Word Count: 2,000
Chapter 23: Betrayal of Brotherly Bonds
"Jason?!" I gasped. "No... it can't be. Tell me you're not... Tell me you didn't..." I could hardly speak or breathe. I didn't like this. He was in his Gryffindor robes, his prefect badge displayed on the front. He pursed his lips, frowning deeply before replying.
"Well, this is a fine mess. I had really hoped you'd all have been gone by now, but I should've guessed otherwise when the other prefects mentioned students missing," he spoke grimly.
"Why did you take the staff?! Why are you after the pendant?!" I questioned sharply. I could feel my blood start to boil. I didn't like this feeling in my gut. How could it be Jason?! "Did you really... kill someone?"
"I had wanted to keep you out of this, Sachie. I really did. But when opportunity presents itself, you must be brave enough to take it."
"What are you talking about?"
"You figured out already I needed the staff to make it here, so you should already understand. Simply a means to an end."
"You didn't answer her other question. Why do you need the pendant?" asked Elliot.
"You already know what the Pendant of Perception is capable of, right? It's the only way that we can free this world of ugliness. With it I can realize my ideals, make the world a better place for wizards," he had started to ramble on, not explaining what ideals he spoke of, only telling us of the end result.
"What do you mean 'better place'?" Now Val was interrogating.
"Where society is right now is repulsive. There is a disease in the world. They destroy all that is beautiful about the world. Hideous creatures with one track minds to destroy and maim and inflict pain," he shook with a growing rage as he spoke. "Their existence is a plague that needs to be eradicated. Only then can we be free."
"Jason, what are you talking about?"
"Muggles, Sachie! Muggles! They oppress us, they take away our freedom through their selfishness!" It all finally clicked in my head. I had always known he'd never liked them, not after an incident when we were children, but I had truly no idea how obsessive and fanatical his hatred had truly made him. I'd never seen this side of him before, but I suppose he'd never have wanted me to. I was blindsided. How couldn't I have seen it coming? "We've been forced into hiding out of fear of what they would do to us if they found out we existed! It's not fair, we're stronger, smarter, more powerful. They should be the ones living in fear. We should be at the top! The only way for that to happen is if they don't exist at all." I shook my head, I didn't want him to continue his prejudiced rant. Instead I needed answers to something else.
"You said you didn't want me involved, but you were the one who slipped the ring into my pocket!" I accused him. Tears pricked the corners of my eyes. "How do you justify that? Using your own sister as your scapegoat?!"
"The night you dueled Leon, when I walked you back I decided that would be how I got rid of the ring. I figured once I had gotten ahold of the pendant, I could make everyone forget about accusing you, about the objects even being missing," he looked away, seemingly troubled by what he'd done. "I never wanted to put you through that, I love you too much Sachie. But I was running out of time and as I said before, you have to seize opportunities when they come."
"You nearly got me expelled!"
"But you weren't! And look, it all worked out; you all led me right to the pendant, and now you and everyone else will forget this ever happened," and with a quick motion, he swiped the pendant. Before he could use it, Genesis used a spell.
"Expelliarmus!" She said, knocking the pendant from his hands. We all now had our wands trained on the brown haired boy.
"Unfortunately all your crazy ideas are going to go to waste, buddy. You know we can't let you get away with this," Val said as he snatched the pendant from the floor.
"We may be first years, but there are six of us and one of you, you can't take all of us on at once!" Sable shouted. Suddenly, a shadow appeared and a figure loomed through the archway.
"I think that's my cue," chuckled a familiar freckled face. My heart sank as my mentor, my friend, someone I had admired deeply stepped into the chamber. Albert, dressed in his own robes, had his wand raised, looking at us with glowing green eyes.
"Albert?! You too?!" I broke down into tears.
"There may be more of you, sure, but you can't take the both of us on," he smiled crookedly. "Now, drop your wands," he spoke slowly and methodically. We refused, unsure of ourselves but not backing down. I decided to try and stall for time.
"Answer some questions first. I want answers!" My voice cracked. "Albert... Why?"
"I believe in the cause, nothing more nothing less," he replied curtly. "And anyone who stands in the way needs to be purged."
"Is that what happened to that student? Were they purged?"
"Well, the cursed student was supposed to be more of a distraction, but when that meddlesome prefect discovered what Jason and I were up to... well, we leave no witnesses behind," he crowed. I tried to speak but my mouth had gone dry and I felt knots in my stomach. My mind darted from thought to thought, I had to keep them talking. What could I do?
"What does the pendant even have to do with getting rid of Muggles?" Elliot joined, noticing my idea. If we couldn't fight them, maybe we could try to trick them or stall until help came. He mentioned the other prefects were looking for us, surely the teachers will come eventually if that's the case! Professor Wolfram knows we're here, and to everyone else I'm suspect number one.
"The Pendant of Perception can alter any person's memories or take control of them. With that pendant," Jason indicated to the object in Val's hand, "We could build up a wizard army, use all the wizards of the world to eliminate Muggle-kind and then alter their memories so it's as if they never existed in the first place."
"You're completely mental, that's insane!" Sable yelled. "What about all the Muggle Borns?! People with Muggle family members?! What about Squibs?! Their families, you'd take away all of that? Force them to kill their own kin?" Sable was practically screaming as she spoke. I knew she must've been thinking about her own family back home.
"Absolutely if it means my dream is achieved. What's a little sacrifice for a better world?"
"You're ready to murder billions of people?" Rubina's hushed voice was trembling from fear.
"They're not people, they're monsters! They're evil, they're a plague, a disease! Infecting everyone around them and destroying everything they touch!" Jason yelled back. My eyes widened at this. It was exactly like how Leon would talk about Slytherins. I'd never seen this side of Jason, I'd seen it in Leon. It was starting to make sense; his hatred and how he dealt with it, where it all came from. Those words were the last straw to me, I felt an overwhelming sense of rage as I shot a spell at him.
"FLIPENDO!" I shouted, a blue spark erupting from my wand, hitting Jason. I watched as he was thrown backwards into a statue. He looked shocked, and I too felt the same shock at my actions. His countenance transformed from shock to one of hatred, one of something more wicked, more sinister.
"Are you having fun, Sachie? Playing the 'hero' with all your little friends? Pretending you're helping people this way? None of it really matters in the end y'know, not a single thing you do could stop the storm we're about to bring about," he spoke menacingly, picking himself up. Now I was scared beyond belief. I'd never seen him sound like this before. My safety rock had now become the thing that presented the most danger to us. I was about to cast another spell to try and inhibit his movements, but I was suddenly interrupted.
"Impedimenta!" Albert shouted, but instead of hitting me, Sable jumped in front of me, taking the hit. All her movements were slowed down. This began an all out duel. Shouting and yelling between our groups, dodging spells and aiming them at our opponents, it was madness. Spells were going haywire, hitting the statues, causing them to shatter and fly everywhere. It was incredibly dusty.
"Petrificus Totalus!" Jason yelled, hitting Val. Genesis, who was closest to him, grabbed the pendant and we started an intense game of keep-away. We were all tired and dirty, but we knew we had to do what we could. It was passed around from person to person until it finally fell into my hands. Before I could do anything, I was hit with a powerful knockback spell. I gripped the pendant as I was forcefully thrown backwards against the podium, hitting my head in the process. Injured and somewhat dizzy. I managed to stand only to see that Albert and Jason had grabbed Sable and Val and now, to my horror, were holding them at wand point.
"Drop your wands!" Albert shouted. We reluctantly obeyed as he pressed his wand harder against Sable's throat, causing her to let out an uncomfortable gurgling sound. "Now, give us the pendant or your friends will be killed." I looked at the circular, red pendant in my hands and thought hard for a moment before holding up the pendant. I held it close to my lips.
"Kill or even touch any of my friends and I swallow it."
"Please, Sachie... I don't want to hurt you," Jason let go of Val, who was still frozen and fell to the ground with a thump. Rubina rushed to his side to protect him. We watched as Jason suddenly switched back to his loving brotherly voice. "It'll all be okay, you'll see. Now just hand me the pendant."
"Why did you have to do this," I lowered my hand from my mouth, feeling my tears stream down my grimy face. I wanted to run and hug him, this sounded like the brother I knew. The soft, gentle brother who looked out for me. I almost did rush to him until I felt hands grip my hands. On either side of me, Genesis and Elliot had grabbed my hands and held them. I resisted the temptation and instead looked my brother straight in the eyes. "You're going to have to kill us if you want this pendant." Jason hesitated for a moment before something in his eyes shifted. He changed once more, his brown eyes growing darker. He directed his wand at us, and we closed our eyes in fear, but before he could yell a spell, suddenly, footsteps ran into the room.
"Expelliarmus!" We opened our eyes and looked up gratefully to see Professor Wolfram and all the other teachers there.
"Professors!" cried Rubina joyfully. In seconds, they had disarmed Jason and Albert. They quickly escorted the struggling, raving boys out of the chamber and tended to our group, who were badly shaken by the experience. My dizziness had gotten worse and my head was pulsing with pain. I tried to walk a few steps before collapsing into Elliot's arms. The last thing I remember seeing before blacking out was Jason, his messy brown hair and sweat covered face turned back to me one time and the look he gave broke my heart. We were saved, but I wasn't really. My heart had been broken a second time. I had lost my second brother.