"Aoi I told you not to bring me here. Prince Harold, we will be taking our leave. Until we meet again." Andy bowed before commanding Lilith to take them back. All three dispersed before Harry could say a word.
George stared at the spot where the three winged-demons had stood. "What the flobberworms just happened!" Harry stood from his kneeling position swiftly.
"I was visited by my subjects." He said solemnly. George's eyes filled with tears.
"Look at you. All grown up. It seems it was yesterday you were a needy little kid in my care." Harry stuck his tongue out. George tsked just as Fred raced into the room and stumbled over the bed.
"Harry, thank gods you are safe!" Fred smothered Harry in a hug. Ron glared jealously, causing George to pull him aside. Hermione gazed sceptically at Harry.
"You're a vampire. Why would you one day become king of winged-demons?" Fred perked up at this.
"Oh, poor, naive Hermione. Harry will not only become king of a race! No, he is way too awesome for that. He will become... drum roll please George." George grinned before tapping his hand Ron's wands over Ron's head. "KING OF HALLOWEEN!" Hermione laughed.
"Fred, think you can yell a bit louder, I don't think the Slytherins heard you." Hermione told him deadpanned. Harry gasped.
"We have to check the other Houses, especially Faust, Melissa, and Eric." Harry said quickly. He took a step forward before screaming. The sound of ripping flesh made every rush to Harry's side. George quickly removed Harry's shirt. Two claws sat on top of the anthraquinone blue nubs protruding from his back. "Pull, them, OUT!" Harry ground through his pain. Hermione cast a numbing charm on his back and George carefully extracted them. Harry panted harshly as the tips were finally pulled from his back.
"Blimey Harry, those things are twice your size!" Ron exclaimed. He touched one of them. "Oh yuck, they're all covered in blood."
"Ron, don't tell him that!" Hermione scolded.
"But they are."
"Will you two shut up, something is happening." George whispered firmly. Harry's whole body began to turn the same blue as his wings. His teeth fell out to be replaced with rows of sharp triangle ones as his tongue became pointed. His eyes turned all black causing him to give out a loud growl. His hair reverted to its original black. Harry took one shuddery step up, standing at his new height of 114 inches.
"Wicked." was chorused by the three Weasley boys.
Intricate patterns of slate grey covered Harry's body, glowing softly as his eyes became pools of emerald once more. Harry gulped as he looked down.
"I will not walk on these." Hermione chewed on her lip.
"Wiggle your toes." Harry stared at his toes and blew out a frustrated breath when they refused to move. "Bend your knees." Harry glared at Hermione's commanding tone but tried. Harry dropped from the air with a girlish yelp. Ron helped his best friend to his feet.
"How did you know how to get me down, Hermione?" Harry asked.
"When I told you to move your toes the ones on your wings moved. Therefore, I realized that all you have to do is think about the 'legs' you want to use as the primary ones and it will happen." Harry just stared at her dumbly. "You'll get the hang of it." Fred and George grinned.
"Room of Requirement!" they crowed.
"No." Fred and George's gazes became disappointed. "We have to check on the other Houses."
"Harry, its six in the morning. Everyone is going to be asleep." Hermione said.
"And you are blue-" Fred added.
"-, have wings-" George stated.
", and are covered in blood." They chorused. Harry gave a cheeky grin.
"Like Hermione said, it's six in the morning."
... TNBC / HP...
"Hold on. How do you know where the Slytherin Dorms are?" Ron questioned. Harry turned to look at him, as Fred worked to clean the trail of blood the prince was leaving behind.
"I've visited Draco." He said simply.
"What!"
"Ronald Weasley, will you be quiet." Hermione hissed.
"Granger, you obviously don't know that Malfoy is the most spoilt brat there is. Not to mention his father is a Death Eater." Hermione's chocolate brown eyes narrowed dangerously, but it was Harry who spoke up.
"That's like saying Hermione is a Muggle."
"That doesn't make any sense." Ron said cruelly.
"You are implying that Draco is a Death Eater. That is like saying Hermione casts spells like a Muggle. We aren't our parents Ron." Harry explained. Soft music started to drift from the walls. Everyone froze and cautiously looked around. Their shadows flickered to life and 'grew' sharper teeth before looking at their owners. Harry motioned everyone to keep following. Harry whispered the password and the door opened. Creeping in on silent feet Harry woke Draco. The blond blinked groggily before noticing Harry in the dim light.
"What do 'ya want?" he slurred.
"Meet me outside." Draco nodded and Harry left.
Sometime later Draco eased open the door and stepped into the hallway. His shadow jumped to life and joined the other, making him give out a girly meep.
"What's going on?" he demanded.
"I'm blue." Harry stated. Draco took a good look at his classmate.
"Makes your eyes stand out." He said with a nod. Harry rolled said eyes.
"Are you guys okay?" Harry asked, shifting his eyes to look at Slytherin Dorms'. Draco nodded slowly.
The music at this time became more forceful and everyone jumped. Their shadows detached from the walls and swirled to the ceiling. {Boys and girls of every age! Wouldn't you like to see something strange? Come with us and you will see. This, our town of Halloween!} The shadows held out their hands. Fred and George grinned before placing their hands into their shadows. In a red mist, they were gone. Ron followed. Harry nodded to Hermione and Draco and all three of them took their shadows hands'.
... TNBC / HP... TBWLTBPK...
Oogie cackled and pulled back her hood. She picked up the work she had been doing before she summoned the idiotic child. She carefully stitched the fabric together. The tour of Halloween would end here in her lair. Then, Harry Potter would die. She pushed a curly black lock of hair out of her face. Oogie picked up her wand and set the new poppet to sew itself. Not a minute later she had a new Oogie Boogie sack man. Levitating the various grub into the sack through the bag, she stared out the window. A swirling red mist told her guest had arrived. She smiled cruelly, but her brow furrowed in anger as she saw that two red headed children had shown up. A second later, another orange haired kid showed up.
"No, this is not right." She muttered. Her eyes snapped back to the window when three more children arrived. Among them Harry Potter and...
"Draco, how nice of you to come and visit your aunt Bella." Bellatrix laughed crazily before going back to her poppet.
... TNBC / HP... TBWLTBPK...
{This is Halloween! This is Halloween! Pumpkins scream in the dead of night.} The children where amazed by the massive gate before them. Harry unfurled his wings and unlocked it. Their shadows returned to them and ghosts greeted them.
{This is Halloween! Everybody make a scene. Trick-or-treat 'til the neighbours gonna die of fright. It's our town,} the ghosts sang swirling around Harry. {Everybody scream! In this town of Halloween.} The ghosts faded away and they were left at the door to someone's house.
"What do we do?" Draco asked shakily.
"Go in I suppose..." Ron responded. When he realized what he had done, he scowled. George rolled his eyes and knocked on the door. It creaked open slowly. Harry instinctively clicked his tongue. His pointed ears twitched once before he walked in.
"Harry. What are you doing?" Hermione called.
"It's fine Hermione." He told her. Hermione nodded and they all followed him inside. George took the lead and they all explore the house, ending up in the bedroom.
"Hello? Anyone here?" Fred called out. George elbowed him in the ribs. There was a grunt from under the bed.
"Who's there?" Draco asked. There was a low chuckle.
{I am the one hiding under your bed. Teeth ground sharp and eyes glowing red!} The group of children screamed. The creature crawled out from under the bed and stood tall. He gave a sweeping bow.
"Prince Harold. Well, you best meet the others!" he said in a raspy voice. Then he pushed them through the wall. Harry folded up his wings in the cramped space. Manny showed up and smiled widely.
"Harry! I haven't seen you since you turned eleven." Manny proclaimed in a deep, baritone voice. Harry looked up at the man.
"Who are you?" Manny grinned.
{I am the one hiding under your stairs, fingers like snakes and spiders in my hair.} Manny wiggled his finger at Harry, while Ron fainted into the arms of his brothers. "It's alright if you don't remember me. But I'll always remember you." Harry gave a watery smile, showing off his pointed teeth. He hugged Manny, his blue arms barely fitting around the man's waist. "Go on, there are still plenty of people to meet."
Ron was revived and they all were ushered through a wall, ending up in a small parlour. The book pages turned as the song started up. Draco stepped a bit closer to Harry. {This is Halloween. This is Halloween. Halloween, Halloween, Halloween, Halloween.} Four deathly pale vampires came out of various coups. Hermione tried to introduce herself but they kept walking. {In this town, we call home, everyone hail to the Pumpkin Song.} Fred and George looked on in confusion. Someone sniggered from behind them. Ron turned quickly and knocked into Hermione.
"Yeah, they're always like that. Only answer when properly addressed." The young boy smiled. "My name is Vladimir Todd, I'm new here. Am I right to guess that you are too?"
Fred leaned on his brother's shoulder and looked around wistfully. "No, just visiting the cozy sights of Halloween Town." Vlad rolled his eyes.
"I notice that you look human. What are you?" Draco asked haughtily.
"Vampire, bro." Draco raised an eyebrow at the bro comment. "What are you? Look too prissy to belong in Halloween." Vlad told him.
"PRISSY!" Draco screeched. Vlad and Harry rubbed their ears.
"Dude, chill. I was just joking, no need to burst my eardrums." Harry nodded in agreement. Draco huffed and crossed his arms.
"My father will hear about this."
"What a brilliant idea Malfoy, because your father is sure to believe this." George said sarcastically.
"Hey look the Mayor is coming around!" Vlad shouted, eyes glinting lilac.
"Vlad, do you happen to be an elemental vampire?" Hermione inquired. Vlad shrugged.
"Really don't know. Both my parents died when I was a baby. My mother was human, and my father a vampire. I can walk in the sun burning alive, or heaven forbid sparkling." Vlad explained. "There was this prophecy said about me, that I was destined to enslave all humanity. However, when you think about it, how is a small boy going to enslave the human race. I mean come on."
"That's just like Harry! His parents were murdered though. His mum was a Muggle born," George said.
", father was a pureblood. He can apparently survive the killing curse," Fred added.
", which no other witch or wizard has done before," George told Vlad.
"There wasn't anything about a prophecy though." Ron put in helpfully. Everyone murmured in agreement. Just then, the Mayor showed up.
{In this town, don't we love it now? Everybody's waiting for the next surprise.} "Harold! What a pleasant surprise. Getting a good look at the town?" Harry nodded. "What beings are your friends?" The mayor asked, rosy cheeks standing out.
"Human." The Mayor's head spun around.
"Human you say?" Harry nodded once more.
"Witches and wizards." Mayor's head spun back around.
"Wonderful! Well do not let me keep you! There are plenty of beings to meet here!" The Mayor toddled off with Fred and George snickering behind his back. As Harry was distracted by Fred's antics, Vlad tapped Draco on the shoulder.
"What?" Draco snapped.
"How old are you all?"
"Eleven, except for the baboons over there, they're thirteen." Vlad got a weird glint in his eye.
"I'm twelve." Draco nodded before turning to watch Harry practice his commanding skills. Vlad crept up slowly on Draco before poking him in the shoulder.
"You're it!" Vlad laughed loudly before running off. Draco, who was severely angry now, pointed his wand at the 'insufferable creature'.
"Stupefy!" Vlad toppled over unconscious. "Like the Mayor said everyone, many things to see." Harry just looked at Draco. Draco gave him the most innocent look he could muster.
"Wake him up." Draco scowled but did as Harry told him. Vlad stumbled as he got up but then was at Draco's side in a matter of seconds, teeth bared.
"What's your problem? Haven't you ever played tag before?" Draco's eyes narrowed.
"I don't associate with vampires." Draco hissed.
"You seemed to be getting really chummy with Harry when he was a vampire." Lock growled.
"Faust, when did you get here? How did you get here? What are you talking about?" Harry asked in rapid succession.
"I saw Malfoy kiss you!" Lock shouted, icy blue eyes blazing with fury.
The two accused boys shouted "I /HE NEVER KISSED HIM/ME!"
"Oh really! Do not lie to me I saw you two! He called you beautiful!" By this time, everyone wanted to join in the argument. Draco was shouting at Lock to stop spreading scandalous lies, Ron was yelling at Draco for kissing Harry, Hermione was screeching about how all creatures are beautiful in their own way, and George was berating Fred for making a joke during the serious situation. Vlad had his ears covered, eyes glowing brightly, a small windstorm forming around him.
Harry was sick of it.
"ALL HE DID WAS ADMIRE MY HAIR!" The noise died down at once. "Draco is a Slytherin obsessed with hair. Is it so hard to imagine the fact that he was looking at my silver hair, rather than kiss me?" Lock looked down, ashamed of his childish actions. "How did you get here?"
"I live here." Lock whispered, dropping his glamour.
"So you lied to me." Lock nodded, eyes stinging with unshed tears. "What do you want?" Lock's head snapped up and he looked at everyone.
"It's a trap." There was an unearthly shriek as something came running at them. It jumped up, inches away from slashing off Harry's head. Four bullets went through it and it fell back. Everyone's heads whipped over to look at the shooter. His yellow-orange eyes watched them carefully. A slight breeze ruffled his hair, which was odd in itself. It was all black excluding the three white stripes that went horizontally on the right side of his head. He pocketed his two guns. The other children looked at him warily, as he was very serious looking and seemed to hold immense power.
"Kid, you almost gave me a heart attack." The boy, Kid, turned his head to look at Vlad before sliding back to look at Draco Malfoy.
"My name is Death the Kid, you may call me Kid."
"Malfoy, Draco Malfoy."
"I admire your symmetry." A puzzled look crossed Draco's face.
"Cool rings Kid." Fred called from the left. Kid turned to look at him and his twin before squealing in joy.
"Oh my! Look at your perfect symmetry! It is marvellous! Magnificent! Truly amazing!" Kid spun around once and fainted. Hermione came back from investigating the thing that had almost attacked Harry.
"It looked like a sack man." She told them.
"Then we should leave." Lock told them gravely.
"What is a sack going to do to us?" Ron asked.
"It's not the sack you should be worried about." Was all the answer he gave before heading back towards the gates.
... TNBC / HP... TBWLTBPK...
Harry folded up his wings and sat in one of the many chairs in the room of requirement. Fred and George sat on either side of him. Next to Fred was Draco, then Hermione, Ron and Lock who also sat next to George. A black, spider silk shirt appeared in front of Harry and he grabbed it, before slipping it on, the shirt having slits for his wings. The animated window off to the corner showed that Harry had already been in his Winged Demon form for a whole day.
"Faust," Harry began.
"If that's even your real name." Ron interrupted. Lock looked at his feet.
"Lock." The red haired teen said.
"Lock, would you like to explain yourself?"
"I was sent here to watch over you." Lock said.
"By whom were you sent?" George asked.
"Jack Skellington, King of Halloween, the Pumpkin King, call him what you will, but I assure you he's the good guy." Lock told him.
"What attacked me, and who saved me?" Harry fired off. Lock steeped his fingers.
"The thing that attacked you was a poppet. The real Oogie Boogie is a witch. She makes sack men to carry out her dirty work so she will not be caught. She tried to take over Halloween Town once. I had helped her, but only because I didn't know what I was doing! I was eight. As for the boy who saved you, he should be your worst enemy."
"Explain." Draco said. Lock looked at him with blue eyes.
"The boy, who saved Harry, was the true heir to the throne. His father Death, however, gave over rule to the one he considered a brother."
"Jack Skellington." Hermione confirmed.
"Exactly. Death had just been a kid himself when Jack was called to Halloween Town. It was Death the First who was in power at the time. Death and Jack became good friends, practically brothers, which is why Jack's form is a skeleton, because it felt natural to him. When it came time for Death the First to give up the throne he let the two decide among themselves. Death was more of a practical joker, and felt that his other responsibilities would eventually interfere with his ruling so he gave the power to Jack."
"So if Death had taken the position, then Kid would have been prince by now." Ron verified. Everyone looked at Ron, amazed that he had followed the story thus far. "What?"
"That's right." Lock said. "When Harry finally comes to Halloween Town, Kid will train you in the ways of a prince. Questions?" Fred raised his hand.
"Why did he faint after seeing me and George? Are we that good looking?" Draco scoffed.
"Kid is obsessed with symmetry, twins are symmetrical, not only themselves but with their other half as well."
"Ron, what is a Death Eater again?" Harry asked wearily.
"They used to follow You-Know-Who. They use Dark magic and stuff, and they hate Muggles and muggle-borns, and kill them." Harry rested his hands on his knees.
"So, I have to deal with what that three headed dog is hiding, Death Eaters and Oogie Boogie?"
"Don't forget school Harry. You can't let your grades fall." Harry's head thunked on to the table that had just appeared.
"How are you doing that?" Draco asked, amazed.
"Doing what?" Harry mumbled.
"Making things appear."
"We are in a magic room Dray...co. Just think of anything." Draco tried to think of something while Ron also concentrated very hard. The next minute they were being pelted with various foods. Harry and Lock glared at Draco, while Fred, George, and Hermione stared Ron down.
"What, I was hungry!" they chorused. They looked at each other and glared.
"While we are here, I think we should help Harry see if this form would be the best for him." Hermione announced.
"That's a horrible idea Granger, it's too much work." Ron said around a mouth full of chicken. Draco scrunched his nose up cutely at the sight. Hermione smiled mischievously. Ron let out a yelp as he was drenched in freezing cold water. Draco's eyes widened in amazement and he looked between Hermione and the others as if to say, 'are you seeing this?'
"I agree with Granger." Lock said. Hermione squee'ed and took out a piece of parchment and a quill.
"So what were the good things about being a vampire?" she asked. Harry thought about it.
"Everything really, I looked human, I could control the elements, I was fast, could fly and freak out Percy." Fred gave Harry a high-five.
"Okay, what about this form?"
"Well, the wings would be cool, if I could fly with them. The eyes, those are the things I love, I can see clearly, and if I absolutely have to, control people with them." Hermione wrote down the eyes of a Winged Demon on the list.
"I have a plan." Draco said.
"What is it?" Harry asked.
"Since we can't miss school that much, you will stay with Fred and George and the rest of us will do as we usually do. The Mudblood will-"
"What did you say?" Harry yelled. Draco furrowed his eyebrows.
"Mudblood? What, it's just who she is." Tears formed in the corners of Harry's eyes.
"Leave." He whispered. Draco's grey eyes widened in shock.
"Why? I thought we were friends."
"I can't have a friend who thinks those things." Harry choked out.
"Is it that or am I just not good enough for Harry bloody Potter!" Draco yelled in anguish, his eyes misted. Harry held back the waterfall that was sure to come.
"Dray..."
"Don't call me that! In fact, DON'T EVER TALK TO ME AGAIN!" Draco ran from the room, and Harry collapsed to his knees. Giant sobs made his small frame shudder violently. Lock sat at Harry's side and awkwardly hugged him as Fred and George went after Malfoy.
... Draco's Pov...
I ran blindly as tears rolled down my face. Just one step after another, I couldn't think of, that. I ducked into an empty classroom and hid underneath one of the desks to cry. I'd just lost my friend, my first ever real friend. I kicked my legs out and knocked over the bench. The noise must have been very loud because the door creaked open.
"Hey Malfoy, you in here?" I peeked around the desk to find it was Fred Weasley.
"No, I'm not, go away." I said a bit childishly. I admit it, whenever Fred was around I felt a bit better. Fred walked over and sat on the floor next to me.
"Harry's pretty upset right now." I stiffened and closed off my emotions. Of course, this was about Harry Potter. Just thinking the name made me want to sneer. No one cared about Draco Malfoy, the boy who deserved more compassion after what he'd been through, I'd been through. I did that sometimes, thought of myself in the third person. That having a slightly abusive father and a neglectful mother was Draco Malfoy's problem, not mine. However, they are mine and I hate it so much. I had overheard Lucius saying that Voldemort was back, just another thing to add to Draco Malfoy's list of problems. Fred put his arm on my shoulders and shook me a bit. "Hey, it'll be okay."
"How do you know?" I spat out.
"Well, I've fought with my brother before, and he's my best friend. I felt horrible but we eventually got over it and were tighter than ever, you know?" Fred explained, leaning back on both arms. I stared at my hands. I looked out the window, and the clouds above came closer, looking so dissatisfied. I got up slowly and dusted off my pants. Fred followed.
"I'd better get to bed, I can't miss classes again." Fred nodded and I walked back to Slytherin Dorms. I looked down at myself, realized I was still in my pajamas and covered in dirt. "Great."
... TNBC / HP... TBWLTBPK...
Harry wiped the tears away from his eyes sloppily. Lock had left sometime ago after Harry insisted he was fine. The Room of Requirement offered him a bed to sleep on. Harry instead unfolded his wings and walked around for a bit. He walked over to the window and traced patterns on to it with his blue finger. He smiled at his reflection briefly. He sighed deeply. This was not a game anymore. There were real threats. The final two he couldn't do much about, but the three headed dog was another matter. Once he was back to normal, he would Hagrid about the three-headed dog, and what was in the package he took from Gringotts. However, for now, he would deal with homework.
... TNBC / HP... TBWLTBPK...
Bellatrix fumed. That brat had betrayed her; Lock was her servant, why had he turned against her? She turned and pulled her hood up before going to her lair. Inside was her latest victim, Damocles. The sky blue demon struggled to get out of his bindings. His eyes were covered and his wings tied at the feet. The wrinkled demon looked up as she entered.
"Your granddaughter is quite powerful Damo, she will be an obstacle in my plan, but I'm sure I'll be able to dispose of her soon." Damocles tried to lunge at her but was stopped by the chains around his wrists. Oogie circled around him in slow deliberate steps. His mind raced a mile a minute as he tried to figure out where she was in the echoing cavern. Damocles' mind buzzed, his granddaughter was powerful. It could not have been Aoi, she was a sweet girl but her power was almost the lowest rank, only one above white. Her brother was silver; perhaps Oogie was trying to confuse him.
Bellatrix smirked as she saw Damocles' inner turmoil. "Lilith. Even her hair has great power, not black or brown. Golden." Damocles' heart stopped beating for a split second.
"L-Lilith? She's alive?" he stuttered.
"Of course, she's been living in the orphanage ever since you killed her parents." Bellatrix stopped walking.
"They killed themselves with dreams of the surface world!" he shouted.
"I have decided not to kill you. I'm sure my Master can use you eventually." Bellatrix flicked her wand and Damocles was sent to the back chambers where the other prisoners were being held.
... TNBC / HP... TBWLTBPK...
"George, what day is it?" Fred asked from his position on the couch. George looked up from his book.
"Tuesday."
"Oh yeah. So the latest test won't be ready until Friday right?"
"Correct. How's it going Harry?" George called out. Harry made his way over.
"It seems mind control is the only power I have."
"Harry, where are your glasses?" Fred asked in alarm.
"They're... I have no idea. Probably Gryffindor Commons." A few seconds passed by. "I'm bored."
"Find something to do." George responded, captivated by his book. Harry turned to Fred, but the twin had fallen asleep. Harry pushed off from the ground and stood on his wings. He wished for a fireplace and an old book. The room happily provided both for him. He sat Indian style on the carpeted floor and pulled the rather large book towards him. He cover simply said 'Memories' in gold flowing script. Curious, Harry opened it up to the first page.
It was a picture of the Four Founders standing together like family, all around the age of twelve. Helga was laughing, her ginger-blonde pigtails bobbing about, while Rowena was beaming, her raven black hair swaying behind her. The two girls were leaning on Godric and Salazar respectively. Godric was red in the face from laughter, amber eyes sparkling with mirth. Salazar had a hand over his mouth, green eyes bulging.
Harry slowly turned the page to see that the four of them had aged at least seven years. Helga and Rowena were sitting in a field, in front of a slightly constructed Hogwarts, with plans in front of them, they spared the camera a quick smile. Salazar was waving excitedly at the camera while Godric snuck up behind him and doused him in water.
Harry lightly placed his hand over the next picture. The founders could not have been more than seven. They was much laughter and lights in the picture of Christmas.
The next page made a lump appear in Harry's throat. Salazar sat alone at one end of the table, looking sullen as the other three goofed around at the other end. A smaller book appeared next to the album Harry had been looking trough. Four journals, one was scarlet with a golden lion on it, the next one blue with a bronze eagle, a yellow one with a black badger, and finally a green one with a silver snake. Harry picked up the first one.
To my best friend and brother Godric, with love from Salazar.
... TNBC / HP... TBWLTBPK...
I sat at my desk, trying hard to concentrate. My quill was nearly bent in half and the pounding of the rain outside did not help. Harry was my friend. Harry would always be my friend. So why didn't I just apologize? I rested my head in my arms and stared out the window. The little rivulets of water formed intricate designs on the windowpane, as the leaves slapped the glass. I had to apologize. After class seemed like a good time as any. After class.
... TNBC / HP... TBWLTBPK...
Harry peeked up from the photo album to look over at George and Fred. Both twins were asleep, which he had been counting on, as it was now nighttime. He picked up the small scarlet journal and walked towards the window that was showing the moon. He sat on the small ledge and opened the journal to the first page.
Hey Journal,
My name is Godric and it seems like we have a lot of catching up to do.
It seems we do.
There was a long ink line along the page as if the writer had fallen off their chair.
Wow a talking journal! This is amazing. Okay, so I got you for my 17th Christmas from my brother Salazar. Well, he is not really my brother but I love him just the same. You see, all of us were orphaned when the Muggles started to kill witches and wizards. We met at Hogwarts Orphanage. At the time I five, Salazar was four, Helga was three and Rowena was four.
Your writing skills could be better. Who are Helga and Rowena?
Oh yeah I forgot, Helga and Rowena are my adopted sisters. We met at Hogwarts Orphanage, but were only there for five years before it closed down. They tried to kick us all out but we did not want to leave. Hogwarts was our home. There was this big burly man, I remember, who had Helga by her hair trying to drag her out. Me, Salazar and Rowena, tried to get her back but he had a tight grip and Helga was crying. Salazar backed away and looked straight at the man's eyes. Then he said, "I know what you're afraid of. You can't hurt us, because I know what you're scared of." The man laughed. Suddenly there were snakes all over the place, Salazar was hissing at them, they hissed back, and then they attacked the man. They bit his arms bad and he let go of Helga. The man was screaming "Wizard! Wizard!" I had looked over at Salazar, and he had nodded.
"You're one too Godric. I've seen you do magic in your sleep." I was so amazed when he told me that. Me, a wizard? Helga sniffled before looking up at me and saying, "I can do magic too, but mostly just with plants." Rowena was looking down at her feet. I asked her what was wrong and she had said that she did not think she was a witch because she could not do magic. Then she was crying. Salazar finally got the man out and running down the hill screaming, "Wizards and witches! I've been attacked!"
When that happened something seemed to snap in Rowena and her eyes turned gold like an eagle, and this stream off magic went out making odd turns and twists and then she fainted. We took her to the bed and laid her there. She woke up a little bit later and we went outside to defend our home from the mob that was coming. They only came halfway up the hill before one person said, "Well, where are they?" the man from earlier came up and said, "They were in the cottage! Maybe it's on a different hill?" then the first guy accused him of being a wizard trying to lure them to their dooms in the castle ruins. They dragged the guy away to kill him in town.
What happened next?
Then we tried to figure out why they could not see us. We thought for days and days before Salazar concluded that Rowena had done it. She was so excited that she had done magic that she went around the land trying to figure out what she had done. When she found out, she told us that an intricate design was lightly etched in the grass, which apparently repelled Muggles. For the next couple of years we practiced our skills, trying to master them. Rowena, who had to try hard to have good magic, studied everything about it. Why did this movement make that happen, what if I slip up with the incantation, shouldn't we have wands. We never did get wands; still do not have any, its too dangerous according to our mum.
I thought your mum was dead.
Oh yeah, when I turned twelve we had a party, and we snuck out of the wards to go to Town central. Well someone must have seen us because when we came back there was this woman sitting there. She had orange hair and green eyes. She said her name was Vivian Evans and that her twin brother had just gone to turn her in for being a witch and if she could please stay here. What happened next I'll never forget.
Salazar stepped forward and she stood up. "We will let you stay." he had started to say, and Vivian gave a giant smile. "On one condition." I had been scared about what he was going to say. The woman looked down at him and said anything. "You have to be our mum." The woman started crying and then she was hugging all of us in a squishy hug. We all sat down and asked her what happened. She said she was seventeen years old and that she had been using magic since she was eleven, but she did not tell anyone. She started to cry and said that her magic got out of control one day and she burned the house down and killed her parents. Her brother had been intent on finding out who did it so she told him what happened. Then he locked her in the car and went into town to turn her in. She escaped and had come to the cottage.
So now, I am seventeen. Don't expect me to write much in here, I'll probably lose you soon enough.
All in due time, Godric.
"What are you reading Harry?" George called out. Harry looked up and was surprised to see that it was already morning.
"Oh, you know a book." Harry let out a loud yawn. "I'm going to get to sleep." Harry made his eyes black. "Don't touch the photo album or Founders' journals; stop Fred if he tries to get them." George nodded and Harry went to sleep.
... TNBC / HP... TBWLTBPK...
Draco tapped his quill on the desk repeatedly, much to the annoyance of his professor. "Mr. Malfoy." Draco looked up lazily. "I highly doubt you know Morse code, desist that tapping at once." Draco brought the quill down to tap on the desk. "Detention, Mr. Malfoy, my office, seven o' clock. Don't be late."
... TNBC / HP... TBWLTBPK...
It was much later that Harry awoke. Six o' clock in the morning to be exact. He had just had the weirdest dream where Godric had killed Salazar. The thing that unnerved him the most about his dream was that Helga and Rowena had been cheering him on, convicting their brother of being a dark wizard. Harry shook his head and got up, intent on finishing the journals. As he passed by George, the redhead woke up and stopped him.
"What is it George?"
"You slept the whole day yesterday and last night."
"And?"
"You are going to transform soon." George told him as Fred gave a big yawn.
"The new product will be done tomorrow, I'm so excited!" Harry and George looked at him. "What?"
"You wake up and that's the first thing that you say?" George asked him eyebrows raised.
"Well, I was dreaming about it." Fred said in his defence. The awkward silence was broken by a scream from Harry. His wings were disappearing and his teeth had fallen out again. The grey markings in his body swirled around and rearranged themselves as Harry's skin went back to its normal colour. At last, the markings stopped moving and faded into a dark green colour. Harry's tongue stayed forked, and he was presented with snakebite piercings on his bottom lip. When all the commotion had died down Harry shakily stood. His whole body was covered in tattoos of various things. His eyes were still seeing clearly, and his hair was dark green.
"Time for testing." George said over Fred's hysterical laughter.
... TNBC / HP... TBWLTBPK...
Draco yawned as he got out of bed and headed for the showers. He spent fifteen careful minutes washing his hair, and five for his body. Getting out of the shower, he wrapped himself in a towel and went out to choose his clothes for that day. The blond flipped through his clothes trying to find the right ones. For his shirt, he was thinking a plain white one. 'No, Harry wouldn't like that.'
Reality hit him like a brick to the face. He could not just forget that he had realized that he was in love with Harry during detention yesterday. His scowled and turned back to his clothes, finally deciding on a midnight blue one with a yellow-green dragon on it. What would his father think of him dressing to impress a boy? Draco sighed and picked out his only pair of jeans to go with it.
He had fallen. Hard.
Draco remembered every single moment he had spent with Harry thus far, and there were quite a number. He picked up the small snake that Harry had transformed for him, when he was a vampire. The memory brought a loopy smile to his face, could Harry like him back? Draco put the trinket down and picked up his school bag before heading to breakfast. As he opened the great hall doors his mask fell into place and he sat down, being careful to face away from Gryffindor table, where Hermione and Ron were sure to be glaring at him. Sitting there eating breakfast made Draco think, how could he not have realized that he liked Harry before? The boy was quite mesmerizing when you came down to it. Lock slid into a seat across the table, once again in his Faust disguise.
"Malfoy." He said politely. Draco blew out a puff of air, knowing that Lock wanted to start something.
"Lock, about what happened with Harry, I truly am sorry for upsetting him. I was not thinking straight, but that is not an excuse. The real excuse is that I am in love with him, and was worried that I was about to lose him to you and the others so I lashed out." In the split second it took Draco to blink, Lock was on the table with his wand to the blond's throat.
"You stay away from him Malfoy. He doesn't want someone like you." Draco glared.
"How do you know?" he spat.
"No one wants garbage." Lock straightened and jumped off the table, heading for the doors.
... TNBC / HP... TBWLTBPK...
Harry sent one of his tattoos out again, this time a lion. The ink became flesh and meat before the lion was charging at Fred. The lion was grey with a black mane, red eyes, and sharp looking teeth, enough for Fred to want to turn tail and run.
"Fred, don't you chicken out on me." George shouted.
"What if I just play dead?" Fred called back. George gave him a look. "Fine." Fred sent Stupefy at it, then a stinging hex and finally jelly legs. Nothing stopped the lion's running gait. It was inches away from devouring Fred when Harry called it back. The lion grinned sadistically at Fred before turning into a shadow and racing towards its spot on Harry's arm, where it turned to ink once more.
"Now that was scary."
"But, effective." George added, making a few notes on his clipboard. "Thus far we have concluded that Harry can use his tattoos to shadow transport himself, all weapons are indestructible, and at their finest. Blades sharp, bats metal, and arrows streamlined. Animals don't give way to anything, though we don't know if they can actually cause damage."
"Well maybe if Harry sent something a little less dangerous I could test it." George looked at Harry.
"You have a kitten?" Harry looked on his arms before nodding. "Alright Fred, time to test my theory." Harry sent out the black kitten. It raced towards Fred.
"What's your theory?" Fred called out, only half his attention on the small kitten.
"That all animals will cause vast amounts of damage no matter the size or normal strength."
"You lost me." Fred said.
"Protect your face." The kitten jumped and extended its claws.
"Protect my face? Why would I- ow! OW GET IT OFF! OOOWWW! IT'S CLAWS ARE EVERYWHERE!" Fred was on the floor as the kitten clawed at him before shadowing to another part of his body. The kitten stopped and licked his paws. Harry called the little thing back. The kitten's eyes glowed red before he gave one last swipe to Fred's face. Fred sat up ready to strangle the cat but it just shadowed through his fingers and returned to Harry.
"Well that's a yes. What about those piercings?" Harry shrugged and touched them with the tips of his tongue. Fred and George clapped their hands over their ears.
"What's wrong?" he asked in concern.
"What did you just do?" George questioned.
"All I did was touch my tongue to the piercings. Why?"
"When you did that it let out an extremely high pitched sound, rendering me and Fred defenceless."
"Oh, so I should probably not do it again." Harry confirmed.
"Right." Fred agreed.
... TNBC / HP... TBWLTBPK...
Draco numbly walked down to his first class. The noise around him was just static, his heart felt crushed, the colours of the world dimmed. It couldn't be true, what Lock had said. Harry did not think of him as garbage did he? He sat in his seat, still detached from the world. Lock saw this and smirked. Draco's eyes misted as he thought of all his plans going to waste. He may only be eleven but he knew that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with Harry and no one else. Draco laid his head on the table, and went to sleep. When class ended, he couldn't be woken. He was drifting in his own mind, lost to the outside.
"Professor! We need help, Draco won't wake!" Blaise shouted. Professor Flitwick scrambled of his books and cast a few light diagnostic skills at Draco.
"He isn't going to wake up."
... TNBC / HP... TBWLTBPK...
Harry happily showed Fred and George the album of the Founders now that he was done with it. The three boys laughed at their adventures and stories. Harry stopped on the picture of Salazar with who he knew to be Vivian.
"Harry, Salazar kind of looks like you in this one." Fred commented.
"He looks exactly like you, minus the scar that is." George corrected.
"That's what I meant." Fred said.
"Sure it was." George said sarcastically. Fred tackled George and soon the boys were wrestling. Harry looked back at the picture. It could have been him and his Mum. His eyes filled with tears. His tattoo kitten formed itself and rubbed against Harry's knee. Harry petted it before closing the book. All in due time.
Harry picked up Godric's journal and flipped to the new entry.
Wow! Salazar had the most amazing idea today. We are going to turn Hogwarts into a giant school for Witchcraft and Wizardry.We are going to make the cottage into a castle. Children 11 to 17 will come here to learn and will be sorted by my victory hat. We each have a different house ironically enough with the same colours and symbols as our journals.
Godric, how old are you now, and is there anything I need to know to understand what you are about to write?
Oh, I am nineteen now. Vivian is dead, but before she died, she had bonded to us.
Harry stopped reading and looked up at George, who was a few feet away.
"George, what does it mean when an adult bonds to more than one child?" George put his quill down and pondered the question before answering.
"It means, while each child is now from their bloodline, they children aren't blood related. For example, if McGonagall bonded with you and Luna Lovegood, you and her could date and get married and stuff."
"Oh. Suppose that makes sense."
There was a battle out in on the grounds in front of our anti-Muggle barrier. It was a mass of blood, everyone accusing another of hiding witches, or being one. They kept getting closer and closer to the barrier, shouting that they would not leave until they had burned one. Vivian took us all into the cottage and said an incantation over each of us, a small tattoo burning on to each of our arms. "You are Evans now, of the Deerhead clan. Make me proud."
That was the last thing she said before she ran out of the barrier and into the battle. She took out her wand and started casting spells left and right. Vivian ran to the top of the hill, and at that moment, she really looked like a hero. Her hair was whipping behind her and she stood in a profile stance, head faced towards the battlefield. "I'm a witch! Come and get me you cowards!"
The light shone down on her, making her look like she was not from this world. She ran down the other side of the hill, the crowd chasing after her. Helga was crying her poor little heart out, with Rowena trying to comfort her. Salazar, well, he seemed torn. He looked very angry but there were tears in his eyes. I had tried to pull him into a hug but he punched me in the arm and ran inside. I then looked out over to the hill where I had last seen Vivian. I vowed to make good of her last words to us.
Which is why we are we are going to build Hogwarts, hoping that one day we will be known as the greatest witches and wizards of our century. Right now Helga and Rowena are making some plans. Salazar is outside talking to the snakes. He said he was going to tell them to find witches and wizards that could help us with our dream. Right now, I am concentrating on my victory hat. I am trying to make it so it gives advice before sorting the children into our four Houses, because as of right now it only sings idiotically.
Perhaps your hat was meant to sing. Have it give advice in the way of a merry tune.
Hey, that could work. Thanks. Salazar predicts that we will be done with the castle by the time we are twenty-five. It is to be seven floors, with over 100 staircases that will move. The castle is to have extensive grounds with sloping lawns, flowerbeds and vegetable patches, a loch (which we found nearby), a large dense forest (where we have seen several centaur clans), several green houses and other outbuildings. Rowena said she would work on enlarging the anti-Muggle ward soon. Well, time for dinner.
Achieve the impossible.
Harry flipped the page expecting more writing but the following pages were blank. It seems as though Godric never saw that message. Harry thought.
... TNBC / HP... TBWLTBPK...
All the students nearby stopped talking. "He's dead?" Blaise whispered hoarsely. Several gasps rang out at the proclamation.
"Oh, I didn't mean to imply that. Mr. Malfoy is in a coma." Flitwick quickly explained. "But he will die eventually if we can't wake him." Blaise slammed his fist down on the table, before turning to face Lock.
"This is your entire fault! What did you do to him?" Lock's eyes went wide as everyone looked at him.
"I didn't do anything! I did threaten him so he would keep away from someone, but I never cast a spell. Honest."
"Why are you all standing around for? Get him to Madame Pomfrey would you!" Ron shouted Hermione right next to him. She touched his arm and gave him a small smile.
Blaise and a few other Slytherins made quick work of getting Draco to the Infirmary. Once there however they all were asked to leave. "Leave, we can't leave. We need to make sure he's okay!"
"I assure you that Mr. Malfoy will be just fine. Now all of you get back to your classes or I will give you a reason to be in here." The students all but ran out, leaving a slightly smirking Madame Pomfrey behind.
... TNBC / HP... TBWLTBPK...
"Harry! We just heard that Malfoys in the Infirmary." Fred said. Harry quickly stood.
"What's wrong?" he asked as he slipped on his hooded cloak.
"He's in a coma." George told him. Harry paused for a second before shadowing out. He stumbled straight into the doors of the infirmary. The doors slammed open as he strode through, hunting for Malfoy. Madame Pomfrey came running out and caught sight of him.
"Mr. Potter, just what do you think you're doing!"
"Where's Draco?" he asked, eyes still darting around frantically.
"You can't see him right now but I assure you he is under the best care."
"Tell me where he is!" Harry shouted, eyes glowing red for a second.
"If you think that you can intimidate me for one second, you are sorely mistaken!" Poppy yelled. Harry gave a frustrated scream and shadowed past the Nurse, and straight into the room he had used when he was a vampire.
Draco laid there, deathly pale, not moving an inch. The small ball of light over his chest was very feeble. Harry sat on the edge of the bed and waited for Pomfrey to realize he was there. It was half an hour before Madame Pomfrey came in to check on Draco.
"I thought you said he was under the best care. Tell me what exactly is going on or I will not leave."
"Mr. Potter, I will have you expelled if you question my work again."
"I said tell me what's going on, I ask you again." Pomfrey glared and took out her wand.
"I don't care what creature you are, but you are not allowed to speak to me in that way. I will tell you, but only because I know you must care deeply for him to have gone though all this trouble. Draco is in a coma, one that he will die from if he does not wake up. The reason he is in a coma is because he has been denied the chance to pursue a mate. I do not know if Mr. Malfoy realizes this but he has some creature blood in him, which requires that he pick a mate to pursue. If Mr. Malfoy had been older and found someone who ended up being married the same thing would happen." Harry looked over at his best friend.
"Who rejected him?" Harry asked quietly, taking Draco's ice-cold hand into his tattooed one. No one noticed Draco's other hand twitch.
"No one rejected him. If he had asked someone to be, his mate and they said no, he'd already be dead. What most likely happened is that he found someone but found out they had a boyfriend or girlfriend. The other option is that a friend noticed Draco's affections for his new intended, and threatened him to stay away." Harry nodded and stood up, letting go of Draco's hand. He looked at his friend and a determined glint set into his eyes.
"I'll find whoever did this to you, I promise."
... TNBC / HP... TBWLTBPK...
"I knew you did something!" Blaise shouted once he and Lock were back in the Dorms. Lock did not respond. "Well why don't you say something when I say something! Who did you tell him to stay away from?"
"You already know don't you!" Lock shouted back.
"You know he's most likely going to kill you now, right?" Blaise inquired. Lock looked at him in surprise. "I'd tell him before he finds out on his own."
