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Her silence caused Zeb's eyebrow to raise. Had he perhaps been to rough with her? Was he rushing her? No. He knew that she felt the same way that he did. Her eyes, her words, her body, it all told him that she wanted him. Really, he was surprised at himself for his moment of doubt. This woman certainly knew how to throw him off. But not for long. Her hands in his, so tiny and so trusting.

Pulling her along he walked with long strides to the inn. All the while his hands hungered for her. His fingers would run over her hands and up her arms, brush her hair back, run down her back, circle around to hold her close. He was going crazy. Every time the wind kicked up the smell of her hair and skin seemed to bombard him and send his senses craving for her. The walk to The Three Broomsticks had never seemed farther.

Finally they reached the inn but Zeb stopped her just before the door. His face was mostly serious save for the amused curl at the corner of his mouth. One hand slipped behind her neck and the other around her waist as he leaned down to kiss her. But this kiss felt different. His head spun with the emotions it conjured and he didn't break it as he reached down and cradled her behind the knees and up into his arms again. Kicking open the door he carried her across the threshold and up the stairs. His lips moving from her lips to her neck and back again, trusting his legs to find their way while he lost himself in her charms.

Zeb's lips trailed from Carynn's lips down to her jaw, nuzzling, kissing and his teeth gliding over the surface of her skin. Slowly he was working his way down her neck. Just as he reached her collarbone and his kissing was growing more passionate, he lifted his foot to start up the second set of stairs which led to his third floor quarters. At that moment, a pain jolted through his body that was unlike anything that he had ever felt. No. No, that was a lie. He had felt that before. That night.

As the pain split through his skull and raced through every part of his body and he dropped to the ground, the foot that had been lifting dropped quickly. He hit his knees and Carynn slipped from his arms as his hands flew up to grab his head and he fell over to the floor. His teeth ground together and all of his muscles stood taunt as he fought against it. Opening his eyes, the warm brown was gone flat as in that moment he was pulled back thirteen years.

It had been very late at night. He was staying with his parents for a few days. They were scared. They had been getting death threats, were being followed, his mother was terrified to walk outside. Zeb was so proud of them. They had known the sort of trouble that they would get in, but they had done it anyway. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's Death Eaters had been hunting Muggle borns with ruthless intent. The older Adolphus' had been hiding anyone on the run and the Death Eaters had found out. They had managed to move the other people along but there was one Muggle Born left at their estate. A little girl, only seven years old. Her parents had decided to move all of the way to the United States to get away from Voldemort. They were finding a house and taking only the essentials, but it still took time.

Little Nester Banks had been a awfully cute. But it had been years since Julius and Olympia Adolphus had raised a child and this one was incredibly rambunctious. Zeb had been relieving them for the last few days by wrangling the brat. He kept her busy by teaching her to ride and old, worn out broom that barely hovered, taking her down to the garden and showing her the dangerous plants, and especially the stable where they had a Aethonan tamed and stabled there.

Walking down to the stables, hand in hand lest the little brat fall and break a leg or run off into the forest, he grimaced as he entertained another barrage of questions.

"Do you have a Crup?"

"No."

"Do you want a Crup?"

"No."

"Why not?"

Zeb sighed. Turned with an annoyed glance down to her bouncy red curls and bright green eyes. Melting slightly to her cute little girl charms, he resisted the temptation to ignore her completely. "I'm really busy now. I don't have time for a dog, magical or otherwise."

"Because you have a girlfriend?"

"Y-No." he corrected. "My career keeps me busy. But when I do have time I like to spend it with my girlfriend, yes."

"Don't you play for that team that never wins?"

Zeb's jaw tightened and worked irritatedly. "We win sometimes and things are getting better. You see, what happens with a sports franchise is sometimes you need to get some new players and move positions around to try to find chemistry with the players. Plus we are developing a lot of new plays, I rea-"

"Are you and your girlfriend getting married?" Apparently his Quidditch talk was boring her. She tugged on his arm eagerly and smiled as she asked.

"Someday." He averted. He had been averting that question. He knew that he loved her. But he wasn't sure if he was ready to take that step. At least not yet.

"Do you have any babies together?"

That was why the question had been coming up. She had been hinting at wanting to have a child. Zeb didn't know what he wanted. He was twenty-four, his career was on the way up, he had tons of fans and a beautiful girlfriend. Why couldn't it just stay that way for a while? Did he have to become a husband and father now? What was the rush?

"No. I don't have any children. In fact I usually feed children to Acromantulas. I have made a special exception for you, so don't make me reconsider."

Nester giggled. Her red curls bounced as she hopped along next to him happily down the stairs to the stables. Each time she landed her tiny pale hand squeezed his tighter. Like she was so sure that he would keep her from falling. Zeb smiled as he hopped along with her down the last few stairs. Nester giggled as they reached the bottom and looked up at him with adoration.

Zeb smiled and lightly cuffed her chin. "Come on, little Nessie." The nickname that he had given her, saying that she was a tiny monster. They walked into the dark stable and it was very quiet and a tangy, pungent odor hit his nose immediately.

"Aw, Bella didn't whinny to me. She always whinnies to me." Nester tried to tug away from him to go to Bella's stall. Zeb gripped tighter and pulled her near his side. He hadn't heard struggling from the stable but the smell of blood was unmistakable. Maybe it is a wild animal. he hoped wishfully.

"Lumos." The tip of his wand illuminated the area. Walking slowly over to Bella's stall, he couldn't see her . Looking over the half wall he jumped quickly back, pulling Nester away before she could see. It wasn't a knife, it was a curse that had done that to the winged horse. But where were the stable hands, and the regular horses. Zeb pulled the fussing girl to the next stall.

"Zeb, I want to see Bella. What is wrong with Bella? What is going on Zeb?"

He peered over the stall of one of their cart horses and jerked back again. Frobsen was just an ordinary horse but he had been killed the same way. His white-gray coat was stained with blood that flowed out of his eyes, mouth, ears and deep gashes on it's belly.

"We have to go quickly, Nessie." He stooped down next to the girl. Her bright green eyes were wide and pooling with tears as she began to tremble.

"Zeb...what is wrong with the horses?"

He took her by the shoulders and held her firmly. "Listen to me right now. You stay with me. You don't run off unless I tell you to do so. Alright?"

A tear raced down her cheek as she nodded but he saw her eyes drift over and she screamed. Her sweet face contorting in terror as she pointed over his shoulder. Spinning quickly and shining his wand into the empty stall behind him, he saw their stable hand Rupert. The same curse had been used on him as well. Zeb pulled Nester down the aisle and away from the body. Turning back he looked down at her again. "Quiet Nessie. You need to be quiet or what did this might find us. Alright? Shhhhh. We just need to get to the house."

Nester pursed her lips but her little nostrils were flaring hard and she strained not to make a single noise. Not able to help, he leaned down and kissed her on the forehead. "You can do this, little Monster. Quiet and quick. Pretend it is a game. We need to get to the house without being seen."

Zeb hadn't meant to be so hard on her at first, but his heart was pounding and his mind was racing. He was a Quidditch Player, not an Auror. If it had just been the horses, he might have hoped that some disturbed criminal was passing by and killed a stable of beautiful horses just to be sadistic. But when he saw Rupert's body, there was no mistake. This was Deatheaters. They were here and killing every living being that they found on the property. Which meaned that they were after his parents and the staff at the house now. He and Nester must have somehow passed them. They had taken the path from the rear gardens. But if the Deatheaters went to the front then they never would have seen or heard him and Nester talking.

All and all, paths didn't seem like the safest plan. There was a small apple orchard on the east side of the house. He just needed to weave through that and be careful. If he could make it to the east side of the house then they could go through a window.

Just get to the house. Mom and dad will know what to do. Well look at that. Twenty-four years old, professional Quidditch player, owned his own flat and had a gorgeous live in girlfriend. And now just wanted to get to his mother and father for help. He had never felt so scared. Not so much for himself, but the petrified, shaking little girl at his side.

The new moon and threat of rain kept the skies black and ominous. The only light that guided their way was the faint glow from the large estate and Zeb's intimate knowledge of every inch of his family home. The apples were red and ripe on the branch and Nester tripped several times over fruit that had already fallen on the ground. Zeb caught her each time. Zeb had put the light out on his wand but it was still out. Running every counter-curse, jinx and deflective spell he knew through his mind. Nester seemed to have gone into shock. She was quiet and followed him like a zombie.

Reaching the side of the house, everything still seemed to be quiet. Maybe he had been wrong. Maybe Rupert had killed the horses and himself all with the same horrible curse. Making it to the east side of the sprawling mansion, he pushed on one of the first floor stained glass windows that decorated his father's study. The window swung open and he lifted Nester up. She tucked her tiny legs up as she passed into the house and then stretched her little toes searchingly for the floor. But as he set her down, she wouldn't release his shoulders.

"Nessie." he whispered. "You have to let go so I can climb in."

Her arms trembled as she slowly released him. As she pulled back he saw a shell of the girl that had walked with him down to the barn. Her fair skin was a deathly pallor. Her bright green eyes were wide with fear and haunted by death, her confidence and spunk were sapped away to nothing. She stepped back but kept ahold of his one hand. Sighing he started to pick his leg up onto the window ledge when he heard a shriek.

"Mum." he froze and spun in the direction of her scream. It was the rear gardens. Looking back, Nessie's chest was heaving.

"I want you to go and find a place to hide, alright. Go and hide." She was shaking her head no, her head gripping his so tightly. Reaching up he grabbed her wristed and pulled her hand off. "Nessie, I have to go. You just hide and don't come out, no matter what. I will find you. Now go." She just stood there, her hands reaching out tentatively for him. "GO!" he bellowed. She spun and ran for a hiding spot and Zeb took off for the South side of the estate.

When he finally found them in the gardens, after nearly falling over one of their maid's dead bodies, killed as she was fleeing, he saw the killers for the first time. Three of them. All cloaked in black, with their cowardly masks on. Deatheaters. All four where attacking Julius and Olympia at the same time. The old couple was back to back, flinging off curses and getting a few of their own shots in, but not enough to do real damage.

He knew that he only got one free shot. After this, they would know that he was there. He had no experience with dark curses, but the bloodshed tonight was enough to make a believer of him. Taking a deep breath he tried to focus his emotion. He needed to mean it. He had to be sure that he was willing to live with the consequences. The tallest one called out 'Crucio' and Olympia fell to the ground, her sixty year old body wracked in pain as she screamed out.

Before he could step out to stop them, they stopped themselves. Another dark cloaked figure was joining them from an adjoining path, seeming to have come from the house. The hedges were thick and their dark robes blocked his view. He struggled to see what they were doing as his mother and father gathered themselves back up again.

His mother looked over and screamed. "No! No, plea-"

The rest sounded so faint that he couldn't hear anything that was said. He shifted his position, trying to tell who the leader was from how they spoke. But then he heard one word. 'Mud-blood'. He ran. His legs pumping fast to get across the garden and to stop them.

"Stupify!" he shouted as he flourished his wand while running. The DeathEater closest to him flew back and out of the way. Now he could see sweet, little Nester. The b*****d had a handful of her hair and was drabbing her around by it. She yelped each time and tears were flowing freely down her cheeks. Where had she possibly hid? He had spent hours in this house searching for her before when they played hide and seek. She was like a shadow, she hid so well. How had they found her?

He tried to charge the group, just with brute strength. But they had a different idea. Just as he came close impact, a wand was flicked and he heard 'Crucio' before it felt like all of his bones had broken and his body had been turned inside out. The pain was so intense that he was sure he would have thrown himself off of a bridge to make it stop, if he had been capable of walking.

The pain receded and he heard one cackle, a woman obviously." So worried about this Mudblood, darling? Just look at you. Worse than your parents really. They are just old fools. But you. So young and talented. Don't throw it away. Come join us. Join us, and we will only kill the girl. Don't join us, and ALL of you die tonight."

"You leave her alone! You monsters. She is just a little girl!" Zeb spat as forced himself to standing. Nester looked more scared then ever. Her eyes were looked on Zeb's. She was silent but he knew what she was saying. 'Help me...'

"She doesn't deserve to live! None of you do!" The woman screamed. Spinning, her voice seemed to echo off far away mountains. "Avada Kedavra!"

He had never seen the dark spell in person. Running he pumped his legs as fast as they would go but her tiny body was falling to the ground before he ever made it to her. Her eyes were just distant and glazed over. Her arms limp. Growling loudly he turned on them, his parents back in the fight now as well. The fourth was nowhere to be seen so it was three on three now. It seemed many times that they were sure to die, but he wouldn't stop fighting. No, that would be an insult to her memory.

He kept reliving it. For the tiniest of moments he saw his mother's face there instead of Nester's. Death making his quick claim on her. He wasn't about to let that happen. They were about to show them that the Killing Curse went both ways. In the end, three bodies were dead on the ground near where sweet little Nester laid. It had been a hard decision. But all of them had seen too much death for one night. They needed to end it. Now he just wanted to get away. To forget.

They wanted to bury Nester but felt that her family should be allowed to make their own decisions on that. Zeb carried her tiny body into the rose garden and laid her out. He straightened her clothes, smoothed her hair and wiped her cheeks. Like he was getting her ready for school. Not laying a six year old out in her death pose. Leaning over he kissed her on the forehead, just as he had done in the stable, when he still had hope.

He had been without hope for years. Lost and wandering. But finally when he had came back, met someone that he felt he COULD have hope with, now this. He KNEW the feel of dark magic. Letting out a deep breath he pushed himself up from the floor. Reaching out in a panic for Carynn. "Carynn! Are you alright?"

He didn't know who, how or why this had happened tonight. He only knew one thing. He wasn't going to run this time.

Zeb couldn't understand what he was seeing. Carynn seemed to be covered in something white. He couldn't see a single strand of her bright red hair and rushed over to her. Reaching out he baffled as he touched the white and realized that it was her hair. Brushing the long white hair back and seeing her pale skin, red eyes and white hair, he now understood why she was so pale. She looked so exotic and beautiful in his arms. His skin was a burnt gold all year long and he looked so dark and muscular next to her pale, slight frame in is arms.

Looking over her he noticed a few scars that he hadn't seen before. But he wasn't concerned with that. Sitting on the floor he pulled her over to lay across his lap. Gently brushing the white hairs back from her face he stared down into her eyes. "Tell me what do to. How can I help?" he asked softly, stroking the side of her face.

His eyes flicked up and around. There was no one here. He hadn't thought so. It had been a strange feeling. Like almost blow-back from a nearby curse, something weakened but still from a powerful source. Something even more powerful than the Deatheaters that they had killed years before. And it felt...different. He couldn't put his finger on it. He had larger concerns.

Looking back to Carynn, concern tightened his features. His deep voice wavered ever so slightly as he spoke. "I'm so sorry I dropped you." Leaning down further he kissed her temple gently.

Zeb had always been into appearances. In many ways. Not only did he always date the most beautiful and glamorous women, they had to be pureblood as well. It had never been about prejudice or elitism, more like appreciation and tradition. He loved the female form and was ready to appreciate the most lovely versions of it around him. As far as dating pure blood women, it had seemed like honoring a institution by keeping his dating pool to pure-bloods. More like he was missing out on something by respecting a family ritual.

The woman that he had loved as a young man and had left behind when he ran, she was exceptional. She had been a Chaser of Ravenclaw's Quidditch team and top of her class. She was from a pureblood family and was jaw-droppingly gorgeous. That was the sort of woman that he had always dated. Perhaps on some level it was what he felt that he deserved.

After all, at six foot four inches and two hundred and ten pounds of muscle, Zeb was a pinnacle of masculinity and physical condition. His heredity gave him a year round deep tan, dirty blonde hair and warm brown eyes. All surrounded by sculpted features. Beyond that his family was wealthy beyond reason, well connected and respected by Ministry officials and their surrounding community. Then he became a professional Quidditch player and it seemed like his life was complete. He had the ultimate life. Even now, he was still quite a catch.

But none of that was going through his head as he looked at the slender body cradled in his arms. After many years, Zeb had realized that he was not perfect. And now he knew that this woman had a flaw as well. But that flaw was not the color of her skin or her eyes, not the weakness of her vision and certainly not the scars that lined her pale skin. Her flaw was her insecurity. This beautiful, talented, adventurous, amazing woman was ashamed of the person that she was. It was the most ridiculous thing that he had ever heard.

"I know, I look horrible without the glamour spells."

Smiling gently, Zeb rustled her hair. "So your hair is a little wild. Run a brush through it and you'll be fine."

Letting his fingers trail down the side of her face, gently took her chin and tilted her face up to look into her eyes, his face close to hers. "You are beautiful, Carynn. Whatever happened before had nothing to do with you." Leaning down he kissed her lips lightly.

Turning he spotted her wand on the floor, behind him. Taking it, he placed it into her hand but held onto it. "Do something for me. Please. Fix your vision, and then come upstairs with me. Just for tonight at least, let me be with YOU. Just you."Releasing her wand, he gently folded her dainty fingers around it. His large hands gently caressing her soft, snowy skin. Tomorrow, if she wanted, she could reapply her glamour spells. But he wanted one night to fully know her just as she was. She was the most beautiful woman that he had ever seen. To him, she was exotic. And all the more beautiful for it.

Running his hand through her long silvery, white hair to cup the back of her head as he leaned in to kiss her deeply, his lips and tongue caressing hers with passion but exquisite tenderness. His chest felt like it was pounding and swelling with emotion. A feeling so powerful, like it could rip him in two, but it just strengthened him instead. It was the strongest thing he had ever felt. Stronger even than the darkness that had touched him tonight. In that moment, Zebulon knew that he was falling in love with her.

Michael appeared along with all the other Aurors, his slightly long dark hair shiftly lightly in the wind from the others apparating in. It had been a while since he'd been to Hogsmead and frankly he wished it wasn't for this reason. Silently he was glad he knew his son was tucked safely at Hogwarts but now wasn't the time for that. Michael could only imagine what Arthur was feeling right now. It was something he always feared would happen. After Yuan came to Hogwarts he worried less about his son, but his wife held no magic and his daughter was too young to defend anyone. 'I just hope Tamara is alright when we find her, and quickly at that.' Michael thought to himself as he readjusted his glasses. Turning to look at Arthur he approached moving around the others as they appeared. "Sir?" He asked.

Professor Carynn Marie Shields

~~~

“You feel so lonely and ragged, you lay here broken and naked...

~~~~~~~

Carynn was in shock when he kissed her, she hadn't been expecting that reaction. She was used to being told that she was disgusting to look at. Carynn remembered being teased mercilessly at Hogwarts about her skin how alien she looked, and then how she was made fun of for her hair being a lifeless translucent white, the moment she learned how to perform the glamour spells that allowed her to change the tone of her skin and the color of her hair she started using it every few days. Red quickly became her favorite color.

Then when she'd left school and couldn't find work at all, she took the first offer that was willing to pay her. She wasn't proud of herself, but she took a gig modeling for a soft core pornographic magazine. As soon as she got the chance though, she tried out for a few professional quidditch teams and bombed the tryouts miserably. During school she'd been an incredible chaser, but compared to the people she was trying out against she was horrendous.

After the Second Wizard War she took the next best job working for a quidditch magazine, unfortunately that entailed more modeling until she finally managed to convince them that she was a worthwhile photographer. To most it might have looked like Carynn had the ultimate life, spending time with professional quidditch players, being the subject every every wizard boys wet dreams. But every moment of it was a sort of torture that she put up with because she felt she had too.

She was constantly being berated for her weight, her skin, her eyes....She showed up one day to work to pose with the captain of Puddlemere United and her boss yelled at her because her glamour spell hadn't covered her stomach. Then during the shooting session the captain bitched to his manager about how fat she was. Carynn barely ate for a week after that incident – actually she had hardly eaten since.

Then her agent insisted she date the keeper of the Montrose Magpies.....that had been a miserable experience. He was abusive and controlling, and there was noting she could do about it. She still hadn't completely recovered from the bruises he'd left on her arms and legs and that relationship had ended six months ago. She had to invest in long sleeves in her wardrobe to cover up the marks on her arms from when he'd drag her around.

On one occasion he had ripped a plate away from her at a restaurant, hissing that she was getting fat then he'd smacked her hand away when she tried to take it back. On another occasion she had a week off and had decided to be lazy and not spell her hair to have color. He came home, saw the translucent white that was her natural hair color and screamed at her. Then pulled her by her hair out of the bedroom and sheared her hair off.

The final straw had occurred on day when she'd been practicing her violin and her singing one day when he came home from one practice angry about something or another and smashed her violin in, then he'd grabbed her by the throat and slammed her again the nearest wall. Carynn had been lucky that she'd hooked her wand into her belt, she managed to flippendo him off her then petrify him before she stole his broom stick and flew as far away from his flat as she could. She slept in a field that night.

The next day she'd received a howler from her agent telling her she'd lost all her contracts and could consider herself out of work. Carynn had amassed a small savings, but it wasn't nearly enough to survive on for long. She managed to get a small rundown flat outside of London. It leaked and she was sure she had rats, but it was home for three months until she couldn't afford rent anymore. The only work she'd managed to get was freelancing as a muggle photographer....which didn't pay well. She spent a month backpacking through London, taking work where she could and and spending nights in hostels, watching her savings dwindle and knowing her reputation was being smashed to pieces and there wasn't much of a chance she was going to find herself a decent paying job. She managed to secure some work modeling for the muggle magazine Maxim UK, but she was miserable doing it.

Carynn mechanically allowed Zeb to close her fingers around her wand. She was still in shock that he thought she was beautiful. Her first reaction was that he was lying to get her in bed....but his voice was too sincere. Then he'd asked her to fix her vision and nothing else and she blushed she brought her wand up to her eyes and touched them muttering, “ Occlumenus” There was a bright white flash from her wand and she blinked, in a split second the cones and rods in her eyes had rearranged themselves. She opened her eyes and for a moment her pupils took on a very feline shape before rounding out back into a more humanoid appearance.

She had a moment to focus on him and realized there was no physical injury on him before he pulled her into a deep passionate kiss. She whimpered softly against his lips and when he pulled away the emotion welling up in her spilled over and she burst into tears. She had never felt so safe, so cared for, so loved in her entire life.


~~~
...my love is just waiting to turn your tears to roses..."

"That should be easy enough. They were alerted to our arrival, so hopefully they'll be waiting for us." Michael responded. "The Headmistress would probably be the easiest. Shall we, or would you like me to go with Conners and Ward?" He asked after a moment of thought. Linda would be the best to find, she probably had a better idea of the situation then anyone. Then again it wasn't his call. Michael always hated the moments before the hunt truly began. It was like the moments before all hell broke loose and your body started to hum with adreline. Thankfully he learned to control that feeling long ago. After all the last time he let it take him he ended up at St. Mungo's with injuries from the perp....and from his wife.