Chapter 9 – I'm a witch

October 1st 1870, Christine's Room, midnight

Diary

I have decided to tell them the truth. Albus is also coming. He agrees with me. We'll see how it goes.

Minutes later…

I hear a knock on the door and I answer.

"Meg, Antoinette, I'm glad you came."

"Christine what's this? What clothes are those? The mirror! How did you find out?", asked Madame Giry.

"I'm not as stupid as I try to appear. Lets go shall we? Albus will be arriving soon."

"Christine I don't think you want to go down there. It is his domain…"

"I've been down in the cellars for several months now without him knowing Madame Giry. You just have to keep your mouth shut."

Dungeon entrance

"What is this?" both of the women gasped.

"A disguised entrance. Damn it." The wall swinged back and I entered. "Come on in. It's perfectly fine, he is not around."

"A music room?" asked Meg.

"Yes, Albus' creation. The Phantom knows of this room and its password entrance but doesn't know of the rest. Well, sort of." She opened wandlessly the shelf and entered the library.

"Christine, what has Albus done? He'll kill him!"

"No he won't. This", I gesture to the room, "used to be a broken abandoned cellar, but I have managed to turn it into my own personal cellar, or dungeon as I like to call it." I chuckle.

A sound is heard, coming from the fireplace, all of us turn to look at Albus coming out of it.

"Welcome Albus, I was just starting to explain." He nods.

"Be my guest."

"Imagine that time is a line." I draw a line in a piece of paper. "Here was the birth of Christ" I place a mark in the line, "here is our year" I add another mark and then another later in front of it "and time goes on and on into the future."

They seem relatively calm and curious. Meg asks "Why are you telling us this?"

"Things happen Meg, sometimes we know why, others we don't. Sometimes there are no explanations; perhaps it is God's will. But imagine that, were you in trouble, and a once promised Angel would be sent to you, to help you. What would you expect?"

"A guardian Angel?"

"Angels, as I discovered, aren't always supernatural beings. They can also be human beings placed in your path to help you, by simply being and acting as themselves. Life is a web of bizarre coincidences. We are all connected. Nothing is really a coincidence, everything happens for a reason."

"True.", mumbled Madame Giry.

"And I was sent to you as well. And to Gustave Daaé. And to Albus Dumbledore."

"You are an angel, Christine? So that's why you don't gossip!", Meg giggled, sweet Meg. I smile.

"I'm very human, Meg. Do you see the line? Here, in the future, I was dieing. Here, in the present, Christine Daaé had died for a moment only, her soul had passed away. And when I woke up, I had to become Christine Daaé."

"So… you are not Christine!", yelled Madame Giry.

"I became her. I had no choice. And Gustave, papa, he… needed me, and I needed him back. I killed no one. That is, I didn't kill Gustave and certainly not young Christine. Her soul's time had come, she was very ill, remember?" they nodded, "And I woke up in her body. Curiously I'm physically very much the same as her. My hair was messier and it was a lighter colour. But mentally, I'm different. I lived more years than Christine as… Hermione Granger Snape. That was my name."

"This is confusing… but I suppose I did find it odd when you first came back to the Opera, you weren't yourself. You remembered nothing. Of course you remembered nothing. You were not Christine. You became her… here?" I nodded to Megan. "What was it like… the future? What did you do?"

"My parents were medical tooth doctors, very good ones at that. I went to that school where Albus is currently teaching in Scotland for seven years of my life. There was a war and I played an important part in it. There was a Dark Lord who killed so many, I was friend of a boy Harry, who was the only one who could kill that monster. So, to get to him, they took me, I escaped but my parents… they died in an awful way. Before my eyes." They were horrified, I placed my head on my hands and moaned. "In the final battle, yes, I participated in it, I killed people who tortured and murdered children as self defence and because we had to win. I was badly hurt, I could fight no more so I went to a meeting point, we had won already, the Dark Lord was dead, but an enemy of mine caught up with me and he did something that triggered… that sent me here, to this time. And here I am."

"Albus, is this true?", asked Antoinette.

"I'm afraid so. In this time there is also a Dark Lord rising. Christine has a vast knowledge. In fact she gave me training for the upcoming battles when she was in Scotland, in Hogwarts."

"Hogwarts? Strange name. Never heard of it.", frowned Madame Giry.

"You're not supposed to. It's a secret for people who are not like Albus and I, and those students too."

"Like what?"

"I have a vast knowledge, but I also have certain abilities."

There was a silence in the room.

"I can do magic. I'm a witch.", two loud 'thumps' were heard in the room. The women had just fainted.

"Perhaps you should have skipped the murders part.", mumbled Albus.

A sigh, three minutes and two ennervates later

They looked a little scared. Naturally. Megan seemed to be less paler. I smiled, a bitter smile, and sighed.

"At least, if I die I'll… someone will bury me under my real name."

"What do you mean?", asked Meg.

"A Dark Lord is rising, young Megan. There will be a war, in the worst case, or a confrontation, in the best. There will be casualties on both sides.", whispered Albus.

"Don't go Christine." Meg's eyes were filling with tears. "Just don't leave us again."

"I'll do what I must, Meg. I can't leave Albus alone, against Grindellwald. He's not bad fighting but he needs to improve and between my music and the war I need to disappear once in a while, for several hours; and to do that I need you to cover my absence, especially you Madame Giry."

"You're worried about the Phantom, aren't you?"

"Yes, I'm not sure how to explain this to him. None of this is his fault. I'm not giving up on my music or him or this place. I used to miss home all the time, I was the pride of the Light side, of my parents, everyone. But here, I can just be myself, I have time for the things I enjoy and… if I come out of this alive…" I was crying. Meg hugged me. "I hoped I'd go on and have a peaceful life, for a change." I laughed at this.

"Of course. We'll help you dear."

"There is also something else. I didn't tell you this Albus, but Carlotta, since she has some sort of understanding with one or both of the managers" I said maliciously, "she managed to expel me from this Opera House, at least as a living place. I'll still be the understudy of course. But as far as living here, in that room upstairs, it's over."

"That toad… But how will you manage? Will you remain living here?", asked Meg.

"Nonsense, dear. Wouldn't that look suspicious? You could stay here every once in a while and then spend the other days in our little cottage. We'd arrange space for you since we also live here now most of the time, Meg even sleeps in the ballet corps dormitories most of nights, except when we go out or for weekends.", said Mme. Giry.

"That is so nice of you…"

"Hermione, you could pretend you spent your time chez Giry's when you'll actually be with me.", Albus thought out loud.

"That will still look suspicious, Albus. But we will have to do that eventually, you need more training." It was settled then. I'd stay in the dungeons and in Hogwarts. "We could apparate them along to the roof." Both of them gave us curious looks. "It's quite all right. We'll just hold you close and we'll simply appear there. It's perfectly safe I've done it lots of times."

A pot of tea and two pop's later, we arrived to the roof. It was a truly calm night. It would be my last official night in the Opera, for a while. I had to write a letter and pack.

Christine's room, behind the mirror

A concerned and furious Phantom had spent a few hours looking for the Giry's and Christine for several hours. He was sure none of them had left the Opera. He saw Mme Giry and Meg walking to Christine's quarters very late but he had some business to take care of. At the time he thought it wouldn't matter, she would tell him everything later, she always did. Besides, she had to, she missed their lesson tonight, he had waited an hour and nothing.

Ah, there she was, always so beautiful, with a slight frown in her face. She let herself drop in her living room's floor, back supported by the wall. She smiled then, appearing to be relieved, but there was still some sort of sadness deep down her eyes, more intense than ever and he heard her sigh. What clothes were those? She looked like a man, completely scandalous!

Christine.

"Angel."

Where have you been?

"I need to have some sleep. But there is much in my mind. I don't think I'll sleep at all, its overwhelming." She made a pregnant pause. "I'm sorry I missed our lesson. You're probably angry at me and righteously so. I had some arrangements to discuss with Mme Giry. It won't be possible for me to live here anymore."

What do you mean? You wish to leave! After all you have accomplished?

"No. Carlotta."

I see. Got into the managers pants.

I hear her laugh. How I love that sound.

"Well yes, that's what I thought too. We can still go on with our lessons here. I could sneak around a bit, I'd manage."

No. Don't leave the Opera.

"There's something else." Another pregnant pause. "I know a place where no one will hear us. Not even the Phantom has been there, I know it for sure. Besides, I want to see you. You can't and you won't hide from me any longer. I will leave the Opera but I'm sure the Phantom will do something."

She actually smiled when she said that. It was as if she knew. Perhaps she did, I thought.

Very well. Is there something else?

'Why yes!' she found herself thinking, her smile turning into a vicious smirk. 'You know that second cellar below the ground? I stole it. From you. The Opera Ghost.'

"Yes. Perhaps I'll tell you later… when you start sharing some of your secrets as well. Good night."

Oh?

She turned her back on me, heading to her bedroom, chuckling rather loudly. I was starting to feel rather apprehensive. And I didn't like it one bit.