On the other side of the glass shelves, Leah snuggled her head on Theo's chest. He picked another donut and hungrily stuffed it into his mouth, a piece of glazing falling from the ring and onto her hair. She shrieked, and, when he mocked her, retaliated by crushing a pastry on his face.

Such kids.

"Hello, sir. Would you like to hear the Christmas specials?" The cashier smiled, the stars on her ridiculous hat twinkling to Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer.

"Do you have anything with raisin?"

"Raisin bran muffins. I also got oatmeal raisin cookies, but they're still in the oven."

I repressed a groan. "I'll have a muffin and a caramel latte."

"Take-out or dine-in?"

"Take-out."

"Great. Name?"

"Beg your pardon?"

She hunched over the till, and tapped on the stack of paper cups. "Your name. To write on your hot beverage."

"V--" I bit my lip, annoyed at myself for forgetting my new identity.

What was his name, again? Urgh. I fumbled in his coat and retrieved his wallet. "Gahiji," I said, extracting his driving licence.

The cashier arched a quizzical brow, and I awkwardly slipped a twenty into the tip jar to divert her attention.

"Thank you, sir! I'll get to your order right away." She beamed at me and hurried to the coffee maker.

While she grinded a fresh batch of beans, I glanced at Theo and Leah, relieved to find them oblivious to my presence. Stupid love birds.

I put the licence back into the wallet, averting my gaze from Gahiji's photo out of guilt. His family had tried calling again this week. They were becoming fretful, and worried by his absences of messages over the last month. His mother, in particular, had threatened to take the next flight out of Kigali if he did not respond.

With a sigh, I rubbed my chin, wincing when my fingertips brushed a goatie. I'd have to load my host's memories back into his Bridge soon. The question was: should I put them in a separate folder, or should I mix them with mine? The second option had the advantage of quick and easy access, which would be essential if I wanted to keep posing as him.

"There you go. Raisin bran and caramel latte." The girl pushed a paper bag and cup towards me.

"Thanks."

"Have a nice day, sir. And merry Christmas."

I shuffled to the exit, a cold sweat descending my spine as Theo's guffaw filled the restaurant. I froze, my free hand instinctively darting to my chest and patting the spot where the Bridge was concealed. When no one came after me, I pushed the glass door and confronted the blizzard.

Before loading Gahiji, I should copy myself again, in case the procedure went wrong. I should also move my memories to his private server--after all, wasn't it the reason why I had picked the young software engineer?

Being the only backup of the original Victoria was too risky, especially with InfiCorp shutting down data centre after data centre due to the lack of players. Speaking of which, I should rush the duplication before the number of available hosts dwindled.

A wicked smirk curled up the corners of my lips.

How many Horcruxes did Lord Voldemort create?