Still need a beta/co-writer. Enjoy!
"For a sec'nd it was like yer father was outside me hut, eleven years old again," said the giant emotionally as he found himself being ushered inside the small hut along with Padma, Daphne and Ron.
It was late November, and already the snow had begun to fall steadily, the lone castle now covered with a pure white coat of snow. The Great Lake had begun to freeze over, though the giant squid seemed to take great pleasure in breaking the surface ice apart with its tentacles. Lately, however, it had stopped, as if the cold weather was making it sleepy. He did not finding himself complaining about its absence. While heating charms ensured that he and his friends could sit comfortably near the Lake, it was not pleasant when small and large shards of ice flew in their direction.
"I'll just put the kettle on. A mug o' tea is jus' the thing for the cold. This 'ere is Fang," said Hagrid cheerfully as they sat themselves around a rough wooden table. Immediately a large bod began bounding around them excitedly, the intelligence in its eyes reminded him immediately of Koromaru.
"Hello there," he murmured, scratching the dog behind its ears to calm it down. It worked, as the dog sat near him, slobbering contently on his knee as he continued to scratch him.
Definitely drools more than Koromaru he thought to himself amusedly as he looked at the hound. It looked old, very old indeed. But seeing the vigor that the dog still seemed to have, he realized it was some sort of magical species that had a longer lifespan.
Next to him, Daphne delicately brushed dog hair off her uniform, as she looked around the hut. Ron had taken to Hagrid from the very first day, and had actually visited the hut once before. Now he was doing his best to catch all of their eyes, miming what appeared to be a large lump with his hand before frantically signalling 'don't' at them. Daphne didn't notice, preoccupied as she was with studying the hut.
He and Padma looked at each other before shrugging, mystified as to what Ron was trying to communicate with them secretively. The redhead gave up when Hagrid turned back to face them, having hooked the kettle over the fire. He sat himself on a chair that seemed three times as large as the other chairs around the table before smiling at them warmly.
"I see Fang's already taken to ye," he smiled, gesturing to the large dog who now seemed to be dozing off peacefully on his knee. It was quite the radical change from the ball of energy that had been running around them a few minutes ago.
"What species of dog is he? He looks so old, but he's very energetic" he asked curiously.
"Oh Fang's just a boar-hound, but I've fed him on me own special mix of meat from magical creatures and 'erbs. Nothin' illegal o' course," he added hastily when Padma looked at him with a raised eyebrow.
"No, Profess'r Dumbledore trusts me, y'see," continued Hagrid, his chest swelling proudly, "Told me I could take ye to Diagon Alley too. Tha' was before ye found it on yer own o'course. But I still went anyway, on business for Dumbledore. Top secret business."
"What kind of business?" Ron asked excitedly.
"Can't be sayin' much. Professor Dumbledore trusts me, see? There's not many people he'd send to bring a priceless item back to Hogwarts. And jus' in time too, someone tried to steal it the same day. Woulda succeeded too," said Hagrid loftily as he got up to bring out the kettle before proceeding to make tea.
"Trusted me to help with guarding it too," he said, a little less loudly, as if he were talking to himself. He was curious upon hearing this, but said nothing, respecting Hagrid's privacy. Soon, they found themselves looking at steaming hot mugs of tea while some forebodingly misshapen rock cakes sat in a plate.
"Help yerself," said Hagrid eagerly, gesturing at the rock cakes, "Made 'em myself!"
He poked at one tentatively after placing it on his saucer. After being more or less a human guinea pig when Fuuka had tried cooking, he had developed a very finely tuned sense of what food was dangerous, and what wasn't. And the rock cakes looked dangerous. Perhaps even lethal.
He discreetly placed his hand over the cake and vanished it. His tea he cotninued to sip, however, as it was quite good. Hagrid was too distracted by explaining the denizens of the magical forest to Ron, and his subterfuge went unnoticed.
"Now then," tore away Hagrid, "How are ye all findin' yer classes?"
"Most of them are quite good," commented Padma as she tried to cut into one of the rock cakes using a knife.
It didn't end well for the knife.
"Snape's a bloody git though," said Ron offhandedly as he gnawed on a cake, seemingly unaffected by the fact that none of the cake was actually being stripped away in his mouth.
"He's still yer teacher Ron," rumbled Hagrid disapprovingly, though it wasn't very convincing. Apparently the gamekeeper wasn't too fond of the Potions master either.
I'm struggling to think of someone who actually is fond of him he thought to himself wryly. Save for Dumbledore, who was proving quite hard to figure out, he knew most of the faculty reasonably well, save for those who taught the courses that started from the third year.
"-and he took points from me for breathing once!" Ron was waxing eloquent, seeing that he had a very sympathetic audience in Hagrid.
"Harry," whispered Daphne urgently, "What did you do with your cake?"
"I don't know what you mean," he deadpanned, continuing to look straight ahead as he sipped his tea.
"Get rid of mine too," hissed Daphne, undeterred, as she flung the cake at his midriff. His eyes widened when the cake impacted on his stomach with the force of a blunt instrument.
Daphne looked smug at her aim as he glared at her, before he rolled his eyes and vanishing the cake. Anger wasn't an emotion he could hold too long, ordinarily. He had made an exception for the ones who had murdered Shinjiro. His nostrils flared as he thought of the artificial persona wielders, and he wrenched his mind away from those memories forcibly. This was no time for reminiscing about past mistakes.
"Ah, I almost forgot!" Hagrid exclaimed wide-eyed before reaching into one of the many, many pockets in his coat, "I invited ye here to give ye this Harry."
Hagrid brought out what appeared to be a small album, before giving it to him. He accepted it with some confusion, wondering what it could be. His eyes widened with surprise when he saw that the album was full of moving photographs of his parents. Who else could they be? The man's face looked like an older version of his own, while the woman's emerald green eyes made him feel as if he were looking into a mirror.
"I started sendin' owls out when you arrived at Hogwarts. I thought you might want to have a piece o' the past close by you," smiled Hagrid, his beetle-black eyes crinkling with kindness. He looked down, unable to think of what to say. Hagrid's kindness was almost tangible, and made him ashamed for doubting the giant man's motives. Hagrid seemed to understand something of his dilemma, for he felt his shoulder being hammered as the giant tried to pat it kindly.
He discreetly channeled one of his minor healing personas to work on his shoulder, all the while smiling thankfully at Hagrid.
"Now then, another cuppa tea anyone?" asked Hagrid eagerly, "We have plenty o' time after all."
"AURK-UGH-GRRH."
Everyone's eyes snapped around to look at the source of the unnatural sound, only to find that Ron was choking on a piece of the rock "cake".
He simply looked at Ron, mildly impressed that the red-head's jaws had been strong and durable enough to actually bite off a piece of the cake.
Padma sighed and got out of her chair after seeing that she was in the best position to thump Ron on the back.
"I'll get it," said Hagrid cheerfully before aiming a huge hand at Ron's back.
Now he sprang into action, remembering the impact of Hagrid's hand on his shoulder. But he was too late.
"CRACK!"
"I believe our visit just got cut short," said Daphne calmly, looking at the way Ron was knocked out cold against the wooden table.
"Perhaps now he'll actually develop some sort of filter with his eating," murmured Padma, checking Ron for a pulse.
"And the second batch of rock cakes were almost ready too," lamented Hagrid sadly. He brought out his wand and levitated Ron, before moving towards the door.
No one found the strength to comfort Hagrid, and instead chose followed him and Ron's floating body out of the door.
One week later
"So you're sure you want us to throw every spell we know at you?" asked Ron dubiously as the six of them stood in the empty classroom. They had found it during one of their many walks through the castle corridors. It was perfect, as it didn't even have any benches, desks or tables. It appeared to be disused for quite some time.
"Considering we're first years, I wouldn't really make a meal of the phrase 'every spell we know'," Daphne commented snarkily as she drew her wand.
"I don't think we could call it an arsenal. Or even a collection. Although we do know more than the other first years. I'd put us on a second year level," added Padma as she got ready as well.
"Yes, well, I've got a few tricks up my sleeve, I'll have you know," sneered Draco, striking an extravagant pose.
"Let me guess, pranks from Zonkos?" asked Terry offhandedly from another corner of a room.
"Bite me," snapped Draco.
He wondered if his idea had perhaps been a little premature. His friends seemed to have no idea of what a battle actually entailed, and seemed more capable of hurting each other than they were of hurting him. But he needed to test how far his body had progressed, and one of the best way to do that was the evasion exercise. He relied on technique and speed more than strength, making it essential for his body to be as nimble as possible. And he needed to know what he was up against when it came to spells.
"Anytime you're ready," he said clearly, raising his voice slightly to be heard over the din, "Remember the progression. Terry starts off, then Daphne steps in after a while, and so forth."
"This is going to be so much fun," grinned Terry wickedly, "Rictusempra!"
He neatly side-stepped the silver jet of light, thankful for all the time he had spent dodging arrows from enemies. The spells were a little larger and a little faster, but the principle held good. But Terry was giving him no time to rest.
"Expelliarmus!"
A red streak of light jetted towards him, much faster than the tickling charm. Fortunately, Terry's aim had been a little off, and he found it easy to move his arm out of the way of the spell.
"He doesn't look like he's having much trouble yet," said Daphne with mock sympathy as she stepped up, "Let's change that, shall we? Immobulus!"
His eyes widened and he threw himself to a side, breaking his fall with a roll. He still had no idea how large the area of the spell itself was, as it effectively immobilized his entire body.
"Rictusempra!" cried Terry again, and he swore internally as he rolled yet again, letting the charm strike the stone floor harmlessly.
"Tarantallegra!" continued Daphne, obviously having no intention of stopping soon.
She's enjoying this too much he groaned as he sprang to another part of the classroom. He was impressed at the progress his body had made, as it did not seem to be protesting yet.
"Alright!" said Draco loudly, "Time to show you how it's done."
His eyes widened in panic as he dodged yet another disarming spell from Terry. He wasn't sure he could handle three people at a time just yet.
"I think we should stop for-" was as far as he got before he found himself being thrown across the room. He collided hard with the stone floor, his breath completely knocked out of him by the impact.
Groaning, he pushed himself into a sitting position, even as Daphne wore a very satisfied smirk on her face.
"What?" she asked innocently as the others looked at her incredulously, "He hadn't finished his sentence yet."
Ten minutes later, Ron was still snorting with laughter as the group traipsed down the corridor again. It was dusk, and the corridors were beginning to darken, even as the torches on the walls burst into life, as if with a will of their own. He ignored the laughter, knowing all too well how undignified he must have looked. The satisfied smirk on Daphne's face did little to help the issue.
Once again, he wondered if he was doing the right thing. With just one of his lower-tier personas, none of the students at Hogwarts could beat him. The teachers would, perhaps, be a little more difficult. But he had middle-tier personas, high-tier personas, as well as the personas who were a class above even the high-tier ones. Why did he really need to study magic?
The answer was obvious. He had thrown everything he had at Nyx, along with his friends, who were mighty persona wielders in their own right. But all he had been able to do was seal Nyx. And that was when Nyx had no motivation beyond performing its function, much as an eraser was meant to perform its function. But now, Nyx had changed. It no longer held its former position, which meant it now had the potential to grow, as well as the motivation to do so.
He would need every skill he could master, but he had no illusions about fighting Nyx by himself even then. He intended to harness the power of the wizarding world, and magic itself. It was a fascinating force indeed, and he was steadily becoming more convinced that magic held great potential, just as his wildcard did.
"What is that?" exclaimed Terry suddenly, pulling him from his thoughts. The others had all stopped, looking with some suspicion at what lay ahead of them.
It was a spectral creature, translucent and shining with an eerie green light. It did not appear to be any creature he had ever seen before, though it appeared to be vaguely fox-like. The creature looked at them for a second, before turning and softly bounding away from them.
"Let's follow it!" decided Ron enthusiastically, bounding ahead to keep up with the strange creature. He followed the others in chasing after Ron, realizing that they were all curious to see what the creature was and where it was heading. Hogwarts held many secrets to unlock, who was to say this was not one of them? He was curious as well.
The creature was surprisingly fast, though from the glances it sent them occasionally, it was as if it wanted them to follow it.
"Whoa!" exclaimed Terry when the staircase they were on started moving, and they found themselves being directed to a part of the castle they hadn't come across yet.
"Be careful," he cautioned them, getting the feeling that something was wrong. They agreed with him, though their enthusiasm did not seem to have lessened in the slightest. Even as the staircase drew to a halt, the creature took off again at a much greater speed, heading towards a heavy wooden door in the corridor. It vanished through the door as if it was intangible, leaving them to follow it at a slower pace.
"Where on Earth is that damn thing headed?" muttered Draco as he tried to pull open the door. But it remained firmly locked, even as Ron joined him in trying to force it open.
They stood there for a while, waiting for Ron and Draco to realize that they had magic at their disposal. When the thought didn't seem to strike them even after a few minutes, Padma rolled her eyes before pointing her wand at the door.
"Alohomora."
Both Ron and Draco yelped as the door suddenly flung open, almost striking them in the process.
"Magic, boys," she said crisply before they trooped into the room, only to find themselves surrounded completely by darkness. The spectral creature was nowhere to be seen.
"What is that smell?" Daphne wrinkled her nose, even as the foul stench assaulted their nostrils.
"Something is very wrong," muttered Terry as he began to back out to the door. The door swung shut all of a sudden, engulfing them in the dark completely.
"Shit. Shit. Alohomora!" Terry's efforts were in vain, as the door remained firmly locked this time.
"Calm down, let's get some light in here first," hissed Daphne, "Lumos!"
Light began to fill the room, and it grew brighter as the others followed suit. But light, it seemed, was not meant to make their situation better.
"Oh, shit," breathed Ron when they realized what was causing the smell.
A three-headed dog towered over them, shaking its heads as if dazed by the light. All three heads were yawning, clearly still trying to recover from a sleepy daze. But even as it did so, a low growling sound began to emerge from all three of their throats, and drool began to drip on the floor in unbelievable quantities.
"A Cerberus," breathed Padma, wide-eyed with fear. Next to her, Draco appeared even paler than usual, while Ron looked like he was desperate to bolt from where he stood.
The monster was awake now, and the growling increased in intensity, even as Terry sent spell after spell at the door in a desperate effort to break it open. He drew his wand and began to gather all the magic he could.
All three heads began to bark now, and the Cerberus charged at them ferociously.
"Dodge it!" shouted Draco before throwing himself to one side of the room.
Guess it's time to see how much my training with magic has come along he thought to himself as the three-headed dog charged at him viciously.
"Push" he growled, channeling energy into that one simple intention. To push the beast away.
The magic hit the Cerberus with the force of a speeding vehicle, sending it flying to the back of the room. Multiple chains jangled and groaned, and for the first time he realized that the Cerberus was chained to the far end of the door, near what seemed to be trapdoor.
No chance of it breaking through the room to follow us then he realized and turned swiftly towards the door.
"Distract it for a few seconds!" he called to the others.
"With what? Our fleshy bodies?" yelled Ron, clearly terrified.
"Just send every spell you know at it!" he said loudly before turning to focus on the door.
"Alohomora!" he proclaimed, sending his magic towards the door. But something battled against his magic, preventing it from accomplishing his task. Annoyed, he began to pour more magic and will into the spell, trying to break the opposing force.
"Harry! Anytime now would be good," shouted Daphne as the five of them rained whatever spells they knew upon the Cerberus. The giant monster shrugged off their spells without much difficulty, however, and was getting back up from being thrown across the room. Already its eyes were regaining focus, and the sheer ferocity and rage it now exuded was almost tangible.
He swore internally and redoubled his efforts, straining against whatever force was sealing the door shut. Breaking the door open was even less likely, none of the spells Terry had cast had so much as scratched it.
"Dammit Potter!" shouted Malfoy as he levitated one of his shoes and threw it at one of the monster's faces.
"Almost there," he gritted as the door began to tremble visibly under the pressure of two opposing forces.
"If I die, I swear I'm coming back to haunt you!" yelled Ron as he waved his arms wildly while zig-zagging between one wall and another. Now the Cerberus was confused, unable to comprehend the varied lights and sounds that were surrounding it.
"I said," he growled, "OPEN!"
The door flew open, and everyone ran for the door while the Cerberus bounded behind them to stop them.
"CLOSE THE DOOR!" yelled Ron as he threw his shoulder behind it. The others joined in, even as the Cerberus threw its heads against the door, the straining of the chains audible in the background. He pointed his wand at the door, repeating the spell he had cast against the Cerberus. The door slammed shut, and a click signified that it had locked itself again.
They stood there in the corridor, trying to catch their breath, He look at their wide eyed looks and shrugged, before patting Terry on the back.
"This one you can't blame on me."
"What in the name of Merlin is something like that doing in Hogwarts?"
Ron had recovered from their deadly encounter, enough to start gesticulating wildly as they trod the path to the Great Hall shakily. He himself was reminded rather forcefully of the floors of Tartarus. It appeared he would never be done facing down ferocious monsters. Or running away from them, as the case might be.
"Dumbledore has gone mad if he thinks a locking charm is going to stop students from trying to look," muttered Daphne.
"He's been considered insane for a while now," sneered Draco, even as he tried to stop his hands from shaking.
"Dumbledore is a bloody genius," snarled Ron half-heartedly. Apparently even he was trying to find a reason to justify the presence of a bloodthirsty, three headed dog in a castle full of children.
"Do you think this is what Hagrid was talking about? When he was muttering about bring something valuable and providing security?" asked Padma, already having gone back to her normal, impassive self.
"You heard that too?" he asked her, surprised. It was why he had hesitated in using one of his personas to kill the Cerberus. There was also the fact that someone had obviously trapped them, and it would have been foolish to reveal his powers unless it was absolutely necessary. Nor would it have gone down well for any of the teachers to realize that their guarddog had been killed.
"He caught my attention when he talked about how the robber would probably have succeeded," confessed Padma, "Because there was one near-impossible feat that was pulled off this summer, and if you take Hagrid's word for it, it happened around the same time as the task he did for Dumbledore."
"Right, I remember reading about that!" exclaimed Terry, "It shook a lot of the Noble families when they realized that Gringotts wasn't infallible. The only reason Gringotts didn't receive a lot of bad press is because they still control British magical economy with an iron fist"
"Someone robbed Gringotts?" he asked, slightly shocked. The goblins had appeared to be efficient as well as ferocious, a dangerous combination for anyone to test. Of course, nothing was truly infallible, he knew that better than most did. It did, however, speak volumes about the skill of the person who managed to crack Gringott's security measures.
"It was after we met at Gringotts," Daphne explained to him. He had not started following the wizarding newspapers until quite recently. Books had taken up most of his time at the Greengrass manor.
"Mother was wondering what to do about the family jewels for a very long time. She couldn't come up with a better alternative though," mused Draco, completely missing the "I told you so" expression that Terry made.
"Does anyone know what was stolen?" he asked curiously. Surely such an extraordinary theft would be in pursuit of an equally extraordinary prize.
"The goblins wouldn't say anything apart from the fact that the vault had already been empty. They also put out a bounty for any information about the thief or the thief's whereabouts."
It certainly seemed to be far from a coincidence, when one took Hagrid's words into account. But they needed much more information before they could form any sort of concrete theory. All they had now were vague and unliked bits of data.
'We need to talk to Hagrid again, see if we can't get more information out of him," he voiced out loud.
"Later. For now, I think food and maybe some dreamless sleep potions are the most pressing issue," stalled Padma. He found it hard to disagree with her line of logic. It was often easy to forget that he was now among friends who had not faced death hundreds of times.
Although, based on recent events, they're certainly off to a flying start he thought amusedly as they entered the anteroom that led into the Great Hall. The lights and sounds coming from it were reassuring, and seemed to put them all ease.
"I'm guessing telling anyone about this isn't really an option," sighed Terry. It was more of a rhetorical question than anything else.
"Not unless you want to tell them how a mysterious spectral creature lured you into an area of the castle that was specifically marked as being off-limits at the start of the year," said Daphne dryly. He was inclined to agree. The story sounded quite fantastical, even by magical standards. On the other hand, a group of inquisitive eleven year olds poking around was a far more believable story.
He touched Daphne's shoulder lightly, stopping her from following the others into the Great Hall.
"I think we should tell your father about recent events, and soon. He might have some insights."
Daphne nodded sharply, "Agreed, but I don't think it would be wise to use an owl. Someone at Hogwarts is involved, remember the trolls? There's no way they got in on their own."
He nodded, agreeing with her point. Hogwarts was a vast place. It could be anyone, teacher or student, who was behind the troll incident. And if something valuable was indeed in Hogwarts, it was not unlikely that someone was also after it.
"What do you suggest?"
"Christmas break. You've been invited by the way," she added before smiling brightly and walking into the Hall.
He stood outside for a few moments longer, smiling at the fact that he had been invited for the Christmas holidays. Logically, how he was feeling was quite stupid. He had been around the Greengrasses long enough to know that they were fond of him, and he of them. Nevertheless, their acceptance made him happy. Then another thought crossed his mind.
"I wonder how Daniel will react when he learns about...the paraphernalia of wildlife wandering Hogwarts ," he muttered to himself, already amused at the thought of how the protective father would react.
"I have done as you commanded, my lord," whispered the turbaned man, though his turban now adorned a nearby table.
"Tell me about the boy," hissed the commanding voice, though it now sounded faint, as if the owner was very weak at the moment.
"H-He already exhibits considerable magical prowess, my lord. He was able to send a Cerberus across the room without using a recognized spell. That is almost unheard of at a first year level."
"Curiousss," crooned the voice, the desire it felt was almost tangible as the sound reverberated through the room. Quirinus shuddered. When Lord Voldemort desired something, it was not good to be the person who stood in his way.
"You will show me your memory of the event now," commanded the voice, and before Quirrell could even reply, his mind was torn apart, as if it were being pierced by a thousand swords.
"Ah Quirinus, relying on conjurations again I ssssee," sneered the voice after a few minutes contemptuously, having seen all there was to see.
"I had to do it in a way that couldn't be traced back to us," gasped the DADA professor as he tried to regain his composure. Having another go through one's memories was never a pleasant ordeal, and that was doubly so when Lord Voldemort was the reader.
"Oh, but I approve. Very Ssssslytherin of you Quirinus, I do believe the Hat made a missstake with you."
With a sense borne out of countless hours of punishment, Quirrell wisely chose to remain silent. That was usually the least painful course of action.
"Magical prowessss," contemplated the voice, "Yessss, that would indeed explain how the boy survived the trolls. A pity, I was expecting something more. All this meansss is that I must kill him before his power matches mine."
"Surely a mere boy could never dream of reaching your level of power my lord," grovelled Quirrell, now hopeful of making it through his report without further torture.
"Underessstimation is a mistake to be made once, not twice, you incompetent buffoon," snarled the voice, "We shall leave nothing to chance."
"What is your command, my lord?"
"Dumbledore will do our work for usss if he believes Potter to be turning dark. Point the child in the direction of the Ssssstone. We will take it from them, and leave them with the blame."
"I will see to it. That oaf Hagrid will be easy to manipulate," replied Quirrell, losing his frightened countenance as he spoke contemptuously of the half-giant.
"You have already disappointed me once, Quirinus. Lord Voldemort does not take kindly to failure," warned the voice.
"I will not," promised Quirrell, but by then, his master had already returned to his slumber.
A/N: This update took a little longer, mostly because I had to visit a couple of universities, talk to people, decide whether or not to apply, and so forth. You can understand how that might keep someone busy. This chapter is just a little smaller than my usual chapters, but that's because this and the next one are going to be the lull before the next wave of action. Necessary, and hopefully, still a good read.
As always, reviews are fuel. And I need fuel :P Till next time.
SK.
