Doing Research

[Wesley St. Clare]

"Yes, well, Voltaire helped me find Natalie," Wesley pointed out, "when I'm sure he would have much rather been with you while you were in labor. But I do understand wanting to do something instead of feeling helpless. I guess, just let me know if you see anything that matches the description."

[Isabella Rothschild]

"No problem," Isabella replied. She continued to look through the book. "Um, so anyway, where are you staying? Are you staying with Alastor?"

[Wesley St. Clare]

Wesley turned another page in his book and glanced over at her. "Yes, for now. Since I was declared dead, I no longer have a house of my own. And I'm not sure what I'm going to be doing... I don't think I want to go back to work at the Ministry. I know Craven's dead and Weiss is gone, but still, too much has happened. I feel like I can't go back. Besides, I'd like to be close to Natalie. Do you know if there are any teaching positions available?"

[Isabella Rothschild]

"I think there might be," Isabella replied. "You should definitely check with Dumbledore and see if there's anything you could do." She reached an entry on Slytherin's locket, and she read the passage to herself. While the description matched the necklace Wesley had described, there was no picture that she could show him. As she read the passage, she couldn't find anything that would be so special about the necklace that would be worth killing over it. She frowned and continued to flip through the book, hoping she would find a picture.

[Wesley St. Clare]

"I may just do that," Wesley said, flipping through the book in front of him. "I feel like, after all that time away from Natalie... I need to be near her." He glanced over at his daughter, who was still sitting silently as if she didn't even know they were there. He wondered what she was thinking in that moment. He was seriously worried about her.

[Isabella Rothschild]

"That's perfectly understandable," Isabella said. "And you should be close to her. After everything that's happened, she needs you more than ever." She finished flipping through the book and picked up another one.

[Wesley St. Clare]

"Yes," Wesley agreed. "And I think... I need her just as much." He sighed. "I can't believe what has become of my family. A year ago, I had a wife and two daughters... and everything seemed perfect. We were all so close. And then Olivia died... and everything fell apart. I hope things go better for your family..."

[Isabella Rothschild]

"Thank you," Isabella said softly. "You know, it's funny you should mention last year. Last year I was a cold hearted death eater who didn't know what it meant to love someone. Voltaire... he changed all that. I fell for him almost right away, and from then on, my heart opened up and I couldn't be who I was anymore. It feels like so long ago... I was a completely different person. I don't even feel any connection to who I used to be."

[Wesley St. Clare]

"I can't imagine you as a death eater," Wesley admitted. "You've definitely come a long way. If there's anything I can do to help you get your family back, let me know and I'll be happy to help."

[Isabella Rothschild]

"Well, I've changed quite a lot since then," Isabella said. "When I fell in love with Voltaire... I began to see things differently. For most of my life, I was very angry and hurt inside. It's not an excuse, but I had a bad childhood." She shook her head. "I'm not sure why Voltaire was able to get through to me, but I am glad to have found him. Now I just need to get him--and our son--back. Things just finally started to go my way, and there's no way I'm going to let that go now."

[Wesley St. Clare]

"And you shouldn't," Wesley agreed. "There's nothing I wouldn't do to get back everything I had... to get my family back. You still have a chance... you should fight for it. And although I don't know you well, I can definitely tell that you're a strong woman. You'll get them back. I'm sure of it."

[Isabella Rothschild]

"Thank you, Wesley," Isabella said. "I hope you're right." She flipped through the second book until she reached a section on Slytherin's locket. This time there was a huge, full-color picture of the locket right one the page. She stared at it for a minute, then scanned the page, trying to find out what powers it might have. Again, there was no mention of any powers. The entry simply explained that it had been passed down through Slytherin's family and had been sold to an artifacts dealer by Merope Gaunt, the last known descendant of Salazar Slytherin. From then on, the locket seemed to be lost. Once she had finished reading the passage, Isabella cleared her throat. "Um... Wesley? Could this be it? It matches the description you gave me." She pushed the book in front of him.

[Wesley St. Clare]

Wesley glanced down at the picture. "Yes! Of course... this is it exactly. Slytherin's locket... I should have known." He read the passage quickly and was disappointed to see that it had no known powers. "Thank you for finding it, Isabella," he said. "I guess I'll have to do some tests on it to find out what powers it may have. But at least now I know what I'm dealing with."

[Isabella Rothschild]

"You're welcome," Isabella replied. "You would have found it soon enough, I'm sure, but I'm still glad I could help." Meanwhile, her mind was working quickly. If Wesley had the locket, she was going to have to get it from him somehow. If Charles was able to get the locket to Voldemort, he'd immediately be in the Dark Lord's confidences... and then he'd find out where her son was. And how she could get him back.

[Wesley St. Clare]

"I'm sure I would have," Wesley replied. "But it was nice to have the help. And someone to talk to." He looked over at Natalie, who was staring silently down at the picture of the necklace. "Why don't you come back to Alastor's house with me for a while? I'm sure he wouldn't mind seeing you. I wanted to talk to you about something. I mean, of course, if you're not too busy with the search for your son. I realize that's the most important thing for you..."

[Isabella Rothschild]

"Well, I have someone doing some investigating right now... there's not much I can do until I hear from him," Isabella replied. "In the meantime, I wouldn't mind stopping by Alastor's house. "I'd like to make sure he and his new girlfriend are doing OK."

[Wesley St. Clare]

"Good," Wesley said, smiling at her. "Angelique is stopping by later, I think she'll have the list of unauthorized portkeys with her. We can all go over it and see if we can figure out who set up the portkey that was used to take the baby." He stood up and took Natalie's hand. "Come on, Natty, we're going home now," he said.

[Natalie St. Clare]

Natalie slipped her hand into her father's and got to her feet. She didn't say anything as she began to walk with him out of the library. As they stepped outside into the sunlight, Natalie saw a figure standing across the street from her. It was Sabrina, standing there with her long blonde hair shining in the sun. Natalie froze, looking at her.

[Sabrina St. Clare]

Sabrina smiled at Natalie. "Hey, Natty," she said softly. "I want you to know that I'm watching over you. If you need someone to talk to, you can talk to me. You're not alone."

[Natalie St. Clare]

Natalie stared at her. She looked relaxed and happy and beautiful. "Sabrina," she whispered. "I don't want you to go away."