A/N: This is a revamping of an original HP fanfiction I'd written back in 2002. Some time has passed and I decided it was a good enough story to deserve the edit. The universe and the feature characters belong to JK Rowling, but the original characters are all of my own creation.
The Dark Emeralds
1975, Hogwarts
"I've done it," Calvin Blight exclaimed on his way down the stairs, into the dungeon like comforts of the Slytherin Common room. "I did it, I can't believe it!"
Born in Wales, Calvin was a pure blood wizard, born to the equally pure blooded Viper S. Blight and Sylvia Cabot, Durmstrang and Beauxbatons' finest wizard and witch. Lead by a desire to thoroughly ground their family roots in the wizarding world, Calvin was sent to Hogwarts when he turned eleven. Being the only child in the family he didn't have much say in the matter, and he was expected to uphold the family's honor and creed.
"Did what? Learn to stand while urinating?" Severus Snape looked up from the table where he had been doing his class work.
Calvin jumped slightly, not expecting anyone to be there. Only a forth year himself, he was a little wary of the older students of this House, especially Snape, who would use any excuse to turn in his own housemates. Ironically it worked to their advantage, since Snape was always given twenty points for every ten that got deducted from Slytherin. Snape had a hooked nose like a hawk's beak and long dark hair. His robes were as black as his mood and he had a special talent for curses and dueling.
"Nothing," Calvin replied, fighting down his excitement and switching to his cold and indifferent attitude. "Mind your own business Snape."
Severus picked up the sudden change in mood and the excited response; something was amiss and he knew it. There was a dead silence between the two of them, broken only by the crackling of the fire and the sound of a guillotine in one of the paintings slicing a cabbage in half while a condemned man struggled against the guards. After a minute or two Snape shrugged and went back to his classwork. Calvin knew he'd have to be extra careful, or risk getting expelled. He went to his dorm room as fast as possible without arousing suspicion.
In his bedroom he closed the curtain around his bed, lest someone walk in on him, and focused on what he had accomplished only moments ago. The changes were almost instant if not for the many complex thoughts going through his mind as Calvin transformed.
At the age of fourteen Calvin was now one of the youngest, unregistered, Animagi in the history of Hogwarts. His form was the bat. The patch of fur on his little head was a slight blondish color, like his own. It was a small and narrow-minded creature, almost impossible to control given it's need for food. Calvin was prepared for the struggle, however, and managed to take control of the animal instincts.
He fluttered down into the common room surprising Snape. Snape leapt up from his class work and fell back in his chair.
"What the devil?" Snape cursed. He reached for his wand just as a moth fluttered into the room.
Calvin lost interest in Snape and bolted for the moth. His animal hunger was too strong and he needed the nourishment.
"Stupefy!" Snape shouted.
Calvin tried to get out of range but he was inexperienced with the animal form, and the bolt of energy caught him midair. He fell like a rock. The floor rushed up at him as he blacked out.
"Oh deary me, Severus, look what you've done." A girl reached out her hands and caught the bat, before it hit the floor.
"Cassidy," Severus snapped. "How long have you been here?"
"I stepped in just in time to see your heroic defeat." Cassidy Cutworm answered, her sharp Liverpool accent complimenting her condescending tone. She glanced down at the small creature in her hand, stroking it gently. "I bet you wish this was a Golden Snitch about now."
Snape held back a wince, but Cassidy read him like a book. She had seen his torment at the hands of a couple of Gryffindors during the O.W.L.S. a week ago and it burned him still. He glared at the bat for a moment. A grin spread across his face slowly.
"Don't worry Snivellus, I don't think you disgraced Slytherin too much out there. But you might have earned some degree of respect from us if you had acted like one of us."
Severus said nothing and stared down at the bat in Cassidy's hands. It was still out cold from his stun charm, and bleeding profusely from the force of the magic.
"Its still alive," Cassidy assured him. "Probably Jack Archer's pet. I'll see that it gets to him safely."
With that, Cassidy left the commons and went to Calvin's dorm.
"Transform." She ordered after reviving him.
Calvin was dropped as he regained his human form. His human body ached from the blast he had taken in animal form. He rolled on to his back and looked up at the fifth year student with long red hair and bright green eyes dressed in a long silk black robe.
"Calvin. I might have known." She stared at him with a cold and disquieting look as he got to his feet.
"You were the moth." Calvin said accusingly.
"You're not the only one who sneaks around the forbidden section of the library. And at least I had the sense to seek the help of the Gryffindors."
Calvin grimaced at the thought of it. "You actually spoke with them? How dare you call yourself a Slytherin?"
"And you're the personification of our house? Oh Calvin, you are truly more of a git than you seem. Slytherins do quite often associate with members of the other houses, especially if it gets us what we want. Potter and his friends were interested in becoming Animagi and I had something they wanted. We made a mutual exchange and Potter took me with him to get the necessary books."
"What did you exchange?"
"I had to snog with Black in the Quidditch field Saturday evening."
"And what if I had eaten you while you were a moth? Suppose Snape hadn't stopped me?"
"I would have returned to human form inside of you." Cassidy answered with an evil grin. "Imagine that Calvin."
He did, and it made him shutter the entire night.
His best friend in Slytherin was Marcus Cornell, a fellow forth year and a pure blooded wizard. Early in the year Marcus distinguished by killing a sixth year student in a duel. The Ministry of Magic cleared him of the charges when it was proven that he was under the Imperius curse at the time.
Professor Dumbledore granted him amnesty under this claim and from that day forth the other Slytherins (The ones who saw through his lies) both respected and feared Marcus. Even Snape knew enough not to toy with him. It was rumored that Marcus would one day follow the group of Dark Wizards that were rising to power.
"You've done it?" Marcus asked before closing the curtains of his bed.
"Yes, I can become a bat." Calvin whispered so as not to wake the others. "It's not much but it will get me through the caves deep within the Black Forest, where samples of the Dark emeralds exist."
"Wicked," Marcus clapped a gentle hand on Calvin's shoulder. "You know, the two of us with only a handful of those emeralds could bring Tom Riddle down easily. Imagine the damage his followers could do with us in charge."
"Forget that lot," Calvin confided. "My family wants me to make my mark on the world. To carry the name of the Blights the way they've carried it. When the Dark emeralds are in my possession Riddle will be a drop of rain and I'll be the storm."
With a wicked chuckle the boys drifted off to sleep, unaware that Cassidy was in the same room, wrapped snuggly in her invisibility cloak.
The next morning at breakfast Calvin and Marcus chatted casually munching on toast and eggs as the other students entered.
"You think James and Lily fancy each other?" A third year named Greg asked casually.
Calvin and a few other Slytherins shot him a look.
"Who cares what Potthead and Evil fancy?" He asked looking down on the one child whom the Sorting Hat must have misplaced. He lacked the power lust and the vindictiveness of a true Slytherin, and to top it off, he was such an obvious mud-blood that it was anyone's guess how he was sorted into the house.
"Well you can tell he likes her from the way he's staring at her," Greg went on, oblivious to the general annoyance he caused. "I bet you they'll get married someday. They're always doing stuff to-OW!"
Another third year smacked Greg across the head shutting him up.
"Get it through your head mud-blood, no one here cares about the Gryffindors." That statement came from a student Calvin didn't know, but it was accompanied by general voices of agreement.
Calvin was about to resume his conversation with Marcus when Snape shuffled in. He turned the heads of a few first and second years, but most people by now knew that Snape wasn't a people person. He glared at Greg, who sat next to Calvin. When Greg didn't get the message, he took out his wand and muttered a curse.
Greg coughed and gagged, jumping up from the bench to run for the nearest bathroom. Before getting too far he inadvertently coughed up a huge slug on to the floor causing the people eating breakfast at the other tables to point and laugh or look away with disgust.
Snape took Greg's seat, muttering something else about mud-bloods polluting Slytherin and sent away Greg's food with another wave of his wand.
"Now Calvin," He began calmly. "I don't suppose you'd want to tell me what you and Ms. Cutworm were talking about last night?"
"Go sniff a Ridgeback's bottom, wanker," Calvin retorted.
"I warn you," Snape leaned forward, lowering his voice to a hissing whisper. "I know you were the bat…it would be most…unfortunate if the Ministry of Magic were to discover an unregistered animagi in our school."
"Mind your own business Snape," Marcus spoke up. "Or you might piss me off and find yourself at the wrong end of a curse."
"And you, Cornell," Snape sneered. "You'll have to get me in my sleep before you could even pull my hair."
Having delivered his insult Snape got up and walked away. Before he left the Great Hall, someone shouted "Incendio" causing his cape to catch fire. Confusion replacing anger Calvin turned to Marcus with a questioning glance. When he saw Marcus was just as confused they both turned around to see Greg standing in the dootway with his wand pointed as several people laughed and applauded. Snape quickly pulled out his wand again to douse it his robe.
"Score one for the Mud-bloods!" Greg shouted, bowing to the applause and laughter.
Getting Snape when his back is turned, Greg thought impressed. A professor rushed in to handle the situation but many Slytherins got up to swear that nothing happened. Maybe that boy was Slytherin material after all.
The humiliation of getting bested by a third year must have been all that Snape could bear. In less than a week, Slytherin seemed to forget Greg being a mud-blood, and was now bragging that he was one of them. He had been the only one to take on the house tattletale thus far. Whatever it was the reason Snape left alone that week. Cassidy on the other hand…
"I know what you're planning." She told him in a sing song voice, on his way to the commons.
"Really," He cast an indifferent glance as he walked on. "I didn't know you were a legilimens."
"Does the Dark Emerald sound familiar?" Cassidy asked with a sly grin.
That stopped him. Calvin spun around suddenly, his robes fluttering as he poised his hand above his wand.
"Breathe a word of this to Dumbledore or anyone else and I'll transfigure you into a frog."
Cassidy grinned darkly and pulled out her own wand.
"Accio!" She shouted. Calvin's wand flew from his hand into hers. "I'm not Snape. I don't have to be a snob to be a Slytherin. Now, are we going to strike a deal, or am I going to transfigure you into an action figure…with your own wand?"
"I'm not telling you anything." Calvin sneered, trying to conceal his shock.
"You don't have to tell me anything. Dark emeralds are powerful minerals that enhance the strength charms, hexes, and spells. Until now no one would have believed you could find them in Scotland, and near Hogwarts of all places. If the Death Eaters could get a hold of those emeralds the Ministry and every Auror it can come up with won't be able to stop them."
"Death eaters?"
"You know. This wizard named Voldemort is gathering followers to try and bring down the ministry, that's the name of his followers."
"Oh, that mess." Calvin shook his head in dismissal. "Give me back my wand. You're not getting the Dark emeralds, I am."
"Um, you're in no position to make demands." Cassidy pointed Calvin's wand at him and shouted, "Imperio!"
Calvin looked on in horror as his own wand was used to place the Imperius Curse, one of the Three Unforgivable curses! As Cassidy made him run up against the wall and do a back flip he know he couldn't have done on his own, he realized she really did have him under control…with or without the curse.
"All it takes is for Professor Dumbledore to do a Prior Incantation spell and you'll be Azkaban's youngest prisoner." She explained. "And with an Unforgivable curse…that's the rest of your life in that hell pit."
Calvin knew the obvious solution. Agree to let her in on the deal, cast another spell, and the past incantation spell would be ineffective. On the other hand…she'd find one way or another to keep him from getting the Dark emeralds.
"Meet Marcus and me outside on the grounds. Bring your broom, the cave lies deep inside the Black Forest."
"Little brave are we?" Cassidy chided pocketing his wand. "I'm keeping this just incase you forget our bargain."
Another point overlooked. Cassidy didn't have to give back his wand. More to the point if Snape or any of the others found out that she took it without much difficulty he'd suffer humiliation from all corners of the wizarding world.
He didn't tell Marcus of course. He just said Cassidy wanted in on the deal and was good at defending herself against dangerous creatures.
"We need her to protect us incase we run into kappa or some other monster shows up."
"This wouldn't have anything to do with why you're not carrying your wand would it?"
Calvin was silent most of the time as they made their way up to the Owlery where there were plenty of open windows to fly from. Cassidy would be waiting near the edge of the forest, per their agreement. Mounting his racing broom he flew outward into the wind with Marcus behind him.
Soaring over the black forest many miles away from Hogwarts the witch and wizards soared above the canopy.
"Not even Dumbledore has gone this far I'll bet." Marcus commented.
"You're not getting second thoughts are you?" Cassidy asked, not the least bit afraid of Marcus' reputation. "I got always transfigure your pants into a nappy incase you get really scared."
"That's enough!" Calvin shouted looking forward the entire time. "Straight ahead there will be a stream beneath us. It winds its way through the woods straight towards the cave."
"Say, how do you know exactly where this stuff is?" Cassidy asked genuinely curious.
"I once overheard a conversation between the Defense and Potions professors. The Dark emeralds came up, and one of them said something about a book in called Secrets of the Dark Arts," He explained. He was still irritated over losing his wand, but swallowed his pride for now. "We were never allowed to read that book and it had been locked away in a special vault inside the library for safe keeping. Not knowing what to do exactly, I...overheard a conversation from…the Gryffindors. Potter and his friends were going out and becoming animals, and I thought, I could become an Animagi and use my bat form to see in the darkest parts of the cave. It took me half the school year to figure out the stuff I needed to know, but the first night I became a bat I flew into the library vault and found the book. After studying the map and reading about the powers of the Dark emeralds I knew what my plans were."
"Hmm. I read the book as well." Cassidy added. "From what I read the Dark Emerald is one of the rarest of stones. The Ministry has been trying to destroy it for centuries because of how terribly the balance of power would be shifted of the wrong side got a hold of it."
"So what is it about this stone that the Ministry's so afraid of?" Marcus asked. "You told me it was powerful but you never told me what it does."
"The stone has to be completely sealed from the light," Calvin explained. "Even a pinpoint of light can destroy it. But once you have it properly protected, you can place a charm or hex on it. Say the killing curse. Then you leave it in a room full of wizards, and the killing curse is amplified killing everyone in its radius."
Suddenly, something struck Calvin's head, causing him to lose balance. He gripped his broom tightly and looked around frantically for the culprit. Marcus, who was a few feet higher than he was, fell off his broom completely and slammed into Calvin who in turn fell from his broom.
The ground rushed up at him as he focused on becoming a bat. Cassidy flew downward towards them. Marcus changed form and became a rattlesnake quickly slowing his own decent.
Marcus was an animagus too! Calvin flapped his wings trying to slow his descent, but it was useless. Cassidy grabbed him seconds before hitting the uppermost branch of a tree. Marcus disappeared beneath the canopy as Calvin clawed his way out of her hand and gripped the broom with his claws.
Cassidy landed the broom in a small clearing. They were far enough away from Hogwarts where they couldn't see the castle, and it was darker than pitch beneath the trees.
"Lumos!" Cassidy cast a light spell using both of the wands in her possession. As Calvin returned to his human form she asked, "I didn't know Marcus was an animagus as well."
"Neither did I," Calvin admitted bitterly. "At least he never told me. What hit us?"
"A hex from below," Cassidy said, looking behind her. "I saw it but I didn't have time to warn you. Should we try and find Marcus?
"No. He didn't tell me he was an animagus and suddenly I wonder what else he wasn't telling me."
"Traitors turning against traitors. What has the world come to?" Cassidy grinned pocketing Calvin's wand. "Are we on the right track?"
"It's too dark to tell. Bats can see in the dark, I'll know in a minute."
"And what am I suppose to do? Follow along in moth form while you attempt to lose me and claim the Dark Emerald's for yourself?"
"Sounds like a plan. I could use a snack myself." Calvin made a desperate lunge for his wand.
"Imperio!"
Calvin suddenly found himself under the influence of the Imperius curse once more. Cassidy then forced him to become a bat, all the while using her wand to light the way as she followed him towards the Dark emeralds.
After over fallen trees, pressing through deep thorny bushes, and almost getting caught in a massive spider's web, Cassidy was surprised to suddenly find herself alone. The beating of Calvin's leathery wings were the only sound she heard...that and the sound of the river. The eerie howls of wolves and the noises of insects were dead silent and there were no longer any signs of life. Cassidy faintly recalled a lesson in Dark Arts, about how the lesser of two evils tended to fear the worse. The Dark emeralds were extremely evil, and with just one of them under her control, she would not only destroy the ministry, but every wizard, witch and Muggle in the world would bow to her.
She found the river and followed it greedily, forgetting about Calvin for a time. Calvin, Marcus, Snape and the others would be destroyed and those remaining at Hogwarts would be hers to control.
The emeralds were near she could feel it. She made Calvin return to human form and released him from the spell. They approached the cave and could see the faint violet glow of the emeralds deep within.
"The Dark emeralds." Calvin said with reverence, as he approached the mouth of the cave, feeling the dark vibes as they pounded against his body. Something was pushing him back, trying to keep him from getting in…but when he focused his mind on the task and used every ounce of physical strength in his body, he found he could overcome the strange force. Inside the Dark emeralds illuminated the cave in a bright violet hue. Whatever energy powered them was the same energy trying to keep him from holding them.
"Now we have to figure out how to transport them." Cassidy commented, kneeling before an emerald and lovingly touching it.
"What do you mean we?" Calvin demanded turning to face her. "That was the second time you used that curse on me and there will NOT be a third."
Cassidy stepped back a few paces and laughed.
"You don't seem to have a choice." She aimed at him with both wands. "Okay, you don't like being controlled…well how do you feel about this?"
She pointed them at him and prepared to use Cruciatus curse with the full power of both wands. Calvin tucked his head down and ran at her, knocking her back into the cavern wall. Cassidy lost the grip on both wands and Calvin dived for his. They righted themselves and turned, ready to battle.
"Here's one I learned from Greg." Calvin quipped. "Incendio!"
Cassidy's hair caught fire as she tried to get the dirt from her eyes. Calvin aimed for her wand and shouted, "Expelliramus!"
Cassidy's wand flew from her hand and the force of the spell knocked her back. On impact a fleshy cracking sound echoed against the walls.
"AHHHHH!" Cassidy screamed as a shard of dark emerald impaled her right shoulder. The light from her hair on fire destroyed the emerald, but the damage was still done. Blood spilled to the cavern floor.
Calvin put the fire out to keep more Dark emeralds from disintegrating. Cassidy was no longer a threat and he turned his back on her. He squatted near a cluster of Dark emeralds which were embedded in the rock. After jarring the loosest one from its place he began to feel the power surging through him. It was so intoxicating he failed to notice the rattlesnake before it bit him in the calf.
"Arrrgh!" He screamed dropping the emerald and falling to his side. The snake pumped venom into his bloodstream before returning to human form.
"Hello Calvin," Marcus greeted him smugly. He took Calvin's wand and looked down at one of the emeralds. "I hope you don't take this personally…but I can't allow you to destroy my death eaters."
"Wh-what are you doing?" Calvin asked feverishly as the poison took its effect. He fell tried to remain calm and struggled to maintain consciousness. He thought he saw a moth fluttering towards Cassidy's wand.
"Just a little light," Marcus explained aiming the wand at the emerald Calvin pulled out. "A little light and it'll all be over."
"Damn you Marcus, I never thought you'd betray your own friend." Calvin transformed to bat, saving himself from the poison, and fluttered away from the cave. His plans had failed before they'd had a chance to begin.
"I'll take care of you soon enough." Marcus aimed the wand, not noticing Cassidy as aimed at him. "Lumos!"
A beam of light shot forth from the end of Calvin's wand and hit the emerald. But instead of destroying it on contact, the Lumos emerald changed from a glowing violet hue to a bright gray light. Like a shockwave the light filled the cave, destroying every emerald it touched. In a matter of seconds the cave was empty and dark and Marcus was blissfully unaware of Cassidy's seething rage.
"Avadas Kadavera!"
A spark of green light signaled Marcus' end. Calvin saw it from his perch on a tree nearest the cave. He knew he wasn't getting his wand back anytime soon, not with Cassidy equally as pissed as he was.
Calvin hung around on the branch of a nearby tree and waited. He sent out sonar to see if she was gone but Cassidy was very persistent. In spite of the injury to her shoulder and the blood loss she waited him out.
Dawn came after too long and finally, Calvin risked flying back into the cave and returning to human form. He found his wand and looked down at Marcus' body. Then he gazed about the cave, illuminating it once more as he mourned the loss of the dark emeralds. His thoughts were bitter and angry, and he knew he'd never have a chance like this again. He stood there for a long time, wondering how to go about things. Snape would ask questions, no doubts there, and the professors would wonder where he, Cassidy, and Marcus had been all night. Slytherin would take heavy hits for their actions, and no doubt he would be expelled on the spot.
With nothing else to do Calvin swallowed his pride and started to leave the cave. Sooner or later he would have to face the-
"Avadas Kadavara!" The curse came from no where. Calvin's face was caught in a permanent daze as he fell beside Marcus.
"Excellent Cassidy." A man named Rosier came into the cave, stopping beside the young witch as she stood over the bodies. "You'll make an excellent Death Eater after all."
"I only wish I could have gotten a hold of the Dark emeralds." Cassidy admitted bitterly casting a glance around the empty cave.
"Ah yes…" Rosier pulled out his wand and placed his hand on her shoulder. "There is the small matter of your intentions."
Fear over took Cassidy, and she turned to look at Rosier.
"I was planning on giving the dark emeralds to Lord Voldemort, I swear." She pleaded.
"I'm sure you were." Rosier replied in a dismissive tone. "Unfortunately, with you being so ambitious and deceptive, I can't trust that you won't do the same to us as you have done to your friends."
Cassidy was killed and her body fell beside Calvin's. In death no one would suspect that such an innocent look trio could ever be so malignant.
The news shook the students of Hogwarts terribly, traumatizing many of the students, until the ministry agreed to the use of memory charms on the younger ones. The events that took place within the cave were not entered into future editions of Hogwarts, a History and the presses were forbidden from writing about this event. One article appeared in a magazine, written by a man by the name of Lovegood, but beyond that all existing material referring to the dark emeralds was destroyed.