CHAPTER 2: REVEALING (PART 2)
(extended from the Prologue in Chapter 1)
"With a blow from her wand, Auradinthia defeated Death, winning her husband's soul as her reward. Bowing respectfully to Auradinthia and conceding defeat, Death then fashioned a lantern out of cypress wood, placing her husband's soul with it, then giving the lantern to her. Auradinthia then returned to the World Above, carrying with her husband's soul in the lantern and the power of the Auranan. Once back home in the World Above, Auradinthia performed a special ritual which would give her husband a new body and a new life. Unbeknownst to the boy's mother however, Death was angry for having lost the duel to a mortal and now sought revenge on Auradinthia.
"One day, Death heard that a Dark Wizard by the name of Dianphor had stolen the picture frame that Auradinthia had made and had came into the World Below through it in order to find the Auranan himself so that he could use it to fight with Auradinthia. Dianphor wanted to fight Auradinthia for possession of an all-powerful book she had made, known as the Book of Auradinthia, which held within it the most dangerous spells and potions in the world. These spells and potions had been collected from all over the world by Auradinthia herself and had been placed in the book for safe keeping. With this book, Dianphor would achieve his ultimate goal, the ability to take away the magical powers of all others and become the ultimate ruler of all.
"Death soon had a plan. Death would journey to the river of fire and take from it a burning rock, from which he would make an egg of death and place underneath a tree that cried. It was there that Death would wait for Dianphor to retrieve the egg from underneath the tree, where then through Dianphor, Death would seek out his revenge. Thinking that the egg contained a great and mighty creature, Dianphor collected the egg from underneath the tree that cried and brought it back with him to the World Above. There he would hatch it in a pyre of fire and brimstone, bringing into the World Above the dragon known as Morfyrath, the Demon-Dragon. Not long after, Death visited Dianphor in the night and asked that he help him seek out revenge on Auradinthia, the same woman that Dianphor now seeked to fight possession for the Book of Auradinthia. They agreed to work together and help each other achieve their wants and goals...
INT. THE THREE LIONS HEAD INN, GODRIC'S HALLOW - EVENING (AUGUST 17TH, 1998)
(extended from prologue in Chronicle 1)
As Harry looked away and turned around to face his bed once more, he suddenly noticed something strange sitting on top of his bed. An object that looked like a sliver framed monocle on a glittering sliver laid near the center of the bed. In reality, it was a round monocle-sized mirror surrounded by a sliver frame and hung on a glittering sliver chain. Harry was weary at first, looking all around him and wondering where the object had come from. He then sat down on the bed, picked up the object and held it out in front of him. After a few moments, the strange misty light began to wash over the mirror and the face of a beautiful woman slowly began to form and appear from the misty light within the mirrored object. Harry looked on puzzlingly, unsure of what was going on. He then soon realized that it was the woman he had just seen only minutes before, Verena Witchazel. Harry narrowed his eyes briefly as Verena yawned, stretched herself and groaned a bit
"Um...hello?" said Harry, sounding mildly annoyed, "Who are you?"
Suddenly, Verena froze with her mouth wide open in a mid-yawn as she stared at Harry shrewdly, then closed her mouth and gave a look at Harry that was all to reminiscent to how Severus use to stare at him and spoke, "Harry Potter...finally, I can talk to you." - Harry looked on puzzlingly as Verena continued, "I must apologize for this spontaneous intrude, but when I heard that you were in town, I just had to come and see you. We have matters to discuss, you and I."
"Matters?"
"Yes, it's about your son...or rather, one of your future sons," said Verena coolly with a mischievous smile and Harry looked on puzzlingly, "Forgive me...spoilers..." - Verena's face morphed out a moment, then returned.
"I'm going to have sons?"
"Oh indeed, and a daughter as well...but let talk about something else for a moment. Have you ever heard of a magical power known as The Auranan?"
"Yes, I have. I've heard rumors that my father might have had it, but never realized it."
"Interesting...and what do you know of this power, Mr. Potter? Its abilities as it were."
"Excuse me," said Harry suddenly, "But you were just here in front of the Inn just now. Surely you could have spoken to me in person!"
"Oh no, Mr. Potter, on the contrary. It was not the time or the place for us to meet in person...at least not right now, there's to many lives at stake!" - Verena's face morphed out once more and reappeared again.
"What do you mean there are to many lives at stake?" asked Harry, "And what was that wolf Patronus that was in here just now?"
"Well, I was getting to that you see until you changed the subject," - Verena's face morphed out and reappeared again, "As for your second question, that was my Patronus, Mr. Potter. It is quite strange though, since my Patronus is meant to be a Stag...like yours. I let my wolf Patronus give you the means to talk to me right now. The object in your hand, Mr. Potter, is a Seeing Mirror. Quite an interesting magical object indeed when wanting to talk to wizard and witches so close and yet so far." - Harry looked on, mildly anxious as Verena continued, "It is to soon to answer your first question, for these things must dealt with delicately. Knowing some things to soon can have the most dire consequences in the end. But it must be done, if the Wizarding world wishes to survive the coming storm...if you would call it a storm. It is more like a...death...as it were." - Verena then began to grin wickedly and laugh ominously.
Harry's eyes went wide a moment, as Verena continued, this time on a more serious note, looking at Harry dangerously once more and loosing her grin, "Listen to me, Mr. Potter. There have been things that have been left in motion for a very long time. The Battle Of Hogwarts was just a mere wand duel compared to what is yet to come...or more rather return to the Wizarding world from the World Below. Do you what the World Below is, Mr. Potter?"
"Yes. It's another name for the Spirit World, the World Unseen," - Verena bowed her head as Harry continued, "But what does this have anything to do with me? Or my children?"
Verena paused a moment, then continued, "You have gone through much torment and challenges in your life, Mr. Potter. And I respect you for that." - Harry nodded as Verena continued, "But that is nothing compared to what one of your sons will go through in the future. And you must help him, Mr. Potter. Guide him to his destiny, as it were. Let him grasp it and hold onto it. For in his sacrifice and in yours, you will help bring about true peace and order here...hopefully for all time."
"Sacrifice? Do you mean death?" said Harry, who suddenly became more anxious.
Verena opened her mouth and closed it quickly again without saying anything, then spoke coolly once more, "...I did not say that, Mr. Potter. I merely said sacrifice, which of course, may or may not include death. But you can doubt that, Mr. Potter, with the skills that your children will have." - Harry looked on anxiously as Verena continued, "But that is not the point of our little chat," - Verena morphed out once more and reappeared again, "Listen to what I am about to tell you, Mr. Potter, and remember it well. For when the time comes, when one of your sons is sent to face his destiny...it must happen if the Wizarding world of now is to survive."
INT. THE GREAT HALL, HOGWARTS CASTLE (CONTINUED) - EVENING (OCT. 30TH, 2018)
Everyone soon whistled and applauded joyously as Verena and Severus in disguise concluded their dance. Severus and Verena held hands as Severus gave a bow to the onlookers while Verena curtsied.
After a few minutes, Professor Margarine tapped on the side of a glass goblet gently with a spoon, quieting those in the Great Hall as Professor Titch stood up from his chair at the staff table and spoke, "As is the tradition of this ball ever since its founding, tonight's best dancers are to be selected from both the staff and the students to take part in a special dance in which the winning couple of this dance will be crowned King and Queen of The Ball. The King and Queen of The Ball will then be invited to sit here at the staff table to enjoy in the celebratory ball feast. Let the elimination round dance begin!"
Titch once again gave a single clap of the hands and sat down at the staff table again as the first paired couples began to step out onto the floor. First up, from the staff, was Professor Margarine and Professor Groset. Some of the students who were looking on in amusement were starting to laugh as Groset, who was only in his late 20s, was trying to dance with the much older and waltz-experienced Professor Margarine. Groset was an excellent pianist, even a superb singer, but when it came to dancing, he was all thumbs.
A few of the staff was having trouble keeping from laughing as Verena spoke up, "You suck at dancing, Groset!"
"Like you have room to talk, Witchazel!" barked Groset, "You can't even play a proper tune on a pair of spoons!"
Verena narrowed her eyes and snorted. Verena's artistic talents lied in dancing, painting and gardening, but not in music. Severus on the other hand, was the opposite in some ways and the same in others. Severus was a superb violinist, even an excellent singer, much like in the case of Groset, but at least Severus could also dance and very well at that. The next to dance was Professor Whippoorwill, with her friend Edmund Lockhart. Edmund Lockhart was the younger nephew of Professor Gilderoy Lockart, and like his uncle, was sorted into House Ravenclaw. He went to Hogwarts School around the same time as Professor Whippoorwill and was quite smitten with her even when students together.
However, Edmund, as well as the rest of the Lockhart Family, was quite embarrassed by Gilderoy's actions, an embarrassment which seems to follow Edmund and his family now and again. Whippoorwill's and Lockhart's dance favored better then the last dance, which was followed after by some applause and whistles. Soon, student couples began to come out onto the floor and dance, some better then others. Even Albus, who was still steaming over the fact that he still couldn't approach Snape when he was so close, stepped out onto the floor to dance with his cousin Rose. Though Albus had yet to truly master the waltz or the foxtrot, he was doing his best to impress the onlookers and those others who were dancing along with him, especially with Severus and Verena looking on and dancing as well.
After 15 minutes, all those who did not make the cut wandered to the edges of the floor, while those that remained continued to show off their dancing skills. Albus and Rose were one of the last dancing couples to remain on the floor after another 15 minutes had passed. The only other pairs remaining on the floor were Scorpius Malfoy and his dance partner, Professor Beeblewing and Manus Moody, Hugo Weasley and his dance partner and of course, Verena and Severus. On occasion, Verena would glance over at Professor Beeblewing, reading her actions and seeing what she was going. Severus couldn't quite understand why Verena would keep looking over at Beeblewing, but it was obvious that there was a reason.
Then suddenly, the music concluded and all the dancers stopped, bows and curtsies all around as the crowds of guests and students standing along the edges of the floor whistled and applauded joyfully.
After a few minutes more, fanfare from the musicians on the balcony above was heard once more as Professor Titch stood up at the staff table and spoke, "It has been decided by all the judges and myself that in first place by 5 points and this ball's Queen and King are..." - there was a short pause as a drum roll was played by the musicians up on the balcony, "...Professor Beeblewing and Manus Moody!"
A burst of applause and whistles rose from the crowd as Beeblewing's eyes grew wide and let out a squeal of joy burst from her mouth, turning to face Moody and hugging him gleefully. Moments later, Professor Margarine and Professor Whippoorwill came out onto the floor with the crowns and walked up to the winning couple. Professor Beeblwing soon bent her knees slightly so that Professor Whippoorwill could place the queen's crown on her head, while Manus bowed down so that Professor Margarine could place the king's crown on his head. Manus and Beeblewing then stood up straight again and faced one another as Manus took hold of one of Beeblewing's hands and gently kissed it.
Accepting their defeat, Verena and Severus applauded and sneered, staring on nonchalantly while others were more enthusiastic in their applause and whistling. Unbeknownst to those at the ball however, one guest at the ball, Fredric Pipel, had other more ominous intentions, hiding among the crowd standing along the edge of the floor, spying on Verena and Severus for his superior, Lord Morispho. Fredric was wearing his best gray dress robes and wearing a mask covered mostly with gray feathers, with some white and black spotted gray feathers along the edges of the eyes.
He was trying his best to keep a low profile, but continued to be asked for a dance by some of the other guests at the ball. So to keep up appearances, he played along until the ball was concluded. Strangely, he was keeping a close eye on more than just Verena and Severus. He was also spying on Albus as well as on the teachers, knowing that one of the teachers were not who they appeared to be.
EXT. HOGWARTS CASTLE TO THE EDGE OF THE BLACK LAKE - EARLY MORNING (OCT. 31ST, 2018)
A few hours after the ball had concluded, Fredric began to find his way towards the other side of the Black Lake, where Morispho would be waiting for him.
Fredric slipped outside through the main entrance to Hogwarts. Then, by the light of the full moon overhead, Fredric walked over the same long bridge that Albus and his friends had crossed over to get to Hogwarts Castle at the beginning of the school year, which stretched over a large section of the Black Lake, going towards Hogsmeade and Hogsmeade Station. Once on the other side of the bridge, Fredric took off his mask and then hid it away inside his robes before walking on. As Fredric crested over a low lying hill just on the boundary of the Hogwarts School Grounds, he turned to see Hogwarts Castle off in the distance, which by now only looked liked a black silhouette against the clear, star filled night sky.
He then turned his head back forward again, where front of him lied the Dark Forest, which contained within it all manner of foul creatures and beasts of both the day and the night. It was certainly no place at night for an inexperienced wizard or witch, or for any person for that matter. But Fredric was an experienced wizard in many ways and looked upon the Dark Forest before him without fear or hesitation. With a deep breath and a face blank of expression, Fredric began to walk towards the entrance to the dirt path before him and towards the Dark Forest, until he heard, "Fredric, is that you I see about to enter into the Black Forest?"
Fredric quickly stopped and turned his head towards the direction from which the male voice was coming from. There, standing along the edge of the Black Lake near the bridge, was Morispho. Morispho kept his back facing Fredric as he spoke, holding his wand behind his back. He had his dark bedraggled brown hair tied up in a short ponytail and was wearing a black suit that was all to reminiscent to the type of black suit that Lucius often wore, which was covered over by a long, flowing hooded black cloak.
"My Lord Morispho," said Fredric as he turned towards Morispho, keeping his eyes on him as he bowed to Morispho respectfully, "Forgive me, I did not see you there. I thought that we were going to meet and discuss things at the pub in Hogsmeade."
Morispho continued as he turned his head to glance over his right shoulder a moment, then looked straight again back over the water again, "I should have told you earlier. I was planning on meeting you here at the edge of The Black Lake once you had crossed over the bridge. I would hate to see one of my most loyal spies mauled mercilessly by the Death Bears that are out in force tonight."
"You mean now? In the forest? But the Accuser Drelth said..."
Morispho raised his right hand up, stopping Fredric in mid-sentence, then brought his hand down once more as he spoke, "I know what that wretched Accuser Drelth said, Fredric. But you fail to remember. Neither Drelth or the Accusers alone are masters over the Death Bears...and neither am I," - Morispho turned to face Fredric a moment as he continued, "You see Fredric. The Accusers alone can not control the Death Bears and they certainly can not control Mortisursal alone."
"But you can, my Lord! I have seen you! You can certainly control the Death Bears and most especially Mortisursal."
Morispho spoke once more, "Yes, Fredric. I can control Mortisursal and the other Death Bears, but I am not their master. That honor unfortunately belongs to my rival, that wench of a woman Lady Mapheria and only because they allow her to be. In truth, they are only loyal to Lady Mapheria because of their loyalty to the Accusers. If anything should go wrong in Lady Mapheria's plans, they would surely turn on her. But no one or no group can ever truly master or have control over the Death Bears...except perhaps, Dark Lord Dianphor." - Morispho turned back around again, his back once again facing Fredric.
Fredric cringed slightly upon hearing Dianphor's name as Morispho smiled sinisterly.
Dark Lord Dianphor, even in Modern wizard times, was no stranger in the history books of the Wizarding world. Dark Lord Dianphor was rumored to have been a direct descendant of Salazar Slytherin and that like Salazar, was a Death Eater and believed in the non-traditional pure-blood beliefs of Slytherin folk. Dark Lord Dianphor was also known to be the first true Dark Lord and had spent a great deal of his lifetime in search of a magical power or magical object that could make him immortal and well as invincible. Dark Lord Dianphor was the original master over the Death Bears prior to his death, due to the fact that he knew how to control them, unlike others.
Dark Lord Dianphor and his dragon Morfyrath were the main instigators which sparked The First War Of Wyverns One, where the forces of light and dark fought for possession over The all-powerful Book Of Auradinthia, which was later known as the Book of Resurrections. And now history was quite possibly repeating itself with Lady Mapheria, who was now in search of the seven Guiding Eye Stones and fighting for possession of this all-powerful Book. From what Fredric had heard of However, Morispho was intending to gain possession of the Book first, though Mapheria's reasons for wanting the Book were far more clearer then in the case of Lord Morispho.
Fredric straightened up his face again and spoke, "So what are we going to do with Lady Mapheria, my Lord? She is clearly your rival and she is standing in the way of your plans. I was thinking that either you or one of your followers would have killed her by now and there is certainly no love loss between me and her, especially after what she had done to my cousin Crielis. I would kill her myself if she wasn't so observant...and dangerous."
"Kill her? Kill her, Fredric? Of all the cheeky, mad ideas to be thinking of at the moment. Why would I want to kill Lady Mapheria now? Especially when she is in possession of such...power?"
"What power do you mean, my Lord?"
"You mean you still do not know, Fredric? Afterall, you work for her as well. Perhaps not as closely as your would-be superior Dreth does, but you work for her never the less, but under my orders. She, like the Albus boy, has the power of the Auranan and she uses it to do all of the dirty work for us, believing that she is helping along her own plans. But in truth, she is really helping along mine. Once everything has fallen into place, then I will make my presence known to her and destroy her before she can do anything about it. Then I will become the new master over her precious followers and fight for possession of what in truth rightfully belongs to me."
"I do not doubt you, my Lord. But how are we going to get back to Hogsmeade? With the Death Bears skulking about in the Dark Forest right now, it will be hard for us to get back there."
"Oh, you need not worry about that, Fredric. We will find our way back to Hogsmeade, never fear." said Morispho, who then, after a short pause, spoke once more, being as cool and collected as he normally was, "So what of Verena and Severus, hmm? Have they not helped the Albus boy to truly tap into his Auranan powers yet? Surely the teacher that we know to be spying on the Albus boy and the Snape family there should have helped the Albus boy along by now."
"Nothing significant yet, my Lord. I was there at the castle spying on them all day yesterday. The teacher spying on the boy has yet to tell the boy that they know of his powers, so they haven't made their move yet. Of course, if the Verena woman hadn't have distracted the Divination teacher in her demonstration, everyone would now know of the boy's special powers. Those brooding children that hang around with the boy are still trying to teach the boy the basics of the Aeyuel Language and that Verena Snape woman has yet to get the boy to aim his spells properly with his bow in her Magical Archery class. Though I am ashamed to say that I quite enjoyed watching her smacking him on the back of the head with her bow. That was the most entertainment that I had all day yesterday."
"I say, a most disagreeable situation this is becoming. But all so reminiscent to myself when I was that age at Hogwarts School in many ways," - after yet another short pause, Morispho spoke once more, "By the way, have you ever heard of the Tale of Origins, Fredric?
"You mean the Legend Of Auradinthia, my Lord? I should have, I often read it in an ancient wizard children's book that I had when I was a child. But what does that have to do with this?"
"Oh, on the contrary, my dear Fredric. It has everything to do with this," said Morispho as he turned around once more and calmly, slowly walked up to Fredric with his hands and wand still behind his back, then stopped, turning to face him, "The whole legend itself is full of truths and points of interest. The origins of Magical Archery, the Death Bears, the Book Of Resurrections and all other things that are of and within the lengend. But though I can't deny the fact that the legend itself might have been exaggerated in a few places, it is mostly true never the less."
"But I don't understand, my Lord. If the Legend of Auradinthia is, as you say, mostly true, then we are meddling with things that lie far beyond the physical, living world. Terrible and dangerous things."
"Oh, quite so, Fredric, quite so. But all worth it I can assure you."
"How so, my Lord? From what I have read and heard of such things, no good is bound to come from it."
Morispho began to walk in a circle around Fredric, "The Albus boy, Fredric, has something that I need in order to fulfill our own plans. Once I have possession of the Book, Fredric, I will be able to free your cousin Crielis from Lady Mapheria and change him back to his human form. It is the very same thing that Lady Mapheria is now needing and wanting to steal from the boy in fact."
"And what would that be, my Lord? The Book of Resurrections? The Key to The Book perhaps?"
Morispho once again stopped in front of Fredric and faced him, "Oh no, the Albus boy doesn't have either of those, Fredric. And besides, the Book is at the moment beyond my ability to possess. However, the boy has the missing page from the Book. The page that was torn out of the Book Of Resurrections prior to it being stolen from Auradinthia by her son and given to Dark Lord Dianphor."
"But what is on that page, my Lord? What is so important that both you and Lady Mapheria wish to gain possession of it?"
"The three most important spells of the Book, Fredric. The three most dangerous spells in all the Book in fact. But first however, Mapheria must help teach the Albus boy to use his Auranan powers properly. This she wishes to do in order to find the boy's weaknesses and use them to her advantage in order to steal the missing page from him, by force if she has to. She, Fredric, will basically do our dirty work for us, as it were. But she fails to remember that even if she did gain possession of the missing page, she still won't be able to use it."
"Whatever do you mean, my Lord?"
"The page, even when torn from the Book, is still governed by the protective spells that were placed upon the Book itself. Even I know that I won't be able to use the page until I can gain possession of the Book and the seven Guiding Eye Stones. Or rather eight Guiding Eye Stones if including the one that is in the cover of the Book itself. But without those things, Fredric, the page is useless, as the Book is useless without the page. The Book will only work if all the pages and all the Guiding Eye Stones are accounted for.
"But even all that requires the Key to the Book in order to open the Book. Auradinthia you see, left no stone unturned when she made the Book. She made certain that if she had to tear out the three most dangerous spells from the Book, she could tear all three out all at once, instead of tearing out three different pages."
"Just like killing three birds with one stone," said Fredric in a mild state of awe at what he had just heard, "Auradinthia was a clever witch indeed."
"Quite so. But now we need to get back to Hogsmeade before my followers wonder what has become of me. I suggest that you get back to your would-be superior Dreth for now, Fredric. You can resume your post later."
"Yes, of course. My Lord Morispho," said Fredric as he bowed his head at Morispho and then followed Morispho towards the entrance to the dirt path.
But just before he and Morispho were about to enter, Fredric asked yet another question, "Forgive me for asking, my Lord. But why have you been holding your wand behind your back all this time? Surely you don't expect the Death Bears to come charging out of the Dark Forest after you."
"I didn't hold it behind me all this time because of them, Fredric. I was...expecting another visitor. But I see now that he has more important things to do then to deal with me for the time being. But he won't be able to avoid me forever, this he knows."
"Who, my Lord?"
Morispho paused briefly, then spoke with a wicked smirk, "Lucius Malfoy..."
A mild look of confusion fell upon Fredric's face as he and Morispho began to walk down the dirt path together and into the Dark Forest, unaware that Lucius Malfoy had been watching from up in a tree nearby. Lucius quickly climbed down from the tree he had been hiding in, looked in both directions cautiously a moment, then began walking Northeast towards the direction of the gnarled oak tree. Lucius was safe and out of danger for now.
CONTINUED...CHAPTER 3...