A.R.I.S.E and the Snake Society
Chapter Ten: Irrational's Best
Albus's jaw felt so clamped it might shatter. His hands clenched on the book he'd taken. He stood up swiftly, left hand already reaching into his back pocket for his wand.
By the time his wand was poised and ready, the culprit was gone. Albus didn't move though, just tried to focus on breathing or talking or laughing. There was not a sound.
He slowly exhaled and walked to his Ever first. "Get the others," Albus told her, "now."
She must've heard something in his tone, because she didn't question the command. In less then three minutes, they were all standing in front of him.
"So," Indigo said. "What happened?"
"I . . ." I started. "There was . . ."
"Yes?" Ever prodded.
"The man who attacked me," he rushed out. "He was there, and he gave me this." He handed the book to Ever.
No one spoke.
"Are you sure?" Rose asked. When he gave her a dark look, she hurried on, "I mean, could it have been someone who looked like him?"
"No," Albus answered surely. "I'm positive it was him."
"So," began Ever, "he's trying to . . . Help us?" She showed all of them the book.
"They must want us to know for some reason." Ever concluded. "They must want you to know more about your talent. Maybe they think they'll be scared of what you see, so you won't Project anymore."
"Maybe he wants you to Project," Indigo suggested. "They want you to see the thing they do, like Ever."
"But Ever's visions are fake," Scorpius reminded her, and she gave a tight nod.
"Whatever the reason is," Albus said, "it doesn't matter. Obviously, they want us to know. But I still need to know. I'm going to study that book, even if I'm setting myself up for something."
So he did. That night, he stayed up well after everyone was asleep. His wand-tip lit, he studied pages until his eyes grew heavy and his vision was so blurry that trying to read would do no good.
Even after placing the book under his pillow, he couldn't get to sleep. He remembered that when he'd Projected the time before, his wand was in his pocket. He also remembered that he'd forgotten to take the wand out of his pocket when he went to sleep. Just in case he would Project again, the wand was safely in the pocket of his night-shirt.
He didn't want to sleep, not after his attacker had been in the castle. And, apparently, wanted him to Project. He couldn't control it, and some small part of him was wondering if someone else had control of it.
That thought sent a violent shiver down his spine. He banished it. He had enough to deal with.
Exhaustion gripped him and held tight. The fog eventually won over, despite the fight he put up.
He dreamed of nothing. The blackness clouded his brain, and he'd never found such happiness in such boredom.
Ever was not having such luck.
The next morning, she wasn't walking with Indigo and Rose. They told Albus that she told them to go, that she'd catch up. He nodded.
"Did you find anything in the book?" Indigo asked, giving his a small smile as they walked next to each other.
He shook his head. "So far, all it's talking about is how rare it is and how it's both a gift and a cure. I could've figured out both of those things on my own."
She gave another smile. "I always knew you were special."
She playfully knocked her shoulder against his, and a grin crossed his lips. "Well, if you think it, then it must be true." He told her lightly.
"Must be," she added, her gaze flicking from his eyes to his lips. "You're smiling."
His smile grew. "I tend to do that."
She shook her head. "Not since they attacked you. I've only seen you smile a couple of times."
The grin faded, and she looked so full of regret he almost put it back up just to see the lightness in her eyes again. "I've been scared, I guess," he explained, hating how his voice nearly quavered. "For everyone,"
She nodded, every trace of a laugh forgotten.
"Let's not worry about that now." He suggested.
She nodded again, her brow smoothing a little.
"I'm sorry I brought it up." She said.
"Don't be," he replied. "If you have anything on your mind, I don't want you to be afraid to say it to me. And I'll do the same for you. OK?"
Her beautiful mocha-colored faced smoothed all the way. "Alright," Indigo's blue eyes met Albus's green, and for a second they just stood like that.
Her silky, brown hair tumbled over her shoulders as she looked away. He thought he saw a blush on her cheeks.
Then Ever was there. Her multi-colored hair was in knots, her grey-blue eyes puffy with dark circles under them. Albus was immediately filled with concern, and he stepped toward Ever.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
"I had another vision last night."
Her voice was hoarse. Had she been crying?
Gasps from everyone but Albus.
"What was it about?" he whispered.
He touched her arm, and she leaned into him.
"They killed someone."
Albus moved a little closer. God, they really were trying to drive her insane, weren't they?
"I'm so sorry, Ever," Rose choked out. "I can't imagine . . ."
"You don't want to," Ever told her quietly. "Imagine, I mean. The things I've seen are horrible."
"Let's get to breakfast," Scorp suggested.
Rose rolled her eyes at him. "Not everything can be solved with food, Scorpius,"
"No," Indigo spoke-up. "No, I think he's right. You look like you could use some food, Ev,"
When Scorpius, Rose, and Indigo began to head for the Dining Hall, Albus called out, "Guys, I'm just going to talk to Ever for a second. We'll be right in."
Indigo threw a look over her shoulder, but Scorpius just through up a dismissal hand-signal.
"Okay," Indigo said at last. And then Albus and Ever were alone.
"Something was different." He accused, keeping his voice gentle.
"What do you mean?" She asked, startled. She pulled out of his reach and faced him with the intensity of an angry bull.
"Something was different about this vision," he explained. "Something was . . . worse."
They just stared at each other. Albus didn't dare make another statement, and he noticed that Ever wasn't denying anything.
"Yes," she said at last. "It was . . . worse."
He didn't say anything. He didn't move to comfort her.
"They tortured him first."
He stayed still.
"And it was so familiar." She looked into his eyes then. Her grey-blue ones were shiny with tears, and he wanted to wrap his arms around her. But he didn't move. He wouldn't, not until she was done.
"Remember when we were eleven, and I told you that I could see them? And then you told me why you couldn't?"
He nodded.
"It was my mum," she explained, her chest heaving. "I was eight. I never knew who my dad was. My mum always told me that she didn't have any family, so we were all we had. And each other was enough." She laughed bitterly. "Not anymore, right?"
She still wasn't done. He could sense that.
"We were about to watch a movie. We did it every weekend. She went into the kitchen to get snacks. I remember the popcorn fell to the ground and spilled all over the floor. She didn't like messes, my mum. She was on the floor, screaming. I asked her what was wrong, over and over. She just screamed. I tried to call the police, but I couldn't find the phone. Then, out of nowhere, it was like a beam of green hit her, and she was gone. I held her and I cried and I called the police. While they were on their way, all I could think about was cleaning up the popcorn for her."
She wasn't crying, but she looked nearly broken in half.
"The doctors said they couldn't find anything that would cause death. Her heart just . . . stopped." She shook her head. "And that's what the murder of that guy looked like."
A shiver ran through Ever's spine.
"And, I think it was the Cruciatus Curse, and the Killing Curse,"
"Yes." Albus finally spoke. "That would make sense."
"Which means someone had to be there to curse her. Which means they were in my house. And, you said that your attacker was there and then not. The police didn't find anyone in the house. What if it's the same guy? Are they gonna kill me like they killed my mum? Why me? There are plenty of Muggle-borns, and I didn't even know I was one then. Why me? Why mum?"
This time, Albus wraps his arms around her. He kisses her forehead, and whispers, "We'll get him. I promise we will." And now he has to.
She nods.
Then Indigo's there. She stares at them for a second. Albus's hands are still wrapped around Ever. She pulls away gently, and they both turn to their friend.
"You guys were gone a while. Just wanted to see if you were okay. And I'd say you were very okay." She shook her head to herself. "Let's go eat." She added more gently.
Ever walked with Indigo, and they were talking about something in hushed voices.
Albus stared at the lovely brown head of Indigo, and the daring multi-colored head of Ever and let out a breath.
There was a good chance that the person who killed Ever's mum was the same who tried to kill Albus. And then something dawned on him. Is someone targeting the people Ever cares about? Is Ever who they're truly after?