Knockturn Alley, near Borgin and Burkes, Monday 11 November, early morning . . .
"Truly interesting. And it was Ryūji that brought this material here?"
"Yes," Tamsin Gaunt stated as she sat across the work table from Nigel Scabior. The middle aged man was, on Ministry records, the owner of a pawn shop who paid his taxes diligently and had graduated from Hogwarts as a Slytherin in 1944, a year before Tom Riddle, thus making him one of many people from the time that had interacted with the Traveller himself. To those who were natural allies and supporters of the Dark, Nigel was a gifted and talented wand crafter who had learned his trade from none other than Oleg Gredenko, the Byelorussian wizard who, ironically, was better known amongst wizards on the Continent by just his patronymic, "Gregorovitch." Nigel was the man who crafted the wands for Raven Malfoy, Cassiopeia Lestrange, Ariel Goyle and Charlotte Crabbe several years before. "It has the power potential that would make any other magical core material you could get your hands on look quite tame in comparison."
"And you want your wand to have this as the core," Nigel stated as he gazed on the thin shard of black crystal that had been prepared ahead of time by Mildred Anderson. The leader of the Ghost Riders had driven Tamsin here from East Hampshire so the latter could finally get the one thing all wizards in Britain traditionally couldn't live without (though Chrystal Taggart had volunteered to help Tamsin recover her skill in wandless magic). "Well, I could be persuaded . . . "
Before Tamsin could consider what to do, footsteps heralded Mildred's approach to the work table, which made Nigel gaze up as the dark-eyed motorcycle rider seemed to glare at him with a look that even made Tamsin feel an Antarctic-level chill. Tamsin then blinked as the leader of the Ghost Riders placed a small bag on the table. "Yours to keep," she said as Nigel opened it, his jaw dropping in shock on seeing what was inside. "It can grow like anything living. Just needs oxygen. Works best when you place it in a garden between plants. Now, how fast can Tammy get her wand?"
Nigel blinked, and then he reached in to draw out one of the crystals, quickly noting the crimson hue. "What's the difference between the black crystals and the red ones?" he asked, surprised this muggle - he had been quick to sense what Mildred was when she walked into the shop with her witch companion - had access to this material.
"Same power output, but it doesn't dance the Milky Way in your brain if you ingest it into your body," Mildred stated, which made the wand crafter gape in shock at her. She then looked over at one wall, where there was a bookshelf. A hand came up as one of the books drifted off the shelf and sailed right into her hand, which nearly made Nigel fall out of his chair in disbelief and Tamsin smirk. "See what I mean?" Mildred asked before sending the book sailing back to where she had obtained it.
"Merlin's Beard . . . wandless magic from a MUGGLE?" he exclaimed.
"No, it's called 'telekinesis,'" she sarcastically noted before smirking. "Believe it or not, I took that special test that Kraut researcher came up with back in '82," Mildred then said. "I tested only 39 points on that scale. Just a normal 'muggle' girl." She gazed at Tamsin. "Had to use my telepathy to blank out the doctor's memories that did the test on me and the girls . . . "
"And you still could do THAT?" Nigel cried out.
"Don't you remember, Nigel? Ryūji always said there were non-magical 'metahumans' and 'paranormals' in his dimension," Tamsin stated. "Part of the reason he went on his Magical Quest in the first place was to understand different types of paranormal power beyond what we'd call 'magic.' Who knows what sort of things his granddaughter might be asked to deal with once she gets back home and takes Ryūji's place."
The wand crafter blinked, and then he sat back in his chair. When she had introduced herself, Tamsin claimed she was both a distant maternal relative of Tom Riddle and a distant relation to the late Alwaid Lestrange (father of Rodolphus and Rabastan and a peer of Voldemort's from the time of Grindelwald's War), ultimately descent of a part of the Gaunt family that had elected not to follow the self-destructive path of inbreeding that had been followed by Merope Gaunt's immediate ancestors. She reported that she herself had been home-schooled in magic by her parents, ignoring invitations to Hogwarts as her parents and grandparents had done due to the increasing influence of "mudbloods" on the teachings there (which Nigel had found himself automatically agreeing with). She also explained that on their first and only meeting sometime before the Dark Lord's fall at Godric's Hollow in 1981 (arranged by Rodolphus), Voldemort had agreed to keep the existence of Tamsin and her family (to say anything of their distant blood-kinship) a secret so it couldn't be exploited by the Ministry or - Merlin forbid! - that muggle-loving blood-traitor Dumbledore and his allies, especially the monsters that had so ruthlessly murdered good people like Daniel Rosier, Helena Gibbon and Lilith Mulciber.
Much to Tamsin's private relief and inner amusement, Nigel had accepted her words without question. Then again, he had little way of proving it; Alwaid had died in the raid on Romney Marsh in 1979, and both Rodolphus and Rabastan were confined for life in Azkaban. Atop that, he had not been willing enough to fight for the pureblood agenda - thus avoiding the risk of being killed by Voldemort to keep his connection to Tom Riddle secret – even if he was quite willing to help the cause no matter what. And despite the unfortunate "taint" in Tom Riddle's ancestry, Nigel Scabior had always accepted his housemate as the true Heir of Master Salazar, the man who would bring glory back to the wizarding world and banish away all the dirty mudblood ideals and beliefs that were smothering wizard-kind.
"Are there others like you?" he then asked the leader of the Ghost Riders.
"Right now, about fifty of us throughout Britain, with another thirty or so in Ireland," Mildred replied. "We're small but we know each other quite well." She then smirked, though Nigel was quick to sense the humour disappearing from her face as she added, "And if any of the hotheads who once rode with Tammy's cousin get it into their thick skulls to try to track us down and hurt us 'cause they can't stand the idea of 'muggles' possessing more power than they, we'll just come in and finish the job the old man in Scotland and the kid from over in Somerset started."
Nigel gulped as that ominous threat sank in. "Mildred, please. That's enough," Tamsin stated as she glared at her.
A snort escaped her as she turned to walk out of the shop. Nigel watched her go, and then he turned back to Tamsin. "Is she as powerful as she looks?"
A nod. "She is. She could mentally rip apart a giant from a hundred yards away and not even break a sweat doing it." As Nigel turned pale on hearing Tamsin's declaration, she added, "And you can't BEGIN to believe what sort of transfiguration and conjuration she's capable of . . . " A smirk. "Even if she and her friends call it 'psychokinesis' for some reason." A sigh. "Believe it or not, my whole family owes her group Life Debts." As the wand crafter winced in sympathy, the reborn Dark Lord grinned. "Don't worry, Nigel. If the muggles got wind of people like her, they'd come down on them even worse than they ever could to us. They actually admire our being separated politically and socially from the muggles; they ultimately want the same thing for themselves."
Nigel blinked as he considered that, and then he nodded. "Understandable, I guess. Are you cultivating them as allies?"
"Yes. So I don't need people buggering it up."
He smiled as he nodded in understanding. No passing on this information to anyone under any circumstances. "I don't envy you, My Lady," he whispered.
She made a dismissive wave with her hand as she took a deep breath. "How soon?"
"Give me a week. Any wood preference?"
"Yew."
Nigel smiled . . .
Cructan's, later . . .
"Damn! And this was coffee made by a muggle hockey player in CANADA?"
"Yeah, it's good stuff, ain't it?" Mildred mused as she and Tamsin sipped the delightful brew offered by Henry and Allana Cructan. "Soon as we pulled Reg out of the pool in the cave and we jump-started his heart, we decided it was best to learn all that we could about you wizards. Took us a few years of riding around to find the hidden villages and all that. Not just the 'normal' ones you know of but all the 'hidden' ones, too, like that place due east of where we live where a whole bunch of Reg's friends got their butts fried back in the spring of '79." A shrug. "Most wizards seem just content to live their lives in peace and quiet. Not be bugged by the outside world. And 'cause they don't seem to understand what's going on outside their little villages . . . " She smirked. "Makes me wonder why you wanted to take charge of this bunch in the first place, Tammy. What's so important about being the king or emperor of this pack of lazy wankers, anyway? Doubt you'd get much out of them in the long term."
Tamsin blinked as she considered that, and then she sighed. She should have been offended at the biker's questioning her life's goals, yet she didn't feel any anger towards Mildred. Odd. "Who thought up the name that you gave me?" she asked.
"Chrys did. Why?"
"I hated my name."
Mildred blinked. "'Tom Riddle?'"
A nod. "Yeah."
"Was that it?"
A sigh. "No, but it was the start of it. Believe me, I've never heard of the name 'Tamsin' before." She then gave the other girl a faint smile. "And by the way: Thank you." As Mildred's eyebrow arched, the reborn Dark Lord took a deep breath. "For giving me the chance to finally meet Mother." A sigh. "I just wish there was some way to bring her back to life. Give her a body like you gave me a body." Her lips turned down in a bit of a frown. "Even if it is a girl's body." As Mildred shrugged in a "What can you do about it?" way, Tamsin lifted the coffee to her lips so she could take a sip. "Are there other places like that cave that you or your friends found?"
"Other pits full of inferi?" the biker asked, and then she hummed. "Maybe one other place. Two others like us - they're fraternal twins; don't know their names - live near an old cemetery up in the Borders. They found a hidden manor house full of inferi; almost the same size as the group we've got." A shake of the head. "Don't think they've done anything with them, though. Even if we know who each other are, we don't normally interact with each other." A smirk. "Don't want to draw attention, especially after finding out about you wizards and this whole Ministry of Magic thing that runs your lives." A sigh. "And even now, we still don't know . . . "
"How you got the black crystals in your blood?"
"Yeah." She then leaned on the table. "So tell me about this guy."
Tamsin blinked. "Who?"
"Ryūji Hirosaki. What the hell was he doing jumping dimensions like that?"
The reborn witch smiled . . .
And November marched on . . .
In the wake of the trial of Melvin Kneen and the introduction of Adara Riel to the first-year class now attending Hogwarts, things settled down as they returned to the ever-increasing demands of schoolwork and extra-curricular studies, now topped with the start of the official school quidditch season. While Harry personally didn't care too much about the sport - which, even after everyone at school had met Rose (not to mention heard of her passionate desire to use the Lightning Axe back in September to destroy the school pitch) still upset some of his housemates - he did make it a point to attend the games placed by his house's teams. Also present were Hermione, Aesup and Brianna, who were polite but didn't demonstrate the insane enthusiasm for the sport that many others currently attending Hogwarts did virtually as second nature.
And during the first game played between Gryffindor and Slytherin . . .
The Quidditch pitch, Saturday 16 November, before lunch . . .
"Are you alright, Professor Snape?"
Severus perked on hearing Hermione's concerned question, and then he gave her a neutral smile as he limped over to sit down close to where Harry and his companions were currently relaxing, waiting for the game to start. "I thank you for your concern, Miss Granger, but I sprained my ankle last night. It's still mending."
Harry looked at him. «Are you sure you're okay, Uncle?» he asked as his and Severus' eyes locked for a moment, allowing a Legilimency bond to form.
The potions master tried not to smile. «Actually almost had my leg bitten off by that damned cerebrus Hagrid owns!» he mentally replied.
Harry took that in, and then he nodded. Everyone then perked as the smell of a strong tea filled their nostrils. "Good morning, everyone," a familiar voice called out as people watched Chikage approach, the traveller accompanied by Marian, Jane, Libera and Sally-Anne (the latter two holding hands, of course). Chikage had a thermos filled with steaming tea in her hand. "Blustery day for quidditch, isn't it?"
"It's good flying weather," Severus stated. "What type of tea is that anyway, Miss Hirosaki?" he then asked as the just-arrived Hufflepuffs took their seats.
"Good old fashioned darjeeling. The genuine article from West Bengal," Chikage stated, which instantly perked the interest of Parvati Patil (currently seated beside Lavender Brown to Harry's right). "I was in the mood for something strong."
"I figured that you being Japanese, you'd prefer sencha," Parvati noted.
Chikage smirked. "Sencha is alright for normal occasions, but my private studies concerning my grandfather's notes have been getting pretty intense these last few weeks, Parvati. I've been staying up in my room studying far more."
"Not too much, I hope," Severus noted.
"No, Professor, not too much, but there have been times . . . ah!"
Everyone turned as two small flights of broom-riders emerged from the dressing rooms to form up on the ground to either side of Rolanda Hooch, who held her own mount close to her as she awaited their gathering at the centre circle. In the background, the voice of Lee Jordan - currently with Minerva McGonagall in the announcer's booth on the opposite side of the pitch from where Harry was sitting - carried on as both sides were introduced. Hearing Lee's introduction of the players on each side - which made Harry, Aesup, Brianna and Hermione moan in embarrassment as the older student's anti-Slytherin bias leaked through despite Minerva's sharp verbal rebuttals to make it clean and proper - Chikage could only shake her head as she sipped her tea . . .
. . . and then she perked on sensing an invisible something wash past her from the direction of the opposite stands, which made her instantly tense as her dark eyes narrowed. Immediately, she glanced left to see that Severus, Harry, Aesup and Brianna had all perked up as well, their eyes narrow as they examined the opposite seats to see if they could try to find whoever had just sent out that badly-focused Legilimency probe. A quick glance to her left showed that Marian and Jane were also scanning the opposite seats; as they had been trained in the mind arts almost as long as Harry had been, the two Hufflepuff Icemaidens had been as quick as their friends, not to mention the potions master, in detecting that attempt at breaching their minds.
«What's wrong, guys?»
Chikage sipped her tea; that had been Achelois, currently seated beside Camellia among their housemates. Achelois, someone's being rather rude with their mind-probes, the traveller thought out; while she had yet to train herself in throwing out her thoughts, she had learned how to use the meson crystals embedded in her face (one over the bridge of her nose, one each under her eyes in the flesh of her cheeks) to tap into other people's telepathic communications, not to mention shield her own mind. Given how well-trained the Icemaidens and Harry had been with Legilimency thanks to Severus Snape, Albus Dumbledore and Elaine Buckshire, Chikage didn't have to worry about repeating herself for the others' benefit. Who's sitting with you?
«Just the normal crowd,» Camellia replied. «Everyone in the house here knows Uncle Severus is with the 'enemy' in hopes of taking house points away.»
«I hope you DO do that, Uncle,» Harry then moaned.
Severus perked. «Why?»
I think, Professor, you best glance several rows down at your two o'clock, Chikage then mused with a smirk before she sipped her tea.
The potions master perked, and then he looked down before he grinned. «My thanks, Chikage,» he said as he stood up and walked down the steps towards where Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnegan were now seated, both unfurling a banner made from bed sheets, emblazoned with the Gryffindor lion and the words POTTER FOR PRESIDENT!
Harry looked innocent as Severus' sharp voice then echoed over the pitch, declaring a fifty point deduction from Gryffindor for "Disrespect to your housemate's heartfelt desire not to be treated like some Muggle idol star!" As Parvati and Lavender screamed out on hearing the potions master's declaration, Hermione blinked before she gazed on the young man seated beside her. Seeing his lack of reaction, the normal-born girl hummed before she turned her attention back to the pitch as Severus stormed back to take his seat again just as Rolanda blew her whistle to start the game.
"And the quaffle is taken immediately by Angelina Johnson of Gryffindor; what an excellent chaser she is! And quite attractive, too . . .!" Lee began the play-by-play.
"JORDAN!" Guess who?
A meek "Sorry, Professor!" caused a lot of laughs on both sides of the pitch.
"So who did they finally obtain to be the seeker, anyway?" Aesup wondered.
"Believe it or not, Nyx!" Harry replied.
Everyone gaped. "Miss Letum?" Severus demanded, and then he turned to gaze in the sky, quickly picking out the black-haired, dusky-skinned Rhosan Green native in her player's uniform, keeping high to the sky as the chasers and beaters fought it out over the quaffle and the bludgers; no doubt, the new seeker was staying out of the fray until the golden snitch made its appearance and she could make a grab at it. "She was able to be trained that quickly?" he then asked as he stared at Harry.
"She was a natural on the broom on her first day of lessons," Harry explained. "Pulled three Sloth Grip Rolls and a half-dozen Woollongong Shimmies when she got on her broom and it got out of control. When he saw what she did, that shut Oliver up IMMEDIATELY about getting me onto the team." He closed his eyes. "Thank God for that."
Severus hid a smirk as Parvati and Lavender sent disapproving looks towards their housemate (which he ignored). At that moment, the stands seemed to shake as heavy footfalls heralded the arrival of the school groundskeeper. "Budge up there! Move along!" Rubeus Hagrid said as he moved to take his seat close to Harry.
"Hello, Hagrid," Severus called over.
A smirk. "Ah, Severus! Hey, Harry, ladies!"
"Hello, Grand-uncle," Harry called back before he tensed as his eyes quickly detected a flash of gold zip past from left to right. "Hey! There's the snitch!"
Others had spotted it, too; a roar came up from both sides as Nyx and her opposite number from Slytherin, sixth-year Terrence Higgs, quickly dove into the fray to get at the sought-after prize. Watching the two flyers go at it, everyone gasped on seeing how Nyx was willing to do some pretty amazing things with her broom, especially when it came to flying it single-handedly with her whole body off the seat! "Cor blimey!" Hagrid gasped as the freshman seeker nearly let go of her broom after one tight hair-raising turn that prevented her from smashing through one of the towers ringing the pitch. "Who the devil taught the lass to fly like THAT?"
"I don't know! That's not anything Oliver ever taught us!" Ron Weasley - he was seated not so far from Lavender and Parvati - then said. "Damn! She's good!"
The game continued as both teams made scores with the quaffle while the beaters made sure the two bludgers didn't get close to hurting any of the other players. As time passed on, the golden snitch made its appearance several times, which gave the crowd a heart-stopping display of flying from both Terrance and Nyx. Watching this, Lee was going out of control as he ran on and on about how the freshman seeker from Gryffindor was practically re-writing the performance book for her position . . .
"HARRY! LOOK OUT!"
Just as Harry's ears had detected Severus' warning shout, a horrified cry of shock echoed through the crowd as a jet-black bolt of matter seemed to dive out of nowhere right at his particular spot in the Gryffindor stands.
"SEISHIN-HASAI HI-KŌSEN!"
A blast of green light caused everyone to scream.
THUNK!
Silence then fell.
"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?" Lee cried out.
More silence.
"It's a projectile version of the soulsword, Lee!"
Eyes turned to gaze in shock and disbelief at Chikage, whose right hand now glowed with green energy as she lowered her arm after blasting the runaway bludger with a burst of ki that had ripped away many of the magical charms on the iron ball, thus freeing it from flight and sending it crashing into the stands several rows below from where Hagrid had been seated. Fortunately, no one had been hit, though many of the people sitting nearby were badly shaken by what just happened. As people took a moment to absorb what had nearly crushed Harry, Rolanda soared over on her own broom, landing on the stands as she drew out her wand and uttered a detection charm spell as she moved to probed the bludger. A moment later, she stood up, and then blew on her whistle. "TIME!" she shouted out.
By then, most of the players on both sides had come down to hover close to where the flying instructor now stood. "Did someone bumph that bludger towards Harry?" Marcus Flint, the Slytherin team's captain, immediately demanded.
"Wasn't us!" Fred Weasley instantly protested as he and George - they were the Gryffindor beaters - exchanged a shocked look before gazing on their opposite numbers.
Eyes locked on both Peregrine Derrick and Lucian Bole, the Slytherin beaters, as they rapidly shook their heads. Before the players could start to argue about how a bludger could have malfunctioned and rocketed right at someone in the stands, a voice then called out from above, "I saw what happened, Broom Mistress Rolanda."
Everyone turned as Nyx came down with her broom to hover close to the Weasley brothers. "What did you see, Nyx?" Oliver Wood then demanded.
"The bludger had been beaten across the centre line by Master Peregrine and up into the sky," the young seeker reported as something seemed to nudge the sleeve of her overcoat, which instantly caught the eyes of her teammates. "It then froze in mid-air and flew straight at Lord Harold! No one was anywhere close to it when it did that!"
"You mean someone tried to KILL Potter?" Graham Montague, one of the Slytherin chasers, then demanded. "He doesn't even want to PLAY the game!"
"It appears so."
Still more silence.
"What did you find, Rolanda?" Severus asked as he and Hagrid came down to join their co-worker as the flying coach whispered a levitation spell.
"Something I've never seen before," Rolanda stated. "Fragments of energy are still there even after Chikage nearly cooked it with . . . what was it, again?"
"'Spirit-Breaker Fire-Light,' Madame Hooch," Chikage said as she came down to join the crowd, her mug of tea in hand. "It's one of the two main spirit-killing martial art forms I'm familiar with; it's a distance attack version of the soulsword as I just told Lee. I hope I didn't destroy the evidence with it."
Severus already had his wand out and was doing his own diagnostic charms with it. "No, Miss Hirosaki. There is enough energy here for Professor Flitwick to examine so he could determine what spell was used on this bludger. You need not fret." He then gazed with concern at the traveller. "But how about your ki stores?"
Chikage smiled as she turned away. "Thanks to Kaede when she came to visit at the start of the month after the matter with the trolls, I won't be passing out anytime soon, Professor. I will be hungry, though, which I'm sure will make Mistress Lizzy and all the elves in the kitchens QUITE pleased when lunch comes around. Oh, Nyx . . . "
Nyx perked. "What is it, Lady Chikage?"
"Your left arm sleeve."
The seeker perked and then she tensed on sensing something in there. She then reached under the cloth to draw out a familiar winged golden ball. On seeing THAT, all the Gryffindors grinned as Oliver began to laugh. "Damn, Nyx! Now you can do the Plumpton Pass, too? How the hell did you learn all these moves so fast?"
Nyx looked contrite. "I assure you, Master Oliver, it was NOT intentional!"
Hearing THAT, all the other quidditch players - both the Gryffindors and the Slytherins - gaped on hearing the young girl state that, and then they broke out in gales of laughter as the crowd all cheered. "Just like Roddy Plumpton himself!" Hagrid whooped as Lee called out the final score for the game: 160-40 for Gryffindor.
As Nyx handed the snitch back to Rolanda before she gladly took Terrance's hand as he congratulated her for a good game, Chikage smiled as she turned to walk away. As she went, Rolanda looked over, grinning. "Oh, Miss Hirosaki?" As the traveller stopped to gaze on her, the flying coach added, "Fifty points to Hufflepuff for some of the best reflexes I've ever seen, either ON the ground or IN the air!"
Chikage smiled as she bowed to the older woman. "On behalf of Hufflepuff, Madame Hooch, I accept the points awarded and your judgement on the matter."
More people whooped and laughed as she turned to head off . . .
Watching the traveller go, Severus Snape gladly applauded with the others around him, and then he gazed intently at Harry for a moment. The younger man tensed on feeling that, and then he slightly nodded before he stood to head away from the pitch, his female companions at his side as they went. Seeing that, he then sighed before he turned to gaze once more on the opposite stands, his dark eyes narrow.
He was quick to spot the flash of a dark purple turban in the crowd . . .
The Vanished Wing, just before supper . . .
"So why the HELL is someone trying to kill Harry?" Jane demanded.
It was a VERY angry group of Icemaidens (and friends) who had gathered in the southwest classroom after the Hufflepuff-Ravenclaw reserve team game played after lunch (the latter team won 190-70) to discuss what had happened on the pitch earlier today. "It's hard to tell," Hermione then admitted. "I didn't even see the damned thing coming at Harry until Professor Snape called out. I'm glad he was there!"
"I'll make sure to tell Uncle Severus that, 'Mione," Camellia noted.
Laughter filled the room. "Jane has a point," Daphne stated. The four other Slytherin first year girls who had joined in on the Icemaidens' "defence club" back in mid-September had come with their housemates to the Vanished Wing when they saw Harry and his other friends head this way right after the game ended. "Harry's reasons for not playing quidditch are well-known and would be seen as quite acceptable given how much he cares for his sister. No reason for anyone in Slytherin to try to target him. And given how good Nyx is on a broom, there's no reason for anyone in Gryffindor to try to go after Harry, especially like THAT." She shook her head. "It's a mystery."
"Maybe not."
Eyes locked on Harry. "What do you mean, Harry?" Millicent asked.
Harry exchanged looks with the Icemaidens, and then he took a deep breath. "Can you girls keep a secret?" he then asked Pansy, Daphne, Tracey and Millicent.
"Of course," Pansy stated as the other girls nodded.
A deep sigh. "Remember at the start of the term? When Grandpapa said that the third-floor corridor on the east side of the residential wing was out of bounds?"
Everyone perked. "Yeah! Professor Dumbledore implied that the only ones who'd want to go there would be those who'd want to die a very painful death," Tracey said.
"What do you know?" Hermione asked.
"Did anyone ever read the Daily Prophet article on the first of August this year? On Page Six?" Achelois then asked. "What happened at Gringotts?"
"What happened?" Daphne wondered. "All I remember that paper had was more news about Harry and Rose atop what happened at the Ministry when Chikage came."
"There was an attempted break-in at Gringotts, Daphne," Camellia stated.
"What was it?" Pansy wondered.
"The Philosopher's Stone."
Silence.
More silence.
Still more silence.
And then . . .
"Oh, MERLIN!" Pansy exclaimed as she, her friends and Hermione all gaped in shock at Harry. "You mean . . .? What the hell is THAT thing doing HERE?"
"Most likely, to keep it away from Tom's currently non-corporeal fingers."
Heads turned as Chikage walked into the room to take her own seat on one of the couches there; as soon as they had all got access to this place, the people who were here most frequently had begun using their growing transfiguration skills to convert several of the beds into couches as well as a low coffee table so they could enjoy tea and snacks whenever they wanted to take breaks from studying in the classrooms or performing exercises in the dōjō. Beds not being used in the residential wing had been brought in by the house elves to replace them. "You know about this?" Tracey asked.
"I was told by Professor Dumbledore when he warned Harry and the others about the potential problems relocating Master Alchemist Flamel's property here might cause," the traveller explained before she sipped her tea. "Don't worry about it being a threat to the other students here. Atop all the traps the professors have laid out to keep the Stone protected, there's a virtual radar squadron's worth of monitoring charms in that corridor leading to where Fluffy is right now to alert the headmaster as to the presence of ANYONE that heads in that direction. I've added to it."
"What did you do?" Pansy asked.
A knowing smile. "Put a couple ki charged meson crystals at the entrance to the corridor, not to mention crystals on each of Fluffy's collars. I put them there the weekend before Hallowe'en. The only people who've been there since that time were Professor Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall, Professor Flitwick, Professor Snape, Fred and George Weasley, Genevieve Walker and Stewart Boardman."
"Who are they?" Hermione asked.
"Genny and Stew are fourth years in Slytherin," Camellia explained. "They're sort of our in-house equivalents to Fred and George."
"Pranksters?" Aesup wondered.
"Pretty good ones, too. And they do hold the twins with respect," Achelois stated before she rolled her eyes. "God only knows why!" As everyone all laughed - the Icemaidens had made their lack of respect for the Weasley twins known to their friends - she then added, "From what I can tell, they don't prank each other."
"But everyone else is fair game," Camellia added.
"We'll have to do something about them," Marian noted.
"True," Jane stated. "Hey, Chikage! How far did they get?"
"So far, the twins have got past the first three obstacles," Chikage reported. "Miss Walker and Mister Boardman have only penetrated past the first two. Still, if what Achelois just said about them is true, the chances are there that they might combine forces and get through all seven defence lines before they get the Stone."
"Why seven?" Hermione asked.
"Seven is seen as the most powerful magical number of all, 'Mione," Jane said.
The normal-born girl blinked, and then she nodded. "So how can we help protect this thing?" Pansy then asked. "It's easy to guess why Riddle would want the Stone; Master Flamel used it to create the Elixir of Life. That's how he and his wife are still alive these days even if they were born back in the fourteenth century."
A hum. "Hey, Mary? You got it?" Jane asked.
Marian smirked. "Never thought you'd ask, Jane."
"Got what?" Millicent asked.
The smile remained on Marian's face as she reached into her cardigan sweater and pulled out a folded sheet of parchment. Placing it on the table, she then unfolded it before she drew out her wand. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good," she said as she tapped the sheet with her wand, and then she smiled as everyone gathered to watch.
"That is INCREDIBLE!" Tracey exclaimed.
"Merlin! No wonder your moms were so good at pranks!" Daphne added.
Everyone smiled as the parchment exploded with writing:
The Ladies Cheshire, Hunter, Falcon and Princess
(With Assistance from Lord Black Fox)
In the Names of the Unfortunate and Defenceless
Humbly Present . . .
The MAP of the ICEMAIDENS concerning HOGWARTS
"Whoa . . . " Pansy breathed out. "That's some spell work!"
"How do you work it?" Daphne asked.
Marian smiled as she gazed on her friends. "I am the daughter of the Lady Princess!" she said as she tapped the map with her wand.
The four Slytherins squealed in shock as more writing then appeared:
[[Lady Princess expresses her delight in learning that her daughter is ready to stand in her mother's shoes and is ready to help protect those who can't protect themselves.]]
[[Lady Falcon also expresses her delight at her housemate's wonderful fortune at having a daughter and hopes that the Lady Princess' daughter is just as loyal as she is.]]
[[Lady Hunter would like to also express her delight at knowing her friend has a child and hopes that her friend's husband is a good man.]]
[[Lady Cheshire is smiling at her friend's good fortune and wonders if any daughter of her own would also be able to come to Hogwarts one of these days.]]
Everyone all laughed. "They made it sentient?" Hermione asked.
"It took them about three years to make all the charms needed to allow the map to 'think' out its responses," Marian stated. "Show them, Harry."
Harry shrugged as he drew out his wand, and then he tapped the map with it. "I am the son of Mister Prongs and the Lady Tiger-Lily!" he called out.
The writing on the map disappeared, soon to be replaced:
[[Lady Cheshire is stunned to hear that poor Lady Tiger-Lily actually married an arrogant git like Mister Prongs in the first place.]]
[[Lady Princess would like to express her hope that the son of Lady Tiger-Lily is not anything like the arsehole his father was.]]
[[Lady Falcon agrees with her friends and hopes that the son of Lady Tiger-Lily won't ever try to hurt someone who doesn't deserve to be hurt.]]
[[Lady Hunter would like to note to her friends that if the son of Lady Tiger-Lily is friends with the daughter of Lady Princess, he should be an alright lad.]]
"Whoa!" Hermione gushed. "That's unbelievable!"
"What is unbelievable?"
Everyone turned to see Severus walk into the room, followed by Albus and Minerva. "The map the girls' mothers created, Professor Snape," Hermione said as she waved to it. "When would we learn something like THIS in Charms?"
Severus blinked, and then he laughed before he drew out his wand to tap the map with it. "Lord Black Fox extends his greetings to the Lady Icemaidens," he said.
The writing changed once more:
[[Lady Cheshire is happy to see that Lord Black Fox is once again at Hogwarts.]]
[[Lady Hunter also expresses her happiness that our honoured housemate is at Hogwarts and wants to know what he's actually doing there.]]
Severus laughed. "Head of Slytherin and Potions Master!" he proudly stated.
More writing:
[[Lady Hunter is more than pleased to learn that Lord Black Fox is making sure all our brother and sister serpents behave themselves.]]
[[Lady Cheshire also is glad to hear that our honoured housemate is there to guide all the eager students in the wonderful ways of potions.]]
[[Lady Falcon is pleased to see that Lord Black Fox is making a wonderful life for himself and hopes that he has moved on from the sad days of his youth.]]
[[Lady Princess would like to slap the back of her housemate's head since she's now being an insensitive bitch and kindly remind her that our dear friend does not need to have such public reminders of that nature.]]
Everyone laughed. "Oh, my! The girls were very good with their charms when they made this map, weren't they?" Albus exclaimed.
"They were that, Albus," Severus stated. "In some ways, they were even better than Harry's father and his friends, but there are some things this map can't do that the Marauders' Map can do. And vice-versa." A sigh. "Pity the damned thing went missing . . . "
"Any idea where it could be?" Harry wondered. "Uncle Moony's always wondered."
"Last we heard of it, Harry, Mister Filch had it in his safe box in his office," Minerva stated. "When he checked on it a year ago, it was gone."
"Pity," Chikage stated. "Can this map be improved on?"
"I am unaware of what the exact charms were that the girls' mothers used when they created this thing, Chikage," Severus stated.
"Wait a minute . . . "
Eyes locked on Daphne, who now had a far-away look on her face as her lower lip was curled in so she could bite down on it. "What, Daph?" Pansy asked.
The blonde girl then sighed. "Chikage, why don't you introduce yourself to the map?" As people stared in confusion at her, she added, "You're the granddaughter of the man who created the Kokujun, remember? Aunt Napaeae, Aunt Ronnie, Aunt Corrie and Aunt Diana all swore the Loyal Oath before they even came here! If they implanted part of their own personalities on the map, maybe you can make the map . . . "
"Link with the Kokujun!" Aesup exclaimed. "Daph, that's perfect!"
Chikage hummed. "Well, let's see . . . " she said as she drew out her wand and tapped it on the map. "The Lady Shadow, granddaughter of the Traveller, creator of Her Majesty's most noble Shield of Her Realm, greets the Lady Icemaidens."
The map seemed to pause for a moment as it seemed to think about what it had just sensed, and then it began to put out more words:
[[Lady Cheshire is pleased to meet the Lady Shadow and wonders if the granddaughter of the Traveller had any problems coming to our dimension. Did she come through the Garden of the Galaxy or through Scarborough Fair?]]
[[Lady Princess sends her greetings to the granddaughter of the Traveller and expresses her surprise at the possibility of Lady Shadow wanting to prank someone, given how serious her grandfather was said to have lived his life while at school.]]
[[Lady Hunter notes that the Lady Shadow clearly appears to be friends to the daughter of Lady Princess and the son of Lady Tiger-Lily and hopes that she will consider taking them all to all the nice places she plans to go on her Magical Quest.]]
[[Lady Falcon is happy to know that the Lady Shadow has come to Hogwarts and hopes that the news has got to the Lady Falcon's father so the Traveller's granddaughter won't be alone while she's here on her Quest.]]
"Ladies, a quick question: Can this map be linked to the Kokujun ward stone currently located on the campus grounds?" Chikage then asked.
A pause, and then:
[[No.]]
"Damn . . .!" Pansy hissed out.
"Can this map be upgraded to allow such a possibility?" Chikage added.
A pause, and then:
[[No.]]
"Can this map display the list of charms and other magics used in its creation so that an improved version of this map can be created and linked to the Kokujun?"
A pause, and then:
[[Only to those who have sworn the Loyal Oath to the Crown.]]
Everyone perked, and then smiles crossed their faces . . .
Knockturn Alley, Monday 18 November, after breakfast . . .
"Nigel, please . . . I can't accept this!"
Nigel Scabior chuckled as he shook his head before he passed on the small bag of galleons into Tamsin Gaunt's hand. "Please, My Lady, I insist. I've been looking at the material your friend here gave me . . . " - Here, he nodded to Mildred Anderson, who was at her usual place by the front door of the wand crafter's shop - " . . . on my spare time. I even shared some of the crystals with a friend of mine in Gringotts; they paid top galleon for them, too! Even told me the name of this material, too."
"It has a name?" Mildred asked.
A nod. "Yes. 'Mesonium,' though it's most often called 'meson.' The name was revealed to the goblins when Miss Hirosaki went there to get at her grandfather's vault so she could buy all her school books for the term. Turns out Ryūji left some money behind to give his granddaughter a good chance at surviving at Hogwarts without much in the way of difficulties." Nigel then sighed. "Still, my friend gave me a warning about this stuff as well, especially the ebony version of it."
"What warning?" Tamsin asked.
"That if you allow it to influence you too much, you might go insane."
Mildred snorted. "It's just like I said before. All you need in that case, Mister Scabior, is a lot of discipline . . . or a good amount of hashish to smoke."
He perked. "'Hashish?'"
"It's a muggle street drug. Like any sort of Aquila."
Hearing that from Tamsin, he nodded in understanding . . .
Later . . .
"So now you feel like a real witch, don't you?"
Tamsin chuckled as she waved her new yew-and-ebony meson wand around, allowing a cascade of dark sparks to flow from the tip. "Damn straight I do!" the reborn Dark Lord noted before she moved to slip the wand into the holster now strapped to her left arm under her rider's jacket. "Been feeling naked without it . . . "
"Well, lass, if you want to feel naked . . . "
Tamsin jolted on hearing that harsh voice from somewhere behind her and to her right, and then she turned just as a wand was levelled at her face. "STUPEFY!"
The stun bolt lashed out, then bounced off an invisible shield just inches away from her head, spiralling harmlessly into the sky. Before Tamsin could yank out her wand to send a Cruciatus at the now-surprised drifter that had wanted to knock her out, a hand snared him by the throat and boosted him off the ground, cutting off his air as he found himself gazing into a pair of very dark and presently glowing eyes.
"You have a problem, sport?" Mildred then asked, a smile crossing her face.
He gasped, and then pointed his wand at her. "CRUCIO!"
The red beam lashed out to slam into Mildred's chest over her left breast, but it didn't do anything save elicit a wider smile from her. A smile, many of the onlookers were quick to realise, that had no humour in it whatsoever.
"Ouch," Mildred then said.
Gasps escaped many of the people around them at the sight of a Muggle of all things resisting the Cruciatus Curse. As the drifter realised that, he then gasped as Mildred's fingers began to tighten on his throat, cutting off his attempt at calling out the incantation for the Killing Curse. After a moment, Mildred then relaxed as she lowered him to the ground. "You did not see two beautiful women pass by you."
The drifter blinked. "I didn't see two beautiful lasses pass by."
As more people watching this bizarre scene gaped at the hypnotic way he was speaking - several of them immediately hissing "Imperius!" to friends - and Tamsin stared in frank admiration at her new friend, the leader of the Ghost Riders added, "You didn't try to stun anyone, much less use the Cruciatus on anyone."
He blinked again. "I didn't hurt anyone."
"You were just minding your own business."
"Just minding my own business."
"Move along now."
"Good day."
With that, he headed off deeper into the Alley. As several people - no doubt friends or familiar acquaintances of the drifter - went after him, Mildred hummed before she noted everyone gazing at her. "I'm here all day, folks!" she then called out. "Tip all your house elves!" With a wave of her hand, she headed back towards Diagon, a muttering Tamsin heading after her as they returned to the Leaky Cauldron.
Watching them from his seat by the window of a small café close to the entrance of Diagon, a rather large man in a black cloak with the coat of arms of the old County of London under the Royal Cypher and atop crossed duelling wands watched them go . . .
By the archway into the Cauldron . . .
"What the bloody hell was THAT?"
Mildred blinked. "Haven't you ever seen Star Wars before?"
Tamsin stopped. "Star Wars?" she asked in confusion.
The leader of the Ghost Riders blinked, and then she smirked before she waved her friend with her. "Movie night tonight," she declared . . .
East Hampshire, the Ghost Riders' home base, that evening . . .
"So what did you think of it?" Serena Cairn asked.
"It was INCREDIBLE!" Tamsin stated as the final credits to Return of the Jedi rolled up the television screen; there was a video rental shop in Eastbourne and the Riders had rented all three episodes of the saga so that the reborn Dark Lord could see them all in succession. "But why on Earth was the first one 'Episode Four?'" she asked as Hilary rose to stop and rewind the tape. "What happened to the first three?"
"Haven't been made yet," Mildred answered. Atop the Riders, there was also Regulus Black, who was currently seated in a love chair with Chrystal Taggart. "According to what's being put out over the Internet now, George Lucas - he's the chap in America that made this series - when he was first conceiving this whole thing, he thought out something that would last over NINE separate films. This group . . . " - Here, she pointed to the P.A.L. V.H.S. cassette copies of Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back - " . . . is the middle three of the group. We're not sure when he'll sit down and write the first three, much less the last three. If at all."
"There's this other fellow named Timothy Zahn that's writing a book set after the sixth movie," Chrystal then stated as she allowed Regulus to cuddle closer to her. "Just came out back in May; it's called Heir to the Empire, I think. Gets really deep about things that were never talked about in any of these movies." She thumbed to the east. "You can rent a copy over at the library here in town."
Tamsin blinked as she took that in, and then she nodded, blinking as her misty eyes began to fill with tears. "Well, I'll definitely take a look at it."
Shirley reached over to gently grasp her shoulder. "You okay?"
Tamsin sighed. "I never once considered having children." She nodded to the television. "I wonder what he went through when he found out about his son."
"Who? Darth Vader?" Mildred asked.
"Yes."
"Hard to say," Serena noted. "On the one hand, he was totally warped in the Dark Side of the Force. Like Obi-Wan told Luke; he was more machine than man when he was turned by the Emperor." A sigh. "Then again, something tells me there's part to this story that haven't been written out just yet. Maybe it'll come one day."
Tamsin blinked as she took that in, and then she chuckled. "That is SO odd."
"What is?" Shirley wondered.
"Me, the greatest Dark Lord in recent wizarding history, CRYING over a FICTIONAL character!" the raven-haired reborn witch stated as she moved to stand. "Well . . . "
As she tried to get back to her foot, her right heel caught the edge of the coaster rug set before the largest couch in the room and slipped away. Before she could catch herself, Tamsin fell back, hitting the back of her head HARD on Mildred's knee. "AAAAH!" both yelped out as stars suddenly exploded in the witch's eyes . . .
To be continued . . .