Author's Note: I suggest that you read the first one first. Look on my profile for it.
In case you're interested in a more in-detail summary/blurb:
Albus Severus Potter, second son and middle child of Harry Potter, wishes for nothing more than to prove himself worthy of his name. He has always been the outcast of his family, the one who is forgotten, ignored, and looked over. Still, Albus desperately wants to show the world that he is a hero, not a loser. But this is made difficult when his Sorting goes terribly wrong, and all the bullies in the school make him a victim. Even as he tries his hardest to prove himself as someone who is not the 'bad egg' or 'black sheep' of his family, he is thrown back in his efforts, doomed to always be the disgrace and disappointment.
But now, danger is rapidly approaching, and darkness is returning to the long-peaceful wizarding world. An ancient evil that has been biding its time for one thousand years is stirring, preparing to drag the wizarding world back into an abyss of terror. This enemy, one that has slumbered for uncountable centuries, is now waking up, and vengeance is on its mind. Its goal is to destroy the world... and rule the new one that rises from the ashes. Meanwhile, Albus is learning that his destiny rivals that of his father, and that it is up to him to save the world from this terrible evil—an evil greater than anything seen before it.
In his second year, Albus simply wishes to be normal. Unfortunately for him, he begins to have nightmares about a boy from the past—a boy that is alarmingly similar to him. In addition to this, Albus's powers are growing, and several freak incidents cause the students of Hogwarts to turn on him. Meanwhile, he is having trouble keeping his throne in Slytherin due to an unexpected adversary, who seems determined to reorganize Slytherin House's monarchy. On top of it all, Hogwarts is being plagued by mysterious attacks. Dangerous magical monsters are attacking the students and sending them into an irreversible coma, and all these monsters seem to have a common goal:
Kill Albus Severus Potter—and everyone who stands in the way.
And now, I present to you...
~Albus Potter and the Scepter of Shadows~
Book 2
Based on the ideas and places of JK Rowling.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter One
ONE THOUSAND YEARS BEFORE
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Chapter Two
THE MINISTRY PARTY
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Chapter Three
THE DAY AND NIGHT ALLEYS
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Chapter Four
THE BOY OF THE PAST
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Chapter Five
THE ACTING PROFESSOR
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Chapter Six
FREAK
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Chapter Seven
A GHOSTLY WARNING
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Chapter Eight
DUELING, DOXIES, AND DREAMS
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Chapter Nine
THE HUNT FOR THE PREY
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Chapter Ten
SUSPICIONS AND SERPENTS
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Chapter Eleven
THE OCCAMY ARMY
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Chapter Twelve
MONSTER
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Chapter Thirteen
THE ERUMPENT INCIDENT
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Chapter Fourteen
THE CURSE OF THE UMBRELIXIR
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Chapter Fifteen
THE ESSENCE OF THE SHADOWS
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Chapter Sixteen
THE AURORS' ARRIVAL
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Chapter Seventeen
THE SAPPHIRE UNICORN
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Chapter Eighteen
THE FINAL VICTIM
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Chapter Nineteen
THE SCEPTER OF SLYTHERIN
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Chapter Twenty
SHINING LIGHT
-Chapter One-
One Thousand Years Before
The night was clear, and a full moon hung in the sky, illuminating the clearing beneath it. Two figures stood there, their silhouettes dark.
One was a man, and another was a woman. They were standing extremely close to each other, and between them was a bundle of blankets. Cradled within the cloth was an adorable baby girl, looking serene in her sleep. As the man and the woman watched, the little girl woke up and opened her eyes, which were a dazzling blue-violet.
"We have to leave," said the woman quietly, looking up. Her eyes were the precise shade of the baby girl's. "She can't grow up in a world like this."
"We can't run from our separate Regiments," said the man. "We have a war to fight. Both of us."
"But our daughter has no battle with anyone," the woman insisted. "Why must she suffer?"
The man sighed undecidedly. He focused his ice-blue eyes on the woman. "We can't abandon our duties, Myrinda."
The woman's—Myrinda's—eyes flashed angrily. "You know that our love is forbidden! We're on opposite sides! If we're found out, we both die, and she does, too! We have to run, Luke."
"But there is nowhere to run! The Paradox is unstoppable. He is quickly destroying the world! We can't run on forever," said the man in despair.
"You're right," Myrinda agreed. "There isn't much time left. But that's it, isn't it? The Paradox is destined to be defeated in this time period."
Luke looked despairingly at the woman. "Nobody's come close to stopping him!"
"Fate does not lie," Myrinda said firmly. "He will be defeated. The war will shift a thousand years."
"Shift a thousand years...," Luke echoed uncertainly.
"That's right," said Myrinda. "The prophecy has been uttered. A thousand years later, a second Paradox will be born—the Final Paradox. He is the only one with enough power to stop the First Paradox, and he's not here to save us."
"But—But—" Luke protested weakly. "You said that the First Paradox will be defeated in this time period! If the only one who can stop him is the Final Paradox—a boy that will be born a thousand years later—then how can the First Paradox die?"
"He cannot die," Myrinda corrected. "The First Paradox will simply be slumbering for a thousand years, until it is time for the real war to begin. A thousand years from now..."
The man looked into the woman's eyes. Icy blue met purplish blue. The baby girl cooed between them, trying to pull her mother's light brown hair.
Then Luke clenched his fists. "I cannot trust a boy made from darkness to save us all! He will be just as evil and twisted as the first, mark my words."
"Then we'll have to keep an eye on him and make sure that he doesn't take the wrong direction," the woman said, unfazed. "It's time, Luke. We're going with our daughter. The Final Paradox will be there to protect her."
Myrinda reached inside her cloak and pulled out a time-turner. "I have had it modified so it can take us across generations. It will only work once before it self-destructs."
The man finally seemed convinced that running was the right thing to do. "We will the fight the war. But only when the time comes."
Myrinda locked eyes with the man she loved. "Take my locket. Give it to our daughter when she's old enough to wear it." She took off her locket and wrapped it in the blankets with the baby.
"What do you mean?" asked Luke, confused. "You can give it to her yourself."
Myrinda closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, they were shining with tears. "I have duties. I have to stop the First Paradox. I have to send him into his slumber, as fate told me I must."
She turned the time-turner ten times. Ten centuries. One thousand years later. Then she pressed it into Luke's hand and walked away, out of his reach.
The man's eyes were blazing with anger. "No! We go together!" he shouted at her.
Myrinda turned away.
"You tricked me, Myrinda Lyon."
"I did, Luke Irving."
With the names of their lovers' on their lips, Myrinda and Luke spoke their last words to each other. A moment later, the man flickered and was gone.
"I will stop the First Paradox and send him into his slumber," Myrinda said to herself. She raised her head and looked into the moon. "I know that history will be erased, and that the wizarding world of a thousand years ago will be unprepared for the war that has been stirring ever since the beginning of time, but I will do everything in my power to make sure that help will be given to those who need it. I promise you this, Final Paradox. Save my daughter."
I won't forget you, and I hope you will never forget me, my dear daughter, my Shining Light... Elina.
Harry Potter frowned as he thought of his son, Albus Severus Potter. What scared Harry most was Albus' magical ability. What young wizard glowed bright green whenever he was angry? What young wizard was capable of destroying whole rooms by a simple glare? What young wizard could possibly be powerful enough to be the Opponent of the Phantasm Orb?
Voldemort? Harry didn't think so. The young Tom Riddle had certainly had unusual control over his magic, like most powerful wizards. Albus... Albus was something more.
In addition to that, Albus' birth had been very problematic. He had caused chaos to the whole of St. Mungo's, and Ginny had been greatly weakened. Albus Severus Potter had too much magic, more than Voldemort's, or even Dumbledore's.
After the Ministry had learned of the trouble that newborn Albus was causing, they had threatened to lock him up in a special ward in order to investigate him. Albus was nothing but a test subject to them, and that had infuriated Harry. He had refused to let them touch Albus and had taken his newest family member and his wife back to their house in Godric's Hollow, determined to put the whole experience behind him and bring Albus up like a normal child.
And he had somewhat succeeded, until Albus had gone to Hogwarts, conquered the Phantasm Orb, defeated a Dark Wizard, and practically saved the whole world before his twelfth birthday.
Sighing, Harry stood up, placing Albus' birth certificate back on his office desk in the Ministry of Magic. Pictures adorned the walls, many of them featuring his family and friends. Harry's eyes lingered on a black and white picture of Albus as a seven year old. Albus was slumping at the foot of a tree, barely moving, and his eyes had a slightly dark look to them. He wasn't smiling.
Harry shuddered for reasons unknown to him. He quickly left the room and bumped straight into Ron, who was on his way in.
"What's going on?" Harry asked, feeling the urgency in Ron's gaze.
Ron rumpled his flaming red hair—which was rapidly balding—and said, "We've sensed two powerful dark essences just now."
Harry gaped. "What?"
Ron nodded. "I've sent a memo to every important Ministry member. We'd better look carefully at the sensors to prepare a speech. This looks bad, Harry."
Harry quickened his pace to reach the Magic Sensor room.
It was—as expected—very dark, and a perpetual gloom hung over the place like a blanket. Needless to say, Harry did not like this place, but it was where the Traces of underage wizards and Dark Magic were watched.
Thousands of scrolls hung suspended in the air, quills constantly scribbling down new data. A seven-year-old girl had just shown signs of magic, and she was the first in her family for ten generations. Someone underage in a muggle household had used magic illegally, breaking the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery. The quills recorded even the slightest fluctuation of magic, writing slowly at times and fast at others.
But one of the scrolls had quite a bit of data on it, and it was writing even more at an impossible speed. Ron led him to this one. A couple of Aurors were already standing in front of it, their eyebrows furrowed with worry.
Harry leaned closer to the scroll, his eyes scanning the information. "What the hell?" he said.
Ron chuckled dryly. "I thought that my vision was going funny when I looked at it, too."
"Get the Minister of Magic," Harry ordered. "Get everybody. Now. Send out extra memos."
One of the Aurors in the room left quickly, mumbling to himself about how quickly peace could be shattered.
"This is unbelievable," Harry whispered, taking another look at the scroll. "Nothing can be this powerful. But two of the same thing?"
"Want me to check your glasses?" Ron offered.
Before Harry could respond, however, Kingsley Shacklebolt swept into the room, his face very grave. "What is this that I've just heard?" Kingsley asked in a deep voice that cracked with worry.
Ron mutely pointed at the scroll while Harry explained. Kingsley stood in silence, inspecting the scroll. He threw his head back and laughed. "Impossible."
"We should get the meeting room set up," Harry suggested.
Kingsley nodded, still muttering to himself. "A child... a child."
"Do you think that there could be a mistake?" Harry said, glancing at the scroll one more time.
Kingsley shook his head gravely. "It appears that this—or these—might be the greatest threats the wizarding world has ever known."
Ending the conversation on that dark note, Harry, Kingsley, and Ron walked to the meeting room. Ron had a copy of the scroll's data, and Harry kept grabbing it to check it. How could it be? It broke all the laws of magic. Two immensely powerful essences made from Dark Magic—and one of them was a child. How?
A few minutes later, they arrived at the meeting room. Harry realized that he hadn't prepared a speech at all, but decided that it wouldn't matter. He'd had plenty of practice in giving speeches, after all.
The meeting room was very grand, and it had a high ceiling. The floor was made from marble, and Harry could see his reflection in it. A long glass table stretched the length of the room, and several people were already seated.
To both Harry and Ron's relief, Hermione was already there. If there was anyone who could help them with this mystery, it was her. The two Aurors hurried toward her. "What happened?" Hermione demanded, standing up as they approached. "The memo said that there were two impossibly powerful dark essences, one of them in the form of a child? What's going on?"
"I wish we knew," Ron muttered.
Harry handed her the scroll and she read it at top speed. Harry and Ron watched her reaction closely, and they were not too surprised when she looked as if she might faint.
"I've got to check something at the Ministry library," Hermione finally choked out. "It can't be possible. Not this kind of power. A child. A child. A child!"
"Listen to the meeting first," Ron told her, sitting down beside his wife. Harry took the scroll back and walked to the front of the table.
Several more people filtered in as the minutes passed, and Harry was getting extremely impatient. Finally, almost an hour later, every high-ranking member at the Ministry had arrived. The doors were closed, and Kingsley sat down at the head of the table. He waved his wand, and a ringing noise silenced the people.
"I have terrible news," Kingsley began. "Harry will explain. Harry...?"
Harry nodded and stood up. He pointed his wand at the end of the long room and waved it. An enlarged image of the scroll appeared there, causing everybody in the room to let out shocked gasps at the information on it. Several people cried out, unable to believe it.
"As you can plainly see," Harry sighed, "two extremely powerful essences made out of Dark Magic have been sensed. (Why we only heard of them today, I don't know, but we'll be launching an inquiry on that.) These are the most dangerous things in history—even more dangerous than Voldemort."
"What's worse, apparently, the scroll received the warning of one of the essences from a Trace, meaning that one of the essences is a child under the age of seventeen."
"How could it be?" Hermione spoke up, her face very pale. "Any child with that kind of dark power won't be able to survive. He or she would destroy himself or herself before long."
"Yeah," Ron agreed. "Power like that can flatten a kid like a pancake."
Nobody laughed.
A woman at the back raised her hand. Harry nodded toward her stiffly, and she leaned forward to speak. "Tell us about the other, older essence. It looks far more powerful than even the child."
Harry answered, "Very well. The second essence looks even worse than the child's essence. It's ancient, that much we can see. Perhaps a thousand years old, even. It's still and unmoving, though, (Like it's slumbering...) and it doesn't look like it'll be a problem—yet.
"The child troubles me more. We can't detect the Trace that belongs to the child, though, so we'll have to hunt it down. He or she could be anywhere in the world."
Harry's words hung in the air, and tension crackled in the room. Nobody spoke for a moment, and then, quite suddenly, whispers broke out.
"Kid looks indestructible..."
"Can't be human..."
"The child's going to destroy the world if we don't stop it..."
"And that ancient dark essence—what if that wakes up...?"
Harry raised his voice to speak above the muttering. "I'm going a man-hunt for this child. We'll upturn every stone to look for it."
Finally, Kingsley spoke. "I think that's a fine plan, Harry. We will send lookouts at Hogwarts soon enough, and we'll be sure to tell our children to keep an eye out for budding Dark Wizards. The child must be sixteen, possibly a seventh year coming in next term. It can't be any younger—the pressure of the Dark Magic would kill it."
"Al is in Slytherin," Ron said loudly. "The Dark Wizard's definitely coming from that house if the kid attends Hogwarts, so I'd tell him to watch out, Harry."
Many people nodded. Someone chuckled and said, "Strange boy, that one. Slytherin, I wonder..."
Harry scowled. "Yes, well, I'll tell him to look around. But I don't want to get him into even more trouble."
"We'll send reports to other nationalities," Kingsley decided. "They should look for this child at their schools, too."
Harry nodded in agreement. "I'm not going let this child (Or rather, a dark essence in the form of a kid) destroy the world! We'll find it and stop it."
Everyone clapped for him, determination shining in their eyes.
Harry was going to try his hardest to eliminate this new threat, but he had no idea who it was. If he did, he would have resigned from his post as Head Auror right away, because the second, newer dark essence was the very last person—if you could call it human—that Harry wanted to fight.
A man in a blood-red cloak purposely strode his way through the dark, mysterious forest. He was here for a very special reason: to activate a dark object, an object that had been buried for a thousand years. Finally, he reached his destination, which was an empty clearing. Not deterred in the least, the man pulled out his wand and whispered, "Forasde terra!"
The earth in the middle of the clearing was ripped from its place. A ghastly black rod rose from out from the dirt. It radiated evil, and it even made the man in the blood-red cloak shiver slightly. He tried to console himself and thought, it was created by the Paradox, so, naturally, it'd be pure Dark Magic.
But the man needed a vessel for the Scepter. He needed a human to channel the power of the Scepter and the part of the spirit of the first Paradox. He would need a scape-goat. Who could he use? A student at the school would do nicely.
But it was summer. What student was at his disposal? What student lived at the school? Only one did. The man quickly chose the vessel for this terrible Scepter. A certain girl would do well...
Then the man in the red cloak remembered the events of the previous term. One boy had foiled his plan, the plan of his society. He had damaged a part of the Paradox, which was unthinkable. What was more, this boy had survived the ordeal.
Albus Severus Potter. The red-cloaked man clenched his fist. That boy... that boy, though remarkably cunning and clever, was too much of a threat to keep alive. And what a shame it was, since the boy would have made a valuable addition to the ranks of the man's dark Regiment.
The man in the blood-red cloak was silent for a moment. It was too much to hope for. He wanted to release a part of the Paradox from the Scepter, but perhaps, just perhaps, he could kill two birds with one stone...
He stepped toward the Scepter, his dark, flinty eyes shining with malice. His hand closed around the dark stone rod. The moment it made contact, thunder rumbled and lightning flashed across the sky.
The Shadow Realm has begun to open, thought the man with a malicious smile. The Paradox will finally awaken.
It started to rain heavily—heavily enough to break through the leafy ceiling of the forest.
Disclaimer: Don't own Harry Potter. No copyright infringement intended.