Being Alive

~Now I'm tired of trying to keep you

All I want to do is sleep

And perhaps, when I'm sleeping

You'll get back on your feet~

Death Eaters in America were... Dramatic, overall. The riot had broken out in Jackson Square. Blaze swore under her breath, a curse flying passed her ear as one of the Death Eaters caught sight of her curly red hair.

She ran into the battle, Harry trailing behind her. "STUPEFY!" She shouted. Her spell missed her intended target, instead hitting another masked man. A spell hit the statue in the middle of square; it teetered threateningly. Blaze sent a freezing charm at it, causing it to hang in mid-air above a muggle child and mother crouching by the statues base. She ran to defend them as a cloaked figure raised his wand towards them. She randomly wondered how these men could possibly be wearing such thick, dark cloaks in this heat. Sweat was already pouring down her face, dampening her hair in the Louisiana heat.

She threw herself in front of the two muggles, immediately dueling the Death Eater.

"BLAZE," she heard Harry cry out. "We need to call backup!"

He was right, of course. They were outmatched in skill and certainly outnumbered. But she couldn't be bothered with that now. She had to protect the little girl. She had to get these people to safety.

The man sent a curse at her. Her arm burned where the spell made contact. Her skin seemed to be getting eaten away. "Sectum Sempra!" Two large stains began to appear on his cloak as blood started to pour out of him.

"Incendio!" The Death Eater's cloak caught on fire. He shouted, and went to put out the flames. This bought Blaze enough time to stun him and shield the family and herself from any other spells. She turned and held her hand out to the little girl. "Come with me! Hurry!" The mother grabbed her hand without a second thought and they ran away from the battle. Blaze pushed them into safety, and as they ran further away, wiped their memories.

She ran back to the Square, stopping outside the gate and raising her wand to the sky. "Expecto Patronum!" A flash of silver streaked into the sky. She hoped the message would make it, but she could not be sure as she was tackled not one second later.

They fell behind some bushes, the leaves scratching Blazes cheeks. His warm breath hit her face. It reeked of alcohol and cigarettes. "You're a pretty one," he laughed as Blaze struggled against him. "Don't fight it, baby. It'll be fun." His entire weight was on her, crushing her into the ground. He pinned both her arms above her head with one hand, the other slipping up her shirt. She let out a strangled scream. She couldn't reach her wand. She couldn't move. Things were starting to become blurry...

"I didn't let them hurt you," Charahan whispered. He brushed a strand of auburn hair away from her bloody face.

"But they hurt you," Blaze croaked, touching his swollen cheek. He flinched and nodded. "What happened?" She asked.

"You blacked out when he... He was... Touching you. It was disturbing. I started attacking him. They tortured me."

Blaze flinched.

"Sometimes, when the brain realizes something traumatic is happening, it shuts off to protect itself, when you can't fight your way out of being hurt."

Blaze was shaking. The room was pitch black save for a few streaks of moonlight falling across the pair. Charahan pulled Blaze close to him, cradling her gently to his chest, and kissed her temple.

"It'll be okay," he said. "Ryland may say he hates you," Charahan chuckled, "But he'll always save you."

A bright flash of light brought Blaze back to the present. Oh, no, she thought, not now. Why now?!

She wasn't sure what was happening. There was no longer any weight on top of her but it did feel hard for her to breathe. "Blaze!" A familiar voice shouted. Who was that? "BLAZE," he said again. She found it hard to move, or open her eyes. She just wanted to sleep. But she willed her eyelids to open. She stared at the sky. "Blaze," the man breathed, his lips close to her ear. She was jostled and was soon being carried in two very strong arms. She could still hear people shouting spells though the sound faded as she was carried away.

"Charahan," she finally built the strength to say.

"No," he responded tensely. "Try again."

Panic built up inside of her. "Where's Harry?"

"Still fighting." The man seemed relieved that she was speaking. "You're lucky I got your message. You idiot." She breathed a nervous chuckle before her head fell back and her eyes shut again.

Blaze woke up in a very comfortable bed. She groaned. She did not want to wake up yet. She snuggled further into the mattress, bringing the blankets up to her chin. "Blaze," the man from before said.

"James." Her voice was much lighter than she'd expected it to be. "Where are we?"

"The Witch's Wart. You fainted."

"Yeah, I sorta hit my head when that guy jumped me."

Ryland's face darkened considerably. "What happened? When we got here, we couldn't find you at first. And when I did, he was on top of you. I blasted him away before he could do anything."

"His hand was up my shirt," Blaze recalled. Her eyes widened. "You don't think he would've... Out in public like that?"

"You were in a pretty secluded spot. I don't think he would've minded."

Blaze swallowed and looked at the foot of her bed. "Anyway, we got there in the thick of it. I had to get a muggle family to safety and then I sent the message, which distracted me. That's when the dude pushed me down. My wand got knocked out of my hand..." She began to push herself into a sitting position, looking around, but Ryland pressed his hand to her shoulder.

"I got it," he said. "Just stay down." He took out her wand and pressed it into her hand. "Braughman's furious."

"Look, Harry and I did the best we could and I called for backup. I did everything he told me to do so he has no right to be angry at me."

"I know. I'll talk him down. You just rest, we'll leave soon."

"I was planning on staying here for a while... Show Harry a place I actually know something about."

Ryland's posture stiffened. "You... Like him?"

"So what if I do? He's hot. He actually smiles at me. And we're going to be living together so there's plenty reason to..."

"To what?"

"That's a bit private, actually. None of your business." Blaze folded her arms, her bottom lip jutting out in defiance. Ryland narrowed his eyes.

"Fine. Do whatever you want. But now you owe me more."

"What do you mean? What the hell do I owe you?"

Ryland stood. "Well, I've saved your life again, and, I assume, your virginity as well?"

Blaze felt her cheeks grow hot as her face filled with color. She pulled a pillow from behind her back and threw it at Ryland's head. "GET OUT! Leave me alone!" Ryland caught the pillow and threw it at Blaze's feet. He smirked as he walked out if the room. Blaze threw her head back on the pillows. "Ugh." That jerk.

Blaze stood, holding the sheets around herself. She did not want to face Braughman right now. She really just wanted to sleep some more. No, she really wanted this stupid war to be over. But that wasn't very likely to happen too soon so she'd have to deal. She walked over to the window and opened it. She was only two stories up. She had her wand. She could jump from here, but what would she do about Harry? She wanted to show him some of her hometown. And like some miracle, he walked through the door. Blaze turned to look up at him. "Harry, just the person I was hoping for."

"Hey, what are you doing? Shouldn't you be resting?"

"Nah, I'm fine. I really wanted to show you somethings around town, but I don't want to see Braughman right now."

"Why not?" Harry cocked his head to the side.

"He'll give me hell. Ryland's made sure of that. So come on."

"Wait, no," Harry said as Blaze straddled the window ledge. "I have an easier way, come back here." He laughed as Blaze gave him a confused look but obeyed him. He pulled out some fabric from his backpack and flung it over her.

"Is this... Am I invisible?" Blaze asked as she looked down at the fabric.

"Yeah, now just be quiet and come downstairs with me. Just leave the window open."

Together, they made their way into the lobby. Braughman and Ryland were sitting across from each other, both drinking from iron mugs. Harry cleared his throat. "Are you sure you sent me to the right room? There wasn't anyone in there."

Braughman stood immediately and wordlessly passed them and went upstairs. "Coward," Ryland muttered. Harry said nothing, only nodded. Blaze fumed beside him.

"Do you think Braughman would mind if I go look around? I've never been to America before," Harry said.

"Yeah, sure," Ryland said. "Do you want me to come with you?"

"No, I think I'll be alright." Ryland nodded and Harry left, Blaze following behind him.

"Why'd you do that for me?" Blaze asked as she took the cloak off and handed it back to Harry.

"I want to talk to you. I want you to tell me what you know and who you really are." And with that, Blaze Parks was being held at wand point by Harry Potter.

AN: Alrighty, sorry this took me so long. Been very busy. I don't think I'll be continuing with this for too much longer if at all. I might pick it back up again during holidays. I just have so much to do right now. Please read my other two stories and please review!