We Will Shine {Book 6 in the Star of Gryffindor Series}

Chapter 3 - Miracles

~Wren~

I hardly made it through the Potters' kitchen door before I'd sunk down to the floor, my legs shaking so hard I couldn't stand anymore. I'm alive. I'm back. It was all okay.

"Wren?" James must have come back downstairs to wait for me, because he was in the doorway now. "Oh Merlin, you made it..." He dropped to his knees beside me.

"They believed me," I said, suddenly blinking back tears. They actually believed me. It had worked.

James pulled me into his arms. "I was so worried," he whispered. "But it's all okay now. You're safe." We sat for a few minutes. I was just trying to soak it all in. I hadn't realized how terrified I'd been until now, when it was all past. With that terror gone, it left a void, exhaustion. All I could do was cling to James and be grateful for miracles.

"It worked," I said, finally pushing back from him so I could look at his face. "The false memory worked."

"I knew you could do it," James said, smiling.

My own smile faded. "Zaria Hempsey wants to kill me."

"Yeah? I'll kill her first." James said it like he was joking, an easy smile on his face, but I had a scary feeling that he wasn't.

"She didn't believe me," I explained, trying to ignore that. "She said she's going to prove I'm a traitor. I'm not sure how she plans to do that, but..."

James pursed his lips. "She did?" He shook his head. "Well, she can try. She won't be able to. You and Dad take too many precautions for that."

I wasn't so sure, but I didn't say that. Instead, I smiled and told him about everything else. Zaria's version of the story. My parents' relief. My uncle's hint about another spy at Hogwarts. And if I left out the part where Zaria slammed me into a wall and promised to drag me to Hell with her, who can blame me?

After a few minutes, James mentioned that his parents would probably want to see me soon. I remembered the compact, still open in my pocket, and laughed. They'd probably been listening to all of this. "I think I can stand up."

"Like Hell." James helped me to my feet, then put his arm around my waist. "Lean on me, okay?"

"I'm not helpless," I pointed out. That didn't stop me from leaning into him. I was completely exhausted, if I was being honest. "Anyway, what's your mom going to say?"  I teased.

James shrugged as we started up the stairs. "I don't care what Mum says. Not tonight."

Mrs. Potter opened their door before James reached for the knob. He raised an eyebrow at her, defiantly, and didn't move away from me. She hardly seemed to notice. "Wren!" Half a second later, she'd pulled me into a hug. It caught me off guard, and for a moment I just stood there, blinking. Slowly, though, I put my arms around her, and suddenly the tears I'd been holding back couldn't stop. Tears of exhaustion, and relief, and terror, and all the whirlwind of emotions flowing through me. A hurricane was raging inside of me, and I couldn't sort out any of it right then. All I could do was hold on and wait for it to die down.

When Mrs. Potter finally let me go, I was surprised to see Albus behind her, and Lily with him. He threw his arms around me, almost knocking me over. "Oh Merlin, Wren, that all sounded so horrible, and I'm so glad you're okay." He pulled back, his hands on my arms as he searched my face. "You are okay, right?"

I nodded, smiling. "How did you two find out?"

"Come sit," Mr. Potter said. He, Lily, and Mrs. Potter were seated on the floor in front of the bed. I realized it was covered in pillows and blankets, as if they'd all set up camp there to wait for me. Slowly, I sat down, and Mr. Potter explained that James had come upstairs after I'd left to yell at his parents for not telling him. Under normal circumstances, he would've been grounded, but they couldn't blame him for being upset. Anyway, once he'd heard it was my own idea to not tell him, he'd backed down and apologized.