Disclaimer: I am not JK Rowling, nor will I ever be. Therefore, I do not own Harry Potter or it's characters... Just wanted to make that clear... haha

This story is rated T for foul language

P.S. I do want to warn yall that Ariana drops the f-bomb twice at the end of this chapter... Just wanted to let you know in case that might offend anyone.

Chapter 23

Ari's POV

James and I walk into the dining room and sit down at the table.

R.C. is sitting on one side of me scarfing down a big plate of eggs, toast, and fruit while Neville is sitting next to him looking at him like he's a nutter. Harry and Ginny are on the opposite side of the table, sitting directly across from R.C. and Neville while James is sitting next to me, looking at R.C. with disgust.

I clear my throat and shoot a firm look over to R.C., who catches my hint and sets his utensils down. "R.C., how about you start?"

He nods and clears his throat. "W-well I s-started work at the M-Ministry in May, and I w-was kidnapped from there a m-month later… I was on my w-way to m-my office w-w-when it happened. He c-came out of a d-dark office and s-s-stupefied me… The n-next thing I know, I-I'm waking up i-in someone's b-b-basement being t-tortured. There was a m-man in a mask r-r-ripping out my eyebrows a-and putting them into a cauldron…"

James leans over to me and whispers, "Man, Caledon may be his lookalike, but he really didn't study his speech patterns or mannerisms at all!"

I try to hide my laugh as I whisper, "Can you blame him? Would you be intimidated by a jumpy man with a stutter? This Caledon is so cute…"

He smirks at me. "Does this mean I have some competition?"

I look at him and smirk. "Oh he wins every time, no contest."

He rolls his eyes and stifles a laugh. I elbow him in the side playfully as I try to concentrate on what R.C. is saying. "…I was in that room for a-almost two y-y-years! He m-moved me from the b-basement t-t-to that room in Malfoy m-manor i-in August, I b-believe."

Harry nods thoughtfully. "Do you know who he is?"

R.C. shakes his head as he shovels another large bite of food into his mouth. Just then, Draco and McGonagall apparate into the house and walk into the dining room, sitting down next to Ginny and Harry.

Ginny looks at me and waits for me to talk, but I don't know what she wants to hear so I just sit in my chair and look at her blankly. Harry tries to suppress his laughter as he says, "Ariana, what happened to you? How did he get you?"

I shrug my shoulders. "He was waiting for me. I apparated to your old manor and sat down to wait for Draco. He came out from behind one of the walls and took my wand… He still has that by the way! I stole and still have Cass's wand, but it doesn't feel right in my hand… Probably because I didn't properly win the wand from him, I just stole it from his pocket…" I pull out the wand and look at it. "Now that he's dead, I'm never going to get this stupid wand to work for me…"

Everyone looks at me with wide eyes and open mouths. James looks at me seriously. "Ari, you didn't… kill him, did you?"

I roll my eyes at him and scoff loudly. "NO I didn't kill him! Caledon did!"

They all look at R.C. and I scoff again. "NOT HIM! The fake Caledon!"

Draco looks at me with a sigh. "How do you know?"

I look at the table as the events replay in my mind. "Because I saw it happen…"

James grabs my hand. "What do you mean you saw it happen?"

"Fake Caledon thought I escaped with Cass's wand, when I was really just transfigured into a chair in the room. I only wanted to trick them into thinking I'd left… Obviously I did a better job than I thought because both fake Caledon and Cass believed it. Caledon got extremely upset and killed Cass. I was there… I was in the room when he killed him. Cass was murdered a few feet to my right, that's what I mean when I say I saw it happen. He may have been an absolutely horrid person, but he didn't deserve to die…"

Draco taps his chin thoughtfully. "Wait, how did Caledon know that you were going to be at the manor?"

Harry glares at Draco and mutters something about "that dishonest bastard Malfoy…"

I suppress the urge to laugh at Harry as I answer Draco. "He, um… He said he dreamt it? His exact words were: 'You didn't think you were the only one who had dreams, did you? Although mine are more voluntary than yours…' so I'm assuming that's how he found out."

I look around at the adults and realize they are looking at each other awkwardly, which probably means they are trying to think of a way to get rid of me and James. I yawn loudly and stretch dramatically. "Well, I'm exhausted… Aren't you, Jamie? We should head up to bed." I get up from the table and leave the room, laughing when I hear James add "Not together, dad!" before he walks out of the dining room, shutting the door behind him.

He runs into me at the stairs and glowers at me. "You're a prat…"

I block his path up the stairs and smirk at him. "I'm not sure what you mean, but you know you can't stay mad at me."

He rolls his eyes with a laugh. "Prat… So are you really going to bed or are you going to go listen to them?"

I look at the door to dining room longingly as I shake my head. "Although I really want to know what's going on, I really am exhausted… And I have a feeling they are going to tell me what's going on tomorrow, so I'm probably going to just go to sleep."

He nods and points up the stairs. "Alright well we have to make a few detours first, so let's go."

I slump my shoulders and frown. "Jamie, I'm tired! You weren't tortured all day, you don't know…"

He raises an eyebrow at me and smirks. "Neither were you, Ari…"

"Not true! I was kept in a small room with a smelly bathroom in the corner! That's a bit torturous…"

He rolls his eyes and turns around, exposing his back to me. "Hop on, you big baby."

I jump onto his back with a grin. "If you insist! Who are we going to see first?"

He laughs as he wraps his arms under my legs and walks up the stairs. "We're going to go see Eli and Bri first. Although Freddie will probably be with Bri, so we're really going to go see Eli, Bri and Freddie."

"Alright." I rest my chin on his shoulder and close my eyes as he ascends the stairs. I can hear a door open and James say something, but I'm practically asleep already.

"How dare you run away, little fireball…"

The scene begins to change into the dining room of Grimmauld Place, but I clench my fists and scream, "NO!"

The table from the dining room fades and the scene changes to the room I was trapped in for twelve hours. I take a seat on the floor and frown. "What's with the mask, coward?"

He steps out of the shadows with a cackle. He has light, shaggy brown hair that lightly grazes over the silver mask he is wearing. "I want you to bring back Quenby Caledon."

I bat my eyelashes innocently and feign cluelessness. "What? I thought you were Quenby Caledon?"

A deep growl emanates from his throat as steps toward me angrily. "Don't play coy with ME little fireball! I KNOW you have him! And I want him back…"

I shake my head with a smirk. "Not going to happen, faker. Who are you, really? Why don't you man up and take your mask off?"

He growls again and takes another step toward me. "You WILL give him back to me…"

I smirk again. "Does this put a hitch in your plans?

He points his finger and me and snarls. "GIVE HIM BACK!"

I let out a laugh. "Or what?"

He steps forward again and points his wand at me angrily. "I have my ways of getting what I want…"

I stand up and get right in front of him, pushing his wand out of the way, and glare at him as I poke him in the chest. "Hopefully it's not fear because I'm definitely not scared of you…"

He shakes his head violently and shoves me back away from him. The move was unexpected so I lose my balance and fall to the ground, my butt hitting the ground hard and my back slamming into the iron railing behind me. I wince as the railing comes in contact with my back but quickly recover when I see that the wince makes fake Caledon laugh. He points his wand at me again and cackles. "Oh it's not fear…" He waves his wand and growls out, "Crucio!"

The spell hits me before I even have time to react, sending a searing wave of pain coursing through my body. It feels as though there are dozens of hot knives being plunged into my body all at the same time. I clench my teeth together to keep any cries of pain contained as my back arches away from the railing behind me. My vision is beginning to blur and I'm starting to see small spots dance in front of me as the pain continues to flow through my body. I can hear him cackling as he continues to send fresh surges of pain through me. "Are you going to give him back?"

I shake my head with a breathy laugh. He growls again and crouches down so he's in my face, his hot breath hitting me in the face. "You aren't slowing me down at all. Quite the contrary, actually. But you will regret this… You might want to make sure you watch the news today… Should be around eleven in the morning your time…"

I abruptly sit upright and look around at my surroundings. "When did I get in my bed?" I lie back down and try to fall back asleep, but my mind is too active for that to happen. Who is fake Caledon really?

(Break)

The sun has barely risen over the horizon when I roll out of bed. I look over at the clock. 8:55 am…

I rub my tired eyes and grab Cass's wand as I take a deep breath. I have been avoiding apparating with Cass's wand since I got it. I'm not sure what will happen if I do, which is why I didn't apparate away from Malfoy manor when I first snagged his wand. "You have to do it sooner or later Ari… You can't be scared forever…" I take another deep breath and concentrate.

Next thing I know, I'm standing in the kitchen. A grin spreads across my face as I realize I've reached my desired destination. I grab a bowl out of the cabinet but drop it with a scream when I hear "You couldn't sleep either?"

Draco comes into the kitchen carrying a mug and laughs as he waves his wand over the shattered remains of the bowl, reassembling it and setting it back on the counter. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."

I shrug my shoulders nonchalantly as I grab the bowl off the counter. "You didn't startle me. I drop a bowl onto the floor every morning."

He laughs again as he sets his mug down and grabs a bowl from the cabinet. "Oh! Well in that case, sorry for interrupting you."

I grab a box of cereal and pour it into my bowl, then hand the box to Draco. "I guess I can forgive you, but only because you apologized so nicely."

He takes the box and pours some into his bowl, then puts it away and grabs some milk. "That's very kind of you." He pours some milk into his bowl then passes it to me.

I take the milk and use it then put it away. We both sit down at the table and I smirk at him. "What can I say? I'm a kind person."

"What are you doing up at this hour? Don't most teens sleep until one in the afternoon?"

I stare at my cereal bowl. "Couldn't sleep…"

Draco nods absentmindedly. "Nightmares can have that effect…" I nod my agreement and continue to eat my cereal. Draco doesn't look like someone who would have the slightest idea about nightmares, but I'm sure people could say the same thing about me and, since I don't know his past, I'm not going to question him.

He takes a drink from his mug and looks at me. "Do you want to talk about it?"

I let out a sigh and set my spoon down. "Talking about it won't change anything. It won't help me to forget and it won't get rid of the fear it's caused…"

He takes another drink and shrugs. "You're right, but I might be able to help you figure them out. I used to have nightmares, and I'm sure if I had talked with someone about them, I wouldn't have gone down the path I did."

I look at him quizzically. "What path was that?"

He rolls up his sleeve with a sigh and holds out his exposed forearm to me. "What do you see?"

I grab his forearm and examine it, running my hands over the smooth skin curiously. "A forearm…"

He nods. "Do you know what I see?" I shake my head, staring intently at his arm. He gingerly rubs his finger over his arm. "I see a constant invisible reminder of my past and what I've done. I see a consistent cause of the dark nightmares I've weathered through. Although you may not see it, I see that cursed dark mark every time I look at my arm..."

I run my fingers over his arm again. "Dark mark? Oh shit… You were a Death Eater…" I drop my hands from his arm and look at him with wide eyes.

He nods again and looks at the table. "It sort of ran in the family… My father was a Death Eater for a long time. I was sixteen when he got arrested… Voldemort demanded my service in exchange for my father's failure. I had spent my entire childhood thinking I wanted to be a Death Eater, thinking I was ready for the tasks and could handle doing what was asked of me. I was awful to everyone, but especially awful to Harry, Ron and Hermione. I went out of my way to torment them… When I was forced into becoming a Death Eater, I realized I wanted nothing to do with that life. Voldemort told me I had to murderer the Headmaster and, at first, I felt privileged to have been given the task but, as time went on, it began to take its toll on me. The more times I failed, the angrier Voldemort got. I had awful nightmares about him killing me or my mother almost every night. At the beginning of everything, I thought I had made the choice to become a Death Eater but, by the end, I realized I never actually had a choice in the matter. After Harry killed Voldemort I felt so much relief, like I was finally free to make my own decisions. I've spent every day of every year since his death trying to make up for the things I've done…"

I let out a small laugh. "That explains why Harry doesn't seem to fully trust you."

He nods with a weak smile. "Yes, it does…"

We sit in silence for a few minutes, each of us staring at the things in front of us, before I take a deep breath. "Do you know what most seventeen year old girls are busy worrying about? They worry about their outfits for the next day, or if so-and-so likes them, or how to deal with their latest break out. Do you know what I think about? Who's going to die next."

"Okay?"

"Do you know how many times I've watched my friends and family die? My dreams are constantly filled with their deaths. I don't sleep anymore because, when fake Caledon isn't invading my dreams, all I can see is them dying repeatedly. And when I'm awake, it's all I can think about. Well, that and the fact that I don't want to add anyone else to that list. I'm bloody angry with fake Caledon for ripping apart six different families and I'm angry with myself for being partially responsible for ripping apart all of those families. So, to recap, I'm ALWAYS angry and ALWAYS sad and I'm not allowed to show it."

He looks at me questioningly. "Why not?"

I let out a cynical laugh and throw my hands up. "Because it seems like EVERYONE is counting on ME to help them through this. I feel like everyone expects me to just know what to do, but I have NO idea what I'm doing! Someone is going to DIE when we fight fake Caledon and there's no guarantee that it's going to be him! I'm so angry and sad and… scared! I'm so bloody terrified that I can't do this! I'm just one person! What if I can't beat him? What happens then? There are so many lives at stake, what if we can't figure out who he is? What if I fail? Then all those people that I CONSTANTLY think about will have sacrificed themselves for NOTHING and tons of innocent American muggles are going to die!" I can feel myself starting to cry so I place my head in my hands and shake my head with an angry grunt. "What the hell is wrong with me?"

He shakes his head with a laugh. "Are you sure you're only seventeen? You worry like an old person…"

I wipe my face with the back of my hand and chuckle. "You sound like my brother."

He gets up from the table with his bowl and grabs my bowl then walks into the kitchen and places them in the sink. I get up and follow him into the kitchen to get some water. I look at the clock and gasp. It's 10:45 am! "Shit! Can you help me wake everyone up? Fake Caledon says we need to watch the news at 11 am!"

He nods. "I'll get the downstairs if you get the upstairs."

I nod to him and run up the stairs. I bang on James' door then open it and yell "Downstairs in five minutes! It's a fake Caledon emergency!"

I repeat that process with everyone else's door then run back downstairs as fast as I can. I run into the living room and find almost everyone in there. Eli frowns at me as he rubs his eyes. "What the hell is going on?"

I grab the remote and turn the TV on. "I told fake Caledon that we aren't going to give him back real Caledon, so he that I'm going to pay and told me that we need to watch the news at eleven. What time is it?"

"10:58"

I toss the remote to James. "Thanks Jamie. Can you find the channel?" I walk into the kitchen to grab a glass to get the water I wanted from before. I hear James call for me, saying he thinks he found the channel, then I hear Harry yell for me with a panicked tone. I grab my water glass and walk out to the living room.

The regular wizard news is playing on the TV when I get out there. I stand behind the couch and tensely wait for something to happen. Suddenly a tall, thin man with shaggy, light brown hair and angry brown eyes is standing on the TV.

The water glass falls out of my hand and clatters to the floor as I realize who's in front of me. His hair may be longer, but I would recognize that face anywhere. "What the fuck?"

I stare at the TV with my mouth agape and tears running down my face as Eli reaches up and grabs my arm. "I thought he was dead…"

I look at him with wide eyes. "I did too. I saw his fucking body!"

James looks at both of us questioningly. "Ari, who is that?"

"My dad…"

Oho! Hows that for a twist? Did any of yall see that coming?

I hope yall enjoyed the chapter! I would love to hear your thoughts and opinions about the chapter! :)

As always, I would like to extend a thanks to all the people who left reviews, all the people who added the story to their favorites, and to those who read my story! I love yall! :)

Thanks!

-Tx :)