The sun was rising in the sky as Jack gathered himself. He could see Methos putting his few things together and listened intently as the immortal made a phone call to the illustrious MacLeod informing the other man of their intent to meet with him. By the sounds of the conversation, the other immortal was less than pleased and that made Jack all the more curious about this stranger they were about to cross paths with.
Across the room Jack heard Amanda on the phone attempting to make a phone call of her own but seeming completely frustrated by it. Both hung up at the same time and turned to one another.
"Well MacLeod will be waiting for us at the barge. I told him we should be there tomorrow sometime."
Amanda shook her head. "Scratch that. Couldn't get us a flight until tomorrow morning; which will put us getting there the day after."
"Don't tell me every flight to Paris was booked?"
She sighed. "Booked solid."
Methos growled in frustration and Jack couldn't help but chuckle at the two immortals. They both turned icy glares in his direction hearing the soft laughter coming from the couch where the wizard was seated.
"What's so funny, Jack?" The oldest immortal asked.
"Well, if you had asked me I'd have told you I could get us there much faster." Both immortals stared confused as Jack stood up and moved towards them. "If you recall, I told you I could do magic. That's all it'll take."
There was silence throughout the room for a moment before Amanda finally decided to ask the question on both her and Methos' mind. "How so?"
"It's called apparating. I can transport myself and one person to almost anywhere I can think of in a few seconds, relatively speaking."
"Bullshit!" Amanda stated matter of factly as she crossed her arms over her chest.
Smirking Jack reached over, pulling the petite woman into his arms and apparating away with her. The last thing he heard was Methos shout as the immortal's slim figure disappeared from his view and was replaced by the right wall of the dojo.
Amanda screamed for a moment realizing she'd been transported downstairs. A second later she found herself back upstairs staring at an equally shocked Methos and Jack with a smug grin on his face.
"That's got to save you a bundle on airfare." Methos stated as he began to shake his head.
Jack nodded. "You could say that."
Once she'd collected herself Amanda spoke. "You said you can transport one person with you…where does that leave whichever of us that doesn't go with?"
Shrugging his shoulders Jack turned to her. "I'll just have to take you one at a time."
Seemingly satisfied with his answer the two immortals readied themselves to leave. Methos chose to go second and watched Amanda and Jack apparate away before quickly going and making sure all the doors in the dojo and apartment were locked.
Amanda opened her eyes to find she was standing in an empty field with Jack's arms wrapped tightly around her waist. His breathing was heavy on her neck as she continued to rest her body against his.
"Are we there?" She asked tentatively.
"No. We're about halfway though." The words left his lips as almost a whisper. "It takes a lot to apparate long distances, especially with a tagalong. Gimme a sec and we'll be there."
He took a deep breath then apparated again, this time they ended up in another field, only this time Amanda recognized the outline of the city just in the distance. She pulled herself from his arms and he took another breath before leaving her alone with only the echo left by the popping sound of apparation in his wake. Ten minutes later he returned with Methos clutching his waist an uneasy expression on the immortal's face.
As he let Methos go his body sank to the ground and he landed on his knees gasping for breath.
"Jack!" Both called out as they knelt down beside him.
"Just a little tired. I'll be fine." Pain exploded in his head and he doubled over grabbing his temples as the pounding in his skull increased.
Images flitted through his mind like a movie running in fast forward as he struggled desperately to make sense of what he was seeing. Finally, a single figure became clear in his mind as his breathing began to even out.
Amanda and Methos watched in confusion and near panic as the wizard began to mumble to himself. It took a moment before Methos leaned in to hear him better, and when he did Jack's head snapped up. He fell backwards not sure what was going on as he saw the wizard's eyes roll back in his head while he continued to speak in a hollowed out voice unlike he'd ever heard before.
"The dead will rise as the stone joins the star. Only one can control the power and lead the chosen one to his destiny."
Jack repeated the phrase once more before his eyes snapped shut and he fell to the side barely conscious. Methos bit back a curse as he cradled the gray-haired wizard's head in his hands. Amanda was by their sides, reaching haphazardly into her bag for the bottle of water she had brought with her. Gently she opened it and put it to Jack's lips and he slowly began to drink.
A few minutes later Jack's pulse had returned to normal, the pain in his head dissipated to almost nothing and he had managed to move to a sitting position with both immortals at his side. Groggily he tried to piece together what had happened but only a single image remained in his mind. He looked at Amanda and Methos, his expression asking the question he couldn't seem to formulate with words.
"You gave us one helluva scare, Jack." Methos commented he reached over checking Jack's pulse once more.
"One minute you're standing there just fine and the next you're dropping to the ground like a stone clutching your head and mumbling." Amanda added.
"What did I say?" Jack asked once he was able to find his voice.
Amanda wrinkled her brow trying to recall exactly what had been said. "Something about the dead, a stone, a star and someone finding their destiny."
Methos shook his head and repeated the phrase Jack had said earlier, the wizard listening intently as he tried desperately to figure out the meaning of the prophecy he'd just made.
Harry sat on the edge of the bed staring out the window onto the darkened street below and wondered when exactly his life had morphed into something he was no longer able to control. It was then that the thought occurred to him that someone else had always been in control of his life and that simple realization made him want to vomit.
'None of this is fair.' He thought to himself. 'This is My life!'
He let his thoughts ramble on in his mind cursing his situation and the fact that he knew no way for him to be free of it all. Finally, another knock at his door roused him and he called out for whomever it was to enter the room.
"Can I have a minute, Harry?" His godfather's voice was soft and reassuring as he stepped inside the bedroom leaving the door slightly ajar.
"Let me guess. I'll be leaving soon for whatever safehouse the Order deems fit for me."
Sirius couldn't miss the disdain in the young wizard's voice and he approached him, gently taking a seat on the edge of bed.
"Actually, Severus convinced us to do as you wished and you'll be going to Hogwarts with Hermione, Ron and myself. You'll have to stay there the rest of the summer and possibly through the holiday break, but…"
The older wizard stopped mid-sentence seeing the tearful expression on his godson's face. He pulled the boy into his arms as the young man wept.
"I'm so sorry, Harry. I truly wish none of this had ever happened to you. You should be having a normal life, living with James and Lily, making plans for when you graduate from Hogwarts, not fighting for your life and hiding from a madman."
He soothingly stroked his fingers through Harry's dark locks and the boy clutched tightly to his torso. The sound of footsteps approaching the bedroom drew both of their attention and they looked up in time to see Snape ease the door open.
"Sorry to interrupt but Albus would like to speak to Harry before he leaves."
Harry pulled away from Sirius and stood up from the bed. He approached the Potion's Master tentatively, then reached out his hand towards the taller wizard, who stared at it in confusion for a moment before taking hold of it and shaking firmly.
"Thank you."
Severus was stunned at the words leaving his nephew's mouth, but nodded back appreciatively. "Regardless of how I sometimes come off, Harry. You're about the only family I have besides Jack and that means a great deal to me. Don't ever doubt that."
Smiling Harry pulled Severus in for a hug that seemed to last an eternity and melted the stoic wizard's heart completely as he wrapped his own arms around the boy, embracing him earnestly. When they pulled apart no words were spoken, but they seemed to reach an understanding as they gazed into each other's eyes, and as that understanding was reached Harry nodded and moved to go down the steps to speak to the Headmaster.
tbc...