Authors Note: I won't keep you long. I'm sure you want to find out who she chooses . . . So go!
Chapter -:Seven:-
For Once Things Fall Perfectly Into Place
He grasped me around the waist, hugging me tightly. I buried my face in his neck, opening my mouth to whisper his name . . .
"Fang," I breathed, not relishing my choke hold on him. The relief I felt at finally bringing a close to all the terror and heartbreak was overwhelming. His smell infiltrated every particle of my being, and I never wanted to let go.
"Max . . ." he said, stunned. I pulled back enough so I could see his face, laughing at the shocked expression I found there. He shook his head, his eyes going unfocused. When he looked at me though, he grinned in a way I had never seen before, and even though it was probably the middle of the night, in my little world, everything was blazing in light.
He took my face in his hands then, brushing his fingertips across my cheeks. He still wore a small look of disbelief . . . but there was happiness mixed in. It was one of the most emotional moments of his entire life, I had no doubt. He shook his head again, looking up at the sky like he was thanking the gods. He returned his gaze to me moments later, smiling once more.
Without hesitation I stood a little taller, yanking his head down to meet mine. The moment our lips touched I got a tingly feeling all over, like an electric shock. It wasn't in any way painful though. Quite the opposite, actually.
When we finally pulled away, slightly gasping for air, he touched his forehead against mine, staring deeply into my eyes. "I love you," he said with as much conviction as possible.
"I love you too," I admitted, grinning. There was a new lightness to my being, now that the dilemma had been resolved and there was no more back and forth between Fang and . . . Blaze. Oh God.
I glanced swiftly over, catching sight of my soulmate. He was standing awkwardly, his shoulders hunched over. His eyes were glazed over a bit, and he had a confused look on his face. He must have felt my eyes on him, because he looked up at me immediately, perplexity clearly written all over his face.
"Max?" he asked breathlessly.
"Blaze . . . I'm sorry, I just . . ." I trailed off. There wasn't really a good explanation.
"Lift up your shirt," he demanded, his sight honing in on my waist.
"What?" I deadpanned.
He rolled his eyes. "Just so you can see your marks, idiot."
I gave him a disgruntled look before detaching myself from Fang's arms. I tugged on the hem of my t-shirt, lifting it so that you could see my hips. I think my mouth might have dropped to the ground . . . because where once there was a gold and crimson mesh of flames that represented the idea that Blaze and I were soulmates, a slight change had been made.
There was still the same tattoo as before; one side gold and the other an ancient looking red color, intertwining and coming together at my navel. But all through that there was now a thread of pure silver, weaving it's way throughout the flames.
"What . . . what does that mean?" I inquired, stunned. Fang and Blaze seemed to be in various states of surprise as well.
"I don't know for sure . . . but I think that when you chose Fang over me, you irrevocably twisted your own destiny. You quite literally shoved him in the middle. I've never heard of a case quite like this."
"So . . . Fang's my soulmate now?" I asked.
"Do you remember when Echo was telling you about the whole soulmate thing?" he said instead of answering my question.
I nodded.
"Good. Then you also might recall him talking not just about one true love, but a one true friend?"
"And your point is . . .?"
"You get both. For the first time in the history of the entire universe, you get both."
"Fang's my soulmate," I said slowly, mulling it over. "And your my soul . . . friend?"
"I never believed you that day, when you told me that there wasn't a doubt in your mind that you could change your so called 'destiny', as you put it. I always thought that no matter what, the tie between us was too strong to break," he explained. "But you've done it. You've gone against everything we've previously known, and you've changed your destiny, all by yourself. You can do anything, Max."
For once in my life, something had gone right. Instead of getting all messed up and terrible, all the pieces had fallen effortlessly into place. I liked the feeling of that. It was more than I could have ever expected. The whole situation was perfect . . . maybe too perfect . . . but that could come later. For now I would enjoy my bliss.
- }{ -
"I forgot to tell you earlier, but our O.W.L results came," Harry informed me when I stepped into the kitchen after a short flight. The days had been briskly getting chillier, and I wanted to get in as much air time as I could before everything started frosting over.
"Oh? How'd you do?" I inquired, opening the cupboards and scanning through their contents.
"Pretty good. I got a Dreadful in History of Magic considering I wonked out in the middle of it, and a Poor in Divination, though that's not much of a surprise. My best grade was an Outstanding, in Defense Against the Dark Arts."
"That's awesome," I mumbled around a sticky glob of peanut butter, licking the remnants of it off my fingers.
"And the letters and book lists came the day after my birthday . . . They've made me Quidditch Captain," he admitted sheepishly.
"Are you serious!" I exclaimed, dropping the jar of canned corn I had removed to search into the deeper recesses of the storage compartment. "Why didn't you tell me before? How could I have missed it!"
"You've been busy," he replied.
"With what?" I asked incredulously. The flock and I really hadn't been up to much of the late.
"Training and the like."
"Oh . . ." I said. "Well you still should have told me."
"I guess now would be a bad time to mention we're all off to Diagon Alley for supplies this afternoon then?" he inquired sheepishly.
"No . . . as long as we're allowed to tag along. Things aren't looking good there. Florean Fortescue's ice-cream joint is deserted. Heck, most of the stores there are. It's not a place you need to be wandering around by yourself at."
"I don't need to be babysat, Max!" Harry exclaimed angrily.
I had been keeping him on a tight leash now that I was back. Excuse me for wanting to make sure he didn't die! Last time I checked, it wasn't a bad thing.
I glared at him. "I never considered it to be babysitting before . . . but now that you're acting like a child, maybe that is what it should be called," I cried vehemently, crossing my arms over my chest.
His face softened. "I'm sorry, Max. I know you're just trying to keep me safe. I shouldn't complain . . . it's just, I don't want you to get hurt either. Fang might kill me if I let something happen to you."
"And the world will end if you die, regardless if I'm alive or not. I think me for you, and coincidentally the entire earth's population, is a fair trade."
"That's enough talk about death for one day, I think."
I couldn't help but nod my head in agreement.
- }{ -
Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes was, quite literally, a shining beacon amongst the dark. Everything else about Diagon Alley was dank and depressing, infested with rotten criminals trying to cheat you into buying their anti-evil objects. It was all a load of crap if you asked me.
This though . . . it was something else entirely.
"This is amazing," I breathed when we were inside, and packed together as we were, I was still impressed.
"Why thank you!" a voice shouted from behind me.
"Your approval means ever so much," another said.
I whirled around, only to come face to face with the masterminds behind the whole ploy themselves, Fred and George.
"It looks great. It really does," I admitted, admiring the shelves stocked with any number of odd contraptions. "A person could find an excuse for anything in here."
"We pride ourselves on that," Fred or George said. I still, for as long as I had known them, couldn't tell the two apart. It was quite sad, actually.
"Anything we could get for you, Ms. Ride? We are fully at your assistance. We have all kinds of merchandise. How about a Skiving Snackbox, or a trick wand? They come in all kinds of varieties. Perhaps something in the WonderWitch line, then? We'd give you a love potion, if you didn't already have half the school smitten," one said smartly.
"Yes, you've concocted quite a following. Even more so than Ginny, which I dare say relieves my old soul," the other complied cheekily.
I rolled my eyes, glancing around the store once more. Just as I was about to turn the other direction, I caught sight of Harry, Ron and Hermione with their heads bent together, speaking earnestly. My eyes narrowed.
"I . . . I think I'm just going to look around a bit more. You should attend to your . . . other customers," I said distractedly, waving the twins off. When their attention was safely consumed elsewhere I sidled over to where the others were.
"What are you three up to?" I asked menacingly, making Hermione jump about a foot in the air. I barely spared her a glance.
"Nothing," Harry said hurriedly, stuffing something into his bag quickly. He wasn't fast enough, though.
"Oh? And why do you have your Invisibility Cloak then? Off to do some snooping, I presume. A little meddling in business that isn't yours, most likely in a dangerous and highly hazardous manner."
"It's about Draco! It's important Max. We have to go," Harry hissed.
"Then I'm coming too," I insisted.
"But there's not enough room under the cloak."
I sighed.
"Fine then. I'm trusting you on this one. Get there and back as quickly as possible. You're going to tell me everything you've learned, understand?" I demanded, my eyes narrowing once more.
"Thanks Max!" Harry exclaimed. "We'll be careful, I promise."
It wasn't Harry I was worried about though. His promise didn't mean a thing to . . . say, a Death Eater. They would kill him just as easily, no matter how many precautions he took.
Authors Note: Okay, explanation time; there's no way in the world I could break up the Fax-ness, even though some of you said you wanted Blaze because there were too many Fax stories out there. I for one, will never get tired of Fax, and I'm certainly not going to disregard it in my own story! So sorry for that.
And then there's the whole Fang being her soulmate thing. I get that that's taking the easy way out, even more so than her just being with Blaze, but I wanted at least something to go perfectly, and that seemed like a good one. Besides, she's going to have to be with Blaze a lot because of training, and wouldn't it be kind of awkward after her choosing Fang? Knowing Blaze, he'd probably end up storming into the night. This seemed like a good compromise.
Anyway, review?
