Begin to Hope

The next morning I woke up bright and early, hoping to get to the morning newspaper before the rest of them tore it apart. I was hoping to get a quick look through it, and see if I found anything in it about a boy. A tall, good-looking boy who maybe had been found during the night...

"Hey, Kerry!" Orlando greeted me as I came in the kitchen. He was standing casually against the counter, looking through the cupboards for something to eat. My jaw dropped open.

"Orlando! What are you doing here?" I shrieked. I flung myself at him, wrapped my arms around his neck and buried my face in his chest. I took a whiff of him and he distinctly smelled like mud and dirt. I smiled and looked into his face. He started to laugh and pulled me off him. "We thought you left us for good!"

He smiled down at me, showing off his dimples as he did. "Nope, I didn't leave. I--well, I had a bit of a situation."

I looked at him curiously. "What do you mean?"

He looked away, taking his left hand in his right and wringing it out. "I--I got an owl late last night, from a distant relative, saying that there was a family emergency, and--I had to go see them, as soon as I could."

"Oh." I responded. I took a step back from him and pretended to be interested in a cracked floor tile on the other side of the room.

"Why?" He grinned again and moved into me, placing his hands on my waist. "Did you miss me?" He leaned forward, ready to kiss me, but I pulled out of his reach and folded my arms across my chest.

"We were really worried about you, Orlando. You haven't have just run away like that. You should have given us some warning, at least." I felt like I was talking to an unruly five-year-old boy. He shrugged and turned away like it was nothing.

He scratched at his left forearm absentmindedly and continued to look through the cupboard.

"Don't we have anything good to eat?" He asked casually, getting out a glass and filling it with water from the sink.

"No. We only have shit." He shook his head at my sarcastic response.

He gave an audible gasp of pleasure when he finally found some sort of cookie box. He opened the box eagerly but replaced it when he found it empty. He settled for a bowl of cereal and took it back to the table, sitting down comfortably and putting his feet to rest on a neighboring chair.

I studied his face for a moment as he concentrated on stuffing his mouth full of Wheat-O's. He seemed so calm and relaxed. How could he not realize how worried we'd all been?

"Orlando!" Annabelle shrieked as she came in the kitchen. "Where have you been?" She ran to him and started fussing over him; his clothes, face, and unwashed body were all victims of her nagging.

I rolled my eyes until I noticed Klaus and Farley standing in the doorway, looking in on the scene with remote signs of interest.

"What is all this noise?" Farley stepped in the threshold and raised an eyebrow at Annabelle.

She stepped back from Orlando and held her hands up to show she was innocent.

"I was just greeting Orlando. As you can see, he has returned."

"I see." Farley smoothly sauntered over to the table and peered down at Orlando. "And where have you been?"

"Family trouble." He shoved a handful of cereal in his mouth purposely so he wouldn't have to say anymore. He subconsciously played with the sleeve of his left arm while he looked up at Farley.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean--my family was in trouble. I had to help."

"Where are they now?"

"Where are who now?"

Farley's voice took on the I-am-not-joking-so-you'd-better-wise-up tone and he glared at Orlando. "Your family!"

"Oh. They're better."

"Do you mind telling us what the emergency was?"

"Well, it was kind of personal, see, and I know they wouldn't want me blabbing it to people outside of the family."

"Uh huh..." Farley let up, apparently satisfied with Orlando's answers.

Klaus, I noticed, did not believe Orlando in the slightest, and instead leaned against the farthest corner of the room, watching us sharply.

I watched as the rest of the household slowly trickled in and was delighted to find Orlando back in our presence once again. The only one not happy about Orlando's return was... Klaus.

As usual.

"Kerry, may I speak with you for a moment?" He spoke through gritted teeth, taking ahold of my arm and nearly ripping it out of its socket as he pulled me into the next room. Maverick and Humphrey were still questioning Orlando about where he had been.

"What is it now, Klaus?" I asked, completely exasperated. I was sure he'd bring up another one of his stupid theories about how Orlando was a Death Eater.

"Orlando is a Death Eater."

I threw my arms up in the air in aggravation and turned to exit the room and go back into the kitchen, but his next words stopped me in my tracks.

"I have proof this time."

I whirled around to face him.

"What proof do you have?" I whispered, searching his eyes.

He tapped his left arm, looking up at me, his eyes alight. "Don't you see? All of yesterday, he was out spreading news of our activity to Voldemort, and today he's back. He's a spy, Kerry. He was sent to watch what we're doing after the attack here."

"That's ridiculous, Klaus. You don't know what you're talking about."

"He has the Mark of a Death Eater on his forearm! That's why he's been rubbing his arm so much! The scar is burned into his arm and it's irritating him. Let's go confront him--"

He struggled to get past me but I pulled him back by his robes.

"Klaus, you are so utterly oblivious, and you're just jealous. Honestly. Can't you stop this nonsense?"

"No, Kerry! Let's just go have a look at his arm. If the Mark's there, then you'll have to believe me, and we'll throw him out immediately and leave. And otherwise, if there's not, well, then, I'll forget all about his being a Death Eater and just go on with my life."

I looked at him skeptically. "Do you promise?"

He nodded and we shook on it before heading back out to the kitchen.

"Orlando," I announced, "our foolish friend Klaus here is under the impression that you are a Death Eater--"

"That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard--" Annabelle said loudly, but Maverick clamped a hand over her mouth.

"--And I would like some proof that you're not." Klaus finished. He ceremoniously marched right up to Orlando, pulled him to his feet, and pushed back the robe on his arm to reveal...nothing. Orlando's arm was Mark-free. It was clean, white, and pale.

Panicked, Klaus released Orlando's left arm and grabbed the other one. He pushed back the sleeve and again, there was nothing on his forearm to suggest the mark of any Dark Lords.

"This is impossible!" He cried, frantic. "Where's the Mark? It has to be here! You're a Death Eater!"

Orlando chuckled casually. "But you have to understand that I'm not, Klaus." He ripped both arms out of Klaus's clammy hands and sat back down in his chair. "Sorry to disappoint you," he said with a grin.

"But--why are you not a Death Eater?!" Klaus shrieked. He gave a loud cry of frustration and stomped out of the room, muttering under his breath all the while.

Orlando just stood there patiently, tapping one foot slightly and sighing off in the direction Klaus had fled.

"Such a sad, misguided little boy..." He said, just loud enough for us to hear. Maverick, upon hearing these words, burst out laughing and clapped Orlando hard on the back.

"Why are we standing round, then? Let's party!" With a snap of Maverick's fingers, a disco ball appeared over our heads and hard rock music started playing so loud I thought for sure that it would burst all of our ear drums.

"Turn that racket off!" Farley yelled, holding his hands over his ears.

"Why?" Maverick started to groove around in place. He grabbed Tally and tried to make her dance but she pulled herself away from him and ran to hide behind Annabelle.

Orlando waved his wand and the disco ball and music disappeared.

"I'm afraid that is not necessary," he replied calmly.

Maverick glared at Orlando until finally Farley broke the silence.

"All right, now that Orlando's back, we can finally begin speaking on who I will be taking with me to check on the necklace."

Immediately everyone started jumping up and down and offering reasons why they would be best suited for this mission. Farley looked over everyone's head at me.

"Kerry, would you like to come?"

"I--" I looked at everybody else's jealous faces. "I suppose," I said, kindof unhappy about it.

"Then it's settled! Orlando, Kerry, and myself will be traveling to where I've hidden the necklace, and we will be back by nightfall."

"What are the rest of us supposed to do while you're gone?" Greg pouted, stomping his pudgy foot on the ground.

Farley shrugged. "Clean." He motioned for Orlando and I to follow him as he went through the door, cries of anger went up as the rest of them argued over whether cleaning was or was not needed.

"Farley, we've cleaned so much these past few weeks, I will go crazy if I so much as sweep up one more dirt clod!"

"Don't be such a baby, Penelope, you'll be fine. Now, the three of us will leave as soon as we can get our stuff together, and I expect the rest of you to behave while we're gone. Annabelle, you're in charge. Klaus, help her keep control."

I glanced over at Klaus to notice he looked particularly forlorn. When he saw I was looking at him, he mouthed the words 'Death Eater' to me and pointed at Orlando's turned back.

I shook my head, rolled my eyes, and followed Farley out the door.

We gathered some essential items; among them a couple snacks, a little bit of money, a couple of baseball bats(Farley insisted), a fishing rod, a basket of rocks and three beach balls. I mistakenly sarcastically asked him if we were going to the beach, and he sighed dramatically, as if I was hurting his feelings by asking such a dumb question.

"We're going to a secret place. Neither of you must ever speak of it to anyone else."

"Wouldn't the necklace just be safer at our house, where we can keep an eye on it?" I asked casually, trying to ease our way into that conversation again.

He glared at me. "Don't you try and ease your way into that conversation again! We are not taking the necklace home."

I sighed. "Fine, Farley. Whatever you say."

We left the house by noon, off to make sure that the necklace was still hidden securely and the weird old woman hadn't been correct.