Chasing the tesseract

Chapter 34

"So what is it you need our help with?" asks Sirius as we all take a seat at a long table scattered with food and chairs. Stephen sits beside me, his chair practically on top of mine as he wraps his arm around my shoulders protectively. On my other side sits Tony, his eyes fixed on the floor as he fiddles with something in his hand. What is up with him today? He's normally so...so...Confident?

"Nothing if you ask me." grunts Stephen beside me as he rolls his eyes, leaning back in his chair and playing with the ends of my hair between his fingers. Turning to face him, I look at him gently as I sigh audibly and mouth the words Be nice to him.

"Well I didn't ask you did I?" hisses Sirius as he glared daggers at Stephen, who just rolls his eyes in response as he continues to play with my hair. Opposite me, Remus shuffles awkwardly in his seat as he glances down at Fred, George, Harry, the boy and girl from Hogwarts earlier who I now know to be Ron and Hermione, and the youngest Weasley, Ginny.

"Calm down before the pinching and eyeball scratching starts." jokes George as he and Fred exchange a mischievous glance. Turning my head faster than a cat jumps out of water, I glare at them causing them to quickly shut up. They're not helping!

"What made you come here?" asks Remus, finally breaking the tension in the air as he leans forwards, resting his arms of the table in front of him as he looks me directly in the eyes. "Of all the people you could ask for help why us?"

"We need to find someone." I explain, glancing up and down the table as everyone stops moving. Molly and Arthur exchange a confused glance as she places the potato peeler that she was using in the table in front of her. "and fast."

"Who do you need to find?" asks Arthur as he glances towards me though narrowed eyes, frown lines forming in his forehead and the bridge of his nose. Sighing, I glance towards where Thor and Loki sit, Thor nodding as he turns to explain to the group.

"Hela." he explains, glancing at everyone around the table, the name having no effect on them whatsoever. Frowning, Thor looks back at me, opening his mouth to say something before closing it when nothing comes out. Rolling my eyes, I raise my eyebrows, gesturing for him to carry on. "The goddess of death." he adds which causes a chorus of gasps from around the room.

"No." demands Alastor from where he stands in the corner of the room.

"And why not?" asks Stephen as he leans forward, dropping the ends of my hair and turning to face Alastor as he looks at him though narrow eyes.

"We helped Abi before and she betrayed us." justifies Remus as he shakes his head, looking down at his hand where a small scar crosses there knuckle at the base of his middle finger, the scar I have him. "We're not doing that again." he argues as he placing his hand under the table, clearly sensing my gaze on him as he glances at me.

"And Abi betrayed us too but this is more important than that." hisses Stephen as he places his arms on the table. Looking down, I begin fiddling with my fingers as I bite my lip to hold back the tears. That's how everyone sees me now isn't it? A traitor. Stephen lifts his hand up from on the table, placing it on top of mine and taking them in both his hands. Frowning, I look up at him as he smiles down at me. "Abi may have done some bad things in her past but she's trying her hardest to change."

"I'll help." agrees Harry as everyone turns t face him at the end of the table. The left side of the table which mostly consists of Sirius and the Order all look at him through confused eyes, none of them wanting the poor innocent boy to be hurt. The right side of the table which consists of me, Stephen, Tony and the rest of the team all glance at him through enthusiastic expressions, Thor clapping him on the back as he smiles at the poor boy.

"You don't know what you're getting yourself into Harry." admits Remus as he shakes his head at Harry who just rolls his eyes.

"Well someone has to help if we want to live." hisses Harry as he shakes his head, disappoint by the lack of help from everyone at the table.

"At least someone has some common sense." I tease, glancing at every adult around the table, my gaze lingering on Remus as he looks down at his hand under the table. Well, I kinda understand why he doesn't trust me. Would you trust someone who attacked you and gave you a scar? No, exactly, you wouldn't. "What's your name kid?" I ask, turning to where he sits as I smile at him gently, trying to look approachable and sincere but instead looking creepy and frightening. I need to work on it.

"Harry." says the boy proudly as he smiles back at me, his face gentle as our eyes meet. What a brave boy. "Harry Potter." he repeats as my heart stops, the smile fading from my face as I swallow hard.

"As in James and Lily Potter?" I whisper, my voice trembling as everyone turns to face me, their eyes filled with confusion. Please no. Please don't be their son. Please.

"They're my parents." explains Harry as his smile fades slightly, his eyes narrowing and a frown line developing at the top of his nose. Swallowing hard, I look down at the table as my breathing speeds up and my eyes begin to sting.

"I erm..." looking around the room, I take a deep breath as I push my chair backwards, shrugging off Stephens cautious hand as I pull myself to my feet. "I'm sorry but I've got to go." I announce as I take another deep breath before hurrying towards the door and pushing it open as I rush into the hall, leaving everyone confused and silent as they watch my figure disappear. Once they hear the front door slam, they turn back to each other, everyone exchanging glances but nobody saying a word.

"I'll go after her." says Sirius as he begins pulling himself to his feet only for Stephen to glare at him from where he's sat at the table.

"No." he demands, standing up and pushing the chair backwards as Sirius sits back down again. "I'll go." he mumbles as he follows me to the front door. "After all, she's my girlfriend not yours."