~Albus~

All around me, people were screaming. Maybe I was one of them. Maybe it was just me. I don't know. But I was running faster than I ever had before, pushing past people without even wondering if I was using too much force. It didn't matter. Nothing mattered. Not if I couldn't save her.

It was Colette. It made no sense, I didn't understand how it could possibly be, but it was her. Colette was falling, Colette was about to die. I can't let Colette die.

I was still too far away when she was nearing the ground. Too far away to reach her, at least, but maybe not too far for a spell to reach her. I didn't have time to aim, to think, to wonder if this borrowed wand would even work. I just pointed and yelled, "Arresto momentum!"

Though I obviously should've cast the spell far earlier, I think it helped a little. Just as I burst out of the crowd, she hit the ground hard. Perhaps not as hard as she would have, but still, I heard a sickening thud, a crack, a cry. I fell to my knees at her side, begging for her to still be alive.

"Oh Merlin, Colette, oh my gosh." I pulled her head into my lap, as gently as I could while completely frantic. "No, no, no, Colette, what..."

She was still breathing. As I brushed her hair out of her face, she blinked up at me, eyes seeming to barely register what she was seeing. Her voice was a weak whisper when she finally recognized me. "Albus?"

"I'm here, it's okay." There was way too much blood pooling around us. When I moved my hand to support her head better, it was completely red. Her wand was snapped, a piece of it digging into my knee, and everything was lying at such an unnatural angle... "It's going to be okay, I swear."

Her eyelids were fluttering, like it was a struggle to keep them open. That wasn't a good sign, was it? She took in a shuddering breath. "Am I dead?"

"No." I realized my own hands were shaking as I pulled her closer. "No, you're not."

"Shit." She winced as she tried to shift her weight. "But... I thought... you're..."

"I'm not dead, either." I took her hand in mine, squeezing it tightly. "No one's going to die, all right? You're going to be okay. I... I promise."

"They told me you were dead," she whispered, her voice seeming almost like it was floating away. "I... I saw your body..."

"They lied. I'm right here, I swear."

She took a breath now that seemed half sob. "I'm sorry, Al. I'm so sorry. I couldn't do it."

"No, no, you've done amazing. You're—"

"I've done something terrible."

"It's not your fault." I closed my eyes tightly. "I didn't want to leave you."

"I think... they have to find a way to undo it. Give them back their magic. You have to tell them... they have to undo it."

"Tell who?" I felt my breath coming more quickly as she coughed, then groaned in pain. She was dying. She was dying. She couldn't... no, this couldn't be happening. I couldn't let it happen. I glanced around at the crowd surrounding us, full of people either watching in horror or uncomfortably ignoring the scene. "Help! Someone! I need a healer!"

What emerged from the crowd wasn't a doctor, but Poppy and Ciara. They stopped short, both with horrified expressions on their faces. I only realized I was crying when I tried to speak and only let out a sob instead.

"Oh Merlin," Poppy whispered, then shook her head and turned to Ciara. "We need a healer, something, I don't..."

Ciara stared at Colette and I for just a moment more, then nodded. "I know someone. Get her out of the way, okay? I'll be right back. Don't want the aurors investigating..." Already, I looked up and saw people making their way toward us. I didn't know if they were friends or enemies, but it wasn't worth it to take any chances.

As Ciara dove back into the crowd, Poppy dropped to her knees next to me as Colette coughed again. "Is she, I mean... oh my gosh..." She shook her head. "We need to move her."

"Right. Support her head for me, just for a second?" As gingerly as I could, I hooked my arms underneath her and slowly picked her up. Still, Colette cried out, and I had to squeeze my eyes closed for a moment to keep from crying.

The next thing I knew, we were surrounded by smoke. I blinked in surprise, but when I felt Poppy's hand on my arm I realized she must have done it to hide where we were going.

"Albus, this way..." I followed as Poppy led us away, over to one of the fake shops that had apparently sold out of their merchandise already. Poppy flipped up the counter and I carried Colette inside before letting her down to the floor as gently as I could. I wouldn't have been able to carry her like this three months ago, I realized. For the first time, I found myself incredibly grateful to be a werewolf.

I tried to prop her up against the counter, but she didn't seem to have enough strength to hold herself up. I ended up just laying her head on my lap once more.

"Quickly, please, we really need you."

At Ciara's voice, I turned my head to see who she'd found. Instantly, my heart stopped. "Why the hell would you bring Adalyn Lostry over here?"

"Asking myself the same question," Ciara muttered, then shook her head. "She's been Madam Cantha's aide for over a year, and just recently got talked out of joining Stillens. Didn't you?"

Adalyn was glaring at me, indignation seeming to have taken away any shock at seeing Colette and me. "Sorry, I'm just the best she could find, I suppose. Do you want my help or not?"

"Yes," Poppy said quickly. She gestured to Colette, whose eyes were starting to flutter closed. "She's... I mean, she fell, and I don't..."

"Well, move over." She pushed past Poppy, kneeling down across from me. I supposed I should have just been grateful she was helping, but I couldn't help feeling weird about it all.

After a moment of running her wand over Colette's body, she pursed her lips. "I'm not qualified for a lot of this... I'll do the best I can, though."

"Is she going to make it?" Ciara asked anxiously.

"She has to." I shot a desperate glance at Adalyn. "She has to, right?"

Adalyn just pursed her lips. "We'll see. Keep her awake, will you?"

As she got to work, I leaned over Colette's head. "Hey, Colette, stay with me, okay?"

Her eyes fluttered open. "What?"

"We're getting you help, but I need you to stay awake, all right?"

Colette winced and drew in a sharp breath, and I forced myself to not look at what Adalyn was doing. Better not to know, probably. "Stay with me, please."

"It's not like I can go much of anywhere," she said weakly.

I let out a laugh in spite of myself. "That's not what I mean."

"I know."

"Keep talking to me, though. You can do that, right?"

Instead of answering, she swore, tensing up just after I heard Adalyn whisper a spell. I put my hand on the side of her face. "Just pay attention to me, right? You're going to be all right, I promise, you have to be..."

She was watching me now, but her gaze seemed to be growing glassier. While she tried to nod, that seemed like a little too much effort. I shook my head. "No, no, no, Colette, come on. Stay with me. I need you to stay." I had to reach up to wipe at my eyes because tears were starting to blur my vision. "I can't... I can't lose you again. Don't make me lose you again."

Colette swore again, and I shot a glare at Adalyn. "Are you sure you're helping?"

"She's the one who jumped three stories," she snapped. "It's going to bloody hurt for a while. I'm doing the best I can."

"Al..." My head whipped back to Colette. "It's a spell."

"What?" I blinked, trying to hold back a sob. Was she slipping away?

"It can stop him. It's not... it's not finished, but you have to try..."

"What are you talking about?"  I shook my head before she could answer. "No, no, you need to save your energy. Wait till Adalyn's done, okay?"

She stared at me for a moment as if she hadn't understood that. "Adalyn?"

"Try to sit her up," Adalyn ordered just then. "I did the best I could on everything else without any skele-grow. I need to see her head."

Poppy helped me pull Colette up to a sitting position. We had to adjust her so she was leaning against my arm, because I wasn't sure she could hold herself up just then. But this was a good sign, right? It had to be.

Adalyn shoved a potion at me. "Should give her some strength until we get her to someone who can replace the blood she's lost."

Colette didn't protest as I held the bottle to her lips and tipped the contents into her mouth. What she did do was give Adalyn a skeptical look as the girl gently felt the side of her head, mouth pressed in a firm line. After swallowing, Colette shook her head. "What the hell is she doing?"

"Making sure you don't die?" Adalyn scowled at her. "I could make this hurt more, if you'd like."

"Shut up, Lostry," Ciara snapped. "Just heal her."

"Heal is a strong word..." She was rummaging through her bag and came out with a roll of bandages, which she started to wrap around part of Colette's head.

"Do your best," Poppy said soothingly. "Best you can under less than ideal conditions, right? We're very grateful for you."

Adalyn seemed surprised for a moment, then nodded slowly as she sat back. "Right. Exactly. I mean... she's out of immediate danger, at any rate. I think."

"You think." Colette managed to roll her eyes, which I took as a very good sign. "The confidence is inspiring."

"You'd be dead by now if I hadn't shown up."

"And perhaps I should be."

"Colette!" I leaned over so I could see her face better. "I just told you, I can't lose you again. Don't... don't talk like that, please..."

She frowned at me for a second, and I couldn't tell if she was just thinking or getting up the energy to respond. To my surprise, all I got was a soft, "Okay," as she closed her eyes.

"No, Colette, you've got to stay awake—"

"I'm awake," she cut me off. When her eyes opened again, there was something new there. Desperation. "Al, I can defeat him."

"What?" I stared at her, dots slowly connecting about what she'd been trying to tell me all this time. That wasn't possible, was it? "What do you mean?"

"Stillens. The spell..." She shook her head. "I just need to get up there again. I... I don't think..." A sigh. "I can't make it on my own. I need your help."

"Are you mad?" I nearly pulled back, but remembered just in time that that would've made her fall. "This is Stillens we're talking about."

"No, I'm serious." She gripped my arm tightly. "We could end it all today, Al. Please..."

"I really don't think you're in any sort of state to go anywhere," Poppy said softly.

"Maybe we should just see about getting you and Al somewhere safe," Ciara agreed. "I can't leave right now, but Poppy and Albus should be able to get you out pretty quickly."

"We won't be able to apparate," Poppy pointed out. "We'll have to call a cab or something. Is there somewhere safe we can go in London?"

"If you can wait a few minutes, I'll see if Fred would give you the key to his flat. It's not totally secure, but I doubt it'll be the first place anyone looks for you." Ciara glanced uncertainly at Adalyn. "Perhaps you should go with them."

"Are you saying that because you're concerned for her, or because you don't want me running back to Cantha with this information?" Adalyn scowled. "I'm pretty sure I just committed treason."

"Even more reason to leave now." Ciara smiled grimly. "Get a cab called. I'll be back soon."

That had all happened so quickly that I'd barely had time to process it. Colette was already shaking her head again, though. "I'm not leaving."

"I don't think you have a lot of say in the matter," Adalyn said sourly. By her tone and expression, I had a feeling she didn't want to leave, either.

Colette acted like she hadn't even heard her. For a moment, she struggled to push herself up and didn't even snap at me when I helped her. The not snapping at me part seemed like a bad sign, but the fact that she was already sitting up on her own was a good thing, right? Still, I couldn't help worrying when I met her eyes and realized the only way I was going to get her out of here was by dragging her out against her will.

"Albus, you have to listen to me," she said, deathly serious even though she was clearly struggling to get the words out. She'd probably gotten a concussion, or worse. She really shouldn't have been moved at all, but I knew we couldn't stay here.

"Hey!" I started when I realized Colette was actually glaring at me. "You're not even listening right now."

"I am," I said quickly, shaking my head. "I'm sorry. I'm just worried for you."

"Don't be," she said sternly. "There are bigger things to worry about."

"Colette..."

"Listen," she insisted, and I shut my mouth simply because I was not used to any sort of pleading in her tone, and that might have been more worrying than all the rest of it. She seemed satisfied by my lack of response at least. "Stillens is going to kill them... kill Astra and Wren. But I can stop it. I just need to get back upstairs."

I pursed my lips. Wren hadn't stopped Astra, then. Hardly anyone even knew where they'd gone, too—there was no one to save them. No one but us, I guess. "How?"

"A spell. He had me... I created a spell..." She winced, gingerly putting a hand up to her head. "Am I supposed to be this dizzy?"

We all turned to Adalyn, who shrank back a little. "I don't know. Maybe a little."

"What do you mean, you don't kn—"

"Albus," Poppy said quietly, cutting me off.

Adalyn was already examining Colette's head once more, so I rolled my eyes and turned back to my friend. "What's the spell do?"

To my surprise, she shook her head, avoiding my eyes. "It can stop him. For good."

"For good?" I frowned, trying to figure out what that could mean and drawing a blank. Stop him just... in general? "Does it kill people?"

Her voice was a whisper. "Worse."

Well that sounded like a bit of an exaggeration. The killing curse was one of only three unforgiveable curses, after all. There weren't worse things, that was the whole point. Instead of arguing, I just slowly nodded. "Okay... but I don't think you're going to be able to get upstairs, is the thing. Maybe... I mean, maybe you can teach me the spell, and I can try?"

I ignored the alarmed look Poppy shot me and just focused on Colette. Unfortunately, she was already shaking her head. "It won't work for anyone else. I made it that way."

Okay, I guess I should've anticipated that. Obviously, Colette would've done everything in her power to make whatever this was as inconvenient as possible for Stillens. It did make things harder now, though. As worried as I was about Wren and Astra, it felt like Colette was asking me to choose between protecting them and protecting her. Not that I really could've chosen between them, but... Colette needed me a lot more than they did right now.

Besides, I wasn't convinced she had enough strength to do any of that, let alone get upstairs without hurting herself more. "You're not going to be able to get there, Colette. I don't think you should be walking around just yet, right?"

Adalyn nodded confirmation, but Colette either didn't see or didn't care because she shook her head again. "You're not listening. I need your help, Albus."

Well, at least she wasn't as delusional about her capabilities right now as I'd been afraid of. Still, though, she was mad if she thought I'd take her right back to Stillens. "No, I really don't think this is a good idea..."

"We're never going to have a chance like this again."

"Do you even have enough strength to cast the spell?"

At that, Colette looked down. I just barely held in a sigh of relief—she'd finally seen reason. Even if her spell could stop Stillens once and for all, she wasn't physically capable of doing it right now. She was too smart to not see that.

"There might be a way around that."

This time, I didn't bother holding in my sigh, since I was starting to get frustrated and didn't mind if she knew it. "A way around it? What does that even mean?"

"It's... it's a very old practice, and there's not a lot of research on whether it really works..." She shook her head. "It's the only way."

The fact that she was still making so little sense had me worried. It felt like entire chunks of what she was trying to say weren't making it out of her mouth, so nothing was being explained fully. What did her spell do? Why was she so adamant she could defeat Stillens? What kind of "ancient practice" was she talking about?

"It's called conduiting. Spirus magica adalveo," she explained. "It's like... channeling your magic through someone else. Supposedly, you can cast far more powerful spells. It's... it's dark magic. But..."

"But you think you could channel your spell through me?" I frowned. As ridiculous as that sounded, Colette was rarely wrong about obscure magic practices. If she could cast the spell, but it could be cast through me, so I was the one actually using any strength to do it...

"Please, Albus," she said softly. "I've done terrible things. I want to make up for them."

That I understood. Maybe not in the same way, but it was the same sentiment. I still felt responsible for the manor raid, and I was beginning to suspect that I always would. I didn't think these were comparable situations, since Colette had clearly been forced into whatever she'd done (she still hadn't said, had she?), but if I'd learned anything from Wren it was that the true causes rarely had any effect on feelings of guilt. Maybe... well, maybe this was something Colette felt she had to do, in order to live with herself. Merlin knows I understood the feeling.

"Okay." I hadn't fully considered my words when they came out, but I was already nodding along with them. "I'll help you."

"What?" I turned around to see far more alarm on Poppy's expression than there had been a few moments ago. She blinked at me for a second before shaking her head. "No, you won't! You're both getting as far away from here as you can."

I hesitated, trying to figure out how to express how much I loved her while also explaining that I still needed to do this. Colette beat me to it. "This is important. More important than either of us."

To my surprise, her lip started to tremble at that. "Not to me." She took a deep, somewhat shaky breath. "I just got you both back," she whispered. "I can't lose you again."

"You won't," I said, reaching over to rub her arm. "I promise, we'll be okay."

"Don't," she said, pulling away from me. "Don't say that. It'll just make it worse."

"I'm not—"

"Do you know how worried I've been about your both?  How often I've cried myself to sleep, imagining what they could have been doing to you, all the while knowing it was far worse than I could imagine? You two have been through enough, okay? Just... just let other people deal with the war for now. Please..."

Well now all I wanted to do was give in and stay with Poppy, even though I knew that was objectively the wrong thing to do, if Colette was correct. I couldn't leave her again, but I didn't want her to come with us, either. What was I supposed to do?

"I'm sorry, Poppy," Colette said quietly. "I'm not... not trying to hurt you. But we can't just sit to the side and watch everything burn when we could be doing something about it."

"You two deserve to rest."

"So does everyone else who's going to keep fighting today," I said softly. This time when I held out my arm, she leaned into me. "None of it's fair. But we can't give up just because of that." I shook my head. "I'm going to do everything I can to get us both out of there unharmed, okay? I promise. But we need to do this."

She sniffled. "You two are worse than Wren."

"I never thought I'd hear that." Colette tried to smile, but ended up grimacing as she shifted a little. "But Wren always makes it back, doesn't she?"

"We will, too," I said with more confidence than I felt. "It'll be—"

Before I could finish talking, there was a commotion outside. Shouts and screams suddenly filled the air, and I jumped to my feet to see what was going on before I could think about it. "What happened?"

Adalyn, who had slunk away to the far corner when we started talking and was now watching the crowd with growing horror, shook her head. "I don't know. They were about to actually start the execution, but some kids started yelling and... I don't know. Someone fired a spell, and I don't know who it hit but everyone started screaming..." Her eyes widened—in just the time she'd been talking, fights had started to break out all across the vast room.

The battle had begun.

"Oh no," Adalyn whispered, shaking her head and backing away. "Oh no, oh no, oh no—"

"Hey, it's okay." Poppy had hopped up and now put both her hands on Adalyn's shoulders, turning her away from what was happening out there. "Just breathe, okay?"

"What's happening?" Colette asked weakly. I wasn't sure if she could really handle it, but I knelt down, looped my arm around her, and helped pull her up to a standing position. She had to lean heavily on me, since she didn't seem to be able to put weight on the leg she'd broken. For a moment, we just watched the chaos unfold.

"Did everyone come here expecting this?" she asked quietly.

"I think so. Though... a lot of things have happened in the last few days. I don't know how this is going to go."

"All the more reason to get upstairs." She glanced over at where Poppy had finally succeeded in calming Adalyn down just enough to speak. "Do you have anything to dull pain?"

"I... um, yes." She started rifling through her bag, and I wondered if she always carried healing potions around or if she'd just prepared for today. "I'm not sure it's the best idea, though..."

"Why not?"

"I don't think you should even be standing," she said flatly. She glared at us. "Don't even think about putting weight on that leg. It'll heal wrong, and no one will be able to fix it then."

"Painkillers. Now."

Adalyn sighed, then passed a bottle over to Colette. "Only drink a little of it. It's really powerful, and if you have to much it'll start messing with your head."

Miraculously, Colette didn't argue. When she went to give the bottle back, though, Adalyn shook her head. "I've got more. You're going to need to keep taking some every once in a while." She rolled her eyes. "I think you're an idiot, but do whatever you want, I guess."

"Okay, well, we need to find a way to get upstairs," I said quickly, before Colette could start a fight. "I don't suppose anyone knows a shortcut?"

"Through the back," Colette said, nodding to the door in the far wall. I'd just assumed that led to some backroom, or maybe a passage that connected to the other shops. The idea that that passage might also have a stairwell hadn't occurred to me. How did Colette know that?

"It connects to an alley outside," she added. "It's how Stillens spirited everyone inside that he didn't want to be seen."

Oh. That would explain it. I tried not to imagine anything about what Colette's day must have been like up until now. It could only have been a nightmare. For the first time, it occurred to me that Colette might have fallen on purpose. I pushed the thought away immediately, but it lingered on the fringes of my mind, threatening to come back and make me break down into tears. Or fly into a rage. It was a fifty-fifty shot.

"Are there a lot of guards?" Poppy asked worriedly.

"There should be hardly any."

Well, this almost sounded too good to be true. Most likely, though, this was just a sign of Stillens' arrogance. So convinced no one could touch him that he just left paths wide open for those who could find them.

If this was going to happen, it needed to happen now. I adjusted my hold on Colette and pulled her arm over my shoulders, trying to make sure she was bearing as little weight as possible when we started walking in a moment. She almost seemed amused as she watched me, but she didn't protest. If Colette was hurt enough that she wasn't complaining about being helped... I shook my head. She was going to be fine.

"How does this feel?" I asked trying not to sound too worried. The last thing she'd want from me was mothering.

"I'm fine," Colette said. That was contradicted not three seconds later when I took a step forward, half-carrying her with me, and she winced in pain. But when I froze, asked if she was sure she was okay, she waved me off. "It's okay. Just waiting for the potion to kick in."

Before we could make it anywhere, Poppy stepped in front of us. Her eyes darted between us, glassy from unshed tears. I couldn't think of something to say that I hadn't said already, but she just threw her arms around us both.

The hug lasted for several long moments. I was surprised Colette let her, especially when it became clear Poppy was crying and trying very hard to stop. "I'm sorry," she managed. "I just... you're both..."

"We were doing great in the detention center until they separated us," I whispered into her hair. "We'll be together, so we'll be fine. I know it."

Poppy pulled back, wiping at her eyes as she did. She smiled sadly at Colette. "Please don't let Albus do anything stupid. I love you, you know."

Colette blinked in surprise, seeming taken aback. "I... um... thank you?"

Instead of laughing, Poppy just nodded seriously before turning to me. "And you can't let her do anything stupid, okay?"

"That's what I'm here for," I said with a grim smile.

She studied my face for a moment, and I tried my hardest to burn the image into my memory: my girlfriend, so beautiful and loving and here, right in front of me, saying she loved me and smiling when I said it back. She leaned in to kiss my cheek, and I suddenly wished we could have a few minutes alone somewhere private.

I'm coming back to you, I promised her in my head, since I knew she didn't want my promise out loud. I'm coming back.

~~~~

Question of the Day: So... is this how you expected their reunion to be?

Answer: I bet none of you had "character throws themself off three stories to avoid having to hurt their friends, survives, and is reunited with their best friend after months and months of a nightmare life" on your Elli Is Cruel bingo card.

Vote and comment!

~Elli

Word count: 4473