AN: Sorry for taking a while to post. College is kicking my ass. I am also currently writing a play, encouraged by my theater teacher.

Chapter 2

From Bad to Worse

I eyed the small window across from me. It was only a few meters away, but there is no way a simple lock would deter two determined Death Eaters.

Knock knock "Open the door, mudblood."

"Nobody's home." I would have to book it. And break through the glass.

"Well, in that case…" The door slammed into my back. It seems that the inbreds weren't going to play nicely, not that I ever expected them to anyway. Bloody heathens.

I took a few breaths to prepare myself took off for the window. The door slammed open just as smashed my way out of the glass and into the courtyard. My shoulders hurt like a bitch and glass shards were making their way into places glass should never be, but still I got up and started running. I could worry over cuts in strange places later. For now, it was either run for it or face capture at the hands of Death Eaters. If it came down to it, I'd take the muggle mafia over Moldy-shorts and his inbred asskissers any day. I turned a corner…

And smacked into Antoni's chest.

He was accompanied by his own little band of rifle wielding thugs. "

"Ballerino? What is the rush?' His eyes wandered over my face, taking in the glass and shallow scrapes. "Have you been in a fight with a glass factory? What has happened to you?"

I snuck a glance behind me, but didn't see any pursuers. I decided to play it safe and stay with a witness. "Long story short, people are losing their minds."

Antoni heaved a sigh. "A person may be smart, but people are stupid. Come. I will escort you to your car."

My heart took residence in my throat with the thought of being left alone with Death Eaters on my trail. I grabbed his arm and attempted a smooth and less harried tone. "I lost my friend in the crowds and I really don't wish to stay here and wait for him. Could you drive me home, Toni? I'm frightened."

The italian Casanova flashed me a reassuring smile. "Who am I to deny a lady that pleads so sweetly? We are neighbors anyhow and driving a little farther would hardly be a burden."

So we left, and I didn't see hide nor hair of the Death Eaters.

Antoni dropped me off at Blood Moon Manor with a farewell and good night. I opened the door entered the cool foyer, calling for my family. "Nate? Sam? Sully? Please tell me you got the crucifix?"

"In the drawing room, Mia!" Nate's voice shouted from down the left hall. I shook my head with a small grin. Of course they were in the drawing room; the room with a cabinet full of good alcohol. I could hear laughter as I made my way to the drawing room. However, the sounds of joyful celebration was a little odd. It seemed… louder. Their voices bouncing off the walls to create a drunken cacophony. It almost sounded like there were more than three people in the room.

I turned the corner and stumbled to a halt.

Sully was stretching out on the long couch, holding a crystal tumbler of brandy. Nate and Sam were standing by the fireplace with matching cups.

And joining them in the room, lounging in my home as if it were their own, were several Death Eaters. Lucius Malfoy, Dolohov, Thorfinn, Greyback… Professor Snape was hiding in a dark corner of the room.

Nathan noticed me and waved me over, grinning broadly as if he wasn't surrounded by muggle hating men. "Mia, join us! We're celebrating our victorious raid of a mafia ran household."

I stepped into the room with no small amount of caution. The Death Eaters lounged like panthers, appearing relaxed yet ready to pounce at any moment. "Hey, Nate. Sam. Uh… who are these guys and what are they doing here?"

"Good friends of mine." Sully took the shortened cigar out of his mouth and snuffed it on a ceramic ashtray. "They heard about your little treasure hunt and offered to help seeing as Rafe is still looking."

I was on the verge of panicking. "I thought this was just going to be a family thing. And by the way, who in the hell is Rafe?!"

Sam and Nate looked away bashfully. Nathan nudged his brother with his elbow and Sam began his confession. "Look, when I said we found that crucifix ten years ago, we had some help finding it. We had been hired by Rafe Adler, some son of a very rich man that didn't want to be known as only a rich heir. He heard this old tale alluding to a treasure and he hunted us down to help him find the first clue. He's the one that got us into the prison."

"After…" Nate's eyes pinched in pain. "When I got back home without Sam, I pulled out of the hunt. I guess Rafe decided to continue searching, but he's hunting blind without our expertise. Unfortunately, he hired Nadine Ross and her paramilitary organization, Shoreline, and they have a shoot first ask questions later approach. We figured that if Rafe hired some muscle then it wouldn't hurt to have some of our own."

There is no way that Sully knew these monsters. I have a feeling that my family had quite a few of their memories altered. "Nice of you to tell me that now. I would have known to prepare for a rich, little whiner playing at treasure hunter! Anyway, wouldn't it be easier to slip by undetected in a small group?"

Sam shrugged nonchalantly. "You guys are the ones with magic. Can't you all just abracadabra yourselves invisible?"

"That's not how it works." I rubbed my face in despair. These bloody Death Eaters had done something to my family and it seems like they're here to stay. "It's likely that Avery set traps to prevent magic from being used. He lived among muggles after he left the wizarding world and came to respect them. I get the feeling he wanted whoever was hunting his treasure to earn it."

The wizards in the room heaved a simultaneous groan of irritation making me smile with sadistic glee. Perhaps I could work it to my advantage. If Captain Avery truly set up anti-mage traps along the route to Libertalia then maybe we could lose them on the trail. Maybe they'd even meet their deaths.

"Oh!" Nathan reached into his black duffel bag and pulled out the crucifix. He held it to me grinning like a loon. "We've been waiting for you. Wanna do the honors?"

With a roll of my eyes I took the crucifix from his hand and examined the piece. The cross itself was made of wood, but the statuette of St. Dismas and the ropes tying him to the cross were bronze. It was old, over 300 years, and was probably worth a small fortune. "St. Dismas, the repentant thief according to the christian bible. I know there is a cathedral built in his honor in Scotland." Sam held out his hand and I passed it over without thinking. "The next clue is probably somewhere in the…"

A sudden snap and thud drew my eyes to my cousin. Seeing him toss a hammer aside and holding the now broken crucifix nearly sent me into shock. "Hope I don't go to hell for this.*"

"That crucifix is over 300 years old!" I managed to choke out. Sam, the prick, only shrugged in response as if to say 'what can you do'.

Sam's face crumbled as he peered into the center of the cross. "It's empty."

Everyone in the room seemed to gasp at once. "What?" Nathan looked distraught. Sam shook the cross and a roll of parchment fell into his hand. Sam chuckled darkly as Nathan and Sully grumbled in humor. Sam shot me a wink and unrolled the parchment.

Sam's eyes were glittering as he read over the slightly faded ink. "Look there. Hodie mecum eris in Paradiso."

"Today you will join me in paradise." Nate translated with excitement.

"That's what Jesus said to Dismas on the cross, but…" He looked back down at the parchment and pointed at the eight numbers on the bottom. "What do you make of these numbers? What can they mean?"

Fighting hard not to roll my eyes, I stated the obvious. "Those are dates. The year of his Avery's birth and supposed death."

Sam thumbed the parchment. "So we have the year he was born, the year he died, and Paradise? That means we're looking for Avery's grave."

"At St. Dismas Cathedral." Nate finished with a grin. He picked up his bag and rummaged through its confines.

Sullivan seemed a lot less than enthusiastic than the boys. "Wait a second. Rafe has been scouring that site for ages and has never found anything."

"He what?"

My question went unanswered as Nate held up a map of the church grounds. "Yeah. The Cathedral. The symbols on that paper are ones found on old Scottish gravestones. He's been searching in the wrong place this whole time!"

I placed a firm hand on my cousin's arm. "Have you forgotten that Rafe was at the Auction? He'll be expecting you to show up. And let's not forget that he has an army for hire to back him up."

Sam shrugged off my concerns. "We have that paper and we have your magic, and the magic of Sully's friends! We'll be fine."

Rolling my eyes, I plucked the paper from Nate's hand and looked over the back. Sure enough, I saw exactly what I anticipated. Viktor Krum had spilled many a secret about Durmstrang. I didn't have a gag reflex due to my parents being dentists and checking my teeth thoroughly almost daily, and men tended to run their mouths when… distracted. I knew that Durmstrang and Durmstrang alone had this neat little rune spell that suppressed magic of those in it's perimeter. "I wouldn't count on our magic. The rune up here on the upper left corner is a warning to those who know what the rune means. I was right; Avery has left the path to his treasure strewn with runes that will prevent us witches from using any magical aide."

There was a sudden cacophony of noise from the unwanted guests. They shouted their distaste at being unable to use magic. I felt no sympathy. I smiled smugly at Lord Malfoy, reveling in his stormy expression. "Sorry, but you'll have to rough it muggle style if you want to tag along."

Nate's phone began to ring. He pulled it out and blanched upon reading the caller id. "I have to take this." He apologized before rushing out of the room.

Sam and Sully shared a look, not nearly as friendly as it should've been between old friends. I wanted to dispel the heavy air. "With so many more mouths to feed and defend, it's going to be a few days to gather guns and provisions."

Sully nodded firmly. "Noted. I'll make a few calls and see what I can do to speed things along. Sam?"

My cousin and a man that might as well be family walked out, leaving me alone with Death Eaters. I didn't turn away from the fireplace to address them. "I don't know what your goal is or what you want, but I won't let you hurt my family."

Malfoy scoffed, swirling my family whiskey in my crystal tumbler. "I could do I wanted to you and those filthy Muggles right now and there is nothing you could do to stop me, mudblood."

"Oh?" I remembered just how out of the loop these men were and couldn't help but smile. "Can you tell me the name of Avery's ship?"

He stilled, his grey eyes widening. "What?"

"What. Is the name. Of Avery's ship?" My smile grew wider, darker, when they remained silent. "No? Then list me the names of the Pirate Lords that helped Avery build the Pirate city. What was the name of the city?"

Malfoy didn't answer. Because he couldn't. It emboldened me.

"You have no idea what you're doing or where to go. You couldn't go a day without using magic. You are completely out of your element, out of your depth, and out of your mind if you think this will be some idyllic stroll in the park." I could feel my smirk growing. "I already have a mental list of who is going to tap out and quit, and you sit at the very top."

Malfoy spluttered in rage, his pale face a vibrant red to rival Weasley hair, while Fenrir Greyback laughed at his expense. "She has a point."

Angry silver eyes landed on the towering werewolf, a flicker of fear of the man-beast present amidst the fury. "Well what about you?! You're not exactly an expert in treasure hunting!"

"But he does have experience hunting in the wild." The man has been on the run from the Ministry before I was gestating. "The only one that worries me here is Greyback. Out of all you boneheads, he's probably the only one that can go without a wand for a few weeks and not die in some stupid and easily avoidable manner."

Greyback laughed again, taking joy in Malfoy discomfort. Though proud by nature, he had to admit I was right.

I stretched my arms above my head and made for the hallway. I wanted out of these bloodied clothes and a long soak in a hot tub. "We're going to be here for a week collecting provisions for the trip. If anything should happen to my home or family, you won't live long enough to regret it. Do I make myself clear?"

Dolohov scoffed, downing the whiskey from his own cup. "I'd kill you before you could pull out your wand."

I shot him a dark grin. "You could try."

With that, I made the trek to my room. I was tired, achey, and reeling from the events of the day. How had the Death Eaters found out about my cousins and the treasure? Why would they want in on the hunt? They had plenty of money in their family vaults and lived in the lap of luxury. Why brave the wilds for treasure?

Of course. For the gold. Because enough is never enough.

A feeling of foreboding swelled in my chest at the thought of the upcoming journey. The only reason my family was still breathing is because they're useful. The moment we find Libertalia… well…

My fist hit the wall with a resounding crack as my knuckle broke through the plaster. A sharp throbbing pain immediately made me regret the action. All this trouble started due to some Durmstrang graduate wanted a bit of adventure in his dull, pureblood life. Fucking inbreds.

My spine straightened as I hit with a sudden thought. Viktor graduated from Durmstrang. Viktor Krum, my date to the Yule Ball two years ago, who went camping with his brothers in the wilds of Russia to learn survival skills.

I grinned with wicked glee. If Sully could invite his so called friends, then there's no reason why I couldn't.