Did I mention how much I love you guys ? Well if you haven't felt the point I really want you to know how much I love you all for your comments. I'm really satisfied with the way things are going, but it up to YOU to keep me inspired! Remember to leave me a review and let me know how you truly feel about WHYB!!!
Chapter 7
The house was deathly silent. In fact it was practically frightening to be moving through the corridors when it was so still. He hoped he wouldn't get caught. There was a lot of things he was good at getting away with, but down this particular corridor there were no places to hide. If he was down on the second floor in the west corridor he could always jump behind the black velvet curtains. Behind those curtains was a hidden room he was positive no one even knew about. He had hid many times back there when he didn't want her to see him. He loved her of course, but she had a tendency of catching him in things at the wrong time. Then she would go and tell and everything would be over. Which was why he had to be very careful on the third floor. If he could make it to the end of the corridor and slip down the next he could always make a dash for the attic. Though the attic reminded him of the haunted house they visited last summer, and the trouble he had gotten into their had given him a sore bottom for a week. Just thinking of it made his bottom hurt so he avoided it like the plague.
Slowly his tiny feet carried him past the guest bedroom, and closer to the office. It was prime work time, and within the next few minutes she would be coming out into the corridor and rushing to the small makeshift owlry at the end. He had just enough time to test out his latest invention. Of course James knew that as soon as he tested it he was likely to be punished for the next few days but it was worth it. Anything to get under Aunt Daphne's skin was worth it. Last week he had politely brought her a cup of tea which he had spiked with a color-all tablet he made with his potion kit. Watching Aunt Daphne scream while she turned different shades of blue had be an absolute laugh riot. He was positive his father had thought so too, but when he was sent to his room without any desert he knew otherwise. It wasn't like he wanted to get his father upset with him, but he just couldn't help it that Aunt Daphne always accepted his presents. She was awfully gullible.
There was only a few more steps before he passed the office, and when he heard the muffled voices from behind the door he sucked in his gut and held his breath. This was always the worst part. Sometimes, though very few times, he'd make a peep and get caught outside the door. It was at these moments he had to pretend that he was just visiting his father, but most of the time he was able to get past the office without a problem. Once he had even set up a set exploding snap cards right outside the office and nearly gave what Aunt Daphne had called, an aneurysm.
Today was a special day to say the very least. He had been working very hard on a few new things with his potions kit late last night when his mummy and dad were fast asleep. Oh he knew how much trouble he would have been in if they ever caught him, but he knew he was safe last night. He had heard his parents having a good row right before he closed his door. Whenever they went at it like that he knew they'd just yell for hours before falling asleep. Once they were asleep after a row they never came out of the room. Once or twice he had heard an odd sort of banging of the bed against the wall, but he had figured his mummy was just having a bad dream. After all she usually was yelling pretty loud and screaming things like 'Oh Merlin no!' and ' Don't stop!'. So while his parents had been busy yelling last night he snuck to the back of his closet and began mixing together a nifty disappearing potion. He had only gotten it to make his torso disappear, but it was still as funny as ever. It wasn't every day you were a bobbing head and a set of legs.
There was a grunt of anger behind the door of the office, and James paused again and held his breath. A few steps were audible right behind the door, and he closed his eyes hoping that no one would be opening the door this early. He wasn't even close to ready yet! When the door remained shut he quietly let out the breath and began taking soft steps again past the door.
"You don't know if they will find out, Cassius." He knew that voice! That was Uncle Marcus! Why didn't anyone tell him that Uncle Marcus was coming over after lunch?
"Of course they will. As soon as that list of names is complete her name will be right there. It will be at the top of the list, and my parents will know she is alive. That she isn't who I told them she was." Why did his Dad sound so upset? Normally his father was very serious when he was working, but it didn't sound like he was serious at all. In fact it almost sounded like he had been crying.
"Come on, mate, think about this logically. Alicia has been your wife for nearly five years. You honestly think, the past or not, that they would just turn those memories over and finish what they had started so long ago?" Uncle Marcus' voice was so close to the door that James could hear the soft clicking he was making with his tongue.
"Plus she has given them James. They love him. They would never do anything." Aunt Daphne sounded like she was chewing something, and James knew he only had a little more time before she came out and went to the owlry. Still he couldn't move from the spot. Why were they talking about his Mummy like they were worried about her? Was something wrong with her? Was she sick?
"You don't know my parents…you don't know the rage my mother held for the Spinnets after my father left us. Both my parents despised the family, but my mother…she'd go after blood. Grandson …daughter-in-law…it doesn't matter. She'd look at James only as the blood of his mother, and Merlin forbid she ever learn the truth about him." There was another shuffle of feet, and this time the handle on the door jiggled slightly.
James, who had been transfixed on the door, was suddenly sparked out of it, and he quickly made a dash for the owlry. What were they talking about? Was something going to happen to his Mummy? He had watched her take a potion after lunch to help her take a nap, but she had promised him that she wasn't sick. Did she lie? His feet carried him past the oil painting of Sir Trom Graydawl, the first wizard to travel to space, and right into the small owlry. He didn't waste any time running over to the small window across the room and removing the vial from his pocket. He heard the door slam from outside the room and knew it was Aunt Daphne on her way into the owlry to send off the daily reports.. Popping the cork he downed the silvery contents without blinking an eye and tossed the vial across the room and into a hay pile that they often used to line the cages. Immediately his torso began fading, and he sprawled out on the floor and began whimpering. Sometimes playing jokes on Aunt Daphne was so much fun.
The doorknob turned, and Daphne stepped inside with her nose buried in the parchment. If he didn't make a noise it was likely she wouldn't even noticed him lying there. " Au-Au-Aunt….Daph." He stammered his words and waited for the woman to lift her head from whatever it was she was reading.
"What Jam- Oh my Merlin!" Her scream was so deafening he wondered if it woke his mother on the floor below. "Oh my oh my oh my….James what happened to you! Are you all right? Where is your body? Oh my gods, are you ok? Honey are you hurt? In pain? Can you move?"
It took all of his strength not to burst into a fit of giggles. The look on her face had been everything he had anticipated, and her frantic reaction was like an added bonus. "I was just coming in to…to feed Squall and I felt…I felt so weak Aunt Daph…so " He let his head roll to the side and he coughed. " weak…" It was a good thing he closed his eyes because by her constant blabbering he was sure he'd had lost it. Merlin he was a good little actor. One time when he had finished playing one of his usual pranks on Aunt Daphne she had stated that he was just like his father. It was something he had been excited about, and proud of at the same time. If his father was good at fooling people then James promised himself that one day he would be the best.
"What's going on?" The door to the owlry swung open and inside stormed a very worried looking Marcus and an even angrier Cassius.
James peaked out of one eye and mentally groaned. He was going to be in so much trouble after this. His father had said the next time he was caught pulling anything on Aunt Daphne he was going to be forced to clean not only his own bedroom, but the entire master bedroom for his Mummy. Without any magic!
"James Arthur Warrington!" His father's voice was the demand for him to open his eyes, and James did so without waiting for another order. "What in Merlin's beard have you done."
"Oh Cassius, the boy is sick! Can't you see?" Daphne, in tears, was grabbing onto Marcus, who was actually laughing quite uncontrollably.
"He isn't sick, Daphne." Cassius spat, "Are you son?"
He didn't want to actually admit that he was ok. He wondered exactly what would happen if he just continued playing this off. Would his father take him to the hospital, or would he let him go to his room and play with toys all evening until he felt better? The choices weighed heavily in his mind, and he would have continued deliberating if his father didn't clear his throat. "Well…" His eyes moved towards the pile of hay, and Marcus took the opportunity to step away from Daphne and bend down over the hay.
"An empty vial?" He brought the thing glass vial out from the hay pile and handed it over towards Cassius. "How did this empty vial get in the hay?" Marcus smirked.
"Well…well….see….Squall dropped it on me. Yeah…" James felt his eyes light up. " I came in here to give her some treats, and she had the vial in her mouth. When I asked her for it she threw it at me. It musta had some potion in there to make me disappear." He looked down at the area that was missing and let his mouth hang open. "What a nasty thing that was for Squall to do. Shame on you, Squall." He pointed his nose up towards the tawny owl. Squall merely gave an insulted hoot, and flew up to one of the higher perches.
"James." Cassius didn't have to push for the truth to come out. He knew by just giving James that look he'd spill the truth.
"Well…maybe it wasn't exactly like that." He was speaking so fast that he hadn't even noticed that his body was returning. " I mean maybe I didn't come in here and find Squall with the vial. Maybe I sorta had it in my pocket and maybe I sorta drank it and maybe I sorta did it to scare Aunt Daphne." At this confession Daphne huffed and folded her arms across her chest. "Heh…shame on me?"
"I want you to go to the closet down in the east corridor and find the things you will need to clean your room with. After that you will go to the master bedroom and clean it for your mother. When you are finished with those things I will make you some supper." Cassius shot Marcus a look which stopped the soft laughing that was coming from his friend.
"But Dad!" Pushing himself to his feet, James placed his hand on his now visible stomach and groaned. "It's so late already and I just ate lunch! I'm supposed to nap." He knew there was no point in trying to protest, but he decided to give it a shot. It was worth it if he was able to weasel himself out of such a punishment.
"To the closet and off to work. I told you this last time, James, so don't make it seem like you weren't warned." Cassius watched as the tiny figure began moving towards the door. "And do not disturb your mother. She's sleeping, but the potion she took shouldn't cause her to wake, but be quiet while your in there."
James nodded mutely and slipped through the small opening in the doorway. He hated getting caught, and what was worse he was only able to trick Aunt Daphne for a total of twenty seconds. Why did she have to scream so loud? If she had just started crying, or babbling on about how worried she was he could have milked out that prank for a solid ten minutes. "Stupid chores." He mumbled to himself and took the staircase down two at a time to the second floor.
What did they expect him to do when his Mummy was asleep? It wasn't like he had any friends over that he could play with, and the toys in his room were boring unless his Mum was playing with him. Maybe what he needed was a younger brother. If he had someone else to always play with he wouldn't have the time to get into so much trouble. It was something to consider and he promised to ask his Mummy if he could have a baby brother for his next birthday. Either that or allow Uncle Adrian and Aunt Millicent to move in with Evan and Druella. Then he would have two young kids to play with all the time. Sure Evan was a snot nosed git once in awhile because he was seven, but Druella was always fun to play with. She was only two months older than James and they always had fun together.
Stomping down the corridor towards the closet, James began thinking of the different ways he could clean the room. He hated doing things without magic, but if he was caught with any wand he'd be in even more trouble than he already was. Maybe then the best way to go about his punishment would be to clean the larger room first. If he did a really good job on the master bedroom maybe his Dad wouldn't make him clean his own room. He'd be so proud that James did an excellent job in the larger room that he'd let the rest of the punishment go. Now that was a plan that couldn't possibly fail. His Dad was a reasonable man. Besides if he was really lucky his Mum would wake mid-cleaning session and tell him he didn't have to finish the rest. One of his favorite things about his Mum was the way she let him get away with his pranks sometimes. She thought they were funny and most of the time harmless. Whenever his father punished him his Mum always found ways to help him get out of it. His Mum was the greatest. In fact the thought of everything she did for him became so overwhelming he opened up the closet and began grabbing everything he could. He wanted to clean the master bedroom for her. She deserved a day off from things and because he loved her so much he was going to do a really good job.
With the essential things in his arms, James began whistling a funny little tune he had learned the other day from Mr. George. It was something that he had sworn he heard his Mum whistle before, but when he asked her later on that evening about it she said she couldn't recall. James liked it. It was happy and had a fun little beat that made his lips vibrate when he whistled. Maybe if his Mum was feeling better in the morning she'd take him to the museum and they'd see Mr. George again. James liked Mr. George a lot. There was something about him that made James feel like he knew him for a very long time. Plus he had bought him the giant lollipop he had wanted so badly. He was a funny redheaded man, and James had a hunch that if he were to pull a prank on Mr. George that Mr. George would think it were really funny.
"Mummy?" James, right outside the door of the master bedroom, tapped lightly on the wood frame and waited for an answer.
When nothing came from behind the door, James managed to rearrange the things in his arms and open the door without dropping a single thing. The room was fairly lit, and James looked over to see the body of his Mum passed out upon the green and gold silk sheets. She didn't look too sick. Did she? Actually she looked sorta peaceful just lying there with her hair falling over her eyes. James had always thought his Mummy was the prettiest in all the town, but sometimes he looked at her and thought she was too good to even be compared to the other Mummy's around town. She was his most favorite thing, and James smirked. If it had been anyone else he would have set up some foul little prank to go off and scare the person awake. He couldn't do that to his Mum. He had never played a prank on her. There was something he had always felt so guilty about if he even thought about doing something to her. Usually the furthest he would go was to hide her wand, and he only did that because she'd let him try wandless magic to bring it back.
Placing the duster, the polish and the pail on the floor, James stepped across the room and began moving a few of the cluttered items out of his way. He knew if he stacked them neatly to one side he'd only have to move the perfect stack instead of ten little things. He did this rather quickly and then went back for the duster. He was just about to work when mumbled words came from his Mum's mouth. Cocking his eyebrow up, James placed the duster down and turned towards the bed.
She was lying there on her back with her hair still covering a good portion of her face. Her right arm was flopped over the side of the bed while the rest of her was shifted slightly to the other side. The gold locket she wore hung perfectly in the center of her neck, and James squinted at the thing as a funny question popped into his head. What was in that locket? It was one of those items his Mummy always wore, and yet he had never seen her open the locket. What did she keep in there? Glancing towards the door, James waited a moment to see if his Dad would suddenly appear out of thin air. Sometime it was like the man had a monitor placed on James so he'd know exactly when he was about to do something he wasn't supposed to.
"Yule Ball…" His Mum giggled, and moved slightly in her sleep. James shook his head at her sudden outburst and took a tentative step towards the bed. "You can't seriously be wearing that…" She laughed again, and this time her right arm flopped back over her body and rested comfortable against her stomach.
"Yule Ball?" James scrunched his nose. He had never heard of a Yule Ball before. The gap between himself and the bed was almost gone, and when his knees hit the plush mattress he let a soft gasp slip out. Again he looked towards the door wondering if his Father was nearby or if he went back to work in the office with Uncle Marcus and Aunt Daphne. When no one came, James placed his hands down on the mattress and pushed himself up onto the soft cushion.
"Two Outstandings, Two Exceeds Expectations…I failed Herbology."
Again he looked at his Mum like she were crazy, and came to a halt next to her head. Going about the locket the right way was crucial. If he made a rough movement it could completely ruin everything, and yet on the other hand if he did it quickly enough maybe she'd just stay asleep. Suddenly he wished he had enough time to run across to his room and get some of the Slumber Dust his Grandmother had given him last Christmas. A few sprinkles on the eyelids and you were guaranteed a steady nights rest. Reaching out with his right hand, James felt his fingers brush along the top of the locket. The funny thing was that it felt like nothing like he imagined. He had figured it would be the same temperature as his mother seeing it was resting against her, but when his fingers grazed it the locket was icy cold. Too cold.
Shrugging it off, he reached out his other hand and quickly pulled the tiny little latch at the bottom of the locket. It didn't budge. Again he gave another little pull and dropped it when his Mum mumbled something about 'Hogsmeade'. Why wasn't it opening? Turing the locket over in his hand he looked at the back and narrowed his eyes at the tiny little designs. It didn't look like the locket had ever been broken. Maybe it was just so old that it was stuck. "But how…" Biting on his lower lip, James glanced over his shoulder towards the night stand behind him. He knew what he was looking for. He had seen it sitting there a million times. He had hid it a million times, and his Mum even let him practice with it a million times. Her slender oak wand sat in its usual spot practically beckoning him to take it. It wasn't like he was going to do anything harmful with it. All he wanted to do was see what was in the locket. He had seen his Mummy rub the locket between her fingers so many times he had always figured there was something important inside of it.
Leaning over, James reached out and grabbed the wand with his tiny little hands. It always felt so strange when he held it, and still he knew he couldn't wait for the day his parents sent him to Durmstrang. As soon as he walked through those doors he could cast whatever spells he wanted! He could prank whomever he wanted, and best of all he could get away with everything because from what he had read Durmstrang was so big that there were hidden rooms everywhere. Twirling the wand once in his hand, James tapped it against the side of his head while he tried to recall the charm his Mummy had taught him. He knew it sounded something like 'Almamora' but he didn't think that that was actually it. Maybe it was Almamora. He had second guessed himself before on many things and it always turned out that he was right. It had to be Almamora!
He took a deep breath and pointed the wand down towards the locket. Any second now and he was going to see what was in the locket. He hoped there was a picture of him in the locket. It would be very disappointing to do all of the troublesome work he was doing only to find out the locket was empty. Closing his eyes James tapped the locket with the top of the wand and said it. "Almamora." For a brief second he opened his eyes and frowned when nothing happened. Then it happened.
It happened so quickly he didn't know what to do! His Mum, one hand clutching her head and the other the locket, shot bolt upright in the bed and began screaming at the top of her lungs. It wasn't any normal screaming either. It was this gut wrenching excruciating scream that immediately caused James to start bawling. What had he done?
"Mummy!" He grabbed at Alicia's arms, but she was so lost within the screams that she didn't even acknowledge his existence. "Mummy! I'm sorry! Stop crying …stop screaming!" The young boy's voice was frantic, and Alicia still continued to scream as though someone were hitting her with a thousand curses.
"He killed them! He did it! And me….and me…..and me! Stop! I love him! Stop it Daddy! Stop! Stop!" Her screams went on. " Oh my god…" Then a wail erupted from her mouth that caused James to cover his ears. "George. Oh my god ….oh god."
He wasn't sure when it happened, but Uncle Marcus had somehow managed to lift his defeated figure from the bed. "James what happened?" Marcus was speaking calmly, but James took note to the desperate look in his Uncle's face.
He couldn't answer. All he could do was watch his Father lean over his Mummy and take the locket in his hand. Her screams were deafening, and James cringed when he saw his Mum slap Cassius' hand away from the locket.
"You! You! You!" She was out of control, and James quickly buried his head in the crook of Marcus' neck. He didn't like seeing his Mummy so sad, and in so much pain.
There was a bright flash, and Cassius, who James had been watching intently, cast another charm on the locket. He blinked. His Father had cast the charm on the locket, and not his Mummy. Why? It didn't seem to matter much because it must have worked. The charm seemed to ease the yelling, and suddenly as though nothing had happened at all. Alicia went silent and fell back against the mound of pillows. There was an eerie silence in the room, and letting out a staggered breath, Cassius turned towards James and Marcus and crossed the room.
"I am not going to be mad with you, James. I just need you to tell me what happened to Mummy when you were in here. It is very important." There were beads of sweat running down the sides of his fathers face, and James wiped at the tears that had been pouring from his eyes.
He didn't want to tell his Father what he did! If he actually admitted to touching the wand he knew he'd be in even bigger trouble then he was earlier. He looked over towards his Mummy and heaved a big sigh from the middle of his chest. He didn't want to say anything, but the reassuring hug from Uncle Marcus, and the thought of helping his Mummy was enough to set him straight. "I just wanted to see what was in the locket. I was curious…but it wouldn't open." He gasped as a choked sob came out of his throat. "I couldn't open it so I used Mummy's wand and did the Almamora charm." Sniffling back his runny nose, James looked up at Uncle Marcus and hugged him. "I didn't mean to hurt Mummy. I love her. I just wanted to see is all…"
Cassius, who had been very patient, finally stood up and looked down at his wife. Her face was contorted slightly, and he knew that once James left the room he would have to go over the locket with a few more charms to be sure that it was sealed. Still he couldn't find himself mad at the boy. The scared look in his eyes was enough to let Cassius know that his son would not be so flighty with wands again. "I understand. " When James looked at him confused, Cassius laughed. " I know you like to discover new things, and we all can't deny that you like to get into trouble…" This caused James to smile which brought a comforting feeling to Cassius. "but you need to really start thinking about your actions, James. What if you had seriously hurt Mummy? What if the charm you said was really wrong, and you harmed her?" He noticed the quivering lip, and placed his hand on James' shoulder. "I'm not mad at you, but you need to know that you can't do everything you think you can. All right?" James nodded. " I'm going to have to punish you, but I wont do that until Mummy wakes up so I can talk to her. Ok?"
James nodded again and looked down at his Mummy. His Dad was being awfully fair with him considering what had just happened. He hadn't meant for his Mummy to get hurt like that, but she had, and James had intently listened to his Fathers words. He would not be playing around with wands any more unless he was supervised by an older witch or wizard. If anything had happened to his Mummy he would have cried every day for the rest of his life. "Can I hug Mummy before I go to my room?" James slipped from Marcus' lap and scooted over beside her. His father nodded, and James leaned over and wrapped his arms tightly around her. "I love you, Mum." Kissing her forehead, James then slipped from the bed and stood by the large door leading out to the corridor.
"You may go to your room and sit there for the rest of the day. I will have one of the elves bring you supper which you will eat in your room. This is not your punishment so don't look at me as though you are getting off easy." Cassius lowered his gaze which caused James to shift uncomfortably. " When I next see you I will have your punishment settled."
"You aren't going to tuck me in goodnight?" There was a trace of disappointment in James' voice, and he kicked at the ground as though this was far worse then any other punishment available.
Catching the hint of sadness in James' voice, Cassius shook his head and sighed. He was planning on letting the child go to sleep without knowing the comfort of being tucked in for the evening, but seeing the look of sorrow in his eyes changed his mind. After everything James had witnessed the least Cassius could do was offer the boy the reassurance that he still loved him. "No, I'll be there to tuck you in tonight." The flicker of relief in James' eyes caused Cassius to bite back the urge to smile. Though this was almost impossible as James rushed over to him and kissed him on his cheek.
"I love you too, Dad." He wrapped his tiny little arms around his father's neck and squeezed with all his might. "I'm really really sorry, and when Mummy wakes up tell her I love her too and I'm sorry." Pulling away James looked up at Marcus and waved. "Night Uncle Marcus."
"What no love for me? Your favorite Uncle?" This statement caused the boy to burst out into hysterics as he opened up the door and left the two men and his mother in the bedroom. "Goodnight squirt!"
For a while the two of them sat silently on the edge of the bed. Marcus had to admit that Alicia looked completely defeated lying there with the twisted expression still on her face. What had she felt when that locked was opened? And was it the messed up charm, or the actual release of the memories that ailed her? Cassius had to have been thinking along the same lines because when Marcus looked up at his friend his face was scrunched up in confusion.
"It had to be the mis-charm." Cassius stated firmly. "There is no way the wards I placed on that thing would have caused her to react to it that way. There is no other reason." He didn't want to believe that what he had done to her had harmed her in any way. The only comforting thought was believing that the charm James had used caused a counter reaction to the wards and put Alicia into a series of painful moments.
"Are you sure? Or are you just saying this to ease the worry?" Marcus looked between Alicia's stone face and Cassius blank one. When had this entire thing start to unravel?
"No I'm positive." Though it sounded like he was trying to convince himself. Pulling his wand out again, Cassius leaned over Alicia and tapped the locket. There was a pause, and then a deep red glow wrapped around the gold locket and faded as though it were absorbed into the piece. "I do know that James is becoming less and less like a Warrington and more like - " He paused, unable to bring himself to actually say it.
Marcus frowned and removed himself from the plush bedside. "Don't be ridiculous. That boy has more of you in him then anyone else. He is an image of you through and through." Cassius looked at him knowingly, and Marcus sighed. "Ok maybe recently he seems a bit more…out of character, but what do you expect. It's in the child's blood. It was in her blood. Alicia was the most curious person we knew back at Hogwarts…well besides Potter."
Cassius reached over and brushed a few fallen hairs from Alicia's face. Why did he fall in love with her so? He hated her and loved her at the same time, and yet still couldn't bring himself to just let her go. Merlin how he had loathed her in Hogwarts! The perfect little specimen that everyone looked at for advice and such. Then he had found out the truth behind her deep sad eyes. Oh how that day had been sweet precious victory. How he had owled his brother and told him of the plans he had to take down the only Spinnet child. It had run so smoothly in his head, but what he hadn't planned on was actually feeling sorry for her when he told her the truth. What he had witnessed when he broke her heart was something that stuck with him every day that year. It took him awhile to realize how much he actually cared for her. It wasn't until the end of the school year that he tried pursuing her again. She had turned him away and declared him nothing more then Slytherin scum. She had gone back to Weasley, and Cassius had actually been hurt. The wave of emotions she put him through caused a mad ride of love and hate, but deep inside of him he knew that she was someone who understood him to levels far beyond his own mind. He had never known anyone to be so loving and at the same time so strong despite being defeated time and time again. Alicia was a fighter, and he loved that about her. He only wished she had seen it within herself all those years ago in Hogwarts.
"Cassius…." She murmured suddenly causing him to stiffen slightly. Had she heard him utter the charm against her locket? Glancing at Marcus, the man stood and mouthed that he was going to check on James. He had closed the door behind him no more than a second before she shifted on the bed. Her eyes flickered for a moment, and she opened them to reveal those dark green eyes.
Sometimes when he looked into those eyes he recalled the first time he had taken her. It had been unexpected to say the very least, but when she willingly took him into the deserted room of requirement he couldn't dismiss her. Even though he had hated her then he had wanted her. He took her. Every ounce of anger and hatred left bruises across her body, and Cassius vividly recalled the whimper of pain and pleasure that slipped through her parted lips. "Yes?" His thumb ran smoothly across those same lips and she turned to rest her head against his leg.
"Why aren't you working?" She stretched, and the thin material of her shirt caused his eyes to draw away from her face and down toward the rise and fall of her breast. The locket hung there perfectly as though nothing had just happened. The charm had worked fine.
"Finished." She brought her hand up to his chin and let out a throaty laugh. She looked tired, and he assumed it was from the sudden release of all those memories. He would have to modify James' mind slightly. If the boy mentioned anything in regards to what had happened Alicia would be bursting with questions. He couldn't have that. " You should keep napping. I didn't mean to wake you."
"I have a slight headache…I suppose that medi-potion I took earlier didn't work." She laughed again, and tugged at the collar of his shirt. When his face reached her level she kissed him.
Cassius could have stayed against her like that for days. If there was anyway to stop time and keep her with him in this moment he would have. Something in his gut told him things were slowly changing. All the signs pointed to it. "Don't open your eyes." He ushered against her lips, and she kept them closed long after he pulled away from her kiss. She was asleep again within seconds, and the hand that had been holding tightly to his collar fell limp against her chest. It hit the gold locket with a tiny clink, and Cassius reached out and took the piece of jewelry into his own hand.
It amazed him out one silly little piece of jewelry held the balance between everything. It symbolized so much of Alicia's life, and she didn't even know what existed beyond the tiny latch that held it together.
"Everything is going to change." He muttered quietly, placing the locket back down and glancing at the door. A few rooms over he knew James was probably asking Marcus a thousand questions about what had happened to Alicia. The boy was as curious as she had been when she was in school, and Cassius glanced down longingly at his wife again. If only she had loved him the very same way she had loved Weasley. If only she had been able to give him what she had blessed Weasley with.
Rising from the bed, Cassius reached for Alicia's wand and placed it carefully on one of the higher shelves. He did not need another reenactment of what had happened merely ten minutes ago. Granted he was almost one hundred percent sure that James would never step inside the room again he couldn't be too careful. Reaching the door he pulled on the knob and stepped out into the cool vacant corridor. Voices could be heard down towards James' room, but instead of heading in that direction he found himself heading back to his office. There had to be some way to keep Alicia safe from the truth. He needed to keep searching! Time on the Zabini project was running thin, and Cassius, someone who had witnessed so much horror in his own childhood, couldn't dare think about the horror that would rise if Alicia's true identity was revealed. A violent gag had formed somewhere in his throat, and when he reached his office he quickly grabbed a large book from his shelf and began processing everything he possibly could. It didn't matter what things were going to change, or what things were going to happen. He'd save her again if he had to. He promised himself that much.