Date with Destiny (Jacky)

[Helena Clair]

Helena loved her job. It worked to her strengths. She could work thourhg all the paperwork fine, and she loved working the layouts, and reading through drafts. And she didn't have to deal with people all the time. Her office was her haven, her own little safe place in the madness that their world was becoming. She was working through a pile of potential gossip columns. She was definitley not going to publish Rita Skeeter anytime soon, and she neatly flicked her wand and eatly sent Skeeter's expose on the ministry to the bin. Helena didn't want the paper to casue any more trouble, the world was in enough trouble as it was.

Helena got up and looked out the wndow. She had a lovely view of the street, and the sky. Helena loved the sky, and almost became an animagus, just to fly. But it all boiled down to her being to frightened to do so. She wished she could fly sometimes, fly to the past, and undo Jordan's death. She sighed and went back to work, but before she could continue, there was a knock at her door.

"Come in!"

[Jacky Nadie]

The Daily Prophet was still booming with business as Jacky entered the joint. Keeping a firm grasp on her powers, Jacky glided through the many waves of reporters and journalists who were trying to make the late edition of the Daily Prophet. Jacky couldn't help but scoff at the name of the place. "The Daily Prophet". Like these idiots knew anything about prophecy! Of course, up until this past year, The Prophet had been doing the likes of her very well. Not one single true word came out of the horrid paper. But now? Now they had this editor who was playing all "holier then thou" and Amelia couldn't have that now could she? She had a reputation to keep and if the story went out of their beloved Mistress for Magic using dark magic, it would ruin her public image.

Jacky seemed to glide to the door of the Editor and knocked. It was a simple courtesy that she didn't have to oblige but she felt that the niceties should be kept. Cosette would have wanted her to observe the niceties before she killed this woman. Oh yes, Jacky could see just faintly this woman's future. It wasn't a full blown vision nor could she remember most of what she saw, but she knew, Jacky just KNEW this woman was going to be trouble. It wasn't any time soon but the woman would have to be put down. Jacky walked in and saw, out of the corner of her eye, a piece or parchment burning in the fire place.

"Rita's work I presume." Jacky said knowingly. "Shame really. Such raw talent. Too bad you didn't give her your time and effort. She could have been your ace reporter one day. Oh sorry Jacky's the name." She didn't extend her hand to shake just as she knew that this woman wouldn't shake her hand. Jacky was just throwing off an air that she knew Helena wouldn't like. "I've actually come here on some Ministry official business if you would." She pointed her wand at the door and it closed and locked. She flicked her wand back at the windows and they closed and the blinds fell down. Silencing charms were placed on any possible exit in or out of the room. "Wouldn't want this overheard. May send the wrong message about the Ministry's new angle. Mistress Cosette has come to the understanding that one of your reporters wrote a column about her during a Death Eater Raid during the Mistress's ball the other day. It wouldn't do well for the column to reach the public. I must ask that you reconsider publishing it. It wouldn't be in your best interests."

A vindictive smile crossed Jacky's face and an evil glint formed in her dark brown eyes.

"I could tell you so many things about the people you have working here. Most things, they themselves don't know yet. But they will. Would you like to know how you're going to die?" Jacky said cheerfully, almost with a childlike persona. This was her favorite part of the game. Intimidation and power.

Her calling cards.

[Helena Clair]

The woman that strutted into Helena's office was....frightening. She had an aurua of authority, and walked in like she owned the place. Helena was taken aback when the woman drew the shades and locked the door. Her safe place was being invaded. Helena couldn't fight her here, so she smiled. The woman didn't present a hand, not the Helena would have shaken it. Not out of rudeness, she'd just seen too many peole try to hex her with a well placed handhsake or similar greeting gesture.

This woman - Jacky - was on orders from the Mistress of Magic? That changed everything. "Helena Clair. And - Mistress Cosette sent you herself?" The woman nodded and Helena sat back down. She nodded at the information about the raid article - by some young buck trying to get noticed. It had already been takeen care of, but Helena was not going to tell Jacky that. She nodded gain. "I will see to it, thank you." She expected this mystery woman to leave. Her job was done.

And then it clicked. JAcky was no ordinary witch. helena backed up in her seat. "Wha- what do you mean - how I'm going to die?"

Helena stood up, and clenched her hand around her wand. She wasn't going to take any chanches, and she hoped that how she was going to die wasn't going to be right then and there at the hands of this - woman.

[Jacky Nadie]

Jacky nodded that it was good that the woman was going to take care of the column. Sure, Jacky knew the truth of the matter was that it was already taken care of, but Amelia was paranoid beyond all belief and she wouldn't just accept the word of a Seer, even a powerful one like Jacky, without written documentation to prove it. Jacky knew the column was already taken care of anyway. Helena couldn't hide anything from Jacky Nadi. Not her past. Not her present. Bloody well not even her future. OF that Jacky was sure of. A flash of a vision hit the seer and she glared at the editor.

"Put that silly thing away." Jacky growled, looking pointedly at Helena's wand. "You won't be needing that right this second anyway. I'd say, give it two minutes and seven seconds, then you'll need it. Besides, at the present moment you asked me a question. The answer is simple. You're going to die right here. Right now with a typewriter bashed against your head and two or three quick quotes quills stuck in a rather crude pattern on your face. I'm afraid to say your eyes will be missing. That's all part of the plan. That is, of course, unless you agree to my terms. You see, The Mistress for Magic has deemed it time to put her weight into the Daily Prophet but she's lacking one thing that Fudge had during his reign.

"A spy. You, my sweet, are going to be that spy. Who better to undermine the Prophet then it's editor? You'll send any discriminating columns about the Mistress for Magic to me and the name of the one stupid enough to write it along side with any attacks on those with blood...how should we say...less then clean. You're only to report things of safety under the rule of Madame Cosette. Do you understand? Can your simple mind keep up with the flow now?"

[Helena Clair]

This woman could probably even smell fear. Helena loosened the grip on her wand, but just a bit. She still wanted to be ready, but she was no mathc for a Les Feux agent. She was only an editor. Her eyes grew huge when Jacky started detailing her supposed death. she nodded. So.. she was to be a spy. Helena could hardly react, becuase what good would she be? A craven half blood Hufflepuff, working for the likes of Ameilia Cosette? It was insane.

She nodded, and simoultaneously backed against the shuttered window. She wasn't going to draw her wand - yet.

"Yes. I - I will do it." It wasnöt like she had a choice. And she really didn't like the pure-blood agenda, being raised by a muggle mother and all. She couldn't understand why the purebloods were better - her father was one, and he was a normal man. He went to work, came home, loved his wife and children, and died of a broken heart.

"I -understand. Yes. I will be your spy."

All Helena Clair wanted to do was sit i nthe corner and cry - but she steeled herself as much as she could against this woman that was dragging her down this horrible path.

[Jacky Nadie]

Jacky started frowning at the old bat sitting in front of her. Jacky had always been one to initiate prophecy when ever she could. She got a sick high off of knowing she had such power. Of course, anyone had that power, they were just too ignorant to look into the details of prophetic matters. This woman, however, just couldn't be steered. Jacky tried every magical trick she knew short of using the Imperious to do what she wanted, which would have negated this certain prophecy, but she wouldn't budge. She stopped, knowing that the prophecy would come to her again sooner or later and that she would enjoy basking in this old crone's life blood.

"I knew you would." Jacky said, smiling a smile of victory and a knowing look passed her facial features. "You're to meet me at the old abandoned modeling agency at Hogsmeade Village every other day at exactly One O'Clock pm. That way it won't seem odd that the editor is leaving at an odd hour. I'm sure you can take your lunch with you and we could have a nice little dinner at one of the local cuisines. I know you'd just love to be around me more then I do you, so let's just keep this professional as possible. You give me any information that I deem important and you live. If you have something of major importance, you may signal me with this."

Jacky pulled out a clear crystal ball the size of an egg. She placed it on Helena's desk and waved her wand over it. A purple haze covered the egg and then it shimmered back to it's original color.

"It's an alert crystal." Jacky said knowingly. "I'll usually know if something extremely major shows up because of my informants within the Prophet already, but if you come across something important and it's not our designated time, all you need to do is place your hand on the crystal and think 'emergency' and I will send you a time and place to meet. Don't think of betraying me. I will know."

Jacky still hadn't told her directly about her gift of prophecy. It was a secret that she had been trained to keep locked away so that people wouldn't come to her demanding to know where their lost cat had run off to or such trivial nonsense as that. Granted, she didn't have an informant in the Prophet herself, but with her gift of Prophecy as a Seer, she would know if she were being betrayed. She pulled a few sheets of paper out of thin air and placed them on the desk.

"Sign." Was all that Jacky said. At a confused and defiant look from Helena, Jacky sighed and explained. "Such a simple minded fool. It's a magic binding contract. You don't give away information about authority that you may discover and you keep your mouth quiet about what we do here or else where and I can't kill you. I've already signed there and so if I kill you, I die too and my life is much more important then yours so I don't believe I'll try that just yet. Just sign already."

Once Helena's name was on the contract, it disappeared with a flurry of purple sparks and Jacky smiled again.

"It's been nice to get to know you Helena. I so look forward to working with you in the future." Sarcasm just dripped off of Jacky's tongue. She walked toward the door before she stopped and said, "Oh." Jacky turned back around to face the editor, wand drawn. "I almost forgot. CRUCIO!"

[Helena Clair]

she was not normal. Jacky had a gift- it was too wide spread to be basic legillimens. Helena was not keen of mind enough to have beena rRavenclaw, nor brave enough to have been a Gryffindor. She was just a Hufflepuff, but still - Jacky's powers scared her. She nodded at the instructions. Helena knew that she would hve a hard time gleaning important information - but she ouwld make do, she had to.

She ryred the crystal. It was ominous, a constant reminder of her bondage in plain sight. She wanted to smash it to peices, she wanted to call for help, she wanted to run. But she was trapped. She signed the paper, after quickly reading it to make sure it was really what Jacky said it was. She sighed and sta, hoping this woman would leave her to her lot in peace.

No such luck.

Helena was not a duelist. She would always hold the fort at Grimmaul or the pie shop when battles were being fought. She was the support, always in the background. and she liked it that way.

The crucio hit her hard, the pain ripped through every cell in her body. she cried out and fell off the chair. She hated this. She hated the situation, hated being used. But she loved to live- so she took it. When the curse was liften, Helena lay on the floor, panting. it was horrible she wanted n omore. She leaned up, just enough to look Jacky in the eye.

"You got what you wanted from me. Now go, please." She was near tears. Now more than ever she wanted to curl up and cry.

[Jacky Nadie]

Jacky was quickly learning that she hated this old crone. No matter what she did, Helena just wouldn't' fight back. She begged and pleaded for Jacky to leave and she hated her for it. Jacky hated it when people broke too soon. They were weak and easily destroyed. They were usually hufflepuffs or Ravenclaws and in general not fighters. These people served no purpace but to live, suck up Jacky's beloved oxygen, and then die a most painful death. No matter what Jacky did she still saw that Helena would be a major thorn in her side but she couldn't see what she had done wrong to make it so.

She had evoked an ancient prophecy of her family concerning the woman and it was a twin fork prophecy. It could either go one way or another. One fork lead to victory while the other lead to defeat. This prophecy was linked as such with several forks along the road to lead from defeat to victory quickly. She believed she had followed the correct forks so she was still puzzled as to why the woman's future had Jacky in a four wall cell in Azkaban. She charmed a coat hanger to give off a loyalty spell to Amelia and charmed her chair to give off a feeling of calmness and trustworthiness with anything dealing with Jacky or her words. She didn't have time to leave her faith up with the good spirits or fate. She wanted this old crone to be putty in her hands.

"I"ll leave now." Jacky said sneering. She poitned her wand at the old crone and removed any signs of the Cruciatus being use. "But if you try to cross me, know that the spell you just felt was child's play compared to what I really can do. I was ordered to be on my best behavior for you so that you could see the wonders of the Mistress's compassion for people. Don't make me regret listening to her wishes and not taking my powers out on you." Jacky waved her wand around the room, removing the charms for security and unlocked and opened the door.

"Good day Madame Clair. It's been a pleasure." Jacky said throwing up her hand in passing while walking out the door. She grabbed hold of her gift again and glided out of the Prophet and back to Cosette. She would need to know her puppet was now in place.

Jacky had finished her job.

[Helena Clair]

She was gone. Finally. Helena crawled up and flicked her wand to open the shades. She wished she was bird now more than ever. Birds weren't spies. Birds didn't get crucio'd but half-mad seers that were working for Les Feux. Birds didn't cry.

Helena sat back up at her desk, and started going back though her papers. It was the only thing she could do - work. It soothed her, and she couldn't tell anyone. She didn't know who was working for whom nowadays, and she wanted to live. She would tell select members of the Order later- if ever.

She couldn't concentrate on the papers. Helena buried her head in her hands and cried long and ard, slumped over her desk.

What had she gotten into?