Thanks for all the support so far you guys! This chapter is a lot longer than the first, and it doesn't have too much of the Harry Potter goodness, but bear with me- it'll go back once we know how Kat ended up there. Also, the tense switched, but I'll go back to present tense in the next chapter. I figure since this is a memory it's ok to switch tenses for a while...
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. Not the books, not the movies, or the action figures. Not the wizards or the goblins or the dementors. Not even the wonderful whomping willow. J.K. Rowling, however, does. And as a result she is filthy rich. *sighs*
Oh yes, and reviews are ALWAYS appreciated :D
"Seriously, there is no such thing as 'too loud' and claiming that there is makes you a prude," I laughed, blasting my favorite rock band as Laura sighed at me.
"You try driving home at two in the morning with rock music threatening to pop your ear drums," she muttered, gripping the steering wheel tighter. I grinned, rolling my eyes as Liz started to sing off key with the music. We were heading home from a concert, our last outing as a trio before the end of summer. It was tradition for us, doing something big together before the school year officially started, but this year was different. This year we were headed for the big league; college.
Laura had grown tense over the summer; our separation looming in the future apparently didn't mesh well with her sense of organization, or, as others called, her obsessive need for control. This was one situation she couldn't control, and as much as I loved her, Laura's patience had gone out of the window as though she didn't have enough room in her body to be preoccupied and excited at the same time.
Liz, on the other hand, didn't seem to notice what was coming. She would always be in high school, I was sure, and that was one thing I loved about her. Liz would never feel the need to grow up or be a "productive and responsible contributor to society," as our teachers wanted us to become. When Laura had pleaded with both of us to be serious during finals week, Liz had laughed in her face.
I liked to think of myself as a safe mix of my two best friends' clashing personalities. Where Liz couldn't study for an hour straight without playing video games or taking a break, I could stay glued to my math for hours until I was confident I could ace the test. Where Laura freaked out about being second in class, I was more than content with my B average; I had different priorities in life, and my teachers would just have to deal with the fact that they weren't at the top of that list. I was going to be a writer, and I was obsessed with Harry Potter, not unlike every other member of my generation… But I'd always felt a tug of sadness in my gut when I read it, like there was something more, something missing from the series I cherished so much.
I wasn't afraid of the things that terrified my friends. I wasn't afraid of tests or college or responsibility or change.
The one thing that scared me was monotony. I was afraid that I would live my whole life without adventure, without the thrill and intensity of emotions that the characters I read about endured every day. I'd once read a quote that said, "Any idiot can face a crisis. It's day-to-day life that's the real challenge."
Could I handle day-to-day life? I didn't know the answer, and every moment of not knowing made me feel like my whole life was a house of cards, ready to come tumbling down if even the slightest breeze of fate disturbed me.
"Fuck," Laura muttered, bringing me back to reality.
"What?" I asked, looking down the street to see neon-orange signs flashing "detour" in even more annoying colors. Great.
She sighed loudly, irritated that she'd had to drive both ways since neither Liz nor I had our licenses yet. "I just want to get home. I work early tomorrow."
"You've known about this concert for months!" Liz complained from the back seat.
"Yeah, but I need to save up for a laptop for school," Laura countered. I rolled my eyes slightly. We all needed to save up for our first semester. Liz's parents sure didn't have the money, and my mom was too sick to work.
"I thought we were going to have a sleepover!" Liz whined, her bottom lip inflating as it always did when she wasn't getting her way; as the only girl in a family of five children, Liz was new to being told "no."
"Well, I'm sorry, but I can't always mess around and do nothing like some people."
Liz's cheeks turned a bright red, but I spoke before she could get her own insult out. "Hey, Laura, I'm thirsty. Can we stop at that gas station?" She glared at Liz in the rearview mirror for a moment before nodding, pulling into the parking lot. Liz stormed out of the car first, trudging inside and glowering murderously at the candy bars.
"Laura," I said quietly, "She's just freaking out. We all are."
"Yes, well some of us have to be responsible—"
"I know, but for now, just let it go. Halfway through November you're going to be aching for Liz to start a bickering match with you." I regretted the words as I saw Laura's face go dangerously neutral, an expression saved only for when she was about to cry. "It's not like we're not going to become strangers in college. I promise. We'll be those three crazy old ladies who torture their husbands and grandkids with stories from fifty years ago."
"And Liz will still call me the boring one." Laura's lips were pursed in irritation, but I grinned, seeing the relief in her eyes.
"Come on. You need caffeine to get us home, woman."
Once we were inside, Laura and Liz were looking for chips and laughing like their argument had never happened. I smiled, looking around for the energy drinks. We still had two hours of driving ahead of us, and after the detour, who knew how long we'd be on the road? I grabbed one for myself, knowing that neither of my friends approved of my small addiction to the unhealthy substance.
"Hey you guys, I'll meet you in the car," I said, grabbing some money from my pockets as I set my drink down on the counter.
"I have to scan this."
I looked up in shock at the deep voice, frowning as the cashier held the can up as though proving his point. "Go ahead," I said, confused.
He watched me for a second before nodding, his brow furrowed, and scanned the can. I handed him the money and he took it, dropping my drink and mumbling a quick "sorry" before ducking down to get it.
"Kat, do you want some chips?" Liz called.
I turned to her, nodding. "Sour cream and onion, please!" When I turned back to the cashier he was holding my drink out, waiting for me to take it. Awkward...
"Thanks," I said, smiling politely at him.
"Have a good night." Again, the deep voice seemed strikingly familiar, and I couldn't squelch my curiosity.
"Are you from England?"
His already black eyes darkened, and he narrowed them suspiciously at me.
"No." There was finality in his tone but I still couldn't stop.
"I don't mean to pry, but did you move here from a different country?"
"Vermont." He said stiffly, ringing up both Liz's and Laura's things without hesitation. I nodded at him, smile gone, and we headed for the car.
As I popped open my energy drink I glanced back to the gas station to see it empty. The cashier was nowhere to be seen. Weird, I thought, taking a sip.
The effect was immediate. I doubled over in pain and fell to my knees, whimpering in the wave of nausea and dizziness that came over me. Suddenly Liz was by my side, screaming. Laura knelt beside me, a worried look on her face. I was screeching inside, voicing the liquid pain that pumped through my body, but when I opened my mouth it hurt so bad that I couldn't breathe. I couldn't breathe but I was breathing so hard and fast that my lungs burned. My friends were in front of me, holding me up, the only thing between the concrete and me. Laura was looking into my eyes but I glanced to the road to see the cashier staring at me with his deep black eyes. Then a crash of lightning spread through the sky and a strike of pain hit my head and spread through every nerve of my body. And then it stopped. The pain left as quickly as it had started and I gasped in surprise.
"Kat? Kat can you hear me? What's wrong?"
I blinked a few times, darkness floating at the edge of my vision, and looked up at Laura. She was holding my head as though I was about to have a seizure, while Liz sat at my side, hands covering her mouth.
"Kat? Are you alright?"
"I'm, I'm fine," I mumbled after a few tries. My body was shaking slightly as I got up, unwilling to exert itself after enduring so much pain.
"Maybe you shouldn't walk yet," Liz said, holding my arm as I sat in the car.
"Liz, honestly, I'm fine. I promise." She nodded at me, getting in the back as
Laura got in the driver's seat and watching me wearily. "What was that?" she asked quietly.
I shrugged. "I don't know. I really don't know."
She nodded, believing me, and started the car. But as I caught my last glimpse of the parking lot, I saw the remnants of my forgotten drink pool on the concrete and my gut tightened, worry consuming me.
The worry didn't go away. Not through Liz's inevitably good mood or the countless songs we went through, but I tried to convince myself that it was paranoid, that no one was out to get me, and I had not, in fact, been poisoned by an awkward guy from the U.K.
We were in a small side street about three miles from my house when I realized that I wasn't paranoid. Hazy silhouettes appeared in shadows, eyes that followed us until we turned a corner. In all the loud music, Liz wasn't paying attention, and in her fatigue, Laura didn't see. But I watched them for three blocks in stunned silence before Laura's foot jammed on the breaks.
"Holy shit!" she shrieked, a crowd of hooded figures blocking our path. Death eaters, I screamed in my head. But that wasn't possible. They didn't exist past the pages I flipped through. They were fiction.
The crowd separated as a pale man made his way forward and my heart stopped in my chest; red eyes, skeletal figure… It couldn't be. No.
"Katarina!" he called, voice high and menacing. "Why don't you come out of the car so I can properly introduce myself?"
"Put the car in reverse, put the car in reverse," I chanted through clenched teeth, not daring to take my eyes off of Voldemort's form.
"I'm trying!" she hissed, shaking as she slammed her foot on the gas. Liz's eyes were wide, chest rising and falling with alarming speed. We jolted back for a few hopeful moments before I felt the car float into the air; a split second after Voldemort raised his wand.
"Well that's not good manners at all," he said, tutting. I screamed as I was ripped by an invisible force from the small vehicle, hitting the concrete as the car slammed into the street. The sickening sound of metal hitting metal met my ears and I saw the car cave in on itself, my two friends helpless and trapped.
"NO!" I cried, staggering to my feet and running towards them. Their screams stopped in moments as ropes sprung out of nowhere and bound my arms behind my back. I sobbed as I was levitated into the air and turned to face none other that the Dark Lord himself.
"They died a quick death," he said, grief forced into his voice.
"Go to hell," I screamed, struggling against the rope, my tears slowing as I exchanged sadness for anger.
"I understand your anger, but there are more important things at hand, things that must be dealt with quickly. For your mother's sake."
At his last three words my head snapped up, rage overwhelming me. "If you hurt my mother, so help me god, I'll—"
"You'll what? You are not in a position to threaten me. Now be quiet, and listen."
But a heat rose in my body as my rage grew, and just when it became too much to bear, there was a loud bang and Voldemort stumbled back, other death eaters blown into nearby cars and houses as if a bomb had exploded.
"Impressive," Voldmort said once he'd recovered from shock. "But who would expect anything less from a Dumbledore?"
"A what?" I asked, momentarily thrown by his words.
"Oh, but your grandfather wouldn't want you to know, would he?"
"My—my grandfather? No. Both my grandfathers are dead."
"Oh yes. I killed one myself. No, your great-grandfather, he is very much alive. And he is none other than the great Albus Dumbledore." His words dripped with sarcasm.
"Albus Dumbledore?" The Albus Dumbledore? The fictional Albus Dumbledore? None of this was real. None of this was happening.
"Not vey astute, is she my lord?" a deep voice sneered from the crowd. I tried to place it as he stepped forwards, his black eyes piercing my own. The cashier…
"Now Severus, do try and be nice, her friends have just died and a few minutes ago she didn't even know magic existed."
"Don't you ever talk about Liz or Laura to me, you worthless scumbag!"
"You dare insult the Dark Lord?" A woman yelled, wand pointed at my chest.
"Bella, your wand," Voldemort said, his voice dangerously quiet. After a scared glance at him, she lowered it and melted back into the crowd. He turned back to me, smiling. "Now. I have an offer, of sorts, for you. Stand by my side in the war I am waging and I will teach you how to wield your recently discovered powers, I will—"
"Dumbledore could do the same thing," I snarled.
"If Dumbledore had his way, you would still be living the pathetic muggle life you've been leading for 18 years!" Voldemort snapped, red eyes flashing. He took a deep breath, then continued, "Your powers deserve a life worthy of their strength." His eyes seemed to be boring holes into mine, and I squirmed. "You deserve a life bigger than this," he said, gesturing around us. "You know as well as I do that this is what you've always wanted, what you've always dreamed."
Then I knew. He was delving into my mind. I blinked and imagined iron walls slamming down and pushing him out, then listed all the elements from the periodic table I could remember in quick succession.
"Stay the fuck out of my mind," I seethed, glaring at Voldemort. He had stumbled a few feet, not impressed so much as enraged by my second show of power in the night.
"If you do not wish a life of power for yourself, at least consider your mother." The words were clipped, impatient, and I felt the trees around me stir as though someone else was coming, someone Voldemort was not anticipating.
"No." Voice low, eyes narrowed, I knew with certainty that my mother was already dead if Voldemort had her.
"No?" he said, seemingly bewildered by my response.
"Let me simplify my answer," I said, ignoring the harsh jeering from the restless death eaters. Snape watched with narrowed eyes as I mocked Voldemort. "I do not negotiate with power hungry sociopaths such as yourself. Now let me go!" I knew without reading his mind what was coming, but the pain of the cruciatus curse was still a shock. I tumbled to the ground for the second time that night, screaming, and hoping that my assumption was right.
As he lifted the curse off me, and the crowd of death eaters were suddenly scattered, I knew I was right. The order of the phoenix apparated in and began to pick off the less adept death eaters one by one as the smarter ones fled.
Voldemort glared at me, lip curled in loathing. "So be it," he muttered, raising his want. My eyes widened, but it was not a green light that came soaring at me, but a purple one that hit my chest with a resounding thud. For a few moments there was pain almost beyond the unforgivable curse I'd just experienced. Then there was blissful darkness.