Chapter 2

Hey guys! I realise I didn't do a A/N on my first chapter but it's probably gonna be too difficult to edit. I hope you liked it, and that it's not too rough, because I personally found that chapter a bit cheesy hehe! Oh, and for those of you wondering, this is going to be a Wessa fanfic!

Anyway, hope you guys like this chapter. Pleaseeee review! It will mean the world to me.

Oh and, I couldn't work out how to upload a story on , but I finally worked it out yesterday night so I uploaded it and I had already written Chapter 2, that's why this is uploaded so quick. Yep. Enjoy!

Tessa looked startled. "You mean…"

Magnus seemed to already know the answer to what she was about to ask. "Yes," he sighed. "The London Institute. Officially. The one you once lived at."

"But…" Tessa started. "What on earth do we do?"

"You think I am supposed to know the answer to that question? I do not even know what is happening, as I have not been there myself. Frankly, I do not know if your old… friends are there."

Tessa seemed to get the hint Magnus was pointing at her. "No. You do not mean… Magnus!" she screeched. "There is no way I am ever going back to that place. I left four years ago, and I left for good. I cannot bear to see Will or Jem… if they are even still there."

"Just think about how you would feel if either of them ended up dead. Or if any of your other friends did. Tessa, Mortmain has not found you for four years. It will be a great surprise for you to be there, and I do not know what will happen after that. Tessa, you could change things."

"What about James?" Tessa protested, and glanced toward her son, who was looking up toward the two with curious eyes, although he did not seem to be knowing what was going on.

"He can stay here. With me."

"No," Tessa immediately shook her head. "No. I am not letting my son out of my sight, for I do not know what will happen when I arrive there. And you should come."

"I suppose I will have to. I know that Charlotte will be expecting me," Magnus said.

Tessa sighed, and knew that she had lost. She hesitantly nodded, and walked over to her son.

"James, we have a long journey ahead of us. We are going to London." She tried to keep the quiver out of her voice.

"Yay!" James exclaimed. They both looked towards Magnus. He appeared to be in deep concentration. Then suddenly, with a flash, a great big circle had appeared. It was blue, and looked like shimmering water. Tessa suspected it was some sort of magic of Magnus's.

"A Portal," Magnus said, to answer Tessa's unspoken question. "It will transport us to the London Institute. Don't ask questions. I'll go first."

Tessa closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. This was it. She was going back to what she swore she would escape from forever. She might see Jem or Will. Her insiders were frozen with fear as she gripped the younger boy's hand. She opened her eyes, and just saw Magnus step through the Portal.

"Ready?" Tessa asked James. James nodded. Tessa thought that he was a bit frightened and excited at the same time, although for the first time in her life she could not make out James's emotions. "On the count of three. One, two… three." And with that last word, they stepped into the Portal, finding themselves surrounded in darkness.

At first Tessa was not aware of her surroundings, except that she was holding her son's hand as if she let go, it would end her life. Then everything seemed to happen at once; she realized that she was on the steps of the London Institute, the place she hadn't seen for four years.

As she looked out, she almost screamed, if it weren't for Magnus covering her mouth. The sight she saw in front of her was horrific; there was Shadowhunters everywhere, wearing black gear, handling different types of weapons in their hands and slashing out at the 'things' that once almost killed her. Automans. They were everywhere, surrounding her and the other Shadowhunters, they were even inside the Institute as the doors were left wide open by a major rush of panic.

Tessa looked down at her son and knew that he should not be seeing such a grotesque sight. She knew that it was not safe for him here, and yet she had been selfish for wanting her to stay with her as she thought that was the best type of protection he could receive. But perhaps that was not the wisest decision. James looked terribly frightened as his eyes darted back and forth between the scene. Tessa had to admit that it looked pretty dreadful; there was fresh and dried blood scattered on gear and scattered across the pavement.

Tessa covered James's eyes with her soft hand, and abruptly scanned the crowd. She knew exactly what – more like who – she was looking for. They were two boys.

Her eyes darted back and forth between the Shadowhunters. She could faintly make out Charlotte helping Sophie slash an automan in half – Wait, she thought. Wasn't Sophie supposed to be a maid? Henry was fending off an automan, slashing with his blade fiercly, nearby, Bridget was defending Jessamine from an automan behind her, while Jessamine was already occupied with one in front of her. Tessa was glad – no not glad – overjoyed, to see her friends alive or well. In the distance she thought she caught a glimpse of curly dark black hair, but she was not quite sure. But the two boys – the two boys she had missed so much and was terrified to suddenly see now – there was no sight of either of them. She began to feel a jolt of emotions at once; terror, for she did not know if they were injured or worse – dead; relief, as she did not have to face the two people she loved most beside her son, and sadness, for she could not deny that she missed them deeply even though she supposed that it was foolish of her.

There were a lot more Shadowhunters gathered inbetween each other, fighting the deadly mechanical creatures, whom she did not know the name of, and she could see a couple of the Silent Brothers too. She thought it strange, as Silent Brothers seemed creepy to her, that they would be fighting alongside Shadowhunters. Until now, she did not even consider that they would fight.

"Magnus," she breathed, her eyes wide.

"Tessa. You stay here. You need too. This is not good for James to see, for he has no history with magic at all."

"But –"

Tessa was suddenly cut off when she heard a man's laughter in the distance. It wasn't the average laugh from happiness and joy, but instead it was a bitter laugh. Bitter and horrible and deadly. The laugh was oddly familiar.

It was Mortmain.

He was standing near a black carriage that Tessa had only just noticed parked on the path in front of the Institute. There were two horses waiting patiently there, but Tessa knew that they were not just ordinary horses. They were his mechanical creatures, the ones that had killed many Shadowhunters before. Everybody froze – even the automans, who would do anything to taste blood right now, but they froze just as well as Charlotte did.

That was when she saw him. She couldn't see those deep, blue, understanding eyes – the ones she had fell for – but instead she saw his curly black hair. Most people would think it was just somebody, but to Tessa it was somebody she loved and had not seen for four years. It was the boy she fell in love with the moment she hit him over the head with the jug. She would have known him anywhere.

Will.

"It has been four years. Four years since I have been looking for this filthy girl!" Mortmain yelled with pure rage.

"What? You mean Tessa?" Charlotte asked.

"Of course I mean Tessa, you disgraceful Nephilm. I have had countless people spy, countless attacks on this very Institute, countless searching for miles and miles, and yet we have not found her. Can someone kindly tell me as to how you have been hiding her?"

Will looked astonished. "Tessa is not even here! We have not seen her for over four years! What are you talking about?"

Tessa was still staring intently at Will, still aware of Magnus's presence beside her, stiffened. She was still aware of the little boy who was clutching her hand for dear life.

"Do not dare to play tricks on me, little Herondale boy. There she is. Right there." Mortmain pointed at Tessa.

And suddenly, everything seemed to happen in a blur. Every single face turned and stared at her and James; some with horror, some with surprise. She heard Charlotte gasp, heard Sophie gulp for breath, heard Jessamine draw in a breath, but none of that mattered, because all she was doing was staring at those dark blue eyes she had longed for for so long. He looked back at her, and even Will – Will, who was the best person Tessa had ever met at hiding his emotions – could not hide the expression on his face, horror, pity, amazement and anger. But why anger? she thought. But that didn't seem to matter. None of it did. All that mattered was the boy she had always loved standing 10 ft in front of her.

I don't even… okay, sorry if you feel that the last paragraph is meh. I'm new at this! I'm so pumped to write the next chapter. I'll try to write longer chapters. Hope you like it!