Chapter Four
Shrieks In the Night
The first week of summer in the small house was one of the best that Lex had ever had. Griffen kept her occupied, asking her to read him books from his Mom and Dad's library they kept in the den. Soon Lex's mind left her troubles about being unemployed and she began to think that maybe life with Gavin, Jillian and Griffen wouldn't be so bad. She wrote Breena constantly, telling her the smallest detail and got lengthy responses back, telling her how much she missed her and that they had to do something over the summer. Lex knew that if there was one thing she'd miss about Hogwarts, it was being with Breena.
But as the summer rolled on, Lex began to become anxious. She watched Griffen during the day as Jillian and Gavin went to work, but she began to hate the sort of captivity she was in. She would sit on the roof outside her room and write her letters to Breena and ask her whether the students knew about her being sacked. Hari and Linnea knew, as well as some of the students she had been closer to, but the majority didn't know. It would come as quite a shock when they came back to find she was gone. Breena even informed her that Ashlee wasn't looking for another Muggle Studies teacher. Lex fumed with anger. The monotony of the house seemed as if it would last forever, until one night in late July.
Dinner that night had been the same usual. Griffen talked all about the neighbor kids and told Lex that he wanted to go to Hogwarts like his Mom and Dad. He said he didn't like the little boys and girls in the neighborhood and wanted to make them disappear. Lex laughed quietly when he talked about how one day he kept making a kid trip and eventually had to run home after scraping his elbows so badly. Jillian didn't find this too funny.
"What have we told you?" she asked.
He looked down and Jillian left the table. Griffen looked up at Lex, a huge grin on his face. He was just like she had been when she was little.
Griffen went to bed around eight and Lex headed outside and sat down on the rail of the deck. She pulled out a small silver case from her back pocket and pulled out a cigarette and pulled out her lighter. The sky was so clear and the night was so peaceful, but her mind was full of worry. She smoked the cigarette and heard the door slide open behind her.
"What are you doing?" asked Gavin, who obviously wanted to talk about something.
Lex puffed on the cigarette for a moment and sighed.
"Nothing," she said, "Trying to lose my problems."
"In a cigarette?" asked Gavin and Lex glared at him.
"I'm not a goddamn kid anymore, Gavin," spat Lex, putting her cigarette out in the other side of the silver case.
"What's your problem?" asked Gavin.
"What are you talking about?" snapped Lex.
"You were so normal at the beginning of the summer, now all you do is sulk," he said, "I mean is this just because you lost your job? It's not like you don't have anywhere to go. . ."
"I'm not living off you forever," said Lex, "I'm not staying trapped here."
"And even if you do have to crash here for a year or two. . . " Gavin started but Lex cut him off.
"I'm not staying here longer than the summer holiday," she said, "I'm moving out before schools start."
"But you don't have any money," shouted Gavin.
"I'll get a job," she said angrily, taking out another cigarette and lighting it.
"Where?" asked Gavin.
"The Ministry," she said, "You told me that it would be no problem for me with my reputation."
Gavin rolled his eyes and took the cigarette from her and put it out.
"First of all, stop smoking," he hissed, "You're going to kill yourself. Secondly, it's hard as hell to get into the ministry. I mean, shit Lex, if you want to be where Dad was. . ."
"Don't you even talk about him in front of me!" yelled Lex, standing up, "I would never want to take Dad's job."
"Don't lie to me like that," he said, "You know as well as I do that you loved Dad's job. You went with him every chance you got. You'd kill for his job, you've always wanted it."
"Dad's job is the reason he's dead!" shouted Lex, "He died while he was out, his job was the reason we no longer have a father!"
Lex slumped down in a wicker chair and covered her face and began to cry. Gavin walked over and sat next to her. He put his arm around her and she cried into his shirt.
"Lex, I'm sorry," whispered Gavin.
Lex shook her head and looked up.
"No, don't be sorry," she said, "I should've said something earlier. It's just ever since he died I've been keeping it inside and not saying anything. I guess it just came out."
Lex leaned against him and he put his arm around her.
"You really miss him, don't you?" he asked.
Lex nodded and looked at the sky. She couldn't talk about this; it was too much.
"I'm going to bed," she said, standing up and rushing into the house.
She went to the guestroom and sat down on the bed. She stared at the floor for what seemed like hours, but didn't move. Her mind was racing and she felt dizzy. She turned off the lights and lay down and before she knew it she was asleep.
She was having a terrible dream. People with odd tattoos on their faces were coming towards her and she tried to defend herself, but she wasn't strong enough. They over took her and killed her.
She sat up in bed, gasping for breath and looked around. A small figure was sitting on the end of her bed, watching her.
"Griffen?" she muttered.
"Lex, I'm scared," he hissed.
"What are you scared off?" she asked.
"Someone's downstairs," he said.
Lex froze and she motioned for him to be quiet. Sure enough she could hear soft footsteps on the tile floor of the kitchen. She looked and him and grabbed his hand.
"Griffen, stay completely quiet, okay?" she asked.
He nodded and she headed out into the hallway and into Gavin and Jillian's room. Lex took out her wand from her pocket and lit it. She tapped Gavin sharply on the forehead and he glared at her.
"What the bloody hell is going on?" he asked, and seeing the two of them he froze.
The look of pure terror on Lex's face said it all. She was shook slightly as she clung to Griffen's hand, the light of her wand quivering slightly.
"Griffen, stay with Mommy, okay?" asked Gavin.
He nodded and climbed into bed and Gavin woke Jillian.
"Stay here and get your wand," said Gavin to his sleepy wife, "Someone's in the house."
Jillian looked at him for a moment, as though not fully comprehending what he had just said. Gavin said it one more time and Jillian snatched her wand from within the nearby dresser and pulled Griffen close to her.
Gavin and Lex left the room and quietly tiptoed down the stairs. Lex could hear them whispering.
"Where is she?" asked the voice as quiet as the wind.
It was a woman, but her voice was oddly hard and raspy.
"She's here, I saw her this afternoon," said the other in the same tone.
The second voice was soft and airy and very light. It sounded like the wind blowing through the trees. Gavin and Lex saw the light from two wands reach the bottom of the stairs. Gavin pushed Lex behind him.
"Go on, go tell Jill to leave, you too," he hissed almost silently.
Lex shook her head.
"I can handle them," he hissed, "Go."
Lex turned around and reentered the bedroom. She immediately found Jillian's wand in her face and Lex froze. When she realized who it was, she lowered her wand.
"Don't do that!" hissed Jillian.
"Sorry," hissed Lex, "Look, you need to get out of here. You need to take Griffen and go."
"What about you?" asked Jillian, "What about Gavin?"
"I'm backing up Gavin," she said as Jillian picked up Griffen and opened the window, "Just get yourselves out and to another house, preferably a wizard."
Jillian and Griffen slipped out the window and Lex saw Griffen's hair become short and black and his eyes looked fearful. She turned around and walked back out into the hallway. She saw light at the top of the stairs and could hear the intruders' cloaks swishing. Lex pressed herself against the wall and she saw the two intruders. One was very tall, with long black hair that emerged from under her cloak, but her cloak covered up her face. The other was slightly shorter but her face was entirely hidden by the cloak she wore. They turned into Griffen's room and Lex panicked. Where was Gavin?
Her question was answered seconds later when the short figure was thrown from the room and hit the wall. The second was fighting Gavin in the room as Lex got to her feet. She stood, frozen in the doorway, trying to get a good shot. Gavin noticed her and continued to duel the taller figure.
"Lex, get out!" screamed Gavin.
"NO!" yelled Lex, as she prepared to cast the hex.
Before she had a chance to cast the spell, the shorter intruder attacked her and sent her flying to the ground. Lex tried to fight back but before she knew it she was tumbling down the wooden stairs, her attacker closely behind her. Lex climbed to her feet weakly and held out her wand.
"Expelliarmus!" she yelled.
The woman's wand flew behind her and as she sprung to get it, Lex tackled her. The woman hit Lex, landing one punch in the face and sending her flying to the landing several stairs below. She hit with a loud thud and heard a terrible crunching noise. She felt warm blood trickling down her face and she tried to get up, but her attacker was right behind her.
"Don't move!" the woman growled.
Lex rolled over and she could hear the woman laughing a high shrill laugh. Anger burned inside Lex and she felt her wand just beneath her, covered with blood.
"It would've been much easier if you hadn't struggled," the woman spat, moving closer to Lex.
She gripped the wand, searching her mind for a spell. The woman was only a foot away and she could see her dark eyes glowing beneath her hood, her face twisted into an evil smile.
Lex yelled a spell; some spell she had learned long ago and suddenly a flash of red light hit her square in the chest and sent her down into the parlor. She lay there, unconscious and Lex climbed weakly to her feet. She didn't hear anything upstairs and silently made her way up the stairs, gripping tightly to the rail and holding her wand ready.
She crept around the corner and saw nothing. The fear inside her doubled and she gulped down the panic rising in her throat. She then turned and entered Griffen's room. There on the floor was Gavin, moaning and groaning with pain. Lex ran to him, and looked around.
"What happened?" she asked.
There was a loud crack and then another. She recognized that sound.
"They disapparated, didn't they?" she asked.
Gavin gave a feeble nod. In the faded light of the street outside she saw blood was trickling down his face and onto his bare chest. He had several burn marks on his arms and he looked dazed. He reached out and took his hand, which was trembling. There was another crack from downstairs and quick footsteps thundered up the wooden steps. Moment's later Jillian appeared in the door.
"What-happened?" she stammered, trying to breathe.
Gavin looked up at her and blinked several times in quick succession. Suddenly he fell limp and onto the carpeted floor.
"Oh shit," said Lex, "We need to get him to St. Mungo's."
Jillian nodded and knelt down beside her husband and began to cry. Their perfect world, everything they had believed in, had been shattered in seconds.
Shrieks In the Night
The first week of summer in the small house was one of the best that Lex had ever had. Griffen kept her occupied, asking her to read him books from his Mom and Dad's library they kept in the den. Soon Lex's mind left her troubles about being unemployed and she began to think that maybe life with Gavin, Jillian and Griffen wouldn't be so bad. She wrote Breena constantly, telling her the smallest detail and got lengthy responses back, telling her how much she missed her and that they had to do something over the summer. Lex knew that if there was one thing she'd miss about Hogwarts, it was being with Breena.
But as the summer rolled on, Lex began to become anxious. She watched Griffen during the day as Jillian and Gavin went to work, but she began to hate the sort of captivity she was in. She would sit on the roof outside her room and write her letters to Breena and ask her whether the students knew about her being sacked. Hari and Linnea knew, as well as some of the students she had been closer to, but the majority didn't know. It would come as quite a shock when they came back to find she was gone. Breena even informed her that Ashlee wasn't looking for another Muggle Studies teacher. Lex fumed with anger. The monotony of the house seemed as if it would last forever, until one night in late July.
Dinner that night had been the same usual. Griffen talked all about the neighbor kids and told Lex that he wanted to go to Hogwarts like his Mom and Dad. He said he didn't like the little boys and girls in the neighborhood and wanted to make them disappear. Lex laughed quietly when he talked about how one day he kept making a kid trip and eventually had to run home after scraping his elbows so badly. Jillian didn't find this too funny.
"What have we told you?" she asked.
He looked down and Jillian left the table. Griffen looked up at Lex, a huge grin on his face. He was just like she had been when she was little.
Griffen went to bed around eight and Lex headed outside and sat down on the rail of the deck. She pulled out a small silver case from her back pocket and pulled out a cigarette and pulled out her lighter. The sky was so clear and the night was so peaceful, but her mind was full of worry. She smoked the cigarette and heard the door slide open behind her.
"What are you doing?" asked Gavin, who obviously wanted to talk about something.
Lex puffed on the cigarette for a moment and sighed.
"Nothing," she said, "Trying to lose my problems."
"In a cigarette?" asked Gavin and Lex glared at him.
"I'm not a goddamn kid anymore, Gavin," spat Lex, putting her cigarette out in the other side of the silver case.
"What's your problem?" asked Gavin.
"What are you talking about?" snapped Lex.
"You were so normal at the beginning of the summer, now all you do is sulk," he said, "I mean is this just because you lost your job? It's not like you don't have anywhere to go. . ."
"I'm not living off you forever," said Lex, "I'm not staying trapped here."
"And even if you do have to crash here for a year or two. . . " Gavin started but Lex cut him off.
"I'm not staying here longer than the summer holiday," she said, "I'm moving out before schools start."
"But you don't have any money," shouted Gavin.
"I'll get a job," she said angrily, taking out another cigarette and lighting it.
"Where?" asked Gavin.
"The Ministry," she said, "You told me that it would be no problem for me with my reputation."
Gavin rolled his eyes and took the cigarette from her and put it out.
"First of all, stop smoking," he hissed, "You're going to kill yourself. Secondly, it's hard as hell to get into the ministry. I mean, shit Lex, if you want to be where Dad was. . ."
"Don't you even talk about him in front of me!" yelled Lex, standing up, "I would never want to take Dad's job."
"Don't lie to me like that," he said, "You know as well as I do that you loved Dad's job. You went with him every chance you got. You'd kill for his job, you've always wanted it."
"Dad's job is the reason he's dead!" shouted Lex, "He died while he was out, his job was the reason we no longer have a father!"
Lex slumped down in a wicker chair and covered her face and began to cry. Gavin walked over and sat next to her. He put his arm around her and she cried into his shirt.
"Lex, I'm sorry," whispered Gavin.
Lex shook her head and looked up.
"No, don't be sorry," she said, "I should've said something earlier. It's just ever since he died I've been keeping it inside and not saying anything. I guess it just came out."
Lex leaned against him and he put his arm around her.
"You really miss him, don't you?" he asked.
Lex nodded and looked at the sky. She couldn't talk about this; it was too much.
"I'm going to bed," she said, standing up and rushing into the house.
She went to the guestroom and sat down on the bed. She stared at the floor for what seemed like hours, but didn't move. Her mind was racing and she felt dizzy. She turned off the lights and lay down and before she knew it she was asleep.
She was having a terrible dream. People with odd tattoos on their faces were coming towards her and she tried to defend herself, but she wasn't strong enough. They over took her and killed her.
She sat up in bed, gasping for breath and looked around. A small figure was sitting on the end of her bed, watching her.
"Griffen?" she muttered.
"Lex, I'm scared," he hissed.
"What are you scared off?" she asked.
"Someone's downstairs," he said.
Lex froze and she motioned for him to be quiet. Sure enough she could hear soft footsteps on the tile floor of the kitchen. She looked and him and grabbed his hand.
"Griffen, stay completely quiet, okay?" she asked.
He nodded and she headed out into the hallway and into Gavin and Jillian's room. Lex took out her wand from her pocket and lit it. She tapped Gavin sharply on the forehead and he glared at her.
"What the bloody hell is going on?" he asked, and seeing the two of them he froze.
The look of pure terror on Lex's face said it all. She was shook slightly as she clung to Griffen's hand, the light of her wand quivering slightly.
"Griffen, stay with Mommy, okay?" asked Gavin.
He nodded and climbed into bed and Gavin woke Jillian.
"Stay here and get your wand," said Gavin to his sleepy wife, "Someone's in the house."
Jillian looked at him for a moment, as though not fully comprehending what he had just said. Gavin said it one more time and Jillian snatched her wand from within the nearby dresser and pulled Griffen close to her.
Gavin and Lex left the room and quietly tiptoed down the stairs. Lex could hear them whispering.
"Where is she?" asked the voice as quiet as the wind.
It was a woman, but her voice was oddly hard and raspy.
"She's here, I saw her this afternoon," said the other in the same tone.
The second voice was soft and airy and very light. It sounded like the wind blowing through the trees. Gavin and Lex saw the light from two wands reach the bottom of the stairs. Gavin pushed Lex behind him.
"Go on, go tell Jill to leave, you too," he hissed almost silently.
Lex shook her head.
"I can handle them," he hissed, "Go."
Lex turned around and reentered the bedroom. She immediately found Jillian's wand in her face and Lex froze. When she realized who it was, she lowered her wand.
"Don't do that!" hissed Jillian.
"Sorry," hissed Lex, "Look, you need to get out of here. You need to take Griffen and go."
"What about you?" asked Jillian, "What about Gavin?"
"I'm backing up Gavin," she said as Jillian picked up Griffen and opened the window, "Just get yourselves out and to another house, preferably a wizard."
Jillian and Griffen slipped out the window and Lex saw Griffen's hair become short and black and his eyes looked fearful. She turned around and walked back out into the hallway. She saw light at the top of the stairs and could hear the intruders' cloaks swishing. Lex pressed herself against the wall and she saw the two intruders. One was very tall, with long black hair that emerged from under her cloak, but her cloak covered up her face. The other was slightly shorter but her face was entirely hidden by the cloak she wore. They turned into Griffen's room and Lex panicked. Where was Gavin?
Her question was answered seconds later when the short figure was thrown from the room and hit the wall. The second was fighting Gavin in the room as Lex got to her feet. She stood, frozen in the doorway, trying to get a good shot. Gavin noticed her and continued to duel the taller figure.
"Lex, get out!" screamed Gavin.
"NO!" yelled Lex, as she prepared to cast the hex.
Before she had a chance to cast the spell, the shorter intruder attacked her and sent her flying to the ground. Lex tried to fight back but before she knew it she was tumbling down the wooden stairs, her attacker closely behind her. Lex climbed to her feet weakly and held out her wand.
"Expelliarmus!" she yelled.
The woman's wand flew behind her and as she sprung to get it, Lex tackled her. The woman hit Lex, landing one punch in the face and sending her flying to the landing several stairs below. She hit with a loud thud and heard a terrible crunching noise. She felt warm blood trickling down her face and she tried to get up, but her attacker was right behind her.
"Don't move!" the woman growled.
Lex rolled over and she could hear the woman laughing a high shrill laugh. Anger burned inside Lex and she felt her wand just beneath her, covered with blood.
"It would've been much easier if you hadn't struggled," the woman spat, moving closer to Lex.
She gripped the wand, searching her mind for a spell. The woman was only a foot away and she could see her dark eyes glowing beneath her hood, her face twisted into an evil smile.
Lex yelled a spell; some spell she had learned long ago and suddenly a flash of red light hit her square in the chest and sent her down into the parlor. She lay there, unconscious and Lex climbed weakly to her feet. She didn't hear anything upstairs and silently made her way up the stairs, gripping tightly to the rail and holding her wand ready.
She crept around the corner and saw nothing. The fear inside her doubled and she gulped down the panic rising in her throat. She then turned and entered Griffen's room. There on the floor was Gavin, moaning and groaning with pain. Lex ran to him, and looked around.
"What happened?" she asked.
There was a loud crack and then another. She recognized that sound.
"They disapparated, didn't they?" she asked.
Gavin gave a feeble nod. In the faded light of the street outside she saw blood was trickling down his face and onto his bare chest. He had several burn marks on his arms and he looked dazed. He reached out and took his hand, which was trembling. There was another crack from downstairs and quick footsteps thundered up the wooden steps. Moment's later Jillian appeared in the door.
"What-happened?" she stammered, trying to breathe.
Gavin looked up at her and blinked several times in quick succession. Suddenly he fell limp and onto the carpeted floor.
"Oh shit," said Lex, "We need to get him to St. Mungo's."
Jillian nodded and knelt down beside her husband and began to cry. Their perfect world, everything they had believed in, had been shattered in seconds.