Chapter Two: Unable

I woke up. For a few confused moments, I tried to remember what had happened...the memories were distant, vague. But something important had happened. I groped around blindly for my wand before remembering that I couldn't do magic. And that was when I suddenly came back into complete consciousness and remembered the events of the previous evening.

I groaned. What had been wrong with me? I'd been so stupid! How could I have trusted a complete stranger like that? What had I been thinking? I could be such an idiot sometimes. So what if his voice was familiar? So what if I was pretty sure he was someone I'd known well and trusted? Anyone could go bad.

It was dark outside, but I was wide awake. I was still lying on the couch I'd been on when I'd woken. I must have fallen asleep, exhausted, as soon as he'd brought me here. I knew I needed to escape, though, get out of here as soon as possible. I glanced around and noticed the sleeping figure of somebody else on a second couch. It was the person with the hood. I'd have expected the hood to have slipped in his slumber, but it was still firmly pulled down over his face. He must have charmed it to stay in place.

I sprung up from the couch and instantly regretted doing so. I'd made too much noise. I squeezed my eyes tightly shut. When I opened them, the figure on the couch had sat up and was rubbing his eyes beneath the hood. "Katie. You're up."

I said nothing to him, but I cursed silently. Stupid, stupid girl. I wondered how he could see with that hood. He'd probably charmed the inside of it as well.

"Katie, you should stay here until that Death Eater's taken care of," he said quietly.

"Where am I?" I managed to say.

I heard the smile in his voice. "You're in my home. I'll be keeping an eye out for him. If he manages to figure out, somehow, that you're here, I'll take you somewhere else immediately."

I didn't know what to say. I only wondered why he was doing this for me.

"Now," he said, "I want you to try to do magic."

I looked up at him, startled. Was he trying to tease me? Hadn't I just told him the previous night that I couldn't do magic? He seemed to notice the hurt that must've been clearly written in my eyes, because he suddenly sounded uncomfortable. "I'm sorry," he muttered. "It's just...I'm positive you'll be able to do it."

I was silent. I was still hurt by his words, but he seemed truly sorry for offending me like that. And my suspicions from before were starting to seem like paranoia. I could tell that he sincerely wanted to help me.

I pulled out my wand from my back pocket–I still kept it there, even though I knew I couldn't do magic–and took a deep breath. "Lumos," I said clearly. I looked expectantly at the wand, but no light emitted from the other end. I sighed. "It's pointless."

He shook his head. "You will be able to do it again. I'll make sure of that, Katie."

I stared at him, trying in vain to figure out whose face was hidden behind that hood. "Who are you?"

"I'll tell you that when I'm ready," was all he said.

I frowned, and he chuckled. "Look, I've got to go now. Stay right here, alright?" With a twirl of his cloak, he was gone.

I immediately stood up. Whoever he was, he obviously didn't sleep on the couch. He had his own house, and from what I could see, it was fairly big. He had to have a bedroom.

I climbed upstairs, looking in all the bedrooms. I found his right away. It was the only bedroom being used–I could tell from the way the sheets were carelessly thrown aside, not neatly made like a bed never used. I could see the faint outlines on the wall where posters had hung before–faint, but definitely there. They had only just been torn down. Why did he want to hide his identity from me so badly?

I went back down and sat on the couch, wondering what I would do while I waited for Mystery Man to get back. I must have drifted off to sleep, because the next thing I knew, firm hands were grasping my arms, shaking me awake.

"Katie!" His rough voice broke into my sleep, and I sat up, rubbing my eyes. He continued, "Katie, I've got good news. No Death Eater has been near this house. He doesn't know you're here."

"How do you know?" I asked, feeling more awake.

He laughed. "A good old Muggle machine. It's called a video camera. Wizards are always looking for magic, so they wouldn't pay any attention to something like that."

I shrugged. It sounded reasonable.

"Anyway, you seem to be really tired. Do you want me to take you to a bed? You don't need to sleep on this couch, you know."

I yawned. "A bed would be nice." My muscles were all sore from sleeping in a cramped position. He got up and led me across the house to the stairs. We climbed up them and he took me into an empty bedroom, motioning for me to lie down on the bed.

"I'm the only one who lives here, of course, but I have several other beds just in case I ever have guests," he explained. I nodded, not really paying attention. The bed looked really comfortable, its soft pink sheets neat and fluffy. He laughed as I eagerly plopped down on top of it and closed my eyes, waiting for sleep to come.


"Katie." My eyelids flicked open. I realized that I'd slept peacefully, without a single nightmare. That hadn't happened in a long time, not since my parents died. I didn't want to get out of the bed, but I knew I couldn't sleep forever.

I struggled to prop myself up on the sheets. He was sitting at the edge of the bed, watching me. I rubbed the sand from my eyes and felt myself blush. I had never liked people being awake in the same room while I slept.

He had removed the shirt he'd previously been wearing underneath his cloak, and he now had on a tight-fitting white undershirt. I could see the shape of his chest and couldn't help wanting to stare at it. My blush deepened as I tore my gaze away and looked up at his hooded face.

"The Death Eater hasn't found you," he said. "No one knows you're here. You're quite safe for now."

I smiled, and he chuckled. "You know, that's the first I've seen you smile this whole time," he told me. I was surprised to find myself smiling wider. He was right, I'd been miserable this past week. My parents' death had really affected me strongly. But now he was making me smile. I didn't even know who he was, but I trusted him.

I extracted my wand. Smiling had been an accomplishment. Maybe I could do some magic now. "Can I try again?" I asked him.

"Hey, you could do whatever you want. You don't need my permission."

I nodded as I tried to think of a simple spell. I decided on a levitating one and pointed my wand at one of the pillows behind me. "Wingardium Leviosa!" I said. A few sparks shot out of my wand, but the pillow didn't move.

I looked up at him and shrugged. "I'm sorry," he said softly.

I shook my head. "There's no need for you to be sorry. You can't control my magic. You've done more than enough already." Way more than enough.

"But I want to help you more, Katie. I just...I really want you to be able to do magic."

When he said those last words, there was a sudden flash of something in his voice.

"What did you say?" I asked him.

"I said I want to help you more–" he started to reply, but I interrupted him.

"No, after that."

He frowned. "Er...I really want you to be able to do magic."

It was gone. His voice was as smooth there as everywhere else. Yet now I was sure I had heard it. A hint of something foreign. And if it hadn't been there the second time, it must've been a slip.

Could he be faking an English accent?