The room was empty, except for a single glowing candle. It fluttered as the heavy oak door smoothly opened and a cloaked figure entered the chamber.
"Lilith?" Alex asked, pulling back her cloak. She glanced around the chamber. the light from the candle was too dim to show much. For all she knew she could be hiding in one of the corners. "Lilith? Are you here?" Alex asked again, this time there was annoyance in her voice.
"I'm here."
Alex let out a gasp, twirling around, her sudden movements plunged the room into darkness as the candle went out.
"Bullocks." Lilith muttered. Alex felt a strong hand grab her arm and she was suddenly pulled forward. "I'd prefer the lights on. But it's all the same to me." Lilith whispered into Alex's ear.
Alex pulled away, snapping her fingers. She gasped again when scores of other candles flared to life around her. Alex looked around, wide-eyed.
"What is this?" She demanded, in awed tones.
Lilith grinned. "I just thought you'd might want a little break from all that concentrating." She replied, taking a step forward.
"I can't." Alex muttered, shaking her head. "Samuel's gonna kill me if I don't get the Well opened soon enough."
Lilith frowned. 'I went to a lot of trouble to set this up." She said. "Bugger Sammy boy. There's nothing to worry about. You'll open the damn Well and everything will be golden."
"I…where did you get all of this?" Alex asked, changing the subject.
Lilith grinned. 'We're in a school, girl. There's not a thing that's locked up, hidden away, or stacked under spells that I can't find." She replied, cheerfully. "This place is rich. Those snot nosed bastards don't know what they have."
Alex shrugged. "I haven't gone topside in a while." She said, tracing a finger upon the heavily laden table. The cloth covering the table was extremely fine and extremely soft. She wondered what it was, silk?
Lilith pulled Alex away from the table and toward her, tilting her head up and staring into her eyes. "You should, dear. There's things out there that I haven't seen since I was a kid. There are things that I didn't think I'd ever see again. Rich things, beautiful things." Lilith whispered, her voice growing soft. "Good food, beautiful music, breathtaking art, fine cloth, and all the jewels a girl would want."
Alex sighed at Lilith's expression. "We have a job to do, Lily." She said.
Lilith let out a bark of laughter and pulled away from Alex. She flopped down into a dark chair heavily inlaid with ivory and silver. "They never told us things would be this good, y'know. They never said that things could have been better. That life itself could have been better." Lilith suddenly got to her feet and reached out and cupped Alex's face. "We could make a wonderful life here, Alex. You and me. Forget all of this Heir crap. Forget the Well. Forget the damned Plan. We could just run. Run away from all of this. They wouldn't be able to find us here."
Alex closed her eyes. "We have job to do." She whispered.
Lilith grunted as if struck. 'Fine. Be Sammy's little lapdog. Bow to his commands." She snapped, pulling back. "I for one. I for one am getting sick of it all. It's no longer the option between death and the Heir. There are suddenly so many possibilities out there."
Alex slid down into a chair, and dropped her head into her hands, taking a deep breath. "Its just…it's just that this has been my life for so long. I don't' know what else I'd do."
Lilith crouched before Alex, taking her long slender hands into hers. "Do you love me, Alex?" She asked.
"Yes." Alex responded immediately.
"There's a whole beautiful world out there, Alex. One that's just waiting for us. Let us leave all of this behind and begin anew. Build something that can't be so easily torn apart by the Heir."
Alex looked into Lilith's eyes. "Okay." She whispered.
XXX
"Oh, great." Hannah Abbot muttered as she glanced at the entrance to the Great Hall.
Ernie Macmillan looked up from his dinner. The room seemed to suddenly go quiet as Harry Potter entered the Great Hall. He stood there for a moment and scanned the Hall, everyone watching him as he headed toward his house table. He moved quickly, his shoulders hunched and his eyes staring straight at the floor. Ernie watched as Harry sat at the end of the long Gryffindor table, he noticed several others sliding away from him, so that there was a large gap between him and the nearest student.
"At least he didn't start attacking anyone." Hannah said as she resumed eating her dinner. Ernie nodded slowly, his eyes still upon Harry sitting alone.
He felt an urge to go up to him and talk to him. To say something. Not to reprimand him for his actions. Just to extend a hand of friendship. He didn't hold anything against Harry for what happened the day before. But he continued to sit upon his seat and stare down at his meal, occasionally shifting it with his fork.
"I hear McGonagall's stripped the whole Gryffindor house of points." Hannah continued. "They'll never win the House Cup this year. Of course our chances are just as slim. A hundred points!" Hannah snapped a breadstick in half, shooting a glare at Harry. "He started the fight not us."
Again Ernie nodded, unable to think of anything else to say.
"But then again. Everyone who was involved it the fight got a hundred points taken away." Hannah nodded to herself. "Maybe we still have a chance."
"Maybe." Ernie agreed.
Ernie glanced to the entrance and saw Ron enter the Hall. He scanned the Gryffindor table and headed there, but not sitting anywhere near Harry. Instead sitting by Seamus and Dean who were among those avoiding Harry. Ernie wondered what had happened between the two. Weren't they good friends?
"At least Ronald knows not to hang around Harry anymore." Hannah said, noticing Ron's avoidance of Harry. "We should all stay away from him. You don't know when the next time he'll snap and try to kill another student."
"You can't blame him. He's been through a lot." Ernie said.
Hannah frowned. "Whatever." She muttered.
"Who knows why he attacked Draco. Maybe Draco did something to him to deserve the attack." Ernie said.
Again Hannah frowned. "He's… unstable. You know how he ran off last year, to do what? Fight in the Ministry? To fight You Know Who." She shuddered at the thought. "He's crazy. That's what he is."
Ernie shot a glance back toward Harry, this time he noticed a figure walking toward him. It took him a moment to realize that it was Luna Lovegood. She sat down before him and began talking animatedly with him. After a moment Harry began responding.
"Crazy." Hannah said, watching the two.
Ernie sighed. "Yeah." He muttered.
XXX
The door opened smoothly and softly.
"They're plotting to run away." Able said, pulling off the invisibility cloak.
Samuel looked up from the large book upon his lap, his face hard and expressionless. "Damn." He muttered.
"What are we going to do?" Able asked.
"What do you think?" Samuel replied. "They can't go running off."
Able nodded. "When?" He asked.
"When the wards upon the Well are broken."
XXX
Until Next Chapter!!!