In the Meadow

"Come in," Taylor said, opening the door wide for Ginny, Harry, Carver, and Broker. "I'm glad you're finally here."

Introductions were made, including Taylor introducing a man named Xander that was waiting with her, but they all seemed anxious to get to business. In Romania it was four o'clock by the time they arrived, which was almost a full day since Imogen had left Taylor's.

"The stones give a general idea of location," Taylor said. "What's strange, though, is that Imogen made it about here—" she pulled out a local map and pointed to a spot in a forested area several miles away"—then she more or less disappeared."

"Do you think she realized the stone was tracking her and left it?" Harry asked.

"No," Taylor said. "If that were the case, it would track to where she left it. And she didn't drop it or I'd have an exact location when that happened."

"What do you mean?" Broker asked.

"These stones are meant for tracking dragons in flight," Xander interjected. "If they go off track, it gives us their general directions so a team can follow quickly. If they fall because of injury, the impact will give the location so that we can provide immediate attention."

Carver was running her finger over the line Taylor drew indicating the path Imogen had taken. "Okay, so when does it disappear?"

Taylor and Xander looked at each other. "Interference?" Taylor asked. Xander seemed to mull over the suggestion.

"Interference of what?" Ginny asked.

"Magic," Xander replied. "Specific types of magic. Goblin or Elf or Veela. But if just beyond there is protected by another type of magic, it may skew the initial purpose of the stone."

"But other types of magic shouldn't matter if it drops," Taylor added. "I told her if she needs help to drop it. If she hasn't, then she must be alright."

Harry sat back and took a breath. Ginny wished they could take that last statement for granted. "Do you know anything about Gypsies?" Harry asked.

Taylor shook her head but Xander leaned forward. "I've dealt with a few. Decent people, but very to themselves. Why?"

"Apparently Imogen is one of them," Harry said. "How do you think they'd react to one of their own trying to leave?"

Xander shrugged. "I can't say exactly. Maybe not well, if her hand is any indication."

"How bad was it?" Ginny asked, torn between whether or not she really wanted to know.

"Pretty bad," Xander said. Harry reached over and grabbed Ginny's hand as she looked down. "I don't know how she stopped the bleeding, but every time I tried to close the wound it started again. Almost down to the bone, too."

"Imogen was lying to us about how it happened," Taylor said. "She's a terrible liar, by the way."

"She's not practiced at it," Ginny pointed out.

Harry cleared his throat. "Alright, if we encounter Gypsies, first attempts are peaceful. Beyond that, nothing permanent. Stun only if you must."

The others all nodded. "Xander and me wanted to come with, if that's okay," Taylor said.

"I was hoping you would," Harry replied. "Let's get to where we know she last was, and we can go from there."

They each apparated from Taylor's house. Ginny held her breath, letting it out when Imogen wasn't there when they arrived. She had hoped that maybe there had been a flaw in the stone, and this would be their final destination.

"The ground is wet. Careful you don't cover anything that can be traced," Harry said. Carver and Broker each went in opposite directions. Harry was looping around the general area, examining the ground and tree trunks. Ginny stayed where she was. It was obvious the three had some routine and she would wait for directions.

"Ginny?" Taylor interrupted her thoughts. Ginny turned to her. "I'm sorry I let her go."

"You did what you could," Ginny said. The more irrational part of her wanted to berate Taylor for exactly that, but she knew Taylor well enough to know that if there had been a reasonable way, she would have Imogen with her.

"I have never seen her like that," Taylor said.

Ginny crossed her arms, licking her lips. "Like what?"

"She was panicked. It was like," Taylor searched for the words, "like she was afraid of seeing you."

"Afraid of me?" Ginny's heart dropped a little.

"No, not afraid of you… just of what would happen if you found her."

Ginny knit her brows thinking through the implications of what Taylor was saying. "I don't understand," she finally said.

Taylor looked around at the others, then leaned in, speaking more quietly. "Xander and I were trying to figure it out after she left. Someone cut her. Xander's sure of it. She needed to get going and I don't think it was for a good reason."

"Are you saying someone's following Imogen? That they… they want to attack her?"

Taylor nodded, eyes wide as she looked at Ginny. "She didn't want anyone with her. She was afraid that she'd put others at risk. And I just keep thinking I should have made her stay. If anything happens—"

"Nothing's going to happen," Ginny said quickly, as much for herself as for Taylor.

"Ginny," Harry called. She weaved through the trees towards where he was squatting, looking down at the ground. Taylor followed behind her. Xander also joined them. "Okay here—" he pointed at two sets of footprints "—is the last place her footprints are."

"And the other set?" Ginny asked.

"Not sure, but she met someone here I think," Harry said. He pointed to his right. "Those only last about twenty feet, but all the ground here is soft."

"So they apparated? They knew exactly where to find her?" Harry nodded and stood. Ginny thought of what Taylor had just told her. "Did they hurt her?" Ginny's heart sped up.

"There was no struggle," Harry said. "They were facing each other and she doesn't appear to have gone off in another direction, so I'd so no."

This hardly made Ginny feel better. "Well, where was she coming from?"

"Let's find that out," Harry said.

Everyone else stayed behind as Ginny and Harry followed Imogen's footsteps through the trees in silence. Her steps were unsteady and uneven. She hadn't been walking normally. Ginny's mind leapt to the possibility of more injuries. It wasn't long until they reached the edge of the trees. Standing along a well groomed lawn, her and Harry were looking at an inn of cottages.

"This… this isn't—"

"Yeah, it is," Harry replied.

"So," Ginny had to think through this, trying not to be distracted by the significance of the place. "So, she disappeared shortly after leaving James."

Harry nodded slowly. Ginny ran a hand through her hair and Harry reached an arm around her shoulders. "We need to canvas the area. See if we can find a trace," he said.

It was dark and Imogen grew more concerned than she had been when the sun still shined. Hal brought her to the meadow—or as far as he could—that morning. "I can't give you directions exactly," Hal told her. "Just… think of the song."

Imogen thought through the song and the first hint hit her immediately. "I can only get in at sunrise," she said. Hal nodded. "And same with getting out?"

"Not here," Hal said. "You can leave anytime, if that's what you choose."

"Is it easy to stay there?" Imogen asked.

"Easiest thing in the world."

Imogen was tempted to ask him about his time there, but the way his jaw tensed, she knew better than to give into it. Instead she tried to think of what else she needed to know. "You and Harper will really be safe?" Imogen asked.

"Yeah," he said shortly.

Imogen didn't know whether she cared at this point if Hal was safe or not, but she did care that Harper was well away from Sabina. That was her main reason for going into the meadow—a place between life and death. If Imogen went and stayed they could never finish the ceremony and never do this to anyone else. Imogen thought of Gabe and the little silver sparks. She didn't know if it was what she thought, but if it was, Gabe would keep her magic. If it was too late for her and Harper, they could at least be certain this didn't happen again.

"I'll stay until it gets dark," Hal offered. Imogen didn't say she wanted it, but she didn't decline either. They sat in silence most of the day.

Now she just had to wait out the night. Every hoot of an owl and scamper of a squirrel worried her. Imogen didn't relax in the slightest until the sun was starting to make its appearance. She stood. Imogen decided to leave her satchel by the tree. She'd made Hal take the pictures of his mother with him, putting the others in a bag. Maybe if someone found it, the Potters would at least see that she found her father and where she'd come from. Imogen kept the locket on, though she went back and forth on whether she should leave it for James.

Imogen stood back, looking all around her. The sun was peeking through the leaves when she saw it: a rainbow that ran along the trunk of a tree to her right. Looking up, she noticed a prism placed in the upper branches of the tree. She walked towards it. Imogen saw nothing different in the ground until she came close to the tree, and the rainbow that still shone. Rather than the ground continuing parallel, there were two paths. One lead up, staying in the field where she was, the other slanted down. There was a stream along this area. She followed along. The colors seemed brighter and the grass thicker. As soon as she'd gone a hundred feet in, Imogen looked behind her and the other place had disappeared. She looked up, a perfect blue sky looking down on her rather than the soil of ground above.

She closed her eyes, thinking of the words again.

Down the stream and through the hollow…

Imogen followed the stream. It ended in a circle around a tree with the largest trunk she'd ever seen. Were it hollowed it, the whole Potter family could easily have fit inside. There was one large knot. Imogen circled it, looking for the hollow mentioned in the song, but nothing like it existed. Through the hollow, she thought. She looked at the knot again. Reaching out her right hand, Imogen sought the little magic left and pressed against it. The hollow appeared.

This was it. This was the place of rest. The place without sorrow. The place without all of those people she was leaving behind. Imogen's heart pounded as she stepped over the water and ducked through the hole in the tree. As soon as she came through, Imogen saw a statue of a boy. Teenaged and handsome, he was made of a crystal material. He laid out in the grass, vines grown over him.

Imogen looked around the lawn. The boy wasn't the only one. She weaved in and out, one crystal statue after another. Then she saw a middle aged woman, a hundred yards from the tree. She wasn't fully crystal. Her clothing was made of velvet and her hair was half transformed. Her skin, however, was as perfect as the rest. Imogen remembered Harper's words about this place. You could leave, but that option was temporary, and now Imogen knew why. This is what she would become.

But they all stayed for a reason. Imogen found an open space, lying in the soft, untamed grass. She took a few deep breaths, then closed her eyes, waiting for sleep to come.

When Imogen sat up, she seemed to have ended up back where she started. Back to where Hal left her. She was upset, looking around, realizing she wasn't alone. She jumped up, her hand out, ready to shield herself, then she dropped it by her side.

"Hello, Imogen."

"Papa."

James hadn't slept all night. He kept waiting for someone to come give them news. When the sun rose, he got dressed and went into the kitchen to make some coffee. He sat alone for a while. He looked at the clock around seven and decided to go bother Albus for a task in their search for Imogen's mother to distract him.

When he stepped into the living room he stopped. Lorcan sat there on the couch, Lily curled up beside him with her arms around his middle. Lorcan stiffened at the sight of James, but he didn't say anything. James figured Lily hadn't slept at all either, and Lorcan wanted an update as much as any of them.

Still, seeing them wrapped up in each other made James miss Imogen more than he could handle. Changing his mind, James went out the door and walked up the road to his and Imogen's field. He laid in the grass, picking at dandelions and making white flowers that he then crushed until they disappeared over and over again.

He'd been there quite a while when he saw a strange figure marching his direction. The girl was thin and tall, with black curly hair, but he recognized the man following her from the memory. It was the man Imogen had traveled with. "You're James?" she asked, still a ways off.

James knit his brow and nodded.

"Harper! Get back here now!"

"No," she shouted back, still striding towards James. "She went to the meadow," she said when she'd gotten to James, grasping his arms. Her eyes were wide and frantic. James was leaning back, trying to keep her at arm's length.

"Excuse me?" James asked.

"Imogen, she went to the meadow!" Harper said.

"You changed where we were going," Hal yelled at Harper. "Now come on, I'm not playing around!"

"Neither am I," Harper retorted. She turned back to James. "Imogen needs you."

"Wait, who are you?" James asked.

"We're her cousins. Her papa was our uncle."

"Cousins?" James looked over to Hal who was getting closer. Hal reached for Harper and James stepped in between them. James turned, keeping Harper behind his back.

"Out of my way, asshole!" Hal said.

"I'm not going anywhere until someone explains where the damn meadow is!" James shouted back. "And why Imogen went there."

"It's not anywhere you can get to," Hal said.

Harper turned James around, holding out her hands. "They're trying to find her to do this," she said. There were red scars across her hands. James immediately realized what had been under the bandages Imogen wore. "There are people who want her magic."

"And the meadow?"

"It's a place where they can't get to her or finish what they started."

James swallowed. The way Harper said it still didn't make it sound safe. "I'm supposed to stay here. My parents are tracking Imogen. They'll find her."

"Not there," Harper said. She was earnest as she grabbed his arms again. "It's a Gypsy place."

"I don't understand."

"Imogen can go in, but no one can bring her out. And she doesn't plan on leaving… we'll never see her again," Harper said. "Hal… Hal can take you though!"

Hal reached around James in his moment of distraction, grabbing Harper. "No, Hal cannot," he said sharply. "I am taking you where it's safe!"

"Not until you tell me how to find Imogen!"

"Look," Hal said, pushing Harper behind him and getting right into James's face. "I took Imogen there because I owed her a favor. I'm not going again."

"You took her?"

"It's what she wanted," he spat, turning and pushing Harper along.

"And you knew she couldn't come back from it?"

"It's not my problem."

James grabbed Hal's shoulder with one hand, turning him around. He threw his fist, hitting Hal's face and drawing his wand.

"You bloody bastard," Hal snapped, holding his jaw.

James had his wand at Hal's chest before he could stand up straight. Harper covered her mouth with her hands. Hal spat and looked up with a snarl.

"Take me to Imogen!" James demand.

"You can't get there," Hal snapped. "And the only way she can come out is if she decides to."

"Hal, she'll see him," Harper said. "You know she'll be able to see him if we take him to the entrance."

James had given up on knowing what they were talking about. All he knew is that this may be a last chance to get Imogen. Especially if his parents couldn't find this place Harper spoke of.

"It's the right thing to do," Harper said, hanging on Hal's elbow. It was a gesture James recognized. It was the way Lily talked to him if she wanted something. "Mum would have wanted you to."

Hal visibly softened, still rubbing his jaw. "Fine," he said. "But we are in and out of that bloody place, you understand?"

Harper nodded. Hal was doing something with his hands. A green light appeared. "You'll have to hold to one of us," Hal told James.

Imogen ran into her father's open arms. He rocked her back and forth, kissing her head as she buried her face into his chest. "Oh, Papa!" she cried.

After a while, he pulled her back, holding her face in both his hands. "You are as beautiful as I knew you vould be," he said with a smile.

"Where's Mum?" Imogen asked.

"She cannot come to zis place," her father said sadly. "The meadow vas made for Gypsy souls to meet."

"Will I ever get to see her?" Imogen asked. All of those that lay in the area before here were nowhere to be found. It was just her and her papa.

"If you choose to go vith me, you vill see everyone," he said. Imogen's heart leapt at this. She understood why Hal said this was easy. She could be with her parents again—something Imogen had wanted since the moment she lost them. "But I hope you vill not. Not yet."

"Why?" Imogen asked.

"Because ve vant a full life for you, Imogen," her papa said. "It is all ve ever vanted."

Imogen leaned into him again. In this moment she couldn't imagine ever choosing to do anything but go with him—to stay with him forever. They talked of other things, small things, walking around the meadow. They reminisced about their time together when Imogen was young. She remembered new moments and his laugh. When what was pleasant ran dry, Imogen knew she had questions, burning questions that needed answers.

"Who was Frederick Dahl?" Imogen asked first.

"Frederick vas married to a Gypsy caster. She vas killed by Sabina after her magic was stolen," her papa explained. "He verked hard against Sabina and told me of her involvement in ze fire vhich killed my parents. I vanted to take Bianka, but could not vhen I left. I lived vith Frederick for two years. I took his name and started a new life. Zhen one day, he fell in love vith a voman. He vas engaged before I met her, though I had known her for years. From the clan."

Imogen thought about this. "Valda?"

Her papa nodded. "She poisoned him. I fled and someone told me of a place I could be safe."

"And that's how you ended up in Australia."

"Yes," he said. He sat on a long, fallen tree trunk. Imogen sat beside him.

"Do you regret going there?" Imogen asked.

"In some vays, yes. But mostly not. I vould not have met your mama, and I vould not have my beautiful girl."

"Why did you give me your magic?" Imogen asked.

He took a deep breath. "Vhen you have children, you may understand. You vant zem to be safe, Imogen. I vanted you to have every chance. I strengthened your magic vith mine. If Sabina ever found you, I vanted you to vin. Zen you came to us, making us realize vat vas happening. Ve panicked. Ve acted too fast. I gave you everything I had left to keep you safe, not knowing zat it vould leave you alone."

"And why did you make me forget everything? All the things about you and mum... I couldn't remember. I couldn't remember anything, Papa."

"I did not know vat the place vas to you. I vondered vat happened to you zat I did not know. I vorried zat if ve vere caught, zey vould use your memories. Fear and love make us blind, Imogen. It seemed good at ze time. I vas wrong to do zat. Ze fault of a man vithout visdom."

Imogen took this in, trying to understand. It seemed worse that there hadn't been a purpose in her not having these things to comfort her when her parents were gone. Yet she had him now. It would all be alright and all could be amended. "Papa," Imogen said, thinking. "There was a girl in the clan, a young girl. She... she nearly drowned and I used my magic to save her and after she showed the signs of casting. Is there any way I passed it onto her?"

"You did much more," he said.

"But Hal told me that's only possible if one of her parents was a caster, and they aren't."

Her papa sighed and smiled. "My nephew falls victim to a Gypsy problem. Zey have believed so long in zair magic, zat zey do not question vat zey do not understand."

"What do you mean?"

"Ages ago, Gypsies vere not so stingy vith zair gifts. Zey shared zhem when zey vere able."

"But that's just temporary."

"For some, yes, but for zose, like ze girl you speak of, zey are ready to accept ze gift, and have just never been given ze chance."

"So I lost some of my magic when I healed her?"

"No, Imogen, you increased it."

"But... how? You lost your gift when you gave it to me."

"Zair vas a time the gift was given freely. Just as vith magic, not everyone could use ze gifts, but our people sought zose who could. Some vizards held Gypsies in contempt, vhich spread to zose in our clans and ze gifts only continued from one generation to ze next. Many parents increased zair children's gifts at ze end of zair lives, or passed it as I did. Zhen zair have been some like Sabina, who have stolen for zhemselves. Zey are cursed, needing more magic to subsist. Zey must alvays look for ze young to feed zair greed." Imogen looked at her papa as he grabbed her right hand between his own, passing his palm over hers like he did when she was young. "It is time for goodness to be brought back to ze Gypsies. For giving to prevail."

Imogen leaned into him, his arm wrapping around her shoulders as she closed her eyes.

Imogen!

Someone shouted her name, though it seemed vaguely distant and close at the same time. She opened her eyes and sat up. There was James, standing right in front of her. She stood. "James?"

He didn't turn towards her, but looked frantically around the meadow.

Imogen! he shouted again. Hal and Harper appeared at the edges of the trees.

"He cannot hear you," her papa said. "You and he are in different planes of ze same place."

"Hal brought him," she said, still looking at James. He walked from one spot to another, calling her name. "He shouldn't have brought him here," Imogen felt her pulse picking up. A red jet of light was aimed right for him. "No, James!" she shouted.

He blocked it just in time, stumbling backward. Harper was grabbed immediately by Juris and Hal was fighting off Mihail, trying to get back to his sister. James dueled with Tibor. Tibor started with bravado, laughing as James blocked one curse after another.

"Vat a smart boy," he taunted, throwing another curse. Imogen yelled again. James dodged it, sending his own jinx that threw Tibor off his feet. Tibor lost his glee. He slashed and James had to jump back to create a shield. The force still threw James into a tree behind him.

"Go, Imogen," her Papa said. She turned to him. "Go!"

He pushed her towards where she had come in. She took a few steps backwards, then looked over where James had stood, Tibor still struggling to his feet. "I love you, Papa," she choked out before she turned and ran.

Imogen's eyes opened in the place of the crystal statues. She sat up, her legs already tangled by vines trying to claim her for the meadow. She grabbed them with her right hand, pulling hard as they retreated from her form. She stood, running past the tree and along the stream. She couldn't see what was happening until she made her way up the slope to where the two worlds met. Instinctively she threw out both hands, though the right was the one her spell came from, hitting Tibor in the back and throwing him sideways.

"Imogen!" James shouted, running towards her.

"James! Don't!" she screamed, turning towards the spell aimed at him. Imogen wasn't fast enough as he was lifted into the air, his wand jerked from his hands. "James!" she shrieked.

Sabina walked out of the forest, steady and slow, catching James's wand in her left hand, the other pointed at him. "Should I drop him?" she asked Imogen.

Tibor slowly recovered. He threw a curse at Imogen, but it was Sabina who used James's wand to send it in another direction. "Not ze girl! Don't touch her, you idiot! You'll destroy us all!"

Imogen chanced a glance over to Harper and Hal. They both kneeled in front of Mihail and Juris. She looked back at James, still struggling against Sabina's spell. He was ten feet in the air. "Let him down," Imogen begged. "Please, don't hurt him."

"I do not vish to hurt any of zem," Sabina said in a reasonable tone. As if to prove it, she lowered James until his feet touched the ground. The moment he was freed from her spell, Tibor grabbed him, twisting his arms so Tibor had a tight hold.

"Get out of here, Imogen," James said, still fighting Tibor.

"Shut it," Tibor said, pulling on James's limbs until he groaned in pain.

"Stop!" Imogen said.

"You know I can make Tibor stop," Sabina said. She pulled the silver knife from her belt, levitating it and sending it right in front of Imogen. "Ve only need to finish vat ve started."

Imogen looked at the little silver blade just within her reach. She gritted her teeth and grabbed the handle with her right hand.

"No!" James shouted. "Don't!"

"All ve need is blood from your ozer hand, zen ve vill let you all go," Sabina said.

Harper shook her head and Hal looked straight ahead, a steely expression giving nothing away.

"You let the others go first," Imogen said, trying to sound strong and certain.

Sabina laughed. "You do not understand your position," she said. "Let me show you."

She pointed her wand at James and he writhed in Tibor's arm, screaming in pain. "No!" Imogen screamed. She switched the blade to her left hand and lifted her right to intervene. She paused the torture once or twice, but put down her hand unable to watch anymore, her eyes filled with tears. "Alright! You can have it," she said.

James slumped in Tibor's grasp as Sabina's curse ended. She smiled. With a flick of her wrist, the wooden bowl appeared beneath Imogen's hand. "Just one cut," Sabina said. "Zen zis is over."

Imogen touched the tip of the blade against the palm of her right hand. She looked at James. He was shaking his head back and forth. Imogen remembered something Sabina said that first night. James was her greatest weakness.

Would Sabina keep her promise? Would they be allowed free after this? And what about Gabe, or any others with gifts in the clan? Imogen knew she was dooming others to this same fate. She watched James. No matter what happened to her, James couldn't be hurt. Sabina's panic when Tibor tried to attack her rung in Imogen's mind. James was her greatest weakness, but he was also her greatest strength. For him, she would do anything.

Imogen turned the blade quickly, grabbing the handle with both hands.

"Stop her!" Sabina shouted.

Before anyone could move, Imogen pushed the knife into the right side of her abdomen, feeling one even, sharp pain with the motion, and another as she removed it, the short blade covered in her blood. Imogen heard a cacophony of screams as she dropped the blade, falling to her knees in the grass. Her magic flooded back into her, but it was too late.

"No!" James screamed as Imogen plunged the knife into herself.

A large rush of wind knocked him forward. He turned and watched the large man shudder as he became a large pillar of ash. To his left, the old woman, too, was transforming, the wind blowing both of them away until there was nothing left. James didn't look at the others, but scrambled to his feet, running to Imogen.

She fell forward, curled into a ball, holding her stomach on her knees in the grass. "No," he said. "No, no, no! Imogen!" He knelt beside her, grabbing a shoulder in each hand, he carefully turned her, pulling her into his arms, brushing hair from her face. Imogen was shaking, her hands clutching her side. Blood spilled from the wound, soaking her dress.

"James," she said, her voice broke at his name. Color drained from her face.

"Why did you do that?" he asked. Tears welled in his eyes. "Why?"

"I had to," Imogen said. James held helplessly as she grimaced, biting her bottom lip through a bout of pain. She let out a breath as it ended. "Tell Mum I'm sorry."

"You have to tell her yourself," James insisted. "And Lily and Al and Dad. You have to tell them. I'm just going to… I'll just…" He tried to think, but he'd never spent much time on healing spells. He suddenly felt that everything he did know was useless. What was the point of any of it if he couldn't save Imogen? He suddenly got what his dad had said about them learning patronus messaging. He wished he could send one now and summon his parents here.

James looked over as Harper fell onto her knees on Imogen's other side. She grabbed at the bottom of her skirt, ripping off a large chunk of the fabric, folding it up and replacing Imogen's hands with the compress and her own pressure. "Hal, I need more," she said, her voice shaking. "I think Imogen's bag was over by that tree." Hal followed her instructions.

"James, I'm sorry," Imogen said.

"No," he said, adjusting her, placing a hand on her cheek. "You can't give up on me! I won't allow it!"

Imogen grimaced and James held her closer. "Your school letter came," he said quickly as she relaxed. "You got all your O.W.L.s, just like I knew you would."

"Really?" her voice was weak. Hal ripped up pieces of Imogen's clothes, folding them and handing them to Harper.

"Yeah," he said, trying to sound casual. "Yeah... Only I'm not supposed to know, so act surprised when Mum shows you, right? And Lily and Lorcan are... are dating or something now."

Imogen took a moment to absorb this statement. "You're just saying that."

"No, really," James said. Anything to keep her attention. "I saw them cuddling on the couch today. Haven't I told you for ages now that he fancied her?" Imogen gave a weak smile as he grinned back. "It happened while they were doing research about you being a Gypsy. You have to stay and tell me all about that."

With some effort, Imogen lifted her right hand. Covered in blood, she reached it out, palm up, wiggling her fingers. James smiled through his tears, reaching out his own, hovering it above hers. He watched as the sparks not only flickered between their hands, but all around them as well. They were strong and real and theirs. He took it as a good sign looking back to Imogen's face. She looked at him and smiled gently before closing her eyes and falling limp in James's arms.

James felt his heart rip in two. He wondered how he had ever mistaken the morning in the barn as heartbreak, because this was far more destructive. Far more final. He pulled her into him, laying his face into her neck, hoping for a response that wouldn't come.

"James," Harper said.

Sobbing, he took a moment before he looked over to her. Hal's jaw was tense, kneeling behind his sister, but Harper looked more intent. Only she wasn't looking at James, exactly. He followed the direction of her stare, down to his hand, which was still covered in little golden sparks. Now that he saw them, he could feel them against his skin. It was as though he could feel them coming from his fingers.

Harper grabbed James's hand, placing it over the wound, pressing it down. The sparks made their way over Imogen's skin, sinking into the cut. James could feel what was happening, just how Imogen always said she felt. He sensed what he couldn't see, feeling flesh suture together beneath his hand. Harper closed her eyes and a purple glow encircled her own hands, forcing the golden sparks to increase their speed.

A few minutes seemed to drag before everything stopped. Harper turned to watch Imogen and James did the same.

Imogen took in one long, steady breath, her eyes opening and looking for James's. Harper fell forward, her forehead resting in relief on Imogen's stomach. James captured her lips in his carefully. He kept his face close to hers, their breath tangling, their noses touching. "All that other nonsense and I almost forgot to say I love you," he whispered.

"I love you too," she replied.