AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hi everyone! This is likely to be a short chapter, I apologize for that. My community is having a celebration for the Spring Equinox coming up, and therefore, my free time is filled. If this gets up before the 21st, of March, I'm lucky. This chapter picks up from Harrison's POV from where Tabitha called him in the last chapter. If you haven't read it, you should, you won't understand some of the things without it. Thanks guys, Em =) (March 8, 2011)

AUTHOR'S NOTE 2: Hi guys, it's the 27th of March today, and I have absolutely no inspiration on which to write this. My muse has been wandering lately, so please excuse this short chapter. And thanks to all those who actually read the Author's Note and isn't skimming over, mentally (or verbally) complaining on why she hasn't updated early this time. I, for one, will laugh when I get a PM that's complaining about why it's sooooooo late. That's what they get for not reading the Author's note. For all they know, I might be revealing a secret ending. On to the story, hopefully =)

DISCLAIMER: *let's get this over with* I don't own HP.

Chapter 14: Lock and Key

He looked tiredly at his cell phone. Marley had just called, forgetting the time difference again. Honestly, she was gorgeous and intelligent, but she forgot stuff too. It was more often than not that she would forget the important stuff; things like time difference. He ran his finger over the display on his BlackBerry, pressing down lightly on the menu button on the keyboard. Smiling sleepily, he turned his cell on silent, keeping it in a firm grip, he leaned back onto his father's chest and went back to sleep. He didn't even register the fact that the arm draped around him had tightened, or that the chest he had been leaning on shifted, or the fact that half way through his conversation, crimson eyes had opened and were watching him discreetly as he slipped into the arms of Morpheus.

SHADOW

When he woke up, he was on the bed, with the burgundy sheets surrounding him. He could feel his nightclothes on him, and he guessed that his father must have switched out his clothes. He didn't want to get up though, the soft mattress beneath him felt really comforting, and he was still tired. He pulled an arm up on the pillow and rested his head where his elbow bent, scrunching up the sheets in his free hand.

Wait a sec…free hand?

He shot up like a rocket, lifting his hand from the scrunched up silk sheets. No phone. He distinctly remembered clutching his cell phone before he fell asleep. Speaking of which, he was sure he fell asleep on something harder…oh.

I feel like slapping myself, what's up with me today?

He had fallen asleep on top of his father, his father had probably woken up before he did, and his father probably was responsible for his missing phone. He sighed, groaning, as he lay back down on the sheets. He pressed his face into the pillow to try and recover the lost sleep. There was more than one problem plaguing him.

Before his father had caught him, Declan had been detailing to him the instructions of his next mission. While some of his missions were just basic scouting and information gathering, others were dangerous infiltrations, raids, or assassinations. This mission was one of the latter, and he knew if his father found out he planned on going, he would be locked up in here for the rest of his life. He had absolutely no intention of letting that happen.

Dragging his right arm across his face as he turned, he observed the silver cuff that his father had put on him. He knew from the magic around it that it was sealed around his wrist with his father's magic, and only his father's magic could unlock it. Swearing mentally, he tugged at it. He had no idea what it was for, and he needed to know before he left, *cough* escaped *cough*, his father. Concentrating hard on the silver metal, he focused his magic around the cuff, asking if it would tell him what was on it.

His eyes, which had been half closed in concentration, flew open at the results of his inquiry.

What did he not put on here! He asked himself, nearly hysterical at the amount of spells and charms placed all over the simple, innocent looking, silver cuff. Elemental binds keyed to the room, tracking charms, monitors on my health, magic levels, and current status, a Protean charm for some reason, a double set portkey, and instant alarm that sounds in his room if I leave my room. There's so much more on here…he looked up when he felt the hairs on his neck raising in a way that informed him that someone was watching him. When he realized who was watching him, he gulped…uh oh.

Shadow

[Change in point of view]

Where am I? She thought woozily. She was extremely disoriented. She'd had no idea they would come after her that quickly, she thought they would wait until they were in a deserted area to kidnap her and her partner, not in the middle of Time Square! Not that it mattered; the non-magicals didn't even see it happen.

She paused, glaring at the silver wall opposite her. She had finally re-oriented herself, and discovered she was in a cell. An experimenting cell, she realized with increasing horror, not that she let that show on her face. To her knowledge, only Shadow had ever been in one of these cells, and whatever they did to him changed him severely.

Now, Shadow's magic levels were growing, shooting up and out like there were no bounds. His elemental abilities increased until there was no more room for improvement. His magic would become wild and unbalanced at the most random times, and usually he would black out afterwards. If Alyssa Potter hadn't stabilized him the first time…well, he wouldn't be here today. She hoped someone found her soon; she didn't want to be an experiment too. HQ already had a problem; they were using every available resource to cure Shadow. Shadow was their best operative, and their youngest; they wouldn't dare risk him in such a way, especially considering who his father was. She heard faint voices down the hall; it drew her out of her thoughts.

"Did you get him?" a silky voice inquired dangerously. She froze hearing that voice; it sent chills down her spine.

"N-No sir, we d-didn't m-manage to get h-him. W-we got his p-partner." A man stuttered out, frightened of what the other man would do to him for bringing the bad news. The temperature in the hallway and in her cell decreased dramatically. She clutched her trench coat, drawing it tightly around her, and making sure her boots and gloves were secure. It was very cold now.

"You got his partner, but not him. Explain that for me." The voice was chilling, the man was angry. A gust of wind blew through the hall, signaling the man's power…and anger. She was willing to bet her life savings that the other man shivered, or at least repressed one, because that was what she was doing.

"S-Sir, she was a-alone in the middle of T-Time square. We scouted the a-area several times before we t-took her. The boy w-wasn't t-there." The other man said. His voice was increasing in pitch as a sign of his fear, while he desperately tried to keep it down. The man only chuckled at his efforts. She shivered; she hoped the man didn't come her way. The man made a noise of contemplation.

"Very well, show me where she is." Damn. She heard footsteps coming her way, and made sure she was in a relaxed pose, facing the bars, an emotionless mask on her face. All Hunters were trained to create a mask in any situation before being sent into the field, it was what kept most of them alive and successful.

Key word: most.

The footsteps neared, and finally, a man walked into her view and it took all her training to maintain her composure. Her voice was low and icy when she spoke; she would never forgive him for what he did to them, to Shadow, "You."

Shadow

[Change in Point of View]

He sat completely still under the man's gaze, all the while, he was panicking. It can't be him, he can't be here! Of all places, why would he be here? Father did mention a specialist coming by, but…why does Fate hate me so much? He had never thought he would see him in his father's manor, but he should've expected it. He knew his father had dealings with the man, but never that he would come to see the man in his father's manor. Maker, why does Fate hate me so much? Why him, of all people? Doesn't Father know…?

But that was the thing, he wasn't sure if his father knew or not. If he did, then his father had probably changed since he was a child, although, he thought to himself, being stripped of your body for thirteen years would change a person. If he didn't know…

Well, there goes without saying that the man wouldn't dare let Marcus X in his manor, and more importantly, near his son if he did.

Completed on: Monday, April 04, 2011

5:00pm ET

Hi guys, I'm really sorry about this, it's really short, but I've been really busy at school. Thank you to all those who reviewed, I really appreciated it, and everyone who has added this story to their alerts/favorites list, you guys are one of the few reasons I haven't given up. I refuse to abandon a story when so many people want to read it, I really want to thank you guys for being patient with me. I will try and get another chapter up during Spring Break, which is, thankfully, in two weeks. Until then, I have so many projects and essays, I've lost count. So much for a new quarter =(. Thank you everyone!

Emerald Sage =)