It's like I forget the basic properties of human nature when I realize that is in fact, my very own father. The man I had been told all my life, died in a tragic accident, just to later be told he was killed off by the most evil wizard in history, finally, to be told that he was actually alive and in hiding that whole time.
It had been a hell of a last few months, discovering something new nearly every week, but this was by far the most shocking to me. The most uprooting experience was for sure as I stood below, looking up at my Dad.
And I have no idea what to do. I simply stand there, absolutely dumbstruck. He has yet to notice me, and I doubt he will. There are hundreds of people down below and I just can't believe he is so out in the open. So available to anyone's gaze.
I want to yell at him to get somewhere less in the open, to get out of this place and away from the Death Eaters. But yelling across a loud and busy room, with a full-on ball going on, is not my greatest idea. So I square my shoulders, turning towards the doors leading back out to the main entrance of the building.
I walk fast, continually looking between what's ahead of me, and back to where my father stands. He's still talking to Leo, it's looking a little less like an argument and I wonder what they possibly could be discussing. But my timing is awful because they quickly look down, towards the center of the room, before moving.
I'm not sure where they could be going, but maybe if I make it up to the second level, I can catch them in time. Right as I make it out of the doors leading out of the ballroom, I hear the dreaded sound of Malfoy shouting my name from right behind me.
I stop in place, still feeling enraged. I spin right around on my heel, facing him, and nearly ready to kill him. He stops immediately, almost jumping back, and for once in his life, actually looking scared of me.
"What do you need?" I growl.
"You can't go out here alone!" He tries to tell me. I take several steps towards him, "I found my Dad, and I need to get to him before it's too late. Don't ruin this Malfoy!" I say in such an angry and demanding tone, he looks seriously taken aback.
"You forgot this," Is all he says, before he opens his coat pocket and grabs my wand, holding it out for me. I just look at him in surprise. I blink hard before I snatch my wand from his hand. I begin to turn around, but before I do, I pause.
"Get Ron and Harry, and meet me out here. Hurry!" I urge. He simply nods, giving me one last steady, silver gaze, before he turns back around and rushes inside. I look around the front lobby of the building. I scan from one end of the building to the other. Two large staircases on either side.
I look down at my stupid red heels, and then back up, looking at the staircase to the right of me. I roll my eyes before I quickly rip off those painful shoes. I shove my wand into the tight sleeve of my dress, before quickly taking off sprinting towards the stairs. The front lobby remains nearly empty, making it all too easy to get there quickly.
I urge myself to move even faster. Time is limited, and I can only pray my father is still somewhere upstairs. I round the corner of the staircase, almost running into an older couple. "Sorry!" I shout, nearly giving them a heart attack, but I carry on.
I skip steps, urging my legs to carry me even faster. When I reach the very top, I gasp loudly. I'm looking right at my father and Augustus Rookwood, engaged in a duel. Leo, who was with my Dad just a few minutes ago, is now nowhere to be found.
Rookwood doesn't notice me, his back is turned to me. I watch in horror as the two throw spell after spell at each other. A fight like I have never seen before. And my Dad, the closest I have been to him in 16 years.
He must notice me though because his eyes meet mine, and suddenly I wish they hadn't, because a second later he is hit square in the chest by one of Rookwood's spells. He stumbles back a few feet and his wand goes flying. Rookwood let's out a sinister laugh of accomplishment.
Something inside me awakens and I don't even think, I just act. I'm sick of having my family taken away from me because of stupid death eaters. I pull my wand out as fast as I can and fire the first spell I can think of, right at Rookwood.
Working on my nonverbal magic with Malfoy in the past few months had seriously paid off, because Rookwood drops to the ground before he can even fire the next spell at my dad. A loud thud sounds out, and I just stare at his unmoving figure, shocked I managed to do that.
I snap out of it in a second though. I turn back, facing my Dad, who stands nearly 10 feet away, just a little down the hallway. His bright green eyes glow, brighter than any stupid picture I've ever seen of him. His smile, warmer than the sun in mid-July. "Emma?" He breathes out, in absolute disbelief.
"Dad," I exhale in a single breath of relief before I run, right into his open arms.
I've lived a lot of divinely beautiful moments. Plenty of instances that I would pay whatever amount of money to relive. But nothing will ever beat this moment. The second I fall into his warm and open embrace, I think I could die from the pure euphoric feeling that floods my entire being.
Tears surge to my eyes, threatening to spill, and at this point, I don't care. He holds me so close, so tight. I know by the way he holds me, how badly he has missed me. I want this to last forever. I want every danger surrounding us to just dissolve. I never want to pull away. But I must.
"I've missed you more than you will ever know my darling girl," He whispers and I pull back, several tears rolling down my cheeks. "I love you so much," I choke out, staring at his handsome face, and his kind eyes full of light and life.
"I love you too Emmeline," He smiles, placing a gentle kiss on my forehead. A bubbling laugh due to this pure happiness escapes my lips. "I can't believe this is happening," I tell him. "I know dear, I know, but we don't have much time. We need to leave," He says.
I nod. I know he's right. I look over my shoulder at Rookwood. It wouldn't be long until the stunning spell would wear off. I turn back to my Dad. "You need to get out of here," I urge.
"You're coming with me, right?" He asks, his eyebrows rising in concern. "Yes! Yes, of course, I just need to find my friends," I tell him. "Okay, where?" He asks. "Follow me," I tell him. I grab his hand and we begin quickly rushing down the grand staircase leading back to where I told Malfoy to meet me.
"Where's Leo?" I ask as we hurry down the stairs.
"He's taking care of Remington," He says.
"The older or younger one?" I raise my brows.
"Remington has a son?" He asks, sounding disgusted by the thought of a second Sebastian Remington.
"Yes, and he's just as bad. Maybe worse," I tell him as we reach the bottom of the stairs. My lungs and legs are begging for a break by now. I look around, looking for Malfoy, Harry, and Ron, but they're nowhere to be found.
"Where are your friends?" My Dad asks.
"They should be here any second," I say, silently praying that that's true. As if right on cue, Harry and Ron rush out of the ballroom, but my heart nearly stops when I realize Malfoy isn't with them. They hurry towards us, both of them out of breathe.
"Where is he?" I ask frantically.
"He's coming! He got caught up with Cole, but he's coming," Harry says nervously. I feel a pit of fear suddenly in my stomach. Oh no. Not Remington. I force myself to stop worrying. Malfoy can handle himself, I know that better than anyone.
I turn to my Dad. "You can't risk the wait, you need to leave now," I tell him. "And leave without you? I only just found you," He says. I smile softly, grabbing his hand. "I know, but the most important thing is that you get out of here now. They're here for you, not me," I tell him.
"She's right sir, they're all looking for you. The Death Eaters. There's more than just Rookwood," Ron says.
My Father sighs deeply, turning towards me. "Are you sure?" He asks.
I nod. "I can't leave without Malfoy," I say. He pauses before his eyes widen, "Malfoy as in..." he trails off. I can't help but laugh a little. "Yes, but don't worry. He's with us. It's a long story but I'll save that and the introductions for later," I tell him.
"Where will I find you?" My Dad asks.
"The Thuderclaw Inn. Ask for Serena Snow, and tell her I sent you. They'll know who you are, now hurry!" I exclaim. He grabs my hand, squeezing it tightly. "Be safe," He says, fear in his eyes. "You too," I tell him, giving him one last short hug before he pulls out his wand, and apparates away, a crack sounding like a whip, echoing through the air.
I turn right back around to Ron and Harry. "Is he okay?" I ask.
Harry nods. "Don't worry just quite yet," He says.
I was still furious at Malfoy, but I needed him to stay alive. He kissed me and I wasn't letting him get away with it that easily. Suddenly, a loud explosion sounds from inside the ballroom. Hundreds of screams erupt from the mouths of nearly every older woman, and in a second, people begin flooding out of the doors to the Ball Room.
Chaos. Everything is pure chaos.
"What the bloody hell," Ron murmurs as people begin running out of the ballroom, all heading for the main doors, to get out of here.
I gain a tight grip on my wand, before turning my body in the direction of the ballroom. This only confirmed it, I was quite possibly the stupidest person I know. I mean who runs headfirst into danger?
"Emma, what are you doing?" Harry snaps, grabbing my arm.
"Malfoy is in there, and obviously something is going on," I tell him, as swarms of people pass us, surrounding us on either side. "I know you two don't like him, but I - I care about him. He needs our help," I say, almost not believing I admitted that out loud.
"Okay," Harry nods curtly. "Let's go," he says.
I smile tightly as fear bubbles in my stomach. I turn straight towards the overwhelming flow of people, each of them still freaking out, and I begin pushing against them. I have to shove myself in between people, working in and out, weaving through several bodies. I'm half tempted to use my wand to just create a perfect path down the center, shoving them all out of the way.
I keep moving, however, determined to get inside that room. I look around, noticing I lost Harry and Ron during the process but, finally I make it, and the second I do, I feel my heart drop.
I'm staring right at Malfoy, who's on his knees, blood all over his white shirt, while Cole has his wand pointed right at him. Malfoy looks like he's ready to give up. Tables are flipped over, glass is everywhere. Both boys are covered in cuts, and bruises already have begun forming. Malfoy lost his suit jacket and tie, and his shirt has several tears.
I stumble further inside, nearly every guest has escaped the ballroom by now. I move fast, but I'm too late, "Crucio!" Cole shouts, hitting Malfoy with one of the unforgivable curses. Malfoy drops even further to the ground, crying out in agony as he writhes in absolute pain. "No!" I shout out, thinking fast and disarming Cole.
The crippling pain stops and releases him, and Malfoy looks like he is fighting hard to stay awake. I wonder how long this had been going on before I got here.
It takes me a second to realize though, I just sentenced myself to a duel with Cole Remington.
I make eye contact with Malfoy one last time. He looks as though he has a million things to say to me, but I decide that can wait. I need to buy some time for him. "You just really love to fuck things up Ashwood, yeah?" Cole Remington sneers, the most lethal venom dripping from every word that comes from that filthy mouth of his.
"I've come to learn, it's my specialty," I sneer, a slow and sly smirk working it's way onto my face, as I master the mask of confidence and wield my wand in my right hand, treating it like a lethal weapon. Because if I recall everything I have learned so far in magic, it might be just a little bit short of lethal, and we can finally escape.
"You could've made things so easy Ashwood," Cole begins, fury in his evil eyes. "You could have kept the people you love out of trouble. Hell, you could've even kept him safe," He chuckles a deep sinister laugh as he throws an arm out toward Malfoy.
Something strikes me deep. My mouth falls open, and I realize, this is my mess. This is all my doing. I look to Malfoy, doubled over, bloody, on his knees on the ballroom floor and I feel a sharp pang inside of me. I had caused the wreckage of so many already.
"Don't let him inside your head!" Malfoy shouts suddenly. I stare at him, his eyes of steel burning back, looking right at me. My expression hardens, my eyes narrow, and I furrow my brows. Malfoy is right, he is just trying to get inside my head.
"Stop talking," I snarl out.
"Am I wrong though?" Cole laughs out harshly, humorlessly, throwing his arms out. "I mean look at your father. Do you want to know why we came after him? Leverage. Leverage so you will join us. This is all your fucking fault, Ashwood," He thunders, that same vicious smirk on his features.
"Stop it. Stop it!" I clamor.
"Why would I stop?" He laughs. "Look at you. You're just pathetic. You think you can show up in a pretty dress, find your father, return to Hogwarts and have your happily ever after?" He begins, taking several steps closer to me. "Well let me tell you something," he says in a low tone, only inches away as he tucks a strand of hair behind my ear. An act that would usually be considered affection, but right now is a mere act of gentle cruelty. "There will be no happily ever after when everyone you love winds up dead because of you," he breathes out, whispering against my neck as his hot breath hits my skin.
A small part of me wants to cower away, to run and run and never stop. But the overwhelming majority of me is furious. And he should know better than to make me angry.
Because when I get angry, I detonate like the walking time-bomb that I am.