A/N: Well guys, I can hardly believe it. This story has tested my patience, my creativity, and my sanity, but I got through it intact...except the sanity part...*wink* Seriously though, the feedback has been wonderful. Yes, this is the last chapter. *tear* But I'm posting the epilogue tomorrow or the next day (thank yous with the epilogue, I PROMISE!). If I messed up the lyrics to this song, I am so, so sorry. I've only heard it three times in my life and I wrote down the lyrics as I listened so I'm not ENTIRELY sure if they're right. I'm not trying to rip anyone off!
And everyone...MERRY CHRISTMAS! Crazy, isn't it? I posted the prologue on Christmas Day 2003 and today is Christmas Eve 2004. And Happy Holidays for anyone who doesn't celebrate Christmas. I really can't spell Hann...Hanak...you know what I mean.
Thanks a million for your reviews! I love you all! There will be a sequel (of COURSE there will be a sequel...this is a trilogy, you know). The sequel is called...you're gonna love it.... "Turning Back". Some of you knew that was coming. Some didn't. *grin* Well, that's about it for now. I apologize in advance for the ending. But remember...sequel...
And without further ado about nothing:
Chapter Eight:
The Confrontation
~I'm so tired of being here
Suppressed by my childish feelings
And if you have to leave
I wish that you would just leave
Cause your presence still lingers here
And it won't leave me alone
These wounds won't seem to heal
This pain is just too real
There's just too much that time cannot erase~
**My Immortal by Evanescence
"Grace?" a comforting voice from far away whispered. "Grace...Wake up. Wake up!" the second time it was a command, which she immediately obeyed. To her great surprise she was in the hospital wing. Dumbledore was at the foot of the bed, but it was Severus, sitting in the chair next to her, who had awoken her.
"Feeling better?" Dumbledore asked in a falsely cheery voice. She shrugged.
"Grace, what is the matter with you?" Severus demanded, and she flinched. She hadn't wanted him to know anything...they DIDN'T know anything, did they? Snape continued ruthlessly, "Angel Malfoy said you haven't been sleeping, I KNOW you haven't been eating. What in the hell happened to you?"
"N...nothing happened," she stuttered, "I'm just tired, that's all."
"Yes, which caused you to faint in the middle of the day," Severus snapped sarcastically.
"Don't be so rash, Severus," Dumbledore chided. "Exhaustion can to that, as you should know."
"I do know," he scowled. "Grace," he began again, "Are you sure there's not anything you want to tell me? I will understand, you know I will. I've done it to."
No, Grace thought savagely. No, you haven't been where I've been, Severus Snape. And I hope to God no one ever has to be there. No, Professor Snape, this is one thing you haven't done, one time I've stepped out of my Apprentice's bonds and done something completely different.
"I'm fine," she finally insisted. "Just tired. Can you tell them I'm sick or something? I just need a day to recover from...from all this."
"Okay," he nodded. "Mr. Potter and Miss Malfoy have been badgering Madame Pomfrey. Do you want to see them?"
"No!" Grace shouted in alarm. "No," she repeated more calmly, "Just tell them I'm really contagious with...with..."
"I'm sure we can handle it, Miss Weasley," Dumbledore smiled. "Here," he handed her a goblet full of clear violet liquid, "Drink this and rest, child."
Grace nodded and swallowed it down. The potion was cool and wonderful, immediately lulling her to a sleep without dreams.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Everything was black. It was as if there was no top or bottom, beginning or end, just one continuing black expanse. He would run forward as fast as possible, running for ages until finally ramming against a impenetrable wall as black as everything around him.
Thomas Flint was trapped in his own mind.
For a while, he had thought he was dead. That didn't keep him from trying to escape, ramming against the walls until he was so exhausted he couldn't stand. However, every once in a great while the walls would crack, and he would glimpse the blessedly bright world he knew and recognized through his very own eyes before being shoved into imprisonment once again.
He wasn't entirely sure how he had gotten there, or why he was trapped. He only knew that somehow, some way, someone had managed to take the soul of Tom Flint and trap it in a black box, shoved into the back of his mind.
But Tom was not a quitter. And when he reached those points where all he could do was sink to the floor and fight the tears he would force himself to remember Angel and stand again with renewed strength.
Tom continued with foes unknown to battle for dominance of his will.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The graveyard was gray and desolate. A cold wind wept through the bare branches of the trees overhead. Everywhere else the first signs of spring could be seen, but not here. Here it was eternally a bitter winter.
Draco Malfoy walked the familiar paths, his black cloak fluttering around him in the unforgiving breeze. To the Circle of the Two-Faced there was something oddly comforting about the place. To them, death would always be regarded more with relief than fear. The Circle went to the graveyard once a year together.
Draco went once a year alone.
He wasn't sure if the others did the same. He had never asked. It was a very personal experience. Draco himself wouldn't have even told Ginny if there was any way to avoid it. As it was, she understood that after nearly five years in the Dark Lord's surface there were wounds that would never heal and there would be times he simply needed solitude.
His eyes traveled to the names solemnly engraved in the marble and stone around him. He recognized many of the names...too many for a man of only thirty-six years. Every once in a while he would even see one of his very own murder victims. But he was not here to dwell on that. He had a specific purpose. His pace was quick and unhesitating. He didn't pause until he had reached one of the many small gray headstones under a large, bare oak tree. He stopped abruptly, staring at the name, then closed his eyes.
Angel.
He could see her just as clearly now as when he had last seen her nearly eighteen years ago. Her light brown curls, smiling face and light blue eyes, so very different than his beloved wife's, shone like a beacon in his memory. Angel Pentser, one of their own.
He could remember the day she died. He could remember the way her body looked, covered in blood and lying on her bed, the word 'traitor' spelled above her head. He could remember the sick feeling in his stomach and the numbness of his limbs as he stared. They had enjoyed a very brief romantic affair, rudely interrupted by her untimely murder. She had sacrificed her life-a loving, selfless life-for the sake of Lord Voldemort's defeat.
And now it seemed her death was in vain.
Draco's fists clenched at the thought. His thoughts drifted to the current war, and he found himself silently asking Angel for advice. It was silly, he knew, to ask a dead woman for advice, but he couldn't help but remember her unique ability to produce solutions for any problem. His daughter, her namesake, had the same gift.
The key at this point was finding Voldemort's heir. It could be anyone, of any age. He must have hidden him (or her, his wife's voice added in his mind) from the world...or at least Britain. Perhaps the heir hadn't been raised in the country...or maybe raised by a respectable family...or...
Draco's thoughts were racing through his mind, incoherent and incomplete. He gritted his teeth, searching for something to focus on. His eyes fell back on Angel's name, and he focused on it, ingraining the letters into his mind. Angel Pentsur. Angel...gel, an, leg, lag, gale, la, lane...Draco found his mind rearranging the letters of her name like a children's game as if it were some kind of code. It was fairly embarrassing, but it kept his mind from exploding. Pentser...ten, sent, teen, nest, pen, peer, seep, pent....ser....serpent...
Serpent. Angel's dark history. Her knowledge of the Dark Arts. The Dark Lord's immediate acceptance and favor. The brutality of her killing. Her mysterious, unknown family. Her interpretation of Voldemort's actions. Her knowledge of his lair and his history. Her pale skin. The way her eyes flashed...
Angel Pentsur. Angel Serpent. Serpent, Angel...The SERPENT'S angel...
All of Draco's thoughts were completely overshadowed by this new revelation. Was it possible that Angel Pentser was the Dark Lord's daughter and it was HER child that he now possessed? It made so much sense, he suddenly realized, filled in so many gaps...
There was only one person alive who had known her well enough to answer his questions. He turned and Apparated from the graveyard.
"Good afternoon, Draco," Ron commented, raising an eyebrow as his brother-in-law popped into his living room without warning. "Are you looking for Ginny? She's probably at the office, you know."
"Actually, I'm looking for Rayven," he replied, "Is she at work?"
"No, she's in the kitchen. You're telling me you Apparated all the way over here to talk to my WIFE?! Why-" Ron's question was cut off as Draco turned and swept out of the room toward the kitchen. He was wearing a traveling cloak, Ron realized with a frown.
"Rayven!" Draco called dramatically as he burst into the Weasley's kitchen.
"Draco!" she exclaimed in surprise, dropping a bottle which she hastily picked up and returned to the refrigerator, practically stuttering, "No! That's not sugar-free, fat-free, cholesterol-free...What brings you here?"
"I want to talk about Angel," he replied, sitting down at the table. Rayven followed his example, smiling.
"I'm sure she's fine," she said soothingly. "I know she has a boyfriend, but you shouldn't be so protective of her!"
"Not that Angel," Draco replied, waving her comments away, "Angel Pentser."
"Oh," Rayven replied, her entire face changing. "Well...?"
Draco took a deep breath, knowing she was going to think he was crazy, then plunged into his deductions. She listened silently, her eyes fixed on his face. There were a few moments of silence when he had finished.
"Voldemort's daughter..." she finally echoed, sounding dazed.
"I know it's crazy, but-" Draco began desperately.
"No!" Rayven held a hand to silence him, "No...it actually answers many questions...it makes sense, doesn't it? I mean...I had known her since we were eleven and she was never allowed to mention her father...and she lived with a magical foster family, Death Eaters...but the summer after fourth year she spent all this time away and she wouldn't tell me where she had gone..."
"That's the summer he returned," Draco murmured.
"Yes," she replied, almost to herself. "Yes..."
"Shall I call a meeting?" Draco asked.
"You get Ginny, Dumbledore, and that crowd. Ron and I will get Harry and Hermione," she instructed. He nodded and Apparated. Anyone else might have panicked with the sudden knowledge that their late best friend was Voldemort's daughter, but Rayven Michaels Weasley kept a cool head. She had not spent several years as a Death Eater for nothing.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Time passed. The adults admitted the logic in Draco's thoughts and decided that for the moment they tentatively placed the new Dark Lord's identity on Angel Pentser's child. The problem was, they had never even known Angel had HAD a child. Severus had admitted that a simple potion could have completely hidden her pregnancy as long as she was cautious. So precious time slipped away as they tried desperately to locate the heir.
They say time heals all things. Grace wanted to find "them" and ask them if time would heal the killing curse she was about to send hurtling in "their" direction. How wrong "they" were.
Spring was making an appearance at Hogwarts. March was waning, the winds were warmer, and the days were longer. Grace felt it all weighing down on her chest, suffocating her slowly.
She was killing almost every night now. Tom's approach seemed to be kill as many possible enemies as possible before the Ministry could organize itself. Several of the larger attacks were foiled by Grace's intervention. This did nothing to ease her guilt. She was carrying the secret to his ultimate destruction and there was NOTHING she could do about it.
She tried not to think to hard, but it was impossible. She couldn't concentrate on schoolwork at all, and for good reason. She was bound to get a good lecture over the holidays about NEWTs, but she didn't care. She didn't care about anything anymore.
She needed to end this. Thoughts and realizations flashed through her mind. And she admitted defeat. She, Grace Cora Weasley, Gryffindor, Ministry spy in the Innercircle of Death Eaters, daughter of Ron and Rayven Weasley, she was admitting defeat. She was going to tell Bill to arrest her. Azkaban was the only place she would be safe from his wrath.
But she couldn't go until she had found a way to depart with her information of Voldemort's identity.
The thought plagued her day and night. She tried writing and singing and even oblique symbolism in poetry, and no one ever had any idea what she was talking about. Grace would have found herself frustrated to the point of tears if she had had any left to cry.
And it was in this state one could find her, slumped in an armchair in the corner of the deserted common room on a bright Saturday afternoon at the end of March while everyone else was off at Hogsmeade. Her mind was whirling and her time was running out. She needed a solution quickly.
Perhaps some sort of sign language, she thought miserably and without much conviction. She had tried the obvious...namely flailing her arms madly to get attention. She wound up reporting something ridiculous and claiming her arms had needed exercise. Obviously Voldemort had taken everything into consideration.
She buried her face in her hands, trying to clear her mind. She needed a cool head, a calm reasoning. She needed to think like Severus would if he were in her place. What would Severus do? Severus...
Grace leapt up to her feet. Of COURSE! Severus! What was it that Voldemort had said, exactly? "My identity cannot be revealed to one without my Mark." One without the Dark Mark could not know Voldemort's identity...but one WITH the Mark could, and then Severus could tell Bill and then...she would be free!
She screamed with pure joy and twirled in a circle, her arms outstretched in ecstasy. Freedom! No more Voldemort or Bill or murder or...of course, she would be in prison for a few months, but what was a few months in jail when the rest of her life would be free!
She ran from the common room, much to the Fat Lady's annoyance. "Where d'you think you're going, lass?" she demanded sternly. Grace laughed in response, laughing for the first time since January. She turned and ran through the halls, nearly mauling a few first years.
She suddenly got a vision of the first years huddled at the end of a hall, clinging to each other in fear as she rolled the head of the stature of Gregory of the Smarmy at them, imitating the Muggle "bowling" her grandfather had taught her years ago. She grinned.
Or not.
Despite the fact that she was running it took her a while to get all the way to the dungeons. She burst in without warning to find Severus at his desk as usual, muttering over an essay. He looked up at her with his customary glare.
"And what has you in such a confounded good mood this afternoon?" he asked in his usual surly tones.
"I know who Voldemort is!" she chirped, then practically squealed in pleasure when she realized she really WOULD be able to tell him everything.
"What?" he demanded, his eyes widened. He gestured for her to sit down. She wasn't entirely stupid, of course. She shut the door and whispered a silencing charm first.
"Now," Severus said carefully. "What do you mean you know who he is?"
"The body he's using!" she exclaimed. "There aren't any Slytherins lurking around are there?"
"No," he replied. "How long have you known?"
"Ages," she replied. "He put a spell on us so that we couldn't tell anyone without the Mark...but you HAVE the Mark, which took me FOREVER to remember..."
"So?" he demanded, his voice dripping with curiosity and anxiety.
"Lord Voldemort is," she paused dramatically. "Tom Flint."
Dead silence.
"Tom Flint," he finally echoed. Grace bit her lip, suddenly remembering that he was one of Severus's favorite students. "As in, the Head Boy here?"
"Yes," she replied. "You have no idea how horrible its been...he's dating Angel you know and especially after he...well, its been hard," she muttered, her cheeks red. All her joy had evaporated, leaving her more deflated than ever.
"You're sure?" he demanded, and her temper flared.
"Of course I'm sure!" she snapped. "I've seen him with my very own eyes several times, Severus! Why would I lie about something like this?!"
"Calm down," he snapped, "I never said I didn't believe you. Just making sure, that's all."
"Well?" she demanded. "What are you going to do about it?"
"Inform Dumbledore and the Minister and his council, naturally," he replied. He then smiled. "This means we can have him before many more lives are taken. Grace, you've just saved the world!"
"Er...yeah, I guess so," she muttered, blushing. She'd never thought of it as anything more than a way to get out of being a spy.
"Well, I'd better go owl several people," he said, beginning to spy.
"Wait!" she cried, causing him to sit down once again and pierce her with a searching gaze. "I...I need a favor," she muttered.
"We owe you one," he replied. "What is it?"
She closed her eyes for a moment to compose herself. Now that the moment was here, she almost couldn't go through with it. It would mean, for a short while, being completely cut off from all those she loved and being hated by those people.
"I want...I want to be arrested," she finally whispered.
"What?" he replied blankly. She struggled with tears.
"I know I should stick it out until the bitter end," she blubbered, "But I just can't handle it any more. I need to be somewhere safe, and the place HE can't reach me is Azkaban and I know its cowardly and I should be better than fear but I'm not and I just really, really, really can't do this anymore," she managed to say before bursting into sobs.
"Grace," he said, putting and awkward hand on her slumped shoulder and leaning across the desk. "You are in no way cowardly. What you have done for the last six months-facing Voldemort alone-shows more bravery than anything I've ever seen."
"God, who pays you to say that bull shit?" she muttered, but her tears slowed and stopped and she felt better. He smiled wryly at her.
"Dumbledore," he replied. "But its true. And Grace," he added as she stood to leave. She looked at him expectantly. "Can we tell your parents what you did after we arrest you?"
"You'd better," she smiled, "The prison walls can protect me from Dad's fury too. He's going to completely lose it."
"I'll be ready," he promised. She smiled, feeling better than she had in months, and returned to the common room to pack all her things neatly to be shipped home while she was in Azkaban while Severus sent out several owls, still slightly shocked the Tom Flint was Angel Pentser's son.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The black expanse was as engulfing as ever. Tom didn't care. He was NOT going to resolve himself to an eternity of nothing. He struggled and fought, swearing and shouting until his voice was raw. He found one of the walls and rammed into again...again... again...
THERE! A tiny crack gave him a glimpse of the outside world. He seized the opportunity, tearing the wall and finding himself in the Slytherin common room. He gave a yelp with joy and ran up to his room, ignoring the startled look from one lonely-looking second year.
He could feel the other one-the one who had taken his willpower and his body-struggling in the back of his mind. Tom knew he couldn't fight the other one much longer, so he went as quickly as possible, his fingers shaking as he found a quill and parchment just where he had left them. He pause for a moment when he saw the calendar.
March 27...MARCH?! He had been locked away in that...that box for eight months? The anger gave him a rush of power, and he was able to write a quick letter and fight the other one at the same time. Angel. She would know what to do.
He sent the owl requesting that she meet him in the Astronomy Tower that evening during dinner, and then sat down for the two-hour wait. He spent some of it in his rightful place, and some in the box in his mind. He grinned. He had broken down the wall now, and it would take the other one some time to repair it.
And it that time, he came to realize who exactly had been possessing him. And he came to realize what he had to do.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
A few people had filed in and out of the common room, but when the bell rang for dinner Grace was completely alone again. She sighed, torn between relief and fear, watching sun begin to sink just out her window.
"Grace?" a familiar voice interrupted her blessed solitude. She jumped and swore under her breath. It was James.
She closed her eyes, repressing more swear words. This was the first time she had been alone with James since he last kissed her, and she preferred it that way. Maybe, in another dimension, she would still want him to want her. She still loved him, just as she always had. She would have never called it love in the past, but after these months in the Dark Lord's service hadn't quenched her feelings, she knew it for what it was. But the love was tainted, twisted, and ruined, just like everything else in her life. She loved James still, but as a result she wanted him to fall head over heels for someone else, get married, and have a huge happy family so she could see him happy.
"Hello, James," she managed to say in friendly tones.
"Aren't you hungry?" he asked. She shrugged.
"Aren't you?"
"Not really," he replied, and an awkward silence descended on them. Grace bit her lip, annoyed. She hated awkward silences.
"Where's Angel?" she asked suddenly, still trying to play the bright, happy friend.
"Oh, she's up at the Astronomy Tower with Flint," James replied, making a face. Grace's eyes widened.
Angel was alone with...He could kill her, and plant a suicide note and no one would ever know. Or he could torture her ruthlessly for information from her mother. Or put her under Imperious. Or...
That's it, Grace thought angrily, if I'm going down, I'm going down in style. He is NOT going to ruin Angel like he's ruined me, she vowed. Without giving James a second glance she set a determined pace toward the portrait hole. He grabbed her wrist as she passed.
"Where are you going?" he demanded. She narrowed her eyes at him. He was wasting precious time.
"To dinner, alright? What's your problem, James?"
"My problem?" he echoed incredulously. "MY problem? Listen to yourself Grace! You've been acting strangely all year and you're asking about MY problem? What is wrong, Gold? Why won't you tell me anything?"
"Its none of your business!" she exclaimed, twisting her wrist and pulling away. He grabbed her upper arm, trying to hold her back and get answers. He looked down for something more solid to hold, and Grace felt spinning of the world around her come to a screeching halt, her breath gone from her lungs, her heart stopped, and her blood frozen in her veins. In the struggle the sleeve of her robes had been pushed up and now her Dark Mark was grinning up at James's disbelieving eyes.
He let go in shock. She turned and fled, tears welling in her eyes as she set a collision course for the Astronomy Tower. It would be really easy to arrest her now.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Tom?" Angel asked cautiously, looking around for her boyfriend. His letter had been decidedly odd, as if he'd been distracted when he wrote it. Not much could distract Tom Flint when he set his mind to something.
"Angel!" he cried, and she jumped as he appeared, even more worried when she took in his appearance. His hair was disheveled and his eyes were dazed.
"Tom, what is it?" she asked, alarmed. He put his hands on her shoulders, his chocolate eyes boring into her silver ones.
"Angel, I know this sounds crazy, and I know you don't understand, but I need you to push me off the tower."
"WHAT?!" she screeched, unable to believe her ears.
"Listen!" he cried, taking her hand as she tried to pull away. "I know it sounds crazy, but there are things happening and I..."
He suddenly lost the glazed look and the familiar, easy smile slipped into place. "Am I talking like a maniac?" he asked suddenly in his normal voice.
"YES!" she screeched in panic.
"Calm down, sweetheart," he said, placing a soothing hand in hers. "I took in some iffy potions fumes this afternoon and its having this weird effect on me where I start talking about killing myself."
"Oh, good," she whispered, closing her eyes in relief.
"You won't let me fall, will you Angel?" he asked, leaning in for a kiss.
"Of course not," she whispered.
"NO!" he cried suddenly, pulling away, the dazed look returning. "Angel, don't listen to him. He's not ME! Don't you see? You have to kill me so HE will die to! Angel, please, I would jump off myself but he won't let me! PLEASE! You have to push me off!"
"Shh, Tom, its just the potion fumes, remember?" she asked, her voice calm and competent. "Don't be crazy, I won't kill you, I promised."
"No..." he whispered. Tom closed his eyes. It wasn't Voldemort that defeated him. It was Angel, her disbelief, her belief in Voldemort's words. "Angel..." he managed to whisper before he felt Voldemort shove him ruthlessly into the back of his mind, trapped again.
"There," Tom said, and Angel smiled when she saw he had returned to normal. "I'm fine, now, I think."
"That's good," Angel replied, reaching up to kiss him when they heard the door open. Their heads snapped to the entrance. Angel felt her temper rise when she saw Grace coming in, looking as if she were about to spit fire. Couldn't she just get over it!
"Leave your fucking hands off her, Flint!" she screamed. Tom smirked.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"What news is so urgent that I left my dinner half cooked to hear it, Severus," Rayven demanded once everyone had arrived. They were in the dungeons during the students' dinner at Severus's insistence.
"I've found Voldemort," Severus replied. This caught everyone's attention immediately.
"How?" Harry demanded.
"Who?" Ginny asked, because one look at Severus told her exactly 'how'. There was no need to disclose that information just yet.
"You're not going to like it," he replied.
"There's no need to be dramatic," Draco said quietly. Severus nodded.
"Thomas Flint," he said briskly.
"The Head Boy?" Hermione demanded, sounding appalled.
"Why not?!" Draco replied hotly. "I was Head Boy and a Death Eater at the same time. Tom Riddle was Head Boy!"
"We need a plan of action," Dumbledore said, taking charge. "If your absolutely sure...?" Dumbledore's piercing blue eyes searched the Potions Master.
"Absolutely," Severus replied.
"Not yet, Headmaster," Harry interrupted, his emerald eyes furious. "I'm not stupid, Snape...Ginny. I've let it slide until now, but this is a serious move and I want to know who your spy is before we continue."
"Spy?" Hermione echoed. "But Ginny...you wouldn't reinstate the Circle without us, would you?"
"Who said anything about a Circle?" Ginny demanded.
"That's exactly what I mean!" Harry exclaimed angrily. "We ask for necessary, valuable information and you counter with a question. I won't have it! Tell me which spy gave you this information before we bet everything on it!"
"Which spy?" Severus replied softly. "There's only one, Minister. And this one spy came to us, not the other way around, and offered to join Voldemort's ranks on the one condition that we didn't tell you."
"Me personally?" Harry asked sarcastically.
"Yes," Severus replied, ignoring the sarcasm. "You. By name."
"Ginny, you have to tell us," Draco said pointedly. "Harry's right. It would be foolish to waste out entire effort if-"
"Silence," Dumbledore instructed, and just in time. The door flew open and James Potter ran in, his hair all over the place and his eyes wild.
"What is it, Mr. Potter?" Dumbledore demanded.
"It's Grace!" he cried. "Professor, she's a Death Eater!"
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"I wouldn't speak in that tone of voice if I were you," Tom said quietly. Angel looked at him in surprise. He let go of her entirely, approaching her cousin in a slow, almost serpentine way she had never seen before.
"I think you would," she snapped defiantly. Her Occlumency level was nothing, but it seemed he wasn't trying to read into her mind. She stood completely still, almost halfway in the room, as he approached her. He stopped inches away, his eyes racking her as if she were on display for sale.
"You are very beautiful, Grace Weasley," he whispered, leaning in so that his breath tickled her ear. She forced herself not to move, and he smirked. "And very, very foolish."
She realized to late that he already knew.
"Angel, run!" she cried, ducking away. Tom pulled out his wand and aimed it at Angel, petrifying her in place with Locomotar Mortis. He laughed as Grace pulled out her own wand.
"You Weasleys are so very stupid," he said. "You keep trying to kill me. Can't you see I can't die?"
"You arrogant asshole!" she screamed, raising her wand.
"Easy there," he said, clearly enjoying himself. "Let's this a proper duel. We'll bow first...no? Okay then, one...two...THREE! Crucio!"
"Finite Incatatum!" Grace cried, ducking the Cruciatus Curse and releasing Angel. "Go for help!" she cried as she avoided the curse again.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"What?" Rayven whispered, and James realized a moment too late that the Weasleys, Malfoys, and his parents were present. He looked at Dumbledore expectantly, waiting for something to happen. His eyes raked the room. He saw Ginny heave a great sigh and Snape close his eyes. Ron looked livid.
"GRACE?!" he screamed suddenly, standing and nearly knocking down the table, glaring at Snape. "MY DAUGHTER IS YOUR SPY?!"
"Ron, please sit down," Ginny pleaded.
"And you knew!" he continued, rounding on his sister. "You LET my only child become a Death Eater!"
"Ron, she volunteered. As a matter of fact she demanded to become a spy. I told her no, but she refused to take no for an answer. She even wrote an essay, I have it around somewhere, entitled "Why I Want to Become a Death Eater"."
"This can't be happening," Rayven whispered, tears streaming down her cheeks. "My baby...my only baby..."
"Professor, what's going on?" James asked, confused.
"I cannot BELIEVE this. How long, Ginny? How long has she been doing this?"
"She was Initiated Halloween night," Ginny replied quietly. "She's been saving our asses for months, Ron! Who do you think warned us about his plans to attack the school?"
"Grace is a spy, Mr. Potter," Dumbledore explained calmly, ignoring the screaming match behind him. "She's been a Death Eater for several months, reporting her activities to the Department of Mysteries."
"What?" James muttered, dazed.
"I just...I need a drink," Ron finally said, sitting down and burying his face in his hands.
"Now that she's revealed his identity there is no need for her to continue," Severus explained. "She asked me just this morning if someone could arrest her."
"She asked...if someone..." Rayven stuttered, her eyes wide.
"Azkaban is the only place she is safe until he is dead," Severus replied. "And I promised her I would see to it that she made it there. Obviously Mr. Potter here saw her Dark Mark, so we have a witness and we can send her to prison immediately."
"Ron, I...I'm so sorry," Harry was muttering, looking stunned. "I never would have thought..."
"I wouldn't have either," Ron replied, his eyes furious.
"Wait," Draco said, speaking for the first time. They all heard it...running footsteps. "More bad news, I'm sure," Draco said.
"As if it could get much worse," Ron added darkly as Angel Malfoy came hurtling into the room. Ginny felt her heart stop...her own children had been blessedly removed from all this until...
Her heart stopped. Tom Flint. Angel's boyfriend.
Tears were streaming down her face, and she was mumbling incoherently. Dumbledore took her shoulders, speaking calmly and soothingly in an effort to make some sense out of what was going on.
"And he said it was fumes...but after that he said something to Grace and then he-"
"Who's he?" Dumbledore asked.
"Tom!" she cried. "Grace and Tom are dueling."
Severus closed his eyes. He had had the most time to digest all the information, so he was the first to realize the importance of what Angel had just said. Ron was next.
"Why the hell are we all just standing here while my daughter is dueling with Voldemort?!" he cried.
"Where are they?" Dumbledore asked, still calm, ignoring everything around him.
"Voldemort?" Angel echoed. "What does Uncle Ron mean?"
"Miss Malfoy, where are Tom and Grace?" he asked again.
"They're in the Astronomy Tower," she replied. "What's going on?"
"Stay here," he instructed. "Come," he gestured to the adults, setting a swift pace which the others immediately followed. James suddenly put everything together and felt as if he had been punched in the stomach. He tried to follow them but Angel stopped him.
"James, what is going on?" she whispered, as if he were the last chance of retaining her sanity.
"Grace is a Death Eater," he explained.
"What?" she cried, snapping into reality with this news.
"She's a spy for the Ministry," James replied. "When Voldemort returned...it was just his spirit, I think. And he possessed Tom Flint."
"Tom...James, that's my boyfriend!" Angel cried in disgust.
"What happened up there, Angel?" he asked, gritting his teeth in frustration. "Grace's life may depend on it."
"It was like he was two different people. He was Tom, but the he was this crazy, dazed Tom that begged me to push him off the Tower-"
"That must be the real Tom," James said. "He wanted to die and kill Voldemort with him."
"He...Oh God, James, I just left Grace alone with him!"
"It's not too late," James said, his jaw set with determination. "It seems that you may have the ability to get the real Tom out. If you can do that, only for a moment, I can do something-"
"Like what?" she demanded, completely focused now that there was a plan. "My boyfriend is in there somewhere."
"Something easy," he replied. "Impedimenta will be fine. Just something to stop him while he's unaware. Dumbledore will be able to do something after that."
"Well, let's get there before they do something stupid," she replied, and the two friends set off at a sprint.
Even at a sprint it more time passed than James liked by the time they arrived at the foot of the stairs to the Astronomy Tower where the adults were arguing in low voices.
"What are you doing here?" Hermione demanded when the two teenagers arrived. "Dumbledore told you to stay behind."
"We have a plan," James explained.
"No you do not," Draco interrupted, his cold gaze on his daughter. "You are not to go anywhere near there."
"But-" Angel began.
"No buts," he replied.
"Now Draco, listen to yourself," Severus cut in. "Are we all that narrowminded? Has it occurred to anyone that when we were spies we were teenagers, and Grace is also of that age? Even Tom, the real person behind Voldemort's possession, is only seventeen. The real Tom Flint may respond to-"
"Exactly what we were planning," James interrupted, and he ran up the stairs with Angel on his heels before they could be stopped. The adults followed, naturally, Severus and Dumbledore in the lead with Grace's parents just behind.
James had to clench his fists to prevent himself from running into the room when they could finally see the battle. Grace's hair was everywhere, she was shaking and seemed to be on the verge of collapse. Tom was laughing. They watched as Tom held both wands aloft.
"It seems this duel is over," he commented conversationally. She glowered at him.
"So what are you waiting for?" she demanded. Tom took his aim...and hesitated.
Angel pounced on the opportunity.
"Tom," she whispered, and his eyes turned to her, the wand still steadily pointed at Grace's chest. Her eyes widened, and she tried to tell Angel to leave, for her own sake.
"Tom, it's me, Angel," she said, taking a few shaky steps forward. "I know you're in there Tom. Come out and talk to me."
"You foolish child," Tom sneered at her, but she was undeterred.
"Tom," she said again, her voice louder. "Tom, where are you? I know you're in there."
"STOP IT!" Voldemort cried, and the wand twitched. James prayed as he had never prayed before.
"Tom," she called again, her voice soothing and defiant at the same time. "Tom, I want to talk to you? Tom, Tom Flint! I love you, Tom!"
There was a moment of silence, and Angel saw a change in Tom's eyes.
"Angel," the man whispered, his voice amazed.
"IMPEDIMENTA!" James cried, stopping him long enough for Dumbledore to come up and stun him strongly enough not to kill him, but to keep even Voldemort from waking.
"Grace..." James whispered, looking at the only girl he had ever loved as she watched her Master be bound and taken by Dumbledore. He tried to speak again, but Snape swept by him, enveloping her.
"It's okay," the Potions Master said soothingly, as James, Ron, and Rayven stood by awkward. "It's over. It's over, Grace."
"No it's not," she whispered, and fainted.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Grace was taken to the hospital wing and left in the charge of her Uncle Charlie. The students had been sent to their dorms, the Heads of Houses watching the common rooms. Professor Vector had taken over the Slytherins.
Meanwhile, Tom Flint's form was transported to Dumbledore's office and everyone except Grace who had participated in the final, dramatic scene followed him there. Snape, Dumbledore and McGonagall had been working on a way to extract Voldemort's soul without damaging the person he was possessing. Once exocised from Tom's body it would be returned to the Dagger of Certain Death, unable to leave again because there were no other heirs to possess.
Angel held his hand through the process, tears trickling down her cheek. It took several hours, but in the end he sat up and kissed her, right then and there with everyone watching, crying as well.
After a few attempts at interrogation it became obvious that Tom remembered almost none of Voldemort's activities. He was shocked to discover that Grace had been a Death Eater. Severus explained that this was normal. It would probably take years for Tom to regain all the memories, but when he did they would be invaluable.
Tom's exorcism was still taking place when Grace woke up. She thought she was completely alone for a moment before noticing her uncle.
"You're awake," he said, smiling broadly in relief. "I didn't know what was going on, but I heard you're a hero."
"I am?" she echoed. It took her a few minutes to piece together her memories and realize what had happened. When she finally did she turned suddenly and grabbed her uncle's hands. "Uncle Charlie, you have to get me out of here!"
"What?" he asked, frowning, "What do you mean, leave?"
"I have to leave Hogwarts," she babbled. "I need some money, please!"
"Grace, what's going on?" he asked, alarmed when he saw tears welling in his niece's eyes. She finally forced herself to speak.
"I'm pregnant."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Once Tom was awake and himself, everyone wanted to see Grace. James was practically twitching with impatience by the time they finally got into the hospital wing. When they arrived they found Charlie Weasley sitting by an empty bed, rolling his wand between his fingers thoughtfully.
"Where's Grace?" Ron demanded. Charlie looked up, sadness evident in his face.
"She's gone, Ron," he replied.
"What do you mean, gone?" Rayven demanded. James felt his stomach drop. "She's not..."
"Not dead," Charlie replied. "She's not dead. She's just gone."
"What do you mean?" Snape demanded in a low voice that barely concealed his impatience. Charlie looked at him thoughtfully, then raised his wand, pointing it at himself.
"Where is my daughter?!"
"What's going on!
"Charlie's the only one who knows!"
"Charlie, don't!"
Charlie looked at them sadly before uttering the word that cut Grace from her family forever.
"Obliviate!"
And everyone...MERRY CHRISTMAS! Crazy, isn't it? I posted the prologue on Christmas Day 2003 and today is Christmas Eve 2004. And Happy Holidays for anyone who doesn't celebrate Christmas. I really can't spell Hann...Hanak...you know what I mean.
Thanks a million for your reviews! I love you all! There will be a sequel (of COURSE there will be a sequel...this is a trilogy, you know). The sequel is called...you're gonna love it.... "Turning Back". Some of you knew that was coming. Some didn't. *grin* Well, that's about it for now. I apologize in advance for the ending. But remember...sequel...
And without further ado about nothing:
Chapter Eight:
The Confrontation
~I'm so tired of being here
Suppressed by my childish feelings
And if you have to leave
I wish that you would just leave
Cause your presence still lingers here
And it won't leave me alone
These wounds won't seem to heal
This pain is just too real
There's just too much that time cannot erase~
**My Immortal by Evanescence
"Grace?" a comforting voice from far away whispered. "Grace...Wake up. Wake up!" the second time it was a command, which she immediately obeyed. To her great surprise she was in the hospital wing. Dumbledore was at the foot of the bed, but it was Severus, sitting in the chair next to her, who had awoken her.
"Feeling better?" Dumbledore asked in a falsely cheery voice. She shrugged.
"Grace, what is the matter with you?" Severus demanded, and she flinched. She hadn't wanted him to know anything...they DIDN'T know anything, did they? Snape continued ruthlessly, "Angel Malfoy said you haven't been sleeping, I KNOW you haven't been eating. What in the hell happened to you?"
"N...nothing happened," she stuttered, "I'm just tired, that's all."
"Yes, which caused you to faint in the middle of the day," Severus snapped sarcastically.
"Don't be so rash, Severus," Dumbledore chided. "Exhaustion can to that, as you should know."
"I do know," he scowled. "Grace," he began again, "Are you sure there's not anything you want to tell me? I will understand, you know I will. I've done it to."
No, Grace thought savagely. No, you haven't been where I've been, Severus Snape. And I hope to God no one ever has to be there. No, Professor Snape, this is one thing you haven't done, one time I've stepped out of my Apprentice's bonds and done something completely different.
"I'm fine," she finally insisted. "Just tired. Can you tell them I'm sick or something? I just need a day to recover from...from all this."
"Okay," he nodded. "Mr. Potter and Miss Malfoy have been badgering Madame Pomfrey. Do you want to see them?"
"No!" Grace shouted in alarm. "No," she repeated more calmly, "Just tell them I'm really contagious with...with..."
"I'm sure we can handle it, Miss Weasley," Dumbledore smiled. "Here," he handed her a goblet full of clear violet liquid, "Drink this and rest, child."
Grace nodded and swallowed it down. The potion was cool and wonderful, immediately lulling her to a sleep without dreams.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Everything was black. It was as if there was no top or bottom, beginning or end, just one continuing black expanse. He would run forward as fast as possible, running for ages until finally ramming against a impenetrable wall as black as everything around him.
Thomas Flint was trapped in his own mind.
For a while, he had thought he was dead. That didn't keep him from trying to escape, ramming against the walls until he was so exhausted he couldn't stand. However, every once in a great while the walls would crack, and he would glimpse the blessedly bright world he knew and recognized through his very own eyes before being shoved into imprisonment once again.
He wasn't entirely sure how he had gotten there, or why he was trapped. He only knew that somehow, some way, someone had managed to take the soul of Tom Flint and trap it in a black box, shoved into the back of his mind.
But Tom was not a quitter. And when he reached those points where all he could do was sink to the floor and fight the tears he would force himself to remember Angel and stand again with renewed strength.
Tom continued with foes unknown to battle for dominance of his will.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The graveyard was gray and desolate. A cold wind wept through the bare branches of the trees overhead. Everywhere else the first signs of spring could be seen, but not here. Here it was eternally a bitter winter.
Draco Malfoy walked the familiar paths, his black cloak fluttering around him in the unforgiving breeze. To the Circle of the Two-Faced there was something oddly comforting about the place. To them, death would always be regarded more with relief than fear. The Circle went to the graveyard once a year together.
Draco went once a year alone.
He wasn't sure if the others did the same. He had never asked. It was a very personal experience. Draco himself wouldn't have even told Ginny if there was any way to avoid it. As it was, she understood that after nearly five years in the Dark Lord's surface there were wounds that would never heal and there would be times he simply needed solitude.
His eyes traveled to the names solemnly engraved in the marble and stone around him. He recognized many of the names...too many for a man of only thirty-six years. Every once in a while he would even see one of his very own murder victims. But he was not here to dwell on that. He had a specific purpose. His pace was quick and unhesitating. He didn't pause until he had reached one of the many small gray headstones under a large, bare oak tree. He stopped abruptly, staring at the name, then closed his eyes.
Angel.
He could see her just as clearly now as when he had last seen her nearly eighteen years ago. Her light brown curls, smiling face and light blue eyes, so very different than his beloved wife's, shone like a beacon in his memory. Angel Pentser, one of their own.
He could remember the day she died. He could remember the way her body looked, covered in blood and lying on her bed, the word 'traitor' spelled above her head. He could remember the sick feeling in his stomach and the numbness of his limbs as he stared. They had enjoyed a very brief romantic affair, rudely interrupted by her untimely murder. She had sacrificed her life-a loving, selfless life-for the sake of Lord Voldemort's defeat.
And now it seemed her death was in vain.
Draco's fists clenched at the thought. His thoughts drifted to the current war, and he found himself silently asking Angel for advice. It was silly, he knew, to ask a dead woman for advice, but he couldn't help but remember her unique ability to produce solutions for any problem. His daughter, her namesake, had the same gift.
The key at this point was finding Voldemort's heir. It could be anyone, of any age. He must have hidden him (or her, his wife's voice added in his mind) from the world...or at least Britain. Perhaps the heir hadn't been raised in the country...or maybe raised by a respectable family...or...
Draco's thoughts were racing through his mind, incoherent and incomplete. He gritted his teeth, searching for something to focus on. His eyes fell back on Angel's name, and he focused on it, ingraining the letters into his mind. Angel Pentsur. Angel...gel, an, leg, lag, gale, la, lane...Draco found his mind rearranging the letters of her name like a children's game as if it were some kind of code. It was fairly embarrassing, but it kept his mind from exploding. Pentser...ten, sent, teen, nest, pen, peer, seep, pent....ser....serpent...
Serpent. Angel's dark history. Her knowledge of the Dark Arts. The Dark Lord's immediate acceptance and favor. The brutality of her killing. Her mysterious, unknown family. Her interpretation of Voldemort's actions. Her knowledge of his lair and his history. Her pale skin. The way her eyes flashed...
Angel Pentsur. Angel Serpent. Serpent, Angel...The SERPENT'S angel...
All of Draco's thoughts were completely overshadowed by this new revelation. Was it possible that Angel Pentser was the Dark Lord's daughter and it was HER child that he now possessed? It made so much sense, he suddenly realized, filled in so many gaps...
There was only one person alive who had known her well enough to answer his questions. He turned and Apparated from the graveyard.
"Good afternoon, Draco," Ron commented, raising an eyebrow as his brother-in-law popped into his living room without warning. "Are you looking for Ginny? She's probably at the office, you know."
"Actually, I'm looking for Rayven," he replied, "Is she at work?"
"No, she's in the kitchen. You're telling me you Apparated all the way over here to talk to my WIFE?! Why-" Ron's question was cut off as Draco turned and swept out of the room toward the kitchen. He was wearing a traveling cloak, Ron realized with a frown.
"Rayven!" Draco called dramatically as he burst into the Weasley's kitchen.
"Draco!" she exclaimed in surprise, dropping a bottle which she hastily picked up and returned to the refrigerator, practically stuttering, "No! That's not sugar-free, fat-free, cholesterol-free...What brings you here?"
"I want to talk about Angel," he replied, sitting down at the table. Rayven followed his example, smiling.
"I'm sure she's fine," she said soothingly. "I know she has a boyfriend, but you shouldn't be so protective of her!"
"Not that Angel," Draco replied, waving her comments away, "Angel Pentser."
"Oh," Rayven replied, her entire face changing. "Well...?"
Draco took a deep breath, knowing she was going to think he was crazy, then plunged into his deductions. She listened silently, her eyes fixed on his face. There were a few moments of silence when he had finished.
"Voldemort's daughter..." she finally echoed, sounding dazed.
"I know it's crazy, but-" Draco began desperately.
"No!" Rayven held a hand to silence him, "No...it actually answers many questions...it makes sense, doesn't it? I mean...I had known her since we were eleven and she was never allowed to mention her father...and she lived with a magical foster family, Death Eaters...but the summer after fourth year she spent all this time away and she wouldn't tell me where she had gone..."
"That's the summer he returned," Draco murmured.
"Yes," she replied, almost to herself. "Yes..."
"Shall I call a meeting?" Draco asked.
"You get Ginny, Dumbledore, and that crowd. Ron and I will get Harry and Hermione," she instructed. He nodded and Apparated. Anyone else might have panicked with the sudden knowledge that their late best friend was Voldemort's daughter, but Rayven Michaels Weasley kept a cool head. She had not spent several years as a Death Eater for nothing.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Time passed. The adults admitted the logic in Draco's thoughts and decided that for the moment they tentatively placed the new Dark Lord's identity on Angel Pentser's child. The problem was, they had never even known Angel had HAD a child. Severus had admitted that a simple potion could have completely hidden her pregnancy as long as she was cautious. So precious time slipped away as they tried desperately to locate the heir.
They say time heals all things. Grace wanted to find "them" and ask them if time would heal the killing curse she was about to send hurtling in "their" direction. How wrong "they" were.
Spring was making an appearance at Hogwarts. March was waning, the winds were warmer, and the days were longer. Grace felt it all weighing down on her chest, suffocating her slowly.
She was killing almost every night now. Tom's approach seemed to be kill as many possible enemies as possible before the Ministry could organize itself. Several of the larger attacks were foiled by Grace's intervention. This did nothing to ease her guilt. She was carrying the secret to his ultimate destruction and there was NOTHING she could do about it.
She tried not to think to hard, but it was impossible. She couldn't concentrate on schoolwork at all, and for good reason. She was bound to get a good lecture over the holidays about NEWTs, but she didn't care. She didn't care about anything anymore.
She needed to end this. Thoughts and realizations flashed through her mind. And she admitted defeat. She, Grace Cora Weasley, Gryffindor, Ministry spy in the Innercircle of Death Eaters, daughter of Ron and Rayven Weasley, she was admitting defeat. She was going to tell Bill to arrest her. Azkaban was the only place she would be safe from his wrath.
But she couldn't go until she had found a way to depart with her information of Voldemort's identity.
The thought plagued her day and night. She tried writing and singing and even oblique symbolism in poetry, and no one ever had any idea what she was talking about. Grace would have found herself frustrated to the point of tears if she had had any left to cry.
And it was in this state one could find her, slumped in an armchair in the corner of the deserted common room on a bright Saturday afternoon at the end of March while everyone else was off at Hogsmeade. Her mind was whirling and her time was running out. She needed a solution quickly.
Perhaps some sort of sign language, she thought miserably and without much conviction. She had tried the obvious...namely flailing her arms madly to get attention. She wound up reporting something ridiculous and claiming her arms had needed exercise. Obviously Voldemort had taken everything into consideration.
She buried her face in her hands, trying to clear her mind. She needed a cool head, a calm reasoning. She needed to think like Severus would if he were in her place. What would Severus do? Severus...
Grace leapt up to her feet. Of COURSE! Severus! What was it that Voldemort had said, exactly? "My identity cannot be revealed to one without my Mark." One without the Dark Mark could not know Voldemort's identity...but one WITH the Mark could, and then Severus could tell Bill and then...she would be free!
She screamed with pure joy and twirled in a circle, her arms outstretched in ecstasy. Freedom! No more Voldemort or Bill or murder or...of course, she would be in prison for a few months, but what was a few months in jail when the rest of her life would be free!
She ran from the common room, much to the Fat Lady's annoyance. "Where d'you think you're going, lass?" she demanded sternly. Grace laughed in response, laughing for the first time since January. She turned and ran through the halls, nearly mauling a few first years.
She suddenly got a vision of the first years huddled at the end of a hall, clinging to each other in fear as she rolled the head of the stature of Gregory of the Smarmy at them, imitating the Muggle "bowling" her grandfather had taught her years ago. She grinned.
Or not.
Despite the fact that she was running it took her a while to get all the way to the dungeons. She burst in without warning to find Severus at his desk as usual, muttering over an essay. He looked up at her with his customary glare.
"And what has you in such a confounded good mood this afternoon?" he asked in his usual surly tones.
"I know who Voldemort is!" she chirped, then practically squealed in pleasure when she realized she really WOULD be able to tell him everything.
"What?" he demanded, his eyes widened. He gestured for her to sit down. She wasn't entirely stupid, of course. She shut the door and whispered a silencing charm first.
"Now," Severus said carefully. "What do you mean you know who he is?"
"The body he's using!" she exclaimed. "There aren't any Slytherins lurking around are there?"
"No," he replied. "How long have you known?"
"Ages," she replied. "He put a spell on us so that we couldn't tell anyone without the Mark...but you HAVE the Mark, which took me FOREVER to remember..."
"So?" he demanded, his voice dripping with curiosity and anxiety.
"Lord Voldemort is," she paused dramatically. "Tom Flint."
Dead silence.
"Tom Flint," he finally echoed. Grace bit her lip, suddenly remembering that he was one of Severus's favorite students. "As in, the Head Boy here?"
"Yes," she replied. "You have no idea how horrible its been...he's dating Angel you know and especially after he...well, its been hard," she muttered, her cheeks red. All her joy had evaporated, leaving her more deflated than ever.
"You're sure?" he demanded, and her temper flared.
"Of course I'm sure!" she snapped. "I've seen him with my very own eyes several times, Severus! Why would I lie about something like this?!"
"Calm down," he snapped, "I never said I didn't believe you. Just making sure, that's all."
"Well?" she demanded. "What are you going to do about it?"
"Inform Dumbledore and the Minister and his council, naturally," he replied. He then smiled. "This means we can have him before many more lives are taken. Grace, you've just saved the world!"
"Er...yeah, I guess so," she muttered, blushing. She'd never thought of it as anything more than a way to get out of being a spy.
"Well, I'd better go owl several people," he said, beginning to spy.
"Wait!" she cried, causing him to sit down once again and pierce her with a searching gaze. "I...I need a favor," she muttered.
"We owe you one," he replied. "What is it?"
She closed her eyes for a moment to compose herself. Now that the moment was here, she almost couldn't go through with it. It would mean, for a short while, being completely cut off from all those she loved and being hated by those people.
"I want...I want to be arrested," she finally whispered.
"What?" he replied blankly. She struggled with tears.
"I know I should stick it out until the bitter end," she blubbered, "But I just can't handle it any more. I need to be somewhere safe, and the place HE can't reach me is Azkaban and I know its cowardly and I should be better than fear but I'm not and I just really, really, really can't do this anymore," she managed to say before bursting into sobs.
"Grace," he said, putting and awkward hand on her slumped shoulder and leaning across the desk. "You are in no way cowardly. What you have done for the last six months-facing Voldemort alone-shows more bravery than anything I've ever seen."
"God, who pays you to say that bull shit?" she muttered, but her tears slowed and stopped and she felt better. He smiled wryly at her.
"Dumbledore," he replied. "But its true. And Grace," he added as she stood to leave. She looked at him expectantly. "Can we tell your parents what you did after we arrest you?"
"You'd better," she smiled, "The prison walls can protect me from Dad's fury too. He's going to completely lose it."
"I'll be ready," he promised. She smiled, feeling better than she had in months, and returned to the common room to pack all her things neatly to be shipped home while she was in Azkaban while Severus sent out several owls, still slightly shocked the Tom Flint was Angel Pentser's son.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The black expanse was as engulfing as ever. Tom didn't care. He was NOT going to resolve himself to an eternity of nothing. He struggled and fought, swearing and shouting until his voice was raw. He found one of the walls and rammed into again...again... again...
THERE! A tiny crack gave him a glimpse of the outside world. He seized the opportunity, tearing the wall and finding himself in the Slytherin common room. He gave a yelp with joy and ran up to his room, ignoring the startled look from one lonely-looking second year.
He could feel the other one-the one who had taken his willpower and his body-struggling in the back of his mind. Tom knew he couldn't fight the other one much longer, so he went as quickly as possible, his fingers shaking as he found a quill and parchment just where he had left them. He pause for a moment when he saw the calendar.
March 27...MARCH?! He had been locked away in that...that box for eight months? The anger gave him a rush of power, and he was able to write a quick letter and fight the other one at the same time. Angel. She would know what to do.
He sent the owl requesting that she meet him in the Astronomy Tower that evening during dinner, and then sat down for the two-hour wait. He spent some of it in his rightful place, and some in the box in his mind. He grinned. He had broken down the wall now, and it would take the other one some time to repair it.
And it that time, he came to realize who exactly had been possessing him. And he came to realize what he had to do.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
A few people had filed in and out of the common room, but when the bell rang for dinner Grace was completely alone again. She sighed, torn between relief and fear, watching sun begin to sink just out her window.
"Grace?" a familiar voice interrupted her blessed solitude. She jumped and swore under her breath. It was James.
She closed her eyes, repressing more swear words. This was the first time she had been alone with James since he last kissed her, and she preferred it that way. Maybe, in another dimension, she would still want him to want her. She still loved him, just as she always had. She would have never called it love in the past, but after these months in the Dark Lord's service hadn't quenched her feelings, she knew it for what it was. But the love was tainted, twisted, and ruined, just like everything else in her life. She loved James still, but as a result she wanted him to fall head over heels for someone else, get married, and have a huge happy family so she could see him happy.
"Hello, James," she managed to say in friendly tones.
"Aren't you hungry?" he asked. She shrugged.
"Aren't you?"
"Not really," he replied, and an awkward silence descended on them. Grace bit her lip, annoyed. She hated awkward silences.
"Where's Angel?" she asked suddenly, still trying to play the bright, happy friend.
"Oh, she's up at the Astronomy Tower with Flint," James replied, making a face. Grace's eyes widened.
Angel was alone with...He could kill her, and plant a suicide note and no one would ever know. Or he could torture her ruthlessly for information from her mother. Or put her under Imperious. Or...
That's it, Grace thought angrily, if I'm going down, I'm going down in style. He is NOT going to ruin Angel like he's ruined me, she vowed. Without giving James a second glance she set a determined pace toward the portrait hole. He grabbed her wrist as she passed.
"Where are you going?" he demanded. She narrowed her eyes at him. He was wasting precious time.
"To dinner, alright? What's your problem, James?"
"My problem?" he echoed incredulously. "MY problem? Listen to yourself Grace! You've been acting strangely all year and you're asking about MY problem? What is wrong, Gold? Why won't you tell me anything?"
"Its none of your business!" she exclaimed, twisting her wrist and pulling away. He grabbed her upper arm, trying to hold her back and get answers. He looked down for something more solid to hold, and Grace felt spinning of the world around her come to a screeching halt, her breath gone from her lungs, her heart stopped, and her blood frozen in her veins. In the struggle the sleeve of her robes had been pushed up and now her Dark Mark was grinning up at James's disbelieving eyes.
He let go in shock. She turned and fled, tears welling in her eyes as she set a collision course for the Astronomy Tower. It would be really easy to arrest her now.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Tom?" Angel asked cautiously, looking around for her boyfriend. His letter had been decidedly odd, as if he'd been distracted when he wrote it. Not much could distract Tom Flint when he set his mind to something.
"Angel!" he cried, and she jumped as he appeared, even more worried when she took in his appearance. His hair was disheveled and his eyes were dazed.
"Tom, what is it?" she asked, alarmed. He put his hands on her shoulders, his chocolate eyes boring into her silver ones.
"Angel, I know this sounds crazy, and I know you don't understand, but I need you to push me off the tower."
"WHAT?!" she screeched, unable to believe her ears.
"Listen!" he cried, taking her hand as she tried to pull away. "I know it sounds crazy, but there are things happening and I..."
He suddenly lost the glazed look and the familiar, easy smile slipped into place. "Am I talking like a maniac?" he asked suddenly in his normal voice.
"YES!" she screeched in panic.
"Calm down, sweetheart," he said, placing a soothing hand in hers. "I took in some iffy potions fumes this afternoon and its having this weird effect on me where I start talking about killing myself."
"Oh, good," she whispered, closing her eyes in relief.
"You won't let me fall, will you Angel?" he asked, leaning in for a kiss.
"Of course not," she whispered.
"NO!" he cried suddenly, pulling away, the dazed look returning. "Angel, don't listen to him. He's not ME! Don't you see? You have to kill me so HE will die to! Angel, please, I would jump off myself but he won't let me! PLEASE! You have to push me off!"
"Shh, Tom, its just the potion fumes, remember?" she asked, her voice calm and competent. "Don't be crazy, I won't kill you, I promised."
"No..." he whispered. Tom closed his eyes. It wasn't Voldemort that defeated him. It was Angel, her disbelief, her belief in Voldemort's words. "Angel..." he managed to whisper before he felt Voldemort shove him ruthlessly into the back of his mind, trapped again.
"There," Tom said, and Angel smiled when she saw he had returned to normal. "I'm fine, now, I think."
"That's good," Angel replied, reaching up to kiss him when they heard the door open. Their heads snapped to the entrance. Angel felt her temper rise when she saw Grace coming in, looking as if she were about to spit fire. Couldn't she just get over it!
"Leave your fucking hands off her, Flint!" she screamed. Tom smirked.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"What news is so urgent that I left my dinner half cooked to hear it, Severus," Rayven demanded once everyone had arrived. They were in the dungeons during the students' dinner at Severus's insistence.
"I've found Voldemort," Severus replied. This caught everyone's attention immediately.
"How?" Harry demanded.
"Who?" Ginny asked, because one look at Severus told her exactly 'how'. There was no need to disclose that information just yet.
"You're not going to like it," he replied.
"There's no need to be dramatic," Draco said quietly. Severus nodded.
"Thomas Flint," he said briskly.
"The Head Boy?" Hermione demanded, sounding appalled.
"Why not?!" Draco replied hotly. "I was Head Boy and a Death Eater at the same time. Tom Riddle was Head Boy!"
"We need a plan of action," Dumbledore said, taking charge. "If your absolutely sure...?" Dumbledore's piercing blue eyes searched the Potions Master.
"Absolutely," Severus replied.
"Not yet, Headmaster," Harry interrupted, his emerald eyes furious. "I'm not stupid, Snape...Ginny. I've let it slide until now, but this is a serious move and I want to know who your spy is before we continue."
"Spy?" Hermione echoed. "But Ginny...you wouldn't reinstate the Circle without us, would you?"
"Who said anything about a Circle?" Ginny demanded.
"That's exactly what I mean!" Harry exclaimed angrily. "We ask for necessary, valuable information and you counter with a question. I won't have it! Tell me which spy gave you this information before we bet everything on it!"
"Which spy?" Severus replied softly. "There's only one, Minister. And this one spy came to us, not the other way around, and offered to join Voldemort's ranks on the one condition that we didn't tell you."
"Me personally?" Harry asked sarcastically.
"Yes," Severus replied, ignoring the sarcasm. "You. By name."
"Ginny, you have to tell us," Draco said pointedly. "Harry's right. It would be foolish to waste out entire effort if-"
"Silence," Dumbledore instructed, and just in time. The door flew open and James Potter ran in, his hair all over the place and his eyes wild.
"What is it, Mr. Potter?" Dumbledore demanded.
"It's Grace!" he cried. "Professor, she's a Death Eater!"
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"I wouldn't speak in that tone of voice if I were you," Tom said quietly. Angel looked at him in surprise. He let go of her entirely, approaching her cousin in a slow, almost serpentine way she had never seen before.
"I think you would," she snapped defiantly. Her Occlumency level was nothing, but it seemed he wasn't trying to read into her mind. She stood completely still, almost halfway in the room, as he approached her. He stopped inches away, his eyes racking her as if she were on display for sale.
"You are very beautiful, Grace Weasley," he whispered, leaning in so that his breath tickled her ear. She forced herself not to move, and he smirked. "And very, very foolish."
She realized to late that he already knew.
"Angel, run!" she cried, ducking away. Tom pulled out his wand and aimed it at Angel, petrifying her in place with Locomotar Mortis. He laughed as Grace pulled out her own wand.
"You Weasleys are so very stupid," he said. "You keep trying to kill me. Can't you see I can't die?"
"You arrogant asshole!" she screamed, raising her wand.
"Easy there," he said, clearly enjoying himself. "Let's this a proper duel. We'll bow first...no? Okay then, one...two...THREE! Crucio!"
"Finite Incatatum!" Grace cried, ducking the Cruciatus Curse and releasing Angel. "Go for help!" she cried as she avoided the curse again.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"What?" Rayven whispered, and James realized a moment too late that the Weasleys, Malfoys, and his parents were present. He looked at Dumbledore expectantly, waiting for something to happen. His eyes raked the room. He saw Ginny heave a great sigh and Snape close his eyes. Ron looked livid.
"GRACE?!" he screamed suddenly, standing and nearly knocking down the table, glaring at Snape. "MY DAUGHTER IS YOUR SPY?!"
"Ron, please sit down," Ginny pleaded.
"And you knew!" he continued, rounding on his sister. "You LET my only child become a Death Eater!"
"Ron, she volunteered. As a matter of fact she demanded to become a spy. I told her no, but she refused to take no for an answer. She even wrote an essay, I have it around somewhere, entitled "Why I Want to Become a Death Eater"."
"This can't be happening," Rayven whispered, tears streaming down her cheeks. "My baby...my only baby..."
"Professor, what's going on?" James asked, confused.
"I cannot BELIEVE this. How long, Ginny? How long has she been doing this?"
"She was Initiated Halloween night," Ginny replied quietly. "She's been saving our asses for months, Ron! Who do you think warned us about his plans to attack the school?"
"Grace is a spy, Mr. Potter," Dumbledore explained calmly, ignoring the screaming match behind him. "She's been a Death Eater for several months, reporting her activities to the Department of Mysteries."
"What?" James muttered, dazed.
"I just...I need a drink," Ron finally said, sitting down and burying his face in his hands.
"Now that she's revealed his identity there is no need for her to continue," Severus explained. "She asked me just this morning if someone could arrest her."
"She asked...if someone..." Rayven stuttered, her eyes wide.
"Azkaban is the only place she is safe until he is dead," Severus replied. "And I promised her I would see to it that she made it there. Obviously Mr. Potter here saw her Dark Mark, so we have a witness and we can send her to prison immediately."
"Ron, I...I'm so sorry," Harry was muttering, looking stunned. "I never would have thought..."
"I wouldn't have either," Ron replied, his eyes furious.
"Wait," Draco said, speaking for the first time. They all heard it...running footsteps. "More bad news, I'm sure," Draco said.
"As if it could get much worse," Ron added darkly as Angel Malfoy came hurtling into the room. Ginny felt her heart stop...her own children had been blessedly removed from all this until...
Her heart stopped. Tom Flint. Angel's boyfriend.
Tears were streaming down her face, and she was mumbling incoherently. Dumbledore took her shoulders, speaking calmly and soothingly in an effort to make some sense out of what was going on.
"And he said it was fumes...but after that he said something to Grace and then he-"
"Who's he?" Dumbledore asked.
"Tom!" she cried. "Grace and Tom are dueling."
Severus closed his eyes. He had had the most time to digest all the information, so he was the first to realize the importance of what Angel had just said. Ron was next.
"Why the hell are we all just standing here while my daughter is dueling with Voldemort?!" he cried.
"Where are they?" Dumbledore asked, still calm, ignoring everything around him.
"Voldemort?" Angel echoed. "What does Uncle Ron mean?"
"Miss Malfoy, where are Tom and Grace?" he asked again.
"They're in the Astronomy Tower," she replied. "What's going on?"
"Stay here," he instructed. "Come," he gestured to the adults, setting a swift pace which the others immediately followed. James suddenly put everything together and felt as if he had been punched in the stomach. He tried to follow them but Angel stopped him.
"James, what is going on?" she whispered, as if he were the last chance of retaining her sanity.
"Grace is a Death Eater," he explained.
"What?" she cried, snapping into reality with this news.
"She's a spy for the Ministry," James replied. "When Voldemort returned...it was just his spirit, I think. And he possessed Tom Flint."
"Tom...James, that's my boyfriend!" Angel cried in disgust.
"What happened up there, Angel?" he asked, gritting his teeth in frustration. "Grace's life may depend on it."
"It was like he was two different people. He was Tom, but the he was this crazy, dazed Tom that begged me to push him off the Tower-"
"That must be the real Tom," James said. "He wanted to die and kill Voldemort with him."
"He...Oh God, James, I just left Grace alone with him!"
"It's not too late," James said, his jaw set with determination. "It seems that you may have the ability to get the real Tom out. If you can do that, only for a moment, I can do something-"
"Like what?" she demanded, completely focused now that there was a plan. "My boyfriend is in there somewhere."
"Something easy," he replied. "Impedimenta will be fine. Just something to stop him while he's unaware. Dumbledore will be able to do something after that."
"Well, let's get there before they do something stupid," she replied, and the two friends set off at a sprint.
Even at a sprint it more time passed than James liked by the time they arrived at the foot of the stairs to the Astronomy Tower where the adults were arguing in low voices.
"What are you doing here?" Hermione demanded when the two teenagers arrived. "Dumbledore told you to stay behind."
"We have a plan," James explained.
"No you do not," Draco interrupted, his cold gaze on his daughter. "You are not to go anywhere near there."
"But-" Angel began.
"No buts," he replied.
"Now Draco, listen to yourself," Severus cut in. "Are we all that narrowminded? Has it occurred to anyone that when we were spies we were teenagers, and Grace is also of that age? Even Tom, the real person behind Voldemort's possession, is only seventeen. The real Tom Flint may respond to-"
"Exactly what we were planning," James interrupted, and he ran up the stairs with Angel on his heels before they could be stopped. The adults followed, naturally, Severus and Dumbledore in the lead with Grace's parents just behind.
James had to clench his fists to prevent himself from running into the room when they could finally see the battle. Grace's hair was everywhere, she was shaking and seemed to be on the verge of collapse. Tom was laughing. They watched as Tom held both wands aloft.
"It seems this duel is over," he commented conversationally. She glowered at him.
"So what are you waiting for?" she demanded. Tom took his aim...and hesitated.
Angel pounced on the opportunity.
"Tom," she whispered, and his eyes turned to her, the wand still steadily pointed at Grace's chest. Her eyes widened, and she tried to tell Angel to leave, for her own sake.
"Tom, it's me, Angel," she said, taking a few shaky steps forward. "I know you're in there Tom. Come out and talk to me."
"You foolish child," Tom sneered at her, but she was undeterred.
"Tom," she said again, her voice louder. "Tom, where are you? I know you're in there."
"STOP IT!" Voldemort cried, and the wand twitched. James prayed as he had never prayed before.
"Tom," she called again, her voice soothing and defiant at the same time. "Tom, I want to talk to you? Tom, Tom Flint! I love you, Tom!"
There was a moment of silence, and Angel saw a change in Tom's eyes.
"Angel," the man whispered, his voice amazed.
"IMPEDIMENTA!" James cried, stopping him long enough for Dumbledore to come up and stun him strongly enough not to kill him, but to keep even Voldemort from waking.
"Grace..." James whispered, looking at the only girl he had ever loved as she watched her Master be bound and taken by Dumbledore. He tried to speak again, but Snape swept by him, enveloping her.
"It's okay," the Potions Master said soothingly, as James, Ron, and Rayven stood by awkward. "It's over. It's over, Grace."
"No it's not," she whispered, and fainted.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Grace was taken to the hospital wing and left in the charge of her Uncle Charlie. The students had been sent to their dorms, the Heads of Houses watching the common rooms. Professor Vector had taken over the Slytherins.
Meanwhile, Tom Flint's form was transported to Dumbledore's office and everyone except Grace who had participated in the final, dramatic scene followed him there. Snape, Dumbledore and McGonagall had been working on a way to extract Voldemort's soul without damaging the person he was possessing. Once exocised from Tom's body it would be returned to the Dagger of Certain Death, unable to leave again because there were no other heirs to possess.
Angel held his hand through the process, tears trickling down her cheek. It took several hours, but in the end he sat up and kissed her, right then and there with everyone watching, crying as well.
After a few attempts at interrogation it became obvious that Tom remembered almost none of Voldemort's activities. He was shocked to discover that Grace had been a Death Eater. Severus explained that this was normal. It would probably take years for Tom to regain all the memories, but when he did they would be invaluable.
Tom's exorcism was still taking place when Grace woke up. She thought she was completely alone for a moment before noticing her uncle.
"You're awake," he said, smiling broadly in relief. "I didn't know what was going on, but I heard you're a hero."
"I am?" she echoed. It took her a few minutes to piece together her memories and realize what had happened. When she finally did she turned suddenly and grabbed her uncle's hands. "Uncle Charlie, you have to get me out of here!"
"What?" he asked, frowning, "What do you mean, leave?"
"I have to leave Hogwarts," she babbled. "I need some money, please!"
"Grace, what's going on?" he asked, alarmed when he saw tears welling in his niece's eyes. She finally forced herself to speak.
"I'm pregnant."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Once Tom was awake and himself, everyone wanted to see Grace. James was practically twitching with impatience by the time they finally got into the hospital wing. When they arrived they found Charlie Weasley sitting by an empty bed, rolling his wand between his fingers thoughtfully.
"Where's Grace?" Ron demanded. Charlie looked up, sadness evident in his face.
"She's gone, Ron," he replied.
"What do you mean, gone?" Rayven demanded. James felt his stomach drop. "She's not..."
"Not dead," Charlie replied. "She's not dead. She's just gone."
"What do you mean?" Snape demanded in a low voice that barely concealed his impatience. Charlie looked at him thoughtfully, then raised his wand, pointing it at himself.
"Where is my daughter?!"
"What's going on!
"Charlie's the only one who knows!"
"Charlie, don't!"
Charlie looked at them sadly before uttering the word that cut Grace from her family forever.
"Obliviate!"