So, this chapter. We're getting very close to the end (there's only one chapter left - I know, I'm surprised too) and this is quite possibly the most significant chapter yet. I have edited it five times now and STILL don't feel pleased with it. Therefore, helpful suggestions are particularly encouraged. On a less ominous note, I dedicate chapter seven to my friend Jori. She has been incredibly helpful with the naming of the spell discussed later on - I sought her out with help with Latin and she gave me multiple awesome possibilities. Thanks friend! :)

P.S. The ending. Yeah, I know, I am a terrible, terrible person by leaving you with a cliffhanger. Just keep in mind that I am a Slythinclaw, so this sort of thing is a fairly common occurrence. XD

Note - Hey, this was just a tiny bit of editing. I plan on getting the final chapter (!) up by the end of the day, and have been meaning to fix things suggested from the lovely Miss Hogan (yes, she's a real person. Many of the names here are 'borrowed' from real friends of mine.) but haven't been able to due to computer issues. It would appear that everything is more adequate now, so on with the show!

Chapter Seven – Truth Will Out

Liz did not speak with George or Alex the next day. Finding it easier to simply avoid the problem altogether, she instead dedicated herself to the search, spending nearly every waking second that morning locked away in the increasingly more familiar Ministry library.

The three usual companions sat together in peaceable silence, each surrounded by his or her own stack of tomes. No matter how much she forced herself, however, Liz could not give it her proper attention. Her focus continued to dart back to the various conversations from the night before, replaying constantly and keeping her from being of any use. After Harry had returned, and once she had calmed down enough to stop sobbing and release her cousin, he set her down on the couch and begged for an explanation. Liz haltingly gave it, unnaturally anxious for his response once she was through.

He had remained considerate and contemplative throughout her narrative. "Honestly, it's not anything I had thought much about," he finally stated slowly, grasping his hands uneasily. "Obviously I would never want you to give up your shop – I know how much work and love you've put into it and your enthusiasm for potions is clear – but I'm selfish enough to want to keep you around. I'm confident that we can find ways to communicate often enough if one of us isn't close by. In the end, I think it's really a choice of what you'd rather do. It's your life, Liz; it's up to you to decide it."

The man truly was brilliant when he wasn't trying too hard to fit into the mold the world attempted to create for him. His words had been reassuring simply because he understood and willingly compromised. He wanted a further relationship with her, just as she wanted with him, and therefore would do what he could to enable it. She promised to consider her answer thoroughly before speaking to anyone, but there really wasn't anything for her to reflect on. She loved it in England; for the first time, she felt right, though she was loathe to admit to such a cliché revelation. It had been so easy, so smooth to adjust to this country, when it felt more of home than America ever had. These feelings genuinely told her the truth of her heritage – this feeling of peace, of rightness, that came with being here, with these people. The real question, however, would be whether she'd act on her instincts or do what was expected. Her personality led her to one choice, while her natural need to please everyone led her to the other. The entire matter left her stressed and confused, and until the spell was broken, she decided she'd rather pretend none of it existed.

Draco, meanwhile, joined the cousins not long after they arrived at the library. Since it was a Saturday, he lacked anything better to do with his free time and felt better about researching amongst the stacks of novels than lounging about alone with nothing to amuse him but his thoughts. He discovered that he genuinely liked Liz, far more than he ever would her cousin, and wished to help her in her quest, due to both this revelation and the challenge the task presented. He was not one to allow such a promising opportunity to go to waste and therefore dove into it enthusiastically.

As she sat feigning reading, she once again began to absentmindedly twirl her copper ring, the motion grabbing Harry's attention. Recalling the questions he once had about it, he cleared his throat to interrupt the silence quietly. Once he had both Liz and Draco's attentions, he nodded toward her hand.

"What's the story with that ring, Liz?" he asked, a finger holding the place of his book. Her startled silver eyes darted from the band to Harry, as if unsure how to answer. Gradually, she gave it a final twist and spoke.

"It…matches my parents' wedding bands," she explained, confirming Harry's initial speculation. "They gave it to me long before I could wear it. I used to keep it on a chain around my neck, and I never take it off. In fact, I don't think I've ever been without it since the day they gave it to me."

"Is it magic?" Draco asked, but Liz shook her head in the negative.

"It's never shown any magical qualities before – "

"Yes it has," Harry interrupted, to his companions' astonishment. "I saw it, the day we went to meet with McGonagall. You were toying with it, as usual when you're thinking too hard about something, while you talked to Jakob, and I noticed it…a line of magic, running right along the ring's edge. You probably wouldn't even realize if it's happened before, since you've always got it on."

"When we took the Vow," she muttered, staring hard down at the ring. "Draco, do you remember? That shock? It started in my hand, my right hand, where I wear the ring. Is it possible…?"

"Only one way to find out," Draco replied as he rose to his feet, and the Potters rushed from the room, close behind the blonde. Following Draco's lead, they made their way to an office similar to his own, the words "Detection and Confiscation of Counterfeit Defensive Spells and Protective Objects" stenciled across every available surface. Headed by the patriarch of the Weasley clan, they were unsurprised to see him sitting casually behind the desk on his day off, scribbling on a piece of parchment, when they entered. Grabbing Liz's wrist unceremoniously, Draco thrust it into the surprised man's face, gesturing vaguely at the ring. "We have reason to suspect that this item, formerly considered dormant, is in fact magical. What can we do to prove it?"

Eyes darting between the two Potters, Mr. Weasley took Liz's hand, carefully sliding the ring from her finger. As soon as it left her skin, a dull humming appeared to emanate from it, echoing across the four walls. Her head began to ache slightly more the longer Mr. Weasley examined it, until eventually she clutched the edge of the desk in pain, attempting to remain upright and unconcerned. Harry reached for her just as her arms began to shake and vision went fuzzy, and she faintly heard the sound of Draco shouting. Something was pushed back into her hand and instantly the sensations began to fade. She sat in a wooden chair shivering slightly, clutching the hand that wore the ring. The three men looked on, an equally worrying expression on each of their faces. Once she began to feel well again, she smiled up at them slowly.

"Merlin's beard, that was terrifying," Harry managed, sinking into the seat at her side. Draco rested against the desk, only slightly more composed than his former classmate. Mr. Weasley frowned, concern replacing the worry.

"Where did you get that ring, Liz?" he demanded, gaze fixed on her face. Harry explained the story while Draco summoned a glass of water, kneeling before her as she drank. She nodded gratefully when he took it back.

"How do you feel?" he asked softly, resting a hand on her knee and giving it a faint squeeze. She took a shaky breath and shrugged.

"I'm not sure. Strange. That was the most bizarre sensation…who could've cursed my ring? I've never been separated from it before."

A slight dawning of comprehension crossed his handsome features, causing him to bolt to his feet. "I think I know," he declared to the room in general, startling Harry and Mr. Weasley, and soon he dashed off in the direction of his office. Liz made to stand and follow, but Mr. Weasley surged forward to halt her. Slowly and defiantly, she wobbled to her feet, elbow braced in Harry's grasp. She sent Mr. Weasley a sympathetic glance, but refused to be stopped. If Draco knew something she didn't, she would find out more, and no cursed ring's side effects would stop her.

They steadily returned to Draco's office, Harry insisting that she take her time. When Draco looked up from the books he shuffled through, he frowned, coming to help guide her to a chair. Shaking his head, he continued his search. "Damn bloody determined American woman," he spat out, but Liz ignored him in favor of discovering what he sought. "It's a spell I uncovered recently for another case. It had circumstances similar to yours – individuals who had gone missing who were suddenly and mysteriously found, a magical object that could not be removed from the victim's possession – and I wondered if perhaps it contains the information we need to break this." He continued his search until he let out a small exclamation of success. Returning to sit back in his chair, he began to read his discovery aloud.

"'Abscondo Revocare, or Removal Charm, is a highly secretive spell, to be used only under the most dire of circumstances by exceptionally skills witches and wizards. Only one known successful case of it being cast has been recorded. Lord Edmund Foley, in his attempts to escape persecution after a long string of robberies that eventually led to murder, had the spell placed upon him by his bodyguard and former dueling champion, Edgar King, in 1463. Knowledge of him and his location all but vanished until, nearly eighty years later, he revealed himself in order to claim a long-silenced birthright. Rather than receiving what he believed he deserved, the 108-year-old wizard was locked away in his own personal detention unit until his death three years later. While it is unknown exactly how the spell was broken, Foley indicated in one of his less lucid ravings that the destruction of a certain porcelain chamber pot released him from his captivity. Additionally, he was known, in his more crazed moments, to cry out for said pot, insisting that he was 'burning from within' without the object in his grasp. It has since been deduced that much of Abscondo Revocare's power was contained within the object, though how or why it occurred is still unexplained.'"

The room fell silent as Draco's voice faded, each taking in the words he read. Liz glared down at the ring, willing it to provide the necessary information for confirmation. Without a word, Draco rose to seize her hand, pulling it close to study the metal carefully. Slowly, he ran a finger along its edge, sending a light spark up her arm. His eyebrows rose at her startled expression, but he continued his ministrations. He began to spin it, much as she often did unconsciously, until they spotted it – the light of magic, just as Harry described, dancing its way across the flat edge. They continued their experiment, transfixed by the increasing speed and ferocity of the magic until a fiery sensation lunged forcefully up her body, causing her to cry out loudly. Draco instantly released the ring, grasping for her hand instead.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, rubbing his thumb along her palm softly. "Can you tell us what happened?"

"Like flames," she muttered, fighting off a shiver. Their near matching eyes met, unwavering facing troubled. "We have to destroy it."

He rose abruptly, going back to his desk. "Out of the question. We do not know how it will affect you. We do not even know for sure if this is the proper spell."

"We can't risk it, Liz," Harry said suddenly, drawing their formerly focused attention to him. "All we've done is remove and touch it; what will happen if we do something more? It's not worth the possible rewards if you get hurt."

"We need to learn more before we go further," Draco insisted, tapping a finger on the wooden tabletop. "We have this much; surely we can discover the rest. We cannot do anything further until we know it will not harm you."

Shaking her head, she quickly drew her wand. "Boys, honestly," she muttered, and shot a spell at the ring. Before they had the chance to react, a faint balloon of light blue light blossomed from around her hand, quickly growing in size. As it increased, dark swirling clouds of various shapes jostled within, gradually forming disjointed images none of them recognized. Without warning, the balloon burst, showering them with a wave of unfamiliar images that grappled to escape the strict confines of the office. Finally, with the force of an explosion, they succeeded, leaving all three gasping for breath. The ring pulsed once, sending another powerful wave of fire through her skin. In the next moment, all went dark.