Chapter 21
If it were truly two on two, Faith and I would have wiped the floor with them. I had no illusions that they are determined and dangerous. Heck, by their age we had stopped three apocalypses; I know what kids are capable of. But see, we had an advantage. We were supposed to be the bad guys.
I extended my shield to block Faith from the boys then I entered her mind.
"Faith, were supposed to be the baddies. Grab a hostage."
She didn't waste any time and turned her back on the guys. Harry tried to hex her, but it bounced harmlessly off of the shield. I guess he had to try.
"Let's see," Faith pondered. "I need a volunteer."
I looked back to see Ron raise his hand quickly. I couldn't see Faith's face but I knew from the swagger in her hips and her hands crossing her midsection that she was going full vamp mode on Ron. Oh, I don't mean vampire, I mean seductress. And when Faith has her eye on someone, well it's pretty much over with. Faith gets what she wants.
Ron's eyebrows disappeared into his hairline and a audible gulp issued forth. Faith set her hands on his shoulders. He has about half a foot on her in height. Her right hand slid down his chest and she circled him around his right side; her hand trailed behind, caressing in it's wake.
"Damn, Ron. You filled out. Become quite the hottie."
His face had gone beet red already and it was getting darker by the second with embarrassment.
"Girls must be all over you this year, huh?"
He spoke without thinking. "No, ma'am ...," he realized what he just said. "I'm mean..."
She was fully behind him at this point and her hand was on his stomach, still feeling in small circles.
"Unnn, tight abs there, Ron." Her head turned to the rest of the class. "I just might have to give you a ride before one of these other girls sinks her teeth in you."
I rolled my eyes. "Faith."
She gave him a small shove from the back and he scooted up. "Here's a little test for you Mr. Longbottom, Mr. Potter."
I took over. "You face an enemy that you can't hex. They have a hostage." At those words Faith grabbed Ron around the throat, and I played against Harry's knowledge of what we had done in the past. "At my signal, Faith is gonna snap his neck."
I heard a few gasps from behind us. Harry looked me in the eye and a half-hearted smile crept on his face. I don't think he's getting the threat.
"You know what I did, Harry. You know what Faith has done. Do you really think we won't kill him?"
His smile vanished. "But ... you're ..."
"You think being good is not about sacrifice?" I turned and walked back to Ron and Faith. My hand moved up to his face and I stroked him soothingly. "For the greater good, should one person die in order for millions to live, billions?"
I let it sink in for a few moments while everyone stood in silence. "What'll it be, Harry, Neville? Give up?"
Neville looked back and forth between Harry and Ron; indecision on his face.
"Tick tock. Tick Tock." My hand drifted away from Ron.
With a little expense of will I let my eyes darken and my hair turn black. It was just a glamour, but nobody else knew that.
I sighed. "Bored now."
"No!" Harry called out. "We surrender."
Harry dropped his wand and Neville followed suit.
Faith uttered a buzzing sound signaling a wrong answer. "Never drop your weapon unless you have a back up. And always use every resource you have."
I let the glamour fall away. Harry was almost clueless about what other resources he had. I turned around and looked at the students against the wall. Some had their hands inside their cloaks while others were just standing there frightened out of their collective wits.
"In the battle of good versus evil there are very few set rules. And if those rules can be bent or even broken to save the world, then you have to make a decision." I paused for dramatic effect. "Contrary to what you may think, you don't have to possess a foretold destiny to wage war against evil.
"In fact the strongest weapon among you may be those that you think are the weakest." I turned back to Harry and levitated his wand back to his hand. "Never surrender. Think of another solution or you'll never make it to graduation."
I could tell Harry was working it out in his head. He just needed to see the break the clues I had given him. After a moment he tapped Neville's throat with his wand and then tapped his own.
"Sonorus."
He yelled. "Everyone now!"
And I mean he yelled. His voice seemed to be amplified a hundred times in this confined room. It echoed off the walls and moments later a number of other voices did the same. Faith let go of Ron and covered her ears. I was doing the same. My concentration was blown and I knew my shield was down but it hurt too much to get it back up again.
That's when someone hexed me from behind and I hit the mat, face down. I was out of the contest. Faith went to her knees soon thereafter.
The noise stopped, but my ears continued to ring. I turned around on my back and held my hands up clapping politely. Harry stood over me, grinning like the Cheshire Cat and held out his hand. I took it and he hauled me up.
"I didn't get it until the graduation comment," he said.
"What made you think of the loud voice thingy."
He pointed to my hand. "You don't use a wand. You needed to concentrate to keep your shield up. I had to break that concentration."
I smiled. "Good thinking."
Faith came up from behind us. "Says you. I got a headache. Now Freckles here isn't gonna have his world rocked." She looked around. "Anyone got a Tylenol?"
