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Ron slammed his fists down on the bed, tired of feeling guilty and mad and frustrated. Maybe he needed a friend right now after all, someone to talk to and help get some of this off his chest. Harry had claimed to want to listen… but that had been while he’d come to defend Luna’s honor. He didn’t really feel like talking about any of this to the guy who was now in all probability sleeping with his first love.

He sat up at the sudden sharp knock on his door and quickly strengthened the shields around his mind, figuring Harry had somehow picked up on his thoughts and was now coming to hash things out. Taking a deep breath in preparation, he got up and went to the door ready to tell whoever it was to go away… but when he opened it, no one was there.

"Boo!" Jacey’s head suddenly appeared out of nowhere as she laughed heartily at his reaction. Fully pulling off the invisibility cloak, she walked right past him into his room and turned to him with a dazzling smile. "Are you not glad to see me?"

"I’ll let you know as soon as I get my heart going again." He closed the door and faced her nervously. "What are you doing back here?"

"Turns out my business does not take me as far from the castle as I had thought. I was having the opportunity to come see you tonight and so I took it." She answered, suddenly having trouble meeting his gaze. "Harry has told me what happened with Parvati and that you are sad. I am so sorry about this."

"It’s not your fault." Ron sighed, slightly upset to discover that Harry had sent her to see him.

She walked over and took his hand. "It could be though… there is something I should tell you about."

"I don’t want to hear it." He quickly shook his head and squeezed her hand. "I’ve been over it and over it in my head for the last two days, Parvati’s parents arrived today and are staying in the castle until we find her… it’s already too much right now. I don’t want to know anymore unless you can tell me exactly where she is."

"I cannot." She said sadly.

"Then I don’t want to know. You’re here, that’s enough."

"Is it?" Jacey smiled and Ron felt himself blush.

"Well, uh… I mean, um…"

She laughed and put her finger to his lips, silencing his attempt to explain. Then she smiled coyly, staring into his eyes before leaning in to lightly brush her lips against his. "Perfect." She whispered as she leaned back with her eyes closed and a soft smile playing at the corners of her mouth.

"Am I dreaming?" He asked breathlessly, unable to believe what was taking place.

"‘I have had a dream, past the wit of man to say what dream it was.’" She whispered, quoting Shakespeare.

Feeling confident, Ron leaned in and fully captured her lips. His boldness was instantly rewarded as she returned the kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck to press herself against him. And then the carpet was ripped out from under him as she pulled away, ending the best thing he’d ever begun to experience.

"I can not stay." She said, looking away almost guiltily while hugging her arms around herself. "I just wanted to tell you, to let you know that I am not forgetting you."

Recalling that Parvati was still missing, Ron began to feel rather guilty himself for indulging in such brash behavior. "Trust me, I can’t forget about you either." He said, picking up the cloak and handing it to her.

Her hand lingered over his as she took it from him. "Just remember, if you are needing to talk to someone, I am not far… If you call out to me-" She reached out and tapped her finger against his forehead before ruffling his hair. "-I will most likely hear you and if I do, I promise I will answer."

"But you can’t stay tonight?" He asked, both hoping and fearing she would agree to stay.

Jacey shook her head. "It would not be wise I think." She flung the cloak around herself so that only her head remained visible. "Until next time, I hope you think well of me."

"That’s the only way I think of you." He smiled, opening the door so she could walk through. Once in the hallway she pulled up the hood and once more disappeared out of his life… But this time she’d left him with the promise of a way to reach her at any time he wanted, though he wondered if she was aware that he wanted her around all the time.

(BREAK)

"I feel like the worst guardian ever." Lupin sighed as he led the way through the woods. "I mean I’ve been legally bound to ensure your well-being-" He turned to look at Draco, "-and Harry your parents are counting on me to help look after you, yet here we all are on a midnight stroll through the Forbidden Forest to dispose of a body… I can’t keep James and Lily from finding out obviously, but not a word of this gets back to Tonks, got it?" He asked very seriously.

Draco shared an amused grin with Potter as both boys agreed to keep Tonks in the dark. Lupin led them deep into the woods, letting the boys handle the task of floating Tristan along as the man had claimed it to be their mess to clean up, he was simply there to see that they did it right. The corpse was hidden under Draco’s invisibility cloak as Potter had leant his to Jacey, but the further they went, the more difficulty they were having in maintaining the spell to keep it in the air. "Haven’t we gone far enough?" He asked, not wanting to have to actually carry Tristan’s body.

"I suppose we have. No one should be able to see the fire from here." Lupin replied, stopping their progress. "Besides, there’s a big Ash Tree right over there."

Letting the corpse drop to the ground, he went with Potter to help gather enough wood for the task ahead of them. While they did that, Lupin began making a ring of stones around Tristan, instructing the boys to cover the vampire completely with the wood. When they were finished, Draco wiped the sweat from his brow and removed his coat despite the frigid temperature.

"Now we light it?" Potter asked grimly.

"Actually, there’s something else that comes first… It’s pretty gruesome so I think I’ll handle this." Lupin replied unhappily, looking as if whatever he was about to do was the last thing on earth he wanted to be a part of.

Both boys watched with a sort of twisted fascination as he bent down and moved the sticks away from Tristan’s head and pulled the vampire’s mouth open while ignoring the jagged pieces of wood still sticking out of his eyes. Picking up one of the pieces of Ash next to him, Lupin turned away before solidly jamming it down Tristan’s throat. "We have to be sure to get the fire down inside him too." He said, quickly covering the head back up. "And now we light it."

All three pointed their wands and stepped back as the pile of wood exploded within the stone circle. This was the last phase of their dark deed and Draco was glad that Ginny had chosen to follow Luna’s lead and stay behind. He didn’t even really want to be a witness to this, it was better that one of them have the piece of mind to never have to relive this moment. Tristan’s skin seemed to sizzle and almost scream as the Ash wood burned down. Lupin had of course been right about how the wood would weaken the vampire’s natural defenses… but they stayed until there was nothing before them but a glowing pile of embers, just to be sure.

(BREAK)

Fred woke up to his mother pounding on his door. Groaning in displeasure, he buried his head under the pillow and willed her to go away… unfortunately no one’s will was as strong as Molly’s. "Come on Fred, get up!" She called as she continued to bang away on the door.

With a loud grunt he threw his pillow away and unwillingly got out of bed. Flinging open the door, he regarded his mother warily. "What?" He demanded, too tired to care about being rude.

"And a good morning to you too, though it’s nearly lunch time." She returned. "You really should get to bed earlier dear."

"I’ll work on that." He said sarcastically as he rubbed his face and yawned. In all honesty, he never would have fallen asleep if his body hadn’t just given up and passed out on him sometime in the early morning hours. But since he had gone to sleep, he was irritated with her for ruining it. "Was there something you wanted?"

"Something Lee wanted actually." She replied huffily, thrusting an envelope at him. "A ministry guard showed up with this for you a few minutes ago. Said Lee needs you at the shop. The guard is still down there, waiting to take you."

"Okay, I’ll be right down." He promised, suddenly wide awake as a wave of nervous nausea washed over him. Closing the door on her, he tore open the envelope but the note inside wasn’t helpful- it was simply a request that he come to the store as soon as possible. That wasn’t like Lee at all, if there was a problem he wasn’t afraid to complain about it in full detail.

Throwing the useless note aside, he rushed to get dressed and brush his teeth, simply running his fingers through his hair as he hurried down the stairs. Grabbing his coat and kissing his mother goodbye, he left the house and climbed into the waiting ministry car. It took every ounce of self-control he had not to just apparate from the backseat to the store, but not knowing what awaited him he knew it was better to arrive with an actual Auror.

They parked outside the Leaky Cauldron and hurried through to Diagon Alley, trying to rush without being noticeable as they made their way to the store. Fred was surprised to find it closed up, with the shades drawn and the front door locked. "Hey, come in there with me, okay?" Fred asked the guard, pulling out both his wand and his keys.

"What do you think is going on?" He asked as he took out his own wand.

"I don’t know, but it’s not good." Fred unlocked the door and let the other man go in ahead of him. Fear tingled along his nerves as he followed, but the showroom was empty and nothing seemed out of place. "Lee?" He called out nervously.

"Maybe the office?" The guard suggested tensely, heading down the hallway and opening the door. "Hey! He’s in here!"

He rushed over, entering the office to find Lee spread out on the floor and bleeding from a wound on his head. Kneeling beside him, Fred was able to see that his friend was still breathing. "He’s alive." He assured the guard who was busy searching the closet for enemies.

"Okay, apply pressure to his wound." The man replied, moving to the door. "I’ll call for backup."

"I’m sorry, I can’t let you do that." Elanya appeared suddenly from the hallway and before either could react, she drew her wand and cursed the man to death. "Hello Fred." She turned her wand on him as he pointed his at her.

"What are you doing here?" He demanded, trying his best to ignore the now dead man laying a few feet away. "And what did you do to Lee?"

"I never was very good at the Imperious curse, and he fought against it the whole time." She shook her head regretfully. "I mean I got him to write the note and hand it off, but he finally broke free of my influence. I certainly didn’t want to kill one of your friends but I had to shut him up somehow. Don’t worry, it’s just a nasty bump on the head."

"You had no qualms about killing that innocent man." He pointed out, still not looking at the fallen guard.

She shrugged. "Neither of us knew him, what does it matter as long as he’s out of the way?"

"You’re a very cold person."

"Perhaps." She shrugged again. "Perhaps I just need to find the right positive influence."

"And perhaps you’re just bat shit crazy." He replied meanly, wanting to leave her in no doubt as to his opinion of her.

"You could be right… time will tell." She smiled coyly. "Don’t worry, someone will come along to clean up my mess after we leave. Come on, I’m only giving us an hour."

"Come on where? And an hour to do what?" He scrambled to his feet and stood protectively in front of Lee.

"We’re going to your vault in the bank and then I’m giving us a limit of one hour to shop for all the clothes and supplies we’ll need to disappear… and then we’ll disappear." She laughed.

"Today?!" He asked in a panic. "But… but you said Friday… and Willem isn’t here." He argued, desperate for the extra two days she’d promised.

"I see, you want me to play by the rules while you run around breaking them? Thanks to you, Willem can no longer be a part of this…" Elanya scolded. "You didn’t play the game right."

"What are you talking about? What rule did I break?" He asked desperately.

"You told people about all of this… you involved Hermione Granger and so now the rules have changed. We are leaving today Fred and you will play the game correctly from now on or she will serve the penalty."

"If she knows what you’re up to, then she’ll certainly be on guard for you or your spy." He spat out, hating how helpless and angry he felt.

"Everyone must sleep sometime." She sneered.

"Meaning?"

"I’m sure Harry and Luna informed you of the trip to Azkaban and I’m sure they told you that they know it was Sarah working through Cho… All Sarah needs is a location and an unconscious vessel that she could make do anything at all, from hurting someone else to taking a walk off the top of the highest tower at Hogwarts. It doesn’t matter how guarded Hermione Granger is, she can’t stay awake forever."

Fred glared at her as his brain worked overtime trying to figure a way out of this, or at best, a way to warn Hermione and perhaps have Luna or Harry try to help protect her mind while she slept. Feeling the weight of the compact in his pocket, he wondered how long it would be until he could find the time to use it.

"I’ll take your silence as begrudging acceptance." Elanya said, offering him a falsely sweet smile. "And before you get those wheels turning too fast, I won’t be giving you the opportunity to warn your little girlfriend or your special friends about any of this. We’ve thought of everything and neither Harry nor Luna will be given the chance to help." It was almost as if she could read his mind though he knew that wasn’t the case, she was simply being thorough in explaining the hopelessness of his situation. Using extreme will, Fred was able to keep from reaching in his pocket and grabbing the compact to gain a sense of comfort. Instead he used the fact that Luna was already helping and could therefore involve Harry to calm himself.

"Okay." He finally broke his silence. "You got me, I admit it. Let’s go."

Elanya regarded him suspiciously. "Just like that? I expected a little more resistance."

"What more do you want?" He cried, throwing his arms out in frustration. "You win! You’ve beaten all the fight out of me! What am I supposed to do? One wrong move on my part and it means something bad for Ron or Ginny or Hermione… so okay, I agree to the terms. Let’s just go already!"

"Give me your wand." She demanded, holding out her hand. In the only small act of defiance he could manage, Fred threw it at her feet instead. She smirked with amusement as she bent to retrieve it, putting both wands in her purse. "There’s just one more thing." She pulled out a strange looking device with tons of lights and gauges.

"What is that thing?" He asked as she approached him.

"Just relax and stand still." She ordered, waving the thing over him from his head to his feet. It suddenly started lighting up and beeping like crazy as she moved it over his pocket. "You have a communication device." She grinned.

"No I don’t." He lied unconvincingly, even in his own ears.

Elanya nodded. "Put it on the desk."

Fred hesitated. The compact was the only reason he’d so readily agreed to go with her, figuring he’d be able to use it at some point and alert the others to his predicament.

"Come on, you don’t want to start breaking rules already, do you?" She taunted.

She really had won, without giving him a way to warn Hermione, Ron and Ginny, she had his complete obedience and she knew it. Reluctantly he pulled the compact from his pocket and placed it on the desk. Elanya picked up the glass paperweight, leaving Fred to watch as she smashed the compact into pieces. "That’s seven years bad luck." He said numbly.

"Really? Because I feel my luck is starting to change for the better." She laughed as she brushed the pieces to the floor and stepped on them for good measure. "There was no way you were walking out of here with that anyway. I told you, we thought of everything."

　

　

NOTE: Uh oh… now what’s Fred going to do? Stay tuned for more chapters to find out...
Chapter 50: Searching for the Lost

A/N: Well, so much for my hope to have the characters out of Hogwarts by chapter 50 J So much to deal with here so go ahead, Read, Review and Enjoy!

　

Hermione had woken with an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. By the end of her last class the feeling had tripled and she was now sick with concern, having been unable to reach Fred all day. "Hey, are you okay?" Harry asked quietly as they walked back to their dorm together.

"I’m fine." She answered tensely.

"Really? Because I can’t feel my hand anymore…" He lightly joked, making her realize she’d had his hand in a death grip.

"Sorry." She loosened her hold and felt him flex his fingers. They’d been at each other’s side all day whenever they were in public, Harry had apparently decided to once more give in to her and Luna with few to no questions. Admittedly his presence at her side was the only thing to give her comfort all day and she was grateful for it.

"Something’s wrong." He pushed as they entered the common room.

"Well-" Fear and concern overwhelmed her and she suddenly felt the need to confess everything if it would help Fred. But just as she was about to spill it all, she felt her pocket grow warm and nearly collapsed in relief. "I’ll tell you about it later." She said quickly before rushing off to her room to be alone.

Nearly dropping the compact as she fumbled to pull it out of her pocket, she eagerly flipped it open only to have her heart drop painfully to her stomach. "Hermione?" Lee stared back at her, though his reflection was fragmented as if the mirror had been broken. "Oh good, I fixed it!" He sighed in relief as he caught sight of her on his side.

"What’s going on, where’s Fred?" She demanded.

"I don’t know!" Lee cried out in frustration. "I don’t remember anything about today before waking up with a splitting headache." He pointed to where his head was now bandaged. "No one was here, nothing was missing… but I found the compact on the floor and smashed to pieces."

"And Fred?" She asked again with more urgency.

"I contacted Molly…"

"You’re killing me here, Lee! Spit it out!" Hermione yelled.

"She said I had sent a note earlier asking him to come to the store and that the ministry guard was supposed to have brought him… I don’t recall any of that." Lee seemed beyond distressed and close to tears.

"Someone must have used a spell and wiped your memory." She shook her head, not knowing how to soothe him when she was so close to panicking herself.

"Probably, it’s what I figured as well. But I didn’t want Molly to start worrying and wind up having Arthur send the whole Auror squad out. It took everything I had to convince her that Fred stopped to pick something up and would be here any minute… So then I tried for the last hour to fix this stupid compact to see if maybe Fred went up there to see you again, but that’s obviously not the case..."

"It’s because she found out he came to see me on Sunday…" Hermione closed her eyes as a sense of dread consumed her. "Elanya must have upped the stakes… she’s made him leave early…"

"What are you talking about?" Lee demanded.

"I don’t have time to explain now, we have to move quickly." Her mind was racing a million miles a minute. "Arthur and Molly can’t know yet… that will only help the girls’ plan. I need you to convince them that Fred went away for some kind of business trip for the store, tell them you’re going with him so maybe they’ll worry less."

"Well, I guess I could disguise my voice and write a talking letter to them pretending to be Fred." He suggested, always eager to become part of their dangerous adventures just like the other boys. "He’s okay, isn’t he?"

"For now… I don’t think hurting him is currently part of their plan." She said grimly. "I’m going to talk to Luna, see if she can shed any light on this and depending on what she can or can’t see we’ll figure out what to do."

"And when do I get to know what’s actually going on?" Lee asked.

"After you find a way to contact Willem Fritz and get him there to the store with you. We’ll be needing to talk to him about his niece." She replied darkly.

"How am I supposed to do that?" He asked incredulously. "No one’s supposed to know the guy’s out of prison."

"I don’t know. You’re the maniacal mastermind who hung around Fred and George all those years, I’m sure you’ll find a way." Hermione brushed him off. "I have to go, the sooner I talk to Luna, the sooner we can hopefully figure all this out."

(BREAK)

"I can’t stand it anymore!" Ginny shouted, throwing her History of Magic book across the room. "It’s just sooo very boring." She flung herself back on the bed and grabbed the pillow to cover her face as she screamed her frustration into it.

"Is this a normal part of your homework process? Because we may have to begin studying alone." Draco teased, ignoring her dramatics and returning to his Potions essay.

She got up and kneeling in front of him, grabbed his textbook and threw it over her shoulder with a sly smile. "We aren’t alone now, so why spend our time studying anyway?"

"Can’t argue with that logic, I guess." He grinned, grabbing her around the waist and pulling her into his lap before kissing her passionately.

Knocking at the door interrupted their impromptu fun before it could really get started and Ginny pulled away in disgust. "You see? This is why I dislike other people…" She groaned.

"I surely hope you have better reasons." He laughed, getting up to answer. He was utterly surprised to find Drake standing there.

"Hello, sorry to interrupt but I’m here on school business. As acting Head of Slytherin House I’ve come to request your presence in the Headmaster’s office." Drake smiled apologetically.

"Some advice in dealing with other Slytherins… Snape wouldn’t have been so nice as to request anything." Draco smiled back. "What’s going on?"

"I have no idea. I was just told to come get you." Drake shrugged.

He felt Ginny coming up behind him and reached for her hand. "Do I have to go alone?"

Drake grinned wider. "I’m sure whatever’s going on, there would be no objection to Miss Weasley coming along for support."

"Very officious." Ginny approved teasingly.

"Yes, I do believe after a few months I’ve begun to get the hang of this whole job." Drake joked back as he began to lead them to Dumbledore’s office.

As they walked, Draco began to feel nervous… what could they possibly want to see him about? Had the headmaster somehow found out about Tristan? Was Troy trying to frame him for Parvati’s disappearance? Several ideas floated around in his head, none of which were good. In fact, he’d never in his life been called to up there to be given good news. At the gargoyle, Drake gestured for them to go up first and as they climbed onto the stairs Draco squeezed Ginny’s hand in tense anticipation.

Dumbledore was in the process of handing a letter off to Fawkes as they entered the office and he turned to them with a grim smile. "Well, none of you ever seem to be alone anymore. Hello Draco, Ginny, why don’t you both have a seat." He spoke informally as he tended to do when he was in private with his favored students. Draco felt almost honored to now be considered one of them. "Roscoe, I need you to bring Professor Trelawney here as she is rather skilled at scrying."

"Who are you trying to find?" Draco blurted out. He knew all about the skill of scrying… it was something Narcissa had mastered and was proud to display. In fact, he knew she had been the one to help Lucius locate several people including Julian Heath.

Dumbledore nodded to Drake who quickly left to carry out the request made of him. With a sigh, the headmaster seated himself before them and looked intently at Draco. "We’ve received intelligence that Lucius has disappeared."

He could feel Ginny staring at him out of the corner of her eye, but Draco couldn’t make his brain work his mouth to form words. "What do you mean he’s disappeared?" She finally asked for him.

"Since the Quibbler article was released, Lucius has been turned away from the Death Eaters and Arthur has had several people watching him. Yesterday morning he managed to slip away from them all and he hasn’t been spotted since."

"Well he certainly hasn’t contacted me!" Draco said, leaping to his feet.

"I wasn’t implying that he had." Dumbledore calmly replied. "I was just wondering if perhaps you knew of somewhere he would go."

So this was it, the moment that he knew would eventually come. He had to decide whether or not to completely turn his back on his father in order to help the people who had so helped him. Now he had to figure out just how much he’d changed, what his morals are from what they were, and whether he could fully give himself over and cut all ties to the two people who had given him life. "I don’t know." He said at last, sinking back down into the chair and feeling horribly confused.

"I see." Dumbledore nodded. "I’m aware of what I’m asking of you and how unfair it is to ask a child to completely turn on their parents. I am sorry for it and only my and Arthur’s desperation drove us to decide to come to you... But you by no means have to answer and I assure you we won’t think less of you for it. I want you to be fully aware that you have a choice here, one that shouldn’t have had to be presented to you and therefore you won’t be judged either way."

"Won’t I?" He asked miserably. How could they not judge him if he chose to remain silent when he could have helped? And how could he not be judged for completely turning on his family? There was no easy way out of this.

"You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do." Ginny said quietly as she reached out to supportively rub his arm.

And he didn’t… not with these people. Recalling his previous way of life, he knew Dumbledore and the others weren’t aware of the truth depth of his father’s evil ruthlessness. Draco had seen Lucius commit many sins without any sign of remorse, what could he be doing out there now that he’d been outcast by the Death Eaters and left on his own? Knowing what the man was capable of when he was in control, Draco hated to think what he was capable of when desperate. "Okay, give me a quill and parchment and I’ll write down the locations of every safe house I know about and any other place he might go."

Dumbledore made no move to fill his request, instead continuing to look on in concern. "Are you sure?"

"If he’s left out there alone, who knows what he’d do or who he’d hurt to ensure his own survival… I can’t have that hanging over my head, if I don’t try to stop him then I can only share the guilt of his actions."

"And with that sentiment, I would like you to know how proud I am of your continued growth." The headmaster smiled with sad encouragement. "But I want you to be assured that not only are you not to blame for your father’s actions, no one would hold it against you if you did feel the need to maintain some form of loyalty to him as your parent."

Draco shook his head. "No, I’ve decided." He firmly insisted. It took a few moments to write down everything he knew and by the time he finished Drake was back with Professor Trelawney. Having no desire to witness them attempt to locate Lucius, he made his wish to be dismissed back to his dorm apparent. Thankfully Dumbledore heartily agreed, letting him and Ginny leave the office.

"You okay?" She asked, linking her arm through his and leaning her head on his shoulder as they walked.

"Sometimes I wish I were the orphan instead of Potter." He muttered.

"I’m sure given the circumstances, Harry would agree to that."

"Of course he would, James and Lily are nothing like Lucius and Narcissa."

"And Ted and Andromeda are nothing like Mr. and Mrs. Dursley." She smiled, reminding him that he did have some family that was worthwhile. "And Tonks is nothing like Dudley."

"With my luck, I would have gone to be raised by Bellatrix." He joked. "I guess Potter and I really are opposites... him rather having been raised by his parents and me wishing I had been with my aunt, uncle and cousin."

"But things happened the way they did and that has brought you to the moment when you had to turn on your father completely… So, are you okay?" She asked again, bringing the conversation back to her original question.

"You’d make a good reporter."

"And you’d make a very difficult interview." She returned. "Quit deflecting."

"I don’t know how I am." He finally answered with a heavy sigh. "Part of me is relieved to wash my hands of Lucius and part of me feels like the worst son ever."

"He’s not exactly father of the year." Ginny squeezed his arm and kissed his shoulder. "There’s no real way to be a good child to a bad parent."

"You don’t have to tell me that. I spent years trying to impress him." He answered glumly.

"And yet he never tried to impress you, never tried to show why he was worthy of your love and respect." She argued against his self-doubt. "You’re going to feel whatever you feel, but just don’t forget- you’ve only turned on someone who turned on you first. He tried to kill you already, he doesn’t deserve your protection."

"You tried to kill me too." Draco pointed out, feeling the sudden irrational need to defend his father.

"The difference being I haven’t tried since." She said stiffly. "And I probably won’t again…" She added the dark threat, letting him know she didn’t appreciate his comment.

"Yeah, okay it was a stupid thing to say." He admitted, stopping in the hall outside the common room and pulling her in for a hug. "I’m sorry, the two things were completely different situations… I just… I don’t know."

Ginny pulled away and smiled, reaching up to place her hands on either side of his face. "You’re just a little messed up in here right now." She playfully shook his head. "It’ll right itself out."

He leaned his forehead against hers and sighed. "I certainly hope so."

(BREAK)

"Find anything interesting yet?" Luna asked as she pushed the files to the end of the bed and got to her feet, stretching away the stiffness caused from sitting too long.

"A few odd things here and there. But I’m just now getting into the nineteenth century." Harry took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes, shoving his files away as well. "I had foolishly thought all the files from the drawer marked ‘Harry Potter’ would be about me, but they actually go all the way back to Lyraline Elderwood… though I will admit, there’s more detail to these files than the regular ministry records."

"They probably started compiling it the minute they figured out that prophesy was about you." She smiled. "It’s a good thing, we should learn everything we can about our ancestors so we don’t wind up repeating their mistakes."

"Oh, and my bloodline was responsible for quite a few big mistakes apparently." He picked up the files, laughing as he shoved them towards her. "Not all of us were the greatest of people."

"Well, no one’s blood is all pure, right? Coven descendants or not, we are all still human." She grinned. And then a sudden wash of panic flooded her, forcing her to once more sit or risk falling over from the force.

"What’s wrong?" Harry asked, instantly feeling what she felt.

Luna shook her head. "It’s not me, it’s Hermione… something’s wrong and now she’s looking for me. She already tried my room, now she’s coming here."

Sure enough, Hermione began to frantically knock at the door and Harry rushed over to let her in. She entered in a daze, her eyes wide with fear and desperation. Not caring whether Harry was in the room, she rushed over to Luna and quickly told her everything about Lee contacting her and her concern that Elanya had forced Fred to leave early.

"So wait, you’re saying Fred’s been kidnapped?" Harry asked incredulously.

"Not exactly. It’s more like he’s been blackmailed into leaving." Luna replied, attempting to remain calm. Knowing what Hermione wanted from her, she prepared her mind and left it to the other girl to fully fill Harry in on what’s been happening.

"So now we have to figure out where they’ve gone." He said when she was done, clearly upset to have been left in the dark about this. But Luna could see that he was fighting the urge to express his anger, knowing Hermione still had no idea about Tristan and therefore he had no room to judge.

"Which I was hoping Luna could help with." Hermione replied. They both turned to look at her.

"I don’t know… I’ve been sitting here trying and I think I strained something the last few days because my mind feels so tired." She watched Hermione’s face fall and quickly turned to Harry. "Maybe you could help me?"

"Are you sure that’s a good idea? I’ve drained myself completely before and it doesn’t feel good." He asked uncertainly, as worried as she was that she could damage herself.

"We have to try. Fred’s out there somewhere and if I can’t find Parvati we can at least try to find him." She argued back.

Harry took a deep breath and let it out. "Okay, let’s do this then."

Luna reached out to take his hand as he and Hermione sat with her on the bed. Closing her eyes, she cleared her mind of everything but Fred and attempted to force the connection. She could feel Harry with her, wrapping his consciousness protectively around hers and adding his own strength, which had completely regenerated since his fight with Tristan.

Again it hit her unlike anything she’d ever experienced before, a blasting of images that came on so quickly they knocked her back with their force. There was no white room, no scene playing out, nothing of any coherency or distinction. Concentrating she slowed them down, displaying each in order as they swirled around her.

First came an image of Hermione, growing larger as it zoomed toward her, focusing in on the girl’s eyes until they became mirrors displaying Sarah staring back at her and wearing an evil grin. Luna shivered in fear, watching as Sarah’s face melted away and began showering down drops of flesh that turned to rain…

Fred was in the rain, quickly trying to erect a rather ordinary tent as Elanya looked on, tapping her foot impatiently as she stood under an umbrella and waited for him to complete their shelter as a flash of lightning tore open the sky…

An explosion of color burst before her eyes, blinding Luna and forcing her to look away. Blinking away the discomfort, she turned back and watched with fascinated awe as several strange, colorful flowers budded and bloomed in front of her.

The pain was swift and sudden and seemed to come from deep inside her head. The next thing Luna knew, she could feel Harry shaking her as he and Hermione called out, telling her to wake up. Letting her eyes flutter open, she stared up at them as they looked down at her in concern. "What happened?" She asked Harry.

"I don’t know. Something felt off and then there was pain so I stopped the vision." He answered nervously.

"Are you okay?" Hermione asked as they helped her sit up.

"My head hurts." She answered honestly, turning to Harry. "You saw everything I saw?"

"I think so…"

"Well, what did you see?" Hermione asked anxiously, once more focused on helping Fred now that she was assured that Luna was somewhat alright. Rather than attempt to explain, Luna told Harry to replay it all for Hermione to see. She would have done it herself, but she was too tired and her mind literally felt fried out. Putting a hand to her head, she could feel that her temperature had risen alarmingly. "Okay, so Fred is definitely with Elanya then." She seemed grimly hopeful.

"The flowers came after, maybe they give some clue to their location." Harry suggested, getting up to pour a glass of water from the pitcher on his dresser. He came back and handed it to Luna though she hadn’t mentioned how parched her throat suddenly was. But as he went back to pour a glass for himself, she realized he knew because her ailments were affecting him… This wasn’t good, they had to figure out a way to keep themselves divided when necessary.

"Hold on, I think Lee is calling." Hermione said, standing to reach into her pocket.

"Ah yes, the compact you and Fred used behind my back." Harry teased.

"Let not start comparing who did what behind each other’s back," Hermione suggested wryly, "I’m pretty sure I’ll be the one to come out ahead."

She flipped open the compact and Lee’s voice immediately floated out of it. "Hey! Turns out I’m better than I thought. Willem’s here already."

"I’m with Harry and Luna."

"What’s going on?!" Willem’s frantic voice demanded.

Hermione gave him a brief version of current events up to describing the short vision Luna just had. "Well, what kind of flowers were they?" Lee asked when she was finished.

"How are we supposed to know?" Harry replied. "They’re clearly exotic or why else would they be a clue."

"Well, what about the first part then?" Willem pressed.

Luna saw Hermione shiver and knew the other girl had probably come to the same conclusion she had. "I’m pretty sure that’s telling us how they got Fred to cooperate…" She said quietly.

"Yeah, they threatened to have Sarah do her stupid astral projection thing to invade me and make me do who knows what." Hermione added bitterly.

"We won’t let that happen." Harry assured her.

"Oh yeah? What, is everyone going to sleep in shifts to ensure it doesn’t?" She asked despondently.

"If that’s what it takes." He insisted. "In the mean time we can look up the flowers, maybe even ask Professor Sprout."

"Or Neville." Luna suggested out of nowhere. She didn’t know why she’d suggested their lost friend, it had come to her suddenly and she had spoken before she even realized it… And now they were staring at her. Well, she’d come this far, she might as well finish her thought. "Or George… maybe he knows where Fred is."

Harry nodded and went to his desk to retrieve the ring. "We can call them both at the same time." He said excitedly.

"Well we have to do something. And the faster the better." Lee agreed through the compact. "What do you want us to do while you three are doing that?"

"Willem, Fred told me you two snuck into the ministry to delete those recordings… do you remember how he got you guys in?" Hermione stared at Luna as she spoke, silently asking if she had any sense that this was a worse idea than it seemed and to stop her if she did. Luna shook her head, nothing was poking at her intuition.

"Yes. Why?" He demanded.

"Tonight, you and Lee need to go back and find the archives. Get everything you can on Elise, Sarah and Elanya." Hermione instructed. "They know all about us, we need to know everything about them."

"But Arthur has Mad-eye looking after all the records and files." Harry reminded her.

"Don’t worry about that. All we need is a distraction to ensure everyone’s attention is away from the ministry." Lee answered mischievously.

"Just don’t get yourselves arrested." Hermione said, rolling her eyes. "I’ll call you back if we learn anything."

"And I’ll call you after the heist." He returned before they both ended the call.

"Well, should we contact George and Neville now?" Hermione asked eagerly as Harry came back over to sit with them.

He reached out and placed a hand over Luna’s forehead. "Maybe you should just sit back and let us call them up." He suggested in concern, clearly feeling that she had a fevered headache.

"You do look rather pale." Hermione agreed, leaning in to look at her better. "Maybe we should go to another room, let you rest for a bit…"

"I’m fine to just sit here and watch." Luna insisted, just as anxiously curious to know what had happened to Fred as they were.

Harry seemed uncertain but she made it clear that he wouldn’t be able to change her mind. "Okay, let’s hope they can tell us something." He put on the ring and closed his eyes to concentrate as Hermione reached out to feed her own energy into the ring. Luna attempted to close herself off from them, not wanting her own limited store of energy to be accidentally tapped. She could feel Harry also attempting to shield off from her and she hoped his split focus wouldn’t affect his ability to use the ring.

(BREAK)

Fred watched the ocean waves crash against the boat as it sliced through the water toward the sun setting on the horizon. It would have been an amazing experience had he been there under different circumstances, but when he’d woken that morning he had no idea a boat ride into the Atlantic was in his future. He sighed and leaned on the railing, debating what chances he and his friends would have if he just flung himself overboard.

"You don’t have to look so sad and defeated." Elanya remarked from beside him. She hadn’t let him out of her sight since they’d gone to empty his bank account and proceed on a frenzied shopping spree. He hadn’t chosen to speak to her since they’d secured passage on this boat. "You could just enjoy your surroundings. It is quite peaceful out here." She went on, trying to goad him into conversation.

Instead he continued to ignore her and moved further along the deck, but she followed wherever he went. "Come on Fred… I half agreed with your plan. Castellumshire is no place for us, but there are plenty of small uncharted islands there that will suit us just fine."

"There is no us!" He finally exploded. "There you and me, your hostage. We aren’t in this together, this isn’t some holiday for us to get away from our lives for a bit! So quit acting like this is anything other than what it is, you forcing me to come along with you."

"I was just trying to make the experience a bit friendlier, less hostile." She pouted. But he wasn’t fooled for a minute, he knew exactly what kind of snake she was.

"Now that you’ve completely severed my communication to my friends, how can I trust that you’ll keep your word and not let Sarah or your spy or anyone else hurt them?" He asked.

"My word isn’t good enough?" Elanya smiled, leaning her back against the railing so she could face him. He had the sudden desire to lunge forward and shove her, to make her disappear beneath the waves and end this nightmare… of course he had no idea what kind of communication she had set up with her friends and he couldn’t take the chance. Surely they would have planned for him attempting to get rid of her.

"Of course it isn’t. Nothing you’ve said has been true."

She smiled and crossed her arms. "Of course some of it was true. I know you’re well aware that the most convincing lies are rooted in honesty."

"Okay, I’ll bite… what was true?" He dared her.

"That I don’t want to hurt anyone now that Edmund is gone. Of course I will if I have to… I’d just really rather the situation didn’t come up, which is why I’m relieved that you’ve decided to play so nicely." She smiled again, this time with a bit of teasing coyness. "You must really love your brother and sister… and this Hermione must be pretty important too."

"What else were you being honest about?" He pressed, ignoring her attempt to goad him into revealing anything.

"That I want nothing to do with Voldemort or his plan to turn us immortal, and that Sarah and Elise were actually interested… not in Voldemort mind you, but in the vampire curse."

"We’ll be dropping anchor in five minutes." One of the boat’s crew members came over to announce. "As you are the only two being let off at the entrance islands, we’ll row you in. Do you already have your return plans booked?"

"Our stay will be indefinite." Elanya answered him while still looking at Fred.

"But miss, it’s mighty hard to flag someone down if you haven’t already arranged a pick up." The crew member protested.

"We’ll take our chances." She finally turned her attention to the man, reaching out to run her fingers up his arm. "Why don’t you go start loading our things into the rowboat?" She suggested, lowered her voice and drawing the man in. "You look strong enough to accomplish the task… and many others I’m sure." She added with a twinkling laugh.

"Right away miss." The man smiled and hurried off to do as he asked.

"Now why couldn’t you have been that easy?" Elanya turned back to Fred.

"I’m better at sensing a wolf in sheep’s clothing." He replied, turning to follow the crew member she’d so easily bewitched.

Within a half an hour, they had been rowed ashore and left all alone with the many things she had made him buy for this little excursion. "Great, it looks like rain." Fred muttered as the dark clouds rolled in with the coming night. Brief flashes of lighting tore through the sky as ripples of thunder roared overhead.

Elanya casually reached down and pulled out an umbrella. "Well, I guess that just gives you more incentive to get the tent up quickly then, doesn’t it?"

(BREAK)

"Believe me, I wish I could help you." George said miserably as he and Neville floated before them. "It’s not exactly like we can actually see you guys up here, it’s more like we have a sense of what you’re doing." He added glumly.

"What did the flowers look like?" Neville asked.

Harry tried to think the image to him, but apparently his power was unable to bridge the gap between the living and the dead. He, Luna and Hermione attempted to describe the exact flowers from Luna’s vision. "Does any of that sound familiar?" He asked when they were done.

Neville appeared thoughtful. "You might want to double check, but they sound like Colorsplosions… they’re flowers that sort of explode in color during the day when they bloom and then shrivel away at night. I know they’re rare, I just can’t remember where they’re found… mostly islands I think."

"That’s okay. As long as we know what they are, we can look up where to find them." Hermione assured him. "You’ve been very helpful."

"Just make sure you find Fred as soon as possible, okay?" George pleaded with them. "I still can’t believe he got himself into something like this."

"He didn’t have a choice. Elanya was threatening Ron and Ginny." Luna argued, her voice weak and strained. Harry turned to her in concern, ignoring the discomfort of wearing the ring to focus in on her. Inside her head was dark and shadowy, as if someone had turned off the lights… though he could still see sparks in the back, letting him know she hadn’t fried herself out completely.

"Just, find a way for me to talk to him when you help him straighten all this out okay?" George insisted, clearly worried for his twin.

"We will." Harry promised. They said their goodbyes and the two ghostly figures of their lost friends disappeared. He went over to his desk to put the ring away, already disliking the familiar pull it had on him and his energy vibrations.

"Are you okay?" He heard Hermione once more ask Luna and turned to see what had her so worried. Luna seemed even more pale than she had before… except for the feverish pink spreading across her cheeks and forehead.

"I just feel a little dizzy. I think I just need to eat something." She answered in a daze as she carefully got up. Even as Harry made his way over to help, he watched her attempt to take a step before her legs buckled, forcing Hermione to reach out and catch her. He rushed over to help get Luna back onto the bed, sitting beside her and running his much cooler hand over her heated forehead.

"How about if I bring something up for you from dinner?" Hermione suggested.

"Maybe that’s a better idea." She replied with a faint smile.

"I’m sorry for pushing you to have those visions." She said quietly, clearly feeling guilty for the position Luna was now in.

"You don’t have to be, we needed to find Fred."

"I’ll be right back with something to eat." Hermione promised, hurrying out of the room to do what she could to try and make things better.

"You going to make it?" Harry asked gently once they were alone, smiling to hide the large amount of concern he felt.

"I think the chances are good." Luna joked back as she took his hand in hers. "I guess I pushed too far too fast… but I had too."

"I know the feeling." He sympathized, kissing her fingers. "I just wish you hadn’t let what Ron said get to you so much… many people have warned me about pushing myself too far too fast, yourself included. You didn’t have to burn yourself out to prove to anyone that you’re ‘useful’."

"I had to prove it to myself." She protested with a faint smile. "I hate being at the whim of my visions, it’s about time they worked for me."

"Yeah, okay. Too bad they worked a little too hard. Some food and sleep will do wonders though."

"I hope so… you aren’t feeling it, are you?" Luna asked in concern.

"Don’t worry about what I’m feeling." He told her, not wanting her to know that he was in fact going through a lot of the same symptoms she was… to the point where it almost felt as if he’d been the one to drain his power and overextend his energy output.

"This isn’t good… we have to find a way to be separate sometimes." She said through a loud yawn.

"Yes we do." He agreed. Harry knew he did dangerous things far more often than she did and that due to his desire for victory, he got hurt a lot. The last thing he wanted was for Luna to suffer every time someone challenged him, to share his pain every time he did something stupid. There had to be a way, they just had to figure it out.

(BREAK)

Jacey looked into the mirror carefully to ensure the potion had entirely worn away. Once assured she was herself with no trace of Tristan, she took a deep breath and picked up Harry’s invisibility cloak, nervously settling it around herself. Ron had called out and asked her to come see him just before dinner, and she was anxious about what she would say. The guilt was eating her alive, she knew she had to tell him about Parvati… and how she had not warned anyone in time to stop the girl’s fate. It would not be easy, but it had to be done and Harry had agreed to let her be the one to tell Ron everything about his missing girlfriend.

She crept through the common room, careful not to get too close to any of the students still milling around. Her stomach clenched painfully as she entered the Gryffindor wing and she only hoped Ron would not hate her after tonight. Standing outside his door, she took a moment to gather herself before knocking. As soon as he opened up, she brushed past him and waited until he closed the door again before flinging off the cloak. "You really came!" He seemed surprised.

"I had told you that I would if I was able." She smiled, sitting awkwardly at his desk. "There are some things we need to talk about."

"Yes there are." He agreed. "Will you go out into the woods with me tonight?"

"Excuse me? The woods?"

"I want to go looking for Parvati." Ron sighed and went to look out his window. "I know Dumbledore has sent a lot of people out there, all with beasts and gadgets meant to find people. But it’s been three days and they still haven’t found her."

"And you think we will be more successful?" She asked gently. "I know Dumbledore is doing everything he can, nothing is working. He has sent people to look, he has had people scrying, he has the beasts of the forest keeping an eye out… there is nothing more that can be done."

"Well I have to do something!" He cried, turning to face her. "I can’t stand worrying like this anymore, I can’t handle not knowing what’s happened to her, or the guilt that it’s my fault."

"I know why their efforts to locate her have failed." Jacey looked away, unable to meet his gaze. "It is because all of their efforts are spent attempting to locate a human, which Parvati no longer is."

"What are you saying?" He asked quietly, his voice tense with emotion.

"She has been turned, we are sure of it. Parvati is a vampire and unless they alter their devices and coordinate their search accordingly, they will never find her. Especially if she does not want to be found." She blurted out in one swift breath.

"What do you mean you’re sure? What’s going on?" He demanded, coming over so that she had to look at him.

She shook her head and began her story, telling him everything that involved Parvati while leaving out the parts that gave away that they had killed Tristan. When she was done, Ron simply grunted and walked back over to the window, leaning heavily on the sill. "So why didn’t you tell anyone what you thought?" He asked.

"I told you, I was not sure…" She swallowed hard, waiting to see what would happen.

"Better safe than sorry!" He shouted, turning to face her again. "I’m so tired of all this secrecy! Look what’s happened now because of it!"

"I did not want to accuse without proof!" She argued in her defense.

"So you had to wait until she disappeared and Luna saw her as a vampire?! When was there going to be enough proof… when she showed up bearing her fangs in your face?"

"Hey! You knew there was something wrong with her, you could have just as easily tried to figure it out instead of letting the girl convince you it was just a cold." She said in anger. She already knew she shared some blame in this, but she would not accept it all.

Ron seemed to deflate before her as he turned and slumped down on the edge of his bed. "You’re right." He said quietly. "I wasn’t paying attention… but what now? What can anyone possibly tell Padma, or their parents?"

"It will not be easy." She got up and went to sit beside him, placing a hand on his knee in comfort. "But just because she is a vampire does not mean she is like Tristan or Troy. As long as she is away from the will of her creator, there is nothing to say she will be bad."

"And what if they are around?"

"Then if her will to fight them is stronger, she will be able to overcome… just like Draco and his creator."

Ron shook his head. "Yeah, Harland- he’s as bad as Tristan."

Jacey wished she could tell him that Tristan was one being he no longer had to fear, but anyone that was apart of the vampire’s death could be in danger and there were enough of her new friends already in that position. She could not let Ron be put at risk as well.

"I guess the first thing we have to do is find her… until then it’s probably best that we continue to let her family think she’s only missing." He lamented.

"Probably." She agreed, moving closer and putting her arm around his shoulders, wanting to make him feel better.

"Do you think she hates me now?" He whispered.

"What?"

Ron shrugged her off and stood uncertainly before her. "Parvati, do you think she blames me for not protecting her? Do you think she hates me?"

"No one can know what she is thinking." Jacey replied uneasily as certain thoughts of his became clearer in her mind. "But I can see what you are thinking and you are blaming me… you think I distracted you from her!" She stood and crossed her arms, waiting for an explanation.

"First of all, stay out of my head!" He shouted. "And secondly, just because I think that doesn’t mean I blame you. I blame myself! I let myself be distracted by you when I should have either paid attention to Parvati or been honest with her about how I really felt."

"And how do you really feel?" She pushed, taking a step closer to him.

"Like you don’t know." He answered bitterly. "As if I could even help it after seeing you."

Without warning, she grabbed his face and pressed her lips to his, giving into what they both wanted. At first he was astonished, but he quickly overcame it and wrapped his arms tightly around her to return the kiss with an equal depth of passion. He walked forward until she felt the edge of the bed against her legs. Letting her knees collapse she fell back, pulling him along with her. It had been so long since she had experienced any kind of intimacy and even longer since she had done so with someone who craved her as much as she craved them. And oh how she wanted Ron… She had no explanation as to why he had so captivated her but he had, and to now feel his lips on her skin, the weight of him as he hovered over her, and the heat of his desire… it was everything she’d thought it would be and more. She had wanted this ever since she’d laid eyes on him and had come close to giving in last night. Her own guilt had stopped her then, as his seemed to stop him now.

"Wait." Ron said in a strangled voice as he pulled away. "I’m sorry I can’t do this." He gently rolled away from her and sat up, anxiously running his hands through his hair. "I just can’t let myself be happy while Parvati is out there."

She sat up and reached out to rub his back. "I understand." She said quietly.

"I know you do." He smiled sadly.

"I am going to leave. It will be easier for us both I think." Jacey suggested, moving to climb off the bed.

"Will you stay?" He asked, his eyes wide and hopeful. "Will you just lay here and sleep next to me so I won’t feel so alone?"

She studied him carefully before giving in. "Okay, I do not want to be alone either. But I must leave very early in the morning."

"I don’t care. Some time with you is better than none." He agreed, climbing under the covers and motioning her to join him.

He turned out the light and lay back, both of them left staring at the ceiling as nervous tension descended on them. Taking the initiative, she turned to Ron and wrapped her arm around him, resting her head on his shoulder. She smiled in the dark as he responded, placing his own arms securely around her and pulling her close. For the first time in her life, Jacey felt safe… that there was someone who could care for her more than they cared for themselves. It was a feeling he was bringing out in her that she was beginning to treasure and as she snuggled in closer to him, she knew she would do anything to keep it.

(BREAK)

After more than a week had passed, Hermione felt like she was at the end of her rope. After a disappointing conversation with Professor Sprout, she’d learned that Colorsplosions were so rare they were thought to be extinct. But Luna was sure of what she’d seen and Neville had been pretty sure of what they’d described. Hermione had spent every free moment in the library trying to find out anything about the exotic flowers but so far her search had yielded nothing. Just as she thought she was going to lose her mind, she decided to shift her focus… but she needed to use one of the invisibility cloaks in order to get into the restricted area of the library where she knew the information she wanted was being kept.

Harry had been her first stop but Jacey was still in possession of his cloak and so Hermione had gone to Draco who had gladly handed his over with no questions. Now all she had to do was wait for the castle to shut down for the night. Locked away in her room, she pulled out the compact to check in with Lee for the millionth time. "No, we haven’t found anything interesting yet!" He said right away, clearly agitated with her constant nagging.

She’d been glad to learn he and Willem had been able to sneak into the ministry and abscond with the necessary files. But that had been several days ago and she knew had she been the one in possession of those documents, she would have been able to have gone through them quite a few times by now. "Why not?" She demanded.

"I don’t know, maybe because I also have to keep forging letters to Molly pretending they’re from Fred… Maybe because there’s a million things to read in these stupid files… and maybe it’s because you keep calling every five minutes to distract me!" He said loudly. "What about you? Have you figured out where those flowers grow yet?"

"No, but I have plans to get into the restricted part of the library tonight… while I’m there I’ll look to see if there’s anything about Colorsplosions."

"Well what else are you going there for?"

Hermione shook her head. "Don’t worry about it. How’s Willem coming along in finding Elanya’s grandmother?"

"Not so good. Turns out the ministry didn’t actually know too much about Jayalin