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 are back. I really need to do my research before I start writing. I though the Dementor attack happened on his birthday, but it actually happens two days later. Oops. That mistake has now been corrected. Enjoy!
Chapter 7
"WHAT?" shouted my female companions.
"You heard," I said, absently cleaning out an ear, "We haven't been blasted back in our timeline, but into another, completely different one."
"How different?" asked Holly.
"That is a very good question," I said, "Until we know more, I can't say, but judging from the amount of magic the kids upstairs have, I'm guessing that we are in there equivalent of what would be our sixth year."
"In 1995," said Ginny, not looking convinced.
"Ginny, timelines can be very different from what we know," said Luna, looking worried, "In this world, Holly could be a boy, you could be his fangirl and Hermione could be in love with Ronald. "
Ginny blanched at the idea and Hermione looked like she was going to be sick.
"Er, I hate to interrupt your mental bleaching, but we're about to have company," I said, turning to the door.
At that exact moment, it slammed open and I threw up a Star Barrier to block the bolt of red light that shot into the kitchen.
"Wow, that was pathetic," I said as more Stunners shot through the open door and splashed against the shield, "I think theres something wrong with your magic if thats the best you can do."
"Who the hell are you lot?" growled a grizzled and very scared man I recognized as Mad-Eye Moody, "And how did you get in here?"
As in, the Moody from the Movies. Hmm, I wonder if we're in the movie world or if thats just a coincidence like our Sirius looking like Gary Oldman…
"Whoa, before anyone starts throwing around deadly spells, can we just talk this out!" said Hermione, shoving down Ginnys hand before she could draw her Nova Blade.
"Indeed, I would like very much to know how you got in here," said a new voice as a familiar looking head of silver hair entered the room.
I noted that he looked a lot like his actor in the movies as well. Once is an accident, twice is a coincidence. Lets see if we go for three. I dropped my shield with a sigh and rubbed the back of my head.
"Well, that is a very interesting story with a lot of fourth dimensional physics, parallel dimensions and people messing around with magic they really shouldn't have been."
The alternate Wizards all stared at me.
"What?" asked Dumbledore.
"We're from an alternate timeline and got blasted here by a spell hitting a Time Turner."
"You honestly expect us to believe that?" growled Moody.
"Alastor," snapped Dumbledore, before turning back to me with eyes a twinkle.
I tensed slightly, expecting a Legilimency probe. To my surprise, none was forthcoming. Huh, maybe I should give this Dumbles the benefit of the doubt. Alternate timelines and all that jazz.
"What I am more interested in is how you can be within the Fidelius Charm," he said, "Although proof of your claims wouldn't go amiss."
"Thats...actually a good question," I said, suddenly aware of a great weight that was pressing down on my mind, trying to wipe the name of the house from my mind.
"Think it could be because your the Black Heir?" suggested Hermione.
"I doubt it," I said, "While that could explain why I'm immune to it, it wouldn't work with you girls."
"Actually, its me," said Luna, holding up her Eye, "I'm shielding us from the effects of the Charm. I can't hold it for long though, so you'd better convince him to give us the secret quick."
"Thats an interesting trick, Miss..?" said Dumbledore.
"Lovegood," said Luna, "And if its proof you want, will this work?"
The Singularity Eye began to glow brightly, before a two of what looked like film reels shot out of it and twisted through the air, before they started projecting images onto the walls.
"These are our timelines, viewed side by side," said Luna, her voice thrumming with power as her eyes began to blaze with silver magic and her hair began to wave around like a nest of serpents, "Aside from the obvious differences of the year we came from, there are also numerous differences. In our world, Magic has a very different source, our histories are slightly different and multiple people are different. In your world, no alternate of Leo exists."
Holly stifled a gasp and grabbed me tightly. I hid a wince as I felt her fingers dig into my arm, but let her have her moment.
"Oh, and Holly is a boy."
Holly froze, staring at Luna in shock.
"Luna, did you take a peek at this timeline before giving your little explanation earlier?" I asked in interest.
Luna just shot me a look that told me all I needed to know.
"Bloody Time Gate guardians," I grumbled good naturedly.
"A very impressive trick my girl," said Dumbledore, "However…"
"Oh for Gods sake, lets just cut this out," I grumbled, drawing my wand, "I, Leo Regulus Black, hereby swear on my magic, life and the River Styx that we are telling the truth about being from an Alternate timeline and that we mean no harm to those who do not attack us first. So mote it be!"
There was a flash of light and a rumble of thunder that made me pause.
"Huh, thats interesting," I muttered, before I was knocked to the floor by a staff slamming into my head.
"YOU STUPID IDIOT!" roared Holly, "Why did you do that?! You could have died and then Styx would have taken your Soul!"
"Across dimensions?" I asked.
"Its the Fates that watch over Oaths made on Styx and I'm pretty sure they reside in the Realm Outside of Time," said Luna.
"Ah, right, best not to do that then," I said, "Sorry Holly."
"Ahem."
"Oh, sorry," I said, turning back to an amused looking Dumbledore and an annoyed looking Moody, "So, will that do?"
"I think so my boy," said Dumbledore and I had to suppress the urge to curse him, "After a vow like that, I think we can trust you. The headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix is located at Number 12 Grimmauld Place."
I felt the pressure on my mind let up and Luna let out a sigh, allowing her Eye to reenter its dormant state.
"Now, may I ask your names?" asked Dumbledore.
"I am Leo Black, as you probably gathered from my vow," I said, "My companions are the alternate versions of Luna Lovegood, Hermione Granger and Ginny Weasley. And this…"
I dropped my hand on to Hollys shoulder.
"Is our version of your Potter Heir, Holly."
Holly shifted uncomfortably as Dumbledore and Moody's eyes zeroed in on her with interest. Dumbledores eyes locked onto her forehead, widening slightly when he saw her long faded scar.
"Interesting…" he muttered, before he shook himself, "So tell me, if you are here by accident, do you have a plan to get home?"
"Luna?"
"It will take a couple of days," she said, "I need to calculate where this dimension is in relation to our own and then calculate the magical formula. If I can get in touch with my sister, it shouldn't take more than three days, but if not, it'll take a week."
"Great, what are we gonna do in the meantime?" I grumbled, "Do any of you girls have some gold so we can get a room at the Leaky Cauldron?"
"Nope, sorry," said Holly.
"Spent all mine in the bookshop," said Hermione.
"Are you joking?" grumbled Ginny.
"Nargles stole all mine."
"Peachy," I grumbled.
"Hmm, perhaps I can help," said Dumbledore, eyes a twinkle.
We turned our gazes on the old geezer.
"Since your already here, I don't think they'll be any problem with you staying. I'd...also like to ask you a few questions if at all possible."
I narrowed my eyes. Hmm, I wonder what that's all about…
"Alright," I said, "But if we're going to do that, we need some trust. That means that the people under the Disillusionment charms should probably come out."
There was a pause, before Tonks, Lupin and Mr Weasley appeared out of thin air. Like Dumbledore and Moody, they resembled their movie counterparts rather than the ones that we know. It was really odd to see our badass of a teacher looking so run down and pathetic.
"How did you know we were there?" asked Lupin.
"Lucky guess," I said, "I know our Moody analogue by reputation and, if this one is anything like his counterpart, hes a paranoid old bastard who would never, ever enter a potentially hostile situation without backup."
There was a moments silence, before Tonks burst out laughing.
"AHAHAHAHA, Hes got you there Moody," she laughed.
Moody just growled.
"This is extremely weird," said Ginny (ours, not the alternate) as she stared at her older duplicate.
"No kidding," said the other Ginny.
Following the little confrontation, Dumbledore had led us upstairs to where the older counterparts were and, after otherHermione nearly having a heart attack, grabbing Holly to keep her from kicking Ron in the nuts and a quick explanation, Dumbledore had left, no doubt to let the rest of the Order know what was going on and leaving us in a very uncomfortable silence.
"Its fascinating though," said older Hermione, "Nothing I've ever read indicated that this would be possible."
Our Hermione snorted.
"You'll find that we're not exactly normal," she said, "It was probably the result of a combination of factors, from whatever that spell was to our own, less than normal nature."
"Whats that supposed to mean?" demanded Ronald, who was stood in the corner, glaring at us with suspicion.
While not being directly antagonistic, he had certainly not made it a secret that he didn't trust us. Not entirely a foolish outlook to be honest and he hadn't started shouting about us being Dark or anything. Unfortunately for him, my willingness to give people named Ronald Weasley the benefit of the doubt was somewhat lacking after the potioning incident.
"Lets just say that our magic is somewhat more unusual than most people's and leave it at that," I said, my voice carefully flat.
"In other words, its none of your business," snapped Holly.
The non dimensional travelers looked shocked at the sheer amount of venom in Hollys tone. I sighed and rested my hands on her shoulder, digging my thumbs into her shoulders to relax her tense muscles.
"Calm down Hols, hes not done anything wrong," I said.
"Why would I have done something wrong?" asked Ron.
"Well, the last time we saw our Ronald he was being dragged off in chains by the DMLE," I said, "He nearly killed Holly by trying to dose her with Love potion."
Older Hermione and Ginny both gasped and Ron went the colour of gone off milk.
"Wha...how...what?" he spluttered, "I did what?"
"Yeah, so you can probably guess that we're not feeling to charitable towards those wearing his face," said our Ginny.
I really need to figure out a better way to do this or I'm gonna get a headache.
"GAH!"
Everyone jumped at Lunas sudden explanation and turned to where she was sat with her Eye floating in front of her. She was currently glaring at the Orb and looking highly annoyed.
"Having trouble?" I asked.
"Yes, my sister won't pick up," she grumbled, "Actually, I've been trying for months to get in touch with her to see if Reginald is around anywhere."
"Reginald?" asked otherGinny.
"Don't ask," said Ginny, looking exasperated.
"So whats that mean for getting home?" asked Hermione.
"I'll need to do the Triangulation myself," siad Luna, looking annoyed, "That means its going to take even longer to locate the right timeline and keep us from accidentally triggering the Apocalypse or something."
"Is that likely?" asked otherHermione, looking somewhere between intrigued and horrified.
"Only if I majorly screw this up," said Luna, "However, I'm going to need a tad more power for this."
She closed her eyes and clasped her hands as if praying as a huge amount of light began to pour off her, making her look like some kind of wingless angel.
"Time of the Heavens, Grant me your power," she intoned, her voice echoing with power.
GONG!
A huge clock face appeared behind her and began to spew out the same timeline films she'd used to prove our story to Dumbles downstairs that quickly wrapped around her, vanishing to reveal her armour. Unlike the rest of us, hers wasn't actual armour, instead it was a skin-tight, black battlesuit with the symbol of Pluto splashed across the front. Her legs were covered by dark brown leggings and thigh high, armoured boots, while her hands and forearms were protected by silver gauntlets. Over the top of her armour she wore a dark blue cloak held up by a brooch the shape of the royal crest. Her long hair was tied back with a white headband and in her right hand was a staff made of black metal with her orb held in four claws at the head.
"Was transforming really necessary?" I asked.
Luna shot me a look, before she swung her staff and vanished into thin air.
"W-where'd she go?" stuttered otherHermione.
"Time doors probably," said Hermione with a sigh at the Seer Knights theatrics, "Its the best place to go to do what she needs to without being interrupted."
"What was that transformation?" asked otherGinny.
"I did say that was have some unusual magic," said Hermione, "Personally, I think it was probably her powers that blasted us here."
"That makes sense," said Holly, "No idea how water, wind, fire or light could have done the same."
Before anything else could be said, there was a knock at the door and Mrs Weasley stuck her head into the room. She paused as she spotted the two sets of nearly identical girls sat beside one another.
"Lunch is ready children," she said, "Come down to eat please. And please be quite on your way down."
We did as we were told, sneaking past the covered painting of Sirius' mother.
"You think I can get away with destroying the stupid thing again?" whispered Holly, shooting the mouldy curtains a hateful glare.
"Maybe later," I said, "I certainly wouldn't mind blasting it to dust."
"Was it really that bad?" asked Hermione.
"Yes," said all of us who knew what the stupid painting was like.
"Did you really destroy it?" asked Ron.
"It made the mistake of screaming at Holly while we were cleaning our version of this place," I said with a smirk, "She hit it with so many Shots it nearly brought the whole wall down. Then Kreacher tried to attack her and Dobby killed him to. Sirius nearly died laughing."
"Someone say my name?" asked Sirius, looking up as we stepped into the kitchen, "Ah, you must be our visitors."
"Thats us," I said.
"Wasn't there five of you?" asked Tonks.
"Luna had to step out," I said, "She's gonna need to concentrate if she wants to get us home. She'll be fine though, don't worry. Her powers aren't really combat oriented, but shes more than capable of holding her own."
Shortly after, lunch started. It was fairly awkward at first since no one seemed to know exactly what to make of us Dimensional Hoppers, especially since we made a point to check for potions. None of us really wanted a repeat of the incident with Ron thank you very much. Eventually though, conversation started up again.
"So tell me," said Lupin, "If everyone here has an alternate in your world, who are you?"
I swallowed my mouthful.
"I'm not sure I have one," I said, "Or maybe I did, but they died. See, Timelines diverge at different points depending on the decisions made and the differences that already exist. From what I can tell, our two timelines diverged pretty damn early, leading to very different histories. As a result, I could very well not exist here as one of my parents doesn't exist."
"Which one?" asked Ron around a mouthful of sausage.
"Then whos your mother?" asked Sirius, furrowing his brow.
"Narcissa Black," I said, "I don't know what shes like in this world, but in ours she's pretty formidable."
"Malfoys mother?" said otherHermione, looking surprised.
I scowled.
"Unfortunately, I do share a mother with that little tosser," I said, "On the up side, my father is someone infinitely more pleasant to be around than Lucius."
"Er Leo, isn't your father…?" asked Hermione, but I cut her off before she could finish.
"Yep."
"Ouch…"
Those not in the know looked between us in confusion, but we didn't elaborate.
After lunch was over, we somehow got roped into helping Mrs Weasley with the cleaning, which we went at with our wands, much to her and otherHermiones chagrin.
"Your not supposed to be using magic outside of school!" scolded the older bookworm as her alternate hit a Doxy in the face with a Banisher, sending it flying back into the wall with a splat.
"Lighten up Mione," I said, vanishing the leftover goo, "Its not like our Wands are registered with this Ministry and besides, you can use Magic with no problem in a magical house."
"Really?" asked otherGinny in surprise.
"Yep, the Trace can't detect who used magic, only if its used around a person with the Trace on," I said, "Now, since I really don't like Doxys…"
I gave my wand a flourish and a number of Regulus Lances appeared and slammed into the buzzing curtains, causing them to be covered in a net of lightning. After a second, the lightning faded and the curtains went limp, depositing a large pile of nicely fried pests onto the floor.
"What the bloody hell was that?" asked Ron.
"That was Regulus Lancer, one of my personal spells," I said.
"Quit showing off Leo," said Holly as she levitated the biting snuffbox from its place in the cabinet into a bag, "And why can't we seal these things again? It would make dealing with them much easier."
"True, but its hardly necessary," I said, "While dark, these are mostly harmless."
Suddenly, the door opened to reveal a worried looking Dumbledore.
"Albus, is something wrong?" asked Mrs Weasley.
"My apologies Molly," said the Old man, "But it appears as if Harry is in trouble."
And we are done here. I hope you liked this chapter and Lunas little lightshow.
The inhabitants of the alternate timeline all look like the actors who play them in the movies, while the characters from Leos universe don't. There are similarities, but they are more whatever you imagine them to be.
I wonder who, or what, Reginald could be?
Lunas gear is designed after Ultear's later one from Fairy Tail.
Anyway, I'm done so I'm signing out. Later!