JUST TO LET YOU KNOW: If you have not read "Dark as Snow", it's fine, you'll still be able to understand and appreciate this fanfic. But if you've never given a glance at "Bright as Night", you'll probably be quite lost, since this story follows up on the events happening during Albus' fourth year at Hogwarts.
THE SCARLET TOWER
When the winds were gusting over the cracked white plain, one could almost hear dull voices, as if far beneath the thick layer of snow and ice, ancient giants had been singing a lament.
Once, Terrence had said he imagined them like huge tipsy trolls, toasting with their butterbeer tankards and telling stories of the origins of Time, but Wendy had shuddered at the thought that Muggles drillings could someday disturb these benevolent old folks.
Scorpius, of course, had merely shrugged at the idea of people living underneath floe and gone back to his paperwork.
Albus had said nothing, his forehead leaning against the window, his green eyes lost in the contemplation of the blizzard. Sometimes, a dreamy sigh was heaving from his chest, but he could not explain why.
When there was no storm, the Shufflers of Light valley was one of the most glorious places in the world.
Under the vast sapphire skies, the sun glittered on the white velvety slopes and sparkled on the blue ice edges. In the polar coldness reigned a hushed silence, that was not disturbed by the whining of the flying whales or the barking of the firetailed foxes rolling playfully in the snow. In the middle of the plain, the scarlet Observation Tower looked like the pointy hat of a leprechaun or the tip of the Hogwarts Express' whistle, with small clouds of smoke gushing from time to time from the silver ducts.
Wendy had done a very nice sketch of that sight, which was pinned in the locker room, just above the dischilblaining machine and Albus wanted to send his parents a copy of it, since pictures gave out nothing of the clarity and beauty of the site on which he was working.
It was almost seven years after the rebellion of the Hebrides.
Harry Potter had become Minister of Magic and although there were still some people complaining, overall Britain wizarding community felt satisfied under his rightful leadership. The Boy Who Lived, the war hero, the Auror who had turned to politics, remained a simple and accessible man, whom they knew would never compromise with dark forces.
Ginny was still working for the Department of Magical Games and Sports, but she showed active in galas and charity evenings as the worthy wife of the minister. Sometimes came along her daughter Lily ("A beauty!") who had just finished her studies at Hogwarts. Rumor had it the young lady was going for "a career in fashion." But people were not quite sure what that meant.
James, the eldest son of the minister, had failed to the Auror entrance examination for a reason that only Harry Potter, Teddy Lupin and Ron Weasley knew. After this painful experience, James had packed up a bag and gone hitchhiking for over a year. From brooms to flying carpets, in the Knight Bus, hot balloons, gondolas, steam trains and ships, he had finally found himself in Sicily, where his natural charm and his clever patter had put him at a key post in the trade with the Cola Clan of fishmen.
Wendy Philips, Terrence Swanson and Scorpius Malfoy were still close friends.
They were the only ones in the world – except for Harry – to know the truth about Albus.
It had been during their seventh year, while in internship in Brazil, that his three friends had (re)discovered Albus' secret, when he had changed into his other self to save Terrence from the bite of a fer-de-lance snake. Wendy had sulked a bit - Scorpius a lot - but ultimately they had been relieved to learn that Toothless - Albus had never managed to make them understand it was not the real name of the dragon - was still alive.
That may have been why Scorpius had finally yielded to his father and entered the ministry. The Unspeakable he would become after ten years of service to the government could effectively protect the greatest mystery of Britain. For now, after two years in the Office of Disinformation, he had asked to be transferred to the South Pole where he served as a liaison officer, which allowed him to keep an eye on both his friend and on a certain Miss Phillips.
The dauntless girl had finally gathered her courage and opposed the future planned for her by the almost invisible businessman to whom she gave the name of father. Encouraged by the old butler Barrie, she had chosen her own destiny. Once she had received her magical mechanical engineer diploma, she had been assigned to the Observation Tower for her first job and if her relationship with her stepmother had not really benefited from it – Madame swooned just thinking about a young lady of her class with hands full of grease - however the distance had helped soothe it.
Several Quidditch teams had made offers to Albus at the end of his studies. They wanted him as a Seeker or a Chaser, and his mother would have wanted him to follow in her footsteps and make a name in the national sport. He had undeniable talent and it was not every day people were quarrelling over a player with such a handicap. Even Harry almost wanted his son to accept, if only for the changes in mentality this could have brought to the still full of prejudices wizarding community. But the second of the Potter children had politely refused. Quietly, without ostentation, as he had always done, he had walked on his own path. After two years of training, he had brilliantly completed his magizoologist studies, then had applied to Antarctica and left England to study the behavior of the magical wildlife of the white continent.
Terrence had joined his three friends six months later. He was far from having completed his studies - even though his genius brain put him five or six steps ahead of the other students - but he had already obtained a first cycle license, which allowed him to perform the functions of a healer in Inlandsis Station while doing his third year boarding internship.
And that was how the 'Inseparables of Hogwarts' were now all standing at the ends of the world.
Everything was fine so far.
But things never stayed peaceful long when these four were together.
oOoOoOo
Wendy was coming back from the boiler room, wiping her hands on a rag when she heard the airlock heavy doors unlocking, then someone hitting his boots against the step. Her triangular face lit up and she climbed up the spiral stairs four at once, stuffing the cloth in the front pocket of her gray overalls.
He's back!
Five floors above, Albus was taking off his cloak and hanging it on a golden bear claw-shaped peg when she barged in the lobby covered with threadbare crimson tapestry.
- "Hi there", she managed, a little out of breath.
She absentmindedly rubbed at the carbuncle shining at the tip of her left eyebrow, and pushed behind her ear the short brown hair sweeping on her cheek.
- "Yo", the young man replied, turning to her with a smile.
He was much taller than her, now. Still slender, but his shoulders were a lot broader in his black turtleneck sweater. His hair was tousled and his nose red from the cold. A soft shadow darkened the male line of his jaw. Tears of frost were clinging to the long lashes hemming his green eyes.
- "Were you at Crystal Tusks Crest?" she asked, crossing her arms and leaning casually against the wall next to the mirror, while he slipped his hands into the dischilblaining machine.
- "No, I went to Sarcophagus Cove", he said, taking off his boots lined with fur and his thick woolen socks. "I wanted to see if I could spot one of the pink balls of soot looking spider crabs that Calcifer mentioned."
Wendy turned away chastely when he pulled up his trousers to remove his prosthesis and drag his stump in the machine which cared for frostbite.
- "Do you think they also came through the Axis?"
Albus sat on the bench and put back on his wooden leg when the disembodied voice of the machine told him he was fine, but he would be a complete nitwit if he kept bathing under ice.
- "You've gone under water?" whispered the girl reproachfully.
He gave her an apologetic wince.
- "Crabs or whatever they are, they don't live on dry land, y'know", he mumbled. "I had to go get them in their natural habitat. Don't worry, Dewis had it under control."
Wendy only snorted, doubtful.
He stood up, ruffled her hair and started up the spiral staircase covered with a bottle green carpet. The glossy mahogany banister was rising up wrapping around wrought iron railings, like in a luxury hotel.
- "In any case, if they came through the Axis, it's no big deal", Albus said with a light tone. "Muggles are less likely to come across them than to fire tailed foxes that have nothing to do in the South Pole. I'd be more annoyed if it were polar bears suddenly showing up..."
- "Don't you dare wishing so", muttered his friend, rolling her eyes.
They were climbing the stairs in a transparent blue tube shimmering under the cold sun of Antarctica. The huge gold-rimmed windows were letting in so much light it made them squint.
The Observation Tower included fourteen floors on which were distributed the researchers' offices, common rooms, dormitories, labs, the galley and the boiler den. You could not apparate here for some reason and the station was stocked every four months by hot balloon: boats could not reach that far through the floe.
It had been built a hundred and fifty years earlier and was the farthest outpost in the southern hemisphere. Only British wizards were studying there. Other nations had also been interested in Antarctica at the time of the great scientific cooperation established by the Muggles in 1957, but their passion had quickly faded - and with it the funds allocated to the onsite teams. Magic governments of other countries had preferred to invest more in the North Pole, as it was not "only a chunk of ice for penguins to play toboggan," like Scorpius' father used to say disdainfully.
As for the team here, they had a very different opinion on the matter.
The ice contained more secrets than you could imagine - the biggest one being the exact location of the Axis and the most mysterious the disappearance of the Shufflers of Light.
And then, there was also the existence of Calcifer...
Albus took a small golden key from his pocket when they reached the seventh level, where his office was.
- "Tonight, I bet we'll have a flight of humpback whales. Winter solstice has come", he said.
- "Are we already the 21st of December?" asked Wendy, surprised.
- "Christmas is in four days", Albus said in a slightly muffled voice, while opening the door and letting her in. His cheeks were flushed as if he had suddenly thought of something embarrassing.
She did not notice a thing, went across the room and leaned over the slim cases carefully classified in a box near the old phonograph.
- "So… did you find any of those sea spiders that look like the soot balls creatures that make Euphrosine mad?"
He pulled from his pocket a small jar and lobbed it to her while heading to the library. He looked for a book while carelessly waving his wand at the kettle and cups gathered on a tray placed on the round table in the lounge area, next to aquariums and vivariums lit by greenish glows. The water began to boil, a spoon bounced in the air. The tea box cover popped up and sugars rattled while the cups were scrambling to be served first. A blue chipped one managed to get to the best spot and let out a contented sigh.
Wendy looked a moment at the bristling small ball of pink foam, curled up at the bottom of the jar filled with sea water, then put it on a stack of encyclopedias. She chose a record, put it carefully on the round platform and slid the diamond tip off her finger.
In his office, Scorpius looked up when he heard the swing music engage.
Ah. He's back.
He smiled, dipped his quill in the ink and went back to his report, blowing to get rid of an almost white blond wick falling on his right eye. His hair was shaved on the sides of his skull, his bangs slicked back carefully as if he were about to attend a meeting at the ministry. He was wearing an impeccable three-piece dark suit and a perfectly ironed white shirt on which he had pulled black cuffs to protect from ink splutters.
Under the table, one of his polished shoes was marking the rhythm of Benny Goodman's song.
- "Well, they do look alike... Do you think the Axis is somewhere underwater?" asked Wendy on the floor below.
Albus shook his head, as he came back to her with a huge book.
- "Nah, the fire tailed foxes wouldn't have survived if they had come from under the ice", he mumbled, turning the pages. "They must have come by land. I think I'd better give another look at the volcano. There're may be bones or something..."
The girl nodded. She grabbed one of the cups that was waddling in the air and waved off the too eager sugar jar.
- "Ha!" Albus exclaimed, pointing to an illustration. He plopped himself on the edge of his desk, next to his friend. "I knew I had seen it somewhere. Let me see: ...At that time, we often saw strange will-o'-the-wisps mingling with the lights dancing in the night sky and opinions were divided between two schools. Some talked of fallen stars, others of fire creatures sprung from the depths of the Axis... uh, let's see... characterized by wide eyes... woolen balls similar to sea urchins... yes, maybe ... disappeared during the fourth winter... who wrote that?"
He pulled a face.
- "Rina Kettlery. Not the most reliable magizoologist there ever was... she was afraid of chickens and couldn't have cleaned the litter of a cat for the life of hers..."
Wendy had a sip of hot tea.
- "Well, it's true you're better at this than anyone", she smirked. "You do have a gift with animals and magical creatures..."
He gave her a nudge, then laughed and sent back the book to the library with a flick of his wand.
- "You know what, I'll put Christopher on it", he said excitedly. "Perhaps he knows where to find amber residues. If we could find one of those things trapped in a piece of rock, it'd be a huge step forward."
He dipped his lips in the chipped blue cup to find his tea was almost cold and whistled the teapot which rushed to bring hot water.
- "He won't like your nosing in his field of study", snorted Wendy who could not stand their geologist colleague.
The swing song ended and the diamond tip snapped up, siding on the edge of the device. For a moment the room was silent, except for the rustle of the record still running on empty.
Wendy was not moving, perfectly happy with the warmth of the shoulder against hers, in the kindly light of the ending austral day. Albus was sipping his tea, deep in thought.
In the largest aquarium, two icefishes were passing by each other, blinking, transparent and iridescent as fairground trout.
- "Are the boreal Omnioculars repaired?" the young man asked after a moment. "I think I'll watch the flight of whales from the observatory. It's freezing out there."
He cleared his throat.
- "Do you want to join?"
Wendy blushed.
- "Hum. Well, erm, yes, why not?" she stammered, burying her chin in her big yellow wool sweater.
She had a strangled chuckle and shifted uneasily. Albus gave her a somewhat puzzled look and stood up. He took the jar with the spider crab and was about to go around the desk to sit behind the microscope made of golden circles and glass balls, when they heard the characteristic wooshing sound of the airlock doors, then the hurrying steps in the stairs of someone who had not taken the time to stop at the dischilblaining machine or take off his snowy boots.
Seconds later, a young man with long blond hair tied in a ponytail, wearing round glasses on his aquiline nose and a white coat under his cloak lined with fur, barged into the office.
- "AL! Muggles at the Japanese station became ill after handling leopard seals!" he panted. "And guess where they were taking samples? On Ogre Island!"
There was a loud crack, then a sullen house elf, with big bat ears stuffed with gray hair and a hooked nose, materialized at the door.
- "Maybe our excellent healer could stop howling and making drafts", he scowled. "Calcifer and Miss Euphrosine were already in a terrible mood this morning, one do not need them to..."
He did not have time to finish his sentence. A terrible roar cut him off and the whole tower was shaken in a cloud of snow. The trembling cups hid under a towel and the ice fish buried themselves in the mud of the aquarium.
Then everything went quiet again.
- "Sorry, Pepper", spluttered the newcomer with a wince of apology to the elf who rolled his eyes under his big hairy eyebrows. "But it was important."
- "It always is", groaned the creature.
A door slammed upstairs and the exasperated voice of Scorpius echoed in the stairwell.
- "I hope it was worth it, Swanson! There's ink all over my report and I was supposed send it by Gorfou Express in an hour!"
- "The report was about to need rewriting anyway!" called another voice from below, cheerful and soothing. "Can everyone gather in the common room? Matilda has just made an amazing discovery!"
TBC
Next chapter: Sea Flowers & Strange Fellows
