CHAPTER 13: BOILING POINT
"Hagrid?" O'Bannon furrowed his brow. "He's in the Order of the Phoenix?"
Harry nodded. "He's already been on one important mission for them. He tried to convince the giants on the continent to side with Dumbledore."
"Not that it went very well," Ron grumbled.
The corners of O'Bannon's mouth twitched. "Oh, that fills me with confidence."
"It wasn't for lack of trying." Hermione snapped. "It's not like wizards have given giants a lot of reasons to trust them. Besides, this time he won't have to do any negotiating. He'll just have to relay a message to Professor Dumbledore."
O'Bannon let out a slow breath. Hermione had a point.
"You think he'll be able to get out of here? I mean, with Umbridge running things here . . ."
"Hagrid will find a way," Harry replied firmly.
O'Bannon worked his jaw back and forth. "Okay, then. When can you tell him?"
"We can do it right now," Harry answered. "We can use my invisibility cloak to sneak down to his hut."
"Are you sure it's safe?" Artimus asked.
"Don't worry." Ron gave him a dismissive wave. "We do it all the time."
"Okay, then. Let's get it done." O'Bannon shook Harry's hand. "Good luck, man. And watch your asses."
"Thanks. We will."
Tonks and the rest of the quartet wished the trio good luck. Harry whipped his cloak over himself, Ron and Hermione. The three vanished. The door to the Room of Requirement opened and closed as if of its own accord.
Relief flooded O'Bannon. He lowered his head, a sigh whistling through his teeth. "Thank God."
He felt a pat on the shoulder. He turned to find Tonks next to him, smiling.
"I knew we'd find a way. Don't worry. Hagrid's reliable. If there's something that needs to be done for Professor Dumbledore, Hagrid will do it, come hell or high water."
A smile spread across O'Bannon's face. He reached up and took hold of Tonks' hand, still resting on his shoulder. An electric tingle raced through his arm. He wouldn't call her hand dainty or soft. Neither would he put it in the class of "man hands." Strong yet feminine was the best description.
"So . . ." Jared ambled over to them. "What do we do now?"
Tonks turned, slipping her hand out from O'Bannon's. A bit slower than he expected. Or maybe that was just his imagination.
"Get some sleep," Tonks stated.
Jared's face screwed up in bewilderment. "We already got some sleep."
"Then get some more. One thing I learned from Mad-Eye Moody, if you have a chance to catch some sleep in the field, you take it. You don't know when the next opportunity will come about, and you want to make sure you're well-rested to face whatever it is you're going to face. Fatigue can be as big an enemy as any Death Eater."
O'Bannon raised his eyebrows. That certainly made sense, and it sounded like something Mad-Eye Moody would say. At least he assumed it. He had to keep reminding himself a Death Eater on Polyjuice Potion taught him Defense Against the Dark Arts here, not the real Moody.
They all headed back to their bedrooms. O'Bannon stretched out on his cot, closing his eyes, willing sleep to come. Worry still niggled the back of his mind. What if Harry, Ron and Hermione got caught? What if Hagrid got caught?
They'll succeed. They have to. Heck, Harry defeated Voldemort at the age of one. He won the Tri-Wizard Tournament even though it was rigged by You-Know-Who's cronies. He had Hermione with him, whose brains and skills could match many adult witches and wizards. He had Ron, who . . . who . . .
Who can what? What did he bring to the table? The ability to sulk? To eat? To take a girl to the Yule Ball and ignore her?
Thank God Harry's got Hermione.
Eventually O'Bannon fell asleep. Again his dreamworld transported him back in time. He found himself sitting in the stands of the Quidditch pitch, numbed as he saw Harry kneeling over the body of Cedric Diggory. He heard whispers. "Someone said You-Know-Who did it." Cold, dark fingers enveloped him. He didn't want to believe it. You-Know-Who was dead. Wasn't he?
Screams filled the air. People ran in all directions. Shadowy figures whipped through the crowd. Ginny Weasley shrieked and fell. A blanket of darkness consumed Katie Bell. Dean Thomas kicked and flailed as something carried him off into the night sky.
Your wand. Your wand!
O'Bannon's arm wouldn't move. He just stood frozen as these dark, formless things slaughtered his friends.
One of them turned toward him.
A loud thud ripped the air apart. The scene of darkness, chaos and death dissolved. Brick walls surrounded him. He sensed himself lying down.
Footsteps echoed outside. O'Bannon fought through a second's paralysis as he switched from the dream world to the real world and went for his wand.
"Hello? It's us."
O'Bannon relaxed. The voice belonged to Hermione.
He pushed himself off the cot and emerged from his tiny bedroom. Tonks and Rosa were already up. Jared soon stepped out of his room, as did Artimus. Hermione and Ron stood by the closed door in their school robes, bookbags slung over their shoulders.
"Did you tell Hagrid?" O'Bannon asked, anxiousness tightening his insides. "Is he on his way to tell the Order?"
"I'm sorry." Hermione's shoulders sagged. Her gaze fell to the floor for a moment. "We never made it to Hagrid's hut."
"What!?" O'Bannon's head trembled. Anger surged through him. Not again. Dammit, not again!
"What happened?" Tonks asked.
"The aurors have Irish Wolfhounds to help search the grounds. Enchanted ones, gifted with better smell than regular dogs. And unlike the modern breed, they're much more aggressive, similar to the Wolfhounds the Celts used as war dogs thousands of years ago."
"Jeez, man. You are right about her." Jared, now standing next to O'Bannon, whispered to him. "She is a walking encyclopedia."
"Dogs are one thing." Ron's neck muscles tightened. "It's what else they have patrolling the school I'm more concerned about."
"What is it?" Rosa asked.
Ron swallowed. "D-Dementors."
"Dementors!?" The color drained from Artimus' face. Even Rosa noticeably shivered.
O'Bannon couldn't breathe. A chill gripped his spine. After everything he'd read about the wraith-like creatures, he couldn't imagine what possessed the Brits to use those things to guard Azkaban. Not that he was a bleeding heart when it came to punishing hardened criminals, but even he wouldn't sic Dementors on the most evil, murdering, scumsucking Death Eater to ever crawl out of a sewer.
And now they're looking for us.
"Neither one of them are fooled by invisibility cloaks," said Hermione. "We were lucky to make it back to the castle without getting caught. You wouldn't believe what we went through to get away from them."
"So what now?" Jared slapped his sides.
"Don't worry." Hermione held up a hand. "Ginny has Care of Magical Creatures for her first class of the day. She can tell Hagrid. And since she'll be going down there with the rest of the Fourth Year Gryffindors it won't look suspicious."
"Let's just hope Toadface won't pull one of her surprise inspections on Hagrid today." A sullen look came over Ron's face.
O'Bannon snorted, turning away from the others. Merlin's beard, why does it have to be so hard to deliver a friggin' message?
C'mon, man. Don't get down on yourself. We have another way to tell Hagrid. Everything will work.
"Okay then." He turned back to Ron and Hermione and nodded to them. "Thanks, guys."
"We're going to succeed, Jimmy." Resolve etched itself on Hermione's face. "You have to believe that."
O'Bannon took a deep breath and nodded. "I do."
"Good. Oh! We just had breakfast, and we figured it'd been a long time since all of you ate anything. So we took the liberty of nipping some food from the Great Hall."
"Praise Merlin!" A beaming Jared clasped his hands together.
O'Bannon bounced on the balls of his feet as Ron and Hermione set down their bags and opened them. Immediately the smell of bacon and sausage filled his nostrils. The tangy scent pulled him toward the Gryffindors. He and the others grabbed handfuls of breakfast meats, toast, kippers, melons and rolls. Ron and Hermione also provided plates, utensils and cups of pumpkin juice charmed so they wouldn't spill inside their bags.
"Oh, we did have one bit of good news at breakfast," Ron noted. "Snape's been taken to St. Mungo's. Toadface said he had a nasty concussion."
"Yeah, I kinda had something to do with that." O'Bannon ran down the incident with him, Snape and the auror.
"No way!" Ron's eyes went wide. "Wicked! With any luck his brains will be so scrambled he won't be back for days. Or maybe the rest of the term if we're lucky."
Hermione shot him a cross look, though it didn't last long. O'Bannon doubted she had much sympathy for the greasy-haired a-hole, especially given the way he treated people in general and Gryffindors in particular.
With his plate full, O'Bannon gazed around the Room of Requirement for a place to sit and eat. Man, we really need a table in here.
Pop! O'Bannon jerked a bit in surprise as a plain wooden table appeared in front of him.
"That is so cool."
"Don't we also need some chairs, too?" Artimus nodded to the table.
A moment later five chairs materialized out of thin air.
"Thanks for the save, buddy." O'Bannon slapped Artimus on the shoulder. The tall boy positively beamed.
"By the way," Rosa said to Hermione as she piled food on her plate. "Did the aurors buy the make out party excuse from you guys?"
"It would appear so. We talked to some of the other D.A. members at breakfast. A few of them managed to avoid the patrols all together. Ernie said they gave him and Hannah a hard time. The same with Padma Patil and Anthony Goldstein. But they all said the aurors eventually accepted their story."
O'Bannon sighed and slumped for a moment. At least something had gone right for them.
Now if another thing can go right, like Hagrid getting our message to the Order.
He sat at the head of the table and shoveled food into his mouth. He moaned in delight as he chewed and swallowed. Artimus, sitting to his left, also dug in heartily. So did Tonks, until she knocked over her cup of Pumpkin Juice, creating a pool of expanding dark liquid on the table. O'Bannon chuckled through a mouthful of sausage.
"Man, this room is awesome." Jared plopped into the chair to O'Bannon's right. "We oughta check around Salem to see if we have our own Room of Requirement."
"I know. Can you -"
"Ron, I don't believe you!"
O'Bannon huffed and looked over his shoulder. Hermione stood, arms akimbo, glowering at Ron, who had a piece of toast in each hand.
"What?" The redhead shrugged.
"You know what? That food's for Jimmy and his friends. Not you!"
"But I'm hungry."
An incredulous look formed on Hermione's face. "How can you possibly still be hungry considering how much you ate at breakfast?"
"Oh calm down, will you? It's just a couple pieces of toast."
"That's not the point, Ronald!"
O'Bannon rolled his eyes and turned back to his friends. "Anyway, like I was saying. Can you imagine using this room for, like, a Super Bowl party? Man, that would rule!"
He waited for a reply, but Rosa, Jared and Artimus all focused their attention on Ron and Hermione.
"Just once, can't you show some consideration for others?" Hermione bellowed.
"What are you going on about?" Ron gave her a frustrated look. "Look at all the food I stuffed into my bag for them."
"And you took some of it!"
"Two pieces of toast, Hermione. Two bloody pieces."
"So what do you think?" O'Bannon scanned his friends, who still stared at the arguing Gryffindors. "We could probably fit like a movie screen in here. Maybe even a set of bleachers, make it feel like being at a stadium. Oh, and of course, all kinds of banners and pennants and red, white and blue bunting to celebrate the Patriots being in the Super Bowl."
Rosa, Jared and Artimus still paid no attention to him.
"And Jared and Artimus can dress up as cheerleaders while Rosa paints 'Go Pats' on her forehead."
This time Rosa switched her gaze from Ron and Hermione to him.
"Um, Jimmy?"
"Yes, Rosa?"
"Don't you think we should do something?"
"About what?"
"About them?" She pointed to Ron and Hermione, who were still bickering.
"Why?"
Rosa gaped at him. "What do you mean why? Look at them."
O'Bannon shoved a piece of bacon in his mouth and glanced over his shoulder.
"You know, you can be worse than my mother at times," Ron grumbled at Hermione.
"Well someone has to keep you in line since she's not here."
"I don't need anyone to keep me in line. Especially you!"
"Oh really? And who else here would be after you to do your homework? And to perform your prefect duties? And to stop you from calling First Years midgets?"
O'Bannon turned back to Rosa. "Yeah, they're arguing. So what?"
"So what? Jimmy, they're really going at it."
"Oh for cryin' out loud, Rosa. Those two argued every other day when I was going here. You shoulda seen it." He sat up straight and stretched his face muscles into a half-snobbish, half-annoyed expression.
"Oh, Ronald. Why must you always put off your homework until the last minute?" He tried to mimic Hermione's voice. Instead it sounded like a combination of British royalty and one of the Monty Python guys playing a female character.
Both Rosa and Jared laughed out loud. Artimus lowered his head and put a hand to his mouth, stifling his own laughter. Tonks was busy using her wand to clean her fork, which she dropped on the floor for the third time.
O'Bannon continued his Hermione impersonation. "Oh Ronald, why must you be such an insensitive wart?"
Jared's and Rosa's laughter grew louder. Artimus convulsed, trying to fight back his hysterics. Tonks just looked at him, shaking her head.
"Oh Ronald," a chuckling O'Bannon kept on. "How many times have I told you not to talk with your mouth full?"
The laughter around the table died down. Jared bit his lip and stared at O'Bannon. Artimus swallowed nervously and cast his eyes down. Tonks simply continued eating.
"What?" A puzzled O'Bannon stared at them. Rosa winced and jerked her head forward a couple times.
O'Bannon's right cheek twitched. "They're behind me, aren't they?"
"Well," Jared replied. "One of them is."
Holding his breath, O'Bannon slowly turned in his chair. Please be Ron.
Instead Hermione glared down at him. Anger lines dug into her face. Her shoulders rose and fell with deliberate, angry breaths.
"Hey, Herms." O'Bannon shot her the biggest smile he could. "You know I love you, right?"
For the next several minutes, he ran around the Room of Requirement, yelling, "Get 'em off! Get 'em off!" as he flailed at a flock of magically conjured canaries. Rosa and Jared pointed and laughed while Hermione watched with a satisfied smile.
XXXXX
After the canaries had vanished, and Ron and Hermione left for classes, and breakfast had been finished, O'Bannon and his little group had nothing to do but wait and hope for the best. Tonks, however, decided to put their down time to good use.
"Come on, then. If you're going to eventually be part of America's version of the Order of the Phoenix, you'd best get in some dueling practice. I'll even show you some spells they only teach you in auror training."
"All right!" Rosa sprang out of her chair.
O'Bannon's eyes widened. Anticipation welled up in his chest. Defense Against the Dark Arts had always been one of his favorite and best subjects. Now to actually learn it auror style . . .
The quartet lined up in front of Tonks. Artimus grimaced, favoring his good leg.
"Art, maybe you should just sit down and watch the rest of us," Rosa suggested.
"I'll . . . I'll be fine."
"Are you sure? I don't want you to hurt your knee more."
"I'll be fine," Artimus replied a bit firmly, glancing for a moment at O'Bannon.
O'Bannon's eyebrows went up as he observed his friend. No doubt Artimus was in pain, but he seemed determined not to be left out of this.
Maybe we're rubbing off on him. Toughness had never been one of Artimus' strong points.
Still to be on the safe side, Rosa took one of the forks and transfigured it into a crutch for Artimus.
O'Bannon marveled at some of the stuff Tonks showed them. Firebolt Curses hot enough to melt a brick wall. Shooting Spike Spells that produced tennis ball-sized flying spheres with numerous spikes. Simply conjuring them had been difficult enough for the quartet. Only Rosa had any amount of success actually guiding them.
Then came the Whirlwind Spell.
"This one is very useful when you're being attacked by multiple enemies," Tonks explained. She lifted her wand above her head and whipped it around twice.
"Ventus Tempestas!"
A cloudy gray vortex swirled around Tonks. O'Bannon leaned forward a bit, mouth agape, marveling at the spell.
Suddenly the whirlwind expanded. A strong gust struck him, knocking him off his feet. He glimpsed Rosa and Jared tumbling to the floor.
"Are you guys okay?" asked Artimus, who had been untouched by the tornado. O'Bannon assumed it was Tonks' doing. She probably didn't want to further injure Artimus' knee.
"Yeah, we're fine."
"Sorry to take you by surprise like that." Tonks stepped over to them. "I just wanted to show you how the Whirlwind Spell could be effective in a fight.
"Don't apologize." Rosa grinned wide as she picked herself off the floor. "That was awesome!"
The quartet took turns practicing the spell. It took Rosa three tries before she formed a thick vortex around her. Jared needed four tries to get it right. Artimus' mini-tornado never got beyond a strong breeze. O'Bannon could see the uneasiness on his friend's face.
Probably afraid he'll spin himself into the ground.
Which was exactly what happened to O'Bannon on his fourth attempt. Instead of projecting it outward, the spell reversed on him and spun him around like a human top. He had to wait five minutes before the room stopped spinning before attempting it again.
"Ventus Tempestas!"
A vortex formed, but quickly collapsed.
"Dammit!"
"Just keep trying, Jimmy," Tonks urged. "You'll get the hang of it."
Twice he formed a solid vortex, but when he tried to send it outward it quickly dissipated. Rosa, meanwhile, had bowled over their breakfast table and chairs and started flinging cushions about the Room of Requirement.
O'Bannon growled, staring intently at his wand. Come on, dammit. Get it right!
"Ventus Tempestas!" he roared and jerked his wand over his head.
A gust of wind lifted him off his feet and hurled him across the room. He crashed into the stone floor, the air shooting out of his lungs.
The others rushed over to him, asking if he was all right. O'Bannon rattled off a stream of swear words through clenched teeth.
"All right. I think it's time for a break," Tonks declared. "Go on, find a seat somewhere. I'll be with you in a few."
She shooed off Rosa, Jared and Artimus. O'Bannon let out a frustrated breath and started to rise.
That's when Tonks knelt beside him. "You okay?"
"Yeah, fine," he grumbled.
"You want some advice?"
O'Bannon let out a long breath through his nose. "Sure."
"It doesn't help to perform a spell when you're mad. You'll wind up doing yourself more harm than your opponent. That's basic stuff from First Year Defense Against the Dark Arts."
O'Bannon's scowl became more pronounced. He wasn't mad at Tonks, per say. She couldn't have been more right. What angered him was the fact he ought to have known better. The same principal applied to hockey. If you didn't keep your anger in check, your game would suffer, and most likely, so would the rest of the team.
"I know, it's an athlete thing." She gave him a half-smile.
"What are you talking about?"
"I dated a couple Quidditch players when I was going here. One of them was Hufflepuff's Keeper. Even if we won a match, he'd whinge about the number of Quaffles he let into the goal. Like I really wanted to hear about that when we were snogging."
O'Bannon swallowed. His anger got shoved to the back of his mind as he pictured Tonks with her mouth attached to that of some faceless stranger. Within moments the faceless stranger morphed into . . . him.
He focused on Tonks' lips as she continued. "But he was like that with everything. If he failed a test, if he botched a potion, if he lost points for Hufflepuff. It all sent him into a foul mood. And I see that in you. Not just with messing up this spell, but your reactions since I ran into you in Hogsmeade. You hate to fail."
"Who likes to fail? Especially when people's lives are at stake."
"Well getting angry about it isn't going to help you or anyone else. Jimmy . . ." She got on both knees, leaning in closer. Their faces couldn't be more than a few inches apart. He held his breath, his eyes again locked on Tonks lips. An urge swept over him, one he had to beat down because it would have been inappropriate.
"You have to get hold of your emotions," Tonks continued. "Especially in these types of situations."
"How, when there's so much at stake?"
"You do it when you're playing hockey, don't you?"
"Nobody dies if my team loses a game."
"No. But in war people will die if you act out of anger. You won't be able to think straight, you'll likely rush into action and wind up getting yourself or others killed. You have to remind yourself what's at stake, and that for the sake of a successful mission you have to keep your head about you. I know you have it in you to do that, Jimmy."
He just stared at Tonks, watching her blink, marveling at how beautiful her heart-shaped face was, thinking on her words. God, it was so easy to say and so hard to do, especially when every plan they'd come up with had fallen apart.
But we've always tried another one. And another. And another. Tonks was right. He hated to fail. He grabbed hold of that trait, strengthened it. That's what would get him and his friends through this. He would not give up, not until he was lying dead with a smoking wand clenched in his hand.
And if he had to control his temper in order not to fail, for the sake of his friends on both sides of the Atlantic he would do it, no matter how hard he had to work at it.
"Thanks, Tonks. I guess I needed a swift kick in the ass."
"Well, glad my foot was the one able to provide it."
O'Bannon chuckled. He watched her blink slowly a couple times, that trademark wry grin etched in her face. Damn, but it made her look . . .
"You know, I really appreciate everything you've done for me . . . um, us. I mean, not just here, but back at Salem."
"I was glad to."
O'Bannon took a slow breath. "You're an awesome auror, Tonks." He paused, a smile slowly spreading across his face. "Even if you are the clumsiest person I've ever met in my life."
Tonks yelped in laughter.
"I mean, jeez, did you trip over your own umbilical cord when you were born?"
A high-pitched chortle burst from Tonks throat. She pitched forward . . . and pressed her forehead into O'Bannon's shoulder.
He stiffened, feeling her hair tickling his cheek and her body convulsing with laughter. His stomach flipped over. He slid his right hand around Tonks' waist and placed it on her back. He began pressing his cheek deeper into her hair when she pulled back. He mentally begged Tonks to put her head back on his shoulder, to move in close enough until . . .
She focused on him, still smiling. He tried to read all the emotions on her face, a face that hovered only inches from his. Her chest rose and fell with slow breaths. And her hair! Right before his eyes it changed into a brilliant shade of red and orange, the color of a blazing fire.
No. There ain't no way this can happen. She was an auror. She was older than him. He was just overcome with lust. Tonks couldn't be . . .
He studied her face. Her eyes never left him. For a moment O'Bannon wondered if she could hear his pounding heart.
The door to the Room of Requirement flew open.
O'Bannon and Tonks both jerked in surprise. They gave each other a final gaze and turned to the door. They saw no one.
The air shimmered. A silvery gray cloak whipped about and Harry, Ron and Hermione materialized.
"What's up?" O'Bannon leapt to his feet and started over to the trio. He halted when he noticed the distressed looks on their faces.
Please, no. His stomach twisted, waiting for one of them to speak.
"It's Hagrid." Harry hung his head. "He's been detained by the aurors."
"What?" Rosa blurted.
"Why would they do that?" asked Jared.
"From what we heard," Hermione began, "Hagrid told Ginny he'd use the excuse of needing to go to Hogsmeade to get feed for the Blast-Ended Skrewts. But the aurors stopped him before he made it to the front gate. Umbridge accused him of trying to leave school grounds without her permission. That hag claimed he was doing something to help Dumbledore subvert the Ministry."
A stillness settled over the room. O'Bannon went numb, his eyes unable to focus on anything. Hagrid? Arrested? What the hell could they do now?
Don't get mad. Remember what Tonks said.
He closed his eyes, trying to think of an alternative. All the adults at Hogwarts connected to the Order were gone. They couldn't leave the Room of Requirement, not with all the aurors and Irish Wolfhounds and Dementors searching for them. Could Harry, Hermione and the Weasleys get out through one of the secret passages? Even if they did, Hogsmeade was still swarming with Ministry patrols. He'd also be willing to bet they still had that Anti-Apparation field erected over the village.
What else is there? Think. Think, dammit!
He had no ideas.
Silence still hung over the room. Everyone stared at one another in what he could only describe as hopelessness.
Without a word, O'Bannon slowly walked to his little bedroom. No one spoke as he drew back the curtain and entered. He cast a Muffling Charm around the room, then looked down at his wand. His eyes stung. He clenched his teeth. Dammit, he was seventeen. He couldn't cry.
Even though he'd let down the Guild of the Light.
Even though he'd let down his friends in both America and Britain.
Even though he had failed.
He chucked his wand against the wall. With a roar he grabbed his cot and overturned it. He swept out his arm and knocked over the nightstand, kicking and stomping it until it turned into a pile of splinters.
Breathing heavily, he dropped to his knees and slumped forward. A heaviness pressed down on him. Somehow he held back the tears building in his eyes. He had no right to cry, no right to feel sorry for himself. Not when God only knew how many people would die because he was a failure.
TO BE CONTINUED