Thank you so much to Poppies and Cornflowers, GrammerJew, earthofthemiddlekind, sarahmichellegellarfan1, rae-reader1993, Mini 2612, anonymousreader, and lexygirl0 for your reviews and comments! I was overwhelmed (in a good way) by your responses, so thanks again!
Zelda lost consciousness almost instantly, and Annabelle dropped to her knees beside her. She attempted to cover her neck where the blood was escaping, but with every beat of Zelda's heart, more blood gushed from her. A split second later, James was beside the unconscious girl, magically tearing her robes open near the collarbone.
"What happened?" Annabelle asked, her voice tremulous as she squeezed Zelda's limp hand. "Who would hurt her!?"
"I'll get Madam Pomfrey," said Alice, bolting to the stairs. Peter, who had turned as white as a sheet, followed her, eager to escape the unfolding nightmare.
"She's in the Greenhouse!" cried Annabelle, remembering what Zelda had said in the library. "So is Dumbledore!"
"Looks like Sectumsempra," said James as he pressed his hands against the wound. "It went deep enough to sever a major vessel. Got to stop the bleeding or she'll be dead in minutes."
"Isn't there a counter-spell?" asked Lily.
"Only Snivellus knows the answer to that," James spat. "There's no time to find him - I need to seal the cut now." He lifted his hands to attempt a charm, but immediately put them back again when more blood poured from her. "Oh god, she needs to be at the hospital! Sodding anti-apparition jinx!"
"I'll see if I can find help," said Remus, taking off down an adjacent corridor towards the classrooms.
James tried again to stop the bleeding, shaking as he used the Body Transparency Charm to search for the cut vessel. "Lily, take her pulse," he said. "On her wrist, under her thumb."
Lily did her best to follow his direction. "It's slow. I mean, I think it is. James, her lips are turning blue."
"Fuck! Even if I stop the bleeding, she's going to need blood! I don't know what else to do!"
"Blood," said Sirius, his eyes widening. He pulled his robe from where it was draped over his shoulder and dropped it before dashing to the dungeon stairs. "I'll be back as fast as I can!"
"Where are you going?" called Annabelle, afraid to let go of Zelda's hand. She convinced herself that if she held on tight enough, she wouldn't be able to slip away.
"Someone cover her with Sirius' robe," commanded James. "She's going into shock and we need to keep her warm. Lily, I've found the cut, but I need you to seal it. I don't know how to work two charms at once yet."
"Just tell me how," Lily said.
Annabelle pulled her own robe off and covered Zelda, still struggling to make sense of what had happened. She'd heard something, a whisper perhaps, coming from the stairs above. It had all happened so fast, and even now, she felt like she was floating under water while everyone else was going at high speed. Turning her eyes to the stairwell, she choked out a sob, then forced her shaking legs to stand.
"The curse," she said to herself as she peered up the staircase, "it came from…"
She looked back at the scene. Students had come out of the library and were forming a circle, watching as James and Lily fought to save a girl's life with the minimal knowledge James had gained from his internship. Zelda's skin had gone ghostly pale except for the areas glistening with crimson, and her eyelids remained still as a statue's. Madam Wigworthy popped her head out the door and shouted for the students to disperse, but when she saw the blood pooling on the stone floor, she recoiled, her face drawn in terror. One thought seized Annabelle: Zelda was dying, and the person responsible was in the castle. A desperate urge to catch the attacker wrenched her out her dream-like state, propelling her forward, and with a rush of adrenalin, she took the stairs two at a time. "I'll be back!" she called, not waiting to hear a response.
On the next floor up, several students loitered outside classrooms, oblivious to what was happening below, and she asked if they'd seen anyone pass through- someone who seemed suspicious. No one had.
If the guilty party was a Slytherin, she assumed he had fled to the stairwell at other end of the corridor, which eventually connected to the Dungeons. "Homenum Revelio," she said every ten feet or so, figuring the attacker had concealed himself somehow, but no one appeared and her frustration grew unbearable.
Once in the stairwell, she collapsed on a step, her tears falling fast. What was she thinking? Whoever had done it was long gone, and now Zelda was going to die. Searching the castle like some sort of vigilante was not only dangerous, but useless. She felt so weak, and her head was spinning; how she wanted to scream for someone to stop time, to make all the horror go away. With her arms crossed over her lap, she put her head down and wept so hard it hurt.
.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.
Sirius pounded on the door to Slytherin Dungeon, his skin breaking out in a sweat. "Open up!" he shouted, but thankfully, a student appeared behind him and cleared his throat.
Sirius whipped around. "I need to get inside. To see Severus Snape. It's urgent."
"You must think I'm cra-"
Sirius grabbed him by the collar, ramming him against the wall. "Let me in now," he seethed as he pressed his wand into the boy's cheek. "Or you'll be the next curse victim."
The boy, whose face was frozen in fear, scarcely nodded and stuttered, "Er-Erebus."
The door unlatched and Sirius charged inside, pulling the boy along with him. Snape was not in the common room, but several other residents got to their feet. Sirius pointed his wand at them, the boy held in his grasp like ransom. "Direct me to Snape's room. Now! Someone's life depends on it!"
"First level down," said a startled first-year, pointing to a staircase.
Sirius released his prisoner at Snape's door, and not bothering to knock, he blasted the door open with a spell. Snape looked to have been on his way out the door, books in hand for class. He leapt back, the books falling as he shrunk into a corner.
"What do you want?" he demanded as Sirius slammed the door, charming it to lock.
"Blood Replenishing Potion. I know you have some."
Severus' wand trembled in his hand. "You have no proof. What gives you the right to come in here-"
"Listen to me," warned Sirius, his wand trained on Severus. "A little girl's life depends on you giving me that potion. I know it's what you were brewing that night. Now hand it over!"
"Even if I was, what makes you think I still have it? I might have used it, or-"
"Did you hear me? A girl is bleeding to death as we speak because of a spell you created! Do something good for once in your life!"
"How do I know this isn't a trick?"
Sirius gripped his blood stain shirt. "DOES THIS LOOK LIKE A TRICK TO YOU?"
"That proves nothing. You could have faked it. Besides, why should I help you? You and your entire lot have demeaned me since our first day here. Would any of your housemates save me if I were bleeding to death? I highly doubt it."
"James saved your life once already."
"Only because you tried to kill me."
Sirius had to bite his tongue – the git would always blame Sirius for his own stupid decision to see Remus in his Werewolf form. He also could have argued that Severus had been equally horrible to them over the years, especially to Remus, but there was no time to waste on debating who was worse to whom when Zelda might be breathing her last breath.
"Fine," he said, his heart racing at the sounds of his arch nemeses approaching from outside. "Have it your way. But Lily is going to know that YOU are the reason a little girl died today. You and your selfishness. She'll know the truth about you, and she'll be ashamed to have ever called you friend."
He turned to the door, hoping against hope his threat would work, because if it didn't, he would have to duel Snivellus and ransack his room for the potion.
"Wait," said Severus. He skittered to his trunk. "I will administer it to her."
"You're not as fast as me," said Sirius, his palm outstretched.
Severus hesitated, but a second later he pressed the vial into Sirius' hand. "Give her the entire dram."
"And the counterspell to Sectumsempra?"
"Vulnera Sanentur."
Sirius undid the lock and bolted from the room only to be put in a chokehold by Amycus Carrow.
"Let me go! Someone is dying!"
"Yeah, you are, traitor."
"It's all right," said Severus. "Let him go." When Amycus and Evan looked at him like he'd lost his mind, he said, "Believe me when I tell you he's not here to make trouble. Go on, release him."
Amycus dropped his arms, and Sirius ran as fast as he could, unaware that Severus was at his heels, making sure no one attacked him on his way out of the dungeon.
.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.
"Cry-baby, cry-baby," a voice rang out, startling Annabelle.
Peeves floated through the rafters, and she shot daggers at him with her red, swollen eyes. "Get. Stuffed."
"Ouchie, such severe words. You sound like the other one. Nasty little lassies you are."
"I don't know what you're talking about, now please, go away pest!"
"She's always hiding. Swears at me when I catch her. Rude mouth she has. Just like yours."
"Who's always hiding? What in the bloody hell are you talking about?"
"Not telling."
"Lunatic," Annabelle muttered. "Go away!"
"She's hiding right now! Silly thing doesn't know I saw her. Appeared out of thin air, she did! Like a ghost!"
"Who are you talking about?!" she wailed, but then the hair stood up on back of her neck, and her heart almost pounded straight out of her chest. Could it be? she thought.
"Will you tell me who she is?" asked Annabelle as she hopped to her feet. "Please? Please tell me! You might save lives!"
"I can't tell you!"
"But why not?!" she yelled, her head feeling like it might explode.
Peeves smiled wide. "I can't tell you because… I don't know her name!"
"Did you see her recently?"
"Yes, I did! Watched her sneak. She's sneaky as a mouse. Thinks I can't see her, the little beastie." He cackled wildly and spun round in the air.
"Where is she? Please, I must know!"
"Why should I tell you, you insolent knave?"
"Because she hurts people and she needs to be stopped."
"Wrong!" he sang. "Try again."
"All right," said Annabelle, her eyes narrowed to slits. "Because if you don't tell me, I'll exorcise you straight to hell where you belong! Remember? I'm a Medium? I've only spared you this long because I feel sorry for you!"
Peeves floated backwards, his grin fading. "Trophy Room."
Annabelle broke into a run.
.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.
James yanked off his robe, tossing it to Lily who tucked it over the other robes covering the nearly lifeless girl. Then he put his hand over her fading pulse. They had stopped the bleeding, but if they didn't get her to St. Mungo's, in a matter of minutes it would be too late. As it was, her brain might have already been irreversibly affected.
"Lily," he croaked, "I don't know what else to do. I'm not a Healer."
She sniffled, trying to stay calm. "Dumbledore will be here soon."
"I hope so."
Madam Wigworthy had nearly fainted at the sight of the all the blood, and was helped back into the library by some spectators. Some students still hovered nearby, looking on in sympathy, while others had said they would find a professor to help. But most had run back to their dorms in fear of the attacker striking again.
Just as Remus was returning with Professor MacMillan, Sirius sprinted into the foyer from the other side.
"I've got it!" he shouted. "The potion!" He was trembling as he passed the bottle to James, nearly dropping it in the exchange. "Blood-Replenishing Potion. I got the counterspell as well. It's-"
"We stopped the bleeding." James interjected, not wanting to waste a second. He uncorked the bottle and sniffed it. "Are you sure that's what this is?"
"Yes! Remember? Snape? Trust me, it's the potion."
An understanding passed between them, and James lowered the bottle to Zelda's lips.
"Are you positive you know what you're doing?" asked MacMillan as he bent beside them. "A mistake could kill her."
"And if we do nothing, she'll likely die anyway," said James. "I'm giving it to her."
"Go on then," the professor said with an anxious nod. "The incantation Infundibulus will make sure it goes down the right way." He lifted Zelda's head as James carefully poured the liquid into her mouth, using the incantation to guide the potion down her throat.
"Where the hell is Dumbledore?" demanded Sirius, then he looked around. "Where's Annabelle?"
"She said she'd be right back," said Lily. "I think she went for help."
He pushed the hair off his sweaty cheeks, looking up the staircase for any sign of her. A rush of footsteps was heard and Dumbledore charged into the space from the adjacent corridor. McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey were close behind, as well as Alice and Peter.
James began rattling off what measures he'd already taken, but Dumbledore stopped him. "Pick her up. You will explain to the healers yourself."
With a wave of his wand and a short incantation, the anti-apparition jinx was lifted. James carefully took Zelda's limp body into his arms and they disappeared with a crack. After a brief word with the headmaster, McGonagall followed. A nearby student informed Dumbledore that Madam Wigworthy had fainted, so Madam Pomfrey hurried into the library to check on her.
As all of this was going on, Sirius nudged Remus. "I need to find Annie before Dumbledore takes us in for questioning."
"Right," whispered Remus.
Since Zelda's fate was out of their hands now, Frank's advice about travelling in groups was back in effect. Remus nudged Alice, motioning for her to join them, and she edged her way to the staircase with them. Sirius knew a lockdown was coming, and he would not go back to his dorm without Annabelle. Lily's eyes questioned him, and he motioned for her go to the hospital; he knew James would need some company after what they'd been through. Take Peter with you, Remus mouthed to her, knowing their friend was frightened and would feel safer at St. Mungo's than roaming the castle with a killer on the loose. She nodded discreetly, and as Dumbledore spoke vehemently with MacMillan, the three on them sneaked away.
After getting the story from Lily and Peter, Dumbledore granted permission for them to go the hospital. When they were gone, Dumbledore replaced the anti-apparition charm to stop the attacker from escaping. The last thing he did was cast a brilliant Patronus – a Phoenix – and sent it with a message to the Ministry. At last, he stormed off into the corridor from which he'd come, MacMillan by his side.
Amidst the turmoil, no one had noticed Severus Snape watching the scene play out from the entrance to the dungeon. He let out a mournful breath, and disappeared back into the shadows.
.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.
The third floor corridor was eerily empty when Annabelle reached it, she imagined because the castle was on lockdown and students had been sent back to their dormitories. For a fleeting moment, fear ripped through her, and she almost turned back, but then she recalled the blood, followed by the thump of Zelda hitting the floor. She thought of them all; Peter and Claire under the spell of dementia, Lily and James tortured, even that nutter Nixie Geist came to mind… if there was a chance she could end it, or at least catch a glimpse of the one responsible, she had to try. There was no time to seek help, as the culprit wouldn't stay in the Trophy Room all day. How she hoped this girl Peeves spoke of hadn't left already.
She needed a plan, she realised as she approached the doorway, her breath held tight in her lungs. She would attempt to disarm the girl first. It had to be Bernice Parkinson, since she was there at the time Claire was cursed, and she calmed down a bit, confident she could take her on. The only other possibilities were Mona Nott, who would present a challenge, but not an unmanageable one, and Alecto Carrow, who would be the toughest to bring down, especially if she disarmed Annabelle first. But even then, Alecto was no match for Annabelle's wandless magic skills, which were better than most in her year.
Then another thought occurred to her; what if the girl Peeves was talking about wasn't the curser at all? What if it was just someone who went to great lengths to be alone? Harming an innocent student was the last thing Annabelle wanted to do, so she would have to be extremely careful.
Pushing the door open slowly, she waited, listening for any movement. When she was ready, she got low to the ground and entered, locking the door behind her and placing a Caterwauling Charm on it, so she would be alerted in case the girl tried to escape. Then she scrambled to a display case and crouched behind it.
"Homenum Revelio," she whispered, concentrating extra hard to make up for her lack of volume. No indication of a human presence appeared, but the Trophy Room was vast and peppered with obstructions. She quietly moved to the next display and tried again. And again. By the time she reached the back of the room, she was convinced no one was there.
Standing up, she crossed to the other side of the room, doing a quick sweep on her way out. "HOMENUM REVELIO!" she shouted as she darted round a case, and as quickly as the words left her mouth, she flew to the ground, having tripped over an invisible person.
.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.
"Annie!" Alice called down a narrow passage on the second floor. "Are you here?"
No answer came, not that calling out to her would do any good if she had been cursed. Most of the corridors had been cleared by prefects, and there was still no sign of her.
"Where the hell could she be?" asked Remus. "We've been to all the nearby classrooms. Why would she go any farther to find help?"
Sirius was doing everything he could to remain collected, but on the inside, he was crumbling. Whoever had cursed Zelda was still out there, and there was no reason for Annabelle to remain missing. No good reason, anyway.
They continued on, peeking their heads inside storage cupboards, hoping they wouldn't find her in one, because that would mean she had been forced inside. An occasional prefect would pass by, and they would ask if she'd been seen, but the answer was always no. Sirius felt lost without the Map; if only he knew who had it. If it was Dumbledore, he could convince him he needed it, assuming it hadn't been destroyed already.
On the ground floor, they took a peek inside the Great Hall. There was no trace of her.
"Where are you!" shouted Sirius to the rafters, panic making it hard to catch his breath. His echo was the only response.
"Maybe she returned to the library and we just missed her," said Alice. "She probably went back to the dorms to find us."
"Let's go see," suggested Remus.
"And if she's not there," said Alice, "we'll alert Dumbledore."
A lump of dread wrangled its way into Sirius' throat, and he nodded in silence, unable to meet their eyes. It felt like surrender, like it was only a matter of time before she was found lifeless in a corridor somewhere. He refused to accept it. She was in the Common Room, probably frantic over where everyone else had gone. She had to be, because the alternative would destroy him.
.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.
Annabelle rolled as she fell, dodging a petrifying spell and taking aim. "Expelliarmus!" she yelled, hoping her invisible attacker hadn't had time to move. A wand flew out in an arch through the air, causing the cloak to lift, and she caught a brief glimpse of legs and a torso before it concealed her assailant once more. But the girl wasn't giving up that easily and barrelled into Annabelle, knocking her down again. She felt a hand grab her own, fingers digging into hers in an attempt to pry her wand free.
"Let go!" Annabelle screamed.
She seized the Invisibility Cloak with her free hand and wrenched at it, but whoever was underneath fought to hold on. Annabelle pulled harder, climbing onto the person and smacking her several times, but the person under the cloak had a vice grip on her wand.
"Come out! I've caught you, you disgusting creature!"
A foot nailed her in the stomach and she lost her breath, but as the person escaped from beneath her, Annabelle regained control of her wand and aimed.
"Incarcerous!" she shouted, relieved at the ropes which appeared, wrapping themselves round the invisible form as it attempted to flee. A body slammed to the floor, and Annabelle, holding her stomach where she'd been kicked, yanked at the invisibility cloak, freeing it from the bindings.
Teagan Travers stared back at her, her brown eyes frenzied. "I'm going to report you for attacking me!" she cried, her voice shrill as struggled to liberate herself.
"I wouldn't have attacked you if you hadn't tried to hex me! What are you doing in here?"
"Did the girl die?" she asked, tears spilling down her cheeks.
"I – I don't know. Why are you here? How did you know about-"
Teagan began to sob, and the realisation hit Annabelle like a Bludger to the head.
"You couldn't have… could you?" It was so hard to believe, but Teagan didn't answer either way. All this time, it had been her. The nicest Slytherin of them all. "But – but why? Why are you doing this?"
"Please," she begged, "please don't report me! I promise, it's finished now. No one else will be cursed."
"Was it you every time? This was all you?"
Her face was fraught with distress, and she nodded meekly. "I was under orders."
"From whom?" Annabelle asked in disgust. "Your boyfriend?"
"Don't you dare accuse Evan!"
"Then explain!"
"If you report me, I won't admit it. It's my word against yours."
"And Peeves' word. He's seen you sneaking about."
She laughed through her tears. "No one will believe that loon."
"I'll give them my memory for Dumbledore's pensieve. Of you confessing everything just now."
Teagan's eyes reflected the defeat she must have been feeling inside, and more tears fell.
"You don't understand. The Dark Lord, he's got a hold on people I care about. His followers wanted to enlist me as well, but I refused. Evan didn't want me to join anyway, and I thought that was the end of it. But they got me by threatening my family, my brother, Evan… I had no choice!"
She squeezed her eyes shut and sobbed violently. Annabelle's throat caught.
"But why didn't you tell someone?"
"You don't know what you're talking about! You don't just tell someone about the Dark Lord and live. If I told, everyone I love was as good as dead, and he would still be out there! It's a no-win situation for me!"
"But you might have killed someone today!"
"I didn't want to! I never wanted any of this! That's why I used Sectumsempra, because my heart wasn't in it! The Killing Curse is so - so final, and I'd be sent to Azkaban for life if I was caught. The messenger never specified a method of killing, just that I was to get it done. Either way I'll be punished now, by the Ministry, or by them."
"How can you say your heart wasn't in it when you slashed someone open and she's currently bleeding to death!"
"I know you don't believe me – but as much as I wanted to complete the task, a part of me didn't want to succeed. I never wanted to take a life. Never. But this is the end. It has to be, I swear!"
"It's never the end with Voldemort and his followers, is it? They've got you where they want you. They'll continue to use you as long as you're compliant."
"No! It's finished now. They told me this would end it! If she – if she-"
"If she dies. Do you hear yourself? How would you carry on knowing you took her life away? How?"
"I don't know!" she snapped, her words strangled. "I don't know anything anymore…"
As she wept, Annabelle almost felt sorry for her. To have caught the attention of Death Eaters, to have been coerced into doing unspeakable harm to others, and to have gone against everything she knew to be right in order to keep her family safe – no wonder she'd been having panic attacks, as Esmeralda had mentioned. If she'd only told Dumbledore, he would have got her the help she needed. He would have seen to it her family was protected. But instead, she followed orders, and she fully intended to kill a person that morning. Zelda flashed in Annabelle's mind, and her sympathy was drowned by disgust.
"How did you get in over your head like this, Teagan? How?"
She shuddered and closed her eyes as she swallowed. "It started slow. I had to prove I wasn't working against the Dark Lord, so I was given the task of cursing someone. Anyone I chose. Your friend Peter, he just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. I wanted to get it over with."
"He could have hurt himself, or worse…"
"I know! I hated doing it, but I thought it was a one-off. I kept receiving tasks, though– they'd be sent by owls, a different owl each time. It was like a game for them, toying with me, a kid, as punishment for refusing their leader. Words like 'again,' would be on a scrap of paper, and I had no choice but to obey. They knew if I didn't do it. Somehow they knew!"
"Maybe your housemates were involved? Maybe they were sending them!"
"They weren't." Her face had gone slack, giving nothing and no one away. "I hated to curse Claire," she went on, "but I had to act quickly when the lights went out."
"But you were the one who saved her – you cast the counterspell!"
"Because I couldn't bear to see what I'd done. I'd run when I did it to Peter, but with her it was gruesome. I hated myself for it."
"And the Cruciatus Curse?"
"A direct order. I was told to choose whomever I pleased, which was insane because I never wanted to cause such suffering to anyone! I had to convince myself James deserved it, because he'd been so rude to Evan-"
"You thought he deserved to be tortured? Evan was constantly instigating with James!"
"It was wrong, I know, but I had to do it. And Lily was there as well so, I thought maybe if I got them both, I'd have proven myself, and this would all end. Maybe it would finally be enough. Besides, a few moments of torturing someone seemed like a small price to pay for saving my family. The Dark Lord's followers will kill them if I don't comply – I don't doubt it for an instant!"
"Did Evan know about this?" Annabelle asked, unable to believe no one in her house knew what was happening to her, especially her dodgy boyfriend.
"He's a victim as well," she said, her eyes darting away.
"Someone must have been helping you! The Venomous Tentacula just happened to attack, requiring the administration and Madam Pomfrey to be away from the castle, right when you were about to kill someone? How convenient for you."
Again, Teagan ignored the accusation, which confirmed for Annabelle that someone had been helping her, someone she wanted to protect.
"Eventually," she continued, "I was told they wouldn't be satisfied until I killed someone- someone deemed unworthy by their standards."
"So you attacked a little girl? Why you twisted, dark-"
"I was aiming for you!"
Annabelle gasped as she stared at Teagan. "Me? What did I ever do to you?"
"I felt like I was losing everything," she said, her words strained from talking while crying. "My life had become about keeping my family alive, and doing things that sickened me. Little else mattered. I was at the mercy of Voldemort!" She breathed in and out, then in a quavering whisper, she said, "Then you come along and cosy up to my best friend, the only person in my house I trust, the one person besides my boyfriend who would still love me after everything I'd done. I hated you for it."
"So you were going to end my life."
"Originally, no. I was going to attack the first blood traitor or muggle-born who came out the door. Let fate decide."
"You were the one attempting to murder someone, not fate!"
"I'd seen your lot going in there," Teagan continued, as though Annabelle hadn't said a word, "and I considered killing Sirius - since you were taking someone I care about, I would take someone you care about. It helped that he's a disrespectful, conceited bastard with a superiority complex."
"No he isn't! You're only repeating the lies your revolting housemates tell each other to make themselves feel good. He would never do the things you've done! In fact, he is superior to all of you, you rotten hag!"
"It doesn't matter," she retorted, "because you were the first one out the door, and when I saw your gloating, self-righteous face, something clicked in me. If that girl hadn't darted in front of you, it would have been you!"
"But, I've never wronged you," said Annabelle, crying now as well. "I felt sorry for you, trapped in that house with the Carrows and the rest of the extremists. And just because I'm friendly with Esmeralda doesn't mean I wanted to ruin your friendship with her. I might have befriended you as well if you hadn't been aligning yourself with Voldemort all this time!"
"I had no choice!" she screamed. "I had to do-"
"Silencio!" Annabelle shouted, and Teagan went quiet. She couldn't listen to any more excuses, it was making her feel ill. How could this be? she screamed inside her head. Perhaps Teagan had done these things against her will at first, but now she was calculating and vengeful, using her jealousy as an excuse to murder. And in that moment, it occurred to Annabelle that even if by some chance Zelda survived, Voldemort had succeeded in taking a life – that of Teagan Travers.
She immobilised the weeping Slytherin, leaving her behind as she staggered to the door. She needed to find help, before someone else helped Teagan escape.
.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.
Just as Sirius, Remus, and Alice were approaching the fourth floor in their mad dash for Gryffindor, they heard the sound of screeching and howling from the floor below.
"Sounds like a Caterwauling Charm," said Sirius.
He continued up the stairs, ignoring it, because Annabelle could be anywhere, hurt, or worse, and he needed to get to her, but Alice had already jogged down to the landing, peering into the third floor corridor.
A smile spread across her face. "Annie!" she shouted.
Sirius bolted down the stairs, making it to the corridor in time to catch Annabelle as she flew into his arms. Relief washed over him, bringing tears to his eyes. She was alive.
"Oh my love, my Annie," he said, kissing her face all over. She was panting, and he took her cheeks in his hands. "Don't ever do this to me again, all right?"
"I had to try… to catch her," she said, her breathing still laboured. "She's in the trophy room."
"What do you mean?" asked Alice, her wand drawn.
"The one who's been cursing everyone…" She took a slow breath. "I've immobilised her. It's… it's… oh Merlin you're not going to believe this. It's Teagan Travers."
"What?" exclaimed Sirius.
"It's true. She confessed everything! Come, see for yourselves."
.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.
As Professor McGonagall spoke to Law Enforcement Officers, Lily, James, and Peter took a seat in the Emergency waiting room. Peter picked up a magazine and fell silent, but Lily could sense the anxiety in him. She tried to get him to talk but he waved her off, pretending to be engrossed in his reading. There was only one other wizard there, a small, older man with white hair and a beard. He wore a pointed wizard's hat in grey, and kept nodding off and startling awake.
"He looks like a shrunken Dumbledore," whispered James so only Lily could hear him.
Lily couldn't muster anything beyond a weak, almost inaudible chuckle. The horror of what she'd witnessed still gripped her, and she squeezed his hand. She had arrived to find him standing in the middle of the lobby in blood-soaked clothes, staring forlornly at the doors to the trauma unit as healers and medi-witches moved about him in a whirl of activity. She'd led him to the waiting room and did her best to calm him down, but she was an utter wreck as well, inside especially.
"Maybe I could have done more," he said, "or been faster, or-"
"You did your best, James. You did what you could." His mouth turned down and his eyebrows knitted in anguish, so she pressed on. "You've only completed an internship and you were so level-headed. You remembered everything you learned! I'm so proud of you."
He seemed to contemplate her words as he stared at the floor. Finally, he leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over himself.
"I tried to save a bird once," he said.
"A bird? When was this?"
"Ages ago. The summer after first year, I think it was. My parents and I were having dinner when it smacked into the dining room window. I ran outside to see if it was alive, but it wasn't moving. My dad said there was nothing to be done, but I with my limited first-year magic tried to jolt it back to life. I kept jolting it, over and over again – I don't know what I thought that was going to do- but I kept on until my dad grabbed my wand and went inside with it. I was angry at him for it, but looking back now, he probably thought I was going mad in the head over dead bird."
"Then what did you do?"
He gave a one-shouldered shrug. "Tried not to cry. Not sure why, but I didn't want to leave it alone. My mum came out a few minutes later and helped me bury it under the Witch Hazel plant in the garden. She said it was the best place for it, since it would have flowers in winter."
Lily managed a small smile, imagining gentle, patient Rosie helping her son find peace. "How sweet of her. Did you feel a bit better then?"
"Some, but I stayed out there for a while thinking about it - how it was flying moments before, not concerned with anything but where it was going, then just like that, gone. It never saw it coming, just like Zelda."
She stroked his hair, hoping he wouldn't blame himself if the news of Zelda wasn't good. "As far as we know she's still alive."
"And if she doesn't make it?" he asked.
"We'll know we did everything we could."
He stared ahead for a moment, transfixed by his thoughts. Finally, he sighed. "I don't think I'll ever come to terms with death. It's so infuriating and… final. Like, that's it, there's no turning back. I can't wrap my head around it."
"I don't think we're meant to understand it. Better to focus on being alive, yeah? On living well and with purpose, no matter how long or short our time might be."
He shut his eyes and nodded, then leaned over and rested his head in his hands. Lily stroked his back, aware that his sensitivity surrounding loss had become more pronounced since his mum and Fairfax died. But she had no answers for him. All she could do was hope and pray for Zelda to survive, and for this nightmare to end.
"You're going to make the most wonderful healer," she said. "I mean it. Your heart is in it, and you don't give up."
He turned his head slightly and smiled at her. "So are you, and I mean it as well."
It wasn't long before Zelda's parents arrived, dressed to the nines as though they'd been pulled away from some posh event, even though it was only midday. Looking at them, Lily was reminded of what Annabelle had told her - how Zelda and Twyla's parents had left them at Hogwarts over Christmas while they holidayed in Ibiza with friends. It seemed so cruel, and at the time, she wished she could tell the girls' parents off, but seeing Zelda's parents now, the fear on their faces, her heart went out to them. The unthinkable was happening, and their pain must have been enormous.
Professor McGonagall spoke to them, and eventually introduced them to James and Lily.
"Thank you for what you did," said Zelda's mother, tears streaking her cheeks. "I wish we could repay you somehow, even if she…" She covered her mouth, her head shaking back and forth. James' lower lip began to tremble as he looked into her eyes, so Lily took the woman's hand and responded.
"You owe us nothing – we wanted to help, just as any decent person would have done."
Soon, the Healer who had worked on their daughter wanted to speak to them, and a nurse came to escort them away. As Lily watched them go, heading toward what might be the worst news of their lives, James let out a shaky breath.
"We did everything we could," he said. "Right?"
A tear escaped Lily's eye as she answered, "We did."
.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.
The Aurors who were responsible for escorting Teagan to the Ministry had taken Alice with them as part of her training, and she would have her first experience with interrogation techniques. Sirius, Remus, and Annabelle remained in Dumbledore's office, growing more and more frustrated with the questions being asked of them. Sirius knew questioning was a necessity, but the three Aurors kept asking the same questions in different ways, as though their answers might suddenly change.
"I told you," said Annabelle, her voice strained, "I wasn't friends with her. I only knew her from class."
"And Evan Rosier?" asked the one called Scrimgeour.
"The same. I swear."
The Aurors had also wanted to question Evan, but law enforcement officers had scoured the castle and he was nowhere to be found. Further proof that he had at least some knowledge of Teagan's mission.
"We've told you several times we weren't friends with them," said Sirius. "Do you think we're lying? Because anyone will tell you we didn't get on with them."
"Right," said Frank Longbottom, the bags under his eyes making him look older than his twenty years. "Are we through here?" he asked his partners. "We have a dozen other students to question today."
He yawned and shuffled some papers, but Scrimgeour shot Sirius a doubtful look.
"Your brother is Regulus Black, yeah?" he asked.
"Yes, why?"
"Oh nothing, really, just that he's on our list of suspected Death Eaters."
Sirius narrowed his eyes. "You're lying."
"Actually, I'm not," he said casually. He seemed to be enjoying himself. "When we arrest the younger ones, they're usually so terrified it takes little coaxing to convince them to turn each other in. Let's just say… your brother's name came up. We have no proof, yet, but there you have it."
Something flared inside Sirius' chest – disbelief, or maybe it was the brutal awareness that the Auror might be telling the truth.
"You're lying!" he accused him anyway, wanting so much to be correct in his assertion. "He couldn't be! He may be a lot of rotten things, but he's no Death Eater." As Scrimgeour gave him a condescending once-over, he felt like he was going to be sick.
"It's no secret whose side your family is on, Mr. Black."
Before Sirius could fully grasp the implication behind Scrimgeour's statement, Remus angrily asked, "What is that supposed to mean?" at the same time, Annabelle snapped, "What are you trying to say? That you think Sirius was involved in this? That he's a Death Eater? Because you would be wrong, sir. Completely wrong!"
"I am quite certain," Dumbledore intervened in a voice that commanded respect, "that Mr. Black is not associated with Voldemort or any of his followers. You would be wasting your time to question him further."
After a lull in which Scrimgeour jotted something down on a piece of parchment, he smiled thinly at Sirius. "I'd say we're done here. Thank you for your cooperation."
"Thanks guys," said Frank in a much kinder tone than his colleague's. "We'll be in touch if we have any more questions."
"May we go to St. Mungo's, sir?" Annabelle asked Dumbledore.
"I'm afraid not, as law enforcement would prefer no one else be permitted to leave at this time."
"How will we know-"
Dumbledore raised a placating hand. "I will keep you informed of any news should it arise. Now I must ask that you return to your dormitory."
.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.
Sirius jammed his hands into his pockets as they headed to Gryffindor Tower. Annabelle could see he was disturbed by the mention of Regulus, in addition to everything else that had happened that morning.
"Sirius, he might have been making it up- the stuff about Regulus - just to test you."
"Good point," agreed Remus. "They have to make sure we weren't involved."
"You mean they have to make sure I wasn't involved," Sirius corrected. "Because I come from a family of deranged bigots – there's an excellent chance I'm just like them."
"Dumbledore set him straight," Annabelle said, wishing there was more she could say to comfort him. She slipped her arm through his, but he remained tense.
"If it's true, then my brother is a bigger idiot than I realised. Merlin, what could he possibly be thinking?"
"I'm so sorry, love. This is the last thing you needed to hear today."
"Bet my parents are proud of their boy, devoting his life to a lunatic." His jaw clenched as he strode on, but she didn't let go of him.
The Common Room was teeming with students when they arrived, and they immediately swarmed Remus, their prefect, for answers. He stayed behind while Sirius took Annabelle's hand and led her up the stairs to the boys' dorms.
"Someone could have seen me," she admonished him as they jogged up the stairs. "The Common Room is full of people!"
"I dare them to report us."
He led her into the room and shut the door behind them. Leaning against it, he looked at her. Exhaustion tugged at his features, and there was hurt in his eyes.
"Let's talk about why you thought it was a good idea to track the curser by yourself," he accused. "Do you know what that did to me? I thought you were dead." The last word was spoken in little more than a whisper, as though saying it louder would invite it in.
"I wasn't thinking clearly," she replied frailly. "Nothing felt real. It was an impulse - all I could think was I'd heard a voice – and seeing Zelda on the floor… there was so much blood…" Her voice cracked, and her eyes burned with tears. "You could've been killed yourself," she reproached him, "going to Slytherin Dungeon alone with a maniac on the loose. What were you thinking?"
"I couldn't live with myself if I didn't try."
As she stared into his tired, but resolute face, Zelda's blood still speckling his cheeks, the meaning of it all dawned on her – Teagan was a Death Eater, Zelda might be dead for all they knew, and any one of them might have been next. Hogwarts was no longer off-limits to Voldemort. No sooner had she put her hands over her face to catch the onslaught of tears did Sirius step toward her, pulling her into his arms.
"Come here, Annie. Don't cry. She might have made it. The potion might have worked in time."
As he held her head firmly against his chest, she squeezed him back, her insides aching with sadness. She couldn't fight her fear as it bore its way into every cell of her being.
"I can't believe it was Teagan Travers," she said as she cried. "How many others was she protecting?"
"I don't know, but Dumbledore will weed out the rest of them, if they don't disappear like Rosier did, first."
"You were right. We can't trust anyone."
He kissed her head, then looked into her eyes. "We can trust each other," he said gently, "and our friends."
And it would have to be enough, because as much as Annabelle hated to paint all Slytherins with one broad stroke, she didn't think she'd be able to trust any of them, ever again.