New character time! He was created by LilyEvans13, and I hope I portrayed him like she wanted him to be. Hope you all enjoy this new chapter! =) Though I must admit, I'm unsure of what's going to happen from here. =P

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Audrey

            I felt like we had been walking for days. I had seen the sun rise, and the morning fog was still lingering through the low hills we were crossing. Although we had only been walking for a few hours, my feet already were sore. I swore I had blisters forming already, but I wasn’t about to take my shoes off to find out.

            I wandered slowly a few feet behind Artemis, though he looked just as lost as I did. Truthfully, I don’t think he had any idea of where he was going, but I was going to trust his judgment. He probably knew the barren landscape better than I did, especially with his random escapades over the years. I watched him stop at the top of a hill, and stopped behind him. Draco and Pansy stopped on the other side of him, staring out into the green hillside like I was.

            “What is it, Artemis?” I asked, looking over at him.

            He didn’t say anything for several minutes. “You see the forest off in the distance?”

            I strained my eyes to see the deciduous forest off in the distance. “Yea I see it. Why?”

            “I figure we can walk as far as there for now, and rest,” he decided. “We’ve been walking forever now, and I’m sure I’m not the only one whose feet are killing them.”

            Draco and Pansy muttered in agreement, and then Artemis started go down the hill. We followed him in silence for another thirty minutes or so. Honestly, we were making good time considering we were on foot, and were growing increasingly tired. The lack of conversation was really starting to get to me, but I knew speaking would diminish whatever energy we may have had. I knew I’d have to wait until we settled into a resting place in the forest.

            Upon reaching the middle of the forest, Artemis took a seat on a large rock. I knew he was tired; he was never used to physical activity involved with long hikes. I used to take them all the time as a child and young teen on family vacations to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. It was a mile walk to and from a nearby waterfall, and I was nowhere near tired by the end of it. Artemis was not raised like I was; I was forced outside on sunny days and was told to play. He was not, and I knew all the physical activity was wearing him down already.

            I sat down next to him, catching my breath. Artemis reached into his bag and grabbed a bottle of water. He drank a small amount before handing the bottle to me. I took a quick drink before handing it back to him. I jumped slightly when his owl landed next to me. I had almost forgotten that Ares was following us.

            “How long do you plan on staying here?” Malfoy asked Artemis after a few seconds later.

            Artemis shrugged. “As long as we need to I guess. I haven’t really thought about it too much. At least for the rest of today; we’ve been walking for hours now. We need to rest.”

            None of us protested staying for a while. We were all beat from walking. I tried to get as comfortable as I could against the tree that stood behind the rock I was sitting on. Involuntarily, I closed my eyes, and started to doze off.

            I opened my eyes suddenly. I glanced around only to discover that I had in fact fallen asleep for several hours. The sun was only a few hours from setting now, and I was sure we were supposed to be moving on soon. I was about to tell Artemis sorry but then I noticed he was sleeping, his head resting on the bag he packed. I was going to let it be, until I saw something move out of the corner of my eye.

            I panicked and shook him awake. “Artemis, wake up!”

            Artemis’ eyes fluttered open, immediately alert. “What is it?” he asked as he sat up. The commotion had also caused Malfoy and Pansy to wake up.

            “Something is moving over there,” I gestured to the area I had swore I had seen movement.

            Artemis stood, pulling his wand out, ready to attack whatever was over there. “Who are you? Show yourself!”

            “Dude! Way to try to kill me!” a voice called out from behind the trees. Within moments, a boy roughly our age emerged from behind one of them. He was wearing a gray hoodie, and a pair of jeans. He had hair and eyes reminiscent of Artemis’ himself, so for a second I thought maybe they were related. I looked to Artemis to judge his reaction. It appeared he was neither ecstatic nor mad by the appearance of this strange boy.

            “Sebastian, shouldn’t you be in school right about now?” Artemis asked, as he lowered his wand and stowed it back in his pocket.

            The boy, Sebastian, laughed slightly. “When have you known me to go to school?”

            Artemis shrugged. “Never.”

            The boy gave me a concerning look before he turned back to Artemis. “So is it okay for me to join you? Or is your girlfriend going to have a cow?”

            I glared at him, but said nothing. “Of course you can,” Artemis answered.

            Sebastian approached us, and took a seat between Artemis and Malfoy. He was silent for a moment, before he spoke. “You know how long it took me to find you?” he asked. “I tried Apparating, and I just kept ending up at your houses!”

            This guy was suspicious. I was growing weary of playing guessing games with him. “Who are you? And why were you trying to find us?” I asked.

            Sebastian looked to me. “It’s funny how I know who you are, but you don’t know me,” he stated flatly. “I mean seriously, we went to school together.”

            I gave him a death glare. I wanted answers from him, and I wanted them right then. I was done beating around the bush. “I’m glad you think this is funny, ‘cause I certainly don’t,” I answered.

            He sighed. “I’m Sebastian Snape. I’m Professor Snape’s son. I’m a year younger than you and in Gryffindor,” he explained. “Surely you remember me?”

            I shook my head. “It doesn’t matter if I do or not. Why are you here?”

            He ignored my question and turned to Artemis and Malfoy. “So I uh… heard about your predicament. Are you aware of what Voldemort has ordered?”

            Artemis nodded. “We spied on the last meeting. We heard everything, hence why we’re running. I figure if we can keep on the move he’ll have a harder time tracking us.”

            Sebastian took a deep breath. “Don’t be so sure. He knows that you guys are running.”

            Artemis cursed under his breath. “Well there goes that idea… and what do you suppose we do about it? If he knows we’re running what else are we supposed to do about it?”

            “Well, I can always follow you guys, and report false trails back to him,” Sebastian suggested. “I know it’s not much, but it’s worth a shot.”

            And this was where I couldn’t just sit silently anymore. “So let me get this straight… You’re a Death Eater? And you want to help us?”

            He nodded. “I’m only a Death Eater because my dad is, and Voldemort saw ‘potential’ in me. I hate it, and I wish I had a way out of it.” He looked at Artemis and Malfoy. “You two were brave for quitting like you did.”

            Malfoy shrugged. “Well… what did you expect us to do? Stay and deal with it?” he scoffed. “The guy was a joke.”

            Before Artemis could speak, I had a revelation. “How can we trust you? How do you we know you won’t just turn us in to them to be killed?”

            Pansy nodded in agreement. “As far as we know, you’re just like the rest of them.”

            Sebastian frowned. “I see your point, but I promise you I’m not like them. Would I have come here if I wanted you dead? Certainly not.”

            “Well then you’re crazy,” Pansy stated. “No one in their right mind would seriously want to help us. We’re wanted by Voldemort.”

            “Either you have a lot of courage, or you’re nuts,” Malfoy declared.

            Sebastian smiled. “Courage is usually mistaken for being crazy,” he stated. “And I’m definitely willing to help you guys in any way I can.”

            The four of us exchanged glances. I wondered what the others were thinking. Were we really going to let him join us? And if we did, was it a good idea? I saw a smirk appear over Artemis’ face, and I knew he had an idea.

            “Well, I am skilled in Occlumency, and if there’s one thing people can’t mess with it’s my mind, so if you think you can manipulate me, you’re wrong,” Artemis warned. “We’ll let you join us, and you are to relay false messages to the Death Eaters. And I swear, if you turn us in, so help me, you will experience a hell you have never experienced before in your life.”

            “Alright. You have a deal, Artemis,” Sebastian agreed.

            Artemis extended his hand, and he and Sebastian shook on it. A deal was just made, and I knew a deal was not something you broke with Artemis, for if you broke it, you were in for a surprise. I was just hoping at this point he had made the right decision for the sake of all of our lives.