Disclaimer: For the sixth time… I own nothing you recognize! Don't sue me!
A/N: I'm a softie. I couldn't bear to leave you all with half of the characters passed out for very long. …Sigh… I hope you enjoy the appearance of an old friend in this chapter. And, be forewarned. This is confusing. I would recommend, if you're planning on staying with me here, reading this over more than once. In trying to convey the chaos of thought, I have created chaos. If you don't understand, you're always welcome to ask me questions in reviews, private messages, or by e-mail. One last thing, after re-reading what I have up so far, (especially this fluke of a chapter), my work seems very unoriginal. But I have been working hard, and with how fast I've been updating, any time now it will be different. Have faith in me.
Chapter 5
"By the time a man realizes that maybe his father was right, he has a son who thinks he's wrong."
-Charles Wadsworth
Andy woke up to Heather stroking his forehead, not making the slightest noise but with big, watery, light blue eyes that told him it hadn't been a dream. She looked tired, and sad. Not just sad. Beyond any sadness Andy could explain, and he felt a wrench deep in his heart and a slow, heavy teardrop came to rest on the pillow next to him. It was late at night, the windows wereblacked over and a slight layer of pale condensation creeped over them.
'What's going on? Everything is happening at once! This sounds like one of Dad's old stories about his days in school. But never in a million years did I dream I would have to go through this crap, too! Emeline is gone, Uncle Ron is gone… Hermione! Where is she? Is she o.k.?'
Andy sat bolt upright all of a sudden and realized he was in the stark whiteness of the hospital wing. A plump, usually cheery looking woman rushed over to him immediately with a stern look on her face. "You're not ready for that Mr. Potter! Lay down now, before I have to do something drastic!" It was obvious to Andy she was upset about Ron too, as Madame Bones fluffed his pillows and called for Harry to get his butt over there pronto.
Harry walked over to the blustery woman and in a calm voice said, "Susan, now is not the time to fuss, it will only make it worse." This seemed to do the trick, and after pulling Susan Bones into a quick embrace he made his way over to where his son was lying.
Andy was still holding out hope… but the words coming from his own father's mouth had made it real. "Andy, he's gone."
Heather threw herself on to the bed and started crying, she couldn't hold it any longer. Her unrequited love for Andy, the pain of a beloved father's death (even though she was adopted), and the biting urge to find the girl she had sworn she wouldn't let get hurt all spilled out onto the white sheets as she clutched them. It was a futile attempt at holding onto things and people that weren't there anymore. "Dad…" it was a low whisper, but the silence of the cold, white walls of the infirmary carried it to every ear and it's quietness stung the back of everyone's throats and the corners of their eyes. "What happened? What did they do to you? I love you more than anything in the world. I didn't tell you enough." Her head drooped onto Andy's chest out of sheer exhaustion. Andy's face looked up into the grey eyes of Draco Malfoy that seemed so hauntingly familiar to him now.
"I'm going to find Emeline, sir, if it's the last thing I do."
oooo
Castor knew he had to follow it. Right after he had heard the news about his father, he had felt the pull of the imperious curse. His mother and father had taught him to fight it, resist the dreamy urge to do what it asked of him. But he wanted to know who was behind this. "Why did you kill my dad?" Castor puffed up in defense against his unknown enemy. "Where is Emeline? What could she have ever done to you!" He shouted into a surrounding darkness, and then he heard the soft foot falls behind him.
"She's not here." He spun around to see a haunting face, long dark hair, he had seen a picture of this person before, but she can't be this young…"Baby Castor, thought he was all snuggled up in his pretty little castle…"
"Bellatrix… you're Sirius Black's cousin!"
"Nice try, but no…CRUCIO!" Suddenly Castor's body screamed out in pain, like he was rolling on white hot barbed wire, thrown into the Northern Atlantic Ocean in winter, torn my millions of knives, and then, release.
"Let me introduce myself… my name is Andromeda Lestrange, proud daughter of fearless followers of the Dark Lord Himself! He will reward me, once I gain access to the ultimate power and bring him back! And you… you", she spit on his silently writhing form, "are useless to me now."
Then it hit him. Suddenly the exchange between Andy and, 'What was her name again?' made so much more sense. Andromeda was after them, both of them. He vaguely remembered an ancient prophecy he had read about where a relationship was the key to the 'ultimate power'… that would explain why Andy was so ga-ga around her… Andromeda must know about the prophecy, too. Castor knew what he needed to do now. He remembered the direction that the girl had run off to after Andy kissed her. He needed to make sure she didn't wander into Andromeda's clutches with a well- placed imperious curse. She would never listen to him; she didn't even know him. He needed to kidnap her. With a quick POP he apparated outside of the school grounds and ran to where he knew he'd find himself… the hidden room he had found just days before in the restricted section of the library.
It was a sight Castor never thought he would see. He was sitting in the room with Emeline, playing a pretty obnoxious game of wizard's chess. It truly was an out of body experience. It didn't drive him mad to see himself, because he had figured it all out himself. Mom would be proud of him, if he could do this the right way.
oooo
Hermione stifled a sob as Susan handed her a frothing potion, warm in her hands and smelling strongly of petrol. "Hermione, it will help you sleep." The bushy-haired woman just pushed the goblet away. "I won't sleep until I find out where Castor is!"
Draco nodded, "I need Emmie right now, more than anything in the world, and I know how you feel." He shuffled his feet. "Crap. I just wanted to talk to her, tell her what I loved about her mother. What I love about her. Why she means so much to me. I want to tell her why she hadn't set foot inside my school until she was 16. Why she didn't meet any of these people until now… Oh Merlin! She's just met them… why didn't I see it before? Damn it!" An ancient prophecy had just popped into his head, the ultimate power…
Hermione was more that a little confused by this outburst. "What in Merlin's name are you blubbering on about?"
And then, Draco Malfoy's ivory hand reached out to Hermione's dun wrist… "Are you up for a trip to the Hall of Prophecy?"
