Disclaimer: I own nothing that isnt original
Sorry about the wait, work and an obsession with Doctor Who has been occupying my time LOL. Enjoy
Chapter: 10
"Did you even hear a word professor McGonagall was saying, Harry?" Hermione blurted as they sat down to lunch that day, exasperation clear in her voice. "It's like you weren't even there... you're not even listening to me now are you?"
"Hmmm?" Harry answered vacantly swirling his fork around in his food absentmindedly as he stared tiredly at the wall opposite him. Snapping back to himself when he heard Hermione's annoyed huff, he smiled sheepishly and gave her his full attention, "I'm sorry 'Mione, I'm just tired. Brackles had Jessica and I at a crime scene at three this morning."
Hermione's face dropped from its annoyed countenance into a sympathetic one, "Another one?" she whispered before shaking her head and sharing a cheerless look with Ron who had stopped eating briefly to listen, "who was it this time?"
Harry grimaced as he rubbed his eyes and pushed his plate away no longer even remotely hungry as he remembered the scene he had been at that morning, "The Boulder family."
Hermione frowned slightly as she realized Harry had no intention of eating his dinner as he recalled the scene, realizing it must have been horrible to see. She had read in the Prophet how some of the Wizengamot had died but had never seen it for herself and it wasn't explained in great detail by the reporters. But judging by the green hue Harry's face had taken on she didn't want to. She had no idea how Harry and Jessica saw the horrors they did and yet still remained as balanced as they were.
"The whole family?" Ron questioned taking a sip of pumpkin juice and frowning slightly as Harry nodded, "Blimey, that's awful, why do you reckon...?" he trailed off not quite sure how to word it.
Harry knew what he was trying to ask and quickly and quietly, so the others around them didn't hear, explained their thoughts on the matter, including his anagram theory.
"Sounds reasonable," Hermione murmured thoughtfully before popping a crisp into her mouth and chewing thoughtfully.
"Ya..." Harry agreed before sighing, "Look I'm not all that hungry; I'll think I'll head out to the forbidden forest for a bit of a run in my Animagus form. See you later, alright?" Ignoring the protests of his friends Harry rose and quickly left the great hall.
As soon as Harry arrived at the edge of the forest he shifted into his panther form and darted into the trees keeping his pace quick so as to clear his mind.
He huffed and puffed as he pushed himself faster nimbly dodging trees and ducking or jumping over fallen logs. The forest blurred past him as he ran, he had no direction in mind, he just kept moving, changing direction at random.
In this form he could forget everything, all the troubles he faced faded to the background as he just let his instincts take over. He focused on the feeling of wind through his fur, the sights and smells of the forest surrounding him and the dirt beneath his paws. In this moment nothing existed but those things.
He ran for over an hour before he collapsed panting heavily in the snow in the middle of a large clearing content to just lay in the December sun as he caught his breath. Vaguely he realized that this was the same clearing he and Jessica had first met Kiara and Shire at a year ago. He wondered how his Phoenix Lord friends were doing having said goodbye to them during the summer. It had been sad to see his and Jessica's constant companions go but the knights had understood, knowing their friends wanted to find a new home with their flock.
His thoughts were disrupted a few minutes later when a familiar scent caught his nose prompting him to glance towards the trees on his right and notice Jessica emerging from the woods in her wolf form. As she neared him she whined gently then plopped onto the ground next to him laying her head on his back and offering her partner silent comfort.
They remained that way for well over an hour before dragging themselves up and heading back towards the castle, as they neared the formidable structure the duo transformed back into their human forms.
"We missed afternoon classes," Jessica mused as they entered the entrance hall.
"Ya," Harry agreed quietly taking her hand in his and offering her a smile, "how about we pop into the kitchen for a snack? I don't know about you but I'm famished."
Jessica laughed and nodded willing following her partner silently. Whatever came their way they would face together of that she was sure. She only hoped that it would be enough.
Before the friends knew it the Christmas holidays were upon them and the students would be leaving for home the next day for their three weeks off.
The last couple weeks hadn't been without their challenges though. The black mantle had attacked twice more killing a single man during one attack and a three person family the next.
Anyone working on the case was frustrated and desperate to find the dark elves and put a stop to the tragic deaths of innocent people. Unfortunately they still weren't able to find any correlation between the messages or the name of the group itself.
It wasn't for lack of trying, the ministry had their people working hard and Harry and his friends were up late into the night researching as well. Whatever the clue was it was obviously more obscure then they had all thought.
At this point they weren't even sure if they were on the right track, Harry couldn't help but think that maybe they had been reading too much into it and had started them all down the wrong trail. It didn't really matter at this point though. They had nothing else to go on so it wasn't like they were taking time away from other pursuits.
"Draco and I have checked out some books from the library, we'll continue with research during the holidays. He says Professor Snape has a large collection of books as well so he'll also look through those whilst he's there for the holidays."
The sound of Hermione's voice brought Harry from his musings and back into the present. He, Hermione, Ron, Ginny and Jessica were nestled in front of the fireplace in their common room enjoying their last night together before the holidays.
He and Jessica were sharing the large armchair and although it wasn't quite big enough for two teens Harry was quite comfortable. Jessica was sitting on his lap; her back against the arm closest to the fire and her legs stretched across him her feet dangling over the other arm. His other friends had opted to share the couch running perpendicular to them.
Harry hummed in acknowledgment but gave no real response as he absentmindedly stroked one of Jessica's legs.
Ron had noticed both Knights had been oddly silent the entire night so he tried to draw them into the conversation, "so Harry, are you excited to be spending your first Christmas with Sirius?"
Harry blinked at the question his hand hesitating for a moment before resuming its movement on his girlfriend's leg. "Er..."
The others watched curiously as he locked eyes with his partner and seemed to engage in a silent conversation with her. He must have gotten what he was looking for because a second later he squeezed her knee and rested his hand there turning to look at his friends seriously.
"What I'm about to tell you stays between us. No one else knows, not Sirius, Jessica's parents or even Greg and Dumbledore."
Ron exchanged looks with the girls before leaning closer, "we've got your back mate, anything you tell us stays with us. We would never willingly betray you."
"Jessica and I aren't going home tomorrow we have something we need to do and it's not likely we'll be home at all this break. In fact depending on how long it takes we may not even be back in time for school."
"What, you're not coming back to school?!" Hermione screeched then promptly shut up when Harry glared at her and several other students around the common room glanced over to them curiously.
"Blimey," Ron whispered, "Sirius will be devastated, he's been bending mums ear for weeks talking about what he has planned for your first Christmas together."
Harry grimaced knowing his red headed friend was right; the man had been looking forward to it. But what Harry and Jessica were going to be doing was far more important.
The raven haired boy sighed, "I know but I've got more important things to worry about then Sirius' hurt feelings. And it's best if he doesn't know where we are going. It's best if none of them know, we can't have them interfering or trying to stop us."
"What are you going to be doing?" Hermione questioned her voice more subdued her anxiousness clear in it.
"We told you about our battle with The Black Mantle at Madame Bones' house. About how ineffectual we were, hell, we barely survived." Harry said his tone haunted, he managed a weak smile for Jessica when she placed her hand over his that still resided on her knee and gave it a comforting squeeze. "We talked about it, Jessica and I, and we realized if we want to beat them we need to not only know more about them but about their magic. Their powers may be darker than other elves but we think it's still based in their own magic that they were born with. Maybe if we knew more about it we could figure out a way to compete against them."
"All valid points," Hermione agreed warily, "but I don't understand where you're going with this." She narrowed hers eyes at the duo on the armchair she didn't know what they were up to but if they dared not tell their families it couldn't be good.
Her admittance startled Ron and Ginny who said nothing but stared at Harry and Jessica more intently then before. It wasn't often Hermione was stumped and she admitted to it even less than that.
The partners exchanged another look before Jessica whispered, "we're going to find Greenshade."
The stunned look on Hermione and Ginny's face made Ron uncomfortable, their silence even more so.
"What's Greenshade?" the boy demanded looking between the girls on the couch and his best friend, "Answer me!"
Responding to her bothers annoyed hiss Ginny turned to him, "Greenshade is said to be the name of the Elves new home, after most were killed by, well, us the remaining Elves fled Britain. People have searched for their new land for years but were always unsuccessful or just never returned. Most people seem to think it's located in the Sahara desert as that's where all the unreturned explorers were last known to be searching." Seeing her brother's confused look as she mentioned he Sahara she elaborated, "It's the largest desert in the world, plenty of places to hide a civilization."
"Third actually," Hermione muttered, "Antarctica and the Arctic are, respectively, the largest deserts in world. The Sahara is the largest 'non polar' or 'sand' desert in the world estimated at over 9,400,000 square kilometers it covers most of North Africa making it almost as large as China or the United States." Her words seemed automatic and sounded as if she had just read them from a book amusing Harry greatly.
"You really are a human encyclopedia aren't you?" Harry teased trying to interject some humor back into the tense atmosphere.
Ron and Ginny relaxed some, chuckling at the teasing.
Hermione just glared, "Well how about I keep going then, hmm?"
"'Mione," Harry sighed.
"The Sahara Desert has one of the harshest climates in the world. The prevailing north-easterly winds often cause sand storms and dust devils, both of which can be deadly, by the way. There's very little rain so it's almost always extremely dry, not to mention the heat!" She snapped, "There's also Scorpions, snakes, spiders, heat stroke, dehydration as well as hypothermia at night in mid winter, need I go on."
"Blimey," Ron breathed again.
"There are dangers, yes," Harry admitted, "But we're not defenceless Hermione we do have magic on our side and we aren't stupid. We have plenty of supplies and we've done our research. We'll be fine."
"Magic didn't seem to help the witches and wizards who went to the Sahara and never returned though did it." Hermione muttered crossly.
"Even if you did find Greenshade do you really think they're just going to tell you anything you want to know? Assuming you can even get past their wards." Ginny pointed out quickly before Hermione could begin another tirade. She was worried for her friends too but she also knew they were intelligent and quite capable of taking care of themselves. "I'd have to assume they wouldn't be very forthcoming considering our history."
"We know it's a risk," Harry agreed, "all we can do is hope for the best. We need this information, we need training if possible. We're not above offering a favor in return."
Jessica nodded, "it's not ideal but... We don't really have another choice. We can only hope they've forgiven past sins. Elves are so compassionate that holding a grudge this long isn't common. But when they do... Well we know what happens to them."
The friends all grimaced at the reference to the Black Mantle Elves. Their hate and refusal to move from the past had driven them thus far and turned them into monsters.
"Do you want us to go with you?" Ron questioned seriously looking into the Mystic Knights eyes in turn. It frightened him, walking into an unknown situation like that, but that had never stopped him before. He followed Harry on all of his adventures and was willing to do so again. After all, he was his best friend and he knew if the roles were reversed Harry would do the same for him.
Harry smiled at the sincere request, "thanks for the offer but it would be best if it was just Jess and me. We would probably be better received then just normal wizards."
Ron nodded strongly, it was true, he knew. Mystic Knights were world renowned as being the purest of hearts and intentions. If anyone would be allowed safe passage it would be them.
"You will be safe won't you?" Hermione reiterated looking at both almost desperately realizing she wouldn't be able to talk the stubborn Gryffindor's out of going. She knew they faced dangerous situations all the time but they were still her best friends and she would always worry; no matter how capable they were.
"Of course," Harry stated firmly his eyes shining with sincerity. He had more than himself to look out for after all and he'd be damned if he did anything stupid that put his partner in danger, his hand unconsciously tightened around her knee.
"We know what we're doing Hermione, I promise. We've been planning this little expedition since we got out of Madame Promfrey's clutches after the battle." Jessica reassured her bushy haired friend. She and Hermione may have clashed a little in the beginning but they had since grown to be good friends and it touched Jessica she seemed to be as worried about her as she did about Harry.
Hermione sighed in defeat and nodded, "When do you leave?"
"Tomorrow, we'll take off just before the train reaches platform 9 3\4."
The train ride the next day had been pretty uneventful so far. Once the group had been alone in their compartment and silencing charms had been utilized, Harry and Jessica had told Draco of their plan.
The Slytherin had listened calmly merely raising an eyebrow before he nodded. He hadn't tried to talk them out of it, he just wished them luck and said if at any point they needed help they only had to ask.
The rest of the ride had been pleasant enough, slightly tense as they thought about the holidays to come, but that was to be expected. Idle chit chat, chess and even a game of exploding snap filled the time and before the friends knew it they were only minutes away from the station.
"Well," Harry stood, taking Jessica's hand and tugging her up as well, "I suppose we best be off."
Jessica reached into her pocket and pulled out two miniature back packs, she enlarged them wandlessly then passed Harry the black bag, who promptly put it on, before opening her own red one and pulling two white envelopes from its depths. Guilt crossed her face momentarily before she passed them to Ron.
"Can you make sure my parents and Sirius get these, they just say that we have something important we're doing and won't make it home for the holidays. A mite cowardly mind you but better then the drama of face to face." she smiled sheepishly.
Ron nodded and passed them to Hermione.
Jessica hesitated momentarily glancing at Harry, when he nodded encouragingly; she reached back in and pulled out two more letters. The envelopes were black this time. She gently handed them to Ron, who sensing these ones were more important than the others, given the way she had acted, cradled them to his chest protectively.
"Don't give them those ones unless you haven't heard from us two months from now." Harry explained, "they're our...well in case we don't...or can't" he stammered clutching the straps of his back pack tightly.
"They're our goodbyes," Jessica finished for him, squeezing his bicep gently, "Everything we want them to know in case we don't... come home."
Seeing the paling of his friends faces Harry tried to lighten the mood again, "Because I bet Greenshade is a paradise neither of us will want to leave."
It was lame but they chuckled anyway knowing what he was trying to do.
"You guys know we love you right?" he said seriously a moment later looking at each in turn. It felt like it did last year when he had headed off to face Voldemort, his fate uncertain. No matter how much he assured Hermione they would be careful anything could happen out there. Dozens of witches and wizards had gone and never come back from the Sahara desert, they didn't know what was out there, only that it wasn't good. If this was his last moment with his friends, and he sincerely hoped it wasn't, he needed them to know how much they meant to him.
Hermione sobbed and threw herself at the duo yanking Harry and Jessica into a bone crushing hug. Harry closed his eyes and smiled hugging her back, his eyes opened again when he felt more arms encircling their group hug. Ron and Ginny had joined. Looking past Hermione's bushy hair Harry saw an uncomfortable looking Draco standing away from the group obviously unsure of whether or not he would be welcome to join.
"Malfoy!" Harry snapped, he grinned playfully when a startled Draco met his eyes, "get in here you prat."
Draco laughed and moved to join the hug suddenly feeling like he belonged.
Cheers!