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Chapter 21

Runaway

The Floo Powder system brought Malco and I far away. It seemed as though we were in a dark alley, somewhere that was deserted. Malco lay on my shoulders, looking out at the alley. Weird… the Floo Powder usually is linked to one chimney to another… Looking back, there was an old abandoned chimney just lying there, crumpled. Well… that explains it. Who would throw a fireplace away just like that?

It was very dark and scary but it was the only place that would be safe for me. "Jamie, we don't have to run. Hermione's going to be fine," He whispered to me as I started walking towards a street. Looking on both sides, the streets were empty. There were no citizens walking around these parts of the city, making it better for me to get around, undetected. "Jamie, you need to stop."

Stopping in the middle of the sidewalk, I looked at Malco. "I hurt her Malco! I hurt my best friend! She's unconscious because of me! I can't let this go on! It has to stop…" I whispered the last part when arriving at a cheap motel. We entered and the front desk man eyed me suspiciously but let it go shortly after. "I need a room. Will this be enough?" I asked while showing him a handful of pounds in my hands. He eyed it and typed in a few keys in his computer before facing me with a room key reading 412.

"Here is your room key Madam. Enjoy your stay," He said with a fake smile. Taking the key, I walked to the elevator and pushed the fourth floor button. Malco kept his mouth shut until we arrived in my room. Shutting the door behind me, I walked to the corner and slumped down.

"Jamie, please. Let's go back to Hogwarts. You're not safe here," Malco pleaded, walking over to me and pleading me with his eyes. Usually, it would work, the whole pleading with the eyes thing. But not now. Not when my world was crumbling down. "Please Jamie, please listen to me. Don't run away from them. You need to go back where it's safe. Please Jamie, for me. Just do it," Malco pleaded, his voice racking through my heart.

"I… Just give me the night. Please… I… I need to get away and… and clear my thoughts," I pleaded to Malco, letting my eyes do the talking. He could see my fears and sadness through my eyes. Basically, anyone who knew me well enough could see my soul through my eyes when the barriers were down. "Please Malco…"

Sighing, he laid next to me and placed his head on my lap. "Alright, but just the night. And I'm staying with you, through everything. I'm your guardian and your friend," He promised, making my heart feel at ease for now. Scratching him under the chin, he purred and made me smile slightly.

"Thank you," I whispered and hoped into bed, seeing as it was only around two in the morning. My eyes fell on their own but, knowing my track record, the nightmares were bound to follow me soon enough…

"NO!" I screamed, sitting up in bed, sweat pouring down my forehead. Panting heavily, Malco sat bolt upright and looked at me with worried eyes. Placing a shaky hand on my wet forehead, I took a deep breath and sighed. "I'm fine…"

"No Jamie, you're not. These nightmares have gone on long enough," Malco said, looking me straight in the eyes as I rubbed my overly tired eyes. "You haven't slept for months. Pretty soon, you won't be able to function properly because you'll be too tired."

"You know, you sound like a doctor right now instead of my pet," I added sarcastically while swinging my legs out of bed and shakily going over to the bathroom. Of course, Malco followed me.

"I am your Guardian, Jamie. And I'm practically over the moon worried about you, especially with Voldemort on your trail," He mentioned, making me groan. Right now, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was not on my priority list. His name was practically at the bottom of that particular list. "Please Jamie, just make me feel better and get some rest. Or better yet, go home. Go back to Hogwarts and talk to Hermione." A cringe of pain coursed through my heart at the mention of my best—or ex-best—friend's name. She would never want to speak to me again. "And you promised that you would go back today."

"Malco, don't remind me. Just… let me go buy some clothes and I'll apparate back to Hogwarts," I said, looking at him and he sighed defeated.

"Fine… But make it quick," He warned.

"Yes dad. Now if you'll excuse me, I need a shower so shoo." He jumped out of the room with a slight smile, something that hadn't been seen in a long time. Smiling back, I closed the door and jumped in the shower undressed. It felt good to have the warm steam exfoliate my face. It awakened me slightly and made me function for the moment. But it also helped me think, think about everything that happened. Hermione… would she ever speak to me if I came back? Probably not… Would the others hate me for what I'd done? Probably… Things weren't looking good at the moment. "Ugh… what a horrible mess I made…"

This was going to be an interesting few hours.

After brushing my teeth and getting ready—in my pyjamas still, I might add—Malco and I hit the shops. Although he wasn't allowed in the stores, he looked out from the windows, hoping that I wouldn't escape. I wouldn't escape without him, never. He was my best and probably only friend at the moment and he had been there through all of my rough patches. He meant everything to me. Everything…

Buying a few essentials was pretty simple. A nice and cheap shirt with cheap jeans fit soothingly on my body. It was still a little chilly outside so a cheap jacket was suitable for now. And it didn't cost me all that much. Just a few pounds later and I was able to walk around without being embarrassed. Yes, I have to admit that I was quite embarrassed about walking around with my pyjamas and nothing else. Frankly, everyone must have had a good laugh but it didn't matter to me at the moment.

Walking around the city, the air seemed to have gotten colder and the streets became deserted. It was almost as if the city had been flushed out of their citizens for hours now… It didn't feel right. Not at all… "Malco? Something doesn't feel right…" I whispered while looking around me.

"I know, I feel it too," He answered, the fur on his neck standing upright. He jumped off of my shoulders and transformed into the giant Guardian. Turning around, there didn't seem to be anything. Another deserted corner of the street… A sinister laugh came from behind me, making me turn around in a millisecond.

And there he was.

"Voldemort," was my only reply as his serpentine face never left mine. Suddenly, his wand was raised and my body was thrown backwards far away into a wall. A gasp of pain escaped my lips as my back exploded in pain and I slid down the wall. Malco tried to snap at Voldemort but he erupted in a large puff of black smoke and shot up into the sky.

Malco rushed to me and asked: "Are you alright? Where does it hurt?" But I wasn't able to answer him as the puff of black smoke came back. Getting up painfully, Malco helped me stand and we started running away from Voldemort. But it wasn't our best plan…

"You can't run from me!" Voldemort screamed from behind us as many jets of colour shot past us.

"Malco, I want you to run away from here!" I shouted at him while running away from the Lord of all Evil. But of course Malco looked at me in shock.

"I'm not leaving you!"

"You're going to have to! I want you to run!"

"No!"

"Malco!" I gave him a stern look and there was nothing that he could say to change my mind. "Please…" In his eyes, it showed that he didn't want to go but he nodded.

"Be safe," He whispered before shouting the word 'Hogwarts' and in the next moment, he was gone. At least Malco would be protected…

Sighing, I ran as fast as my legs could take me. But it wasn't enough. More jets of green and red colours shot out around me as Voldemort approached me. The edge of the town was coming to an end and the forest came up ahead of me. One of Voldemort's curses hit me square in the shoulder and made me fall on the ground, left arm breaking my fall. A few scrapes covered my arm but I shot myself up and ran again. It was a coward move but, in my tired state, fighting him would be futile.

"You can't run forever Jameson…" He mused happily as a few more hexes and curses were shot at me, a few hitting me in the legs or in the back and shoulders. It would make me fall to the ground and gasp in horrible pain. Why did he want me so badly? Couldn't he just find a way to dispose of my curse without all of this chasing around? "Ha! This is much better than anticipated!"

Voldemort didn't try to stop in front of me. Apparently, he liked being the predator in this horrible game…

I shot a Stupefy spell at him but he dodged it pretty easily while lifting myself up and running. But my course came at a stop when I ran up to a cliff. No… This can't be the end. Looking down, the water must at least be two hundred feet below and sharp rocks were protruding from the waves. Even if I did jump, the waters would probably kill me in an instant. One way or another, I wasn't making it out of here alive…

"Did you think that you could run away from me?" Voldemort asked once he started approaching me. The cliff didn't go very far, which meant that any attempt to escape was futile.

"It was a possibility…" was my lame answer. With my injured leg, I wouldn't be going far.

"Jameson, with your injuries, you're easily out-numbered, not by numbers but by power. You see, in your state, I am clearly the most powerful," He mused as I panted for breath. His attacks were quite powerful, which—at the moment—started to hurt on my exhausted body. "Did it hurt when you received the full blast of my attacks?"

"No…" I lied. Of course they hurt! He had stunned me many times and slammed me into a wall! He loved to see my face of anguish once I started running again. Good thing I had learned to apparate or I would have been dead a long time ago.

"Quite foolish of you to believe that I would not attack you… I need your gift."

"Wasn't it quite foolish of you to come here alone?"

"Not foolish, smart."

"How so?" We were now circling each other. Good thing Malco followed my orders to leave. I knew he was my guardian but if he got hurt because of me, I would never be able to forgive myself.

"You see, you don't need men to be powerful. You need good sources." What did he mean? "Look up Jameson."

And out of stupidity, I looked up and was horrified. Dementors enveloped the sky, at least twenty of them. "Oh Merlin…"

"Yes Jameson, you figured it out. The Dementors will only attack you when I order them to. And in your state, it won't take many of them to suck your soul dry." He really planned to kill me… I needed to get out of here. It was the only solution.

So I ran back towards town. But Voldemort shot a curse at me and it hit me straight across the spine, making me stop in my tracks and falling to my knees. Falling face first, I knew that my spine must have been injured. Any movement that my body made shot an extremely painful sensation to my spine. "Pathetic witch. Running will do you no good," Voldemort said as his footsteps started to become closer and closer. "So, ready to surrender?" He asked as he placed his dirty foot under me and turned me over, causing a great deal of pain to my spine. A yelp of pain escaped my lips, causing him to laugh. "Ah, how I adore the sound of pain. Now, answer my question," He threatened before stomping his foot on my stomach, forcing my back to hit the dirt hard.

Another yelp of pain escaped my lips. "Never…" was my feeble answer as I stared him straight in the eyes. His smile disappeared automatically.

He removed his foot from my stomach, helping me breathe slightly. Before he started speaking in his devilish voice once more, he kicked me in the ribs, which probably broke one or two of them. "Maybe this will change your mind…" He mentioned before taking his wand from his sleeve and pointing it at me. This couldn't end well.

"Going to try the killing curse… on me…?"

"My dear, I have other ways of hurting you. A certain teacher of yours taught me this one. Sectumsempra." A flash of white light escaped the tip of his wand and shot ferociously into my body, jerking it upward. It was the same sensation as when Malfoy had hit me with that same curse. It felt as if I had just been slashed a thousand times across my body. My head fell backwards after the hit of the curse and my body wasn't functional anymore. "Now, I will ask my question again, ready to surrender or shall I use force on you once more?"

It took everything that I had just to croak out a small answer. "You'll… never… get this… curse…"

He was furious now. Someone was actually standing up to him, not just Harry but myself as well. He approached me and waved his wand at me, chanting an incantation and another wave of pain hit me, causing my lungs to start to fail. That much was obvious. "You insolent little half-blood! You will pay for your insolence," He said before I was lifted in the air. "Suck her soul!" He said before the air became colder, stiffer. Oh no… The Dementors were coming. A few seconds later, I felt my body being jerked forward and my strength evaporating. The next thing I knew, a white light appeared and enveloped me.

This was it. This was death.

There was no pain here. Nothing. Just a comforting light. My parents and foster parents were waiting at the end of the light. My parents… It had been years since I've seen a glimpse of them and now, they were in front of me, waiting for me to join them probably in heaven. Or maybe I was going to hell.

"STOP!" Someone shouted. It hadn't been my parents or foster parents. It was someone from the outside, outside of this white light. Without my knowing, something was sucking me back, away from my parents.

"NO! I want to stay!" I screamed at them but my parents just waved me off as I re-entered a body that was in extreme pain. A gasp of air escaped my bruised lips and I tried to open my eyes, only they didn't open very far. Although my vision was blurry, I saw Voldemort; a smile was plastered on his serpentine face. Turning my head hurt. And I noticed that my body was floating in the air.

"Ah, Dumbledore. You've finally come to rescue your little protégée," Voldemort snickered. Dumbledore? What the bloody hell was he doing here?

"Let her go Tom. You won't get anything from her," Dumbledore's calm voice said. He shouldn't be here.

"Let her go Voldemort!" Daniel's voice screamed. Wait… DANIEL? What the bloody hell?

"I see that I am out-numbered. But remember Dumbledore, I won't stop. This gift of hers is extremely valuable. But, I will do as you wish." Suddenly, someone propelled me forward, towards the cliff.

"NO!" Daniel screamed. My body started descending the cliff and towards the black water. I turned sideways, forward and flipped backwards until my body hit the water painfully. I sank in the water, unable to move or to swim. My arms were immobile, just like my legs. What more could I do but die in this dark water? My eyes started to droop before I saw a white figure approach me in the water, then everything went black.

"Breathe!" Someone screamed. Who was that? Something pushed on my chest, causing extreme pain. Why am I in such great pain? Suddenly, the pushing stopped and someone opened my mouth and flowed air through my body. A gasp of air escaped my lips once the air was delivered. "Jamie!" A young man said as my wheezy breathing hitched and the cold enveloped me.

"Jamie, can you hear me?" I heard an old male voice ask. Dumbledore…? What the bloody hell? "We need to get her to a healer. Madam Pomfrey does not have the right equipment to help her," He said before someone placed their arms under me. A moan of pain escaped my lips. Now, my mind recalled everything that happened. Voldemort chasing me, a cliff behind me, trying to run away but Voldemort shot a curse at me, my spine hurting a lot, the Sectumsempra curse being shot at me, being lifted in the air, the Dementor's kiss, seeing my parents… "I'm sorry Jamie," Dumbledore said before we were pulled backwards. What was happening now?

"Madam Pomfrey, look over Jamie. I need to get in contact with a healer," Dumbledore said before I was placed on something soft. A bed.

"What happened?" An older female voice asked.

"Voldemort came after her and wanted her gift again," Dumbledore explained before his footsteps went away and a door closing could be heard.

"Will she be alright?" A younger man voice said. It sounded extremely familiar… Daniel? He didn't need to see this. No one needed to see me in this state. I was a coward for trying to run away from Voldemort, which ended in consequences.

"I… I honestly don't know Mister Stromb," Madam Pomfrey answered hesitantly. Someone grabbed my hand.

"Come on Jamie, hang in there. Please. For me." Suddenly, out of nowhere, my body started to convulse. What was causing this? It certainly wasn't my doing. "Madam Pomfrey!" Daniel shouted as the violent shaking continued. A tender hand was placed on my arm as many people tried to hold me down by the shoulders, arms and ankles. But the shaking wouldn't stop.

"She's having a seizure. She won't feel much pain after this." And suddenly, something was injected in my arm, making me feel drowsy. "It was probably caused by…" But that was as far as I got to hear what Madam Pomfrey explained before everything went black.

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Bellacullenswan17

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