Outsider Chronicles: Darkness Rising
With the action packed summer over and done with, Leo and Holly head back to school with the knowledge that there alleys are growing in number. However, is Hogwarts really safe? And What new Darkness is rising in the distance? Will this year finally herald the return of the People? Only time will tell. Book 4 of the Knights of Heaven.
And here we are with book four of this epic tale. Nothing really to say here so lets dive in.
Chapter 1
Hermione Granger made her way through the Hogwarts Express, searching for her friends. She had had an...interesting summer. Shortly after the end of the term, she had began to have dreams. Except they didn't seem like dreams. They were much too clear for that. The dreams only increased in intensity after she had picked up her wand on the day she was going to go to Diagon, only to have it shatter like brittle glass. When she went for a replacement, Ollivander had nearly done a happy jig and given her a gem like Leo's instead. Hers was a pale pink gem that turned into an arrow shaped wand made of pink and white metal that seemed oddly familiar to her and certainly didn't help the dreams she had been having. One of the things she'd noticed about said dreams was that they all contained people that looked a heck of a lot like her friends, plus a handsome boy with black hair and green eyes that she could get lost in…
Hermione blushed and shook her head at the thought, trying to clear the less than pure thoughts about the strange boy.
"What is wrong with me?" she muttered, "How can I be having feelings like this for a person I've never met?"
She sighed and rubbed her head, before glancing into the compartment right next to her. To her surprise, she saw the very girl she was looking for sat inside, along with a a wire cage on the seat next to her and the familiar form of Lucy curled up in her lap. Hermione opened the door and stuck her head inside.
"Hey Holly, mind if I join you?" she asked.
"Sure, have a seat," said Holly.
Hermione did so, wondering where Leo was.
"Wheres Leo?" she asked.
Holly simply picked up the cage, which contained a disgruntled looking ferret with tufts of fur around its ears that reminded her of Leos hair. The bookworm glanced up at Holly with a raised eyebrow.
"Leo's in a time out," said Holly, "He did something really stupid over the holidays and this is his punishment."
"Being turned into a ferret?" asked Hermione.
"Yep."
Leo the Ferret let out an annoyed squeak and turned away from the bars, crossing his paws.
"So exactly how long do you plan to keep me like this?" he asked, making Hermione jump.
"What the?"
"Oh yeah, somehow I can talk in this form," said Leo.
"Don't worry, I'll let you out before we get to school," said Holly.
"Do I really want to know?"
"Probably not."
Ronald Weasley was a man on a mission. After losing last year to that creepy diary he'd found in his sisters things, he couldn't afford to screw up this time. He had to get Holly Potter away from that slimy snake and show her who the real Wizard who deserved her love was! He made his way through the train, looking for 'his' girl in the compartments he passed. Finally he found her, in the last compartment of the train, sat with that Muggleborn know-it-all book-worm. However, there was no sign of the Slimy Snake anywhere. Ron grinned. Looks like she'd realised that he was nothing but scum without his help. He drew himself up and opened the door.
I was not best pleased. Apparently, Holly was every bit as creative with her punishments as I remembered from the past. As soon as I had entered her room, she had hit me with a spell that forced me into my Animagus form and, while I was still dazed, had locked me in a cage spelled to prevent Animagi from being able to transform where I had been locked for the past week. Apparently, as punishment for making her worry, I was to be her pet until she decided otherwise. I was very thankful that we were still a tad too young to get up to 'ahem' adult antics. Or maybe that should be disappointed…
Anyway, shortly after that we headed home, before Artemis had caught wind that I was Leonus thankfully as I didn't want to have to worry about being glomped by my old student, where Sirius had taken one look at me, cracked up, and then given Holly a collar that would allow her to take me out of the cage without me being able to transform. I made sure to bite him especially hard for that.
Unfortunately, it wasn't all fun and games as, once Sirius had finished acting like a child and healed my bite, he had become very serious and sat Holly and I down to discuss some very important things. The first was that Pettigrew had apparently managed to escape from Azkaban and was now the subject of a nationwide manhunt and the second was that Fudge was even more useless and cowardly than I thought. Despite all the evidence of Dumbledore's misdeeds and crimes, the Minister had stepped in and refused to allow a trial to take place for the MOB, allowing him to get away scot free. Well, mostly. He had lost his positions as Supreme Mugwump and Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot because, Fudges meddling or not, you could not hold either seat if you had been convicted of a crime. Unfortunately, he was still headmaster, however, his actions were being closely monitored.
That said, none of us were very comfortable with Holly being anywhere near the old man, but we didn't have a choice. In order to transfer schools, you needed the permission of the headmaster of the current one, which Dumbledore would never give, and there was a huge number of things to do in order to switch to homeschooling. Sirius had started the process, but it would take a while to get all the paperwork and whatnot done. That meant that we'd have to go to Hogwarts for at least a little bit longer.
I was broken from my thoughts when the door slammed open and Ronald came barging in, flopping down on the seat next to Holly without even asking.
"Do you need something Weasley?" growled Holly, her displeasure at the redheads presence clear in her tone.
Unfortunately, Ron was to dim to notice her displeasure.
"Hmm? Oh yes," said Ron, "I guess I can forgive you."
Holly and Hermione both blinked in confusion while I facepalmed. I think I know where this is going.
"I wasn't aware that I'd done anything to warrant forgiveness," said Holly in a voice colder than a Greengrass dealing with a Malfoy.
"Oh don't worry about it," said Ron, apparently not noticing the danger he was putting himself in, "You realized that you were wrong so there's no need to hold a grudge and we can be friends again."
"What in the world are you talking about Weasley?" asked Holly, now looking more confused than annoyed, "We've never been friends."
"Only because that slimy snake bewitched you," said Ron, "But now you've dropped him like you should, we can be friends."
Holly and Hermione stared at the redhead for a moment as I banged my head against the bars of my cage.
"Ronald…" started Holly, before the door opened to allow a red faced and giggling Ginny and Luna into the compartment.
I eyed the two, wondering what had happened to make them look so ruffled, before a new memory surfaced and I smiled. Nice to see that some more old relationships were coming back. At the sight of Ron sat in our compartment, the two girls froze.
"What are you doing here?" asked Ginny.
"I'm sitting with my friends," said Ron, "Now buzz off and take Loony with you."
Holly cleared her throat and glared at Ron.
"Sit down girls," she said, "And you Ronald, get out."
"Wha...but..," started the redhead.
"Shut it," snapped Holly, glaring at the redhead, "Get this through your head, Ronald Weasley. I don't like you. You are loud, arrogant and annoying. We are not friends and we never will be. Now GET OUT!"
She grabbed Ron by the collar and literally threw him out into the corridor. Everyone stared at her as she sat down with a huff.
"Impressive," I said, "I haven't seen you get that mad in a while."
"Oh shut up," mumbled Holly, reaching over to undo the latch of the cage, "Come here, I need a hug."
"Does this mean I'm forgiven?" I asked as I transformed back to human and wrapped my arms around Holly.
"Idiot," mumbled the girl as she buried her head in my chest.
"Was that an Animagus transformation?" asked Hermione, looking interested.
"Yep, we both learnt over the holidays," I said, "Its not actually all that difficult if you use the Potion method."
"Really?" asked Hermione, looking interested.
"I can ask Sirius for a book on it if you want," I said.
"Please."
I nodded and turned my gaze on Ginny and Luna, who were sitting incredibly close together with their hands nearly touching. I gave a knowing grin.
"So, where did you two disappear to?"
Ginny blushed brightly, while Luna answered as bluntly as ever.
"Ginny wanted to talk to me about her feelings and we ended up kissing," she said.
Ginny squeaked and buried her face in her hands as I burst out laughing.
"Well its about damn time!" exclaimed Holly, "Now if only we could figure out a good way to get those two idiots together without locking them in a room together."
Ginny stared at us with wide eyes, although Luna looked as spacy as ever.
"Y-you knew?" she spluttered.
"Honey, everyone knew," said Holly.
Ginny whimpered and hid her face again, before Luna pulled her up, straddled her and kissed her senseless.
"Now theres no need to hide," she said.
"B-but my mother," started Ginny.
"Who cares?" asked Luna, before kissing Ginny again.
"Good point."
I turned away from the two snogging girls in favour of Hermione, who looked confused.
"Oh to hell with this," I muttered, "This isn't an Anime and I've had my fun."
"What?" asked Hermione in confusion.
"Hermione, you have a new wand, correct?" I asked.
Hermione hesitantly nodded and pulled out the focus.
"Hmm, thats Nebula Bow alright," I said.
"H-how did you know its name?" asked Hermione, looking startled.
"Because I've seen you using it more times than I can remember," I said.
"Um Leo, is this a good idea?" asked Holly.
"Probably not, but I really can't be bothered to wait for a life or death situation or an old student to show up," I said, "Look…"
Before I could finish the statement, the train suddenly braked, tossing Ginny and Luna across the compartment to land on an empty seat and the lamps went out, throwing us into darkness.
"What the hell?" gasped Holly, "Whats going on?"
"Ouch!" gasped Hermione, "Luna, that was my foot!"
"D'you think we've broken down?" asked Ginny.
"No, the train runs on Magic," I said, drawing my wand and using my Occlumency to draw out a happy memory, "The only way it could break down is if the Runes that power it we're damaged, but if that was the case, we'd know about it. No, we've stopped for a reason."
There was a squeaking sound as Ginny cleared an area of the window to see out of.
"There's something moving out there," said Ginny, "I think people are coming aboard. . . ."
The compartment door suddenly opened and someone fell painfully over my legs before I could react.
"Sorry — d'you know what's going on? — Ouch — sorry —"
"Hullo, Neville," I said, grabbing him by the collar and pulling him to his feet.
"Leo? Is that you? What's happening?"
"No idea, sit down," I said, "Not there, Lucys on that seat."
Neville swallowed and carefully stepped back from the Nemean Lioness and her claws that could make short work of solid steel.
"I'm going to go and ask the driver what's going on," said Hermione, heading to the door and lighting her wand.
It was then that I noticed that the window was starting to freeze over.
"Wait..!" I said.
To late. Hermione had already opened the door to reveal the towering form of a Dementor, illuminated in Hermione's wand light. Once again I have to state that seeing it on screen is absolutely nothing like seeing it in person. It was massive, looming over Hermione with its head nearly brushing the ceiling, covered in a black cloak. At least, thats what it looked like to the others. To my eyes, blessed by Death as they were, the Dementor appeared as a rotting covered in pale white fire, with orbs of ghostly flame where its eyes should have been. Its body was covered in the remnants of a uniform and its face was twisted in a rictus of tormented agony. To make matters worse, I recognized the uniform. It was the Military uniform worn by the Atlantean Army back during the time of the Silver Millennium.
"Gods…"I whispered, staring at the horrifying sight, all thoughts of pulling off a Patronus gone from my mind.
Then, the thing enhailed. To the others, it was a long, rattling sound, but to me, it was a scream of anguish that had me scrabbling at my ears in pain, even as it drew the happiness from me and brought to mind my worst moments from all three lives. My Grandfather's funeral, seeing the Earth Queen, my mother, laying on her deathbed as life left her, fighting Voldemort in the forest and seeing Holly nearly killed, seeing Harlequin covered in blood and hearing that she was with child…
I felt my eyes roll in my head as the darkness drew me down as the memories flashed through my mind, more and more horrible memories, made worse by that horrible scream. I wanted it to end. Please Gods let it end!
BANG!
I jerked at the sound, snapping out of the Dementors effects as a black shape leaped at the Dementor and drove a blade through its heart. It gave a scream, even more horrible than the previous one, that shattered the windows in the carriage and imploded, becoming nothing more than a cloud of dust as its killer slowly straightened, resting his weapon on his shoulder.
"The, ruddy monsters," he growled, "None of us are hiding Peter Pettigrew under our cloaks."
He reached into his coat and pulled out a wand, conjuring a Patronus with a flick of his wrist that shot off before I could get a good look at it, no doubt to chase off the remaining Dementors.
"Are you kids OK?" asked the man, sticking his head into the compartment.
He was tall and well built, with shoulder length, light brown hair that was already beginning to grey, despite his relative young age and intense, yellow eyes that held a calculated look to them. He had what looked like a trio of claw scars on his cheek and the beginnings of a rough beard. His clothing consisted of a battered looking leather hat, a tattered leather duster with a shoulder cape, a dark green shirt and black trousers. Over his coat, he wore and equally tattered cloak with a red inside. Stuck into his belt was a bulky looking pistol that was covered in faintly runes, while a staff that could be folded was strapped to the back of his belt. In his hand, he held a curved sword made of a gleaming silvery metal.
As he did, my eyes widened in recognition. He was a lot younger, but there was no doubt that I was looking at another member of the Silver Millennium reborn. However, while the Senshi and Knights possessed incredible magical powers and were widely respected, this old geezer was respected for an entirely different reason. He didn't have magic, or rather, didn't use it, and yet was able to hunt some of the most dangerous monsters that did and do call the Earth, and other planets for that matter, there home. He was the founder, leader and single greatest member of the Hunters Guild, as well as the man who taught many of the Royal Children of every planet how to fight, the Knights and Senshi included.
"O-old man?" I stuttered.
"Eh? What was that?" he growled, turning his intense, yellow eyes on me, "Who are you callin' an old man, damned brat."
Holly and Ginny both gasped as they recognized him, while Hermione stared at our savior with muted recognition in her eyes.
"Who are you?" she asked.
"I'm Remus Lupin, your DADA teacher this year," he said, "But if you want to know who I was, and I know that you lot recognize me, I'm the Hunter Gehrman."
Hermione gave a startled gasp as recognition appeared in her eyes.
"And then there was six," I said with a grin.
And thats the end. I hope you liked the first entry into Book Four. Before I sign off, a few points.
Following my Omake in HBE, someone left me a review saying that they want to see them actually appear, so I decided that I'd have a few other members of the Silver Millennium appear as minor characters, like having Lupin appear as my favorite and most annoying boss to date (With the exception of that annoying spider Rom), The First Hunter Gehrman! I originally planned for him to be Artorias, but I started writing him as Gehrman and I instantly fell in love with the idea.
I had someone else ask about pairings, so heres a list.
Leo/Holly
Hermione/Percy
Ginny/Luna
Senshi/corresponding Kings of Heaven (I don't know if that appeared in the original, but I'm using SMC where they were in love)
Sailor Moon/Endymion(Usagi/Mamoru)
Others TBC.
Hope that clears it up. That said, romance isn't really a focus here and I'm not very good at writing it.
With that out of the way, please leave me a review!