CHAPTER 29: PLOTS IN THE DARK
"Why are we going to see Professor Corner? Shouldn't we go to Professor Longbottom, instead? He is our head of house."
"Because . . ." Robert turned to Lucida as the pair hiked up the wide staircase to the Astronomy Tower. "Between our effed up attempt to play hero and what happened with Efram, Professor Longbottom has gotta be raging pissed off right now. And as far as I can tell, we haven't given Professor Corner a reason to yell at us."
He continued up the stairs, wondering how the head of Ravenclaw House would react to this. Would she listen to him politely? Tell him he was being paranoid? Say The Quibbler article was simply, as Dad would say, "Luna being Luna?"
When they reached the door to Professor Corner's office, Robert raised his fist and hesitated.
Oh, Gryffindor up, will you.
He knocked.
"Come in."
Robert opened the door and walked inside, followed by Lucida.
"Robert, Lucida." Cho Corner, sitting behind her desk, smiled as she looked up from grading papers. "What can I do for you two?"
"Um, Professor?" Robert rubbed the back of his neck. "Can we talk to you about something?"
She waved them to a pair of high back chairs in front of her desk. "Since you two are doing quite well in my class, can I assume whatever is concerning you has nothing to do with astronomy?"
"Um, yeah," Robert replied as he and Lucida took their seats.
"And you couldn't bring this to your own head of house?"
Robert shifted in his seat. "After what just happened between him and Efram, I don't think he's in the most talkative mood."
Professor Corner bobbed her head from side to side. "You're probably right. So, what's troubling you?"
"Well . . ." Robert took a breath before he continued. "It's about that article in The Quibbler. The one about the Stacyx coming back."
"And you believe it?"
"Uh, well, uh . . ."
"Robert." Professor Corner leaned forward. "I have endless respect for everything Luna Thomas did during the war. But it is Luna Thomas we're talking about. Most of what she puts in that magazine are nothing but fantasies, or at the very least, stories where she takes a grain of truth and grows it to the size of the giant squid in the lake."
"Yeah, I know. But after reading that article, it got me thinking about something I heard at Platform Nine-And-Three-Quarters right before I got on the Hogwarts Express."
He proceeded to tell Professor Corner about the conversation between Harry Potter and Hannah Longbottom.
"You were eavesdropping on them?" The teacher's eyes narrowed.
"No. I mean, well, maybe. I mean, it's not like I went out of my way to do it. And then the night before, Uncle Harry got called out to . . . somewhere. We asked him about it during breakfast the next morning, but he wouldn't tell us anything."
"Aurors are always going off on missions they can't tell anyone about, even their families."
"But he's the Head Auror. If he gets called out in the middle of the night, it must be big."
"So you assume. He could have been called out for any number of reasons. And his conversation with Mrs. Longbottom could also be about any number of things."
Robert tightened his lips and cast his eyes down to the enchanted star field floor. He took a few breaths before deciding on another direction.
"Professor. Do you really believe the Stacyx were all wiped out in The Land That Time Forgot?"
"Well, it's been nearly sixteen years since that battle, and we haven't seen hide nor hair of them."
"That's not the same as saying they're extinct," said Lucida.
Professor Corner leaned back in her chair, focusing on Lucida. "You're quite right. You'd make a good Ravenclaw, Miss Bloom. And hopefully you'd enjoy it more than your cousin Boris."
Lucida smiled while Professor Corner moved her jaw back and forth. Seconds later she continued. "Is it possible some Stacyx escaped the volcanic eruption? Of course it is. In fact, some of them did make their way through portals into other television shows and movies and killed several Muggles before our forces hunted them down. Perhaps a few did get away and decide to lay low in other shows. But the one thing that is for certain is that after the war, Hermione Weasley set up numerous security charms to alert wizard-kind if the Stacyx ever reappeared. None of those charms have gone off in sixteen years. So either the Stacyx did indeed all perish in that final battle, or they now exist in such small numbers that they are practically no threat to either our world or the Muggle World. I'd like to believe the former."
"People believed that about Moldy-Voldie after the First Big War. And look what happened there."
"Good point, Robert. But the difference now is we have safeguards in place to alert us if the Stacyx should ever reappear."
"Yeah, I guess." Robert's shoulders sagged. He couldn't think of anything else to say. Plus, Professor Corner was right. He had no evidence of the Stacyx's return. Hell, to call what he did have "circumstantial evidence" would be beyond generous.
"You're not thinking of pursuing this on your own, are you?" Professor Corner eyed them suspiciously.
"Oh no way." Robert shook his head emphatically. "We're already in the middle of a month-long detention. No way I want another month tacked on to it."
"I feel the same," Lucida added.
"Well, at least you learned something from your detention, unlike other family members of yours who went here the same time I did." A wry grin traced Professor Corner's lips.
"Thank you, Professor," said Lucida. "We're sorry to have bothered you."
"Neither of you are a bother. You know my door is always open to any student, regardless of house."
"Thanks again, Professor." Robert nodded to her as he and Lucida rose and headed for the door.
"By the way," Professor Corner called out. "Congratulations on your new couple status."
Robert's eyes went wide with surprise.
"Oh, don't look at me like that. What, you think we teachers are unaware of who's going with whom at this school? That's half our conversations at meal times."
The veins on Robert's neck stuck out. He tried to imagine what some of those conversations were like, especially if any teacher said, "I really pictured Robert going with Rose Weasley, not Lucida Bloom."
Rose.
He felt a tug on his elbow. He looked to find Lucida nodding toward the door. Once in the corridor, she turned to him. "So what exactly did that accomplish?"
"I don't know. At least Professor Corner knows about it. Maybe she'll let the other teachers know."
"It didn't sound like she'd do that."
Robert grunted.
"I thought she did have a point," Lucida continued. "From everything I've heard about the battle, if there were Stacyx survivors, there couldn't have been many. Certainly nowhere near enough to threaten the world."
"Maybe, but . . ." Robert halted near the stairwell.
"What?" Lucida stopped next to him.
"You know Nine-Eleven? The big terrorist attack in the Muggle World back in 2001?"
"Yes. I remember it from Muggle Studies."
"All it took were nineteen nutjobs and four planes to kill over three thousand people. Who knows what a handful of pissed off Stacyx is capable of? And considering we tried to exterminate them not once, but twice, you know they have the motivation to hurt us as much as they can."
Lucida stood frozen, her eyes locked on him. Worry etched into her pretty face. A stab of pain went through Robert. He didn't like upsetting Lucida.
"I hope you're wrong, Robert."
"Me, too."
"Anyway." Lucida stepped over to him. "I don't see what we can do about it. Besides, if the Stacyx are still out there and do try something, you know Uncle Harry and Uncle Ron will be right there leading the effort to stop them, just like last time."
"Yeah, you're right."
"Of course I am. Now . . ." Lucida checked her watch. "We have about twenty minutes before we have to report to detention. So why don't we find slip behind the first tapestry we come to and . . ." She sidled up to him, pressed her body against his and whispered her suggestions into his ear. She capped it off by nibbling on his lobe.
Robert didn't utter a word as he let Lucida lead him down the corridors.
XXXXX
As the days went by, the Weasley/Potter clan started to accept the reality that Robert and Lucida were an item. Most of them, anyway. Cynthia appeared more polite than accepting. Edward and Albus seemed cool with it. Lily, however, refused to speak to him, as did Hugo. And, of course, Rose went out of her way to ignore him.
Robert tried to comfort himself with the fact he was in better shape than James. The oldest Potter child still received the cold shoulder from everyone in the family. But since James hadn't apologized for his comment about Uncle Charlie, Robert didn't find the clan's attitude surprising.
He hoped all this friction wouldn't carry over to the Quidditch team. He prayed everyone could put aside their differences and concentrate on the game, especially with the season opener against Ravenclaw a week away.
No such luck.
Perched on his broom, Robert watched Albus easily put one through the hoop. He shook his head. Any other day, James would have made that save.
"C'mon, Potter!" shouted Norton Fudge. "A First Year could do better than that!"
James scowled, his angry gaze switching from the Gryffindor captain to Albus.
Robert sighed and faced forward. He gripped his bat, scanning for any Bludgers. To his right he spotted Rose, who swiveled her head in all directions searching for the Golden Snitch. He bit his lip, all his focus on her. Loose strands of her knotted rust-colored hair whipped around. The harsh, determined look that settled over her face did not detract from her beauty. My God, she was beautiful.
His lips twisted into a frown. He missed talking to her. How many times had she confided in him about her worries of not being the best prefect, or getting the sort of grades her mother did when she went to Hogwarts?
I should have done more to help her when she lost her prefect's badge. I should have talked to her more when she got that Howler. But when he had tried, Rose didn't want to hear from him, or anybody else for that matter.
So? She's your friend. You should have tried harder to help.
What does it matter now? I'm with Lucida.
Rose whipped her head toward him. He froze when they made eye contact. They continued to fly straight, staring silently at one another. Robert saw Rose's face contort in . . . anger? Sadness?
He started to open his mouth, with no idea what to say.
Something streaked past him. He briefly made out the round black form of a Bludger. A Bludger headed right for . . .
"Rose! Look out!"
Rose took her eyes off him.
The Bludger smashed into her side.
"Rose!"
She slumped to her right, and fell off her broom.
Robert banked toward her. He leaned forward, increasing his speed, all his focus on Rose.
He barely noticed the Bludger as it shot scant inches past his head.
Robert coaxed every bit of speed out of his broom. Wind bracketed his body. His shoulders knotted as he watched Rose fall closer to the ground.
"C'mon," he growled at his broom. "C'mon!"
Suddenly Rose filled his vision.
"Gotcha!" He wrapped his arms around her.
His legs started to slide off the broom.
"Crap!" He clamped his left hand on the handle.
Rose slipped from his grasp.
"No!" Robert reached out and grabbed a handful of Rose's robes before she completely fell away.
The ground rushed toward him.
He pulled back on the handle. An invisible hand pushed against him as his speed suddenly dropped. His heels dug into the ground.
The broom slowed, and eventually came to a hover inches from the ground. Robert lowered Rose onto her side and slid off his broom. He dropped to his knees. Rose sat up, grimacing, her arms wrapped around her mid-section.
"Rose!" He put his hands on her shoulders. "Are you all right?"
"Get off me!" She pulled away from him, groaning as she did.
Robert's jaw fell open. What the hell?
The other members of the Gryffindor Quidditch team started to land when Robert found his voice. "I'm . . . I'm sorry, Rose. I should've seen that Bludger. It's my fault."
"Nice that you can admit that."
"Well, it is. I head my head up my ass and missed that Bludger."
"I wasn't talking about the damn Bludger!" Rose twisted around, gritting her teeth in pain.
"What?" A bewildered look came over Robert's face.
Rose snorted and accepted a hand from Lily, who helped her to her feet.
"Are you all right?" asked the youngest Potter child.
"No. It's my ribs. I think they're broken."
"You'd best get yourself to the hospital wing," ordered Norton Fudge.
"I'll help her." Robert raised a hand.
"So nice of you to care."
"Rose, what's with the attitude?"
"What's with . . .?" She swung around, her eyes narrowed. "You really have to ask? After . . . you should bloody well know!"
"Come on, Rose. I'll take you." Lily put a hand on Rose's back, shooting Robert a deadly glare. She led her injured cousin off the pitch. He swore he heard Lily mutter something like, "bloody thick," under her breath.
"Boy, that's gratitude for you." Chester Gaffney stood next to him, shaking his head. "Save her from a nasty fall and not so much as a bloody 'thanks.' What did you do to get her hacked off?"
Robert shot the Chaser a glare. Wisely, Gaffney backed away.
XXXXX
Robert didn't speak to anyone in the Gryffindor team tent as he showered and changed into his school clothes. He followed the squad back to the castle, head down, hands in his pockets. How could Rose be angry with him after he saved her from that fall? Had things gotten so bad between them she could even say "thank you" after something like that?
Why dwell on it? It's not my fault she can't accept me and Lucida being together.
Can you?
His lips twisted in frustration. How the hell could he still be so confused after choosing Lucida? Why had his decision caused so much strife among the Weasley/Potter clan? It wasn't like Lucida was a stranger. She was a blood relative, for Merlin's sake!
Robert tried to picture Lucida, her long red hair, her sensual face, the feel of her lips against his.
Instead he thought of Rose, how she ran up the stairs in the Gryffindor Common Room the night she saw him and Lucida kiss. He then replayed her comments as she left the Quidditch pitch.
Did she . . . had she really felt . . .?
Maybe Lily's right. Maybe I am bloody thick.
"Guys! Guys!" someone shouted in a strong Irish brogue.
Robert looked up to find Samuel Finnigan standing at the entrance to the castle. Derek Moody stood next to him, holding a copy of The Daily Prophet.
"What is it, Samuel?" asked Norton Fudge.
"Late edition of The Prophet." He jogged down the steps, followed by Derek. "Wait till you see it, especially you lot." Samuel's eyes flickered over the members of the Weasley/Potter clan.
Everyone gathered in a semi-circle and scanned the newspaper. The moving black-and-white photo showed a couple sullen-looking people shuffling out of a building, their wrists bound. Men in auror's robes stood on either side of them, wands raised. Robert recognized one of the aurors right away, the tall one with red hair.
Uncle Ron?
His eyes snapped up to the headline.
EXTRA!! THE DAILY PROPHET: LATE EDITION: EXTRA!!
AURORS OFFICE TAKES DOWN CULT OF VOLDEMORT IN HUGE RAID.
They had hoped to bring back the dark times. Instead, they will likely spend a long time in Azkaban.
A special squad from the Aurors Office conducted a raid this afternoon on the headquarters of the subversive organization known as the Cult of Voldemort. Led by Auror Ron Weasley, the squad descended upon a residence on the outskirts of Oakham and arrested twenty suspected members of the cult.
"Everything worked out perfectly," said Weasley. "We encountered only minor resistance, no one got really hurt. All in all, it was a good day."
While the Cult of Voldemort's activities have been limited to acts of vandalism since they surfaced three years ago, Weasley said the evidence they uncovered showed the group had more sinister plans for the Wizarding World.
"We discovered numerous Muggle vid-cards. Half of them, the ones featuring more violent shows, were charmed to allow these Cult wankers to enter the show, or have characters from those shows enter our world."
Ministry of Magic officials said renderings of the Ministry building were uncovered in the Cult's headquarters. Coupled with confessions from several Cult members, it has been determined that the group planned to use characters from various television programs and movies to launch an all-out attack on the Ministry. Cult members also admitted to charming vid-cards in Hogsmeade several weeks ago that released cartoon characters from the Muggle shows "Speed Racer" and "GI Joe," which resulted in ten deaths, numerous injuries and severe damage to the village. Auror Weasley added that several charmed vid-cards also turned up at Hogwarts. Said vid-cards have gone missing, but Weasley is confident they will be found in short order.
"See? See!?" Albus jabbed a finger at the newspaper held by Derek Moody. "Didn't I tell you? It was the Cult of Voldemort. I was right. I was bloody right!"
Albus bounced on the balls of his feet, grinning from ear-to-ear.
"Oh calm down, will you?" James scowled at his brother.
"Aw. Is James all upset because he's not the big hero?" Albus shot him an expression of mock sadness. "I guess Uncle Ron did what you couldn't."
James trembled in anger. His fists balled as he gave Albus a steely gaze.
"If you two are gonna fight again, I'm outta here."
Robert detached himself from the group and tromped inside the castle. Albus' sing-song voice followed him.
"I was right! I was riiiiiiight!"
Albus' gloating eventually faded as Robert headed deeper inside the castle. As he passed the Great Hall, he sighed, thinking about the story.
So it's over. It's really over. The Stacyx had nothing to do with this. Now he felt really stupid bringing his concerns to Professor Corner. Like Albus suspected all along, the Cult of Voldemort had been behind the charmed vid-cards.
Robert held his breath as he turned a corner. He tried to imagine Sentinel robots from X-Men and cat-like Kzinti soldiers from The Man-Kzin Wars movies and gray spindly Overseer aliens from the recent incarnation of the TV show Project UFO rampaging throughout Wizarding England.
Thanks to Uncle Ron and his aurors, he didn't have to worry about that any more. A flicker of disappointment went through him. Much as he didn't want to admit it, he had an idea how James must feel. It would have been cool if they had solved this on their own, step out of their parents' shadows and be heroes themselves. Prove they were worthy of the last names Potter, Weasley, Prewett and O'Bannon.
But they wouldn't have that chance. He wondered if they would ever be in a situation where they could do something heroic. Somehow he doubted it. More than likely he'd grow up, get a job, get married, have kids and have everyone wonder if Robert O'Bannon was as brave as his mother and father.
C'mon, man. Don't turn into another James Potter and go looking for trouble. Look how it worked out for him.
He marched up the steps to Gryffindor Tower, trying to put any thoughts of heroism out of his head. With the whole vid-card thing over and done with, he had more immediate concerns.
Concerns involving two red-headed Gryffindor girls.
XXXXX
When Robert and the rest of the Weasley/Potter clan reported to Professor Longbottom's office, they discovered that, joy of joys, Mister Pudlum had been taken to the hospital wing and wouldn't be available to administer detention. It turned out the jackass caretaker had been cleaning the Potions classroom and accidentally put his hand into a small puddle of some spilled concoction. His entire right arm had shrunk to the size of a toothpick.
"Couldn't happen to a nicer bloke," Edward whispered out the corner of his mouth.
Robert's eyes widened. It took a lot for the normally amiable Edward Weasley to say something that harsh.
Mister Pudlum's absence, however, didn't mean they got out of detention. Instead, Professor Longbottom sent them down to Hagrid's hut.
"Wicked!" Albus beamed as they headed out of the castle. "This should be an easy detention. You know Hagrid will treat us all right."
True, Hagrid didn't regard them as a step below pond scum like Pudlum. But detention was anything but easy. Hagrid escorted them to one of the school's larger ponds where a group of half-horse, half-fish creatures rested on the banks. Robert recognized them from his Care of Magical Creatures class at Salem last year. Hippocampi.
"All sorts of debris get caught up in their manes," Hagrid told them as he handed out large brushes. "And they don't like to clean themselves."
It turned out the hippocampi also didn't like anyone else cleaning them. They whipped their heads and snapped at the clan whenever they approached with their brushes. Hagrid suggested humming as a way to calm them. It only worked half the time. Both Cynthia and Arthur got knocked to the ground. James got bit, twice, which put a smile on Albus' face.
Rose, as luck would have it, managed to get the most docile hippocampus of the bunch. She and Hugo gently brushed the creature's mane.
Robert slowly brushed the mane of his hippocampus, while Lucida hummed melodically. Half his attention was on the creature, the other half on Rose. His shoulders sagged as he stared at her, hoping she would look up and see him . . . and smile at him, show some indication all was forgiven.
But Rose's attention stayed on her hippocampus.
Robert snorted and dragged the brush down his hippocampus' mane. The creature grunted in annoyance. Robert didn't care. He wondered if Rose would ever talk to him again.
He gripped his brush tighter. Things had been so much simpler when they were little kids. Rose was just a cool girl who liked running around on her toy broom and drawing magical battles and playing Exploding Snap. They just had fun when he visited England. He didn't have these feelings mucking up his head. Feelings he'd been afraid to act on. How could he when he'd always considered Rose like family?
Like family. Not the same as family.
His eyes studied her round freckled face. He pictured her slender, athletic frame beneath her robes. God, she was beautiful. Even more than that, when she wasn't fretting over living up to her parents' reputation, her true self emerged. Her intelligence, her warmth, her fighting spirit he wondered if Rose knew she actually possessed. How could he not fall for her?
Too bad she hated his guts.
Robert yanked the brush through the hippocampus' mane. The creature whinnied and snapped its head up. Both he and Lucida jumped back.
"Easy now. Easy." Hagrid ambled over, holding his hand out and humming to the hippocampus. It took a couple minutes for it to finally calm down.
"I want to you to brush his mane, Robert, not tear it off."
"Yeah. Sorry, Hagrid."
"That's okay. Just, gentle strokes. All right?"
Robert nodded. He approached the hippocampus, and caught Rose staring at him. He lifted his head, trying to meet her eyes.
Rose looked back down at her hippocampus and continued brushing its mane.
XXXXX
Hagrid released the clan at a reasonable hour. By Robert's count, tonight's detention only lasted about an hour-and-a-half. Thank God. Now he could catch up on the mountain of homework he had.
What should I do first? Potions? No, that's the hardest one. Divination? Yeah, right. Charms looked pretty easy. I should be able to knock that out in a hurry and move on to . . .
"Robeeeert."
He stiffened when he heard Lucida draw out his name. A soft hand rubbed his shoulder. Hair tickled his cheek as Lucida's lips hovered around his right ear.
"Uh, yeah?" He came to a halt as the rest of the Weasley/Potter clan approached the castle.
"Thanks to Hagrid, we've got loads of time before curfew. Why don't we find a deserted classroom and, well, I'm sure you can use your imagination."
Robert swallowed. A fiery sensation gripped his waist. His heart sped up.
Then he caught sight of Rose at the head of the group.
Guilt rammed into his desire. He mentally begged Rose not to turn around, to keep walking into the castle and disappear from sight.
"Um, uh . . . I got a lotta homework, you know?"
"So do I. But you know that Muggle expression about all work and now play." Lucida pecked at his ear, then slid her lips down his neck.
All thought vanished from Robert's mind. He let Lucida take him by the hand and pull him toward the castle, giggling all the way. Thankfully the rest of the clan was far ahead of them, which meant Rose couldn't see them.
Rose.
Lucida pushed open the door to the Charms classroom and practically threw him inside. She kicked the door closed. Darkness enveloped them. Neither one bothered to light any of the torches hanging from the wall. Lucida placed her hands on Robert's chest and backed him up until he bumped into a desk. He managed a quick grunt before Lucida hurled herself at him and smashed her lips into his. Their tongues dueled. Lucida's hands slid down his sides, her fingers dug into his ass. He gasped. His entire being drowned in a sea of pure delight. He pulled Lucida tighter against him. Lucida's lips moved down his chin. She buried her face into his neck. Robert felt her teeth in his flesh. His heart beat so hard he expected it to explode. Further down his body he felt another explosion building.
"Oh God," he muttered breathlessly. Oh God . . . oh man . . . oh Rose.
Robert's eyes snapped open. He froze, though Lucida kept biting his neck.
What did I . . . oh no way!
But in his mind's eye it wasn't Lucida Bloom wrapped around him sucking on his neck. It was Rose Weasley.
Oh crap. Oh crap!
"Um, Lucida? Hon?"
Lucida pulled her head out of his neck. "What?"
Robert looked her in the face, his eyes barely adjusted to the darkness of the classroom. He took a deep breath and gently held her shoulders.
"Um, there's . . . well. I just need to talk."
"You want to talk now?" Lucida sounded shocked.
Robert swallowed. How should he say this? The last thing he wanted to do was hurt Lucida. He really did like her. A lot. The problem was, he could no longer deny he liked Rose more.
Does it even matter? Did he really think if he broke up with Lucida, he could just go up to Rose, tell her how he felt about her, and all would be wonderful? Yeah, right. He had visions of magically-produced canaries attacking him, just like Aunt Hermione had done to Uncle Ron during "The Lavender Episode."
Whatever. I just can't take this anymore.
"Robert, what is it?" Lucida demanded.
He bit his lower lip. Maybe she'll understand.
And maybe a platypus will fly out my ass.
"Um, well. This I kinda hard. But, um . . . uh . . ."
"Merlin's sake, Robert. What is -"
The doorknob clicked.
Robert's eyes snapped up to the door. Lucida whipped her head around. Light spilled into the room as the door slowly creaked open.
He grabbed Lucida's elbow. They hurried past two desks before stopping at a third and ducking behind it. He turned to Lucida and held a finger to his lips. She nodded.
He held his breath, and Lucida's hand. Footsteps echoed off the high walls of the charms classroom.
They both jerked in surprise at the soft whoosh of flames from one of the torches on the wall. An orange glow settled over the left side of the classroom.
Who the hell is that? It couldn't be Pudlum. He was in the hospital wing. A teacher, maybe? Another student here to do the same thing he and Lucida had been doing?
The door opened and closed again. Another set of footsteps clacked across the stone floor.
"You have them?"
Both Robert's and Lucida's eyes widened. The voice was unmistakable.
Professor Tureis, the Divination teacher.
"Right here, Sir."
Robert also recognized that voice as well. Ares Urquhart, the asshole Beater from Slytherin.
"Good, good," said Tureis. "Everything's in place. Just think, boy. What we do with these special vid-cards will change the Wizarding World forever."
TO BE CONTINUED
