Chapter 39

Ari's POV

I push myself up onto my hands and knees and let out a groan as I arch my back up into a stretch, the colors and pattern of my bedspread still a bit hazy since my eyes are still trying to adjust to the light that is flooding into my room. I flop back down onto my stomach and stretch out my arms and legs before rolling over and slowly push myself off my bed. I quickly pull my hair up into a ponytail and pull the top blanket off my bed, wrapping it around myself before walking out into the Heads common room and taking a seat on the couch next to Brittany. I lean my head over, resting it on her shoulder, and sigh as I remember the events from last night.

She mirrors my sigh before asking, "When are you going to tell Mr. Potter?"

I shrug my shoulders and say, "In the end, I'm the only one who's going to be able to beat him, so I don't really see a point in telling Mr. Potter."

"You're not going to tell my dad about Andromeda?"

I shake my head as I respond. "No James, I'm not going to tell your dad about Andromeda. It's not like he can do anything to help…"

Suddenly Brittany jerks her shoulder out from under my head and grabs my face so that I'm looking at her through wide eyes. "Ari, do you remember when we overheard our moms talking?"

I relax a bit and roll my eyes with a smirk. "You're going to have to be more specific… We eavesdropped a lot…"

She gives me a stern look before saying, "That time we thought your mom replaced your dad, idiot."

I nod warily, unsure of where she's going with this. "Yes, I remember that… She kept calling him Jacob… What about it?"

Brittany grunts in frustration as she releases my face and throws her hands up in the air. "What do you mean 'What about it?' You don't find it odd?"

I slowly shake my head, watching her reaction carefully. "Honestly, I haven't thought about it since that day…"

James walks over and stands behind the couch with his arms crossed tersely against his chest. "What are you two talking about?"

I shake my face free from Brittany's grip as she clears her throat and explains. "One day, when Ari and I were about four, we were trying to sneak into the kitchen and take a cookie before dinner. However, our mothers were talking in the kitchen, which made for quite the obstacle. We refused to give up though; we really wanted a cookie. Anyways, Ari's mom said something that day that really strikes me as odd now that I think about it…"

James shrugs impatiently. "What'd her mom say?"

I think back to what we overheard my mom talking about and sigh. "Ariana's dad, Jacob, tried to come get her again yesterday."

James shakes his head in confusion. "I don't understand…"

Brittany sighs before responding. "Neither did we, but it meant something to our mothers because they both freaked out when it was said."

I raise an eyebrow at Brittany as I ask, "Why exactly did you bring this up?"

"Well," She clears her throat and continues, "Maybe your dad wasn't actually your dad…"

I scoff in disbelief, rolling my eyes as well. "So you think Jonathan Brighton isn't my dad?"

She shrugs, eyeing me carefully. "Honestly, I think it's a possibility. I mean, with everything that's come to light recently, does it really seem that far-fetched?"

I groan, shaking my head as Freddie walks into the common room. "No, not that far-fetched at all… But that leaves the question of who my real dad is…"

Brittany shakes her head, deep in thought, while absentmindedly saying, "I don't know… I mean, you look similar to Jonathan Brighton, so you really could be his daughter… I'm really not sure…"

Freddie lets out a loud yawn and stretches. "How about we talk about this over breakfast?"

James and I both nod and murmur in agreement as we exit the Head's common room and walk toward the Great Hall in a tired silence.

Once we are almost to the Great Hall, Freddie stops us and motions for us to listen. After a few moments of searching silence, I hear what he heard.

"I don't want to join you lot! Now leave me al-" A small girl's voice ring out in annoyance.

"You don't have a choice! You've been recruited!" The second voice, a male, says with an audible frown.

"Piss off… I'm not joining you lot and that's final!" The girl says.

The second voice laughs softly before responding. "Then face the consequences…"

Without warning, James pulls out his wand and walks around the corner. "Leave her alone."

I look over at Freddie, who is hurriedly pulling out his wand, and follow suit. We both rush around the corner and point our wands ahead, aiming them at the harasser, Roald Zabini.

Roald looks at James and scowls, then turns his gaze to me and Freddie. "This doesn't concern any of you, so run along."

Freddie and I scoff at the same time, smirking at each other after doing so in unison, then Freddie says, "Fat chance, Zabini. Seriously, sod off."

Roald laughs cynically, pointing his wand menacingly at the girl. "Or what? You'll stop me?

I nod, my eyes narrowed at Roald. "Yes, we will."

He laughs again while saying, "I'd like to see you try, little girl!"

I smirk at him, clearly amused by his underestimation of me and my friends. "I'm sure you would…"

James shakes his head, stealing a glance at the Hufflepuff girl Roald has cornered. "Are you alright?"

The girl glares at Roald with contempt. "I'd be better if this tosser would leave me alone and just let me go to breakfast…"

James nods his understanding then turns his attention, and wand, back to Roald. "I'll tell you one last time, Zabini. Leave this girl alone or else…"

Roald laughs again shaking his head. He moves his wand slightly and opens his mouth to respond but, before he can even form any words, James, Freddie and I all wave our wands and hit Roald with different spells; all of our spells hitting him at the same time. My spell, meant to disarm him, hit him and sends his wand flying out of his hand and skittering down the adjacent corridor. Freddie's spell hits him, causing his legs to wobble out from under him and sending him crashing to the floor. James' spell hits him and causes his teeth to grow at an alarming rate.

Roald clasps a hand over his still growing teeth, pressing on the bottoms of them in an attempt to push them back into his head, while he tries to get up and run away, his attempt to escape in vain since Freddie's jelly-leg spell worked like a charm.

I look away from Roald with a smirk, turning my glance to the Hufflepuff and smiling politely at her shocked expression, her gaze still on the wobbly Roald Zabini. "Well, enjoy your morning. We'll be seeing you."

With that, the three of us go back around the corner and begin our journey toward the Great Hall. The Hufflepuff girl jogs after us, yelling out, "THANK YOU!"

Freddie holds up a fist in the air, a playful grin on his face as we enter the Great Hall. We take our seats at the Gryffindor table and begin scooping food onto our plates in silence, the events of what just happened still weighing on our minds. After a few minutes of eating in silence, I clear my throat and lean forward so I'm closer to my two friends and quietly say, "It seems my dad's recruitment is a bit more aggressive than we anticipated…"

Freddie nods, swallowing his mouthful of eggs before responding. "We'll need to be on the lookout for any more of their attempts to sway people's loyalty…"

James and I nod in agreement before James adds, "We really should tell my dad about this…"

I shake my head ardently. "No. Not until we know more about it."

James groans in frustration, dropping his fork and rubbing his face. "Ari, if we wait any longer, things could get worse. More people could join, the recruitment could get more aggressive, it could start more trouble around the school… The list goes on and on! I don't see a single downside to telling my dad."

I roll my eyes and scoff, shaking my head once again. "I've got a few. If we call your dad, and he comes to get Andromeda, it could cause my dad to attack the muggles sooner. Or it could cause the students that did join to get upset and start a battle of their own here. Or my dad could bring the attack here first to stop any students who aren't loyal to him from opposing him. My list goes on and on as well, James. You're not going to change my mind on this. I'm not going to tell your dad until I feel the time is right."

James shakes his head in disappointment, muttering something about "stubborn and naïve", but I ignore him, instead watching Alec Darkbloom enter the Great Hall, the apprehension he feels apparent on his face.

I look back at Freddie and James and quietly say as I get up from the table, "Well, this discussion was fun, but I have other concerns to deal with. Until next time, boys…"

Freddie looks up in confusion, stammering as he tries to figure out what's going on. "What… where…" When he realizes where I'm headed, he immediately jumps up from the table and hops over the table, standing in front of me to block my way. "Ari, this is a really bad idea… You're going to give away the fact that we were spying! Just let it go!"

I shake my head and push past him as I say, "I can't just let it go, Fred. I trusted him…"

He grabs my arm and pleads with me. "PLEASE don't do this…"

I let out a sigh and clench my teeth, tugging my arm from his gentle grip. "Sorry, Freddie…"

I walk through the Great Hall, my focus unwavering as I wordlessly approach Alec. He looks up at me and smiles nervously. "Good morning, Ari. Long time since we've talked, huh?"

I nod tersely before sternly saying, "We need to talk…"

He nods and gets up from the table, walking out of the Great Hall behind me, and following me into an empty classroom.

He crosses his arms anxiously and asks, "What would you like to talk about?"

"I think you know what I want to talk about…"

Instantly his nervous demeanour disappears and he stares at me challengingly. "Alright Brighton, let's go talk…"

Hey y'all! So, unfortunately, I haven't recieved many reviews recently, leading me to believe that nobody is reading this story anymore, so I'm not sure how much longer I'm going to continue this story... :/ I'm not the kind of writer who is going to ask for reviews in trade for another chapter, I would rather y'all review because you enjoy the story, and since I haven't gotten any as of late, I believe that people aren't enjoying the story anymore.

I will say what I normally do and tell y'all that I would really appreciate reviews for this chapter, telling me what you liked and disliked and if y'all have any ideas as to what's going to happen next!

Love y'all lovely readers lots! I hope y'all have a great Thanksgiving! :)

Thanks!

-Tx