Ok , if Katie started talking about girl stuff, Adam was leaving, he didn't come to Diagon Alley to talk about their body changing. He slowly started to walk away, not wishing to speak anything of it...

"Yeah well, yeah...."He said, hopefully that left her confused and made her think of something, anything else.

Katie giggled and walked up to Adam.

"What would you like to do Adam?"She asked, maybe they could have some fun together, that would be nice, because they were great friends and great friends should do things together.

"I have no clue...I just landed here, and I don't know where to go...We can do something fun- you are usually good at thinking up of something funny..."He said, finally seeing some white light and many people walking across the streets , all jumping with joy, that they were in Hogsmeade.

"How about we get an iice cream?"Katie giggled, that would be nice because its yum and she was hungry XD

Yes, yes he does she nodded slyly, well she shrugged, he loved my hair when it was ginger, called me a carrot and everything, she said grimly. She was still smarting from that, it had cost her £50 to remove it by her stylist. And that was meant to be her shopping money *glare*, how about both? She tilted her head to one side, and keep him bald for as long as possible.

Heheheh MWAHAHAHAHAA. REEVVVEEENNNGGGEE

Alex laughed, "I love how you're thinking." evil, just as he was feeling. He didn't even knew the guy and he was planning on making the bloke bald. Oops.

"I'm sure we'll handle that, we are the Crusaders after all." shiifty eyes.

I am a genius she laughed, however how this plan is to be implemented is up to you, she nodded, I can do the odd potion and distract him, if I'm merely in the same room as him he sees red she nodded. And often attempts to punch me she nodded again

Alex chuckled and scratched his head. "Whoa, this dude wil hate me." he laughed.

He tried to punch her? Grr, just grrr. Sheridan was his fellow Crusader, nobody nobody touched her. "He fails though of course?" he asked knowing she would never let anyone punch her.

Yeah, but who cares he'll hate me even more she laughed, noting the sour look his face turned, yeah she said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world, I kneed him in the goolies and turned his top pink. The girls I was with found it h.i.l.a.r.i.o.u.s She laughed, it really had been one of the funniest things in the world

Alex laughed "You kneed him? Thattagirl." Oh man if he liked the guy he would pity him, nothing hurt as much as that did. Gulp. Just... Ouch.

"Proud of you Caped One." he grinned. Kneeing a guy was a smart move, eviiiil but smart.

Stroke of genius she grinned, laughing with him, she did a slight curtsy, grinning, the screams that had come from that had been almost as loud as when he turned into the walking pink boy *snark*

You should be, she nodded, you can send my medal in the post she laughed, now, what are we going to do to the maniac?

"Oh really you're expecting a medal too?" Alex laughed. Huh, perhaps that wouldn't be so hard to find. She was his fellow Crusader after all.

He smirked and shrugged. "Well this is your personal vendetta, I'm just along for the ride." he chuckled. "I'll back you up in your wicked schemes." Oh yes he would, just like he knew that Sheridan would help him with his enemy. Heh.

Pff of course Sheridan nodded, smirking, she was joking but, she thought, she could get one from those muggle thingies...theme parks.

True she nodded, but I feel you should be heavily involved in the planning she nodded again, so, whilst your helping me, who am I helping you with? She asked, wiggling her eyebrows menacingly

"Of course I'll help with the planning, I must say I liked your idea about his hair. Both pink and bald... The guy won't recover." Mischief managed.

Oh his enemy? He smiirked and shrugged. "Well I haven't got an enemy just yet." Just an irritating, rude girl but still. Not an enemy. Yet that was.

She nodded, le genius she grinned jokingly, pointing to herself, no he's very ego-ish she said, tilting her head to one side, that didn't sound quite right, but she didn't care and very alpha male she continued

Oh I see she nodded, okay who do you have a slight dislike too? She asked leaning against the wall

Wandering aimlessly through the back alleys of Hogsmeade, Jae had suddenly realized he had absolutely no idea where he was going. Katie had told him exactly where they were to meet, but he didn't know exactly which way he had to turn. Hoping he didn't get lost, the young man thought it was best to stay put. His cousin would find him eventually.

Looking to his left, he watched as his wheaten terrier sniffed around the perimeter of the alley they were standing in, as if he was hoping to find something interesting. Unfortunately, there was nothing fun in a dark alley.

"Unless ya found her in one of those corners, it's not worth it Albie," Jae whispered to his dog. The newly turned sixteen year old sighed deeply and sunk to his knees in front of Albert and closed his eyes.

With most of the summer behind her, Kaitlynnh ventured through the streets of Hogsmeade; visiting her sister and brother-in-law somewhere sort of near by, the rather small brunette had finally, sucessfully gotten ahold of James (or so, it seemed. It WAS his handwriting on the returned letter!) and had made plans to meet up. The only problem was, he was already several minutes late, which Katie knew was very unlike the young man and when she couldn't spot him anywhere through the sea of fellow students and others wandering Hogsmeade Village, she started off to look for him.

Who knew why he was late? For all she knew, a group of frilly girls could have attacked him with their bubbly pink powers and could at that very moment be threatening to hold him hostage until Merlin knew when and/or why. Of course, she didn't really believe that was a real possibility. But nonetheless.. "Oh, good. There you are!" The brunette spoke clearly into the dark Alley, pausing at the entrance. It was Albert that had caught her attention, but the Gryffindor on the ground was a close second. She stepped closer, offering her hand. "Jae, what are you doing? And hello, Albie."

Jae rubbed his closed twilight blue eyes as his dog sniffed him as if to ask him what was wrong. Jumping at the sound of another's voice, the young man grabbed his cousin's hand and stood up slowly. "Just...makin' sure the ground isn't...cracked." What a horrible excuse. Did he really think she was going to believe that? No. She was too smart for that. She had rarely seen him like this; so vulnerable. He was supposed to be strong and know exactly what to do in every situation that was thrown his way. Not this time. This was big. This was bigger than all of them.

While all of these thoughts were going through Jae's head, Albie couldn't help but try to pry the attention away from his owner and onto himself. He did everything he could to get Katie's eyes off of Jae, but it was useless.

"Erm...how're things with you Katie?" James asked, running his fingers through his unnaturally messy hair. Looking at the young man, he looked worn, he looked older. Obviously, he hadn't explained yet, but Katie was about to get an ear full. He just hoped she was ready for it.

"Anythin' new?" he asked hoarsely. This isn't workin'. She knows somethin' is up.

Helping Jae to his feet, the Hufflepuff's eyebrows raised. "Yes, because that's normal. Wouldn't want an old woman wandering down a dark, damp Alley to trip and fall on a crack, now would we?" By all means, it was not a real question and she was in no way expecting a response to that. She was, however, expecting an answer to.. well, she wasn't even sure - Why exactily was he acting funny? Blinking her dark eyes, both confused and willing her eye-sight to allow her a better vision in the darkness that surrounded them, the Little Mae didn't dare take any further steps into the Alley and kept close to the strip of a sun ray that just touched the side of the building behind her. Who knew what could be hiding in the dark?

"Decent, I suppose." Katie mused, studying the very grown, very weary figure of her usually wonderful, happy-go-lucky cousin whom she could just barely recognize now. It was definitely Jae. He had the same too-tall (to her) height, same dark hair and pretty blue eyes, but he looked tired. Physically and mentally drained, it wasn't like him at all.. "No.. well, yes. None of that matters, though. James, what is it? What's going on?" His expression alone had given it away. It didn't help that she hadn't heard from him in months, nor had she heard from the other boys except for Danny and Orlando. Somehow, she knew these two problems were not related.

James swallowed hard and scratched behind his ear. How was he going to break this news to her without either of them having a total meltdown? It was impossible. They were both going to flip out, but in totally different ways. Jae knew he couldn't keep his composure for too long without either wanting to break down and cry or wanting to destroy something. Time to tell.

"Well, ya know how Leah was seein' tha' French guy? Don't rememba' his name, but...they broke up not long ago. I assume ya know tha'." He paused to clear his throat. "She's gone Katie." He couldn't bring himself to speak anymore. He knew he had to explain, but he had to get his thoughts straight first. Obviously he left her hanging, but his voice wouldn't come out. He tried speaking, but no sound emitted from his throat.

Finally, he spoke. "He took Leah. He took her away and I dunno if I'll ever see her again. He got mad, real mad Katie. He took her because he wanted her for himself and himself alone. She didn't want tha'. She didn't want tha' at all. So he kidnapped her. There's no way to tell where she is. Dusty, Rocco, and their father are all lookin' for her now. Tha's where I've been. Lookin' for her." He spun around after his explanation, unable to look into his cousin's eyes any longer.

Not long ago, Jae had revealed to Katie that he was in love with Leah, one of their best friends. At the time, Legend was dating her. Being the nice guy that he was, Jae didn't do anything about how he was feeling. The last thing he wanted was for more drama to be brought upon their group of friends. Right after Legend and Leah broke up, Leah started seeing a French boy she had met away at school. Jae never liked him. He thought there was something fishy going on with him. Obviously he was right.

"I shoulda said somethin' when I met him," he whispered as he banged his head against the concrete wall of the alley. For some reason he blamed himself for not seeing the signs that this guy was bad news. But that's who Jae was.

"I dunno wha' to do Katie," he said softly, in almost a whisper. "Wha' if we neva' find her? Wha' if I neva' get to tell her how I feel about her? Wha' if I can neva' get a chance to hold her? Wha' if I neva' hear her laugh again? Wha' if a perfectly good human being has been taken from our world and we'll neva' know for sure?" He paused and closed his eyes. "I dunno if I can take the thought of tha'." He rubbed his forehead and sighed. "She's been gone for one week, six days, and seven hours." Yes, he counted the time.

Turning around, he made eye contact with his cousin. "I can't take this. Wha' am I supposed to do?"

"Yes.. of course I know," Slowly said the brunette, dark eyes fixed on the young man, her moment of confusion showing visibly on her face. Was that it? Why in the world would James Maguire be upset that Leah broke up with the Ex. Of course she already knew.. what - "What?" WHAT?! Katie stood still, frozen in shock. What did that mean, exactily? Was James trying to tell her Leah took him back? That she'd run off with him?! No, no. That couldn't even be.. they'd talked not that long ago, after the break-up. There was a reason they broke up! But then.. Katie's breath caught in her throat, tears threatening to form in her eyes. No. No no no! "She didn't.. Leah couldn't have d-" unable to utter the word, Katie merely focused on Jae as he spoke.

No. She wasn't dead. Her teeth clenched, despite that. Anger was quick to replace the sad feelings, hands tightening into fits at her sides and eyes narrowing ever so slightly as if she could just imagine the boy and what she'd like to do to him. Whether or not she was actually doing that, while still listening intentively to James, was not for anyone to have to know. Unless she actually got her hands on the wacko criminal of a young man. She should have known something wasn't right. She had just seen Leah two, three, four weeks ago and upon returning home, she had owled her (with Julian's help with the actual owl part, of course) but had gotten no response,.. she should have known.

Remaining silent even after Jae finished, Katie raised a hand to pinch the bridge of her nose and inhale deeply. Deep breaths, in and out. They were good. "Julian or Monique would know his name." She murmured, dropping her hand to her side with a controlled, just barely composed look. Heck, the SCHOOL would know his name. In case the Aurors out searching for her didn't know, either. "Don't say that. They don't know yet, but they'll catch a lead and they'll find her." Yeah. That was how it worked, right? Surely. "James!" Katie practically growled, attention diverted from her thoughts at the sound of something solid hitting something else equally solid. The Hufflepuff was quick to move to his side and push him away from the wall, putting a distance between it and him with her in the middle, hand outstretched toward him as if to stop him from coming any closer to the side of whatever shop building it was.

What WAS it with boys and brick walls?! First Legend, now JAE? Merlin's moldy old beard, he was the LAST one she'd expect that from. "That is not going to help Leah! Don't say that!" Katie knew he was desperate and breaking, both on the inside and out, his guards down and defeated. And though she put on quite the show, inside herself she was fighting every awful emotion running through her and refusing the tears that wanted to build up. "You will do all those things, Jae. You will. Don't say that, not now and not ever! Leah is not gone, she is missing but she is not going to die! They are going to find her and she's going to be okay, Leah is a strong girl - one of the strongest I know, and she's smart. Nothing is going to happen to her, they are going to find her and she'll come home once and for all." And the teenage criminal kidnapper? He was going to get what was coming to him, too.

It was funny how the phrase 'if looks could kill' suddenly had a double meaning. Looking directly into her cousins face was enough to break her heart further, as if that was possible at this point. Sighing, running a hand through her unruly curls, Katie pushed them away over her shoulder and stepped closer to James, taking his hands in hers and squeezing them. "You are going to be strong for her, Jae. You are going to be your rashional self again, as much as you can be, to help assist in thinking of anything that can could lead to bringing her home. And you know what?" She gave his arms a gentle little shake. "When she does come home - and she will, - you are going to tell her everything you should have before. Or I am going to do it for you, and that may just turn out a bit more awkward than what's necessary. Do we understand each other, James? There is no what if's; Leah is going to be okay, they are going to find her and she is coming back to us safely." Leah was not going to die. That wasn't an option. "You've got to be strong for her."

Once Jae spilled the beans about Leah, a whole whirlwind of emotions emitted from Katie. He was prepared for that, which was strange seeing as he didn't seem to be ready for anything lately. When she mentioned her brother, he perked up a bit. "Julian. Yes. He'll know his name." He made a mental note to send an owl to him later. Or perhaps even pay him a visit. He was allowed to go where ever he pleased now. His mother felt he was old enough to take care of himself since he would be of age the following year. That was one of the few things he was happy about.

He nodded, agreeing with his cousin. He didn't really look like he was listening what with the glazed over look he was sporting, but he was taking in every word she said. She wasn't dead. Katie was right about that. Leah was too strong. She was a brilliant witch. There was no way this guy would be able to harm her if she still had her wand. One thing that did concern Jae was that he was quite a large guy. Muscular. Strong. He could easily pick up Leah's petite body and carry her away with no worry at all. He assumed that was how she was taken in the first place.

"A lead? People disappear all ova' the place everyday. She's just as insignificant to the authorities as the otha' people who 'ave disappeared lately. Tha's why I've been out there. There 'ave been clues, yes, but nothin' tha' will bring her home yet," he said a bit loudly. He was getting angry. He sort of shouted at Katie when he said all of that. Thankfully he noticed and gave her an apologetic look.

They'll find her. Katie was right. She was going to come home, unharmed. Traumatized, yes, but not harmed physically. She would heal over time. They just needed to find her first. Then another thought popped into his mind. "Katie, if I find her and he's there...how will I...contain myself?" he whispered through clenched teeth and a crazed look in his normally calm twilight blue eyes. He knew she would know what he meant. The last thing he'd want would be to go to Azkaban, but what else was he supposed to do? Just let him go with the authorities and that be the end of it? No, there was no way he was going to let that happen. He was going to let this guy know he messed with the wrong person. He was going to make him pay.

Time to practice some curses.

He burst out laughing for a split second then shut his mouth. "Rational. Funny. I can barely rememba' wha' tha's like..." he trailed off. Before this happened he was the rational, reasonable person in their tight knit group of friends. Now he barely knew who he was when he looked in a mirror.

"I know wha' it's like now," James said softly. "I know wha' it's like to be an auror, out there lookin' for somethin'. Dunno how they do it." By 'they' he meant his cousins. They risked their lives everyday and managed to stay their happy-go-lucky selves. He had no idea how that was possible. The physical toll their work took on a person baffled Jae. He finally understood what he had been wanting to understand for so long. He now regretted it.

He raised one of his dark eyebrows at his cousin, a small, familiar smile playing across his lips. "I will tell her. And you will not. Tha' would be extremely awkward and not exactly 'ow I pictured it in my head," he chuckled.

Katie was right. He had to be strong. He had to find Leah and bring her home. Easier said than done, right? Nothing in life was simple. That he knew. His father had taught him that from a very young age. "I know, I know. It's just...hard. I'm so angry. Obviously strong and angry don't go hand in hand," he huffed, a little annoyed at that logic.

He sighed, letting a ton of air out of his lungs. He then leaned forward and kissed his exponentially shorter cousin on the forehead. "Thank you."

He was right. People did go missing regularly, Katie was aware. It wasn't that she hadn't been thinking about that, Katie refused to think negatively on the subject. As soon as she knew, the information went from registering with her brain to keeping a confident, absolute positively SURE attitude. Because there were no ifs, ands or buts about it. Rather than respond to his shouting because she completely understood where it had come from, the Hufflepuff merely let him vent. Giving a slight nod to the apologetic look, Katie assured once more, "Not yet. But they will."

That was a good question. One that Katie couldn't give the 'right' answer to, if there was such a thing. And instead of trying to come up with the right words to say, Katie shrugged. She was nothing, if not honest. No matter the situation. "I have no idea, Jae. I can't honestly say I'd expect you to, or if I were in your shoes that I would.. actually, that's a bit of a lie; I know that I wouldn't even try to stop myself from doing something I should logically regret later." She'd dug herself a hole not that long ago, that even recently she continued to dig bigger and bigger. Katie could only hope Jae did use whatever rashional part of his brain that was left and didn't take what she said as advice to go forth and curse the idiot-Ex, now idiot-kidnapper into his next life. "You just have to try. Focus on Leah and her well-being, even then and let the adults handle him. Think solely about her, would you want her to see you react in such a violent manner?"

Katie's frown deepened. Jae was really losing it, wasn't he? Not only did he seem sleep-deprived, but he was just.. losing it! Suddenly, Katie knew there was a chance he was going to do something stupid if they didn't find her soon, or given the opportunity when they did find her.. if they found them. "You have to try," She insisted, "You will remember one day. But for now, you must try! For Leah, Jae. I know it's not easy, but it's important."

Katie was beginning to wonder why the men let Jae come, besides his determination to go - the fact they'd have to physically stop him from coming along. It didn't seem healthy for him at this point, but part of her thought she knew. Who could tell someone like Jae linked to someone like Leah, that they couldn't come help search far and wide to rescue her? "They're trained long and hard. They know what they get into in that career feild. And if they don't, they would eventually.. it's not for the weak of heart, I guess?" Again, she shrugged. Trying to hide behind logic and be the rashional, calm one wasn't working out so well.

In that small moment, Katie saw a sincere, real smile form on Jae's lips. No matter how small, it was a smile. It felt like a victory to her, that was for sure. A small smile of her own appeared, turning into a slight smirk when he told her she would not be telling Leah for him. "Good, as much as I love Leah and you.. I'd rather NOT partake in that, I have my own teenage dramas of the heart to deal with, thank you very much." Yes. Plently of that!


"I know and that's okay. That's understandable, you should be angry and.. yeah, no. Not the best combination, but you are only human. Just like the rest of us, you can't expect the world of yourself and I certainly don't. All I am saying is channel all those emotions into something productive that's going to help you to keep from imploding and get Leah back." Katie was sure he already knew that, but.. well, best to make sure and remind him. Watching with the ghost of amusement as the Gryffindor seemed to deflate, Katie's nose wrinkled as he kissed her forehead. "That is the Jae I know and love," She announced, giving a slight nod of her curly-haired head and, letting go of his hands, wrapped her arms around him. "Always."

"Ego-ish and alpha male?" Alex chuckled. "Not when we're through with him..." he mused. Oh he was feeling evil now, yes yes he was.

He raised one eyebrow thinking. "At the moment?" Hmm.... "Justin Hendricks." he winked. Her enemy was his enemy.

Well obviously Katie wouldn't stop herself from doing something completely irrational. She was quick to do things without thinking. Jae just hoped he had enough self control to keep his hands off the guy who stole their friend. And she was right. Would Leah want to see him in such a violent manner? He had never shown that side of him to anyone. He had barely shown it to himself. He never got this angry. These emotions were new to him. He didn't know how to handle them. That's why he came to Katie to talk. She would remind him that he was the rational one in their group of friends.

"Am I goin' crazy?" he asked as he ran his fingers through his messy hair. "I know all of this is important, but it's...surreal. I don't feel like me-self. How am I supposed to act like me if I don't feel like me?" Jae looked a little desperate for some sort of answer from his cousin, but he knew there was no logicality in what he was asking.

"Ya know, I wanted to be an auror. Afta' tha', I'm not so sure. I 'ave no idea how Dusty goes to work like tha', everyday. I can't...I can't do it." He paused and pat Albert on the head, who had just made himself known again by pulling in the hem of Jae's shirt. "Guess I'll 'ave to start thinkin' about anotha' career huh?" he chuckled.

"I 'ave to go find her." Jae nodded, as if reassuring himself that was what he had to do. "I'm supposed to be meetin' Dusty and Rocco in northern Ireland lata' today. Apparently they've got a lead. I've told them not to make a move until I can get there. They're scoutin' out the area righ' now," he informed her, a hint of urgency in his voice. "Hopefully they'll find somethin'."

James smiled. Not just any smile, but his familiar, award-winning smile. He felt a bit more like himself after this talk. Luckily for him, he and Katie sort of evened each other out when it came to their different emotions. He took in the hug Katie gave him with a bright smile and closed eyes. It was nice to feel something familiar. He hadn't seen his mother, father and siblings in about two weeks. The only people he had been with were Dusty and Rocco, and occasionally Leah and Rocco's father, Kyle. They all were different people while on the job so it really wasn't like he was with family.

The young man was about to kiss her goodbye and depart, but then a sentence stuck out to him, something that Katie had said only a few moments before. "Wait...ya 'ave some teenage dramas of the heart of your own? Did somethin' 'appen?" he asked, raising one eyebrow and smirking. That sentence just wasn't something his cousin said without a reason behind it. What could have happened within the two weeks he had been gone? Something about one of their friends? Danny? Orlando? Legend? One of those names stuck out more than the others. He instantly remembered a conversation he and Katie had in one of the corridors about one of those names.

Legend.