Hi, all! You have no idea how ungodly frustrating this computer can be... I typed this stinkin' authors note, like, twice now and it WON'T FREAKING SAVE ALREADY! That, and the stupid chapter title won't underline and the word count is messed up, so if something randomly repeats, that's why.

Back my actual point, I don't know if you guys have all lost interest or something, because I didn't get enough reviews to use the word reviews. More like, review. As in singular. Like I keep saying, if you're not liking something, please let me know in some way so I can improve.

Okay, I'm done complaining about reviews now; you can put down your pitchforks...

Anyway, this chapter is in memory of all the students and family members lost at my high school which shall remain nameless. They'll always be in our hearts.

It's been a hell of a year, guys.

Disclaimer: Do I honestly need to say I don't own HP thirty-four times?

Chapter 33: The Race of the Century

"Pull over, Tonks!" yelled Crystal.

"Why?" replied Tonks, shouting over the earsplitting sound of sirens.

"Because of the car behind us with the pretty flashing lights!" Alison retorted with heavy sarcasm in her voice.

"No freaking way!" shouted Tonks, honking the horn a few times as she wove through traffic at about ninety miles an hour. "I'm gonna out run em'!"

"Now, Tonks!" demanded Zoe.

"What am I supposed to do?" she retorted. "Ask them nicely not to arrest us? I don't know about you, but I don't think we're gonna be able to rescue Kali from prison!"

"And who's brilliant idea was it to steal the damn car in the first place?" countered Alison.

"Language," grumbled Crystal.

"Not the time!" Alison practically screamed. Turning back to Tonks, she added, "Pull over, Tonks!"

This had been going on for some time, thanks to Tonks' ignorance of traffic laws, and the fact that a bunch of teenagers driving a stolen car with a smashed rear end wasn't exactly inconspicuous. Almost the instant we'd typed the address into the car's GPS, we discovered that we were being chased by the Muggle police. And let me tell you, a situation like this would have been bad with just the whole impending doom thing, but, of course, now it was worse. Somehow, I doubted the Muggle police would fair very well against the Death Eaters. That is, if they didn't chuck us all in the loony bin before we even got there.

"Just pull over!" shouted Crystal, shattering my concentration, her voice drowning out all other noise (even the sirens). "I have a plan!"

Tonks acted like she hadn't heard Crystal, eyes glued to the road ahead. There was barely an inch between our car and the car in front of us, and even though we were already way above the speed limit (which, in Tonks' opinion, is just the "suggested" speed), she was all about going faster.

"Get in the slow lane!" she yelled out the window to the driver in front of us, honking the horn madly. "You drive like my Grandmother!"

The driver returned the favor by not allowing Tonks to pass, and giving her the middle finger, which she gladly returned.

Meanwhile, the police car had advanced on us. Despite our many protests, Tonks only got this crazed look on her face, and leaned into the steering wheel. Then, the idiot stepped on the gas and crunch.

Margo screamed. Can't say I blamed her.

"Yeah!" Tonks exclaimed, way to happily for someone fighting to maintain control of her car. "That's right! You better get out of my way!"

"PULL OVER BEFORE WE ALL GET KILLED!" yelled Zoe, leaning forward in an attempt to seize the wheel. This, while her intentions were good, only caused more damage because it caused the car to swerve back and forth.

"Stop it!" demanded Crystal. "Stop it or I'll-"

"Turn left," said the GPS, signaling our time to exist the free way into the heart of Washington D.C. (thank God).

Sadly, though, my life was still in the hands of the person who thinks a highway and a Nascar racetrack are the same thing. With Zoe still clinging to one end of the wheel, Tonks made the sharpest turn I'd ever seen anyone make, even on T.V. The edge of the car scraped the side rail as we rocketed onto the exit ramp, making this God-awful noise that reminded me of nails on a chalk board.

"Everybody still kicking?" Tonks called, her voice full of hysterical laughter.

"No!" retorted Alison and Sam in unison.

"Seriously, Tonks!" said Crystal, in full lecture mode. "You could have killed someone! You really need to be more careful!"

Alison spoke up before Tonks could reply. "What she means to say is: 'you dumbass!'"

"Language!" said Crystal.

"Not the time!" retorted Alison.

"Your destination is ahead on the left. Your route guidance is now finished," said the GPS.

"Now will you pull over?" asked Crystal.

"Again," said Tonks, pulling into the indicated driveway, "why can't we just make a run for it?"

"And introduce the cops to the Death Eaters?" I said. "Why does that sound like a bad idea?"

"Yeah," agreed Drew, sounding shaken (clearly wild car chases aren't his thing), "and, if you'd been listening, you'd know that Crystal has a plan."

Tonks ignored him once again and the struggle continued she recklessly forced her way through rush hour traffic. Finally, Tonks made another heart stopping sharp turn, narrowly avoiding some pedestrians, and parked threw the car into park.

"Alright, we lived," she said, sounding smug. "How about a 'thank you, Tonks'?"

Everyone ignored her.

I looked out the window, and began to wonder if we'd typed in the wrong address. 1031 Connecticut Avenue had turned out to be a coffee shop. Somehow, I just couldn't see Kali being held captive among the krispe-creams.

Fortunately, I didn't get a chance to think about this any further. The police car pulled in behind us, siren still blaring with no concern for my ears. A balding middle aged man got out and walked over, the look on his face telling me he'd enjoyed the car chase about as much as I had.

Tonks shot Crystal a glare that clearly said, "I hope you're happy" before rolling down her window, her look of loathing replaced by one of her looks of false innocence.

"Can I help you, Officer?" she said sweetly, batting her eyes lashes like she'd gone twenty miles above the speed limit by some sort of fluke.

The cop wasn't buying it. "Do you kids have any idea how stupid you are?"

Tonks pretended to look crushed. "That wasn't a very nice thing to say."

"Just get out of the car, and keep your hands were I can see 'em," snapped the cop. "All of you!"

"Now, Crystal!" I cried.

Crystal raised her wand, eyes narrowed with intense concentration. "Oblivate!" she yelled.

Her spell hit dead on, and we all held our breath, waiting for something to happen.

"I knew I should have done a different spell!" muttered Crystal.

Zoe shushed her, and all eyes went back to watching the cop. His expression was blank, eyes cloudy and unfocused.

After a few minutes, he blinked several times and looked curiously in at us.

"Hello!" he said, sounding way too cheery for someone who'd just tried to arrest us.

Drew and I exchanged a glance. "How strong was that charm, Crystal?"

She shrugged, looking horrified with herself.

"Hi…," replied Tonks, unsure of what to say.

"Where am I?" asked the cop, cheerfully. He looked at his hand, flexing each of his fingers as if he'd never seen opposable thumbs before. Thoughtfully, he added, "Who am I?"

My friends looked at each other and smiled. Crystal and I exchanged a horrified glance, knowing this was going downhill fast.

"Well…," said Alison, searching her brain for information that didn't exist, "you're Italian."

"Your name is Betty!" added Zoe, a giant smirk on her face.

Sam gave her a high-five, also enjoying herself. "You're a stripper!"

Tonks burst out laughing, but stopped when she noticed the look of annoyance on Crystal's face. She gave a small smile, before turning back to the cop and saying, in a completely serious voice, "You're an Italian, stripper named Betty."

The sad part was he actually believed her.

------

"Alright!" Zoe declared sarcastically as we stared at our supposed destination. "Everybody fan out and look for any sinister looking doughnut holes!"

Sam laughed, but Alison glared at her. "I'm about to shove my foot up your doughnut hole if you don't shut up! We have a serious problem, here!"

"The entrance has got to be around here somewhere!" I reasoned, not sounding very convincing. "I mean, why else would Lydia have given me this particular address?"

"Maybe she just remembered it from somewhere and this whole elaborate plot is just in your head, ever thought of that?" said Cassy, sounding annoyed with the situation.

"Somehow, I doubt that," replied Crystal. "Remember, wizards are notorious for hiding entrances to important places in seemingly normal locations. For example, the entrance to Backwoods Alley is in a bathroom."

"I'm not getting friendly with any public bathrooms, if that's what your suggesting," grumbled Zoe.

I rolled my eyes. "What she means is that the entrance is here, we just have to look for it."

Drew nodded. "Let's spilt up into pairs and look for anything that could be the entrance. I'll go with Ella-"

"So you two can make out?" scoffed Tonks. "I don't think so. I'll go with Super Dork, Drew can babysit his ex, and everyone else can go with whoever the hell they want; I couldn't care less."

"Excellent!" said Alison. "Sam and I are gonna go investigate the cappuccino, you know, check for bombs and whatnot."

"Hey!" Tonks called after them. "Get me a large mocha with caramel!"

"Get your own!" they yelled back.

----

Inside the coffee shop was so dimly lit, I had to blink a few times to adjust o the lack of light. It was that kind of quaint little place where a person could just curl up with a doughnut and a book and just relax. I paused for a moment and took in the comforting scents of old books and coffee, wishing for a moment I could just abandon my mission and plop down with a good book and a doughnut and just be.

"The National Archives is a level fifty two restricted area. Please return to your guided tour."

I nearly jumped out of my skin, but recovered rather quickly, having realized that the voice belonged to the Ministry GPS; we had to be close. Ignoring the staring customers, I took a few steps in the same direction, and waited for the GPS to go off again.

"Please return to your guided tour."

I smiled and allowed the GPS to guide me around the corner and out of one of the side doors. Crystal, having realized what I was doing followed and called over her shoulder to the rest of my friends. Sam, Zoe, and Alison got up from the table they were sitting at, shoving the last few pieces of their doughnuts into their mouths. Drew, Cassy, and Tonks stopped looking and followed suit.

"Find anything?" asked Drew as soon as the door had swung shut behind us.

I looked around. Though the GPS was going absolutely berserk, I couldn't see anything except an empty parking lot and the brick wall of the coffee shop. But, just when I was about to tell him no, Crystal's voice rang out, derailing my train of thought.

"Over here!" she yelled. "I've got it!"

"Guess that answers that," said Drew, taking my hand and leading me over to where Crystal stood facing the giant brick wall.

"Aren't you guys going to ask me what on Earth I'm thinking?" she asked, half joking.

Tonks shrugged. "At this point, we all just kinda go with it."

Crystal nodded, and pointed to one of the bricks. "Look at this."

My friends and I made a semicircle around the spot she had indicated. Sure enough, the brick she pointed at was engraved with a giant 'M' encircled by fifty stars.

"You wanna do the honors, Ella?" she asked, stepped aside so I could take her place in front of the wall.

In an effort to silence my own misgivings about making it out alive, I forced myself to focus on the symbol. Lacking any kind of clue as to what I should do, I decided to go for the obvious; simply reaching up and touching the brick. I gave it a little shove while my friends held their breath, waiting for something dramatic to happen.

Nada.

Slightly irritated, I glanced at Crystal for some sort of advice. However, she returned only a blank look, meaning she was just as clueless as I was. With no other suggestions I resolved to just go with the classic "tap it with your wand and see if something happens."

I gasped. The second my wand made contact with the brick, the fifty little stars quite literally jumped out at me and formed a line, which slowly began to wrap itself around my wand. When it had finished, the stars began to glow and disappeared.

And then, the ground dissolved beneath my feet and I was falling into the abyss.

The first thing out of my mouth was a swear word. The second was actually some quick thinking on my part (I know, hold the applause).

I whipped out my wand and aimed it at myself. "Wingarduim Levosia!"

Ha! In your face, Gravity! That's Ella: 1 Science: 0. It takes a lot more than a random hole will no visible bottom to kill of The Girl Who Lived! Seriously, just ask Voldemort!

"Are you alright, Ella?" called Crystal, as she peered down the hole encircled by the rest of my friends.

"Fine," I grumbled, trying to not look down.

"Just hang in there!" she replied. "We'll think of something!"

"Well, think fast!" I yelled. "I don't know how strong this charm is!"

"What do we do now?" asked Sam, echoing what I'm sure everyone who wasn't floating above an endless pit of doom was thinking at that moment.

Alison snorted. "We wait for those magical unicorns of yours to show up, duh!"

"I think it's pretty obvious," said Zoe, matter-o-factly. "Who wants to jump down the creepy black hole first?"

"You stole that line from National Treasure," grumbled Tonks. "Not word for word, but it's really close."

I got a vivid mental picture of the smirk that must be on Zoe's face. "I guess we have our first volunteer."

That could only mean one thing. However, I was suspended thousands of feet above solid ground and in no position to move when Tonks came falling past me, screaming bloody murder. While tactless when it came to her choice in swear words to yell, she did at least manage to avoid crashing into me as she plummeted downward.

Excuse me, Zoe, but, HOW IS THIS A GOOD IDEA?

The rest of my friends, however, were not so lucky. Drew crashed right into me, sending me on the same crash course downward.

"Oh, crap" doesn't even begin to cover it.

"Zoe!" exclaimed Tonks, as the ground began to come into view. "If I die I'm gonna kill you!"

"That's an oxymoron," said Drew, thoughtfully.

"You're the moron!" snapped Zoe. "It's a double negative.

Alison brought us back to reality. "Will you shut up and let me scream!"

And, boy, did we scream loud enough to account for both waking the dead and giving them coffee. Particularly when we realized there was only about six feet between us from the floor.

However, just as there was only about an inch left to go before I went from the Girl-Who-Lived to the Pancake-Who-Didn't, some invisible force grabbed me and suspended me in mid air with my nose literally brushing the ground.

Holy crap, holy crap, holy crap….

And then, before I could figure out what happened, I hit the floor.

Breathing hard, I rolled over onto my back, surprised to find that I was still floating. I looked up (always a dumb move!) just in time to see Drew fall on top of me, shattering the ministry's mystical Force, and pinning me against the very cold and very uncomfortable marble floor.

In a word: ouch.

"Drew!" I gasped. "Gerofme! Can't breath-!"

He actually had the nerve to snicker. I glared at him, but he only started laughing.

"Seriously!" I choked.

Drew let up so I could breath, but I was still pinned. "Get off, Drew," I ordered.

My friends, who had all gathered around us, laughed hysterically. Even Crystal had to work hard to suppress her giggles.

"This is so awkward," I grumbled, knowing only too well what Alison and Sam were currently thinking about my predicament, and Drew's particular- well… how do I put this- position in relationship to mine. "Just get off."

Drew flashed me one of his smirks. "Actually, I'm rather enjoying this situation."

Alison wolf-whistled, which I choose to ignore, along with Sam's latest chain of inappropriate commentary.

"You are such a boy!" I snapped, my face turning bright red. If I had been able to move my legs, I so would have kicked him in the place where the sun don't shine. "Can we get on with saving Kali?"

"Oh, you two were getting it on, alright," snickered Sam.

"Shush!" snapped Crystal.

I ignored them; busying myself by watching for a clue as to our next set of obstacles, but the room was too dark for me to see anything. Automatically, I took out my wand and whispered, "Lumos."

As if I had triggered some sort of invisible switch, the walls suddenly became illuminated with torch light, revealing our surroundings to be a large dome with a pyramid shaped ceiling. Both that and the walls were made of pure black stone with cryptic gold symbols I couldn't even begin to identify, most likely Runes, that covered almost every inch of space. The floor was the same, except were we stood was just a circle of plain black marble, and there seemed to be a one symbol per panel pattern going on.

But, most importantly, the walls around us were really a row of doors, each with a gold name plate on it. Convenient, huh?

"Alright, everybody," I said. "Wands out."

"Thank you, Captain Obvious," said Alison, ironically pulling out her own wand at the same time.

"Let's go," said Zoe. "I think that one over there says Hall of Prophecies. Can't get any more straightforward than-"

Crystal cut her off just as she was about to take a step outside the circle. "Don't."

Zoe looked taken back. "Why?"

I instantly knew what Crystal was thinking. "It's too easy. There's got to be something- some kind of booby trap in our way!"

"Ella," said Zoe, hands on her hips, "relax."

She took a step forward onto one of the panels, and nothing happened.

"See?" she said a little louder, her voice bouncing off the stone walls, making it sound like it was coming from everywhere at once. "I told you nothing would happen!" She jumped up and down, to further prove her point, but inadvertently revealed something that proved mine.

Beneath her feet, the panel had begun to glow.

Crystal had realized this as well (big shock) and we both reached for Zoe just as flames shot up from where her feet had been only a millisecond beforehand.

"I think we found our booby-trap," said Zoe, breathless from nearly having been flambéed.

"Yeah," replied Crystal and I in unison, our eyes wide as saucers.

"And finding the Hall of Prophecies isn't going to be easy," Drew pointed out grimly, placing a firm grip on my shoulder for support.

He was right. Zoe's little "oops" had triggered something else; the plagues on the doors had disappeared, and they had begun to rotate.

"Great!" Alison exclaimed, sarcastically. "We have no idea which room to go to and we'll get shishkabobed if it touch the freaking panel! What's next?"

"Never ask what's next," cautioned Tonks. "Because it's always worse. Always."

"Why don't we just send Margo in front and she can test the panels for us?" suggested Sam, only half joking.

I scanned for Margo, but she was nowhere in sight.

"Who was supposed to watch her?" asked, trying not to sound as frightened as I felt.

Alison and Sam both pointed at each other.

"Do you two realize how serious this is?" said Drew, glaring at them.

"He's right," I agreed. "If Margo finds her Death Eater buddies before we find the prophecy, then we've got no bartering chip."

"Never mind that now," said Crystal, her eyes lit up with an idea. "I've figured out how we're going to get to the doors. Zoe, hand me your shopping bag."

Zoe obliged, but reluctantly. Crystal reached inside and pulled out an item at random, and then tossed it onto one of the panels.

Nothing happened.

Crystal smiled. "It's simple, really. Whoever runs this place would understand these symbols, which probably tell you how to get across without getting burned or setting off the doors. We just have to figure it out the old fashioned way."

"I'll go first, I guess," said Drew, taking the bag of stuff from Crystal, and jumping onto the first 'safe' panel.

One by one, we followed after him, holding our breath as Zoe's souvenirs went up in flames, until, eventually; Drew was forced to conjure objects to use as testers.

"Why didn't you just do that in the first place?" Zoe whined.

------

The first couple of doors we tried led to what appeared to be laboratories, filled to the brim with the most fascinating objects I'd ever seen, not that I knew what they did. Another contained large glass tanks filled with either dead or sleeping spiders about as tall as I was (Tonks just loved that one). One room was even filled top to bottom with a collection of the most beautiful swords I'd ever seen, each with its own custom designed jeweled handle. My favorite, however, was the room filled entirely with books and scrolls with answers to pretty much every great mystery in history. If we all lived through this, I made a mental note to come back.

The next room was even more breath taking. I couldn't stop myself from letting out a gasp as I took it all in. As far as I could see, in every direction was treasure. It was like raiding King Midas's closet. There were bars of gold pilled as high as the ceiling, rubies, emeralds, sapphires and diamonds, all huge and all glittering right in front of my eyes. There were pearls as big as a quarter and jewels the size of my fist. There were even chests full of jewelr, not to mention furniture and other objects made of solid gold and silver. I suddenly wished I had eight more pairs of eyes to look at it all with.

"Wow!" exclaimed Zoe, holding up a giant diamond. "Look at this thing! It makes the Hope Diamond look like a pebble!"

I went over to get a better look, feeling like I had all the time in the world. Maybe I did, since I no longer remembered why I was here. Everything was just so beautiful… I wanted to stay here forever. Soft music filled my ears, and I felt myself relax. I noticed the relief immediately, something had certainly been bothering me. What it was I couldn't recall… maybe it was important, maybe it wasn't. I really didn't care. In fact, I found I cared even less about the mysterious internal prodding that kept telling me to get out of here and look for Katty, or Katie. Maybe it was Kali? I couldn't remember. This room was heaven; it even had comfy chairs and a collection of the most interesting books I'd ever seen. I'd have to make sure I read all of them. But, what was the rush? I had all the time in the world….

I took a seat on one of the chairs, feeling like I was drifting off on a cloud. I took a deep breath and noted the scents of freshly baked pizza, new books, rose petals, and even Drew's cologne. I thought that it was a bit odd to find a room that smelled like all my favorite things, but dismissed it as stupid. After all, I was here, so I might as well enjoy it. Particularly since everyone else seemed to be having a good time. My family and all my friends were here, all having fun. Why should I bother them with my pointless worries. Everything was great; there wasn't anything in here worth worrying about.

I decided to wander around the room some more, noting its various features which included a pool, a giant coke machine, and (wow!) a mini bar devoted entirely to chex mix! In the center of it all was a large mirror, which seemed sharper and somehow more defined than the rest of my surroundings. On it were the words "

I narrowed my eyes, trying to recall why my brain was convinced I'd seen this mirror before. Nothing came to me off hand, but something told me it was important. Some nagging voice in the back of my head kept telling me I should look at my reflection in it.

So, I did.

And I screamed.

I don't know why I screamed, exactly. What I saw was far from my reflection, but it was also far from frightening. In fact, it was… well, I guess there's no other word for it but amazing.

The Ella who smiled back at me was much older, I'd put her in her mid-twenties, and she was absolutely radiant. Her hair was piled high in a perfect up-do, the kind I could never hope to get right in a million years, even with Tonks' help, and it had an almost glowing quality to it. She was dressed in a long, flowing white dress; a wedding gown. Pinned to her chest were several metals, telling me that this Ella was a hero. A real hero. But, even then, her most notable feature was her lack of lightening scar, and, of course, the man on her arm.

Drew.

I wasn't quite sure what to make of what'd I'd seen. Only that I didn't want to look away. The Ella in the mirror was perfect, and I wanted to be her. I wanted to be her more than I wanted any of the treasure hidden in this stupid room. Suddenly, staying in here forever didn't sound so appealing. But, that wasn't just because of the mirror. The pain in my scar had returned, and the state of bliss and ignorance the room had lulled me into began to dissolved, and a scene began to unfold inside my head.

"We're is she?" hissed a snake like voice.

"She-she should be here, my Lord," whimpered another voice. Margo. "I made sure they got to the entrance."

"I grow impatient of Eleanor's games. If she does not show herself in the next hour, we will seek her ourselves."

"She'll come. I know she will."

The scene dissolved, and I remembered. Everything, ever horrifying detail came flooding back in a rush of memories.

The room I returned to wasn't the paradise I had thought it to be. In fact, far from having its own swimming pool and chex mix bar, the only real object was the mirror of Erised. Jewels, books, the music, even the smell. It was only an illusion. It was nothing but a bleak, empty room with a dusty old mirror in the center.

I had to admit, it was actually rather clever, this magic. It made anyone unlucky enough to stumble across this room forget why they'd come here, content instead to remain in an empty room forever, their mission, good or bad, forgotten.

So, with that brilliant sentiment in mind, I set about trying to bring my friends back to reality, my mind set in a panicked frenzy. This proved to be insanely frustrating because each of them was convinced they were in paradise. Sam was under the impression I was a cute pool boy that was trying to flirt with her. Alison seemed to think she was playing tennis with Garrett. Zoe thought she was windsurfing. And worst of all, Drew was carrying on a conversation with his dead mother and sister, Megara. For some reason, it seemed almost cruel to rob him of an opportunity to see them again, even if it was only an illusion. No magic could bring back the dead.

The worst part was I had absolutely no clue how to beat this magic. I didn't even know how I'd done it, let alone how to force it to loosen its grip on others. I tried to imagine what Crystal would have done, had she been in my shoes. She'd have analyzed my situation from every possible angle, and looked for patterns or some sort of connection between my behavior and what she knew about how the room worked.

Well, I thought grimly, I'm no Ravenclaw, but here goes nothing.

I knew that the room's purpose was clearly to distract unwelcome visitors from their goals by making them believe they're in paradise, and forget why they'd come in the first place. They would lose touch with reality, absorbed in their own desires. Somehow, something in my mind had been able to break through the magic and see the room for what it really was. That much was obvious.

The question was: how did I do it? What had brought me back?

I rolled my eyes, realizing how obvious it was.

It was the pain in my scar. My connection with Voldemort had reminded my consciousness of what I had to do, thus defeating the illusion. The secret was finding a connection to the outside world that reminded you why you were here. The trick was having a purpose.

Now, how did I remind my friends? I was part of reality; they wouldn't see or hear me for what I truly was, they'd only see their own manifestations. Voldemort's freaky mind connection existed only in my head, so the room couldn't mask it for anything but what it truly was. But, it's not like I could count on my friends to all have mystical connections with evil wizards to bring them out of their trance. Which meant I was pretty much out of ideas.

So, I resolved to do this the old fashioned way, no different from the way a hypnotist would wake up someone in a trance. Really, there's not a whole lot of difference between the two, or at least for my sake there better not be.

I decided to try Crystal first, on the basis that as logical and intelligent as she was, she wouldn't have been so susceptible to falling for the illusion in the first place. Maybe she was already on her way to reality, and a nudge in the right direction was all she really needed. Then, she could help me convince Sam she was talking to a blank wall, not Johnny Dep.

At least, it was worth a shot.

Feeling a bit stupid, I turned my back on the mirror of Erised for the final time, and headed over to wear Crystal stood, eyes unfocused, a dazed expression on her face. She was muttering to herself, clearly under the impression she was in a library.

"The answers are all here, but why can't I find them?" she mumbled. "I see only my own ideas and hunches, not truth. Not truth…"

I felt a comforting spark of hope that I was right, and Crystal had already begun to see through the illusion. I placed my hands on both her shoulders and looked directly into her eyes. "It's not real, Crystal. I'm real; look at me!"

Her eyes became focused for a moment, but it faded a split second later. That only motivated me further.

"Crystal, its Ella! Listen to me, please! Think about Kali! She needs you- I need you! Fight it Crystal, fight it!"

"Kali?" said Crystal, sounding confused. "But Kali's right here. See?"

She pointed at something only she could see, and I felt my heart sink a little bit. "You came here to save Kali! The Kali you're talking about isn't real! I'm real!"

"Ella, Kali's right here!" she argued. "Help me look at some of this stuff. Did you know they have a chex mix bar? Why don't you get yourself some and then you can help me figure out why these books only have my theories in them."

"That's because they aren't real. None of this is real!" I pleaded.

"Of course it is," she said with a flicker of doubt in her eyes, which sent another surge of hope through my veins. "But, why won't the books answer my questions about you and Voldemort. If this is truly paradise, the answers would be here! But, I've only found my own ideas on the subject."

"Yes, Crystal! Remember Voldemort? He's going to try to kill me, and his Death Eater's have Kali! I need your help, Crystal! Please!"

She sighed, and turned away.

"No!" I was partly hysterical now, feeling completely alone. "Crystal, listen! I'm scared Crystal, I'll admit it! Help me!"

She started to walk away, looking troubled. I couldn't take it anymore, and my patients snapped. I grabbed her hand and yanked her back around so that she was facing me.

"Wake up!" I practically screamed. "Crystal, please, please wake up! Help me!"

"Help Ella…," she echoed.

"Yes! And Kali! We have to help Kali!"

"It's not real…," she muttered. "It's just an illusion! That's why the books aren't answering any of my questions! The room can't create true knowledge, it only knows what I know!" Crystal paused, and opened her eyes wider, this time to the real world. I was sure. "Ella?"

I practically cried. "You figured it out?"

She snorted. "Don't I always?"

I rushed forward to give her a big hug.

"Okay, thanks, Ella," she said, shoving me away a bit. "By the way, that was very touching what you were saying. I could hear it, even if I didn't really understand it at the time."

I blushed. "Sorry, got a bit emotional there."

Crystal shrugged. "Come on, between the two of us, we should be able to get everyone else back in this reality."

"I sure hope so," I replied, still feeling a bit doubtful.

-----

We actually did manage with most of them, and once there were more of us in our right minds, we could simply force people out the door there by making the room's affects null and void.

Now, the only problem was Drew.

He was absolutely dead on convinced that he was talking to his mother and his sister, and nothing I said or did could convince him to come back. It was almost like he didn't want to remember.

It broke my heart to watch.

His voice was light and carefree, and his eyes were twinkling with a kind of boyish happiness. "And Meg? Are you still listening Meg? I've got loads to tell you, you've been gone so long. You see, I met this girl, and I really think she's it, you know?"

"Drew! Wake up!" I pleaded.

He ignored me. "Mom, you met Ella. You always told me I'd fall in love with the lioness. I never knew what on earth you were talking about, but it's not like that was ever uncommon."

"Drew, I'm right here! They're gone, they're not real! I'm real!"

"Remember that time in my first year when you told me I'd keep the company of Martyrs? I screamed like a little girl, remember? And Meg, Meg, you were gone by then. But, I thought of you! Remember how you used to pretend to be mom and make fake predictions about how I'd do all your chores? She used to laugh so hard-"

I turned Crystal, trying not to look as defeated as I felt. "What do I do?"

She sighed. "He really loved them, Ella. It makes sense that he would resist coming back to reality. It's a chance many people would kill for, to talk to their dead loved ones again."

"Don't you think it's kinda my fault?" I wondered aloud. "I mean, Voldemort only ever wanted me."

Tonks rolled her eyes. "Shut up, Ella. There's an easy solution to all your Drew related problems right now."

Feeling a bit short tempered with Tonks' lack of sensitivity, I snapped at her. "Yeah? And what would that be?"

She snorted, amused. "Easy. You take one arm, I'll take the other."

Sam was obviously growing impatient, because she seized one of Drew's arms, and gestured for Tonks to do the same. Before I could do anything, the pair of them had began to haul Drew towards the door.

"Meg? Mom?" he cried, as he was being hauled away. "What's going on? What's happening? Where are you going? Come back!"

I stood rooted to the spot, biting my lip, wondering if all this was my fault.

No, it wasn't my fault. All this crap, it wasn't my fault. I had killed people, or kidnapped anyone. It was Voldemort's fault.

And at that moment, I decided that I was gonna make him pay. I was gonna make him feel for every life he'd taken, every life he'd destroyed, every person he'd tortured. People who now wake up in the middle of the night with nightmares because of what he did to them.

He was gonna pay. Big time.

So, maybe I was doomed. But, if I had to go, I was taking as many of those bastards with me as possible, Voldemort included.

"Ella?" said Crystal. "Not falling for the illusion again, are you?"

I shook my head. "No. Not in a million years. I have Death Eaters to fight."

"Good for you, Super Dork," said Tonks, from the door way. "Let's just get out of here with our heads still attached."

I stepped over the threshold and shut the door, leaving the Ella in the mirror behind me forever.

-----

In the next room, what we found ourselves in couldn't have been any more different from the false paradise room. Seriously, if that was paradise, than I bet you anything this new room was supposed to be hell.

The first thing I noticed was the difference in temperature. The paradise room adjusted itself to suit the needs of the individual, so I was perfectly content while inside it. This room, on the other hand, was so cold I felt like my insides were freezing over. Much like winter in Michigan, I could literally see my breath. This inconvenience was particularly unwelcome, since I'd just come from D.C in the summer, and was dressed accordingly in a thin tee-shirt and cut offs.

The room was really more like an indoor lake. The dull, murky looking water that separated us from the door on the other side. A flimsy looking bridge stretched across the water.

On it was a Dementor.

"Let's go," I said, desperate to escape the sudden feeling of hopelessness.

My friends nodded in agreement, all expect for Crystal, who's clear voice bounced off the walls as she spoke.

"We can't," she said, looking a bit distraught, eyes locked on the door on the other side. "This is it."

I winced, as I realized she was right. The door on the other side was adorned with a grimy silver nameplate caked with ice. On it, were the words "Hall of Prophecies."

Kali, Bellatrix, and countless others who had it in for me were on the other side of that door. I knew that one way or another, I would be too.

----

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