A/N: Sorry for the wait.

This chapter was actually going to be 3x longer, but I decided to cut in in to 2 parts (meaning chapter 28 is already finished and should be up either tomorrow or the day after) in order to organize my brain. The fic ends in chapter 29 so we're almost there!

A special thanks to my beta The Wandering Muse for helping me with this chapter. Words cannot explain how stressed. nervous, and happy these last 3 chapters have made me. As much as I love this fic, I want it to end so I can have my first novel-sized finished work.

Hope you enjoy & please review!

-lauralydney

Chapter 27

Anges stretched out the tray to the unwelcome visitors. "Cookies?"

Numbly, Harry took one. Calder's baking skills weren't half bad. At least they were easier to swallow than this new information.

"I'm sorry about your expulsion," Harry said, recalling the sting of those same words when they had been spoken to him. The wizards were dumbfounded when Anges shrugged indifferently.

"I didn't really like Hogwarts anyway."

"You enrolling at another wizarding school? I hear Beauxbatons is much cheaper anyway," Hermione said.

"I'd have to move to France first. Plus, no way. I'm not going back to a magic school. What a torture that was."

Harry gaped at her. Was she even speaking English right now?

"Torture?"

She smiled, amused. "Thought you might react that way. But honestly, all we ever learn is magic. Where's the art? Music? Other sports? None of them have clubs, or classes that don't involve a bloody wand."

Harry opened his mouth to argue, but she held up a hand. Her eyes were bright and lively. Physically she was the picture of energy. Her movements, however, were sluggish and tired.

"I'm guessing you have some questions for me? Let's just skip the 'oh but magic is so cool' debate and feel free to ask away."

Ouch.

He had wanted to get straight to the point. For the first time this year, Harry had found someone that understood. Still, he wanted to know more about her. Of all his years in Hogwarts, never had he encountered someone so willing to trade a wand for a pencil.

It was an eye-opener. Everyone always assumed you'd be happiest in the wizarding community. Oh, those poor ordinary muggles, how boring their lives must be.

Even with all the fun time spent with Mike, Darren, and Linda—movies, video games, skating, creating wonders from scratch—the idea that being a muggle could be a good thing never penetrated.

It wasn't only Agnes' singing voice which held power.

His eyes danced around the room, trying to collect his thoughts. What should he ask her first?

Before he could even begin to organize, his eyes fell upon the writing on the back wall. Song lyrics and quotes were scrambled everywhere.

In bright purple his mind read the one in the center. 'A wizard without a wand is like a muggle without a brain.'

Double ouch.

"Have you talked to Cole recently?" Hermione began.

Agnes shook her head. "Not since we were kids, I'm afraid. Grandad tried to keep it a secret from me. At first I never understood why we never went to uncle Bruno's anymore. When Grandad found out I had powers, he wanted to keep it a secret from them.

"We moved away for a while. I'd told Grandad I didn't want to go to Hogwarts, that I really liked the academy of Walker. Uncle Bruno found us, and Grandad told him everything. He loved me, but couldn't stand to be around me—my magic brought back bad memories. He knew I didn't want the powers either, so he set off to find a cure.

Grandad thought it was nonsense, but at first the test where harmless. Simple blood samples and DNA test Still, Grandad wanted no part in it, so we moved away."

She grew quiet and began twiddling with her thumbs. Her eyes were filling up with tears, but she refused to let them spill over. Harry knew they'd reached in too deep, but it still wasn't enough.

"Then what happened?"

"Then," her voice cracked. "Then, this wizard comes to our house and tells us he's working with uncle Bruno."

Harry recalled the glowing figure back at the cabin. "Wizard? Wait, who? When?"

Agnes nodded. "We don't know what he wanted, or who he is really. I was about ten. He but told us to stay away from uncle Bruno. That he was to think we were both dead."

"Dead?"

"I don't know," Agnes said, her tears finally spilling over. "All he said is that if he thought otherwise, he would kill him."

"But didn't Cole already see you at Walker High?"

"No. He didn't get a chance to. That's why I stunned that girl. I'd been wanting to leave the school anyway, But Grandad thought I'd be best if I go. You know, to get away from this mess."

Harry grabbed a tissue from her bedside table and handed it to her.

"None of this is making any sense," Hermione said.

Agnes was full on sobbing now. "The wizard told Bruno that I'd killed Calder. Some strange malignant magic gene went off and I did it. Then the story goes that other witch hunters put an end to me," she looked at Hermione who'd wrapped an arm around her. "He believes all that."

"No wonder he's trying so hard to find a cure," Harry said to himself. "But what could a wizard get out of all this?"

Agnes shrugged. "What does it matter now? If tearing my family apart was his goal then he succeeded."

"Do you know if—"

"Harry," Hermione said. "I think we're done talking about this."

"The experiments have gotten worse," Ron said, ignoring Hermione's motherly glare. "We need to stop him."

"Didn't Calder tell you what his job is? He protects wizards from him, but until we don't expose the wizard without getting my uncle killed, there's not much more we can do. There are more of them than there are of us, and if they were to find out who's behind all the rescue missions..."

"So, you're done, you've given up?" Harry didn't say it coldly, but rather hopelessly.

Agnes shook her head. "You're the last hope, Harry. The best solution right now is to get him behind bars. Even if there was no wizard, Calder wouldn't dare tell him we're alive now anyway. The uncle I knew left the building after our 'death'. Telling him could put us in danger or make him completely snap."

Last hope. How did he always end up with so much responsibility? He reached out to touch Anges' hand before she started sobbing again. She smiled nervously. It was awkward enough for her to remember crying.

Harry and the others followed Calder to the basement.

It was dusty and the air made Harry's lungs constricted. The familiar odor odor—gunpowder—swallowed the room like a viper. Weapons stacked every cabinet and shelf, some too intimidating for them to even approach. Everyone that is, except for Calder and Agnes.

"What do ye see?"

"Something most likely illegal," Hermione answered.

"Exactly."

She raised an eyebrow.

"Ye look like a smart one. How much did Agnes tell ye about the witch hunters?"

Hermione beamed at the compliment, and then her features hardened, thinking hard. "They do experiments, you fight against them, but they outnumber you...nothing else really."

"They outnumber us indeed. Much more dangerous weaponry than this. And I assure ye, it is not legal. What would be a rational solution in the muggle world?"

"Police?"

"Bingo. Would've called them ages ago, but the problem with that is they work undercover. Various pen names. Even Bruno, before he got into all this nonsense, was a very fancy businessman—"

"Legal executive."

"Right. Most of them hold more power and wealth in London that is healthy for anybody. So much lute, it's hard for them to get caught with underground work. In other words—never work out in the open. Except for the battle at the school."

"What are you saying?"

"Buy time. If you get access during the attack, call the authorities. They'll run like dogs."

The wizards looked at one another. Call cops? That was it? Somehow this never crossed Harry's mind.

"This will be their first public attack. Ye don't know where it is, and I'm not any much the wiser, so ye must be prepared all the time. If it goes as planned, we might be able to decrease their numbers and put a stop to this. Bruno getting captured is preferable than having him running ramped, but Cole mustn't get involved. "

Harry rolled his eyes. This again. "Why protect him? If he wants to fight, let's let him learn his lesson. I promised to keep him safe not—"

A dark look—one Harry didn't know Calder was capable of—crossed the man's face.

"Listen here, Potter. Just because I can't see my grandson, doesn't mean I don't see him. He wants as much part in this as you do. We get Bruno and those filthy savages arrested, and I regain custody of the boy, understood?"

Agnes grabbed his arm and Calder softened.

"What do you propose we do?" Hermione said, unfazed.

"The choice must be his," Agnes said. "But you can give him a push without linking us to it."

***

No amount of music could blast away the raging screams in his head.

The note from Potter sat crumpled up by his bedside, and the owl waited patiently on his desk, as if knowing Cole would write back (that, or it confused the tiny white kitten sleeping in the drawer for a mouse and was contemplating whether to snack on it). What did it know? Maybe he didn't care what that potential liar said.

'Calder and Agnes are alive.'

Bullshit.

He'd attended their funeral himself.

Of course, it was closed casket, and—No!

Their death was the last thing he had to go on. Every other shred of evidence pointed towards his father lying.

Once upon a time, Cole could end the arguments by simply remembering what his dad had said. But could he trust him?

Lately Cole felt like he didn't even know him.

Why did he involve himself in this? Just a month ago his life had been more or less normal. Sure, he'd known of the existence of the wizarding community, but none of what he knew had mattered. Cole never came, even on holidays. His father's obsession with the magical world was not one he shared, and he wasn't about to spend Christmas eating cold store bought turkey while the man sat alone in his study measuring chemicals and reading documents.

Did his dad blink an eye at the perfect report card and promotion in photography class? No.

Failing stuff on purpose didn't work much either. Maybe getting a tattoo would've helped? Dying his hair blue?

Cole gave up after buying a pack of weed behind the school. No, he didn't consume it, but he did accidentally leave it in plain site by the kitchen counter. He hadn't checked in a while, but Cole was sure it was still there. That was three months ago.

The teen didn't give a rat's ass if his dad miraculously found the cure for the magical gene. Agnes had killed Calder already.

Who did he want to cure anyway? Wasn't Agnes dead too? There was no one left he cared about.

Staying away from the situation was what he had done best. Yet, he hadn't been far enough to where he couldn't recognize the wand.

The minute he saw it, he knew the monsters had come to attack his school.

A spark of life blazed in his father's eyes that day. Cole rushed home to tell his father his school was being invaded, and for the first time in ages, his dad listened.

Cole, of course, decided to join.

His last chance. He went all out. Maybe he went too far. Over and beyond what his father expected. Now he knew too much. Now he knew they weren't evil. Would he really go as far as to kill one just to get his dad's attention?

Cole jumped as someone pounded on his door. "Turn it down!" Gled yelled.

He thought of raising the volume just to piss him off, but decided to stay on his less ugly side ...today.

"Filthy brat."

He waited until Gled walked away before walking downstairs.

Everyone had already arrived. More than thirty witch hunters gathered in the spacious area below.

There was no way he could do this. Anxiety wrapped around him like a fist.

Biting his lip, Cole retroceded to his room.

"Cole," his father came out of nowhere, grabbing his arm. Cole pulled away as if he'd just been burned.

Bruno raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"

"I don't want to do it."

"What? But you've worked so hard to get here."

"I know, but I'm not ready." Cole looked at his dad's eyes, silently praying for a spark of parental warmth. "Remember when I was eight and you took me hunting? And I couldn't kill the rabbit?"

His prayer was answered and his father's eyes softened. "It was a hare, and how could I forget? You cried for hours.

"Alright," he sighed. "You don't have to go—"laying a hand on Cole's shoulder, and for the first time in forever really seeing him "I think you've done enough. I would tell you to go and enjoy the ball, but...you understand. As I told you, don't worry, the others won't be in harm's way."

"That's what you said about my teacher and the girl."

"Well, Cole, we couldn't just let him go, he knew too much. I told you, after tonight, we set him free and relocate."

"Yes, Germany. What fun."

Bruno frowned. "Harry Potter is the biggest threat to our world. Gled says if we get rid of him, we'll be safe. The whole cure finding business? The doctor can carry on from where I left off. Just you and I in Germany for a while, alright?"

Cole's eyes widened. "Gled said that?"

"Yes. Don't fret. It'll all end today. And you don't have to lift a finger. Go back to your room and feed that kitten you're hiding in the drawer."

Cole was about to object, but then stopped abruptly. His dad looked down at him sternly. No, he hadn't questioned the witch hunters, or argued with him about Gled's intentions. Yet, his dad was mad...about the cat!

"You—you knew about that?"

"Found him yesterday. You're grounded."

"But—"

"Oh, you can keep the cat. You're grounded for the special bag I found in the kitchen yesterday too."

Maybe it was a sudden change of weather, but Cole could've sworn the room shone brighter.

Cole felt both alert and numb. Impulsively and without identified reason, he threw his arms around his dad.

The man's body stiffened, and then relaxed, as he patted Cole's back.

The teen breathed in his father's scent, trying to remember the last time he'd been close enough to smell cigar and green tea. "I'm thinking of dying my hair blue and getting a tattoo."

A/N: I hope you guys don't mind the scene with Cole's POV. I found it necessary. Don't kill me.

As I said, this fic is almost over so PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE review. Even if you hate something, I can take it. Feedback is like oxygen to me in these last couple chapters. I love you guys and have a good week!

P.S: something I've become exceedingly self-conscious about; this fic takes place in a muggle school (duh) so OC's are unavoidable. Do you guys hate them? love them? meh? I've tried to pour in personality into them, but...yeah. Don't leave me in suspense with your thoughts.

Okay, now bye XD