Chapter 14 – The Flight
"Marcus! Marcus! Come quick!"
Marcus had just set up his homework in the library when Audrey came running. He hadn't seen Genna at breakfast that morning and, through the ring, she still felt like she was sleeping.
"What is it?" he asked, standing up.
"It's Genna," said Audrey. "She won't wake up. We took her to the infirmary."
Now worried, Marcus followed Audrey to the infirmary where he found Genna surrounded by the Nurse, the Headmaster, Professor Shield and two other people he didn't know.
"Ah, Marcus," said the Headmaster when he saw him walk towards them. "This is Healer Tremblay and Healer Springdale," he introduced the two strangers.
Marcus nodded at them, setting his worries aside and opting for the cool professional demeanour he had used at St. Mungo's and while his dealings with Genna's numerous incidents.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
"See for yourself, Mr Tyler," said Nurse Feelgood.
Marcus ran a diagnostic on Genna.
"It... It... What the hell is that? A curse?"
"The Slow Death Curse," said Healer Springdale.
"Never heard of it," said Marcus, not liking the name at all.
"It's a curse from very, very dark magic and it acts like a slow-acting poison. It drains the wizard of his energy until he dies a very slow death."
"Well, how do we break it?" asked Marcus.
"We need a phoenix tear elixir," answered Healer Tremblay.
"An elixir? To break a curse?" asked Marcus, frowning.
"It's not just any curse, Mr Tyler. It cannot be broken, only cured," said the Headmaster.
Everyone knew that phoenix tears cured just about everything, including basilisk venom, so Marcus wondered why an elixir was required in this particular case.
"Why wouldn't just the tears do on their own?" he asked. "I mean, they are supposed to cure about anything there is, aren't they?"
"Not in this case, Marcus," answered the Headmaster sadly. "Well, not in their pure form, that is. This is very very dark magic indeed."
"It takes seventeen days to make the elixir and it is not something we have a supply of because phoenixes are very rare creatures and the potion remains good for only about two weeks. The problem is Miss Hudon does not have seventeen days," explained Healer Tremblay.
"What do you mean?" asked Marcus.
"Miss Hudon has been infected for quite some time," answered Healer Springdale. "I want to say about two months ago."
"The prison?" Marcus asked the Headmaster.
"It is possible," he answered.
"The thing is, Miss Hudon is in the last stages of the curse. She has a week, at most."
"A week?" asked Marcus dumfounded. "Only a week? Is she going to wake up?"
"Maybe, but not for very long if she does."
"And there's nothing we can do?"
"I'm afraid not, Marcus," said the Headmaster gently.
"This is an excessively complicate curse," said Healer Springdale. "Even if we had seen her before today, I don't think we would have recognized what she had."
Marcus was no longer listening. He felt in the chair next to the bed and let tears fall freely down his cheeks, looking at the sleeping form of the woman he loved.
"They've won now, didn't they?" he eventually asked.
"Maybe," answered the Headmaster.
He was sitting in a chair on the other side of the bed. Marcus hadn't realized everyone else had gone and the sun was setting outside. He had sat here all day, looking at Genna as if wanting to have her face engraved in his memories.
"Marcus," he heard her call.
He looked up to see the Headmaster had gone and it was now dark outside.
"Hi," he said with a smile, caressing her forehead. "How are you?"
"Tired but I'll be okay after I sleep," she said with a yawn and closing her eyes.
"I love you," he told her.
"I love you, too," she said and fell asleep again.
And Marcus let big sobs of anguish shake his body. After all they had been through, he could not believe that was it, that was the end.
Three days later, Marcus was still sitting on the chair next to her. She had woken up another time on Sunday but nothing since. He knew he was supposed to go to class but nobody had the heart to remind him. The few visitors they had received were quiet and subdue. Everybody knew by now that any day, Genna would be no more. She had received a scroll from the Harpies the day before and Marcus hadn't had a heart to open it. He laid it next to Genna's pillow 'just in case', but he knew it was futile. She wasn't going to wake again.
Fresh tears were coming down his eyes when he heard a joyful cry and looked up to see Fawkes fly in the infirmary through the open window. He landed on the bed next to Genna's head, singing all the while.
"Hey, there," said Marcus quietly. "Where have you been all this time?
Fawkes emitted another cry and showed him his leg. A rather large scroll was attached to it. Marcus united it and unrolled it. A small vial felt in his lapse.
Hey Puppy,
Do give the vial to your young lady before reading the rest as I think time is of the essence here!
"Nurse Feelgood!" called Marcus.
The nurse came running out of her office.
"What?" she asked panicked.
Marcus showed her the vial with a huge smile on his face. The nurse took a look at the vial, saw the bird and quickly walked to the bed.
"Who?" she asked.
"Troovus," answered Marcus. "We need to get this into her. Now."
The nurse moved to Genna and held her in a sitting position while Marcus unhooked the vial and feed the potion to Genna, a few drops at the time.
"How much do you think she needs?" asked Marcus.
"I don't know," answered the nurse. "Did Troovus say?"
Marcus took the parchment.
Feed the entire vial to her. More than is needed has never hurt anyone because of the healing nature of the phoenix...
"All of it," said Marcus, giving Genna some more.
After a few minutes, the vial was empty and the nurse laid Genna back on the bed.
"I guess now, we wait," she said.
"I guess," said Marcus, taking his scroll again.
It should take a few hours before you can see the effects of the elixir.
Puppy, you have quite a bloody persistent bird here. As soon as I read your letter, I consulted with my colleagues. We couldn't figure out what your young lady had but your ruddy bird kept on following me everywhere shedding enough tears to heal half of our patients and pawning the scroll every chance he got. One of our Healers finally put it together after a day of trying to figure it out. We hope we aren't too late. The bloody elixir takes seventeen days to brew. I never would have guess but Healer Martens had seen it before and you're lucky his natural curiosity make him ask why I had a crying phoenix following me around. Had he not been there, we wouldn't have known.
Wow, the Slow Death Curse! What else are you going to impress me with, kid? Not that I want to be impressed like that ever again, mind you. You realize your young lady has had more near-death experiences than any ten of us put together, don't you?
Well, take it easy and send me news soon.
Troovus.
Marcus rolled the scroll with a smile. Leave it to Troovus to find a solution, even halfway across the globe. Marcus really hoped the Healer would have a place for him on his staff. As eccentric as he was, he was also a joy to work with. If Genna pulled through, he would definitely have to ask him in his thank you letter.
Fawkes flew to him and landed on the arm rest of his chair.
"Have I told you how great a friend you are?" asked Marcus, scratching the bird's head lovingly.
Fawkes emitted a soft cooing sound, closing his eyes in pleasure at the attention.
"You knew before you left, didn't you?" asked Marcus quietly. "That's why you wanted to deliver the message to Troovus, didn't you?"
Fawkes cooed again, as if in response to Marcus.
"I'm very grateful, Fawkes," said Marcus. "Genna is everything to me. I don't know if I could manage without her."
Amanda, who he hadn't heard come in, sat on the other arm rest.
"How is she?" she asked sadly.
"I think she'll be fine," answered Marcus with a reassuring smile. "We just fed her a cure Fawkes brought back from England."
"I hope so," said Amanda. "I was really looking forward for her to be like my big sister."
Marcus pulled her on his lap and hugged her.
"And I think she is looking forward for you to be like a little sister to her."
"Yes, I am," said Genna very weakly.
"Genna!" said Amanda, standing up.
"Hi," said Genna with a smile, her eyes still closed.
Slowly, they fluttered open and Marcus who was now standing next to her bed also, smiled down at her.
"Marcus, I'm thirsty," she said, closing her eyes again.
"Hold on, let me go get you something."
Marcus went to get the nurse and a fortifying potion. He feed Genna the potion after the nurse had put some pillows behind her back.
"What happened?" she asked once she was done drinking.
Colour was already returning to her cheeks and she was already talking a little louder. Marcus and Nurse Feelgood examined her and smiled.
"You are an unlucky lucky girl, that's what happened!" said the Nurse. "Now, please try to stay away from danger, Miss Hudon, otherwise you will be the death of me."
With a harrumph, she left them to go back to her office. Genna looked at Marcus with a frown.
"What happened?" she asked again, very intrigued this time.
"You almost died," said Amanda sadly, taking a seat on the bed next to her. "You wouldn't wake up," she added with silent tears.
"But I'm okay now," said Genna gently. "Come here," she added, opening her arms so the young girl could put her head on her shoulder.
Genna looked up at Marcus with a questioning look and Marcus mouthed 'later' at her.
"I knew something was wrong when Marcus stopped coming to eat in the Great Hall," added Amanda between sobs.
"That's okay," said Genna, caressing her back. "I'm okay now."
It took a few minutes before Amanda was calm again and once she was, Marcus sent her to fetch Audrey and Mathiew.
"So are you going to tell me what happened?" asked Genna, once the door closed behind Amanda.
"You were cursed with the Slow Death Curse," answered Marcus, not looking at her.
"Never heard of it," she said.
"It's very dark magic. It saps your energy slowly, until you die."
"Who cursed me?" she asked surprised.
"We don't know but our best estimate is that it happened when we were in prison," answered Marcus. "That is why you have been so tired lately until you just didn't wake up on Saturday morning."
"What day is it?"
"Wednesday," answered Marcus.
"I've been out for five days?" she asked astounded.
"Well, you woke up for a few seconds on Saturday and Sunday," said Marcus. "You're lucky, you know. Fawkes knew what you had before we knew and if he hadn't been here, you would not be awake right now."
"What did he do?"
Marcus told her the story. Once he was done, Genna stared at the bird who was perched on the foot of the bed.
"Thank you, Fawkes," she told him sincerely. "You truly are an exceptional being."
Fawkes cooed in contentment at the compliment and Genna turned her attention back to Marcus who was still looking away from her.
"Marcus, why won't you look at me?"
Instead of answering her, he laid on the bed next to her, put his head in her lap and cried like he hadn't cried since he was ten years old and his dad had killed his cat simply because he thought it made Marcus weak. Feeling his deep anguish, Genna let him cry, caressing his hair gently.
"I was so afraid," he finally said, once he had calmed down. "Genna, I just cannot live without you. And look at me now," he said with a chuckle. "I'm more of an emotional wreck than a pregnant woman!"
"Marcus, I'm okay now," she said quietly. "And I really could use my boyfriend holding me right about now."
Marcus looked up at her and could clearly feel the cold fear running through her at the realization of how close she came to death for the fourth time in a little over a year. He took her in his arms and they remained that way until Audrey, Mathiew and Amanda burst into the infirmary a few minutes later.
ghghghghghghghgh
Two days later, it was a very grim looking Council who sentenced Marcus' parents to prison for ten years. The Council never asked Amanda to testify.
ghghghghghghghgh
Genna had just completed her rounds of negotiations with the Harpies' agent when Marcus finally received an interview notice for his request of guardianship of Amanda, which he had filed ten days earlier.
"When is it?" asked Genna.
"Friday at eleven in the morning."
"Do you want me to come with you?"
"Yes, I would," he answered.
They arrived at the Ministry fifteen minutes before the interview time and, hand in hand, made their way through the Atrium.
"I'm nervous," said Marcus. "I'm afraid to let Amanda down."
"Don't worry about it," said Genna with a small smile. "You won't let her down."
Genna glanced over the crowd and stopped, frowning and looking furiously at the mass of people surrounding them.
"What's wrong?" asked Marcus who could not help but feel her uneasiness.
"I... I thought I saw Steve Smith," she said, still searching the crowd.
"It must be someone else," said Marcus, trying to reassure her but looking in the same direction, nevertheless.
"If it was him, he is most probably gone now," said Genna with a sigh. "Let's go win Amanda's custody," she added, smiling at Marcus.
They took the elevator and made their way to the office indicated on the letter. The room was surprisingly hard to find and they were glad they had arrived early. They walked in the office as the clock chimed the hour. A receptionist made them sit in a waiting area and walked away through a door. Genna and Marcus looked at one another with nervous smiles.
"You'll be fine," said Genna to reassure him.
Marcus' smile widened and he took her fingers to his month and kissed them gently. They settled to wait, and wait, and wait.
"Are they ever going to see us?" asked Marcus, growing increasingly nervous. "I want this over and done with."
"I know," said Genna, growing impatient herself. "But they'll see us. Don't worry."
They waited some more and finally, the door opened.
"Mrs Rotini will see you now," said the receptionist, keeping the door opened for them. "Please make your way to the last office on the left."
Genna and Marcus were so nervous and impatient they did not notice the emptiness of the hallway and the offices they were walking by. They arrived at the indicated office and knocked. A man in a suit opened the door and they walked in. He closed it and, at the sound of the door locking, Genna's hand flew to her wand. She had just the time to see a woman, sitting on the desk before she Apparated them away, into the loft over her father's shop.
"Wh-what?" asked Marcus, disoriented and surprised.
Everything happened so fast, he hadn't had time to feel anything through the ring which linked him to Genna. And now, the only thing he could feel was urgency.
"Marcus, that woman on the desk, she visited me when I was in jail," said Genna. "That was the vampiress."
"What? Are you sure?" he asked, still incredulous.
"Yes, absolutely sure," she answered very seriously. "The man locking the door behind us only confirmed I hadn't seen wrong," she added. "Merlin, we're not safe here. We've got to go back to St. Leandre. If she showed herself like this, it means she's ready for a confrontation."
"Genna, can we really get back to school? I mean we cannot Apparate into the grounds and she'll have to Floo watched."
"A porktey?" asked Genna.
"That's next month's lesson... Unless you've read ahead," said Marcus hopefully.
"No," said Genna sadly. "I was too busy catching up. Let's try to Apparate to the Dragon Inn."
Marcus nodded. After Genna retrieved some warm clothes from the wardrobe, Marcus took her in his arms to Apparate them to the Inn's kitchen.
"What are you two doing here?" exclaimed Madam Tremblay, her hand on her chest as if she was about to have a heart attack.
"Sorry Madam Tremblay," said Genna.
"You're not safe here!" said the Inn Keeper when she regained some of her composure. "Some unsavoury characters are looking for you! They said they are from the Ministry but I don't believe them. Besides, Steve Smith was with them. They've gone to the school already."
Marcus and Genna looked at each other surprised. They had been gone from the Ministry for less than five minutes. This was obviously a well-orchestrated operation.
"You have to leave! Quick!" urged Madam Tremblay.
"Where to?" asked Genna.
"I know where," said Marcus. "But we need Muggle money."
Madam Tremblay went to a cupboard and retrieved a jar. She gave it to Marcus.
"Now, leave before it's too late," she added urgently
And Marcus Apparated them away.
"Where are we?"
The terrain was mountainous and the snow was still deep, even if it was well into March. Genna could see a little village down the road.
"The Adirondacks, in Maine," answered Marcus. "The village ahead has a sizeable wizarding population in the summer. It's a sort of summer vacation place for English. There's a little Inn we can stay at for the time being."
The 'time being' ended up being less than a day as the next morning, when they woke up, Genna saw men going from door to door as if searching for someone. Not wanting to take any chances, Marcus and Genna left.
ghghghghghghghgh
They had been on the run for a week, narrowly escaping capture for a third time, when Genna Apparated them at her uncle's summer house in St. Leon. While Marcus started a fire, she looked outside over the still frozen water of the Lake Labrecque. She was tired of running, and she knew she had to put a stop to it. She was also hungry as most places they had stayed barely had any food supplies. And she was cold. March had been particularly brutal and she wanted to find the warmth of St. Leandre again.
Nobody at St. Leandre really knew where they were and Genna could only imagine how sick with worry her friends could be. Marcus had sent a patronus to Mathiew early in the week and they almost got caught when Mathiew sent a message back. And running was becoming less of an option. They had to stop before the vampiress went after people they loved to draw them out. But to stop running meant confronting her.
"Marcus."
"Yes, love?"
"Tomorrow, we go back," she said, keeping her eyes on the lake.
The view was beautiful, breathtaking, really.
"What do you mean?"
"Tomorrow, we stop running and we start fighting," she said.
Marcus came to stand next to her.
"Are you sure?"
No, she wasn't sure. Fighting meant possibly dying and she had so much to live for. She had a boyfriend who loved her with all of his heart, she had a little girl who wanted her to be her big sister, she had friends, she had family, she had dreams. No, she wasn't sure at all. And she was very afraid. But at the same time, she realized that if she kept on running, she couldn't have any of what she had or wanted, and couldn't be with all the people who were so dear to her heart. She had come to the realization that running was no longer an option. She had been trained for this and she would just have to try and survive the fight, however afraid she was.
She leaned against Marcus who put his arms around her.
"No, I'm not sure," she said sadly. "But it is the only option we've got."
Marcus sighed also and kissed the top of her head.
"You're probably right," he said quietly. "So, what do you have in mind we do?"
"Tomorrow morning, we send patronuses to Audrey, Marcus and the Headmaster and we ask them to meet us at my father's house. Then, we plan."
ghghghghghghghgh
When Marcus and Genna Apparated at her father's house around nine on the following Saturday morning, Audrey, Mathiew, and the Headmaster were already there. And so were Louis, Lauren, and Professors Shield, Murray and Carlisle. They were all quietly sitting at the kitchen table, waiting.
"What happened?" asked Genna, walking into the kitchen with Marcus.
"Genna! Marcus! It's so good to see you safe and sound," said Professor Murray, coming to them and smiling warmly.
"Professor, something has happened, hasn't it?" asked Marcus.
"Where's dad?" asked Genna.
The sudden silence spoke volume.
"She got him, didn't she?" she asked, feeling her insides go cold.
"No, but he was injured pretty badly," said Audrey, coming to her and putting her hand on her shoulder.
"He was able to Apparate to the school entrance before her men could get him but he was badly burned. He is at the school infirmary right now."
"When?" asked Genna.
"Two days ago," answered Professor Shield. "He'll be fine.
"But it is no longer peaceful in Hidden Alley," continued Professor Murray. "For a reason or another, she seemed to have decided to up the divide a notch and she is using you two and your father's attack to feel the frenzy," she added, showing a pile of newspapers on the table.
"We think she is trying to have the situation deteriorate so much that she can position herself as an acceptable alternative to become Minister of Magic," explained Professor Carlisle. "How she can accomplish that without possessing any magic is beyond us but if the people are desperate enough, they may consider it."
"Well, I guess we'll have to fight her sooner rather than later," said Genna with a sigh.
"Do you have a plan?" asked Audrey.
"No, but we figured all of us together could come up with something," said Genna.
"Okay then, let's do just that," said Mathiew, clapping then rubbing his hands together.
"But first of, let's put some protection charms on this place," suggested Professor Murray with a smile at Mathiew.
A few minutes later, with the help of all present, the charms were in place.
"What do we know about her?" asked Mathiew, taking where he left up.
Genna was so tired and worried for her father, she was happy to let Mathiew head the discussion.
"We know she is one leader with followers," offered Professor Shield.
"Do we know how many?" asked Mathiew.
"From what Marcus and I saw, I want to say she probably has about fifteen to twenty five goons," answered Genna.
"Magical?" asked Mathiew.
Genna hesitated and Marcus frowned in concentration.
"I would say no, not all of them," said Marcus. "Some of them had Muggle weapons."
"Guns?" asked Lauren.
The others in the room, being from wizarding families, looked at her.
"Well, metallic things in an L shape," answered Marcus.
"Oh yes, guns," confirmed Lauren. "This is not good," she added.
"Why is that, Miss Hatchell?" asked Professor Murray.
"Because you can block a spell but blocking a bullet fired from a gun is like trying to block a spell that is ten times more powerful and an hundred times faster than a regular spell," she answered.
"So, how do we stop those 'guns'?" asked Professor Shield.
"I don't know," she answered. "I never thought of that."
"Okay," said Mathiew, retaking control. "We'll have to assign people to think on that later. Now, what else do we know?"
"She madly wants to find you," said Audrey, looking at Genna.
"Well, let's use that," said Mathiew. "But let's choose how and where we meet her. On her turf or ours?"
"Theirs," answered Professor Shield.
"Ours," answered Professor Murray at the same time.
"Oh! Debate!" said Mathiew with a spark of his usual self. "Let's discuss this."
They planned well into the evening and, when Genna went to bed that night, her head was spinning with fatigue. But at least, she felt marginally more confident with her chance of success.