In the World of Magic(Harry Potter Next Generation Fanfic)

Chapter 44 - The Reveal

Amanda's POV

I looked back at myself in the mirror. My hair was looking good in natural waves. My eyes were looking bright and empty. With the mascara on they almost looked like doll-eyes. My mouth was covered in almost invisible lipstick. That morning I had forced myself to try. I had forced myself to look okay. That didn't mean that I felt okay. I actually felt far from okay.

"Hurry up in there! Other's need to fix their make up too", Allison whined from outside. I cleared my throat and shook my head. With one last look in the mirror I turned to open the door. Allison's hand was raised as if she was going to knock. She looked shocked that the door had opened. What made her look even more shocked was the look of me.

"You look good, Amanda. Is this your 'I just went through a brake up but I'm gonna pretend that I'm fine' look?", she wondered. I looked down while sighing before walking past her. The thing was, I had no idea where James and I stood. He hadn't broken up with me, but we were definitely not fine. 

Christina was ready, but she was also waiting for Allison. I told her that I was going to head down. I didn't feel like waiting in my room. I felt like getting through the day and for that to happen the day needed to start. It wasn't even that early so it wouldn't be weird if I went down already. I just needed to pretend that I wasn't feeling like throwing myself of off the Astronomy tower. I needed to pretend that I really was empty inside. 

I walked down the hallways by myself. A few other students walked passed me. Some looked at me weird as they started to whisper. It seemed a bit strange, especially since I was pretty sure that they did not know about all the trouble between James and I. I got my answer to their whispers when I reached the Great Hall. James was standing there, but he wasn't alone. He was standing with the Headmistress and his father. My eyes widened a little and I wondered if I should have turned around and left. I was a little bit hungry though, and I wasn't sure if they were actually looking for me. Just to be sure I turned my head from them and tried to hurry past them. As I was about to pass I heard the sound of someone clearing their throat which made me stop. 

"Miss Fraser, would you like to join us in my office?", the headmistress wondered as I turned around. I didn't look at either James nor his father. After meeting the headmistress' eyes I looked down at the floor. Her words were said as a question but anyone could have heard that it really was a command. 

"Of course", I agreed while trying to keep out the misery out of my voice. The headmistress, Mr. Potter and James all turned around and started walking. I figured that I could have just ran right there, but that would have only gotten me into trouble. Still, I hesitated for a second, really seeing running as a possibility. Then I followed the other three to the headmistress' office. 

•••

"As you both know we have had some trouble this year, including the dead hufflepuff girl and the stolen item. Now, you both might wonder why we have brought you both here. The fact is that you were targets this summer, and we have reasons to believe that the same people are the ones at hand right now", headmistress McGonagall explained to James and me. She was sitting in her chair behind her desk while Mr. Potter was standing next to her. James and I were sat on chairs in front of her desk. I didn't know where to look. I didn't want to look at James, because I was afraid of how he would look back at me. I couldn't look at Mr. Potter because it could become awkward if he didn't know about the problems between James and me. The reason why I didn't want to look at McGonagall was that I was scared that her piercing eyes would make me crack. 

"Okay, and why are you telling us this?", James wondered in a voice that made it sound as if he didn't care. How could he be such a good actor. Was it because he hadn't experienced as much of the messengers deviousness as I had? 

"We think that either you will be targets, or you already are. We need to know if you two have seen or heard anything strange during this year. We want to know if you've received threats", Mr. Potter explained. I was forced to look up then. I looked at his face and saw that he was keeping his eyes at me. I was scared that he would think that I was acting suspicious. That made me pull myself together. I couldn't think about the problems between James and me at that moment. 

"I think that I would have told you if I was receiving threats, since the only reason for me being here is so that I will be safe", I told them with slightly raised eyebrows. I knew that it was the reaction anyone would have had if they hadn't been actually getting the threats. Before the messages I would have thought that way. 

"We know, but we still need to make sure that it really is that way. Some times threats can make people silent." I stood up from my chair, acting as if I was bored with the conversation, but still shoving respects. 

"I'm sorry but classes are starting soon. I still need to get good grades and I still have struggle with understanding everything. It's a bit hard when you just get thrown into something unexpectedly." I made sure to show some sadness and bitterness in my voice before I turned around and left the office. Hopefully they would only remember the fact that I was a muggle and struggling. As soon as I got out of the office I lost the control I had had. My eyes widened and I had to focus on not shaking slightly. For just a couple of minutes I had left myself and instead pretended to be who I was supposed to be. It had been harder than I had expected. Usually I didn't have any trouble with lying. I guess it's different when actual lives are on the line. 

•••

The next day I got a letter. I had been alone at the time, thankfully. What was in that letter would make it impossible for me to keep up the facade. I had been sitting outside on the grass with my phone in my hand. I had hoped that going through old photos on it would have made me happy, but it had only made me feel worse about not being with my old friends. 

The owl had landed next to me with a piece of paper in an envelope. There had also been a picture in the envelope, but that I would take out after reading the letter. 

Little Kitty! 

I truly hope that you do not let your little mouth run. It would be tragic if something were to happen to your dear friend. I mean who would be there to save her? Who would be there to make sure that she doesn't end up in a ditch? The answer is: no one that could actually help her. 

Keep this in mind in the future. If you ever get called to the headmistress' office or if you ever have a talk with your boyfriend's father I want a report on everything you say. Just to be sure, I have a little bit of proof that will probably encourage you to follow my orders.

- M

I felt coldness spread through my body. How could they always know? I barely dared to take out the picture from the envelope. It was with shaking hands that I in the end forced my self to take it. I knew I needed all the information I could get. 

There she was wearing a white coat, mittens and a scarf. Her smile was secretive, a closed mouth smile. In her hands she held a to-go cup. It was the same picture as the one I had received from Rose only a couple of days ago. The only difference was that there was no text on the back of the new one. I remembered what had stood on there. There had been something that made my eyes go wide. Out of all the clues I had gotten, I would have never believed that the biggest one would have come from Rose. 

I knew who the messenger was. There was only one problem. He had made sure to put Rose in the crossfire. I needed to tell James. Rose couldn't get hurt. Having the messenger around her was more than dangerous. How would I be able to tell James anything when there was always someone there to report it? How would I be able to do all the things I needed to do without anyone getting hurt?