Pam doubled over as they all landed on the hard stone floor. She hated apparating, for it made her want to vomit. As she stood there, she listened to Des. She took a deep breath, and righted herself. Although she still felt sick to her stomach, she put on a face that tried not to show it. She hoped Des couldn't see through it, but she was almost positive Matt could see through her disguise. But she was okay with him knowing. She turned slowly around and scanned the neighborhood. "Well," She began. "If you want that Galleon, we better get going. Where first?" She turned to look at the others.

Jordan laughed, "Maybe you need some glasses then," he smirked at the other guy. He gave a quick look around at the houses, all of which were the same bleak, grey, semi-detatched for exterior. "Its like they don't want us to find Jez," he muttered to himself, before thinking suddenly. "Hey Keegan, how realiable is the contact? I hope we know what we're doing here - " he said, before adding; " - Not that I'm doubting you or anything," hoping that he didn't give off the wrong vibe.

"Well..." said Matt, looking around, "I see a flag off in the distance. I can't quite tell what the colors on it are though. Do you think that's the house, Des?" Matt hoped it was the right house. He wanted so desperately to wreak havoc on Team Wolf. And having it so close to him... it was a near ethereal feeling.

OOC: Sorry for being inactive guys - been busy here in Wales! I've been hopping from house to house to see everyone and not all have WiFi, plus there was the London trip. I'm flying back to Australia on the 15th (next Monday) so I should be back in action on the 18th at the latest.

THIS IS A PROMISE I SHALL CONTINUE THEN

Unfortunately I only have time to write this short and probably deeply disappointing note before I have to rush out the door for a dinner with my long-forgotten great aunt or someone, I forget who but apparently they are important enough to squeeze in to our already tight schedule.

- Freya and Jez

P.S. In a side note, I went to London over the weekend, went to Kings Cross and got a photo with the half a trolley that's stuck in a Platform 9 3/4 wall! I'm also the proud owner of Hermione's wand and a gorgeous Ravenclaw pen so I'm on a high on the Harry Potter front right now

P.P.S. Ruth and Ryan, please work on Easton getting back here, we kind of really need Nate to complete our fantastic SS five-thingy. Don't take no for an answer! Thank you

Freya, I'm really sorry, but Easton isn't going to come around any time soon. I know we need him to finish this, but honestly, he's not up to snuff in this. He's not excited about writing. The Nate we all loved, is not the Easton that's walking around.

-Ruthie

OOC: Tell him he's an even bigger Salazar Slytherin than the original (promised myself I wouldn't swear). Now let us take Timon and Pumba's advice and put our behinds in our past! And by the way, I had surgery yesterday and the painkillers are making my head weird and because I watch too much Downton Abbey I'm talking like Lady Violet so ... sorry if Des or someone suddenly goes posh.

Des squinted off into the distance at the flag. "Well spotted," she said, making a mental note to take her eye potion as soon as they got to the house. Des firmly refused to wear any glasses or contact lenses, so it was a good thing that Madame Primpernelle's in Diagon Alley did such a good job with their eyecare potion range.

She set off again at a brisk pace, which would have been classed as a speedwalk if Des ever did anything of the sort and made anyone pursuing her jog or at least pick up their pace to stay relatively near her. In absolutely no time at all they were at the house Matt had pointed out. Des smiled as they came closer, then her face fell into a scowl as she saw Keegan leaning against the door, a smirk on his face.

"Dear sister," he began as they approached, but Des cut him off.
"No time, no time," she insisted, tapping on the door in a certain pattern with her wand. After a moment they heard an answering tap pattern and the door swung open to reveal what looked to be a house-elf. He started to speak but Des brushed him aside as she hurried the three teenagers in before her, repeating, "No time, no time!" like the White Rabbit in Alice in Wonderland.

He shrugged and closed the door behind Keegan, muttering "Lumos," as he did so. Keegan had to squint at the sudden bright light after the murky dawn dimness, but as his eyes adjusted he could see they were in a long narrow corridor, not unlike the front hall in his parents' now-destroyed house, except this one had a very low ceiling that forced him to bend over somewhat. There were paintings lining the walls, and nearly all were portraits of very small people, none over a metre in height. The light also revealed that the person they'd taken to be a house-elf was actually a very old, very tiny man. His resemblance to the little people in the portraits confirmed that they were his family.

"Laura!" he called in a wheezy voice, wobbling down the hallway on a ornate oak walking stick. "Our guests have arrived!" He lead them into the kitchen where an old woman, about the same height but the few centimetres between her and the man seeming to make a great deal more difference than was usual, was setting out bowls on a low table. She was wearing a long old-fashioned dress that made her look like a munchkin from Wizard of Oz.
"Keegan!" she squeaked, adjusting the spectacles on her nose and beaming in pleasure. "My goodness, you've grown! You never had to bend over last time you came!"

"Trust me, Laura, I think I did," said Keegan. He glanced over that the teenagers. "These are Jez's friends, Pamphylia Barstow, Jordan Macey and Matthieu Valentine. They're going to help get her back."
"But they're only children," objected Laura, squinting at them.
"Fifteen years old," corrected Des, coming in rubbing her head. Evidentially she'd forgotten to crouch down to avoid hitting her head on the ceiling. "Old enough."
Laura looked doubtful but she smiled at them. "I'm Laura Kingsley, and this is my brother Percy. Keegan said you might be hungry so we made breakfast." She motioned to the table, and the bacon, scrambled eggs and a large tureen of tomato soup.

"These are freshly ironed so mind don't you get food on them!" continued Laura, picking up a pile of clothes that had just folded themselves on the ironing board. "Right ... a girl's ... that'll be yours, Pamphylia ... and two boys' ... you two can squabble over them, one's taller I think ..." The clothes were stretchy black sweaters and black jeans with soft shoes. Pretty much perfect for sneaking around and breaking people out of hostage situations.

"I'll get the stuff you wanted," wheezed Percy, shuffling out of the room.
"Perce, I can -" started Keegan, but Percy waved him away, continuing down the hall and up the stairs that now replaced the door. Keegan shrugged and sat down at the table, not bothering to take a chair as he was sure he'd crush it.

Pam followed Des into the low rising house. For once in her life, she was very happy that she was short. She didn't really have to bend over, although her head did brush the ceiling. She just had to remember to stear clear of the lights. She smiled at the small woman as she was introduced. Pam suddenly had a longing for her own mother. The one who made her breakfast, and would hold her in a time like this. She was also reminded of a time when everyone lived at her house. How they spent an entire summer at the Barstow residence, making jokes and having fun. And of Nate. Who was her only best friend in a new school.

But all thoughts were cleared from her mind as the smell of food wafted through her nose. She looked at the table hungrily, only now realizing how hungry she was. She hadn't eaten since dinner the night before, and even then was only a small amount. She was about to walk over to the table, when she was handed a set of black clothing. She realized she would have to change into these clothes, and, upon looking around, the majority of the people around her were guys.

"Is there a bathroom or bedroom I can change in?" she whispered to Laura.

As the group walked into the house, Matt soon realized how difficult this would be for him. Yes, he was only 15 years old, but he was still just about the tallest one in the group. The smell of food was something that was incredibly welcome to him.

He looked at Jordan and gave a look that said "You know which one I should get." He was ready. He was ready to go to war.

Jordan was waiting behind Keegan, preparing to brag to the others about arriving first but he received no such satisfaction as Des hurriedly rushed by them. As he reached the kitchen he gave a small smile of greeting to the two elderly helpers, a smile that turned to a look of disgust as the woman called them all children. He greedily grabbed a rasher of bacon and chomped it down noisily, this was not the time for manners and he was extremely hungry.

He gave a look at Matt, comparing the sizes between himself and the other boy. Realising that he was the shorter of the pair, Jordan unashamedly began to strip off in the kitchen to pull on his black clothing. He was rather proud of his body so he didn't care for what the others said, he wasn't in the mood and it was just something Jordan would do. He wanted to know most of all what the stuff Percy went to fetch was.

But for now he focused on not giving the old girl a heart attack with him stripping.

"Oh! Yes, excuse my thoughtlessness. The bathroom is upstairs." Laura lead Pam along the hallway to the stairs. "Now be careful, the stairs can tell if you've never used them before and like to be a little tricksy. You have to think very clearly what floor you want as you go up. The bathroom is on the third floor."
"It's a little similar to the Room of Requirement in Hogwarts," explained Des, appearing next to Laura. "Undetectable Expansion Charm, that sort of thing. Look." She climbed the stairs, concentrating on the third floor. They seemed to groan a little as though sensing she wouldn't put up with their cheek.
The third floor landing was blue with gleaming white tiles, the door at the end decorated with intricate fish scale designs. The bathroom beyond was huge, with a large sunken circle in the middle for the bath, similar to the prefects' one in Hogwarts. The toilets were covered by curtains and there was a deckchair in one corner.
Des marched straight over to the toilets. She was glad Pam had asked where the bathroom was. She hadn't remembered, and it was a rather unladylike question in her opinion ...

Keegan had not expected Jordan to start stripping in front of him. Luckily Laura had gone out of the room before he started or there would have been trouble, and with only the five of them attempting this Keegan wanted everyone ready to go, not trying to reverse whatever jinx Laura would undoubtably cast on Jordan. He pulled out his wand, ready to make a curtain appear around the undressing teenager, but then remembered his and Des' strict no magic rule. Couldn't risk Team wolf working out they were here.

"Just make sure you're done before Laura gets back," he said, realising there was nothing he could do. With the bathroom occupied by Pam and Des it would probably be quicker to let the two dress in here anyway. He closed the door and politely averted his eyes, picking up a Daily Prophet and a bacon sandwich to distract himself. He swore when he saw the recent Quidditch results. "Wimbourne Wasps win the League Cup, 590 to 580," he read out loud gloomily. "Infamous Appleby Arrows fan Horace Fabberworth arrested for trying to bring back the club supporters' tradition of shooting arrows from their wands when their Chasers score, a practice banned by the Department of Magical Games and sports since 1894. Fabberworth is accused of shooting Wasps Beater Madeline Spiltch through the nose, reminiscent of the offence that got the arrow shooting practice banned in the first place, and referee Igor Thimble in the delicate area of the Crown Jewels. Thimble was carried off the pitch on a stretcher howling. One spectator was heard commentating that it couldn't have hurt much, as there 'wasn't anything there in the first place anyway.' Investigations continue." Keegan whistled through his teeth. "Ouch. I feel for you, mate. Are you done yet?" This question was aimed at the boys, though Keegan kept his eyes firmly on the paper.

Pam closed her eyes and repeated the thought, third floor, in her head. She followed Des up the stairs, and almost made it to the top, when she felt one of the stairs missing. She looked down and found that there was, indeed, a stair missing. She just jumped over it, and continued up the stairs. As she arrived at the landing, a smile grew on her face.

"This place is beautiful!" She said to Laura. "Honest, you have a lovely home." Pam looked around as she followed Des into the bathroom. Before entering, she touched one of the scales. They were just as beautiful as everything else. Including the bathroom, which, as Pam would find out a few seconds later, was amazing. Her favorite part of it was the bath. She made a mental note to have one like that when she had her own house. If she lived long enough to get one. She shook that last thought out of her head, as she walked over to one of the curtained toilets. Before entering, she turned back to Laura.

"Thank you." She smiled and pulled the curtain around her. She really didn't have to go to the bathroom, but she loved the privacy of it. Being in the girls dorms, she was accustomed to having to change in front of others. But that didn't mean she liked it. She quickly pulled off her robes, and changed into the black outfit that was given to her. Aside from the fact that the jeans were a little tight, she found the outfit comfortable.

Emerging from the toilet, robes in hand, she couldn't help but look at herself in the mirror. She never realized how tired she looked. She had small purple bags under her eyes, and her hair was tangled. It used to only take her five minutes to brush through her hair. Now it'd probably take forever. She sighed and placed her robes on the lawn chair in the corner.

Jordan couldn't help smirking at Keegan's surprise as he stripped in the kitchen, "Don't worry Keegan, I'll be done soon" he said, as he pulled on the black clothing. He was pleased when found that the stretchy black sweater complimented his upper body, but the jeans were slightly big for him so he tightened them up with his own belt. "All done!" he announced to no one in particular, as he sat down and followed Keegan's example by taking a bacon sandwich. "I'm not sure about Matt yet though," he added before wincing at the quidditch updates Keegan was giving.

Matt grabbed the larger of the outfits, and began changing. Like Jordan, Matt really didn't care if anybody saw his bare body. He wasn't nearly as big in his upper body as Jordan was, but you could tell Matt was strong. Though he was skinny, his muscles were clearly defined, and he looked to be in incredible shape.

As he noticed Keegan cursing about the Quidditch match, he said quickly, "You know, I'm a Quidditch player myself. I'm a pretty good Chaser." Matt finished changing and looked over at Jordan, spinning around slowly, making fun of the situation. "See, mate? All changed." The clothes were tight on Matt, but that was the way he liked it. It made him more streamlined, gave him confidence. He followed his two friends' examples and grabbed a sandwich, and as he took a bite, he continued his Quidditch story. "Yeah, I actually set a record at one of the schools I went to before Hogwarts. Most points scored in a season. I was electric."

Laura smiled at Pam as she complimented the house. "It was our parents', and rather run down when we inherited it. I was a bit of an interior designer in my younger days, and a little obsessed with mermaids." She left the bathroom as Pam walked into the cubical, trusting Des to remember the way down.

Des was finished before Pam, and was standing at the mirror brushing her long black hair into a high ponytail. She had also changed into a black figure-hugging body suit that resembled a swimming suit with elbow-length sleeves and ankle-length leggings, which also featured reinforced black plating over her core body. This plating was specially enchanted with spells to deflect moderate jinxes and curses, giving her some protection. She'd kept her knee-length heeled boots, the silver laces glinting against the black of the rest of her ensemble.

She looked around as Pam joined her. That girl had certainly been through the mill recently, and looked it. Des felt a stab of sympathy. "Want some help with your hair?" she asked, reaching into her bag and pulling out a bottle of Madame Primpernelle's best hair detangle potion. "I can plait it back, if you want. Or maybe you should make it shorter, just for the mission?" Somehow mission still sounded childish, like a game she used to play with Hadrian when they were kids.

"All done changing?" asked Laura, entering the kitchen just as Matt was finishing. Keegan let out a relieved breath. He didn't want to have to reverse any jinxes.
"They're good," he said to her, who was busying herself with the teapot.
"They'll be better with these on," wheezed Percy, coming back into the kitchen laden down with a large trunk. "I tell you, the trouble we went through to get these -"
"It was nothing," cut in Laura, seeing the guilty look on Keegan's face. "Don't listen to him, dear, he's an old fart if ever there was one."

Percy gave his sister a black look as he opened the trunk, which was actually pretty normal sized but looked bigger next to his tiny frame. Keegan went over and started pulling stuff out for the boys to see.
"Protective armour." He threw the black plating at the boys. "Pull it on from the bottom up. Looks a bit like a girl's swimming costume but it'll protect you from most moderate jinxes and curses."
"Torches." Percy waved them in the air for inspection. "No magic in the first part, if I remember rightly?"
"True." Keegan peered in the trunk again. "Decoy Detonators, Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder, Invisibility Cloaks -" He glanced up at the boys. "Only a few uses in those before the spell wears off, unfortunately, so use them wisely."
Percy glanced at his watch. "We have an hour until dawn."
Keegan swore under his breath and yelled up through the house to Des. "GET A MOVE ON, WE'RE ON A TIGHT SCHEDULE!"

Matt caught the armour as it was thrown to him. Keegan was right. They did look like a girl's swimming costume. Matt set the armour down and sat down on the ground. "Thanks, but no thanks, guys. I'll be better off without the armour. Harder to hit. The Wolves haven't been an accurate shot up to this point, and I don't expect that to change much."

Pam felt greatful that Des had offered to help with her hair. She had always wanted an older sister, or any sibling for that matter. She used to think of Nate as a brother. One who would always look after her, and vise versa. But as of late, her brother hadn't exactly acted like one.

"A ponytail's fine." She stared into the mirror as she answered. She longed for her brother.

Looking up at Des in the mirror, she couldn't help but ask: "How is it that you can stay looking beautiful in such stressful times?" It was something that Pam had wondered a lot. No matter what situation they where in, Des always managed to look amazing. Whether it was a day to day thing, runing from Team Wolf, or getting ready to take back her sister, she had always managed to keep up her appearance. She always looked beautiful to Pam.

Jordan gave Matt an incredulous stare as he caught his own body armour, "Matt, you're going to want that, Team Wolf won't hesitate to throw any spell at you and in the house you won't be able to dodge as easily." he said as he pulled on the armour, flexing and jumping about slightly to test his mobility before they set off. He attatched his wand to the holster on his waist and grabbed one of the torches, he then played around with his metamorph powers to test his imitations of other people to see whether that could come as an advantage during the mission.

"Jordan... honestly, it's fine," Matt said as he stretched out and got accustomed to the feel of the suit. "I'll be fine without the body armor. Trust me, mate. Have I ever lied to you before?" Matt really was against the body armor. He just wanted to get in, get Jez, and get out. He couldn't afford to have anything weighing him down. Besides, nobody else knew about his plan to really go commando on this mission. He was planning to slip away from the company and exact his own measure of revenge on the Wolves. With the body armor, he would be more than easily recognized. He'd be a huge target.