I should say that any excuses aren't acceptable, I was lazy, final! of course there are other things on my mind. one, writer's block, two...an overwhelming crush...i know, stupid. I would like to let my readers know that never will i abandon this or any of my other fics, no matter how long it takes to update, i will eventually do.
Disclaimer: (which i have forgotten) I don't own anything...except the plot, i think.
--
Night has fallen on the magnificent manor, some were glad to see the threat finally gone, others, mourning the loss of their leader and savior
Night has fallen on the magnificent manor, some were glad to see the threat finally gone, others, mourning the loss of their leader and savior. But he wasn't gone yet; he was at the threshold of the home of his ancestors, crying silent tears. Never, in his wildest dreams would he have thought that it will end this way. Sent into exile from his home to who-knows-where for the rest of his life… he looked up to the darkening sky where a meteor created a silver ribbon across the night sky, then down to the ground where glistening crimson drops still lingered on the jade-like grass. The werewolf let out a long sigh, now, where to?
He had already packed an adequate amount of food but it is the location that he will be going to that gave him much trouble; he needed a place far from the living… suddenly a tremor shot through the ground shaking the very foundations of the place. It was a pity that such an old structure toppled to a pile of rubbles within seconds.
"Get out of here! Or we will all surely die!" someone shouted from beneath the wreckage.
With a helpless look upon his face, he apparated. It took a while to recognize his surroundings; it was cold, nearly freezing and was filled with wails of despair. Even Remus was feeling an even stronger sense of depression, as if that was possible. From the corner of his eye he saw the black-hooded demon approach. Azkaban, he thought to himself, wondering how he ended up here.
"Expecto Patronum!" the werewolf screamed, but there was no avail, shapeless vapor of a creamy white color lazily seeped out. The dementor halted, then advanced on its prey, basking in the overwhelming misery of the man before him. If Remus had reacted a moment later, then he would have seen the demon's jeering smile and glee as it leans forward for the kiss.
--
"Welcome back! Have you succeeded on your quest?" a somewhat familiar voice asked.
Remus opened his tightly sealed eyes and…water? Sure enough, he was at the golden gates of Atlantis and before him was King Triton himself. He contained his consternation and forced a small smile before giving a quick summary of the events to the ancient king.
"I see, you don't have to leave here, the truth is, as I have heard my father talk about during a discussion long ago when Merlin came here, the curse will only be a curse if the people around you believe it and is fully aware of the extent of the curse. We, on the other hand, knows the true nature of it and knows that it will be unable to cause harm if we refuse to believe it (also, the Atlantians are immune to most magic do to life-long exposure to advanced magic). The curse, I believe also comes with a strong compulsion charm to make people believe in it." King Triton explained.
"Alright, if you are sure…" he replied.
The 'Dark' lord was offered a luxurious bedroom within the center of the palace, the theme, was aquatic, no surprise. The room was lined with rows of pearls, while delicate furniture of kelp and shells filled the seemingly empty room. The designs and decorations blended into the surroundings so well that one who was coming here the first time could easily mistaken this for just another part of the sea.
Though settling here was easy, it still seemed to be strange to live within this underwater city. Surely, this was safe, and life was carefree. No invasion, conflict and resources are plentiful, yet the werewolf had been life rather dull without a little mishap once in a while. He began to miss the old acquaintances and, of course hasn't been keeping in touch due to their paranoia about the curse. But that doesn't mean that he was completely ignorant of their current life. Through the mystical pearl of Atlantis that was given to him by Triton as a birthday gift, he was able to use it to…well, spy on them, it was not as though he had any other choice. It makes Remus worried to not check up on them once in a while, just to make sure that Dumbledore hasn't found a way to come back and terrorize the people once again.
--
"What's with the gloomy mood? I thought you were over it." Asked Triton with a chuckle.
"In a few days it will be the anniversary of…well, you know. I wish to mourn for a few days. Do you know some quiet place where I could be alone for a while?" Remus replied politely.
"Ah, yes, it is often difficult to cope with the loss of a loved one even after many years."
"But, it seems that for me it's exceptionally difficult, I mean, Bill had put the past behind him and yet I…am still lingering in the past. It is still tearing away at me as it had before, every year, the emotions only get stronger." Remus buried his face in his hands.
"Then there must be a greater force at work here, what it is, I'm not sure of, since that is for you to discover. And there are things that are better left unsaid." Triton said before walking away leaving Remus to ponder the identity of this mysterious force that had been causing him misery.
--
Blaise stood on the grassy hills near the glorious manor of Merlin, or what's left of it. It was repaired but never will it be back to its former splendor. What was missed when it was repaired was most of the enormous library and important data and research; they were lost forever, at least for now, what could be salvaged was moved to Rowena's library. He looked down at the battle field of a few months ago, it was cracked and barren, a never-ending stream of smoke was continuously emitted from the spot that Dumbledore had died. Many thought of the place to be cursed, therefore, the location was now abandoned, even after everyone's enormous effort to restore it. He lightly shook his head, out of all the fascinating places he'd seen, it was the manor of Merlin that he held closest to his heart, surely, he wasn't one of the ones that were summoned to the place first, but Blaise still felt an overwhelming attraction for the place. He had volunteered to guard and maintain the place (though it was not really necessary) and apart from enjoying what's left of the scenery, he was rummaging through tomes and loaded his mind with the enthralling and unknown history of the wizarding world.
Suddenly, he felt a stir in the atmosphere, an ominous feeling crept over his soul which he shook off, "I should alert the others." Part of him seemed to say. Yet he felt compelled to go and find the source. A crimson vapor rose from the crevices beneath and knocked him out cold. At least that was his thoughts when he woke up days later and miles away from the original location. But that should be saved for the next chapter.
Meanwhile, back at Atlantis, Remus's mind was still deep in turmoil. Sure, life here was carefree and though slightly bland, safe and undemanding. There was no fear of attacks and even if there was one, the protection is nearly impeccable. Though due to past experiences, he couldn't help but feel danger lurking behind every corner and tonight was no exception. Abruptly, he stopped, scenes of the past, flashed before his eyes and once they stopped, a wry smile found its way to his face. Remus bowed his head and turned back to tread down the halls towards his room.
With a wave of his hand, his belongings, the original ones he brought with him were piled into the middle of the room, with another jerk of his wrist, he vanished all the magical items. As they were slowly disappearing, the werewolf caught a glimpse of the glimmer of gold; with his eyes wide in terror he tried to reach out and prevent the object from vanishing but it slowly faded, as if mockingly, right before his eyes. Remus sank to his knees, those were the ashes, Charlie's ashes, and they were gone, forever.
It shouldn't have mattered much, he was parting with magic anyways, with an ingenious spell that he had uncovered in Rowena's library, and it sealed away his magic so that it could not be unlocked under any circumstances. The spell could only be used on yourself and was seldom performed throughout history, with the exception of wizards or witches that needed to escape the wizarding world for the rest of their lives whether from war or crime, love (since there was once where it was forbidden for wizards to associate with muggles but the law was later abolished because of the increasing number of muggleborns) or hatred for the corruption within the government. The purpose was to vanish, like before but not just that. His task was accomplished, the dark lord was dead, there was no more purpose to stay in all this pain but Remus was not willing for Charlie's sacrifice to go to waste, he will keep living, yes, but no longer here, but hidden among the muggles and not on this continent either, but in North America.
It was the final stages, he was already at Toronto, having flown hours on a broom to get here (the broom was taken care of with a vanishing spell he had prepared before) his belongings were packed, no longer will he implicate the people around him with misery, his staff he left back in Britain, now that he no longer have magic, spells can't be performed, and of course, the werewolf side had also left. From the pocket of his jeans he drew out a small orb. It began to crack; lime green light seeped out before his own soft voice muttering 'obliviate' was heard.
He had prepared everything, and even confounded several muggles to convince them that he had immigrated to Canada from Britain not long ago; identifications were already prepared to avoid as much contact from authorities as possible, just in case they, meaning the wizards, trace him to here. He would be an ordinary muggle who had moved from Britain to Canada for nearly a year and already have a decent paying job as a teacher in an elementary school.
\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
The members of the 'resistance' that no longer exist seeing as the threat was gone and the curse broken (at least it seems to be) were scattered across the land. Each charged with individual tasks to mend the crumbling country. Like Blaise was set to guard Merlin's Manor, Theodore Nott was assigned to Hogsmeade and Hogwarts and surroundings and was in charge of restoration to as close to its original state as possible. He was staying in The Three Broomsticks, in a room that faces the Shrieking Shack. Many thoughts glided over his mind as he stared blankly out the dirty windows, I'll just leave the windows till another less busy day, he told himself, though he hardly noticed. 'So this is how it ends eh?' he thought, 'after all the big fuss with the immortality thing they didn't even matter. With a rebounded curse it all end, ironic.' Theodore smiled mirthlessly, 'There was a high price to pay for this, with Remus gone, who knows what or who may take advantage of our feeble position. The downfall of Dumbledore was surprisingly similar to Voldemort's…but I have a hunch that he will return as the Dark Lord did, with all those methods to preserve his life on earth there is no way a simple rebounded curse will finish him off…'
There was a soft clicking of foot falls and the floorboards groaned at the weight of the intruder. Alarmed, Theo drew his wand and held it out, pointing towards the door. To his consternation, there was a small 'pop' and the door swung open, creaking in the process. He lowered his wand, seeing as only the ones that possess the amulet that Sirius gave them could enter. "Blaise?!" Theo gasped, "Aren't you supposed to be at the Manor?"
'Suspicious,' he thought, 'The manor have anti apparition wards and the ones around the Stonehenge, by the fastest method of travel takes two hours to be out of the boundary of the wards. I was talking with Blaise about an hour ago. How did he get here?'
"Theo…" He moaned, "kill me now! Before it's too late!" There was an unnatural red tinge to his eyes moments ago, but now they vanished, allowing Blaise's eyes to return to their natural hue although, it appeared more ghastly than usual.
"W-w-what happened?" Theodore asked.
"Just kill me…" he persisted.
"No, not until I find out what happened!"
"Theodo…" he let out a short gasp that cut off his sentence and instantaneously, the red glow appeared again. Nott heard a soft snigger and then, he was gone. Gone as if he had never came.
"That must be an illusion…"he muttered "I had a long day, I should sleep now."
