Chapter 42

Ari's POV

I crouch behind a pillar and watch Alec Darkbloom silently stalk through the corridor ahead. It's been two days since we as a group collectively decided that we would each follow a member of my dad's recruited army.

Freddie is following the Ravenclaw Jenny Singleton, who I don't think minds it too much, since she's fancied Freddie for as long as I can remember. Al is following Roald Zabini, since they are both in the same house, while James is following the Hufflepuff Lilly Fitzpatrick. Eli is following Arowena, just in case she gets sloppy and leads us to their meeting place, while Brittany and Landen tailing the Slytherine Lowell Eltron. Freddie was completely opposed to letting Brittany follow anyone but, after lots of arguing and insisting on her part, he finally agreed. As long as Landed went with her.

Alec opens a large wooden door, one that I remember leading into an abandoned classroom, and enters the room, being sure to close the door quietly behind him. I wait a few seconds, then quickly stand upright and tip toe toward the door, lightly placing my ear against the worn wood and listening intently. Behind it, I can hear muffles voices and an almost inaudible conversation.

"…doesn't tell me how you know this information, Darkbloom."

"I just do. I've known her for almost two years now, and I've known him for much longer. They're planning something, I just know it."

"I'm not going to pass along a hunch to Lord Brighton. Either find us some facts or keep your fat mouth shut. Lord Brighton doesn't trust you so any suspicions you have need to backed up by fact."

Alec remains quiet for a moment, and I'm almost afraid that the conversation is over, until he speaks again. "Zabini, you know better than anyone that Ariana is trouble for whatever plans Lord Brighton has. What if I were to kill her and bring her to Lord Brighton as a gift? Would he trust me then?"

Zabini? Then where is Al? I look around for him but return my ear to the door when I hear Zabini yell.

"NO!" I hear Zabini sigh and take a moment to calm down before he responds again, his voice tense with underlying rage. "No, Ariana is for Lord Brighton to deal with. He made his instructions very clear to all of us. She is not to die at the hands of anyone but him."

I barely stifle the urge to laugh aloud at the thought of that. My smile disappears when Alec speaks again. "Fine. I will bring this up again at the meeting tonight. I hope you know that…"

My elation with this news shows on face. It's short lived, however, when I hear two sets of footsteps rapidly approaching the door. I propel myself off the door and sprint back to where I had been hiding before, praying that they don't walk my way.

I hear the door open and hold my breath as Zabini says, "The meeting is at nine, which gives you an hour to change your mind. I hope, for your sake, that you do. I will kill you if Lord Brighton demands it."

I can hear the smirk on Alec's face as he says, "I would expect nothing less. See you back here in a few hours, friend."

I firmly press myself against the pillar I'm hiding behind when I hear footsteps coming closer to me. The moment I think the person is about to see me, he turns and walks down the opposite corridor. I peek around the pillar and see Alec walking in the opposite direction of me, his back slowly disappearing from sight.

I wait until the sound of footsteps has faded completely before releasing my death grip on the edges of the pillar and slowly heading back to the Head's common room to inform everyone of what I'd just learned.

The moment I enter the room, I'm greeted by the sound of Brittany, Landen and Freddie arguing.

"I TOLD YOU TO STAY WITH HER, LANDEN!" Freddie yells as he points and accusing finger at Landen.

Landen clenches his fists and yells, "SHE DOESN'T NEED ME TO BABYSIT HER! SHE'S-"

Brittany grunts angrily while attempting to position herself between Landen and Freddie. "I DON'T NEED PROTECTING, FREDDIE! I'M NOT A CHILD!"

Freddie turns his attention to Brittany and groans loudly. "SOMETHING COULD HAVE HAPPENED, BRI!"

Brittany punches Freddie in the chest and glares at him as she says, "Don't you dare yell at me. Why is it Ari gets to go out on her own all the time but I get in trouble for going out on my own once?"

Freddie takes a deep breath while pinching the bridge of his nose. "Because Ariana's single so nobody cares about her."

I gasp loudly and yell, "HEY!" but Freddie ignores me and continues.

"Bri, I don't want anything to happen to you, especially if I could have prevented it. Please don't be mad at me for that. Don't be mad at me for loving you."

I make a dramatic gagging sound before loudly saying, "You two make me want to vomit…"

Landen smirks at me as I walk over to the three of them. "Did you find anything out?"

I hold up my finger to silence him while I turn to Freddie and punch him in the chest. "I'm single so nobody cares about me? You're an ass…"

Freddie rubs the spot on his chest and smirks. "Sorry…"

I roll my eyes and turn back to Landen, lowering my finger and saying, "I found out where the meeting will be held and at what time. I'll fill you all in when everyone is here to hear it."

Landen nods then adds, "We're only waiting on Al and Eli now."

I raise an eyebrow at him and ask, "What about James?"

Freddie points toward James' room and sighs. "Locked himself in there after following his mark. Not sure what's wrong with him."

"And none of you thought to check on him?" I ask in disbelief.

Brittany shrugs her shoulders as she grabs Freddie's hand and intertwines her fingers with his. "He's a big boy. He'll be alright."

I roll my eyes at them as Al and Eli walk in, loudly greeting us as they do. I cup my hands around my mouth and yell, "JAMES! I'VE GOT SOME INFORMATION! GET OUT HERE!"

We wait for a few seconds but James doesn't come out. I get up, gesturing to the group that I'll be back in a moment, then knock once on James' door before entering his room, shutting the door loudly behind me.

James is sitting on his bed with his legs crossed, his back to the door, and staring intently out the small, diamond patterned window on the wall across from him. Small raindrops soundlessly hit the window, running down the pane tracing erratic patters before falling off completely.

I clear my throat loudly in an attempt to get his attention, but he doesn't budge, so I pick up a blanket that is crumpled on the ground near me and throw it at him. The blanket hits the back of his head and explodes around him, completely covering his head in fabric. "JAMES!"

He pulls the blanket off his head and sets it on his bed as he turns to face me. "Yes?"

"Did you not hear me yelling for you? I found out when and where the meeting is."

James nods as he hops off his bed and motions toward the door. "Oh, lead the way."

He walks toward the door but I stand in his path. "Are you alright?"

He nods, a halfhearted smile on his face. "Me? Oh, yeah. Just a bit in shock that everything is happening so fast now. It was dragged out in the beginning, but by now, it all seems to be packed together. One attack after another…"

I place a hand on his arm and sigh. "It's going to be fine, James. The meeting is tonight, which means we'll attack tonight, if that's what everyone agrees on. It's almost over…"

James smirks at me. "That doesn't make me feel any better, you know…"

I raise an eyebrow curiously at him as my hand falls back to my side. "What do you m-"

He shakes his head, signaling the end of our conversation, and gestures toward the door again. "I do believe we've made them wait long enough. Don't you think it's time you informed the others of your discovery?"

I nod, still worried, and exit the room. Once out into the common room, I find Landen, Eli, Al, Freddie and Brittany are all sitting on the couches waiting for us. I wait for James to join them then begin. "Tonight, as I was tailing Darkbloom, I followed him to an old classroom, where he met with Zabini. I found out that the meeting is in the abandoned classroom at nine tonight."

I wait a moment and let the information sink in then, when I feel they've had an adequate time to absorb it, I continue. "Do we want to attack tonight or not?"

"What do you think?"

I look over at Brittany and sigh. "It doesn't matter what I think. I'm dragging you lot into this mess, and I don't want to do so if you lot aren't ready for it."

Brittany shakes her head and rephrases her question. "What is your opinion? Do you think we should attack now or not?"

I take a deep breath and purse my lips before answering. "I think the longer we wait, the harder it's going to be to actually win this. By waiting longer, we're giving him more time to get more recruits."

Freddie looks around then says, "Then I guess it's settled. We'll attack tonight."

I shake my head rapidly. "No… If you lot aren't ready-"

Brittany shakes her head as well as she says, "We don't have to be ready. You do."

I nod my head once then look at each of the faces in front of me. I can feel tears stinging at my eyes as I realize this could be the last time I see all of them. "Er, in case things go south tonight, I, er… I just…" I wipe the warm tears of my face and chuckle. "Merlin, I really am ruddy at good-byes…"

I look at them all again and see that they are watching me intently. "I just really want to let you know that I love you all very much and, if things go wrong tonight, I appreciate everything you lot have done to help me with this. I can honestly say that I couldn't have done any of this without you. Any of you."

Freddie smiles at me as he says, "While your tear-filled thank you was amusing, it wasn't necessary. Just uncomfortable for everyone involved." Brittany smacks him in the chest so he adds with an even bigger smile, "We'll see you after everything's finished. Promise."

I manage a sniffle as I let out a laugh and wipe away my tears. "Alright, enough with of this. We'd better get ready. We're leaving in forty-five minutes."

Everyone nods in unison before getting up of the couch and adjourning to one room or another. Brittany and Freddie and the only ones left in the common room and, though Freddie told me he was sure we would be fine, I'm sure they're about to say their good-bye's, just in case. So I silently walk into my room, giving them the space they need, and sit on my bed.

I pull my knees up to my chest and wrap my arms around them, continuously taking deep, calming breaths in an attempt to prepare for what's ahead. In just forty-five minutes, I will challenge my father in an attempt to bait him into a fight that I may or may not win.

Merlin, I HAVE to win. For James and Al, Eli and Brittany, Landen and Freddie. I cannot lose. I have to protect them… I have to fight for everyone whose already died to get me this far.

I will not lose.

I take a final deep breath and open my eyes, which I hadn't realized I'd closed, and jump as a startled squeak escapes my lips. The person across from me smirks at my reaction. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you."

I return his smirk as I say, "Now why don't I believe that?"

He shakes his head with a laugh. "Because you're smarter than that."

I roll my eyes while I ask, "What are you doing here, Jamie? Shouldn't you be preparing for what's to come? You know, made sure you've said your farewells to everyone in case things go sour?"

James' smirk turns to a grin as he responds. "That's actually what I'm here to do."

I roll my eyes again as I cross my legs, my hands resting politely in my lap. "I'm sure you have more important people than me to say good-bye to. You're a very popular person. Lots of people love you."

He nods, his signature smirk returned as he takes a seat next to me on the bed. "Yes, but only one of those people matters."

I shake my head adamantly, looking him in the eyes as I speak. "No. You should be saying your farewells to your family; to Al and Fred, not to me. I'm no one, NO ONE, compared to them. In fact, I don't even compare to them."

James smiles again, a faint smile, as he gently grabs my face in his hands and presses his lips to mine. The kiss is light and only last a few seconds before he pulls away, releasing my face and resting his forehead on mine, and says, "You don't have to compare to them. If I loved them the way I loved you, we would be having a completely different-"

Before he can finish his sentence, I bring my arms up and grab his face, fervently pressing my lips to his. James is a bit taken aback at first but, after his initial shock recedes, I can feel him smirk against my mouth as he wraps his arms around my waist, pulling me as close to his body as possible.

Fresh tears run down my face as I realize this could be the last time I get to do this. This could be the last time I even get to see James, and that thought alone is enough to make me not want to face my father.

James pulls away when he feels my tears and pulls me into a hug instead, rubbing comforting circles on my back. "You need to beat your dad. Beat him so that, when this is all over, we can be together again."

I nod while wiping my tears away, embarrassed that I let myself cry in front of James. "That sounds… perfect. I'd love that…"

He grins jovially as he plants a kiss on my forehead and grabs one of my hands, intertwining his fingers with mine. Suddenly, behind us we hear a throat clear and someone say, "Time to go."

I give James another kiss before wiping away my remaining tears and, with a renewed sense of vigor, I hop off the bed, being sure not to release James' hand at all in the process. "Time to end this."

I'm working hard on the last few chapters, so I'll get those posted as soon as possible.

As always, I would love to hear your thoughts and opinions about this chapter, and about this story in general!

Thanks,

-Tx :)