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13

A RESCUE MISSION

MUSICAL MOOD FOR THIS CHAPTER: BLEACHERS - ROLLERCOASTER

"You are late. And, apparently you forgot how to dress properly as well."

I stared at James, dumbstruck. My mind was wiped blank and I could feel the palms of my hands get sweaty, as I frantically tried to come up with something plausible to say.

Or anything, really.

"I'm not lying," I said, terribly aware of how feeble my voice sounded.

James frowned. "Your lips are twitching."

I clamped a hand over my mouth, suddenly feeling like I was six years old again and playing wizard chess with Grandmother. "It's a project for Slughorn."

James arched an eyebrow. "No, it's not." He bent over the cauldron and sniffed at the slowly bubbling potion before wrinkling his nose. "What the fuck is this, Woodley?"

"Nothing that concerns you," I replied as nonchalantly as possible and, for emphasis, crossed my arms in front of my chest. "Now, would you please just go away?"

He gave me a weird, long look, almost as though he was about to say something, but then he simply shook his head, muttering something under his breath that definitely contained the word 'loony', and began to gather the books and papers he had come back for in the first place. I watched him reach for them over the table, assembling them into a messy pile which he picked up at once, swiping a couple of loose sheets off the table in the process.

"I got it," I said quickly, but James had already bent down to pick up the pages from the floor. Instead of putting them back, however, he just stared at them, his brows furrowed. It was only then that I realised he was reading the instructions for the Graviditas potion.

"Give that back!" I tried to yank the page from his hand, but he reacted too quickly and pulled his hand out of my reach.

"You're pregnant?" He was staring at me as though he was seeing me for the very first time.

"What? No!" I threw out my arm and tore the instructions from his grip, all the while trying to avoid meeting his eyes. This was a veritable disaster.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" James still stared at me incredulously. "You're brewing a pregnancy test."

"So what?" I snapped, fighting against the swell of panic that was pressing against my chest as I busied myself with putting away the loose sheets of paper. There was no more use in denying it. And if he thought I was brewing the potion for myself, all the better. I didn't care what James Potter thought about me anyway.

"I just – I guess, I didn't think you were –"

"What? Having sex?" I slammed the papers onto the table, feeling my stomach twist into knots. I hadn't meant to yell at him like this but I was on the verge of a bonafide panic attack.

"What? No! I didn't mean that!" He sounded weird - almost flustered. "I don't think about you at all. I mean – ugh." He raked a hand through his hair, dishevelling it even more. "That came out wrong."

"Sure," I mumbled, more to myself than to James, and sank onto the nearest chair, rubbing my tired eyes. This was getting way too much for me to handle and I was too exhausted to keep up the lie. "It's not mine. I'm only helping a friend."

James stared at me for a moment and then, to my surprise, took the seat across from me, eyebrows lightly furrowed. "That miserable bloke from earlier?"

I nodded and it grew quiet again. After a while, he leaned forwards and rested his elbows on his knees, giving me a weird look. "Why are you doing this?"

I shrugged, not exactly sure what to say. I had asked myself the very same question a couple of times already and failed to come up with a plausible answer. "I just – I couldn't turn him in." I sighed and stared at my interlaced fingers for a moment before raising my eyes to James. "It felt wrong. And I figured if I can help him, why not?"

James regarded me with an almost curious expression on his face, his lips parting slightly before he said, "That is really-"

"Stupid?" I supplied, but he shook his head and the small dimple on his right cheek appeared as he smiled.

"Actually, I wanted to say that it's very Gryffindor of you."

Despite the seriousness of the situation, I felt the corners of my mouth tug upwards into a smile which I tried to cover up by rolling my eyes. "I'm not sure that's a compliment, either."

"Well," James replied and rose from the chair again, his hands in the pockets of his jeans as he grinned at me. "Considering you're a Ravenclaw, I'd say it is."

Thin, green vines were flailing through the air like rabid garden snakes, lashing out at my gloved hands. Loud swearing mingled with cries of panic, as people dived underneath the long table or ducked behind one of the shelves. Across from us, one of the tentacle-like tendrils had gotten hold of Adrian Lee's wand, swinging it back and forth like it was waving it in triumph, but we barely noticed.

"Can we trust him?" Katie whispered, using the outburst of laughter to cover up our conversation.

"Don't make me feel even worse about it than I already do, OK?" I groaned, swatting at a particularly ferocious vine that had wrapped itself around my wrist. "Diffindo!"

The tentacle recoiled, hiding behind the others like a wounded animal.

"I just thought, the two of you are not exactly friends, and –"

"I know." I groaned, hitting a couple of other vines with my wand. It had been stupid to confide in James Potter. He had promised that he wouldn't tell but, honestly, there was nothing that actually kept him from doing so. And I didn't know him well enough to rely on his word alone.

"Ladies, how is your Venomous Tentacula getting along?"

Katie and I both jerked our heads up, staring straight at Professor Longbottom's face. It was hard to believe that he was the same person as the round-faced boy that was smiling tentatively into the camera on the large photograph of Dumbledore's Army that adorned the Albus Dumbledore Memorial Hall. His chubby cheeks had vanished since then and, while still being one of the nicer teachers, there was nothing tentative about his demeanour anymore.

"It's going great!" Katie said, a little too brightly while leaning rather obviously over our pitiable attempts at sketching the plant's poisonous buds. Drawing was not exactly our forte.

Professor Longbottom frowned at us but, before he could say anything, there was a blood-curdling scream and suddenly Jasper Holt was born up into the air, ensnared by countless wriggling vines.

"Out of the way!" Professor Longbottom had yanked his wand from his cloak, pointing at Jasper's Venomous Tentacula, which suddenly stopped writhing uncontrollably and began to sway gently, not unlike a many-headed snake that had been hypnotized. As it slowly put Jasper back onto the ground and retreated, thunderous applause filled Greenhouse Five.

"So, when will it be ready, then?" Katie mouthed so that her voice drowned in the clapping and cheering around us.

"Thursday, I think," I whispered back, feeling a definite surge of relief at the thought of it. Only two more days; then this mess would finally be over and I would be able to breathe again.

I felt like a criminal as I was leaning against the stone wall, my gaze wandering up and down the forsaken corridor. My blue uniform tie felt unnaturally tight around my throat but I didn't dare loosen it just now. It was a crucial moment – the last hurdle – and it all depended on me.

Unfortunately, I was sweating like a pig.

Finally, Sam's tall figure appeared at the end of the hallway, walking towards me rather swiftly. It was obvious that he wanted this to be over as much as I did.

Relieved that everything was working out according to plan, I took a couple of steps towards him, ready to hand over the small vial with the Graviditas potion which I was clutching tightly in the pocket of my skirt. It was then that an icy cold wind suddenly swept the corridor and a malicious cackle reverberated from the lofty ceiling, making Sam and me stop dead in our tracks.

"Ooooh, what is this?" Peeves had literally plunged through the ceiling, a gleeful expression on his translucent face as he swooped back and forth above our heads. Sam was still too far away for me to read the expression on his face, but I was sure he looked just as anxious as I felt.

"Go away, Peeves!" I said bravely, trying hard to hide the fear in my voice. "I'll call the Bloody Baron."

The ghost somersaulted above my head before cackling once more. "Ickle prefects, meeting in secret. Should call the headmistress, I should!"

"No!" I said a little too quickly and to my absolute horror, the stout man's face lit up with sardonic glee. He had sensed it – that he had actually walked in on something – and, before I could draw my wand to silence him, he took a deep breath and bellowed, "ALARM! ALARM ON THE THIRD FLOOR! ALARM!"

Almost immediately, I could hear doors flying open in the close distance and then a jumble of voices as hurried footsteps approached from all sides. Sam had already turned on his heels, fleeing from the scene with Peeves in his wake who was shouting abuse at him, and I wheeled around too, running off into the other direction. My clammy fingers were still wrapped tightly around the potion in my pocket for fear of losing it as I ran as fast as I could; if I could make it to the staircase before anyone found me, I could just blend in with the other students, no harm done.

But, of course, that would have been too easy.

"Miss Woodley!"

I slithered to a halt, just before I would have crashed into the towering figure of Minerva McGonagall. Behind her, a couple of curious students craned their necks to get a better view and still more were trickling in from all sides, eager to see what was going on, hoping for a good show.

"What is going on here?" She gave me a stern look that made me feel as though she could see right through me and I took an instinctive step backwards, tightening my grip on the vile in my pocket. Now, if ever, I needed to stay cool. Just for once.

However, when I opened my mouth to speak, nothing came out. I was frozen, unable to even blink.

"Miss Woodley," McGonagall said again, this time warier still, and my heart sank as her gaze fell onto the bulging pocket of my uniform skirt. "What is in your pocket?"

"My pocket?" I croaked feebly, feeling my heart hammering against my ribcage. It felt as though it was struggling to break free, willing to leave me to deal with this mess on my own. This was it. I had been caught and there was no way I could prevent the consequences that were bound to follow.

"Your pocket, Miss Woodley."

It was over.

"Professor!" There was a wave of muttering from the small crowd and suddenly James Potter had entangled himself from the gathered onlookers, striding confidently towards us, his burgundy tie loosened around his open collar and his shirt-sleeves rolled up.

"Potter," McGonagall said, clearly surprised, though her voice sounded somewhat different than usual; softer. It wasn't a secret that she was close to the Potters and, though she was trying to hide it, everybody knew that she nursed a soft spot for their offspring.

"I – er – Hagrid sends me," he said and, without so much as looking at me, positioned himself right in front of me, as though I was a mere part of the dirty stone wall.

Such a gentleman.

"Hagrid?" McGonagall frowned. "James, I don't have time for this now."

"But it's urgent!" He insisted. "Really, really URGENT." A sharp jolt of pain cursed through my body as the heel of James's trainers slammed into my toes, and I gasped, stifling the cry of pain that had threatened to burst from my mouth. I looked up at his back, blinking away the tears in my eyes, and suddenly noticed that he was discreetly holding out his hand to me.

"What is it then?"

McGonagall seemed to lose her patience with him and, not really knowing what I was doing, I quickly produced the vial from my pocket and pressed it into James's open palm. His fingers closed around it immediately and he pulled back his arm.

"Oh, um, you know what?" He said quickly, a nonchalant smile on his face. "Now that I think about it, it's really not that important." He scratched the back of his head as he began to walk backwards down the corridor. "Sorry, Minnie!" And with that, he simply turned around and left the hallway in a jog.

"Potter!" McGonagall called after him, but he had already disappeared behind the corner. "That boy," she mumbled to herself and shook her head before turning her attention back to me. "Where were we? Ah, yes. Your pocket, if you may."

But there was nothing to show her anymore and, concluding that Peeves had once again pranked the entire school, she told me to return to my common room before shooing away the curious flock of students that had ventured out of their dormitories, following Peeves's call.

I stumbled into the Ravenclaw common room, still feeling like my knees might buckle any second as I made my way through the clusters of people. A couple of them gave me curious looks but I neither had the time nor the mental capacity to worry about them now. What I needed was to find Sam, but he was nowhere to be seen.

"Seth!" Katie all but ran into me, her hands clasping my arms and her eyes wide. "Seth, what happened? Someone said Peeves-"

I shook my head quickly, not wanting anyone to overhear, and pulled my best friend into a quiet corner before giving her the outline of what had happened. Her eyes seemed to grow wider with every word and when I finished, she raised her eyebrows so much that they threatened to disappear into her auburn hairline.

"You mean James-?"

I nodded, once again looking around if anyone was close enough to eavesdrop. Hopefully the feeling of debilitating paranoia would subside eventually.

"What do you think he has done with the potion?"

"I don't know," I admitted and dragged a hand through my hair that was still damp with sweat. My entire body felt as though I had just completed one of Professor Lupin's steeple chases: sore and thoroughly shaky. "He just ran off."

"You need to talk to him," Katie urged, "maybe he's in the Gryffindor common room?"

"Yeah, maybe," I mumbled, still feeling discombobulated. I didn't even know how to get into the Gryffindor common room. Wasn't there a password or something?

"Sam!" Katie nudged my arm and I wheeled around on the spot. Sam had indeed just entered the common room, his eyes searching the closer vicinity, and, when they found me, he gave me a tiny nod.

"The potion?" I whispered when he had joined Katie and me in the corner and he exhaled deeply before actually smiling.

"All went well," he said, and I was relieved to hear that his voice sounded quite normal again. "Potter found me and gave it to me."

"He did?" I frowned, ignoring the way Katie's elbow was pressing into my ribcage. "Why? I mean, how?"

"He caught up with me on the staircase. He said you'd almost gotten into trouble?" He looked guilty, worried even, but I quickly shook my head, eager to hear the rest of the story.

"It's fine. I got away. What happened then?"

"Well," Sam, who was still panting slightly, probably from running up the stairs to the tower, took a deep breath. "I gave it to Felicity and she did the test."

"AND?" Katie and I both said at the same time and I felt my stomach clench, but there Sam smiled; and it was a genuine, easy smile that curled his chapped lips before he shook his head.

I could barely believe it. After everything I honestly hadn't believed in a happy ending anymore. "But, what about the morning sickness and her being late and - "

"She reckons it was only her psyche acting up." Sam shrugged, now leaning against the bookshelf to our right. "It was a good idea to have a back-up plan."

"Oh, um, yeah," I said lamely, producing a feeble smile that hardly could have looked believable. Sam, however, seemed to be too relieved to even notice.

"You know you saved my life, right? I can never repay you for this."

I shook my head, "We're good."

He smiled at me and nodded before walking over to Jasper Holt who was surrounded by a group of people as he relayed the thrilling tale of how he had single handedly slain a rogue Venomous Tentacula. I watched him for a moment, how he mimicked the tentacle's whipping motion with his arm, and let myself fall against the wall, suddenly feeling immensely tired. Of course I hadn't had a back-up plan. If it hadn't been for James Potter I would have probably been sitting on the Hogwarts Express right this moment, on my way to Madame Esher's Academy for Young Ladies.

"That was really nice of James," Katie said tentatively, glancing at my profile as though she was waiting for my reaction.

"Yes," I said because it had been nice. But somehow I wasn't quite sure what to make of the fact that James Potter had done this for me - without being asked to, without anything to gain - and the thought stayed with me, even as I was lying in my bed, staring at the canopied ceiling.

There was a sudden burst of light and a loud rattling sound as the dark blue curtains around my bed were yanked open and I groaned, covering my stinging eyes.

"Rise and shine!" Katie chirped and I could feel her sitting down on my bed, probably staring at me as I lay there, refusing to accept that it actually was morning already.

"Go away," I groaned once more, pulling the blanket up to my face. "It's, like, midnight."

"It's 10 o' clock."

It took a moment for the information to sink in. Then, in a spurt of sudden panic, I sat up straight, blinking at the glaring rays of sunlight that lit up the entire room. It was the first time I had slept that long in - well, ever. "What? But why?"

"That's a really deep question for Saturday morning."

"Oh no." I covered my face with my hands as the last residue of the blissful drowsy fog cleared away and reality started to seep in. It was Saturday; the Kick-Off Saturday, and my family would be arriving in less than an hour. Panic-stricken, I peeled myself out of my cosy bed and began to pace around frantically, not exactly sure what I was even doing. "I need to wash. And dress," I mumbled, still pacing, "and brush my teeth." I caught a glimpse of the bushy, unkempt blonde mop on my head in the mirror and another moan escaped my mouth. "-and my hair."

"Those are all good ideas." Katie laughed as she pulled her legs underneath her and leaned against my headboard. "But how about some breakfast first?"

It was only now that I noticed the small tray on my bedside table with a steaming mug of coffee and a buttered scone. The sight somehow had a soothing effect on me and I could feel my heartbeat slow down again.

"Kat, you are literally the best human being I know." I sat down next to her and scooped up the warm mug in my hands, savouring the tingle of heat in my fingertips as I took in the room. Pale morning light was pooling on the wooden floor, dappling Bernice's opened curtains and her sloppily made bed. In the corner across from us, Ursula's bed was also vacated, though made to perfection, and I just wanted to ask Katie where our two dorm mates had gone, when the bathroom door slowly creaked open and Ursula slipped out, releasing a whiff of rose-scented shower gel into our dormitory.

"Hi!" She said when she saw us, her voice so soft that it melted with the tinkling of the dream catcher she had fastened to her bedpost. There was something about the way she spoke and moved – all very quietly and never too quickly – that wasn't entirely normal. It had probably also been the reason why Adina Singer and her posse had bullied her out of their dorm room in our third year.

"You look really nice," I told her when she had sat down on her bed, her light eyes drifting towards the window. Her dark blonde hair was in a neat plait and she even seemed to have put on a little lip-gloss.

"Oh, thank you." A tentative smile appeared on her lips and she smoothed out the skirt of her blue dress. "My boyfriend is coming today. He's a Muggle." She blushed and looked down to her feet as though she had just shared a scandalous piece of gossip. "Are your families coming?"

I simply mumbled something close to a 'yes', not feeling particularly enthusiastic about the weekend that lay ahead, but Katie's loud 'YES' would have drowned out my answer anyway.

"My Mum is coming. And I think-" She had leaned over me, peering at the watch that lay on my bedside table before looking back at me. "- I should probably get going now. She's with the first group."

I nodded, unable to speak because of the large piece of scone I had just stuffed into my mouth. Since Hogwarts was unplottable and, hence, invisible to Muggles, non-magic family members attending the Kick-Off had to be charmed by Flitwick first before they would even be able to see more than a mouldy old ruin.

"Say 'hi' to her. I'll catch up with you later," I said, despite the lump of scone I was still chewing on. The Wooldeys would not have been amused.

"Right," Katie pushed herself up from my bed, tugging on the pale pink blouse she wore underneath a tailored military jacket. She, too, had obviously made an extra effort to look nice. But then again, unlike me, my best friend usually made an effort.

"See you in a bit." Katie smiled at me as she reached the door, Ursula, who was coming with her to get her boyfriend, trailing in her wake. "And don't let the Woodleys get you down."

I only grimaced and, when the door had shut behind them, finally dragged myself up from my bed again, ambling through the now empty dorm room, the cup of coffee still in my hand. There was something distinctly magical about Hogwarts in the morning, but with the prospect of having my family at the castle all day, I had a hard time feeling anything but tense and nervous.

That was why, just like the Quidditch teams, I had prepared a game-plan for today: firstly, dodging any kind of questions by my family, related to Ravenclaw or Slytherin. Secondly, ignoring anything my grandmother said; or anyone else from my family, really. Thirdly, avoiding James Sirius Potter, come what may.

The last point wasn't specifically related to my family, I just wasn't ready to face him yet and I needed time to think. Saying 'thank you' really sounded easier than it was, especially when I had to say it to James Potter.

Tents had sprung up everywhere, dotting the vast Hogwarts grounds like sprinkles on a cake. The rain had stopped two days ago and the autumn sun graced the treetops of the Forbidden Forest, which glittered in brilliant shades of gold and orange.

I breathed in the crisp air and drew my knitted cardigan a little tighter around my torso as I took in the scene from the distance. There were already droves of people marching towards the Quidditch pitch, looking like tiny dots of red, yellow, green, and blue. The Kick-off would not begin before an hour but the hard-core Quidditch-nuts, as usual, scrambled to get a head-start, securing the best seats. It wasn't hard to guess that my family would not be among them; the Woodleys never scrambled for anything.

I continued my walk down the grounds, passing by oddly shaped tents adorned with various House flags and banners that all billowed in the soft breeze. Cheerful chatter and music filled the air and the tingle of excitement for the oncoming Kick-Off games was almost tangible. A group of children raced past me, weaving through the tents with scarlet and gold banners tied around their necks like capes, screeching and giggling as they chased each other. Despite the uneasy feeling that had settled in my stomach in the past days leading up to this event, I was actually beginning to relax a little; that was, until I had spotted the blinding white pavilion that towered a little distance away from the others.

A tiny groan escaped my mouth as I stared rather thickly at the elegant construction in front of me. I wasn't the only one, either; most people stopped as they passed and pointed at the pavilion with gaping mouths. I couldn't even blame them; it was magnificent with its polished wooden floor and glittering chandelier hanging from the ceiling. A couple of white-clothed tables bore bouquets of fresh peonies and two neatly dressed waiters weaved between them, carrying silver trays with sparkling champagne and miniscule hors d'oeuvres.

"Elizabeth! There you are!" My mother had spotted me amongst the onlookers, immediately ushering me towards the pavilion, her long, jewellery adorned fingers clasping my shoulder tightly as though she feared I might run off otherwise. She wasn't wrong, really. I did feel the strong urge to pretend I wasn't actually part of this, but since I was even too dumbfounded to speak, I could only hope that no one I knew witnessed how my mother pushed a glass of champagne into my hand, explaining that I had to try the Norwegian Caviar with it.

Leave it to the Woodleys to turn a simple Kick-Off camp-out into a five-star gala event.

"Elizabeth." My grandmother's voice reached me even before I had gotten a glimpse of her; her long, forest green cloak billowed behind her as she approached, but her neat white-blonde hair-do was rigid and unmoving. Like my mother, she was a tall, slender woman, who, despite her age, was still towering over everyone else; at least it had always felt like that to me.

"You are late." She sighed as she stopped in front of me, her pale, blue eyes narrowing as she stared at my trainers as though they had personally offended her. "And, apparently you forgot how to dress properly as well."

I bit my tongue - hard enough to taste a bit of blood - to physically restrain myself from giving a stroppy reply. What had she expected? That I would show up in a ballgown?

"Well, at least she can go to the girls' bathroom now without causing a scandal," a snide voice said next to me, but I didn't need to look to know who it belonged to.

"Hello, cousin," Cassandra drawled in an almost bored voice before taking another sip of her champagne. While she and Vala had the same brown hair and dark eyes, Cassandra was distinctly bonier than her sister and it seemed to have gotten worse ever since she had graduated from Hogwarts two years ago. "I must say, I didn't really believe it when Val told me, but here you are."

Vala, who was standing next to her sister, only rolled her eyes and downed her glass at once before stalking off into the pavilion. Her gait seemed a little shaky, but it was probably due to the six-inch heels that kept getting stuck in the earthy ground.

Or the champagne.

"Nice to see you too, Cassie," I said so brightly that the sarcasm should have been hard to miss. Cassandra, however, didn't seem to notice and simply swiped her pin-straight hair over her alarmingly knobbly shoulder, the smile on her face too wide. Confused about her reaction, it took me a moment to realise that she was not actually beaming at me but at something behind me, and suddenly, I felt a strong hand grip my shoulder.

"Elizabeth."

I wheeled around, looking straight into my grandfather's face. The thin lines around his dark grey eyes crinkled as he found mine, and, even though his mouth was partially hidden by his mustache, I could have sworn he was smiling at me.

"Didn't I tell you, son?" He said and I felt taken aback for a moment, not exactly sure what the hell he was talking about. Then, I spotted the tall guy next to him who was unabashedly scrutinising my face.

"Oh yes, exactly the same colour." The young man smiled somewhat complacently as he gave me a very obvious onceover. "Of course, it is hard to focus on eye colour in the face of such breath-taking beauty."

I couldn't help a confused frown as I watched the two men exchange knowing glances. Next to me, Cassandra looked like she had just eaten something disgusting and was about to throw up.

"Elizabeth, you surely remember Asher," Grandfather said, clapping the guy's shoulder. "He is Justus and Charlize Engelstein's son."

"Well, Edward," Asher said, giving me a bright smile, "it has been a while since Elizabeth and I have seen each other. I surely would have not recognized her." He winked at me and I cringed inwardly, remembering the last time we had seen each other; I had been fourteen and he had practically forced a wet kiss onto my lips then. What on earth was he doing here?

"As you know, Asher didn't attend Hogwarts," Grandfather began to explain as though he could read my thoughts. "So I invited him along. I was thinking, you could show him around a little. After the game, of course."

"Um, but," I said rather slowly, not quite sure what Grandfather was playing at. "I, um, I already made plans." Meeting up with Katie and her mum hardly qualified as 'plans', but I needed to find a way out of having to deal with Asher all day. After all, Cassandra who was now sulking next to the waiter with the champagne, had seemed rather eager to do it. And I really wasn't.

"Perfect!" Grandfather said loudly as though he hadn't even heard me. "Then it is settled."

"Oh, I -" I tried once again, suddenly realising that I really didn't have a good excuse. "Well, I'm not sure I can -"

"When does the game start?" My mother cut across my feeble stammering and shot me a glance that told me to stop trying to wriggle my way out of this. "Isn't it soon?"

"There's still time," Vala had stepped out from the backrooms of the pavilion and leaned against one of the tables, looking bored. "Ravenclaw against Hufflepuff is first and, honestly, who wants to watch that."

"I do!" I said indignantly and, not caring about my grandmother's disapproving looks, I turned on the spot and marched off towards the Quidditch pitch, muttering under my breath like a lunatic. I had only spent half an hour with the Woodleys and I already felt like I was losing it.

This was going to be a very long day.

A/N: If you got this far, thank you for reading! As always, I would love to hear your thoughts and feelings on this chapter! What did you think about James saving Seth? And finally, the Woodleys reappeared – what did you think about that? And what about Asher – why did Seth's Grandfather bring him along? I a really looking forward to hearing what you guys thought! Lots of love!