~Astra~

I'd been literally buzzing with excitement for three days, ever since Mr. Longbottom had finally given in and agreed that Nico and I were making absolutely zero progress with Artemis Wu, and our next best shot was bringing Wren in. I hadn't been able to sit still since then (except briefly to do a broadcast on Sunday morning), bouncing in my seat or jumping around rooms. Charlotte had kicked me out of the infirmary for the day on Saturday because I'd nearly knocked a patient over.

Of course, I wasn't allowed to tell Faith or Charlotte why I was so excited. It was fine; I'd spent an hour squealing in Mrs. Potter's office when I'd first found out. She hadn't been able to stop smiling, so I could share my excitement with at least one person. It was a little annoying not being able to talk to anyone about it, though. I'd gotten used to talking to Faith or Marcus about almost everything except Nico Jasper himself (though not at the same time), because there was so much crossover between what we did that there wasn't much need to keep things quiet. It had been one of the hardest struggles of my life to not tell everyone person I saw that I was finally getting to see one of my best friends again.

So when Wren knocked on the trapdoor, it took everything in my not to start screaming. That wouldn't do—I didn't want to scare her, after all. I opened the door, pulled her out of the hole, and hugged her as tightly as I could to make up for all the times I hadn't been able to.

Unfortunately, she looked about the same as she had in December. That is to say, far paler and more jittery than I was used to. As we talked about the sham of a trial Russey had forced her into, then the fact that my broadcast had made it all the way to Hogwarts that morning, I couldn't help studying her, trying to figure out if she was really all right. She claimed she was when we'd spoken over the mirror over a month ago, but it occurred to me she wouldn't have told me otherwise. Was she okay?

When Mrs. Potter showed up and distracted Wren, I swallowed my pride and took a few steps closer to Nico. "Is she okay?" I whispered.

He glanced over at her, seeming to really consider that before answering. "I... I'm not sure. It's so hard to tell, with her. I think that trial really rattled her yesterday."

"So she's normally better than this?"

"Well... marginally, I suppose." He looked down. "Poppy and I were already worried about her, to be honest. Think she's trying to convince us everything's fine, when really she's struggling."

I bit back a curse. "That'd be just like her." It took a moment for everything he'd said to hit me, but when it did, I couldn't help staring at him. "You and Poppy?"

His face turned red. "Yes. We were talking about it a week or two ago."

"Ah, yes, like you just casually discuss things all the time?"

He shrugged a bit, seeming very uncomfortable. "I mean... yes?"

"Bloody hell, what's wrong with her?"

"Honestly, I ask myself that." He let out a nervous-sounding chuckle. "Survival instincts must be shot, hmm?"

Was I missing something? I stared at him for a moment, not sure I wanted to believe it. "Has she gone completely mad?"

He winced. "Maybe. I don't know. I wasn't trying to make her like me. I don't know how that happened."

"Are you saying you're friends?"

"Well... she said that..." Nico was looking down, acting as if the whole concept was foreign and strange. "I didn't try to force... I mean, I don't want her to feel—"

"Well," Mrs. Potter's voice cut through, and I realized she was talking to all of us now. "I'd say we have a little time to spare, wouldn't you? Wren, I'd love to know how you're doing, and I'm sure Astra would as well. We can find somewhere more comfortable for that."

I shot one last confused glance at Nico, who was looking anywhere but at me, then determined that if Poppy Stevens was going to lower her standards for friends this much, that was her problem. I certainly couldn't worry about that. I followed Mrs. Potter and Wren out of the room without a second thought.

Wren spent a lot of time talking about things that had happened and far less about how she was doing, despite the repeated, very pointed questions I asked. Somehow, she dodged them without making it seem like she was trying to, which was a skill I envied her of even if it did make me want to shake her just then. She didn't acknowledge, and maybe didn't notice, the fact that she jumped at every noise (even my voice, sometimes), fiddled with the end of sleeve so much I thought she might rip it, and kept staring at the floor. For some reason, Mrs. Potter seemed content with what Wren was telling her. Maybe she had some sort of mom-sense that let her read through the lines. I'd have to ask her what she thought later.

Nico was the one who finally reminded us that he and Wren could eventually be missed at school, and it was probably a good idea to get started. Mrs. Potter and I had decided that morning that it would be a good idea to not spring Wren on Artemis immediately, and maybe spend a minute or two warming her up to the idea, so when we got to her room and Mrs. Potter pulled Wren back to say something else, Nico and I just walked in.

Artemis was sitting on the floor today, leaning back against the wall and staring into space. She barely stirred when we walked in, except to roll her eyes. I grinned, determined to be cheerful even if she wasn't going to be cooperative. "Hey, Artemis! We're back!"

"I can see that," she said dully. "Do you have to be?"

"Unfortunately." Nico walked over to crouch down about two meters away from her. "We've got a surprise today. Another visitor."

"Awesome." She sighed. "I guess I can't say no?"

"I don't think you'll want to." I stepped back towards the door and poked my head out. Wren and Mrs. Potter didn't look like they were deep in a serious conversation, at least. I raised an eyebrow at her, trying not to grin at how surprised Artemis was about to be. "Hey, are you ready?"

Wren smiled brightly at me and nodded. That looked more like her. She followed me through the door, and I turned back just in time to see Artemis's eyes widen. "How are you here?"

"James and I escaped," Wren said quietly, taking a few steps forward. "I.... um... how are you doing?"

"I don't think I need to answer that." She didn't move as Wren approached her and sat down on the floor closer than I would have expected. I followed, keeping a respectful distance myself. Not that Artemis seemed to notice.

"I'm sorry you're here," Wren said after a moment. "I know how horrible it feels to be a prisoner."

That seemed to take Artemis by surprise. She hesitated, then nodded just a bit. "I guess you would."

"Have they been good to you so far?"

"I know how this works. They're trying to make me comfortable, then catch me off guard. Hurt me."

"Why would they have waited this long to hurt you? It's been three months, hasn't it?"

"They're trying to get in my head?" Artemis shrugged, her tone almost seeming a little unsure. "Mind games. Maybe that's the next best thing when you don't have a legilimens."

As unobtrusively as I could, I glanced over at Nico. He was watching them talk with wide eyes, and just shook his head slightly when he realized I was looking at him. He seemed just as at a loss as I was. I could hardly believe it. She was acting less defensive after a minute of talking to Wren than I'd ever seen her act, period. Maybe this actually would work.

"Maybe," Wren conceded, nodding slowly. "Or... maybe... they're truly not going to hurt you?"

"That can't be true." She was staring at Wren. I felt like Nico and I weren't even there, honestly. It was just those two. "It can't."

"Why?"

"Because it can't. The DA is evil."

"Stillens told you that, didn't he?" Artemis didn't deny it, and Wren sighed. "He also said all kinds of things about me, and most of those aren't true, are they?"

"I don't know." Artemis shrugged, suddenly seeming as obstinate as she normally was. "I don't really know you."

"What do you want to know?"

She studied my friend for a moment, then shook her head. "You're the kind of person people want to trust, you know? I really wish I could believe the things you say."

"You can't?"

"No? You're a liar."

I nearly jumped up to slam the girl against the wall, but one sharp look from Wren stilled me. She glanced back to Artemis with a furrowed brow. "You told me once you thought I was misled. Which one is it?"

"What?"

"Am I a liar, or am I misled?"

Artemis opened her mouth again, then paused to ponder that. After a moment, she shook her head. "I'd like to think you're just misled, but I guess it doesn't really matter. Either way, you're wrong."

Wren nodded slowly. "How old were you when they told you about Stillens?"

She blinked. "What do you mean?"

"I'm just curious." Wren shrugged. "I'd never heard his name before I was eleven, and by then I was already being used by him. He murdered my grandfather over Christmas break that year, and that was the day that I met him. Did you always know about him?"

Artemis's eyes had gone wide, but I couldn't tell if she believed that or if she was just appalled at the thought. After a moment, she shook her head. "I was probably thirteen or fourteen when my mom and dad started talking about him with me. I'd been too young to worry about politics before then."

That's what this was to her? Politics? I struggled not to roll my eyes, partly because Wren had glanced at me again. When she seemed content that I wasn't going to have some angry outburst, she continued. "But they just talked to you about him?"

"I mean, my dad's an auror." Artemis shrugged. "I knew he was doing missions while I was at school. You know how that works. But that was it, honestly. My parents wanted me to have a normal time at school. They're not actually insane."

"Like my parents?" Wren smiled weakly. "That's good. I wouldn't wish mine on anyone."

"I've never met your father," Artemis said quietly, "but I've heard horrible things. And of course, your mother isn't much better. I'm sorry."

"It's fine." She shrugged, looking down. "There's a reason I told you the Potters were like my family."

"Because you don't claim yours," Artemis guessed. She nodded slowly. "I can understand that. It's just sad that you lumped Stillens in with them."

Wren closed her eyes tightly. For a moment I thought she was going to cry, but she just shook her head. "Did you know I was raised by my grandparents?"

Artemis shook her head, then said, "No," when she realized Wren couldn't see her.

"My grandmother was his older sister. They didn't want anything to do with Stillens. They just wanted to take me and go somewhere far away, leave it all alone. They weren't going to fight, just go live their lives somewhere else. With me." She took a deep breath that looked a little shaky, and I scooted closer to put my hand on her shoulder. Wren leaned her head over just a bit before turning back to Artemis. "Instead, Stillens killed them. Both of them. I had to watch both of them die."

A beat passed, and Artemis pursed her lips, seeming conflicted. She shook her head. "That doesn't make any sense."

"It's what happened." Wren was fiddling with her sleeve again. "Maybe I didn't get it all at the time. Maybe there was some argument. But he didn't have to make me watch, did he?"

Artemis shook her head, not meeting Wren's eyes. "You... you're lying. Manipulating me."

Wren took my hand at that second, which probably stopped me from leaping across the room to strangle Artemis. Instead, I glanced over at her and found a very pained expression on her face. "I've never lied to you."

"That's what you do!" Artemis glanced up, looking both angry and scared all of the sudden. "You're a pathological liar!"

"You actually believe that?" Wren winced. "That hurts."

"Stillens told me himself. You were there." She tilted her chin up, as if daring any of us to contradict her. "Why would he lie about his own family like that? It just reflects badly on him."

"The alternative is that I'm not lying about any of this, and I think that reflects a little worse."

Artemis was shaking her head, eyes closed. It seemed like Wren might have gone a little too hard, that she might be closing off now. "That doesn't prove anything," she said after a moment. "It's circumstantial."

"Bloody hell," Nico muttered. It took everything in me to keep my mouth closed. What was wrong with this girl? How could she keep brushing everything off like this? Wren squeezed my hand, and I squeezed it back. At least she didn't seem discouraged yet.

"Nico, do you have her file?" Wren asked quietly.

"I've already seen that," Artemis cut in, eyes narrowing. "You can't surprise with some awful lie from that thing."

"You don't have to see it," Wren said with a light shrug. "I just wanted to look at it for a moment."

Nico waved his wand and pulled up the file, then pushed it over to Wren and me. I looked over her shoulder and she flipped through it, curious what she was looking for. I was sure she'd combed through the whole thing before, maybe even more than Nico and I had over the past three weeks. Surely she already knew what was in it.

After a minute or two of silence, Wren glanced up at Artemis. "This says you were placed with your adoptive parents when you were six."

"Impossible."

Wren shrugged as if she didn't necessarily disagree. "All right. Prove it."

"Excuse me?" Artemis blinked. I couldn't blame her; I had no idea what Wren was getting at there.

"You must remember things before that, right?" Wren asked. "Memories with your family? If you do, then that means this file must be wrong."

Artemis stared at her for a moment. I couldn't tell if she was frustrated or simply thinking through the logic. I wasn't quite sure I understood the logic. Wouldn't they have given her some sort of fake memory, so that there wasn't a suspicious gap? Was that something they could even do? Why had Artemis never noticed the lack of memories before? When I glanced at Nico, though, his eyes had widened hopefully. Maybe this would work?

After a moment, Artemis shrugged. "Of course I have memories."

"Okay." Wren smiled kindly. "Tell me about some of them."

She opened her mouth, then frowned. "I mean... it's kind of hard to just think of things off the top of my head."

"Think about things you know happened, and try to remember them." Wren glanced at me. "Like... do you remember starting kindergarten? Or maybe what books your mom read you when you? What your birthday parties were like?"

Artemis hesitated, then shook her head. "I mean, it's not that weird to not have a lot of memories from when you were little. It doesn't prove anything."

I raised an eyebrow. "Maybe if we were talking about when you were a toddler. I was four when my foster siblings were born, and I remember that like it was yesterday. I can still remember what it was like before they were born, too, when my foster parents actually cared about me."

"My aunt died before I turned five," Nico offered. "I don't remember her, exactly, but I remember going to her funeral with my parents. My mum yelled at me for trying to run around the graves."

"I remember the day my mother left me with my grandparents," Wren said in a small voice. "I cried for hours, even when my grandmother pulled out all of my mother's old toys for me to play with. I was only three."

She wasn't looking at any of us anymore. Her gaze had turned inward, a deep frown on her face as she seemed to search for any scrap of memory from before she was six. A hint of panic stole into her expression. I felt my heart twist at the thought of how terrifying this must be for her, to finally notice the missing puzzle pieces in her life after so long. To realize what missing pieces meant.

"What the hell," Artemis said softly. She shook her head, then looked up at Wren, eyes wide. "This can't be true. It can't."

Wren leaned forward to put her hand on Artemis's knee. "It's a lot, I know. I'm sorry."

"No!" Artemis pulled back from her. "It can't be! That would mean... everything is a lie. All of it. This can't be real. I won't believe it."

Nico had come a little closer. "You can't remember anything at all, can you?"

"There has to be something." She shook her head, seeming a little frantic now. "I'm... I'm missing something, I have to be..."

"Artemis," Nico said firmly, "you're not missing anything. Your memories were erased so that you'd believe the stories they told you about who you are, and who Stillens is."

She shook her head again, then buried her face in her hands. "No. No, no, no, that can't be true..."

"I can put them back," he said softly, almost gently. "I promise, if there's nothing missing, it won't work. Nothing will happen. But if your memories have been erased, I can restore them."

Slowly, Artemis raised her head. She glanced at each of us, almost as if she was waiting for one of us to admit we were joking, or offer another explanation. Her eyes looked terrified when they met mine and I tried to give her an encouraging smile, though it probably just looked grim. She closed her eyes tightly, drew in a deep breath, and said, "Fine. But it won't work."

I stifled a gasp, and glanced at Nico quickly. He'd remained calm, but I could tell that was a struggle by the way his eyes were darting around her face, thinly veiled excitement in them. I wanted to jump up and down, so I couldn't fault him for that. He inched forward until he was sitting in front of her, then held out his hand. "It shouldn't take long."

Artemis stared at his hand, hesitating. I couldn't tell if she was about to cry or simply scared about being at a point of no return. She looked up, seeming to search for Wren, and my friend scooted over to her. "It'll be okay," she said softly. "He's done this before."

A nod, then Artemis took both of their hands. I held my breath as Nico lifted his wand, closed his eyes, and apparently started the process. Tense silence reigned. Artemis was shaking slightly, wincing every once in a while even though I was pretty sure this wasn't supposed to be painful. Nico looked strained, but I remembered that had happened before with Cassie. When I scooted closer to Wren, she rested her head on my shoulder, watching the whole thing with wide eyes.

So much build up for something that lasted only a few minutes. Nico sat back, paler than normal, like maybe he'd overextended himself. At the same moment, Artemis drew in her breath sharply. She blinked a few times as she opened her eyes, and I bit my lip at the pain I saw in her expression. Wren sat up quickly, seeming alarmed. "Artemis?"

Slowly, Artemis looked up, a haunted look in her eyes. I could see her hands shaking and her breathing becoming more jagged. She stared at Wren for a moment before shaking her head slowly, like she was in a daze. "Oh my gosh," she whispered.

Wren reached over to put her hand on Artemis's arm, and the girl crumpled into her. I looked away as she started crying, trying to give her some semblance of privacy. At least when Cassie's memories had been restored, it hadn't affected her idea of her family or Stillens, because he and the Predatels had been so horrible to her. She hadn't had to restructure her entire view of the world at the same time as she was confronting the worst memories she had.

Nico was watching me, and I leaned towards him, raising an eyebrow. "The file didn't do it justice," he whispered.

I winced in spite of myself. "How is that possible?"

"I suppose there were things they didn't think were necessary to write down." He shrugged. "I think we'll be helping her unpack everything for a long time."

I shot a glance back towards the others. Artemis seemed to be pulling herself together quickly, wiping her eyes and taking deep breaths. Wren was whispering something that sounded soothing, but I couldn't tell if it was having any effect on her.

When she looked up, it was directly at me, which caught me by surprise. I tried not to let any wariness show, but the sad look in her eyes wiped it away quickly anyway. She took a deep breath, and in a much steadier voice than I think I could have pulled off in her position, she said, "I'm so sorry, Astra."

My eyes widened, and I found myself shaking my head without even thinking about it. "For what? Tracking me? There's nothing to be sorry for."

"They had me doing so many horrible things..."

"There's literally no way you could've known," I said firmly. "That's the whole point of this, isn't it? You were a victim, too."

"I don't think you can be blamed for being brainwashed," Nico agreed. "They've been indoctrinating you since you were a child."

Artemis pulled her legs up to her chest, resting her chin on her knees. She blinked, eyes shining with tears still unshed, but it didn't seem like she was about to cry again. Instead, she shook her head slowly. "I don't understand. My parents... they really do love me. I know they do. How could they do this?"

That, I had no idea how to answer. All my parental figures had either made no show of love, or genuinely loved me. I glanced unsurely at Wren and found my friend wincing. "Sometimes... sometimes parents think that they're doing what's best for you. Even when it's horrible, and wrong, and even evil. They can somehow justify it by telling themselves it's what's best, what's loving."

Artemis pursed her lips. "My parents have always seemed so good, and kind, and compassionate."

"It's easy to act that way toward the people you love," Wren said softly. "You can hide your cruelty from them, save it for when they're not around. And... I mean, maybe your parents are just deceived, too?"

Nico shook his head slightly, which meant her file clearly contradicted that. Luckily, Artemis seemed to have already come to that conclusion. "There's no way. They hid so much from me. Normal, good people wouldn't be able to do that, not for this long."

There wasn't much to say to that. Nico had a stony expression on his face as he stared at the floor. Wren seemed torn between trying to comfort Artemis more and not wanting to make it worse. I just sat there, feeling particularly useless at all of this. Wasn't it lucky that I'd be the one still here after they left?

Artemis glanced up after a moment. "Was my older brother kidnapped, too?"

Nico raised an eyebrow. "Your brother?"

"My adopted brother, I guess." She frowned, seeming genuinely concerned. "His name is Daniel. He's 21, I think, or maybe 22 now? I don't actually know what the date is..." She shook her head. "I guess that doesn't matter. He works at the Daily Prophet, if that helps. He's been with my family at least as long as I have, but if I was one of these kidnapped children, maybe he was, too?"

Nico frowned. "I'm not sure. There's literally dozens of files. We'd have to go back through..."

Daniel Wu... I swore softly, and everyone turned to look at me. Artemis looked alarmed enough that I felt bad I was about to make it worse. "I think I've met your brother."

Her eyes widened. "You have?"

"A few years ago." I glanced at Wren and got to watch her eyes widen as she realized where I was going with this. "When he was an intern. You know the head editor of the Prophet works for Stillens, I guess?" She nodded. "Well... your brother kind of... turned us in to him?"

Her hand covered her mouth as her eyes widened. "Oh, I'm so sorry," she whispered, glancing between Wren and me. "He didn't... I'm sure he wouldn't have..."

"It turned out all right," Wren said quickly. "Don't worry."

"It's likely that he was kidnapped, too," Nico said matter-of-factly. "Considering he's only a few years older than you, at least. It would have been harder to get a child on board with lying. If he'd been kidnapped too, they could have just obliviated him again. Or they could have even placed you both at the same time."

Artemis nodded slowly, not seeming very comforted by that. "He's in it deep, isn't he?"

Wren and I exchanged a look that clearly said should we tell her? I ended up grimacing. "I think so. He was Kyler Dillam's favorite as an intern, from what I've heard, and I bet it hasn't changed much since then."

Her lip trembled, and I nearly winced. Maybe that hadn't been the best thing to say. I watched her take a deep breath and shake her head. "He can't know. There's no way. He must have been kidnapped, too." She blinked quickly. "He's not a bad person..."

Wren patted her shoulder. "Of course he's not. I'm sure we'll be able to find a file on him."

"I'll send it back here as soon as we do," Nico added. "Well, a physical copy." He waved the ghostly imprint of Artemis's file away. "We can get you a physical copy of yours, too. Longbottom should have one."

Artemis drew back a bit at the mention of Mr. Longbottom. She cast a wary glance at each of us. "The DA... they're really the good guys?"

Wren nodded quickly, and Nico leaned forward, answering before I could. "I started out on Stillens' side, too. Voluntarily, of course, which is far worse. I heard all the same things about the DA that you have, and I wanted nothing to do with them until I realized that Stillens was the worst evil anything could be, so the DA couldn't possibly be as bad. And they're not. There are truly good people here, who want to help you. They were willing to help even me. There's nothing to be afraid of, I promise."

Artemis nodding slowly, then glanced at me, as if she wanted a second opinion. I resisted the urge to shoot a smug smile at Nico and remained serious. "I wasn't with the DA when you were tracking me, but it wasn't because I didn't trust them. I just didn't want anyone to get hurt trying to protect me. But that's the thing, everyone here would sacrifice themselves to protect others, to fight for a good that's bigger than themselves. You're safe here."

When she turned to Wren, my friend was already smiling kindly. "They're wonderful, Artemis. Really. They can help you, if you let them."

She took a deep breath, then nodded again. "Okay. Yeah. I guess I can believe anything, now."

I laughed in spite of myself, and she looked up at me with a slight smile. It had worked. I could hardly believe it had worked. Months of talking with her, weeks of trying to restore her memories, and all it had took was an hour with Wren. Incredible.

We sent Nico off to get Mrs. Potter, who went to get Mr. Longbottom. When they got back, it was far past the time when Nico and Wren should have gone back to school, and after a long hug between Artemis and Wren, they slipped out. Mrs. Potter and Mr. Longbottom stayed back to start the process of inducting Artemis into the DA, telling her the things she needed to know and figuring out how she was doing, so I saw Nico and Wren out.

"How did you know her memories would be missing?" I asked as we walked back to the room with the trapdoor to the tunnels. "How did you know that would work?"

"Well... yesterday, Nico restored Isla Foster's memories. She'd realized she didn't remember anything before the summer."

I raised an eyebrow. "Does Haverna know you did that?"

"She asked me to!" Nico exclaimed, frowning at me. "I'm not a moron, Lestrange."

"It's hard to tell." I turned back to Wren, changing the subject before she could stick up for him. "How are you, though? Really?"

Wren faltered. "I... I mean, I already told you how I was doing."

"No, you told me a lot of what you were doing. Not how."

Wren glanced between us, cheeks tinging with pink. "I'm fine, really."

"No, you're not," Nico said shortly. "She wouldn't be asking if she didn't know you weren't."

Wren winced. "I mean... I don't..." She sighed, then glanced back at me. "I'm doing better than I was fourth year, in a lot of ways. But it's still hard, adjusting. I promise, I'm not isolating myself or trying to keep it all in." She hesitated, then amended, "Well... I guess I am. But I have to, with most people. I've been talking to Ciara, though. I'm trying to sort through it all, I promise..."

I studied her for a moment. Was she just lying to make me feel better? I guess Nico would have contradicted it, if she was. And she'd grown a lot since fourth year, I guess. It was nice to hear her acknowledge that she couldn't do this on her own. Maybe that meant she really wasn't trying to.

With a slight smile, I reached out to hug her. "I'm sorry I'm not with you."

"I'm glad you're here, and you're safe," she said softly, which wasn't the same thing as saying it was okay. "We're all doing what we have to, right?"

"I suppose." I pulled back, looking down. "I just wish it didn't have to take us all so far apart."

"Me too. I love you, and I do miss you a lot." She glanced between me and Nico before cracking an almost-nervous smile. "And I promise I'll try to stop being so closed off about how I'm doing, if that'll make you feel better?"

"I'll hold you to that," Nico said, and for once I was grateful that he genuinely seemed to care about her, because I wasn't really in a position to do that.

"He's going to report back to me, next time he's here," I decided out loud, raising an eyebrow at Wren. "So you'd better keep that promise."

Nico shot me a surprised look, but just nodded. "Yes. I'll do that. Not to threaten you, or anything, though."

"No, it's okay." Wren smiled softly at me. "I know she's just worried. I don't mind."

I hugged her tightly one more time, then waved as they descended into the tunnels. My heart twisted as I closed the trapdoor above them and I realized I probably wouldn't see her again for months. Her or any of our friends. If I ever saw some of them again.

No. I closed my eyes tightly, hot tears behind my eyelids. I couldn't think like that. If I let myself think like that, I wouldn't be able to go on, and we couldn't afford that. Not when Artemis needed a friend, and the DA needed a spokesperson, and my family needed to know I was safe here. I was happy to have seen Wren, and if I was lucky we'd convince Mr. Longbottom to let her come back soon. That was enough for now. That was all I could handle. 

~~~~

I don't know if I ever mentioned Daniel Wu's last name in the fifth or sixth book, but I did genuinely  give two supposedly unrelated characters the same last name on accident, I swear. I didn't even realize it until this very chapter. Literally,  this was my thought process: "huh, it would work really well for Artemis to have an older sibling she's worried about," then, "well, wouldn't it have been nice if I'd thought ahead a few books ago and that one other intern at the Prophet could have been her brother" then I sighed at missed opportunities and went in to put in a new entry on my list of Stillensy people. It was then that I noticed that his name has been Daniel Wu this whole time and I am the luckiest person alive.

Question of the Day: You can hug exactly one character in the story right now. Who's it going to be?

Answer: Albus, my poor baby.  Or maybe Colette. They're both just going through it. 

Vote and comment!

~Elli

Word count: 5518