Title: Light
Author: Amelia Bedelia
Chapter Twenty-Two: The Second Threat
AUTHORS NOTE: Rather short chapter, actually, but I have plenty thoughts for the next chapter… :D
And for those wondering – I believe there will be two chapters left after this one. (I know, it's so upsetting, especially to the author. My first baby is almost finished growing up!) Ah well… Plenty of other stories are making their way to the paper very soon…
Enjoy!
Chapter Twenty-Two: The Second Threat
"This way!"
Bella saw that they were advancing toward a small wall with an opening the size of a door, barely visible in the night.
Breanna snatched Bella's wrist and pulled her towards the large opening. They continued running until Breanna whispered in a sharp intake of breath, "To the right!"
Bella did not question her whatsoever. She knew that Breanna was the one person who knew the layout of the castle better than most. The tunnels and secret passages were unlimited, but many were yet to be discovered.
"Through – the window," Breanna gasped as they plowed on. She pointed to a location where a window once stood, but immediately ducked as a spell nearly hit her ear.
"They're getting away!" a voice behind them shouted angrily. "We can't let them escape – they're just kids!"
I turned seventeen six months ago, Bella thought irritably. I am considered an adult, thank you very much…
"Take the steps," Breanna interrupted. She hurried Bella up a few steps and then directly back down. Bella found herself staring up at the long staircase to the keep.
"We're going up? Are you insane?" Bella hissed, raising her voice ever so slightly.
Breanna shook her head and reached for the large tapestry draping over the wall. She pulled back a corner and slid her hand across the stone behind it.
"Are we looking for something?"
"There is a passage," Breanna said quickly, "directly behind the tapestry. It is a tunnel that circles the castle wall." She continued feeling around for any opening she could find. "I know you're here…"
Bella peeked out from behind the tapestry timidly. She squinted, looking for cloaked figures. Please don't find us… she pleaded frantically, crossing her fingers.
She scanned the yard once more. Bella ended, finding a large figure galloping strangely to her right, down the steps. The Death Eater held their side and groaned in pain. Frightened at the sudden arrival, Bella squeaked and backed into the wall. She felt something behind her make a solid thunk.
Breanna froze at the sound. "What was that?"
Bella spun, staring at the wall. It was no longer solid. In fact, there was a long, thin crack in the wall.
"Quick," Breanna hissed, hearing the sound of rapid footsteps behind them. She shoved at the door and pushed Bella inside and followed her, squeezing through the small crack the door had to offer.
But to Breanna's surprise, the moment she stepped inside, she, in fact, stepped on nothing at all. There was no floor beneath her.
Breanna screamed.
-----------------------------------James-----------------------------------
"Crucio!"
James pulled his legs up to his chest, as if it were helping the pain. He clutched desperately to the chains above his head and bit deep into his lip.
Voldemort's wand lifted, allowing James to sigh in relief. The pain is over, he thought with a sharp, but uncomfortable, tingle running up his spine. James allowed his legs to drop down, still several inches from the ground. He licked his lips and swallowed the salty taste of blood.
"You can see," Voldemort stated clearly. "Why else would you be here today?"
James dropped his head, refusing to answer.
"I sent a vision and was hoping to have a chat with you sooner or later." Voldemort fingered his wand as a slow, merciless smile spread across his face. "I leave you with three choices."
James did not like the sound of where their "chat" was going.
"Number one," the Dark Lord said, stepping closer to James, "you tell me how you gained the sight. Number two," he stated, walking even closer, "you join me without any recollection of your previous life and will remain as a walking zombie in my possession." Voldemort took the final step, piercing James with a ferocious stare. "Or you may die." He smirked. "Your choice."
Several figures shifted uncomfortably in the corner of James' eye. He felt no remorse for them whatsoever. Cowards…
Bravely, James raised his head and defiantly shook it with a sharp no.
"No?" Voldemort asked, verifying the answer. He moved away, rejoining the circle surrounding James. He spun and drew out his wand, shouting, "Intrinsecus Segmentum!"
James could not hold in his scream. His insides felt as if they were shredding to pieces, pulling himself apart. He longed to reach for his stomach and soothe the pain, but found that he could not move.
"You do not beg for mercy!" Voldemort shouted over James' yells. Abruptly, he pulled away his wand.
James fell silent. His eyes followed every move of the Dark Lord's wand, hoping to anticipate his next move.
"It's new," Voldemort spoke conversationally. "Did you like it?"
"Why do you want me?" James shouted, looking much more powerful than he felt. "I can't help you!"
"But you can, dear boy." Voldemort grinned. "I know that you have the sight."
James attempted to shrug casually, but was restrained by the chains holding his arms into the air. "It's in my blood," he said simply, acting as if he were brushing this fact off. "There is no way that I can transfer it to anyone other than my children."
Voldemort threw back his head and laughed. His evil cackles quickly disappeared without a trace, escaping into the starry night. "Don't be silly," Voldemort interrupted. "I know what they did."
James raised an eyebrow, honestly confused. "What who did?" He shook his head, confounded by the strange outcomes of the night. "I was born with the ability to see while I dream. It's nothing I was given as a present." Sighing, James continued. "I can't just hand it over, like you said."
The Dark Lord paused. James grew curious, wishing he could know what Voldemort was thinking. But by the looks of it, he would have said they were both as confused as the other.
Voldemort raised his wand rapidly and drew a swift slicing motion in the air. Without a chance to prepare himself, James fell onto the ground, feeling the levitation spell being lifted off of him. He heard a metal clanking noise and felt the chains around his wrist drop into his lap.
James had just begun to massage his aching shoulders and wrists from the strain of hanging in the air for so long, just as Voldemort sent two men to his side, dragging him through the dirt by his arms.
"It's to the old quarters for you," the man on his right grunted.
With an inward groan, James allowed himself to be pulled across the grounds to his new cell. I got out once – do they think I won't find a way out again?
The same building that James had been locked inside previously loomed into sight. However, to his surprise (and relief), the men did not stop there. They approached the building beside James' cell and entered.
They slowed to a stop and the men on James' left fumbled with his pocket. There was a soft clinking sound, very similar to that of metal against metal. James assumed the noise to be a set of keys, apparently a set to open whatever door they had stopped at.
Where on earth are we…?
James was taken aback as they began to move again, but it wasn't for long.
"Sit," one of the men commanded. They picked James up and dropped him onto a wooden bench in the middle of an empty room. Four torches lit the corners, casting light onto each of the bare walls and revealing no windows whatsoever.
The two men sped back to the door and turned towards James, obviously guarding the door for any unexpected intruders. It was then that he realized these men were nearly twice the size and weight of James.
Ah, James thought miserably, this is their plan to avoid any escapes on my part. James applauded Voldemort for the thought of a guarded cell in his head.
I've got no chance.
()()()()()() Breanna ()()()()()()
After a few feet down, Breanna felt her hit a sloped, stone rock. Without a chance to regain any balance or to open her eyes, she went sliding to the bottom of the wet rock, a good thirty feet down.
It took Breanna several moments to realize she had stopped, lying on her back in a very shallow puddle. Nervously, she opened her eyes and was met with an unpleasant darkness.
"Bella…?" Breanna groaned slightly as she felt the water sink uncomfortably through her school uniform.
"Breanna!"
"Where are you?" Breanna crawled onto her hands and knees, inching slowly toward the voice. She held her hands out in front of her so as not to run into the slimy walls.
"I'm over here," Bella whispered. "Follow my – Breanna!" Bella gasped as a hand hit her leg, but soon sighed, relieved.
"It's me," Breanna soothed, linking her arm through Bella's. They leaned against the wall, catching their breath.
"Well," Bella muttered, "I don't think we're going back the way we came…"
"Our best bet is to just keep walking straight. It should lead directly to the gatehouse and, hopefully, to an exit."
Breanna could feel the doubt in her friend's voice as she spoke. "Hopefully? What do you mean hopefully?"
"Well… It's been known for the people who built this castle to build many passages, as you know."
"Yes…" Bella muttered, her stomach sinking.
"However, they're not exactly known for making the passages simple…"
"Breanna!"
"It's our only chance!" Breanna retorted, tempted to make a face at Bella, but soon realized that Bella would not be able to see.
"Fine," Bella gave in. She reached to her long hair and squeezed out the water that clung to her blonde curls and quickly threw it up into a ponytail. "But I am not leaving my hair down anymore. The minute I get home, I'm chopping it all off. This is just gross. We don't even know what's in that water…"
Breanna did the same as Bella, disgusted by the fact that there was a puddle of who-knows-what at the bottom of the long slide.
"My clothes are wet," Bella complained, as they felt their way through the darkness. "I nearly broke my leg on the fall down, I am freezing from being soaked and underground in the middle of the night, and we are so dead when Dumbledore figures out what we did."
"Stop thinking of the negative," Breanna said quietly, afraid that they could still be heard. "Start thinking of the good things that may happen. You'll be able to cut your hair and get a new look, we could catch Death Eaters, and Dumbledore might even applaud us for rescuing my parents!"
Bella did not speak for several minutes. "But what if we don't make it?" she asked. "Do you think anyone will ever find us down here? Or what if we make it and no one else does. What then?"
"Stop," Breanna commanded firmly. "I already said that we won't think of the negative, Bella. We can't afford to - "
They had both walked directly into a solid wall.
"Oy!" Bella shouted, annoyed. "Who had the bright idea to put a wall here?"
"This must be where we turn…"
"Turn?" Bella felt herself being pulled to her left.
"We have nowhere else to go!"
Bella groaned, upset at the maze they had encountered. The girls walked for, what seemed like, several miles. It wasn't until Breanna stopped in her tracks that they took any break.
"Look!" she whispered. "There's something up there – I can see it!"
Bella squinted and then nodded, taken aback. "It's a light of some sort…"
The girls walked swiftly towards the light and soon realized it was not a light at all.
"A ghost!" Bella shouted, beginning to run. Twice, she slipped, but both times, Bella was able to regain her balance.
"Hey!" she called, excited to find someone other than them inside the maze.
"Yes?"
"Princess Elizabeth!" Bella grinned. "Breanna, look, it's Princess Elizabeth – she died here several hundred years ago!"
Breanna reached the source of the light, breathing heavily. Frowning, she nodded her head towards the young lady. She couldn't have been much older than fifteen. "How do you do?"
"Horribly dreadful. People keep moving into my home!" she shrieked, flopping her long, blonde hair over the shoulder of her nightgown. "You should see the things they do…"
"It's awful," Bella answered. "But we're trying to leave. Those men brought us here by force," she continued eagerly. "We've been trying to leave, and thought we might be able to get out through here but we seem to have lost our way." Bella crossed her fingers behind her back.
The ghost narrowed her eyes and floated down to eye level. And with a simple flick of her hand, she answered, "Of course."
"Really?" Bella looked over at an uneasy Breanna, grinning. "Could you help us out?"
Princess Elizabeth pointed down a long path, her finger glowing. "To the end of this path. Take a left and then the first right. There should be a set of stairs leading out of the castle."
Bella giggled, unable to control her excitement.
"That was the same path my father took, you know. To escape," she clarified, wistfully drifting into an old memory. "He was caught all three times."
Bella swallowed. "Well," she said hurriedly, interrupting the long silence, "we'll just be off now. Thank you again, Princess Elizabeth!"
The Princess waved her small, delicate fingers, smiling forcefully. She floated up through the ceiling.
"You heard her," Bella said quietly, once again growing accustomed to the darkness. "Let's get out of here."
"Wait," Breanna whispered, following Bella cautiously, "didn't that seem a bit odd?"
"What was there to be odd about it? She hates the Death Eaters. She wants them to leave!"
"But do you honestly think she would just give us instructions out?" Breanna shivered. "You even said not to trust the ghosts that live here, because they could be working against us."
Breanna felt her friend shrug as they plowed on. "She was nice enough, though, wasn't she? I trust her."
"Bella, that's because you love history. You would do anything to be closer with history!" Breanna yanked on Bella's arm, pulling them to a stop. "We can't trust someone we just met."
"If it leads to a dead end, we'll turn around, alright?" Bella continued walking, ignoring Breanna's protests to stop.
"I don't trust her, Bella. There was something there I just didn't like…"
Bella sighed as they made their way through the passages. They reached the steps.
"Bad idea," Breanna said for the last time. "I honestly think this is a bad choice – she wanted us to go here, but not to get out of the castle, Bella." She pushed Bella into the wall, stopping her from going any further. "I don't believe she ran into us by accident."
"Look," Bella hissed, pointing a finger into Breanna's face, "we have no other choice! Let's just try this and see what happens!"
And before Breanna could stop her, Bella ran to the top of the steps. Above her were two, large, wooden doors, lying just over the exit, side by side. With a forceful shove, Bella pushed aside the two doors and climbed out into the night.
"Bella!"
Breanna scrambled up behind her, following her friend. As she drew nearer to the top, the image of her muddy clothes came slowly into view and the thought that she had left her cloak back in their cell, unable to cover herself from the cold, harsh wind she was about to meet.
But that wasn't all they met. Princess Elizabeth grinned smugly and waved her fingers just as a large group of Death Eaters approached them.
"Oh, shit."
!Lily!
The red-head pushed the group of three up the steps. "We need to go now to help James!" Lily shouted, panicked. "I left him back at the tower several minutes ago – who knows what the Dark Lord may be doing to him now…"
Sirius perked up at this news as they circled the steps. "The Dark Lord already sent for him? Are you sure?"
Lily nodded and kicked her speed up a notch. "Long story, but James was walking to the bowling green the minute I left."
Mr. Roysen inserted his thoughts. "With kicking, screaming, and a good struggle," he said softly, "it takes ten minutes from the keep to the bowling green."
Lily nodded, estimating James' possible arrival time. "About the same," she nodded, swallowing nervously.
Remus shushed the group with a cutting motion of his hand, and poked his head out of the door in the wall. He closed his eyes and focused on his hearing. No one coming… "Let's go."
Mr. Roysen pointed to the set down and said, "Death Eaters walk past every three minutes."
Sirius' eyes widened as he turned to Remus. "You mean we could have been seen earlier?"
Remus brushed him off, waving a hand. "What's done is done. Mr. Roysen, which way should we go?"
The father cleared his throat and blinked several times, obviously trying to get used to everything that was happening so abruptly. His pale face seemed to have twice the number of wrinkles it once had. "The only other way is to walk along the balcony."
"Right," Lily nodded, pulling them off to the right. She pulled up her hood, shielding her features. Quickly, she dug into her robe and pulled out her wand, holding it to her side. Lily's hand twitched nervously.
"What are you planning on doing?" Sirius asked, raising an eyebrow curiously.
"Stay a bit behind me," Lily advised, speaking softly out of the corner of her mouth. "I can fool them into believing I'm a Death Eater, so I'll be able to walk down the steps without any suspicions."
Remus nodded. He motioned to Sirius and Mr. Roysen, telling them to duck low, close to the wall.
They crouched in silence for several minutes before Lily whispered, "This is it. I'll go down the steps. If I don't come back up for you, I want you to turn back and head toward the keep, I'll meet you there."
The three kneeling boys nodded without a word.
They walked another few yards and Lily held a hand out discreetly, telling them to stop. She walked down the steps.
"Evening," a deep, booming voice said.
Lily scanned the large group at the base of the stairs. Nine, she thought to her self, feeling her knees weaken under the stares around her. Bravely, Lily nodded back to the Death Eater on the bottom right who had spoken to her, and abruptly refocused her eyes onto the road ahead.
"Heading towards the meeting?" the same voice asked. "I heard he's got someone."
"Ay," a girlish voice agreed. "Goes by the name of James Potter." Lily could see yellow teeth from underneath the hood. "I helped track down the Potters several years ago, I did."
Lily attempted to block out the talk that surrounded her, merely nodding. She reached the bottom step with a shaky foot, sighing with relief. The keep, she reminded herself. I need to get back to the keep.
"Wait a minute," a voice beside her said, hitting Lily's arm. The man pointed to the top of the steps, squinting. "There's someone up there…"
Lily grasped her wand tightly in her right hand as a group of Death Eaters walked quickly up the stairs.
And with an earth shattering yell, the man shouted, "They escaped! Get them!"
It took no second thoughts for Lily to immediately begin shooting any spell she could have ever learned. "Stupefy!" she shouted. "Engorgio! Expeliarmus!"
Cloaked men spun in confusion, eyeing Lily in fear. She watched as one man froze, dropping to the ground as if he had passed out. Another began to inflate, eyes wide in panic. "Hey!" the man shouted as arms and legs began flailing as he began to slowly roll away. "Help – someone help!"
Lily's final spell had been dodged by the third Death Eater; the woman that had tracked down the Potter's house. Without a moment to waste, the woman, too, began firing spells at Lily.
"Get 'em!" a voice at the top of the steps shouted. Lily recognized it as Sirius' voice. She glanced quickly behind the lady with whom she was battling and groaned. Sirius, along with the other two, had been unable to get away. Currently, Sirius was floating in the air, Remus had a Gripping Charm put onto his arm so that the Death Eater was able to easily pull him down the steps, and Mr. Roysen was simply under the full body-bind, clearly unresponsive.
"Protego!" Lily shouted, sending a nasty jelly-legs jinx back to the woman. The small woman, however, did not see this coming and was struck. She grasped for any support she could find, unable to stop her dancing.
"Ha!" Lily grinned, and turned, finding her next victim. She felt the rush of dueling come back to her; it had been so long since she had battled against James Potter.
But her exhilaration was cut short. She was immediately caught from behind.
"Got'cha," a voice whispered harshly, snatching her right hand. He wrung her arm around behind her and plied the wand from her grip, beaming. "The Dark Lord will be proud to see that we have a new little friend to play with…"
"Let go of me!" Lily shrieked, pulling at her arms. The more she began to tug, the further back the man would pull her arms behind her. Soon, two other Death Eaters had arrived, helping to carry Lily away.
After several minutes of shouting and screaming, Lily slowly began to give up. She looked miserably to her right. Remus was continuing to fight the Death Eaters with every muscle he had in his body. He was, in fact, doing pretty well for himself. His werewolf strength had required four Death Eaters to keep him under control, one for each appendage.
In front of her, Lily could see two men holding Mr. Roysen on his side, still frozen. The father's face peeked out from beside one of the Death Eaters. His eyes stared back at her, but she could not stand the sadness that filled him.
Looking to her left, Lily hoped to find Sirius just as motivated as Remus, struggling as much as possible. But he had simply given up, most likely long before Lily had. She had never seen Sirius so quiet or still. His head was drooped onto his chest, weakly. Lily knew that he had seen her watching him, but Sirius made no movement to acknowledge her in any way.
Sirius, Lily cried out to him desperately, I'm sorry! It's my fault… Lily felt her eyes begin to well up.
But as soon as she was about to turn away from Sirius, Lily saw his face turn slowly towards her. Sirius' frown dropped, replaced when a secret smile, one that only Lily could see. And with a quick nod, he winked and turned back to staring at the ground.
Lily understood. Hiding her smile, Lily felt herself swell with a sense of hope.
We're not finished yet…
()()()()()() Breanna ()()()()()()
Breanna was frozen to the spot. She heard one word from her pale companion.
"Oops."
"Exactly," Breanna agreed, staring into the faces of many different Death Eaters.
"I guess," Bella muttered, as if the arrival of these cloaked followers were only a small hitch in their plan, "this can only lead to one thing."
Breanna nodded, eyeing the group as they stepped closer. "Now?"
Bella took a deep breath and sighed. "Better than never…"
Immediately, both girls took off in a flash, tearing past the outer most edges of the tight semi-circle; one girl on the left and the other to the right.
I can't believe we listened to that horrible ghost, Breanna grumbled, her adrenaline beginning to kick in for the second time that night. She skidded around corners and jumped through bushes, each time landing daintily on her feet.
Breanna ducked as curses narrowly missed her head. But the further she ran, the softer the voices came that were chasing her. I can outrun them! she thought, pushing herself to the maximum.
With a quick glance over her shoulder, Breanna was unable to see any Death Eaters and took her chance to dive into the nearest building.
She hadn't even had time to recognize which building she was entering. For all Breanna knew, she could have been entering a Death Eater hangout and wouldn't have know it.
Thankfully, of course, she had not walked in on several skulking Death Eaters. In fact, it looked, nearly, quite the opposite. The room was filled with torches and candles, casting light into each and every corner of the room. Bright, golden banners embellished the pureness of the room; it was as if nothing could touch her in here.
Above her were large, wooden beams that ran horizontally across the ceiling, supporting the roof. Several windows lined walls between long, flowing drapes that fell elegantly to the stone floor. She dropped her eyes to the back of the wall and felt her jaw drop automatically. Pushed against the wall was a table holding many different items made of gold, including plates, goblets, and knives.
The Great Hall, Breanna realized, astounded at the many differences between this room and the one in Hogwarts'.
Walking between two long sets of tables, Breanna gasped, taking in the paintings on the wall. She recognized none of the portraits or landscapes, but it was enough to make her momentarily forget her true reason for being in this room in the first place.
Shaking her head, Breanna gathered herself together and darted behind a red curtain, trying holding her breath so as not to breathe in any of the thick layer of dust held behind it.
Ten minutes, Breanna thought to herself, counting silently in her head. Just stay for ten minutes until the coast is clear.
Breanna had not even made it to the number "thirty" before she heard, with a start, the door slam open and several pairs of feet clunk dully across the floor.
Don't make a sound, Breanna commanded of herself, closing her eyes in fear.
The room was quiet for several seconds, followed by a loud crash.
Breanna did not move, merely swallowed. She could feel several wands at work, lifting the tables in the room and throwing them against the walls, looking for her. With a painful clang, Breanna cringed as she heard the table of finely polished gold silverware crashed to the floor.
All that beauty, Breanna mourned, biting her lip, broken. And with a horrible image, Breanna thought, Imagine all of the paintings…
Still silent, Breanna did not move, hoping the Death Eaters would give up on her. And for a minute, she almost believed that they had. She heard several footsteps heading towards the exit.
With a jolt of surprise, a raspy voice shouted loudly, "Flabrorum!" Without warning, Breanna felt her dusty drape smack her roughly in the face and then proceed to fly past her, hanging in the air. But her drape was not the only one to be pulled away; in fact, all curtains seemed to be floating and facing the same direction as if wind had blown them all aside.
Looking back towards the door, Breanna swallowed as the Death Eaters grinned out of the corners of their mouths.
"You tried your best, little girl," the raspy-voiced Death Eater said. "But it wasn't enough."
+ Bella +
Bella split as fast as she could possible, cursing her late night snacks in the kitchen. It all comes back to bite you in the bum, she thought, ignoring her aching side.
"Don't let them get away again!" someone shouted from behind Bella.
"We'll see about that," Bella muttered under her breath as she ran as far in the opposite direction of Breanna as possible, wishing she had Breanna's ability to run.
Bella had no idea where it was she was planning on going. She didn't even have any idea where she had started off to begin with. Bloody ghost, Bella cursed. I can't believe I listened to that ghost! I knew she was bad news all along – I should have listened to Breanna…
As her feet began to thud into soft, wet grass, Bella found it harder and harder to travel as fast as she had on the dirt path. Panicked, she threw a glance behind her and realized it was nearly twice as bad for the many Death Eaters that seemed to have several more years on their bodies than Bella.
Smirking slightly to herself, Bella turned back forward.
It's getting darker…
The torches that helped to light up the paths had disappeared and it was growing harder to see where Bella was going. She was running blindly without any knowledge of where she was.
Nearly as soon as Bella realized it was too dark to see her own two hands, she ran straight into a hard, solid object, level with her waist. Unable to steady herself, Bella flipped over the obstacle and landed sprawled onto a mound of dirt, face first.
No time to run, Bella realized as the thudding footsteps closed in on her.
She quickly crawled back to the block that had stopped her and leaned against the back of it, pulling her legs close to her chest.
Don't find me, Bella pleaded frantically, feeling her heart speed up dramatically.
With her head buried between her legs, Bella prayed for a miracle. It wasn't until she began breathing again that she realized the entire group of Death Eaters had already passed, thinking she had continued on.
She held in her sigh and gripped onto the stone behind her, pulling herself to her feet. Curiously, Bella looked back at the stone, attempting to figure out what exactly she had tripped over.
Brushing dirt off from her clothes, Bella's eyes widened as she read the top three letters, RIP. She slowly looked around the yard and found this was not the only grave marker around. In fact, to her shock, it was an entire graveyard accompanied with a small chapel several yards away.
How ironic, Bella smirked, running back in the direction that she had come from. My life was saved by some dead guy's tomb stone…
()()()()()() Breanna ()()()()()()
"Where are you taking me?" Breanna screamed, kicking her feet into the air. Seconds after taking her into the care of the Death Eaters, they soon realized she would not be an easy hostage. The largest man there picked her up easily and threw her over his shoulder as if she were a bag of potatoes.
"You'll find out soon enough," the Death Eater behind the large man yawned. He dropped his wand and scratched his head. "When are we going home?"
The other Death Eater, rather thin, had joined the conversation in, what sounded like, a very bad mood. "If you did not wish to obey his orders, you should have reconsidered joining in the first place!"
Breanna rolled her hands into fists and began to pound repeatedly on the back of the Death Eater who was carrying her. "Put me down! I can walk, you know!"
"Adligo," the tired man before her said lazily, swooshing his wand through the air in a messy circle. Immediately, Breanna felt her two forearms stick together, unable to pull them apart. She attempted to continue pounding on the large Death Eater but found it nearly impossible in her new condition.
"Now you think of it…" the thin man muttered, looking away with his nose slightly stuck into the air.
"Hey," the tired man interrupted, not sounding tired at all anymore, "you had the opportunity to do the same thing – why didn't you do it, huh?"
Breanna rolled her eyes as the two men began to argue. If she had been walking on her own feet, she might have used this as her chance to escape, but found no hope of getting away while she was seven feet into the air.
"Knock it off," the man holding Breanna finally said. "We're almost there."
Not only had the two men stopped their bickering, Breanna felt her stomach squirm uncomfortably. She remembered why she was here in the first place and paled.
What's going to happen to me…?
After several more steps, Breanna felt like she was about to puke. I'm done, she thought. I'm finished with this horrible nightmare – someone wake me up!
A scratchy voice interrupted the silence.
"Drop her with the others."
Breanna's eyes widened. She looked as far left and right as she could and began to see several men in cloaks. As the arguing men that had been walking with them took the empty spots, Breanna figured out that she was now on the inside of a circle of Death Eaters.
Roughly, she was thrown to the ground, arms still bound together by an invisible tie. She felt two hands catch her before she rolled back any further. Surprised, Breanna spun and was immediately filled with relief. Remus smiled quickly at her, gently touching her back in comfort. Sitting beside him was Sirius, watching each of the Death Eaters carefully with a look of intent frustration. Behind the two boys, Lily had rolled into a small ball and was beginning to rock back and forth, very nervous.
Breanna turned back to the front and found, to her astonishment, her dad kneeling with his head bowed before Voldemort. Dad! she shouted in her mind, hiding her grin. He slowly looked up from his position and toward his daughter. Breanna felt her smile drop as she realized what it was he was communicating to her.
Mum's not here…
Holding in her tears, Breanna swallowed. At least Bella and James were able to escape somehow…
"It wasn't the boy," Voldemort hissed, pulling out his wand and holding it to Mr. Roysen's throat. "Now why would you lead me to believe it was him?"
Mr. Roysen did not speak, but kept his ground.
"You told me they could break into my mind," Voldemort whispered menacingly. The Death Eaters in the circle leaned in slightly, hoping to hear more. "Every night, Potter was able to attack my thoughts. But yet he knows nothing of you."
"I did not tell you it was him," Mr. Roysen said calmly. "I told you nothing of who it was. You made an assumption."
Voldemort did not blink, focusing all of his energy on the balding man before him. "So there are two?"
Mr. Roysen did not say a word.
"James Potter is not the only person I should be worried about, should I?" Voldemort straightened up, raising several inches. He pushed his wand further into Mr. Roysen's throat threateningly. "Am I correct?"
Slowly, Mr. Roysen nodded.
Voldemort laughed, stepping away from the man. "We seem to be getting somewhere!" He looked back towards Breanna's father and lowered his voice.
"Who is it, Roysen?"
Mr. Roysen brought a hand to his head and sighed. "Last year," he began, "my wife, our coworker, and I began to experiment with potions for Legilimency. The ability to read minds, of course, for any who - "
"Must we take the long road?" Voldemort interrupted, smirking. "I believe I have all of the background information, considering I'm the one that - "
"It's for anyone who didn't know what happened," Mr. Roysen interrupted bravely. He looked up, directly into the Dark Lord's glowing, red eyes. "You can kill me now and never figure out who it is, or allow me to tell my story."
Voldemort fought a laugh, amused at the man's bargaining system. "By all means," he said softly. "Continue."
Mr. Roysen looked pointedly at the four Hogwarts attendees, huddled together on the ground. "My wife, my colleague, and I were searching for a potion you could simply take to ensure your ability to read minds without having to go through grueling amounts of training. We hoped to use the potion as an assistant to Aurors so that they might be able to read minds for a length of five hours or so while on duty.
"We experimented with many different potions in order to find the exact blend." He sighed, speaking very slowly. "After nine years, we finally found a potion we were sure of, but to be sure of our concoction, we needed to find a test subject."
The group of students focused on the man's every word.
"However," he added, "if the person that was tested knew they were a specimen, the entire project would be ruined since the specimen could easily trick themselves into believing they were able to read minds. On the other hand, if you did not know you had the ability to read minds, everything they would guess from your mind was accurate."
Mr. Roysen took a deep breath. "The other downside of using a knowledgeable test subject," he muttered, glaring at the back of the Dark Lord's cloak, "would be word travel. The person could accidentally – or purposefully – leak the information to the wrong people, landing us into a situation rather identical to the one we are all in now."
"Either way," Voldemort said, "you were still in my presence."
Breanna's dad did not reply. "My wife and I," he said wearily, "had to make one of the most life-altering decisions." He choked on a silent sob, feeling a fake smile plaster itself to his face. "That phrase was a bit literal," he said, swallowing. "In the case of my wife, I guess that decision certainly altered her life."
Breanna felt hot tears begin to stain her cheeks. She attempted to raise her hand to swipe them away, but was unable to since her forearms were still strapped together. Swearing, she dropped her head and allowed the tears to roll freely.
"We needed someone close that we could watch over; someone that we would be able to test subtly without knowledge of our interference in their lives."
Voldemort turned back towards the man, stepping forward.
No one in the circle moved.
The trees in the wind had stopped moving as the teary-eyed man spoke in a faint whisper.
"Breanna," he breathed, "we're so sorry…"
+ Bella +
Bella jumped behind a large tree, holding her breath as three Death Eaters passed.
I am not getting in another chase, she thought, skirting carefully along the wall behind her. We've clearly pointed out I could do with a bit more exercise – I don't need another reminder.
Bella tripped over the back of her long cloak as it caught on a jagged, metal piece sticking out from the bottom of the wall.
Time to ditch the cloak…
Glad that she was finally shedding some extra baggage, Bella approached the first building she found. She peeked inside the stain glass windows surrounding the door. Squinting, Bella did not see any sign of people.
She reached for the handle and turned, pushing hard on the door. Over the years, the door had begun to stick and rust in certain spots. With a final shove, the door budged out of its spot and opened.
Bella shielded her eyes from the bright light and quickly got inside, closing the door behind her.
A long hallway met her curious eyes, splitting off into many different rooms. Her eyes lingered on the door at the end of the hallway.
Bella shook herself out of her reverie. Alright, she thought, readjusting her clothes and looking at the variety of rooms to choose from, I need to find a spot to hide this…
Bella passed the first door. Too obvious, she thought. At the second door, Bella opened it with caution, but found a set of stairs, leading several floors above her. Not worth it…
She passed the third and fourth door, assuming they would also be staircases. This is ridiculous, Bella fought with herself. Pick any room – it doesn't matter!
No, she argued back stubbornly. It has to be a good room; a room they wouldn't suspect!
Come on – they won't care if they found a cloak or not. It's just a cloak. It's not like they'll care if you left it in the middle of the hallway.
Bella shook her head, passing the fifth door. I've got to hide it!
Oh, please. You just want to see the room at the end of the hallway.
Bella stopped in her tracks and stared at the large, metal door. That's right, Bella agreed, growing more curious by the second; she wanted to see the door at the end of the hallway.
Ignoring the rest of the doors, Bella walked directly to the large door, amazed at its size. I highly doubt this was just any old room, she thought, studying every groove in the door. She ran her fingers across several dents in the door.
What on earth is inside here? Bella questioned, her curiosity growing to the maximum. Treasure? she wondered. A historical find?
Unable to hold back any longer, Bella clutched the large door handle and turned, putting all of her weight into the door.
She felt it slide. Her heart beat faster as her curiosity peaked. One more push…
With a final shove, the door loosened, swinging open, revealing something Bella had not imagined would be behind the door.
AUTHORS NOTE: Some interesting stuff happened here… :D
REVIEW SECTION:
Po: Wow, ok, I'll post! Haha! Thanks for the review!
Jennifer Cole: Yes! My plan worked – everyone's confused:D I hope you understand what's happening in this chapter… Thanks for reviewing!
Laura: I always leave cliff-hangers; you should know me by now! Haha! Thank you for reviewing!
3musketteers: Thank you so much:D And thanks for reviewing!
Wudnulike2know: I'm glad you liked when Lily came! I worked on that for the longest time trying to get it as best as I could! (You should have seen how much ink and paper I used up on vacation…) Thanks for reviewing!
Alex C. Potter: I know, their first real kiss:) I've been waiting for that part for a loooong time. Haha! Thank you for reviewing!
Manda: I'm so glad, I made your day:D Thanks for reviewing!
Lilmissmolly: I hope you finish the rest of the chapters soon! And thanks for the reviews!
Cylobaby: That's right – super long chapter and a cliffhanger! Haha! I talked to my friend once about how much I loved to write cliffhangers, and how I would probably write a cliffhanger on the very last chapter of the story, and then figure out there was no more and I wouldn't able to do that:D Thanks for reviewing!
Lucky719: See, I added you here! Haha! AND you got an e-mail review! Thanks for reviewing, chica:D
NEXT CHAPTER: What did Bella see? What will happen to everyone? Aaah, that's the beauty of it; I know EXACTLY what will happen with each and every character, but that's for you all to guess at. :D But I can say that I'm a little way into it already.
Once again, only two more chapters left! Thanks a ton, yet again! You guys are amazing:)
Yours truly,
Amelia Bedelia
