A/N Alright guys. This is going to be the last chapter with a big twist and it is the biggest of all.
Sinead's POV
I felt that feeling again. Just like my dreams. I was going to die. There was a storm outside, I heard a crack from the sky. Unlike anything I've heard before. I felt myself wake up from my dream and hear it again. Where was I? My hands were planted on a damp floor, it was as if a layer of dust was wet. I saw the lightning ahead. I crawled towards the light. The storm was brewing. I think I was in a cave. Once I reached the mouth I looked down. What? Where was I? I quickly scurried across the floor away from the opening. If I went another three feet I surely would have fallen down the mountain. To my right I heard a cough.
"Don't even try." said the girl. I knew it was a girl from the voice, but I couldn't see her.
"What?" I asked her. I reached for my wand before realizing it was gone. "Who are you? And where is my wand?"
The girl gave a quick, humorless chuckle. "I haven't held a wand since you Brits got to Durmstrang. And if I was really the one holding you hostage I wouldn't be shivering in this cave with you as we speak."
"I've been held captive?" I asked cautiously looking around frantically. "Who are you?"
"Yeah, you were captured at the dance. Anissa got you quick." she sighed.
"Anissa?" I asked harshly. I felt my blood boiling. "What are you trying to say?"
"That the girl is nuts. I've been in this god damn cave for almost a month and a half."
"Shut up!" I yelled at her. "You don't know Anissa. You don't know anything. Who the fuck are you?" I didn't feel afraid of my life but maybe my sanity. Thoughts were circling my head. I didn't know if I was confused or angry but to be honest I didn't believe her.
"I am Catalina, her half sister." the girl droned on, obviously bored with the conversation.
"Half sister? She doesn't have any siblings; she's an only child. I know Anissa!" I felt my voice rise again. I stood up and walked over to the girl. She didn't even look at me as I sat next to her, but didn't flinch either. I guess she didn't see me as a threat. From what I could tell through the darkness she had long curly hair, she looked skinny and a little hungry.
"Anissa is a Kryslin. At least her mother is a Dragonov, but her father… well, he wasn't. He loved my mother, but didn't meet her until he was married into the Dragonov household and had a baby on the way. He couldn't leave his wife, Kryslins are very forceful. So he kept our family secret. Anissa's family knew us, but that was it. Then I get back to school from break the first night. It's all normal until some new kids are brought into the school - from Hogwarts. Then I woke up here."
"So, you're trying to tell me she kidnapped you when we came?" I interrupted skeptically and sarcastically.
She nodded. "Yes. Do you want me to continue?"
"Sure." I gave her back bitterly.
"Well, I was going to this school. I had to take my mom's name and act like I didn't know Anissa. Anissa was dating Nathanial, they were in love, and I was minding my own business. The murdering at the school… well… I noticed that for some reason they were all people I knew. My peer tutor or my Quidditch teammate or that girl who sat at my potions' table. Rumors were rising about me being behind it, but who was I compared to someone like Caleb Dragonov? Caleb was the suspect. So whoever was trying to frame me was failing."
"And you're telling me in was Anissa? Little Anissa, with the perfect blonde hair?" I asked, still not believing but curious as to where this girl was going with the story. Finally the girl looked up at me. Lightening flashed outside as a strobe of light entered the cave. Just enough time for me to see the girl's eyes. They were the same deep green as Anissa. It scared me because for a second I thought it was Anissa. I still didn't believe her. I didn't know why I was starting to believe her; but considering that this girl had the same unusual eye color it almost validated part of her story."So you're telling me Anissa was the murderer?"
"Anissa!" She laughed. It wasn't a harsh laugh, but it was humorless. I can't imagine how crazy she's gone in this cave. "Anissa is far from a murderer. But she does control it all. Nathanial thinks one thing, Daniela another, and Caleb another."
"But why? What's her motive?" I started to reconsider everything and fear started to seep into my bones.
"She thinks that our dad should have left her mom and not have caused her so many trust issues growing up. She thinks that she should be able to be with Nathanial without her family's disapproval. She hates the Kryslin power. Which is weird since she is one, but she just knows how to fuel everyone."
Then I thought of Christian. I couldn't help myself, and yes, it was away from the big picture, but I had to ask. "What about Chris? What is her deal with him?"
The girl looked at her feet again for a long pause. The drops outside were the only noise as the rain and hail hit the floor of the mouth of the cave. "She was… I mean, is, infatuated with him. Anissa is very practiced in Dark Magic, more so than Nathanial or any of them. So she would channel me. Since I am defenseless without a wand and weak from hunger- well, I obliged. I would do all the social things amongst you Hogwarts kids and she would deal with the other business. She created a connection between us. So I am like a little voice in her head telling her what to say and do. So when she connects me, whether I'm in control or not, I can see everything."
"But what is she planning with him?" I asked, becoming more terrified by the second.
The girl looked down again. "I don't know… to marry him… have children with him. She has fallen for him, but he really has fallen for… me…"
I let this sink in. Everything was swirling around my head. Everything I knew seemed wrong. "What about Caleb?"
"Caleb is her weakness, biggest asset and biggest downfall. She'd never hurt him. He is like her version of your Christian. A friend- a best friend. He has gotten in the way though, as she was planning on framing me and then everything was put on him. Plus he broke her up with Nathanial. She had to pretend she didn't care, but Anissa cared. More than anything, she cared. He was her first love. I'll get to that in a minute. Back to Caleb. So she planted the idea in Taylor's head about the wishing stone. So Taylor spent months finding it, then gave it to Caleb. Taylor felt it was her achievement even though Anissa set the whole thing up for her. She set a trail and Taylor found it, and then suggested Caleb do the same to see who was loyal. Anissa was completely under the radar, but one hundred percent in control."
"And Nathanial?"
"Loved him, kind of end game deal. Wanted him since she was a first year, started dating last year, Caleb broke them up, and they would meet in secret, over the summer she got over him, kinda. Was planning on getting back with him in the New Year. That was until she saw some Hogwarts kids coming off a boat. She was going to just shoot killing curses as she saw them to shoo them away. Hit one or two and then hope they'd retreat or maybe miss all of them but try and scare them. Until Christian came along. She saw him, and then was immediately obsessed. She kidnapped me - as I was better at making friends and talking to people. I'd help her get close to you guys in return for better and more frequent food and minor comforts. Like that mattress in the corner. But when you guys came- well, it was a warning sign. She knew what you were up to. It was obvious to her. She who plays games know when she's played, you know?"
"So how do you get out of here? And why haven't you?" I realized it was stupid the moment I said it but the girl gave me a warm smile.
"You're stuck here. Nathanial brought you up. He thinks the Christian thing is a ploy but he was angry about our - I mean her and Christian's- kiss. She has been sending letters home to my family and told my friends I was at that French school and been answering all their letters to me. She won't do the same with you. I think she's ready for the war to begin. You are the trigger. Just be glad you're up here and not down there."
"Oh, we're getting down!" I said, finally knowing what to do: I needed to use my dream. "I need that mattress you were talking about."
Ellie's POV
I wish I could say I knew what was going on, but that would be a lie. I just remember confusion, panic and then being grabbed by Bliss and dragged to the third floor. Her doing something to a painting and being put into a room. I never noticed the décor, or at least it wasn't imprinted in my mind. Eventually Christian, Taylor, Gene, Athena, Nicholas, Campbell, and Neta were thrown in with us. No Caleb.
Christian was arguing, trying to get out to find Sinead and Anissa. But with all the noise that could be heard threw the wall it was probably better to stay here.
"Coward," Gene said from the side of the room as he sat against the damp stone wall. His voice shook a little as he continued, "I feel like a coward. This is not what we are here for. We should be stopping this."
"There's nothing you can do." Bliss said hopelessly, looking at him. "Judging from the bags under your eyes you haven't slept in days. Wouldn't be a bad place to sleep now, 'cause you're not getting out." she noted blatantly, with no sarcasm or anything coming from her voice.
Taylor was spinning her ring around her finger nervously. "Can someone explain what is going on? This is the randomest group of people. Where is Caleb? And Anissa and Sinead?"
Bliss looked at her. "I don't know. Caleb ran into the woods, I saw that from the window. Probably getting out of the line of fire." she responded, slightly disgusted.
After a few moments of awkward silence, Taylor spoke up again. "What are you Hogwarts kids doing here anyway? Like, what is the point, did your parents know you were being transferred to a place like this?"
No one spoke. Gene got up, and said "I think we should say something."
Christian gave him a warning look. "Gene, watch what you say. We don't even know what's going on outside."
"It's ridiculous, Christian!" Gene yelled back at him. "This shouldn't be our life. We are kids. This should be done by professionals. Aurors or something!"
Then commotion arose. Arguing, yelling, accusing. Nicholas turned to me and answered harshly "Who even are you?"
"You know me, Nick." I responded, putting my hand gently on his, which he pulled away. For the first time in my life I stood on a chair and shouted "Shut up!" Everyone went silent and looked up at me faces softening as their anger started to die away, yet still a few flames of conflict still smoldering in their eyes. "We are here on a mission. Kris Kringle sent us to figure out the murders here. I personally didn't expect to get so attached to the school." I finished strongly, throwing in quietly after "...or the people in it."
Taylor looked angrily at Christian and Gene. "So you were playing us!?"
Christian stood forward and reached for her arm but she pulled away and pulled out her wand. He continue approaching her selflessly knowing she wouldn't hurt him, "No. We were trying to save you! We cleared Caleb's name with the ministry -" She started lowering it as he continued, "he was a suspect. They know everything. Even if we all had separate plans going on, we all had the same goal. To save the school."
Gene then stood forward and put his hand gently over Taylor's wand hand. "It's because we care. I had to suck up to Nathanial."
Christian looked at Gene appreciably. Gene really did put himself in the most danger- making him the hero, something Christian wasn't.
Christian's POV
I finally fell asleep. This stupid room didn't have any blankets but mental exhaustion really gets to you. It wasn't a deep sleep but suddenly I got into this weird dream.
The eerie feeling of hopelessness came upon me= I heard a distant rumble of thunder, flashes of lightning. It was so faint that I thought I might have imagined it, but I knew I didn't... The rumbling grew louder and louder as the lightning started getting closer. Very quickly the sky turned from a mysterious gray to ink black. There were no stars and no way to see anything, but I knew where everything was and what everything looked like. The wind increased in intensity. I could see the trees bent precariously to one side as though they were going to fall over or get blown away like feathers. Then I heard the crack as a bolt of lightning hit the ground in front of me, I didn't flinch. Right where the bolt hit I could feel the presence of another person. Her hair was drawn back in a tight bun, her clothes were burgundy and she had a fur scarf draping over her coat. She had a grim frown on her face; and she gave me a warning look and was about to speak.
Suddenly wind threw her hood off her head. The piercing blue eyes contrasting with her pale skin - it was Sinead. She looked at me knowingly, no smile, no sense of happiness. Then she uttered two words: "find me."
Suddenly we were in a cave and my vision zoomed (this part doesn't make sense, please clarify what he's actually seeing/feeling) out past the cave, past the huge mountain where it was hidden, back to the school.
My eyes opened quickly. No one else was asleep but everyone was doing their own thing; Some talking, some napping, other just staring at the ceiling. We would be escorted out of the building in two more hours. I had to get her first. I inched towards the door and noticed there was no more sound in the hallway. It was as if no one was even in the castle.
"Christian!" I heard Athena yell, but I turned on my heel and ran. I didn't care how dangerous it was. No one followed. How was I going to get to that mountain? I thought as I continued running, not knowing where I was even heading.
I ran by the foyer, the sound of yelling echoed through the halls. Someone would yell, then a crowd would respond. Almost like a prep rally or something. I should have kept going, but instead decided to listen in. Nathanial was speaking, on a loudspeaker to hundreds of students. "Take the Kryslins. Take a stand." he was yelling. I needed to keep going. Sinead mattered more.
I then found myself outside the Quidditch locker room. Before I knew it my hand was on a broom. That was when my adrenaline rush ended. This is so stupid. I should have brought backup, a friend, but now here I was. A broom. A broom that flies. I don't fly. I can't fly. I kept looking at the broom. Being in the air was hard enough but I didn't even know how to fly.
I straddled the broom, hoping for some miracle. But it was just me. I opened the large doors the players flew out of before a game. The field, or really the whole outside was abandoned. I then bent my knees and kicked off. My heart rate quickened with every extra foot my feet were separated from the ground. My hands felt slippery, what if I fell? I felt my arms start to shake. I couldn't do this. The world was spinning; air pushed my hair off my face. I was over the forest now. If I fell now, I'd be a goner.
Sinead's life or mine? I'd always choose her, but I didn't want to die.
"Need some backup?" I looked to my left. I looked to my left and found myself face to face with Gene's familiar lopsided grin.
"What are you-" I started as my broom made a sudden motion to the left. He caught it and stopped them next to each other in mid air. "What're you doing here Gene?"
"I saw you at Nate's rally. I followed you, but thought I lost you until I saw you there. I lost you again, until I looked at the sky and some doofus swerving in the sky going as slow as the broom lets you. What are you doing?"
"I know where Sinead is."
There was a pause before Gene spoke. "She'll need a seat so we can't just abandon a broom. Here's the deal. You tell me where to go and hold the second broom and me, I'll do the steering."
Could I trust him? We haven't talked in weeks. Not even "hi" in the hallway. But it was Gene; we were on the same team. "Sounds good. Let's go."
We flew towards the mountain. I couldn't help thinking if maybe this dream was stupid or just something I made up. At least I was out of the castle but what if others followed? I felt a pit sink in my stomach. I still didn't know where Anissa was.
"You okay man?" Gene yelled from infront of me. I was grabbing him so hard around the waist I wouldn't be surprised if I stopped the circulation.
"Yes," I squeeked before clearing my throat and repeating it.
"Listen," Gene began. "Sorry we haven't talked in a while. I feel good about it though. Like I really helped the cause. I did miss you though."
I didn't respond at first until I thought about it, "you grew as a person man."
He responded with what I was thinking, "I grew out of your shadow bro. But it's okay. Cause when we get back things will be different but for the better."
I nodded appreciably even if he didn't see me. We flew for another hour or so, until we were by the mountains. For some reason I knew exactly where to go. We handed a few meters from a cave that I knew she was in.
I yelled her name and she ran to the mouth to see me. Her hair was unkept and her eyes were glassy. None of that mattered. There she was.. I couldn't help but run up and grab her. I wrapped my arms around Sinead, and the familiar smell of her perfume… well, it had an interesting effect on me. I started crying. The thought of actually losing Sinead was scarier than anyone else. I felt like that missing part of me was back as I held onto my lifeline.
Sinead's POV
Gene stood behind us smiling, and I tried smiling back. I couldn't let go of Christian but I reached out for his hand and pulled him in.
After a solid 3 minutes, Catalina walked forward. There was confusion, but after explaining that she was a hostage (not about Anissa yet), Christian held out his hand and plastered that winning smile on his face. Catalina looked nervous, taking a step forward and reaching out her hand. Then their eyes met. Christian - very quickly - pulled out his wand.
"Where's Anissa?" he hissed at Catalina.
I immediately stepped between them. "Chris, just let us explain."
"She has her eyes, Sinead. I don't know what dark magic this shit is, but-"
"Drop your wand, Christian!" I yelled, pushing his arm down. "Just listen to me!"
So I told them both. Christian had a total of two freak-outs, and called Catalina a liar four times, but after an hour or four he understood.
Gene was the first to talk. "Kringle is at Durmstrang collecting the Hogwarts students. They are sneaking out the Quidditch door. The whole school will be swarmed with the Ministry in a few minutes."
"No, it won't." Catalina replied. "They have a force field on the school. It is impossible to get in or out unless you are currently a student."
"Come with us." I replied urgently, grabbing her hand. "You can stay with me until it's over. We should try to save as many people as possible."
Catalina smiled sweetly. "I can't. I have to fight this battle. No one knows Anissa is responsible. I have to meet up with Bliss. I have to go back."
I got what she meant. It was time for bravery. "I'll go with you."
"No!" Catalina and Christian both yelled at me at the same time. They both looked at each other, Catalina smiled small whilst he gave her an almost dirty look. He felt tricked, I guess, but it was stupid.
"We have brooms." Gene replied.
Catalina squared her shoulders. She wasn't scared, but looked like she wanted to set the score right. Maybe get her back for years of being overshadowed and having to hide. Catalina had a spark in her eye as if she was ready to do anything possible to give Anissa what she deserved
"Will you drop me at the bottom of the mountain, Gene?" Catalina asked. I grabbed her in the biggest hug; Christian didn't even look up from his shoes. I literally wanted to punch him. She hopped on the back of Gene's wand giving Christian a last lingering look.
When they were gone I punched Christian's shoulder as hard as I could.
"What the hell, Sinead?!" he yelled, rubbing where I hit him.
"You were such an ass!" I screeched back at him.
"She tricked me! I know she had no choice, but…"
"Christian, she's the girl you love! Not Anissa. It's been her the whole time. She's the one you talk to, the one you kissed… If I could give someone special like that a kiss I would…" I thought out loud, thinking of… I was thinking of Caleb - what is wrong with me?
"She's not Anissa." he responded glumly.
I couldn't even respond. We made our way down the mountain. Ministry officials were shooting spells trying to break the shield but it wasn't working. About half the Hogwarts kids were huddled together. Christian and I walked over. Kringle was there, but he looked busy. I don't remember the journey home, but soon I was back sitting in the Gryffindor Common Room. This wasn't where I should be.
A/N So unfortuantly a lot of you didn't review the last 2 chapters.
Next chapter will be featuring the people who review and for the first time will have a Durmstrang POV (Taylor).
2 more chapters left and I am stuck for ideas so if anyone wants to throw me a bone I'd appreciate it (Help your character get in)
Review per usual please about what you think of the new Anissa twist etc.
