(Disclaimer: I own nothing

(Disclaimer: I own nothing.)

Chapter Thirty Three

Sirius made his way through the doors of the room where his instincts were leading him. Just as he opened the door, he saw James fall to the ground, lifeless. Lily was right behind him and he heard her scream with fright. Hallie clutched his arm and Remus held Lydia. They all advanced towards their fallen friend. Peter made a small whimper and put his hands to his eyes, but peaked through the holes between his fingers.

But where was Gwen?

Janice and Rick came up beside her, each flashing a cunning smile.

She flashed one back. Hallie turned to look where her friend had gone and saw Gwen smiling at her. The smile wasn't the smile Hallie had seen in all their years together, but something so very different. It was evil and filled with scheming. That look made her heart stop and her breath cease. Something was horribly wrong.

~*~

"One will be true," whispered an angelic voice. A light seemed to shine in the room only for a second before the darkness clouded over once more.

~*~

Gwen turned around and quickly slammed the doors shut, using a piece of dark magic she had learned from her superiors to lock the door. Hallie gasped. "Gwen! What are you doing?" she shrieked. Sirius turned to look at the girl who advanced with her wand pointed at the group. Janice and Rick were at her sides.

"Scatter!" he bellowed. Remus, Lydia, Hallie, Sirius, and Lily each ran their separate ways, but Peter was struck, stupefied.

Voldemort, standing at the moment, looked at the fallen Seer lying on the floor. His gaze then went to the crowd before him. The students of Hogwarts were running and the Death Eaters in the room were aiming curses at them. Sirius raced to where his best friend lay and levitated the boy. He raced to the doors and motioned Hallie over. She came and tried every opening curse she could think of, but they did not work.

Suddenly, James sat up, floating in the air. The whites of his eyes were showing as he looked around. Sirius dropped his wand in terror when the other boy began soaring upwards. With his hands outstretched, James began to chant. "Chantebra Lengorio! Sepak emot!" he bellowed. The windows slammed open and the winds rushed in as if a ferocious wave.

"From the fire within shall the flame burn

The lightning will rise and strike,

The betrayed shall be summoned by a reverie

Hence it forth, henceforth the fight."

His eyes rolled back into focus and he shook his head. Voldemort was yelling orders and staring at James with a fierce blaze in his eyes. He raised his wand, ready to captivate the boy but Requillo stopped him with a raise of his hand. The silver-headed man made a sign in the air which made Voldemort fly against the wall.

Lydia took Remus' hand and pulled him towards the door. James floated gracefully to the ground and stood before the door. He spread his arms wide and muttered, "Chantebra Lengorio," making the doors swing open with a clang.

Janice and Rick raced in front of them. "You're not going anywhere!" yelled Rick ferociously. Requillo ran up and stupefied both the Death Eaters. James opened his mouth to thank him but the man shook his head.

"Don't thank me, just go, NOW!" he shouted. James nodded and ran with Lily at his side. Requillo turned around to fight of a curse sent to him by Voldemort. Hallie looked at him with a strange expression upon her face.

Sirius grabbed her arm and pulled her away. Gwen slammed the doors shut with another curse. She turned to Remus and Lydia who were just about to escape. They turned to look at her. "Let us go, Gwendolyn," said Lydia in a soft and frightened voice. Remus squeezed her hand.

Gwen glared at her. "My name's Gwen." She pointed her wand at them.

"You're my best friend, what happened to you?" asked Lydia.

The other girl shot a look at Voldemort who gave her a meaningful look. Gwen turned to Lydia. "You were my best friend. You're sweet and innocent. Well it's the end now, dear Lydia."

~*~

"One will perish," came the angelic whisper again. The light came and faded.

~*~

Gwen pointed her wand at Remus. "Avada Kedavra!" But Lydia had jumped in front of Remus.

"NO!" he yelled, just as there was a bright flash of green light.

~*~

Hallie tried to pull out of Sirius grasp. "Sirius, let me go!"

He looked at her in incredulity. "Are you crazy? You think I'm going to let you go back there?"

She glared at him. "I need to go back!" She fought out of his grasp and raced back down the hallway.

James turned around and looked down the hall with anxious eyes while Lily yelled, "Hallie, come back!"

Sirius, with a frown, chanted a spell and pointed his wand at Hallie's retreating figure. She froze in place and he pointed his wand towards himself. He looked at James and Lily in front of him. "Go!" he yelled, and followed with Hallie floating behind.

She swore under her breath and said, "Chantebra Lengorio!" Sirius' eyes widened as he saw her shoot down the hallway, still floating in midair. He cursed and ran after her, telling James and Lily to leave and that he'd follow.

James watched his best friend go and thought of what to do. "Just go!" yelled Sirius from halfway down the hall. James looked at Lily who was staring after her best friend in fright. She trembled in inconsolable fear. He made a quick decision and took her hand in his. Together, they raced back to the tower and mounted their brooms. They took off, leaving Slytherin Castle behind.

~*~

Requillo sent an explosion towards Voldemort and ran towards the exit, knocking Gwen to the floor. She shrieked with rage and grabbed onto his robes. He glared at her with such ferocity that she immediately let go and backed away. Not glancing back, he picked up Remus and undid the spell locking the doors. Remus kicked and screamed for Requillo to set him down, but that didn't take long. The poor boy's yells and curses died down to tears of anguish. Requillo blinked away the wetness of his eyes that threatened to spill and raced down the hall.

Then he caught sight of someone in black robes hurrying his way. She instantly stopped in her tracks and looked at him with wide eyes. Sapphire blue eyes met sapphire blue eyes. In a moment's decision, he grabbed her hand and, still carrying Remus, raced the opposite way in which Hallie had come. Their interlocked hands tingled with familiarity, though, they both didn't know for a fact who the other was. There was, however, something in their memories that were slowly coming back into remembrance. On their way, they saw Sirius. Hallie grabbed his hand and he nearly fell in the quick pace that he was turned around.

Requillo's heart pounded in his chest and he thought it was so loud that the others could hear it as well as he. With trembling hands, he locked the door to the tower that they had reached. He took off the locket he wore close to his heart, the one that never left him, and muttered a chant. When finished. He told the other three to touch it and almost at once, he felt a tug.

Hallie fell over when they had landed and looked up at him. "A portkey?" she asked softly. He nodded and sighed heavily. Leaving Slytherin Castle had taken a huge weight off his shoulder and tears came to his eyes. He was free.

~*~

Voldemort roared with anger when he had seen Requillo race down the hall with two of the children. His Seer was gone and so was his second in command. He glared at Janice and Rick who were sprawled on the ground, unconscious from being cursed. The Dark Lord then looked to Gwen who was sitting on the floor, staring at a body near the doorway. His gaze then fell to the girl lying near the doors, lifeless upon the ground. The girl's eyes were wide open but a small smile was upon her face. She had died saving the person she loved most.

A smile came to Voldemort's lips and his hopes of being the victor once again enlightened him. "Gwen, get up," he ordered. She did as was told and looked at him "Who is that girl?" he wondered in a calm and steady voice. She was trembling, he could tell and when she opened her mouth to speak, no words came out. "I said, who is that girl?" he repeated.

She looked at him squarely. Her eyes were wide and horrified. "My best friend," she whispered. Her voice shook with the sobs she held in.

"Who?" he repeated with a firm and sharp edge in his voice.

She looked away and wiped away her tears. "Nobody, she was nobody," she said, almost inaudibly. His smile grew and he went to sit on his throne-like seat once again, but he never noticed the plump boy, hidden in the shadows under the dinner table.

~*~

James tried to control his emotions, but he shook with sobs. Tears fell down his cheeks and his eyes were dull and lifeless. For a short moment, he slowed down on his broom and closed his eyes, hoping to see nothing and make the pain go away.

Deep down inside, though, he knew the ache in his heart would not. Each beat hurt him and his stomach turned inside him at each and every noise. The frigid air swept past him in violent rushes that made him shiver. Nothing would ever be the same again.

He could have sworn he felt a piece of him die away back in the hallway, little did he know of the incident that had occurred between Lydia and Gwen at the exact moment.

James opened his eyes again and swore vengeance. This oath he took was what changed him. The lines that shouldn't have been present in such a young boy's face were marks of his pain. His heart had hardened and a blaze of flame erupted deep within his soul for the man who was the cause of all the hurt he felt. He swore to defeat him one day, and one day he would.

~*~

"Another will fall in anguish," whispered Fate. Dark started to cloud over when the light once again vanished.

~*~

It's over and done
but the heartache lives on inside
and who's the one you're clinging to
instead of me tonight?

And where are you now, now that I need you?
Tears on my pillow wherever you go
I'll cry me a river that leads to your ocean
you never see me fall apart

Remus sat on the grass looking like someone who had been given the Dementor's kiss. It was as if a part of him had been ripped away. He felt as if he had no more reason to live, no more reason to go on living as he had since his life was taken from him, his life was Lydia. Now that she was gone…he shook his head and closed his eyes, letting the tears fall; he didn't know what he would do now.

In the words of a broken heart
It's just emotion that's taken me over
Caught up in sorrow, lost in my soul
But if you don't come back
Come home to me, darling
Don't you know there's nobody left in this world
to hold me tight
Don't cha know there's nobody left in this world to kiss goodnight
Goodnight, goodnight

Hallie looked at him for a short moment and guessed what had happened. Sirius and Hallie shared a look and then both looked away. She looked at the castle of Hogwarts they sat before with blurred eyes, but the tears never fell. Such hurt like that couldn't be expressed, first came the shock. After the shock came the pain all at once like a great wave. That was the step in which Remus was. The shock had passed and now he was feeling anguish as he never thought he could.

I'm there at your side,
I'm part of all the things you are
But you've got a part of someone else
You've got to find your shining star

And where are you now, now that I need you?
Tears on my pillow wherever you go
I'll cry me a river that leads to your ocean
You never see me fall apart

In the words of a broken heart
It's just emotion that's taken me over
Caught up in sorrow, lost in my soul
But if you don't come back
Come home to me, darling
Don't you know there's nobody left in this world
to hold me tight
Nobody left in this world to kiss goodnight
Goodnight, goodnight

Courtesy to Destiny's Child

For "Emotions"

(Don't you just love that song?! I love do!)

Requillo looked at Remus, then to Sirius, and then to Hallie. His eyes lingered on her for a long moment. She turned to him with large and solemn eyes the same color as his, their eyes locked. "I feel like I know you, but I don't know for sure," she whispered. Sirius watched in silence, still in a sort of daze, but nevertheless stuck in reality. Trapped in such a place was the worst nightmare possible, a horrible dream of actuality.

Requillo opened his mouth to respond, but the lump in his throat wouldn't let him speak. That feeling you get when tears are going to come is what he felt at the moment, but he didn't care. He nodded.

"Do you know me?" she asked in the same soft voice. He nodded again and two tears leaked from the side of his eyes. She nodded back at him for there were no more words to say. Hallie jumped up and hugged him. He put his arms around her. They embraced and their spirits lifted. "She told me you were dead, she told me you were never coming back," she whispered.

Requillo shook his head. "She was wrong. I said I'd come back to you, I swore I would, and here I am." She pulled away and gave him a tearful smile.

"I can't believe it's you. I-I couldn't believe who I saw standing there back at the castle." Her voice broke from an unsuspected sob. She smiled and brushed away her tears. "Even - even though I wasn't sure, I hoped-I hoped-," but she cut herself off when he hugged her.

He sighed with happiness and closed his eyes. Things would get better; soon, things would get better.

~*~

Peter hugged his knees to his chest and fought down the urge to cry. He trembled at every word that Voldemort said. What was he going to do? There was no where to turn and there was no where for him to run. He was trapped in Slytherin Castle.

And then the shadow came forward.

Peter felt a hand touch his shoulder and yelled in panic. He clamped his hand over his mouth, but it was too late. Gwen looked behind Voldemort's throne to the table where the cloaked figure stood. Slowly, the Dark Lord stood and turned his gaze to where the yell came from.

"There is a boy," said the cloaked figure, pointing to where Peter sat in terror.

The poor boy looked around for an escape, but found none. The cloaked figure waved his hand the table disappeared leaving Peter without his cover. Voldemort smirked. "Well, well, well, what have we got here?" taunted the Dark Lord. Peter backed away in fright. "Gwen, do you know this boy?"

Gwen, in a dazed sort of way, answered. "He's one of my friends."

Voldemort's eyes brightened. "One of James'?" he asked with a grin. She nodded. Peter looked at them back and forth. The cloaked figure excused himself and left the room.

"Well then," he said, "What's your name boy?"

"P-Peter," he stuttered softly.

Voldemort smiled at him evilly. "Peter, how would you like to be a Death Eater?" he asked, pointing his wand at the boy.

~*~

The light came and went as Fate said, "One will turn."

~*~

(Author's Note: Thank you to Fading to Black, and Gwen Rosadora for your reviews! I really appreciate them!)