Chapter 2

For the next ten days, Order members took turns watching over Harry's cell though they all reported that Deimos had slept through their entire shift.

Finally it was the eleventh day after they had brought Harry back and everyone was getting restless. As it was, Charles Potter and Holly Potter were on duty that day. They were both sitting in front of the cell playing chess when Deimos opened his eyes. He blinked a few times to remember what had happened as he sat up.

He looked at the kids outside the cell and decided to find some amusement in watching them play the game. He realized very fast however, that Charles was hopeless at chess and that the girl was moderately good.

He watched Charles about to move a pawn to his death and spoke up, "You may want to move the Queen to E3 instead."

Both kids jumped as they turned to Deimos.

"Er... you are awake!"

Harry nodded, "Yep, it looks like it doesnt it. Now queen to E3"

Charles looked suspicious before following the step. Five minutes later, he had won the game and was whooping. Holly looked cross, "You could only win if someone helped you, dimwit!"

Deimos instantly liked her, "Ah, and who might you be?"

"Holly Potter, the dimwit's brother."

Deimos smirked as he slowly made his way closer to the bars, or as close as he could anyways, "I see. So how long was I out?"

"About ten days. Why did you sleep so long?"

"Ah Harry, I see you are awake though it was quite a long time you slept, my boy." Dumbledore walked in just then, his twinkle in his eye. Deimos had a sneaking suspicion that the old man had been hiding in the shadows watching them interact.

And so he rolled his eyes, "Obviously. Now Albus you didn't really expect me to sleep for an hour after twenty years of no sleep, did you?"

Holly gasped loudly and Dumbledore waved the answer away, "Well my boy, have you thought about my offer?"

Deimos looked at him as though he was crazy, "Thanks but no thanks. I do not want the freedom you have provided me." Deimos raised his hands showing off the shackles, "in return for defeating the little pest Tommy. I think I would prefer to go back to the hellhole, thanks."

Dumbledore deflated a little before asking, "Alright, now what were those scrolls you were talking about?"

Deimos looked at Dumbledore incredulously, "You have really gone daft with age havent you? Even the senile old coot that you were before would know I would never answer that."

Dumbledore sighed before saying, "I was hoping you would not have to make me ask the hard way."

Deimos rolled his eyes, "What, are you going to torture me? I am afraid you really are senile now. I am Deimos, Dumbledore the human version of fear. Nothing you can do can instill it in me!"

Dumbledore smirked, "Not true, Harry, not true at all. Charles, Holly would you leave us?"

the kids looked a little afraid before they disappeared through the door, just as Moody entered a strange expression on his face.

Deimos sighed softly resigning himself for upcoming pain. He was, however, surprised when Moody walked over and began undoing his chains.

"What you moving me somewhere with less witnesses?" his eyes flickered to the door where he knew the kids would undoubtedly be standing.

Dumbledore laughed, "Oh no, dear boy, not at all!"

Deimos resisted the urge to growl as he watched Moody silently remove all the chains though the cuffs remained on his wrists and ankles.

"Are you sure this is wise Albus? I would rather not give him such freedom."

Dumbledore waved Moody's concern away as he withdrew a long wooden stick from his pocket and handed it to Harry. Deimos looked even more surprised as he took the stick from Dumbledore, a wave of euphoria passing over him.

"The wand can only perform the most basic of spells."

Deimos nodded, still reveling in the happiness that had washed over him. Dumbledore continued, "You will notice the cuffs are still on you. They are keyed into all the Order members and will cause you immense pain should you try to attempt any harm or leave at an time."

Deimos shrugged. He knew that already.

Dumbledore looked at Deimos seriously, "Harry, I really hope you decide to help us out. Our entire hopes rest on your shoulders."

Deimos rolled his eyes resisting the urge to begin a tirade as Moody pushed him out the cell. Catching himself before he could fall, he turned to look at Dumbledore, "So you are just letting me go. Just like that?"

Dumbledore smiled a little, "Mostly. You are free to wander the castle though if you take step outside, you will find yourself in immense pain."

Deimos nodded, not believing it was true yet as he took an experimental step. Seeing no catches or sudden pain, he opened the door to the dungeon his eyes instantly landing on two sheepish forms. He nodded to Charles and Lily before taking a few more steps. He was almost at the staircase out of the dungeons when a voice called out, "Wait!"

he turned around, knowing it was too good to be true only to see Charles and Lily rushing over. They looked slightly nervously at each other before Lily asked, "Would it be ok if we came with you? I mean, we wanted to get to know you and stuff."

Deimos shrugged, choosing instead to climb up the stairs. He paused at a window to look outside for the first time in two decades, surprise flitting through his eyes at the buildings there.

"What happened to the grounds?"

the two looked confused, "What do you mean?"

Deimos realized they were changed before the kids were born and shook his head, continuing upwards. He headed upwards directly to the seventh floor followed by the kids. They watched in confusion as he walked across a piece of wall three times and gaped when a door appeared.

Deimos resisted the urge to snort as he said, "Well come in!"

they nodded dumbly, following Deimos into the room. They stopped in shock when they saw the large meadow that was there.

"What is this place?"

Deimos fell to his knees and sunk his fingers through the wet grass. He answered blissfully, "It is the come and go room – a special place in Hogwarts where whatever you want most will be given to you."

Lily and Charles sat down next to Deimos forming a strange triangle.

Lily asked excitedly, "Really? Can it give me an elephant?"

Deimos looked quite amused, "Sure, I want an elephant."

Suddenly a loud trumpeting noise was heard and a giant elephant appeared inches away from them.

"Cool! This is awesome!" "Ooh!" Both kids looked absolutely excited. Deimos smiled a little for the first time in years and the elephant disappeared to be replaced by three brooms.

"What happened?"

It was Charles who looked the most upset. Deimos shrugged, "I was tired of him. Do either of you fly?"

Charles and Lily's eyes widened, "Er... no Mr... What do we call you?"

Deimos stopped near one of the brooms, "Call me Deimos. Nothing more, nothing less."

They nodded and Charles said, "Well Deimos, flying has been outlawed for eighteen years ever since you-know-who cast a taboo on all brooms. Any broom will immediately take the carrier to him if they ride it."

Deimos rolled his eyes, "This is the Room of Requirement. These brooms are not real. Come here."

Seeing both of them still looking nervous, Deimos shrugged and mounted the broom. They watched with awed expressions as he flew up to the clear sky, performed a series of somersaults and dives and landed looking exhilarated.

"Ah... I have missed that quite a bit."

"That was AWESOME!" Both of them looked quite excited. Deimos smirked, "Want to have a go?"

They nodded in unison and Deimos pointed at the brooms, "First, you stand next to the brooms like this."

Both of them stood next to the brooms.

"Good, now place your hand directly over the brooms and say Up."

"Up." "Up."

The brooms instantly flew into their arms. Deimos nodded, "Good you seem to have inherited the Potter genes. Now mount your brooms like this."

Both slid over the brooms.

"Very good. Now kick off and experience flying!"

Both followed Deimos and they were in the air in seconds. Lily squealed as she directed her broom to go around in circles. Charles took it a step further in whizzing higher into the sky and doing loops. Deimos for his part flew around some more before coming to the ground and lying peacefully on the grass, watching the two fly. In no time at all, he was asleep once again.

He woke up two hours later to the sound of laughter. Looking around, he saw Charles and Lily eating from a picnic basket along with Holly and two other kids. All three looked up as Deimos walked over. It was Holly however who ran over and hugged Deimos, "Ooh! Thanks so much for showing us this place! Flying is SO cool!"

The new girl had brown hair that fell in ringlets around her face and was standing next to Charles. She looked suspicious of him, as did the boy with flaming red hair next to her.

"You know you look eerily like Ron and Hermione."

The boy crossed his arms, "They are our parents."

Deimos looked amused as he nodded, "Ah, and your names?"

"Anemone"

"Godric."

Deimos muttered "Typical. So are you dating?"

Instantly they all made sour faces.

"Eew! We are practically family!"

Deimos smirked and sat with his back to a tree, "Alright... So Charles, Lily you took these three flying?"

Instantly the expressions changed and even Anemone was excitedly retelling their experiences flying in a few minutes. Deimos listened silently to the kids, marveling at the innocence they showed. He had most definitely not been like that at their age. Indeed, when he was twenty, he was on top of the world – the leader of more than a thousand followers, the murderer of more people than he could count, on his way to taking over more than a few countries and the author of more than a few treatises. But this, he had not been, strangely enough, he missed not having the opportunity.

It was a few hours later that the conversation lulled and silence was restored in the meadow. Deimos was staring at a few woodpeckers on a nearby tree when Anemone asked, "Um... Deimos?"

Deimos turned to look at her, "Hm...?"

She fidgeted slightly and Deimos said, "Spit it out, girl."

"Well, were you really a dark lord?"

Deimos's eyes instantly grew cold, "Indeed, why? Do you need ideas to take over the world?"

The girl colored instantly, "Hey! It was just a question."

Deimos took a calming breath as he looked at the replica of Ron coming to defend his sister. What was his name? Right, Godric.

"Yes I was a dark lord."

"Oh." the girl seemed to deflate. To Deimos, she appeared the type of girl who chose to believe in the best of people – not a trait he particularly liked.

His musings were stopped short by a sudden ringing sound. He watched in amusement as Holly flipped open a phone and spoke into it, "Hello?"

"OH hi mum. No Charlie and I are in the seventh floor."

"Oh sorry. We will be there in a sec."

She hung up and looked at Godric, "Apparently McGonagall is angry because we arent in the common room. It is past curfew."

Godric jumped up, swearing and he and Holly ran off. Deimos looked amused as he turned to look at the the three remaining, "School is in session then?"

Lily nodded, "Yep, Holly and Godric are in their seventh year and they are supposed to set examples by being in the common room by curfew."

Deimos looked upwards at the night sky, "Ah... Gryffindors?"

"Er... no."

Deimos looked at Charles who explained, "We don't have houses anymore. There arent enough kids to have separate houses so we are all clumped into one."

Deimos shrugged, "Probably for the best. So why are you not leaving? I imagine your parents would not be pleased with your choice of company."

the three looked at each other and shrugged. Then Lily said something he least expected, "Its just that our parents have always been so uptight. It is interesting to find an adult who is so chillaxed"

Deimos refrained from commenting, looking instead at the sky.

Anemone continued, "I know, my mum would blow a gasket if she found out that I had flown! Not to mention what my dad would do."

"Ron would be pleased."

"Oh no! Dad is even more uptight than my mom! He wouldn't let Godric and I use his wand even for small kitchen spells until we were eleven!"

Deimos didn't let his surprise show. Obviously the world had changed in his absence but he could care less.

"And not to mention my parents! Everyone expects great things from the son of the boy-who-lived don't they! They are constantly pushing me towards Defense against the dark arts and more auror stuff – no fun at all! But at the same time, they won't even let me attend a single battle! Its ridiculous!"

Deimos didn't answer at all. Instead he stood and stretched. The three saw as the black robes he was wearing rode up a little revealing the cuffs still on his form. But Deimos wasnt all that bothered by it. He was going to enjoy the little freedom he had.

And with that in mind, he asked the room for a box of cigars and a lighter. The three looked in interest as Deimos popped the cigar into his mouth expertly lighting it. He took a drag looking like it was heaven before blowing the smoke out into the air.

"Aah that smells awful!"

Deimos smirked at Lily, blowing more smoke out. Taking that as their cue to leave, the three stood.

"We should probably go too. Our parents would kill us."

Deimos waved them away before finding a nice rock to sit on and enjoy his cigar.

"Dumbledore, are you sure it is wise to allow Deimos to roam around free?"

Dumbledore frowned at the group assembled in front of him. It was close to midnight and they were having a partial Order meeting.

"Listen, I am sure I can convince Harry to join our cause. He just needs time and some freedom."

People looked around at each other displaying varying emotions. Dumbledore turned to Charles, "Charles, did you happen to learn anything by following Harry around?"

Charles looked at Lily and Anemone before shaking his head, "Not really sir. He isn't much of a conversationalist. He was mostly quiet the entire time."

Anemone continued, "I asked him if he really was a dark lord and he instantly clammed up and said yes."

Dumbledore nodded, "Alright thank you three. As for everyone, I suggest you give Harry some time. He has just spent twenty years in what he claims is a hellhole."

People winced at the thought of that much time in imprisonment – it was unimaginable!

Dumbledore smiled at successfully getting them to look at Harry in a new light. Closing the chapter, he spoke up, "Alright, let us begin planning the liberation of Camp Wartoc."

"How many people are there in the camp?"

"Almost three thousand."

"We can't hold that many people!"

"But we must!"

"What are we going to do!"

"You didn't tell Dumbledore about the room of requirement!"

Charles nodded to Lily, Anemone, Godric and Holly. They were in an unused classroom they had found a few years back that was a hundred percent away from prying eyes and ears.

"I didn't tell him because then Dumbledore will close it up."

Godric bit his lip, "What is wrong with that?"

Lily spoke up, "Well look at Deimos. The first happiness he got in twenty years was to fall to his knees and touch the grass. Do you really want to take that away?"

Godric shook his head, realizing just then what Lily was saying. Anemone continued, "Plus, you have to admit, the room is intriguing. I for one want to see what else we could do that our parents did when they were kids."

They all nodded and Holly looked excited, "And of course flying!"

They all laughed, "Yep and flying!"

"Um... guys?" They looked at Charles. "What do you make of Deimos?"

"I can't really tell, to be honest. He is just so detached – he seems out of it quite a lot."

"I agree Lily. The only expression I ever saw on his face was the absolute happiness he got from flying – that was unforgettable."

"I wonder what he did that forced Dumbledore to lock him up..."

Everyone turned to look at Anemone. She colored a little, "Its just that it must have been bad and none of the history books say anything other than that it was the worst period of time since Salazar Slytherin!"

There was silence after that statement as everyone pondered that.

"Well it must have been really bad... We found him in a statue unable to move anything but his eyeballs."

"WHAT?"

"Yah, it was pretty ridiculous! And horrendous!"

"Thats horrible! Why would anyone do that to another person!"

"Oh my god!"

"Er... guys"

They all looked at Holly who was holding the marauder's map, "McGonagall is coming this way."

"Crap, we have to disperse."

"Guys, we don't tell anyone of this. Agreed?"

They all nodded and the group instantly disappeared their separate ways. Charles stayed in the room, pulling out a book and pretending to read just as the professor appeared.

"Oh Charles, its you. I was wondering who had left the light on in this room."

Charles smiled, "Sorry Professor I didn't realize the time."

She smiled at her favorite alumnus, "No problem Charles. What were you reading?"

Charles showed her, "The secret to becoming an animagus."

"Aah, that is a tremendous task Charles. It takes many years to become an animagus – just ask your grandfather or Sirius Black."

Charles shrugged, "Yah but it is pretty cool. Wait, Professor, you are an animagus!"

Minerva smiled tightly, "Yes I am – don't you go telling the younger ones that!"

Charles laughed as he mock-zipped his lips, "My lips are sealed madam!"

Minerva chuckled quietly as she ushered Charles out the room. Neither noticed that in the shadows of the room, Deimos had remained, listening to the entire conversation.

"Is it true?"

"Is HE really out?"

"I hope not! I helped put him there!"

Three angry voices turned to the person who had said that, "WHAT?"

"No! No, I didn't physically do anything but I wasnt able to get to him on time to prevent Dumbledore from stabbing him in the back!"

There was silence before the three deflated, "Oh, there is nothing you could have done!"

"Dont worry about it!"

"We must see him!"

"We need to!"

"What do you think he will do once he sees us!"

"He will kill us all!"

"Aah!" The fourth voice made them turn to see the man clutching his head as a voice said in his mind

"Ah, there you four are. I thought I saw some plotting going on."

The man looked around wildly, "What? Whats going on? Who are you?"

The other three looked at him dumbly, "Nicholas! What is it?"

"Its HIM. He is in my head!"

"No he isn't, Nick – you are just tired. Go lay down."

the man nodded rubbing his head as he walked into one of the buildings in what used to be the Hogwarts grounds.

From a window in Hogwarts, Deimos shook his head in amusement and smirked.