The Phoenix's Fire

Seer Searching

Chapter 2

The following day, Harry, Sirius, and Remus sat in Harry's office going over maps and records while attempting location spells in search of their mysterious Seer.

"Okay," Remus said, "this is a map of Vegas. How do we find her?"

"We could go there and search for odd people- what?" Sirius asked at his Godson's snort of disgust.

"Las Vegas attracts every type of person. People go there to disappear. Kind of like a gaudy form of New York."

"Got a better suggestion," Sirius snapped, "'cause I don't see you coming up with any solutions."

"We could use a Medea Stone to show us a place where the same magic that was used on this paper was also used. Then we could try scrying for her from that power," Remus stated, not bothering to look up from the map.

"That's a good idea," an impressed Harry said to Sirius.

"I agree," Sirius said nodding his agreement. "So when do we leave?"

"We?" Harry asked skeptically. "I, not we."

"Of course 'we.' Everything we do is a threesome," Remus replied.

"Hey," Sirius yelped. "What you two do is your own business! Don't try to drag me into it! I'm very much into girls!"

"Shut-up Sirius." Sirius just smiled. Remus continued his explanation to Harry. "You're the muscles, Sirius is the comic relief and can play 'pet' if we get desperate, and I am the brains. So, when do we leave?"

"Smiling amusedly at his friends, Harry said simply, "Tonight. In two hours we'll apparate to the desert surrounding the city."

*****

"Bloody hell!"

Two hours had passed since the three wizards had left the office to collect their personal belongings. They had apparated to the designated area but there was one problem: the gas station they were apparating to was no longer in existence and they were in the middle of nowhere.

"Now what?" Sirius snapped.

"We could apparate to the outer city limits." Remus suggested.

"Oh yeah! Let's risk landing on someone's ROOF!" Spinning around, Sirius turned his fury on his Godson. "Where did you get that map?"

"Lana."

"Who?"

"My secretary. She's been to Las Vegas before. She gave me the map."

"I suggest you fire her."

"I could just fire you," Harry said.

"Alrighty then. Everyone got their walking shoes on?"

"Sirius?" Harry inquired.

"Yeah?"

"We're not walking. We have a portkey."

"Oh. Okay, good."

*****

Appearing into the city was normal enough but one glance at the place told them all they needed to know: they were going to be there for a while. The city was large, with flashing lights and lots of cars. Glittery signs and neon lights were the theme of the place but this was not where the problem lay. The problem wasn't that it would be difficult to find an unusual person; the problem was everyone was bizarre.

"Oh bloody hell," Remus gasped. "That was a man? Sirius, did you see that?"

"Looks like a woman to me," Sirius replied, eyeing the figure ahead of them.

"The 'she' had a goatee!"

"What the- Harry where did you bring us?"

Scowling, Harry said sternly, "This is where the girl lives so this is where we have to search. The sooner we find her, the sooner we can leave." Reaching into his pocket, Harry withdrew the newest prophecy.

"We need to find a place where we won't have to worry about Muggles seeing the light the stone sets off," Remus stated logically.

Finding a narrow alley, the three hurried into it and quickly brought out the velvet bag that held the Medea Stone.

The stone was in a heart shape that's top and bottom surfaces came to a sharp point. The white rock was known to be able to sense magic from the smallest bit of power and was able to show a location that this great source originated from.

Allowing the stones light to shine on the paper, they waited. Within seconds, the ink on the paper vanished and reemerged with a map of the city and the name Alexandria de Winter at the top of the page. Before them was the exact location of the girl they sought.

"So much for scrying," Sirius grinned. Immediately the smile vanished. "That was easy. Why was that so easy?"

"I'm not sure," Remus replied uncertainly.

"Why can't we just use that to find Destiny?"

"Because," Harry said quietly, "the de Winter girl isn't trying to hide who she is, she doesn't mind if she's found. Destiny is actively trying to remain hidden."

"Have you tried it?" the ex-convict asked quietly.

"Yes," Harry replied coolly, "several times."

Shifting nervously, Remus said, "Let's go find our girl then!"

*****

"Are you sure this is the place?" Remus asked doubtfully, wrinkling his nose in disgust at the place.

Uncertainly, Sirius replied. "The map says it is."

The building was in the poorer part of town and wasn't in very good condition. The once bright white paint had dulled to a gray and had begun to peel. Windows were boarded up and the ones that weren't had bars on them. The front walk had broken concrete protruding, making it easy to trip. The yard was filled with weeds and what little grass there was, was dead.

"Well," Harry said, breaking the silence that had descended upon them, "let's go make contact."

At the front desk they were able to get the room number for a small fee from a balding, middle aged man that looked a little shifty.

Concerned about a younger woman living in a place like this with that pervert lingering about, Remus asked, "How old is the Seer anyways?"

"Doesn't matter as long as she's still breathing," Harry muttered, lifting his hand to knock on the door.

There was no answer, so after a few minutes, he raised his fist to pound again on the rotting wood. Before his fist could touch the door, it opened to reveal the girl they had come to see.

Even though it was June, the girl was dressed in ratty jeans and a long sleeved hooded sweat shirt. Her eyes were large, slightly tilted and were so dark they almost appeared to be black. She had high cheekbones and full heart shaped lips. She appeared to be about 5'6" and was model thin. Her most startling feature though- and the thing that made her truly unique- was her hair. It hung down her back, falling around her hips thick and straight. The strange thing about it though was that it was pure white, not blond.

'I've never seen that color on anyone other than an old person...' Harry thought, staring at the gorgeous woman before him.

Clearing his throat, he began the speech he'd prepared.

"Ms. De Winter?"

"Miss," she replied in a tone that made it feel as if someone had just dumped ice down his shirt. "What do you want? Make it quick."

"Maybe we could talk inside..." Letting his sentence trail off, Harry took a step towards the door but stopped when the woman raised her arm to block his entrance.

"No, we should talk here," she snapped, moving to fold her arms over her chest, glaring threateningly.

Deciding to step in before things became hostile; Sirius said smoothly, "We mean you no harm. We need your help."

"My help?" she stated, her voice condescending. "Oh please do tell me what I can do to help you. I'm just dying to make your life better." Sneering, she reached out and peeled a piece of paint off the wall before flicking it at them.

"We're here about the prophesies you sent to the Order," Harry interrupted.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Look-"

"Stay away from me or else!" she snapped before slamming the door shut in their faces.

*****

"Well, that went well," Sirius said grinning. They were just outside the run down apartment building and the sun was beating mercilessly down upon the three men. Pulling out his sunglasses, Sirius smirked. "So what's plan B?"

Scowling, Harry said, "There isn't a plan B."

"Remus?" Sirius asked, turning to his friend, "got a plan B?"

"I guess we should research her. Find out more about her and then follow her."

"Oh yay. Stalking."

*****

"Destiny?" a quiet voice asked.

"I'm alright," a weak voice murmured.

"No, James replied sternly, "you're not. You look like death."

"Maybe," Destiny sighed, "because I'm dying."

Giving her a sympathetic look, he gently sat beside her and pulled her into his arms as if she was a little girl.

"You still have a chance, but only if you return to the world of the living."

"There are only two cures for me. One will never happen and the other is unthinkable. I'll die by the time I turn twenty-two next year."

After a few minutes of silence, James drew back so he could look her in the eye.

"I can't save you Destiny but how you choose to leave this world is up to you. You could save a lot of lives..."

"Why should I?" she asked in a deadened voice, rising haltingly to her feet. "What has this world ever done for me?"

When he didn't reply, she headed for the door.

"Nothing," he said as she reached for the doorknob. "Nothing but give you life."

*****

"Alexandria de Winter," Sirius read from a small, almost empty file, "is twenty-one years old according to these Muggle files. She emigrated from France three years ago and moved to Nevada where she's worked as a good, honest citizen every since."

Throwing the files down, Sirius leaned on his hands against the table. Leaning forwards on his chair, Remus tugged the file towards himself and flipped through it.

"He's right," Remus said to Harry, "there's nothing here. She's a model citizen without even a speeding ticket. Are you sure this is the girl?"

"Yes," Harry said simply. "I have her records from France too. The de Winter's estate is just outside of Paris. Once again, entire life is perfect." Flipping open another file, Harry smiled. "Bingo! Alexandria didn't show up on the record until five years ago." Pulling out a picture, he laid it on the table in front of the other two men. "Look like our girl?"

"Yeah," Sirius replied. "So what?"

"This," Harry stated, "is a fairy photo. It was painted by tiny fairies in the late 1600's. Alexandria de Winter- this girl- disappeared at the age of 21, over three hundred years ago."

"She's pretty good looking for someone who's supposed to be a corpse!"

"Sirius," Remus rolled his eyes in distaste, "the girl IS a corpse according to these files. She's a vampire. Am I right Harry?"

"The de Winter's are one of the few surviving complete clans in the world. These vampires took in hundreds of Dark Creatures when the hunts began. Not even the bravest Aurors dared to enter that house."

"Hundreds?" At his nod, Sirius continued. "So you're thinking..."

"Kill two birds with one stone. Get the Seer and maybe get a lead on the Necromancer."

"Good plan," Sirius said nodding. Frowning suddenly, he asked curiously about how the girl had walked around in the sunlight in the hallway.

"There were no windows or natural lighting. She also works at night so she never has to go in the light. It makes sense."

Watching them carefully, Remus asked slowly, "Why do you think she would know how to find Destiny?"

Rolling his eyes, Sirius said as if it were obvious, "Because she lived in that house! She'll have contacts! Someone's bound to know where to find her!" Hopping out of his chair, he headed for the door. "Let's go follow her to work!"

Quietly, Harry asked Remus, "Do you think we'll find Des?"

Without bothering to look at him, Remus started to gather the files together. "I think we'll find her when she wants to be found."

*****

Alexandria it turned out, worked in a run down little restaurant that catered to the locals and truckers.

The building had a neon sign out front and peeling paint. The interior wasn't much better. The booths were scarred and the tables rickety. The bar up front was the only kept up part of the place.

Entering through the front doors, Remus immediately started coughing.

Where did the air go?" he wheezed through the smoke filled room.

"Come on," Harry said quietly, leading them to a booth in the back where they could watch the entire room.

It wasn't long before their girl entered the room carrying a tray of drinks. She served her costumers before heading towards their table, ready to take their orders. Glancing at them, she froze. Sneering in disgust, she marched over to them and put her hands on her hips.

"Stalking is illegal here in the states, you know."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Harry stated calmly, looking at his menu critically. "We were hungry and thought that this would be a good place to eat."

"If you wanted to eat, you're going to be sorely disappointed in what you get. This here is a BAR, NOT a restaurant. You come here to get wasted, not have a nice family chat."

"I'll have a salad," Harry responded, looking up as if he hadn't heard her, "and a coffee please."

Pursing her lips angrily, she took the rest of their orders and stalked away. Five minutes later she returned, slamming their food down on the table.

"Fine, I'll let you follow me around. I'm not going to England or anything but you can follow me and ask your questions. I get off work in an hour."

Spinning on her heel, she walked to her next table.

"Well," Harry said happily, picking up his fork, "she's certainly feisty." Glancing at the silverware, he wrinkled his nose before trying to clean the fork on his pants.