Writer's Notes: I can barely believe I spent four chapters on Jamie's Christmas holiday. I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I should note that while this is undeniably what is known as a super-Harry (as well as a Fem-Harry) story, the powers she absorbed from the six artifacts aren't going to manifest immediately. Most of them won't even show up in the course of this first of seven stories and she won't come into her full potential until she's an adult and has had a lot of training.
Right now, all she has are new telepathic powers she can't quite control yet, increased telekinetic strength she probably won't discover in the course of this chapter and a slight increase in magical potential that will take years to reach full potency. By the way, the arrows she got in Chapter Ten won't come into play until Book Seven. They'll be kept in the Avengers vault until then.
In this chapter, which was written in about forty eight hours, Jamie also investigates the forbidden section in the castle and goes a LOT further than just Fluffy. Given her abilities, it's not even a challenge. Figuring out what's going on without knowing what's being stored there, however, is another matter. I also have to consider what she will see when she looks into the Mirror of Erised for the first time. This is not Harry who was raised without love. Jamie has always been surrounded by people who love her. Yes, she misses her parents but it's not as consuming an issue as it was with Harry.
By the way, I've also retroactively changed the name Jamie gives her Patronus in Chapter Six. It's now called Aslan, which in addition to the reference to the Chronicles of Narnia is the word for lion in Turkish (I believe and according to Google) and at least one other language. I think it's a much better name. It's also more fitting in light of my plans for future chapters and stories.
Chapter Twelve: Back to School
In the morning, the voices in her head woke Jamie in her bed at Avengers Mansion. She had vague memories of Padfoot and Wanda putting her to bed. The voices weren't exactly painful or even particularly loud, but they were persistent. She reached up carefully and touched the choker she was wearing. It was a gift from Tony designed to suppress her new telepathic powers until she could control them. She knew it had a small dial on the clasp in back that would control the power of the block, but decided to try something else first.
Sitting up in bed and crossing her legs, she tried meditating. After an enemy tried to mind control her two years earlier, Padfoot asked Professor Xavier to teach her how to defend her mind from unwanted intrusion. This wasn't exactly the same thing, but she figured the concept was close enough to give it a try. If it didn't work she could always turn up the suppressor later, but she figured she needed to learn to control her new powers on her own sooner or later anyway. Best not to put it off.
By the time she came down to breakfast, she was in control and only had to turn the choker up a little. "Morning, everyone."
She kissed Sirius, then Wanda, who asked the question on everyone's minds. "How are you feeling, honey?"
"I'm fine, Aunt Wanda," Jamie tried to assure her godparents and everyone else. "No side effects and the choker's working fine. It's time I built up my psychic shields, anyway."
"You're sure?" Sirius seemed less than convinced.
Jamie rolled her eyes affectionately. "Yes, Padfoot. I'm sure. The tingling, nausea and dizziness I had last night are all gone and I don't even have an urge to take over the world."
"Don't even joke about that, Jamie," Wanda warned. "At least two of the artifacts you absorbed have been known to cause megalomania in their users."
"Well, they're not doing that with me," Jamie promised. "So far, all I got is one increased power, my ability to sense magic, and two new ones, the absorption thing and the telepathy I got from absorbing the pendant. It is gonna be a real pit, though, if I can't touch anything magical without absorbing it. I mean, what about my wand?"
Sirius tried to put her mind at ease. "Dr. Strange assures us that the first absorption, when you tried to take the headdress and pendant off of Baron Blood was an accident. You wanted to take them and went a little further than you intended. You actually meant to absorb the other four artifacts. You need to be careful until you learn how this power works, but shouldn't need to worry about accidentally absorbing any more artifacts."
She gingerly reached for her wand and took it out without absorbing it. "That's a relief. I'm going back to Hogwarts in just two days and there are artifacts in just about every corner of that castle. I don't think Professor Dumbledore would be happy if they suddenly started disappearing."
Wanda nodded. "You'll be spending the next two days in Westchester, learning to control your telepathic powers with Professor Xavier and your cousin. They'll be taking you and Ron back to Britain on Sunday. As much as Sirius and I hate not being able to spend the rest of your vacation with you, the Avengers are going to have our hands full with the aftermath of last night and have everyone on call."
Jamie wasn't happy about that, but she understood.
"Don't worry, Kitten." Padfoot pulled her into a gentle hug. "We'll come by the mansion Saturday night to see you off good and proper. Meanwhile, Moony and Tonks will be going along to keep an eye on you for us."
Later that morning, Jamie and Ron loaded up for the trip to Westchester, then back to Hogwarts. In addition to his other Christmas gifts, Ron now had his own magic shielded laptop, which he was starting to learn to use and found quite wonderful, and Jamie had five more, one each for Hermione, Lavender, Parvati and her sister, Padma, all who asked for them, and one for Professor Flitwick, who was interested in possibly duplicating it. Professors Dumbledore, McGonagall and even Snape also had orders in, but the computers couldn't be mass produced yet. Tony assured her he'd have them sent to Hogwarts by the end of the month.
"By your second year," he promised her, "the Magical Technology Department will be up and running, we'll be starting mass production and at least half, if not all, of the students at Hogwarts will have these things. I'll be giving them out for free, of course, but once word gets out, people in the magical communities will be beating my door down to get them."
He added an admonishment. "By the way, be careful with the higher settings on that choker. Make sure you keep it on the minimum setting necessary. We're not a hundred percent sure what side effects there might be, but higher settings could cause confusion and lethargy, while there's a very slim chance that the highest setting could permanently damage your control and even cause brain damage. The lower settings, of course, should have no problems."
Her next two days at Westchester were a lot of hard work for Jamie. She already had the basics down, but Xavier and Jean were determined to have her trained by the time she left. It could have been a pain if she hadn't been almost as determined as they were. As it was, by Saturday night she was able to reduce the setting on the choker significantly. Even Xavier was quite pleased with her progress.
As promised, Wanda and Sirius showed up to say their farewells. They promised to bring Jamie back to America in April to get her brace properly removed and she promised to work hard in school. As expected, there were a lot of hugs and a few tears.
Sunday morning, Jamie and Ron boarded the Blackbird with Jean and Scott for the trip back. They even agreed to give Agatha Harkness a ride. A few hours later, they arrived in time to get unpacked and settled in and still be down in the main hall with the rest of the Gryffindors when dinner was served. The twins and Hermione, among several others, of course, wanted to know all the details of their grand adventure in America.
After dinner, Jamie and Ron were summoned to Professor McGonagall's office. They knew what for and were not looking forward to it.
"Miss Potter, Mr. Weasley," she began. "You have yet to serve your detentions for your adventures Halloween night. Potter, tomorrow, after dinner, you're to go to Hagrid's cabin to deal with the matter. Dress warmly. You'll be joined by Malfoy who just this morning earned a detention for another matter. At the same time, Mr. Weasley, you're to report to Madame Pince in the Library. I hope neither of you will make a habit out of this. That will be all."
"Yes, Professor," both said almost in stereo. "Thank you, Professor."
What more could they say? Regardless their reasons or motives, they knew they'd earned the detentions.
"What's the term the Americans use," Ron commented as they returned to the dorm. "Sucks to be you. Serving detention's bad enough . . . serving it with Malfoy is like a double punishment."
Jamie laughed. "It won't be so bad. It'll give me a chance to get him alone so I can take care of something."
His curiosity was viciously piqued. "What you have planned?"
She shrugged. "I just want to give him a Christmas present."
Ron looked at her like she was crazy, then remembered their shopping trip in Salem Center. "Oh. The lump of coal?"
"No," she told him. "I decided not to do that. I have something else in mind; a peace offering of a sort."
"A peace offering?" Now he really thought she was crazy. "For Draco?"
"Look." She frowned sternly. "I know Draco's a jerk; a regular prat. I know he deserved most of what we did to him, but I think we went a little overboard with the fig leaves, not to mention the green hair thing I did to him. I don't want to make the same mistakes as the original Marauders and I've been starting off on a bad foot."
"Same mistakes?"
"They made Professor Snape's life at Hogwarts hell. He may have deserved most of it and I'm told he often dished it out as much as he took it, but they started a feud that lasted more than fifteen years and is still just starting to heal. Padfoot has a lot of regrets over some of the things they did; so does Moony. I don't want that on my conscience when we get back together for our ten year reunion. Cap told me I should be better than that."
Ron nodded. "But Draco?"
"I'm not going to become his bosom buddy." Jamie slugged him playfully on the shoulder. "And I'm not going to stop putting him in his place when he does something stupid and racist. I just want to clear the air. I found this candy called a bag of coal. It's dark chocolate with crunchy bits. It's not a lot, just a gesture."
Ron still wasn't sure about it, but let the matter drop. It was Jamie's decision. He still didn't think it would do any good, however.
By the time she had to head out to the cabin, Jamie still wasn't sure what Draco had done to earn a detention. She knew it involved some kind of shenanigans on the train back the previous morning and was probably related to the black eye he was now sporting, but no one was admitting responsibility. Hermione, however, seemed just a little bit smug. The fact that she had some small scratches and slight bruising on the knuckles of her right hand, of course, didn't hurt Jamie's hypothesis.
Hagrid and Draco were waiting when she arrived and Hagrid looked more concerned than she'd seen him in all the years she'd known him. "How well c'n ya get around in that thing, Jamie?"
"As well as you can on those two huge legs of yours," she assured him, "better, actually. The chair can fly short distances to get over stuff that would block someone walking."
She cocked her head. "What's up?"
"Someone's killin' unicorns in my forest." His disgust was evident. "Been happenin' since Halloween; 'bout one a week."
"Why should we care about a bunch of dumb animals?" Draco sneered.
"You shouldn't," Jamie said before Hagrid could speak up. "You're here to serve detention. That means you do what he tells you to whether you believe in it or not. Now get over it."
She turned back to Hagrid. "What do you want us to do?"
"Whatever's doin' this should attack again t'night," Hagrid told them. "Th' unicorns in th' forest like t' graze at night in a clearin' 'bout a quarter mile down that path over there. I want ya t' take Fang an' go take a look. He c'n lead ya to 'em an' they won't run from ya like they would from us. I'll take Draco an' follow a ways back. If ya see somethin' call out an' we'll come runnin'. I know ya c'n take care o' y'rself, but ya ain't t' be takin' no chances."
He paused. "Ya shouldn't be in any danger. Somethin' that's resortin' to feedin' off unicorn blood is a pretty pathetic creature an' no threat t' th' likes o' you. Still, don't be playin' hero out there. Ya see somethin' call f'r help."
"Got it." Jamie nodded a little too enthusiastic for Hagrid's taste.
"I mean it, Jamie." Hagrid stared her down sternly, but affectionately. "Don't be takin' no risks. Y'r godmother'd have m' head on a pike if'n I got ya hurt."
Jamie rolled her eyes. "I got it, Hagrid. Get a look and don't take chances. No heroics allowed. I had about all the heroics I can handle over the holidays, anyway."
With that, Jamie headed into the forest. She had lights on her chair, but she didn't turn them on. She could see just fine in the dark. She still sensed the magic long before she could see anything; both the powerful light magic of the unicorns and the dark taint of something else; something familiar.
"Voldemort," she hissed then screamed as she entered the clearing. "Voldemort!"
The creature about to pounce on a young unicorn before her was only marginally human and quite translucent. There was no doubt in her mind that it was the same creature she sensed in Quirrell on Halloween night and encountered once before on another Halloween night ten years earlier. Anger like she had never felt before boiled in her soul. This was the monster that killed her parents.
"You!" The shade whispered angrily. "I'll destroy you. I'll destroy everything you hold dear."
A bolt of pure chaos erupted from her whole body and would have destroyed the creature, but Voldemort saw the energy building up and wisely apported at the last instant. He wasn't ready to face Jamie quite yet.
When Hagrid and Draco caught up with her, the unicorns had fled and Jamie was sitting there tears of rage rolling down her cheek, but otherwise miraculously unharmed. Residual chaos energy still flickered around the area in a multi-colored light show as small poltergeist effects danced around the clearing.
"Jamie!" Hagrid called out in concern.
"It was Voldemort," Jamie told him, finally beginning to rein in her rage. "He was here. He's the one that's been feeding on the unicorns."
"No longer." A voice called out from the bushes as a group of centaurs armed with swords and spears emerged.
"Firenze," Hagrid greeted their leader.
"Hagrid." The centaur nodded greeting then turned to Jamie. "Child of Chaos, you are certain the creature you stopped from carrying out its intentions this night was the Dark Lord?"
"It was him, alright," Jamie told them. "What's left of him, anyway."
Firenze nodded. "We will move the unicorn herd away from this area. The shade will find no more sustenance from that source."
With that, the centaurs turned and left as Hagrid turned to the two kids. "We need t' be talkin' t' Perfessor Dumbledore about this an' that's fer certain."
Jamie nodded silently, not yet realizing the significance of the other thing that happened this night. For the first time, she unleashed her chaos magic without nearly killing herself. When she had time to think clearly, she would be truly impressed. It was a major accomplishment
Later that night, as they left Dumbledore's office to return to their respective dorms, Jamie finally had a chance to deal with the other matter of the night.
"Hey, Draco."
"What?" He turned to her with a mix of hatred and fear bordering on terror.
"Got something for you." She tossed him the bag of candy. "Merry Christmas."
He caught the bag, but then eyed it suspiciously. "What's this?"
"Candy," she told him. "It's a Christmas thing in the No Maj world. Call it a peace offering."
"What are you up to?" He was still cautious.
"Nothing," she assured him. "I swear. I just realize I've been a bit hard on you. You had most of it coming, but a couple of the things I was involved in went too far. I may not like you much and I'm still gonna knock you down a peg or two when you start dishing that racist crap again, but I don't want to make the same mistake with you that the Marauders did with Professor Snape. I don't want fifteen plus years of bad blood. Just sayin'."
With that, she left, but he called after her. "What does this mean?"
She didn't turn back. "You're a smart kid. Figure it out."
When she returned to the Gryffindor dorm, Ron and Hermione were waiting for her. They had tons of questions, but she wasn't ready to answer them just yet.
"Marauders meeting tomorrow night in the Room of Requirement. Spread the word, but don't tell Professor Harkness. She doesn't need to know what I'm planning. Right now, I just want to go to bed and get some sleep. It's been a long day."
When Jamie woke up Tuesday morning, the reality hit her. She actually fired off a blast of pure chaos more powerful than either of the ones that put her in the hospital and wasn't even scratched; a blast that would have done her godmother proud. She was still a little freaked by the encounter, but something deep inside her was jumping for joy. She couldn't wait to tell the others.
"Hagrid had me help him find out what's been killing unicorns for the past two months," she told the other First Years and a few other interested Marauders, like the twins, at breakfast. "It was Voldemort. I saw him and kinda went ballistic. I fired off a blast of chaos energy that could have leveled a good portion of the forest if it hadn't been specifically targeted at him and not even a scratch. If he hadn't gotten out of there just before I cut loose, he'd be dead now."
"Wicked," Ron lamented. "You get to have all the adventures. All Madame Pince had me doing was shelving books and polishing trophies in the display case."
"Of the six artifacts I absorbed," Jamie said ignoring Ron's comment, "I think Merlin's Robe was most likely behind this, but I could be wrong. Dr. Strange said it magnified the wearer's potential and supposedly contained the secrets of lost spells. I haven't mysteriously figured out any new spells, but I think this counts as an increase in power. I'll ask Professor Harkness as soon as I get the chance."
By this point, the others were so jaded by Jamie's abilities and life that absorbing six powerful magical artifacts was barely a blip on their radar. Amazing what people could get used to given enough time and exposure.
The rest of the day passed quietly, but Jamie had trouble concentrating. She didn't even get a chance to talk to Professor Harkness. She needed to tell her that magic was coming much more easily for her now; almost too easily. Her mind, however, was focused on her plans; plans that would only start with the Marauders meeting.
By the time the now more than thirty Marauders, minus their faculty advisor, gathered in the Room of Requirement, Jamie was practically bursting at the seams with anticipation.
"It's no longer a theory," she told them. "Voldemort is alive . . . after a sort. I ran into him while serving my detention with Mr. Hagrid last night. He's some kind of shade and was feeding off of unicorn blood, of all things. He got away, but I did manage to stop him. The centaurs took the unicorns deeper into the forest where they should be safe from him. Important thing is he's alive and he hasn't left since losing his vessel in Professor Quirrell after Halloween."
She paused. "There has to be a reason he's risking hanging around here and I'm sure it has something to do with whatever they're hiding on the third floor."
"Please tell me you aren't intending to go there," Hermione interrupted her. "Please tell me that's not your plan."
Jamie smiled. "You know me so well, Mione. That's exactly what I'm planning. If we're going to stop him, we need to know what he's after. The teachers won't tell us. They think they're protecting us. I know there's something down there. I feel it in my gut. If I'm wrong, no harm. I don't intend to touch anything. I'm going to be intangible the whole time. I'm also going to be invisible, so there's no way anyone is going to catch me. I want you guys to wait here. Work on . . . work on martial training. Wood, as the senior student here and one of the best hand to hand people, you're in charge until I get back."
She paused. "If I'm not back before curfew, find Professor Harkness and let her know what I was doing. Just a safeguard. It won't come to that. I shouldn't be gone more than thirty minutes on the outside."
That said, she became invisible, left her chair behind and floated down through the floor. She made a beeline for the forbidden hallway. She only vaguely remembered coming there the night she was high on catnip, but there was only one visible door in the whole section.
Floating through the wall, she again encountered the massive three headed dog. This time it was asleep and didn't even stir when she floated in. Looking around, there were no paintings that could have hidden doors; no statues or suits of armor; nothing but a barren room and a sleeping Cerberus. Then she noticed the hatch in the floor beneath one Fluffy's massive paws.
Down it is, she said silently to herself as she floated down through the floor.
The room below was filled with moving vines; a single plant by the looks of it, but not one Jamie recognized off the top of her head. She figured Hermione would know what it was, but no matter. It couldn't touch her and the path from this room was clear there was a single door.
Floating through the wall again, avoiding the actual doors for a variety of reasons, Jamie entered a third chamber with several brooms leaning against the wall and what had to be a hundred keys with gossamer wings flying around randomly.
"Okay," she said aloud this time. "Seeing a pattern here. The dog was probably supplied by Hagrid with his love of all things bestial and monstrous. The plant has to be from Professor Sprout's garden. The charms on those keys have to be Professor Flitwick's work. Bet the door's locked . . . obviously. No matter. I don't need to worry about a key."
Flying through the wall again she entered a room dominated by a massive chess set. Jamie recognized a wizard's chess set when she saw one; even if the figures weren't animated at the moment. She figured Professor McGonagall must have supplied this one. Animating objects was a powerful transfiguration.
The black king and queen were blocking the exit, so she just flew through them and into the next room, which had a table with three potions and a note. She didn't even need to read the note to recognize Professor Snape's touch, but flew intangibly through the wall into a large stadium like chamber with a standing mirror in the middle of it.
Flying around the room, she saw nothing else, so she decided to take a look in the mirror. Although she remained invisible, she still saw her reflection there; that and a whole lot more. She was older and wearing a superhero costume. All the heroes she knew were gathered around her and looking at her with pride. Padfoot, Wanda and the others were there; so were her parents who seemed the proudest of all of them. A newspaper banner above it all read: "Pooka and the Avengers Save the World . . . Again!"
"Okay," she said aloud again, "That's just too cool, but what does it have to do with anything? It can't be showing the future. My parents are dead. I don't see how it could be what all the rest are here to guard. There's nowhere further to go. It has to have something to do with what they're hiding, but what . . . ."
She smiled thoughtfully. "The others had to be set up by various teachers and staff. This one has Professor Dumbledore written all over it. How do I pit my little mind against one of the smartest and wisest wizards in the history of the world? Then again, I'm probably not supposed to. That's why it's here."
After a little more searching to make sure she wasn't missing something, she finally sighed and teleported back to the Room of Requirement where the others were waiting for her. She'd been gone less than fifteen minutes.
"So," Hermione immediately left sparring with Hannah. "Did you learn anything worth the risk you just took?"
"I'm not sure," was Jamie's honest answer. "There's this huge three headed dog with its paw on a trapdoor. I'm pretty sure that test was set up by Mr. Hagrid. Beneath that there's some kind of plant that's a mass or writhing vines. That suggests Professor Sprout. Next was a room with hundreds of flying keys; a charm Professor Flitwick would be proud of. Then a room with a giant wizard's chess set; Professor McGonagall, obviously. After that was a room with a table and three potions."
"Professor Snape," Parvati offered.
Jamie nodded. "I avoided all of them easily enough, but the last room has me stumped. There was a small auditorium. In the middle of it was a floor mirror. Even though I was invisible, I saw a reflection; me as a superhero with everyone, including my parents, looking on with pride after I saved the world."
"Some kind of divination?" Someone suggested.
"My parents were there," she told them, "so it couldn't have been showing the future."
"Probably," Hermione said finally, "some kind of wish fulfillment. We all know you want to be a superhero when you get older. Having your parents looking on proudly would be the only thing that would make it even greater. It showed you your greatest wish and fondest dream. There are several artifacts that do that."
"That's what I figured." Jamie nodded again. "It had to be set up by Professor Dumbledore himself. It was the final test and the only one I couldn't get around. I peeked through the walls of the chamber and found nothing, just a bunch of unconnected rooms and hallways . . . and what I think may have been the Hufflepuff common room. I even tried to reach into the mirror and only reached through it."
She shrugged. "I'm more convinced than ever that there's something there and it's probably some kind of artifact like the others he had his people steal and he wants it bad enough that he's willing to risk hiding out this close to Professor Dumbledore. I even have a list of the thirteen artifacts he's already stolen, but if they give a hint to what he's looking for here, I'm missing it."
"Let me have the list and do some research," Hermione offered finally. "If Professor Dumbledore set this up, the key has to be somewhere; maybe something in his past that the person who's supposed to claim this thing would know. Who knows?"
"Thanks, Hermione," Jamie hugged her friend.
"Don't thank me yet." Hermione laughed. "I may not find anything. It's a long shot at best."
Jamie laughed as well. "Padfoot always says, better a long shot than no shot."
That night, Lucius Malfoy arrived at Hogwarts; ostensibly to see his son, which he did before carrying out his real mission. If Jamie had seen him, she would have recognized the man Sirius fought nearly ten years earlier. He promised Professors Snape and Dumbledore that he would keep Draco up past curfew and could see himself out when he was finished with his visit. Therefore, no one was looking for him as he creeped through the halls of the castle just after curfew.
He moved quietly, but with an attitude that wouldn't attract the attention of any of the paintings or other watchers he passed. When he reached the haunted bathroom, which had been rebuilt, fortunately without exposing what was beneath it, he turned the faucets on one of the sinks in a certain way and the passage down to the Chamber of Secrets opened.
Untold feet below the castle, he entered the massive vault. When he saw the sleeping basilisk, he had an involuntary intake of breath and subconsciously touched the stump of his right arm. If the monster awoke, he was most likely a dead man. He knew this going in, but the commands of the Dark Lord were not to be disobeyed.
"Master," he whispered. "I have come. I bring the artifact you've requested."
"Welcome, my faithful acolyte." The shade rose slowly from the body of the mercifully still sleeping creature.
Lucius Malfoy knelt to one knee, reached into his jacket and produced a book. "Excerpts from the Darkhold, Lord Voldemort. As ordered, I have let none open, much less study it."
"Excellent." Voldemort nodded. "The brat has managed to deny me access to the blood of unicorns on which I was feeding since the loss of Quirrell. She grows more powerful by the day; particularly since that debacle in New York."
Malfoy nodded silently, letting Voldemort continue. "You advised against the use of the vampire, Baron Blood. Perchance I should have listened. We'll never know."
Voldemort paused. "Nothing to be done about it now except to learn from our mistakes. The loss of the six artifacts is unfortunate, but not crippling. Only the headdress and the amulet played any major role in my plans. The others were little more than power sources and, in the case of Merlin's Robes, a font of information. No matter, the information supplied more willingly by this tome and the Staff of Damballah are much more useful and appropriate to my plans. Merlin was too much a force of light to be of much more than passing value to us."
Malfoy nodded tacit agreement; something he didn't quite feel, but you didn't disagree with the Dark Lord if you valued your life.
"The loss of the six, however," Voldemort continued, "makes obtaining the Philosopher's Stone all the more integral. The Chariot of Doumu and the Staff of Damballah, particularly if used in conjunction, can reunite my spirit and body, but only the Stone can enable me to recreate my body."
"Cassius swears that the Stone is beyond stealing, Master," Malfoy reported. "The pathetic creature is a coward, but in this case, I fear he may be correct. No one outside the castle would have a chance of obtaining the artifact."
Voldemort nodded. "That is why I am still here, hiding like a common thief. It is also why a instructed you to bring me the book. Legend says that there is a spell therein that will enable me to draw energy from such a magical structure or locii and in time even subvert it to my own purposes. With the power of Hogwarts itself to draw on, I'll soon no longer need the bodies of thralls or the blood of unicorns. I'll have the power to take what I have decided is mine, discredit my erstwhile teacher and kill the brat who is responsible for my current state."
He paused his ranting long enough to give Malfoy his marching orders. "Tell the others to be ready, our time will soon be upon us."
"What of Macnair and his group?" Lucius asked.
"Don't worry about him." Voldemort turned on his lackey. "He too acts upon my orders. Concern yourself with your own group and let him deal with his. It is enough for the both of you to serve me. These petty squabbles displease me greatly.
Malfoy swallowed loudly. "As you command, Master."
"You may leave now, Lucius," Voldemort said finally dismissing him. "You have served me well this night."
With that, Lucius Malfoy left the Chamber, made his way up to the castle, then out and eventually off the grounds where he was able to apport home. The Dark Lord was becoming more and more difficult to deal with, but Lucius was no fool. Even in his weakened state it was death to cross Lord Voldemort. All he could do was wait and continue to serve.
That night, Jamie tossed fitfully, having trouble sleeping for some time before exhaustion finally took her. When she did sleep, she had a terrible nightmare and woke screaming, soaked in sweat. Lavender, Parvati and Hermione ran quickly to her side.
"Are you okay?" Parvati asked.
"What happened?" Lavender added.
Hermione didn't ask any questions, but instead poured Jamie a glass of water from a nearby pitcher. Jamie took the glass gratefully with hands that still shook from the dream and drank it down.
"Sorry," she told the others. "I had a dream."
"Was it one of those dreams?" Hermione asked.
"What do you mean?" Both the other girls asked simultaneously.
"Since Halloween," Jamie told them, using the time to gather her thoughts and try to recall the images, "My intuition, which has always been more dependable than most, has been a lot more accurate and detailed. It isn't precognition; more hyper-cognition. The things I see aren't from the future, they're things happening right now. Normally, they're things my subconscious mind picked up on that my conscious mind missed. This one was different."
"Different?" Hermione sat down on the bed next to Jamie. "How?"
"What did you see?" Parvati asked as she and Lavender were already sitting on Jamie's bed.
"I saw a man," she told them. "All I can remember about him is that he had white hair, but there was something familiar about him. I just can't place it. He was in this huge chamber with a lot of stone and puddles of stagnant water. I've never seen the place, but I get a feeling it's close; really close. He was talking to a snake; a giant snake. They were talking about subverting the castle."
She paused. "I couldn't have sensed any of this, subconsciously or not. I think the castle was warning me."
Lavender was skeptical. "The castle isn't alive or intelligent."
"Isn't it?" Hermione told them. "It's stood for centuries. It was built by the four founders of Hogwarts and has been home to the school from the beginning. That's a lot of magic to flow through these walls. We already know that inanimate objects can absorb magic. That's how artifacts are made and many of them gain a kind of sentience of their own. How else do you explain things like the Room of Requirement that can respond to and shape itself to fit the needs of each given person? That takes a kind of intelligence in itself."
"It's way too late for this deep of a conversation." Jamie tried to smile and almost succeeded. "We have Defense against the Dark Arts first class tomorrow. I'll tell Professor Harkness about the dream. If anyone can figure it out, she can."