I awoke with a start the next day. I don't remember what I'd dreamt; I just remember I had been scared. I sat up and rubbed my eyes, yawning. I looked about me, finding Caleb on the other side of the tent, sleeping peacefully. I stood, changed into jeans and a t-shirt and left the tent quietly. Outside it was bleak in the early morning light, no-body was in sight.
I stretched and started into the forest. I needed a walk, alone. I was fed up of people around me, looking to me, waiting for me to give the order to go to battle. The Hippogriffs had stayed in tents with the Weres and Levici had acknowledged my decision with nothing but a nod.
Oh, Levici. What could I do about him? We were both attracted, I knew, but I couldn't love him. My body called out for his. I shook myself and mentally scolded myself. I loved Fred. I was engaged to Fred. Or was I? Did I still want him after he had cheated on me?
I looked down at the glittering ring on my finger, tears filling my eyes. I slid it from my finger and attached it to my necklace instead, reserving judgement. For now. I couldn't bear to look at it.
The deeper into the forest I wondered, the more my thoughts seemed to turn on me, making me frightened of what was to come. I staggered and fell against a tree, grasping its trunk for support as my eyes became unseeing and all of a sudden I was somewhere else.
"My Lord, we have been informed that Caramella Wincroft is still alive. Our Potterwatch monitors have informed us she is gathering an army!" said a voice.
The sound of a serpents belly on the ground filled the room.
"She is still alive?" asked the cold voice.
"This is what we have been inform-"
"Where is she?"
"We cannot be certain, rumors have been passed around so much of late. She's been spotted in many places up and down the country in the last year."
"Where will she be now?"
"The last report of her was in Scotland... But that was months ago."
"Send forces," growled the cold voice.
"My Lord, the most promising reports have been of the mountains in France, where you sent the boy..."
"They found no trace of her there," he snapped, "they were captured by Werewolves. They escaped by chance. However... If she is gathering forces of magical beings..."
"My Lord?"
"Send Scabior again... Show him images of the girl... ensure he searches properly, this time. I don't believe he did the last time. Arm him with silver, should he encounter Werewolves again."
"When should he leave?"
"She can hear us," said the high, cold voice, "she's listening right now."
I snapped back into my mind, like I'd been pushed back there. My eyes flew open and I fell forwards, onto my hands and knees, fighting back the bile that rose in my throat. I swallowed again and again, then overwhelming dizziness took me over and I fell forwards, blacking out.
When I awoke it was dark. I was cold and alone, feeling strange and disorientated. For a moment I didn't move, just laid there in the leaf mould, staring up at the canopy above.
"I wondered how long it would take for you to wake up," said a voice.
I sat up quickly, turning to the speaker. I couldn't see anyone in the dark, until their wand tip lit up and they stepped forwards.
"Nice to meet you again, Little Were," said Scabior.
I made a move to stand up, but found my legs bound together with silver chain.
"Tsk tsk," said Scabior, grinning, "I wouldn't make any sudden moves if I were you."
"And if I were you I wouldn't have waited around until I woke up."
He snorted and came forwards, his wand tip pointed at my face.
"Now, then," he said softly, "we have intelligence that a mudblood school girl is in the area and we want her. You are all over this forest, you will know where she is. Tell me and I'll make this quick."
"I do know where she is," I replied, grinning, "however, if I told you, it'd make you feel stupid."
He grabbed my hair and snapped my head back, putting his wand to my throat.
"Tell me," he snarled in my ear.
"You're looking at her," I choked.
"What?" he said, tugging my hair harder.
"I'm the Mudblood school girl!" I yelled.
He pushed me to the ground, wand directed at me still. I growled, getting to my hands and knees, but he kicked me down to the ground.
"Lieing bitch," he snapped, "you can't be."
I reached down and tugged at the silver chains and he took a sharp breath.
"Damn, you are," he muttered.
I tried to undo the chains, but they were done up by magic and I couldn't loosen them. When I looked back up at him, he was grinning nastily.
"What? Why are you so smug?" I snapped.
"Oh the rewards that await me when I bring you to him."
I huffed and crossed my arms, getting angrier all the time.
"So what now?" I asked, throwing him a nasty look.
"I hadn't thought that far ahead," he muttered.
"Douche bag," I muttered.
"What did you just call me?" he growled.
"Douche bag!" I yelled.
He grabbed hold of my hair again and snapped my head back, kneeling behind me, his mouth at my ear. I felt something in me beginning to charge up inside of me and I knew it wasn't good.
"I wouldn't be nasty to your captor," he growled, "you may have a sudden case of death."
"Get off of me," I hissed.
"What if I don't want to?" he sneered.
The heat stepped up a notch and I screwed my eyes closed. Damn. I was starting to get the wrong feelings here. I let out a soft moan.
"Get away from her!" bellowed the voice of Levicie.
Scabior pushed me away and stood in one fluid movement, but was not as fast as Levicie, who was on him in seconds. I put my hands on the chains and concentrated, making them disintegrate beneath my fingers. Then I leaped up, pushing Levicie from Scabior and stunning the surprised Snatcher. When he hit the ground I stood over him.
"Obliviate," I muttered, watching his eyes dim, "let's get rid of him."
Levicie nodded, panting. I waved my hand and Scabior floated up into the air. I walked beside Levicie as we went towards the outskirts of the forest.
"You're lucky I smelt you," he said softly, but I could hear his anger, "not that you're hard to smell, seeing as you're in heat."
"Excuse me?" I said grumpily.
"You're in heat. You know, ready for mating? No wonder at Full Moon we-"
"Quiet," I snapped.
"We need to talk about this," he said barely calm.
"All right," I said, stopping and turning to him, "here's how it is. I am 'in heat' therefore I would get it on with anyone, including Scabior. But right now, I don't know what to do. I like you, Levicie, but I love Fred. I think."
"I heard what he did to you," he said darkly, "he doesn't deserve you."
"Deserving or not, I think that that is who I want to be with."
"Look at me, Caramella, what is there that I cannot give you that he can?"
"He can give me a future, a stable family."
"Nothing is stable! Nothing is certain anymore!" he yelled.
"You think I don't know that?!" I bellowed back, "What if I can't save him at the Battle of Hogwarts? What then? I'm putting everything into saving the people who will fight! My heart, my soul, my body! And you know what? IT'S TEARING MY WHOLE BEING APART! I don't know who I am! I'm just a teenage girl, but I'm also a mother, a lover and the Powerful One! I don't remember who I was, I don't know who I am now! I'm just a person who everyone is pinning their future on and you know what? I'm not sure I can even get myself a future!"
Then I started to cry. Scobior's body dropped to the ground and ith a flick of my hand he could move again, but we had a while before he did, so Levicie put his arm about my shoulder and we walked back through the forest.
"I don't want to do this anymore," I sobbed.
"I think you have to," he said softly.
"What if I just confront the Dark Lord myself? Maybe I can end this before the battle happens."
"The destruction of the Dark Lord is not your destiny. Your destiny is to bring together two groups that have been separated for centuries. The rise of the Dark Lord is a helping hand. It means the wizarding world needs help."
I sighed. I already knew that, but I had hoped that if I could change that, then maybe there was hope after all.
"I don't know anymore," I murmured.
"None of us do," he said, stopping me in my tracks and putting both his arms around me.
I relaxed into his warm embrace, because he was everything I needed.
A week passed. I had crafted wands, dedicating all of my time to it, forcing myself to do things so I wouldn't think. I still didn't know what to do. I began to teach the beings to use their wands and collars. Levicie quickly picked up on what to do and he was quickly gaining skill and power. I taught them all the important defencive spells and jinxes. Greyback helped out a lot and I was starting to feel cooler towards the men, which was very good indeed.
I sent She to the Vampires, Kesian, Alicia and Johanan, telling them where we were and to come as soon as possible. I didn't know whether Vampires could use wands, but I was going to find out.
They arrived two days latter and I hugged Alicia tightly, then Kesian. I nodded to Johanan, who nodded back. Levicie eyed the Vampires with careful disapproval, but said nothing.
I sat with Kesian by the fire that night, talking to him in a hushed voice. Once the pleasantries were out of the way, I got down to the real subject.
"Can Vampires carry wands?" I asked him.
He looked thoughtful for a moment.
"No," he said, "we're dead and kept animated by black magic, but we ourselves can't control the magic. It dates back to many centuries ago when a dark wizard needed impervious killing machines that wouldn't matter if they died. So he re-animated some corpses, recently deceased, making them feed from blood, which would make them 'live', in a way. Blood magic is powerful. We don't need blood in the same way. We drink blood once a week, which gives us enough energy. From renewable sources, of course. Blood banks and the such."
"Will it be a problem that you can't carry wands?"
"I shouldn't think so," he said with a cold smile, "we're strong and quick and impervious to magic."
"That's brilliant," I said, grinning back.
I looked across the fire to Levicie who was giving Kesian a dark look. I went to bed a short while later.
What do you think? It's probably not a great chapter and I know it's been a long while, I just started uni and I've been trying to keep up with that work and all my wattpadding. Love you all. Please comment.