Chapter 21

Disclaimer: Don't own Hogwarts, wish I did but I don't. I also don't own Starkid, though I am a major fan.

What?! Meredith was so startled she dropped her wand in shock. No it can't be. He's dead! He died. Brian? It can't be. Meredith turned in the direction of the voice, a pair of icy blue eyes meeting her gaze blurring with her brown before the boy's mouth flung open wide.

"Meredith? You can you hear me?" He had tears streaming down his face. Meredith didn't know what to do what to say. She was so confused.

"Brian?" Meredith asked shakily her eyes clouding with tears. He nodded. What the fricken hell? Okay I've finally lost it. Maybe if I don't think about him maybe he'll go away. But do I really want him too? I mean I've been crying with grief for this boy for two years, do I really want him to go? No. Of course not!

"Yeah, it's me Meredith. " Brian spluttered through his tears, he stayed rooted to his spot however never dropping his gaze. Meredith was confused, she didn't know what feel. Happy that her best friend was back? Relieved he wasn't dead? Angry because her best friend had let her suffer two years without him? Upset that she had finally gone insane?

"I mean… what? Why? Where? How? How are you emm? Wow! Too many questions to ask." Meredith felt light headed. Brian still had his eyes fixed on her. It took all Meredith strength not to go up and kiss him but she didn't trust herself. If she was crazy she would just be kissing the air and she so wanted Brian to be there even if it was only in her sick and twisted mind. It felt like an age before either friend said anything.

"I know you have a lot of questions but I don't have many of the answers. I'll try to answer but be warned I'm still confused myself. I can explain all I know. So let's get this over with, ask away." Brian choked out through silent tears. Meredith eyed the figure in front of him up and down. She narrowed her eyes.

"Okay Brian but how do I know if it's really you. How do I know you're not an imposter?" Brian opened his mouth to reply before he shut it. He shrugged his shoulders "I'm going to ask you a series of questions, questions only Brian, my Brian would know the answer to, okay? So, in our first year who sat across from us on our first night at Hogwarts?" Meredith asked. Brian didn't flinch as he stated nonchalantly: Julia andDenise. "Okay, correct next question. On the night we beat up Bonnie how many times did you and I hit her before those bloody prefect got in the way?" Meredith watched Brian's shoulders shake slightly as he laughed. God I've missed that laugh. No Meredith focus! Brian took a minute using his fingers and shaking his head like he was doing mental maths before answering: You punched her twice, once in the face and once in the gut, I kicked her in the stomach and right hooked her eye. That was a good punch by the way. Meredith was taken back. "Correct again, last question. When Brian and I were at the yule ball, after we had finished dancing, he was about to speak, who interrupted him and what was he going to say?" Meredith questioned seriously. Only Brian will know this. Suddenly Brian's body shook, his eyes piercing Meredith.

"Well, Jaime interrupted us and I was going to tell you that I, um …. That I like you, that I always had been in love with…" Brian was cut off by Meredith who had wrapped her arms round him, staring into his eyes, their faces inches apart. She was crying. Was Meredith crying? She never did that.

"Oh Brian, it is you. You have no idea what it's been like without you. I missed you more than words can say…" It was now her turn to be interrupted as he closed the gap between them, their lips locking. Seven years of intensity and passion displayed in one kiss. Meredith felt the butterflies in her stomach do flips. I'm kissing Brian. Brian! My Brian. He back he's really back. After a few seconds Meredith pulled back with a confused look on her face. "Wait! Not that I didn't enjoy that but where were you and how did you lose your trace?" Meredith felt Brian seize up as she asked her last question.

"Meredith, I think we need to sit down this is going to take a lot of explaining." Brian stated calmly before they both slumped on the floor. Both repositioned themselves into comfortable positions, staring directly at each other.

"Well, I don't really know how to start. It's all so confusing." He tried to swallow the lump in his throat. Meredith put a reassuring hand on his knee.

"Why don't you start at the night of your disappearance?" Meredith prompted before instantly regretting it as Brian's head fell into his hands. He couldn't stop crying. "I'm so sorry, please don't cry. We don't have to start there if you don't want to." It took a moment before Brian raised his head again. Wiping his tears with his fingers he turned to face her concern filled eyes. She has to know the truth. She needs to know everything. Be a man Brian. Tell her. If you can't tell anyone else tell her. She deserves to know. What do I deserve to know? Brian and Meredith both flinched. They realised at the same time. Neither hadn't said that out loud, they had thought it.

….

The group of friends crowded around Lauren bed as she woke up. She felt groggy as she looked around at the concerned faces above her. Denise, JoMo and Dylan had fake smiles plastered over their faces, Darren and Julia were whispering too each other, Joe was staring intensely at her, Joey and Jaime were trying to comfort each other and was that Bonnie? She was leaning on a black haired boy who was slightly taller than her. Who the hell was he? Wait is that Nick?

"What happened?" Lauren asked sleepily. The looks around the group spiked in alarm. They exchanged knowing glances before Denise spoke.

"Well, you see, Lauren. I don't want you to be upset okay? Promise me you won't be upset." Lauren looked confused but nodded anyway. "Well you see, I know you might be upset but you know how we all thought Meredith had hexed you? Well it turns out even a crazed Meredith couldn't actually harm you. She put a sleeping and shrieking charm on you at the same time, which would be really cool out with these circumstances. You see Meredith's not…. I mean… Meredith's gone. She's gone missing. She's not in her bed which she was magically tied to. They don't know how she escaped. She's gone. Their trying to find her now so don't panic. You promised me would be upset, please don't cry." Denise dimmed to a pleading whisper towards the end. The group fell silent again. Everyone felt miserable, now Meredith as well? This was getting too much to bear. Why was Hogwarts picking them off one by one? Lauren wasn't the only one crying; Denise couldn't stop the tears streaming down her face. Even Julia had a lone tear trail down her cheek. As the room fell into silence again Lauren thought she heard stomping outside the room. When all of a sudden the large oak doors were flung open and in strode Meredith. Her eyes where puffy like she had been crying and the ring on her necklace was glowing a bright green. The sight of Meredith had shocked the group so much it took a few minutes to register the figure beside her, Brian. He had similarly puffy eyes and a matching glowing necklace. The group was dumbstruck as they watched the pair march into the room with their wands raised. What the hell was Brian doing here? What? He's supposed to be dead! I can't believe he's here. Wait, why are their wands raised? Please don't let them double team us. Brian and Meredith stopped dead in front of group, precisely in front of Bonnie and Nick.

"Thought you get rid of me did you? Well we have a problem with that!" Brian yelled startling the group. What did Bonnie do?

"How the hell could you do that to him? Who the fuck do you think you are?" Meredith continued angrily, rage surging through her veins. To her surprise Lauren interrupted.

"What the hell is going on? Brian is that really you? Where the fucking hell have you been? What did she do to you?" Meredith growled and Brian's eye bore into the couple before her.

"She didn't do anything apart from be a major dick through our junior years. I will explain everything later or maybe you could explain now Nicholas!" Brian roared eye's fixed on Nick's diminishing smile.

"So you remember? How did you get back through? Damn I knew that spell wouldn't last forever." He mumbled. The group collectively gasped. Meredith and Brian looked at each other both keeping their wands pointed at him.

"Nicholas what are you talking about?" Bonnie asked while shuffling away slightly, her eyes growing wide with realisation. "You did it. You killed… no… I don't really know what you did but you got rid of Brian, didn't you? Didn't you?" Her voice growing angrier with each repeat. As Nicholas turned, the group collective raised their wands, he was trapped.

"Might as well explain Nicholas, you're locked in here. Or I could explain if you'd prefer..."Brian was interrupted by a grunt from Nicholas.

"No, I'll explain. You see..." he was facing Bonnie now pleading to her with his eyes "I did it for you. That night I found him wandering about the castle saying something about how he was going to get revenge on you for something you did to that wimp of a roommate in first year. He was going to attack you. I couldn't let that happen so I used a slow motion charm on him and put that round his neck," he pointed at a small hourglass pendant that hung around Brian's neck next to the glowing ring "I don't know why but ... I turned it... I thought he would only jump a few hours maybe in which I could warn you. I didn't mean for him to jump so far…" His story would have been convincing without the loud interruption from Brian.

"Bullshit! Stay still, don't move another bloody step. So you're also a liar. Is there anything you won't do? You missed a couple of bits out there Nicholas, didn't you? And you change a couple of things too. Quite the story teller aren't you. What about the bits were you tied me to a chair and hexed me?" Brian's voice was struggling past a lump growing in him throat. "Or when you verbal abused me? What where the words you used? Something along the lines, you deserve this you freak, I'm not having a smarmy bastard like you screwing up my chances of screwing that Bonnie chick, was that it? I can't remember. Or how about the fifty plus wounds you gave me? Or the uncountable amount of bruises you caused? Or how about when you kept me looped in the time vortex with no way to escape, quite effectively trapping me for all eternity? Not remembering?" Brian tugged Meredith back as she lunged for his throat. "He's not worth it Meredith. Well …" A crack rang out as Brian punched Nicholas square in the jaw. "Oops, my hand slipped. Man that felt good". Nicholas landed on the floor with a slam but was straight back on his feet within seconds, his wand raised.

"What you going to do? We well out number you. It's over you lost. Just give up." Meredith screamed in his face. She realised she was to close when he yelled 'never' and grabbed her in a head lock, his wand pressed into her neck. The already tense atmosphere amplified further as Meredith struggled to free herself.

"Don't try to fight me. I'm much stronger than you. And if any of you come any closer or try any funny business, she gets it, straight in the throat." Nicholas barked. To make his point he yelled detrecto. Meredith let out an ear splitting shriek as a violent and intense pain swept through her. The grip round the group's wands tightened. "Now lower your wands, all of you. Actually drop them on the floor, I don't trust you lot. Drop them. Now!" The group all reluctantly did as they were ordered. Meredith and Brian didn't break eye contact. The group didn't notice the glowing rings around their necks. Meredith bite him and I'll hex him. I don't have my wand but it's within reach you'll have to distract him though. Do it quickly then bite him! His hands around your chest' Brian screamed into his brain. 'Okay, now!' Meredith answered telepathically. Meredith shook her head rapidly for a moment like she was trying to settle her mind before she bent her head letting out a light sob. "Aww is little Meredith upset? Did the big scary Nicholas attack her? Aww that's such a shame, not really, you deserve it. If you want the truth, doll it's only going to get worse." The sobs changed to a snigger.

"For you maybe." She said boldly before sinking her teeth into Nicholas's hand. Nicholas yelped in pain. He released his grip slightly to which Meredith ducked out of his hold.

"That's it! You're gonna get it you filthy half bred…"he thundered raising his wand at Meredith who had jumped behind Brian. The realisation came too late for Nicholas as Brian roared a spell that flung him through the air landing him unconscious in the corner of the room.

"Never touch my girlfriend. It's a big mistake to make."

The group stared at the heaped pile in the corner in silence, the room staring at Brian, their mouths agape. What did they do now? Meredith was the first to break, breaking down in sobs and cuddling Brian close. She was quickly followed by the rest of the group. Words weren't needed.