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 we're back for more! Nothing to say here, so lets dive straight in
Chapter 2
After Lupin/Gehrman provided the push Hermione needed, given us some chocolate and repaired the windows, we were left in silence as the not-so-old Geezer headed up the train to check on the other students. No one really felt like talking after that, even after the rejuvenating effects of the chocolate. Thanks to our past lives, we all had memories that were less than pleasant, combined with the fact that some of us had experienced some pretty scaring things in this life to. Holly and Luna had both had their mothers die in front of them after all. That said, we were all made of sterner stuff than that and were able to shake off the effects of the Dementors Aura with a bit of help from some chocolate. Shortly after Lupin had left, Neville had done so as well, saying that he wanted to check on the younger students he had been sitting with before coming to find us.
Eventually though, the silence became too much and someone broke it.
"Are you OK Leo?" asked Holly, "That thing seemed to affect you really badly."
I shuddered at the reminder.
"It wasn't so much the Dementors Aura," I said, "Because of who my Father is, I can perceive spirits differently to normal people."
I caught our non-demigod friends looks.
"My Father isnt Lucius Malfoy," I said, "Hes Thanatos, the Greek God of Death."
The benefit of being people who actually taught Gods is that you don't need to convince people that said gods are real.
"That explains a lot," muttered Hermione.
"Shut up," I grumbled, "Anyway, my 'gift' allowed me to see that thing for what it truly was."
I shivered and wrapped my arms around myself.
"It...wasn't pleasant."
My friends looked at one another, before Holly tugged my arms out of the way and plunked herself into my lap, hugging me comfortingly.
"Tell us," she said.
I swallowed.
"It was the soul of one of the People," I said, "I don't know how, but somehow it had been twisted into a monster. I could see its suffering and that scream…"
"B-but how is something like that possible?" gasped Ginny.
"I don't know, but I intend to find out," I said, looking up with steely eyes, "And when I do, I'm going to tear them apart and drag them to the Fields of Punishment myself!"
My fellow Knights nodded in agreement, the same resolution appearing in their own eyes.
"Luna?" I asked.
She nodded and placed a hand on her bracelet, which glowed yellow and transformed into a golden crystal ball.
"SINGULARITY EYE ONLINE."
The blonde closed her eyes and placed a hand over the orb, which began to pulse. After a few moments, the pulsing stopped and Luna slumped slightly.
"Sorry Captain, but I can't see anything but darkness," she said.
"That was probably a good answer," I said, "They certainly seem like something the Darkness would come up with."
The others nodded in agreement as Luna deactivated her Device.
"So Hermione," started Holly with a grin, "Now that there's no longer any 'rivalry' between Jupiter and Venus, when can we expect you and Percy to hook up?"
Hermione immediately went bright red.
"W-w-w-w-w-what are you talking about?" she stuttered, "I-I don't like Percy! I-I don't even know him!"
"Hermione, there is very little difference between how we were and how we are," I said, "Trust me on that."
Hermione looked away with a huff, blushing bright red.
"I don't like that idiot," she said.
The rest of us looked at one another and burst out laughing, chasing away the last of the darkness brought on by the Dementor.
The remainder of the trip passed by quickly, with the five of us reminiscing over past victories and good times and before we knew it, we arrived at Hogsmead Station, where the normal crush erupted outside the compartment. As usual, we wait for a few moments until the crush died down some, before heading out ourselves. We stepped out into the freezing platform, conjuring barriers to keep the rain from hitting us. We exchanged a few words of welcome with Hagrid, before heading over to the carriages, sparing a quick greeting to the complaining Thestrals who apparently didn't appreciate being out in this monsoon. The trip up to the school was mostly fairly normal, but the two Dementors stood on either side of the gate certainly dampened our spirits, as did the downpour we had to reenter, which was so hard that even our rain deflecting shields and Holly keeping the water at bay with her magic wasn't quite enough to keep us from getting wet.
"Gods, who pissed of Zeus this time?" I grumbled, ignoring the rumble of thunder that erupted overhead as we passed through the doors.
"You fainted, Black?" drawled a very familiar and annoying voice, "Is Longbottom telling the truth? You actually fainted?"
I sighed in exasperation. Draco had been quite last year thanks to Mother having her and Lucius marriage dissolved and the many issues the Malfoys had as a result of their sudden lack of access to the Black Vault, minor as it was, but it appeared that they had got back on their feet and the little idiot had regained some of his bluster.
Draco elbowed past Hermione to block my way up the stone steps to the castle, his face gleeful and his pale eyes glinting maliciously.
"Draco, please don't," I said, a look of warning in my eyes, "I don't feel particularly well and I have a headache. If you really must be a brat, kindly wait until tomorrow. And as it happens, no I didn't faint. However, it looks like you had a little accident."
I pointed at the wet patch on the front of the blonds robes. Draco went bright red as my friends all laughed at his expense.
"Why you little…" started Draco.
"Is there a problem?" said a gruff voice.
The Geezer had just got out of the next carriage. Malfoy gave the new Professor an insolent stare, which took in the patches and general tattieness of his clothes and the dilapidated suitcase.
"Oh, no — er — Professor," he said with a hint of sarcasm in his voice.
Then he smirked at Crabbe and Goyle and led them up the steps into the castle.
"Fricken idiots," I grumbled, leading the way up the stairs and into the Enterence Hall.
"There gonna be a problem this year," said Ginny.
"Sos your brother," said Luna sagely.
"Great," grumbled Holly, "Just what we need."
The door into the Great Hall stood open on our right and what the crowd was heading for, all eager for the warmth and good food that awaited them inside. We were about to enter the hall, when Mcgonagall called out.
"Black! Granger! I want to see you both!"
We turned, eyebrows raised as the head of Gryffindor made her way over to us through the crowd.
"OK professor," said Hermione, "But why do you need to see Leo?"
"Professor Flitwick was informed that you were taken ill on the train," she said, "We just want to make sure your OK and since my office is closer we felt it would be best to do it there."
"Alright," I said, nodding in understanding.
"I don't think this'll take long," I said to Holly, "Save me a seat, K?"
Holly nodded and gave me a quick kiss, before Professor McGonagall ushered Hermione and I away from the chattering crowd and up to her office. Once we arrived Professor McGonagall motioned for us to sit down, before she settled herself behind her desk.
"How are you feeling Mr Black?" she asked.
"I'm fine," I said, "A bit of chocolate and time with good friends is the best cure for Dementor exposure."
"Remarkably astute Mr Black," said Madam Pomfrey as she came bustling into the room, "And very correct as well. You may have a future as a Mediwizard if you so desire."
I shrugged.
"Eh, I think I'll probably be taking over from Sirius," I said, "But that is something to consider."
Pomfrey hmmed and clicked her tongue as she waved her wand over me.
"Setting dementors around a school," she muttered, pushing back my hair and feeling his forehead, "I doubt you'll be the last one who collapses. Remarkable recovery time though. Most would still be clammy after an experience like that."
"I'm stronger than I look," I said
"I'll bet," mumbled Pomfrey, "But then again, it wasn't the Aura that made you collapse, was it?"
My eyes shot up to meet hers and she winked, shifting her collar to show a familiar leather twine with clay beads. Of course shes a Half-Blood, why am I even surprised?
"What does he need?" said Professor McGonagall crisply, completely missing the silent exchange, "Bed rest? Should he perhaps spend tonight in the hospital wing?"
"No need," said Pomfrey, "He's perfectly fine. Doesn't even need any chocolate, although I would recommend that you eat something with chocolate in it at the feast."
"Alright," I said.
"Yes, well, better safe than sorry," said Mcgonagall.
"Indeed," said Pomfrey, packing up and leaving.
"Would you mind waiting outside for a moment Mr Black?" asked McGonagall., "I need to have a quick word with Miss Granger about her course schedule, then we can go down to the feast together."
I nodded and vacated the room where I found Pomfrey stood just outside the door.
"Are you sure you're OK Leo?" she asked, "I know you have the Eyes of Death as a Blessing and I can't imagine that they made seeing those things any more pleasant than for the rest of us."
"You got that right," I said, "I could see the Soul that was used to make it, hear its screams...I'm actually quite surprised my eardrums are still intact."
Pomfrey looked shocked.
"Wait, you mean those monsters were made with Human souls?" she gasped, looking sickened.
"Yes," I said shortly, trying to suppress a shudder.
"I can certainly see why you were affected as badly as you were," she said, "If you need to talk, you know where to find me."
I nodded and she began to leave.
"Wait!" I said.
Pomfrey paused.
"Who's cabin?" I asked.
"Can't you guess?" she asked, "I'm a Daughter of Apollo."
"Right, stupid question," I muttered.
She smiled and nodded, before vanishing around the corner. I had to wait only a few more minutes; then Hermione emerged looking very happy about something and tucking what had to be the Time Turner into her robes, followed by Professor McGonagall, and the three of them made their way back down the marble staircase to the Great Hall.
It was a sea of pointed black hats; each of the long House tables was lined with students, their faces glimmering by the light of thousands of candles, which were floating over the tables in mid-air. Professor Flitwick was carrying the Sorting Hat and a three-legged stool out of the hall.
"Oh," said Hermione softly, "we've missed the Sorting!"
"Eh, I don't mind," I said, "See you later."
Hermione nodded and split off, heading to the Gryffindor table where she sat next to Minako, who immediately glomped her and started chattering. Apparently the two had become good friends over the years, no doubt due to subconsciously recognizing one another and now actively doing so.
I turned away and headed over to Ravenclaw, taking the seat next to Holly, who was looking impatiently at her empty plate. Fortunately for the many hungry bellies in the hall, Dumbledore didn't waist any time standing to make his speech. After the expected warnings about the Dementors and introducing Lupin (who got a number of curious whispers about the weapons he was still wearing) and Hagrid as the new teachers, he shut up and sat down, allowing the food to appear. A quick check revealed that it was clean of anything nasty and we dug into the delicious, if greasy food.
Once the feast was over, we all started trooping upstairs to the common rooms, stopping to answer the riddle, before sharing a goodnight kiss with Holly and separating to our own dorms. I flopped down on my four poster with a sigh. Not long now and we could get the hell out of here. Still, might as well make the most of it.
And thats the end of that. Nothing much has happened yet, but I do have some interesting plans for this one.
Pomfrey being a Demigod was pretty much a case of 'cool idea, lets roll with it' and won't have any real bearing on the plot.
Ah, teasing Hermione, such fun!
Time to sign off, leave me a review!