the old man nowhere at all now. Seeing not another living soul, the streets eerily deserted. Evil was thick in the air today.

Khaat came in, smelling food cooking already. It was comforting. Gave her a sense that life did go on. She didn't like knowing she had had to use the killing curse. And she definately didn't like the danger she knew they were all in.

"Good morning" she said to Miseria, "Boy, is it cold out there today! But, I've been busy. I found the owlery and found the ministry office. They're not open yet. It really is pretty early, I guess. I found the coffee shop. This really is a pretty town. And they do manage to keep the wizarding world very well hidden, I must say." Khaat took off her coat, and conjured herself a cup of her favorite french roast coffee in her favorite large stoneware mug. "Coffee, Miseria? Or tea?"

"Accio!" Khaat summoned the blue velvet bag. "I found this yesterday. I think your father somehow got this. Someone passed it onto him, I think, because they knew it involved your family. I don't know if you've ever seen one of these before. It's harmless now, but that's a prophesy ball. The prophesy inside can only be retrieve by who it was meant for. The ball is empty now. It was meant for your and Rob and me. I retrieved the prophesy from it yesterday. Your father died because he had this, and Voldemort's followers wanted it. He died because he was protecting the information this prophesy contained. He wanted to protect you. He loved you so, so very much. You were the only thing on his mind. You and making sure you had a chance to meet Rob and me, and makng sure you had a long and happy life. That's what he wanted for you. And your mother died trying to protect him and the prophesy. But your father hid the prophesy very well. It took me a bit to find it."