Hey guys, it's me again!
I'm sorry it took me so long to update, I have a double update for you guys today because I've been slacking so much! One reason for that would be that I have been dating someone for over a year, and I have recently decided to break up with them. I haven't actually done it yet, but it's been super hard on me so I've been doing my best to keep up with this story still through all of that!
Also - I got a new laptop so that will probably motivate me a little more to write more often!
Anyways, enjoy this chapter guys! Thank you for reading this story - the end is near! P.S - read the last part of the last chapter for a refresher if you need it!
***
Previously on The Bracelet...
Suddenly, I feel my entire body freeze.
Everything just stops - my eyes, my lips, the rise and fall of my chest, my fingers and toes, arms and legs, all frozen. Like I'm on a tv show that someone's just paused.
I can't even hear my own heart beating in my chest.
But then I hear it - the crack of twigs behind me. Ever so gentle, but there nonetheless. Under a weight that could only belong to a pair of feet.
And I realize that Draco was never here tonight. He's at home, in his manor, probably fast asleep.
Slowly, the presence behind my back begins to circle around me, and thoughts begin to race through my paralyzed mind - Kyle and Derek, Death Eaters?
But no.
The figure is short and rather stout, yet thin all the same. Holding a wand out with a shaky hand, a wand that's pointed at me. Long blonde hair, brown eyes like those of a doe.
"Surprised?" The voice is breathless, feminine.
Blu.
***
I want to scream. I want to cry. I want to yell and curse and kick the ground.
But I can't.
Blu stands in front of me, her wand held at a shaky arm's length. She's teetering back and forth on her heels, giggling like a child.
"I bet you are."
She gives another hoarse, sinister laugh, her head pitching backwards.
"I bet you're wondering why I'm here, Jennifer." She says, satisfied. "I bet you're scared. You don't know what's going on, do you?"
I can only answer by moving my eyes back and forth - looking her up and down, scanning the tops of the trees, frantically wondering what the hell is happening.
"Well, since I'm going to kill you, I might as well tell you."
I'm already frozen when she says this, but somehow, I freeze a little bit more. Air enters my lungs, air exits, but I can't feel it. Blood pumps into my heart, blood pumps out, but it runs cold.
"Kyle, Derek, me," she laughs again, this time shakily - "didn't it ever seem a little odd to you, that the three of us just showed up out of nowhere? Hm - just as things started to unfold in your life? Whispers of death eaters, Lord Voldemort all around you, being tortured in your own boyfriend's house..."
I have the strangely out of place thought that it's weird to hear Draco being called my boyfriend.
Draco.
Suddenly, I find myself very glad that I'm in this situation, rather than him.
"He sent us here, y'know." Blu says sadistically, interrupting my thoughts. "The Dark Lord. Lord Voldemort. He found the three of us - all children of death eaters - and he sent us here, to watch you, Jennifer. At least, at first it was only to watch you, because he knew who you were as soon as he saw you hanging around Draco. When he realized what you had," she licked her lips, her eyes flitting down to my bracelet - "it was to kill you."
My heart seems to stop beating for a moment, as if it's listening to her, too.
"But he'd always known I was special. Derek and Kyle were there, sure, but they were only along for the ride. Only there to protect me, make sure I was able to do what the Dark Lord wanted me to. Voldemort gave me powers, Jennifer. He gave me special powers like nobody else's, to assist me when the time came to kill you. Ever wonder about that time in Defense Against the Dark Arts, when Snape made us pair up in front of the class to do those nonverbal spells?"
The memory flashes through my mind - yes, she's right. Snape had pitched the two us against each other to try out nonverbal spells. We were only supposed to try a stunning spell, but I knew Blu had done something else. It felt as though she'd gotten in my head, consumed all of my thoughts. And the sensation that followed - strong, agonizing, sleepy - had knocked me to the floor unconscious within a minute.
"Well," she continues, "I'd decided to try them out on you, I was so excited. But the problem is that they didn't exactly work on you as well as they would on normal witches and wizards, because you have powers of your own. So I had to brew a potion for myself, in order to make them stronger, and I needed the blood of both a young witch and a young wizard in order to complete it. Remember those two killings, the Gryffindor boy and the Ravenclaw girl?" Blu laughs, as though this is all a fun game. "That was just me, getting my ingredients."
She inhales sharply, her wand still held out in a shaky hand as she approaches me. Blu had always been so cool and collected, so cunning, and it's unnerving to see her as though she's gone completely insane.
"And now," She says, her voice a low hum as she approaches me slowly, "They'll work on you."
She taps a pale finger to my forehead, and a searing burst of pain rocks through my body. Finally, my figure unfrozen, I let out a tremendous shriek and crumple to the ground, a limp pile. Blu doesn't look the slightest bit worried - just as I do, she knows that neither of us can be heard back here.
There's no point in her freezing me up again - I am so weak and undone that I can't lift a hand. Instead, she just points her wand at me again, the tip aimed at my throat from a distance.
"Oh, don't overreact." Blu says, as if I'd only received a papercut. "I wasn't even trying."
I lie on the floor, trembling as she begins to pace around me in circles.
"I could tell, though, that Dumbledore was starting to grow suspicious of my involvement with Voldemort, so I talked to him a few times about everything. I told him I wanted to help out with the Order of the Phoenix, and he let me, because I got into his head and made him let me using my powers. I also made him tell me about the bracelet, a few days ago. Yours is a fake - I know that now, and so does Lord Voldemort. We also know that you destroyed the real one. So Voldemort met with me, and he told me to kill you, because even though his horcrux is gone, you're not. Right now, with your powers and your skill, you're the biggest weapon that the Order of the Phoenix has. And we can't have that, now, can we?"
She trails the tip of her wand down the base of my neck, grinning barbarically. A soft shiver runs up my spine.
I muster up all of the energy I have left, and let out a hoarse scream.
The sound is so weak, and I know that there's no way anybody's going to hear me back here, but I'm desperate for a chance to get out alive. If I don't, I'd let down Draco, Professor Dumbledore, my mother -
"Shut the hell up." Blu growls, leaning down close to my ear. Drops of spittle fly onto my cheek. "No one's going to save you this time, Jen. No Draco, no Dumbledore, nobody."
I feel a lone tear leak from my eye, trail down the side of my temple.
"Now, pick yourself up. I want to be the last thing your sorry ass sees when I kill you."
Somehow, Blu hauls me to my knees. I rest my hands against the ground, softly grabbing a fistful of mossy dirt. I let the damp earth roll between my fingers, thinking that it's the last thing I'll ever feel.
As Blu positions herself in front of me, drawing her wand back out from the inside of her coat, I think of my mother, cleaning moist cookie dough from my hands when I was two. I think of Josefina and Kelsie, and our endless late nights spent watching horror movies and doing other dumb preteen things. I think of Draco, and the look he gets in his eyes whenever they rest on me, like I'm the most precious thing he's ever seen.
My eyes turn to Blu as she inhales, exhales. I want her to see me, too, and know that I'm not afraid of her. I want her to know that I never was. I put a brave face on, and stare directly at the stick of wood that'll end my life.
She twirls it around her head, gracefully as one can possibly prepare to kill another.
"Avade Ke-"
Just then, Blu is knocked aside. Her limp figure flies across the air, crashing against a tall oak and sliding down it like a toy doll. Where she once stood, now stands something else - dark, tall, and breathing heavily.
"Jennifer, run!"
Run? What does that mean?
My brain is fuzzy, my body slow, and I can't tell who's standing in front of me.
"Jennifer, go! Run!"
Subconsciously, I try to pull myself to my feet, but I can't seem to.
Suddenly, I'm yanked upwards with harsh hands, and propped on top of my feet. Fingers grip my face so tightly that it burns. Only then do I recognize who it is.
Dark brown hair, like the color of milk chocolate. Stocky, yet slim and small at the same time. Olive-toned skin, with hazel eyes that match.
It's Kyle.
"Do you hear me, Jennifer?!?! Get out of here, go!"
With great force, he turns me around and propels me in the other direction.
At first, I stumble a few steps, my brain still clouded as though I've inhaled a drug. But then, I realize what's happened - Kyle's just saved my life.
I have to get back to the castle.
With as much energy as I can muster, I lug myself forward, and begin to sprint towards the edge of the forest.
***
Air heaves in and out of my lungs, and it feels like I'm inhaling poison. My heart beats frantically, like it's trying to burst out of my chest. I can only think one thought -
I have to get out of here.
I push myself forward, my body screaming with exhaustion as branches and leaves throttle themselves against my bare skin. I think I hear more footsteps racing behind me, but I can't be sure if they're real. Maybe I'm just imagining them, but it doesn't matter either way.
I have to get out of here.
Just as a clearing between the dense patches of trees comes into sight, I feel something strong hurl itself against my back. The wind is knocked from my lungs. Burly arms clamp around my middle, and I'm suddenly being dragged off into the forest, gasping for air.
Seconds later, I'm thrust into what feels to be an underground tunnel, landing on my face as my mouth is clogged with dirt. A large figure pitches itself into the space behind me, all light blocked out by walls, floors, and a ceiling of packed earth.
After a few moments which I spend coughing up earthworms and pebbles, I crawl to my knees feebly, staring at the dark ground with dizzy eyes.
"Jennifer?" The voice that coos the words is one that I recognize, although it sounds very far away.
I peer behind my shoulder, the movement causing my insides to stir, and see Kyle, standing cautiously behind my back.
His hands are clasped tightly in front of him, his hazel eyes clouded with worry. This is not the man that I thought to be tearing through the forest with my limp body tucked under his arm only moments ago.
I cough up some more dirt, and roll over onto my back like a dead frog. "Get back to castle." I croak out.
Kyle shakes his head frantically, and looks over his shoulder. He then leans down towards me, placing a large hand behind my head and propping me up against the dirt wall. "We can't right now, Jennifer. Not for a while, at least."
My mind has gone into a state of shock. I know Blu is trying to kill me - she's chasing me right now - but is Kyle still after me, too? At the thought, I scurry away from him, crawling backwards until I'm in the farthest corner towards the back, where I curl up into an armadillo ball.
"You - get away from me." I say, my voice shaking with fear and rage. "You're just like her - you're part of this too - you want to kill me -"
"No, Jennifer, stop - be quiet -" He says, his hands held out from his shoulders. In a feeble attempt, I shoot my arms outward and swipe at him, tearing off a little bit of flesh beneath my fingernails.
He then retreats, keeping his distance. His face looks troubled, and he motions at me to stay quiet.
"Listen, Jennifer," Kyle whispers, "Yes, I came here with Blu and Derek to keep an eye on you for Voldemort. I know, it sounds bad. But I don't care about that anymore - not since the first moment I laid eyes on you, no, I knew I'd never be able to do it, Jen - "
"Then what about you and Derek?" I say, a little too loudly for Kyle because he shushes me almost immediately. "I heard you guys talking in the common room that night, about me. You're going to kill me because I'm talking to Dumbledore about my bracelet."
I motion to the fake horcrux on my wrist and he sighs, almost laughs. But I don't see what's so funny.
"Yes, we know. We saw your feet on the stairs after a little while." Kyle smiles softly, and I feel incredibly dumb. "But that's not the point - we were talking about Blu, Jennifer. Not you."
"What?" I'm in disbelief, despite all of the explaining Blu had done only minutes ago.
"She's been talking to Dumbledore, yes. But Voldemort never told her to do that. She's gone rogue - does things that he doesn't know about, only listens to herself. I mean, I knew I couldn't ever kill you from the start, and Derek wasn't sure, but Blu was...sort of giddy about it. Obsessed over it all of the time." He says, while looking anywhere but my eyes. "But she talked to Dumbledore, pretended to be on his side and found out about your bracelet. She told Voldemort, and that's when he made the decision to have her kill you. She was psyched, Jennifer, and I didn't like that. So Derek and I...well, we decided we'd have to kill her."
Suddenly, it all begins to make sense.
Derek and Kyle had been talking about Blu that night, not me. Blu had also been talking to Dumbledore, and also knew about the bracelet, just like they'd said. Of course, the plan had been to kill her all of this time. Kyle hadn't ever planned to do anything to me besides keep me safe.
"Kyle, I-" I try to say, but he stops me.
"No, don't. I mean, really, don't. If she walks over this way, she'll hear us." He says, glancing around once again.
I'm quiet for a moment, but after another, I can't contain myself.
"Kyle, where exactly are we?"
He chews on his lower lip for a moment before deciding to answer. "This is where Blu and Derek and I used to meet to talk about...you know."
"Me?" I ask. He nods guiltily.
"Yes...you. And we might want to move soon, Jennifer, because she'll probably come looking here if she kno-"
Just then, a fist shoots down into the opening of the tunnel, grabs Kyle by the back of his jacket, and yanks him out with surprising strength.
I let out a yelp, but I don't think anyone can hear it, for at that exact moment, Blu's screams begin to ring through the forest.
"You bastard, Kyle. You fucking piece of shit. Why the hell did you do that??"
"Blu, listen-"
I clamber closer to the tunnel's opening, anxiously listening to the two of them from below.
"No, Kyle. Fucking save it, okay? You listen to me. You were supposed to help me kill her, not try to fucking save her life! I mean, what the hell!! Why did you do that??"
Silence.
"I said," Blu's voice is hot and furious, "why the fuck did you do that?!"
"I...I don't know." Kyle says after another moment.
I know why.
"Oh, hell." Blu starts laughing, actually laughing. "Oh, hell. I thought it was all an act, to get her to trust you. But no, Kyle, it fucking wasn't."
Kyle is silent for a moment, and I can feel the fear bubbling up in him. "What the hell are you talking about, Blu?"
"Don't," Blu rages, "Tell me that you actually caught feelings for her."
Kyle, yet again, can't speak. I can hear Blu, breathing sadistically as though she might blow at any moment. She's gone completely insane.
"No, Blu..."
"ASSHOLE!" She screams, her voice piercing through the night like a sharp dagger. I wince backwards into the darkness of the tunnel.
"Blu-"
"AVADA KEDAVRA!"
A flash of green light, the sound of a body thumping against a tree, and then nothing.
My palm flies to my mouth in horror. I want to scream again, but I can't. For a moment, everything is quiet.
I hear Blu's footsteps against the earth above me, that same sadistic breathing sounding throughout the forest. There's a soft tapping sound for a few seconds, a drag, and then nothing.
"Jennifer," She says, her voice high on the ecstasy of killing someone, "I know you're around. Come out, please. I don't want to hurt you."
Pause.
"I just want to fucking murder you."
With that, I lunge towards the exit of the tunnel and thrust my hand through the surface, screaming as I let my powers burst from my fingertips.
I hear a shriek erupt from Blu's mouth, and the sound of something flying through the air – like a baseball, but much larger and heavier. And then, the recognizable thump of a body hitting the packed ground.
I wait a few moments – for anything. For the shift of twigs or leaves, crackling branches, a voice, footsteps. But no sound can be heard from inside my hole in the earth. I know Blu might just be faking her unconsciousness, waiting for me to give in and come up from underneath so she can attack. But I don't have a choice – if she is faking it, I still have to get out of here, and I'll still be attacked no matter when the time comes that I do. And if she isn't, then it won't be long before she wakes up, and I need to escape while she's still passed out.
I clamber towards the opening, and pull myself to the surface – hands clawing at the damp soil, feet dangling beneath me as I struggle to lift myself up into the world. The cool night air breaks against my face as my head emerges from the ground, and with a final push of strength, I haul myself up onto the dirt.
Quickly, I glance around – no sudden movement is coming from any direction, Blu's body is still slumped against a near tree trunk.
I scramble to my feet, and take off in the opposite direction. My body screams with exhaustion, but I ignore it, and keep powering forward. I trip over one of Kyle's motionless legs, and lose my footing for a second, but I keep sprinting forward.
Not long after, I hear footsteps behind me, quickly pounding against the forest floor.
"Get back here, you bitch!" It's Blu's voice, laced with a white-hot rage.
A blasting sound echoes through the forest, followed by the buzz of a bullet moving through air. Then, a burst of green light flies past my ear, skimming the top of my head.
Although it hasn't touched me, I feel the immense heat that the spell cast by Blu had given off. Waves of fear and adrenaline rock my body, but I keep pushing forward.
Blu lets out another hoarse shriek, and a red jet of light cuts into my arm. A jolt of searing hot pain shoots through my shoulder as the spell hits, and I let out a scream of agony, clutching the burned flesh tightly. With all of the energy I have left, I shoot my hand out behind me, and a dense cloud of fog appears, making it impossible to see.
I dart off to the side, behind a large tree that sits hidden to the left. My lungs fill with the smog, and I let out a raspy cough before covering my mouth completely. My arm is on fire with pain, and I want to scream along with it, but I know that I can't.
I hear Blu, shrieking like a jaybird as the fog closes in on her. As it begins to lift, I see her batting the smoke away from her face. There's a clearing in the forest, a distance behind me – it seems that we've made it to the edge. Now, I can see the black lake. It's calm – pacific, one might say. Even in the rising darkness, it glows with a fluorescent blue, capturing the light of the stars above.
Blu laughs, distracting me from my almost peaceful trance. It's low, slow – filled with insanity and the need to kill.
To kill me.
"Oh, wow, Jennifer." She sounds completely out of her mind. I cower back further behind the thick tree trunk, like how I used to hide behind my mother's leg as she introduced me to strangers. "Now you're really going to get it. I'm gonna make sure you hurt like hell before you die. I –"
But I never found out what Blu was going to say next, for at that moment, a loud sort of sound pierced the air, blended with an unpleasant sensation.
The sound of air being quickly sucked through a straw, the feeling as though my entire body is being compressed in forcefully from all sides, pushing the air out of my lungs, popping my eyes out of their sockets.
And then, it's all over.
It's quiet, but I can sense something else is here now – something sinister, something that makes the entire forest dense with silence.
The sound of bare feet dragging against grass comes from the area that Blu is standing. She's silent now – still as a stone – but I can't make out the other figure that's pacing in front of her.
And then, a voice comes that makes my blood run cold.
"Good evening, my dear Blu." The sound is cold, empty, hissing like a snake.
It's Lord Voldemort.
I freeze behind my tree trunk.
Blu, fidgety and scrambling like a child, stumbles down upon her knees. "My – my lord – I didn't expect you to be –"
"Shhh," He whispers, his voice both soothing and panic-inducing at the same time. From beneath his cloak appears a slender and bony finger, which he presses to her lips ever so delicately. She complies, bowing her head. "No need for words, Blu. Not until I ask them of you."
Blu opens her mouth to speak, but quickly shuts it again. It's clear that this isn't the maniacal person who was pursuing me through the forest only moments ago, spraying lethal spells left and right about the trees. This Blu is fearful, afraid – she seems like a weak child in the presence of Voldemort.
"What happened tonight, Blu?" Voldemort says cooly. "I hear that you were in pursuit of destroying the weapon – where is she now?"
With fury, I realize that they're talking about me. I have never felt so angry before; this is the man who murdered my mother, right here, feet away from me like he's never been before. I feel a strong urge to dart out from behind the trees and kill him, but decide against it.
"Well – well –" Blu starts, panicky. It's clear that she's afraid, and knows that she's messed up. I should already be dead by now. "I got her out here, yes, all by myself – Derek and Kyle didn't help me. I used the powers you gave me, my lord, I used them to insert a vivid image of Draco Malfoy being tortured in the forest to draw her out here. I made her think it was real, and she came, but she found me instead, my lord. I used a petrifying charm on her, but before I could kill her, Kyle came in and he – he – stupefied me and rescued her. So I killed Kyle, and I kept in pursuit of her, but she – she..."
Blu can't finish. Voldemort is silent for a long time, towering above her kneeled figure and unmoving beneath his billowing black robes.
"She escaped?" He said, anger seeping into his hissing voice. "Is she still in the forest?"
"I believe so, my lord – "
"You believe so?!" Voldemort is bellowing now, furious. "Why did you not kill her when she was petrified, Blu, why not when she was under your control? Do you understand the necessity of her death to my circle?!"
Blu shrinks backwards. "Yes, I do, master –"
"Then why is she still alive, young Blu? I gave you one task, miss Delinger, and that was to kill Jennifer Mania. You have not only disobeyed me and killed one of my death eaters instead, but you have failed. Now, I must kill the girl myself."
The dark wizard's eyes scan the trees, as though he's looking to see me move out from behind one of them. I don't.
"I was going to do it, my lord, I almost had her –"
"I have already given you your chance, Blu. You are not worthy of another. Now, I must do to you what I do to all who fail me."
Blu freezes up for a moment. "No, I –"
"Avada Kedavra!"
And just like that, Blu's lifeless body collapses onto the forest floor, like that of a marionette doll cut from its strings.
Gone.
***
Well guys...who was expecting that one? I'm not guessing any of you!
But I hope you enjoyed this action-packed chapter! There will be many more like it to come, as this story has 70 chapters and the next one will be the 60th! What did you think of Kyle and Blu's deaths, and everything that the three of them have been organizing since they arrived at Hogwarts? I hope you guys enjoyed this!
See you later today with chapter 60!