This book is a sequel to Faux Amour so, if you haven't read that first, please do. There are immediate spoilers ahead.
Hope y'all enjoy 💛

The forest was pitch black around Frank. The leaves crunched under his feet as his weight shifted just slightly.

He couldn't move.

He just stood.

Muffled voices swam through the air around him. He couldn't understand them. His head was numb and buzzing.

Something was pulled from his grip. Was he holding something? He wasn't sure. He was still frozen. He couldn't even move as a green light began to fill the blackness.

Frank shot upright in his bed, screaming.

The forest was gone. The light was gone. He was gone; he was okay.

He sucked in a breath and pressed his lips tightly together. He had the nightmare again, the same nightmare he had every night since what happened during his previous year at Hogwarts. He was still shaking as he pulled his knees close to his chest and lowered his head to take a breath.

It was months ago, but it continued to haunt him. It was hard to remember outside of his dreams, but he had been there as a fellow housemate had died. She had manipulated several students, including himself, but that fact hardly made her death easier. She was manipulated herself, just to be killed by her manipulator... Her own mother.

Frank raised his head with a gulp. Jamia was killed by her own mother. What parent could intentionally kill their child? It wasn't her first crime, but it was one that was punished severely.

Frank shut his eyes. He needed to get some sleep. Tomorrow he was set to board the train and go back to Hogwarts. He couldn't avoid his fifth year of school, though his parents had discussed it.

Frank's heart had slowed from its rapid pace. He reopened his eyes, letting them trail to his bedside table where his wand rested.

He could practically feel it being ripped from his grip.

He turned away from the wand. He'd have to use it at school. It's not like it had done the killing, though. He should be fine. School would be fine.

Right?

---

Gerard sat quietly in the backseat of his father's car as his mother drove towards Kings Cross. Mikey sat in the front seat, arguing with their mother.

"You can't still be considering not letting us go!" Mikey exclaimed, "Mum, we're fine! It's over and done with."

"That's supposed to make me feel better?" Their mother scoffed, "You were in St. Mungo's! Do you know how scared I was, especially after finding out another student had died!?"

Mikey shook his head. "We didn't, though! We-"

"So many students were admitted, Michael." Their mother cut him off, shaking her head. "That's not normal!"

"Having a war on campus isn't normal either." Gerard muttered, keeping his gaze on the passing buildings. "Your parents still let you attend school."

Silence filled the car.

"Times were different, Gerard." His mother finally spoke in a near whisper. "Things were very uncertain."

"Gran still let you go." Gerard turned to look at the back of his mother's seat. "Your war ended on the castle grounds and ours ended there too. We still have two years after this."

He met his mother's eyes for just an instant before looking away again. He hated arguing, but he couldn't stand being home or listening to the argument anymore. His mother constantly hovered since the incident. His father tried to understand, but he had limited knowledge of the magic world, even after all this time of being married to a witch.

He wanted to be back with people who had been part of what happened last year. He wanted to be back at school with his friends in his dorm by the kitchens.

He wanted to see Frank.

Gerard smiled at the thought of the Slytherin. Mitch, the miniature badger that Frank had given him for Christmas last year, was currently curled up in his pocket. Things had been rough last year. Love potions, curses, and other things... Gerard frowned with the last thought. He had felt so low... He never wanted to feel like that again.

"We'll be fine, mum." Mikey said, softly, as the car pulled up to the station.

Their mother said nothing in response. Mikey leaned over to hug her before quickly exiting the car.

Gerard hesitated. "I love you, mum." He spoke quietly, avoiding looking at her.

"I'll see you at holiday, sweetie." His mother turned back to face him with a strained smile. She was still worried. Gerard doubted that she'd ever stop, which brought a small smile to his lips.

He crawled up and gave her a hug. "Swear I'll keep Mikey out of trouble."

She chuckled, holding onto him tightly. "Keep yourself out of trouble too."

"Swear." Gerard promised.

Minutes later, Gerard was rushing through the magical platform at 9¾ right after Mikey. Relief rushed over him as the whistle of the Hogwarts Express filled the air. The crowded platform felt so welcoming. Everyone here was preparing for another year of magic. Most of the people here were just fellow students, though worrisome parents could still be seen speckled throughout the many faces.

"I'll see you later, Gerard!" Mikey hollered as hell ran towards one of the train compartments. Gerard rolled his eyes with a laugh; Mikey was probably running off to sit with some other quidditch players.

Gerard made his way through the crowd at a much slower pace. He didn't want to accidentally push anyone out of the way, but he also had hopes of catching sight of a familiar face or two in the crowd. He was nearly at the train before someone called out his name.

He spun on his heel, hopping to find Frank, but was instead greeted by Ray. The other boy was already dressed in his house robes as he hurried over. "Gerard! How are you?"

"I'm good." Gerard grinned at his friend, "Looks like you can't wait to get back to school."

Ray stood tall, wearing a look of pride. "Well, since I'm a Prefect now..."

Gerard's eyes widened. "No way!"

Ray tapped his chest, which had the small badge pinned on to mark his new status. "Yes, Way!"

"That's awesome, Ray!" Gerard exclaimed as they boarded the train, "When did you find out?"

"Back when they sent our usual supplies letter. I got an extra notice with this inside!"

"I forgot prefects in our group would be chosen this year." Gerard pushed his hand over his short, white hair as he whistled. "Can't believe it's already fifth year."

Ray nodded. He stopped at an empty compartment and pulled the door open. "It's crazy... This year is going to be..." He trailed off.

Gerard stepped into the compartment during Ray's silence. Different. Weird. Painful? There were many different ways this new year at Hogwarts could be labeled. He frowned as he loaded his trunk into one of the overhead compartments.

"Room for two?"

Gerard turned to the door, quickly covering his mouth to keep from laughing. Pete stood in the doorway of the small room, carrying Patrick on his back. The Hufflepuff didn't even appear to be awake. He had an arm loosely around Pete's chest while his forehead was pressed against the back of Pete's neck.

"Sorry, we don't allow carry ons." Ray winked before laughing.

"Good holiday?" Gerard couldn't help the giggle that followed the question.

Pete stepped into the room, tapping Patrick's leg before lowering him into a seat. "Mine involved a lot of quidditch practice, but Patrick's involved something more," he raised his hands to mock air quotes, "professional."

Gerard looked down at Patrick, catching glimpse of a small badge on his robes as the strawberry blond tiredly rubbed his eyes. "Patrick! You're the Hufflepuff prefect?!"

Patrick yawned before smiling. "Yea. My parents didn't really get it at first, but they were proud. Pete's the one who got really excited."

Pete grinned widely, sitting down next to Patrick. "I'm dating a prefect." He teased before planting a kiss on the Hufflepuff's cheek. "Hope you liked your celebration gift of me showing up at your house to personally deliver a box of liquorice wands."

"I did, I'm not sure how my mum appreciated the random weirdo that appeared in her fireplace at near eleven o'clock at night."

"I apologized!"

Gerard sat down next to Ray, casting his gaze out the window. The person he had really hoped to see right away wasn't in sight. Was Frank on the train yet? Had he missed him? He couldn't see him through the train's growing trail of smoke that blocked his view.

"Gerard! Did you hear about the new candy stock at Honey Duke's?"

Gerard turned back to the group, who had moved on in conversation while his mind was elsewhere. He grinned. "No but, please, go on."

As that conversation blossomed, Frank barely managed to slip into a compartment with familiar faces. He had woken up late, due to his nightmares. Thankfully, however, he had made it to the platform before the train left.

"Three Slytherins enter a train cabin." Brendon joked when he saw Frank after stashing his trunk in an overhead compartment. "What's up!"

Frank shrugged, "Eh, just nearly missing trains. You?"

"Preparing myself to fail some O.W.L.S." Brendon laughed, "Holy shit do I feel unprepared."

"Fuck, the O.W.L.S." Frank slapped his hand against his forehead. How could he forget about the huge test that came with fifth year?

"What about you, Spence?" Brendon plopped down in the seat beside Spencer, who hadn't spoken the entire time Frank had been in the cabin. "Do you relate to our struggle?"

Spencer shrugged. He was looking out the window and watching the train slowly leave the platform behind.

"Dude, why are you so quiet?" Brendon asked as Frank sat down on the seats just across the space. "You didn't even say hi when I found you in here."

"Something wrong?" Frank asked.

Spencer shut his eyes. He inhaled a breath before sighing. "Melanie's not coming back to Hogwarts."

"What!?" Brendon exclaimed, leaning back with surprise.

Frank's eyes grew wide. He knew many parents had discussed pulling students from Hogwarts, but someone had actually followed through?

"Her parents said it's too dangerous." Spencer said, opening his eyes and looking down. "They put her in some other, foreign school. She's gone, so we..." Spencer trailed off. He brought his hands up to hide his face.

"Oh, shit..." The words escaped Frank's lips so softly that he almost didn't notice them. How many other parents actually pulled their children from Hogwarts? Would this slowly become more common? Was this somehow his fault, since his family was connected to the plot of Jamia's mother?..

"Spence, I'm really sorry to hear that." Brendon draped an arm around Spencer's shoulders.

Spencer said nothing, instead keeping his head in his hands.

Frank looked at the patterned floor, then out the train window. The scenery rushed past now, just like his cycling worries about the year to come.