November 10th, 1693. Lynn, Massachusetts.
We are no longer in Salem. We have made it to the town of Lynn, where we have been hiding out. I managed to disguise myself and Dorothy using magic before emerging from the woods and entering into town. I had no plan about where we would stay or where we would find food. I had no money to my name and I was tired, cold, hungry and also homeless.
But luckily, we were taken in at a local inn with a tavern below it-very much like the one my husband and I were running back in Salem. It was comforting in a way.
The owners are named Edward and Julia and they found me and Dorothy curled up against the side of the inn, trying to get some sleep. Although, I did not feel comfortable letting myself sleep. I needed to keep watch over my son. I had no place to set him down safely. I had no sort of carrier or bassinet, so I was forced to hold him in my arms and I simply could not sleep that way. However, I was so tired, I kept dozing off and jerking awake again moments later.
Julia found us sitting there and offered the three of us a room. I told her my name was Ann and that Dorothy's name was Sarah. I used her mother's name so that it would be easiest for the child to remember, and also as a tribute to her mother. I had explained to Dorothy before we left the woods that she could not go by Dorothy any longer, just like I could not go by Elizabeth. I told her how important this was and that she must remember to use her pretend name and that I must remember to use mine. I chose Ann because it was the name of my grandmother, and also my middle name. As for my son, I used his real name. John. For him, it was safe. No one would be suspicious of an infant.
I told Julia and Edward that my husband had passed away, which was the truth, and that we had been struggling financially-also the truth. After the death of my husband, I decided to leave my home and start over. Again, the truth. It was all the truth, just a very vague version of it. The one thing I blatantly lied about was the fact that I was from Salem. Instead, I told them that I was from nearby Danvers. Telling them I was from Salem would be too suspicious.
I had already heard the buzzing of news since I had arrived here. Buzzing about how a man from Salem had been found dead with no apparent cause of death, his daughter was now missing, and so was Judge Hathorne's newest servant, who had been released from prison after being accused of witchcraft. Me, of course. Luckily, Julia and Edward did not seem to like Judge Hathorne very much. They said they had heard terrible things about him. I said I had heard the same.
Anyway, Julia and Edward are going to let us stay. They are going to let me work for them as well as stay in one of their rooms for shelter. They did question me throughly, but my story seemed to convince them. And I believe the fact that I had two young children in tow helped my case.
So, for now, the three of us have beds to sleep in, food to eat, and clothes on our back. Whenever I can steal away quiet moments, I continue helping Dorothy control her magic but with more of an urgency than before. We cannot afford another accident like the one that happened back in Salem. Life is not the same as it once was, by any means. But I now have some glimmer of hope that I can lead a normal life again. A life without fear. A life with people whose company I enjoy. A life where I can continue to keep my husband, John, and my friend Sarah in my heart and in my memories, but at the same time, move on from all the trauma of the past year. A life when I can finally, for the first time in a long time, be hopeful and happy. A life where I can envision a future.
Just slightly under a week later, my mother and I were in the kitchen, preparing dinner as we had been for the past few days. Eric had been requesting a lot of complicated recipes-undoubtedly because of all the hard work they required rather than the fact that he actually wanted them.
My mother and I had decided tonight was the night we'd try to escape. We'd crush up the Skiving Snackboxes and slip them into the food. Then we'd use the Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder to get our wands back. Eric had taken to keeping them on him at all times rather than locking them up. Probably because we'd been able to find them last time. But if Eric was preoccupied with being violently sick as well as being unable to see, we'd be able to take the wands back and dismantle the charms outside the house. The Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder came with a pair of glasses that allowed the wearer to be the only one to see in the darkness. I would be the one to wear them, holding onto my mother with one hand, grabbing the wands with the other, and then leading the two of us out of the house.
The knife wound on my leg had begun to heal in the days that we'd been here—my mother had only been able to clean it, since we didn't have the aid of magic. After that, we had no choice but to let it heal naturally. It was also why we hadn't tried to leave sooner. I felt that I could have run on it well enough to get out a day or two ago, but at the same time, we didn't want to risk anything. If this plan was going to work, we really had one shot to get it perfect.
Waiting a bit had also given us time to even come up with this plan. It was simple, but we needed to make sure we were both on the same page if we wanted it to work. We had to make sure our timing was perfect and that we didn't waste any time in grabbing our wands back. We had to move quickly. The Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder would last a few minutes, but if Eric managed to grab us while we were trying to get our wands, then it would slow us down.
Once the food was done and we'd set it on the table, the two of us hid back in the kitchen, watching from the doorway with bated breath as we watched Eric sit down and take a bite.
Usually the Skiving Snackboxes worked almost instantly when someone put them in their mouth, but because it was mixed in with food, it took a little bit for Eric to start getting sick. The vomiting and nosebleed started nearly simultaneously and my mother and I immediately sprung into action. I slipped on the special glasses that came with the Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder and then quickly counted down from three before setting the product off and grabbing my mother's hand. The room was filled with darkness at once, but I could clearly see Eric, still at the table, his back to me and with two wands sticking out of his back pocket. I kept my focus on the wands and the wands alone as I pulled my mother across the room.
I lunged forward and yanked both wands out of Eric's pocket before turning and rushing towards the front door. When we got there, I handed my mother back her wand as we jumped down the front steps. My mother stumbled a bit on the landing, but I quickly steadied her and we kept running. We were already working quickly to dismantle the charms around the house and I yanked the glasses from my face with my free hand as I waved my wand, my heart thumping wildly in my chest. We made it to the gate and I fumbled with the latch for a second before flinging it open. The plan was to Apparate straight to the police station, so I gripped my mother's hand tightly before Apparating us to the side street right beside the station.
We went around the corner and headed towards the steps. I was about to start whooping with joy when someone stepped out in front of me. I didn't notice where they came from-in fact, I hadn't noticed them at all until I ran smack into them. I hit them so forcefully that I was knocked to the ground, breathless. And before I could register anything else, I was being tugged to my feet by the man I'd run into. He was tall, about ten years older than me, dressed in all black and I noticed he was also carrying a wand. Great. We were caught. And by someone who could do magic. I guessed he was one of the allies Eric had mentioned. One of the people that had helped put charms around the house to keep us inside. I just hadn't expected any of them to also be keeping watch, which, in hindsight, I should have. It was the one thing my mother and I hadn't accounted for when formulating our escape plan. Stupid, I chastised myself. So stupid.
The man roughly spun me around and gripped my upper arm tightly as I grimaced. I noticed another man had come up behind my mother and had grabbed her as well. The second man was also armed with a wand, just as the first man was.
I let out a scream, as loudly as I could manage, hoping that it would draw the attention of someone-anyone, really. Even better if it drew the attention of someone inside the police station. But the scream was barely out of my mouth before the man who had grabbed me pressed his wand to my throat and muttered a spell. I was still trying to scream, but no sound was coming out. He'd used a silencing spell on me.
"Who are you?" my mother asked the two men, trying to wriggle free to no avail.
I continued to silently struggle against my own captor as well, with no luck. I saw my wand lying a few feet away and stuck out my foot to attempt to nudge it closer. The man holding me noticed and swiftly stepped forward to stomp on the wand, effectively snapping it in two. Shit.
"Doesn't matter who we are," the man said casually. "But we're taking you both back home." He pressed his wand back against my throat. "Stop fighting," he demanded. "If you behave, I'll remove the silencing charm. If you continue to fight me, I'll have to jinx you-I know some rather nasty ones. I suggest you don't test me on that."
I scowled at him, but stilled my movements. He removed the charm, but kept his wand at my throat.
"Come on, let's move," he said, shoving me forward. He looked over at his friend. "Let's get them to that alleyway, and then we'll Apparate them back."
"So, what, you're working with Eric?" I asked as we walked. "Are you the ones who attacked Ginny? You're the guys Eric got to put the charms up around the house in the first place? And what, he had you stand guard at the police station while you were at it in case we went for help?"
"Essentially," the man behind me said coolly. "We actually followed you here from the house. We were stationed outside in the event that you two escaped. And two more of us are actually stationed inside the police station, posing as officers with the help of some Confundus Charms. So even if you had made it inside, you wouldn't have gotten much help." He chuckled. "You know, that Eric bloke is pretty smart-for a Muggle. And he's willing to do anything to get what he wants. Anything. I like that."
"What's in this for you, anyway?" I asked, wincing as I was roughly shoved forward again. "What do you get out of it?"
"We've been promised a few things in return for helping the Muggle out," the second man that was holding my mother's arm said.
"I'm sure he's lying to you," I said. "I'm sure he won't pay up."
"Well, he did say we could wreak some havoc on the crowd that turns up here on Halloween," the first man said with a chuckle. "Merlin, do I love causing trouble in a crowd of Muggles. Seeing them all run away helplessly, practically pushing each other down to get to their own safety." He laughed and shook his head as my face paled.
"You're disgusting," I snapped.
The man-I didn't even know what his name was, nor did I care-halted his steps and used his free hand to grab my chin and roughly force me to look back at him. I glared up at him as he grinned at me.
"You know, you're a pretty little thing." He leaned in closer and let his eyes wander slowly over my face. I held my breath and looked away as he continued speaking. "Maybe I can convince Eric to spare your life and add you to the list of things he promised me."
"I'd rather die," I told him simply, looking back at him only to send him a fierce glare.
He laughed. "Suit yourself," he said before letting my chin go and shoving me forward again. We reached an alleyway not far from the police station and the man holding my arm spun me around to face him. "By the way," he sneered, "Eric also promised us one other thing." He squeezed my arm tighter and I tried to flinch away to no avail. "He promised we could do the honors of doing our worst to some of your friends back in London. I can't decide who I want to kill first. One of those twins, perhaps? Or maybe that couple that owns the Leaky Cauldron?" He grinned as he leaned in close to my ear and I could feel his breath on my neck as he spoke again, his voice barely a whisper. "I'd make sure to kill them nice and quick. Two flashes of bright green light is all it would take."
"Leave them alone!" I cried, pulling back to stare at the man in anger and in horror. "Don't you dare go near them! You have me-Eric has me! Why go after them at all if he has what he wants? That's why I went looking for him in the first place."
The man put on an expression of mock sympathy as he clucked his tongue. "Oh, how noble of you. What a shame Eric doesn't care. And in the end, what are you going to do about it, beautiful? You'll be dead yourself by then. It's a shame, really-it would be more fun to have you there to watch them die. Every last one of them."
I aimed a kick at his shin, but he roughly tightened his grip on me. He pressed his wand to my throat and his lips were close to my ear again.
"You'd do well to behave yourself and do as you're told," he snarled. "Stop fighting me. You don't have a chance right now."
I whimpered as he gripped my arm again and he and his friend Apparated me and my mother back to Eric's house. When we got there, we saw Eric standing on the front steps, looking at us smugly. He looked slightly more exhausted, but his vomiting and nosebleed had stopped. I wondered how for a second before then remembering my mother and I had stupidly left the curing halves of the sweets in a corner of the kitchen counter.
"Well, well, well," he said as my mother and I were led to the end of the walkway and roughly released at the bottom of the front steps. "Look what the cat dragged in."
I couldn't bring myself to answer or even look at him. I wanted to scream. I wanted to scream and cry and throw a tantrum, hitting my fists against the first solid object I could find. No matter what I did, I couldn't get away from him.
"You want them back in the basement?" asked the man who was still holding onto my arm.
Eric nodded. "Make sure you tie them up nice and tight."
The man nodded and led me to the basement, awkwardly shoving me forward down the stairs. Once we were at the bottom, I tried once again to fight him off, but he was stronger.
"I may have thought you were too pretty to die," he said, grunting slightly with the effort of tying me up, "but at the same time, you're too uncooperative to live." He finished tying me up and roughly flung me to the ground. My mother was shoved to the ground beside me and the two men started for the door.
"Enjoy your last night alive," the second one said as they both laughed.
"Yeah, hang tight, now, you hear me?" the first one said. "The grand finale will be here before you know it." The two men laughed again and began walking up the stairs.
Last night alive? My stomach dropped as I realized what it meant. It meant that Eric was planning on killing us tomorrow. I did the math quickly in my head. Halloween. Tomorrow was Halloween. Of course Eric would plan that day for the wild ending to his wild plan.
And what else had they said? Hang tight? They'd emphasized the word hang. My eyes suddenly went wide as I looked at my mother. "Tomorrow," I whispered. "He's going to-he's going to-" I could barely get the words out, but my mother seemed to know what I was getting at.
"I know, I think you're right," she whispered.
I chewed on my lip as I thought. There was a ledge in the woods across town that was rumored to be the site of all the hangings of the witch trials so long ago. There was a small clearing that was surrounded by trees and dropped off into a ledge. The perfect spot to hang someone.
I swallowed as my brain began working overtime. I had one last chance to make it out of this alive. My mother and I had agreed that if our plan with the joke products didn't work, we would use the bracelet and let Fred finally find us. But I had to let go of all my fears and take the risk of bringing people I deeply cared for into the height of my problems. But as they'd told me before-they were already in it. Had been for a while. I just had to trust that they could face Eric in the flesh and hold their own. They were certainly skilled enough. But he was smart, and now he had help. Magical help. That worried me.
Open the door and let me in, Fred's note had said. I want to stay. Let me prove it to you.
I took in a deep breath and managed to press my hand to my pocket, feeling the bracelet through the fabric. It was our last resort-bringing my friends into our mess only if we couldn't get out of it ourselves. I hadn't been able to and now I was stuck here, only a day away from my own death. I knew Eric and his friends would not hesitate to kill the twins and anyone else that showed up with them. But hadn't I also just been told that Eric wanted to have them killed either way? Wouldn't it be better to let all of us get a chance to live? Every single person I'd grown close to in London had proven that they were willing to fight for me. They were willing to take this risk, no questions asked. The only person who'd been afraid to take the risk had been me.
Tomorrow, Eric would be taking us from the house to the woods. Even if he used his new friends to put charms up there, there would be a few moments where we were unprotected. And the second i was able to, I was going to put that bracelet on and let Fred find me. I was going to let him in and more importantly, if we made it out of this alive, I was going to let him stay.
The great ending to Eric's plan was worse than I imagined. But the one upside was that it seemed as if my guess had been right about him wanting to illustrate the parallels between now and the year sixteen ninety-two.
He came down into the basement in the early evening after leaving my mother and I down there all day without food or water. When he reached the bottom of the stairs, he held out two outfits to each of us. Two dresses, two aprons, two pairs of shoes and two bonnets-the outfits were exactly what women in sixteen ninety-two would wear.
"You're joking," my mother scoffed, looking down at the items in her hands. "You are completely..." She trailed off and shook her head, seemingly at a loss for words.
"Put them on," Eric said stonily, untying our wrists and stepping back to guard the only exit so we couldn't run.
"Here?" I asked in disgust, hating the idea of him watching us change.
"Yes, here," he snarled.
"Can you give us some kind of privacy?" I asked in annoyance.
"You want me to turn my back on you two?" he laughed. "Doubtful."
Scowling, I pulled off my sweater, revealing the white tank top I had on underneath. Thank goodness for that. I pulled the dress over my head, a heavy feeling in my stomach as I did so. Only once the dress was on did I kick off my shoes and then my jeans. As I did so, I had to reach below the dress hem to get to the waistband to unbutton them. As my hand brushed past the pocket, I slipped my fingers inside and grabbed the bracelet, closing my fist around it and pulling it out before shimmying my jeans the rest of the way down. I slipped my feet into the shoes Eric had brought and then picked up the bonnet.
"Put your hair into a bun," Eric said. He smiled almost gleefully-the bastard was really enjoying this. "It really completes the look."
I wordlessly did as he said, tying my hair up into a bun and putting the bonnet on, all while keeping the bracelet in my fist. I tied the apron around my waist and while my hands were behind my back, tying the strings, I finally slipped the bracelet onto my wrist and tugged the sleeve of my dress down over it so that Eric wouldn't notice it. I suspected there'd be a slight wild goose chase for a bit since we'd be on the move soon, but once we reached our final destination, the twins would be able to find us. And even if some kind of charms went up, they'd know we were there.
Once we were done, Eric tied our wrists in front of us again, and then tied a longer length of rope to our wrists so he could pull us forward—almost like we were in a leash. Then he took off the jacket he'd been wearing to reveal he was also dressed in clothes that were similar to ours—clothes from the time period of the witch trials.
"Now no one will know that anything is amiss," he said. "We just look like we take this ridiculous holiday very seriously, just like everyone else in this stupid town." He yanked on the ropes. "Let's go."
My mother and I looked at each other in confusion and slight horror. What exactly did he mean by that?
We found out shortly after, as we found ourselves being led through the crowded streets of town on foot. We passed several people dressed in costume—in fact most people had some kind of costume on, whether it be a simple pair of mouse ears with whiskers drawn on their cheeks, or an extremely elaborate zombie costume.
I fought back a groan. Of course he would lead through town on our way to our death. He just had to torture us one more time by not only humiliating us by having us tied up and being pulled along behind him, but no one would think something was actually wrong. They'd think it was all part of an act.
People noticed us and stopped to comment about how authentic we looked. At one point, I tried stopping, pulling at the rope as I did so, and asking people nearby for help-I had to at least try-but they just reacted in awe, thinking we were some kind of actors, or just really getting into our costumes, and then before I could say anything else, I was being yanked forward again by Eric.
"I told you," he said, "no one will ever suspect a thing. They go through such great lengths with the costumes and the performances and the history of this town that no one will ever think this is real. I can bring you down the busiest street in town and everyone thinks you're acting. No one will believe you're actually in trouble." He laughed. "It's brilliant."
I tried yanking on the ropes again to no avail. At this point, I'd been tied up so frequently and also pulling on the ropes so frequently, that my wrists were covered in rope burns and a few spots were even bleeding. They hurt and stung like crazy and I wasn't sure how long I could keep trying to pull myself free.
It took about twenty minutes to walk to the edge of the woods where the ledge was, and then another five minutes of walking through the trees. I stumbled a few times and was barely allowed to regain my footing before I was being yanked forward again. It was a wonder that I hadn't fallen or twisted my ankle at this point.
Finally, we reached the ledge and I was mildly surprised to see a large wooden wagon already perched there, a few feet back from the ledge. Two ropes were tied to the branches above the wagon, dangling down above the worn brown wood.
"Where'd you get this from?" I asked. "More help from those friends of yours?"
"Essentially," Eric said. He led us to the front of the wagon and then without warning, he'd grabbed me and picked me up. I screamed and tried to flail out of his arms, but he just tossed me onto the wagon. I landed with a thud, the ropes on my wrists pressing into my skin with the contact with the wagon. I winced in pain. Eric did the same with my mother next-picking her up and tossing her onto the wagon-before jumping up himself and forcing us both to our feet. He roughly held onto our arms as he fastened the ropes around our necks. All he had to do now was push the wagon out of the way and we'd be done for. I closed my eyes and breathed deeply through my nose. I hoped Fred and George would make it here on time.
If they're coming at all, that ridiculous voice in the back of my head said.
No, I thought again, shaking the thoughts out of my head. They'll show up. They will.
"You don't have to do this you know," I said, opening my eyes and looking at Eric pleadingly. It was entirely possible that Fred and George just needed more time. I'd been moving quite a bit since first putting on the bracelet. If I could stall Eric for a little longer, it would give them more time to get here. "I mean it. You really don't have to. The things you're so angry about happened a long time ago. Centuries ago. It had nothing to do with us directly."
"Elizabeth Proctor was a sneaky witch who couldn't just do as she was told. She made a deal and she broke her end of it. She ran away. And got away with it all too. She managed to live out the rest of her days as happy as can be."
"After all she'd been through, you think she was truly happy?" My mother asked. "You don't think she was traumatized or affected in any way? She'd lost a good friend and her husband, and had to take care of two young children on her own. She saved Dorothy's life and then had to go on the run for it. She had to disguise herself for the rest of her life. She could never truly be herself..."
"She used John Hathorne to free herself from prison and avoid execution," Eric argued. "Then, she escaped and ran away! Something the two of you always seem so keen on doing. But I'm smarter than that. I made sure I was smarter than that."
"Why wouldn't we try to run away?" I asked. "You've made our lives a living hell."
I don't think it was that bad," Eric said thoughtfully. "You always had clothes, food, shelter...you went to school."
"Only because you had to send me in order to get paid for being my foster father. And you didn't even use the money as you were supposed to."
"It seems like you women are all the same," Eric went on with a heavy, dramatic sigh. "At least the ones in your family. Just because I notice a pattern. The trickery and the running away and the constant need to talk back to the one person who saved you."
"Saved me?" I asked with a bitter laugh. "What did you save me from?"
"You were an orphan," Eric said as if I were dumb. He turned and looked at me. "Your father left you because you were born a freak. Then your mother left you. You bounced around in foster care because no one wanted you."
"That's your fault," I said through gritted teeth. "You admitted it. You admitted that you sabotaged everything."
"Doesn't matter how it happened," he said. "What matters is that happened. You have been left behind and given up more times than I can count. No matter who had a hand in it, each person ultimately decided that you were not worth it in the end. Even your little boyfriend left you." He scoffed. "You thought you had something with those people you met in London. But they're all the same. They're not going to pick you, Sophie." He shrugged. "It's just like I've always told you, isn't it? Nobody cares about you."
"That's not true and you know it," my mother said fiercely from beside me. "I've always cared."
"You certainly had a funny way of showing it," Eric taunted as my mother scowled.
"That wasn't my fault," she answered. "Not entirely. If it hadn't been for you and your twisted plan for revenge, none of this would have happened."
"It doesn't matter, as I've said. The end result was still the same. You left." Eric breezily waved his hand around in complete disregard of what my mother had said. "And besides, look where you're standing. You're literally about to die right beside your daughter." He gave a sinister laugh. "You're not helping her. You never did. And you've ultimately failed because—let me tell you a little secret." He leaned in closer to my mother and lowered his voice to a whisper. "She's going to die."
My eyes widened in slight surprise as my mother spit at Eric, causing him to reach up and slap her. Her head jerked to the side and she let out a gasp. Eric turned to me. "So maybe I should rephrase what I said just slightly." He began to pace in front of me. "Nobody cares about you enough to put you first, nobody cares about you enough to choose you over someone else." He came to a stop in front of me and leaned forward, resting his hands on the edge of the wagon as my heart thudded in my chest. Eric smiled widely before continuing. "And nobody cares enough to ultimately save your life." His arms tensed as if he were going to push the wagon and I squeezed my eyes shut, but at the same time I heard another voice.
"You're wrong," the voice said.
I opened my eyes as I heard slow footsteps accompanying the voice. Eric had turned around as well at the sound and we stared in shock at the person who had spoken.
It was Fred.
I couldn't help the sigh of relief that escaped my lips as I saw him. He had stepped out from the trees to our left and was making his way towards Eric with his wand outstretched and pointing right at Eric's chest. His jaw was set and he was giving Eric a look of rage that I'd never seen on his face before and never wanted to see again.
"What are you doing here?" Eric spat. "I told you back at the Proctor house that I'd go after each and every one of your family members before killing you if you didn't get lost, and I meant it. I didn't realize you wanted the death of another brother on your hands...or maybe a sister?"
Fred let out a cry of anger and shot a spell at Eric, who promptly ducked before standing up straight again and putting his hands back on the wagon.
"Drop your wand or they die!" he said. Fred hesitated for a split second and Eric raised his voice. "Drop it!" he yelled, jostling the wagon slightly. My mother and I both stumbled to keep our balance and I let out a whimper as the wagon shook beneath us.
Fred promptly dropped his wand and stepped back from it, raising his hands into the air. He kept his eyes trained on Eric. "You threatened to kill my family," he said. "And you actually had my sister attacked," he said. "Not to mention all the hell you've put Sophie through. And you also tried to make me choose between them. Her or my family. You thought you had me. But I refuse to make a choice because Sophie means just as much to me. She practically is family at this point. And you should also know that the Weasleys don't let people mess with us like that without a fight."
"Is that so?" Eric asked tantalizingly.
"It is," Fred said, a slow smile spreading across his face. He quickly looked over his shoulder and shouted, "Now!"
Bright jets of lights shot out from between the trees as well as the sound of multiple voices casting spells in Eric's direction as figures started emerging from the woods. George, Ron, Neville, Luna, Harry, Hermione, Rachel, Allie, Kayla and even Ginny and Mr. Weasley from the looks of it.
Eric was certainly outnumbered-and by a bunch of people with magic wands at that-but the thing was that he was quick. And smart. He knew nobody wanted to hit me or my mother-it had already made their aim off with the initial spells they'd cast because he was standing in front of us. So Eric had instantly jumped up on the wagon and backed up to stand behind me.
"Go ahead," he said quietly, grabbing my arms and holding me in front of him as everyone came to a stop in a line in front of the wagon. "Try and hit me without hitting her." He gave me a slight shake and I let out a quiet whimper of pain as the rope around my wrists rubbed against the already raw skin. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest, and I heard a sound from behind us. Footsteps. I saw looks of surprise registering on the faces of everyone standing in front of me, so I turned my head to see four or five people emerging from the trees and coming to a stop alongside the wagon. They were dirty and scruffy and were the stereotype of bad and evil. I recognized two of them as the men that had ambushed me and my mother when we had tried to escape the house yesterday, but I'd never seen the others before. Every single one of them had wands that were drawn and poised in the air, ready to fire. I felt my heart sink. Shit. I'd been afraid of something like this happening.
"Who are they?" George asked, keeping his own wand trained on Eric as he jerked his head towards the newcomers.
"A few of them were the ones who attacked me," I heard Ginny murmur as the others stiffened slightly. Harry looked about ready to kill them all on the spot, but Ron nudged him and he relaxed-but only slightly.
Eric smiled as he surveyed the group of people in front of us. "You didn't think I'd come here without backup, did you?" He let out a sinister laugh. "You didn't seriously think I'd bring a-" he reached into his pocket and pulled out a gleaming silver knife as he chuckled-"well, a knife to a wand fight, did you?" There was a pause while he shrugged and looked at Fred, Rachel and George. "I was confident that I'd gotten rid of you three, you know." He looked around at the others. "All of you, actually. But I couldn't be too sure. I had made some friends while I was in London." He began to circle around me and my mother, trailing the knife lightly up our arms and across our shoulders. "Just like Sophie, I made some friends" he said, sliding the tip of the knife slowly up my arm. "Easy now." He smirked at Fred, whose wand arm had twitched higher as Eric slowly trailed the knife over the skin on the side of my neck.
"Get away from her!" Fred cried. I could hear the strain in his voice and the way it shook slightly for a second, giving away just how terrified he was. I also saw his hand shake slightly as he gripped his wand tighter, trying to steady it.
Eric smiled again. "Not going to happen," he said. "Nice try. Maybe when your hand stops shaking, you can actually try to aim with that magical little twig you call a wand."
Before Fred could react-something he looked all too ready to do-Ron jumped in. "Where'd you meet these winners, anyway?" He asked Eric, gesturing towards the scraggly looking men Eric now called his friends. "In Knockturn Alley?"
"That's exactly where!" Eric said, his voice annoyingly jubilant. "Very good. From what I've overheard, you're supposed to be the dumb Weasley."
"Shut up!" Fred demanded, tightening his grip on his wand.
Eric clucked his tongue. "You know, it would all be in your best interest, I think, if you dropped your wands."
"We still outnumber you," Rachel said calmly. "Even with your little friends as backup."
"Ah, Rachel, isn't it?" Eric asked. He grinned knowingly at her. "Tell me-how bad was your hangover that morning after you were at the bar?"
"Wh-what?" she asked, blinking a few times as her eyes went wide.
"I noticed you had taken a liking that that Nick fellow that night you were on the boat. So, I hope you don't mind, I stole a bit of his hair and then impersonated him for a night."
"That-that was you?" Rachel's face paled as she took a step backwards, her wand lowering slightly. Kayla put a hand on her arm as she glared at Eric, sizing him up and down through narrowed eyes.
"It was," Eric said. "You see, I needed you out of the way. You were the last obstacle standing between me and Sophie here. At first I didn't think I'd get you to crack and leave her alone, but you did. I guess that shows just what you really prioritize, especially in the face of danger."
Rachel looked ready to throw up for a second, but she swallowed, shook her head and held her wand up again.
"I prioritize my friends," she said fiercely.
"How sweet," Eric said, sarcastically. "And back to your point of you outnumbering me, you see-as long as I'm standing here,"-he planted his feet behind me-"you won't want to risk hitting Sophie-that friend you claim to care so much about." He sighed dramatically. "If you all fire at once for more of a chance to hit me, you might just wind up hitting her. Normally, I'd say you'd be doing me a favor, but, see, I've been waiting for this moment for so long." He sighed and looked wistfully between me and my mother. But then he chuckled and glanced at one of the men surrounding the wagon; the man who I'd bumped into last night trying to escape. "Although-what was it you said yesterday, Jacob?" He looked back at Fred smugly. "That she was just too pretty to die?"
Fred's lip curled in anger before he threw himself to the side to get a better angle, furiously aiming his wand at Eric. "Stupefy!" The spell was very well aimed, but Eric managed to duck as I pulled myself out of the way as far as I could manage. And then all hell broke loose.
Eric had jumped off the wagon at that point, but spells were still flying everywhere from both sides, while I was forced to stand by helplessly, unable to move. I just had to hope I didn't get hit. Suddenly one spell hit the center of the wagon floor, causing it to split nearly in half. My mother and I both let out shrieks of terror and tried to balance ourselves as the wagon shook and tilted slightly.
And then, out of nowhere, it stopped and steadied itself, and the crack repairing and the wood becoming level again. Gasping for air, and looking down at it in bewilderment, I quickly turned and looked over my shoulder to see who had repaired the wagon. Everyone had seemed too distracted at the moment to have even noticed. But as I looked behind me, I saw a woman standing on the pathway. She was dressed in a long, deep blue, cotton dress, similar to mine. It looked straight out of sixteen hundreds Salem. She also had her hair in a bun and was wearing a tattered black cloak. And, astoundingly enough, she was holding a wand.
As I continued to gape at her, she turned and saw me staring. A soft smile came over her lips as she looked at me and I just stared back at her, open mouthed. Before I could do anything else, a spell flew over my shoulder, just narrowly missing me. I flinched and closed my eyes, and when I opened them, the strange woman was gone.
I turned around again, looking for her, but she wasn't there. How could she have disappeared so fast? She could have Disapparated, but why? Why show up for a split second, save my life, and then leave? And more importantly, who was she? I'd had quite enough of mystery women in cloaks to last a lifetime.
I was suddenly distracted from my thoughts by what was happening not too far away. Through the chaos of people flinging spells at each other and the flashes of light that came from that, I saw Eric manage to knock Fred's wand from his hand. In the second that Fred reflexively looked away towards it, Eric had started throwing punches. The first one was straight to the side of Fred's face.
I let out a gasp and watched in horror as the two of them rolled around in the dirt, getting closer and closer to the edge of the small ledge that we were all on. I was the only one who seemed to be aware of what was happening. Everyone else was too busy trying to take down Eric's so called friends. And I was too busy watching Fred and Eric that I wasn't sure just how well that was even going. Quite frankly, there was just too much to look at.
After a moment of the two of them both gaining and losing the upper hand, I saw Eric roll on top of Fred, whose head was now positioned over a large rock. Eric sneered down at him.
"What do you think? Should I kill you the same way I killed Noah?" Eric asked. "I could slam your head right against this rock-crack it like a walnut."
"No!" I screamed. "Please...I'm begging you. Leave him alone. Let him go!"
Fred grunted with the effort of trying to push Eric off of him. "If you're going to do that," he managed to rasp out, scowling at Eric, "you need to leave Sophie alone-for good. If you're going to kill me, leave her-and the rest of my family alone. You can kill me, but spare her and everyone else."
"Are you out of your mind?" I cried. Was Fred seriously offering to die for me?
"He must be!" Eric laughed. "To think I'm going to pass up the opportunity to end the lives of as many of you good-for-nothing group of-of- magicians!" His hand flew to his knife and he grabbed it as he suddenly reared his arm back.
"No!" I couldn't help the pained scream that escaped my lips as the knife glinted in the moonlight. But at the same time, there was a sudden and random flash of lightning. It seemed to come out of nowhere-especially since it wasn't even storming. It struck the spot where Eric and Fred were, causing me to let out another quick shriek. My mouth dropped open as I saw Eric fly backwards and hit the trunk of a large tree a few feet away. He sat there for a moment before he managed to push himself to his feet. He quickly seemed to get his bearings and then rounded on Fred again, angrier than ever. But just then, lightning struck again. I saw it flash and heard a loud crack, but didn't quite realize what it had hit until a large, thick branch from the tree Eric has hit began tumbling downwards. I saw Eric glance up at it and freeze in shock before trying to dive out of the way. But another bolt of lighting struck the ground in front of him with another loud crack, causing him to jump backwards, directly into the path of the branch.
In the second I took to blink, the branch had hit the ground, pinning Eric beneath it. I couldn't see his face, but I could see one of his legs sticking out at an awkward angle. I held my breath for a second, staring at that one part of his body I could see. It didn't move and he wasn't making any sounds. I hardly dared to believe it, but it looked as if he were dead. And if he weren't, he sure as hell wasn't going anywhere.
Things seemed to go silent at that moment as everyone realized what had happened. I was in shock myself. I hardly dared to believe it. How had that happened, and why?
Even the group of men Eric had befriended in Knockturn Alley turned to look with wide eyes. But luckily, everyone they were fighting against—Ginny, Rachel, Kayla, Allie, George, Mr. Weasley, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Neville and Luna—managed to all recover a second quicker and Stun each one of them, effectively getting them out of the way. I was impressed. These people worked well together.
We were surrounded by complete and total silence for the first time in a while. The only sound was the quiet breeze rustling the tree branches above.
I heard a twig snap from behind me and turned to see that same strange woman from before, standing behind a tree, looking at where Eric now lay, a small smirk on her face. She looked up and met my eyes as she brought a finger to her lips, still smirking. In her other hand, a tiny bit of electricity crackled between her fingers.
I stared at her for a moment, my mouth open and my eyes wide. Then, I was suddenly distracted by the wagon jostling as Fred launched himself onto it and rushed to stand behind me. He used his wand to break the rope around my neck, and then he reached around me to do the same for the rope around my wrists. As he worked, I looked behind me again for the woman I had seen, only to notice that she was no longer there. She was gone.
I felt the rope around my wrists come undone and drop to the ground, giving the raw, red skin there some kind of relief for the time being. My skin still burned, but I ignored the feeling as I quickly turned around to face Fred.
"Sophie..." he began, looking down at me with a whole array of emotions on his face. Mostly terror fading into relief, but there was also an expression I couldn't quite place. In any case, I didn't let him continue before I'd pitched myself into his arms. He wrapped them tightly around me and lifted me from the ground as my own arms wound their way around the back of his neck. One of my hands went to the back of his head and my fingers lightly threaded in his hair as I buried my face in the crook of his neck.
I felt like a weight had been lifted from my shoulders. Eric was officially gone from my life forever and I hadn't lost anyone else from my life in the process. I was finally free. It hadn't quite registered yet, but I kept repeating it over and over in my head. Eric was gone and I was free, Eric was gone and I was free, Eric was gone and I was free. I was going to keep telling myself until it set in.
Fred set me down and I pulled back slightly as I looked up at him. He cupped my cheeks in his hands and just stared down at me for a moment, taking me all in, before his eyes traveled up to the bonnet I was wearing.
"Merlin, take that silly thing off of your head," he said with a slight smile, reaching up and carefully sliding it off. He tossed it to the ground before reaching up again and tugging my hair out of its bun. It tumbled down my back and Fred then ran his hand through it, letting it spill loosely down across my shoulders. "Much better," he murmured.
"Are you okay?" I asked quietly, my eyes wandering over his face. "Did he hurt you badly?"
Fred shook his head. "No," he whispered.
"Yes, he did," I said, reaching up and touching his cheekbone with my fingertips. A bruise was already forming where Eric had hit him. Not to mention, his lip and nose were both bleeding. "Did he break your nose?"
"No," Fred murmured, shaking his head. "I'm fine. I can barely feel any of it."
"Liar," I whispered, examining his face carefully. "Fred, he-"
Fred shook his head "What about you?" He interrupted. "Are you okay?" His eyes traveled over me, searching for any signs of injury.
I shrugged. "I'm alive," I said, lowering my hand from his face.
Fred removed his own hand from my cheek and gingerly grabbed my forearm as a pained expression crossed his face. "Sophie, your wrists..."
"Rope burn," I said. "It's easily fixable."
"But doesn't it hurt?" Fred asked, turning my arm from side to side as he examined my injuries.
I let out a quiet laugh. "It hurts like hell, believe me. But like I said, I'm alive. Thanks to you—and everyone else that showed up. Thank you, by the way."
"We wouldn't have been able to come if you hadn't finally put your bracelet on," he said. "I'm really glad you did. I don't know what I would've done if I'd-you know...failed. Again."
I swallowed as I looked up at him. I suddenly realized that I had to have meant as much to Fred as he'd said I did. All my feelings about being used weren't true in the least when it came to him. He had wanted to save my life not just to keep me safe, but because failing to do so would destroy him. He needed to save me to save himself. Before, my defenses would have gone up and I would have instantly felt used. As if Fred were intentionally choosing to save me to benefit himself. But it had suddenly dawned on me that for Fred to be so afraid of losing me and going back to the place he'd been in a year and a half ago-well, it meant that his feelings were genuine and that he cared for me even more than I had realized.
Fred rested his forehead against mine and closed his eyes. "I did go to the Proctor house to rescue you, you know," he said. "Eric threatened me and also my family. He threatened to kill every single one of them. He forced me to write that note and I only did it to let him think that he won and that I was going willingly. I did it so he'd let his guard down, but I really left and called for backup." He swallowed. "I realized that I needed it. I knew you were still alive and that I had at least a little time to make a new plan. But I didn't know how much time. I hated letting you believe I'd left you. I was worried you'd give up completely if you thought I wanted nothing to do with you anymore."
"I didn't think you left," I answered quietly, trailing my hand down his chest and letting it rest right over his heart as I closed my eyes. "I saw right through that stupid note. And when I saw the bracelet and the prank items...I knew I was right. It was just part of Eric's plan all along to make me think that no one cared about me. He's been isolating me from the start. I was weaker that way. I know that know."
Fred leaned in and kissed my forehead, letting his lips linger there for a few extra seconds before he pulled away. "Even with the bracelet," he went on, "we tried to get here as soon as we could, but we were originally led right into the middle of town, where it was crowded. We had to fight through the crowd and all find a quiet area to try Apparating again and then it took us not far from here."
I nodded. "It's okay...you made it in time."
Fred pulled me into another hug and held me to him for a moment until I heard another voice next to us. "Are you two okay?"
I broke away from Fred and looked down to see Rachel standing on the ground in front of the wagon, looking up at the two of us, Kayla and Allie beside her. I smiled and hopped off the edge of the wagon before throwing my arms around first Kayla and Allie, and then Rachel. "I'm fine," I told her, pulling away. "How are you? I'm sorry I left you in that bar...I didn't know that Eric was really Nick at the time, I swear. And I tried to leave you with some protection, but—"
"No, it helped, actually," Rachel said with a slight laugh. "This random girl at the bar took care of me and then Fred and George showed up not long after." She smirked and lowered her voice. "Fred almost lost his mind when he realized I had your bracelet. Gave me an earful." She smiled slightly. "He really likes you, Sophie. He'd do anything for you. And I may have changed my mind about him."
I let out a quiet laugh. "I'm glad," I whispered, smiling a bit myself.
"But also," Rachel said, her expression becoming serious again, "I'm sorry for agreeing to go out with Nick when he showed up to the hotel. I shouldn't have. And I should have noticed that something was off about him. I did have the one job to look after you and I didn't do it. It's all my fault..."
I shook my head. "It's not," I told her. "I wanted to go off alone. And you tried to protect me."
"Not hard enough," she said. "I should have done more than I did. I shouldn't have agreed to go out at all."
"I helped convince you to go, though," I shrugged. "I had made up my mind about finding Eric alone and I didn't want to be stopped. Besides, I think Eric is the real one to blame here. He manipulated us. Both of us."
Rachel smiled half-heartedly. "Yeah, but still...I should've done better. And I'm sorry."
"You came all the way here with me in the first place, Rach. That means a lot. And I don't know if you remember it, but I meant what I said at the bar. You were my very first friend here. You forced me to be social even when I didn't want to and I'm better for it." Rachel laughed quietly and a smile even came over my own face. "So...thanks."
We were interrupted by Harry coming over to check on me. "I've called Kingsley," he told me. "You can tell the whole story once he gets here. I don't think there's any reason to make you tell it more than once. And then we'll work on cleaning up the, well, mess..." He glanced over to the fallen tree branch as well as the five men Eric had befriended in London, who were still lying spread around the clearing, knocked unconscious. Mr. Weasley and some of the others were working on tying them up while they were knocked out, so that even if they woke up, they wouldn't be able to get away.
I nodded. "Yeah, sounds good."
"You okay with hanging out here a little longer, then?" Harry asked. "I know you must be anxious to go get cleaned up and to rest for a while."
I nodded again. "Yeah, I'm fine."
"What about her?" Ron asked, jerking his chin up towards the wagon again. "Who is she? Can we let her go, or...?"
I suddenly realized my mother was still standing up on the wagon. No one had even untied her. Which made sense since no one even knew who she was. She hadn't even said a word this whole time. Instead, she had just been watching in interest as everyone practically fawned over me. And her expression also looked a little bit sad.
"No, let her go," I said, hopping back up onto the wagon and reaching for first the rope around my mother's neck, then the ones around her wrists.
"Who is she?" Fred asked me. "I didn't realize Eric was after anyone else besides you."
I finished untying my mother and looked at her nervously. She nodded encouragingly. "Go on," she said.
I sighed and turned back to Fred. "She's—um—she was, I suppose most recently, the Mystery Woman. That's who you'd know her as the most, anyway."
"No, she's not," Fred said in confusion. "That's not her. That's not what she looks like."
"Well," I began, "that's because she was using a disguise. Before she was the mystery woman that's been following me around, she was Andrea, my last foster mother."
"You mean Eric's wife?" Fred asked, looking at my mother in alarm.
"Not exactly," she said, cringing at the word wife.
"This isn't what Andrea looks like," I said, gesturing to my mother. "She used another disguise as Andrea."
"Really," Fred stated, sounding unamused as he crossed his arms and looked my mother up and down. "So, what, she was another one of Eric's pawns? The Mystery Woman was working for Eric, remember? You said you liked Andrea, but if she is the mystery woman, then she must have been working for Eric."
"Not by choice," I reminded him. "We discussed this."
"It was only a theory," Fred muttered. He shook his head. "Okay, so who is this?" He asked. "Is this it? Are there any more disguises?"
I shook my head. "No, there aren't."
"How do you know?" Fred asked.
I looked at my mother again as I nervously fiddled with the hem of the apron covering my dress. My mother smiled encouragingly again.
"Hang on," Fred said suddenly. He was looking at my mother almost unblinkingly as something seemed to dawn on him. "Sophie...she has your eyes. Or, should I say that you have hers?"
I nodded. "Fred, this is my mother, Rebecca McConnell."
Fred's mouth dropped open, as did George's, Rachel's, Allie's and Kayla's. Everyone else just looked mildly confused. They knew enough to know that my mother hadn't been around, but they didn't know as much about her as Fred, George and the girls knew. I'd cried into Fred's shoulder about her, for Merlin's sake.
Fred came to stand beside me and reached out to lace his fingers through mine as he continued to stare at my mother, his gaze never leaving her face. His jaw was set and I even saw a muscle twitch a few times.
"You left your five year old daughter in a museum and never came back for her," he said, his voice low. "And then you disguised yourself as the foster mother in the worst possible home Sophie's ever been in. And then you were continuing to work with that man under yet another disguise?" He shook his head. "No. You don't get to do this. You don't get to come back now and try to be Sophie's mother as if no time went by. And after all you did. You have no place-"
"You're right," my mother interrupted, her voice earnest. "I have absolutely no right to do that." She looked at me. "But I'd like to try to salvage and maybe even rebuild the relationship as best we can. I'd like to get to know my daughter again. If Sophie will allow it, of course."
I thought about it for a few seconds before nodding, knowing it was what I wanted, too. "I'd like that."
Fred was quiet for a second before he let out a scoff of what sounded like disgust. He dropped my hand, walked to the edge of the wagon and hopped off before heading towards the edge of the clearing and towards the woods.
We all looked at each other for a split second before I sighed.
"I'll go talk to him," I said, gathering the skirt of my dress on one hand as I hopped off the wagon as well and followed Fred. I caught up to him just past the line of trees and reached out to touch his arm. "Hey, come on, talk to me," I said, my voice quiet.
Fred whirled around and stared at me, a frown tugging the corners of his mouth downwards. He pointed back out towards the ledge. "She doesn't get to come back here and just...take you back and go about life as normal." His voice shook slightly and he took in a breath to steady it. "You're not hers anymore, Sophie! She gave you up the day she left you behind in that museum."
I smiled and raised an eyebrow. "So, who's am I then?" I asked.
Fred stared at me as he lowered his arm, the deep frown falling off his face, only to be replaced with a conflicted expression, as if he were struggling with just how to answer me. "You're-you're..." He blinked a few times before shaking his head and running a hand over his face. "You belong with us," he finally said. "With everyone who just showed up to save your life. You belong with us in London. Not here with her going about life as if nothing ever happened."
"That's not what she said she wanted," I told him. "And it's not what I said I wanted, either, Fred. Come on, how could I?"
"She's your mother. You've been wondering about her for so long," he said. "This is what you've wanted."
"You're right-I can't say no to a chance to get to know her again. If she's offering it and she wants it too...But that's all this is. A chance." I hesitated. "And I thought you wanted this for me too," I said. "You were the one that started looking for her, remember? You went to Kingsley without even telling me. You're the one who said you didn't think she had left me by choice. You're the one who said things didn't add up. And you were right."
"I did want this," Fred admitted. "I do want this. I want you to get your closure. I wanted it to work out this way for you-where you realized your mother hadn't left you because she wanted to. I want you to be happy, Soph. That's all I want. But I just-I didn't think that if it did work out that way, that..." He trailed off and sighed as he ran a hand through his hair.
"Didn't think what?" I prodded, stepping closer to him and resting a hand on his cheek. "Come on, don't shut down on me."
"I didn't think I'd feel so angry at her," he whispered, his hands resting on my waist.
I was quiet for a second. "I get that," I finally said. "And, you know, I still can't just suddenly be her daughter again. The daughter I was before she left me. It's a lot to process and believe me, I was shocked and angry myself at first, too. But I've had more time to sort it through. And she and I have had time to talk, believe it or not. One perk to being held captive." I smiled slightly, but Fred didn't return it. "Look, Fred," I sighed. "Where my mother and I go from here isn't for you to decide. I appreciate you wanting to protect me, but this is between me and her. It's not your choice."
"But there's also more to it than that," Fred began. "I'm afraid of the possibility, however small it may be, that you'll still decide to leave." He swallowed. "I'm afraid because-because, Soph, I —" He was suddenly interrupted by Rachel appearing behind us. I pulled away and half turned in Fred's arms to look at her.
"Sophie? Kingley's here. He wants to talk to you."
I nodded and turned back to Fred, looking up at him questioningly.
"Go," he whispered, letting out a quiet sigh before leaning forward and kissing my forehead gently. He released his hold on my waist and nodded towards Rachel. "It's okay. Go. We'll talk later."
"You sure?" I asked.
"Yeah," he nodded, rubbing a hand over his jaw.
"Come on," I said, "come with me." I threaded my fingers through his again and together we walked back to the clearing where Kingsley was waiting to hear my story.
I recounted everything in that clearing, starting with the day Fred, George, Rachel and I arrived in Salem-a day that felt like months ago rather than weeks. I recounted running into Eric and my mother back at the Proctor house. Recounted being tied up and held captive. Eric pinning me down to get the ropes around my wrists. I told them about hearing Fred come into the house and Eric going upstairs to meet him while I stayed in the basement, tugging against the ropes tying me down. I absentmindedly traced a finger around the rope burns on my wrists as I told that part. They still burned terribly, but I barely seemed to notice as I was mentally taken back to being trapped in that basement.
I continued on with my story, talking about Eric moving me and my mother to the house we'd lived in before. I mentioned my mother trying to kick Eric and throw a vase at him, but him stabbing me in the leg as retaliation. At that, Fred let out a sound from beside me-an odd mix of a grunt and a growl. I tightened my grip on his hand and ran my thumb across his, letting him know without speaking that it was okay.
I talked about trying to escape with my mother using Fred and George's prank products. I talked about how I thought we might make it and how we'd been ambushed anyway by the same men that had attacked Ginny. And then I talked about how Eric had then brought us here and how I'd finally decided to put on the bracelet from Fred, alerting him to where I was.
Kingsley asked me a few more questions once I was done and I answered them the best I could, but I was growing exhausted at that point. The adrenaline was wearing off and I wanted to go lie down and close my eyes.
"I think we've gotten all we needed for now," Kingsley finally told me. "You go get some rest. A few of us will stay here and start handling the..." He looked around the clearing warily.
"Harry referred to it as a mess," I said.
Kingsley chuckled. "That's accurate. Yes, we'll start handling the mess."
Fred, George, Rachel, Kayla, Allie and even Ginny decided to go back to the hotel with me and my mother while the others took care of the aftermath of the night's events and then went back to London. Those of us going to the hotel would stay for another night or two and then head back ourselves.
We decided to walk back into town and avoid Apparating due to the Halloween crowds. It wasn't a terribly long walk, but Fred carried me on his back the whole way while George walked beside us. Rachel, Kayla, Allie and Ginny were slightly ahead of us and my mother slightly behind.
"Not that I'm ungrateful or anything," I said to Fred as we walked. "But I'm a little surprised to see Ginny here. Wasn't she just in the hospital about a week ago? I know magic is wonderful, but I still didn't expect her to be jumping back into danger so soon."
"Have you ever tried telling Ginny not to do something?" Fred asked. "It doesn't go over well. Ever." He paused. "Doesn't mean we all didn't try to tell her to stay back and rest, but she did what she wanted anyway. She didn't even stay behind for the battle of Hogwarts. She was underage and really shouldn't have been there. Mum freaked out when she saw her, even though George and I brought her along. Like I said, we shouldn't have, but it's also impossible to tell her no. She would've shown up on her own anyway."
I laughed. "She's impressive. And maybe a little scary."
"You're telling me," Fred snorted. "She still scares me sometimes and I'm her older brother. I think it's because she takes after Mum so much."
Once we'd gotten back into town, the girls' faces lit up in excitement at all of the Halloween festivities. Fred and George did the same and I had to laugh.
"What's wrong?" I giggled. "Never seen such a party before?"
"There really are so many people," Fred said. He blinked in surprise as a person dressed up as a dinosaur squeezed by in front of us. "I know we came through here earlier, but we didn't take time to actually notice anything besides the fact that it was crowded. I found it annoying then-the crowds were slowing us down in getting to you." He shook his head in amazement. "People go all out for this, don't they?"
"Halloween's a big deal here," I shrugged.
"This is incredible," George said. "Can we come back next year when we're all up to enjoying it more?" He glanced at me. "If you'd like to, that is."
"I wouldn't mind," I shrugged. I looked around me and found myself smiling slightly. It was as Fred had said. Even though I'd just walked this way with Eric and even though the others had walked through moments later, trying to find me, it was suddenly as if we were looking at everything with new eyes. Everything had seemed morbid and terrifying an hour or two ago, but now...it was completely different. Maybe it also had to do with the fact that everything looked a lot brighter following our victory, but it also didn't really matter the reason. The fact of the matter was that for the first time in a long time, I could see myself enjoying this. Enjoying every last bit of the town I grew up in.
Once we neared the hotel, we could see the lawn of the Salem Commons behind it, but for tonight, the grass was covered with people, food stands, and even a small carnival area with rides.
Rachel, Kayla, Allie and Ginny immediately took off, squealing in excitement as they ran towards it, squeezing through people as they did so.
"Hang on," Fred tried calling after them. "We've got to get Sophie back to the room." But it was no use. They couldn't hear him through the crowd and they were already gone anyway.
"It's okay," I told him. "Let then have fun for a little while."
"Aren't you tired?" He asked.
I nodded and shrugged. "Yeah, I'm exhausted. But I'll be okay for a little while longer." I leaned down and kissed his cheek before sliding from his back. "You should enjoy yourself, too."
"Fred," George said in excitement, nudging his brother, "they've got a popcorn machine. And a guy making balloon animals."
Fred laughed. "Go on, I'll catch up," he said. When George took off for the popcorn machine, he called after him, "But don't eat it all before I get there! He turned back to me with a laugh and shook his head slightly at George's excitement. "He's like a child." He paused for a second. "You're sure you're okay with this?"
I nodded. "Yeah, I promise."
Just then, my mother appeared at my side. "I'm going to go see about getting a room in the hotel," she said, surreptitiously holding up her wand and wiggling it back and forth as she smiled slightly.
I nodded and glanced at Fred. "She thinks the same way you do," I muttered as he snorted with laughter. I turned back to my mother. "Are you okay? Do you need someone to go with you?"
"No," she insisted, "you two stay here. Have a little bit of fun. You deserve it." She patted me on the arm and sent Fred a smile before heading towards the hotel.
"How do we know she's not going to disappear again?" Fred asked, gazing after her.
I shrugged. "I guess I don't. But I don't think she will. She now has the same sort of freedom that I do. No more Eric to control her and get inside her head. I think she genuinely does want a relationship with me." I looked up at him. "I told you-you were right. You had said it didn't make sense that she'd just leave me."
"Yeah, I guess," Fred said slowly, looking back down at me.
I was about to suggest we go catch up to George when I happened to notice someone standing nearby and watching us. The woman who'd caused the lighting back at the clearing in the woods.
Frowning, I broke away from Fred and started towards the woman. She saw me coming and started to run, but I chased after her as Fred chased after me, calling my name.
Finally, I managed to get close enough to the woman to ask her to stop. To my surprise she did, but she didn't turn around to face me.
"Who are you?" I asked in slight frustration as Fred caught up to me.
"Do you know this woman?" He asked breathlessly.
"No," I said. "But I saw her back in the clearing. She was the one causing all the lightning. She saved both of our lives and I think we should know why."
Finally, the woman slowly turned around and looked at us. I saw her swallow. "I saw someone in danger and I helped them. That is all," she said. Her voice was quiet, but clear.
"I don't believe that," I said.
"I do not care much for neither that Eric man, nor his family," she went on. "In fact, I rather despise the whole lot of them. A terrible and ugly line of humans and I am glad it has ended. Perhaps now I can finally be at peace."
"You know his family?" I asked.
"You could say that," she answered vaguely.
"This is ridiculous," Fred muttered.
I sighed. I had to agree. Trying to pry answers out of this woman was like talking to a wall and only exhausting me more. If anything, it was just another repeat of what had happened with my mother and I didn't want to do it anymore. I didn't have the energy to continue questioning her. Besides, I wasn't in danger any longer, she clearly wasn't a threat, and she didn't seem to want to give us answers anyway.
"Well...thank you," I said. "For saving my life. Our lives." I gestured between myself and Fred. "I guess that's all that's left to say."
The woman smiled and gave me a slight nod of her head.
I had a sudden thought-it came just as suddenly as one of the woman's lightning bolts. And it was a memory of the one other time lightning had saved my life where Eric was involved.
"Hey, you know-this is a long shot," I said slowly, "but there was a time not all that long ago, when a bolt of lightning came at just the right time to save my life...I could be reading into it too much, but if you'll tell me anything, just tell me if it was you. Were you in London that night?"
I didn't add any more specifics, knowing that if she had been there, she'd know what I meant. The night I'd been at Noah's and Eric had attacked me there. It had been raining at the moment, but the lightning breaking the window and allowing me to escape Eric seemed all too coincidental, especially considering the few facts I did know about this woman. And the shadow I had seen-if it hadn't been Noah and it hadn't been my mother, than who or what had it been? It could have been my mind playing tricks on me, but suddenly I no longer thought so.
The woman nodded. "Yes, that was me."
"What in the world is going on?" Fred asked.
The woman turned to him and smiled again before taking a few steps closer. "You must be Fred?" She asked.
Fred's eyes widened slightly before he blinked in surprise. "Yeah...do I know you?"
"Well, no, none of us have officially met." She cleared her throat and looked up at Fred, her eyes traveling over his face as she seemed to think about what she was going to say next. "It was not your fault, you know."
"What wasn't?" Fred asked.
The woman continued to stare at him for a moment, looking at him kindly. "He does not blame you. You did all you could and he knows that. He is just glad you made it out alive."
Fred had gone pale and I could feel my own heart thudding in my chest. Was this woman talking about what I thought she was talking about? But how would she know?
"What are you talking about?" Fred asked.
"I think you know," the woman whispered. "But you should also know that he loves you and does not blame you for what happened. So you should not blame yourself. That will only tear you apart inside. Trust me. I know. It will kill you if you keep carrying that weight around and everything he did will have been for nothing."
"Who?" Fred asked her through gritted teeth. His grip on my hand had tightened and his face was slightly red. "If you're going to tell me this stuff, than say his name."
"Percy," the woman whispered sadly.
"You have no idea what Percy thinks," Fred went on, his voice coming out quiet, but raw, and trembling slightly. "Percy is dead. And I don't know how you know about him, but how dare you—how dare you—" his voice cracked and he looked away as he tried to hide the fact that tears had welled up in his eyes. I gave his hand a squeeze to let him know I was still there.
The woman was quiet for a moment. "I just thought you should know," she whispered. "Everything I said is true. I thought it might help you let go. Let go of all that guilt you carry with you. I know from experience that it is oh so very heavy."
"You should leave," Fred said, turning back to her and giving her a hard stare, the tears gone from his eyes. "Thank you for saving our lives, but you've done enough now."
"Perhaps you are right," she whispered as she started to back away. Her eyes flicked back to me and she smiled slightly, tilting her head. "But if I may just say that it was lovely to get to meet you, Sophie. You're very brave. You should be proud of the young woman you've become." She smiled slightly and gave me a look that almost seemed to convey some kind of pride of her own. She kept her eyes on me for a bit before finally turning away.
"Wait," I called after her.
"Yes?" She turned and looked back at me over her shoulder.
"What's your name?" I asked her curiously.
She paused for a moment, staring at us wordlessly, that same soft smile playing on her lips. And then she finally took in a deep breath and met my eyes. "Elizabeth," she said.
And then she turned back around, pulled the hood of her cloak up over her head, and disappeared into the crowd, leaving Fred and I standing behind in shock.