Admittedly, I toyed around with this chapter for a bit. I honestly had no idea what was going to happen to our... wild card character as I deemed him. And well... now I do. So, here it is! =D

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Artemis

           It had been a while since I actually felt my blood boiling. Betrayed again; it was honestly something I was growing sick of happening. First by Voldemort, now by Sebastian. It was seriously getting really old, really fast. It was if I couldn’t trust anyone anymore, and I was sincerely hoping that I could trust who I had left in my group. We were about half way down the stairs when I heard a loud rumbling noise. It grew ever louder, and admittedly I had no idea at first as to what it could be. But then it struck me.

           The war had begun. I had no idea what was causing the noising, and part of me didn’t want to know what it was. I shook the thought as I led the group down the staircases and back into the Great Hall. Upon reaching the huge wooden door leading outside, I noticed it was already open, many of the students and teachers were outside, all staring anxiously at the sky. My group stood next to Professor McGonagall, and I too began to gaze at the sky. I soon figured out why everyone was so fixated on the sky; the defensive barriers were under attack. I happened to glance up at the perfect time to see the barrier disintegrate under the sheer force of all the spells hitting it. After a quick glance at McGonagall I knew this was about to get ugly.

           I turned to my left, trying to figure out where Audrey was as the battle of a lifetime started before us. Sure enough, she was right at my side, a worried look plastered to her face. I took a deep breath, debating on what I was going to tell her. Last time there was a crisis, I was foolish and left her alone, and she got tortured by Voldemort. I wasn’t going to let that happen again.

           “I don’t want you to leave my sight,” I told her, trying my hardest to ignore the people rushing past us, the spells whizzing past our heads. “I’m not going to have you hurt again.”

           “Alright, Artemis,” she said quietly. “What are we going to do?”

           I debated silently in my head for a moment before I answered, “We’re going to go find Sebastian. He has some explaining to do. And in the process, let’s try not to get killed.”

           She nodded in response, and with that, off we went. Admittedly, I had no idea where we were going, or where we would even be able to find Sebastian with the school in all of this chaos. I smacked myself mentally as I suddenly realized I had left the rest of the group in the middle of the battle. I tried my best to shake the feeling as we made it back inside the school; I knew all of them could hold their own.

           After wandering aimlessly through the school’s corridors for what seemed like an eternity, I turned to Audrey. I was hoping she would have an idea on where to go. “If you were Sebastian where would you go?” I asked.

           “I’d probably go run to my dad,” Audrey replied. “Snape’s his father… so we should check the dungeons, more importantly the potion’s classroom. Or even the Head Master’s office since he kinda took over.”

           “Great idea,” I breathed, although I was a bit irritated with myself for not thinking of that sooner. Of course Snape and his precious son would’ve locked themselves away in the Headmaster’s office. But then again, it was hard to say where Snape went since I sort of chased him off.

           Audrey and I made our way towards the Headmaster’s office, dodging the rogue spells that occasionally ricocheted off the walls from duels happening throughout and around the school. Admittedly, I hadn’t been this on edge in a while. I felt like a ticking time bomb that was just going to explode; unfortunately I was nearly certain I was going end up exploding on someone undeserving of it. We needed to find Sebastian and quick. We reached the gargoyle standing in front of the spiral staircase that led up to the office. I had no idea what the password was anymore, but then I noticed that the stone statue had been blasted away. I took that as a reason to just run on up the stairs then, Audrey close behind me.

           Upon reaching the office, I saw exactly who I wanted to see. Standing by the window, completely oblivious to our entrance, was Sebastian. I casually shut the office door behind us, making sure it clicked shut. I drew my wand from my pocket before clearing my throat. The boy spun on his heel, a shocked look on his face.

           “Artemis, what are you doing here?” he asked, panic striking his voice.

           I took a step in front of Audrey, making sure she kept an eye on the door. “I could ask you the same thing, Sebastian. Why did you separate from the group?”

           A smirk appeared on the pale boy’s face. “I never thought you would ask.”

           “You betrayed us,” I spat at him, feeling the rage building inside of me. “You had this planned from the beginning didn’t you?”

           The boy snickered. “They sent me for the purpose of finding you. They wanted me to befriend you all, gain your trust and learn your secrets. When you decided to come back here, I alerted them. They were waiting to strike the second we showed up. And now… it’s only a matter of time before they destroy you too.”

           “I knew something wasn’t right about you,” I heard Audrey hiss from behind me.

           “You obviously don’t know much about me,” I answered. “If you think Voldemort scares me, you’re obviously mistaken. And I’m certainly not afraid of death. I’ve been dead before; I came back. I could do it again.” I saw him attempt to reach into his pocket unnoticed. I knew all too well he was going for his wand, so I decided then to end his attempt. “Incarcerous!” Within seconds, ropes tangled around the boy, restraining him with ease. I smirked at the sight. “You obviously don’t remember who you’re messing with,” I went on. “You’re talking to the boy who took on several members of the Order single-handedly. If you think I couldn’t take you on, you’re obviously mistaken. Wow… I’ve used that phrase too much in this conversation.”

           “You’ll never get away with this Fowl,” he hissed at me.

           I picked up his wand from the ground, stowing it in my pocket. “I think I recall many people telling me that.” I paused, smirking. “I always get away with it.”

           “…bring me Harry Potter and Artemis Fowl and no one else will be hurt. They have one hour to meet me in the Forbidden Forest or else this carnage will continue…”

           I had been ranting so much I hadn’t even noticed Voldemort making his public service announcement to the school. He wanted Harry and I? This wasn’t going to be good. I had to find Harry, and fast.  Without another word to Sebastian, I grabbed Audrey’s hand and I took off back down the corridors. There were bigger fish to fry than this traitor. Voldemort was going to learn what happened when you messed with a Fowl.