Chapter 9: Striking a Bargain

With the arrival of the first heavy snow in December, so did the dangerous accidents to and from the magical creatures building. With two students visiting the infirmary a week, the headmaster was acutely aware of the request to build the covered walkway, the last remaining work order from Hagrid. Though the engineers assured her that the path would be constructed to match the current style of the castle, she couldn't resist the urge to remain true to the age-old traditions. Though only a cottage had ever been on the current grounds, she had reluctantly broken away from tradition and had the small keep constructed. Now as the daily reports from the infirmary mounted, they finally stood out and grabbed her attention. A year prior, she would have thought nothing of the dozens of seasonal injuries; but thanks to Hagrid's new assistant professor, she was reconsidering revising traditions and install a much-needed improvement to the school.

With her attention drifting away from the construction order, she couldn't deny the looming confrontation that her plan entailed. The logic Constance used to dictate how their assassin would behave was not only sound but on the mark, which bothered her deeply. The idea that this young woman would use herself as bait to draw out the killer, kept Lucinda revising and fine-tuning her early estimates of Constance's character. With the plan drawing closer to its conclusion, she knew there was no turning back. As she sits behind her desk mulling over the placement of the key people and locations, she remembers that Constance was originally a Slytherin. Shaking her head, she looks up at the aged sorting hat.

"That girl, Constance Hollander, is not Slytherin; Ravenclaw or Gryphendor, but not Slytherin. What were you thinking?"

To her complete the surprise the hat replies plainly.

"That's because I did not sort her."

With a mixture of surprise and awe, she sits upright and turns her attention to the hat as he recants an age long passed and forgotten. Though the return of Lord Voldemort was a tale known to all, she was amazed how the sorting hat presented its unique perspective of the previous war inserting Constance as a notable pawn.

As the Christmas holiday approached, Constance could feel the tension rising. Through the air and in the rocks of the castle, she could feel the coming storm; not of weather, but of violence. Murder was in the atmosphere, and she could no longer deny it. Though she tried to Scry the event, it revealed nothing she didn't already know. The visions and concepts kept flashing across her eyes like snow: bright red blood, black ink, flight, and not to forget the Grim. Worse a horrible phrase was passed on: "One must die before the fall; Two shall cry as the others brawl."

Knowing that time was her greatest enemy, Constance growled as she was clueless as to the identities of their key suspects. With too many variables mingling and coalescing, she couldn't finger five or fewer people who could be their suspects. She had no doubts the suspects were staff, and she could guess many who were not involved in any fashion, but that helped very little. Her plan called for the suspects to be drawn out in a final show of force, winner takes all. Desperate to stack the cards in their favor for this battle, it had to be in a place of their choosing, not the assassins' or else their preparations were for naught. The danger to the student body had to be minimalized, and away from their eyes. An attack on unsuspecting onlookers was not beyond their targets capacity, so the brand-new care for magical creatures keep was their first choice during the day, while the courtyard at night was their secondary location. The students could be easily evacuated from these places in seconds and damage could be minimalized and localized.

As the Christmas holiday was just around the corner, Constance felt more than anything, a slight change in the air. With a light dusting of snow falling as she walked to the keep, Andrew diligently walks several steps behind her all the while keeping an eye on his surroundings. Even he was not immune to the growing tension the days brought, as his nerves kept him scrutinizing every movement as he followed his charge. Walking with his wand in is hand, he was never seen without it anymore. Expecting trouble around every corner or door, he refused to lower his defenses and wind up like his mentor, Bill Swift. Though he was only under him for eighteen months, the man acted more like the father he wished he had. His passing helped Andrew decide that being an Auror was more important than owning a joke shop.

Spending the day at the keep allowed the remaining Aurors to get needed rest and execute background checks on the staff. Though the questioning was fruitless, it helped them to recognize the natural state of the castle without the elements which could bring on an attack. By lunch, Andrew is replaced by Delia who brings food with the house elves, and Andrew takes over where she left off at. After a quick exchange, Andrew departs, and Delia remains watching over Constance. As Hagrid leaves to check on the animals for the afternoon classes, Delia bolts the door closed and takes a deep breath as she addresses Constance.

"The weather is changing for the worse; we got high winds and blowing snow. I bet Hagrid cancels classes this afternoon. Despite my outward appearances, it's difficult for me to speak to you."

Constance sets down her book over Guam's mysterious silver fox bats and gives the Auror a surprised expression.

"Yes, it is difficult to believe. You seem to have little problems speaking up for yourself, so speaking to me should be a breeze."

Delia inhales sharply and releases it gently.

"I've never forgiven you what you did to me in the loo, and I realize now, I would have done the same thing, if not worse."

Constance leans back in surprise.

"Worse? Then I am concerned. I think being mummified in used toilet paper is more than sufficient; but to imagine worse, then I am truly frightened."

Delia lets a chuckle escape her lips as she replies.

"I would have gagged you with it."

Constance nods in understanding.

"Ah! Then I am glad you didn't catch me in that position. For that, I am truly sorry for what I did. The ministry had ruined a meeting we were to have with Ernie and I was going to try and turn myself in years ago. You set the stage for my continued flight, and I had to wait to be asked to return by the headmaster three years later."

Delia laughs as she remembers that day.

"Now I understand that expression you had on your face. For all these years I've been trying to make sense of your expression when you said, 'Oh poo on you.' You weren't angry or scared, and now I realize you were disappointed."

Constance nod solemnly. "Yah. I had to restrain you like I did and I knew I couldn't come back. That's also why I took your wand. I was labeling every wand I took so it could be returned to its owner later."

Delia shakes her head.

"You don't realize it, but you did Andrew a small service. When you returned the wands; it had the wand of an Auror who was later killed. His family had nothing to remember him by because they had to burn his remains and property, including his wand. When you took Bill Swift's wand, you preserved a family heirloom. Andrew was able to return the old wand back to his family. To say they were grateful, is an understatement not to mention Andrew. He's your strongest proponent because of what you did; and well, I'm having to reevaluate my initial opinion of you."

Constance leans over and grins evilly making Delia shirk backwards and cringe instinctively.

"I like to think I'm contagious. One way or the other I'm going to get under your skin and affect you; good or bad, I'm going to affect you."

Delia immediately stands and shakes off the resulting chills and jitters. Having experienced the effects of Constance's curse for the first time, Delia still couldn't easily brush off the notorious effects of her vile curse.

"And now I've seen it. I was always warned that you could do that, but wow! That's some powerful mojo you put out."

Constance leans back apologizing. "I'm sorry it sneaks out when I lower my defenses. Him and I have a respectable understanding, but he sneaks out of his cage now and then."

Delia, keeping a respectable distance, asks carefully, "Was that him who was talking or you?"

Constance tries to hide her embarrassment, and stutters out weakly. "Mostly him. I started speaking, when I said I was contagious, but he took over. If I don't let him stretch and flex now and then, he gets dangerously restless. So, I tolerate his little antics like that, and use it to my advantage. When Susan is with me, he knows to go lay down in a corner and sleep. She won't tolerate any his crap. She's learned how to hurt him, and it only causes me mild discomfort and pain. A small price to pay to keep him in line."

Delia, fearing her next answer, gingerly asks, "Have you ever let him completely out, I mean…ever let him take full control?"

Noticing the discomfort washing over Constance, she sits in agony as Constance dutifully answers.

"Once. Susan was being attacked, and they were keeping me busy so I couldn't help her. They were a company of bounty hunters who didn't have approval to hunt me and had already tried lethal spells against me. When I saw her fall, and they were standing over her in victory, I was taken back to the time when those Deatheaters were standing over her and were about to rape her. I lost it. I told him to take over and keep Susan alive and unharmed. When I was given back control, two days had passed and Susan was too scared to speak to me. That's when she began to research how to hurt him without hurting me much. I will tell you this, no more bounty hunters ever came after us again. It never used forbidden magic on them, just sick and vile methods long forgotten eons ago. Susan said it sent the bodies to their headquarters or wherever with a message. The ministry never charged me for their deaths, though I did admit to them. Apparently, they never reported they were murdered, and they said they died of 'natural causes' related to their 'line' of work."

Delia shakes her head. "Frontier justice. That's what they call that when you die trying to illegally capture a wanted person. No one ever had the right to bring you back dead or alive, as your barrister had made sure the arrest order was never taken to that level. Birch has a good rapport with the bounty hunters and he told me that your names were pulled years ago. He didn't say why or how, but I always had the impression he and Potter knew the details."

Constance nods grimly. "That explains a lot. The Ministry's tactics changed after that day. They stopped direct confrontations and battles, and the cat and mouse games became the status quo."

Delia replies dryly. "Yes, it does explain a lot. I never understood why they shirked away from massive aggressive attempts at capture, and detainment; they never wanted to make you feel cornered or desperate."

As the pair finish up, a loud bang from outside makes them jump out of their seats. While Constance wants to rush outside to investigate, Delia orders her to stay put and to lock the door behind her. Rolling her eyes, Constance has no intention of following that order, and steps out the door with Delia with their wands out. Instantly a blast shatters the door frame by their heads and they duck and roll forwards. Springing to her feet, Constance erects a shield in front of them as they move towards massive shape on the floor. Concussive blasts rain and crash against the barrier, and Constance keeps her attention focused on the attacks. Hagrid, lying unconscious across one of the armadillo cages, nearly crushed the cage as it shows signs of buckling. Reaching a room beside Hagrid, Delia kicks open the door and levitates the enormous man inside to safety. As the shield begins to show signs of weakness, Constance yells to Delia to cover her as she bolts for the open door as she drops the shield. Skidding inside, Constance spins around and extracts a small plastic device from her robe pocket as Delia returns similar attacks.

As Delia tries to ask what the object does, Constance flips open the device revealing a small cell phone. Constance yells Susan's name and in seconds, the concerned image of Susan appears. Before Constance answers the flurry of questions coming from her spouse, she yells over the chaotic din around her.

"Its begun! We're holed up in the animal keep…um…inside the storage room for the animals. There's at least two of them!"

Delia screams out: "They're coming at us!"

Slamming the door closed, Delia begins warding the door and Constance tosses the phone aside to help. Throwing her weight into the spells, the pair devote their fullest attention to the endeavor. With the first layer of protection established, the door and walls shudder against the combined might to the mages outside. As their first barrier collapses their second comes up, as Delia begins to scream at Constance to help her get another barrier up, her eyes widen in horror as her charge collapses with a poisoned dart in her chest. As she turns to fight the wizards who cast aside her hastily constructed barrier, she's struck by a club to the side of her head.

Delia groans as she wakes from the blow to the head. Unsure of exactly what she was struck with, she instinctively moves her hand to touch her sore head, only discover her hands and feet shackled to the table she's laying upon. With her cloak and boots removed, she sees little hope escaping her predicament. As she yanks at her restraints, a woman's voice chides at her.

"It'll do you no good. Aside from iron links, they have also been magically endowed to resist slippage. The only way you can get free is to cut your arms off at the elbows, because your lower arms aren't going anywhere."

Delia fights the terror coursing through her and spits out in retaliation. "What did I ever do to you! Let me go! You killed Constance already! What good will it do to kill an Auror too!"

As she laughs hysterically, a man in the background catches his breath to speak.

"You stupid woman! This was never about her! You were our target and prize! Killing public enemy number one was just a bonus. Besides, she she's not quite dead yet. She seems to have developed a slight resistance to the poison, so her suffering will be stretched out for as long as you breathe. Once you die, I'll finish her off for good. When they find you, they will see the evidence of your failure as an auror to protect your assignment, and your eviscerated corpse as proof of your family's mistake to give birth to you. And trust me, you're not going to die for many hours to come. I'll sacrifice my own life's essence to ensure you remain alive just long enough to suffer for my father."

Pulling uselessly at the restraints, Delia stares in at the cloaked man in horror as he approaches. Pulling back his hood, he sneers as Delia recognizes his glossy brown curls and pointed nose. She seethes and spits fire at the Dark Arts Professor.

"What the Hell! You're a professor!"

He merely rolls his eyes and chuckles as he retorts.

"What? You can't imagine a professor being behind the years of plotting and waiting for you to fall into my trap? To be perfectly honest, I had to wait for the right moment to strike. When I heard that Constance was going to come to Hogwarts, I saw it as an opportunity I couldn't pass up! My old Deatheater pals would get a good laugh and I would be rid of the person who put my father away in Azkaban. HE DIED THERE BITCH! Oh, it wasn't right away, either. For two long years he suffered before his heart failed, and we made sure dad's name would be avenged."

The woman, stepping out of the shadows pushing a rolling cart filled with rattling implements, sneers under her hood. Tossing it backwards, her long golden locks tumble free revealing the visage of Demetria Flowerblossum. Seeing the shocked expression from Delia, she takes out her wand and mumbles a cancellation spell, wiping away her looks and revealing a woman in her mid-thirties and similar brown hair as Dravin Locke beside her.

"You see, dear old dad was a squib, not an ounce of magic in him. Fortunately he gave birth to three of us who did have magic, so we had to care for him a bit. He enjoyed hurting young people, I guess because of the youth that was stolen from him due to the lack of magical abilities, and we had to cover up his extracurricular activities."

Delia thinks back to her arrests and whispers tensely. "Benders…Gordan Benders. I arrested him with Bill Swift. That was just after I became an Auror, almost five years ago! We thought he didn't have any family."

The woman nods as she takes out a sharpening stone and begins systematically running the knives across it one at a time.

"He had a muggle wife on the side. She had no idea about our world here and neither did we until we got our letters. He changed our names to hers because he was embarrassed that he ever came from a wizard family. Four days out of the week he lived in this world and the three with us, he was a muggle. He refused to be seen with us in the wizarding world saying he had to hold down his job, and that's how it was. Then one day, he let me and Dravin in on his secret and the abuse he suffered. He only killed magical children and your folk, so the muggle world never got involved. When you arrested him, I had to tell mom that he was lost at sea. She was always a bit naïve so it was easy."

Dravin resumes by drawing a knife across Delia's shirt and laughing as Delia screams.

"Dad loved this part, and I see why. He'd spend hours doing this before actually breaking skin. Unfortunately, we don't have days, so we will have to skip ahead a bit."

Grinning profusely, the woman inserts the blade at Delia's belt line and methodically cuts away at the shirt until only her belly is exposed. Delia's white milky skin shines in the harsh white light from above. With a cruel sneer, she playfully slaps at Delia's smooth stomach and petite waist.

"Dad would have loved this!"

As Dravin nods approvingly, he resumes. "The key thing about disembowelment is to avoid the arteries. Yes, you're going to have bleeding, but it's important not to penetrate the organs or arteries. You'll lose your subject too quickly that way. Oh, we are going to cut out all your major organs, but not all at once. Slowly. And to keep you alive I will utilize all manners of magic to sustain you."

Drawing the scalpel across Delia's stomach, she screams horrifically as they meticulously open up her belly.

Constance jerks as a scream rouses her mind from the hell of the poison. Resisting the agony as the poison courses through her veins, she manages to form a coherent thought and asks the demon coiled deep in her soul.

"So you said this was a bad idea, I'm thinking you were on to something."

Feeling it laughing, rather than hearing it, she obeys its command to repeat a spell he had taught her in advance. As it dribbles out on as a whisper, it slips past the chorus of screams filling everyone's ears in the room. In moments, the pain begins to subside and she can focus her thoughts to emphasize the elements of the spell, increasing their effects accordingly. After five minutes, the pain becomes manageable and she can finally crank open her eyelids. Tears explode as she sees Delia's innards spread out on the table and spilt onto the floor around two figures. Despite the rope restraints around her wrists, she manages to cast a slight cutting spell making the ropes drop to the floor. As she prepares a formidable stupefy spell to hit the pair, a door behind her slams open with a man yelling to the pair before her.

"We got company! At least two Aurors, and they brought back up!"

The man at the table screams out and plunges the blade into Delia's body seven or eight times venting his anger. Turning around Constance resists jumping up and blasting Dravin Locke where he stands. As he rushes out, over his shoulder he declares to his sister, "Hurry up and finish her off sis! And make sure you slit the other bitch's throat before you leave!"

The anger of having been interrupted becomes heir apparent to Constance and she holds her spell back until the door slams shut once more. To Delia's dying ear, the woman gloats, "This was too fast. You deserve so much more but dead is dead, no matter how you cut it. As she pulls back to bury the curved blade under Delia's chin and into her head, Constance screams out a stupefy spell paralyzing her mid stroke. As terror washes across the woman's face, Constance stands and glares with her demonically enhanced anger. Coming around to the woman, Constance seethes in the poor woman's ear, "More than one person is going to hell today…you first!"

With speaking a word, Constance points her arm at the woman, sending her tumbling face-first into a stone wall. The way she lands tells Constance she won't recover from her wounds. Drawing her arm across the shackles, she utters a cancellation charm and Delia's arms fall free. Looking down at the bloodied pile spread out all around her, Constance explodes into tears knowing there was no magic that could reassemble the young woman before her. Helpless, she chooses to cup Delia's hand and offer her the only support that was within her power to provide. Bleeding from half a dozen punctures Devin did with his knife and the countless wounds from her disemboweling, Constance blubbers out helplessly.

Delia whispers to stop crying for her, but knows she cannot be heard over Constance's crying. As she tries to gather the strength to try louder, a low rumble makes Constance spin on her heels ready to cast a lightning bolt but only collapses in relief seeing Susan arrive. Throwing herself onto the table alongside Delia's head, she drops her remaining barriers and feels her knees shake and tremble. Sensing her end approaching, Constance cannot fathom the demon choosing to intervene at that very moment. With the world around them paused, Constance wipes her face with her sleeve and looks around. Susan, having dropped to her knees crying, seems stuck mid-sob on the floor. Turning to Delia, she is petrified seeing her old adversary coherent and conscious despite everything around them paused. In a show of power, the demon steps out of Constance's body and bows to Delia. With a long cat tail and body, the bipedal monster grins evilly to the pair and begins speaking cordially.

"I am Morgallis. I have inhabited this sweet girl since she was a child. We had an arrangement and it seems you are in a similar position as she was so long ago. I have the power within me to restore your body, but it comes with a price. I still have three people who wronged me in life, and as long as they live, I cannot be in peace. Aid me in slaying them, and I will restore you." Fearing for Delia's soul, Constance yells back at him in retaliation.

"Careful Delia! He has no concern for your soul should you wind up becoming damned for your actions! I lived with him long enough to know his words are his shackles! Should you make any arrangement within him, it is eternally binding both ways. Any counter points you make or fail to make will forever save or damn you. He saved me when I was near death as you are, but I had my parents whispering in my ear as I defined our relationship. If you will allow me, I will help you barter your position. Never give him unrestricted power, and never believe he is looking out for your better interests. That's a trap."

For once Delia sees him glare menacingly at Constance for speaking. Terrified, Delia nods. With incredible strength, she replies.

"I name Constance as my voice of reason. What are your terms demon?"

For what seems an eternity, the trio debate and barter on a set of rules he must obey and she must agree to. After every point is agreed upon, Constance nods and leans backwards as the demon passes from her soul into Delia's. With thousands of weights suddenly set free, Constance collapses backwards unconscious and Delia's organs and tissues are restored. With the world moving as it should, Delia's eyes flutter open as she hears Susan screaming Constance's name. Breathing in a shallow whisper, Constance seems near death making Susan abandon her sensibilities. As she gets to her feet to address Delia with her wand in her hand, Delia stops her as she speaks. Susan steps back in horror seeing Constance's cat eyes replacing Delia's. As she prepares the spell to attack the demon, she motions to calm down.

"It's okay, she will live! We made an arrangement! Get her out of here! Oh! Give her an antidote to the poison."

Thrusting one of the vials down Constance's throat, she is relieved to see Constance's breathing dramatically improve.

"He is in me now. Constance helped me negotiate the deal; he's my problem now, not hers."

Too terrified to speak, Susan nods and scoops up her wife into her arms before apperating away. Stopping Susan, she pulls Constance's glasses off her face and puts them on. As the pair disappear, Delia stretches confidently and eyes her boots. Picking up her wand from her belongings, she uses her wand to make the boots sit upright. Grinning, she catapults herself up and lands with her feet in her boots. Walking out in a proud strut, she announces to the empty room: "Time to deal out some justice, boys and girls. Delia is back!"