Two Souls

Chapter Ninety Three

"It'll take hours to explore this goddamn area," Grayson mutters, pulling out his wand. "Lumos!" A bright light emerges from the tip of his wand and he moves it around his surroundings carefully. "How do we even know she's here for sure? I could be totally wrong, Amelia."

"We have nowhere else to start from," I chastise. "Francesca! Francesca, are you down here?"

The two of us walk deeper into the dungeons. By the time we make it to a set of stairs, it's so painfully dark that even our light charms are failing to give us sight inside the dungeons.

"So, since we're here, do you care to explain what prompted you to return here all of a sudden?" Grayson asks me expectantly.

I sigh, knowing he'd ask. "Do you want the whole story?"

"Every bit of it."

"Er — I became a Death Eater. I know, I know, what was I thinking? I did it because I love him, I love Draco Malfoy. We went from hating each other to giving our whole lives to each other —"

" — Amelia Grey! You're dating Draco Malfoy and didn't say anything to me?" Grayson ask. I can tell by just his tone that he's giving me a scolding look.

"Let me finish!" I blush. "We have a magical bond, you know that. Basically, my mother and the Dark Lord did the deed and I'm his daughter. The Dark Lord made an Unbreakable Vow that he'd never kill me, so I cannot he killed by him. He's also the reason I'm a Petrinedum. Anyways, he had Draco kill me, but the two of us can't use dark magic on each other. So I'm alive and he thinks I'm dead."

Grayson is quiet for a long time after that.

"So you're telling me you moved to England, nearly die for three years in a row, and want to return?" Grayson asks in complete and utter shock. "Have you gone crazy? Are you under the Imperius Curse?"

I scoff. "No! Ask me something."

"Hmm . . . what was the Thunderbird Common Room password our second year?" Grayson asks with narrow eyes.

"Wasn't it like Phoenix Feathers or something?" I ask. "That was so long ago!"

Grayson chuckles. "I don't even remember."

"We should probably explore what's down these stairs," I tell him wistfully. "I didn't even know Ilvermorny went deeper than the dungeons."

"It doesn't, I don't think.," Grayson mumbles. "But we have nowhere else to go . . . I'll go first."

The two of us hesitantly make our way down the dark stairs. It feels like we're walking for an hour before we finally reach the bottom.

"This is useless," I groan. "I'm sorry for making us go down here. We're never going to find —"

" — Francesca?" Grayson asks. "Lumos! Oh Merlin, you look so different! Not a bad different, it's nice! Did you dye your hair?"

Grayson points his wand in front of him and my dear friend is exposed in the light. I haven't seen her in three years but she's certainly changed quite a lot. Her ebony colored hair has been replaced with a shade of dark brown and she's gotten much taller. She seems to be around five feet ten inches, just slightly below Grayson's height.

"Grayson, Amelia . . . how did you find me?"

"We need your help," I tell Francesca anxiously. I tell her about everything that has happened in the past three years — The Triwizard Tournament, Voldemort's return for three years in a row, the Department of Mysteries at the end of fifth year, having a magical bond with Draco because of a prophecy, becoming a Death Eater, falling in love with Draco after hating him, being a Petrinedum and Voldemort's daughter.

Francesca raises an eyebrow. "So you want Grayson and I to come all the way to Europe with you so we can save your boyfriend? You may be immortal to You Know Who but we're certainly not."

"Don't you want to help save the Wizarding World?" Grayson argues to Francesca. "Everything will be fine!"

"No, everything will not be fine! This isn't some stupid adventurer, Grayson, this is real life. People are dying left and right. I've been safe here for two years, why the hell would I leave now?"

I sigh. "Haven't you gotten bored down here in darkness and isolation? You may be safe but you're torturing yourself, Francesca."

"We're not saying you have to come with us, but you're going to miss a lot . . ." Grayson adds.

Francesca raises an eyebrow and looks between the two of us. "Fine. But we aren't going empty-handed. We need a plan."

Francesca's stern look morphs into a smile. I know she's missed us just as much as we've missed her. The three of us come together and give each other a much needed three way hug.

"I think we need to get out of here," Grayson whispers. "I hear footsteps . . ."

The three of us look up, and sure enough we hear loud footsteps directly above us.

"They're going to know we've been here!" Francesca cries. "We'll all be expelled or worse — thrown into Azkaban!" Her face pales.

"They wouldn't throw us in Azkaban for —"

"The door!" A deep voice from upstairs says and I recognize it as Headmaster Fontaine. "Who's down there? Reveal yourselves!"

"All this time in hiding just to be sent to Azkaban," Francesca says, throwing her face in her hands. "We can Apparate anywhere except Ilvermorny —"

Apparition!

"I think I might be able to Apparate us," I tell my friends, grabbing each of their hands.

"I'm coming down!" Fontaine calls.

I close my eyes and squeeze their hands tighter. Slowly, I imagine Grayon's small, familiar bedroom. His oak floors, his desk piled with books, his Quidditch posters in his room. I imagine it all.

Destination. Determination. Deliberation.

I open my eyes.

"Amelia, you've done it!" Francesca exclaims, wrapping her arms around me happily. "Who knew you'd be so powerful with magic? That was amazing!"

Grayson nods. "Nearly got expelled for that little act," He chuckles.

I hesitate. "Er — guys. I don't think this mission would allow us to return for our seventh year . . ."

Instead of reacting with anger and hostility, Grayson nods serenely. "I know."

Francesca breathes. "We're in this together."

I hug my friends in the silence of Grayson's room. We're in this together. Draco, here we come.

——
:0 I miss writing about Draco already :(( He'll return in like 1-3 ish chapters I still gotta figure it out

I'm deciding between 2 endings of the book right now.... :)