Hogwarts was covered in snow when they returned from their Christmas break. Tansy was elated to be back. Being home hadn't been bad, but she had found there wasn't much to do other than read. Back at Hogwarts, she was greeted by all of the friends, whose breaks seemed a lot more exciting than her own. Ramsay had been sailing in Madrid, exploring the Spanish countryside with his family of adventure seekers. Nova had gone to South Africa and been to various greenhouses that her family owned to prepare rare magical plants. Even the Rosewood twins had gone to celebrate their Christmas in New York City where they were able to watch the ball drop for New Years.
On their way to herbology, Tansy asked the twins, "Do you know of the Ironlys?"
"Friends of the Ibexes of course. Talia Ironly is actually in a lawsuit with our mother," Lee informed her.
"A lawsuit? Over what?"
"Our mother is suing her for plagiarism and defamation. Been ongoing for a few months now and Talia's portion in the paper has been discontinued until the case is settled. I doubt she'll be able to start back up after, there's a lot of evidence against her, including the letters from their group of friends that mother received in the mail," Megan grinned. "How'd you learn about that?"
"We live next to the Ironlys and they invited us for dinner. When Mrs Ironly started talking about her section, I thought it sounded a lot like Witch's Weekly. Uh… other things happened as well, but it makes me feel better that she was bragging about something she can't even publish anymore."
"You had dinner with the Ironlys? I assume that didn't go very well," Lee speculated.
"Ended up leaving after I insulted them back, didn't realize my insult hit closer to home," Tansy snickered.
"Did you guys see this?!" Nova came running down the hall, clutching a paper in her hand. She bared the front page, revealing the symbol that had been cast over the Quidditch Pitch. "Look, it's happening in other places too. This one happened at Banchory Bangers Quidditch match, but no one caught the assailant this time. The article describes that this had happened at Hogwarts and they've since interrogated the dark wizard. 'No suspect has given any information in regards to the symbol, but it is believed that the mark is related to the sacrificial killings occurring across the Scottish countryside.'"
"Merlin's Beard, do you think they're going to come back here?" Lee asked nervously, glancing at the paper of the shifting goat's head mark.
"I don't doubt it. They came here first, but I bet they're just waiting for the proper time to strike. With the Aurors around, there isn't much they can do. But do you really believe they're going to say here longer than the rest of the year?" Nova inquired thoughtfully.
"At this rate, they'll have to. Unless they catch the cult or stop these murders."
The question weighed heavy on Tansy all day. When they entered Charms, Flitwick was insistent on teaching them the Silencing Charm, a spell that wasn't usually taught until their 5th year. Many students simply took notes about it, but Tansy wanted to know why they were rushing certain spells.
"Why do you think we're learning the Silencing Charm so early?" she asked Ramsay and Nova after class.
"Maybe a change in curriculum?" Ramsay shrugged.
"There is no way. What would a Silencing Charm before good for?" her eyes went to Nova for an answer.
"A fwooper I suppose, but those are from Africa. Won't see one flying around here anytime soon," Nova responded
"A banshee maybe?" Ramsay added.
"A banshee?... A banshee!" Tansy placed her fist in her palm. "I think I have some notes on them," reaching into her bag she pulled out her grandfather's journal. She recalled a banshee being one of his topics. "Ah, here we go. 'A banshee's scream is fatal and requires either a potent Silencing Charm or Laughing Potion. Any who hear the banshee's scream will perish. Seemingly related to dementors in one way or another, they are classified as dark beings, although there have been a few banshees that have proven to have the will to be harmless rather than malevolent. Never assume a banshee is the latter. Immediately silence a banshee on sight and follow it up with the Holy Sword spell, which can destroy the spirit's form.'"
"A banshee near Hogwarts? If there is one, why haven't the professors taken care of it with that sword spell?"
Tansy didn't want to tell them that the professors likely did not know about the spell she mentioned, but felt as if that would lead to more questions. However, when they went to Defense Against the Dark Arts, when expected the lesson to be on banshees, it was instead on werewolves. Perhaps it had only just been a change in the curriculum, but if so, it was one that was exceptionally more challenging than what it was originally supposed to be and Flitwick had already mentioned their class worked a bit slower than others.
While packing up her things, Professor Otters paused by her desk to address her, once the last of the students filed out. "How was your vacation, Belmont?" she asked cordially.
"It was good professor and yourself?"
"Good… Our lessons will continue as before. Any questions?"
"Why are you offering me these extra lessons?"
Professor Otters paused, contemplating her response. "You are an exceptional student, one with Defense in your blood."
"And it doesn't have to deal with what is going on in the paper?"
The woman's gaze did not falter. "No it does not."
You're lying, Tansy thought, staring her right in the eye. Nodding, she shouldered her bag and smiled at the professor. "Very well, thank you professor. I shall see you tomorrow."
The questions only mounted in Tansy's head. She kept her eye on all of the professors, noticing a slight change in them. There was a nervousness to them, small twitches like glances over the shoulder or they were rushing new material that was not originally scheduled. The first week back left her with more questions than answers and her dreams were plagued with banshees and the bloody mark in the Quidditch Pitch. Wizards couldn't control banshees, could they?
A large bonfire roared in the center of a glade, deep within a forest that few trekked this deep. The moon was full, glinting madly against those who dancing around the flames. They wore dark robes and strange, animal-like masks that were ghoulish and marred. Beneath them, a pentagram had been drawn to encircle the fire. Low chanting hummed over the din of the fire and dancing, sounding almost like incantations. Voices rising in a lilting crescendo, one of the several figures threw a handful of powder into the flames.
The flames screeched and reached greedily at the sky as it were trying to catch the moon, shifting from orange to a deep and violent black outlined in white. Suddenly, in unison, they drew knives and cut their palms. Dancing ceased and each held their bloody hands to the flames, chanting growing louder and more terrible.
What came next, he had never seen before. The obsidian hellfire snapped flat like a mirror, no longer in the shape of fire. One of the summoners cocked their masked head and gazed into the mirror, as if they saw something looking back.
"It has chosen me. It has chosen me," they whispered, reaching their hand through the dark window. When they removed it a stump remained, but the figure did not cry out or scream. Instead a delightful chuckle escaped their lips before they flung themself entirely into the portal.
The remaining shadows joined hands, beginning to sway as the incantations resumed. Now, the fire was taking various shapes, first that of a basilisk, then a dementor, then a wraith, it moved so swiftly, panning between the multitude of dark beings before it sprang high into the sky and crashed back down like an abysmal wave, guttering against its embers. A deep, maniacal laugh caused the short flames to shudder and suddenly, a creature materialized from the coals.
It wore the black robes of the ritualist that had willingly sacrificed themself, but was no human. His skin was slate and marble-like in appearance, akin to a gargoyle. Great horns curled down around his face, which to some, might have been viewed as eerily beautiful. Perhaps he had once been a man or some angelic creature, but when he opened his eyes they were a deep bloody crimson, scleras just as dark as his robes. Long, lank hair fell down to his chest, ears pointing from underneath his hair.
The wizards before him crumpled to the ground, groveling at his bare feet.
"I am Asmodeus, bear witness to my birth on earth once again," he told him, his voice deep and regal. "Rise, you are my loyal subjects and I shall not forget your loyalty and sacrifice… But is this all of you?"
"Your grace, it has taken us many attempts to succeed in your summoning. We have lost many of our own and since the return of Lord Voldemort…"
Asmodeus barked a laugh. "Ah yes, we have been watching that one. We thought of adding him to our ranks, but alas, he was defeated by a mother's love," he stepped forward and glanced up at the moon. "Then our first mission is to gather strength. Fate shows that Lord Voldemort will be defeated for good and while the Wizarding Realm grows careless and relaxed after his passing, we will continue to build our cause. A new earth. A utopia."
"Where should we begin, your grace?"
"We will need more of my brethren. They are all trapped on that accursed plane. We will need Belias' skill next, but he will take time and resources to summon," Asmodeus glanced down at his hands, seeing the grey fingers and jagged black talons. "This will not do…" he murmured before raising his arms. His cloak billowed around him and when he reached up and slammed his palms together, no longer was a demon standing before the cultists, but a handsome man. His hair was long and pale, horns, talons, and fangs were gone. Crystal clear amethyst eyes glanced back at his followers. "Wand?"
One offered it to him before scurrying away, falling back down onto a knee. Asmodeus raised the wand and threw a red light into the sky. It popped and the face of a goatish creature floated above them. While the light quavered, Asmodeus glanced down, narrowing his eyes as he noticed something.
"We're not alone," he commented, pointing his wand to the tree he was hiding behind. "Avada Kedavra!"
Tansy woke up, sitting up swiftly as she felt gooseflesh prickling and her hair standing straight up. She didn't know what she had just witnessed, but it reminded her of her first dream. But this… She wrapped her hands around herself to try and calm the shaking. But when she closed her eyes, all she could see was Asmodeus' face imprinted in her brain.
He did it. He killed my father, she thought as she rocked herself.
Unable to sleep for the rest of the night, Tansy clutched her wand tightly to her chest, and jumped at every bump in the night.
Once it was dawn, Tansy immediately went to seek Professor Otters. It wasn't customary for students to rouse professors at that hour, but she felt it absolutely necessary.
"Tansy? What are you doing here so early?" the professor was still in her nightgown.
"Asmodeus, Asmodeus killed my father. He's the one leading the cult. I saw it, I saw him do it," Tansy blabbed, eyes stretched wide, bags beneath her eyes from remaining awake all night. Otters had believed her before when she had explained her dreams.
"Asmodeus?" Professor Otters echoed uncertainly. "You just had a nightmare, Tansy. Not everything in your dreams is real and after learning about your parents… It's entirely possible that your mind is trying to rationalize his death. Creating someone to seek out… To pin the blame on."
Her cheeks became rosy with fury as Otters shut her down. "You weren't there. You wouldn't understand what it's like to see through someone else's eyes and witness their final moments," she spat, whirling around and running back down the hall. She was so upset that the professor she was closest too had brushed her off, that she stayed in bed all day, trying to remember every bit of the dream. She was lounging in the common room when Nova and Ramsay returned from classes.
"Bloody hell you look awful," Nova commented, throwing her bag down and taking a seat beside her.
"Haven't been able to sleep," Tansy murmured.
"Also thanks for making me look like an idiot in class today. We learned about banshees in Defense and when I said they could be defeated by the Holy Sword spell, Otters just looked at me like I was pulling crap out of my butt," Ramsay hissed, plopping down in another nearby chair.
"That's because she doesn't know the spell," Tansy replied, her anxiousness and sleep deprivation making her lips looser than typical.
"How would our Defense professor not know a spell to kill a dark creature?"
"Because a Belmont created the spell!" Tansy snapped, harsher than intended.
"Then it's that journal, isn't it? The one you just said belonged to your family?" Nova gestured to the small leather pad on Tansy's lap.
"Yes… and it contains many spells that can be used against dark creatures."
"Does Otters know?" Ramsay softened his voice this time, noticing how distressed his friend was.
"No, I've all but kept this journal a secret. Only I can read it and I was afraid she'd force me to rewrite it. My grandfather had to have his reasons for not publishing this for all wizards to utilize," Tansy sighed, picking it up, inspecting the wolf sigil lock.
"Is that what's kept you up all last night?" Nova questioned.
"No… I had a dream…" Tansy launched into the details of the dream and how she had one before about wraiths and that was why Otters was giving her extra lessons. However, upon telling Otters this time, the professor brushed her off. "And I don't understand why she would. I've never heard the name Asmodeus before and it sounds old."
Both her friends were slight perturbed by the details of the dark dream. "Maybe you should ask Professor Trelawney. If you're seeing the past, that had something to do with Divination, right?" Nova speculated. "And we should probably get you some sleep potion. You need to sleep."
The trio set off to visit Professor Trelawney, who was still up in her tower. The woman's huge coke bottle glasses made her eyes seem huge. She blinked, curious as to why a few first years were there as she did not teach students until their third year.
"Can I help you?" she asked in a soft, quavering voice.
"Professor, I know it's not customary for our year to bother you, but our friend has been having strange dreams and we thought you might be able to help," Ramsay explained, ushering Tansy in front of him.
They hadn't realized how fickle Trelawney was and when Tansy approached her to begin with her dream, Trelawney took her hand and began inspecting the fine lines. "You know…" she began, tracing her fingers over a line. "This one intersects, it signifies that you are bound to meet one of your blood."
"I know, I've met my great uncle Garrick," Tansy told her, growing a bit impatient.
"Not him. Someone else. Oh there is so much toil here, a life filled with danger and strife-"
Tansy jerked her hand away from the woman, already upset from the dream. She didn't need Trelawney putting more on top of that. "Professor my dreams."
Trelawney motioned for them to sit with her and as Tansy unloaded, the woman nodded slightly her wild hair fluffing up around her.
"It sounds to me as if you have a link with your father and you are able to glean his memories. It is not unheard of… I believe that Harry Potter had similar dreams, though none as detailed as yours. What you don't know is what may have been changed. Dreams this precise, this detailed, tend to have people that are swapped or incantations that are wrong. Interpret the dream as you will, but you don't really know fact from fiction unless you discover more information about what you saw in the future."
Tansy had been hoping that Trelawney might know something about Asmodeus, but her explanation of the dreams did make her feel better… slightly. Maybe she had changed what really happened that night. Maybe Asmodeus wasn't some sort of monster and was a man or a wizard. Maybe his name wasn't even Asmodeus.
She found that she didn't need the sleep potion and was able to crash the moment her head touched the pillow. Classes resumed as before and now that she had her head screwed on straight, she could focus on the subjects that were getting plowed into them. Lee had already insisted that they begin studying and preparing for finals. On the other hand, Nova and Ramsay wanted to know more about what lie inside of her family journal. She had never intended for them to find out, but even so, they weren't cross with her for hiding it. They understood that the contents of the journal had been meant for Belmonts and Tansy had been trying to protect its secrets.
After classes and before dinner, sometimes they would go down by the lake where a gathering of trees obscured those who walked between them. No one really came down here, especially in the winter where there was usually snow. And so, Tansy taught them the spells she had learned and worked on honing her own skill with them. Teaching the spells actually gave Tansy a better understanding, as Nova and Ramsay could bounce ideas and theories of their own that Tansy hadn't thought of.
"Maybe, we should all become Hunters together one day," Nova gushed as they were returning to Hogwarts for the dinner banquet.
"We're all pretty stellar at Defense and we each have our own strengths. Nova is great with hexes and jinxes and herbology, Tansy you're amazing with just spellwork in general, even transfiguration, and I'm great with flying, charms, and potions. Where each of us lacks, the other makes up for it," Ramsay pointed out.
"And let's not forget, I'm great with these hands too if anyone wants to catch them," Nova raised her fists and grinned wildly.
"We just can't let anyone know about these spells. These are our secret weapons," Tansy insisted, receiving a nod from the both of them. They were her true friends, those that she trusted with her life at this point. Tansy was fond of the twins, but she didn't experience Hogwarts with them as she did with Nova and Ramsay always at her side.
Nova was bullheaded and strong. She'd speak her mind and wasn't afraid of any sort of backlash. She was a terrific person to have on your team and a terrible witch to be enemies with. Full of attitude and incredibly blunt, Nova was more cunning than some took her to be. Her tongue was like a whip and she always knew what topics were sore with people and when she needed to, she'd strike right where it hurt. She was a fierce friend and never backed down from a challenge, but perhaps that was her downfall. Nova was too proud.
Ramsay was the relaxed one, always seeming as if he were slacking off, when in actuality, he took in his surroundings constantly. Alert, quick, and cautious, Ramsay was always coiled to strike. He was charismatic and able to befriend anyone who would give him the time and many girls adored him for not only his talent in Quidditch, but his exceptional work in classes. Although, he did tend to have issues with subjects that did not spark his interest. With how much attention he received, Ramsay could sometimes get big headed and snide. Of course, Nova would remind him when he crossed the line, but Ramsay had a bit of an ego and only believed one person surpassed him.
Tansy was the natural with an impeccable memory. Her skills in magic were always there and while she studied relentlessly, Ramsay always joked that she never needed to. Tansy just had 'it'. She was reserved like a sentinel that drank in her surroundings. She would talk when she felt necessary and didn't have a taste for showing off. She preferred her skills remained hidden and didn't like to stir the pot. She would avoid conflict with others, even at the cost of her own dignity, because she knew. Knew that she had the upper hand around others the same age as her and that one day, she'd repay them the favor. Her downfalls were that she could become obsessive over certain topics to the point of madness and that she could also be vain and begrudging. Tansy, like an elephant, never forgot.
"We should name ourselves something. Kind of like Harry Potter's group was the Golden Trio," Ramsay absolutely adored Harry Potter and that was no secret.
"A name? Seems kind of stupid to me," Nova grumbled, arching a brow at Tansy to see her thoughts on it.
"Well if we do all become Hunters together, don't you think we should have a name? That way if we're going to get hired they can say, 'Who we gonna call…'" Ramsay glanced between them.
"Don't say it," Tansy moaned. Ramsay had also told them how he had been watching muggle movies all break with his cousin who was muggle borne.
"Ghostbusters! Only, we wouldn't be Ghostbusters of course," he grinned, making the two girls groan.
"Speaking of ghosts…" Nova muttered, nodding down the hall.
Peeves had made another appearance, toddling in front of another first year, not allowing them to pass.
"Just walk through him!" Nova shouted, cupping her hands around her mouth.
Peeves turned around, having heard her. "That's not very nice!"
"Peeves, go away or we'll go get the Bloody Baron to deal with you. He'll come right away too, we're in Slytherin," Ramsay told him, pointing to their green scarves.
Peeves sneered, turning back to student once more, made a rude face, and then went on his way. The student he had been tormenting was a Hufflepuff by the name of Gene Appletree.
"You alright Gene?" Ramsay inquired.
"He was saying the most terrible things. How a woman with floor length hair was coming and how she would get me if I was out of bed again. I didn't mean to get out of bed, I sleep walk sometimes and once I woke up because Filch found me," Gene whimpered.
"Peeves is a liar and a trickster. Don't believe anything he says," Nova told him coarsely. "Just threaten him with the Bloody Baron if he bothers you again. That usually does the trick."
Gene nodded slowly, following them back into the sheltered halls of the school and to the Great Hall where the last of the students were filing in. Their dinner appeared to be going normally until the sky above them grew dark and the candles began to gutter. Confusion consumed the hall as a thin, high screech caused a few people to grow restless. McGonagall stood up, eyes gazing above them as she tried to discern what was going on.
A low voice made the entire hall tremble, speaking in a foreign language so foul and dark that the lights of the candles seemed to shy away from it. The dark speech was interrupted by the professors using their own magic to silence it, McGonagall immediately announcing, "Prefects take control of your houses and escort them back to their dormitories."
No one knew what was going on, but they all followed the directions that were given. Hushed voices spoke to one another, trying to figure out what had just happened.
"Hey, look over there," Nova hissed, pointing in the direction of a few students who broke off from their houses and headed for the courtyard. In the rush, no one seemed to notice that these students had loped off. One passed by, close to them, and when they saw her face, it was pale, her eyes glazed over as she left the safety of the group.
Tansy's ring had been itching the entire feast and she could now see why.
"I think they're bewitched," Ramsay said in horror. "Do you think that voice did it to them?"
"Whatever is going on, we can't let them go where they're going. By the time the prefects take accountability and realize these people are missing it may be too late," Tansy murmured, glancing between her companions.
The trio followed the group of bewitched students that were making their way to the courtyard. However, the did not stop once they got outside, continuing down the path and toward the lake that had frozen over for the winter. Above them, the sky was dark, vacant of any moons or stars.
"Is that… Delta?" Nova gasped.
"They're all… the muggle borne students."
But the whole student body of muggle borne students was not there. Only about ten children were in front of them and many were those in their first few years of schooling. The group paused at the frozen lake, arranging themselves in a line on the shore. Mist lapped at their feet like the waves of the water and the moon, having been obscured up until this point, revealed itself, illuminating a silhouette that stood on the surface of the frozen lake.
The first student took a step toward it.
"We need to stop them," Ramsay growled, reaching for his wand, but it was Nova who acted first.
"Immobolus!" Nova screeched, freezing all of the students where they stood. She glanced over at them. "I'll keep them tethered here."
Tansy raised her own wand and projected a stream of red sparks into the air, sending them as high as she could. She prayed that someone, perhaps a professor, would notice them and come to investigate. Turning her eyes back to Ramsay, she nodded.
They stepped out onto the lake, walking slowly as to not lose their footing on the slick surface. Whatever was waiting, did not move. The mist grew thicker as they approached and due to the light the moon was refracting against the frozen water, they could not tell what it was. However, it seemed this also worked in their favor and the figure simply waited for them to approach. Tendrils of dread snaked toward them, sinking into their hearts as they grew closer.
Exchanging glances, the two leveled their wands. Few things could create such a miserable feeling and it wasn't dark enough to be a dementor.
"Get ready," Tansy whispered.
"I'll silence it," Ramsay told her.
The banshee floated above the sheet of ice in a long, tattered black gown. Her hair fell all the way to the floor, her face a sickly green, and eyes were nothing more than gaunt black holes. When she noticed that they were not bewitched, she opened her mouth to let out a fatal wail.
"Silencio!" Ramsay snapped and when the banshee screamed, nothing came out.
"Sanctus gladio," the spell was still difficult to manage, but in the face of the dark being, she had only one thing on her mind. Removing her wand in a sweeping motion, like a sword from a scabbard, she pointed the invisible blade toward the banshee.
The spirit, having no ability to kill them with a scream, lurched forward.
Tansy slashed once, catching the banshee across the chest. She opened her mouth to screech in pain, only a choked hiss coming out. When the banshee came again, Tansy didn't lose her focus, rather her wand gave. A sickening crack and when she glanced at her wand, she could visibly see the core. Absolute horror took over her as the banshee crashed into her, slamming her against the ice.
Breath knocked out of her, Tansy felt the banshee's claws digging into her flesh and she felt… Water?
"Run! The ice is breaking!" Tansy screamed as the banshee grabbed her by the shoulders and slammed her hard against the ice again.
Before Ramsay could help her, the ice fractured beneath her. The shock of the frigid water stunned her. She felt her fingers wrap around some of the banshee's hair as they toiled, falling deeper and deeper into the inky depths of Black Lake. Between the battering she had received on the lake's surface and the lack of oxygen she now faced, her eyes barely could see the banshee that the floundering in front of her.
It had her.
And then she was on the lake's shore, Ramsay dragging her soaking wet body over to group of students who had suddenly woken up from their bewitching. Professors were sprinting down the hill to meet them and Tansy couldn't feel the wounds the banshee had inflicted. Was it dead?
She glanced at her hand, noticing the long black hairs she had in it and… scales?
"Professor! She's hurt, we were fighting the banshee and she went through the ice!" Ramsay's voice was the last thing she heard before it all went dark again.