Disclaimer: Don't own anything.

Dedication: to the Red Dragons Order.

Author's Note: I wanted to make this a longer chapter, since I had a bit –okay, a bit more- inspiration and somehow it felt right not to write a few short chapters, but a longer one.

And sorry it took so long, but I had a lot of physics to take care of –went to the National Contest of Physics. Seems like I'm on the 59th place! Yay! Hey, what, I consider it good... We were 114 in total, from the whole country, selected in County contests...- Anyways, I should stop babbling and go on with the story!

Chapter 28: The Son of the Lord and the Torch

"There is nothing in life as beautiful as the sound of music and I wish I could send it to you through a piece of paper. However, such a thing is not possible, so I can't send you feelings as easily as that. But I will tell you to be confident and never, never forget that inner source of all magic. My dear children, don't forget yourselves...

And on a different note, I will tell you that you need to be cautious. Play your life games with great attention or you will pay for the moments you slip. And as for the ones who have Golden Amulets, wear them. I feel you might need them in a while.

I am afraid that there will be no more letters after this one and you might never see me again. But if you do, it will be either in mistake or at times of great events. And now, I shall say goodbye to all of you and, in case I shall never see you again, have happy lives and never forget your hearts.

J. Towers"

Harry stared at the letter –waaay longer than the short paragraphs here at the bottom, but generally filled with useless facts, just warnings and wishes of well- and had a weird feeling. Well, he hadn't been very attached to Jack Towers, but the fact that he might never see him again made him feel a bit empty inside.

"It feels weird for him to tell us he might never see us again" Hermione said. "Usually people say they'll meet again soon, but not Towers"

"Perhaps we should start wearing those Amulets" Harry murmured. The Amulets had been mentioned in various parts of the letter, although the only place where Towers had specifically said they should wear them was the end of the letter.

"Maybe" Hermione agreed.

The two were in the common room in the Gryffindor Tower, along with Ron, Neville and Ginny. Amala had read the letter but she had retreated to another place of the room. After her fight with Snape, she had blamed a few bad headaches and kept away from people, staring into space. She had only given them a very short notice of what had happened -"We had a fight, now leave me alone"- and then stood away from them in her own world.

It was now Monday night and tomorrow they would have Defence Against the Dark Arts with a teacher they didn't know. But for now, taking Towers' advice was probably the best idea. Who knew what the mad, angry and completely furious Gryffindors would do to the eight of them who had lost more points than they had in one simple night! Everybody had cursed, yelled and even tried to hex them when it all came out. But now they were ignoring the group and seemed to want to do it for the whole year.

"I liked the guy and he stood here even less than any other teachers, except probably Rose!" Ginny complained. "Life is just not fair!"

At that moment, Mark and Jane came through the portrait hole.

"I hate Quiddich" Mark decided. "I'm simply not cut out for it!"

"But I am" Jane said with a smirk. "Hey, guys, what's up?"

"Towers sent a letter" Harry said and showed it to them. "I have a Golden Amulet, I should really start wearing it."

"You do so" Amala said. "I'm off to my detention and God knows I hate it"

She left through the portrait hole, with the same far away look she had had for quite a while.

"Poor girl, I wonder what happened to her" Neville said, a look of compassion in his eyes.

/*-/*-/*-/*-

Amala knocked at the entrance door to the office in the dungeons and entered without waiting for reply. Well, if she had waited, it would have been quite a wait, since Snape wasn't anywhere around.

"Professor?" she asked, coldly, but no reply came. "Snape!" she dared cry, but still no reply. "Hell with you!" she said through clenched teeth and turned to the door. But just as she did so, she felt something trickling up her spine and a devious and somehow evil smile crept up her lips. "Oh, this time I will get you, Snape!"

She turned on her heels and went towards his desk in a confident manner. She opened the drawers looking through them. What could go wrong? He had just confessed he had been using her –why, that idiot, greasy, slimy git!-, he had taken all the points from their House, he had given her a month of detention, so what else could he do, huh?

She opened the drawers with a steady hand and a determined look, although she had no clue what she was looking for. But she would find something.

"Water's running in the wrong direction/ Got a feeling it's a mixed up sign/ I can see it in my own reflection/Something funny's going on inside myself/ Don't know what is pushing me higher /It's the static on the floor below/ Then it drops, it catches like fire/ It's the sound of, the sound of the underground!" she sang. Heh, it really fitted! There was something funny going on! And she was underground. And something was running in the wrong direction. Who knew she could be a vengeful?! Or was she just plain nuts? Well, now, what would be the point of figuring it out?

She slammed the door to his desk when she saw nothing of any kind of importance in it. So, she started searching something along the walls, searching for something, anything! She reached a taller cupboard she had never seen him open –well, she had never seen him open a jar with a preserved octopus in it either, but she decided that wasn't worth while- and tried to open it. Unfortunately, the alohomora wasn't effective, so she knew there would be something important in it. She smiled a wicked smile and muttered the levitation spell, got it down and put it on the floor.

"When the front door doesn't open, go to the backdoor!" she said loudly, the same smile on her face. She took out of her pocket a pen and transfigured it –with a bit of difficulty- into an extra-sharp knife. Then, as a second thought, she added a few dents and somehow managed to make it work like a chain saw. Actually, she was surprised herself. That was advanced transfiguration and usually a bit too difficult for her. Ah, well, who was she to question such a nice gift?

So, she took her chain saw and cut through the cupboard like butter. Then, she placed the piece of wood down gently and started looking through the drawer. So, she found a few potions –what a surprise...-, a few very, very, very rare ingredients –another surprise- a few pieces of parchment with unimportant –for Amala- data on them, like a few Death Eater plans and all that and, as if waiting for her, a map of the Hogwarts dungeons. Seeing that it wasn't completed, she assumed that Snape was drawing it. It felt like it, too. And so she saw that his bedroom had three corridors leading through it –one from an upper level –good to know, definitely good to know- , one to his office –to be used at this certain moment!- and one third, extremely branched out one, but it was unfinished on the map. To be explored right now.

"I love you, but I don't like you, don't like you, don't like you!" she sang and started laughing. She took a piece of parchment from his desk and muttered a spell to copy the map on it. And it worked! Then, she put the map back, put the back of the drawer back –she started laughing only when she thought of putting the back of the drawer back. Not that it was extremely funny, but she felt the need to do something in order not to burst into tears-. Then, she sealed it so that nobody could see that it was ever cut down and levitated it back to the wall.

Then, she studied the map and managed to find the passage to Snape's bedroom quite easily and left through it, map safely in her pocket, wand lighting the way. Thank God for secret passages that were easy to use! –this one was behind a few shelves and opened easily if you knew where to pull the door-. Not three minutes later, Snape entered the office and correctly guessed she must have left when he hadn't been there. However, he didn't even think through where.

/*-/*-/*-/*-

Amala made it to his dorm and found the entrance to the other corridor and started walking cautiously through it. But, after a while, she forgot to be cautious and started walking, as usually, where she felt she had to go through. Well, she felt wonderful at first, then just good and finally she realized she had no idea how to get back. But how many corridors could there be? She turned on her heels, determined to go back when she heard something like drums and involuntarily shivered. She realized the tunnel had taken her waaaay below the dungeons and suddenly wondered what the drums were. She started walking fast and quietly back, but she heard the drums in front of her, so she turned back and moved as silently as a shadow. But the drums were following her quickly, so she started running, the bit of light erupting from her wand helping her only not to crash into walls, but not more. She kept running and running, feeling the thing close onto her and hearing the drums louder and louder.

"Oh, God, oh, God" she muttered and sped up even more, but the drums seemed to get louder and louder, beating right behind her and she started to panic. Who cared where the tunnels lead her? She had to get away, far, far, far away from the drums, quickly! She heard a scream like a Necrow's on her tale and her heart froze in her chest and she started running like she never had before! But the drums and the shriek were closing in on her! She feared even turning her head, she just kept running and running. And if the shrieks and drums weren't enough, she saw something like fire lights on the walls around her. She let out a scream of her own and saw a Necrow fly in front of her and shriek and she stopped in the middle of the corridor and screamed louder than she ever did before. The Necrow attacked, but she ducked and started running with the speed of a flying dragon down the corridors, screaming in terror.

The Necrow shrieked behind her and flew fast enough to hit her in the back of her head, but Amala hit it without turning and the bird lost its speed. She ran and ran and ran, but she felt her body lose its power and when she turned after a corner, she crashed into something soft and black. Powerful arms wrapped around her and a soft, but somehow inhuman voice said to her quietly:

"Shhh, you are safe now"

She realized how hard she shivered and just held on tight to the man. She could still hear the shriek of the Necrow and the drums, but she felt safe with the man. Then, the drums and the shrieks faded away and even after they completely disappeared, she held on to the man as if he was a lifeline. Only after five minutes did she dare to look him in the eyes.

Well, he looked human, but there still was something inhuman about him, something she couldn't quite understand. He had black hair, wild, brown eyes and tanned skin. She just stared at him for a while and then she asked:

"Who are you?"

He smiled gently.

"I am a Guardian of Death, but even more than that, I am a Messenger of Death and Knight of Death. She is my mother and Mistress, Death and I am her child"

"That's morbid" Amala whispered.

"No, it is not" he said with a small smile. "Death is also the one that changes all that there is. She is what comes before birth. She is the one who destroys to leave place for Life to build. What would this place be if one wouldn't change, if one would never die? And you know she is a real presence... You have met her, haven't you?"

Amala shivered.

"Yes, sir, I have. Will you kill me?"

He let out a small laugh.

"Death never kills without reason, child. And now she wishes for you to stay alive. Sirius Black died so you could be born, but he wasn't supposed to stay so... But Death and Life are only parts of the One who plays the Game of Existence and who are we to try to understand this game before our time?"

Amala just stared at him.

"Right..." she muttered. "Um, in that case, could you help me out of here?"

"I will... But I must ask you to be careful next time you come here. It is a place full of danger and fear, where only the brave survive. The Necrow was not real, it was a part of darkness that wanted to kill you here. But it will not. Not while I, the Prince of Starlight, am here!"

She smiled at him.

"I promise I won't come back! I have no intention to get myself killed, you know... What is this place here for, anyway?"

"It is the so-called 'way out'. One can exit the Chamber of Secrets through here, but one can get lost trying to find the entrance to it back. And one can also exit the room my father, the Lord of Darkness, has put in this castle through this place. But by time, many dark creatures came here, under the earth. Death told me to clean this mess up and unfortunately I must follow her orders."

"Your father is the Lord of Darkness?!" Amala asked.

"Jack Strois, yes, that is him" the Everything of Death –as Amala had humorously named him- said. "He is my true father and I am his only child –biological one-. At my birth, one Seer told him that I would die while still young and she was right. I was cornered by enemies and murdered, but Death kept me close to her and I became her spiritual son, if you could say so"

"So, you are dead" Amala concluded, deciding to wonder about the weirdness of the situation later. If she started thinking about the fact that the guy next to her was dead, she wouldn't find anything else useful about him and what would be the use of that?!

"Have you learnt nothing? There is no such thing as 'dead'. There is something named 'death', but one cannot really die, since life is in all things."

"But you died" she argued. Wow, she was talking to a dead guy!

"Yes, I have. But Sirius Black has, too. And you have, too. The difference is, you preferred to come back to your normal lives, whereas I had to follow her path and now I am immortal"

"I didn't die" Amala argued again.

"Oh, but you did" he replied. "When you went to save him. You passed through the veil and you died. And she let you go back where you had come through. But she didn't forget to take out some parts of you which you didn't know and which were wrong... But this a whole theory, Amala Wright. Perhaps another time we can talk about Death"

She closed her mouth and walked with him for a while, as he led her out of there.

"You should know that the next time you see Jack Towers will be the last time you see him" the Everything of Death said out of the blue.

"What?" she asked.

"You should know that the next time you see Jack Towers will be the last time you see him" he repeated, with even the same intonation.

"Why?" Amala asked.

"Because of my Mistress. One of you will die, Amala"

She shivered when she heard that.

"Which one of us?"

He stared into space and then seemed to have found an answer:

"The one which needs to die and only that one"

"Thanks for the explicit answer" she said, raising an eyebrow.

"Welcomed" he replied as he led her through the dark corridors. Then, something struck her.

"How come I can see? I mean, it was very, very dark when I ran through here" she asked.

"I called a bit of light. No use to run into walls, now is there?" he asked.

"But where is the source of light? I can't see it"

"We are the source. That's why you can't see" he replied. "And here, Amala Wright, is the place where you were supposed to get to"

She stared at him as he led her to a wall with two holes in them, as if something had to be fitted in. She stared at the two holes and saw the place lighten up a bit and could see two inscriptions in the wall. One said 'Stoney the First' and the other 'Stoney the Second'. Why did that sound familiar...? Ah, right, because the stone in the Forest had the inscription saying it was Stoney the First on it. So, this was where it fitted!

"Who came up with crazy names?" Amala questioned.

"I'm afraid the king of the elves" he replied. "Father linked this place to another world, it's like a door to the elven realm. So he asked the elf what he wanted the door to be like and he proposed the current arrangement."

"The elven realm?" Amala asked softly.

"Yes, there is a door here, for a reason unknown, since there is a passageway in the Forbidden Forest. But I stopped questioning my Father a long time ago, it's useless. This is close to the entrance in these tunnels, you will find the way back here easily."

"Where is the second stone?" Amala asked.

"In the room Father placed here. Ask for it and you will get it"

"What's your name?"

He looked in her eyes and smiled.

"There are many things you wish to know, don't you? Mark Strois, the Prince of Starlight, Dark Angel and Knight of Death. Other questions?"

"No, thank you, Mark"

He bowed his head gently.

"The way out is through that corridor. When you come back, it is the only way you can get here, but if you are not careful, you can pass this place without seeing it. Goodbye, Amala Wright"

"Goodbye, Mark, my Angel" she replied and he turned his back on her... And then she saw the pitch black wings on his back. They were the size of angel wings, but they looked like dragon wings, just a lot more... Noble and black and silky. "You're winged?!" she asked, gaping.

"Why, yes" he replied turning back. "I thought you'd noticed by now. Ancient Black Dragon wings. Useful and beautiful"

She just nodded, gaping and then turned back and left towards Snape's bedroom.

/*-/*-/*-/*-

Severus Snape collapsed in his bed and stared at the ceiling. What would he do about Amala? He had hurt her feelings, but how should he make it up to her? Yes, true, he hated apologizing, but he now considered her his and couldn't let her go. She was his, wasn't she?

Maybe he should conjure up some flowers –or maybe pick them up somewhere, he wasn't quite sure how you conjured such things. That was the general rule, wasn't it? Hurt a woman-buy her flowers. Or maybe he should say he was sorry and beg for her to come back... nah, forget it. Maybe he should wait and see what happened? But no, no, she seemed pretty hurt, so not doing anything would probably have a bad effect.

Maybe he should ask somebody for help. Hah! Even the thought of it made him laugh –"Hey, Minerva, could you come here for a second? You know, I have a girlfriend who I hurt badly, what should I do?"-. Really bad idea. Or maybe ask Dumbledore. Now, that was even worse. He'd probably come up with some really weird idea. Well, thank God he had time to think, he had no idea what he would do if Amala came in at that certain moment.

But he found out what he would do in about two seconds, when his secret passage opened and through it came Amala in the flesh.

"What the hell? Amala?" he asked, gaping for the first time in many years.

Her face switched from thoughtful –which she was when she came in- to furious.

"Don't you Amala me, Snape!"

Snape? That was bad, wasn't it?

"What were you doing in that passage?!"

"Well, that's my. Own. Business" she said, stressing each word and glaring at him. "You still have the cheek to ask me questions like this when you declare that you USED me, you idiot?!"

"Used you? I said no such thing!" he defended.

"You didn't say it, Snape! But that is exactly what you did, remember?!" she cried. Severus didn't remember seeing her with her eyes glittering like that ever.

"What? No" he defended.

"You didn't, did you?" she asked, eyes narrowed dangerously, arms crossed on her chest. "You just happened to pretend to like me, God knows why... Well, I have news for you, Snape! I'm a bloody human being and won't take being treated like scum!"

"Amala..." he started.

"What am I to you, Severus? Am I a silly little girl who you hope to sleep with soon or what? A bit of fun? Hm? Answer me!"

He involuntarily gulped, seeing her with glittering angry eyes and arms crossed on her chest, but decided to answer nevertheless.

"Listen, you're more than that" he said. "I..." he couldn't continue.

"You what?" she asked coldly.

"I... didn't mean what I said. I needed to make you understand that you mustn't go in the Forest again and I said everything that came into my mind."

Her eyes seemed to soften a little, anger leaving them.

"Hey, you do care..." she mumbled.

Severus took a deep breath and then admitted it:

"Yes. Are we back to where we were before?"

It hurt. He was admitting he cared, that he wanted her... Where was he getting to? She, on the other hand smiled deviously.

"Yes, but I want you to do something for me"

"What?" he asked. Great, first she appears through his passage, then she has a fight, now she wants something...

"Say you're sorry" she replied, taking a step forward. He swallowed and glared at her. If he refused, it would make her go ballistic, wouldn't it? So, he only had one way. Screw women.

"I'm sorry" he said through clenched teeth and she went closer to him and hugged him.

"Apology accepted" she said and he could actually hear her smiling. He felt like one of those lions at the circus who are trained for show and trapped, their dignity taken away... Was he getting there? Maybe. And he hated it.

"What were you doing here, anyway?" he asked and she started laughing.

"I was upset and wanted to do something bad to you and managed to find this passage somehow... But don't worry, I haven't done anything bad."

/*-/*-/*-/*-

"Guys, I found the place where we should put Stoney the First" Amala told her group when she entered the common room, a grin on her face. The others gaped to see her like she was –all happy and jolly-, since she had left for detention in a really bad mood.

"Um, Amala, what happened?" Ginny asked and she raised her eyebrows in surprise.

"What do you mean?"

"Usually, people go to Snape's detentions happy and come back sad, not the other way around!" the girl said.

"Oh" she said realization on her face. "I had no detention, Snape wasn't there when I got there. But I did a completely suicidal thing and searched through his files and found a map where a few secret passages were. Took one of them and found what we were looking for"

"Aha" the others replied.

"So, tell us exactly what happened" Ginny said.

"Well, I entered his office and saw he wasn't there so I looked around and found this map in a cupboard" she said, considering that how she opened the thing was not to be said "then, I saw that one of the secret passages on the map led from Snape's bedroom to somewhere deep down, but the map wasn't complete, so I decided to check it out"

"Wait a sec- Snape's bedroom?" Ron said. "Ewww. How'd you get there anyway?"

"Another secret passage on the map" Amala replied. "So, I entered the place, but somehow managed to get lost and then I started hearing drums... It was completely creepy. Then, a Necrow started to attack me and flames started dancing around on the walls..."

"God" Hermione muttered.

"But I ran into somebody. I mean, literally ran into him. I made a turn around a corner and collapsed into him and somehow all the drums, the Necrow and the flames disappeared."

"Who was he?" Hermione asked.

"Mark something, son of the Lord of Darkness who put the room where we go into in this school and... Guardian of Death, Knight of Death and something else of Death, Dark Angel and I think he mentioned Prince of Starlight"

"Ah, right. And how did this guy end up in the Hogwarts underground?" Ron asked.

"Said Death sent him to clean up the place from dark creatures" Amala replied with a shrug.

"Riiight" Ron said, with a nod and widened eyes that showed clearly he believed no such thing.

"Mark, you said?" Hermione asked.

"Yes, Mark" Amala replied.

"I'll have to go check him out, perhaps I'll find out something" the walking, talking library said. "I never heard of the son of the Lord of Darkness before"

"So, first we have to go in our special room and get Stoney the Second" Amala said, thinking the conversation should get back to its track. "Mark said all we have to do is ask for it"

"Let's hope it's that easy" Neville said.

"Then, we must go through that passage and see what happens when we put the Stones together in those holes in the wall" Ginny completed. "Well, what do we have to lose? Not House points, that's for sure. I don't think we have any"

"Seems like Hufflepuff will win the cup this year" Jane said with a smirk. "They're ten points better than Slytherin –did you know McGonagall took a hundred points from them on different reasons when she heard Snape didn't punish Malfoy?-"

The Gryffindors snickered. Yep, trust McGonagall to even the score.

"What happened to Ravenclaw?" Mark asked.

"They were left behind when two of its students were caught snogging in a classroom after curfew. McGonagall's classroom" Ginny said with a snort. "Forty points behind Hufflepuff"

"Well, if we have nothing to lose, tomorrow we'll go to our room!" Amala proposed and they all nodded.

/*-/*-/*-/*-

"Wonder who the new teacher is" Ron told Harry who was sitting next to him. "He hadn't been here yesterday, the fifth years said they stood here alone"

"Maybe he won't come today, either" Harry replied.

"I wish he does" Hermione said. "There have to be new things to learn and I hate losing a day's lesson"

"You do" Harry said.

"But we don't" Ron completed.

Hermione opened her mouth to say something, but the teacher came in and they were all surprised that it wasn't a 'he'. It was a 'she'.

"Hello again!" Iris Rose said, a smile on her lips. "I see Jack Towers has decided to um... hit the skies, so Professor Dumbledore asked me to come back and teach. He also hoped that this foolishness with changing this teacher once or more times a year would stop. Frankly, so do I. Also, I would like to make a small announcement: the Lady of Light herself, Naranesh, one of the purest beings to ever live, will come visit Hogwarts. It will be a great event"

"A lot of things seem to be happening" Harry muttered to Ron.

"Mister Potter, do you have anything you would like to say?" Iris asked, turning towards him. Damn, the woman had good hearing!

"No, no miss" he replied. She just had to see him!

"But what did you just tell you colleague?" she kindly asked.

Harry sent her a sheepish smile.

"That a lot of things are happening"

She nodded and looked at him a bit thoughtful.

"A new era approaches, Mister Potter. That is why all things seem to be changing now. It happened one thousand years ago, it happens now... And God knows how it'll turn out this time. But in these times, follow your hearts. All decisions you take from your heart will be good until the end"

The rest of the lesson, she told them about a few counter curses and helped them with them. And of course, made a few 'teacher change' jokes, even proposing some new people for the Defence class.

/*-/*-/*-/*-

That night, Amala was waiting for the others to come to Snape's bedroom. She was supposed to find out if he was there and if he came anywhere nearby, to drag him away –like in his office- and then get to them as quickly as possible. She had planned everything. If he came, she'd take him to his office and make sure he was busy with her –not that she'd mind kissing him- and if he left for his bedroom first, she'd run down the passage to his bedroom as fast as she could, make it there before him and then jump into the other passage, hoping the others had made it. If he let her leave first, she'd run down the corridors to his bedroom. If Filch caught her or she wouldn't make it there before him, she'd say she'd forgotten something or that she'd wanted to ask him a thing or another.

But now, it was all alright. He hadn't come... yet. If he came when they entered the passage, they'd have to confess –and lose about a thousand points, probably-. The others were taking Stoney the Second from where they'd left him –in the secret room- and had left her a bit of time to get Snape out of the way, if necessary. Actually, getting the Stoney was easier than they suspected: they'd just entered the room and asked for the Stoney and voila! That book that had welcomed them there had fallen from the shelf –all by itself- and flipped open, the stone falling our of its pages and a 'good luck on your journey' message in it.

And where were the others? Were they afraid or something? She would kill them if they chickened out. But just then, the group came, making her let out her breath.

"He's not here, come on, quickly!"

They entered Snape's quarters –which nobody else but Amala had seen- and then she took them to the passageway and led them to the ... door, if you could call it that.

Harry took out the two stones and put them in the right spots. The wall opened just like in a muggle movie and they all entered the dark place, Snape showing up in about four minutes in his quarters. For the second time, he was very close, not that anybody knew that.

/*-/*-/*-/*-

Okay, Draco was starting to get bored. They'd dragged him to get to find the Torch and now, now they went through a long and dark corridor, just like the one they had previously been on. And he had hoped they'd just open the damned wall, get the Torch from a nicely decorated room and get the hell out of there. But noooo... They had to go through a tunnel that probably went on until Japan!

He mumbled a few swear words against the Four Founders. Why on Earth did they build such a thing?!

And then, finally! A black door. Maybe a room? Potter opened the door with a shacking hand and they all entered in a medium-sized beautiful, black room with a one-foot table in the middle, a bowl of something on fire on it. In other words, it was a bowl with fire in an empty room. Joy.

And then, something black came out of nowhere and landed on a perch above the fire.

'Hope it tastes good roasted' Draco thought, but when he got a better glimpse at the bird, his eyes goggled and he gulped. A Necrow.

/*-/*-/*-/*-

Jack Towers lied down on his back, in the middle of an elven realm, near a nice waterfall. So, he was officially out of the human realm for a while. Trust Aurors to know absolutely nothing of who is friend and who is foe. His head jerked up as he felt something familiar come over him.

A brown eyed man with spiky black hair came next to him and sat down on the fresh grass.

"Having a though time?"

"Yes, Master" he replied. "How are you?"

"A bit afraid. Harry is going for the Torch right about now"

"How do you know?" Jack asked.

"Take a guess"

"Ah, right, you know everything" Jack replied and stared at the skies. "So, what do I do now?"

"You get your dragon posterior off the grass and go find Mayhowl and get him to the Dark Forest. Got it?"

"Not fair" Jack mumbled. "Don't I get a bit of rest?"

"You'll get all the rest you want and even more after the school year finishes. Now, you need to work fast."

"Yes, o, great one!" he replied and got off the grass. "Then what?"

"Then you go find Naranesh and stay with her until she goes to Hogwarts"

Suddenly, Jack smiled widely.

"Well, now, it's worth it! I'd love to see your Mistress!"

The Master smiled at him gently and left, cloak fluttering behind him.

/*-/*-/*-/*-

Okay, Harry wasn't too comfortable, seeing that Necrow up there, on that perch and giving no sign whatsoever that it was going to be cooked, although it was barely a foot over the flames. He took out his wand, wondering when it would shriek or strike, but it opened its beak and an inhuman voice, but speaking in English and definitely not one that belonging to a strangled child, could be heard from the big, black bird.

"Where do you go?" it asked.

"No business of yours" Draco replied after gulping.

"Oh, but it is, but it is" it replied and stretched its wings. "I am the Guard!"

"So, um, how do we pass?" Harry asked and the bird let its wings down.

"Tell me what you seek" it said.

"I seek the Green Flame Torch" he replied and heard somewhere in the back a sound that resembled somebody hitting his forehead.

"The Torch, you say" the Necrow said. "The Torch is there, oh, yes... But for what reason?"

"I'm the bearer" Harry replied.

"Really now, Potter, you really want to prove your idiocy?" Draco asked.

The black bird gave Draco a weird look and then turned its gaze back to Harry.

"The blonde is a weird friend" it commented. "But he speaks wisely. Your heart is good, young one, but your frankness could bring you great problems"

Okay, now Harry felt weird. Did a bird just told him he wasn't supposed to tell it what it asked?

"Luckily, I am on your side... But you must pass a few tests, out of which one is mine"

The teens stared at it and it spread its wings and took off and circled the room once, then it returned to its perch above the fire.

"If a light angel came to you/ And told you he was sent to serve/ You and only you with verve/ Then what exactly would you do?

"Is this a riddle?" Draco asked and the Necrow shook its head.

"It is a question" it replied. "It is your test. Pass it and go forward, don't and go back."

They stared at each other and then Jane asked:

"How many tries?"

The Necrow seemed to consider it for a minute and then replied:

"The original test was if someone would come in, he'd have half an hour to solve it. But since you are ten, I think ten minutes will suffice"

They gulped and started to shoot random answers to the bird.

"Thank it!" Ginny said, but the Necrow shook its head.

"Order it to help us!" Draco said, but the Necrow shook its head again.

"Ask it to help others" Ginny said and the Necrow shook its head again, although it gave her a weird look.

"Ask it to send a message to God" Mark said. The bird looked at him bored.

"Decline?" Jane asked shyly.

"Why decline?" the bird asked.

"Because... because why should it come to serve us... I mean... we're not that important" she said, stuttering.

The bird stretched its wings and gave a loud shriek that surprisingly didn't resemble any kind of a tortured creature, but it felt wild and powerful. But nevertheless, they had to cover their ears. That sound was way too loud for any sane person to listen to!

"For crying out loud!" Draco said over the shriek.

"Argh, needed a good shriek" the bird said. "Uncover your ears kids and I suppose I should tell you next time I do that, right? And I do believe it should be 'for shrieking out loud', child"

"Child?" Draco mouthed.

"I am older than all of you together, so for me you are still fledglings" it replied. "The girl was right, you should decline. So, this test you've passed."

"If you don't mind me asking, I always thought Necrows were... um... different. How come you're like this?" Hermione asked politely.

"I, child" it replied "am a very old Necrow who comes from a family of what you would call 'superior birds'. We were more intelligent and powerful than the others. When we were created, the gift we received was conscience. We knew who we were, we could understand... We were preferred to other Necrows since our intelligence made us more powerful. But intelligence combined with conscience was a curse for the dark wizards. After a while, we refused to help them and retreated to the wild. I was born in the wild and there the Lord of Darkness found me and he took me here to guard this entrance... He used to come here from time to time, but not anymore."

"So, you're a better Necrow with conscience" Draco said.

"To shorten it greatly, yes" the bird replied. "And I like you, children, you have a certain... certain I don't know... something about you all that says you are good. Even the blonde dark wizard"

"I'm not good!" Draco said, frowning and the bird seemed to be smiling, if a bird can actually smile.

"Of course not" it replied. "I have a liking in you, but you must pass forward and I cannot help you there. But if you survive, come visit!"

"That's encouraging" Draco muttered. "So, birdy, how do we go forward?"

"Through there" it answered and pointed with its wing at a part of the wall that opened immediately. "And beware the rabbit!"

"Beware the rabbit, beware the rabbit" Draco muttered. "Yeah, right as if a rabbit could harm us..."

They went through the wall, the others saying goodbye to the weird Necrow. Then, they entered a dark corridor and Harry started wondering if this was all a patience test. This way, it would take them years to get from one place to another through corridors.

Or, at least, he thought it would be the normal corridor. But then again, since when was his life normal? When the wall closed behind him, the 'Stargate' theme started playing around them. How wonderful was that? Maybe they had to face a whole bunch of extraterrestrials, huh?

"Hermione, what do you make of this?" he asked.

"Um... not much" she replied. "It sounds like the 'Stargate' theme"

"Yeah, crossed my mind, too" Harry replied.

"Guys, what's 'Stargate'?" Ron asked.

"A Muggle movie where a bunch of archeologists find a gate that leads to another planet in the Universe. They go through it and encounter a weird alien specie that lives inside humans and that has taken control of them on that planet. It's a nice, Egypt combined alien-themed movie" Hermione replied.

"What does Egypt have to do with aliens?" Ron asked.

"Um, the aliens took control of Egyptians and got them to the other world. They also acted like Egyptian gods. In the movie, Ra was there. In the series there were a whole bunch" Harry replied.

And then, the music started changing to this weirder, dark song from the nice beginning.

"This is not going well!" Neville said, shaking.

Shadows started playing on the walls and they all stopped. Then, Jane cried:

"JUST RUN!"

Well, it seemed like a good idea, and they started running, wherever they went, the walls turning from black to gold, the place turning from dark to light and the shadows playing on the walls behind them.

"Shitshitshitshitshit!" Harry could hear Draco mumble. Well, he agreed.

Then, the shadows got larger and larger and a falcon flew right in front of them and turned into a human being. The song changed into something weird and they all stopped and watched horrified as the tall, dark wizard took out a wand and started waving it in front of them, singing but not hexing.

"Stupefy!" Draco cried, but the spell went right through the person, who looked up scared, although the spell had passed right through it. "What the- ?"

The person started running towards them and they got out of the way, but Jane shot a spell at the feet of the attacker. And as the spell –a petrifying one- hit the man, he collapsed to the ground and instantly turned into a rabbit.

"Wow, that was a great illusion charm" Hermione said, looking at the petrified rabbit. "Wonder how it was got to actually play its part here"

They heard some wings fluttering and saw the Necrow come close to them.

"Hello again. I see you've passed your second test. And what a nice rabbit it is! Free it, it will be used for future tests"

Jane nodded and removed the charm.

"How come you're here?" she asked.

"Ah, child, I can come after you but I can't assist you with your tests!" it replied. "And as you could probably see, the rabbit was not a true rabbit, but a mere conjured up one with certain reactions to certain events. Nice pass of the test. You were running in circles, by the way, did you notice that?"

"I only took three rights" Hermione said. "Maybe we haven't been through one complete circle.

"Oh, but you have!" the bird replied. "The walls are curved, enough to be another corner but not enough for you to see it. So, if you don't know this, you can't find your way back either"

"Ingenious" Draco said. "So, do you lead us out of here, too?"

"Why yes, yes I do" it replied and pointed with its wing at the wall that opened. "No warning this time."

The ten went through the wall and ended up in a room. The wall closed behind them and a piece of parchment appeared in front of them.

"Make the right choices" Harry read.

"Oh, yeah and we really have what to chose from" Draco said, looking around at the empty walls. But just as he said it, images appeared on the walls. On one wall, on their left, was a pile of money. On their right, there was a beautiful woman that looked goddess-like.

"I choose the goddess" Draco said, drooling a bit. When nothing happened, Harry had a spur of the moment inspiration and took out his wand and pointed it at the wall. The images shivered and two others appeared, two dragons.

"Now what?" Jane asked.

"I think one of them is a Hungarian Horntail and the other is a something Ancient" Hermione said. "Choose the non-Hungarian one Harry"

Harry pointed his wand at the other dragon and images shivered and disappeared, this time two images of perfectly identical Necrows appearing.

"Wow, what do we choose, what do we choose?" Draco asked sarcastically. "The Necrow or the Necrow?"

"I'd say the Necrow, if you ask me" Jane said, shaking her head.

Amala looked at both images and went next to a wall and touched the image. A grimace appeared on her face and she went to the other wall and touched it.

"Choose this one, Harry" she said. "It feels better. The other one seems to be the one that chased me around this place, this one could be the guardian"

Harry hesitated but pointed his wand at the wall Amala was next to. The image shivered and disappeared and the Necrow guard came through a door behind them.

"Hey, you chose me over that idiot!" he said jollily. "Thank God, I thought you wouldn't make this one. I'm starting to like you kids more and more. Next test and warning: watch your backs"

A wall opened and they all went through it and ended up in a dark forest.

"Cool" Draco said. "Although the guy who made this had an unhealthy obsession with Necrows, he was one hell of a wizard"

The others nodded and kept going through the forest, further and further, when Mark, who was in the back of the row, gave a loud shriek and they all turned towards him, wands out, only to see a black creature on the small kid.

"Stupefy!" Harry cried, along with four or five others and the creature fell on the kid stupefied.

"Get me out of here!" Mark cried and Neville levitated the creature off Mark. "Thank you!"

At that moment, another creature attacked Harry from behind and he turned quickly towards it, shooting a spell of some sort.

"What are these?" Neville asked, spinning around, eyes wide opened.

"They look like panthers" Hermione suggested and was attacked by one from behind. As quickly as she got it off her, she saw the others were attacked from behind, too.

"Quickly, make pairs and watch your backs!" she cried, having an idea.

She got back in back with Ron and told him:

"Whatever you do, don't turn back"

The others paired quickly, Draco with Jane, Ginny and Neville, Harry and Luna and Amala with Mark. As if it were magic –which it probably was- no creature appeared again.

"Guess what, they only attack from behind" Hermione said. "That's why the guard told us to watch our backs"

"So, as long as we're back in back, we're safe" Draco said. "Let's go forward. Jane, lean against me and let me guide you"

She nodded, but then realized he of course couldn't see.

"Okay, lead the way"

All the groups stated moving, the ones in the walking direction going slowly forward, the others backward. If it weren't a very dark scenery and the possible attack of panther-creatures, it would have been quite a funny scene. But since it was a dark scenery and the panther-like creatures could return, nobody felt like laughing.

But after a few steps, they could hear a soft breathing noise and out of the trees came a black dragon.

"Congratulations for passing your tests until here. I am afraid, however, to say that you have one more test. You must face me"

"Oh, great" Jane muttered. "As in a duel?"

"Yes" it replied.

"You're an Ancient Black Dragon, right?" Hermione asked.

"Yes, yes I am" it replied. "You can break the pairs, the panthers shall not attack. Stupefy me and you can go forward"

"Oh, ok, then" Draco said. "Stupefy!"

The spell directly hit the dragon which was unaffected.

"Did I ever mention how Ancient Dragons are nearly impossible to hurt?" Hermione asked and the dragon blinked once and then spread its wings slowly and uncaring, while the students were shooting random spells at it. Then, it breathed in and breathed out fire, only giving them enough time to duck or jump out of the way. Then, they started shooting spells at it... uselessly.

"Hermione, what do we do?" Harry cried.

"I don't know!" she replied. "Stupefy?"

Harry started shooting spells everywhere. Now, where was a dragon's weak spot? Stomach? Nope, not it. How about that place above the stomach? Chest? No... Where was it?! Where was it?! Ah, he knew he'd heard something about a dragon's weak spot somewhere... Triwizard Tournament!

"Stupefy!" he cried, aiming for his eyes.

The Dragon roared and fell on the ground, stiff.

"That took care of him!" Draco said, breathing hard. "So, what do we do now?"

"Go forward, of course" Ron said, moving cautiously around the reptile's body.

"But look at the dragon... we can't just leave him like that..." Draco said. "I mean, come on..."

"You want to bring it back?" Ron asked. "Are you out of your mind, Malfoy?!"

"It's not our enemy, I think it was just a test" the blonde replied. "Plus, if it attacks again, we know what to do now..."

Ron grumbled and frowned.

"Right. You do it, then, if you're so smart!"

Harry could swear he'd heard that line before, or something like it, but he didn't have time to ponder it now, because Draco went to the Black Dragon and muttered an 'Ennervate'. In its eye, of course. The dragon groaned and nearly burnt Draco as it coughed or did something similar to coughing.

"Thank you" it said, waving its wings a little. "You have no idea how unnerving that is"

"Actually, I do" the blonde replied. "So, how do we go forward?"

"Dragon heart, that's what you are" the dragon said and lifted itself back on its legs. "Come, children, I'll lead your way past the next task, if you desire. You were supposed to prove kindness, but you already have..."

It went in front of them, shaking slightly. It yawned casually and then, with an enormous strength, hit the wall in front of him with its tail, causing it to turn to dust.

"There you go. Shortened path" it said. "Actually, you could have made it to the Torch by simply going through the Lord of Darkness's room, but then again, he hid the entrance pretty good."

"You mean, we could have come here without passing the tests?" Draco asked.

"Yes" the dragon answered and Draco hit himself in the head. "All you had to do was go in it and say you wanted to continue your journey in the name of Light and that it should let you, if it considered you worthy of it, cross."

"Great. So, all this, with the Forest and everything was..." Amala said.

"Yes, completely useless" the dragon replied. "But a nice journey nevertheless. We were aware of it from here"

"This is all a good joke, right?" Amala asked palely.

"These tests were" the dragon replied. "I mean, the room he has created hadn't given the Stoney to you unless it knew you would pass the tests."

Luna started laughing madly and soon Ginny joined. They all passed through the place where the wall had been and ended up in a wonderful place, which looked like a clearing in a forest. And in the middle of it, a beautiful torch burning a green flame stood, shining like no other torch. It was impossible to describe it, but also impossible not to admire. Such a glow! Such a beautiful flame! Such a wonderful white-stone sculpted torch! It was tall and it didn't stand straight, but a bit bowed, to the north, if Harry guessed right. He managed to move his legs, although remaining awed. He went to it and put his right hand on it.

Power rushed through him and he knew it came from the majestic Torch now in his hand. He tried to pick it up, but it was very heavy. Just as he started wondering how he would manage to carry it, though, it lost weight and became as light as a feather in his hand. He raised it a few centimeters off the ground and walked with it towards the others.

"Let's go" he said, feeling like muttering, but surprising himself by speaking loud and majestic.

The dragon shook its head and lead the way. The Necrow joined them out of nowhere and they all went back to Hogwarts.

/*-/*-/*-/*-

"Well, fellows, here we are" Jane said. "Dragon, Necrow, nice to meet you, but this is where our roads part"

"Indeed they do" the Necrow replied. "Farewell, children, and take care of yourselves!"

"Take care, too" they replied and the two creatures left with an amazing speed.

"Weirdos" Draco commented and they went through the wall right into Snape's bedroom.

"At least he isn't here" Hermione said. "Imagine what would happen if he were"

"He'd gap at the Torch" Harry replied majestically. Weird enough, the magical object made him feel and seem like a noble anything he did. "What do we do now?"

"Go to Dumbledore" Mark replied. "He would know best what to do"

"I hate to agree, but the kid's right" Draco replied. "As much as I despise having to go to the Muggle lover, we should do it"

"Oh, brother" Ron said, rolling his eyes. "Well, here we go. Thank God it's night, or we could meet somebody on the way"

"Wonder why Snape isn't here?" Luna asked.

"Maybe he's hunting on students?" Amala proposed. 'Or maybe' she thought to herself, 'maybe he's at Voldemort's hideout'

They quietly exited the man's bedroom and walked as quickly and quietly as possible to the Headmaster's office. Surprisingly, they didn't meet anybody on the way. And, not surprisingly, the Headmaster wasn't in his office. Most probably, like any normal person, he was asleep at that hour... Wait a second! Since when was Albus Dumbledore normal?!

"Hey, Fawkes" Harry said to the bird on the perch, which had woken up when they had entered. "Care to call the Headmaster for us?"

The bird nodded and flew through a door. Soon, they heard some weird noises, including something that sounded a lot like "I'm up, I'm up" from the room and then a bit of silence afterwards the Headmaster himself –dressed in some blue night robes-.

"What happ-"

It was the first time Harry heard the Headmaster stop in the middle of the sentence. But he understood why. The Torch looked as mesmerizing as it had when Harry had took it as it burnt in the middle of the office. Dumbledore was, also for a first time, gaping slightly, his mouth just barely dropped. But only for a second, before he closed it and smiled blissfully.

"The Green Flame Torch" he said. "I never thought I'd live to see it. Come, tell me all about how you managed to get it"

And that was exactly what they did, all the time Dumbledore taking admiring peaks at the Torch.

"A Necrow, you say" he commented. "Yes, I did hear of the phenomena of them turning light. I do believe that is what Mr. Towers intended to do with his own Necrow. I am afraid the bird has been exterminated, though, by the Minister. But tell me, there is one thing I didn't understand. How did you reach this part of Hogwarts?"

"Through Severus's... nape's bedroom" Amala replied, stuttering a bit.

"Through Severus Snape's bedroom" Dumbledore repeated, nodding. "Interesting, I knew he had very powerful charms on that place. Maybe he went in or out of his bedroom not five minutes before or after you did"

"Probably" Amala said. "I can't believe the luck!"

Dumbledore looked casually around the walls, not taking in consideration the last statement.

"I shall inform Professor Snape of these secret passages" he said. "For now, I think you should all go to bed and leave the Torch here"

They all nodded, except for Harry.

"Leave the Torch?" he asked, speaking for the first time in the Headmaster's presence, since the others had spoken before.

Dumbledore looked at him, eyes going large for a second before he said:

"Maybe you shouldn't, Harry. Take it with you. And ask it to stay hidden and it will. As I see, it has given you all its power..."

Harry nodded and they left towards their bedrooms.

/*-/*-/*-/*-

The Torch had indeed hid itself so that only Harry could see it and the boy had slept under its protective light. But now, now they had to have the most boring class in history: History class, of course.

"And now we reach the Ghost War" the ghost said dully. "And, yes, what a war it was... The Founders had just built Hogwarts and were getting ready to face the enemy with the help of the Fal'sil... And then, then nothing happened"

"Hell nothing happened" Harry muttered sleepily. "If nothing happened, then we wouldn't sleep this... learn this"

"Or at least so it was thought... Roxana Chase found the White Stag which helped or was supposed to and then... the enemy appeared and nobody knows what happened... the enemy died..."

Harry had had enough of this as he fell with his head on the desk and fell asleep...

/*-/*-/*-/*-

"HARRY!" somebody screamed into his ear.

"WHAT?" he cried back.

"Finally, you're up" Ron said. "God, mate, I thought somebody stupefied you"

"His name is Binns, Ron" Harry said. "So, what's up?"

"Class over" the other replied. "You wouldn't believe the face the others made when Binns didn't even notice I was yelling at you to get up. So, they tried to shoot a notebook through him. Again, he didn't notice. So, guess what? We realized he had fallen asleep, too"

Harry started laughing merrily.

"That's a first" he said.

"Yeah, tell me about it. Come on, Hermione and Amala have gone to the library and I said they shouldn't wait for us"

"Good idea" Harry said. "I don't feel like staying there all day long. So, shall we stall?"

"I'm with you" Ron replied.

/*-/*-/*-/*-

Amala and Hermione were studying at the library when a shadow fell over their books.

"Mrs. Wright, will you please come I have some things to discuss with you"

"Of course, Professor Snape" Amala replied. "See you later, Herm"

"Bye" the bushy haired girl replied.

The two walked down the corridors and Severus said almost in a whisper to his girlfriend:

"I want you to show me where you put the two stones"

"Stoney" Amala corrected.

"Sorry?" Snape said.

"Stoney. The stones were called Stoney the First and Stoney the Second"

"Who on Earth would call them Stoney?" Severus asked.

"An elf or something like that" she replied.

"An elf?!" Severus asked, raising an eyebrow. "What connection could elves possibly have with the Green Flame Torch?!"

"The Torch was in the elven lands" she replied.

"Aha. And where is it now?"

"In the Gryffindor sixth year boy bedroom" she replied. "And it's safe since it hid itself from everybody but Harry."

Severus nodded. They went quietly to his rooms and from there Amala lead the way, showing him the two stones, still in their places. Then, they returned to the Potion Master's Quarters.

"There's one thing I still don't understand" Severus said after a short time of pondering. "Those places were hard to see even if you showed them to me. How did you find them?"

"Um... Mark Strois showed to me" she replied. "Met him there..."

"Mark Strois?!" Severus asked, eyes widened in surprise. "You've met Mark Strois?!"

"Yes, when I first went through that passage" Amala replied. "What about him?"

Severus sighed and then started to tell her.

"The Lord of Darkness is one of the weirdest people to ever walk on Earth. He is said to be immortal and he is definitely mentioned in the stories about the Ghost War that the Founders fought... Have you heard of it? Evil disappeared in a weird way"

"Sounds familiar" Amala replied, staring in his eyes.

"Well, it is said that somehow the Lord helped the ones at war... And he still lives now, or so I think. Nobody's seen him since around 1950. Actually, he is said to have fallen in love with a woman around 1930 and that he hid his identity to start dating her... In about three years, they were together and she would have a child soon. It is said that then he told her how powerful he was and that he was immortal. She freaked out and kicked him out of her life and didn't let him back in. He insisted for a year and then moved back to the shadows where he had come from. When the child was born, she called him Mark Strois, forgetting the family name she wanted to give him. She lived for a year or so alone, then she married a man... Mark Strois was a special child. If he'd have been a wizard, he would have been powerful, but who knows what Jack, his father, was? So, Mark could easily do magic. The woman told her husband that her ex had been a very powerful wizard, because that was all she had understood."

Severus took a deep breath.

"The man understood and took care of the child as if he was his own. Meanwhile, Jack was doing his usual business and he got to contact a Seer who told him that his child, Mark, would die, but he needed to be trained until he was about twenty anyways. Jack understood and started watching his child more carefully. Because the Seer also told him that many would try to kill his child while he was young. He had known that for a while but he hadn't seen anything. Until one day when two idiots wanted to kill the child –who was about five then- and get a huge prize from the Dark side. They got to him and just as they were about to drive the knife through the sleeping child's heart, his father appeared and teleported them onto another planet. There, he hit them with very powerful Cruciatus curses numerous times. The Great Warriors –a category of people with powers greater than ours- all saw what he was doing. All of them, Dark or Light, stopped in the middle of duels and saw the two being tortured and supported physically by Jack in order not to lose their minds or die or even faint..."

"Cruel" Amala muttered.

"The first cruel thing he ever did, that's what they say... And the last. Next thing that happened, he summoned the Kings of the Dark and Light side and made them promise they would never allow a child be killed because of his parents. And they swore... Jack Strois was powerful enough to summon them against their will, who knew his power? Even the King of all things Dark, the one who guides the Dark Lord, You-Know-Who, had to agree. Then, all settled down. The two were killed by Jack and all went in a better way for young Mark: nobody dared touch him, so he lived a normal childhood. When he was eleven, Jack came to his house and it is said that Mark recognized as his father as soon as he crossed the door, although nobody had told him about his mother's husband not being his father. Jack took him into training and Mark became very powerful, as powerful as ones who had lived for thousands of years..."

"How come he died?" Amala asked.

"Oh, you know he died?" Severus replied. "Once, a group of powerful dark warriors surrounded him and managed to take him down. All expected a furious and cruel Jack, but he wasn't anywhere near. Just sad. This time, he hurt no one. And then it is said that Death herself became the Mistress of Mark Strois and he got power over life and death..."

"Quite a story" Amala commented.

"All that is said about Jack Strois is weird" Severus replied. "And many things are said about him. In fact, I heard he isn't even human... He just seems to be"

"Then what is he?" Amala questioned.

"He's not a vampire or a werewolf, out of what I understood, but what exactly he is, nobody knows"

"So, he's a weird inhuman immortal guy?" Amala asked, trying to understand.

"Yes" Severus replied.

"And is he good or evil or..."

"He is good, but he sometimes seems dark" Severus replied and sat on the couch next to his girlfriend.

"Kind of like you, right?" Amala asked, raising her eyebrows.

"No" the Potion Master replied, putting his hand over her shoulders. "He is much more powerful than I and... if you see him, you will understand. He does not seem evil, he seems more like a creature of the night. His voice is like black silk, in his eyes the Universe shines and he feels overall noble."

"You speak as if you knew him" Amala said, looking at him curiously.

"In a way, I do" Severus replied with a small sigh. "He is more than human, Amala, he seems to be a god..."

"How did you meet him?" she asked gently. "Tell me"

Severus looked deeply into her eyes and gave a small smile.

"Do you really love me, Amy?" he asked gently and her breath stopped for a second. Amy? Since when did he call her 'Amy'?

"Yes, Severus, I love you" she replied. "I wouldn't be here with you if I didn't. But why do you ask?"

"Again it must be his doing... Not that I would complain."

"Severus? I don't understand!" she said confused. "Who's doing?"

Severus sighed and took her into his arms and leaned down on the couch, her on top of him, their faces toward the ceiling.

"Promise me that what I shall say now remains between you and I"

"I promise" she replied and he started talking in a pleasant voice.

"As you probably know... or don't you, I don't know? I'm a 38 year-old man"

Wow, that felt weird. Her boyfriend was 38 and she'd soon be only 17! A 21 year-old difference. Now, there was something to ponder. But not now.

"And I am as you can see me now... I work for Albus Dumbledore and pretend to serve the Dark Lord. But when I was young, it almost was the other way around. I was your age and was seriously considering joining the Dark Lord's army. My parents were the worst parents you could get, so you could say I had what to avenge. And that was exactly what he promised: the opportunity to have my revenge on all who had hurt me in the past. Of course, I wanted to take it. So, there I was, getting ready to leave my house to go join the Dark Lord and just as I was exiting the yard, at sunset, a man joined me on the way. I wasn't the person to speak with people who started walking next to me just like that, so I waited. But when I couldn't stand it anymore, I turned to him and asked him what he wanted. That was the first time I actually looked at him..."

Severus made a small pause and Amala let him like that for a few seconds before she asked:

"How'd he look like?"

"That's just it. I can't remember. But I remember the nobleness about him, the power that floated around him. I remember I was locked into his eyes. Those weren't eyes. I saw the Universe in them, all the stars, shining and the more I looked, the more I saw. But just as I was searching for our sun, he interrupted me from my gazing. He told me he knew of all that had happened to me and that he understood my hate for my parents. But he also told me that the Dark Lord was at least ten times worse than my parents. He told me that by joining him, I'd also be as bad as my parents. Ad he told me I could be better, that there was someone who could really help me without enslaving me and that by joining that man, I'd hurt my parents more than I would if I would torture them physically. That man was Albus Dumbledore"

Severus made another pause and breathed in and out slowly before continuing.

"I pretended to work for the Dark Lord, though and once we did get to hunt those two idiots. I didn't kill them, somebody else did, but as a last touch, I whispered to them before they died I was on the Light side. Jack Strois was right: they were indeed more hurt than they would have been otherwise. After that, I worked as a spy and never asked the Dark Lord for revenge again. Strois appeared to me on various occasions, but these meetings were to remain secret. Only I, Strois and Dumbledore knew about them at the time. Now, McGonagall knows, too. And so do you. He has made my life easier in some aspects and promised me that he will smooth my path here and there. And he also promised that he would help in ways I will not understand if my eyes aren't opened. But I haven't seen him in fifteen years"

Severus stopped talking and Amala tried to suck all the information like a sponge. Which wasn't that easy. First, Mark Strois, now Jack Strois...

"Perhaps you should go to bed, Amy" Severus said, using her shortened name again. "It's getting late"

She turned in his arms and put a soft kiss on his lips. Then, she got up, bid him goodnight and left.

/*-/*-/*-/*-

Severus heard her close the door and got up slowly and went to his special cupboard which he opened with a special charm. He took out a vial with a purplish potion in it and muttered a spell on it. The bottle opened in two, revealing that it was empty and the potion was just an illusion. He took out of the vial a picture of a woman and kissed it gently and with respect.

"Monica, I would need you right now... Old friend" he muttered. "I need your wisdom and power to see. I think I'm falling in love again."

Of course he knew the picture of the woman wouldn't hear, but he wished it would. It was a Muggle picture of a beautiful, twenty five year-old woman with long black hair and kind look, dressed in Indian clothes and smiling at Severus. Ah, he wished she would be there to help him with her wise advice, but only God knew where she would be now. He couldn't say he had many friends, but he could say she was his best friend and the only one besides the people he had told Amala about, that knew about Jack Strois.

He put the picture back and left for his bedroom.

/*-/*-/*-/*-

AN: Would you look at that! 33 pages in Arial 12 and I can't believe all I've fitted into this chapter! And I can't believe I actually finished, too. After all this time! So, guys, hope you liked it and come on, review! Tell me what you think! Flames? Welcomed!

Thanks to:

Aalikane: Thank you!

The Red Dragons Order: Thank you... Don't know where I got that thing with Stoney the First from, but hey! It was a good idea. And thanks again!

Harryp/charmedfreak: Thanks and I won't post any other reply until you get up to date with the reviewing. A lot of the replies would be useless anyway. Hope you'll understand! And thanks again!