Disclaimer: See first Chapter

A/N: Apparently it's against the rules to write reviewer responses but I'll thank everyone who reviewed anyway.

Chapter 19: The Other Side

Jess felt a large weight on him and he cautiously opened his eyes to see Nathan rear end in his face.

"Nathan!" He groaned and shoved the boy off him. Nathan shook his head and looked around beadily.

"Where are we?"

"London." A cool voice answered.

They turned to see Carlie strolling back from somewhere.

"Where have you been?" Jess asked as he stood up shakily.

Carlie smiled. "Checking out where we are. We're in the middle of Diagon Alley, we're out the back of Ollivanders."

"Why didn't you just orb back home and took us with you?" Nathan asked.

"Because my powers aren't working. I think the fact we jumped through the gates the wrong way messed our powers up." Carlie explained.

Jess closed his eyes and attempted to orb. "You're still here dude." Nathan said. Jess opened his eyes and swore. "Damn it! How are we supposed to get back now?"

Carlie smiled. "I'm assuming that Lyndsay still has her powers. Let's give her a ring on the payphone and see if she wants to orb here and save us."

Nathan began to stand up. "I'm up for that idea."

"Me too. We're gonna have to go out to muggle London to ring her." Jess said as they walked around to the front of Ollivanders. The street was packed with witches and wizards shopping which made Jess suspicious.

"Pretty busy for Christmas day." He said.

Carlie agreed. "Maybe we've been gone longer than we thought, probably Boxing Day or something."

Jess peered into the window of Floras and Botts to look for a calendar and when he spotted it, he was completely flabbergasted. He turned to Carlie and Nathan and in a shocked voice said: "It's January 5th!"

"You mean we were gone almost 2 weeks?" Carlie asked.

Jess nodded. "Holy shit our parents must be worried." Nathan said. "Even my parents notice if I'm gone for two weeks." Jess nodded in agreement.

"Come on, we gotta leave before someone recognises us." Carlie pulled the boys along.

They had to walk around for twenty minutes before location a telephone booth. The three of them squashed into it and Carlie dialled Lyndsay's number.

"Hello?" Lyndsay's voice said through the receiver.

"Lyndsay can you orb to London and pick me, Jess and Nathan up?" Carlie asked as she squirmed to get more comfortable as Nathan was pushing her into the phone.

Lyndsay screeched into the phone and Carlie held it away from her ear. "Lyndsay would you shut up, we're on a payphone and I managed to steal some quid from a vending machine but it's not much. Can you have a vision or something about where we are?"

"Yep." And the line went dead.

"Can we get out of here please, I can't feel my legs!" Jess groaned. A familiar sound of blue particles coming together sounded and Lyndsay landed on top of the three sorceresses in the phone booth.

"Grab a hold." Lyndsay advised and she orbed them out of there and to the house.

"Marcus! I have them!" She called to the house. He appeared with Phantal.

"You're alright?" Marcus asked them and they nodded. "We can't use our powers though. Does it have anything to do with jumping through the gates backwards?"

Marcus nodded. "Don't worry, you'll get them back in a few days."

"Have our parents noticed we've been gone?" Nathan asked.

"They know. Well my parents and Nathan's, Marcus wouldn't tell Jess's for some reason."

Jess raised his eyebrows at this. He obviously didn't know why they hadn't been told.

"I'll take Nathan back, his parents are worried sick." Phantal stepped forward and orbed away with Nathan.

"I'll take Jess, you can take Carlie." Marcus told Lyndsay. Carlie and her soon disappeared and Marcus and Jess stood alone.

"Why didn't you tell my parents?" Jess asked.

"You remember what I said about Carlie can't help Sirius because of interfering with the prophecy?" Jess nodded and Marcus continued. "You're parents are death eaters and when Voldemort returns they're going to tell him about you which will land you in serious trouble."

"Wait, did you say you-know-who is going to return?" Jess gasped.

Marcus shrugged. "It doesn't matter. Your parents have a spell that's been put on them so they have no idea you've been gone."

Jess sighed. Why did he have to be different? "Don't worry about orbing me Marcus, I know how to apparate." Jess replied. He didn't want to go home. Not yet.

"Don't splinch yourself." Marcus winked and disappeared in a blast of blue particles.

Jess had been taught at an early age how to apparate. He remembered vividly being a five-year-old child and his father yelling at him about splinching himself.

Isaiah Mcairn snapped at his son. "Concentrate boy." The five-year-old boy looked up at his father with a frightened expression on his features.

"I can't," He croaked and tears slid down his face.

"Stop crying!" He yelled and Jess felt his face sting. "Do it now you useless squib!"

Jess cried harder as he fell to his father's feet. "I can't! I can't," He repeated through the shower of tears.

"Do it!" Isaiah bellowed and Jess flopped on the floor as his father moved back. He tilted his head up and saw him pointing his wand at him………

Jess shivered at the memory. Maybe it was good his parents didn't know. He concentrated hard and hoped to hell he could still do it.

"Good to have you back." Miranda squeezed Carlie. "You're Christmas presents are still under the tree. I had to tell Sara and everyone that you were at Jess' house for Christmas." She laughed.

Miranda left to fix Carlie some food since she hadn't eaten anything in two weeks (though it didn't feel like that to her.)

She was about to follow her mother out of her room when she spotted something gleaming on the floor.

Blood red. She thought as she lifted the pedant up to examine it. Suddenly a large crack echoed through the house and Carlie screamed.

"Hey Carlie." Jess smiled as he stood on her bed.

"Aren't you too young to apparate?" Carlie asked as he jumped down from the bed. Miranda stuck her head in the room and smiled at Jess. "Want some food? I've got tons left over from Christmas."

"That'd be great Miranda." He said and she disappeared again.

"That was my Christmas present to you." He pointed at the pendant. "Merry Christmas."

Carlie threw her arms around him. "Thanks Jess. I have something for you." She opened her closet and rummaged around. She pulled out a box and thrust it at him.

"Merry Christmas." She said. Jess opened the lid and inside was a heap of CD's.

"They're all burnt. I thought you'd like a lot of the music. It's a bit of everything since I got it from the whole group and our group is way different as you know." Carlie explained as Jess lifted some of the disks out of the box.

"Thanks Carlie but I don't have a CD player." Jess suddenly realized.

"I shouldn't tell you this but Lyndsay and Nathan bought you one."

He placed the lid back on and left the box on Carlie's floor as he went to eat 'Christmas lunch' with Miranda and Carlie.

"Back to the Hogwarts." Carlie groaned. As the train came to a stop at Hogsmede station.

"Hogwarts is kinda boring after everything we went through this holidays." Jess remarked.

"Yeah it is. I found a body at a party and was sent to hell. How much more exciting can you get?"

Jess waved his hand at the door. (Their powers had return after a few days just as Marcus said.) "Spells off the compartment. You go through first."

Carlie exited and Jess disappeared from sight but Carlie knew he was there. They found a carriage but this time they weren't horseless.

"Check it out. The carriages have horses on them." Carlie said as they took off for the castle.

"They always had horses on them. You just couldn't see them." Jess replied. "They're threstrals. You can only see them if you've seen death. I've always seen them" Jess said the last part very quietly.

Carlie did push the matter and they sat in silence as they sped towards the castle.

"How was that party you went to?" Lee asked as they sat sprawled out on the Gryffindor common room floor.

Carlie smiled. She couldn't wait to hear their reactions. "It was wild. There was a murder and everything. My friends and I found the body."

There was silence and then George said "No way." Carlie nodded and fumbled in her pocket. She passed them a tattered newspaper clipping. "I'm in the second paragraph, as the unnamed teen." Carlie explained.

"Did they catch the guy who did it?" Lee asked eagerly.

"Yep. Straightaway. I have to go on the witness stand next week." Carlie said.

"That means you get to miss out on class." Fred said.

"Yeah I do. Since I have to travel I miss out on the whole day."Carlie remarked.

/Carlie. I have to talk to you. Now./ Jess messaged her.

Carlie jumped up. "Sorry boys but I have another engagement." She got up and headed out the portrait hole.

/Mcairn where are you/ Carlie asked as she strolled down the now deserted halls.

"Right here." Carlie spun around and slapped him. "Stop doing that. It's really freaky."

He put a finger to his lips and nodded at a classroom. He took her by the hand and led her to the doorway. He pushed it open slightly and peered in. Carlie copied.

Carlie lost her breath when she saw who was standing there. A horrible winged demon and Quirrel were standing there speaking quietly.

"They know. If I help you get past the dog, you'll bring me the two of them." It hissed.

Quirrel looked nervous as a voice spat back – "Get the stone and we will even kill them for you."

"No. I need them alive. Which is why I will only get you as far as the dog." The demon told them.

"Fine. I get you Mason and Mcairn and you get me passed that dog." Quirell said without so much as a stutter.

"Done. We do not want these mortal wizards picking up on who they are." The demon said.

"Who are they?" Quirrel asked but the demon slapped him with its wing.

"It doesn't matter to you. You'll need this to charm the master of the dog." He pushed something into his hand. "I will teach until I have them. After that you're on your own."

Jess pulled Carlie back and nodded for her to leave. They moved as quickly and as quietly they could from the classroom.

"Voldemort knows about us!" Carlie said in a panicked whispered. "And what was that about a dog?"

Jess shook his head. "Carlie, we can't be left with Quirrel alone. Whatever you do, keep with someone. The demon won't risk it, as he said he doesn't want the whole school knowing about us."

Carlie shook involuntary. "It's been hard enough to sit in his classes knowing he's being possessed by Voldemort but how are we supposed to deal if it's a demon?"

"You'll get by, you always do." Jess smiled. "You better get back before someone spots us."

Carlie nodded and as Quirrel walked out of the classroom he swore he saw a bunch of flying blue specks in the hall.