_I miss you_

[Sky]

       It felt as though life had been drastically altered since Char was abducted from this house. Since he had been taken from Jason and Sky, nothing seemed to be the same. No matter what Sky did, even the simplest of things made her think of her son.
 
       She had been preparing some tea for Jason, waiting for the water to boil. And as she waited, she would stare out the window at the beautiful sky and rising sun, and it would bring her to tears. Folding Char's laundry brought on tears. Sometimes even looking at Jason made her cry. And Jason must have been feeling bad too. Everytime he tried to comfort Sky, she would put up a wall. She hadn't been spending as much time with him as she should. It was just...hard. Taking a child from a mother was a terrible thing the Death Eater's did. Sky felt broken. A part of her was stolen from her. And she didn't even know if her son was alive.

       Sky stepped out of the house with Jake, her energetic brown Labrador, in front. As she took a seat on their porch swing, he went to go do his business. It was nice out today. The air was warm and even the sunlight felt nice on Sky's pale skin. She pushed her hair behind her ear and closed her eyes, leaning back and taking in the delightful weather. But still, she thought of Char.


 

[potter_fan122]

He was okay.  She had cleaned him up and checked his mind for anything amiss.  It felt wrong to go through an innocent child's mind, but she had to.  If the Death Eaters had placed a tag on Char as well, this whole thing would be pointless.  But there was nothing. 

Stacey had him wrapped in a fluffy white blanket and he was sound asleep.  He had been sleeping since she had taken him home, only crying once to get fed and changed.  Aiden had been quite surprised when she walked in the front door with him. 

Now she was on her way to give him back.  Her whole body tingled with anticipation;  she couldn't imagine what it would be like to have her children taken away, and she knew Sky must be having a hard time.  Walking or flying would take too long, so she risked transporting.  She appeared right on the edge of the Mitch residence, pushing open the gate with her hip.

((Sorrrrrry!  Me has writer's block. X( ))

[Sky]

((It was good! :D))


  Jake was suddenly up on the swing beside Sky, making her open her eyes to find out what the source of the sudden weight was. Maybe he knew how Sky felt. He was always trying to be there to keep her company. She smiled and pet the sweetheart who crawled into her lap. Sky laughed.

"Jake, you're getting too big to be a lap dog!" But she wouldn't make him move. He was too cute. Suddenly his ears perked and he was stiff, listening intently and sniffing the air. "What is it?" Sky asked. Jake looked around and then jumped off the swing, causing it to fly back. "Jake!" Sky called, annoyed. She managed to stand up and saw Jake running to a person by the gate.
 
   Stacey?

  Sky's stomach seemed to drop. What was that with her?

[potter_fan122]

Stacey gave a sideways smile and adjusted the blanket around the baby.  Char yawned widely and opened his big eyes.  He smiled when he saw the dog, maybe recognizing him or just smiling because he could.

"I think I have something for you," she called, quickening her pace.  The dog bounded around her feet and barked once.  The front door to the house opened and Jason appeared, his wand in his hand.

"Is everything oka--oh."

[Sky]

For a moment, Sky couldn't breathe. This wasn't real. This was not actually happening. She didn't have Char. It was probably something else, right? Like...a pie or some new book she thought Sky would have liked to read. But before she knew it, Sky was racing down the pathway and standing beside her son and Stacey, tears streaming down her face like tiny waterfalls.

"J-Jason! It's him! It's him!"

[potter_fan122]

Stacey carefully handed Sky her child and took a step back.  Jason was beside his wife in a moment, on arm around her shoulders.

"Oh my.... How... how did you find him?"  Jason stuttered, giving Stacey an incredulous look.

"There was a student who was taken in by Death Eaters, and they gave Char to him and told him to run away."  She shrugged then looked at Sky.  "He was only a boy, and his intentions were more honest than you think.  I have him now, and I promised that I would help him.  He really didn't know what he was doing."

[Sky]

Sky couldn't help it, but as soon as the baby was in her arms, she held him to her chest and sobbed. But they were tears of joy. She finally forced herself to calm down and leaned into her husbands chest. Their family was together again.

"Stacey, I can never thank you enough for bringing him back to us. But, thank you. Thank you so much." A thought crossed into her mind about the boy and the Death Eaters. For a moment, she was so angry. She was so angry that he had her son. But then she remembered being taken in by the Death Eaters at fifteen years of age. And for some reason, she understood.

"I want to meet this boy." Sky said softly. "I'll be returning back to work in a couple weeks. So maybe then I can meet him."

[potter_fan122]

((Do you want to continue with Stacey and Henry here when we're done?))

She ran her hands over her arms, suddenly chilly.  Her eyes glowed a soft blue as she looked at the newly reunited family.  She blushed faintly when Sky thanked her.

"You don't need to thank me," Stacey said half-heartedly, waving it away.  "And... are you sure you want to meet him?  I don't if that's such a great idea." She wanted Henry to get help, not get mauled by an angry mom.

[Sky]

"Yeah, I'm sure. I know, after this situation it probably really is a bad idea, but I really want to talk to him. I've been there. I know how it is at his age. It's...it's scary." Sky kissed Char's head and then passed him over to his father. It was his turn now.

"Trust me, Stacey. I won't hurt him."

[potter_fan122]

((Doooo doo doooooooooo.))

~~~~~~~

After transporting back to the forest and finding Henry, she took him into the school.  The sun was up now and students were milling about the castle or doing homework.  She had taken into her office and locked the door.  With a snap of her fingers the great windows were covered by their shutters.  Candles and lanterns flew to life, sending a glittery light over everything.

Stacey stalked to her desk and perched herself on the edge of it.  She had changed into a pair of jeans and a black short-sleeved shirt.  A leather jacket was thrown on her desk behind her, and her wand was carefully tucked into one of its hidden pockets.  She eyes Henry warily with hazel irises, ignoring her hair when it fell into her face.

"So, why don't you tell me everything?"

[Sky]

Henry did not oblige when Stacey had asked for him to come back into the school. But he was still ready to take it wand out of his pocket if he needed to defend himself. When they arrived to her office, she began to lock the door and close the shutters. He couldn't help but notice how dark the room had become. But it was suddenly illuminated with candles and lanterns. And his teacher cast a giant stone shadow across the wall behind her.

Henry took in a deep breath and then exhaled.

"Why should I trust you? Just because you're a teacher doesn't mean you deserve every ounce of trust a student has."

[potter_fan122]

Stacey raised an eyebrow, ignoring the fact that her eyes flared red.  She wasn't exactly angry yet--irritated, but not enough for that to be the only reason her eyes changed.  The fire around her helped, but also she just didn't trust the boy.

"I don't need your trust, and I don't think you should trust me all of the way.  Also, I don't consider me a teacher and you a student.  I consider myself someone a little older and a lot smarter than you, but not a teacher.  Teachers are self-important pricks who say things at you hoping you will remember them.  I want to change your life.  More importantly, you should trust me more than the Death Eaters because I can save your mother without making your join some crazy cult.  I can also save you from the Death Eaters and will do so, even though you stole my best friend's baby with the intention of taking it away forever."  She paused, realizing that she was rambling.

"Anyway, basically you can trust me a bit and let me help you or I can send you out there and let the Death Eaters have you.  I think we both know what they'll do to you, too."  She gave a slightly sinister grin and lifted a hand.  A flame appeared and she ran her fingers through it.

"I really do want to help you, Henry.  I don't want you to get hurt."

[Sky]

Henry looked down at the desk he sat at, contemplating what he should do. Finally, he sighed, settling on what would be best.

"My Mum's sick. Very very sick. I don't want her to die. I...I don't have a father or anyone else. She's all I have left. It took her pleas to keep me from staying home with her." Henry paused. He felt his throat tighten, his eyes burning. "I overheard a man talking to some people when I was crossing through an ally back in Hogsmead. They were discussing their magic abilities. I heard one say something about a mark and how since they got it, they've had magical powers that not even Albus Dumbledore beared. I think he was trying to pull someone in too. But he saw me, when I knocked over a trashcan. They all pulled their wands out on me." Henry brought his eyes to Stacey.

"I didn't know what I was doing! I just wanted to save my mum!" Tears began to stream down his face.

[potter_fan122]

Instantly she softened.  One thing Stacey couldn't stand was a helpless kid.  She was a sucker for tears and real misfortune.  Her eyes turned a watery blue and she frowned.  When Henry started crying she got of the desk and moved to crouch beside him, a hand on his shoulder. 

"Hey there, it's okay," she started, gently squeezing his shoulder.  Suddenly she didn't know what to say.  She could fix boo-boos and scraped knees and such, but... what was she supposed to say to Henry?

"Look, I don't... blame you for anything you did.  You were just trying to help you mom."

[Sky]

Henry hastily wiped his eyes and turned very serious.

"They...lied to me. Didn't they?"

   They probably did. If they could make a kid take a child away from its mother, then lying would be a simple task for them."