A/N: Hey, everyone. Sorry for the very, very, very long wait. lol. I was having minor technical difficulties with the computer. Anyway, here's the next chapter after such a long wait. So, enjoy.
Chapter 10.
Darien's head was pounding. He was aching all over. He wasn't sure what happened but he was sure he had an idea. He gave a low groan as he reached up and rubbed his head. He could hear voices in the room. One sounded very angry. The other upset. And another trying to calm the angry one down. Darien couldn't make out the words just yet. His eyes slowly opened but his vision was blurry. He couldn't tell where he was at first. He could feel the soft bed under him and the warm blanket on top of him. Darien yawned and stretched as he tried to sit up.
"I wouldn't do that." He heard. He jumped and looked around.
Standing in the corner stood Slytherin. His arms were folded against his transparent chest. He was smiling. Not smirking or looking grumpy but smiling. "Well, well, well. You've finally awaken. You must feel very sore after that fight last night." He said. Darien gave him a questioning look. He opened his mouth to say something but his throat ached so much. But Slytherin understood what he was trying to say. "You turned, boy. You are a werewolf. Just like your father." He told him. Darien's eyes lit up and he looked shocked. It was like someone cast an ice spell all around him. His heart was thumping harder against his chest and panic was swelling up inside. "D-did I kill anyone?" He whispered not wanting to catch the arguing people's attention, the ones standing outside the curtains drawn around his bed. Slytherin shook his head. "By what I have heard, you almost attacked a villager in Hogsmeade, but your father stopped you." He tilted his head with an amused smirk. "The hard way." He shrugged.
The 11 year old gave a groan and grabbed his pillow. He covered his head with it and began swearing into it. "Just look at it this way, at least your father got to you first before Umbra did. He was going after you when you changed. He wanted to try and control you." He heard Slytherin say. Darien pushed the pillow off his head. "Oh, great. More good news." He growled. Slytherin shrugged. "I did warn you, boy. Umbra wants to use you like he used me in the past." That made Darien remember something. "Wait…..the dream…..I…" He paused. Slytherin stared at him. "What dream?" Darien rubbed his head. "I had a strange dream before I changed……it……I can't remember." He said shaking his head. Slytherin stepped closer. "Try, boy. Try to remember. What dream? Did it have to do with Umbra?" He asked. Darien shook his head straining to remember. "I….I don't remember." He squinted his eyes.
An image flashed across his memory. An image of a demon looking creature. It's piercing red eyes on him. And it's cruel smile. He remembered cold its voice was. He just couldn't remember exactly what he said. Only the last three words. 'Kill Godric Gryffindor'. Darien looked at Slytherin with shock. He looked at him with complete disbelief. Slytherin stared at him with a small amount of confusion. He was wondering why the boy was looking at him like that. "What is it?" He asked. Darien shook his head.
Before he could say anything, the curtains slid aside and in came The Lupins, Sirius and Dumbledore. Darien looked at them with surprise but then lowered his head. He had noticed that Slytherin dematerialized before they came in. Hermione looked surprised to see Darien awake but relieved. She quickly hurried forward and wrapped him in her arms. "Darien, thank goodness." She said sounding very emotional. Darien hugged her back. "Mom? What are you doing here?" He asked. Hermione pulled away now giving him a stern look. "Darien, before I answer that, why didn't you tell your father about you being ill?" She asked seriously. Darien looked away. "I….I just…." He sighed. "I guess I was scared. I didn't know what was happening. I only thought it was a fever." He looked back at her. "I'm sorry."
Hermione sighed shaking her head. She closed her eyes before hugging him again. "I swear, Darien Fenrir Lupin. You are going to give me an early grave some day." She told him. Remus sat on the other side of him and touched the scratch on his cheek. "Do you remember what happened?" He asked. Darien shook his head. "Only that I woke up from a nightmare by feeling pain. What's happening, dad?" He asked. Remus sighed looking at Dumbledore. Dumbledore looked back then nodded. "You have inherited your father's lycanthropy trait. You are just like your father, a werewolf. We should have expected this. But the question leads to why you never told us of your illnesses. If you would have, we would have prevented a few things that has happened." He said. Darien lowered his head.
"I know. I was just scared. After Hagrid's dog, Fang, was killed I sort of became suspicious. I didn't tell because I didn't want anyone to know. I was afraid that if anyone knew I….I…." Remus understood. "You believed your friends would have deserted you." He said looking at Sirius who looked back. Darien nodded. "Well, no one really knows about your new trait and they will not know. Only the teachers and the staff. But we must take great caution now. Your father is able to control his werewolf side but you are not. So once month you will take the wolfsbane potion and will have to be closely watched." Dumbledore told him. The 11 year old just nodded looking glum. Remus patted his son's shoulder.
"In the mean time, Remus," Dumbledore said. Remus looked up at him. "You will have to teach Darien more about the werewolf than you have already." The Headmaster said. Remus nodded. "Alright. I was really hoping that this wouldn't have happened but I suppose it was unavoidable." He said. Hermione took Darien's hand and held it. "And as for the day, you may rest, Darien." Dumbledore said. Darien nodded laying back.
As Dumbledore turned to leave, someone stepped into curtains. "I beg your pardon, Headmaster. I was in the infirmary when I overheard a few things that was said." The Divination teacher said. Everyone looked up at him. He was looking at Darien with great interest. "Ah, Professor Caligo. What can I do for you?" Dumbledore asked. The Professor continued to look at Darien with a smile. "Well, like I have said, I overheard a little of your conversation. Young Lupin mentioned he had a nightmare, is that correct?" He asked. Everyone looked at him. "Yeah." Darien said uneasily. Professor Caligo nodded. "Ah," He paused squinting his eyes before looking at Remus. "Being the Divination teacher I should have spoke with you awhile ago. I am at a fault and I wish to ask for you forgive me." He said. Remus stared at him with confusion as did the others. "What do you mean, Caligo?" He asked. Professor Caligo sighed shaking his head. He had a guilty look on his face.
"I was aware of your son's…..condition, Lupin. I have foreseen it and I should have told you before it happened. Ever since Hagrid's dog died, I have taken the liberty of looking in my crystal ball lately and have seen who killed it. It was your son. And I should have informed you right away but I was really not sure if it was true or not. Because even some readings could be misleading. And then what happened last night I knew that it was not just some coincidence. I should have told you and I am completely sorry."
Everyone stared at the Divination teacher. Dumbledore nodded softly. "I see, Caligo. And why do you ask about young Darien's dream?" he asked. Caligo looked back at Darien with interest again. "Well, I am the Divination teacher, Headmaster. I am clearly interested in hearing about it." He said. Hermione glanced at Darien who was looking very uneasy now.
"I see, Caligo. Of course, you know that it may just be a dream and mean nothing." Sirius said. Caligo nodded. "Ah, but you must remember. It could mean something. All dreams have a meaning. They are either a memory of your past, or could be a prediction. Dreams are very important in the art of Divination. Especially when they are the dreams of a young wizard like Darien." He said. Hermione shook her head. "Even so, Professor, that does make sense. But there couldn't be a chance that Darien could have the art of Divination yet. He is way too young and will not start Divination until his third year." She said. Caligo nodded. "I do understand that, Mrs. Lupin. But….." He paused looking at Darien. "I can see your son's divination ability for Divination has developed rather quickly. His greatest strength, I can already see, is Divination. He already possesses the inner eye."
Everyone's eyes went straight to Darien with surprise. "Are you sure, Professor Caligo?" Dumbledore asked. Caligo nodded. "I am sure of it. Please, tell me, Young Lupin. What is your dreams of?" He asked. Darien opened his mouth but nothing came out. He shook his head. "I don't….I really don't remember, Professor. I swear." He said. Caligo nodded. "What about the one before? When the Dementor attacked you?" He asked. Everyone looked at him. "Caligo, that is going too far." Sirius spoke sharply. Darien just looked shocked. How did he know about the dream? Caligo ignored Sirius. "You heard Draco Malfoy speak in your dream, did you not?" He asked. All three Darien, Remus and Sirius held their breath. Hermione was looking at each one. Darien stared at the teacher with a gaping mouth. "How about the Shadow man, Darien? Tell me about him." Caligo asked.
"Caligo, would you please not badger Darien about this right now! He's still trying to….." Sirius was demanding. But Darien cut him off. "How did you know?" he asked. Everyone looked right at him. "Darien?" Hermione asked. Caligo nodded. "Just as I thought. Please. Tell us about it." He said. Darien looked down at his lap. He wasn't sure how this man knew about that dream.
"Boy." He heard.
He looked up and past Caligo. Slytherin was standing behind him. He was staring at Caligo with a dark look. There was confusion but distrust in his eyes. "Don't tell him." He said strictly. "Darien, what dream is he talking about?" Hermione asked. Darien looked at her. He shook his head. "I don't know." Dumbledore was watching carefully. He looked at Caligo. "Let us not talk about this right now, Caligo. Young Lupin must rest. He is very weary from his adventure last night." He said. Caligo looked slightly disappointed but he smiled to cover it up. "Very well, Headmaster." He turned his eyes onto Darien and nodded. "If you ever have the need to talk about your dreams, Young Master Lupin, I am willing to listen." He told him. Darien just nodded slowly. "I'll keep that in mind." Caligo nodded and turned to leave pausing once as he looked to his left. And Darien swore that the Professor was looking straight at Slytherin before he left.
He looked at his parents who were talking with Sirius. Hermione was watching her son though. She still had tears in her eyes from the worry. She was still scared for her son knowing what was in store for him. She remembered all the things Remus had told her about changing into the werewolf. She knew things for her son were going to get very tough. And she was dead scared for him.
Dumbledore looked at Darien before smiling. "Well, Darien, we shall let you get some more sleep. Your parents will still be around by the time you wake again. Before I leave..." He paused looking the boy directly in the eye. "Is there anything you wish to say? Anything you need to tell me or your parents?" He asked. Darien looked around at all of the adults watching him. He knew he should tell them about the threat that might have been at the castle but he couldn't bring himself to say anything. Something was holding him back. He also wanted to find out on his own. He would tell them if things did get any worst than they were already. So Darien Fenrir Lupin looked right at Dumbledor and shook his head. "No sir. Nothing." he said. Dumbledore eyed him for a minute then nodded slowly. He had the look as if he knew something. He reached over and patted the young Lupin's arm gently. "Get some rest, Darien." Then he turned and walked out. Everyone but Remus, Sirius and Hermione left.
Remus patted his son's shoulder. "Don't worry, D. We'll get through this together. In the mean time, get some sleep." He said. Hermione nodded as she took her son's hand. Darien laid back still holding her hand. "Okay, dad." He closed his eyes and pretended to go to sleep. He just listened to the adults talk. "I'm worried, Remus, about our son. Something's not right at Hogwarts. I can feel it." Hermione whispered. Sirius was pacing. "Swiftstar, he'll be fine. Dumbledore and I will be watching him and nothing will happen to our son." Remus said. Hermione softly stroked her son's bangs. "I know but still I'm worried. What dream was Caligo talking about? And there is no way Darien could have the inner eye at his age. Not to mention, why would he have it at all? You and I both never did." She said. Sirius stopped pacing. "What if you did but it was never active?" He asked. The Lupins looked at their friend. "What? How could that be possible?" Hermione asked. Sirius shook his head. "Well, Darien is your son, Herms. You both had to have the art of Divination but it never worked for you. So what if you just passed it onto Darien?" He asked.
Remus rubbed his chin thoughtfully. He slowly nodded. "That indeed is a thought, Sirius. I suppose it could have happened." He then blinked. A surprised look on his face as if something just happened. "Oh..." Both Hermione and Sirius looked at him. "Remus? What is it?" His wife asked. Remus just stared off until Sirious shook him. "Moony, what's wrong?" He asked. The elder Lupin shook his head. "I think I've figured something out. But I'm going to look into is first before I tell you about it. I just want to make sure I'm wrong." he said. Hermione sighed softly. She hated it when Remus hid things from her. But she knew it was probably for the good or for the safety of everyone. "All right, Remus. But I expect answers later." She said, poking his chest with her finger. Remus nodded. "Let's go get something to eat. Dari will be fine in here." He said. The other two nodded and left.
Darien opened his eyes as soon as they were gone only to see Slytherin standing right there giving him a look. "Faking sleep is surely not good for your health, you know." He scolded. Darien rolled his eyes and sat up. "Since when did you care about Half bloods?" He asked Slytherin rolled his own eyes before folding his arms. "I don't. But I do care about paying Umbra back. And if he's trying to get control over you, then I'm going to make sure he doesn't get what he wants." He said. Darien gave him a curious look. "I need to know more than you have been telling me, Slytherin. Tell about Umbra." He said. Slytherin stared coldly at him. He was quiet for a long time. Then he turned and walked to the window. He stared outside.
"I met Umbra along time ago, boy (he ignored the look Darien gave him). I was a young lad. I think he's a demon of some kind. He never told me what he was. He was always remained in the shadows as if it was some kind of shelter to him. He never came out of the darkness. I met him before I became a founder of Hogwarts. Before I even helped come up with the idea of making a school.
"We used to talk of many things. My past, spells and magic I made up. I even told him about how I fell in love with Rowena Ravenclaw. He told me if I wanted her, I should have her. So I tried to court her. Godric Gryffindor thought we would make a great pair, Rowena and I. Helga Hufflepuff just thought I was sweet." He pulled a face making Darien crack a smile. The grumpy ghost gave him a dark look as if daring him to laugh. When Darien didn't laugh, he went on. "It was Umbra who hinted that we should start a school for magic. To teach children what they could do. I passed the idea onto my colleagues and so we began building the castle. I built my own chamber just so Umbra could live in the darkness."
Darien stared at his lap as he knew what chamber Slytherin was talking about. It didn't take a genius to figure it out. He looked at him. "The Chamber of Secrets." He said. Slytherin nodded. Darien tilted his head. "And that's the monster everyone was talking about. The one that you placed in the chamber. It was Umbra. He was the dark creature you hid deep within the castle. Not the baskilisk." He said. Again Slytherin nodded.
"The others didn't know about it because Umbra wanted to stay a secret. He didn't want them to know that he was living in the castle as well. We continued to build the castle. Never knowing that Umbra had his own plans. It took many years to build Hogwarts. Even using magic. We placed spells on the castle to keep from prying eyes of muggles. Even back then magic was frowned upon. Muggles never did understand the beauty of magic. They were afraid of us. Believing we would use our magic to destroy them. Eventually I did want to. But Godric, Rowena and Helga would always stop me from harming them." He shook his head. "Once we finished building the castle, making it to our own standards and likings, we began finding students to teach. Most of them were purebloods. Not many were Half bloods or Muggleborns. We brought them to Hogwarts to teach. However, we came to a problem. Each student had their own personalities and traits. Some were too friend. Some were highly intelligent. Others were braver than the rest. And some were ambitious and liked only purebloods like I did. Above all, the students didn't want to learn their lessons with some of the others. They really disliked each other."
Slytherin looked back out the window. His transparent hand rubbed the beard on his chin. Darien was still sitting quietly and listening intentively. He was learning some serious history about Hogwarts. Something that even some of the teachers didn't even know about. He wondered if any of the teachers did. "So you made the sorting hat?" He asked. Slytherin turned around and nodded at him. "Yes. It was Godric's idea of course. He was very intelligent, though he had more bravery than all of us put together. He took his hat off his head and we all cursed it. Put apart of ourselves inside it. Our minds, memories, our very own magical essence inside it. And then we brought the thing to life. We took the hat and placed it on each of the students' heads. And the very first sorting began. We used the sorting hat to pick our children and we taught them." The ghost's face turned agitated after that. A disgusted look on his face. He was remembering bad things now. Darien was watching with curiousity. He could see the ghost's eyes were growing darker by the minute. "What happened after that?" He asked. Slytherin looked at him and frowned.
"Umbra began showing his true colors. Pitch black. While we were teaching our students, he was sneaking around at night filling the children's heads with horrible dreams. I think he feasted on fear. He also began telling me things that angered me. He was very manipulative, boy. He knew my weaknesses. He knew how to use me. And so he began to control me using words. He created the first Imperius Curse. He was filling my head with it. I used his words to create that very curse. Along with the other curses. The Cruciatus Curse, the Imperius and even the Avada Kedavra." He shook his head. "He turned me against the ones I knew best. The ones I called friends. I trusted them until Umbra began saying things. He made me see lies." He scowled. "And now I am cursed until his powers are destroyed. Until he is no longer in Hogwarts. He must be stopped before he carries out his plans. The ones he has been planning for one thousand years."
Darien blinked a few times. "And what is his plan?" He asked. Slytherin frowned even deeper and looked the boy directly in the eye. "His plan is just the same as Tom Riddle's. To take over the magical world. To make the world into his own liking. Only Umbra doesn't want to create a pureblood world. No, he wants to douse the entire world into darkness. He thrives on darkness, Lupin. Craves for it. Loves it. it is his paradise. And he wants to create Hell on Earth. No one will be able to hide from him. Not when they're in the dark." He said. Darien almost shuddered at the cold tone in Slytherin's voice. He didn't like it. It scared him. He knew that each word Slytherin was true. If Umbra did rise to power, if he took over the wizarding world, there would be no stopping him. He looked at Slytherin, who stared back. They finally seemed to understand one another.
Suddenly the door to the Infirmary opened. Darien jumped and looked around. For a second no one appeared in the entrance of the Hospital wing. Then four faces peered around the corner making Darien grin. His friends had snuck in. Lionel grinned back with Rex. They rushed forward to see Darien. Sam and Leoni were behind them. The two girls were just smiling as they walked after the boys. "Darien, man! What happened last night? We heard you were attacked by something. You alright?" Lionel asked as he pulled up a chair. Darien shrugged. "I'm fine. Sore but fine." He told them.
Sam stood next to Leoni and Rex. "So what attacked you?" She asked. Darien was quiet for a minute. He didn't know if he could tell them what he was. He was afraid of what they might say. What if they wouldn't like him anymore? Or if they were afraid of him? He didn't want that. So he decided not to tell them. "You guys, I don't want to talk about it. Okay. I'm not feeling good right now." He said. His friends just looked at one another then nodded. "Okay." Rex said. Lionel shrugged. "So how long are you going to be in here?" He asked. They talked for awhile about what was going on with school and about how Whitman was still being a pansy to everyone. Darien groaned when Lionel told him about the classes he was missing. He was no doubt going to be in trouble.
"Hey, by the way, Darien. I kind of borrowed your book 'cause I got bored and wanted to read something. I hoped you don't mind." Rex said pulling Slytherin's Hogwarts, A History of his bag. He held it out to Darien who took it. "Out of curiousity, why are you marking weird things in the book?" His small friend asked. Darien looked down at the book in his hands and flipped through it. He didn't know how he was going to explain this one to them. He tried to think of an excuse. "Well...I..." He stopped. He shook his head. "I don't know." He said setting the book down. His friends all just watched him. Lionel picked up the book and flipped through it looking at what Darien had wrote in the pages. Darien didn't do anything to stop him. The blonde haired Gyrffindor looked up after seeing a few words. "What the hell is the Umbra?" He asked. Darien sighed rubbing his temple. "That is what I want to know. I've been looking all over for the answer but I just can't find it. If you know anything, feel free to tell me." he said plopping back onto his pillow. His friends just all laughed at him.
Later, his parents had returned along with Madam Pomfrey. Remus just laughed at the guilt ridden faces of Darien's friends when they caught them talking to him. He just shook his head and said it was all right. They made Darien drink a nasty tasting potion before letting him leave. He was going to head up to the Gryffindor Tower to get changed first. "Do you want us to come with you?" Lionel asked. Darien shook his head. "Nah. You guys just go ahead and go to lunch. I'll be down in a sec." He said. His friends nodded and headed into the Great Hall.
Darien was half way there when he kept getting a very weird feeling. He slowed his pace as he frowned. There was something wrong. He didn't know where this feeling was coming from but he didn't like it. He stopped and looked down at the ground. He just stood there for a minute trying to think of what the feeling could have been when suddenly he saw a flash. It was more like a flash of a memory in his mind. But he knew he hadn't seen anything like that. He had seen the Chamber of Secrets and blood all over the place. There was blood pouring out of the snake statue's mouth. And lying in the middle of the floor was..."Paul?" Darien whispered. His eyes then lit up and he felt a chill just run up his spine. He quickened his pace to get to the Gryffindor Tower.
As soon as he got there, he quickly gave the password then hurried in. Darien dashed into the common room and up the stairs to the boy's dorms. His heart was racing. He only hoped that what he was feeling was wrong. He skipped a few stairs running up them and then threw his door open, entering the room. He looked around finding his fellow room mate sitting on his bed counting his Chocolate Frog cards. Paul had looked up when Darien entered.
"Hey, Darien. How's it going?" He then frowned seeing the astonished look on Darien's face. "Uh, are you okay?" He asked. Darien blew out a relieved sigh and nodded. He ran his fingers through his hair. "Yeah. I'm just still trying to get over my sickness from a night ago." He said. Paul smiled jokingly and leaned back away from him. "Well, whatever you have, mate, don't pass it onto me." He said. Darien cracked a smile and then laughed. He went over to his trunk and pulled out some cloths. "Don't worry. I won't." He quickly changed before heading towards the door. "Well, I'm heading to lunch now. See you later." He said as he started to leave.
But then the dark feeling came over him again just as he approached the door. He slowed down a little trying to shake it off. But before he could leave the room, he froze dead in his tracks when he heard Paul speak up. "You can't run from me forever, Lupin. Your little sanctuary will not always protect you." He heard Paul say in a dark tone. But it wasn't just Paul's voice Darien had heard. No, it was Umbra's.