A/N: Thank you for the awesome reviews. And thanks to my wonderful beta: Leeese!

Disclaimer: Only own the plot

Chapter Four

Lost and Bound

Nathan and Haley followed Karen to the expansive library in the Scott house. Haley was surprised to see how many books were on the shelves. She walked over to the nearest shelf and started glancing through the titles of the books. "Are these books all about the magical world?" she asked them curious.

Nathan looked at her surprised. "I thought you were familiar with this stuff," he said confused as Karen started searching through another shelf. There was only a few seconds before she grabbed a book and started leafing through it. "After all, you do live and work for a magical being."

"Well, I know a little about the magical world. But it's not like I have had time to really study it with everything that I had to do for Brooke," Haley replied. "And even if I was out, there weren't a lot of places I was allowed to go. It was mostly Tric."

Nathan was about to reply when they heard a voice. The three turned to see a young woman with long black hair standing in the doorway. "Mom, do we have any rosemary left? I can't seem to find any in the cupboard," she said before noticing Haley.

"Haley, this is my little sister Lily," Nathan said, introducing them with a smile. "Lily, this is Haley, a friend of mine."

"It's nice to meet you," Haley said as she gave her a smile.

Lily smiled in return. "It's nice to meet you too."

"I just bought rosemary the other day. It should be in the cupboard somewhere," Karen told Lily, not looking up from her book. "Why do you need it anyway?"

"It's for a potion I need for a certain spell," Lily replied.

Karen finally looked up from her book and asked, "And what spell would that be?" Lily didn't answer. "If it's a spell that is not allowed, then you can forget it. You know better than that." Lily groaned but didn't say anything as she left the room. Karen sighed. "I don't know what I'm going to do with that girl."

"Don't worry, Mom. She'll get over it," Nathan assured her.

"I know. I just worry about her. That's all," Karen replied as she went back to the book.

Nathan then turned back to Haley. "What happened to your parents after you met up with Brooke?" he asked her curious.

"From what I know, they are still living in Raleigh. Surprisingly, she allows me to visit during the holidays. But that's it," Haley replied with a sigh. "Even though she had threatened to harm them, she never has."

Nathan and Karen exchanged surprised looks. "Then what does she do for punishments?" Nathan asked her, even though he was afraid of the answer. He was unable to help himself.

"It depends on how angry she is. Sometimes she locks me in my bedroom for the entire day. When she found out that I had a new friend, she wanted me to drink a truth potion," Haley told him.

Nathan was confused. "Truth potion?" He had heard of a truth spell, but never heard of a truth potion. "There's no such thing."

"Actually, there is. It's a potion that is like alcohol to humans. The only difference is that it's not as bad as actually being drunk. Still, you would feel happy, warm and light-headed. And the light-headedness makes it easy for the person to blurt out the truth if he or she is asked a question. The worst part is that you don't know how much you told," Karen replied, surprising Nathan. "As soon as you drink that potion, you're gone."

"And it tastes awful too," Haley added as she pulled a disgusted face. "I can't tell you how many times that Brooke forced me to drink that shit. And if I don't, that's when I'm supposed to be her guinea pig for the day."

"Nathan, can I talk to you for a moment out in the hall?" Karen asked her son. He nodded and followed her out in the hall. She then shut the door to the library. "I want you to gather everybody and tell them to meet me in the conference room." Nathan was confused. "Just do as I say." Nathan nodded before disappearing.

Brooke closed her eyes and tried to sense Haley once again. She groaned frustrated as she didn't get any results. "I should have stopped Nathan when I had the chance. Now that he has her, he probably won't let her go," she said in a frustrated tone. She and Peyton were in the attic, trying anything they could think of to get a read on Haley.

"He will have to. He has no choice," Peyton assured her. "The magical contract between you and Haley is binding. Nothing can break it."

"This would be so much easier if I would have known that they had moved back to Tree Hill in the first place," Brooke said annoyed.

"You don't think they came here because they found out the truth about Haley, do you?" Peyton asked her.

Brooke thought for a moment before answering. "No, I don't. Otherwise, Nathan wouldn't have come by himself to the club. And he seemed very surprised to find out that Haley was working for me."

"So what are you going to do?" Peyton asked her.

"First, I have to find out where the Scotts live," Brooke replied as she thought for a moment. She then gave her a wicked smile as an idea came to her. "And I know exactly how to do it. Where's Nikki?" she asked her.

"What do you want now?" Nikki grumbled from the couch.

Brooke and Peyton exchanged smiles before turning back to the cat. "We need you to do a favor for us. And if you come back with what we want to hear, you'll be off your punishment," Peyton told her.

Nikki was immediately interested. She was tired of walking on four legs. She instantly perked up and perched on the armchair of the couch. "What do I have to do?" she asked, ready for her mission.

"Haley is with Nathan Scott. The only problem is that he's protecting her from us. Find out anything you can about him or his family especially where they are hiding," Peyton replied. "Fail and you might as well get used to those four legs forever."

"And if you can convince Haley to come back on her own, then you will get rewarded even more," Brooke added.

"No problem," Nikki replied as she jumped down onto the floor. "Back in a flash." She then hurried out of the attic.

Just then, Julian and Owen appeared in front of them. Brooke looked at them anxiously. "What did you find out?" she asked them impatiently.

"Well, it looks like the Scotts aren't just here for the weekend. Mrs. Scott has a café downtown. Unfortunately, it was closed by the time we saw it. So we didn't have a chance to ask anybody about her," Julian replied.

"Fine. Go with Nikki and contact me the second you have found Haley," Brooke ordered and the two disappeared once again. Peyton looked at her curious. "I don't trust Nikki alone. She lies too much."

"You and I both know that she hates being a cat," Peyton replied. "And she would do anything to become a human again. And I'm sure Nathan would do anything to keep Haley away from you, no matter what the cost."

Brooke raised her eyebrows in surprise. "You think it's that serious?"

"Well, he knows you, more than Haley does. And that means that he won't let Haley go without a fight," Peyton told her.

"Neither will I, Peyton," Brooke replied. "Neither will I."