Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

Unhinged 2: Til the Flame Burns Out	By : nikki13088 Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Draco/Ginny Views: 3348 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 17
- 18
- 19
Ember felt her feet hit the ground, the smell of grass filled her nose. She looked across the open field of tall grass under the night sky until her eyes fell on a large house in the distance. She immediately looked over at Scorpius, who had a confused look on his face.
"Aunt Hermione, why does this place look so familiar?" Ember asked as they started making their way towards the house.
"That's interesting because this house was one of the houses we hid at when Lucius was around. It belonged to McGonagall's family... your mother burned it to the ground with her powers." Hermione said with a smirk as she looked at Ron at the mention of the memory. "You two weren't born yet, she was only about five months pregnant with you guys I think so I'm not sure why it looks so familiar," she explained. "We've put a ward around it and charmed it so that it still appears to just be a pile of burned up rubble."
"What about the house Blaise told us about?" Ember asked.
"We went there... the walls were barely standing," Blaise said.
"How did you find us?"
"Apparently one of the men Adwell had working for him was more loyal to Kingsley and us than Beckett and the Adwell brothers. The last place we knew you guys to be around was the Muggle convenience store you all robbed." Hermione stopped and gave them a stern look. "After that, we had no idea... it was our inside guy, Matthew, who told us the rest."
Aurora stopped listening to the conversation and walked over to where James was as he started to wake up.
"James, are you ok?" she asked him as she gently grabbed his face.
He nodded. "Yeah," he said as he took in the crowd of people walking a bit ahead.
He didn't say anything, he just looked at Aurora with a small smile, relieved at the fact that they finally caught a break. His smile soon faded as he thought back to losing control of his powers. Aurora could see it on his face and before he could say a word she laced her fingers with his and pulled him to follow her the rest of the way.
Scorpius kept walking, trying with everything to ignore the pain from the wound on his side. He slowed his pace a bit until he was at the back of the group so he could lift his shirt to get a better look at it. When he peeled his blood-soaked shirt up, he let out a painful growl as blood continued to pour from it. He didn't realize how bad it was at the time until all the adrenaline wore off. He stopped walking, the loss of blood brought him to his knees.
"No you don't, Bud, come on, on your feet. We just have a bit more to go." Ron said as he threw one of his arms over his shoulders and helped him along. "Hey?"
Scorpius looked at him.
"Don't fuckin die on me. Do you have any idea the shit I'm going to hear from my sister if I let her son die?" Ron asked him.
Scorpius smirked at his comment before he sneered at the pain in his side and continued pushing himself.
After a few minutes longer they finally got to the front of the house and Hermione opened the front door.
"Molly!" she called out.
Ember looked at her aunt to make sure she heard her correctly and sure enough, there she was... her grandmother. Standing there and waiting for them all to come back to her.
"Grandma?" Ember cried.
She was unable to move from the spot she was in as her emotions seemed to have paralyzed her. She felt her grandmothers arms around her as silence filled her ears, the only sound was the muffled crying from Molly.
"Bella! James!" Luna cried out as she ran over to them and pulled them to her.
She was hysterical as she latched onto them so tightly her fingers turned white.
Ember pulled back from the hug and turned to her brother, something was off and she could feel it. She watched him go down in what seemed like slow motion, the embrace of her grandmother abandoning her as Molly ran to his side. Ember's eyes were locked on her brother's as her heart seemed to stop beating altogether. She watched his eyes start to close as he fell unconscious, her legs failing her as she became consumed by fear at the thought of losing her brother.
Draco opened his eyes to see the blaring white lights shining down into his room. He brought his hand up to his jaw and moved it around a bit as it felt stiff.
"Sorry." said a small voice.
He sat up to see Ginny sitting on the floor by the wall waiting for him to wake up.
"Sorry for what exactly? Beating the fuck out of me? You have a bloody good right hook, I'll give you that." he said as he touched the cut on his lip and gave a small hiss. "If we weren't in this situation, I'd have been a bit turned on by it," he smirked. "Keep this in mind for our next roleplay." he lightly joked.
She shook her head in amusement, then gave him a sad smile before she looked over at Harry, who was waking up.
"Harry?" Draco called to him.
Harry just sat up and tried to take in his surroundings, he grabbed his head in incredible pain. His fingers slid through his hair and grabbed it in big chunks as he swore his head was about to explode.
"Harry, are you ok?" Draco asked.
He shook his head as he swung his legs off the side of the bed and attempted to get up. He hardly was able to stand and just collapsed to the floor.
"Hey, Harry, what's wrong? What is it? Do you know what they did to you?" Draco started to berate him with questions and he ran over to wall between them.
"Th-they..." he could hardly speak as he was doubled over from the pain in his head.
Draco could see the blood just pouring from his nose. He turned to Ginny, her eyes filled with worry and tears at the sight of him. He got down onto the floor to Harry's level as he started to worry if Harry was going to be alright.
He watched Harry drag himself over to the wall where he was until he managed to pick his head up enough to look at him. He looked into Harry's bloodshot eyes, something was off.
"What did they do to you?" he whispered to him.
Harry wiped his nose with hand and then again with the other and after a while just gave up as it continued to pour. He tried to speak, he tried to stand, but he could only feel his heartbeat in his head.
He lifted his bloody hand to the wall to hold himself up. "I-I don't know what it was exactly... something similar to what they injected Ginny with." he managed to growl out through the pain. "They wanted to test the strength of my powers, they used some kind of enhancer serum... a lot like the one Ginny experienced."
"Damn Harry, how much of that stuff did they inject you with?" Ginny asked as memories of her experience with it flooded her mind.
He didn't answer... he couldn't, he was in too much pain. His bloody hand slid down the wall and fell limp at his side as he rested his forehead against the glass.
"Harry, tell me what you remember?" Draco softly asked him.
Harry looked up at him, tears of pain slid down his face as he gave a small laugh. "What I remember?" the amused look on his face faded as he brought a shaky hand up to his nose and wiped it once more. "I remember letting James down... not being there for him." he choked out before he hung his head.
"What are you talking about? That's nonsense, you've always been there for James... Bella, all of us." Draco told him.
Harry just shook his head, his body was shaking, he couldn't keep a straight thought.
Ginny and Draco watched Eve walk into the room and unlocked Harry's door.
"What's wrong with him? Why is acting like that?" Ginny asked as she wiped a few stray tears away.
Eve ignored her as she knelt down in front of Harry and studied him for a moment.
"Harry?" Eve called softly to him.
It was almost as if he didn't even realize she was there in front of him. She gently grabbed his face in her hands and turned him to look at her.
"You're ok," she whispered out before she slid her hands up to each side of his head.
Draco wasn't really sure what she did, all he knew was that Harry's heavy breathing and bleeding nose suddenly stopped. All signs of pain he was in had gone and he started to calm down. He looked as if he would pass out now; like his whole body couldn't handle keeping itself functioning at the moment. Eve cupped one side of Harry's face as his eyes traveled up to hers, his tears finally drying.
"Better?"
He nodded before she gave him a soft smile and handed him a rag for his bloody nose. She helped him up and over to his bed before she took out a syringe from her lab coat and quickly stuck it in his arm before he could protest.
"What is that? What are you giving him?" Draco asked, anger rising in his throat at the memory of her betraying them.
"It's just something to relax him and help him sleep the rest of this off," she replied.
"The rest of what off exactly? How about we get some fuckin answers." Draco demanded.
Eve turned to look at him, she could see the anger in his eyes towards her. She looked down at Harry as he finally fell asleep and ran her fingers through his messy hair before she got up and left his room.
She walked over to Draco and Ginny. "Mr. Potter was injected with the same steroid we used on Ginny, it was just a more advanced serum. He was also injected with another power, but his body didn't respond to it well and more importantly, it didn't stick."
"Wait, is that what they tried to do to me? Is that what all the serum sample 101 shit was when I almost fuckin dropped dead that day?" Draco fumed.
Eve looked at the camera to make sure nobody was coming before she took a step closer to his room. "You know the story of how my mother died, right here in this room in that bed." she nodded to the one behind her. "My mother's body wasn't strong enough to handle so many magical abilities at once, so much power to be forced into one person." she looked away from him. "Sometimes I can hardly handle just one."
She was quiet for a moment before she regained her composure and looked back up at them. "My father is testing a little bit out at a time to see how the subjects-I mean... to see how you guys will react and if you can obtain both. If that is successful, then he hopes to add another and make it three... and then so on."
"Mr. Adwell wants to do the same exact thing he tried to do with his wife... on your mother that got her killed? That's insane, Draco and Harry could hardly take the one... you'll end up killing someone." Ginny replied, a look of worry covering her face.
They were all silent for a few moments.
"So let's say he does succeed... what is the endgame here?" Draco asked her.
"Well, to Minister Beckett he wants to try to obtain the serum for Ministry use. What exactly for? I can't be sure, it's between my father and him, something I know nothing about. Maybe to use on Aurors to build a better defense? But I think my father wants it for his own personal use... to be powerful. He doesn't share everything with me as he does with Crystal, for all I know he could be creating an army of powerful witches and wizards." she explained.
"He probably doesn't share anything with you because you're a traitor... that you betrayed him." Draco spat at her.
She knew what he was getting at. "You think I betrayed you?" she asked.
"Didn't you?" Ginny argued.
"No, all because I was kind doesn't mean I was fixing to break you out of here. Besides... my father has reminded me of my place," she said as she brought her hand up to the bruise on her face.
"Eve... your powers, you could control someone's mind? How come not your fathers and end this nightmare for everyone?" Draco asked her.
She shook her head. "I've tried... it's never worked, he's done something that keeps me out of his head. See, not only does he experiment with magical abilities and people... he has done so with spells and dark magic. He has developed some interesting curses... and some quite horrifying." she said in almost a whisper before she fell silent. She finally looked up at Draco and narrowed her eyes. "And no, I haven't used it on Crystal."
"So you can read my mind too?"
She gave him a small smile. "Read it, control it, feel it... manipulate it." she looked at Ginny. "I can take her mind back to her first day here," she said as her eyes turned a dark purple and focused on Ginny.
Ginny looked around the room and then at Draco, he saw the panic in her eyes. "Draco? Are you ok? What happened to you?" she asked, taking in his broken wrist and busted lip.
Draco looked at Eve, his eyes wide.
"Or I can take her mind back nineteen years ago," Eve whispered.
Ginny grabbed her head and fell to her knees.
"Ginny!" Draco ran over to the wall and knelt down before her. "Hey, are you ok?"
She looked up at him, her eyes wide before she scrambled backward. "Malfoy? Where am I? Why are we here?"
He just stared at her. "We weren't together nineteen years ago," he said softly to himself.
"Yes, back when she hated you," Eve replied as she studied the look on Draco's face.
"When I hated you? I've always hated you and always will." Ginny spat. Her eyes traveled over to Harry. "Harry! What did you do to him?"
"What did I do to him? Um, hello, I'm stuck in this box just like you and still you think I'm the one behind this?" Draco shot back, not sure why he was even arguing with her when he knew her mind was just being manipulated.
"You probably threw yourself in here on purpose to pretend you're on our side just so you can kill us and turn into the murderous scum that lurks beneath the slimy skin you hide behind." Ginny hissed.
"Ouch, that one even hurt me," Eve mumbled.
"Ok, enough, you made your point," Draco said to Eve. "Change her back."
"Are you sure?"
"YES!" he yelled, the hate Ginny held in her eyes for him was ripping him apart.
"Let's go further? How about when she didn't know who you were at all? Better yet, how about just erasing every last memory of her family and you?"
"NO! Please don't," he begged her.
Eve looked at him as she walked up to the glass wall between them. "I would never do that," she swore as her eyes returned to their normal color.
Draco looked at Ginny, who was rubbing the side of her head before she looked up at him. "Ginny? Are you ok?"
She nodded.
Eve took a few steps backward, her eyes locked on Draco. "I know you think I might be your way out of here... but you're wrong and I'm sorry." she choked out, quickly leaving the room before she showed any more emotion to them than she already had.
Ember ran her fingers through her brother's hair as she watched him sleep before she let out a light sigh. She heard someone walk into the room and come up behind the chair she was sitting in.
"Your grandmother wants you downstairs so she can look over your injuries," Blaise said.
She was quiet for a few moments. "This whole time I was trying to lead us to someplace safe... and it wasn't even there."
He gave her a sad look. "How were you to know? I didn't even know the condition of the house."
Again she was quiet for a few moments. "I failed them... I let them all down." she scoffed at her words.
"You kept everyone alive, how is that failing?"
"Yeah, everyone except Riley."
"You don't know if Riley is dead."
"Yeah, well, I don't know if she's alive either." she snapped before she quickly got up and left the room.
Ember made her way downstairs to the kitchen where Molly was waiting for her. She watched her tap the chair beside her to sit down. Her eyes traveled over to Aurora sitting across from her, she had a few cuts and bruises on her face. She was already showered and changed into clean clothes that their grandmother made for her.
"You need to go shower and change as well." Mrs. Weasley said as she picked up on Ember's thoughts.
She didn't say anything as she felt her grandmother rip part of her jeans to get a better look at the bullet graze on her thigh. Ember watched her, she was so focused, not one word about their grandfather.
"Grandma?"
Molly looked up at her. "Yes, Dear?"
"I'm really sorry about Grandpa... I wish we could have been there with you when... " she trailed off.
Molly reached up and wiped a stray tear from Ember's face. "You are here now," she said through her own rising emotions. "I'm going to grab some more bandages, I'll be right back."
Ember watched her hurry into the other room before the room grew silent.
"Ember?"
She looked over at her sister.
"You did amazing out there," Aurora said softly, her voice cracking.
Ember just shook her head at her sister's words, prompting Aurora to get up and sit in front of her instead. She tried to look at her face, but Ember couldn't bring herself to look into her sister's eyes.
"Everyone is alive because you and Scorpius stepped up out there and I just know... I can just feel it... that Riley is alive too."
Ember's eyes finally traveled up to meet hers, she let her tears fall.
"We are safe right now... Mum and Dad would be really proud of you guys." Aurora said with a small smile.
"Your parents would be proud of all of you," Molly said, walking back into the room. "Just think, a couple of weeks ago you couldn't even do your own laundry... but now you've managed to outrun the Ministry and fight to survive."
"Yeah, but we probably still won't do our own laundry." Aurora joked, making Ember give a small laugh.
Aurora gave Ember and her grandmother a quick hug before she went upstairs to get a bit of sleep before the sun came up. As she climbed the stairs, she saw James standing in the hallway looking through one of the bedroom doors that were opened a bit. As she walked closer to him she could hear voices coming from the bedroom and she stood behind him to also listen. A smile stretched across her face when she heard it was Luna reading a book to Bella.
"I remember when she used to read to me," he said, shooting her a quick glance. "Now that I'm older she still manages a way to attempt to tuck me in, whether it's just a quick kiss on the head Goodnight or making sure my entire body was covered with enough blanket." he laughed, causing Aurora to give a soft giggle.
He turned to look at her. "And my father... we use to have this agreement of sorts. Each night, he would allow me one question to ask, it could've been on anything but it was always about his past. Whether it be something I've heard from school as a rumor or just things I was curious about. He would have to answer truthfully though, no matter how hard the answer might be. I mean we always talked about his past, but these moments were... they just meant so much more to me." his smile faded. "I miss him."
Aurora wrapped her arms around him and rested her head against his chest. She felt him pull her closer. She let his scent fill her senses before she looked up at him, she swore her heart skipped a beat from the way he looked at her. He leaned down and placed a soft kiss on her lips. As soon as his mouth left hers, she wanted to pull him back to her again but instead, she took a step back. An overwhelming amount of love for him overcame her, forcing her to leave him with a smile before she walked down the hall into her bedroom.
The next morning the house was filled with much more noise than when they all arrived there in the middle of the night. They were unaware of Raven, Rose, and Hugo also being there. Scorpius sat up in bed and looked down at the bandage on his side. He saw a few vials on his nightstand, some full and some empty. He opened one and downed it.
"Don't you care what it is you just took?" came Raven's voice from the doorway.
"Raven?" he made a move to get up, but she was in his arms before he had time to pull the covers off himself.
She kissed him firmly, he could feel all her nerves relax in his arms as she realized he was really there with her.
"I figured if it's on my nightstand in my current condition it must be something I need." he finally answered her.
"You'd be right, it was a pain relief potion... but the one beside it was a sleeping potion so I guess you just got lucky." she laughed.
She just sat there on her knees in front of him on the bed, her eyes locking with his.
"Raven?" came a voice from across the room.
Scorpius looked over her shoulder to see Blaise standing in the doorway and without thinking he quickly shoved Raven away from him. He pushed her harder than intended, as he heard her hit the floor with a hard thump.
"Oops, sorry," he mumbled out.
"Downstairs for breakfast," Blaise demanded before he shook his head and left the doorway.
"Yes, Dad, I'll be right down," she said sweetly before she turned and glared at Scorpius. "What the hell?"
"Sorry, I don't want him seeing us in bed together... he will kill me... he already tried." he explained.
"Relax, first off, the first time you almost got me pregnant so maybe it was justified?" she suggested with a smirk.
Scorpius thought about it for a moment. "I suppose."
"And second, I'm an adult, as are you and my father is going to have to get used to seeing us together. So can you try not to shove me to the ground every time he comes around?"
"I'll try, but no promises."
She sat on the edge of the bed and just looked at him, her smile as big as ever.
"Why did you come after us?"
Her smile faded. "We have a lot to talk about."
She helped him out of bed and they made their way downstairs for breakfast. Ember was waiting for him at the bottom of the steps with a relieved smile.
"How are you feeling?"
"Better, I mean, it still feels like someone stuck a knife in my side but otherwise good."
She gave him a playful slap before she pulled him into a hug. "You scared me," she whispered in his ear, emotion filling her voice.
"I won't leave you... I promise, born together..."
She pulled back and looked at him, her eyes watering. "Best friends forever." she finished before hugging him tightly once more.
They both made their way into the kitchen and it was a bit overwhelming at first seeing everyone there. They just stood there for a moment to take it all in, their cousins and aunt and uncle all around lost in conversation. It was weird to think that just a few hours ago they were running for their lives and were almost killed.
"It's lovely to see you two again." came a voice from behind them.
They turned to see McGonagall standing there.
"Come, we have much to discuss," she said as she led them over to the table to sit.
Once everyone was seated it became quiet at first. Everyone was here except Ginny, Draco, and Harry and a sadness filled the room.
Hermione finally cleared her throat. "First, I want to tell you all how proud we are of all of you. You did extraordinary out there given the circumstances and the positions you constantly found yourself in," she said, as she gently squeezed Ellie's hand beside her. "Now this... " she started as she reached for a file and slid it over to Scorpius and Ember. "That is Noah's medical file. Raven came across it at the hospital and you'll soon find out in there that Noah isn't dead."
"What!" Scorpius, Ember, and James yelled out together.
"He was released into his father's care, however, he was still in a coma when he was discharged, which means Mr. Adwell is the one who ordered his release and he must be at his lab," Kingsley explained.
"Why would Mr. Adwell bring Noah there? You don't think... " Ember trailed off.
"That he would experiment on his own son? We don't know what to think, there is hardly any information on him, his brother or his family." Hermione finished.
"Ember, do you remember Noah ever speaking about his family? Anything that might be helpful?" Kingsley asked her.
Ember sat there and thought for a moment. "Not much, I know his mother died, but I don't know how. I know he has siblings, but I don't know how many, he never spoke about them. He said something once about his sister being away at school. That's all... I know he's a Half-Blood too... his mother was a Muggle."
Kingsley and the others seemed to be contemplating something before McGonagall broke the silence.
"Well, it's a good thing we found you all safe, right now... you lot are the most important part in all of this."
They all exchanged a curious look. "How exactly is that?" Scorpius asked.
"Jack Adwell is a very intelligent man with knowledge of some of the most advanced kind of magic I have ever witnessed. He not only studies and experiments on people with your type of abilities, but also with dark magic." Hermione explained.
"The bottom line is we have no idea what awaits us inside that lab." Blaise simplified it.
"Wait, you guys are going to Adwell labs? There is no way they will let you in." Ember said.
"Oh no, we are all going and we will be breaking into Adwell labs," Hermione explained.
"That's almost impossible," Scorpius stated. "You saw how secure it was when we went."
"That is why you guys are going to be the key to getting us in there," McGonagall said with a smirk. "You will need to learn how to develop and use your powers to their full extent if we hope to succeed."
"You want us to rescue our parents?" Ember asked to confirm what she was hearing, a look of uncertainty covering her face.
"Yes... all of us," Hermione said.
Ember turned to look at her brother, it was obvious neither of them had as much confidence in themselves as the others did in them.
"Are you guys on board? We all work together to get your parents out of there?" Hermione asked.
"What about after we get them out? Then what? They will come after us." James asked.
"One thing at a time guys. We will run and got into hiding or leave the Wizarding World altogether if we have to, but Draco, Ginny, and Harry are our family. No matter where we are... as long as we are together, that's all that matters." Hermione said firmly.
"So what do you say?" Ron asked them.
Ember wasn't sure why, but nothing was coming out of her mouth, all she could think about was already failing everyone and she hadn't even agreed to anything yet.
"Ember?"
She looked to her side where Scorpius softly called to her.
He leaned in to get closer to her ear and whispered. "Are you afraid I'll still be able to kick your arse during practice?"
She looked at him, a wide smirk crossing her lips before she turned back to the others. "When does practice start?"
Ellie was sitting out on the dock with her feet hanging in the small lake just taking in how peaceful it was. It felt amazing to just sit and relax without having to constantly watch her back. She was surprised at how deserted it was in this area. She overheard McGonagall telling Harper about some of the memories that took place here when her parents went into hiding from her grandfather.
Her mind went to the conversation from earlier. She so badly wanted her powers to surface again so that she could be more helpful to everyone. She closed her eyes tightly as she desperately tried to conjure up anything... a flicker... a snowflake even... but nothing. She let out a frustrated sigh as she ran her fingers through her hair and stared down at the few fish that swam around her feet.
"Oh to be a fish," she mumbled out.
She felt one of them hit her foot and then she swore she saw one of them swim through it. She furrowed her eyebrows and looked closer into the water as she wiggled her toes once more. She watched one of the fish swim around her ankle before she saw it swim through her again. She quickly pulled her feet from the water and scrambled back a bit on the deck. Her hands feeling her feet and rubbing them to make sure everything was ok.
"What the hell?" she whispered out to herself through her heavy breaths.
After she collected herself more, she crawled over to the edge of the dock and looked down into the water. Her eyes were locked on the fish swimming back and forth. She slowly reached down with one of her hands and submerged it a little bit past her wrist. She wiggled her fingers a bit to attract the small fish once more and just as she feared, one swam through her hand.
She let out a small gasp as she pulled her hand from the water and looked at it. It was kind of translucent looking... like it was made of water. She could see clear through her hand into the water below. She took her other hand and went to touch her her palm when all she felt was wetness cover her fingers.
"Ellie?"
She jumped in surprise and turned to see Aurora standing there.
"Grandma wants you," she said.
Ellie quickly nodded before she looked at her hand and saw it was back to normal. Her heart was racing so fast she thought it would explode through her chest.
"Are you alright? Why are you soaking wet? Did you go swimming in your clothes?" she asked, taking in Ellie very wet appearance.
Ellie looked down at her shirt and pants and saw they were soaking wet. She grabbed her hair and felt the wet strands between her fingers.
"Uh, I fell in before... one of the boards on the deck was loose and I lost my balance." she lied.
Aurora just gave her a small giggle. "Alright clumsy, well, come back up to the house and get changed," she said before she turned and walked away.
Ellie stood up and looked herself over. "What the hell is happening to me now?" she growled out before she made her way inside to change into some dry clothes.
Ginny looked around the staged room, it had random furniture set up all about to replicate a standard bedroom. Every time one of them were pulled from their rooms for testing they feared one of them wouldn't come back alive. Her stomach was in knots as she awaited what was coming.
"How many more tests do we have to go through?" Ginny asked Crystal.
"As many as we see fit. There is always room for new discoveries, you never know what you're capable of until you're up against it. Until you're put into a position you never expected to be in." she shrugged.
"And what test is this?" Ginny asked as she watched Crystal grab a container that was placed by the door.
She walked over and uncapped it and then started to pour gasoline all over the furniture. She trailed it all around Ginny and made sure a generous amount covered the floor.
"We're going to start a little fire," she said with a smirk before she walked over and grabbed a white bucket full of liquid.
"If this is a test to see if I can absorb fire, then you're wasting your time. I've done it plenty of times." Ginny glared at her.
"Perfect, that part should be a breeze," she responded as she walked in front of Ginny and held the bucket up. "Let's step it up a bit then," she said as she threw a bucket full of gasoline all over her until she was drenched in it.
"Are you insane?" Ginny yelled out to her as Crystal walked into a small room that was protected by a glass window.
"I'm sure you'll do fine," she said as she waved her wand to release the neck device from around Ginny's neck.
"Wait, how long until my powers come back?"
Crystal just gave a casual shrug. "Hopefully soon," she said with an evil grin before she lit a match and threw it into the room before closing the door and watching from the other side.
Everything was up in flames in moments, making Ginny back away from it to avoid catching fire as well. She was surrounded by the flames and soon they would be swallowing her up at any moment. She felt not one trace of her powers surfacing and she panicked.
The flames grew higher and closer and there was no more room for her to back up. She felt the heat from the blazing fire start to burn her and soon she was engulfed in flames. As soon as she felt that flame travel across her skin, it was the most welcoming feeling she ever imagined it to be. She felt the inferno within her start to erupt and she was suddenly in control of the entire room. Her body was still covered in flames, but it was a burning she missed, a burning she hadn't felt for so long it seemed.
She was surprised though when she suddenly felt the room grow cold and the flames die out. Her hands and the ground beneath her turned to ice and then these enormous long shards burst up from the floor and lined the walls and ceiling. Ginny just stared down at the frost that continued to cover her arms and mask her hair. She tried to shift back to her fire powers, but for the first time in a long time, she could not control her own powers.
She suddenly felt her neck device wrap around her again as Crystal came back into the room, her wand tightly gripped. She took in the massive abstract walls of ice that filled the room as she made her way over to Ginny. She could see the confused expression on Ginny's face.
"Not used to that, are you?" she asked her.
"I don't understand, fire is my main power... why couldn't I-"
"No, fire WAS your main power... now you have both. How fast your powers rebounded after I took that device off was... extraordinary. There's no doubt that you're comfortable and have mastered the use of your fire powers. Having said that, now that you have ice powers your body will want to react to what it sees as a threat around it, hence the uncontrollable frost that has seemed to overcome you."
Ginny let her words sink in a bit before she watched the ice around her start to fade.
"You can still only use that blazing inferno inside you if you wish, but you'll have to learn how to suppress the ice."
"But how?"
"That's a lesson for another day," she said as she headed for the door.
"Crystal?"
She stopped and looked at Ginny.
"Does your father know you are showing us how to master our powers?"
"Why wouldn't he know?" she asked, folding her arms at what Ginny might be implying.
"Well, it's just, if it's our powers you want then why not take what you need and then just-"
"You three need to be ready."
"Ready? For what?"
She was quiet for a moment. "My father hasn't decided who yet, but the serum he is working on is a lot like the one he used on my mother. Except... this one has more than just the three my father tried to inject her with."
"So he's using one of us for the new serum?"
Crystal just looked at her before she started slowly pacing, the conversation made her more uncomfortable to talk about than Ginny thought it would. She was surprised to hear Crystal share anything with her at all about her father's plans.
Crystal glanced over at her an almost sad look covered her face. "When I was ten... I had this friend named Samuel... I called him Sam." she smiled at the memory, her eyes started to water at the mention of his name. "We were best friends. One day we were playing hide and seek and I remember chasing him at one point and he ran straight through the wall... like actually physically went through the wall. When I first saw it... I freaked out and he begged me not to say anything to anyone. I promised him I wouldn't... that his secret was safe with me."
Ginny wasn't sure why, but tears of her own started to well up in her eyes as she already knew this story wasn't going to end well.
"One day we had a disagreement on something and I got mad. I can't even remember what it was about... probably cheating at a game or something so silly. I ended up telling my parents about his powers because I was tired of him always outrunning me or outsmarting me with them." Her tears were flowing freely down her face at this point. "That was the last day I ever saw him... My father told me he had just run away and never came back... he was never found."
Ginny wasn't sure what to say or how to act, she never thought she would see Crystal in such a vulnerable state. Her heart was actually hurting for her.
"I didn't know the kind of person my father was back then... the kind of person he is now. He killed my mother and he killed Sam. My mother was a Muggle and so he thought she would be the best candidate to take on the mixture of powers. He used Sam's powers and the same ones Eve and I have. All three, he injected her with... she died in a matter of minutes."
Ginny was silent, the horror behind her childhood was appalling to hear. "Why are you telling me all of this? Why would you tell me your father's plans for this new serum?"
Crystal wiped the tears from her face before she looked up at Ginny. "Because one of you will be the new host to not three powers but six. That is why we have been testing the strength of all of your powers, to see how much control you have over them. We need to see how much your body can stand and what it's capable of. If it can take on a new power and have it be as powerful as the rest. Unfortunately for you... I'm pretty sure you're the one my father will choose."
Ginny felt her heart start to race; a lump forming in her throat as fear filled her. "Me? Why me?" she asked in a shaky voice.
"Well, you already have two of the six he plans to use and your body has adapted well to them... you are the ideal candidate for the experiment."
"But I'm pregnant, what about my baby?" she asked as new tears formed in her eyes.
Crystal wiped the last of her tears away before she composed herself again. "Yeah, we'll have to take care of that."
Ember sat on the porch swing and watched the sun starting to set in the distance. Her eyes traveled to the lake and took in how calm it looked, just an occasional ripple here and there. She heard someone come out the back door and take a seat beside her; she was always able to tell when Scorpius was around her even if she didn't see him.
"Shouldn't you be upstairs resting up for tomorrow?" she asked as she finally turned to look at him.
"I'm sick of laying in bed all day." he shrugged before he studied her face. "Have you talked to Jake?" he asked her.
She shook her head. "Should I?"
He let out a hard sigh. "Uh, yeah, definitely. Listen, would you ever do the things our grandfather had done? Killing innocent people and terrorizing the world?"
"Of course not." she quickly answered.
"Right, so it would be unfair to treat you like somebody who did or would... right?" he asked, looking at her with a hard stare.
She nodded before she let out a frustrated sigh. "I know I was just the one defending Jake to Mum a few weeks ago, but now I feel like I'm betraying her and Dad by still wanting to be with him."
"You know what I think? I think the news of Noah still being alive is fucking with your head. Jake is not Noah and he is not his father." he said firmly. "Jake really cares about you."
"How can you tell?"
Scorpius just started laughing. "Are you serious? He has been by our side since this whole thing started. He risked his life and his freedom to go on the run with us just so he can help. Believe me Sis... he likes you... a lot."
Ember bit her lip at his words as she thought about it. She really liked Jake too, but with everything that happened between his family and her parents, she wasn't even sure how he felt about it. The truth was that they both had been avoiding each other ever since it was mentioned. Now the news about Noah not being dead was stirring up feelings of anger and disgust from her last encounter with him. Of course, she didn't want Noah to be dead, that means her brother and James weren't killers and she knew how much that meant to both of them.
"There you two are." came Hermione's voice as she walked out onto the porch. "You guys ok?"
They both nodded. They watched Hermione just stare at them and seemed to get lost in her own thoughts.
"Aunt Hermione? Are you ok?" Scorpius asked her.
Hermione just shook her head to empty her mind of all the memories that filled it. "Yes, I was just... remembering," she said with a smile before she looked out at the field.
"Remembering what exactly?" Ember asked.
"Ron and I got married here... right over there in that spot." she pointed out to the grassy field. "And your parents... they practiced day after day out here on this very field, learning to control and develop their powers."
Ember and Scorpius exchanged a smile.
"Really? How long did it take them to master them?" Ember asked.
"Oh gosh, you know what... I think it took years for that. There is so much to learn when it comes to the incredible gift you guys have." she explained. "I think your parents are still learning new things about their powers."
Hermione watched them both start to fall into a pool of their own thoughts at the mention of their parents.
"You see the foyer in there?" Hermione asked suddenly as she pointed through the window where you could see clear into the dining room through the kitchen.
They both nodded.
"Right there was where your father stood the day your mum blurted out that she was pregnant in front of everyone."
"Everyone?"
"EVERYONE, the whole Order," Hermione giggled. "Looking back now his facial expression was the funniest thing I've ever seen." she laughed a little harder causing the twins to also laugh. Her laughter died down and her smile soon faded before her eyes fell on them again. "You guys can do this... I know you can. I love you both so much." she choked out before pulling them both into a hug.
Ember made her way upstairs after her conversation with her aunt and Scorpius and decided to just turn in for the night. That was until she was passing Jake's room and something made her stop.
"Fuck," she mumbled out before she lifted her fist to knock, but then just let it hover there for a moment.
She closed her eyes tightly and let out a shaky breath before she knocked on the door. It was a few moments later when Jake finally opened it and was surprised to see her standing there.
"Ember? Is everything ok?"
"Yeah, everything is fine," she said.
"Oh... ok."
They both stood there in silence for a few seconds.
"Actually Jake, everything isn't fine, can we talk?" she suddenly asked.
He nodded before he opened the door all the way to let her in and then he closed it behind him. He watched her eyes travel to the closed door and watched her rub her sweaty palms on her knees as she took a seat on his bed.
"Do you want me to leave the door open?" he asked her.
She was just staring at the closed door as the words replayed in her head about the things Jake's father did.
"What? Oh, the door, no it's fine you can leave it closed," she said.
He went to go take a seat beside her, but he could feel her body tense up as he neared her; his heart breaking. He took a seat in front of her instead in the armchair.
"How's your shoulder?"
"It's a lot better."
Silence filled the room.
"Ember?"
"Huh?"
"You wanted to talk?" he reminded her.
"Yeah... um-"
"It's ok," he said.
"What's ok?"
"It's ok that you don't want to be with me," he said so softly she could barely hear him.
They locked eyes, hers welling with tears. "What? No... no, it's not ok and that's not what I want." she rubbed her face roughly before she locked eyes with him once more. "I... I want... you."
He got up and sat beside her, he could tell her words were genuine in what she said even though her body still seemed to tense up at how close he was to her. Any other time he would never push her to do anything she was uncomfortable with, but he ignored her stiffened body language and gently grabbed her hand and laced his fingers with hers.
"Ember?"
She lifted her face to look at him.
"I've told you this before, but I want to make it clear again. I would never hurt you; I would never do anything to cause you any pain. I really wish you would believe that, but I understand why you wouldn't."
"I'm sorry; it's unfair for me to think any less of you based on what happened between our parents so long ago. I just... it's hard for me to completely trust you like that. I trusted Noah... Hell, I think I might have even thought I loved him at one point and then..." She shook her head at how stupid she felt." He just really destroyed me emotionally... mentally... I was naive and weak and he played off of that, used me."
She adjusted her position on the bed to get a better look at him and squeezed his hand a bit tighter. "You've done nothing wrong, you've been great, amazing really. I have no reason why I shouldn't trust you... it's just me, and I know I'm wrong for feeling this way and I'm so sorry." she said, trying not to cry as she struggled to get her words out.
He tucked a piece of her flaming hair behind her ear before his thumb wiped one of her tears away. "You never have to apologize to me."
She brought her hand up to cover his as he cupped her face. The feel of his hand against her skin made her want to melt into a puddle right there.
"Whatever you need, just tell me," he said softly.
His words, his eyes, his touch... everything he said and did right now completely reeled her in. She was captivated by it all, so much that she thought she might literally pass out from how fast her heart was beating and the constant fluttering in her stomach.
"I need you to kiss me," she whispered.
"What?"
"Please kiss me," she begged him, as her body was unable to move at the moment.
He hardly waited for her to confirm what she asked before he pulled her to him. He held her face so softly in his hands and he kissed her passionately as she hungrily kissed him back. His fingers traveled deep into her fiery strands as he pulled her closer. He felt her completely forget everything she just told him and as flattered as he was that he had that effect on her, he felt bad to take advantage of it. He soon made their forceful make out session come to a stop as he pulled back. He saw her eyes flutter open and gave him a questioning look.
"I could kiss you all night, Ember, but you need to go sort out your feelings before we continue anything. You are a bit mixed up right now and I wouldn't feel right snogging you any further until you've had more time to think on everything that's been put out there. You understand?" he asked.
She gave a tearful nod before he placed a soft kiss on her forehead then quickly got up and left his bedroom.
A/N: A lot going on in this one and a lot of info revealed. Lot's to discuss guys, what did you think? I would love some feedback.
- 17
- 18
- 19
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

Unhinged 2: Til the Flame Burns Out