A/N: I would just like to thank whoever has reviewed this ficcy.  I realized recently that because of the way I was saving and uploading, none of the stuff I thought was in bold or italics was.  So, I am going back and reposting it all.  If you want to see it the way it was originally, check it out.  I will also add a major author's note at the very beginning that you might want to read.  Thanks again.  Don't forget to tell me what you think, and be honest.

Chapter 19

The next day, Jason awoke before anyone in the rest of his dorm. He wanted to be alone for a while, so he quietly snuck out. He took a shower, got changed, and went down to the common room to sit in front of the fire. He stared into the flames and ignored the flames running down his face. The whole morning, he couldn't think of anything but Her and Her hurtful words. He knew that she probably didn't mean any of it, that it was the drug talking. He hoped. That didn't mean that it didn't hurt.

He suddenly called in his sketchpad and drawing pencil. He didn't pay attention to what he was doing, really. He just wanted to think about something else. Someone else. He finished the drawing before looking at it. Yeah, he saw what he was drawing, but I mean really looked at it for the first time. When he did, he through the pad and pencil across the room, stopping them with a thought just before they hit the wall and crumpled the pages. He just left it there, motionless. He glared at the picture staring at him, mocking him, as he wrapped his arms around his knees. He let his tears begin to fall. Keep falling. They had been the entire time.

He began to rock back and forth as he cried softly, "Why can't you leave me alone?" He didn't get an answer. He didn't expect one though.

He didn't know how long he just sat there before he heard quiet footsteps pad across the floor and stop right behind him. A quiet voice asked him, "Jason, are you all right?"

He glanced over his shoulder at Ginny before replying, "No, Ginny, not really." She took that as an invitation to walk around the couch and sit down next to him. She put her arm around her shoulder and just let him cry himself out. When he was done, he dried his eyes and looked at her. "Thanks."

"No problem. I figured that you helped me out with Harry; I might as well help you now. One good turn deserves another and that sort of thing." She glanced over at the still-motionless sketchpad. "Care to tell me what that was all about?" she asked as she stood up to see the images better. (The only light in the common room was the fire so it was hard to see the picture from where they were.) She stopped right in front of it. Ginny looked at the drawing and then back at Jason, and then back. "Oh," she said.

Jason just snarled. "I see," she added. The drawing was of Kayla, in exquisite detail. If she didn't know better, she would have said it was a photograph. But she knew it was a drawing. And it had something to do with Jason's mood. More than just that Kayla was in the infirmary. Something happened between the two of them. "You didn't go back to the infirmary, did you Jason?" Jason's disbelieving face was guilty enough evidence that he had done exactly that. "You know there was a reason Madame Pompfrey kicked you out," Ginny explained patiently. "Well, she doesn't always have a good reason, but that is neither here nor there," she added waving her hand flippantly. "She is a nurse. She knew that the drug would make Kayla do unreasonable things. Whatever Kayla said to you, she didn't mean. You know that, so why are you throwing a bloody temper tantrum?"

He flinched at her tone but answered her anyways. "Because it still hurt, dammit! I wouldn't ever hurt her and she said I did!" That said, he collapsed back onto the couch and waited for Ginny to blow up at him again.

Ginny stared at him for a moment.  She slowly licked her lips as she thought of an answer that wouldn't upset him.  "Why did you go down to the Hospital Wing if you knew she was going to say something to hurt you?" she asked slowly.

"Because her image was haunting me.  She was all I saw when I closed my eyes.  She was all I could think about.  I needed to make sure she was all right.  I didn't really think.  It was as if my body was in the infirmary before my mind could stop it.  It was truly stupid and I shouldn't have gone, but I couldn't stop myself."

"It was stupid.  But you obviously learned not to do it again."  Her eyes glinted.  "So, let's talk about something else.  Unless you want everyone knowing when they come downstairs in a few moments.  I would also advise looking less like you were crying.  Wouldn't want to be teased or anything."  She quickly whipped her wand out of her pocket and said a muttered spell.  A spray of water hit him square in the face.  As he sputtered, he looked daggers at her.  "What," she asked innocently.  "Cold water makes the redness go away."

"Not funny," Jason grumbled as she charmed his clothes clean again in a peace offering.  But, he wasn't done yet.  He used his skills from back home to hurtle pillows at her.  She retaliated by throwing more spells at him.  He soon became weary of holding his own with just pillows, and, so, he, too, called in his wand.  They were still hurling spells at each other when the others all came downstairs to inspect the racket that they were making.

They all stood in a group and watched the two battle it out.  Harry had an odd look on his face, but the three Weasley brothers couldn't figure out why.  The Weasley twins were the first to comment on this odd behavior they exhibited.  "Are you going to tell us that you had a prank war and didn't tell us?" George commented in a mock insulted tone.

"Well, it was sort of spur-of-the-moment," Jason commented wryly as he ducked behind a couch for protection.  "Feel free to join in though."  It took no more invitation for them all to join in the fray and began to throw spells of their own.  Hermione tried to back out by saying that it wasn't proper for prefects to be doing that sort of thing, but when a stray charm turned her hair green she couldn't help but retaliate.  Somehow during t he melee, Jason and Ginny got tossed out near the common room portal.  They looked at each other and came to the same decision: leave before the head girl came down and gave them all detentions.  The backed slowly out of the portrait hole, so as no one would notice them slipping away.  As soon as the hole opened, they sprinted out and ran towards the Great Hall, reversing the effects of the spells and charms on each other as they went.

They slowed down as they reached the large doors so that none of the teachers would comment.  They were lucky they hadn't met anyone in the corridors, but that might have had something to do with the fact that Jason was shielding them against being found.  They walked into the hall and headed for the part of the Gryffindor table and began to eat their food.  Ten minutes later, 7 irate Gryffindors stormed into the Great Hall and took their seats next to Ginny and Jason.

"Thanks for leaving us, guys," Ron growled as he took a roll.  "Ariella came down.  She broke up our little "war" as she called it because it set a bad influence on the younger students.  She wanted to know who started it.  We said you did, but by that point, you had already disappeared.  She gave us all detentions for trying to incriminate you two." 

Ginny and Jason turned towards each other and hit high fives.  "Nice work," she commented to her cohort in crime.  "We had fun, and we didn't get busted."  Harry looked on slightly jealous.  He was sitting across from Ginny and next to Ron.  He didn't dare show any emotion towards her because three of her overprotective brothers were right there.  Besides, they had decided to keep their relationship a secret from them for a while.

The rest of the meal continued on in peace until Tori asked, "Did you want to go visit Kayla later?"

Ginny glanced at Jason, worried.  She knew he didn't want anyone else to know what had happened.  She hoped he played it cool.  "Sure," he replied, as he normally would have.  But, Ginny noticed a slightly panicked look in his eyes.  He looked pleadingly at her.

She understood what he wanted.  "Do you think it would be okay for the rest of us to go, too?"  Tori and Keri just looked at each other and shrugged.  Jason nodded.  "Okay.  We'll all go see how she is doing.  It is not like she isn't our friend also."

Harry looked askance at his unofficial girlfriend.  He could tell something was wrong.  She was hiding something.  "What is th-" he began to say.  It was all he managed to get out before Ginny kicked his leg under the table and glared at him discretely.  He took the hint and shut up.  But he looked her in the eye and mouthed one word: "later."  Ginny sighed.  He would expect an explanation later.  Well, she would have until "later" to come up with a nondescript lie that would satisfy him.

It was a Saturday so that when they finished eating, they could go to the Hospital Wing.  On their way out, Tori stopped by where James and Jake were sitting.  She told them where they were going.  The two American Ravenclaws stood up and joined the gang.

They all trudged down to the infirmary where they were lucky to be admitted by Madame Pompfrey.  As they filed in and sat on various beds in the room, her visitors asked Kayla how she felt and she responded that she was fine.  She avoided Jason's eyes.  This one gesture told Jason that she remembered what had happened the night before, and was embarrassed about it.  She wouldn't have avoided his gaze if she either didn't remember or wasn't embarrassed.

While everyone began to question Kayla as to how she was feeling, Jason just sat there quietly.  They all thought this was weird, but figured that he was worried about her and either was trying to decide for himself if she was okay, or was asking her telepathically.  Only Ginny knew what was most likely going on, so she kept glancing at him out of the corner of her eyes.

Jason stared resolutely at the floor at a point where it was perpendicular to a nearby hospital bed.  He had no intention of talking to Her (verbally or otherwise), but those plans fell through when she mindspoke him.  For the first time since they started developing their powers, Jason wished he was able to block her out.  He did not feel up to discussing anything with her at the moment.

Jason, she called tentatively.  I am really sorry about what happened last night.  I swear I didn't mean any of it.  I couldn't help it.  The words fell out of my mouth before I could stop them.

I understand, he replied emotionlessly.

"Why are you still angry at me then?" she shouted aloud.  In her frustration, she forgot that their conversation was a private one.  But, she didn't care.  She was too caught up in the moment.  She struggled against the blankets around her to sit up, her face flushed with anger and her eyes glinting emerald.

Jason jumped up and shouted back, "Because understanding is different than forgiving."

"What?!" Kayla exclaimed, shocked out of her anger momentarily.

"I understand that you had no control over what you said, but it still hurt, dammit!" he responded in a deadly calm voice while the other nine students stood on in confusion, except for Ginny, who, unfortunately, knew what was going on.

"You didn't have to come down," Kayla pointed out logically.

"From the moment we left, all I could think about was you.  While I was away from you, I found it difficult to convince myself that you were okay.  What kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn't follow up on those instincts?"  Even though they didn't know the entire reason for the argument breaking out in front of them, the students were all impressed by the emotion in Jason's voice.

"How can you make me the bad guy in this situation?" Kayla cried plaintively.  "How can you hold me at fault for something I had no control over?"

"Because understanding is different than forgiving," he replied simply before turning and storming out of the Hospital Wing.  Kayla stared at the spot where he had been before falling back against her pillows.  She turned away from her guests and started to cry silently.  Her shaking shoulders the only sign of the sobs that wracked her body.

Jake watched Kayla's shaking form for a few moments before following Jason, running to catch up with him.  Jason showed no signs of noticing his pursuer.  Jake caught up with him in the entrance hall by reaching out and grabbing Jason's shoulder to stop him.  Jason turned slowly to look his friend in the eye.

"What was that back there, Jase?" Jake asked as they stood in the center of the giant stone hall.  "I have never seen you lose your temper so completely, before.  Especially not with Kayla."

"You wouldn't get it," Jason replied simply.

"Try me."

"No," Jason responded before brushing the other's hand off of his shoulder.  "Tell everyone I will be back soon.  I need to get out of here."  That said, Jason disappeared, leaving Jake alone in the hall.  Jake cursed under his breath for a minute before returning to Kayla's bedside.

*                      *                      *                      *                      *                      *         

Jason reappeared outside of a quaint little house.  It was blue with a brown roof and a flat driveway.  He looked up at the sun.  It was after 4 in the afternoon so he thought it would be okay to knock on the door.  After he teleported out of Hogwarts, he showed up in the very spot he was standing in now, the one place where he was always welcome, no matter the circumstances, but realized that with the time difference, it was only 3 AM.  So, he teleported to a nearby park to think things through.

He walked up to the pristine white door.  With only a slight trepidation, he raised his hand and wrapped on the door, sharply, three times.  Jason stepped back and waited for it to open.  A middle-aged woman with slightly graying hair opened the door.  "Jason!" she exclaimed, surprised to see him.  "I've not seen you in forever.  Why don't you come on in?  I'll go and get Kyle from upstairs."  Jason followed his best-friend's mother inside and sat down at a chair at their kitchen table.  Soon, loud, clomping footsteps could be heart clattering down the stairs.  A second later, Kyle's head appeared in the doorway.  His face broke into a huge grin as he let out a whoop of joy.  He sauntered in and took a seat opposite Jason and helped himself to the cookies his mother had just finished baking.

After silently eating two of them, he looked up at Jason.  "I've not seen you in a while, man.  How is school this year?"

Jason considered something for a moment.  It was the same internal struggle he had been arguing with himself over all morning.  Finally, he slowly replied, "If I told you something that was absolutely secret, would you listen, believe, and swear not to tell?"

Kyle looked slightly startled by this odd request but decided to make light of it, as per his personality.  "What is it?  That you are part of the mafia?  Or, maybe a gang?"

"Kyle, I am completely and utterly serious."

"Okay.  I promise.  Now, what is it?"

Jason rolled his eyes as he stood up from the table.  He walked around it and pulled Kyle out of his chair by the arm.  "C'mon, let's go.  I can't tell you here.  Take a cookie for the road, kid, we're going to the park where we can talk in private."  Kyle just barely managed to grab two cookies off of the plate before he was dragged bodily out of the house.  They shouted a quick "good-bye" to Mrs. Ramon as the door slammed shut behind them.

They walked to the same park Jason was sitting in earlier.  They sat down on one of the benches.  Jason decided to just get it all out into the open.  "What would you say if I told you that Bridgeton wasn't exactly what you thought it was?" he began, somewhat nervously.  What he was about to tell Kyle would test how good a friend the latter was.  If he believed it and accepted it, Jason would know that Kyle was one of the best people in the world.

"What do you mean?" Kyle asked warily. Okay, Jason thought to himself.  I can deal with wariness.  I have got to admit that I am being awfully mysterious.  But, maybe if I show first and then explain he would be more inclined to believe me…  Before Kyle could react, Jason reached out one hand and grabbed his friend's shoulder.  Jason closed his eyes for a second and, Kyle felt as if the world around him was swirling together.  When it righted itself, Kyle found himself in a giant park.  Not the same one they were just in though.  He slowly turned in a circle to see if he could figure out where he was.  Jason didn't look at all surprised to be there but was watching Kyle closely as if to figure out his reaction.

Kyle licked his lips.  "Jason, where are we, and how did we get here?"

"This is part of what I wanted to tell you," Jason sighed.  "It is called teleportation.  At Bridgeton, our real subjects teach us how to do it, telepathy, healing, telekinesis, and other gifts like it.  This year, we are studying in England on an exchange program.  Which is where we are, by the way: Hyde Park, London, England."  Jason had been watching Kyle's expression closely.  What he saw relieved him.  Not a trace of doubt.  This was a good thing.  If he couldn't convince Kyle, Jason would be forced to use his powers to alter his best friend's memories so that he only remembered going to the park with Jason and talking about school (normal school, that is).  Kyle just stared at Jason blankly.  After a few moments, Jason began to sweat nervously.  "Kyle?  Say something, please."

"Okay…was this all you wanted to tell me?  Or was there something more?"

"There is more.  Well, it turns out that Kayla is descended from a line with very strong gifts, on both sides.  She will be the strongest in the world one day and will eventually become the world's protector.  Unfortunately, the current protector is using his powers the wrong way.  He doesn't want to give over to her when she comes into his full power so he is trying to kill her because of this."  Jason thought it would be best not to say that this someone was her father.  Someone could be listening.  "So, because of this, she was attacked last night.  Not the first time, but he worst.  Someone, impersonating me I might add, poisoned her.  The nurse was able to neutralize the effects of the drug on her body, but not effortlessly.  Kayla became irrational and had a tendency to say things she didn't mean, including that I hurt her."

"Oh, I see where this is going.  You need girl advice.  You just listen to old Kyle for he will show you the right path.  Let me guess, you got into a huge fight earlier about why you were angry with her."  During this speech, Jason started to look startled.  He looked down at the last, signaling that Kyle was in the bull's-eye.  Kyle narrowed his eyes at his friend.  "What did you say?"

Jason blushed slightly as he mumbled, "That understanding is different than forgiving."

"What did you understand?  Why she said what she did?"  Jason nodded.  "Why won't you forgive her then?"

"Because I am so f-ing angry!"

Kyle looked thoughtful for a moment.  "Hmmm…" he finally murmured.

"'Hmmm…' what?"

"Oh, just that I don't think you are angry at her."

"Whom the hell else could I be mad at?"

"Yourself," Kyle told Jason simply.  "I think you are angry at yourself."

"Why would I be angry at myself?"

"Because you let it happen.  You are worried that you might hurt her again and, you can't stand the thought.  You think that if you had been with her you wouldn't have let it happen.  Your subconscious is telling you to keep away from her and she won't get hurt because of you."

"All right, that makes sense."

"Jason, you are being selfish," Kyle practically shouted, trying to knock some sense into his thickheaded friend.  "You think that if you leave her alone you won't be the cause of any more pain to her?  Did you ever think that by staying away from her, you are causing her pain?  You just thought that it would only hurt you if you stay away from her!  That is totally selfish!"  Kyle stopped for breath and glared his friend down.  "Forgive her already.  Forgive her and things will quickly return to normal.  It would also help if you talked things over with her.  You crushed on her for to long to let her go when you finally have her to yourself."  Jason nodded.  Kyle slapped him on the back.  "Glad that is cleared up.  While we are here, do you want to take me to a nice fish and chips restaurant?"  Jason laughed as the two boys left the park and went to get lunch.  Jason called in his wallet, he had some pounds in there, he thinks.  If not, well, he always has a credit card.  Neither of them noticed a lithe form jump down from a tree and begin to follow them at a discreet distance.