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

Chapter 48 - Planning

Amanda's POV

It was only one day left. One day before everything would happen. It was both terrifying and a relief. Until that point everything had gone according to plan. Rose had agreed to going to the Burrow and James' grandma had said that it was okay if she came. I was about to send the letter to the messenger. We hadn't wanted to do it too early, because then he would have come too early and our plan would have failed. 

"What should I write? It's not really as if I can just be like 'hey! I dare you to come here!' It needs to sound as if it's important or threatens him. I don't think he'll come if it isn't important enough. He could easily fix something small by just sending his little minion on a mission", I explained to James while biting my lip, both in nervousness and wondering. I really wanted everything to go as I wanted it to go. Failing with this plan would mean that I would risk everyone's life. It was a pretty heavy burden to have on my shoulders.

"There are a lot of things you could write. I do think that the best way to lure him here would be to tell him that you know who he is and that you're going to tell the headmistress if he doesn't come here. Tell him that you want to negotiate about what he needs to do if he doesn't tell him. You can also write when you will tell on him. If he knows that there isn't any time to tell his minion there is a bigger chance that he'll come." While James talked I wrote. My putting what he told me to in the letter I was able to present a pretty good letter that was threatening enough and mature enough for it to seem real. I also added a time and place where I wanted to meet him. It seemed important for him to know where he should go to stop me. 

"This is good, right?", I asked before handing the letter to James. Truth be told, we both probably had just as much experience with those sort of things. The reason why I also wanted his opinion was that he could possibly see something wrong that I couldn't. It needed to be perfect and because of that we both needed to work on everything.

"Yeah, this will work. Hopefully. Let's just send it and hope that by tomorrow night all of this will be over", James said before putting the letter in an envelope. I nodded in agreement and then we watched as my dear owl flew away with the letter. We wouldn't get a response. There was no way that we could know if the letter reached the messenger. There was no way that we could even know if he would come if he saw the letter. All James and I could do was hope.

•••

I woke up in the morning. I put on my clothes. I listened to the girls around me chatter about all the fantastic things they would do in Hogsmead. I put on make up. I ate my breakfast. I met with James. All of that I did without really thinking about much. Everything in my mind was oddly silent. It was as if I was trying to prepare myself for the storm that might come that day. The feeling made everything around me seem unreal, as if I was in a bubble. 

My friends hadn't even commented on my strange behavior. After a whole year with me they must have figured that me acting a bit off was something usual. Maybe they thought that it wasn't anything important. That everything would be fixed easily. Maybe they were too caught up in their own exciting plans. It was okay if they were. Them not focusing too much on me meant that I could easier focus on the day I had in front of me.

"You ready?", James asked as we met up in front of the double doors that led outside. I shook my head but grabbed his hand and started to lead him outside. It was a nice day outside. Spring had finally arrived and the smell of nature was refreshing. For months there had only been the cold, but warmth and comfort was coming. I took it as a good sign. 

"I will never be ready for this, but that only means that this is as good time as any", I told him and he looked as if he understood. It hit me that he was the person that probably understood me the best at that point. We had both been through so much. Almost a whole year had been spent in worry and sad feelings. The thought of that ending made me feel a little bit more ready to do it. 

"Yeah, I don't know what is best. If we fail we might die, but if we didn't do this at all we would have probably died anyway. The only way out seems to be if we succeed with this", he spoke his thoughts. I nodded and watched as another couple passed us. They looked younger than us. They also looked much happier than us. Although, I was pretty sure that most people were happier than we were. 

"No pressure or anything", I said and he chuckled a little bit. He then put his arm around me and pulled me a little bit closer to him. I leaned my head against his chest as we kept walking and I tried to keep my mind of how serious it all actually was.

"Well, if this whole plan fails we can at least say two things. First of, we didn't give up and we tried. Second, we're not alone. We won't be standing facing danger alone. No matter if we succeed or fail there we will be together and I guess that is more than the messenger has. A person this twisted must be so incredibly lonely. At least we won't be that." I didn't feel that much relief in James' words, neither did I know if they were that true. People did horrible things to people. Some of them were outcasts who for some reason had never been accepted by anyone. Some were normal people who had people who cared about them. They could be your neighbor. They could be your best friend's boyfriend. 

I didn't tell James about my thoughts. I believed that it must have struck some calm feelings in James and I didn't want to take that away from him. He didn't deserve that. He should be allowed to calm himself down. Because of this I simply looked up at him and gave him a sincere smile. It was the easiest way to avoid lying while still letting him think whatever he was thinking. 

"What do you think about getting a butterbeer before we do this?", I wondered and nodded my head towards the three broomsticks. James looked over there just as his little sister went inside with Hugo. He nodded and we started to head over there. We had about an hour before we would have to leave to meet up with the messenger. 

"You go and sit down while I get the drinks", James told me as we got inside. I looked around and saw the table where Lily and Hugo were sitting. They weren't alone there. Rose and Albus were also sitting there. I figured that they wouldn't mind James and I sitting down with them. 

"Hey", I said as I sat down next to Lily and she smiled towards me. Albus crossed his arms and leaned back in his seat while studying me. I met his eyes and saw how he almost challenged me. I couldn't help releasing a smile on my lips as I tilted my head slightly. 

"So are you two finally done with being alone and couple-y?", Albus wondered I shrugged my shoulders and looked up as James came with our drinks. He sat down in front of me, next to Albus.

"Why? You jealous, Al?", James wondered as he put his arm around Albus' shoulders. Albus quickly shrugged it off and gave his brother a frustrated look. James simply smirked at his younger brother while the others around the table smiled at the brother's bickering.

"Be nice, James. I mean, who can blame him if he is jealous. I'm gorgeous", I spoke which made the table burst into giggles. They had not expected me to say what I said. Even Albus let a smile onto his lips. When everyone had settled we fell into normal conversations with teasing and jokes. It was nice. James and I got what we needed, a distraction from the thing we had thought constantly about for weeks. We had made the right choice going there. The only thing we needed to figure out was if we had made the right choice with the messenger.