Disclaimer: Nope, still not mine.

Chapter 12: A Warning

I awoke with a start, gasping and wheezing for breath, my hand over my heart. I thrashed into a sitting position, the harsh light from the sun burning my eyes. Chunks of snow fell from my hair and robes as I looked up, trembling slightly.

"Stefan!" I let out a gasp as I saw him crouching next to me. "Merlin, what just happened?" I scrabbled for my wand, panting as I wiggled all my limbs just to be sure I could once more.

"I don't know!" Stefan was pale, and he was clearly terrified. He had a tight grip on my upper arm, making me look at him. "Roxanne, I heard you screaming for help, and you were...you were flickering!"

"Flickering?"

"You kept on disappearing and then showing back up, so...I grabbed you and then there was this huge ripping noise, and you fell back onto the ground...you were just lying there for a few minutes, moaning, and then you woke up..." he slowly removed his hand from my arm and my focus slid in front of me, unfocused and dazed. I felt rather nauseous; my stomach rolled and I moaned, putting my head between my knees and taking several deep breaths.

"I think I did it!" I finally panted excitedly to Stefan when I found my voice again, turning to him with a huge grin. "Stefan, I crossed all by myself!"

"And how did that work out for you?" He asked sarcastically. "You've got to wait for me! There's supposed to be two people, and did you even read past this page?" He held the book in front of my face, which had fallen to the ground on the exact spot I'd left off on.

"I read way more than that," I lied, casting a drying spell on the pages. "But listen, Stefan, I heard voices, and I was...I was there!" I gripped his hands excitedly with my gloved fingers.

"You've got to wait for me next time Roxanne, please," he said hoarsely. "I've read the whole book, I did last night...if you don't do this properly you can end up stuck there. You can die, Roxanne!" He pulled me forward into a hug. Surprised, I brought my arms up around him.

"Well, I didn't. See, fine!" I squeezed him as if to reassure that I was still in possession of my body. "And I want to do it again," I said very seriously, pulling back to look him in the eye. Merlin, I wanted to kiss him.

Stefan sighed, defeated. He knew there was no way he could win this.

"Okay," he agreed. "Let's go."

"Alright," I announced once we'd reached the top of the stands. We sat cross-legged, facing each other on the cold cement. "Let's do this properly this time, last time I did it I was rushed. You have to be completely calm. Just...breathe. Close your eyes, too."

I began to follow my own advice, the world going dark in front of me as I began to breathe slowly. It was only a few seconds before-

"This is ridiculous," Stefan groaned, and I opened my eyes to see his own eyes open.

"You've got to try!" I protested, closing my eyes again. "Come on. Let's go, Stefan, or I'll beat you there!" I goaded him, trying to empty my mind. He didn't speak any more, and soon I heard him begin to mutter the spells. I did the same, and soon when I opened my eyes we were no longer sitting on the stands.

"Ready to do the split?" I heard Stefan's voice float over to me, and I tried not to panic.

This time, the air felt less constricting around me, and I could feel myself floating. I could move, and I breathed a sigh of relief.

But still, just being here made me wary. It wasn't right.

I looked down at myself; I was translucent, like a ghost. My robes and hair were floating around me.

"Roxanne?" Stefan repeated, and I turned around to see him flipped upside down in the air, grinning. "This is fun!" He exclaimed. "But anyway, are you ready to do the split?"

"Er..." What was he talking about? The splits? Were the splits some sort of meditation pose to make ourselves solid? Because if it was, I would rather stay see-through...

"You really didn't read that book, did you?" Stefan asked knowingly.

"Nope," I replied glumly, giving him a guilty smile.

"Wait-do you hear that?" He put both his hands up, his eyes wide. He floated back down toward me, right-side up again.

"Hear what?" I strained my ears, but heard only the faint whisperings of the souls that I had already gotten used to.

"Whispering!" Stefan said in a panicky voice, grabbing my arm. His fingers were so ice-cold that they burned my arm.

"Ouch!" I hissed, looking down at my skin, which had a red imprint of Stefan's fingers.

"Bloody hell," Stefan breathed, and I gingerly poked him in the arm. He flinched, and when I drew my finger away there was a red spot.

"I really think we should do the split now," Stefan said seriously.

"Are you going to tell me what this thing is, or am I going to have to guess?"

"One of us is the anchor, one is the seeker-"

"-like Quidditch!" I interjected excitedly.

"-and the anchor holds down the seeker when he or she travels through this place, so they don't get lost. Which happens a lot, apparently. That's the reason why you're supposed to do this with two people," Stefan said in one breath.

"Okay," I said slowly, frowning. "Which one of us is going to be the anchor, then? What do they have to do, just sit in one place?"

"Kind of. We've got to join hands and...er...do some sort of spell. Then my energy kind of goes into you, and I basically become invisible. Except to you, I'll be kind of like an orb of light...that's what it looked like in the book, anyway. It's because we've got to exit through the same place we entered through."

"Right." I nodded, narrowing my eyes. "This whole thing sounds extremely hokey to me."

"I know." He nodded, but gave no sign of doubt. I pulled out my wand.

"Ouch," we both hissed as we touched hands, my skin tingling and ice travelling up my arms. I bit my lip, and tasted blood.

Stefan began to recite the spell; it was long, and in Latin. I tried to catch what he was saying, but then I grew too distracted by the arc of light that was forming over us, spitting sparks and glowing bright white. The freezing sensation stopped in my hands, and I began to grow panicky as the light washed over me. I felt something inching toward my mind and I pulled back, taking Stefan stumbling with me. I gasped, trying to step out of the light encircling us, but I couldn't.

"Roxanne, trust me!" Stefan was yelling over the whirling wind. Hair was whipping into my face, and I tried not to scream.

"But what's going to happen?" I yelled desperately, trying to mentally fend of whatever was reaching for my mind.

"I don't know," Stefan said honestly, taking a step closer to me and squeezing my hands tighter. "But we're in this together. I've got you, yeah? No matter what." I nodded and squeezed my eyes closed.

When I opened them again, Stefan was gone. Instead, there was a small orb of blue light in front of me, floating along. I looked down at my wrist; there was a thin strand of glowing blue, the same shade as the orb in front of me. I took a step back, and the strand grew to accommodate.

"Stefan?" I called out suspiciously, realizing with a start my feet were on the ground again; I was solid. "Stefan!" I screamed when there was no answer, panic building up inside of me. He couldn't be this tiny little ball of light in front of me, he was a teenage boy!

Calm down, Weasley! I'm right here! I heard Stefan's laughing voice in my mind, and I jumped about a mile.

"Oh great, you can talk in my head now too? There's really going to be some traffic problems in there," I grumbled, but I was secretly very relieved that he was alright. I wondered how long we'd been gone from the Quidditch field: and just like that, the world we were in now began to slip away.

"What's happening?" I cried, trying to concentrate on bringing us back, but the Quidditch stands were already materializing around us.

Concentrate! Don't get pulled back! The orb in front of me was growing and stretching, looking less like a blob and more like Stefan.

It was too late; it was like trying to hold onto the last bits of a dream when you know you're asleep and are about to be abruptly yanked into the waking world.

I gasped, and found myself sitting on the floor of the stands, back in the freezing air. Across from me Stefan was doubled over, panting.

"Are you alright?" I leaned forward, bending down to look at his face. He looked rather green, but he tried to give me a brave face as we sat up.

"Just-marvelous," he puffed. He groaned as he pitched forward, putting his head between his knees.

"It's awful the first time," I said sympathetically, patting his shoulder.

"Is it always like this?" Stefan asked hoarsely, looking up at me hopefully.

"Nope." I shrugged. "Now I only feel a little queasy."

You both crossed before I could come to you! Fred's voice suddenly sounded in my mind.

Fred! I said happily, grinning. We hadn't spoken in a while. You mean you can talk to us in the other dimension? I asked excitedly.

Yes, but Roxanne, you've got to be more careful than that. You don't know what you're messing with, and I guess I didn't either. I was wrong bringing you and Stefan here-Roxanne, I don't want you to try again. Just let me fade away. That's what will happen when March 21st passes. Just let us go, Roxanne, we were meant to die anyway.

Fred! I was shocked, my mind reeling. What are you talking about?!

You could be killed! I could tell he was shouting. When you came just now, a Death Eater was tracking you! He was going to pretend to be me, and you wouldn't be able to tell the difference! In fact, maybe Stefan is right. There's no way for you to know whether I'm a Death Eater or not right now, even. I could be feeding you lies. His voice was bitter.

That's not true, I protested. I know it's you! And I'll be able to tell when I rescue you, because dammit, I am coming back, I said firmly, crossing my arms even though he couldn't see me.

How do you know it's me?

I...I paused. It had scared me when Fred told me that I could be talking to a Death Eater. But I know he wasn't... I just know, I said simply.

Oh, Roxanne, Fred let out a sigh. You're too trusting, and I'm not just talking about me. Look at who's sitting-

Suddenly, the voice cut out.

"He's right, you know," Stefan said across from me, his expression dark. "You are too trusting."

"What are you talking about? Stefan, you're scaring me." I scooted forward, grabbing his arms. The shadow that seemed to pass over his face lifted, and he was back to himself.

"Never mind," he said lightly, smiling at me sweetly. "I can hear him now!" He grinned.

"Wicked," I grinned. "Guess it was from passing over, huh?" Stefan nodded. "It's strange, though. He's never just...cut out like that. It's always been kind of a gradual fading when he stops talking. Do you think..." my brow furrowed. "Was someone trying to stop him?"

Stefan shrugged casually. "I'm not sure. But I do know I'm freezing. Want to get a snack?" Stefan stood and pulled me to my feet as well, hands lingering in mine.

November passed quickly; teachers piled on homework, and in between assignments and training, I had no free time. Each time Stefan and I travelled, we stayed longer. Fred was keeping his distance; I still hadn't seen him. In fact, we had never been approached in the realm yet. We just practiced, doing all sorts of mind exercises to keep up our mental stamina. And I was feeling especially proud of myself for coming closer and closer to completing the task Uncle Harry had given me at the beginning of the year; I still hadn't breathed a word to anyone. I tried not to even think about it in case there were Occlumens hanging around, prying into people's minds.

"Roxanne?" Came a tentative voice from behind me. I looked up from my spot on the couch where I had been staring into the fire of the Ravenclaw common room, just thinking. Thoughts of Stefan, Lucy, Harry's task, Fred, and the realm of the souls swept around my head like snowflakes in the December storm outside.

"Hey Mel," I scooted over, patting the spot next to me. "How's it going?"

"Okay," she whispered, looking at her fingers. She looked very pale; or maybe it was just the low lighting. It was evening, after all. "I was just wondering." She cleared her throat. "What are you going to be doing for Christmas?"

"Well," I began. "I was planning on going home, I think...and what are you..." I trailed off. With all of Melody's cheerfulness, it was hard to tell when something was wrong. And that had been the case so much this past month, I had all but forgotten that her parents had disowned her, whatever their reasons. It still seemed suspicious to me..."You could come with me," I said firmly. "Or we could stay here at Hogwarts. We could do a little of both even, stay here for the first part and then go to my house! Grandma loves you."

Melody's hands unclenched themselves, and she sighed with relief. "Oh Roxanne, thank you!" She cried, throwing her arms around my shoulders. "Merlin, I thought I'd have to stay at the school alone!"

"You're never alone, okay Melody?" I raised my eyebrow at her. "You've got me."

She left to go to bed, and I was the last one in the common room, staring at the fire. It wasn't long before my eyes grew heavy, my lids closing of their own accord.

I gasped, opening my eyes. I spun around in a circle, my feet a meter off the ground. I calmed slightly when I realized where I was; the realm of the souls. Of course, I'd been here many times, but never alone, except once. And since I had Stefan with to anchor me, I was able to become solid, and generally things were a lot easier.

Here in the spirit realm, everything was covered in a white, thick mist. I couldn't see more than a Quidditch field length in front of me; I couldn't see any sort of sky at all, but somehow everything was bathed in a rather eerie white light. It looked so different than the first time I'd came; then, the air had been black and confining, shimmering like oil. Now it was much more pleasant. There were moss-covered trees, and boulders. And of course the occasional soul wandering around, running away whenever I approached. Souls naturally looked like bits of white light, flitting around with their tendrils waving loosely. But they could also manifest as people, and Fred had told me they didn't have to necessarily look like themselves. That's why it was dangerous. Someone could look like Fred, but not actually be him. I always had to be on guard.

"There she is again!" Someone was hissing behind a bush, and the leaves trembled. I ran-er, floated-forward, after firmly memorizing the exact place I was in. One could only exit in the exact location which they had entered, that was just another thing that made this realm dangerous.

"Hello?" I called out, and peered over the bush. Two balls of light floated upward, meeting me at eye-height. "Who are you?" I inquired.

"That is none of your business," one of them sniffed, her voice rather echo-y. My heart leaped with pleasure: I had never actually had a conversation with one before.

"None of you have ever replied to me!" I grinned.

"That's because you've always got that idiotic boy with you," the second light grumbled, this one's voice lower. "And when you've got him as your anchor you look a hell of a lot scarier, solid and everything. Right now, you're just like one of us!" He bobbed a bit.

"Did you both die in the Battle of Hogwarts?" I asked softly.

"We're not dead, technically," the first one-the woman-snapped.

"Oh, I'm sorry," I apologized. "I mean...did you...er-"

"We prefer the term 'removed'," the male said pleasantly, and I nodded at him gratefully.

"Were both of you removed then-"

"Roxanne!" I turned around with a start, staring down the translucent man, and my heart turned to lead and fell straight to my feet.

"Bloody hell, Fred," I whispered hoarsely, suddenly frozen. He broke out into a wild grin, and all of my suspicions faded away. "Bloody hell," I whispered again, eyes blurring with tears. "Is it really you?" I whispered, stretching out my arms.

"It's me, Roxanne," he grinned, stretching out his fingertips to me, his hand passing through my arm.

"You look old," I laughed, wiping away my tears as we floated together, grinning at one another. "I didn't know if you'd age, but it looks like you did...Merlin, it's Uncle Fred! I can't believe I'm talking to you!"

"I get that reaction a lot," Fred winked at me. "Star-struck females, I mean!" I let out a sort of half-snort, half-sob.

"Holy crap," I whispered again, gently passing my arm through his cheek. "If only Dad were here...he talks about you all the time, Fred," I said softly. "He never forgot you."

"I never forgot him either," Fred looked troubled, his eyes growing cloudy for a moment. Then the look passed over his face, like it had never been there. I looked behind me; where had those other two souls gone? I turned back again, slightly uneasy.

"You sure you're Fred?" I narrowed my eyes suddenly, floating backwards.

"Yes." He nodded firmly. "Roxanne, don't you trust me?" He implored, eyes searching. I nodded reluctantly.

"I do." But I couldn't help but feel wary, and I fingered my wand in my pocket. Would my magic work here? "But I wish I could have proof..."

"The first thing I said was something along the lines of Is this working? Beans! U-no-poo!" He announced.

"Yes!" I cheered, suspicion melting away again. "What is U-No-Poo, by the way?" I asked curiously as we floated out of the clearing where I'd landed, arm in arm. Or, as close as we could be without actually having solid limbs.

"Oh, it's..." he paused for a moment as we drifted downhill toward a copse of scarcely scattered trees. It was beautiful, in an odd way. We kept floating down, and I was so distracted by the beauty that I didn't even register that Fred hadn't answered my question.

"Whoa!" I gasped as we came upon a huge, completely clear pond. It was still as glass, reflecting the mist perfectly. "This...what is this?" I could clearly feel magic practically rolling off the pond; it was clearly a pond, but it was huge. I could barely see the edges. And it was perfectly, unnaturally round.

"You can see anything with this," Fred said proudly, touching his fingers to the surface. "Anything in Hogwarts, that is." From the point of contact, small ripples floated out until they were covering the whole pond. Then the image rippled, and changed.

My breath caught in my throat: I was looking at me. The section of the glassy water in front of us was showing the Ravenclaw common room where I'd fallen asleep, sprawled out across the couch. I had slumped over on my side and one of my legs was hanging off the couch, my toes brushing the floor. One of my arms was thrown across my face, and the other was under me. I wiggled my arms unconsciously, and the sleeping me twitched a bit.

"This is mental," I said softly. "Can I see..." I trailed off.

"Stefan?" Fred asked softly, and I could feel my cheeks warming.

"Maybe in a little while. But first, let me educate you on this particular body of water." I nodded, not really listening. "Most souls use this to glimpse their loved ones, as I have been watching you. Talking to you. It takes quite a bit of energy, you know, talking to you. F-I would often find myself completely drained and waking up at the edge. I tried so hard to communicate with you that I would knock myself out."

In that second, something clicked.

This wasn't Fred I was talking to.

I rotated slowly, looking him in the eye. "You were going to say Fred," I said calmly. "Funny, people usually don't refer to themselves in third person." My voice shook slightly.

The image of Fred flickered slightly for a second, showing me a glimpse of a dark, scowling man underneath. Then my uncle washed over him again, and he was grinning sympathetically at me.

"Roxanne, you're disoriented. You've just travelled alone and-"

"No!" I screamed, throwing my arms down. The air where my fists had shot down rippled out, and Fred was forced backwards several meters, and his face filled with shock.

"How did you do that?" He whispered, his voice strangled and scared. "You're not supposed to do that, you're not powerful enough and you haven't trained long enough to manipulate-"

"News flash, Death Eater," I snarled, advancing. "I made it here on my first try. So it looks like I've got more power than you thought."

I whipped out my wand, and Fred-the Death Eater-began to laugh. His image flickered again, and this time he did not change back to Fred. He was a tall, muscular man with stringy black hair and thick eyebrows with a crooked, leering smile.

"Wand magic doesn't work here, pretty," he snarled. "You don't know the rules of this realm, and I intend to use that to my advantage," he cackled. "Do you know who I am, Weasley? Do you know?" He floated forward and suddenly he was right in my face. He lifted his hand toward me, but I wasn't scared.

"You can't touch me," I hissed, unflinching. He let out another laugh and suddenly his hand rippled; it was like he was putting it into water and the further he let it in, the more it was soaked. But instead of being soaked, it was turning...solid.

"Stop!" I screamed, thrashing and scrambling backwards. "Stop, please!"

"I'm going to hold you here," he hissed, zooming forward and looming before me, catching my upper arm and holding me in a crushing grip. "I'm going to hold you hear and threaten and blackmail my way out using you; I've been waiting here too long, Roxanne, far too long," he snarled, and began to lift me up. I kicked and thrashed, trying to stall.

"Was it you the whole year then?" I shouted desperately, trying to release myself from his hand. He was unnaturally strong; or maybe I was just easy to contain as a kind of ghost. "Was it you, talking to me all this time?"

"I can't take credit for that," he leered, making his other hand solid. Now he had me by both my arms, and was keeping me trapped straight above him. I tried to twist out of his grip, but my struggles were futile. "It really was Fred, that sentimental idiot, always simpering about helping you, always wasting away at this pond. When he wasn't talking to you, he was watching you. Which made it easy and predictable for us to find him, when he was talking to you and was starting to say something we didn't like."

"What do you mean?" I whispered, voice trembling.

"Oh, you'll see soon enough," he smiled nastily at me. "Now let me tell you something about this water, girlie. If I throw you in, it will consume you. It will use your energy, and you will simply cease to exist. What do you think will happen then? Will we be released? A soul for a soul?"

"Stop!" I screamed as he began to pitch me forward. "Wait! I have something to tell you!" My voice floated out over the trees, as loud as I could make it. "You need me!"

"And why," he growled, pulling me down to eye level with him, shaking me around a bit. "Why would I need you?"

"Because," I began, trying not to tremble as his hand inched toward my throat. "If I die, who will bring you back? Who will free you all? Stefan can't do it by himself!" The Death Eater took one look at me and laughed in my face.

"There are so many things you don't know, girl!" He roared, dark eyes glowing with a maniacal light. "I know you don't intend to bring us all back, I'm not a bloody idiot. If you're working with the boy, you'll only bring Fred back. Unless we can trick you, that is. But if Stefan works by himself..." he trailed off, giving me a look to gauge my expression.

"What are you talking about? You can't trick Stefan!" I thrashed around, going limp once I realized his grip was just as strong as always. He gave me a shake, and my head rattled around on my neck.

"Oh, nothing." His grin widened, and he began to lift me again. "And tricking the Durmstrang boy wasn't what I was talking about."

"Just because he's from Durmstrang doesn't mean he's evil," I snarled. "He's not! It's Nikola who's evil, I know! Stefan will never help you!"

"Shut up, girl, you talk too much. Now, into the pond with you-"

"NOOOO!" A fierce yell sounded from behind me, and suddenly I was tumbling out of the air and floating backwards, some unseen force propelling me not toward the pond, but unto the ground. I landed harmlessly, and twisted around to see who my savior was.

"Get away from my niece, you bastard!" I saw the back of my real uncle flash as he grappled with the Death Eater, who's mouth had opened in a surprised O.

"Uncle Fred!" I screamed, lunging forward.

"No!" He roared, breaking away from the Death Eater for a moment to reach a hand toward me. "No Roxanne, run! He can't hurt me, but he can kill you! Roxanne, go, I'll communicate with you as soon as I can! Get out of here, now!" He shouted, turning back to his opponent and grunting as he sent him propelling backward.

I reluctantly began to propel myself out of the way, completely torn. What if Fred was just saying that to get me to go?

I hesitated, lingering on the outside of the trees. Fred let out a cry of pain; the Death Eater was choking him!

I burst forward, a scream building up in my throat. I increased my speed, bearing down upon the man and my uncle-

"Ahhhhhhh!" I screamed, and shoved the man with all my might.

To my surprise he flew backward straight into the tree trunks, falling and twisting until he hit the ground. "Bloody hell," I murmured, trembling. "What did I just do?"

"That's how power works here," Fred gasped, massaging his throat. "And you've got a damn load of it. Of course, you inherited that from your uncle," Fred winked at me, jumping to his feet. "Oh Roxanne, I'm so sorry," he moaned, taking my hands. I wasn't sure how he was able to make us both solid but he pulled me into a hug, and several tears dripped out of my eyes. I began to shake with sobs.

"Fred, it's you," I whispered, wiping at my eyes and pulling back to drink in what he looked like. "I always knew it was you."

"Merlin Roxanne, I've got so much to tell you but we've got to get back! We've got to get back now!" Fred whispered in a panicked voice, grabbing my arm. We were suddenly lifting into the air, floating fast and furious over the trees and toward the clearing where I'd come.

"Where did you get here?" Fred shouted, his arm around my waist as he pulled me along.

"There!" I pointed, and we began to descend. "Fred, why can't I stay and talk to you-"

"More are coming!" He interrupted, looking behind his shoulder. "I can feel them. I'm sorry Roxanne. I love you. And I'm so proud of you and Fred-before you leave I've got to tell you one thing!" He shouted as he set me down firmly in place. "One thing that I can't tell you because they're always watching me, always guarding the pond so I'll tell you now-Do not trust-" And with that bit of advice, his voice, along with the scene before my eyes, faded away to nothingness.

Please review, guys. I know people are looking at this because I can see my traffic stats. Right now I have ONE reviewer, and thank you so much to her, you know who you are! You are literally the only thing that's keeping me updating!