“What do you want from me?” I asked, trying to pull away.

He grabbed me harder and breathed into my ear. “Your life.”

“Let go of me.”

“No.” I reached for my wand, but he grabbed my arm. “Don’t.”

“Don’t hurt me.”

“Funny,” he laughed again. “I’d like to.”

“Are you working for Voldemort?” I whispered, letting my hand fall limp.

“Don’t speak his name!” he roared, and threw me away from him.

“Flagrate!” I cried, and a long stream of fire shot out of my wand. I saw it blaze across the dark room and leave a burnt dot on the wall. Darkness covered me again and Avery laughed.

“Come on now, you can do better than that.”

“Lumos,” I said, and the room lit up.

“Stupid, stupid mistake.” I heard him say from the other side of the room. I spun around, but he wasn’t there. “You’re letting me know where you are.”

I let the light fall and realized that he was right. I needed to stop acting like the victim and act more like the predator. After biting my lip, I wandered quietly to the wall, and tried to think.

How did this happen and how do I stop it?

Suddenly, it hit me full in the face.

I’m in the Room of Requirements.

“I need some kind of… I don’t know… magical night-vision goggles,” I said as softly as I could. Something fell into my lap and I placed them on my head. After a bit of struggling, the room came into my view.

I searched each corner to no avail. I couldn’t find him.

“Looking for me?” he asked, and I jumped; he was right next to me.

I ran across the room, dodging a few pieces of furniture. He’d gone to the other side of the room, so I steadied my hand and tried to aim well. “Petrificus Totalus!”

He fell to the floor with a loud thump. “God, Avery… I hope you burn….”

Tears began to stream down my eyes out of frustration. Leaving the room, I headed towards Dumbledore’s office.

“Hello, Miss Evans,” he said softly. “Why aren’t you at the dance?”

“Follow me,” I answered. “I’ll show you.”

****

“Have you seen James?” I asked as soon as I entered the Common Room.

“He’s in his room,” a Sixth Year boy told me.

Why was he in his room? Wasn’t he worried about me? Shouldn’t he be looking for me?

These thoughts had been pulling at my sleeve since Avery wrapped his arms around my waist.

He’s supposed to look out for me… especially after Nivy…

“Thanks,” I smiled weakly. I headed up the stairs and reached his door. Anger swarmed over me and I tried to push it back. After giving up, I sighed and turned the knob... but an unfriendly sight met my eyes.

James was lying on his bed, kissing Milo.