Encounter

[Sky]

These last couple of months have been some of the longest Sky had ever experienced. Every waking moment she felt on edge. She was always on her guard, always prepared to fight. Even though it had been awhile since their last encounter with the death eaters, Sky always felt that they would be back any moment, and at that time, they would be stronger and smarter.

She was laying in the queen sized bed of the small apartment they had decided to rent, staring up at the ceiling. She could hear the sounds of the soft breathing coming from Jason beside her, and that was the only thing that calmed her nerves. She turned to her side, so that she could watch him sleep. His eyes were closed of course, and his lips were open just a little, so that a light snore escaped from him. She had to smile. Even through this rough patch, she could always find comfort in the man she loved.

 Sky tried to close her eyes numerous times, trying to fall into that deep slumber that she longed for, but it wasn't happening. She was wide awake. She tried to silent shift her position and adjust the pillow that she rested her head on, but it was no use. It was like being at Hogwarts. She still had that insomnia.

So Sky decided that, since she could not go to Hogwarts and tread through the beloved forest, she would step outside and walk around this muggle town. She slipped out of bed as silently as she could, pulling a navy blue jacket over her white nightie and zipping it up about half way. She looked once at Jason and then quietly snuck out the door so she wouldn't wake him.

When she got outside, she couldn't help but notice how quiet it was. No animals, no birds, nothing. Well, there were a few people in their automobiles, but other than that, there was silence. Every so often, she would hear a cricket chirp in somebody's garden. At least it was warm. She could feel the almost summer air on the skin of her face and legs. That was comforting. She sighed and remembered how much she missed home.

Sky walked on, down Milton St. and Andres Rd. As she started down Ridgeway Drive, she saw a figure standing in the middle of the street. It was dressed in a black cloak. That much Sky could decipher thanks to the street lights. The figure gave off an eery shadow that stretched at least twice the figures length.

"Sky Mason." The voice said, deep and manly. She stopped dead in her tracks.

"Y-yeah." She replied. Though the man wasn't asking a question. It was more of a statement.

"You've tried to run. You've hidden well. But you should know better than anyone, that there is no escape."  The man pulled down the hood of his cloak, his face obscurred by shadows. Sky could at least tell that he had short brown hair. She didn't say anything. She was searching for her wand, but realized that it was back at the apartment in a drawer. She cursed to herself.

"I don't like traitors Sky. Once you join The Dark Lord's Clan, you don't leave. He may be dead but he lives within us in our hearts. He is a part of us all."

"Shut up!" Sky screamed. "He is not and never will be a part of me!"

The man was suddenly infront of Sky and had grabbed her by the throat, his other hand held his wand and was pushing it into her skin.
 
 "I've been waiting for this. It's time to extinguish the traitors. Then the mudbloods. As far as I'm concerned, you're worse than those filthy vermin."  


 There was a flash of light, a brilliant white light and a flash of blue and then Sky blacked out.

[potter_fan122]

Jason was alseep, finallyl. He hadn`t been sleeping well for the past two months, and he knew Sky hadn`t either. And as much as he wanted to help her, to have her be happy, there wasn`t anything they could do. They wanted to stay under the radar, hiding from the other Death Eaters. He lived in constant fear that the others would appear before him again.

He awoke to the sound of a soft click. His eyes flew open and he froze, listening. He could feel that Sky wasn`t in bed beside him, and he carefully slid his hand under his pillow to grasp his wand. The object felt reassuring-- if small- in his hand. In one movement he sat up and held his wand out.

Nothing. Nothing at all.

Jason slid off of the matress, his feet silently hitting the floor. He could feel that there wasn`t anyone in the apartment, and he sighed. Sky had probably taken another walk. She had started doing that about a month ago, and it drove him nuts. He couldn`t watch over her if he didn`t know where she was.

Quickly he grabbed his denim jacket and slid it on, putting his wand in a pocket as he left. He hated living with Muggles, but it was necessary if they wanted to stay hidden. Soon he was outside. A soft, warm breeze drifted over to him and he breathed in deeply. There was hardly anyone out, and he couldn`t blame them; it was almost three in the morning. Jason started out the sidewalk and hoped to find something.

There was a small snapping noise, then a noise like something heavy hitting the ground. A small groan sounded close by.

Jason ducked and moved towards the sounds. His wand was back in his hand, and he moved stealthily, like a cat. In a few steps he peeked around a corner. He saw a dark figure holding up a familiar body.

*Sky.*

He moved so he had a straight shot at the cloaked person and held out his wand. A bright flash of green-blue light burst from the tip of his wand and hit the back of the Death Eater`s head. He started shaking and let go of Sky unwillingly. She started to fall, but Jason sent out another spell.

"Come on, come on. Wake up!" He said, runnign to her and straightening her up.

[Sky]

A small groan escaped Sky's pink lips. She could finally breathe but her body felt like she had been trampled by a Hippogriff a dozen times. Why didn't the death eater kill her when he had the chance? Did he want her to suffer first? She opened her eyes to see a worried Jason hovering over her, begging her to come back to consciousness.

"Jason?" She said softly. How did he know she was here? He was sound asleep when she left and she was as sneaky as a fox when she left. It had been so hard for him to sleep, she didn't want to awaken him. She brought a hand to her throbbing head. What had happened? She had blacked out, she was sure. But she was so confused. She heard the sound of a shoe scraping against pavement and turned her head to see the death eater, wand held out, stepping towards them.

"Oh, Jason Mitch? What a surprise! Now I can take out two traitors at once." He was once again at Sky's side and he grabbed her. He could see the fierceness in Jason's blue eyes. "Don't even try to make a move or I'll kill her right now."

[potter_fan122]

Jason glared at the man. The other Death Eater was a few inches shorter than Jason, and thinner, too. Jason could easily take him out if he could get him without a wand.

"Listen, we`ll come with you, do whatever you want us to do, just don`t hurt her." He said in a even, honest tone. He stared into the other man`s eyes, letting him feel his truth, which was a lie, of course. The man eyes Jason carefully, then pushed Sky forward with the tip of his wand.

"Thank you, Ramsey." Jason said, nodding slightly. He took Sky`s hand and started walking.

"Where do you think you`re going?" Ramsey snapped, pulling on his shoulder. Ramsey was basically the gopher of the Death Eaters. He had wanted to be important, wanted to be seen, but he was too small and weak. Jason had been higher up than him. He would have been praised highly for bringing Jason and Sky back, but Jason would let that happen only over his dead body.

"Walking," Jason replied, "What does it look like I`m doing." He shrugged, twisting his wand in his hand.

"Now, you put that down, drop it!" Ramsey wasn`t very good at remembering spells, and many thought him a Squib.

"Nope."

Jason lifted his arm quickly, first disabling the shorter man, then locking him in place. "Stupefy!" A red beam shot out of his light wand and Ramsey froze where he was. Jason smiled grimly. "Now what are we going to do with him?" He asked.

On the outside, he seemed strong and content, but he felt terrible. They had been found.

[Sky]

"I'm sorry you always..e-end up being the hero." Sky said softly. She felt so horrible now. Both physically and mentally. She hurt all over. Whatever spell Ramsey used, it hurt. And she was being stupid and had to go out. Why did she always have to risk everything? She constantly put themselves in danger with her careless actions. 

She couldn't even look at Jason. All of a sudden they stopped and Jason had stupified him. Ramsey was on the ground.

"I...leave him. He's a lower class. He'll be punished."

[potter_fan122]

Jason slid his wand into his pocket again, stepping forward and putting his hands on Sky`s shoulders.

"Love, I don`t care if I`m the hero all the time. That`s what I`m supposed to do. I`m supposed to save you, Sky, and I like taking care of you. You mean the world to me, and I wouldn`t trust you in anyone else`s hands." He leaned closer to her. "You don`t have to worry about me, love, I`ll always be here for you." He pulled her in for a hug, wrapping his strong arms around her. He wanted to be with her always, he just didn`t know how to say that. He hopes she knew how he felt.

[Sky]

Sky hugged him back, her head against his chest. She could hear his heart beating inside his chest and that relaxed her just a little.

"I want to go home." She sighed into his jacket. She wanted to curl up in their bed, feel his arms around her. She wanted to see Jake. She wanted to be like a family with no worries about death eaters or fighting to live. She pushed herself away from Jason and started walking the opposite direction, silently crying to herself.

[potter_fan122]

Jason followed Sky, taking her cold hand in his.

"I want to go home to, Sky, I really do. Do you think we`ll be safe if we do? You can get your friend-- Stacey?-- to put up some heavy-duty shields around the house. That should keep them away. They aren`t as strong as they used to be, love, the Marks prove that." His left forearm twitched, cold.

[Sky]

"We're just putting ourselves in danger, Jason. Sure Stacey can put up some shields, but they'll break through it. They know more magic than she does. They have more experience than all of us together." She brought her hand to her forearm and pulled it away quickly. It stung. "No. They aren't as strong. But stronger than us. We've only faced the weak ones. The grunts. They're nothing compared to the higher ranks."

Sky brought her hand to her forehead and sighed. What were they going to do?

[potter_fan122]

Jason leaned forwards and kissed her forehead. He didn`t like seeing her like this. She didn`t deserve it; she was young, she should be happy.

"I don`t know what to do, Sky." He said softly. His voice caught in his throat, and he made a face. He didn`t want to show Sky how scared he was, how worried he was that they were going to get caught. He only knew so much magic, and they couldn`t run forever. He had been lucky tonight, finding Sky when he did.

[Sky]

Sky sighed and dropped to the ground, huddling against her knees.

"I just don't get it." She whispered painfully. "What do they want with us!? It's not like we're much use to them. They want something Jason. And I don't know what it is." She buried her face between her knees so he couldn't see her frustration.

[potter_fan122]

Jason knelt beside Sky and rubbed her back. He wanted to pick her up and comfort her, but he wasn`t sure if that`s what she wanted. Insted he leaned close against her her and rested his head on her shoulder, breathing on her neck.

"There`s nothing we can do about it, love. We just have to stay strong until we find out what they want." He said softly, squeezing her gently. "I love you, Sky. I`m not going to let them hurt you... or me."

[Sky]

"I love you too." Sky whispered between tears. She felt his warm breath against the skin of her neck and felt her heart start to break because she knew what she had to do, deep down inside she knew it had to happen.

[potter_fan122]

Jason sat on the dirt ground and gathered Sky`s hands in his. She just looked so sad, and that in turn made him sad. She deserved to be happy, excited, not depressed.

"I would do anything for you, and you know that, right? Absolutely anything. And I don`t want to spend one day without you, don`t want to see you frown once. I want to be with you always." He dug his hand into his pocket.

"Sky, I`m asking you to marry me." He showed her what was in his hand; it was a silver ring with a large diamond in the middle with two smaller ones on each side. It sparkled brightly in the moonlight. "It... it was my mother`s. I couldn`t leave it behind." He had killed his own parents because Voldemort had told him to, but that didn`t mean he had wanted to do it. He wanted to have something to remind him of the woman who raised him.

[Sky]

Sky lifted her head as Jason took her hands. She felt so worthless right now. She didn't even know if the situation was as bad as it felt in her head. She felt terrible.

And then...he proposed. He held in his hand a beautiful silver ring with gorgeous diamonds. It was his Mother's. He had saved it after her death. She felt the tears form in her eyes, tried to hide them, and then lost it.

  "I...I can't do it Jason. I can't. I'm so sorry. I..can't be with you." She was sobbing now. Tear's were streaming down her cheeks. She stood up and then took off down the street, apparating mid-stride to their house near Hogsmead, and found their bed. She hid beneath the blankets, still crying to herself.

She had wanted Jason to come back here and hold her, to tell her that it was okay because his voice was so soothing to her. She wanted him to slip that ring on her finger and touch her lips with his. But she knew that breaking up would be best for both of them. It was a distraction and only put them in more danger.