"Jimmy. How are you feeling?"
Jimmy O'Bannon entered Tonks' tiny office, walking slower than he normally did. "Nurse Gillwick healed up my leg and shoulder nicely, but I'm still sore as hell."
"Well that's what you get for almost blowing yourself up." Tonks gave him a lopsided grin.
O'Bannon shrugged. "Hey, it was the best I could come up with on short notice."
"And what about . . . emotionally?"
"I feel a lot calmer than I have in about a month."
Soon after their return to Salem, Headmistress Esmeralda had Mister Korvette brew up the antidote for the Projection Potion, which had been included in Snape's message to Tonks. At breakfast the next morning the antidote was given to the all the students and staff. The stuff tasted like chalk mixed with cat piss, but O'Bannon decided it was a small price to pay if it put things back to normal.
He groaned slightly and took a seat in front of Tonks' desk. "So, did you find anything in that Death Eater safehouse?"
"Nothing particularly useful. And they sealed up the fireplace. We have no idea where that last Death Eater might have Flooed to."
O'Bannon frowned. "I still don't know why Serinta and Cecilia were hiding in that alley? Why not just apparate into the apartment if it was that close by?"
"Security charms. They prevented anyone from apparating inside. And there were people on the street at the time. Serinta probably wanted to wait until it was clear before moving on so she wouldn't draw attention to herself."
"Well, Slytherins do like sneaking around in the shadows." O'Bannon bit his lip momentarily. "Most Slytherins."
"Thank you." Tonks nodded to him.
O'Bannon sighed and slouched in his seat.
"Something the matter?" Tonks canted her head.
"Yeah, well . . . I just wanted to say I'm sorry."
"For what?"
O'Bannon tugged on the left sleeve of his robes and sighed. "I should have made sure that Death Eater was out of it before I checked on Serinta. I should have nailed him with a Body-Bind Curse or something. Then you guys in the Order could have pumped her for whatever information she had. Now . . ."
He looked away, not wanting to see the kind of look Tonks would give him. An accusatory one, no doubt. A look that said he was just a stupid Muggle-born kid trying to fight battles better left to real witches and wizards.
Something moved in front of him. He glanced up to find Tonks sitting on the edge of her desk.
"Don't beat yourself up, Jimmy. For someone without any formal training, you did an exceptional job in Ovenderburg. It's true we'll never learn what sort of information Serinta Sejant had on You-Know-Who and his forces, but you did stop her from spreading the effects of the Projection Potion to other parts of your country."
"Thanks." He managed a half-grin, then stared at his lap.
"Something else on your mind?"
There was. Something that had plagued him since he returned from Hogwarts. Something made worse by the events of two nights ago.
O'Bannon raised his head, noting the concern on Tonks' face. Part of him didn't want to say anything. Call it male pride or whatever. He'd thoroughly impressed this auror by fighting Death Eaters and preventing Serinta from escaping. If he admitted this to her, would she think him weak?
But who else can I ask this?
"Um . . . it's just . . . well. Have you seen a lot of dead people? Being an auror and being with the Order of the Phoenix?"
Tonks' eyes widened. She drew back a little in surprise. O'Bannon wondered if she'd chastise him for asking such a question.
"I've only been an auror for little over a year, but I have seen a couple."
O'Bannon nodded, his mind drawing a blank on what to say next.
Tonks saved him the trouble. "This is about Serinta, isn't it?"
O'Bannon gnawed on the inside of his cheek. He willed himself to force out the words. "I had nightmares all summer about Cedric's murder. I've never seen a dead person up close and personal like that. Okay, well, one of my aunts died a couple years ago and I went to the viewing. But that's different. I mean, she looked peaceful in that coffin. And Cedric . . . he was just lying on the ground. A guy nearly as old as me, and there he was. Dead. And now Serinta. Part of me wants to be glad she's dead. She almost killed me, for Merlin's sake. But seeing her on the ground, her eyes staring at nothing . . ." He shivered. "How do you deal with it?"
"You just do."
"Simple as that?"
"Unfortunately, it's not simple. I still have nightmares over those two bodies I've seen since becoming an auror. You can't help but think how quickly this person's life was snuffed out. You wonder what his or her life would have been like if they hadn't died, how their loved ones will react. You get frightened to your very core wondering if it can happen to you. And most of all, you feel awful because a human life has ended violently."
"Do you even feel that way for someone like Serinta?"
Tonks nodded. "Yes. As despicable as she was, she was still a human being. And so young. Ever since that night I sometimes find myself getting mad at her. Why did she decide to serve You-Know-Who? Would she have eventually seen the light if she lived? And what about her parents? They may serve our enemy, but they are still parents. They'll still mourn the loss of their daughter. I wonder how anyone can ever get over that."
O'Bannon folded his arms and sighed. "You know, I didn't even know Cedric. I hated Serinta. And Feetish, he was just some sicko, annoying garden gnome. If I'm feeling this way after their deaths, what's gonna happen if next time it's someone I really care about?"
"I wish I could answer you, Jimmy. I can't imagine what would happen if I lost my parents. I suspect I'd mourn, then go on and do what needs to be done, because that's what my mum and dad would want."
They stared in silence at one another for several seconds. O'Bannon gripped the armrests of his chair and pushed himself up with a groan. "Thanks, Tonks. For everything."
"It was my pleasure, Jimmy."
The two shook hands.
"So what now?" O'Bannon asked.
"I go back to Britain. Continue the fight."
"Well, tell everyone back in Merry Ol' England I said hi."
"I certainly will." Tonks smiled at him.
"Oh, and if you can do me one more favor."
"What?"
"Next time you see Fred and George, tell 'em I'm gonna fix their asses for sending Jared and Rosa those Ton-Tongue Toffees to give me."
XXXXX
"So what's going to happen to you now?" Artimus leaned against the closed door of Cecilia's room, watching her pack her trunk.
"That auror Tonks has made arrangements with the Guild of the Light." She kept her focus on her trunk as she spoke. "I'll be going into hiding. The same with my parents back in Britain."
"Where?"
Cecilia closed her eyes. Several seconds passed before she turned to Artimus. "I don't know. Even if I did, I wouldn't be able to tell you."
Artimus' chin fell to his chest. "Will I ever see you again?"
"I . . . I don't know."
A hole opened under Artimus' heart and swallowed it. He cursed Serinta Sejant, cursed You-Know-Who, cursed this damn, stupid war that ripped Cecilia Malfoy away from him. He'd never had the kind of luck with girls that Jimmy and Jared did. Now when he finally found one he cared about, and who cared about him in return, she had to leave.
Artimus felt two fingers underneath his chin. He allowed them to lift his head until he stared into Cecilia's eyes.
"Thank you," she said softly. "For looking past my House, my last name, and treating me like a human being."
Artimus put his hands on Cecilia's sides, then slid them around her back. Merlin, how he loved holding her. "Thank you, for all your advice. For believing in me."
"You're a lot stronger than you think, Artimus. Always stand up for yourself, and don't let anyone take advantage of you."
"I won't."
"And . . . and another thing."
Cecilia took a deep breath, then gently rested her hand on Artimus' cheek. His insides quivered.
"There is going to be a war. I can feel it. In a way, it's already started. I want you to promise me that you'll do everything you can to make it through alive."
"I promise."
The corners of Artimus' mouth twitched. Moisture formed in his eyes. If this was going to be the last time he ever saw Cecilia Malfoy . . .
"Cecilia. I . . . I think I . . . I think I'm . . ."
She surged forward and kissed him hard. Artimus pulled her into him, running his hand through her blond hair.
"Please don't say it," Cecilia said. "It'll . . . It's just going to make it harder."
To Artimus' surprise, a tear rolled down Cecilia's cheek. He never pictured her the crying type.
They kissed again.
Someone knocked on the door.
Artimus wanted to yank out his wand and cast every spell he knew to barricade the door, to prevent anyone from taking away Cecilia.
Hesitantly, Cecilia took hold of the knob and opened the door.
Tonks stood in the door frame, along with, to Artimus' surprise, Jimmy.
"It's time to go, Cecilia."
She got her trunk and trudged toward the door. She stopped and turned to Artimus, who took her in his arms again.
"Don't forget me," she whispered in his ear.
"There's no way that's going to happen."
Reluctantly, Artimus released her. Cecilia trailed Tonks down the corridor, walking past Jimmy without a glance. He kept his head down, his thumbs hitched in his pockets.
"Hey, Malfoy."
Cecilia stopped and looked back at Jimmy, the surprise evident in her eyes.
After a long pause, he finally said, "Take care of yourself, okay?"
Cecilia continued to stare at him, as if trying to absorb what Jimmy had just said.
She said nothing, just nodded to him. With one final glance at Artimus, she followed Tonks down the corridor and out of sight.
She's gone. Artimus propped himself against the wall, staring blankly at the door across from him. She's gone. What do I do now?
Footfalls approached. Artimus continued staring straight ahead as Jimmy came up next to him.
"I'm sorry, man. You were right all along about Cecilia. I shoulda listened to you instead of being a Slytherin-hating dumbass."
Artimus finally rotated his head toward Jimmy. "I'm sorry I hit you with the chair at the dance."
"Yeah, well, you really weren't yourself that night. I don't think any of us were."
Artimus gave him a barely perceptible nod. Was that entirely true?
"We cool?" Jimmy held out his fist.
"Yeah. We're cool."
Even as they tapped fists, doubts lingered in Artimus' mind whether or not everything was cool between them.
"Hey, I'll catch you later, bro." Jimmy started to walk away.
"Where are you going?"
Jimmy looked over his shoulder. "There's something else I gotta make right."
XXXXX
O'Bannon sat against a tree, gazing down the dirt path leading to the Quidditch pitch. Any minute now . . .
A small knot of students appeared and headed toward him. O'Bannon grimaced and rose, screwing up his eyes to find one person in particular.
There! Wedged between two other girls from the Blazenrowe Quidditch team was Rana Rollingsworth.
O'Bannon leaned against the tree and watched them draw nearer. Rana slowed her pace when she noticed him.
"Hey, Rana. You got a sec?"
Her lips tightened. The two girls with her aimed harsh stares at him.
"Yeah. Sure."
It wasn't the most enthusiastic response, but O'Bannon would take it.
Rana separated from the group. All of her teammates watched her walk off with him, including Gregory Lancemore. O'Bannon avoided his gaze.
"You, um, feeling okay?" he asked when they were out of earshot of the team.
"Yeah. I'm fine." Her voice didn't hold any of the cheeriness he'd grown used to.
Rana continued, "Things are still kind of rocky between me and Beatrice. How about you?"
"I'm good. Things are cool between me and Art."
Rana looked down, studying the green-brown grass around her feet. "I still can't believe that British girl was responsible for all this."
"Yeah, I know." O'Bannon drew a breath. Enough tapdancing. "Look, Rana. I am so sorry about what happened at the dance. I mean, I wasn't in my right mind. None of us were. I know it was a special night for both of us and thanks to that Projection Potion everything got messed up."
"Apology accepted."
A smile spread across O'Bannon's face. "Good. Thanks. Say, now that we're all sane again, why don't we sit together at dinner tonight, then . . . I don't know. Find some place to talk. Just the two of us."
"Jimmy. I . . ." Rana's pretty face sagged. "Do you remember what Headmistress Esmeralda said about the Projection Potion?"
"Yeah. Because Cecilia Malfoy was jealous and resentful about her family, those emotions got magnified in us."
"That's the key word. They magnified those emotions, they didn't create them."
"Okay?" O'Bannon wondered where she was going with this.
"Which means you were already jealous of Gregory before this potion really took effect."
O'Bannon swallowed. He shifted his weight from side-to-side. "Okay. Maybe I was a kinda jealous whenever I saw him around you. I just really liked you, and he's Salem's ladies man, and I got worried he was gonna steal you away . . ."
"Jimmy. When you use a word like 'steal' you make me sound like a possession."
"I'm sorry, Rana. Look, if it wasn't for that Projection Potion I never would've gone postal at the dance."
"But you still would've been jealous of Gregory spending time with me to work on our project. And . . . I can't help but wonder if you'd feel the same way when you see me hugging my male teammates after we win, or if I work with another guy on a school project, or if you just see me walking to class talking to another guy. Will you have another outburst like the one you had at the Halloween Dance, without some potion to blame it on?"
Dread consumed O'Bannon's soul. His heart pounded furiously. "Rana, no. I'm not like that."
"I want to believe you, Jimmy. I really do. But . . . I already had one relationship end badly. And all these doubts I have with you . . ." Rana's lower lip trembled. The sun glinted off the tears filling her eyes. "I'm sorry, Jimmy. Maybe we can still be friends, but I . . . I'm sorry."
Rana bolted past him.
"Rana, please!"
She didn't turn around. Her body convulsed with a sob as she quickened her pace back to Blazenrowe Hall.
O'Bannon watched her fade into the distance. He thought back to the fight in Ovenderburg, how much that shard of ice stuck in his leg had hurt.
It was nothing compared to the pain he felt now.
XXXXX
O'Bannon didn't go to dinner. He simply sat by the pond his hockey team used for practice, staring at its still surface. He didn't feel the breeze blowing against him, or the air the turned colder as night fell.
All he felt was heartache.
Hours later, when he'd finally convinced himself it wasn't a bad dream, that things were really over between him and Rana, he picked himself up and trudged back to his dorm.
Jared, Rosa and Artimus were in his room when he walked in. All three looked at him with expressions of concern.
"Hey, we didn't see you at dinner," said Jared. "Everything okay?"
O'Bannon didn't answer. He just plopped down on the edge of his bed, torturing himself with memories of kissing Rana . . . and realizing he'd never do it again.
Rosa opened her mouth hesitantly. "Did . . . did you talk to Rana?"
O'Bannon nodded. Somehow, he managed to relate what had happened without turning into a blubbering mass.
"Jimmy, I'm so sorry." Rosa walked across the room, sat next to him and put an arm around his shoulder.
"I thought she'd understand, you know." O'Bannon spoke in a distant voice. "I mean, it was the potion."
"Not entirely."
O'Bannon looked over to Artimus, who sat on his bed nervously pressing his fingers together.
"What do you mean, man?" Jared fixed him with a quizzical stare.
"Um, well . . . it's just . . ." Artimus closed his eyes, took a deep breath and held it for a few seconds. When he released it, he said. "Think about what happened. The potion didn't make people attack just anyone. Isaac Pinder resented the fact you were more impressed with Jermone Dionne, and he wound up jealous with Dionne because he was a better hockey player than him. Marcel Dubuque was jealous of you because you were team captain and he wasn't. And he resented the fact Dante Marshall wouldn't take his side against you. Ursa Oberlin was jealous of Cindy Walker because getting good grades came easier to Cindy than her. And . . . and . . ."
Artimus cast his eyes to the floor. No one spoke as the silence dragged on.
Finally, he looked up. "I kind of resent being treated like some sort of tag-along by you guys."
"What do you mean?" Rosa asked.
"There are just times . . . like if a bunch of us are sitting in the parlor, or we go to some party or dance or something, you'll go off and talk to other people and I'm left by myself. I mean, you're the big hockey stars for Blazenrowe. Everyone wants to talk to you guys. Who the hell am I? I'm the guy who just hangs on to all your shadows. I'm the guy who . . . who feels more like your charity case than your friend."
"What the hell are you talking about, man?" Jared shook his head. "We're your buds."
"Maybe he has a point."
O'Bannon felt every eye in the room on him.
"When you told me about Cecilia's situation with Draco and his parents," he looked to Artimus, "I just dismissed it. Told you you didn't know what you were talking about. And looking back on the last six, seven years, that's not the first time I've acted that way toward you."
He heard a heavy sigh from Rosa. "Yeah. I guess we're all guilty of that."
"I do have good ideas, you know," Artimus blurted.
"Art, we've never said you were stupid." Rosa turned to him.
"But sometimes you make me feel that way."
Rosa left O'Bannon's side and sat next to Artimus, putting a hand on his shoulder. Artimus appeared like he wanted to ignore it.
"Art, if I, if any of us, ever made you feel that way, we are so sorry."
"So what about the rest of us?"
O'Bannon looked over at Jared. It was a rare moment when he sounded so serious.
"I mean, if Artimus has these feelings, what about the rest of us? Rosa, are you jealous for some reason of me? Of Jimmy? Is there something you can't stand about us?"
Rosa removed her hand from Artimus' shoulder and intertwined her fingers in her lap. O'Bannon's shoulders knotted. He had a bad feeling the next few minutes would be filled with things none of them wanted to hear.
"Sometimes, Jared . . ." Rosa paused, drawing a breath. "Sometimes I don't think you take a lot of things as seriously as you should. And Jimmy. There are times I think you have way too big a chip on your shoulder about the whole Muggle-born/pureblood thing."
O'Bannon opened his mouth, but held his tongue. Now wasn't the time for arguing.
"I've been your friend since we first got to Salem. And sometimes when you go on a tangent about Muggle-borns and purebloods, it's like your lumping all us purebloods into the same category."
Yeah. Just like I lumped all Slytherins into the same category.
Until Tonks and Cecilia Malfoy came on the scene.
"In all the time you've known me," Rosa continued. "When have you ever known me to say anything disparaging about Muggle-borns? When have I ever looked down my nose at you because of your blood status? How many times have I come to your defense, or any other Muggle-born here, when assholes like Merak Mather pull their pureblood superiority crap?"
O'Bannon wanted to crawl under his bed and not come out. Rosa was right.
And she's not the only pureblood who doesn't give a crap about blood status.
Fred and George and the rest of the Weasley family were perfect examples of that.
"Well, I guess if we're confessing . . ." Jared eyed O'Bannon. "There are times, Jimmy, when it seems you get real resentful if people don't automatically go along with whatever you say. Look how pissed you got when hardly anyone at this school believed you about You-Know-Who coming back. And our hockey game against Ardenturo? It sounded like you thought no one on the ice respected your authority. All right, maybe that's true of dipsticks like Dubuque. But me and Rosa and Dante Marshall and a lot of other people did want to win that game, and did follow your orders. If you wanted to rip players, rip the ones who played selfishly, like Dubuque and Claude Tribbett. Not on people like me and Rosa who did everything we could to win that game."
O'Bannon sighed, his gaze falling to the floor. "Am I really such a prick?"
"Jimmy, you're not a prick," Rosa said soothingly. "You just have some . . . faults. Even the best of people have them."
"So what about us?" Jared turned his palms to the ceiling. "What about our flaws?"
O'Bannon forced himself to sit up straighter. He took a slow breath before addressing Jared. "Well, I think Rosa's right. I think there are times when you don't take a lot of important stuff seriously."
Jared's head bobbed from side-to-side. "Fair enough. You're not the first person to tell me that."
O'Bannon then turned to Rosa. "And Rosa. There are times when you really come on strong with that surrogate mother personality of yours, and it drives me nuts."
Jared choked on a laugh. "I'll go along with that."
"Well excuse me for giving a damn about all of you."
No one spoke after that. Silence hung heavy in the room as everyone contemplated these revelations.
"So what do we do now?" Artimus asked in a hushed voice.
"What do you mean?" Jared shot him a quizzical look.
"With all this stuff out in the open, knowing how we all really feel about one another. What are we supposed to do?"
O'Bannon tried to search for an answer. But his brain drowned in all these confessions . . . and the fact Rana had dumped him.
"We go on." Rosa got to her feet and strode to the middle of the room.
"Just like that?" Artimus watched her. "What, were supposed to forget about everything that was said here?"
"No, I'm not saying we forget it. But we can deal with it. We've all been friends since First Year. Hell, Jimmy, Art, you're family to me, just as much as Jared is. And when problems come up in a family, we resolve them. We forgive one another and move on. What happened here with Serinta and the Projection Potion, it's all part of You-Know-Who's strategy. Spread discontent. Get friends to turn on one another. Well I'll be damned if that s.o.b. is going to make me turn on three of the dearest people in my life. We're family, and we have to stick together, especially in times like these. And there's not a potion, or a spell, or some scumbucket dark wizard who's going to break us apart."
Rosa surveyed the three of them, apparently satisfied with her speech.
"You're not gonna make us do a group hug, are you?"
Rosa's head snapped toward O'Bannon. Her eyes flared. O'Bannon swallowed. He believed everything his friend had just said. Maybe he should have bit his tongue. Hell, he'd just said Jared sometimes didn't take important stuff seriously. And what did he do? Make a smart ass comment after Rosa said something everyone needed to hear.
O'Bannon's head shrank into his shoulders, awaiting Rosa's fury.
Instead she laughed.
And it spread. Jared clutched his stomach and fell on his side. Artimus convulsed as his laughter grew louder.
Finally it reached O'Bannon. He flung himself on his back, his laughs joining the others that filled the room.
He lifted his head, his eyes sweeping the room, taking in Rosa, Jared and Artimus, all still in hysterics.
Deep down, Jimmy O'Bannon knew no matter what laid ahead, no matter how bad things got, the four of them would get through it.
Together.
- THE END –
AUTHOR'S NOTE: What's next for Jimmy and his friends? Find out in "Dark Horizon," as Jimmy reunites with his friends from Hogwarts for an exciting adventure. "Dark Horizon" is currently posted on fanfiction-dot-net.