Talking to Skye

[David Harmon]

David smiled at her. "I think a few people here want to talk to you," said David. "Don't be scared or anything. I promise they won't hurt you."

[Skye]

Skye moaned softly and moved herself into a partially upright position. Then she looked around the room. There were so many people... "Why would they want to talk to me?" she asked, confused. She couldn't imagine how she would be of any use to these people.

[David Harmon]

David shrugged. "I haven't the slightest clue," said David honestly. "Whenever I got here, they were already here."

[Skye]

"OK." Skye looked around the room and waited to see what would happen. The red-haired girl was about to talk, so she waited to see what she was going to say.

[Athena "V" Smith-Calloway]

V was a little surprised at hearing Alastor call her by her real name. She looked at him. "Don't call me that," she said stiffly. "No one's called me Athena is a long time." She sighed and ran her hand through her red curls. "OK, Zander, here's what's going on. See, uh... a friend of ours... before she died, she hid something in the Forbidden Forest. We don't know what it is, but it's something that gives information that we need to stop someone. You know the Minister of Magic, Erasmus Craven? He's looking for me and another friend of mine... and if he finds us, he will kill us. We need to prove what he has done so we can get him put in Azkaban, so he can't come after us. In order to do that, we need the thing that's in the Forest. And Dumbledore suggested that Skye, who knows the forest better than anyone, might be able to help us find it. So we've come to ask you if Skye and the rest of your pack can help us."

[Alastor Domino]

"Fine by me." Alastor muttered. He was still angry, but he was simmering down a little bit.

[Karl]

"Uh... this minister guy..." began Karl, "does he work for the snake man? Um, Vol-dee-mort? Because if he does, I will help, too. I know the forest pretty good. Skye's better, but I can help."

[Alastor Domino]

"Yes, we are pretty sure he is." Alastor answered Karl.

[Albus Dumbledore]

"Yes, he does, Karl," Dumbledore said, standing up. "Erasmus Craven is a very evil man, and he has killed people. But we can't prove it. We need to find this evidence so we can prove it." He looked at Skye. "Skye, I know you feel you aren't much help to anyone, but this is something you can do, and it's very important. Will you help us?"

[Skye]

Skye looked at each one of them nervously, finally settling on the bearded man. "If it is that important and it will hurt the snake man, then I will help," she said. "If it is OK with Zander, that is. When do you want to go? The nurse lady said I was to stay here until tomorrow, but I don't want to stay."

[Alastor Domino]

"Then you have a perfect excuse to leave." Alastor said. "The nurse will understand since Albus needs you."

[Skye]

Skye nodded. "I will come now. But I need to get dressed. Could everyone please go outside for a minute?"

[Alastor Domino]

"Sure thing." Alastor said leaving angrily.

[Zander Smith]

"OK, Skye," Zander said. He turned to Pearl, who had been very quiet during the whole thing. "Could you help her get dressed? I don't want her to split that shoulder open. We'll all be outside... I get the feeling that there are some things we all need to talk about." He left the room.

[Alastor Domino]

Alastor was standing against the wall with his eyes closed when he heard someone walk out of the Hospital Wing. He saw it was Zander.

[Athena "V" Smith-Calloway]

V hurried after Zander and Alastor. She saw them both standing there and looked from one of them to the other. She could tell that Alastor was angry about something, so she decided she needed to talk to him. "OK, Alastor, I'm sorry I didn't tell you my real name. If it makes you feel any better, I never told Wes either. He thinks my name is Veronica." She sighed. "It seems stupid now, but I was afraid that if you knew who I was and anything happened, you'd be in greater danger from Craven."

[Alastor Domino]

"I'm probably already in danger, you did nothing to make me in danger." Alastor said still not looking up after he looked back down when Zander came out. "But why couldn't you after we got to know each other better?"

[Athena "V" Smith-Calloway]

Athena sighed. "Look, in my line of work... I don't trust easily. Like I said, before I met you, I was pretty close with Wesley. I had a thing for him, even though he didn't feel the same way. But I never told him my real name. Olivia knew, because we worked so closely together... but I've been undercover so long that I've gotten used to being called V. Hardly anyone uses my real name anymore. And as I said when we first met, Craven knows my real name, but not what I look like, and he doesn't know my code name. It's the same reason I couldn't just go find Zander and see if he was OK, and the same reason I couldn't go to Ian's funeral."

[Alastor Domino]

"I understand why, it's just that I've gotten to know you so well. I'd like to know the non-spy you as well." Alastor said. "Maybe you should let your guard down some when you're around friends and family. Not be as stiff."

[David Harmon]

David nodded and stood up from sitting on her bed. "Okay. I'll see you in a few," said David. "Come on Karl," he said walking out the hospital wing door.