A/N Will-of-the-abyss Allen x Road: *Tackle hugs back* Yeah, I kind of dissapeared off the face of the planet for a while there :P I debated for a while about posting this chapter but I can't leave another gap like that again and even if it doesn't have as much plot as i would like, it is something. On a side note- wouldn't the world just be SO much better if drugs were just Lavi. Like lots and lots of chibi tiny adorable Lavi's. It'd give the same high but would be significantly less harmful (though more addictive) I can't believe I forgot to throw in the angsty missing Mai part of the last chapter- I sort of lose track sometimes between what parts I have written in my head and what parts I have written in real life... still, Mai returns here (though it is a rather sad return and is rather short-lived, I just have too much plotting to do to throw in too many adorable father-daughter moments). I also threw in a semi-sweet Dumbledore moment :D. Yeah it is typical of Allen to give Lena his coat while he freezes to death isn't it? The wee adorable numpty. I'm afraid I may possibly end up breaking your heart in this chapter re:Luna... apologies in advance for that :S And Allen didn't listen to your advice, he chose option F. Urgh. Honestly. Some people never learn...

Diavo: Yeah, couldn't resist the Laven pun. And its not so much to do with the 14th as it is to do with his innocence... I shall mention once word to help you figure it out and leave it at that... HEART. Kay. Done

kickassdani: Thanks :D yeah, this is my first fanfiction so I am kind of learning as I am going. I keep meaning to go back and amalgamate the first few into a decent length chapter. Sounds like too much effort though :P Hope you continue to enjoy the story!

Shirubagure: I am just going to say this because it is pretty hard to figure out my own reasoning behind this: The reason Allen is so great at languages is because he has the 14th in him and the 14th is the musician and in my headcanon can use his powers to understand like what things are made of and stuffs as he can (in my brain) understand all languages coz... music... and like building block of language and reasons of things and stuff and I swear the logic made more sense in my head...

Ennael: Tyki met Allen in the seedy bar in France hence the reason they knew each other though I am sure I could have explained it better. No, the wand was made by a wizard but was just never matched to a wizard and so was in a dark shelf in Olivanders shop. We skip back to Hogwarts here and so far I haven't really touched on the Noah. Probs wont again till the ark :) coronadomontes: Thaaaaanks

guest: Glad you liked it- though I may be about to break your heart in this chapter too

Harry, Hermione and the Weasles were slumped, exhausted on the disheveled carpet of the living room in 12 Grimmould Place having just finished prising a very stubborn mould from the arms and legs of the ornate but filthy furniture cluttering the room

"That stuff us absolutely disgusting" Ron complained as he disposed of a lump of mold that had attached itself to his finger. George and Fred meanwhile poked interestedly through the bag, muttering under their breath to one another before deciding on a few choice specimens and dropping them into a leather pouch which they swiftly stowed under their robes, glancing furvively around. A loud crash coming from downstairs caused all six of them to jump violently. Loud screams from Mrs Black portrait added to the commotion as the adults (who had previously been in the middle of an Order of the Phoenix meeting) burst from their room to investigate. Wordlessly, the entire group of teens scrambled for the staircase, silently running down to the final landing before the corridor that contained the portrait. They halted here and pressed themselves to the wall, just out of sight of the Order. Harry caught a quick glance of Tonks, bent double in the entrance panting before he retreated out of sight

"What has happened Tonks?" Mrs Weasly cried, fear apparent in her voice, for as clumsy as Tonks was she would never barge in like that unless something was wrong. Harry strained his ears, on tenderhooks, convinced he was about to finally hear something really useful. There was no way she would be in such a panic if something important hadn't finally happened

"Someone needs to get Dumbledore now" She gasped "Ah! Severus! Thank goodness- do you know where he is?"

"Of course" Came the silky, superior tones of Snape and it may have been Harry's imagination but he thought he sounded vaguely concerned.

"What has happened" He repeated Mrs Weasly's question, but with some more authority

"The ministry have found him. The boy. They found Allen"

Harry's spirits soured, a flame bursting into life in his chest as he turned to grin excitedly at Hermione and Ron. He knew that everyone had been growing increasingly concerned about the lack of contact and he had been unable to stop the unbidden thoughts that had entered his head through his lonely nights at the Dursly's or through the quieter moments at Grimould place. But no, he had been wrong, Allen was fine, he was fine, and even though the ministry had found him Dumbledore would sort that out. He hadn't technically done anything wrong, there was no rule he knew against wizards going on 'holiday' and if the worst came to the worst he thought, feeling rather ashamed of the thought as it came, at least he wouldn't be alone in not returning to Hogwarts if Allen ended up getting expelled too. He had a briefest image of him, Allen and Sirius all living together as a family when Tonks carried on her sentence smashing his vision and his hopes to nothing

"He is dead, Snape. He is dead"

It was as if all the oxygen had been sucked from the world. The clamoring of the Order begging for more detail silenced. The screams of Mrs Black's portrait ceased. There was no sound left in the whole world apart from the thundering of Harry's pulse in his ears. George's mouth was moving but no sound was coming from it. Harry moved in slow motion, turning to look at Hermione and Ron again. Their faces were colourless and both looked like they had just been punched in the stomach. Their eyes met and wordless communication passed between them. Exactly what it was saying, Harry wasn't sure but it helped somehow- this understanding that two other people in the world understood the impossibility of the situation. Allen couldn't be dead.

Slowly, bit by bit, sound entered the world again and time- which had slowed to a snails pace- sped up to its rightful speed once more. There was a loud, strange noise to Harry's left and he turned again to see the noise had come from Ginny. She wasn't crying, but rather just looked like she was in pain. The noise came again and it was as if her lungs were having to force her to breath against her will. Fred, looking rather scared grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her

"Ginny!" He yelled and somehow this seemed to snap her back and with a wail, the tears did start. Fred gathered her up in his arms and rocked her as she cried, staring wordlessly over her blazing hair to George. Harry stumbled to his feet and it was as if his body was actually out of his control. He walked steadily down the stairs and across the landing to where the Order were huddled in a semi-circle. Sirius raised his head as Harry approached- his face stricken

"Harry" He gasped, holding out a consolatory hand, but Harry's eyes went to Tonks

"Are you sure" He croaked, his voice rasping painfully in his throat

Tonks blanched

"Oh Harry! I didn't know you were here! Ah- I only caught the tail end of a conversation- Allen performed magic and Perkins said when the ministry went to pick him up, they found him... well he was... his heart had stopped" Sirius gripped Harry shoulder and Harry's instinctively grabbed a hold of his hand too, grateful for something to hold onto in the world which all of a sudden made no sense

"But what happened" He asked insistently, still staring at Tonks who was looking increasingly uncomfortable

"I really don't know Harry, Like I said I only caught..."

"Where was he?" Harry interrupted "Where did they find him? Was he on a mission? Is that why he hadn't contacted anyone?"

Tonks just shook her head. Harry opened his mouth to ask more questions but Sirius's grip tightened on his shoulder, stopping him mid interrogation

"Harry, don't bite her head off- she doesn't know anything. But we will find out ok? Kingsley will send word as soon as he hears anything and Tonks is about to head back to the ministry right now, aren't you Tonks?"

He stared pointedly at Tonks who looked for half a second like she was about to protest but then- after glancing again at Harry- she shut her mouth and just nodded, and retreated back out the door. Sirius steered Harry over to the kitchen and deposited him in a seat, disappearing off and then returning with a steaming mug of mulled mead

"Just a few sips OK?" He said sternly, but with a small smile. Sirius left to get the rest of the kids in and Harry took a big gulp of the steaming drink in front of him. The spicy liquid seared its way down his throat and seemed to warm him up from inside, bringing some of the feeling back into his frozen body. Ron, Hermione and Ginny filed in one after another and took up the remaining seats at the table. Harry wordlessly passed the drink around the table and the rest of the teens took a gulp of the searing liquid too. There was absolute silence around the table and Sirius sank into the chair beside Harry, shooting concerned looks at his godson every now and again. Mrs Weasly joined them moments later and- shooting a disapproving glance at the still-steaming mud- she brewed up a pot of tea and handed the cups around the teens, all of whom left them untouched. Moments later, there was a loud bang as the front door flew open and Mrs Black started up her screaming again. Everyone around the table jumped violently and twisted around to stare at the door. There was a pause about as long as a heartbeat and then Tonk's burst through, her magenta hair flying out behind her

"He's alive" She gasped

"He's at St Mungo's. He's alive!"

There was a flurry of action as they all surged to their feet and as one ran for the door.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN HE MUST HAVE WONDERED OFF?" Mrs Weasly bellowed at a rather pale looking Healer

"FIRST YOU TELL US HE IS DEAD, THEN YOU TELL US HE IS MISSING AN ARM AND HAS A HOLE IN HIS HEART THEN YOU LOSE HIM? WHAT SORT OF A CIRCUS ARE YOU RUNNING HERE?" She was actually shaking the Healer now, and he rather looked like he was about to faint. Or cry. Harry turned away from this scene and tugged on Hermione's elbow

"Come on" He muttered

"There's no point hanging around here. Lets go look for him. I'll take the floor below, you take this one, Ron- you go to the floor above" The two nodded and Fred lent over

"Me, George and Ginny will cover the other floors" He said, his face uncharacteristically serious and he hurried off down the corridor. Five minutes later and Harry was wondering along the long, pristine corridors of the 3rd floor- glancing half-heartedly into the ward doors that he passed though it seemed unlikely that a half-dead, armless boy could have wondered in without someone noticing. A horrible though occurred to Harry as he strode down another equally empty wing- what if whatever had attacked Allen had come back for seconds? Whatever it was, it must be incredibly strong- Harry had seen Allen train and had even (an a whim) tried to spar with him once and had been utterly obliterated in mere minutes. He was smiling slightly at this memory when he did a double take. He had given a cursory glance down a darkened corridor that looked unused and had seen something move. He pressed up against the glass in the door and- yes- a shadowy figure was moving at the end. He entered, shaking slightly and strode down to the small figure enveloped in darkness. Harry drew level with the figure that was indeed Allen and his stomach clenched painfully. Although he had been told that Allen was missing an arm, he guessed it hadn't really sunk in because a wave of nausea and horror crashed over his body as he saw the blackened stump that had been Allen's arm. Bandages encased the rest of his body and Harry thought he could see small spots of blood staining the dressings. Allen had his hand pressed against the door at the end of the corridor that clearly had been blocked up at some stage

his eyes were blank and uncomprehending.

"Got... to keep walking" He muttered, and Harry then noticed that he wasn't leaning against the door, he was actually pushing it, which probably explained the blood spots on his bandages. Harry reachedo ut with some trepidation and gently laid his hand on Allen's shoulder. Allen turned to look at him, but his eyes remained unfocussed

"I... have to..." He turned back to face the door again and Harry could see his arm trembling as he pushed against the immovable door

"Allen..." He started carefully

"You're in St Mungo's, mate. You're hurt. Look, we really should get back to your room. Come on" He gently tugged at Allen's sleeve but the boy didn't move. His wide grey eyes met Harry's- his stare was terrifyingly blank

"St Mungo's?" He repeated, sounding confused. Harry breathed a sigh of relief- he seemed to be coming back to reality

"Yeah- you were attacked, Allen and hurt pretty badly, then the ministry turned up and took you here because you performed magic. Don't you remember?"

There was a long silence as Allen processed this information, his eyes still rather unfocussed

"Suman" He said faintly

Harry blinked- his turn now to be confused

"He... he didn't mean... had to protect... no choice. The town!" He gasped, suddenly intense and he gripped Harry's arm

"The town was it...?" But his voice trailed off again, his eyes rolled back in his head and his knees buckled beneath him. Harry moved instinctively and caught him before he hit the ground

"C'mon mate" He said and wrapped Allen's arm around his neck as the boy came back into consciousness

"Let's get you back"

Their progress was slow and stunted as Allen's legs kept giving way underneath him. Eventually though, they reached the ward, where Mrs Weasly was now gesturing angrily to the head healer of the ward. She paused mid-tirrade and let out a gasp when she saw Harry approach, then ran over to help

"Oh you poor dear" She cried as she took Allen from Harry's arms. She gently lowered him to the ground and with a wave of her wand, conjured up a stretcher beneath his body which she then levitated back into his ward- shooting poisonous glares at the healers as she did so. Mrs Weasly gently tucked Allen back into his bed and smoothed the head off his forehead, her expression motherly. She gently squeezed his hand and then retreated to the doorway that the rest of the teens were lurking in. She rested her hand on Harry's shoulder as she walked out

"Just a few minutes, dears, you don't want to tire him out. We'll go get coffee and wait for you downstairs okay?"

She gestured to Fred, George and Ginny as she walked off but Ginny hung back wavering uncertainly- she turned and ran lightly over to Allen's bed, lent down and pressed a kiss onto his forehead, stroking his cheek

"I'm glad your ok" She whispered, her fiery hair sweeping over the sheets. Allen gave her a weak smile which she returned quickly before running back after her mother. The smile slipped from his lips as soon as she left and he gave a grimace of pain. Hermione immediately began rummaging through the cupboards and grabbed a bottle of blue potion

"Here" She said, concern apparent in her voice as she held the bottle to his lips

"It'll help with the pain"

Allen took a sip of the potion and sunk back onto his pillows with a sigh of relief. Harry, Hermione and Ron sat down on either corner of the hospital bed and silence fell over the hospital ward. Hermione rested her hand on top of Allen's and shot a concerned look over to Ron and Harry. Allen was deathly pale and lying there in the bed, he looked so small and young. The harassed looking healer from before re-entered the room and gave a smile of relief when he saw Allen lying in his bed

"Oh thank goodness" He gasped

"You really shouldn't have gotten up at all, your wounds..." he bustled over to his bed, waving his wand in a complicated motion over him. Nothing visibly happened but it must have told the healer something because he grimaced and began rummaging through the cupboard full of potions

"Has someone been by to talk to you about what happened?" He said over his shoulder, in a rather throwaway manner

"Ah, no..." Allen said rather nervously.

There was a loud crash, causing all four of them to jump violently. The healer emerged from the cupboard rubbing his head

"Oh I am so sorry... I just assumed... Never mind, I know your case well enough... I guess I can just.."

He wondered over to the bedside again, arms full of bottles which he dumped unceremoniously on the table

"Would it be alright if you three stepped out" He said to the other three, seeming to have gathered himself together, his voice becoming more professional

Harry, Ron and Hermione exchanged looks

"It's ok" Allen said, sitting up a little bit in his bed- the motion seemed to alert him to the fact that he was missing an arm as he only had one hand to push himself up with

"Anything you say to me, you can say to them" he said rather distractedly, staring transfixed at the space where his arm used to be.

The healer looked rather unconvinced but decided not to push the point

"OK well... there is still a lot we don't know as we don't really know the circumstances in which you obtained your injuries, however, I will tell you as much as I can. As you can see, you have lost your arm however I don't know if that it is permanent"

Allen sat forward in his seat, hope blooming in his eyes

"Your arm- its not exactly- I mean- Whatever the circumstances you lost your arm in, there was absolutely no trauma to your shoulder socket at all nor was there a huge amount of blood loss that we would expect from loss of limb. It's like... it's like your arm disintegrated or something and the stump seemed to seal itself off. The substance- whatever it is, covering your stump, isn't flesh. It sealed the wound off and prevented you from bleeding out. When the ministry officials took you in, you were followed by a sort of dusty material that matches the substance on the stump of your arm- it is a bit like you're arm disintegrated and then followed you here. I don't know. I've never seen anything like this before but it is theoretically possible that it could... reattach? Though it would have to reassemble itself into the proper shape- I will refer you on to some magical experts who..."

Allen slumped back on the pillow and heaved a sigh of relief- he wasn't completely useless after all, there was still a chance that he could re-join the battle. He was so full of relief that he almost missed what the healer said next

"...hole through your heart"

"What?" Allen said in shock. The healer gave a start of surprise

"Didn't you know? Ah... When we found you, you had a hole strait through your heart and had gone into full cardiac arrest- hence the reason you were reported dead at the scene however, the hole then sealed itself and your heart restarted. We really can't explain it. There were no external injuries, just the hole."

He shrugged and shook his head, clearly completely nonplussed he was smiling slightly though and it was pretty obvious that he found all of this completely fascinating- medical mysteries obviously being his thing

"Most of your other injuries were relatively minor though" He said, snapping out of his trance

"Apart from the injury to your right arm" He frowned as he said this

"The wounds were really quite severe- but the injury- err- it looked like- well, a human bite mark. Which obviously is completely..."

But before he could complete the sentence, Allen said

"Yeah, that was Suman"

There was a long, heavy silence as the Healer gaped at him in shock

"You broke about 20 bones in your hand! And the bite mark was almost all the way through- who...?"

"Oh, don't worry about it" Allen said unconcernedly

"He didn't really mean to hurt me- I told him to do it- look it's a really long story, but he wasn't intending to hurt me, honestly"

He smiled serenely at the group surrounding him, all of whom were staring in absolute horror at him

The three teens opened their mouths to ask further questions but the healer seemed to come to his senses (for the third time)

"OK! Well, I think we should leave it there, don't you? Now, the ministry are going to expect a full statement from you but I will fob them off for now. You need to get some sleep"

The Healer measured up a couple different potions into a vial and handed it to Allen.

"This should help you sleep, and it'll promote healing. I'll be back to check on you in an hour or so" He stowed the bottles back into the cupboard and gestured to the rest of them to get out

"Nah, we'll wait for a while" Ron said tersely, staring down at his friend

"We won't keep him awake or anything. We just want to sit with him a while"

The Healer nodded understandingly and bustled out of the room, leaving them alone

They sat there for a while, watching their friend as he slept, slowly coming round to the fact that yes, he was still alive but that he was unlikely to ever be the same again

The next time Allen woke, it was to find Dumbledore sitting on a plush seat at the side of his bed, half way through 'Tales of Beedle the Baard' pausing every few lines to make little annotations. He glanced up and smiled when he saw Allen had finally woken up

"Ah, it is so good to see you my dear boy" he said enthusiastically

"I was really beginning to get rather concerned with your lack of contact. I'm glad you are here more-or-less in one piece" He chuckled slightly at his own joke and Allen was so surprised at the black humor that he laughed too

"How are you feeling?" Dumbledore asked, handing over a breakfast tray and pouring out a cup of tea for himself. Allen heaped bacon onto his plate, all of a sudden realising that he was absolutely starving

"I'm doing ok I guess" He said shoving a few mouthfulls of his meal into his mouth

Dumbledore quirked an eyebrow and gave him a look that clearly said he didn't believe a word of it

"Alright, maybe I'm not OK, but there isn't really much I can do about it is there?"

Dumbledore interlocked his fingers and pressed the tips to his lips

"Well, I suppose not. Though talking can help"

He leant forward, his sky blue eyes serious

"I need to know what happened" He said softly

"Take your time- there is no rush but I need to know. I only got in here before the ministry did because that healer of yours seems to have taken a liking to you. Once I know exactly what happened, I'll be better able to help you"

Allen nodded and slowly began telling his tale, pausing only to eat more food, or gulp down mouthfuls of tea. Dumbledore said nothing, merely nodding every now and again or pointing his wand at the tray of breakfast foods and replenishing the supply. Once Allen had finished, Dumbledore sank back in his seat, eyes unfocussed and far away as he processed all the new information.

"Well" He said eventually

"The ministry will probably charge you for unauthorised magic, however the chance that the cahrge'll stick to you are even slimmer than the chance they'll stick anything on Harry. I mean, you were found half-dead in a nearly destroyed town- they simply cannot ignore that much evidence, no matter how much they may want to. Now, obviously, they will not believe you when you tell them the truth but that doesn't really matter. We need to get your story out there so when they question you, I want you to tell them what really happened alright?" Allen nodded and shrugged

"I don't really care what they say about me, Professor. I have more important things to do now anyways" He glanced wryly at his missing arm and Dumbledore smiled

"Yes, I suppose you do" His tone grew a little more serious

"About that actually... Things are proceeding much faster than Cross and I anticipated- it may not be possible any longer for you to stay at Hogwarts till you come of age"

Allen said nothing- having come to this conclusion himself almost as soon as he had regained consciousness

"Obviously you will have to stay till you manage to sort out whatever is going on with your arm and regain your strength but I am under no illusions as to exactly what you will do as soon as you are able to fight again"

Dumbledore smiled rather sadly as he surveyed Allen

"It is truly a sad day when we must send our children to fight for us" he mused remorsefully, his face clouding over. Allen avoided his gaze not willing to get into it- he really didn't care how sorry Dumbledore felt for him and his situation- pity would do him no good. He just had to get back to where he belonged. With Lavi and Lenalee and the others, fighting the Noah.

"Where is Mai?" He asked, not even trying to disguise his attempt to change the topic of conversation. Dumbledore chuckled again

"Alright, I get the message- I'll bring her in tomorrow, once you are feeling a little better, but back to business- just for a minute I promise- I believe I may have found a way to help us with this whole Trace situation"

Allen sat forward in his bed, all of a sudden very intent on everything Dumbledore was saying- if there was some way to get around the Trace, he would maybe be able to rejoin the battle even without the use of his arm. Sure he wouldn't be quite as effective and he wouldn't be able to save any Akuma but he could definitely help the other accommodators. Dumbledore noticed the light igiting in Allen's eyes and sighed internally. It was painfully obvious what was going through the boys head and Dumbledore was pretty certain he didn't like it

"I found a clause" He continued still displeased with the effect that his words were having

"Its an ancient rule but it is possible for a wizard to be released from the trace before they turn 17- you see, in the old times, the wizards fought many battles against other magical races and so there had to be a get-out clause for young wizards to bolster the ranks for battle. I will need to draw up the contract and it will take a little time but once we get signatures from a teacher from every subject you have taken in school on the document declaring that you are safe to perform that branch of magic, then one signature from me and one from a ministry official (Kingsley I believe is our best shot) and you should be free to go. Though I absolutely refuse to draw up this document until you are capable of rejoining battle again- No Allen, that is final" He said firmly as Allen began to protest

"Now, I had better go. I have some things I need to attend to. I'll be back tomorrow" and with that, he stood up to leave, waving his wand and causing his chair to disappear

"You may re-join your friends at Grimmauld place as soon as you are released from here- I have had words with Sirius and he is more than willing to have you and Mai- Mrs Weasly said she was happy to help and look after her while you recuperate. Good evening"

And with that, he swept from the ward, robes billowing in his wake

Allen slowly woke from the deep sleep the Healers potions had put him in to a smell he couldn't quite place, but that made him feel deeply contented. His brain sluggishly tried to place the smell. Talcum powder... violets and sweets. He smiled slightly, it smelt kind of like Mai but of course it couldn't be because he was in the middle of nowhere in that stupid beat-up truck. Just as that thought occurred to him, he realised that he was oddly comfortable and that couldn't be right because he hadn't had one comfortable nights sleep in that scrap heap of a car. Now that he thought about it actually, he remembered that he wasn't in the truck because they had got on the boat but he wasn't on the boat either because the boat didn't have comfortable beds either. Slowly, like the sand trickling from an hour glass, the memory came back to him and with a great effort, he opened his eyes. The light blinded him initially and it took a good few minutes for him to adjust to its brightness, once they did however, a balloon of joy inflated inside of his stomach because at the foot of his bed, coloring in a picture with crayons was Mai. Unable to even form words, Allen just reached out his hand for her. Mai glanced up from her picture and a huge smile lit up her face

"Jibo!" She cried joyfully and scrambled her way up the bed to throw her small arms around his neck. Allen grinned too, his throat still chocked up, completely unable to form words. He buried his face into the back of her neck and breathed in her scent, his heart feeling too big for his chest.

"Hey princess" He croaked once his voice eventually returned to his body

"Papa missed you so much you know that?"

He released her and planted a kiss on the center of her forehead, causing her to giggle

"I missed you too papa" She said, she sat back on the bed and began petting his head

"You're all hurt" She stated, matter of factly and Allen smiled wryly

"Yeah, I guess I am" He laughed

"I'll make you all better" She stated again in a matter of fact tone, fussing around him in a rather mothering way. She tucked the blankets tightly around him, planted a kiss on her forehead and handed him the glass of water from his bedside table before resuming stroking his hair

"This will make you all better" She said

"You used to do that to me when I was sick and it made me feel better" She watched him expectantly. Playing to the part, Allen smiled brightly

"Wow, that is really working! I feel loads better. Thanks Mai"

A giant grin made its way across her face

"Are you coming home today then?" She asked "Dumbledore took me to another house and its all dirty and I miss you and you were away for aaaages"

Allen's joy at seeing Mai eventually began to fade under the weight of his exhaustion and he was actually rather relieved when Dumbledore returned to take her away. He felt terrible because he had missed her so much while he was away but every muscle in his body ached- even his chest was starting to hurt- reminding him that it was not-at-all amused that he had gotten it punctured mere days ago. He could barely raise his head when the healer- Allen had finally found out his name was Roufa came through the door. He clucked and fussed about the state that Allen was in a tinkered around the room enthusing about how adorable Mai was Allen barely took any of this chatter in but was rather grateful for the background noise it provided and the fact that he was not required to respond to any of it. Roufa straitened the pillow underneath his head and sat down on the side of the bed

"I'm sorry that we need to do this but I held the ministry off as long as I could. They want to talk to you now and I'm afraid I cant keep them at bay much longer" He watched Allen rather nervously but he just nodded wearily

"Knew they'de be here soon" He sighed

"It's ok. I'll be ok" He winced as he pushed himself back up the bed and a pain shot through his chest. Roufa ran back over to the bedside and helped the boy sit up properly

"When can I get home" Allen sighed, thinking of Mai and Harry and all the rest of his friends waiting for him and all of a sudden the ache inside of him that had been there since he found out he wouldn't be able to fight eased slightly, the nagging, insistent voice telling him that he had to get back, he had to get back, he had to get back and save them. Save them all before it was too late- quietened slightly and another voice started up, wondering what Grimmould place was like, how his friends were and what the next year at Hogwarts was going to hold. It didn't exactly drown out the other voice but at least it wasn't the only thing going through his head any more which also helped with his whole clinging onto sanity thing. The ward door was suddenly flung open and Allen was shocked to see the minister stride in, Percy Weasly trotting in his wake. Behind him, a toady looking woman, a middle-aged woman with a monocle of all things and about 3 other very disgruntled looking wizards filed in, each conjuring up a chair with a flick of their wands and sitting down, staring stoney-faced at Allen. Cornelius, the monocle lady and the toad faced lady sat closer to Allen, the rest of the wizards keeping their chairs at the wall, watching over the proceedings.

"Mr. Allen Walker- charged with the multiple counts of underaged magic in the presence of an entire town of muggles" He glanced up over the parchment at Allen, his eyes narrowed in dislike. Allen smiled at him serenely, taking pleasure in the irritation that flickered over the ministers face

"He performedHow do you plead to this charge?" He snapped.

Harry wondered through the house a small ball of discontent growing in his stomach, feeling pretty frustrated with his whole situation. He paused at the end of one of the corridors, having heard a strange noise. He cocked his head to one side and followed the sound all the way over to the room Sirius had given to Allen. He entered the room and found the source of the rhythmic 'thuds'- Allen was sitting on the floor at the foot of his bed throwing a ball against the floor, to bounce on the wall, to land back in his hand before beginning again. He glanced up when Harry entered the room before returning his gaze blankly to the wall but something about the way he shifted his body let Harry know he was welcome in. He closed the door behind himself and sank down opposite Allen. Allen changed the trajectory of the ball slightly and Harry caught it before bouncing it back. They kept this up for a while before Harry broke the silence

"Ron's prefect" He said, throwing the ball a little harder than he meant- Allen only just caught it and threw it back, a vaguely amused expression on his face

"Okay" He said "Are you jealous?" His tone was completely non-judgemental yet Harry couldn't help but feel ridiculously childish

"I don't think so" He said slowly and they fell silent for a while "It was just, I don't know, a little unexpected I guess..." His voice trailed off and he went back to passing the ball. There was an even longer silence before, the rhythm of the ball oddly soothing. Eventually, Harry spoke again, his voice quieter than before

"I keep on having nightmares... dreaming about the graveyard, you know?" He muttered, catching the ball and fiddling with it instead of passing it back

Allen dropped his hand to his side and kept silent, allowing Harry to speak

"I see Cedric" He said, staring pointedly at the ball he was playing with "My mum... my dad standing between me and Voldemort"

"Your parents?" Allen asked curiously

"Oh yeah, I didn't tell you that part" Harry said, having forgotten to tell Allen about what had gone on in the graveyard while he was away fighting that Akuma thing. He explained as best he could the priori incantatium spell and told Allen about his parents, about what they had said and about how Cedric had asked him to take his body back to his parents. Allen mulled this piece of information over

"I'm sorry" He said eventually

"That must have been really difficult for you"

Harry nodded silently and threw the ball back to Allen who caught it deftly. They passed it back and forth for a while before Allen spoke

"I feel useless" He said in a low voice. Harry frowned in confusion and opened his mouth to ask a question but Allen spoke before he could

"I know I can't fight like this, I know I can't rejoin the war unless my arm miraculously decides to re-attatch itself to my stump but I want to go back. My friends are out there, fighting to pick up the slack I have left- people are out there dying because I am here- souls are waiting for me to release them and I am sitting here, doing nothing. And I know there is nothing anyone can do about it but I am so bitter and so angry that I feel the anger is following me around, seeping into everything and everyone. It's like... it's like I am poisonous"

Harry couldn't help but identify with what Allen was saying, he had felt that way a lot about his black moods- this then explained at least partially why they had seen so little of Allen. Though to be perfectly fair, he was well within his rights to be a little depressed, considering all that had happened to him. Harry had heard that Allen's hearing for performing magic out of school had been a few days ago. The adults had been trying to play it down, figuring that the less attention that was on him, the better, all things considered. There had been a lot less tension about his case too compared to the way it had been with Harry mainly because there was absolutely no way that the ministry could have pinned anything on him and everyone knew that the main reason they were even holding the court session was to make a splashy headline. They had already gone to town on his trial

"Headmasters Adoptive Son Found in Middle of Carnage" It had been the usual rubbish and had- naturally- not gone into any detail but instead just said that Allen had been found in a almost completely destroyed town half way across the world. It had decided not to mention that he had been found half dead or you know- that it hadn't been him that destroyed the town. Allen however was less concerned about this than the others seemed to be- and just shrugged it off saying philosophically

"They will find out eventually" before resuming playing poker with Mai. He had been ignoring Mrs Weasly's complaints that he was 'teaching her bad habits' and carried on with his new mission to teach her how to count the cards so that when she got all grown up, she would be able to beat everyone she came across in a card game. He reasoned that it was both a good way to teach her maths and a good way to keep her out of mischief. She hadn't been kidding about this creepy house and he was concerned that if he let her out of his sight she would get snatched by one of the hundreds of terrifying monsters that were lurking around every corner. Besides, poker was a perfectly acceptable past time. Healthy even. Yeah. He was an incredibly responsible father

/skip to Hoggy-warty hogwarts/

Allen craned his head over the crowds of people milling around the Hogwarts Express, searching for the blonde head of Luna's. Eventually, he spotted it and slid his way through the staring students

"Hey" He grinned as he caught up to her, tapping her arm. She turned around, and as her dreamy eyes focussed on him, a broad smile bloomed on her face

"Oh, hello there Allen. It's good to see you"

He smiled nostalgically, having missed her odd way of talking

"It's good to see you too Luna" He said warmly

"Sorry I've not really... been in contact with you over the Summer. Things have been a little, hectic"

Understatement of the century he thought wryly. Luna however seemed unperturbed by his radio silence over the past 3 months or so

"I was traveling with my dad- we were looking for the Crumple-horned snorkack so I haven't really been receiving any owls lately. In fact" She gazed rather dreamily into the distance "I don't think anyone from school has ever sent me an owl before" She continued to stare disconcertingly blankly at the space just to the left of Allen's head

"Ah... right..." He said uncertainly, rather wrong footed now

"We only got back two days ago" She continued dreamily

That sort of explained why she hadn't asked him about his summer- though he was rather surprised she hadn't noticed his disappearing from school two weeks early and the lack of contact prior to her hunting trip. Still, the lack of questions wasn't really bothering him that much. Everyone else was staring at him, muttering, pointing at his missing arm, sniggering unashamedly but Luna- she was just as she always was. Half a light-year away, tuning in to the mundane world only when something that interested her occurred

"So how did the hunting trip go?" He asked and happily boarded the train listening to her talk his ear off about the totally-real Crumple-horned Snorkack. They eventually found an empty compartment, grateful for the lack of staring students. Allen slumped in the corner and began reading sections of the Quibbler which never ceased to amuse him. The rhythmic thud-thud of the train on the tracks lulled him into a trance like state and he dozed off onto Luna's shoulder. He woke horribly after being hit in the face with some mysterious thick liquid. He flailed around with shock and fell off the seat with a thud, spluttering in shock, he spat out a globule of a thick pussy substance

"What the?" He stared around the compartment uncomprehendingly to see everyone else equally plastered with the stinking goo and Neville clutching a Mimbulus Mimbletonia with a look of remorse on his face.

"Neville!" He yelled irritably

"I am so sorry Allen" He moaned, reaching out a hand to the boy

"I swear I didn't mean it!"

Allen gripped the proffered hand and grunted in pain as he was hauled to his feet, but he couldn't help smiling as he looked around at their predicament and then laughing (silently) When Harry's crush (He thought the kids name was Chang or Cher or something) walked in on them, still covered in the gloopy substance. Hermione then helpfully siphoned it off them. She sat down next to Allen and smiled over at him and Luna

"You'll be glad to see Allen again after so long. You must have been worried sick" She smiled sympathetically at the girl. Luna gazed at her in mild confusion

"Well" Herione continued pointedly, matching Luna's confusion

"You know- it must have been hard for you knowing that he was out there fighting and that he... got hurt and..." Her voice trailed off slightly as Luna continued to look rather confused

"I'm not really sure what you mean" She said simply

Hermione made an odd little strangled noise in the back of her throat as she struggled to find some way to reason with Luna

"Don't you kno-"

"It's fine Hermione, drop it" Allen said quietly. Hermione looked scandalised but Ron took up the role of peacekeeper and changed the subject, telling them all about Malfoy being the Slytherin prefect. The nugget of knowledge had barely left her lips before the smug little snot banged the compartment door wide open

"What" Harry snarled as soon as he saw the little snobs face

"Manners Potter, or I'll give you a detention" He drawled back

"You see, I, unlike you have been made a prefect, which means that I unlike you have the power to hand out punishments"

"Yeah" Harry retorted "But you, unlike me, are a git. So get out and leave us alone. Allen laughed appreciatively and this drew Malfoy's attention, he cooly raised an eyebrow

"Tell me Potter, do you pick your friends solely based on the fact that their lameness exceeds even your own? I mean come on- you've got Weasly- the descendent of what truly must be the most pathetic wizarding family in history, then you have Longbottom who is without a doubt the thickest wizard in history, Loony- I don't even know where to begin with that" He gestured disparagingly at Luna, whose multicolored specterspecs were flashing psychedelically in the light

"Then there is that little mudblood" He jerked his head to Hermione, his sneer becoming even more pronounced. Ron bristled but Malfoy plowed on looking increasingly self-satisfied at the reactions he was causing

"and finally, to top it all off, you've got a delusional amputee who believes in the monsters under his bed all following you around like the faithful little doggies that they are. I mean come on, I guess even you look sane in comparison to that. Ah-ah-ah" he said patronisingly, raising a consolatory hand out as he backed out of the door- Harry, Ron, Allen and Hermione had all surged to their feet as one. Ron and Harry already had their wands raised and both Hermione and Allen looked like they were ready to do the same

Laughing superiorly he slammed the door hard, causing the glass pane to rattle in its frame

"You know" Allen said through gritted teeth

"I really am starting to dislike that guy"

He dropped back into his seat and glanced up at Harry- who's face told him that yes, he had caught Malfoy's choice of words and had drawn the same conclusion as he and Hermione had. Malfoy knew about Sirius.

The steady drizzle soaked through their robes, chilling them all to the bone as they stepped from the warm comfort of the Hogwarts express to the rain-soaked station. Allen watched sympathetically as the first years filed off despondently after Professor Grubbly-Plank to the Great Lake where the row boats were awaiting them

"I do not envy them" He said following Ron and Harry to the carriages that waited for them

"There's not enough seats for all of us" Hermione said firmly as they approached

"Allen and I will go in this one. See you guys at the castle" She gripped Allen hard by the elbow and steered him in the direction of another carriage, leaving Harry staring rather oddly at the creepy black horses that drew the rickety contraptions and Luna looking rather surprised by Hermione's actions. Allen however knew exactly what she was doing and why and was not at all impressed. He didn't say anything and let the heavy silence settle around them as they took their seats. He was not going to initiate this conversation

"Allen" Hermione began and his heart sunk strait to his boots

"Does Luna know what happened over the Summer?" She sounded rather teacher like Allen mused but he couldn't avoid her now that he was cornered

"No" He said quietly avoiding her eyes pointedly

"Allen!" She cried in exasperation

"How could you not tell her? More to the point, why hasn't she asked? You are missing a limb for crying out loud- what, has she just not noticed?" Hermione's bushy hair seemed to expand with her indignation and she put her hand on her hips, glaring at Allen who was still staring pointedly out the window at the rain streaming down the windows

"What does it matter if she knows" He said finally

"I mean, she knows I fight Akuma and so she probably has figured out that I lost my arm fighting them. What does it matter if she doesn't know the exact circumstances behind it all?"

"Allen" Hermione said, sounding slightly more sympathetic this time

"You can't just not talk about this stuff- you saw people die, you saw people you knew die and get hurt. You have been hurt yourself and you are still hurting. It's not fair to you or to her to pretend that none of this happened. I mean, you aren't the same person now that you were before the holiday, you know that and we both know that you are planning on rejoining the battle" Her voice wobbled slightly at this and Allen tore his gaze rather unwillingly from the window to look at his friend, a few tears had trickled down her cheek but she just swiped them away irritably

"Allen, where do you see this relationship going, if you are planning on leaving the wizarding world for the black order?" Then in a slightly nervous voice she continued on

"Do you think... maybe... you are trying to return to the 'Allen' that you were before the battle- before all this happened to you and that by not telling her and not facing up to the conversation you are going to have to have with her you will somehow be able to go back to the time when things were so much simpler because, I am really sorry, but that really isn't possible. You have seen too much and been through to much and Luna- well- she isn't going to understand. Not until you explain to her anyway"

Allen smiled and nodded

"I know" He stated simply

"I know things can't go back to the way they were. I'll talk to her, soon. I promise"

Hermione got up from her seat and joined Allen at the other side of the compartment, putting her arm around his shoulders

"I'm ok" He said earnestly, smiling at her

"Honestly, I'm fine"

"I know you are" Hermione said, hugging him gently

"I know you are."

Precisely two days later, Allen took Luna down to the Great Lake, to the spot that they had been on the first time he had really noticed her, when she had bandaged up his eye and talked to him as if he was a normal human being and not some circus freak with a black arm and cursed mark. He told her about the battle, about all the villagers that had died, about the handful he had helped save. He told her about Kanda and Lavi and Lenalee then he told her about Suman and about that fateful day that he had lost his arm. She listened, oddly attentively as he told her about Tyki and that healer Roufa hoped his arm would be able to rematerialise and that as soon as it did, he would be leaving Hogwarts and it was unlikely that he would return. He decided not to add that the reason he was unlikely to return was because he would probably die on this kamikaze mission and instead phrased it to suggest that he would just be too busy to come back. He watched sadly as the usual glow that surrounded Luna faded and her serene smile disappeared. With a horribly heavy heart, he broke up with her and his heart almost broke in his chest when she smiled and asked simply if he wouldn't mind still being her friend. Mutely, he nodded and her smile grew brighter and she lent in to embrace him gently, whispering quietly to him

'everything is going to be OK' and he thought he actually felt his heart break inside his chest.

Allen sighed as he fiddled with his eagle feather quill. He had finished 'Defensive Magical Theory' twice and had come to the conclusion that it was complete and utter bull. For someone who spent most of his life out fighting the monsters of the world, reading a book denouncing everything but the theoretical was more than just dull, it was a little insulting. He watched in vague amusement as Hermione- for the first time in her life- began causing a ruckus in the class. His face grew more serious however when Harry stood up and began retorting to Umbridge's snide remarks

"But this isn't going to prepare us for what is out there" He snarled

"There is nothing out there" Umbridge sneered, effectively getting a raise out of Harry, who was unable to restrain himself from retorting. Allen watched the two argue back and forth for a moment before he was unable to contain himself too

"Tell me, professor, do you think that Cedric killed himself?" He asked, his voice as calm and collected as he could make it, despite the fury building up inside of him

"Or do you think that all those people dying at the same time in Little Hangleton was just some freak, coincidental accident? The entire town was torched- there were bullet holes and craters everywhere yet the best you ministry can come up with is a terrorist attack. Tell me, exactly how much do you actually know about muggles and what is going on in their world because I can tell you now, they own nothing that would do that kind of damage and they certainly haven't mastered the skill of disappearing into thin air yet. You are refusing to see- refusing to face the facts and I can tell you now, you will regret that stubbornness when the Akuma finally come out of hiding and attack."

He was trembling slightly with rage now, his voice grew terse and strained. He glared up at Umbridge who looked smirked

"Now" She said softly

"Shall we look at what you say happened?" She gave a little simpering cough and her tone became incredulous

"Now your claim is that an army of... ah... what did you call them? Oh yes. An army of akuma descended upon the town and destroyed it. And for some reason, you are the only person who knows that these creatures exist. They are certainly not in any government database, but I suppose we are to just take your word for it are we? You, who mysteriously disappeared from the last week of school while all this was happening. Without permission I may add..." She raised her eyebrow at this stage and paused rather pointedly before continuing

"Now we don't know exactly what happened in that tragic accident, however what we do know is that it wasn't some make-believe monster-under-your-bed or some dark lord brought back to life but instead was a very disturbed person. Now. I will have no more discussion of this in my class. It is not relevant to the subject that I am teaching and I am not giving you two boys a platform to spread your filthy little lies"

She turned sharply on her heel and strode back to her desk, sitting down primly and picking up a few papers, disappearing behind them, firmly ignoring the two boys.

"They are not lies!" Harry shouted, unable to contain himself

"Come here, mister Potter, mister Walker" Professor Umridge said in her sugery sweetest tone

Harry kicked his chair aside and strode up to her desk, Allen following in his wake. They stood in silence by her desk as she scribbled something down on a pink memo. She handed it to Harry, completely ignoring Allen

"Go see your head of house. Both of you" She intoned, her voice dangerously quiet. They both turned sharply and strode out of the room.

Umbrige leered over the top of her pile of marking papers at the two boys in front of her- Both sat with their heads down, in absolute silence, neither letting a single wince of pain reach their face. Allen was writing in spiky letters

"I must learn my place"

He payed no heed to the marks that were forming and re-sealing on his hand, but rather concentrated on the letters- one stroke down for the 'I' sharp angles on the 'M' He followed the pattern again and again till Umbrige finally called for them to stop and took them up to her desk. She smirked at the two boys and gestured for them to reach out their hands. After inspecting them carefully she said delicately

"Well, that didn't seem to make much of an impression. Tomorow night then? We shall try again- see if we have can't... make the message sink in a little deeper. You may go" She gestured them out of the room and returned her gaze to the papers she was marking as if nothing of importance had happened. Allen and Harry turned on their heels and strode from the room without so much as a backward glance

They repeated the same pattern for each detention, neither of them saying anything other than 'good morning' and 'good night' as they entered and left

Around the 4th detention, Allen turned to the shot a glance over at Harry. A crease had formed between his eyebrows and he was frowning subconsciously at his sheet of paper- Allen could tell that he was angry about missing his quidditch match and, glancing up to the marking table, he could tell Dolores had noticed too as she was looking even more self-satisfied than she normally did and that was saying something. He returned his gaze to his own paper and frowned irritably at the back of his hand. It was bleeding properly now and the cuts were only partially healing. He supposed this was because he only had the one hand to use so the wounds weren't being allowed to heal properly. Staring at his hand, he felt a sudden swelling of rage and protectiveness bloom inside him. The feelings were so strong, he stopped writing and had to consciously stop himself from vaulting over his desk and grabbing Umbridge by the throat. His hands were trembling with rage and he clenched them tightly, taking a deep breath in and blowing it out slowly. The rage slowly left his body, leaving only a small ember of anger burning in the pit of his stomach. He was surprised at himself really, he was usually so proficient at containing his anger he never really got carried away with his emotions. It almost felt like the rage had been someone else's. He wasn't even all that sure what had triggered the surge of emotions. Before he could work it out, a noise interrupted his thought process

"Mr Walker dear, you are here to do detention- to be punished. Not to stare off into the distance. Unless of course, you are willing to repent of your lies? Your hand must be hurting you. All you have to do is stop spreading your malicious lies and you will no longer need to be punished" She gave a simpering smile, clearly enjoying this immensely. Allen lost his temper at this- he had finally had enough of her. He replied to her leer with a cool, polite smile

"Do you really think that our convictions are so weak that we will repent of them just because you make us suffer a little pain? You clearly don't have any real convictions yourself or you would understand that this method of yours is going to have no effect at all. That is, unless you do understand that and just enjoy causing people pain"

He shrugged one shoulder and cocked his head on one side, pinning Umbrige with his gaze. Harry's quill stopped scratching too and he looked over at Allen half surprised and half curious. Umbriges eyes didn't leave Allen's as she said in her most sugary tone

"Mr Potter, please leave"

Harry made no move to go

"Now" She snapped, slightly less sweetly.

Harry ignored her and instead turned to Allen. Allen hesitated for the briefest of moments then nodded shortly to Harry. Umbridges smile had disappeared and her beady eyes followed Harry as he swept up his things and left the room, shooting a concerned look over his shoulder. Once Harry had exited the room, Umbrige he hopped off her seat (Allen held back a smile at the toad like action) and waddled her way over to Allen's desk. Her gaze was hard and furious

"Look, you little brat" she hissed in a surprisingly venomous tone

"You may wish to watch your step around me- in case you haven't noticed, your sole protector is slowly losing his power to protect you and soon you will be completely at the mercy of the ministry and I and let me tell you boy" Her tone became even more scathing as she looked him up and down

"I will be informing the ministry as to what you are and what you are up to and you can be sure, none of them will be tripping over themselves to help you"

Her wide mouth stretched into a disgusting leer as she stared down at Allen

"Pray tell me" He said his tone icy

"Exactly what do you think I am" He had caught her emphasis of the word and wasn't really sure what she had meant but was sure that whatever it was, it wasn't good. Umbrige looked down her nose at him superiorly

"Goodness only knows what your mother bred with to produce you" She spat

"All I know is that whatever you are, you are most definitely not human- tell me, how many humans can remove their arms at will? Or create and seal a hole in their hearts?"

An icy chill swept over Allen as fury- definitely his own this time- coursed through his body

"I didn't remove my own arm" He said jerkily, trying to control himself

"Or pierce my own heart. I have already told you what happened to me- why on earth would I have done something like that to myself?"

Umbrige let out a tinkling laugh that sent shudders up Allen's spine

"Oh don't play so innocent, half-breed. Don't think I don't know what is going on. You are trying to cause panic amongst the wizarding world. Spreading these baseless stories about wars and destruction and monsters. You are trying to weaken us and scare us and get us to declare war on a non-existant enemy. Or better yet, on the Japanese ministry of magic, oh yes, you would like that very much wouldn't you? And you have used your freakish ability to try and make us think that you were attacked by some... some mythical creature!" Her face was twisted and spittle flew from her mouth as she shouted these accusations at Allen, a strange glint lighting up her eyes

"Well, you are not fooling me, freak nor are you fooling anyone else at the ministry. We know what you are up to and we will stop you. It is only a matter of time before Dumbledore is removed from his station and once he is..." Her smile grew even wider and a self-satisfied glint lit up her eyes.

Allen bent down and picked up his schoolbag, slung it over his shoulder and strode out of the room, Umbridges words of

"See you tomorrow" ringing in his ears

Allen slumped against a tree, sweat trickling down the side of his face as he watched Firenze cautiously. The centaur had backed off and was breathing heavily too, his sword hand dropped by his side wearily- Allen bumped into Firenze in the middle of the forest while he was sparring with an unfortunate tree- trying to force his arm to re-materialise. Firenze had found him and after hearing his plight had agreed to help out though he seemed now to be regretting his decision somewhat

"Maybe we should take a..." Firenze began in his low voice but before he even completed his sentence, Allen shook his head and pushed himself upright again, wiping his forehead with his hand.

"Lets go" He said shortly and took up a fighting stance again. Firenze shook his head, his expression concerned but before he could protest again, Allen charged. Firenze raised his sword and blocked a kick from Allen then took a swipe at the boys side. There was a dull clunk as Allen's arm momentarily materialised and stopped the blades motion. They were both so shocked that they stopped fighting. Firenze grinned widely but Allen just took up the fighting stance again. Firenze began to protest but Bane then stepped out of the shadows and took the sword from him

"Stop going easy on the foal Firenze- he won't grew stronger if you don't push him" He growled moodily

Allen twitched irritably at the word 'foal' but said nothing, just grateful that Bane had actually decided to help out- his initial reaction to finding out that Firenze was helping Allen had been less than pleasent. Bane swung the sword in a sweeping motion, testing its weight before he charged at Allen looking scarily serious about the attack. Allen's eyes widened and he twisted out of the way, ducking under the blade and bringing his fists, clenched together down on Bane's back with all his strength. Bane almost fell to the ground then spun around, eyes narrowed to slits

"I am so sorry" Allen gasped, hands clapped over his mouth

"I- you just surprised me and I- it was a total accident I swear" but Bane just laughed

"You are strong, boy. But are you strong enough?" And he charged again, sword held high.

They eventually called it to an end a few hours later after Allen threw up rather violently behind one of the bushes. Even though he very quickly raised his fist again- Bane decided that he'd done enough and- when Allen tried to protest, gave him a glare so stern that Allen quailed underneath it. Finally admitting defeat, he made his way back through the forest now struggling to find his way through the thick undergrowth- partially due to his exhaustion and partially die to the fact that it was now pitch black. He slowly dragged his weary body back to the castle functioning solely on auto-pilot. He had made his way up the first few flights of stairs before he really realised how late it was- curfew was 10 at the weekends and the corridors were utterly deserted. Feeling slightly more nervous, he forced himself to move more quickly. His body felt heavy, as if it weighed twice what it should and his brain was moving at a snails pace which was why he didn't notice Umbridge till her stubby little fingers enclosed around his arm.

McGonagall looked oddly normal dressed in her tartan dressing gown though the icy glare she was now giving Allen was seriously deducting any mumsy-points given her by the homey outfit.

"You know the rules better than anyone Walker, having hung out with those rule-breaking friends long enough. You usually know better though what on earth were you doing out at that time?"

"hem hem" Umbridge coughed pointedly. McGonagall nostrils flared and a vein began pulsing in her forehead

"What" She snarled irritably

"Oh" She simpered girlishly "I was just wondering exactly what you are expecting to achieve by asking why Mr Walker here broke the riles. Surely all that matters is that he did break them?"

Allen snorted quietly- it figured that her mind would work that way

McGonagall's head turned sharply to him and she narrowed her eyes, clearly having heard him

"Yes it does matter, Dolores" She said tersely

"If I know why he did it, I can figure out what punishment to give him"

Allen's smile disappeared at this

"Well, I think I know exactly what punishment to give him Minerva, so I can save you the trouble"

McGonagall's face became even more frosty

"I am his head of his house" She snapped

"And I am the one who is responsible for punishing students in my house"

"Ah well" Umbridge drew out, a very self-satisfied look in her eyes

"I think you will find that I now have control over punishing any students I see fit to"

She drew a sheet of paper out of her pocket and proceeded to wave it around in a very superior manner

"And I believe that... shall we say... 2 months of detentions with me in the evening should convince him that wondering around the school after hours is unwise"

A stunned silence followed these words. No one ever got handed that much detention for minor rule breaking. In fact , no one got that much detention for major rule breaking.

"Well. That aught to do the trick. Goodnight Minerva. I shall see you tomorrow Mr. Walker. 5pm. Sharp"

And with that, she waddled from the room, slamming the door behind her with a loud bang.

Allen turned to stare at McGonagall in horror. She looked rather ruffled but scowled at the look he was giving her

"Oh for goodness sake, wipe that puppy dog look off your face. It's your own fault. getting caught by Dolores of all people wondering around at eleven o'clock, I ask you" she flicked a finger to the door. Allen got to his feet, exhaustion hitting him all over again, like a sledgehammer. He was halfway to the door when McGonagall spoke again

"Mr. Walker, be careful, alright? Umbridge is gaining more power by the day and she already has her eye on you. Don't go giving her any more excuses to get you alone. You may go."

Allen barely restrained himself from rolling his eyes irritably (as if he wanted to be spending all this time slicing his own hand open over and over again) and exited the room, already thinking of his warm, comfy bed, trying not to think of all the staircases that stood between him and sleep or to think about the endless set of afternoons he was now obliged to spend with that toad of a woman who he was pretty sure now wanted to get rid of him by any means necessary. That was a problem for future Allen. That guy could deal with that. Currently the only thing Present Allen could be bothered worrying about was whether or not he would be able to maintain consciousness long enough to reach his bed before passing out.

Hogwarts really was beginning to suck he thought moodily as he finally made it to his fore poster bed and flopped face down on the covers

You knew things were bad when you were beginning to look back on the days you spent crammed in the back of a dusty, rickety army truck with nostalgia.

Still.

His arm had materialised for the first time and despite his utter exhaustion, he smiled.

He was going back.

His sleep was deep and dreamless until at about 4 in the morning, something seemed to switch the light on in his sleeping brain. He was waste deep in a thick black lake, the liquid holding him solidly in place as he stared across crumbling ruins half submerged in the liquid. He saw Lenalee slumped across one of the lumps of crumbling brickwork. She was dead, her eyes wide and blank. A huge big moon hung low in the sky and leered scarily down at him. Allen stared up at the sky and the words 'Half-breed' Began scrawling themselves across the storm clouds, bleeding thick, red blood. Allen gasped in pain and grabbed his throbbing hand. The pain built and built to a searing level. Allen bent low at the waste, squeezing his eyes tight against the pain when all of a sudden, a hand touched his shoulder. The pain disappeared instantly and when he opened his eyes, it was too see the glassy water reflecting an azure blue sky with white fluffy clouds. Someone extended a hand into his field of vision to help him up. Raising his eyes, Allen saw Lavi who was grinning cheerily down at him. Smiling in relief, Allen accepted the hand and let Lavi pull him to his feet so they were both standing on the glassy surface of the lake. Allen tried to say thank you but no words came out. Lavi just smiled wider, seeming to understand anyway. He tugged on Allen's hand and let him across the lake to a grassy verge. Allen's eyes widened as he saw Lenalee, lounging at the edge of the lake, her feet dipped into its surface, she turned from Kanda who was sitting cross legged across from her and she waved cheerily to Allen who smiled in return. She was alive. that was good. Lavi led him on over the hill and to a solid wall of hedge. They stopped suddenly at this and Allen craned his head back to see where it ended, but the hedge seemed to extend on forever. He reached out his hand to touch it, however as soon as he layed a hand on the leaves, they melted from his touch and a smooth marble arch formed. Allen started forward and Lavi dropped his hand

"Go on" He said, speaking for the first time

"I can't go in there"

Allen felt slightly disappointed but walked through anyway. He turned to look back at Lavi but everything beyond the arch had disappeared into inky blackness. This didn't disturb him however and he just continued forward, stepping into a grassy clearing. An enormous table stretched out in front of him and he could see a shadowy figure seated at the end. Curious, he walked forward, his body feeling like it was moving through syrup. He walked for what felt like forever but slowly, slowly, came closer to the figure. He was about 10 meters away from the dark silhouette when something stirred in his memory

'Mana?" he wondered vaguely and stepped forward again with more excitement but something enclosed around his waste stopping him. He looked down blankly at his waste- white bandages were wrapped around his midriff. Following them with his eyes, he turned to see a blazingly white figure standing behind him. He was so bright it dazzled his eyes and he couldn't make out any features

"That is not Mana" The figure said gently, a silver mask flashing in the light

'Who is it?' Allen wondered silently

"Stay here" The figure said, his voice slightly more commanding now

'But I can't' Allen stated silently again 'I have to talk to him. He is the host of this party. It would be rude not to talk to him' Somehow this was perfectly clear to him and he knew, even though it felt rather dangerous, he knew he had to talk to this mysterious figure. The bandages tightened slightly around his waste

"Stay here" The white figure implored and Allen was almost swayed, the voice was so gentle and the figures arms looked so inviting, outstretched to him pleadingly but something else tugged at his heart. He had to see the man.

'I am sorry' He thought sincerely

'I'll just be a minute'

"You'll wake him" The figure said, a slight note of panic in his voice

"Then there will be nothing I can do to save you"

Allen turned to the figure and the urge to speak to him flooded his heart again

"I'll be quick. I promise" And regretfully but firmly, he pulled against the bandages which released him, zooming back to the white figure, rejoining the fabric of his white coat. The figure retreated slightly but Allen could feel the reproachful stare bore into the back of his neck as he approached the dark man at the head of the table. His steps grew slower and slower as he approached, a feeling of trepidation and dread filling him up as he neared him. But he had to. He stretched out his hand. He had to.

His finger tips brushed the shoulder of the man. Nothing happened for a second then all of a sudden, a huge rush of emotions blasted through Allen's body

Rage

The same protective rage that had filled his body in Umbridges office

Anger... righteous anger then...

Pain. Terrible pain and loss then...

Sorrow.

Such sorrow

It tore him up from inside and he fell to the ground under the weight of it as the dark figure rose

Sorrow

Allen woke with a gasp, the duvet falling off his body, soaked with sweat. He gasped and panted as his heart thundered in his chest. He raised a hand to his cheek. He was crying. But even as he wiped the tears from his cheek, the memory of the dream began to slip from his mind like sand through his fingers and even as he tried to recall why he felt so shaken, the details eluded him. Exhaustion hit him again and he slumped back onto his pillows, falling into a light and fitful sleep.