I'll Fight For You
By Hazelmist/Summerskies
Disclaimer: If I got a penny every time I wish that I had half as great a brain as J., I'd be rich. I'm afraid some of the American slang, any grammatical errors or crazy plot ideas and characters do belong to me.
Summary of the last Chapter: James's mother is only injured but she is in St. Mungos and the Death Eaters did get to her memories first. Hope reveals that the memory that Heather had wasn't the real memory and that it was a decoy. They catch Ophelia eavesdropping on their private discussion and Hope realizes that Ophelia has her memories. Ophelia is pissed that her best friend is missing and claims that a block Hope put up is preventing her from telling them the location of the weapon. She tells them that she's given Lily everything she needs to locate the weapon. Lily recalls the biting book that James stole out of the Slytherin's dormitories and that Ophelia told her to hold onto and thinks that this might be a clue. She goes to get it but Debbie McLaggen already has it in her hands…
For a more complete summary of the whole story, see Ch. 36: Do You Remember?.
Chapter 37: The Key
"I know what you're looking for, Lily," Debbie giggles and winks at me in order to let me know that we're not simply discussing the book anymore. "But you won't find it, because I've got the key." She points to the book in her lap.
And now I realize that Ophelia is right. There are spies everywhere. And one of them had been planted in our dormitory right from the start.
*What I want to do right now is bang my head into a wall, repeatedly because this cannot be happening. I just realized when I went to summon the book that I don't have my wand - Ophelia does - and that my roommate is a spy for the Death Eaters. The despicable slut, the banshee, our arch-nemesis, the Minister of Magic's daughter is a SPY.
Debbie McLaggen is one of the stupidest people I've ever met. She cares for only two things: herself and boys. She does not have the intelligence or the motivation to be a spy. Or so I thought…
Now it occurs to me that maybe she cares more for Zabini than I ever expected. It also occurs to me that perhaps there isn't much brain power involved in spying. Zabini just needed another set of eyes and ears. Still, no matter how much he loved Debbie I couldn't see him relying on her, because everyone knows that Tiffany, Grace, Alice, and I despise her. Even the Marauders and most of the other Gryffindors shun her. But somehow he did it and as my eyes flick past Debbie to the bejeweled "mirror" on her make-up laden vanity table I have a feeling that I know how he managed.
That's why I want to bang my head into a wall because it's been right under our noses for months. Way back in February, Grace knocked over the bureau and Tiffany, Hope and I found it and have been playing with it ever since. Tiffany and Grace had even speculated about how odd it was that Debbie had one of these rare magical artifacts. Then just last night James pulled me aside in the Common Room and warned me that he thought someone might be using it to spy on us. Well, James had been right about the spyglass, Zabini had been using it to spy on us all along, but his warning came just a little too late.
"Debbie, I just want to take an itty bitty look at the book, just for a split second and then you can give it right back to Zabini. Okay?" I inch forward and Debbie just smiles. So I dive for the book but the banshee sweeps it out of my reach and points her wand at my face.
"I'm not stupid!" Debbie laughs at me, keeping her wand pointed at my forehead.
Judging from her behavior up until five minutes ago, that's debatable.
"I don't think that you're stupid," I lie through my teeth.
"I know, Lily. I know that you really do love me," Debbie prattles, acting more like the Debbie we all know and hate. "I mean I have it all. Everyone wants to be me! That's why I kind of feel bad doing this to you because it is just a stupid book. I mean who reads books anyway. They're so boring!" She rolls her eyes. I almost roll mine too but there's a wand still pointed at my forehead.
"But even though I think it's a really dumb book. The pictures aren't even in COLOR! I mean really? What's the point of reading a book if it's all in black in white?" She shakes her head in disgust and I have to bite back the urge to laugh at her extreme stupidity.
"Anyways, despite it being so stupid my Dante wants it and my Daddy wants it."
Daddy wants it too? Wait, her father's the Minister of Magic!
"But no one seems to care what I want. And it's important that I get what I want. Dante's been pestering me about this dumb book for weeks, and I just found it on the floor -"
I could kick myself for being such an idiot.
"So, I pick it up but I don't get it. Daddy and Dante told me it's the key, but it doesn't look like any key I've ever seen before."
Oh, my Merlin, is she serious right now?
"It's too big, you know? So maybe it transforms into a key or something, you know like in Transfiguration? But I never pay attention in Transfiguration. I just get all the boys to do my homework. Thinking's just so boring, you know? And why think when you can get someone else to do it for you if you just smile at them or shag them, but anyways I know that you like thinking. You read like all the time. And you pay attention in class all the time and you're so boring."
Excuse me?
"So, Dante and Daddy are all like oh, we need to get this thing so we can give it to our master. But I want it for myself, you know?"
She pauses and looks at me as if waiting for a response. I'm still trying to process the last sentence but I nod anyway. I'm almost positive that Zabini is a Death Eater, but the Minister of Magic? Perhaps I misheard her.
"I knew you'd understand, Lily," Debbie sighs in relief. "That's why I talked to you first. So, now you can take this key and go open the door and bring me back the thing so that I can be even more powerful and beautiful forever. Okay?"
She's letting me go, as long as I lie and promise to bring it back to her. Is it really that easy? I should be able to do that, I mean, it's not like she'll be able to tell like Ophelia if I'm lying or not. After all the awful things she's done to me and my friends over the years I won't even feel guilty about not keeping my word.
"Alright, Debbie. Why don't you give me the book, I mean the key, so that we can get to it before anyone else does."
"But I've got the key. They can't open it without the key!" Debbie reminds me.
"Right…" Mother of Merlin, I'm ashamed that I'm being held at wand point by someone this stupid. If Grace, Tiffany or Alice ever find out about this, I'm never going to live it down.
"I'll give it to you, Lily," Debbie says and I reach for the book. But Debbie accidentally or purposefully pokes me in the eye with her wand and whips the book once more out of my range.
"Actually, there is one more thing that I want you to promise me, Lily."
"Sure," I agree through gritted teeth as my left eye waters and burns.
"My Dante's become so boring since he got involved with this dead people stuff, so I was thinking that I should probably ditch him because he's not nearly as good in bed as he used to be. So, now that I got Tiffany to break up with James-"
Wait, what?
"-I think I'll ditch Zabini and move onto James because you know I never did get to shag him and a guy with those looks, I mean, he has to be good in bed! It's like a law. But anyway there's just one itty bitty problem. You've got him under a love spell."
I choke back a laugh.
"I know, Lily. I know you're like obsessed with him. But he's out of your league so just get over yourself and hand him over to me. Okay?"
I gape at her.
"Just promise me Lily that you'll stay away from James and then you can have the key, okay?"
She holds out the book to me. All I have to do is lie like I did before and say that I'll stay away from James. This should be easy, so incredibly easy. My best friend's life is on the line. The faster I lie, the faster I can rescue her and Rohan.
So, I open my mouth and tell her, "No."
Shit.
"What?" Debbie plastic smile falters. "I thought you just told me "No" but that can't be right. No one tells me "No"."
I try again.
"No."
Bloody hell, what am I doing? Why can't I just lie to her? But I can't. For some reason, I just can't do it. Every time I try to form the words, James's face fills my mind and the word "No" comes out instead.
Debbie jabs her wand into my forehead and backs me right into the bedpost. The smile is wiped completely off of her face and is replaced with the rare scowl. She scrunches up her face that is rapidly turning an ugly shade of red. She's like a toddler preparing for a tantrum and I know what happens when a young witch or a wizard loses their temper. My heart rate skyrockets as I realize she's going to blow up in 10, 9, 8 –
"NO! You stay away from him! I want him so he's mine! All MINE! You can forget your stupid book and your stupid boyfriend I'm going to blast you into tiny-"
Whack!
Debbie's eyes lose their focus and her body suddenly slumps forward. I barely have enough time to jump out of the way before she crumples to the floor. I bend down to snatch her wand out of her slackened grip, narrowly missing a broomstick handle that materializes out of thin air and hits the back of Debbie's head again.
TWHACK!
"Sorry, Lily!" The broomstick clatters to the floor as two hands appear floating before me. "I just wanted to make sure I got her. I didn't mean to hit you, I'm so sorry!" James Potter whips off the invisibility cloak and meets me in the middle of the room with a bone crushing hug and a flood of apologies.
"James, I'm fine!" I reassure him, patting him on the back. I try to ignore the warmth that floods through me as he holds me closer. I'm reminded of the last few words Debbie and I exchanged and my face heats up. How much did he overhear?
James abruptly lets go of me and holds me at arm length.
"Are you alright?"
"Thanks to you I am. Good job," I say, nodding toward Debbie. "But what are you doing in here?" I wonder aloud, bringing up the age old question of how the Marauders manage to get past the magical barriers in the Girl's dormitories.
"Tiff mentioned that McLaggen was acting weird and I've been hearing some rumors about her family's dealings with alleged Death Eaters and I – I was worried about you," he blurts out. He removes his hands from my shoulders and rubs the back of his neck. I don't believe it, but he's blushing.
That has to be one of the cutest things James has ever said to me, but I'm not falling for it. I reach for him and gently take his hand away from his neck, turning him so that he's facing me again.
"That still doesn't explain how you got past the magical barriers," I point out, before he can sidestep the question again.
"And that is for me to know, and for you to find out." He smirks.
"Oh, I will. Trust me," I vow, smirking back at him. "But right now, we have to go rescue my friends."
"Ah, yes, Gracie and your boyfriend," he practically spits as his mood instantly sours.
"My boyfriend is the only reason why Grace is alive right now," I remind him.
"Look, Lily," James sighs, running his fingers through his unruly black hair. "It's not that I don't like Rohan."
I snort and prop my hands on my hips.
"You broke his nose twice and then you turned him into a dragon. Clearly, you don't like him."
"Alright at first I had my doubts about him," James admits guiltily. I raise my eyebrows.
"This morning you dropped a stack of books on his head," I point out.
"Fine, I don't like him!" he confesses. "But only because he's – he's not right for you. He's just too -" James sputters out at a loss for words.
I roll my eyes and turn my back on him. I don't have time to listen to another one of his jealous rants. But James grabs my hand and tugs me back around to face him. We're so alarmingly close that I have to catch my breath. For a moment we just stare at each other and I remember the moment that we had earlier in the corridor when I told him I wanted to forget about everything and break all the rules. I wonder if he knows how badly I wanted him to kiss me then. Will he kiss me now?
"I know that you don't love him," he says softly.
It takes me a few seconds before I recall that we're talking about my boyfriend. Yea, that boyfriend, you know the one that basically sacrificed his life to save my best friend who probably won't survive. And once again it all comes crashing down on me, disrupting every fantasy I had of me and James snogging.
"James, don't –" I whisper, pulling away from him. "If we want to save Grace and Rohan then we can't afford to lose any more time."
"Right," James agrees. He immediately releases me and wanders off to the other side of the room in a daze.
In an effort to clear my head and get myself back on the right track, I search for the book. I find it beneath one of Debbie's motionless elbows and stoop to retrieve it.
I sit down on her bed and open An Extensive History of Mythical Wizarding Weaponry. I can remember the first time I was supposed to meet Rohan in the library. I was late because I was talking to Tiffany about James and conveniently forgot about our "date". Rohan crept up behind me and started reading from this same book before it bit him. Then I got us kicked out of the library and he asked me out on a "real" date but that's another story. After it bit Rohan, Ophelia took one look at it and told me to make sure that it didn't fall into the wrong hands. Now, as I open to the page that Rohan read from months ago, I finally know why.
"One of the oldest magical weapons, the Unnameable Weapon has appeared in ancient texts dating back to 2000 B.C. and is said to be a warrior that takes on the form of whatever the chosen wielder or master is looking for. It was spoken of in myths over the centuries in civilizations all over the world and the properties of this potential warrior was said to be so powerful that its name was never spoken of. Only the wielder, it was said, would know the name and understand when it was to be used. The only written "proof" we have of the weapon is found in the diaries of Glynda Gryffinmoon, an alleged great-grandchild of the great Hogwarts founder Godric Gryffindor who claims that Godric was the last one to wield the weapon and unleash its power. The weapon according to Glynda's account took on the form of a medieval knight and wielded a deadly sword that fell each and every potential foe. Glynda writes that Godric was so frightened by the power and the effect that it had on him that he destroyed the weapon. Other sources say that Godric only put the knight into an enchanted sleep and that it lies in wait for the next heir. Popular legend has it that the weapon's still in existence and one document claims that it was hidden by one of the heirs deep within the depths of the dead."
My eyes move to the opposite page where there is an illustration of a glowing suit of armor holding a sword. I peer closely at the dark jewels decorating the hilt. Even though it's only a drawing, and it's in black and white, I'm almost certain that those are rubies on the hilt and that I've seen it before.
In fact, I think I know exactly where the weapon was hidden because it's still there.
"It was hidden by one of the heirs in the depths of the dead," I repeat softly. "That's it, James, that's where it is!"
"That's only a metaphor," James dismisses me from where he stands with his back to me, examining something on Debbie's bureau.
"No, James, look!" I yank on his sleeve and pull him down onto the bed beside me. I thrust the book beneath his nose and point to the illustration.
"Don't you recognize it?" I ask him.
James takes the book from me and studies the drawing of the knight.
"One of the heirs buried it in the depths of the dead. Hope once told me that the Moons are descended from Godric Gryffindor and the weapon…" I trail off as in my mind I flash back to the last time I saw the weapon.
It was the night of the disastrous Yule Ball, when Grace decided she was going to go hunting for her mother. We had just decided on which way we should go when…
Gracie stops short and I bump into James. Sirius comes very close to lighting my hair on fire.
"Damn, this isn't it!" Gracie steps forward revealing a dead end and…
I scream.
James clamps a hand over my mouth, muffling the noise. Gracie and Sirius twist around fearfully, moving their light to find the source of my scare. The shadowy figure, which I mistook as a walking corpse, becomes a mere suit of armor in the light. I relax, and James removes his hand.
"No one's going to hear us, they're dead," I grumble, blushing in embarrassment. I carefully avoid the other's eyes but I can see Gracie and Sirius out of the corner of my eye, suppressing a laugh.
"Don't be so sure," James says softly, turning to go.
I steal a look over my shoulder, watching as the silent Knight falls back into the shadows and sinks into the darkness. What an unusual place for a suit of armor…
"Come on, Lily!" James calls. The light of his wand catches on the rubies in the sword hilt of the Knight. I tear my eyes from the sparkling rubies, hurrying after them.
James gaze snaps to mine and I know that he's remembering that encounter as well. But then a moment later he's shaking his head and tossing the book aside.
"No, Lily. It's just a story," he dismisses it. He gets to his feet and returns to the banshee's bureau, poking through her mounds of makeup and the rest of her beauty paraphernalia with his wand.
"But don't you see, James? It's in the mausoleum!" I inform him excitedly. I pick up the book and follow him over to the bureau. James avoids my gaze and instead concentrates on knocking every single bottle of makeup off of the bureau and onto the floor.
"That's why Ophelia told Grace to go looking for her mother's body. She was leading us right to the weapon in the Moon Mausoleum!"
James points his wand at the mirror.
BANG!
Several of the little makeup bottles simultaneously explode in a cloud of glittery powder and smoke. I cough and wave it away from my face. I wipe something green and gooey off my cheek. When I'm sure that I didn't get any of it in my eye I see that James's robe is covered in something pink and sparkly that might be Debbie's "Pretty Slutty In Pink" nail polish. In addition to this he's got Debbie's favorite shade of eye shadow "Voluptuous Violet" in his hair.
"You look very pretty in pink," I compliment him, struggling to keep a straight face.
James glares at me.
If the situation was different I would have dug out Tiffany's camera.
Speaking of James's lovely girlfriend…
"We couldn't find it, James. We looked everywhere!" Tiffany exclaims as she leans against the door frame to catch her breath. She cocks her head to the side and frowns at our appearances. "What happened to you two?"
"Don't ask," James grumbles, kicking the bureau.
"Prongs, I must say "Voluptuous Violet" was a very wise decision," Sirius observes as he joins Tiffany in the doorway with a nod of approval. "It brings out your inner witch."
"Funny," James deadpans as he picks up the mirror.
"No, I'm Sirius."
"Doesn't that joke ever get old?" I wonder, rolling my eyes.
"Nope."
"Hey, that's the spyglass! You found it James!" Tiffany practically squeals, clapping her hands together.
The spyglass! I look at the little bejeweled mirror in James's hands that he tried to blowup a minute ago resulting in the pink and purple catastrophe. All at once I know why James had dismissed me so quickly and had pretended not to have any recollection of that night in the mausoleum when we first saw it and why he was trying to destroy the banshee's makeup collection. He was trying to find the spyglass and turn it off before I could say anything. Because now I could see that it was on and that Zabini or whoever else was tapping into it to spy on us, probably now knew the location of the weapon as well.
Thanks to me.
I can feel the color draining out of my face as James looks at me.
"I'm such an idiot," I groan. "James, I'm so sorry."
"Don't apologize," James cuts me off. "You're not to blame for this."
"But-"
James silences me by giving me a look and stepping closer so that he can hand me the spyglass.
"I don't get it. What happened?" Tiffany inquires, looking very perplexed.
I try to ignore everyone else in the room as I run my fingers over the Bewitching Spyglass. But my hands are shaking as they come to the jewel shaped knobs around the glass. I know that James wants me to shut it off, but all I can think about is Grace and Rohan. The Death Eaters are probably already there and no matter what James may believe, I'm to blame.
"Lily?"
James had refused to answer Tiffany's inquiries so now she appealed to me. Instead of answering her question I throw her the spyglass.
"Catch!"
Tiffany catches it clumsily and looks at me.
"Shut it off," I mouth to her.
Tiffany's brow creases but her fingers move deftly over the knobs, twisting and turning them until the jewels on the side stop sparkling. The soft humming noise coming from the instrument abruptly stops and the silence fills up the room.
"Now, someone better start explaining," Tiffany says. "Because I know that something's wrong with Gracie."
"And I want to know where the hell she is and if she's still alive." Sirius folds his arms across his chest and there's a familiar stubborn gleam in Tiffany's eyes. Neither one of them are leaving.
"You're wasting our time," I tell them. "We don't have time to explain. We need to go rescue her right now."
"Rescue her? But she's downstairs having an attack in the Common Room. Ophelia and Remus sealed off the Common Room but she's still – that's not Grace is it?" Tiffany realizes. "So, the rumors are true?"
"What rumors?" James asks.
"There's a rumor going around that some Gryffindors got into a fight with the Slytherin quidditch team. A lot of people are saying that a couple people were hurt pretty badly and that someone died…" Tiffany trails off and exchanges a look with Sirius.
"A few people said it was Wilkes, some people said it was Hannah, others said it was you, some were even saying that it was Rohan. Isn't that silly?" Tiffany forces a weak laugh. "As soon as I heard that one, I knew it wasn't true. But most of the rumors said that Grace's the one that died. I laughed at that one, but then I couldn't find her anywhere and if that's not Grace downstairs…"
"She's alright now, isn't she?" Sirius asks desperately.
Tiffany and Sirius shoot us a pleading look of desperation. They want us to tell them that the rumors are wrong. But we can't.
Sighing, I quickly fill them in using as few words as possible. Sirius pales and Tiffany's eyes fill with tears as I finish.
"But she's going to be okay? Right?" Sirius asks again. Tiffany chokes back a sob when she sees the look that James and I exchange.
"What are we doing here? We have to go get that weapon and find her!" Sirius exclaims.
Tiffany sniffles and wipes her eyes with the back of her hand as she pulls herself together.
"I'm ready," she says.
Great. Not only do I lead the Death Eaters straight to my best friend and my boyfriend but now thanks to me and my big fat mouth two more of my friends are going to march into the face of death. No, I can't allow that and judging by James's expression he's on the same page. Quickly I search for an excuse, and looking around the room, I find one.
"Someone needs to stay here and keep an eye on the banshee," I point out, gesturing to the lump of clothes on the floor that until now I'd forgotten about.
Tiffany flicks her wand and the banshee rises up into the air. She levitates the body across the room, slamming Debbie's head into the doors of the banshee's closet.
"Whoops," she deadpans.
As the body crumples to the floor, Sirius raises his own wand and the doors to the closet open wide. Tiffany levitates the body into the closet where it's quickly hidden by the banshee's overflowing wardrobe. The doors slam shut behind it, and with a little help from Sirius's wand again she's sealed inside the closet chamber for at least a few more hours.
"Problem solved," Tiffany says, turning back to us.
I've run out of excuses and we've already wasted too much time. With a sigh of resignation James takes me and Tiffany by the arm and leads us to the doorway.
"We'll meet you in the Common Room where we can discuss this further," he says, looking pointedly at Tiffany. Then he turns back to speak with Sirius.
When Tiffany and I reach the Common Room, Alice nearly knocks us over. Once she regains her footing, she grabs onto me.
"Oh, thank Merlin you're here! They just sent me to get you." She drags me toward the only group of people left in the Common Room. Ophelia, Remus, and Alice's boyfriend Frank Longbottom have all gathered around the sofa. As we approach them, Remus and Frank step back, allowing me to see that Hope is stretched out across the sofa and she looks awful.
"What happened?" I gasp. When I left Hope, she'd been shaken but completely fine. It couldn't have been more than a half hour since I left her but now her face is white and damp with sweat. Her eyes are shut and even though I call her name she doesn't open them. Ophelia kneels next to her wiping her sweaty hair off of her face and holding her hand.
"She started having some sort of seizure right after you went up to the dormitory," Alice explains in a hushed voice as James and Sirius join us.
"Do you think it was something Wilkes did to her?" I ask Ophelia, referring to the Slytherin Death Eater that had definitely done something horrible to Hope while I went to get a healer for Grace.
"Maybe," Ophelia says, biting her lip as Hope clamps down on her hand again. "Or perhaps it's something Rohan's done…"
"You think that Rohan did this to her?" Surely I heard her wrong.
Just then the portrait swings open. The Head Girl Mary Pewter climbs through. Her corkscrew curls are askew and her face is flushed as if she'd been running. The Head Boy, Eddie Bones is right behind her, but he stops at the sight of Hope. Mary starts rummaging through her bag.
"Did you get it?" Ophelia asks.
"Yea, luckily none of Rohan's roommates were there and Eddie and I were able to search his room without any problems. I hope that we got the right ones, he had a lot of similar ones in there and not many of them were labeled," she says in a rush as she finally takes out a thin vial of silvery blue liquid.
"Good Golly! What in Merlin's name has happened now?" she gasps, staring down at Hope.
"Bloody hell!" Eddie swears under his breath as he leans closer for a peek at Hope's face. "Is that Hope Adams?"
"I'll explain later, uncork the vial and give it to me," Ophelia orders, holding out her hand. Mary obediently opens it and passes the vial of silvery liquid to Ophelia.
Sensing she's going to need help, I squeeze between James and Remus and crouch down beside Ophelia. I peel Hope's fingers off of Ophelia's and then help her to raise Hope into a sitting position. I'm shocked by how hot she is. Her condition reminds me of how Grace was immediately after she was hit with Wilke's Adflictacius curse.
Hope moans and turns her head away when Ophelia tries to feed it to her. Ophelia instructs me to hold her jaw open and when Hope opens her mouth for another labored breath, she pours it down. Hope gags and coughs but Ophelia somehow forces her to swallow all of it. Ophelia presses the back of her hand to Hope's sweltering forehead and then calls over her shoulder.
"You got two, right?"
Eddie is already digging through Mary's bag. A moment later he uncorks a second vial of the same silvery blue liquid and again passes it to Ophelia. Hope is a little more cooperative this time and she swallows it in one gulp though she grimaces.
Ophelia nods to me and we lower back onto the sofa. It's remarkable but already it seems as if Hope's body temperature is cooling. Ophelia sweeps her wand over Hope, checking her vital signs as I saw Rohan do with Grace. Both Ophelia and Hope's face begins to relax and I know that Hope's going to be okay. For now.
"Now, we just have to wait a bit," Ophelia says softly.
"What was that stuff you gave her?" I whisper in awe, wondering what this miracle potion could possibly be.
"Unicorn blood."
"Unicorn blood?" I gasp. I had of course read about the elixir like properties of unicorn blood. But unicorns were innocent and defenseless animals and unicorn blood was so pure, that if one killed a unicorn for its blood the drinker could only live a cursed or half life.
"Ophelia, what were you thinking?"
"She needs more time, Lily," Ophelia whispers back to me so that the others can't overhear. "We're losing her fast."
"But she was fine!" I glance at James - who's watching his aunt worriedly as Tiffany and Sirius bring the others up to speed with his help - and my heart goes out to him.
"I know, but Wilkes must've done something to her or perhaps Rohan…" she tapers off.
"What about Rohan?" I prompt her since I find it very hard to believe that the boy that I had been dating for the past two months, that had just risked his life to save my best friend, could have done something like this to Hope.
"It's quite possible that Rohan could've figured out a way to save Gracie from the Adflictacius curse. Perhaps even with a little bit of Hope's help."
"I'm not following."
"Well, I'm not sure, because I'm not Rohan but after Rohan's grandfather died of the curse-"
"Rohan's grandfather died of the Adflictacius curse!" I interrupt her.
Ophelia nods.
"He survived in a coma for months before the Death Eater that cast the curse finally got everything he wanted from him and severed the bond. After that Rohan became an expert on the curse and read everything he could find on it. He even did some experiments…" she tapers off and both of us look at the empty vials on the floor beside us.
"You didn't kill the unicorn, did you?"
"No." Ophelia shakes her head. "It was an old unicorn on its way out. We had no right to take the blood, but we never intended it for ourselves so…" She shrugs but glances at Hope guiltily. "It wasn't her choice though, so if anyone's damned…"
"You were saying something about Gracie," I recall, moving us back to the subject at hand before her mind can wander down that road. Fortunately, crises always cleared Ophelia's head.
"Of course, as I was saying, Rohan's been studying the bond that develops between the caster of the curse and the victim. And naturally this led to the exploration and comparison of other magical bonds that develop between people."
"You mean like when a witch and a wizard become promised to one another?" I offer, glancing at James and blushing when Ophelia catches me.
"Yes, I suppose." She studies me for a moment with the faintest trace of a smile before she glances at Hope and it slips away. "But Rohan was more interested in the bond that develops between a mother and child."
"Why?"
"I'm not quite sure, but it's a powerful bond. Blood bonds have always had a binding effect upon people, even muggles. It's an ancient more primitive form of magic. Rohan and I always wondered what one could do with that kind of magic, if one could tap into it properly. Blood magic's always been involved in dark magic but if one used it for good or even to combat the dark magic…"
She trails off and I know that she's deep within her mind continuing the discussion without me. But I'd gotten the gist of the theory. From what I gathered, it sounded like Rohan was using the bond between Grace and Hope to break the bond between Wilkes and Grace. But it could only be done by transferring some of the effects of the curse to Hope rather than Gracie. Perhaps he'd somehow managed to bond Wilkes to Hope. Like Ophelia said, we don't know what Rohan is doing or even if he's still alive. But it's curious that Hope's acting as if she's suffering from the curse. Though it's quite possible Wilkes had done something to her that could have brought about the same reaction while I was searching for Rohan, or perhaps even while they were dueling earlier.
"Gracie? Where's Gracie?" Hope's weak voice snaps me out of my reverie. Obviously the unicorn blood is working because now she's sitting up and looking a lot better than she did when I first walked in. Despite her improvements though, she still looks terrible.
"We need to get her to the infirmary," James speaks up.
"No, no infirmary!" Hope protests with a shudder. She thinks Madam Pomfrey has it in for her.
I expect Ophelia to agree with James, but to my surprise she sides with Hope.
"No infirmary, James. That won't be necessary."
"Ophelia, she's ill!" James argues.
"She can barely sit up!" I point out, wondering not for the first time if Ophelia's lost her mind.
"You're feeling better though, aren't you, Hope?" Ophelia inquires of her patient.
"Yes, much better," Hope agrees with a small smile for Ophelia. "I'm fine, James and Lily. Really," she responds to the skeptical and worried gazes of everyone else. "I'm perfectly well enough to get Grace and Rohan."
"You're clearly not fine and you're not coming with us," James tells her firmly.
"I am," Hope answers and I see a familiar spark in her eyes. "And you're not going to stop me."
Hope gets to her feet to face James and for a moment it looks like she might actually win the argument, until she loses her balance and has to sit back down.
"I'm fine!" she snaps, brushing James and me aside when we try to help her. "I just need to rest for a minute," she insists.
"Ophelia this is insane, she needs to go the infirmary," I say, rounding on her because I have a hunch that she's the only one that could make Hope go there.
"I'm sorry, Lily. I wish the circumstances were different but Hope has to come with us to get Grace."
"Why?" James demands.
"Because," Hope explains from her seat on the sofa. "I made the deal with Wilkes. So if I don't show up. There's no chance of getting either Gracie or Rohan back."
"I'm sure we can deliver the message since Ophelia knows everything and Lily figured it out. Besides you're just going to slow us down."
For the first time Hope looks hesitant and doubtful. James seizes upon this opportunity as he continues,
"Already we've wasted a lot of time. The deal could be off right now and if that's the case than we need to get to the weapon first."
"You'll need me then," Hope reminds him.
"I can take care of the doors," James assures her.
"That's not the issue, James," Ophelia cuts in.
"Then what's the problem?" James folds his arms over his chest and glares at them both. Ophelia and Hope exchange a meaningful look and suddenly it hits me. Why would Ophelia give Hope unicorn blood unless…
"The problem is that I'm the wielder of the weapon," Hope whispers.
A/N: Sorry! I think I had some formatting issues with this chapter. At least it's longer than the last chapter, but still kind of short. I meant to get this up sooner but I went to the beach for the long weekend. There was a little L/J interaction but I'm hoping there will be more in the next chapter. I already have at least one scene between them that's coming up soon that I've had in my head for a very long time and I'm really excited to get to it. Thanks again to everyone that reviewed, especially harrypotter713, trixR4kids869, , MrsHellman, Renesmee-worththefight, WhiteCamellia, SimplyyInsanee, Clearwater4ever, CC Chels, gurugirl, desirable69, holly, callmeGreen-Eyes, cia777, Jaliy, UnbreakableLittleMind15, Lizzar, PatronusCharmBabe, Sarahrules366, JustCallMeDollface, Jessiquie, gitgit, ElCullen, HarryPotterResidentEvilFanJnL, TheFifthCharmedOne, Laguna, Aepple, and TwilightLover101099! I'm still shocked that you guys stuck with me for so long! Thank you! Let me know what you think!