Chapter four

My name isn't Mistress!

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Waking with a start, Téa looked around her before remembering where she was. Her dream, if it had even been a dream made her worry even more than she was about her friends. Something had not really felt right about that bloody pink woman.

"You seem worried Mistress." Attor remarked as she also woke having been shifted from Téa's chest as she shot up.

"It's nothing Attor, simply an odd dream," She mumbled before placing the snake gently down on the ground.

With that, she stood and stretched, removing soar kinks from her body as she did so. The rock she had transfigured into a pillow was swiftly transfigured back before she allowed Attor to slither up her arm and back to her comfortable place of safety.

"We should be going," she declared before looking up at the hill before her. She didn't know for how much longer she would be climbing, but she really hoped it wouldn't be much longer. Her arms were hurting from the day before. Shaking her hands, she did a few stretches before beginning the climb again.

"Mistress," "Please don't call me Mistress Attor, I'm your friend, call me Téa." "Very well odd human, Téa my old master always said that dreams often have a meaning. Do you wish to speak to me of your dream?"

That simple request made Téa stop her climb for a moment before she shook her head and continued. Talking about dreams wasn't her strong suit, actually she hated doing it. The last time she had spoken to somebody about her dream, he had risked his life to come back to a place that wanted him dead.

"I don't think it was a dream, I think I was showing actual events." She finally yet when she didn't continue Attor spoke up.

"It is possible, my old master often traveled by soul, he wished to keep his eye on certain people. It is called astral projection." Attor remarked and for a moment, Téa gazed at the snake with a raised eyebrow.

"How the hell do you know all this?" She questioned rather curious about just who her new companions old master was.

"My old master was very knowledgeable; he insisted his companions also be knowledgeable." Attor sniffed making her snort before she continued up.

"So you think I might have done that?" She asked curiously.

"It is possible, but I could not be positive." Attor answered making her sigh.

"Okay, we're ending this conversation, no more talking about dreams, please. Plus it's not good to dwell on things like that right now. I need to worry about me for a bit considering I won't be able to do anything if I don't get my soul back to my body." She grumbled before pulling herself up a rather odd angled part of the wall.

It only took what seemed like an hour more to get to the top and as she pulled herself over the edge and crawled away from it, she finally felt safe enough to slump and turn onto her back exhausted. For a moment, she simply stayed there until finally she felt strong enough to push herself back up onto her feet.

Straightening her clothes, she looked around before swiftly noticing the difference between the maze she had just gotten through and the maze here. The maze bellow had looked well-travelled and the path was covered in more grass, but the maze up here was very different. The bushes here seemed perfectly trimmed yet she could clearly see thorns mixed into it. The ground though was covered in pavers and had no grass at all peeking through. It looked older than the maze bellow and darker almost. The lanterns were also different, rustier and the glow seemed less bright than the ones bellow.

"This is a whole different part of the maze," she mumbled feeling far more intimidated by this maze than she had the previous one. This maze felt as though not many people made it here, it had a sort of dark feeling about it and to be quite honest gave her the creeps.

Taking a deep breath, she allowed Attor to slither back onto her shoulders before walking into the maze once more. As she walked she noticed subtle differences in this maze. The paths were much narrower and it was colder. She had to tug her cloak closer to ward off the slight chill that was running through her body. Every once and a while a gust of ice-cold wind would flow by her and she'd shiver. Attor wasn't overly pleased with the change in temperature so much in fact that she had to use her hood to cover the snake in a warm cuddly blanket of sorts.

As she walked her thoughts kept drifting towards her dream, even though she wouldn't talk about anymore didn't mean she wasn't thinking about it. Seeing her friends had been brilliant although it had also brought back all her anger and grief. Her friends hadn't even sent her a single letter and now they were acting like two heartbroken people. She couldn't help but think that if they had really cared, or worried about her, they would have written her at least one letter something but they hadn't. Then there was McGonagall and Dumbledore she hoped the war efforts weren't going so bad that it affected their health because really what else could worry them so much?

"Mistress!" Came a cry that had her pulling from her thoughts just before she was slammed to the ground.

Head banging against the stone floor below her she saw stars dancing before her eyes yet as long thin fingers wrapped around her neck cutting off the air supply her vision slowly cleared and her arms moved of their own accord wrapped around to thin arms pushing at her attacker.

Finally, her vision came back into focus and yet she actually wished it hadn't. There right on top of her was a gaunt, skeletal being that very closely resembled a zombie from the tv shows her cousin watched. It had long yet very wet red hair that was only in patches here in there on the skull, its eyes were dead and it truly stank.

Eyes meeting the creatures dead ones she thought she saw a flash of recognization fill through them yet it must have been her imagination.

Knowing she needed to get away from this creature not just for her nose or air supply but because she didn't know what the hell it was she concentrated her magic towards her hands and with one single thought in might, help. As though her magic knew exactly what she needed, her magic came from her hands in flames making the monster scream in agony yet it didn't last long as in little time the creature had been turned to ashes.

Panting, she scurried to her feet before dusting the ashes from her body. Eyes wide she looked around and was horrified by how much the maze had changed and how little she had noticed. The previously leafy green shrubs were gone having been replaced with sharp pointed thorn walls that looked to have been as black as the sky.

"What… what was that…" she panted out feeling shaken by the encounter.

"It was an inferius, they are dead body's that are usually controlled by a Dark Wizard." Attor told her making another shudder run up her spine. "As you can see, they are destroyed using fire."

"That is fucked up," she swore before taking her wand out and looking around. Knowing this maze, there would be more than one of those nasty creatures inside of it ready to attack her. She would need to be even more on guard no more thinking about her dream. It had almost cost her and she didn't need that. "Thanks, Attor, for snapping me from my thoughts,"

"I was not quick enough Mistress, but what had your attention so occupied?" The snake asked and although Téa wanted to tell the snake to stop calling her that it seemed to be something she would have to do later.

Movement in the corner of her eye had swiftly captured her attention and in no time a new inferius had appeared yet this one was different. He was clearly male and while the other had been shorter and female, this one was taller. It also had short tufts of what seemed to be black hair.

"Why send infery, I don't fear death," she growled before flickering her wand towards the approaching being yet it seemed quicker than the other as it dodged it without much effort. Growling she began sending fire spells, which she knew very little of, towards the creature until finally one nailed it sending it to the ground.

"You must destroy it completely before it returns to fit form," Attor ordered her and although she wanted to just continue on she hurried over and, standing above the creature aimed her wand at its head. The moment it looked at her it seemed to recognize her before returning to its previous state.

Before she could second-guess herself, she sent a blast of fire towards the creature and with a howl it turned to ash. Slowly stepping away from the scene, she shook off the feeling in her heart before slowly turning away and beginning to walk again. Still on alert, she kept her wand in hand and the other ready for any sudden attacks. Just as it seemed like she was getting away from the infery she began to walk into a thick fog. It became so thick that she couldn't even see her own hand when she brought it up before her very eyes.

"I do not like this mistress, something does not seem right about this fog," Attor hissed to her.

"Don't call…" "Listen to her, speaking that filthy language, how can she call herself a good witch if she speaks that evil language." Came a female voice that had both stopping in their tracks.

"She's no Potter either, there has never been a single Potter who was able to speak to Snakes, who would wish to they are evil creatures, the symbol of a Dark Wizard." A male voice followed suit.

"Snakes aren't evil! That's just prejudicial!" Téa cried out anger swiftly building as she moved to defend her new friend. She might have just met Attor, but the snake had done nothing wrong to her, actually, she had helped her. Plus Parseltongue was just a language, it might have been used by a Dark Lord, but that didn't mean it was an evil language.

"Defending a snake, and she calls herself a Gryffindor? No proud lion would allow themselves to be seen with a snake," the male voice continued yet just as she was about to speak out once more something clicked inside her brain and her anger seeped out of her while shock swiftly took its place.

"Does she think we are actually proud of her? Proud of what she's done? What has she done? Every time she's in trouble she cries for help or needs to be saved in some way. The time she was in the Chamber of Secrets, Dumbledore had to send his phoenix to save her, and even then she screwed it up by impaling herself on a fang." The female voice resounded and as it became clearer and clearer, Téa began to shake, her eyes having grown wide in shock.

"Mistress, do you know whom these voices are?" Attor questioned yet as the snake gazed up at its mistress she swiftly noticed Téa's wide open eyes, and paler complexion than before. "Mistress…"

"Now don't get me started on her schooling. At least we were talented in something, what is she talented in? She's known for one spell, and she couldn't even do that right if she ended up here."

As the voices continued, Téa's mind continued to whirl with thousands of thoughts. The moment she had recognized the voices she had fallen into shock and it didn't take much, especially after her upbringing at the Dursley's hand. She had never ever thought that she would have been met with them during this journey, that she would be forced to face the people she wanted to face the least, her parents. She had always been told that she would have made her parents proud, but she had never fully believed it and here speaking to her were her parents.

Where they really that disappointed in her? Did they really think she was unworthy of their pride, just because she spoke parseltongue? She had believed that her parents had been somewhat understanding people, sure everybody had a prejudicial bone in their body, but she hadn't believed that her parents would be like this.

Just as her thoughts were about to take an even darker turn a sharp pain on her arm made her cry out in pain, and her other hand fly up to her now bleeding arm. Eyes shooting downwards she found Attor glaring at her, her mouth open, blood on its fangs.

"Do not let their words affect you!" She hissed making her gulp. ."Whoever they are they do not know the real you!"

For a moment, Téa could only stare down at the snake glaring at her. Slowly her words sank in and she saw the truth in them. Even if these were her parents, they didn't really know her… although their opinion did matter to her, she could live with a negative opinion. What mattered was what the people who were around her thought about and even then the most important opinion was her own. What mattered most was what she thought about herself and she was slowly realizing that.

Confidence growing once more she turned her gaze from the snake and glared at the fog before her.

"Even if you're my parents, I don't care. Parseltongue isn't something to be ashamed off, I am not ashamed of being one! Actually I embrace it! It's something unique and different and so what if I'm different! I have done plenty to be proud of and I am a Gryffindor! I have faced a Basilisk, I've dueled Voldemort, survived his Imperius, fought it!" She shouted, not even caring if she was shouting at fog. "And you know what; I don't even think you are my parents! My parents would be proud of me; they said so during that night when I fought Voldemort! So show your faces so that I can see who's using my parent's voice to try and bring out my fear!"

As she shouted this, her grip on her wand tightened and her magic began to crackle around her. Slowly the fog began to dissipate and the moment it did Téa realized just what she was seeing. Surrounding her, were all sorts of different types of Infery. They had been zeroing in on her and she now had nowhere to go.

Panic setting in she looked around and for a moment didn't really know what to do. Sure she had faced off against two, but there were at least fifty of the dead cursed bodies around her if not more. What the hell was she supposed to do!

"Do not allow your panic to fill you, Mistress! You must keep a calm mind in situations such as these. Now there is a spell that you can us, it is a very dangerous spell you must control it or it will burn us all!" Attor told her making her gulp.

"Then why the fuck would I use it if it's so hard!" She cried out trying to think of another way yet Astor would have none of it.

"It is the only fire spell I can think of that will destroy all of these monsters!" Attor shouted out. "Now as I was saying I do not have much time to explain. The spell is very hard to control, keep a firm hand on your magic, you are capable of doing so. The spell is Fiendfyre, the fire will pour from your wand like water and if you flick your wand, it will create a creature that you will hopefully be able to control!"

"Attor, I really don't…" "YOU MUST! There are too many of these creatures Mistress, now believe in your abilities and believe in your magic! Perform the spell!"

As soon as Attor shouted those last words, the Infery pounced and Téa had little time to think. Raising her wand, she cried out the spell and just as Attor had said, flames quickly spewed from the tip of her wand like water and with a flick, it shot out. Within little time a giant serpent-like creature formed, surrounding her in a barrier of flames. As its flaming body moved over the attacking infery they were engulfed in flames and burned to the ground.

Keeping a tight hold of her magic, Téa swiftly felt the strain on it as the spell fought to get away from her grip. Sweat covered her brow as she fought to keep control and finally it was as though an invisible battle had been one and control came swiftly to her side. Ordering the flames towards the dead, she watched as the flames consumed them all. As the last Infery burned, she began to range in the fire. It took concentration and a struggle for power yet after fighting like she had never fought before with her magic, the flames were extinguished. The last to go was the giant serpent and as it began to shrink, it gave her a single bow before swiftly disappearing.

Flames gone, she slumped to her knees, panting with exhaustion. She had never fought against magic in such a way. The spell had been one of the most frightening spells she had ever used. She had never used something so destructive before.

"What… what the fuck was that spell Attor?" She spat out, eyes moving to meet her companions as she gazed at her.

"The Monstrous Flame spell," Attor answered. "One of the hardest spells to control, it is considered a dark spell for if you do not have control over it; it could very easily kill you."

"And you made me do that," she cried out anger returning to her as she glared at her companion.

"You were able to control it were you not? Do not shout at me, I had trust in your abilities," Attor declared simply before turning its head away from her.

For a moment, Téa glared at the snake. The little creature had made her use a spell that she could have completely lost control of and killed herself with! How could she not be angry with that!? Yet Attor was right. She didn't know powerful fire spells, that had been the most powerful one she had ever performed and it had saved her life. If the snake, who barely knew her, could believe in her abilities then why couldn't she?

Turning her gaze from the snake, she glared down at the ground, before shutting her eyes and allowing her shoulders to slump.

"Those voices, they belonged to my parents," she whispered catching the snake's attention. "It's one of my biggest fears, to disappoint them the thing is I will never know if I have or will because they died when I was a year old. I never and will never really get to know them."

Admitting it to somebody else felt a little odd to Téa, she wasn't one to normally speak about her feelings to anybody.

"Why would they not be proud of you Mistress, just be what I see you are, a wonderful witch filled with talent, and even if they were not proud, do not let that affect you. Be proud of yourself, which is what matters the most." Attor assured her making her laugh.

"That's what I'm swiftly beginning to learn Attor, thank you." She murmured before running a finger over the snakes head earning a soft hiss of content. "And thank you for believing in me, but please can you stop calling me Mistress?"

"I will try," The snake agreed.

"Well," Téa whispered while looking up from the ground and gazing around her, "I guess we should continue with the maze, no point in just sticking around here."

(This will contain explicit language)

Author note: This is specifically for a guest reviewer named Juan.

In my last few stories, I have received 'reviews' if you can call them that, from an anonymous reviewer. Now I accept many reviews, be it criticism or other. I love both sorts but what I don't like is somebody stating that that simply because I do not finish a story means that my other stories are crap. So listen, Juan I don't care what you say, and considering you're a guest I can't reply to your review privately I am writing my reply in this chapter. I don't care about your opinion. All guest have the privilege to review my stories, I can very easily revoke that privilege. I don't care about other people finishing their stories good for them. I finish the stories that I want to understood? Some of my stories are so old they make me cringe just reading the first chapter. So from this moment on any review you try to post on my stories will be removed. They hold no proper meaning except to simply try and belittle my stories.

I write for amusement, and that means writing what the hell I want not what others want!