A/N: Sorry about this chapter, I didn't like how the story was going as i used up a load of my plot points over the first week, so it was either stop writing or do something crazy.
Chapter 21: Round 2. Fight!
I'm looking to link the resurrection ring into fluxline is some way. If I can get a good look at the veil again, then I could attempt to make a way of viewing the reaped souls. Bringing one back is said to wreak untold agony onto the soul, I would literally be dragging the soul up stream from the River Styx and then holding them before me. I don't really want to test it, putting a soul in pain doesn't really appeal to me. If I were to create an effect similar to the veil, then I could open a portal, or something more like a window. Commune with the dead that are swimming away in the stream of souls.
"Mr. Jackson. Dinner will be served soon." Madam Pomfrey informs me. "Since I can't do anything else, you can leave now."
"I'm sure I'll be back before too long." I shoot her a smile as she sighs.
When wizards and witches die their magic dissipates and their soul is sent to the underworld. It's not Satan, fire and brimstone kind of underworld though, it's more just a lake of souls. If I pull them back from anywhere besides the veil, it will hurt them. A lot. The veil acts like a door, if I can view it again I can copy it's properties and make a window to talk to the souls. In theory anyway. I could talk to Merlin, LeFaye, The Founders and probably Tom Riddle's fragments. I wish I had figured out a record function when I was at the veil.
I arrive at the closed doors of the Great Hall. Time to make an entrance, but who to be?
I load up the door with a sonorous charm. Might as well be Sirius. I launch a wall of force at the doors, making them slam open.
"I've always wanted to do that." I mimic Sirius' words.
Sirius claps from beside Harry at the Gryffindor table, I do a huge bow before morphing back as I walk to them.
"I think I would have spooked people if I came through as Voldemort." I say as I take my seat.
"You'd probably get a standing ovation from certain tables." Tonks says whilst nodding towards the Slytherin table.
"Not all Slytherins are bad." I say. "It's just a majority are." I added when I got funny looks. "How much longer are you going to be hanging around here for Padfoot?"
"Pomfrey is keeping an eye on me." He explains. "I also got that nice new cabinet. Look like it could do with some polishing." He says, giving me a wink.
"I'll go have a look at the one here." I tell him. "See if I can't get it up to … sales standard." I smirk at the lost expressions of those around us."
I set off through the castle, heading for the seventh floor, I'm sure the cabinet can't be too hard to fix. 'I need a place to hide something' seems to be the pass-thought for opening the items room.
The room must have been made by Ravenclaw herself, it's a work of art really. Although I'm not sure how it reads peoples intents, but it's still pretty cool. I find it hard to believe that all of this junk in the room was put here by students. Perhaps the house elves dump all the misplaced items here. Although quite how somebody misplaced this vanishing cabinet, I don't know.
"Right then, let's see if I can't fix you before curfew." I mutter to the cabinet.
The seal of the door is faulty, so it exchanges the air badly and it kills things. A quick magical 'WD-40' charm later and the hinges allow the door to close correctly. Now for a live test.
"Hogwarts house elf?" I call out tentatively.
A soft pop indicates the arrival of an elf. He almost the height on my chest.
"Blippy be hearin' a call from the come and go room." He says.
"Ah, Blippy is it?" I say to him. "Could you find me a rat or a bird. Something like that. Preferably not a students familiar."
The elf stares at me with wide eyes before disappearing with a soft pop. Why do I have a feeling I'll never see that elf again? Maybe there is something in the room to help pass the time, Dumbledore will probably be strolling in here with Bippy in tow.
Broken jewellery, books, jewellery books, broken books. I pick up a few of the chains, one seems to have an hourglass charm on it. A broken time-turner perhaps? Certainly looks like one. There is no sand in the timer part, well it's actually crushed pixie wings. Another pop sounds from behind me.
"Bippy has found Melvin the frog." He squeaks as he hands me the frog.
"Thank you, Bippy. Good work." He rocks on his feet, apparently basking in the compliment before disappearing with another pop.
"Well, Melvin the frog. Time for a disappearing act, maybe you are as good as Trevor the toad." I place Melvin inside the cabinet and tap the door handle with my wand. I hope Melvin hasn't croaked, always time for a pun. "Schroedinger's frog" I say. Giving the handle again and opening the cabinet, revealing Melvin, but now sporting a top hat.
Now I've got a vanishing cabinet that creates top hats. Sweet.
"Well Melvin, Time for a trip from Hogwarts." I tell the frog as I enter the cabinet, I swear Melvin just winked at me.
I stand in the dark for a moment. How do I even activate this thing from the inside? I start poking random points with my wand until I hear a humming noise. Seems to have done the trick. I immediately regret the decision as I start to spin like I'd taken a portkey. I try and hold on to something but I settle for sitting down instead. The door bursts open and I'm thrown out into a blank white room.
"This definitely isn't Sirius' house." I grumble earning a short burst of laughter from a feminine voice.
"I like this one." The women says. She has red hair, doesn't look more than 20 or so, killer figure covered by a white dress, standing beside her is an identical twin in a red dress with white hair. I push myself off the ground, picking up the top hat that was created. At least something came from the journey.
"I told you He would fall over." White said.
"You only said that because you would make him fall." Red pouts.
"Sorry to interrupt." I begin. "I think I took a wrong turn in the … cabinet?" I say uncertainly, looking around for the cabinet. Just a white room. "Apparently I ended up in Narnia." White laughs this time.
"Narnia?" Red says. "Haven't had that one before, have we?"
White cracks a smile. "Let's give him a clue." She says, taking a bra out from behind her back. 34C …
"'See you in hell, 34C' I think you said." Red smirks at me. I'm feel my slack jawed expression.
"Hell?" I say looking around again. "I expected it to be hotter." Red laughs.
"Most people take that worse." White says.
"You tried to run away last time." Red says. Last time?
"No offence, but I think I would remember visiting hell."
"See?" White says, motioning to me with well maintained hands. "I told you his memory wouldn't work if we did it your way!" She scowls cutely at Red.
"Excuse the cuss," I say. "But what the fuck is going on here?"
"You're in hell and you think we care about swearing?" White says.
"Anyway." Red says, trying to get us back on track. "To put it simply. Ya dun goofed."
"Oh." I say. "It all suddenly becomes clear. Thank you. I'll jump back in my cabinet and be off then?" I say dryly.
"To think we almost picked that American that didn't have a sense of humour." White says whilst giggling. "We sent you in for a bit of fun, We thought maybe you would have a play about with that philosophers stone, defeat a dark lord or two and maybe get the girl."
"What we didn't account for," Red picks up the spiel. "Was you losing your memory."
"For the record." White adds. "I thought it was a bad way of sending you in. You got kicked in the head by a hippogriff."
I run my fingers through my head whilst trying to make sense of this all.
"Let me get this straight, You two sent me into this world to have a bit of a kick around with the wizards." I pause, they nod. "but you put me in the car and I got kicked in the head?" They nod again. "and now you have pulled me out because I 'goofed'?"
"That's right." White says happily.
"Mon dieu." I sigh. "Where do we go from here then?"
"I figure we will throw you back in." White tells me. "You picked metamorphagus as your thing last time so we'll let you keep that." She reads from a clipboard that wasn't there a second ago.
"We'll be toning that down across the board though." Red adds on. "Nice trick with the Fiendfyre n'all, but that's not how it's supposed to work." She give me a wink.
"This will be a different world, we'll fix a lot of the stuff from before." White continues. "Same wand, same face. Although you can change that about. Your dearest 'Tonksie' will be older." She smirks at me. "You will be waking up on the Hogwarts express as a transfer student from the 'Raycrest Academy' which closed down in May 1994 due to a reduced number of students. You are the only one going to Hogwarts and We'll be going with that Hogwarts sponsorship idea of yours again."
"We're sticking you in runes and arithmancy." Red says to me. "The tri-wizard tournament will be happening this year, we've changed the decision on the age rating, so you will be picked as Hogwart's champion if you put your name in."
"Delacour and Krum will be their respective school champions, and Harry will be picked no matter what." White adds. "Your trunk, books, robes and other school stuff is all ready on the train."
"Follow the first years and be sorted with them." Red tells me. "Oh, and you still have the resurrection stone."
"I do? I suppose I just hand it over to Albus to put in the snitch before he pops it?" I ask them.
"Hang onto it, maybe you can give it to Harry if he ever needs it." White says. "Riddle's ring horcrux is just a ring now, Albus only put the ring on the first time because he saw the hallows sign inscribed on it. It's just plain now."
"So how does the whole thing with the hallows work?" I ask. "Are you two death? Would I become your master or something if I get them all?"
"Or something." White, helpfully, informs me."
"Do you want to be out master?" Red whispers in my ear from behind me.
"I think I can live with being an acquaintance." I say, taking a step forward.
"To answer your question, We." White points to herself and Red. "Are not death. Lucy is."
"Lucy?" Almost dreading the answer.
"Full name Lucifer, but she says that's a bit long winded." Red tells me.
"She's coming along to say goodbye to you, You two became rather close on your last visit." White smirks at me.
Doors slam open that were not there before, or maybe they were just seamless, omitting a busty, almost naked 'Lucy'. She seems to be the green haired sister of Red and White.
"Zack!" She shouts as she runs towards me. What the hell is going on?
"Er … Lucy?" I say.
"You remember me!" She squeals as she wraps her arms around my shoulders and holding me tightly. Not knowing what to do and not wanting to anger Lucifer, I snake my arms around her waist.
"It's a shame you have to go so soon." She whispers sultrily into my ear.
"uh." Is all I can manage. What happened last time?
"I brought you a parting gift, well I pulled it out of someone's chest, but a gift all the same!" She tells me, handing me a knife.
My hand fit the handle almost too well and the blades seems to be some kind of Damascus steel.
"Now, off you go." Lucy points over my shoulder, I turn to see a blue police box in the room.
"A police box?" I ask the three women. "Very funny." I mutter as I open the door.