Disclaimer: Um... Yeah. Same drill. I'm not JK Rowling. Unfortunately.
Lei felt a brief moment of distaste while he surveyed the reporters.
He remembered the brief days where he would have the lot of them strung up by their ankles for the rest of the week, without any food or water. But then, this wasn't China. And these weren't blood thirsty gangsters he was trying to impress. It was a school, and they were students, with one of them being his daughter. He forced his mind away from the grim thoughts of his past.
With a more amused part of his brain, he noticed that Harry appeared to be double taking between him and Cho, alarm crossing his features. Hm, had he already figured out their relation to each other? Bright boy.
Promising himself to reexamine them later, Lei switched his mind from these fascinating insights and back to the task at hand. His irritation with the news groups flared again.
He took a deep breathe in and let it out slowly. Fu and Long were expressionless, both of their hard arms crossed.
Lei began to step slowly "Gentleman? And lady," he inclined his head to Rita Skeeter who curtsied "let's take a walk." He nodded to Dumbledore, winked at his daughter, and clapped a shocked Harry on the shoulder before he exited the dining hall.
The reporters slowly shuffled out after him, a sheen of sweat already bright on their faces, leaving the students to whisper excitedly as to their fates.
Lei continued to walk until he reached the entrance hall, never turning around. To the casual observer, it was as though he were merely taking a stroll about the castle. With each step, the journalist's stomachs dropped a little lower, their breathing became just a little bit harder. But Skeeter strode along the halls just as effortlessly as the Head Auror and his body guards.
He spun around abruptly, and several reporters jumped. A pudgy man sank to the floor in a dead faint.
When Lei spoke, his tones were steel and ice "You broke a promise. Had you been on contract, I'd have you halfway to court by now. I trust you all know the meaning of a contract? Such as the one that, presently, keeps you all in business?"
There were rapid nods.
"Good. Then let me impress upon you how vital it is that you obey the orders of your superiors."
"Excuse me," interjected Rita Skeeter, an insolent look on her face "but I don't believe you are my superior. Completely different jobs you see; you Head the International Council of Aurors, while I am a journalist, of the highest caliber. And I don't believe your jurisdiction extends to the Daily Prophet, which-" "Which I very nearly own." Lei finished for her in biting tones.
Skeeter paled considerably, but her expression remained the same. "Yes, ah, but, very nearly own, you see-"
"When I say 'very nearly own' I mean, that should I wish to shut down the Prophet, I could." said Lei, not letting her finish. This was where he needed to tread carefully, a single misplaced word could leave them with material to use in filing a lawsuits against him, on the grounds that he was threatening their jobs and workplace. Which he, quite honestly, was.
She bristled, "And what is that supposed to mean? Are you threatening me Mister Chang?" Her hand disappeared into her bag, ready to pull out that infernal green quill.
"You will never hear me say that I am threatening you." He said, straining his voice on the last four words. The plan was brilliant in its simplicity, because he did say that he wasn't threatening them, although his tones told a different, and altogether truer, story. But intonation as evidence would never hold up and court, and Skeeter knew it.
Her already pallid complexion flushed completely, and she stepped back, muttering in a quiet voice. Long and Fu cracked their knuckles menacingly. The line of reporters took another step back.
"Now let me tell you what is going to happen." said Lei in certain terms, "The first thing is that you are going to publish a full retraction on all of your negative stories centered around the Triwizard Tournament. I expect to find a written apology from each and every one of you somewhere in that article as well." There were several outraged gasps, although no one protested. Wise of them; Fu was getting irritated. And when Fu got irritated, people generally got hurt.
"Furthermore, you will take a stance that is supportive to Harry, as well as Albus Dumbledore."
"But sir!" one of the reporters, a man with a slick mustache, couldn't help speaking out "The Minister's told us that the Potter boy is lying! And to be frank sir, this is the Minister we're talking about, he's unlikely to be saying anything but the truth. Why rile up the Wizarding Community over nothing? Especially when there's no solid evidence?"
He resisted rolling his eyes with great difficulty; these people held far too much trust in their government. Any system, no matter how sound it appeared to be, had some level of corruption. Lei knew, he'd seen his fair share, and out of those he'd taken down quite a few of them.
Because he's back! Lei wanted to yell, but he held himself in thick restraint; it would do no good if they thought him to be as mad as they thought Albus and Potter to be. "Because it's better for the Wizarding Community to be scared and ready, rather than happy and ignorant." he said instead, his voice calm.
"But what if-" the same man tried to protest again.
"What is my motto? The motto of all Aurors." Lei cut across him abruptly.
"Vigilo Vestri Tergum," several of the less obstinate journalists mumbled while the man who had spoken shot them a betrayed glance. A slightly thicker one yelled out "Constant Vigilance!" before being slapped on the arm by the people on either side of him.
"Exactly. And what does that mean gentlemen and lady?"
"Watch your back," murmured the same people.
"Glad that's taken care of, because you just answered all of your own questions. Now, my final request," Lei continued, in tones that brooked no argument "is that you submit all stories that involve Potter, to me, before publishing."
More grumbles and resistance, but Lei would not be budged. This ensured that any news about Cho, and by extension the rest of the Changs, would have to come by him first. Lei correctly reasoned that now that his daughter was involved with Harry, every article that mentioned either of them would somehow end up pairing the two together. If he had told them flat out not to report on his family, then it would have the opposite effect. Some of the reporters might even uncover events that he'd prefer to remain unpublished and unknown. He simply didn't have the free time needed to engage the mass cover up that would need to take place after that; not that he couldn't though.
"Failure to comply with the changes in your contract will result in swift," he looked pointedly at Fu and Long, "legal action."
Any stubborn faces in the crowd disappeared then, replaced by a barely controlled fear. Fu smiled thinly, the other winked.
"Well," said Lei, and he made his tones warm as though he were a man speaking to his favorite nephew. "I'm glad we had that talk, and I hope that cleared up any questions you had. Good day, and don't dawdle on your way out," he finished, a clear dismissal.
The wizards he had gathered all but ran out of the room, and after a few minutes he heard the entrance to Hogwarts being hurriedly pulled open.
The large Eurasian man strode back to breakfast, hiding his grin of satisfaction while the two bodyguards padded silently at his side. It'd gone perfectly, and now he had a hold on the papers that they wouldn't dare break, for fear of the consequences. And due to a small loophole, they couldn't do a single thing about it.
"Masterfully handled sir," said Long, and Fu nodded in approval. The babble of conversation started to wash over them once more as they neared the rest of the school.
The great wooden door leading to the Great Hall was thrown wide, and Lei Chang sauntered through it, his mood much higher than when he had left 10 minutes ago. Several people jumped when the door cracked against the wall.
"Unfortunately, our dear friends left, had some business to attend to. What'd I miss?" Lei boomed as people craned their necks to look at him once more.
The minute Lei had left, Harry'd made a beeline straight for Cho, hiding his sudden and irrational fear beneath a calm mask. She took his hand before he even sat down, seeing through him in an instant.
"Was that, er, your father?" he asked after he took his seat. She nodded her head sympathetically, cutting his last thread of hope.
"Oh. He's, well, he's..." He scares the bloody hell out of me! is what Harry wanted to say, but he held himself in check, remembering how calmly she'd taken his news of Sirius.
"Scary? Terrifying? Intimidating?" Cho asked, slightly amused. Sam grunted in affirmation while she shoveled impressive amounts of food into an already full mouth. He nodded in response, praying that she'd tell him not to worry, that he was a shop owner or a gardener. Of course, due to the look of him and the two men with him, those options were equally unlikely. He decided to ask anyway, and at her answer, wished he hadn't.
A harmless job? No such luck.
"He's uh," she said uncomfortably, "he's the Head of... The International Council of Aurors?" she finished it like a question.
Oh bloody hell! thought Harry. When would he catch a break? One of her older brothers was a professional Beater, the other a dark wizard catcher, and to top it off, her father ran the whole bloody thing!
What was her mother? A trained assassin? Harry wouldn't have been surprised.
She watched his wordless response with trepidation, dearly hoping this wouldn't scare him away from her. But he only gathered her up in a hug when he saw her worried look. Cho's heart swelled; Harry had just learned her father was one of the most dangerous wizards on the planet, and he was comforting her? Clearly, there was something wrong here. Or, perhaps, something very right.
Cho gently pried herself off him, "Don't worry Harry," she smoothed his hair back soothingly, messing it up even more "Daddy understands. He's known for a long time, if he didn't approve he would have done something by now. And he must like you. He kind of said hi to you on his way out, didn't he?"
Harry raised an eyebrow; that pat on the shoulder had nearly knocked him down. Although, he supposed that she did have a point. For one, he was still breathing, and after all, her father had taken care of all those reporters. He felt a stab of vindictive pleasure at whatever punishment Rita Skeeter was being served.
"You alright?" she asked him, looking into his emerald eyes. He squeezed her hand and gave her a smile that made her heart skip a beat, "I'm fine Cho. Can I have some of your toast?"
She giggled, "Open wide." He gave her a pleading look, "Really Cho?"
Still giggling she nodded, but when his mouth stayed closed, she gave him her cutesiest pretty please look, complete with puppy dog eyes and pouting lips. Harry crumbled like a sand castle in a tsunami, and his mouth popped wide open.
She slipped in the toasted bread, and followed it with a bit of egg. Cho brushed the crumbs off his lips while he chewed, dutifully ignoring Samantha as she mimed being sick into her overflowing plate.
"Sometimes I find it difficult to be your best friend," she commented.
"I know," replied Cho distractedly, trying to maneuver some kippers into her boyfriend's mouth.
"And did you know," started Cho again, scooping more eggs onto her fork, "that I sometimes find it hard to believe you're a girl?"
Sam briefly paused in stuffing her face to throw a muffin at the others' head. Still chewing, Harry flicked out his hand and caught it. Sam turned her head away from a grinning Cho to mutter dangerously about 'stupid Seekers and their stupid reflexes.'
Just then the door was abruptly thrust open and a voice roared from it. At the exact same moment, a dark haired Ravenclaw attempted to fit a loaded pancake through her boyfriend's lips. At the sudden noise however, he jumped half a foot out of his seat, smearing the food along his right cheek. Cho's father raised a bemused eyebrow at him, while she stuffed her fist into her mouth to smother her peals of laughter.
Face red, Harry hurriedly wiped off the whipped cream and strawberries, while Lei sauntered up and took his former seat next to Dumbledore. Within mere seconds, the two were engaged in a deep conversation, heads close together.
Cho finally recovered and surfaced, wiping away tears with the tips of her slender fingers. Her face was nearly the same color as Harry's, although in her case it was from laughing so hard.
"I'm sorry," she said, although the apology was ruined by her continuing bursts of giggles. His grave look lasted a second, and then they both dissolved into laughter together.
It was at this point that a disgusted Sam left to join Ron and Hermione. All that concentration-of-couple was making her both nauseated and envious at the same time. A combination that, she learned, equaled indigestion.
She sat next to Ron, stomach twisting in an altogether different. He grinned at her through several pounds of food, equally happy to have her there, but Hermione just gave her a cool nod before going back to cutting her kippers into small and equal bites.
What was her problem? thought the ever oblivious Sam.
Meanwhile, Cho had successfully finished feeding Harry, with the only casualties being a bit of jam in his hair and a few stray crumbs on his robes. She brushed him off, feeling very good with herself. After all, it could've gone worse. He could have lost an eye to a wayward fork.
He grinned, knowing what she was thinking "Beginner's luck?"
"Like the time Gryffindor beat Ravenclaw?" she retorted. Harry chuckled lightly "Touche."
"You know, we need to have a rematch," Cho said, thoughtful now. He nodded enthusiastically; it'd been over a year since he last played Quidditch and he didn't want to fall too far behind. Plus he just really wanted to play.
"Next year?" she questioned hopefully.
"'Course Cho. That is, if you're up to it." She stuck her tongue out at him, and he felt that all too familiar swooping sensation in his stomach, and the answering response in his heart.
Lost in themselves, they didn't even notice that the Great Hall was half empty and that the golden plates and goblets were once more spotless and shining.
Several minutes and countless plans later, the couple found themselves in a nearly deserted room. Nearly, because Cho's father still sat in his chair, the Chinese musclemen at his left and right shoulders. He cleared his throat loudly, and the Ravenclaw and Gryffindor looked around at the interruption. Their eyes widened in surprise at the almost bare room. Harry's even further when he saw Lei.
"We need to go," said Cho, her cheeks rapidly heating up. She grabbed Harry's arm and began to haul him out, praying that her father kept his mouth shut. But obviously, the Gods of Karma couldn't let her have both Harry and a father that was obedient to her thoughts.
"Harry? Would you mind staying for a minute? I believe there was something we needed to discuss."
The bespectacled boy froze, but Cho continued to determinedly drag him away. He grounded his feet, and gently took the soft hand attached to his robes, stroking it until she let him go.
"I'll meet you outside," he whispered, squeezing her hand comfortingly. She hesitated, a worried frown on her face that made a small dimple appear between her eyebrows. Her feet shuffled slowly out, unwilling to leave him alone with her father and the two Chinese bodyguards. Each of whom was arguably in the top 10 of the World's Deadliest Wizards. Eventually however, her lovely form left Harry's line of sight, and he suddenly felt small and alone.
"Sit," commanded Lei. Harry sat, swiveling his body to look at the large Eurasian man and his lieutenants. His stomach was knotted with nerves, palms cold and slightly sweaty.
Then, the powerful wizard shocked him; he started to laugh. Lei chuckled richly, his voice rolled through the room and echoed off the walls. Harry could only stare at him, apprehension replaced with a perplexed look.
After a full minute, Lei's laugh finally petered out, though he still grinned widely at Harry, scar stretched tight along his jaw line.
"Sir?" asked Harry politely, trying to keep the irritation and embarrassment out of his voice.
"I'm sorry," Cho's father apologized graciously, "It's just, I remember this same situation when I met my wife's parents. And I must say, judging from the expression on your face, we felt the same as well." his grinned grew.
"Of course," he continued "you have it better than I did. When I told him that I was seeing his daughter, he threw a teacup at me." Harry grinned, imagining this dangerous wizard having a cup with pink flowers flying at his head.
"But with that aside, this is actually going to be a rather straightforward conversation." Lei's tone became serious now, without a hint of its former amusement. The Gryffindor gulped nervously, looking up at the large Eurasian man and his entourage.
"Calm Potter, calm," cautioned Long. Cho's father raised an eyebrow; the Chinese man rarely spoke to people he had just met, and never when Lei was talking with them. For whatever reason, he had taken a liking to Harry.
"Let me be very clear," said Lei, choosing not to question Long's actions, "that my wife and I approve of you, Harry."
The Gryffindor nodded, and the Eurasian man had his first inkling about why Long had spoken up. The boy was clearly terrified, but his chin was still high and his emerald eyes locked with Lei's unblinkingly. It must have been this strength of character that so impressed Long's noble nature.
"But," continued Cho's father, "there are certain... conditions I'd like to bring to cover with you. My daughter. She cares for you, dearly."
Even in the midst of this stressful moment, Harry couldn't hold in his smile. "And I care for her too."
The other man nodded, "As it should be." His eyes narrowed slightly "Use it wrongly though, take advantage of her affections, and I swear to you that I'll break your kneecaps and leave you at the bottom of a valley, in the middle of Africa."
The messy haired boy paled even more, but his temper flared at the accusation. "I would never do that," he said, voice shaking both from fear and anger. Long smiled encouragingly, and Lei gave a satisfied nod.
"Another thing Harry... I know, as do we all, that none control the urgings of the heart, so if you leave her, I will do nothing to stop you. All I ask is, whatever you do with my daughter, you are both one hundred percent sure. You can rest assured though, if you break her, then you will never see her again." he promised.
Harry gulped, but continued to stare directly into Lei's almond shaped eyes, so like Cho's, and yet so different. Her eyes were warm and trusting, but her father's, while not cold, were closed, a darker brown, and harder than bedrock.
"And the same works, if in reverse," spoke Lei again.
"Erm, what?" the Gryffindor asked, not understanding what he meant.
"If she breaks up with you," and Harry, who had taken Lei's grilling so strongly, flinched in pain at the thought. The speaker softened his tone slightly; this wasn't meant to be pleasant, but that didn't mean he had to cause unnecessary pain, "then I will not stop her. Although I do like you Harry," he reassured. "And I apologize, but if you attempt to pursue her when she clearly doesn't want you..." Cho's father shrugged "then I will have to stop you."
"And what makes you think you'd be able to?" asked Harry before he could control himself.
Lei's eyebrows shot together, Fu's mouth narrowed, but Long released a snort of laughter.
For a few seconds, the room was silent, and the two stared at each other, expressions unchanging. Lei's gaze was searching, Harry's was both defiant and sincere.
Whatever Cho's father saw in the emerald eyes of the other seemed to satisfy him, and the corners of his mouth turned upwards in a tiny smile.
"Congratulations Potter," he heard Fu speak for the first time. The man's voice was like a chain smoker's; low and rough. Long nodded "Miss Chang should be honored to have one with as strong a heart as you at her side."
Harry bobbed his head stiffly, still a little miffed. "Calm yourself young one," Long's voice rolled out "we meant you no harm."
"Indeed," Lei inclined his head, "it's because, as you seem to understand," he grinned, "that I simply wish to protect Cho."
The Gryffindor's expression cleared. When they put it that way, he would have been hard pressed not to understand. "And," added Long, "I think she's waiting for you." he looked towards the shut doors.
"Is that it then?" asked Harry, trying and failing to conceal the eagerness in his tone. The three men chuckled deeply, "Yes Harry, that's all. Of course, until you meet her brothers." said Lei and he winked.
"So... can I go?" he chose to block the ending comment from his mind until the future.
"Yes," Lei gestured with his hand "you may go."
The black haired boy stood up and walked quickly to the door, barely refraining from turning it into a full out sprint.
Lei began to count down in his head the moment Harry opened the wooden door. Three, two, one...
"Ark!" yelled Harry, as a small form nearly tackled him from the side.
Cho's arms were wrapped around him tightly, "I'msorryi'msorryi'msorryi'msorry," she chanted non stop, her face pressed into his shoulder.
He brought her around so that he could hold her from the front, "Cho-" he tried to say, but she wouldn't let him. "Harry I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have left you in there, I just..." she pressed her face closer into his chest.
"It's alrigh-" he started again, yet once more she stopped him. "But it's not! I'm your girlfriend and I- mmph!" she brought her face off of him to apologize some more, and Harry, seizing his opportunity to end this, kissed her full on the lips.
She wanted to resist, she really did. She didn't think she deserved this after he was so brutally word-whipped by her father. The problem with this was that the moment his lips touched her own, Cho's will turned to dust.
Her knees weakened slightly, and Harry grabbed her tighter to him, his tongue slipping into her mouth.
Well, she thought, making out with him to make it up to him is perfectly fine by me. Cho's fingers hooked into his hair, delighting in its thickness. He brought his hand up to cradle her cheek, stroking it softly with the pad of his thumb. Goosebumps rolled down her neck, and she grabbed him even harder.
Harry finally- and regrettably- broke the kiss, and they both gasped for air. He still kept his hand on her head though, entangling it in her smooth and sweet smelling hair.
She squeezed him slightly, "I really am sorry," she said for the last time, her soft, Scottish-accented voice melancholy. He kissed her on top of her head, "Nothing to be sorry for. Your father just cares for you as much as I do." He winked, giving her a playful half smile.
"Thank Merlin," she said smiling back. Cho slipped her smaller hand into his, as they turned in the direction of Hogwarts' extensive grounds.
And with that, they left, to catch up with their friends and enjoy a glorious, reporter-free day.
Lei watched the entire thing, peeking through a crack in the doorway. By the end, he was embarrassed to say that his eyes were slightly wet; that used to be his little girl. He wiped them quickly with the sleeve of his robe, muttering about dusty beams.
But Long and Fu shared a furtive glance, and the corners of their mouths twitched up, just a tad.
Meanwhile;
A tall, built and clean shaven man with silver hair, newly cut in military fashion stood in the middle of a vast and brown plain. Tall grass waved back and forth in the wind, and the sun shone brightly down from a blue and cloudless sky. Birds spiraled together, then parted, joining in new patterns and shapes in their aerial ballet. Plumes of dust were sent up as large beasts continued their trot along the continent of Africa, their cacophonous cries wavering slightly in the air currents.
Merlin sighed. It was just so hot! An idea hit him, one that was painfully obvious for even the dimmest dunderhead, let alone the greatest wizard that had ever lived.
Magic. Simple really. And it was why he was here in the first place.
He waved his wand once, and relief was immediate, like a glass of cold water poured over the head.
The sounds of the animals spiked as a lion shot out of a thicket, quickly taking down an antelope with a crippled leg. The rest of its herd galloped away and condensed, finding safety in numbers.
Merlin frowned; that was the wrong lion.
So he sat, and he waited. And he waited. And he waited. Clouds chased each other across the sky, animals passed by in all directions, and as the day ended darkness fell.
But still he waited, gazing raptly up at the sparking stars; diamonds in the sky.
Crunch, came a noise behind him. Dry grass being crushed, followed by the sounds of heavy panting. Merlin smiled, "Took you long enough."
Merlin? came an incredulous and raspy voice.
"Indeed old friend, I'm back."
But I thought you be dead!
"Dead?" Merlin smiled, "Wenyama, my dear lion, does it look like I'm dead? Trapped for centuries, yes, but dead?"
No, but do I look like I be five thousand years old? The black lion, nearly invisible in the darkness, gave a snort.
"I should hope not," said the wizard, amused, "after all, we're the same age." Wenyama gave a rucking sort of sound, the lion's equivalent for laughter.
"So how has it been, in the ages I've been gone?" asked Merlin, when the lion was finished. "I admit, I haven't been checking up on you all as often as I should have. You're dreadfully hard to find."
Instead of the light reply he was expecting, the lion's answer was quite downcast. Been going badly, it has. There be not many left of us First Creatures.
The silvered haired wizard frowned, "How many are left? Out of the original seven pairs?"
The great beast padded around to face Merlin, and rested his bulk on the ground. He put his head on his paws, and closed his amber eyes in thought. The Phoenixes... he said first, not opening his eyelids, He Ping and Gao Xing... Haven't been seeing them for a couple of centuries, at least. They be rumors by China though.
Merlin nodded understandingly, "They were very partial to the Five Sacred Mountains, if I remember correctly."
The unicorns, Adair and Ahira, they still be keeping in touch. They be in the North of Russia at the moment.
"How about the dragons? Horrible temperaments, I always had to warn them."
Razortooth was killed during the crusades, Dutch wizards passed onto his land, right in front of his cave. An army of them, mind you. But did he let them pass, like I be telling him too? No, the lion let out a deep breathe, he had to attack. Of course, Gemclaw not be taking that lightly, she flew right over to Amsterdam. Wenyama shook his head sadly, she be cursed dead before she touched the ground.
"What about the others?" asked Merlin, slightly scared now.
The krakens? They be in hiding near the Bermudas. Too powerful they are, the Muggles be noticing, but at least they be giving the area a bit of a berth.
"And how's your mate my friend? I've been wondering where she was... spectacular lioness." Wenyama's sides stretched as he took a deep breathe, but he didn't answer the question.
"Wenyama?" asked Merlin, when he didn't respond. "What's happened? Where is Singhyatiri? Where's Singhy?"
She's dead, he finally whispered, eyes opening to burn into Merlin's. Mauled by a group of Manticores. It's been five hundred years but it still be feeling like a part of me is missing...
The wizard laid a comforting hand on the lion's flank. I finally have some idea of how you be feeling, the lion spoke again. Merlin's eyes tightened around the edges, it's horrible. We weren't meant to be apart Merlin, that's why we came in pairs. I can't even imagine what it be like when your separation be not by death.
The silver haired man massaged his eyelids tiredly, "Nimue... Made her choices. And I, in turn, made mine. Do not be sad for me my friend, our love was lost long ago. At any rate, have you seen her? I shudder to think what she's been up to, these long years..."
Wenyama made an angry sound, somewhere between a bark and a roar, Last I heard, she be in Albania.
"Albania?" questioned Merlin. He felt a stab of unease, hadn't that upstart Voldemort been there as well? "Odd... And what of Prashant? Poor thing, Nagini was killed scarcely months after creation. That's what changed her, by the way- Nimue, I mean. She was never the same after that day. I still wonder about that, it was strange, so strange. Nimue always disliked Nagini... and yet she was the last one who saw her..."
The lion stood up abruptly, Now that you mention her, I be remembering something! Nagini be back Merlin!
"What?!" exclaimed Merlin, starting slightly "That can't be!"
I just be saying what Prashant told me. Even if he be a snake, that not be a subject to lie about.
"I don't doubt his honesty, he was always a proud one. It's just... impossible. Magically, physically, just completely impossible." He kneaded his forehead, "Did Prashant even see her?"
He said he did. Said he be in Albania, looking for a few rats to eat, and out of the gloom slithers Nagini. Said it be odd though, she didn't recognize him. He tailed her for days, but all of a sudden, he be blacking out, and when he woke up he be in the middle of Nevada.
Merlin paled underneath the moonlight, "W-what did you say? Albany, was it?"
Albania. What is it Merlin? Something be wrong? he asked as the wizard shook his head back and forth in tiny motions.
"It can't be," he muttered, running his fingers through his closely shaven hair. He'd put it all down to chance that Voldemort had a snake named Nagini; after all, the female counterpart of the First Snake had perished long ago. But maybe the name wasn't chance? Nagini couldn't be back, he knew that much, so some of the pieces didn't quite fit in their current positions. Nimue and Voldemort in Albania. The seeming reappearance of a long dead companion. What was he missing?
But wait, she was still there, an ever common thread, and she had always been so talented with shapeshifting...
Trains of seemingly unrelated thoughts tangled together in his head. Nimue's dislike for Nagini, being the last to see her before the snake's 'accident,' her inclination for shapeshifting, evil perversions, and Nagini's impossible ressurection coupled with Voldemort's slow descent into darkness and his snakelike appearance. It led to only one fact.
Merlin's shoulders slumped. It was so obvious. He'd been so stupid, so blind, and for so long.
Voldemort was just another tool for her.
Long ago, it had been the Pharaoh of Egypt, Xerxes of Persia, Hitler and Bin Laden and thousands of others in her twisted games.
But back then, she had been so much more obvious. An advisor, always, someone close to the seat of power. He should have expected this, things changed in the years he'd been gone.
Merlin? asked the lion again. What is it?
"It's Nimue." he whispered, finally replying. "That's not Nagini. It's her."
And, face white and eyes shocked, he disappeared with a sharp crack!
Author's Note: Sorry about taking so long to update! I just haven't had much time, and this was an extremely hard chapter for me to write. What'd you think about the ending? Lots of new stuff. I think I had an inkling of this, when I first made Wenyama. Oh, and Ngwenyama means 'lion' in some african language haha. And his mate's name, I made up the end part. Singh means 'lion.' The Phoneixes names mean 'peace' and 'happiness.' And the unicorns' names mean like pure and stuff, in different languages. Drop me any comments, suggestions, hellos, and love letters. Thanks guys!- sasansan