Harry Potter and the Shadow Legion
Chapter 36
Harry and the girls woke up to the bright rays of the morning sun flooding into their room. Harry stretched out and gave each of the girls a quick, good-morning kiss. After a quick change, they headed downstairs to meet Aurora and Gabrielle for their morning swim.
It had been decided that from now on, they would all train together, so the trunks had been placed in the living room for easier access.
When they made it downstairs, Aurora and Gabrielle were already waiting for them, both wearing a bikini, Aurora's was red and Gabrielle's was blue. This was the first time Fleur had seen them without their pendants and gasped as she saw the full extent of their scars.
In the hospital she had only seen the large burn that covered Aurora's right side, from her lower thigh, to just below her right breast and from her spine, all the way around her side and to her sternum. Her right arm was likewise covered by the burns.
"Oh mama," gasped Fleur, "what happened to you?"
The two adults gave her a sad smile and said, "That's a story for later Fleur. We'll tell you tonight, but for now, it's time for your work-out." Fleur nodded and they all entered Harry's trunk-pool.
When they emerged an hour later, they quickly took a shower and dressed in their uniforms. They met Aurora and Gabrielle again in the living room and as a group they headed towards the Great Hall for breakfast.
When they reached the Great Hall, they split up. Aurora and Gabrielle headed towards the head table and the quartet sat down at the Gryffindor table, next to Neville.
"Where have you four been?" asked Neville when he saw them sit down next to him.
"We have a new dorm Neville," answered Harry. "We would like to keep this a secret, but Fleur is a Veela. Since the three of us are immune to her allure, we can keep her company without trouble. If the other students found out about it, it would cause a lot of problems."
Neville nodded and said, "So that's the real reason Fleur is here, isn't it? Because at her old school the older students went after her."
The quartet nodded and Fleur said, "Yes Neville it is. My fellow students turned against me and attacked me. So my parents decided it was no longer safe for me to stay there. And since Harry and Hermione have been my best and only friends for almost 9 years, Hogwarts was the logical choice for me."
Neville nodded and said, "That explains why all the boys were talking about you last night. When we got to the common room, a few of the seventh years were talking about whether or not they should ask Fleur out."
When Neville saw the looks on the faces of Harry, Hermione and Ginny, he swallowed and said, "Please don't hurt them. I heard what you did to Crabbe and Goyle on the train, word travels quickly at Hogwarts."
Harry took a few deep breaths and said, "Don't worry Neville, we won't kill them, as long as they keep their hands of off her. If they do touch her however, we will not be held responsible for the consequences. Please make sure they all understand that. My mother stated very clearly last night, that bullying or any kind of unwanted attention, would be punished quite severely."
Neville nodded very seriously and asked, "Do you know what trick she used to get the hall silent last night? That was a very popular subject in the common room last night as well."
At this Harry and the girls grinned and Harry answered, "I think they will tell you that during our first class with them. We have new schedules and this afternoon we have both history and RCMM. Those blubber heads from Slytherin will get a nice big shock, when they try to be rude." They all looked at the table of Slytherins, where the little group of Draco, Daphne, Tracy and Blaise, were the only ones, not giving venomous stares to the two new professors at the head table.
Aurora and Gabrielle seemed to be not at all disturbed by the fact that a quarter of the students didn't seem to like them very much. They were both eating a large plate of waffles and syrup, under the jealous looks of the headmaster, who only managed to get two on his plate, before they took the rest.
After breakfast they all made their way towards their respective classes. Harry led the rest of the first year Gryffindors to transfiguration.
During lunch the quartet was approached by the twins, who sat down opposite them and said in one breath to Harry, "Your moms are so cool."
Harry grinned and replied, "I know, which class did you have"?
"History-" said one of them.
"-The way she spoke about things-"
"-Made you think as if she was there-"
"-And actually saw those events when they happened."
Harry and the girls shared a knowing look. They knew what the twins said was actually true, they had seen most of history being written.
The first lesson after lunch was history and Harry, the girls and Neville, all managed to get a front row seat. To their delight, they had history together with Slytherin, so they couldn't wait to watch one of them have a big mouth.
When the bell sounded, to signal the beginning of the lesson, Aurora closed the door and walked calmly to the front.
When she passed the Slytherin tables, most of them threw angry looks at her back and more than one were twitching their hands, as if they wanted to grab their wands an hex her. Apparently the Death Eaters had a lot of supporters amongst the Slytherin students.
When Aurora stood at the front of the class she turned around and looked at the students with a smile. "Good afternoon everyone, and welcome to your first, real, history lesson. This year we will be covering the events that happened since magical Britain was founded, about 1500 years ago. So let's begin shall we."
She took stack of parchment from her desk and started to hand them out by hand, instead of with magic like all the other teachers. A few of the Slytherins made contemptuous sounds and they could hear Parkinson whispering, "Why doesn't she just use her wand to pass them out, instead of doing it by hand, like some filthy muggle."
"I'm handing them out by hand, Miss Parkinson, because in order to use a wand, you must actually have one, which I do not".
Most of the Slytherins voiced their disdain and Nott said loudly, "So we are expected to listen to some filthy squib?"
Aurora looked at Nott with a dark smirk and said, "Just because I cannot wield a wand, Mr. Nott, does not mean I'm a squib." She raised her right hand and snapped her fingers. The chair, desk and robes of Nott, were instantly covered in bright red flames.
Nott cried in fear and the other Slytherins around him, quickly stood up and ran several feet away from the burning student. In his fear, Nott didn't realise that the flames didn't hurt him. And when Aurora snapped her fingers again, the flames died out and Nott still screamed murder, as the other Slytherins looked amazed at his lack of burns.
"Wow," said Neville with awe, "how did you do that?"
Aurora threw a last smirk at the still shacking form of Nott, before she turned towards Neville and answered, "I'm a pyro mage, Mr. Longbottom. That means that I can control and manipulate fire at will. My wife and I are the only pyro mages in existence. Sadly this means that we cannot use any other kind of magic, because if we try to use a wand, they turn to ashes in our hands." Most of the Slytherins looked at her with fear, but the Gryffindors and Draco's group, looked at her with awe and respect.
"Now," began Aurora again, "if you would all sit down again, we can begin the lesson." During the next hour, Aurora told the class about how Arthur Pendragon founded Britain with the help of his knights of the round table, and the six other founding families. When someone asked who those families were, she answered.
"Besides, Pendragon and Emrys, yes my family is one of them, there were four others that are known to us. Those are, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. It is rumoured that the last founding family, whose name has been removed from the history books, has, during the centuries, joined with those four and gained their seats of power and the wealth of their vaults and lands, making them virtually all-powerful, should they come forward and claim their seats."
There was a soft murmur under the students as they debated who that family could be. When the bell sounded, to signal the end of the lesson, Aurora said, "Please write a 15 inch essay about the founding of Britain and who played key roles in the first decade of King Arthur's reign."
The class picked up their bags and left the room to head to RCMM, which was given a floor above them. When the quartet left the room they looked at Aurora, who winked at them and said, "I'll see you four tonight, have fun with Gabrielle."
They waved back and quickly followed the other Gryffindors, while the Slytherins headed to charms.
Gabrielle was waiting for them at the door and greeted each of them personally, before they entered the classroom. They had the class together with Hufflepuff, so Neville took a seat next to Hannah in the second row, while Harry, Hermione, Fleur and Ginny sat down in the front row again.
Gabrielle closed the door and just like Aurora had, and made her way towards the front the class and introduced the subjects they would be covering that year.
Unlike the Slytherins, the Hufflepuffs did not disrespect her and were actually very curious to learn more about her, as they had heard a few things at lunch, about her and Aurora.
She spent the lesson explaining a few of the main differences between muggle society and wizarding society. When the class ended, she told them to write an essay about the society they were raised in and how it differed, in their eyes, from the other society.
Harry and the girls remained behind in the classroom and when the other students had left, Harry said, "You were great mom. And the Hufflepuffs behaved a lot better than the Slytherins did with mom."
Gabrielle grinned at this and said, "I know. I see and hear everything she does, remember."
The quartet nodded and Ginny said, "We know".
The door opened and Aurora entered the class. She and Gabrielle shared a loving kiss and turning to the quartet, Aurora said, "Ready for dinner? We have a lot to talk about tonight, so the sooner we're done with dinner, the better."
They nodded and Aurora led the group through a secret passage that ended on the first floor, near the stairs. They managed to beat most of the students, who had to walk all the way down from the sixth floor.
During dinner there was lots of whispering about the lessons of Aurora and Gabrielle and most students, except for the Slytherins, were very positive. Aurora and Gabrielle had set a total of 6 students on fire, all of them Slytherins, and the other houses were enthusiastically telling each other about what they had seen and how the snakes had been put in their proper place.
After dinner the quartet went back to their own tower, to work on their homework, while Aurora and Gabrielle went to visit Selena and the other centaurs that had been rescued.
When the two women reached the edge of the forest, they saw Hagrid walking towards them with a sad expression on his face. "Hey Hagrid," said Gabrielle, when the half-giant was within earshot.
"O hello Professors Emrys, I hadn't seen you there."
"What's wrong Hagrid?" asked Aurora.
Hagrid let out a sigh and answered, "During the holiday, a new herd of unicorns appeared in the forest. But just yesterday, I heard from Firenze that something has begun to attack them. I went out searching for them and I found one that had been killed. It had a large wound on its flank and all of its blood had been drained, I know of no creature that would, or could, drain a unicorn."
Now Aurora and Gabrielle adopted Hagrid's concern and Gabrielle said, "Could you take us to where you found the unicorn Hagrid, we would like to investigate this."
Hagrid nodded and said, "Of course professors, just let me grab my crossbow, I don't want to face whatever it is unarmed."
The two women nodded and when Hagrid was gone, Gabrielle quickly flamed to their room and gathered their swords and SILH's, just in case. She and Aurora had already put their weapons in their proper place, when Hagrid returned.
He looked at the hilts, protruding from beneath their hair and said, "Were you already armed when you came here, I can't remember if you were wearing swords?"
Gabrielle smiled and said, "No Hagrid, I summoned a house elf, who brought them for us." Hagrid nodded understandingly and let them into the depths of the forest.
When they had been walking for maybe twenty minutes, they began to approach a small clearing between the trees. When they were about 30 feet from the clearing they could see something pure white, laying on the forest floor.
When they stood next to the unicorn, they could see the large wound in its flank. It was nearly 6 inches wide and looked to be quite deep. Aurora kneeled down and carefully inspected the wound. Apparently she had seen something, because without warning she put her left hand into the wound and withdrew something.
She opened her hand and revealed a large arrowhead, the shaft had been broken off and it was a little rusty. "That's a centaur arrow!" gasped Hagrid, "Do you think they are behind this?"
Aurora shook her head and said, "No, it's what the real killer wants us to think. This arrow has rust on it, no centaur would allow rust to claim their weapons. This was left on purpose, the wound is far too large to be inflicted by an arrow. If I had to guess, I would say it was a direct hit from a precision cutting curse. Which means someone with a wand did this."
"A student?" asked Hagrid hesitantly.
"No," said Aurora while slowly investigating the ground around the unicorn, "this cannot have been the work of a student. You need a lot of magical power to bring down a unicorn with a single curse. This was an adult. And by the size of the tracks, I would say it was a man." She pointed towards two, shallow imprints, maybe 4 inches, by 15 inches and behind it two small holes. "Someone sat next to the unicorn to either collect the blood, or to consume it."
"Con... consume it," Sputtered Hagrid, "but that is horrible, who would do such a thing?"
Aurora and Gabrielle shared a knowing look and Gabrielle said, "Someone desperate. Hagrid, do you know if anything has been hidden in this school?"
Hagrid swallowed and said, "I'm not supposed to talk about that, Professor Dumbledore gave very specific instructions when he borrowed Fluffy".
"Who is Fluffy?" asked Gabrielle curiously.
"My Cerberus", answered Hagrid nonchalantly.
Gabrielle blinked a few times and Aurora stared at him with an incredulous look. "A Cerberus?" Began Gabrielle, "How on earth, did you get your hands on a Cerberus, they're a protected species, there's maybe a few dozen left in the world."
Hagrid turned red and muttered, "I was not supposed to say that."
"Hagrid," said Aurora sternly, "why did Professor Dumbledore need a Cerberus and where did he put it?"
Hagrid shook his head and said, "I'm sorry but I promised Professor Dumbledore not to say anything. If I do, I'll be sacked."
Gabrielle shook her head slowly and said, "Don't worry Hagrid, we'll get to the bottom of this. Will you do us a favour?"
Hagrid nodded and said, "Of course, what do you need?"
Aurora was done with her investigation and said, "Could you please take this unicorn back to your cabin, we have a few things to do in the forest."
Hagrid said, "Sure, I'll take it home and put it somewhere safe."
"Thank you Hagrid," replied Aurora. He inclined his head and carefully lifted the dead unicorn on his shoulders, before making his way out of the clearing and back to his hut.
Aurora and Gabrielle shared a knowing look and Gabrielle said, "He's here. I don't know how that bastard got here but somehow Voldemort is here."
"I know," was Aurora's short reply.
She focused on the consciousness of Sarah and said, "Sarah, where is Dumbledore?"
The reply came swiftly and Sarah answered, "In his office."
"Keep him there,"snarled Aurora, "we have some things to discuss".
"Of course,"replied Sarah, "you don't need to hurry," she added with a hint of amusement in her voice.
They focused their minds on the clearing in which they had landed, when bringing Selena and the other centaurs and unicorns back and flamed to it.
When they arrived, they found a startled centaur with white-blond hair and astonishingly blue eyes. "Hello Firenze," said Gabrielle calmly. "We have come to speak with Ronan, could you bring us to him?"
Firenze nodded and said, "Follow me."
He led them towards the village and when they stepped into the clearing, they were immediately recognised. A small centaur girl came galloping towards them and said, "You came to visit us."
Aurora and Gabrielle smiled and Gabrielle said, "Hello Selena, how are you doing?"
"I'm great," said the young girl enthusiastically. "My dad has been training me to shoot, so I can help defend the village."
The two women smiled at her enthusiasm and Gabrielle said, "That's great dear. We have come to speak with your father, Firenze was just taking us to him."
"I'll help," said Selena enthusiastically. Together with Firenze, she led them towards a large wooden hut and said, "My father is in there, he is in a meeting with the elders, unfortunately I'm not allowed inside."
Aurora and Gabrielle said goodbye to Selena and Firenze and knocked on the door of the hut. It was opened a few seconds later by Ronan, the centaur chieftain recognised them immediately and said, "What brings you here my ladies?"
"Unfortunate events Ronan," said Aurora grimly.
Ronan nodded understandingly and said, "You have heard about the unicorns I take it?" They nodded and Ronan said, "I was just discussing the subject with the elders, perhaps you would join us?"
Aurora shook her head and said, "We don't have time for that, I'm afraid. We just came to ask if you were willing to keep an eye on the unicorns, while we try to figure out who is behind this."
Ronan nodded and said, "We had already decided to do that, so do not worry, I have already dispatched, Bane, Magorian and a few others to bring the herd to our village."
Aurora and Gabrielle bowed and said as one, "Thank you." Ronan inclined his head and said goodbye, before closing the door and returning inside.
Aurora and Gabrielle walked back out of the village and a hundred feet into the forest, they flamed to a place behind Hagrid's hut.
When they walked out of the forest and towards the castle, they saw Hagrid had placed the unicorn on the grass before his front door and covered it with a large white sheet. "Hello Professors," he said when he saw them, "have you found anything else in the forest?"
They shook their heads and Aurora said, "No, but we asked Ronan if the centaurs would protect the unicorn herd, to prevent further attacks. Now if you'll excuse us, we have a few matters to discuss with the headmaster." Hagrid said goodbye and the two women continued onwards to the castle.
When they stepped into the entrance hall, they saw Professor McGonagall, who saw them and said, "Do you know what has happened to the headmaster's office? It is sealed shut and Albus is locked inside."
They gave her a dark look and Aurora said, "I asked the castle to lock Dumbledore in his office, we have some matters to discuss. But first I need to ask you something."
Minerva nodded and said, "Sure what do you want to know?"
Gabrielle still looked grim and said, "Do you know why Dumbledore needed to borrow Hagrid's Cerberus?"
Minerva looked up and said, "Now that you mention it, I was going to talk about that with you two later tonight. He is using it to guard something on the third floor, though I do not know what the beast is guarding."
The two women nodded in understanding and Aurora said, "Thank you, is there anything else you can tell us about that mysterious object?"
Minerva shook her head and said, "No, Albus has been very secretive about it, none of the staff have been informed about it, as far as I know."
"Thank you," said Aurora and they said goodbye. They took the shortcut to the tower and when they walked through the portrait, they saw the quartet sitting on one of the couches talking to Arthur and Merlin.
"Hey there," said Gabrielle when they entered the sitting room.
The quartet looked up and Harry said, "Hey mom, how was your walk?"
Aurora and Gabrielle sat down on the second couch and Aurora said, "Disturbing. Did you know that there is a Cerberus in the school?"
Fleur shook her head but Harry, Hermione and Ginny nodded and Hermione said, "Yea, we stumbled upon it when we were hiding from Filch. It belongs to Hagrid, who lent it to Dumbledore to help guard something that is a secret between the headmaster and a certain Nicolas Flamel."
"NICOLAS FLAMEL!" exclaimed Aurora and Gabrielle at the same time. Aurora continued and asked, "Did Hagrid say anything else about the object?"
They shook their heads until Ginny remembered something. "Wait, he almost said something that began with, philos... and then he stopped."
Aurora and Gabrielle shared a concerned look and Gabrielle asked silently, "Is he really that stupid, to use the stone to lure Voldemort to a school?"
"It would appear so," came the reply. "I think we need to introduce the kids to Nicolas and Perenelle"
"I agree,"finished Gabrielle.
"Hey kids," said Aurora, "how would you four like to meet Nicolas Flamel, the creator of the Philosopher's Stone?"
They answered enthusiastically and Gabrielle said, "Then I suggest you four get changed, we are leaving in five minutes."
The quartet quickly put their books in their bags and hurried upstairs. Aurora and Gabrielle removed their swords, but kept the SILH's strapped to their upper legs. A few minutes later they returned downstairs, dressed in simple jeans and sweaters, under their winter cloaks.
"Alright," said Gabrielle, "let's go." Aurora took the hands of Harry and Hermione while Gabrielle took the hands of Fleur and Ginny. They focused on the location of Flamel manor in Devon and flamed away.
When they landed Harry and the girls blew on their hands, which were a little red and Harry said, "How do you two deal with the heat? We may be fire proof, but we still feel the heat of those flames."
"We're so sorry kids," said Gabrielle, while looking at the hands of Fleur and Ginny, "we didn't think it would hurt you, since you share our immunity to fire."
The hands of the quartet quickly regained their usual colour and they shrugged the event off, while turning towards the large manor that stood before them. "Is this where they live?" asked Harry to his moms. They nodded and Aurora led the group to the large double front door.
When she knocked, Gabrielle peeked into the well-lit hallway and saw a figure approaching. Shortly after the door was opened by a short, cheerful looking women. She had long brown curls, slightly red cheeks, and seemed to be in her early forty's.
"Aurora, Gabrielle, what a surprise," said the women.
Gabrielle smiled and Aurora said, "Nice to see you too Perenelle. How long has it been?"
"One hundred and fifty four years, two months and 27 days, to be exact," said a clear voice from behind Perenelle.
"Nicolas," said Aurora and Gabrielle and they gave the man a hand. He was of medium height, with short blonde hair and a long curling moustache, which reached his Adam's apple.
Nicolas saw the kids and said, "Don't tell me you two have kidnapped a couple kids."
Aurora and Gabrielle laughed, while Perenelle gave her husband a poke with her elbow. "No Nicolas," said Gabrielle when she had calmed down again, "this is our adoptive son Harry, and his friends, Hermione, Fleur and Ginny". She pointed to each of the kids as she said their names and they gave a hand to both Flamels.
Perenelle led them towards the living room and gave everyone a cup of tea. When Nicolas had sat down besides his wife, he turned serious and said, "Unless I'm mistaken, this is not a social call."
Aurora shook her head and replied, "No Nicolas, it is not. We have a very serious matter to discuss."
Nicolas nodded and said, "Fire away, what did you want to talk about?"
Gabrielle sighed and said, "Have you given one of your stones to Dumbledore?"
Nicolas nodded and said, "Yes, I lent him my reserve stone. He asked if he could borrow it to study its properties and see if he could enhance them."
Aurora and Gabrielle shared a look that screamed, 'You got to be kidding me."
Aurora shook her head and said, "Did you hear about the troll attack at Halloween?"
Nicolas nodded and said, "Yes I did. I'm still wondering how those beasts got through my wards. I specifically designed them so, that nothing could enter the wards, unless they were invited by a member of the staff."
"That is very disturbing," said Aurora, "because as you know, the elixir of life can also be used to create a new body for someone who has lost his or her own body."
Nicolas nodded and Gabrielle continued the tale, "We believe that Dumbledore is using your stone to lure Voldemort's ghost to the castle."
"HE IS WHAT!?" Screamed Perenelle, "Has he gone completely mental? Why in magic's name would he try to lure Voldemort into a school?"
Aurora and Gabrielle shrugged their shoulders and Gabrielle said, "We have no idea, we asked Sarah to keep Dumbledore locked in his office, while we are visiting you. So we are going to be asking him that very question, when we return to the castle."
"So that is why those trolls were in the school," said Nicolas. "Someone of the staff is helping Voldemort to try to get the stone."
Aurora nodded and said, "Yes indeed. And if not for Harry and Hermione, those trolls would have killed Ginny."
"What, do you mean," asked Nicolas?
Aurora told him and Perenelle the story of Halloween and Perenelle turned red while mumbling, "Next time I see that old fool I'll shrink his beard."
Nicolas turned to Harry and the girls and said sincerely, "I am so sorry for what happened. I know there is nothing I can do to fix my mistake of trusting Dumbledore, but let me make a deal with you four."
At this Aurora and Gabrielle looked curiously to Nicolas and Harry and the girls were likewise staring at the old alchemist. He cleared his throat and said, "If you four can get the stone, without the help of Aurora and Gabrielle, you may keep it."
Harry, Fleur and Ginny looked at Nicolas with open mouths and an astonished expression on their faces, while Hermione said, "Are you seriously offering us your Philosopher's Stone?"
Nicolas nodded and said, "Yes, I am. I have made two, so Perenelle and I will not go without our elixir, but I think you four, and especially you Harry, could make good use of it in the coming war."
Aurora and Gabrielle looked at the flabbergasted quartet on the couch next to them and turned with a grin towards Nicolas and Perenelle. "Perhaps you should inform them of the real properties of the stone, so they know what it actually does."
At Gabrielle's words, Nicolas nodded and started his explanation, "Contrary to popular belief, the stone is not able to turn any metal into gold. It does create the elixir of life, which makes the drinker immune to the decay of time, and keep the drinker from dying, if gravely injured."
Perenelle nodded and said, "The legend of it being able to turn metal into gold, comes from the fact that we have made some very profitable investments with Gringotts, and that is how we gathered our fortune."
They talked for some more and Nicolas explained the rules of their deal. Harry, Hermione, Fleur and Ginny, would need to overcome each of the trials that had been put in place by Nicolas and Dumbledore.
Aurora and Gabrielle were allowed to be present to intervene, should things go wrong, but they could not, in any way, offer assistance in completing the trials.
They would have to wait to try and reach the stone, till after Voldemort and his mysterious helper, had been found and defeated.
When they had been gone from Hogwarts for over an hour, Aurora stood up and said, "I think it is about time we returned to the castle and have a few words with Dumbledore."
Gabrielle nodded and said, "You're right love, we should go. I think that old fool has had enough time to wonder about the reason of his imprisonment."
The kids stood up as well and they said goodbye to the Flamels, with a promise to let them know when they would go after the stone. They headed towards the Flamel's fireplace and returned to Minerva's office at Hogwarts.
Author's note:
I'm very happy to anounce that i have found a permanent Beta reader who will also check all the previous chapters. Her name is dealyflame and i think she is doing an amazing job
I'll keep you updatet of the proces of the correctet chapters.
Till next time
Medieval Maniak